Thirty-One

They ran over the charred remnants of the defenders, the crunch of their carbonized bones felt through his boots. Kon focused on keeping up with Benny, the old man running in a zig zag, low to the ground, as fewer and fewer defensive positions fired on them. The remaining Knights fired with lethal purpose, each shot destroying one more gun installation. Small pockets of goblin defenders had been split apart and the Squires overran them, leaving none alive.

Kon couldn't focus on that as he kept running. The Knight's armor could repel an enemy shot, even from the heavier weapons on the station. His couldn't.

The beat of his heart accompanied his panting breaths as he ran, filling his ears as he tried to close the distance to Benny. The old man seemed to know when Kon got too close, speeding up to leave a five meter gap between them as he ran and leapt, clearing the obstacle toward the station with ease.

Lights flashed to life and the asteroid was bathed in pure white, vanishing the shadows. Flares floated over the asteroid as hidden chutes fired them in a spray until the entirety of the battlefield was left open, exposed to what was left of the defensive weapons.

A Knight leapt in front of them, charging through pillars of stone as if they were hollow rather than thick stone. Kon couldn't tell who it was, the oversized armor hiding their features. A cackling laugh filled his ears and he ruled out Jurgen as the Knight raced forward. Bolts of energy bounced off his armor, small runes dancing around the Knight as accelerated.

Goblin fighters died as they tried to slow the Knight, turning into nothing more than mist as the man plowed through them, not even bothering to use his weapons. Aura billowed around him, flexing and surging green aura that filled his runes with power as he got close to the facility.

Lights flashed around the facility, yellow-white as sirens screamed over the muted sounds of fighting. A door retracted, sliding down to reveal a dark maw of hidden depths. Kon had a second to wonder before three power armor figures came flying out of the garage, acidic plasma weapons firing in a burst at the hard-charging Knight.

Power surged, vibrant green aura swelling as more small runes burst around the Knight before a full rune began to materialize behind the man's back. Kon got the feeling of sliding forward, his desire to keep moving without restraint overwhelming his common sense. Benny slowed and his own rune made a brief appearance and the pressure eased on Kon.

"What was that?" Kon panted, more out of excitement than exertion. Adrenaline raced through his veins as the steady hammer of his heart gave rhythm for his steps.

"Momentum. Good rune for an idiot like this," Benny grumbled. The old man had thrown himself to the ground as plasma rounds seared across the air above him. Kon followed his lead, hitting the ground as he looked up as the unknown Knight grew faster, crossing the distance in a moment.

All three of the power armorer goblins were three meters tall, monstrous metallic behemoths. Each carried the heavy plasma casters and kept their fire on the Knight. Most of the bolts of plasma simply disappeared when they entered the Knight's aura and his runes, but those that hit the Knight seemed to slide off the armor.

Manic laughter filled their ears as the Knight slammed into the leading goblin. Metal tore as the Knight blitzed through the power armored figure. Bursts of sparks flew in the air as the armored suit burst like an overfull balloon, pieces of metal scattered hundreds of feet.

The Knight soared past the other two armored figures, not slowing in the least as he ran toward the facility, slamming into the slowly closing heavy doors the power armored goblins had come out of. Under Kon's body, the asteroid shuddered at the impact, steel-blast doors folded in half as the Knight entered the facility.

"What about the other two?" Kon asked a moment later as the Knight didn't reappear.

"Yee of little faith," Benny said. He lifted his rifle to his shoulder and sighted down it, firing once.

One of the armored figures stopped moving. Kon stared at it for a second before focusing on the energy in his body, forcing it out of its slumber to his perception rune. His vision sharpened, the large armored shape coming into clear view. There was a small hole at a joint, blood running out of it only to freeze as it dripped down the power armor.

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"Don't take all the fun!" The other unnamed Knight yelled in consternation. She came flying over their heads, sailing across the low gravity to slam feet first into the last living figure, driving it to the ground, fists pummeling as she pulverized the armored goblin in moments.

"Blockheads, all of them," Benny said as he got up and started his sprint again.

"You do know you are on an open channel, correct?" Jurgen's irritated voice came through a second later.

"Of course. Why would I say it if they couldn't hear me?" Benny said as they passed the dead armored figure. Kon risked a glance at it and saw the precision of the shot Benny had made. Between overlapping plates of armor, there was a small hinge where the metal was thin, allowing the plates to move. It was no larger than a two-centimeters in diameter and Benny had landed the shot perfectly, drilling through the weakness to find the flesh beneath the armor.

"She seems to be finding it therapeutic," Diur commented as they passed the third Knight who was busy burying the last power armored figure into the asteroid with her fists.

"Keep moving," Benny snapped and both of them fell silent as they kept moving. The station door was bent in half, four centimeters of hardened steel bent like a blade of grass. Benny leapt into the breach without hesitation, Kon and Diur following behind. Gray light broke the darkness, nothing stirred as they looked around the barren area.

"Knight! Report!" Benny barked, rifle sweeping in front of him as he stalked toward a pressurized door. It was still sealed, with no sign of the brazen Knight who had charged without fear.

"Through the ceiling, sir. Couldn't fit through the door. Station is decompressed anyway," the Knight responded, his voice much calmer now.

"Any sign of the target?" Benny asked as he glanced upward toward the ceiling. A wide hole was near the middle of the room, lost in the shadows of the tall ceiling. Kon craned his own head back and estimated it to be an easy ten foot jump to reach the top.

"No, sir. Light resistance here, nothing but infantry with small arms. Won't take but a moment to get through."

"I need him alive, not dead, Knight. Fall back till I secure his location," Benny said as he reached up to the door, touching the lock and pushing it open.

"Alright kids, just the three of us here. This is going to take me a moment and during that moment I won't be fully aware of my surroundings. Don't let someone shoot me," Benny said as he looked up and down the hall before settling back into the power armor room. Diur leapfrogged them and took up position in the doorframe, using the open hatch to guard her back as she peered around the edge. Kon took the broken in door, making sure to keep his shotgun pointed toward anything that might come through it that wasn't human.

"I know where the goblin liaison Te'Vin is. I know where the goblin liaison Te'Vin is," Benny started muttering behind. Kon risked a glance back and jerked his eyes away as he was nearly drawn into the floating rune behind Benny's back. Moments passed, silence grating as the tension deepened.

"Found him. Still alive and kicking. Deep in the facility. Diur, you lead, Kon on drag," Benny panted as he stood up, his voice strained as he rose to his full height.

"Are you good to go?" Kon asked, shocked by the sudden change to his mentor.

"Had to reach a bit deeper than I normally do. It's fine, I'll be fine. Just move it," Benny growled, anger appearing for the first time in his words. Diur bolted without word, leaping down the hall as Benny followed right after.

"What was that?" Kon didn't voice his thoughts, just followed after the duo, making sure to check behind them before racing after. Benny called instructions with ease, leading Diur through the maze of halls with precision, as if he'd been here a hundred times before.

"Contact!" Diur barked, stopping in her tracks as she fired, standing stock still as she rained bolt after bolt of energy down the hall. Kon ducked into a nearby doorway as Benny threw himself to the ground, firing even as he fell. The fight ended before Kon could fire his weapon, four goblins turned to corpses, black armored figures smoking.

"There's a lift up ahead. No stairs. Breach the doors and we'll go up manually," Benny said as they stepped over the bodies. Not a single one of the goblins had had time to fire a shot at them.

"Kon, as the resident brute, the honor is yours," Benny said, waving at the door as he turned to cover their backs. The lift was smaller on average, barely passing Kon's head. Yellow paint had begun to chip and crack around the edges where the doors met in the middle and Kon reached out, worming his guanteled fingers into the gap with a bit of effort. His arms strained for a second but the doors didn't budge, standing solid against his best, natural efforts.

"Hurry it up," Benny snapped. Kon redoubled his efforts, drawing on his limited energy. Power filled him as hints of his aura leaked out for a moment as the doors screamed open, mechanisms inside of them breaking as he forced the doors. With a great clang the set down, something snapping as the lift doors fell slightly, wedged permanently open.

Kon looked into the lift shaft, a sheer expanse of nearly completely smooth steel, only a few channels along the side available. He ducked back out as Benny took his place, looking at it for a moment before turning to them.

"I hope your core strength is good. Magnetize your boots and we go straight up," Benny said. He gave them a second to let that process before leaping into the lift shaft, boots clanging as they hit the wall, then he started to walk straight upward as if it was completely normal.

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