Part 23 – That’s no moon…

Day 05

Excellent progress was being made on the attack. I sat patiently, hammering away with one hand using my potently wielded crowbar, while the other typed at a calculator. By my preliminary analysis, this cement shield protecting this POS would fall sometimes by next month. It was not looking too good, but at least I knew I was slowly winning this battle.

Already nineteen hours into the grueling siege, morale was falling at our chances of defeating it. A few questioned what they were doing here, while others were just so eager at their first attack on the structure. My force remained at a meager Crow, two Caracals, a Bestower, a Rupture, that Velator and one rather frequently seen riced-up Thorax. I sighed, wishing something would break this terrible monotony.

I should have been more careful of what I wished for.

Walls opened up. Large gears cranked and turrets, brimming with all sorts of weapons seemed to just sprout up from behind the wall and in it, all aiming at my pitiful band. I stared in awe, preparing for my most daring command yet.

“Run away! RUN AWAY!” I cried out. But it was too late. Shells, bombs and missiles flew across the field, smashing clean through both Caracals almost immediately, splitting them into piles of broken steel beams, with those bizarre compressed spring coils they had rebounding far off.

The faster vehicles tried to escape too, before nets began catapulting over the walls. It was awful beyond anything I had ever seen, the poor Velator webbed by the nets to barely over a snail’s pace. It soon was smashed by a heavy five-ton ‘Citadel Cinderblock’ dropped from above.

“Align to the road! What the hell? Why aren’t you all getting out?!” I shouted out the window, turning my car’s wheel… but it wouldn’t respond! Why on earth wouldn’t it respond? It seemed like everything was going in slow motion, and we had no control.

I tried to shift gears to speed up, before a shocking little post-it note caught my eye right on the speedometer, the yellow square spelling a portent of imminent doom.

Post-It Note:

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An attempt is already under way to shift into first gear. Please wait.

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This wasn’t happening. Already, legions of enemies were disgorging from the gates of the structure. I had to escape somehow. After an eternity of watching my allies get slaughtered, my Crow shifted into gear and began to align to the road, quickly speeding out of the area. I was not out of the woods yet.

I had to make it to the highway onramp somehow, despite the army following me! This would take some… no wait--- All of my cunning to accomplish!

Swerving between my few friendly survivors, I bumped the Bestower off the road, leaving the poor sap to be sacrificed for my greater good. Still, it did not accomplish much to slow them down. I barely made it to the onramp by mere moments, and saw a clear open road before me on the highway.

I was going to make it.

That’s when the light turned red, and my Crow stopped cold right at the ramp.

Traffic Control:

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You are currently #24th in Queue for Entry…

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…Oh damnit all.

(to be continued)