Dissuader fire spanged off Callahan’s piece of cover as she waved her squad forward. “Yang! Cassidy! Move up and secure the second tree! I’ll cover!” The two soldiers she had ordered sprinted up towards the objective- Callahan rolled out of cover and into an upright position, shouldering her GAU-37 Heavy Dissuader as she did so. Eight warriors were perched in parapets above the Brood facility, adorned in war paint and crowned with Eaglet feathers. They opened fire first- the Lillium charges spattered across her armour and ricocheted into the battle around them. She ignored it- clamped her fingers around both triggers and the dual-barrelled weapon roared, spewing a stream of tracers towards the enemy. The suppressive fire worked- the enemy soldiers ducked, returning fire that bounced uselessly off her Armoured Combat Rig.
The ACR, as it was more commonly known, represented the pinnacle of York innovation, specially designed specifically for combat against the Brood. It boasted semi-autonomous power provided by a large steam battery capable of lasting up three hours depending on power load, and was covered by three-centimetre thick keratin-tungsten weave on top of a sleek black jumpsuit. The helmet boasted the same amount of protection as the armour, and while visibility was limited, it could stop all but the heaviest Dissuader fire. The ACR also supported the operator’s offensive arsenal with integrated hi-threat weaponry systems of its own- more specifically, two Multi Rail Launch System pods mounted on the ACR’s shoulders, each containing six pallet launchers holding four unguided micro-missiles for combating armoured threats.
Yang and Cassidy reached the tree, and the small group of warriors hiding in the crates behind them. She saw their Dissuaders spin to life, their flashes of light reflected in the ivory-coloured helmets of the Federation soldiers. Yang looked up at her and drew a finger across the right side of his helm- all clear. Callahan nodded and waved the rest of the squad forward. They assembled with the two point-men, huddled against the crates. “Alright!” roared Callaghan, “We’re moving into the upper deck- from there, Yang and Weiss will take the top floor and look for intelligence- the rest of us will proceed out the back and continue moving past the Silent Line. I want-” she was interrupted by the groan of tearing metal and a loud crash- a large mechanical device had smashed through the deck they were standing on and clambered out, mounted guns swivelling to face the team. “Brood Crab!” yelled Weiss, bringing her flak cannon to bear. “Gold Section, disperse and engage!” thundered Callahan, cycling magazines with a quick pump.
The six-legged walking tank opened fire with mounted Repeaters, tearing the crates to shreds and leaving copious amounts of holes in the deck with twin torrents of blue energy discharges. “Weiss!” roared Callahan, returning fire from a new position. “Got it, boss.” Tatyana Weiss racked the charging handle and opened fire with the flak cannon- oily clouds of smoke and flame exploded from the weapon’s four barrels and enveloped the Crab, which shrugged off the onslaught of tungsten pellets without so much as a scratch. Weiss threw herself to the right as the Repeaters whirred to life. Callahan tossed away her spent magazine and checked her steam battery. Satisfied that it would last another two magazine’s worth of firing, she drew a pair of orange-marked cartridge holders from her belt, rammed them into the receivers and pumped both charging handles.
She took careful aim at the thin armour on the leg joints as the Crab rotated to track Weiss, then opened fire. The armour-piercing rounds quickly worked their way into the thin armour and punched through the delicate joint machinery, and the Crab staggered as one of its legs seized- Corporal Graham rolled out from behind cover-aiming a rocket launcher. The soldier clamped the trigger and the missile exploded from its chamber, slamming into the Crab’s flank and detonating with a bang and a cloud of black smoke and smouldering parts. “All clear!” shouted Graham.
“Affirmative, all clear.” responded Callahan. Weiss crouched and peered into the hole the Crab had made in the deck. “More tanks below the deck- offline, though. It looks like the enemy uses them in surprise attacks when they get intruders like us.” She got to her feet. “Might want to be careful next time we’re standing on something like this.”
“Noted.” Callahan turned to the squad. “Plan’s unchanged. Weiss, Yang, jettison your pods- I want you mobile when you’re inside. Make your sweep quick- the rest of us won’t wait for you.” The two soldiers turned and hit the jettison clamps on their missile pods- the four heavy boxes dropped to the deck with a dull clank. Callahan indicated the rest of the squad as Weiss and Yang moved into the base through a side entrance. “Alright- the rest of us will move deeper into the Silent Line.” her eyes narrowed inside her helm. “Let’s see what the Brood is hiding from us.”
***
“Two bedrooms?” Kasturba had asked incredulously when Langley had talked to the receptionist. “What happened to saving up?”
Langley had smiled at her. “We’ve worked hard today- nice to treat ourselves once in a while.” Now he dropped his meagre luggage on the floor of the inn room and locked the door. Langley sat on the worn bed sheets and felt around in his waistcoat pocket for the Brood pendant. He found it, pulled it out and looked at it for a long while.
“Nothing Else Comes Close. Non Exedra.” August Ubique breathed out slowly- his hands rested loosely on the grip of Squall. Behind him, the evaluators watched impassively.
First wave- twelve Wretches tore out of the ruins, snapping and snarling as they scrabbled towards him. The Dissuader rubbed smoothly against the leather holster as Ubique drew the gun. The barrel pointed steadily at the small horde- he squeezed the trigger. The Dissuader roared. Wretches fell- the hammer hit the last shell with a distinct ping, and Ubique thumbed open the cylinder as the survivors scrambled towards him, drooling blue energy out of their mouths in anticipation.
Shell casings tinkled as they hit the polished floor- the acrid smell of gunpowder began to permeate the battle and the student moved through strands of wispy smoke. He inserted a new package of rounds and Squall downed the six Wretched within seconds. Five seconds reprieve- Ubique reloaded. In the depths of the Forbidden Forest, more cages clattered open- fourteen more Wretched. Squall fired- six fell. Empty casings dropped out of the gun and Ubique pressed new ones into the cylinder. The Dissuader thundered again, six more dropped to the ground. No time to reload- the last two were almost upon him. Ubique pulled a combat knife from his belt- brought his arm up to meet the first assailant’s outstretched arms. His elbow connected squarely with the Wretch’s chest- its claws brushed his hair. Ubique pivoted, using the thing’s momentum to bowl it over behind him- he spun and plunged the knife into the side of its neck. One more to go- it was behind him, in the air.
Ubique stepped to one side, reversed edges with a quick spin of his fingers, and parried the Wretch’s next swipe- the blade’s smooth edge sparked as it met hard armour. Ubique spun- slamming his elbow into the nape of the thing’s neck, then swiped the blade upwards in a powerful lateral swipe, trailing blue blood behind the edge as he recovered. The target slumped to its knees and toppled.
Five seconds reprieve- Ubique reloaded from another pouch with one hand- casings tinkled on the floor. Last wave. Last target, rather. Something was lumbering forward, snuffling and snarling from the depths of the Forest- it rounded the corner and skittered into the hall- a Skuttler Tangant. The creature’s eight legs clacked against the floor and its grey metallic tail, shaped like a hammer, crackled as it waved high above its body and Ubique, nearly brushing the metallic roof of the hall. The Tangant chittered and its eight black eyes locked onto Ubique.
The wide-headed tail froze. The eyes focused on the student and the blade-shaped stinger, over two metres long, slid into position from the head of the appendage with a rapid series of clicks. The attack was silent- the tail lashed forward at near-light speed, blade dripping with super-toxic venom- The knife flashed. The treated edge met the tip of the stinger for one fleeting instant and a single, sweet note- the tail deflected and Ubique’s arm trembled with the shock. He recovered quickly- deftly grabbed the tail, twisted it around his left elbow and allowed himself to drop to the floor with the Tangant’s tail wedged firmly in between his elbow and his hip. The stinger lashed furiously and the Skuttler chittered- the blade danced erratically and jabbed at the floor several times.
Ubique remained calm and pushed Squall against the tail- the gun fired once- twice-three times before the Tangant summoned the strength to throw the student off its stinger with a brutal upward swipe that launched him a fair distance into the air. Ubique landed on his feet and looked up as the Skuttler lashed out at him again- then the delayed-explosive rounds he had fired into it went off in a trio of sharp cracks- the upper tail was shorn apart instantly, hanging in strips above the Tangant, stinger dangling uselessly from it suspended by tatters of Lillium veins and bone. The Skuttler screeched and skittered forward with its claws raised- but the tail was gone, and that was what mattered to Ubique. He adopted a shooter’s stance and emptied the cylinder- the Skuttler continued to run towards him as its carapace began to spiderweb- Squall clicked empty, and Ubique holstered the gun. He sauntered forward, spinning the knife in his right hand- and one of the assessors snorted in bemusement as he saw the student’s ploy.
Ubique grasped the knife by the blunt edge- tapped his palm over the hilt of the weapon- the knife clicked, and Ubique lobbed it in an overhand toss towards the advancing Tangant- the blade spun three times as it carved through the air- hitting the Skuttler dead-centre in the spiderweb of cracks Ubique had smashed in it before with a meaty thwack. The monster took two more steps before the sixteen-gram directed charge embedded in the hilt of the blade detonated- the explosion was directed along the blade of the knife and into the carapace- the Skuttler howled- bleeding torrents of blue energy from its shattered shell- took one more faltering step towards the student, and collapsed in a pool of rapidly crystallising blood.
Ubique turned to the applauding evaluators. “A formidable performance, Ubique.” Sureshot Crux stepped forward. “As required of you under the Proving, you entered and survived combat against two waves of the Wretched, and one Tangant, using permitted weapons.” He smiled warmly. “At the tender age of eleven, too. Your teacher must be proud.” His old eyes sparkled with energy. “The evaluators have made their decision. You will leave this hall a Gunslinger of the Brood.” The five evaluators nodded in approval.
“As a Gunslinger, you shall uphold the Brood’s most core values- respect, honour, independence, and endurance. You shall defend us from the monsters that stand at our doorstep, and those who seek to exploit us.” He produced something from a pocket- a silver pendant of a Wraith Hawk. Even in the dim lighting of the Proving Grounds, it glinted menacingly. “This pendant is proof of your skills and tenacity. Always remain true to it.” Crux pressed the pendant into Ubique’s hand.
“It is up to you now. Training, Learning- that is your decision to make, but promise the Brood one thing- In our darkest hours, will you respond?”
Ubique closed his hand around the pendant and bowed. “I shall respond.”
