Chapter 02 Through the City Ruins

Another explosion rocked the ruins, allowing them to make a break for it. Aria crouched low and moved in cover.

“That explosion,” Aria whispered, peeking over the edge of a broken wall.

 “Must be one of the older models of Combelt tank mechs. The reactors must’ve sustained critical damage and blown. Mutants might gather in that direction, and we can use that to our advantage. If they go there, we’ll have a clear path, maybe cover some decent ground.”

Elias grunted, clutching his side. His tactical suit weighed him down. 

"I hope that explosion took out who was tearing it apart... but... let's keep moving before we find out who did it."

"Probably Valkys found one of our team's tank mech. You saw the damage and brutality of Raptor's attacks. There are no survivors after that. But let's not think about it now. We're not far from the safe point, let's focus on that," Aria said, trying to sound more confident than she felt. 

They moved carefully through the labyrinth of destroyed streets, keeping low as they walked past debris and collapsed buildings. The darkened sky overhead was clouded, promising heavy rain.

For hours they crept through the ruins, dodging the occasional patrol of Aegis scouts and listening for any signs of larger threats. Eventually, they came across a half-destroyed building that had once been a store. Next to the store lay the wreckage of a tank mech, almost completely buried beneath the rubble. It was one of their teammates, a Combelt III.

Aria glanced at Elias, who was barely keeping on his feet.

 "Let’s take a break here," she said softly, guiding him to sit on the ground near the wreckage. His face was pale, and his breathing weak.

“I’m going to check that tank mech and see if there’s anything useful. There might be an emergency kit left or supplies we can use.”

“Don't worry, I can't run away from you even if I wanted to,” Elias joked, his voice strained but still carrying that familiar humor. He leaned back against the wall, eyes closing for a moment.

 “Don’t worry, I’ll be here. I’m not going anywhere. Bring me back something nice.”

Aria approached the fallen tank mech cautiously. The once-powerful machine was now a broken pile of scrap metal, half-buried in rubble, its Depleted Vallen armor plating torn apart, exposing the complex inner workings that had once run the machine. The Combelt models - even the older ones - had been designed to withstand immense damage, but this one had been through hell. It showed just how powerful Raptor 01 was.

 She searched the cockpit, hoping to find something that could help. But as she dug through the wreckage she found nothing. The mech was gutted. Anything useful was long gone, the cockpit crushed, and whatever med supplies might have been stored had been obliterated in the crash.

Aria went back to Elias. He was sitting against the wall, his eyes half-closed, conserving what little energy he had left. 

“Nothing useful, emergency kit gone. No med kits. No pain suppressants. No reactor and without it there is no hope of fixing your suit. But… the scout drone is still intact, banged up but in one piece. I think I can activate it.”

Elias forced a weak laugh and tried to lighten the mood with a joke.

“Better than nothing. Well, if we can get that thing up and running. Would be nice to have eyes on the area. Could give us a heads-up on anything coming our way. Or better yet, we could make a phone call back to base and complain about our pay. They definitely don't pay enough for this shit.”

"If you have enough strength left to joke about our situation, I think you will survive a little longer. Keep an eye out for mutants, I'll be quick." 

 The drone was small, its bowlingball-like frame had been scratched and dented, but its core systems seemed intact. She set to work, bypassing the damaged circuits and rerouting power from the tank mech’s failing reactor to power it up.

If they could get the drone running, they’d at least have a chance of avoiding ambush. The mutants - especially the Aegis scouts - were persistent, and with Elias down, they couldn’t afford to stumble into a fight.

Finally, after a few minutes of tension-filled silence, the drone whirred to life, its small form buzzing and shaking as it powered up. The faint blue glow of its optical sensors lit up, and it hovered a few feet off the ground, awaiting its command.

Aria let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding.

 "Got it."

She tapped her wrist display, syncing the drone’s feed to her tactical visor. Instantly her vision expanded as the drone took off, the drone’s bird’s-eye view mapping the surrounding area in real time. Her wrist display was damaged and it could not receive a good signal, making it hard to read scanning data. It wasn’t much, but now they could see the threats before they came.

“Looks like we’ve got a clear path for now. No mutants in the immediate vicinity.”

Elias smiled faintly.

 “Good to know we’re not walking into our graves.”

"Hold on. I got strange readings. It is hard to make out the data. I think we’ll rest here for a few minutes. Once ready, we move. We’re not far from the safe point. I think If we stay quiet, we can make it."

Aria tapped her wrist display again. The device flickered, struggling to maintain a stable connection to the scout drone. The feed was distorted, the readings scrambled, but there was something there - something strange.

“Hold on,” she whispered, narrowing her eyes as she squinted at the flickering display.

 “I’m getting more strange readings. The drone’s pretty banged up, maybe that's why, and my wrist display isn’t much better. It’s hard to make out the data, but... something’s out there.”

 “Strange? How strange?”

Aria didn’t answer immediately. She tapped through the drone’s feed, trying to filter the noise and interference. The drone's systems were bugged because of the damage it sustained and her busted wrist display.

"It’s just... off," she said finally.

 "Could be nothing, but I’m not taking any chances."

Elias closed his eyes as he conserved what little strength he had left.

“No point in dying over assumptions. Rest sounds good, anyway.”

They sat in silence for a few moments. Aria’s mind, however, was far from at ease. She couldn’t shake the nagging feeling that something was wrong. The city was too quiet. And those strange readings - something about them didn’t sit right.

The display flickered again. This time, a familiar icon flashed - a signal. Weak, unstable, but there. Her heart skipped a beat.

"HQ? Yes! There’s a communication line still open."

Aria adjusted the frequency bypassing the drone’s damaged circuits and rerouting power through her wrist display. It was a long shot. Her gear was barely functional but if she could restore the connection, they might be able to get a message out. Maybe even call for help.

“Elias, I think I’ve got a link,” she said while her fingers worked rapidly across the cracked screen.

“Are you serious? You think they’re even listening anymore?”

Aria ignored his doubt and focused on restoring the weak signal. After a few tense moments, a soft crackling sound came through the comms - static, faint but unmistakable. 

Finally, a voice broke through the interference, distorted.

"—mander Lock? Aria—copy?"

The voice was faint, but she recognized it immediately. Seargent Major Dyar, the officer in charge of their operation. Relief flooded through her upon hearing his voice.

“This is Commander Lock. We’re alive. Elias is injured and Combelt IV is down. We need immediate extraction. I repeat. Elias is injured, Combelt IV is down. We need immediate extraction. HQ, do you copy?”

More static crackled through the line, cutting off parts of the response.

“—drones... signal weak... heavy mutant activity... nearest evac... coordinates compromised—"