Dynamis | Chapter 5 - Combat (Patreon)

Karl listened to the hum of the DF while Sean and Carly periodically adjusted the DF’s velocity and altitude. While most DF units were equipped with partial autoconducting technologies, such things were limited due to a combination of the DF’s complexity and adaptability. So, while Sean and Carly’s involvement was minimal, they still had to make adjustments on occasion according to, but not limited to, the weather, elevation, and wind pressure.

“Estimated fifteen minutes until arrival,” Sean said without ever taking his eyes off the console. “How do you feel so far, Karl?”

Honestly? A little sick. “I’m doing okay,” he said slowly. “Definitely rougher than I was expecting.”

“What was your first ride-along like?” Carly asked.

“At first? I was thrilled. I’ve wanted to be a conductor for a long time. They flew a few laps around the base, but I didn’t get to experience what it was like for the DF to perform a full thrust or use any of its weaponry. I was a little disappointed, if I’m being honest.”

Carly frowned. “That’s odd.” She pressed a button on her seat, then gradually pulled down a small lever to her right while she spoke. Karl felt a push against his chest, a sensation he matched to whenever the DF was descending. “Usually, they at least draw a saber or fire a gun. They like to make sure you know what it feels like.”

“Mhm.” Karl nodded. “Thought it was strange, too.”

“I sympathize,” Sean chuckled. “My first time was awful. I got one of the older conductors, who yelled at me the whole time to stay put and keep my mouth shut.”

“But was he really wrong?” Carly teased. “You do have a tendency to yap.”

Sean exhaled through his nose. “Anyways. Kept dogging me and going on about how weak I sounded. He hated that I was trembling, so he shook the cockpit on purpose and drew every type of weapon he had to try and acclimate me to the feel.”

“Did it work?” Karl asked.

Sean snorted. “No. I fell unconscious.”

“Hornet got in big trouble for that,” Carly said.

“Hornet. That sounds familiar,” Karl said.

“You’d know him if you saw him,” Sean said. “Big guy, skin like leather, tanned to all hell. Veteran. He’s been with Deadeye for decades.”

“Oh, I know who you’re talking about. The Hornet. The guy who could never find a stable partner, right?”

“That’s the one.” Sean glanced at him and smiled so wide that the top row of his teeth showed. “The guy was anal as hell. Wouldn’t shut up about anything. He always had something to complain about. It was a wonder his conductress at the time could tolerate him.”

“Maybe she saw something in him that you didn’t,” Carly suggested.

“Yeah, maybe you’re right.” His tone dripped with sarcasm. “It had nothing to do with the fat wallet of credits he had.”

“Oh, forget it.”

Karl held back a laugh.

“Hey, on a good note, he’s long gone,” Sean said. “Don’t have to worry about him breathing down our necks in the future.”

“What did happen to him?” Karl said.

“He was dishonorably discharged from Deadeye.” Sean sighed and ran his finger along a large fluorescent line that started red at the top and gradually turned green as it descended. A small nub was located close to the bottom, and when his finger reached it, he guided it down from the yellow and into the green. The DF noticeably slowed. “Got his entire unit killed during a Fiend raid. Pretty sure he’s either a freelance mercenary or working with Raven now.”

Karl doubted that Hornet took off to become an independent mercenary. At least, not in a DF. DF units required one male and one female to operate properly. That would’ve left him with the RF units—shorthand for Rudimentary Frames—as those were much more affordable, and didn’t require an additional pilot to operate. But even so, there’d be no competing with a DF. The difference in ability and armaments was staggering.

“There’s no proof of any of that,” Carly said slowly.

“She doesn’t think Raven exists,” Sean said. “Thinks they’re too mysterious to be real.”

“I’m not having this conversation again, darling.”

“Read you loud and clear, babe.”

The conversation continued jovially, and as time went on, Karl’s nerves calmed. Sean and Carly played off one another like a couple who’d been together since they were kids, and that made it easy to talk to them. They exchanged playful quips and jabs, occasionally asking Karl what he thought, and he would try and answer them honestly.

Sean was a conspiracy theorist, that much was evident. He was convinced Hornet was a man who was still making a living out there, most likely joined the Raven group. Carly was more grounded and seemed to view things as they appeared, insisting he found some simpler job to make ends meet. Karl found it fascinating that they got along so well despite having polar opposite viewpoints on many topics. He attributed their strong bond to years of working alongside one another.

They clash on everything, but they take it in stride. They learn from one another. He pinched his chin. With some luck, maybe one day I’ll have something like this as well.

No matter what angle he attacked it from, he couldn’t think of a scenario in which he and Lilibelle got along similarly to how Sean did with Carly. Things had softened up since this morning, but there was still so much friction. Part of him wondered if he should’ve pressed Lilibelle harder after giving him his two week time limit. This wasn’t a contest. Lilibelle was much too intent on bringing the fight to the Fiends and wiping them out. Taking himself out of the picture, she’d be putting herself at considerable risk as well. He wanted them dead and gone as much as anyone else, but he feared her brash attitude would see her killed.

We’ve all lost something, Karl thought as he rubbed his earring between his index finger and thumb.

A red light flashed above them in the center of the cockpit. A humming noise blared in a sequence of three, and Sean and Carly dexterously engaged the system.

“We’re coming up on Zhutanach,” Carly said.

“Increasing thruster strength,” Sean said. “Things are going to escalate from here, Karl, so watch carefully.”

Karl nodded. “I will.”

“Disabling autoconductor.” Sean gripped a large lever that jutted out of the side of his console, pulling it back until it clicked. The central humming noise that had accompanied them until now descended in volume until it could no longer be heard.

“Readjusting energy distribution for combat.” One by one, Carly pushed the sliders on her console upward until they were each roughly halfway up. Micro adjustments could be made on a single percent sliding scale, but as a general rule of thumb, you rarely took the energy levels above half in order to conserve energy. It was important, not just for the flight back, but for any other energy-hungry maneuvers that might be necessary during the heat of combat. “Weapons armed.”

“Let’s get in there and do some damage.”

The cockpit shook with their descent. Karl looked up at the monitor, horrified to see what had happened to the village. At a distance, the village looked like a mat of splatters. Splotches and streaks of red and black led from yurt to yurt, many of which had been set on fire. It was difficult to make out the details from here, but the Fiends were undoubtedly still present.

Karl’s lip twitched as the memory of his mother being taken away by the very same creatures resurfaced as fresh as the day it happened. Fleshy quadrupedal creatures had dragged his mother away from him, with forelegs like sickles and serrated canines for teeth. He shook his head free of the image and drew slow and careful breaths.

“Bastards are still eating,” Sean said, clicking his tongue. “Any survivors down there?”

“No. No lifesigns are coming up on the radar,” Carly said.

“That makes this easy. Carly, get me the sizzler.”

“You got it, darling.” Carly flipped a bright red switch, and the DF’s arm hefted a large gun with a rust-red finish. A flame hovered inches away from the barrel, and Karl eagerly awaited to see what the sizzler could do as the deadly hiss of flammable fuel met his ear.

“Descending. Brace.”

No sooner than the words left his mouth did Sean take the DF down. The boosters whined with the sudden explosion of fuel, careening them toward the site. Half of Karl wanted to see what the Fiends looked like. Even among the grunt-types, they were as plentiful and unique as any animal in the wild. They were wicked and intelligent, displaying exceptional problem-solving abilities. Without a proper weapon, going toe-to-toe with even the weakest of the bunch was a fine way to get killed.

The better half of Karl won. The half that wanted to see them screeching and fighting to survive as they roasted to death. Any Fiend would be better used as charcoal. At least, then, they would be useful for something.

The seconds drew them closer, and Karl waited.

“Burn, motherfuckers,” Sean hissed.

Karl clenched the armrests of his seat as Sean and Carly guided the DF low to the ground. They approached the ground at an alarming speed, and Karl’s toes curled. A hollow hissing sound bellowed forth from the flamethrower, covering the bottom half of the screen in blue and orange flames. Sean carefully pulled two control sticks moments before they crashed into the earth, and the DF responded, rising back into the air. Sean gradually guided the sticks back to their neutral states, and the DF slowly halted its ascent.

Carly reached for a stick on her end of the room, and the DF turned around to face the village.

Karl gasped.

Hundreds of specks were scattered among the village’s remains, covered in blue flame. Karl counted less than a minute before the specks went still, the blue flames turning orange over time.

“Scanning for remaining Fiends,” Sean said. He pressed three buttons to his side. A wave of blue-green light swept over from the right, then back to the left. Six tiny blue-green nodes hummed onto the screen. “Six Fiends remaining.”

“I’ve never seen anything like that before,” Karl breathed. He might not have been in the driver’s seat, but it sure as hell felt like it. He swallowed the knot in his throat, wondering if something had made it harder to breathe or if it was just his imagination. “What makes it turn blue like that?”

“Only the purest of combustible chemicals,” Sean answered. “Let’s take the Sizzler offline, sweetheart.”

“You got it.” Carly flicked a switch beside her, and the flame disappeared from the gun’s barrel.

Strands of black smoke slithered into the air, creating a dark fog over the village. The Fiends had stopped moving almost entirely, and what few remained wouldn’t be any cause for concern. Grunt-class Fiends were eerily similar to ants; kill enough of them, and they’ll wander aimlessly without leadership. As far as Karl could see, the mission was accomplished and it was time to return to Deadeye headquarters.

“So, we’re done then, right?” Karl asked.

“Almost,” Sean said, returning his attention to the scene below. “Headquarters wants us to observe the remaining Fiends. It shouldn’t take much longer, but typically when Fiends die, they cannibalize one another out of desperation. Normally, we wouldn’t care, but there’s a working theory that it’s how some of them have been awakening to new abilities as of late. Not sure what the science behind that looks like, but we’ve been told to watch out for any strange behaviors.”

“So, we’re just sitting around?”

“Pretty much.”

Karl hummed, leaning in his chair and allowing his mind to wander. He was having a hard time figuring out where their duties were. Carly, for the most part, appeared to be responsible for the system’s energy and fuel reserves, as well as which weapons were online. However, Sean made no indication that he was able to move the DF in every manner. He was the one moving levers and sticks when they dove to attack the Fiends, but it was Carly who seemed to have adjusted the DF’s center viewpoint.

Sean formed a small ‘o’ with his mouth and exhaled. He turned his head to face Karl. “So, what did you think?”

“I’m impressed.” Karl rubbed his forehead. He was more than impressed, but he didn’t want to look like a naive and wide-eyed youth. He glanced between Sean and Carly. “So, who’s responsible for which tasks?”

Sean smiled. “Our strategy is a bit aberrant. Carly handles most of the weapon loadouts, and I handle the maneuvering.” He made an odd gesture with his hand. “Mostly. There are a couple of maneuvers that I leave to Carly, though.”

“Like what?”

Sean looked over his shoulder for Carly’s input.

“We’ve made so many modifications to our DF that many of the systems don’t play too well together.” She smiled while she continued to make minor adjustments to the central unit’s reserves. “Lots of older weapons have been installed, so it’s not as simple as Sean handling the energy reserves while I handle combat or vice versa.

“The weapons and central unit rotation is handled by lateral connections. They’re all interconnected, so I have to control the central unit’s point of view while Sean handles the limbs.”

“That sounds confusing,” Karl admitted. He was familiar with the technology, but he had yet to see it in practice until this evening. 

“It was at first,” Sean replied. “Took a ton of practice to get the hang of, but we were attached to a lot of the weapons we used.”

“And you couldn’t simply swap out for different grades or higher qualities?”

Sean shook his head. “Some of the higher grades were above our pay grade and would require too many modifications to the shell and core. May as well start from scratch at that point. It was made especially more complicated, considering we usually prefer heat-based weaponry like our little sizzler you saw a couple of minutes ago.”

‘Little,’ huh?

Sean pantomimed pressing a trigger with his index finger. “Weapons like that usually work off of traditional trigger mechanisms, so we had to account for who was going to control the hands and fingers of the DF as well. As you could imagine, that kind of complicated things.”

Karl nodded in understanding. “That does sound complicated. I can relate, though. I’m the one responsible for managing the system’s reserves and operations during the simulations with my partner.”

“Oh, well, now that’s a rarity. What’s the reasoning behind that?”

Karl frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, nine out of ten times, the guy is the one who manages the general movement and combat of the DF while the gal manages system resources.”

“Oh.” Karl suddenly felt very self-aware. He shrugged. “I feel better knowing that I’m in control of what my partner is capable of doing.” He quickly elaborated when he realized how controlling that could sound. “W-What I mean is, I prefer to play a support role. I like to think that I have a good sense of foresight, and I’m quick on the control panel. Besides…” He pictured Lilibelle’s face and tone. There was no way she’d ever surrender the combat portion of the DF. “My partner’s got enough bloodlust for the both of us.”

He cursed himself silently. That must’ve sounded extremely unprofessional.

Sean laughed. “Bloodlust, huh? That was the gal with the pigtails earlier, yeah?” Karl nodded, and Sean continued. “Yeah, she seemed pretty passionate about her role in this. But hey, Carly was like that when she was younger as well, and look where we are.”

“She was?”

“I was not,” Carly enunciated. “You’re the one who just razed that entire village.”

Sean shrugged, and Carly shook her head. “Anyhow,” Sean continued, “given time, I think pigtails will make a good partner. She looks like she has that sorta no-nonsense attitude, and well, someone in the partnership has to carry that role.”

“Thanks.” He fought hard not to let skepticism slip into his tone. “I hope so. Sometimes she worries me.”

“I understand how you feel,” Carly giggled. “Sometimes I think that if I don’t keep Sean’s leash tight enough, he’ll burn us alive alongside our targets.”

“Oh come on,” Sean said, rolling his eyes, “I’m not that bad. Just, uh, eager. Yeah, that’s a good word.”

“Darling. That is much too charitable a word for you.”

Karl smiled. Their camaraderie was infectious. He wanted to see what other weapons their DF had, wanted to experience the other maneuvers it was capable of, and see Sean and Carly at the top of their game. He had to remind himself that this was a training exercise meant to familiarize him with how the general systems worked and to help him understand the severity of a genuine engagement. Putting him in danger was not on their list of boxes to check. It may have been a ride-along, but this mission had been selected specifically because of its low risk.

Don’t let your ambition get in the way of your reason. They’re here for your sake.

Sean squinted. “Whoa, hold up. Carly, do you see that?”

“I do.” Carly’s tone was tinted with a hint of concern, and her fingers danced on her keypad.

Karl looked at the screen. The Fiends had stopped moving, but that wasn’t the weird part. A white spot under the ocean’s surface had caught their attention. It remained completely still and was a fair distance away from the coast of Zhutanach.

“Launching probe,” Carly said.

A small metallic orb was propelled into the air. It started in an arc, then slowly descended toward the beacon of light. Sean and Carly were silent the entire time. The former drummed his hands along the sides of his sticks while the latter guided the probe with a small nub.

What is that?

“I’m not detecting anything unusual,” Carly said. “Energy readings are normal. Life signs are also normal.” She shook her head. “Odd. We should be detecting something. Anything.”

Sean drew a deep breath, then slowly exhaled. A bead of sweat traveled down the side of his head. “Keep a weather eye open. Things could change at a moment’s notice.”

Karl wrung his hands. His heart was pounding, and whether it was his survival instinct or pure unadulterated fear, he got the sense that they really shouldn’t be here. An overwhelming wrongness enveloped him as he waited for something, anything to happen. It took everything he had not to plead for them to leave.

“We got more of them coming,” Carly said as she adjusted the DF’s viewpoint. “They’re crossing through the ocean and making their way into the forest on the coast of the mainland.”

“Damn it,” Sean hissed. “Ignite the flamethrower, Carly.”

“Sean, no. What about—”

“Our orders were to—”

Karl shut his eyes, and just as he did, a piercing shriek filled the air. His hands shot to his ears. The noise was so loud that he damn near thought the sound would shatter his eardrums. The central unit shook with a violent turbulence, and as he opened his eyes, he gasped.

Something had effortlessly cleaved through the DF, separating Carly’s side from theirs. Without Carly’s support, their side quickly descended, shaking Karl’s bones and brain so hard that he was certain they’d fly out of his body.

As Karl and Sean cried out for Carly, her portion of the DF exploded.