Years on, and some readers still think I'm a guy. ^_^v
Warning: I'm not a soldier. I don't know any soldiers. I don't watch soldier movies. :) I hope you will forgive me my ignorant portrayal of soldier-speech and actions. Because the ridiculous stuff you read here is totally legit in Haven City. That's how they do it, you know. For reals.
Warning #2: Some bad language. I apologise.
Good news: This chapter is basically the end of all the annoyingly long OC character build-ups! YAY! Now that they're established, they can get on with their lives in the shadows, only popping out long enough to be 'That Guy #3' as needed.
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Just after dawn, war came to Haven.
The Port-assigned soldiers (who, as they all had family in the area, called themselves 'the home boys') were halfway through the Industrial Section, mid-route to the Slums, when they heard the first of the screams. Aconite opened her mouth just as a blue/white glowing thing flashed past her.
"The hell was that?" Someone muttered.
"Nevermind that. Double-time!" Aconite barked.
They rushed the remaining distance, alert for rogue Death Bots but the path was eerily clear. It was only when they reached the slums that they saw a teeming mass of "Metal Heads?" "Son of a-"
"Spread out!" Aconite roared. "4-corner positions, drive them into a kill-zone! C'mon you pussies, you've been training for this for years!"
Spurred by her words, the soldiers spread out and took command of key alleyways, shooting dead or driving back any Metal Heads they encountered. Fortunately, civilian presence was mostly confined indoors due to the early hour. Only some unfortunate early risers - perhaps preparing for the move to the Port - had come across the metal heads. Judging by the number of bodies on the ground, not all of them had had time to scream.
"I want that kill zone in South-side! If its gotta break, push 'em North! Let New Haven's turrets take 'em!" Aconite bellowed over the sound of her rifle. The turrets in this area weren't activating - no doubt some of the many scavenged by Prince Jak's men to fortify the Port. It was a sharp blow to them now, of course. Her men were prepped for Death Bots, carrying electrically charged weapons with only a back-up clip of standard bullets.
What the hell were the vile beasts doing inside the wall?
The sheer number of them, from seemingly nowhere, was terrifying. This wasn't a case of a hidden cache of eggs hatching - this was an invasion.
Radically out-numbered, her people had to move fast, taking cover more often than firing. Then, like the back-up of old, KG Death Bots waded into the firefight. Mechanical precision and a complete lack of self-preservation instincts made them a formidable weapon.
Except, they weren't targeting the Metal Heads.
Men and women screamed, as a fucking tank of all things began firing on their position. A handful of spindly-legged machines strolled through their traditional enemies as though they weren't even there and the Metal Heads ignored them right back.
It was like...
"They're working together." She gasped, ducking a spray of eco energy before returning fire.
It was too much. Their only hope of survival would be to fall back and regroup, either in the Port or in the closer New Haven.
But to retreat to New Haven would leave the Port missing most of its defenders, and to do either would be to abandon the civilians here, who were depending on them for their very lives. Their doors and windows, reinforced or not, wouldn't protect them once the street fight was over.
And yet, they weren't good to anyone if they all died here.
As Captain and temporary CO of 'the home boys', their lives rested on her call.
She was drawing breath to order their retreat, when the world went dark.
Then, purple. The purple slowly bled to an off-white and every hair on her body lifted in reaction.
Dark eco.
But so much... an impossible amount. Was this the eco bomb the Baron had built? There'd been rumours, but...
No. In the wake of crackling, dispersing energy was a massive circle of Metal Heads - their corpses already destabilising into raw dark eco - and twisted, melted machinery.
And Prince Jak.
No, Dark Jak.
The Baron's ultimate weapon.
The rumors didn't even begin to do it justice.
The albino, clawed, black-eyed demon snarled as the eco around him all but leapt into his body. Hungry eyes flickered about, marking each of them, before the creature just blurred into an attack.
Aconite had just enough time to face the desperate conflict of needing to protect her men from herprince, before she realised that - thank the Precursors - at least one rumor wasn't true.
Dark Jak was capable of telling friend from foe. He was tearing into the Metal Heads and Death Bots, touching her men only to roughly yank them from danger.
He was still frightening to behold, but right now he was saving their bacon.
"Fall back! I want central defensive positions now! Keep 'em off his back! Medics, get those wounded to cover!" She ordered as she ran, pushing her men to take the raised defensive platforms in the midst of the carnage.
She almost didn't flinch when a Metal Head (torn bloodily in half) was flung over her head.
By the time her men got situated, it was almost over. Dark Jak almost ran through the enemy, unholy glee twisting his expression. Nothing seemed capable of stopping him, even a couple of direct hits barely made him stumble. A couple of times he threw energy attacks of the like she had previously thought impossible.
Distantly, she took note of the destroyed ground and badly damaged buildings he left behind. She'd need to add that to her report.
Then there was nothing but one Dark Eco killing-machine, panting as it searched for enemies.
It locked eyes with her and she felt a solid chunk of ice run down the inside of her spine.
Then, with an all-body shudder, the monster turned back into a man.
"I'll scout for survivors. You start the evacuation." Jak ordered. "Make it quick."
She opened her mouth, unseen behind her mask, to object. Things were different now! They weren't just facing a few renegade bots with a slow mass of civilians, but a full-fledged attack!
"These buildings won't protect them for long." Jak growled, seemingly reading her mind and echoing a thought she'd had earlier. "If we're gonna get these people somewhere safer, now's the time to do it."
His hard expression changed slightly.
"Take 'em to New Haven, if you think you can't make the Port." He allowed. She felt her shoulders stiffen.
"We can make the Port." She replied implacably. "Just you hurry up and come pull your weight!"
Luckily for her, the prince just grinned. It was a grin full of teeth and with more than a hint of blood-lust, but it was on their side.
Then, incredibly, his body flashed the blue/white of light eco. Before them now stood a being as radically opposed to Dark Jak as could be. In a way, though, it was just as inhuman.
She wondered if the old childhood myth had some truth to it. If the line of Mar really were descended from their Precursor creators.
Then the prince was gone, quicker than she could blink, and she had a mission to see through.
"You heard him, punks! You know your assigned areas - get these people out of here now!"
She couldn't help but glance after him as she moved to check on her wounded. Whatever powers he had, he was their only chance of making it to the Port alive if there was another attack of that magnitude.
Although hopefully, there wouldn't be another attack.
They had only just begun their trek back through the industrial sector when explosions split the air and the palace shuddered above them.
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Ashelin was in the palace when it was attacked.
She'd been watching the dawn from her father's old office when the unmistakable sight of Death Bot fire in the Slums caught her attention. She'd gotten Torn on the comm and barked orders to have backup sent from New Haven only to discover that Torn was stonewalled by a simultaneous attack on both New Haven and the Stadium district. His men were stretched to the limit as they tried to fend off attacks on all fronts.
And that was without the alarming inclusion of Metal Heads, something that had Torn swearing a blue streak as he updated her.
No-one could guess how they'd gotten into the city, and in such numbers, but it positively reeked of an inside job.
Someone had sold them out. Again. But who? Krew had been a gang lord, a man who stood to profit from the city's chaos, but who else could coldly sacrifice their city to the enemy?
And why?
Then there was no more time to think. The floor under her feet jolted as something hit the palace and the world outside the window seemed to shake.
"Shit." She hissed, fighting back a sliver of fear. Never before had the palace's location, high above the city, seemed so precarious. So unsafe.
She hurried to the desk and tapped in a short command, linking her comm to the palace's internal speaker system.
"All personnel, this is the Governor. I am ordering an immediate evacuation of the building. All personnel are to group in the courtyard. Palace guards, do a quick sweep for any injured personnel and then begin the headcount."
He last words were punctuated by another, louder explosion. The floor under her rocked. Instead of heading down herself, she ran to a hidden passageway and climbed a cramped set of stairs to the roof. Her personal hellcat was ready and waiting and she wasted no time starting it up and taking to the air.
From above, she could see the attacks originating from the Stadium district.
"Torn!" She shouted, freeing a hand to stab at her comm. "The palace is under attack. Heavy artillery fire from the South-East Stadium district. Take them out!"
"Negative." Torn growled back. "We've lost contact with all units in that district. I've got my hands full just keepin' em out of New Haven. Luckily, the Slum front has eased off."
Ashelin breathed out carefully through her nose before smashing a fist sideways into the overhead support beam.
Shit.
They were going to lose the Palace. Unless...
"Jak!" She barked, stabbing the button for his comm. "Where are you?"
There was a long pause, then:
"I'm busy." Came the short reply.
"The palace is under attack from KG Assault Bots." She snapped back. "They've set up in the Stadium district, which is overrun with Bots and Metal Heads. We need your help."
There was another pause and she had to consciously stop herself from grinding her teeth as another barrage hit the palace.
"You've got soldiers, you've got hellcats, you've got bombs." Jak replied curtly. "Whereas I've got almost a hundred people to get safely to the Port, where another couple of hundred people are currently under siege."
There was short silence, broken only by gunfire.
"..I'd help if I could, Ashe." Jak said eventually. "But I'm not just a guy with nothing to do anymore. I've got people depending on me - and so do you. We've both just gotta do the best we can."
Ashelin swallowed. She felt...
Betrayed.
She shouldn't have been so wounded by his refusal, and yet she was. And she couldn't help but be angry.
"If the palace falls, so will sections of the wall - not to mention what'll happen to whoever the palace lands on." She hissed viciously. "You think about that, Jak?"
"What I think." Jak bit back. "Is that you're not a little girl who needs her hand held. Or are you?
Suck it up, Ashelin."
Her comm gave the little chirrup that indicated a terminated call. Jak had hung up on her.
She swore viciously, but didn't waste any more time. As she called Torn again, she flew her hellcat down and over the stadium district at full speed. Several bots fired at her and missed.
"Torn!" She spoke as soon as the call was connected. "Muster every airborne unit you can for a strike on the Stadium district. I'm scanning it now." She tapped her console as she spied the area where the assault bots had gathered, which automatically recorded and forwarded visual and limited sensory information to HQ. "We need this done fast, Torn. The palace can't take much more."
Sure enough, a visible chunk of the palace's main support was simply gone. The first few shots had left black grooves all over the tower, but now the machines were concentrating their fire.
"I've got three Hellcats and ten bikes." Torn replied after a moment. "The rest are watching the skies. We got hit by a swarm of airborne Metal Heads a few minutes ago - probably intended to stop us from doing this."
"That's fine. Have the Hellcats run as bombers and the bikes as escorts. Let the drivers know they'll need to move fast to avoid being shot down - and they must destroy the assault bots in the first or second run. We won't have time for a third."
As she spoke, something metal groaned with tension and one of the external power towers shuddered inwards a little.
"I got it." Torn replied distractedly. "Oh, and I got a call that you're missing from the palace evacuation headcount. You know anything about that?"
Ashelin snorted. "I'll head back to them now, provide air support for the trek to-"
"Belay that." Torn overrode her. "If the palace goes down, we might lose HQ. Hole up in the courtyard if you can - you may need to make a run to the Port instead."
"Right." Ashelin agreed with a sigh, hellcat curving up and away from the Stadium district. In the distance, she could see light glinting off of a dozen aircraft headed her way. "So don't let that happen. That's an order."
Torn chuckled.
"Yes Ma'am."
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"You've got a clear run ahead!"
Aconite jumped as the heir of Mar appeared out of freakin' nowhere and almost got a round through the chest for it.
Now that would look bad on her report.
"Sir?" She replied, pivoting smoothly to continue watching for danger. Nope, no near-regicide here, folks.
"I wiped out everything I could find between here and the Port." Jak clarified, bits of blue-white energy still clinging to him like fuzz. "And the Port defence knows you're coming in hot. Round 'em up and make a run for it, Captain. I'll watch your backs."
"Yes sir!" Aconite confirmed, relief rushing over her like a hot bath. She and her men were down to electrical charges only - all but useless against Metal Heads.
"Snub head charge! Secondary flank! Go go go!" She screamed the orders, feeling her throat burn. It was well worth it, as her men and women instantly jostled into formation, shielding the civilians between them and began to all but drag them along. She herself fell behind, one of only two whose job it was to ensure no civilians were left by accident. From the corner of her eye she saw Argo stoop to swing a young boy up and onto his back, not breaking stride as he carried the child and kept an eye peeled for hostiles.
Prince Jak disappeared again, but true to his word they encountered practically no resistance on the run to the Port. Reaching the energy barrier was like reaching the gates of paradise and Aconite felt herself go hyper-alert as the first of her people began crossing it. Now was not the time to get complacent.
She sensed movement behind her and barked a strangled order to get down..
It wasn't necessary. Shots rang out from the rooftops and a quick look showed four civilians covering them with focused determination.
The last of the Slum civilians stumbled in, pulled and carried and shoved along by her men. Then she crossed the barrier, which reactivated behind her with a reassuringly strong hum.
Turning, she eyed the corpses of the few Metal Heads that had failed to kill them. They'd been cut down before they could even get within striking distance.
They were safe, for now.
"Report!" She croaked, clearing her throat as it objected. One of the very few who'd been left behind - and who'd been ready on a turret should heavier fire have been required - saluted.
"Ma'am, all attacks have so far been successfully repelled. We've noted a weakness in our defence against airborne hostiles. I respectfully suggest getting some more gunners on the rooftops, pronto."
"Do it, I'll clear it with Commander Jak." Aconite replied instantly, trusting those involved in the defence to know what was needed for the next wave. "I want soldiers up there or armoured civilians with a soldier escort and make damned sure they've got some cover, too."
The soldier saluted and left at a run, another guard taking his place at the turret.
"Get these people situated." She continued to Argos, waving an arm at the mass of frightened new civilians. "Wounded first."
"Already being done,Captain." Argos grinned tiredly, nodding over at a veritable squad of civilian volunteers who were moving confidently through the new refugees and filtering them where they needed to go.
Aconite snorted. It was nice, not to be needed.
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Jak was thinking something similar. After witnessing the successful escape to the Port, he'd circled the area via a stolen scooter. The bikes were only designed to hover one of two distances from the ground, but the rooftop served as a functional ground-level, if you could get the bike up there.
And Jak had discovered his limits when it came to light eco. He now felt weary and stretched too thin on the inside, dark eco eating away at him once more without the barrier of light. And unlike dark eco, there was no handy self-replenishing supply of light eco enemies.
So, there'd be no more fast-running or slowing-of-time or whatever it was that Light Jak enabled him to do. He could make the jumps between rooftops if moving fast enough but without eco, he needed a bike to do so.
He wondered if there was somewhere Jinx's crew could appropriate military-grade vehicles. The hellcats and guard bikes were the only ones built to fly higher than the transport zones.
...Maybe not. Ashelin was probably pissed off at him enough already.
He'd seen the bombing run just after clearing the way back for Aconite's team. It seemed to have worked, since there'd been no more attacks on the palace. The attacks on the Port had tapered off as well, Metal Heads and Death Bots alike all but vanishing.
He slowed to a halt as he neared the agricultural zone. It was putrid, infested by dark eco plants and spawning Metal Heads by the dozen.
It needed to be cleared, but short of raining fire on it, he had no idea how to. This was the type of infestation that had lead to Dead Town being abandoned and sealed off behind a new shield wall.
But to lose the agricultural section for good... that would lose them Haven, be it a month or a year from now. Then again, even if they somehow cleared it out tomorrow, the ground would still be ruined.
He didn't know what to do.
And if that weren't bad enough, he was having trouble shaking the urge to just.. go ask his father for help.
He shook his head firmly. This whole thing with the Port refugees and Aconite 'sir'ing him - it had messed him up. Gotten him turned around. He might have been born the heir of Mar, but that wasn't his life anymore. His own father seemed to agree, if tacitly. And even if that weren't the case...
King Damas had been overthrown. The Underground had wanted a blood heir because it was their only chance to push a coup and claim legality. But, legally, King Damas was still an outcast - and so were his heirs, no matter how old they were.
Until and unless either Damas himself returned to assert his right to rule the city his ancestor had built, or Jak amassed support (and, more trickily, sufficient proof) and took over, he really had no genuine status in the city. No 'right' to rule, nor responsibility to protect.
It wasn't, in short, his problem.
Now he just needed to convince himself of that fact.
His comm chirruped and he activated it automatically.
"They're retreating for now." Ashelin said immediately, voice flat. "What's the situation in the Port?"
Ashelin was the Governor, Jak reminded himself. And more to the point - she was a good one. She cared. Sure, she maybe leant on him as a hired gun a little too much... expected his obedience the way she would any soldier, which he most certainly was not... but was that really so bad? Why should she be expected to ignore an asset?
Maybe what really bothered him wasn't that she expected his obedience, so much as that he didn't know whether she was abusing the good will of a friend, or utilising the weapon her father had built.
He shook those thoughts off with an effort, recognising the edge of paranoia to them that could spiral rapidly into speculations of elaborate traps, of a handler he was always intended to be given to.
Damn, he needed some light eco like an addict needed a hit.
"Stable." He replied belatedly, wishing he were back out in the desert. Things were easier there. The sand stripped away the rot that lingered inside him, laid him as bare as could be to what remained of Jak.
"The civilians were successfully evacuated and the main attacking force were either destroyed or fell back shortly after the Stadium district was bombed."
"Good." The reply was curt, but the relief was obvious. "Listen, Jak... Count Veger has called an emergency council to be held tonight. The fact that he went over my head to do it makes me nervous."
Jak frowned, setting the bike down behind a vent before replying.
"You think he's aiming to take your job?" He asked. He thought he might remember a Veger... he was either the tall thin sneering aristocrat or the short, fat, sniveling aristocrat. There were usually a gaggle of them taking up space in Ashelin's office, 'advising' her. To him they all looked essentially the same - like people he wanted to shoot.
"Probably, but that's not why I'm calling you. I've been getting calls from some of my allies in the council - it seems Veger has been busy stirring up trouble. Against you, Jak. I think he's trying to pin these attacks on you."
For a moment, Jak couldn't speak. He couldn't remember how to. The world went dark and too-sharp. A prickle of pain in his hands had him glancing down, witnessing pinpoint claws receding from and leaving tiny bubbles of blood on his palms.
"Jak?"
He pushed back the darkness and spoke.
"Asshole."
He blinked. That hadn't been what he'd meant to say.
"I mean, do you think anyone would listen? It's not like he could have proof..."
Ashelin sighed.
"Would that he needed it. This is politics, Jak, and it's politics with frightened people. If he can convince them that the ex-convict with dark eco powers is connected to the invasion - of Metal Heads, he'll probably try to pin the rogue Death Bots on me - then it'll be too easy for them to focus on something they can throw their weight at to fix, a little solution to the big problem."
"And you think he can convince them?"
Ashelin's reply was wry. "Ex-convict with dark eco powers, Jak. The fact that there's no record of you - or any conviction - won't matter. You were touted as a monster, defeated my father and somehow managed to become a hero of the people all at the same time - that sort of thing tends to make politicians nervous, especially the ones who liked the way the Baron ran things."
Jak sighed, closed his eyes and ran a hand over his face.
"What do you suggest?" He asked, resigned to it.
"Oh, so now you care about what I have to say?" Ashelin replied acerbically, clearly referring to Jak's abrupt dismissal of her earlier request for aid.
"Ashelin." Jak groaned. "Come on. "
Ashelin made an irritated sound, replying almost before he finished speaking.
"I know, I know. I'm just-. You were right, Jak. I had other resources available to me. I shouldn't have just leapt straight to the 'throw Jak at it' solution."
Despite himself, he chuckled.
"'Throw Jak at it'?"
Ashelin snorted. "Hey, if it works... Anyway. You were right, and I'm sorry, I shouldn't have gotten shitty about it. Now let's never talk about it again."
"Yes ma'am." Jak smiled. "Now, about this whole 'Count Douchebag out for my blood' thing... Seriously, Ashe, you understand all this politics stuff. And... you're my friend. I trust your opinion. So, in your opinion - what should I do?"
There was a short silence. Jak tried to imagine Ashelin looking flattered and appreciative, but his imagination wasn't that great. All he could manage was a cocked hip and maybe a non-aggressive scowl.
"...Honestly, Jak? I think you should leave the city for awhile. Let me take the heat on this. I'll tell the council that you've been working as a liaison with the Wastelanders - which is sort of true - on my behalf. I'll tell them I ordered you to organise the southern defence option when the Death Bots were first discovered, which will help get Veger off my back about doing nothing before the attack. And, since Captain Aconite is set up down there, I'll tell them the Port defence was a success and I re-assigned you to recruit further assistance, either from the Wastelanders or from Kras City. A nice, official reason to be well shot of the city, just in case Veger manages to get support, legal or otherwise, against you."
Jak was stunned. How the hell did Ashelin come up with this stuff so fast? It was like a battle plan, but without any weapons.
"I... right." He said slowly. "It sounds good, I guess. And I do have some stuff I gotta do in the desert, just..."
"Just what?"
Jak rubbed the back of his neck.
"Well, to be honest... I kinda don't wanna leave the Port alone. Those people, you know..."
"You want to protect them." Ashelin filled in. "Personally. I get it, Jak - I really do. You've had lives put into your hands and it turns out you're exactly the kind of guy to be trusted with them. But, sometimes, you need to trust them too. You've got trained and dedicated soldiers, plenty of organised volunteers and, from what I've heard, almost half the damn city's defence infrastructure squirreled away down there."
Jak coughed.
"Uh, yeah. About that..."
Ashelin laughed. It was short, but genuine.
"Please, don't mention it. Then I have to actually know about it in an official capacity. Just... I'm just trying to point out that right now, the people of the Port are more capable of protecting themselves than you are. If Veger sways the council and they order your arrest or worse... Jak, I won't be able to help you. Please, return to the desert. I really believe that's the best option for now, for everyone."
Jak breathed out slowly and looked across the city - at the bustle of energy over New Haven, the damaged palace, the Port standing staunchly against the enemy tide.
"Okay." He said firmly. "But, I'm leaving Dax in charge of the Port."
It was a challenge, a line in the sand, a silent refusal to yield everything he'd built just because he himself wasn't there to guard it.
He could practically hear Ashelin rolling her eyes at him.
"Fine, whatever. But if Aconite shoots that lecherous little furball in the face, I won't be held responsible."
Jak grinned, relived and grateful that Ashelin could yield where he refused to. "Deal. Thanks, Ashe."
"Yeah yeah." The Governor grumbled, cutting the connection.
Jak restarted the bike and turned it back towards the port. He needed to check in, break the news to Dax that he'd been volunteered to lead and protect a few hundred people and then skip out before his best friend overcame the shock and came at him with one of Tess' welders.
Then, he was going home.
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