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Reaching into the bag, Ma
Naiku dove to the floor as a blue smear blossomed on the wall.
Ma
‘Not necessarily.’ Toshira crossed the concrete space and took the grenade from his Corporal. ‘Miko, would the paint block sensors on a 'Mech?’
‘Yes, but radar would go right through.’
Gudmansen turned the exoskeleton. A metal foot stepped on a loose bolt and it shot across the floor and pinged off the wall. ‘Just get the 'R' mode. Got metal flake in them. Used to paint targets so we could see them and locate 'em with radar, too.’
Toshira reached up and snagged Naiku around the neck. ‘I think we need to talk.’
Let's go through it again.’ The Sergeant moved lug nuts in a pattern on the floor.
Asound interrupted him. Although it was muffled through the passage, all five Kuritans could easily make out the loudspeaker broadcast. ‘Sho-sa Theodore Kurita. Come out and surrender. No harm will come to you, Commander Kurita.’
‘They heard the same rumor we did.’ Wanabe moved closer to the opening.
Toshira shook his head. ‘Whoever they are. they were given wrong information.’
Ma
Everyone turned to Naiku, who looked surprised, then showed his wide smile.
‘More likely it's me,’ Gudmansen snorted.
Toshira stood up. ‘Since we can't tell which of you is the real Teddy Kurita, I guess you'll both have to stay here.’ He staved off protests with a raised hand. ‘We need you to set up things anyway. We'll just go waste some time playing with the 'Mechs until you're ready.’
While Naiku and Gudmansen started preparations. Toshira. Wanabe. and Ma
Ma
At the same time, Toshira and Wanabe climbed stairs to the top floor of a building across the street. A twinkle near the window caught Wanabe's eye. She moved to the opening and kneeled. ‘Sergeant, shell casings. Others fought from here.’
‘Let's hope our attack plan meets with more success.’ He prepared his grenade.
They heard crunching as the Mech strode down the street. Toshira sprayed the window area with isotherm to wipe out any heat trace.
The Marauderrumbled forward, passing under the window where Toshira and Wanabe hid. The 'Mech closed on the heat-painted doorway, rotated its autoca
Wanabe, Toshira knew, had never actually seen a weapon of that size fire, and the power startled her into a crouch. Throwing a paint grenade was the furthest thing from her mind ‘Lords of the House!’
Too busy to reply. Toshira used the autoca
As the concrete wall crumbled from the 'Mech's onslaught, the first canister of paint hit. A blue blotch, deep and oily-looking in the low light, blossomed just behind the Marauder's canopy. Paint dripped down the sides and headed to heat sink openings.
The Mech stopped firing. It hesitated, sca
Two more small packages flew out the upper window and spread paint across its surface.
The Marauder fired again. A blue stream sizzled down the street and crushed the corner where Ma
‘Maybe this thing isn't so bad after all.’
They sidestepped debris and ran to the door. ‘Ready? Now!’ Toshira called out. They pivoted, threw another grenade blindly through the window, then started down a hallway toward the back of the building.
The 'Mech outside spotted the third volley of paint. It moved its left arm slightly and the PPC spewed a neon-blue stream through the window.
The ceiling collapsed. covering the room with rocky debris. Dust poured out the window, spectral smoke in the moonlight.
Then came silence. The Marauder stood still in the street and waited.
Ma
With paint grenades, Toshira. Wanabe, and Ma
Gudmansen released the barrel she held in the claws of the industrial exoskeleton. The formed plastic rumbled down the ramp, picking up both speed and pitch. There was a doinkas it impacted another barrel at the bottom of the mechanic's pit.
She repeated the exercise several times, then clumped over to a pallet of plywood sheets and hauled them to the pit.
Toshira and Wanabe, exhausted and paint-spattered, ducked through the opening. ‘Where's Aragi?’ Wanabe leaned carefully over the edge of the pit and peered down.
‘Waiting at the site. Should be ready. Took the last load of sprayers out a long time ago.’ The metal ramp scraped across the floor as Gudmansen tugged it into a corner.
Toshira flexed his jaws, ears aching from the shrieking sound. ‘A
‘Who's surrendering now?’ Ma
‘Ooop!’ Wanabe. startled, spun around and slipped in an oily mess under the pit edge. She teetered briefly, then regained her balance. ‘Don't do that!’ She glared at Ma
Toshira and Gudmansen exchanged surprised glances. The Sergeant looked at Ma
‘I'm having...’ Ma
Toshira nodded ‘Better than being shot in the desert?’
‘So far.’ Ma
The exoskeleton legs made short scraping noises before they thudded into the concrete as Gudmansen trudged over. ‘Just an addition to the plan.’
‘Let's go. Ma
On top of a three-story building, Naiku watched the glow of the coming sun. He fidgeted and peered over the edge at the alley below. He'd finished setting his equipment two hours earlier and his biggest battle now was with his own patience. An hour earlier, he'd even tried his hand at haiku. After painting his first line on the rooftop— ‘The struggle of men’— he decided that he had no gift for poetry.
A rock skittered behind him on the rough roof surface. A signal from Ma
Naiku looked at the switch to his left, then to his right. ‘Ah, but which way will it come? Which switch first?’ He glanced again, then picked up the one on his right.