Delta Flyer-Class shuttlecraft Osiris, 200 kilometers from Anvil Gate, near Anvigad, Kashkur

2 years after the sinking of Jacinto


The Osiris was a smooth bird, though the reason the ship was given to Delta wasn't because it was the biggest shuttle: the Ra Cailum had dozens of Danube and Yellowstone-Class runabouts, which were bigger and more powerful.

No, it was because of their squad's title. DELTA Squad. "So, there a reason we're only going at subsonic speeds?"

At the helm, Larcei turned the shuttle to port. "The Ra Cailum's been picking up movement from Anvil Gate to other settlements, as well as non-human lifesigns attacking these ports of call."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning, Baird, we're going in to rescue whoever's under attack by the grubs, pick up whatever they were planning to bring back to Anvil Gate and head to the fort ourselves. Just because it never fell during the last war doesn't mean the Locust can't get in. Plus it might be worth making an olive branch."

"Sounds like a plan," Jaden said, restocking his ammo. "…out of curiosity, which do you think is worse: Locust or Lambent?"

"Doesn't matter if we just kill them."

"Speaking of killing, listen to this." Larcei activated the comm, and in came a familiar voice.

"—hold them off as long as I can! This is Truck 54! Anyone out there?!"

Marcus pressed a finger to his ear. "I'll be damned. Dizzy, that you?"

"Marcus Fenix?! I'll be a monkey's uncle; where are you, son?"

"Board one of those fancy Starfleet shuttles. Hang tight, Dizzy. We're coming in at full speed."

Larcei nudged the throttle forward slightly, accelerating the shuttle to mach 1.7. "ETA to Dizzy's position: three minutes. Get loaded up: I'll provide air cover from the shuttle. Good luck, guys… and Jaden, don't die out there."

Jaden looked insulted "Larcei, you know as well as I that I am very hard to kill." He said, before smirking as he kissed her quickly before putting his helmet on. "Geronimo!"

"Wait is he-" the hatch to the Delta Flyer dropped open, before Jaden leaped out, following a several hundred meter drop… which was accompanied by some music, as he slammed fist-first into a Locust.

Blood and bone exploded from the Locust drone's head before Jaden rolled, firing his MA37 at the Locust before the Osiris flew down, the rest of Delta jumping out of the shuttle. "Let's go, Delta!" Lancer fire impacted Theron Guards with more ornate armor, killing the Locust while the Gears took cover, taking advantage of the walking distraction. "Kill the humans!"

Marcus groaned as he heard the unwelcome and familiar female voice as a large insect flew in. Queen Myrrah was on its' back, wearing war armor."No. She fucking drowned in the Hollow!"

"Well actually, she fled on a Reaver," Jaden said. "I don't believe someone's dead till I see the body…" He opened fire on the flying beast the Queen rode on. "…let's correct that, shall we?"

The massive war beetle just took the bullets, shielding the bitch from everything: bullets, Boomshot rounds, even a phaser strike from Baird's new phaser rifle. "The fuck!?"

"We're going to need more firepower to kill this thing! Osiris, can you hit that fucking beetle?"

"I can hurt it, but the Osiris' weapons aren't exactly suited for shit like this: Sonja actually downgraded the weapons in favor of engine and shield power!"

Marcus ducked into a building before the beetle opened its' mouth, firing off a beam of heat. "Delta, that thing's using a high-power IR wave!"

"We noticed! Drive it off!"

The Osiris flew towards the creature as it fired off its main weapons - strafing the beast. It growled, as it began chasing after the shuttle - as Larcei allowed it to follow her, to draw it away from the others.

The Gears emerged from cover, Jaden snapping a Theron's neck as he joined them. "Ok, I hate bugs."

"Yeah, that's because humans are hardwired to react to things that scuttle—"

"Shut up, Baird."

Dizzy whooped, swinging his arms around before clapping a hand on Marcus' shoulder. "Nice timing, boys! Saved my ass! Not that I ain't happy to see you, but what are ya doing here? Thought you were with Michaelson on his boat!"

"We need to get to Hoffman, Dizzy," Jaden replied. "Got some intel for him."

"Yeah, he's still around! Commanding the fort! I run supplies between here and the other camps, when I can get past the grubs, that is." Baird held up the decoder for the datadisk. "Does Hoffman still have that datadisk? The one I couldn't crack?"

Dizzy laughed. "Sure he does. Still cussin' about it, too! Say, you got the magic words to break it open?"

"Oh, yeah. Come on, Dizz, let's get the ammo. Osiris, come in."

"I'm here, Marcus. Myrrah was NOT happy to see the shuttle, and I had to use concussive shots to make her piss off. How's Dizzy?"

"Dizzy's fine - seems he's been running supplies between camps these days."

"I got ammo that needs deliverin' to the fort, little lady! Mind giving me a hand?" The Osiris flew overhead before putting down and the rear hatch opened up. "Take every gun and bullet. I'll get us to the fort inside an hour."

Marcus looked inside the massive arms store, finding a set of VERY special weapons among the more common Lancers and such.

Five Mk 4 Long-range Anti-armor/materiel recoilless rifles, commonly and more popularly known as Oneshots. And they had ammo.

"Oh, I'm going to enjoy this."


As the Osiris took off half an hour later, Myrrah watched the shuttle take off. "Marcus Fenix, you foolish boy. I will not allow you to get one step closer to your father." She urged the Tempest forward, and to fire its' 'beam' at the shuttlecraft.

It did no damage, much to her dislike.

However, it made its pilot annoyed. "OK, that needs to stop," Larcei remarked. "Osiris to Ra Cailum Actual, the Locust Queen is back and in some kind of Reaver-like thing that's taking potshots at us. She isn't getting through the shields, but it is getting annoying. Can we get some fire support?"

"We see it. Firing phasers."

A lance of light impacted the Tempest, sending it crashing to the ground, though it didn't kill either the Tempest or its' rider. "She's down. Anything else?"

"Not right now, Commander. I'll call when we need help."

The Osiris banked before Cole spotted something. "Oooh boy. Marcus, we got trouble!"

"Yeah, I see. Ra Cailum, we got a fuckton of Locust on the march to Anvil Gate. I think we need to brighten their days."

"Targeting data, please. I can't blindfire on a starship."

"I'll fire off a probe into the middle of their formation," Larcei informed, hitting a few buttons to reconfigure the launcher, then sending the probe out as a targeting beacon.

It landed in the middle of their formation. Soon after, five lances of light impacted the Locust convoy. However, a sixth hit the Osiris. "Corpsa, what the fuck?!"

"Malfunction in the firing system and targeting scanners! We haven't used the phasers in over two years!"

"Dammit!" Larcei yelled. "That blast knocked out the impulse engines! We're going down!"

"Baird, can you slow this thing down?!"

"Oh, it'll slow RIGHT down. When we crash." The Delta Flyer-Class shuttle slammed into the ground, but as the shuttle was harder, it survived. The ground did not.

The shuttle ended up at the end of a thirty-foot trench, about ten feet deep at its end point.

"Fuck, what is this thing made of? A Raven would be scrap metal by now!"

Larcei coughed as she exited the cockpit. "Duranium alloy with a LOT of tritonium reinforcing plates. My uncle wanted this thing to be a tank. And it is."

"I'll say," Jaden remarked. "Not even Pelicans are armored this well."

Lights shined on the Osiris' outer hull before Marcus opened the outer hatch. He had a Lancer shoved in his face before its' user, Colonel Hoffman, lowered it. "Fenix? What the hell—"

"Not now, Colonel: There's a grub army on the way to Anvil Gate. And this thing needs a tow."

"I can fix the AGFG, but the engines are shot," Larcei informed. "Mind giving us a tow back to Anvil Gate, Colonel?"

"Uh… right," Hoffman replied. "If there's grubs on the way, we might need that thing, even if the engines are busted - park it behind the gate and shoot at anything that comes in."

A tow cable was wrapped around the shuttle before it was dragged out, though it took four Packhorses to get it moving before the AG field activated, allowing it to hover above the ground.

"I'm guessing you didn't come halfway around the world to inquire on my health, Fenix."

"Sorry to say we didn't. You still got that disk you took from Prescott?"

Both of them stepped into a Packhorse, and Hoffman drove them back to Anvil Gate.

"Yeah, I do. Why?"

"It's got data on some place called Azura. Prescott gave me the data key this morning… just before he died."

"Prescott's dead?"

"Took a bullet to the heart. His last dying words were literally to send us after you, get the disk and retake Azura."

Hoffman was silent. "Fenix, that was the freakiest shit I've heard, and I have no idea what to say. That's a first for me."


USS Ra Cailum


Takeshi looked at the damage the phasers did to the invading army. It thinned their numbers down, but a malfunction in the secondary core made the ship target the Osiris. He wasn't happy.

"I want those things double-checked, triple-checked, quadruple-checked, quintuple-checked, even hextuple-checked if you have to!" he ordered. "I do not want that happening again!"

"Commander, we've been working on it since the damn thing fired off. Remember, we haven't used the phasers in two years; hell, Sonja's engineering crews labelled them 'non-essential' thanks to construction of the colony ships. So, if you want to blame someone, blame Commander Henderson, sir."

"That's an excuse. Get it done." The tactical officers walked off.

"A phaser nearly kills an away team, you don't care. A phaser nearly kills your daughter, you get mad. Double standards, Takeshi?"

"Maybe," Takeshi replied. ""Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. We all have our faults."

Luna shrugged. "Sad to say that we've been neglecting our jobs. Ron's depression caused everything to go straight to hell, which made US care less. I'm glad to see Ron back in action."

"Me, too," Takeshi replied. "Hopefully now we'll be able to finish this mess sooner rather than later."

"Pinkerton to bridge: evac from Sovereign's wreck site is complete. Delta-Two is requesting beam out to Anvil Gate."

"What about you, Ron?"

"I'm not feeling too good. I'm going to beam back to the ship and pay a visit to sick bay."

"Copy that, sir. See you back on board."

"Takeshi has command until I come back. Pinkerton out."

"Understood," Takeshi replied, before he sighed. "Great… in charge of not just a ship of 2500, but most likely the entire fleet… I hope Ron gets back soon."

"Could be worse. You could've failed standard command officer classes."

"Luna, I DID fail standard command officer's classes. I didn't take command of the Murasame because of that."

Luna smirked. "You're screwed."


Anvil Gate


Baird quickly decrypted the disk, getting data on Azura streaming before their eyes. "There we go: Azura. No maps, but plenty of data and pictures."

"It's an island. How the hell do you hide an island?"

"If this were our universe, I'd wonder if it was cloaked," Larcei remarked. "But the largest cloaking technology I've seen you all field is on things like JACK."

"More of Prescott's top secret bullshit! What the hell's a Maelstrom Barrier?"

At the mentioning, a hurricane appeared around the island.

"Weather control technology. So primitive yet equally advanced as we are. Make up your goddamn minds."

"You're joking, right? No one can control the weather."

Larcei smirked. "When we manage to get back to our universe, remind me to show you around Risa. It was originally a geologically unstable rain-soaked world. And it still would be, if not for the geologic stabilizers and weather control systems to make it the main tropical resort world in the United Federation of Planets."

"Can we beam in?"

"No. EM interference would screw with the targeting sensors. You could end up underground or in the air, 50 feet up."

"Meaning the only way in is by getting under the storm. Would a shuttle get through?"

Larcei and Jaden shared a look before they shook their heads. "No, we need a sub. Mostly because if we damage ANOTHER shuttle, Ron would kill us."

"Well, there's an old sub laid up at the shipyard in Endeavor…" Hoffman posited.

"Yeah, if it's seaworthy, if you can get the motors running, and if you can fuel it," Baird informed.

"That's where I come in." Dizzy removed his hat, straightening out his do-rag before putting it back on. "I may not look it, but I was merchant marine. If there's a sub, I can fix it. We just need to find the gas."

"We could make a stop at Mercy, or Char. Either one's our best bet." Marcus didn't look happy about the former. It was Maria's hometown.

"What's at each place?" Larcei asked.

"Imulsion pumping stations. One was hit pretty hard by the Hammer strikes."

"The other was Maria's hometown. You sure you're ok with it?"

"I'm fine, Marcus. I'm over it. We need the fuel."

"Alright, I'll fix up the Osiris. We can clear the road ahead for your trucks. Or I could ask for the Isis. That thing's phasers are more powerful, in case the bitch returns."

"Might as well ask for the Isis, and have Sonja fix the Osiris," Jaden remarked.

"Done."


"They broke my shuttle."

"Myrrah did some damage, but it was a computer malfunction that caused the Osiris to take a hit. They're requesting the Isis for heavier combat duty. The colony ships are ready for habitation, so most of the engineering crews are heading back to the ship to do major overhauls of the computer before we head out."

"Cassie, remind me to hit those two when we leave. Get Sonja to fix the Osiris and bring it back up here."

"Understood, Captain," Cassie replied.

"And prep the Ra-Horakhty for launch." He injected a shot of painkillers into his body. "I'm going to start killing things."


The Isis landed a few hours later, Sonja jumping out of the craft and smacking Larcei upside the head before heading for the Osiris. "Seriously? It wasn't my fault!"

"Don't care; your uncle's pissed! So pissed he's heading down to deal with that incoming Locust army. In person."

"Should I be afraid for the Locust, Commander?"

"Nah, probably not," Sonja replied. "Worried about potential collateral? Maybe - he's considering having me push The Button once he's down there."

Larcei paled.

Marcus spoke for the COG when he approached. "Button?"

"He's got an aggression inhibitor in his head. The Button shuts it off."

The Ra-Horakhty then flew overhead, heading for the Locust before the ground began shaking. "The fuck?"

Marcus shoved a Lancer into Sonja's hand before calling out. "STALKS!"

The plant-like forms of the Lambent emerged from the ground, spitting out Lambent Locust of all kinds, including one they didn't want.

"BERSERKER!" came the cry. And indeed, it was one of the powerful Berserker Locust, made even stronger by becoming Lambent.

One of the eyes was covered and the ribcage was glowing. "Baird! We need the Hammer of Dawn!"

"Oh, NOW you want me to operate the Hammer of Dawn!"

"We have a Lambent Berserker!"

Alarm bells practically went off as Baird began working inside. "Get inside! I've got limited control, and it ain't accurate!"

"We're working on it!" Larcei called out.

"It's firing!" Red light landed, impacting the ground. "RUN!"


"The Hammer? Targeting sensors haven't been working since Jacinto's sinking. Who the fuck was stupid enough to fire it?"

"Baird, when we get inside, we're going to kill you!"

Ron chuckled. "Rhetorical question. Ra Cailum, give me targeting control for the ventral phaser arrays."

"It's yours, Ron," came Cassie's reply.

The Hammer strikes killed every Lambent outside the fort sans the Zerker, but Ron had something far more powerful than the Hammer.


Marcus panted as he shut the gates. The Hammer converged on the Zerker, impacting it and making it scream. "How's that, you fucking bitch?!"

"Ok, let's get ready for the—" Something impacted the gate, and it wasn't happy. "Oh, COME ON! Even the Hammer can't kill that thing?!"

"I know something that can." The Zerker jumped into the fort, but a light shone down on it. "Hey, bitch! I'ma firin' my phaser! BLARG!" A thin orange beam impacted the Zerker, causing it to scream as it was torn in half before it exploded.

"You're fucking welcome. I'll deal with the Locust. Get to Azura."

"R-right," Larcei replied.

"Want me to hit the Button, Ron?" Sonja asked.

"Do it. I'll be busy."

The Ra-Horakhty turned and flew off, heading for the Locust.

"So, Mercy's our first stop?"

"Yeah, ours. Carmine, go with Baird and Cole. Sub or not, we're going to need reinforcements to take Azura back."

Cole smirked. "No. Cole, we're not going back there."

"If they got people, I don't care where you go." Marcus walked over to a Packhorse, which was being loaded with a vulcan cannon and a metric fuckton of ammo. Anya got into the back of his truck. "Anya, I think you should stay here."

"Marcus, I stayed behind for almost 20 years. Not again. This time, you've got me on your side."

"Huh."

The Isis then took off, flying off ahead of them. "We'll clear the area ahead of you."

"Right. Let's move."


It took several hours, but the trip to Mercy was rather boring. Many burned corpses dotted the roads leading to the town, citing Larcei's work. But that meant little as the group entered the outskirts of Mercy. "Ok, something's very wrong. This is a major Imulsion pumping station."

"And yet it's practically empty. No people, no bodies, no nothing," Larcei said.

"Place was busier then a fiddler's elbow a few months back!"

"Can't've been the grubs. Too bad Pinkerton's dealing with the Locust at Anvil Gate, or I'd ask him for help. Jace, stay with Dizzy and guard the rig. Spartan, you're with us. Larcei, air cover in case the Locust show up."

"I'll keep an eye out."

The Isis took off, orbiting the town.

"Alright, let's find a way to turn on the fuel pumps," Jaden said.

The Gears entered the town, finding something on the pipeline: a capsule. With a timer. "Oh, crap."

"A bomb. Might be motion activated."

"No, detonator's radio-controlled. Meaning we just need to..." Jaden reached for the bomb and flicked a switch. "Turn it off."

"That sounded ominous. Come on, let's go. And keep an eye out for more bombs."

They found two more. "This isn't a trap," Dom said. "This is sabotage."

"Someone wants to blow up the town. Why?"

A bullet impacted Jaden's shields, fired from a common Hammerburst. "Hold your fire! We're Gears! Gears!"

"Get your hands off those goddamn charges!"

"Are you responsible for this?! Why the hell are you doing this?!"

"I gotta stop this damn thing from spreadin'!" the old man with the Hammerburst yelled back. "Just let me get on with the job!"

"The fuck is he talking about?"

"How the hell should I know what it is?! It's-it's-it's some kinda fever!" He tried to close a door. "People started screaming, burning up, fighting, turning crazy! I gotta stop it!" He ran off, screaming.

"Come on! We need to know where you put more charges!"

"I heard that over your radios," Larcei informed. "I don't know about you guys but that… that almost sounded like some of the things we saw at Nexus."

"Crazy bastard. Towns folk are probably hiding from him."

Jaden's eyes narrowed slightly, glancing back where the charges were. "...if those charges stayed on, would it effect the pumps?"

"Well if you detonate them, yeah - but just sitting there they won't-hey!" Dom saw him flick the charge back on. "What are you-"

"Something doesn't feel right… " he glanced around, "I'm resetting these charges so they'll go off when I say so… on the off chance that old man ain't crazy."

"We'll find out. Come on, let's get inside. Larcei, get in contact with your uncle: we might need that unkillable bastard here."

"I'm… going to take a raincheck on that. Anvil Gate's reporting that he's fighting with a Berserker. And winning. He actually tore the damn thing's arm off."

The Gears shared a worried look while Jaden just laughed. "I'm really beginning to hate that guy."


Mercy was turning out to be merciless, as the Gears uncovered as they entered the sewers, finding the old man's body, torn apart with scratch marks. "Ah, fuck. Lambent animals again?" Sam shuddered, remembering as a Lambent bull nearly killed her.

With both the horns AND its' explosion.

"I don't think it's just animals… " Jaden mused, looking at the deceased man. He pulled out his M90 Shotgun.

"We need to give ourselves some breathing room. Spartan, you're on your own. Anya, you're with me. Sam, go with Dom."

The Gears were slow to adopt personal shielding from Starfleet, and Jaden was a walking tank only rivaled by the scary bastard at Anvil Gate.

Moaning was heard nearby, and the Gears moved out, pointing their weapons ahead of them before they found the source: a woman, kneeling facing a pipe. "Miss? Are you alright?"

Marcus extended his hand to turn her around, but the woman turned, showing black skin and glowing eyes.

"She's Lambent! It's spread to humans!"

The Lambent human jumped towards Marcus - but she quickly met a faceful of his Gnasher Shotgun, however they heard additional cries in the distance. "Gears! We've got company!" Jaden shouted, with a blast from his own shotgun heard in the distance. "Lambent Humans! A shitton of them!"

"Don't waste your bullets! Use your Lancers!" Marcus fired up the chainsaw after replacing the Grasher, firing it up. As soon as the formers touched the bayonet, they exploded in a cloud of dust.

"Fuck! Carmine had a point about those fucking helmets!" Jaden was suddenly grateful for the helmet. "Ok, let's get the hell out of here! Larcei, call up the Ra Cailum! Get that doctor of yours on the horn!"

"What's wrong, Marcus?"

"We got Lambent humans! Patch in Dizzy and Jace, too!"

"Hang on. Ra Cailum Medical is patched in."

The voice of the scary doctor piped in as soon as they ran out of the sewers. "Ra Cailum Medical Services: from cuts and scrapes to major diseases. How may I help you?" Dom rolled his eyes before Marcus climbed out into the light. "Doc, we got Lambent humans."

"And you're worried. Relax: your exposure's minimal. You're in a fucking Imulsion town, Fenix. It's simple to put two and two together."

"Imulsion takes time to convert you," Jaden said, "These people have been around the shit day in and day out. Its no wonder they were infected quicker than the rest of us."

"Years. Hell, decades. And that shit's only getting worse. As soon as you get tingling in your arms and legs, you're fucked. Your exposure's been so limited, it's not even funny."

"Fuck the fuel: we need to rearm those charges. We can stop in at Char, and the Stranded can kiss my ass. Hell, if we really need to, we'll just use one of Pinkerton's shuttles."

In theory, a Type-8 shuttle could go underwater for weeks. That was just an option they didn't want to use.

Ron was mad enough.


Jace and Dizzy awaited the supply of fuel to the tanker before they got a call from Larcei about the Formers. Jace's first reaction?

"Fuck this shit; I'd rather deal with the goddamn Stranded or worse, Mr. Unkillable."

"I hear'y kid," Dizzy said, before they heard the sound of roars in the distance… and they weren't Lambent. "Aww hell… Marcus! We've got more trouble!"

"What is it, Dizzy?" Bullets slammed into the tanker. "Fuck! We got grubs!" "We're coming, Dizzy! Cover the tanker! We're still going to need it!"

"We're still gonna need fuel to get to Endeavour!" "We'll head to Char. Fuck the Stranded. We'll deal with them."


Dom had left his tags and Maria's necklace at the family grave. They did manage to get some fuel pumping before it seized up, but it was enough to get them out of Mercy. "My great idea to come here. Sorry, guys."

"It's not your fault," Marcus shook his head, as they ran towards where Dizzy and Jace waited. "Come on, we've still got a mission to do."

They emerged on a rooftop, near the entrance to the town. "Marcus, come on! We're good to go!"

An explosion down the tunnel caught their attention, and Locust poured out of the tunnel.

"Aw, fuck! Cover the tanker!"

"DIG!"

A Boomer with a strange weapon fired it, a creature digging underground before it emerged in front of Jaden, exploding in his face.

"Fuck!"

"Hold them off! Isis, we need air support!"

Phaser and micro-torpedo fire hit the enemy forces. "Doing what I can, but there's no end to them!" Larcei called. "You need to get to the trucks and get moving!"

"There's too many of them!"

"Hold them off! Just hold them off!"

Dom's shotgun ran out of ammo, and a Stalk emerged from the ground before knocking him to the ground near the tanker, which had been unhooked from the fuel container.

Jaden watched as Dom climbed into the truck. "Santiago! What the fuck are you doing?!"

The truck drove off, heading into the tunnel.

"Dom! Dom, What are you doing?!"

No response.

"Dom, what the fuck are you doing?! DOM?!"

"Pulling the plug on em, Marcus! Jump!"

Larcei seemed to be the one to realize it first. "Wait, Santiago are you crazy?!" she yelled. "That's suicide!"

"JUMP!"

The horn began blaring. "Don't do it! DOM!"

A few seconds before the truck emerged, they got one final message from Dom. "Never thought it would end like this! Huh, Maria?!"

The truck emerged, slamming into the tank. "DOM! NO!"

The tank erupted in a fireball, devastating all the Locust and Lambent in the area, even as they could hear Larcei cursing over the radio, along with the beeps that indicated she was frantically working some kind of control panel.

The Gears instinctively took cover, but as soon as the blast wave was gone, Marcus tried to get to the wreck. "Dom!"

"Marcus, no—"

"Goddamn it, let go of me! I have to get to him!"

"This is Ra Cailum: away team, what the fuck is going on?! Santiago's lifesigns are damn-near non-existent!"

"Santiago just rammed a truck into a frakking fuel tank!" Larcei yelled. "I've been trying to get a transporter lock on him with the Isis, but I'm getting interference!"

"Put out the damn fires! Extend your shields and purge the oxygen from the environment; it'll allow you to find him visually!"

"Can that be done?"

"It's how we keep air in the shuttlebays! Do it!"

The Isis lowered itself as close to the flames as it could, before they could visibly see the shield bubble extending outward and over the truck. Soon, the flames around it diminished and disappeared.

The shield vanished, and Marcus charged into the wreckage, finding the cab. Inside was Dom, badly burned. For the COG, that was the end of it: the amount of burns would have doomed anyone even before E-day.

But Starfleet's medical tech was centuries ahead of theirs.

"Got him!" Larcei cheered. "Solid lock! Ra Cailum, I'm beaming him straight to your sickbay!"

Dom disappeared in a shower of light. "We have him. Doctor Yulanra's working on him now."

"Yeah. Goddamn it. Get Ron on the horn."


The Locust were wisely running away from Ron, who had started using his sword.

And cleaver Therons were getting their blades cut in half. An inaudible ping caught the captain's attention as the Locust fled. "Pinkerton."

"Uncle Ron, it's Larcei," came the reply. "Marcus wants to talk to you."

"Patch him through."

A moment passed. "Pinkerton, how long would it take you to get to Char?"

"What happened?"

"When we got to Mercy, we found Lambent humans. And Dom… he saved us, but he's nearly dead. We need another gun while Dom recovers."

"Very well. I'll get there in a few minutes. Just need to clean up some loose threads."

"Right," Larcei replied. "We should be there in a few minutes, too - luckily we haven't had to deal with Locust or Lambent since. We'll see you there."

A Theron guard reached towards him, holding a boltok. "See you soon." He shoved his weapon into the guard's head.


Char, Sera, several hours later


Char was once a prosperous Imulsion city, headquarters to Griffin Imulsion Corporation, allowing the city to grow VERY fat on its' earnings, though Griffin himself was once an Imulsion rig worker and rode his people hard enough to keep them in the field.

Now? Well, Char was hit hard as fuck by the Hammer strikes. Some buildings had even begun to collapse, and seeing as they were made of steel and concrete much tougher then anything on the Jacinto Plateau, that was saying something.

And it was into this environment that the Isis flew, escorting the truck carrying the Deltas, before the truck came to a sputtering halt.

"Well, that's it," Dizzy said. "We're outta gas."

Jace got out of the truck. "So, this is Char?"

"Yeah, well, it was. And the Stranded here remember the Hammer. They ain't gonna like seeing us here."

Marcus got out of the neighboring Packhorse. "Don't got a choice. We need the fuel to get to the base." He walked on ahead before he noticed something.

No one was talking. "You can stop walking on eggshells around me. I know Dom's in bad shape, but he wouldn't want us moping around. We need to get that fuel to make sure everything we've suffered is worth the end of this bullshit."

"Right," Larcei replied. "Well, might as well get going. If Ron's not here, he'll catch up to us soon enough."

"Maybe he's getting bigger guns."

"Jaden, my uncle is dangerous enough with his bare hands. He doesn't NEED bigger guns."

The moderately lighthearted conversation went straight to hell as they entered the city, finding bodies. Piles of ash in human form, running. "Oh, fuck. These must've been people trying to get out of the city when the Hammer strikes came in."

"They died doing what they did last, like in Pompeii."

"That ancient volcano from your homeworld, right?" Jace asked.

"It was a town near a volcano. Major eruption 2300 years ago buried the city."

"Except we did this to ourselves. This is a mass grave, people. Show some respect." They moved into the 'graveyard', making sure not to touch the bodies.

But they had things watching them.

"Ok, anyone get the feeling someone's putting a gun to your head?"

"Not exactly like that, but I can definitely feel like we're being watched," Larcei replied. "And they don't seem friendly, either. Probably a Stranded; they take potshots at Gears all the time."

"Yeah well I'm not exactly in a very good mood having been shot all damn day," Jaden muttered. "They shoot at me, I'm giving them the Pinkerton treatment."

"Pinkerton to ground team."

"Oh, look, you spoke the unholy name."

Marcus pressed a finger to his earpiece, glaring at Sam. "Delta here."

"I'm not beaming into that graveyard. It's like fucking Pompeii down there, and the LAST thing I want to do is disturb the ashes. I might be a dick, but I'm not the Kobali. They deserve to rest."

"Got it," Larcei replied, as she looked about the area. "I don't blame you. Want us to find a beam-in site?"

"Somewhere without ashes, preferably. Call me when you find somewhere—"

A drum shifted slightly on a higher piece of asphalt. With a long gunbarrel and a bayonet attached. "The fu—" The barrel then tipped over, rolling twice before landing upright and firing at them, two retro lancers spinning in circles, destroying the ash.

"The fuck is going on down there?!"

"A Stranded asshole with no fucking respect for the dead!"

"Damn it, find me a beam down site and I'll show the fucker some proper respect! Pinkerton out!"

The Lancer trap stopped firing, and they examined the damage caused. Dozens of ash people were destroyed. "When we find him, we're going to fucking gut him. Even the worst Gears know better then that."

"Way ahead of-" He began to say, before they began hearing an infant's crying. "…I dare someone to tell me that's not a trap."

"Ra Cailum, lifesigns check, please. Is there a baby nearby?"

"The only life in the area just so happens to be adult-sized. Ignore it."

Jace gingerly navigated past an ash corpse. "You're shitting me. Your sensors can do that?"

"Once, there was a prisoner, broke out of a lunar prison colony. He had no lifesigns, so the Enterprise-D just beamed out anything vaguely shaped like an adult humanoid male. Wrecked a transporter room in the doing because he was like my uncle, but…yeah."

Anya shuddered. "You mean you can tell the difference between adults and children with those scanners."

Jaden groaned. "Starfleet HAS to have the edge in techno-bullshit, doesn't it?"


It took half an hour and MANY traps, but the Gears and their escorts caught up with the ash-hole at the base of Griffin tower.

Marcus actually tore off one of the trap Lancers and checked the bayonet for its' sharpness as the elevator came down.

"This Griffin guy better have the damn fuel," Jaden growled, glaring at the Ash-hole who flinched under his gaze.

"I think he's scared of you."

"I just walked."

"Walked through two Troika Turrets firing at you without flinching."

"Hey, I like showing off with the Starfleet armor here!"

Ash-hole was scared more of Marcus as he pressed the bastard up to the wall. "You got one chance to not piss me off."

"Hey, hey hey, let's not get—"

"You disturbed a lot of graves, ash-hole. Sure, the COG made them, but we didn't fucking destroy them."

"You wanna talk to Griffin! Yeah, yeah, I get it! Get in here!" Larcei tapped her commbadge. "Uncle, we have a beam in site. Standby."

"Standing by. Want heavy support?"

"Like?"

"MECs and Ronopods. WHY you named them after me makes no sense."

Larcei shook her head as Delta entered the elevator.

"Sure, more the merrier," Jaden said - after a short elevator ride and walk, they arrived at the entrance to the office.

Ash-man pushed the door open. "Mr. Griffin Sir! These COG Guys showed up! They did a great job on the Glowies, now they want some fuel!"

The man in the office wheeled a chair around, glaring at him. "What the fuck are you doin' bringing COG into my city?!"

"B-But sir-"

"Boy, get out of here before I loose my patience!" Griffin waved him off, as Ash-man hastily scurried away.

"Welcome to Griffin Tower, COG. We were here before the Hammer strikes, and we're still here!"

"Buddy, shut up and get off your high horse." Jaden growled. "We have bigger problems then your feud with the COG, which, by the way, DOESN'T EXIST anymore. It fell apart 18 months ago."

Griffin pointed his cane at Jaden. "Boy, you got a lot to learn about respect!"

Jaden's eye twitched behind his helmet. "Respect?" he muttered. "Respect?! Mr. Griffin, allow me to introduce you to a friend of ours. I think you'll like him. Ron, we got those beam down sites for you. And a fucking idiot to introduce you to."

"Understood. Energizing." Showers of light appeared in and around the building, Ron appearing in Griffin's office. "Surprise, motherfucker. Captain Ronald Pinkerton, UFP starfleet, at your service."

"Motherfucker!" Griffin shouted, "How the fuck did you do that COG?!"

"We're not COG," Jaden informed. "Least Me, Larcei, and Ron aren't. We work for Starfleet - the people trying to save your sorry asses."

"Which is why I'm here. My mechanized troops will secure the building from the Locust and Lambent while Delta gets your fuel shipment."

Griffin pulled out a Hammerburst, pointing it at Ron. "You don't dictate terms to me, asshole!"

Ron grabbed the weapon and forced Griffin to fire, the round harmlessly impacting his shields. "He with superior power decates terms. I'm bulletproof and command VERY nasty machines. And I saw what your men just tried to do to Dizzy. Not a good stunt, but your men are still alive, so there's that. So, you let Delta get your fuel, I give you aid in defending against Myrrah, who is coming. She hates Marcus here, and if he had a fucking CHOICE, he wouldn't've come here. So show some real FUCKING RESPECT, hmm?"

Griffin looked at Ron in shock, before he growled. "Fine," he muttered. "But this sure as shit ain't over,"

"Oh, that's what you think, cockbite." Griffin's yelling was music to their ears as Delta left the room. "At least he's getting what he deserves."

"At least we have a way across: cable car runs straight to the refinery. Too bad the Stranded didn't just let us use it to get up here."

"They're right to hold a grudge against the COG, but not Starfleet. Only thing you're doing is trying to help." Jaden had to agree with the Gears there. Problem was, the Ra Cailum had an Iconian after them.

And while he's never faced T'ket in person, he'd seen footage of Ron and Takeshi against M'tara, who nearly killed them.

"Alright, let's get that fuel so we can get out of here." Jaden said. "The sooner we leave the better."

The only way to the building was on foot, on ground level, as the cable car was at the other end. "Great, back down."


Ron dismantled his retro Lancer, using Griffin's desk to keep the parts separate. "Do you MIND, COG?"

"I'm Starfleet, not COG, jackass. I can always rip your head off with my bare hands instead of protecting you from the Locust, if you like. I'm trying to be NICE here with sending down my best mechanized troops."

Griffin growled. "We were doing just fine without you jackasses," he muttered, "Didn't need ya in the past, sure as shit don't need you now!"

Ron shoved a PADD in his face. It was helmet cam footage from Jaden's suit of a Former. "Oh, really? Take a good look, asswipe."

"The fuck is this?"

"One of your workers. Heavy Imulsion exposure. You fall in, you touch it, the infection grows. Eventually, you become like the glowie Locust. Maybe now you get my point."

"You can fuckin' make shit appear out of nowhere! You could've made that usin' some kinda supercomputer!"

Ron groaned. "Urge to kill retard unwilling to look the truth in the face, rising."

"Humans don't get glowie, asshole!" Griffin rolled his eyes. "Only Locust do! We've been mining this shit for decades before the Locust showed their ugly asses here!"

"The Locust used to be human until Imulsion mutated them. Cue 60 years later, and you've got the Locust Horde. I've even got the COG reports to prove it."

"So the fuckin' COG are responsible for all the miseries, as fuckin' usual."

"You're not listening."

"You're not saying anything I want to—"

Ron grabbed Griffin by the throat, choking him. "Listen to me VERY well, fuck for brains. I. Do. Not. Lie. The COG was looking for a solution to shit like rustlung back then, not causing problems. A bunch of stupid scientists are responsible for all your problems, not the COG, and you should show me some proper fucking respect. Instead, all you do is label me someone else and blame ME for all your problems! Give me ONE reason not to throw your ass out that window and watch you die!"

Griffin struggled to speak as Ron choked him… however he was saved from a gruesome fate from an unlikely savior… as the entire building rattled, as Ron dropped him. "Boss! We've got Locust!"

"As I predicted." Moans were heard from the vents. Ash-man reached for his sawed-off. "The fuck was that?!" Ron actually smirked, slowly reassembling his lancer. "The truth."

The vent cover came off, and a male Former dropped down, screaming like a wretch. "Oh, look, the idiot LEARNS." Ash-man fired the sawed-off at the Former, killing it with a poof.

Ron reassembled the receiver for the Lancer, looking at a gobsmacked Griffin, who looked like his world was breaking around him thanks to that Former. "So, going to admit you're an idiot, or should I just sit down and watch?"

Griffin growled, reloading his shotgun "What I'm doing, is save my castle," he said, as he marched towards the door. "Get the guns up people!"

Ron rapidly put his retro lancer back together, testing the mechanism before calling Marcus and the rest. "Kids, we got assholes. I managed to make Griffin look like an idiot, but we got Queen's Guard and formers incoming. Get back here with that fuel. Now."

"We're working on it!"

"Work faster." He slammed a magazine into the lancer before entering the fray, cackling as he charged at a Theron, who screamed at seeing him.


"Queen's Guard are at the building. Ron's… doing his thing."

Marcus huffed. "At the end, I think all the guards'll be dead by the time we get there."

"So long as they don't blow up the fuel, I don't care." Jaden said, as he dropped the second massive cannister of Imulsion fuel into the tram. "Okay, let's get this thing to the other side!" He then paused "On second thought… Ra Cailum? Your transporter's working, right?"

"Perfectly. Why?"

"Ron needs a bit of help."


A Lancer mk 2 was NOT a sword. A crude halberd at best. Yet Ron was using one AS an ax, fighting with a Theron guard and hacking through the Formers like a white-hot knife through air. "Come on, fuckers! Hit me! Fight me! GIVE ME A HUG!"

The Locust (and human) response was… well, unified. "FUCK NO!"

"At least you fucks all agree on SOMETHING!" More Lancer fire impacted the Guards from behind as Marcus and Anya appeared, firing their weapons. "Well, welcome to the fight, kids. Thought I'd have all the fun to myself. How's the gas?"

"Had it beamed back to the ship for safety," Jaden informed as he grabbed a Locust and tossed him over the side of the building. "We came this far for the damn shit, we're not about to lose it in the middle of a fucking firefight!"

"Griffin's upstairs. He doesn't like me very much."

"You're an asshole. Few people like you."

Ron shrugged. "Come on, let's clean house. Then we can get you guys to Endeavour and to that sub. Unless Sonja can hack through the EM around the island."

Beaming in would save them trouble, but the other method was probably safer.

"Got it!" Jaden nodded, raising his rifle towards the incoming Locust. "Come on freakshows! Let's see if any of you got some fucking brains before we blow 'em out your skulls!"

A pair of guards wisely ran away, only to end up near a horde of formers, which were dealt with via a Boomshot grenade from Jace. "Oh yeah, I'm good!"

The tower was finally silent, only the thuds of Ron's mecho-troops echoing throughout as they met up with Griffin. "Tower's clear."

"Clear?! They're fucking dead! Most of my people are fucking gone! We survived everything: the war, the Hammer strikes, the Locust, the glowies! You show up and everything dies! Everywhere you go, nothing but pain, death and miseries! You fucking COG mother—"

Ron punched Griffin in the face before knocking him down and hanging him from his leg, upside down, with the street directly below him.

"Listen to me VERY well, Griffin! You show NO respect, you fight me on everything, you think I'm working for the COG when I'm working WITH them and you accuse us of nothing but death! Ignorant idiots like you don't exist where I'm from! We learn, we study, we UNDERSTAND! I'm tempted to drop you and be done with it! Your stupidity would be a welcome absence from the gene pool! Give me ONE reason not to do it!"

"I doubt he's worth it, Uncle Ron," Larcei remarked. "I say just let him stew in what's left of his empire - when we leave this universe, he can try making it on his own."

"Larcei, you're becoming as vindictive as your mother is in a bad mood."

"Should I take that as a compliment?"

"Depends." He swung Griffin into the cable car, probably breaking a few of his ribs. "And that was just to make me feel better. Get back to your trucks. I'll get my troops back to the Ra Cailum, and you should get ready for beam out the millisecond that thing fires off."

"Understood, Uncle Ron," Larcei replied. "Are the ships ready?"

"Not much for creature comforts, but a few weeks and it'll have what everyone needs. But for now, all we need is gravity, life support and warp drive. And that's done. See you in the air." Ron then disappeared in a shower of light, Marcus looking at his Lancer before reloading the weapon. "Let's go. We've got to get to my father."


Ron the true Fan: Azura, you're getting the fucking of your life.

Takeshi Yamato: Almost done with the Gears of War arc. Next arc after that… well… *clears throat* This-

117Jorn: SPOILERS! *shoots tape over Takeshi's mouth*

Ron the True Fan: Nice save. Now, I believe we have a bitch to kill. Any objections?

Takeshi Yamato: Mph, mmph. *shakes head*

Ja Ne!