December 13, 2041
The first shot rings out as inside the compound Julia, along with three other TML members, accompany her as she makes her way through the building with Luna held tightly near her chest.
"Jul! I'm scared! Where's Smith?!" Luna asks, her voice quivering.
Julia ignores the question and takes a turn into a hallway but stops in her tracks when she comes face to face with a squad of PMCs.
"Stoyat'!" One of them raises their weapon but is shot down by Julia's guards.
Julia runs into a small room with Luna as a firefight erupts in the hallway.
"Luna, cover your ears and stay quiet. Can you do that for me?" She says.
Luna nods and sits in a corner with her knees up to her chest and her hands covering her ears.
Julia peeks out of the room to see that one of her guards is already down with the other two suppressed behind a corner. Taking a deep breath, she unholsters her pistol and fires a shot that immediately drops another of the assailants.
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A bullet traces over Smith's head as he retreats with his men. After the first shot, Smith and his guys were quickly overrun and now on the run from the contractors shortly behind.
He reaches for his radio and presses the button.
"I'm on my way! Keep them busy!" He yells over the radio to Julia but gets no response back.
He runs faster now and takes a turn around a wall and heads directly to the center building. He's all alone as the rest of his men have scattered in different directions. Ater finally reaching the door to the building and frantically entering the code, he manages to slip in just as another barrage of bullets impact the wall next to him.
Locking the door behind him, he continues to Julia's last position as fast as possible. The door was reinforced with steel, but Smith knows that it would only slow them down temporarily.
Drawing nearer to what he believes to be gunshots, he readies himself but before that a PMC enters the hallway up ahead from a side room and turns his head just as Smith closes the distance towards him. He grabs the barrel of the gun and pushes it down as a round goes out. He then brings up his elbow and hits the PMC in the face which makes him stagger back.
In retaliation, the contractor throws a punch but Smith ducks under it and proceeds to tackle him onto the ground where he swiftly stabs the intruder in the jugular.
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"Бросайте это дело!"
"Cука, Fuck you!" Julia responds and fires her pistol again.
Another guard drops dead next to her as she takes cover to reload her gun. That was her last guard which means she's all that's between them and Luna. Smith was still nowhere to be seen and she still had to contend with three more PMCs.
With no other choice, she takes a deep breath and peeks around the corner once again only to find that the enemy have rushed her and were right in front of her.
To both parties, surprise, the first PMC shoots as his bullet comes close to Julia's head. She fires back and the soldier gets hits twice and falls just as the second PMC fires and strikes Julia through the shoulder.
She winces in pain but manages pull the trigger just the bullet finds it mark between the woman's eyes. She holds onto her shoulder as blood begins to seep through her gloves. She looks back up to see that the third PMC has ignored her and instead went for the door that held Luna.
Regaining a spurt energy, she pushes herself and lunges at the soldier. The two fall downwards with Julia on top as she struggles for the shotgun that the PMC wields.
She grunts for control as the PMC unexpectedly rolls over and puts himself on top and begins to push hard onto Julia's neck with his shotgun. She tries pushing back but her wound prevents her using her full strength with her left arm as she begins gasping for air.
She kicks and squirms to no avail as the PMC pushes harder and harder downward. Her vision beginning to go black and just as she is about to lose consciousness, a gunshot rings out and goes through the back of the PMCs head.
He falls dead as Julia gasps for air and holds her bruised neck.
Smith runs over to her and pushes the body off of her.
"Took you... long enough." She says in almost a whisper as she gets helped to her feet.
"Sorry, I got here as fast as I could. Are you alright?" Smith asks as Julia is still coughing.
"I'll be fine... Luna's in there..." She says pointing to the closet where she left her.
Smith rushes to the door where a whimpering girl is crouched in a corner. He nears her and picks her up and carries her between his arms.
"It's okay Sweetie. I'm here." He ushers into her ear before going back to Julia. "Lead the way. I'll follow." She nods as the two make their way to the back entrance where the enemy sneaked in from. With any luck, their SUV would still be there.
A couple seconds later, an explosion shakes the building. "Shit. That was quick. We have to go now!" Smith comments as he holds Luna tightly and follows Julia out of the building.
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No response.
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"Sir, I'm not getting a response. I got a bad feeling about this. Should we abort?" A radioman asks to his Captain sitting across from him.
The captain sits straight and looks out the helicopter window before back at the shard.
"No. We will continue to the meetup as planned. But have the men on alert, if anything out the ordinary happens, you are free to engage," he says and turns to his second in command. He nods and flicks off the safety switch on his weapon.
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"Wait... Smith I can't..." Smith slows down and turns around to see Julia clutching her shoulder while leaning against a wall. Her shirt is completely soaked in blood.
"I'm losing too much blood, go... I'll only slow you down..."
Smith runs up to her just as she starts to fall onto her knees.
"No! I'm not leaving you. We're getting out of here together!" He says.
Julia manages a smile. "You're always so stubborn Smith... but you have to leave me. Luna is our main priority."
A bang comes from within the building along with voices getting nearer.
"No! I'll carry you!" Smith adjusts Luna in his arms and tries to lift up Julia but fails. This doesn't stop him as he tries again and again to no avail.
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"Smith... please leave me...!" Julia whimpers.
"No! I can do it! Come on!" He continues to struggle with her as footsteps begin to echo through the hallway, closing in on them.
Julia takes Smith hand in one last attempt and gazes up at his distraught expression. "Go... I'll be fine. I love you, both of you..."
Smith hesitates but soon after he watches as Julia's eyes slowly close and her grip on his hand loosens and falls to her side.
"Fuck!" He yells with tears forming in his eyes before sprinting away from the approaching PMCs.
Shortly later, he busts through a door and into the chilling air outside. He looks around and spots a vehicle that the PMCs must've used. He holds Luna tighter and makes a dash towards the Vic while being on the lookout for any more PMCs.
"S-Smith... where's Jul?" Luna finally says after being quiet for so long.
"Julia... isn't coming. It's only us, okay?" He says with his voice crackling and his mind is unable to think straight. He's body is numb, but he continues to press forward.
Smith opens the passenger door and lays Luna down. He shuts the door and quickly heads for the driver side. He opens the door but before he could get inside, a bullet flies by his head and hits the Vic. He turns around to see Grey pointing a gun at him. He's occupied by five other PMC's.
"Enough running. Close that door. Unload your gun and throw it." Grey orders and Smith does so. "Are you content with yourself? Your actions have gotten your men killed... and for what? A girl?"
"That girl doesn't deserve to be in the hands of people that want to use her for their own personal needs! Do you don't care what happens to her?" Smith shouts.
"That's not my problem. And neither should it be yours," Grey replies. "Now step away from the car."
"She'll be under the scrutiny of countless of experiments! Endless torture! She'll have no life! How can you live with yourself knowing all of this?"
"I don't care. Step away from the car. I was planning on letting you live you know?"
"Why? You're going to let me go? Is that where you draw your morals at?"
"No. I was still going to shoot you regardless, but you're as stubborn as a mule it seems." He snickers before aiming his gun at Smith's head. "Any last words, contractor?"
Smith standing firm, slowly positions his hand over a hidden knife beneath his jacket. There is absolutely nothing he can with it against all six men at this range, yet he still holds on to the hope that maybe, just maybe, he can get lucky and come out of this alive. If there is a god still with this world, they would surely answer his call... right?
Without wasting anymore time, Grey sighs as he gets ready to pull the trigger. "Fine. At the very least I'll give you the death you so much yearn for."
Smith braces himself and is prepared to make a move at the very last moment, but before he could do so, he's caught off guard when a PMC behind Grey suddenly speaks up.
"Grey wait!"
Grey looks over his shoulder. "What is it?"
"You didn't say anything about the girl being experimented on and tortured. Is that true?" The man asks as Smith soon recognizes him as the one that had a reaction when he asked if anyone was a father.
Grey sighs and turns to his subordinate. "Corporal. That is none of your concern."
"It is true!" Smith soon yells. "Do you not have the slightest idea what people do to Shards nowadays? The cruelty someone could to a fellow human is... unheard of. They treat them as if they were mere objects. Now toss in kids into that situation and... it's something I have trouble sleeping with at night" His statement now gets a reaction from the others.
"So now you have words to say, huh?"
"Grey is all that true?"
"So, what if it was? We aren't fracs! It's not our problem neither is it yours!"
The Corporal takes a second to take in his statement. The look on his face could only be described as one of disbelief.
"...My... two kids are Shards, Grey."
His words hang in the air for what seems like an eternity as the other PMCs lower their weapons slightly and look at each other.
"I... don't want to do this anymore! I wouldn't be able to face my kids if I went through with this..." The Corporal states as he drops his weapon in defiance. Soon enough, the other PMCs join him and aim their guns at the ground.
"...So, you're all disobeying orders...?" Grey slowly says as the turns to his men. With a long sigh, he momentarily lowers his weapon as well but brings it back up in a quick matter as he shoots the Corporal in the abdomen and puts him in a headlock. He spins him around to face the other men who aim their guns at him now. "Lower your weapons or your Corporal dies."
They reluctantly look at each other and follow his command. Grey smirks and then raises his pistol and shoots the remaining PMCs. They fall to the ground as Grey now turns back to Smith to see him charging straight at him. He rams into Grey and sets free the Corporal from his grasp as the two slam against the building's wall.
There he attempts to stab him in the chest, but Grey is quick and catches it just a few inches away from penetrating. After a brief struggle, Grey brings his head forward onto Smith's won which sends him back in a daze. Grey pushes him down and begins to unleash strike after strike on Smith's face. Before he can do any more damage, a sharp object enters Grey's back, causing him to grunt in pain.
He reaches back and pulls the knife out before grabbing hold of the corporal and pinning him up against the ground. Grey then plunges the knife into the Corporal's chest where he gives out a gasp before shortly going limp in the snow.
Getting back on his feet, Grey turns back to Smith, only to find that he's longer there and that's when he hears the distinct sound of a round being chambered. To his left, Smith now aims at him and pulls the trigger as a round goes off, entering Grey's chest and exiting. He staggers forward, clenching his torso before falling face first into the snow, that slowly begins to turn red.
Smith, panting from exhaustion, wipes the blood off his face before staggering over to his body where he unloads the rest of the mag into him.
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"What the hell..."
Emerald Shard has finally arrived to the meet-up only to find that a firefight had occurred. A trio of smoke pillars rise from the western side of the compound and many visible bodies can be seen laying in the snow with blood surrounding the snow beneath them.
"What happened? Was it an insurgent attack?" The radioman asks out loud.
"I don't know, but Rams are going to start converging in on this place soon. We need to find the girl quickly, if she's still alive that is." The captain states.
After circling above, the pilot peeks back into the helicopter.
"Captain! We have two personals at the eastern side of the compound, one male with a small child near a SUV," he says.
The captain nods and then proceeds to order his helicopter to land to pick up the package.
"Let's make this quick then. I don't want any more surprises..."
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As one helicopter lands in front of the battered Smith and the other circles above, he gets on his knees and turns to Luna.
"Okay Luna... This will be the last time you'll see me. These people will take care of you."
"B-But... I don't want to go! I'm scared... I want you to come, and Julia... and everyone!" Her eyes begin to water as she holds onto Smith who is fighting back tears of his own.
"I'm sorry, but this is for you. We've taught you all we've known by now... you must now learn new things. Experience a new world where you're not surrounded by death."
Two Emerald Shards walk up to the man and girl as the rest pull security.
"Are you The Moon's Light?" One of them say.
Smith gets up to his feet and nods. "Yes... I am... was the leader of The Moon's Light. And I believe she is what you're looking for." The two Shards both look down at the girl clutching onto the man's leg.
"What happened here? We're you attacked by insurgents?"
"It's... none of your concern. Please... just take her and promise me to protect her."
The two Shards look at each other before eventually going through with the deal.
"She'll be in good hands with us. Your payment will be set on the ground when the girl is secured in the chopper." One of the soldier states.
Smith shakes his head and says, "No need. I've decided the payment is something I don't need. Just raise her right. That's all I ask for."
"Very well. Come on sweetie, come with us. We're Shards just like you! You can trust us!"
Luna reluctantly steps away from Smith's leg and towards the shards. But before that, she turns around and gives him one last hug.
"I'll miss you... Dad." Smith's heart skips a beat hearing those words come from her and sheds a tear and looks at Luna's face.
"Me too. I'll always be with you. And so will-"
In an instant.
It was shattered in front of her.
It was so fast.
So subtle.
No warning or indication.
Just as a Shard holding perimeter turned to look to his left, a PMC rounds the corner of the building and fires a shot.
It hits Smith on the side of head as he falls to the ground with his blood splattered on to the little girl's face.
"Contact!"
The PMC doesn't get a chance to fire again however as multiple Shards quickly turn to the assailant and unload bullets into the man's body before it eventually collapses backwards.
"Fuck! I told you to watch the fucking building!"
The two Shards now grab the motionless girl and dash straight for the chopper.
"Come on! Get her inside! Move it!" The captain shouts as the last shard hops in before closing the door.
They lift off and speed away with the package secured.
"Nice going Lowe. You could've gotten us fucking killed!" A Shard says to the one who slipped up.
"I looked away for half a second! How was I supposed to know he was going to pop around the corner at that time?" He barks back.
As the squad devolves into an argument, the captain shakes his head and sighs and crosses over to Luna and begins to talk to her while cleaning her face with a piece of cloth.
"Everything is fine now. You're safe with us. What's your name?" He says to the traumatized girl.
"Renee. Luna. Dad."
"Are you hurt at all, Renee?"
"...Dad."
"Renee?"
Luna doesn't answer back and continues uttering the same word over and over. The captain finishes cleaning her face and sits back in his seat.
"Inform Command that the mission was successful, but that an evaluation is needed for the girl." The captain informs the radioman who begins to transmit his message as he stares at the emotionless girl.
Her eyes were void of any life, and even her voice... it was like a broken music player. This girl had no joy in her anymore... Her expression is unchanging, and she seems to be in her own world, completely oblivious to what is happening around her.
What a poor little Shard... was the only thought the captain could make.