Bounty Hunters 3: Genesis

by Jasper77W

Chapter 10: Into the Barricade We Must Go!

"Fire on the infantry! Clear gate 021 so Team 1 can get in!" Magnum yelled, firing three round bursts into the crowds below that all turned out to be precisely aimed shots.

The enemy assault units didn't stand a chance- the heavy bullets tore through their armor, dropping them like poisoned flies.

"Sniper! Top left!" a member of team 1 said, hiding behind cover. "Can't get a shot- too much enemy fire!"

"Storm! Can you see 'em?" Magnum asked, concentrating fire on the assault units going after team 1.

"Ya. Over on that destroyed missile battery." Storm said, pointing out towards a blown-up AA battery.

Magnum was about to turn the 9mm meter around when a bullet from the sniper was shot towards her. Se quickly ducked down, and the bullet struck the 9mm cannon. It was from a high caliber rifle, tearing through the 9mm.

"Damnit! We lost our left support!" Storm shouted into the comms.

"Not quiet yet." Magnum growled, launching a heavy kick into the disabled gun. The metal snapped, and it swung down; broken.

Magnum grabbed the gun, then wrenched it off the ammo feeder with a loud crack. She pulled out the ACPW pistol, tapping a rhythm into a specific spot in the side. The weapon unfolded into a large sheet of metal, however the trigger and grip still intact. She placed the weapon over the remaining ammo feeder of the 9mm, and with a few loud clicks and whirs the sheet of metal transformed into a high caliber sniper rifle, the ammo feeder firmly integrated into the it.

Magnum quickly swung the gunship-mounted sniper rifle around, sending a bullet straight into the sniper from earlier. She then started unloading round after round into the enemy infantry, her almost infinite supply of ammo flying out the side as empty shells. Each time she pulled the trigger a heavy crack would echo around the insides of the gunship, and an assault unit would drop dead.

"Enemy drop ship reinforcements from the COLOSSUS!" Storm yelled as three drop ships landed on the surface of the barricade, fresh assault units leaping down from the quick deploy platforms.

"We can't hold off here much longer- the COLOSSUS is sending their reinforcements! Proceed with the objective!" Magnum yelled, unclipping her rifle from the ammo feeder.

"RPG!!!" Storm yelled, covering his head.

"What the hay-" Magnum turned around, just in time to see a solo rocket soar through space and towards her. The rocket struck the side of the gun ship, lighting up the darkness of space with a bright orange flash.

The side door of the ship broke away, flew across the passenger compartment and headed straight for her. She crossed her arms in front of herself protectively, tucking her chin into her chest. Then there was the impact, a solid metallic thunk as the metal collided with her suit. She was knocked off her hooves, flying back and out of the ship.

The world was a dull blur as she flew through space, no air resistance to stop her from tumbling on forever. Her back hit something hard, making a heavy clunk that soon faded into the distance as she quickly bounced away from that spot. She tumbled across the surface of the barricade, knocking down almost everything in her path. Finally her back hit something, and she felt it crumble under the force.

She tried to get up, her head swimming and her hooves stumbling around. The weightlessness of space only made it worse.

"Congrats squad leader." a member of team 3 said. "You managed to take out the last AA gun on your own."

"Wha...?" Magnum tried to make her eyes adjust, but they kept derping out of focus. Finally she could see properly, and she was looking up at the object she hit earlier. It was an Anti Aircraft battery, the side severely dented and obviously broken. "Huh." she said, checking her armor. A few scratches, but that was it.

"They should name bowling balls after you mare." Storm said.

"What the hell happened?" Magnum asked, the rifle still in her hooves. The loading mechanism disassembled itself, then pieced itself back together in a different form. She slammed a fully loaded assault rifle clip into the rifle, and it automatically adjusted its internals and was ready to fire in no time.

"We got hit by an RPG- the right door broke away, so now we can't pressurize. Altogether we'll have to ditch the ship anyway, but it's in bad shape." Storm said.

"Keep your guns blazing! Tell the pilot to be ready to eject any moment- and you all be ready to jump out and abandon the damn thing! In the meantime- go cover team 1!"

"What about you ma'am?"

"I can handle myself." Magnum said, sending a three round burst into an assault unit's head. The rifle wasn't powerful enough to penetrate the thick visor, but the three rounds all hit the same spot- and the final bullet took the lethal hit, taking down the unit.

Magnum started running towards team 1's location, marked out on her Heads Up Display, integrated into her visor. Enemy units were all over the place, the local defense systems coming to life. The barricade was just a criss-cross of gun and laser fire now, and in the chaos you couldn't even tell which bullet belonged to who.

Unless you're Magnum.

Magnum dove behind the remains of a destroyed missile launcher, sparks showering her from lasers that grazed the edge of the launcher and flew on into space. She flicked out a small touchscreen on her left arm, just behind the wrist and embedded into the suit. With a few taps she was able to activate the mirage device on her suit, concealed beneath three inches of heavy metal armor. A shudder ran up her spine as the suit instantly cooled, energy from the heating systems being redirected towards the mirage device. She crouched low, now nothing but a shimmering mass of air behind the shadow of the launcher.

She had plenty of ammo, but she knew it would be better if she could put those on reserve- something tells her she'll be needing them on the surface. She snuck behind a gate, the metal plates already moving aside. The assault units stood still on the rising platform, still yet inactivated. Then they all shuddered, all of their LED indicator lights flicking on. Their lowered heads raised, and instantly they charged into battle. Magnum snuck up behind one of them, tapping the barrel of her high calibre rifle against the back of its neck. Before it could turn around, she pulled the trigger- sending a bullet tearing through the weak spot in the unit's armor.

Magnum kicked down into the back of the unit's knee, sending it falling backwards. The anti-matter rifle came flying out of its grip, and she caught it before the unit itself had even hit the ground.

The other assault units looked around, but couldn't see Magnum as she was concealed by the shadow of a lookout tower. Then with several purple flashes, she had already blown five of the assault units to space dust. When they turned around, all they saw was a slight mass of disrupted light dart away and disappear once again into the shadows.

"Magnum- you're too far away from the deploy point! We're coming to pick you up- team 1 is already inside!" Storm said, and Magnum could hear his rifle blazing in the background.

"I'm in mirage right now- there're too many enemies near me!" Magnum said.

"Don't worry. We can see you on our HUDs." Storm said.

"Make it quick. I'm moving." Magnum said, darting out from the shadows.

Suddenly somepony hit her in the side, sending her flying backwards. She flipped through the air, her pistol leaving her hooves. She looked down at the assault unit that decided to hit her, raising its rifle. She quickly clamped her pistol between her back hooves, then hit the side of it with her left hoof strategically; causing the firing pin to trigger and send a bullet into the anti-matter rifle of the assault unit.

Magnum flipped back, catching the pistol in her front hooves and putting a bullet through the assault unit's head.

The group had noticed her presence, and were turning around. Magnum was about to charge forward when she noticed the distinct dot of light on the horizon behind them, slowly growing larger. She fired a few shots into the group as a distraction, backing away slowly. They returned fire, but Magnum's mirage device was throwing their targeting systems off- their computers couldn't properly find her.

The light spot on the horizon was a cluster missile launched by team 2's gunship, currently still intact. Then the thruster died out, and it started carrying itself by its own momentum. The outer shell broke away in quarters, falling behind as the main body sped ahead; revealing five smaller missiles inside the main carrier. Robotic arms extended out, clearing the smaller missiles from the inner and outer shell. With a loud hiss, the individual missiles' thrusters came to life, sending them rocketing away from the main body and in a swirling cluster.

Magnum covered her head as the missiles spun up like a tornado, then thin out and slam down like a hammer into the group of assault units. By the time the dust cleared they were barely in pieces.

"Get aboard!" Storm yelled, waving a hoof at Magnum as the gunship flew within range.
Magnum leaped up, the near-zero gravity here in orbit sending her flying towards the ship. She flipped in midair, landing hooves down on the underside of the left wing.

"Take us back to the gate!" she said, hopping down into the passenger section. With a loud hydraulic whir and click, she re-mounted the ACPW on the ammo feeder.

"Hostiles coming from gate 065." mid-ranger Anvil said, the shells from his blazing assault rifle drifting around in zero gravity.

The pilot pushed on the throttle, sending the ship sailing forward.

"Rain hell on these arseholes!" Magnum yelled, slowly depleting the ship's ammo supply. "Get ready to eject any moment- ship's not looking too good!"

"No, it ain't." the pilot said, jamming back the throttle. The ship jerked to a stop, the momentum almost flinging the passengers out the front. He yanked the joystick to one side, and the ship swung around in a huge arch; all guns blazing. There were thick trails of smoke left above the barricade as the pilot flicked all the switches for whichever missiles that still hadn't been fired, raining down destruction on the metal structure of the barricade.

"Enemy gunships- incoming! Three o'clock and roughly five miles away!" Anvil yelled.

"Storm- take that damn 9mm and shoot them down!" Magnum said, occupied with taking down the enemy infantry.

"Will do." Storm quickly got up, swinging his combat shotgun behind his back and grabbing the handles of the 9mm.

"Shuck- enemy fire!" Anvil yelled, covering his head as a series of bullets sent dents scattering across the surface of the ship's armor.

They could make out a few distinct bright dots in the distance, clearly missiles launched from the enemy ships because they could see trails of white smoke left behind them.

"Son of a parasprite-" Magnum cursed, swinging off the side of the gunship but still holding onto the ACPW. She stood on the edge of the gunship, the ACPW now pointing through the insides of the ship and at the missiles. With three precise bursts, she took down all three missiles. "Use that gun Storm!" she yelled.

"Might as well save the bullets for you squad leader." Storm said.

Magnum didn't reply, just shifted gears on the ACPW. With a few clicks, it rearranged itself into a gatling gun. She held down the triggers, and slowly it whirred to life. That whir turned into a roar as the six barrels began rotating at full speed, which then grew into a scream as bullets tore through the air at two rounds per millisecond. The full metal jackets ripped through the enemy ships' armor, tearing them to tatters. One remained, and fired everything it had at them.

Suddenly the screaming of the gatling gun died down, and Magnum looked down at the smoking ACPW questioningly.

"Shuck!" she yelled at the empty ammo feeder. She took the rifle off the ammo feeder, folding it into a pistol and placing it on her belt. She strode into the cockpit, leaning through the door. "We're out of ammo! Land now!"

"Affirmative." the pilot said, scanning the area for somewhere clear to land. "Damnit! Too many hostiles around- can't land!"

There was no point in wasting their own ammo. They'll need plenty for when they infiltrate the barricade.

"Team 1 and 3 are inside! Repeat! We are inside and engaging enemies!" a voice yelled through the mic.

"Good work teams! We're going in!" Magnum said, ducking down as a purple laser flew past her head.

"RPG! RPG!!" Storm yelled, pointing out at a fast approaching rocket.

"Jump! Abandon ship! Repeat- ABANDON SHIP!!" Magnum yelled, leaping out the side and tucking her body into a ball to decrease surface area.

"Holy mother bucking son of a-" Storm blurted, swinging out the side and followed by Anvil. The pilot slammed a hoof on the eject button, launching the windshield out into space with a loud hiss. This was followed by a loud bang as the seat was blown out, and he kicked off of it to get even further away from the ship.

The rocket made contact, hitting the gunship full in the side. It caused one of its engines to blow out, and the gunship went tumbling out of control; spiraling towards the surface.

"Buck-" Magnum yelled as the flaming carcass of the gunship came swinging back around, leaving behind it a trail of thick black smoke. She used her jetpack, giving her a small boost backwards. She flipped, now parallel with the surface. The spiraling gunship spun towards her, and she managed to fit through one side of the passenger compartment. She watched wide-eyed as the ceiling of the flaming ship passed before her eyes, inches away from her helmet visor. Then it was gone as she went out the other side, the ship passing by harmlessly.

Magnum quickly stretched her limbs out from her tucked position, as the ground was coming up fast. She heard a loud bang somewhere behind her to her left as the gunship went down, followed by a huge explosion that lit up the area in front of her with a deafening boom.

She activated her jetpack, the two thrusters flaring as her descent slowed. There was a heavy clunk as she hit the ground, landing firmly onto the metal surface. She heard several more clunks behind her as her team landed somewhere nearby.

"Make a run for the gates! Don't stop for anything!!" Magnum yelled, her mirage device already kicking in as power to the jetpack was cut.

She stilled had the anti-matter rifle she picked up, so decided to use it. The assault units tried to return fire, but kept missing.

"More reinforcements! Wait..." Storm peered at the open gate. "There's nopony there!"
"GHOSTS!" Magnum yelled. "LOOK OUT!!"

Suddenly she spotted a slight haze dart towards the oblivious pilot, and she could see the clear blade rise.

"Damnit- Watch ou-" she started, but as the blade was brought down, the pilot exploded into a pink mist with other organic and inorganic parts mixed in it.

It was still space, after all. The zero pressure outside had torn him apart the instant his suit lost pressure from the cut.

"Buck!" Magnum cursed, turning her attention back to her own safety.

Storm just ran through the crowds, shells from his shotgun and traces of gunpowder the only signs of his previous location. He ran up to an assault unit, launching a back hoof into its head and cracking its visor. He then brought the hoof down, slamming the unit down onto the ground. Before the next unit even realized what happened, he had already sent half a dozen shotgun pellets into its chest. It fell back, skidding across the floor and sending sparks flying.

Storm quickly ran forward, towards the gate. Suddenly he saw a haze out of the corner of his eye, and quickly dive-rolled forward. He heard metal strike metal behind him as the Ghost swung the blade down- now it was trapped, its sword stuck in the ground. Storm rolled onto his back, and fired a load of buckshot through the ghost's armor. It imploded into pink mist and a few floating chunks.

Magnum reached the designated gates- but they were closed.

"Gah!" she yelled frustratedly. "Hold them off and wait for the next wave!"

"Not sure how long we can!" Anvil yelled, quickly switching the magazine in his assault rifle.

"Pick up their weapons! Ours are a last resort." Magnum said, anti-matter rifle blaring in the darkness.

There was a loud click and whine behind them, and the gates started opening.

Magnum quickly turned around, taking down three quarters of the assault units before they even activated. Her team took down the rest, already getting onto the platform. Magnum swung down, landing with a heavy clunk. The platform began retreating into the barricade, the assault units standing on the edges and shooting down at them.

Anvil dodged right, a few laser bolts hitting the ground next to him. "Here come the ghosts!" he yelled as several hazes of air jumped down from the top.

Magnum's ears twitched as she heard a light clunk behind her, followed by the whoosh of air as the ghost brought the blade down. She didn't even look, just spun the antimatter rifle and clamped it under her arm, pulling the trigger and sending a bolt of antimatter into the ghost. She heard it explode in a dull but satisfying manner behind her, and swung the rifle back out again.

"GRENADE!" Storm yelled just as the gates were closing, pointing above them.

There was a loud clink as a metal ball was jammed between the two gates, a flashing red light on top pulsing with its eery beeps.

"Shuck-" Magnum cursed, activating her jetpack. She flew up, flipped in mid-air, and launched a back hoof into the grenade. It cleared the gates, going back outside where it came from. The gates slammed shut, and the explosion from the grenade was nothing but a dull thunk.

"That was bucking close." Storm slumped onto the ground, letting out a deep breath as the room pressurized.

"We've probably got ten battalions of the damn things waiting for us on the other side. Stay sharp." Magnum warned, pointing the antimatter rifle at a large door that was slowly rising out of the ground as they descended into the barricade.

They stood guard, rifles trained on the door as it slowly slid open. Inch by inch, light started pouring in through the crack. Then it fully opened, and nopony was there. Nothing was there, in fact; just an empty dimly lit hallway.

"Huh..." Magnum whispered, letting the tip of her rifle drop slightly.

"Looks like a trap to me." Storm said.

"Don't think we have a choice." Magnum said, walking towards the open door.