Chapter 40. Exchange of Fire.


    Watkins watched his halflings charge out of the shuttle bay and into the boarding tube leading to the station. Blasts of laser fire lashed out from inside the station, picking off halflings as they advanced. The weapons didn’t seem to pack quite the same punch as his plasma pistols, but both weapons were able to burn through flesh and armor. The simple protection of the level zero armor that his minions wore proved ineffective against the kobold lasers.


    Watkins’ view of the battle was limited once his MOBS left the ship, and a new system prompt appeared as his core tried to explain what was happening.


    Your MOBS have left your vessel to assault a target. While your MOBS can operate for a time outside your influence, their abilities are limited, and they will deteriorate without your core powering them. The MOBS level and your core level determine how long they can be outside your influence before their systems start to break down.


    Currently, your core is at Level 0, and your Halfling Shipmates are at Level 1. This will give your minion 30 minutes of independent operation before decay sets in. While off your ship, you may issue your MOBS general orders, or link with one of them directly so you can direct their actions from the frontlines.


    His troops were on a timer, and he’d have to bring them back aboard if the battle dragged on. Concentrating, Watkins could feel the link with his MOBS, it was faint now that they were off his ship, but it was still there. They had taken casualties, lots of them, and his fabricator was going to be working overtime. Five MOBS were still functional, and he linked to one of them to get a view of the action.


    His MOBS had followed their orders, charging forward to attack the kobold defenders. Just like on his ship, the kobolds had defenses they had cobbled together defensive barricades to protect their forces. Unlike Watkins’ automated system of barricades, these were clunky portable models that had to be lugged into position and bolted to the decking.


    The docking collar opened into a large cargo hold of the station, empty of everything but the defenders and their barricades. A single large hatch was positioned on the far bulkhead, directly behind the lines of barricades. A total of two longer barricades defended the cargo hold.


    Watkins’ fallen halflings littered the deck around the first barricade, but it seems that was where the MOBS had finally drawn blood on the enemy. Three kobolds lay dead behind the barricade, and the surviving halflings were clambering over the first barricade to assault the kobolds defending the second one. Some of the kobolds in the first line of defense must have fallen back when they thought they were about to be overrun, as a full ten kobolds were packed together behind the second barricade. Watkins’ halflings must have saved some of their firepower as they began to fire at the kobold defenders.


    Unfortunately, without Watkins directing them, the halflings had followed their previous orders and didn’t stop to engage in a gunfight. Instead, they fired as the climbed over the barricade to continue their charge. Without cover, his surviving MOBS were blasted apart by the kobold weapons.


    Unlike his troops, the kobolds only seemed to be armed with pistols and various melee weapons. They wore shipsuits similar to the ones his MOBS wore, and that led Watkins to believe it was some sort of common design that had been shared among the spacefaring species. He watched a kobold fire several shots from a laser pistol, but the weapon ran dry quickly. They had more than the puny one or two shots that Watkins’ MOBS could fire, but not by a huge margin.


    Other than the few grenades they had opened the battle with, the kobolds weren’t that well armed. This first attack had only taken out three of the enemy, but they couldn’t replace their losses. Watkins had replacement troops already being printed up. The two halflings he had held back from the attack were now manning the barricades aboard his ship, ready to engage any kobolds that wanted to stick their snouts in range.


    “I’m getting a frantic comm message from the station to the ship, I’ll translate for you, Watkins,” Lani said. He hadn’t noticed, as most of his focus was on the boarding action, and he hadn’t expected any messages.


    “…is halflings! We need your…”


    “Sorry, we cannot comply. Engine is dead…weapons gone…done…in order…casualties.”


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    “They’re terrified of the halflings for some reason, at least that will work to our advantage,” Watkins said.


    “Yes, let’s hope that fear keeps them on their side of the station, and they don’t feel the need to come over here and test our defenses,” Lani said.


    “I’d rather they did attack us. There don’t seem to be that many kobolds, and we’re already up to four defenders with another joining the team in under a minute,” Watkins said.


    A third halfling MOBS had joined his pair of defenders in the shuttle bay and the fourth was on its way from the fabrication room. If the kobolds came out from behind their defenses, that would only help with their kill ratio. Right now, his MOBS were dying at about a 5 to 1 ratio. He estimated that if the kobolds went on the offensive, the ratio would improve to at least 3 to 1.


    “How do you think they’ll react when another fifteen halflings renew the attack in a few minutes?” Lani asked. Watkins’ vision over the kobold cargo hold vanished when the last MOBS had fallen, so he had no idea what they were up to. He hoped they would panic as the attacks continued without letup. A panicked foe was still dangerous, but much easier to kill.


    “I just wonder how many other kobolds are hiding on the station. We may be here a while if we have to root them out of every hidey hole. I just want to get a chance to explore this place and see if we can find what we’re looking for,” Watkins replied.


    Minutes passed, and his troops were slowly reinforced. When the command limit was reached again, Watkins ordered a second wave into the kobold ship. This time, he commanded his troops to take cover behind the first barricade. Once there, they would exchange fire with the kobolds manning the second line of defense.


    Keeping his view centered on the lead halfling, Watkins watched their charge. For such small bodies and legs, the halflings could really move when they wanted to. It appeared that the kobolds were still back at the second line of defense as no fire came at them until they cleared the boarding collar.


    His MOBS ran toward the kobold barricade, taking cover behind it, but not before they lost six of their number in the charge. The remaining nine halfling MOBS began to pop up and fire single shots at the kobolds. Watkins tried having them slow their rate of fire, and alternate which MOBS were firing so they could keep the kobolds guessing.


    His rifles only had two shots in their magazine and the pistols, only one. Still, with nine halflings firing, they could fire a shot every few seconds. Both his MOBS and the kobolds seemed about equal in their accuracy, but the kobolds now had both the numbers and the firepower advantage over his troops. The halfling shipmates were slowly picked off, but the kobolds had suffered two new casualties, dropping the total number of defenders down to eight.


    This skirmish dragged on long enough so that when the last MOBS fell, Watkins already had six replacements ready to go. Once again, he waited patiently for more of the MOBS to be produced before attacking. A total of thirty halflings had attacked the station so far, and if the Canon had been a normal vessel, that would have represented a significant portion of its crew.


    “About ready for our third attack,” Lani started to say, but she paused a long time before continuing. “Three is the lucky if the first two are failures. I think that was a saying from when I was alive. Imagine that…a simple saying from my old life was hidden away in my server.  How much else is in there waiting for me to discover, and how much of you is hidden away in your core,” Lani said with some emotion in her voice.


    “We’ve both lost so much, and every tiny bit we recover is cause for celebration. Do you want to do the honors and order the next wave in?” Watkins asked.


    “I’d like that, whenever you’re ready,” Lani replied. Watkins gave her the digital equivalent of a nod, and she spoke out over the intercom system.


    “Charge forward MOBS, eliminate the kobold menace!” Lani said with more drama than Watkins expected. To humor her, he had the halflings shout out a battle cry as the third wave began their attack. Sadly, the halfling battle cry wasn’t much more than a shrill shout that he rather doubted would intimidate anyone.


    Like with the last attack, Watkins had the halfling MOBS charge to the barricade and begin to fire on the kobolds. This time, eleven of his MOBS survived the charge to the barricade, and the two sides began to engage each other. Instead of holding back, Watkins had them fire all their weapons before ducking completely behind the barricade.


    When their weapons were finally empty, seven surviving halflings were taking cover behind the barricade, and in exchange, they had dropped three more of the kobold defenders. Watkins sent any new MOBS reinforcements directly into the fight. The first two were blasted apart before they reached the others, but after that, about half made it to the barricade and began firing on the kobolds.


    As each weapon recharged a single shot, the MOBS would pop up and fire. It was just pecking at the enemy rather than a fearsome barrage, but it was proving effective as the kobolds began to fall. Each enemy that fell reduced the return fire and allowed the reinforcement MOBS trickling in to reach the barricade in growing numbers.


    By the time Watkins had eleven halflings behind the barricade, only three kobolds were left alive. Instead of staying and fighting, the kobolds slunk down low, using the barricade to hide their movements as they ran toward a large cargo hatch on the bulkhead behind their defensive position.


    Two of the kobolds were torn apart by fire, and the last one was able to hit the switch that opened the hatch before it was also killed. Pushing forward, Watkins had his minions take position at the first barricade, covering the opening hatch as they waited for their numbers to build up again, and for their weapons to fully recharge.


    A clanking sound was heard from beyond the hatchway. It almost sounded like heavy metallic footsteps that were drawing closer. Something was coming, and it wasn’t just a simple kobold pirate.