Minare Saga: Wille zum Aufstieg

[Celestial]

Miller, their tracker, continued to look at the buildings as he waved the sensor device back and forth. Naomi could see his looks of consternation as he moved slightly ahead of the others. She would have told him to return to formation, but a few paces in front wouldn't hurt she thought. She flickered her eyes to Quentin before returning them forward as she listened to him. "I suppose you haven't encountered the Gurrens before - the ape looking ones." The image of the hairy beasts flooded her mind as she dispelled the thoughts. "We have another name for them - stalkers."

"Don't forgot the god damn shriekers," chimed in Cade as he looked to the left. "Those fucked up things are probably the most fucked up ones there are. I mean, how the hell does something like that get created? The mother must be one ugly bi--"

"The big ones are the worst." The modulated voice of the A.N.H.S on the right chimed in as the large robotic suit followed. "One of their swipes can tear this tin can apart. You don't think their demons do you? They most certainly can't be human."

"Cut the chatter," ordered Decasta as he was one of the point men. "Eyes circling."

Naomi nodded to him as she spoke to Quentin again. "You heard it yourself. What makes the damn things dangerous is their unpredictability. The only countermeasures available are the A.N.H.Ss and our trackers. Without them, the war - up till now - would have been much different." As she continued to pace, she heard her comm. unit burst into life. A panic voice flooded the squads radio frequency as gun shots could be heard in the distance. She motioned for the squad to hold and solidify as she acquired the squads call sign. "Serpent, report."

"They're here!" came the reply of a male as machine fire flooded the background. "Our radios jammed! We can't contact the Palemecia!"

As she continued to monitor the traffic, an undulating wail echoed throughout the abandoned street. Everyone present shifted their eyes towards the sounds direction as each pair of eyes searched frantically. Naomi, though she hated to do it, broke connection to Serpent as she took up her position. She dragged Quentin with her as she forced him down. "Have you encountered them in person before?" she asked as she pinged the suits. "Contact?"

"Negative," replied the pilots. "There's some amplitudial changes on the sound reader, but nothing alarming."

"Miller?"

She received no response.

"Miller, report."

"Shit, where the fuck did he go," said a Marine who looked to his right. "Corporal, Miller ain't here."

Naomi blinked in surprise as she didn't hear anything at all that would give off the signal of an attack. Yet as she observed her surroundings, the trooper was right. Miller had simply vanished. "I want teams. Cade and Zitco, you're with me. Decasta. There's a corner up ahead. Move the rest of the squad there and await further orders ... keep an eye on our guests." She nodded to Quentin as she stood up - the two Marines she listed follow suit.

The trio walked slowly towards the alleyway as they turned on their high beam flashlights on their weaponry. Standing within a triangular formation, the three began to inch their way towards the darkly lit passage. Naomi was at the front as she shuffled ever closer. "Miller?"

[101 Scout1]

Quinten nodded, "Yeah, I have... But never like this... I mean, the Mortifica are the ones I've never seen in-person, they're too irrational... From what I've heard coming from the labs, they don't have any kind of cognitive thought or reasoning. But the Gurren and the Descretor? Yeah... nasty sons of bitches... I don't speak the Mortifica's dialect, but it's kinda like Portuguese and Spanish, very similar to Gurren... At least from what I can tell..." He said, rubbing the back of his neck before putting his hand back on his pistol. "Always for diplomatic purposes though, I've never been in a zone where we were ambushed by the Gurren... Sometimes there was a little bit of fighting, but it was short..." He said, shaking his head as the Corporal's comm unit sprang to life. He listened intently, eyes wide, quietly muttering to himself, "Holy shit..."

As the Corporal cut off the other squad, he was staring at the radio. This was something new altogether. Of course, he expected some kind of danger, but to dive headfirst into this... of all things... He felt himself being forced down with her and she asked her question, "Y-yeah, the Gurren and the Descretor, like I said... But only when we outnumbered them by quite a bit and we had eyes on them at all times..." He spoke uneasily, holding the pistol in his hand tightly, finger off the trigger.

As the teams were divvied up at Miller's disappearance, Quincy stayed with the Corporal. He wasn't going to be leaving her side, as she was the specific person he was assigned to accompany. Also, as leader of the company, it was vital that the translator stayed directly with her at all times. He readied his pistol, turning the safety off and walking in the center of the trio, his eyes peeled. As the woman called out her Marine's name, Quinten could hear something... it was moving, and large... There was no doubt that whatever it was, whichever Namosis, it had taken Miller. The man was most likely dead, dying, or being prepared for something much worse... The culture of the different kinds of Namosis was so strange, and only a few had witnessed certain rituals and ceremonies... Those that had seen them were most likely dead or didn't understand what it was... Their culture was almost impossible to study while they were at war. The Mortifica were even more difficult due to their brutish behaviour.

Quinten was shaking slightly, but he tried to calm himself down with preparing for whatever happened. He started to think in the Gurren language, clearing his throat. He wanted to be entirely ready if it came down to it, being able to speak with whatever was attacking him.

[Celestial]

As the trio kept approaching the alley's entrance, Naomi heard a pair of footsteps come from her right as she saw Cade glance sharply. She sighed as she focused back on the alley. "What are you doing? Didn't I tell you to go with the others?" She shook her head as she entered the alley. "Stay here Quentin. Whatever you think you understand about these things, you don't."

She nodded for Zitco to take point as she saw his adams apple bob up and down. He was scared and she knew it. She clapped him on the shoulder nodded reassuringly as she saw his anxiety die down. He sighed as he took the lead. Cade brought up the rear as he noticed Quentin's chokehold on his side arm and shook his head before following. Three streams of light scared away the shadows as the alley way was still, picture footage still. Naomi shined her light into an open doorway. Everything within the house seemed normal. The table was still set, the kitchen table was clean, and even the dishes were still nicely stacked within the cupboards. She had never seen anything like this before. Normally, when they were on surface, it was a blood bath. Vichtim, or what record was left of it, was a beautiful example of the animal's brutality.

"Ma'am." She brought her attention back outside as she saw Cade examining something on the ground. He held something in his hand. A sensor. "Found Miller's rig, but no body. Where the fuck is he?"

"We should go back," hissed Zitco as he watched the alley. "We should go back and radio the fleet...!"

"Calm down Private," the Corporal said as she looked at the sensor. There wasn't any blood on the device, an irregularity. "This goes against every habit that the Federation has observed so far. They're never this clean ..."

Suddenly, within the darkness, gun shots, very near by, erupted as they echoed throughout the alleyway. The three Marines looked back to the entrance as Naomi was already on the move. "Give me a report!"

"Nothing to report here ma'am," came the crisp reply from Decasta. Guessing what she was going to ask next, the soldier continued. "Want us to check it out?"

She relaxed as she turned back. "Negative, maintain your position. We'll continue to investigate. Any chance of a breakthrough to fleet?"

"Negative," he said. "I thought you should know ... we've lost contact with Serpent. Aquiline is not answering either."

She shook her head. "Understood. Keep your eyes open and keep me up to speed. If you see any sign of the Namosis, you tell me immediately."

"Got it."

She looked at the four as she nodded towards the unexplored direction of the alleyway that turned a sharp left. "We still got a missing personnel. Keep it tight and keep it cool. No happy triggers; civilians, Miller, or Planetary defense may be out and about. Quentin, stay in the middle of our formation. Disobey this order, and you'll find yourself in a very unpleasant situation."

As she finished, the motioned for the team to keep moving. Suddenly, a agonized cry tore through the air. Her heart skipped a beat.

---

After minutes of traveling, she commanded the squad to hold as she looked down alleyway. She saw a dead end, but not everything was dead. She quickly tore away from the side as she clicked off her safety. She heard several clicks as well as she began to report. "Four Gurren. On my mark, pop a flash and form a firing line." She left out the bloody pile that they were crowded around. She didn't want to believe it, but she had a feeling she knew who that was. "Quentin watch our backs. You see anything, tell us immediately. Hey. Are you listening? This isn't diplomacy; stay focused."

"Told you Corporal," sneered Cade as he checked his ammo. "God damn liability."

"Shut it." She shook her head in disapproval. "Check your attitude; he's here, so he's part of the squad. Quentin. You understand what I said right?"

Not waiting for an answer, she motioned to Zitco to pop a flash. The Marine nodded and proffered a small capsule as he pressed a button. A red light started beeping as he took a deep breath. After the second blink, he rounded the corner and tossed it. A surprised grunt came from the back as heavy footfalls dragged against the street. Then, a bright light exploded as shrill howls rocked Naomi's very core. As the light slowly begin to die down, Naomi pulled herself off the wall.

"Firing line! Now!" The three military personnel made a single row as they pulled on the trigger of their rifles. Pullets pelted into the Gurren's skin as they roared and began to rush the Marines. Though the bullets were connecting, to Naomi's horror, they weren't dropping as fast as she'd hoped. One began to topple, but the other two kept coming.

"You're tough mother fuckers aren't you?" shouted Cade as he aimed for the heads of the ape-like monsters. "Come on then! Come on!"

Another fell as the third one finally reached the three. Cade was smashed by an iron fist as he flew and slammed against the wall with a sickening crunch. The Gurren's claws grazed Naomi's helmet as she spun from the force. She pivoted to keep her balance as she saw Zitco being grabbed by the monster. He was firing blindly as he screamed.

"Zitco!" cried Naomi as she began to fire into the beasts side. It wasn't quick enough as the Marine's skull was severed from his spinal cord. She stood up and kept pumping the enemies body with hot titanium lead as it slowly keeled over. She walked over and placed a bullet through its brain as she staggered against the wall. She looked over at Cade who was slowly regaining consciousness. "You alright Cade?"

"y-- Jesus christ!" The Marine got to his feet as he stumbled over. "Shit, shit, shit, shit! No! No!" He went over to the dead Gurren and began kicking it int he face. "You ugly mother fu--"

"Knock it off!" Naomi said as she pushed him back. "Get your shit together Cade. Grab his dog tags and lets go. Miller's probably down there."

Cade shuddered in anger as he picked the fallen Marine's tags from the ground.

Naomi's radio came alive as she heard Decasta's voice. "Ma'am, we heard gun shots."

"That was us. Namosis confirmed. Four Gurren killed."

"Have you found Miller?"

She glanced at the bloody puddle as she looked back at Zitco. "Stand by. Decasta, we have a casualty."

"... Evacable?"

Naomi shook her head as she walked past the fallen Gurren from earlier. "Negative. Tags only."

"...Solid copy ma'am."

[101 Scout1]

Quentin shook his head... Nothing he did would earn him a place among everybody else. He could save their lives and they wouldn't give half a shit. He was deadweight, but he merely sneered and shrugged his shoulder as he was ushered forward. The interpreter kept his mouth shut, walking after the others in silence, his brow furrowed. It was unnerving, finding the rig unbloodied, but he still didn't speak up, it wasn't his place. The man looked around them sharply... It was scary to any who might have noticed him still there. He was completely silent and it was even difficult to see him in the dark. Quincy looked over to the Private as he started to get slightly frantic, panicking and his face distorted slightly... Weren't the Marines supposed to be fearless? He had heard the saying a million times, "Marines never die -- they just go to hell and regroup." It actually made him smirk slightly, but only for a moment as he looked at the rig that they'd picked up. The Corporal made a comment about them never being so clean and he looked at her from behind her back with slight confusion. He might have dropped the rig before they got him, or maybe he dropped it as they attacked, there were a million possibilities as to why it wasn't covered in blood.

The translator listened intently to the Corporal's exchange with the other squad, not leaving his position before she commanded him to stay in the middle of their crew. Like he was going anywhere... Geeze, they were so condescending, so patronizing. His mouth was shut the entire time, entirely silent until she reported several Gurren. He could guess what else was at the end of the alley... It wouldn't preoccupy the beasts if it hadn't been food of some kind. The Corporal commanded him to watch their backs... This was a command he could deal with, as he really didn't think it was his position to be in the middle of the firefight. His sharp eye was better used as look-out, especially when executing a move like that. Cade couldn't help but make a comment... Of course he couldn't help it, mother fucking arrogant son of a bitch. Quincy furrowed his brow and watched the alley behind them. He looked to the Corporal, finally speaking, "Yes, ma'am," was his plain answer.

The fire began to ring out and Cade hit the wall nearby. Quinten cocked his head over his shoulder and whipped his pistol around with him... He didn't even process the moment that Zitco's head was torn from his body. It was horrific, to say the least, but his adrenaline began to pump as Naomi put a bullet through the monster's brain. He could tell, looking at Cade, that he was going to take that hard, and he offered a hand to help him up. He was completely ignored, not even getting a glance from the Marine as he stood up and began to go nuts.

"Hey, Cade... I'm..."

"Sorry?" The man finished Quincy's statement, whipping around violently. A few yards away, Naomi was on her radio, speaking.

"Uh... Y-yeah... I me-"

"Just shut the fuck up. You know what your problem is? You think you can waltz into a squad or a group of Marines and just be one of us. Shit, you wonder why our Captain didn't give you permission or why they don't give you the training for a rifle, or to protect yourself? It's because you didn't sign the papers, because you are a weak link, and because you're full of yourself. Need a translator... Bullshit, they give you that job to give you something to do. And that should have been you!" He shouted, pointing to Zitco, "If you think you're so tough, then why don't you face the shit we have?! Why do you get to get all the protection and the priority when we get the bullshit and we've done more for the Federation than you could ever hope to do? Why are we expendable? ... I'll tell you why, because there are a lot of us; good people, strong people, people who can have a brothership you'll never know. There aren't many of you... Weak, undesireable... Only useful for one thing: taking up space... Piece of shit coward," Cade's words dripped with venom, his eyes were red and his face was slightly wet as he trembled in fury.

Quinten just stood there, staring at him, unsure of what to say. He shook his head, face in disbelief... He wanted to retort... To put up a shield... To defend himself in some way... There was nothing, no words... The translator nodded, "You're right... It should have been me..." He stated blankly, looking over to the dead Marine, "You think that I like that he's dead? That this war has torn apart so many families, young men... No, Cade, I don't... But thanks for thinking that just because my role, my area of specialty, makes me a worse person... I appreciate it. No, really, because the first thought that came to my head when I saw that happen was 'hmm... oh, goodie! That was FUCKING HYSTERICAL. Y'know, I really needed that pick-me-up..." Cade was shaking violently at this point, his jaw tight, Quinten was trembling as well though. They'd both been pushed to the edge, and Cade nearly exploded, shoving Quinten up against a wall.

"I could kill you right now... I swear to god that I will too... You shut your mouth right now. You didn't know him, you don't know me!" He was nearly screaming at this point, his voice only low enough not to carry everywhere. Quinten had been slammed to the wall, Cade's hands on his collar. His blood was flowing at extreme speeds by that point, and he had to take a moment to think before wheeling an arm around in front of him, the physics forcing Cade's hands off of him as he wrapped the arm around the man's wrists, quickly shoving a foot off of the wall and, using all of his body weight, shoving him into the opposite one, taking his turn in the man's face.

"Don't even fucking think of it... You think I claim to know you or Zitco? No, I don't, I never said I did, did I? You're shoving words into my mouth because you're looking for a reason to fight with me... You don't know me, so how about we agree to shut the fuck up?" He offered, releasing the Marine angrily and stepping away, picking his pistol up from the ground. He'd dropped it after the surprise attack. The translator holstered it, and Cade only tried to redeem himself by making like he pushed Quincy off of him, turning his back to the translator and looking to Naomi.

Quinten's ear sharply caught a low, very quiet rumble from several feet away... Didn't that Gurren die a little ways down the alley? He shook his head and rubbed his eyes... No, no, must be his imagination. As he looked down to make sure his pistol was loaded and everything, there was a quick flash above him as the only Gurren moved to explode into a pounce. He had been hit... a lot... blood flowed from several holes in his hide, and he appeared woozy, but still able to move. The beast was about to push his feet from the ground when a loud crack rang out in the alley... Then another. About three seconds later, there was a third.

The man stood, trembling, his pistol up, eyes wide... He'd actually never fired his gun off-range... Never needed to cover himself or somebody else... A hole in the skull of the beast, as well as one in the neck and another through the shoulder, the third shot, began to pour blood. Quincy was shaking almost violently, he couldn't hold his pistol still as it dropped to the ground. The Gurren was lying on his stomach, as it had been caught just before its pounce and its body weight forced it to slide forward slightly. The translator was staring ahead... What just happened? It was obvious that the beast had been aiming for Cade, the one who had tried to desecrate his brethren... It was smarter than they gave it credit for, at least... it didn't go for Quinten, despite how close he was, because it picked him out as the weakest link. And at that moment, he knew he was... His pistol was on the ground and his eyes looked desperate as he gazed at the massive corpse, then to Naomi, "It... It was... about to jump..." He managed to sputter out, his speech very broken and difficult to get through.

He looked to Cade for a reaction, then to Naomi... He had saved Cade's life, but... he realized it wasn't on purpose... None of it was... He didn't care that he saved the man... He had done it out of fear, out of pure reaction, not even noticing the peril that Cade was in.

[Celestial]

Naomi continued to relay orders to the team she placed within the intersection. Everything was going downhill so far. Not only was communication severed from the fleet, but the Namosis were very much present planet side. Given what had been obtained from the radio, only two more F.O.U were still operational. Realistically though, she wasn't even aware if the other squad was still operating or wiped out. The best bet right now would be to regroup, but the comms were still shaky. Could the they jam their radio waves? It didn't seem possible and was beyond terrifying. If they could cut off squads from one another, then there wasn't anything stopping the monsters from hunting and stalking the Marines unhindered.

She heard Cade and Quentin converse. Seeing nothing too alarming, she remained at Zitco's side as she kept talking into her radio. "According to the map, there should be a nearby radio tower." She pulled it up and scanned it. "Take the team and A.N.H.S and proceed to the destination. I've marked it on your map and should be updated soon."

"Received ma'am," replied Decasta. "You sure you don't want to regroup? With them being here, you should at least carry one suit with you."

She knew the Lance Corporal couldn't see her, but that didn't stop her from shaking her head. "Negative. On a search, I don't want the attention. Priority is to re-establish connection to fleet and call down the boats. Another thing, keep your eyes sharp for PDF forces. Enlist their help if you can and bunker down at the radio tower. Upon confirming the status of the other squads, we'll rendezvous there."

"All Copy. Good hunting ma'am."

Right as she released the transmit button, Naomi brandished her weapon as the crackle of pistol fire rang through the air. The ugly, grey furred frame of the Gurren slumped against the ground as she saw Quentin staring wide eyed. His hands were shaking. It was inconceivable to see that the Gurren was still alive. It was one of the first to have fallen upon the initial volley. She shifted her attention back to Quentin as she approached him slowly. She noticed that dropped fire arm and sighed inwardly, another testament to the inexperience Quentin had on the field.

"Cade." She heard his heavy breathing but continued to observe Quentin. "Make sure the things stay dead."

"...With pleasure," growled the Marine as he walked off. She saw the anger within the Marines eyes as she blinked in surprise. "God damn, no good son--"

She sighed as she stood before Quentin and picked up the pistol. She switched on the safety and handed it back to him. "You just saved our asses, translator," she said genuinely. "The first time is the worst isn't it? During my first contact with them, I was scared out of my mind." She smiled comfortingly. "After a few rounds, they die just like us. Point and shoot. Don't think."

She walked to where Zitco's body was and stripped him of his ammo and primary. After checking the gear, she walked back to Quentin and presented him with the Nocturne rifle and clips. "We haven't made contact with the fleet, so, for now, I'm invoking the conscription protocol - temporary of course." She pointed to various locations on the rifle. "Safety, clip ejection, read out. Got it? As long as the rifle is hot with the safety off, it works like your pistol ... hell of a bigger kick though. I wouldn't ask this of you if it could be helped Quentin. Think you can handle it?"

[101 Scout1]

Quentin completely ignored the angry Marine as he stormed off. He only snapped back to reality to see Naomi handing him back his pistol, which he took slowly and holstered, nodding at her words, still shaken. "Y-yes, ma'am... It was... Well, I guess... Uh... Y'know," He said with an uneasy laugh, rubbing the back of his neck. "It's definitely not s-something that a range can prepare you for..." The man looked to the rifle which was handed to him, raising an eyebrow and clearing his throat. Get it together, Quincy... This is going to get hairier... Naomi pointed to the different parts of the gun and he made a mental note of each one.

When she finished, he ejected the clip and caught it in his hand. The thing was a lot heavier than it looked, but it was nothing he couldn't handle as he shoved the magazine back into the weapon and looked at the read-out. "Thank you, ma'am..." He said with a respectful nod, "Point and shoot, right?" The man confirmed with a small smirk, pulling it tightly into his shoulder and pointing the weapon down as he evened out his breathing. It took a few moments before he was ready to go again, but he'd finally recuperated... It was easy because he hadn't actually done anything wrong, it just took some getting used to that he had to use his pistol on a living thing. There were a few shots from Cade as he double-tapped all of the bodies.

Quinten looked at Naomi again, "I think I'll be alright... I think that one went down with the initial force of his run being met by the opposition of the bullets, but maybe it was only shock that caused him to be down for a moment... Or he's smart," The man said with a furrowed brow, "and he played dead with a few shots in him..."

The man's gaze scanned back to Cade, and he thought about saying something, but he figured it would be best to not exacerbate their situation. "Ma'am... Will I be joining you or should I group with Decasta's detachment?" He asked, not wanting to fuck up his order again... It wasn't that he was a bad listener, just the situation had been a lot more eerie and dangerous than it had been before, so there was a simple missed connection before, but Quinten was a little more grounded now... He was focused, ready to move on. He smirked slightly, realizing that Marines didn't lose their gung-ho spirit throughout all of their time being enlisted because, now that he could process what just happened, he actually wanted to do it again. His hands tensed up on the gun carefully, it was amazing... absolutely addictive.