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## I.
The Executioner drops through the breach.
12,000 kilograms on a workshop floor rated for 800. The concrete slab fractures on impact — radial cracks propagating outward from two massive foot plates.
[SEISMIC IMPACT: 117,000 NEWTONS][FLOOR INTEGRITY: CRITICAL][HOSTILE MASS: 12,000 KG — CONFIRMED A-CLASS]
The chain-sword idles at 2,000 RPM. Waiting.
Kira's heart rate holds at 144 BPM. She is not running.
Metal scraping. A drawer. Something heavy and pneumatic being lifted — gas-charged cylinder, based on the pressurized click.
A wet, organic sound. A plug seating into a port at the base of her skull. She is connecting herself.
[AUDIO DETECTION: PNEUMATIC HARPOON LAUNCHER — CHARGED][ESTIMATED MUZZLE VELOCITY: 90 M/S]
She fires.
The harpoon crosses 4 meters in 0.04 seconds. Impact: metal on metal. The barbed tip seats into a port on the Executioner's lower chassis.
A thick braided cable snaps taut between the mech and her skull.
Kira's body goes rigid.
Every muscle fires simultaneously. Her knees hit the concrete. 72dB. Her heart rate spikes: 144 → 168 → 180 BPM.
Her breathing stops.
[HUMAN SUBJECT — KIRA][STATUS: CONSCIOUS BUT PARALYZED][HEART RATE: 180 BPM — SUSTAINED][CRANIAL TEMPERATURE: 44°C → 46°C][RISING]
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## II.
The Executioner stutters.
Its right leg drags 8 centimeters laterally — an involuntary twitch. The chain-sword revs from 2,000 to 6,000 RPM in a single, uncontrolled burst.
The hack is working. Partially.
The sword swings. Not at me. At her.
A lateral arc, 1.8 meters off the ground. The tungsten-carbide teeth travel at 28 meters per second. Trajectory intersects Kira's paralyzed torso in 0.6 seconds.
[THREAT TO ALLIED UNIT: CRITICAL][CORE POWER: 0.5% → ACTIVE — EMERGENCY OVERRIDE][POWER CELL: 0.5% → DRAINING]
I force the chassis off the floor. One functional leg. The right. Torque: 34%.
The fused left knee coupling drags against the slab. Dead friction.
I push. 220kg launches laterally at 1.4 meters per second.
The chain-sword hits my right shoulder housing.
[IMPACT: CHAIN-SWORD ON TITANIUM-CARBIDE ARMOR][TOOTH VELOCITY: 28 M/S. CONTACT PRESSURE: 8,400 PSI]
The teeth catch. The shoulder housing screams — 126dB of tungsten grinding titanium.
Sparks erupt in a 2-meter fan. The chain-sword chews through the first 3mm in 0.8 seconds.
The blade binds at 3.2mm. Mismatched alloy clogs the tooth gaps. RPM drops: 6,000 → 4,100 → 2,800.
The Executioner yanks the blade free. A 40-centimeter gash across my shoulder. The housing is open to the internal frame.
But Kira is untouched.
[RIGHT SHOULDER: BREACHED — NON-STRUCTURAL][POWER CELL: 0.4%]
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## III.
The copper pipes in Kira's skull are radiating.
[CRANIAL TEMPERATURE — KIRA: 46°C → 49°C → 52°C][PROTEIN DENATURATION THRESHOLD: 42°C — EXCEEDED]
A liquid emerges from her left ear canal. Thin. 52°C.
[FLUID ANALYSIS: CEREBROSPINAL FLUID + HEMOGLOBIN][THERMAL DEGRADATION — VISCOSITY REDUCED]
It runs down her jaw and drips onto the concrete. The drops sizzle on the cold slab.
Her right ear begins leaking. Same fluid. Same temperature.
The cable between her skull and the Executioner vibrates at high frequency. The braided sheathing reaches 80°C along its full length.
The ICE is fighting back.
The Executioner stabilizes. The glitching stops. Its targeting systems recalibrate.
The chain-sword retracts to a guard position. The mech evaluates the physical obstruction.
The right leg rises. A 2-ton hydraulic piston driving a flat, armored foot plate.
It kicks.
[KINETIC IMPACT: CENTER MASS][FORCE: 48,000 NEWTONS]
My chassis leaves the ground. 3.2 meters of lateral travel in 0.1 seconds.
I hit the concrete wall.
The chest armor caves inward. 8 centimeters of compression. The core housing deforms, crushing internal components.
[CHEST ARMOR: COLLAPSED][STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY: 11% → 3%][POWER CELL: 0.3%]
From across the workshop, a shrill, continuous tone erupts. 100dB. 4,000 Hz.
It is Kira's external brain-temperature monitor. The pitch is steady. Unwavering. Redline.
The Executioner steps forward.
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