1:4:9 Reclamation (Part 3)

Meanwhile, Ace pressed on, Aloe and the rest of their unit not too far behind. There had been very little in the way of resistance as they travelled through the campus. Since separating with Magpie, they were yet to encounter any more of The Protectorate’s drones but that soon changed as they approached the window to the courtyard. Ace vaulted the wall. Between them and The Slingshot, an army of the necrotic droids; Aloe, Curve and Edge moved in closer behind them. Everything was still and quiet until Ace took a second step towards The Slingshot then all hel broke loose. Unlike those they had fought outside of the campus, these drones appeared even more worn and damaged; their weapons long abandoned and the skin of their hands long disintegrated, revealing their sharpened, metal skeletons. Aloe stayed close to Ace as Curve and Edge pressed into the oncoming horde. While the other troopers had some idea of tactics, these were inhuman in their fighting styles; they lashed and swiped and clawed like wild animals and wielded their weight as well as their knife-like fingertips allowing them to devastate Curve’s shields. They tried to push onwards but found themselves struggling against the tsunami of droids ahead. Ace and Aloe both dialled their pistols up to their maximum settings; each shot drained them but they endeavoured to continue and so they did. After a handful of shots each, they started to get used to the new demands of their blasters, recovering from the staggering effect it had quicker, and after a couple dozen more, they even found themselves able to move while firing. With all four of them working at their maximum efficacy, they started to make some progress. While not able to permanently disable the soldiers, they were able to at least edge closer to The Slingshot. Eventually, they encountered something unexpected. As they had seen in their orbital scans and from their approach, a metal boulder sat, unbothered and ignored by The Protectorate attackers. The clones used it as a barrier to allow themselves a moment to breathe before continuing on. One by one, they took a break while the others formed a defensive wall around them. The object was massive, nearly two cubic metres, with no indications as to what it was or why it was there. While she rested, Curve studied the metallic boulder and eventually worked out a way to scale it. She quickly reached the top and soon realised that not only was it not the only boulder but it was also just out of the droid’s arms reach. She looked down and saw there was probably enough room for two of them at the top.
“Ace, Aloe, up here!” She shouted down to them.
“What the hel are you doing up there?” Ace called up.
Curve knelt down. “You need to get up here.” She soon realised that moving closer only made her more vulnerable so she stood. “Look, from up here, you’ve got a vantage point and the high ground.” She knelt back down once again and offered her sibling her hand.
They took it and started to climb. She was right, the elevation made a significant difference. Bolts of bold gold rained down from above, decimating the attacking forces but, with each droid downed, it appeared that two more took its place.
“Destiny!” Ace yelled. “Where are they all coming from?”
“The opening in the campus wall… The one we all thought was trapped… It was but apparently, not for them.” Destiny moved herself so she was hovering just above the courtyard. “Can I help now?”
“No!” All of the clones screamed at her.
“What if I turned my weapons all the way down?” She pleaded.
“Still a no.” Ace returned. “For whatever reason, the Lore that made you gave you two of the most powerful weapon in creation and nothing for in atmosphere combat. You’re too dangerous.”
“What if I do this?” There was a pause as she rotated the ship and lowered the landing ramp. Destiny struggled as she waddled down it, a large cannon in hand. She aimed it to the best of her abilities as she charged it. A ball of blistering white plasma formed at its aperture; it crackled as it grew and reacted with the nebula around it. Once it had grown to a sufficient size, she fired. It didn’t travel as far as she would have liked but it at least cleared the landing ramp. It sank like a stone after that. It absorbed the head of the drone it landed on before melting further down, through its torso. Eventually, it cracked and expanded. White light and electricity arced from drone to drone, disintegrating or, at the very least, mutilating every drone within a five metre radius. A circle of ash and dust was all that remained of her direct targets while those not close enough to be hit by the weapon’s full potential found themselves continuing their attack with broken or missing limbs. The gap gave Aloe and Edge enough time to sprint to the next boulder along and climb aboard. Whatever the boulders were made from, it remained intact even after Destiny’s attack.
“Thanks!” Ace gave her the thumbs up.
“I hope it helped because I can’t do it again for a while. Completely wrecked the lens and they take forever and a day to fabricate. I’ll get started but you’re on your own for the next ten to fifteen.” Destiny dropped the cannon and disappeared into herself.

They continued to fire but, without Destiny, they weren’t making much of a dent. With the influx of new soldiers from the seemingly endless pool that existed on the other side of the campus wall, it appeared as though they hadn’t actually destroyed any of them. They had no idea how long they could hold on for, how long they could wait for Destiny or Magpie. Then they saw him. Walking amongst the droids as if one of their own, Magpie made his presence known. Around his neck a strangely wet and oily circuit and on his back a humanoid machine that had seen better days. Ace had no words and could only shake his head. The Amalgam’s eyes glowed as it activated.
“Well Twelve, you ready? Is this enough space?” He turned his head to speak with it.
“This will suffice.” It started. “There are humanoids standing on the hibernation pods. Activation will likely lead to injuries. It is advised that they return to solid ground.”
“Guys, Twelve says you’ve got to get down!” Magpie called over.
“We can’t.” They all returned.
“Twelve, are there any others we can activate first to clear a path for them to get down?” Magpie searched around himself. “Ah, there’s one!” He pointed through a field of drones at a far off boulder.
“We can begin with that one.” It gave a slight nod which saw it did its chin into Magpie’s shoulder. He parted the horde like a figure of old, untouched and unharmed. Their new target boulder was in sight; Twelve’s eyes sparked as they transitioned from icy white to a deep orange as it started to quake. Any Protectorate drones in the vacinity of the boulder started to move to give it space, pushing and shoving their neighbours to get away from it. The shaking intensified, forming a gap of empty space nearly a metre wide between the army and the source. The vibrations eventually became too much as it split in twain, the metal skin of the boulder fell to the floor revealing three Amalgam huddled inside. They rose as one and, without hesitation, set about their duties. The gap meant nothing to them as the Amalgam began removing any and all Protectorate threats. Their aim was absolute and their power awesome. Each shot was more than enough to destroy the drones. They hadn’t even moved yet but even so, they had cleared out more than the clones had since their arrival by a factor of two. Magpie watched with glee from the front row as the drones around him were destroyed until one of the Amalgam guns was levelled at him. Unlike with the other drones, Magpie was given a momentary stay of execution as the Amalgam walked over to him. It was nearly a metre and a half taller than him and built from a rapidly tarnishing metal; more than anything, Magpie noticed its not immodest, and charged, arm cannon pointing directly at his neck.
“Woah, I’m not with them…” He looked about for a reason why it might be angry with him before taking Twelve off of his back. “Sorry, he… it told me to bring it here.”
“Scans suggest your DNA is a partial match to both of the founders of this lab. Leniency will be dispensed. Opportunity to choose allegiance.” It spoke.
“I’m not with The Protectorate!” Magpie quickly replied. “How do I prove it?” He tapped at his thigh then remembered his neck. “Sorry, I was using this to fool them.” He pulled the circuit, snapping the string he had used to hold it on and threw it away. “Scan me now.”
“Your existence will be allowed to continue… You will be monitored for the remainder of your stay.” It pushed past him and grabbed Twelve. “Sending activation code to all Amalgam units in range.”

The earlier quake was nothing compared to the mass activation it triggered. The Protectorate drones scarpered to the base of The Slingshot, huddling around it as if in mutual defence. Ace and the other clones found themselves on suddenly very unstable grounds so attempted to dismount as safely as they could. As well as the Amalgam, each new boulder cracked open, for a moment, contained a bubble of the original Johned atmosphere; it burst nearly as quickly as it was revealed leaving the Amalgam vulnerable to their new environment. Three Amalgam would have been more than enough but now, with all of the boulders in the courtyard opened, their victory was assured. The drones had made things far easier than they needed to as the Amalgam formed a firing ring around The Slingshot. As if a firing squad, they executed the drones with the utmost efficiency. None of the clones knew exactly what to say. What had seemed to be an impossible battle had quickly turned to become a victory. They came together and started towards The Slingshot, finally able to see and properly reach its doors.
“Don’t you dare do anything like that again you nimble fingered freak!” A voice came from behind them.
Magpie gasped and, unlike his siblings, didn’t turn around.
“You try anything like that again and I’ll report you.” Blindside rejoined the group. “Honestly, you think you know someone because your hobbies align…” They grumbled.