Summary/Disclaimer: Time for another chapter of Diamond in the rough. Enjoy the 4200-word chapter. I don't own Gears of War; Epic Games and a few others do.
King Ravens was something Mountain Squad preferred over Minotaurs. Not simply because they were fast, but because they didn't get slowed down by terrain and they were armed enough to put down a Corpser or Brumak with some effort.
The entire squad seemed to look around, too interested in what was going to have to happen at the time. Their transport soared overhead as the crew made sure their weapons were all loaded and everyone was ready for their assignment. None of them spoke as all of them had known what their assignment is.
"All right, everyone is going to load up the Minotaurs and get the civilians evacuated, everyone whom ISNT is going to be shooting the damn Swarm." He stated to his men whom all shared nods.
"Swarm, Locust… Do these freaks get off on calling themselves after bugs?" One of the Onyx Guards asked as their leader readied his Lancer V3.
"Ask one before it dies. Until then? Just stick to shooting them, Gary, your live longer." Their leader stated before he shook his head.
"Sir, was that a damn joke? I thought you hated those." Gary added to which he was given a middle finger. "There's the old Captain. I was beginning to think you got soft when you got promoted, sir. There's a lot of that going around." Gary added before he shook his head.
"Maybe I've just heard enough of your crappy jokes to where I can count on my hands how many times you've used it, Corporal." He stated as he rubbed at the nape of his neck, too amused as to what would happen next.
He knew they were here and all of them was to have to do at the end of the day. There was a moment of amusement before they prepared for the next thing.
"You know they have better guns, Captain." He heard before the captain leaned forwards.
"And a damn bullet is a bullet, Sergeant. Besides, I like the lancer, a giant chainsaw gun is a giant chainsaw gun." The captain responded to which the others laughed.
"I forgot Hunter was always happy to have the best weapon," Gary stated as Captain Hunter turned to him.
"Only because you don't know what the hell is going on," Hunter stated before he shrugged and looked around at everything.
He seemed to have to prepare for now. This was such a fun thing to have to do next. He was so tired of now and they had such a mission to have to do next. This wasn't any weirder than what they normally dealt with, yet? They had so many more problems to have handled.
There was a lot more to have to question before now. So much red ink and paperwork. It bothered Hunter, but he knew damn well their entire job was red damn ink.
They were soldiers on the frontlines of a war they weren't supposed to be fighting against a damn enemy they weren't even supposed to be fighting to begin with. If anything? They had been owed at least some damn answers if nothing else from their commanders. He needed something to latch onto and make his own.
"Sir? We're getting out now." Hunter heard before he blinked, too thrown off by how well this had been going for the time being.
He nodded and motioned for his squad to move out as the rappel lines were sent down and each of the squad started to deploy into the city, their craft starting to take off as each of the elite COG soldiers were dropped fully to the ground.
"Ok. We need to get going." Hunter stated before he sighed and rubbed at the nape of his neck. "Spread out. The Minotaurs are going to be here soon and we need to make sure we're gone by the time half of them are loaded up." Hunter said before he shook his head.
He knew more than his men what the hell was going on. They had a job to do still and he was owed to help the rest of his men handle that. They had plenty of work to do and so little damn time that they could put it in.
"What's the play then? We deal with the Swarm while the KR deals with extraction?" Hunter heard to which he shook his head.
"No, form a line and then clear the way for them to get done with the evac," Hunter stated as he sighed and shook his head with some annoyance. "Everyone spread out. We get this done, we go home and everyone gets to relax, ok?" Hunter asked to which there were several nods from this.
They all damn well knew what was coming and how to get the job done. Anything less and they'd not get home, anything more and it'd probably amount to being overkill at the moment.
Hunter moved up to the next piece of cover and slowly yet surely poked his head out, unsure what was here and waiting for them. It was clear there was something here and yet he wasn't seeing it.
"What are we even looking for?" Hunter heard before he sighed.
"Civilians and ammo, orders are to clear both out before more Swarm get here," Hunter said while he swept his gun around. "We're going to get going in 1 hour according to command. Nobody gets cozy, this isn't a vacation." Hunter said to which he got a chuckle.
"We both damn well know Mountain missions always end up with things like a vacation." Hunter heard as he rolled his eyes. "Remember last time? we ended up chasing a Corpser underground. Gary wanted to ride the thing to the damn depths." Hunter heard as he shook his head.
"I remember. Just like how you bring up Halvo Bay all the damn time. You damn well know how well that went for the Onyx Guard. My old man isn't proud of that day." Hunter said as he sighed.
He damn well knew that day was a hell of a nightmare for every gear that was involved in it. Hunter wasn't even born by then but his father seemed to constantly bring it up.
"Hey, Loomis was a jackass, kid. He's a fool who didn't know when the hell he was beaten, shouldn't let him stain our rep." Hunter heard as he shook his head and then looked around the room with such a wave of anger in his features that it drove him insane.
He was shaken from his thoughts as the ground began to crack. They looked down at it before more cracks began to form in the ground.
"E hole!" Hunter heard as he rolled to the side, looking down at the hole as it began to cave inwards.
Rock and stone were sucked downwards as the earth where the hole was collapsed. Hunter already had his finger on the trigger and awaiting the Swarm to come barreling out.
"Should have brought back up." He heard as he rolled his eyes and opened fire as the first Drone popped their head up.
"We are the backup," Hunter said as a half dozen bullets ripped through the Swarm soldier and sent him falling into the hole.
Another smashed through the concrete and forced the squad backward into the town. Hunter watched as more drones started to emerge, roaring at them as he, Jenkins, and Gary all opened fire, hails of tracer shells firing from their weapons as bullet casings began to spread across the floor.
The first few drones dropped dead to the ground in the hail of gunfire as the soldiers all looked up, too interested in what to do next.
"Spread out, every check corners and make sure to bring civilians to the convoy, anyone who isn't there is getting left behind," Hunter ordered as he sighed, thinking of what was left was all too much for now.
He didn't know what else was coming for now. He had too much to do at the moment. He was too unsure of his thoughts and yet the Lieutenant was ticked off to the end of the day. Hunter damn well wasn't some bootlicking minion for the First Minotaur.
"Why the hell did she send Onyx Guard to one of the settlements like this one if she's got dozens of Gears already here," Gary asked to which he frowned.
"Because she wants the brownie points from looking good in public. The woman only seems to care about her approval rating when it comes down to it." Hunter said before he turned to Gary. "Gary? Seal up the E-Holes and then follow us. Jenkins? We're on civilian duty, all of you bring them to the convoy. I'm going on ahead." Hunter ordered before he sighed.
"This is going to be a bloodbath, sir, ain't it?" Jenkin questioned to which he shook his head.
"There's a lot more to focus on, Jenkins, that isn't one of the damn things," Hunter said before he turned to him. "But yes. That is probably it, we knew what will be happening today." Hunter stated before he clicked his tongue.
They had a lot more plans when it seemed to which he shook his head. The Onyx Guard was all too prepared for the worst, there was to be a reckoning today as more and more guards.
"Where the hell is the rest of the convoy?" Hunter asked before he shook his head. "We need to get going when it's all over, lancers up, we got more Swarm coming," Hunter stated before he shook his head.
"More damn drones ahead!" Jenkins stated as 2 more E-Holes opened and more swarms seemed to climb up from the depths of hell.
He questioned what their possible options were as Hunter emptied his other half of the magazine into a half dozen drones, downing three before he shook his head and charged forwards. He advanced into battle with Jenkins as the man brought up his gnasher shotgun to blast another.
"There's always too much of these damn SOBs to just gun down, aren't there?" Jenkins stated before he seemed to have to prepare for now.
He continued to slowly blow through the rest of their forces, revving up the chainsaw of his lancer and then slamming it into one of the soldiers as he sawed through them. Mountain Squad was here to clear a path through their ranks. He knew more than anything that something was coming and just what was going to have to prepare for.
They had so much more coming towards them as more drones slowly started to emerge. Hunter and Gary slowly started to retreat, dodging bullets as they slid behind a chest-high brick wall.
"So, going to be one of THOSE days, ain't it?" Gary heard as he turned the corner and slowly started to open fire.
"Name a damn day where it ISNT like this, Corporal," Hunter stated before he slammed another magazine into his weapon. "Ok, we're going to cut through the Swarm, get to the town hall and huddle the civilians there until the convoy arrives," Hunter ordered to which Gary hummed.
"That before or after we end up fighting half a damn army of the swarm?" Gary questioned as the two Onyx Guards share a look.
"After we drop artillery on them and dance around them." Hunter joked before he stood up and gunned down another drone before a bullet whizzed under his arm. "Mountain, clear the damn street," Hunter stated before he continued to open fire.
He hadn't seemed to have focused on the swarm before he moved upwards. He knew what they had more and more forwards. They had more concerns to think about besides just more and more Swarm. He had plenty of bullets for the Swarm and if not? Well, he'd kill plenty of soldiers when it came down to it.
"We're trying to cut through them as fast as we can," Jenkins stated before he shook his head. "There's more of them than I can shoot," Jenkin stated to which he sighed and then looked down at the ground.
"Can I tell you how crappy this is?" Jenkin stated before he shook his head. "Why the hell are there so damn many of them here? Why?" Jenkin asked to which he could only be greeted with more and more gunfire.
The group of four was driven backward. Elite as Mountain Squad was? All of them damn well knew the Swarm had the numbers and training to match them. It didn't matter how many of them they killed, they'd just end up coming back with more and more numbers and drowning them in soldiers.
Still? They damn well weren't going to give a single inch without effort. Hunter revved up the chainsaw, turned, and then cut one of the drones in half before kicking the corpse to the ground. He looked at the body before he, Jenkins, and Gary opened fire as bullets lanced around them.
"Hold a damn line." He said before they heard the sounds of rotors and the king raven flew overhead.
"I got this one, Captain. You guys owe me!" He heard before the helicopter's forward-mounted machine gun opened fire.
The rounds from the gun ripped through a dozen drones and chopped them up like fish at a sushi stand. The others retreated, falling back into the city as the helicopter circled.
"Thank you, Eagle 2," Hunter stated before he shook his head. "We both know that there will be more of those SOBs coming in to give us problems," Hunter added to which he shook his head.
He didn't know what to have said, what to do… Hunter sighed and looked at his shaken squad before deciding to get the show moving and moving in the right direction.
"All right, we're going to go to city hall, the documents we need will be there… Everyone is going to shoot every damn grub we find until they're either a corpse or dying." Hunter ordered before he put a hand to his radio. "Eagle 2? Get me eyes on the convoy and tell me how long we have until their here." Hunter stated before he shook his head.
"And what about everyone else?" Hunter heard as he turned to the soldier.
"We save whom we can and get as many people here as possible… Gary? You take anyone you can to the convoy, see if they can get some guns from the armory." Hunter ordered before he shook his head. "The First Minister's orders are crap. I'm not throwing lives away for a few seconds of cover." Hunter added as he sighed and started to march towards city hall.
If the woman wanted her damn papers? She'd get them. He still wasn't going to treat soldiers and civilians as expendable for any reason.
"Sir? We've got reports of the convoy arriving in 5 minutes, scans show there's more of the Swarm trying to come up. I'll stay on station long as I can, can't promise anything when they break out the bigger guns." He heard as he nodded to himself.
A Swarmak would only need one damn good hit to render the King Raven a smoldering wreck and it was clear they had no real support, no armor, no infantry, nothing… Not even the Hammer of Dawn which might have turned the tide of battle and such, it was clear for all their facts, one that remained was the Swarm still had damn near enough power to reduce the human race to ash.
Hunter clicked his jaw against the roof of his mouth, utterly annoyed more than anything at these damn orders and whatever stupid pathetic annoyance of power she attempted to climb upon.
He'd damn well be losing any composure if he was to have this all go the way it should. No, he'd get some damn answers from her after this one way or another. It was what was owed for slumming it into the hellscape that was here. There were no damn words on his mind rather than making him, his men, and whatever civilians they could get fine.
Hunter strode up to the city hall doors which had been locked up, perhaps to allow people to take shelter, perhaps a base for whatever people had been in the way… However? All it was to him was an obstacle as he slammed his chainsaw into the building and started it, sawing through the door and lock as if it hadn't existed.
Gary and Jenkins watched the Onyx Guard officer then slam his foot into the doors, throwing them off the hinges and putting a decent-sized hole in the wood.
"Eagle 2, what the hell does the First Minster need?" Hunter asked as he snorted, engaged purely by what to have to do next, it just didn't at all know what to have done for the time being.
"Document in the Mayor's office, look in his desk… More swarm just showed up… Convoy is going to be here any minute." Hunter heard as he sighed, too unsure of himself.
"Gary, get the damn convoy started and out of here. I'm going to get the paper… Eagle 2? You take the damn thing back after we load up on civilians, we aren't leaving till we're full." Hunter ordered to which he heard from the last member of the team.
"That ain't orders, Captain." He heard as he rolled his eyes.
"They're mine, Damien. I'm not going to let a city burn the hell down just so she gets some stupid fancy paper." Hunter ordered before he shook his head. "Fall in line or go find another squad, Sergeant. People aren't expendable." Hunter stated to which he shook his head and looked around with anger.
Despite all the crap on his mind? Hunter was not a stone-cold soldier. He'd put the face of someone who didn't care on, but it was just that… A face, not his, and damn well not something he'd just allow with the few seconds of silence when it came to it.
He was interrupted by the fact of the matter was a screech, a horrid thing that he hadn't yet seemed to have found when it came down to it. There was just more here than he expected and he didn't know who it was who uttered it.
He found the papers inside the desk, papers that had been crumpled or perhaps used for such measures. It was something he didn't at all understand. However? He damn well didn't care at the moment when it comes down to it.
He tossed the damn drawer and pocketed the papers only to see a snatcher and Gary come running, it was clear they had been outmatched and outgunned. Civilians labored behind them which only served to add additional problems for
"Command, need backup, one of those snatchers… F*** it." Hunter heard as he found the blare of metal to be brought upon it.
Hunter watched as a Minotaur slammed into the creature mid-leap. It ended up slamming it into a parked car as the driver, another Gear, rolled out, tagged the thing, and lifted her enforcer SMG before motioning for a squad of Deebees in the truck to move out.
"Damn…" Hunter said before he got on comms. "Gary, you good? Who the hell is that?" Hunter asked as the explosion from the grenade went off which was heard loudly over the radio and on the street.
Hunter damn well had a lot of respect for a soldier that gutsy. He pondered who they were for a second before now.
He didn't know but he wanted to. He wanted to understand it all when it came down to it. They had more on their minds when it came down to it.
It was clear who the damn soldier was? She had been a pretty damn good soldier in the COG army. They knew what they were doing and they handled their job well. It was a better thing than it had come down to it.
"Commander? We're going to need a second. Busy dealing with evac… I'll bring the documents back if you want." Hunter heard before he shook his head before he sighed to himself.
"No, we're helping the evacuation." Havoc stated to which there was a few seconds of pause.
He said nothing. He had no reason to. The First Minister wasn't going to let him save civilians? That damn well was too bad, because he planned to do so.
They had more problems to have done for the time being. It was clear now more than anything and he wasn't going to have let them go anywhere he didn't want them to be. He wasn't going to let them get out of control.
Hunter was purely ready for whatever the damn fallout would have been. It wasn't going to end the way she wanted, it'd not have ended properly either… No, if anything else? The COG was going to protect people, they could have his damn job if they wanted, he wasn't just going to turn his back on the people whom he had sworn to have helped.
He marched out the front doors before he looked around. He could see more drones attacking as they attacked the convoy more than the Deebees and the gear.
Hunter watched as King Raven flew overhead. He'd have wished they have returned to base. It was all too damn clear one good hit would have turned the helicopter into scrap metal and they'd neither have the air support to hold the swarm back nor would they be able to.
Hunter watched one of the Deebees collapse, shattered into junk by a drone which he quickly put down with a burst of gunfire which ripped through it. Hunter was back into cover as more gunfire peppered the damn wall next to him.
"Onyx guard? Damn, First Minister must want this town." He heard and looked to see the woman from before behind cover and firing out at the drones.
Hunter didn't tell her otherwise. He didn't feel like lying, to him? This was what he had signed up for secret soldiers or not. The Onyx Guard had stood for the COG before and they'd damn well stand now. if he ran away? He'd be busy letting their problems get stronger and stronger. Who the hell would the papers help? Who the hell did it deserve to help if they left dozens of corpses behind of their own? The war with the death of countless people on their minds?
Sure, he could do that… But Hunter was a soldier who had a duty to his people and the COG. That was something else for now. It was clear that such a move wasn't going to clear it out for now. it was clear more or less such issues had only served to have cleared it out for now. it wasn't going to have been easy for now. They had more and more problems and Hunter wasn't going to be someone whom he could contain for now. He'd need to get it over for now when push came to shove.
It wasn't going to have mattered anytime soon. It wasn't going to have started to matter much for now. He wasn't going to be able to relax. If nothing else? These moves weren't enough to cut it.
Hunter blindsided a drone and slammed his lancer into its stomach, cutting and sawing through them as if they were pork at dinner. It reminded him very much of such a thing anyway. It was clear the drones were going to pester them for now one way or another, they needed more and more firepower to cut it or else nothing would have gotten done.
It wasn't going to have prepared for now. It was a lot more of a horrid thing that needed to end. Hunter sighed before he slipped into cover and then looked around before he tilted his head before looking around.
It wasn't going to be easy to defeat the Swarm today. Yet? This wasn't going to be something he could do without reinforcements. If someone stripped away his rank and training? He'd be just a soldier with a gun and some armor before he shook his head.
"Mountain Squad? We need to start moving civilians to the convoy." Hunter ordered over the radio before he shook his head. "We need to get going, attack them, and draw them away from the convoy," Hunter ordered before he emerged from cover
Author Notes
Phew. Another chapter is done! I want to point out that the next chapter will be in 2-10 months and will be 900-6500 words and such. The next chapter will be in delayed a bit and will show more of the battle for the city. Until then, Lighting Wolf is out!