Machina Arcanis: Two Worlds Collided

He motioned through the glove controllers, his actions swift and decisive. The engine hummed and pulsed erratically before the translucent shield materialised around his P.N.I. bots like protective shells.

The beeping red dot on his radar went into an urgent rhythm, indicating the Armatus drone was heading to his location, faster and faster, "It must be over 300 kilometres per hour with that speed!" Jack analysed in his head. 

"Damn it! It doesn't even give me time to think!" He muttered and flickered his index to send out a scout and bait bot to intercept, while the rest shifted to retreat at full speed, every single bot ripped through weightless space in order and harmony like mechanical bees.

Then suddenly and unintentionally, one of the bots got tangled into a suspension wire, swaying the crate and scattering its internal contents, and a strange rectangular box surfaced. From earlier Finder Keeper protocol, the scan signal coincidently picked up and updated the inventory list on his interface, reading, "Payload detected!"

"Woah!? David, I accidentally found the thing!" Jack exclaimed with bewilderment.

Without hesitation, he motioned one of the bots to cut the suspension wire and obtain the box. The mixture of hope and delight lingered in his wide eyes. And with his monumental sheer will, Jack was resolute in his determination to accomplish the mission.

"Jackie! Screw that! The Armatus is one minute away! Retreat now!" David screamed the order, stern and death-serious in his tone.

While Jack monitored multiple screens displaying each bot's camera feed, the puny bots beneath him worked in perfect synchronisation, meticulously cutting and reeling the treasure free from its entanglement. Simultaneously, the scout bot, he sent out, eventually picked up an image of the Armatus drone for the first time. 

"Damn it!" Jack cursed under his breath, biting the inside of his cheek in frustration as the dark figure of death closed in on his scout bot.

The humanoid drone loomed into view, towering at an imposing 10 metres in height. Jetpacks mounted on its back and thrusters embedded in its feet propelled it forward with unnerving precision, its movements a calculated blend of power and speed. Its V-shaped visor glowed with a menacing, demonic red light, cutting through the chaos like an unrelenting harbinger of destruction.

Its very presence embodied the stuff of nightmares, a demon incarnate wrought in cold metal and unrelenting firepower.

Armed to the teeth, it carried an ionised blade in one hand, crackling with energy, and a plasma cannon in the other, humming with lethal intent. Without a moment's hesitation, it lunged forward, nearly cutting down the baiting bot in one swift, merciless strike. 

"Argh!" Jack yelped as he maneuvered his bot to dodge to the side. A sharp tingling sensation shot through his head, but he quickly pushed it aside. His eyes flicked rapidly between multiple screens, each displaying a different feed. Without hesitation, he sent three more bots to intercept the relentless killing machine.

Meanwhile, two other bots worked diligently to free the box. Their laser torches hissed and sparked as they cut through the thick suspension wires. The wires bubbled under the intense heat, gradually fracturing one by one as the torches melted through the metal.

"Jack! Your nose is bleeding!" David spoke up with agitation, his big face went pale and sweaty.

"Can't talk right now, David!" Jack snapped, cutting off the communication. The searing pain in his eye sockets was now unmistakably from the sheer overload on his brain. Normally, humans couldn't manage more than six puny bots at a time, while Armatus knights could manage up to ten puny bots, which was equivalent to six Armatus suits — anything beyond that was considered too taxing on the neural interface. But right now, Jack was controlling all 15 bots simultaneously. The cost was clear: his brain would be scrambled by the time this was over.

The Armatus moved with lethal precision, kicking one puny bot away with its powerful mechanical leg while firing its cannon at another in rapid succession. The targeted bot spun wildly, narrowly dodging the scorching energy blast that would have reduced it to scrap.

Another bot drifted in from the rear, slamming into the Armatus's back with all its remaining momentum. The impact barely scuffed the high-durability armour of the Armatus, but the kinetic force was enough to knock it slightly off balance, giving the other bots a chance to reposition and regroup.

Jack's eyes flickered between the live feeds of all 15 bots. His breathing was laboured, and the veins on his temple pulsed visibly. "Just a little longer," He muttered through gritted teeth. The bots swarmed like a coordinated hive, each unit moving with precision honed by Jack's desperate focus.

The killing machine flew toward the wall with three pony bots on its tail. Then it masterfully circled 180 degrees and landed on its mechanical feet. With the momentum, it bent its knees and sprung toward Jack's bots, denting the wall on its feet. Its ionised blade burned red hot and was about to cleave all three at one full sweep.

"Shit! It out-maneuvered me!" Jack boomed in exasperation. The war machine lifted its blade to strike but his trick wasn't all that. Another 4 bots he had been controlling in the shadow, flanking the Armatus drone. 

Jack sent 4 bots at full torque, ramming into Armatus and intercepting its attack. All four bots took out readily laser torches and jammed into the enemy torso while their off-hands held the war machine down in place. The Armatus squirmed as if it could feel pain, and thrusters went full-blown chaotically in an attempt to break free from Jack's dissection. 

In the corner of his eyes, the suspension wire snapped and the box had broken free. Jack gestured his remaining bots to transport out of the opening he made earlier. The arms of the pilot's puny bot secured the item steadily in its grip while the rest retreated behind as decoys and guards. 

But it wasn't over yet, the Armatus spiralled with full centrifugal force and finally broke free, throwing puny bots outward and it suddenly flashed dangerously red.

Jack's eyes widened with the horrible realisation, it was going to self-destruct. He reflexively gestured four bots to retreat at full speed. 

They scrambled and manoeuvred through the debris and obstructions. One of the bots scraped against the sharp edge of a shelf, peeling part of its hand off. "Ugh!" Jack yelped. While it wasn't physical pain, he felt an uncomfortable sensation in one of his fingers — a clever system designed to intuitively alert the pilot to damage, especially since they were often managing multiple crafts at once.

Then the Armatus boomed. A storm of pulsing lightning and flames erupted outward, obliterating everything within its rapidly expanding radius. The last puny bot raced frantically toward the gap.

"Ah! Go faster!" Jack shrieked, his voice strained with panic. The puny bot was swallowed by the swirling cloud of destruction.

Just as the shock seemed final, the bot emerged from the inferno with its shield overheated, but its hull miraculously intact. "Ahahahah!" Jack burst into a loud, maniacal laugh, unable to contain his disbelief and relief at the bot's survival.

The comm channel crackled back to life. "Geez… Jackie… You survived, you reckless fool!" David's voice came through, heavy with a mix of exasperation and relief. Any hope of reprimanding Jack evaporated as he realised the futility of it.

"Hah… hah…" Jack panted heavily, his chest rising and falling as he tapped a hand against his racing heart. The adrenaline from the harrowing game of cat and mouse still coursed through him.

"All your puny bots made it out too! You damn legend!" David exclaimed, his wide grin almost audible over the line.

"Sorry… couldn't grab your souvenir," Jack replied with a weak chuckle, glancing back at the Alexandra wreckage. The entire lower section, where he had barely escaped moments ago, was completely obliterated, spilling debris in every direction.

"Don't worry about that, who needs a sexbot anyway!" David dismissed with a wave. Then he threw back his head and laughed rowdily. 

"Hahahahaha!" Jack burst into laughter, the absurdity of his survival dawning on him. Just moments ago, he could've been toasted.

David, tears streaming from his eyes, wiped them away with his stubby fingers. "I can't believe it! You really tried to fight an Armatus with puny bots — PUNY!" He stressed the word, breaking into another fit of laughter.

"PUNY versus ARMATUS! This is the stuff of legends! Absolute legends!" David continued, his voice almost cracking as he showered Jack with exaggerated praise, the hilarity of the situation refusing to die down.

To Jack's credit, it had been a wreckage before he entered, and it remained a wreckage now— only the scale of devastation had changed.

As Jack and his puny bots charted their course back to Luna Base, a quiet sense of triumph settled over him. Yet, unbeknownst to him, the universe was on the cusp of an irreversible shift.

In less than three minutes, a cataclysmic event would unfold — an annihilation so absolute it would come to be known as the "Light of Judgment," or more infamously, the "Moon Breakers." This singular moment would ignite a chain reaction of devastation, forever altering the course of history.