Rogue Fox Spare Your Soul
Chapter XII
Slayers Inbound
Got to live with,
live with this shame,
Turn things into positive,
Fuck the regrets,
I'm keeping my eyes on the prize in front of me,
And I will win.
LowBuz– "What's Done is Done"
The pistol was put down on the table with a powerful thump.
"This is the Tesla."
The room was dark. The complex couldn't afford to use too much power, so only a portion of the overhanging lights in the control room had been turned on. A handful of the finest soldiers that the Cornerian Army now had to offer, encircled the table. The fallout shelter of the complex was well equipped with new and experimental technology. Some had been protected from the EMP, but others had to be completely rebuilt from the ground up, as the Techs tried to get everything up and running with only what they had.
A husky warrior picked up the weapon. It was a very small pistol. Even smaller than the Blaster, it did pack at heavy punch however.
"What good is this?" She asked, as she slid it back across the table.
The officer caught it in his paw, stopping it. "The Tesla fires a circuit frying EMP."
"So?" Another one asked. "All we have is already baked. What good is this?"
The officer snapped on a hologram. It floated over the table. It was about half the size of a real figure. A suit of armour floated. "This is the Slayer Vortec. The most advanced piece of armour made. It makes the Siege, and even the Siege II, look like cr-p. This armour has been found to have no vulnerable points, except for overkill. One or two shots will not incapacitate a Slayer." He held up the glowing blue pistol. "This will. It fires at a frequency of a half million electron volts. Enough to disrupt the power supply in a Vortec, for up to a half hour, but not cripple it. And look." He picked up the gun, and fired it at a soldier across the table. The weapon shot with a high pitched whistle, and a very small blue orb hit the man in the chest.
He jumped, putting a paw over his weapon, but he did not draw it. He felt his fur stand on end, before it settled once more. "What the hell?" He felt more confused than angry.
The officer spoke again. "The Tesla does no damage what so ever to organic tissue. But it has its drawbacks. One a half million electron volts is a lot of energy. Loading a battery will give you only four shots, and an effective range of only twenty meters. Make your shots count, because if you hit a Slayer with one of these, it will slow down, it will not have armour nano-repair, and it will be weighed down by the heftiness of the suit."
"Great." A soldier said sarcastically. "We got any other weapons on them?"
X
From above, the planet looked like something out of a movie. This was no movie though. This was real. Black clouds plagued the planet, and super-cells, over three hundred kilometers in diameter wreaked their havoc on the surface. Through the darkened super storms, large craters were visible; the mark of each blast, stretching tens of kilometers in diameter scaring the surface of Corneria forever. Naval vessels crowded the orbit of the planet. They would have one shot, and one shot only to break through the boarders of the navy to hit the planet, or be destroyed even before entry into the atmosphere.
The Aparoids have come a long way. Any piece of technology, any weapon, the Aparoids could build for them. Right now, Syxx and his crew were within a Cornerian battle ship. This ship had been taken over by the virus, and looked far from stock. The outside, once clean pale grey, now had large patches of blue infectious electrical scores upon it. Parts of the ship, Aparoidian construct even grew on it, letting blue and black growths jut out from either side of the ship.
The bridge was dark, and hollow-panel was cracked. The holograms emitted a flickering image of the planet. Hundreds of ships encircled Corneria, just marked as red rectangles.
Himself, and nine other Slayers congregated around the conference table. Pyro flipped a coin in his right paw. He let it bounce off the table. It jumped, and flew right back into his glove. There was sense of tension in the room. They didn't like it. They were outnumbered one-hundred to one, and going into battle with nothing but the single ship. A rifle wouldn't help in this fight, and they could feel vulnerable.
Syxx sat up at the head of the table. "Six of the ten that are here will be going to the surface. Anyone have a problem with that?"
Cobalt rustled anxiously. "Anything to get off this ship."
"The teams will consist of Cobalt, Reaver, Blair. Hit Metro. Find any stragglers, or strongholds that might be left in and around the area. Remember to stay bundled up. The armour is only thing keeping you safe from the radiation. Myself, Max, and Pyro will take Corneria City. We will be doing the same thing. Make sure that you investigate the military complexes. They are the most likely to have strong holds. Do not enter though, this is recon only. Most likely they will have the area locked down, with mines, and other explosives, as well as fixed gun position, and snipers. Look for signs of activity, and report back."
"Roger that."
"Affirmative."
Pyro chewed on a brown cigar on the side of his mouth. "We'll be taking the pods down. They're quick; it's easy to avoid any weapons fire."
Syxx turned and spoke to the pilot, Weaver. She was in charge of the ship. "How long until we are in range?"
"We're on the outer limit of their detection. They should be spotting us at any moment now." She turned to the engineer on the ship. They would be lucky if they could fly this craft with so little deck hands, but they were trained for it. "Bring engines up to eighty-percent."
The Slayer at the console tapped at the touch screens. "Roger that. Adjusting engines output." The vulpine at the controls paused. "Speed."
Weaver, though technically the captain, still had to be at a control station, because of their shortage of deck hands. She operated the detections. She bit her lip. "Yeah, here it is. We've been detected, and they are scanning for signature. Once they realize, we've got Aparoidian Construct on board, they'll open fire when we are in range."
"How long?" Syxx growled, asking again.
"I can have you in range of drop in ten minutes."
"Good enough."
"Just know, as soon as we are in deployment range… we're also in weapons range. I'll try to give you the protection you need, but no promises."
"Understood." Syxx yipped quickly. "Alright, listen up. We deploy in ten. Mount up Slayers!"
All the Slayers got up from which they were sitting or leaning on walls. Helmets went on heads, and gloves slipped over paws. Pyro tossed Syxx's helmet at him. The vulpine caught it into his chest. He brushed off the silvery visor. It was marked, and the finish had been taken off many of the plates of the armour, and it deteriorated, not having regular or proper maintenance. He looked into the helmet, pulling it around his visor, and pulling the back onto his head, and the red HUD that lay over his left eye. It was nearly pitched back for a moment, before the hiss of the armour connecting rang through his helmet. The HUD flashed bright red, and the armour pixelated, and folded into the corner of the HUD, all was green now. He touched the Night Knife over his chest, making sure it was still there, and he felt the sub-machine Mapaw, resting on a hook at his side. For as much as he was concerned about the drop, he was ready for war.
He followed Pyro out of the control room, and down the stairs. It was a fast paced jog, through the hull of the ship. The silver steel was tainted with blue veins that run through the walls, and the doors. A blue door opened, and they entered a dark room. In this room, there were about three dozen silver pods that hung onto each wall. Syxx, knew that there were more rooms were this had come from. There were many drop pods here.
Syxx, Pyro, and Max all found pods right next to each other's. The black fox slipped into one of the pods. He pulled down the harness, and pulled out a lever. The glass door in front of him shut solid. In fact, the entire front of the pod was glass. The metallic inside reflected the blue glow of the infection. He looked to his left, seeing two rifles, and a few grenades attached inside the chamber.
Syxx opened the communications grid. "Standing by."
It was a while before Weaver responded. "Roger that. Prepare for drop. Two minutes."
"Affirmative."
Pyro held the shoulder harness hard in his chamber. "Hey Syxx… ever dropped in one of these before?"
"Besides in training? No."
Weaver came over the comm. again. "Ninety seconds."
Pyro took a deep breath. "I mean, isn't there a lot of calculations to hit the surface in the desired spot?"
Syxx, leanded back into the padded wall. "Weaver and I took care of them."
"Double checked?"
"Tripple." The fox quickly replied.
"Thirty seconds." Weaver said from the control room.
"Copy." The Slayer quickly replied.
Syxx tightened his grasp on the handles. He grit his teeth, leaving his eyes open. The ship rumbled lightly, and then shook. The vulpine felt his teeth rattle. All the lights went dead. When he thought the moment had passed, the entire ship shook again, violently. He could hear the sounds of the ships guns knocking. He felt the vibration of every shot as it was fired.
He growled. "Weaver! We are standing by for deployment!"
"Negative Syxx! My control to your part of the ship has been cut off. You will have to opt for manual release!"
Syxx pulled his paw up to the handle on the roof. "Everyone hear that!" He barked. "Manual drop! Wait for my word!" Syxx grit his teeth hard as the world around him shook. From inside the pod, in the room he saw sparks, and smoke fill the drop station. He nearly yelled into the mic. "Standing by!"
The replay was quick and crisp. "Ten seconds!"
The vulpine braced himself. He put his paw up to the small ceiling of the drop pod. He turned the handle, and felt it unlock. He rolled his fingers across the handle, and awaited the signal. It felt like the longest ten seconds of his life, but before he knew it, it was time.
"Deploy now!" Weaver said over the comm.
Syxx barked into the headset. "Green light! Green Light!"
The vulpine pulled in on the handle as hard as could, and satisfyingly it gave way to his might. It felt like his stomach had been lifted out of him. He griped on the handles as his heart wrenched out of his chest. The pod fell quickly into space, and for a moment all was completely silent, until the small, but powerful jets on the pods ignited, and he felt the speed immediately increase. There was no flying the craft. There was just holding on, and hoping for the best. If it entered the atmosphere in as little as three degrees off the angle of attack, the shuttle would burn from the outside in, casting him to oblivion.
He could feel his own pod rumble as battle ships lit up their guns. He tried to look up at the ship he had just left, but he couldn't see that far upward. He could only see the planet racing toward him, and the sight of dozens of ships of all sizes, from cruisers to fighters pass right by him.
He truly did feel helpless. All he could do was hold on.
The pod bolted past the guns of the last ship, bursting through the orbital field of the planet. The shuttle hurtled toward the now orange-ish shaded and black spotted planet below. The shuttle soon warmed, increasingly, and ever faster with every kilometer he got closer. He could no longer see the darkness of space around him, but the full on view of the planet. The atmosphere of the planet cooked the shuttle. He watched the glass at the base of the window burn as he entered the atmosphere. The whistling above his head stopped as the jets ran out of fuel. His heart leaped as the shuttle let out a mighty thump, and it wobbled, before flying perfectly true. He knew the overhead engine had blown off to keep the craft from becoming top heavy. A larger one on the bottom would soon ignite.
Syxx watched blackness creep up the glass as the shell burned. "I think something is wrong." He said almost calmly. "Anybody else burning up?"
Max was the first to answer. "Mine is too. The atmosphere on Corneria has changed… but I think it might just be photonic residue."
Syxx crossed his fingers, hoping that the blackness was just that. When he looked down again, he saw the engines below him fire, before the blackness crept up further. The last thing he saw below himself was falling toward dark clouds. He looked straight ahead realizing he was falling through a red sky. The residue burned further up the glass, and soon he was completely blind. He had no idea where he was falling to.
He waited for over a minute in silence, and in fear. He felt a heavy tug on the harness, as the craft slowed down exponentially, but maybe not slow enough. The vulpine grit his teeth hard, closed his eyes, and tucked his chin into his neck. All at once he felt like he came to a complete stop. The fox could hear the ground crushed beneath him. His teeth rattled in his skull, and the wind was knocked out of his chest. His head pounded in pain for a moment, but that quickly passed.
He listened for a moment in the silence, hearing small rocks and fragments on the ground around him, land and roll. The first thing he felt for was the SMG that he had put at his side. The vulpine grabbed the pistol grip, and held it in his right paw only. Syxx took a deep breath. He pulled a lever, and the hatch hissed, but didn't open. He tightened the grip on the weapon, not knowing quite what to see on the other side of the plastered glass. He pressed his back to the leather backing on the pod, and with a furious kick the door flew off the hinges. Syxx followed right behind. Leaping out with the SMG at his waist, and his other arm ready with his paw and forearm in front, he was ready for anything that lie ahead.
The vulpine waited for the dust to clear around him. He couldn't see a thing. He stepped forward slowly stumbling on some rubble, and quickly regaining his footing. He couldn't tell if he was outside. The vulpine moved his paw around a wall, and found a door knob. He acquired the door with feel only. He put the gun to his chest, and kicked in the door. He was greeted by light. He quickly got on the other side of the door, and closed it. When he turned he noticed he was in a stairwell. He looked over the crippled railing to the well below. Thousands of pounds of rubble lay below. He turned his glance upward, expecting to see and ceiling, but only blood red sky.
His jaw dropped within his helmet, as he ascended up the remaining stairs, and reached the top of the building. Well, it wasn't quite the top. It was the top of what was left of the building. It was what was left of an office. Some of the cubicles still remained standing on the top of this building. The rug was covered with debris, cement, twisted steel, and among other things, bodies. All of which by now were rotting in the radioactive environment. This floor wasn't completely flat, portions of this floors walls still remained intact as bent steel failed in its attempt to keep the walls upright. In one corner of the building this floor had collapsed to three below it, and Syxx could feel that the building was on an angle.
The vulpine walked over to the North edge of the (for all intents and purposes was) the roof of the structure. The blast had come from the south, and literally just pushed the top half of the building over. He could see it scattered below on the roads of Corneria city, beneath all the other ones.
That was when it hit him. This… this was Corneria. The Lylatian capital. The vulpine held the weapon hard at his side, surveying all the chaos and damage. He stared out over the city. White ash covered everything, dozens of trails of smoke led up into the sky, and black clouds covered the horizon, only a mask of Solar shone in the sky. Buildings, nothing but wreckage, and many of the streets carried a current of dirty sea water from the close by ocean. He now stands on one of the tallest buildings that remained in the city.
Something tugged at his heart. Something he had never felt in years it seemed like. He felt shame. He knew he was condemned now. He had to live with this shame, live with this regret. Above all, he had to keep his eyes on the prize.
The vulpine took a deep breath, and looked down. A body lay face down at his feet, he kicked it over. The ash fell off its back, and it turned to reveal a disfigured and rotted face of what he thought to be another fox. The muzzle was nothing but bone and patches of flesh, and his eyes had rotted from his skull, leaving nothing but brown holes in his face. Dried blood covered his patched neck down to his mutilated torso.
The black fox looked at him for a short moment, and with a push of his boot, sent the body over the edge of the building. He didn't watch it fall. He heard bones snap and flash rip as he sent the limp body off the edge of the building, to bounce off any obtrusions from the building and to land on the ruins of the street below.
He laughed. "I will win."
A soft breeze fluttered the ash around him, rolling it over his boots. He stared out over the horizon on the city, before quickly spinning around. He stepped toward the center of the build; right where his pod landed. He hit almost dead center. He came to edge of the gaping hole in the center of the roof top. He looked two stories downward to see the smoldering pod.
Syxx took a deep breath, and activated his communication channel with the blink of an eye. "This is Syxx. I've made it to the surface of Corneria. Does anyone copy?"
He waited a moment, but there was no reply. It was silent.
"Sh-t." He growled, and kicked a rock down the hole of the floor.
He went back to edge of the building. Though there were many trails of smoke in the sky, it was impossible to tell which one could be from a pod. His own didn't leave a trail at all; just a dusted hole in the building, but that had already cleared as well.
He spoke again. "Does anyone copy?"
A signal came in choppy, and the voice on the other line coughed. "This is Max." He coughed again. "I'm on the surface."
"What's your status?"
"I'm shaken, but overall I'm ok. What's your position Syxx?"
"I'm in the city center. You see the tall buildings that are left?"
It took a moment for him to reply. "I see them."
Syxx held up his rifle tall in the air. "I'm on the tower furthest to the East."
Another moment passed. "Roger that. I'm on the move."
"Have you made contact with Pyro?"
"Negative. I saw a pod drop after I got my door off. It looked like it landed in the Northern Corridor of the city."
Syxx turned, looking toward the North. "Affirmative. Hoof it over to my position, and we'll take a look."
"Copy that. I'm mobile. See you in ten."
"Out." Syxx shut down the channel.
The building was now only perhaps twenty stories high. A dwarf to what is had been before the blast. The vulpine began to head down the stairwell. He climbed over all the rubble and debris that had piled up to get to his pod. From it, he collected the two rifles that were inside, extra mags, and the grenades. He slung the two rifles over his back. The two weapons crossed over his armour. He continued down the stairs. Sometimes, he had to swing from the railing and jump down an additional level, and other times he would have to stop and move debris off the stairs, so he could continue onward, but soon he neared the bottom floor.
The black Slayer neared the doors that would lead him out of the stairwell, and into the lobby. It was hard to operate with thermal vision down here, when everything was cold, and there was absolutely no light what so ever to work with. He did most of the way by feel. When he came to the door, he tried to open it, but it was locked. Three steel dead bolts kept him inside.
He was about to kick the door, but a sliver of a sound caught his attention. He spun around like he never had before. He had been in combat a lot, but it was dark down here. The sound frightened him, he couldn't see even with the heat vision. He kept his back against the door, and heard the rifles grind against the stone as he strafed. He could hear something. He could hear it moving, and crawling around, as it bumped into things.
He moved the muzzle of the weapon around in the darkness, but he couldn't see anything. He pressed his back hard against the door, when he thought he would jump out of his fur, when a hard BANG BANG BANG came from the other side.
"Syxx? Hey you in there?" He heard a voice from behind the door.
He put his paw on his forehead, taking a deep breath as his light headedness passed. "Max? Get me out of here." He remained calm. "I don't think I am alone."
"You ok?"
"Now Max!"
"Roger that!" The voice said. "Stand clear of the door Syxx."
"Copy. Standing by."
Syxx listened on the other side of the door as he heard packs opening, and the clicking of objects.
The black fox repeated himself. "Standing by." His voice sounded impatient.
"Fire in the hole!" Max quickly yipped. The door blew off the hinges in a quick blast of pressure and air. The Slayer came around the corner entering the small stairwell with his rifle drawn. "Breaching! Breaching!"
Syxx kept close to the wall, and exited the room. He glanced down at his feet as movement caught his eye. He froze in mid step. "Whoa!"
Rats off all shapes and sizes ran past his feet. They scattered in the lobby, each looking for its own new dark place to hide.
Max stepped into the lobby. "Gross… what do they have left to eat?"
"Bodies." Syxx stated, emotionlessly.
"Yuck."
Syxx stepped away from Max, and out into the streets. "You alright?"
"I've had better days."
"No word on Pyro yet?" Syxx asked.
"Like I said. I saw a pod land in the Northern Corridor of the city." Max looked at the rifles on Syxx's back. "You look battle ready."
He almost laughed. "Just counter-measures." Syxx tightened his helmet, to ensure no radiation could be getting in through the seal. "Let's move out then. See if he's still kicking."
"Hold on."
Syxx turns around on his heel. "What?"
"I don't know who's left in this city. I don't know who survived. I do know one thing though. The city is controlled by militia's. Now, they are small and scattered, but still are dangerous. We better watch it. They hide at the tops of buildings, and wait until someone walks by, and then they jump them."
Syxx turned again, looking toward the North. "Well, let's see if we can get there without that happening." He looked into the street. Everything covered in ash, overturned cars filled the street around him, and some parts were completely blocked off by collapsed buildings. All was silent. He could still remember how this city used to buzz with life. Now everything didn't move, like it was stuck in a destructive time.
Max nodded quickly. They both raise their weapons to their shoulders, and run into the street, disappearing in the haze of the toxic planet.
