Chapter Text
“ Menace 1-5, hang in there. You have one more hostile in the AO, over. ”
The AO was — there was no way to put it delicately — fucking chaos. But it should’ve been salvageable chaos.
It was a supply extraction, and supply extractions always got messy. Even with a Ranger, a Templar, and a Skirmisher on the field, there was no avoiding that. The scrambling between crates also limited how much support the other half of the team could give. Marcille didn’t have enough time to get good bluescreen shots, Chilchuck couldn’t hack anything without those bluescreen shots, and Falin was just trying to keep up.
But they’d gotten through worse. Heck, they’d slapped the Viper King’s head clean off, and that hadn’t been easy.
But they hadn’t beaten the Viper King while hungry .
The Avenger had been low on food for days — bartered away for materials to upgrade their equipment. An armored EXO suit was nice, but it meant nothing if everyone was shaking too hard to aim properly.
“Stand your ground, everyone,” Laios said, in spite of the hunger and blood loss putting spots in his vision. “We can finish this!”
“Says the guy who’s not next to the Sectopod!” said Namari moments before being blasted off the roof she was standing on.
“ Menace 1-5, we’re picking up a strong psionic signature in the AO. Callsign ‘Warbird’ has requested emergency EVAC, Firebrand is rapidly approaching your location, over. ”
Before Laios even had a chance to ask why Falin had requested EVAC, she was knocking him over.
“Brother!”
“What the—?”
And then he saw it — the Chosen.
“Run!”
Then his head hit the ground, and everything went dark.
Growl…
Laios groaned. The harsh hangar lights forced their way past his eyelids. It hurt to turn his head, but he did it anyway.
Namari and Shuro were being rushed into the Avenger proper on stretchers.
Falin wasn’t there.
Marcille, however, was. “Laios! Thank goodness — the Warlock would’ve steamrolled all of us if Falin didn’t call for EVAC.”
“...Falin got captured.”
He was hoping Marcille would correct him, but she didn’t. “I’m sorry, Laios.”
AFTER ACTION REPORT
OPERATION RED DRAGON
OBJECTIVES: Recover ADVENT Crates
LIGHTLY WOUNDED
SERGEANT TOUDEN, “HOUND DOG”
RANGER
ACTIVE
SERGEANT DONATO, “UNDERTAKER”
SHARPSHOOTER
ACTIVE
SERGEANT TIMS, “PICKLOCK”
SPECIALIST
GRAVELY WOUNDED
LIEUTENANT NAKAMOTO, “SAMURAI”
TEMPLAR
GRAVELY WOUNDED
SERGEANT KAHKA-BRUD, “ADAMANT”
SKIRMISHER
CAPTURED
SERGEANT TOUDEN, “WARBIRD”
SPECIALIST
Laios exhaled and put down the report. He needed stitches for his head wound, but luckily, no concussion. If he could sneak a shot from a medkit, he could re-deploy right away.
“Okay. I need to get to the resistance ring — I’ll deploy with the Reapers to rescue her.”
“I checked in with the Reapers already,” said Marcille, shaking her head. “They’ll point us in the right direction, but if we want to trek through the wilderness, we need supplies. ”
The curtain around his bed was flung open, and Chilchuck said, “I’ve got worse news — Shuro and Namari are leaving the Avenger.”
“What.”
“They’re going back to the Templars and the Skirmishers as soon as they’re healed up.”
Was Laios really that bad at leading the squad? He didn’t even know that could happen!
“Chilchuck, how much would my EXO suit go for on the black market?”
“A lot, but I don’t think you should sell the EXO when it’s probably the only thing that kept you in one piece.”
“...How much are your spider suits worth?”
“What?”
“If we sell the spider suits, I can take the supplies and find Falin myself. I don’t have to downgrade my equipment, and if I’m alone, it’ll be easier to avoid ADVENT. Besides, it’s all my fault. If I didn’t insist on trying to clear the AO, Falin would still be here—”
Marcille put her hand over his mouth.
“Don’t act like you’re the only person who cares about Falin! I don’t care what it takes — I couldn’t live with myself knowing I didn’t try to rescue her!”
“I’m coming, too,” said Chilchuck. “Once you’re in the city, someone’s gotta knock out lampposts and open doors.”
“You guys are the best… but are you sure you don’t care what it takes? Are you really sure?”
“…Why did you say it like that?” said Marcille.