09/21/2095 C.T.
1350 Hours
The horde was approaching the Hollander Mall. Defenders on the rooftop were preparing for the worst. By the numbers of the undead alone, they could easily overwhelm their defenses. Marrick could feel the sweat from the humidity and the tension.
"Where are you, Andre?" Marrick thought, while training his sights on the horde of the undead heading their way.
Meanwhile, at the makeshift command center inside the mall. Major Adams, sporting a brushed up blonde hair wearing a tactical vest over his mercenary uniform, cleared his throat. "If I may speak, ma'am?"
"Go ahead, Major!" Dorothy replied.
"There are these controllers from the drones leading the horde. I suggest taking those out." The Major said to Dorothy.
Dorothy sounded unconvinced and replied, "From the looks of it, the enemy had a lot of these controllers in spare. They are clever to use drones to lead the horde our way."
"What about jammers?" Captain Erick, the black-haired officer in his thirties, suggested.
"They will spot location quickly. Right now, the enemy is looking for any potential victims. Thankfully, we remain undiscovered!"
"We have to do something about those controllers somehow!" The captain was insistent.
"How was the mech squad doing?" The major asked Dorothy.
"They are being outfitted as we speak. But even with their firepower, they are not enough." Dorothy replied.
"It all lies with the package? But can the pilot pull it out?" The major whispered to Dorothy.
"No, even he is disposable!" Dorothy replied to the major and checked her mobile phone.
She received text messages from her superior in Andalusia. The message contained instructions. After reading it, Dorothy looked at the screen and checked the computers.
"What is it, ma'am?" The Major asked Dorothy, who noticed the sudden change in her demeanor.
"New orders from the higher ups!" Dorothy replied.
"What is it?" The major, who looked concerned, asked.
"They are watching and hoping for success." Dorothy replied.
"Success of what?" The major asked, perplexed.
"This mission, and the testing of the new SynthMech." Dorothy replied, irritated with the situation.
The major sighed, looked at the roof and replied, "So we all here are expendable? Huh?"
"Shut it major! What matters is we make it out alive! Whatever the result of their so-called plans, it boils down to us!" Dorothy said and took out her flash drive and inserted it into a laptop. "We need this laptop. Make sure it does not shut down. Updates per thirty minutes have to be recorded both in the cloud drive and in flash drive!"
On the rooftop, Marrick noticed that the movement of the horde became faster. They were heading in a different direction, steering away from the mall. Their commanding officer also felt the confusion.
"What is happening here?" Their commanding officer asked.
His junior officer shrugged his shoulders in response. After the horde retreated, ten figures, heavily armored, emerged. They looked humanoid but are larger.
"Bio Terror Weapons!" One spotter exclaimed as he identified the threat.
The horde may be a big problem, but with Bio Terror Weapons. The defenders felt their luck has ran out. A sniper, in fear, tried to run away, but their commanding officer quickly tackled him. "Where do you think you're going? The company punishes the deserters heavily!"
After taking the deserter away, the commander then gave out a speech, "We at Zanderthine may have employed you. This does not mean it has no strings attached. From the moment we hire you, consider your contract as good as signed. Desertion is a crime at our company and this man here would be an example for everyone of you!"
"Questions or objections!?" The commanders asked the defenders on the rooftop.
"No, sir!" Everyone replied and continued their job.
The radio suddenly crackled and Dorothy asked the commanding officer on the rooftop what was happening.
"We got a deserter, ma'am! We would like to ask your judgement on him?" The commanding officer asked in reply.
"Deal with him. I give you full authority!" Dorothy replied from the radio.
"Roger ma'am!" The commanding officer replied.
Inside the warehouse, Andre stood next to the stored SynthMech Model Shiva. Andre gazed at it after he finished his preliminary tests. He was physically strained and drenched in sweat as he was tested for his endurance.
"One more to go!" Andre thought and smiled widely.
The technician escorted Andre inside the container van. The contents inside the container van surprised Andre. It was a makeshift storage warehouse. At staggering eleven feet was the SynthMech suit kneeling in front of him.
"Pilot, or should I say aspirant? We still have a test for you. Come this way!" The technician said and escorted Andre to the glass room.
"Where are we heading next?" Andre asked."The simulation room. Here we will give you a crash course in operating a SynthMech suit." The technician replied.
"Will it take long?" Andre asked again.
The technician replied and said, "It will not take long. Soon you'll be a real SynthMech pilot."