Truckstop Takedown

Jessica looked me in the eye, and said, "It looks like he wants a shot at the title, Champ. You're not going to just roll over and let him take the Asphalt Arena cup are you?"

I felt my pulse quicken, and shook my head, giving her an eager grin. "No fucking way!" I replied with gusto.

Jess turned to Rebecca, and said urgently, "Show Jake to the tunnel, and link up the Valkyrie to the external cams and speakers."

"You got it, Mom!" she agreed, her green eyes sparkling with excitement.

She turned and beckoned me to follow, before darting back down the stairs, and disappearing out of sight. I went after her, taking the steps two at a time, before running through the mead hall to the astonishment of the worried looking truckers, mercs, and civilians gathered there. Rebecca took a sharp left as we burst out the door, and started sprinting for one of the outbuildings.

"Where are you off to?" I asked her retreating form.

She turned her head slightly, calling back over her shoulder, "Get the Valkyrie and follow me!"

I ran over to the trailer first, opening the door and bursting inside. Katie was wide awake now, and she gave me an eager grin, letting me know all was forgiven.

"Fancy being my co-pilot?" I asked her with a smile, and the look she gave me, left me in no doubt.

We rushed out of the trailer into the dusky twilight, and while running over to the Valkyrie, I quickly pressed the button on the remote in my jacket. The door popped open an inch, the gleaming red seventeen on the door catching the lights from Valhalla, and making the glossy paintwork shine. Katie got in first, buckling into the passenger's seat, and waiting for me with eager anticipation. I settled into my driver's seat, buckled myself in, and slapped my hand on the dash. The HUD burst into life, showing me the engine stats and weapon loadouts, which I checked with a quick glance.

The Valkyrie's engine throbbed as it came to life, and I revved the engine eagerly. Pressing a button to disengage the trailer, I pulled away, heading in the same direction Rebecca had run. She was standing by one of the outbuildings, and as I drove closer, I could see the right hand side of the building was a garage of some kind. She skipped backwards, gesturing for me to follow, and trusting her I did so, although I was confused why she wanted me to park in this garage.

She raised her hand in a stopping gesture, and I pressed my foot down on the brake, bringing the Valkyrie to a halt. Suddenly there was a loud rusty shriek, and I started in surprise as the Valkyrie started to sink downwards. I realised I must be on some kind of hydraulic lift, and looked at Rebecca, as she squatted down to watch me through the windscreen as I descend lower. She gave me a lovely smile, and said something, but with the squealing cacophony from the lowering platform, I couldn't hear a word. I was never that great at lip-reading, but it looked like she said, "I love you mad."

I grinned at her, figuring she must have watched some of my old arena footage. Admittedly, I did have quite the furious temper back in the old days, along with a fierce hunger to win. Yeah, getting mad about now might be a good idea.

I sank below ground, disappearing into pitch darkness. I had night vision amplification on the Valkyrie, built right into the windscreen, so I wasn't bothered about the lack of light. All of a sudden, overhead lighting flickered on, dimly illuminating the tunnel, and I saw it led out in a gently curving bend. I gently pushed down on the accelerator, creeping forward quietly, the electric plant on the Valkyrie letting me move almost without a sound.

The holographic image of Rebecca's face appeared above the dashboard, wearing her helmet once again. She grinned at me, as she said, "I did as Mom asked, and connected the Valkyrie to the external cameras and speakers."

"Thanks, Rebecca," I said gratefully, and reached over to press a couple of buttons on the dashboard.

A holographic panel appeared on my left, showing the Skorpions arrayed outside Valhalla, cleverly hanging back just outside the range of the Gatling Lasers. They were obviously going for a show of force, because they were all lined up in one massive long line of raiders, out in front of the tightly sealed front gates. I couldn't believe how many of them there were: loads of bikes, trikes, a couple of reinforced half-tracks, half a dozen armoured trucks, and the bastards had even stolen one of Patoma's police cruisers. The Skorpion's pride and joy was obviously the huge big-rig in the centre, which was covered in spikes and skulls, and sported a couple of turrets toting Autocannons on the back.

It was an intimidating sight, and I must admit I got a bit nervous. Not for myself of course, but there were at least a couple of dozen people depending on me to keep them safe, including Jess and Rebecca. Approaching the end of the underground passage, I noticed a set of racing lights across the ceiling, illuminating this end of the tunnel in an ominous scarlet glow. The tunnel ended in a ramp leading upwards, and everything felt very familiar, obviously set up to mimic the way duellists had entered the Asphalt Arenas.

Black Stillers' metallic voice rang out, echoing from the tinny speakers built into the big-rig, as he yelled, "You've got ten seconds you spineless fuck!"

Suddenly a pounding set of power chords boomed out into the night sky, making the Valkyrie tremble as the sound was pumped into the cab. I felt a shiver down my spine, having not heard those notes for over twenty years. Sure enough, my title track started to play, and the hairs stood up on the back of my neck, as adrenalin coursed through my body. Over the throbbing bass, Jessica's voice boomed out, massively amplified by the mighty sound system built into Valhalla.

"He's won the Asphalt Arena a record breaking ten consecutive times..."

I listened spellbound, as she took me right back to those days in the Arena. That crazy thrill as I waited for the mayhem to commence, and that pumping drive to grind my opponent into the dirt.

"Never defeated, a legend in our own time..."

I glanced at the cam-feed, and grinned as I looked at my opponents. The Gameworlds must be running some crazy deathmatch tonight, as there were dozens of them out there. Still, I loved a Battle Royale like this, as it really drew in the crowds, and gave me a chance to prove who was the greatest in front of millions of adoring fans.

"The Lord of Battle, who's left a trail of devastated challengers in his wake..."

I revved the engine hard, pushing my foot right down on the accelerator, and watched the rev counter spike up sharply. "VRRROOOOOOM, VRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOOM," The Valkyrie snarled, playing her part, just like she always had.

The Challengers were getting nervous, frantically glancing this way and that as they tried to find the source of the throaty roars. With us hooked up to Valhalla's audio system, the Valkyrie's furious bellow thundered out across the plains. I glanced over at Katie, and I could see by the sparkle in her eye that she was loving this just as much as I was.

"And tonight he brings the brutal slaughter of the Gameworlds right here to Charon IV..."

The lights above my head changed from red to amber, and I put my hand on the gear stick, getting ready to shift.

"Defending his title as Heavy-weight Champion, I give you... TITANIUM JAKE!!!"

The light flipped to green, and I shifted gears while stomping down on the accelerator. The Valkyrie screamed her battle-dirge as we charged forward, the insane thrust sinking me into my seat. We hit the ramp, and the hidden doors flung wide open, letting the Valkyrie launch into the air, in all her magnificent glory. We slammed to the ground, lined right up with the terrified raiders, and the second the crosshairs swept over their stupefied faces, I squeezed both triggers on the steering wheel.

The two Vulcan Machine Guns opened up, the barrels rotating at incredible speed, as they unloaded a relentless swarm of heavy calibre bullets. There were incendiary tracer rounds mixed in with the armour-piercing ammunition, and deadly orange streams tore through the pitch-black night sky. The Vulcans sounded like a pair of buzzsaws, and had a similar effect as they scythed through man and machine indiscriminately. I strafed my fire through the bikers, sending a shower of blood and mangled metal into the air as I literally cut them in half.

The targeting reticle swept over a trike next, and not taking my fingers off the triggers, I slashed twenty-millimetre armour-piercing rounds through the three wheeler. The shells pounded into the Skorpion vehicle, punching straight through the light armour plating, and setting it ablaze. I stopped shooting to let my barrels cool off, and grinned as I put my foot down, aiming straight for the stolen police cruiser. The diamond edged ram plate led the way, and I cleaved through the fuckers who'd been a part of the massacre at the Sheriff's Station.

The Valkyrie ploughed straight through them, and sent the two halves cartwheeling away, one of which flattened a stunned biker, who was paralyzed with fear. I raced away from the bloody swathe I'd just cut through their lines, but I wasn't done with them yet, not by a long shot. I yanked the wheel to the left, and pulled the handbrake, locking the rear wheels. The rear end of the Valkyrie slewed around, the huge wheels skidding through the dirt, and I tugged the wheel to the right, lining myself up with the Skorpions again. Flooring the accelerator, I sent a vast cloud of dust out behind me as the wheels tore through the ground, before kicking me forward in a lurching rush.

Heat levels on the Vulcans were looking good, so I opened up again, sending heavy rounds slamming into one of the half tracks. The armour on this ex-army surplus vehicle was much tougher than the trike's, but it still stood little chance against the magnesium tipped AP rounds I was carrying. My guns tore the half track a new one, and it suddenly exploded as one of the incendiary rounds ignited the ammo for the heavy flamethrower on the back. Burning Skorpion gangers leapt from the wrecked vehicle, but I left them to their fate, showing them the same mercy they'd given the Patoma deputies.

The raiders were starting to react, but they were sluggish to do so, still reeling from my sudden dramatic entrance. I aimed for the group of three trikes at the end of the line, and smashed through one after the other, the four-tonne Valkyrie ripping them apart like they were made of tissue paper. I heard the turreted Autocannons open up, and wanting no part of their heavy shells, I raced around the corner of Valhalla, putting its huge walls between me and the infuriated gangers.

"Head round to the truck door, I've opened it up for you!" Rebecca said to me from above the dashboard, an excited gleam in her holographic eyes.

I shook my head frantically, looking in my mirror, and confirming that I had bikes and trikes in hot pursuit. The pursuing bikes were fast, manoeuvrable machines, and I could see them gaining on me with every glance at the mirror.

"No way!" I snapped curtly, "I'm not putting you in danger!"

"Trust me," she urged, staring at me with those enchanting green eyes.

Gritting my teeth, I nodded once, before hurling the Valkyrie around the next corner, and onto the back straight. As soon as I finished the turn, I stabbed my right thumb on the red button on the steering wheel. A panel opened up at the back of the Valkyrie, and a charge went off, spraying viciously spiked caltrops in a wide arc over the dirt track behind me.

The unwitting bikers came flying around the corner, tilted low to the ground to take the turn at speed. Watching the rear-view mirror, I saw one of the bikes hit a caltrop square-on with its front wheel, shredding the tyre in a split-second. The wheel ploughed into the dirt, and the bike flipped into the air, spinning end over end until it crashed to the ground, instantly killing the rider.

I did another hard left, and spotted the open section of wall into Valhalla, which normally allowed huge trucks to enter the truckstop. I careened through the gap, then stuck to the inner circuit track, which looped around just inside the walls of Valhalla. The gang bikes screamed through the gap after me, the high pitched whines of their engines sounding like a banshee's wail.

They opened up with their fifty-cal machine guns, stitching bullet holes across the rear plating of the Valkyrie before I could make another turn and get clear. They were closing on me, making the turn a few seconds after I did, then opening up with another salvo of bullets. I yanked the wheel savagely to the left, taking another tight turn, and driving past the back of the outbuildings. As I was running parallel to the gap in the wall, I happened to glance to my left, from over on the other side of the compound. A group of four trikes steamed through the gap after me, and I swore profusely.

Suddenly a series of rippling explosions tore through the night, and the trikes were catapulted into the air, blown to pieces by the mines they'd just driven over. As flaming debris crashed to the ground in burning chunks, I realised that one of the girls had activated the minefield after the bikes had passed through. I wondered why they'd let the bikes in safely, as I hauled the Valkyrie through another left, and stole a quick look at the chasing gang bikes in my mirror. I spotted a brief flash of blue and white as I checked behind me, and all of a sudden it wasn't just the Valkyrie getting hit by fifty-cal rounds.

Rebecca was right on the Skorpion bikers' tail, and she cut the first guy to bits before the poor bastard even knew what hit him. The bikes all took a sharp left turn, following my predictable trail, and I watched the next two explode shortly afterwards, falling prey to Rebecca's deadly aim. The other two bikers realised what was happening, so they began to weave to make themselves harder targets. Getting pissed off with all this running shit, I slammed my foot on the brake, taking advantage of the distracted bikers, and I grinned as they crunched into the back of the Valkyrie. Well to be more specific, the bikes bounced off the thick armour plating, while the bikers sailed over my head, and slammed into the walls of Valhalla with a sickening crunch.

"You'd make one hell of a duellist!" I cheered at Rebecca with a wild grin.

She beamed back at me, looking deliriously happy, and flushed with the impetuousness of youth. "Thanks, Jake, but you're just incredible!" she gushed, her green eyes wide with excitement.

Our celebratory moment was cut short by the thump of Autocannons, and I watched in alarm as one of the turreted Gatling Lasers was blown apart in a fiery explosion. I saw I was being hailed, and guessing who it was from, I answered immediately. Jessica's beautiful face appeared next to her daughter's, as another glowing hologram floated above the dashboard.

She grimaced in anger as she blurted out, "Their Autocannons have longer range that the Gatling Lasers, I can't touch them!"

"I better go say hi then," I grinned, firing up the engine, and spinning the Valkyrie around to head towards the gap in the wall. "And turn off the minefield please."

"Be careful, Jake!" she gasped urgently, while deactivating the remaining mines. "Those Autocannons will chew you up!"

The Valkyrie stormed through the open gate, and I shrugged while glancing at Jessica's lovely face, and said, "Someone's got to stop them."

I drove straight out from the truckstop so I could get a bit of distance, then brought my car around in a sweeping curve so I could maintain some speed. It looked like we'd wiped out all the trikes, and only a trio of bikes remained to guard the big-rig, as well as one of the half-tracks. Unfortunately, the six armoured trucks were unscathed, and were just waiting for Valhalla's defences to go down before they attacked. A second explosion detonated above the other front tower, the Autocannons making short work of the last turreted laser weapon. As soon as the last turret was destroyed, the half-track start to rumble forward to put its heavy flamer to good use, now that the threat of the Gatling Lasers had been eliminated.

Although I could see the raiders as clear as day, through the light amplification of the Valkyrie's enhanced windscreen, it was black as pitch outside, and the Skorpions were blissfully unaware of my approach. I centred my crosshairs on the half-track, my eyes narrowing in anger, and the terrifying sound of buzzsaws ripped through the night air. The unrelenting stream of twenty-mil rounds savaged the half-track, driving big holes straight through it, and out the other side. The vehicle rolled to a stop, and I realised I must have killed the driver, but for good measure I aimed at the pintle-mounted heavy flamer, and blew it off the top of the half-track with a satisfying explosion.

As I drew closer, I saw that several of the armoured trucks sported Heavy Machine Guns on the back, and angry Skorpion gangers began to retaliate, my position partly given away by the tracer rounds I'd used. Long jagged streams of incoming fire lit up the night sky, and some of their bullets hit home, slamming into the front plating on the Valkyrie. I fired back, ripping the first of the trucks to pieces, the thick armour plating offering scant protection against the heavy calibre armour-piercing rounds I was using.

I caught the telltale smoke from some kind of launcher out of the corner of my eye, and I frantically slewed the Valkyrie to the side, as the heavy shell from a Recoilless Rifle streaked past. It slammed into the ground behind me, sending up a huge plume of dirt into the air, and rocking my vehicle with the aftershock of the explosion. My wild manoeuvres had the added benefit of sending the Autocannon shots from the big-rig flying harmlessly wide, saving me from experiencing the penetrating power of their deadly rounds firsthand.

Looking behind me, as I raced away into the comforting concealment of the Charon IV night, I spotted a second explosion coming from the sealed doors into Valhalla itself. There was obviously more than one Recoilless Rifle on the trucks, and they were now trying to blow the doors open, like they'd done to the Sheriff's Station. Fortunately, the three bikers had been distracted by all the explosions, and unsure where I'd gone in all the chaos, they decided to stick with the big-rig instead of giving chase.

I glanced across the dashboard at Jess, and said sharply, "You and Rebecca need to get somewhere safe. I don't think I'll be able to take out all the gang before they're through Valhalla's gates. Have you got a panic room you can get to?"

Jess shook her head, but she replied in a confident voice, "I've rallied the mercenaries that came in with the civilian truckers. They'll help fight any raiders that get though."

I gave her a grim nod, but I'd seen the mercenary vehicles on my way through Valhalla, and I knew they wouldn't last long against Heavy Machine Guns, let alone Recoilless Rifles. "Alright, but stay out of danger if you can. I'll do my best to thin the herd," I said to her by way of warning.

Turning the Valkyrie in a long looping curve to keep my speed up, I aimed straight at the marauding trucks that were attacking Valhalla. They were lit up by the repeated explosions from their recoilless rifle shells, as they pounded away at the sturdy, reinforced doors of the fortress. By the time I'd got into range again, I saw the huge gates buckle inwards under the weight of fire from incoming heavy explosives.

Swearing profusely, I yanked back both triggers for the Vulcans, the Valkyrie vibrating as both guns opened up. I ripped through the first two trucks, the twenty millimetre rounds punching big holes through the Skorpion armoured vehicles, and setting off sprays of sparks and small explosions as I tore them to pieces.