The Lab (5)
“Pfft… Tin Can, my ass.”
I couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh. Somehow, with just a Carebot’s processing unit and memory, it was pulling off the miracle of controlling all those machines—and still referring to itself as a Tin Can every time I cursed at it.
Beep! Bzzzt…!!
I manipulated the control room panel, expanding the lab’s radar detection range. The number of enemy hovercraft on the monitor started climbing. One… two… three…?
Fuck.
Did they hide a pot of honey in this lab or something?! Or… was that honey pot me?
“…Tin Can, you seeing this?”
> Apologies. I have no remaining memory allocated for accessing the lab network.
“What? So you’re just leaving the comm channel open?”
> Affirmative.
Jesus. Talk about a blind swordsman.
Not content with handling the hacking blocks and defense systems, it had no qualms dumping its eyes and ears on me too. It was treating me like a full-on rear operator, which pissed me off to no end—but at the same time, my heart was pounding because it finally felt like we were equals.
Yeah. You can’t treat the one and only Neo Haven conqueror like some damn princess…!
“Three incoming hovercraft. No other structures around, just sand everywhere… This has to be the wasteland sector, right…? …Don’t destroy one of the hovercraft. We’ll need it.”
> Acknowledged.
The moment I got the reply, I shoved the radar screen aside and jacked into the systems we needed right now. No time to dawdle.
Lab Defense System Damage Assessment... Damage Rate: 19%
Automated Turret Reboot Initiated
Passage Control Bulkheads & Plasma Barriers: Operational
“!!”
I let out an involuntary squeal of joy.
Corporate labs generally fall into two categories. One’s a prison to keep things trapped inside from getting out; the other’s a fortress to protect what’s already in. Even if this was the former, with damage this low, we could rain hell—but the turret count on the monitor screamed fortress.
Once those bastards entered firing range, we’d open the gates of hell…!
Beep! With a gesture, the lab’s outer tiles near Tin Can flipped over one by one, revealing the beautiful forms of the hidden turrets. A low whirrr—ominous to the enemy, reassuring to us—as the barrels spun up. Two dozen at least, all zeroed in on the approaching hovercraft.
“Tin Can…! What the hell were you so worried about with this overwhelming firepower?!”
> ...Miss Anastasia, please monitor remaining power levels. Dr. Makarovich overloaded the generators to devastate the underground levels. Resources will be limited.
“?! You little shit…!!”
It was true. The warning light in the corner of the monitor wasn’t alerting to enemies—it was the systems threatening to shut themselves down if we didn’t ease up.
With frantic swipes, I cut off every leaking emergency power source. Hell, I put everything but defense and comms into standby mode.
Remaining Power: 23%
“Ha… manageable…!”
Just as I finished prepping, the hovercraft barreled into the lab grounds like they owned the place.
But… something was off. I’d missed the attack window fiddling with power, sure—but why weren’t they firing a single bullet or missile? Just strutting in bold as brass?
> Enemy within assault rifle range. Commencing elimination...
“Hold up! Just wait a sec…!”
I reined it in before it dove into combat. Then, as the guys inside the vehicles disembarked in perfect sync, my question answered itself.
These weren’t Seeker troops. They had three Seekers embedded in them…!
“Hmph! Delta Sector lab’s running some drone models we haven’t seen. Status on the advance recovery team’s signal?”
“All stopped underground!”
“Not a defense glitch, then. Good. Everyone, advance! Secure the control room first!”
One Seeker in a full-face helmet and lumpy combat armor barked orders to the rest. Light armor with visors suggested they were security or backup recovery.
But these fuckers… Spotting the spotless lab entrance, the steadfast drones, the silent turrets, they dropped their guard and sauntered in. No hack traces, so they relaxed. But we’d been their enemies from the start!
“…Once they’re close enough, light ‘em up. I’ll back you up.”
> Acknowledged.
Clank! Clank…!
The drones stirred and leveled rifles—the Seekers snapped to, guns trained on Tin Can.
“...What the hell.”
> Warning. This is private property of Enama Corp. Unauthorized personnel will be terminated immediately.
“...What kinda shitty drone performance is this? Guard bot not even auto-scanning.”
> Warning. Holographic scanner malfunctioning. Non-compliance with ID verification will result in immediate termination.
“Haaah…”
The lead Seeker sighed deeply, then doffed his helmet, shoving his ugly mug forward for easy ID check.
“Enama Corp Seeker Barnes. Employee ID ECS-6549422. Happy now? Fuck off…”
> Thank you for your cooperation, Mr. Barnes.
Bang---!! Splatter!
Point-blank, the big-bore assault rifle punched through. Barnes’ head exploded like a ripe watermelon.
Self-aware AI is this dangerous—commit it to memory in hell.
“!! Contact!! CONTAaaaACT---!!”
“Fuckin’ hell!!”
Rat-tat-tat-tat!!! Boom!! Whoosh---!!
Guns blazed wildly from both sides. True to Enama field agents, their top-tier implants let them scatter for cover in a flash.
But my targets were the two remaining Seekers. The small fry couldn’t pierce Goliath—they’d get crushed by sheer mass.
Whirrr! One Seeker activated a turret behind cover. Even a monster like him couldn’t dodge drone fire from the side while fleeing elsewhere, I thought—
“Hng…!!”
Screeech!! Kaboom---!!
“!! What the…!”
He grabbed the barrel with one hand and caved it in. The jammed turret blew; so did my tempo.
Wasting this prime chance and power like that…!!
Remaining Power: 21%
“Shut up…! Tin Can!! Duck! One Seeker’s targeting Goliath—watch it!!”
> Acknowledged!
Rat-tat-tat---!!
A sweeping suppression burst on the grunts picking off drones one by one—sheared the arms off the idiots blindly firing back. Tin Can dove between Goliath’s legs to engage the warned Seeker—but…
Thud!!
“That fucker Barnes…! Dying to this!!”
> Eliminating...!
Crunch! The Seeker’s cannonball fist smashed Tin Can’s rifle away. But an eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth—the chainsaw from its back shredded his SMG.
Disarmed, the Seeker lunged.
“No!”
I could already see its skull pulped horrifically. Dodge already. Sacrifice an arm if you have to. What’re you gonna do if that barrel-bending arm grabs you…!
But wisely, Tin Can didn’t block with the frail Carebot frame. It commandeered a bigger, tougher body to slip the trap.
Thump!!
“Gahk---?!”
Fwoooosh---!!
To keep the other Seeker pinned, Goliath’s massive foot punted him skyward, then Hellfire flamethrower-roasted his trajectory. I plugged the gap with turrets fast.
Remaining Power: 16%
“Shit…! Goliath’s ammo! What’s left?!”
> 85mm rockets: 20 rounds. Flamethrower fuel: 4L. Rifle ammo depleting soon.
“RAAAAAGH---!! You fucking piece of shiiiit---!!”
His armor shrugged the flames, but not the flesh beneath. Black smoke billowed as the Seeker roared.
We’d started with a surprise kill, but things were going south. Most small fry were dead or twitching horrors on the ground—but so were our drones. Victory here hinged on overwhelming superiority.
Problem: They had two cyborgs. We had one Goliath running dry and turrets on their last legs.
……Time for a gamble. Attrition would burn our ammo and power before their implants overheated. Or the Carebot frame would shatter under fire. Even dodging both, Enama reinforcements were inbound.
“…Hey.”
> Comms still stable. Speak, Miss Anastasia.
…Still? I zoomed the front-gate camera. One of Tin Can’s facial scanners was cracked. Coolant leaked from its chest.
I bit my lip till it bled. Hiding safe in the control room, joystick-jerking like a game? That wasn’t equals.
“Don’t tank with your body like an idiot! Let one Seeker through into the lab…!”
……
I’d create the variable.