Summary/disclaimer: Time for another chapter of Soldiers of Night. Enjoy the 2000-word chapter. I don't own Sonic; Sega and a few others do.
The Nocturnus had been rather interesting when it comes down to it. They moved with purpose and haste as they threw themselves into their work. The rest of their soldiers had been thrown off when it came to this new world.
"What do we do next?" Shade heard while she raised her eyebrow. "There's no way to claim the objective yet and we don't know how to claim it either way." Shade heard from Specter who had been rather interested in their plan.
Still? There were more topics to consider. What were they to do? What was the best way to claim it? They needed to move things along before someone found them and reported to them that there was bound to be more soldiers coming here and it meant that there was a fight, they didn't need nor want.
"Move. We spread out and cover more ground." Shade ordered while she frowned with interest. "There are more soldiers in this area than we expected. We take them apart like we were trained for." Shade ordered while she sighed and frowned to herself with annoyance as she did so.
Specter raised his eyebrow from behind his armor and crossed his arms across his chest. He trusted her now and both wanted their jobs done and the honor to be claimed before it came to it. There was time for sightseeing later.
"We need to figure out what we are against before we do something," Specter stated while he frowned to himself. "We need to handle this like we had been taught," Specter added while he rubbed at his dreadlocks.
He was ready for this to be done. This place was incredible, yet it was also clear that their warp belts wouldn't allow them to stay here for a longer period. The only way they'd be able to charge their belts at all and come back was to return to the cage and visit one of their shamans who'd help recharge it.
The limited timetable didn't bother them as much as they expected it to. They were soldiers, warriors who handled a battle far differently than they had been taught to. The more time they spent here. He needed to be done here and come down to it.
Still? He was ready for their clan to prosper here. This world was perfect and seemed pure and thrown off by nothing. He spun the blades in his hands while he sighed. This was the last thing he needed, and it wasn't at all fun when it came down to it. They needed to be on track with their mission at the time.
He gazed into the night sky. They had other operations to handle at the time and it wasn't as if they needed to be elsewhere. This planet was nice, and he'd enjoy it when they were stabilized. They could always come back sooner or later.
The second that she flipped out? That was the second their plans collapsed. Shade had to remain focused, and she had yet to handle her thoughts properly. The sooner that was done? The sooner she was able to relax. She stared at Specter who seemed to be at odds with what was to come. It had been a rather odd place when it came down to it.
Still? There was more to be done as of the second when she appears when it comes down to it. She had stuff on her plate while he simply had a few military duties on his plate. Specter hummed while he sighed to prepare what to do next.
"There was a lot more to do here. This place seemed to be interesting as of now." Shade stated before she sighed and crossed her arms across her chest.
"And? What do we do next? We need to move out at the time." Shade heard Specter say before sliding down the hill. "Honestly? We need to prepare for what to do next. I need to handle more work as of now." Shade before he sighed and rubbed at his optics before he seemed too interested when it came down to it.
"Hmm." Shade stated while she and Specter slid down the hill with their men and stared at the city with an interest that hadn't stopped confounding them. "We should spread out. The more soldiers we have means the more people that can be a problem. More soldiers will simply give away our location and stop us from completing the mission." Shade added to which Specter raised an eyebrow at her.
"We won't be able to handle the mission with fewer soldiers. All of them seem to be ready for the mission. Remember. We need to be alert." Specter said while he crossed his arms and gazed around.
"There are still problems that more soldiers will not be able to handle." Specter heard from Shade as he rolled his eyes. "Thousands of Nocturnus soldiers will not solve the problem of obtaining the Chaos Emerald. Let's also point out that the gem we need is being held by the enemy clan. It will not be easy to properly grab." Shade said while she rolled her eyes and seemed to become interested.
"The clan who was said to number in the thousands? I do not see a single soldier in this place. It is almost impossible for them to be here with no scouts, no real attempts to stop us." Spectre stated while he rolled his eyes and looked around with a hum.
"We cannot let our guard down. This place is not going to be easy to navigate." Shade said with a sigh as she placed her hands on the ground and stared forward. "We must still cope," Shade added a few seconds later.
There were a lot of problems with this, yet she could not falter, could not be allowed to fail when she was so close to the edge of her plans. Their honor, their clan, their very fiber as Nocturnus were placed into this mission. Every soldier knew what was coming if they hadn't been allowed to win. It was something they dreaded and would be dreading for a long time. Hard to see at the moment, yes. But it was something that had become part of her lifestyle.
"How many hours are on the belts?" Shade heard as her friend and lieutenant raised an eyebrow from under his armor at her. "How many days, I'm sorry. The technology of the belts is not something I can entirely fathom at the moment. It is a lot harder to understand than it seems anyone has been trying to. I'm not one of the clan's scientists." Shade stated before he sighed as he rolled his eyes.
She stared at the Nocturnus soldier who was sorely bored and tired of this. Tired entirely of being here and wishing to put this farce behind them. Both enjoyed this planet and it showed in their behavior at the time, honestly confused at the time. it became far harder for him to enjoy. It wasn't like he had no reason to enjoy this place.
"You wish to explore amid a mission." Shade stated which made Specter raise an eyebrow.
"This planet hasn't been seen by us in thousands of years." Specter pointed out and gestured to his surroundings. "You don't think I want to see what this place was like? See what is so nice about it before they rip us from this world and the next one?" Specter stated before he rolled his eyes and seemed to gain some more ground on her.
The fact that he honestly was curious about how well this would go told her all that she wished to know. He was trying to find a way to let her down without compromising who he was. Honestly? It was a nice gesture, if not a hollow one. Their mission demanded their best, their skill, and their lives if need be. They could not slip into the notion that this planet had honestly gotten the best of them or they'd die and she knew this.
Specter cleared his throat which gave off a metallic hum coupled with his armor and its life support systems. It made her remember that they had all lived a life of war and pain on the frontlines of combat. Not a hard thing to fathom when it came down to it. Still? There was a lot more suffering to come, a lot more war.
"This place is a lot more alive than the rest of the cage," Specter stated before he seemed to question what this place was like. "Honestly? I had become interested in how this came down to it. How did they know which soldiers would be the best suited for this if we hadn't gotten assigned to your unit? I'm not a frontline soldier like you, commander. I'm just a warrior, a soldier who is just doing their job for the rest of the clan." Specter added in as he sighed and started to glance around.
Not an untrue statement. They had been in many problems, many missions which required or even demanded their talents. This hadn't been one. It hadn't entirely taken a genius to realize that none of them were experts.
There were only so many soldiers in their group. It had become harder for them to do anything when it came down to it. He had been interested in Earth, but that didn't make him an expert on this planet. Still? There was only a limited number of soldiers in their empire, only a small army backed up by dozens of scouts, scientists, and scholars.
"We need to handle this mission either way. We both know what will become of the Nocturnus clan if we don't acquire the jewel." Shade stated which made him sigh and lean on a tree next to him.
"And how well does that work, hmm? We don't know what the jewel is, how many warriors they have with it. The gem is nothing more than a relic, yet we are searching for it with a platoon. Where are the scouts? Where is the rest of the army?" Spectre stated before he shook his head.
"We aren't handling this like we usually do. There are only so many warriors, yet we don't take any stealthy precautions." Specter said while he glanced around with annoyance.
It made her sigh as he realized what was coming her way at the second. He nodded as he and she seemed to slowly gain more ground. This place was fascinating and he'd find time to effort to marvel at it given enough time and effort to find its splendor after they were down.
It had become a lot harder when it came down to it. This planet brought something out of him that had been wallowing in his soul. He questioned it, but he still pressed on even if he found it odd at the second.
"And if the clan stands in our way?" Specter questioned before he raised an eyebrow and looked at them. "This land is not ours, we both know that. There is a chance they have scouts waiting to ambush us at the moment. We both know what had been happening while we took over the rest of the cage." Specter stated as he rubbed off his arms and glanced around.
"If they become a problem? We're dealing with them regardless. There is no stopping the return of the Nocturnus clan." Shade stated while her friend raised an eyebrow. "There's only so many scouts they can send. If we find any, we take them out. Speed is as important as stealth at the moment."
Author Notes
Phew. Another chapter is done! I want to point out that the next chapter will be delayed at the moment. The next chapter will also show Shade and Specter looking for the Master Emerald and setting up more of the past. In 2-10 months for a 900–6500-word chapter. Lighting Wolf out!
