AUTHOR NOTES: Let's start off with I don't own the Gears of War franchise; Now that we got that out of the way I would like to say that I'm sorry for not being active, It's been a crazy year so far folks but here I am trying to put in some work. Now I would like to make something clear so there's no misunderstandings, whenever the Locust speak in brackets like this: [Hail brother, it means that the Locust are speaking their own language. The Savage and the Elite are two different types of locust forces who were forced to work together however they have their strengths and weaknesses, in this chapter we will see if they can finally destroy the Humans.
As always don't be shy to leave reviews or suggestions, I'm always open to hear about Gears lore from the comics or neat information that could serve some importance; If you're curious about Gears of War lore you can check out KingAbz on YouTube who's lore videos are in very high quality and tell about information that those who are just used to the games might not be fully aware to. So without further information, let's move on with this chapter.
A FEW WEEKS AFTER THE DESTRUCTION OF ANVIL GATE, COG SIDE-
The fall of Anvil Gate caused major strife among the human forces, specially the gears who used to call it their home, stragglers and lost gears had been appearing throughout the badlands, most are survivors from the fort who managed to escape the grubs or were not in the fort when General RAAM and General Skjall attacked; Among the survivors was a very pissed off Bernie, who had killed so many grubs that she started scratching her kills on her custom longshot.
Delta Squad and McKenzie's squad have been moving through the badlands carefully so their numbers don't attract unwanted attention from the Locust roamers and savage forces, while they relocated to a better location to continue their mission; A few days ago they assaulted a old locust outpost then after looting the place they managed to repaired some of the vehicles that were saved from the fort, including a still functional Assault Derrick that was surprisingly driven underneath the noses of the Patrols that roam across the skies. The situation was dire and terribly stressful for everyone involved in these operations, which were primarily Marcus and McKenzie who insisted in going, occasionally being accompanied by Baird, Cole and/or Anya; Three days ago Jack took a sniper round through the shoulder while he was driving which nearly killed everyone in the truck, which led to a brutal firefight were two Gears, Keebler and Devon, were severely wounded by Theron Guards and their Torque Bows.
Among them McKenzie spotted a gravely scarred Theron equipped in Onyx colored armor, most of the armor was burnt to hell. Jack wasn't an expert in Locust archetypes or Hierarchy but he could tell that Theron specifically was some type of Officer or locust big-fish, important enough were Jack knew he had to blow his head clean off his shoulders. He immediately saw that the Theron wasn't a pushover as it killed Brooklyn, another Gear survivor from Anvil Gate, by blowing him into pieces with it's torque bow then after taking his Lancer he proceeded to suppress the remaining gears while other Elites slowly made their way to the left flank; Just as they were going to be flanked Anya, Sam and Clayton arrived on another Humvee, Carmine manning the retrofitted Troika.
Anya: Marcus, McKenzie!... -she yells over the Troika fire-... LET'S GO!
McKenzie: I'm not leaving without that truck!
Jack charged forward as a large convoy of Savage Locusts arrived from the east, following the column of smoke rising from the burning husk of McKenzie's truck; The savage seemed to be riding on repurposed and refurbished vehicles from Anvil Gate, heavily armored with scrap and other decorative things like a Flag belonging to the Savage, McKenzie quickly jumped away from a Torque bow arrow then took a Savage Locust as a meat-shield after incapacitating it with a Boltok round to the throat. Marcus and the others couldn't join him as the Savage and Elites kept them at bay, McKenzie quickly made his way to the savage vehicle before tossing the dead drone aside as he took cover behind the vehicle.
McKenzie: Focus that motherfucker in the black armor, He's their leader!... Carmine take care of the rest! -he says through the radio before mounting the Troika on the Sandcrawler-... Okay you motherfuckers... -he readies the gun and immediately tears six locusts into mince-meat, then quickly moving the turret to the left so it's shield could soak up some of the gunfire from the Savage-
The Scarred Theron pulled a Savage Grenadier towards himself as a shield to protect itself from McKenzie's fire, he ducked behind one of the Sandcrawlers then began to move in a way he could avoid the gunfire from McKenzie, after being cornered the Theron blind tossed a flame grenade towards Jack landing on the windshield and quickly forcing the Captain to leave the vehicle then charged right behind the Theron who began to order the Savage Therons to attack the humans, then he loaded up an arrow with large round tip, seconds later a big inky looking flare flew into the sky exploding into a massive cloud of poisonous smoke.
He stepped back before using his boltok to kill two drones who charged him then after retrieving a retro-lancer he took out Savage grenadier as Delta were finishing off the stragglers, The elites try to maneuver around the Gears however the Savage who remain are faster so they cut in front of them which led to them getting killed by Delta squad. The Scarred Theron roared in frustration and anger thanks to the Savage's bullheaded charge into the the fray and causing them to get killed, It picked up another Ink-cloud arrow then fired it at the McKenzie's direction.
Jack backed off as the cloud started to swallow the nearby area, he leapt into the wreckage of his Humvee, he quickly pulled out an armored box out of the burning husk then threw it into the back of a sandcrawler, he loaded in a single round into his sniper then aims through the cloud of ink and tries to see the Theron's shape so he fire and rid the world of another powerful locust leader, through a small opening in the cloud he spotted the theron so he fired hearing a loud metal clang noise and a loud yell.
Anya: Captain! -she yells at McKenzie, then she fires at a Grenadier before reloading and gunning down a Savage Drone that was emerging from the cloud-... LET'S GO!
Jack: FUCK! -he jumps on the sandcrawler then starts the vehicle, he drives forward through the cloud with his head down, he takes a hard right as the cloud passes by him which as he regroups with Delta's Humvee he ended up running over a Theron, it got mulched underneath the Sandcrawler's threads. he looks behind his sandcrawler and sees a Gasbarge quickly picking up the locusts who were alive-
The Scarred Theron gets in the Gasbarge then angrily stomps towards the frontal turret, tossing the Savage gunner off and after loading the turret he begins to fire at the escaping Gears, watching them sway and weave across the desert as the boomshots rock and shake their vehicles. The Theron shouts for the gasbarge to speed up and get closer to the fleeing vehicles, The helmsman lowers the barge then immediately receives gunfire from the COG's Humvees. The Theron tracks the Humvee then fires a trio of boomshots grenades which cause the first Humvee to nearly lose control, two of the grenades exploded against the sand creating a small cloud into the air. The Theron took a stray round to the shoulder-pauldron which clanged as the round ricochet off and nearly swipe at him in the face. The Theron angrily tossed their helmet off before starting to fire at the vehicles once more, until the theron's turret took a direct shot from a Torque bow which sent the Theron to the ground with shrapnel in it's face and neck.
Down below with the gears, Marcus grabbed another arrow an loaded it before aiming at the Gasbarge, he fires at the other turret before another locusts could mount it, then he looks at the back of the Gasbarge which has a large cluster of boxes which are ammo containers as well as a weapon cache so as his previous experiences with Gasbarges, he fired his torque bow at it. The Theron looked at the arrow as it hit then immediately grabbed a rappel cable and used it just as the explosion rocked the entire barge, crippling the barge and crashing to the ground, The Scarred Theron was sent flying and rolling across the sand violently. The Theron punches the ground in frustration and in anger, they watch impotently as the Gears' vehicles disappear through the sand as its kicked up into the air.
AFTER THE AMBUSH, LOCUST SIDE-
As the Gears escape the Theron turns to look towards the Gasbarge as it explodes into a heap of blood, meat, fire and molten metal, he stands up and angrily roars in frustration as it looks towards the dust trail, he then rushes towards the wreckage to pull out any survivors, he quickly pulls out two Therons and two Grenadiers Elite out of the fire. One of the Therons was unharmed but rattled while the other had a crushed left leg and a severe gash on it's back, through the armor. The two grenadiers were lightly wounded, one of them pulled a piece of metal out of their shoulder while the other had a crushed cheekbone which was leaking blood down his shoulder and over his arm pauldron.
Scarred Theron: [Anyone else alive?] -he asked as he looked to the wreckage, seeing the fire slowly consuming the beast-
Grenadier Elite: [Commander, There's no one else alive...] -He said to the Theron, then turned around before walking towards the wreckage and pulling out a few weapons from the fire, the weapons were burnt and stained with ash due to the metal of the outside of the weapon heating up bright red- [Some of the weapons are still salvageable, what should we do Commander?] -he asked, the theron picked the now "Scarred" Torque bow then loaded his last ink arrow and fired out into the air-
Scarred Theron: [Now we wait till our brothers arrive and listen to me...] -he says while looking at the destroyed Gasbarge- [All of you...] -he says to the rest of the survivors who now were awaiting the reinforcements- [The Savage stopped us from killing those humans, their incompetence and lack of respect for authorities have caused this...] -he points at the Gasbarge, he points at the corpses of his fellow locusts- [They may be brothers however these idiots will get us killed, I'll speak to the High General... He must know about this at once...] -the others nodded at his words- [All of you, stay with me, You all are proof of the Savage's inadequacy and lack of control] -he finishes speaking as two Gasbarges and many locust vehicles including more Sandcrawlers as well as refurbished and salvaged COG Centaurs-
From one of the Reavers came Uzil RAAM who was clearly fully healed from the wounds taken at the battle of Fort Anvil Gate, his armor was fixed and his weapon was fully refurbished, the Troika turret he was carrying now had longer barrels, a thick wooden and metal stock and a slot underneath the weapon; The Scarred Theron kneeled and bowed to RAAM who stood in front of the soldier with a stoic look:
RAAM: [What happened here, Commander?] -he walks past them then reaches the remnant of the Gasbarge, he walks up to then kneels in front of the crushed and previously damaged boomshot turret, he checks it and looks at the Theron- [Explain Commander...] -he stands up then walks up to the Theron-
The Scarred Theron: [We discovered Humans transporting large amounts of equipment and vehicles so we ambushed them however...] -he says to RAAM as another Reaver lands and from it Zamil Skjall unsaddles it, he walks towards the Gasbarge but a few meters away from RAAM and the Theron- [The Savage ruined the ambush, they kept getting in our Elites way, Their incompetence and lack of strategic understanding makes them a liability, this includes leaving ammunition in the barge with led to our defeat] -he says to RAAM who is starting to get angry-
Skjall: Another failure in your part Uzi- -before he could finish his sentence RAAM punched him with enough force to throw the massive General to the ground hard, His knuckles bled as one of Skjall's fangs was stuck in between the index and middle finger's knuckles-
RAAM: Not another word worm!... -he yells out as the Savage lift their weapons up on instinct, prompting the Elite to the same essentially creating a massive standoff-... Your ego is starting to be burdensome Zamil, your forces caused this by their lack of proper leadership. -he says as he stands over Skjall who's spitting three fangs onto the ground-... You have failed to show that you're capable of following to your Uzil's orders, you're egotistical and above all, insubordinate to the Queen's orders. -he yanks Skjall by the collar of his armor back to his feet then unsheathes his dagger-... Give me a good reason for me to rip and tear your innards and feed them to the Bloodmounts... -Skjall coughed blood onto RAAM's shoulder unintentionally, he then presses the tip of his dagger into Skjall's abdomen, bypassing his armor, letting a few drops of blood leak onto the blade-... Are we understood? -he shoves the Uzil to the ground after he takes Skjall's dagger and tosses it to the Scarred Theron-... You are now going to report directly to ZAMIL AXRÁK from now on, is this understood Krav Skjall? -he asked with Venom in his voice, as Skjall stood up slowly, his blood boiling-
Skjall: This is bullshit! -he draws his boltok as RAAM draws his own, Both are mere inches from each other as they point their pistols at the other's head-... I knew that the Queen was Biased when she allowed you to return as Uzil, you are a liability to the horde, you ancient beast, feeble and trapped in a bygone era... -he says as his Savage move up to his flanks-... You let the humans win at the Tyrus Pillar because you were weak and now you fear them enough to the let them do as they please underneath your fucking nose, when a true Uzil would've crushed them before they grow once more in strength...
RAAM: I'll have your head for this, you treasonous worm and all who follow you... -he growls as he's face to face to the Ex-Zamil however the newly promoted Zamil Azrák approaches RAAM and urges him to back up without saying a single word to him, RAAM's eyes darts to Azrák who is stoic as he looks around, The High General follows his gaze and sees that the Savage out-number the Elite, five to one in fact; Skjall knows this so he grins evilly-
Zamil Azrák: [Seems like a Strategic reconsolidation of our forces is necessary, My Uzil] -he says quietly, enough for RAAM to hear-... [Shall we use our Brains to destroy these Savage, What a better way to destroy this Traitor is to humiliate him by crushing his forces spectacularly, would you agree?] -he added which RAAM answered by nodding subtly, Skjall smirks proudly-
Skjall: Yes RAAM, Listen to the Snake... -he taunts as RAAM begrudgingly holstered his Boltok then starts walking away towards his reaver as the Elites guard him as simultaneously they're moving towards their respective Gas-barges-... The Great and powerful Uzil RAAM retreating without shedding a single drop of blood, Pitiful...
RAAM: Savor this "Victory" Traitor, you won't get any more of them... -he responded as his forces started retreating, leaving the Savage behind-
RAAM's blood was boiling as his forces retreated however he saw Azrák calling for him from a Gasbarge, he landed from his reaver to the deck then made his way towards the newly appointed Zamil who already was planning with a map and a stick of charcoal, he looks over his writings and quickly notices that he had marked down all Savage outposts and caches, this also included the locations for Gasbarge docks and the Palace Guards' Strongholds. RAAM was surprised and impressed at Azrák's quickness at the planning:
Azrák: [Uzil, let's skip the pleasantries, I've marked the primary strongholds for the Savage however it would be unwise to strike at them before letting the Queen know if this treason by Skjall, her knowledge of this situation should of the out-most importance] -he reported to RAAM who looked over the map and the plans-
RAAM: [It is indeed, It seems like a long time since the Queen has spoken, her connection to us is interrupted it seems...] -he says while pointing at the direction of Myrrah's secret expedition, then circles a general area far north around Mount Kadar-... [I sensed her around here, Her Guards are the best of them, I made sure they were properly prepared for their mission. I shall send a message by reaver, under protection, Zamil you shall personally rally the Elite outposts and bring them to speed about the situation, Is that understood?] -he says to him while looking at the map and calls for a Reaver rider to come close to the barge, he walks to the edge of the deck and speaks to the pilot- [Return to Anvil Gate, tell all the forces to destroy the Savage and that Ex-Zamil Skjall is a traitor... Most importantly to take every single bit of ammunition, resources and weapons then rally at the Western docking tower in two days] -he orders, the pilot obeys and takes off-
Azrák: [Uzil, two days... however the message to the Queen shall take far longer than it would take us to rally our forces and crush the rebellion...]
RAAM: [Rebellion?...] -he repeated as he looked at the Azrák-... [It's that what you call it?] -he asked sarcastically as he looked at the Zamil-
Azrák: [What would you call it Uzil?] -he asked him with a smirk, almost sure about RAAM's response-
RAAM: [Weakness, a cancer that needs to be destroyed, just like the humans and the Lambent...] -he says to the Zamil, he then stabs his blade into the map, exactly upon The Maw, the largest stronghold of the Savage where Skjall most likely will take as his main base of operations- [And now, A traitor among us, unprecedented in our species' history... Skjall may be remembered as the First traitor of the Horde... -he retrieves his dagger before starring at the blade reflecting his face-... and the last.]
A FEW HOURS LATER, GEARS' PERSPECTIVE-
After the ambush the Gears escaped towards the nearest mountain range in the badlands, where McKenzie had set up camp to watch the horizon in case of Gasbarges and incoming attacks from the locust forces which included assaults from Reavers. They slowed down so their vehicles couldn't create a column of sand that could be tracked to them, they parked next to their shelter cave, Cole and Baird quickly approached to help out the wounded:
Keebler: Fuck... -he groaned loudly as the Cole helped him to the cave-... Thanks Cole, fuuuuck... that shit hurts bad bro... -He tossed his helmet aside as he felt the blood dripping down from his left temple-
Cole: Let's get you patched up brother... -he says to him while Baird and Anya help Devon-... Jackson!... We need a medic!
McKenzie took his rifle out and walked to his spot in the cave, hiding his injury from the others, shortly after unloading the weapon he tosses his scorched sniper rifle onto his cot then sat down. Afterwards he removed his armor and proceeded to use his IFAK to close the bullet wound on his shoulder. He pulled the shrapnel out of his shoulder only to notice that the round went into the muscle above the collarbone in a awkward angle, where it shot out the upper trapezius, It hurt like red hot hell and moving his shoulder side to side sent lightning up his neck and down his back which gave him a flashback to his first time in action:
"I remember the sarge, Rogers I think, shouting for me to cover the squad but I knew better... He was delirious, his squad, our squad were killed a few minutes earlier by a squad of Therons as he escaped and got into a vantage point to hold them back; All my time in anvil gate was as a guard, even during the previous attacks I've been watching, unable to fire my weapon, I could never line up the perfect shot... This time I finally killed one of the locusts, A Theron who had scaled the wall and was ready to kill Jonesy who was on a Troika... I finally lined my shot, I steady my aim then..." He awoke from his flashback as he another ripple of pain exploded out of his shoulder as straight vodka was poured into his wound by Nika while Jackson quickly started patching his wounds.
Jack: -huffs and puffs in agony before he punches an ammo box on his bed as a coping mechanism-... F-F-Fuck!...
Jackson: You're getting complacent Jack, how the fuck did you managed to nearly get yourselves killed? -he says before sitting down upon a bucket that he pulled over-
Mika: That was very crazy fucked... -She says before handing him the bottle which he drank from without cleaning his own blood from the bottle's opening-
The captain would lean back onto his bed to let his wound rest, He crossed his leg over his thigh as he recalled the attack; He described the vehicles that the locusts were using, The Sandcrawlers, as well as the severely burned Theron who seemed to be in charge of the ambush as well, the most alarming detail of how determined the locusts were to keep the burnt theron alive.
Mika: It could be one of the generals' second in command, a lieutenant or some other big shot to put down. -she says while looking at Jack who seemed annoyed, deep in thought-
Jack: Fenix and Delta came in at the knick of time, if it wasn't for Carmine we've been ripped apart by those Therons and the rest of the grubs. -He gestures to the wound-... hell, I'm sure that I got shot in the driver seat thanks to that scarred fucker commanding the ambush.
Jackson: You said that he was using a ink arrow for its torque bow?... -he asked incredulous-... When did they had the time to develop a weapon like that? -He seemed to think about it-
Jack: It's in a smaller scale than the grenade but still as effective at poisoning us. -he adds before seeing Marcus enter the area, he seemed anxious or at least, like Jack deep in thought-... Sargent, is the others doing good?
Marcus: Keebler is nursing a dislocated shoulder, shrapnel cuts and a few deep bruises by torque bow explosions... Devon, lost two fingers and his left arm was torn up by the same shrapnel that struck Keebler. -he says to Jack before looking at Jackson-... They should recover in due time. Now, that you're feeling better, Baird was setting up an antenna when the ambush happened and he picked up a distressed signal nearby, you should hear this. -he hands Nika a data pad with a audio file on it-
After a second of seeing the length of the file she starts playing it: "-static-... It's working... fuck... keep an eye out for the guards, This is Witherswood we're trapped in a grub prison in some giant fortress, they force us to fight each other every day... however a few of us escaped a couple days ago, some of them were heading south... -silence, heavy footsteps are heard in the background before they disappear-...They been forcing some of us to labor, we've been forced work on some attack vehicles and occasionally we're moved around the fort, by orders of some big locusts commander of sorts." Unfortunately the message ends there so Jack returns the file to Marcus.
Jackson: So my suspicion was correct, LT (pronounced "El-Ti") was right when she told us that the intel she had could fuck us... -he says to the group-... apparently she had knowledge about something that could either fuck us or the grubs, maybe the locusts found out that she knew something significant and they're trying to pull the information out of her but she's not giving them anything it seems.
Nika: We must save her, we finally know where she is... It's the maw!
Jack: The locusts have fortified the Maw time and time again, the place is literally impenetrable... -she looks at him with an annoyed look to her eye-
Baird: Unless you go at it from the air. -he steps into the conversation while carrying a mechanical tablet with wires and jury-rigged parts attached to it-... If we were to hijack another Gas-barge we should be able to command it to enter the Maw with this. -he shows it to Marcus who seems stoic but seemingly pleased-
Jack: So I'm going to make a wild fucking guess and say that Delta's current goal is to do what you do best and fuck up locust infrastructure? -he says with a raised eyebrow and a smirk-... Because if you're thinking of going in on your own, you have me fucked up. -he stands up with a bit of her help from Mika-... The hell I'm letting soldiers under my care risk themselves without me involved.
Without anymore input from the rest, Jack ushered everyone out of his tent so he could rest up before he could plan out the attack on the Maw. He drunk from the bottle one last time, the last bit of booze there was to indulge, the last drop that could him cope with his feelings on the war. He rolled around on the cot before standing up and walking towards the command tent were Delta was hard at work, the used old dim lanterns hidden with paper covers so only the most minimal of light would exit the tent. Baird was welding something together in a corner while Cole was discussing something with him, Anya & Sam were checking something on drawn scale map of the deadlands with their focus was upon the maw, meanwhile Marcus was righting down what Jack deduced being coordinates and approximates for entry points in the assault. Clayton Carmine was hard at work as well refitting a disassembled Troika turret with new barrels, next to him was Henry who was doing the same but with looked like a tattered and crudely repaired Vulcan Gatling-gun.
Jack: "Does Delta even fucking sleep?" I once asked the old man out of curiosity when he caught me snoozing on guard shift... -he surprised a few faces except Marcus and Henry-... "They do but you know how they can fight for so long with needing to hit the hay?... It's because every one of those Gears runs on determination, sheer will power and fuckin' hatred" he said, I just though you lot were too juiced up to even sleep but after seeing what's been going on lately... -he says as he reached the war table-... I believe it.
Cole: Clayton may run on hatred but the Cole train runs on- -he was interrupted but Jack who smirked before he talked-
Jack: "Whole Grain baby, wooooo"?... -Baird chuckled while Clayton outright cackled, others smirked and hid their laughs-... I've seen the cereal boxes. -he says that to Cole, who laughed then after calming down he stared at him-... sorry, I could not help myself. -he turned to look at Marcus-... Marcus, what do you think we should do?... Aside from stealing a Gas-Barge...
Henry: ...Or two. -he quickly said while still working on his weapon-
Clayton: ...Or three with a fuck ton of ammo on the side. -he says to Henry in return before they looked at each other and nodded-
Marcus: So far that's the first step, the second would be to plow through their ground infantry around this area... -he circles the "LZ" for the Gas Barge/s, a small clearing leading to a slope full of watchtowers, this slope was not steep but any ground vehicles that went down it could fly down if they weren't properly driven-... The Barges will draw the fire and provide support to the ground teams who will set up a squad to provide overwatch in these towers. -he explained to Jack-
Jack: The Ground team will move through the Maw in between these fortifications to avoid getting shredded by the grubs right? -he points at what looks like a cluster of tiny buildings that crisscross into narrow pathways to the right, in the direction of the biggest buildings; These seemed like large tents with a few solid fortifications to avoid them being destroyed by bombardments (If what Jack remembers is correct)-
Marcus: Yep, after clearing out Tent city the ground team will hit these buildings... the mission is to rescue Whitherswood and any other POWs but we're also to take anything that it's not nailed down like any intel, weapons, ammo and if able vehicles, without getting Greedy. -Anya points at the northern entrance to the maw which he turns to listen-
Anya: If evacuation is not possible with the barges, this the way the ground team has to take. Clayton and Henry will be awaiting our signal to destroy the main gate and pick you up with the Humvees if it gets to that. -she gestures of the path in the map-... Clayton should be able to take you to the checkpoint on this valley to the east, where we'll rendezvous and if need be, hold out till we're all together.
Jack: Is you, Delta, Boots on ground with me and the rest of my squad? -he asked her-
Anya: Half, Sam and myself will provide overwatch and air support from the Gas Barges. We'll spot priority targets for you if needed and whenever possible.
Question after question, Jack and the rest the Delta prepared the attack on The Locusts' primary outpost in the Deadlands. As the minutes began to turn to hours, Jack brough the rest of the Unit to the fold by informing them of the plan. After the Gears were given the complete rundown of the assault plan, every started getting their equipment battle-ready however as Clayton and Mika were setting the up the machine-guns on the vehicles the duo called an audible alarm as a cloud of dust arose from the far west side of the camp.
The Gear propped upped and readied themselves to take on what approached which Jack quickly identified the force as an Elite Savage unit, Delta were ready for a fierce fight as Sam identified multiple Savage Elite Grenadiers and the Dreadful Savage Marauders, the closest things to demons that the grubs could breed. Marcus silently ordered everyone to remain quiet and to not open fire until his signal, Jack aimed then looked through his scope as he counted the locusts, he felt a cold sweat run down his face as he quickly spotted a pair of Savage Kantuses and nearly two dozen Savage Boomers. The Gears stayed on the prone, deathly still and as silent, watching the massive savage attack force as they charge by in a frantic and frenzied state, Sandcrawlers charged passed the crazed horde full with Savage Therons and a new savage type that Delta has not seen before.
As the Horde sprinted by them a few stragglers remained after one Marauder stopped dead on it's tracks; The crazed locust sniffed the air with the manic energy of meth addict or someone high on a deadly amount of Bath-salts, It's eyes darted around rapidly as it searched for the scent it picked up, the stench of humanity, the scent of prey. It roared with a bloodcurdling war-cry so strong it shook the dust and sand around itself strong enough to rival a Kantus, It drew a severely rusted Elite sawed-off shotgun on one hand while holding a jagged and crude knife made from two pieces of footlong rebar spikes welded together with rusted and sharpened metal, resembling a skinny head of a halberd attached to a wooden hilt.
It's War-cry also prompted the few stragglers to enter a similarly manic frenzy, the drones and the savage grenadiers started howling and hooting as they searched around for what the Marauder detected. The Gears made a silent agreement as the main force was far away from them where the gunfire wouldn't be heard so after carefully aiming down their elevated area, Marcus shouted the signal:
Marcus: NOW! -the gears opened fire at the team of crazed locusts quickly killing them all except the Marauder who collapsed to it's knees however he tried to continue to charge at them, which the gears open fire again-
The Marauder roared as blood spewed out of his mouth, the gunfire had ripped the knife arm off him and a large chunk of his torso was shredded so much it's ribs were exposed and some of his organs were hanging off, It continued to move forth even as its right leg was nearly ripped into ribbons. Jack locked a new round into the chamber then fire at the Marauder's head which exploded into chum, finally putting the Grub down. Clayton leaps over and reaches the body, he stomps on the body to keep it pinned on the ground before opening fire on the torso essentially destroying the heart. He empties the magazine on the torso then reloaded ready to open fire again but he was stopped by Jack:
Jack: CEASE FIRE! -he walked up to Clayton before placing his hand on his shoulder-... It's dead Carmine... -he turned to look at Marcus-... Right?
Baird quickly walked passed Clayton and Jack, he walked towards the Marauder's body then curb stomped the locust, he scrapped the bottom of his boot against the ground cleaning the remains of the locust's gray matter; Everyone looked at Baird as he turned to look at them:
Baird: NOW It's dead... -he gestures to the sandcrawlers and Humvees-... If we're stealing the Barges, let's not waste anymore time.
A FEW HOURS LATER, LOCUST'S PERSPECTIVE-
Skjall was angry, matter of fact he was furious, at the decisions by Uzil RAAM which have proven that the old soldier should be replaced by someone better for the role, specifically himself; If he was going to prove him correct, Skjall was going to make sure RAAM regretted treating him like a lowly grunt. He rode on a Sandcrawler, his hand tightly tied around the triggers of a dual-troika turret, his claws dug into his palms as his anger kept growing as he imagined tearing RAAM's head from his shoulder then destroying humanity's feeble resistance.
The dust trail behind him was like a beacon for his Savages to follow, specially the Marauders and the other more "unstable" members of the Savage horde to follow. He needed to strike at the heart of the human's resistance, he needed to break their spirit and to do so he needed to find to kill the human "War Hero" Marcus Fenix, scatter his broken body to the wind, as the final unrefusable piece of evidence about the inevitable and pathetic excuse of life that humans are.
Skjall knew that the only way he would destroy humanity he had to communicate with the Queen to report RAAM's incompetence however he could only do this is by finding her directly, specially as her signal died out weeks ago. The only place were he could find a gasbarge to take for the Queen's location was in The Maw, the fort where the gasbarges are fitted with armaments and repaired.
However he knew that RAAM would've restricted his access to them, Savage were kept away from them to prevent unnecessary "loss" if they were to assault a human fort or camp, Skjall scoffed at the cowardice, these were weapons and weapons are used to destroy their enemies, he was going to do such thing, to prove to RAAM that he could do what needed to be done. His fists balled around the grips of the Troika as he saw the Maw approached over the horizon, he stopped the "Formation" with his hand and then stood tall while looking at the fort. His frustations with RAAM, his anger at beings treated like lowly grunt and the lack of respect as a general was seething out of the Locust:
Skjall: KILL THEM ALL, DESTROY THE TRAITORS AND COWARDS!... -He shouted with such intensity that it could've made the Sandcrawler underneath shake and rattle-... ALL WHO BLINDLY FOLLOW RAAM ARE WEAK!... SLAUGHTER THEM ALL! -he roared, followed by roars of all his savages and the revving of engines and weapons alike-
The charging horde of savages started to shake the ground, locusts from the Maw looked at in confusion then in complete alertness as a wall of dust and sand was being picked up as hundreds of savage locusts charging at them, they immediately take defensive positions as the therons scatter into their own positions:
Maw Commanding Theron: Savages~... -he whispers to another Theron-... [Raise the Alarm, something is wrong...]-he turns back to the edge only to duck as three rounds that whips across the railing, showering his red armor with sparks- [WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!] -He shouts as he loads his Torque bows-
The Locusts of the Maw start firing at the savages who's gunfire start striking against the metal walls, explosions rack fiercely against the gates, the Theron Commander shouts for the gates to close whoever the sandcrawlers crash fiercely against it, causing the massive gate to explode off the massive hinges, which shakes the wall enough were a few snipers fall to their death. The Loyalist Locusts clash against the Savage however the sheer brutality of the inhabitants of the wastes is enough to push them back severely; Skjall's Troika fire was tearing the defenders on the walls apart, the rounds destroy the cover where the defenders try to shelter themselves, even the boomers that charged the savages were ripped apart by the ceaseless and indiscriminatory torrent of fire by the General.
The commander rolls away from Skjall's wrathful fire, He ducks underneath then after executing two Savage drones he charges up to a massive metal bulwark then alongside a few elites he starts pushing the defensive wall into a line of others like it, then he takes the elites with him as he weaves away from the charging savages, the group's 15 strong and now they retreat to a more defensive spot: Behind a thick scrap wall, they climb up to the edge taking cover behind the wall, peeking through the kill-windows and returning fire.
From this spot the elites start tearing the attackers apart, the bulwark was taking most of the damage protecting them from the rage that the savages were unleashing against them, the Commander kept wiping out the Savage Grenadiers whom try to climb up the bulwarks using his boltok while occasionally switching to his torque bow to blast away the Marauders whom sheer presence seems to galvanize the other savages into fighting harder (Or even frightening them into charging forward).
Elite Grenadier: [Commander!] -the grenadier shouted from behind as a Marauder leapt over one of the far side bulwarks, pinning the Grenadier against a wall while wildly slashing at his shoulder, chest or any area exposed it could slash with it's crude "knife" made of sharpened scrap metal-
Maw Commander: [Dro'l help that one!] -a drone nods then charges in to fight the marauder-... [Keep fighting brothers!... don't let the traitors win] -he shouts however he's shot through the bulwark, through his armor into his chest, tearing his flesh and crushing one of his ribs into smithereens, he could feel the blood rushing out through the jagged metal of his armor trapped in his stomach, he coughed and collapsed behind the bulwark, he put pleasure on the wound as his elites fire at the savages as he began to dig around his wound for the shrapnel- [Fu-ck... Kantus... Keep fighting fools...] -he shouts as two drones try to pull him away, a kantus starts chanting trying to get him up which succeeded but he's severely wounded so he leans against the wall, he rips the bullets out of the casings from his boltok holster, he dumps the gunpowder into the wound then he lights it, crudely cauterizing the wound, he slumps down-
The savages were advancing quickly, using the sandcrawlers to wreck the Bulwark however Skjall's troika had taken a direct blast from a Boomshot, tearing the gun out from it's position, he stood up immediately and retrieved a lancer and began to gun down the elites whom were loyal to RAAM and those whom blindly defended against the superior warriors, at least as Skjall saw it.
The General was one skilled warrior, far more cunning and stronger than most of the locusts, like RAAM he was a veteran of the war against the Lambent, unlike the other general, Skjall spent most of his early life in the battlefield; He killed more lambent than anyone else, he fought humans when Karn destroyed Gorasnia and even witnessed his old commander's death, he took great satisfaction leading the attack against the humans, killing the last of their forces weeks later. Skjall took great pleasure watching the light leave the human commander's eyes, the one called "Loomis", the one who killed Skjall's general.
Skjall: [Kill them all!] -he shouted as he advances, he killed a few more defending drones then he ducked behind a sandcrawler as Torque bow arrows whiffed by his head- [Marauders, CHARGE!] -as if the Marauders had springs on their feet, they launched into the fray in a frenzy, the blood haze was making them into beasts, the general shoved the nearest sandcrawler till it was pinned against the bulwark, the marauders use the sandcrawler as a stepping stone to climb then leap like ravenous monsters onto the defenders killing them like hogs ready to butcher them-
The Defenders attacked but the Marauders' viciousness was greater than their strength, they were force to retreat as the berserk locusts tore those who couldn't run away from them or their rage; The Savage horde was destroying the defenders' positions, butchering all whom try to fighting them in direct combat while the drones and grenadiers, Boomers and savage kantuses picked the defenders off. The Sandcrawlers kept pushing the bulwarks out of the way, crushing the corpses and the living alike underneath the weight.
Skjall pushed past his own troopers, his lancer was drenched in blood and his barrel was red hot as he empty his looted magazines were empty over and over again, he split more and more of the defenders' torsos in half, tearing them asunder and painted his armor red. Eventually he stepped over a toppled bulwark and glanced at the devastation his forces brought upon RAAM's followers, he smiled and chuckled to himself as he witnessed the defenders ran away from his savages. He leaps down and slowly walked across puddles of blood and corpses, occasionally firing his lancer to execute defenders whom were too wounded to escape. His eyes locked on to the massive group of defenders whom were defending and retreating into a massive bunker like building sticking out of the ground, others charged up stone stairwells carved into the cliff, Boomers fired their weapons from the high ground and snipers took out savages whom were not smart enough to take cover.
Skjall then realized that the defenders were retreating towards the Gasbarges stored behind the fort, He angrily clenched his teeth as he shouted for the Savages to not let any of them escape. He started to sprint past his own forces, even trampling over the living and dead as bulldozed his way towards the bunker; He reached the door and in a serious show of outright brutal strength he ripped the door clean off the wall, he tossed it aside and started kill his way through the hallways. He moved into a large war-room were more locusts fired upon him, his armor was built to outright compete against every from explosions, bullets and at the time of it's forging, Lambent blood. He grabbed a metal table with one hand and tossed it at a charging Grenadier, pinning him to the ground. He blocked the bullets of the locust defenders with his mechanical arm as he picks up the Gnasher shotgun, firing it one-handed quickly slaying most of the defenders, he was unable to kill the rest due to the Gnasher going dry.
He roared as his annoyance boiled over, Curb-stomping the pinned grenadier out of spite before taking his boltok then nonchalantly headshotting the remaining three before kicking open the next door, he climbed up the stairs till he reached a destroyed elevator, he looked up and saw that it was sabotaged recently no doubt to stop him and his savages from climbing up. He pulled on the elevator wire filling the tension of the counter weight, he pulls out hard then ties it around his waist then aims the revolver up to the counter-weight that was nearly forty five feet above him. He fired at the counter-weight till it exploded from it's own weight and tension, pulling him up as the cable yanked up incredibly fast, he barely managed to let go of his cable as he reached the top before it could split him in two. He coughed at the pain from the cable's strong pull however he pushed pass his pain and kept charging forward towards the Gasbarge landing spots.
As he reached the top of the cliff he saw as the defenders were mounting the Gasbarges as the other gasbarges were still being loaded with troops and ammunitions. He spotted a Boomer moving towards him, he charged him before the heavy locust could fire at him, he punches the boomer with a massive right knocking them onto the ground then he pulls the boomshot off the boomer's hands, afterwards he killed the massive locust by crushing it's head with the very same weapon he took from him. He ripped a nearby ammo box open but finds bullets, he tore a few more till he found more boomshot rounds.
Skjall: [You won't run from me cowards!] -he fires the boomshot at the nearest Gasbarge's deck, blowing a turret apart and shredding a few elites, then as he reloaded his boomshot he retrieves a Boomshield laying above a bunch of ammo boxes to defend himself; He fires another round at the boomshot which hits a Theron directly however he misses his main target: The navigation panel of the Gasbarge-
As the first Gasbarges start departing Skjall roars in anger before he lays the boomshot's barrel on the edge of the opened boomshield to stabilized his shot, he fires it at the closest gasbarge, hitting it directly on the deck underneath the ammo stack for the turrets, the blast caused the ammo to explode and kill everyone on the gasbarge and causing it to crash into the ground. By the time the barge exploded against the ground, his savages arrived and started firing at the retreating barges. However two of the three barges turned around and started to bomb the savage forces on the ground, The savages charged across the field towards the other grounded barges despite the the retaliation, a few snipers among them take out some of the leftover defenders whom were protecting Therons whom were mounting up on some reavers to retaliate.
The Savages took out some grounded reavers as Skjall charges towards the therons whom try to take off and he immediately shot them dead with his boltok, afterwards he quickly climbed the reaver and took off up into the air after the retaliating gasbarges; He followed the first gasbarge, while the second gasbarge flew parallel to it allowing Skjall to fly in between them, he draws his Boomshot but he's unable to take out any of the barges as a sniper round strikes his armor causing him to drop his weapon and for a second falling out of the saddle; He looks down and before his Reaver explodes from thanks to Barge fire, he leaps away and falls onto the barge's platform, he quick stands up and gets shot by a Gnasher twice, he falls back to the edge of the barge where he drew his boltok and his boomshield, blocking a few shells before blasting the grenadier and picking up his shotgun.
A explosion rocks the bottom of the barge which staggered the crew enough for Skjall to look over the edge and see the savages firing Boomshots up to the barges, he took advantage of the confusion to kill the Pilot with the Gnasher, stand up then after tossing a drone overboard he started killing them all. He got shot around his chest but he finished the drone after smashing the shield into his face till he was dead. He limped towards the boomshot turret then fired the entire payload at the last Gasbarge, blowing a massive hole on the side of it, sending it crashing against the barge landing tower next to the fort. He witnessed the massive explosion rise into the sky then he made the gasbarge land, walking towards the Savages who had captured the Commander, who was laying on the ground, weakly breathing as he's dying from his wounds.
Skjall: [Commander, your fort...] -he gestures to the fort before using his boot to flip to him on his back then he steps on the wound, pressing down onto the wound, causing him to roar out in pain, a pool of blood started to form below him-... [Is mine now, that weakling RAAM doesn't run this show anymore, I do...] -he draws the boltok and presses it against the commander's temper- [Any last words?]
Maw Commander: [Eat my D-] -He gests shot in the head by Skjall who leaves him there-
Skjall: [Sorry, I didn't quite hear you, asshole] -he walked away towards his newly obtained Fort-
TO BE CONTINUED...