Arkenstone_1

<Contract 0093>
<Client code: C-010>

<Objective:  CODE BLACK. Worm incursion detected by the fringes of the Northern continent. Retrieve relic known as Arkenstone from Annals Institute HQ. More instructions will follow upon retrieval for security purposes.>

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Remi, AKA "Ace", steered the joystick gently, anticipating the momentum would give his beloved 'Coquette' enough inertia to precipitate down towards the forest clearing without avoiding detection and, most importantly, without crashing. Coquette expelled intense fumes as it resisted the sudden stop five meters away from the ground, its engines burning the yellow grass.

"Opening hatch," he signaled, "dropping pathfinders, we'll see you on the other side ok?"

He then realized he had already opened the lower hatch, which automatically triggered the release of paratroopers.

"Well, shit...!" he said, pressing his lever to get some altitude, "I'm sure they'll get past it."

On the grass, the team had not fared as Remi expected. The hatch had opened during the most intense moment of the drop-off, Gael was just about to get into position when his body rag-dolled across the cargo hold of the dropship until he was flushed out by the hole. Meanwhile, Diego held on to his sniper rifle as a reflex, so he hit his head while flying out and momentarily disassociating existence itself, Cesar and David grabbed themselves to something before the ship leveled itself before going out. Now they were all getting up and cleaning their gear, which had been scattered across the small clearing of ash.

The ship immediately took off and began its ascent towards the faraway clouds, as if everything had gone just as planned.

"Son of a bitch!" Gael yelled as he showed some burns from the landing, "That's the last time we agree to pull some cowboy shit like this!"

"Why the hell did we agree to this?" Diego said, a bleeding stream coming out of his aquamarine hairline, "Who thought it was a good idea to gorge us out like shit on a toilet?"

"It wasn't that bad," said Cesar, standing still while trying to move his right arm, finding it was unusually itchy.

Diego and Gael looked at him, shocked.

"Sweet Mother mercy," Gael uttered, "Bro you're..."

"What?" Cesar asked oblivious to the reason behind his friends' horrified faces.

"Bro, you're burned down to a crisp on the right arm and left leg, how did that happen?"

Cesar examined himself, "Ah this, it must've happened when David kicked me into Coquette's fume engines."

"He what?"

David stood resolutely, arms crossed, staring at the deep woods beyond the ashen clearing, "It was an accident," he explained.

"Yeah, I felt the accident to be quite coordinated, bro."

"I just... thought that the whole ruckus meant we would be getting out, guns blazing..."

"We're miles away from the target, man, the guy you kicked into the fire technically explained that landing any nearer to Annals HQ would be too hot for Coquette."

David remained silent for a moment, "Well... that landing could've still gone better."

"Don't blame it on Remi guys, he pulled a crazy maneuver just to get us here," Cesar said,

"Which wasn't necessary at all!" Diego said, "That was the whole point of dropping us miles away from the hot zone."

"That guy will just shed his saint tears and blame it on the glitch, as usual!" Gael yelled. He loaded his grenade launcher with a mini-missile and fired it toward the diminishing dot in the sky, "Maneuver this dipshit!"

The rocket spiraled upwards, seeking its target, Diego was dumbfounded while David merely looked into the sky.

"Shit dude, what was that?" Diego complained, "That's our evac right there!"

Gael threw the launcher on his back and proceeded to grab his remaining ammo. The missile kept going towards the dot.

"No worries, I just aimed at the side, he should have a good scare."

"It's getting too close..." Cesar commented.

"Do you know how much that thing cost, idiot?"

"None of that is worth it if it gets us killed on landing, better pay for a ride to the Taxi guild next time..."

"You hate those guys!"

"Guys, the thing's about to..."

The shell indeed detonated in the sky with a faint "Boom", and a smoke cloud appeared in the cloudy sky. Everyone looked at Gael, who had stopped loading shells on his shotgun in disbelief.

"Son of a bitch," Diego cursed, reaching for his side gun.

"What are you doing?" Gael asked, nervously tapping the shotgun's trigger.

"I mean, you killed him, so anything goes right?" Diego suggested.

"Guys?" Cesar said.

"In the madness, you have to find calm," David quoted to himself, returning his gaze to the woods. He had heard that from an actress somewhere in his previous life.

Diego closed his eyes in visible exhaustion, the blood from his hairline was already dripping on his jaw, "David, I swear that if you say one more of your wise words again, I'll..."

"Maverick 5 here," Remi's voice appeared on their comm, and everyone burst alleviating breezes from their tense lungs. "Taking hits by anti-air hostiles! I repeat I've been fired upon by hostiles! It seems my presence here has been compromised, I won't be able to stay with you guys, I'll see you in two days over the extraction point."

"No, no! Remi come in!" Diego yelled, pressing his shoulder communicator, "It was Gael! it was Gael goddammit!"

The flying dot vanished in the clouds.

Everyone looked at Gael again. The pale-skinned man with spiky hair had loosened the trigger but now stared at the ground immobile as if the full weight of his actions had just kicked in. He then put away his shotgun and loaded his backpack.

"Stupid Remi," he mumbled, "It wasn't that bad." 

Diego blinked for a few seconds before quickly holstering his pistol.

"Now that that's settled in, for better or worse, we need to move, I sense that whole display is going to get us some attention soon," David said, intensely narrowing his eyes.

"Yes, we should... Cesar, let me take a look at that before we move on," Diego said, sighing. 

"You should take a look at that bleeding first, it's already wetting your clothes," Cesar said.

"I'm okay, I'll wash as soon as I'm done with you."

But then Diego walked in the opposite direction where Cesar was.

"Eh... Diego?"

"Uh? Eh?" Diego blinked, turning around confused.

"You ok Sniper?" Gael asked.

"Yeah why? All good muh bros!" he said, giving a thumbs up before his footing failed and he collapsed face down. Blood started pouring from beneath his face.

"Sniper! Sniper!" Gael called out, "Fuck!"

"How the mighty have fallen," David said, sighing and sweating beneath the mask.

"Bite me, Mr. Shinobi! Cut the epic act, your mask is wet from all your nervousness betraying you!"

"It is not..."

"Whatever! I can't believe it, what is this, our 100th mission or something?"

"93rd actually," Cesar butted in.

"Yeah! A year together, about... 93 missions completed, and we can't even get our landing straight. This is supposed to be our best client yet right?"

"Yeah, that's right," Cesar agreed, "Hey guys, I'm feeling a bit..."

"We're down to three team members, and one of them is burned to a crisp, what do you make of this, eh team leader?"

"We don't have time for this, Grenadier," David said, grabbing his backpack and checking his knives and blades were within reach.

"I just want to know what our attack plan is now that you've butchered our team!"

"We get that relic and go back to base."

"How? HOW?!"

David unsheathed his ninja blade like thunder, stopping it right before Gael's neck.

"If you're so good at complaining, perhaps you'd like to plan for the mission," David said in a threatening tone, "Or I could just detach your head in one swing."

Gael looked at the shining blade, unhinged, "Plan the attack? Hell no, that's what your and Oracle's job is for..."

"Then stop complaining!" David said, veins inflating next to his ears.

"Fuck no," Gael said, bluntly, his eyes as dead as ever, no emotion displayed, "complaining is all I got as a subordinate in this team, no sir, you plan, you lead, that's your thing, get better."

David blinked, confused, but he stepped down.

"Shut up and make sure you bring explosive shells, we might need to make the greatest diversion yet, Cesar, you..."

David and Gael then realized their Oracle guy was now lying on the floor. He was conscious all right, but he wasn't moving.

"Hello," Cesar said, "It seems that if I move, it hurts a lot, so I decided to rest a bit, it's ok though I'll be able to move in a couple of hours."

"Shit, that's not good man, we gotta move now or else we will be caught by curious hostiles wanting to check this out, you know there are Worms out here right? Not to mention the Hex live really close to this area."

"No matter, there's nothing I can do to move right now. We have to wait a couple of hours."

Gael was inarticulate at this point. David tapped him on the shoulder, "Let's go before they arrive. Cesar, take Diego to the evacuation point, we'll meet there once Gael and I get the Arkenstone."

Cesar tried to salute with his burnt arm, then moved the other to compensate, "Aye aye, team leader!"

Gael was so done by now, he simply nodded.

"Right, Cesar, you checked our bearings before the landing, what's our heading?"

Cesar mumbled a bit as he tried to remember. 

"Head East, the HQ should be twenty clicks away, if you lose your way, go north from the explosions, there must be a defensive line set by the Hex Authority drawing all worms in the area, they are really shelling them the hell out Moros."

"Roger, be safe."

Gael chuckled, "Safe..."

The two able mercenaries jumped into the woods and disappeared, leaving a thoughtful but patient Cesar on the ground next to unconscious, still bleeding Diego. Cesar wondered how was still alive if he had lost so much blood, but then he remembered that Moros had unusual existential mechanics due to the Glitch's still rippling effects on the universe.

He reviewed the plan in his mind as he felt numb.

"Wait until Diego wakes up, take us to the extraction point, wait there."

Something was not right about the plan, and it bugged the green-haired boy.

"Wait, but I can't move myself."

It finally weighed on him, and what had been a vivid mind but a numb body now was a fully blown numbness.

His eyes were closing, "Oh well, I guess they'll have to leave, I hope those two can cope without killing each other."

Just as his vision became blurry, he felt the rumbling of the ground caused by closing stomps, then the shadow of a giant robot falling on him.