บท 231: Their goal -226
Learning about what had happened to this world wasn't at all something that put them at ease. Even less so since it clearly stated that they, too, would be eliminated for the crime of being human. Even if they came from another world, Bruce doubted that they could prove that they didn't possess this so-called X-gene.
Lena was clearly very interested in this so-called gene that could mutate people into a state where they were so different from normal humans that they needed to be hunted down by an army of robots.
The captain of the Alpha-1 could barely suppress his smile as they finally got some useful information, more so that they got some of the missing pieces he had been sent in to find.
Steve clenched his hand tightly, looking hatefully at the machine that had decimated mankind. They killed countless innocent humans, and worse, they knew that this sentinel program had been global, which likely meant that the robot's quest for human extermination had also been so.
All of them responded to the news in their own way, but they all shared the same goal now. To somehow get out of here and deal with this information in some way.
Some to report it, others to try and look for pockets of humans still needing help, but united in their desire to get out of this encirclement.
Suddenly the three armoured membered of Alpha-1 flew forward a little and hovered in the air side by side.
"Unit Sentinel, I am a general of the US Army; my DoD ID is 87654321. I hereby order you to stand down."
"Unit Sentinel, I am a general of the US Army; my DoD ID is 1234567890. I hereby order you to stand down."
"Unit Sentinel, I am a general of the US Army; my DoD ID is 9876543210. I hereby order you to stand down."
The sentinel seemed to pause as if thinking, or more likely, checking if those IDs were correct. There was a chance at least one was, as it was indeed the ID for three generals back in their own world and had been confirmed to be so in other parallel worlds as well.
The Foundation wasn't new to dealing with other worlds, so they were well prepared even for this. More so, since they knew they were in the US, they had made plans for dealing with intelligent beings here, robot or not.
"Greetings, General Catweller. I am Sentinel Unit S-12d-47. I am currently carrying out my primary duties of eradicating the Mutant threat, and as such, I'm unable to comply with your request; please stand by until the current task is completed before I am able to comply."
The sentinel replied back; clearly, one of the three had been a hit, and they had managed to trick it into thinking they were this general, something they would easily be able to further do as they had real proof of ID, or at least real back in their own world.
Sadly, however, it didn't seem the Sentinel was ready to stand down, as it first had to do its duty, which wouldn't be over until they were all dead, at which point there wasn't any point in getting it to stand down at that point.
The robot did, however, seem to get back on task, as its weapons took aim at the group, and the other smaller robots also seemed to once again get ready to attack.
Steve tightened his grip on his shield, his jaw clenched as the situation became clear. There would be no negotiating with this machine, no way to talk their way out of this. The Sentinel and its smaller counterparts were locked into their mission of extermination, and the team would have to fight their way out.
"Everyone, get ready!" Steve shouted, raising his shield as the Sentinel's weapons began to charge. "We're going to have to take it down!"
The Captain of Alpha-1, realizing that their gambit had failed, quickly assessed the situation. "Focus fire on the large one," he commanded, his voice calm and authoritative. "If we can take it out, the others might fall back."
The team sprang into action. Steve moved to the front, his shield absorbing the first volley of energy blasts that came from the Sentinel. The shield held strong, deflecting the deadly beams away from the team, but the force of the impacts pushed him back slightly, showing just how powerful this machine was.
Peggy and Bucky flanked the Sentinel, their weapons trained on its joints and weak points. They unleashed a barrage of gunfire, trying to find a chink in the machine's armor. The smaller robots swarmed, but Alpha-1 held their ground, their advanced suits and weaponry giving them the edge they needed to keep the tide at bay.
Bruce and Lena weren't really the combat types, but they still did their parts so as not to be a burden in his moment. They had their own weapons and defensive tools to use. Soon, they were set up in a small energy shield and firing energy weapons out.
The shields couldn't stop physical objects from passing through; only energy blasts were stopped, which allowed them to put their guns through the field and open fire while the robots outside weren't able to shoot them.
Sure, the robots were smart enough to realize this, but as they tried to get close, they would get focused down by the two of them. Making them safe for now and letting the others focus on the large sentinel unit.
The battle was intense, with energy blasts flying everywhere; Steve used his shield to block countless shots sent his way while using a gun to take down many of the smaller ones. The Sentinal was just too tough for his gun to do any real harm to, and as such, he went to clear out some of the smaller ones.
The three main fighters taken on the Sentinel were the three members of Alpha-1; thanks to their armor, they were able to take on quite a few shots from all the many robots without fear, and their weapons, too, were strong enough to deal damage, even if not much.
In fact, it seemed that the sentinel could have easily dealt with them, but for some reason, it was holding back much of its power.
This was something they had expected due to some information they had gotten in their briefing before setting out on this mission. Since the first team had already confirmed something called the sentinel project, there was some information about it.
After having been shifted through, the response was that the Sentinals were weapons meant to deal with superhumans. Their weapons and many systems were meant to target specific weaknesses in their mutant targets.
However since they weren't mutants but normal humans, the programming didn't allow for those special tools to be activated. This was also why they didn't allow Banner to transform, as it might trigger a response.
For a while it was highly unlikely that it would count as this so-called X-gene, they weren't willing to take chances with the sentinel's ability to work around his core programming, something it had already demonstrated it could with the whole going rogue thing.
In their internal radio communication, the Captain talked to the other two. "Alright, we got to take it down cleanly. We need to get its data core back if possible, so I'm going to use that to hopefully take it down now that we know what level of power it's able to use against us."
"Understood, Captain," one of the other Alpha-1 members responded. "We'll focus on disabling it without causing too much collateral damage."
With their confirmation, the captain flew backward as they came forward to give him a little space and, more importantly, some time to charge his secret weapon. After all, they came here expecting the possibility of sentinels, so they naturally had a few tools meant to deal with them.
Without him there helping out, the other two were slowly but surely losing ground; the sentinel was starting to overwhelm them bit by bit.
"Just a few more seconds," the Captain responded, his voice calm but with a note of urgency. He was in the process of charging a specialized EMP device, one designed specifically to overload the Sentinel's systems. It was a one-shot weapon, and it had to count.
Thankfully, they were all professional, and they held their ground until he got his weapon off. A blue beam of energy shot out of a cannon mounted on his shoulder. Hitting the sentinel right on.
The blue beam from the Captain's EMP cannon struck the Sentinel directly in its chest, causing the massive machine to seize up. Sparks erupted from its joints, and the lights in its eyes flickered erratically. The powerful EMP pulse overloaded the Sentinel's circuits, sending it into a spasmodic shutdown.
The Sentinel's limbs jerked uncontrollably as it struggled to maintain its balance, but the overload was too much. With a final, ear-splitting groan, the machine collapsed to the ground, sending a tremor through the surrounding area. The smaller robots, now without their command unit, froze in place, their connections severed by the EMP blast.
"Now!" the Captain shouted. "Move in and secure the data core!"
The team didn't hesitate. As the Sentinel lay dormant, they quickly approached its chest, where the core was housed. The Captain landed beside the machine and began dismantling the outer casing with a specialized tool designed for this exact purpose. The rest of the team formed a perimeter, ensuring that no remaining threats could catch them off guard.
As the Captain worked, Lena watched intently, her scientific curiosity piqued. She knew that within the core lay not just the key to understanding the Sentinel's programming, but also vital information that could help them combat these machines on a larger scale. If they could analyze the data, they might be able to find weaknesses or even develop countermeasures.
Finally, with a metallic snap, the Captain pried open the compartment housing the data core. He carefully extracted the glowing cylinder and placed it within a secure container. "Alright, we need to leave now; who knows how long before the others get back online or another sentinel comes over."
A/N
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