Xeph would feel a lot more secure if he had a weapon. He didn't feel his assault rifle strapped to his back, and didn't see it nearby - a trooper in dire need of a weapon must have taken it. Xeph's hand reached down and patted his gun holster to check to see if it still contented his blaster - yes, it did. He took it out, pointed it skyward, and pulled the trigger - it still worked. The flashlight on it worked, too. He held down the trigger, and the gun began to hum. He released the trigger, and a slow-moving bright blue ball left the barrel of the blaster to create a scorch mark on a nearby tree. The secondary function – a slow-moving but highly damaging energy blast – worked, as well. His blaster wasn't very powerful at all, but it was far better than nothing.
"HQ! HQ! Come in, HQ! This is Minotaur Squad!"
The voice had come from Xeph's right, around the side of the wrecked dropship. He walked around it, and saw a man taking cover behind what appeared to be a large blast shield that had become lodged in the ground. He kneeling down before a small laptop computer, and it seemed to be the addressee of his pleas.
Each Galactic Federation trooper was given his own personal armor. The armor was no different in appearance from any other trooper's suit, but each trooper's suit of armor was programmed with the name and rank of the trooper it belonged to. All modern GF suits had the ability to read this data in other suits and display it on a screen inside of the trooper's helmet, allowing for the easy identification of any trooper.
Xeph was not clad in Galactic Federation armor, but his own personal armor did possess the same feature that GF suits did. However, unlike the GF troopers, Xeph did not wear a helmet. Although most bounty hunters preferred to wear headgear with screens and readouts that displayed information, Xeph found such helmets to be smothering, and only wore one when environmental circumstances called for it. He had opted instead for an ocular implant that projected all the information a helmet could directly onto his eye. This is why, when Xeph looked directly at the man speaking to his laptop, the words "SGT Morris, Minotaur Squad" appeared in the corner of his vision.
Xeph walked over to Morris. As he did, Morris looked up, saw Xeph, and stood up. "Oh, shit! You're not dead!" Was his salutation. For a moment, Xeph wondered if Morris was merely surprised, or disappointed. "Rhodes wanted to bury you! Luckily for you, Lieutenant Abbas was in a hurry to move out, so they skipped your burial. Abbas left orders that everyone's supposed to hook up with their squad ASAP. Just go through those doors - you'll run into them eventually."
Morris gestured to Xeph's right. Xeph turned, and with saw something that he had surprisingly not yet noticed.
About fifty feet away stood an Ebirt Temple.
---
Nothing remains of the vanished race of Ebirt that once lived on Yokoi, save for their voluminous edifices. Though the species left no traces of advanced technology, they somehow built huge pyramid-shaped temples of stone amid the endless jungle. It was inside of these stone ziggurats that the Space Pirates had begun to establish their early bases.
The Space Pirates had transformed the dank interiors of the Ebirt temples into military outposts that varied in purpose. Some of the colossal structures were now cavernous hangar bays that held several squadrons' worth of Space Pirate starfighters. Some were barracks that housed Space Pirate warriors. Others were glorified ceremonial chambers for Space Pirate dignitaries.
---
"HQ, do you read? This is Minotaur Squad! Please respond!"
Morris continued his attempts to contact headquarters without much success. Xeph decided to make his way to the temple. However, upon starting his approach by taking a step forward, he discovered something - a sharp pain in his side. It took him completely by surprise, as he hadn't felt it before. He had either finally moved enough to upset an injury sustained in the crash, or his mind had just now gotten over the numb feeling of being in a traumatic situation enough to notice pain once more. Whatever the reason was, Xeph really didn't care. What mattered to him the most right now was finding a medic.
---
A combat medic is a trained soldier who is responsible for providing first aid and frontline trauma care on the battlefield. Combat medics are often unofficially known simply as 'medics'. In the Galactic Federation army, medics wear a specific insignia on several places on their armor - a prominent red cross on a white background. Combat medics usually carry at least one sidearm, frequently a rifle, carbine, or submachine gun.
---
Xeph turned his head left and right, scanning the area. He saw a man hunched over another who was lying down. A tiny icon appeared over the man's head in Xeph's vision - a small red square with a white cross emblazoned on it. After keeping his eyes focused on the man for a few more seconds, a few words popped up - "MEDIC Anderson, Minotaur Squad".
Sucking his gut in to ease the pain in his side, Xeph walked over to Anderson, who appeared to just now be finishing up on the wounded man who lay before him. "There...you're stabilized for the moment." Anderson said to him. Anderson looked up at his next patient. "...Xeph, right?" He asked. When he received no objection, he introduced himself. "My name's Anderson." Despite the fact that it was very easy to obtain a trooper's name, it was still considered polite to introduce oneself. Anderson turned his eyes down to the wound Xeph was clutching. "Here, lemme heal ya." Anderson reached around his back, grabbed a device that was strapped to his belt, and held it out to Xeph. Xeph was pleased to see it - a med pack.
---
Med packs are devices that can provide immediate medical aid to a sick or injured person. Med packs are about as big as one's hand, but contain a wide variety of medication such as serums, antidotes, medicine, ointment, disinfectant, styptic, and anesthetic. Med packs can also administer a gelatinous substance that, when exposed to oxygen, solidifies into a gauze-like form that can be used as a splint or bandage. Med packs can also sew up wounds, although the procedure requires an extremely steady hand, making self-application a near impossibility.
Galactic Federation armor stores more data than just a trooper's name and rank. Galactic Federation armor is capable of storing a trooper's physical data and information related to their bodily health. The information can be read by a medic, and also by med packs.
Once a med pack has been activated, it reads the physical data of the nearest trooper, and once its sensors detect it to be within range of its patient's wound, it administers a shot or other medical technique.
Med packs are revolutionary devices that can automatically perform life-saving medical techniques, and a non-doctor or lay person can be trained to use one with minimal equipment. However, it should be noted that the med pack does not make medics obsolete - most of the time, the most a med pack can do is to provide temporary aid until proper medical treatment can be administered by a professional. In a tight combat situation, the ability to quickly heal a wound, even if only temporarily, is very useful, but a medic will always be able to provide better treatment. Combat medics always have been and always will be the most valuable commodity on a battlefield.
---
"There. Go get 'em." Anderson said, after administering a med pack to Xeph's wound. Xeph patted the spot on his torso that had stung with pain a moment before, but now felt fine. "If you get hurt, find a medic! They'll heal you up!" Anderson said, as he knelt down before his injured comrade to continuing mending his wounds.
Now that he was patched up, Xeph was ready to go earn his pay. To his right, there was a catwalk that led over a ditch. Beyond that ditch was the entrance to the Ebirt Temple. Xeph ran across the catwalk, and approached the temple. The entrance was a large mechanical sliding door that the Pirates had built into the original entrance of the temple - a stark contrast to the stone walls that surrounded the high-tech door. Beside it was a GF trooper, kneeling as he loaded his rifle. Words appeared next to him - "PVT Webb, Chimera Squad". When Xeph approached, Webb stood up, gestured towards the temple, shouted enthusiastically, "Come on!" and ran towards the door. As he approached the door, it automatically sensed his approach, and slid open quickly, allowing him in. Xeph followed behind him.
The inside of the temple was dark. It appeared that most of the lights had ceased to function. Nearby sparking wires hinted that more than a few electrical circuits had been damaged in the battles that had recently taken place in these halls. Evidence of battles was everywhere - bullet holes and blood littered the walls, and empty bullet shells littered the ground. Xeph had to run around a dead GF trooper and avoid wetting his boots in the puddle of blood that surrounded him.
Through another sliding door was when things started to heat up. As Webb approached a corner, a Space Pirate leapt out from behind it. Webb wasted no time in shouting a derogatory name at his adversary, and then emptying a few rounds of bullets into its chest. Another door down the hall slid open, revealing two Space Pirates standing over a dead trooper. They immediately began firing on Xeph and Webb. Xeph found a couple of boxes to take cover behind, the trooper ducked behind a pillar. They periodically popped out from behind their cover to fire a few shots at their enemies, and after a short, intense battle, the Space Pirates were dead.
Webb gave an exhilarated whoop, obviously pleased with their victory - but they were nowhere near done. Gunfire coming from nearby told them that there was someone who needed their help, and they ran down the hall, up a short flight of stairs, and across a catwalk to join the fight. As they did, Xeph heard a voice speak over his suit's radio - "Viper Squad, this is HQ! Mantis Squad is MIA, no responses. Fall back to Rally Point Alpha-904!"
A lone GF trooper was ducking behind a crate, taking fire from three Space Pirates at once. Once Xeph and Webb joined the fray, the playing field was evened, but the battle would still be harsh.
As Xeph stepped back to take cover behind a pillar, the back of his foot kicked something metallic. He looked down to see what it was - his assault rifle! It was next to the corpse of an unfortunate trooper. More than likely, this man was the one who had taken his gun from him when Xeph was thought to be dead.
Xeph took up the rifle and began firing on the Space Pirates. The rifle had a fast rate of fire, decent range, and a scope, too. Xeph was best with assault rifles, and with one in his hands, the battle was tipped to his side's favor.
Once the Space Pirates had been dispatched, Webb spoke to Xeph. "We're clear! We'll stay here to secure the area. Why don't you go find your squad?"
Xeph nodded and ran ahead. He rounded a corner, then another, and then heard voices and gunfire coming from nearby. It was further down the hall, and through a door. The voices were human, and in agony. Xeph ran through the door, and in front of him, saw a Space Pirate dragging a trooper by his leg. The trooper was firing his gun wildly, but his shots were hitting only the ceiling. By the time Xeph had dashed into the room and raised his rifle, however, it was too late - the Pirate had dragged the man through a door, and most likely to his doom.
Xeph ran across the room, and down a short flight of stairs. He was about to keep on running, but something caught his eye. To his left, there was a large piece of smoking machinery. At first, it had seemed unremarkable, but at second glance, Xeph noticed that the floor panels beneath it were turned up, as if it had fallen from a long ways up. He looked up, and saw a hole in the ceiling, providing a view of the sky above. He looked back at the machine. It was obviously of GF design, and was the size and shape of a coffin, with an engine and wings on the back. It was opened, revealing a place for a person to lie down inside. Xeph realized that it was a vessel that could deploy a single person into enemy territory. It was most likely used by the GF to send in bounty hunters or mercenaries, rather than single troopers. He wondered where the inhabitant of this vessel was. There was no dead body nearby, so he'd most likely survived his rough landing and gotten out. There were more important things to worry about, so Xeph forgot about the strange vessel and continued on his way.
Xeph made his way to the door that the trooper had been dragged through. Behind it, he found a dead GF trooper surrounded by a lot of blood, and dropped his hopes for saving the man.
When he walked forward, a Space Pirate suddenly dropped down from above. Xeph immediately began firing upon the Pirate as he walked backwards to put some space between himself an enemy known for expertise at melee combat. His hail of fire tore the Pirate apart, and it was no longer a threat.
This area had a number of pillars significantly higher than the areas before it, and Xeph quickly deduced what his enemy would use for cover in this room. As he walked forward, he heard a snarl, and saw two shadowy forms moving behind some pillars, and backed up and hid half his body behind a corner to prepare for battle.
Bullets and energy blasts went flying his way, and Xeph shot back, then hid behind the corner. When he heard his enemy stop firing, he popped back around the corner and fired again, then slipped behind the corner again.
This process managed to take down one Space Pirate, but the remaining one was too smart. Xeph leapt out from behind the corner, taking cover behind a pillar this time. He slipped from pillar to pillar, gaining ground on his enemy as he did. Eventually, when he was close enough, he jumped out and fired, and took his enemy by surprise. The Space Pirate could not survive fire from such a close range. This room was now clear.
Xeph walked down some stairs and approached a door. It opened, revealing a horrifying sight behind it. A Space Pirate knocked a trooper down and pinned him with its body, snarling and drawing back its arm for an attack. Xeph feared that the outcome of this scene was going to mirror the last one - but to his surprise, the Space Pirate suddenly went flying into the air, hit a wall, slid down it, and slumped down lifelessly. The GF trooper, holding a smoking shotgun in his hands, rolled to the side, and then rose to his feet. Words appeared beside him - "PFC Kovitch, Chimera Squad". "Not a very good place to let your guard down, is it?" He said wryly to Xeph. "...C'mon, let's see if we can't find my squad up ahead."
Xeph and Kovitch ran ahead. Through a door, they found a long corridor, the left wall of which was composed of a very long section of pipes. For a split second, Xeph caught sight of a Space Pirate slipping around a corner for cover at the far end of the hallway. Kovitch ducked down behind a crate for cover, and Xeph assumed that it would be his job to root out the Pirate.
Xeph began running down the corridor, but no sooner than he'd made it a couple feet, the pipes to his left sudden burst open, blasting him in the face with steam. When he could see clearly again, he saw a Space Pirate torso leaning through the opening, a claw extended for him. Xeph leapt back and fired at the Pirate, and it growled and dashed out of his view.
Xeph anticipated that the Pirate was most likely heading back around the corner to run down the hallway and face him directly, so he backed up. Just as he'd expected, the Pirate leapt out from behind the corner and came barreling down the hallway. Xeph and Kovitch began firing at it. It advanced on them with incredible speed, and then made a tremendous leap forward, straight towards Xeph. His bullets didn't stop it, and it slammed right into him.
The Space Pirate's body pinned Xeph against a wall. He shoved it off and jumped up, his gun pointed at the Pirate - but it wasn't moving any more. Apparently, it had died in midair during its leap, thanks to the bullets of Xeph and Kovitch.
The two of them continued down the corridor, turned the corner, and walked past the pipes the Space Pirate had been hiding behind. There was another sliding door to go through, but before Xeph entered it, he noticed another peculiar sight - what looked like some kind of biological organ coming out of a wall. There were a few pipes and wires running through it, and there was even a screen attached to it, although it displayed letters that were in the Space Pirate language, one Xeph couldn't read. The 'organ' was fleshy and meaty, red in color, and even had a few veins running across it. Periodically, it would beat, like a heart. Xeph shook his head at the grotesque sight. He wondered exactly how far the Space Pirates' biological experiments were going.
He turned around, and approached the sliding door. The moment it slid open, he saw a Space Pirate running to the left - and then suddenly flying to the right as a result of a direct shotgun blast. Xeph readied his weapon for a fight, but that unfortunate Pirate appeared to be the last one to die in a battle that had just taken place here. There was a GF trooper to the left holding a shotgun, and another tooper up some stairs with an assault rifle. Kovitch took up position here, too, and Xeph saw a tough-looking man labeled "SGT Miller, Chimera Squad". This was definitely Chimera Squad's rally point.
One of the men here, however - "PVT Chase" - was sitting on the floor, his legs lying straight out in front of him, stiff and unmoving. "PFC Hillstrom" dashed to his side. "My legs...I can't move 'em!" Chase pleaed.
Sergeant Miller began speaking into the microphone on his wrist. "HQ, I have a man down, and require a medic. ...HQ, come in! ...Damn Pirates must be jamming our signal. Kovitch, what took you so long to get back?"
"Sorry, Sarge, I had a...run in with a Pirate." Kovitch said, under-exaggerating his encounter for brevity's sake. "I met this bounty hunter - I think he's working with Minotaur Squad."
"...You with Minotaur Squad?" Miller asked Xeph. Xeph nodded. "Hightail it back to the landing site, grab your medic, and bring him here."
Bounty hunters moonlighting as mercenaries or GF troopers were expected to accept orders from any GF lieutenant or sergeant, regardless of whether or not the bounty hunter was a part of that commander's squad, so these were orders that Xeph would have to follow.
"We're not going to be able to spare any men to go back with you." Miller said. "If you want, you can take that." He gestured towards a small crate of GF equipment. Xeph leaned over to see what Miller had pointed at.
A nail gun.
---
The nail gun is a machine gun with a high rate of fire employing several rotating barrels. However, instead of bullets, the nail gun fires small fin-stabilized metal darts referred to as 'nails'. Upon impact with a surface, whether that surface is metal or flesh, the nails shatter apart into sharp fragments that pierce most types of armor, as well as most types of Space Pirate carapaces.
---
The nail-gun would come in handy, especially if Xeph wasn't going to receive back-up, so he picked it up and stuck a few clips of its unique ammo onto his belt.
Xeph left Chimera Squad's rally point, and re-entered the area with the long corridor of pipes, and began to walk past the pipes. As he did, he heard a voice over his suit's radio. "We were dropped in the wrong freakin' zone! There are Space Pirates everywhere! Get me outta here!"
"Hold tight, trooper!" A voice responded. "We have your location, and help is on the way. He's going to get you outta there, and then take you to an injured man who needs your help." It was difficult to hear voices very clearly over the radio, but the first voice sounded like that of Anderson, the medic, and the second voice sounded like Miller's.
Suddenly, Xeph heard a loud, explosive noise behind him. The point in the pipes where a Space Pirate had ambushed him had just been blown open - had the pipes' structural integrity merely reached a critical point, or...
Xeph heard snarling. That blast had come from a Space Pirate. Xeph quickly took cover, and waited for the Pirate to round the corner - when it did, Xeph activated his nail gun, sending a hail of needles into the Space Pirate's body. It did not survive very much longer.
Xeph looked around the corner, and saw two Space Pirates down the corridor. He raised the nail gun and sprayed a flurry of nails down the corridor. When he heard two Space Pirate death screams, and the enemy fire stopped, he came out from cover and began walking down the corridor again. Then, two more Space Pirates jumped out - they'd been waiting until Xeph had come closer. However, their plan proved to be their demise - the nail gun was even more lethal at close range, and Xeph wasn't standing close enough to them to be hurt by the nails' shrapnel.
Once those two Space Pirates were dead, Xeph looked down at the nail gun with satisfaction. He'd killed five pirates, and only used up a third of his ammo so far. This gun would do nicely.
Xeph passed by the room where he'd met Kovitch, and then entered the room with many pillars. In this room, there was a trooper standing in front of one of the sliding doors. As Xeph approached him, he raised a hand. "...Hey!" He called out.
Suddenly, the door behind the trooper opened, revealing a Space Pirate. The Pirate was wearing a large blade that started at his elbow and went far past his hand. The Pirate drew back his arm and thrust it through the torso of the trooper, impaling him instantly. The Pirate tossed the trooper's now lifeless body to the side, and then turned to Xeph.
Xeph felt no camaraderie towards GF troopers, but it was unpleasant to watch that trooper be killed from behind in such a fashion. He raised his nail gun, intent on avenging the poor trooper's death, and fired.
To Xeph's surprise, the Space Pirate seemed almost unaffected by the nails that were shredding into his body. He snarled and leapt at Xeph, and in turn Xeph jumped away, attempting to keep his nail gun's barrels aimed at the Pirate. The Pirate continued to attempt to attack Xeph, swiping its blade weapon at him, but Xeph managed to narrowly avoid its swings. Just when it seemed that the Pirate was about to win, it finally fell. Xeph checked the screen on the weapon that displayed how much ammo was left in it - he'd spent a third of it fighting that beast. It looked like the strength of Space Pirates varied more than he thought.
Xeph walked through the door that the tough Pirate had come through. He saw two dead GF troopers lying on the ground, their blood splattered on the floor and nearby walls.
Xeph heard the battle cry of a Space Pirate from nearby, and then saw one run out from behind a corner. He turned his nail gun on the Pirate, and took him down.
His suit's radio came to life again. "We're locked on! Do not attempt to evac us!"
"Bluetail Squad, you have to bank your dropship to the left! Bank left, dammit!"
"We copy. See if you can-" The radio sputtered out static, and then went dead. Xeph guessed the fate of the unfortunate Bluetail Squad.
Xeph went through the next door, entering the area with the strange coffin-shaped vessel. Directly across the room from him was a Space Pirate - Xeph opened fire on him. He heard more fire, but it wasn't from his weapon or the Space Pirate's weapon. It was the sound of an assault rifle firing. The Space Pirate fell to the side, as if he had been shot from the side instead of from the front. Xeph deduced that a GF trooper was somewhere off to the side.
Two more Space Pirates piled into the room, and Xeph and the unseen GF trooper mowed them down easily. The ammunition for Xeph's nail gun ran out in the process, but this was understandable. He turned to the side to see the trooper that had assisted him in killing the Space Pirates with such skill.
It was Anderson, the medic!
"An injured man needs my help, right? Lead the way."
Xeph nodded, and turned around to backtrack. He returned to the room that he'd found the two dead troopers in. Suddenly, a metal panel on the floor popped open, and a Space Pirate leapt out from under the floor.
Xeph and Anderson raised their assault rifles and fired. Normally the Pirate would probably have posed a threat, but with dual rifles firing on it, it went down hard, and fell back into the hole from whence it came.
"I thought Pirates were supposed to be tough!" Anderson joked. As they passed by the two dead troopers, Anderson shook his head and sighed. "So many lives wasted..."
In the next room, another Space Pirate attempted to ambush them, but Xeph and Anderson were expecting such attacks, and short work was made of the Pirate.
Xeph's radio came to life again. "Orbital artillery has just finished targeting! Bombardment to commence in three...! Two...! One...!"
Moments later, Xeph heard several loud explosions and felt an equal number of very large rumbles.
The Space Pirate ambushes continued, although few provided much of a challenge for Xeph and the surprisingly skilled Anderson.
It wasn't long before Xeph and Anderson reached Chimera Team's rally point. The atmosphere had changed since the last time Xeph had been in this room - the troopers were more relaxed, and were talking amongst themselves.
"I heard the dropship the Minotaurs were on took a direct hit. They're lucky most of them survived."
"Yeah, we lost a lot of dropships during the initial landing. The Space Pirate air defense cannons ripped us apart."
"But, now it's our turn, right? It's time to kick some Space Pirate ass!"
"Yeah!"
Xeph and Anderson made their way over to the injured man.
"What's wrong?"
"My legs...they're numb!"
"Don't worry, you'll be fine." Anderson coaxed. "Here..." He leaned from side to side, observing the man's injuries, took out a med pack, and administered the proper medical care. "Gave 'im a med pack, and sedated 'im. He'll be okay."
"Thanks, 'hunter." Miller said to Xeph. "You're free to go now. Take that door, and it'll get you to your squad."
Xeph nodded, and went through the door that Miller had indicated. The room beyond it was empty - it was just an airlock. That meant that going through the next door would lead him out of the temple. Xeph waited for the door behind him to close, then walked forward towards the exit.
When the door slid open, Xeph saw a GF trooper standing directly ahead of him. Approaching him from two sides were Space Pirates.
The GF trooper was holding a shotgun. With two quick shots, he blew away both Space Pirates. After this impressive task, he began to nonchalantly approach Xeph. However, from his blind side, another Space Pirate that had been in hiding was approaching him. Without turning his head to look, the trooper pointed his shotgun at the Pirate, fired a perfectly aimed blast into its chest, and then began speaking to Xeph as if nothing had happened. The words beside him read "CPL Cortez, Minotaur Squad".
"Ah, so you did survive!" He laughed. "I won the bet with Rhodes. We were not properly introduced - I am Alejandro Cortez, Minotaur Squad sharpshooter. Lieutenant Abbas stationed me here to guard the flank. But, you are to proceed that way, and rendezvous with the rest of our squad." He pointed at a large door to the left. Xeph nodded, and approached the door - it was another airlock. He made sure his assault rifle was loaded, and entered the airlock.