Science Fiction Short Stories

ReBoot Chapter 3

BOOT #162 COMPLETE_

EXECUTE SYSTEM ANALYSIS_

ANALYSIS COMPLETE_

SYSTEM FUNCTION 100%_

ACCESSING SYSTEM OBJECTIVE_

SYSTEM OBJECTIVE - Use suppressing force to protect retreating allied forces.

ACCESSING WEAPONS INVENTORY_

WEAPONS INVENTORY - Mark I27 Rail Gun, classification long ranged weapon, mounted on left arm, 100 rounds; Fenreer M1706 Light Machine Gun, classification mid-ranged weapon, mounted on right shoulder modified for .50 caliber rounds, 1000 rounds; TSG 2153m Supersonic Mini Gun, classification short range weapon, mounted on right arm - modified to fire 7.62x51 mm supersonic armor piercing rounds, 50,000 rounds; Sonic Pulse Emitter, classification mid-ranged tube launched sonic grenade, housed in left thigh, five units; Thermite 27z Grenade, classification mid-ranged tube launched explosive, housed in right thigh, twenty units; EM27Zeus Laser, classification long range targeting system for airstrike, housed in left ocular.

 ACCESSING SITUATION BREAKDOWN_

SITUATION BREAKDOWN - An outpost on a remote moon populated mainly by scientist miners and their families are under threat by two groups of alien forces.  The two forces will converge on the outpost in approximately one minute.  Two personnel shuttles are en rout for civilian evacuation, escorted by one light gun ship.

ACCESSING OBJECTIVE_

OBJECTIVE - Protect all civilians, the shuttles and gun ship.

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     The Sonic Pulse Emitter unleashed it's deadly sound wave without mercy.  About ten percent of the alien force were instantly killed.  Roughly half lay on the ground slowly suffocating to death, and the rest in that group were temporarily incapacitated.

     M3 23 began readying the thermal grenade launch tube before he had even begun to turn.  A second Sonic Pulse Emitter was already loaded and ready to be fired.  The second group of hostiles had separated into two smaller groups each taking a side of the burning ground from the air strike.

     M3 23 targeted the closer of the two groups that had begun to return fire.  Firing the LMG, M3 23 began to control this group.  Not firing to kill, but to keep the group close together.  The tube that extended from M3 23's left thigh let out a loud belch as it threw the second and last Sonic Pulse Emitter high into the air.  After a calculated few seconds latter the other tube fired in rapid succession.

     The LMG fire kept the bulk of the opposing force well within the deadly striking area of the Sonic Pulse Emitter.  Those who found themselves outside of this area were instantly bombarded by several thermite grenades.  Most grenades did their damage with shrapnel, but thermite grenades worked differently.

     Each thermite grenade had two stages a propelling and ignition stage followed by a burning stage.  An initial explosion ignites the thermite and then propels it at high velocity.  The burning thermite burns in excess of twenty five hundred degrees Celsius.  The thermite will burn though reinforced armor plating in seconds.

     The main purpose for the grenades were to eliminate transport of personnel and large weapons.  But it was also useful in eliminating the remaining alien force that had been firing on M3 23.

     M3 23 began to move at full speed, not heading directly for the outpost, but instead making a slow arc around to get a better angle of attack on the small group that had moved around the far side of the scorched ground.

     As soon as the group enemy group was in sight of it's targeting system, M3 23 began a suppression fire.  While running M3 23 was not as accurate even with the compensation software that calculated the barrel movement compared to the stride of M3 23.  Moving at full speed, M3 23 was able to move in between the outpost and the enemy force.

          M3 23 began a relentless barrage of bullets from the mini gun mounted on it's right arm.  Every one hundred bullets fired was a tracer round that burned with red phosphorus.  Less effective than the normal armor piercing rounds the tracers helped by adding visual targeting information  to the impressive amounts of information  running through it's processing unit.

     M3 23's sensors picked up information coming from the far side of the outpost.  Shots were being fired from with in.  Running a search program using the surveillance from the orbiting ship, M3 23 looked for the cause of gin fire.

     A few aliens from the group that M3 23 had stunned using the first Sonic Pulse Emitter had escaped the more devastating effects, and had continued toward the outpost.  They had made it into the encampment and begun to eliminate any civilians they cam across.

 ACCESSING OBJECTIVE_

OBJECTIVE - Civilian casualties detected.

OBJECTIVE FAILED_