Chapter 2: Werewolf Protocol
*Whiiiiiiirrrrrrr waaaaaaaa*
A strange sound filled the air. It sounded like gears grinding. Anna remembered the robot that took a hit from the experimental weapon.
'Maybe, just maybe…' She thought. Anna ran toward the sounds. They got worse as she got closer. The damaged enemy robot was struggling on the ground and two other robots were just rising into the air, leaving their ally behind.
Getting near the enemy was easy. The torso was torn open, looking like something had exploded out from the inside. The sharp shredded chunks from the outburst did extra damage to the head, arms, and legs. It made Anna think of a shrapnel grenade causing more damage because it was in an enclosed space.
The inner workings of the machine were not entirely obvious. Much of it had covers in odd shapes and was locked in place by a scaffolding type of inner frame. The inner frame made it easy for Anna to climb to the top of the struggling robot's chest. She peered through two split shards of metal at a larger spherical container in the middle. Almost as if the universe was inviting her to get revenge, the sphere opened up and some mechanical parts emerged. The most eye-catching of them all was a small humanoid creature with six arms and a deep blue ocean color skin. It was shouting in some strange language and beating on random electronics.
Anna took the opportunity to leap across a gap and close the distance. The creature never saw her approaching. She landed one final step behind it before pushing the thing off the side. The fall was easily several stories. If it was anything like a human on the inside, it wouldn't survive. A light metal *gong* sound reverberated throughout the robot.
"Just in case…" Anna second-guessed herself. She knew nothing of the creature, it could be on its way back up right now. She looked over the side and saw something at the bottom. It wasn't moving and it was too dark to see clearly.
A sudden burst of air started to shift Anna's hair all over. It was from the thruster jets of two enemy robots. As they landed, the ground shook and the damaged robot shook with it. Anna lost her balance and fell back into what seemed to be the cockpit of the machine. Her back hit a soft seat and her legs were up in the air. They seemed to be near some kind of pedals. Her hands naturally glided toward controls that felt, but looked nothing like joysticks.
"Wer Wer Joyk Huffad." A voice came out of one of the other robots. It pointed a finger at Anna. The other one seemed preoccupied with attaching something to the damaged robot. It didn't seem angry, in fact, it seemed more like it asked a question.
"Wer Wer Wer..." It said again. The giant finger came closer and gently tapped the exposed machinations of the cockpit directly above her. She began pushing buttons that might close the cockpit. An odd sound fired off after pressing one that had an image of what she thought was a hatch.
"O-oh k-kayy..." Anna whispered nervously.
"Full Moon Recognized. Energizing Cockpit." An electronic voice said. It came from inside.
"Full… Moon?" Anna questioned as she felt her thighs to make sure her pants were still on.
With a loud hiss, the cockpit began to retreat into the sphere and closed up. The inner shell of the sphere lit up with a Heads Up Display. Then an image of the robot in front of her. Still, none of the controls seemed to do anything for her.
"Gerbalt Noion Felyt?" Asked a different computerized monotone female voice.
"I don't understand," Anna responded. The computer then showed symbols on the screen and made even more sounds that made no sense.
"I don't know what you're saying!" She protested.
"Advanced A.I. Initiation complete. Language recognized. New user Identified. Please state your name and rank."
"What?"
"Advanced A.I. Initiation complete. Language recognized. New user Identified. Please state your name and rank." It repeated.
"Uhmmm. Anna Holt..." A name was easy, but a rank? She was just a soldier in the army, would they have that rank among the enemy?
"Please state your rank." She then had an idea. If she got it wrong anyway, what does it matter if she makes something up?
"Commander?"
"Anna Holt, Commander. Search-ching datab-base... Records not f-f-f-found. Please re-state your rank."
"Grunt." Which is what Anna actually was in the W.U. military.
"Anna Holt, Grunt. Search-ching datab-base... Records not f-f-f-found. Please re-state your rank."
"Damn. What else? Um, General?"
"Anna Holt, General. Search-ching datab-base... Records not f-f-f-found. Please re-state your rank."
Of course, Anna knew it wouldn't find anything. Who was Anna kidding?
"Queen..."
"Anna Holt, Militant Queen. Search-ching datab-base... Records not f-f-f-"
"Militant? What the hell?"
"Password accepted. W-Welcome Militant Queen. Would you like to activate the- the- the- Protocol?" This voice was different. It was like the first electronic voice when the cockpit closed. It was deeper, a male voice. It had almost human inflection.
"DON'T CALL ME THAT! But, yes... Activate protocol?"
"Understoo-oo-ood. Full Moon requests activation of Werewolf Protocol."
"Werewolf?"
"Initiating Enhancemen-men-ment parameters. Unlocking true gyroscope. Connecting-ing alpha nerves. Connecting-ing omega nerves. Connecting-ing beta sensors..."
Sounds within the robot began shifting, scraping, and moaning. The robots outside noticed too. That wasn't good.
"Umm... What does this protocol do? Can you hurry up? I don't think the others like this."
"Intrinsic motors-ors-ors activated-ed. Werewolf protocol activate-ate-ates a secret power hidden inside the mech. This allows the pilot to-to increase sensory input and forces output into overdrive for -unnnnnnndescr-cr-cribeeeeeed- amount of time. In doing so..."
"So... I could pilot this thing? And, it would be stronger than the rest?"
"In doing so... In doing so... In doing so..."
"Please hurry. The guys outside don't look happy!"
"Not to worry. A self-defense system has been installed and initiated. Any hostile actions will be thwart-t-ted."
The robot in front held up his gun and it started to charge the deep red shot. The robot behind must have lifted up the mech Anna was in because it seemed to stand even though she still wasn't able to control it. Just as the gun was about to fire, a strange thin robot hand reached out, knocked the gun away with a backhand, and grabbed the enemy robot's head. In a second, the head was crushed and the robot seemed to have trouble navigating. More sounds were heard from behind but the camera refused to show Anna anything different from what was in front no matter how she moved around the cockpit.
"What's going on? I cant see! When can I control this thing?"
"Apologies. Rectifying Full Moon malfunction. Please be seated so that a neural interface and link cable can be installed."
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