A.N: Sorry it took so long, I rewrote it so many times and I still don't think it's exactly what I wanted. Oh well, hope you like it.
Chapter 3
When news of the leak reached the Underground it was too late.
The building of the new wall between the mid-sector and the rest of the city was merely an oddity that no one could explain. The informants within the KG hadn't reported anything that was to be used against the Underground, and so the building of the wall was regarded as poor city planning. When the wall was completed, some weeks later, the realization of what was being done dawned on the sector's inhabitants and panic swept through the masses.
The KG units stationed in the mid-sector retreated into the city, locking the only door out behind them. None could believe what was happening. The people of Haven were shocked. Family and Friends of people confined in the mid-sector protested at the palace. The Baron had counted on this sort of response from the public and welcomed it. It was the perfect opportunity to cripple the Underground and prevent it from spreading again. The Baron had made it clear to the whole city that the Underground was responsible for this course of action. If the people were afraid of what transpires in the mid-sector, they weren't going to allow the Underground to harbor anywhere else in the city.
A week after the completion of the wall, the eco of the mid-sector was cut off and diverted into the wall. The whole sector was exposed to the outside wastelands as well as the awaiting metalhead army. It was only a matter of time before the metalheads figured out the wall was no longer operational. The members of the Underground trapped inside had come out into the open and armed all able citizens with weapons. Damas rallied the people and managed to keep the chaotic situation under control. He ordered the making of safe homes and bunkers for families and their children. He sent patrols into the sewers to investigate an alternate way out, and stationed a look out near the wall. The people obeyed his every command, and felt prepared for whatever came their way.
Days later the wall was breached and the metalheads came at them with the force of a hurricane. It was a massacre. No matter how prepared they thought they were nothing could have prepared them for that attack.
For the whole day the people desperately fought off the metalheads. They stood shooting into the seemingly endless ocean of talons and fangs only to fell a fraction of the creatures. The number of metalheads outweighed their own fifty to one, and slowly the people of the mid-sector were pushed back. Damas watched the battle from Samos's hut, which was a fair distance from the madness. He would have preferred to be in the center of it, fighting alongside the makeshift militia and his own men, but it was pointed out that if he died on the first day they would have no chance at all. Damas was starting to wonder if they had any chance to begin with.
Damas scanned the mid-sector looking for an advantage point. The brunt of the metalhead attack was unorganized and concentrated in the buildings directly ahead of where they had breached the wall. Damas found it odd that the metalheads didn't break left or right to swarm the rest of the city, but instead seemed insistent on a single course. For some reason the metalheads looked like their target was the hut. Damas couldn't make sense of it, but then he didn't want to. The position of the metalheads and the nature of their attack weakened their flanks, if he could ebb the flow of metalheads, the remaining would be blaster fodder. Easier said then done he thought, a grin escaping onto his expressionless face.
Kielyn was situated in the front line when the attack started. The soldiers beside him were killed instantly when the wall was breached and concrete crushed them. It was chance and a lot of luck that he was still alive. But the luck he had was quickly used up as he found himself and a handful of others in the heart of the metalhead force. They fought desperately to rejoin with the rest of the defenders, seeking some sort of support in this madness. They fought until they couldn't fight anymore, their limbs laden with exhaustion. Kielyn knew that to give into the weakness would be death. He ducked and fired his blaster constantly into the attacking beasts. He tried desperately to keep the small radius around him free of metalheads.
When he saw the parting to his left there was no hesitation, he ran for it. He could feel the hot rancid breath of a metalhead behind him in pursuit. He turned wildly sending a volley of fire into the stalking beast. It was closer than Kielyn had first thought and had clawed at him in a dieing rage. Kielyn was sent flying from the beast as well as the rest of the fray. The metalhead's claws had penetrated his armor and Kielyn could feel the warm sensation of blood escaping the gashes in his chest.
He struggled to his feet and made his way towards the cover of buildings. The great concrete structures loomed over him and instead of feeling safe; Kielyn couldn't shake the feeling of vulnerability. He gently removed the armor and probed his wounds. It was a wonder that he was still alive. He took out his communicator and dialed headquarters. Samos picked up, his voice echoing through the small communicator, 'Samos here.'
'It's Lieutenant Kielyn Dun, I've been injured and currently situated a block from the wall and on the left flank of the metalhead flank. The area is clear of any metalhead opposition. Requesting a med team,' Kielyn said rather quickly and Samos struggled to catch what he was saying.
'Help has already been dispatched. Damas and his team should be closing onto your position in moments. They will have meds with them.'
True to Samos's words, Damas and his team arrived within a matter of minutes and had already been briefed of his predicament. Damas's team walked toward him with Damas leading them. Dressed in black imperial armor that seemed to suck in the light, Damas walked past Kielyn and stopped to look out at the battle field. The medics with him went over to Kielyn and addressed his wounds. Kielyn had only seen Damas in full armor once before and he had been in awe then as well. It was a very intimidating outfit, and made the white haired warrior seem larger than he really was. The others of the small party were also dressed in the same uniform, though for some reason, were not as intimidating as Damas.
The Medics brought out a green canister from the kit and poured some of the green eco onto his wounds. The sensation of his skin being exposed to the eco was somewhat exhilarating and odd at the same time. It was pleasantly cold but hot at the same time. He could feel it moving through his blood stream and working its magic on his wounds, which were shrinking as he watched. Kielyn was surprised to find he was no longer weary from the battle and found a new sense of vitality he had not known he possessed.
'I give you permission to head back to Samos's hut Lieutenant,' Damas said, now standing beside Kielyn and looking down at the young soldier.
'With all due respect sir, it's not like me to stand back and watch, especially when I'm not injured. I'd much rather prefer to get back out there and pick up where I left off,' Kielyn said feeling a little uneasy for being the centre of attention in a group of elite soldiers.
Damas couldn't help letting a smile escape onto his face. The boy reminded him of his younger self, full of spirit and cocky to boot. 'Alright suit up. You'll be coming with us'.
The Baron was getting a headache. He rubbed at his temple and tried to block out the useless stream of information coming out of the Commander of the Krimson Guard's mouth. His irritation of the KG's incompetence was focused on this one man, and the Baron had half a mind to get up and strangle the idiot. Instead he sat perched on his throne rubbing his head.
'…and the people of the city are appalled at what is happening. Some minor revolts have broken out all ready, mind you, they were silenced quickly, but I don't think the peace will last for long. I…'
'The point of this example, Commander, is to show the people that resistance against me will not be tolerated. The people of the mid-sector are traitors as far as they know, and are no longer citizens of this city therefore I will not be sending in any of MY men, is that clear Commander?' The Baron interrupted.
'Yes sir, but what I'm trying to say is some of our most valuable researchers are in there and to loose them will…'
The Baron pointed at one of the other soldiers in the room and gave him the signal to fire at the Commander. The soldier lifted his blaster and aimed, pausing for a moment to look at his target, and fired a single shot. The Commander was dead before he hit the ground. His face was contorted in a look of disbelief and anger. And the Baron's headache lessened.
'You,' the Baron pointed at the soldier who killed the Commander, 'remove your helmet and tell me your name.'
The guard stepped forward and removed his helmet. A young tattooed face with hair of shocking orange stared back at him. The Baron looked at the young guard and nearly burst out laughing at the irony of the situation. The Baron knew him; he was the son of the, now late, Commander.
'My name is Errol sir'
'I know. I just ordered you to kill your father, which you did with out question. Do you wish to avenge him?'
'My father was an idiot sir, and I have no wish to kill you if that's what you mean.'
The answer was a good one and the Baron pondered over what to do next. He did need a new Commander for his KG, and Errol proved himself to be ruthless as he just killed his own flesh and blood. The man was also a good shot. What the heck, 'It's your lucky day Errol, well more or less. You have been promoted to Commander effective immediately. Now fix the damn mess you inherited!'
Damas informed Kielyn on the plan to seal up the hole. It was sound; take out the supports of a few key buildings to create a domino effect around the breach. The problems were in the getting to the key buildings which were inside the mass of the metalhead force and close to the wall.
The squad skirted the left flank of the metalhead army. Although it was improbable that the metalheads would give a second thought to a small party, Damas made sure that they were well out of sight. There was no need to fight before it was time to do so. The buildings in the area were, for the most part, untouched by the waging battle. Damas looked around and saw women and children still residing in this area, he had forgotten that this was a residential area and the people still here were unable to leave. He hoped that there was no one left in the buildings they planned to collapse.
'We're in line with the first and second buildings sir. The third building is up a couple of buildings.'
'Good. We'll part company here. Lieutenant Kielyn, you're coming with my team to the third building,' Damas instructed his face set with determination. 'Remember to remain in constant radio contact. If it gets too hot, get the hell out.'
With a quick salute, the party split. The teams One and Two headed into the fray and towards their preordained buildings. While team three continued to skirt the left flank for a couple of blocks. The blaster fire increased in the intensity as One and Two reached the metalheads. Damas stopped at a corner and waved at them to go down it. Kielyn could feel his adrenaline starting to build, anticipating the awaiting battle before him.
When they finally reached the metalheads it was like a small wave crashing against the face of a cliff. Their blasters remained constantly firing into the metalhead flank. The skull gems bounced around them, but there seemed to be no end to the vial creatures. Kielyn was beginning to think that they wouldn't be able to break the line, let alone work their way into the center of the horde. Damas pushed forward, defying the odds and got ever closer to the metalheads. The others of team Three followed his example and formed a triangle, with Damas at the tip, and started to punch through. It happened slowly at first, then the pace seemed to quicken and the group was fully engulfed in the madness.
Damas didn't look back and didn't seem to notice that he was starting to get surrounded by the metalheads. The rest of the team started to fall behind his wake. Kielyn, as well as the other soldiers, recognized the situation immediately. A large burly man with a face that had been scared in numerous places, giving him a chiseled rough look, crouched and leapt into the metalheads separating Damas from the group. With the gap momentarily bridged as the dark skinned scarred warrior maintained a small radius free of metalheads, the others were quick to fill that gap and rejoin with their leader.
Damas kept moving. If they stopped now they wouldn't get the momentum going again and it would be impossible to move. Any other day it wouldn't seem so bad, but he had a mission to carry out. His communicator vibrated and the voice of Commander Wayland was recognizable through the static.
'Team Two currently holding position and awaiting orders. Oh and Sir, I believe you owe me 20 creds.'
Damn, thought Damas. He had placed a bet that his team would be the one to take positions first. It was the perfect motivator, betting was, the men always wanted to win a little extra by completing a task first. Damas had learned that lesson on one of his first missions when the commanding officer bet 50 creds that he would take out the most metalheads. At the end of the mission the men counted up the skull gems and, as it turned out, the commanding officer did kill the most metalheads. But the men had tried their hardest to humble the cocky commander, and the mission was completed a lot quicker and more efficient then had been expected. Damas smiled at the memory of him throwing two skull gems away so that he was the close second to the commander, only behind by one.
The communicator vibrated again, 'Team One holding position and awaiting orders. Tough luck Damas, hope it doesn't deflate that big ego of yours.'
Damas laughed at the comment. Gorin had never considered the thought of calling Damas by title, even when he had been king. And the man never had any problem telling Damas what he thought, in fact he told Damas near damned everything the man was thinking when he was thinking it. Yet somehow, the two had been the closest of friends since their early teenage years.
Team Three continued towards their building. They were going too slow, the men tired and wounded. Kielyn felt the effects of the green eco wear off and he was exhausted once more. He could tell the others were just as tired, and the pace slowed. Despite the metalheads being in every direction, especially right in front of him, he turned around for a brief look on the team's situation. Damas and his eyes locked in that instant, and he knew that things weren't looking good for them. Their momentum wasn't enough to take them all the way to the building which was now only a block away. It might as well be miles away because at the pace they were traveling it would take about the same amount of time if it were that far.
A split in the metalheads opened before Kielyn once again. He could see that, behind the wall of metalheads, there was clear ground. He broke from the group and ran for the space. The metalheads didn't seam to care any which way and for the most part didn't bother to stop him. He looked around trying to make sense of his instinctive desire to be here. The metalheads were swarming around the building, which in turn, created the space he now occupied. He decided he needed a better view and carefully scaled the steep crumbling staircase. He went to the first balcony and looked down. Damas and the rest of team Three had now completely stopped and had rearranged themselves in a protective circle. Kielyn felt bad for leaving them, and he was sure Damas would be pissed. But there was a purpose in his leaving. This way he could plan a way to get past the metalheads, and he could now see what he needed to do.
Kielyn went back to the staircase and climbed to the balcony above the one he was just on. As he suspected, a large pillar, that used to hold a section of the roof in place, was standing mostly intact and without any roof to hold up any more. He shot at the base of the pillar, making it thin enough to kick down. He kicked it as hard as he could and jumped back as it started to fall over the edge of the balcony.
Damas looked up in time to see the massive concrete pillar start to fall down onto the unsuspecting metalheads. He started to inch away from where it might land, his men did the same. The metalheads were still oblivious to the air born object hurtling towards them, picking up speed from gravity.
'Move away,' shouted Damas, aware that the pillar was getting uncomfortably close to the small squad of men.
Kielyn looked over the edge and saw the damage he had caused. The metalheads had split, just like he hoped they would, and stared at the wreckage with a weary eye. Damas and the other men did the same, which he was hoping they wouldn't. Damas looked up at the origin of the flying pillar and saw Kielyn gesturing for them to join him. It was a long shot but it was better than the position they were in now.
Damas and the rest of the small team quickly made their way through the rubble of the fallen pillar. Only few metalheads braved going into the wreckage and were easily taken care of.
Once team Three joined him on the balcony, Kielyn pointed out the alternative route to the building. It was a lot safer than the one they were on, as it involved avoiding the metalheads completely and going through the connected buildings. Damas agreed with this new plan and the group moved ahead.
The path connecting the buildings was a crumbling obstacle course. Debris was scattered everywhere. In some spots along the connecting bridge large gaps proved to be difficult to maneuver around. They continued on carefully to the target building managing to finally reach the support beams on the ground level and giving the 'okay' to teams One and Two.
'By the Precursers, Damas, it took you long enough,' Gorin said over the communicator, 'what happened to, "if it gets to hot, get the hell out"?'
'You know me Gorin, I can take the heat, just wanted to save your fair skinned ass from getting burned,' replied Damas.
'Playing the considerate bastard again?' Gorin said and Damas chuckled. 'Anyway, the charges are set and awaiting your signal.'
'Team One charges set as well,' said Wayland.
'Standby,' Damas said awaiting the last charge to be set by the teams own explosives expert, a scrawny wiry man with a hooked nose and sunken eyes. The expert gave Damas the thumbs up and walked back to the small group of warriors. 'Right,' said Damas into the communicator, 'on my mark set the charges to one minute…mark.'
The charges on the pillars sprang to life and beeped in sync with each other. The group burst out of the building the way they had come and hurried to get clear. In the hustle of the situation, Kielyn landed on a weak spot and the concrete under him collapsed. Unable to grasp a sturdy piece of building, Kielyn started to fall. A large hand grabbed his wrist and dragged him back up. Kielyn stared up into the large grizzled face of his rescuer and realized that it was the man that had bridged the gap between Damas and the rest of the group. His dark skin and dark brown eyes were set in silent determination as he started to pull Kielyn up.
'Thanks,' said Kielyn as his feet finally found firm ground.
'Save it for another time, now stay on my six,' the soldier's voice was deep and rugged and Kielyn did as he was told.
A muffled blast echoed throughout the sector and the group turned to see the three buildings fall and crash into the other surrounding buildings. A giant dust cloud enveloped the sector and the only sound was of crumbling buildings and the angry cries of the metalheads.
'Well done!' Samos's voice called through the communicator, 'It worked! The hole in the wall has been sealed.'