The front line had been quiet for several hours, so when the bears on the walls opened up, I immediately connected to the command network to get an update.

  “What’s going on?” Mud growled.

  “Model Threes and Fours emerging from the forest,” I replied, as I flicked through the different combatants.

  “Is that all?” he scoffed. “I thought they’d be sending something bigger at us by now.”

  “Yeah… normally I wouldn’t be that concerned, but the thing is, there’s a wall of fucking fire between us and the hive right now. So either they’ve developed a strain that’s immune to fire, or they’ve found a way around,” I said.

  “A way around?” he grunted.

  “Probably tunnels. They fucking love tunnels,” I grumbled. “Hopefully it’s just them trying to pierce the perimeter whenever they can, but if they’re intentionally pushing this way…”

  “We could be in big trouble,” Wild finished.

  I nodded. “I’ll send out patrols around the perimeter looking for leaks. If they’re breaking out everywhere, I’ll have to adjust the strafing runs to catch the Antithesis when they come out of the new tunnels.”

  “If that’s the case, chances are you’ll only be delaying the inevitable. They’ll only dig more tunnels,” Wild pointed out.

  “I know, but I’ve got to try and stay on top of them, or we’ll be up to our eyeballs in Antithesis and fungus,” I replied.

  The gunfire didn’t relent; in fact, it seemed to be getting more intense with every second. “I wish I’d sent more foxes out to scout after those ‘Twenty-Ones’ took out the front line. I didn’t think the Antithesis would be able to break the perimeter this quickly.”

  “Tenacious bastards,” Mud hissed.

  “I need to get back on the wall, I want to keep an eye on things,” I said. “I have a feeling that things are about to get a lot worse around here.”

  “Gut feeling?” Wild asked.

  “Experience,” I replied. “Whenever the Antithesis assaults a position, they almost always escalate and send the strongest Models possible. This is probably only the first wave.”

  “I’ll get my bike,” Mud grunted.

  “Fine. But if you go out there, be careful. We don’t know what else is in those woods,” I said.

  He nodded once before stomping off towards the town gate, where he’d left his vehicle. Once he left, I nodded at Wild before jogging back towards the wall.

  By the time I got to the top, the Antithesis assault seemed to be in full swing. There were now Model Fives and Sixes mixed in with the Threes and Fours, and as I watched, a Model Twelve trudged out of the woods. Flocks of Model Ones were starting to emerge over the trees and dive down at our lines, only to be picked off by the PAWS mounted on the edge of the walls.

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  “Escalating already,” I muttered. “They must be pushing the larger units through as soon as the tunnels are wide enough. I really hope this is a focused attack, because if this is happening all around the perimeter, we’re kind of fucked.”

  [Deadbeat, Heavy, take command of the North and South flanks. Report back if the situation starts getting bad or you encounter a new Model. Dusty, take command of the Ursas. I want to know if this is happening elsewhere, and if so, adjust the strafing runs to block those tunnels,] I ordered through the command network. [Bandit, take command of the Foxes and Chameleons. I want to know the instant they try to send stealth units, or try to bypass our lines.]

  I glanced around the slowly escalating battle and sent one last command.

  [Spooky, time to take off the kid gloves. Saturation fire.]

  Even with the sound filters on my helmet, the sound of gunfire was intense. The advanced weapons drowned out nearly all the surrounding sound in a relentless stream of metallic cracks. They were nothing in comparison to the guns on Bear Force One.

  Dozens of twin-linked cannons opened up, raking the battlefield and cutting down the larger models. They were effective, but they were nothing compared to the Shatterstorm.

  I’d only been able to afford to arm one of the four secondary turrets on Bear Force One before the battle, and right now it was proving worth each penny.

  The heavy multibarrel coil gun wasn’t just stronger than the Kodiak-mounted cannons; it fired massive flechette rounds, which spread out wide enough to devastate an enormous area. The foot-long metal bars shredded the woods, impaling hundreds of Antithesis with each shot.

  “Holy shit… Why do you have something like that?” Wild asked. I jumped; I’d been so focused on the battle I hadn’t realized that she’d come up behind me.

  “Because whenever I’ve fought the Antithesis, they always flood the area with smaller models. Since I have something to take care of the large models, I thought I should add something to help clear the field,” I explained. “Looks like it’s working.”

  “If you have something like that, why haven’t you just flown over the hive and sprayed down everything that moves?” She asked.

  “Because of what happened to the recon teams. My APCs have taken direct attacks from Model Twenty-Threes before, and shrugged them off. For something to completely punch through them like they’re tissue paper… I’m not convinced that even Bear Force One could withstand a sustained bombardment,” I told her. “The sad fact is, even though Bear Force One looks impressive, I spent the majority of my points on the engines and superstructure. I intended to use it as a transport for my forces and upgrade it over time. It’s far from being a fully operational warship.”

  Her eyes darted from me to the battlefield and back again. “If this is what you consider bare bones, I can’t imagine how much of a monstrosity that thing is going to be when it’s fully operational.”

  I opened my mouth to reply when a shrill whistle split the battlefield. Glancing up, I just caught sight of something that appeared to be similar to the Model Fifteen projectile, but far more gooey and viscous.

  Multiple PAWS active protection systems opened up on the projectile, hitting it dozens of times mid-flight, causing it to sizzle and smoke before finally bursting open and spraying the battlefield in a rain of goo.

  The liquid splattered all over my armor, coating my visor and leaking into the joints.

  “Gross…” I muttered as I tried to wipe it off.

  As I did, an alert popped up in my visor {Warning: Unknown Substance Detected. Environmental Seal Integrity Falling.}

  “What?” I muttered blankly. My armor had been splattered with nearly every chemical and biological substance known to man over the last year, and it never had a problem before.

  “Did you say something?” Wild asked.

  “Not important right now!” I replied, panicking slightly. I scooped her up and jumped from the wall, putting as much distance between us and the goop as possible.

  “What are you doing?” she screamed.

  “I’m sorry for this, but it’s an emergency,” I replied. “Nyx, a pair of emergency showers, now!”

  As soon as they appeared, I threw Wild into one while stepping into the other and cranked the pressure as high as it could go. “That goop is corrosive or something. It’s eating through the environmental seals on my armor. It’s probably happening to yours, too. Do your best to clear it off ASAP.”

  “How can you know that?” she asked. Even though she was suspicious, I did hear the other shower turn on.

  “I have a hud built into my helmet, which allows me to select different vision modes. It warned me,” I explained. “Nyx! I don’t know what this shit is, but if you think there’s a better way to neutralize it, do it now! I don’t give a shit about the cost.”

  I’ll add a counter agent to the shower, one moment.

  The shower water turned red for several seconds, then green, then the nozzles sprayed my armor with fire before the water reengaged.

  “Fuck, was that necessary?” I asked.

  Yes, if you wanted to make sure it was fully neutralized. There are only a few compounds that could eat through your seals at this level, and I sprayed you with a neutralizer for each. Safety first.

  “Shit… this is going to be a problem, isn’t it?” I muttered.

  “Probably,” Wild replied quietly. “I’m just glad you pushed Mud and me to get environmentally sealed armor. Thanks for that.”

  “You’re welcome. We should warn Mud before he gets in trouble, then figure out what to do next. We need to keep this battle from going south,” I said.

  “I think you’re already too late for that,” Wild replied. “Hopefully, we can keep them from getting worse.”

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