The atmosphere in the ship was uncomfortable. The botched mission, the lust for revenge, was weighting heavily on the crew. Jack tried her best to keep them calm and together but Gregor’s death was still fresh in their minds no matter how much they tried to deny it, even to themselves.
Kel stayed locked in her room, Juan remained on the roof brooding and Rock lifted some heavy equipment in the cargo bay to get some frustration out. The only one not affected by this was Caleb who currently sat in the workshop, trying to repair a broken computer he just found laying amongst Gregor’s old stuff.
The screen was thankfully whole but the insides.....oh dear...
They may have to return to Harrington to get the disk decoded. Why did the old world create so many different devices to store data? Couldn’t like 2 suffice?
But he was certain he could get it up and running. Gregor had a nice collection of very specialized tools, many was intended for electronics.
He replaced wires, remade small chips to plug into the computer. There nothing super advanced he could use on board, but enough to fix this pretty low tech PC that was already incredible rare out in the wasteland.
Jack was in the cockpit, still piloting the ship in a none specific direction.
Where were they supposed to go now? They had been so close to finally getting closure after weeks of bad runs. She leaned back into her chair and looked at the gun in her hands. It was a 9mm with a custom grip and a skull inscribed to its side. It was made for her by Gregor. A gift from an old friend. She remembered the day he gave it to her like it was just a few days ago. She had just lost her former hand pistol in a skirmish, then he stepped into the cockpit with it. He wanted nothing in return, a gift from one friend to another...
Now however.....well...
She supposed it was time to go back to taking odd jobs again....after all injustices was the norm. People died out here, that’s life. She was just about to plan the next route when the communications panel opposite of the wall map started beeping.
She went over to it and pressed the blinking light. ‘Captain Jack, I know you’ll hear this.’ A cold shiver ran down her spine when she heard that muffled voice as imagines of gunfire and explosions flashed before her eyes. ‘I still have his head you know...its a nice trophy. A reminder how I humiliated you. It sits perfectly by my throne...if you want it back then I’ll be waiting at the place where it started.’ The message ended there and she stood frozen. That fucker was taunting her...
It was a stupid idea to go after him. It was so obviously a trap and she knew it. Yet he would keep taunting her and the crew forever. And the imagine of Gregor’s skull being defiled by that...thing twisted her stomach till it almost physically hurt.
She could not let it live...the raider warlord had to die!
*
‘Jack, you can’t be serious! He WANTS us to go after him! He probably even has missile launchers ready to shoot us down from the air!’ Juan argued her.
‘We can’t let that fucker get away with it either!! HE KILLED GREGOR!!’ Kel was just barely holding back herself in blind rage.
‘I know!!....And honestly if we ignore it he will keep taunting us. And Javelin will send him against us some other way. We’ll never be rid off him until he dies..’ ‘We can’t ignore him nor can we go in! So what do we do??’
A silence fell over them, no one seemed to know where to go from here.. ‘Well...I might have an idea..’ all eyes turned to Doc.
‘This time we know what the area is like, we know basically how he’s going about it. The main reason for last time was the element of surprise. So what if instead peacefully flying in we fire the first shot?’
‘You mean we finally get to use the siege missiles we stole from the empires air force?’
‘Yes! They have much further range than a rocket launcher! And packs a heavier punch to! If we fire it just right then we can hit them right at the heart and their morale and organized ambush will fall apart.’
Eyes went back to Jack as she thought it over.
‘Well...I do have a good idea where to strike..’
*
Grognar, warlord of a band of savage raiders. Wielder of a shock axe, a brutish weapon that not only chopped his enemies to pieces but sent volts of electricity trough their veins. His haunting helmet showed no expression, his eyes hidden in shadows so the sockets of the helmet looked mostly dark and empty. He was human but a large one, standing much taller than the average man, muscles upon muscles made up his body, covered in scars from past battles. He stood upon the top of a platform, carved out of a side of a giant rock, almost the size of a small mountain. Many such cliffs dotted around him, buildings and dug in caves made up the whole camp. The whole place smelled of smoke from their campfires. Behind him roared the sound of the power generator. A large, cylinder shaped, coal burning generator that spewed out smoke from the top. It provided light, heat and power to their traps and water pumps. It generally made their lives easier.
‘Are you sure that fucking thing wont explode?’
‘That’s what that engineer said anyway. And it seems to work.’
‘How the fuck he built this whole thing from scrap metal I’ll never understand...whatever tough. Soon the bitch will be here and I’ll finish her off myself. No one escapes Grognar Bloodfist, no one..’
‘They’re coming!’ shouted one of the raiders from atop the tallest cliff, holding a pair of binoculars.
‘Get the rocket launcher ready!’ they prepped up on top of the scouting tower, aiming it at the distant light. ‘What the fuck is..SHIT!!’
The small light sped right past them and flew over the camp faster than their eyes could keep up, hitting the side of the tower and blowing it to hell. The whole structure collapsed, the top falling on the side and crashing into the ground below.
Then another followed, crashing into the generator. The explosion sent Grognar flying off the platform towards the ground, as well many others were knocked off their feet. Following the flash, waves of smoke and embers engulfed the camp, smoking and charred scraps of metal laid spread across the camp, cutting holes in several of the shacks the raiders had built. Grognar awoke to find his camp in flames, thick black smoke cut of the camp in almost half, impossible to see trough and probably suicide to run trough.
The sound of rocket engines roared above him and he looked up to see Jacks ship landing by the front gate. He grabbed his axe and charged towards them.
When the ramp was down Rock was first out, blasting apart the raiders with his new machine gun, taking out the overwhelming numbers while shrugging off their bullets.
Once clear the rest joined in, guns blazing and explosions quickly followed all around them. They fought their way further in, shooting down every single raider that came within their sights like human war machines, driven by vengeance for their comrade. No raider was to leave this cliffs alive, no one..
Jack used her grenade launcher where they ducked for cover, whatever it had been. From boxes and barrels, to large stones and inside their shacks her grenades flew, right trough their windows and every explosion destabilized them greatly, some of them falling apart.
Kel’s shotgun tore large holes into their torsos, one’s arm coming right off from being hit from such close range.
Juan shot down the raiders still up on the intact ramps and at furthest distance, taking out any fire support the raiders may have had.
Doc fired of acid from his mechanical arm, sending the raiders crashing to the ground screaming in agony as some kind of foul smelling mist rose from their melting skin.
The crew made their way to the large center of the camp, a round open space with burning debris now spread over the dust covered ground.
Most of the raiders was now dying off and the sounds of bullets and screaming died down.
‘So we’re done?’
‘Not yet...that warlord is still alive somewhere, find him!’ But just as they started looking the sounds of a large metal gate opened and giant mechanical steps approached them.
The whole crew ran for cover as out from the smoke a large metal monstrosity stepped out trough the flames. It was tan colored with some random, brutish paint sprained on it. One arm was a machine gun and the other a large grabbing claw, the torso was mostly bulletproof glass, barely showing the raider inside it. ‘Shit! Where did they get a fucking power armor??’
Not even Rock could stand against that kind of firepower and was forced to cover as it started firing. Its thousands of bullets shredding right trough any obstacle it hit. Kel jumped behind one of the shacks, laying flat on the ground as bullets flew right trough the walls like they weren’t there and going a few meters above her.
As the armored enemy got closer and closer Jack took position it and aimed her grenade launcher only for her well trained, although slightly damaged, ear picked up the danger to her side. She dropped the heavy weapon and dodged as a large axe swung at her. She began running and avoiding the axe wielding warlord just shortly behind her.
Rock took up a steel beam and charged the power armor from the side, ramming it into its shoulder. It staggered to the side, giving Kel enough time to sprint to the next cover. Rock raised the beam and slammed it down only to be caught mid air. The claw grabbed it and fired a few shots into Rock’s lower torso. The mutant fell on his back in agony, his dark blood staining his front. He aimed the machine gun only for it to start clicking.
‘Guess I’m out...no worries this thing reloads itself. Just give it a minute and I’ll finish you off.’ The raider inside casually said, not a single care for the life he was about end.
Caleb saw it and had to think fast. He saw the damaged shoulder, the outer place had been pierced and a whole torn open from Rocks attack. He then ran for the grenade launcher and fired in panic towards the power armor. The first few grenades hit the arm and leg before the third landed on its shoulder, close enough to the opening. The armor staggered slightly and the claw now hung there, a single attack off from completely falling off. He dropped it and ran for cover as it turned around and started firing at him. The raider followed him as Caleb vanished around a corner of the many cliffs, leaving the wounded mutant to bleed out.
Kel saw the leader chasing Jack thanks to the narrow terrain was catching up to her.
She took her handgun from her holster and fired at the large man. Some bullets bounced off the layers of metal he roughly melded together and strapped to his skin but one went into his leg. He screamed in pain and went behind a large rock, throwing something over it at her. She threw herself behind some kind of wall as it exploded and sharp metal shrapnel flew everywhere, attaching itself to any surface. Then suddenly a axe blade cut down the wall, almost hitting her in process. She got up and ran, trying to put as much distance between herself and the raider as possible.
She ran in between a series of shacks and rocks to close together, the raider following close behind and slashing trough anything that came in the way.
As they emerged from out of a corner a rusted spear hit him in the shoulder, stopping him dead in his tracts. Then he turned and tried going after Jack with the spread sticking out of his shoulder, leaving only one arm to function.
But he only got to a few steps as Kel fired her gun into his kneecap from behind. He fell to his knees in between in the women, screaming and writing in agony.
Meanwhile Caleb was still being chased by the power armor, being slowed down due to a loose arm, dragging along the ground.
He quickly stopped, threw a grenade to platform above him and then kept running, barely dodging the bullets.
As the raider passed right under the same platform it went off like Caleb had planned. Suddenly all matter of heavy scrap metal fell down on him, the arm came off and the barrel of the machine gun dented. The glass cracked from above, disrupting visibility for the pilot.
He quickly lost sight of the engineer who already set up the next trap. Puncturing of their red barrels filled with oil using his knife, laid it down and kicked it towards the the armor. Once close enough the lit it up, the fire quickly following the black liquid and producing a larger explosion right by the armor. The glass was almost all but shattered, nothing could be seen trough it and its leg damaged, limiting movement.
Even the gun arm refused to fire, its mechanism broken.
Then to finish him off Caleb threw a fire extinguisher at the fire. It exploded right by its leg, finally breaking it and he fell down on the side, now unable to move or use it in any way. Caleb left the raider to be finished off the fire, heating up his seat to extreme levels as well as the smoke leaking inside.
He ran to check up on Rock was already being tended to by Doc. The strange cyborg assured him Rock would recover, ogre bodies was tough as hell and able to heal far quicker and from worse injuries any human could.
Kel and Jack looked onto the raider, there on his knees, bleeding everywhere. To go from such a terrifying, inhuman monster to this pitiful sight was justice. His death wouldn’t be as quick or clean after all..
‘So...go ahead then...kill me...’ he struggled to speak in between breaths, his voice still slightly muffled by that hideous helmet.
Jack walked up to him, grabbed it by the horn and almost ripped it off. The face before her wasn’t inhuman so suddenly. She saw a man...a ordinary, filthy, dirt covered man with no air and a small scar above his right eyebrow.
‘So...this is Gregors murderer....why hide behind that thing? Are you really that scared to die?’
He snickered, waving off her question. ‘Aren’t we all?’ Without another word she stepped aside, letting Kel put the bullet right between his eyes. His body just laid there now, a small blood splatter on his face, his eyes showing the initial fear the instant the gun came to his face, forever imprinted on him now.
‘Done?’
‘Ya...we’re done here..’
They gathered up any useful loot they could carry onto the ship. Bullets, grenades, a few guns to sell off. The garage where they stored the armor had mostly useless tools or ones they already had on board. However Juan discovered something interesting there. A letter, written by Javelin stating that the delivery of the armor went off without a hitch. This was the proof they needed. Javelin was indeed behind it all. She/they were planning something huge and was eliminating all traces, including the crew. But why and how? All they knew it now they were caught up in it. Javelin would be after them now, more aggressive than before. They had to fly out of the desert, away from Javelin territory.
