Hi everyone! Sorry that it took so long to post this chapter. The wait time for updates will be longer than before. But, I will try to get them out for you to read.
Also, thank you to the new follows for liking and adding this story to your watchlists. Like, I said before, I will try to get the others out to you guys.
Enjoy!
Devon was greeted with the Ocana's remains and the Galaxius upon exiting Ret's runway. Pieces of the destroyer still shone with remaining embers from whatever blew it a part and drifted around the SetDef warship. It was oddly beautiful to Devon, with the bright blue ball of a planet that was Neptune. She couldn't see earth from this far back and the sun looked like a lightbulb hidden behind wax paper as the light was dimmed. But, she shivered when the thought came to her mind that this might have been Salen's first usage of the F-SpAr cannon. It could have been. The damage here looked almost identical to ones around Earth.
"I wonder if the Ocana was Salen's first test of the canon." she asked out loud.
"I don't know, Lieutenant." Brooks said, leaning forward in his seat to look at the damage. "Looks like it."
"Raider, we're reaching our exit point." Dev said, putting her jackal in stand-by and unbuckled her restraints.
"Rog. Alpha team in position, exiting jackals." Reyes said. Devon looked over her shoulder as she popped the canopy.
"Ready, Brooks?" she asked.
"Born ready, Lieutenant." he replied. Devon let zero gravity her out of the pilot's seat and into the wreckage around them. She spared as glance over her shoulder in time to see Reyes float out of his jackal.
"Be advised. Galaxius is scrambling fighters at 2-4-2 mark 6." Ethan advised.
"Yeah, we see that, Ethan." Devon replied, watching the Skelters launch from the Galaxius' port side. They were just small, shinny specs ahead. Almost like dust being illuminated in the sun's rays.
"Keep them busy, Salt." Reyes ordered.
"Copy. Approaching with SCAR 2."
"Give 'em hell, Fever." Dev said. Salt chuckled.
"You know it." Salt replied. The Galaxius' cannon fire was muffled by the lack of O2 in the space and was regularly cut into by the whine of jackals and Skelters flying nearby. "Light them up!"
"Alpha's, weapons retrieval is our top priority. But, we make every effort to rescue the engineers." Reyes briefed. "Clear?"
"Clear, Raider" Devon replied.
"Solid Captain." Brooks echoed. Taking point, Devon used her grappling to sling herself ahead and into the remains of one of the Ocana's engines. She used cabinets and other large pieces of debrief as she grappled from cover to cover.
"Fan out and use debrief for cover." Reyes said.
"Copy." Kash responded.
"Way ahead of you, Raider." Devon replied, as she nestled down behind what she guessed to be a weapons crate. She rested the NV4 on the edge and scoped out SetDef positions.
"Sir, enemy triggers converging on your position." Ethan warned.
"This was the UNSA Ocana." Brooks informed.
"What's left of it." Kash quipped.
"All we can do is hit them back." Reyes said. She felt the crate jerk forward slightly as Reyes joined her side. "What do we got, Dev?" Devon went back to looking through the scope, counting silently over every head she passed over. She watched as SetDef searched behind any debris, anything a assault team could hide behind.
Barkov knew.
Of course he would.
"Platoon sized." she answered. "Maybe with an extra squad." She readjusted her scope to their marked infil point. "They're searching for us."
"Targets inbound." Kash called out. Devon glanced at Reyes out of the corner of her eye.
"Now or never, Reyes." she said. He nodded and gave the order.
"Alpha team, engage." Devon kept her rifle balanced on the crate and picked off SetDef as they floated around. Some went for cover behind debrief while others used the out-lip of the Galaxius' ports. It was a bad call on the latter of the two as SetDef soldiers were bulky even without their uniforms. It was still difficult, though, as the zero-g's kept her from staying one stable position. She had to reorient herself multiple times in order to get her shots right. Reyes had sprung up from his hiding place and launched the grappling hook at a SetDef soldier who had been unlucky enough to be within range of him. Devon saw another pop up and take aim at Raider just as he pushed the sorry sod away from him. It was clean headshot. He looked over his shoulder to her when the soldier's head jerked back with the round.
"I got your back, Raider." she said.
"I know you do." he replied. Devon kept herself hidden as she scanned the area. She smiled when she spied the belt of grenades on a target's chest. What made it even better was that there were two other guys right by him. She fired the shot and watched as the other two tried to thruster away from their teammate. But, thankfully for Devon and the others-they didn't make it very far and were caught in the blast. Just a few meters away, there was another explosion, taking another five guys. Debrief thrown from the blast sunk into a few unlucky ones nearby, expelling blood or even the glass of a face visor from their helmets.
"Got boosters in the open!" Kash called out. Devon up ahead as she pressed forward in time to see a Warden dropship pull up. Devon cursed under her breath.
"Copy." Brooks replied.
"Take 'em." Reyes order. "Approaching entrance. Keep hittin' them, Salt!"
"Check!" The group pushed harder to the infil, sometimes reverting just a pistol and knife to clear through.
"Moving to breach!" Reyes replayed. "Alpha's going to secondary infil."
"Copy." Brooks replied. Devon made her way to the shuttered port, using debris and the bodies to propel herself forward. When she was close enough, she launched her cable to the wall and pulled herself in. Reyes was waiting for her.
"You took your sweet ass time." he said.
"Fuck you." She said, keeping herself back from the entrance. "I had more ground to cover." Reyes chuckled and shook his head.
"Ethan, give me a hull scan." he asked. Her HUD lit up with the orange outlines of SetDef troops waiting for them on the other side. Devon changed her magazine, knowing that even if a majority of them were blasted out, there would still be stragglers to take care of.
"Not for long." Reyes mulled, as he planted the charge. Reyes primed the charge and gave himself a hard shove back. She caught him and pulled him behind her and against the wall as the charge blew out the shutters. The walls shook with a short burst fireball before it was snuffed out. Devon kept her head down as she listened to the roaring of oxygen as it was pulled and the screams of terror as men caught without their helmets and visors were sucked out with it.
"We're clear." she said. Devon lead the way in, scanning the room for anyone that might put up resistance. The others floated in behind her. The room was dimly lit except for the emergency strobe lights on the wall at the far side of the room. Bodies of SetDef soldiers caught in the past floated round them along with helmets and other bits of uniforms. Devon checked the vital signs of those just floating about. She knew anyone of them could just be playing dead and waiting for an opportunity to nab one of them. They would a be a handsome reward, she knew. Reyes floated over to the nearest and undamaged console.
"Ethan, we're onboard. I'll patch you in." Reyes said, typing commands into the console and letting Ethan through.
"Attention! Ship has been boarded! Report to response force stations!" the overhead female AI announced. Devon growled. It was an annoying voice and she wondered why in the hell they had to go with a different one. Ethan guided Reyes over to a section of the room with consoles where they could insert themselves into the system. Devon kept her eyes glued on the door on the other side of the room. She wondered if forces were amassing outside as Ethan patched them in.
"Ethan, you're in."
"Scanning now, sir." Devon glanced over her shoulder at the large screen as Ethan brought up the layout of the ship. Sections of the ship were enlarged as Ethan searched. "Stolen weapon is in the armory."
"Probably on the other side of the damn ship." Devon grumbled.
"Where are the engineers?" Reyes asked. She tried not to think about the possibility that they were already dead. If they had held out long enough, despite interrogation techniques, they would be. Especially, if Barkov didn't get anything out of them, anything to report to High Command or the Council with. Ethan did his best to search, but the bastards had locked him out.
"They know we're going to try and get them out of them." she warned. "They fight even harder now. Make sure we came all the way out here for nothing."
"Not on my watch, Dev." Reyes replied.
"You say that, but what-." she began, but was cut off. The screen flickered to a live feed of the four engineers, all on their knees, hands bound behind their backs and bags over their heads. Barkov stood in front of them, staring up at the camera.
"To the UNSA forces aboard my ship, this is Captain Barkov." he called out. "Yield or the personnel will die."
"Where is he transmitting from?" Reyes asked Ethan. The bot took a moment to reply.
"Cargo bay, that's where they're holding the engineers."
"I know you are here, Little Hyena." Barkov taunted, pointing the business end of his EMC at the camera. "Show yourself."
"Bloody hell!" she blurted out and back to walk away frantically.
"Dev?" Reyes asked, concern. Devon stopped in her pacing and turned to look to him. Her eyes were wider than they were before. It was not just fear he saw in her eyes, but a mixture of it and anger.
"He knows I'm here." she replied.
"Well," he began. "Let's not keep him waiting." Devon's expression change and she smirked, knowing he might give her leeway to let her do what she did best. "Alpha team, change of plans, we move on the hostages now."
"Yes, sir." Brooks replied. "On the move." Reyes was the first to the door, wedging himself between the two panels of the door and pushing it open. He held them open long enough for Devon to slip under him and into the adjacent hall.
"I got it, Reyes." she grunted, stashing her weapon and holding the door open for him.
"Ethan, seal the room." Reyes ordered, once he was through.
"Copy." he replied. Devon wretched her hands away before Ethan had a chance to crush them. "Restoring atmosphere."
"As Salt likes to say-'Here comes, gravity'." Devon mentioned in a aside. She ready for the sudden and small drop to the floor. To keep the impact from screwing with the joints in her leg, she curled into a ball upon touching down, absorbing the impact and diapering it into the rest of her body. The two bodies in the hall with them, hit the ground with a hollow thud. Overhead, the oxygen vents kicked into action, flooding the hallway with breathable air. Reyes motioned with his head to start moving and took point. The hallway bent right then left before straightening out.
"Sir, multiple signatures ahead." Ethan warned. "Take it slow."
"We're gonna need to take cover if we can find it." Devon suggested. Reyes nodded. A meter on their HUD alerted them SetDef ahead. The two of them dropped low and hid behind ammo crates. Just before they hid, Devon caught sight of the two men dragging a red body out into the hall. Devon nearly jumped out of her skin with how close the two men had come, as they raced past and down the hall they just came. They waited a few heartbeats before moving again. They had only made it to the mess hall door when more SetDef com chatter. Devon hissed and dropped down, pulling Reyes down with her.
"Inside." Reyes whispered harshly, darting inside and behind a set booths. He motioned with his hand for her to go prone as SetDef shined a flashlight inside, hoping their shadows would betray their position. Devon followed his lead, crawling along the floor like a worm. She saw where he was going; someone had left a maintenance panel open on the other side of the room.
Sloppy.
"Ethan, can you access the ship's closed circuit?" Reyes whispered, as he moved into a crouch once he moved past the second door.
"Accessing. Standby." Devon kept her eyes behind her, watching the light roam over the walls. Reyes' harsh whisper caught her attention. She looked ahead and found he was waiting at the opening of the tunnel and she had lagged behind. She spared another glance behind before pushing herself up and moving to the entrance. Reyes went first, training his 44 inside incase it was an choke point. Devon still a look out for at the rear. Once he deemed it safe enough, he tapped her shoulder. "Camera feeds are in your HUDs now." Devon tapped commands into her wrist console and watched as her HUD tracked all SetDef soldiers with in three meter radius of them just as two ran past the grate. Reyes looked over his shoulder after they passed and she nodded. Reyes exhaled quietly and eased the grate off the wall. He checked right then left before moving out. Devon followed right behind, checking up and down the hall as he sunk the knife in a SetDef soldier less than a meter away. He laid them down next to the other bodies, trying to make it look suspicious. Devon activated her HUD again and looked around. She tapped Reyes' shoulder when she spied the two C6 stations in the adjacent room.
"C6s." she whispers.
"I see them." he said. "You clear the left side of the room, I'll clear the right. We meet up on the second level at the door."
"Copy." she replied. The two moved up until they reached the first entrance. Reyes held his hand up in a fist, halting their movements. He tapped the side of his helmet and pointed inside. There was a tango keeping watch at a window. Devon nodded as he unsheathed his knife and moved inside. Dev moved up to the second door activated her HUD. The first station was just inside the door. She took another cursory glance of the room before move inside. She could hear Barkov taunting them over the ship's intercom system, telling them the engineers were going to die because of the. What a load of rat shit.
"Sir, you may want to stick to a suppressed weapon." Ethan advised.
"Yes, we know, Ethan." Devon replied, a little annoyed. Devon continued to move along the left side of the room, keeping track of tangos and Reyes. She had to warn him at least once to stay hidden as target would round the corner without warning. Once their targets on the ground level were taken out, Reyes gave the signal to move to the upstairs."You know, these things are useful only if they would keep the targets illuminated."
"Its a closed system, Lieutenant." Ethan explained. "If I allowed it any longer, they would know."
"Well, they already know we're on board, so what good does that do?"
"Both of you, button up." Reyes order.
"Yes, sir." Ethan replied. Devon kept her rifle trained on the landing above her as she moved up the stairs. She heard a body hit the metal walkway with a dull thud above her and looked up to see Reyes standing above her.
"Fuck," she hissed at him. "You scared the shit out of me. I thought I was made."
"You almost were." he said, with a slight chuckle to his voice. "Meet me by the door."
"Roger." she replied. "Almost up the stairs." Devon took the steps two at a time and hit the landing in time to see a SetDef soldier lurking off to the side. "Reyes!" Devon didn't have time to react as the SetDef soldier pounced on Reyes. Devon let her rifle hang by her side and ran full speed at them, unsheathing her knife as she did. By the time she had reached them, the target had thrown Reyes into the wall and was standing over him, the Oni drawn and ready to fire. Devon used the corner of one of the data racks to push herself up and sail towards the soldier, her knife raised and ready to kill. She landed on the man back and repeatedly imbedded the knife into his chest, drawing spirts of blood over the wall and Reyes. The target fell after the fourth stab. Devon jumped off of the body and stood back, huffing and puffing from exertion. She looked over at Reyes as he picked himself up.
"Thanks, Dev." he said, out of breath, too.
"Captain, Lieutenant? What's going on?" Ethan asked, a hint of urgency in his robotic voice. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah, we're fine, Ethan." Reyes replied, picking his RPR. "This is why I like having you on missions."
"The Staff Sergeant would beg the differ." she said, following him through the doorway.
"He'll come around eventually." Devon scoffed at the idea. The man was stubborn, set in his ways. Just like her brothers and father.
"Captain, Lieutenant, you're closing in on the cargo bay." Ethan alerted. "The engineers are inside."
"Roger, Ethan." Reyes replied. He looked over to Dev. "Which way?"
"Right." The two took off down the hall way, dodge and weaving as they went. With each hit the Galaxius took, it shifted and rumbled, sending equipment sliding around in the hallways. Explosions sent panels flying off the walls, adding something else for them to dodge.
"Captain, you're close. Advise you stay out of sight and thin out any SDF. If they see you they'll execute the hostages."
"Copy that." he said, as they reached the end of the hall. They didn't wait for Ethan to tell them they were there as they burst in, their rifles at the ready in case anyone was waiting for them. Finding the room clear, Devon strode to the observation glass. She spotted a Raven in the center and could make the navy blue of the engineer's uniforms.
"Raider, I see the engineers." she said. Reyes strode to her side. She pointed them out at the base of the Raven. Barkov came into view. "And there's Barkov."
"Ethan, we're in the cargo bay."
"Roger. I'm seeing over a dozen hostiles, Captain." Ethan said. "A direct fire fight will likely get the engineers killed." Devon observed what enemy positions she could: two up on a catwalk providing overwatch, at least two by Barkov and engineers, another on the edges, and she could have sworn she saw another C6 station.
"Reyes," she began, "let me go first. I can take the two guys," pointing to the patrol up high, "on the catwalk. Then, you can start taking out those on the lower bottom. I can provide overwatch, warn you if a patrol is getting to close, give vectors of sight." Reyes thought on the plan, looking out the window and weighting their options. "You hit them, I'll hit them high."
"Its not a bad idea, Captain." Ethan chimed in. Reyes looked back at her, his mouth pulled to one side.
"Fine." he answered. "But, if your ass gets made, get out."
"Not on your life." she replied.
"Dev…" Reyes growled.
"I am not going to abandon the mission." she said. "That's not what we do."
"Just be careful." he said.
"I will." she replied, moving to the nearest door. Devon did wait for Reyes to say anything else to her and exited out into the bay. She closed the door behind her and stayed crouched as she moved along the walkway. She kept in mind of the other's positions; all it took was one to look up and see either her or the dead bodies. "I radio you once I'm set up on the catwalk."
"Don't take too long." Reyes said. "Barkov might execute the engineers if he thinks we bailed or are planning a ambush."
"Roger." Devon pushed herself flush against the wall and partially hid herself in the shadows as one of the sentries looked over in her direction. "Reyes, get down."
"Already, down." he replied.
"Reyes," Salter said, coming on over the coms, "we're locked and loaded. Standing by."
"Roger." he said. "Shit hits the fan, go loud."
"Solid copy."
"Let's hope it won't come to that." Devon added. She observed her target as she sauntered up the walkway. She saw that he had a swagger and wondered if he did something that got Barkov's praise. It surely wasn't an easy task, she knew and was glad he wasn't the one bonded to her sister. Not that that mattered now. Devon slowly inched her way up until she saw sure she could get him with out alerting his partner. She exhaled and steadied her rifle as she took aim at his head. It only took one shot through his visor for him to go down. She waited to see if he would get back up, thinking she missed. Thankfully, he didn't and she moved up. "One tango down, moving onto second."
Devon made sure her footsteps were light and easily, knowing if she stepped the wrong way on the wrong bar, it would groan and draw unwanted attention. She found the second target as she rounded a pillar and traded her rifle for her knife. She had to be quickly as he was more antsy than his dead friend. She grabbed him from behind and sunk the blade into the base of his skull, severing his spinal cord from the rest of his body and slowly laid his body down.
"Both tangos down. Reyes, you're clear to move."
"Roger, tracking on my HUD several SetDef targets." Devon went prone and activated her HUD as well, watching through her scope as Reyes exited out of the other door.
"Reyes, there's one tango below the stairs." she warned. She panned over the walkway, trying to catch anyone else. "I also see another C6 station further down. No targets down that way either."
"Thanks, Dev." Clearing out the cargo bay was agonizingly slow. Reyes would have to crouch behind cover and wait until she gave him the all clear to take out a target. He had to bounce from side of the room to the other, clearing out the tangos on the outer perimeter before closing in. There were a few times she had to take back her words when another tango would suddenly change his position and walk towards the guy Reyes was trying to take out. And more than a few times, he had almost been made. But, finally after what seemed like a thousand years, it was now just Barkov and the one soldier pacing in front of them.
"Reyes, the best way for us to take him out is going to be from a distance." she reported.
"What about the tango in front of him?" he asked.
"I can jumped down on top of him, take him out."
"Barkov, will shoot you on sight." he reminded.
"No, he won't." she replied. "He'll want to take me alive. Remember the bounty on my head?"
"If you are sure it will work…." Reyes began.
"It will," she assured. "I'm sure of it. And if it doesn't, we'll….I'll have another bullet wound to add to the others." She looked down at where Reyes had positioned himself and saw him shake his head. She knew what she was doing was insane-putting herself out in the open where the other side at a slightly better chance than they did. But they didn't have much of an option. Barkov would shoot the engineers when they drop the other guy or vice versa.
"Whenever you're ready, Dev." She exhaled through her nose and stashed her rifle, pulling out her knife once again. She perched precariously on the railing and waited until the other guy was right below her before she began.
"Oh, Radi." she teased. Barkov and the other soldier stopped in the pacing and trained their weapons on their surroundings.
"Huh? Who goes there?" Barkov called out, swinging his handgun around in a wide arc. "Show yourself!" Devon didn't need to be told twice as she leapt off the railing and onto the unsuspecting soldier below. She heard his spine and other bones snap as she landed with the full force on top off his shoulders and sank the knife into his jugular. She paused for a moment to make sure he was dead, but yanking the knife out and standing up straight to face Barkov. He was shocked but something told Devon he was expecting maybe hoping for her to show up.
Of course he was.
"Ah. Our little hyena has returned." Barkov said, a taunt hidden behind his words. He shifted on his feet as he regarded her. But, Devon kept her face emotionless, not letting him know anything. "He warned us you would be in the fight. He knows you were there when the Ares failed, and over Earth when the Olympus jumped."
And what good does the knowledge do? He doesn't not know what ship I serve on." she stated, cocking her head to the side. "Also, I am not your little hyena, Radi."
"He will find out eventually." Barkov taunted.
"Dev, I'm in position." Reyes announced over comms. Devon began to walk around and out of Reyes' line of sight slowly, still commanding most of Barkov's attention.
"Tell me, Radoslav, does Isemay still speak of the threat she transmitted when I defected?" she asked, stopping off to the side. "Or has she forgotten?"
"We forget nothing!" he yelled out, jabbing the barrel of the handgun towards the ground in anger.
"Of course you don't. Though I bet Lytton would love to forget me." she replied with a smirk. This set him off. Barkov leveled his EMC at her, no doubt at her head.
"You brought shame on your family!" Barkov was now enraged as spittle spewed from his mouth like a frothing dog.
"Go ahead and take your shot." she replied, directing the comment more at Reyes than a challenge to Barkov. Barkov didn't have time to react as the bullet entered his right temple and exited it out the left, imbedding into the outer hull of the Raven and spewing brain matter and blood onto the the engineers. One of them even screamed, thinking he had been shot.
"All clear. We're go for rescue." Reyes announced, vaulting over the railing and running over to them. From behind, Salt and the boys appeared in the hanger.
"Copy." Salt responded. "Alpha, prep for civilian extract."
"Roger, Raven is on station for egress." Kash replied. The boys wasted no time in untying the engineers and guiding them into the safety of the Raven. Reyes glanced around and counted off how many they still had.
"Four alive." he counted.
"Outstanding work, Captain." Ethan congratulated.
"Don't forget about Devon, Ethan." Reyes reminded.
"Damn right." she mumbled. Salt conversed with the boys, giving them the orders to get the engineers back to Ret. Devon stood over Barkov's body, staring down at him. Reyes came up beside her and waved his hands in front of her face, startling her.
"You okay?" he asked. She sighed.
"Yeah." she let out in a huff. "Just…glad to be done with him now. And forever."
"Amen to that." Salt inserted, leaning in to the two and smiling.
"Let's go get our weapon back." Reyes said, looking between the two women. They both nodded and hustled over to the bay's control room. "Ethan, we're moving to the armory for stolen weapon retrieval. Get our jackals on station for exfil."
"Aye, sir. I'll have your jackals on stand by."
"Let's get what we came for and get the hell out here." Salt said, as she used her jump jet to vault herself up and into the room. Devon had a harder time, being shorter and all. Her jump jet couldn't quite get her over so she had to settle with just reaching the railing. Reyes waited for her at the top and helped her was embarrassing for her, though. She was a member of SCAR but yet she couldn't get herself over a bar. Several marines waited for them at the top, one carrying wounded fireman style to safety. Through the doors, She could hear the exchange of gunfire between their guys and SetDef, mixed with the alarms going off just down the hall.
"Targets down front!" Salt announced, exchanging fire with a C6 standing out in the open. Devon took cover behind an ammo crate when a round sailed over her head and into the Marine behind her. Their small group continued to push in despite SetDef's numbers and in pushing forward they pushed them back. Many of the SetDef soldiers retreated into the data bank room, leaving the C6s to bear the brunt of the assault. The group split into three: the Marines down the left, Salt and Devon down the right, and Reyes down the center, creating a sort of pincher formation to hit anyone brave enough to poke out. When they reached the entrance to the data bank, Reyes and Salt etched tossed two seeker bots inside before returning fire. Devon ran ahead of them and clear right, finding two inside off to the side hiding behind the towers. She took them out without a second thought. When they reached the armory's door, Brooks came on over the radio.
"Captain, civilians are secure. Alpha's inbound for Retribution." he reported. Devon peaked around the corner and fired on a C6 hiding just in the doorway. She leaned back into cover and listened to it whirl and groan as it self-destructed. She turned to Reyes.
"You got those hacking modules on you?" she asked.
"Yeah." he replied, unsure. "Why?"
"Well, we got C6s that can clear the room for us," she suggested. "so why not use them?" He pursed his lips and shrugged, knowing it was an idea at least. She singled to a nearby Marine to cover him as she moved to the doorway. Inside the armory, she heard the men yelp in surprise as a C6 turned on them. It wasn't long before those yells were silence by the mechanical groan as the bot entered self-destruct and exploded, taking the soldiers out with it. Devon looked across the doorway to Salt and the two women shared a silent acknowledgement. Without warning, they jumped up and into the armory. The few that were still kicking were taken aback at their sudden appearance but continued firing nonetheless. The two split, each going down either side of the room. She tried not to look at the conveyor belts of missiles of varying destruction as they disappeared into the room above. Devon entered the cage and found two stragglers hiding in the shadows. She would not have known they were there if they hadn't fired at her and missed by almost ten kilometers. She used the shine of their helmets to pick them out, taking head shots. She moved through the underbelly of the cage and was almost to the armory when a C8 fired on her. Devon tucked and rolled away from the rocket it launched and found cover behind a half way. But the C8 kept firing on her. She cursed under her breath.
"Reyes, Salt, the C8 has me pinned." she said. "I can't fucking move."
"Hold, Dev." Reyes replied. "We'll draw fire away from you."
"Just tell me when." She heard Reyes yell to the others the orders and could hear the Marines calling out to one another as they took up positions around it. C8's firing lessened on her as it tried to take out the others.
"Dev, move!" Reyes yelled. Devon sprinted from behind her cover back to the stairs, leaping just out of a stray rocket's path. It hit the side of the wall and the impact sent her flying into a wall. Her ears rang with the force of the explosion and everything was muffled. She couldn't tell if the yelling she was hearing was from her coms or from the action around her. Within a few seconds, all senses returned to her at once. "Dev!"
"I'm alright." she coughed, pulling herself on all fours. She heard a quick stamper of feet and felt someone loop their hand around her upper arm and pull her to feet. Normally, she would of fought whoever had laid a hand on her-but it was Salt. So, she was okay.
"I got you, Dev." Salt reassured, pulling up away and out of the C8's line of sight. Devon leaned against a wall and tried to catch her breath, still coughing from the shockwave. Salt squatted down beside her, leaning out and firing on the bot. Devon tried to calm her breath, focusing on taking deep breathes. She didn't know why this was affecting her so much. She had been caught in blast before and had been a hell of lot closer to them two. She decided to put that thought away and get her head back in the fight. She stepped out behind Salt and joined in on firing back at the metal bastard. From behind it, she saw a C6 go haywire, running towards the 8 as its hands curled in on themselves and its body turning an inhuman way before it exploded. The explosion gave them the perfect opportunity, the C8 fell to one knee, dropping both shields enough for everyone to fire. Eventually, the 8 curled towards the ground and erupted into a fireball.
"Clear!" Reyes called out. "Ethan, we're at the armory."
"Package is behind a vault door." Salt told Reyes as she and Dev ran up to him in the middle of the room.
"Proximity hack should crack it, sir." Ethan informed.
"Copy." Reyes replied. He looked over at Devon.
"You alright?" he asked.
"Yeah." she breathed. "Just a little harder catching my breath, that's all."
"No other injuries." he asked. "No bleeding, no…"
"Reyes, I'm fine." she answered. She knew he was fishing for a reason to send her to med bay when they got back, but she wasn't giving in to it. She didn't want to go there. He nodded and jogged up the vault. Devon followed with. Reyes typed commands into his wrist watch as Salt began ordering the Marines to take up position for a potential attack. "How long?"
"Are you really fine?" he asked. She rolled her eyes.
"Not the time nor the place." she argued. "How long on the hack?" Reyes didn't have too answer as the light on the door changed from red to green and he popped the latch.
"Not long." he replied, pushing the lever down and making his way into the room. Yelling from Marines at the front of the room drew her attention. SetDef forces-both soldiers and C6s-poured out for the data room.
"Holy, shit." Salt breathed out. "That's like half the damn ship!"
"Probably what remains of the crew, too!" Devon added, firing back.
"Well, shit." was could reply with.
"Jackpot." Reys called out. "Eyes on." Devon took cover behind the metal railing cover and looked behind her into the vault. It was definitely a new weapon, and nothing it had ever seen before. It wasn't bulky like the F-SpAr Torch and looked more like a weirdly fusion of an Erad and a gatling gun.
"The hell…" she began.
"Its a charged shot; P-Law personal laser weapon." he answered.
"Well, its definitely something new." Devon commented.
"A little help out here you two!" Salt yelled back.
"On it, Fever." Reyes replied, racing up to the railing and firing with the prototype. It released a bright blue burst of energy, one similar to when Ret or any of the warships jump in or out of drive. It landed behind the ranks of approaching SetDef and exploded, sending them flying forward. Reyes switched to RPR and took out the stragglers on the side.
"C8!" a Marine yelled.
"Again?" Devon almost screeched.
"You better hide, Dev." Salt joked.
"Sod off, Fever." Devon barked. Devon balanced her rifle on the railings and gazed through her sights. She scanned bot for another openings to take a shot at. She growled, unable to get a clean shot in. "Keep the shields away from its front."
"Concentrate fire on its sides." Reyes ordered.
"Roger, Captain!" the Marines answered. She saw them off to the periphery moving up either side and taking cover before laying down firepower. "Dev, can you take the shot?" Devon against peered through the sights. It was almost good, she just needed it to move a little more.
"A little more!" she yelled. "I almost have the shot."
"Keep firing!" Salt screamed. Devon held her breath as she waited for the lower shield to move just another couple centimeters. There! She took the shot without even thinking about. The C8 jerked back as the round impacted its abdominal region and fell like a lifeless doll.
"C8 is down." Devon announced.
"Push forward!" Reyes yelled. Devon vaulted over the railing and ran forward, popping her sights ever so often to take out a SetDef soldier. After another several minutes of intense battle, they had managed to clear the armory of all hostiles. Reyes gave the orders tot he Marines for exfil while Devon and Salt took the side exit. They entered in the hallway Reyes and Dev had originally used to make their way to the bay. Dev pushed Salt out of the way of bullet as a SetDef soldier popped out of the mess hall and tried to get a shot in. Reyes came in from behind and took him out. Noise up ahead had them stalled as another C8 made its presence known.
"Fuck, again?" Devon gripped, taking cover in the mess hall.
"Yeah, this is getting a little annoying." Salt added in.
"Use seeker bots!" Reyes suggested. Devon chucked what she had on her down the hall and stayed behind cover. She listen as the seekers clicked and whirled as they scurried down the hall to the 8. There were several cacophonous explosions. Devon peek her rifle around the corner and expected it to be down. Nope. She growled and hid behind cover as it fired a few rounds at her.
"Any other ideas?" she asked.
"Keep firing." was Reyes' response.
"Great." Devon mumbled under her breath. She peaked out again and watched for the soft spot again. She didn't want for the perfect shot and just went for it while it was distracted by Reyes and Salt. She hit its side and it jerked to to the right as in pain, exposing more of itself and allowing Devon greater access. Several more, well placed shots did it in. Devon didn't wait for reinforcements or for another C8 to show another one of its ugly heads and bottled from her cover. She careened around a corner and found their airlock. She yelled for Reyes and Salt to hurry.
"I don't want to face another blood C8 again." she snarled. Reyes chuckled.
"We know, Dev." he said. Devon pulled on the lever and pushed the door open. A noise down the hall had her pulling the other two in and secure it behind him. Air was sucked out of the lock and gravity was released, leaving them unbound and free to float. Dev was antsy waiting for the light to change and bounced her leg in the air furiously. Finally, it changed the door unlocked. When they floated outside, two jackals greeted them.
"Looks like I'm riding back with you, Raider." Salt quipped, throwing a smirk over her shoulder at him.
"Don't be a backseat driver." he replied, as they floated out. Devon followed them out and used her grappling to zip her to the cockpit.
"You saying something about my flying, Fever?" she asked, almost offended.
"Other than you can make a grown man cry with your maneuvers?" Salt laughed. "No, never!"
"Bloody right you're not."she grumbled, changing the controls from autopilot to manual. Dev lead their little formation back to base, Reyes and Salt trailing just off her port side engine.
"Hope you fly better than you shoot." Salt said, making the off hand comment. Dev chocked out a laugh.
"Wow, Salt!" she exclaimed.
"Just hold on." he said, sounding not up to her usual antics and comments. Devon flew under the Galaxius to avoid the main cannons before opening up the throttle and gunning it for Ret.'s runway.
"SCAR 1-3, 1-1, you are clear for landing." the Mini-boss reported, and the ship's runway locks took over.
"Solid copy, Tower." Devon replied.
"Gator we're on the runway, get us out of here." Reyes ordered.
"Aye, sir!" Gator replied. Devon felt Ret. jerk back as they jumped into the pocket and away from the Galaxius.