Edward Vates – Somewhere North-West of Sovereign
A great black worm tore through the landscape, leaving a trail of fire and destruction in its wake. A great city laid dead, its remains scattered across the mountainside whilst rivers of blood sept through and pooled at the base. Great waves crashed against the shorelines, threatening to engulf the land. An ancient temple sat atop a mountain, a long forgotten place of sanctuary. And man surrounded by the corpses of familiar faces looked directly ahead with glowing white eyes, “I know you’re watching me. We’re the same you and I.”
Vates awoke with a shallow gasp but froze as he found himself trapped and blinded. He was kneeling on a metal surface with his hands cuffed behind his back, and the sack over his head allowed him to see only a little of his surroundings. ‘Shit, shit!’ he thought inwardly, “Where am I? Janus, what’s happening?”
“We were knocked out during the battle Edward. We were trying to get to the shuttle but it left without us.” replied Janus, who for first time seemed to feel a sense of betrayal. Everything quickly came back to Vates. He had been trying to fight off soldiers whilst the others fought Nekros, but when everyone begun to retreat so did he. He nearly made it to the shuttle when they flew off without him. The last thing he saw was a soldier smashing the butt of a rifle into his face.
“It doesn’t matter now. We need to focus on the situation at hand.” Vates slowly turned his head, trying his best not to make any sudden movements and attract attention. He appeared to be a transport shuttle and could see that the large back shuttle was open with a fire lit just outside. It was dark and they were camped. “Looks like everyone’s outside; probably trying to recover from the battle. Might be able to sneak out of this mess” thought Vates, glad to be in a situation more suited to his skills. He tried to use his kinetic gauntlet to break the cuffs but the soldiers had clearly removed his cores after capturing him; without them they were merely cold heavy gloves. It wasn’t too much of a setback however as he leant back slightly and reached for pin hidden in the sole of his boot. It took him about two minutes to pick the lock after which he quickly removed the sack from his head. Across the bay from him were two more mercs and the mysterious woman, all hooded and cuffed to the side as he was. Judging by the way they were slumped he assumed that they were still unconscious. There was no one else on the ship (at least not in sight) but plenty of silhouettes milled around the fire outside.
“Even with those three do you really think we stand a chance at fighting?” asked Janus as Vates recovered a combat knife from a nearby belt holster.
“I don’t plan on fighting, I plan on running” Vates retorted as he quickly crept up to the cockpit door. He could hear two men on the other side talking. After a few deep breaths he burst through the door, using the element of surprise to quickly stab and kill the two pilots. The first he dispatched by stabbing him in the spine, whilst the second received a slash across the neck. It was executed with brutal speed and neither were able to make a sound loud enough to attract reinforcements. Vates shut the door and placed his back to it before slowly sliding down to floor. He stared at the two men for a few minutes, shocked at what he had just done. This was the first time that he had a chance to reflect upon the battle earlier and the lives that he had taken; at the time he wasn’t thinking, he was just acting, slicing and stabbing away as instincts and adrenaline took over. But now his hands were shaking and he felt his stomach squeeze and twist, its contents rising up his throat. “W-what I have I-” his shallow whisper was cut off by his uneasy breathing and a stream of tears.
“You killed- no. We killed them. We are in this together. This was unavoidable, and I am sorry Vates, but right now we need to focus.” Janus subtly took slight control and wiped his eyes before dragging him to his feet. Vates swallowed hard and tried to regain some composure. He took a seat in one of the pilot’s chairs and took a quick look at the layout of the controls. He had flown similar shuttles in the past and had no doubts he could get them out of there. As he turned on the engine he pressed a button that caused the shuttle door to begin shutting.
“They won’t try shoot us down. For one they’re in the blast radius. And I can’t imagine they would want to blow up their only means of transport.” Muttered Vates as the soldiers outside started banging on the shuttle, shouting various threats. A couple fired off warning shots but it wasn’t enough to vex Vates. Within moments the shuttle lifted off and began heading in the opposite direction to where the military gps was directing; he wanted to get as far away from the military as possible.
A great black worm tore through the landscape, leaving a trail of fire and destruction in its wake. A great city laid dead, its remains scattered across the mountainside whilst rivers of blood sept through and pooled at the base. Great waves crashed against the shorelines, threatening to engulf the land. An ancient temple sat atop a mountain, a long forgotten place of sanctuary. And man surrounded by the corpses of familiar faces looked directly ahead with glowing white eyes, “I know you’re watching me. We’re the same you and I.”
Vates awoke with a shallow gasp but froze as he found himself trapped and blinded. He was kneeling on a metal surface with his hands cuffed behind his back, and the sack over his head allowed him to see only a little of his surroundings. ‘Shit, shit!’ he thought inwardly, “Where am I? Janus, what’s happening?”
“We were knocked out during the battle Edward. We were trying to get to the shuttle but it left without us.” replied Janus, who for first time seemed to feel a sense of betrayal. Everything quickly came back to Vates. He had been trying to fight off soldiers whilst the others fought Nekros, but when everyone begun to retreat so did he. He nearly made it to the shuttle when they flew off without him. The last thing he saw was a soldier smashing the butt of a rifle into his face.
“It doesn’t matter now. We need to focus on the situation at hand.” Vates slowly turned his head, trying his best not to make any sudden movements and attract attention. He appeared to be a transport shuttle and could see that the large back shuttle was open with a fire lit just outside. It was dark and they were camped. “Looks like everyone’s outside; probably trying to recover from the battle. Might be able to sneak out of this mess” thought Vates, glad to be in a situation more suited to his skills. He tried to use his kinetic gauntlet to break the cuffs but the soldiers had clearly removed his cores after capturing him; without them they were merely cold heavy gloves. It wasn’t too much of a setback however as he leant back slightly and reached for pin hidden in the sole of his boot. It took him about two minutes to pick the lock after which he quickly removed the sack from his head. Across the bay from him were two more mercs and the mysterious woman, all hooded and cuffed to the side as he was. Judging by the way they were slumped he assumed that they were still unconscious. There was no one else on the ship (at least not in sight) but plenty of silhouettes milled around the fire outside.
“Even with those three do you really think we stand a chance at fighting?” asked Janus as Vates recovered a combat knife from a nearby belt holster.
“I don’t plan on fighting, I plan on running” Vates retorted as he quickly crept up to the cockpit door. He could hear two men on the other side talking. After a few deep breaths he burst through the door, using the element of surprise to quickly stab and kill the two pilots. The first he dispatched by stabbing him in the spine, whilst the second received a slash across the neck. It was executed with brutal speed and neither were able to make a sound loud enough to attract reinforcements. Vates shut the door and placed his back to it before slowly sliding down to floor. He stared at the two men for a few minutes, shocked at what he had just done. This was the first time that he had a chance to reflect upon the battle earlier and the lives that he had taken; at the time he wasn’t thinking, he was just acting, slicing and stabbing away as instincts and adrenaline took over. But now his hands were shaking and he felt his stomach squeeze and twist, its contents rising up his throat. “W-what I have I-” his shallow whisper was cut off by his uneasy breathing and a stream of tears.
“You killed- no. We killed them. We are in this together. This was unavoidable, and I am sorry Vates, but right now we need to focus.” Janus subtly took slight control and wiped his eyes before dragging him to his feet. Vates swallowed hard and tried to regain some composure. He took a seat in one of the pilot’s chairs and took a quick look at the layout of the controls. He had flown similar shuttles in the past and had no doubts he could get them out of there. As he turned on the engine he pressed a button that caused the shuttle door to begin shutting.
“They won’t try shoot us down. For one they’re in the blast radius. And I can’t imagine they would want to blow up their only means of transport.” Muttered Vates as the soldiers outside started banging on the shuttle, shouting various threats. A couple fired off warning shots but it wasn’t enough to vex Vates. Within moments the shuttle lifted off and began heading in the opposite direction to where the military gps was directing; he wanted to get as far away from the military as possible.
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