I headed back to my room, belly full, to double check my kit before heading out. Karl mentioned as we were leaving the dining hall that he had a couple weapons for me to try out during our excursion, which should keep things interesting. Most Lycans prefer our claws. They’re durable, rapidly repairing, and most of all, impossible to lose or drop. I’m not the best with ranged weapons, but our Pack does do basic training with guns and bows, just in case.
Finding everything present and accounted for, I shouldered my bag and headed for the elevators to meet Karl. He’d better not be thinking we are taking that motorcycle again.
Karl was waiting at the elevator doors for my arrival. Greeting me with a nod, he lifts a large duffel and a camping pack into the waiting service elevator and presses the floor marked Fleet Garage. Good, it seems that travel in comfort is assured.
"How familiar are you with the M2 Browning?" Karl asked out of nowhere.
"I know where the trigger is if that counts?" was the best reply I could fathom to explain my minimal experience with the iconic belt fed weapon.
"That’ll do. The Toyota has one hard mounted in the box. With your Lycan agility, remaining standing shouldn’t be an issue, and I’ve enchanted two belts worth of explosive rounds for our entry. Just treat it like a lawnmower, if it’s standing, knock it down."
Now I understand why the Vampire had an issue with Karl’s version of the rules of engagement.
"Their hostility is confirmed, one team already had to retreat. So don’t worry about hitting innocents, there’s none left alive in the area." he continued seeing the change in my expression.
"So your grand plan is to charge them with a machine gun and then continue on through the portal like it’s no big deal?"
"Yup, portal is big enough for the truck, so I fully intend to drive on through instead of walking the entire way. We’re not sure what’s on the other side, other than the immediate vicinity of the portal."
Well, he does have a point. If we can drive, I’d much rather drive.
Bags now loaded into a plain white Toyota Tacoma with a gun turret in the box, I hopped up and ran a quick weapons check as the garage doors opened.
"We’re gonna get along great little one. I can sense it" Karl shouted out the window while peeling out of the garage like the devil himself was chasing us.
Fifteen minutes of high speed driving later, Karl finally slowed the vehicle to a crawl.
"We’re almost in range of their scouts sense of smell. As planned, we’ll crawl along until they detect us, then you open fire while I keep a shield up around the truck. Once we’ve got a clearing, or they begin to swarm the vehicle, we will move on to melee. I’ve left a set of clawed gauntlets under the tripod for you, Alpha Petros said you prefer fighting in human form instead of Lycan"
Muttering a quick thanks to my Alpha I grabbed the gloves and checked the fit. It seems that while they’re clawed, there’s really nothing special about them? I could even wear them while working the Browning, so that’s what I intend to do.
"What’s up with the gloves? Am I missing something?"
"Ah, likely. Smack the backs of your hands together while willing them to activate. Repeat to deactivate"
Taking his advice I tap my hands together, wondering what sort of weapon the big mage has come up with. The claws immediately extend another six inches and the entire glove begins glowing with a pale purple light.
"Those will cut right through steel, so be careful not to clip yourself. The magic will slow healing"
Now that’s what I’m talking about. Every bit as good as my own claws, without the risk of embarrassment Now, a lycan’s strength and speed are greatly enhanced after transformation, but we’re still much faster and stronger than any regular human. I should be fine, I reassure myself.
"First scouts are in view, patrol is pretty sparse, wait until they raise the alarm and you can clear more with the ammunition you have" Karl sounds just a bit too excited to see his explosion enchanted rounds in action. Not that most would notice, but there’s just something to his dry and factual tone that screams excitement to my enhanced senses.
Dozens of huge pink bodies begin swarming towards the patrol guard, spears in hand, in a throwing position. We’re still over 50 meters away, maybe they’re a bit too optimistic about their chances. Or maybe they’re aiming to create an obstacle to the truck with spears stuck in the ground?
The answer, was neither. The first wave of spears bounced off the shield surrounding the Toyota and I squeezed the trigger, bringing the machine gun to life.
Explosions lit up the clearing in front of me, each round creating a 5 foot fireball on impact, throwing shrapnel from armor and unsuspecting Orcs into their surrounding comrades at high velocity. Some rounds missed their intended targets and hit the defensive picket line behind the guards, making a hail storm of wooden splinters and creating a squealing chaos in the camp.
Burst after burst rained into the orcs defensive lines, clearing a swathe and immediate loss of formation as the invaders tried to fathom and compensate for the devastating range and power of the unknown weapon.
"Pan Right, we’re going through the gate" Karl’s voice sounded in my ear as the truck lurched onto a new trajectory.
Quickly adjusting my balance as we hurtled across the now cratered field I took note of a line of Orcs surging forth from the gates, as well as a large group of more heavily armored ones flanking us from the right. Those were definitely the priority, if I couldn’t deal with them now I’d have to do it up close and personal, which did not sound fun.
Seriously, they’re 5 times my size.
Most of the orcish battle line seems to be about 7 feet tall, but these ones had to be well over 8 feet. Add to that their heavy steel armor and I’m not even sure the machine gun would have an easy time of them without Karl’s enchantments. Thinking of which, did he already know about Orcs? It’s only been a few weeks since knowledge of the portals opening started to spread. How much experience with alien species could anyone have? Or is he just a battle maniac like the Vampire Narishma joked? Never mind that, this second belt is getting low, how many of these creatures have I killed so far? It must be a lot, the smell of seared flesh is becoming overpowering.
"Reload" I shouted up at Karl, noting that while the heavy infantry was thoroughly decimated, the gate guards were getting awfully close, and charging hard.
"No time for that, they’ll be in melee range by the time you’re done. Time to put those claws to good use Little Lycan"
I felt my adrenaline rising up as I struggled not to transform to meet the threat.
This is it, time to prove I deserve Alpha Petros’s nomination to the Task Force.