Oath of the Survivor

Skippy laughed after hearing Kyle’s plan, while Duroc and Chester just stared at him, trying to measure if he was serious or not.  Finally, the pig-like alien broke the silence, tilting his head as he spoke.

“Your world is seriously messed up; do you know that?  I mean my planet has its issues, but this is a different kind of strange.  You’re really telling me that one person is calling the shots for all of you?”

Kyle could only smile as he looked at the group. 

“I know it’s a little odd.  That’s why I’ll need all of you to come along and make a show of force.  Trust me, it’ll go a lot smoother this way.  To confirm, you are the only three D Grades in the expedition?  If there’s any more of you it would be a help.” 

Chester shook his head. 

“We’re the only three who will be of help.  We have a D Grade engineer and our expedition’s head physician on the flagship, which is where they will stay.” 

The man’s crossed arms and stiff posture made it clear there was no budging on the matter.  That was alright with Kyle – just one or two of them would have likely made his plan work, much less having all three. 

“That’s not a problem at all, Chester, I really appreciate the help.  Let’s loop in with Garth, and we can go from there.”

Skippy stopped laughing, looking directly at Kyle. 

“Why do you want to bring him at all?  He’s only E Grade, and not terribly powerful at that.  He’d just get in the way.” 

“I’m not sure how it is where you’re from, but D Grades don’t exactly grow on trees around here.  Hell, I’m the first one that I’m aware of to evolve in over a century.  And outside of being one of the best fighters here, he’s also somebody that both I and the people in the capital trust.  Without that, we might as well not go at all.” 

Kyle was deadly serious about the last point.  As he considered how to inform the survivors about the death of the planet, he kept coming back to one thing.  DeRosa would never allow a deviant like him to get a platform to speak.  If he was let in at all, he’d be undermined and discredited at every turn.  He hadn’t done himself any favors by keeping himself so distant from the people he saved, and he knew he just wasn’t a match for the Councilman in terms of playing politics.  Instead, he would have to rely on what he could do, trusting Garth would play along.

~~~

“This is never going to work.” 

Garth’s voice was flat, as was the look in his eyes. 

“It isn’t that bad, is it?”  Kyle and C.H.A.D.D. were waiting with Garth outside the ship while Chester made arrangements for them to board.  The foreman wanted to get express permission to allow them more than one-time guest access, which Kyle could appreciate.  If there was one thing he was well-acquainted with, it was bureaucracy.  Even though he wasn’t asking them to take any undue risks, there were some things just worth running up the chain. 

“It’s pretty bad, Kyle.  You don’t know DeRosa like I do.  He won’t respond well to a show of force.”

“He won’t respond well to anything, Garth.  You know that he won’t listen to us if we show up hat in hand.  He’ll see it as an attempt to take his power and rally the people around him.  You told me how bad it got after the other coup attempt.  This could go even worse.”

“I’m telling you.  You.  Don’t.  Know.  Him.  This is a dangerous gamble.  People aren’t going to trust you after you pull a stunt like this, Kyle.  Hell, half the folks you brought to Nierburg were almost as scared of you as they were of being out in the wild.”

Kyle sighed.  “That’s why I’m not asking them to trust me.  I’m asking them to trust you.”

Garth looked to be about to respond, but they were interrupted as the main door to the shuttle opened.  Chester walked out, no longer wearing the space suit he seemed to be wearing before.  Instead, he was wearing rich brown robes with gold inlays, mana visibly shimmering around him.  The sleeves of the robe were long, his hands covered by them.  His eyes glowed faintly with energy, though Kyle wasn’t sure if he’d have been able to spot it without Auric Perception. 

“Gentlemen, thank you for your patience.  Given the circumstances on your planet, headquarters has deemed it allowable to follow your proposed course of action.  I will make one thing clear – if this in any way puts my crew or the other parts of the expedition at risk, we will leave.  Furthermore, should you be attempting to lure us into a trap, we will respond with extreme force.  In addition, our flagship has been instructed not to request evacuation until the shuttle’s safe return.”

“Chester, I hope you don’t think that we’d –“

“Of course I don’t think that you’re attempting a betrayal.  However, as the foreman of this expedition it would be irresponsible of me not to have contingencies, and to make sure you understood the consequences of the actions.  Now come, I’ll be granting you both guest access to the shuttle for the next twenty-four hours.”

~~~

Porter Rathman struggled to keep the smile off his face.  They had received news just the other day that Garth Boltsbury and Terrance Banehaus had been presumed killed in action.  Supposedly, Terrance had been killed in a surprise attack by the encampment they’d visited, and Garth sacrificed his life to give his team and freed slaves room to escape.  If Councilman DeRosa was upset, he didn’t show it, and even better, he appointed Porter to his old position guarding the gate.  Ever since the fiasco at the gate all those months ago, he’d been walking in Boltsbury’s shadow.  Now, he was back on top. 

His first order of business had been to put Garth’s team on leave.  No need to remind himself of the man, though eventually he’d have to talk with them at length, even if it was to disband them.  He was considering what excuses would be best to have them removed, when he noticed a hum on the wind.  Frowning, he turned his attention to the forest.  The sound was growing louder by the moment, and his eyes widened as he saw its source.  It wasn’t coming from the woods, but from far above them.  A metallic craft reminiscent of a shipping container was descending rapidly, brightly lit runes all across its surface drawing in ambient mana to slow it as it touched down on the ground a kilometer away. 

A door opened, and he could see four figures stepping out.  The largest was a massive pig-like creature with a huge tower shield and wearing full plate armor.  Beside it was a small, scrawny grey creature without a hair on its head.  The third was a man in resplendent brown and gold robes, and the fourth was clad in reflective black armor, carrying a large bundle on its back.  The Ranger on his squad, Rodney, stood next to hm, slack jawed. The two other Mages on his team were shuffling nervously, not having enough Perception to quite see what was going on.  Rathman was the first to recover, and he turned to the Ice Mage beside him. 

“Mobilize the reserves and alert the Councilman.  Rodney, stop staring and start shooting!  They clearly aren’t here to talk you idiot!” 

The group sprang into action, with Rodney sighting down his rifle. 

“Start with the mage.” 

Rodney obliged, taking aim at the human in the brown robes.  They were typically the easiest to pin down, and with the practiced ease of a professional, he sighted and pulled the trigger.  After their embarrassment at the hands of the Healer, Rathman had sprung for higher power munitions.  It was expensive and kicked like a horse, but it was worth it. 

The new weapon was based on old-world antimaterial rifles, with enough power to easily punch through thick armor.  There was a loud crack as the weapon fired, and Rathman expected the man’s head to explode. A frown began to deepen as he watched them.  They reacted to the shot, though it didn’t have the intended effect.  The man in the robes was untouched.  Rodney’s frown turned into fear as he finally comprehended what happened.  A small scratch marred the thick tower shield, the only sign that Rodney had even fired.  Somehow, the large pig-like creature had drawn the shot off course, and it had struck harmlessly against the massive shield. 

“Do it again!  Take them down!  Shoot dammit!” 

Porter’s eyes were wide with panic at this point, and he looked at the Ranger from his team.  Rodney re-sighted and fired again, then a third time, then a fourth.  Each shot was directed away just like the first, harmlessly striking the large creature’s shield and leaving small scuff marks against its surface.  Rathman swore as he opened the large crate, his secret weapon.  He’d managed to secure what had once been a vehicle-mounted gun that fired high-explosive incendiary rounds.  He had saved it for an emergency, and this qualified.  He handed the weapon to Rodney. 

“Use it.  Kill them.” 

Rodney just nodded as he prepared his weapon.

The group of four individuals continued their casual pace towards the gates of Nierburg.  Porter was sweating now, not entirely sure what to do.  They’d already opened fire, so a peaceful resolution was unlikely.  Where are the damn reinforcements?  As if on cue, nearly a dozen armed Rangers ran up to his position on the roof.  One man stepped forward. 

“Your orders, sir?” 

“Shoot them and take them down.  They are a threat to the city.”

The man looked out at the approaching figures and frowned.  “There are only four of them, sir.  Are you – “

“I SAID SHOOT THEM.  DO IT NOW.” 

With that, the reinforcements took their positions on the wall.  Below, a group of various melee fighters were getting into formation, preparing to meet the hostiles.  This will work out, it’ll be fine.  Just as he was calming himself down to the chattering sound of gunfire, his eyes widened in shock as he saw all the bullets get drawn once again to the shield.  It defied logic.  The Rangers all seemed as confused as he was, and the gunfire seemed to stop altogether as they checked their weapons or just looked out at the field. 

*THUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMP* 

Rathman watched as Rodney began to fire the high-explosive rounds, and smiled internally.  Sure enough, the rounds were drawn to the shield, where they exploded.  Multiple rounds struck, before a shimmering dome of energy formed around the group.  The rounds kept firing into it, and he turned to the other gunmen standing around. 

“Concentrate fire!” 

Rifles chattered around him as they snapped out of their stupor, and Rathman watched.  Clouds of smoke were being kicked up due to the explosive rounds, obscuring the position. 

The loud thumps of the formerly mounted gun stopped as it ran out of ammunition, followed shortly by the other soldiers stopping fire as well.  Through the cloud, Porter’s stomach fell as he saw the barrier still standing.  He looked up towards the shuttle to see if there was something, anything they could do.  His blood went cold when he saw the figure standing in the open door.  You were supposed to be dead.  He saw Garth standing calmly in the doorway, looking at the figures covered by the barrier.  Somehow Boltsbury had managed to return and ruin everything again.  Something in him snapped, and he vaulted off the roof towards the group.  If he could run past them, he could at least take out the man who ruined his life. 

The black-armored individual charged to meet him as the barrier fell, and it only now crossed his mind he was between the group and his men.  It was too late to do anything other than commit, so he raised his hand and activated STATIC BOLT.  The pulse of electricity arced towards the figure in black, who took it head on like nothing happened.  He used the skill twice more in quick succession with the same result.  Panicking, he used his other skill.  Lightning coursed through his veins as he screamed, before exploding out from him in every direction. 

THUNDERING ECHO was an odd skill, indiscriminately blasting lightning in an area around him.  Reynolds had approved the skill, though he had hoped Porter would be able to control it much better than he could.  He looked on with dismay as the man avoided the arcing blasts before striking him in the back of the head with a thick baton.  Before he lost consciousness, Porter heard a robotic voice come from the bundle on the man’s back. 

[YOU DIDN’T HIT HIM TOO HARD, DR. MAYHEW.  WELL DONE HOLDING BACK.] 

If he hadn’t passed out right afterwards, he would have screamed.

~~~

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