Jack's mech touched down on the landing pad, its thrusters kicking up a swirl of dust and debris. Around him, the rest of the team followed suit, their battered forms testament to the ferocity of the battle they'd just endured.
Zara was the first to disembark, her mech's hatch hissing open to allow the rush of stale air from the subterranean hangar. She pulled off her helmet, shaking out her sweat-matted hair as she surveyed their grim surroundings.
"Home sweet home," she muttered, her voice laced with a weariness that belied her sarcastic tone.
Jack climbed down from his mech, the Progenitor artifact clutched tightly in his grip. Its pulsing energies cast an eerie glow across the hangar's shadows, bathing the team in an otherworldly radiance.
Aiden's voice crackled over the comm, his tone uncharacteristically terse. "I'm detecting unusual energy fluctuations from the command center. Readings are spiking across multiple spectrums."
Jack frowned, his brow furrowing as he glanced towards the sealed blast doors that separated the hangar from the rest of the base. "Any word from Zyloth or the others?"
There was a pregnant pause before Aiden responded, his synthetic tones laced with static. "Negative. Comm channels are dead."
A chill ran down Jack's spine as realization set in. He tightened his grip on the artifact, its power seeming to resonate with the rising tension.
Zara caught his eye, her own expression hardening as she reached for her sidearm. Around them, the rest of the team was following suit, weapons sliding from their holsters with a series of ominous clicks.
The hangar seemed to hold its breath, the shadows deepening as if in anticipation. Jack could feel the hairs on the back of his neck prickling, every instinct screaming at him that something was desperately wrong.
Fortran's gruff voice cut through the tense silence. "You think it's an ambush?"
Jack didn't answer. He didn't have to. They'd all seen enough combat to recognize the signs.
With a sharp hand gesture, he signaled for the team to take up defensive positions around the hangar's entrance. Weapons were raised, their muzzles trained on the sealed blast doors as the artifact's energies seemed to intensify.
Jack could taste the metallic tang of adrenaline, his heart pounding in his ears as the seconds ticked by with agonizing slowness. Whatever lay beyond those doors, they would face it together – or not at all.
He held its breath, the stillness broken only by the faint whine of charged weapon capacitors and the pulsing thrum of the Progenitor artifact. Jack tightened his grip, his jaw set in grim determination.
They were ready.
The hangar's blast doors groaned open with a metallic shriek, thick plumes of smoke billowing outwards. Jack tensed, his finger tightening on the trigger as the rest of the team fanned out in a defensive semicircle.
A deafening roar shattered the eerie silence, the towering form of a Zeraxian commander emerging from the smoke-choked corridor beyond. Flanked by his elite guard, the hulking alien stood easily twenty feet tall, its armored carapace glinting with razor-sharp protrusions. Waves of heat radiated from its massive form as it lumbered forward, the ground shaking with each thunderous step.
Jack's blood ran cold at the sight of the monstrosity, but he refused to let his fear show. "Open fire!" he roared, squeezing the trigger.
The hangar erupted in a blinding storm of plasma and shredded metal as the team unleashed a blistering volley. Zara's mech wove between the streams of scorching energy, its arm-mounted cannons spitting gouts of superheated munitions that ricocheted from the commander's armored hide in a shower of sparks.
The Zeraxian Commander didn't even flinch, simply raising one massive forearm as a shimmering energy shield flared to life, deflecting the barrage. Its cavernous maw split open, disgorging a bone-rattling bellow of pure, primal rage that reverberated through the hangar.
Jack grimaced, refusing to be cowed as he triggered another salvo. "Pour it on! We're not going down without a fight!"
The commander lashed out with startling swiftness, one massive pincer lancing through Zara's mech with horrific force. Her agonized scream tore through the comm as her crippled war machine crumpled, the cockpit hatch blown clear across the hangar in a twisted hunk of metal.
Aiden's frantic voice crackled with panic. "Zara's vitals are critical! She needs emergency evac now!"
Jack felt a surge of rage course through him at the sight of his fallen comrade. With a feral roar, he triggered the artifact's power, its pulsing energies enveloping his mech in an incandescent nimbus of light...
The Zeraxian Commander raised one massive pincer, the air seeming to crackle with barely contained energy. Its cavernous maw split open, disgorging a guttural snarl that reverberated through the hangar.
"Surrender the Progenitor artifacts, human," it rumbled, its voice a bass rumble that seemed to vibrate the very deck plates beneath their feet. "Resist, and you will bear witness to the full might of the Zeraxian Empire."
Jack felt his grip tightening on the pulsing artifact, its energies washing over him in a cascade of power. Around him, the rest of the team rallied, their weapons trained squarely on the towering alien monstrosity.
"Not a chance, ugly," Jack spat defiantly. "We didn't come this far just to roll over for the likes of you."
The Commander seemed to swell with rage at the insult, its armored carapace bristling with razor-edged protrusions. "Then you will be the first to taste oblivion."
With surprising swiftness, it lashed out, one pincer-tipped limb scything through the air towards Jack. He triggered his thrusters in the nick of time, his mech banking hard to narrowly avoid the devastating strike.
Zara's weakened form lay crumpled against the far hangar wall, her mech's systems flickering erratically as Aiden fought to keep her stabilized. Jack felt a surge of protectiveness course through him at the sight.
"We're not going down without a fight!" he roared, pouring everything into the artifact's power.
The hangar was bathed in a blinding nimbus of light as the Progenitor relic pulsed with renewed intensity. Jack could feel its energies surging through his mech, supercharging its systems to unimaginable levels.
With a feral battle cry, he launched himself towards the Zeraxian Commander, his weapons blazing with incandescent fury. The alien beast raised its shield in a desperate bid to deflect the onslaught, but the artifact's might proved too powerful.
The Commander's armor began to buckle and warp under the relentless barrage, thick plumes of acrid smoke billowing from countless micro-fractures. It unleashed a deafening bellow of rage and defiance as it fought to withstand Jack's assault.
Seeing an opening, Jack triggered his mech's thrusters to their maximum, barreling straight towards the reeling alien juggernaut. At the last possible second, he extended his mech's arm, the pulsing energies of the Progenitor artifact focusing into a devastatingly concentrated beam.
The superheated lance of energy lanced straight through the Commander's chest in an explosive detonation of force, punching a smoldering hole straight through its armored carapace. The towering alien froze, stunned by the incredible impact, before crashing to its knees with a thunderous boom that shook the hangar to its foundations.
Jack hovered before the mortally wounded Zeraxian, the artifact in his mech's grip pulsing with the ebbing life force of his felled foe. The Commander fixed him with one final, hate-filled glare before its eyes dimmed, and it slumped to the deck in a lifeless heap.
Silence descended over the hangar as the rest of the Zeraxian forces stood stunned, their resolve shattered by the defeat of their mightiest warrior. Jack leveled his mech's cannon squarely at them, his expression set in grim determination.
"Anyone else feel like being a hero today?"
The hangar erupted into chaos as the Zeraxian forces regrouped, their resolve emboldened by the Commander's sacrifice. Plasma fire raked across Jack's mech as he desperately weaved and bobbed, his thrusters flaring in short, controlled bursts.
"We need to bug out, now!" Aiden's voice crackled with urgency over the comm. "The base's defenses are being overridden. We're sitting ducks if we stay here!"
Jack risked a glance towards Zara's crumpled form. Two of their squad mates were dragging her clear, laying down suppressing fire to cover their retreat. His jaw clenched with determination.
"You heard him, people! Fallback to the secondary extraction point! We'll regroup and come back for the others!"
With a roar of igniting thrusters, Jack's mech surged forward, laying down a blistering hail of covering fire. Explosions blossomed across the hangar as munitions detonated, shredding through Zeraxian armor and shrapnel.
One of the enemy troopers lashed out with startling swiftness, its pincer-tipped limb impaling one of Jack's squad through the torso. The trooper's agonized scream cut off in a wet gurgle as he was flung aside like a rag doll.
"Morgan's down!" Fortran bellowed, his heavy mech unleashing a salvo of rockets that detonated in a storm of smoke and flame. "We need to move, now!"
Jack triggered another volley, grimacing as his mech's damaged systems flickered erratically. The Progenitor artifact pulsed with renewed intensity, its energies sustaining him as he forged ahead.
Plasma streaked past in blinding lances as the squad fought their way clear of the hangar. Jack could feel the deckplates trembling beneath his feet, the unmistakable vibrations of something massive heading their way.
"Incoming!" Aiden warned, his synthetic tones edged with urgency. "I'm reading a massive hostile force closing on our position!"
Sure enough, a towering shape emerged from the smoke-choked corridors, its armored bulk bristling with enough firepower to level a city block. Jack's blood ran cold at the sight of the Zeraxian siege mech as it thundered forward, heavy weapons swiveling to bear.
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"Break off!" he roared, peeling away as the first salvo detonated in an apocalyptic storm of flame and shrapnel. "We're not equipped to take that thing head-on!"
The squad scattered as the siege mech advanced, its footfalls shaking the very foundations of the base. Jack jinked and weaved, his mech's armor scoring from near misses as he fought to put distance between them and the unstoppable juggernaut.
Up ahead, the heavy blast doors leading to the secondary hangar yawned open, revealing their hard-won escape route. But the siege mech wasn't letting up, continuing its relentless advance as wave after wave of Zeraxian troopers poured in behind it.
Jack risked a glance over his shoulder at the dwindling numbers of his squad. They were bloodied and battered, but still fighting with everything they had. He felt a surge of pride, knowing that whatever happened, they would make their stand together.
With a roar, he triggered the last of the artifact's power, feeling its energies surging through his systems. If they were going down, they would go down swinging.
_______________________________________________________________________
Jack's mech weaved through the chaos, narrowly avoiding a volley of plasma fire that seared across its hull. All around them, the cavernous hangar echoed with the thunderous roar of battle as the Azores warriors fought with everything they had.
"We're being overrun!" Aiden's voice crackled with urgency. "The Zeraxians have deployed their heaviest war machines. Our weapons are barely scratching their armor!"
Jack risked a glance at the tactical display, his stomach clenching at the sheer numbers they faced. Towering Zeraxian warmechs advanced in lockstep, their heavy cannons raking the hangar with punishing barrages of munitions. Behind them, wave after wave of elite troopers surged forward, cutting down any resistance with ruthless efficiency.
An Azores warrior's mech staggered, one leg blown away at the knee by a direct hit. It crumpled, the pilot's anguished screams cutting off abruptly as a Zeraxian warmech stomped forward, its massive foot crushing the downed mech into an unrecognizable tangle of metal.
"Pull back!" Jack roared over the comm. "Regroup at the secondary defensive line! We can't win this fight out in the open!"
The surviving Azores fell into a fighting retreat, laying down suppressing fire as they backpedaled towards the hangar's rear access corridors. Jack's mech moved with them, its cannons spitting defiance at the relentless Zeraxian advance.
Zara's voice cut through the chaos, her tone strained but resolute. "I'm rerouting auxiliary power to reinforce the hangar's blast doors! We might be able to bottleneck them there!"
Sure enough, the towering adamantium doors began to grind shut with ponderous weight, their heavy bulk providing a much-needed barrier. Jack poured everything into keeping the Zeraxians at bay, his mech's armor scorched and pitted from the onslaught.
With a final, earth-shaking boom, the blast doors sealed, cutting off the bulk of the enemy forces in the hangar. For a brief moment, an eerie stillness fell over the chamber as both sides paused to regroup.
But it wouldn't last. Already, Jack could see the doors beginning to glow, thick tendrils of superheated gas seeping through the seams as the Zeraxians focused their heaviest ordnance on breaching their way through.
"They're not going to let up," Aiden warned, his synthetic tones laced with urgency. "We need to find another way out before they punch through those doors."
Jack surveyed their rapidly dwindling numbers, his jaw set in grim determination. They were bloodied and battered, but not yet beaten. With a sharp nod, he opened a channel to the rest of the squad.
"You heard the man. Fan out and locate any auxiliary exits or service tunnels. We're leaving this rat trap, one way or another!"
The warriors moved with renewed vigor, scouring every nook and cranny as the blast doors glowed white-hot, bulging inward from the relentless Zeraxian barrage. Jack kept one eye on their progress, the other locked on the failing barrier as it shuddered and groaned.
Just when it seemed the doors would give way, Zyloth's voice crackled over the comm. "Captain Burton! We've located a maintenance shaft that should lead to the lower levels! Sending coordinates now!"
A shaft entrance materialized on Jack's display, a sliver of hope in their darkest hour. He wasted no time issuing the order.
"You heard him, people! Punch that exit and get your asses moving! We're leaving this party with a bang!"
As one, the warriors turned their firepower on the indicated shaft, blasting it wide open in a hail of scorched metal. Jack laid down covering fire as they fell back through the breach, trading ground grudgingly as the hangar's main doors finally gave way with a deafening roar.
The hangar shook with the thunderous impacts of Zeraxian artillery as Jack and his warriors fell back through the breach. Smoke and fire billowed around them, the acrid stench of scorched metal and ozone burning their lungs.
Zara's mech staggered, one arm hanging useless after taking a glancing hit from an enemy warmech's plasma cannon. "I can't keep this pace!" she gasped over the comm. "My armor's compromised!"
Jack felt a surge of protectiveness well up inside him. He was not about to lose her, not after everything they'd been through. "Fall back and regroup with Zyloth's squad!" he ordered. "We'll cover your retreat!"
Even as the words left his lips, Aiden's synthetic voice cut through the chaos with an urgent warning. "Incoming priority alert! I've detected a breach in our secure comms!"
Jack's blood ran cold at the implications. A breach could mean only one thing - they had a traitor in their midst, someone leaking vital intel to the Zeraxians. He opened a channel, voice hardening to a razor's edge. "Run a trace, now! Find me that leak!"
"Working on it!" Aiden's focus was palpable even through the artificial cadence. "But whoever it is, they're good. Routing their signal through a maze of relays and-"
The AI's voice cut off abruptly as a burst of static crackled across the open channel. When it cleared, a cold, sneering tone resonated loudly.
"Looking for me, Captain?"
Jack felt his stomach drop at the sound of that voice. One he knew and trusted without question. His mind reeled, refusing to accept what his ears were telling him.
"Fortran? What the hell is going on?"
The big soldier's mech emerged from the smoke, its heavy cannons swiveling to target the survivors with chilling finality. When he spoke again, all trace of the gruff camaraderie was gone, replaced by an icy menace that sent a chill down Jack's spine.
"Just tying up a loose end, old friend. Can't let you and your merry band of rejects ruin everything I've worked for."
The full weight of the betrayal slammed into Jack like a physical blow. He refused to believe it, his voice rising in desperate denial.
"You're Progenitor, damn it! You took the oath! How could you sell us out to those soulless bastards?"
Fortran's laugh was a harsh bark of contempt. "Don't delude yourself, Jack. There are no sides here, just the strong surviving at the expense of the weak. The Zeraxians understood that from the beginning."
His mech leveled its cannons squarely at the survivors, the heavy weapons humming with charged potential. "I don't expect you to understand. You're still clinging to antiquated notions of honor and duty. In the end, they'll only get you killed."
Jack felt fury and disbelief warring within him as the mech's targeting reticles locked on with lethal intent. He'd trusted this man, bled alongside him. And now he was about to cut them all down without a shred of remorse.
"You son of a bitch," he growled through clenched teeth. "I'll see you in hell for this."
Fortran's response was a cold, mirthless chuckle as his finger tightened on the trigger.
Jack's blood ran hot as he glared at the traitorous Fortran through his mech's viewscreen. Anger and disbelief warred within him as the man he once trusted leveled his heavy cannons, ready to cut them all down without mercy.
"You're a damn fool, Fortran!" Jack roared over the open channel. "The Zeraxians will grind you into dust once you've served your purpose!"
Fortran's cold laughter grated over the comm. "I'm not the one deluding myself with misguided notions of honor, Jack. I took the path of a survivor - the only path that matters in this forsaken universe."
His finger tightened on the trigger as his targeting reticles danced across Jack's mech. "It's over. You had your chance to surrender and I might have let you live. But now?"
The thunderous report of Fortran's cannons split the air as he opened fire. Jack's mech jinked hard, its thrusters flaring as he desperately evaded the blistering salvo. All around them, the survivors scattered, returning fire in a desperate bid to drive back the traitor.
Zara's voice crackled over the comm, tinged with desperation. "Jack! We're sitting ducks out here! We need to regroup and-"
Her words cut off in a harsh cry of static as one of Fortran's shots found its mark, slamming into her mech's flank. Jack felt his heart clench as the machine staggered, thick plumes of smoke billowing from the impact site.
"Zara? Zara!" His voice cracked with panic as her comm fell ominously silent.
Fortran's sneering tones cut through the chaos like a blade. "Aw, did I hurt your little girlfriend, Jack? Don't worry, I'll make sure to put her out of her misery soon enough."
White-hot rage blazed through Jack's veins as he triggered his thrusters to full burn. With a feral roar, he launched himself straight at the traitorous mech, his weapons blazing with incandescent fury.
Fortran tried to sidestep, but Jack was relentless, pouring everything into a blistering barrage that forced the hulking machine back step by staggering step. Explosions blossomed across its armored hull as munitions found their mark, ripping through layered composites like tissue paper.
The traitor's mech shuddered, nearly overwhelmed by the onslaught, but Fortran managed to regain his footing. With a snarl of defiance, he triggered a salvo from his shoulder-mounted missile pods.
Jack saw the launches streaking in, their pale exhaust trails burning bright against the smoke-choked hangar. With a flick of his wrist, he detonated his countermeasures, filling the air with a blinding hail of chaff that decoyed the incoming warheads.
Through the obscuring clouds, Fortran's mech loomed, its weapons blazing as it tried to reacquire a targeting lock. Jack didn't give it the chance, surging forward with his last reserves of power.
His weapons found their mark in a series of shattering detonations, tearing through armor and superstructure alike. For a moment, Fortran's mech froze, its bulk wavering as cascading systems failures rippled across its frame.
Then, with an almost casual grace, the war machine toppled backwards, crashing down in a thunderous impact that shook the hangar's foundations. Smoke and dust billowed from the shattered wreckage as silence descended over the battlefield.
Jack slumped in his command couch, the adrenaline surge fading as swiftly as it had come. He tried to raise Zara again, his heart clenching when only static answered his hails.
Around them, the surviving warriors tended to their wounded, the grim reality of Fortran's betrayal settling in. Jack could only stare numbly at the traitorous wreck, the man he had once called brother now nothing more than smoldering debris amidst the rubble.
Jack's heart pounded as he scanned the smoke-filled hangar for any sign of Zara's mech. Relief washed over him when he finally spotted it, battered but still standing amidst the wreckage. The armor was scorched and rent in several places, but the cockpit appeared intact.
Without hesitation, he gunned his thrusters and closed the distance between them. His mech's heavy footfalls shook the deckplates as he dropped into a protective crouch beside Zara's damaged machine.
"Zara!" His voice crackled with urgency over the comm. "Can you hear me? Are you alright?"
For a long, agonizing moment, there was only the crackle of static in response. Then, her strained tones finally broke through the interference.
"...I'm here, Jack." She coughed, the sound worryingly wet. "Took... took a pretty bad hit back there. Suit's compromised but... but I'm still breathing."
Jack exhaled slowly, the knot of dread in his chest loosening somewhat at her words. Battered but alive - he could work with that.
"Just hang tight," he assured her, already running damage assessments. "I'm going to get you out of there."
His mech's powerful manipulator arms extended, gingerly grasping the twisted wreckage of Zara's cockpit hatch. With exquisite care, he peeled it back, exposing the cramped interior to the hangar's smoke-choked air.
Zara was slumped in her crash couch, her flight suit scorched and torn. A jagged shard of shrapnel protruded from her side, the fabric around it stained a deep crimson. But her eyes were open, still defiant despite her injuries.
"...should see the other guy," she managed with a pained smile.
Jack felt a surge of fierce pride at her resilience, mixed with a wave of protectiveness. He reached in, his mech's massive hand enveloping her small form with infinite delicacy as he lifted her free of the ruined cockpit.
"I saw him alright," he replied grimly, carefully cradling her against his armored chest. "But first thing's first - we need to get you patched up."
Zara tried to protest, but Jack was already turning away, leaving the hangar's wreckage behind as he made for the secondary exit tunnels. His stride was sure and steady, undeterred by the flashes of weapons fire or the distant rumble of artillery in the upper levels.
Zyloth's grizzled features appeared in his viewscreen, the Azore leader's expression etched with concern. "We've secured a triage point deeper in the tunnels," he informed Jack urgently. "But you'll need to make your way there quickly. That traitor's actions have drawn the Zeraxians like bloodseekers."
Jack's jaw tightened grimly at the reminder of Fortran's betrayal. Right then, he couldn't bring himself to think too deeply about it - the raw sense of violation cut too deeply. All that mattered was getting Zara to safety.
"Understood," he replied curtly. "Transmit the coordinates and have your medics standing by. We're coming in hot."
With those words, he triggered his thrusters to full burn, Zara clutched protectively against his armored bulk. Though the path ahead was fraught with peril, his conviction burned bright.
No matter what nightmares the Zeraxians unleashed, he would not falter. Not until Zara was out of harm's way.
Not until he had a chance to make things right.