Sever Tomorrow: The Barrens

[Ekilion]

Freetown

The 'city' wasn't exactly in the greatest shape at the moment. People ran left and right as the battle raged at the perimeter, and as it was no one noticed the bandit running through the streets. The figure was neither running toward the fighting or away from it, but when the Nanites fell, it was still far away from the fighting. That wasn't to say it wasn't prepared for combat though, no, the bandit was carrying a service rifle and was covered head to toe on thick clothing. The eyes, which were the only visible parts on the bandit, shifted around as they looked for its target.

When the mercenaries began blasting their demands the bandit increased its pace, if one could tell its species they might have thought the speed it moved at was inhuman. Normally it would never have let something like this show but time was running short. There was no doubt in its mind that Zeroes would comply, and it also suspected that the mercenaries might just slaughter everyone in the town anyways.

55 seconds

Ever since it had arrived in the city, the bandit had becoming indispensable as its secondary goal, and by now people knew that the bandit knew its way around the catacombs. What they didn't know was how the bandit had gained that knowledge. Every day it had been in the city had been another it used to hunt down, kill, and take the memories of the greatest cavern explorers it knew of. Of course some escaped it, either those too unimportant to be worth it, or those too well defended. Now though the last of its targets that didn't fit the last two criteria was in its sights.

50 seconds

Jumping up a stack of boxes onto the roof of a shanty the bandit, and began to clear streets at an inhuman rate . Its target would not escape it and ruin the mission, it had been waiting for a chance to get into the caverns, and while it could have done it alone that would have risked too much. Leaping back down to street level the bandit pushed people over as it sprinted through another panicked crowd. The service rifle still hanging at its side, the bandit barreled around a corner and saw the building it was looking for.

40 seconds

The bandit barely slowed as it plowed through the doorway, blowing the thing off its hinges. It barely even needed to glimpse at the room to see its target, along with two other unknowns. Raising the rifle up before the three could react to the sudden intrusion the bandit blew the two away, their blood splattering the wall behind them. The target instead received a round in both his arms, that left him unable to grab his weapon. In a blink of the eye the bandit was pinning its target to the ground.

35 seconds

Before the target could make even a pained noise a hand was covering his mouth, while the other hand grabbed ahold of his wrist. The target barely had time to react before spikes shot out from the bandits arm and rammed themselves into his nerves. The moment they did he felt searing pain as his mind was torn through in record speed. Everything he knew of the catacombs, everything he knew about his contacts and his friends, his own survival skills, and the location of anything valuable, was torn from his mind.

30 seconds

As the last of the targets important memories were taken the spikes retracted and the bandit stood up. Taking only a moment to make sure no one was watching before pointing its gun at the man on the ground and putting a round through his head. Leaving the house the bandit began moving back at the same pace as the others sprinting through the street. Now it just had to survive the next hour or so and it could be out of here.

Outside Freetown

"And the party's started." A, for all appearences patch of sand, muttered as it heard the sounds of battle. The voice it had was difficult to pin down, gender neutral and without accent.

"Your contacts still inside?" A voice crackled, coming through a small beat up communicator.

"I'm almost certain they are." Pausing for a moment the patch of sand shifted, "Hold on a moment I hear something, go silent."

That something soon turned into the form of another rapidly approaching gunship, which inturn turned into a quartet of bikes.

"Hmm" The patch of sand hummed, if this wasn't an area where random shootings were common it might have not been so conflicted. The want was there to use these new resources to help secure what the group came here for, but the danger was there too. If movement was avoided then the gunship just might not notice the silent watcher, but at the same time there was no way to figure out how good its sensors were till it was too late.

'Bigger payout for bigger the risk' The patch thought as it stood up, sand draining off the humanoid figure that appeared from the ground. The figure wore heavy clothing, the form beneath all the clothes was almost entirely hidden, with only the area around the eyes visible to the world. The figure also dragged another thing from the sand, a high powered anti matieral rifle that had been scavanged off some dead bandits.

Odds were the gunship above had already spotted the 'new' arrival to the scene, and if the figure was unlucky then its weapons systems were likely to be locking on right now. If death was to come though the mission would not be lost, the others in the sand, gullible aliens mostly, would take up the mission, and remove his killers at the same time. Blissfully unaware of the work they were doing for a species they didn't even know existed.

Raising the anti material rifle above its head the figure slowly moved toward the bikers, now plainly visible to anyone who was looking. If there were no shots soon then it would likely mean a chance to add some new temporary resources to the mission. First though they needed to figure out if the bikers were willing to talk.

[Xiscapia]

Freetown...

As great columns of smoke rose from the bombed-out buildings, power-armored Zeroes ran and rode in buggies and gun trucks to the front and civilians flowed in the opposite direction the air of Freetown was full of the sounds of sapient agony, terror and panic. A Rasthan woman pinned by the legs beneath a fallen dormitory screamed pitifully as her friends, left with no other options, used a pair of laser cutters to sever her legs at the knees, bringing with it the stench of singed hair and burned flesh. Nearby man not so lucky lay in the street, body riddled with shrapnel, a trail of blood and entrails marking the path where he had crawled from the wreck of his crushed car, wheezing and begging passerby's to help him, cries growing more and more muffled as blood from his punctured lungs filled his mouth, choking his pleas. Weeping, a Zillar ran about, shoving a photograph of another of his kind in the face of anyone who would slow down long enough, asking if someone, anyone, had seen his betrothed. Through it all the bandit, carrying a fresh load of memories, moved unimpeded.

Near the perimeter the crack of sniper fire and occasionally a hissing rocket could be heard, but with the bombers peeling off to keep out of range of the anti-air defenses until the next attack, there was not much danger in the town's actual interior. Clouds of nanites had devoured some of the bandits and fortifications on the outer walls, and a large gap had been torn into one part from tank shells, but apart from the mining bombs much of the rest of Freetown remained untouched. That didn't stop its inhabitants from fleeing, making for the opposite end of the town where they might be able to spill out into the Barrens and escape the attackers, or hunkering down among the shanty homes, concrete structures and the leftover corporate modular buildings that the Zeroes had taken over as their own. So far it seemed, at least from the inside, that the mercenary attack had done more to damage the fortifications and terrorize the people within than anything. Perhaps that was all they were aiming for.

But while it had all been effective in that respective, the morale of the defenders was not fully broken, as evidenced by the motorbike idling to a near halt next to the bandit. Sitting astride it, the Zeroes bandit turned his head to face the shapeshifter, faceless behind the dark visor of his armor, a rifle strapped to his back. The gunman was typical of their kind, a Berrax who had his own natural set of glossy black armor beneath the artificial powered suit, and as one of the heat-resistant lizard-like aliens that ran Freetown, he demanded a certain measure of respect. Or, at least, he would have normally. In a crisis, their power remained to be seen.

"Gettona bike!" he told the Ekonite. "Commander said we need everybody up and ready to fight these bastards! You hear?"

Up at the main wall, the smoke, in the form of the swarm of nanites, was finally clearing. Things quieted as the firing ceased, the defenders left there crouching behind the cover of their battlements all looking up as a Berrax holding a loudspeaker stepped up to the position directly above the gate, over an abandoned recoilless rifle. Raising it, he switched the device on, a flare of feedback sounding for a moment to echo across the empty and suddenly much quieter area. His voice was steady, perhaps by virtue of being somewhat washed out by the armor's vox.
"What are your demands, Commander Wallace?"

VSS Contingent "Mole"...

“It does not appear to be bandits. From the description of the gunship, it seems to me like they are under attack from another Mercenary company.”

"Yeah...I don't know of any bandit groups with air support and armored vehicles," Fuar said after a moment, thinking about it with a frown of her own. "I guess the Zeroes must have pissed someone off." An explosion sounded in the distance that made her ears twitch even under her helmet. "Probably best to skirt around it, at least for now. Except..."

She sighed. "The reason I wanted to go into Freetown is because I know someone there. A contact I met recently who's supposed to be really good at getting people into and out of the Catacombs. One of the best. I hoped they'd be able to help us. They go by the name of-"

Before she could finish a form drew itself upright on the next dune over, making the lupine's eyes widen as she saw what had previously appeared to be nothing more than a patch of ground take on a humanoid shape like a wraith rising from the grave. Her mouth dropped as the thing brought a thick-barreled rifle with it, and before she could even think about it she was tugging her pistol from its holster, not even thinking about the heavy carbine lying in its holder on the bike's side. Of course, the four Alumina had already seen the unknown, and no doubt the gunship had as well, so she knew as she leveled her sidearm that she wasn't exactly contributing much. If it was hostile then her added fire would be only stack on to what would probably be gratuitous overkill, and if it somehow survived all that then her gun wouldn't do her much good. But it made her feel better to hold the cold, comfortingly hefty firearm with both hands wrapped around the grip, watching the now-exposed sniper warily, not at all sure what was about to happen.

Carth's Hideout...

“Doctor, I wish to offer my sincere apologies for my conduct. I have acted in a manner unbefitting my position as head of your security. I should not have gone off in a sulk and kept out of contact. It was dangerous and irresponsible. If you desire to request a new head of security, I will of course be happy to forward your complaint.”

Having dismissed Leyse with a nod, the doctor gazed at Nira, face impassive, studying her from behind glasses made slightly opaque from the light reflecting off their panes. His tail, previously active with small twitches and wags, had gone still. After a moment Carth closed the folder and set it aside. "Sit," he invited her, gesturing to the chair Leyse had left open, though he made it sound more like an order. She just looked at him for a moment, and he repeated himself, more gently. "Nira, please sit." The Alumina did so, and he leaned forward to her, speaking quietly.

"There is something you must understand. I have the utmost care for my patients. It is my fault that they are in this position, and it is my responsibility to make them as comfortable as possible until their condition can be alleviated. Part of that includes keeping them safe, which is why I hired the VSS, which is why you're here. I need to know that you're serious about doing your job and serious about protecting this facility. That is my first concern, and if you don't feel that you can do that, then I would have to ask you to find a suitable replacement."

His face softened. "That said. I believe that your well-being is important too. If you really don't want to be here, if you hate being a soldier, then that's something you need to wrestle with and figure out how you're going to deal with. I don't mind talking to you if you're having a problem. But my work, my patients, they have to come first. Do you understand?"

[Carpathia and Moldova]

Freetown

Wallace narrowed his eyes and replied to the questions coming from within the city. "Complete and unconditional surrender. All surviving mercenaries on your side shall submit to Sector 7 authority, in other words, they are being recruited. These are my terms. Fail to comply within the next twenty seconds and you will face extinction." he said. He knew that the Zeroes were aware of what a second salvo of nanite missiles could do to the town. If left unchecked, they would literally reduce it to nothing within half an hour.

However, it was obvious that Wallace preferred the town intact, otherwise he would have just obliterated it and moved on. However, there was nothing to stop him from doing just that, should the leader of the Zeroes fail to comply with those demands. Worse, those nanites could be programmed to target only people in Zero power armor, which would allow the invaders to simply annihilate any defenses and then pick off what was left.

VSS Contingent, Mole

The bikers had gambled and lost. Their attempted stealthy approach had failed them, for they were unaware that some of the APCs belonging to the group attacking Freetown, were fitted with long range sensors. And by the time they could have realized that they were in sensor range, it was too late, for the group's commander had already issued the order.

One of the gunships above the town lifted up to a higher altitude, from which they could launch a Phalanx-class missile, a three meter long, extended range, guided tactical missile with interchangeable warheads essentially designed for deployment from a strategic interceptor-type fighter. And a warning came via radio "Attention intruders. You are trespassing on Sector 7 territory. You are now being targeted by a long range tactical missile. Turn your vehicles around and leave. You have three seconds to comply." were the words. And no doubt that the bikes and VSS gunship were already being locked on to by long-range missile targeting systems. And judging by what was happening in the town, it was fair to say that the missile was fitted with a nanite warhead.

So. The attackers were Sector 7. In other words, the Peace Movement, a name with whom some of the VSS personnel might be familiar with, as the reputation of the Carpathian contractor did travel amongst the various mercenary companies in the galaxy. And if that reputation really did hold, then they were serious about that 3-seconds ultimatum, which was a clever move, to prevent the VSS gunship from intervening due to the short amount of time.

[Alversia]

VSS Contingent "Mole"

Ceyne did not take her eyes from the burning town the entire time that Fuar was talking, her scanners in particular watching the gunships. Whoever was attacking the town very badly wanted it under their control. In her opinion, that was fine, and no matter what the Rasthan on the back of her bike might have said, there was no point in getting involved in someone else's war, especially if they stood to gain no profit from it. The loss of an informant was magnitudes better than the loss of valuable Operatives. She had been given her orders personally by the Commander on the ground, she was not to deviate from her mission unless absolutely necessary. In her opinion, this was not necessary.

“Contact, three O’clock. Armed.” Came the commanding voice from the gunship pilot. Ceyne glanced to the side to see the being rise out of the sand. Even as he was still materialising, two of the felines had whipped their carbines out and were pointing one handed at the creature. Their aim was perfectly steady, arms locked into position but maintaining a close control over their bikes in case they needed to move away. The thing did not fire at them, and the VSS team were not inclined to start shooting at an unknown right outside a war zone. Such a thing tended to lead to friendly fire or accidental deaths. She was confident their shields, the generator of which was locked deep in the heart of the large bike, could deflect at least one anti-material round, and one round was all this thing would get to fire.

They stood and stared at one another for a moment without any approach or sign of contact. When those first few nervy seconds were gone, Ceyne knew the alien did not intend to shoot them straight away. If it had not done so already, then it wanted to talk.

Before she could do so much as flick her radio, a loud beeping began to sound in her ears, a yellow alarm flashing in the corner of her eye on the HUD. It was a sign she had seen so many times before, an alert that sensors were sweeping for them.

They were being targeted.

The warning buzzed in her head and it made the feline scowl. The only territory they were trespassing on, if anyone's, was Freetown's. Locking on a missile was an aggressive action and there was no doubt they planned on carrying through with their threat. She had never heard of the company he mentioned, nor did she care. She had to react instinctively. Three seconds was far too short make an informed decision. Such an informed decision would most likely have seen her withdraw. As it was, the decision had been made for her. If there was one thing that the Danaversians had learnt over a millennia of war, it was that it was a mistake to back an Alumina into a corner.

Before the first second was even over, she called one word over her own transmitter.
”Nahem!”

High above, circling protectively around its four charges, the gunship easily got a lock and the on-board VI fired within nanoseconds of said lock being achieved. Four missiles, specifically intended for smashing heavily shielded inter-planetary fighters and bombers, dropped from the wings of the gunship and streaked towards their targets, two apiece for the gunships, each following rapidly different paths to avoid point defences and render chaff useless. At such close range, the missiles would connect within seconds.

This presented the pilots of the gunships with an interesting dilemma. There was not enough time for them to both evade the missiles and to lock and fire themselves. On the other hand, evading would end all chance of achieving a sensor lock on the riders.

“Mole Leader to Strike Base, we have a V10 in progress. Requesting assistance over.” Ceyne called over her radio.

“Confirmed Mole Leader. Angels and Demons are inbound. ETA one-twenty seconds.”

It was standard policy in the Barrens to keep at least two flights in the air at any one time. At regular altitudes, four gunships were always circling above base, channels open and ready to move to assist any VSS operative they were called for. They were the 'Angels', watching from above, but they were not alone. Even higher up, a flight of four XX-30 interstellar fighters also watched vigilantly for trouble, lionesses guarding their kills, to end his world in a haze of fire and blood, the Demons of the VSS, as they were known.

Now that the call had gone to both, they moved to counter, spinning and twisting through the air as they danced around the known no-fly zones of rival Corporations. The Fighters would be in firing range within two minutes, while the slower gunships would take considerably longer to reach their targets, duking and evading all the while. At the same time, Strike Base went into full alert. Gunships began to rise slowly into the air while point defences began to sweep the skies for signs of the enemy.

They would be on station in just a few minutes.

Back on the ground, in case the Sector 7 gunship chose the more suicidal option, the four bikes grouped together and began to interface their shields. The generators locked together, four working as one, to form a barrier that could stop even an interceptor's missile. Once.

Carth's Hideout

At his words, Nira stiffened a little, her tail flicking. It was clear from her reactions that she was offended by what he had said, though which part would not be particularly difficult to tell. He had called into question her commitment to his safety, to the safety of the patients she had come to know and respect for their ordeals. He may not have known it, but Nira had doubted her job many, many times. She had hated it even more times than but, but not once in her long career had she ever been 'questioned'. It was an affront! An insult! Her eyes narrowed and her tone was sharp, drill sergeant like.

“My job is to watch and guard this facility. My job is to watch and guard the people who inhabit this facility. My duty is to give my life for the operator of this facility. That's you. I have never been less than 100% focused on the job in hand, Doctor. My people and I are willing to make the ultimate sacrifice without fail, if that is what is required. If you do not have an issue with my leadership then I shall continue on as your head of security.” She nodded curtly.

[Ekilion]

124m from VSS Contingent "Mole"

'Well that's promising' the figure thought as it found itself not being shot to bits. Before it could get much farther though the bikers began reacting to an entirely different threat. It could only guess the people breaking down the door to Freetown had decided to make their prescence known. It was times like this when it wished that the communication devices its group used weren't closed frequency, as it was fairly certain anything being passed around right now was by radio.

Then its communicator crackled, a feminine voice from the only member of the group with a public radio coming through as the VSS gunship fired off its missiles, "Hey Leader, you might want to get out of there, apparently you might have a missile inbound."

"Not terrible much I can do about that now is there." The figure mumbled. If the missile was loading high explosives it was unlikely it would clear the blast radius, it could duck behind a dune atleast, but it didn't need to move for that. However, if that missile was loaded with the nanite weapons they had been hearing were used against Freetown it felt fairly confident that it could stand out here just fine. Such weapons were nothing new to the figure and it and its people had long since made sure they had multiple countermeasures against such things, it might still hurt a bit though.

So the figure decided to continue standing where it was, moving closer to the bikers at the current time would likely be suicidal and leaving was out of the question. Watching the VSS missiles streak away it smiled at the elaborate manouvers the missiles pulled to avoid countermeasures, the inefficencies of technology never ceased to make the figure laugh.

Opening its communicator channel again the figure said "Rifles I want your eyes open, try to give a warning if you see return fire. Beam Riders if the Freetown Mercs try to bring more firepower our way I want you ready to paint any vehicles."

A few more then half a dozen voices came back with affirmative responses, and all that was left for the figure to do was wait and watch.

Inside Freetown

'Unwanted' was all the bandit inside freetown thought at the Berrax's order. Calling on the speed of its, well to be honest true nature, the bandit moved fast enough that in the space of a blink it had slipped a wicked looking 14 inch blade out of its volumous clothing and drove it up through the usually weaker neck armour of the Zero's PA. The blade tearing armour and skin alike as it drove straight through the creatures skull and released a frightning amount of acid into the Zero, enough that even if the blade didn't kill it, the creatures head would likely melt from the inside out.

Just as fast as the blade had come out it was gone again, and the bandit decided to make sure the Zero was good and dead by unloading the last of its rifle's clip into the Zero from point blank range. As it was the bandit was fairly certain that in the panic no one would have taken to much notice of its actions, which would be ideal because the bandit was tiring out fast. Its species was very fast and fairly strong but it came at the expense of low stamina and the need to eat large quantites of food whenever they accessed their abilities, and the bandit hadn't exactly had access to any large stashes of food in a while.

The now deceased Zero's bike would have been an easy solution to that, and still could really, but at the same time the only way to go with it would be out past the mercenaries currently laying siege to the town. Of course staying inside the town right now could potentially have the bandit being strung up for a few murder charges if someone turned out to have been watching.

Heading into an empty allyway the bandit made sure no one was watching before tossing away the thick clothes it had worn near constantly since its arrival, revealing a female, human, figure. Unlike the other Zero's the bandit didn't wear power armour and the bandit was wearing regular civilian clothes beneath the cloak. The blade from before was nowhere to be seen, the rifle was tossed away, and the only oddity with the human civilian standing in the allyway was how unpanicked the woman looked at the current situation.

Returning to the bike the woman took a minute to think it over before deciding that she might as well take it. The mercenaries outside the city didn't seem to exactly be in large numbers and likely with the distraction of the ongoing fighting she could make a break for it. First though she ducked down and checked the bike for a governer, cursed things those people who used technology put into their machines to make sure they didn't wear down so fast, at the expense of a good portion of the vehicles true speed. Finding one she disconnected it and mounted the bike and rocketed off toward the perimeter of the city.

[Xiscapia]

Freetown...

Atop the main gate there was some uneasy shifting at Wallace's words as the spokesman for the town's defenders thought it over. "Recruitment" was better than death, but there was no telling what the man and his personal army might do to them and the decadent settlement they had taken over. Yet if they refused it was clear to them that they would surely die in the fight, and the band of mercenaries-turned-bandit had no desire to give up their lives for Freetown. So, with possible life on the one hand as opposed to certain death on the other, there was no real choice to be had. Making a patting motion with one hand, indicating that the Zeroes along the walls should lower their weapons, the representative lifted the loudspeaker with his other hand.

"Alright. We surrender. You may approach along the main road."

Inside the town the woman bandit would see a strange change come over the people of Freetown as she streaked past on her stolen bike. Civilians who had scaled the walls and seen the ring of Sector 7 vehicles outside had hopped back down, spreading the word that they were surrounded, and now that the words of the Zeros' capitulation echoed over the little city things went quiet and still. Shuffling back from the perimeter walls, the masses started to retreat back into their homes and businesses, doors banging shut, blinds drawn, bits of scrap going up over windows and guns poking out of holes and gaps as they seemed to fall back by common consensus, unable to run and so taking up hiding and fortifying. Where before the streets and shanty byways had been crammed full of panicked, frightened people, she would find it easier to maneuver the closer she got to the front as they disappeared, an air of watchfulness settling over the desert town.
Indeed, even cornered rats will fight.

When she reached the rear gate on the opposite side from where Wallace had made his demands she found its corroded metal doors flung wide open, without the usual barricade of gun trucks and machine gun nests and squad of Zeroes. Instead the trucks had been parked off to one side, sandbags piled up into a small wall next to the checkpoint bunker, and the Berrax there were similarly standing in a loose line along the street, weapons held loosely in their arms. There was nothing physically preventing her from riding right out the gate, and none of the bandits seemed inclined to stop her, but looking out the open gap she would clearly be able to see the Sector 7 vehicles lurking outside at a distance, either present to prevent anyone from fleeing or getting ready to move in. The armored Zeroes turned to watch her with mild interest, waiting to see if she would be the one to actually try to make a break for it. There was a chance that speed and good riding would save her, and if not, well, it would at least be an entertaining spectacle.

VSS Contingent "Mole"...

Fur standing on end as the missiles shrieked out of the VSS gunship above, Fuar huddled closer to Ceyne, lowering her pistol in favor of gripping the feline around the waist. It didn't seem like the creature that had just appeared out of the sands was a threat, but the same couldn't be said for whoever was attacking Freetown, given that the VSS had just started shooting at them! Feeling the bike's engine grumble as it shifted, moving closer to its fellows, she wondered why they weren't moving, trying to get away from the apparently hostile group. Did these four and their gunship mean to take them on all by themselves? What in the galaxy was going on?

"Ceyne!" she muttered, eyes flicking from the sniper to the gunship overhead and back to Freetown, trying not to sound fearful. "What's happening!?"

Carth's Hideout...

Her eyes narrowed at him, and his did the same behind his glasses as he stared back, not intimidated. "Then do your job, Commander," he said, voice briefly gaining an edge to it. "No more of this running off in a sulk, then. That is not being one hundred percent focused. Is it?" Carth challenged her, looking her in the eye. "No. It's not. If you think you are committed then I expect to see that. Yes?"

[Carpathia and Moldova]

VSS Contingent "Mole"

When the VSS gunship fired, its crew made one terrible mistake. They failed to understand that their adversaries were Carpathians. And as such, their technological capabilities, especially in terms of sensors and weaponry, were formidable. The gunships moved to dodge the incoming missiles. But with their own nanite missiles already locked on, they fired while doing so, as the gunships they used had a separate gunner which was not concerned with piloting.

As such, the Phalanx missile sped towards its target, moving in the same erratic patterns as the VSS missiles. Approaching, it broke up into several smaller Swarm missiles, which were even more agile in their movement. And these now converged on both the bikers and the VSS gunship itself. In the same time, the two Sector 7 gunships deployed countermeasures in the form of EMPs and deflector EM fields. Carpathians didn't use shield technology. They used powerful magnetic fields to deflect, rather than absorb, incoming threats. And together with the EMPs, they did a number on those missiles.

Time was now very limited for the VSS contingent. They could try to move away from the incoming missiles, but if they didn't, by the time the warhead detonated, it would be too late. Nothing survives a nanite weapon, unless they possessed nanites capable of countering it.

Meanwhile, somewhere in the Barrens, several anti-space missile launches could be detected. So, it seemed Sector 7 had a secret base somewhere up in the mountains. And they had anti-space defenses as well, which they now deployed against the incoming VSS fighters at a staggering speed.

Such reaction speed could only mean one thing. The Carpathians had an AI.

With Freetown now falling under the control of Sector 7, a voice hailed the VSS contingent via comms. It was the commander of the mercenaries, Wallace himself.

"Stand down immediately and we will call off our missiles. I am certain that you know as well as I do that regardless of the outcome of this struggle, your unit will be decimated. I believe a more sensible course can be taken, if you are willing to negotiate. Whatever mission you may have from competing corporations here in the Catacombs, I am prepared to triple their offer in exchange for your cooperation."

Freetown

As soon as the Zeroes surrendered, the Sector 7 troops moved in to claim their prize. As promised, they allowed the freelancers to raid the outer building, while keeping the central ones for themselves. Truck after truck moved in, alongside APCs and armored cars. Following behind, that tank posted itself right by the entrance, a reminder to the city's inhabitants that exit was now prohibited.

Again, as promised, the Zeroes were immediately incorporated into Sector 7 and they were now put to work policing the town and ransacking it for information regarding the opal deposit. Indeed, to their rank and file, not much has changed, aside from their employer. If anything, the superior technology with which Sector 7 would soon outfit them, should be something that these mercs would be happy about.

And then the speaker announcement came.

"Attention residents of Freetown! This settlement is now under the control of the Peace Movement! Martial law is now in effect! Failure to comply with the instructions of Sector 7 personnel, will result in the immediate application of lethal force against the perpetrators and their next of kin!"

And, just to make a point, the Carpathians randomly executed people whom they still caught out in the open. If the local inhabitants of Freetown thought the Zeroes were bad, then Sector 7 was even worse. As the newcomers worked to set up new defenses, one thing became clear. Freetown was now under an absolute military dictatorship.

[Alversia]

VSS Contingent 'Mole'

The missiles streaked and turned through the sky, twisting this way and that as they sought to dodge any long range counter-measures that came their way. There were none, so the four missiles, two per gunship, burned in on the final run towards their targets, each followed by a cacophony of cracks and bombs as the very air around them was ripped asunder, sonic booms emanating from every trailing edge as they closed in mercilessly on their targets and straight into their defences. The Electro-Magnetic Pulses were useless. In a modern military where technology, and electronics in particular, were as common as leaves in a forest, everything was extensively shielded against such measures. Heedless then of their foes attempt to keep them secure, the drones kept going until they hit the Deflector fields. These were more effective, though the missiles were moving so fast that there was only so much that a mere deflection field could do and the results were quite predictable. At the speeds the missiles were travelling, the sudden impact of the deflector field was such that they may as well have hit the gunships themselves. The missiles all detonated a hundred metres from their targets but their payloads continued onwards. The heads burst into massive clouds of metal fragments, now moving even faster than their carriers had been, propelled by their demise, this anti-fighter shrapnel streaked towards their targets.

The VSS Gunship had not been inactive either during the time it had taken from the missiles to launch from under its wings to reaching their targets. Ceyne was abundantly aware of that as she revved the bike until she was sure the engine was going to fall apart beneath her. The Rasthan behind her was gripping hard while she could hear the howls of her companion's bikes even through her helmet. They had to get away from the immediate danger zone. Without support, they were vulnerable and even with support, they were still not in a great position. The further away they were from the combat zone, the less danger they were in. She was running this through her head when an alert began to sound in her head, a ringing noise in her helmet that told her the enemy had missile lock and, worse than that, they had fired.

She could see the missiles approaching on her HUD and she gripped just a little harder on the handles of her bike. The shields on the combined unit were strong but against a gunship missile, she was pessimistic of her chances. Then again, death itself was not such a bad thing. She had lived with it long enough to know that. The fear of slipping beyond this world was long gone. She would accept her fate.

The missiles behind her abruptly exploded.

Blinking, she glanced into her HUD again to see the most glorious sight. The stubby, grey, ugly hulk of metal that was their own gunship was a thousand feet above them and, like the rays of an angel showering down upon their worshippers, the point defence lasers lashed out time and time again. Even the weaving was good enough to avoid something that moved at the speed of light and the missiles were sliced as cleanly as a knife cut through cream. A few of the payloads exploded and carried on towards their target but now Ceyne was full of confidence. Her HUD identified them as nanites and that was not as bad as a missile would have been. Nanites were a threat that had long since been identified, advanced, developed and neutralised in the Home Galaxy. God, she had nanites in her body, intended to help heal wounds and repair degradation in times of need. The combined shields of her bikes would have absolutely no problem with nanites.

While the gunship was playing guardian angel over the bikes, it was not completely exempt from attack as yet more missiles weaved their way towards it. As they closed though, the pair of side-mounted guns, which had been twitching madly during their mad adventure suddenly came to life. With unerring steadiness and preparation, they opened fire, mini-guns firing thousands of rounds a minute straight into the paths of the oncoming missiles. Unlike their enemy counterparts, the Alversian designed gunship did have shields, much, much heavier than those of the bikes and intended to soak up anti-aircraft fire as they landed. Any nanite payloads that made it through the storm would find themselves entirely neutralised against the powerful electronic and physical protection.

More than that, it was time for the gunship to go on the offensive again. Turning in the direction of her foes, the pair of rail-guns began to twist and spin to keep track, locked on as surely as any missile could possibly have done and they opened fire. Hundreds of rounds a minute, fired at over 30,000 kilometres an hour, armour penetrating and high explosive mixed in together, designed to tear through metal and flesh alike.

Meanwhile, high above, the fighters continued to streak their way towards the combat zone, twisting and spiralling to avoid the known corporate territory that their rivals were so keen to defend. It was the same paranoid Companies that came to their assistance. As soon as the missiles launched from the enemy base streaked up into the air, those Corporate Defences detected the missile launch and came online. The point defences that the pilots had so cursed earlier now had their profound thanks as they plucked missile after missile out of the sky. Those that made it up high into orbit were easy to evade, as all surface to orbit missiles were for small-craft. They were able to weave and evade, deploy chaff and electronic counter-measure to ensure that all four of the fighters could continue their charge towards the battle line.

As soon as they were in missile range, and as soon as they had a clear line to the target, the front pair fired. A single missile each locked onto each of the gunships. These were not the same as the missiles launched from the gunship. Those were designed for atmospheric combat, fired from atmosphere into atmosphere. The missiles of the XX-30 fighters were marvels of technology, intended to track, survive and hit enemies not just hundreds or thousands of kilometres away but tens and hundreds of thousands. They used only the most potent fuel, carried only the most sophisticated of targeting technology and only the most deadly of payloads.

At the same time, something stirred aboard the Nayatem as compartments opened up along her side and began to fire towards the surface dozens upon dozens of what appeared to be blocks of solid metal. They were not unguided though, as was evidenced by the way they seemed to follow the contours of the fighters perfectly but much, much faster, streaking towards the ground like artificial asteroids on their final kamikaze dive. They were not alone either, as there seemed to be others, thicker and more defined as large cones which seemed to be amongst the missiles but not, they seemed to be slightly slower, more cautious, as if they were waiting for something. One thing was certain, the transmissions from the gunship to the vessel in orbit and back to the dropping things could not spell anything good.

Ceyne heard the transmission from the Carpathian Commander in her ear not long after the missile were destroyed and, in truth, she wasn't impressed or particularly bothered. He spoke as if the decimation of her unit was the end of all. Really, nothing could be further from the truth.

“It is not a bounty we are interested in,” She spoke in her harsh, accented voice, “you have launched an attack on Freetown and while you are free to take the town as you wish, we have business in this area. We want full access to Freetown and to both it's inhabitants and resources. We want official guarantees that our business will remain our own and without interference from your men. Finally, we want an outpost in the area, to co-ordinate our operations and personnel. If you find these terms agreeable then we may be able to talk. If not, then there is only one solution.”

Carth's Hideout

“Of course, sir,” She stood to attention in front of him, all signs of recognition or emotion gone. The change was incredible, as if she were a robot that he had simply flicked a switch on. She wasn't even looking at him any more as she rose to her full height. In fact, when she did look at him, it was if there was a binary operation taking place. There were two options only; kill or spare. Nothing else. “You may contact me on my communicator if you wish to discuss any concerns or queries you may have. Any member of my team is also available.” She turned on her heel as abruptly as that, without so much as a good bye or a good night. She strode from the room, but it was not a sulk or a childish walk but the walk of a soldier, a walk that had been consciously absent from her thus far.

Leyse had been standing outside and she gave Nira a crisp salute, which the woman returned. The medic looked after her for a few moments, tail flicking curiously and her ears perked. She seemed to be thinking something but there was a look of confusion on her face before she entered the medical bay once again.

“Doctor,” she cleared her throat, “may I return to the medical readings from today? There are many to get through and I am concerned with the fluctuating sugar levels from some of the females.”

[Saurisisia]

Abandoned GeneInc Facility

Daniel eventually woke up in the dorms sometime later, his wound still ached yet he felt a little better than he was earlier. Looking around, he proceeded to get up, albeit with great struggle due to his torso wound. Still, he was standing up despite his having to keep his balance even with his tail supporting his huge body. Looking around, he remembered he had to get to his employer, despite the wound he had sustained.

So, he began heading out of the building, albeit with a little bit of trouble due to his wound but managed to go outside. Once outside, he departed the facility, searching for the place where he was supposed to meet his new employer. Alas, he could find nothing but wasteland and eventually collapsed onto his knees, scanning his surroundings, before slumping down onto the ground.

Weak and tired, as Daniel began to drift to sleep, he muttered one word: "Jaragua," before his eyes shut and he drifted off into the world of his dreams.

[Xiscapia]

Freetown...

Having entered the town firmly in the midst of the tons of Sector 7 hardware, the remaining Tunnel Rats bandits made a beeline for their target: The nearest restaurant. All but salivating, the first of their number tore open the door, brandishing a rifle, and was immediately cut down by the occupants inside as bullets riddled the Zillar, throwing him back in a cloud of red. The other five jumped back, snarling and gnashing their teeth at the prospect of being so close to food but unable to get any, and found their salvation as a PM APC halted briefly, turret swiveled, and roared into the storefront, rounds shattering the windows and smashing through the thin walls as they shredded the people inside, turning the kitchen into a charnel house. A ragged cry went up from the Tunnel Rats and they bounded inside, to be heard from the street as ransacking the place and stuffing themselves with any food they could find among the dead and dying. Things didn't look much better across most of the settlement.

Shots rang out as those few who had remained outside were shown the error of their ways, the rest dove for cover as quickly as they could. Among this the armored Boolean waited patiently outside what passed for a local bank until his partner came out, lugging a safe with her that she upended into a bag, dropping stacks of credits, jewelry, medicine and other minor valuables into it. "That's all I could get," she told him, tossing the emptied safe aside and mounting the bike, bag hanging off one side. "Now let's get out of here. I have a feeling this place is going to get even nastier real soon." And so, with a rumble of the motorcycle's engine, it shot forward and entered the Barrens once more, weaving its way out into what passed for the New Rasthan countryside.

Wallace would find himself outside of a non-descript building closer to the city center, where a member of the Zeroes had told him that one of the best spelunkers the town had to offer could be found. But when the Carpathian approached, making the mercenaries around the entrance part, it was clear that no such guide would be available. The door had been kicked in, and two of them -a couple of the spelunker's friends had been sitting down to drinks- were lying in bloody heaps, riddled with bullets. Nearby the man himself, an older human man, had slugs in both of his arms and his wrists were covered in tiny lacerations, as if someone had flayed them with spikes. The bullet hole through the forehead had clearly been what had done him in, leading to the glassy-eyed stare he had as he gazed at the ceiling, a bit of spittle mixed with alcohol leaking from his lips.

Similar reports would be coming in from across Freetown from Zeroes and their Carpathian handlers. Known explorers and Catacombs guides were being found dead or not being found at all, disappeared. There was one bit of good news: A known expert, one Ulviye Teke, had been last seen headed for the edge of town on a motorbike, though no one seemed to know if she'd made it out or not. An aura of fear hung over the settlement as the Zeroes desperately kept looking for any evidence they could find of the woman, none of them wanting to disappoint their new masters. They'd already seen what they could do.

VSS Contingent "Mole"...

Easing her head up as her startled question went unanswered, the Rasthan on the back of the bike looked behind them as the smoke from the explosion faded, not quite able to comprehend how they were all still alive. But despite all the gunships and armored vehicles and bullets and missiles being flung around, they were. Blinking, Fuar glanced back to the front, Ceyne steady and seemingly not bothered by how close to death they had all just come. In fact, she could swear that she was...talking to someone?
Shaking her head, the lupine pressed herself back into the Alumina's back and waited for it all to be over, one way or another.

Carth's Hideout...

Eyes on Nira as she left, he heaved a sigh. Gone from person to droid in the blink of an eye. "It's all or nothing with this bunch," Carth muttered, staring at his work without really seeing it. "You're either a wind-up soldier or an emotional wreck. Nothing in-between..."

“May I return to the medical readings from today? There are many to get through and I am concerned with the fluctuating sugar levels from some of the females.”

"What?" Looking up at her, the doctor pushed his glasses up with both hands, rubbing at his eyes. "Oh, yes, of course. In fact, I think you'll have the bay to yourself. I've been neglecting my sleep far too much lately." Standing, he stretched with his arms towards the sky, and yawned. "Have a good night, Leyse."

Daniel's Location, Corporate Highway...

Lying in the dirt, passed out, Daniel's body was nudged by a pair of elongated, grasping hands. These pushed him over onto his back, rolling the drake in the dirt, feeling him quickly and lightly, claws scraping over his torn clothing and bloodied scales. But when he opened his eyes he saw not a savior but a beast, one with scuttling legs that seemed to be sniffing him over even without a nose, trying to judge if he was good enough to eat. A chemical fire burned dully in its belly as its wings fluttered, breathing horribly, putrid breath from its gaping maw as the Saurisian saw himself reflected by the dozen in those pitiless crimson eyes. A tongue of flame licked out to brush against the side of his head, tasting.

[Carpathia and Moldova]

VSS Contingent "Mole"

As the missiles impacted the heavy deflector fields, it looked as if the game was over for the Carpathian gunships. The payloads streaked through the air and made direct impacts against the ships, exploding in plumes of fire and smoke. However, the VSS personnel had made one dreadful mistake. They underestimated them.

The Imperium Karpates was classed as a Tier 8 civilization, even though they lacked any of the technologies that the Galaxy might expect in a Tier 8 civilization. They didn't have shields or energy weapons. But what set the Carpathians apart and what had enabled them to build an empire as vast as theirs, was their mentality. A lot of people would underestimate them, hearing of their armament consisting of mainly railguns and nuclear weapons, alongside nanites. However, what the Carpathians did, they did very well.

For example, in space battles, Carpathian ships used heavy, extremely high caliber railguns, powered by gravity fields which propelled projectiles as large as 600mm at speeds close to that of light. At such speed, a projectile this large would simply overwhelm most shields and rip through armor faster than a knife through butter. And the Carpathian ships didn't even use shields. A lot of them didn't even have deflector fields. And not because they lacked the technological capability, but simply because they didn't need them. Carpathian ships were built to withstand direct impacts. They weren't fast, they weren't agile. They were slow-advancing juggernauts which obliterated everything in their path and shrugged off the impact of conventional weapons like it was nothing. They did this because of the same thing which powers all Carpathian technology: Tesseracts

The millionth of the fraction of the second, in which the payloads detonated, was a long time in the world of quantum mechanics and scalar mathematics. the exploding warheads sent ripples across the surface of the armor of the ship. If one looked through a microscope and in slow motions, it would have appeared as if the metal behaved like a puddle into which someone had cast a stone. And it was only due to the powerful gravitational fields which ran freely through the armor, that the gunships weren't simply vaporised.

The gunships emerged from that cloud of smoke with severe damages which required them to land for repairs immediately, but they were not destroyed. The VSS troops had underestimated them. And if the Carpathian commander hadn't immediately ordered otherwise, the two gunships could have still launched a salvo of Swarm missiles which would have overwhelmed even their shields, through sheer strength of numbers alone.

However, the voice of commander Wallace sounded in the comms of the VSS personnel, through the still open channel between them. "Then I believe we have reached a cease-fire. Your personnel are cleared to come into the town for negotiations. Call off your fighters. You have my word you will not be harmed for the duration of the negotiations. And also, I request that the commander of your company be present as well. There is sensitive information involved, which I will only share with her." he said.

Meanwhile, the nanite warheads that detonated above the bikers went through a process of replication, using the molecules in the air itself to multiply to alarming numbers, as the gray cloud slowly descended towards the bikers' shields, in numbers that could have possibly been sufficient to overwhelm them. At the last second, though, the VSS troops were saved from a potentially grizzly death, as the Sector 7 commander's orders deactivated the nanites and the cloud simply dissipated.

Freetown

Sector 7 troops were everywhere. APCs and armored cars rolled through the town's streets, interrogating everyone they encountered. With the disappearances and murders of various Catacombs explorers going on throughout the town, the mercenaries put the settlement on lockdown and quickly began moving from door to door, interrogating everyone for information regarding Ulviye Teke. Meanwhile, the second gunship flew away on a search pattern, looking for her.

Also, the new overlords of the town quickly began to bring the defenses back online, complementing them with their own equipment. Gatling railgun emplacements sprung up on the wall, alongside small missile turrets. A sensor array was erected in the middle of the town, with mercenary technicians running around to make it functional.

At the gap in the wall, they placed the tank and several APCs, with a complement of Zeroes and Sector 7 troops for defense. They were ready for anything.

[Saurisisia]

Corporate Highway

Groaning, Daniel started to stir as he felt he was lying on his back, for a minute thinking it was Jaragua or someone else that had found him. Instead, he was shocked to find a horrible abomination standing over him, staring at him with its soulless compound eyes. The Drakonian flinched at the feel of the monster's tongue against his head, praying to the Gods that it wouldn't eat him while he contemplated either running away or just waiting to see if it loses interest in him.

[Ekilion]

Freetown

As it was Ulviye Teke had not managed to get out of the city, the bike abandoned a good number of blocks away. Her nerve had failed her in those last moments, the engine revving below her and the chaos that was engulfing the town weren't enough to make her think she would be safe to make a run for it. She was a spy and assassin, and while she could fight very very well, she wasn't trained to try driving a piece of technology through an active warzone when the enemy had heavy armour. Though she knew she would regret the decision she had turned the motorbike back into the city and ditched it a short while later, as the Sec 7 mercs had begun making their way into the city she had moved herself into one of the places they would likely search last, along the perimeter, but far away from the gates and the breach. Away from the more 'developed' center and the merchant dominated gates, the rest of the perimeter would keep her away from anyone who would likely stop her to ID her.

Now she was sitting in a vacated bar, most of its patrons fleeing back to their homes and the bar keeper had been forced to vacate earlier by a shotgun slug to his chest. The ones responsible for blowing out the barkeeps chest were pooling in their own puddles of blood and brains, opened by the pistol rounds, Ulviye had put in them when she spotted the situation inside from the street. The location was one of the better ones for some geographical considerations, other then its distance from the center of the town and the gates. Though the reason for that lay with her and the dead barkeep, pretty convenient really. It was also convenient that she could now drink freely while she waited, if the Sec 7 mercs came for her she would make the best of the situation, and though she doubted it was possible at this point, she still held a bit of hope that her companions would get to her first.

Outside Freetown

The figure just sighed as the scene went to hell. The VSS mercs had fled on their bikes from the incoming missile and left it more or less alone in the wastes. Rather then trying to chase after the VSS mercs it just shouldered its rifle began marching toward Freetown, for kilometers around the figure the wastes shifted slightly, a few patches moving at a snails pace in the same direction. The rest of its team shifting like the wasteland wind itself to make sure it was under cover. They needed to get into the city and if they were lucky the VSS mercs would come back and they could get in with them, but for now they would just approach up like drifters and see if they could get in.

[Alversia]

Freetown

Ceyne frowned at the message from Wallace, stopping her team just as the nanites dissipated into the air. Above them, the gunship hovered protectively while, even further above them, the fighters were still prowling, waiting for another chance to strike.

“These terms are unacceptable,” she explained to the mercenary commander, “we will meet on neutral ground in the Barrens, away from your military. I am also Commander for this region of VSS Operations so if you have information related to this area then you should address it to me.”

[Xiscapia]

Freetown Center...

The chaos in Freetown continued as doors were knocked on and, when no one responded, kicked down by Zeroes and Sector 7 soldiers looking for answers. This resulted in more than one firefight as terrified residents opened up on the mercenaries invading their homes and businesses, certain that they were about to be killed like the unfortunates who had been caught outside. Others had vanished, leaving empty houses and bars to be picked over, though some might be found huddling in back rooms or beneath furniture, doing everything they could to avoid the attention of the settlement's new owners. Even once they were found and persuaded to talk at gunpoint, most of the people didn't even know Teke's name, never mind where she might be or what she did. But, at last, there came a breakthrough.

A Rasthan man sat on his knees, surrounded by armored Peace Movement soldiers, and told them what he knew in a trembling voice. "L-look, I'm just a merchant, alright? I sell guns to people who need them. I sold her a rifle once, I don't know the woman personally!" He ducked away from one of the closer rifle barrels, tail scraping against the dirt, and fairly babbled. "I think she's human. Looks human. She kept to herself, wasn't a part of any of the established exploring groups, but they say she knows the caves really well." The gray-fur dared to glance up, looking around at them all. "What do you want with her, anyway?"

Freetown Perimeter, the Visitor's Bar...

As Ulviye sat at the bar, surrounded by cooling bodies and lukewarm, staggeringly bad moonshine, the door to the establishment burst open and a man ducked in, shoving it shut behind him. He looked very young, with a face just showing some dark fuzz and wide eyes, wearing the padded leather and mismatched security armor so often favored by unaffiliated mercenaries, spelunkers and other rough types in Freetown, with a blaster pistol on one hip and a sheathed knife on the other. Turning, he stopped and stared, panting as his eyes adjusted to the gloom of the interior and the smell of blood mixing with alcohol and gunpowder hit his nose, letting him see the woman casually enjoying her drink over a trio of corpses. Gulping, he took a step back, up against the door, and dropped one hand to his gun, the other finding the door handle. Yet he didn't move, neither to draw or to run, watching her.

"Are you gonna let me stay here? Can't go outside, they're shootin' anyone who shows their face, and I ain't keen on getting killed." His eyes dropped to the dead men. "I won't try to pull a fast one on ya. Just lookin' for a place to hide out. We cool?"

Daniel's Location, Corporate Highway...

Opening its maw wider, the mutant allowed its heat to bathe Daniel in a way that would have been almost pleasing if it hadn't come from such an abomination. Wings fluttering scratchily, it raised its arms to grab him, holding him in a deceptively tight grasp for something so close to the ground, and started to drag him towards its mouth. That was when the high-pitched whistling came from overhead, like the fall of an artillery shell, and it hissed and let go of him, scrambling away into a nearby ravine. This gave the Saurisian just enough time to see the long, rectangular shape of something coming howling out of the dark sky, thrusters flaring, and come to ground-shaking impact in the dirt just a hundred meters away, still red-hot and smoking from its entry. For several moments nothing happened.

Inside the escape pod, Chila and their Marauders would have a chance to put themselves together after the harsh entrance to the Barrens. Their pod had drifted for hours, approaching the moon with agonizing slowness, only for a final few minutes of tumbling and seemingly uncontrolled descent as it entered the satellite's atmosphere, plummeting to a stop in the cold dirt. Now the vehicle's meager sensor array was informing them that there were several life signs nearby, none of which seemed to match those of the Sons of Arel cultists. Neither could it be said that they were close to the town that Vull had mentioned, as those same scanners detected no settlements within its range. It seemed they were effectively alone.

[Ekilion]

Freetown Perimeter, the Visitor's Bar

Ulviye didn't even look back at the new arrival, instead just taking another drink of the truely horrible alcohol this place had on hand. The kids scent and tone more or less confirmed that at the very least, the mercs were just shooting people on the streets now. Not really being suprised by that either she put her drink down and said in a light voice, "Got to warn you, I've probably got less then an hour before those Mercs kick in the door looking for me. If you want to hang around still then go right ahead," then she gestured to the dead bodies, "but try anything funny and you'll be on the floor with these three faster then you can blink."

She had decided to give the kid some mercy, if being allowed to live in a place like this could really be considered mercy. Yet at the same time though she wanted the guy out of here for a number of reasons. Not the least of which was that her natural instincts were shouting at her to try to kill the kid now to see if he was even worthy of continued living, nearly impossible to ignore because of all the killing she had done in the last few hours. Only the potential threat of another charge the mercs could hold over her, not that she suspected they would even care though, kept her from putting a bullet through the kids head right now. The second reason was that she was fairly certain that more people in the area when the mercs came would increase the chances of the whole thing descending into a gun fight. Still though, if the kid wanted to stay, atleast for now, he could, though she would be certain to keep an eye and an ear on him.

[Ikarus Dominion]

Corporate Road
The Reapers Marauders

Chila shook the cobwebs from her as the capsule moved slightly settling in the dirt of the moon no doubt after making a largish crater to mark their arrivals. unbuckling her self she grabbed her helmet and equipment making sure her rifle was in working order she ran the firing sequence with no mag to make sure there was no blockages. Around her the rest of her team did the same checking over their small arms and readying their armour. There wasn't any room to prep the squads larger weapons but that would come once they got out of the cramped pod and secured the immediate area. Chila smirked although they looked it she and her men wern't some simple band of brigands Chila her self had been a lieutenant and part of the Ikaran special forces unit before being "volunteering" for a posting on a Marauder vessel due to some of her more extreme tactics.

Some of the squad didn't come from a military background but it didn't matter to Chila she had hand-picked them for their abilities, and each one hadn't let her down yet. A Quick check of the scanners confirmed her suspicions, the cultists wernt anywhere to be seen and there didn't seem to be any settlements near by, how ever there where several life signs in the area. A Quick cursory look of her squad and she popped the hatch sliding her duffel-bag over her shoulder and grabbing her Assault rifle. Peering out of the hatch she checked no one was near by before jumping down and scrambling up the crater wall the pod had made landing prone at the summit assault rifle poised and ready.

One after the other the rest of her squad made their way out the hatch jumping down. she mentally counted each one by name Jerrad, Korin, Fultham, Garr, Tara, Harrwood, Vordan, Yasmine and Lia All of them had come through the ordeal with the smallest of bumps and bruisers and where sorting their gear helmets now on the soulless looks of the red eye sockets of their visors enough to turn any of their enemies blood cold if they came up close to an Ikaran Marauder. Each was painted a different animal in a demonic form, he own white Direwolf painted done in the same fashion each painting used the helms visors as the eyes for their chosen animal.

"Roll call" Chila orders whilst glancing at their surroundings never once letting down her guard.

Within a few moments the rest of her squad reported in and her own command uplink showed their armour and vitals to all be green, seemingly happy Chila rolled over and slid back down the small mount moving quickly over to her men.

"Okay Vull and his men arnt any the vicinity, so we are to make our way to Freetown re-conning the area as we go, Lia collect what supplies the capsule had stored we will need all we can get. Jerrad and Korin you have point you know the drills and Tara get the Recon drone in the air I want to know what's within 10 clicks of our current location in all directions is that understood?

A Chorus of acknowledgement played out over her helmet coms as her team got to work, those she hadn't ordered set up a perimeter around the pod using the crater as cover. Lia clambered back inot the pod leaving her large duffel-bag on the ground to allow her to move more easily in the pod. Tara got to work opening her own duffle-bag pulling out a small drone, it wasn't particularly large only taking up half of her engineers kit bag in its dormant state it was roughly half a meter in length and half that again in height. Placing it on the ground Tara touched the top of the drone linking it with her suits on-board systems and the rest of the squads. With a whir of its motors the drone unfolded cameras and actuators turning and self testing before it shot into the air in a small cloud of dust.

Chila watched it go, remembering that it had no actual offensive capabilities it was purely for recon and wouldn't be swooping down to offer suppressive fire if they got into a major fire fight. She would have to rely on Garr for that he had the squads heavy machine gun, his heavier and larger armour allowing him to carry and fire the Massive heavy machine gun that any normal soldier would have had to mount onto a tripod. Chila watched as the drone zoomed off to start its sweep of the area a live feed appeared on her hud instantly minimising with a twitch of her eye. She would wait for Lia to finish in the pod before moving off to better ground, their position was a good one for the moment.

There was still one more thing she had to do she didn't think it would come to fruition but it had to be tried at least. Tuning her radio to the cultists frequency she waited for the static to clear.

"Attention This is Marauder Alpha code name wolf reporting in we have made planet fall, and following contingency plans we will link up with you at Freetown I repeat link-up at Freetown, Wolf out!" Chila cut off the com before looking at the map that was slowly being peiced together by her drone in the air. I only hope I can find it

Status:
1: "wolf/Chila" Squad Leader - MX-812 Assault rifle (6 mags), Mk8 "juggernaut" Pistol (5 mags), 2x Torch Flashbang Grenades, 3x Type 5 high explosive plasma Grenades, 1x Duffle-bag with equipment
Status: Good
2: "Hawk/Jerrad Marksman - HVEG Mk 7 Rail Rifle, Mk8 "juggernaut" Pistol (5 mags), 4x Sensor grenades, 1x Type 5 high explosive plasma Grenade, 1x Portable Sensor station
Status: Good
3: "Harpy/Korin" Squad-member - MX-812 Assault Rifle (6 mags), Mk8 "juggernaut" Pistol (5 mags), 2x Torch Flashbang Grenades, 3x Type 5 high explosive plasma Grenades, 1x Duffel-bag full of supplies/ammunition
Status: Good

bah ill do the rest later.....

[Xiscapia]

VSS Contingent "Mole"...

“These terms are unacceptable, we will meet on neutral ground in the Barrens, away from your military. I am also Commander for this region of VSS Operations so if you have information related to this area then you should address it to me.”

The hiss of static made it seem like for a moment Wallace had simply decided to forget Ceyne and her company and restart hostilities, or at least pull his forces back to continue to deny the VSS access to Freetown. Certainly the silence from the other line in which anything could be happening was far from encouraging. Echoing gunfire and distant cries from the settlement only seemed to thicken the tension in the patrol group, leaving them to wonder what the Sector 7 troops were doing to the inhabitants of Freetown. Straddling the bike behind the taller feline, Fuar had taken to watching the sky, searching the low gray clouds for any signs of approaching gunships or incoming missiles for all the good it would do. It at least felt useful.

At long last the Carpathian's voice came back to the Alumina, as evenly as ever. "Fine. Choose the time and location, and I will meet you there to discuss business. Transmit the coordinates along this frequency as soon as you have decided. You don't need to come alone -I won't be. Wallace out."

Freetown Perimeter, the Visitor's Bar...

"Got to warn you, I've probably got less then an hour before those Mercs kick in the door looking for me. If you want to hang around still then go right ahead, but try anything funny and you'll be on the floor with these three faster then you can blink."

"Yeah. Yeah, sure," he nodded slowly, one hand dropping away from the doorknob, though the other remained resting on his weapon. "No funny business. You got it." Edging around her, clearly not eager to provoke the woman, he stepped around the bodies and got behind the bar, rifling through what was left there. A full flask went onto his belt before he turned his attention to the locked register, leaning over it with a pick in hand, not even bothering to look for the key as he shimmied the thin piece of metal through the keyhole, squinting as he started to jimmy it. A rattle this way and that made the register tremble and clank, shaking as he pushed at it, trying to coax it open. It seemed as he got to turn it more and more his jerks became more and more violent, as if he could intimidate it into spilling the cash inside, until at last it popped open with a small ding! of success.
Then everything exploded into violence.

Both of the dusty, dirt-caked windows burst inwards in showers of glass as canisters blasted through the panes, one tumbling across the floor and knocking against a chair, rolling to a stop against one of the corpses, while the other bounced off the counter and slammed into the far wall, bringing down an entire rack of liquor with a shattering you could feel in your teeth. Immediately the grenades began to pump out their noxious loads, tear gas pluming from their metal depths and spreading rapidly throughout the room, covering everything in a thick, eye-stinging, choking fog. It seemed like even sound was deafened between the sudden violence of the act and the sheer heaviness of the gas, but there was more than enough left for Ulviye to hear the shouting of men outside and the stamping of their boots as they advanced on the bar, gear clattering against frames as they ran. Her sole co-occupant was nowhere to be found, gone or on the floor. She had just seconds to make a decision.

Daniel's Location, Corporate Highway...

Gaining height and expanded sensor range, the Marauder drone found a half dozen points of interest within ten kilometers of the location of Chila and her squad. To the north some five klicks away it appeared that a large starship had made its home on the wastes, a brown and jagged hull against gray and rocky land, and from the automatic turrets lining its ten meter high superstructure it was some kind of defended base, the side of which read Reaper's Scythe in great letters. Double that distance, just at the limits of the range of the scanners, a bridge spanned over the boulders and ravines below, boxy structures along its edges suggesting that there were some manner of outposts along its length. South of the unit at one klick lay a large body of liquid -unlikely to be water- hemmed in by several low, plated shapes that could have been vehicles of some kind, with no activity around them evident, and nearby a plume of smoke rose slowly from what looked to be a crater, a black smudge on the optical billowing into the already hazy atmosphere. Out west at some three klicks an unusually flat surface, no doubt artificial, was dotted with shacks and small lean-to structures of corrugated metal, ringed by piles of junk with tiny humanoid shapes moving between them. Finally, eastward eight klicks, a spire of rock leaned some ten meters into the air, notable for its smooth, glossy surface and the platform that hung off its side, a bulbous object that hunched against the formation like a giant beetle, blinking and glimmering with lights.

[Saurisisia]

Corporate Highway
Daniel's Location

Daniel could feel the beast's hot breath which, while soothing, did not take away the fact that he was at the mercy of this horrific creature. He wished he could have the strength to wrestle free of this terrible thing's grasp but alas, he didn't and he could only watch as he was being slid ever closer to the beast's maw. Clamping his eyes shut, he made one final prayer to the his Gods before he expected it all to end for him when he heard a high-pitched shrieking sound like the sound of an incoming artillery shell and subsequently, the monster let go of him with a hiss. Opening his eyes, he could see the creature scramble away, out of sight as a strange craft impacted in the dirt a distance away. Terrified of what its occupants might be, the Drakònian started to crawl in the opposite direction of where the craft crash-landed, away from it so he could be a good distance from whoever or whatever may had been inside the thing. He just had to get away, he just had to find shelter, he just had to find someone to help him, to nourish him. He just had to, somehow, survive in this desolate hellhole of a wasteland.

[Ikarus Dominion]

The Marauders
Daniel's Location, Corporate Highway

Chila watched as the scaly scrambled away the creature itself long gone through fright of their escape pod screaming down and impacting with the earth. She still had her squad taking stock of what they had they where going to be planet side for a while and and with no real ability to gain back up just as yet it was up to them to find somewhere to set up shop and wait for their white knight to catch up with them. They hadn't noticed the scaly until now it had been Hawk who had spotted him during a sweep with his sniper rifle his knick name was well earned in that respect. HE was the best Marksmen Chila knew and she felt a little bit safer knowing he was along for the ride.

"What do you want me to do wolf? He knows we are here if we let him go he might alert someone to our presence" Hawk asked through their coms system he was still laid on the ride his sniper trained on the scaly who had had a lucky break. "Plus he's a fucking scaly abominations them lot let me put a bullet in his head."

Chila looked to hawk and then the scaly crawling away, he was a pitiful thing to say the least If they left him he probably wouldn't survive another few days in the wilderness, how ever if he was to survive no doubt he would crawl into some bar get drunk and let slip how he survived against the wilderness and somewhere he would mention their pod crashing down to the ground. Raising suspicions and eventually leading to people coming to see just what he was on about. In the end it was a risk she could not take.

"Put a bullet through his head, Lia hurry up we move out in 5" Chila commanded as she moved away and down into the creator once again. The Single shot from Hawks sniper rifle resonating the air as the he put a bullet through the lizards head.

Pulling the recon drones feed back up she watched it for a few moments making a decision where they where going to go next she needed to get to free town but with as little disruption as possible. She thanked the goddess she had the drone otherwise she would have been walking blind into a land she knew nothing off, at least this way she had some inclining of what was coming. The Drone could stay in the air indefinitely its solar panelled top allowing it to recharge its batteries whilst in flight and added bonus whilst its size helped to keep it hidden even whilst in the air. Each way was a potential danger north south east or west she had no idea what would come crawling up to have a bite of them she only hoped he squad would be just as cautious.

The Black smoking crater took her attention, It was possible that it could have been the remains of their cultist allies Pod it was worth a look and the route seemed quite at least from up top if anything was to change she would be notified. By the time Lia had finished packing up the provisions into some spare satchels Chila had made her decision.

"Alright listen up we gunna head south see that plume of smoke could be our cultist boys so I figure we at least go check out the situation from their we are gunna swing West the drone shows a flat area with a few buildings seems to be as good a place as any to set up for the night, no cover for anyone who may want at us and the cover of the buildings for us... grab your gear and lets get moving. Hawk your on point"

Chila got a cacophony of acknowledgement as the rest of her squad picked up their gear and some extra provisions, Chila was already on top of the verge as the rest of her squad began to make their way over and into the wilderness Hawk already 50 meters off using his suits active camo to blend into the environment. It wouldn't take them long to reach the smoke so Chila figured they would check out the lake first the objects around it could mean that there may be a salvageable vehicle that they could use.

[Carpathia and Moldova]

Freetown

Sector 7 troops had surrounded the diner where Ulviye had hidden, having accidentally stumbled upon her during their search. Smoke and teargas grenades had been flung through the windows, while Sector 7 and Zero troops were preparing to move in, orienting themselves using the heat sensors in their helmets. One APC and three armored cars had parked up around the diner, turrets aimed at the place. And before soon, a mercenary officer called for Ulviye's surrender via a livespeaker.

"Ulviye Teke. You will exit the building with your hands behind your head. If you cooperate, you shall be generously paid for your services. However, if you try to run, or fight your way out, you will be captured and we shall use force to obtain the information we need." the officer had warned. So, it was either work with them willingly and even get paid, or be taken prisoner and tortured to death. Sector 7 meant business.

In other parts of not-so-Freetown, Sector 7 and Zero soldiers were carrying out another one of Wallace's orders. An example was to be made amongst the town's population. A fifth of the town's population was being rounded up at random, then simply executed in their homes, with no regard for age or gender. Entire families were being slaughtered in their homes, the corpses left behind as a grim reminder of what the penalty for disobedience was. Worse, Sector 7 was conducting a forced recruitment campaign amongst the able-bodied male population of the town. The offer was always the same. Join Sector 7 and get paid generously, or be executed, alongside your family. Sector 7 was slowly gathering an army.

And to supply that army, purchases of vehicles and equipment, were being made on the black market. Sector 7 was buying enough hardware to outfit a small army of a few hundred people. And what they were buying, was the best hardware available on the planet.

---

Wallace himself drove out of Freetown, his car escorted by two others, one APC and one of the damaged gunships. They arrived at the meeting point with the VSS personnel, rather quickly and set up missile jamming and sensor equipment.

[Setulan]

Bar, Hivan

The two Setulans-one massive and hunched, the other slim in comparison and poised with an undeniable grace-sat drinking their Rasthan piss-beer as they waited. They didn't speak much that anybody watching could tell. The occasional observation, a word or two that caused a slight smile or a chuckle. Whatever their business, everyone steered clear. There was just something off putting about the duo, and it wasn't their accents or clear Setulan blood. It was almost an hour before they were joined by a third companion, this one another man. Much larger than anyone else in the bar save the other huge Setulan, he sat down next to the woman with a sigh and ordered a drink. Once again his friends shot him warning looks, and once again they were ignored.

"Oh come on. It can't be..." A single sip. A grimace. "Alright. Alright. Fine. Just...shut up." Rayna mouth turned upwards in what might have been a hastily concealed grin. Janis didn't bother to hide his smile.

"Well? What's the word? You had a promising lead, didn't you?"

"It was promising." Questioner Valens sighed and swirled the beer around the glass. "All the way up until he led me into an ally and tried to jump me with a few friends."

"Get any alive?"

"One, but he...expired. During questioning. I was hoping maybe...?" Dark green eyes met brown so dark they were almost black. Rayna simply shook her head.

"No. Not if your questioning was as vigorous as the usual. I can only do so much to a soul as damaged as the ones you leave behind." A sigh, followed by a regretful nod. "Did you learn anything, though?" Valens took a swallow of his beer out of absentminded habit before answering.

"Yeeeeessss. Not anything particularly useful, but it's something." He looked at his companions with grave eyes. "Fear. Stark, abject fear when the subject came up."

There was nothing to say after that.

It was another half hour when their final companion walked in, a voluptuous young woman with a twitchy Rasthan following her with furtive glances at her bottom. The woman waived gaily at the three Setulans at the bar before walking over. Without bothering to take a seat she leaned on Janis' massive arm, bending over and giving her alien companion a great look at her behind.

"I made a friend!" The voice was a soft purr, seductive in its sweet lightness.

"He certainly seems...friendly." Rayna gave the Rasthan a calculating look, forcing the reptilian to snap his eyes away from Gina's ass and swallow nervously.

"Oh, don't mind him. He's a fan of my old work! Has a collection of all my videos, isn't he a dear?" The Death Jester giggled like a ditz. To anyone who didn't know her, she seemed like the biggest moron in the world. She never said so, but Valens always had a suspicion that she acted the way she did so the looks of horror and surprise on her victim's faces were even more priceless.

"And does this fan know anything helpful?"

"Oh yes." A bit of the ditz dropped from her voice. "He knows the Barrens. And he'll take us there, for a slight fee." A quick hand to the crotch of the almost panting Rasthan indicted exactly what that fee would be. It was a shame he would never get it, but Gina did worship the trickster god, after all.

"And now that we're all together, what do you say we get going?"

[Alversia]

Not far from Freetown

Ceyne was not long in arriving at the meeting point after the Sector 7 group had arrived. Before she turned up though, a beeping bathtub settled down, half-embedding itself in the ground. There was a slight flicker of light around it that seemed similar to a shield being raised. At the same time, the Sector 7 engineers would find their sensors and communications had been blocked as far as the VSS equipment went, there were no readings from any of them. She was on her own, flanked on both sides by combat droids, heavily armoured and hulking machines with sinister red eyes that seemed to stare dead ahead and with weapons drawn. Above them, two gunships hovered slowly, their search-lights illuminating the area to the point that it could have been as bright as day. There was no sign of her transport nor her team, though she did not seem entirely concerned by the situation. Her eyes flicked to Wallace and narrowed marginally, tail flicking.

The VSS Officer folded her arms over her chest, “My friend behind me,” she nodded her head back, voice even “is an electronic warfare droid. It has scrambled all communications, radar and sensors of all sorts. That includes ours. However, our fighters have locked on to this geographic location with bombs. One wrong move and they'll saturate this place with high explosives, as well as your town. So, start talking. Tell me your terms, and I shall tell you mine.”

[Carpathia and Moldova]

Outside Freetown

Wallace smiled slyly at the sight of the combat droid. "This goes both ways, commander. Our A.I. has anti-matter missiles targeted on this location. Similarly, anti-space defenses are targetting your fighters. Should you try anything funny, your forces will be vaporized in a fraction of a second." Wallace said. Like Ceyne, he had brought troops along: one APC, two armored cars and one of the gunships, along with some ten soldiers, though Wallace himself did not hide behind a shield. The APC had what looked like an X-laser communications array, large mirrors positioned on the sides of a tube. And the array was aimed in the direction of Freetown, which meant that someone was probably monitoring this, unless the jamming device that the VSS used, also caused the disruption of infrared beams.

"My terms are simple, commander. Whatever you are being paid to do around this area, I can double, or even triple, the fee, so that you would do it for us, instead. The alternative would be... Unpleasant. Aside from the obvious war, know that we are here at the orders of some very powerful people. People who can make a few calls, pass up a paycheck to someone higher up on the chain of command of your company and have your forces withdrawn from this planet, and you, fired. Consider it a carrot-or-the-stick offer. Cooperation will be generously rewarded, while opposition would be brutally suppressed. A bit radical, I know, but you have no idea what interests are involved here. So, I must do as I must." he said and motioned for one of his officers to shut down the X-laser communication array, while he walked closer to Ceyne and out of his men's hearing range.

"What I am about to tell you, now, will remain between you and me. A very long time ago, long before any of our races crawled out of their caves and started to call themselves civilizations, there was what can only be called, the mother of all wars. You know how virtually every civilization in the universe, has legends about a battle between good and evil, that took place at the beginning of time? Now you know where this legend originates."

"That war was over long before we were born. However, one of the sides that fought in that war, left behind some traces of their existence. And some ten years ago, while my people was busy invading and crushing the nation known as the InterSystem Alliance, we found something, on a planet in the middle of nowhere. I don't know what it is that we found, however, it scared a certain group which is so high up on the hierarchy of my nation, that most people don't even know it exists. The decision which the group took, was radical. All traces of that discovery, had to be destroyed. The archaeological team, their families, their friends and the families of their friends, were killed and all traces that they ever existed, were wiped. And the planet where they found that object, was obliterated, while the coordinates of that star system, were erased from all records."

"Recently, we have come across a report from Xiscapia, about an immensely powerful warship which is now out of their government's control. We believe that the technology upon which that warship was built and the reason that the Xiscapian government didn't build another ship of that class, is Precursor technology. I do not have the necessary clearance to know why exactly anything related to the Precursors is so dangerous. What I do know, is that for some reason, it poses an immense danger to every civilization in this galaxy. My orders are simple. Find that ship and destroy it beyond any possibility of salvage. I have the resources and the will to do whatever it takes, to accomplish that objective. And I can make it very profitable for you, if you cooperate. However, this objective must remain between us and us alone." Wallace said, paused a few seconds, and then smiled. "Welcome to Winterdawn, commander."

[Xiscapia]

Freetown Perimeter, the Visitor's Bar...

Gas leaked from the windows and billowed up into the sky, a noticeably whitish fog compared to all the streams of black smoke that rose from the fires of Freetown, but it was the only thing that seemed to be moving from inside the bar. There was no shouting or return fire from inside, not even the coughing and retching that one would expect from the tear gas. Even the infrared sensors didn't show any warm bodies inside, just the cold blue of the dead and little else. It was soon obvious that Ulviye Teke was gone.
But how, and to where?

---

Not too far away, Chet Weyer was crouching by a window, rifle clutched close to himself, listening to the heavy pound of automatic weapons just outside his home. He and the rest of his group, the Free Anarchists as they'd taken to calling themselves, had been lucky in that they were all at home when the mercenaries had attacked. To him and the four others that shared the house it had seemed like they'd have to take the same policy as when the Zeroes had rolled into town; keep your head down and your gun close, and eventually it would be over and things would be back to business as usual, with little change except for in the armor and faces of the settlement's new overlords. They probably wouldn't care to listen about the evils of statism any more than the Berrax mercenaries, but at least they wouldn't be any worse, he had thought.
Then the shooting started.

First it was the people who were stupid or unlucky enough to be caught out in the street. He'd seen a woman turn the corner, staring right down the barrel of an APC-mounted machine gun, and turn to run. The burst had nearly ripped her in half, and she was still lying in the alleyway on the far side, bleeding into the dirt. Then they'd heard the soldiers start breaking into people's homes, the shouts and cries for help as they pushed people out, adults, children, elderly, workers, mechanics, craftsmen, seemingly at random, and shot them dead. He had no idea why, but they'd all heard it and as soon as a squad started marching up to their door Chet and the others had propped their guns on the windows and opened fire.

Now he was panting, checking the magazine of his gun and trying not to think about a lot of things. About how their position was futile and the Sector Seven troops, with their superior weapons and numbers, would inevitably overwhelm them. About Dalton's body lying just a few feet away, sprawled over a collapsed table with a hole the size of a dinner plate in his chest, lifeless eyes staring at the ceiling. About Cayla, the tall and lovely Rasthan at the other window, and how she could be next. Instead, he glanced over his shoulder into the other room, grimacing at the sight of his cousin's sweaty face reflected in the glow of the computer screen.

"We can't keep them pinned forever, Hoyt! How much longer?"

"I've got the files loaded onto data crystals, I'm just trying to delete them from the computer!"

Growling to himself, Chet abandoned his window and, hunched over, darted into the other room. "Get back!" Pushing the other man away, he leveled his rifle at the console and pulled the trigger, riddling the tower and monitor with bullets until the machines sparked, smoked and died, going dark and cracked under the onslaught. "There, files erased! Now let's go!" Motioning to Cayla, he charged through to the back of the house.

Another man was waiting there, the quiet, stolid Dirk, bags packed and set into a neat line by the open trapdoor. Barely slowing down, Chet grabbed his and jumped down the hole, falling a meter before his boots hit the floor. The others followed suit in seconds, with Dirk pulling a table over the hidden exit before pulling a throw rug over top of that and shutting it, backing down the tunnel as he made sure that the single landmine -their sole trap- was set in the floor. Only checking to see that the other three were behind him, Chet led them down the tunnel in pitch darkness, only the sound of their boots tramping on dirt and their breathing for company. He wished they'd had more warning, more time to prepare, but it couldn't be helped.
They had to get as far away from the town as fast as they could, like many others would be doing in the tunnels that honeycombed the land under Freetown, and for all they knew the Sector Seven soldiers would be right behind them.

The Marauders, Corporate Highway...

As they traveled it would quickly become clear to Chila and her Marauders that the Barrens were exactly the kind of harsh, inhospitable place that Vull had warned. Ground and sky seemed to fuse together in a great gray mass, all lifeless and muted, and it was hard to even make out a horizon in places, what with sandy clouds of silt and dust building up here and there like clumps of half-solid fog. Nothing grew or moved here on the surface, and for as flat as it seemed the terrain could be treacherous, with ravines mostly hidden in the earth until you were almost on top of their narrow gaps, to say nothing of the assorted small ledges and stones that could make even walking a pain. The sheer lack of features would surely make them glad for their drone as a method to point them in the right direction, because there seemed to be no landmarks. But eventually, after less than an hour of travel time, they made it to their destination.

The center of it was indeed a lake of sorts, though not one that any sane person would drink from. It was a brownish sludge with rainbow hues occasionally popping up here and there, somewhere between mud and water, and a simple scan would quickly inform the team that it was highly toxic, no doubt some corporation's dumping ground for hazardous waste. Around the poisonous pond lay a quartet of vehicles including three of the low, tough buggies common to desert-like areas and a larger, heavy truck with an open back and two mounted guns, one at the front and one in the rear. Like the ground they were the natural gray of metal and actually blended in rather well, though from their appearances they were armored and at least partially built from scrap and spare parts, judging by the mismatched plating and exposed gears and axles. One of the buggies was lying on its side near the smoking crater, a chunk torn out of its rear end, while the other vehicles looked to have been sprayed with bullets, puckered holes dotting their sides from a single direction -north.

Bodies lay all around, sprawled in the spaces between the vehicles and slumped behind them and convenient boulders, also all facing north. These people, mostly humans, Rasthan and Zillars, looked not unlike their vehicles; gray with dirt, clad in slipshod metal armor that was clearly forged from scrap and full of gunshot wounds, their own weapons lying clutched in death grips or thrown by muscles spasming their last. A number were decapitated, heads simply gone though not entirely disintegrated judging by the long streaks of blood and brains that each had left behind them, and perhaps most tellingly these all glistened wetly and smelled horrible. Fresh. Nothing moved except for the lazily twisting smoke, until there was a flash from behind the gun truck and a shape half leaned out, machine gun chattering as the hostile sprayed bullets at the Marauders.

The Barrens, Gates of Hivan...

Jasper patted the side of the low, heavily-armored truck that waited in one of the city's many garages leading out to the Barrens, emblazoned with the logo of his service on the side. "This will get you to where you need to go!" he told his latest customers, walking towards its rear. "And I will do the same." His accent came out oddly, making him put a high emphasis on the end of every other word, though the Rasthan was otherwise understandable. "She is the Cruiser, and she is big, mean and doesn't let a few dents or bodies slow her down. Kind of like my ex-wife!" He laughed at his own joke as they rounded the back.

"It is not very comfortable," he admitted as he pulled the doors open, revealing the interior cabin as a large, empty space with a few seats tacked on to either side and luggage racks hanging overhead. "But as you can see, this section connects to the front where I drive, and there is room for one passenger there. It is much more comfortable!" He gave a sly look to Gina. "But yes, you will be well protected from anything back here. Now, you have told me you seek the likes of the Sons." The lupine shook his head. "I do not know why you want to find them, but I will do my best to get you to where they are, maybe."

For once he looked business-like, or at least tried to. "They are a terrorist group, so they do not really advertise where they are. They are one of the only ones that the Patriarchy will actively hunt, even in the Barrens. But I do know of a few places where they are seen, or were. One is a place called Freetown. It is a rough place, controlled by Berrax mercenaries called the Zeroes, and sometimes the Sons will send people there to get supplies. That is a place that you could try.

"Another is the old Augmentations Limited dome. It is a corporate place that was abandoned by its builders after the work there was complete, and there were rumors that there was a large encampment of Sons there. I guess it may have been true, because a new mercenary group called the Valoria's Shield Security bombed it recently. It it mostly rubble now, but there might still be something to be found there. Also it is much less dangerous than Freetown.

"The last place that I know that you could go to is the Valoria's Shield Security headquarters. They have a base set up in the Barrens where they conduct their business, and they might have had contact with the Sons before. If they did, they might know where else you could find them. I do not know how dangerous that might be," he shrugged, "so maybe you do not want to try there. What do you want to do?"

Fortress Vypal, Approach...

Despite all that was happening out in the Barrens, it would have been comparatively quiet at Fortress Vypal. After the local wildlife, or what passed for fauna on New Rastha, had been exterminated there had been no more real contacts. Local bandits had taken one look at the place and decided that there were easier pickings elsewhere, and rival mercenary companies eyed it warily, not entirely sure what to make of this new base. Of course there had been the occasional fly-overs with drones from curious interests, and as with any other complex in the Barrens, these were shot down. That had quickly become routine, and at least it gave some bored gunners target practice if the guns weren't automated.

That changed a fraction at the appearance of the bike. It trundled on down the barest suggestion of a dirt road out in front of the Wyrm stronghold, chugging and belching smoke as the tired vehicle finally started to come to a halt, stopping a respectable distance away from the walls of the firebase with its engine still running. The rider leaned to one side, putting a foot on the ground, black body armor and helmet caked with dust from the ride, and moved one hand slowly, no doubt well aware that they were being watched. They didn't go for the rifle on their back, but rather slipped a hand into a pouch and extracted something small and white, which fluttered in the breeze as they held it up. It moved from side to side, and the mysterious person straddled their bike impatiently as they held it aloft, waving a white flag.