Welcome back to The Will of Revenge! Today, we're going back to Milky Way to check on our other set of heroes stuck in the middle of galactic-scale conflict and leave the rest to their own things. Laconians and the rest of the Concordance are still out there, after all.
But before that, reviews.
To Supreme Supra: I actually didn't know that. But in this timeline, such devices were not created and ammo is still normally distributed.
To Guest: No.
Okay, with that done, let's start.
Chapter 7
June 3, 2166
12:21
ICTA Stealth Frigate UNSA San Antonio, Avargan System
Avagran System was a star system at the border of Human and Shakayan spaces, known for it's rich lithium and platinum deposits. This is why it was often a reason for tensions between the two species, as they contested the system. But after signing an agreement in 2131, the system came under joint supervision of UN and USK.
And by the last week, it was home to Ester, Delilah and the rest as they went through training preparing them for their role of ICTA's special operations unit. The very Frigate they were on, one of the American-made Colorado-class Stealth Frigates, was given to them by Sanjrani as their personal transport and command vessel.
"Alright, today's session is done."Delilah said.
As she said that, the holographic environment around them disappeared. Soldiers, a mix of Norrine's old unit and Falmartian Fighter Infantry Recruits, started leaving the room, alongside Ester, Delilah and Norrine, which led them in today's session, in which they stormed Laconian weapons lab, where prototype of antimatter weapon was held. Mission was a full success and weapon was destroyed.
They left the training chamber and the ICTA crew of the Frigate showed them thumbs up.
"That was pretty fun."Norrine admitted.
"And you thought that working for ICTA will be bad."Ester said.
"I was wrong, okay?"
"First time?"Delilah asked.
Norrine just shrugged it off. Ester and Delilah decided not to comment on that.
They simply went down the corridors of the ship leading towards the armory. They were passed by some crew members, which waved or saluted them, with the three always returning the gesture. By the time they spent here, they already met some of the ICTA personnel and got well acquainted with them.
They also made friends with the ship's weapon master, so when they entered the armory, a middle-aged man waved at them.
"After training?"he asked.
"We sure are, Evo."Ester replied.
"And how are your guys?"
"Ready for anything."Norrine said.
"Period."Delilah added.
Evo nodded and waited for them to take off the combat gear. Next, he grabbed it and placed in their cabinets.
"So, any news from the frontline?"Delilah asked.
Except of serving as the ships weapons master, Evo was also the greatest source of rumors on the ship. Whenever you wanted to hear some interesting rumor regarding UNSA or ICTA, you had to go to Evo.
"Not much."Evo replied."Although I did hear something."
"What?"Ester asked.
"It would appear, that Concordance's offensive started to slow down, although not very much. They still push on every possible front. Some say, that Chakdrik already lost two fleets trying to stop Maraqi march towards Chakdria."
"Well, shit."Norrine stated.
"Indeed."weapons master nodded.
By the time they were here, they were constantly searching for any form of information on what was happening in the wider galaxy. It was confirmed by military sources, that Angier Prime and entire Angier System were taken over in lighting-fast attack, which destroyed majority of African Union's defenses. Intergalactic Gate was closed and fleet of twenty former HO ships was guarding it.
Not only that, but Nakatan forces managed to break through Shakayan defenses and were currently speeding towards Shakaya and nobody knew if they could be stopped. Chakdrik defenses did hold Maraqi forces in check, but it was clear, that all Maraqi were doing was not actually try and reach Chakdria, but to tie Chakdrik forces in their space, so they couldn't help Nashini, Shakayans or Humans.
Only Tertans were seeing any progress. Forces affiliated with Tertan Protectorate were being thrown from one place to the other, trying to hold off other Laconian advances and they were good at it. UNSA fleets were also doing their best to hold the enemy, but no matter what they did, the sheer number of Laconian ships and fleets was too much for them and the fact that Tertan forces couldn't be everywhere at once only made it worse.
The only good news were coming from Solar System, actually. Although entire Local Sector was abandoned, forces that were left there were still putting up a fight. On Mars, Laconians already were in Landres Nova, but as it turned out, attacking a city defended by a garrison made out of both veteran Marines and Martian Shock Troopers was hard and pulled a big cost with itself. Already twenty thousand Laconian soldiers were killed since their landing on Mars. Earth was no better, as heavy urban fighting in major urban centers, as well as beyond them, already caused the death of fifty thousand Laconian soldiers, with another fifty thousand wounded, which only showed how much did Laconian commanders care about their soldiers' lives.
"At least these bastards are having a hard time."Norrine smirked.
"Agreed."Evo said."They did have numbers when it comes to fleets and stolen HO ships, but we have numbers on the ground."
"And as long as Earth stands, they won't have the satisfaction."Delilah stated.
"Okay, thanks Evo. Have a nice day."Ester said.
"Same for you."
The three then left the armory and went to the ship's common room.
"When do you think we will finally get something to do?"Norrine asked.
"Missing the action, huh?"Delilah asked.
"This is her, I guess."Ester scratched back of her head.
"Well, sure I do."Norrine replied."After all, ICTA boss promised us some action, right?"
"Don't worry, sooner or later, you will get what you want. For now, you have to stay put and make sure your guys and gals are ready."
"Don't worry, with me, they will never get out of shape."
Right then, Ester giggled.
"What's so funny?"Norrine asked her.
"Nothing."Ester replied."You remind me of Dora."
"Your wife?"
"Yeah. Back during GGW, she was very keen on keeping the rest of the team in shape as much as she could. And every time she made sure they are, later they would curse her to high heavens."
Right then, her smile slowly vanished. Delilah and Norrine started patting her back, trying to rise her spirits. They were aware of the situation with Dora and the fact, that now she was stuck in another galaxy, with no way to go back.
"She'll be fine."Delilah said."It's Dora we're talking about."
"I don't know her personally, but from what I heard about her, I can tell she's an ass kicker."Norrine added.
"Thanks, ladies."Ester said."Let's go to the others now."
The two just nodded and they continued on.
After few more minutes, they reached the common room. There, they found Elsa and the rest of the Warrior Bunnies. Emmy and Ves were playing a holographic space strategy game on one of the holographic tables. Macy and Kenya were playing some table football. And Elsa was talking with Heley.
"I prefer the original."Elsa said.
"I don't know, the sequels were good too."Heley said."I especially liked The Hunt Arc. The Hunting League were really god villains and to take down the main heroes so easily? I guess nobody would be able to do that so easily."
"I respect that you like it, but it just didn't click to me. The first trilogy is still my favorite."Elsa replied.
Right then, the three came up to them.
"What ya talking about?"Norrine asked.
"About the Elemental Masters book series."Elsa replied.
"Huh, I think I remember seeing a book with that title in your room back home."Delilah said to Heley.
"Yeah, I picked up these books during our training season five years ago."Heley replied."Although, unlike El here, I like the whole series. And can't wait for the final trilogy. Which, I hope, will come out although the war."
"Eh, I was never a keen reader."Norrine butted in.
"Same with me."Emmy joined.
"Jackpot!"Ves exclaimed.
Emmy immediately looked at the game and saw three Ves' Heavy Cruisers surrounding Emmy's Battleship. Next, three holographic vessels fired full gun salvos and missile barrages, which hit the vital points of the Battleship, which was then covered with holographic explosions and broke into several pieces. Next, a blue screen pronounced Ves the winner.
1st Warrior Bunnies second-in-command hit the table with her fist.
"How did you do that?!"she shouted.
"Oh, simple."Ves replied."When you looked away, I ordered my ships to perform a short-range hyperspace jump and surround your flagship. Rest was just a history."
Emmy nodded.
"Yeah. Nice one."she said."Round two?"
"Always, ha!"
And with that, another round of the game begun, with Emmy throwing her ships at Ves' defensively placed fleet.
"At least they're enjoying themselves."Delilah said.
"Yeah."Ester said."But I would rather have them ready. You know, we never know, when we will finally be called to battle."
"I agree, but even I have to say, that soldiers need a time to rest before battle."Norrine stated.
"Completely agreed."Macy said, scoring another goal.
"How do you even do that?"Kenya asked.
"Master never reveals his secrets."
Kenya just waved it off.
Ester, Delilah and Norrine took a seat on the sofa in the room.
"How was the training?"Heley asked.
"Pretty good."Ester replied."Recruits are getting in shape and Norrine's soldiers are doing great."
"I trained them myself, of course they do!"Norrine laughed.
Delilah just nodded her head.
However, this time of rest was stopped, when a voice came through the PA:
"This is captain Shion, commanders of the combat section are to come to the briefing room. I repeat: commanders…"
Ester, Norrine and Delilah looked at each other.
"And there goes the R&R."Norrine said.
"Shame."Delilah sighed.
"Yeah, but when told to jump…"Ester threw up her arms and stood up.
The three stood up and slowly made their way to the briefing room. They entered and sat down on some chairs, while the door opened to the side. Ship's tactical officer came through them and stood in front of the podium. He looked down at them and cleared his throat.
"Good to see you."he said.
"You called us, so we came."Ester replied.
"So, what's cooking?"Norrine asked.
Officer smirked.
"It would appear, that after waiting, you have a mission."
"Really?"Delilah asked.
"Yes. Apparently, the HQ wants to finally check your usefulness in actual combat. Or, at least, during actual missions."
"So, what do we have to do?"Norrine asked.
In response, tactical officer pressed some buttons on his podium. Then, the screen turned on and showed the map of galaxy. It then zoomed towards one of the star systems. And then, it zoomed at what appeared to be a Shakayan space station over a gas giant.
"Not too long ago, Shakayan Royal Intelligence reported to us, that one of their listening outposts near the frontline went silent. They want us to check it and find out what happened and, if possible, reactivate the outpost."
The screen was then filled with the plans and view of the outpost itself. As all Shakayan stuff, the station was bulky and made mostly with defensive capabilities in mind. It had some solar panels and numerous arrays.
"Why can't the Shakayans do it themselves?"Norrine asked.
"All their forces are focused on stopping the Concordance advance. They don't want to weaken any part of their defensive line."tactical officer explained.
"Sounds legit."Ester stated.
"We will jump towards the outpost within the next three hours. By that time, you have to prepare the soldiers for the mission."
"Are there any other things we need to know?"Delilah asked.
"Shakayans did say, that the station is in operational range of Nakatan forces. So you should be ready to meet some lizards."
"We'll do just that."Ester nodded."Okay, let's go."
They stood up and started leaving the briefing room. They turned back towards the common room.
"That was short."Delilah stated.
"Agreed, but this mission really seems easy."Ester said."So I guess there wasn't a lot needed to be told."
"Yeah."Norrine nodded."We're gonna go in, check on the station, fix what needs to be fixed, and we're done."
Delilah's ears twitched.
"Somehow, I don't think everything will go as easily as you think."she said."Listening outposts don't go silent just like that."
Norrine patted her back.
"I think you're overreacting."she said."Whatever awaits us there, we will prevail, as humanity always did!"
Meanwhile…
Oion Listening Post
In the dark, large command room of the listening post, numerous figures were moving around, removing the bodies of former Shakayan crew. The whole fight lasted no longer than twenty minutes since they boarded the station until they took over the command center. Now, they just had to deal with the dead.
"How long will it take?"commander asked.
"Jusssst few more minutes."one of the soldiers replied.
"Then hurry up."
Soldier nodded and continued to pull the dead body away.
"Thissss wassss too easy."commander's deputy said.
"Yeah, but it wassss expected."commander replied."Shakayanssss are good fighters, but only when they have something to work with."
"Indeed. But remind me. Why did we took over this posssst?"
Commander looked at his deputy and scoffed.
"With it in our handssss, our forcessss can move through this part of Shakayan territory without any rissssk of being detected. If our maneuver issss ssssupposed to work, we need to ssssneak unnoticed through enemy lines."
"That doessss make ssssensssse."deputy nodded."But you are aware, that ssssooner or later, they will ssssend ssssomeone to check what happened here?"
"I am. And I'm ready."
With that, both commander and his deputy went in different directions.
June 3
16:09
Illion System, Shakayan space
The calmness of the system was interrupted by a space distortion, which soon changed into ICTA Stealth Frigate. Vessel then started slowing down, until it stopped completely in the orbit of the gas giant the listening outpost orbited. The whole area seemed to be calm, except of the storms that raged in the upper atmosphere of the gas giant and numerous asteroids that surrounded it and formed it's rings, among which the station was hidden.
In the hangar, Ester, Delilah and Norrine stood in front of their assembled team. There were all members of 1st Warrior Bunnies, as well as some Falmartian FI recruits, Norrine's troops and, of course, Elsa. Together, their entire team consisted of twenty people. From these twenty people, Warrior Bunnies, Elsa and Ester were supposed to get aboard the station in their own, personal fighters, which ICTA obtained from UNSA Air Force. Rest of the team was going to get aboard with a Skyhawk dropship.
Ester cleared her throat.
"Alright people."she said."As you know, SRI asked us to check on their listening post, which went silent not too long ago. Due to the pressure Nakatans and Laconians are putting on Shakayan forces, they couldn't commit their own troops to deal with this. And additionally, it's gonna be our first mission as special operations force of ICTA, so we have to show our best today and retake the post. Any questions?"
One of recruits, a dwarf, lifted his head.
"Yes?"Norrine asked.
"What enemies can we expect?"he asked.
Delilah, Ester and Norrine looked at each other.
"Due to the fact that this area is operational range of Nakatans, we are to expect Nakatan troops."Delilah said.
Ester noticed, that some of the soldiers seemed to pale for a second, but they quickly regained composure. Even though they clearly feared Nakatans, and rightfully so, when you remembered how much Nakatans despised Humans, which in Nakatan eyes were nothing more that monkeys, which got more than they deserved. And no matter if you had rabbit ears, long beard or bird legs, as Faliens did, if you had a Human face, you deserve to die.
"Alright, people."Norrine said."Let's get this thing done with. You ready?"
"Sir, yes, sir!"soldiers replied at attention.
"Then get aboard!"
After she said that, soldiers ran towards the Skyhawk that awaited in the hangar. Meanwhile, Warrior Bunnies, Ester and Elsa went towards their fighters, set up in elegant line under the wall of the hangar. There were only seven, due to the fact that Elsa didn't know how to fly a fighter and was scared to learn that. This is why Ester requested a two-seated version of Cyclone . Elsa went through quick Weapon Systems Operator course and now served as Ester's WSO.
Two of them climbed into the fighter and sat in their seats.
"Hey, Elsa."Ester said.
"Hm?"Elsa looked over Ester's chair at her.
"How do you feel about your first actual mission?"
Elsa corrected her glasses.
"It's actually kind of scary and stressful…"she admitted."But I'm gonna do my best in this."
"Don't sweat it, okay?"Ester asked with concern."First fight can always be scary, because you never know if you make it. But I'll watch your back, so don't worry."
"Thanks."Elsa smiled.
They put on their helmets and started turning on the systems of the fighters. Warrior Bunnies and dropship pilot did the same thing. Next, they took off, left the ship and turned towards the listening post.
After few minutes of flight, all machines reached the structure.
"Huh, doesn't look that bad."Macy stated in radio.
"Shakayans do build with great survivability in mind."Heley said.
"Yeah. But whatever happened here, it can't be good."Norrine said.
"Okay people, let's find the hangar. We're gonna find out what is the reason for all this later."Ester ordered.
"Roger."everyone replied.
Eight machines then started circling around the outpost, trying to find the hangar. Soon, they noticed the slit of the hangar, with the force field surprisingly still working. They quickly turned in the direction of it and, fortunately, they didn't have a lot of problem with flying inside and touching down.
Back and side door of the dropship opened and IF recruits and Norrine's Marines started pouring out. They quickly formed the perimeter around the machines and turned on their flashlights, due to the fact that lamps in the hangars were off. They scanned the area around with their light.
"Clear!"someone from the right said.
"Clear!"someone from the left said.
"Clear!"came from the center.
Norrine, Delilah and Ester stood behind the perimeter and also scanned the area and when they decided that it was actually clear, they nodded.
"Man, talk about not paying for electricity."Norrine said.
"Well, this place did go silent."Delilah said."It shouldn't be surprising, that there is no power. No power, no contact."
"Simple."Ester shrugged."But that's not important right now. We have to check the station and find any signs of enemy presence."
"So, what's the plan?"
Ester looked around at the soldiers gathered.
"We're gonna split into two ten-person teams."she finally said."One team will get to the command center, while the other stays here and guards the hangar and our machines. If something happens with one of the teams, it will call the other for help. Got it?"
"Sir, yes, sir!"everyone replied.
"Good. Delilah, you stay here with nine others. Norrine, Elsa, you're coming with me. Get some others and we're moving."
Few minutes later, a team consisting of Ester, Norrine, Elsa, Emmy, Ves, two Falmartian FI recruits and three Norrine's Marines moved out of the hangar, while the rest stayed behind in the hangar. They started their venture into the station, ready to discover what fate did it met.
Later…
Station's corridors
Ten soldiers continued to move down the corridors of the station, but they turned out to be so convoluted, that it was hard for them to find the right way. Ves even tried to hack into the station's systems, but due to the lack of power, it didn't work as planned. Actually, it didn't work at all.
"What the hell is wrong with this place?!"Emmy shouted, kicking the wall."What did the Shakayans think while building this place?!"
"Shakayans always think of survivability or defensive capabilities."Ester explained."While building their stations, Shakayans build the twisted and maze-like corridors, so assaulting force wouldn't get to their target as easily as they wanted."
"Well, certainly didn't work today."Norrine murmured.
They continued to walk for few more minutes, sometimes turning back, as they took the wrong route.
"By the way"Elsa spoke"what do you think happened to the Shakayans stationed here?"
"Good question."one of the recruits said.
"May they were thrown into prison somewhere?"one of Marines asked.
"We're gonna find out later."Norrine said."For now, let's find this command center and reactivate this place."
They took another turn and in front of them, they saw large door blocking their way. They all sighed.
"Okay, this is enough."Ester stated."We can't go on like this."
"What are we gonna do then?"Elsa asked.
"I'm gonna contact San Antonio and ask them to scan this place. Maybe then, they can send us a map of how to get to the command center."
As she said, she did and contacted the ship.
"San Antonio, this is colonel Barkhorn."she said.
"We hear you, colonel, what do you need?"voice on the other side asked.
"We ant you to perform the scan of the station. We need some map of how to get to the command center. Can you provide us that?"
"Of course we can, give us a few seconds."
Scanners of the ship were activated and soon, the station was swept through. All decks, from top to bottom, as well as all the hidden areas, were looked through by the ship's crew. Soon, the map was ready and it was sent to Ester, which looked at her hand terminal the moment she heard receiving signal.
She opened it and looked at the map, with red line leading them straight to the command center.
"Thanks."she said to the ship.
"No problem, but…"same voice said.
"What is it?"
"We're detecting something behind the door you're at."
"What?"
"We can tell these are some lifeforms, but they're…either dead or dying."
Hearing this, Ester's mind projected only possible answer.
"Okay, thank you, San Antonio. We're gonna try and check it."she said.
"Understood. San Antonio, out."
Colonel turned to her group.
"Does anyone have explosives?"she asked.
"I do."one of Marines said.
"Then place them on the door."
Soldier nodded and came up to the door. He immediately started placing the explosives on them. Meanwhile, Elsa, Emmy, Ves and Norrine came up to Ester.
"What's going on?"Elsa asked.
"I was told, that the scanners detected some lifeforms on the other side. It's possible that they're alive."Ester replied.
"And if they aren't?"Emmy asked.
"Then we can't do anything for them."
Marine ended setting up the charges and quickly went away from the door. Others followed him and they hid behind the nearest corridor turn. Ester looked at the soldier, which now held the detonator.
"Blast it."she said.
"On it."soldier replied and pressed the trigger.
Explosion roared through the corridors, sending pieces of metal flying down the corridor. Ester and her team also heard the sound of metal door being bent. They quickly waved the dust away and started walking towards the destroyed door.
"Ester, what was that?"Delilah suddenly said in the radio.
"Huh?"Ester asked.
"We just heard a huge explosion."
Ester was impressed by the resonance of the explosion, if it was heard all the way in the hangar. But probably echo in the corridors also helped to carry it all the way down.
"We're alright, we just blasted some doors open."Ester replied.
"Okay."Delilah said, not asking about details.
"Okay, let's check what's there."Norrine said.
They approached the breach in the door and looked inside.
Immediately, they were hit by the stench of rot. Some of them, mainly Faliens, had to step back, due to how sensitive their noses were. Humans could only stand and watch in horror of what they just discovered.
"Elsa?"Norrine said.
"Yeah?"Elsa replied.
"I think we just answered your question."
Behind the door, were bodies. Around thirty corpses of Shakayans, all dressed in uniforms with SRI logo on them. All of them were mutilated in some way or another. Some had their heads split open, others had literally their guts ripped from their stomachs. There were many, many more ways they were mutilated, but nobody had words to describe what they were seeing. Only thing consistent, was the smell of rotting bodies.
"They said someone could be dying here?"Norrine reminded."I would say they are all dead."
"Shakayans lose body temperature after death much, much slower than Humans."Ester said."It's possible, that these bodies, although dead, are still warm."
"That would explain how scanners mistaken them for dying…"Emmy said, waving her hand before her nose to chase away the stench.
Ester looked at Elsa. Her assistant was shaking with her whole, looking at the massacred Shakayan crew. Before colonel could say anything, Elsa simply threw of her helmet, fell to her knees and vomited on the floor. It lasted for the next three minutes, before she finally stopped and started standing up again. He face was now pale and her eyes seemed completely empty. She slowly put on her helmet.
Ester touched her arm.
"Elsa…"she said.
"Y-Yeah…"Elsa weakly replied.
"You wanna go back to the hangar?"
"N-No…I…I can go on."
Colonel patted her arm.
"You really don't have to come."
"But we have a task to do. And it needs to be done."
"At least I can see you're still so tied to the rules."
Elsa replied with a smile.
"Okay, people!"Ester exclaimed to the soldiers."We're gonna follow the map to the command center! Someone else will take care of this here."
"Yes, sir!"soldiers replied.
Ester connected with the ship.
"San Antonio, this is colonel Barkhorn. Shakayan crew is dead. Report it to the SRI."she reported.
"Understood, col. We're going to do just that."comms officer of the ship replied.
"Thanks."
Next, they walked away from the place where all dead Shakayans were stuffed in. Ester turned around one more time to take a last look at it. She shook her head to stop thinking about it. Then, they went to the command center.
17:21
Corridor in front of the command center
After another several minutes, they finally reached their target. On the way, Elsa got better and now walked in the front of the group alongside Ester, Norrine and Emmy, while the rest trailed them. Now, they were just in front of the command center. They stood in front of the door leading inside.
"Here it is."Ester said.
"You sure?"Emmy asked, looking at the map.
"According to the map? Yes."
"Alright then."Norrine cracked her knuckles."Hans, got anymore of those explosives?"
In response, the same Marine as before pulled another C6 from his backpack. Norrine pointed at the door and, without question, Hans started planting the charges on them. He placed them in perfect square and set up the signal receiver. Next, he signaled everyone to hide behind the corner.
Norrine nodded.
"Blow up."she said.
Hans nodded back and pressed the detonator.
Another explosion disturbed the silence of the corridors and made a quick work of the door. The smoke started scatter and reveal the insides of the command center. Soldiers came up to the door and went through.
They found themselves in hexagonal chamber, filled with screens and consoles. Several lamps were hanging from the ceiling, but were turned off. There were also some holes in the ceiling, with numerous cables hanging down from it. Soldiers scanned the area with their flashlights, but noticed nothing. Maybe except numerous dry blood stains.
"It's command center alright."one of recruits said.
"Pretty tatty if you ask me."Ves stated.
"Probably the result of the attack."Ester said."Ves, check if something still works here. Rest, secure the area."
"Expecting enemy to appear?"Emmy asked.
"Always."colonel replied."Something had to kill those Shakayans, right?"
"Don't remind me, please…"Elsa said.
"Sorry."
Soldiers quickly stood around the room, covering all the corners and both entrances on both sides. Ves, in the meantime, came up to the main console. She pressed the screen, but nothing happened.
"Damn it."she said.
"Let me try."Emmy said.
She stood next to Ves and, without warning, slammed her hist down on the console. The screen flickered and came alive.
"Huh."Ves muttered.
"Sometimes, violence IS the answer."Emmy smiled.
"Thanks. Now go and get ready for violence."
"I'm always ready for violence."
Ves didn't listen anymore. She started pressing something on the screen. All inscriptions were in Shakayan, but this wasn't that much of a problem. After all, she did learn languages of the more important Earth's and Flare Prime's allies. So she could speak Shakayan on advanced level very much.
"Aaaaaand…let there be light."she said.
As she did, all lights in the room, as well as screens, came back to life and lit the room up. Soldiers turned off their flashlights.
"Good job, Ves."Ester said.
"Thanks."Ves said, still clicking the screen.
"What are you doing?"Norrine asked.
"Just checking the security."
"And?"
There was a moment of silence, before she frowned.
"Something wrong?"Elsa asked.
"Well…"Ves hesitated."It would appear someone deleted all camera recordings. But…"
"I don't like that."Hans said.
"…motion detection still works…"
"And?"Emmy asked.
"There should be twenty of us here…"
Ester glanced around the room.
"Yeah."she confirmed.
"But motion detection says there are twenty one people here…"Ves replied.
Whole atmosphere immediately became tense. Soldiers tightened the grips on their weapons and started looking around, trying to figure out what was going on right now right here.
Emmy also did it, with her back turned to a bunch of defunct machines, which someone threw into the corner of the room. She tried to figure out what Ves' words meant, just like everyone else. She didn't know where that additional person was, but wherever he or she were, she will deal with then.
She heard a rustle behind her. She slowly started to turn around, trying to figure out what she was hearing…
…when all the machines were thrown around and something jumped out of the pile.
Fortunately, Emmy's reflexes immediately went into action. She spun around on her heel and pointed her gun with bayonet attached to it forward. Mysterious attackers didn't react fast enough and bayonet pierced his chest. He tried to wriggle himself off of it, but Emmy didn't want to let him do it. She pulled the trigger and several bullets found their way inside of attacker's chest. His body went limp and Emmy pushed him off her bayonet.
Dead body fell back into the pile of defunct machines. Everyone quickly turned in that direction and looked at the attacker. They all gasped, when they saw him.
It was a Nakatan, that was obvious. But unlike normal Nakatan soldiers, which worn plain uniforms and helmets in colors of Clan the soldier belonged to, this Nakatan wore snow white uniform and helmet with a red visor over his eyes. He had a short Nakatan 44-Isha SMG strapped to his side, alongside a big bone knife.
There was also one more detail. As every Nakatan, he had two fangs protruding down from his mouth. But one of them was so long, that if Nakatan tried looking down, his fang would touch his chest.
Ester immediately knew what that meant.
"Longtooths."she said out loud.
And then, everything went down.
Room was filled with roars and groans, when more Nakatan soldiers literally jumped out of the holes in the ceiling. Within seconds, there were ten Nakatan troops, firing their SMGs or lunging forward to grab onto ICTA soldiers.
While trying to hide behind one of the consoles, with corner of her eye, Ester noticed one of the IF recruits getting her head pierced with Nakatan bone knife. Hans got his head rotated by one hundred and eighty degrees and fell down on the floor.
Ester landed behind the console together with Emmy.
"What the hell are those guys?!"Emmy shouted, blindly firing over the console. She didn't see it, but her bullets struck one of the Nakatans in the head, throwing his helmet high into the air. This made Nakatans duck down too, just like the ICTA soldiers.
"Nakatan Longtooths!"Ester replied."Unlike normal soldiers, which are under orders of particular Clans or Khans, these are under the order of Great Khan himself!"
"And what's up with that big fang?"
"They are chosen by the right of passage. To become a Longtooth, you have to kill a giant beast from their homeworld with nothing but a knife. It's a tradition that continued for centuries. If you do, then the fang of that creature gets surgically attached in place of the normal one."
"Freaks!"Norrine exclaimed from behind the neighbouring console.
She threw a grenade over it, but one of the Nakatans managed to shot it in the air.
Ester opened channel to San Antonio.
"San Antonio, this is Barkhorn!"she exclaimed."We have Nakatan Longtooths here!"
"Understood!"comms officer said."But we can't provide any kind of support here!"
"What do you mean?"Ester asked, confused.
"Nakatan Heavy Frigate just emerged from behind some asteroids! We're performing evasive maneuvers!"
Right. Nakatans did have to get here somehow.
"Understood!"She cut the connection and called Delilah."Delilah, we need help!"
"We're already on our way!"Delilah replied."We could hear the shots all the way here!"
"Understood, we're waiting!"
The firing continued, as both sides tried to hit each other. They jumped from behind the cover from time to time, but as it turned out, they were stuck in the deadlock.
"Crap."Elsa said."What do we do?"
"Delilah is on her way with the others."Ester replied."Maybe she'll help us get out of this whole mess."
"Humanssss!"hissing voice said.
All the shooting stopped immediately.
"What do you want, lizard ass?!"Norrine asked.
"I'm captain Ssssarkaz Zarin of Nakatan Army!"the Nakatan introduced himself."I demand your immediate surrender!"
"Like that would ever happen!"Emmy shouted.
"If you do, you will be treated with resssspect!"
"Let me handle this."Ester said, trying to calm down the two hotheads.
She looked over the console. Her eyes then crossed with a Nakatan, which also looked over the console.
"Why would we surrender to you?"she asked.
"Becausssse you don't have a chance in thissss fight!"Sarkaz stated with confidence."Jusssst like you can't win this war!"
"Unlike you, we have something to fight for!"colonel stated.
"So do we!"
"I know, you fight to enslave billions! Just like Holy Order!"
"What Holy Order did was right for the future of the galaxy! So it could live in peace!"
Ester winced. Hearing someone talking like that only made her come up, close and personal, and simply smash his face.
"You know? I think we won't understand each other."she stated.
"I sssstill give you option to ssssurender! I will wait!"
Ester hid back behind the console. She looked at the people around her.
"What do we do?"Emmy asked.
"Prepare grenades."Ester whispered."As many as you can."
"What are you planning?"Norrine asked.
"I'm planning to kick some lizard ass."
Marine smiled, as she already pulled out two of her grenades.
"Roger that, sir."she said with a wicked grin.
Other Marines and recruits also pulled out their grenades. Longtooth maybe were good at shooting down single grenades, but they were going to see, how did they like over twenty of them at once.
"Sssso?"Sarkaz asked.
"You know what?"Ester said."I think you really underestimate Humans."Ester said.
"And Faliens!"Emmy added.
"I think not."Nakatan snorted."So with that, we will just kill you and…"
"NOW!"Ester shouted.
Over twenty grenades flew towards the surprised Nakatans. Some of them did manage to keep their composure and managed to shot down at least six. These six managed to cause a chain reaction, which temporarily blinded and deafened the Nakatans.
"You stupid…"Sarkaz wanted to say, but couldn't.
But before he could end, ICTA side immediately went into action once the grenades exploded. They closed their distance to the Nakatans and opened fire. Sarkaz couldn't believe in the fact, that stupid Humans and these half animals outsmarted him. Now, they simply went on and started killing his soldiers.
"You…!"he exclaimed.
"Got you, motherfucker!"Norrine shouted.
She jumped on him from the back and grabbed his helmet with her hands. Sarkaz started wiggling and tried to shake her off. But Marine held firmly on him, even as all around them, bullets were flying. Nakatan soldiers, although sudden attack, still managed to hold some of their ground and killed some of their enemies, but majority still held their ground. Even Elsa, although not having a lot combat experience, managed to hold on with Ester's guidance, as the two of them battled two Nakatans hand to hand and actually managed to hold on.
"You're doing great, Elsa!"Ester said.
"These judo lessons I took back in elementary are kinda paying off!"Elsa replied, blocking another hit from the enemy.
Norrine still held onto the commander, as he tried to shake her off.
"Let's turn up the heat, shall me?"she mused.
Saying that, she activated her power and her hands were covered by blue flames. They immediately started heating up the helmet on Sarkaz's head, making him scream and wiggle even harder, but she held on even more firmly. She even evaded a hit from one of Nakatans that tried to save his commander, but instead scored a kick in the gut and was later finished by Ves with a shot in the face.
"It hurtssss! It burnssss!"Sarkaz shouted.
"And it should be, lizard ass!"Norrine shouted back.
Suddenly, she felt as the helmet shrinks under her hands. So she squeezed harder, until she felt that the helmet disappeared from under her hands and was replaced by the head of the commander. His scream rose in a pitch, as flames started now consuming his tissue. Even Sarkaz did not see it coming. He knew that Humans also had mages in their ranks now, but this was not what he expected at all.
Before long, Norrine felt Nakatan brain in her hands. So, to finish it, she simply squeezed, squashing his brain and coating her hands in it's parts.
Sarkaz simply fell on the ground, while Norrine just jumped off his back and looked around. As it turned out, rest also dealt with remaining Longtooths. There were losses on their side, but not as severe.
There was also one Longtooth, who tried to crawl away, with his legs littered with holes.
"Where are you going?"Emmy asked, stepping on his leg.
Nakatan gasped in pain as Emmy put her gun to his head.
"Wait."Ester said."We might gain something from this."
"Like what?"Norrine asked.
"We can get some information."
Meanwhile, Elsa looked at Norrine's hands.
"Um, Norrine…"she said.
"Yeah?"
"I think you have…brain…on your hands."
Marine looked at her hands and shrugged.
"Sometimes I forget how hot my flames are."Norrine said."That I can melt metal, tissue and bones with it."
"You're scaring me sometimes…"
"Sorry, then."
Ester came up to the Nakatan and knelt next to him.
"I have some questions for you."she said.
"Sssscrew you, Human."Nakatan hissed.
In response, Emmy hit him in the back of the head.
"Speak."she said.
"Why did you take over this station."
Nakatan looked at her, then at Emmy and at the rest of the soldiers. He finally sighed and had to give up.
"Okay, I will tell you."he said.
"Good boy."Ester smiled."So, what was the goal?"
"We were ssssupposed to clear the way to our invassssion fleet, which had to flank Sssshakayan homeworld."Nakatan explained."Thissss way, we would be able to take out Sssshakayan forces from the war and then, help Laconians in ssssiege of Earth."
"Motherfuckers."Norrine hissed, clearing her hands.
Ester started thinking. She knew, that Nakatan could probably be lying, but as she continued to think, what he said, was pretty possible. According to intel, this station was overwatching the hyperspace route which led straight to Shakaya. So he could be actually right.
"Okay, what about your friends? Are there more of you here?"
"There were. But resssst returned to the sssship."
That was also good.
"Thanks for the information."Ester said."Emmy, knock him out."
"Sure."
This time, Emmy hit the Nakatan hard enough to lose consciousness.
Right then, they heard steps in the corridor. When they turned there, they saw Delilah and the rest coming into the room. They glanced around and saw the dead Nakatans and four dead ICTA soldiers.
"I see you dealt with this yourselves."Delilah said.
"You cans ay it like that."Ester said."But now let's go. We have to report everything we found out and give it to Shakayans."
"What?"Macy asked.
"Turns out, that there is a Nakatan invasion fleet approaching Shakaya from different side."Emmy said.
"Crap."
"Exactly."
"Let's go, people!"Norrine shouted."Gather the dead and let's go!"
"What about that guy?"Elsa asked, pointing at the knocked out Nakatan.
"Shakayans will deal with him when they come to retake their station. Let's go."
Soldiers quickly gathered the dead and left the command center. They ran down the corridors, praying to not be late and help their ship from the Nakatan Frigate. If they let it live, the station would be destroyed with them aboard.
"San Antonio, how are you doing?"Ester asked in the radio.
"We're somehow holding off!"comms officer replied.
"We're gonna come and help you, so hold on."
"Understood, colonel!"
They ran into the hangar and immediately started boarding their machines. Dropship and fighters took off and left the station. After that, they could see two Frigates exchanging fire and smoking.
"Alright, here is the plan."Ester said."Dropship, hide for now. Rest, we will take care of that Heavy Frigate."
"Understood, colonel."dropship pilot said.
Next, he turned and went to hide behind some asteroids.
Meanwhile, fighters flew towards the Heavy Frigate. They were noticed by the Nakatan crew, which quickly turned their attention at them. Soon, anti-air missiles left the silos and flashed towards them. In response, fighters released flares and made evasive maneuvers to let the missiles hit the flares.
"Activate VTOL and take care of this bastard."Ester ordered.
All Cyclone IIs activated their VTOL modes and started surrounding the Heavy Frigate, as the soaring vessel continued to fire at them with it's AA missiles, AAA and PDCs. However, Warrior Bunnies, Ester and Elsa were able to evade vessel's fire. They were firing back at it, scoring several god hits on it's defensive capabilities and even it's hyperspace generators. Smoke and fire started covering the ship's hull.
"This is what you get, haha!"Emmy laughed.
"Just a little more!"Ester said.
Elsa pressed the button and Ester's fighter fired a missile. It was aimed right at the bridge of the ship and due to the fact that most of the defense systems of the ship in that area were destroyed. Nakatan crew tried to do an evasive maneuver, but it was too late. Missile collided with the bridge and changed it into burning pile of scrap. Rest of the fighters also fired their missiles to finish the job, but there was no need. Heavy Frigate was destroyed.
Fighters floated in place for few more minutes, to make sure everything was over.
"Phew…"Elsa sighed."It's over."
"Yeah."Ester agreed."San Antonio, can you confirm?"
"Yes. All systems are deactivated and there are no life signs detected."
"Good."Delilah said."So. We're going back aboard?"
"Sure."
Fighters then turned towards the ship, joined by the dropship.
June 4
14:54
UNSA San Antonio
After arriving at the ship, Ester, Delilah and Norrine reported everything that happened on the station, as well as what they were told by Nakatan soldier. Higher ups received these information and immediately handed them over to the Shakayans. Shakayan HQ decided to treat these news seriously and quickly sent forces to the hyperspace route and to retake the station. Forces sent to do it were to be replaced by one of UNSA fleets that was already on it's way.
Soon, it turned it the intel was true, when Nakatan scout ships were sighed on the said hyperspace route. They were followed by much heavier ships, which were surprised to discover enemy forces in their way. The battle that ensued was pretty short, as Shakayan commander took advantage of Nakatan surprise. Entire Nakatan force was simply smashed and Shakayan forces stayed there to ensure nothing like that would happen again.
"Well, that turned out better than expected."Norrine stated.
They are all again sitting in the common room, drinking, playing games or just talking. After the successful mission, they were allowed to take a day or two of R&R, unless there would be some urgent mission to happen.
"After all, we stopped probably the most ambitious Nakatan move in the war."Emmy said.
"I wouldn't be so sure."Delilah said."They still can surprise us."
"But we will kick their asses anyway."Warrior Bunnies 2IC said.
Ester just sat there, thinking.
"Something wrong?"Elsa asked.
"No, I'm just wondering."Ester replied.
"About what?"
"About how long will it go on and how will it end."
"I think it's normal."
"Yeah."Norrine said."But why bother with it now?"
Ester risen an eyebrow.
"What do you mean?"she asked.
"Come on, just enjoy our free time and have fun!"Emmy said, bumping Ester's arm.
"Even I have to agree with this."Elsa smiled."Don't worry now, Ester. What happens, happens."
"I agree but…I still think that there are much more things waiting for us."Ester stated.
Everyone looked at each other. They just hoped that these words were not foreshadowing.
"But now, yeah."Ester said and smiled."Let's celebrate!"
"Yeah!"everyone cheered.
XXX
And this is it for today. As always, remember to leave a review, follow and favorite. It will be highly appreciated!