[IC] Running and Gunning - Higan Vs. The Magna Pater

[Doc Doctor]

@MelonHead

The sound would fade away after several seconds... It might be in the tunnels ahead, either having stopped or gone too far for even the cave's echoes to reach Higan.

[MelonHead]

Time was not massively against Higan as he walked at an almost leisurely pace through the cave system. Ultimately he was either going to escape the cave unmolested and return home for repair work or he was going to run into Slimy again before he got top-side. The worst thing he could do was sprint through the darkness with three quarters of his vision fucked up and let the monster get the drop on him again. Such was to be expected when you pursued creatures into their own lair, but fool me twice and all that jazz. As it were he was relying solely upon Electric vision, or what remained of it, as he made his way through the long dark. However, there was no particular reason why he should, as his Optics were still connected to the computer system and would change when necessary. He made some adjustments, of which the creature he pursued could have no knowledge of.

With no more sound to pursue there was little to guide Higan towards his prey. To that end he set himself on a reverse course to that he had followed, pausing more rarely to listen out for the Pater, perhaps every minute or so, though there was no pattern to his action and he sometimes stopped and listened suddenly, hoping to catch it out if it understood what he was doing. In regards to his eventual escape, Higan was a trained A.S.P operator, and part of his job was a scouting role. Orienteering his way out of a cave was child’s play, in fact he would probably make about the same time as he did on his way in allowing for his less than consistent walking.

[Doc Doctor]

@MelonHead

Higan would indeed succeed in leaving the cavern, without a hitch. Something was off, though. It all had been too easy. Having the Magna Pater off the grid was like sitting on a ticking bomb...

[MelonHead]

“Well now, it’s definitely up ahead somewhere.” Higan muttered to himself as the Mech made its final ascent. It was a little easier getting out of the cave than getting in so the Mech was climbing up the last tunnel in a sort of crouch-walk with its right side facing forward. It was still slow going though, which worried Higan just a tad as he had a foreboding feeling the Pater was preparing something for him up topside. He had forced it out of its little nest and back up into open air, if it was like any other ugly bastard living in dirt it couldn’t have liked that very much. Still, once he reached daylight visibility was bound to be improved and he’d have space to work with, all factors in his favour. Particularly in light of two things, he had entered the forest in the early hours of the morning and had been in the deeps for at least two hours, so sunlight would be permeating the forest. However, more importantly he remembered the exit was on a hillside, so the sun would shine more brightly upon it as the canopy couldn’t be as thick, and he would have an excellent field of vision. There was a chance he could still kill the creature yet, with just forty rounds of rifle ammo and maybe 900 rounds in his chain-gun.

The entrance to the cave was the biggest danger. If the creature stayed true to form it would be up waiting for him in a blind spot as he exited the cave. He couldn’t hear it anymore, so either it had fled far enough through the forest to escape him or it had settled down to wait for him to leave the cave. His mind flittered back to the skeletal decoy earlier, he couldn’t even discount the possibility of a trap waiting for him at the exit, and it had certainly proved itself wily enough to carry out some manual tasks. All in all the light at the end of the tunnel was looking progressively worse as he swapped back to ordinary vision function to avoid blinding himself. If there was anything un-toward about the entrance of the cave Higan would notice it, he wasn’t a scout for nothing, having passed this way earlier he could probably spot a single stone out of place.

Presuming he was not accosted before reaching the exit his rifle would poke out into daylight, feeling for anything untoward on his path and perhaps fishing out the creature. If nothing bit he’d consider his next plan of action about six feet inside of the cave, his cannon pointed with deadly intent before him and his eyes searching what he could see outside.

[Doc Doctor]

@MelonHead

The forest was quiet, and the Magna Pater was nowhere to be seen. Most of the its victims had experienced this very situation. He who strikes first strikes last, and the monster had the luxury of time.

[MelonHead]

Eventually you just have to take the plunge. The Mech stepped out into open air with another burst of chain-gun fire clearing its head and the patch of earth above and behind it in its immediate blind spot. Provided it went unmolested Higan would pause and listen for further sound, before making his way slowly up the hill in the same stopping and listening fashion he had used earlier.

[Doc Doctor]

@MelonHead

No traps so far...

But then again, one had to wonder what would happen were Higan to feel the need for a drink or a potty.

[MelonHead]

Presuming the Mech heard very little, and it would definitely hear something if the Pater was moving around in its vicinity in the near silent forest, Higan turned around and climbed up the hill. Unmolested, he should reach the ‘summit’ fairly quickly. He was basically following Scout 101, find the tallest spot and look around.

Upon reaching it he’d be able to do just that. The blindspot was to either side of the thin strip of vision he had remaining, swapping to Electric vision and slowly spinning around 360 degrees should leave little potential for the Pater to avoid his gaze. He could listen out while doing it as well, so there was a good chance he would re-aquire his prey if it lurked on the surface. If not, he’d probably have to follow his GPS home for repairs.

[Doc Doctor]

@MelonHead

Though Higan's hearing was good, he'd not likely hear the Magna Pater if it didn't want him to. It could hide better than a field mouse in a haystack, and move with the silence of a body long dead. Still, nothing stirred that would catch Hogan's notice. In scary movies, the monster always waited out of sight for the perfect opportunity, for the perfect chance to kill off an unsuspecting character. The same held true for Slimy. Perhaps Higan was made of tougher stuff than the average teen blonde, but even he had to rest his guard some time.

Therein lay the true power of the elder horror. It had all the time in the world, and the longer it waited, the shorter Higan's life span became. It was as if it were growing in size, gaining weight, gaining power. There were many ways for it to use its abilities, and being as wise as it was, why would it limit itself to a simple and fair fight? A shadow of death was looming over the mech pilot, and he did not even know it.

[MelonHead]

With nothing visibly apparent Higan decided it was probably time to Evac. Though crippled somewhat his Mech was still capable of jogging, and he had a convenient path of destroyed trees to follow back to the rift, even if it were not marked by his tracking systems and GPS. He’d entertained the creature for long enough, he refused to fight it on its own ground any further. At the rift he could hold until however long was necessary before the Grent Republic would send in Heavies with the Dirty Bombs that would wipe out all life on the planet. They’d probably have quarantined the rift already, he might even have a repair crew waiting for him.

At random intervals he stopped to look and listen as before, but with far less frequency than earlier, he was growing fed up of waiting for the monster, it was probably hiding in a cave somewhere anyway.

It was probably going to take him about five minutes to jog back to the rift. He couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed, though he figured he’d done enough, his low powered scout Mech just wasn’t equipped with the right armaments to put it down. Amazing that something so quick was also so durable, something with no biological weaknesses was an abomination.