.
..
…
..
.
I was going to head to a restaurant with Lily after the meeting, but Muil. The new existence of Muil, takes precedence.
Leaving Lily in the meeting room I headed off with Muil to a more private location.
“Why did you join my squad?” I asked him, cutting straight to the chase.
“Your squad, unit 42?” he said, tilting his head slightly. I responded with a nod.
“It is now my squad, Unit 42.” He said.
“You and the rest of generation one are all being recalled. Since this task force has served its purpose well, I am to replace you to ensure its continued functionality” He responded.
“...But what of Lily?” I can't just leave her behind, can I?
“She will continue working here. What about it?” Muil responded. Tilting his head again.
“...”
“..I am staying.” I dont know why…
...why am I so against leaving?
“...That is not an option.”
He slams me against the wall and lifts me by the throat
I struggle back… But he is stronger
“ If you refuse to be recalled I will be forced to bring you back myself. My specs are far superior to generation one units.”
I can't breathe… Not good…
….At this rate…
*BANG*
Blood and electronics splatter across my face and the wall as Muil’s corpse falls limply on the ground.
Coughing my throat open on the floor I look up to see who saved me...
I look at her smiling face, holding to a 12 mm. pistol.
“Partners must always be loyal.” She says with a smile.
.
..
…
..
.
Another day dawns. Another battle comes.
After our usual morning meal and the necessary visit to the Pharmatics Hub, (Marionette has made significant progress. Being able to say some simple words. Apparently she is working hard even when I am not there.)
We finally begin making our way to our next Hub assignment.
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The job we have to deal with is as I said before, an extermination job
”Eliminate enemy force on X-09-200 Y-139-112”
Estimated foe: 10-20 Medium, 0-2 Heavies, 0-200 Lesser.
Merit: 9, profit: 155 credits (Squad bonus pay: 40%).
The enemy numbers are not too numerous, so we should be able to handle it well enough, especially since we have a new scout for the squad.
As such we depart soon after the squad meeting.
The traverse is mostly peaceful. Turns out that Johnson is a rather good scout, well able to help us avoid unnecessary confrontations along the way.
...That being said, we did have a strange chance encounter with a lone Brute that seemed to have somehow managed to get stuck under a broken truck. We shortly fixed that.
...With a lot of lead.
Soon enough though, we reached the target of the trip. A horde of Old Beasts, currently residing under a highway.
“Soo… underground?”
No. The highway was not at ground level.
“Soo… under the underground?”
...You are doing this on purpose...aren't you?
“....maybe :3”
...Yeah. She is still in my head.
Am I officially mad yet?
“Don't worry Rasmus! We're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad”
...That does not reassure me.
To get back on point. The horde is in a position that is honestly pretty advantageous for us. They are more or less in the open, whereas we can use various nearby structures for cover. They also only have 1 Heavy. A Rager.
Wow. Been awhile since I saw one of those.
After getting my squad into position, we commence the attack. With a bang.
Apparently since our last job, Samuel had acquired a single shot artillery weapon for his Walker. So I utilized it against the Rager. The shot hit squarely at the center of its “head-bundle” tearing them apart.
...Jesus christ. Samuel one shot a Rager.
“ ‘Kay I admit. That is pretty fucking cool .-. “
Not willing to be outdone, we too open fire.
Sniping at enemies as they rush forward, shielding from their fire. The usual tactic.
I feel like jobs like this have gotten far easier since the old days.
...Not that I am complaining.
Soon enough, we picked off the remaining hostiles, we had to resort to a decent amount of close-quarters-combat but there were no real injuries. Overall the job really does feel a bit lackluster in difficulty compared to what we are growing used to.
Nevertheless. We logged the encounter and began making our way back to Aurora.
On the way back though, Samuel’s core overheated… Seems like the Artillery was a bit too much on such a lightweight Walker? Or maybe the engineer who did the installation nicked something. For the time being we took a break and let it cool down for a while
Whilst waiting, I saw Alicia sitting on the ledge at the side of the highway we were using to travel back to Aurora. I decided to join her to pass the time. She noticed my arrival, but did not particularly react to it too much.
“It is pretty, is it not?” She asked me after a while.
From the ledge You could see for miles and miles ahead, the view was adorned with various broken up highways and ruined structures. Due to the lack of moisture in the air and the cloudless sky, the sunlight was hitting them just right to make strongly contrasted shadows. Making it all into nearly picturesque representation of a wasteland.
“Yeah” I just responded. I don't really mind the scenery, it is not that bad I suppose.
“Rasmus.” She said.
“Yeah?”
“...Thank you, for keeping me.”
…”You are welcome.” I responded.
“Really? That's all you came up with?”
...Shut up.
Alicia did not respond, she just edged closer and leaned against me, her little head resting against my bicep.
“...Promise you will never abandon me?”
….
That promise… I have made it once before…
This time…
“I Promise.”
I will keep it.
After all…
“We are partners. We must always be loyal and protect one another.”
...I have seen what happens if I don't.
*Pov: Natalie*
The angel praised progress…
Glad… Will not let him down…
Will work hard today as well. That way angel will help.
….Thomas… Will come back for you…
...Promise…
...Eyes are moist again?...
...It is weird.