Chapter 4:
STRANDED CAMP, TEN MILES OFF THE SERROGAR COASTLINE, SEVEN DAYS AFTER LOCUST DEFEAT.
Marcus Fenix was a legend. On the battlefield he had proved himself countless times; from his daring assault at Aspho fields to storming the Hollow, Marcus was not one to lose a fight. Unfortunately his status could mean less to the stranded he now had to convince to join the rebuilding effort. For a second he regretted not taking Cole along with him, maybe the stranded would respond better knowing a thrashball superstar was on the winning team. Then again Cole wasn't exactly comfortable with long rides in a Raven. With Anya and a few other former lieutenants with him Marcus made the trip to the stranded camp. The King Raven they were flying in was retrofitted to run on hydrocarbon fuel which was running out on Azura, so every trip had to be a success. The scientists in the secret research facility had come up with a multitude of ways to power homes and grow crops in a post-locust world; Azura used a combination of solar and hydro-electric power for energy. Unfortunately transport was going to be an issue they would have to remedy themselves. Marcus resented Prescott for kidnapping his father but had to give him props for gathering all those smart minds to save humanity. Pity they were all dead now.
Intel showed that there had been increased activity in the area; perhaps the stranded noticed that the locust weren't showing up as much anymore and began to come out of hiding. Hoffman's orders were simple: get the stranded leaders to sign a pledge to send workers to rebuild the few salvageable Seran cities in exchange for guaranteed food and shelter. Now that humanity was no longer on the verge of being slaughtered into extinction, the revolving door of gears dying and artificially inseminated women giving birth had been closed. Of course children still had to be born, seeing as how 90% of Sera's humans had been killed, but the unethical birthing programs were a thing of the past. Any stranded with children, or who would willingly conceive, would receive perks, more rations and better accomodation as a reward for helping out. All of the details regarding the pledge were written out for the stranded to read and sign. The papers had no COG insignia or anything pertaining to the Coalition, they were simply written out to the various leaders from the office of Col. Victor Hoffman, Head of the S.R.E. (Seran Rebuilding Effort)
The camp itself was located in a valley just off the coast. The sunrise reflected against the green hills which were hiding a less than pretty sight. Built on the remains of a small town, the camp showed visible signs of battle. The KR pilot was granted clearance to land within the camp but in the back of their minds the crew knew they might be stepping into a trap. Tension ran high amongst the gears as they disembarked the vehicle; Delta had already fought stranded during their insurgency and knew exactly what they were capable of. Despite the fact that Fenix came on a diplomatic mission and wasn't working in the interest of the COG the stranded had every reason to be suspicious. Most people knew who Hoffman was and the COG insignia on the uniforms and Raven brought up some bad memories for the stranded. A scruffy looking man met up with Fenix near the landing zone.
"Well if it ain't the goddamn cocks coming to pay us a lil' visit. What's Prescott got on his mind now?" the older man said.
Marcus wasn't sure where to start, the wrong words could get him and his crew shot.
"Why aren't you wearing your stupid armor COG?" the man said after a brief moment of silence.
"No longer needed friend, we're here to talk to you about that." Marcus replied.
"What are you saying?" the man asked.
"The locust has been defeated, for real this time, and the remaining humans are working out of Anvil Gate to rebuild." Anya butted in.
The whole camp burst out in laughter. In the commotion a young man with raven hair approached the soldiers and put his hand up, instantly silencing the laughter. Marcus deduced this man must have been in charge here.
"Please Mr...Fenix" said the man as he examined Marcus' nametag on his uniform. "Follow me to my HQ, if you are actually speaking the truth, we have much to discuss."
Inside the private quarters Fenix had a long discussion with the man, who revealed himself to be Warren Oscar, leader several stranded camps in the valley. Warren had been at war with another warlord for some time and had grown tired of the violence. He agreed to join this new coalition only because it would provide more security for his people. This was the mindset many of the stranded adopted as they joined the rebuilding effort. Over time more and more of the stranded joined up and within two years over a million of them had gone to work reconstructing Sera.
Baird woke up with a nasty migraine that morning. He had spent most of the previous night trying to unlock some stupid terminal and then had to take care of a drunk. For a moment he wondered if Sam felt better today and considered paying her a visit but was quickly brought out of his reverie by his tac-com. Marcus was on the line and wanted to see him after breakfast.
"What's up Fenix" Baird said as he entered the repurposed command center.
"Take a seat Baird" Marcus said with his distinct frown.
Anya joined the duo as Baird sat down. He knew something was on Marcus' mind and he knew he wasn't going to like it.
"Baird as you know we've made some good inroads with the stranded recently" Marcus pointed out.
"So I've heard, guess the lazy bums aren't completely useless..." Baird responded.
"Shut up and let me talk" Marcus said before a long sigh. "Many of the stranded have been responding very well to our proposals but some others needed a little extra persuasion. We haven't had to turn to threats or violence yet, but one particular group has been openly hostile to us. Recently they have attacked a delegation Hoffman sent from Anvegad."
Baird was about to speak but Marcus put up a finger, stopping him in his tracks.
"Before you ask, no, we will not openly attack them. Doing so will seriously damage our reputation going forward. We have made too much progress to just have this whole thing fall apart now." Marcus continued on.
"Secret ops?..." Baird asked with a knowing smirk on his face.
"Like a fucking mind reader..." Anya said with a slight chuckle.
"It's simply a matter of disbanding them by taking out their leader; problem is we have no idea who that might be, or if they even have one." Marcus said.
"So what do you need Fenix? I already told you cloaking armor wasn't possible." Baird told the sergeant.
"No Blondie, I called you here because you've been selected to infiltrate the camp...alone." Marcus said with a serious look on his face.
"What?"
"All you need to do is figure out who's in charge down there and kill him. We assume this will cause chaos within the group and allow us to assault the camp under cover of night." Anya explained.
"You assume?" Baird asked, leaning into the word.
"They'll probably think another group of stranded attacked them" Anya continued.
"I'm hearing a lot of uncertainty in your plan guys" Baird pointed out.
"Hoffman has been working on this for some time; he's former commando so I'll trust his plans are sane." Marcus said.
"Then why doesn't he just infiltrate the camp himself?"
"You're kidding right? Why not also send Cole while we're at it?" Anya said with a derisive look on her face.
Baird took a moment to absorb all of this information. He was no assassin, nor was he exactly the quietest guy around. What exactly were they thinking in selecting him?
"Well it's just like them to send the most important guy on this island to his death" Baird said in a defeated tone.
"Don't you think you're over estimating your importance Baird?" Marcus said with a cocky smile.
"Oh okay Fenix; I'd like to see you fix a destroyed T55-GX Quattro-ion powered generator." Baird taunted the sergeant.
"I'm sure one of the Gorasni engineers could do it" Marcus responded.
"Those stupid fucks couldn't fix a flat tire" Baird growled.
"Well it wasn't my decision, you were picked at random" Marcus said.
"At random? Ah okay I wasn't aware you guys just picked names out of a hat!" Baird responded, obviously annoyed.
"It wasn't a hat..." Marcus said under his breath.
"Anya, you attended military academy right, how many classes did you take on picking names at random?" Baird asked the female gear.
"Fuck off Baird" She responded with an angry tone.
"You know Marcus; there was a time when lieutenants were made on the battlefield and not in the classroom" Baird pressed on.
"I said fuck off Baird" Anya repeated.
"All I'm saying is...If that's how our military leaders made all of their decisions, it's no wonder we were at war for 79 years." Baird pointed out.
Anya was about to jump over the desk and strangle the Blonde.
"Enough!" Marcus yelled as he got up from his seat. "Damnit Baird you know what your mission is; don't be a dick and you'll go unnoticed in the camp. Now stop bitching about it and meet me here tonight for the mission details." Marcus went on as he slammed his fist into the desk. "Any other questions Baird?"
"Yeah, were do I go for my dysentery shots?"