MTLNOVEL Chapter 8: Space struggle
"Anomaly! Cease this madness and come with us!" Seraphine bellowed, her voice distorted by static as it echoed through Astra's mech. Her hands gripped the controls, knuckles white, ready to blitz away at the slightest opening. Sweat trickled down her brow as she panted like a cornered animal.
Through the mech's lens, Astra saw officers closing in, their machines glinting like phantoms in the abyss. Stars framed the scene like a celestial arena, mocking her isolation. Their police mech loomed over her, their dark blue armor. Stripes of neon yellow ran down its limbs, their reflective sheen catching the faint light of distant stars, outlining small circular indents on their metallic forearms.
[WARNING!]
[Fatigue evident. Brain overloaded! Body will shut down momentarily.]
[Countdown: 10:59...]
"Shut down?" Astra murmured, her voice faint as her grip tightened. Her vision blurred, and Yu's worried gaze flickered at the edge of her periphery.
[Affirmative!]
[The unnatural noradrenaline intake is straining your brain. Rest is advised.]
"Override it," Astra rasped, forcing her breath into words.
[Denied. Countdown continuing: 10:38...]
"Override it now!" Her voice cracked, a spark of defiance amidst the haze.
[Denied...]
"Anomaly! I command you to surrender!" Seraphine's roar thundered through the comms, her tone sharp enough to cut through steel. Astra remained silent, her grip tightening on the controls, jaw clenched in defiance. Seraphine's patience snapped like a brittle wire. "Very well..."
"Men! Shoot her down!" she barked.
A split second later, the void erupted with chaos. Cannons powered up with a bone-rattling hum, and then the black abyss was awash with a symphony of searing blue light. Beams streaked through the darkness, converging on Astra's mech with relentless precision.
"Hey! Activate the thrusters!" Astra shouted into the deafening silence of her cockpit, panic creeping into her voice. No response. The cockpit rattled violently as the first wave of energy blasts slammed into her shielding, sparks bursting across her console like electric fireworks.
"Shit! Really?!" she hissed, her breathing shallow and rapid. Her hands flew to the controls, yanking them with everything she had, trying to wrench the mech free from the fiery cascade. Every impact sent tremors through her body, the vibrations pounding in her chest like a second heartbeat.
Astra's mech groaned under the assault, its thrusters sputtering weakly in protest. Alarms screamed in her ears, warning lights flashing like a desperate plea for salvation. She pushed harder, her muscles straining as if sheer will alone could drag the machine out of harm's way.
And it was as if the stars began to blur, the mech itself moving as fast as it could to avoid the punishing blows.
"Trying to run again wont work—" Seraphine hissed, her hand sliding over a map that showed her men and the statuses of their mechs, she highlights four out of the fifteen, her words sharp but clear. "You four, pursue her, everyone else keep firing!"
At the drop of her words four of them blitz after her, maneuvering through the shots of their partners while flying after Astra. Their hands coated in energy as sharp as the finest of blades.
[Countdown: 6:10...]
The mere sound of the notification boiled her blood.
Astra gritted her teeth, her eyes narrowing as her mech surged forward, thrusters flaring brighter with every ounce of power she forced into them. The sound of the countdown echoed in her head like a death knell, growing louder, more insistent, even as she pushed herself beyond the breaking point.
[WARNING!]
[Remaining shield integrity: 42%.]
[Energy core at critical levels.]
"Shut up," she growled, her voice hoarse. Sweat dripped from her temple, stinging her eyes, but she refused to blink. The stars outside her cockpit streaked past as she weaved through the onslaught of fire, the mech groaning with every evasive maneuver.
Behind her, the four pursuing mechs moved in unison, their sleek forms cutting through the void with predator-like precision. The energy blades in their hands crackled menacingly, illuminating their path like ghostly torches. They closed the distance rapidly, and Astra's heart raced as warning after warning flashed on her HUD.
"Damn it!" she hissed, yanking the controls to the side. Her mech spun sharply, narrowly avoiding a streak of energy fire from the pursuing officers. The cockpit shuddered violently, her body jolting against the restraints.
"We got her now, upping thrusters!" One of the mech's reported, with blinding speeds cutting off their arm's of Astra's mech. The opening caused all of the air to be sucked out, the machine blaring red before the openings closed with foam, blocking out all potential danger.
"Target's arms have been compromised! Initiating Disruptors!" small disks from their arms shot out towards her circling her momentarily until the mech began to shut down.
"Shit, shit, shit!" Astra cursed, her hands hitting against the controls in frustration, her head buried against its harsh cold metals as she pants heavily.
[Countdown: 2:10...]
"Astra falkov has been detained, awaiting further instructions!"
"Good work," Seraphine praised, going towards the stolen mech. She watched as it spasmed under the weight of the disrupters, unable to move or even make sense of anything, its hardware completely fried.
[Countdown: 1:38…]
The cold metallic fingers of her Mech turned into energy blades as she stuck it deep just above the cockpit.
"Commander!" Elliot's voice rang through the mech.
"Speak–"
"The anomaly's mech doesn't hold any signs of the technology we're in search for, which means—" Elliot's voice was cut off, the commander's eyes narrowing at the mech with disdain and annoyance.
"She used it on herself…" She finished, her hands flying over the controls of her cockpit. "And here I thought you were talented, not anyone can take control of our devices– but you're just another vermin."
[Countdown: 00:10…]
"Well we just have to pry it out won't we?!" She roared, her hand pulled back as her mech mimicked her actions.
[Countdown: 00:05...]
[Countdown: 00:04...]
[Countdown: 00:03...]
The mech soon shot forth, the blade tearing into the cockpit as the parts started to drift loosely within space, everyone watching with desensitized eyes at the display before them.
[Countdown: 00:02...]
Air gets sucked from the openings, Astra's eyes heavily lidded as the countdown drew nearer and nearer, not even caring about the lack of air around her.
[Countdown: 00:01...]
[NOTICE!]
[Resting…]