Once I was across the al I was able to make quick progress towards the Prect. Part of that was because I was more experienow, but a much rger part of that because I was traveling with aire squad of killbots, including ohat could dete ambush long before it happened.

  It also helped that the rgest thing I entered on route was a Model Six. I did see a couple Model Elevens pass overhead, but they ignored me. I actually wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not.

  In the end it only took me about ten mio ost of district ten, a a look at the prect.

  The massive building was built like a fortress. Thick crete walls, heavy security shutters on all the doors, firing points instead of windows, and heavy automated turrets, although these had already been ripped apart by the time I arrived.

  The most w thing is it was quiet. Dead quiet. There were no gunfire, no bodies, no Antithesis, nothing.

  “Nyx you get the fox to s the area please, it ’t be this easy,” I asked quietly.

  Got it.

  The little bot scrambled up the set of stairs, trying to get enough height to s the entire area, before it slowly swept it’s gaze over the entire area.

  It says… inclusive?

  “What the hell does that mean?” I asked.

  I don’t know, the bot isn’t making any sehere are no anomalies, but it identified the pile of trash on the left, the garbage oeps, and the crete divider betweewe doors as suspect.

  “Any ideas?” I asked quietly.

  There are some Antithesis with stealth properties, usually they’re not so passive though.

  “Yeah well, you keep tellihis Incursion is strange…” I said, staring at the suspect objects. I couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary, but it was better to be safe than sorry. “Spooky, shoot the trash ,” I ordered.

  As soon as the burst rang out the trash ’s silhouette dissolved, transf into what I could only describe as a blurry, glitchy blob, before colpsing to the ground. The crete divider and pile of trash blurred, being simir creatures before taking off at incredible speed. One disappeared around the er of the building, while the other dove behind some nearby debris.

  I brought up my on, but before I could get a single shot off, they were already gone. “Fuckers are fast,” I growled.

  Extremely, I’m still ed about their behavior though. Typically model 9s are ambush hunters, emphasis on the hunter part. They’re rarely that passive, unless something else TELLs them to.

  “Right,” I grumbled. “Why ’t anything be simple”

  Suddenly, the fox’s head sowards the top of the prect, then back dowreet behihen back at the sides of the prect.

  “Nyx? What’s going on” I snapped. Whatever was happening was causing the fox to freak out. That robably a bad sign.

  Heavy footfalls from behind you, faint buzzing from above, and movement from around the sides of the prect.

  “Fuck,” I swore. I was stu the middle of the street, and looking around, the only cover I could see was the doorway of the office behind me. “Spooky, open that door, everyone inside,” I yelled.

  The door splintered under a single kick from the little bear, and my little squad poured into the building. The bots quickly rushed to the windows and took overwatch positions, without my prompting. Although I couldn’t hear anything before, I could now make up a low buzzing, which was quickly getting louder, along with movement around the side of the building.

  The Model Three which rouhe er of the left side of the prect drew my attention momentarily, so I nearly missed the two Antithesis ing over the top.

  The flyers were terrifying. At first ghey appeared to be Model Sixes, but as they closed in I could see they were much rger. Their heads were more beak-like, an array of ioid wings ran down their backs. Their most bizarre feature was what looked like a set of sideways gills on their necks. As soon as the first o the ground it reared back, like it was going to spit, iheir ans snapped open and there was a sharp crag noise.

  I dropped to the ground, unsure why I was taking cover until I saw one of the bots. It was ying on the ground, head broken open, dozens of thin bone needles stuto its face.

  “Holy shit!”

  Model Sixteens, they’re used to and hunts and oversee assaults. Smart, these two must have anized an ambush in case aried to get in or out. I would reend staying away from the windows.

  “I got that, thanks,” I snarled “Get the bots to cover, we’ll just have to deal with the Antithesis as they enter rather than oreet.”

  I swung my CAR towards the door, and waited until I saw movement, then opened fire. My first round caught a Model Three just as it was entering, blowing it bato the street.

  “Get the fox to keep track of those sixteens,” I shouted over the gunfire, “I don’t want to give them a ce to put one of those cws in here.”

  The situation quickly dissolved into a mess of rifle fire, explosions, and dying Antithesis. The bears cut down anything trying to crawl in the windows, while the fox stantly shifted around, firing bursts out of random windows to keep the sixteens suppressed while I held the door.

  The fight tinued for several long minutes, with no end in sight, when suddenly then the world exploded into heat and light. Well, not really, but several sers cut through the Antithesis at the door. The smell of cauterized flesh was overwhelming, making me gag, I tried desperately not to throw up.

  There was a muffled thump, followed by a loud whistling hen another. Silence desded upon the area.

  A figure stepped up to the door, a massive humanoid suit with a series of meical tentacles emerging out the back. The two of us stared at each other for a long moment, me on the floor, the figure standing with one hand on the doorframe.

  “You okay in there kid?” the wearer asked. Their voice was melodic, fairly young, female.

  I wao reply, instead I rolled onto my side and vomited violently onto the floor.

  A great first impression.