ARES:Gods of War

Only in Death

Routine patrols were a new normal for the Counters and Strikes. The group was running a short patrol through a city area where reported sightings of Raptures had come from UNSC Wombat drones. With Chief and Alyosha at the front of the formation and Kilo and TALOS not that far behind, the group continued pushing forward, all while keeping their eyes peeled for hostiles. There were platoons of Marines with armor and light vehicle support a sector over, so about ten klicks, in case the situation got bad.

There was an actual Front Line now between them and the Raptures. Alyosha, clad in what genuinely felt like a Second Skin now, smiled to himself underneath his MARK V Helmet, holding onto his MA5k. He could feel Rapi's concerned gaze boring into the back of his skull, but chose to ignore it for now, all while he watched the Chief calmly lead them forward.

Beside them was Cortana, holographic displays and hard-light projections that acted as armor surrounding her. She carried a prototype energy weapon in her hands, courtesy of Missilis's research and development area. She looked back at TALOS as the hefty mechanoid stomped its way forward, its azure optical sensors scanning their surroundings, too. So many layers of defense were bound to catch any attempted ambush from the Raptures.

In the distance, a mobile artillery piece's main gun thundered. Farther ahead of them, the impact came. Dust and debris were kicked up by the shockwave, followed by a wave of grey concrete sweeping the area as the husk of an old building collapsed thanks to the artillery round. The only one to have twitched thanks to the hit was Syuen, unsurprisingly, bringing up the rear with her SMG and shield.

"Good shot, Breaker-1-1. Hostile observation post destroyed," Cortana spoke through the com. She shut off the various holo-screens around her and drew her energy weapon, then said, "That's one less hostile sighting us in for their rocket artillery platforms," then she looked toward Kilo, "How're you and Talos holding up on your first patrol out here, eh?"

"Alright!" Kilo replied with a combination of awkwardness and pure, childlike excitement. She told Cortana, "It's cool, finally being up on the surface with fellow Nikkes!" which got smiles out of the Luckies and Counters. All of them save a certain Dwarf Nikke in the back, of course, who remained deathly quiet as they advanced through the area. Kilo cast a glance back through Talos's eyes, then blinked.

She walked up to the Commander and opened the cockpit. Jumping up to try and get out and ask something, she bumped her head on the top of the vehicle's door and hurt herself. Pouting, she sighed, then leaned forward and asked, "M-my eyes must be malfunctioning, because I swear that's Syuen behind us..." only to see the joy in the Commander's eyes as the man's visor depolarized. Wrinkles congruent with the creases from a smile also showed.

Kilo blinked, "Oh, my god, I'd heard rumors they went through with it, but..."

"Best punishment to give someone like her," Chief spoke calmly, just loud enough for Alyosha and the girl to hear. He clarified to the seemingly-confused Kilo, "She disregarded you all and acted no better toward the people defending mankind's last strongholds than the random ungrateful civilian stuck down there," then he looked to Alyosha and added, "I and the Commander see eye-to-eye on the matter. She deserves to be what she hates."

"Fair enough..." Kilo shrunk back into TALOS and closed the cockpit, "F-Forget I asked, sir," then she thought to herself just how angry Syuen had managed to make the entirety of the UNSC force presence on their version of Earth. The young woman was worried, honestly, because she now realized that these were humans who'd gone to space, fought aliens and come out swinging, while they were still dealing with a mass incursion on Earth.

If nothing else, it sorta gave Kilo hope that they could beat their own hostile invaders and occupiers. She still wasn't much of a believer in the 'we'll retake the surface, rah rah!' attitude a lot of youngster Commanders, like mister Harris, had, but it was undeniable that that hope existed somewhere in her subconscious. She sighed deeply and asked, "TALOS, am I overthinking things...?"