Chapter Forty-Nine - Hunters

    Chapter Forty-Nine - Hunters

    They call themselves Hunters as if theyre big-game hunters straight out of some early nineteenth century Victorian gentlemens club.

    Normal blokes with too much time and money on their hands who rush over to incursion sites armed to the teeth. They capture their hunts on video then use them to brag to each other. The best ones have followings online and promote all sorts of stuff.

    Sometimes theyll even run across a passing Samurai and either get told off for being morons or will get a pat on the back for killing some xenos.

    --Extract from a Reddit F.A.Q., 2035

    ***

    I parted from Major Hunt with a slap on the back for my good xeno killing work and a shove back to my babysitter.

    I was instructed to escort you to advanced team fifty-one, the big guy said.

    Nodding, I followed him out of the little command tent and back out onto the bustling main ground of the temporary base. Now that I knew just a bit more about what was going on, I could appreciate the groups of soldiers running past and the rumbling of vehicles heading to the front a bit more.

    We waited as a large armoured van passed by, its back door opened to reveal twin rows of normal folk all huddled together and looking like they had been through a nightmare.Ge?t latest novel chapters on nov(e)lbj/n(.)c/om

    People rescued from the incursion zone?

    How does the whole saving people thing work? I asked. I mean. Say I find a bunch of folk out there. Do I escort them all the way back?

    Soldier boy shook his head. No maam. If youll allow us to connect to your aug-gear, well give you the locations of forward bases and rendez-vous points. Escorted combat groups will meet up with you there and take any VIPs and civilians back here to be processed and evacuated.

    I didnt like the sound of processed. He said it the same way someone might process someones credit info, which was probably exactly what was happening. As long as they didnt try to pull any funny business on my Kittens Id honestly probably not do anything about it, but still.

    Do I have a target or something? I asked.

    He shrugged.

    Finally a crack in his little professional attitude.

    We reached a spot near the barricade where little all-terrain vehicles were parked, little Humvee look-alikes with roof-mounted guns and actual wheels instead of hover systems. It was all a bit old-school, but judging by how armoured the things looked, it wasnt too surprising. Team Fifty One, soldier boy called out.

    Eight soldiers, all in the same flat-grey almost-armoured uniforms as my escorts lined up in two rows before me. They varied in height and stature, but they all seemed like they could handle themselves.

    One of them stepped up, the shortest one in the entire lot, but also the one with the most marks on his shoulders and breastplate. Team Fifty-One reporting, he said.

    Soldier boy saluted. Im handing off Tier One Samurai Stray Cat into your care, Team Fifty-One.

    Acknowledge, Short-stack said with a return salute.

    O-kay, I said as I leaned into the most uncomfortable seat ever. The gear hanging off my back was cool and all, but it wasnt made for sitting down comfortably. That answers that. I guess well get to the hospital and give it a look-see. Is it in any danger?

    We dont think so, Monroe said. The hospital has its own security force. Its one of those nice private ones, with the VIP ambulances. Its also pretty far from the red-zones.

    Red-zones? I asked.

    He was quick to fill in the gap in my knowledge. Zones go from black, which is full-on hive territory, to red, to orange, to green. White zones are outside of the incursion area. The hospital is on the outside of an orange zone. Some aliens, but not that many. Mostly advanced scouts for now.

    Then arent we a bit of overkill? I asked.

    The other two soldiers looked at each other. You might be, maam, Monroe said. But were not equipped for anything past the single-digit models, which is what will be popping up in the red-zones soon enough.

    Was I overestimating myself? The hospital run was starting to sound like it was meant to be a cake-walk, the tutorial area that Id missed out on. Well see, I said. I chose to change the subject. What are you guys equipped for?

    Were all equipped with light arms, and we have two heavy fraggers with us. If we can set them up, we can cover a decent choke-point.

    The fuck is a fragger? I asked.

    Monroe chuckled. Not all of us have a Samurais aim, maam. Hitting the smaller models is hard, so our heavy guns fire fragmentation rounds that burst in mid-air. Theyll clear out a flock of Model Ones in no time.

    I nodded. Were they scared of Model Ones? They were kitted out like pros; it didnt make sense that theyd be afraid of some demon pigeons.

    Thats nice, I said.

    A moment later I was distracted as we rolled past the barricade. I had been wrong when I assumed that it was just a pile of sandbags. There were also thick cement barriers in the middle of it, with platforms above where gunners had set up. The opening left for trucks to pass was barely wide enough for us to move through, and the thing blocking it was a heavy tank with a stubby gun mounting on its turret.

    I craned my neck back to watch the tank as we went by because it was a tank and those were pretty fucking cool.

    Looking for inspiration for your next ride? the driver asked.

    You mean the tank? I asked.

    Im afraid that the Armoured Assault Vehicle catalogue would drastically reduce your point count. The class I catalogue alone costs five hundred points, and a vehicle comparable to that one would easily cost a few thousand points.

    I clamped my mouth shut. I didnt want to be caught out screaming I can buy tanks?! while around all the soldier types.

    Yeah. I saw a Samurai tank once, the driver said.

    I heard groans from two of the three soldiers behind me.

    Its true! the driver defended herself.

    I leaned back into my shitty seat and sighed. I wanted to be back with Lucy, not heading in exactly the opposite direction.