Recap: In the last instalment, Quim and the others came up with a plan of action after making it away from the warehouse they found themselves in. Saying goodbye to Doc Freeman was hard, but, no matter what they said, nothing would have changed his mind. After the attack, he was in no state to even be carried away from that pit. The creature that killed the Doc may have been on their tail, but, as of yet, it hadn't shown itself.
The plan was set, and the course was plotted; The goal of Quim Dert and his team was to make it to the nearest transit centre. Lags couldn't make sense of what it was that they were transporting, but, after some careful watching. He was able to identify three locations not far from them and many more, dotted around the city.
"Which one do you want to hit?" Lags asked. Quim had to think about that one for a while. But, soon he made his call. "If we strike one with high traffic, there could be heavy resistance, not only that. We could also alert their forces sooner than we'd like to." If the Triskens realised that a certain centre had stopped all outgoing shipments, they would soon investigate the issue. "No. We'll hit one with fewer incoming and outgoing ships."
It was easier said than done. Some places would have sporadic influxes of movement, dying back down occasionally to minimal traffic. Soon though, he was able to identify a location and the two parties gathered up and headed out. Anadi was hell-bent on striking the substation. Quim had tried to talk him down, but, in the back of his mind, he knew it was necessary. How else are we supposed to contact the fleet? He wondered.
"I have to do this Quim, there's no way around it. Fin Pane and his men died to help all the lost souls stranded in this swamp. Me and mine owe it to him and in a way so do you and yours. If it weren't for them, that creature would have killed all of us in that sewer. In a way, we should already be dead." Anadi told him and he was right. Quim couldn't argue with that. As much as he hated suicide missions; desperate times often call for desperate measures. "We'll raid this transit centre, steal a few transporters and go our separate ways Anadi. You and yours will be doing a big favour for everyone who's been left here." Quim told him, his confidence in his own words had waned. The loss of each person along the way had started to take its toll.
Safe Pass wasn't his fault, he knew that, but, he still felt the pangs of guilt. The Raw who blew himself up in the escape from the tower wasn't his fault, Quim did feel bad that he never got to know the man's name. That also went for the man who was inadvertently gunned down by Quims bullets which ricochet off the steel door. He didn't mean that, but that didn't make it any easier. Doc Freeman. The man had served with them so long, only to be ended by some creature they didn't even know was stalking them. Each of their faces, Quim could see. flash before his mind's eye, while they marched on to the end of their mission.
The streets of the city were dead. Dawn may have broken, but, it didn't stir any of the civilians. Not that Quim even believed there were any left here. Where they went he couldn't tell, as far as he could see through the city had turned into a vast military complex. Anyone smart enough would have left long before The Confederation declared war. He thought to himself. Pillars reached to the sky, broken, bent and lopsided. This place is gone. Questions buzzed around the back of his mind constantly. The city didn't feel like a city; it just didn't make any sense at all. It seemed too far gone, wreck and ruin lay around every corner, and nothing seemed new. He was curious about the population, wondering how many the city held and how many residents call the place home.
"Take cover!" Triple shouted. Each one of them obliged his call. Ducking to the sides of the street, under cover of pot-filled canopies that dangled above them, barely attached to the buildings. He looked up watching the fabric flap in the wind and they started to slash and vibrate furiously as a ship flew overhead. The heat from the engines blasted Quim and he had to raise a hand to block his face. Soon it dissipated and the ship disappeared beyond the buildings. "Do you think that was a transporter?" Anadi asked. "Maybe. Either that or it was a drop-ship. Searching for any stragglers. Let's keep moving, we're getting close." Quim spoke distantly, trying to make his mind up. He didn't even hear the thing before Triple shouted. His daydreaming could have gotten them all killed. At that point, he made a conscious effort not to ponder the past anymore, opting instead to keep his mind fully focused on what was to come.
"Let's stay on either side of the street and try to remain undetected." Bird said, no louder than a whisper. Everyone agreed, and for the rest of the journey, Quim, the raw they called Banshee, two of Anadi's men, Triple and Lags stayed to the right. Anadi, a few more of his people, the other Raw and Bird stayed to the left.
"So, when we go in here. We're doing so all guns blazing I assume." Triple said while they all moved forward. "I'd like a chance to take as many of these bastards out as we can," Anadi replied a bit louder than Triple. "I think we're all in the same boat, but, keep your voices down." Lags said, keeping his voice low and focusing on the rooftops. Quim followed suit, glancing occasionally above them. Nothing. Nothing, but dust and worn-out tiles.
"I like Anadi's steam. You're looking to make up for lost friends. I can respect that. Pretty much the same reason I signed up." Triple said. His tone has been sour since losing Doc Freeman, but, a flash of his old self could be heard in his voice. "Yeah, sure. You joined up because your parents had enough of you." Lags replied. Triple laughed half-heartedly at that one. "Shut it, Lags."
Quim heard a noise coming from behind and quickly darted around to see what was back there. Nothing. The street was empty. All he could hear was some debris falling from one of the wall fronts. Looking up, he could see nothing either. He couldn't shake the feeling of being watched though. "You spooked?" Anadi asked. "Just a bad feeling." He continued to stare, only to give up and turn around. "Come on." He had to lightly jog to catch up to the others, who carried on without him. Hearing that the conversation continued without him, and, by the sounds of it, it was also escalating.
"No, that's not true. The colony was called Farnada, it was small, with no military presence. One night a raid came and pretty much killed everyone. After that, I had nothing and no one. The military seemed like the best place for me." Triple said softly, with more than a little sadness in his tone. It was rare he would be serious. Quim spotted Bird giving him a concerned glance. The two of them had something between them. It wasn't love. They had never tried anything as far as Quim was concerned, but, there was something there. Mainly ushered by Triple. In a way though, Quim had a feeling that Bird liked him too. She was just too quiet to speak up. "Sorry Triple. Jokes aside, I know why you really joined." Lags said. "Shut up Lags." He responded. Lags threw a glance across the path at Bird, then he looked back at Triple. "Maybe you joined to chase someone." Lags said, with a smirk. Triple went quiet. Which was never a good sign.
"What are you getting at Lags? Leave him alone, can't you see you're annoying him?" Bird said. To that Lags could only laugh. Quim knew he was going to keep pushing this. It wasn't often he got like this, but when he did it always spelt trouble. Whoever his target was that day would hear no end to insults.
"Leave it Lags. Keep your eyes ahead of you." Quim said, hoping to stop this before it began. Of course, he knew better than to believe that. He wouldn't give it up until he thoroughly ruffled some feathers. "Lags. You're annoying when you get like this, do as Dirt bird says and keep your nose out of it. Besides." A gunshot chopped through the air, it was only one. One which rang out in all their ears, cutting through the chatter and stopping in its tracks, Bird's sentence. Quim turned, only to see a group of Trisken soldiers take up positions not too far behind them. Readying his rifle and fixing his sights on them, Quim started firing blindly. Hoping to at least stop them from digging in. Everyone returned fire at the assailants and over the noise of gunfire, all he could hear were the roars of Triple.
He was going into what sounded like some kind of battle frenzy, hyping himself up for the fight. One by one, each of them fell until only two were left. Exchanging looks with one another, they started to fall back. But, they weren't given an inch. Instead, they were gunned down from shots to the back. As the final Trisken collapsed to the ground, the gunfire halted. With ringing ears, he looked around at the others to assess the situation. Quim could almost swear he heard Triple crying.
The larger-than-life man was hunched over on the ground, rocking back and forth by the look of it. Nothing made sense, why was he being like this? It only clicked when he looked at Lags who seemed to shed some tears of his own. Quim walked forward, then he could see an arm laying limp on the ground. Feminine and slender. Birds. He quickened his pace to a light jog and knelt down beside Triple. It was Bird, or what was left of her. Her smooth skin and soft features were now dwarfed by a hole. Her left cheek was a gaping chasm that enveloped one of her eyes too. "Triple!" Quim could only manage. He wanted to tell him not to look at her. Don't remember her like this.
The crying man continued to rock as if hoping to wake her up. It was never going to happen. "Triple." Quim managed to say once more, looking away. Why? Why us? Why did I accept this assignment? For what? A swamp world that isn't worth the life of one Confederation soldier. He looked up as the thoughts of all they had lost swirled around his head. Unable to pull Triple from the corpse of the person, he was most likely in love with. Quim turned to look back up the alley the lifeless Triskens lay in. Then he could see more movement.
"More! There's more!" Anadi shouted and another firefight ensued. This time though, Quim lost his sight. It was replaced by an encroaching red mist.