Re: The Phoenix Chronicle Book 4: Shadow Among Shadows
Posted: Mon Sep 07, 2015 6:18 am
Chapter 5: Things in Motion
If the cargo door hadn't closed, we'd be telling a tale of how Phoenix ended up splattered on the white ground of the memorial below them. Anna practically pounced him, either attempting to hug him for being alive or squeeze the life out of him for scaring her. The many soldiers in the crowded dropship stared at him, confused. He was supposed to be dead, he was dead. A lot of Briggs' reinforcement team saw the body too, it was practically common knowledge before the body was even cold. Phoenix himself was dazed and slightly confused at Anna's sudden attention, Briggs glared at him and snarled. As he tried desperately to push Anna off him before she crushed his ribs, Griffin came by and poked at Phoenix's shoulder. "Ow! The hell Griff?" Phoenix shrieked as Anna finally released him, allowing him to rub the impact spot as Griffin poked again "Are you real?" Griffin asked sarcastically, looking at Phoenix with a confused expression. Phoenix shrugged and looked about the crew, all of whom looked scared and confused at his simple existence. Anna didn't care at all, she still wouldn't let him go until they were back aboard the Sentinel, hallucination or not. The dropship alongside the others, locked into the Sentinel's emergency hanger. Triage and emergency teams rushed the injured men to the medical bays, ignoring Phoenix and his team. Surviving soldiers headed to Command and Operations for debriefing and updates on the situation. Other soldiers ran about, security systems were down and that meant everyone goes on high alert. Phoenix pushed Anna off him and headed to the bridge. Spyglass shouted over the intercom to soldiers and triage teams, Phoenix plopped himself down in his chair as the bridge buzzed with activity. "Spyglass, status updates." Phoenix uttered as he slumped back into the metal chair. "Sir, forces on the ground have been evacuated. Crucial information retrieved, traitor eliminated. Rogue PDF elements suffered massive casualties and have retreated into the inner city. PDF General Zeke has been eliminated, hostile worships have made a collective FTL jump into another system, the remaining traitor reserve fleet has followed them." The AI replied as Phoenix shifted about in the seat, thinking and groaning at the absolute clusterfuck he had created for himself. As he stared at the holographic city representation, a man walked in front of him. Large, fairly tall, blonde hair and bright green eyes with a distinctive stubble and short hair. "Sir?" The man asked in what seemed to be an accent of Australian decent, Phoenix was up to date on all known history, "I'm Sergeant Dusk, I headed up the evacuations from my command pod. It wasn't perfect but we got all our boys home, eh?". Phoenix nodded and raised an eyebrow at the clearly patriotic soldier, who smiled and visibly attempted to remain calm and professional. "Dusk... you seem to have a knack for tactics, correct?" Phoenix questioned, watching as Dusk started to try and brag discreetly in his mind before pushing the words out his throat. "Yes sir, definitely sir!" Dusk replied enthusiastically, smiling and nodding while taking slow and calm breaths. "I want you to head up the search and termination force. They made that jump for a reason, you won't let them get away." Phoenix stated stoically. Watching as Dusk's eyes widened and he clearly was confused, the thirty year old man was outright overwhelmed with pleasure as the news dawned on him. He ran off, looking at Phoenix and shouting about how he wouldn't screw this up for him, Phoenix giggled to himself, knowing that no matter what the mission would go as planned. Either they took out the surviving rogues, found out what they were after, or the mission doesn't go as planned and they get a gist of what they were doing. No lose situation, if nothing else. He sighed, and watched the response force head off as Anna wrapped her arms around his neck and put her head on his shoulder. "Rough day?" She inquired sarcastically, drawing a disapproving look from him as she playfully smiled. She stared at the situation overview that was holographically displayed in front of them and frowned "Man... we can't catch a break can we?". Phoenix shrugged and stood up, holding her hand, "I have a plan, if it works then we can get a stranglehold on the rioting and shit and fix a whole lotta problems at once." he said, working his shoulders and straining his muscles as Anna continued to look at him, perplexed. He stared at her hood and white, soft, smooth and unified fabric of her shirt, she smiled as she noticed his wandering eyes and kissed him on the cheek as she walked off to do whatever she did in her free time.
Dusk was inside the small command pod within his command cruiser. It wasn't much of a pod, but the old command ships used actual pods to command forces. The nickname just kinda stuck over time, no need to change if it isn't broken. "Spyglass, force status" Dusk commanded into the small terminal at the AI "Acknowledged... 10 cruisers, 4 carriers, 5 battleships and 20 frigates. 20 Dropships, 15 drop pod sets, a detachment of Viper Squad and 500 racks of Ghost AIUs. Analyzing hostile force strength, standby..." the AI replied in it's monotone voice coming from speakers across the empty ship. Dusk devised a plan in his mind, and played it out across battle simulations. Drop forces south of the enemy rally points, shock and awe the enemy fleet in orbit. When the grunts make first contact, deploy the Ghost units. With the main fleet destroyed he could prevent any units from escaping, Viper Squad could mop up any forces of any kind that routed. Spyglass' battle prediction software wasn't the best, but even the dedicated simulation software showed likely signs of success. If, and only if, they got the surprise advantage on the enemy fleet. Hit their engines, drives, and then wear them down. He had to be adaptive, work on the fly, and most of all don't get caught. He uploaded the plans to Spyglass' mission briefing log and got aboard his personal ship, and headed down. Viper Squad communed in a dropship, the 5 of them were a part of the 20 man (and woman) unit. Spyglass' voice came from the Ghost unit in front of the 4 men and one woman. "Viper Squad, your objective is to hack the hostile orbital defense weapons and clear out any stragglers. Prepare for a battle of attrition, deployment in thirty seconds.". The twenty or so dropships were the expeditionary force. Alongside Dusk, who's personal ship flew alongside the Viper Squad's ship. "There's Dusk" Amber said, she was the team's avid hacker and heavy stealth expert. Without such an expert, a lot of Viper Squad's missions wouldn't play out as smoothly as they normally do. Their powered exo-suits protected them against fall damage as they dropped onto the ground. The suits were advanced, the best the UPF could offer. Shielding built for cruisers, short range FTL drives, experimental jump kits, built in medical equipment, electromagnetic shielding, AI modules, aim assist computers and enough armor plating to take a direct hit from a tank. They had specialized assault rifles custom made to never jam with built-in suppressors. Claws and a grappling hook built into left bracer, a kinetic strike device built into the right. All of this was genetically encoded, built solely for the individual user that wore it and the gear could be scuttled at a moment's notice should the need arise. The soldiers under the armor were the best, experienced and knowledgeable, no such things as rookies among these troops and they were cloned. Were they to die, their consciousness and genetic material would be used to rebuild them with their memories and combat experience. UPF cloning was far more efficient, if not impossible to do in mass as the need required. They landed in a field, alongside many other normal troops. "We're heading for the main cannon control center. Let's make this snappy people" The detachment leader, lieutenant Jack Sullivan, ordered to his team. They nodded in response and followed him quickly through the roads. Gunfire signified that other troops made contact, and shockwaves above them told everyone that the drop pod second wave was incoming. The Vipers couldn't care less, they saw the large tower and knew that they had bigger things to do. Hopping over a wall and gunning down two rogues who were running to respond to the attacking drop pod forces. They took a left, and kept running before diving through a collection of windows on the fourth floor of the terminal building they were looking for. The orbital defenses here were once Federation, now they had were old and unused. But they could still be of use, or they could detonate and destroy the planet. Either way. "Clock's ticking Amber, move." The detachment's resident rifleman, Greaves, uttered as he scanned the area for enemy troops. Amber nodded and said something unintelligible, and ran off into the main control room. Two men ran out, shooting over their shoulders as Amber gunned them down. "It's clear, let's move." She mumbled, smiling under her visor as Greaves patted her on the back. "Oi, guys! We have company coming in on the lower levels!" The team's assault gunner, Forge, yelled as he saw 20 or so hostiles heading into the lower floors of the tower. "Aye, Greaves take Bishop and hold kill those guys. Forge, provide over watch support from here. I'll stay in contact with Dusk. MOVE!" Sullivan ordered, watching as his subordinates ran about to fulfill their orders, he snickered and walked into the room with Amber. She was typing commands into a terminal, attempting to override the safeties, the security procedures and stuff of the sort. None of which Sullivan understood but of course, she did, so that's what matters. "Hmph" He went, staring as she effortlessly typed commands into the terminal and slowly gained control of the gun network. Outside, the battle roared, gunfire and explosions were commonplace. Sooner or later, the gunfire inside the tower itself fell silent. "Bishop, report" Sullivan uttered into his radio, prompting a look from Amber "Why not Greaves?". "I can't trust that sorry fuck for anything" Sullivan uttered, snickering with Amber as they recalled many stories in their minds. Greaves was a minor screw up, joker and prankster all balled into one, needless to say it lead to many hilarious incidents (Including him dying once or twice) within the unit. "Alright..." She started, suddenly focusing on her work and not the carnage unfolding outside "WE GOT THE GUNS!" they shouted in unison, looking at the "Access granted" words appearing on the screen and the network of cannons and available targets showing. Dusk, meanwhile, was tapped into their feed on his personal ship and saw the words and shouted "YES!" at the top of his lungs. "Viper squad you've got the guns, input the target registry I gave you and get down there. I'll be landing nearby, watch it." He said into his radio mounted on his wrist, getting a fairly typical "Got it" response from Sullivan as he watched the cannons power up. The target registry would give the cannon network a set of fairly simple answers to the yes or no questions they asked themselves before firing. In the end, it would target the hostile rogues in orbit and not the friendly loyalist ships. Of course, as he flew over the battlefield he remembered one thing: If they were losing on the ground, it wouldn't matter. He checked the battle statistics and projections, along with force statuses. They weren't doing amazingly well, but as soon as air support and automated forces were inbound they could easily turn it around. He opened up a channel to all his forces "Tac Nine to all ground forces, we're taking losses but doing alright against these rogues. Keep up the pressure, Dusk out.". No real need to listen to the responses, status updates were to be communicated to other commanders, not him in particular. His job was to lead the main forces and come up with strategies and plans of action, dealing with individual problems was to be taken up the chain of command. He peeked out the back of his small ship and watched the cannons fire their kinetic rounds, and the explosions in the sky as they hit the rogue cruisers. He smirked and grabbed a pistol from the side of his ship and looked out the back, watching as the five members of Viper squad dived out of the terminal buildings. "Specter five here, deploying automated infantry north of the hostile settlement" Said a voice over the command channel, before it was quickly replaced by another: Captain Rok, "Sir, I see twenty or so hostile rogue PDF troops heading for a building on the south side of the camp. Chances are there's something they need in that area.", Dusk growled and thought for a moment and opened a channel with the now-free Viper detachment. "Sullivan get your troops to follow the routed forces to a building on the south side of the camp." he ordered, getting a stoic and bored sigh in response. Sullivan signaled his team as they continued gunning down a few stragglers, not much else to do with all the fighting moving south "Finish up people!" he yelled "We're moving south.". The various team members nodded and followed him as he jumped onto a roof, sprinted down the other side, and squished a poor soul who was told to watch out for these particular demons. They ran out of the small enclosed area and gunned down the many running remains of the hostile force as they charged down a road in an attempt to get out of there and to the wherever they needed to be. "Who the hell are these guys?!" A rogue shouted, before he was promptly stabbed by Bishop, the blood spraying on him and his friends, along with the nearby hostiles. They promptly scattered, running into alleyways and buildings and sheds. So quickly and so panicked that none of the Vipers could track them, and there was no use killing random stragglers. Let the grunts handle that, or the Ghosts, they have bigger things in mind. They jumped and ran across a billboard and dived across another, making a large jump through some glass and into another building. "There, over there!" Greaves yelled, pointing at the running remnants of the PDF rogues "Dusk we have eyes on the hostile forces they are running into building marked 'Hangman' just outside a walled compound." Sullivan said into his wrist communicator "Copy that" Dusk replied, and he promptly ordered his forces to their location. Soon, within five minutes of waiting, the troops and automated forces entered the building and headed down into the depths of it's lower levels. They found weapons, plans, targets and things of the such and knew now that the PDF were part of something bigger. Sullivan headed down, alone, with the remaining AIUs and grunts. They all stared at a large metal door at the bottom of the basement steps, Rok was with them. Dusk waited in his ship, staring and watching their camera feeds. "Hey, you, get that door open." A squad leader said, pointing at his demolition expert and then at the door "Everyone stand clear, don't get crushed or... burned." the expert replied, setting specific door charges on the side. They'd dislodge the door from the frame, no explosions required. Needed when you don't know what's in the room, or need to be quiet. They burst into sparks onto the armored backs of troops nearby, and then it fell with a loud thud. "Go! Now!" Sullivan shouted, watching as a squad of grunts ran in single file... and were promptly gunned down. "Lima two to Tac Nine we've made contact with the enemy! Looks like rebel infantry and they're setting up defenses inside the structure!" Someone yelled over the radio, and Dusk sighed. "Spyglass, scan the interior and-" He started before a massive hole, twenty feet to the left of the building, opened up. The hole revealed a large metal interior, large enough to allow a ship entrance and exit. Spyglass chimed in as Dusk looked at the hole, horribly confused and baffled "Scans indicate a large structure built of blast wall material within the facility where infantry have made contact.", Dusk said nothing. Staring at the hole "Spyglass, get Ghost AIU squads into that hole. ASAP. Tell everyone else to finish up what they're doing and get down there, tell Viper squad to get with them and tell Rok to search the main structure." he ordered at the AI, who promptly beeped and booped and replied with "Orders received, transmitting now.". And so, an ocean of automated pacification charged forward. Hundreds of them, thousands even, all running and soon diving into the hole. The few rebel troops inside offered little resistance, and soon the interior was clear. The soldiers ran in and quickly admired the Ghosts' handiwork, slashed throats, clean head shots, few casualties. They were definitely the future, no doubt about that. Rok couldn't care less, he snatched a squad of the buggers and ran off to clear the main structure. Root out and destroy the remaining terrorists, leave no survivors. Fail to do so and fail the empire, which he couldn't allow. Rok took those Ghosts and lead them about the narrow hallways, watching them scan about curiously. Their small eyes on top of their camera heads blinking and changing focus, inspecting their surroundings with some sort of intention. Were they looking for hostiles or genuinely curious? Nobody knows. He snickered, they were quite... cute when they weren't murdering copious amounts of people. He pushed the thoughts out of his mind as he heard talking and aggressive rustling and pounding. "LEON! WE HAVE TO GO!" Someone shouted, followed by several loud thuds and the muffled rustling of sheets and pillows. "Ugh... what do you waaaaant" A second voice whined drowsily. "They've attacked the compound we have to go-" The voice started before Rok and his seven ghosts entered the living space. A few PDF troops rushed for weapons but halted as the ghosts raised their weapons and growled pre-recorded surrender commands. The man who was talking to the drowsy man was a civilian insurgent, nearby a mercenary in black gear but no helmet raised his pistol at Rok. The drowsy man was tall, blonde haired and slightly pale and clearly needed rest, lots of it. His eyes widened at the sight of Rok and his mechanized infantry units, he attempted to step back into his room but was quickly stopped by a red laser point originating from a random Ghost. Dusk saw this from his view from the cockpit of his ship, and his eyes widened too. Mostly because he was nearly out of tiny chicken wings to eat, and mostly because that was fucking Leon. "Rok!" He shouted into his microphone, watching his captain's perplexed face at the sudden shout "That's Leon Hartley, eliminate him!". Rok's face filled with determination, eagerness and a crooked smile. Leon saw this and ran, heading for the back door. The Ghosts saw more reasoning in shooting all the others in the room than Leon, Rok ran after him as bullets still cut through the air in the room. Leon dived through an automatic door in the wall and down into service tunnels, Rok chasing after him. They took potshots at each other every minute as they ran, until Leon was directly under the hanger, grates above allowed visible feet of Ghosts above them heard the gunfire, and began firing through the small square holes that allow sight into the service tunnel. Missing everyone, Leon took the opportunity to get ahead and pressed the button the shutters "Shit!" Rok shouted, firing once, only to have the bullet crushed mid-flight by the massive shutters. "Dusk I lost him..." Rok growled into his radio, getting no response for a moment before Dusk sighed "Fuck... get to your ship and get out of there Rok, there's nothing you can do". He tossed his pistol on the ground angrily and paced, he screwed up and badly. This was going to ruin him, everyone is gonna hate him for this catastrophic failure. And then he finally spotted the glowing door, another way around. He sprinted toward the door and up a short set of stairs. Raising his pistol at a specific sight: Leon, getting out of a hatch in the service tunnels and, among gunfire of all types, entering his ship. With a single snapshot at the blonde haired man, the Ghosts stopped. A comm channel with Dusk opened the second he pulled the trigger "Sir I've got eyes on him standby-" he started before the static of Dusk's radio interrupted him "Rok hold your fire! You're gonna hit a death charge and blow the place to hell. Watch your fire.". Rok growled for a moment and took another shot, hitting the vessel this time and cursing his misfortune. He charged as Leon dived into the cockpit of the ship. After a single second, the engines powered up and the ship launched out of the hanger and right past Dusk's ship. "BLOODY HELL!" He shouted as the ship passed him "Leon's ship just took off, Spyglass alert the fleet in orbit!". Spyglass's standard whirring and beeping were quickly followed with "Acknowledged, relaying intel now.". Though, whether through some massive stoke of luck, the miracle of collective human stupidity, or perhaps something lost in translation with Spyglass, the ship escaped. And made a short range FTL jump out of the area and to gods know where for reasons unknown. Dusk punched the console and sighed, he dealt with the rogues but missed the big prize. Phoenix would probably have his ass for this, gods help him. But at least, the main job was done, maybe if he pretended that Leon wasn't there Phoenix wouldn't care at all. And he'd still get some favor with the commander. He nodded to himself and slumped back in his chair, then groaned and locked in FTL coordinates "Spyglass... get the fleet back home, there's nothing we can do.".
Meanwhile, Phoenix was without a care in the world. The remaining rogue PDF forces were pacified and subdued, the rest remained loyal and true. Phoenix was resting his head and messing with his wrist communicator when Anna walked in, creepy and silent, just like her. "Hey you..." She said, startling him briefly and watching his shoulders jump "Don't scare me like that!" he groaned, tossing a pillow at her before standing up and following her out of the small room but stopping before the door. He noticed that she had stopped too, and held one hand in the other and stared at the floor. "... Why are you here?" She asked, raising her head to look at his eyes, which remained perfectly focused and still "Why are any of us here?" he replied. She cocked her head the question and raised an eyebrow, as if to say "Really now?". Phoenix smiled and put a hand on her shoulder "Truth is I don't know either". "But... I'm feeling strange, not entirely here, like I'm... somewhere else entirely" He continued, as Anna promptly leveled her head and kissed him. "I'll stop questioning it, I'm just glad to have you back..." She said in a whisper, kissing him again. They both headed back to the bridge, as typical. Normally Spyglass' would have something for them. Briggs was also there, glaring at him from a distance, Burden was in the engine room, Griffin was sleeping and Adrian was in the armory, all around things seemed to go back to normal. Spyglass' voice came down first before he could even sit "Sir, Sergeant Dusk has succeeded in his operation. However, there were numerous casualties and a target of high value escaped. Recommend immediate analysis of the after action report.", Phoenix stared on perplexed and wondering why Dusk didn't contact him sooner. Anna looked equally confused at the sight. "I can't blame him, if you wanted to impress someone you'd lie too. Can't take chances with that sorta thing" Phoenix said, looking at her.
She shrugged, innocently.
Then Briggs walked over, trying to put his anger at Phoenix aside "Burden wants us down in the engine room, c'mon"
Why?" Anna asked, placing a firm and steady glove on her pistol. You can't trust anyone anymore.
"I have no idea, he just wanted us to see something. Apparently the Sentinel is and I quote: 'Awful at turning to the point of downright embarrassment and we should all be ashamed for allowing this'. Can't say he's wrong, I've seen entire naval battles be resolved by the time this damn thing turns".
Phoenix raised a finger "That's intentional, this thing is a carrier first and foremost with turrets attached. No need to be making quick maneuvers and such."
Briggs shrugged as well, he didn't care either in all honesty. But they all needed to go into the engine room apparently. They trotted there, it wasn't unlike Burden to see this sorta thing and rant to them about it. All of them, even people who probably shouldn't care either way. The many grey hallways buzzed with activity by the soldiers aboard. They finally entered the engine room. Only to find Burden messing with a pad and basking in the orange light. He was about to say something before the alarms sounded. "Warning: Nearby Jump Signature. All personnel man their stations and brace for FTL impact. ETA: 5 seconds." The alarm VA shouted, a singular alarm ringing as troops ran about. Lights went out briefly, expecting a power surge as ships landed close. "Probably just the Leviathan and her fleet, Dusk is comin' home." Phoenix yelled over the loud alarm. He looked out a window in the engine room and saw... four cruisers, smaller and less advanced. Ancient and unpainted rebel ships, nothing special. "Firing on hostile vessels, estimated recharge time on primary weapons: Ten minutes" The VA stated as the Sentinel's primary weapons powered up. One ship, only one, had weapons. A missile launcher, some lasers and a beam. The weapons fired, quickly, before the Sentinel's first barrage hit a different ship, causing it to fracture and break apart. Phoenix instantly knew something was wrong, no lifeboats, it fractured into two distinct pieces, it didn't attempt evasion, it didn't even... It's a decoy! The ship with weapons fired quickly, and all of them hit the Sentinel's shields. Modified Zoltan variants, solid barriers prevent teleportation. The missile penetrated the standard issue shield and hit the system. The beam fired directly into the impulse engines and quickly into the FTL drive. Then, as the other ships opened fire, the remaining cruisers detonated their FTL cores, and there was nothing left. "... The fuck?" Adrian thought out loud, questioning what the fuck just happened... And then there was a shot, a gunshot. It hit the window and caused the shutters to close, everyone turned to look at who fired the pistol... Leon was standing there. Next to him, Watson, holding a massive plasma LMG, capable of taking out small drones in the air if they were close enough. Leon bashed the door control panel and closed it. "Nice job of Vahnisk to take out the security systems aboard... now... For the main event" Leon smiled as he spoke, everyone stood at the three sides of the room. Phoenix and Briggs in front of Leon, opposite to the door. Anna and Adrian, to the left of the door. Griffin and Burden, to the right. "I need access codes for the reactor override cells." Leon growled, smiling in his usual cocky ways. Those codes would allow him access to the reactor chamber and core override cells. He could detonate the reactor, overload the FTL drive and destroy the Sentinel. "Fuck you" Adrian growled, only to get kicked in the head. Everyone looked on in anger, Watson aimed his massive weapon at Phoenix, then Briggs, then Anna. He was capable of ripping them apart in an instant if they resisted, Leon had free reign to do whatever to them. He snickered as Adrian attempted to block his kicks "Can we get this over quickly? Give me the codes.", Burden growled and nearly reached for his shotgun but stopped, opting to draw attention away from Adrian with a snide remark "If you say the magic word!" he growled, smiling. Leon giggled, replied with "Pretty please?" and kicked Adrian again. Then he walked over to Phoenix, a bit of swagger in his step as he calmly walked up to Phoenix, they were about the same height. Phoenix puffed out his chest and prepared to punch Leon in the face and kill Watson, only to get kicked in the chest and beaten with his pistol. Anna looked on, her face quivering as she gradually bared her teeth. She wanted to grab her pistol and end Leon now, whether the gunman at the door would kill her or not. But there had to be an easier way... there always is. She could confess and give him what he wanted, she shook off the thought instantly. Awful idea, Phoenix would probably disappointed in her if she gave up this early on into interrogations. Leon pulled out his on pistol, a small, black, plasma blaster held in his brown holster across his hip. Phoenix was lying against the wall at this point, leg outstretched, Leon placed a heavy foot on Phoenix's boot. Watching him squirm shortly before... BANG! He fired his blaster into Phoenix's knee, it tore through the clothing and left nothing but a small crater in the knee filled with blood. Skin and bone showing as Phoenix writhed and yelled in agonizing pain. Leon only snickered as Briggs helped the injured man to his feet. "The codes Mister Phoenix, the code... the code... the code." Leon uttered, pacing around, looking at the ceiling and biting his upper lip. Then he shot Griffin in the ankle, watching him rock a little and nearly fall and lose his balance and collapse. He giggled and then walked over to Adrian who snarled and growled, putting his pistol to Adrian's forehead. Leon merely groaned and walked over to Anna, quickly. There was a crack, and everyone's view shifted to Leon, his pistol bloody and Anna quivering and crying softly. "You..." Burden started, stepping one foot forward "FUCKER-" and there was a gunshot, he took a bullet in the stomach. Everyone stared at him, Adrian's expression especially sad and soft, as if this stuck a nerve with him but didn't make him angry in particular. Another loud CRACK, and Anna whimpered again, her head and nose bleeding she looked up and quivered. Yet another crack and crunch, more bleeding and bruising. "STOP JUST FUCKING STOP!" Adrian shouted as the tall man leaned in for another thwack, Leon looked at him. Mockingly raising an eyebrow and cocking a small smile. He tossed a small, white, card at the his captor's navy blue shirt. "Great, thanks" Leon uttered, and then he shot Adrian in the throat. Blood squirted and gushed from the wound in the right side of his throat, gurgling for air and through more redness as it leaked from his lips. Phoenix crawled toward the bleeding friend, who stretched out a hand.
His voice cracked and sputtered as more blood dripped and drooled down his shirt. He could barely make out the words as his chest convulsed and twitch with each desperate attempt to breathe. "C-Commander..." He muttered, touching Phoenix's shoulder as he pressed down on the wound. Blood spurting from between his fingers, violently "... help...". And then his body went limp, and Adrian was dead. The blood from the initial shot coated Anna's face as she looked on, wide eyed. Hopelessly lost and overwhelmed in emotion and fear, she had never seen a friend die before. She saw the blood trickle between Phoenix's fingers, Adrian's pale face suddenly fall to the side as if nothing was holding it upright, his violently convulsing lungs and fighting arms and legs stopped moving, going absolutely floppy and limp. "YOU MOTHERFUCKER!" Phoenix shouted as he grabbed a pistol, voices in the back of his head repeating "Kill him, kill them all, silence the voices.". As he twisted to aim the pistol at his attacker, Leon kicked him in the head, grabbed a bloody and shocked Anna and walked off. "I'll be taking her Phoenix, consider her... my bargaining chip." He snickered, before running off, keeping her as a human shield.
Phoenix was too shocked to notice anything, he quite literally saw stars, pinpricks of light in the air.
If the cargo door hadn't closed, we'd be telling a tale of how Phoenix ended up splattered on the white ground of the memorial below them. Anna practically pounced him, either attempting to hug him for being alive or squeeze the life out of him for scaring her. The many soldiers in the crowded dropship stared at him, confused. He was supposed to be dead, he was dead. A lot of Briggs' reinforcement team saw the body too, it was practically common knowledge before the body was even cold. Phoenix himself was dazed and slightly confused at Anna's sudden attention, Briggs glared at him and snarled. As he tried desperately to push Anna off him before she crushed his ribs, Griffin came by and poked at Phoenix's shoulder. "Ow! The hell Griff?" Phoenix shrieked as Anna finally released him, allowing him to rub the impact spot as Griffin poked again "Are you real?" Griffin asked sarcastically, looking at Phoenix with a confused expression. Phoenix shrugged and looked about the crew, all of whom looked scared and confused at his simple existence. Anna didn't care at all, she still wouldn't let him go until they were back aboard the Sentinel, hallucination or not. The dropship alongside the others, locked into the Sentinel's emergency hanger. Triage and emergency teams rushed the injured men to the medical bays, ignoring Phoenix and his team. Surviving soldiers headed to Command and Operations for debriefing and updates on the situation. Other soldiers ran about, security systems were down and that meant everyone goes on high alert. Phoenix pushed Anna off him and headed to the bridge. Spyglass shouted over the intercom to soldiers and triage teams, Phoenix plopped himself down in his chair as the bridge buzzed with activity. "Spyglass, status updates." Phoenix uttered as he slumped back into the metal chair. "Sir, forces on the ground have been evacuated. Crucial information retrieved, traitor eliminated. Rogue PDF elements suffered massive casualties and have retreated into the inner city. PDF General Zeke has been eliminated, hostile worships have made a collective FTL jump into another system, the remaining traitor reserve fleet has followed them." The AI replied as Phoenix shifted about in the seat, thinking and groaning at the absolute clusterfuck he had created for himself. As he stared at the holographic city representation, a man walked in front of him. Large, fairly tall, blonde hair and bright green eyes with a distinctive stubble and short hair. "Sir?" The man asked in what seemed to be an accent of Australian decent, Phoenix was up to date on all known history, "I'm Sergeant Dusk, I headed up the evacuations from my command pod. It wasn't perfect but we got all our boys home, eh?". Phoenix nodded and raised an eyebrow at the clearly patriotic soldier, who smiled and visibly attempted to remain calm and professional. "Dusk... you seem to have a knack for tactics, correct?" Phoenix questioned, watching as Dusk started to try and brag discreetly in his mind before pushing the words out his throat. "Yes sir, definitely sir!" Dusk replied enthusiastically, smiling and nodding while taking slow and calm breaths. "I want you to head up the search and termination force. They made that jump for a reason, you won't let them get away." Phoenix stated stoically. Watching as Dusk's eyes widened and he clearly was confused, the thirty year old man was outright overwhelmed with pleasure as the news dawned on him. He ran off, looking at Phoenix and shouting about how he wouldn't screw this up for him, Phoenix giggled to himself, knowing that no matter what the mission would go as planned. Either they took out the surviving rogues, found out what they were after, or the mission doesn't go as planned and they get a gist of what they were doing. No lose situation, if nothing else. He sighed, and watched the response force head off as Anna wrapped her arms around his neck and put her head on his shoulder. "Rough day?" She inquired sarcastically, drawing a disapproving look from him as she playfully smiled. She stared at the situation overview that was holographically displayed in front of them and frowned "Man... we can't catch a break can we?". Phoenix shrugged and stood up, holding her hand, "I have a plan, if it works then we can get a stranglehold on the rioting and shit and fix a whole lotta problems at once." he said, working his shoulders and straining his muscles as Anna continued to look at him, perplexed. He stared at her hood and white, soft, smooth and unified fabric of her shirt, she smiled as she noticed his wandering eyes and kissed him on the cheek as she walked off to do whatever she did in her free time.
Dusk was inside the small command pod within his command cruiser. It wasn't much of a pod, but the old command ships used actual pods to command forces. The nickname just kinda stuck over time, no need to change if it isn't broken. "Spyglass, force status" Dusk commanded into the small terminal at the AI "Acknowledged... 10 cruisers, 4 carriers, 5 battleships and 20 frigates. 20 Dropships, 15 drop pod sets, a detachment of Viper Squad and 500 racks of Ghost AIUs. Analyzing hostile force strength, standby..." the AI replied in it's monotone voice coming from speakers across the empty ship. Dusk devised a plan in his mind, and played it out across battle simulations. Drop forces south of the enemy rally points, shock and awe the enemy fleet in orbit. When the grunts make first contact, deploy the Ghost units. With the main fleet destroyed he could prevent any units from escaping, Viper Squad could mop up any forces of any kind that routed. Spyglass' battle prediction software wasn't the best, but even the dedicated simulation software showed likely signs of success. If, and only if, they got the surprise advantage on the enemy fleet. Hit their engines, drives, and then wear them down. He had to be adaptive, work on the fly, and most of all don't get caught. He uploaded the plans to Spyglass' mission briefing log and got aboard his personal ship, and headed down. Viper Squad communed in a dropship, the 5 of them were a part of the 20 man (and woman) unit. Spyglass' voice came from the Ghost unit in front of the 4 men and one woman. "Viper Squad, your objective is to hack the hostile orbital defense weapons and clear out any stragglers. Prepare for a battle of attrition, deployment in thirty seconds.". The twenty or so dropships were the expeditionary force. Alongside Dusk, who's personal ship flew alongside the Viper Squad's ship. "There's Dusk" Amber said, she was the team's avid hacker and heavy stealth expert. Without such an expert, a lot of Viper Squad's missions wouldn't play out as smoothly as they normally do. Their powered exo-suits protected them against fall damage as they dropped onto the ground. The suits were advanced, the best the UPF could offer. Shielding built for cruisers, short range FTL drives, experimental jump kits, built in medical equipment, electromagnetic shielding, AI modules, aim assist computers and enough armor plating to take a direct hit from a tank. They had specialized assault rifles custom made to never jam with built-in suppressors. Claws and a grappling hook built into left bracer, a kinetic strike device built into the right. All of this was genetically encoded, built solely for the individual user that wore it and the gear could be scuttled at a moment's notice should the need arise. The soldiers under the armor were the best, experienced and knowledgeable, no such things as rookies among these troops and they were cloned. Were they to die, their consciousness and genetic material would be used to rebuild them with their memories and combat experience. UPF cloning was far more efficient, if not impossible to do in mass as the need required. They landed in a field, alongside many other normal troops. "We're heading for the main cannon control center. Let's make this snappy people" The detachment leader, lieutenant Jack Sullivan, ordered to his team. They nodded in response and followed him quickly through the roads. Gunfire signified that other troops made contact, and shockwaves above them told everyone that the drop pod second wave was incoming. The Vipers couldn't care less, they saw the large tower and knew that they had bigger things to do. Hopping over a wall and gunning down two rogues who were running to respond to the attacking drop pod forces. They took a left, and kept running before diving through a collection of windows on the fourth floor of the terminal building they were looking for. The orbital defenses here were once Federation, now they had were old and unused. But they could still be of use, or they could detonate and destroy the planet. Either way. "Clock's ticking Amber, move." The detachment's resident rifleman, Greaves, uttered as he scanned the area for enemy troops. Amber nodded and said something unintelligible, and ran off into the main control room. Two men ran out, shooting over their shoulders as Amber gunned them down. "It's clear, let's move." She mumbled, smiling under her visor as Greaves patted her on the back. "Oi, guys! We have company coming in on the lower levels!" The team's assault gunner, Forge, yelled as he saw 20 or so hostiles heading into the lower floors of the tower. "Aye, Greaves take Bishop and hold kill those guys. Forge, provide over watch support from here. I'll stay in contact with Dusk. MOVE!" Sullivan ordered, watching as his subordinates ran about to fulfill their orders, he snickered and walked into the room with Amber. She was typing commands into a terminal, attempting to override the safeties, the security procedures and stuff of the sort. None of which Sullivan understood but of course, she did, so that's what matters. "Hmph" He went, staring as she effortlessly typed commands into the terminal and slowly gained control of the gun network. Outside, the battle roared, gunfire and explosions were commonplace. Sooner or later, the gunfire inside the tower itself fell silent. "Bishop, report" Sullivan uttered into his radio, prompting a look from Amber "Why not Greaves?". "I can't trust that sorry fuck for anything" Sullivan uttered, snickering with Amber as they recalled many stories in their minds. Greaves was a minor screw up, joker and prankster all balled into one, needless to say it lead to many hilarious incidents (Including him dying once or twice) within the unit. "Alright..." She started, suddenly focusing on her work and not the carnage unfolding outside "WE GOT THE GUNS!" they shouted in unison, looking at the "Access granted" words appearing on the screen and the network of cannons and available targets showing. Dusk, meanwhile, was tapped into their feed on his personal ship and saw the words and shouted "YES!" at the top of his lungs. "Viper squad you've got the guns, input the target registry I gave you and get down there. I'll be landing nearby, watch it." He said into his radio mounted on his wrist, getting a fairly typical "Got it" response from Sullivan as he watched the cannons power up. The target registry would give the cannon network a set of fairly simple answers to the yes or no questions they asked themselves before firing. In the end, it would target the hostile rogues in orbit and not the friendly loyalist ships. Of course, as he flew over the battlefield he remembered one thing: If they were losing on the ground, it wouldn't matter. He checked the battle statistics and projections, along with force statuses. They weren't doing amazingly well, but as soon as air support and automated forces were inbound they could easily turn it around. He opened up a channel to all his forces "Tac Nine to all ground forces, we're taking losses but doing alright against these rogues. Keep up the pressure, Dusk out.". No real need to listen to the responses, status updates were to be communicated to other commanders, not him in particular. His job was to lead the main forces and come up with strategies and plans of action, dealing with individual problems was to be taken up the chain of command. He peeked out the back of his small ship and watched the cannons fire their kinetic rounds, and the explosions in the sky as they hit the rogue cruisers. He smirked and grabbed a pistol from the side of his ship and looked out the back, watching as the five members of Viper squad dived out of the terminal buildings. "Specter five here, deploying automated infantry north of the hostile settlement" Said a voice over the command channel, before it was quickly replaced by another: Captain Rok, "Sir, I see twenty or so hostile rogue PDF troops heading for a building on the south side of the camp. Chances are there's something they need in that area.", Dusk growled and thought for a moment and opened a channel with the now-free Viper detachment. "Sullivan get your troops to follow the routed forces to a building on the south side of the camp." he ordered, getting a stoic and bored sigh in response. Sullivan signaled his team as they continued gunning down a few stragglers, not much else to do with all the fighting moving south "Finish up people!" he yelled "We're moving south.". The various team members nodded and followed him as he jumped onto a roof, sprinted down the other side, and squished a poor soul who was told to watch out for these particular demons. They ran out of the small enclosed area and gunned down the many running remains of the hostile force as they charged down a road in an attempt to get out of there and to the wherever they needed to be. "Who the hell are these guys?!" A rogue shouted, before he was promptly stabbed by Bishop, the blood spraying on him and his friends, along with the nearby hostiles. They promptly scattered, running into alleyways and buildings and sheds. So quickly and so panicked that none of the Vipers could track them, and there was no use killing random stragglers. Let the grunts handle that, or the Ghosts, they have bigger things in mind. They jumped and ran across a billboard and dived across another, making a large jump through some glass and into another building. "There, over there!" Greaves yelled, pointing at the running remnants of the PDF rogues "Dusk we have eyes on the hostile forces they are running into building marked 'Hangman' just outside a walled compound." Sullivan said into his wrist communicator "Copy that" Dusk replied, and he promptly ordered his forces to their location. Soon, within five minutes of waiting, the troops and automated forces entered the building and headed down into the depths of it's lower levels. They found weapons, plans, targets and things of the such and knew now that the PDF were part of something bigger. Sullivan headed down, alone, with the remaining AIUs and grunts. They all stared at a large metal door at the bottom of the basement steps, Rok was with them. Dusk waited in his ship, staring and watching their camera feeds. "Hey, you, get that door open." A squad leader said, pointing at his demolition expert and then at the door "Everyone stand clear, don't get crushed or... burned." the expert replied, setting specific door charges on the side. They'd dislodge the door from the frame, no explosions required. Needed when you don't know what's in the room, or need to be quiet. They burst into sparks onto the armored backs of troops nearby, and then it fell with a loud thud. "Go! Now!" Sullivan shouted, watching as a squad of grunts ran in single file... and were promptly gunned down. "Lima two to Tac Nine we've made contact with the enemy! Looks like rebel infantry and they're setting up defenses inside the structure!" Someone yelled over the radio, and Dusk sighed. "Spyglass, scan the interior and-" He started before a massive hole, twenty feet to the left of the building, opened up. The hole revealed a large metal interior, large enough to allow a ship entrance and exit. Spyglass chimed in as Dusk looked at the hole, horribly confused and baffled "Scans indicate a large structure built of blast wall material within the facility where infantry have made contact.", Dusk said nothing. Staring at the hole "Spyglass, get Ghost AIU squads into that hole. ASAP. Tell everyone else to finish up what they're doing and get down there, tell Viper squad to get with them and tell Rok to search the main structure." he ordered at the AI, who promptly beeped and booped and replied with "Orders received, transmitting now.". And so, an ocean of automated pacification charged forward. Hundreds of them, thousands even, all running and soon diving into the hole. The few rebel troops inside offered little resistance, and soon the interior was clear. The soldiers ran in and quickly admired the Ghosts' handiwork, slashed throats, clean head shots, few casualties. They were definitely the future, no doubt about that. Rok couldn't care less, he snatched a squad of the buggers and ran off to clear the main structure. Root out and destroy the remaining terrorists, leave no survivors. Fail to do so and fail the empire, which he couldn't allow. Rok took those Ghosts and lead them about the narrow hallways, watching them scan about curiously. Their small eyes on top of their camera heads blinking and changing focus, inspecting their surroundings with some sort of intention. Were they looking for hostiles or genuinely curious? Nobody knows. He snickered, they were quite... cute when they weren't murdering copious amounts of people. He pushed the thoughts out of his mind as he heard talking and aggressive rustling and pounding. "LEON! WE HAVE TO GO!" Someone shouted, followed by several loud thuds and the muffled rustling of sheets and pillows. "Ugh... what do you waaaaant" A second voice whined drowsily. "They've attacked the compound we have to go-" The voice started before Rok and his seven ghosts entered the living space. A few PDF troops rushed for weapons but halted as the ghosts raised their weapons and growled pre-recorded surrender commands. The man who was talking to the drowsy man was a civilian insurgent, nearby a mercenary in black gear but no helmet raised his pistol at Rok. The drowsy man was tall, blonde haired and slightly pale and clearly needed rest, lots of it. His eyes widened at the sight of Rok and his mechanized infantry units, he attempted to step back into his room but was quickly stopped by a red laser point originating from a random Ghost. Dusk saw this from his view from the cockpit of his ship, and his eyes widened too. Mostly because he was nearly out of tiny chicken wings to eat, and mostly because that was fucking Leon. "Rok!" He shouted into his microphone, watching his captain's perplexed face at the sudden shout "That's Leon Hartley, eliminate him!". Rok's face filled with determination, eagerness and a crooked smile. Leon saw this and ran, heading for the back door. The Ghosts saw more reasoning in shooting all the others in the room than Leon, Rok ran after him as bullets still cut through the air in the room. Leon dived through an automatic door in the wall and down into service tunnels, Rok chasing after him. They took potshots at each other every minute as they ran, until Leon was directly under the hanger, grates above allowed visible feet of Ghosts above them heard the gunfire, and began firing through the small square holes that allow sight into the service tunnel. Missing everyone, Leon took the opportunity to get ahead and pressed the button the shutters "Shit!" Rok shouted, firing once, only to have the bullet crushed mid-flight by the massive shutters. "Dusk I lost him..." Rok growled into his radio, getting no response for a moment before Dusk sighed "Fuck... get to your ship and get out of there Rok, there's nothing you can do". He tossed his pistol on the ground angrily and paced, he screwed up and badly. This was going to ruin him, everyone is gonna hate him for this catastrophic failure. And then he finally spotted the glowing door, another way around. He sprinted toward the door and up a short set of stairs. Raising his pistol at a specific sight: Leon, getting out of a hatch in the service tunnels and, among gunfire of all types, entering his ship. With a single snapshot at the blonde haired man, the Ghosts stopped. A comm channel with Dusk opened the second he pulled the trigger "Sir I've got eyes on him standby-" he started before the static of Dusk's radio interrupted him "Rok hold your fire! You're gonna hit a death charge and blow the place to hell. Watch your fire.". Rok growled for a moment and took another shot, hitting the vessel this time and cursing his misfortune. He charged as Leon dived into the cockpit of the ship. After a single second, the engines powered up and the ship launched out of the hanger and right past Dusk's ship. "BLOODY HELL!" He shouted as the ship passed him "Leon's ship just took off, Spyglass alert the fleet in orbit!". Spyglass's standard whirring and beeping were quickly followed with "Acknowledged, relaying intel now.". Though, whether through some massive stoke of luck, the miracle of collective human stupidity, or perhaps something lost in translation with Spyglass, the ship escaped. And made a short range FTL jump out of the area and to gods know where for reasons unknown. Dusk punched the console and sighed, he dealt with the rogues but missed the big prize. Phoenix would probably have his ass for this, gods help him. But at least, the main job was done, maybe if he pretended that Leon wasn't there Phoenix wouldn't care at all. And he'd still get some favor with the commander. He nodded to himself and slumped back in his chair, then groaned and locked in FTL coordinates "Spyglass... get the fleet back home, there's nothing we can do.".
Meanwhile, Phoenix was without a care in the world. The remaining rogue PDF forces were pacified and subdued, the rest remained loyal and true. Phoenix was resting his head and messing with his wrist communicator when Anna walked in, creepy and silent, just like her. "Hey you..." She said, startling him briefly and watching his shoulders jump "Don't scare me like that!" he groaned, tossing a pillow at her before standing up and following her out of the small room but stopping before the door. He noticed that she had stopped too, and held one hand in the other and stared at the floor. "... Why are you here?" She asked, raising her head to look at his eyes, which remained perfectly focused and still "Why are any of us here?" he replied. She cocked her head the question and raised an eyebrow, as if to say "Really now?". Phoenix smiled and put a hand on her shoulder "Truth is I don't know either". "But... I'm feeling strange, not entirely here, like I'm... somewhere else entirely" He continued, as Anna promptly leveled her head and kissed him. "I'll stop questioning it, I'm just glad to have you back..." She said in a whisper, kissing him again. They both headed back to the bridge, as typical. Normally Spyglass' would have something for them. Briggs was also there, glaring at him from a distance, Burden was in the engine room, Griffin was sleeping and Adrian was in the armory, all around things seemed to go back to normal. Spyglass' voice came down first before he could even sit "Sir, Sergeant Dusk has succeeded in his operation. However, there were numerous casualties and a target of high value escaped. Recommend immediate analysis of the after action report.", Phoenix stared on perplexed and wondering why Dusk didn't contact him sooner. Anna looked equally confused at the sight. "I can't blame him, if you wanted to impress someone you'd lie too. Can't take chances with that sorta thing" Phoenix said, looking at her.
She shrugged, innocently.
Then Briggs walked over, trying to put his anger at Phoenix aside "Burden wants us down in the engine room, c'mon"
Why?" Anna asked, placing a firm and steady glove on her pistol. You can't trust anyone anymore.
"I have no idea, he just wanted us to see something. Apparently the Sentinel is and I quote: 'Awful at turning to the point of downright embarrassment and we should all be ashamed for allowing this'. Can't say he's wrong, I've seen entire naval battles be resolved by the time this damn thing turns".
Phoenix raised a finger "That's intentional, this thing is a carrier first and foremost with turrets attached. No need to be making quick maneuvers and such."
Briggs shrugged as well, he didn't care either in all honesty. But they all needed to go into the engine room apparently. They trotted there, it wasn't unlike Burden to see this sorta thing and rant to them about it. All of them, even people who probably shouldn't care either way. The many grey hallways buzzed with activity by the soldiers aboard. They finally entered the engine room. Only to find Burden messing with a pad and basking in the orange light. He was about to say something before the alarms sounded. "Warning: Nearby Jump Signature. All personnel man their stations and brace for FTL impact. ETA: 5 seconds." The alarm VA shouted, a singular alarm ringing as troops ran about. Lights went out briefly, expecting a power surge as ships landed close. "Probably just the Leviathan and her fleet, Dusk is comin' home." Phoenix yelled over the loud alarm. He looked out a window in the engine room and saw... four cruisers, smaller and less advanced. Ancient and unpainted rebel ships, nothing special. "Firing on hostile vessels, estimated recharge time on primary weapons: Ten minutes" The VA stated as the Sentinel's primary weapons powered up. One ship, only one, had weapons. A missile launcher, some lasers and a beam. The weapons fired, quickly, before the Sentinel's first barrage hit a different ship, causing it to fracture and break apart. Phoenix instantly knew something was wrong, no lifeboats, it fractured into two distinct pieces, it didn't attempt evasion, it didn't even... It's a decoy! The ship with weapons fired quickly, and all of them hit the Sentinel's shields. Modified Zoltan variants, solid barriers prevent teleportation. The missile penetrated the standard issue shield and hit the system. The beam fired directly into the impulse engines and quickly into the FTL drive. Then, as the other ships opened fire, the remaining cruisers detonated their FTL cores, and there was nothing left. "... The fuck?" Adrian thought out loud, questioning what the fuck just happened... And then there was a shot, a gunshot. It hit the window and caused the shutters to close, everyone turned to look at who fired the pistol... Leon was standing there. Next to him, Watson, holding a massive plasma LMG, capable of taking out small drones in the air if they were close enough. Leon bashed the door control panel and closed it. "Nice job of Vahnisk to take out the security systems aboard... now... For the main event" Leon smiled as he spoke, everyone stood at the three sides of the room. Phoenix and Briggs in front of Leon, opposite to the door. Anna and Adrian, to the left of the door. Griffin and Burden, to the right. "I need access codes for the reactor override cells." Leon growled, smiling in his usual cocky ways. Those codes would allow him access to the reactor chamber and core override cells. He could detonate the reactor, overload the FTL drive and destroy the Sentinel. "Fuck you" Adrian growled, only to get kicked in the head. Everyone looked on in anger, Watson aimed his massive weapon at Phoenix, then Briggs, then Anna. He was capable of ripping them apart in an instant if they resisted, Leon had free reign to do whatever to them. He snickered as Adrian attempted to block his kicks "Can we get this over quickly? Give me the codes.", Burden growled and nearly reached for his shotgun but stopped, opting to draw attention away from Adrian with a snide remark "If you say the magic word!" he growled, smiling. Leon giggled, replied with "Pretty please?" and kicked Adrian again. Then he walked over to Phoenix, a bit of swagger in his step as he calmly walked up to Phoenix, they were about the same height. Phoenix puffed out his chest and prepared to punch Leon in the face and kill Watson, only to get kicked in the chest and beaten with his pistol. Anna looked on, her face quivering as she gradually bared her teeth. She wanted to grab her pistol and end Leon now, whether the gunman at the door would kill her or not. But there had to be an easier way... there always is. She could confess and give him what he wanted, she shook off the thought instantly. Awful idea, Phoenix would probably disappointed in her if she gave up this early on into interrogations. Leon pulled out his on pistol, a small, black, plasma blaster held in his brown holster across his hip. Phoenix was lying against the wall at this point, leg outstretched, Leon placed a heavy foot on Phoenix's boot. Watching him squirm shortly before... BANG! He fired his blaster into Phoenix's knee, it tore through the clothing and left nothing but a small crater in the knee filled with blood. Skin and bone showing as Phoenix writhed and yelled in agonizing pain. Leon only snickered as Briggs helped the injured man to his feet. "The codes Mister Phoenix, the code... the code... the code." Leon uttered, pacing around, looking at the ceiling and biting his upper lip. Then he shot Griffin in the ankle, watching him rock a little and nearly fall and lose his balance and collapse. He giggled and then walked over to Adrian who snarled and growled, putting his pistol to Adrian's forehead. Leon merely groaned and walked over to Anna, quickly. There was a crack, and everyone's view shifted to Leon, his pistol bloody and Anna quivering and crying softly. "You..." Burden started, stepping one foot forward "FUCKER-" and there was a gunshot, he took a bullet in the stomach. Everyone stared at him, Adrian's expression especially sad and soft, as if this stuck a nerve with him but didn't make him angry in particular. Another loud CRACK, and Anna whimpered again, her head and nose bleeding she looked up and quivered. Yet another crack and crunch, more bleeding and bruising. "STOP JUST FUCKING STOP!" Adrian shouted as the tall man leaned in for another thwack, Leon looked at him. Mockingly raising an eyebrow and cocking a small smile. He tossed a small, white, card at the his captor's navy blue shirt. "Great, thanks" Leon uttered, and then he shot Adrian in the throat. Blood squirted and gushed from the wound in the right side of his throat, gurgling for air and through more redness as it leaked from his lips. Phoenix crawled toward the bleeding friend, who stretched out a hand.
His voice cracked and sputtered as more blood dripped and drooled down his shirt. He could barely make out the words as his chest convulsed and twitch with each desperate attempt to breathe. "C-Commander..." He muttered, touching Phoenix's shoulder as he pressed down on the wound. Blood spurting from between his fingers, violently "... help...". And then his body went limp, and Adrian was dead. The blood from the initial shot coated Anna's face as she looked on, wide eyed. Hopelessly lost and overwhelmed in emotion and fear, she had never seen a friend die before. She saw the blood trickle between Phoenix's fingers, Adrian's pale face suddenly fall to the side as if nothing was holding it upright, his violently convulsing lungs and fighting arms and legs stopped moving, going absolutely floppy and limp. "YOU MOTHERFUCKER!" Phoenix shouted as he grabbed a pistol, voices in the back of his head repeating "Kill him, kill them all, silence the voices.". As he twisted to aim the pistol at his attacker, Leon kicked him in the head, grabbed a bloody and shocked Anna and walked off. "I'll be taking her Phoenix, consider her... my bargaining chip." He snickered, before running off, keeping her as a human shield.
Phoenix was too shocked to notice anything, he quite literally saw stars, pinpricks of light in the air.