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Chapter 14: Wayward
Forest clearing, Southeast of the Empire
The ground shook, sending minuscule tremors all around a sparse patch of grassy meadow, and rousing various swarms of woodland creatures scurrying out of their nest and dens towards the safety of the forest's dense underbrush. Breaking out of the foliage, the Jorden crawler trundled along a well-worn path which continued on to the other end of the clearing.
When the Daihotai Tractor reached the center of the meadow, it came to a full stop, and powered down.
The side door to the cab slid open, and Leone raced down its steps, to retch behind one of the tires. "Blegh! That stuff is nasty!" The next to exit the cab was Tatsumi, who held up a partially torn M.R.E. package, and chucked it to the grass with a look of disgust and disappointment "We must've missed a step in preparing it. The instructions just seemed too complicated." As he clambered down the steps, Akame became the third to exit and descend "If you'd all just let me prepare it myself, I could have made it edible." Still up in the cab, Chelsea spoke down to her "You've done enough already with all the driving, to get Us this far. You should be taking it easy, while the rest of Us handle the small trifles."
The redhead looked over at Tatsumi who had a hand patting against Leone's back while she continued to gag. "Hey, you two." she called out "Go see what's lying around, for dinner. I'll check in with base, in the meantime." Chelsea then rolled the cab door closed, and sat down in the navigator seat to operate the comms.
Tatsumi eyed the forest surroundings, then turned to Leone "I suppose, I can get a fire going. Can I leave it to you to find what's on the menu?"
Leone licked her lips, and activated her Imperial Arm, transforming into Lionel's beast form. She then sniffed the air, and growled with excitement "Have everything ready by the time I get back. I'm looking to catch big game tonight." With bestial agility and grace, Leone set off into the trees, and disappeared from sight.
Akame reached over to a compartment hatch near the back of the crawler "The cookware should be in here-" She suddenly felt Tatsumi place his hands on her shoulders and gently oved her aside "Let me, Akame. Bishop's instructions were clear. There's no need to push yourself than you've already done today. I can handle it from here."
The red eyed assassin was starting to feel agitated "I'll be fine Tatsumi. I'm not all that weary from the drive." The green eyed fighter remained insistent "Bishop's orders. You're supposed to be taking this time to recuperate, before We set out again at first light tomorrow. And no driving through the night, also. We can't afford to have you getting fatigued over the road, unlike the Boss's group who has Su behind the wheel and can drive nonstop."
Akame gave her teammate a glare of discontent "You're all treating me like this, because of the way I acted before boarding the Sulaco. Isn't it?" Tatsumi shrugged his shoulders, and nodded "That's mostly the reason, yeah."
"That was a onetime event." Akame said defensively "It won't happen again, I swear it."
"Are you sure about that?" Tatsumi rebuked, watching the young woman turn the other way to hide her uncertainty. "I'm sure." she asserted, and then took his hands in hers, after seeing the doubt linger in her Comrade's emerald eyes "Please, just trust me on this. Do it for me, okay?"
A moment passed and Tatsumi relented, much his fellow Teammate's happiness.
"I'm sorry if I worried you, back on the Dropship with the others out in Space." Akame said, promptly "I didn't think I would freak out like that. That's never happened to me, before." Tatsumi smiled in sympathy "You're strong, Akame. You were such a reserved person, always keeping your feelings in check, and hardly expressing your emotions." He then drew Incursio and gazed at its sword form "But you've shown me once, how your feelings got out and poured all over. You could only hold it in for so long before it overwhelms your heart, and that's an unhealthy way to live. Look at what had happened because of it."
Akame looked up at the sky, as the twilight began to loom above, revealing the first glimmer of starlight "When I first laid eyes on the stars, from within the Dropship, I felt so much joy in my heart, and I let the emotion flow so freely. Then, a torrent of other feelings had come rushing out along with it. Love, Happiness, Loss, Anger, Hatred, and so many others." Akame once again turned to her side "I lost sight of myself, after that. And for a while, I felt so empty and hollow." With her crimson gaze, she looked back over at Tatsumi "You have my thanks, for all the support you've given me. Both You, Mine, Hicks, Ripley, Leone, and Everyone else.
Tatsumi made a tender grin, and scratched his nose in embarrassment "It's what friends do, Akame. We are all in this together. And We're all gonna make it out of this together, too." Tatsumi picked up several pots and pans "So don't psyche yourself out of wanting to see the World, and Beyond. We'll have our whole lives ahead of Us, once the fighting is over. I guarantee it."
Akame made an exceptionally radiant smile, which made Tatsumi blush even more while wondering how beautiful she could be if she smiled like that more often. "You're right." she admitted "We'll have plenty of time, when this is all over." She then brought out the remaining cooking utensils, and set about preparing to make a meal out of whatever Leone brings back.
Sub-Level 05, Atmosphere Processor, Capital of the Empire
A bright flash of light shone in the center of the laboratory, as Honest materialized out of Shambhala's portal, appearing right behind an occupied Dorothea who was examining the sample contents within a microbial slide through the focused lens of a microscope.
"It's getting late." The Prime Minister grumbled without making any effort to hide his aggravation "You've better have a damned good excuse, to call for me at this hour." The Alchemist remained unintimidated as she pushed herself away from her chemistry equipment, an ensemble of beakers, erlenmeyer flasks, retorts, flow tube inductors, drip funnel, and bunsen burners, to meet her surly benefactor face to face.
"I've managed to synthesize a batch of that catalytic accelerant, from the molecular formula We've originally discovered within the Alien genome. We now have the means necessary, for initiating the Specimen's growth into the next stage of Its life-cycle." With a wave, Dorothea gestured at the lab surroundings "With all of the materials I have available, I'd say my first attempt at manufacturing the agent was rather successful if not crude." She then produced a vial from out of her dress pocket. Inside, sloshed a viscous solution which caught the light in an ominously eerie purple glow "Everything's ready to administer it, but I figured you should be the one to make that kind of decision."
Honest gazed at substance with scrutiny. He then leered at the dormant Xenomorph in Its stasis tank. "What can happen, if the mixture wasn't right? Will there be any risk to the Creature?" Dorothea shook her head "If the solution doesn't collude with the Alien's biochemistry, it should just be broken down by It's metabolism, to the base components, and subsequently excreted as waste." She then picked up a nearby clipboard, and gleaned over a paper full of charts, and table graphs "It's still somewhat of a theoretical assumption. But, all of the data and information gathered from my studies so far, had pointed to this conclusion."
The Prime Minister stroke his beard in thought. After a minute, he nodded "Proceed then. Make sure to document any and all after-effects of the transformation. I'll expect constant reports and updates on the Beast's progress." Even as the Prime Minister continued to voice his instructions, Dorothea had already trotted over to the large containment tank, and stood at the I.V. control console.
Taking a syringe from out if her dress pocket, the foreign Alchemist held the vial up with her other hand, and stuck the needle through the rubber stopper. She then pulled back on the plunger, and extracted a large dose of the artificial concoction.
"I think I should warn you though." Dorothea urged while removing one of the intake lines from the sedative pump "If this works, and We've successfully induced a change to This One's morphology, It could very well become a Queen. An egg-layer, a Hive leader, three times as big, and as many more times as strong and fierce. If what the late General Esdeath describe in her debrief is any indication." Honest simply grinned "That's exactly what I'm counting on. Our very own Queen, capable of producing countless numbers of Aliens for Our cause. We'd needn't concern Ourselves with obtaining any wild-caught Xenomorphs, when We can breed a whole swarm in a matter of hours. All under Our control, am I right?"
Dorothea inserted the syringe at the end of the intravenous tube "We know for certain, that the Queen is the prime deciding factor in Xenomorph activity. And She could display certain degrees of intelligence and reasoning." She pressed the plunger forward, and watched as the artificial Royal Jelly injected down the tube, then fed into the Alien's body "Such qualifications could allow Us to manipulate Her actions by way of persuasion or coercion. We figure out on controlling a Queen, command of the entire Brood is Ours."
There was a reaction to the catalyst's induction into the Alien's physiology. Bio-readouts displayed on computer viewscreens spiked with activity, as the Xenomorph trembled slightly within the tank.
Just when it seemed like the Alien was about to stir awake, It's limbs slackened, and resumed bobbing limply within the stasis fluid. The Bio-readings did not follow suit, as multiple sensors ran abuzz with an influx of aberrations to what had once been a steady morphology of a dormant Organism.
Dorothea paid close attention to all monitors, whilst fervently jotting notes on the erratic feedback which might indicate the Creature was either undergoing change, or dying. "Much of Its internal composure is tying itself in knots, so to speak." She remarked "But I'm not detecting any sort of trauma or degradations. I think the infusion was a successful one."
Honest was pleased "Wonderful. Make sure to notify me, once the change is complete." He then gestured at the stairwell leading back to the upper Sub-levels "As for the other matter I'd like for you to look into…"
Dorothea stifled a yawn, and set down her clipboard, before turning away from the Alien's holding container "Yes, yes. I'll get right on it. But, if I'm to pull an all-nighter working on 'That', I'm going to have to feed first."
Rolling flatlands, Southwest of the Empire
Twilight has fallen across the land, as the last sunlight waned away, inviting the stars and the red moon to shine brilliantly against the encroaching dark of night. Still, the crawler carrying Najenda's party rolled onward along the lonely road which stretched through a barren landscape. It's large headlights blazing forward into the darkness ahead, to allow safe passage and navigation.
Susanoo stared out past the cab's windshield, making subtle changes in steering, to keep the Daihotai Tractor on the directed path prompted by GPS's homing coordinates. Beside him, Mine sat in the co-driver seat, having traded off with Najenda so that the commander could rest her eyes in the back.
"There's really no need for you to accompany me up here, Mine." insisted the humanoid Imperial Arm "I can take care of driving and navigating well enough, all by my lonesome." Mine wagged a finger in his direction "It was getting uncomfortable back there, having to sit next to Lubbock while he gawked absentmindedly at all those damned horror movies he's queued up on the television. The last one nearly made me squeamish. It had some guy with a burnt face and a clawed hand, stalking and killing people in their dreams. Can't say I can stomach anymore of these kinds of shows, without losing sleep." She reached in front of the dashboard, and lifted a communications headset jacked into comms transmitter "Besides, it's about time for checking in with HQ."
After flipping a switch, the uplink flickered on, and static began flowing out of the speakers "Confirmed. We're still on course to the destination." Mine spoke into the radio mic, informing the Revolutionary Army back at base on Night Raid's progress. "Just as predicted, We'll be arriving at the designated location by morning." A series of compressed words garbled through her headset, followed by Mine saying "Roger. Over and Out." She removed the headset and set it aside.
"I've got word, that Akame's team had bedded down for the night." The Genius Sniper announced, she then turned in her seat to talk behind "Did you hear me, Boss?-!" she stopped short of her question, as her caught sight of the back seats.
In the seat behind Mine, Najenda reclined with her eyes closed shut. Her head hung over her left shoulder and rested upon Lubbock's own head who was also fast asleep whilst leaning against the Boss's side. A look of content clearly visible on the young man's visage.
"Oh, brother." Mine tutted "Can he be anymore crass?"
"Leave them be." Susanoo interrupted "Ever since We've left the hideout, it's been nothing but constant battles strung together one after another. A single moment of bliss, could do some good. There may never be another moment like this again."
The pink haired gunner huffed in annoyance, but dropped the subject altogether. Instead, she properly sat in her seat, and peered out into the gloomy road ahead of the crawler "We're a long way from home, huh?"
The humanoid Imperial Arm glanced sidelong at the map image from the navigational computer screen "It won't be much farther. We'll get there soon enough. You should get some rest in the meantime. You'll be needing your strength for tomorrow."
Mine nodded and yawned sleepily, before unbuckling herself out of the seat. "You sure you're fine handling things by yourself?" Susanoo waved nonchalantly, before making a casual adjustment to the controls "I've got it covered. There's not much to look out for, since vegetation is sparse in these parts. I can manage well enough on my own at this point."
Without another word, Mine moseyed towards the back of the cabin, and settled into one of the available sleeper berths. Her thoughts drifted towards Tatsumi and the others being so far away.
"I'm such an idiot." muttered the pink haired gunner "Why couldn't I tell him before We left?" She laid stiffly inside her bunk, her gut churning with a sense of regret. "And now, he's half a continent away, with Leone, Akame, and Chelsea alone with him. Who knows what could happen?" Again, her stomach churned, but she just forcefully patted her cheeks "I don't have time to be thinking about that. We're in a struggle for the fate of the World, and Our lives could be in danger at any given moment. There's no telling what could be waiting for Us at the end of the road. What if We get in way over Our heads? Who's going to bail Us out of this one, if things get bad? And what if the Others need Our help?"
So many doubts and worries cluttered Mine's thoughts, causing her to massage her temples. "I think saw one scary movie too many. From now on, I'd rather not see any more masked killers with horrifyingly grotesque faces and armed with an ominous bladed weapon or claw."
Hoping to bring peace of mind, Mine reached down at the foot of her bunk, and brought out the Phased Plasma Pulse Rifle, before laying it beside her. All the worries and concern taxed the last of Mine's energy, as the weight of fatigue began to set in. "Let's just hurry and get tomorrow over with, then We can regroup with Akame's team sooner" The lull of a calm night, combined with the gentle rocking motion of the cab provided by sophisticated individual suspensions on the multiple axles, pulled her away into what she hopes would be a peaceful slumber.
Forest clearing, Southeast of the Empire
The clearing where the Jordens' Daihotai Tractor had parked, served as a temporary campsite for Akame and Company. The shroud of near pitch black darkness enveloped all around, thanks to weather overcast looming above and blotting out the brilliance of the stars as well as the Moon's crimson glow.
Inside the crawler, Tatsumi sat in the cab's driver seat, as he kept first watch while the Others slept in bunks at the back of the cabin. His gaze keenly swept along the windshield view of the outside gloom. In his hand, he held a Motion Tracker for detecting anything that could come nosing around within the vicinity.
"It's been quite a peaceful evening." the green eyed fighter remarked. The tracking equipment hadn't shown anything major in the past hour. Only a handful of forest critters had come near, foraging for any morsels left from the Group's dinner, which was roasted meat of a Danger Beast Brash Bear. The scavengers of the night would pick at the discarded entrails, and slink away from the clearing in silence.
Before Tatsumi could set the Motion Tracker down, a dry blip sounded out. He stiffened and tensed, as he reached for his Imperial Arm. With Incursio in one hand, and the Tracker in the other, he studied the device's screen closely.
Nothing was showing up on the scope, but the newest member of Night Raid could've sworn he spotted three signal blips onscreen, just along the outer reaches of the tracking field. Big ones at that.
"I'm sure, I picked up something." Tatsumi murmured "What was it?" He started to pan the Motion Tracker out in front of him. The mysterious signal blips hadn't shown, as if they were never there.
'Was it my imagination?" the green eyed fighter peered out into the gloom of the surrounding forest. Everything beyond the view of the windshield, was enveloped in pitch black. And then Tatsumi realized how the forest has become eerily still, as if the local wildlife and the wind itself were holding their breath.
Tatsumi began to grow unsettled with dreaded anticipation. The stillness was overwhelming, and the only source of noise besides Leone's snoring and the Motion Tracker's sensory pulse, was the thudding sensation of his own beating heart. Much to his confusion, the low sounding thuds seemed to come from below his feet, instead of his chest, as if the ground itself was trembling.
"What the-" before Tatsumi could utter another word, he felt something tap his shoulder. "Ack!" Tatsumi coughed in surprise, as he spun around while holding Incursio at the ready. But he quickly relaxed, as he sees Chelsea easing away from him with both hands held up.
"Thanks, Chelsea!" muttered Tatsumi "I'll probably never get the hiccups, ever again." Chelsea looked genuinely annoyed, as she threw him a rebuttal "Chill out, you scaredy cat. What's got your undies in a bunch?" The former held up the Motion Tracker "I saw the Tracker pick up a reading." He then pointed in the direction where the signal had appeared "There's Something out there."
Chelsea stared for a moment, before letting out a condescending sigh "Look, I think you've had a long day. It's my turn to keep watch, so you should get some rest." Tatsumi stubbornly held the Motion Tracker tight "I know what I saw. Something really did set off this device." The redhead began to grow more irate "Whatever may or may not have been out there, It is clearly not interested in Us. Otherwise, We'd have incoming by now." She slowly came up to the young man, and gingerly took the Motion Tracker out of his hand "Seriously. I'm starting to think the fatigue is making you spazz out, just like what happened to Akame."
"I'm not." Tatsumi muttered defensively "And leave Akame out if this. She's been through a lot, these past few days. Especially when she came so close to getting her Younger Sister back, only to have Kurome slip right through Our fingers." Chelsea took a lollipop from Gaea Foundation's compartment "I saw. I was there too, you know." She unwrapped the lollipop, and placed it in her mouth "She may not show it, but Akame is someone who's feelings are in constant turmoil. On one hand, she stands to gain much happiness by saving the World, and venturing forth to explore it. On the other, she can't stand the thought of her dreams coming true at the expense of the happiness of others'. The guilt would be too much to bear for her overburdened heart."
Akame mumbled something incomprehensible in her sleep, as she tossed and turned, before settling back down.
Both Tatsumi and Chelsea held still, before the latter continued "Did you ever consider, why Akame is such a skilled assassin?" Tatsumi shook his head. "It's because, nobody could hardly sense her Killing Intent or her bloodlust. She's a master of concealing her presence, by masking her own bloodlust. Or lack thereof." That had Tatsumi perplexed "What?"
The redheaded young woman held up Gaea Foundation "Every master assassin in their profession practices the art of stealth and concealment, so as not to alert their marked target of any danger. We use all sorts of tools and skills available towards this method. And the reason Akame can hide her presence so skillfully, is because of her innate ability to resist succumbing to bloodlust during a fight." Chelsea then clarified "Don't take it the wrong way. She's a ruthless killer like the rest of Us. What sets her apart is the motivation. When a normal person kills, a selfish impulse is usually called upon, to push the individual to commit the act."
Tatsumi mulled that information over in his thoughts. Looking back, he realized when he killed his first victim Aria, it was out of vengeance and hatred. There was nothing noble or heroic about the kill. It was just done out of a selfish desire to satisfy an impulse, which begot his bloodlust. Then it occurred to him, how every other killer had their own selfish impulse that drives them to kill. From himself, it's his desire to avenge his friends. From his fellow members of Night Raid, he could see Sheele's bloodlust came from her belief that killing was the only task she wasn't clumsy at performing. From Mine, it's her desire to keep from being shunned or persecuted because of her heritage. From Bulat and Najenda, it's their want on removal of the Empire's current leaders from power.
Tatsumi then saw it was the same with the Jaegers. Seryu's vindication for enforcing her own perceived notions of Justice. Kurome's cognitive inhibitions brought on by her constant consumption of drugs. For Dr Stylish, it's his immoral desire to perversely extend one's natural limitations. And for Esdeath, it was for sport. For fun.
The newest member of Night Raid looked up at the stars, as if trying to spot the Sulaco in high orbit. There, on that ship, two of the worst Monsters he's ever encountered, had met their end. But even that wasn't accomplished without Ripley's own selfish killing impulse. Ripley herself was willing to do whatever it took to achieve her own desire, which was to annihilate the Aliens, an entire Species of impulsive killers for the selfish reason of procreation. "Cause that's all We need." Tatsumi moaned inward "More selfish killers in this World."
"Can you see now, how Akame is different from the rest of Us?" Chelsea asked. Tatsumi nods "I've seen Akame make a kill before. There was no malice, nor remorse. She was both calm, and almost like a machine." He cast a wary glance at the sleeping Akame "Taking a life seemed so natural to her, like a sixth sense."
"And because of that, Akame can remain thoughtless of herself when fighting." Chelsea concurred "It's why killing so many people hasn't warped her personality like so many others. She thinks not of herself when making a kill, but of others. She takes life on a singular impulse of benefitting others."
"Akame's thoughts and feelings can sometimes be conflicted, but her personality is hardly complex." Chelsea cracks a smile "She lives to please others. That is the way she's wired from birth." Tatsumi couldn't help but smirk in slight agreement. Other than food, Akame was never stringent on giving to her friends and comrades.
The young male brunette cast a sidelong glance at his dark haired Comrade "She sleeps so peacefully. One look, and you'd think there wasn't a soul burdened with so much hardships " Tatsumi looked down at Incursio still in his hand, then at the Tactical Shotgun lying near his seat "Her strength of will is astounding, for it to balance her resolve and convictions in such a convoluted life." Akame began to stir in her sleep, so Tatsumi set aside the Motion Tracker, and place his hand on her arm, to try and sooth her. Once Akame settled back down into calm, Tatsumi grinned "However difficult it may be, I'll be the one who'll take away the troubles in her heart."
Chelsea blushed at hearing Tatsumi's declaration, but felt relieved at hearing more of her Comrades speech. "Once We find the Derelict, and regroup, I'm gonna scour the Capitol clean of any filth that remains." Tatsumi explained "Then, I'm gonna hunt down every last Alien on this planet. Once I'm done, Akame will never have to draw Murasame or fire that new gun of hers ever again."
Chelsea continued to blush as the redheaded young woman stood there listening to the green eyed fighter's remark. "That's quite noble of you to say, Tatsumi." she complimented "But, once all is said and done, what then?" Chelsea donned a serious look and asked him directly "What are your plans, after all the fighting is done?"
Tatsumi fidgeted with a look of uncertainty "I'm not really sure." he admitted "I suppose, I'll just go back to my home village, and live a quiet life." The newest member of Night Raid then took Incursio, and laid it next to his Shotgun "The main reason I left home in the first place, was so that I can work hard in the Capitol alongside my friends, and save the village from poverty, with the wealth we would've made if we succeeded." A small single tear flowed from the corner of Tatsumi's green eye, and Chelsea had to resist the urge to embrace and comfort him.
Tatsumi then wiped his eye with the sleeve of his shirt, and continued "And none of that has changed." He gazed up at the stars above "Fate has been kind enough to introduce me to some new friends, and provide me with a real opportunity to make a difference in fulfilling Everyone's happiness." A warm smile formed on his face "It doesn't matter if I'm the most happiest man in the World or not. So long as I know Everyone is at peace and enjoyment, I can bring myself to smile with satisfaction and pride."
Chelsea clasped her hands over her chest to cover where her fluttering heart. The redhead wore a plain expression, as she watched Tatsumi approach her with the Motion Tracker offered up front. Strong feelings had overwhelmed her thoughts, as she tried to calmly accept the offer. She had almost didn't hear Tatsumi's question "What about you, Chelsea? What are your plans, after all the fighting is done?"
Chelsea reigned in her feelings, as she tried to answer the question with a straight face "Probably settle down in a small town or village somewhere." she replied "And live the quiet life, same as you." Tatsumi made a smile, and scratched at the back of his head. "Well maybe, you could find the time to visit me someday." he invited "I'm sure it'd be fun to show you the place where I grew up in." Chelsea made a smirk, and agrees "I would like that, very much so."
With another grin, Tatsumi retired to his bunk, and bedded down for the night. Leaving Chelsea to muse over what to do in the meantime. "Tomorrow then." she spoke resolutely to herself "Once this mission is over, I'll tell Tatsumi exactly how I feel."
Chelsea then began to feel a pang of guilt, as she eyed her fellow femme fatales "I'm truly sorry Mine, Akame, and Leone. You three have waited for too long, and now you've missed your chance." She then looked down at her only male companion in this group "Prepare yourself, Tatsumi. I'm about to make you the most happiest man in the Universe. You'd better be grateful."
Wetland swamp, South of the Empire
It was just after sunrise when the Daihotai Tractor started to lose momentum in its forward motion. Susanoo had stepped on the brakes, causing the crawler to lurch into a halt.
["Well, Long Tall Sally, she's built for speed! She got everything that Uncle John needs! Yeah!-"]
Najenda reached over and flipped the music speaker switch off, before peering out the front of the crawler's windshield in observance "Hmm?"
Out in front of the vehicle, the road came to an abrupt end before a sprawling wetland full of tall reeds, mired trees, and stagnant bogs.
"We must be getting close to Our destination." Lubbock pointed out, whilst holding up a Motion Tracker. The device was tuned with a waypoint designator, set to the location of the Derelict coordinates. "According to the Tracker, We need to go about one kilometer through all that muck."
Mine shook with apprehension "Well then what are We waiting for? Let's get on with this."
"We cannot proceed any further, in this machine." warned Susanoo, as he cut the engines "It's not meant to handle this kind of terrain. Bishop made that clear to me, when he taught me about the tractor's specifications."
All eyes rested on Najenda, who rubbed her chin in thought. "We're going to have to hoof it, from here on in." their leader flatly declared. She then flexed her cybernetic arm in readiness "Everyone go light. We'll bring in the heavier gear, once We confirmed the Derelict's location."
All four members of the Group assembled at the border between dry, solid ground and moist, soggy basin. Each ensured to kit themselves minimally for the extensive hike. Najenda had her cyber arm with its smartgun rig attachment, and the support pack hoisted to her back. Susanoo only had his pole arm, and a Pulse Rifle slung across his shoulders, Lubbock brought his Service Pistol in its shoulder holster, plus a Shotgun and the Motion Tracker, before donning Cross Tail's gloves. Mine had her Phased Plasma Pulse rifle hanging from her shoulder, while she carried Pumpkin by hand. Using her Imperial Arm's eyepiece, she scanned the area ahead.
The swamp offered no clear path or trail for easy traversal, only a constant slough of placid creeks and congestive marsh. All a collage of mottled green and murky brown.
"Okay." started the Genius Sniper "Who doesn't mind large swarms of leeches, bugs, and parasites?"
"Lubbock." Najenda gestured towards a patch of wet grass off on the side of the road "If you don't mind…" Lubbock grinned, and readied his Imperial Arm "One clean and dry walking trail, coming right up." The green haired defense operative wove Cross Tails' threads, twining and bundling them into lengthening braids. Then, with nigh superhuman dexterity, he brought it all together to form a wide and long shroud resembling a net. "Hrgh!" with a heave, Lubbock cast the shroud forward along its length to billow forth and snag at every branch, trunk, and root of the swamp's dense foliage. Finally, with a sharp yank, the latticework of threads became taught, bringing together all matter of underbrush into a thick matte of traversable footing like a makeshift catwalk.
"And, viola!" Lubbock spoke proudly, as he set foot on his creation, and walked around to demonstrate its hardiness. "Step on up." he said invitingly "It's really sturdy." One by one, his fellow assassins stood upon the improvised footpath
"Well done, Lubbock." praised Najenda, as she steadied herself while leaning on Susanoo's arm gor balance. The humanoid Imperial Arm carefully assisted his user, driving his pole arm into the wet ground to use as leverage. "It's quite a handicraft." he complimented "It has such a perfect symmetry to it."
"Way to go, Pervert." Mine added "You finally did something useful, for a change." Najenda threw her young Subordinate a glowering look "I will not tolerate any of your bratty tirades, during this mission, Mine." Night Raid's leader then indicated the surrounding swamp "We've got enough problems to deal with as it is, so I expect nothing short of your best effort from here on out. You hear me?"
Mine grew silent as she started down the track by herself, ahead of the team
"Geez" Lubbock groaned "What the Hell is her problem?" Najenda held up her regular hand, to settle him down "There are a lot of bad things that could happen to Us, out here. So, she's frustrated that her heart would be full of regret." Lubbock grew more confused "Huh? Regrets from what?" Najenda smiled "She's head over heels for a certain someone. For someone like me, it's easy to tell what's in the hearts of my Subordinates."
Lubbock began to blush "You don't say. She always seem to put herself before anyone else." Najenda looked over to where Mine walked off to "For someone like me, it's easy go tell what dwells in the hearts of others." She then put up her arms in a shrug of resignation "Well, in the end, everything will be up to her." She then gazed off in the distance, towards the Northeast "But, if she keeps dragging her feet, Tatsumi will…" her voice began to mumble, as she became absorbed in her own thoughts.
Lubbock was still intrigued "Tatsumi will what?-" suddenly, Susanoo cut in front if him "C'mon. We still need you to string up more pathways up ahead. Don't fall behind."
The party pressed forward, further into the wetland swamp. Susanoo was at the fore, clearing away any imposing reeds and shrubbery, using the many sickles on his pole arm. Lubbock trailed behind him, to make more walkways whenever they came across another fen. Najenda would follow after, brandishing the Motion Tracker she's holding for Lubbock. Using the waypoint displayed on the device's screen, the group leader could keep their bearings in this thick fen environment. No movements of any creature were detected within the vicinity. "Tread carefully, everyone." She warned "These swamps are typically chocked full if sinkholes and quicksand, plus all kinds of nasty critters could hiding beneath the wet grass. Maybe even Danger Beasts." All of her Subordinates minded their footing, to prevent slipping into deep bogs and marshes. Mine brought up the rear, frequently sweeping her Plasma Rifle side to side, whilst panning her view likewise as she scanned with Pumpkin's eyepiece.
"Strange." Commented the pink haired gunner. Her Commander looked back with a questioning glare "What did you find?" Mine shook her head before answering "Nothing. And that's the issue. Here We are, hundreds of miles from civilization, at the center of some uncharted region untouched by man. And it's quiet, with no hint of wildlife to be found.
Everyone craned their necks, and tweaked their ears. Aside from the occasional wisps of tree branches and leaves, and the sloshing of reeds and water, there was no living contributions to the ambient noise. No buzzing of insects, no hissing of reptiles, no chirping of birds, nor chittering of mammals. The entire swamp seemed devoid of animal presence.
"Okay, so Mine may have a point." Lubbock discerned "There's definitely something wrong with this picture."
"There must be some sort of anomaly here, which may have force everything residing here to vacate." Susanoo surmised "All native creatures tend to have such aversions to anything unnatural intruding on the land."
"Let's keep it moving." Najenda instructed "We're close to where We need to go. We'll figure out what's behind this absence of fauna, later." Her team maintained the slow progress onwards.
"Remind me of the plan again." Mine asked "If We end up finding the Derelict, how do We go about it?"
"We secure the vessel." Najenda explained "We'll go by standard quarantine and eradication protocols. Su will enter alone, since he's least likely to get infected. He'll ascertain any viable threats, and neutralize them. That's mean destroying every single Alien egg he could find. Lubbock will use Cross Tails to seal any exits and entrances, big or small, to prevent escape. Mine and I will stand guard, and shoot anything that isn't Us. We cannot risk a single parasite getting away, or We'll never know if We've full exterminated the species."
"Seems easy enough." Lubbock chimed in optimistically "No pressure then."
Night Raid's leader glance down at the Motion Tracker's screen. "15 meters out." she announced as her humanoid Imperial Arm continued to cut a swath through the thick vegetation.
"10 meters." Night Raid's leader counted down. The group continued to truss their way through the seemingly endless morass, until they came upon a row of trees blocking the view ahead.
"5 meters left. Pass that hedge, and We'll be right on top of it." urged Najenda, and with a heaving windup, Susanoo chopped a wide swath into an opening ahead.
As the group stepped through the breach of verdant overgrowth, Najenda issued further instructions "And nobody do anything that can damage the Derelict. It may be Ripley's, Hicks' and the Others' only means of returning to Earth." She got confirmed nods all around, then were immediately followed up by confused expressions.
"Oh, shit." Lubbock blurted out. Beside him, Mine echoed his apprehension "So, this is how things turned out."
Susanoo remained vigilant, as Najenda tried as hard as she could to discern their current conundrum.
Here at the exact site of the coordinates, was a large lake half a mile wide.
And no Derelict to be found.
Chapter 14: End
Thank you for reading. Please leave a review, and any feedback really helps me stay focused and dedicated. If you have any questions, let me know with PM. And if you like the story, please tell a friend. Next chapter, an insidious entity stalks the unsuspecting Night Raid, poised to strike with relentless lethality. The hunt will soon commence.