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Thirdborn: Awakening Ch. 2

Deviation Actions

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The smoke eventually cleared to the point that Nolan could see what kind of room she was in. It was a dimly lit warehouse, thirty feet wide and tall and so long she couldn’t see the other side. Still, there was enough light for Nolan to make out what was being stored: the artifacts from the crater.

Most of the artifacts were caked in rust and barnacles, but Nolan could tell that the colony had found a variety of objects. Trinkets, scraps, machine parts of all sizes, and even entire segments of buildings were arranged in tidy rows across the floor. Hard at work scraping way the oceanic filth were Cycle-4s, one-armed Susehpen units with their heads mounted beneath their solitary shoulder.

There were three objects that caught Nolan’s attention. First was a partially cleaned cannon near the back of the room, two stories tall, whose design Nolan had never seen in any Emorian base. The other two were about twenty feet away from her. There was a metallic box that seemed to be the source of all the white smoke and an open cylinder large enough to hold a person. Faint footprints led from these two objects to Kara, the Marba girl that was currently standing in front of Nolan.

“You know,” Chowski said to Nolan. “I think that just threatening violence would have been sufficient in coercing them to meet our demands.”

“Well, too late for that,” Nolan replied. “Also, what the hell should I do about this Marba in front of me?”

Kara leaned over until her face was inches away from Nolan’s. “Are you talking to someone?” she asked, still smiling.

“None of your damn business!” Nolan snarled.

“Oh. Okay then!” Kara darted around Nolan and headed towards the AI avatars.

“Sorry about all the smoke! The clothes maker blew up after I was done. Hope you don’t mind.” Kara said to Vorsch.

“Of course not. That was just a priceless artifact you just destroyed,” Vorsch said.

“Priceless? It’s just a clothes maker.  Well, at least I was able to get an outfit out of it. A marching band uniform, no less!” Kara posed in her uniform. It consisted of a long-sleeved, creamed-colored shirt with two rows of buttons running down the front, maroon briefs, and knee-length maroon boots. “So tell me, how do I look?”

“Um, lovely?” CeeVee said.

“Unable to answer,” Rankin said. “Our designated tasks to do not include aesthetic assessments of non-susehpen fashion”

“Meh, it was worth trying to ask,” Kara said to herself. “Say, you guys wouldn’t happen to have a mirror around, would you?”

A Mono-Blast, an octahedron-shaped unit with a chrome body and four limbs sprouting out of its top and bottom points, floated up to Kara. “Yeah, that’ll do,” said Kara as she tied up her hair. By the time she was done, her hair was in an elaborate hairstyle. Near the back of her head was a high-set red ponytail. Sprouting out of that ponytail was a smaller silver ponytail, and out of the silver ponytail sprouted an even smaller black one.

Nolan, who had been talking to Chowski while Kara was busy with her hair, approached Kara from behind. “You know, Kara,” she said.

“I’ve got two things to tell your. First, your outfit: it seriously needs pants.”

“Well, it is designed for acrobatics,” Kara said with a cheeky smile.

“Second,” Nolan said as placed her hand on Kara’s shoulder. With a swift motion, Nolan threw Kara to the floor face first. “I’ve got a few friends that would like know what a Marba like you was doing in an Emorian facility.” As she pinned Kara down with one knee, Nolan handcuffed Kara’s hands behind her back.

“Emorian facility?” Kara said with shock.

Nolan turned towards the AI avatars. “If you tin cans don’t mind, my squad and I will be taking our weapons back.”

A sudden flash of white light filled the room. When it faded, Nolan noticed there were two Susehpens in front of her. They were Rote-4s: headless units that rolled on a single wheeled foot and had mantis-like arms that ended in large blades. Nolan turned around and saw about a dozen more Rot-4s surrounding her squad, accompanied by a second TD-Grade. The AI avatars had disappeared.

“Request denied,” Rankin said sternly.

“Oh, you want to play rough?” Nolan asked. “Fine by me. Get ‘em, boys!”

“With all due respect, Miss,” protested one of Nolan’s squad mates. “These things did just steal our weapons.”

“JUST DO SOMETHING! We need to fight back!”

“We’re not upper guardsmen! The Emperor didn’t give us-!” The man was interrupted by a Rote-4 striking him in the arm, causing him to collapse in pain. The rest of the Susehpens closed in on the squad.

One of the Rote-4s next to Nolan swung its bladed hand down onto her head. It broke in half without even leaving a scratch on her.

“Seriously, do I have to do EVERYTHING by myself?!” she yelled as she sent the unit flying across the room with a single punch. She proceeded to do the same thing to the other unit.

Nolan turned around just in time to see the other Rote-4s push her squad into the shell of the second TD-Grade. She ran over to try and rescue them, but unexpectedly found her punch being blocked by a pink hexagon made out of light.

“Oh, so you’re trying to stop me, eh?” she said with barely contained frustration. “IT’S USELESS!!” She threw another punch, shattering the hexagon like glass. As the shards of light faded away, Nolan realized that the Rote-4s and TD-Grades had all vanished, leaving her alone with the Cycle-4s in the warehouse.

“What the…? Where the hell are you cowards?! SHOW YOURSELF!” Nolan yelled out. As if on cue, Rankin and CeeVee’s avatars reappeared. “THERE you are! Give me back my squadron or else!!”

“Or else what?” Chowski said. “You’re alone in hostile territory. You’re in no position to make demands.”

Nolan ripper her earpiece off her ear and held it directly in front of her face. “I don’t need your stupid advice!!” she yelled.

“Very well, I suppose there’s no changing the fact that this peaceful mission has just turned into hostage crisis.”

“It never was peaceful! In case you forgot, these things stole our weapons the moment we set foot in this scrap yard! No, they were stealing our stuff before then!!”

“Still, you didn’t have to stoop to their level of aggression. In fact, I feel that you were also excessively rough with the Marba girl.”

“Excessively rough? She is a Marba! You do not play nice with Marba!!”

“Um,” CeeVee interrupted. “Didn’t you want to talk with us?”

“YES!” Nolan shouted back. “I still want my crew and weapons back!”

“We have no obligation to obey your request,” Rankin said. “I will tell you that your squadron is still alive and that they and their weapons will be returned to your ship.”

“Oh, playing hard to get, eh?” Nolan chuckled. “Fine, I’ll play. I’ll rip this place apart piece by piece until I find my men and then I’ll-!”

Nolan was interrupted when Kara, who was still handcuffed, planted a diving kick squarely into the side of her head. It knocked Nolan off her feet and into a nearby door. She crashed headfirst into the door with a loud clanging sound before collapsing.

“Are you seeing what I’m seeing?” CeeVee asked Rankin.

“Affirmative,” Rankin answered. “It does not compute. That girl’s kick should not have affected Nolan the way it did.”

Kara walked up to Nolan. “Wow,” she said to herself. “I didn’t think my cheerleading training would translate so well into fighting.”

“You. Got. Lucky.” Nolan growled as she stumbled back onto her feet. She turned her head to reveal that the tip of her left horn had been broken off and embedded into her cheek, golden blood dripping out of the wound. “Really, REALLY lucky!!”

Nolan swung with all her might at Kara’s face, but Kara was quick to duck and return with a knee to Nolan’s stomach. This time Nolan didn’t even flinch. Kara stumbled backwards in pain, feeling like she had just kneed a brick wall.

“Don’t get cocky, bitch!!” Nolan yelled as she swung down with both fists. Kara rolled out of the way, causing Nolan to strike down on the floor. Surprisingly, she didn’t even scratch the metal plating.

“This makes no sense,” CeeVee said as she watched the fight. “One moment Nolan’s a juggernaut, the next she’s no stronger than Kara.”

“STAND STILL DAMMIT!!!” Nolan screamed as she continued to throw punches at Kara. Even with her knee hurt, Kara continued to dodge Nolan’s attacks with ease. Eventually one of Nolan’s punches struck a pipe in the wall, leaving only as small dent. Nolan’s stumbled backwards, clutching her hand in pain, giving Kara time to run away towards Rankin and CeeVee.

“Hey, would it be too much to ask you two for help?” Kara said to the AIs.

“Sure! Though I don’t what I could do, seeing how I’m a hologram right now,” CeeVee responded.

“Start by bringing more of your shield units to this location,” Rankin said.

“What? You saw how she smashed through my first shield!”

“I have a plan. Both of you follow me.” Rankin said as her avatar flew down the hallway. CeeVee’s avatar followed suit.

“I’m not done with you!!” Nolan shouted as she stomped the floor, causing it to ripple and knock Kara down. She then ripped another door out of its frame and threw the twenty-foot disk at Kara. Kara rolled out of the way, jumped back onto her feet, and continued following the AIs down the hall. “GET BACK HERE!!!” Nolan yelled.

* * *

On the bridge of his ship, Chowski reflected on how the situation was getting out of control. He always knew that Nolan had a bad temper, but normally her aggressiveness was useful in making sure negotiations worked in favor of the Empire. Yet as he could clearly see, it was useless against an opponent that seemingly had no fear. It baffled him that there were sentient life forms on this world didn’t realize the Emorian Empire was a force to be feared, something to be submitted to.

“Chowski, there are two objects approaching our ship,” one of the bridge operators said. Chowski could clearly see through the windows that it was a pair of TD-Grades approaching them. “Shall we shoot them down sir?”

“Not yet,” Chowski said. “They might be the units that captured our squadron. Send them a transmission to meet me on the main deck, but be prepared to attack.”
“Will do sir.”

* * *

A few minutes after receiving Chowski’s message, the TD-Grades descended onto the main deck of the ship, where he was waiting.

“I assume that you have the… goods that were stolen from Nolan,” Chowski said. “I hope it’s not too much to request their return.”

The TD-Grades opened up their shells and unloaded their contents; one was carrying Nolan’s squad mates, all dazed and confused from their ordeal, and the other had their weaponry, still stored in cards.

“Do not return,” one of the TD-Grades said in deep voice as the two of them flew back to the colony.

Chowsky radioed the bridge crew. “Get these men down to the infirmary ASAP.” He then sorted through the cards and picked up the one that contained Nolan’s drill. “Also, prepare a life boat. I’m going into the colony.”

“With all due respect sir,” a bridge operator said. “That second request is crazy.”

“Nolan’s still in there. I have to make sure she’s safe.”

* * *

For a while Nolan chased Kara and the AIs down the halls of the colony. As they progressed further into the core of the colony, the warehouse doors disappeared and the halls grew narrow and twisted. Eventually the hall opened up onto a platform on the edge of a vast chasm, a hundred feet wide and so tall one could only see darkness near the top and a pale light near the bottom. Kara was able to stop herself before she ran over the edge, only to turn around and see that Nolan was about to plant a foot in Kara’s face.

A pink hexagon of light stopped Nolan’s kick, sending her tumbling across the floor. CeeVee’s voice spoke to Kara through the octagonal shield. “Rankin and I will handle her. Just stay away from the ledge.”

“Ri-right!” Kara said as she made her way back to the hallway. CeeVee’s shield followed her, ready to protect her from Nolan.

“You things never learn, do you?” Nolan said as she got back up. “I’ll break that shield like the last one!” She charged at Kara, ready to punch.

“Get down!” CeeVee told Kara. Kara did so.

Moments before Nolan’s punch could touch with CeeVee’s shield, the shield vanished. Nolan tripped over Kara, and as she tumbled across the floor, an invisible force ripped through the front of her jacket and cut into her chest. A Rote-4 appeared in a white flash, Nolan’s blood on the tip of its blades.

“You cowards. You’re all cowards!” Nolan snarled, trying to keep her balance and composure. “What’s wrong, too scared to fight fairly against me, hiding behind shields and cloaking devices? You machines are pathetic!!”

CeeVee’s shield and the Rote-4 both vanished in a flash. “I hope you things know I can still HEAR you!!” Nolan said as she threw a punch. CeeVee blocked it with her shield, but Nolan was able to dodge the Rote-4’s counterattack.

“IT’S OVER!!” Nolan yelled as she charged at the Rote-4’s location, fully expecting to run into CeeVee’s shield. Yet CeeVee shield didn’t reappear, and Nolan ended up impaled through the shoulder by the Rote-4’s blade.

“It is indeed over,” Rankin said through the Rote-4. “We have figured out the limits of your abilities and how to –“

Nolan broke the blade and ripped it out of her shoulder. She then swung at the Rote-4 with a punch that it was easily able to avoid. Nolan tried to throw another only for CeeVee to trip her with a shield. As Nolan fell to the ground, the Rote-4 took an underhanded swipe at her. The blade failed to cut her but succeeded in knocking her to the edge of the platform.

“We know how to counter your abilities,” Rankin continued. “Surrender now before we resort to lethal force.”

Nolan got back on to her feet. “Surrender? Never! I will be leaving this place on my own terms and I will taking that Marba girl with me!”

“Fine,” said Kara as she planted a diving kick square in Nolan’s chest, knocking both of them off the platform. Kara’s fall was stopped by one of CeeVee’s shields, but Nolan wasn’t as lucky.

Kara watched as Nolan fell down the chasm. “What’s down there?” she asked.

“This is the main ventilation shaft of the colony,” Rankin answered as her avatar appeared next to Kara. “She will be falling directly into the ocean.”

“Yeesh. Is she going to be alright?”

“Possible.”

CeeVee’s shield floated back up to the platform. “Say, how did you manage to hurt her?” Kara said as she jumped back onto solid ground.

“Nolan’s ability can be only focused on a single object or person at any given time. While she possesses heightened strength and invulnerability when interacting with the subject of her focus, everything else will interact with her as though she has normal strength and durability.”

“Huh, that would explain a lot,” said Kara before realizing she was still handcuffed. “Say, you wouldn’t mind untying me, would you?”

“That would depend on how you answer my questions,” an AI avatar said as it appeared behind Kara and Rankin. This one took the form of a slender woman with long blue hair. Her body was the same color as her hair and featureless save for her face.

“M-matriarch!” CeeVee exclaimed as her avatar appeared next to Rankin. “What are you doing here?”

Vorsch’s avatar appeared behind the blue woman. “Sirene insisted on meeting the Marba girl in person.”

“…Matriarch?” Kara said as she approached the blue woman.

“Yes,” the blue woman said. “I am Sirene, matriarch of the Four Pillars Colony. I coordinate the actions of my fellow AIs.”

“Sirene… My name’s Kara Weslam. Nice to meet you!” Since her hands were tied up, Kara decided to bow to her new acquaintance.

* * *

Chowski navigated his boat between the legs of the Susehpen walker. He was following a ping on a holographic radar display and eventually reached the source of the ping: a half submerged Nolan, clutching onto the side of a walker leg with one hand while letting her other hand float limply in the water.

“You dropped your earpiece,” Chowski said as he dragged Nolan into his boat. “You’re lucky that we have tracking devices installed in our skulls.”

Nolan slumped up against the side of the boat. “Take me back,” she said faintly.

“As you wish. You need to rest after what you’ve been through.”

“No, the colony! Take me back inside the colony!”

“They figured out how to injure you. You’ll be useless without your drill.”

“I’m not done with them yet!”

“I know you lost to a Marba, but we need to put the mission before our – “

“I’M NOT DONE YET! I DIDN’T LOSE TO THAT –!“ Nolan bent over in pain before she could finish her sentence.

“Look, we can’t go charging back into the colony without a plan, nor can we do so without the Emperor’s permission.”

“Permission?”

“The Emperor never told us what to do if we ever found a live Marba in the crater. I’ve had the girl’s image and name sent to the DM Commission, so by tomorrow we’ll know how much of a priority it is to capture or eradicate her.”

“…Fine, I’ll wait.”
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