S1, 02 Battle Grounds (April 3, 2015)

My entry to this month (April) of The Insurgency's Galactic Challenge. This is also my first entry to any challenge, and I personally think I did a rather good job, considering how much adapting I still have to do with the storyline and the rules, I must say this was an exciting challenge. There's much drama and action going on in this particular entry and I hope you guys enjoy reading it!

Date: April 3rd, 2095

Qotor is under attack!!! The Collective has are spreading across all of Qotor, the only thing left standing is Regentis, the capital. Jed Barron and Damon Gode, friends ever since the war started, have agreed to help the Aurelians fight alongside the GI against the Collective...

Jed Barron and Damon Gode make their way to Regentis.

Jed: "The briefing back at Zarus was short and simple. 'Provide aerial support to the GI and the fellow Aurelians who are helping them until further reinforcements arrive'. Just for the record, this is totally out of my comfort zone. Everything is so messed up! I've always hated the GI, I lost my family because of them, and now I have to protect them? If it was my call I'd let them die, but I know that's not the right thing to do. Stupid conscience. And this whole Collective crap? I barely know who the hell they are and now I have to fight them? I don't know what they're capable of. All I heard at the briefing was that they're supernaturally powerful somehow, so I'm worried. I hope this whole mess with the Collective ends soon so I can get back to hating the GI."

Gode: "Hey man, you alright over there? I've heard you muttering to yourself about everything for what seems like an hour! You need to calm down a bit. Focus on the mission."

Jed: "Sorry, Gode. I can't help it. I'm just so confused."

Gode: "I am, too, but don't let that take over your thoughts."

**Location: Regentis.**

The city is in chaos. The Collective troops are making their way further into the city. Some Aurelians decided to aid the GI in this battle, but others are helping the Collective conquer the city. The streets within the city are flooded with blood and gore. Bullets fly all around, and nothing can be heard over the roaring sound of explosives detonating and gunfire. The battle has been rapidly growing more and more violent.

Meanwhile, a man in dark armor observes the Supernova Star-fighter approaching from the horizon.

Man: "They're in sight."

Woman:"How do you suppose I take them down, Cade? "

Cade:"Think of something. I'm saving my plans for later, in case you screw up again!"

Woman: "You know, sometimes your attitude makes me want to kill you."

Cade: "Don't get any ideas, Kyra. I'm not the enemy."

Kyra: "Whatever. I know how I'm going to shoot their ship."

Nearby, almost at the other end of the same rooftop in which Kyra and Cade stood was an Aurelian soldier wielding a rocket launcher.

Aurelian soldier: "Aaarghhh!!!"

Now that the Aurelian was out of the way, Kyra aims for the Supernova...

Cade: "Make it quick."

Kyra: "Don't rush me."

...KA-BOOM! Kyra scored an instant hit on the ship's wing.

Cade: "Impressive. That's my girl."

Kyra: "Aren't I always?"

Gode: "Crap! What the hell was that!! We're hit!!! We've lost a wing!"

Jed: "Someone used a rocket launcher on us! There are no enemy ships in sight. Tighten up, Gode, I'm losing control!"

Gode: "Dude!! Look at this! The ship's losing everything! This ship's gonna brake into pieces before we even hit the ground!"

Jed: "Brace for impact!"

Managing the Supernova before crashlanding was a hostile task, considering the speed achieved by the ship on the way to Regentis. Luckily, the two pilots survived the crash, and are close to where the battles are taking place.

Jed: "Hey, Gode, you alright?"

Gode: "That was fun."

Jed: "Yeah for you, maybe. You face the rear of the ship. You didn't see the ground getting closer and closer to your viewscreen. I'll take that as a yes. I need to contact Tora, we're heading to her location."

Meanwhile, in the city streets of Regentis, the battle rages on. Soldiers were scattered all around the streets. The battle looked more like a riot than a battle. No one could tell who was on which side. Aurelians against GI, GI against the Collective, Aurelians against the Collective, Aurelians against Aurelians.

GI Soldier: "C'mon! That all ya got?"

Aurelian soldier: "They're too powerful! We need reinforcements!"

Among the Aurelians and the GI, stood fighting a good comrade of Jed Barron and Damon Gode, Tora Ryu. She's a young Cylian, a very understudied humanoid species. Her origin is unknown. She's known for her warrior-like abitilies and skills at melee combat.

\*Bleep bleep\*

Tora's holocomunicator was beeping. She was receiving a call from Jed.

Tora: "Jed, now's not really the best time."

Jed: "Tora, our ship was taken down. Gode and I are alright, we're making our way to your position. Stay where you are and cover us once we're in sight."

Tora: "Roger that."

\*Hologram fizzles out\*

A while later, the two pilots arrived to Tora's location.

Tora: "Glad you two made it here alive. I'm a bit surprised, actually. These streets are overrun with pirates! They're affiliated with the collective. They have us pinned down here."

Gode: "We'll help you fight them off."

Tora: "You don't understand! The pirates are a piece of cake, but the Collective troops are a pain in the @$$. They can kill you instantly in the blink of an eye, and they don't even have to touch you to get that done!"

Jed: "That's not possible! No being is powerful enough to do that!"

Tora: "Tell that to them. These people are freaks!"

As the battle rages on the street, the two mercenaries observe the battle from the rooftop.

Cade: "Let the Collective troops chase away the remaining Aurelians and GI off the street. Once they're far enough from the pilots, we strike."

Kyra: "Sounds like a plan."

The discussion is interrupted promptly when Gode spots two pirates approaching.

Gode: "Watch out. Enemies in-bound!"

Jed: "Let's take 'em."

Hooded pirate: "There they are! Kill 'em animals!

The pirates were dispatched quite quickly. Jed has incredibly good accuracy with his pistol, his signature weapon.

Hooded pirate: "Arrrghhhhh!!!"

Cyborg pirate: "Urkk!"

Tora: "Nice shots, Jed. You should teach me how to handle a gun as well as you."

Jed: "Fine. I'll teach you how to use guns well and you teach me your skills with blades."

Tora: "Deal!"

Seems like the battle kept worsening. Suddenly, the fort that stood close to the trio was pushed away as if a very strong wind knocked it over, knocking Tora to the ground in the process.

Gode: "What the hell? What's destroying the fort? We need cover!"

Tora: "Dammit! War Mage!"

Jed: "War what?

Tora: "No time to explain, Jed. You see that guy with the staff and red and gold armor?

Jed: "Yeah I see him. He destroyed the fort? How is that possible?

Tora: "I don't know, but it is! You saw it happen! Now we gotta hide! If he sees us, we're dead for sure."

The trio used the roof of the fort that lay on the ground as cover to hide from the Mage and the pirates.

Jed: "What do we do?"

Tora: "We wait till they're out of sight. Speak not a word."

Jed: "Alright. They're far gone. There's no way they'll notice us now

Gode: "What a relief. I was about to lay an oops on my pants, hehe."

Tora: "Did you really have to say that?"

Once again, they're conversation is interrupted. This time, a charged bullet fired out of nowhere, but missed Jed's head by an inch.

Jed: "Whoa whoa whoa! Stay down!"

Gode: "Dammit!! Who fired that!! I thought you said they were far gone!"

Jed: "They are far gone! I think the bullet was fired by someone else."

Tora: "Do you see anything?"

Jed: "I dont think- Wait. Awww crap!"

Tora: "What is it?"

Jed: "It's the mercs. They're after us again."

Gode: "Seriously? Can't they ever leave us alone for at least a day? It's the least they can do, considering all the crap we're currently dealing with."

Cade: "Kyra, load the launcher."

Jed: "Wait... guys..."

Jed: "RUN!!!!"

The suspense of the moment was breathtaking. Kyra quickly loaded her rocket launcher and launched the rocket at the remains of the fort, destroying it even more, sending chunks of armor flying in the air.

The trio made a run for it, but were quickly caught off guard by another rocket, this time, incinerating the big bush that formerly provided cover for the pirates. The explosion knocked all the pilots and Tora down simultaneously.

Tora: "Incoming!"

Kyra: "I'm out of rockets."

Cade: "Good. Time for me to have some fun. You, stay here. Warn me in case any troops show up."

Kyra: "Finally, a break! My shoulder's killing me! That launcher weighs a ton!"

Cade quickly leaped from the roof of the building to the ground of the street. His armor is strong enough to absorb the impact as he hit on the ground, emitting a loud, metallic sound from his leg suspensions. The sound implemented fear to the trio.

Cade grabbed a hilt from his back and wielded it horizontally. A weapon he's used only a few previous times in which he has confronted Jed and his comrades.

Aside from being his weapon of choice, the electro axe is a very deadly weapon.

Kyra: "Cade! Watch out!

Figure: "Hands behind your head, now!"

Cade turned to his left to see two GI soldiers, both weak, frightened, worn, pointing guns at him. He said not a single word, instead he rushed towards them...

...and put them out of their misery.

Before the idea to run off had occurred to Jed or any of his comrades, Cade had already slaughtered the two GIs and was already charging towards them.

Gode: "Dammit! We're so screwed!"

Jed: "We've faced this guy before, Gode. We can handle him."

All three of them were too frightened to actually make a good shot at Cade. From their experience, they've learned that bullets can't penetrate Cade's armor unless you shoot in the red core in his chest plate. He was closing in too fast for Jed or any of the others to get a clear shot.

Cade: "I will make you regret having said that before I kill you!"

He made his way towards Jed, rapidly kicking Tora out of his way as he slashed the blade of his electro-axe at Jed's face. Fortunately, he missed.

Tora: "Uuufff!"

To prevent Gode to get in between him and Jed, he knocked Gode on his back...

Gode: "Arrghh!"

... He finally got Gode out of his way, but by the time he was done, Tora had already recovered and charged at him with a large metal pin she found on the ground in which she lay after she was knocked down by Cade.

Unfortunately, Cade prevented her from harming him by quickly slashing at her with his axe, electrocuting her in the process.

Tora: "AHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!"

Jed: "NOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Kyra: "Finally! It's about time you got a kill, Cade! I was getting bored!"

Cade: "Sorry about your girl, kid. She was pretty."

Cade: "She should've known better than to have fought alongside you. You're pathetic. Your emotions cloud your mind. You lose focus on everything you do! You lose focus, you lose those you care about. It's only a matter of time till-"

Cade: "Akkkkkk!"

Jed: "SHUT UP! SHUT UP! Shut your mouth! You know nothing about me! You killed her! I'll kill you! You hear me?! I'll freaking kill you!"

Kyra: "Cade!!! Nooo!! You animal!"

Kyra came down from the roof at last, rushing across the road to make it to her fallen lover.

Gode: "Halt! You take another step forward, and I'll shoot you."

Cade: "So \*cough\* what are you \*cough, cough\* waiting \*cough\* for?! Do it!"

Gode: "Jed..."

Tora: "Gode. This isn't right. If Jed kills Cade now, he'll be no different from Cade. He'll be equally as coldblooded. Tell him \*cough\* not to do it. He'll lose himself."

Gode, excited to see Tora still alive, although fatally wounded, failed to notice Kyra pass beside him.

Gode: "Tora! You're alive!

Tora: "Yeah \*cough\*, barely."

Kyra: "Move!"

Gode: "Jed, look out!"

Jed had no time to react as Kyra shoved him with full force away from Cade.

Jed: "Uff!"

Kyra: "Move, you animal!"

Kyra: "Cade! Love! Don't die on me now. I need you here. God... I have to take you back to the ship.

Cade: "No... \*cough\*, we must \*cough\* finish the task."

Kyra: "The kill can wait, Cade. Right now your life is at risk. Let's go. We'll hunt them down some other time."

As Kyra attended Cade, Jed walked over to Tora and Gode after being shoved away by Kyra. His rage diminished as he noticed how heartbroken Kyra was. In a sense, they both just went through the same thing.

Jed: "Tora. You're alive! Man... you've lost a lot of blood. We need to get you patched up."

Tora: "Yeah, the pain is severe. I feel like I'm burning on the inside."

Gode: "You'll be alright. We'll patch you up."

Tora: "Jed."

Jed: "Yes?"

Tora: "You did the right thing. Not killing him. I'm proud of you."

Jed: "I'm not done with him yet. I will kill him. I promise."

Tora: "No, you're not like that, Jed. You don't kill for vengeance."

Jed drifted off into deep thought for a moment until he realized Cade and Kyra were leaving. He felt the urge to grab a gun and kill them, but he resisted. He didn't want to disappoint Tora, much less worry her.

Jed: "Help me get her inside. We need to patch up her wound now."

The two pilots helped their comrade up and carried her into the building. The mercs were leaving, but tensions haven't reduced. The war still goes on. The battle for Regentis still rages and there's no telling who will make it to the end. If one thing's for sure, is that...

Cade: ..."This is not the end"...

BONUS:

What an ending right? At least, for this episode. Thanks for stopping by!! God bless and remember to Keep On Brickin'!

The original main image.