(Materializes, clad in his usual robes)
Hello everyone, and I hope that you are all having a good week, after all, Thanksgiving is right around the corner, which means time off from school (Monty Python style cheering heard). For me, that should mean more time to write, which is good, considering that the next chapter is going to be every bit of nine thousand words…all of it fighting.
An important note has come to my attention. Several of you readers expressed concern over what would happen to Mar's Armor when Kage manifested himself. Well, the vibrium making up the armor would react in a very similar nature to how the Vibrium in Kitetsu does, so don't worry, it will morph with him. I haven't decided upon the design for the helmet, but the armor itself will sort of take on the look of the Beowulf Devil Arms when Virgil had em on in DMC3.
Now, to answer the specific responses of those who reviewed:
animedragongirl- Hehehe, now I have the funniest image of Jak, Keira, and the rest of the gang skipping down a yellow brick road…thanks again for proofreading, and for answering my other questions. I might make some slight alterations to the name you provided, but it gave me a good base to run with, so thank you. Hope the Cyberquest thing doesn't bog you down too much, and I hope to see more of Prank Wars, soon.
Philoworm- Thanks for the attack idea, reminds me a lot of the charge attack the Viola A.I. unit has in Z.O.E. I hope the wait was worth it, and that you do not feel like killing me when you reach the end of this particular chapter…
MariaShadow- Sorry about skimming over the whole crossbreeding deal, but that will be covered later in some of Tarath's flashbacks, as one or two of them will deal with him and the elf that…well…you know… Also glad that you liked the liberties that I took with the armor, as I wasn't really sure how well that would go over.
Exardas- Yeah, I know what you mean, I realize I've gone from having Jak wearing a Sephiroth styled trench coat, to a robe that made him look like a Sith Lord, and now a Pred based suit…I really need to be more original in my equipment designs… At any rate, Jak will use the suit, combined with his self cloaking abilities, to scar the living crap out of Veger right after he meets with Seem. That said, good luck to you in your own works as well.
Lunatic Pandora1- They will be a little surprised to say the least, and Valthos/Damas in particular will be…shocked to see him wearing it, as will a good number of Marauders who go up against him in his second trial.
Wizard Surreal- Okay, here's the address for the pics- http/ photobucket .com/albums/ b62/nefertari22/ Jak20X20Screenshots?action view¤tvlcsnap-1598640 .jpg. If that doesn't work, let me know and I'll email the pics to you (or I'll try at least, Hotmail has proven in the past it doesn't like me very much…) As for your other questions, Jak hasn't even gone through his second trial yet, though he will do so immediately following the Wastelander rescue mission, so don't worry, and I'm really glad that you liked the armor that he's got now. Also, no, Jak and Mar are two separate people in this story, as I found the thought of him being his own ancestor to be a little freaky even for me. However, there will be a few flashbacks with Tarath in which Mar is seen, hopefully in a light that is complimentary to him. (crosses fingers) As for Keira's gear, I have an idea of when I want her to start getting her powers, but I haven't been able to think up a good time for her to receive her Precursian battle gear, and its really bugging me, cause I want her to get it before the 'preparation for the world ending battle' deal, if you know what I mean. Any ideas or suggestions?
GoodMorningBeautiful2005- Actually, the action won't be heading back to Jak and Dax till about Chapter Ten, as we have two chapters with Keira, and then one that will try to flesh out Tarath and Kerrog, so that they'll be more lifelike. But then don't worry, Jak will go back to beating the crap out of enemies and scarring the crap outta Veger.
Farr2rich- Glad that you liked the chapter, and I apologize about he fight scene length, I hope that this one and the next chapter can improve on that. (expect to see blood, gore, and the death of at least one OC). Also, keep up the good work on your own story (animedragongirl hasn't had a chance to read it yet, me and the others sending her beta chapters are bogging her down, plus she's got some school activities right now)
Evil Manic- Nope, no shield, that would make it too Haloish, and I've already taken enough from that. Not sure exactly when Jak and Keira will meet up soon, but rest assured that Damas will not die in my version, as what N.D. was not only pure evil, but hopelessly clichéd. (plus, you'd think Jak could catch a break for once, not to mention that Damas' death really didn't seem to bother him a whole lot, which I found strange)
Weirdo- No, Jak will not get any Light Eco powers, however, Keira will be getting them and a few more to boot. And yes, there will still be a Precursors revealing themselves scene, with a slight twist and Veger getting roughed up in the Process…I never seem to tired of hurting him…hehe.
YamiTenshi14- Don't worry, the bad guys will have mucho grande powers as well (one of them is revealed in this chapter) Also, I am glad that I am not the only one who thought Errol was just a little too nutsy in the third game. He will still be a sociopath, but he will not be out to destroy the world, just Jak. That said, I hope you find this chapter to your liking.
Yuuzora- Yeah, that's one of the things I'm shooting for with the Precursors, even the Fallen aren't really evil, they simply think that the knowledge to be gained is worth the risk, sorta adds a degree of complexity to em, and maybe makes them a little harder to hate. Also, Jak will not get a hand's free shield, but Keira will be able to do that move once she acquires her powers, and she will make frequent use of it, while Jak/Kage will have to dodge out of the way. Sorry to hear about your glasses, and I hope this week went a little better for ya. As for luck, don't kid yourself, I'll need all of it that I can get!
Air of Mystery- Your review had me laughing, as I had indeed been thinking of sound based weapons, and an 'anti droid' weapon. The sound weapon is a grenade Keira's developed, the details of which are in the story, and let's say it can be a little messy…and the other weapon is a 'precision' version of the Arc Wielder gun. That aside, I don't know about he shoulder gun, as the Metal Head Cloakers already have that, but I'll see what I can do. Hope you like the chapter.
PrincessDarkFire- Glad that you liked both of the stories thus far, and please let me know if there is anything that you would like to see happen. As for the armor, yeah, Jak can get out of it relatively easy, though most of the time in the story he will be wearing it. And as far as the power you suggested, that will actually be a Dragoon (Blue Eco user) ability called Avatar, though only the masters will be able to use it. As for my replying to the reviewers, you guys are the only reason this story has gotten as far as it has. You've provided me with countless ideas, and I only think it is fair that I answer your questions in return. Plus, the reviews make me happy that people like what I'm doing…I swear, there are times when I think writing is the only thing I can do worth a flip. Sorry, ranting again. At any rate, hope you like what I continue to put out, and let me know if I start to slip up.
Frozen Tear Drop- Yeah, the armor will morph like that and such, and as for the helmet, like I said I'm not sure about its shape, but some of the H.U.D. will not function while Kage's out and about, but most of it will still be present. That said, I hope that you continue to enjoy the story, and let me know if you have any other questions, and I shall try to answer them to the best of my ability.
Every Heart Bleeds- Tis only fair and honorable that I respond to my reviewers, as they have given me so many ideas to work with, as well as advice and encouragement. As for my age, I'm 19, so I find it rather strange about myself that I'm writing about a video game…must be my childhood that was viciously suppressed by spending every available moment with my nose in my schoolbooks trying to get ahead finally reemerging. Thanks for the encouragement, and if you have any ideas, please let me know about them.
SRHumphrey727- Sorry to have confused you, let me know where I lost you and I'll try to explain, kay? As for Jak X, no, I haven't played it, as between writing and school, I haven't really had the time to do so. Hope you like this chapter, and that I may continue to please. (bows)
dude- Glad that you liked the armor, as for the crystals, I really don't think that they're going to run out any time soon, and least not within the length of the story. I hope that you find this chapter to be just as enjoyable, and please let me know if there's anything that you would like to see happen.
DarkStarPhoenix- Whoopsie, forgot to mention that there was room in the helmet for his ears…now I really feel sheepish…As for the Channeling powers, no, I decided to ditch that idea, figuring that the armor was powerful enough on its own. As for Kerrog, yeah, he's going to die, but if all goes according to plan, there won't be a whole lot of cheering when it happens, as the whole Precursor/Fallen Precursor thing is going to be something of a tragedy on a grand scale, sorta in the nature to what happened in Revenge of the Sith. Glad you've been liking the chapters, and I hope you did well on your exams.
Hybrid- Yeah, I sorta left out the details of the mating process for similar reasons, lets just say there was a good deal of technology involved. As for the younger Precursors, the older ones (about age fifteen and up) are being flashed trained and basically given crash courses in basic combat training. The younger ones will simply hang around the background, and be what everyone else is trying to keep out of harms way. As for Daxter's powers, I haven't really decided, but I'm thinking right before they storm the Day Star to try and blow it up.
Xazz- Yeah, I'll be the first to admit, Mar's Armor left me less than impressed, I mean, it looked like a prop from Scorpion King, for Pete's sake! At any rate, the bad guys will be able to kick copious amounts of but, as will be revealed at the beginning of this chapter, and the beginning of the next, when the Death Bot 'hero' units are unveiled. Will try to read your story soon, as with my vacation approaching, my teacher's have decided that Monday and Tuesday shall be exam day…joy… At any rate, I hope that this chapter pleases you, as I go into Keira's past for a bit, before everything gets FUBARed.
Some Random Fanboy- Glad you like Tarath and the AU elements, but I think that if this had been the plot, that sales would have been abysmal, I just tend to have that sort of effect upon things…Valthos, Keira and the others will have reactions of surprise, and Veger's will be one normally associated with either pant's soiling or a near death experience. Hope you like the chapter, and thanks for the vote of confidence. (bows)
Crazed Demon- Yeah, the enemies will be powerful, very powerful (Tarath's flashbacks will reveal just how dangerous a Precursor in battle form can be. Also, one cannot forget that in this story, Errol is pretty much a carbon copy of Jak as far as abilities are concerned, so that should make their final scrap a little more interesting, as he will actually be out fighting, rather than crammed inside a cockpit of a Juggernaught.
Beloved Rose- No Light Jak in this story, that's where Keira comes in, she will be the Light Eco user of the tale. As far as you drawing Kage is concerned, I find the idea of a chibified version of him to be amusing, and if you need help, let me know and I'll send you the picture that originally gave me the idea for his appearance. Hope you find this chapter to your liking, and that you don't hate me for the ending…
Light-Eco-Sage- Tell me about it. I probably won't destroy the armor, but I know for a fact that Errol will have the same type of gear, though it will look different, not to mention the Precursors' themselves are going to be almost godly in their powers (as the Freedom Guard will find out the hard way) and the Death Bots and Metal Heads will have new badies in their ranks as well. I will try to be patient when waiting for your stories, but they are so good that sometimes it's hard to. That said, I hope you enjoy this chapter, in which Keira's past is beginning to be revealed.
jaklover123- Sorry to hear that your grounded, and I hope you get off restriction soon, that can be a bummer. As for the dreadlocks, I figured it was a way for Jak to sorta become a little closer to his Precursian heritage, as Tarath and the other warriors wear their hair styled like that. Seriously though, check the address out for the picture, he still looks pretty masculine with his hair styled like that. That said, I hope you find this chapter worth the wait.
Up-High- Yes, Keira is in this chapter, and she does her own butt whooping, and in the next one too. As for Dax, well, someone's gotta play slap stick until Veger gets put back into the picture. Actually, I'm thinking about having Daxter knock the crap outta Veger once the good Count is turned into an ottsel, what do you think?
SilverEyes18- Glad you liked the tweaked version of Mar's Armor that he got, as I always thought it a little strange that the gear he wore should have had a few special fetuares. (I mean when you're fighting the things he did, it just makes sense that it would be a little more cutting edge, if you know what I mean) Glad that you've liked the story so far, and I hope that I continue to please.
To those of you who read but did not review, I hope that you have found my meager works to be to your liking thus far, and that you do not suffer any fits of insanity or mental scarring upon reading this chapter
Lawyers; If you don't know the drill by now, then you are typical of your profession. I own nothing save for my own creations, so leave me in peace.
That said, here is chapter seven.
&
Where It All Goes Wrong.
Fires raged and burned, while smoke filled the air, choking her. Even above the roar of the infernos that crackled, she could hear the screaming of men as they died horrible deaths, screams that she realized on some instinctive level would keep sleep at bay for many long nights. The sounds were further diversified by shrieks and roars that could not have come from anything remotely elven.
She stumbled and nearly fell, being saved only by a rough hand that quickly reached out and grabbed her. She looked up, and saw a large, burly elf, who quickly picked her up and carried her away from the flames that threatened to consume everything. She stared into his brown eyes, reddened and bloodshot from the intense heat, his black hair matted to his face by the sweat that was running down it.
The next thing that she was aware of was of the ground rushing by as her mysterious rescuer carried her away in one arm, a broadsword held out to try and ward any of the demons to keep their distance.
Unfortunately, the monsters were not so easily deterred, and one that ran about on four legs leaped them. She shrieked, and buried her face into the chest of the man carrying her. She heard him snarl in rage, and there was a wet 'thocking' sound a moment later. Daring to turn her head, she saw the creature, now missing its head, twitching and flopping about on the ground.
The elf carrying her whispered something into her ear, something she couldn't make out, but the softness of his voice reassured her that everything was going to be okay.
Fate, however, seemed to be unusually vindictive that day. Her reasoning for this was what happened a few minutes later, as they reached what almost appeared to be some sort of parade ground or courtyard. Her unnamed savior panted for breath, staring about, as if looking for someone or something.
Whatever he was looking for probably wasn't what they found, which was a creature straight out of a nightmare that advertised its presence a moment later with a horrific entrance. One of the walls of this strange place suddenly crumbled as a pair of elves, their bodies broken and lifeless as rag dolls, came flying through it. They hit the ground and rolled to a stop, causing a whimper of fear to come from her throat.
What had done that to them came through a moment later, smashing the wall down. It was indeed a creature that would have caused courage to desert most men, and she felt the heartbeat and breathing of the man carrying her increase as he stared at the demon.
It walked upon four legs, each of them having three clawed toes. A reptilian tail swished back and forth behind it, melting into the body, which in turn became something humanoid in appearance, at least up until the head region, which possessed a crocodilian visage, making the creature resemble some sort of draconic centaur. Battle armored, it looked about, and spotted them, and a grin made its way across its face, revealing its dagger like teeth. It spread its arms wide, and firelight reflected off of its weapon, which was a large scythe, held easily in one hand, with a chain connected at the base that lead out to a spiked morning star.
The elf holding her muttered an obscenity, knowing that this foe was beyond him. The creature began to charge, moving far faster than it should have for something of its size, barreling towards them like the nightmare that it was.
However, seconds before it would have reached them, something happened. First, an arrow streaked in out of nowhere, its black head glistening, indicating that it had been laced with something. The barb the hit monster in a place where its armor didn't cover it, causing it to growl, but not stop its charge. However, it was stopped a moment later when a burst of yellow energy slammed into it with enough force to blow it off of its feet.
Both she and the man carrying her looked back up, and saw a pair of elves standing on what used to be a battlement. The male was armed with a longbow, and was already drawing another arrow. The female, clad in light plate armor, hoisted a spear, and with a blue glow outlining her body, leapt, landing next to them.
"My lady," the man began, bowing as best he could with her in his arms, "it is good to see you alive, and your husband as well. We have to leave…" continued, before the female elf silenced him with a look.
"No, Rainer," she said, shaking her head, "you have to take Keira and get out of here."
"But…" the elf started, only to be cut off by a growl as the demon got back up to its feet.
"Go!" the lady screamed, twisting, and it was only now that Keira could see a river of darkened blood covering the side of her armor. "Palar and I will hold this devil!"
The man snapped into action, fleeing as she leapt back at the creature, joined a moment later by more arrows as the man on the battlement fired.
After that, everything was a blur, chaos, screaming, roars and battle cries.
She bolted up, screaming and panting, her eyes open but unseeing.
"Easy Keira, it was just a nightmare." Came a voice, and she looked over to find her father.
"It was the same one again." The aqua haired elf muttered as her adrenaline began to fade.
"I see." Samos responded, a frown upon his face.
A few moments passed, before Keira's mind turned to other things. Her father had been living in her home, as his place had been in the palace, which was nothing more than smoldering debris at the moment. Truthfully, she thought, as she stared over to the empty place in her bed, where her soul mate should have lain, it was some comfort to have her old man around, now that Jak was gone. Still, it didn't ease the pain she felt about the dark elf, wishing that he was here.
"He'll be alright, Keira." Samos said in a gentle manner as he reached out and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "He's a survivor, and it'll take a lot more than a desert to kill him."
The aqua haired elf nodded in response. Deep down, she knew that her father cared for Jak almost as if he were his own son, no doubt from having watched over him for so long when he'd been running around this city in his youth. She sighed softly, as she was still having trouble still getting use to the fact that her soul mate wasn't even from the same time as her.
"Hurry up and get dressed." her father called as he suddenly retreated out of her room above her garage. "Ashelin has called an emergency meeting."
The mechanic/weapons engineer groaned as she got out of bed and proceeded to do so, looking over to the empty spot where Jak should have been, would have been if it weren't for the Council. More than once, she'd been tempted to take up stake outside the new headquarters where Count Veger and his cronies met, and introduce him to her magnetically accelerated sniper rifle. However, while she was no stranger to killing, she just couldn't find it within herself to gun a man in cold blood, no matter how much he might have deserved it.
So she was simply stuck here, fighting the good fight until Jak managed to find some way to return from his exile, as she hoped he soon would. Whether or not Count Veger and his 'friends' wished to admit it, they needed Jak, and without him, things were starting to look pretty grim.
It had only been about two and a half weeks since his banishment, but already the effects of it were showing. The first of these signs had been the riots that had occurred after the public had found out about what had become of the Ascended Channeler. It had been a clean split, with half of them basically exclaiming that they'd never have to worry about the 'monster' again, and the other half screaming for the blood of the Council members and some going as far as threatening a massive overthrow of the government. Naturally, the two had clashed, and the military had reluctantly broke them apart, as the overwhelming majority of the Freedom Guard had wanted to join in with her husband's supporters.
Obviously, all of this infighting hadn't helped one single bit in the war effort, and the Metal Heads and the mechanized soldiers had been quick to capitalize on it.
She wondered where those accursed machines were coming from as she finished dressing and headed outside, stopping long enough to grab one of her morph guns. Some of them were the same 'roller' types that Praxis had been experimenting with while he had been alive, thinking to use them to supplement the Krimzon Guard in the event of another attack upon Metal Head turf. But now, there were new kinds in addition to those.
A small, four legged crawling type appropriately nicknamed a 'Spider' by the ground troops served as an ankle biter and as a saboteur, and some newer models were even being equipped with some nasty self destruct mechanisms. Another one, simply known as a Hawk because of their aerial nature, was used as scout and a fast attack unit. They weren't sturdy, but they were able to practically turn on a dime, and could be very difficult to hit at a distance.
Then there were the Blast Bots, so named because they were literally mechanized tanks, stomping about on four legs almost like a super sized version of a Spider. However, they were only similar in their appearance, as the Blast Bots could inflict significantly more damage than even four dozen of their smaller cousins. Fortunately, they were large and slow, and their armor, while very protective against anti-infantry weapons, usually couldn't put up with more than a few shots from a fuel rod cannon.
And there were thousands of them, which led right back to her original train of thought, where were they all coming from? Granted, now that they had captured the Industrial District, some of the factories there had been converted into production plants, but they had not been their place of origins.
She supposed, as she clambered into a F.G. transport ship, that that would have to be a mystery saved for after they had beaten the clankers back and taken care of the Metal Heads as well.
All the while, Samos was somewhat distracted by his own thoughts. Keira remembered enough of her nightmare to tell him what it was about, and he knew that she was finally beginning to remember bits and pieces of her life before she'd come to Sandover. He turned the thoughts over in his head, wondering what he should do, when would be the best time to tell her what little he knew of her original life, and he couldn't help but feel some anxiety about what her reaction would be. After all, while not exactly what one could term grade-A family man material, it had been a joy to his heart to be a father, and he wondered how the knowledge of the past might change that.
The lift ground to a halt at the war room of the new command center, and as the door opened, the aqua haired elf saw Ashelin, Torn and the other Revenants fully decked out in their Katarn Mark II battle armor, Tess and a few others standing over a holographic map of the city, discussing various stratagems and the like. Brutter was also there, the Lurker sporting his combat armor with his spear strapped to the back, his large gold eyes also gazing at the holo-map.
"So, what's up?" Keira inquired of the Haven City Governess as she and her father stepped off the lift.
"We're gearing up for an assault." Torn answered for her. "Count Veger and the rest of the Grand Council have decided that we've been on the retreat for too long, and they've drawn up a battle plan that's to be implemented in three hours time."
"Wait a minute here," the aqua haired elf exclaimed, hoping, nay, praying that her ears had heard wrong, "you're telling me that Veger and company planned the counter assault?"
"Counter assaults, unfortunately." Came the voice of General Ryan Toshiro.
Despite his initial uneasiness about being promoted to the head officer in the Freedom Guard, considering his high ranking in the outfit under Praxis' rule, he had adapted well, and had come to be a man that his men respected. Trained as a marksman, he had taken a note out of the late Baron's book: he led from the front lines, as soldiers tended to fight harder if they knew that their commander was right next to them, slugging through the same stuff that they were.
"Counter assaults?" Keira echoed, her voice now very full of concern as a frown crossed her face.
"Yes." Ashelin growled, her voice full of quiet anger. "The Grand Council has decided that we should attack all three of the occupied areas at once in a classical textbook assault."
"Two things." The aqua haired elf said as she counted off on her hand. "First, do we even have the manpower for an attack like that, and secondly, haven't they noticed that the tinnies seem to know our textbooks back to front?"
"Oh," came the voice of Jinx, who seemed to be stuffing his supply belt with charges, "we've got enough men, at least in theory, for their estimated forces. As for their inexplicable knowledge of our tactics…well…you know how those politicians hate to be told that they're wrong about something."
"Don't remind me." Toshiro moaned, shaking his head. "I'm the man leading us straight into the heart of the Industrial District, and I don't even want to think about what the causalities are going to be like."
"I'll assume you're going to want me to help out?" she inquired of the Governess, carefully watching her friend's reaction.
"Yeah," Ashelin said with a nod of her head before turning to face the Revenants, "Torn, take her and Tess to the armory and get them suited up."
"Yes ma'am." He said with a sharp salute, before motioning for the two other elves to follow him and Jinx, causing Keira and Tess to exchange uncertain glances with each other as they accompanied him.
"Remind me again," Keira stated as she attempted to get use to the H.U.D. on her new helmet, "why did you suit me and Tess up like this?"
The two of them had been virtually encased in Katarn armor, and it was something neither understood, as the ferrosteel covered suits were reserved for the Revenants, the reason for that mainly being due to the insane costs of each of the sets of protective gear, which was a five figure sum. At that kind of price, it made little sense to give it to anyone but the best of the best, as the odds were that they would live the longest in a scrap and thus, be able to make the best use of it.
"Because," Torn said with a grunt as he finished the adjustments to Tess' gear, "you're coming into the Harbor Sector with us, and that means we're going to have to duke it out with both Metal Heads and Death Bots."
"Which means that if anything happens to you," Jinx picked up, grabbing a few more explosives for himself in the process, "when your Prince Charming gets back from working on his tan, that tall, dark, and destructive will have our asses on the barbeque and a few more body parts to boot."
"But we're not Revenants." Tess pointed out as she twisted slightly, trying to figure out just how much she could move in the equipment.
"Then let me say, on behalf of the rest of our brothers and sisters," Torn cut in with genuine comradery in his voice, "welcome to the family. Now grab whatever else you might need and meet us back at the war room."
With that, he and his brother in arms left, leaving Tess and Keira to once again look at each other, and simply shrug before heading over to a weapons rack.
They were now in route to their insertion points, onboard a blue colored drop ship in a fleet of hundreds of others that would be working in tandem with the ones that would be assaulting via the Harbor Sector entrance. The plan was relatively simple, storm in, overwhelm the enemy, and be through in time for the evening meal.
However, nobody who was going to be ground pounding was expecting it to go quite that smoothly, and they were all wondering who would simply live to see the evening meal.
After all, a wise man once said that no plan survived contact with the enemy.
Keira worried most for Toshiro, his men, and the squadron of Revenants that were accompanying them. After all, Metal Heads could be demoralized, could have their will to fight be broken, but the mechanized soldiers that the elven general and his forces would be up against were not programmed to know fear, could not be intimidated, and knew nothing of pity, or mercy. They were also completely egoless, and would go to any lengths to destroy their foes, even if that meant blowing themselves up in the process.
She looked down at her shoulder, at the emblem of the Revenants emblazoned upon it, a suit of armor with a flaming sword and cloak, its eye slits shinning blue against the gray, much like hers was doing now. Beneath it was a two digit number, twenty nine, her call sign on the battlefield. Tess' was fifty four, while Torn and Jinx had opted to keep their original numbers from the Delta Squads, forty two and sixty seven respectively.
She often wondered how they felt, being the last of the originals, the only survivors from that close knit family they had been before Praxis' coup. She'd never really asked them about it, out of respect, but she knew that she had quite a legacy to live up to, and she was determined to make those that had come before her proud.
"Twenty five seconds till commencement of operation." Ashelin's voice echoed over the comm. line that all of them had.
The aqua haired elf checked her gear one last time. Her gauntlet mounted vibro blade and her grappling hook were good to go, and the H.U.D. was displaying a properly operating active camouflage generator. Her morph gun was in its usual immaculate condition, with its customary rifle, submachine gun, sniper mod, and RPG launcher loaded into it. Plus, anyone looking at her would have noticed a second gun that she had strapped over her other shoulder, a weapon that she planned on testing out on the Death Bots later on, complemented by a bandolier of power packs specially designed for it.
There was also a double belt of grenades that she had on her waist. Four of them were the traditional 'sticky' plasmite ones that the army had been using for about a good fifteen years now, while the other four was something she herself had recently come out with, a sonic grenade. The weapon operated along the same principle as the sound blade generated by the green crystal in her left gauntlet, only this time, the power current put through the crystal housed inside of each one of the metal cases was enough to cause it to become unstable. The result was when it exploded, that it generated a 'sphere' of high energy sound waves that completely ignored armor and would, in theory, turn a Metal Head's bones into dust. They'd done similar tests against the remains of Death Bots, and found the results of these ones to be far more effective than plasmite, but the older type had its uses, such as causing panic amongst living targets, a blast radius almost half again as large, and the fact that the sonic ones couldn't stick to a target.
"Five seconds out," Jinx said, looking at the synchronized clock on his H.U.D., "if anyone is on goods terms with the powers above, I suggest you start calling in favors."
The aqua haired elf muttered a small prayer, and then clicked her safety off, preparing herself for the rush into the Harbor Sector.
Then, the rear hatch opened, and Torn and Jinx led the charge out to reclaim their city. Keira jumped out about half a second later, with Tess coming in right behind her. All over the Harbor, drop ships were touching down and blue armored Freedom Guards were storming out, their guns up at ready. They were soon joined by people streaming in from the primary entrance, back up by a handful of Scorpion M808 assault tanks and several dozen Hellcat cruisers, along with a few recently manufactured light assault craft that were similar to the ones Torn and the Underground had used in their raids on the Baron's convoys.
Naturally, and assault of that size would quickly be noticed by the invaders, and it was less than a minute later that the first shots were being exchanged. Keira and the others were headed for the western end of the harbor, which meant that they would be engaging the Metal Heads rather than the Death Bots, the idea being to secure one front before turning and facing what was believed to be the greater threat.
Her morph gun set to its battle rifle mode, she quickly spotted a potential target, a Wasp that was clinging to the side of a building, using its perch to fire its wrist mounted blaster down at the encroaching elven army. Her combat instincts kicked in, and she swiftly sighted the monster up, before squeezing the trigger and letting fly a four shot burst. The Eco bolts hit the Wasp dead on, and it fell to the ground with a screech, twitching as it died.
Not pausing for a single instant, she quickly looked around for the next foe, and settled on a Grunt that was tearing its way down from some debris. She squeezed the trigger again, catching it through its head and killing it almost instantly.
One of its comrades chose that moment to stick its head from behind the same pile of rubble, and quickly found itself relieved of that rather vital body organ. She smiled grimly as she watched the headless corpse tumble from its perch, before looking around for more.
However, while the initial response of the Metal Heads was somewhat haphazard, it only took a few minutes for the Crab Head commanders to get their troopers under control, and before they knew it, they were having stiff resistance thrown their way.
One of the large leader types stormed around a corner with its squad, and barked out some orders in its native tongue while laying down fire upon the Freedom Guard members with its twin blasters. Cover was immediately sought by the elves, but about five troopers were cut down before they could get out of the way, and with another order, the beast and those under its command began to move forward. The Grunts and the quadrapedal Drones were dealt with swiftly enough, thanks to the combined submachine gun fire of the elves, but the Crab Head itself, and the five shield carrying Centurions under its authority would prove considerably more difficult.
The latter subspecies had their backs to the rubble of a building and had interlocked their energy shields, making them extremely difficult to hit while they returned fire with their pistol like blasters. Keira was quick to realize this, and she dove behind a crate as they turned their attention towards her.
Coming up out of her roll, she hunkered down behind the crate and ripped the clip from her morph gun, before thumbing a switch. There was a whirring sound, and the rifle transformed itself into a plasmite grenade launcher, and she then quickly loaded three shots into the revolver styled clip firing chambers.
The Centurions, whose attention was occupied by a group of Freedom Guard regulars laying down fire upon them, literally never knew what hit them as a pair of rocket propelled grenade slammed into their midst, and the subsequent fireballs utterly consumed them, except for a few mangled odds and ends that were sent flying outward. The aqua haired elf then adjusted her aim, firing off the last round that she had loaded at the very instant that the Crab Head had figured out where the blasts had come from.
The monster's eyes bugged out in surprise as the shot headed right for it, and as it opened its mouth to scream in defiance, its jaws were spaced apart just enough for the RPG to nestle its way inside. For some grimly comical reason, the grenade failed to detonate immediately, and the Metal Head commander had about half a second to realize what was about to happen before the thing went off in its jaws, virtually tearing its body apart when it did detonate.
"Keep moving forward!" Torn shouted over the comm., and the troops made haste to obey their commander's order.
However, the going was difficult, as the Metal Heads had a very strong defensive networking going at the moment, with overlapping fields of fire coming down from wasps skittering about through the air, while Centurions and Crab Heads laid down fire upon them from ground level, and the Grunts and Drones rushed at those who were unfortunate enough to be pinned down.
Keira supposed she should be grateful though. After all, none of the more dangerous species had shown up yet, and she couldn't help but wonder where the Guardians were hiding at. She knew that they weren't engaged yet, as it was hard to miss something of their size, not to mention the fact that there would been a gruesome harmony of swears and death cries echoing over the communication frequencies if they were spitting Dark Eco down upon them.
And for some inexplicable reason, that made her more than a little uneasy.
Still, as she changed her morph gun back into its rifle mode, she tried to force the thought from her mind and concentrate on what she could control, rather than what was beyond it.
Off to her side, Jinx's line of thinking had been much the same. The Revenant was even more unnerved by the lack of heavy firepower on the part of the Hora-quan. After all, he'd been fighting the beasts for the entirety of his military career, and being a member of a special covert ops group as he was, he often tangoed with them more on a single mission than most regulars did in an entire tour of duty, and while the creatures were certainly not just laying down and letting the Freedom Guard forces shoot them, he couldn't shake the feeling that they were holding back.
Still, he nonetheless pressed onward, using his twin submachine guns to deadly effect upon the Metal Heads, the fast firing blasters chewing through the Grunts and Drones that charged him like they were nothing.
A staccato crackling of BR-55 rifle fire reached his ears, and he looked over, and he saw a squadron of blue armored soldiers pinned down by vicious suppression fire coming from a Crab Head and some Centurions. He went to holster one of his guns, as they lacked the penetration capabilities needed to take one of those four legged demons down efficiently and were completely ineffective against the energy shields of the Centurions, and went to draw a grenade. However, before he could do so, there was a distinctive whining sound coming from behind them, and a literal river of Eco bolts tore into the creatures, rending armor, shields, flesh and bone alike before they even had a chance to react to the sudden turn of events.
A smile appeared on his hidden face as Grim and Mog charged into battle, the latter of the two siblings carrying a newly made vulcan, which had been responsible for the carnage he had just witnessed. He threw them a salute, which they apparently saw, before he hurried to catch back up with Torn and the others.
However, what he got was a Grunt leaping at him at top speed. Knowing that his weapons wouldn't bring it down in time, he opted for a different tactic, throwing the DC-17 Special Forces blaster in his left hand up into the air, balling up his fist, and putting his hand at a certain angle. He could see the Metal Head's eyes widen in surprise as the eight inch long crystalline shard leapt out of his forearm protection, and the distorted sound blade formed around it. With a feral yell, Revenant Sixty Seven thrust his vibro blade forward, catching the fiend right in its mouth, before driving it upwards into the creature's brain, slaying it almost instantly.
He withdrew the melee weapon, let it retract, and still had enough time to catch his gun out of the air and start sprinting forward once again.
The pyromaniac crested a mound that had once been a warehouse storage facility, and saw the battle raging down below, with his three comrades fully involved in the conflict. Not wishing to be left out of a perfectly good fight, Jinx was quick to slide down into the fray, and both of his blasters were soon ripping into the Metal Head ranks.
As he caught up to the others, though, he was suddenly knocked to his side, and he had to choke back a growl of pain as he felt what almost seemed to be a superheated sledgehammer hit him on his shoulder.
Fortunately, his Katarn battle armor held up, and the only thing he had to show for the attack was a blackened bit of carbon scoring on the plating. It also didn't take him long to figure out that it had been a Centurion that had taken a pot shot at him, and he scolded himself for being so sloppy. However, the self condemning berating lasted about a tenth of a second, and after that, he reached into his belt, and drew a grenade, before priming and throwing it at the Hora-quan.
He didn't realize until he had sent the explosive on its merry little way that he had hurled one of the new sonic grenades, and as he got back up, he saw first hand what the little things could do.
It hit at the Centurion's feet, where it sat for about two seconds before detonating. Rather than the obscuring, blue-white flash of a plasmite grenade, though, what he saw instead was a sphere of distorted air surging outwards from where the device had been. The avian faced Metal Head raised its shield, but that did nothing to ward the coming blow. The distortions passed over the creature, and a chilling scream echoed throughout the area as it seemed to collapse inward upon itself, as the ultrasonic sound waves ruptured blood vessels, caused vital organs to explode, and turned bones into dust.
The thing collapsed into a pile of jelly like goop, and Jynx was momentarily taken aback by what he had just unleashed.
"Nasty little things." The gray armored warrior muttered, shaking his head before returning his attention back to the battle, turning his two guns upon a hapless Grunt and opening fire on it.
Meanwhile, Ashelin was staring at a master control screen from the command room of the Freedom Guard Headquarters, watching the battle progress. Veger and his cronies were immensely pleased with themselves thus far as everything was going pretty smoothly. However, while the good Count and his fellows might have been wearing smiles that reeked of arrogance, the Governess of Haven City felt uneasy. The Harbor Sector was the only place where the Freedom Guard was running into what might even amount to fairly heavy resistance, and that just didn't make sense. In the West Side, the Metal Heads were retreating on all fronts before the elven onslaught, and it seemed too early for them to do so, as she knew they couldn't have been suffering devastating losses this early in the game.
It was much the same from the Industrial Sector, which really had her puzzled, as it almost appeared as if Toshiro and his troops were encountering little more than token opposition to their advances.
"Keep your eyes sharp, boys," she ordered into a headset that she was wearing, "I've got the feeling that something's up."
"You're not alone there." General Toshiro responded as he destroyed a Roller Bot with a well placed sniper shot, before looking at a small vid-screen of the red haired elf that was on his visor's H.U.D.. "These machines have fought tooth and nail for every inch of ground before, and now they're just letting us roll over them."
He then relayed the order on to the men and women under his command, praying that the bad feeling in his gut was just nerves and not foreshadowing of something more.
The elven general, clad in black armor, kept up his pace in the front lines, reducing several of the machines to scrap with his sniper rifle. However that gnawing feeling in his gut simply wouldn't leave, and he tried to figure out what it was.
First, there was almost no resistance to their attack thus far, and they had already managed to retake about half of the Industrial District according to the map on his H.U.D.
Secondly, up to this point in time they had only encountered the smaller droids, there was nary a Blast Bot to be seen.
After about another minute of pondering the subject and staring at the progress of his soldiers, Toshiro felt the answer hit him like a ton of bricks.
"Oh my god…" he trailed off, before snapping into action. "Governess!" he called into his helmet mounted boom-mike. "Get on the line to the others, have them pull everyone back immediately, we're walking right into a trap!"
The daughter of Praxis reached a similar conclusion at about the same time, and was already screaming orders out to the other commanders, calling for them to retreat. Unfortunately, Count Veger and the Grand Council tried to overrule her, and the chaos that resulted from conflicting orders was the final nail in the coffin.
&
Let the Cliffhangers commence, and I think I should now pray that I am not torn to pieces by people upset by the ending. Rest assured, chapter eight will deal with just how badly things go south.
Also, if some are you are curious as to why I put an OC in charge of the Freedom Guard instead of Torn, suffice to say that Toshiro is an infantry man, schooled in how to command and maneuver large armies, while Torn, who is a much better soldier than Toshiro, is trained for Spec Ops and tactics the revolve around small squads and groups no larger than twenty or so.
On another note, if anyone is familiar with Shadow Run, I need some advice on how Matrix battles take place, as there will be a scrap similar to those between Vin, yes Vin, and another A.I. construct, and I would be very grateful for details about how those are done.
To that degree, if there are any other ideas, advice, constructive criticism, flames, or the like that you wish to say, please let me know. That said, I hope you have a great week and I hope to see you next time.
Until then, this is Red Mage 04, signing off.