Artificial

Taking Charge

Operator Riot

"Fuck, sniper!" Reach calls out as a bullet narrowly misses his head.
"Somebody take him out!"
"Out of commission," Wraith reports over comms.
"Evo?"
"Occupied!"
"Fuck!"
I knew that jackass wasn't cut out to be a leader.
I grit my teeth and deploy my shield.
"Shockwave, on me! Apex, cloak up and prepare to engage the sniper on my mark!"
"Understood," they respond in sync, the infiltrator disappearing from sight as the famously curvy soldier falls into step behind me.
I advance toward the source of the shots, and finally, he tries to put a shot through the shield. The heavy round flattens against the blue pane, and slides to the ground.
Nice try.
A second round slams against my shield, still doing no damage.
He tried again! What a dumbass!
The distance gets too close for his comfort, and I watch as a green, fuzzy shape stands and begins to run.
"Apex, now!"
The infiltrator appears from thin air, and begins grappling with the sniper.
Apex rips the rifle from his quarry's hands, seizes it by the barrel, and swings it like a baseball bat at the sniper's head. The sniper ducks, and begins to draw a pistol. He begins to take aim, but Apex is too fast. A swift backwards roundhouse kick sends the weapon flying, and Apex tosses the rifle to the side as well. The sniper draws a rather intimidating combat knife from a hip sheath, and assumes a fighting stance. Apex stands up straight.
"You call that a blade?" He challenges, his deep, unstable distortion as unnerving as ever.
He deploys his armblade with a sudden metallic snikt, and smoothly lowers himself back into combat stance.
"Now this, this is a blade!"
I have to give the sniper credit. He's brave.
And stupid.
Very. Very brave and stupid.
The sniper charges Apex, who dodges under his reckless slashing and grabs the snipers wrist with his free hand. Wrenching it to the side, there's an audible snap, and the sniper cries out in pain as the knife falls into the grass. Apex attempts to plunge his blade into his quarry's torso, but his target has more fight in him than we expected. He grabs Apex's arm and falls backward, successfully pulling Apex in close enough to prevent him from using his armblade. They roll about on the grass, until Apex sends the man flying by shoving his boots directly into the sniper's stomach. He struggles to his feet, and stares down the infiltrator.
Then, without warning, he takes off sprinting in the other direction.
"Shockwave, mark!"
The specialist jumps out from behind a tree and blasts the runner with her gauntlets, sending him sprawling out in the grass in front of Apex. His torso rises, but the infiltrator promptly plants his boot onto the sniper's back, keeping him floored.
"Don't even think about it."
As we circle around him, the rest of the Operators join us, Evo carrying Wraith on his shoulders.
Velox approaches the pinned sniper, then leans down to whisper in his ear.
"We're gonna have a long conversation, you and I."
She brings her boot down on the back of his head, swiftly and effectively rendering them unconscious.
"Riot, tag him and bag him."
"You're only supposed to say that about dead guys," Evo corrects.
"He is dead. He's just doesn't know it yet."
"Damn. Fair enough."
I lean down to pick him up, and when I turn around again another squad of Special Forces is surrounding us.
"Weapons down! Get on the ground! Don't move, heathens!"
I watch as my comrades reluctantly relinquish their weapons and kneel on the grass.
"You too, big one! And drop the sniper!"
I release him to the floor with a heavy thud, and one of them strikes me in the stomach with the butt of his rifle.
"On the ground!"
I slowly drop to my knees, and the leader pulls out a radio.
"Targets secured. Where is extraction?"
There's a pause.
"Confirmed. En route, ETA fifteen mikes."
He puts away the radio.
"Alright, squad, round 'em up."
One of them approaches Vel, retrieves a cable tie, and reaches for her wrist.
"Let's go, whore."
"What the fuck did you just call me?"
The soldier lowers himself down on one knee, getting down to eye level with the feisty Operator.
"I said, 'let's fucking go, whore.'"
"That's what I thought you said."
There's a brief pause, then all hell breaks loose.
Vel slams her helmet into her captor's, stunning him enough for her to jump to her feet and tackle him. She straddles her victim's stomach, and begins delivering brutal punches. The soldier next to me shoulders his rifle, and I deploy my shield, knocking him aside and protecting Vel, who tosses a pistol to Evo. Phoenix roasts her guard alive with her gauntlets, and joins us behind the shield. Apex's armblade deploys, and I watch as he impales the soldier closest to him, then tosses him aside and rushes the next one. The soldier manages to block every one of Apex's strikes with his rifle, then jumps back and aims it at the infiltrator's head.
"Seems you've finally met your match, assassin."
"That's not even close to accurate."
A hand materializes on the man's shoulder and I watch in awe as Wraith effortlessly lifts the man up and throws him to the ground, proceeding to pin him with her foot.
"Evo, you give her some cybernetics or something?"
"Nope. That shit's natural. Strong as a grizzly."
"Damn. Vel should be a personal trainer when we retire."
"That's what I've been saying!"
Apex approaches the pinned enemy, and picks up the rifle. He slams it sideways onto his knee, and it splits cleanly in half.
"For the record, I nailed your bolt on every block. This thing would've exploded when you tried to fire."
The soldier remains silent, then suddenly reaches for his vest.
Apex turns to Wraith.
"Bail."
They disappear as the soldier is engulfed in an explosion.
That leaves five—
My train of thought is interrupted by the sound of a neck breaking. Vel is clearly done with her victim.
Four.
Right. That leaves four fighters still standing against the eight of us.
Before we can even start to decide our next move, a Special Forces Soldier in the rear of the group beats us to it. The soldier kicks one of his comrades in the back of the knee, then strikes them in the back of the skull with their rifle. The other two turn around in surprise, only for the soldier to gun down one of them with a burst of full-auto fire. The survivor tackles the assailant, and I lose track of who's who as they grapple. One gains the upper hand, pinning the other to the ground with their knees digging into their victim's chest, hands around their throat. The pinned soldier retrieves a knife from their hip, and plunges it into their assailant's side, then shoves them off. Before the wounded soldier can get their bearings, the now-unpinned fighter pounces on them, removing the blade from the victim's side and reinserting it into the jugular. The soldier stands, taking deep breaths, then turns around to see the first victim struggling to his feet. The concussed soldier staggers as he draws a combat knife. The traitor sighs, draws a sidearm, and empties the magazine into the survivor. The corpse hits the floor, and the last standing soldier tosses the empty weapon into the grass before turning to face us.

There's a tense silence.

"So what the fuck was that shit?" Reach blurts out.