denial

[Katarhyne]

Starting from the beginning of part five, here - if you missed the first bit, check out this.

RG01-10A
The RG01 design is an older design which has prevailed mostly due to it's amazing ruggedness and also the prodigal speeds that it can attain. While it lacks mobility compared to other skids, the single huge Mercury Industries turbine that powers this skid can propel it to 250kph in a matter of seconds, and gives it a top speed of over 800kph. The RG01 was also the first skid to incorporate the AFGF lift system, or advanced forward gravitic field, by which the antigravity magnetic field which lifts the skid from the ground is projected in front of the skid, so that it will automatically lift itself above most obstacles. The ultimate revision of the RG01 design, the RG01-10A, mounts one forward beam laser with a total output of 2.4GW, and then in a turret mounted on upper-back of the fuselage, rear of the canopy, mounts a Stoner M2022 rapid-charging 9mm railcannon, and a 900MW quick-cycle pulse laser from the Hasegawa combine. This skid mounts more armor than most light attack vehicles, and it's not uncommon for the RG01 series to take large-caliber rockets and explosive shells and survive to fight another day.

RG04-12
The RG04 design is a very recent release from Rumarov Gravitic. A very similar design to the older RG01 chassis, the RG04 sheds the massive turbine of the RG01 for four much smaller jets, mounted in pairs on either side of the fuselage. These smaller jets use a technology known as dynamic thrust adjustment to compensate for lateral differences in drag and also to assist in turning to create a much more manuverable skid than its predecessors. The RG04-12 is actually a lower-end model of the RG04 series, and all of its weaponry is based on tried-and-true 20th-century technology. Still, the equipment is functional, comprised mainly of a forward-mount 30mm autocannon, and in the sleek turret, a 71mm link-feed rocket launcher, and a 20mm tri-barrel rotary cannon. Like its older cousin, the RG04 mounts the AFGF lift system, allowing it to cruise smoothly over small obstructions.

[{(Chapter Five: I don't think I'm the only monster around here.)}]

Heat lines and dust clouded the pilots' view as the two skids blasted out of the garage, dropping to ground level as they flew across the New Mexico desert. Camouflaged, they wouldn't be very conspicuous normally, but at 400kph, nothing is inconspicuous.

"Firesk, kill your afterburners in 3. We don't need to be going that fast; we'll be there all too soon as it is," Azazelle commanded over the radio. "and there's no need to advertise our approach."

"Roger." Both skids slowed considerably, pulling in closer to each other.

Azazelle cleared her throat. "LANL is just around this ridge. This entire formation here is totally artificial - the installation supposedly runs way up back into the rock. I've never been inside, myself, but I hear it's pretty labyrinthine."

"Are we gonna just fly all up in there, or are we gonna park out here and head in on foot? These things ain't stealthy," Joey offered. "It'd be better if we hoofed it."

Elias disagreed. "I, for one, rather appreciate the multiple centimeters of alloy around me at the moment." Azazelle nodded. "I don't think they have anything large enough to-"

The corporal's sentence was cut short by a massive explosion just between the two skids, sending a huge cloud of sand and dirt into the air. Azazelle spat an oath and cut her skid hard to the side, looking around for the other skid, as radio activity had cut off, just as her gunner, the alert Bartido, swung his turret around, looking for their assailant. "What the hell was that?"

"Firesk!? Firesk, ack!" Azazelle cursed again at the lack of response, cutting the skid around hard, and then her eyes caught a flurry of motion just outside the canopy and she instinctively slammed the throttle forward, without letting go of her fierce left pull on the control stick, blasting the skid away from whatever it was. "There!", said Elias as he pointed off to their left, where a vaguely humanoid form was coming into view. "What the hell is that?"

Perhaps only ten meters from where they'd been was a massive creature, standing over five meters tall, all hardened muscle and cybernetic implants, with two great iron horns extending from either side of it's flattened head, and a massive smoothbore launch tube built into a magazine-feed rocket launcher which made up it's left forearm. It roared at the skid, leveling it's metal arm at the vehicle, which had spun to face it. "Bartido, fire!"

Manta needed no further encouragement from his commander. The the smell of ozone would have tipped off anyone to the otherwise-invisible beams of light lancing across the searing sands from the turret's pulse laser, as well as the skid's truly heavy weapon, the fixed-forward-mount Hades-class heavy beam cannon. The monstrous creature howled as the pulse laser's cyclic pulses seared the flesh off of it's chest, and then a well-placed beam cannon shot lanced off it's right arm. "Yeah!"

Private Grey wasn't so enthusiastic. "Azzy, it doesn't seem too-" Elias' warning was cut off by the throbbing hum of the railcannon's capacitors as they surged, sending a powerful jolt down the barrel followed by the crack of a nine-millimeter slug being accelerated past mach seven as it exited the barrel of the railcannon. Ray frowned at the lack of any perceptible effect on the cyber-demon at first, but suddenly, it's entire chest cavity exploded in a firey-red spray of blood, bone, jet fuel, and metal shrapnel that lit up the entire area. After a moment's jubilation, the crew of the tiny vessel was startled by a powerful explosion towards the aft of the skid, and they started to lose fuel pressure. "What the hell was that?"

Ray answered, having seen the rocket just before it impacted the skid. "He must've fired before we got 'em."

The vixen pilot growled, slamming her fist into the control console, leaving an impressive dent on the polished metal surface. "DAMN!"

"What's the matter, Azzy - pissed 'cause he broke your toy?" Elias laughed. "Fuck you." Azazelle grumbled as she opened the canopy, her two companions stepping out after her. "Guess we're walkin', eh?"

((I'm gonna stop updating this. But don't fret! I'm not going to stop writing the story. I'm writing on it right now. If you're interested, check the above link. We can use this thead to discuss the story, though - and I'll also post when I've updated. This next update will be a (relatively) large one.))

[Crendowing]

KAT!!!!!!

[dsm]

Yes!!! You're back!!! Damn am I glad to see you!
/Me whipes sweat from forehead, thankful that Kat's all right.

And a great story too :-)
I do have a minor suggestion if I may:
All the technical details on those vehicles could be more interesting to read if they were incorporated into the actual story rather than explained outside the story - I'm not a "tech" nut if you understand what I mean, so I found it a bit boring to read through the 'tech part'.

But the actual story r0x (of course it r0x, Kat's the author :-]), excellent work Kat.

[Katarhyne]

Well, the main reason I took them out of the story is so that non-technical people could skip over those parts if they so desired. I'm something of a gun nut and also a tech geek so if I seem to put a lot of attention towards technical details and the like, then that's why. I'll try to make it a little more immersive in the future. I'm considering running home and typing like that guy from Ghost in the Shell (with the split fingers, remember?) on this story - I'm rather inspired.

Just as a forewarning, this story will likely go the way of the Doom novels - graphic, lurid descriptions of slaying hordes of Doom monsters with emotional and philosophical interludes. That's the way I had initially planned it.

[pritch]

wow, it's Kat! Yay, I liked that story, I'm a tech geek too so it found it's niche! :)

[Submerge]

I'm glad you're back Kat. Great story, as usual.

[nxn]

hlo

[Katarhyne]

Make sure you read the note at the bottom of the original post.

Updated. Another Doom monster makes it's appearance. ^_^

I'll probably increase my pace on this story considerably.

Comments?

[Wildman]

Nice job.

[Peter Heinemann]

Wonderful story - YOU ARE TALENTED (like you would not know :)
Great job Kat!