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And the boomers kept coming...
"What the hell is controlling them all?" Priss demanded, simultaneously hitting one boomer with ankle bomber and Vibroblade. As the hellish off-purple creature collapsed in a heap of scrap, Priss shot another of the C-70s with her shoulder mounted Rail-Cannon. As that boomer fell too, she caught a final glimpse of her Typhoon III motoroid before it was torn apart. All five of their support mechs were gone... just the five of them now...
"I can't tell!" Nene cried, crushing two of the encroaching boomers with a blast from her Sonic Blasters. "My sensors are being flooded. All I've got is static!" Nene dodged back as one of the C-70s lunged at her. She put a dense matter arrow through its head while waiting for her Sonic Blasters to recharge. As the boomer sparked and died, she whispered a silent prayer that she had traded in her lasers for a Railgun.
"We need to get out of this factory, into the open!" Linna yelled. She danced past several boomers, cutting one apart with her ribbons. The other she dived under, firing her Electro-Surge Injectors into a third boomer. As she slid under the boomer, the cords wrapped around its legs. Both boomers exploded in a convulsion of sparks as Linna leapt towards her next target, a shower of metal fragments flaring behind her.
"We don't have time to find an exit." Sylia said. "Besides, we have to shut these things down before they attack the Chang-Con building. Nene, I need that location!" Sylia was fighting off more of the C-70s with her machine guns and Plasma-arc blade. The sword-like energy weapon cut boomer armour like paper, but it was only close range. Between particle beams, monomolecular claws, and machine guns of their own, the boomers were quite capable of attack from a range.
"I'm trying!" Nene shouted back.
"Nene," Machie yelled over the din of his own machine guns, "Try augmenting your EM scanners with natural pulses from your Hardsuit's power source. I'll try to cover you!" The yellow mecha charged forward, taking the brunt of Nene's portion of the assault. His suit wasn't really ment for combat like this, but there was little choice.
"Roger!" Nene called, firing one last shot with her Sonic Blasters before taking them off-line. She rerouted the power to her EM scanners and armed her energy-economical Railgun to fend off the few boomers that got past Linna, Priss, and Machie. The static on her suit's screens began shifting spasmodically, then resolved into an image...
"Ohmyghod, Sylia!" Nene gasped, "I've got it! The control center is at coordinates 32 by 71 by 3."
"I'll shut them down," Sylia called, breaking off from the battle to follow the route Nene was transmitting to her. "Keep em busy for a little longer..."
"Sure thing Sy- Watch out Nene!" Priss screamed. Nene spun just in time to slam a Knuckle Bomber assisted punch into the boomer's purple face...
Mistake. Nene shrieked as the boomer's head, exploding at extremely close range, registered on her EM scanners. The flare shorted out her suit's HUD, as well as momentarily blinding her. Another C-70, spotting Nene, opened fire with its machine guns. Bullets sprayed against Nene's side, denting her suit and throwing her off balance. The C-70 spotted the falter and charged, its monomolecular talons raised for the kill.
"Die you bas-- oh!" Priss's words ended as she intercepted the boomer, throwing her body between it and Nene. The boomer kept going, shoving Priss into Nene, and smashing them both against the concrete wall of the factory. As the trio impacted, the purple boomer cranked its jaws open, deforming its own face as its Particle Beam cannon began to glow.
"Fuck you!" Priss managed, firing her shoulder mounted Rail-Cannon into its face. The C-70's head exploded as the dense matter arrow smashed the beam emitter.
"Oof!" Nene gasped as she felt several of her ribs snap. Flipping up her damaged visor, she glanced down at her side. Several deep bullet dents in her armour, and one actual crack where one of the boomer's claws had broken through. Only a flesh wound, thank god...
Priss was another matter..
"Holy Shit!" Nene cried at the sight of Priss' blood. It was all over both of their suits, coming out of holes that penetrated clear though Priss, from her chest-plate to her lower back. As the dead boomer fell away, its claws slid back out, evoking another spurt of blood from the holes in Priss' blue armour. Priss swayed a second, then fell back into Nene's arms, a noise somewhere between a moan and a string of profanity issuing from within her helmet.
Nene knelt, laying Priss down slowly. Then, diffidently, Nene pulled off the blue helmet. Priss' lips, nose, and chin were covered in crimson blood, and more was flowing from her mouth with every breath. There was blood all over, too much blood...
"... Nene... " Priss gurgled, "tell Leon... goodbye, for me..."
"Oh God, Priss, don't die!" Nene sobbed, "Please don't die..."
"'ts okay... you get my CDs... my demos," Priss managed, spitting out more blood and what looked like a shard of her ribs, "and Linna gets my bike. Don't... forget me, OK?"
"Ok..." Nene whispered, sobbing quietly. She put her arms around the Blue Saber, cradling Priss. Nene took Priss's left hand and gave it a light squeeze. She wanted to make Priss comfortable...
With a sigh, Priss closed her eyes...
Sylia paused, glancing at the door. This seemed to be the spot... Without another second's consideration, Sylia blew the lock open and walked in.
Within was a relatively standard looking computer console. Sylia stepped forward and began looking over the read outs. She had to find the emergency shut down for the boomers... the others couldn't hold out long...
"I should have sent Nene to do this..." Sylia murmured, sitting down in a rather tight fitting desk chair. Flipping up her visor, she placed her suit-covered hands lightly on the key-pad. Information flowed across the screen at her touch, taking her deep into the system. The factory plans, invoices, production schedules, and programming data sifted away to the control block of the computer. Sylia smiled and clicked the proper icon.
ENTER USER PASSWORD
"Damn..." Sylia muttered, plugging in her Hardsuit's computer. One of Nene's older algorithms attacked the lock, running test combinations at several million a second... slow by Nene's standards. Sylia was sweating heavily, wondering how the others were doing.
ACCESS GRANTED. PLEASE ENTER DNA CODE BEFORE PROCEEDING.
"That's odd..." Sylia said quietly, "its not requiring the DNA code..." Not willing to waste time wondering, Sylia began turning off the boomer army. Because they were to be shipped in separate containers, Sylia had to take them off-line in groups of twenty at a time.
So intent on her work, Sylia didn't notice the security camera in the corner of the room turn towards her. It was programmed to give the user five minutes to input their DNA code...
"Almost done..." Sylia whispered, "almost d-" Sylia spasmed as a pair of lasers cut cleanly through her suit, burned a pair of pencil thin holes in her chest, and blew up the console she was working on. Suddenly unable to breath, but not bleeding badly, Sylia found herself still sitting upright. The room, however, seemed to be moving erratically around her. As her oxygen starved brain began to shut down, Sylia managed to get off a shot at the camera. As it exploded, Sylia toppled over, her final exertion breaking the weak chair. Sylia never felt herself hit the floor...
"They... they've stopped." Linna observed quietly. Machie nodded, dropping a dead boomer from his Suit's vibro sword. They took a second to survey the destruction, then Machie paused.
"Where are Nene and Priss?" he asked.
"I... they were right behind us." Linna said, turning back, "you don't think..."
"I haven't seen them since Sylia left... and we were on the other side of the warehouse when that happened." Machie replied.
"Come on, that's right over here." Linna led off, several damaged servos whining as she moved faster. If not for the large carrier parked in the middle of the room, she'd already be able to spot anyone. Cutting her turn sharply around the carrier, Linna cast her gaze across the other half of the storage bay.
Linna blanched. "Oh Christ..." she whispered. A few feet away, neatly concealed by the damaged carrier, were two bloody figures. One was Priss... her abdomen and chest torn open. Her helmet was off, and the singer's beautiful face was covered in drying blood. From her color, and the simple fact that humans couldn't survive with that much blood loss, Linna knew that Priss was dead.
The second figure, however, wasn't. Nene was leaning against the wall, her arms around Priss's still body. Nene's right hand still held Priss'... still offered comfort. Nene's own suit was bloody, but it seemed to be more of Priss'. A few pockmarks showed where Nene's own injuries most likely lay. The youngest Knight Saber had pulled off her helmet too. Tears streaked Nene's face. She was still sobbing quietly, a look of utter desolation contorting her features.
Linna stood still a moment, afraid to approach. Some part of her had always known this day would come, but she didn't want to accept it. One of her best friends was gone... dead... Linna closed her eyes, pushing the swelling sadness down, deep, to the bottom of her psyche. Priss was gone. That was that. Priss, Irene, the only man she ever loved, her parents. Their loss was something for her to deal with in private. Never let the world know when it won...
"Its okay, Nene..." Linna whispered, kneeling next to them. "She... she would have wanted us to go on without her..."
Nene looked over, catching Linna in a cold stare. A sudden icy terror gripped Linna's heart as she fell into that gaze.
"Sylia's dead..." Nene whispered, "her life readings... just stopped...." Nene paused, choking on her words. "Its all over..."
"...no..." Linna choked. In a second, she was up and running. Machie, who was limping slightly and couldn't activate his jets, started in suprise as she shot past. The map Nene had produced with her EM scanners earlier appeared on her HUD. A few seconds later, she arrived at the ruins of the door.
Linna pulled off her helmet and walked in, choking back incoherent sobs. Sylia lay motionless on the floor, two small holes in her chest. Her skin was pale, more so than usual, and her eyes were staring blankly at the ceiling.
Linna collapsed in the doorway, sobs wracking her body. All at once, the barriers in her mind fell. Everyone she lost over the years came flooding back to her. She could see Irene's face... see her parents and old friends, dead for years. She could see Sho, the man who's proposal she had turned down because she wasn't ready... the man who was killed in a boomer incident a day after. The long maintained mask crumbled into dust as her entire world fell apart. "Nene was right..." she sobbed, "there's nothing..."
"You're wrong." Machie said, a hard edge to his voice. Linna glanced up at the teen, who had ditched his suit somewhere along the line. Machie was staring at Sylia's body, his eyes taking on a cold, icy look. "Its not over. We're going to keep fighting. My father's work will not be the cause of humanity's destruction. If you won't fight, then I'll find those who will when I replace Priss. I have all the designs... hell, I built half of these suits. The Knight Sabers will go on... as long as I live, we will go on."
"Machie..." Linna whispered.
"Help me with her body." Machie said, stepping over Linna's leg. "We need to get Priss and Sylia back to the Lady 633... I'll use Sylia's codes to get into the data base. I'll have two of the reserved plots opened..."
"You... you're serious..." Linna murmured, "How... how can you be so cold?"
"Runs in the family." Machie replied...
"Late night?" Daley asked as the door closed. He was trying to salvage some of the meal... trust Genom or Gulf Bradely or Zone to cause trouble the night he made stroganoff. "Nene, you all right?"
"Daley..." Nene said, walking into the kitchen. Daley spun to face her. Something in her voice sounded... dead.
"Oh lord, Nene..." he whispered, seeing her. Nene's eyes were blood shot, and her side was in a cast. Her cheeks were pale and adorned with several Band-Aids. Even her normally flamboyant hair was laying flat and lifeless. "What happened?"
"I... I need you to go get Leon." Nene said quietly, "Now. I'll... I'll explain when he gets here."
"Its Priss, isn't it?" Daley asked. Nene's eyes dropped, and her head nodded slightly. "I'll be back in fifteen minutes." he told her, grabbing his coat and dashing out the door.
Nene walked into their bedroom and flopped into the bed, burying her face in one of the pillows. She curled up in the comforter and started crying again.
"Why did that idiot do it?" she moaned into the pillow, "It should have been me... it should have been me..."
"How did she die?"
Nene wiped her face for the nth time, and adjusted her position on the chair she was in. Nothing felt right... nothing was right. She could feel Leon's eyes drilling into her, waiting for the answer she didn't want to give.
"Priss... she saved my life." Nene began, trying not to descend back into choked, incoherent sobs. Daley gave her a reassuring squeeze... it helped a bit, actually. "She... Priss jumped between me and a boomer... it had monomolecular claws, like the C-63 series. It... she took them in the chest... and ba.. and bleed to death in my arms."
Leon sat quietly, unnaturally still. His fists were clenched, to the point where his own fingernails must be about to break the skin of his palm. Hit eyes stared at her coldly, and icy fire burning behind his blue corneas. For a moment, Nene thought Leon was going to hit her, but he kept still.
"She... she told me to tell you 'Goodbye'." Nene said, desperate to get those eyes off of her. It worked. Leon glanced up, looking Nene in the eyes as his hands unclenched. The fire was gone, replaced by shock.
"That's it?" Leon asked, "'Goodbye'? Not, 'I'm Sorry', or, 'I Love Him', or 'I'm Gay', or 'Should have screwed him while I had the chance', or something more that Goodbye?"
"No... that was all..." Nene said, "I'm sorry..."
Leon leaned back and laughed.
"That's my Priss," he said, chuckling, "Whatever the hell she thought about me, I'm never gonna know now. Priss has managed to give me the brush off posthumously! Now that's comedy..."
"Leon...?" Nene asked, "Are you okay?"
"No, but I will be." he said, standing up. Leon pulled his sunglasses from his pocket, opening the ear pieces with a flick of his wrist. "See ya around, Nene-chan." he said. Placing his glasses on his face, Leon turned and walked out.
"Do you think you should go after him?" Nene asked, glancing up at Daley.
"I think he needs some time to let it all sink in..." Daley commented uncertainly.
"I... I just feel..." Nene began, stuttering, "that look he gave me... I..."
"Speaking of sinking in..." Daley murmured, putting an arm around Nene. Slowly, he helped her up and led her to their bedroom. Together, they sat down on the bed. "Talk to me, Nene."
"It was all my fault!" Nene moaned, burying her face in his shoulder, "If I hadn't been stupid, had been watching what was happening and where I was going, Priss would still be alive! Hell, I should have gone to shut the boomers down myself! Sylia didn't know the loop the security systems or cover her tracks with feedback junctions. If I had gone instead, Sylia and Priss would be alive!"
"You can't know that," Daley told her quietly, "and neither could they. Both did what they had to... and both would do it again. It was Sylia's military decision to go herself, and it was Priss' choice to jump in front of that boomer. Don't second guess them now, Nene. It does no good. Just... just treasure their memories."
"Wow..." Nene murmured, "For a cop, you're sure good with physiological bullshit."
"I try." Daley said, caressing the underside of Nene's chin. She gazed up into his eyes, her own emerald eyes glistening. Then she looked away, distracting herself with whatever was outside the bedroom window. Bricks. Fine.
"I... I need some time... something..." Nene whispered, focusing on the bricks.
"Okay." Daley said, standing. With a final squeeze of her shoulder, Daley stepped out of the room. Alone once more, Nene lay down on the bed covers and pulled them up around her. She felt cold... so cold...
"I wish you had taught me how to do this, sis..." Machie whispered, stepping into the data room. He carried two data units with him... one was Sylia's will. The other was Sylia's most cherished possession... the disk their father had sent to her. The infamous Disk Two which she had never let him look at. No one, not even the other Sabers knew it still existed.
Machie sat down in the control chair, his head between the trasmitters. This isn't so hard... Machie thought, reaching over to plug in the first data unit.
The rooms disolved suddenly. Machie felt sickening lurch of weightlessness as a black void formed around him. He felt himself falling... falling into a dark abyss...
Then it was gone. Machie was standing... no floating in some kind of liquid. A woven patern of information lay all around him, making up the very 'liquid' he was emersed in.
"Hello Machie." a voice said. Sylia's voice. Machie watched as his sister formed before him, phasing out of the infinite data. "First off, you get everything I own. The both businesses, the suits, the Knight Wing, everything."
"Second, you get that which I don't own... but that which owns me." the image of Sylia continued. "Plug in the other disk... I will guide you thought it."
Outside the sea of the database, Machie's body moved. His arm plugged in the second disk... "Disk Two"... into the console. Then, Machie's body lay still, a hair's bredth from comatose.
An hour later, Machie emerged from the room. In his hand, he held two data-units. One was "Disk Two". The other was new... his own will. He placed them both in the secret place Sylia had used.
His calm features steady, Machie walked to the phone and dialed the equipment bay, where Linna was still getting cleaned up. Unlike Nene, Linna didn't have anyone to go home too.
"Yes?" Linna asked, her voice almost back to its usual cool.
"I need to talk to you, Linna." Machie said softly, "Now."
"Be right up..." Linna replied...
"How can you ask that?" Linna demanded. In the hours since Sylia and Priss' deaths, her calm exterior had returned. Sylia and Priss were just two more dead in her life.
"We need at least four Sabers, Linna." Machie said coldly, "And Vision is our best bet." Machie was standing behind Sylia's chair... the chair Sylia sat in during meetings. Linna wondered if it would ever be anything to her other than "Sylia's chair."
"But..." Linna protested, "what kind of life would she have? And what about her singing?"
"Priss sang."
"Priss died." Linna shot back.
"Just talk to her Linna!" Machie snapped, "We lost Priss and Sylia saving Chang-Con. They owe us."
"You heartless bastard!" Linna yelled, thumping Sylia's coffee table.
"I'll make you a deal," Machie said with a sigh, "Ask her. If she says no, that's that. If she says yes, she will be a temporary member till you and I can find a replacement for Priss."
"Who's replacing Sylia?" Linna asked, "That's twice you have mentioned replacing Priss... who is taking Sylia's role?"
"You and me." Machie replied. "It was in her Will... I'm in charge of the Suits, equipment, and the Knight Sabers as a business. You're tactical leader. When we fight, you're in charge."
"You... you've gotta be kidding..." Linna breathed, "I can't... it wouldn't be right..."
"I'm not a fighter, Linna. I'm a kid who builds stuff. Nene is our muscle and our eyes. That leaves you in tactical. You are the only one of us who can take over for Sylia. Think about it from a combat point of view, Linna. You and Nene aren't enough. We need another Saber, and you know it."
"But..." Linna shook her head, "All right, dammit... I'll talk to Vision. No guarantees about her response, though!"
"Thanks Linna." Machie said. For a tiny moment, the cold that overtaken him was lifted and Machie was a kid again. The innocents he had lost over the last two years poked its wary head out of its hiding place and looked around. Then it was gone, and the cold mask returned.
Linna nodded and walked to the door. "You'll do your sister proud." she whispered, turning the handle and walking out of the apartment.
"You're kidding, right?" Reiko asked, glancing up at her friend. Of all the responses Linna had been considering, the grin on Reiko's face was the most unlikely.
"No... we need you to replace Priss... Saber Blue." Linna said softly. "Priss and Sylia died last night fighting boomers that were going to attack your local factory."
"Oh, Linna, I'm sorry to hear about your friends," Reiko said, "But... yes, I'd love to join you. I've been dreaming of becoming a Saber since I got back here."
"But... I thought you had given up on revenge." Linna said.
"I know, but... what you told me on the pier... I don't think I can live that way. Not yet. Maybe someday I'll be able to settle down, but not right away. Managing grampa's factory here has gotten so boring... cutting my new album doesn't require me much of the time...."
"Are you sure you really want to do this?"
"Absolutely!" Reiko said, grinning.
"Then welcome to the Knight Sabers." Linna said diffidently, a sigh issuing behind the words.
"Oh, there's someone else who might be interested in this... since you need two." Reiko said, picking up her phone.
"Who?" Linna asked uncertainly.
"Cassy." Reiko flipped the phone open and dialed a five digit number. After a moment, a woman walked in the door, her pager beeping.
"Cassy... Cassy Smith the Sexaroid?" Linna asked in a hushed voice. "I mean, ya, she knows about us, but..."
"What's up, Reiko?" the young, and rather stunning woman asked, sitting on the sofa, "Oh, konnichi wa Linna! Are we going out for Brunch?."
"Not yet, Cassy..." Linna said, sighing.
"What's wrong, Linna?" Cassy asked, her grin fading, "You sound upset..."
"Cassy, last night two of the Knight Sabers were killed." Reiko said, filling the girl in.
"Oh, I'm sorry Linna!" Cassy gasped, "I know what its like to lose a friend."
"They need to replace them, so they can keep fighting the War." Reiko continued, "I've decided to join... and I thought you might like some revenge too."
"Genom killed Jason... and Zone makes slave boomers. Legal sexaroids..." Cassy said, a dark tone to her voice. "Ya, I want to join. Someone's gotta fight this dammed war."
"You'll have to train... and Machie will have to build Suits for you..." Linna said. The conversation seemed to have taken on its own life...
"Of course." Reiko said, helping Linna up. Linna hadn't known she was going anywhere... "Lets get started! I can't stand this stuffy mansion much more!"
"I'll tell Kou that you're going to train with some experts." Cassy said, flashing Reiko a wicked grin, "He'll be so pleased, he won't think to ask about why!"
"Great Cassy!" Reiko said, "meetcha outside, by Linna's car!"
"Cassy, Reiko, Nene, Linna... I'm glad you could all come tonight." Machie began, leaning in his customary place, against the back of Sylia's chair. "First off... tonight we're going to begin training Cassy and Reiko in their new suits. Both of you have done well in the simulators, but this is something different. Good luck, and remember that Nene and Linna are with you. If you have any trouble, ask them. I'll be monitoring from the Knight Wing too, just in case."
"Sounds good to me." Reiko said, a cockeyed expression playing across her face.
"Good. Then Knight Sabers... Suit up."
"Yeehaaa!" Reiko yelled, leaping off the side of a building. Her orange and yellow suit was certainly getting a work out tonight. A few steps behind her, a violet suit with red trim crused on its jets. Machie had improved their design again, making Cassy's suit faster than Sylia's had been. To make their training easier, Machie had started off installing more conventional weapons like Machine guns, Vibro-blades, Railguns and Knuckle bombers. It seemed to work; Reiko and Cassy were taking to the suits very quickly.
"Cover your back!" Nene instructed, taking a pot-shot at Cassy. Her sonic blasers were set to lowest power, only enough to create a sonar-ping when it impacted. The Violet Saber spun around, dodging most of the blip and taking the rest in a non-essential area. "Good reaction!" Nene called. Linna and Machie had gotten two talented women... Vision was very aggressive and Cassy was very graceful. They worked well together, and with the rest. Nene and Cassy hit it off back in the simulators, and Vision... (Nene scolded herself mentally) Reiko had gotten even closer to Linna than the pair had been before. Just like the old days... they were becoming friends.
"You guys are looking good out there." Machie said over the intercom that connected their suits. Nene nodded, then opened a private channel to the Knight Wing.
"Hey Machie, think its time to turn up the heat a bit?" she asked.
"Ya... I think they're ready." he replied. Then, going back to the intercom, he added "I'm picking up something odd heading your way. Look sharp people."
Nene glanced around, then spotted the drone. It was a 57-C, one of several Sylia had come across way back when. They used them to run field tests on new suits... and new recruits.
"Boomer at 6 o'clock." Nene reported, "C class... no other information."
"Right!" Vision er, sorry. Reiko! said, turning heal an heading back towards Nene's position. The pink Saber grinned...
"I'm getting multiple signals!" Machie yelled.
"Ah shit!" Reiko yelled as another 57-C popped up a few meters in front of her. While her boomer sat idle, Nene watched Reiko fight. The woman's first instincts seemed to be for, of all things, hand to hand combat. Forgetting her Knuckle Bomber, Reiko punched the boomer in the gut. It batted her away, and took a few shots at the orange Saber with a heat blaster. Reiko dodged, not knowing that the beam was set low enough not to harm her. Remembering her weapons, Reiko fired off her machine guns.
Her aim was better than her memory, it seemed. The boomer recoiled as several bullets hit its head. However, its armour kept it from any real harm.
Again, Reiko dropped in close. This time, however, she used her weapons. She sliced one of its arms off with her Vibro-sword and punched its gut with her Knuckle Bomber. The boomer staggered back, severely damaged. Reiko flipped open her Railgun and put several Dencematter Arrows into its face, killing it. The boomer collapsed in a heap of scrap.
"Take that you metal bastard!" Reiko shouted. Nene smiled, then nodded to her boomer. With Machie controlling it, Nene allowed the boomer to knock her down.
"Help!" she shrieked, trying to mimic what she sounded like before Nikira and her Sonic Blasters turned her into a warrior. It returned alarmingly naturally...
"Nene!" Reiko shouted, spotting the Pink/Red suit. She surged forward, guns ready. Nene felt a sigh coming on even as she struggled with the boomer... Vision reminded her alot of Priss...
"My weapons are down!" Nene shrieked, "I don't wanna die!"
"Get OFF Nene!" Reiko screamed, kicking the boomer in the face with an Ankle-Bomber. It stumbled back, damaged and momentarily stunned. Nene, playing her part still, scrambled up and back, arming her own weapons.
"Thanks!" she shouted, "Now lets get this bastard! You hang here while I distract it, then you do a combination Knuckle Bomber/Machine Gun on it. Got it? Good." On her word, Nene feinted left and fired a few shots at the boomer's feet to get its attention. Machie took the signal and put the boomer on auto.
"Die motherfucker!" Reiko shouted, jumping forward and slamming her fist into the Boomer's back. As the Knuckle Bomber blew through the armour, Saber Orange opened her hand and fired her Machine gun into the boomer's guts. It died almost instantly, spraying brown fluids all over.
"Good shot!" Nene said with honest conviction. Reiko was good... very good. Must be all that time running that spider looking mecha...
"Cassy's finished her boomers too." Machie reported to Nene. She smiled. Things actually seemed to be working out...
"Wanna head back to the barn?" Nene asked Machie over their private line.
"Sure... waitaminute..." There was a pause. "Oh crap! I've got six signatures heading your way. These aren't mine, Nene... they look like 75-Cs. You need to pull out fast!"
"Roger..." Nene said, then paused. Fighting these old boomers was fine, but what Reiko and Cassy needed was a real situation... "Hold on, Machie. Linna, are you reading me?"
"Loud and clear." Linna replied.
"You think Reiko and Cassy are ready to take on the real thing?" Nene asked, "I think we can handle six... and Machie's got back up if we need it."
"You wanna see what they've got, huh?" Linna asked. "All right. Lets do it. Machie, patch Cassy and Reiko in and tell them what's up."
"Gotcha Linna." Machie said, sounding a tad tense. Nene could understand... she felt a bit tense herself. This was it...
"Hey Machie, how about some music to fight by?" Nene asked.
"If you insist..."
"We've got boomers at 3 o'clock! Six C class... in groups of two."
"We'll take them a single group at a time, unless they break..."
"Keep your weapons hot... don't let them cool, they might stall."
"Knight Sabers..."
My heart will sing (will sing)
this melody (melody)
you can not forget (forget)
what it means (what it means)
Until I understand you more than I do now.
No, Never the End.
Ohh ohohoh... Ah-oh oh-ohohoh...
No, Never the End...
"Sanju!"