Galaxy on Fire (Closed)

[La_Reina]

Onix stopped as so much went off around her. She wasn't a warrior. Hell she wasn't even careered yet. She was a kid. A kid who had said she could get to the key and see her people live. This wasn't supposed to be her fight and she didn't know these people. She didn't want to leave, because she didn't want to be alone, but she didn't like all this violence. Onix was not paying attention to the Earthians when one, Edge, walked up and kissed her. She blinked caught totally by surprise. She couldn't believe it. She was married?! Onix turned her head to Edge, but he was already gone.

Onix turned to the captain and shook her head. He was so confident in his team. He didn't know the Veraxtors. They weren't going to be lured away. Maybe half of them would be, but his crew and her new husband were basically dead. If one or two survived it would be a miracle. The Veraxtors were the guard dogs of the High Command for a reason. No one ever survived when they attacked.

Onix hated waiting. She didn't know how long 5 minutes were and figured someone would let her know when it was time to go. They were hidden, but she knew that the Veraxtors were going to find them soon if they didn't get moving. They weren't notorious for overlooking things. "Captain. I want to ask you. Why - how - I am honored and will remember Edge always. I would have liked to get to know him more before the marriage, but will not desire another ever. Our lips have been sealed."

Onix would have said more, but a loud zap had her turning and going invisible for a moment. "Be right back." She ran out of the room and around the corner. A team of 5 was slowly coming down the hall. They had on reflection glasses meaning they could see her in her cloak mode. She turned and headed back.

"We can't wait for your 5 minutes. We need to go now. This way through this side panel. You're going to go straight. There's a part that looks like you're going to run off it. You will. You'll fall straight down, but you'll land on Gorsills." She looked around seeing worried faces. "Soft very very soft. We go now. Now!" Her whisper became sharp as she started ushering people and picked up the captain wrapping his arm around her shoulders. He wasn't as heavy as Edge. Onix smiled. Her husband she should say.

 

[JadeKnight]

Maverick blinked for a moment at Onix's mention of marriage and Edge. He opened his mouth for a moment, and then shook his head. Now wasn't the time to ask question. During their wait, the medic Amber had been preparing some surprises for any intruders. She didn't think that they could wait without uninvited guests, much like Onix.

When Onix ran down the hall, she picked up the three grenades that she had pulled from her backpacker. She looked at the captain for a moment.

"We have rats it seems. Though it's also about time we got out of here. I'll go last to leave them a present."

He just nodded as Onix returned. Amber held two grenades in her left hand, and the third in her right. The two grenades had a string tied between them which she held in her teeth. As Onix helped the captain out, she pulled the string and tossed the grenades down the hallway. The third followed less than a second later. She punched the door shut and kicked the control panel, breaking it.

"Nothing that can't be fixed later."

She dropped down the escape route shortly after.

One of the grenades was a concussion grenades, which should damage whatever eardrums they had, plus the bouncing sound waves would probably do internal damage as well. The second grenades was a poison grenades, but she didn't know what effect that would have on their species. The final grenade was a fragmentation grenade, the shrapnel piercing the their armor quite nicely.

 

[La_Reina]

Onix didn't know what the fruit would do in the woman's hands, but she didn't care. These Earthians had weapons she hadn't noticed or seen before. She ran passing some of the other soldiers with the Captain huggled closely to her side. She kept running and they moved forward even when there was nothing solid under their feet. It was a second before gravity claimed them and they were following back. Onix shifted her body weight and the captain so that they would land on their bums and back. She hoped she didn't land on someone. The softness made them bounce a bit before she scrambled to her feet and pulled the captain to his.

"I will jog so you all will run fast. Do not stop. We are going to run into the deep, lost woods. Keep up. If you get lost we will never find you. There are things that live in the woods that will eat you. Do not engage. Even I can't help you fight them. Just run around, under, over whatever them. We can't stop til we get to the other side." Onix nodded to each one making they understood the grave situation. She was not going to stop for them. She was not going back for them. She turned to the captain and whispered in his ear. "Be prepared to lost a majority of your people here. I hope the others including my husband knows where to find us."

Onix took off at a jog. Even jogging she was pressing the soldiers at a fast pace. The forest loomed high like an impenetrable wall. She ran into it without slowing down or stopping. She noticed a few fell back feeling the ominous presence, but they picked back up. She kept going and saw a few soldiers actually pull ahead of her. Fear and adrenaline were spurring them faster and she was relieved. She heard a roar and ignored it. It was the monsters in the woods realizing 'food' was in their home turf. She saw someone stumble and with her other hand she easily pulled them to her feet and had them keep running.

Onix turned in time to see something snap out and grab a soldier before dragging it into the brush. Onix didn't stop. The soldier was gone. Onix didn't turn her head back to see, but she heard other screams of terror and panic as other soldiers stumbled, fell, were taken, or stopped for whatever reason. She had told them to be fast and light; to move and not stop. Stopping would kill them.

Onix made it out the other side and put the captain down. They were safe for now. She waited and a few others came out. The looks on their faces were ones she didn't want to remember so she stopped looking at their faces and counted who were emerging. She was at 3 and it wasn't looking better.

 

[JadeKnight]

Once Maverick and Onix stopped, he ate a blueberry. His leg was healing to the point of being able to put weight on it, but not much more. A few moments later, three arrows flew rapidly over them. The arrows struck two wasps that had emerged to attack them. One dropped to the ground dead while the second one was wounded. The seconds one was killed a moment later by a laser blast.
Reimi and the medic came running up shortly after, followed by the two engineers. The six of them were all that remained alive after the run. Reimi collapsed her bow and placed it in the carrier on her back at the waist. She looked at the group before turning to Onix with a sad look on her face.
"Why did we have to run blindly through the forest when we had a better option? We could have used the APC back there, but I'm sure we wouldn't have been as fast as you. We would have been better protected and no losses."
Maverick nodded in agreement for a moment.
"Reimi is right. We are no better here in the forest than we were on the ship. Tell me you do know where some shelter is so that we aren't exposed out in the open like this."

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Edge and the rest of Alpha team had been on a wild goose chase for twenty minutes, only alive due to some crazy driving by Pvt. Zimmerman. They had dodged several blasts, but Edge knew their luck wouldn't hold out much longer.
He lifted up the x-ray rail-gun and looked at the enemy ship. He didn't see any signs of movement within the ship, only flashes from small explosions within the ship. He hmmed and frowned for a moment before putting the gun down.
"We're being chased by a ghost ship, guys."
"What?!"
"The ship is chasing us and firing while on autopilot. I don't see any signs of life."
"You sure Edge?"
"Yes."
The was silence on the comm for a few moments before Smith spoke.
"Everybody hold on now!"
Edge didn't have time to do anything but grab at the tailgate as the truck swung a hard right right into the forest and came to a halt shortly after. He frowned as he watched a large chunk of plasma hit the ground where they had been only moments before. He hopped out of the truck, followed by Cox who was carrying a large box and dropped it on the ground.
"What's that Pvt.?"
Smith point ed at the box. Cox opened it and pulled out a rocket that looked like it had a small camera on the tip of the warhead.
"Image recognition rockets Corporal. They lock onto the target via camera images. Give them a try Edge."
"Alright, I'll give it a try."
He took the rocket and loaded the AT-4 with it. He carried it to the edge of the road, peeking through some bushes as the hovering ship. The main cannon was moving back and forth, searching for targets. A mantis walked into view, catching the targeting system. The plasma charge slowly built up, moving with the mantis as it disappeared into the forest. At the end of the cycle, the shot was fired. The plasma ripped through the trees as it left a path of destruction before destroying it's target.
He shivered with fear for a moment before steeping out into the middle of the path. He lifted up the weapon, aiming for the main cannon. He waited till twenty seconds were left in the cannon's firing cycle before firing the rocket. The rocket hit the lip of the cannon, destroying it. Without an outlet, the charge continued until it reached critical mass. Without a outlet, the energy exploded back into the ship. The released energy ripped the ship apart, large chunks flying everywhere. Smith yanked Edge back into the safety of the forest before a large chunk of metal struck where Edge had been. The microbackpacker beeped softly, unheard during the commotion.
"Thanks for saving me."
"No problem."
Smith smiled as he shook Edge's hand for a moment before turning to the rest of the team.
"So where do we hide?"
Edge grinned for a moment.
"We can hide in the caves Reimi and I foundt earlier."
Smith nodded.
"Lead the way."

 

[La_Reina]

Onix turned to Reimi and shook her head. She was about to answer before the Captain backed up his person. Onix understood the need to back up your subordinates, but for some reason that made it clear to her she was the last of her kind. They had each other. She had no one. Not even her new husband. She prayed to the Mother Gods he survived. "Look at my forest. Now look at your motorized transportation device. It wouldn't have fit. But lets say you were able to maneuver it so it would. The noise alone would have brought more beasts and ones with armor that even I can't attack and win. If you moved faster more of you would have survived. Don't stop. Don't look back. Be fast and nimble. Your transporter would have gotten us all killed and ripped to shreds. I said most would die and a few would live. A lot more of you lived than I thought."

Onix hated to disappoint them. She knew about this side of the forest only because the warriors took this rite of passage. As a child she had stupidly followed her crush and survived. This didn't make her a warrior just stupid. She didn't know what went beyond. She just knew this part was uncharted and even the Veraxtors would think twice about coming here. They would still come, but this gave them time. Onix walked away from the inquiries and sat down on a large boulder. She looked out over the land which had a lot of hills, mountains, and more forests.

"We wait for your other team. They were to meet us here, yes?"

 

[JadeKnight]

The cave system was only a mile from the battle site. They had the truck hidden in a niche further from the cave opening when Edge noticed the micro-backpacker beeping at him. He hit a button and the display lit up showing a boxed message.
Received 1x Flame Sword
1x Plasma mini-gun
He tilted his head for a moment and chuckled.
"To the victor goes the spoils."
He cleared the message before helping set up a makeshift camp.

They spent the next two days watching the skies. They could see the Veraxtor ships streaking heavily across the sky high in the clouds during the two days. By the afternoon of the third day, activity had dropped drastically. Edge had noticed one of the scout ships had been buzzing the Veraxtor wreckage from their first day in refuge, since the afternoon of the second day.
He frowned and grabbed the x-ray scoped rail gun, studying the ship with it when it stopped to hover at one point of the wreckage. He grinned for a moment and scrambled down to Corporal Smith.
"Let's capture a ship."
Smith blinked for a moment.
"What? and are you out of your mind?"
"Just listen. We can use that ship to move around under their noses and rescue the others. I counted five on the ship. We can setup an ambush near the wreckage and strike them quick."
"Alright, how?"

An hour later, Edge was hidden in the crown of a tree near the site of the previous engagement. Four of the five security team were hidden in the bushes along the edge of the site. Two minutes later, Pvt. Cox came roaring up in the truck, honking the horn as well. The noise was enough to get the attention of the scout ship, which hovered a hundred yards from the truck before landing. The ramp lowered down as Cox exited the truck and stood beside it. Four unarmored Veraxtors came out in a v-formation, weapons raised. They closed the distance slowly, cautious of the strange alien. They were twenty-five feet from Cox when the front one fired. A laser bolt sheared through Cox's left side of his collar bone. The pain was intense enough to cause the soldier to pass out, sprawled out on the ground.
The front Veraxtor nudged the unconscious soldier and seemed satisfied when he didn't move. Edge watched him hiss what seemed to be their form of a communicator and then the group began moving back towards the ship. The lone pilot moved to the communication console and spoke for several seconds after receiving the lead Veraxtor's message. Edge waited till the pilot moved back towards his chair before sniping him. The powerful shot was also enough to knock out the communication system. Edge spoke softly into his radio.
"Now."

Half an hour later the security team had possession of a Veraxtor scout ship, which was now hidden in a cavern just big enough to hold it. The truck was re-hidden and Cox was being tended to in the camp. The planet's wildlife had made quick work of the dead Veraxtors. Edge continued to watch the skies, but all activity seemed to have ceased in their area. Zimmerman, a pilot as well, had managed to shut off the engines and was spending his time trying to figure out the ship's controls. Since the communication system was shot, any chance at the ship being located was gone as well, since the locator system had been tied to the communications as well.

 

[La_Reina]

It had been 3 days and Onix didn't want to leave. It seemed no one wanted to leave, but it was looking doubtful that the rest of the crew was going to show up. Plus they were on the other side of the forest. To their fronts was the dangerous forest to their backs was an expanse of land with no cover. No one was ready to make a run for it just yet. It was like a suicide mission. Onix had been asked repeated already why she had brought them here. It seemed like a good idea and if they could just run fast enough they could find safety in 2 or 3 days also just cloak when they got scared. Apparently, Earthians did not have this capability.

Onix sighed. They couldn't stay like this anymore. 2 more people had been grabbed at night by the vegetation but they couldn't walk across the barren landscape either. She would be a sitting duck with the Earthians who seemed quite weak and vulnerable. The only reason they seem to scrape by is because they were constantly being underestimated. Soon they won't be and this little rag tag group would be captured or killed. Onix didn't want to be a part of the group. But what to do?

 

[JadeKnight]

Day four was uneventful for Edge and the team, no signs of activity except for the planet's native wildlife going about their business outside the cave. Zimmerman spent his time fiddling around in the ship, trying to figure out everything without knowing the Vex's language. Ship design for the controls wasn't any different than what he was used to. Cox's wound was mostly healed with the supply of blueberries they had, but it was running low as well.

On the fifth morning Edge was woke up by Smith.
"Come on, time to get up sleep beauty. I want to be ready to head back to the LZ around noon. After making sure everything is secure, you can call everyone back...Those that managed to survive anyway."
Edge yawned as he nodded, getting up and dressing. He hoped everyone had survived, but he knew the chances of that was pretty slim. They had landed unprepared on the planet and it had cost them so far. It had been a bad start for Earth.

Zimmerman piloted the scout ship back with most of the team aboard. Cox drove the truck, with Edge riding shotgun. The noise of their vehicles was enough to keep the wildlife away, leaving them without any incidents. However even without the slow down, it was just after dusk when they made it back to the landing zone with Onix's ship.

Edge and Smith swept through Onix's ship while the rest of the team swept the landing zone. The ship was undisturbed despite the earlier attack, with only the charred and blasted remains in the med-bay hallway to show any signs of the attack. Edge smiled for a moment.
"I guess our plan worked pretty well. I guess they think that they got us and left the planet. What do you think Cpl?"
"Hmm...Perhaps. Either that or they didn't think we were worth the effort to hunt down anymore. Let's hope it's both."

They found the rest of the team going through the LZ, gathereing up anything that could be of possible use. Smith nodded and looked at Edge.
"Make the call. I would say wait for them near the scout ship. We don't want them to bolt at the sight of it."
"Sure thing."

Edge pulled up the radio and began cycling through the ten channels, repeating a message once per channel.
"This is Edge. Return to the LZ ASAP. No sign of danger."

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Everyone's radio crackled with static as they suddenly came to life.
"szzhh....Edge....return....LZ....No...danger..."

Reimi perked up from a tree she had climbed up in earlier.
"I think we just got the all clear guys."