Hale's voice crackled into Dane's ear again. "We have another problem. Even if I get the ACE ready to go, there are clamps holding the feet in place. I can't move with those attached."

"Sir, I detect, through the base schematics I have downloaded, that the clamp switch in question is situated next to where the necrotech is standing. I also detect incoming UEDF forces on our position. They will be here in one-and-a-half minutes."

Dane narrowed his eyes and easily spied the small metal reinforced siding of a simple lever. He cut off the coming curse that was making its way to his lips, then waved his hands at the necrotech. "So, this is your play?"

The necrotech's head slowly turned to the side as he gave his ever-growing look of success a turn toward his opponent.

Without wasting further words, Dane dashed toward the closest necrotech puppet and tried to pass by it.

Swiftly, almost as if it barely moved, the puppet slid into Dane's way and blocked his path.

Dane tried to bounce out of the way, but in the same smooth motion, the puppet delivered a hammering downward blow to his shoulder, knocking him toward the ground.

It took a titanic effort to keep himself standing, and Dane pushed back up, the necrotech still pushing on him. "How are they so strong!" he yelled through the exertion.

"Sir, much like your own augmented strength, the human body blocks a majority of our strength. Even I can only unlock 30% without causing irreparable damage. The necrotech puppets have no such limitations because there is no need for the host's survival."

Dane nodded and drew in the energy from the original impact and threw it from his palm and into the puppet's hip bone. The explosion speared through the bone structure and the puppet lost its standing support.

Using the moment to his advantage, Dane ducked around the body's falling arc, and though the puppet tried to compensate with surprising alacrity, it was not enough, and all the puppet managed was to grab him by the shoulder with a tough grip.

Dane spun about, throwing the grip off his shoulder, grabbed the hand by the wrist, and pulled downward. He kept the tips of the fingers pointed up and then snapped the wrist clean through, toppling it down towards the ground and following up with a jaw-shattering pile driving right, before continuing his press towards the necrotech.

The necrotech puppets swayed back and forth, then dashed forward, their heads snapping up and displaying the strange, eerie green light.

Behind the puppets, the necrotech magus moved his fingers in subtle sharp movements corresponding to the different dolls, minus his right index finger.

The puppets closed in on Dane, and instead of engaging head-on, then he jumped high into the air, the standard tactic to get in over a group of men.

With the same mimicked motion, two of the puppets launched into the air, only faster than Dane. They both hit him in a downward spike that sent the warrior rocketing back into the ground.

Dane bounced off the ground and let out a gasp as blood and spittle flew from his mouth. As he rebounded off the ground, he shook the stars from his head and punched the ground, throwing himself forcefully to his feet.

Still seeing spots, he felt Dennis inject a dose of adrenaline into his system. His eyes instantly cleared, and the pain subsided briefly. Dane also felt the particles of kinetic energy flashing all about his body in concentrated doses from the impact sites. He used his training to focus that energy into the palms of his hands before it could be absorbed and threw it back out immediately as he spiraled to his feet, pushing the puppets back with surprising force.

Moments later, the puppets rebounded right back at him. The first puppet came at Dane full-on and tried to tackle him down and bury him under its weight.

Rolling with the blow, Dane sidestepped right and used the puppets’ own momentum to throw it past him without incurring any damage of his own, which he promptly followed through with a push of force from his palm into the puppet's back, sending it skidding along the ground.

Another flew directly into his back, and he felt it take him down toward the ground.

Without breaking a step, Dane popped his left hand to the ground, spun his body about, and popped his knee into the puppet's chest, throwing it over his body while rolling with the blow with ease.

Dane smirked. "Like water." Then he made his way right back to his feet.

But the triumph was short lived. A solid strike to his chin spun him about in a complete three-sixty and then another to his chest sent him flying violently back through the pack of puppets. The uncontrolled tumble lasted right up until Dane rolled up onto the foot of the ACE.

He levered himself up strenuously. Meanwhile, he could still feel the influx of kinetic energy bounding about his skin.

He shook the stars from his eyes for the second time. "This is not working. Dennis, how sturdy are the clamps?"

"Sir, enough to hold a four-ton mech in place with thrusters repurposed from near-space aero fighter engines, afterburners on."

"Dennis, analyze the plans for a weak point in the clamps."

"There is one. Located near the underside are the hydraulics that push the clamps open or shut. If that is damaged, the clamps will both open. Right leg, two feet north, directly down."

Dane slowly turned his gaze toward the necrotech and gave the magus a hearty smile. Then he gave him a quick sarcastic salute and dashed toward the right leg.

"We are sitting at an active 40% right now, sir."

As Dane went, he pushed every ounce of kinetic energy he could convert towards his fist. He could feel it sparking along his arms as it raced towards his knuckles, building in intensity moment by moment. He gritted his teeth, and it was all he could do to keep the energy contained and circulating across the surface of his skin without letting it get out of control.

"Sir, you sit at 5% now, 35% aimed at your fist. I highly advise against this action. You have never attempted something like this before. No K.R.I.S. user has."

The necrotech immediately sent his puppets racing after Dane to stop him from doing what the necrotech feared.

Now, the mech was faced away from where Dane was doing battle and Hale could not bring the A.C.E.’s weapons to bear. Remove the clamps, that all changed. The fight was more than over and the necrotech’s puppets would be slaughtered wholesale.

He reached the point next to the leg.

Hale's voice sparked into his ear. "Ready bro! Just waiting on you!"

The knees of the mech slowly straightened and were stopped short by the clamps as the ACE rose.

The clamps strained against the mech's weight but did not give.

Dane let out a yell as the kinetics at the end of his fist were almost too far out of control for him to handle, and then he slammed his fist into the ground. The ferracrete was thrown out in a massive explosion of kinetic super force that left a gaping crater where the clamp was and then penetrated deep down, sending a spray of hydraulic fluid into his face.

The kickback from the strike flowed through Dane's arm and into his shoulder.

The pain was excruciating as he felt the tendons in his arm from his wrist to his shoulder were shredded by the overwhelming force. He roared in pain as he felt tendons snapping, but then focused and concentrated the remaining kinetics downward, cutting a clean line the rest of the way. Afterward, he felt his arm go limp as endorphins flooded his system and immediately blocked the pain from his mind. "Dennis, damage?"

"Repairable. The reinforced titanium thread in the tendons absorbed most of the blow. The muscles that were damaged are healable but will take time."

Dane grabbed hold of the side of his arm and gritted his teeth as he absorbed the news. He then looked up, and given what he saw, he knew he could not stop. The remaining nine puppets were diving toward him in a flying pack.

Suddenly, the leg of the ace broke free. Medium-sized thrusters on the feet sent a forward momentum, controlled the angle, and slid the mech in a complete circle, swiftly using rollers on the bottom of the feet. The legs flashed over Dane and in front of him as blue fire spat from the from the mech's ten front anti-infantry auto-targeting guns.

The cutting blue fire eviscerated the remaining nine puppets and the mech did not stop moving. It blasted forward as the aerospace engines situated on its back propelled it instantly forward, before throwing itself into a spinning turn to face the necrotech.

The necrotech was stock-still as his hands fell to his sides.

In mid-spin, Hale's ACE reached into the scabbard built into the right thigh and pulled out a solid metal handle attached to a blade as long as the forearm of the mech, vibrating with a blue fire along the edge. He then slashed down in a single motion.

The Vibroblade disintegrated the necrotech into a puff of grey ash.

And despite the pain that Dane felt acutely spiking down his arm, he could not help but let out a chuckle. "God damn Hale. Isn't that some shit. Tax dollars hard at work."

፨

"The battle suit ACEs (Armored Combat Exo-skeleton) were designed to replace the tank as the new heavy armored combat machines. Each ACE is a three-story humanoid robot exoskeleton made from a crystalline carbide ablative shell, depleted uranium lining, ceramics, and plasmic reactive inner shell. Hydrogen-fueled propulsion jets with a gas oxidizer that are situated on the shoulders. They give extreme forward maneuverability and limited flight. It comes outfitted with an array of combat options. Each is outfitted with hellfire rocket racks in the arms, penetrator chaser missiles in the shoulders, and a rapier assault cannon that fires 'smart' fire-and-forget bullets. The torso has ten small caliber auto-targeting anti-infantry guns. Finally, a sonic resonator sword was concealed on the right thigh. Its first deployment was to stabilize an outlying African region. After one battle, a single ACE's presence was all that was required to stabilize the region." - A.C.E. (Armored Combat Exo-skeleton) handbook

፨

Dane climbed up the side railing of the ACE and Hale extended his hand down to his brother and hauled him in. When he entered, Hale gave him a slap on the back and he crawled in. There was a seat behind the pilot's and he settled himself in. "A little cramped, don't you think?"

Hale sat in the chair and scooted it back a bit, cramping Dane up a bit more. He looked back at his brother with a look of brotherly mischief. "Better?"

Dane cracked his neck and tried to adjust his seating to be a bit more comfortable. "Oh yeah, much better thanks."

"Sirs, we have incoming military reinforcements. I would highly suggest we begin moving to escape the brunt of the assault."

Hale tapped a few buttons and reached up, pulling the hatch down over their heads. The inside of the cockpit was darkened for a moment, then a heads-up display (HUD) lit up the screen in front of them.

Hale continued tapping buttons, then he reached down and grabbed a silver metal circlet that he placed over his head. As soon as it touched his temple, a blue ring flashed around the center of the circlet and became solid.

Dane reached up and tapped his brother on the shoulder. "What is that, bro?"

"Sir, that is a Wallinger's thought translation unit. It works off advanced EEG technology and allows the user's thoughts to translate into the mech's movements."

Hale raised his hand above his head and snapped his finger to confirm. Then Hale grasped the controls and tapped a few buttons.  

- End of Episode -

Make sure to like and add this episode to your library to subscribe to future releases. Follow me on Facebook and Twitter for updates on future content. Leave a tip or become my patron on Patreon to help support the channel. Links in the description below and on my author profile.

Thank you for all of your love and support

New Episodes of K.R.I.S.: First Impact are released every Friday at 7 AM PST.