Sigma/Star

Chapter 119: Porter vs Artemis

But he knew Artemis would be in front of him in an instant, and wouldn't hesitate to blow his head off. That was his only concern as he shot up onto his feet. Sure enough, warning sirens blared throughout the cockpit of an approaching Goliath moving at high speed, and he twisted to the side to dodge the charge of The Archer.

Vision finally returned in whole for Porter, and the world swam into view. But he had felt part of his brain turning off in these last few moments, an annoying, chatty, doubtful part of him that wanted to think about the fight, to try and figure out the best way. His reaction to the grenade had been natural, had been exactly that, a reaction. His rise and dodging of Artemis while barely fully conscious was another sign. This was a different fight now, a fight without thoughts or limits or restraints. This was when Porter could shine.

The White Storm darted out of cover, no longer caring about the sphere that tracked it. It was another collision course with Artemis, but this time the general didn't hesitate in firing, attempting to force Porter off his course.

There was an alert inside the cockpit, one Porter had been subconsciously aware of before he had started this deadly dash. His battlesuit was indicating his current lack of weapons, but it was not advising against his upcoming actions. It was offering to replace them.

The sides of the White Storm's thighs cracked open, hydraulic steam venting out through the spaces as twin compartments opened up. Porter's hands dove into the gap as two swords shot up to meet his fingers, and he withdrew the replacement weapons, identical to his previous ones. The weapons became a blur in front of his body in an instant, slicing through the variety of shrapnel Artemis had fired at him, deflecting the bullets to the side as he broke through the attack.

Porter delivered a single slash across the chest of The Archer before Artemis could react and break free. The general shot backwards, carried on the force of Porter's assault, and quickly rebounded, keeping her distance and finally hesitating for a moment as she analyzed the new situation. Porter was panting within the cockpit as the adrenaline flowed through him and his conscious mind slowly returned to his body. It was only then that he realized where he had just pulled his new blades from, and the vents snapped shut on the White Storm. It seemed that Gretta had made some upgrades over the past month, and Sigma must have been grabbing resources for her on his scavenging trips to the mainland. Crafty, that the two of them had a deal worked out, but Porter wasn't about to complain. Those changes had just saved his life.

Artemis, on the other hand, had suffered minimal damage. There was a gouge across the chest, digging into the thick, armour plating that made up the point on the front of the warmachine. It was too heavy to be penetrated easily, and it seemed that if Porter wanted to take her down, the front was out of the question. He would need an entirely different means of fighting her if he wanted to win. Trying to get at her from the sides or behind was nearly impossible with her tracking his every motion, leaving him with limited options other than to try and break through the front.

The wandering eye of Porter caught sight of his two swords, still driven into the ground, a bit of a distance apart. He had a flash of insight, a moment where his learning in the classroom suddenly broke through into his battle-mind, and he realized what had to be done. It was strange to find this new method of thinking, to be consciously aware and engaged in combat and yet utilizing the skill normally reserved for when he was in a trance. He needed to think though, to process information and analyze properly, because it was the only way he could come up with creative solutions like this.

Before Artemis could recover to fire off more rounds, Porter had closed the gap, his blistering speed too fast to follow. While Artemis could move forward at equal speeds with ease, she had no way to dodge or escape at such velocities. But Porter wasn't interested in another attack on her front. Both he and the general knew that he could barely penetrate her defenses, and in the time it took him to break through, she could fill his chest with metal.