Why hello there my faithful viewers, it's that time of the week again. I hope you all enjoyed Christmas as much as I did and what better way to start off the year then with another chapter of the Chorus Chronicle. Just a heads up, this chapter is no doubt noticeably shorter than previous chapters. I had a bit of a decision to make when it came to the structure of the next three chapters and it was either have it as one big chapter or three shorter chapters. You'll understand what I'm on about soon. Now, on with the show!
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Chapter 13- The Heiress and the Pirate
Weiss continued to sprint down the hallway, making short work of any defences that got in her way. As she turned yet another corner, she was greeted by a hail of machine gun fire. She skidded along the floor, coming to an abrupt stop behind a few ammo crates. As soon as she was in cover, the firing stopped. Yet another set of automatic turrets with motion sensors it would seem, but why? As a main stronghold, she expected it to be heavily defended. This was true for the outside, yet the inside was noticeably barren of any defence. The only resistance she had encountered so far were the guards at the main gates and automatic turrets. Were they that ill prepared or did they just not care for the temple?
Taking a moment to calm herself, she analysed the situation playing in her mind. From what little she saw when diving for cover, there were only two turrets with one either side of the corridor. Both were bunkered down behind a guard which protected them from direct fire but also restricted movement. They could only turn so far before they were halted by their own defence. Something that could be used to her advantage. She checked Myrtenaster's chamber to ensure she could perform the manoeuvre, the chamber filled with multiple Dust types. She continued to check the chamber until a vial of yellow 'haste' dust was slotted into the barrel. There was only a short amount left, so she had only one shot.
She placed the glyph to her left, the clockwork pattern lighting up almost immediately. Moments later, she broke cover, the turrets firing on her position almost instantly. Her aura protected her from the brunt of the assault, but who knew how long that would last. Upon landing on the yellow glyph, she darted forward, too fast for the turrets to even pick her up. She stopped, the effects of the glyph wearing off between the two turrets that remained docile beside her. She took a deep breath as she glanced between the two turrets. She was quick to pierce their electronic targeting systems, rendering them useless. If anyone else were to follow her, she'd rather not have them turned into paste by the twin turrets.
She continued to traverse the hallways, encountering even fewer resistance. She had initially been against the idea of splitting up yet again, but had not voiced her concern. But if they had encountered even fewer resistance then she had, she had no reason to worry. As she turned yet another corner, she was greeted by multiple crates scattered throughout the hallway which judging from the writing on them contained experimental weaponry. On the right wall was an entrance that led into another corridor that appeared to descend into the ground. Then she heard footsteps, two of them, and heavy ones at that. She immediately ducked behind one of the crates and peered around the corner.
There were two Pirates, the first two she had actually seen since entering the complex. One was dressed in what appeared to be a custom made version of the standard uniform the Pirates wore, with what appeared to be a breathing apparatus attached. A pilot perhaps? The other wore the standard Pirate armour but was slightly taller and had multiple white stripes here and there, no doubt a higher ranking soldier, if these miscreants had a ranking system.
"You know the drill, get down to the Pelican and prep for lift off. A group is already down there waiting for us." the Pirate with white stripes ordered, pointing to the small opening in the wall.
"What about the others?" the other Pirate asked, slightly turning to face his superior officer.
"We wait for Locus and Felix but no one else, the others are aware of the plan." white stripes replied, earning a simple nod in return.
"What about these weapons? Should we take them too?" the Pirate asked, causing Weiss to suddenly freeze.
"No, all the essential equipment is down waiting for us. Besides, plenty more where this came from..." white stripes said, causing the Pirate to grunt in acknowledgement before both turned to walk away.
Weiss let out a sigh of relief, but was quick to cover her mouth as soon as she heard both footsteps stop. Had she been too loud? Had they heard her?
"What was that?" the Pirate asked.
Damn.
"I don't know..." white stripes replied, cautiously walking forward. Well, they would find her sooner or later, no point in delaying the inevitable.
She swiftly left her hiding place, Myrtenaster at the ready, and sent a hateful gaze towards the two Pirates. Both Pirates who had until previously been taking a combat position, lowered their stances in surprise, white stripes even having the audacity to grunt in amusement at the sight before him.
"Get to the ship. I'll be right with you, just gotta take out the trash..." white stripes finally said, not even turning to face the other Pirate.
"You got it Jackson." the Pirate replied, turning down the corridor that led to whatever ship was down there.
Weiss set her gaze on to the one called Jackson, Myrtenaster pointed at his chest. Jackson stood back slightly, his hands tensing as they reached for the pistol on his right thigh.
"So, those idiots resorted to sending little girls after us now?" Jackson asked, tilting his head only slightly as his hand went ever closer to the pistol.
"Call me little girl again, and you'll regret it!" Weiss snarled, holding Myrtenaster higher, the tip of the rapier pointed at his throat.
"So the little fish thinks it's a shark?" Jackson laughed, the lack of humour clearly present. "Let's see if your bark is worse then your bite..."
Instantly, Jackson brought his pistol up and fired multiple shots at Weiss. Weiss weaved through the bullets effortlessly and swiped at Jackson, intent on hitting the weaker less armoured parts of his body. Jackson was quick to sidestep the blow and continued firing, only stopping to reload the pistol.
As Weiss continued to dodge and parry the pistol shots, she glanced at the corridor behind Jackson. This was only delaying her, Jackson wasn't a high priority target, the temple core was why she was here. If she could disarm him and then get past him, she could be on her way. As Jackson loaded a fresh clip into his pistol, Weiss swung Myrtenaster in an upward arc, the tip of the blade slicing through the black under-suit and cutting his wrist, causing him to wince in pain as he dropped the pistol.
"Oh you're gonna pay for that..." Jackson seethed as he drew a knife and lunged for Weiss. "Come here!"
Weiss quickly parried the blow and thrust both blades forward, sending them both spiralling into the air. Weiss then quickly slid between Jacksons legs and kicked him over, causing him to topple over with an audible grunt as Weiss caught Myrtenaster by the hilt, the knife following soon after. Weiss smirked to herself as Jackson fumbled about on the floor in an attempt to get up. With no time to waste, Weiss quickly ran forward with the intent of putting as much distance between her and Jackson. As soon as she turned the corner she would be-
FWOOSH!
Weiss halted at the sudden noise as she felt something cold and metal clasp onto the back of her neck. She turned and saw Jackson kneeling on the floor with a device that looked eerily like a pistol in his hand. As she stared at the pistol, she noticed something was protruding out of it...a wire of some form that trailed along the floor up to-
"Oh no..." Weiss whispered as the sudden realisation hit her head on like a truck.
"Get! Over! Here!" Jackson seethed as he clicked a button on the barrel of the pistol.
Weiss was suddenly pulled back by a huge tug that then proceeded to drag her across the floor. Weiss was continued to be dragged along until she skidded to a stop, the clamp on the back of her neck detaching itself. Weiss slowly rose, but was greeted by a metal foot to her chest which sent her flying back into a nearby crate, toppling it over and spilling its contents over the floor. She looked around for Myrtenaster, but found it had slipped from her grasp when she had been kicked and was now behind Jackson.
"You're good, I'll give you that!" Jackson seethed, taking a few deep breaths as he kicked Myrtenaster further away from him and retrieved his knife. "But this ends now!"
Weiss looked around for anything that could be used as a weapon. Her hands instantly went to one of the weapons that had spilled out from the crate she had hit, a long barrelled pistol with golden highlights dancing around it. The weapon felt uncomfortable and not to mention heavy in her hands as she pointed it at Jackson who seemed un phased by the weapon, as if he could sense the uneasiness coming off her.
"Don't panic, you can do this!" Weiss whispered to herself as she continued aiming the weapon at Jackson who was slowly approaching but gaining speed by the second. She pulled the trigger, yet nothing happened. She continued to pull yet still nothing. She checked the chamber of the weapon to see if it was full yet only saw a battery that glowed the same colour as the rest of the weapon.
"That's the problem with experimental weaponry Princess..." Jackson sneered as he came ever closer to Weiss. "Half of it doesn't work..."
Weiss continued to scan the weapon for any fault that was causing it not to fire. She looked at the back of the weapon and her eyes scanned a small switch that read the words 'safety: on'. She quickly fiddled with the switch, twisting it, turning it and pressing it until the weapon hummed to life and the switch read 'safety: off'.
Unintentionally squeezing the trigger, the weapon fired, the recoil sending Weiss staggering backwards as Jackson ducked, the volatile bolt hitting the ceiling and sending sparks all over the place.
"What the-"
Jackson was cut off as Weiss fired another bolt at his feet, causing him to dance comically as he dodged the bolts of energy. Eventually, Jackson was forced to drop his knife as he ducked for cover behind a stack of crates. Weiss continued to fire on his position until the lights on the weapon died down, indicating it had been used up. Weiss saw this as her opportunity to dash for Myrtenaster and dropped the dead weapon in favour of a more comfortable choice.
She stopped in her tracks however, at the sudden movement behind Jackson's cover. It sounded heavy, heavier than usual. Before she could even begin to theorize what was happening, she got her answer. Jackson burst through the crates carrying what appeared to be an experimental Gatling Gun, the weapon glowing with the same energy as the other experimental weapons the Pirates used.
"Drop dead you stupid bitch!" Jackson seethed as he fired the weapon at Weiss. Quickly dashing forward, Weiss rushed for whatever cover she could, the energy bolts tearing apart the area around her.
The barrage stopped as Weiss heard a loud click emanating from the weapon. Taking it as a sign that the weapon was out, she turned only to find Jackson was not phased by the sudden turn of events. Jackson raised the weapon slightly and pulled the trigger again, a large bolt of energy shooting out and arcing towards her. Weiss quickly rolled to the side as the bolt hit the space she had just been standing, obliterating it immediately.
"It has a mortar!? That's not fair!" Weiss screeched as she dodged yet another blast, slowly edging towards Myrtenaster.
"Life ain't fair, deal with it!" Jackson sneered as he fired yet another shot at Weiss, the heiress only just dodging the blast.
Weiss focused her attention back at regaining Myrtenaster. If she could get a hold of the weapon then she had a fighting chance of beating Jackson. Another bolt was fired at Weiss who easily dodged the shot and grabbed Myrtenaster. Now she could finish this.
Weiss charged forward, Jackson firing another shot which was easily dodged by the Heiress. Realising that any attempt to shoot would risk killing him as well, Jackson clicked a button on the handle of the weapon, a large energy bayonet appearing on the tip of the barrel.
"Seriously?!" Weiss shrieked as Jackson casually shrugged his shoulders in response. Weiss sighed as she continued with her plan. The bayonet wouldn't affect her strategy, it was just something to look out for.
Weiss charged Jackson who jabbed forward with the weapon, Weiss barely dodging the blow. Jackson then swung the weapon to the left, Weiss sidestepping the swing, followed immediately by an uppercut with the intent of hitting her in the gut with the butt of the weapon and bring the bayoneted end down on her. Weiss dodged both blows and manoeuvred behind Jackson and struck him in the knee with Myrtenaster, causing him to howl in pain and drop the weapon.
Weiss then delivered a kick to Jackson's back, sending him toppling forward where he crashed into a pile of crates. Weiss waited for any sign of movement from Jackson, the only sign he was still alive being his groaning. He was down but for how long Weiss was unsure. She turned to proceed while she still could but a sudden pain in her right leg stopped her in her tracks.
She winced as she looked down at leg and saw a long thin cut along her shin. Jackson must have hit her after all, no doubt the adrenalin in her body delaying the pain until now. She was grateful the weapon was energy based, the cut having cauterised. The last thing she needed was to bleed out on the floor.
She staggered forward, the corridor just ahead of her hopefully leading to both the core and her friends. She was almost there, nearly sprinting forward as she-
BANG!
Weiss stopped dead in her tracks as sparks and glass fell from the ceiling, the light in front of her dying out immediately. She turned to see Jackson holding his pistol from earlier, the barrel end smoking and now aimed directly at Weiss.
"Move another step, and you're dead!" Jackson threatened, slowly rising as he took deep breaths.
"I'd like to see you try..." Weiss quietly warned, holding out Myrtenaster slowly.
"Nice try kiddo, but we know all about your aura crap." Jackson laughed without humour before gesturing to her leg with his pistol. "That cut on your leg just signed your death warrant, your magic shield can't help you now!"
Weiss silently cursed, she had forgotten about her aura all together in the heat of the moment. The next shot would kill, and something told her Jackson didn't get far in his line of work by being a bad shot. She had a choice, neither one a good choice either. She could surrender and pray that he was merciful, which she doubted. Or she could make a dash for safety, if it wasn't for her leg, she might have made it as well.
Instead she gritted her teeth and held Myrtenaster higher, causing Jackson to chuckle as he applied pressure to the trigger…
"Get him!" an all too familiar gruff voice shouted.
Both Jackson and Weiss watched in utter shock as Sarge, Simmons and Grif charged the Pirate, who dropped the pistol in pure shock. Sarge was quick to tackle Jackson, sending him tumbling to the floor and proceeded to pummel the downed Pirate followed by Simmons kicking the Pirate in the side whilst Grif simply watched on offering moral support.
"Yeah, good job guys! Hit him in the jugular!" Grif shouted as Sarge and Simmons continued to beat Jackson who screamed in both pain and annoyance.
"What? No, you do it!" Simmons retorted as he continued to lightly kick the Pirate.
"Can't, I'm setting a perimeter by the capsized crates over there." Grif quickly replied, strolling over and casually leaning against the crates as he watched the beat down before him.
"What are you guys doing here?" Weiss asked, finally wrapping her mind around the sight before her.
"We're your support, making sure those no good Space Pirates follow you." Sarge replied, who was now kicking Jackson alongside Simmons.
"Okay..." Weiss quietly said as the two red soldiers continued to kick Jackson, who was now huddled in a ball as he attempted to parry the kicks. Truth be told, she almost felt sorry for Jackson. Almost.
"You go on ahead ma'am, we've got this area secured!" Simmons said, giving a quick salute to Weiss before returning to the task at hand.
Weiss quickly nodded and proceeded to venture further down the corridor, the cut on her leg causing her to limp slightly.
"Dammit Simmons! You kick like a girl!" Sarge snapped, stopping his assault as he turned to face Simmons. Truth be told, Simmons kicks were more like 'taps' than the powerful kicks Sarge was delivering. He hadn't seen kicking this pathetic since Grif and him mistook Tucker for Tex.
"I'm kicking as hard as I can sir!" Simmons replied in a rushed tone as he continued to 'kick' Jackson.
With the two red soldiers distracted, Jackson took it as his chance to get away. First punching Sarge in the stomach followed by punching Simmons in the same area, bringing both red soldiers to their knees. Before the two could fight back, Jackson brought their heads together, sending them spiralling backwards. Jackson turned to run down to the hangar, but a trail of yellow bullets stopped him in his tracks.
"Not so fast, cock-bite!" Grif warned, stepping dangerously close to Jackson as he walked forward. "You forget that I'm the one with the alien weapon dumb-ass!"
"What are you gonna do about it, shoot me?" Jackson asked, stepping closer ever so slightly as he spoke.
"If I can be bothered too, then maybe!" Grif warned as he stepped perhaps a little too close to Jackson.
Before he could react, Jackson brought his good leg up between Grif's legs, kicking him right in the crotch and causing the orange soldier to gasp in pain and drop to the floor as he messaged his crotch.
"What the fuck is it with bad guys and my balls!?" Grif shouted as he rolled around on the floor in intense pain.
Jackson merely sighed in annoyance as he limped forward into the underground hangar bay. He was just glad that at least no-one would hear of this embarrassment…
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I'll be honest, that wasn't as short as I was afraid it was going to be… For those of you wondering if I just pulled the underground hangar thing out of my ass, check chapter 3, it's mentioned in the description of the temple. As always, feel free to review and constructive criticism is welcomed. Any questions? Leave in your review and I'll reply in the next chapter. It feels good to back on schedule. I look forward to the new year and the developments that will come with it.
Raging Archon out.