LIX

Flucht

"Die you traitors!" Shimada grinned as he could see the entire building collapsing in on itself, it was a fitting resting place for traitors. It had been close but the second vector craft had made it just in time and with it's support they had been able to deal with their assailant. Between their combined might they had been able to turn the tide and even now the men were swarming over the previously line they were not able to secure.

"Commander we are getting feed from the men up front, they are requesting on how to proceed further. They report no trace yet of the terrorists."

That was good to hear; finally they had been able to crush the resistance put up by them. Now they would just dig out their corpses and then set up a perimeter to anticipate any possible diclonius that might escape from commander Kanbe's operation. It was a shame that he could not be present as he would have enjoyed the mass executions of the diclonius, for a pure and clean world it was absolutely necessary.

They had gotten the confirmation that the DRI had secured Lucy and that had been the signal that Saseba had been waiting for, now was the time to strike. Reports had come back that the DRI detachment had expended considerable force in recovering her and that humans had been injured in the recapture attempt, that hadn't bothered him in the least. If humans had indeed been foolish enough to hide Lucy then they deserved what they had coming and much worse.

Once this operation was finished he would personally take it upon himself to hunt down those human traitors and bring each and every single one of them before court and then he would take care of the last remaining diclonius, they would all be wiped out. All trace of this vile abhorrent mutation would be wipe out in one single glorious onslaught of human justice.

"Have the men proceed with caution. Although we have breached their lines and brought the structure down we cannot be certain that they have been dealt with!" Ah yes once the men would found their bodies he would set to work on that, he wondered if he would just shoot those disgusting diclonius or perhaps have them brought in for a vivisection. Whatever he was going to choose they would not be allowed to live, they were nothing more than vermin carrying a deadly virus.

Under no circumstances could any of the diclonius be allowed to survive the next few days, for the sake of mankind's dominance of a pure and clean world they all needed to be exterminated. All along the coast there were other teams of Saseba standing by in case any stray diclonius were to show up, orders were to shoot on sight. All of it had already been approved off course, after that all that would remain was to dispose of the bodies and to make sure that nothing remained.

"Contact craft number two and inform them move forward to provide cover for the troops, if any of those bastards survived I want them killed on sight!" He was not planning on giving them any chances to escape, he wondered though what had caused for agent Hirano to turn against them. Such a promising career he had in front of him and all he needed to do was just to do his job.

It was a shame but one that Shimada was planning to exploit to the fullest intends to further his own promotion, if anything were to go wrong he could shift the entire blame upon agent Hirano. Already they had prepared the warhead in case commander Kanbe's assault were to be repelled, the entire DRI would be struck with potent biological weapons to silence the resistance offered by them.

Yet for all of that he had kept Hirano's connection to these traitors and diclonius a secret, it would not serve the cause to let others know of information that would not benefit him. Furthermore what would some of the men say if they were to find out about it, no the less people were aware the better his own position was?

Soon this fight would be over and then he could focus his attention to where it really mattered, dealing with that obnoxious plague and to see it utterly eradicated. A single thought surfaced to the front of his mind. "For a pure and clean world."

"Well I think we that a quick prayer to the almighty god is definitely in order, I actually saw my life flashing past me when that ceiling came down." His hand were still shaking and although he was battered and bruised he was still alive. None of them had gotten out unscathed but they were in one piece, it had been a close one and he couldn't offers enough prayer that the floor had actually collapsed underneath them right before that ceiling was about to flatten them.

"Hirano!" Bando grumbled as he crawled forward. "Just shut up for god sake! I swear you talk even more than those horned bitches! Right now I just want to get out of here! I don't want to get bored to death by hearing your pathetic little story on how your life flashed past you idiot! Say one more word about luck, fortune or prayer to fucking god and I will strangle you myself!"

Bando was in a far worse shape than him, he had been hit hard when it all came crashing down and without his right arm he was having trouble of getting past all of the debris. "I just want to kill them all! Just wait till we get back to the surface! I am going to make every single one of those fuckers pay!" He wanted to get revenge at all cost and he was not going to walk away from this fight anymore.

Behind them all came Dreachon still panting heavy as a result of the injuries he had sustained thus far, he had taken the brunt of the damage and the state of his armor reflected it well. Large rents had been torn into it, dents and pockmarks all showed were a bullet or something else had impacted against it.

"So any plans on what to do next, they likely will be making their move towards the last building and that is where you keeping your equipment?"

"We kill them." He hissed in response, the cracked helmet distorting his words.

Bando chuckled. "Now that is something I fully agree with, it is time we stopped being nice and show them what we can do!" He grinned. "I know just the tool for the job but that will mean we need to get to that last building before they do. we need to hurry and get there or it will be the devil's job to deal with those pesky vector machines they brought with them."

Dai was too tired to even make a remark about that, he wasn't going to make a point as this was becoming a case of them or us. Only one side was going to walk away from this fight and that would be the side that killed the opposition, not his favorite option but there remained little choice. he hated that he was being forced into a position where he would need to kill in order to survive, that wasn't him.

"I wonder how they are doing, back at the Inn?" They all stopped at hearing him say that, they had been so consumed in their own little fight for survival that little consideration had been given for what was going on as well, they were all eager to get there and help but unless they took care of the forces up above them they would only run the risk of bringing more trouble.

"Hirano." Bando sighed as his remaining hand grabbed the man's shoulder. "I would be best for you to leave, try and get away from this place and make your way to the Inn and help those brats. Me and Dreachon here will keep them busy and that way you don't need to worry that stupid conscious of yours about taking a life."

Dai objected to that, he wasn't a coward nor could he just abandon the two of them.

"Bando is right, you're the least useful one in this fight, your absence here makes little difference but for those kids your presence could mean a lot. Leave here at the first opportunity you get and stay out of their sight!" Dreachon stepped in as well, now the two of them seemed to have made up their minds. Maybe it would be for the best and in any case he it would allow him to find out what was going there.

"Alright then but don't let me find out that either of you got killed by them, I would really hate to bring that news to the girls." He joked but to neither of them did it sound funny, chances were high that one of them wasn't likely going to make it past this night.

"Get going Hirano and don't let me see your sorry face again!" Bando sneered as he pushed him to the side, the two of them would make their way towards the last building. With a heavy heart Dai watched as they both disappeared, letting out one last curse he turned around and went into a different direction.

The night felt rather cold to the touch, even with her coat on Mayu was still shivering as she made her way to the beach. Right now she wanted to see how Bando was doing, for far too long she not been able to find him and now with everything that had been going one she was worried about him as well. At the very least she wanted to talk to somebody else to try and empty the grief in her heart, even if he wasn't the most open person in the world just having him listen to her would already make her feel better.

Besides he could also help in finding out where those people had taken Nyu, if somebody could find out then it would be him, she was certain of that. All that she needed to do now was to find him but where would she start? The hut had been abandoned by him and although she had been told where she could find him now it was a place where she hadn't been before.

Growing nervous as she looked at the map again it was going to be a longer walk that usual for her. On such a cold night she would rather not be out on her own, she was being torn between her feelings for Bando and the company of her family who needed her the most right now. The only comfort she could find to stop herself from crying was the knowledge that both Nana and Saeko would be inside where it was better for them.

"Please Bando-san be there, I really need to know if you're alright." She whispered to herself, hoping and praying feverishly for his well-being. more tha anything she just wanted to see him, even if it would just be a small glimpse. she would already be satisfied with that.

Even from where she was standing the beach looked far more solemn and deserted than it usually did, guess there wasn't much reason for people to out here in the middle of the night, much less so in the winter.

In the distance she could still hear the sound of police sirens and such, guess the blockades they had erected were still in effect with the police making sure that nobody got past them. No doubt the fire department was also present to inspect the damage that had been caused when the helicopters had crashed. She had seen one go down with her own eyes but even then it had been hard to stand still with it for long enough, she had to focus on helping Kouta and the others.

A flash of light in the distance caught her curiosity; it seemed something was going on further up ahead near the harbor.

The man's jaw cracked as Bando hit hard, toppling over the man fell down. "Take a rest punk!" Well they had made it back to the building but so it had seemed that he first elements of the enemy infantry and right now they were stuck in a close quarter brawl against them. Unless they could deal with these fools first they would not have a chance to utilize what was still stored there.

"Who is next!?" He snapped as he watched the other compatriots standing there, their combat knives drawn they moved in for the kill. He had to laugh at their stupidity thinking that he would be so easy to kill, leaping forward he easily darted the first clumsy stab at him. Spinning on his feet he brought his gun against the man's chest before he pulled the trigger, idiots bringing a knife to a gunfight.

Smashing the other man's face with the butt of the gun it didn't take him long to dispose of that one as well. Looking down he was pleased with having taken down them down in less than a minute. He had lost count at how many he had took out ever since they had reemerged to the surface, these certainly wasn't going to be the last ones.

Taking a glance over at the other side he saw the broken bodies of the others lying there, in the blink of an eye Dreachon had already gotten close enough the last soldier. Bando watched as the man struggled to break free from that iron grip but it was already too late for him, even from where he was standing Bando could clearly hear the man's neck being snapped.

"If you are done with that we should get back to what we came for, we do not have the luxury of wasting time needlessly."

Bando didn't respond, no his eyes had already laid sight upon what he had been after. Still lying there on the crate where he had last left it was the weapon that Dreachon had told him to put down, if anytime was as good to see what it was capable off then that would be now.

"I told you before to put that down! It is too dangerous to be used by the likes of you humans!" In response the building began to shake violently, seemed they had resorted again to throwing stuff at them.

"As much as I would like to argue with you asshole we have a bigger issue to take care off! I am taking this fucking weapon of yours! And you had better just shut up about it!" Grabbing it he took off leaving him standing there. "You want to do some fucking useful then hop in that cockpit and see if you can find out what the hell is happening out there!"

Outside it had already become a mess, it was even worse than he had thought the place would look like; well this section of the harbor was as good ruined. Not his concern anyway as he looked for a good vantage point. Still it should not have come as a surprise to him given the fighting that this place had seen, even it had been a relative short one it had been nonetheless been pretty ferocious and the scars and damage where there to see.

He didn't know what the effective range of it was but the closer he got to one of these vector craft the better he reasoned, now would be a good time to find out if this supped up ammo could handle those vectors. The thought of machines having vectors was revolting to him, to think people had actually been so stupid to use such a dangerous things for their own personal gains. He headed towards the nearest ladder, he needed higher ground to get a clear line of sight.

Reaching the top of the building he could see that the roof was an even bigger mess, most portions of it had already collapsed from the damage it had sustained and he had to watch his steps unless he wanted to fall down a story or two. Picking a spot he placed it down, damn it was proving to be heavier than he had guessed. Seeing one of the damn craft appear from behind a building he asked himself how the hell he was going to load or fire it, this thing was totally different than any rifle he had ever used. Maybe it would not have been such a bad idea to ask for instructions.

"Bando." His earpiece went off. "I take it by now you are having difficulty in operating the weapon, I will take your silence as a yes." He growled but he needed the info anyway.

He didn't waste anytime to reply back to that. "Just tell me what I need to fucking do! For the rest you can just shut the hell up!" Listening to the incoming instructions he went to work.

Yuka felt relieved as she saw both Nana and Saeko walking towards her, she was already starting to feel a little better knowing that they were no longer outside in the cold. "I am so glad to see the two of you, I was starting to worry about you." Giving them both a quick but heartfelt hug she was surprised to learn from them that Mayu was not with the two of them, she wasn't exactly thrilled at finding out that she had left the hospital to go somewhere for the time being.

It took all of her will to stay and not go after her, she did not want to run the risk of losing another family member. "Can you tell me where she went to, I don't want her to be out on her own in the middle of the night? She could get hurt."

"We are sorry Yuka-san but she promised us that she would come back soon." Nana mentioned as now she was feeling guilty about having allowed Mayu to go. Maybe it would have been better after all if she had gone with her, at the least she wouldn't feel guilty.

"Well there isn't much we can do about it now, let's show some trust in her. I am certain that Mayu-chan likely has a good reason for going on her own even when I still do not like for her to have gone out without telling me first. Well can I get you girls something to drink?"

"Ehm Mayu-san was already kind enough to bring us something to drink." Saeko answered her, that didn't take away she really wanted another warm drink just to get the cold out of her fingers. "But another drink wouldn't be too bad I guess, outside it is really starting to get cold. I would much rather stay inside if that is alright with you?"

Yuka almost forget her worries for a moment, hearing Saeko say that brought a smile to her face. To her it felt good to be able to smile even if it was about something rather silly. "Off course it is dear, I too would much rather have the two of you inside for the night. you shouldn't have to be outside in this kind of weather."

Nana got in between them. "Would it then be okay if I got you all a drink?"

Yuka nodded, it was nice of Nana to offer to get it for them but she just hoped that it would not be an excuse for her to go looking after Mayu. She could have told her not to go but the bond of friendship between those two was just too strong. No forbidden Nana from going would have likely made her want to search even more.

Saeko pulled on her dress. "… Yuka-san… will they be fine, I am worried?" Looking down she could tell that what had happened had affected the girl more than she had led out until now, had she actually been keeping all of that inside waiting to tell it to somebody?

"Why don't you come sit next to me and tell me what is troubling you dear, whenever I got sad when I was your age my mother always made time to listen."

Taking her place next to Yuka she began to explain or at least she tried to the best of her abilities what was troubling her. In the end it all came down that she was scared and that she could not understand why Dreachon hadn't been there to keep her safe, why had he broken his promise to her?

"I'm sure there is a reason for why he couldn't come." It was all that Yuka could say but deep inside she shared some of the disappointment that Saeko had in him now, he had promised to do his best at keeping her family safe, he had promised the very same for Saeko and now he had failed them both. She could get over it and understand if there was a suitable reason but for Saeko it almost seemed that everything she had believed in was a lie, the poor girl had a disillusioned look in her eyes.

Hugging her tightly Yuka did the best she could to comfort her but it was going to be a painful moment when she and Dreachon would see each other again.

Resting the barrel once more on the stonework Bando was ready to open fire, it had taken some work even with the instructions on how he needed to operate it. He had decided to ignore any of the warnings that he had been given as he just couldn't care about it, even the mumbling something about the power cartridges having to be handled carefully was lost on him.

Bracing himself as one warning he did plan to heed was that the weapon had one violent kick when it fired, guess that likely explained why it was normal for those with that kind of armor to use it, wouldn't surprise him if it carried some kind of suspensor to compensate. He would need to brace himself and expect one violent outburst.

With just five of those cartridges left he had to make every shot count, he had no idea how the hell those craft were going to react so he would aim for the closest one, brace himself and pray that his shot would find it's mark. Exhaling slightly he pressed the trigger.

The kickback as it fired was greater that he had expected, with a thunderous boom the shot went off, the kick sweeping him clear off his feet. Having lost his balance and grip on the weapon the shot went wide. Lying there on his back Bando cursed at such a wasted opportunity. "Damn piece of crap, that was one hell of a kick."

Crawling back he was nevertheless impressed by the damage it had inflicted, he had missed the nearest vector craft by a considerable margin but the same could apparently not be said for several other vehicles which had found themselves in the projectile's path. The part where the vehicles had been struck or rather affected seemed to have just melted, even the concrete had run molten where the shot had struck.

What kind of ammo did this thing actually use, looking further he saw much to his dismay red stains along the path the shot had travelled, were those the remains of people affected by it? What had actually unnerved him was that some of those stains were a good three to four meters away from the shot, did it really affect at such a distances? Did it just merely needed to barely graze a target in order for it to be affected?

He grinned as he took it all in, with this thing he didn't even need a direct hit, just grazing a target seemed to be already enough to ensure its destruction. Some people really had some damn fine toys, there was just one thing he wanted to try out and that was to know if vectors could block it. This time though he made certain that he braced himself enough for the violent kick.

He did not get the chance as the craft he was targeting had become aware of his position and the threat that he represented, as a massive vector emerged from one of the projectiles he cursed as he ran as fast as he could. A moment later the roof caved in as it came crashing down on top of it.

Mayu stopped as she saw it as well, there was a huge ball of light coming from the direction she was going into. At first she thought it to be firework but then she noticed that it was something else, something was going on over there and it only made her more concerned for Bando's safety.

"Hey where do you think you're going!?" She froze on the spot as she was called out, no she could not be stopped, not when she was so close to seeing if he was alright. Taking another step forward she was yet again called out.

"I am talking to you! Mayu-chan are you even listening!?" Now hearing her name as well she halted, carefully and slowly she dared to look over her shoulder to see who it was. Already dreading to find out who it could possible be she took a few cautious steps back as the person slowly emerged from the shadows.

"Don't tell me you don't recognize me!? It's me Dai!" As he finally strolled into the light she could recognize his face, it was a relief to see him.

"Hirano-san?" She bowed as he stopped in front of her, he sounded almost like he was out of breath. "Where did you come from? Where have you been?"

He gestured for her to give him a moment to catch his breath. "That is a long story but I need to know, has something happened to the Inn? Please tell me that everything is alright?"

Shaking her head Mayu started to explain to him what had happened, the men who had stormed the house, Kouta getting shot and Nyu's sudden outburst that saw men scythed down. She mentioned as well that Nozomi, Nana and Saeko had been hurt, that they had to run to another house to call for help and most of all she asked him why neither he nor Bando or Dreachon had been there to protect them as promised.

Dai coughed, trying to clear his lungs "I am sorry, we all are sorry but we found ourselves under attack as well." He began to explain about the attack launched against them by Saseba forces and how even now the others were still fighting them in an effort to keep them busy long enough. "They told me to slip away and find out what had happened, come on I need to make sure that you all are safe."

"No!" Mayu screamed. "I can't go, I need to make sure that Bando-san is alright, he could die down there!"

Not willing to hear any more of it Dai grabbed her by the arm. "It is too dangerous for you, do you have even the slightest idea what Bando would do to me if I allowed you to get hurt. There is nothing that you can do for him, you'll only get yourself killed. You need to go back to your family, that is more important now for you."

He stopped for a moment to let her understand the severity of what he had just told her. "You are coming with me to the hospital and that is final!" Eventually she gave in; further struggling wasn't going to help her in the least. Besides she did know that for the moment that he was alright, she just prayed that he would make it through.

"Come on we need to go and check on the others, I wouldn't worry too much about them. They can handle themselves just fine, I would rather be more concerned for the poor guys opposing them." He had seen them both in action, if anybody had a chance of making it out of there alive then it were those two. If there was any chance of them to survive, didn't matter how slim or dangerous it might seem he felt confident that those two would make it.

Climbing down the debris and doing his best not to lose his footing he eventually found himself back on the ground, it had been a close one to get down here alright. Damn those things were annoying and certainly not making his job any easier but with his new toy he was certain that he could take them out, all he needed at this moment was a good place from which to take the shot.

"Come on you bastards, I'm waiting for you." He snarled as he rounded a corner, outside it was deceptively quiet but that already told him enough. "A likely place for an ambush." Surely they weren't planning of luring him out just like that but then it would be a shame for all the trouble they had put into it just for him. "Alright then assholes, I'll bite then."

Sprinting forward as fast as he could carry the damn weapon he made it across to the other side, surprisingly nobody had bothered to shoot at him. Reaching the cover of an adjacent building he felt a bit disappointed at that, well it would be their own undoing. Scanning the surroundings he caught sight of the one of the craft, it wasn't the one he had seen earlier but it would suffice.

It just stood there motionless as if scanning the surrounding area itself, now he just needed to carefully select his aim. Taking his place near a broken off portion he lowered it again, now he needed to make sure that he could compensate for the recoil and not having his aim go off like the previous shot. "Just stand still for a moment, don't mind me."

The shouts of men told him that they were coming; it was possible they had seen him during his dash between the buildings but that didn't matter, all he wanted was to destroy those blasted machines. Going through the procedure again in his head he readied it.

Stonework splintered as rounds impacted against them as he was about to fire, a shot grazed the weapon and Bando felt the impact. He cursed as the fire started to intensify once more, they had definitely spotted him and as he took a quick peek he wasn't surprised to the see the craft was now turning around to face him. Likely the bastards who were firing at him now had alerted the crew no doubt, who if they were sane enough would likely do whatever they could do to not let him get off that shot.

Annoyed he got down again as he pulled the trigger, the weapon did nothing, pressing the trigger again and again all it did was making some fizzle noise. "Damn this piece of junk!" Not at a time like this, he couldn't use this kind of shit. Not at a time like this when every second counted.

"Bando what is your situation?" Well if it wasn't the person he needed to talk to, talk about timing.

"The situation is fucked up! That weapon of yours doesn't work, I thought your equipment could handle a blow or two but a single fucking round just grazed the damn thing and now it does nothing!" He waited for a reply, an explanation why this piece of crap didn't work. "This crap of yours is nothing more than a glorified piece of junk! Asshole!

The was a short growl coming from the other side. "Then it has likely hit the condenser at the front." Dreachon described what he needed to look for and then he saw it as well. "Remove it and it will function again but understand that without that component you will not be able regulate the output of each shot, the cells will overload if used to often. Keep your shots at the bare minimum and allow for ample of time to dissipate the excess power"

That was just great. "How many shots can I get!?" It wasn't good to hear that it was one maybe two at most if he would be likely, certainly not more if he fired in rapid succession. "This just keeps getting better and better!" He cursed and ranted, sure enough somebody up their likely had it out for him.

Fiddling with it to get the damn part off but to no avail he reached out and grabbed the nearest slab he could find and bashed it good. A few good blows later and it was lying on the floor while he took aim again, if it was just going to be one shot then he was certain to make sure that it would count. With the part removed he watched as the first craft nicely lined up in the sights. "Say your prayers assholes!" He fired as he pressed the trigger twice in rapid succesion.

"Incoming!" Shimada was alerted by the crew, he flinched as a flare of bright light to his side briefly illuminated the bridge and he turned his head to see what had exploded. Blinded by the sheer intensity it took a few seconds for his eyes to adjust and his vision to return. "What was that!? Where did that light come from!?"

The second vector craft toppled backwards, the entire front half blown away.

Even from where he was standing he could see the metal still glowing bright hot from the impact, geysers of blood and organs spilled forth from the ruptured containment tanks as it crashed to the ground. He watched in utter disbelief at what could have caused such horrendous damage, it could not have been a vector, the front wasn't sliced off but entirely gone.

The edges still burning bright hot was not a good indication, something had just completely vaporized the bridge and slain the crew in an instant. He bit down on his teeth at this latest defiance and foul act by these traitors. To think that they would stoop so low and commit an act so vile was beyond his comprehension and his contempt for these grew more intense. There would be more mercy granted to them anymore from now on.

"Where did that come from!? I want them found before we suffer the same fate! Brings us around and charge the remaining projectors to full capacity!" His orders echoed throughout the bridge but just as the crew were about to carry them out things got far worse. They had wasted crucial seconds trying to asses the situation and now they were going to pay the price for that mistake.

Inside the rocking helicopter it was a rough flight alright, this was her fourth time in one and she hated every second of it. Arakawa yawned as she felt getting sick all over again, she would be glad when it was over and there was firm ground back under her feet. It couldn't come fast enough as far as she was concerned, right now it could simply not come soon enough.

"Can you clowns not fly this thing in a straight line!?" She yelled at this latest sudden jerk of it, she could swear that those pilots up front were just doing this on purpose. Had they not been told on how important this cargo was they were transporting, normal people would have noticed that something was going on when this many armed men were present as well.

Lying there in the middle of the transport compartment was Lucy, they had finally managed to subdue her but from what Arakawa had heard it had come at a considerable cost. Well that wasn't really her concern, right now she was more worried if Lucy had been provided with enough sedatives to keep her out cold for as long as this flight was going to take. The last thing she wanted now was for her to wake up.

There was another jerk. "I told you to fly this crap straight!" Her mood was not getting any better if this kept up, she had hoped that with her capture she could just spend her time nicely back at home but it seemed that the chief had other plans. All personal was being recalled immediately and she was no exception, there had barely been enough time to pack some of her belongings.

"Hey you can you go and tell them to fly more gentle, this is a precious cargo!" She pointed to Lucy as she tried to make the men understand the point she was trying to make. Apparently their dimwitted response didn't give her the impression of being the smartest men they could have picked for the job.

"Shut up!" It was their only reply and her little outburst at that was answered only by having their guns trained at her, seemed they were in no mood to be talked to either. Great so she was stuck in this helicopter not only with incompetent pilots, a sleeping murderous diclonius just waiting to wake up and cut them all to little pieces but now also a couple of trigger happy goons. Could this possible get any worse for her?

"Bunch of jerks, you just wait and see." She kept it to herself, no point in saying that against these men and certainly not when they were still airborne. Oh how she wished that she could have stayed at home but there was at least a bright side to all of this. The DRI had some of the finest labs and equipment in the world, having those at her disposal it would be the ideal place to finish the anti-diclonius birth vaccine and then keep it to herself. It would be her little trump card and one that she would not hesitate to exploit to the fullest of her extent. "Soon the god of the new mankind will be me."

On the other hand she was not looking forward at all in having to face the chief again, for all she cared he and his wrinkly face could just drop dead. Well given that he had Lucy back in his possession there was every chance that he wouldn't bother her for the time being, glancing at Lucy's silent form she couldn't help but feel sorry for her.

To think such a young girl was going to become nothing more than a prey to such a man was horrifying, the poor girl was going to be sexually abused by him and she was in part responsible for it. Well even then it was likely a small price to pay for her finally getting the fame and glory she had always desired.

"Attention we are approaching the DRI. Everybody please brace yourself for landing. We will be landing shortly." Came the voice from one of the flight crew and she was grateful that this hellish flight would quickly be over, in just a couple of minutes there would be ground back under her feet.

With some luck she might be able to keep her stomach's content inside and not vomit like she had done the last time. Holding tight to her seat she waited for the eventual shaking to stop. The last couple of moments right before it touched down seemed like the worst ones of the entire flight, she counted down the seconds until she felt a hard thump when it finally landed on the helipad.

Relieved she got out of the helicopter as fast as she could, finally again solid ground for her to walk on.

It felt like somebody kicked the life out of him, the recoil was far heavier than the previous but he had done it, his aim had been true. He watched with ecstasy as it smashed right into the craft, its vectors proving to be useless, unable to deflect or even slow down the projectile the vector projectors failed in spectacular fashion. shielding his eyes from the blast he had no idea how much damage to it he would have caused but he felt certain that this was going to be more than just a mere scratch.

Slowly as the light that had blinded him died down he saw with much excitement and euphoria that there was no trace left of the crew or of any soldiers that had stood near it, the building further behind it had lost its entire upper section. Concrete, steel and armor ran molten. His moment of triumph was cut short as crackling energy told him that something had gone wrong with the weapon. "OH FUCK!"

"Say tell me if this thing start to crackle that is bad right?"

"WHAT IN THE NAME OF DAMNATION HAVE YOU DONE TO IT!?"He heard the shouting coming through the earpiece, maybe using that slab wasn't such a good idea.

He wondered if he had accidentally caused some kind of malfunction or short-circuit when he had fired it. "JUST ANSWER THE FUCKING QUESTION! IS IT BAD! FOR THAT MATTER THOSE POWER PACKS OR WHATEVER YOU CALL THEM ARE STARTING TO GLOW!"

"YOU FOOL! I WARNED YOU! YOU HAVE CAUSED THE CELLS TO OVERLOAD, THE CONTAINMENT FIELD CAN NO LONGER CONTAIN THE ENERGY! THEY ARE GOING TO CRITICALT! RUN AS FAST AS YOU CAN AND DON'T STOP!"

Oh hell that wasn't sounding good, wait if he recalled right Dreachon had said that each pack carried the output of a small fusion reactor, so wouldn't that mean if he said erupt that he meant explode. Okay so a small nuclear explosion, that really wasn't going to be good.

Seeing the other craft standing there he did the next best thing he could come up with, he simply tossed it in its direction before legging it. Best place anyway would be to take shelter behind one of the structures of the sea.

"So tell me, how big is the blast radius going to be!?" He sprinted as fast as his legs could carry him, no longer caring about the odd soldier he bumped into every now and then, he ran like he had never run before. "Perhaps I should also add that I still had three of the cells left in it!"

"IMBECILE! A SINGLE CARTRIDGE IS ALREADY ENOUGH TO WIPE OUT A CITYBLOCK! MEET ME IN THE HANGER NOW!"

So that made it like three city blocks, oh hell there was going to be trouble alright, forget about taking shelter. He just needed to get his ass out of here fast, going faster he nearly reached the hanger. This was going to be one hell of a day to remember, provided he was going to make it out alive.

"Bando!" Dreachon was already waiting for him. "Get that ass of your moving or you will be reduced to mere atoms, we don't have time for idling! Emperor alone knows when the containment field will suffer a catastrophic failure!"

"Well let's not waste it then on idle chit-chat, do you need to get anything done because I would really like to get out of here!" He was ready to leave at a moment, if what Dreachon said was true they couldn't get away far enough from it.

Leaping from the cockpit he landed on his feet. "I am done here, I have raised the shielding for the ship but I do not know if they will hold, we had better be somewhere else."

"Then we should get going and fast, our best option is the make it for the sea, at least that should shield us from the initial blast wave. I just hope that thing doesn't come with any nasty radiation."

And then they heard the first detonation as the field lost its integrity. Not saying a word they burst into a sprint.