Author's Note: All properties are the rights of their respective owners, Marvel, Respawn Entertainment, etc.
Well, here we go, I'm going to be relatively brief because this is a long chapter, just shy of 15,000 words with the logbook entry, notes, and review responses.
Blaze1992: If I said I would never add Marvel elements then I can't remember it. I said I would be careful about it though, after all we do have the Punisher still around, and Fury and a few Avengers showed up a while back. Ultimately, I'm going to be cryptic here and make you wait until, oh I don't know, next week. You should have a more satisfactory answer then, please be patient. Though I am curious, if I did bring in more Titanfall characters, who would you want to see?
A fan: I'm glad you recognize that this isn't really a democracy, it's a dictatorship. And as far as the guessing, I don't have all the answers, no seriously, I haven't fleshed everything out that far down the line yet.
As for the song, it is the first of many Sabaton tracks that will appear in the coming story arc. This one in particular is off the excellent The Art of War album, which is one of their better ones, top 3 for me I think. What makes it special is that each of the thirteen tracks corresponds to a chapter in Sun Tzu's text 'The Art of War' and with this being the fourth song it relates to the chapter titled 'Forms to Perceive' about the importance of defending positions to create an opening and not giving the enemy any openings at the same time. The exact historical event this song is based on is the Battle of Wizna, sometimes called 'The Polish Thermopylae,' it was one of many heroic efforts by the Polish in the face of Nazi aggression at the start of World War 2. It was this setting that caused me to pick it here, it's the beginning of something much larger, a small stand that would eventually be overshadowed by the greater conflict that followed, first contact. Add onto that how the song is epic and heroic, with a blistering pace and frenetic energy, and it fits the events of this chapter well. It's also no surprise that the song is popular in Poland (according to Wikipedia, any Polish readers feel free to correct me), and their live performances of the song in Poland show one hell of a crowd.
But I can't resist introducing the song, and this chapter, the same way it is in concert. For those who don't know the story about this brave group of men, they were led by Captain Wladyslaw Riginis, they were less than a thousand Polish soldiers and there were over forty thousand German soldiers. They held them for three days! And they were outnumbered forty to one!
Power Without Question – Chapter 44: 40:1
The captain has pledged his life, I'll face my fate here!
The sound of artillery strike
So fierce, The thunder of guns
So come, bring on all that you've got
Come hell, come high water, never stop
Unless you are forty to one
Your lives will soon be undone
Baptized in fire 40 to 1
Looking down at her watch, the Symkarian scowled before strapping up her combat boots. No longer wearing her standard grey uniform and coat and had changed into a set of gear she had for heavy combat. Custom made to resemble a 19th century Symkarian Army Officer's uniform while retaining modern amenities, it featured a grey tunic woven with an advanced layer of materials: Carbide discs, ceramic matrices, accompanied laminate, cutting edge body armor to provide as much protection as her troopers at a fraction of the weight and bulk. The downside of this was the cost, this singular suit cost over $100,000, making them prohibitively expensive.
The shoulders were adorned with epaulettes signifying her as a Field Marshall and her status as Princess of Symkaria, colored red and gold and featuring the Sablinova Family Coat of Arms.
Her belt featured the same coat of arms on the golden buckle and pouches for ammunition for her weapons, some grenades, and her preferred knife, an NRS-2 survival knife famously used by the Russian Spetsnaz. In addition to the single shot 7.62x42mm in the knife she carried her twin energy pistols on her hips and a 'Peacekeeper' lever action energy shotgun. On her head was a simple looking but highly advanced headset and a pair of tactical shooter's glasses with integrated HUD topped off by a striking red beret also featuring her family Coat of Arms.
But her main concern was that she was ready, her selected men of the Sable International 1st platoon, B company, 345th Independent Guards Regiment were ready, and Acting Commissioner DeWolff was ready to give the all clear, but the Marauder and Captain Watanabe had yet to arrive. Seeing that H-Hour for the operation was in three minutes, Sable placed a GM-94 pump action grenade launcher in the small of her back before moving away from her men to confront DeWolff. "Commissioner" she addressed firmly, causing the blonde to look up at her. The look in the cop's eyes said she knew what Sable was about to ask, "permission to begin the operation?" requested Sablinova stoically.
DeWolff shook her head, "you said two hours, they get two hours" she replied dismissively, Sable unable to fully suppress the scowl that appeared on her features. "I don't like the idea of sending you down there, and I like the idea of sending you down there without him backing you up even less" admitted DeWolff grimly. "As far as him being here…don't worry, Watanabe'll keep him in line" she assured before something caught her attention and her eyes wandered up into the night sky. Sable turned to follow and saw the distinct blue exhaust of the Marauder approaching, except about 50 yards behind it was another of the telltale visual signatures. "What in the…" began DeWolff only to be cut off as the lead figure landed in front, stumbling for a few steps before getting their footing. Standing to her full height, and it was a she, the woman wearing a form fitting set of kit resembling the Marauder, only her face was covered by goggles with no glowing visor in sight. "Yuri?" asked an astonished DeWolff.
The woman reached back, pulled her hood down, and raised her goggles to reveal the oriental woman's brown eyes as her face mask was pulled down to be replaced by the face of the Captain. A grin was plastered on her features as she caught her breath, "sorry we're late, Marauder was giving me a crash course in how to use this stuff. Surprisingly intuitive" admitted the policewoman, "and fun as hell…what a rush" she added breathlessly. Right on cue, the Marauder himself landed next to Watanabe, but instead he stuck the landing.
"Nice work Captain, you're a natural" he complimented as he hefted a large machine gun, the label 'X-55' on the receiver of the gun. His equipment was far heavier and more intricate than the Captains, and he was more heavily armed with a grenade launcher on his back and pistol on his chest rig whereas Yuri had a scoped rifle in hand and large revolver on her hip. Despite that, his experience meant he moved with more fluidity and grace, though not by much.
Still, seeing the discrepancies ignited Silver's curiosity, the Marauder's advanced equipment had always piqued her interest and seeing a different version of it had doubled that. "So, you gave the Captain a variant of your equipment?" asked Sable. There were still some similarities, mainly the 'jump kit' strapped to Watanabe's lower back and the 'exoskeleton' like construction that ran along the extremities and up their backs.
The Marauder shook his head, "not exactly. Mine is a customized and modified version of the experimental Vanguard Pilot's Kit called 'Renegade'. What the Captain has is the baseline kit preferred by Militia Scout Snipers, colloquially known as the 'Wraith' kit" he explained in a casual drawl. "Still has most of the same features and a few upgrades, but that's pretty much how it comes out of the box."
"You call this…" began Yuri as she slid her mask, goggles, and hood, back into place before turning invisible, only a faint shimmer giving her away as she moved behind DeWolff before decloaking and surprising the Commissioner, " the 'baseline kit'?" she asked. "And 'only a few features'? You are spoiled." The Marauder merely shrugged, not denying it as Yuri shook her head and the mood shifted noticeably, the banter ended, and Watanabe turned to DeWolff. "Alright, let's get down to business. Any changes?"
"None" responded the interim commissioner coolly, "we've got the area sealed off, but the tunnels down there are a maze. There are dozens of potential exit points, we sent some drones down to reconnoiter, but they could only go so far before all the concrete disrupts the signal. Still, they didn't see anything either" she rattled off as she gestured towards the maps of the mess of the underground. "Honestly, you could be searching down there for hours and never find this thing…how big is it anyway?" she asked.
The Pilot straightened as the women turned towards him. "It's 'bout ten-foot-tall, maybe three, four ton…you ain't exactly going to trip over it" he explained, causing Sable's eyes to widen and DeWolff to pale slightly as she gulped in shock. "It's got two weakpoints, the optics, which look like a red eye at the top on the front side, and the midsection. The midsection is a joint that has vital components and is unarmored. It's the only place that anything that isn't AT will do any appreciable damage. Make sure, whatever you do, you don't bunch up when dealing with this thing. We need to spread its firepower if we want to survive" he advised. Sable nodded confidently, recognizing the tactics as those used to deal with armored vehicles and was confident in their chances. "But this thing is quick, the only ones able to outmaneuver it will be Yuri and me. You and yours will be at a significant disadvantage."
"Is that all?" asked Yuri dryly.
"Pretty much" deadpanned the Marauder.
DeWolff let out a deep breath, "alright then. You all think you can pull this off?" she asked, looking to each of the heavily armed individuals in turn, and getting a nod in return each time. "Then you have execute authority, you are cleared to engage. Good luck and Godspeed" she said as Sable spun on her heel and strode towards her men.
"Fall in!" she barked as the Troopers dropped what they were doing and got to their feet before getting into formation, the 16 Mercenaries were some of the best in her organization, and they had the best gear including the additional black armor plates. Grenades, energy cells, and equipment filled every space as each man wanted it as rifles were pulled tight across their chests. And the men inside the gear were even more formidable, among them were handpicked former members of the British SAS, Polish GROM, Finnish Utti Jaeger Regiment, Russian Spetsnaz, and American 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta.
"Our mission" began the Symkarian as she inspected the platoon, "is to find and neutralize an extremely dangerous enemy located in the Manhattan Underground. This threat is on par with a heavy armored vehicle and far more mobile. We will be engaging it in a close quarters environment" she explained as she looked for any visible reaction from the hardened operators and was satisfied that there was none. "When the target is located, we will engage separately but simultaneously. Fire and maneuver while focusing all available fire on its midsection" she instructed, "am I understood?"
"Rah!" shouted back the troopers in unison as Sable merely nodded.
"Are there any questions?" she asked as she finished her path around the four by four square of men and came to a stop at the front where she started. Taking a few moments to pause, it seemed there were no questions, "very good" she praised as she placed an energy cell into the Peacekeeper shotgun and snapped it shut. "Then we are weapons free, Alpha squad has the point…let's move it out! Net zadach nevypolnimykh!"
"There are no impossible tasks!" returned the soldiers as 19 of the most dangerous men and women in Manhattan descended into the underground.
Cooper was fucking nervous as the augmented Sable Platoon moved cautiously through the underground, the sweep having just passed the one hour mark with no sign of opposition. Nerves were beginning to fray amongst the group as they remained in near darkness, only weapon and helmet lights illuminating their surroundings. Even better, half an hour ago they had lost radio contact with the surface, limiting them to short range comms. Sable had dismissed this as them being beneath so much concrete, but Cooper knew this wasn't the case since even his link with BT had been severed, and judging by the look on Sable's uncovered face, she thought so too.
Adjusting his grip on the X-55, Cooper kept moving with the rest of the group, though he was far more relaxed than the Sable Troopers as he held the gun at his hip. Despite the fact that they hadn't even had so much as a rat sneeze at them, the Pilot was sure that they were being watched. Looking over his shoulder, he saw Yuri edge over towards him and tapped the side of her head and Matt nodded before flipping over his comm channel. "Do you know what's going on? Is this what you expected?" she asked quietly.
"No" he responded simply, "the IMC doesn't usually do subtle. Whatever this is it's not their usual MO" he answered. Though as the group continued on, Cooper couldn't help but ask "am I the only one who feels like we're being watched?" back to the Captain.
There was a telling silence on the line for a moment as the group came to a halt and scanned the area. Seeing as they could spot nothing, the group resumed moving, the two non-Sable members stayed towards the rear and out of the way. "No, you're not. Usually when people say this, I think they're full of crap but…it's too quiet."
Cautiously, the augmented platoon moved until they reached the center of a four-way junction for the underground, the smooth, nearly uniform concrete corridors identical as Sable held up a fist and everyone dropped to a crouch. One squad covered each doorway, weapons scanning steadily and calmly, the discipline of the mercenaries showing through. "Chto-to ne tak" muttered Sablinova in Russian as everyone peered into the darkness.
Finally, the Pilot had decided that enough was enough and spun until he settled on one hallway at random and strode out confidently past the other troopers. "Marauder fall back" hissed Sable over the comms, but she was ignored as he reached into his belt and drew a pulse blade. Flinging the blade out down the hallway, it arced gracefully through the air before coming back to earth and releasing its orange wave as the Marauder shouldered his weapon.
Soon the wave deformed, passing over a floating shape as the gun came to life, firing a burst of blue tracers that turned the drone to scrap and sending it down to the floor. Without hesitation, Matthew scooped up the wreck of the cloak drone and sprinted back to the central area before unceremoniously dumping the craft down. "They knew we were here…and now they know we know" he stated simply as Sablinova looked down at the words 'Interstellar Manufacturing Corporation' emblazoned proudly on the ring like structure that had kept the drone aloft.
The Symkarian wasted no time barking out orders to her men who responded instantly, leaving Cooper and Watanabe to ponder the ramifications. "So you were right after all" murmured Yuri quietly as he finger tapped quickly on the body of her rifle and the Renegade SRS Gunfighter nodded. The Cop took a deep breath to try and steady herself, "what's going to happen now?"
"Now?" asked Cooper as he took a deep breath of his own and shouldered the Devotion, the familiar sensation of the cold surge of adrenaline seeping into his veins. "Now you won't able to make that complaint about it being too quiet for very much longer" he said calmly before turning to the steely eyed Symkarian. "Sable, where do you want us?" he asked.
The silver haired mercenary spun to him, face tight as she analyzed and processed how best to use the pair of Pilots. "Marauder on that side. Support Bravo and Charlie and be able to provide suppressing fire on those two corridors" she ordered firmly. Without any reaction, the Marauder Corps Commando moved to the designated side, LMG up and at the ready. "Captain, on me, we're on the other two sides with Alpha and Delta. You know how to use that rifle?" she asked, tow which Yuri nodded quickly. "Good, that hallway has the longer sight line, you see anything come down it you take its head off. I got this side" she commanded calmly as the Captain did as instructed.
No sooner was everyone in position then they could hear footsteps, but they weren't normal footsteps, they were mixed with mechanical noise and the rattle of gear strapped to bodies.
Specters realized Cooper; the automated infantry were going to swarm them. "1st platoon, sound off!" ordered Sablinova. The squad leaders came back in turn, all of them reporting negative contacts as the sound of the footsteps got closer but nothing appeared through the darkness. "Marauder…where are they?" asked the Mercenary.
Cooper strained, but the footsteps seemed to be coming from everywhere when the truth dawned on the Pilot. "Contacts all sides. They're machines!" he called back.
"Grenadiers! Illumination!" barked Sable as one trooper from each squad produced an illumination grenade and pulled the pins before tossing them down the hallway. After the four second fuses burned down, the magnesium contained inside burned a brilliant bright white. But most shocking of all was how that light reflected off of the slate grey armor of the 6 foot tall robotic infantry.
For a brief moment, time seemed to come to a standstill for those who now found themselves surrounded. They were staring down machines that only existed in science fiction and were built in another dimension, the magnitude of the events that had led to this point were monumental in scope and implications. Each individual was a part of history as the first to engage the IMC in New York and try to turn back the extra dimensional threat. But none of that mattered in that moment in time, all that mattered was that it was be or be killed, you had your allies at your back and the enemy down range. And as soon as Sable shouted the next command, the moment came to an end as time resumed and the Battle of Manhattan truly began. "Open fire!" she shouted, her accented voice echoing off the concrete of the corridors.
But the echoes were soon drowned out by the fusillade of gunfire that followed them up. On all four sides, the lead Specters were met with a wall of shots, a strikingly pretty and even more lethal mix of red Sable energy fire, blue tracers from the Devotion and Peacekeeper, and old-fashioned led slugs from Yuri's G2. The machines leading the charge were reduced to scrap in less than a second as the fire kept up. Cooper's X-55 shrieked in eight round bursts, alternating between the two hallways he covered while the energy assault rifles chirped to fire and hissed to vent head. Sounding over it all were the rhythmic staccato cracks of the Captains long gun while Silver contrasted it with the thunderous barks of the energy shotgun.
As the Specters waded through the remains of their mechanical brothers, they returned fire with their Volts as blue tracers came flying back at the humans. But there was no where to run or hide, so the Sable Troopers and their backup simply kept pouring rounds downrange to slow the unending machine onslaught. "We can't stay here!" shouted Matthew as he tossed down an A-wall to cover himself as he reloaded the Devotion, "we gotta move now! Before they overwhelm us!" he barked as he resumed firing the energy actuated machine gun.
"Der'mo" cursed Sablinova angrily as she spun around to take stock of their situation and quickly agreed with the Pilot's assessment. "We're moving! Alpha will push, other squads fall back in sequence!" she ordered. The squad leaders all acknowledged with simple clicks in the comm channel when the situation went from bad to much, much worse.
The entire room shook, and dust fell from the ceiling as Cooper looked up to see the concrete spiderweb with cracks. "What the fu…" began Cooper only to be cutoff when the source slammed back into the ceiling and punched through, showcasing an instantly recognizable three fingered mechanical claw for a hand. "REAPER!" The machine let out that warbling mechanical roar as some shifted their fire to the claw, forcing it to retreat back up as the whole began to expand, the Reaper was trying to dig down to them. "NOW! Go! Go! Go!" he ordered as Sable troopers tossed out smoke grenades and began to fall back in an orderly fashion despite the bullets whizzing around them.
But as soon as they started moving, entire chunks of the ceiling came down around them and chaos was sown amongst the human combatants. The Reaper began adding it's own fire as the soldiers turned and ran down the selected corridor at full speed, Cooper dropping an A-Wall to cover their retreat. Up front, Sable led the squad, pistol in each hand as she dispatched Specters with ruthless efficiency until they succeeded in breaking through the wall of metal. Finally, the group began to slow, it seemed they had managed to break through the worst as the area around them was quiet. "2 minutes. Regroup, sound off, and check ammo" ordered Sablinova as the men relaxed.
Cooper did the same, reloading his X-55 and taking stock of his remaining ammo and grenades. Satisfied he was okay for now, and that he could always make use of an enemy weapon if he had to, he began to look at the others who had made it. By his count there were 14 left, but there was one missing that had him concerned. "Where the hell's Yuri?"
Yuri was lost, badly. When the ceiling started coming down at them, she had jumped out of the way, fearing she wasn't going to make it until the jump kit she forgot she had threw her clear and into one of the hallways. Once there, she was trapped and forced to go further from the group, using the cloak and her newfound wallrunning ability to pass by the remaining robots without giving herself away. Once she was sure she had escaped she found a place to hunker down and yanked her mask up, breathing hard as she tried to get a grip on herself now that the adrenaline was starting to work its way out of her system and panic was beginning to take its place. "Marauder, this is Watanabe. Do you copy?" she asked into her radio. "Answer me damnit" she growled, but only got static back in reply.
Cursing under her breath, Yuri reloaded her rifle and forced herself to come up with a plan. She could either sit down here, surrounded by hostiles and hope somebody found her, or she could try and find a way out. Never one to sit back and let someone else do the job if she could help it, Watanabe got to her feet, shouldered the G2, and got moving. Turning off her weapon light and engaging her Wraith kit's built in night vision, Yuri moved with speed and stealth, sweeping through the nearly dark corridors. She didn't know where she was or where she was going, but the sound of voices brought her progress to a halt.
Unable to make out exactly what was being said, the Cop stayed low and took measured steps to ensure a silent approach as she slung the rifle over her shoulder. Knowing she would be in very close quarters combat; she drew the Wingman revolver and extended the dual 'Ripper' blades from the bracer on her left forearm. "I still don't get what the big deal is. We've had intruders come through the perimeter before, Reapers and Specters will take care of them like always. I don't get why they need to go into a panic about this" said one as she could hear the flicking of a lighter.
"Nah man, you don't get it" replied a second voice as Yuri disabled the NVGs to see two silhouettes on the far wall. "See, the way I heard it, this was a serious bunch, military types" explained the second.
The other man coughed in surprise, "You sure? Think they realize what we're up to?" Yuri moved up to the corner and held her ground, listening intently to the conversation.
"Pretty sure" answered the second. "We don't know who the hell they are or how they got here. But it seems Blisk isn't taking any chances. That's why everyone is pulling up sticks and getting ready to pull out. That fucker isn't going to care who or what dies as long as he gets paid. And he gets paid to fulfill his contract" reminded the second man.
"Shit" replied the other simply. Yuri finally took a deep breath and activated the Cloak, becoming a shimmer she moved behind one and was poised to strike when she looked up to see a pair of glowing green eyes peer out from the darkness. Before she could wonder what that was, her cloak ran out, causing one of the armed and armored soldiers to look at her in shock as she simply pulled her left arm back and rammed the twin blades forward, impaling his throat as he pawed at them uselessly. Raising her pistol as the last vestiges of life left the first, she never got a chance to fire it as a black clad figure came down, kicking the man in the back of the head and sending him to the ground. When he got back up to his feet the woman charged, planting a hand on each shoulder and pulling herself up to ram her knee into his chin, knocking him out cold.
Yuri's jaw dropped as the woman stood to her full height and turned to face her with a smirk on her lips. "Black Cat?" she asked dumbly as she pulled her arm back and the other IMC grunt dropped down dead while the Thief dragged the other to the wall and propped him up before binding his hands and ankles in flex cuffs. "What are you doing here?"
"Had a feeling my boyfriend might be in trouble. Came to see how much" she replied coyly, but the Captain could discern some genuine concern in the woman's tone. The Black Cat then turned and gave Yuri a once over, "I can see why my Cowboy wanted me to have one of those…looks good" she purred, drawing a scowl from the Captain behind her facemask.
"We need to regroup with the others" interjected Yuri sternly. "We won't last long on our own and we need to get out and warn the city about what's down here."
The Thief shook her head. "The Marauder can take care of himself. We need to find out what they're planning if we want to have a chance of stopping it. Come on, I've been getting closer to wherever they set up their main command center" she explained as she unslung a suppressed P90 PDW and glided towards the passageway the two had been guarding. When Yuri hesitated, the Black Clad Prowler came to a stop and turned around. "Captain, I understand your distrust, but this time we're on the same side…and I need your help" she admitted honestly.
Yuri bit her lip before coming to her decision, "damnit" she cursed as she put away her pistol, retracted the Ripper, and unslung the G2. "Lead the way, I got your back."
Silver Sablinova had removed the beret from her head and was attempting to wipe away some of the grime on her face with her sleeve, but those were minor issues, the most pressing one was the armored man literally pressing her at the moment. "She isn't one of your faceless Mercs! We are not leaving her behind god damnit!" growled the Marauder. It was clear that the SRS Pilot was not happy with Sable's outright refusal of his request to go back and search for the police captain. "Even if you won't I will. Outta my way" he snarled as he hefted his LMG.
But the Symkarian was not intimidated, holding her ground with no intent of letting the man go and get himself killed or leave her and her men to die. "Marauder" she addressed calmly, willing her voice to be steady despite the firefight and escape they had just endured, "if Captain Watanabe is still at that intersection, then she is already dead. If she escaped but is not here, then you will not be able to find her." Yes, her words were blunt, but the situation demanded it, despite her issues with the Renegade Commando, she knew he could focus on the mission, but right now he was being controlled by his emotions.
"God fucking DAMNIT!" roared the Pilot angrily as he paced for a moment before taking a few deep breaths and looking like he was going to confront her again before stopping short and nodding, "fucking damnit" he cursed again before the glowing blue visor met Sablinova's eyes. "Alright then Sable, you got a plan?" he asked.
Nodding that the situation was resolved, the mercenary gave a curt nod, "I do" she confirmed, "Lieutenant, your datapad." One of the white armored troopers handed the woman a tablet as she pulled up the maps of the underground. There was a half dozen interconnected layers of overlapping tunnels, sewers, electrical infrastructure, and subway lines that meant there was no clear route to get anywhere, but every point had multiple avenues of approach. "We are here" she explained as she showed where the lost platoon was, about halfwaly down, "only the direct route back to the surface is back the way we came, through heavy enemy resistance. Our best option then, is to push deeper into the underground and attempt to circumvent the enemy positions with these passages."
The Marauder looked at the map she had selected, preferring the larger spaces where possible so they wouldn't find themselves in a chokepoint with no room to maneuver again. She had already sent squads to scout the rear to confirm it wasn't a viable route, when the squad she had sent to scout ahead returned she would make her final decision. However, since they were ordered to return at first contact and had been gone far longer than the first, she was hopeful. "If you're going through hell, keep on going, don't slow down. If you're scared, don't show it, and you might get out before the devil even knows you're there" replied the SRS Titan Jockey, though he was clearly grimacing behind his helmet.
Silver cocked her head as she pondered the words, "fitting, and wise" she commented as she looked up at the Marauder. "Who said that?"
The green armored gunfighter chuckled wryly, "Rodney Atkins" he deadpanned as the last of the scout fire teams returned. "But if we get out of this alive then I'm expecting a medal or something" he drawled casually.
Sablinova had no idea how to respond, but if his dry sense of humor was returning then he was ready to go. "Report" she ordered curtly to the Corporal of the team of four.
"Nothing ma'am" replied the trooper crisply. "No sign of any machines. In fact, it seems that the IMC hasn't touched the lower levels, they were far filthier than anything we've seen so far" he added, further confirming what she had suspected. Taking the tablet from her, "we made it all the way down to here, and checked the adjacent tunnels running parallel" he reported, and Sablinova had made her mind up.
"Very good Corporal" she complimented before he snapped off a quick salute and returned to the others. "Listen up!" she called out as she stepped into the middle of the group of soldiers, "the mission has changed. Now, our objective is simple: Survive" she stated firmly. Instead of sugar coating it, the Symkarian gave it to them straight, "we are vastly outnumbered and outmatched. Now, we must punch through the enemy lines and escape despite overwhelming odds. But we will not shrink from this mission. Why?"
"There are no impossible tasks!" chanted back the soldiers in unison, despite having lost a quarter of their number already, they were still a formidable force. The next time they encountered the IMC, they would know what to expect.
Silver gave an approving nod as she watched the soldiers get back on their feet and ready their weapons. "Chertovski" she snarled, she too was ready to show this IMC what Sable International was truly made of, "I have the point, everybody ON ME!"
Creeping through a heavily defended underground base, dodging killer robots, and doing so with just her wits and her skills with next to no backup provided Felicia Hardy with a unique kind of thrill. When BT had alerted her that he had lost contact with Matthew, it hadn't taken very long for her to go towards where last contact had been and ready for a fight. Not only had she taken her usual infiltration gear, but a full load of weapons as well. Her normal claws and suppressed Five seveN had been supplemented by a P90 PDW, also suppressed, and firing the same ammunition. She had taken extra flashbangs and EMPs, but she hadn't had to use any yet, taking care to avoid engaging until she had spotted a familiar shimmer.
Her heart had jumped up at that, thinking she had found her Cowboy, but instead it turned out that Cooper had given a set of gear to Yuri Watanabe. The Thief wasn't sure how to take this revelation, nor was she sure how to take the Captain's clear distrust of her as the jump kit equipped woman stayed behind her. Even after she had dropped in to get her help with the Osborn conundrum, though chances were the fact that doing so had caused a death squad to descend on her had soured their relationship. Still, the cop was following her as she used her lenses to track the atypical power flow towards what she hoped would be the center of this IMC setup. "Why are we heading for the middle of the hornet's nest again?" asked the woman in trail.
"Because" replied Hardy, somewhat perturbed at the sudden interruption, "if I know the Marauder, and I like to think I do, then he'll be right in the thick of it. Hence, the middle of the hornet's nest" she replied. Felicia had expected more questions to follow, but none came as the pair came to a stop when they could hear more voices. Holding her hand out, to keep the Captain low and behind her, the Thief waited for an opportunity. "I'll take the first one" she said silently, her throat mic picking up her words without them having to leave her lips as she drew her preferred blade.
Unfolding the Karambit knife, the wicked looking curved blade was held traditionally as the Black Cat stalked her prey, a lone soldier who had turned his back to the world to relive himself. As soon as he finished and was about to resume his duties, one gloved hand covered his mouth as the tip of the blade was place at the base of his skull as Hardy drove it in, the curve of the blade driving the point up and severing his spinal cord as the body went limp and was dragged off to be thrown into a corridor to be forgotten. Watanabe watched her wearily, "you're okay with doing that? I thought you were just a Thief?"
"Not today" she replied coldly as they pressed on, "these aren't the usual crooked lawyers or slimy businessmen" defended the Black Cat. "They want to take something that matters to me" she added, not sure why she had admitted that to Yuri. The Captain would surely have no issues discerning her meaning, "I don't intend to give them a chance."
Indeed, her slip up hadn't gone unnoticed, "you mean Cooper?" asked Watanabe. Even if Felicia merely grimaced and offered no further response, it was telling enough. "Far be it from me to offer relationship advice, but while he is a good one and you should keep him, I don't think he'd want you to run on that anger" advised Yuri cautiously. "I'm not sure if you saw what he was like after the Market, but losing you nearly broke him. If you lost yourself this way he would be hit just as hard and you don't want that."
Felicia had no answer, instead pressing on in silence as she forced herself to focus on the next crossing, slipping by the next patrol, dispatching the next sentry until after twenty nerve-wracking minutes the pair finally reached something that seemed to be more heavily defended and fortified. The larger space had a structure that screamed 'command center' but the most distinguishing thing was a bizarre looking spherical device mounted in a cradle and hooked up to a generator, or at least that's what it resembled. "That must be how they're jamming our comms" realized Hardy.
"Then it needs to be our priority" interjected Yuri instantly, the pair had stepped out onto a catwalk overlooking the area. "But it looks like they're packing up shop" noted the Cop as they could see dozens of yellow colored robots carrying and stacking boxes next to a trio of vehicles, the large APCs were poised to exit a large tunnel that led to parts unknown. Besides that, it seemed the defensive position that had been built were largely unmanned as only a small handful of the steel colored robots, armed with the same kinds of guns Cooper had, remained to guard the area.
"I'll go in and disable the jammer before securing that command post" explained Felecia as she began eyeing a route through the area, "you stay up here and cover me" instructed the thief as she readied her grapple gun. "Time to find out if you're as good a shot as the Marauder says you are."
After she had rappelled down to the floor, Hardy began by silently approaching a small wall and guard post, PDW ready. Felicia slipped back into her element as she swiftly and silently advanced, unencumbered with any tag alongs. Stalking between the crates and racks, always making sure her angles were covered as she began to move towards the center of the stronghold. However, she soon found her progress blocked by an open area with a squad of the grey 'Specters' among other robots, who would surely notice her if she tried to cross it. Matthew had told her about the yellow ones, 'MRVNs' were simple minded worker drones and wouldn't even raise the alarm if they spotted her. Seeing one pick up a box, the Black Cat sprinted up to it and moved alongside, using it as cover to cross an open area before peeling away to slide into cover behind the generator. Extending the claws on her fingers, she quickly cut through the sheet metal to expose the circuitry inside. Working quickly, her deft fingers made quick work of the wires that would cause the safeties to engage and shut it down.
With that done, the Black Cat got moving towards the command post under the watchful eye of the Captain above, her rifle's muzzle sweeping from group to group, ready to engage at the first sign of trouble. PDW up and at the ready, Felicia primed an EMP as she approached the sliding door, as soon as the door opened the glowing sphere was tossed inside. As soon as her HUD flickered with the device's detonation, Hardy swept in gun up as she sighted up the nearest humanoid robot and dispatched it with a burst to its chest as it went down in a shower of sparks.
One arm wrapped tight around the P90, the other held out the grapple gun and used it to pull herself across the room, seeing two other machines and two human soldiers swinging around to gun her down. Crouching down behind a console, she turned the corner while still low and ripped out one of the machine's legs before putting a pair of armor piercing 5.7mm rounds through its head before it lay still. Hearing the clanking of the machine and the softer footsteps of one of the human soldiers coming up either side of her, she had to act before she was boxed in. Pulling out another EMP, she rolled it towards the clanking and drew her Karambit.
When the grenade went off, she vaulted over the console and pounced on the IMC grunt, her momentum driving him to the ground as she pinned him with a leg across his neck as she raised the PDW and poured lead into the stunned machine. When that threat was eliminated, the knife tore through his throat before the snap of narrowly missed shots forced the Thief to roll away and into solid cover as the last enemy approached. Rising up, she shouldered the FN P90 and unloaded the rest of the 50 round magazine, only for the shots to strike a blue wall of light emanating from the man's equipment.
Realizing that it must have been like Cooper's A-Wall, Felicia ducked back down as the IMC solider returned fire, rounds tore through the equipment as the Black Cat scampered away, trying to outflank that shield to no avail. Every time she popped her head out with her pistol ready, she was met with a burst and the unbreakable shield blocking her return fire. Looking up, she saw the roof was rather high and she had a plan began to form as she remembered watching Cooper fight on Typhon. Pulling her grapple gun back out, the Thief was yanked through the air with all the grace of her namesake. With a satisfied smirk on her face, the heiress looked down on the soldier, pistol up and red laser light coming to the shocked IMC man's face as she pulled the trigger. The red light was replaced by a red hole as blood and brains shot out and he fell to the floor, dead.
Outside, the echoing shots of Yuri's G2 signaled the Captain wasn't idle. Adding to that, the headless Spectres that littered the area acted as a testament to her effectiveness. After 25 rounds had been fired, Watanabe was done, dropping the mostly spent mag as smoke wisped from the rifle's muzzle. Her assault had been so swift and accurate that the IMC machines hadn't managed to pinpoint the source of the markswoman's rifle fire.
The place fell deathly quiet as Hardy reloaded her weapons and strutted towards the consoles showing the important information as she triggered her comm and was relieved when a warbling mechanical monotone cut through the static. "Ms. Hardy, what is your status? Have you successfully located Pilot Cooper?" asked the Titan, and it sounded to the Thief like BT was genuinely worried.
"Not yet BT" she replied softly, herself still trying to keep hope that the man she had come to care for so much in the last year was alive somewhere. "But I've found a terminal, can you download everything from it? I'm giving you an uplink now" she explained as she slipped a modified USB into place, thankful that the drive seemed to take and began to do its work. "The IMC are here BT, I need you to tell me why and what they are doing. They were the ones jamming comms, so try reaching Matthew again."
There was a pause on the other end of the line as the screens moved faster than any human could ever hope to navigate them, indicating BT had established the uplink and was going through the system with an AI's speed and efficiency. Suddenly, one of the screens stopped, showing several markers on a 3D map of the underground. "Ms. Hardy, this may be of relevance, it is showing IMC troops in real time. Triangulating Pilot Cooper's position. Recommend you assist in navigation and control" ordered the Titan as the Black Cat examined the screen when a new marker appeared, the SRS eyepatch wearing skull emblem, right next to an IMC unit with others closing in. "Update: Have established Comms link with Pilot Cooper, patching you in."
The first thing she heard was the shriek of the Devotion as a firefight raged with full fury. "Cooper?" she tried once, only to get ignored as the gun came back to life and the muffled explosion of a grenade could be heard. "Listen Cowboy" she snapped, "you got trouble coming your way, if you don't get moving now then this will be your last rodeo…"
Cooper couldn't believe his ears as he ducked down, the air above him filled with lead and lasers, Sablinova firing her pump action grenade launcher into the group of mechanical infantry firing at them. "Cat?" he said in shock as he pressed his hand to his helmet. "How the hell are you talking to me?" he shouted just as a Sable Mercenary was caught in a grenade blast and went flying before rolling to a stop next to him, chest blown apart in a gruesome image.
"Oh, thank god" answered a relieved Hardy, "listen to me, the IMC are pulling back, but they don't want you to follow. Every remaining machine they have is collapsing on your position, you have minutes" she informed, borderline frantic as the Marauder looked over his cover. Sure enough, the Specters impeding their progress had simply dug in and seemed content to wait them out, which the Sable troopers and the Marauder couldn't afford to happen. "BT is giving you a waypoint. Get out of there."
"Okay but, where are you, how do you know all that?" he asked as he went looking for Sable, stepping over the dead Troopers as he made his way down the line. This was the third firefight they had found themselves in and it was clear the IMC robots were adapting to their tactics. Only nine of the original nineteen were still fighting and two of those were wounded.
Gritting his teeth before activating his cloak and sprinting across the gap, he slid into cover behind Sable, only for the symkarian to turn towards him with both pistols drawn before she scowled and resumed shooting at the IMC machines. "I'm at the IMC command post, we caught the last of the stragglers as they were evacuating. It's secure now. I have BT running a tap on their system."
Cooper's brow furrowed as he stood to add his Devotion to the cacophony of fire while Sablinova let her pistols vent heat. "What do you mean 'we'?" he asked between bursts before the 55 round magazine ran dry and he ducked into cover to reload the gun.
"You'll never believe this, but I found a lost police captain wandering around down here" revealed the Thief casually as the Marauder heaved out a sigh of relief. Hearing that Yuri was not only alive, but they knew where the Captain was, took a weight off the SRS Pilot's shoulders. "I can also see why you wanted to put me into one of those Pilot suits. For tactical combat wear it is quite…flattering."
The Commando couldn't help but roll his eyes inside his helmet and chambered the first round in the gun. "Keeping your eyes on the prize as always" he drawled sarcastically as the line clicked off and he looked at the Specters while formulating a plan. "Sable!" he called out as he grabbed the shoulder of the Mercenary, "we got IMC reinforcements inbound. Permission to…why the fuck am I asking permission? I'm going to go kick some ass" he snarled as he shouldered the X-55 and activated his phase shift before leaping out from cover and up onto a wall.
When he was pulled back to reality he held the LMG in one hand and sprayed rounds down on the machines before leaping off the wall and sliding across the floor, not letting off the trigger until his momentum ran out and he shot up to his feet and swung the gun like a bat to knock the next machine back. The next Specter knocked the empty X-55 away as the SRS Commando grabbed the machine by its shoulders and shoved it backwards before lifting it and ramming it onto a bit of exposed rebar before taking out his Smart Pistol and planting a shot in its head. Spinning, he brought the sidearm up to finish off the remaining automated infantry, but found that the other Sable Troopers had responded smartly, advancing and adding their own precision rifle fire to his assault.
A very displeased look Sablinova marched up to him, that ever-present scowl having only etched itself deeper onto her otherwise delicate features. "That was stupid and reckless Marauder" she scolded coldly as she scooped up his X-55 and got right up into his face, "you compromised unit cohesion to play cowboy. If you every do something like that again, and survive, then I'll shoot you myself" she threatened. Matthew offered no response as the scowl gradually faded and the beginnings of a smile took its place as she offered the Devotion back to him. "Good work" she complimented as he nodded once and took the gun, even if she couldn't see it, the Gunfighter was grinning cockily behind his x shaped visor.
The moment was ruined by the sound of more machines approaching from the hallway where the waypoint on Cooper's HUD was and the combatants all sprinted for cover as Matt looked to see what was coming. It wasn't the grey of Specters, but the bigger bulk and red chassis of Stalkers as he pulled out the MGL and looked at Silver who had taken cover next to him. The Symkarian had also pulled out her explosive option and both opened fire at the same time, filling the corridor with explosive ordinance. The concussions and shrapnel tore through the machines, but these were made of tougher stuff than the ones that the group had encountered up to this point and both weapons fell silent, smoke emanating from empty chambers.
Both Sable and Cooper were of the same mind, they were shock and awe, and neither took cover to reload. Instead the pair simultaneously drew their respective handguns and closed with the battered IMC machines. The Pilot arrived first, leaping up and raising his tomahawk as he came down, burying the blade in the forehead of the lead robot and took it to the ground as Silver planted a few pistol shots in it for good measure before jumping up, bouncing off the wall, and delivering a kick to the next Stalker in line. Cooper had dashed ahead and ducked a massive metal arm before burying the pick in the robot's leg and ramming into it with his shoulder and knocking it back into the other machines.
Raising the MK6, it locked on and fired a salvo, putting the two stunned machines down as a cold steel hand wrapped around his leg and pulled it out from under him. The wind was knocked out of the Texan as he fell to the floor and kicked at the appendage with his free leg and eventually wrenched himself free and scrambled to his feet. Noticing the power packs on the legless machine's back flickering as thought damaged and unstable, he looked and saw Sable in a bit of trouble with the sheer weight of numbers and literal weight of the machines. Firing his grapple, he yanked and heaved the bot towards the Mercenary, "Sable! Shoot the batteries!" he called as he released the damaged Stalker.
The silver haired woman's eye snapped up and locked onto the Stalker before crisply sidestepping as it shot past and into the other machines before calmly raising a pistol and firing a single shot into the unstable power cells. Already on their last legs, the cells reacted instantly, exploding to set off a chain reaction as the veteran Mercenary merely raised an arm to shield her face against the salvo of fireballs that consumed the machines, quickly melting them into slag. Casually and professionally, Silver holstered her weapons, dusted off her tunic, and turned to face the Marauder.
Cooper couldn't help but be impressed, time and again the Symkarian had proven that she was no pushover. "I revise my earlier statement" he began dryly, a smirk on his face, "if we do ever have to tangle, I hope you only use the accent on me."
Finally, after thirty minutes, Yuri's patience had run out. After a brief moment of hesitation, Watanabe had to reassure herself that the Jump Kit on her back would enable her to take the fall before she dropped down, panic turning to relief as she felt herself slow before her boots gently kissed the concrete. Going through the robotic graveyard she had created, the Captain forced herself to keep a clear mind despite the fatigue and shock of the scene. She had pulled her hood back, raised her goggles, and tugged her mask down, "how does the Marauder spend so long bottled up like that?" she muttered, much preferring the unencumbered feeling of having her face out and in the elements, even if she did enjoy the toys built into the gear.
Proceeding inside the cleared command post, Yuri stepped over the remnants of the IMC defenders towards the black clad prowler who was focused solely on the computer equipment against the far wall. Watanabe walked up behind the Black Cat almost unnoticed and looked over the thief's shoulder at the display. "Enjoy the view Captain?" purred the woman as she wiggled her hips for added affect, causing Yuri to roll her eyes. It seemed that the Marauder hadn't been exaggerating when it came to his description the woman's forwardness. Indeed, Watanabe could feel the Black Cat's eyes fixed on her in a predatory way as she remained stoic, projecting no notification the attention was having any affect on her until her admirer seemed to get the message and turned back to the screens. "It's alright, I don't mind you staring" she added nonchalantly.
Instead of telling the woman off for her brashness, the NYPD Captain took a calming breath and refocused on the matters at hand. "What have you found out about our interdimensional visitors so far? Anything relevant? Like why they're here?" she asked sternly, the look on her face indicating she wouldn't hear talk of anything else from the adventurous woman.
Much to Yuri's relief, it seemed that the Black Cat had picked up on the unspoken request as she straightened. "Not much" she admitted, "but BT is only through decrypting half the information, and a lot was already erased before we arrived" revealed the Thief. Watanabe frowned at that, she was hoping to learn more about the IMCs intentions, there was nothing in New York they could possibly want. "But I can tell you the first scout teams arrived two weeks ago, but a massive buildup began four days ago. It doesn't say to what extent, but there is a log of times delivers arrived at the main IMC base and it's very long, but I can't say what was in those deliveries."
The frown turned to a scowl as she considered what that could mean, if they were abandoning their forward observation post and bringing in more…stuff, supplies presumably, then they weren't leaving anytime soon. It sounded like they were gearing up for something big, something they were wholly unprepared to face. But the Captain was knocked from that train of thought as she turned to another screen that was flashing angrily and quickly discerened what the warning was. "Shit, Cat we need to move" called Yuri as she saw markers indicating IMC machines closing in on their position. "We got incoming…a lot of incoming."
Turning back to the displays, Black Cat hissed, "not before the data's finished decrypting. This is our best chance to get a leg up on these bastards!" she argued. Watanabe cursed under her breath as she began to pace, trying to decide on what the two women would do. "We have to hold here. How badly are we going to be outnumbered?"
The Captain turned back to the screen and the list of incoming units before quickly tallying them up and having her mouth hang open dumbly at the final tally. "There's about 80 of them coming…so 40 to 1."
Silver Sablinova was tired, running low on ammunition, and thoroughly pissed off. She had lost all but two of her men to the IMC, she had made a stupid mistake and because of her arrogance good men were dead. While she didn't know those who worked for her on a personal level, she was immensely proud of the force she had assembled and seeing them fall always was a tough pill to swallow.
But the Symkarian pushed those thoughts aside as she turned her mind towards the man in front of the group, leading the way, the tally on his back a testament to his experience and ability. After seeing him in action firsthand she no longer doubted his prowess and was certain that it was that prowess that meant that the others were still alive. Not only had his experience facing the IMC been invaluable, but his ability to move and fight was on an entirely new level compared to the Sable personnel. Truth be told, she was slightly envious of his Jump Kit, and already she had made a mental note to direct Sable R&D to develop one of their own.
Yet the Symkarian mercenary had to remind herself that he was more than his gear, the man had come out today. Not the cocky, drawling Titan Jockey, but the formidable soldier at the core of the Marauder. The soldier that never gave up, that never surrendered, who was practical and direct. Bold and brash but never stupid. As much as Sablinova hated to admit it, she had misjudged him.
The Marauder had set a quick pace, and it was clear he wasn't suffering nearly as much as the rest of them, but he was always checking over his shoulder to see how the rest were doing and had slowed without complaint. Suddenly however, he came to a halt, cocking his head. "How long?" he asked in his filtered voice. "Shit, we're on our way" he responded before turning to Sable. "That was Watanabe, she and Black Cat are in the process of downloading intel from the IMC FOB, but they've got incoming. They're gonna need our help" he informed.
Silver grimaced as she turned to look at the other two troopers who didn't seem the least bit concerned about charging headlong into another firefight. "We still got some fight left in us ma'am" assured one, "let's go rip these tin cans a new one." The corners of her lips flicked up; despite everything the troopers were proving to be exactly what Sable wanted from all of her men. Even though they were the last of their unit and had seen many friends die, even though they had been fighting or moving for the last four hours, the Troopers were still ready to answer the call.
"Very well" responded the mercenary as she nodded to the Pilot, "you have the point Marauder. Double time" she ordered as they began to move out at a brisk jog. Weapons were lowered as security was traded for swiftness as the four rushed through the underground after the Renegade as he led them to their objective.
Their haste had been another mistake.
Running through a large space filled with concrete columns, a warbling mechanical roar vibrated the Symkarian all the way to her bones as she looked up to see a colossal figure looking down on them from an upper level. "SCATTER!" she ordered as the Reaper opened fire, raising both hands and unleashing a barrage of plasma blasts at the four as they ran in different directions. Bobbing and weaving through the pillars as balls of scorching hot blue plasma rained down on them.
Poking her head out, she saw the single rectangular red eye shift to her when a series of blasts erupted next to the IMC Mechanical Unit and it shifted its focus to the Marauder. Seeing the opening, Sable drew her pistols and opened fire as the Troopers did the same, a hail of red laser fire leapt up at the Reaper, charring is white armor plate and tearing into the exposed internals around the midsection. It seemed the Reaper decided it couldn't win this game of…what did the Americans call it? …Whack a mole, that was it.
Two streams of flame erupted from the machines back as it lifted its bulk up and leapt forwards towards the source of the fire. "Cover!" barked Sable as she dove and rolled out of the way, pressing her back to a pillar until she could feel the ground shake with the impact of the metal feet. Poking her head out, she could see the Reaper turn towards the other troopers and she acted instantly, leaning her upper body out of cover and triggering both pistols. The red laser bolts pelted the white plate and scorched the exposed machinery to seemingly no effect as the Reaper turned back to face her, letting out that mechanical cry as it raised its hands.
Eyes widening at the sight of the ominous blue glow, Sable took off in a dead sprint, ducking as orbs of plasma streaked over head and slammed into the ground next to her, sizzling as they partially melted the concrete. While it was fixated on her, the Reaper ignored her troopers as they opened fire along with the Marauder. The Renegade Gunfighter was bouncing between columns before leaping overhead, disregarding the deadly projectiles missing him by inches as he triggered the MGL, the grenades attaching to the thick armor and detonating, blowing chunks off the Reaper.
A lower, more guttural noise emanated from the damaged machine as it tried, and failed, to hit the Marauder before retreating and reorienting itself on who it decided was the easiest target: the Troopers. An echoing 'thunk thunk thunk' indicated the Reaper was doing something new as large discs shot up before landing on the ground in front of the IMC machine. "Ticks!" barked the Gunfighter, "walking anti-personnel mines! Shoot them and keep your distance!" he explained, clearly worried. Sable wondered what he meant by walking when a red cylinder emerged from the top of the discs while six legs sprouted from the sides and lifted them before skittering across the floor towards the troopers.
The Sable Soldiers reacted smartly, shifting their point of aim to the six Ticks making their way across the floor, slowly picking them off one by one. However, while they were doing that, they were unable to react when the Reaper charged forward and was on them while they were distracted. A powerful sideswipe knocked one armored trooper back against a column as Sable could only watch, the remaining Ticks having moved on her. The Marauder had switched back to his machine gun and was hammering the damaged Reaper to no effect as the machine trampled the other trooper, crushing him underfoot.
As the Symkarian destroyed the last of the mines, she looked up to see the Reaper turn toward the down soldier as the Marauder streaked in to try and pull the man out of harms way only for the Reaper to unleash another salvo of plasma. While none of the shots landed, one did hit close enough to send him flailing through the air before skidding across the floor and coming to a stop next to Sable in time to watch what happened next. The wounded man was picked up, a three fingered hand wrapped around his head as he flailed ineffectually before he was slammed into the concrete pillar with such force the pillar cracked. If he wasn't dead already, then he was certainly killed when the other arm came up, grabbed his legs, and tore his body in two.
But, as she had heard many times, when it rains, it pours. "Shit, I'm outta ammo" admitted the Marauder as he looked at the empty chamber of his LMG. While Sable did have some ammo, she didn't have anything that could kill the Reaper. Suddenly, the Pilot pulled a satchel and clacker from his belt, "I have an idea, get his attention" he ordered as he cloaked and Sable raised her pistols.
She shuffled to her right as she blazed away, firing one pistol and then the other as she saw the Marauder come back into view and drop the satchel on the top of the machine only for it to lash out and slam a fist into him. There was a pained yell as the Marauder hit a pillar and fell to the floor before scampering behind cover. "Sable" called the Commando over the calms, pain straining the words, "the detonator, I lost it" he said.
Sablinova poked her head out from behind her cover and saw the device sitting on the floor not ten feet from the Reaper. "I see it, but I can't reach it. Not unless you distract that thing" she called back as she holstered a pistol and steeled herself to make the suicide dash.
"On three…one…two…three!" called the Marauder as Silver shot out at a dead sprint, exhausted legs pumping like pistons to cover these last few decisive yards to victory or death. The Reaper turned to the Mercenary only for a plume of smoke to erupt around it, lightning crackling through it and shocking the Machine. To add to it, in the corner of her eye, Sable could see a small but intense light appear, dancing like an intense flame as the fire scorched the metal. But despite the display, Silver was solely focused on the clacker as she scooped it up and immediately squeezed the oversized trigger over and over, even after she heard the explosion that it caused.
As the smoke cleared, Sablinova turned to see the Reaper, armor holed and charred, fall to its knees and then flat on its face, a massive hole torn in the top of its head. Without hesitation, she discarded the clacker and drew her shotgun, ramming the barrel through the hole and firing all four shots in the magazine into the innards to make sure the thing was dead. "I…I think we got 'im Sable" remarked the Marauder dryly, but weariness was there too as he drew his pistol and racked the slide. "Now come on princess, we got some damsels in distress to rescue."
In the technical sense of phrase, Felicia and Yuriko, both being young unmarried women, were damsels. And as Yuri flinched from more shots that snapped past her as she lay prone on a catwalk, they were clearly in distress. But despite the phrase 'damsels in distress' being technically accurate, the implied helplessness wasn't true in the slightest because the two women were dishing it out. The Captain dropped the bolt on her scoped rifle and chambered a round before bringing it to bear on the robots firing up at her. Pulling the trigger resulted in another 6.19 mm high velocity round tearing through the head of one of the new, larger machines to no effect as it kept firing. Snarling behind her mask, Yuri fired again, putting three rounds into the bot's chest rapid fire.
But she was not alone, and while they were focused on her the Black Cat had snuck around the flank and leveled her PDW before unleashing a spray of 5.7mm rounds into the back of the red IMC automated infantry to devastating effect. Their battery packs on their backs crackled like popcorn before a larger series of explosions tore through them and sent arms, legs, and guns flying in different directions.
That was the third group the duo had dispatched, the thief had taken the first, Yuri the second, and they had worked together on the third. Despite their success, the two women still had a lot of machines left to destroy if they were going to make it out alive. As a reminder of that, the Burglar was forced to roll into cover as the next group arrived, only there were two squads this time coming at them together. "And I thought the Demons were persistent" muttered Watanabe as she set her sights on one of the grey machines and pulled the trigger, putting a neat hole in its head as it collapsed to the floor.
That caused the others to scatter and move to cover, with Yuri tracking one and able to put a pair of shots into it and take it down before it could get out of the line of fire. Soon however, the machines began to respond smartly, each communicating with either other to pop up and fire at her to force her to keep her head down. No two popped up at the same time and the order was random because of their instant communication. "I need to relocate, cover me" she ordered tersely as she grit her teeth at the lethal projectiles passing overhead.
"So demanding" teased Black Cat, "I bet you're fun in bed" she purred, though she was still gritting her teeth as she moved into position while Yuri promptly ignored her comments. "Smoke's going down" called the thief a moment later as a massive cloud of white obscurant manifested in front of the IMC bots while the black clad prowler threw bursts of fire down towards the machines to keep them low.
Activating her cloak for good measure, the NYPD Captain sprinted down the catwalk before sliding to a stop and going back prone just as the cloak faded away and she got back to work. Activating the IR filter on her goggles, she saw the world in varying shades of bright saturated colors, the grouped of silhouettes orange and red being the heat signatures of her targets. With a staccato Crack as she pulled the trigger, she rejoined the fight as the Specters responded instantly and the Black Cat disengaged.
With rhythmic consistency, Yuri fired the rifle once every two seconds, every round well aimed as she timed short breaths every third round to keep her sights steady. Even if some rounds didn't hit, every bullet was close enough to keep the machines where they were while the Black Cat moved stealthily into a flanking position. But while they were focused and fixated on this group, they failed to notice the third Specter squad enter from a different passageway. With surprising agility, the machines jumped atop some of the equipment before leaping across to a lower catwalk and working the stairs to reach the level Yuri where was perched.
The corner of the Captain's HUD flashed in warning as she tried to remember what that meant before she noticed the shadow looming over her and rolled onto her side as she tried to bring her rifle to bear only for a metal foot to slam down on it and pin it to the floor. Not even trying to wrench it away, Watanabe merely cocked her left fist back and extended the ripper blades from her gauntlet before slamming them into the machines knee and severing its leg. When it lost its balance and dropped down, she snarled and buried the blades into its head before using its body as a shield while its comrades opened fire. Reaching down with her right hand, she pulled out the Wingman pistol and took aim. Pulling the trigger, the powerful report and recoil of the magnum revolver was a comfortingly familiar sensation as she put two rounds in the torso of each of the three remaining bots.
But the IMC weren't letting up as another group of machines arrived, this time the more formidable Stalkers with their tougher construction and heavier weapons. "Incoming!" yelled the Black Cat in warning over the comms as Yuri looked to see a volley of blue streaks heading her way. The EPG rounds slammed into the catwalk, covering Watanabe in a wave of heat before they did their real damage. With a groan and a vibration, the catwalk began to fail and collapse, Yuri's eyes widening in realization before the metal sheared with an earsplitting noise and the Captain found herself tumbling in freefall.
"Shit, shit, shit, SHIT!" screamed Yuri frantically as she felt her Jump Kit activate, getting her legs underneath her and slowing her descent. It saved her life, but that didn't mean it was painless as she rolled before coming to a stop on her back, shaking her head to fight off the fog from a concussion. It didn't take long, the snap of a bullet passing overhead and seeing another kick up dirt a few inches from her face spurring the woman to action.
Spotting her rifle, she scooped it up and slid into cover as she shakily swapped magazines for it and her empty Wingman. Quickly running her hand over her ammo belt, Yuri's situation went from bad to worse, "Damn, last mag!" she announced over the comms, knowing she had to make these remaining 14 shots count. Thankfully, the Stalkers were big targets, and after leveling the playing field quite literally, they marched across the open directly at Watanabe. Leaning out to her right, she triggered the rifle, four rounds hitting their mark and taking out the lead machine before she realized she couldn't afford to use any more ammo then absolutely necessary.
Taking a deep breath, she steadied her aim and put the next round in the following Stalker's kneecap, causing it to stumble enough to expose the battery on its back as Yuri fired again, managing to find her mark. As the chain reaction began to tear through the cells, the Captain found her next target, swinging the gun around to take aim at a third Stalker. Her first shot missed as return fire caused her to flinch and she ducked down behind cover and cursed under her breath.
Activating her cloak, she rounded the corner to move to a new position only to be surprised when she found herself face to face with a Specter pair, the smaller IMC mechanical units unable to detect her as Yuri snapped the gun up and fired two rounds into each machine's head. Her cloak faltering as she sprinted, ignoring the hot lead coming her way as she jumped up and landed on the other side of a low wall and collected herself as she heard watched her proximity alert. Only now had she remembered what that warning was as she waited for the Stalkers to close the distance so she couldn't miss.
When it blinked, the Captain stood up and executed a Mozambique drill on the lead machine, putting two in the chest and one in the head. Swinging the muzzle of the gun to the second, she squeezed the trigger frantically, only, to her horror, nothing happened. The empty chamber remained open and there were no more bullets to put in it, with no other option, Yuri grabbed the rifle by the fore end and leapt up. Raising the gun like an executioner's axe, the boosted jump launched her above the taller Stalker before she fell back to earth and brought the stock of the weapon down on the machine. With a satisfying Crunch she could feel through the body of the gun, the force crushed the 'spinal cord' of the bot and severed the vital components inside as it fell over, motionless and useless. But there wasn't any rest for the wicked, "On your left captain!" called out the Thief in warning.
Quickly discarding the empty rifle, Yuri took aim with the pistol using both hands and strafed to her left to close off an angle as she returned fire, throwing six big .454 slugs down range and hitting four before she pressed herself into a generator and inserted another cylinder into the revolver. Still baffled by how the gun seemed to condense around the cylinder, the Captain extended the Ripper blades again as she prepared to take the machines on in CQB. She saw a pair of robotic arms holding a SMG come around the corner as she slashed down, cutting through one arm and the gun before she stuffed the muzzle of the Wingman in the Specter's chest and blew a half inch hole in it.
Leaping up and forwards, Yuri thrust the Ripper forwards as she used her momentum to drive the skewered robot to the ground before she nearly tore it in half dragging her blades out before rolling into a crouch and dispatching the remaining two with the B3. Checking her six, Yuri's eyes widened at the sight of two Stalkers standing over her as she fired two shots into the chest of the first, staggering it before the revolver clicked, empty. Gritting her teeth, Watanabe dove forwards as the first Stalker swung at her while she slashed at its legs.
But the second one had moved in, wrapping one mechanical hand around her left arm in an iron grip, neutralizing her last weapon as she began to panic, ramming her fist into the metal plate to her own detriment. But the machine only responded with calculated efficiency, twisting her arm as she screamed in pain and kicked with all her might, but was unable to stop the juggernaut. The first machine crawled across the floor, half of one leg cut clean off as it reached out to rip her legs out from under her and she was driven to the ground and felt a steel foot press into her back.
Yuri could feel the life being squeezed out of her when a steam of bullets peppered the downed Stalker as a Black clad figure wrapped her legs around the head of the machine that had the Captain pinned as it released Yuri and began to shake off the Thief. Gasping as Yuri got to her feet and rushed the thrashing Stalker as it slammed the Black Cat into a container, drawing a pained scream from the woman. Her charge didn't go unnoticed however as the machine, arms reaching up to grab the Cat, readied to raise a leg to kick at Yuri as the Captain leapt skyward, aided by the jump kit on her lower back as she snarled and drove the Ripper blades down. They entered the top of the bot's chest and went down towards its center as she tore through the machine until it eventually seized up and fell over.
"Thanks…for…the save" managed Yuri through heavy breaths as she tried to calm down and reload her revolver. But the momentary peace was just that, momentary. The sounds of more approaching automated infantry and their weapons opening fire on the two women caused them to dash to the nearest piece of cover and ready their weapons. Looking at her comrade, Yuri noted that the thief had been reduced to just her sidearm as well as she held the FN semi auto in a two-handed grip. "How much ammo do you have?" asked Yuri, though the grimace on the woman's lips told her all she needed to know. "Let's make them count."
The woman's exposed lips smirked in response as she stood and brought her pistol to bear on their attackers while Yuri did the same. But of all the things the two were expecting, they didn't expect the machines to not be focused on them, instead they all seemed to be turned towards one tunnel and firing down it. "Well he sure took his sweet time" said the woman next to Yuri as the meaning of her words dawned on her just as a group of the machines were caught in the blast of a grenade.
A flurry of red and blue leapt out of the tunnel in response, the rounds cutting into the remaining machines as the sound of gunfire echoed and two figures burst through the tunnel. Flying high and in green was the Marauder, an acquired Volt SMG spraying from one hand and Smart Pistol bucking in the other as he rained death down on the IMC machines below. However, the other figure was laying on the pain as the pistol in each hand spat angry red energy at the disorganized infantry. When both came to a stop they were standing in the middle of the scrapheap they had created and Yuri could see that both the Marauder and Sable looked like they had been through hell as she vaulted out of cover and came up to them, pulling up her goggles and exposing her face.
"Yuri!" called out the Marauder happily as he turned to face the Captain, "good to see you made it. How'd you like being a Pilot? It's quite an experience ain't it?" he drawled, though it was clear he was relieved to be reunited with the NYPD Captain. Yuri was about to warn him that his girlfriend was just behind her. But he quickly turned to something behind Yuri as the Black Cat sprinted forwards and leapt up to embrace the Marauder, clearly relieved to see him alive. "Good to see you Cat. Thanks for coming to help" he told her sincerely as they separated, "we needed it."
"I needed it" admitted Yuri, "even with all the toys I wouldn't have survived down here if she hadn't stumbled across me." The four fighters congregated as the Captain began to lead the group to the HQ terminals and continued. "Where the others?" she asked.
"They did not make it" replied Sablinova bluntly, but it was clear the usually stoic woman had cracks showing in her composure at the loss of the whole platoon. "And this is just the beginning, hopefully what you have learned here will give us a fighting chance in the future" she said sternly, obvious that she was trying to find meaning in her men's deaths and salvage something from this disaster.
"I've already sent all the data I could get to BT" explained the Black Cat as they walked inside, "but they managed to scrub a lot before we got here" admitted the thief as the Pilot stopped, crouching down near one of the bodies and examining the bloody uniform.
"ARES Division…" he murmured as he stood back to his full height. Yuri gave him a questioning look, as did Sable, and the Marauder elaborated. "The IMCs Archaeological Research Division were the ones who found the Ark and created the Fold Weapon. If anyone could figure out a way to replicate what happened to me, it's them." Both women nodded as the Pilot went over to the terminals, "fuck" he cursed loudly. "And this isn't the last of them" he said as he pointed to something, a string of characters that read '3 IBCT 74 ID' even if Yuri didn't understand it. "That's a unit designation, this is the IMCs 3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team of the 74th Infantry Division" he revealed as he took a deep breath.
"Meaning?" asked Yuri cautiously.
"Meaning..." began the Pilot as he exhaled through clenched teeth, "that somewhere out there are 4000 IMC personnel, about 2500 automated Infantry, and a half dozen Titans. We're not dealing with an infiltration; they brought a fucking army."
Cooper's Logbook – IMC ARES Division
A fully combat capable branch of the IMC, the Archaeological RESearch Division is tasked with exploratory expeditions to research, locate, uncover, and exploit indigenous technologies. An organization dating back to before the start of the Frontier War, it is the brainchild of IMC General Marder who leads the organization to this day. Marder is a formidable out of the box strategist and demanding officer who oversees both military and scientific operations for ARES. Everything from weaponizing animal and plant life to excavating and activating potential alien artifacts, ARES isn't known to lack creativity or audacity.
It was one such alien artifact that was responsible for, well, me. The Ark was found by the IMC on the planet Typhon and Marder recognized the potential power of this discovery that lead to ARES setting up a substantial operation on Typhon as the Ark was researched and, eventually, weaponized as the Fold Weapon was developed to take advantage of the Arks unique properties. It was this weapon that attracted the attention of the Militia and eventually sent me to Manhattan more than a year ago.
It seems that Operation Broadsword wasn't the end of them, which shouldn't be a shock. ARES has multiple combat divisions at its disposal and an entire fleet, and that's ignoring hundreds of the IMCs top scientific minds. While not enough to stand up to the whole of the Militia in a straight up fight, their unorthodox methods make them unpredictable. I could never say with any sort of certainty why the IMC is here, but knowing Marder, it can't be good.
Closing Notes: Obviously a lot going on here, but the overall feel of the chapter was based on the 'Underground' DLC for the Division. The spaces and claustrophobic feel I was going for were inspired by that DLC, with the Reaper serving as the 'Hunter' in this little scenario. Another key point was mixing up the usual pairings, Cooper with Sable and Felicia with Yuri and I had some fun doing those interactions, nevermind the action sequences. Other things? We have the continued influence of Sam Fisher on Felicia with the P90 and Karambit, both being staple Splinter Cell weapons (I think, my memory on the P90 is fuzzy). As far as Yuri's 'Ripper', that was inspired by the 'Doom Blade' from Doom Eternal, but the final design and name was lifted from 'Spectre' from Black Ops III, which is the last time that game will be referenced because it was awful. Even if I do not like Apex Legends, the Peacekeeper shotgun is pretty slick and so it makes an appearance here as a part of Silver's personal arsenal. Speaking of Sable, the general vibe with her and her forces is a heavily Russian flavor. Even the motto of the Sable unit, "There are no impossible tasks!" is the motto of the Russian 106th Guards Airborne Division, a unit who's history dates back to World War 2.
Any thoughts about this opener are appreciated as always, I haven't had to do an action heavy chapter like this in a long flipping time so hopefully the pacing isn't too awful and the dialogue doesn't feel completely stilted. Next up is a chapter that is much slower as, if I were using more direct historical events as titles, it would be titled 'The Phoney War.'
But it isn't, so it's about those pulled in to face an enemy as unstoppable, as merciless as tidal waves, like the Wehrmacht.
Stay Frosty, Misfit Delta out.