-------------------------------Near the Mayug Clan------------------------------------------------------------------
Lang had just brought up a detailed map of the area, when weaponsfire erupted all around them. Three Sword soldiers immediately fell to the ground as the ballistic rounds overwhelmed their suitsâ armor. Gendren took a round straight to the head, and he fell as well. Tanner took a burst to his shoulder and fell to the ground, on his knees. Lang, a bear of a man, quickly helped Tanner up and dragged him behind the shuttle.
Bentley quickly took control of the situation. He quickly motioned Rex and Tanner closer. Due to the combat situation, Bentley reverted to code names. He spoke in a rushed whisper. âOcelot, Longshot, take your fighters, and get out of here. Someone needs to get back to command and get them to send an emissary to negotiate peace with them. Or, if need be, a strike force. Oxen, take Texâs fighter⊠He wonât be needing it anymore. Youâll be with me. Weâll fly out past that ridge to our west, at the end of the canyon. Hopefully, we can discourage these natives from following Ocelot and Longshot. We just need to hold out until The Hierarchy sends reinforcements, or we can establish some sort of cease-fire with these natives.â All of them nodded to one another. Sabre placed his right fist over his heart. âMay you succeed..â The rest of them copied the gesture. Then they all said, ââŠOr find peace in death.â
Ocelot and Longshot immediately ran for their fighters. Longshot jumped into his and closed the canopy just in time to avoid a burst from the natives. Ocelot wasnât so lucky. As she jumped into her fighter, she took two rounds; one in her left shoulder, and one in her lower-left abdominal area. She quickly fired off in her comm unit once the canopy was sealed. âIâm fine. Just a⊠A minor hitâŠâ She hit the thrusters. Ocelot and Longshot quickly launched out of the canyon⊠But not before Ocelotâs fighter took a heavy burst to one of its engines. She stayed in the air, but her fighter was trailing smoke and limping its way out of atmosphere, slowly trailing behind Longshot.
Sabre and Oxen jumped into their respective fighters without incident. As the rest of 1st Recon started to leave, Sword opened fire on the hostile natives with their AR-556 rifles from behind Lang's shuttle. They fired in a methodical motion, two starting from the left and moving right, two from right to left, and one âequipped with a HAR-347 Heavy Rifleâfiring down the middle of the native force. They wouldnât be escaping this volley. One Sword trooper âBefore taking a round straight through his upper chest areaâfired a missile at the ground underneath the Nativesâ feet, attempting to literally âpull the rugâ from under them. As he lay on the ground, he saluted Lang and Bentley. He gasped into his comms. âWe will hold the line Lieutenant. Complete your directive. I will find peace⊠in⊠death..â He laid still. The other Sword troopers murmured assent into their mikes as Lang and Bentley launched off towards the nearby ridge.
--------------------------------------Just outside Ryuuâs atmosphere-----------------------------------------------
Ocelot and Longshot made it out of Ryuuâs atmosphere without further incident⊠But Ocelotâs damage finally came back to haunt her. Her engines cut out, and she began to drift away from the planet. Longshot immediately keyed her up on the comms. âHold on Rex. Iâll get you out of-â She cut him off. âNo, Tanner, get out of here. Follow Bentleyâs directive. I have supplies in here to last me a while⊠It doesnât make any sense for you to risk your life for me. Now get out of here. NOW!â Tanner hit his boosters, and sped off, towards the waiting Hierarch outside of the system. Rex simply drifted. Was hoping Iâd get to test my skills on this missionâŠJust not on the ground. She blacked out.
-----------------------------------------McMillan Military Base: Elysia----------------------------------------------
General Austin carefully watched Bryant approach him, accompanied by what looked to be very disciplined soldiers. Perhaps Special Forces? Austin reasoned it would not be wise to ask. He looked at Bryantâs hand as he extended it in greeting. Among the IPF, handshakes were only used in the Arena, during the War Games, as a sort of âpromiseâ to fight fairly. Austin reasoned that it would be inappropriate to deny this gesture though, she he took Bryantâs hand in his own and shook it. âThank you for allowing me to come onto your planet General Bryant. As you already know, I am General Austin. The message I bring may not be what you expect⊠But please, let us go somewhere we can discuss this, away from prying ears.â