Cry Havoc Chapter 6 - Ambush

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The hypersonic chunk of depleted uranium that the railgun launched missed my head by inches, close enough that superheated air slapped against my faceplate. Even with my tactile feedback dialed down to 5% it stung like a faceful of steam. I dropped into a crouch behind the strip-mined ridge, my heart pounding with the rush of combat… feeling alive like I never did outside of my real body. This was freedom. This was living. In Kerberos, I wasn't just some hole to be used – I was a weapon, a predator, unstoppable. The turrets would learn that soon enough.

"Hound, report status," Cernunnos's cold voice cut through my comm channel, precise and demanding.

"Functional, sir. Taking fire from multiple Jörmungandr emplacements." I kept my response short.

Nine missions. This was my ninth mission since awakening, after two Earth weeks. Complex after complex raided, and rebellion force after rebellion force crushed. Still, another pilot hadn’t been sent after me since Viper. I wondered if the pilots were scared to face me. If they weren’t, at least the legendary Guardian of Elysium Archangel should have come to face me by now.

These static defenses just weren’t much of a challenge to someone like me.

I scanned the mining complex through Kerberos's targeting systems, identifying six Jörmungandr defense turrets positioned strategically around the perimeter. Nasty bastards with hypersonic railguns that could tear through mech armor like wet paper. They were fantastic point defense systems to repel any kind of standard assault… But Kerberos wasn't standard, and neither was I. They were strategically positioned to create overlapping fields of fire. It was a smart setup, but not smart enough… The strip mining the rebels had been doing here created natural channels and ridges I could use to approach without exposing myself to more than one or two turrets at a time. That would let me break down their defenses into chunks and dismantle it.

The dusty mine’s landscape spread before me, riddled with excavation pits and mining equipment. Perfect cover for my approach. I flexed Kerberos's fingers, feeling the articulation of each joint as if they were my own. This was my true body – not the flesh prison I was stuck in otherwise with my face hooded and holes exposed, waiting for Cernunnos to use. Here, I was powerful. Here, I was whole.

"Engaging defense network at mining site Alpha-3, sir," I said, then took evasive action, boosting rapidly through the gap and into the mining fissure as quickly as I could.

"Proceed,” my handler commanded. “Target priority is north quadrant. Intelligence indicates control systems are located there. Eliminate and proceed to primary objective."

"Yes, sir." The neural link tingled across my skin as data flooded my mind. Kerberos's damage reports, ammunition counts, and targeting solutions merged with my consciousness. I flexed my fingers, feeling the responsive twitch of multi-ton limbs as if they were my own. I plotted my approach through the natural fissures that scarred the mining site, planning my approach for a moment. Then I pushed off from my cover, Kerberos's legs propelling us forward in a controlled sprint that sent tremors through the ground.

The first turret swiveled toward me as I rounded a mound of excavated ore. I boosted forward into a trench just as it fired, feeling the displacement of air against my ‘skin’ as the round passed overhead. Targeting solutions projected across my vision, and I raised Kerberos's shoulder-mounted rail cannons without breaking stride. With a squeeze, I unleashed and the recoil surged through Kerberos's frame and into my body as the twin rail cannons discharged. The turret exploded in a shower of superheated metal and electrical discharge, the feedback from a perfect shot sending a wave of pleasure through my nervous system. My lips curled into a feral grin. Five more to go.

“Aerial contacts inbound from the south,” Cernunnos reported. My targeting system tagged them: Harpy combat aircraft, six of them, flying in attack formation. These weren't automated defenses but rebel pilots who thought they could flush me out, put me into the open for the turrets to rip apart.

"Acknowledged, sir. Engaging," I reported. I broke from cover, deliberately exposing Kerberos to draw fire from both the turrets and the approaching Harpies. The turrets responded immediately, their targeting algorithms too rigid to resist such an obvious target. I counted the seconds, timing their reload cycle while tracking the approaching aircraft.

A Harpy screamed overhead, its pulse cannons strafing the ground around me. I felt each near miss through the neural link, hot pinpricks of sensation across Kerberos's hull. I pivoted sharply, bringing my rail cannons to bear on the retreating aircraft. The targeting solution locked, and I fired.

The Harpy disintegrated mid-air, its debris raining down across the mining site. I ducked Kerberos behind a massive excavator as three more Harpies dove toward my position. Their targeting systems were good, but I didn’t give them an opening long enough to draw a solid bead on me… The moment they committed to their attack run, I stepped out and unleashed a barrage from my missile batteries. Two exploded instantly as rounds found them and detonated. The third pilot tried to evade, the munition chasing them as they broke hard to the left… That slowed them down in my frame of reference enough to make it easy to anticipate their maneuver and adjust my aim. Another railgun shot lanced through the Harpy's wing, sending it into an uncontrollable spin before it slammed into one of the turrets.

Two birds, one stone.

"Northern turret cluster targeting your position," Cernunnos informed me. "Evade."

I was already moving, feeling the ground shake beneath Kerberos's feet as railgun rounds impacted where I'd stood moments before. The remaining Harpies circled overhead, more cautious now. I sprinted between cover positions, staying just ahead of the turrets' tracking systems.

This was where I belonged—in combat, making split-second decisions that meant life or death. Not kneeling before Cernunnos with his cock down my throat, not bound and helpless while he used me like a piece of equipment no more important than one of these rebel aircraft. In my real body, I was untouchable. In Kerberos, I was whole.

I leapt Kerberos onto a ridge, using the elevation to target the next turret. My rail cannons roared, the recoil sending shivers of feedback through my nervous system. The turret crumpled, its barrel twisting grotesquely before secondary explosions tore it apart.

The remaining Harpies made another pass. I ignited Kerberos's laser blade, the superheated energy casting an eerie glow across the mining site. As the first aircraft streaked past, I boosted straight upward at 100% and slashed up with every carbon-fibre muscle in my mech’s form. The blade reached, and it cleaved through its hull like it was paper. The aircraft split in two, both halves continuing on their momentum in different directions before exploding.

"Targets eliminated," Cernunnos noted with a hint of approval that sent an unwanted flush of pleasure through my body. This felt ugly and unclean… the result of my mental conditioning when I was augmented and put through neural compliance, rather than a result of my feedback with Kerberos. I was coming to hate it, but there was nothing I could do about it, so I focused on the mission.

I turned my attention to the three remaining turrets, determined to finish this quickly. I boosted through the fissure, zigzagging to make myself a harder target for the instant I was exposed. Railgun rounds smashed into stone and ore and sprayed me with debris but none found their mark. I slid Kerberos into position behind the closest turret and drove my laser blade into its base, feeling the resistance give way as metal melted and electronics fried.

Two left. I targeted both simultaneously, locking on with my rail cannons while calculating firing solutions. The turrets swiveled toward me, preparing to fire. I fired first.

Twin explosions rocked the mining site as my rounds found their targets. My conditioning rewarded me for the victory… The neural feedback from destroying all threats sent a wave of satisfaction through my body, not quite sexual but adjacent to it—the closest thing to pleasure I was allowed to feel on my own terms. "All defensive emplacements neutralized," I reported, scanning the area for any remaining threats.

"Confirmed," Cernunnos replied. "Proceed to primary objective. The rebel mining extractor is located 400 meters down, inside the main shaft. Destroy it and deny them this resource."

I turned Kerberos toward the yawning entrance to the mine, sensors probing the darkness beyond. As I approached the mine entrance, I felt a twinge of reluctance. The open battlefield was my domain, where Kerberos could move freely. The confined spaces of the mine would limit my mobility, making me vulnerable. But orders were orders, and the neural compliance protocol wouldn't let me consider disobedience. "Yes, sir."

My boosters were silent. One slow step forward at a time, Kerberos’s four legs carried it into the shadow of the mine entrance, and it swallowed me whole like a hungry mouth, darkness closing around me as I guided the massive mech into it and down.

My sensors compensated immediately, painting the industrial tunnel in sharp relief—support beams, conveyor systems, ventilation ducts—but the knowledge that tons of rock loomed overhead made my skin crawl. In the open, I could move, dodge, escape. In here, I was boxed in. Just the thought made my stomach clench.

"Take a right at the first branch," my handler instructed through my comms. "The extractor is offline. It should be easy to destroy."

I moved Kerberos deeper into the tunnel, each step echoing in the confined space. The mech's shoulders nearly scraped the walls on either side. If I had to fight in here, I'd have almost no room to maneuver, so I had my proximity sensor set to the maximum… I would need as much warning as possible if something was active down here. Dusty air filled with mining particulates swirled in the beams of Kerberos's floodlights as it illuminated the darkness. As I passed beneath them, I noticed the metal support beams bowed slightly. How much weight were these pieces of shit holding back? And how many of them could I knock out before the whole thing came down on my head?

"Structural integrity of this section is questionable," I reported, scanning the ceiling. "These supports have been stress-tested beyond recommended parameters."

"The rebels lack proper engineering resources," Cernunnos replied dismissively. "Focus on the objective."

I grit my teeth, but proceeded. The tunnel widened slightly as I approached what my sensors identified as a major junction. Industrial equipment lined the walls—drilling platforms, ore processors, autonomous loaders sitting idle. I slowed Kerberos's pace, scanning methodically for threats. "Detecting power signature ahead," I reported, adjusting my sensors to focus there. "Should be the extractor."

"Proceed with caution," Cernunnos instructed.

I stepped Kerberos forward, passing through the junction and into a larger tunnel beyond. The ceiling rose higher here, giving me more room to maneuver. Some of the tension eased from my shoulders—at least I could raise my arms if I needed to fight. The tunnel ended abruptly at a massive excavated chamber. My floodlights swept across the space, revealing industrial mining equipment arranged around a central platform. The extractor sat at the center—a monstrous piece of machinery that burrowed into the planet and drained resources like a mechanical parasite.

Something felt wrong. The extractor was powered down, just like I was told it would be… its massive drills motionless. There was no personnel present, no security measures, no defenses… not even any rebel personnel fleeing. Just the machine sitting there, abandoned like a gift left out as a sacrifice. "Target located," I said, moving Kerberos cautiously into the chamber. "No visible resistance. Proceeding to—"

My tactical systems blared warnings of a strong, penetrating radio signal an instant before the detonation. The explosions came from everywhere at once—ceiling, walls, floor. Not directed at me, but at the chamber's support structure. I reacted instinctively, trying to throw Kerberos backward toward the tunnel entrance, but I was too late. The ground buckled beneath Kerberos's feet as shock waves rippled through the chamber. Support beams shattered like toothpicks. The ceiling came down in massive chunks, almost quicker than thought. The first impact hit Kerberos's left shoulder, driving me down to one knee. I felt the blow through the neural link… Even at 5% throughput, it was like someone had shattered my collarbone with a sledgehammer. I screamed, more in rage than pain, and tried to force Kerberos back to her feet.

Another chunk slammed into Kerberos's back, driving me face-first into the ground. The weight pressed down, pinning me in place. More rocks fell, piling onto Kerberos's legs, arms, burying me completely beneath an avalanche of stone and metal. The neural link translated every point of pressure into sensation across my body—crushing weight on my spine, legs, arms, even my head. I couldn't move. Couldn't escape.

"Status report, Hound-91," Cernunnos demanded, his voice cutting through my panic.

Before I could respond, a new alert flashed across my neural interface… Kerberos’s firewall was detecting an intrusion attempt. Someone… someone with a great deal of familiarity with my computer systems… was hacking me, attempting to seize control of my command systems.

And I was too trapped to do anything about it.

"Under attack," I managed to gasp out. "Electronic warfare. They're hacking me."

"Counterattack," Cernunnos ordered. "Do not allow them to shut down the Fenrir unit’s core systems."

I would have liked nothing better than to do exactly that, but I couldn’t even move. I snarled in frustration, struggling against the crushing weight. The rocks shifted slightly, sending new waves of pain through the neural link. I immediately turned my sensitivity down, lest the tons of rock drive me mad with the pain.

My breathing became rapid and shallow as panic clawed its way up my throat. The combined assault—physical restraint and electronic invasion—triggered something primal in my brain. I wasn't in the mine anymore, I wasn’t in my strong, powerful, capable body. I was on my knees in Cernunnos's quarters, his hand forcing my head down while he shoved his cock into my mouth, my hands lovingly caressing his balls though I’d rather have used them to rip my own throat out.

"No!" I screamed, the sound echoing in my cockpit. "Not again. Not like this."

I fought against the restraints, both physical and electronic. Through the neural link, I could feel the hacking attempt probing deeper into Kerberos's systems, seeking access to peripheral functions one by one. The crushing sensation intensified as more debris settled, increasing the pressure on Kerberos's frame. Even with the feedback system turned off, I couldn't breathe. Couldn't think clearly. Every instinct screamed at me to escape, to fight, to kill. The electronic attack continued… The hacker was good, and it was making swift progress through Kerberos’s security protocols. Warning lights flashed across my neural interface. Ten minutes, maybe less, before they breached the core systems. Before they owned me.

I would not be owned again.

I had to get out. Had to break free before the hack progressed further. Before I lost Kerberos. Before I lost myself. I thrashed, but I was blind… I couldn’t even see what I was doing, or where the rocks were holding me down. With my head pinned, even if my sensors could pick up enough light to see by, I wouldn’t be able to scan. How could I find my way loose if I had no idea how I was pinned?

The only way to find a path out was to feel the pressure points, to know exactly where each crushing rock pressed against Kerberos's frame. I needed the pain to map my prison… so I turned the feedback system back on, and turned it up. It hurt terribly as pressure points dug into my frame in a thousand places, burning like lightning strikes. Even at 15%, every rock pressed against Kerberos translated to crushing pressure on my own body—my chest, my legs, my arms, my skull. I cringed in agony, hissing through clenched teeth as a fresh wave of pain radiated through my spine. The neural link translated the tons of rock pinning Kerberos's back into the sensation of my vertebrae slowly cracking under immense pressure. My lungs strained for air, the feeling of suffocation all too real despite the cockpit's intact life support.

"Hound-91, report status," Cernunnos's voice cut through my comm channel. There was an element of concern in this voice. Not panic for a subordinate in danger… concern like for a cracked foodstuff jar.

"Working on escape plan, sir," I managed through gritted teeth. "Hack progressing. Need... few minutes." I couldn't waste energy on detailed reports. Every ounce of concentration focused on testing Kerberos's limbs, searching for any freedom of movement. I tried the legs first—completely pinned, the weight so crushing that even at 15% feedback, pain flared red-hot up my thighs. Left arm similarly immobilized, trapped beneath what felt like a solid slab of rock. The right arm responded slightly… maybe a mere meter of movement, barely perceptible except through the heightened sensitivity of the neural link. A small pocket of space, perhaps created by the way the debris had fallen.

It wasn’t enough to free the arm, but enough that it gave me some room to work with.

I carefully rotated Kerberos's wrist, feeling for the limits of the small space available. Each tiny adjustment sent shards of pain through my arm as metal scraped against jagged rock, the neural link faithfully transmitting every abrasion and pressure point. I ignored it, focusing on the goal: Creating enough room to activate my laser blade.

When I had the wrist positioned at the optimal angle, I took a deep breath and commanded the emitter to open… and it slid into place, letting me let out a sigh of relief through clenched teeth as I channeled power to the weapon system. The superheated energy blade ignited in the confined space, instantly vaporizing the rock it contacted. Fresh pain bloomed along my arm as the heat reflected back onto Kerberos's own armor, but I pushed through it. I had to keep cutting.

I guided the blade in a short arc, the neural link letting me feel the resistance of each layer of stone. The stone slipped with each bit of vaporization, settling the pile in a different fashion and creating fresh spots of pain. The heat built up in the confined space, turning my metal prison into an oven. Sweat poured down my face inside my hood as the temperature rose… With nowhere to go, it slid down between the suit and skin and felt like insects crawling around beneath the surface. "Move…" I snarled, pushing the blade deeper, ignoring the way my arm felt like it was being seared to the bone. “Move. Move. Fucking move!” The neural link couldn't distinguish between damage to Kerberos and damage to my own body—it all registered as my flesh, my pain… That was the point, after all.

A larger rock shifted above me, causing the entire debris pile to settle. Fresh weight crashed down on Kerberos's chest, the pressure translating to my ribs. Something cracked—not in my actual body, but in Kerberos's frame. The pain was real enough though. I screamed, the sound echoing in the confined space of the cockpit. Warnings flashed before my brain… Structural integrity at 63%. Danger of catastrophic collapse imminent. I gasped, trying to steady my breathing. The hack had progressed further… It still hadn’t reached my core systems, but my IFF and scanners were completely offline. I was running out of time.

I pushed the laser blade further, cutting away at the rock above Kerberos's right shoulder. If I could create enough space to leverage that arm properly, I might be able to push away the debris pinning the rest of me. Each movement sent waves of agony through my body as the neural link faithfully transmitted every strain and stress on Kerberos's frame. Rock melted away, slag dripping onto Kerberos's armor plating. The heat was unbearable, the confined space turning into a crucible. But the space around the arm was growing. I could now move the limb what felt like inches to my fingers, probably actually a meter. It was not enough to free myself, but enough to start applying real force.

I growled in raw, animal rage, straining the servos in my mech’s arm. I braced the forearm against a particularly large boulder and pushed, feeling Kerberos's hydraulics strain against the seemingly immovable weight… and we moved it. The boulder shifted slightly, grinding against other debris. The movement sent cascading pressure changes throughout the pile, some rocks settling heavier while others loosened.

I seized the opportunity, using the laser blade to cut through newly exposed sections while continuing to push with the arm. Each movement caused the debris to shift, sometimes creating new pockets of space, sometimes crushing down harder on other parts of Kerberos. The neural link transmitted it all—sharp, stabbing pains when edges dug into plating; dull, crushing pressure when boulders settled on broader surfaces; searing heat where the laser blade's reflection scorched Kerberos's own armor. I took advantage of every bit of new space, kicking with all four legs to move myself along the part of the cave-in I had cleared. Through it all, I kept cutting, kept pushing, kept fighting. I lost track of time, lost myself in the rhythm of pain and progress. The space around Kerberos slowly expanded, the right arm gaining more freedom with each passing minute. Soon I could move the arm fully, using it to systematically clear debris from around my head and torso.

When I could finally see through the front sensors again, I nearly laughed at the progress I'd made. I could just barely see the gap into open space at the end of the cleared and melted space. I was out of time, though. The hacking attempt was reaching into critical systems: Movement controls were being compromised, and my legs weren’t working right anymore; Core processing was experiencing intrusion attempts; I had minutes or maybe just seconds remaining before I lost control of my boosters, and that would kill me as surely as a self-destruct sequence. I had to go for it now. I diverted all power to Kerberos's boosters, cranking them up to 100% for one massive surge that would either free me or tear the mech apart. I took a deep breath, bracing myself for what was coming.

Then boosted as hard as I could.

I unleashed everything Kerberos had left, thrusters igniting at maximum output, leg servos straining beyond safety parameters. The neural link exploded with sensation: It felt like having my legs ripped from their sockets while my back and arms were flayed. I screamed, the sound raw and primal, but I didn't stop. Couldn't stop.

The debris above me shifted, then heaved. Rocks cascaded down around Kerberos as the mech lurched sideways, scraping against stone as she ripped her way free from the prison that had held it. Pain beyond description flooded through the neural link as metal screeched against stone, armor plating tearing, circuitry rupturing. It felt like being born and being torn apart at the same time. Violent and agonizing… but ultimately freeing. Kerberos burst from the rubble in an explosion of dust and stone, emerging into the larger chamber beyond. Damaged but operational.

I was free.

My breathing came in ragged gasps, sweat soaking my bodysuit beneath the hood. Every muscle trembled from the phantom exertion transmitted through the link. Most importantly, though, I was still in control of Kerberos, for now. I didn't hesitate. As soon as Kerberos's systems stabilized, I boosted at the fastest speed I could manage and I’d just walked down a few minutes ago, the tunnel blurred past as I pushed Kerberos to her maximum velocity. Damage warnings flashed across my neural interface, but I couldn’t pay them any attention right now. The hacking attempt was still active, probing for ways back into my systems. I could feel it like phantom fingers scratching at the edges of my consciousness, looking for weaknesses in my firewalls. If I ran into a wall at this speed I might smash myself, but I didn’t have time to wait. As I went, Kerberos ran a quick systems check. My mech was damaged and my armor plating was torn in multiple places, and two of my legs were non-functional so I had to rely entirely on the boosters, dragging the limp appendages along. My heat sinks were compromised, and the targeting systems for my railguns were offline… but my core systems remained functional. I could still fight.

“Sat-comm notes two power signatures just activated above ground,” Cernunnos noted flatly. “High likelihood of Fenrir units.”

I was boosting right towards the source of the hacking signal… It was coming from the fissure above. Whoever had tried to bury me alive and disable my mech was still out there, and I intended to tear them apart with my bare hands. Kerberos was a wounded predator, but a predator nonetheless.

I burst out of the mine into harsh daylight, sensors immediately adjusting to the change in illumination. Dust still hung in the air from the explosions, casting the mining site in a hazy glow. My tactical systems immediately tagged two signatures in the vicinity: Two Fenrir units, both holding position approximately three hundred meters from the mine entrance.

"Fenrirs detected," I reported, scanning the mechs as Kerberos's systems identified their configurations. "Models match specifications."

"Two units identified," Cernunnos reported, his voice tense. "Identified by sat-comm as ‘Valkyrie’ and ‘Artemis’. High-value Children of Elysium assets.”

The hacking signal was coming from Artemis, that was clear. If my memory served, it was piloted by callsign "Wraith," one of the rebel leader’s daughters. The sleek, predatory mech maintained a strategic distance, its hexapod configuration allowing it to perch on an elevated ridge, and I could spot an oversized comm unit on one of her shoulders… no doubt optimized for electronic warfare and the source of the attack on my system. Valkyrie, a bulkier and more heavily armored quadruped like me, had positioned herself protectively between me and Artemis. A classic hunter/protector configuration. Wraith was trying to shut me down remotely while her friend kept me from tearing her throat out.

Interesting. I realized I considered Valkyrie a ‘She…’ like Kerberos. I wondered why, but I didn’t have time to question the random associations of my mind right now. "The hacking attempt is coming from Artemis, sir,” I reported, trying to reboot systems. If I could just get my targeting systems online… "I can confirm target identification."

"Situation assessed," Cernunnos said coldly. "Order: immediate tactical retreat. Fall back to extraction point Alpha. We will send fire support."

That was a direct order. I had to comply. My hands moved and I started turning toward the retreat vector before I could even process the command, the conditioning bypassing my conscious mind and going straight to my muscles. The need to obey felt like a physical force—a weight pressing down on every nerve ending, an itch under my skin that could only be relieved by compliance.

But that was a mistake. I knew it for certain… Retreating meant defeat. Artemis would never let me get out of range… I doubted that mech was capable of keeping up with Kerberos for long, but she didn’t need to keep in range of hacking me for very long. She could keep shutting down systems until Kerberos was nothing but an immobile shell, and I was trapped inside. "Sir," I forced out, fighting against my own body's automatic response. "Cannot comply. Tactical analysis indicates retreat impossible under current conditions."

The words felt like ground glass in my throat. Questioning Cernunnos—even with an excellent reason—sent waves of anxiety through my nervous system. My skin flushed with heat, sweat beading across my body beneath the tight bodysuit. My muscles spasmed painfully, receiving punishment for even this mild resistance.

"Retreat," Cernunnos demanded, his tone sharpening.

It hurt. I swallowed hard, mouth suddenly dry. "Artemis has superior range on its electronic warfare systems, sir. I won't escape its radius before losing control of Kerberos completely." Another system went offline, and another leg locked up. Kerberos stumbled slightly, and I fought to maintain balance. I struggled to keep my voice steady as more pain signals flooded my system. "Current damage to Kerberos means I cannot outrun either Fenrir. Tactical retreat guarantees capture or destruction."

My body trembled with the effort of resisting the compliance I was conditioned to. It felt very much like being trapped beneath the caved-in rocks again. That same helplessness, that same pain, that same rage.

The silence stretched for what felt like an eternity. My breathing grew ragged, muscles twitching with increasing violence as the compliance protocol demanded obedience. Blood dripped into my mouth—I'd bitten my tongue without realizing it.

"Negative on retreat," Cernunnos finally said, countermanding his previous order. The relief was instantaneous, my body sagging as the compulsion lifted. "Engage and disable Fenrir assets to ensure safe extraction. Priority target Artemis."

"Yes, sir," I responded, the words flowing easily now that they aligned with the protocol. The neural compliance protocol rewarded me for the eventual submission, sending a warm rush of pleasure through my nervous system. My body relaxed into the familiar sensation, even as my mind recoiled from it. The same warmth I felt when I swallowed Cernunnos's cum like a good obedient pet. The same relief I felt when he pumped his jizz up my ass, or made me cum at a word.

I forced the feelings aside, focusing on the tactical situation. Valkyrie had shifted position, her distinctive shield generators powering up with a blue glow that cut through the dusty air. Artemis remained on its perch, the hacking attempt continuing unabated. Valkyrie was the immediate physical threat, but Artemis was the one killing Kerberos from the inside out. I needed to take out the hacker first, but her protector would make that difficult.

Valkyrie's defensive capabilities were formidable—electromagnetic shields could deflect most conventional attacks, and her armor was significantly heavier than Kerberos's, especially now with my damage. Artemis, by contrast, sacrificed armor for mobility and stealth, but its position on the ridge gave it both cover and the high ground.

I needed to be fast. I needed to be brutal. And most of all, I needed to be unexpected.

“Engaging, sir.”

I launched Kerberos forward with everything I had, the damaged mech burning every booster that was still operational. My targeting systems were still offline, forcing me to rely on visual tracking and instinct. I pushed toward a cluster of mining equipment, using the massive excavators as cover while I closed distance on Artemis. The neural link translated every strain and stress in Kerberos's frame to my own body, and I lowered the sensitivity back down. Valkyrie reacted immediately, her bulky quadrupedal form moving with unexpected grace to intercept my approach. Blue energy crackled to life as her electromagnetic shield generators deployed, casting an eerie glow across the dusty battlefield.

One of my railguns had been ripped off my back from my desperate boost free from underneath the rocks, but I fired the one I had left without my compromised targeting systems managing to lock on. My augmentations made sure I hit anyway, but just barely: Even the hypersonic slug deflected off of the EM field, smashing against a cliff-face and sending visible ripples across the barrier in waves.

She was once again in the way. I adjusted my approach vector… I needed to get past Valkyrie to reach Artemis, but Valkyrie was living up to her reputation as a defensive powerhouse: A rippling burst of rockets shot from one of her pods, forcing me to break away to make them miss.

It left me vulnerable to her partner.

From atop the ridge, Artemis opened fire with its own railgun system, a "Huntress" rail. Unlike my heavy magnetic cannon, a Huntress was designed for pinpoint accuracy and maneuverability, able to rapidly adjust its aim. The slug was small, but as it smashed against my shoulder the impact was still more than sufficient to stagger me instantly and send white-hot pain lancing through even the reduced neural link. I staggered back, using a support pillar for cover as I reassessed.

I growled, ducking Kerberos behind a massive ore processor as another precision shot from Artemis pinged off the metal just centimeters from my head. I couldn’t let myself be pinned down…

I analyzed the battlefield through Kerberos's remaining sensors. The strip-mine fissure offered multiple levels of elevation, with industrial equipment scattered throughout. Valkyrie maintained a defensive position directly between me and Artemis, her shield generators pulsing with energy as she prepared for my next move.

I hit the boosters, sending Kerberos blasting across an open space, drawing fire from both mechs while aiming for a cluster of mining equipment that would provide better cover. Valkyrie's cryo-projection system fired, the spray of freezing liquid nitrogen narrowly missing Kerberos's hip. "Come on, you shielded bitch," I snarled, feinting right before cutting sharply left, using Kerberos's superior speed to create an opening. For a brief moment, I had a clear line of sight to Artemis. Targeting by instinct and eyesight I fired my railgun, the recoil sending shudders through Kerberos's damaged frame.

Artemis shifted with unnatural speed, dodging the less than perfect shot. Simultaneously, Valkyrie slammed into Kerberos from the side, the impact driving us both into an excavator. Metal screeched against metal, the neural link translating the collision as a full-body blow that wanted to knocked the wind from my lungs.

I spun as quickly as I could, driving my fist at her, hoping to get enough space to bring up my blade. It felt so slow to me. The battle-damage to my mech was significant, and I wasn’t nearly as quick as I was used to being. I failed to connect. Valkyrie got inside my swing, grabbing onto me. I expected to feel a blast of rockets them, right into my exposed side.

None came. Her augmentations might be too slow for her to take advantage of the momentarily opening where we were aligned in our grapple. That was an advantage for me, and as damaged as I was I needed to fully exploit anything that went in my favor.

We wrested at close range, Kerberos and Valkyrie locked together in a deadly dance that felt intimate and violent simultaneously. I managed to get a little room, and my laser blade sparked to life. I sent it carving a glowing arc toward Valkyrie's shield generator. Valkyrie countered, catching my arm with her heavy fist and wrenching it aside. It felt like my arm was being torn from its socket.

Too slow for this.

I drove Kerberos's knee up into Valkyrie's midsection, feeling the satisfying crunch of armor buckling. The pilot—Shieldmaiden—responded by slamming her mech's head into mine, the impact rattling through my skull via the neural link.

But she still had a rack of rockets on either side of her torso, and she didn’t fire them.

I narrowed my eyes. This time, she should have had the time to fire. It would have been nearly impossible to miss in that grapple… That could have ended the fight. It also might have avoided critical damage to Kerberos at the same time, leaving most of my peripheral system intact. The only downside would be that she would be unleashing all of that explosive force just a few meters from where I was piloting her from, and all the compression fluid in the world wouldn’t be enough to stop that shockwave from turning me into a bloody puddle.

Artemis's shots were hitting peripheral systems, damaged areas, extremities—damaging my advanced systems that Amber Engineering had upgraded and the rebels couldn’t match but never targeting Kerberos's core where the cockpit was. Valkyrie was grappling, restraining, pushing me back rather than using her considerable weaponry at point-blank range.

The realization hit me like a physical blow: I had assumed they were trying to capture Kerberos intact. I’d been wrong. They were trying to capture me intact.

The thought sent a wave of rage through my body so intense it momentarily overrode the pain signals from the neural link. They wanted to capture me. Take me alive. Take me as a prisoner. The idea of being a captive again, bound and helpless and at the mercy of my enemies, made me shiver with disgust. Cernunnos was bad enough… I didn’t want to be taken by someone else.

I set my boosters to go into a rotation and cut free, jetting in a corkscrew. The torque finally broke me free from Valkyrie's grapple, using a burst from my remaining functional thruster to create separation. I landed awkwardly… With my legs not working, Kerberos almost buckled beneath me. More and more systems were going offline. Primary power regulation offline. Hydraulic pressure dropping in the left arm. I was losing systems fast.

I gripped the wall, using it to rotate myself before I boosted forward, trying to use all the speed I was capable of to break past Valkyrie's interdiction. For a moment, it seemed to work—I slipped past Valkyrie's initial blocking maneuver and sprinted toward the ridge where Artemis perched. Then Valkyrie deployed her secondary weapon system and sprayed me with cryo-fluid again. The blast caught Kerberos's right side, instantly freezing the armor and underlying mechanisms. The neural link translated the impact as an agonizing cold that penetrated to my bones, my right arm and leg going numb with sympathetic response. It also froze several of my boosters, turning my movement into a lopsided charge that scraped me against the wall.

That slowed me down enough that Valkyrie was on me again in an instant, her electromagnetic shields forcing me back and away from Artemis. The defensive mech was performing her role perfectly—keeping me occupied while Artemis continued to disable me. The combination of physical and electronic attacks forced me into an increasingly defensive posture. The mining fissure itself was becoming a hazard as our battle damaged support structures. I tried another approach vector, using the debris from the collapsed equipment as cover. Once again, Valkyrie intercepted me, her shields flaring as they absorbed my desperate attacks… my repeated railgun shots were too poorly aimed to be able to hit the evasive Artemis as it maintained its distance.

I couldn’t get through.

I screamed in frustration, smashing Kerberos's fist into a nearby support strut. The metal crumpled, but the action accomplished nothing strategic. I was being systematically dismantled, and conventional combat wasn't working. I needed a new approach. Something they wouldn't expect. I couldn't outfight both of them, not with Kerberos's systems failing one by one, not with Valkyrie blocking every attempt to reach Artemis.

What I needed was to turn their advantage against them.

A desperate plan began to form in my mind. Risky, unconventional, and with a high probability of failure. But I was running out of options. And if it worked, I could turn Artemis's greatest strength into its ultimate weakness.

I abandoned all pretense of defensive tactics. If I couldn't reach Artemis through conventional means, I'd force an opening through sheer aggression. If I was wrong about them trying to take me alive, then I was dead. I pushed Kerberos forward in a reckless charge with no attempt to evade… If they wanted to launch a missile or a railgun shot directly into my core, then I was vulnerable. I deliberately overrode safety protocols that would normally prevent such dangerous operations of damaged systems. Warning lights flashed across my neural interface as servos whined in protest and hydraulics were strained to their limits, but I kept going… Pain was temporary. Failure was forever.

Valkyrie adjusted her stance, bracing for my charge. Her shield generators pulsed brighter as power diverted to the defensive systems. The quadrupedal mech looked immovable, a wall of armor and energy between me and my target.

I suddenly went evasive, zigzagging Kerberos across the open ground. It left my left side exposed with another clear line to the cockpit. Leg extended too far on a turn—vulnerable to immobilization.

Each time, I watched for the killing blow. Each time, it never came. Valkyrie fired her weapons to force me back, to redirect my charge, to keep me at a distance—never to destroy. Artemis targeted peripheral systems, avoiding critical components that would cause catastrophic failure. No killshot came. My theory confirmed, I pushed Kerberos harder, taking risks that would be suicidal against an enemy intent on killing me. I let Valkyrie's shield impact me directly, absorbing the energy discharge through Kerberos's already damaged systems to get close enough for a direct attack.

The contact sent electricity arcing through Kerberos's frame, the neural link translating it as white-hot agony coursing through every nerve ending. I screamed but didn't retreat, driving Kerberos's energy blade toward a junction in Valkyrie's leg armor.

The blade connected, piercing through the reinforced plating and into the joint beneath. I felt the resistance give way through my synaptic feedback, like a knife cutting through gristle to find the soft meat beneath. Hydraulic fluid sprayed from the wound, spattering Kerberos's chassis.

The mining fissure itself was becoming as much a threat as my opponents. Our battle had damaged multiple support structures, destabilizing entire sections of the excavated walls. As Kerberos and Valkyrie impacted, I drove the mech into the wall and set off a secondary from a ruptured fuel cell in one of the mining vehicles. It sent a shockwave through the area, triggering another collapse of equipment from an upper level. Massive ore grinders and sorting machines tumbled down, crashing into the battlefield below. I narrowly avoided a crushing death, the neural link sending phantom sensations of debris scraping against Kerberos's armor as I dodged between falling equipment.

Valkyrie wasn't as fortunate—a massive sorting conveyor slammed into her side, temporarily pinning the mech against a rock face. I seized the opportunity, sprinting toward Artemis while its protector was occupied.

I made it halfway up the ridge before Artemis's hacking breached my main firewall. Ancillary systems were still protected for the moment, but not for longer… its comms unit was uploading specialized worms and modifications into my computer systems now, enslaving systems to the other Fenrir unit’s control.

"Cerb— re—nd," Cernunnos ordered, his voice metallic and urgent and filled with static. I opened my mouth to reply, but my comms unit flashed with a fan of red errors. The Artemis hack had finally taken something vital—communications shut out, my handler's voice dropping from my mind in mid-sentence, cut clean as a garrote. The sudden silence made me giddy and sick at the same time: no hate-fueled guidance, no threats, no rewards, no punishments, just the raw voice of my own pulse echoing in my ears. Isolation. It was terrifying, and it was almost beautiful.

It was time to try the one avenue I had thought of to get through their defenses: the very connection Artemis was using to hack me. The link we had opened both ways. If Artemis could reach into Kerberos's systems, perhaps I could reach back. I didn’t have sophisticated viruses prepared or any electronic access protocol to try to counter-hack, but there were a few things I could think of to weaponize that connection that Wraith might not have thought of, and be prepared for.

This plan was insane. It violated every protocol for electronic warfare defense, and it also went against every instinct for self-preservation I possessed… But I was out of options. If this fight continued on its current trajectory, I would lose Kerberos completely within minutes. I'd become a passenger in my own body, helplessly watching as the Children of Elysium captured me and destroyed Kerberos and shattered the only independence I had left.

I pivoted sharply, making it look like I was attempting yet another futile charge at Valkyrie while secretly implementing my plan. In my neural interface, I began selectively lowering specific firewall protections—creating deliberate vulnerabilities in Kerberos's non-essential systems. It was like cutting my own flesh to lure in a predator, but I needed Artemis to sink its teeth deeper, to establish a more direct connection between our systems. The hack had been careful, methodical until now. I was about to invite it to get sloppy.

Warning lights lit up in my HUD one after the other, screaming at me about firewall modification and security vulnerability. It was a redundant warning, since I was doing it myself. Cernunnos likely wouldn’t have approved of this plan… but I couldn’t ask my handler, so he couldn’t tell me not to do it. I kept opening additional back doors into my own systems. Peripheral systems, communication channels, secondary processors. Breadcrumbs leading deeper into Kerberos than Artemis had managed to penetrate so far.

The effect was immediate. I lit up like I was being targeted by missile locks from the AEGIS as the hack sent tendrils rushing toward the newly exposed vulnerabilities. I wasn’t sure if it was the neural link or my own paranoia, but I could have sworn I felt an invasive, crawling sensation beneath my skin, like insects burrowing into my flesh. I gritted my teeth against the revulsion and continued my rush forward… and as Artemis's intrusion spread through the deliberately exposed systems, I began coding my counter-attack.

It wasn’t any kind of sophisticated anti-hacking protocol. I didn't have the tools or expertise for something like that. Instead, I crafted something much more primitive and vicious. A single command into the system under the presumption it was using the same OS that I was. It was something small enough her internal anti-virus programs wouldn’t find it and shut it down immediately, which meant that I couldn’t go for her weapons or boosters or reactor.

Instead, I went for her sensory feedback.

Every Fenrir used neural links similar to mine, transmitting physical sensations to the pilot to enhance control. The difference was in sensitivity and regulation. My conditioning had forced me to adapt to levels of pain that would leave most pilots twitching on the floor. I was willing to bet that Wraith hadn't experienced anything close to what I had been through.

"Come on, bitch," I muttered, continuing to play a game of cat and mouse with Artemis. fingers flying through the neural interface as I completed the worm. "Get greedy. Take the bait."

I could feel Artemis establishing deeper connections, shutting down more of Kerberos's systems. Motor control dropped to less than 60%. Multiple weapon systems offline… The magnetic coils that powered my railgun were shutting down. All of my targeting systems were down. The anticipation systems that compressed my shock fluid were done, and it made my limbs feel heavier and more sluggish. With each system Artemis compromised, the connection between our mechs grew stronger. The data channel widened, flowing both ways even if Wraith didn't realize it yet. When my worm was complete, I embedded it in a seemingly critical system diagnostic packet—exactly the kind of packet Artemis would be looking for and seeking to access.

Time for the final gambit.

My boosters were still online, so I cranked them to the maximum. With a roar that was half battle cry, half scream of pain, I launched myself at Artemis, and almost blacked out with the acceleration. I took a hit from Artemis’s rail canon that made me see red, and lit up every last diagnostic light I had: My left arm was severed, tumbling down to the ground. My vision blurred with pain, but I pushed through it, kept Kerberos moving forward, kept closing distance. I had only seconds to use my speed advantage to reach Artemis before it was too late.

The Fenrir unit attempted to retreat, its hexapod configuration allowing it to scuttle backward with unsettling speed. But I had momentum, and desperation, and a willingness to absorb damage that its pilot couldn't match. I crashed into the smaller mech with Kerberos's full remaining weight… driving a single, stomping kick into the mech’s groin.

It wasn’t a strategically important part of the mech. It didn’t contain reactors, or part of the drive system, or weapons, or sensory data. It was mostly just armor and servos, highly durable systems that would be hard to damage and wouldn’t stop her from boosting anyway. That was fine… because I wasn’t trying to damage the mech.

I was aiming for the pilot.

Her hacking attempt had accessed the datapacket I had poisoned, and the worm had activated… overriding Artemis's sensory feedback settings. They had been operating at a safe, casual 2%, enough to feel the ground and other tactile details but not enough for pain to be crushing. I had cranked them up to 100%, allowing the pilot to feel every single detail that the Fenrir unit’s digital nervous system could impart directly into Wraith’s mind. I felt a surge of savage satisfaction as the mech beneath me spasmed violently, its movements suddenly erratic and uncoordinated.

I could imagine the shock and pain radiating through Wraith's body as the sensation transferred directly to her cunt. The kick would have felt like a battering ram between her legs, the neural feedback amplified to levels that turned even minor impacts into feeling like I’d hit her personally. Artemis staggered backward, its limbs twitching as Wraith struggled to maintain control through the pain. The hacking attempt against Kerberos faltered, then ceased entirely as the pilot's focus shattered under the sensory assault, and I tackled us both to the ground in a tangle of metal limbs.

She elbowed me in the face, but I pressed my advantage without mercy, delivering a series of brutal, targeted strikes to the same area. Punch, punch, punch… each of them directly to her groin. Damaged as I was, I was unlikely to be able to disable the mech in a fight… so I went for Wraith. "How's it feel, cunt?" I growled, driving Kerberos's knee up into Artemis's groin again, feeling the metal buckle beneath the impact. The attacks were explicitly sexual in nature, a violation more intimate than mere combat. I wasn't just fighting Artemis; I was raping its pilot through her neural link, letting her experience a fraction of what I had to go through Every. Single. Day. "No one is taking me prisoner! I’m not going to be tossed into your test tubes for your people to do what they want with!”

Artemis's movements became increasingly uncoordinated as Wraith lost the ability to control her own body. I grabbed Artemis by what passed for its throat, pinning the smaller mech against the rock face. With my other hand, I formed Kerberos's fingers into a spear-like configuration and drove them repeatedly into the mech's groin area, punching through the outer armor to the sensitive systems beneath. "You wanted inside me so badly," I taunted, punctuating each word with another brutal thrust. "How do you like it when I get inside you, bitch!?"

Artemis finally collapsed, its pilot incapacitated by the overwhelming sensory assault. The hexapod legs folded beneath it like a dying insect's, twitching and vulnerable on the strip-mined stone. The sophisticated mech that had nearly defeated me through electronic warfare was reduced to a quivering heap of metal, its pilot likely unconscious or in shock from the sensory overload.

I stood over the defeated Artemis, systems returning to normal as the hacking attempt failed completely. Through the neural link, I felt a perverse satisfaction that bordered on orgasm—the rush of victory, of turning the enemy's strength against them, of dominating another completely. It was the closest thing to pleasure I was allowed to feel on my own terms.

As Kerberos's systems came back under my full control, the firewalls were reestablished, and functions returned online as my systems rebooted. I turned my attention back to Valkyrie. The defensive mech, having freed herself from the collapsed machinery, was approaching rapidly. Her shields flared with renewed energy. I had no doubt Shieldmaiden was desperate to protect her fallen comrade.

But it was too late. I had beaten their electronic warfare expert at her own game. The rage I felt was so pure it felt like molten metal in my veins. The temporary vulnerability I'd experienced—the violation of having another force their way into Kerberos—had left me with a fury that demanded release. I abandoned all defensive posturing, all tactical restraint, all concern for my own safety. Now, with nothing holding back Kerberos's remaining weapons systems, I was ready to show Shieldmaiden and her mech exactly what happened to those who tried to cage a Hound.

I launched Kerberos forward with a feral scream, pushing the damaged mech beyond all safety parameters. Warning lights flashed across my neural interface as structural integrity dropped to critical levels, but I didn't care. Let the frame buckle. Let the servos burn out. As long as I could tear Valkyrie apart before Kerberos failed completely, nothing else mattered.

Valkyrie's shields flared brilliantly as they absorbed the first wave of my attack, blue energy rippling across the barrier like water disturbed by a stone. Shieldmaiden fought defensively, trying to protect her disabled comrade while looking for an escape route.

"No way!" I snarled, cutting off her retreat path with a burst from my remaining functional thruster. "You don't get to run, bitch! Not after what you tried to do to me!"

I circled Valkyrie with Kerberos's superior speed, using the devastated mining equipment as cover while approaching from multiple angles. One of my arms was gone, but my systems were coming back online rapidly. I felt myself smiling, a manic grin that would have disturbed anyone who could see inside my hood.

Valkyrie's primary advantage was her electromagnetic shield generators—the technology that had kept me at bay during the earlier stages of our battle. Two emitters, mounted on her forearms, projecting overlapping energy fields that could deflect most conventional attacks. Take those out, and the heavily armored but relatively slow mech would be vulnerable. My systems were back online, but that didn’t mean that I was fully operational yet… My remaining railgun was still warming up, the magnetic coils building up the power that they would need to launch a slug. I needed a few more moments.

I feinted a frontal assault, drawing Valkyrie's shields forward before abruptly changing direction and striking at the mech's exposed flank. My fingers tapped rapidly on my side, impatiently waiting… Not ready yet, not ready yet, not ready y–

I felt the moment the coils went live. My weapons were active again, and I smiled savagely as I fired. It had taken just a moment too long, and the slugs impacted just beside the right shield generator rather than driving into it. It wasn’t a direct hit, but close enough to still hit the shield and strain the system.

Shieldmaiden responded with a blast from her machine guns. The shots narrowly missed Kerberos's head as I ducked behind a collapsed ore processor. A section of the wall collapsed in an avalanche of rock and dirt, adding natural hazards to the already treacherous battlefield… Our battle was making the entire fissure unstable in a hurry.

I used the environmental chaos to my advantage, timing my movements with the collapses, using dust clouds for cover. Each attack brought me closer to my target—those shield generators had to go.

When the first generator failed in a shower of sparks, the satisfaction that surged through me bordered on orgasmic. The neural link translated my triumph into waves of pleasure that washed away the pain of Kerberos's damaged systems. One shield down, one to go.

"First blood," I taunted, knowing Valkyrie's pilot couldn't hear me but unable to contain my excitement. "Let's see what you look like when you're split wide open."

Valkyrie fought with increasing desperation, her remaining shield focused on protecting the second generator. Shieldmaiden was good—I had to give her that much. She used the terrain effectively, keeping her vulnerable side away from me, making each shot count. She wasn’t being careful to avoid hurting me anymore, I noticed… Rocket after rocket and burst of fire after burst of machine gun fire, she was launching everything she had at me.

Too fucking late.

I drove Kerberos through another collapsed section of the fissure wall, bursting through the rubble directly behind Valkyrie. The surprise maneuver caught Shieldmaiden off-guard, her shield facing the wrong direction as I slammed into her mech's back with Kerberos's full remaining weight.

We crashed into a support column, the impact sending vibrations through the entire chamber. More of the ceiling came down around us, massive chunks of rock adding to the chaos. Through the neural link, I felt every impact against Kerberos's frame, but the pain only fueled my rage.

I grabbed Valkyrie's remaining shield arm, wrenching it backward at an angle the joint was never designed to bend. Metal screamed against metal as I applied increasing pressure, feeling the resistance through the neural link like I was breaking a real limb. When the arm finally gave way with a satisfying crack of structural failure, I ripped the shield generator free from its housing, tearing away cables and hydraulic lines that spurted fluid like arterial spray.

"There we go," I snarled, tossing the useless component aside. "Now we're even."

With both shields down, Valkyrie was exposed—still heavily armored, still dangerous, but vulnerable in a way it hadn't been before. Shieldmaiden tried to create distance between us, using her remaining weapons to keep me at bay while searching for cover.

I gave her no chance to recover. I threw Kerberos into a full assault, ignoring damage warnings and structural alerts. The laser blade ignited in my hand, superheated energy casting an eerie glow across the devastated landscape as I closed distance.

The blade sliced through Valkyrie's shoulder joint, severing the right arm completely. I caught the limb before it fell, using it as a makeshift club to smash against Valkyrie's head, denting the armor and damaging the sensor array. The neural link transmitted every impact as if I were using my own arm to bludgeon my enemy, the satisfaction of each blow sending waves of pleasure through my nervous system.

"How does it feel?" I screamed, continuing my assault. "How does it fucking feel to be helpless?"

Valkyrie staggered backward, systems failing under my relentless attack. The mech attempted to fire its remaining weapons, but I was too close, too fast, too fucking angry to be stopped now. I tore into Valkyrie with savage efficiency, ripping components free with Kerberos's hands and slicing through armor plating with my energy blade.

I cut away Valkyrie's left arm next, the blade passing through the joint with minimal resistance. The limb crashed to the ground, fingers still twitching with residual power. The destruction was intimate and visceral, with me experiencing each tear and cut through the neural link as if I were using my own hands to dismember an opponent.

"You thought you could take me?" I hissed, driving my blade into Valkyrie's midsection, twisting it to maximize damage. "You thought you could control me!?"

I worked methodically, dismembering the mech piece by piece. First the arms, then the sensor array, then the weapon systems. I sliced through the legs next, dropping Valkyrie to what remained of her knees before me. The neural feedback from the violence sent waves of dark pleasure through my system, each successful strike rewarding me with a rush of satisfaction that fed my rage.

By the time I was finished, the mech was in pieces. I stood over the ruins of Valkyrie, surrounded by the dismembered components I'd torn free and scattered across the battlefield. Kerberos was damaged almost beyond recognition with her armor torn away, systems failing, structure compromised, but unlike the others mechs she was still functional. Still me. The chamber around us was equally devastated. Support columns had collapsed, walls had caved in, mining equipment lay in twisted heaps of metal. It looked like a natural disaster had struck, not a battle between pilots.

I finally rebooted my communications system. “Report!” Cernunnos demanded immediately.

"Objective achieved," I reported to Cernunnos, my voice hoarse from screaming during the fight. "Both enemy Fenrirs neutralized. Pilots appear to be alive but incapacitated."

There was a pause that felt forever. "Well done, Hound!" Cernunnos responded, and I hated how the simple praise sent a shiver of pleasure down my spine despite my exhaustion. "Extraction team is en route to your position. They will secure both pilots and transport them to headquarters for interrogation."

"Yes, sir," I replied automatically, the words empty and mechanical after the raw emotion of combat.

"Your performance exceeded expectations," he continued. "Cerberus will need to be repaired. You are to report back to our forward operating base for repair and debriefing. The two of us have much to discuss.”

I said nothing, knowing no response was required. The adrenaline was fading now, leaving me hollow inside Kerberos's cockpit. The neural link translated my exhaustion faithfully, my limbs feeling leaden and distant as the system began to compensate for the stress I'd put on my body. I should have felt triumphant. Instead, I felt a strange emptiness. The rage that had fueled me was gone, leaving nothing but the knowledge that tomorrow, I would be back on my knees in front of Cernunnos, all this power and freedom just a memory. Debriefing meant that Cernunnos had uses for me while my mech was being repaired. I hated that… but as I looked down at the two defeated mechs, I hoped that at least I wouldn’t be suffering alone.

But for now, for these few remaining moments before the extraction team arrived, I was still Kerberos. Strong. Free.

It would have to be enough.

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