Act 1, Chapter 7: Liberation and Incineration
JUST OUTSIDE THE MESS HALL,
OMEN KEEP.
"We should grab something to eat before we need go. We got an hour to kill", Del suggested.
"Yeah, I could go for some beetle soup right about now"
"I'm not gonna lie, JD, but it's just…weird that Keep Command actually got that added to the menu just because you asked them to"
"Perks that come with being a Captain, I guess?"
"Heh…Beetle soup now permanently on the menu…Just another reminder that after graduating from OCS, you really weren't the same"
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing, really"
"That's what I thought, Mr. Paper, Paper, Paper"
"Speaking of which, best of three for who gets to be in line first for chow?"
"Letting me get in line first? How kind of you, Lieutenant Walker"
"Don't be so sure of yourself. I got you this time, JD"
After using scissors three times in a row to casually destroy Del, JD simply chuckled with amusement.
"If you tried doing mind games on me, it backfired horribly"
"I'll get you one of these days"
"No, you won't"
Entering the mess hall, the two officers were surprised at the lack of people present.
"Huh…Looks like we don't have to worry about finding seats", Del stated as he queued up.
"Del, are you forgetting something?", JD said with a smirk as he gestured to the spot in front of Del.
"You're lucky we're best friends, cause' if we weren't, I'd wipe that shit-eating grin right off your face"
JD once again chuckled in amusement at this as he took his place ahead of Del in the queue.
Once JD was able to order his food, he was greeted with an unexpected face working behind the counter.
"Tuka?"
"Oh, Sir Jaydee, what can I get for you?", the blonde elf asked with a smile.
"Just one bowl of beetle soup please"
"Of course", Tuka said as she grabbed a bowl and began to fill it with the Captain's order.
"Your father is usually the one working here around this time of the day, isn't he?", JD asked.
"Yes, that was the case but I received training for this job last week and so here I am, working every other shift my father would otherwise need to"
"Why did you want this job?"
"Seeing father coming back so exhausted from working here so much made me feel guilty so I took it upon myself to ease his burden"
"More power to you! So, are you and your father settling in okay here at the Keep?", Del asked.
"Absolutely! Despite my initial concerns, living here is so wonderful. The people, the food, and the amenities available to us are simply amazing! All of this in exchange for easy work, there is nothing more I could ever need in life", Tuka said with glee and a wide smile.
"Tuka, I'm so happy for you, really I am, but umm…could I have my food", JD asked gently.
"Oh! My sincerest apologies Sir Jaydee! Please forgive me!", Tuka apologized as she handed the COG Captain his bowl of beetle soup on a tray.
Taking the tray, he gave the soup a quick taste with the accompanying spoon.
"Oh yeah, you're definitely forgiven", JD said reassuringly after savoring the spoonful.
"I'm so glad!", Tuka stated with a wide smile.
AN HOUR LATER.
"About damn time we get to do what we came here to do", Del stated as he and JD were making their way to the Keep armory.
"Yup; getting those civvies out of Imperial hands and back in New Ephyra", JD responded.
"Never done any rescue missions before", Del stated.
"Neither have I"
"Looking forward to it?", JD asked.
"You know it! Getting to save lives directly and doing something really different for a change. What about you?"
"I got a few doubts about this mission"
"You can't be serious, JD. We got suppressed weapons and not to mention JACK's team cloak. They won't know what hit em', literally"
"No, it's not if we can get the job done…Well, kinda, in this case"
"What do you mean?"
"Let's just say, two evacuation trucks may end up being excessive", JD implied.
"JD, it'll be fine"
"Only one way to find out…", JD stated.
Entering the armory, the Captain and the First Lieutenant were met with someone who wasn't their usual armorer.
"Hi, nice to meet you and all but where's the other guy that's usually here?", JD asked.
"Oh, him? He got reassigned to do logistics back home at Austere Point and Command was looking for someone to manage the armory here at the Keep with him gone"
"Wait a second, you seem familiar. Weren't you part of Team Scorpio? You know, the first Hive Busters?", Del asked, now curious.
"Yup. Jeremiah Keegan, at your service", the new Keep armorer said as he introduced himself.
"Woah, going in blind to bust hives must've been something…", JD complimented.
"Hehe, You have no idea", Keegan responded.
"Wait, if you're not busting hives anymore, who's filling in for you?", Del asked.
"Some brave Gear I'd imagine. There were a good few Gears who recently wanted to volunteer for the program, at least that's what Hoffman told me right before I left to manage the armory here"
"Can anyone leave the program just like that?"
"Hive Busting is extremely high risk and Hoffman gets that, so if you really don't think you can do it or keep going, then yeah, you can leave anytime. Besides, it's not like you get any actual rewards or perks for hive busting, unless you're lookin' for fame, bragging rights or something along those lines"
"That reminds me, someone I know volunteered for the program", JD mentioned.
"Oh, really? You got a name for me?
"First Lieutenant Fahz Chutani"
"Chutani?", Keegan uttered.
"Yeah, you know him?"
"Yeah…Wait here a second…", Keegan stated, suddenly heading over to get something at the back of the armory.
After a few moments, Keegan came back and presented COG Tags to the Captain.
"What?…", JD uttered in total confusion as he took the COG Tags from Keegan.
"Chutani said to give these to you if he didn't make it. On his first hive, he gave his life to save mine. He was a good Gear…I'm sorry…", Keegan said in consolation.
"Damn it, Fahz!", JD exclaimed in rage as he clenched his fallen friend's COG tags.
Del simply remained silent as a single tear ran down his face.
"Again, I'm sorry…So, can I get your requisition forms?", Keegan asked gently, hoping to get things to move on.
"Yeah, sure…", JD complied, handing over his forms.
"Thanks, I'll have your equipment ready in just a minute", Keegan stated gently before he left to prepare their gear to give to them.
"First it was Kait, and now Fahz?…", JD questioned.
"JD…it's war and-"
"Yeah, Del, I know! It's war, people die, blah blah, but come on; we lost Kait to friendly fire and Fahz let his ego push him too far!", JD responded in rapidly growing frustration, peaking at unrestrained rage.
"I miss them more than anything but-"
"But what, Del?! The Swarm are a joke compared to the Locust and Imperials are a pathetic excuse for a 'threat'! We shouldn't be losing anyone to either of them! We-"
Wanting his hysteric and grief stricken best friend to come to his senses, Del backhanded JD hard enough in the face to cause him to stumble back a few steps and take a few moments to recompose himself.
"Thanks, I needed that. I'm sorry, Del…I didn't mean to-"
"It's okay, JD"
"Yeah, I just need a minute …"
"Take all the time you need. When you're ready, meet me outside the Lab", Del said before walking away.
SEVERAL MINUTES LATER,
BAIRD'S LAB,
OMEN KEEP.
"Captain Fenix and Lieutenant Walker are requesting permission to enter the lab", IRIS stated.
"Let them in", Senior DBi R&D Engineer Brian Sturm responded casually as he finished typing up a technical report at a computer terminal.
The lab's steel doors parted to allow the two COG officers to enter.
"Captain Fenix, Lieutenant Walker, good to finally meet you"
"Hey, you're the engineer filling in for Baird, right?", JD asked.
"Yes, I am Brian Sturm, Senior Engineer in DBi's R&D Division"
"Good to meet you Sturm. I got to ask, what were you specifically doing in R&D?", Del asked.
"Working on new military hardware mostly. As a matter of fact, some of the completed projects have already been rolled out as new standard issue equipment; the Next-Generation Sealless COG Armor and the upgraded DeeBees for example"
"Speaking of military hardware, does Jack have his upgrades now?", JD asked.
"Ah yes, I have already remade and installed the upgrades for your bot. So, is it true then Lieutenant Walker? You drew up the schematics for all those upgrades"
"Yup"
"All while being out in the field no less, very impressive. It makes me wonder why you didn't just become a full time non-military engineer. Why risk your life out there when you can still be contributing just as much if not more from the safety of New Ephyra through technological innovation?"
"Well, you can blame this guy for that. If we weren't such good friends, I would've definitely been innovating back home instead of constantly making sure this guy doesn't get himself killed out there", Del explained jokingly as he nudged his elbow into JD.
"Oh please, it's you that needs looking out for if anything", JD jokingly snapped back.
"Yeah, keep telling yourself that"
"Whatever you say Del. Anyway, can we have Jack now?"
"Of course. Jack! Captain Fenix and Lieutenant Walker are here for you!", Sturm shouted over his shoulder.
Out of the doorway of another room in the lab, the familiar blue bot hovered out and made his way to the two COG officers.
"Got anything else for us, Sturm?", Del asked.
"Not for now, no. Good luck rescuing those civilians. IRIS, let them out please"
"Certainly, Brian"
"Thanks, now come on, let's get those civvies home", JD ordered, gesturing for Del and Jack to follow him out of the lab.
ONE HOUR BEFORE MIDNIGHT,
SPECIAL OPERATION'S BRIEFING ROOM,
OMEN KEEP.
"According to Piña's intel, most of the kidnapped civvies have already been sold off as slaves to nobles living in the capital here. As for the rest, they're either still being held captive by slave traders in the capital for future sale, or outside the capital being forced to mine resources", JD explained.
"Then we're going to need to run more than one mission to get them all", Del suggested.
"Exactly"
"Where's our first hit then?", Dillon asked.
JD set the briefing room's holographic table to display a 3D layout of the mission area.
"We're gonna hit the noble residential district in the capital first. Again, based on Piña's intel, security in the capital has been put on high alert ever since we kicked them out of New Ephyra and kept them away from Alnus
"What's the play then, Fenix?", Clayton asked.
"For this mission, we'll be using stealth to get them back, quietly and safely. Going in guns blazing is gonna complicate things and probably get the civvies killed"
"Jack's team cloak has us covered for that, right?", Dillon asked.
The bot in question beeped reassuringly.
"Jack's cloak is good but not perfect; each use doesn't last forever, it takes a while to recharge between uses and it'll only cloak us if we're near Jack", Del explained
"So, we'll only use Jack's cloak when absolutely necessary, otherwise we sneak in there the old fashioned way", JD stated.
"As for weapons, we'll be using these", Del stated as he unholstered his suppressed Enforcer and suppressed Snub to show to the team before holstering them again.
"Kinda figured as much as soon as we got issued those for the rescue op. Are the suppressors removable?", Dillon asked.
"Yeah, the suppressors are removable; you can just unscrew them, but no one's authorized to do that at any point during this mission, unless I say otherwise, which I don't imagine I would", JD explained.
"The only modifications that had to be made to make the suppressors compatible with our issued Enforcers and Snubs was just swapping out the standard muzzles with custom threaded ones, in case any of you were wondering", Del further explained.
"Ammo will be an issue, will it not?", Tai brought up.
"It might be, so we'll be mainly using knives. Even if they are suppressed, we'll only use our guns when knives just won't cut it, no pun intended…", JD responded.
"Anyway, this is the order we're gonna be searching the houses in", JD stated as he made each Imperial Nobles' homes on the holographic map display a number over it.
"Alright, but don't we have to take each home's unique layout into account?", Dillon asked.
"Don't worry about that too much; Jack's Pulse will help us map out every house we hit on the fly and show us where all the hostiles and captured civvies are as we're going", Del explained.
"Are we getting a ride there by Raven?", Clayton asked.
"No, Sam and Mac, you two will take us there by personnel carriers trucks. You two will drive us out and drop us off here; two klicks away from the objective", JD explained as he pointed to a specific location on the holographic map.
"After we disembark at the drop-off point, we'll walk the rest of the way. Once we clear out the first home of all hostiles and secure any civilians we find there, we'll use that home as a collection point to round-up the rest of the civilians we're gonna rescue from the other homes.
"Who'll watch over the civvies at the collection point?", Dillon asked.
"You and Tai will stay and watch over the civvies we round up at the collection point"
"Understood, sir", Dillon acknowledged
"Carmine, from the second home onwards, you two will escort the civilians that the four of us will secure from the other homes back to the collection point. Jack, you'll cloak the civilians and Carmine whenever it's necessary as he escorts them back to Tai and Dillon. After each escort run, you two will rendezvous with me and Del before we hit the next home. Rinse and repeat until we get everyone we can"
"You got it, Fenix"
Jack simply nodded.
"As soon as all the civvies are rounded up at the collection point, we'll sneak them out to the initial drop-off point, where Mac and Sam will get them and us back to the Keep by personnel carrier trucks", JD explained thoroughly, all while sequentially gesturing towards all the necessary parts of the holographic map for clarity.
"Anymore questions before we finish up here?", JD answered.
With silence being the only response, JD shut off the holographic map.
"Let's get this done", the COG Captain ordered as he gestured for his fellow Gears and trusty bot to follow him.
ONE HOUR PAST MIDNIGHT,
PERSONNEL CARRIER TRUCK EN ROUTE TO MISSION DROP-OFF POINT.
"Alright, we're close to the drop-off point, get ready", JD announced on Tac-Com as he checked his smart map.
With this announcement, all of Recon Team Delta riding in the back of the two personnel carrier trucks made quick last-minute equipment checks; ensuring their modified Enforcers and Snubs had their suppressors properly secured, the correct number of spare magazines were readily available and that their combat knives were in good condition.
"So, when we get to the drop-off point, are we still gonna walk the rest of the way? I could use a midnight stroll", Clayton stated.
"I am very much of the same sentiment…it's been far too long since I've had one, especially on a night like this", Tai reminisced as he took note of the night sky beyond the back of the truck; a cloudless night hosting a full moon against a backdrop of countless stars.
"Yeah, we'll be going the rest of the way on foot, like I said before, but not out in the open. Even under the cover night, we'll be sticking to the shadows the whole time. Imperials don't have access to night-vision tech but we don't know what else could be out there, we gotta keep our guard up", JD warned.
"Alright lads, this is your stop!", Mac announced over Tac-Com as his truck and Sam's were brought to a gradual stop.
"You heard the man!", JD stated as he and the rest of the rescue team disembarked.
"Mac and myself will take the trucks back to the Keep. When you lot have nearly got all the civvies rounded up at the collection point, Radio in and we'll get here ASAP!", Sam stated over Tac-Com.
"Wilco", JD simply responded.
With this the trucks commenced their return trip to the Keep.
"Let's get this done", JD ordered stoically as he signaled for his subordinates to follow him into the cover of a nearby forest.
TWO HOURS PAST MIDNIGHT,
HOUSE ONE,
NOBLE RESIDENTIAL DISTRICT,
SADERA.
"No! Please! No! Stop this!"
"Are you mad? Why would I stop? You are beautiful, you smell wonderful, your breasts are of ample size and quite tasty, however, most importantly, your pussy just feels too good!"
"I'll kill you!"
"Haha, good luck trying to do anything to me while having your hands and feet tied to the bed corners! Everything about you puts any and all sex slaves from this world to complete and utter shame! I simply must have more from the world beyond the Holy Gate if you are representative of what it has to offer!
"Ahh, I think I'm going to-"
"No, please! Anywhere but inside!"
"Ohh!, Ahh!"
"Nooo!"
"By the gods! There is so much it is gushing out! I would be lying if I said that was not extremely arousing. In fact, I think I will come back for seconds!"
"No! No! No!"
"Just stop resisting and-"
Without warning the door to the noble's lavish bedchamber burst open.
"I thought I told you not to-"
By the time the noble turned around, he took a thrown knife between the eyes. The noble dropped dead on top of his literal otherworldly sex slave, much to her extreme confusion, fear and discomfort.
While the tied-up woman tried to shake the unbearably fat noble's limp body off of herself, she could hear new voices within the room.
"Del, get that bastard's corpse off of her now", ordered an unfamiliar voice.
"You got it, JD. Woah, this asshole's really got some weight to him"
After the noble's corpse was rolled off of the woman, she finally saw the people who came to her rescue.
"Gears!", she exclaimed in relief but quickly looked away in shame as she realized she was completely naked in front of them and couldn't cover herself up since her extremities were still restrained to the bed corners by ropes.
"Tai, cut her loose. Carmine, find something in that wardrobe to cover herself with. Dillon, check up on her and see if she needs anything you can give her now", JD ordered as he yanked out the knife embedded in the dead noble's now blankly staring face and sheathed it.
"Do not worry, we are here to get you out of here" Tai reassuringly stated as he swiftly cut her looses from her restraints.
"Yeah, this'll do. Here, I'll help you put this on", Carmine stated aloud as he pulled out one of the late noble's oversized robes from his wardrobe and helped the woman into it.
"Ma'am, has that man inflicted any injuries on you?", Dillon asked as he checked her head, face and neck for any immediate signs of physical trauma.
"Not really, he mostly just slapped me a couple of times in a few different places but he came in me! I don't want to be pregnant with that monster's child!"
"I was afraid something like this was gonna happen but I came prepared", Dillon stated as he fished out a small blister pack, popped a pill out from it and gave it to the woman along with a bottle of water, who downed the pill with the water, almost without hesitation.
"Is she gonna be alright, Dillon?", JD asked
"Yeah, she'll be alright, physically at least. She may need to see a psychiatrist though"
"Well, it could've been worse…", JD stated optimistically.
"As was planned, Dillon and I shall stay here and watch over all the civilians Carmine will escort here from the other homes", Tai stated.
"Wait! wait about the others!", the civilian exclaimed.
"The other five upstairs are fine; we told them to stay put until it was safe to come down here and it is now that every Imperial in this house has been take care of", JD explained
"Jack, get those people down here, it's safe now", Del ordered via Tac-Com.
"Alright, you guys know the plan; we'll hit the next house once Jack gets the others down here", JD stated.
HOUSE TWO,
NOBLE RESIDENTIAL DISTRICT,
SADERA.
"I am no coward but thank the gods I'm here on night watch instead of being sent to my death at Alnus", stated the Imperial guard in subtle relief.
"The only true cowards here are those barbarians occupying Alnus. They are spineless heathens who must rely on that forsaken dark sorcery of theirs to fight. They would stand no chance if they were forced to clash blades with us", said his fellow guard in response.
The other guard nodded in agreement and the two of them remained silent as they continued to keep an eye and ear out for anything unusual.
The familiar sound of a passing-by Imperial patrol grew louder until the patrol in question approached the the two guards.
"Anything to report?", asked the patrol leader.
"Nothing to report"
"Hmmm…And what about you?", the patrol leader asked the other guard.
"Nothing unusual thus far!"
"There is a reason a lot of us have been reassigned to guard duty here. While they are cowardly, those barbarians at the Sacred Hill possess unnatural powers. Who is to say they have not infiltrated the capital here already, the very heart of the Empire? This is certainly more than just lookout duty for mere bandits"
"Do not worry, if I had seen or heard something, I would've already reported it"
"I am the same, nothing gets past these eyes and ears"
"Very well, we shall continue our route. Another patrol should pass by here in an hour. Stay vigilant", said the patrol leader before he and his subordinates continued along their designated patrol route.
Once the patrol were out of sight and earshot, the two guards relaxed a little from their stiff posture.
"Hopefully this ends soon, I'm getting tired of just standing here, day in and day out, without anything happening"
"It will eventually, we just need to be patien-"
Thud
"Huh?"
The guard quickly turned to see why his fellow imperial suddenly stopped mid-sentence, only to see him collapsed on the cold hard ground.
Before he could cry an alert to warn the other guards within earshot, he saw and felt a hand forcefully cover his mouth and another force a blade into his neck.
"Alright, let's get these guys outta sight", JD quietly ordered as he, Del and Clayton dragged the bodies out of sight into some nearby dense shrubbery, with a cloaked Jack keeping an eye out.
"JD, You heard that guy, another patrol is gonna pass by here in an hour", Del stated urgently.
"I know, that's why we gotta do this quick. Carmine, you got the keys?"
"Got em", Carmine stated as he went to unlock the lavish home's doors as quietly as he could.
"Same plan?", Del asked.
"Yeah, just like the last house", JD responded.
"Those slaves were an utter waste of gold", stated the noble home owner after taking a few bites of a roast boar leg while leaning his back lazily against a kitchen counter.
"For slaves from a world of 'divinely crafted goods', they can't even make a half decent roast. I suppose if you want something done right, you must do it yourself"
Setting down his food, he pondered to himself.
"Maybe I should just resell them. Wait, no, who would want to buy such useless slaves? I'll just have them executed. It's what they deserve for being so incompetent"
Once again, picking up his food, he was about to take another bite before two strangely armored men and a floating blue construct inexplicably materialized before him. Despite the two parties staring at each other for only a second, it felt like an eternity before any action was taken.
Before the noble could fully unsheathe a dagger he kept on his person to fend off the home invaders, one of the armored men, with blinding speed, produced a strangely shaped dark implement of sorts and aimed it at him.
A quick and harsh whistling sound and he was no more.
"Jack, what the fuck was that?!", JD asked in a quiet but clearly enraged tone.
The bot held up his hands as if to placate the COG Captain and beeped apologetically as his four eyes angled downwards.
"What do you mean 'malfunctioned'? You know what? We don't have time for this. We need to get this done, whether or not your team cloak still works"
Jack hurriedly beeped in response.
"Just a hiccup? It better be. Come on, we need to move"
"Door to the dungeon is here but it's locked and that guy didn't have a key on him. Busting down the door would probably make too much noise", Clayton stated.
"Jack, you know what to do", Del ordered.
The bot beeped confidently before he started melting the metal lock off using an extremely powerful and sustained current from his zapper. Once the lock had melted off completely, the Gears descended into the dungeon, where it revealed itself to be a dark, damp and miserable place once JACK lit up the area.
"This is messed up…", Clayton stated as he looked around the moss-covered stone chamber.
Look, it's the civvies", Clayton called out quietly as he spotted a few of them sleeping on the cold, hard and wet floor of a cell.
"Jack, rip that door", JD ordered.
Jack promptly began melting off the rusty metal lock of the cell Clayton pointed out.
Once opened, the squad entered the cell and Del gently attempted to wake up one of the sleeping civilians.
"Huh?…Gears!", the awoken civilian exclaimed in extreme relief.
"Ssshhh…Keep it down, don't want to attract any attention from outside", Del advised.
"Oh, right, right…are you here to get us out?"
Del simply nodded.
"What about the others? They're in the other cells"
"Yeah, we'll be getting them outta here too. We're just starting with your cell first"
"I'm finally going home…", the ragged looking man quietly stated to himself as he shed a tear of joy.
"Are there more from New Ephyra down here?"
"Yeah, they're the only ones down here now. The sadistic bastard who lives here threw out his old slaves after he bought us…", the New Ephyran man answered.
"That simplifies things at least", Del thought to himself but couldn't help but briefly feel sorry for the noble's previous slaves and whatever happened to them.
"Wait, you said he was 'sadistic'? What did he do to you all?"
"I don't want to talk about it and I don't think anybody else down here would even be willing to, but if you really want to know, you'll get some answers from that room over there. None of us here have seen what's in there but anyone who gets dragged into that room by that sadistic bastard start screaming their lungs out not long after, go completely silent after a while and we never see or hear from them ever again…", the man said as he pointed to a wooden door at the far end of the dungeon.
Del simply nodded in acknowledgement.
"Del, Carmine and Jack, you three get to work getting everyone outta these cells and get them grouped up and ready to leave on my word. I'm gonna check out that room he mentioned", JD ordered before he left to investigate.
As the COG Captain made his way to the room, he couldn't help but give brief glances at the New Ephyrans still being held in their cells. He felt relieved that all of them would be out of there soon and eventually back home across the Gate, permanently away from the very real nightmare they had to live through.
Once he was at the door of the room, he tried the door, expecting there to be resistance indicating that it was locked but he felt no such resistance. Remembering what the New Ephyran man had said, he mentally braced himself before he would open the door.
"It can't be that bad. The guy's a civilian, so he's probably not used to seeing some of the typical horrors of bodily harm that us experienced Gears are used to seeing…", JD thought to himself, despite not fully believing in this rationalization.
Now mentally braced, he swung the door open, only to be met with nothing.
"Wait, what? There's nothing here…"
Looking around, he quickly found an open door leading to another room.
"Must be further up, probably have to go through down some stairs and more corridors before I…"
Turning to get a good overall look at the next room he just entered, he came to witness what the man earlier was too afraid to speak of.
"That's everyone, right?", Del asked as he looked at all the civilians that he, Carmine and Jack had freed and rounded up.
"I'm pretty sure that's it", Carmine stated.
Jack responded with reassuring beeps
"Good, now we just need to wait for JD to give the go-ahead for you and Jack to bring them back to the collection point", Del stated as he looked around to see any sign of Recon Team Delta's Leader returning.
"Weird…He should be back by now", Del stated in slight concern before he tried contacting JD via Tac-Com.
"JD, you done looking around? We got everyone freed, rounded up and ready to go"
There was no answer.
"Carmine, Jack, you two wait here with the civvies. I'm gonna go and get JD"
He had seen the death and destruction the Swarm had caused at Settlement Two when they invaded. He had seen the heavily mutilated corpses left behind in the wake of their inhumane wrath. He thought he had bore witness to the full extent of how far a human body can be possibly butchered from all his time spent fighting the Locust Horde's Successors. He was wrong. Very wrong.
He had found New Ephyrans that didn't make it, at least what was left of them. Brutally and mercilessly butchered, ritualistically even.
JD simply stared at the scene as it stared back at him, left frozen in place at the work of atrocity that assaulted his very soul.
"JD, we gotta get going, all the civ-"
Upon witnessing the same horrific scene that the COG Captain had, Del succumbed to the primal urge of emptying out the contents of his stomach onto the cold blood-encrusted stone floor. JD was still unmoving, despite his Second-in-Command retching uncontrollably right next to him.
Finally snapping out of it after some time, JD managed to composed himself and now was dead set on getting one thing done; saving whoever they still could tonight.
"Come on Del, we got a job to do"
"Wait up…", Del said as he just finished throwing up and wiping his mouth.
Catching up to JD, Del composed himself and matched his pace.
"JD, what did we just find back there?…"
"Proof that you can't save everyone"
As the two COG Officers returned to the grouped-up civilians, Carmine, with JACK following close behind him, approached the two.
"Fenix? Walker? Are you two okay?"
"Yeah, yeah we're fine. Just get these civvies we have here back to the collection point", JD ordered.
"All right folks, this way", Carmine said as he gestured for the ragged looking New Ephyrans to follow him.
While Carmine led the group at the front, Jack followed from behind, ready to provide cloak should the need arise.
"Dad was right…you can't save em' all…"
"That much is clear but it doesn't mean we should stop trying"
"I know Del…I know. Now let's get going, we have a couple more houses to hit before we call it"
Del simply nodded in response as the he and JD proceeded to make their way outside and onto the next home.
AN HOUR LATER,
COLLECTION POINT,
HOUSE ONE.
"Tai, Dillon, we're on the way back now with the last of the civvies. Once we rendezvous with you and the rest, we're getting outta here", JD announced over Tac-Com.
"Solid copy, Captain", Dillon responded.
"You may want to hurry, there is an increase of activity outside", Tai stated on Tac-Com as he peeked through the closed curtains of a window in the room that they and the civilians were in, to see several guard patrols actively trying to find them.
"Shit…Just sit tight, we'll be there soon", Del responded on Tac-Com.
"What's happening now?", asked one of the concerned civilians under the watch of the combat medic and islander.
"We'll be getting outta here soon, just waiting on the last few to get here", Dillon reassuringly stated.
"Everyone, remain silent, I hear approaching footsteps and I do not think they are the Captain and the rest. He would've notified us if he had arrived", Tai urged everyone in the room.
All the civilians went dead silent at this while Tai and Dillon unholstered their suppressed Enforcers and positioned themselves between their charges and the door, ready to gun down any Imperials who entered the room.
With each passing second, the footsteps grew louder and louder until it was clear that they were just outside the room. Tai and Dillon, both in a firing stance and their fingers resting on their triggers, ready to kill.
Muffled voices could be heard on the other side of the closed door.
"There is no doubt that the district has been infiltrated by the barbarians tonight"
"Agreed, common bandits aren't capable of this level of infiltration"
"They could be anywhere, so-"
The voices were suddenly silenced and the sounds of multiple thuds could be heard.
"Alright, we're coming in, don't shoot", JD stated over Tac-Com.
Tai and Dillon eased up and lowered their weapons as the Captain, the rest of the squad and the last of the civilians entered the room.
"Alright, let's do a quick head count and we'll get going", JD ordered.
TEN MINUTES LATER,
GATEWAY TO AND FROM THE SADERAN NOBLE DISTRICT.
"Sir, all guards and patrols are now actively searching the entire district for the barbarians", an Imperial guard notified his superior officer.
"Excellent, and with this gateway, the only way in and out of the district, being heavily guarded, they have nowhere to run. We'll cut them down as soon as we see them"
All the imperial guards presently standing guard at the district gateway were in a shield wall formation, with spears sticking out between the spaces of the shield.
Without warning, holes started being punched through the formation's shields and perforating their wielders. In mere seconds, the formation was falling apart to an unforeseen force, the only thing indicating its presence at all was a barely audible cacophony of rapid whistling, the sound of many things flying by them.
"Where are they?! Show yourselves, you cowards!", demanded the Imperial officer after witnessing his formation of guards be cut down by their nigh-imperceptible enemy. He unsheathed his sword and frantically looked around, desperate to spot the enemy.
Without warning and just like his subordinates, he too succumbed to getting riddled with bloody holes and soon collapsed to the ground in a pool of his and others blood.
The force responsible for the sudden massacre had materialized right before the dying imperial officer. The last thing his eyes saw before they closed for good was a group of men donning strange armor and weapons.
"That's the seventh time your team cloak failed! At least it only failed after we got done putting those guys down…", JD stated as he glared at Jack with frustration.
The bot once again beeped apologetically and with timid regret, regarding a very inconvenient problem that had just arisen.
"Seriously? You're cloak just doesn't work at all now?"
"There they are!", a voice cried out in the distance behind the Gears and their charges.
"Shit! Everyone, follow me! Now!", JD yelled as he led the way while Tai, Del and Dillon lagged slightly behind to provide intermittent covering fire as they continued to follow.
"Sam! Mac! We've secured the civvies and are ready for extraction!", JD ordered on Tac-Com.
"Solid copy, we'll be at the exfil point!", Sam responded.
"With some extra firepower too!", Mac added.
FIVE MINUTES LATER,
OUTSIDE SADERA,
EXFIL POINT.
"JD, we're here! Where are you!?", Sam announced on Tac-Com.
"Over there!", Mac yelled out as he pointed to the Gears and civilians appearing from the crest of a nearby hill and rapidly making their way to the evacuation trucks.
"Bollocks! They're being followed!", Sam announced in panic.
"Not for long", Brian Sturm stated through the loudspeakers of the Kestrel he was controlling.
With machine precision and efficiency, the Kestrel rained death on the Imperial pursuers. Rotary cannon rounds and Surface-to-Air missiles tore up the guards and the very ground they stood on, while the Gears and civilians were left untouched and soon, made it to the evacuation trucks.
"Everyone, get in!", JD ordered as he and his squad mates helped all the civilians into the back of the trucks.
No time was wasted as everyone climbed, or had been assisted by the Gears, into the back of the vehicles. The Gears and their bot boarded the vehicles last once everyone else were in and seated.
"We're all in! Hit it!", JD ordered.
"Wilco!", Sam and Mac responded in unison as the two evacuation trucks sped away from the exfil point, leaving the remotely-operated Kestrel behind to ensure no one followed them and returning to the Keep once it made sure of that.
"Mission…accomplished…", Del stated in exhausted relief as he leaned back into his seat.
"Just barely…I need to have a word with Sturm about Jack's 'technical hiccups' when we get back", JD said in response.
"Yeah, definitely gotta get those ironed out before we take on anymore missions", Del responded.
"Fenix, mind if asked you something?"
"Sure Carmine, what is it?"
"You and Walker looked pretty shaken up right before me and JACK went on our escort run from house two. What did you two see down there?"
"We found some of the civilians that didn't make it… well, what was left of them anyway…"
"Damn…And here I was thinking we got all of em' out alive…", Dillon stated in sorrow.
"Trust me, Private, we couldn't"
"Maybe it would be best to not further discuss this", Tai suggested as he subtly gestured to a few civilians who started weeping quietly at what JD mentioned in response to Clayton.
"Couldn't agree more", Del stated.
The ride back to the Keep was now made in silence, with only Dillon occasionally checking up on the civilians he had administered first aid to previously.
All was silent except for the sound of the trucks driving through the dead of night on the rough dirt road, at least for a while.
At some point, during the drive, the sound of a passing by helicopter could be heard before it faded off ahead of the evacuation trucks.
"Looks like Sturm's done stopping those Imperials from following us and he's making his way back to the Keep", Sam concluded as she barely made out the blue attack helicopter against the night sky.
Following this, another period of silence followed before it was broken again in urgency.
"Mac! Follow me and get off the road!", Sam demanded on Tac-Com.
"Why?!"
"Just follow me! We need to get out of sight and be quiet!"
The trucks then sharply turned to go straight into a forest, just off the side of the dirt road. The trucks parked behind a particularly dense patch of shrubbery and trees and had their engines switched off.
"Sam! Mac! What's wrong?!", JD asked over Tac-Com.
"Jack just spotted a massive heat sig where Coda Village is, just up ahead", Sam stated with an air of caution.
"Uhhh…Captain Fenix, Sam, you two may want to join me outside and have a look at this…", Mac said over Tac-Com.
"Alright, we'll be out. Sam, with me. The rest of you stay here", JD ordered his squad mates as he disembarked.
"So, what are we supposed to be…seeing…huh…", JD asked as he got his answer.
Only being visible against the darkness of night because of the flames it spewed out from its maw while it hovered in place thanks to the somewhat slow but powerful beats of its membranous wings, It was a flying crimson-scaled reptile of gargantuan proportions.
"What the fuck is that?…", Sam asked in utter disbelief.
Wait, that's the heat sig that Jack spotted, at Coda?", JD asked.
"Yeah?…Oh no…the villagers…", Sam responded, with the implication of what was happening right now just dawning on her.
"Unless we want to be human steak too, there's nothing we can do for those villagers right now…", Mac stated in grim acceptance.
"Only thing we can do now is wait until that thing decides to leave and when it does, we'll investigate and maybe look for any survivors", JD stated as he continued to look on as the winged beast continued to unleash its fiery breath on the defenseless settlement.
AN HOUR LATER.
"Captain, I think it's safe to go and have a look now", Mac stated on Tac-Com.
"Yeah, it's flying away", Sam added.
"Alright, let's head to Coda and investigate", JD ordered.
The two truck drivers started their vehicles' engines and returned to the road, now en route to the ruins of the scorched village.
Once they had arrived following a few minutes of driving, Recon Team Delta disembarked to investigate while Sam, Mac and the civilians were ordered by JD to stay in the trucks.
"No one could've survived this…", Dillon stated as he took in the terrifying scene before him.
"We can't decide that yet, not until we have a look at least", Tai responded.
"Search the burnt-down homes and anywhere where people could've been", JD ordered as he and the rest of his squad mates started to look around the thoroughly charred village.
Some time had passed before all promising places were checked and JD ceased the investigation.
"Should we head back to the trucks?", Clayton asked.
"Not just yet, I got one more idea", JD responded.
"Jack, Pulse"
The bot scanned the area but revealed no traces of any identifiable human remains.
"Maybe they got away before it arrived?", Dillon suggested.
"Maybe. Whatever the case actually is, they're long gone now. Let's head back to the trucks and get back to the Keep. Command needs to know what happened here tonight", JD responded as he gestured for his squad mates to follow him back to the trucks.
(Achievement Unlocked)
(20G - Burnt into Memory)
(Read Chapter 7)