Gathering Darkness✔️

Chapter 02: Darkholm

The armory smelled like gunmetal, sweat and anxiety.

After the briefing, Kane and Lara had gone to train for forty five minutes, then they'd headed back to his quarters for another, lengthier shower. And for another round of sex. That helped wake him up a bit more and make him feel better, though he still hadn't been able to completely shake the pervasive sense of dread. They'd grabbed breakfast after that in the mess. Kane hadn't been hungry but he knew he needed to eat, so he'd shoved the scrambled eggs, bacon and toast into his mouth and chewed with a kind of machine monotony.

He'd studied the intel while they ate.

There wasn't a great deal of it.

Now they were in the armory, and the adrenaline was coming back, that old pre-mission buzz and hype. But it was laced with something else now, shot through with red lines of anxiety and fear. He tried to shake it as he stalked across the room, his boots clanging dully on the deckplates. He noticed a distinct lack of bullshitting as the ODST squad hit their stations. The quiet was unnerving as lockers were popped open and jet black suits of polished armor were pulled on. Kane tried to let the familiar routine soothe him.

When it didn't work, he let his thoughts drift to Lara.

He still felt weird about the budding relationship. It had certainly gone slower than several of his others. Of course, it had the distinct advantage(?) of being an actual relationship, and not just a fling. Those were fun, but they'd slowly lost their appeal over the past few years. He'd gotten to know her slowly, almost cautiously, over the past few months and then they'd slept together instead of the other way around. Maybe that's what was giving him pause, he was more invested in her, something he'd been trying to push away from for awhile now.

He sighed and stared down at his helmet, this wasn't working, he couldn't seem to banish the dark thoughts, no matter what subject he focused on. Well, nothing new there. He could see his grim, pale, bruised-eye reflection in the helmet's silver visor, twisted and shadowed. He pulled his helmet on and secured it, then moved over to the weapons side of the armory. Polished steel and glass waited for his inspection.

Kane came to stand before a glass-topped case. He stared down into the niche beyond, at the weapons that had become so familiar to him they were extensions of himself. What to bring on a mission like this? Well, when in doubt, prepare for the worst. Popping open the case, he selected a silenced M6C and checked the sights on it. They seemed solid, so he loaded it up, flipped on the safety and slipped it into its holster on his hip. With that gun secure, he considered his primary weapon, and finally settled on a silenced M7 SMG.

Not his usual compliment, but something about this mission suggested stealth to him. He could be wrong, it was a less certain feeling, but either way, he knew he could defend himself well with this arsenal. He gathered a collection of magazines for both weapons, placing them and, after a moments' consideration, grabbed a pair of fragmentation grenades. Just in case he needed to go loud. Never knew when something like that came up.

He felt a shock of fear surge through him, lighting up every nerve ending at once, as his radio crackled to life.

Jeez, he was more tense than he realized.

"Sergeant Goll, this is the bridge, we have a problem," came the voice. It was unfamiliar, but then again, Kane hadn't familiarized himself with basically anyone beyond his team. He wasn't exactly a social creature.

Goll sighed. "What is it?"

"There's some kind of interference over the drop zone."

"What kind of interference?" Goll asked slowly.