2 Chapter 2

The rush from connecting to even a simulated CTAS battle suit is unlike anything a human can experience. It has been said to feel like having your body expand to fit that of the CTAS itself while still feeling everything with your normal body. Experimental class CTAS battle suits had a different feel to them though. They didn't have limiters when they were first created, making the synapse process both far more uncomfortable for the pilot and far more dangerous as they had to have enough mental strength to accept such a large new appendage suddenly giving them all the data that was associated with the new CTAS. The experimental type also boasted several small improvements. The feet had been replaced by tracks that increased the land speed three-fold. The arms weren't touched as they were rather hard to make better. The body was also relatively untouched as both the crystal drive and the cockpit were located here and had to be in a specific orientation to maximize power output as well as control. The thruster system had been shifted to the hips to lower the center of gravity and to allow faster acceleration without falling over. The chassis could also support extra weapons attached to the shoulders once the thrusters were lowered. Adding the new weapons increased the weight and energy drain, so a second crystal drive was installed parallel to the first, increasing the amount of power that could be produced and stored. The head had an improved sensor suite and a marker laser which allowed the CTAS to paint targets for nearby friendlies. The hip holsters supported two higher yield laser revolvers that acted in a similar fashion to their smaller cousins, which allowed the beam lens to cool down before each additional shot. The primary armament was a new form of siege gun that required the wielder to charge the crystal energy matrix on the gun before it could fire out a half molten armor type crystal slug.

"Hey, rookie, what the heck is that CTAS?" This was one of the lower-ranking cadets from Sara's squad.

"It's the new experimental type combat CTAS with both close range and artillery capabilities." There was silence for a minute while they all took it in.

"Alright, well, this mission is in space orbiting a plane-" They all looked down, awestricken by the reconstruction of the Earth they were fighting above. "It's beautiful… and it's going to be the place where we defeat our enemies." A cheer rose up over the coms. "Everyone, turn on long-range scanners and see if you can spot the enemies."

"Already found three groups on the planet, two on the moon, and that only leaves one spot for the rest of them."

"Well, that was fast. Mind marking them, Rookie?"

"Sorry, ma'am, but my painter doesn't have that long of a range. I can tell you that we have company closing in fast from the planet though."

Everyone lowered their eyes to the planet where a group of twelve was making its way towards them.

"Open fire when they enter your max range." Sara seemed rather eager to take the enemies out as quickly as possible.

"Firing, stand clear."

The industrial CHUNG from the siege gun sent Rookie flying backward into a few other people as the sound traveled up his CTAS's arm.

"They're within your max range, Rookie?!"

Everyone watched the shot as it went through one of the enemies and heavily damaged several others with shrapnel.

"Yeah, but this is a new gun, so I didn't realize it would have that much recoil. Sorry to everyone I rammed into."

"You're fine, honestly, it's my fault for being right behind the guy with the big gun." It was the same guy who has asked Rookie what was up with his CTAS.

"Alright, well, I think I've got my recoil compensation set, but you all may want to stand clear."

Another slug from the gun sent more shrapnel through the enemies while the thrusters on Rookie's hips tried to compensate for the enormous amount of recoil his gun was generating. Another round, another enemy destroyed, but they had spread out making the shrapnel less dangerous. Another two shots took out two more enemies before his shoulder mounts were in range.

"I'm going to send an alpha strike their way!"

"Alright, you heard him! Get ready to move in once his firing cycle ends!"

Everyone was waiting, ready to pounce on the crippled enemies. The blast from his siege gun was accompanied by the two heavy lasers on his shoulders tearing apart three additional enemies.

"Charge!"

The rest of the group flew forwards as fast as their thrusters would let them. The moment they entered their maximum range, they opened fire. The battlefield erupted between the two groups. Only three of Sara's group were taken out by the first volley, while the rest of the enemies were defeated.

"May the abyss welcome them into its ranks."

"What was that, Rookie?"

"Nothing, ma'am."

"Alright, well, we're moving on to their base now that their away team is gone."

Everyone moved toward the part of Earth where the enemy had come from.

"Ma'am, have you noticed we spawned away from the rest of our group?"

"Yeah, but that's normal for the attacking groups. But I get what you mean, their base may be further away from where they spawned."

"Allow me a moment to scan the surrounding area for energy sources and then we can move in from the ground where we will have more cover."

"Right, I may request you as a tactical officer after this, Rookie."

"Then, can I request you stop calling me rookie? I prefer Loyd."

"Alright, Loyd. Have you found that enemy base yet?"

"Yes, but we may be able to come from directly above them, assuming they don't have mach cannons."

Loyd broadcast the flight path to the rest of the group, so they knew what kind of formation they needed to use to minimize casualties.

"What are you, a genius?" Yet another new voice.

"No, I'm just using the onboard computer more effectively than the rest of you."

This was a side-effect of removing the limiters from his CTAS. Another side-effect was that he no longer required a holo-screen to be projected in front of him as he had a direct connection to the sensor suite, thus allowing a little more power to be diverted to other systems.

"What do you mean by that?" This was another of the group.

"I don't use limiters. Now let's move on the enemy while they aren't prepared."

Loyd turned his throttle to full and muted his communications. He would have to ditch some weight so he could exit the gravity well of the planet but he only needed to grab one of the enemies' remains to block the heat from reentry. "Set timer for three minutes." He shot thru the battlefield at top speed grabbing the wreckage from two of the enemies and smashing them together in front of him. Hitting the atmosphere was like hitting a brick wall and tore small chunks off of both of his shields but they were still holding together. Loyd took the time to reposition himself so that he had his feet on their torso to better maneuver once he landed on the mountain the enemies were using as their base.

The landing was far worse than just hitting the atmosphere but he managed to hit a sheer cliff at an angle that allowed him to simply slide down and create an impromptu smoke screen.

"Shed heavy armor." The heavy armor that adorned his CTAS fell off and revealed secondary armaments positioned under the armor. He reached back and pulled a knife off his back before crouching. "Activate runaway sequence: The Black Assassin." His CTAS lowered its power use and diverted all the extra power back to his crystal matrix redoubling the power output and causing an excess of power going through his second power system. Loyd placed his remaining hand on the ground and waited for the dust to settle so he could see.

"OPEN FIRE ON THE SMOKE!" blared over a speaker system seconds before gun fire cut through the dust above him, igniting the pyrite dust from the cliff face and causing an explosion. "Well, that ought to take care of- the hell?"

Loyd lunged forward and brought his knife up through the weak armor between the legs and took out the pilot before letting go and pulling himself towards his next victim. The pilot was slow on the draw and got an axe to their face while Loyd tore off their CTAS's arm and clubbed the next person with it before jumping back and firing a laser pistol into their now exposed crystal drive, which very quickly started to glow before exploding and taking out an additional three enemies.

"You idiots need to work on spacing if I can take four of you with a single shot." Loyd shouted searching for his next victim.

"Y-you aren't human!"

Even though obviously scared, the guy still charged Loyd.

"No, I think I am."

He dodged his spear and kicked out his knee as he passed. Another group of them was charging him much like the first, but they were far more organized and had made a completely inescapable wall… or so they thought. Loyd crouched, his hand on the ground, and counter charged them, only to jump onto the one in the center. Dodging all of their spears and taking down yet another in the process, he located the leader of this force. The enemies had been so focused on attacking him that they had left their leader wide open to an attack, something Loyd would make them regret.