"Haxx! Get to cover, NOW!" Corr bellowed over the firefight, pulling a stumbling Rha to safety as several plasma rounds splashed against the concrete pillar he was using as cover. The Sergeant dove behind another pillar to the building's front, sliding on his stomach with Volx still on his back.
Command informed them of enemy activity in the area en route to the manufacturing facility. It was to be expected, especially with the Irken army closing in on it, of course they would reinforce the sector to stall the advance or hopefully turn it back. The point was moot to those locked in battle at the moment, however, as both Vult and Saro's forces came under immediate fire from at least a company's worth of Vortian regulars, possibly more, and not one, but 3 APC, as well as Rail Tanks.
If the outpouring of resistance wasn't enough as it was, one Rail Tank was bad enough, but a pair could easily demolish a sizeable infantry unit in no time. They were more angular than the Irken Plasma Battle Tank equivalent, sporting a pair of large-caliber rail cannons that launched magnetized slugs of hyper-dense metal at supersonic speed. If those weren't imposing enough, the plasma rotary cannon in the center between the two kept anything on foot at bay. Upon impact, the energy transfer replaced the need for traditional explosive charge. Even if any of them possessed anti-armor weaponry, the sheer volume of small arms fire made it nearly impossible to expose even a single inch of supple flesh without having it blown off.
The Shadow Strikers were accounted for, but worse off than Saro's unit. The Irken Elite company had suffered minor casualties from the initial ambush, but still had an escape route unlike the 10 Spec Ops soldiers. Enemy forces had closed in around them for being the forward point of the advancing patrol and had them completely surrounded. The only thing stopping them from completely vaporizing them was the fact that the Vortians were very concerned with keeping the infrastructure intact if possible.
Last thing they needed was to rebuild a destroyed civilization, as well as turn back an invading army.
"I knew it! I told you so!" Haxx went on and on over the comm. channel, flooding it with his loud, annoying voice, "we always work alone, the one time we get partnered up with anyone, BAM! Half the ikveda Vortian army comes down on us in a split second!"
"Shut your mouth, Haxx!" Corr ordered over the fray, turning his attention back to returning fire, "Commander, we have to get out of here! They've got nearly every advantage, we'll die trying to fight it out!"
"Put that in a memo and title it "Things I already know", Captain!" Vult responded without ire, taking note of the situation as he grabbed Vard by the shoulder to get his attention. "Has Saro secured us an escape route yet?"
"Negative, Sir!" Vard exclaimed, pressing the headset to his ear where his helmet was missing. The Commander keyed his own comm. to Saro's channel through Vard's array.
"Where are you at, Saro? We need assistance, ASAP!"
Sounds of weapons exchanging fire filtered through the radio from the other end.
"My hands are a little full at the moment as well," he calmly replied, more amused at Vult's predicament, "If you're the Tallests' "personal tool of destruction"…why can't you fight them off yourself? Not as skilled as we said we were, are we? It's just a few tanks and a couple hundred soldiers."
"This is no time for this, Captain," Vult snapped, incoming fire coming dangerously close, "if you don't open up a hole between us for us to withdraw, they're going to close in on us a-"
"Yeah, yeah, keep your pants on," Saro nonchalantly interrupted, his attitude more than infuriating, "we're taking care of it, just give me a few minutes."
"Uhh….Commander?" Corr cautiously spoke, pointing out from his cover as he looked. Vult's eyes went to the point of interest the Captain motioned to. "You might want to take a look at this."
"Oh…Irk," the Commander wearily commented at the sight. It was the absolute LAST thing any of them needed at that point.
Hovering just beyond the pair of Rail Tanks were two Vortian air units. Once again, a bit more angular than the Irken's style of design, but it heavily resembled a Voot Runner. Only difference was these were laden with armor and armed to the teeth with anti-infantry and armor ordnance.
By their positioning and altitude, they were gearing up for a gun-run on their position.
Corr, Haxx, Volx, and Rem seemed to be somewhat safe behind the pillars of the building's façade, but the others had no cover whatsoever overhead, only a traffic jam's worth of civilian speeders and newly-created impact craters from the Rail Tanks firing on them. It was a miracle thus far that no one had even been injured, nothing past a few close calls. Even so, close calls were still too close for comfort.
"We don't have a few minutes! I have visual on 2 air units, targeting our position!"
"If you want to run towards that line of Vorts between us, be my guest," Saro offered with amusement, "I may enjoy putting them down, but even that takes some time."
Vult angrily cut the feed between him and Saro, turning and looking to check the status of his unit.
"Everyone still with me?"
All 9 responded to his request.
"Good, on your feet, we're getting out of here."
"Where exactly are we going to go in this outpouring of resistance?" Haxx challenged, ducking back in as plasma splashed around his cover.
"Anywhere but here, Sergeant," Vult assured, looking around for any direction that may prove their survival yet, "lucky for us, they're worried about leveling their own buildings. We stick to them as cover and move quickly, we'll put some distance between us-" he explained, interrupted as a round from one of the Rail Tanks exploded far too close than he wished in the roadway. "…and them."
"May I make a suggestion, Commander?" Rha garnered his attention, with a nod, he proceeded, "Being outnumbered is never a problem with us, it's that armor. If she's up for it, Aero and I can make that go away…with covering fire from the rest of you, that is."
The Corporal glanced over at her.
"I'll do it…that should pull enough heat off of us to make a break for it." Aero added, checking her belt for the necessary tools. "Not only as a distraction, but I finally get to smash things," she finished with a manic tone.
Ignoring her unusually placed eagerness in destruction, the Commander lulled the idea over in his head. It came with great risk, but nothing was ever easy for them, it was just part of their everyday lives.
"Alright, Rha, Aero," Vult began giving orders over the sounds of battle, "do your thing, keep tracking us on our visors and regroup when you're done. The rest of you, secure your kit, strap down anything that moves…we're going for a short jog."
"You've got to be kidding…Sir!" Haxx contested from his cover, kicking a live grenade away just in time before it detonated.
"I've never led any of you astray yet, don't lose faith in me now," the Commander responded without force, turning to Rem, watching her furiously work over her holographic projection from her forearm. "Got a route planned for us out of here, Navigator?"
"Yes, Sir," She announced, closing the plate on her arm, the projection disappearing from sight, "sending waypoints to everyone's comm. link….done, awaiting orders, Commander."
"Corr, Tuu," Vult began, his hand motioning towards the opposition, "pop smoke, everyone get ready to book it. Stay behind me and don't stop."
The two soldiers retrieved the necessary grenades from their belts, pulling the safety pins, and released the levers, igniting the fuse within. The others secured their weapons and pouches to not lose any gear on the move.
"Smoke out!" The both almost announced in unison as they tossed the ordnance towards the Vortian line, watching them bound along the road surface to within several meters of the line, just as planned.
No sooner than the grenades rolled to stop and begin putting up a wall of thick, white smoke that hung heavy in the air, blocking their view, the unit sprung to life like clockwork. Aero and Rha activated their camouflage as they ran across the open street in flanking maneuver to the two Rail Tanks. At the same time, Vult and the remainder of his unit were on their feet and making a quick exit for a nearby alley as plasma chased them from stray, frantic shots as the Vortians were unable to see them.
"What about the Irken Elite company, Commander?" Corr asked as they continued through the winding corridor the back allies created, hoping that none of the Vortian regulars saw their escape. In fact, unless his antenna were tricking him, it sounded as if the fire had died down somewhat.
"They're not of our concern, Captain," Vult made clear, surprising him, "we have our orders, they fall behind, they stay behind."
"…Y-yes, Sir," Corr managed, shaking the shock from his thoughts at the sheer disregard for their well-being he just witnessed from the one of the more compassionate soldiers he had worked with. It finally got through exactly how much Vult despised Saro. As far as he could tell…the feeling was mutual.
As the majority of the unit continued to press forward, Aero and Rha were committed to sneaking within contention of the Vortian armor present.
"This is almost too easy," she thought to herself as she remained alert with rifle in hand.
With their attention and detection equipment focused on the Irken Elite, sneaking around with cloaking active was interesting to say the least. She was literally walking within mere inches of Vortian soldiers who were scrambling about their positions, trying to keep the enemy suppressed and move in for the kill. A combination of fevered attempts to kill the opposing Irken in sight, as well as confusion at the thick blanket of smoke enveloping the area and the combatants that seemed to disappear.
Intently focused, she could still see the incredible resemblance between them and soldiers of the Armada. They too were driven by duty, steeled by fear to protect what they held dear, and refused to back down to any foe. The only factors that separated them on the surface was one was the oppressor, the other the defender. One fought for glory…the other for survival. Different viewpoints…yet all one in the same as war raged on the world. It didn't matter who was Irken or Vortian, they all bled and felt pain equally. A slight tinge of sympathy coursed through Aero's mind, quickly blocked out once more as she remained on task.
With superb dexterity, she leapt onto the Rail Tank from the rear, climbing the rest of the way to the top of the turret to avoid detection and making any unnecessary sound. The twin rail cannons fired again, rounds breaking the sound barrier at the muzzle of the guns, and nearly toppling Aero off in her fright from the suddenness of it. Ignoring her ringing antenna, she knelt down, inspecting the top hatch in the center of the turret.
"Hmm…sealed up nice and tight," she commented, fishing around in her belt as her other hand felt around the rim of it, stopping as she found what she was looking for. "Bingo."
Aero lifted a small plate next to the sealed hatch, revealing a small hole. Quickly drawing the correct tool, she forced a small crank into the hole and began turning it furiously. "Good ole' emergency release…"
The hatch gently vented as the pressure equalized and opened slightly. Not wasting any time or her element of surprise, she primed a grenade, dropping it down through the hatch, then closing it shut. "Knock, knock, boys."
No sooner than she closed the hatch, the rear door to the vehicle flung open, a trio of Vorts scrambling for safety out of it, their panicked yelling of the very grenade that she had dropped in on them. They weren't the only ones surprised.
"Huh…that's odd," she commented as she opened the hatch, dropping down into the vehicle herself. "Ah, there it is," Aero added, picking the armed device up, tossing it out the open rear hatch, "guess it was a dud."
An explosion rocked the vehicle from outside, bits of debris sprinkling off of the tank's hull. Without a word, she closed the rear hatch, sealing herself inside the vehicle.
"…or not," She stated, caught off-guard by it and a bit wide-eyed at how close she came to being blown up by her own grenade. Shaking the images from her mind, she promptly went to work.
"Aero, you alright?" Rha's voice came through her radio, "that was a bit close to you over there."
"Just fine," she replied, quickly removing an access panel to the vehicle's controls with great speed, "how things coming along on your end?"
"Almost…done, just making a few…adjustmen-"
"RT-22-0, why have you stopped engaging the enemy?" The vehicle's radio chatter cut in, surprising her, "please confirm, over."
A quick tweak of her own radio to mask her voice, deepen it to that of a male's, she picked up the headset, clearing her throat.
"…RT-22-0 responding," Aero talked lowly, attempting to replicate the Vortian radio conduct, "we're experiencing…technical difficulties, standby."
She ripped the comm. box from under the control panel, tossing it behind her like the nuisance it was.
"These are very similar to Plasma Battle Tanks, so the control processor…should…be," she spoke out loud, rummaging around inside the access panel, forcing bundles of wires and cables out of her way, searching for the metaphorical "brain" of the vehicle, "there it is," Aero finished, her hand resting on the box bolted up underneath.
In the similar fashion that she had gotten in trouble for making "unscheduled adjustments" to vehicles in the motor pool in her Irken Elite days, Aero stripped the bolts holding it in place with a sharp jerk, pulling it out of the access hatch with all the connections all still in place.
"I'm done setting the charge, Aero, what's taking so long?" Rha questioned of her, his mind occupied with finding where the rest of their unit had gone and regrouping with them.
"As much as I hate their commanding officer," Aero answered as she worked, making lightning-fast changes with finesse, "I'm going to take some of the heat off of that unit. I got to disable the Friend-Or-Foe identification, I can't fire on them with their own kit."
"Well make it quick, the less time spent here and away from the others, the better. Just let me know when to knock this other one out."
"Roger that," Aero answered, clicking the last connector in place with a devious smile. She hopped into the gunner's seat, grasping both control sticks, "time to wreak some havoc."
"Warning…FoF Identifier is offline, friendly forces can be targeted," the computer spoke as Aero disengaged the safeties on the weapons, spooling up the plasma rotary cannon as she maneuvered the turret into position.
"Yeah, yeah, I know," She responded, the crosshairs on screen zeroing in, projecting the path in which she wanted to move the turret as she prepared to fire, maximizing the number of soldiers she was going to kill in one pass, "That's exactly what I want. Rha?"
"Yeah?"
"Hit it."
"Affirmative," he answered without hesitation, looking over from the building corner he was using as cover at the Rail Tank he planted the charge on, holding up the detonator in his hand, and gave the trigger a squeeze.
The armored hull of the Rail Tank erupted in a bright blue fireball of plasma as the charge enveloped it. Shrapnel from the vehicle sliced through the air at blinding speed in all directions as a plume of smoke roiled into the air. The majority of the Vortian soldiers firing on Saro's unit spun around in surprise at the vehicle's destruction…and to see the other one targeting their positions.
Aero depressed the trigger on the spooled-up plasma rotary cannon, unleashing a seemingly-unending torrent. The near beam of plasma cut across and through the infantry, hundreds of rounds as the seconds passed. The scene was pure carnage as riddled bodies and remnants fell in smoldering piles, the vehicles they were using as cover ablaze as the powerful rounds ripped through flesh as if it were nothing. Those left standing after the quick pass over were still shocked at what had happened, trying to regain their bearings.
She instinctively ducked in surprise as the three turrets of the APCs all turned on the Rail Tank, dozens of rounds skittering off of its hull. They may not have had powerful weapons, but still stood a chance of inflicting damage with enough concentrated fire.
"Try this on for size," she commented as she targeted two of the three with the main weapons, both railguns adjusting to the correct flight path.
The weapons fired, nowhere near as loud as it was when she stood atop the turret, but presence was made known by them as the interior of the vehicle rattled violently beneath the stress. Her eyes remained fixated as she watched both targeted APCs violently explode as the rounds impacted. She couldn't help but feel elated after dealing such a devastating blow and turning the tide of battle in a matter of seconds.
"Aero, get out of there NOW!" Rha's voice desperately yelled over the radio, snapping her back to reality from revile in her triumph. "Those birds are targeting your position!"
"Don't need to tell me twice," she replied as she hopped out of the gunner's seat, grabbing hold of the control box, and ripping it free of its wiring harness to ensure it couldn't be used for the time being after abandonment. She quickly spun the hatch valve, throwing the door open, and hopping out in cloaked form, running as fast as her legs would carry her away from the Rail Tank.
She didn't even have time to look back as the vehicle was decimated by a quartet of guided rockets, the shockwave from the explosion knocking her off of her feet and into a roll, going over the edge of the street and into a drainage duct with rather steep, smooth edges. Aero managed to sprawl out into a slide from the dizzying roll, but with nothing to grab to slow her descent, she was along for the ride.
"This isn't going to end well," was the last thing she thought before finding her way to the bottom, going into a little drop before crashing into the lowered edge of the empty causeway. The blinding pain was more than enough to let her know something was wrong, but the sickening sound of crushing bone on impact didn't help matters any.
"Aero? Aero?! You alright, where are you?" Rha's voice frantically questioned. The words didn't fall on deaf ears, but it was rather difficult to breath, let alone talk at the moment for her.
"I…I'm d-down," she managed, coughing as her claw clutched at her side that impacted, gauging the damage. Feeling fragmented bone and retracting her hand, seeing a bit of her own blood on her fingers, Aero simply forced herself to roll onto her back to alleviate the pressure. "C-come to my position…I'm hurt."
"I'm on my way, how bad is it?"
"J…Just some broken ribs, don't know…how many are through the skin, m-maybe a punctured organ or two. Not bleeding…too bad, j-just hurts like…Irk." Aero forced herself to respond, gritting her teeth as she drew breath. She forced herself to smile, despite the damage taken from the fall, proud of her work.
"I'm willing to take a few broken ribs over getting shot any day of the week," she thought, "at least I know I saved a few fellow soldiers for my efforts. I just hope Sula can put me back together, the sooner the better."
As she awaited Rha's assistance, the remainder of the unit continued pressing forward through the tight spaces of artificial canyons created by the many buildings, navigating the alleyways with great haste. Putting as much distance between them and the Vortian regulars was the highest priority, especially with the odds heavily stacked against them. Vult never intended for a unit that could stand toe-to-toe and fight the enemy head-on in open combat, so using them as such was a disaster waiting to happen. As much as Saro wanted to think they ran away like cowards, it was quite different from that.
"Hold," the Commander ordered, his hand giving the signal as well, "what's Aero and Rha's status?" He added, turning to Vard.
He paused momentarily as he listened intently into his headphones of his helmet.
"…understood, Vard out," he finished, turning to Vult, "they knocked that armor out, save for one APC, Commander, but Aero's hurt."
"What's her condition?"
"Rha said they're both on the move to us, but she's got some broken ribs from a nasty fall down a drainage canal. Other than that, they're both okay, should link up with us in a few minutes."
Vult nodded, turning to Sula, "You heard that, right?"
"Yes, Sir," she answered with a nod, "nothing I can't handle from the sounds of it. I just need somewhere I've got some room to work and I don't have to worry about getting shot."
"Got a solution for me, Navigator?" Vult asked of Rem, glancing down at the power reading of his rifle out of habit. Just like in his Irken Elite Guard days, last thing he wanted was to be unprepared to engage the enemy.
"Working on it, Commander," Rem admitted with a sigh, frustrated, "I'm getting a lot of interference in the area, I can't scan these structures to find out what's on the inside, I don't know what's occupied and what isn't since we're pushing into populated areas."
"Guess we'll have to find out the old-fashioned way then, won't we?" Vult commented, standing from his kneeling position. "If any of them are still alive, we have to regroup with Saro's unit, so we wait for them as well…regretfully."
Vult stood from his kneeling position once more, studying their surroundings, caution proved most valuable in such trying times, especially in close proximity of enemy forces
"Keep your wits about you," Vult commented, trying to remain optimistic "this isn't anything that we aren't prepared for. We've trained day in, day out for situations just like this. We are the best of the best, we are the Shadow Strikers-"
"-We need no one but ourselves," the unit responded in unison without hesitation.
"Good to see the spirits aren't broken," Vult thought, looking down the alley they were in to see the two missing members, Rha struggling to hold the larger Aero, her arm draped over his shoulder, her other clutching at her side. She let out a cry of pain as her legs went out, nearly taking Rha down with her, Sula rushing to their side to help carry her.
"Be…gentle," Aero manages through grit teeth at Rha, finding it to be a chore just to breath, let alone move, her uniform sticking to her body from the blood soaked into it.
"Easy does it," the Medical Officer commented, hoisting her up with Rha, sharing the weight of Aero between them much easier than him alone. As they aided her in walking, Sula studied Aero's side, the uniform clear of any punctures, but her side was damp and held the tale-tell scent of fresh Irken blood, frowning at it from beneath her mask. "Commander, I've got to find somewhere to work ASAP, she's hurt pretty bad."
The Commander turns to Rem once more.
"…anytime today, Navigator," Vult announced once more, annoyed. Not so much directed at her, but things in their line of work never seemed to be easy.
With a sigh of relief, Rem closes her forearm plate once more.
"Took a little longer than I hoped, but I managed to get a break in the interference, Sir. Course is plotted and ready to move on your order." She adds with a proud smirk at her abilities behind her mask.
"Alright, no need to waste anymore time then," he commented with a hint of relief of his own, motioning for them to get ready, "time to move it out, sooner we get this over with, the quicker we'll be on our way to some well-deserved rest."
The journey behind enemy lines thus far had been trying to say the least, but it would have been unreal to think any less of how daunting a task it was going to be. They took solstice in the fact that they, a mere squad of 10 was able to accomplish what Elite Guard units of 100, even more, could not.
In the short time they had been involved in the Vort campaign, they had rectified the embarrassing defeat at Praxxus 7, allowing the main Armada fleet led by Supreme Commander Grimm to easily eliminate any threat presented on the Vortian moon, using it as a staging ground. No sooner than a base of operations had been established for the campaign, they were tasked with clearing out any hostile forces within the vicinity of where the Empire wanted to put forces planetside.
Weary and battered…Vult and his unit…his brothers and sisters in arms, they pressed forward, tasked with aiding the Empire they serve in yet another hour of need, to aid those that do not know who they are or what they do, a figment, even a myth that spreads throughout the Armada. If they only knew the dire reality of what these ten soldiers faced on a daily basis…all to keep the "mighty" Irken Empire afloat…a regime that was in reality on the teetering edge of total collapse if not for the work that the Shadow Strikers and others do behind the scenes to prevent such chaos from ever happening.
The first attempt on Praxxus 7 was an early indicator to the stability and health of the Empire, even without Zim's interference, the casualties would have been staggering and more than likely…they wouldn't have made much more progress than what was already achieved thus far in a long a grueling struggle.
The methods and politics mattered not to the common soldiers. There were no reasons or gains sought out from a soldier, one whose life was conscripted from the very start for service in such a vicious cycle that Irken made their existence…slaves to themselves. The only positive thing that had to really look to at the end of the day was making it through yet another and hoping to do the same for the next.
Vult refused to speak his mind on how he truly felt about the Empire, regardless of what power he wielded within his own unit, knowing it was signing a death warrant if the wrong individual heard such heresy against the Tallest and their regime. Having such leeway and no one hovering over them in command allowed for leniency in free will and thought. As much as he didn't want to think about it, if the Tallest ever disbanded their unit or were no longer needed…he couldn't go back to the regular ranks…not after having the experience to think and decide for himself without command or manipulation.
A free mind was a dangerous one to their people it seemed…and was marked as a target for deactivation with the excuse of being defective for not fitting to the mold. If that held true…at this point, he wouldn't mind being considered defective instead of a mindless slave.
"Commander…Commander Vult," Rem gently shook his arm, trying to get his attention, "Sir…Sir, are you alright?"
He shook his head, clearing his mind for a moment.
"I'm sorry, Rem, what did you say?"
"…you okay, Sir? You spaced out there for a moment," she cautiously informed, not wanting to anger him. "I asked you where to now, Sir…we seem to run into a bit of a problem."
She points, realizing they are at edge of the narrow alleyway, leading to surface streets once more…a wide, open one at that, a complete lack of cars or anything at all to use as suitable cover in between. If it was one thing that was drilled into their heads, it was avoiding "kill zones" just like this.
"Any way around this at all, Navigator?"
She sighs, reluctant to speak.
"…no, Sir, no courses under via sewage or drainage pipes, this roadway stretches for several clicks either direction, easily put us several more hours behind schedule trying to find a more suitable route in terms of cover…not a lot of options to be honest, Commander."
"I'm not sure how far behind us those Vort forces are or if there are any surprises waiting for us her, Sir…but I don't like this, I'd rather be late than never if you catch my drift," Haxx spoke up.
Corr shot him a glance that would freeze even Sirius Minor over.
"Could you possibly be any more pessimistic?" Volx seethed from her position on his back, leaning forward with her arms draped over his shoulders, holding her rifle in front of him.
"Well…no one else was going to say it, I might as w-"
"Stow it, Sergeant," Corr ordered, drawing his hand laterally across his throat, motioning for it as well.
"…yes, Sir," the weaponless soldier sighed, adjusting Volx's weight on his back.
"As much as I agree with you, Sergeant," Vult commented, poking his head out slightly to study the surroundings down either direction of the roadway. "…Command is already pushing us along as it is, last thing I want is Grimm or anyone else higher up breathing down our necks because we're taking too long, despite the situation…we don't have much of a choice."
"Commander, with all due respect," Haxx spoke up again, despite Corr's orders, "we're far off worse than we were before linking up with those Elite Guard, Aero's hurt, I still don't have a weapon, Volx can't walk on her own yet, and we're so far behind enemy lines, we've got Vorts crawling out our c'hurtas…instincts, a hunch, feeling in my spooch…whatever you want to call it…I don't like this at all."
"…you don't think I don't know that, Haxx?" Vult made clear, looking directly at him. "When has anything ever been easy, hmm? Never…things are never easy for us, that's why this job isn't for everyone, it's why we do it alone. You realize how many regular soldiers, even if they were the Honor Guard, it would take to do what we do? Hundreds…even thousands possibly." He pauses, sighing, understanding where he's coming from completely. "…we've all got to do things we don't like…it's part of it. I sure as Irk don't like giving the order to advance across open ground, especially with forces in the area…but we haven't much else of a choice."
He looks once more, still hesitant.
"That building across the roadway can provide some protection with the pillared façade," Vult motions, pointing, looking amongst his soldiers, "…Tuu…front and center."
"Yes, Commander?" He requested, kneeling beside him at the opening of the alley.
"I want you to book it over there and keep a sharp eye out for any surprises, cover those coming across. Cloaked or not, they've got tech that they can detect us with, so don't rely on it, just run."
"Got it, Sir," the sniper nodded, bracing himself to take off running, "…just give the order."
With a wave of his finger, Tuu began sprinting across the open ground, activating his cloak before he broke into sight from the alleyway from any prying eyes. His feet pounded the pavement as he ran as fast as his legs would carry him, sliding to a halt and taking cover behind one of the pillars, looking in either direction for a moment.
"All clear, Commander, providing cover."
"Affirmative," Vult replied, looking to the next up, "…Corr, Vard, you're up."
The pair took off, Corr arrive well before the much smaller Vard, but safely.
"So far, so good," Vult thought, looking to Haxx. "I need as many eyes keeping a lookout for anything over there as possible before I send Aero over…think you can do it with her on your back?"
A confident smirk came forth, able to be heard in his voice.
"Nothing I can't handle, Sir," Haxx assured, gripping her legs a little tighter to not drop her, "…ready?"
"Ready when you are, Sergeant" Volx responded with sigh, still hating the fact that she had to be carted around like some helpless smeet.
The Heavy Weapons Sergeant started running, considerably slower than he was capable of, but still impressive carrying the full weight of Lieutenant Volx on his back. He managed to trip on his own feet only a short distance away, landing on his face, the force compounded by Volx's weight.
"…owww," Haxx groaned, stirring to get to his feet once more, hobbling the rest of the way in a daze.
"Real smooth," Volx commented, unamused.
Vult tried his best not to huff in amusement at the sight, turning back to the remaining three, Aero in as much pain as ever, Sula giving her a quick fix by wrapping bandages tightly around her midsection, just to stop the bleeding, her ribs still broken and ailing her. "You three ready to move?"
"As much…as I'll ever be," Aero managed, giving Vult a thumb up the best she could.
He nods in, turning to where the rest of the unit is waiting.
"We're coming across, keep your eyes peeled."
"Understood, Commander," Corr responded, wary of their surroundings. It was dangerous enough crossing open ground, but 4 of them were going to be huddled together, one wounded…if training had showed anything, that was as prime as a target was going to be with the circumstances.
"Nice and slow, Rha," Sula reminded, knowing each step had to be aggravating her wound, "don't jar her around too much."
"I'm trying not to," he defended, straining, "…but she isn't exactly light on her feet at the moment and we're both smaller than she is."
"You guys…really don't need to do this," Aero weakly commented with a laugh, trying to walk on her own, but the instant she applied pressure, they buckled at the knees from the pain that recourse through her body. "…okay, maybe you do." She adds, chuckling weakly before seething in pain again.
"Don't try to talk, just focus on breathing," Sula forcefully stated, wanting her to know it was a serious matter. "Less moving around you do, the better, that includes talking."
Vard watches the group advance towards them, his radio cutting in with frantic chatter, startling him.
"Alpha Centauri, do you read, I repeat, Alpha Centauri, do you read, over?!"
"…Alpha Centauri res-"
"Give me that," an angry voice barely audible demanded, followed by jostling around as the radio seemed to be changing hands. "you, Vult's pride and joy bunch…thanks for leaving us to die."
"I only followed orders, Captain, nothing more," Vard responded shakily.
"Orders, huh?" Saro's less-than-enthusastic voice replied, seething "…you listen and you listen good…I don't care what Vult says, you will hold position and wait for us to catch up, do you understand?"
"…unless the Commander specifies otherwise, Captain," Vard respectfully pointed out by rank. "You're still able to track us otherwise."
"Don't think you can hide behind Vult, you little I'kved…I'm taller than him, I'M your superior…you got that?"
Becoming disgruntled with the conversation, the Communications Technician began adjusting various dials on the communicator.
"I'm sorry, Captain…I…n't receive your last trans-…please repe…er." He attempted to sound like interference was affecting the line of communication before closing the channel off, satisfied. "…Captain Saro and his unit are on their way to link up with us again, Commander."
"If it was anyone else, I'd be happy to hear such news," Vult commented under his breath, dropping to the ground as something cut through the air over his head, far too loud to even be a gunshot. An explosion erupted in the roadway not too far away from them, a tendril of smoke from a launched rocket leading to it. He looked behind him to find the three of them on the ground as well, not helping Aero's wound at all.
"We got company, Sir!" Corr warned a split-second after the attack, "those ships are back! They're too far out of range for us to provide covering fire!"
The two aircraft that were giving them issues before were remaining a thorn in their side still as they hovered little under a click away, targeting to open fire again. Vult made a mental note if they were to survive this that anti-air would be heavily considered as part of the weapons load out for someone in the future…if they survived that long.
He climbed to his feet once more, grabbing Rha by the collar, trying to help hoist the three of them up.
"Come on, on your feet, let's go!" He ordered, pulling with all his might, weapon in the other hand. Vult's nerves were frayed to say the least, but he was keeping it together as any leader needed to.
They stumbled for a few steps before getting to their feet once more, moving as quickly as possible to cover, the sound of a quartet of plasma cannons opening fire, quickly followed by dozens of small, bluish-white orbs of energy splashing around them, the air itself felt ablaze from the heat in close proximity.
Thinking on his feet, Vult saw no other option but to seek shelter away from the attacking aircraft, the very building that they were outside of. He began pushing the three of them along, getting Corr and the others' attention as well.
"Everyone inside now! Move, move, move!" He ordered as the plasma continued to dance across the ground, the sound of more missiles being launched echoing through the air as well. The unit filtered in through the doors of the structure, one that looked much like any other metropolitan Vortian structure, hopefully blending in and keeping the ships from getting a direct line of sight on where they went.
His pulse racing as adrenaline surged through his veins, Vult was the last through the door, closing it behind him, heaving for breath.
"Everyone good?"
No reply.
Confused, Vult slowly turned…and was stunned into silence as well at what he saw, a sea of horns, pairs of frightened eyes to match, easily hundreds of them…all looking back at the ten Irken soldiers before them.
"Oh…Irk," Haxx commented to himself at the sight.
"…Orders, Sir?" Corr asked…almost pleading.
This was a situation they had never faced before, nor were trained to deal with…most certainly be one they would never forget.