[x] "Ok, give them your flashlight. I'm more nimble, so I'll take point and draw enemy fire. You cover and guide me."
"If you think you can handle it." replied M16, unmounting her flashlight. She threw it to MP5, who caught it with a worried glint in her eye.
"Once you're clear, you'll take point MP5. Garand, make sure she doesn't take a wrong turn. FN-49, make sure you aren't being followed."
They all nodded, just short of saluting the elite T-doll. And short of hugging her too perhaps. They look up to her and M4, maybe the whole AR team as well.
"...Right then. Catch you all later. C'mon Veresk."
[ ] "Right behind you."
[x] "Stay safe you guys."
"Stay safe, Miss M16, Miss Veresk!"
"Don't get yourselves killed, alright?"
"I-I wish you luck!"
With your goodbyes said, you're off into the direction of the hostiles, taking the lead as you light the way ahead. Not having to worry about staying hidden anymore, you pick up your SMG grade mobility again as the water offers little resistance to your speed. You're not going too fast as to lose M16, but she isn't exactly slow. She is merely one grade slower than you, since assault rifle T-dolls are still very nimble. There's no area they fail in, nor is there one they outshine all others in. A Jack of all trades is what they are, highly adaptable and reliable. There are exceptions of course, but M16 seems to be good at pretty much anything.
"We're going right on the second junction."
You registered her instruction and did as you were told after you passed the two drones she shot down. They had the Sangvis Ferri trademark, a sleek and highly mobile design, equipped with weaponry despite serving as simple scout bots. It's hard to find any Sangvis design that doesn't come equipped with lethal force despite it not being it's primary nature. Last thing they need now it a self-destruct function.
"Stay sharp, Sangvis response time is fast."
You take M16's advice, checking every corner of your current cone of vision, expecting the reinforcements to show up any second. For your plan to work, they need to actually be chasing you, to be lured away from your allies. Best way to do that is to send some lead their way.
Suddenly, a flash. You see something reflect light from your flashlight, low to the ground, almost submerged but moving fast. Loud splashes as it's small frame hurled itself towards you. A single red lens is trained directly at you, and you fire. It was quick, dodging and weaving side to side, but you're quicker. It's size meant little armour, allowing your bullets to shred through it's mechanical inside, sparks flying. You do not stop your advance, even as you step over it's scrapped corpse.
"Dinergates." M16 remarked.
Another Sangvis Ferri design, easily recognizable by its boxy shape and stumpy little legs, but one shouldn't be fooled by its appearance, for while it is lacking in visual intimidation, it is very capable overwhelming the enemy by number, and tear them apart piece by piece. It's cheap production value makes it a very common unit to be encountered on the battlefield.
"Keep that trigger finger ready, those things always attack in-"
Your advance slows, and your aim stays fixed, as another flash catches your eye… and another… and another… quickly turning into the double digits.
"... hordes!"
Both of you immediately let your weapons sing, bullets flying into the group of small but deadly enemies. One would think a hail of bullets like that would hit something, and although it did, it was less than one would expect. Even in large numbers they're still quick and nimble, and avoid incoming danger even if they have to ram into each other to dodge it. M16 crouched and concentrated fire on the first line, making sure the ones closest don't get a chance to attack. It's effective for a while, but...
[x] "Reloading, cover me!"
[ ] "Reload! I'll cover you!"
The main purpose of Dinergate hordes being the first line of attack is to drain the enemy of resources. Even if only one bullet is spent per Dinergate, it's still one or two magazines per horde. And you didn't have much to begin with. You can't stop the attack until all rushing units have been eliminated.
"Seven… eight…… nine…"
Likely counting her killstreak, she's sharing the number of eliminated Dinergates with you for some reason. Or is it the number of new ones? They just keep coming… you yourself have…
[x] Eliminated 5 - 7 by now, with carefully placed shots.
[ ] Eliminated 8 - 12 by now, with moving bursts of fire.
[ ] Not been counting.
The Sangvis robots have started piling up, riddled with a hole or two each, throwing themselves into your gunfire like the canon fodder they are. But that's still all that they are to you, cannon fodder, a resource sink you can deal with that only makes what comes next more difficult. With the last of the horde down, you make one last scan over the tightly packed robot graveyard before reloading, M16 doing the same from behind you.
"That should throw them off their trail. Now we just gotta run."
That is all you needed to hear. Running is an SMG's specialty. You kick yourself back into gear, running over the scrap you two have left behind. Sangvis will not be happy with the losses it sustained here, and if you escape, they'll have no significant gain either. Someone at the top will be very displeased.
"Left."
You snap out of your theorizing to make another guided turn. You only hoped this wasn't where the horde came from. Otherwise you'll be faced with Sangvis' second attack line. In this area, they mostly consist of Ripper and Vespid units. Unlike most of the robotics you've faced so far, these are SF manufactured T-dolls, many of which you saw above at the time of the execution, standing guard and assisting the Ringleaders. Humanoid, they can match other T-dolls in some ways, though they lack intelligence and their independent action capabilities are low. Inside, they're still just attack drones with no sense of self. They are for the Ringleaders to point at whatever nuisance they want gone. And as with many Sangvis Ferri products, their strength is in their numbers.
"Right, then left again."
Ripper units have a functional resemblance to SMG type T-dolls such as yourself. Nimble frontliners. Though they can not be entirely called that based on their weaponry. Sangvis Ferri does not use commonly manufactured firearms to base their T-doll models on, and instead creates their own, not only removing any need for the etching tool since the doll and the gun are developed for each other, but they commonly utilize an entirely different type of firearm. Energy weaponry seemed to be the way of the future for them. You're not entirely sure how it works yourself, but they leave nasty scars, and should not be underestimated because of their flashy appearance.
"Left. Right at the nearest junction, then right again."
Vespids aren't that much of a different story. They aren't as durable, but come equipped with greater firepower. They're also more accurate, effective at medium ranges. One might compare them to Assault-rifle types, but they lack that high adaptability. Still, they are common, and caught of guard one could be easily overwhelmed if they're not taken out fast enough.
"Not far now. Keep heading stra-"
You couldn't quite keep listening, as you registered a round flying your way and engaged evasive maneuvers to dodge it. There was no time to turn it off either, only more came your way. You were forced to engage suppressive tactics as well as your fast advance, but it seems they were expecting you.
"Damn it! LEFT!"
Almost immediately, you dove into the nearest turn and let the wall soak up the rest of the fire, M16 with you. You continued, now on the runaway, not towards the enemy but from it.
"Now they're on our tail! Next turn… uh… right!"
This sewer was starting to feel more and more like an unnecessary maze. The humans that used to live here must've been really poor architects. You can hear gunshots behind you just as you reach the next turn, whizzing by you and M16. They seem to be aiming mainly for you, since you have the light source. M16 takes a couple of shots back while the darkness covers her, but they only served to suppress while you keep running.
The following couple of minutes were filled with a relentless pursuit, M16 guiding your through seemingly random paths, making you wonder if she's going on memory on instinct. Before, you had to work to get SF's attention, now they won't let you be. At least you can now fully focus on running and surviving. It's what your kind is best at anyway.
"Damn… we're never losing them if we just keep running... gimmie a sec."
You can't take too many looks behind you without looking where you're going, but she was taking something out of her pocket, and it wasn't a magazine. Looked like an explosive shell, typically used for under-barrel grenade launchers, but you saw no such gadget on M16's weapon. She gestures you to halt just as you two pass a corner. You'd rather not wait while it only takes seconds for the enemy to catch up, but she seems to have a plan. She put the shell into a large crack in the wall, then took something else out of her pocket. A tube shaped object with a pin. A grenade, the type of which you could tell by the voltage symbol. You can already tell what she's planning.
"Now we run."
You wasted no time getting back on track, and you didn't get far before you heard the footsteps of the attack squad on your tail. M16 had already pulled the pin and tossed the grenade backwards. Just as the Sangvis units round the corner, the lightning arcs into them, halting their systems and giving your a brief window of opportunity. You turn around, giving M16 all the light she needs to take her shot. And one shot is all it took the one eyed girl to hit her stationary mark. Under normal circumstances such a small amount of explosives wouldn't collapse a tunnel, but this was a rather old sewer with a cracked ceiling already. They were crushed but the collapse, or at least immobilized. Needless to say, Sangvis won't be following you through that way.
[ ] "Heck yeah!"
[ ] "Nice shot."
[x] "Let's keep moving."
After a second of admiration, you pick up the pace again. Even with them off your tail, there's no need to slow down. M16 guides you further, and eventually you notice a light at the end of the tunnel. You both rush towards it, the need for your flashlight slowly diminishing, until you reach it's blinding end. Once your eyes adjust to the light of day, you see you've been led to the city's outskirts, on the edge of a frozen lake, at the beginning of the forest surrounding the area. A place where the sewage once used to go it seems. You're pretty much in the clear now. Finally.
"Phew… we did it… good job, Veresk."
"Not so bad yourself, M16."
M16 gave you a smile and a laugh. The relief is intoxicating. You join her in this feeling, freedom. The scenery helps enforce it. The cool air, the light snowfall, the sun overhead… you can tell why people wanted to live here.
"... the others must've gotten out by now. We took the long route after all." M16 remarked. Her smile lightly faded though. She gave you a more serious look "Listen, I know we did good together, we made a pretty good team, but this is where we part ways. The AR team is still on a mission we have to finish at all costs, and for that we have to do it alone, by ourselves. M4 will say the same to the others. Don't worry though, I'm not leaving you in the dust. There's a Griffin outpost North of here at these coordinates, codenamed the Fortress of Solitude. If you head out now, you should make it there by sunset. They've got supplies and shelter, tell them you're a friend of mine and they should not turn you away. You should meet the others there too."
How do you respond?
[x] "Alright. Farewell, M16. I hope we'll see each other again soon." Head to the outpost.
[ ] "Fine. See you around, then." Lie, secretly follow M16.
[ ] "No. I'm coming with you, whether you like it or not." Insist on going with M16.
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