The Will of Revenge

by Gamer83888

Fifteen years have passed since the event that changed history. Flare Prime, under the guidance of United Nations, prospers and develops. It's nations, united under the UNSA Andromeda Branch banner, look into bright future. However, old enemies long presumed dead or missing return to bring chaos. A new war is on the horizon and the outcome will decide the fate of billions of lives.

37. Part 5, Chapter 5

Hello, good to see you back in The Will of Revenge. Last time we've seen each other, we witnessed Dora, Maddie, Fenis and Simon finally reaching the Soutlandian C.Z. and a rather…embarrassing situation falling on Fenis, before he had equally painful meeting with unknown aggressors. We also witnessed a secret meeting between Nina and Tim, as well as the start of Battle of Obsidian Mountains, the last line of defense UTDF has left. How will it all unfold in the future? Read to find out.

Chapter 5

August 13, 2166

18:53

Unknown location

He didn't know how long was he unconscious. And he didn't really care. The only thing he cared for, was to finally wake up and find out what the hell happened and who almost smashed his skull in. He was actually surprised he was still alive, although that was still not really certain in his eyes. He might have been as well stuck between life and death, or maybe there was no afterlife and only thing that was left, was eternal darkness. He really wanted it to not be the case. He really wanted to believe there was something on the other side.

"Wait, what am I thinking about?"he thought."On Falmart, they have literal Goddess of Death ruling over an Underworld. Ugh…"

He could feel the breeze on his face. He could also see the rustling of leaves. Singing of birds. Yup. He was still alive.

Now that he made sure about that, the time has come for the next step: opening his eyes. His eyelids started slowly opening, although for some reason, it was surprisingly hard for him. Still, he had to do it, to make sure where he was and what situation was he in. If he was caught by Sons of Sadera, then he was completely screwed. They would probably either torture him to death or simply throw him into the nearest mass grave. He shuddered at the thought.

Or, worse, they would actually find it funny to have some 'fun' with him. He feared there were some people like that. He shuddered again.

Finally, he opened his eyes and looked around. He was laying in a shallow pit. Excellent start. He tried moving his arms and legs and it was then that he noticed, that he was tied up. Not only that, but he had a piece of material wrapped around his head and put in his mouth.

"You fucking serious?!"he shouted to himself.
If there was one thing Fenis would do in this situation, it would be shouting at Simon for another of his stupid jokes.

But it was not Simon's fault.

And it was not a joke.

His life was in danger.

And he didn't even know what would happen to him.

He also then felt a slight sting of pain coming from his nose. He must have had it broken. Probably because of what they hit him with.

"Oh, you're awake."

Hearing the voice, Fenis immediately tried to look towards the voice's owner, but he was standing outside of his eyesight's range. This only made him more irritated.

"Well, seems like he didn't have his neck snapped."same voice said.
"Told you."same voice said again.

Fenis frowned. What the hell was going on here?
"You told me? I was telling you. You were telling we're keeping a dead guy here."
"Uh, no. I was telling you he was alive and you were telling me his not. But look! Leaving and breathing. Like I told you. Yes."
"You're so full of yourself…"
"I am? Look who's talking! Idiot!"
"Moron!"
"Imbecile!"

"You have such a face, that no girl would love you!"
"You idiot, we're twins! We have the same face!"
Twins. That would explain why he heard the same voice. But it still didn't answer his question about who kept him captive!

"Hey, you two!"a new voice joined in.
"What?"the twins asked.

"Are you arguing again?"
"No!"
"I hope so! Now come here! We're talking about what to do with the prisoner!"

"Coming."

Next, in whisper, but still loud enough for Fenis to hear, the twins said to each other:

"Idiot."
"Ugly bastard."
"You…!"

And then, still bickering, the two left, leaving Fenis to his thoughts.
"Well, at least I know that I have at least three captors, certainly more."he thought."But it still doesn't solve my biggest problem…"
And this problem, was known as tied wrists and ankles. He tried to loosen then up, but they were tied so hard, that he was surprised blood was still reaching them. Whoever tied him up, must have had an impressive strength.

Resigning to his fate, he waited for what was going to happen.

August 13

18:54

Governor's office, Emloy City, Emloy

Artillery pounded the western part of the city for a whole day now. Immediately when enemy forces were spotted ten kilometers away from the city, evacuation was ordered from said areas and districts, but that didn't lower the casualty rate. Sons were firing straight on refugee convoys trying to leave the city's limits, littering the roads with burning civilian wrecks. Even now, glow of exploding shells was visible from the top of the governor's office building.

Diablo El Caesar, acting governor of Emloy since the founding of the first colony on the planet, stood at the window looking out towards the western edges of the metropolis. The unstopping chain of explosions, accompanied by their explosions, was literally giving him nightmares, even though it's been only one day since the start of the attacks. It was actually surprising, that the office wasn't targeted first.

"What are you thinking about, sir?"

Diablo turned and looked at the person who spoke. It was general Palenios, commander of Falmartian forces on the planet and one of his closest advisers. General was an old veteran, serving back under Molt. However, when the last Emperor demanded all his troops to converge on the capital in the final days of the War of Flare Prime, Palenios was one of the few who refused to comply with the order. After Sadera fell and new government took power, Palenios was the first to pledge allegiance to Pina and Government in Exile. After that, he accepted the changes in nation's military and policies as one of it's biggest supporters. He believed, that the rot that troubled the Empire had to be healed and that UNSA and Coalition were the best way for it to happen. He wasn't wrong. He was put on a trial for war crimes, like every higher ranking imperial officer that was left alive, but he was found innocent and was allowed to return to his life. There, he joined the new military and continued his career in the new Kingdom of Falmart and was appointed the commander of the armed forces on Emloy.

Diablo smiled.

"Just trying to come up with a solution to our…predicament."governor replied."But this is why I called you here, right?"

Palenios, Ishikage, some other officers and colonial politicians that were all called for the meeting looked at each other. Diablo wanted them all to come see him to come up with the next moves regarding the current situation.
"It would appear so, sir."Ishikage said.

"So."Diablo said, approaching his desk and sitting behind it."I listen. Is there anything we can do to prevent the fall of the city?"

"As someone who hates lying, I won't lie."Palenios said."If some miracle won't happen, I'm pretty sure the city will fall within three weeks. And this is the positive scenario."
"And the negative one?"Overseer of Public Safety asked.

"We will wave the white flag within the next five days."
Some people shuddered hearing that.

"But I truly believe in capabilities of our troops."general continued."We held Sons for a long time now. If what prisoners said was true and the enemy plan assumed Emloy and other planets will fall within a few weeks and the entire Andromeda Branch will be forced to surrender by the end of June, then I can say it openly: the Blitzkrieg they planned ended up being a complete failure."

"Still, they have the upper hand."one of colonels present said."They can resupply. We can't."
"I have to agree with that."Ishikage said."We're almost out of ammo for and fuel. We don't even know, if we have enough for these three expected weeks."

Diablo sat and listened.
"Not to mention, that the longer the fighting continues, the more the people will suffer."another politician spoke."We already have nearly two hundred thousand unconfirmed and fifty thousand confirmed civilian deaths across the planet. We already expect that in Emloy City, if enemy decides to surround the city, we will have nearly half a million deaths. Just in this city."
"As of now, we didn't spot any enemy units trying to surround the city."another officer spoke."Yes, some scouts were sent to scout our positions outside of the agglomeration, but nothing we couldn't deal with. Besides, the fighting just started, so enemy first needs to make sure we don't have any nasty surprises waiting for them."
"Which we don."someone said grimly.

Diablo looked at Palenios.
"General, can you explain to us in detail how our situation looks?"he asked.
"Yes, sir."old general said, standing up.

Diablo clapped his hands and the windows immediately went dark. A hatch in the ceiling opened, revealing a holo projector. It turned on and showed a map of Emloy City and it's surrounding area. General, in the meantime, pulled out a pointer and stood in front of them map.

"As you know, enemy force continued to approach the city from the West. In that direction, many kilometers behind their lines, is their original landing zone. But that's not important. What's important, is that because of that, enemy troops that were tasked with capturing the city are present only on the western edges and suburbs."

As he said that, a red stain appeared on the hologram, together with rectangular symbols representing enemy units.

"We expect them to act using the same strategies and tactics as before: they will gonna throw everything at us. With no regard for their soldiers, considering most of them are clones. Fortunately, we have the home advantage on our side."

Blue rectangles, representing allied forces, appeared. As many noticed, with dismay, they were in minority, opposed to the overwhelming numbers of the Sons.

"So, what did you come up with?"Ishikage asked.
"It's nothing fancy."Palenios waved his hand."We all know how bloody and tiring urban fighting can be. So why won't we take it to the extreme?"

Some people started murmuring, while others risen eyebrows. Others, on the other hand, showed actual interest.

"Go on."Diablo said.
"Our idea is simple."Palenios continued."Enemy still expects a quick and easy victory. They will not pay attention to losses. But there is still a way to slow them down. Our troops will, of course, try holding their positions as much as possible. Whenever situation demands it, they will be ordered or can decide to fall back to secondary positions. Seeing this, enemy will certainly try taking these abandoned positions. And when this happens, we will detonate enough explosive to completely block off the street and force them to divert their attack axis."

As he was saying that, the map was constantly updating. After some time of fighting, allied units were shown retreating to positions further back. Then, when this happened, animated explosions appeared in the places they used to be and paths became blocked. Everyone then saw some enemy units being diverted to other attack axis again and again. Finally, there was only one such axis left.

"And when the time is right…"Palenios said.

Then, allied units on the map started converging on the single attack axis of the Sons. They slowly took positions on the sides of said axis and then, fell on it from all directions. Red symbols disappeared one by one, as the column of attacking units was being eliminated from fighting.

Everyone looked at it, eyes glued to the hologram.
"So, really nothing fancy."Ishikage said with a dose of skepticism.
"This was the best we could come up with."general said."We had some other ideas, but after performing some simulations, this came out as the one with biggest degree of success."

"Still, better than nothing."politician said.

Some people nodded, agreeing with him.

"You know that this won't solve the problem?"colonel said."That even if this works, enemy will still be able to get reinforcements and renew their offensive?"
"We're aware of that."Palenios nodded.

Colonel nodded, too.
"So. We're not hiding it anymore?"he asked."We're just buying ourselves time at this point?"

Silence hung in the room, as people looked at each other. Some started squirming, others pulled on their collars. None of them said it our loud, but they all knew it. This plan was just another way of extending the agony. Even Palenios knew it. The city will fall and Sons will quickly execute them all and anyone opposing their rule. Maybe some will be allowed to live, but only to be put in prisons where they would die of starvation.

"Well."Diablo said."Isn't that our national trait?"

All eyes turned on him.
"What?"someone asked.
"I mean, those of you who remember the War of Flare Prime should know."governor continued."Sadera was on lost position. We had an enemy, who maybe wasn't stronger against us in numbers, but they had superior technology. Now, there is no technological difference and it's the numbers that are deciding the fate of this planet. And yet, we managed to hold the enemy so long, that they had to change their plans. They wanted easy and quick victory. By now, we were supposed to be gone and reduced to a footnote in history."
Governor spread his arms.
"And yet, here we are, still sitting here, discussing how to postpone the inevitable. We might be all that's left of Andromeda Branch. The last bit of resistance in already conquered space. But you know why we prevailed till now? Why did we manage to slow enemy down so much? Why, instead of negotiating terms of surrender, we still try and come up with plan of defense? With no forces strong enough to retake the last parts of the planet?"

Military officials and politicians stayed silent. They waited for the rest of what their leader had to say.

And Diablo didn't mean to keep them waiting.

"We're doing it, because we're stubborn to our cores. And this national trait of ours certainly poured onto our citizens that came from Milky Way. We simply don't want to admit defeat. And this is what drives us to reach lengths, that would normally be unreachable by normal mortals."

Everyone stood there and listened to Diablo's words. Finally, someone started clapping. Then another person. And another. Soon, everyone except few were clapping. Diablo shook his head.
"I didn't ask for ovations."he stated.
"But that was still a good speech, sir."Palenios said.

"Well."Ishikage, one of the people who didn't clap their hands, said."I guess now we have no choice but to go with this."
"Yeah."another non-clapper said.
"So, if we really want to postpone our inevitable end and make Sons pay as dearly as possible, let's get to work, people!"Diablo exclaimed.
"Yes, sir!"military officials said.
"Yes, governor!"politicians said.
"That's it. You're dismissed. General Palenios, can you stay for a little longer?"governor asked.

Everyone started standing up and leaving. Palenios waited until everyone left and approached Diablo, who stood up again and approached the window. Palenios stood beside him and the two of them looked at the explosions visible at the western edges of the city.

"As I just said, that was a good speech."the old commander said."Have you prepared it beforehand?"
"Nope."Diablo shrugged."It was all spontaneous."

"They say, that such speeches have the biggest power to motivate people."
"I think it's true. But for how long will this motivation last?"

They fell silent again and looked at the ongoing shelling for a few seconds.
"General?"

"Yes, sir?"
"Did you ever wonder, why Sons didn't simply bomb this office to make sure I'm off the board?"

"I'm actually wondering it myself. Usually, eliminating enemy leadership is one of the fundamental steps in such invasions."
Diablo nodded.
"I think I just realized why."
Palenios risen an eyebrow.
"Really?"
"Yeah. I'm pretty sure, that Zorzal simply wants to execute me myself. He won't let anyone have the glory of killing 'traitors'."

"That does sound like the old Crown Prince."

"Indeed. My brother will never change."
"Never."

And with that, Palenios left, leaving Diablo alone with his thoughts.

August 13

19:01

Emloy City's suburbs

Seyi sat, her back leaning against the leg of the Jester King. In her hands, she held a cup of coffee she got from a local coffee shop. The business was not operating, but it wasn't closed either. Owners left in a hurry, hearing of the impending SoS' assault on the city. This is why some defenders decided, that owners of the shop would not bother if they…grabbed themselves a cup. Coffee machine was still operating, so it wasn't that hard to get it. So the soldiers simply went in and started making coffee. Seyi had nothing against it, She thought, that maybe thanks to that, they will be more energetic when the battle comes.

Michael was at the second leg, twisting his wrench and trying to repair the actuators. One of the legs was clearly acting up and in a walking tank, something like that was not allowed. One not working leg could be the doom of the whole vehicle.

They learned it during the battle near New Kom.

Memories from that fight still were lively in Seyi's head. It wasn't their first loss of Type-63 in combat, but it was the first time their troops fell into enemy hands. She shuddered at the very thought of what could Sons do to the crew of the walking tank.

"Sey?"Michael spoke.

"Hm?"Seyi replied.
"Can you fetch me that B-89 bolt?"

"Sure."

Captain stood up and approached the box with spare parts. She might have not been such a good mechanic as Michael, but at least she knew her way around spare parts. It was almost pathetic to see the box with a few small parts left. At the start of the war, they had several hundred kilograms of spare parts. Now, only a few dozen. If it continues like that, they will simply stop fighting not because of enemy guns, but because their tanks will simply start breaking down on them.

But…that was probably to be expected.

She grabbed said bolt and handed it to Michael.
"Thanks."he said and quickly started replacing the old one.

"So, found the reason why the leg is not working well?"Seyi asked, taking a sip of her coffee.

Michael nodded.
"There was a shrapnel stuck in the actuators. It didn't do a lot of damage, but it blocked the movement slightly. Because of that, the leg didn't carry the entire pressure put on by the main chassis and could fall apart. The bolt also got loose and broke in a way, that prevented me from repairing it."

Seyi shook her head.
"What would we do without you?"
"Oh, don't worry, I'm pretty sure Eiko would find some way to have fun with…"
"I'm talking about the mechanical stuff, you idiot!"
"I know, haha!"

He started laughing and Seyi could not help herself but to laugh with him.
"Better?"he asked when he stopped.
"A bit."she replied.

"Good. We couldn't stand you walking around all gloomy and grim dark."

"Sorry, but you know…"
"Yeah. Commander's pressure and survivor's guilt. I know it."

Seyi titled her head.
"You do?"
Michael stopped working and stood up, turning to her.

"Yeah. I can't say I know how hard it is to be in charge, but I know it's hard to go on with a feeling that you made it out in one piece, while others didn't. You feel that it should be you, that should be burning in that wreck, not all these guys who had families waiting for them at home. Stuff like that can be hard to think about."

Captain looked at him, not knowing what to say.
"What?"Michael asked."I have coolant on my face?"

"No, it's just…"Seyi couldn't find appropriate words."It's the first time I hear you talking so seriously, with no hint of smirk in voice."

"I feel offended."He pouted."If you think that I'm only 'haha, penis, haha, booba', then you're wrong."

She lifted her hands in a defensive gesture.
"I didn't mean that. It's just…"She looked for a word."I never heard you speak so wisely."
"You should hear me talking with Eiko sometimes."Driver scratched the his neck with his wrench."Sometimes, we end up talking like fucking philosophers. You'd be surprise how smart Eiko can be when she wants."

"Honestly, I've been telling her that since I met her."Seyi said.
"Saying what?"Eiko asked.

The two looked in her direction. Together with Yuzu, they went to help some Marines carry weapons and ammo for the upcoming battles. Now, they returned just in time to hear the two end their conversation.
"Just trying to cheer each other up."Michael replied.

Eiko risen an eyebrow.
"…Carnally?"she asked.

In response, Seyi threw her, thankfully, almost empty cup of coffee at her. It bounced off of her chest and landed on the ground, spilling the rest of it's contents on the floor.
"Sorry, I didn't want to…"Seyi immediately started apologizing.

"No, no, it's my fault."Eiko replied."I guess we're all on the edge a bit."

"A bit?"Yuzu asked."More like we're halfway through having our heads cut in half."

"At least she's still herself."Michael giggled.

Yuzu just rolled her eyes, approached the tank and started climbing on top of it, towards the turret.

"I'll check our ammo. Or whatever we have left…"she said, sliding into the hatch.
The other three looked at each other.
"Well, I guess we're gonna have very busy time ahead of us."Eiko said.
"Pretty much."Seyi shrugged."Depends on what boss and others will come up with in the governor's office."
"I hope that with something smart."Michael said."At least I hope that they will negotiate some kind of surrender, where prisoners get to be treated well."
"I don't think Sons will abide our conditions…"

Michael risen an eyebrow.
"Who said it will be us who will be prisoners?"

Hearing this, the three of them giggled. As much as they didn't want it, they knew, that this situation can end in only one way. But they didn't want to say it out-loud.

"Alright, enough of the chit-chat."Seyi finally said."Finish what you have to do and let's wait for further orders."
"Yes, ma'am."Eiko and Michael said.

With that, Michael returned to working on the leg, while Eiko also crawled into the turret to check her aiming devices.

Seyi, in the meantime, grabbed the cup from the ground. She looked at the spilled coffee on the ground and sighed.
"Let's hope there's still some coffee left in the coffee shop."she thought.

She knew that overdosing caffeine was bad, especially for cat-people like herself, but if she wanted to stay sane for the rest of this god-forsaken war, she needed any kind of help she could get.

August 13

21:21

Unknown location

They came for him just five minutes ago. Hearing their footsteps closing in, Fenis quickly opened his eyes, but everything was pitch black. His eyes started slowly adjusting to the darkness, but it didn't help much.

He still saw three people approaching him. He couldn't see their faces, but he could see their shapes. Two were pretty normal looking. Meanwhile, the third was taller than both of them. He was like a beast in comparison to them. But that didn't change anything. One of them came up to him from behind and blindfolded him. Next, he felt as he was picked up, probably by the big guy, and slung over his shoulder like a bag of potatoes. He then carried him somewhere, Fenis had no idea where, but when they put him down, he felt a forest floor. There was a minute of silence, except the sound of numerous people moving around him.

"So."a voice finally spoke."Time to finally deal with your case."

The voice spoke in Saderan. Yup. He was captured by Sons. His life was over.

"What, can't you speak or something?"another voice asked.
"Maybe he simply doesn't want to?"
"Or maybe it's because he's gagged."another voice spoke, this one female.

Fenis frowned. Since when were there women in SoS' army? Or maybe she was just one of the rare ones?
"That doesn't change the fact. He's probably an SoS spy. We should take him out."yet another voice said.

This situation was starting to get weirder and weirder by the second. What the hell was going on here?

"We still should discuss this. What if he's a deserter? He might want to join us?"

"Or maybe, he's a Sons' child soldier, which they sent to try and find any signs of sabotage activity behind their lines? He wasn't there by accident."
"This is really not an easy choice…"

A debate erupted among his captors. It was all in Saderan, which he didn't understood, but why would they do it? Maybe they thought that no matter what would happen, he wouldn't do anything about anything what was being said here?
"Alright, calm down!"

After this shout, everyone went quiet. Probably this was the leader.

"Let's put it to a vote."he said."Who wants to not kill him?"
Silence and sound of people rising their hands.
"Who wants to kill him?"
Again, silence and hands risen. Commander sighed.
"Alright. We will kill him."

Hearing this, Fenis felt complete panic and started wiggling without control. He also started screaming and shaking his head. Honestly, of many ways he thought his life would end, this was not one of them.

"Sorry, kid. But we can't take any risks."one voice said.

"I wouldn't think about it."

Fenis stopped wiggling and he felt hope in him. He knew that voice. It was Maddie!

Apprentice then heard weapons being risen. Probably the captors grabbed their weapons and pointed them at Maddie.

"Ah, ah, ah. I wouldn't think about it."

This voice was also known to Fenis. Simon!
"Or it can get bloody."

Dora!

Silence fell among the people surrounding Fenis as he felt himself being dragged back. Right then, the blindfold was removed from his eyes and he could see again, seeing a face with bright white teeth smiling at him.
"Well, can't go without troubles for long, do you?"Simon asked.

Fenis tried to say something, but the gag was still in his mouth.

"Whoops, forgot about that."

Simon grabbed the gag and removed it from Fenis' mouth. Fenis took a deep breath and said:
"Simon, I will never again call you an idiot!"

"I keep you by word."Simon said, as he started to untie Fenis' wrists and ankles.

As this was happening, Maddie kept her riffle pointed at the head of the leader of the group.
"Now, we will take our friend and you will not try chasing us."she said."Or I will let Dora do her magic."

Commander looked at the read head with the sword in her hands. Something was really off about her. One of her eyes was slightly…glowing? Same was with the sword she was holding. He really didn't want to risk anything. He could clearly feel some kind of aura coming from them. And he didn't like it.

He sighed deeply.

"By Orlog's ass…"

Maddie blinked.
"What did you just say?"she asked.
"What do you mean?"
Ranger thought for a few seconds. Orlog was a skandian god, which was usually used as a way to curse on something. But why would Son of Sadera know it? Let alone say it…in skandian. Unless…

Maddie lowered her weapon. Only now did she recognize the voice.
"Hal?"she asked.

"Wait…Maddie?"captain Hal Mikkelson, commander of the Heron Special Operations Squad of Skandian Armed Forces, asked, looking back at her.

A sudden, stunned silence fell over the area, as both Rangers, Dora and Herons looked at each other, only now realizing what had actually happened.

Silence was interrupted by a Bernese mountain dog that just came out of hiding.

"Kloof!"it barked, wiggling it's tail.

Later…

After going through the awkwardness of the situation, which was highlighted by Heron SOS' scout and jokes specialist, Stefan, and his prolonged 'Awkwaaaaard', everyone started calming down and tried to get a better grip of what was actually going on. Weapons were laid down and both Rangers and Herons sat down.

"Once more, sorry about that."corporal Edvin, Heron's resident medic, said, trying to tend to Fenis' still broken nose.
"You don't have to apologize."Fenis said, then glanced at another Heron."But someone else has to…"

Corporal Ingvar, heavy weapons specialist of the team, cleared his throat.

"I really thought you were someone from SoS."he said.
"I'm wearing an Araluenian uniform."Fenis pointed out.
"My sight is not the best."Ingvar retorted.

Fenis only growled.
"Sorry."Ingvar finally said.

"Thanks."Fenis replied in less aggressive tone.

Next, he looked at Maddie, Simon and Dora.

"How did you find me?"he asked.
"Well, simple."Dora said."After you didn't come back from your hunting trip for a long time, we sent Simon to check up on you. He returned with your sniper riffle and told us, something wrong must've happened to you, because you would never leave a weapon laying in the bushes like that."

"Really?"This question was directed towards Simon.

Other Apprentice shrugged.
"I might be lazy and such, but I do pay attention to your habits."he said.
"It's not a habit, it's a rule."Fenis replied."Never leave your weapon on the ground, to not let dirt get into it. Otherwise, it can malfunction when you can need it the most."

Simon shook his head.
"Still yourself."he said.
"We also found some tracks that allowed us to determine where did your captors take you."Maddie joined."Thanks to that, were were able to track them down."
"Although we feared, that you might've changed position already."Dora added.

Hal nodded his head, stroking the dog's head.

"Good that you intervened when you did."he said."We were this close to killing him."
"Please don't remind me…"Fenis shook.

"So, now, to more important things."Maddie said."What are you doing here?"
"I could ask you the same?"lieutenant Stig Olafson, Hal's deputy and second-in-command, asked, leaning against a nearby tree.
"You know that Royal Rangers were deployed within Skandian C.Z. at the start of the invasion?"Maddie asked.

Herons nodded.

"We were sabotaging enemy back lines, but ultimately, they caught us. From our squad, only me, Fenis and Simon survived."she explained.
"Then what about her?"corporal Lydia Demarek, squad's sniper and Ingvar's wife, asked pointing at Dora.

"We saved her from being taken prisoner by Sons after her fighter crashed. She's been with us since then."
"And what about this sword?"corporal Ulf, one of the twin members of the squad asked.
"Hey, I wanted to ask first!"corporal Wulf, his brother, exclaimed.

Ulf was about to say something, but seeing Stig's look, he quickly fell silent. Same with his brother, who also noticed lieutenant gaze.
"And these two same as always?"Maddie asked, pointing at the twins.
"Yeah."Hal sighed."Always arguing about smallest things. Some things never change…"

"Something must stay the same so something else could change, right?"Maddie asked."But returning to the question about the sword…it's along story."
"I hope you will tell us someday?"corporal Jesper, Heron's hacker, asked.
"Yeah, but now, let's focus on you. What are you doing here?"Maddie asked.

Hal patted the dog on the head. It gave a satisfied growl.
"Well, it actually began a bit like your story. We were sent behind enemy lines to disrupt their operations. However, stuff happened and we were cut off from our allies. Now, we're marching North, towards Leender."captain explained.
"Really? Just like us."Simon said.
"Why not to Erak City?"Dora asked.

"We stated, that it was too risky."Stig said."Sons were pushing towards the city, so we knew, that we will have to deal with a lot of enemy checkpoints, road blocks and other stuff like that. So, we thought, that if we could reach Leender, it might be safer."

Rangers and Dora nodded their heads.
"We actually thought of the same."Maddie said."We knew it was closer, but decided to go North, just to be safe."
"Even for a bit, it wouldn't be so hard to reach Erack City."Dora said.

All eyes turned on her.
"What do you mean?"Simon asked.
"There was a counteroffensive."Dora replied."Operation: Axer. It resulted in near annihilation of Sons' troops marching on Erak City."

"WHAT?!"everyone exclaimed.
"Why didn't you tell us!?"Maddie asked.
"Because there was no reason to."Dora replied."Last reports from that direction said, that Sons were again pushing towards the city and were relatively close. And I'm pretty sure that by now, Erak City had already fallen into SoS' hands."

Everyone's enthusiasm immediately vanished.
"So, that offensive was a failure?"Hal asked.
Dora shrugged.
"Not really…"she said."It was meant to slow down the enemy and if possible, take back some territory. The only place where it straight up failed was Nordian C.Z."

"Good to know."Stig said."Also, returning to what these two wanted to ask."He pointed at Ulf and Wulf."What's with this sword?"

All eyes looked at the blade Dora held on her lap, polishing it with a rag given to her by Lydia. The blade was giving the same slight, green glow as always, even though there was actually no light falling on it, due to the fact that Herons wanted to make their presence known as little as possible. Only source of light working was Edvin's flashlight, which he helped himself with to fix Fenis' nose.
"Well…"Maddie started."It's a pretty…weird…"
"And interesting!"Simon added.
"…and interesting story…"she finished, scratching the back of her head.
"Tell us then."Hal said.
Maddie took a deep breath.
"Alright. So…"

Here, she proceeded to recount in detail everything that happened during the visit to the Enean ruins under the planet's surface, with Dora, Fenis and Simon occasionally adding their two cents to the whole thing, to make it clear. Herons only listened, trying to comprehend what they were hearing, especially the more fantastical moments, but they didn't think they were weird. After all, they came from world, where magic was pretty common. On one continent only, but still.
"…and then we left and sealed the hole."Maddie finished.

Skandians looked at her and the other three.
"Wow. That was…"Jesper said.
"…actually pretty amazing."Edvin said.
"Ouch!"Fenis yelped.
"Sorry, I got distracted!"Edvin replied and refocused on the Apprentice.

Hal, Stig, Lydia and others thought of what they just heard.
"You said you found it in Enean ruins on the planet?"Hal asked.
"Yes."Dora nodded.
"I might not be well known for my knowledge of ancient civilizations…"Stig said.
"…or your lack of it…"Simon whispered.
Stig decided to ignore that.

"…but what was Enean structure doing on a planet in this galaxy? Weren't Eneans from Milky Way?"he finished.
Dora nodded again.
"Yes. However, in the vision I received, they spoke of so-called 'Intergalactic Bridge'. I believe it was something similar to our Intergalactic Gate."she said.
"So Eneans had capabilities of traveling between galaxies?"Ingvar asked.
Pilot shrugged.
"There is a lot we don't know about them. Besides, they were much more advanced than any current civilization in Milky Way. So I wouldn't be surprised if they had such a tech at their disposal."
"You also said they mentioned something about the so-called 'Quions'?"Lydia asked."You know who were they talking about?"

Dora shrugged.
"No clue. First time I heard of them. Why do you ask?"

"It's just…"Lydia rubbed her chin."Remember Alantians?"

Everyone shuddered. Until this day, that name send shivers down the spine of everyone, not only those who were there. A super advanced civilization that stayed in hiding for centuries on Flare Prime, only to reemerge again near the end of the War of Flare Prime. They equipped Sadera and Soutland with their weapons and nearly brought an end to Coalition forces. Only by a sheer dose of luck did they get defeated.

But before that, countless lives were lost. Dora didn't knew all of them, but some were carved in her head. Jackie. Liz. Tru'Prot. Louise. She didn't want to seem too full of herself, but if not White Squadron and their Falmartese friends and their attack on palace of king Tyrranius, Alantians would probably hunt down the remains of Coalition forces and assure their dominance on the planet.

All of this seemed like a bad dream now. A dream, which persisted and didn't want to disappear from your mind.
"Don't remind us…"Ulf said.
"Yeah, agreed…"Wulf said.

"When these two agree, you know, that they really don't want to talk about something."Ingvar said.

"Sorry, but…Remember when we caught some and took them on questioning?"

Herons nodded.
"When they spoke of their history, they spoke of their gods and their disappearance due to some ancient enemy."Lydia continued.
"My friend, Liz, came to similar conclusion."Dora said.
"Now that you mention it…"Hal said."But question is: were these gods the Quions, or were the Quions the ones who destroyed these gods?"

Herons and Rangers shrugged.
"It was just a theory."Lydia said."I don't think it's relevant now."

"Yeah."Maddie said."By the way, why did you got rid of your uniforms' markings?"
"To make it harder for the enemy to recognize us."Stig said."In case we were captured."
She nodded.
"Makes sense."
Hal rubbed his chin.
"Maddie, Dora."he said, turning the two's attention.
"What is it?"Dora asked.

"I would like to show you something. Take your weapons and come with me."

Two women looked at each other, but listened.
"The rest of you"Hal turned to the others"stay here and make sure nobody suddenly finds you."
"On it."Skandians and two Apprentices said.

Captain also showed Kloof to stay here. Dog listened and laid down on it's paws. Next, the three disappeared into the night.

Later…

Hal, Maddie and Dora were walking for a few minutes, watching to make as little noise as possible in the forest. All around them, sounds of night wildlife were being heard as local animals hunted their prey. If not for their current situation, this scenery might have been seen as beautiful and scenic. But now, it only reminded them, how lonely they were here, behind enemy lines. They couldn't even make contact with civilians. Not only because the population on the planet was small. But because they didn't want people to be met with harsh repercussions of helping them.

Hal was walking in the front, Maddie in the middle and Dora closed the procession. Twigs and leaves creaked under their feet.

"What is it?"Maddie finally asked.
"We might have found a solution on how to get to Leender quicker."Hal replied."You might like it."
"I hope so."Dora said."While I do like working out, walking for such a large distance is not to my liking."

Maddie giggled slightly, while Hal smiled.
"At least you're sense of humor is still working."he said.
"I've seen a lot in my days. Stressful situations like these no longer work on me."pilot explained, shrugging.

"I believe you."captain said.

Right then, he put his fist in the air, telling them to stop. All three immediately fell on their knee.
"Behind these bushes."Hal said.

Next, the three started slowly walking forward, crouching. Hal gestured to them to come closer and they listened. Next, he took one last look around to really make sure they were not observed in any way and turned to them.
"Take a look."
He grabbed the bushes and slowly parted them. This allowed Maddie and Dora to peek through and see what was he talking about.

What they saw, was a rather small town placed in a small valley. Even though it was small, it was still big enough to fit a few thousand inhabitants. There were some taller and smaller buildings, with several streets and one, main road going through it from South to North. In every visible window, there was no light. Still, there was a glow coming from the town. It also seemed to be relatively intact and untouched by fighting.

The two women looked at Hal.
"What about this town?"Maddie asked.
Herons' leader pulled out a pair of binoculars and handed them to her.

"Look for yourself."he said.

Maddie grabbed the object and looked through it.

And immediately realized, what was with this town. On it outskirts, she could see a bunch of people. But these were not residents or anything. They were wearing uniforms and walking around with weapons. Some lacked parts of equipment, but Maddie was not stupid and easily recognized who they were.
Sons.

"I don't like it."she said."Where are all the people?"

"Probably carried away to some concentration camp, or worse."Dora said, also realizing what they were observing.

Hal nodded.
"You're not wrong. We came here before they did. We wanted to go there and talk with locals, but before we did it, Sons came, loaded people into trucks and took them away. Don't know where, but I probably don't wanna know."

All three shuddered.

Maddie looked around for a second, before noticing something. There was a group of Sons, standing on the outskirt of the town, on the main road. But they were not alone. They were accompanied by some…machines? Creatures? The only thing she knew, was that they creeped her out. They had modular body build, arms ended with sharp looking blades and long heads with pincers. Whatever they are, they were not good.

There was also another group, but they had arms behind their heads and stood with their backs turned to Sons and their 'creatures'.
"They have some prisoners!"Maddie gasped.

Hal and Dora didn't seem to react.
"Didn't you hear what I just said?"Ranger asked.
"We did."Dora said.
"But I fear, that we can't help them now…"Hal said.

Right as he said that, prisoners started running. The three observed from far away, as the five prisoners ran as fast as they could. Sons, however, didn't seem like they wanted to do something about it. The 'things' accompanying them, however, were different. They stepped in front of them and stood in line. Maddie frowned. What were they doing?

She got her answer, when pincers of these things glowed gray and shot out disks of condensed energy. These disks made the distance between the prisoners and it was the end for them. One got decapitated. Other got cut in half. One got his legs cut off by the disk flying at him. Another lost and arm and last also got decapitated. When this was done, Sons' soldiers quickly approached the dead or dying prisoners. Those who still lived received a shot in the head. Next, soldiers carried the bodies back to the town, while pincer creatures fell on four legs and walked away.

Hal, Dora and Maddie could only watch.
"Motherfuckers."Dora said.

"What even were those things?"Maddie asked, shaken by what she saw.

"We had some run ins with them."Hal said."They are some kind of machine. Sons use them to guard prisoners and make sure populace acts well."

"I guess it's another thing from their great 'benefactors'."pilot guessed.
"Probably."

The two women looked at Hal again.

"Why exactly did you bring us here?"Dora asked.
"Look over there."Hal said, pointing.

Maddie turned her attention in that direction. There, she saw a football field, turned into a parking lot for military vehicles.
"A lot of Mastiffs, some tanks and cars…"she said.
"Exactly."Hal nodded."And we're gonna steal some."

"What?"the two asked.

"We will try and sneak in there, steal a vehicle or two and leave."captain explained.

"I don't think it's gonna be that easy."Dora stated."Especially with these things there."

"We have a plan. We've been waiting to strike for three days now. And we wanted to strike tonight. But…"

The two risen eyebrows.
"But…?"Maddie asked.
"But you appeared and now, we have to probably wait a little bit, until your companion which we mistook for a spy recovers."
They shrugged.
"I think that Fenis will actually like to move a bit. How long did you hold him tied?"Maddie asked.

"He was unconscious for a whole day."Hal replied.
"Yeah, he would probably like to move a little. And his nose will probably not make any problems for him."
"So, yeah, it would be cool if we could join you in your night attack."

Hal shrugged.

"If you say so."
'"Nice. Do you know how many of them are there?"Dora asked.
"We observed around two hundred. Maybe more."captain replied.
"We can make it work, I guess. Let's get back to the camp and go over the plane you came up with."Maddie stated.
"Who gave you command?"Hal risen an eyebrow.
Maddie just smiled. Hal sighed.
"Alright, let's go and tell the others."

The two nodded and followed Hal as he left the area. They quickly made it back to the Herons' camp. There, they asked if Fenis and Simon wanted to join them in planned night attack on nearby Sons occupied town. Simon agreed immediately, while Fenis was more reluctant, but ultimately agreed. He understood, that there was no reason to argue. He made up with the Herons, accepted their apology and the group quickly went over the plan, including Royal Rangers and Dora in it. Actually, there wasn't much in the plan to do. Some of them had to set up a distraction to pull Sons away from the football field, so others could go and secure the vehicles. Lydia and Fenis would stay on a higher ground and cover them and when Sons get distracted, they had to join them at the vehicles.

When everything was set and ready, Herons, Rangers and Dora gathered their stuff, covered all their tracks and went to make some problems for the occupiers.

August 14

00:32

Raston, Soutlandian C.Z.

Private Scythe, one of the never clone soldiers sent to the frontlines by Erecan scientists, never really liked his nickname. It was given to him by some other clones, after they forced him to kill several captured civilians by slashing their throats open. He thought, that they shouldn't do it. That they were sent here to liberate people, not to kill them for fun. But they didn't listen and under threats that they will personally give him to Dahvii, he finally agreed. He then dug the grave, in which the bodies were hidden while the other clones laughed.

Still, he couldn't stop thinking about it. He knew he was created to fight and kill, but killing people who you were supposedly liberating just seemed…wrong. He just couldn't tell where did his empathy come from, but he just wasn't a fun of things like that.

Currently, it was his turn to patrol the outskirts of the town. At least something that could help him focus on something else.

"Hey, Scythe!"someone called.

Scythe growled. He really hated that nickname.

He turned around and saw the same group of clones that really liked to torment him. They were standing in the alleyway between buildings at the outskirts of the town. They were clearly drunk, or maybe even drugged. Which was nothing new when it came to SoS' army.

"What do you want?"Scythe asked.
"We wanted to take you for some fun!"one of them shouted back.
"Yeah, come on!"another said.

Scythe shook his head.
"I have patrol duty."

"So what? There is no enemy in sight for leagues!"

"But there can be enemy saboteurs."
One of the clones, their leader named Cutthroat, scoffed.
"Like that's ever gonna happen!"he said."Come on, we have some fun to entertain us!"

Scythe felt disgust. He knew exactly what he meant by 'fun'. When population was being 'evacuated', as many called it, they were allowed to keep some women as 'entertainment'. Both clones and non-clone soldiers enjoyed it. Except Scythe. For him, it was completely immoral.

Not to mention, that everyday since their arrival, he had to watch them bury a body of a girl which resisted and got killed for it. And he also heard that by now, most girls that were left were in a state, which would classify them as nothing more than vegetables.

He shuddered and stopped a vomiting reflex.

"No, thanks."he said.
"Your loss. More for us!"Cutthroat laughed, giving out a guttural laughter.

Others laughed too and went away. Scythe shook his head and returned to his duties.
"Band of bastards…"he murmured.

Once all of this was over, he would make sure they would face punishment. Something like that could not be left without…

Something rustled in the bushes nearby. Scythe immediately pointed his weapon in that direction. He grabbed his radio.

"This is private Scythe."he said.
"What is it, private?"commander of his company asked.

"Possible threat. Moving to investigate."
"Understood. Report once you check it."

"Copy."

He turned the radio off and slowly started approaching the bushes. He gulped. He didn't participate in any fights yet, so this could've been his first contact with the enemy. Enemy he knew was ruthless and cowardly. If Scythe wanted to see their fall, he had to be ready for anything from their side.

The bush was slowly coming closer. Scythe wondered, how many enemies could there be. Now that he thought about it, he should have asked for some support. But on the other hand, if it was a false alarm, he didn't want to get rebuked for starting a ruckus over nothing. That would not end well for him.

He gulped one last time and said:

"Come out with hands in the air! Now!"

His voice cracked. Not a good sign.

The bushes rustled again.

"I said, come out!"

No response again. More rustling.

At this point, Scythe started to feel a bit of fear, as he didn't know what was waiting for him. But if he wanted to perform his duty, he had to do it. He slowly reached towards the bush, to move it out of the way…

A small shape jumped our of the bush, right under his legs, making Scythe yelp in surprise. When the light of his flashlight landed on the shape, he saw, that it was one of local creatures. Small, six legged, ferret-like animal. It looked at him with it's four eyes and let out a short hiss. After that, it darted in opposite direction. Scythe watched it go, after which he let out a relieved sigh.

"This is Scythe."he said into the radio.

"Report."
"Nothing to worry about. Just some local fauna."

"Understood. Proceed with your duties."
"Affirmative."

Scythe let go a sigh of relief once again. He really should work on his bravery. If he continued to be scared of everything like that, he will…

An arm reached out from behind a bunch of bushes and grabbed him. Before Scythe could say anything, the arm pulled him into the bushes. Within seconds, he found himself in a strong grasp, with two arms holding him by the head, one of which was covering his mouth, making him unable to shout. Scythe's eyes quickly darted in all directions, before they settled on a figure in front of him.

He easily made out the fact, that he didn't wear SoS' uniform. Which could only mean, that it was an enemy.

The figure then put one of it's fingers on it's mouth, making a 'shhh' sound. Next, an unpleasant crunch was heard, as Scythe got his neck twisted by the strong arms holding him. Next, he lifeless body was put down on the ground.

Hal looked at the dead Son and then at Ingvar.

"One down."captain said.
"More to go."Invgar replied.

Hal then turned towards trees and bushes further away from them.

"Come on."

As he said that, the rest of Herons, minus some, Maddie, Simon and Dora stepped out from behind the bushes and some trees. They approached the other two, crouching, not paying attention to the dead Son.

"That went well."Dora said.
"Yeah, that little fella came to our aid at the right moment."Hal said.

"I didn't know you could move so silently, big guy."Simon told Ingvar.

Large man smiled.

"I learned from the best."he replied.
"Nothing else needs to be said."Simon smirked.

Hal turned to the group.
"Everyone here?"he asked.
"Yes."Maddie replied."Everyone accounted for."

"At least everyone that are here."Edvin said.

"I'll check up with the others."captain said.

He tapped his in-ear communicator.

"Jesper, Stefan."he said."How is it on your end?"
"Distraction set up and ready to go."Jesper replied."We're currently moving towards you."
"So be careful not to shoot our assess off."Stefan added.
"Alright, hurry up."

Next, Hal changed the channel.

"Lydia, Fenis?"

"We're in position."Lydia replied.
"We have clear view on the vehicles on the football field and nearby area."Fenis said."We'll take care of anyone that could see you."

"Understood. Just be careful to not get detected."
"No need to worry about that."

With that, Hal disconnected and turned to the rest.

"Let's go."he ordered."Stay low and move slowly. Keep to the shadows."

The group nodded. Hal nodded back.

He slowly rose from his knees and stepped through the bushes. He quickly scanned the area with the barrel of his assault riffle and signaled to the rest. They followed him and left their hiding spot and quickly approached the nearest building and hugged it. Next, they started moving slowly through the alleyway. Hal was, of course, leading. Herons, Rangers and Dora observed the area, aiming their weapons in other directions. There wasn't a lot of danger now, but everything could happen.

To his left, Hal saw door leading inside the building. He showed everyone to stop and approached it. He grabbed the handle and pressed it down. Door moved. He looked back and nodded at the others to follow him. Next, he opened the door and entered the building. Quickly looking around, he realized that it was some kind of magazine, probably of a shop. Others followed him in and Stig, who was last in the line, closed the door.

"Check the building."Hal ordered.

Stig nodded and showed at Edvin and twins to follow him through the door. After a few minutes, he reported:
"Building clear. Come forward."
"Copy."Hal replied.

The group then wen through the door and Hal discovered, that he was right. This was a shop. But all shelves, mainly those with food, were empty. Everything else was still there, not moved by anyone.

"Well, they do have priorities."Simon said, seeing this.
"Alright, now what?"Dora asked.
"We will cross the street."Hal said."If I remember correctly, through these buildings, we'll reach the vehicles faster."
"Wouldn't it be easier to move through alleyways?"Ulf asked."Less risk of getting detected."
"But still, we would be more visible."Wulf retorted."In the buildings, we can at least deal with everything silently."

"Huh, you actually make sense here…Rare."

Ulf smiled.
"Thanks."he said. Then frowned."Hey!"
"Not the time, not the place."Stig said through gritted teeth.
"Alright, we go through the buildings. Then…"Maddie said, but was stopped.

"Guys?"Fenis asked in the comms.
"What is it?"Hal asked.
"You are in that general store?"Lydia asked.
"You can see us?"Dora asked.
"We can. But that's not important. There is a Mastiff approaching."

Everyone went silent. Sound of engine was then clearly heard. And with it, sound of several sets of military boots.
"There is six soldiers surrounding it."Lydia reported."A patrol."
"Everyone, hide, now!"Hal said.

Soldiers quickly either dropped on the floor or hid behind the shelves or the counter. Then, they listened as engine and steps were getting closer. Soon, the patrol rounded the corner and moved past the shop.
"Don't look out."Fenis said."One of them is looking inside."
Right then, light of a flashlight appeared in the store, as Son looked inside, searching for anything strange. Fortunately, Herons, Rangers and Dora were so perfectly still, that he quickly lost interest and rejoined the patrol. Next, the patrol left and everyone was allowed to leave their hiding. Hal immediately contacted the snipers.
"How does it look now?"he asked.
"They left. We also took down several snipers and soldiers on the roof. You can move forward."Lydia said.
"Thanks."

Captain signaled to the others to follow him. After checking in one more time, to make sure nobody would see them, they left the shop one by one, running across the street and into the building on the other side. Hal was the first to do it, with others following. Fortunately, the patrol didn't come back and there were no other patrols moving through. Within few minutes, they were all on the other side. Then, they quickly started checking the apartment building for presence of enemy soldiers. Even more fortunately, there were none. With this sigh of relief, they continued on their way through the buildings.

After around twenty minutes of sneaking around through the town, through buildings and alleyways, they were now entering another building, a small hotel, which was just several meters away from the football field. The whole thing was going relatively easy.

"This is actually easier than expected."Wulf said.
"Don't say it."Ulf said."Whenever someone says that, the easy part ends."
"You're too dramatic."Wulf waved his hand."We will get through in no time."
"I gotta side with Ulf on this."Ingvar said."Don't jinx it."

Other twin rolled his eyes.
"Don't worry, it can't be that bad."
"They will never stop, will they?"Dora asked.
"Probably."Maddie said."But this is their essence."
"Which we would love to suck out of them."Edvin said.

Hal then lifted his fist, telling everyone to stop. They were currently in a corridor of the building, so everyone was walking in a single line. They quickly fell on a single knee. Even Kloof, even considering her size, laid low, not making a sound.
"What is it?"Stig asked.
"I heard something in front of us."Hal replied."In the lobby."

Everyone looked at Wulf.
"What?"he asked.
"You jinxed it."Ingvar said.

"Shut up."

Ulf only giggled.

"You too."Wulf snapped at his brother.
"I didn't say anything."Ulf lifted his hands in a defensive gesture.
"Shh."Hal said."Dora, come with me."

Pilot nodded and approached the captain crouching. Next, still crouching, the two of them went down the corridor, approaching the lobby. Sounds were still coming from that direction, so they had to be ready for anything. Once they reached the lobby, Hal looked around the corner.

"What do you see?"Dora asked.

"Two enemies."Hal whispered back."One is standing with his back to us, the other is looking through the cash register."
"Seriously?"
"Yeah. Alright, you take the one not looking in this direction, I take the one at the cash register. Do what you want with him."
"If you say that…"

She reached for the sword on her back and pulled it out, allowing her riffle to hang on the strap. Hal saw the same green glow in her eyes as before, and the sword shone green too. Then, Dora stood up and ran out from behind the corner.

Hearing the heavy footsteps, Son turned around and was shocked to see Dora running at him, but not shocked enough to not lift his riffle. However, before he could open fire, Dora spun around and soon, a green wave of energy flew at the soldier. Before he could evade it, the energy struck him, decapitating him. His companion watched it, and before the green energy struck the wall and dispersed, Hal took aim and put a bullet in another Son's head. As suddenly as the loudness begun, it all went silent again.

Herons' captain approached her.

"What was that?"he asked.
"Something I learned after I picked this thing up."Dora replied, strapping the sword back to her back."Okay, it's clear everyone."

Soon, the rest of the group joined them.

"Jesper and Stefan called."Stig reported."They said they are already close to us."
"Good. They will join us at the vehicles."Hal said."Let's go."

The group approached the door leading into the hotel, leaving the two quickly taken care of Sons behind.
"Lydia, Fenis."Hal said to the radio."Situation?"
"We took care of most of the enemies in closest proximity to the vehicles."Fenis said."There are still some among the vehicles, but they will be easy to take care of."
"Or should we do them for you?"Lydia asked.

Simon giggled.

"What?"she asked,
"Nothing. 'Do them' has two meanings."Simon simply replied.
"Should I tell Ingvar to speak to you about that?"Herons' sniper asked.

Hearing this, Apprentice glanced at the large man, who was already cracking his knuckles.
"No, thank you."he sated.
"Thought so."Ingvar said.

"Okay, let's focus and let's go."Hal said.

He slowly opened the door a little and looked around the courtyard of the hotel. He saw some trees, as small fountain, but no sign of other enemies. He nodded his head and stepped out of the building, quickly scanning the area with his riffle. Next, when he was completely sure there were no more Sons around, he quickly ran through the courtyard, with others following closely behind.

The courtyard was also surrounded by a fence, so there was no risk of them being spotted from surrounding properties.

Approaching the main gate of the courtyard, they immediately hid behind some trees growing there. Hal took a peek outside the courtyard and there, on the other side of the street, he saw the football field, their goal. And among the vehicles, there were some guards. There were also more Sons having fun in the middle of the street, with a fire burning there, made of furniture from the surrounding buildings.

"What did we miss?"Jesper asked, as he and Stefan came running and joined the group.

"You came here fast."Maddie said.
"Fortunately, there were not as many patrols as expected."Stefan replied."But now, let's get on with the show."

Hal nodded and turned on the radio.
"Lydia, Fenis, come join us."he ordered.
"Already on the way."Lydia replied.
"Be there in few minutes."Fenis said and the two disconnected.

Next, captain turned to Stefan and Jesper.
"I think we're ready. Fire it up."
"We thought you'd never ask."Stefan said, pulling out the trigger.

He pressed the button.

Flare launchers the two Herons set up in the forest just beyond the town came to life. Flares were launched into the air and flew over the town, exploding and covering the whole area in light. Immediately, it brought attention of Sons. They stood there for few seconds, before grabbing their weapons and running in that direction, leaving behind the fire and fun. Not all of them were going after the flare launchers, the vehicle guards stayed, but it was still enough to make it easier for Herons, Rangers and Dora.

"Move!"Hal ordered.

Everyone quickly stood up and started running across the street towards the football field. In the corner of his eye, Hal also noticed two figures moving towards them down the street. He shot a quick glance there, weapon ready, but only saw Lydia and Fenis running at them at an express pace.

He soon got his answer, when a group of ten Sons ran from around the corner, following them and firing, but missing, fortunately.

"Ingvar!"Hal exclaimed.
"On it!"Ingvar replied.

Heavy weapons expert then turned in that direction, aiming his Browning M3 machine gun in that direction. Normally, such machine guns, descendants of old Browning M2, were mounted on vehicles and tripods, as part of stationary emplacements. However, Ingvar was one of the only few people who could wield it as a normal weapon, even with one hand. He got specially modified, so he could use it like an LMG, and now prepared to aim it at the Sons chasing Fenis and Lydia. Additionally, a bracelet he wore activated, turning into a fold-out riot shield.

He worked with deadly accuracy. Before Sons realized, heavy armor piercing bullets ripped through them, putting them all down. This was not the end of problems, however. To the right of the group, a door leading to a nearby building opened and a group of another ten Sons ran out. Seeing enemies in the area, they immediately aimed and opened fire.

Herons, Maddie, Simon and Dora responded with fire as they ran, what wasn't really accurate, but they managed to score several hits, forcing the Sons to back out a little. Additionally, Ingvar turned around and pinned them down with his M3, at the same time running after the rest of the group.
"Thanks for the save, honey."Lydia said, running up to her husband.
"Anything for you."Ingvar replied, still pinning the Sons down.

They all ran into football field, immediately taking down surprised vehicle guards. Next, they quickly started checking the vehicles, while Ingvar stood guard. Most of them had no keys or were out of fuel, much to their irritation. However, luck finally smiled at them, when two Mastiffs actually had their keys in the ignition.
"These two!"Hal said on the radio.
Everyone quickly started jumping into the two APCs. Maddie, Dora and Fenis jumped into one alongside Stig, Kloof and Hal.
"You know how to drive it, right?"Dora asked, as she took her seat in the troop compartment of the vehicle.
"Yeah, standard part of the training."Stig replied."Why do you ask?"
"Just wanted to make sure. It's standard part of the training for us, mercs, too."pilot replied.
"Same for us."Maddie added.

"Ahhh…"someone whined.

All eyes turned towards the open door to the troop compartment and saw Edvin, pulling Simon behind him. Apprentice was gripping the side of his leg tightly. In the light inside of the vehicle, they could see that area turning red.
"Simon!"Fenis exclaimed, standing up and helping Edvin carry Simon in and put him on the ground.
"Close it!"Edvin exclaimed.

Stig pressed a button and the back door of the vehicle closed. Soon, everyone was aboard two Mastiffs and Hal gave order to fire up the engines and, in case of danger, weapons. Two APCs then proceeded to move and leave the football field. By this time numerous Sons realized what was happening and returned, only to see two vehicles running away. Same was with soldiers previously pinned down by Ingvar. They tried to stop the Mastiffs, but the automated turrets on top of the vehicles turned on them and started mowing them down, forcing others to find cover.

At one point, some lucky Son managed to fire an anti-tank missile at them. But active protective systems of Mastiffs went to work, firing counter-measures. Missile was destroyed before it could even get halfway towards the APC. Turret also managed to locate the AT trooper and mowed him down in an instant.

Several Dahvii also joined the chase. They fired their energy disks, but Mastiffs' armor was enough to withstand multiple hits. Dahvii, on the other hand, were not as lucky. Their relatively fragile and barely armored bodies were literally exploding after being hit, with some chippings additionally injuring or killing Sons around them. Ultimately, SoS stopped firing and allowed the two vehicles to leave the town. As it later turned out, nearly seventy soldiers were killed, attempting to stop the enemy, not counting some that were later found dead far from the fighting that surprised everyone.

As the escape was taking place, inside the leading Mastiff, everyone looked at Simon and Edvin, who was working on his leg.
"What happened?"Dora asked.
"He got hit in the leg."Edvin replied, slowly using his tools to bear the wound."Nothing serious, he should be fine."

"Oh, ahh, woe is me…"Simon wined.
"He's saying you'll be fine."Fenis said through gritted teeth.
But Simon didn't stop. Quite the contrary, his whining and woes only intensified.
"Woe is me…"he repeated."I'm afraid that…I can't use this leg anymore…someone will have to carry me…"

Dora, Mddie and Fenis looked at each other.
"Is he really doing it now?"Dora asked.
"Sounds about right."Maddie confirmed, nodding.

Edvin realized what was going on. So, he decided to join this little act.
"Ah, wait."he said, as he looked, concerned."I was wrong. This leg will be unusable anymore. We're gonna have to amputate it."

Simon stopped whining and looked at Edvin.
"Amputate?"he asked, eyes wide.

Herons' medical officer nodded.
"Yes. But, I don't have appropriate instruments."he said."I think I'll have to ask someone to borrow me their knife. Or…"Edvin glanced at Dora."…a sword."

Simon blinked at few times and started moving his recently injured leg.

"Oh, look! A miracle!"

Fenis shook his head.
"You're a hopeless idiot."
"Didn't you tell me you'll stop calling me idiot?"

Fenis smiled and everyone else started laughing.

"Haha, very funny."Simon growled.
"Alright, alright."Edvin said."No amputation needed. Just be careful to not strain this leg, got it?"
"Got it."

Maddie and Fenis helped Simon stand up and sit down on the seat.

In front of the vehicle, Hal observed everything around them through the periscope. He sighed and hid the device.
"How does it look?"Stig asked.
"They're not chasing us, that's certain."Hal replied, also sitting down.

"So I guess the whole thing went pretty well."
"It sure did."

Next, captain connected to the other vehicle.
"Lydia, how does it look on your end?"he asked.
"All good."Lydia replied."Everyone accounted for."

"Phew, I feared it might be worse…"
"Fortunately, no. It went better than expected."

"I'm actually surprised myself. Although, Simon got injured, but Edvin says it's nothing bad."

"Glad to hear that. So, now what?"

Hal looked at the mountain dog that laid at his feet and scratched her behind her ears.

"Now, we go to Leender. With these Mastiffs, we will get there much faster."he replied.
"Understood. Let's just hope, that we won't be late."
"I hope so too."

With that, captain disconnected and returned to petting the dog, while others quickly relaxed. Two armored personnel carriers drove away into the night, leaving behind still shocked Sons, tending to the wounded and gathering their dead, wondering how will they explain all of this to their superiors.

XXX

This is where we're gonna cut it for today. As always, remember to leave a review, follow and favorite. It will be highly appreciated!

See ya!