[Chapter 3]
Beta: Engineer1869
Cardin's PoV
Fifteen Minutes Post Drop
"'Don't worry about it.' He says. 'It'll be fine, not like the Grimm can take these things out of the sky.' He says… Fuckin' piece of shit…" I muttered, more or less to myself as I got situated with my surroundings and what was going on, really.
First, it had been a freak accident. The bitch from AID got her pod hit by lightning, and down she goes like a rock. Fine, not good, but the tech hadn't failed when we needed it. Then, it had been our commander to go down, too.
A whole host of Grimm descended down onto his pod, almost like they knew and were waiting for us. It wasn't long after he went down that we all followed suit. Jaune, predictably, was terrified before the comms went down, and the pod went dark.
Of all our squadron, I'm pretty sure that mine was the only one that kept functioning the whole way down.
I had landed down on what was once a highway connecting one part of the city to another. Old cars, some of which blown up, and almost all of which had been looted for supplies long before I arrived, were backed up in gridlock.
I checked my weapons – nothing was broken, or out of place. The pod had done its job and kept me, and all my gear uninjured from the crash.
Seeing that I was demolitions, they had armed me with enough explosives to level half this city, if I used them right. Along with a grenade launcher, heavy armor, a shot gun, and a morning star for good measure. Always had mixed feelings about using melee weapons, resorting to them always meant you were knees deep in shit, but having them was essential to getting out. Plus I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoying beaning the Grimm in their ugly faces.
Rain was pouring down in heavy sheets all around me as I shouldered through the desolate highway. Lightning thundered and cracked overhead, briefly illuminating the city.
God, it had been years since I set foot in this place. I told myself that I wouldn't come back – there was nothing more for me here. Yet, here I was. Walking through the streets and armed to the teeth. Funny, how life does that.
I heard the crack of gunfire, and not just one gun, either. It sounded like a whole fireteam – one that probably was up to their ears in Grimm, if the constant gunfire was anything to go by. Several explosions punctuated that, drowning out the gunfire briefly.
Without thinking much of it, I vaulted over the railing of the highway I had been pushing through. The drop, while not insignificant at ten feet, wasn't anything I couldn't handle, thanks to my Aura. Then again, I'll be feeling that strain for the next day or two at the least.
As soon as I landed, I broke into a sprint in the direction of the gunfire.
I broke around a corner, and was presented with quite the firefight going on. A large convoy of soldiers, many of whom looked to be injured in some way or another, was desperately trying to fight back a horde of Grimm that they couldn't stop in their state.
I felt a wry grin spread over my lips as I pulled the grenade launcher off my back. "Looks like you could use some help." I called out to the soldiers. Some of them cheered – happy to see the distinctive gray uniform of the Helljumpers standing out compared to their plain brown.
I fired off several grenades in quick order thanks to the revolving chambers that had been built into this particular model. As soon as the explosives made contact with the ground, or the Grimm, they erupted into a pillar of flame and fire, rupturing out in a significant area around them. The fire tore through the Grimm's black flesh like it was tissue paper.
That said, though, I didn't kill all of the Grimm. I had just pissed them off.
Commanding this particular horde seemed to be an Ursa Major – a hulking bear like creature that, unlike many of its companions, had pearly white bone plating to cover parts of its body. It growled, turning to face me before breaking into a charge.
I grinned, ticking my grenade launcher over to the next barrel and firing one of the explosives straight into the creature's face. A blow that's lethal to almost any Grimm.
The smoke and flames died down, and this creature, still pissed as hell, was barreling towards me.
I frowned, and reacted on instinct and training.
I dove off to one side, not bothering to try and keep track of the grenade launcher at the moment. I managed to avoid the head on charge from the massive Grimm, watching as it skidded and turned, huffing at me.
I drew my shotgun off my back and started unloading the buckshot shells into the creature's front.
An Ursa Major wasn't something to be trifled with – even if it wasn't quite as tanky and damage resistant as this one, they were more than capable of ripping through half a fire team before it would be killed.
After I had unloaded four shells into the creature, it howled, clearly in pain, and collapsed down to the ground. Slowly, its body began to dissipate into a black smoke.
While I had been fighting off the Ursa, the soldiers had been picking off the remaining Grimm one by one. A job made significantly easier thanks to the Paladin they had just secured.
I looked back over the convoy. Even with my help, and the Paladin, things weren't looking good. Bodies were all over the place, fresh and still warm. Several soldiers had wounds that I just wasn't knowledgeable enough to take care of.
Even with all my experience, seeing scenes like this never got easier.
I was clapped on the shoulder by a massive paw of a hand, getting me to look back. Standing just behind me was a man a fair bit bigger than me, even with all the armor on. He had short cut black hair, and a well-maintained beard covering most of his jaw. His lips were curled into a grin.
"Thanks for the help, Helljumper." He said, letting his hand fall back to his side.
I nodded, stowing my shotgun, scanning the area for my dropped grenade launcher, "Any time, chief."
He nodded, looking back over his convoy of soldiers. "Where's the rest of your team?"
"Hell if I know. We got separated during the drop." I responded quickly, finding my dropped weapon.
"That so? No way to contact them?"
I shook my head, reloading the grenade launcher. "Not without the CCT functioning."
He nodded. "Well, my boys and I are returning to base after a supply run." He swept his hand across the convoy where his soldiers were going about moving bodies and laying the fallen to some semblance of rest. "We'd all feel a whole lot safer with a Helljumper along for the ride."
He wanted me to tag along with his convoy? Well, I'd be headed for a military base, presumably. A secure location, and probably somewhere with a small broadcast tower, if I'm lucky. Maybe even where the others went. I nodded. "Right. I'll join up, for a little while."
The bear of a man grinned, nodding. "Welcome aboard, Helljumper. I'm Sergeant Major Xiong, though most just call me Junior."
I nodded, strapping my grenade launcher back where it belonged on my back. "Cardin," I said simply.
It wasn't much, but it was a start, at the least. A lead to a more secure position, and somewhere for me to make my next decision from.
Another day, another Chapter for Helljumper.
Like I said, we're getting thrown right into the middle of things, so it's going to be one hell of a ride.
At the least Cardin isn't alone - he's got Junior to back him up, so that's fantastic. Gotta love the big man.
Next chapter, we see from Sun's PoV and his experience post drop.
Next Chapter - Friday, October 11th
Till next time, this is Valres signing off.
