A loud boom of thunder could be heard as lightning arched itself across a sky as black as can be, while a torrent of rain came down in thick sheets, splashing onto the ground. Suddenly, the sound of grinding metal could be heard above the sounds of the storm. Sparks flew as the figures clashed in the relentless battle of strength and will.
"Must there be so many of them?" a voice yelled to herself as its sword met the enemy again with a clang. A bright flash of lightning lit up the source of the voice, a Homs that was wearing what resembles a Defense Force outfit and black hair reaching slightly above her shoulders, along with bright blue eyes. This Homs' name was Irene, or so her parents called her.
Another flash lit up a spider-like machine with a shiny exoskeleton. The machine known as a mechon had a small sword as one of its arms, which it used to fight back. Its scanners detected that there was significant damage to its hull. However much it wanted to retreat for repairs, its current programming made so that was not possible.
"I'm putting you in the scrap heap." Irene could be seen lunging for the mechon as she literally picked up speed as she went along. Like a corkscrew, Irene drilled through it as it trembled. It's injuries were just too much, and it collapsed. Irene raised her arm as if in triumph, but it was short lived, for more of the same type could be seen headed in that direction.
The mechon who was in the lead took a lunge for the closest thing nearby, which happened to be Irene, who raised her sword to meet the incoming onslaught. As the leader of the raid, this particular type of machine had a bigger sword than the last one did. It picked up that it's opponent was a formidable one indeed, but it still raised its sword all the same.
A loud growl started in Irene's chest as she countered and more sparks flew in the still night air as both swords collided. Irene swept her legs out and caught the mech in its knee joint, causing it to topple to the ground. She prepared to deal the finishing blow, but it rolled out of the way with surprising agility.
It rolled behind her and slashed her back, watching as she fell to her knees. It automatically located her vital spots and thrust its sword forward, hitting her side. Irene's pain-filled screams confirmed that it had hit it's mark as blood began to flow from the wound.
Irene's hand went to her wounds as she tried to stop the bleeding." I have to end this now, before it's too late." Darkness began to swim at the edges of her vision. Knowing that she was quickly losing blood she shakily glanced up as she heard the mechon move. It raised its sword to finish her off. "N- no... I can't die like this...it's just not possible." Her eyes screwed shut as she awaited death.
Then, there was a sound as if the mechon was short circuiting, followed by a loud crash. Irene started to open her eyes until they flew open in shock as she saw the mechon in a heap at her feet. She looked around for the one responsible as her eyes met dark brown ones that were staring right at her.
The man looked at her up and down. "You're lucky that I was here to save your hide, otherwise you would have been machine food!" he said. His eyes were drawn to her hand at her side that was obviously trying to stop bleeding. "So it managed to get you, did it?" There was a sneer in his voice.
Irene got slowly to her feet as she still kept her hand firmly against her side. She finally got a good look at her rescuer as she stared at him in curiosity. He wore a Defense Force outfit, similar to her own but it was still different in some ways. He had armor on top of his shirt and pants yet his arms weren't completely covered, and he also had shoulder plates that went about halfway down his arms. But his most notable feature were his steel claws, which had an oily fluid dripping down them.
Even though she was badly injured, Irene was still able to fight if she had to, keeping her eyes on the other hom. He may have rescued her from certain death, but that didn't mean that she should trust him until he revealed more about himself. She had bad experiences in the past with comrades betraying her, and she wasn't about to let that happen again. "And you are?" she managed to say.
"Ah, getting right down to business, are we? Very well, then. I'm Mumkhar." That was all he told her. He crossed his arms and stared at her intensely, noticing her stiff muscles right away. If he wasn't careful, he would have to fight her as well. His gaze traveled to her side. "You're gonna have to get that treated, mechon wounds can cause serious infection. I'm not going to have you dead on my watch, and I don't want to have a damn funeral arranged." His eyes were narrowed as he was trying to get his point across.
Irene started laughing, but it was cut off by a cough as she nodded her head. "You're a snappy one." She removed her hand to see that the wound was turning yellow, slowly tearing off part of her shirt and gingerly pressing it against the wound. She grit her teeth and hissed in pain as she tried to clean most of the blood, raising her head to look at Mumkhar. "I guess I might as well tell you my name since you were kind enough to tell me yours. I go by Irene."
He looked uninterested in what she had just told him as he proceeded to clean off his claws with a cloth. After a while, he noticed that she was silent as he slowly looked up with a grin on his face. "Now what's a soldier such as yourself doing out in this neck of the woods?" he asked curiously before heading off.
Irene looked up in shock as she realized that he was leaving. 'He's leaving so suddenly,' she thought, proceeding to stand. She grunted in pain as she finally made her way over to him. "If you must know, I was investigating claims of a disturbance," she replied as she turned her head to face him. He looked at her out of the corner of his eye as he was still looking off into the distance.
"And I had to be the one to save you. You should consider yourself lucky that it was me who found you and not someone else. Now, enough chit chat. Let's get out of here before we attract more unwanted attention." He was already walking farther away and didn't look back. "And don't forget to keep up, I don't want to have to save your miserable hide twice in one day," he barked over his shoulder.
"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?! You better not mean anything by it or I'll-" She stopped talking as she realized that he wasn't even paying attention to her. Sighing, she ran her hand through her hair.
'Oh boy. Why do I always have to get myself into situations like this?'
She ran to catch up with him, as she knew that this would be the adventure of a lifetime. Little did she know just how big and dangerous it would be.
