CHAPTER TWO: THE RECONSTRUCTION OF THE HORDE, PART 1

ELEVEN MONTHS SINCE IMULSION COUNTERMEASURE'S DEPLOYMENT-

As the clock ticked loudly upon the silent night, A Gear soldier with a Crudely fixed helmet lay upon his cot with his unique Lancer upon his chest; His helmet seemed like its entire right side was blown off but fixed with a pair of engineering goggles to replace his visor, a old gas mask for the filtration system and a antique Samurai Kabuto's pieces used to replace the lost metal of the helmet (That he barely uses anymore).

His Armor had adopted a union between COG trooper armor and Nordic armor, chest piece wise anyway; He welded pieces of old Devastator armor into his Standard issue Gear Armor, he fixed the suit up well and upgraded it due to the need of better gear and just because he wanted to look different than the bland gear armor. After the COG collapsed there's no rules that says he can't change the way his Armor looks. his suit uniform was repaired but he wore some rugged shroud around his neck and chest.

This was Sergeant Elias M. Jackson, Member of Charlie Squad, known by the Residents of Anvil Gate as the "Misfits" due to how they all joined after falling out of their former squads. He's been awake the entire night, unable to sleep due to the Ominous silence that had swallowed the Fort upon the feeling of unease, his entire squad had been kept from Participating in the guard duty by Hoffman, who they address as its appropriate.

His Best friend, Jarred "Jinx" McKeìnzie, or Jack to some, was doing his patrols at the moment while there's no word from Dempsey, Connor or even Nika since a month ago; He's fully aware that plenty of Gears have gone missing with no trace of their bodies anywhere near the destroyed checkpoints. The 1st Lieutenant Witherswood was also missing too, she sent out a broadcast to the fort right before her confirmed captured:

"This is 1st Lieutenant Marcy Whither- -static-... Our suspicions were correct, there's an entire grub army hidden somewhere in outskirts of this territory... -sigh-... fuck, there's a pack of new locust running amok upon our checkpoints led by a some -static, very distorted sounds-...-eneral for the Elites, I've collected a shit ton of intel and my ass is getting hunted down by these locust because they fear what I've learned could end their attack force!... -Suddenly multiple explosions are heard followed by very badly transmitted sounds of Gunfire and screaming-... -Elp!... am su-...-ded, Th-... ever-... they... -ound me!... -Gunfire very loud like near the transmitter-... Get your h-... off of me!"

This had given every Gear in the fort a ray of new hope after the near destruction of Anvil Gate; The mission now was to find the Lieutenant and learn about this Intel. He heard Jinx shout something into the comms but his mind was hazy, regardless he jolted out of his cot like many other gears and ran towards the Front Wall with weapons ready.

Jackson: Jinx!... -he ran up to the man looking down at a Unique Longshot nicknamed "Zion"-.. what's up?... Grubs?!

Jinx was a young, very well fit 19 year old man with dark blue Ranger armor, His helmet was slightly damaged but nevertheless it worked as intended; Jinx was standing at an good 5.11 feet tall, towering over Jackson's 5.7 however in sheer muscular build, Jackson was much bigger than his younger brother in arms:

Jinx: Look down there!... -he pointed towards the Eastern perimeter-... A pair of Boomers wearing some type of heavy armor dropped a body out there.

Jackson took the Markza and took a careful look at the body: It was a woman, wearing only a tattered tan undershirt, the standard gear uniform bottoms and boots; then the she moved, trying to get up but kept falling down. She was alive but for how long, that change quickly when both Jinx and Jackson realized that this was Corporal Mika Niza or "Mini" for short; Before any other gears knew what was happening both men ran down the fort's wall towards the secret exit located through the remains of a toppled Drilling Rig from the time the gears invaded the nexus for operation Hollow Storm. They hauled ass towards her, getting to around 20 feet from her before other gears came out to assist the duo.

Jinx: Those fuckin' monsters!... they carved her eye out! -he said to the gears as he ran towards her, seeing her face from a few feet away-

By the time they were outside, a few more gears ran after them, their sister squad Delta was hot on Jackson and Jinx's heels; About fifteen gears ran out into the no man's land that Anvil Gate's surrounding areas had become, all ready to save Niza. Their weapons' safety was off and for good reason because at the moment Niza was grabbed by Jinx, gunfire exploded from every side except behind them by ambushing locusts. Some members of Delta (Composing of Sgt Alexandra Bland, Pvt Darwin Larr, PFC Bobby Holligan and 1st Ltn Triss de la Toúara [Who was suppose to lead Delta in Marcus Fenix's absence but she gave that role to Sgt Bland]) and eleven "Unnamed" COG gears were covering the rescuers from the Locust ambush.

They took cover behind the remains of sliced in half centaur tank, rusted to all hell but sturdy enough to take the blunt of the enemy gunfire; Alexandra gunned down a few locust hiding in the treeline, They fought them hard with addition to sniper fire from the fort until the Boomers began showing up which prompted the Gears to run back to the fort, Jackson carrying Niza over his shoulder:

Jackson: Open the gate!... we got wounded!... Open the Gate! -he yelled at the men by the gate who ran down from the wall towards the gate controls-

From behind them was the Elite looking Boomers and their Leader, Skjall; The Boomer Zamil smiled as he slowly loaded his Boomcannon, then took aim after letting the iconic "BOOM!" in a much deeper voice, two larger boomshot rockets flew towards the humans, hitting by the group's feet, killing five for sure and maiming a few more with shrapnel; In effect, five Gears died by the blast of the abnormally large rounds while three were shredded by the shrapnel, including Sgt Bland, Jackson and Darwin.

Jackson had a three inch piece of metal scrap lodged between his six and 7th rib but not deep enough to damage his lungs, Darwin's helmet had take the equivalent of a shotgun blast on its right side while Alexandra got a few deep slashes plus some 2nd degree burns on her shoulder and arm closest to the blast; After the medics arrived, Alexandra refused medical help until the other were treated first:

Medic Gear: Sargent Bland, please let us help you! -he tried checking her wounds but she push them away-

Alexandra: I'm fine, Help them!... -she stood up and help out a gear that lost his right hand by the blast-... I'm just scratched up, help him.

The Medic help the man that was too dazed to feel the pain, other medics took Niza to the medical bay while the other wounded were helped to the med-bay by other Gears and those that did not suffer severe damage by the ambush; Some gear named Sebastian was among the very critically wounded, losing his right leg up to his hip and his right arm up to his pectoral muscle, he was screaming as he was taken away and his burnt helmet removed.

Bobby Holligan: Sgt Jackson, are you okay? -he checked Jackson who took support with the wall-

Sgt Jackson: Worry about the others, I'm... I'm fine, just a scratch. -he almost repeated Alex's words-

He quickly goes up to the wall, looking towards the Locust ambushers, whom retreated while the Bigger Boomer among them took rear guard, looking at the fort, specifically at Jackson almost like challenging him to follow without saying a single word; The Veteran snarled in anger as Skjall's smirk disappears into the wood line.

FORTY MINUTES LATER IN THE LOCUST STRONGHOLD-

He couldn't shake the though of Myrrah's children being left to the Royal Guard and Himself, he looked at the baby princess of the Locust then at the twins thinking how ironic that his own son, Marcus, was at the "Care" of Locust while he had the 34 day old children of the Leader of the Locust and their High General in his care; he watched Myrrah sleep, consumed with exhaustion caused by reasons unknown to Adam.

He eventually associated the Exhaustion to the yellow crystals growing out of her body, they've gotten worse on her and on the Palace Guards these shards also began growing, he hypothesized that this was result of his Imulsion Countermeasure but he was confused of why she, Queen Myrrah had them if she is Human. she says she's Locust but she's entirely human. He then decided to find out why, he used a syringe to draw a little bit of blood out of her, she was too tired to feel the prick on her pale skin, then he placed the blood in Microscope and a little bit in the analyzing console, trying to match the DNA from a Locust to Her's by simply looking how similar they look. To his surprise, she had DNA similar to a Locust AND Human in her blood either conjoined or separate.

"She has DNA belonging to Locust but she was not born with it... she had been in direct blood to blood contact with a locust in the recent months, the only one I can think off is General RAAM and of course her own children within their time inside her womb. Maybe RAAM was suffering from these crystals but did not wish to anyone know, past the condition to his offspring but the children's DNA was added to her bloodstream, that could explain why Myrrah was so sickly throughout the pregnancy... Her blood mixed itself with the babies but this does not explain why the babies ARE NOT sickly... the mixture of the blood between Fetus and mother is DEADLY, how did they survive?" -He wrote exactly what he thought in his journal-

He looked at the babies, whom The Palace Guards watched like their very life depended on it (Which if you think about it did), They did not seemed sick or unhealthy even though they did sleep for very long periods of time, sometimes taking 24 hour long slumbers while only staying awake for about an hour of loud crying and Milk drinking before going back to sleep. He also associated these abnormally long sleep cycles to the sickness that afflicted Myrrah's own Unexplained exhaustion, weakness and overall condition.

The Palace Guards that guarded Adam since his time in Azura had gotten use to the human's normal moments to leave the building and take in flesh air and write upon his journal while outside his lab, to the point they developed a habit of simply waiting for him to say "I'm going to get some air" or something around those lines to stop following around like if he's going to escape.

"The Locusts seem to be rather protective of me, now that the Savage had rejoined their ranks and sometimes would wonder into my quarters in close pursuit of a group of wounded locusts; I've already experienced three attempts on my life in the last twenty four hours by the savage, luckily the Palace Guard had scared, Intimidated or force them away from my quarters and Myrrah's. The Savage, to the distaste of the Palace Guards and the Loyal Locusts, did not see Myrrah as their leader, they saw RAAM as their leader which had lead to some scuffles among the troops. Skorge and Skjall had made it clear that this dialogue theme could and would be punishable by Torture, Exile or death. I don't know why but I feel TOO comfortable around the Palace Guards specially the five that have been tasked to guard me since Azura...Talking about Azura, I hope Marcus had escaped, I overheard some Beast Rider speak about, before his arrival here, that there was an Actual prisoner escape were three dozen managed to flee during the night via a hijacked ship. At my age of 62, these things are exactly what I need to hear so I don't turn into a vegetable at a Older state" -he wrote down while imagining a Gorasni ship from his times in the pendulum wars-

Adam managed to develop a drawing habit, he drew a Gorasni ship from memory leaving Azura's port, actually unintentionally drew it, something he's being doing since he figured that drawings were easier to show or explain something to the Palace Guards; Extremely smart and cunning but oddly enough barely understood English so drawing something was a quick way to tell his guards something, which saved him a lot of talking and time.

"I just hope that he's not caught..." he thinks as he stares towards the treeline as the sun begins to rise.

ELEVEN MONTHS, TEN DAYS AFTER IMULSION COUNTERMEASSURE-

The Human escapees had bailed on their escape boat upon reaching the Dead-lands, by the shore where the remains of CNV Sovereign are located, taking hidden routes to avoid the constant Locust patrols that scour the dead-lands on a daily.

Marcus led his humble troops through the trenches until they stumbled upon a recently looking path that leads up a small interception were the right path goes up and the second goes down to a lower area; Marcus, Anya, Cole, Baird and Sam head the lower path while Clayton takes the escapees up the high road.

They ended up reaching a large circular quarry with different levels on the very back, overall the area swarming with tents and small bonfires as well as plenty of Savage Locusts and a few Kantuses as well. There's a bunch of cages with Wretches and some tickers, there's even areas for crops to grow were a few types vegetables were growing. Around the campsite was a few Savage Boomers roaming around red colored tents that were about three feet taller than the rest.

Clayton: Hey Sergeant Fenix, what do you think?... a good place to lay low? -he spoke via Tac-Com-

Marcus: Gotta scout it, to see how many grubs are we dealing with... Tell the people to surround the camp and if there's the need to drop a grub, do it quietly.

The Carmine of the team took the escapees up the right path, button hooking towards the left balcony and splitting the people in two, while Marcus, Anya, Cole and Baird went directly towards the camp using shadows and small concealment positions along the way like a small stack of Empty ticker cages. the four gears sat behind a large crumbling stone wall and eavesdropped on a conversation between a Kantus and what they could identify as a "Very Elite armored Theron":

Theron Elite: Humans escape Azura... Hunters find them, you assist if needed... (As they might pass along here.) -it spoke slow and with its Theron hissing but it seemed it had issues speaking in both Locust and English-... (General Skjall hunts [as] well... Contact with Horn if [You] see humans).

Kantus: (Yes It shall be, Brother... May the might [of] the Horde [be] with you) -It the pressed its right fist upon his left pectoral area, adding a small head bow-

The Theron lightly bowed his head as response then said something around the lines of "Kolsh" or "Kosh" out loud followed by a hand gestured which a few locust then followed the Theron, three of them to be exact whom looked more elite than the savage drones and grenadiers in the camp; They left via a small pathway on the side of the trench wall which they open by pushing a large boulder out of the way before closing the pathway after they left.

Anya: Baird did you understood anything they said? -she asked without removing her eyes from the Kantus who walked towards the center of the camp-

Baird: Yes but just some parts... -he admitted-

Marcus: That's good enough, tell about later but now... -he looked at Baird and Cole-... You two head towards the left through those crates and try to spot as many Grubs as you can, Anya and I are going to go over there... -he gestures a Bunch of large and old looking cages to the northwest of their current position-... We'll spot the center group, we light them up on my signal.

Cole: Hell yeah, Let's do it. -he responds and he Baird quickly and silently make their way towards the Crates at the Northeast side of the camp-

As Marcus and Anya make their way towards the cages, Marcus contacts Carmine to see how the group is dealing:

Clayton: Sgt Fenix I'm in position and so is the boys, were over looking the entire southern side of the camp... we can see you, look for our signal.

Marcus looks to the opposite side of the camp towards the upper level of this circular area that the campsite is situated upon, in effect he sees a very faint flash of light pop up like the flash a mirror would do if the sun bounced off it; He nods at it then heads to his attack position next to Anya:

Marcus: Carmine, when you hear the shooting that's green light for you, got it?

Clayton: Got it... -He tells the order to the rest of the gears-... We're ready to kill these fuckers.

Baird: Marcus, Cole swiped a Boomshot from one of the tents... When you give us the go we're gonna blow some shit up.

Marcus: Okay, Get ready because we're doing this in three... -as he says it, everyone listening in gets their weapons aiming at the targets-

"ONE" -Everyone started spotting targets in their minds, their fingers itching closer to the triggers or/and Safety-

"TWO" -The Gears were already sweating and focused on who they choose to go after, the others were also focused and ready-

"THREE!" -The weapon safety clicks rang out just a split second before the gunfire and explosions began detonating, Killing and shredding locusts-

Just before three was said, a few frag grenades were thrown and detonated upon three at the same time most of the safeties were turned off; The locusts that survived the ambush took cover and began firing back but they were killed rather quickly while the boomers fired their boomshots towards the humans, they missed them. The Kantuses mostly survived while two died by the explosions, another did not see Baird get behind it and payed by getting chainsawed in half by the man.

The battle lasted about three minutes before every locust was dead or unable to fight due to their injuries and wounds; The Humans quickly searched the camp, gunning down any survivors that tried to hide their bloodied bodies, The Gorasni people among the escapees were getting some fun from beating up and killing the wounded locust with brutal strikes or knives, The Gears were unaware of the actions as they searched the biggest tent in the camp for any intel or evidence of who the current situation is looking:

Marcus: Found anything? -he asked as he searched a table with many locust documents, putting the ones that looked important apart in a stack-

Baird: Found a couple things actually... A COG Radio, a couple dissected Gear helmets, Lancer pieces, Drawings of Anvil Gate and its surroundings... damn we hit the mother-lode of Locust Plans. -he commented as he kept inspecting the piles of stuff within a Locust insignia marked crate-

Anya: I found ammo, lots of it. -she said as she tosses the top of the crate she was inspecting, revealing a bunch of Ammo packs and ammunition-

Cole: Found some ores and metal junk for smelting. -he told everyone-

Marcus: How do you know that's for smelting?

Cole: Behind this tent I saw like a smelter, like a really old but well kept one.

Baird and Marcus: Neat.

The gears found plenty of Locust documents and other possible leads into locust plans of action before telling Baird to start translating his findings on a notebook or a piece of paper, all while the rest went searched around camp for any other new intel or salvageable goods like ammo or other similar needed items. By the time Marcus, Cole and Anya were out of the tent, the Gorasnis were digging a big crater to dump the locust bodies into so afterwards they can burn them or bury them out of sight; Marcus saw Clayton retrieving some ammo from the other tents, passing by a large rack with hanging meats and a bunch of crates with raw minerals still covered in dirt.

Marcus: Okay, we stay here until we come up with a plan to head towards Anvil Gate and rendezvous with Hoffman. -Anya nodded to that as she went towards Sam while Cole had his boomshot upon his shoulder looking at Marcus-

Cole: Cool, I'll see if can learn a thing or two why the locust have been mining around 'ere. -he says as he goes towards the forge by the main tent-

Marcus looked towards the camp and sighed, hoping that they could remain hidden until they all regained their bearings and go to Anvil Gate but for now he returned to the tent with Baird to try to find some information on the locust's plan and/or any intel he could retrieve.

AT ANVIL GATE-

Ten days have past since the gears of Anvil Gate retrieved the wounded Mika after the locust dropped her off, she has been comatose by her wounds which included her carved out eye, multiple broken ribs, a fractured collarbone and a concussion that was apparent when she arrive were she was unable to speak cohesively; Jinx has not left the Med-bay since only on the need to get food or being forced to leave by a superior. Jackson walked in to check on the young man, who had his helmet by his feet and his tired baggy eyes locked on Mika, almost like he was mentally begging for her uneven breathing to continue undisturbed.

Jackson: Jack, you need to sleep... she's stable, there's plenty of people here who are watching her so she recovers. -he told his as the young man yawned-

Jinx: No, its my fault she got beaten like this... I was suppose to go with the Lieutenant but I traded my spot with her, so I'm staying here till she recovers.

Jackson: So she recovers and you decay?... fuck no, you get some rest before She wakes up and kicks her boot up your ass with me helping her. -he said a bit of a joke but with his intentions clear-... Come on, go rest she ain't going anywhere.

Jinx nodded and slowly stood up, left the med-bay towards the his barracks, Jackson sitting down next to her checking her Heart monitor to see how she's doing, he felt her hand hold his then he looks at her, her face is looking towards his:

Mika: Thank you for making him... go to bed. -she said slowly, clearly in pain-... I did not want him to continue to kill himself like that.

Jackson: So I looked at your medical analysis and that Locust fucked you up. -he said to her quietly-

Mika: I know... I'll find him... and tear his fucking throat out... -she said with anger even if she pained her to grimace-... what's on the doc, you know, so tell it straight to me, if you understand Doctor speech... -she says with smirk and exaggerated fear, which made Jackson shake his head while holding back a smile-

Jackson: this game again... -he grabs at sheet of paper with her diagnostic, reads it slowly but his expression seemed to be one of faked confusion-... well its a bunch of sciency mumbo-jumbo so you'll understand it better than I can. -he said sarcastically, seeing as he had a background in medicine-

Mika: Go ahead, I'll translate for your simple mind then. -she mocked in a jokingly manner, fully aware of Jackson's old military surgeon duties-

Jackson: Well um... -he reads the documents-...says here the concussion was caused by a very hard hit to your Temporal squama, Sphenoid bone and Zygomatic process of Temporal Bone... Mmmm, your Ethmoid Bone and Sphenoid bone within your orbit got deep crevices by a Sharp blade weapon. -he says to her while acting like he doesn't know what he's talking about-

Mika: -she let out a loud but pained laugh-... God you always make me laugh when you act like you have no fucking clue... shame you stopped being a doctor... -she sighs and looks at her reflection from the back of the metal clipboard, she stares at it in silence for a moment before seeing Jackson's concern expression-... So yeah, that bastard tortured me then carved out my eye with the bayonet of my own goddamn rifle... -she said that part in a somewhat pissed voice but sounding weak-... but I'm getting better, helps that I slept for more than four hours for once.

Jackson: How long you've been awake?... -he asked as he looked at the monitor next to the stretcher-

Mika: A few hours... Give or take... -she coughs then looks at the nurse at the other side of the room-... Jackson, do not say I'm awake to anyone, Last thing I want is get attention, distract the boys from the Locusts... -she looks at him, then thinks about something then continues-... The Locust are coming for another assault on the fort, they're going to try to take it even if it means death to many of their troops, soon...

Jackson: Are you sure? -he asked her, getting out of his seat-

Mika: That... Monster, told me... In thirty days, Their General will arrive with an entire army of Elite troops to take the fort. -she told him-

Jackson: Why would he tell you that? -He said confused and suspiciously-

Mika: H-he said he wants it to be a fair fight, to show the newer troops that we are weak... -she said with a scowl-... promise me you'll prove him wrong if I'm not back on my feet when it happens.

Jackson: I promise...

Mika: The Big Boomer... -she said stopping Jackson's departure by grabbing his arm and tugging him back to her-... His MINE. -she said letting him go, her eyes burned with such hatred that Jackson simply nodded as a response-

Afterwards the man quickly made his way to the war room where Hoffman was planning out how to reinforce the defensive positions of Anvil Gate with a few Sergeants, Nearby is a couple Gears Engineers attempting to fix the hammer of dawn control panel, to the left of Hoffman there's a Loader that's been modified to be a walking wall of armor to serve as cover and to the right is a large Silverback with the face place completely blown out by what could be described as a extremely hot explosion seeing the melted damage.

Hoffman: I need snipers here... here and here, plus a few scouts prowling the perimeter at all times to prevent or at the very fucking least lower the possibility of ambushes.

Jackson: Colonel, I have some information you need to here right now... -he says as he gets next to the Elder man-

Hoffman: Then speak Sergeant, tell me. -he says, Jackson notices how tired and overall exhausted Hoffman looks-

Jackson: I have received information of a major locust attack in the following thirty days or so... -he says to Hoffman-... The Locust are in the process of bringing an army of Elite troops here for one more attempt at taking the fort and its going to happen in around thirty days.

Hoffman: -He takes in Jackson's words, then looks at the map upon the table-... Are you sure son?

Jackson: Straight certain sir, thirty days or so.

Hoffman: Then... May God help us... -he says as he moves away to his study, to start the preparations for the attack-

Jackson goes on his way towards the barracks, to inform his squadron and plan of how to rescue Ltn Withers from the Locust before the attack, hopefully Mika knows where she is, seeing as both got captured around the same time and also important detail, they were in the same squad. When he arrived, he brought every single member of his squad and told them that in five days, they're going to start their rescue mission, even if he didn't have a solid plan set.

ELEVEN MONTHS AND FIFTEEN DAYS AFTER THE IMULSION COUNTERMEASURE-

It was 6:23 AM, Most of the fort was awake and already doing their security checks and sweeps, The members of the band of misfits called Charlie where already gone from their barracks, gone from the fort and ready to save their Lieutenant, Mika was up and had snuck out with them to the displeasure and objection of her squadmates; She had a slight limp, had an Eye patch made of new bandages wrapped around her head and the side of her head were the concussion originated was shaved and the remaining hair there was tied into three thin dreadlocks. she wore a new set of armor seeing as her's was destroyed, her retro-lancer now lacked the original bayonet, the only thing that remained was a bit of the now jagged blade and the handle still attached to the bottom of her rifle.

The Squadron consisted of Sergeant Jackson, PVT Larr, PFC Holligan, Jinx aka SPC McKeìnzie, PVT Castello, 1st LTN De La Toúara and SGT Bland, In addition of PFC Nisa and three other Privates, all eleven of them where waiting on two more Gears just outside of Anvil Gate, near a Scouting Checkpoint to the northeast of the fort. Jackson checks the time, as everyone stays deathly quiet, just as he's about to start moving the two other gears arrive: SSG Adams and PVT Wicker.

SSG Adams: Sorry for the delay, was packing some extra gear. -she says as she stuffed a Stim Grenade on her backpack-

Larr: Is that an actual Stim Grenade?... Jesus, I haven't seen one of those outside of the books.

Jinx: They're rare to come by after Halvo Bay, am I right Sarge?

Adams: Yes, their manufacturing stopped when Halvo Bay suffered a direct impact from a Lightmass Missile... well if you listen to what historians say anyway.

Jackson: Enough history lessons with have shit to do... -he said looking at a scribbled map of the surrounding camps, both Locust and COG-... Now our best bet on finding Witherswood is in these three large outposts, To the Northwest from here through the woods... -he points at the the large drawing of an outpost with the words "The Maw" written above it-... Here, "The Gullet" and "The Throat"... these the largest outposts and its where they most likely have taken them. -"The Gullet" is located towards the Dead-lands towards the south and "The Throat" is to the east of that-... We're going to hit The Maw first, after we disable their snipers and sneak by the Main gate.

Jinx: We'll need a big ass distraction so we can sneak into that outpost so I have an Idea... -he says quickly-... I found a large checkpoint not far from the Maw, it's a Troop Restock and scavenging checkpoint as far as I saw... we go there, then plant a couple Grenades on their ammo dump and then we light them bitches up, if it goes our way for once... we'll have a short window to go into The maw and assault this building... -he says pointing at a large "Y" shaped building in the map-... My gut says this is a POW Holding center and the Headquarters...

De La Toúara: How are you so sure this is the headquarters, Specialist?

Jinx: The few times I've spied on them, I've seen a lot of big-fish looking motherfuckers going in and out of that building, bringing in people or entering then leaving a few hours later, Ma'am... -he responds to her-... It ain't gonna be easy to get, specially getting out with all the possible heat there's gonna be after they realize that the blast was a distraction.

Jackson: This is off the books too, so we're all alone on this... Hell I doubt Colonel Hoffman would even approve of this, so we are going to do this smart so none of us die and we rescue our friends... got it?

Everyone nodded at this then they began to head towards The Maw, not knowing that the "The Gullet" was taken over by the Escaped Gears from Azura. The trip to the Maw was about three long hours of walking with two stops for map check and a pace count; As the reached the large hill of desert rock and sand, they had to sneak and in one point hide in the shadows due to the amount of Locust troops around, afterwards they look and study the large in-construction Fort called "The Maw".

The overall shape of the fort is of a bit crooked Oval with the Northern and southern rocky walls sporting giant spires of sharp and deadly looking rocks, looking like large fangs giving the fort the apperance of a monster's mouth; The most noticeable thing in this fort is the cluster of large square shacks that surround the Big building in the middle that is till under construction as Drones travel up and down scaffoldings with large planks of wood and metal that seemed so better days. to the east of the main building is a large tower with plenty of levels that spiral to the top, like a giant drill, upon its many levels are snipers, spotters and a couple drones moving about.

Jackson: That Tower might hinder our plan. -he says as he uses some binoculars to look towards the central building-... The building in the middle seems well guarded but if the large metal columns that are holding it together are any indication, I'll say if you smash 'em it should bring it down.

Jinx: Jackson, look to your far left. -he says after tapping Jackson in the shoulder to get his attention-

As the Sergeant looks towards the left he quickly indentifies large clusters of what he assumes are Fuel canisters or some type of explosive, then he looks at the area where Jinx told him to look, its a small building in the shape of a "C" and in front of it there's a small group of Locust in a circle watching two others, locust at first glance, fighting with their fists; He zooms in his binoculars and sees that its a Short haired Redhead woman fighting a barechested Drone, she looks very muscular and she seems rather battered, sporting bruises across her face and exposed chest.

Jackson: Its a woman... -he says to the others-... Muscular build, tall, red hair and she's kicking ass. -he feels someone move to his side quickly-

PFC Holligan: That's Travis, Sarge... -he kept his voice low but he almost yelled in realization-... She was with lieutenant Withers when they got captured.

Jackson: We must get her out of here, then we can ask if she knows where Withers is... -he puts his binoculars away-... Okay, Jinx take The 1st LTN and Holligan with you to set up the distraction, while Bland and I cover you. -Jinx nods, De la Tour is somewhat annoyed that she's following the orders from a Seargent but continues with the plan-

Jinx, De la Tour and Holligan sneak towards the checkpoint just 100 meters away from the Fort's entrance, they take cover behind a large boulder and slowly make their way towards the checkpoint as Jackson and Bland watch through their Sniper scopes; Jackson is feeding Jinx what he sees so the specialist does not run into a Locust.

Jackson: Head to your left, behind that rock is two grubs, Take 'em out or let them pass. -he says through the comms-

Sergeant Jackson looks at Jinx as he and De La Tour sneak over behind the Locust and kill them with Deep knife stabs to the chest and a slit neck respectively, quickly hiding the bodies in a patch of tall, dried grass. As they reach the checkpoint, from their right, just outside of Jackson's view a Pair of boomers walk into the checkpoint, almost right into Jinx.

Jinx: Shit, there's a lot of them here... they're re-stocking on ammo for an attack on a Camp not far from here... -He whispers into the Comm-... I'm goint to plant the grenades now... Oooh, found a Torque Bow and a... What the fuck is this?... -A low Ticking is heard and slow shuffling-...Coming back now, Watch our backs, I think this Grenaider smelled us or something, hopefully he didn't...

Jackson and Bland watch as De La Tour takes point and kills a Drone that was walking through, Wrong place at the wrong time, as the three are halfway back, a Large Explosion shakes the earth violently, almost causing Larr to fall to his death, luckily he got grabbed by two of the three privates that came along with Charlie Squad; The sound of a Orchestra of loud and wicked smaller explosions thanks to the untold ammount of ammo that just started exploding, the sky and that checkpoint was lit up with stray bullets, Gusts of fire and large shards of flaming metal that flew across by the blasts.

Jackson: Holy Fuck, that's beautiful... -he says before everyone starts following him towards the where Jinx was-

Gear Private #1: Shame about destroying all that ammo.

SGT Bland: Sacrifices have to be made to win a war, Private, remember that. -she says to her as they head towards the main road, quickly passing before the large crowd of locust rush by towards the commotion-

As the group barely managed to avoid being seeing by the dozens of locusts that just swarmed out the fort and towards the checkpoint, they regrouped with Jinx, Holligan and De La Tour, then quickly entered the fort, taking out any ground troops moving by the main road; After one locusts manages to shoot at the group, they start shooting back and running through as they're now spotted. Jinx throws the Torque Bow he retrieved to Bland who uses it to kill a sniper on a building to the left.

Jackson: Here's your Longshot Jinx. -he returns the sniper to it owner who tosses a Breechshot at Jackson-... What the hell is this?

Jinx: A sniper rifle with no scope I guess... -he says as he headshots a Drone before it could lower his head behind cover-

De La Tour: Split up!... half of you come with me to that center building, the half of you go with Sargent Jackson to rescue Travis and any POWs you can find, GO!

The teams quickly made their way to their ordered buildings, seeing as by now the locust that went towards the checkpoint may have caught wind of the deception; Jackson and Jinx take point rushing in the building, Imediately finding Specialist Tiffany Travis also known as TuTu behind cover, blind-firing a Hammerburst at a group of Savage Grenaiders taking shelter behind a flipped stone table:

Jinx: Damn Lady, you're fucking badass... -he says as he notices how freakishly big she is up close-

SPC Travis: Kill these fuckwits then you can Gawk at me... -she says to him as she reloads and switches cover, closer to the locusts-

Jackson: Is there anymore POWs here? -he says to her as he throws her another hammerbust from the floor after her's runs dry-

Travis: Behind them there's a flight of stairs that leads to a large pit with a cage over it, there's where they have my squadmates.

Outside the building, Nisa and SSG Adams are gunning down any locust that try flanking them as Holligan shoots his Boltok with precision, proof of it is the one tap to the heads of drones to get in his crosshairs; Nisa avoids getting stabbed by a retro-charging savage drone, sidesteps then shoots him in the chest, knocking to the ground.

SSG Adams: Into the building, now! -she yells as the locusts' gunfire becomes too intense to fight-

Nisa: Fuck you, you ugly bastards! -she tosses the injured Savage towards the center of the crowd, they catch him but Nisa had tagged him with a Bolo Grenade, seconds later he explodes in red mist killing about ten to fifthteen locusts, leaving a bunch more wounded and covered in blood and viscera-

With three more gears in the fray, the Grenaiders guarding the POW holding area are killed and Nisa with Jinx hold the room while the other go downstairs, as they find the large 20 by 20 foot pit, Jackson chainsaws the gate open and they enter the pit, breaking out a few more gears just wearing their uniform but without their armor and no sign of Witherswood among the POWs; Some are hurting due to being tortured, others waste no time in picking up a weapon and getting ready to get to well deserved payback on their captors. One of the POWs is this Monster Among men with large recent scars around his body and a demented looking expression as Jackson and Travis reach his Own cell, away from the pit.

Travis: That's Henry Vaskogrant, The grubs fear this one... I'll keep an eye on him, He's been here far longer than any of us, Who knows what they've done to this bloke. -she says as she reluctantly gives Jackson the go to free this man-

Henry: Don't you worry about me Miss, The Pale ones are my quarry not you. -he stands up revealing his full size, he's easily 7'6 Feet tall and his huge torso is covered in Tattoos you'd could see on men made into warriors from the Island of Irohma, Like the deceased Tai Kaliso-... And you, Man, I'm Grateful and I owe you my life... -he cracks his fingers after talking to Jackson-... Let us join Glorious battle.

Jackson steps aside as this mountain walks by, picks up a Retro-Lancer and goes upstairs to join the fight:

Jackson: Jesus... -he simply says as he and Travis lead the POWs out the basement and into the first floor-

Travis: Before you ask, he's not like Tai Kaliso... he's what would happen if Tai had become a Monster. -she says to him as they rush outside-... like truly a sociopath.

After they reach outside, the locust have been pushed back as Holligan is planting a Bolo Grenade on a wall behind them, stepping away and blowing an Exit for the team:

Jackson: Jinx, Are you there?!... its time to get the fuck out of here! -he says into his Comms as he covers his fellow gears and the POWs escape the building, Henry being the last one out sporting a fresh set of bullet wounds on his shoulder but not reacting to them in the slightest-

Jinx: We're in the middle of leaving towards the western exit, Watch the fireworks... -he yells at someone- Danger Close! -A few seconds later another large explosion rocks the fort to its very foundation, a huge fiery mushroom cloud rises from the center of the fort where the big contruction building was, static follows in the comms-

SSG Adams: McKeìnzie is a fucking Pyromaniac! -she says as other explosions rock the paths around the middle of the fort, sending Locust or chunks of them flying through the air on fire, alongside lots of ash, dust and rubble-

As the Gears are re-grouped they run away from The Maw, more explosions keep creating Chaos and destruction for the Locust troops, whom are retreating from the fort as the sheer magnitude of the damage caused by the Gears had spread throughout the entire fort, where tents were consumed by flames, small ammo dumps exploded and created more hellish flames to spread.

Henry: This McKeinzie is impressive... -he adds as he looks back at the large wall of smoke that is literally clouding out the sun's light-

Charlie Squad had turned from 13 Gears to 29 after freeing the POWs, unfortunately there was no Witherswood among the rescued Gears, just a few members of her Squadron and two of Jackson's original squadmates: Dempsey and Connor, Two men so close that one could confuse them as borderline obsessed with each other. It became night by the time the now Platoon managed to lose their locust pursuers. After catching up with each other, The members of Charlie squad escorted the rescued gears back to Anvil Gate, by the time they reached the fort it was 1:21 AM and everyone was quite Exhausted except Henry who was Deathly silent the entire way to Anvil Gate.

EARLIER THAT DAY, DURING CHARLIE'S ASSAULT ON "THE MAW", THE DEADLANDS NEAR MYRRAH'S CURRENT LOCATION-

The skies were full of Gas Barges, dozens of them carrying at least 50 Elites each, among the elites there was Grenaiders, Maulers, Therons, Theron Sentinels, Hunters, Hunter Elites and a few of the elite grenaiders that had converted to the Savage locust forces (Savage Grenaider Elite). Leading these Gas Barges was RAAM on a Reaver, his mind was deep in thought after been revealed to him what had happened to the elites after his presumed death.

After the "Death" of General RAAM, High Priest Skorge had become general of the Locust army, sending large troops into suicide missions and skirmishes that slowly withered the Elites down from thousands to hundreds, eventually almost dying out all together until Skorge was presumed killed on his way to Jacinto; Then many decided to go into Self-Exile until a worthy general would rise once more, that never happened because Myrrah dissappeared and the Hollow was flooded. Most stayed loyal while others lived among the savage, standing as Legends among their brothers whom did not follow the Queen.

Once General RAAM got his Selected few to spread the word of his return among the Locust control forts and outposts, Many Elite came out of their Exile and joined the 10Ft Locust general in the war effort (A War they're very close of winning); After his Gas Barge docked just below Myrrah's Refuge, he wasted no time using a rope to climb down the Gas Barge (For him being one the few times he rode on one). His weight nearly snapped the old rope but it did not stop RAAM who simply ordered the Rider to replace it with something tougher, then he entered the very well guarded building and approached Myrrah whom was feeling a bit better but still very sickly and frail:

RAAM: My Queen, The Elite have returned to your service. -he says to her in the native language of the Locust-

Myrrah: OUR service, you're their general as much as I'm the Queen. -she said softly, getting a nod from RAAM as Response-... At any case, continue on with your duties and lead our people to victory while I recover, General... -she notices RAAM's gaze drifting to the Human watching the Children and writing in his notebook-... Go on, the children need their Father. -she says with the usual way to speak just a bit weak-

As RAAM approaches, Adam steps away from the glare of the General and goes back to his workplace at the other room, after the Scientist leaves, he looks at the children, checking on them specially the girl, her tiny hands reaching out for RAAM's face cooing while the Twin Boys simply tried catching the locust tags that have been repurposed to serve as a Hanging toys for them to play with, they took their attention mostly to the melodic sounds of this Chyme.

He picked up the girl and stared at her as lovingly as the Battle-Hardened Locust General could, he held her small fragile beauty with one hand and walked towards Myrrah, who softly smiled at the sight of RAAM and their daughter. From outside came two large Therons in Onyx colored Theron Guard armor, they stood in completely eery silence, holding Sawed-Off shotguns with Large bayonets under the barrels, Both awaited to be acknowledged by the General. After a few minutes the General saw them and gestured them with his free hand to speak:

Theron Elite: The Rest of our forces have arrived, High General (Uzil). -it says to RAAM in a fashion only he and Myrrah could truly understand-

From behind them the General of The Boomers, Zamil Skjall, The Large muscular Boomer shined its Mechanical eye towards RAAM and walked past the two Therons, he looked at RAAM with a fury not directed at him but at something else:

Zamil Skjall: Uzil RAAM, the humans have destroyed The Maw, freed the prisoners and returned to their stronghold... -he said with sheer rage in its eyes-... I request permission to assault their fortress at once! -he loudly demanded, the mechanical eye twitching somehow-

RAAM: Not yet, Skjall, we must attack when they least expect it... at this very moment, they're forces are on high alert... expecting us to retaliate, we shall wait until their vulnerable then we will stomp out their hope... -He spoke softly then placed the child on Myrrah's hands-... We'll send them running if they got nothing to fight for... -he says evilly as he gestures the large Lesser General to follow him-

As RAAM angrily walked towards the Courtyard with Skjall in tow, Skorge joined them wielding a less inpressive version of the Chainsaw Staff, with the bottom of it missing the chainsaw for use as a walking cane seeing as the High Priest's injuries had taken a very heavy toll on his body. With three generals in command, the locust would surely find much success on the battlefield... In the battles that are yet to come.

TO BE CONTINUED...