Their footsteps echoed loudly through the interior of the temple. Torches lit up the old rocky walls, contrasted by the hints of alien technology here and there. Diesel kept his grip on the glowing sword he'd acquired at Falcon Base, the other hand ready to grab his rocket launcher if necessary. According to that yellow kid, their next mission lay here, a far cry from the human-made metal facility they invaded before.
Diesel would gladly take this musty arena over their previous local. Those facilities brought back bad memories for all of them. He couldn't believe the AOD still managed to find any bootlickers left to work for them after the crimes they committed. Sure it wasn't public news yet in the way Freelancer and Charon Industries were recently exposed, but once Viper finished them, they'd make sure everyone knew what happened in Starlight Labs and its fellow offshoots.
"Diesel."
He walked over to his commanding officer, inserting the key into the matching part Zero found. The temple suddenly whirred to life, futuristic alien guardians appearing before them.
The largest one, brandishing duel flaming swords, spoke warningly, "The power you seek will summon forth the harbinger of destruction. Step forth mortals, if you dare."
Diesel smirked eagerly. Zero didn't explain what the "ultimate power" was, but a harbinger of destruction down on all those who deserved it? Now they were talking.
The clear solution was to rid the room of the smaller aliens first while dodging the huge one, before triple-teaming him. In silent agreement, the three scattered to different targets. The guardians clearly weren't prepared for three teleporters. Zero seamlessly swerved between enemy fire while returning his own. Phase performed her favorite move of rapidly tossing her knife followed by herself between nearby targets. Diesel would normally shoot a few rockets, but he did have a shiny new sword to play with.
He decided to target a fellow small sword-wielding alien. The blades clinked together dangerously. Yes, this was quite fun. He giggled in delight.
Like any good UNSC facility, the AOD unethically experimented with its members. The UNSC apparently found the idea of a controllable super soldier addictive, as the papers had mentioned similar tests once or twice. And like the earlier attempts, it went poorly. Well, for the scientists it had anyway. Diesel thought it went quite well. He chuckled again as he and Phase speared an alien simultaneously.
The giant swung his flaming blades in wider arcs, attempting to stop them from annihilating the rest of his pathetic army. The fire crackled near their head as they teleported at the last-minute. Oh this was so much more exhilarating than those wimpy guards. He hoped Shatter Squad would put up half the fight later.
As the last alien collapsed from Zero's headshot, the main guardian growled angrily. He charged towards them, blades cracking the ground as they landed. Zero jumped high, teleporting towards his head. Phase attempted to throw off his balance by hitting his legs. That left Diesel with his torso and arms. He switched weaponry to his rocket launcher, shooting towards his chest. Nothing worked.
The guardian paused in his deadly swatting and stomping, causing the team to halt on high-alert. His eyes glowed, and the three immediately fled in different directions as a powerful laser shot out. Phase attempted to reclose the distance, only for the guardian to strike her down with the edge of his sword. She crashed into a rock, temporarily losing hold of her knife. The temple guardian prepared a finishing blow, but Zero and Diesel distracted him with rapid-fire shots to the face and hands. Like hell they'd lose Phase now.
Zero received a laser strike to the midsection. He teleported out of there before he took too much damage, but his movements were shakier. Diesel focused on the main weaponry, losing sight of the guardian's movement. He gasped in surprise as a forceful kick launched him into the wall.
Thankfully Phase recovered by this point, As she drew near again, she noticed a large bauble on each foot. Dexterously avoiding being squished, she attached sticky bombs to the one on the right. As they exploded, his right leg collapsed under him. If those were his weak points, what would attacking the orb on his head do?
The three of them teleported higher and higher, until finally Zero could reach it first with a lift from his allies. He shot it repeatedly until it exploded. With a final roar, the temple guardian was no more. In his place, a glowing sword shimmered.
With Zero having administered the last blow, he reached towards the weaponry. Another key secured, he laughed victoriously in a way Diesel could appreciate.
While he swung it around, Phase spoke up, "So do we know the next destination this time or…?"
Zero halted in his practice, but spoke calmly, "Have patience my dear. Remember when we examined the computers in Falcon Base our second time through?"
"Yes. They redacted everything important though. It's why we needed those pests' help."
"Not everything…"
Raymond knew army work was dangerous, but he sure as hell hadn't expected that. He figured he'd run some drills, fix up their armor a bit, and then later fight off Viper in some triumphant display. Not leave the med bay on his first day with only the reassurance their power armor kept either of them from serious head wounds.
By the time they woke up and reported back, they determined chasing after Viper to the temple was futile. It would be far better to ambush them somewhere with everyone ready. If only they knew where the next target was...
With some time before Ray needed to report to the Freelancers for his training session, he decided to see what Tiny did to their vehicles. He hadn't met the mechanic yet, so he figured now was as good a time as any.
The moment he entered the room, the tall girl spun around in excitement, "Heyyyy. Here to check out the cars? You guys are gonna loveee what I did to them~!"
Tiny was very...enthusiastic in her movements, every word punctuated by eager body language. Raymond's small nod felt underwhelming in comparison.
"Alright alright, give me a minutttte," she immediately ran off, returning shortly afterward in a car completely different from what they gave her.
"Is that-?"
"Yuppp! Introducing, the Black Knight Artillery Command Vehicle! This baby has everything! Couture leather with heated seats, vanity mirrors with ring lights for influencers, extra-large cup holders, the Boom Boom Room Extreme sound system, parallel park assist, an all-terrain vehicle in the back, and best of allll, Nanotech's stealth camouflage mode! Your car is like, a mood ring. Amazing, I know."
"...How is this even physically possible?"
"I'm very talented."
"It's not even been a day yet."
"I know! I still have to fix up the other one."
"What happened to the guns?"
"Ew, who wants those?"
"We're in the army."
"And? You're like, holding one."
After a minute of confused staring, Ray realized something, "How did you get all this stuff?"
"I'm the mechanic?"
"Right, but who gave you all this equipment?"
"Command?"
"So we can call them up for supply requests?"
"I mean, yeah, we're in the army, duh."
"...Right."
He activated the radio channel as Tiny returned to admiring her design.
"Agent Raymond calling Command. Come in Command."
"Go ahead Agent Raymond, we have you."
"Yeah, do you think we could receive some armor and weapon upgrades?"
"Depends. What sort of upgrades are you requesting?"
"Maybe some of the equipment Viper has? Teleportation and the like."
"Negative. Viper stole experimental equipment, unauthorized for general usage."
Experimental equipment that works too well. Ray didn't have the authority to argue though, so instead he asked, "May we receive any kind of technical help? I can install it myself whatever it is."
"We have a big shipment coming into Starlight Labs in three days time at twelve hundred hours. We can deliver resources then."
"Thank you. Agent Raymond out."
As he clicked his radio off, Tiny spoke up, "Welll, what'd you get?"
"Not sure, whatever Starlight Labs gives us in a few days I guess."
"Oh neat! Their tech is like, woah."
"Yeah…"
Raymond hesitated from leaving, uncertain what to do now. Should he head to the training room early? Would that interrupt West?
"Want to keep admiring your new jeep? It is really shiny huh?"
"No...I just…"
"Just what?"
Tiny cocked her head like a curious dog. Well, talking to her might help. He glanced around for a place to sit. Tiny patted the inside of the Black Knight, and Raymond crawled inside as she joined him.
"Damn, it's comfy in here now."
"Told youuu~. Now what's wrong, um-"
"Raymond."
"What's wrong Ray-Ray?"
"I just," he sighed, "I feel like I don't fit into Shatter Squad."
"Well yeah, you're new! You gotta give it time silly."
"I know, but I read everyone's files before I got here. Shatter Squad is full of family relations and old friends. And then there's me."
"What's wrong with you?"
"I dunno. One and East shout over me, West seems to find me annoying. I guess I'm just afraid I'm wasting everyone's time."
"Aw, well I don't find you annoying or a waste of time! Did you know when I first joined the army, people said I was annoying? The freakishly tall girl who never shuts up. But I was like, screw the haters! I'm gonna be the best damn mechanic ever! And now I am! And I have new friends like you!"
"We're friends?"
"Yeah! Unless, you think I'm obnoxious too?" Her whole body trembled at the thought.
Raymond couldn't protest fast enough, "No! No no no! You're great, really!". She was still tense in disbelief, so he added, "I think you're just really creative? But in a good way! A way that catches people off guard at first until they have a proper conversation with you?"
She relaxed the rest of the way and added, "Yeah, not many people talk to me unless it's about work. Which is weird because the army is always standing around and talking?"
"Well then I guess I'll just have to visit more often."
Raymond yelped in surprise as she gave her best sitting-down hug. "Oh you mean it Ray-Ray? You're the best!"
Raymond didn't form a response before his radio sounded, "Agent Raymond, you there? This is Agent West. You're up on training."
"Roger that. I'm in the mechanic wing, I'll be over ASAP."
"See to it rookie."
Tiny unwrapped her arms from his torso as she noted, "Sounds like you gotta head out?"
"Yeah. Target practice with the Freelancers."
"Oooh, training with the big leagues?"
"It's kinda nerve-wracking honestly."
She playfully whacked his back as he moved to exit the vehicle, "Don't you worry your pretty little head about it! I'm sure everything will be fine. Even better once Starlight delivers!"
"Literally, since it's coming in some big shipment."
"Oh, like what Falcon Base got?"
What.
"Yeah! I mean, that's why Viper attacked the first time right? Gee, you don't think they'll raid this one too, do you?"
Fuck.
