"Squad one and two you're on northeast tower and northeast walls. Squads four and five southeast. One runner each Three, you're with me." Elias looked down with pride as he saw his troops ready for another fight. "There are another couple of hundred Swarm out there headed for us and a bunch of recruits we need to save. Let's go people."

His simple instructions given Elias switched his comm to only squad three.

"Right then, time for you to prove you're the top dogs." He said. "I need you to join me on the southern edge of the ziggurat as soon as possible. You'll know where you're needed." With that he sprinted at the eastern wall, leaping it in one bound with his armour boosted.

"You heard him," said Jim taking the lead, "let's go. Last one there owes everyone a drink." He ran in the direction Elias had left. With a limited boost skill he was only able to jump up onto the parapet before hauling himself over the wall to drop down and start running again.

Elias could see on the map that remained layered over his vision on the left side that squad three were following as instructed. He boosted himself once more to land on the top of the lower level of the ziggurat. There was only so much of his battery he was willing to use on getting to the recruits but he needed speed over caution at this point. This was how he found himself dropping down twin blades in hand to smash like a tornado into the side of the leftover Swarm from the west that were attacking the recruits. His unexpected arrival turned a stalemate into a slaughter. He ignored the numerous bodies that showed the losses the group had incurred and focused instead on the eighteen recruits that had survived this far.

Something clicked in his head as he mentally took command of the troops. He pushed past the previous barrier of twenty-five under his control and added those in front of him to the twenty-three already acknowledged by his neural link. His smile was the only part of his face they would be able to see under the visor that made up the faceplate of his helmet.

"Men. women. You have been abandoned by your commander. I am Elias Thompson of Nidus, the company in charge of Libertas. Behind you are more Swarm, the reason your superiors have fled the field. To survive this day I need you to follow my instructions to the word." He hoped by talking rather than ordering they would understand and comply. The longer it took for them to trust him the harder this would be. As he spoke he noticed squad three coming round the edge of the ziggurat to reach towards their position.

"Squad three defensive line to the east." He ordered outlining positions on the map. They were currently stood to the west of the southern entrance to the ziggurat. His plan meant moving towards the threat before they could turn back to safety. Trying to outrun the Swarm in the open would be suicide. They opened fire as the Swarm entered range the first Swarm falling as the others ignored the damage and closed in on their position.

"Three-five, Kyla. Show the recruits through to the western exit of the zig." Elias said taking the furthest end of the defensive line. "All switch to melee." He added as the Swarm crossed the ten metre mark.

He ducked behind his shield to brace as the Swarm in front of him thrust down one of its limbs in and opening attack. His attention was drawn to the hack and slash of the fight as he tried to hold the flank against growing numbers of Swarm, far too many for his five man line to hold. One slipped past and carried on over his shoulder away from the group. A momentary glance showed him a single recruit that had ignored the command to enter the ziggurat and was sprinting alone towards Libertas. He was pulled back into the fight before he saw the encounter but there was little guessing the outcome.

"We're in." Kyla called over the comms.

"Roll left." Came the command from Elias switching to the purely defensive double shield knowing he only had to hold for a short time longer.

The line moved and Elias moved with it. The Swarm in front of him confused for just long enough for him to dodge the attack it had lined up and help to block a limb directed at Ken who was stood next to him. They quickly repeated the process with each member of squad three rolling in to the dark opening that only a few days ago would have held death rather than salvation in this situation.

"Covering the retreat." Said Elias.

"Left shoulder position." Said Jim.

"Right shoulder taken." Said Ken.

"In support if needed." Added Jared.

They had drilled clearing tunnels and rooms only a few times the last couple of days and had all added the map of the ziggurat to their interface.

"We're going to need to split at the second fork, otherwise they can get round us." Jared had been directing the group as they moved slowly back through the ziggurat.

Their flashlights were the only light and not even Elias was immune to the effect that the highlighted features of approaching Swarm had on morale. It was a retreating nightmare needing to cover corners and alternate directions with only their small group. Coming on an open room they needed to set up covering fire before allowing the last man to break and sprint towards them. Elias was that last man with only a single flashlight left picking out the limbs and maws of Swarm as they darted in to try and break his defence. He steeled himself by thinking of the recruits he was protecting. The only one who could ensure they would get back and out of this in one piece.

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Finally they made it to the area that Mouse had been dissecting for their defences. The light spilling in from the hole in the ceiling was no longer that of full day but was enough to dull the fear that had been rising in them all.

"Can you hold them?" A familiar voice came from above them.

"Mouse, is that you?" Elias could not break his concentration to look up and check.

"It's me, we have a plan to block the passage. If you hold there we can stop them following you." Mouse said.

Elias held position, he ducked behind the two handed shield that had been protecting him, both Ken and Jim shooting over his shoulders, no longer trying to conserve their batteries. One, then two Swarm fell to the barrage taking the pressure off Elias. As the next Swarm approached a loud thunk and cloud of dust erupted in the passage. First one then two blocks fell down from the edge of the roof above. More fell as Mouse heaved enough to fully block the space. The blocks started to shift as the Swarm applied pressure to the blockage in their way.

"Step back guys." Shouted down Mouse. He waited for them to move before throwing down a handful of Swarm glands they had harvested. They broke on contact with the blocks seeping into the space between and hardening the material into one fused mass. Two more gland sacs followed aiming to fuse the mass to the walls of the corridor.

The rest of the fight passed in a blur for Elias. He returned to find a ladder positioned against their eastern wall and the new recruits climbing in to the compound. They were shell shocked and made no attempt to join the defence and Elias allowed them to instead move over to the med building. Seventeen left out of over a hundred and escaping certain death they were in no position to fight again. He left them with Slim, the most capable hands they had.

The Swarm met the combined and focused fire of nine of his troops positioned around each of the towers. The layered defences and position of the ziggurat that controlled their approach made the defence seem easy compared to what had come before. Along with the more favourable circumstances two of the runners had repositioned Oberon's trike to mount it on the eastern wall. It was unable to match the fire it had produced when attached to the Crystal but gave supporting fire that easily matched that of a single squad. Squad five's runner Ty took over the responsibility of supplying it with batteries and was so efficient that the cannons only had to stop when they overheated.

At some point one of the runners had found the elite soldier lying in the compound and brought him to the med tent. He was unconscious and joined Harmon on stretchers. Slim watched him with suspicion as she started to debrief those that arrived back with Elias.

Rather than fighting Elias found himself back on the command tower as night fell. The settlement floodlights had turned on well before the sun left the sky allowing the troops shooting down at the Swarm continue without worrying about the failing light.

"You are a man of many skills." Oberon had been staying out of the fighting on Slim's instruction to ensure he was not seen or listed as a member of the defensive force. That and the fact that he was not a fighter, not really.

"I'm just doing what I must." Replied Elias. He had not seen or heard Oberon come on to the balcony of the command tower but was too tired to be surprised by much at this point.

"We both know that's not true." Oberon sat with his back against the wall panel behind him. "Jed had high hopes for you, talked about you whenever he had the chance."

Elias grunted at this. He had only recognised his uncle's affection when it was too late to do anything about it. Despite that he longed to know more of the man that had caused all the turmoil of this last chapter of his life.

"How did you know him?" He asked, watching his overview with half an eye. The Swarm numbers were reducing and they were still held at the last ditch before the wall. The fight was over and he could risk turning his attention elsewhere.

"Your Uncle was always an interesting man. I met him first when he was working for his first company under contract. He had already earned the money to pay his way free but was interested in the work they were doing, as was I. They were experimenting over the Crust, trying to learn more about it and the relationship between Crust and Swarm. At the time the preferred theory was that Swarm produced the Crust." Oberon talked softly, the story flowing in a way that Elias did not want to stop him to question the wording, to his knowledge the Crust was part of the Swarm.

"Do you know what the Crust actually does? It takes the energy of the planet and captures it. Captures it and concentrates it to form the minor and major shards that we take and use for power. You let this energy concentrate enough and a Crystal is formed. A Crystal that is linked with the power of the planet and has the power to change the very environment in a given area. Giving great benefits to whoever finds that Crystal and chooses to use it. This company felt it was odd that we could get the benefits from the Crust as easily as the Swarm could. They purportedly had evidence the Crust existed without Swarm and vice versa. Their theory was that the Swarm were simply a parasite that made the most of the benefits the Crust provided." He stopped to look at Elias for a moment. "Have you ever wondered why the Swarm only build above the surface?" He asked. Elias shrugged, not sure an answer was what Oberon was looking for.

"Well this company thought there was another purpose to the Crust. They had ideas, perhaps it was an independent organic creature. Other ideas held their attention at different times but me and Jed had a favourite, that the Crust was designed to terraform planets. Anyway, back to the company. They were the ones who had worked out how to use an unattuned Crystal to build settlements with a protective dome. This was the genius that your uncle and me were working with. We were getting somewhere too. That was until the owner of the company died. His research division was disbanded and we were sent elsewhere. The fire had been lit though for both me and Jed. We were never satisfied again with the explanation that the Swarm spread the Crust and then used it to propogate. There was something more to the story. That is why he called me here, to continue our studies. He had found something before he disappeared." Oberon's story faded out, speeding up as he gave the impression he spoke more to Elias than he had to another person in a long time.

"Why are you telling me all this?" Asked Elias. Still giving a portion of his attention to the state of his troops who were now waiting on the walls to check the final Swarm had been dealt with.

"Because if Jed found something on this planet then it's probably still here." Replied Oberon. "To find out what that is I am going to need help, your help. You aren't just doing what you must, you are doing what you can. You are making choices. I want you to choose to help me uncover the secrets of the Crust."

Elias looked over. The battle had finally finished and he caught up with the conversation he had only been paying some of his attention to. He had his settlement despite the odds, had a close team of support to build it and five squads of recruits who needed time and energy to develop. He had another eighteen men he didn't even know and hundreds of Swarm to salvage and process for loot. He had a settlement to expand and grow and a company to build. Despite all this now all he could think of was following in the footsteps of his Uncle and take up the offer of a man he had only met earlier that day.

He thought of Slim and Mouse and the journey they had together and couldn't help to draw a parallel. Wasn't that how he had ended up here? By meeting a friend of his Uncle and being dragged into an adventure not because he must, but because he could. Because it felt like the right thing to do and, if he was honest, in part because his Uncle would have wanted it. For now though there was only one thing he could think to say.

"It's late Oberon, I think the first thing we need is a good night's sleep."