Gunboat (A LitRPG Adventure) by Dean Henegar

Author:Dean Henegar [Henegar, Dean]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2025-08-13T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 41

Mechs and Contacts

Watkins had twelve halfling MOBS behind the barricade, and all had at least one charge in their plasma rifles. Before he dealt with the kobold ship floating helplessly out there, he would have to take the time to upgrade the gear for his MOBS; what he had wasn’t quite up to the task. The sounds of whatever was approaching grew louder, drawing all his attention onto the darkened hatch that led deeper into the station.

The thing that stepped into view wasn’t familiar to Watkins. It was a bipedal machine, but instead of arms, it had long, dull blades sticking out. A clear armored hatch on the front revealed the kobold inside that was operating the machine. A red light strobed on the top of one shoulder, and what looked like a weapon of some sort was mounted on the other shoulder.

“What is that?” Watkins asked as the huge, mechanized creature stomped its way into the cargo hold. His MOBS didn’t have any concerns; they simply knew it was hostile and followed their programming to engage the enemy. Multiple plasma blasts slammed into the machine. Most of his MOBS had targeted the kobold operator, who seemed poorly protected inside the clear bubble canopy.

His MOBS seemed to have the right idea as their plasma bolts easily cracked through the canopy and burned through the kobold pilot. As the kobold slumped over in death, so did the mech it was piloting. The machine pitched forward and collapsed in a heap.

“I think those are cargo loaders of some type,” Lani explained. “The kobolds are trying to use them as weapons. They sharpened the loading arms into blades.”

The design of the machines made a bit more sense now; he could see that they weren’t much more than futuristic forklifts, not a military mech of some type. It appeared the kobolds had more than one of these things, as two more stomped out from the open hatch. These kobold pilots were a bit smarter than their comrade that had led the first assault.

Turning the upper bodies of the mechs to the side, the pilots used the machines’ bulk to partially protect the vulnerable canopies. It seemed to hamper the kobold operators a bit, as their pace slowed and they seemed to have trouble walking in a straight line. Watkins kept waiting for them to attack with the weapon on the mechs’ shoulders, but so far, they hadn’t done anything but march toward the barricade his MOBS were using as cover.

A second, weaker volley of plasma fire lashed out, and half his MOBS used pistols since their rifles hadn’t held a full charge. The new attack was split between the two attacking mechs and didn’t have the same impact as their first volley. A third volley, consisting of only three pistol shots, was the end of Watkins’ ranged attacks for the moment.

He pulled the MOBS back behind the barricade line closest to the boarding collar, hoping to buy time for his MOBS’ weapons to recharge another shot.

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