Argonaut - The Precursor (Prequel)

Chapter 4 - Liabilities

Chapter 4 - Liabilities

14th Oct 1:45 PM

"I don't like it," Gallagher said for the third time, stretching his arms to try and get more comfortable, "It's too tight."

Several groans sounded throughout the hangar.

"The standard issue, one-size-fits-all, form-moulding undersuit is too tight," Memnon said flatly, an eyebrow slightly raised.

There was a long pause. Gallagher looked to him, face blank. "Yes."

Several groans, once again.

When they had boarded the warplane, they had found seven suits of armour waiting inside, complete and matching sets tailored to each member of the team. Killian had no idea how Hephaestus had put them together so quickly, or even got them to the plane.

"Just suit up, Gallagher," Killian called, fixing his own pauldron on and making sure all of the clasps were fastened, "you're making us late."

A pile of clothes lay on the hangar floor, burning to ash. Gallagher occasionally gave them a mournful glance as the last part of the bright yellow shirt burned away. Cinder had torched them the moment they'd hit the ground, for sanitary reasons, she'd claimed. All Gallagher had managed to salvage was the pair of cheap sunglasses, which now rested on his head.

Killian's slotted the Omnicannon to the magnetic holster on his back and set about fitting the last elements of armour in place. Maven stood beside him, fully armoured once again, and taking stock of the large sections of armour plating built into her gauntlets. With a smooth flick of her wrists, the armour telescoped into two large semicircles, fitting together in the middle and providing a heavy-duty shield, easily five feet across and six feet long.

"How does it feel to be back?" Killian asked quietly.

There was no response. Maven just stared off into space, her steady breathing causing the heavy armour plates to grind against each other.

"Maven?" he asked again, putting a hand on her elbow, which was just below level with his shoulder, "Are you sure you're ready for this?"

"I am ready," she replied quietly. "I have been away for too long. This feels... right."

"Glad to hear it," he nodded with a small smile, turning back to the rest of his team.

They were all almost done, clad in matching suits of gunmetal grey armour, brand new TAUs strapped to their forearms, sleek and shiny.

"What's our first move boss?" Icarus asked with a wide grin, hovering a few feet over the warplane, courtesy of the brand-new thruster pack built into his armour. When he was done looking it over he descended back to the ground but did not land, instead choosing to hover a few inches off the surface of the hangar.

"We've got a lot of targets to hit and not a whole lot of time," he replied, "We'll be going to Germany first, that's where the last team went before they disappeared."

"So let me get this straight," Memnon asked, sitting cross-legged on the entry ramp of the warplane, "You want to go and walk right up to the hornets nest that they just kicked? Captain, the humans will have their guard up, and if the Niphal were involved they'll be on alert too. There's a reason strike teams don't hit the same target twice, it's too risky."

"Under normal circumstances, I'd agree with you," Killian nodded, "But the situation demands unusual tactics. Right now, we want the attention, we need the heat that this will bring. Whoever's doing this has proven themselves capable of taking out strike teams on a whim, and we can't let somebody like that continue to move unchecked."