"With this!" Braxton summoned his pulse rocket launcher.
"Wow. You any good with that thing?" Vixen asked in shock.
"I'm still learning. I had a shot at getting a lot more rounds for it but, there was an unforeseen accident. About eighteen of the rockets blew up in spectacular fashion. Right now, I've got six rockets and two toxin capsules." He said as he replaced the expended power crystal and inserted another fresh one. He had used up four of them in total and had eight spare.
"You really want me to go?" Vixen asked.
"I can run away faster with my mount. Do you have anything that needs energy cells to function?" Braxton asked.
"I have a pulse pistol but no ammo." Vixen replied
"Here." He passed her three charged energy cells. "Just in case."
"I want to blow up this tower and move fast. I don't doubt your battle prowess one bit. I just don't think we want to get into a long drawn out fight with here. I expect they have a lot of ranged weapons in there. A prolonged battle would be deadly for us." Braxton said.
Vixen loaded her pulse pistol. "I sure have missed having ammo for this little beast." She said with a big smile on her face.
"How is that thing?" Braxton asked.
"You can't ask for a better offhand weapon. The range is shit but anything within twenty feet in a cone shaped area gets killed by a shockwave." Vixen eyes shined as she enlightened him.
"Damn you are one of a kind. Now will you do as I asked. If they follow me I promise I'll run to you. Then you can protect me." He said lovingly.
Vixen took off running north towards the edge of the desert. "Don't wear yourself out sweety. I'll wait until it's close to dark."
"Don't get yourself killed or I'll be force to come back. I'll kill all these assholes myself." Vixen called back softly.
Braxton checked the range in the UI. He was just over a mile from the tower. The range he used for the last experiment with the weapon was similar. The tower was several stories. Depending on the floor height it was between three and four levels. He wasn't sure if the rockets would have the same reactions as the canisters did. He opted to play it safe. He aimed the bar below below the center at the middle of the tower. He made sure he middle bar wasn't above the tower too.
He gave a full hour for Vixen to distance herself. Then actived his comlink again "You ready sweetheart?"
"Do your thing. I'm just entering the desert now. It's hot a balls still!" Vixen replied.
"Manage your water intake. Don't get too deep into it either. I don't want you to try crossing alone." Braxton said.
"Okay. I'm walking already and my canteen is full." Vixen replied.
"I'm just worried they might have another town on the other side of the pass too." Braxton's voice was etched with concern.
He returned his focus on the task at hand. "Ready, aim, fire."
The rocket zipped across the sky. He swapped the crystal as he watched the rocket impact with his Scout Vision. The rocket hit a little higher than he aimed. The tower crumbled and the top fell back toward his direction. Braxton reloaded another rocket quickly then returned the launcher to his storage.
It was time for speed. He mounted up on Icca and followed the direction Vixen had gone. "Give me your current coordinates. I'm on my way." Braxton called over the comlink.
Vixen gave him her coordinates quickly and Alpha set a direct path. The green arrow popped into the bottom of his UI. He rode for half an hour and didn't see Vixen yet. "Alpha check distance to nearest player." Braxton commanded.
"Two players located half a mile west." Alpha stated.
"Shit why are they west?" Braxton thought quickly. "Track them both and lead me to them!" Braxton ordered turning his mount around again.
He caught up with the pair ten minutes later. Vixen was helping the other guy reach the edge of the desert. "What happened Vixen?" Braxton inquired.
"I ran into Blaster. He was laying on the ground. I gave him water. No way he would've made it back across." Vixen replied.
"Looks like he lost his canteen too. That is bad! Here give him some of my water." He passed his canteen to Vixen.
"Has he said anything yet?" Braxton inquired.
"No, but his armor is shot up. Your theory about some blood lizards on the other side seems more logical now." Vixen replied evenly.
"This is bad timing. If the ones followed him across the desert and the ones come looking for me we are in a lot of trouble." He pulled out two MRE's and passed them to Vixen. "One for each of you."
"Damn lover, you've been holding out on me." Vixen said playfully.
"You never asked how many I had now did you?" Braxton replied.
"No, but I'd like to know now." Vixen responded.
"About a dozen I think. It's not really that important right now is it?" Braxton retorted.
"No. I was just trying to lighten the mood." Vixen said defensively.
"I know and I appreciate the thought. I am just trying to think of a way out of this. One that doesn't involve any of us getting killed. How much inventory space do you have?" Braxton asked.
After a short pause she responded. "Ten slots."
"Take these grenades." He summoned his five grenades and handed them to her.
"You sure know the way to a girl's heart." Vixen said with wide eyes.
Blaster saw the grenades and reached for one. "I heard he was a fighter. A badass at that. If he wants one, give it to him." Braxton said.
"He is I saw him in action." Vixen confirmed.
Blaster clutched the MRE in one hand and the grenade in another and smiled. Icca nuzzled his old master.
Braxton summoned the old wristwatch and connected to it. There were a dozen water bags stored inside. He pulled out two of the bladders and handed them to Blaster. Then reclaimed his canteen. He handed six to Vixen. He pulled the other four into his own storage. The power cells inside were all empty, there were five of them. He pulled a laser pistol out of it too and moved it to storage. He pulled a laser sword into his storage too, then a pair of swords. The last thing was a fire starting kit.
Braxton's inventory was all but full after unloading that wristwatch. Now that it was empty Alpha's voice popped up. "Wristwatch upgrade available. Would you like to increase storage capacity?"
"How much will it increase?" Braxton thought to himself.
"Forty slots." Alpha replied.
"Is that the only benefit?" Braxton continued the private conversation.
"Yes." Alpha responded.
Braxton wasn't sure exactly what he wanted to do. He could keep it or give it to Vixen. He really liked her and it would be a great gift. On the other hand it would be a huge benefit for him in his business. He put it back in storage for now. If Vixen stayed to be with him,he would give it to her.
"Not at this time Alpha." Braxton replied silently.
Braxton looked at Blaster and asked "Do you have any long range weapons? If you do, do you have ammo for them?"
Blaster replied by nodding yes then no.
"Would power cells be useful for them?" Braxton asked.
Blaster shook his head no. Then he held up his hand and summoned a pistol. It wasn't one he had seen before. He got the hint though. He summoned three energy cells and passed them over to Blaster.
"Get him further west away from the edge here. I will try and fight them off. Then I'll come looking for you both. Please be careful!" Braxton said with feeling.
He helped get Blaster back on his feet. Then mounted up and headed back south.