Prelude to Crystal Cove Chronicles

Chapter 7: Unscheduled Stop

Zenya was awoken by a shudder. Looking out of the window, she saw that they had come to a complete stop. She jumped to her feet and ran for the exit as the other passengers crowded around the windows. Upon reaching the exit door, she stepped down and stopped dead. Parked across the tracks was an armoured vehicle, one of their older model tanks that used six wheels, three on each side, rather than treads.

Further up the tracks, with the hostile Northern Wasteland to their right, she saw what she had feared; several Mathusean-era Automechs clanking across the tracks, already well beyond the Barrier Line.

Despite the name, it wasn't actually a barrier, per se, rather it was a series of guard posts each equipped with weapons, ammo, telescopes, and other essential equipment for spotting and dealing with these deadly nuisances.

Each guard tower was assigned a stretch of the Line, extending out to a couple of miles in both directions. But while the guard posts each had a good stock of equipment, much of it was older or in various states of disrepair, especially the few vehicles they possessed.

While the Barrier Line was important to the safety of the Tri-Cities and their other settlements, the issues with Musea were considered more important, resulting in much of the newer equipment going to outfit those who fought on the frontlines against an enemy known to be at least on equal footing with them.

Automechs, while extremely dangerous, rarely appeared in groups greater than three, and therefore were considered a lower priority, even when they managed to stray this close, to the point of stopping an incoming train. It was a source of continual annoyance for the Barrier Line Defence Force, but they grudgingly accepted their fate simply because they knew their superiors were right, as much as it pained them to admit.

Zenya brought a hand up to shield her eyes in hopes of getting a better look at the current situation. Two soldiers in their deep crimson Defence Force uniforms had waved the train down and were talking to the driver. Half a dozen men could be seen in the distance engaging the glittering, metallic robots. And two soldiers had been downed and were lying only a few metres from the tracks.

She picked up the pace and jogged across, keeping her eyes peeled for potential stray rounds; Automechs carried powerful elemental cannons that were capable of ripping through an armoured vehicle with minimal fuss. Having one of those shells go through a squishy human was normally fatal, and Zenya had no interest in dying today.

A flash of bright yellow-white made her look up to where one of the fighting soldiers had fired an elemental round into the Automech closest to him. Thunder bullets, as they were colloquially known, caused untold damage to the 'mechs, but they were a double-edged sword; the 'mech might shut down, or it might go completely haywire.

In this case, the shining silver carapace of the machine was ruptured, splashing a black oily substance across the earth as it toppled over and sparked a few times, its cannon silent and pincer arm no longer in working order.

The other two Automechs converged on the soldiers, forcing them to retreat, firing as they went. One of the men fielded a heavy blow from the closer of the 'mechs, the club-like weapon slamming into his metal handheld shield and knocking him to the floor; absent the shield, he probably would have been killed instantly. Firing their weapons, the other men dragged him out of harm's way.

"I'm a medic, can I help?" Zenya called over, coming to a stop near the two downed men by the tracks.

"Stay down!" yelled the soldier nearest her, lining up another shot and blasting an electrified hole right through the oncoming Automech. It collapsed into a metal heap and moved no more. He waved her over. "There's a field medkit in my backpack, see what you can do, but keep your eyes open. We're not out of the fire until the last 'mech is dealt with." He returned his attention to the last remaining enemy, dropping his pack on the ground and shoving it towards her.