Chapter 9

[GRAND CANYON REGION]

[WUNDERWAFFLE EXCAVATION SITE, XO OFFICE]

A man with glasses reminiscent of 20th-century design is idly sitting on his comfortable chair. He sips a cup of tea as now he has time for a quick relax. But still a duty call first as Marshall disappeared, putting his work plate into overdrive. With the new order for the catalogue of the new Nutcracker type to be sent to headquarters, it isn't as easy as people think. Blood and sweat play a major role, and part of it is due to a lack of understanding and equipment at disposal. Due to its toy-like appearance to a nutcracker, many just accept and adopt such a name as formal. But for the sake of simplicity, they have just been called machine lifeforms due to the presence of an organic part and other exotics, making them unique from the traditional robots they knew.

Troopers standard weaponry, although proven to be sufficient, becomes obsolete in front of heavier types yet agile enemies. Thick armor, especially in the head, can even deflect B2 High Cal LMG at certain angles. Some of them even begin equipped with a towering, heavy, spiky shield that is capable of withstanding a rocket barrage hailstorm missile shoulder launcher. Not to mention, in close quarter combat, the machine is almost unopposed with their inhuman strength. Easily killing humans with a single blow. Only a Marine with more powerful weapons, durability, and strength granted by power armor could withstand such an onslaught, but their number is too few to make any difference.

Luckily so far no ranged-type enemy detected, but he knew it was only a matter of time before they appeared. Luckily, high command has sent a new trooper company and some kind of prototype marine armor squad for the future soldier program. He didn't know what kind, but he had a feeling it would be a foundation for greatness to come. His inner monologue comes to an end as a person comes knocking on his office door. He comes to him face to face, gives a solid salute, and begins to introduce himself.

"Sir, Captain Eric Well of the Marine special squad reporting for duty." 

"Yes, pleasure to meet you, Captain Eric. Here, take the paper and read it for a brief moment. Then give me your personal opinion before I give my verdict." He hands out the document with his right hand. Eric accepts and begins to scan for a few minutes.

"This... Pardon, sir, but this plan isn't too risky and"

"I'm very well aware, Captain. Many high-ranked officers agree Marshall Razak's loss is not very acceptable for most people, but we must continue to live on. But that is a last resort. Your job is to try to find him and test the prototype. If you have nothing to say, rest, and tomorrow your squad will depart at the earliest morning."

"No, sir. Not yet so far."

Before he could say more words. Light tremors could be felt beginning to emerge. The emergency siren begins to ring. The XO communication device, or simply the digital desk phone from the early 21st century, also sparks to life and rings nonstop until the XO picks it up. What comes out from the phone is not what XO expects. The sound of the autocannon, machine, and people screaming mixes together in a chaotic symphony.

"SIR, WE ARE UNDER ATTACK. THOSE MACHINES SUDDENLY CRAWL OUT FROM THE CHOKE POINT ENTRANCE IN NUMBERS WE'VE NEVER SEEN BEFORE. AND THEY GOT HEAVY SHIELD AND HUGE—" The transmission was cut off. Not even the soldier's scream could be heard.

[MAIN ENTRANCE]

Since it was first discovered, the original small blast hole was expanded and renovated to allow more units in and out. Many attempts to explore have been made since the first expedition party resurfaced, and Razak disappeared. But fail due to the sudden reanimation of the machine lifeform, AKA NUT CRACKER, roaming beneath the earth. Destroying them is as easy as long as the barrel can spew bullets. Over time, the challenge increased to the point of making the current standard weaponry almost obsolete. The very same weapon faithfully served them to fight space bugs and any wild native creatures across the planet's surface known to humans.

Tatatata...!!*

"Sheet!!! That iron lump is thick AF," scream the frustrations of troopers. Pressing the trigger, firing at full auto. His B12 High-Cal LMG roar spewed orange sparks. Each shot aims towards the enemy at the front of the Ruin entrance.

The culprit is none other than a Marine-sized bipedal machine lifeform in a tortoise position like those from ancient Rome. Each carry spiky tower shield could weigh tons and yet move it like a handbag. The wall of iron easily withstood bullets from the Ferromag SMG, leaving no dent, let alone a mark. Auto cannon turret and sentry, high-caliber LMG, C14 rifle. Each step is forcing the defender to retreat, as fighting them at close quarters is suicide. But the fight is only beginning.

"Target lock. Ready firing sequence." 

"Fire in the hole." 

Pwuuushh!!

Boom!* Boom!* Boom!*

The front and upper shields hold remarkably well. Infantry-level weaponry and small autocannons can't penetrate such armor with ease. But the kinetic energy still gives some kind of impact. The damage accumulation is not noticeable, but still stacking each shoot was hit. The machine's metallic arm limbs begin to show signs of wear and tear under extreme stress. The tight formation stood still until the last rocket barrage launched by rocket troopers hit the center. Obliterate dozens of them in one swoop. The remaining who survive break free from the tight formation, exposing themselves to combine firepower. As a result, the entire machine vanguard is destroyed.

It seems everything is over, but brave men and women never had an idea of what was coming. Another wave of machines comes out from the abyss below with more potent weapons of war. A small, tubby machine the size of a child equipped with guns on its torso swarms in huge numbers. Killing other troopers with their own storm of lead. Accompanied by the same machine lifeform they destroyed earlier, they create devastating combinations. Rocket troopers try their best aiming shoulder-mounted launchers, but the ammunition dries fast, making every shot count.

Bang!*Bang!* Bang!*

"My suit. Somebody help" Marine lost control of his armor. The circuit fry and expose to outside elements. He stands there motionless, holding the shield in front.

He tries to protect his friend, shielding her with his combat shield and body armor from a stubbly gun barrage. One gun might not be a problem, but a hundred in a single target is totally beyond power armor's endurance capability.

"Stay with me. Don't you dare to die." She tries her best to carry the marine to a safe distance. With the help of another man to help and firing cover, saving the poor soul might be possible.

"Mayday, mayday. Alpha Point has been overwhelmed. Request reinforcement and additional anti-armor duty support. The enemy has deployed heavy armor units, and our gun is running dry. Require heavy fire support. Over. One for the marine, try to contact any friendly unit. Sadly, none of them could respond in time.

[BARRACKS]

"Save me." 

The young man's face screams before his body is punched by a spinning, rusted metallic drill. Blood splattered, painting the wall and dirt with red blood. The nearby people happen to witness it running, and some stand still in fear.

"Those who survive quickly go to the armory and arm yourself. Non-combatants, go to the bunker," said the mysterious marine in silver chrome color.

His left hand is armed with a heavy combat shield, which is bigger than the standard version. On the right hand, it was a hammer, which is an understatement. You could see excessive and complex engineering on the hammerhead. The exhaust tube for the rocket propulsion and cooling system, coil wiring, and air vent spoke of remarkable engineering.

The handle is durable and thick enough to withstand whatever force the weapon could endure. Overall, it looks heavy enough to use both hands even with power armor, but somehow he managed to hold it with one hand. There is another difference from regular marine starting with the head.

Usually it was built with gold plating similar to an astronaut visor and can be added with a protective layer plate option. But this one is wearing a helmet with a red mono-eye visor. Some kind of tube attached to the respirator on the mouth resembles a small snout. It appears to be connecting around the head like a necklace, seeming to leave no other purpose aside from cosmetic appearance.

The upper body doesn't change much, aside from the singular rocket thruster on the back sandwiched between two air vents that continuously glow with orange light and maybe a trace of smoke. There is another small rocket propulsion added on the lower body, especially in the thighs and hips. The foot area is more pointy on the toe instead of rounded and bulky like ships cutting through the wave of the sea.

Woooosh!!*

Clank*

Another single powerful swing in the right destroys closer groups of drill-type machines without any difficulty. Other machines begin to notice and switch priority to destroy new threats. All of them leave the unarmed human and begin to swarm the lone marine with drill tips pointing at him.

The spinning sound is still dripping with human blood and leftover organs splashed by the machine's rotating gear. Charging with murderous yet coldly calculative machines could conjure. Unauditable noise or screams with glowing red eyes make them more terrifying than they already are.

"DESTROY!!!!"

The lone armored marine is standing there and begins assessing his surroundings. Upon a quick glance, I see all personnel have escaped. He quickly changed his regular stand for a defensive stand. Holding his hammer and pointing it into the sky. Rocket exhaust begins to ignite the fire, and the air vent begins sucking and venting out the air. Wiring coils begin to release a spark of lightning and the humming noise of gears getting louder.

Crackle* Crackle*

A mere second before contact, the surrounding chaos began to silence in one single moment. One mighty swing struck down the earth as fast as lightning. Sonic boom and electric crackling intensity loud enough to shatter eardrums. Hard and flat earth crust turns to dust scattered across barrack. Deep craters are akin to being deep enough to be mistaken as a combined firepower of heavy artillery barrage. An army of deathly machines turns into metal scrap, leaving almost nothing behind.

The survivor returns armed with a weapon to avenge the fallen, but all they see is a sea of dust and craters. The loud thud of the step of metal could be heard from afar, and it's getting louder. Troopers and marines raise their weapons and are ready to retaliate against the machine menace. Instead, they see a new face; the rumored new guys with fancy armor circulate in the base for a moment. One of them is wearing the armor that just saved their arse hours ago. His name is Raja Iskandar Shah, and what he's wearing is called the CMC-425 Crusader (Prototype).

"Can anybody help me? My power reserve is almost depleted."

[WUNNDERWAFFLE ARMORY COMPLEX]

As the situation is dire, soldiers who are not on guard duty around base come here to arm themselves. Some of them only take guns and helmets, while others don't wear any protection at all. So this might be the only place in the Grand Canyon full of human concentration, so it is heavily guarded. Logically, it is the best hotspot for the enemy to launch an assault.

Brrrtttt.....*

"Destroy! D-es-"

Dozens of littered machine parts shattered around the complex makeshift wall. More and more drill tips rise from the ground, revealing more of the machine menace, and join its pack for the attack using human wave tactics. With concentrated heavy firepower and precision, none of them could close enough to deal a devastating melee attack. This defense is led by Marine Sergeant. He even dares to get close enough to stab Nut Cracker with a drill in the lower body with his oversized bayonet attached to his gun and kick it with his powerful motorized legs.

"This isn't good. Private, is there any of our people here? If they do, escort them over." He squeezes the trigger on his flank on single mods.

Bang* bang* bang*

"Sir, the Marine special squad Captain Eric, along with a couple more off-duty troopers, is coming. We currently rendezvous at 3 o'clock in your direction. Covering fire is needed to break through the enemy line, sir. Red flare for Mark Over"

"Good. Stay on your guard and don't die. Protect them at all costs. Over. (Good, 1 go, 4 to go. I hope whatever it is, high command sent enough to save our arse." He pressed the trigger firmly, letting out another storm of bullets from his trusted C14 Gauss rifle to destroy another group of machines with ease.

Whirl and buzz sounds intensified, determined to break through the defender's wall of fire and steel. But human spirit and determination endure and press through the incoming onslaught of machines. But the enemy numbers keep increasing, each hole creating more gateways for machines to ascend from underground. Thankfully, it was a small, stubby type armed with a sword, shield, and gun.

Easy enough for troopers who were armed with inferior firepower of the Marine to aim. Battles continue until the sergeant feels tremors in his feet. Out of nowhere, the ground collapsed, causing a large, deep chasm a couple of meters in front of him. Huge sand dust rises and covers the battlefield, obscuring the vision temporarily.

Not only that, the machine lifeform number was cut more than half, falling to a black pitch chasm. The survivor unit simply The sergeant almost stumbled to the ground but quickly got back on his feet. He retreated back to a safe distance and observed the situation behind the cover occupied by 2 rocket troopers.

He immediately took binoculars from them and observed it again with detail, but the dust limited his vision. The chaotic situation temporarily became silent. But this gives people around the complex some kind of dread feeling for some reason. Unmistakably, those Nutcracker sphere heads with their huge, faint yellow-like eyes poking from the hole blink for a couple of seconds. It's action repeat for 5 times currently and still continues to do the same action for 3 minutes.

"Captain I see that nutcracker head from that hole, sir. Permission to launch tactical solutions, sir." Said the rocket troopers eagerly, crouching after adjusting the firing range targeting system.

"Don't rush, boy. With how the land we put our feet on feels, it really feels fragile for my liking. The last thing we need to do is take down the whole ARMORY complex section along with whatever that thing is."

Of course, there are some people with a happy trigger attitude. Two rocket traces at subsonic speed fly straight towards the head and explode. The dust dissipated, and the fragile earth crack widened the chasm even more.

"What the. Who the fuck pulled the trigger? Was it you, rookie?"

"No, it was me." Red light zapped those two poor rocket troopers. Burn both of them to a crisp. Not even a scream or trace, just a scorching burn mark on the land.

The rocket did not even have time to explode as it was also erased from existence. The sergeant gasps as his mind races to process what is actually happening. He takes a quick peek from his cover only to see a new kind of horror he and his men need to face. A giant, bulky, bipedal droid. It stands at approximately 15 meters tall and has a top-heavy build, with an enormous upper body and wild shoulders.So far only its upper body was revealed, and its true height is yet to be known.

Meanwhile, the small head and cylindrical look perfectly fine, aside from a barely noticeable dent across its upper head. Its face is plain, with a long chin and LED panel eyes cracked but still functional at bare minimum. Most of its body is built with grey and blue silver metal, while its limbs are made of bulky dark grey metal.

"Take cover!!" With one word. Hell broke loose.

An array of weapons is unleashed upon them from dozens of micro missiles, bullets, and laser arrays. Some are fortunate enough to die instantly, while others have their bodies slowly die due to extreme burns and loss of blood due to decapitated limbs. Some try to retaliate with a range of standard-issue rifles, autocannons, and rockets, but thick armor plates easily withstand the blow. The earlier vigorous spirit turned into panic and despair.

The Iron Giant seems to be laughing and enjoying what it's doing. The armory building and wall are built using advanced technology and material design to endure both harsh elements and enemy assaults. It still fails to protect its occupants and assets as the laser breaks through its wall or specifically melts it. Unfortunately, most critical assets are stored deep underground below in case of high-grade neosteel and tungsten.

"Sheet... (Is there anything we can do? That monster just tore this place apart.)"