Once everyone was certain that they had a full grasp of the controls and sensor suite of the new suits, they all got into the bulky armour and prepared for the orbital drop. The team from the Alliance clearly still felt that this was an insane suicide mission, but they were willing to try once they saw the well-calculated data that Nico presented and learned the capabilities of the armour.
The ship was in stationary orbit over the planet, and the base down below hadn't made any sort of defensive or aggressive action, so the five of them moved to the Alliance Shuttle, which could be more easily prepared for decompression and personnel transfer. The atmosphere was sucked from the small vessel, and the suits were triple-checked for proper operation and integrity before being powered down again for the drop.
"You all know the drill now. When your altitude reaches one hundred meters, give the emergency override command and power up with full reverse thrust, both gravity and thrusters. We will drop ahead of you with a controlled thruster burn and breach the building. Once we're in, you can secure the door, and we will signal you before we return." Max reminded them.
"Got it. I am so going to end up a puddle in the bottom of my suit, but we can do this." The leader of the three-man team agreed.
They would be falling horizontally and face down so that when the reverse thrust engaged, they wouldn't lose control of the suit. They would only find themselves flattened to the bottom of it as the gravitational forces exceeded their ability to maintain their forms. It wouldn't harm them, so it was just a matter of annoyance and one that they had faced many times in the past.
Nico led the group since her internal sensors were best at determining altitude, and Max crossed his fingers for luck. There was a small chance that her body would trigger the shield, even though she had powered down as much as she could and was running on reserves just like her suit for the trip down.
The fall was a surreal experience, with the reduced gravity and no atmospheric friction, but they were steadily making their way toward the target, dropping like a group of meteors straight down at it. The Alliance had tested that such an event wouldn't trigger the shielding already, but since the facility was underground, it seemed that the designers weren't worried about impacts, or perhaps they were planning to have more Klem arrive at the site and needed to have the shields let them through.
Max sensed that there was something watching them on their way down, but it didn't seem particularly intelligent, and by the time it recognized them as a living thing, Nico had already activated her reverse thrusters, and they were on the final approach to the hidden door to the complex.
It was intended to be a hangar door for shuttles to enter, but that was no deterrent to Nico, who had already hacked the door's electronic override and caused it to crack open a few meters, letting out a stream of atmosphere for a few seconds as they passed through, then the door slammed shut behind them as the pressure alerts kicked in.
Other than the red flashing lights, there didn't appear to be anything out of the ordinary in this portion of the base. The lights had automatically come on when they sensed movement, everything was clean, other than some literature that had been scattered by the rapid depressurization, and a robotic secretary was installed at the desk, giving them a warm, preprogrammed greeting to the facility.
"Welcome to Rain Shield Corporation's Biotechnology Research Facility." The robotic secretary greeted them with a fake smile.
That definitely wasn't the same name that was on any of the official or unofficial documentation for this facility. He hadn't heard of it before, but something about the name gave him the creeps. After a second's thought, he realized what it was. There was an Umbrella Company in his past life that had tried to take over multiple worlds with creepy bioengineered monsters.
"It is a pleasure to be here. We have a meeting on the seventh level. Should we wait here, or will there be an escort?" Max asked.
"My sensors indicate that a group of researchers are on their way here to greet you right now. Please remain where you are until the process is complete." The robot informed him a split second before a four-armed humanoid rushed out from the elevators.
"Interlopers must die. You cannot interfere with our work here." The man insisted while charging at Max with his claws extended.
Max smacked him with the flat of his sword, knocking the creature out while Nico's mind was scanning the area.
"Those aren't the native inhabitants. That researcher is one-third Klem."
That wasn't good news. Well, except for Nico. If this lab wasn't full of Klem and biomass pools but of Klem Hybrids who could talk and reason, she calculated that she would have much more fun clearing out the infestation.
"Unauthorized visitor elimination failed. Summoning additional forces." The Secretary bot informed them right before Nico hacked her systems and took control of the reception area.
"I count thirty incoming and at least fifteen energy weapons. Are you ready for this?" She asked.
"Your suits had better hold up to some heavy-use scenario testing. My Targeting skills are up and ready." Max chuckled.
The Laser Arrays on the shoulders could fire four times a second, and it was unlikely that he would miss. The real question was, would they die if he shot them? When it came to Klem hybrid organisms, the answer could vary, and they didn't have any data on the ones who were here other than the one that Max had knocked out.
The sound of boots on the tile was joined by spiked limbs as the security team arrived. Two dozen more of the hybrids with four arms and chitinous hides were led by a Klem warrior that seemed to have evolved somehow, gaining a third pair of arms and looking much more agile than normal.
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