IroFath Chpt 7

==Iron Father - Chapter 7 -==
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Days later Corden watched the guards perform drills outside the walls. They were doing well enough for his tastes and his were high standards. When they did assault the lair they would need to know their gear inside and out. Deback and Corden had switched over the Archangel to the invictus configuration in preparation of the future assault. Afterwards he finally went and saw Carol the Medic. There were some drugs that could abate the pain, but the hallucinations she had nothing to go on. Other apothecaries presented little hope other than enhancing them. It was about this time Aaron approached him.
"Yes, Aaron."
"Corden, while you train and finish your war, I would like to goto the JumpShips again."
"Without my aid? Are you bloody Blake sure that you can handle the Dropship?"
"Yes, I am confident now. I know I only had one real ago at it, but we have been doing simulations on the bridge for weeks now. I saw where I made my mistakes on landing and even some of the other guides could act as a co-pilot."
"You are coming a long way from books to doing the real thing."
"You have no idea what it is like to simulate a craft from the texts. Looking at a chalk lined wall that is your instruments. We did this for centuries to the point people wondered if what was on the black board was true. Fake buttons on a piece of rock and a wooden chair as the pilot seat. The idea translated over some that the simulations took very well to those who tried. Like you said, we have do things without you. If this venture works. Well, we might have a second dropship be able to return with us. Maybe even have some rigging to get one of the jumpships wired up. We have been taking the resources in the caves, refining them, molding parts, and making wire. Tools that might be used to cut, bend, and shape. We have prepared for this day for centuries Corden, it..."
"GO! Go Aaron! Ascend to the heavens and bring forth fruition! I have faith in you! This is my leap of faith for you and all the guides! It is time! As the Iron Father of Turbline I give you Blake's blessing and with it he shall guide you!"
"Thank you, Corden."
"I will need to remove somethings before you leave. They might have future use here in the coming conflict. Some would say I should also remove other things in case the dropship crashes. If it does, it wouldn't matter anyways. Now go!"
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Corden watched as the Dropship ascended into orbit. A hour later it would be on its way to the Jumpships again. They had loaded tons of metal wiring and tools that they had forged. It was exhilarating to see mankind come together and work towards a common goal. Most of the unloaded gear had been put near the Preta that now stood as a cheap fusion battery. Corden made sure only trusted guards would be near this equipment. He could not risk any damage or theft especially at this time and hour.
Deback had made a map of the lair as best he could. There were places that he didn't have full knowledge of, but enough to figure out the entrance points and objectives. The people that would be going payed attention to the details and what they might expect. Lesser night haunts were likely to be in the lair so the battle armor would be taking point. Each Se'irim would be assigned to five guards who in turn had Mauser 1200s. In Corden's mind he went over their numbers. Five troopers in se'irim battle armor, one tengu suit for him, and 24 guards equipped with mauser 1200s. Sprinkle in a Kendricke and he had a mobile fighting force. The guides managed to fashion together a wooden structure with 25 seats. They did take some care to install springs on those seats because the journey would be bumpy with the archangel holding it.
When the day came, Corden first donned the Tengu suit and attached it the Archangel. Popping the hatch he was able to just make it to the cockpit and fire up the mech. Then he gave the signal and five other battle armors affixed themselves to the torso. Corden flexed the left hand and took hold of the wooden structure. All twenty five men were already sitting when he lifted it slowly to test its stability. Without any problems he started heading in the direction of the lair. It would take twp days by 'mech to get there at its walking speed of 32.8 kph. Anything more risked lives. They would make stops along the way until the final approach where night would be their ally.
On the final approach, Corden did everything he could to avoid detection. He searched thermal scans of any scouts that might see him. He used the terrain to break up his out line. Sometimes going thru a woods or two. When the lair was in sight, he powered down the archangel and slipped into the tengu suit.
"Corden checking in. Every squard leader check."
"Kendricke here." "Tim here." "Deback here." "Charles here." "Tantan here."
"Today we free any apprentices we find. Kill any night haunts and eradicate any handlers. Watch your targets as anyone young should be considered a friendly. Incapacitate if you can, but if they fight, then do what you can. Blake be with us."
With that they dismounted. It took them about an hour to approach the bastion. From what Corden could see thru his true eye, the strafing run from weeks earlier had obliterated the western pens. The few craters he also saw were testament to the destruction of the explosives the handlers had. He could see guards on the top of the ramparts and a few at a gate. He motioned to Kendricke who in turn took his squad which had mimetic cloaks. They made their approach to the gate and Corden heard four clicks. Four guards. He responded with one click... attack.
Kendricke and his men appeared in front and behind the handlers at the gate. With night haunt daggers they slit their throats and pulled the bodies away into the night. Then they entered the gate. Minutes went past until Corden noted Kendricke and few other guards on the ramparts. More handlers died silently as they made their way thru clearing the battlements. Corden then motioned everyone to start moving forward. They would take it at a steady walk until they got there or an alarm sounded. Inside the liar, battle armor would make too much noise and it will be full on. They made to the entrance without any problems. More clicks and responses came between Kendricke and Corden. More handlers died silently in the night. Then comms came on.
"Corden, Kendricke here, I have found what I believe is the apprentices quarters. I am sending directions right now."
Corden noted on the tactical map where the route went. Deback also confirmed it.
"Deback, you are to go to those quarters, secure it, and hold it. I will be making my way in the opposite direction to intercept anything that comes your way. Sweep this place and if something of interest pops up, note it on the tactical map. GO!"
Deback went in running and the thud of battle armor steps echoed in the halls. Up top on the ramparts, Kendricke's team setup snipers while he would observe and point out potential targets. Corden went in and broke right. Charles squad would remain at the gate and prevent any escapes. The others would act as a reaction force where needed.
Corden had made it down an empty hall when a transmission came.
"Uhh, Corden you there?"
"Corden here, who is this."
"Dan, sir, Charles is dead."
"HOW! We just got here and he..."
"Crossbow bolt to the chest. Night haunt spine tipped. We have no way to open the battle armor or use it."
"Blake's blood! Get to the ramparts and assist Kendricke. Too everyone, watch yourselves, the battle armor is Blake's blessing, but it has been proven this world is a bane to mankind."
They still had good momentum despite the loss. Corden changed his currnt plan and started making way to the location of the fallen guard. He finally was found by a group of handlers who hesitated with a metallic demon in their home. Corden swept the hall with the mech scale medium laser. HMMM!!! Torsos fell from abdomens as he cut thru the group. They stood no chance in these compact halls. Around the bend was an ambush and Corden pulled back. Crossbow bolts landed in his armor and the wall. The thicker skin of the Tengu held the spined tipped bolts at bay, but damage still read out on his helmet display. Considering there might be more cocked crossbows, Corden fired a grenade from the mauser 1200 around the corner. An explosion later he was around the bend unleashing rapid bursts of laser fire. Survivors he simply stepped on their skulls and the weight of the battle armor took care of the rest.
Up top of the ramparts Kendricke was directed laser fire on anything that moved. Some young night haunts were finally seen with handlers. A simple shot to the handlers let the proverbial night haunt off the leash. It would know not what to do being robbed of direction before instinct took over. It then ran into the halls and started attacking other handlers. The pain bond only worked in one way.
"Kendricke to everyone. Learned something. Kill the handler of a night haunt and they go rogue. Use it as you will."
Deback was almost to the apprentice quarters when machine gun fire lit up a hall way. It appeared that the handlers still had some equipment in their inventory. Unphased he stepped into the fire and walked thru it. His recoilless rifle opened up killing the machine gun users and then his squad came up behind him firing. They used him as a mobile shield as they pushed thru the hallways. Then they made it to the apprentice hall, Deback hesitated as memories came up. Instead of opening the doors, he upped the volume of the suits external speaker.
"This is Deback, former handler. Convert to the Word of Blake. I am here to free you from your masters. There has to be no more pain. No more suffering. You will go back to your families. Your father, mothers...."
Shuffling could be heard from within the room. Muffled screams. Deback did not hesitate. He simply walked thru the door shattering it open. Inside apprentices were mobbing what ever handlers were there. Some groups were more successful than others. Deback took aim at any masters that had the upper hand and put shells thru those that still stood. The guards came in and started executing any handlers being held down. As the fighting came to a close, Deback saw that the remaining apprentices were in worse shape than he remembered. Starved, whipped, beaten, they had taken the brunt of the handlers anger at the hands of defeat. They were being hyper accelerated in the bonding of their mounts and today it ended. Deback went into another two rooms, but they were empty. Other apprentices he would learn later had died during the upticked brutal bonding process.
"Deback to everyone. I have what is left of the apprentices. I asked them if anyone else is in the lair and it is just handlers. Weapons free, repeat weapons free. I am taking the apprentices to the gate."
Corden smiled, they could stop being precise now. SRMs could be utilized by the suits and granades by the others. The place would be cleared in no time. No sooner had the order gone out that thumps could be felt in the air. The grenades already being utilized. The suit Charles was in was now at Corden's feet. He put aside the medium laser and typed in the opening code. The hatch opened with a dead Charles inside. He extracted the body then propped up the battle armor as best he could. Looking inside with the limted view he had, Corden could see that it was still functional.
"Deback, break off one of your men. Have them come to me. I have a suit open and ready for piloting."
Four minutes later a guard came by the name of Ulrich. He got in the suit and they took off together.
"Corden here, report squad status."
"Deback, no casualties, we are now outside awaiting order."
"Kendricke, one of my men took a crossbow bolt and is out, but alive."
"Tim, I have lost two of my men. One injured."
"Tantan, with Deback waiting for orders."
Corden did some quick thinking. He would switch out Tantan's team for Tim's. They would then guard the gate. Then Tantan and Deback would have to sweep again, but it was trivial at this point. He fired his medium laser again before entering another hall. Food was placed out on tables. The hall was definitely some kind of meeting place. As they entered, no one was there. Then something landed on Ulrich and bit. A night haunt had been hiding up in the rafters waiting for prey. The teeth sank into the armored head of Ulrich and the suit fell over dead. Corden didn't react in time as the night haunt turned its attentiom to him. He felt the weight of it as it jumped onto his back. They moved too and fro knocking tables and chairs all over the place. Food and ale slicked the floor.
Corden attempted to bring the medium laser to bear, but the night haunt was latched on behind him. He disengaged the connection to the laser and let it drop to the ground. Helmet displays showed the jump jets come on line and he fired them. The night haunt screached and let go as Corden ascended into the air and spun. His mauser 1200 ripped thru the air at the creature only doing surface damage. The beast was older than a youngling and its hide thick. As he came down and landed the night haunt charged. Corden extended his left hand to offer it to the night haunt and it took the bait. Its maw bit down on the arm and the mauser 1200. Damage indictors flared as its teeth grated against the armor, but the suit held. Corden then fired the grenade launcher and the creatures neck exploded outward. Extracting the head from his arm, he saw the mauser 1200 was fragged from the back blast and teeth. Corden picked up the medium laser and plugged it back with his suit. He was at a disadvantage now with only a cumbersome weapon.
Deep in the lair, Corden started to hear more thumps and then a SRM rack ripple thump thumps. Threats were still abound in this place. Corden then found stairs going down. Deback mentioned a sub floor where the bonding process was done to apprentices. Corden descended the stairs and found more hallways. He wasn't sure which way to go so he went right as he always tended too.
Around a corner Corden stopped dead in his tracks. A red robed figure stood in the middle of the hall. It was not The Master. Considering the deceitfulness of the handlers and the ongoing hallucinations, Corden raised his medium laser. The figure then revealed its head. A black skinned man with cybernetics looked right at Corden. It was the first Manei Domini, Appolyon. He raised and pointed his hand at a door, then went around the corner. Corden knew logically that Appolyon was not there, that he was dead, and this was figment of his VDNI. The man inside him looked around the corner to see nothing.
Steeling himself he busted thru the door and discovered a grand library. Books upon books were inside the hall with a roaring fire in the middle. Handlers were tossing books, records, and documents into the blaze. What knowledge had been lost or covered up appalled Corden. He disengaged the medium laser again wishing he had brought something else. His battle armor claws clicked and he sprinted at full speed freed of the lasers encumbrance. The handlers stood no chance. Some fired crossbow bolts that the armor repelled. Some tried to stab him with daggers. One even had an old assault rifle. By the time he was done in the room, twisted and disgorgement bodies remained. Looking at the fire, Corden determined that it thankfully wouldn't spread. He picked up the medium laser again and plugged it in.
Then Corden went down the hall way further. Doors he opened revealed store houses of gold, silver, mops, and other odd and ends. It was the last room that caught his attention. As he went to open the door words came from behind it.
"Enter"
Corden turned the knob and entered the room. An old man sat a desk. What looked to be a radio and other old technological artifacts lied on that table. What Corden took notice of was that the old man was absolutely calm.
"We finally meet Iron Father."
"I can only guess who you are, but yes it is me."
"You certainly have made a mess of this world. You have destroyed centuries of tradition and progress."
"Progress! You call the nobles and you handlers progress! How much suffering have you and your past leaders done to the innocent."
"What has to be done must be done. I have heard rumors that you have stated the same thing. But I digress. It is over for this world. When we are gone the night haunts will rule again."
"What to you mean by that?"
The old man pushed a button on his desk. Moments later explosions in the distance could be heard.
"I return this planet to its rightful order. Mankind does not de..."
Corden pulled the trigger on the medium laser and the old man was no more. Corden looked over the singed desk and noted that there were stacks of reports. Going thru them he pieced together the situation that was going on up until he entered. There was desperation in the notes about the destruction of the pens, the explosives they had stored, and the losses they had on the planet since Corden arrived. What piqued his interest was the reports on a breeding ground. What manner of project were the handlers working on? Then the explosion that this old man had initiated.
"Everyone, there was an explosion set off by the handlers. Anyone got eyes on what that might be."
"Kendricke here, there is a plume of smoke in the distance by the base of a few mountains. Quite a distance. My quess is 25 km from here."
"How goes the clearing of the upper levels. The basement has been cleansed."
More thumps and laser fire could be heard. Everyone checking in reported a few more casualties, but otherwise the place was almost done. Half an hour later they met at the entrance. All rifles were recovered and the bodies of the fallen would be left where they were for the time being. Corden managed to bring the dead Se'irim back up. After looking it over he determiend it would be spare parts.
"We need to investigate out towards the mountain. An old man that I assume was the head master here set off explosives that did something. I want Deback and Kendricke with me. The rest stay here and await my transmissions. Kendricke, suit up, I assume you know how to use battle armor."
"Yes, just this battle armor is going to feel malignant."
"Swallow your hatred for now. Even with a bad left arm, you can functionally operate the right arm. I need people who have had a broad experience of life for this I feel."
Little more than an hour and half later they were on the archangel heading to the mountains that the plume was sighted at. What awaited them, no one knew.
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Chapter 7