5 hours later
As the sun sets in a blaze of orange and crimson, the landscape is filled with pyres of light. Enough to radiate the surroundings in the land as well as evoke the dark and lifeless land that is part of Central California. It's a wonder that a handful could manage to make settlements in this kind of land, less it is a small settlement that's made out of only humans. There are many who are lost within the land but they've all been discovered by those same individuals, and their fate is sealed from the start.
It starts as a few, then a group who begin to wander through the desert, and before long, it forms a land worthy to be uncovered by those who have the guts to survive in the arid lands with almost nothing but the wildlife and other people to encounter. Like the life of drifters, except perhaps with more peril than it should be.
On the road, there is a desert-camo JLTV transport vehicle, driving on the roads of New Cuyama. While it was a fairly quiet place before the war, it's even quieter now. Camps and houses are all destroyed or abandoned, with the accompanying wreckage of some Human vehicles scattered in the area. The population has decreased considerably as the majority of the survivors went to seek refuge on the other side of the nation. Those not lucky enough to get off before the orbital bombardments dropped, had either joined them upon the explosion or fled into hiding, never to be seen again. Now, everyone remains on the outskirts of what little life was left.
Inside, there are six people, with the driver being Walter Carter with Berat on the co-pilot seat. The passengers include Valentina, Celina, Ji-ae and even Rian himself, with none of the Warriors in sight. Perhaps as a result of the earlier confrontation Rian had. The rays are noticeable enough to make both squint their eyes as they head to their destination.
"Never expected to come to a place like this, right?" Walter asks Berat.
"No, not really. It's so sad to see many pieces of nature torn down like this." Berat shooks in response. His hands grip the door handle on his right while not glancing at Walter.
Walter looks ahead at the vehicles and plane wreckages, many of which were stripped bare, with little to no signs of life. "I don't think we'll find any of our fellow soldiers here though. This looks like a waste of time."
"Have faith, darling. It's always good to have a positive outlook on things," Berat replies. Ever since the assault on AFB Quinn, reports came by about the disappearance of troops who approached the area in the L.A Area. It starts with the signals getting cut off and grabbed, then nothing left, except the sights of bright flashes, explosions or even sounds that resemble giant footsteps. No one else came back alive from each reported mission that attempted to enter the area.
Celina and Ji-ae are seen at the rear of the vehicle, looking out at a device Celina holds on her wrist. She notices the radio wavelengths shifting erratically while she hears static, and she turns to see the rest minding their own business.
"Stick with it, Cely. Stick with it and we'll do it." Valentina implores Celina as she observes her work.
"The frequencies seem to be broadcast from a post that's a hundred kilometers away from our location. It's a signal on an open frequency that anyone can hear, and I'm attempting to get a signal on it. But it's been like trying to catch a ghost," Celina grunts as she tries to focus on the instrument. She looks out of the window, looking at the dilapidated roads and landscape.
Rian only looks with arms crossed with the saber on his belt and a frown on his face. Not even listening to Ji-ae reloading each of her submachine guns as they get ready for battle. Each reloading has her breathing faster while some sweat pours down around her head. All of this was nothing short of distracting for him.
Taking the sweet time. Yeah, lots of time after all.
Then, Celina's device starts to emit a red tone followed by a white tone. Her brow raises as she takes a step closer to her console. Her gaze darts between the device and her instruments as she listens to the signal. Her fingers move across the controls as she attempts to figure out the situation. Her eyes widen when she figures it out.
"Almost there, almost there..." she whispers to herself as the wavelengths start to stabilize. From the other side of the car, Ji-ae turns towards the sound and look at Celina.
"Is that junk working for real? Took you long enough." Ji-ae scoffs as she puts her guns aside.
"Hey now, Ji-ae. No need to get on her nerves. Geniuses take their sweet time, you know!" Valentina retorts to Ji-ae in a playful tone.
"Is there a problem? We all can be a lot more stressed when you're taking your sweet time." Rian adds in.
"I'm almost there... there! Got it! I'm opening a channel." Celina mutters as she presses the button to open the channel.
"This is Standard-bearer Celina Galat from G.o.D Squad, does anyone around the vicinity copy?" Celina says into the radio. Her body begins to tense up as it goes unanswered for several seconds.
Finally, a response comes in. "Yes, G.o.D! Do you read? Please respond if you understand me!" a male voice answers.
"Is this the Moose Unit speaking?"
"Affirmative. You need to get here quick, we're being torn apart and we need immediate support."
"What's your location?"
"An abandoned town just a few kilometers away from the road. We got surrounded and pinned down. We've lost two men and we can't take much more than that!"
"Acknowledged and en route. Hang tight." Celina closes the radio channel as she stares wide-eyed at the dashboard. She quickly types something on her keyboard to bring up a map of where exactly they are located in this remote wasteland. She scrolls down the map to see the nearest town and it's one in the southwest. She gives the coordinates to Walter.
"We need to hurry, the town is just a few kilometers away and we must get there as soon as possible."
Walter nods. "The area's a land of death. I heard it's haunted by the spirits of those who perished out here. Guess we're heading right into the danger zone."
"Better get moving before we get tackled. Break out your gears and let's go." Berat states as he grips on his unsheathed sword as Walter takes a turn to the left, landing on the rocky terrain in direction of the town under siege.
Valentina readies her long-range rifle as well while Ji-ae loads each of her SMGs before she readies herself. Rian only prepares to pull out his saber.
"You know, the one thing I hate about this is that we look just like the last group of soldiers out of a Sci-Fi flick," Rian quips. Celina chuckles in response.
"Oh, you wish. But this will be with more exciting and real effects, believe in that." She smirks as she readies her sais and two automatic pistols as they head near the town. Even if far away, once could the Zlocan blaster fire from afar, as well as the smoke from the wreckage of explosions and their fire as well. So, the odds were definitely against them. But still, the possibility exists that they might find someone else still alive out here. They would hope so at least.
The Moose Unit are pinned down in an old church, using the tables and chairs as cover from the Zlocan blaster fire. A dark-skinned man with five chevrons on his shoulder fire his M9 pistol while the other soldiers, some male and one female, use their M4 rifles to cover some fire. The Moose Unit are pinned down in an old church, using the tables and chairs as cover from the Zlocan blaster fire. A dark-skinned man with five chevrons on his shoulder fire his M9 pistol while the other soldiers, some male and one female, use their M4 rifles to cover some fire. They manage to take out two Zlocan Knights, but two others appear behind them, firing at them.
One soldier takes a blaster to the forehead from the left, causing him to fall down to the floor, groaning and wincing. The other man gets hit in the shoulder by the bullet, causing him to wince in pain and collapse.
"Goddamn it! We can't hold them much longer!" one of the light-skinned soldiers yells.
"We need to counterattack before we're completely wiped out!" the tan-skinned female soldier yells.
"What do we do? We can't use our grenades here! The church is made of wood and it will catch fire and we'll burn to death!" another dark-skinned soldier exclaims while laying some cover fire.
"Then use smoke grenades! We need to blind them with any thing we can!" the master sergeant replies. He then throws a smoke grenade outside the church. It lands on the ground, then starts to blossom into smoke, blinding the Zlocan Knights from the view of the soldiers.
"Fall back!" The unit then further withdraws deep inside the Church as the smoke covers the area. Some knights stop firing as they turn their thermal visions on to find the soldiers.
"They're heading in. Move out!" a female knight says as they advance further into the church.
There are no exits for them, except the ones where the smoke is coming from. The enemy continues to follow them, shooting down any troopers that make a break for it, as the rest attempt to stay low and keep firing on them. Further upstairs, the soldiers dodge any blaster fire in their way as they take cover in a room full of boxes and other debris in order not to get hit by the incoming rounds. As they take shelter, they watch the enemies slowly come closer and closer. Ready to finish off the prey they've been hunting for far too long.
As they continue to fire upon the enemy, distant gunfire is heard as Zlocans near the entrance turn around to see the source of the sound. The sight is enough for the fellow to rapidly tap the shoulder of the one next to him.
"Superior Major, we've got a new contact incoming!" The knights turn around and suddenly, a JLTV transport appears in front of them, with Ji-ae firing the mounted machinegun from the distance as she mows downs any Zlocans she sees into pieces
"Get down!" the Superior Major yells as the other Knights get to cover inside the church. She runs to her position as the JLTV pulls to a stop. He glances up and sees three members of the squad, Walter, Berat and Celina charging toward them. Walter reaches in his strap as he grabs his shotgun and swings it at them. One Knight falls and he turns towards another, firing. In return, the Knight fires back. Rian and Ji-ae step outside as they head to the other side of the church.
"Here's the deal, you go for the left which I'm sure will have a fuckton of enemies and you on the right, which I'm sure it's as easy for babies like you," Ji-ae says. Rian only scoffs in response.
"Only one way to find out, miss." Rian swings his saber out in front of her to demonstrate her before he charges forth inside.
Rian and Ji both dash around the church, cutting down the surrounding Zlocans as they continue to defend themselves. Ji does it directly, using reflexes to dodge each of them while using the corpses as a form of shields before she continues to cut them down. She dodges a bolt aimed straight for her from above, and as the beam makes contact with one of the walls of the building, sparks start flying and large amounts of black ash rain down over the area. This causes even more damage to the place and the soldiers that are defending it.
As for Rian, knowing well of his experiences, goes for surprise attacks as he slashes down Knights in the back, using all the speed he has to make sure they don't react to his movements and do something to him. Heading upstairs in the room, he stabs another Knight in the back and hurls him backward on the stairs.
"Hey you!" a Knight says as he notices Rian approaching while trying to breach the door. Noticing his saber, the Knight pulls his own saber from his holster and aims at Rian.
"I recognize that blade...you stole it from my comrade, did you not?" the Knight questions as he begins to run toward Rian.
"That sounds familiar, doesn't it?" Rian replies back with a smirk before clashing blades with the Knight. Both of them raise their sabers and attempt to attack each other again.
The knight presses forward and attempts to slash Rian down. Rian blocks the strike with his saber, allowing him to counter with his own strike. But just as Rian prepares to, he parries the strike with a vertical slash, enough to push Rian backward near the stairs as he drops the saber.
"Not gonna lie, I didn't see that coming...!"
"Well, you are not going to see anything else afterwards," the knight says as he approaches Rian who's on the floor, trying to grab his blade as the Knight raises his blade. But before he can slash him down, footsteps are heard as Walter sees him and blasts him away with his shotgun, enough to be thrown to the wall with bullet marks on his chest and falls down.
"Well, that was some good shooting, at least." Rian compliments as he stands back up alongside his blade ready to fight again, just in case. Walter simply smiles and shakes his head.
"You've got nothing else to add? Whatever, let's go get our men out of here," he says as he starts knocking on the door.
"This is Walter Carter of the UEF, you can come out now, ladies."
"And gentlemen!" a female soldier inside replies. Walter only groans in response while Rian smirks as well.
"Yeah, ladies and gentlemen, just get the hell out." He opens the door, showing the soldiers getting out of cover to see Walter and Rian in the flesh.
"Hey, what took you so long?! I had to wait until those idiots ran past us!" one of the female soldiers asks as she looks over the dead body of the other knights. Walter shrugs in response
"Yeah, yeah, sorry about that. We kinda went through some shit on the way."
"So, I think we're in the clear, right?" Rian asks.
"First, let's check out downstairs, I can still hear a bit," the Master Sergeant says as he grabs his rifle and points at his men to stay in line next to him, while Walter and Rian are on their way. They take each step downstairs as the sounds of blaster fire and explosion dissipate little by little, while they still hear occasional flashes and explosions from the battle between the Squad and Zlocans. Once they reach the bottom of the stairway, they walk along the hallway as the sounds from the battle fade completely.
"Damn, the fighting went quiet, almost like it was over. Where the hell did these bastards go?
"Over here!" Celina shouts as she fires a couple shots at the last enemy, striking one in the chest, and tumbling down instantly to the floor. Valentina beheads a Knight behind her with her katanas, spilling some orange liquid to the ground while the head rolls down.
"And now, no more Zlocan bastards," Valentina quips as she holds Celina again.
"Good job, Valy!" she shouts as she hugs her, feeling relieved that the fight is finally over, after all this time spent fighting the Zlocans and waiting.
The Master Sergeant and Walter quickly scan the room before taking aim. With one last deep breath, the Master Sergeant and Walter signal everyone to sheath their weapons once more.
"I think that's all of 'em," a light-skinned soldier says as he wipes some rubble from his armor.
"I guess so," a female one replies as well.
"Shall we go now?" Rian asks as he rolls his eyes. Walter nods and they all move out of the church. Their mission now complete, all they need to do is head back to base for safety, all while Ji-ae returns from the other side, smeared in blood and breathing heavily.
"Is there more? Tell me there's more..." The soldiers glance at each other without uttering a word, unsure of what to tell a soldier like her.
"Ahh..." Rian sighs as he watches the sun further sets through the window of their vehicle. He then takes a sip of water as he lays down on the seat. As he puts down the drink, he sees a peculiar shape in the landscape, something resembling a bipedal being with a bright red light in the center. It stands alone, staring at it, and seems oblivious of the presence around it.
"Are you seeing something?" Celine asks as he continues to gaze at the being.
"It's hard to tell," Rian responds back, "Probably a mirage, or something. I don't know." He shrugs. Not in the mood to talk about it it seems. Celina only nods in response while leaning back to Valentina. Some soldiers are asleep with each other while others are awake, still holding their weapons and such. Even after such a dire battle, some still keep a slight smile on their faces on their way back. A rescue worth having, after all.
"So, G.o.D is back on business, I think?" The Master Sergeant asks. Walter chuckles in response.
"Didn't you see? How we kicked their asses enough to send them back to their mommas in hell?" Walter asks as he pokes his own chest.
"If I may say so, it wasn't that bad of a fight," Rian says as he gets up from his seat.
"No, I mean, we're back in business, aren't we?"
"Did you sleep alright?" Walter chuckles once more before slamming his hand to the wall next to him.
"Sleep alright? What the fuck does that mean?!" Walter blurts out. The others glance at him, eyes wide open and murmuring to each other
"Well, you know, just to make sure you don't get us worried," Valentina replies as she looks out of the window, gazing at the damaged land.
"It's common to sleep, and that sleep surely helped us get back to the battlefield as we deserve don't you think?" The others nod in agreement, all except Rian who's keeping things for himself.
"Oh yeah. Well, here's hoping Manuel and Tim can rest easy," he replies seeing the bandaged corpses of the two soldiers who fell in battle. Even for such losses, they at least knew that enough did survive for them to get out of there. Ji-ae, however, only sees in another way as she scoffs in response
"That's why you shouldn't leave the house without your gun. If this goddamn piece of metal could have gone any faster, then we would have saved your other assholes in this mess," Ji-ae mutters.
"Hey, they didn't die in vain, that's what matters?"
"Not in vain? Oh excuse me, I just wished this would be much better with a perfect record, that would make for a perfect mission, you know?" Ji-ae retorts, her tone getting a bit shakier.
"We've been lucky, that's all." Valentina tries to calm her down.
"Why do you call it luck, really? You were able to dodge a bullet, or you were able to hit one, or you were able to keep yourself alive?"
"Look, lady, we're just here safe and sound, alright? That's all that matters now," the Master Sergeant says as he leans close to her, only for her to turn away.
"For me, it doesn't fucking matter."
"Alright, look. If you need to vent, then vent, but please, stop with all the talking. We're not in a position to be bickering," Celina cuts in, finally giving in to her constant complaining. Ji-ae only slams her fist to the wall as she groans heavily.
"Anyway, what about the Warriors? Why didn't they come with you?" the light-skinned female soldier asks. Walter glances back.
"They choose not to because we need our moment to shine and we don't need those leeches to steal our thunder, do you understand?" The Sergeant raises his brow in response.
"Am I seeing jealousy much?"
"Nah, he's just speaking the truth. We don't need more fakes around here more than we have to. Those goofy bastards prancing around with their forced smiles and their inane 'speeches', like... Sheesh, shut the fuck up."
"Alright, alright, we get it. But now...let's just continue in peace, OK?" The Sergeant asks again. Rian only glances away in response while tapping his foot and sighing heavily. The rest abide to this and continue the journey in silence. He still hasn't passed over what happened, and he may not get over it anytime soon. This lasts for a minute until Ji-ae leans near him, a smirk on her face and such.
"Man, I'm so glad to see a kindred fellow over here...." Rian doesn't turn to face her, he only shrugs in response.
"Tell you what, we should hang out in the bar once we're here, I'm sure there would be lots to talk about and see how we can reach the top like we want," she murmurs as she leans closer. The sergeant only gives a wide stare at her yet doesn't utter a single word.
"Right, Rian? I can give you the moment you need..." After this, Rian turns to her, but this time with a frown and tightening mouth.
"...Bitch, be humble and sit the fuck down," Rian replies, voice becoming colder with every word he speaks.
"What?" She stares at him with confusion before a grimace spreads across his face.
"You heard me, bitch. So, if you wanna be my friend, take my advice and stay away from me. I hate fake people with a passion, so begone, you fucking gold digger." Rian spits as he turns away. She stares at him while she tries to utter a word to no avail, but doesn't respond, but her fists do, clenching as her posture tenses up.
"Yeah, whatever. You'll regret everything you said today," she whispers with venom as she sits back down in her seat. Rian simply shakes his head and keeps looking out the window, not saying anything. He has made up his mind. Solitude is the only company he will keep for a long time.
And even that long time may not be for so long.