Freeport System
IMS Colossus
2212, March 10th 0312h
The Goblin came out of warp slowly and decelerated towards the Artemisum shipyard. They were on the last leg of their journey before heading back to Overlook. They did a visual scan for the Sentinel. When they couldn't find it visually the Pilot switched over to ID scan of the nearby IMC ships. All scans came back negative.
"Artemisum Control, this is Phi-Delta Zero, over?"
"Copy, Phi-Delta Zero. Go ahead." The Control tower responded.
The Pilot checked for traffic before bringing the dropship into a hold pattern. It looked like the whole yard was being brought to bear. Goblin dropships were ferrying between ships as the larger class battleships were pulling into warp formations. Something big went down.
"I have one Hotel Victor Indigo to deliver to the IMS Sentinel but cannot locate it on my systems."
"Understood Phi-delta. Be advised that the IMS Sentinel has been designated for scrap." Control verified.
"Explain."
"It's part of an ongoing assessment and I cannot release any information at this time."
"I don't have time for this. Put the section chief on now."
The pilot gave the cargo hold a quick look back to see how their passenger was doing. The man was still siting there. He hadn't moved at all even the whole trip. Whatever Dr. Yisv had done on this one must've been extensive.
"This is the section chief." A new voice stated.
"Go to channel Zeta-Romeo One One." The pilot quickly ordered and switched to the IMC black frequency through the channel encoder.
A few seconds later, the section chief verified he was on the channel.
"How can I help you?"
"I have one high value individual for transfer to the IMS Sentinel, verify over."
"The Sentinel has been designated for scrap following a Militia raid on the facility." The Section chief informed the pilot.
"I see. I have one person for special transfer, code authorization Delta Upsilon Victor Zero One."
There was a pause on the other end of the line as the section chief processed the code authorization into his computer. The pilot drummed his fingers on the dash waiting for the code to clear. Working with Dr. Yisv as long as he had, he was used to the IMC's slow bureaucratic processes. It was faster today and the pilot chalked it up to the code he had just given.
"This is Artemisum Control. Phi-Delta Zero, you're clear to proceed to IMS Colossus." The Section Chief reported. "You'll find Sergeant Blisk onboard."
"Understood, out." The pilot responded and switched off the frequency.
"Perks, huh?" The co-pilot said wryly.
The pilot grunted, "Let's just complete the delivery. This one really unsettles me."
Mayumi leapt awake from her bed, sweat beaded around her forehead. She had dreamed of Nimr again. Despite it being a good dream of one of their happier times together, it had still rattled her. She had hoped confessing it all to the therapist would've have brought some relief from this but the guilt was still present. In fact, the dream was more vivid than she would have liked.
She slid out from the sweat soaked sheets and over to the sink where she splashed her face. Mayumi scrubbed her face and then gripped the counter. Her hands felt the cold metallic rims of the sink. She let her focus center in on the drain, watching the last of the water leave the basin.
Nimr. I know you wanted to make me happy but all this is doing is hurting me.
Mayumi sunk her head and groaned. Now she was talking to him like he was here. How pathetic was that? Her mind flicked to the warmth she felt before she was going to die in Angel City. That was Nimr too, she thought. His presence was comforting but his absence was too much to bear.
Dr. Ornov came to her mind too, with his solution of her going to G2. In order to better realize her potential as a Titan Pilot and to wholly forget Nimr. Mayumi also felt that she couldn't commit to that either. She didn't want to forget who she was or her parents or why she joined in the first place. There was also the fact that the IMC on the Frontier was not the helping hand she thought it was back on Tau Ceti. Not with people like Blisk around.
She sighed. No wonder she couldn't sleep well, there were too many big thoughts still coursing through her head. There was no harm in trying to go back to sleep though and Mayumi sat back down on the bed. In the dark, she listened to the faint drum of the ship. She flopped onto the pillow, exhausted but unable to sink into sleep.
It was late but she had the idea now that she had to buzz Winters about it. She was her Squad Leader now, whose better opinion to ask? Mayumi hesitated and then doubted the importance of her own decision. Was it really all that important to bother her with this right now?
She shook the thoughts from her head. It was important. When the stim tanked her system, that almost got Harper killed. Her actions were directly affecting the team. Mayumi got from her bed again and went to the console. She sat down in the seat and plugged in her ID Tag. From the directory she searched the menu for Winters' room. When she found it, she inputed the number and pinged the room.
A few seconds later, a groggy Winters answered the console. Winters' pale face was bright in the glow of the console's screen. Mayumi stiffened at possibly pissing off her Squad Leader and braced herself for the angry reply.
"What?" Winters croaked.
"I –" Mayumi began before she choked on her words. Unable to fully articulate how she wanted to say it.
"Mayumi," Winters' voice rising in anger, "it's three in the fucking morning. It had better be important or you will suffer for it."
"I was offered to go to G2!" She bursted out in a panic.
"Oh. Good!" Winters upset tone disappeared into a pleasantly surprised one.
Mayumi was taken aback by this sudden turn of events. "You approve?"
"Of course I do. Grendel was as G2 and he was just as much a bastard as you are."
Mayumi's breath caught in her throat. "Um, what do you mean?"
"Listen, I haven't told you the whole thing yet but Ramirez has defected. He helped the Militia attack the Sentinel. Barrett and I saw him at the shipyard during the assault. But when he was docked down to a Grunt his files passed to me and I saw what you did at Whitehead. The way you killed Nimr, that's how I want to kill Ramirez."
She wanted to scream. Nimr had sacrificed himself so she wouldn't have to kill him herself. Now his beautiful act was being twisted at every turn by everyone else. Blisk, Ornov, and Winters; all of them. All Winters could see was what she wanted to. Another killer like Grendel: cold and remorseless. Was that what they saw, when they looked at her? A monster? Something to do their will and take petty revenge.
"In fact," Winters continued her focus on the console growing the more she explained herself, "that's why I teamed you up with Harper. She could learn something from you. She's still too shiny from basic, doesn't understand the Frontier like we do. Sometimes you have to do the dark thing that others can't, in order to get the job done.
Winters looked away from the console. "Like I should've done with him. When I had the chance. He was right there! I could've..." Winters let her words trail off and then she composed herself. "When you do it, I would like to be there to support you. That's the least I can do."
"I..." Mayumi began but found she couldn't finish. She was horrified by what Winters was saying to her. Her lower lip was trembling. Before she let anything slip, Mayumi gathered herself. "What I mean is, thank you."
It was the most upsetting lie she had ever said and the smile it brought to Winters' face turned her stomach upside down.
"What's the deal tin can?" Blisk said aggravated. He didn't like being disturbed this late at night, regardless of who summoned him. Being Hammond's lap dog, at least should of left him well enough alone.
"My apologies, Sergeant Blisk." Spyglass answered. "There is something that should be brought to your attention."
"Out with it, huh?" he crossed his arms in a clearly impatient mood.
"Of course." Spyglass said politely. "The matter concerns CINCFRONT."
Graves. Blisk was sure whatever it was, it wasn't anything that concerned him. This tin can, IMC made or not, was about to bring up something Blisk was certain he didn't care to hear. Though, for whatever reason, he choose to confide it in him. That part was interesting.
"What exactly?" He said flatly.
Spyglass' blue eye blinked and the Spectre's servos whirred for a moment. "I have noticed subtle changes in Vice-admiral Graves behavior as of late."
Blisk laughed. All this cryptic talk and middle of the night meet ups just to talk about small changes to Graves' behavior. Spyglass must've crossed a wire or something.
"Oh that's rich. You bring me all the way out here for: 'subtle changes?'" Blisk scoffed and turned to walk back to his quarters.
"There is a chance that he is colluding with MacAllan." Spyglass continued in his calm tone. If robots could have calm tones, Blisk reflected.
He turned back around slowly. "You listen," Blisk said menacingly, "and you listen good. What you just said is utter shite."
"I have corroborative data that indicates a good probability of sympathetic behavior –"
"No," Blisk interupted him, "I don't give fuckall what your synthetic parts tell you. You toss that rubbish at me again – and I will scrap you."
Fucking machines. You had to look into the guts of a man to see his true character. Blisk had seen those guts in Graves. All too rarely these days you saw officers lead from the rear or from the safe distance of their ships in orbit. Graves was different from the rest. Highest rank on the Frontier and still slogged it in with the troops from time to time. That got respect from Blisk. The shiny balls on this Spectre to suggest otherwise was ludicrous. Spyglass variant or no.
Besides, you don't get to be Vice-admiral of the entire fleet by being sympathetic to terrorists. Things like that don't happen. Blisk opened the door to his quarters and picked up the decanter by the neck and took a swig. Graves wasn't a traitor. Absolutely no way.
"Alright, let's set him in." The dropship pilot said to the co-pilot.
"Got it."
"Man, eighteen jumps and that guy doesn't say a word." He whispered.
"Yeah." The co-pilot gave a nervous chuckle.
"Better than the opposite I guess. I hate ferrying civies to that place. It's the sniffling that gets me."
"Yeah?"
"Oh yeah." The pilot guided the Goblin into the hanger of the IMS Colossus. "It's after the crying when they settle down and realize they have no way out, so they pray to themselves and sniffle."
"When's your leave coming up?"
"Trim up that angle." The pilot said making an adjustment to the docking angle.
"Got it." The Co-pilot made the adjustments. "So when?"
"Soon. I think thirty-three days."
"Hah! No wonder, you're complaining. You sound like a short timer."
The pilot glared over at his co-pilot. "And you sound like a new guy who hasn't sat on the short stick yet."
A hand with robotic finger curled around the co-pilot's chair and Grendel's grim face locked eyes with the pilot. His mouth was sealed tight, eyes drawn in irritation. The Goblin's cabin became incredibly quiet until a small warning chime came on. The pilot returned to landing the dropship, neither he nor the co-pilot spoke for the rest of the landing.
The job. Grendel reflected as he exited the dropship. There were those whose sole duty in life was the job. Day in and day out, an endless cycle of tedium. Like an abyss, when you stared at it long enough, you felt it staring back at you. Because he who fights monsters should look into himself, that he should not become one.
The halls of the Colossus were new and yet completely familiar to Grendel. All the IMC ships functioned the same. The Hammond logos and vid screens were everywhere broadcasting bureaucratic propaganda and platitudes. Grendel saw the monster within, embraced it and made it into who he was. The IMC didn't want just resources for the Core Worlds, they wanted power. So that's what he wanted, too.
Flexing his arms, he saw what his desires had brought him. To transcend the mere mortal shackles of flesh and bone. Shedding his former name, for something that truly meant power: Grendel. A beast who was misunderstood and frightening to those who did not understand what he was.
But to understand that beast, one had to transcend the abyss. To go through fear of the unknown and become it and wield it like a weapon. When utilized in the right hands, fear could end a battle without having to fight. Fear was silent. Fear was deadly. Grendel could think of no other way to embody fear than by being a sniper. To strike from an unknown distance that no one could see or hear you. Nothing was as scary as the unknown.
He stopped at a kiosk and input his serial number. After a second the computer brought all his necessary information to the screen. Grendel saved the information to his wristcom and saw the time stamp. As of 0322 hours today, he was alive again. He had no idea that he had been listed as killed in action this whole time. It almost made him laugh. Dr. Yisv had brought him back from the abyss.
Sometime later, he opened the door to his quarters. The furnishings were spartan, just a bed, a small metal desk, and a locker. He stowed his G2A4, his armor, extra underlayer, and the rest of his kit. Then he lay atop the sheets of his bed and stared at the ceiling until he fell asleep.
He awoke in the morning confused. The night before he had dreamed of when he died. The advantage of getting the regeneration chip was to lose your previous combat memories. Despite this advantage, he had dreamed of a memory he shouldn't of had at all. On an unknown planet, he saved the life of someone in exchange for his own. He had done it so fast and compulsively as if on instinct. If there was a reason why he had done it, it had been erased from his memory. No remnant of an excuse to justify his failing.
Still it lingered in his mind, the fact that he had been beaten. That someone could beat him was a thought he had trouble getting rid of. The mere idea of it was a distraction and that was something he could ill afford. He had to be at his best, no he was beyond that now, better than.
Grendel gritted his teeth and clenched his fist. His focus unerring from where his gaze was fixed on the ceiling. He had so much anger that he had to put it some good use. Grendel zipped up his armor and located the nearest Titan bay and ran laps around it until he was exhausted.
"Attention all personel, this is the six. We are approaching the first of twenty six jump points to tower station Zulu." Vice-admiral Grave's voice echoed over the PA system. "You've all been given Code-Black-Five clearance for this operation."
The blacksite "Overlook" was Code-black-three, Grendel recollected. Where ever they were going was more classified than the secret facility that made his arms. That was interesting.
Graves continued, "Understand that you are going to a hostile planet; it will try to kill you. The dog-whistle Tower at this site has not functioned for twenty years, so you will be exposed to the wildlife out there. When you make planetfall, you will encounter Flyers with beaks powerful enough to pierce nine inch armour plating; you will see creatures so massive that they affect the calculations of jump co-ordinates."
Good. That will be the perfect place to prove that I'm better than anyone else. Militia or IMC. On a world this hostile, only the best will survive.
"Do not allow these hazards to distract you from the mission at hand – the Militia seeks to exploit the Repulsor technology, and we cannot allow that to happen. Take control of all the generator hardpoints, overload the tower and scuttle the base. Oh, and presuming you don't want to become a critter's lunch, take this time to locate and secure your hollow point rounds. Graves out."
Grendel left the Titan drop bay and returned to his quarters. He'd met up with his old squad again. His augments didn't matter anymore now that they all had clearance. Ironic isn't it?
O'Connell had toasted the hazelnuts to perfection, they complimented the roasted potatoes and garlic eggs with the single parsley leaf, exquisitely. Graves cut a thin slice of steak and dipped it in a rich sauce. He wiped his mouth with the napkin tucked it into his uniform. The boy had barely touched his food. Graves saw that he stared at it as if it was alien.
"Are you not hungry?" Graves asked, putting the piece in his mouth.
The boy remained silent.
"I can send for something else." Graves offered.
He saw him reach slowly for the fork and scraped everything off the eggs. Graves internally winced as he saw O'Connell's art subjected to its harshest criticism. The boy sniffed and frowned.
"What's in it?" he recoiled from the plate.
"Garlic." Graves said between bites.
"It smells funny."
Graves pointed his fork at Russ lazily. "Funny, how?"
"Like smelly, funny."
"Smartass." Graves said. "Eat."
The boy groaned. Give me soldiers. Graves silently wished to himself. He wasn't used to children and trying to coerce them into basic functions that every person should internally understand. Or the level of food of which he was being given that would cost a normal IMC Marine a month's salary to get. It was all about perspective. Clearly this boy wasn't used to eating normally prepared food.
Graves tried another approach, "What about the hazelnuts? They're plain."
He picked one up and tentatively bit it. The boy chewed it slowly and swallowed. "They're different from Troy nuts."
"Troy?" Graves looked perplexed.
"The planet I grew up on. It's called Troy."
"Ah, after the Odyssey." Graves understood. "Have you read the story?"
"No." The boy said as he chewed on the other half of the nut.
"It's a good story, one of my favorites. It's why I named the ship after it."
"That was your ship!" The boy's mouth hung open in surprise.
Graves put a slice of egg atop a piece of a steak and dipped it before eating it. "It was... a long time ago."
The boy stood up from the table excitedly, "If it was your ship, why weren't you on it?"
Graves looked at him sternly. It wasn't a story he liked telling, especially during the tribunal. However, it was a chance to get more about MacAllan from the boy. He wiped his mouth again and cleared his throat.
"Only if you tell me your name first."
"That's all? Russ, it's Russ. Okay tell me now!" He was practically jumping up and down in anticipation.
"Settle down!" Graves ordered. Russ fell into his seat deflated. When it looked like he wouldn't jump up again, graves began. "MacAllan, my friend, stole it from me when we were conducting scenarios on how to win the Frontier."
"Why'd he steal it?"
Graves gave a discontented sigh. "It's quite complicated really."
"I don't mind." Much to his chagrin, Graves saw that Russ didn't.
"Well – most of it had to do with legality and necessity." Graves started to explain. "There was a lot of debt after the Titan Wars and with the Paris Accord of 2183, the Core Worlds needed somewhere to pull new resources."
Graves took another bite of egg and then followed it with a sip of breakfast tea. Russ took this break in the explanation to eat another hazelnut. He could feel the boy's eyes watching him expectantly for him to reveal more. Before Graves continued, he thought about how he wanted to phrase his words.
"There was a lot of debate of how this debt should be collected. In the end, it was decided that force would be way to get it back. And so they sent a 'peace keeping' force to subdue the local populace. At first, all was fine but the demand for resources was higher than what the Frontier was willing to give. That's when MacAllan joined on. He and I tried different tactics to get what the Core Worlds needed, but in the end war was inevitable. We had our differences and those differences lead to a mutiny."
"What differences?" Russ asked inquisitively.
"Are you sure you're Turner's boy? You're awfully chatty." Graves gripped the tea cup again. "I remember him being very quiet."
"What differences?" Russ repeated undeterred.
"Those are classified."
"Aw come on!" Russ exclaimed. "I told you my name and that's all you'll tell me."
"That's more than what most people know." Graves said matter-of-factly.
"Not true, I knew all of that."
"Did you now?" Graves was amused. "Then why don't you tell me why I lost my ship?"
"Hamish said it was because..." Russ hesitated, which to Graves meant that it was something rude and unflattering. After a few moments Russ gained his courage and spoke quietly. "You were a fool to think you could change the IMC from the inside."
Graves was mid sip and had he not had more control of himself, he might have dropped the whole cup. He finished drinking his tea before setting it back on the table. "Was this Sergeant Hamish?"
"Yes." Russ answered.
"Then he's wrong."
"Then tell me what really happened." Russ pleaded.
"No."
"I'll eat my eggs, I'll tell you my middle name. Please just tell me!"
Graves got up and pushed on the intercom, "Escort the child back to his personal quarters."
"Noo, why?"
"Shut up!" Graves barked. He shut his eyes and calmed himself. "It's for your own good."
Two IMC Marines came in and escorted the boy from his quarters. Russ starred at him hurt and confused but once he was gone from the room Graves let out a sigh of relief. If anyone had heard that, Graves felt that he would have had to kill them. He might even have to reassign the guards outside the door to isolated outposts. That one sentence could have gotten them all killed.
There was still a long ways to go until they reached the Boneyard. He'd rest for an hour and then go to the bridge. Graves chastised himself for not seeing the play sooner. Graves turned his mind to some more productive than corporate paranoia and towards Angel City. Why else would Mac have gone to get Barker? His plan now would be to take out the base orbiting Demeter and then strike at the reactors. Graves wouldn't be outmaneuvered again.
Badlands System
Orbiting Former IMC Base Golden, designation: Boneyard
2212, March 10th 0825h
"Vice-admiral, I'm detecting a Militia presence already at the base." Spyglass informed Graves.
"Are they aware of our current position?"
"Negative," Spyglass analyzed, "I see no indication they are aware of our arrival."
"Good. Sergeant Blisk, ready an insertion team for immediate dust off. Only Pilots with cloaking and Class 2 sniper ratings. Then ready our main forces to secure the area. Our man MacAllan is trying to reverse engineer the tower."
"Yes, sir!"
Blisk pulled up the roster of available Pilots on the Colossus and saw a familiar name appear on the list. It looks like Dr. Yisv had been able to reprogram him faster than I expected. Blisk was eager to see how Dr. Yisv's new augments would preform in the harsh conditions of this planet. He found three others with impressive records and summoned them to his quarters.
They arrived within a half-hour of the call going out. They were all impressive, Blisk noted, all just as he had hoped. The first to arrive was Lazra, she was an expert with the Longbow-Dmr and skilled survivalist. Afterwards was Prescott and Torlus, both from the same unit and both with a penchant for brutality. Lastly, came Grendel, though his service file had listed him once as "Walter Marzenko", he was the only G3 of the group followed by Lazra who was a G2.
"Pilots," Blisk started the briefing, "we got word that the Militia are trying to reverse engineer our repulsor technology!"
He punched up the holo-display on his desk and it created a representation of the landscape of the base Golden. Blisk pointed to the tall tower at the far side of the base. "The old tower was our prototype! Became the key advantage in colonizing worlds with hostile indigenous creatures."
The Pilot's faces studied the terrain, their minds already turned to approach and vantage points. Blisk grinned and continued. "Our objective is to scuttle this facility before the Militia learns too much about that tower. Patch me into the hardpoints, and we'll overload the core! That should do the trick. Ready up!"
The four of them left and headed towards the ready room. They were all silent the whole walk, there was no reason to engage in camaraderie. Each of them was a passing phase. Temporary persons for a temporary purpose. Each of them donned their armor and proceeded to the Goblin dropship awaiting their team.
Lazra and Grendel picked spots away from Prescott and Torlus, who sat next to each other. The dropship pilot went through the pre-flight check on all the systems, prepping the ship to make the jump to the Boneyard. Blisk made the last check on the squad.
"For this operation, you'll all be ghosts." He pointed at Lazra, Prescott, Torlus, and finally Grendel. "Ghost One, Two, Three, and Four. There's a sandstorm coming in through the west, you can use that for cover to approach the base. Engage only if necessary. Alright!"
Blisk turned and walked away from the dropship as the ramp lifted up. Grendel heard Torlus grunt and pull his mask down. "I thought he would come with us."
"Nope." Prescott drawled.
"Shame," Torlus said, "I heard he is good with a blade."
Silence filled the cabin and no one felt they had to break it. The hull creaked as they broke through upper atmo.
"Jumping in three, two, one..." The pilot counted down.
The dropship warpped, forcing itself through physical space and into the lower atmosphere of planet Leviathan. Immediately, the alarms for near impact went off and the pilot swerved to avoid the oncoming towering creature. The goblin banked hard to the left and Grendel was forced against the webbing holding the medkits. From his view out the window, just past Lazra, he saw the creature that planet Leviathan got it's name from.
The dropship leveled out and Grendel could no longer see the leviathan anymore, just the desert landscape between it's legs. He fathomed to imagine how Airbase Sierra was able to exist normally with those beasts lumbering around. His thoughts turned back to the situation at hand as the dropship pulled in low for a hover position.
"It's two klicks to Golden from here. That's the tower in the distance." The pilot pointed out. "Alright, here's your stop."
The four Pilots stood and up and hopped out of the dropship. After Torlus had departed, the ship pulled back into orbit and vanished. Lazra pulled out an old fashioned compass and directed herself towards north. Grendel and the others watched her turn in place with fascination. After she got her bearings, Lazra took off towards the nearest cliffside.
Grendel followed after her first. That was a smart thing to have in this day and age of cyber warfare suites and EMPs. Something old and non-electronic was good to have. Grendel was impressed. He pulled himself up the cliff face and kept his body and low to the ground as possible to not give off a silhouette to anyone who might be watching. She was already on her stomach and using the detached ACOG scope of her Longbow-DMR to scout out the landscape.
He pulled up next to her and did a scan himself. The Militia were everywhere but in no real pattern. Grendel spotted a sniper atop a large spine of a dead leviathan and saw him aim at something to his right. A split second later they heard the report of the Kraber.
"One sniper, several patrols." Lazra stated.
"No basic sweep pattern, should be easy to infiltrate." Grendel added.
"Indeed." Lazra began crawling her way backwards.
Grendel lingered a second eying the sniper. Something about him resonated to him. There was a sense of Deja Vu of this whole scenario. As he crawled back himself he realized where he'd felt this before. In his dream where he had died, he had been in a valley and the sniper had shot him from above. It must be the situation that made him think so, there was no other tangible evidence otherwise.
He dropped the last few feet down to the ground and approached the huddle the other three Pilots made. Lazra had made a map in the sand and was pointing out what she and Grendel had seen. Torlus knelt down and pointed to where the sniper on the map was.
"He's picked a good place to perch." Torlus observed. Grendel noticed his accent was similar to Winters.
"We can use this riverbed here to move up to the landing pad. Did you see any ventilation or alternate routes into the facility?"
Lazra thought for a moment and then pointed to a point just outside the landing pad to the northern side. "The cliff face connects to the facility here inside his blind spot."
Grendel looked up from the map and mentally spaced the direction out. "Looks good." He observed the R-101c of Prescott and Torlus' Kraber. "We can break into two teams."
Prescott simply nodded towards Torlus. They all had affixed suppressors to their weapons. Blisk had been apt when he named their squad Ghost.
"We should wait for the sandstorm to come closer. It should aid us." Torlus had turned his head towards the direction of the oncoming storm.
"Good idea." Lazra agreed. She had turned her head too and saw the sand sweeping towards them.
With the prep-work complete, the four Pilots broke off into pairs to infiltrate the once abandoned facility. Lazra and him, followed the canyon until it opened up into a view of the dunes. She put up her arm to tell him to halt. Grendel could hear voices coming just beyond his view of the canyon. From the number of voices it was multiple Militia outlaws coming there way.
Lazra held up four fingers, then turned them upside to create an "M". Four Militia. That much he could hear for himself. He nodded that he understood. She cloaked, her outline barely visible around the stratus layers of the canyon's wall. Quickly, she popped around the corner to investigate further. Grendel stiffened his grip around his G2A4, ready to use it.
Lazra reappeared and motioned for them to crouch down. She cloaked again and Grendel followed her lead. Some seconds later four Militia soldiers entered into view. They slowly walked by their position, completely unaware of the two of them.
Lazra ticked her mic, then again a second later. A countdown, I get it. Another tick. Grendel readied his G2A4, going for the right hand side pair.
"Now." Lazra ordered.
All four terrorists dropped to the ground. Grendel's camo flickered but resumed as he stood up and scanned the sectors making sure they were clear. Lazra inspected the bodies. She flipped one over and plunged her data-knife into his chest and soldier choked one last time. Finished, she moved onto the next one and retrieved a tablet. Lazra played with it for a moment, seeing if she could access it. When she couldn't unlock it, she put it by the wayside casually.
"Four Militia down, moving on." Lazra said over the radio, she collected her Longbow and they moved onwards towards the base.
"Copy." Torlus signaled back. "Good hunting."
"... advanced assets have already infiltrated the base. The highest concentration of forces is around the main tower. However, we can hold our forces here around the two main sources of power and overload the base." Winters informed her team.
She had just come from the Squad Leaders briefing where Spyglass had given them the mission for the day. Winters was more impatient and frustrated. This war should've been over with already. Between the failure on the Colony, MacAllan and Ramirez's defection, there was a lot to think about. She already regretted not spiking Ramirez when she had the chance. Every time she thought about it, it made her sick. There was no excuse for his actions.
"What's the radius of the detonation?" Barrett asked.
"All interiors." Winters answered.
Barrett rubbed his chin. "I see."
Winters eyed Mayumi and Harper. Harper looked worried and Mayumi looked conflicted. Damnit, she should be excited. Being offered G2 should be incredible. If Harper's holding her back, I swear.
"At any rate," Winters said to grab everyone's attention, "We're gearing up, the second they hit resistance, we roll in drive out the Militia. Understood?"
They all grunted approval.
"Good. Kit up." Winters dismissed the team. They all turned to leave but Winters grabbed Harper's shoulder. "Let's talk for a moment."
Harper gulped. "Y-yes, Ma'am."
Winters watched Barrett and Mayumi leave. Then she flashed her eyes back to Harper. "I heard about what happened on 210."
"Wot? Oh no, it won't happen again. Honest! It was just that in the row, my visor broke and-"
"No, you idiot. Mayumi and you almost died from your incompetence!" Winters gripped Harper by the tape of her zipper. Harper let out a little yelp. "You ever endanger the life of a squad mate again, I swear you will not make it to the evac."
Harper was at a loss for words.
"Ma'am, I-" She stuttered. "She wasn't used to – She told me that –"
"Enough." Winters silenced her. "No excuses. If you had killed that Militia Pilot when you were supposed to, she wouldn't of pushed herself so hard."
Harper twisted her face up in indignation and stiffened. "Aye, Ma'am. It won't happen again."
Winters let go of her. "See that it doesn't. Dismissed."
Grendel retracted the knife from the Grunts' chest. He watched as the life drained from the man's surprised eyes. When he had died, Grendel let the corpse drop to the ground. He was pleased with the work of Dr. Yisv. G3 was everything he had hoped it would be. The replacement arms were strong and the man he had just killed stood no chance in his grip. Even with the nano-second delay, his reflexes felt like they happened before he could will them. The knife had plunged so fast, neither he or the terrorist could've stopped it.
It was beautiful. He had sent another soul to the abyss.
They had entered through one of the obscured ventilation shafts into the landing pad. The Militia were probably looking for more information about the IMC's project here. Scouring the base for anything that could help them turn the tables.
"Heads up," Torlus signaled, "Three plus one Pilots en route."
Lazra knelt back down and yanked off one of the dead Militiaman's helmet and popped out the send-receive chip and inserted it into her own. Grendel grinned. That was smart, he hadn't even thought of that before.
She listened for a few moments then popped the chip back out. "They think its the sandstorm or a bad transmitter."
Grendel snorted.
"Idiots." Prescott commented.
"Looks like our sniper knows the plus one." Torlus observed. "His rifle's following him closely."
"Good eye." Lazra said.
"That one's mine." Grendel announced. He had a feeling about that sniper, he had to know why.
Lazra held her gaze on Grendel for a moment trying to determine the motivation before she disregarded it and moved on. "We should move."
They picked there way deep into the facility. Grendel knew that any decent thermal image would pick them up, not even their cloaking could hide their temperatures. On top of that, any decent Pilot looking for a cloaked Pilot would be able to spot them. With luck, they'd be able to get the drop on them if they still believed that it was just a bad transmitter.
"Here." Lazra pointed to a series of thermal piping. She slipped behind a section that would normally house a deactivated Marvin. Afterwards, she pointed to the section above her. It was a shelf formed by piping and out of place. Lazra formed two finger guns with her hands and put one in front of the other, indicating that it looked like a firing position. He had to agree.
Grendel approached the piping and tested the weight. It felt like it would hold him and so he swung himself up. He pulled out his rifle and checked the fire sectors. It was a decent view but it would only work if the Pilots swept through the hall.
"Pilots are now in front of the building." Prescott alerted them. "We're going to shift position, so as to not attract the attention of wildlife."
"Understood. Out." Lazra confirmed.
Minutes later, there was sound of quiet footfalls. Grendel could distinctly hear the sets of two pairs walking behind each other. One of the footfalls felt heavier than the rest and Grendel made the leap that that one was wearing heavier armor.
He trained his rifle towards the far end of the hall, near the junction. Eventually, two figures entered his line of sight. They checked the hallway and indicated one team should go right. The first team continued into the hallway followed by another team and began to move down there hallway.
Grendel keyed his mike four times to indicate the four approaching Pilots. Lazra keyed her's once to confirm. The first pair moved quickly, their rifles trained forward. Grendel tensed as they swept past. One was making heavier footfalls and Grendel saw an assault class Pilot with a Spitfire. Grendel followed them as they moved right on past. Headed to where the squad of Militia troops, he and Lazra had just killed. The two moved by and down the hall without stopping.
The other pair moved slower and the man moved unconcerned but the woman behind him moved more cautiously. Grendel followed them closely, keeping his G2A4 trained on the woman in case she made any sudden moves.
"... I'm just saying." The man's voice became audible. "When you and I get back we can cook one of these things and eat it."
"I'm not eating anything from this planet."
Her cautious movements continued but her face relaxed into a smile. The pair had stopped about two meters from Grendel and Lazra's hiding spot. The man turned around.
"It'll probably taste like chicken."
"Gross. I hate chicken." She said, lowering her weapon.
That was the moment Grendel wanted. He keyed the mike three times in quick succession. Took aim for the woman's helmet and fired. Simultaneously, Lazra appeared from her hiding point, knifed the other Pilot and yanked him back.
Grendel slid off the piping and gently lowered himself down. Lazra was stashing the male Pilot into the alcove when his radio went off.
Hey, where's Yon?
Uh, she was here a second ago. Anyone seeing Yon outside? Grissom, you copy?
Lazra was picking up the second Pilot as Grendel bent down next to the man named Grissom. He pulled off the man's helmet and pulled out his send/receive chip. Lazra hefted up the other dead Pilot named Yon.
"Be careful with that. If you put that on, it'll be picked up on their channels." Lazra warned him. "Be very brief with it."
Grendel plugged in the chip.
Negative, no one's been in or out, since you went in. Grissom, you in there man? Come in.
Grendel removed the chip. "They're putting it together. Should call in the main force."
"Blisk, this is Ghost One. Send them in."
"They'll be coming back for these two." Grendel said.
Lazra propped up Yon at an obscured angle with her back turned towards hallway. She held her up with one hand, gripping her pistol in the other. A moment or two followed and a shout came from the end of the hall.
"Hey Yon, what're you doing there? Yon? Yon!"
Lazra nodded to Grendel and they both broke from cover and shot at the two Militia Pilots. One of the fallen Militia Pilots jerked up on their rifle snapping a shot off. Lazra shot him again just to confirm he was dead. Grendel plugged the chip back into his helmet. There was bound to be chatter now.
Shots fired in sector Charlie Three. No eyes on friendlies.
Grendel's curiosity was burning to see who this was the man who had killed him. The man that had caused his rebirth.
"Is that you... sniper? I – dreamed. They told me I couldn't."
Lazra snapped up but didn't move. Grendel walked up to her. "You understand. Why I must know."
Lazra nodded and Grendel nodded back before he jogged out of the facility. He topped off his mag and readied himself. May the best duelist win.
Winters paced back and forth in the cabin of the Goblin dropship explaining the last few details they needed to know before they dropped. The dropship curved on the approach vector and Winters calmly grabbed a handle to steady herself.
"Remember, we need to hold at least two of these reactor points to ignite the base. We'll clear out these sections here and here."
Winters pointed to two buildings below. Seeing the AA turret on the ground, she pointed to it as well. "Harper! Secure that tower, Barrett you'll cover her."
Harper stood a little rigid and squeaked. Winters saw she hadn't replaced her visor yet. "I hope that not having a visor, won't affect your combat ability, Harper."
"N-no, Ma'am!" She said as she ran past and leapt from the Goblin.
Barrett walked up and spoke softly to her. "You shouldn't be so hard on her."
Winters glared at him behind the facade of her helmet. "Get going, Barrett."
He snorted and casually dropped from the ramp. Mayumi dropped the visor of her helmet and took a running start and followed him out.
"Four on the way out." Winter informed the dropship pilot.
"Aye, copy." The dropship pilot confirmed.
Winters dropped off the ramp and boosted the last few feet to the ground. In front of her, Harper had brought the AA gun back on line and the gun immediately took to tasking. It's guns still functional it began taking flyers out of the sky.
There was the loud report of a Kraber nearby and Winters ducked reflexively. A moment later there were loud thumps as two Grunts hit the deck. Before she could call out for a sniper three Flyers swooped in and grasped for the Grunt bodies and pulled them away.
"Ma'am!" A Grunt pulled up to her. "We got heavy Militia resistance inside the tunnels here! Possible SRS!"
"Then roll in with Spectres if you have to!" She snapped.
As she finished, the entrance to the tunnel exploded, throwing dust into their faces. The Grunt coughed and waved his hand to clear the air. Winters looked towards the now disfigured entrance. The whole of the entrance stood resolutely but deeply scarred and blackened. At least the facility was built to last.
"Fuckin' Militia. Rigged that section to blow." The Grunt wheezed and choked.
"Schwachkpof." Winters faced away from the tunnel and clutched the side of her helmet. "Command, this is Stalker One. Requesting drop pod support on my designation, classification Spectres, over?" She aimed her wrist-com at the location and with her other hand punched in the drop command.
"Aye, confirmed designation. Drop in 15, out."
Winters turned back to the Grunt, "That's two of your problems I've solved today."
The Grunt saluted and returned to the line. Winters signaled for Mayumi to come to her. Mayumi hustled over to Winters.
"Ma'am!"
"We have to push through this entrance here." She indicated towards the tunnel entrance. "Move in with the Grunts and pick them off. Barrett and I will flank around the back!"
"I'll get it done."
Mayumi ran over to the nearest Grunt and gave him the update. Winters thought that she saw relief on the Grunt's face, knowing that a Pilot was going to be moving in with them. The Grunt made the "ready up" motion and the rest of the squad fell in on him.
Simultaneously, two drop pods crashed nearby and the shark-faced Spectres emerged. On Winters' HUD, she saw that the Spectres were under her operational control. The eight units quickly regrouped onto her position.
"This is Stalker, moving onto hardpoint Alpha."
"Understood." Spyglass confirmed.
"Barrett!" Winters yelled over the battlefield. He turned his head towards her. She made a flanking motion with her hand and he nodded.
She got up from her position and ran around the length of the building and the two of them met up. Barrett laughed as he saw the Spectres running behind her.
"Looks like your own little army."
"Damn right. Let's get in there."
"Where should I be?" Harper popped in on the radio.
"Cover our backs and don't let any of the Milita get past us."
"Yes, Ma'am."
Winters ordered her Spectres to move in first. The first one in past the doorway was shredded by small arms fire. The second and third received a couple hits but pushed past the first one into the room beyond. Winters leaned in behind one of the rear Spectres for cover and Barrett pulled in behind her.
She pulled into cover and assessed the situation. There were multiple terrorists firing on them with concentrated but inaccurate fire. Once the Spectres got in, they were able to push back the Militia inside the room.
"They're falling back!" Barrett got up to pursue.
"Let them go for now!" Winters pulled him back. "They blew a tunnel entrance. This could be another one of those pursue and sever tactics.
"Good idea." Barrett said.
Winters got on her mike, "Mayumi, what's your status?"
There was gunfire over the radio, amplified due to the confined spaces. The sound almost made Winters jump. After a moment or two of the gunfire, Mayumi finally broadcasted.
"They're putting up a fight. Trying to keep the corridor open while they fall back." There were several shots of her Smart Pistol. "I'm doing what I can but its tough to pin them down."
"They must be regrouping at another choke point." Winters wondered.
"I don't like it. They left us in control of the hardpoint." Barrett pointed out.
"We'll figure it out later." Winters drew up her Hemlock. "Harper, shift position and see if you can get ahead of the retreating Militia."
"A-aye." Harper replied.
"What you so hard on her for?" Barrett said as he picked his way to the terminal on the hardpoint.
"After the mission," She began when suddenly the tower pulsed.
"The hell?" Barrett shook his helmet.
Several IMC Grunts appeared from the hallway below. Barrett relinquished his seat on the terminal and two Grunts took their place on the console. Mayumi strode up to Winters, holstering her Smart Pistol and raising her visor.
"Report." Winters ordered.
"The Milita retreated back towards the tower. I've posted a squad to maintain guard there in case they return. What was that? An EMP?"
"Not sure. Quickly, reset your systems. How many did you get before that pulse?"
"I got twelve on their way out, including their rear guard. We took five ourselves."
"That's good all things considered. Alright!" Winters addressed the soldiers in the room. "Hold this hardpoint, we're going to pursue the enemy. Let's go."
Barrett and Mayumi followed Winters as she exited the room. Winters lead them back towards the tunnel Mayumi had entered. With Alpha secured, her intention was to secure Bravo. Still, the retreat itched at Winters' mind it was too easy.
Mayumi suddenly pushed her aside and dove for the ground. Barrett was slower but still reacted quickly enough as another satchel charge exploded. Winters coughed and quickly righted herself. Mayumi had propped herself up against the side of the tunnel.
"What the hell!?" Winters exclaimed.
Barrett let loose with his carbine firing into the dust to create covering fire. "I thought you had cleared this section!"
"I did." Mayumi answered. "They're not here so I reacted."
Winters patted Barrett on the shoulder to knock off the cover fire. There was a cough from the other side of the tunnel.
"Please, don't shoot! Friendly!"
Winters tightened her face, the voice was familiar but the mask hid most of it. A lone IMC Grunt stumbled out of the dust. Then she saw it, the stance, he wasn't a Grunt. They were stupid enough to give that much time to react, the Grunt tossed a satchel charge towards them. Barrett fired, Winters turned away. Much to both of their surprise Mayumi leapt forward, Smart Pistol outstretched.
Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap.
"Harper!" Mayumi yelled.
From the other side of the entrance, Harper entered with her RE-45 in hand. She swept the entrance, wallrunning until she was in range to kick the Pilot. His reaction time was fast and he grabbed Harper by the leg and swung her aside. The Grunt pulled off his helmet and tossed it aside. Winters gritted her teeth hard.
Ramirez.
"Fast moves, Jumpie." Ramirez complimented Mayumi.
Mayumi resorted to manual firing. Winters didn't understand it until, she realized that Ramirez must still have a friendly IR signal. Ramirez dodged to the best of his ability, rolling over a crate to hide from Mayumi's rounds.
"Get up Harper!" Mayumu shouted.
Winters patted Barrett on the back, "Get up, go go go!"
They both stood up, making sure the spot Ramirez had hid behind was covered. They joined Mayumi, who withdrew her Hammond pistol as well. She moved over to Harper, carefully positioning herself to be able to return fire against more Militia.
"Harper?" Mayumi nudged her with her boot.
Harper gasped and popped up. "Ohh-ly-shit! Phew!"
"Damnit." Ramirez said from behind his crate.
"Arc him." Winters ordered Barrett.
Barrett went for his Arc grenade but as he did so, the hardpoint room erupted in gunfire. As the grenade flew from his hands, Ramirez took it as opportunity to flee again. Mayumi let fire both her guns but her accuracy was diminished and Winters' bursts were just long enough to not give her a chance to adjust her fire.
Suddenly, there was a pulse of EMP and Winter's helmet froze up and blurred. It scrambled her communications for a brief moment all fire halted. What is going on?
"Barrett! Mayumi! Get Harper and pull back!"
Grendel's arms locked up and to his horror his trigger finger kept firing. Whatever that pulse was had interfered with his wiring on his arms. Adapting, Grendel mitigated the issue and leaned his body forward to keep shooting at the Militia sniper. There was respect there to be had. His opponent's gambit was bold and the Militia timing their interference was exceptional.
When the gun was dry, with great effort, Grendel forced his arms to part and his G2A4 dropped into the sand. He grunted in pain and quickly checked to see if his arms had resumed working again. They were and he flexed each of the fingers. Dr. Yisv hadn't thought of EMP shielding. That was an issue Grendel hadn't foreseen.
Quickly, acting, Grendel reboot his cloaking system and ripped his helmet off to reboot the interface. By the time, he was back online, he had lost view of his quarry. He snatched up his rifle and smacked in a fresh magazine. It was irritating him greatly. Grendel made another scan from his view at the archway overlooking the entire Boneyard. On his return scan, three flyers landed about where the sniper fell.
Grendel snapped to his viewer. To further add to his annoyance, the scope was out. At this range, he had no chance of taking the flyers out. A chase this good, couldn't end with his opponent killed by anyone else. He was his to kill.
He traced the lone flyer back to its nest. Nestled high above the battlefield on a cliff face. Grendel stripped his G2A4 of the holosight and slung the rifle. It was to the east, about a klick from his position. Grendel waited until his cloaking system had restored, then he took off with all intent of scaling the cliff.
"You figure that out yet, Spyglass?" Blisk turned to Syglass on the bridge.
The Tin Can looked up from its port on the bridge with a slow and deliberate stare. "The Militia are causing the pulses to analyze the tower's vulnerabilities. Whoever is behind this strategy is surprisingly clever for a human."
Course, you would say that, you're a machine. "Yeah, well if you can detect when the next one's coming, a little heads-up would be nice."
Blisk turned his attention back to halo-board. Ghosts One through Three had returned to the perimeter of the battle, providing overwatch. Blisk searched the board and saw Ghost Four climbing the cliff face.
"Ghost Four, return to the Zone of Operations now. Ghost Four?" Grendel wasn't responding. He pulled up the quick info tab of the Ghost Squad and scrolled through until he saw someone with a decent scope.
"Ghost Two, this is Blisk."
"Ya, go ahead." Torlus answered.
"Get eyes on Ghost Four."
The line went quiet for a moment. "I see him."
"What's he doing? Contact him and get him back here now." Blisk ordered.
"Yes, sir." Torlus said.
"Are you having trouble maintaining communications, Sergeant Blisk?" Spyglass inquired.
"Don't start with me, Tin Can."
Grendel swung his leg over the side and pulled himself up. There were several Flyers hanging about. They looked like the stupid birds they were up close. Grendel noticed that the Flyers paid little attention to him when they were nesting. He wasn't surprised. Being the dominate predator on the planet, why would it care what some other foreign animal was doing in its territory?
Well, it was time to prove that wrong. Grendel unhooked the Arc grenades from their clips and tossed them into the nest. He saw the animals shit themselves and squawk awfully as they clumsily took off and fly away. Their lack of grace and cunning only proved to Grendel that man was still the most dangerous animal. They were the only real thing worth hunting was something as smart as you.
He located the Pilot amongst the myriad of nests and animal feces. His uniform was torn and he was bloody but he was alive. Grendel pulled his Hammond out and cocked the hammer.
"You move and I will kill you."
The Militia sniper just breathed. Seeing no indication of him being a threat, Grendel holstered his pistol and withdrew his knife. The sniper flinched and Grendel forced his arm down on his shoulder.
"I'm going to cut away your upper armor to check the wounds."
Not that the Milita Pilot could resist, he was weaken and exhausted. Even as pathetic as his state was now, this was the man that almost killed him. Grendel decided that coming back from the dead was as good as not being dead in the first place.
"You're... supposed... to be... dead."
Grendel saw the Militia Pilot clearly didn't agree. He made a length wise cut on the sleeve and tore the rest off.
"Move your hand. Flex." Grendel ordered him.
The man did so. Good, so he's not entirely useless. Grendel moved onto the next sleeve and repeated the process of tearing. This arm wasn't so good. The claw mark was deeper, where it had slipped past the armor.
"Now this arm."
The man groaned but the arm didn't move. Grendel didn't like that. He couldn't hunt a lame animal.
"Do it. Do it – or I will kill you."
The man made an effort but the pain was too great. Grendel decided to put something in his mouth to bite on. He took some cloth from his kit and rolled it up. Next, he felt the Pilot around his neck and felt for the latch to pop off the helmet. The helmet came off and Grendel saw a man of mixed background as was common on the frontier, with a black beard. Grendel presented the rolled up cloth to him. The sniper bit down on it.
"Try now." Grendel said. "This time really try."
The Milita Pilot groaned and pained and forced himself to flex his left arm. Grendel was pleased. He would be able to fire a rifle or use a Titan after all. He reached back into his kit and withdrew some pain killers and stabbed the small injection needle into the man's exposed bicep. There were no immediate protrusions and so Grendel decided to move him.
The new arms were good load-bearing ones and the man's weight wasn't too much to bear over his back. Some distance away he spotted a communications line and made a jog towards it. He pulled on the cable to check the tension, then he inspected the drop downwards. It was still quite a drop.
Grendel put the man back down and unhooked his jumpkit and extra weight. That made him considerably lighter and incase he had to he could boost to break his fall. Grendel hooked his arm onto the zipline and coasted down.
When they reached the end, Grendel disconnected and landed on one knee and roughly laid the sniper on the sands. The man grunted in pain and mumbled something about his head. Grendel flipped back his cowl and pulled his mask off. Then Grendel knelt next to him.
"They have seen my strength for themselves. Have watched me rise from the darkness of war. Dripping with my enemy's blood. I have swam in the blackness of the abyss, hunting monsters. Death was my errand and fate. Now you and I are called together and we will meet again on Demeter."
Grendel stood up but before he cloaked himself again he said. "Try not to die before then."
"This is Stalker, I need an update on the overload!" Winters shouted over the brushing sandstorm.
"The overload is almost complete. We're almost at critical levels." Command updated her.
"Understood." She replied.
Winters looked around at the mass of Grunts and Spectres around her.
"Epsilon will take the left flank immediate the hardpoint." Winters began. "Lambda will push up the center. Barrett take the top and secure the roof with Harper. Mayumi go with Lambda, I'll go with Epsilon."
They broke formation and took to their positions. The idea was to trap the Militia inside and wait for the base to detonate. Winters smiled to herself. She felt this was fitting punishment for a traitor.
Winters reached her starting point and sent the Spectres again in first. They were most expendable of her troops and good for probing the enemy position. The first two came under heavy fire just inside the hallway's junction. One went down while the other hobbled forward. Winters recollected what the inside of the room looked like.
"Barrett are you in position?"
"Yeah."
"Do it."
Seconds later, several Arc grenades went off stunning the defenders. Winters grabbed the first Grunt and pushed him forward. Epsilon squad went forward into the room. At first, there was only gunfire from the IMC in the room but then the Militia returned fire. A lone Grunt staggered back out clutching his chest.
"The walls..." He said as he collapsed onto the concrete wall.
"Mayumi, status?" Winters radioed.
"We're pinned down in the hallway. Two Pilots and Ramirez."
"I need a pulse of how many are still in there."
"Roger." A moment went by. "Twelve. Seven Grunts, four Pilots, and Ramirez."
"Okay, new strategy. Deploy Titans. We'll bury them in there."
Winters designated a Titanfall point and dropped her new Titan: Zveroboy. A fitting name she thought for killing Militia. It was an Ogre class Titan, wielding her preferred 40mm gun and outfitted with cluster missiles. Her Titan collected her and put her into the cockpit.
"Squad, target all exits from this facility. Maximum ordnance."
Her Ogre lifted the 40mm over its head, ready to fire. Winters gripped both handles and pressed in on the fire controls. The 40mm fired a burst of three shells into the concrete, ripping the wall to small shards. Simultaneously, she launched a cluster missile into the fray. It erupted into several smaller explosions collapsing the entrance and part of the mountain side.
We're still inside! Hold fire! Winters' radio flared with one of the Grunts pleas.
"All units inside Hardpoint Alpha. The IMC thanks you for your service." She said grimly.
"Rooftop, secured." Barrett confirmed.
Winters turned to her right and saw Mayumi's Titan fire a rocket pod into the southern entrance. "South exit – sealed." She said remorsefully.
"Is that all of them?" Winters asked.
"There's another on the eastern side." Harper answered. "But the Marines have gotten out yet."
Winters' clenched her controls even tighter. "Stalker Four, I gave a direct order." She said slowly and menacingly.
"I know!" Harper replied. "But – but this isn't right!"
Winters pivoted her Titan to move towards Harper's position but Mayumi's Titan held up her hand. She understood what Mayumi wanted to do but Winters wouldn't allow it. Harper's weakness was not hers to bear. She pushed past Mayumi's Titan and spirited towards Harper.
"Ma'am, please just ten more seconds!" Harper pleaded.
Winters just threw a punch into Harper's Atlas sending it careening into the sand. Articulating her Titan grip on the 40mm, she aimed at the entrance making her point clear to her subordinate. When the first IMC Grunt cross the threshold, Winters fired, sweeping the Grunt off his feet and smashing the entrance. The last exit crumbled into rubble sealing the facility shut.
Harper growled, "How could you do that!?"
"We can't risk the Militia to escape." Winters said matter-of-factly.
"So you just bury everyone inside?"
"I don't need to justify myself to you. The Frontier isn't a pretty place and this war. Sacrifices must be made."
"You're horrible." Harper sniffed.
Winters snorted. She aimed her barrel at Harper's cockpit. It would've been easy for het to pull the trigger. "I told you what would happen if you didn't do what needed to be done. Effective on our return to the Colossus you're no longer apart of this squad."
Suddenly, explosions wrapped the area in fire. Harper's Titan was badly damaged and an arm flew off. The great strength of the Ogre, held Winters upright until another another explosion smashed her against a stone pillar. From her vantage point she saw a Militia Crow dropship speed by.
She tried to push her Titan upward but it wouldn't function. Winters forced the controls several times but the function in the arms wouldn't budge. Several more explosions rocked the facility as the Crow circled back around. The missiles striking Barrett's position as he blocked most of the salvo with his Vortex Shield.
Winters adjusted her view and saw that the strike was meant to blow a hole in the facility. Out of it four Militia Pilots and Ramirez hustled into an awaiting Crow. Incensed, she fired the last of her cluster missiles but the angle was wrong and it instead flew over the dropship, smashing into the side of the cliff. Ramirez and another Pilot turned to look before hurrying into the dropship.
She couldn't let him get away again and smashed the hatch open and aimed her Hemlock at the open door of the Crow. Winters fired burst after burst to no avail as the bullets collided haplessly against the D-CSAR. She was so enraged that she emptied her entire magazine anyways.
Ramirez's face twisted and he recognized her. To add insult to injury, he gave her a mock salute. Then the dropship's doors closed and the ship boosted away into a warp. Moments later, the facility burst into flame as the core exploded.
She tossed away her empty Hemlock into the sand. Winters just sat back down inside her Titan, letting the wind blow past her. They had won and stopped the Milita from getting most of the data from the base but for her the victory was hallow. Ramirez had to die and this was twice she had failed to kill him.
"Vice-Admiral Graves," Spyglass said, "My analysis of the base's archives indicates that despite our best efforts, the Militia may have obtained enough data to find a weakness in the towers."
It had come down to this then, huh Mac? You should've taken my advice and stayed gone.
"Spyglass. Notify Commander Hood at IMC Airbase Sierra; they're about to come under attack. Furthermore to start long range patrols up to twenty quadrants of Demeter around the clock! I want all ground assets in the sector on high alert! Mobilize the reserve fleet from Artemisium and tell them to set an intercept course for Demeter within the next three hours!" Graves ordered from his command chair.
