Leah picked up the chip and rushed over to the Crawler control panel. A similar disc compartment to the one that the Mammoth had was fixed at the side.
She pushed it open and removed the AI chip for the Crawler after which she inserted the Mammoth AI chip. [Detecting change in the system… New AI has been inserted, would host like to install it?]
She punched in some keys in response. [Installation of new AI will now take place. Please stand by.]
At the same time, a loading bar appeared on a blue screen that had emerged from the disc compartment. It was currently at five percent.
"Hoe long do you think it would take?" Leah asked as Nathan approached. "I have no idea. Let's just hope that it doesn't take too long."
He stood by her side as they watched the blue screen. It hadn't even been over a minute when there was suddenly a loud explosion outside. Leah's eyes went wide in shock as the Crawler shook from the impact.
"What was that?" "Let me check." He moved to a different part of the control station and activated the external cams. A view of the area just outside the Sand Turrets formation was shown on screen.
"Shit." "What is it?"
"They found us." Leah walked over. The moment she caught sight of what was on screen, her knees buckled as she nearly stumbled back in fright.
On-screen, a battalion of over fifty Scorpions and thirty Tanks were displayed approaching from the enemy camp. They had already started unleashing attacks on the multilayered barrier formation that protected the Crawler.
"That's a bit much right?" She struggled to say. At that moment, she was trying to keep herself from hyperventilating. Nathan noticed this as he rushed to her side. "Keep calm. Yes, they are a bit much but I believe the Sand formation can hold them off for a bit."
"…What if it can't?" "…Let's hope it doesn't come to that." At that moment, he could not help but doubt the strength of the formation. Unfortunately, the enemy was not taking any chances by underestimating them. It was going all the way to eliminate them.
"…" Leah was at a loss for words. She glanced back at the other screen to find that it had only gotten to ten percent. "We are so doomed."
***Boom***
There was a second explosion. They turned back to the external cam footage to find that the Tanks had stopped moving and were launching missiles at the barrier while the Scorpion units continued the charge.
"Apart from the barrier formation and the Sand Turrets, we don't have any other forms of defense. Main functions of the Crawler are down until the installation is complete."
"I doubt the Crawler could still maintain its offensive capabilities once the installation is complete."
"So what now?.. Do we wait here for our deaths?" Nathan shook his head. "No, I have an idea but it involves risks."
Leah looked him over. "… How much risk?" "A lot." "Oh, God." She fought back the urge to cry.
***
The bombardment of the barrier formation did not stop as the intensity at which the barrier received attacks increased. With each hit, it would fluctuate and take on the form of ripping apart with the slightest touch.
This was only a front though as merely a second will pass after which the barrier would regain its original state. It spread the damage received to all corners thereby minimizing the damage suffered.
Thus, the Tanks increased their attacks in a bid to overwhelm the barrier's ability to share damage. The Scorpion units soon came within range of the Sand Turrets and were forced to pull back as heavy fire rained on them.
This exchange continued for over ten minutes with the Scorpion units taking considerable damage. Ten were destroyed by the Sand Turrets.
Of course, this was not without sacrifice as the Tanks were able to deliver enough damage to cause one of the Sand Turrets to blow up as a result.
This resulted in a gap in the barrier formation and the Scorpion units took full advantage of it as they quickly rushed in. Though they had to sacrifice five more units, they were successful in infiltrating the formation.
Once inside, it was clear that things were going to become a bit more complicated as what greeted within the formation was not a straight path to the Crawler but instead, a maze with the Crawler nowhere in sight.
[Seeking further instructions from Mother ship… Search and Destroy.] With the command set, they immediately set out to find the Crawler.
***
"Thirty-five Scorpion units made their way into the formation." Nathan had a grim expression as he checked the external cams. "Th… Thirty-five??... We are so dead." Leah was close to breaking down as she panicked at the mere thought of going up against so many Scorpion units.
[Unshakeable will activated] Nathan gulped down saliva as he sort to calm his jittery nerves. "Don't worry. I'm sure we can do something with what we built."
Leah felt the urge to say something mean at that point. "It's just one Flying Saucer, Nate. How can one Saucer go up against Thirty-five Scorpion units?"
"We can't win if try to fight them head-on. So let's make use of our home advantage to bring down as many as possible. The formation has a diversion effect, they won't be able to track us down quickly. What's more, with a little tweaking, I could control the formation maze, ensuring that we have as much time as possible."
Leah glanced at the Flying Saucer that they had built manually. It was a bit different from the automatically created unit that had a flat surface. This one was heavier and was installed with a larger gun.
If one were to rate it, it would be of Medial armor type. She shifted her attention to the loading bar. It was currently at forty-five percent. It was taking longer than expected.
Then, she returned her attention to Nathan. "Do you think we can do this?" He managed a smile. "Even if we can't, at least, we can say that we tried."
She sighed as she walked over to the Drone. "Flying Saucer doesn't quite fit this model, don't you think?" "What do you think we should call it then?"
She forced a smile as she said. "Shield."
***
The Scorpion units moved in a straight line, two units moving side by side due to the narrow pathway that the maze provided.
Just as they got to a corner, something they did not expect occurred. The walls of the maze shifted. Before they had a chance to reorganize themselves, they found that they had been separated into groups of five.
[Problem detected. Awaiting further instructions.] [Proceed.]
They continued, forming a compact formation as they kept on searching.
One of the Scorpion groups made it to another corner and just at that moment, a person appeared in front of them. "Hey, come at me. You guys are here for me right?" It was Nathan and he was acting as the titular bait with a slingback hanging across his shoulder.
[Enemy presence detected, commencing extermination process.] Their tail charged up as they prepared to fire. "Shit." He turned around and fled like his life depended on it because it kind of did at that moment.
***Pew***
***Boom***
The shockwave from the resulting explosion threw him a couple of meters away. Luckily, he had escaped the more deadly plasma beams. "Ugh, that was close." He groaned as he struggled to his feet. He glanced back to find that the Scorpion units were charging at him.
"Shit, run!!" Alarms went off in his head as he dusted himself and dashed away at full speed. The Scorpions gave chase.
He was not fast enough but he made use of a map he had made of the formation to get around as he narrowly escaped getting disintegrated a few times.
The Scorpions got to a crossroads and split up as they searched for him. This was the opportunity Nathan was waiting for as he trailed after the group that only has two Scorpions.
He remotely changed the maze design again, cutting off their retreat. They quickly charged their tails as they attacked the barriers in a bid to make a way out, alas their attacks were mostly futile.
Nathan finally made his move.