Chapter 11
With a smile of grim satisfaction, Jak stepped out of the gore of the carrier and back on the heated sand of the desert. The Krimzon Guard was beginning to rout as the Wastelanders pushed them further out from the city entrance. The blonde renegade jumped right back into the action without hesitation, starting with picking off the cowards who were running for their lives back to the carriers and abandoning their red-armored comrades. Easy work.
It wasn't long before there were no living KGs on the field and what was left of them had fled back to Haven City. Jak looked for Damas, but couldn't spot the King in the commotion of victory.
Jak followed the rest of the mob of Wasteland soldiers back into Spargus slowly, exhausted from the battle and heat and the day. His gun hung loosely in his left hand and he scanned the small throng of women that stood waiting for their husbands, brothers, and fathers to return safely.
Before he had the chance to catch sight of her, she ran up to him and pulled him into a tight embrace, heedless of the dust and blood he was covered in. He stared into Keira's jade eyes and saw the raw emotion he had formerly refused to believe was there.
"Errol's dead, Keira," Jak said simply, breaking their silence.
"How?" She asked, her eyes searching and yet unreadable. Jak feared that she still felt something for him and would hate him when he told her what had happened.
The grimy combatant glanced down and then looked back up quickly. The girl with her arms still wrapped around him nodded in understanding and relief. Keira rubbed a smudge of dried blood and sand from his jaw and then kissed him gently on his cracked lips, noting that the bottom one was a little swollen, perhaps from a blow to the face in the heat of the skirmish.
The couple's lips weren't but an inch away from each other when Jak, so silently, uttered, "I love you, Keira."
Taken aback, Keira pulled her face away from him to get a full view of his expression, wondering if she had indeed heard him right. She hadn't expected him to ever say something like that, to her, someone he had only known for a short time, no less.
"Jak," A deep voice from behind called out, interrupting their moment.
The pair turned to see Damas, regal-looking even in his dirty battle attire. He and Keira nodded their heads in due respect, waiting for their King to speak.
"You fight like a true Wastelander, and I see that you were quick to do away with that insolent Krimzon Commander as well," Damas eyed Jak with a slight grin.
"He deserved nothing but death," Jak replied in all seriousness, his jaw noticeably clenched tight.
"Indeed... We have destroyed a large contingent of Haven's military force, but that's not all Haven City has to offer, as you must know..."
"I can contact the Underground immediately. The leader, The Shadow, and its force commander, Torn, can easily get me reconnaissance information on their plans and movements," Jak readily stated.
"Good. We will overthrow that tyrant bastard Praxis, finally." Damas declared, pounding the butt of his gun into the dusty ground as a personal confirmation to himself.
"I don't know what you guys did to Errol and the Guard out there, but you scared the shit outta Praxis!" Torn discussed with a laugh over the communicator.
"We're coming soon Torn, get the Underground in shape for a hard fight. And how's Daxter been doing?" Jak added the last bit when he suddenly realized it had been almost a month since he had seen his best friend.
"Oh, he's still pullin' the same old shit, Jak, causing a racquet and making a mess. We'll be ready for you when you get here. Ashelin says the Baron would never suspect Spargus coming to Haven for another go, everything's good to go. And keep me updated."
Jak hung up the communicator and leaned back into Keira' arms on the bed. The slender beauty kissed him lightly on the cheek and sighed.
After Haven's attempt at attacking Spargus and retrieving 'their' missing renegade, it had released the formerly suppressed rivalry between the two cities. There was now a strong link between Haven's Underground Resistance and the hierarchy of Spargus, thanks to Jak's strong connection to it.
It's amazing how much can take place in the course of only a month; the relationships that are formed, the emotions tested, and the mass-invasion plans created.
Keira and Jak had, by this time, fallen pretty hard for one another. Even though it had only been a little more than four short weeks together, they had matured more in that time then in the past year. Though, it had been necessary in order for them both to survive.
A storm raged outside. Strong gusts and rains bashed their little home and the small flames that provided light flickered from the drafts of wind. But, it didn't matter, the house was empty anyways.
Drops of rain slid down Jak's face as he and Keira waited for further instruction on what to do next. He had attempted to persuade her to stay behind for her safety, but it was a never-ending battle in that matter. The girl was stubbornly persistent, and Jak didn't think himself in a position to bend her to his will.
Though, bringing her did have one very important advantage that she had finally convinced Jak of. Keira knew how to open the doors that locked Haven away from the Wasteland and all outsiders. Errol had accidentally slipped her the information early on in their past relationship, fortunately enough for them. Jam something in on a certain part of the door with enough force and - Bam – you're in. The doors weren't even monitored by security, something that would prove to be a fatal mistake for Haven's dictator and all those who followed under him.
Torn informed Jak that the distraught Baron suspected an attack underneath, the Sewers, through the water lines. So, in order to catch them off-guard and avoid a potentially disgusting experience, King Damas, collaborating with Spargus's newest citizens, determined that the Power Station would be a good option for entry.
The catch was, they had to cross an expanse of more than 50 miles of the hazardous sea to get to the beaches of the Power Station. Transport on water was always a last resort, and usually avoided at all costs in Jak's time. All the same, the Spargain army constructed massive hovercraft-like vehicles that drove similar to the desert buggies so commonly used in the Wasteland.
Slowly that night they boarded the sea crafts that would take them to Haven City. Jak and Keira were among the first to board and took a place at the bow of the vehicle. Even in the storm-created darkness she could see a nervous energy waiting to surface. Then the young mechanic looked toward the sky. How odd it was for it to rain, let alone storm, in the desert. Was is some sort of foreshadowing?
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