As night settled in and the day's remaining sunlight had disappeared, Garra stood atop an old abandoned building and watched as Imperial Battleships flew in the direction the Eisendrache fled.
She adjusted the rifle's sling that held the weapon on her back, turning her gaze towards the forest below, following a group of men wearing exosuits and holding military rifles, followed by machines; assault drones and three mechs.
She immediately understood the situation; these were no longer allies. They were here to take her back to the Empire by force since the 701st's androids were its best technology. The fact that the Empire's troops only took two full days to get here said it all; they were rushing to snag the battalion back under their control as soon as possible and claim whatever it was there.
Fortunately, she was patrolling alone, and the rest of the battalion was with Yuren on the Eisendrache. Although she didn't know what caused Yuren to leave suddenly, it was clear that the Empire was now their enemy.
"Heh... this'll work." She had a wicked smile as she leapt down to the ground. This meant something positive to her; the vice minister's orders no longer applied.
Therefore, there was no longer any reason to keep her hands held back; she could no longer worry about inflicting injuries that would bring serious harm. But she also couldn't go wild yet because the forces the empire brought were indeed overwhelming; they intended to use force and capture, just as much as she was intending to use force and destroy them.
She peered through her scope, immediately identifying and decoding the armor's shielding values, the estimated number of soldiers the body carried, and the estimated weapons and functions.
Immediately recognizing a few things: One, these were modified battle mechs, more robust and agile than those used in the open, clearly developed for Meteorn suppression. They could easily overpower an android like her in almost every aspect. And as per usual, the numbers here were grossly overwhelming. They had planned not to spare any effort in capturing her, even if it meant critically damaging her mechanical body.
Before meeting Yuren, and after undergoing several body reformations, she'd fought the Meteorn in the field multiple times. Knowing what a Meteorn can do during an encounter.
"Overdrive may be necessary..." Garra whispered to herself and unloaded the first shot at the lead mech's cockpit with pinpoint accuracy.
Not missing the sweet moment as it burst inwards and exploded, she wasted no time and quickly shot for the second.
The small battle group darted toward cover. Immediately moving in unison. The first two mechs were crippled and burning on the ground, and the infantry moved to protect the last while giving covering fire as the drones rushed for her position.
"The closer you get..." Her heavy sniper rifle blazed again, the loud report echoing through the air, and one of the drones exploded from being directly hit with a powerful bullet.
"The easier I can shoot you." Garra leaped down from her position with her gun in hand.
Reacting quickly, the nearest mech fired an array of missiles at her, firing more than half of its entire payload, raining down on her former position.
Upon landing on the ground, the metallic heels sparked against the concrete pavement as she cut left. "It was much harder to sneak in back then..." Garra chuckled; the shells exploded where she just was, destroying a large section of the building she was standing on before.
With all that ordinance going off, it left a noticeable bright flash across the surrounding area. Now it was just a matter of time before backup was called. If that happened, even she might find her fate grim unless she managed to escape.
Just as she activated her Overdrive, pain in her chest surged, quickly fading as energy from her core flowed to her circuits. "Well… Shit…" she groaned as she crouched down, clutching her chest.
Bots immediately surged for her, their mounted machine guns rapidly firing into the spot where they expected her to be.
Instead, she'd rolled in another direction, taking the brief instant to fire two more shots, knocking out a duo of soldiers as the combat drones closed in.
The last drone flew forward with its autocannon sweeping around in a circle as it sprayed buckshot wildly.
Garra kicked off the ground and leaped high, bullets whizzing around her.
"Where is she?!" A mechanized infantry pilot yelled as a drone reported no enemy androids detected.
Hiding among the crumbling rubble of the upper floors of the nearby ruins, Garra pressed her hand tightly against her chest, the splitting pain radiating through her core feeling sharper than before. Her breaths were shaky as she swore under her breath, "Damn it..."
She fought to load her termination gun, but the weapon slipped from her fingers, tumbling to the ground with a hollow, metallic clank that echoed eerily through the desolate space. Just days ago, Amalia had assured her that she still had a few years left before her core's transmutation prevention would begin to fail. So why was this happening now, out of nowhere?
Questions swirled in her mind as she considered whether her past bodies and the extensive repairs she had undergone had any part to play in this sudden malfunction. The weight of uncertainty pressed down on her like the debris surrounding her, adding to the turmoil within.
Frustration mingled with despair as she wiped away the coolant-mixed tears that streaked down her cheek. Gritting her teeth, she felt the boiling anger and pain churning inside her. Summoning her strength, she pushed herself to stand, but her legs betrayed her and gave way, crumpling beneath her as if they were made of paper.
As she glanced towards her termination gun, now seemingly miles away, a sinking feeling settled in her stomach. She knew deep down that she wouldn't make it; if she couldn't regain control, she would succumb to the dreaded transformation and become a Meteorn right here, in this forsaken place. Garra squeezed her eyes shut, fighting back the rising panic.
Her rifle, an imposing weapon meant for heavy combat, was far too cumbersome to serve as a substitute for the termination gun. And her sidearm, though reliable, lacked the power needed to pierce her reinforced chest; it was a grim realization that left her feeling hopeless.
"Shit..." she muttered, the word tasting bitter on her tongue. Already, the pain was creeping through her other arm, where her skin was beginning to shimmer and transform, morphing into a smooth, silky alloy that enveloped her like the protective shell of a Meteorn. The realization only deepened her dread, and she fought against the overwhelming urge to succumb to despair.
She dragged herself across the floor through the shattered doorway, feeling the painful sensation of her legs changing under her.
Finding a secluded corner within the shadowy interior of the dilapidated building, the android took a moment to steady herself, taking a deep breath despite the persistent throbbing pain radiating through her hands. Her fingers, crafted from advanced synthetic materials, gripped the rifle tightly as she trained its barrel on the doorway.
She would rather face death than surrender to the imperial administration. Her pride and determination to survive surpassed any instinct to flee; she was not going to be hunted down and captured so easily.
The Empire must have been reeling from significant losses and plummeting morale after experiencing an unprecedented assault on its citadel. What should have been a triumphant victory against the Meteorn had quickly devolved into a shameful failure. The Empire's most elite offensive battalion, once considered unbreakable, had turned against them, seizing one of their most coveted weapons in the process. XRVS01, a state-of-the-art strategic unit, was now beyond their command, a turn of events that left them vulnerable.
Gunfire reverberated in the distance, a chaotic symphony of violence punctuated by the terrifying blast of a missile detonation somewhere close by. Reinforcements had finally arrived to support the beleaguered Imperial assault unit, but their timing was tragically off. As the fresh troops poured into the scene, they were met with the devastating fire from her anti-material rifle, caught unaware in the unforgiving threshold of the doorway.
The sight was gruesome; blood and shattered metal sprayed across the walls, both within the building and outside, as the acrid scent of gunpowder mingled with the stench of death, permeating the air around her.
Soldiers collapsed one after another, their bodies falling lifelessly to the ground like discarded marionettes, caught in the merciless grip of her weapon. She could almost hear their gasps of disbelief as they realized that she was far more formidable than they had anticipated. Her fortified position and the design of her weapon left them scrambling, desperate to penetrate her defenses.
Garra felt a tremor ripple through her frame, a warning that her concentration was wavering. The distant shouts of men outside became muddled and indistinct, fading into a disorienting blur. With a glance at her own arm, she instinctively placed her left hand against her cheek, feeling the cool, almost otherworldly texture of the Meteorn skin and armor that enveloped her, now extending to cover her neck. As her dark hair shifted and transformed into a striking cascade of crimson red, her heart raced, not just with fear but with a fierce resolve.
As her vision began to blur at the edges, she made a decisive choice. She would shoot at anything that dared to cross the threshold; the precision shots she was known for were no longer possible under the circumstances. The rifle roared to life in her hands, the sound ringing sharply in her ears.
The recoil jolted her body, reverberating like the striking of a great drum as she strained to keep the weapon steady, each pull of the trigger echoing her determination to fight until the very end.
"It's okay." Eri's voice barely reached her. "No resist. Let transmutation happen."
The thunderous sound of her partner's rifle erupted in her ears, the sharp crack resonating so powerfully that it sent tremors through her entire body. Even with her eyes shut tightly, the echo of the gunfire lingered, haunting her as her consciousness began to fade into darkness.
Behind her, Garra's body contorted and twisted grotesquely, the painful transformation overtaking her. Eri could see the muscles beneath her skin shifting and twitching violently, accompanied by unsettling cracking and crunching noises, as if bones were breaking and reforming within her.
Eri maintained her position in the doorway, her heart racing as she observed the chaos unfolding before her. Human soldiers rushed forward, their faces etched with determination as they charged into position, weapons raised and firing.
In the midst of their assault, Eri unleashed a fierce barrage of shots, each bullet finding its mark and pushing back the advancing Imperials, desperately trying to keep them at bay while her partner struggled against the overwhelming change.
Hours passed in a tense standoff against the relentless Imperials, their numbers seeming endless as they sought to overrun the two. Just as the first light of dawn broke over the horizon, painting the sky with hues of orange and pink, Eri turned her head to glance back at Garra. The transformation was complete; she could feel a profound silence envelop the room, the heavy tension easing as the sun's rays poured in, illuminating the space with warmth.
Yet, the silence outside was unsettling. The once-thundering footsteps and shouts of the Imperials had vanished, leaving an eerie stillness that hung in the air. It was as if the sun itself had cast a spell over the land, silencing all as if anticipating what might come next. With her heart pounding, Eri wondered what this unexpected peace truly meant for them both.