"Mother Goddess blesses you, Carl, for your leg is fucked." Albrecht said to no one in particular as Carl wasn't being lucid.
The comment was made because Carl's right leg is now bent in all sorts of wrong ways after the explosion rocked him off the catwalk. The pilot didn't nail the landing due to his legs being uncontrollable, and now, a piece of bone is jutting out of the flesh with the leg going limp. It's a gnarly sight, and the best Albrecht can do is to roll a medical gauze over administered biofoam to stop the bleeding. The crew chief then drags his friend over to an intact wall, with intact being relative when the garage they're in has partially collapsed at the front. Now that Albrecht thinks about it, Carl must have thrown himself off the catwalk instead when the explosion hit. Otherwise, the pilot would have been buried under the rubble.
"*Cough* *Cough* Fucking air condition, man..." Albrecht tried to cough out the ashes and debris he inhaled to no avail. "Goes to say that those warnings about environmental pollution are pretty on point, eh? The Marshal sure thinks far ahead of us grunts to convert the entire military to clean energy."
A groan from Carl serves as the reply to Albrecht's joke. "Yeah, mate, I get what you mean." Albrecht tried to liven up the mood. "Here, this should help with the pain." The crew chief then pulls out a morphine auto-injector and stabs it in Carl's thigh. Albrecht should have cleaned the injected area but the blast destroyed the alcohol container in his medkit, much less Carl's own.
"This may not be needed but my med training is kicking in..." Albrecht popped open a tube of broad-spectrum antibiotic before gently making Carl drink in. Near instantly, Carl coughs a few times but Albrecht is quick to pat the medicine down for his friend. "Easy there mate."
Seeing that Carl is moving his eyelids, trying to regain his bearings, Albrecht raises a few fingers up in front of the pilot, waving it. "Hey, hey, take a look at my hand. How many fingers am I raising?"
Carl tries to look to the front, only to scowl. "Fuck your middle finger, dude..."
Ok, maybe Albrecht hasn't raised enough fingers. The man does smirk though. "Good, good! That means you're still with me."
The crew chief is quick to groan before rolling to the side, and sitting down next to Carl. Silently, what's left of Outlaw 2-6 stares straight ahead as ashes and dust fall around them. Each breath to them is a struggle and a half, by this point, they won't be surprised if their lungs are starting to give out. Nevertheless, it doesn't stop the pair from sharing a look before each of them starts to chuckle lightly before growing into a full-blown laugh with the occasion coughing in between.
"This... Haha... Is not what I would imagine to be the end of the line." Carl commented with a droplet of tears going down his left cheek.
"You and me both. You and me both..." Albrecht grinned while leaning his head backward. "Say, you got that darling girl back home, right?"
"Heh..." Carl snickered before struggling to reach inside his vest, pulling out a small photo in relatively good condition. The pair then takes a look at it together. "Yeah. It's a shame, the last I see of her... would be with a picture of all things. Do you know what I will be missing the most?"
"What?" Albrecht asked while glancing at Carl.
"Her voice. Youthful, energetic. Her voice soothes the stress after a harsh deployment." Carl said wistfully.
"Damn, dude, I can feel ya with that one." Albrecht responded. "But look on the bright side, you're the one standing between that voice and whatever the fuck's coming through our front." To emphasize, Albrecht pulls out his USP.
Carl smiles wryly before pulling out his own pistol. "Yeah, it's something to die for."
Then at once, the pair point their pistols ahead of them, pulling the triggers continuously. Falling down onto the floor ungracefully are two zombies with multiple bullet holes and varying degrees of injuries. The latter could be due to the booby-trapped Osprey.
With the immediate threats taken care of, their hands fall limply to the sides. Albrecht presses the magazine release button and grabs the pistol mag. Flicking out the bullets, or a mere one bullet, in this case, Albrecht snickers. "One bullet. What about you?" The crew chief asked before loading the bullet into the magazine and into the gun.
Carl mirrors Albrecht's actions earlier and soon comes up with an answer. "One in the chamber."
"Hah!" Albrecht laughed. "Un-fucking-believable. Saved one for ourselves, am I right?"
"You don't say..." Carl responded before sighing.
The pair falls into a peculiar silence for five seconds before Albrecht suddenly starts looking around. Finally finding what he's been looking for, Albrecht heaves a breath of relief before leaning over to grab an object. The object was Randall's helmet alongside the dog tags placed inside. With a remorseful sigh, Albrecht takes the dog tags and puts them inside his vest before exchanging his crew helmet with Randall's. The crew chief has this to explain. "The two of them entrusted me with their belongings."
Carl nods. "Right." Before saying. "So... How should we do this?"
Albrecht replies. "Well... Is this good enough of an answer?" The crew chief slowly levels his pistol against Carl's head.
The pilot, on his part, just laughs before doing the same to Albrecht. "Yeah, that answers it."
Carl then adds while looking ahead. "And it would seem we'll be getting some guests at the last minute."
"For what's worth," Albrecht spoke up. "It has been one Hell of a ride, my friend."
Carl grins. "Aye, won't have it any other way."
The pair's chatter then stops as they witness a large group of zombies approaching their location. The zombies are pristine-looking too, probably enemy reinforcement seeking to finish them off. As the wave of zombies draws closer, the two survivors slowly put the pressure on the triggers. It isn't a coordinated action, but somehow, they do it at the same time. Whether it's a coincidence or their trust in the other to finish the job is unknown. What they do know is that in a few seconds top, Outlaw 2-6's name will be scratched away. In those few seconds, the pair unknowingly plaster smiles onto their faces, braving death with honor, courage, and integrity.
Finally...
*Starcraft 2 Protoss portal sound*
Much to the shock of both Carl and Albrecht, a swirling purple vortex appears in front of them. Finally, the thing seems to stabilize into a purple curtain, and from that, a voice can be heard saying.
"Alright boys and girls, let's light them up!"
As prompted, a storm of lead washes over the approaching horde. Right at that instance, the previously daring zombies' rush is blunted, making them falter due to the sudden greeting of Belkan firepower. As the barrage of bullets dwindles down, heavy footfalls can be heard. From the other side of the purple screen, a soldier comes through, then another, and another... Until more than a squad has come through, with each member taking a position, forming a 360-degree circle.
"Deploying smokes!" Being thrown far and wide, the smoke grenades form a soft curtain between them and the enemy, disallowing any Archers from getting a dangerous snipe off. That said, there are still stragglers around, stragglers that are being swiftly taken care of if the booming of rifles and SMGs is of any indication.
As the surviving members of Outlaw 2-6 gaze in utter disbelief at the proceeding in front of them, a visage comes to a stop in front of them. Lowering down to offer a hand to them, the figure identifies as the Reich Marshal herself speaks up. "On your feet, soldiers! We! Are! Leaving!"
The reminder that their rescuers are very, very real immediately wakes up Carl and Albrecht, with Albrecht swiftly taking the offered hand to stand up. Finally, with the aid of a couple of combat medics and a spare platoon member, Albrecht carries Carl toward the other side of the purple screen. It's there that he quickly realizes that the screen is a two-way portal of sorts, and it's their ticket outta here.
"Hey Carl, it seems that Yggdra has deemed us worth saving..." Albrecht said quietly enough that only Carl and the medics caught onto it.
Firing a few shots out the perimeter and dissuading a zombie by making it dead-dead, the Marshal quickly says. "Thirty seconds till impact! Get them out, now!"
"Move! Move!" A medic urged and the injured men were quickly sent to the other side and onto the Parseval's flight deck.
Captain Erika swiftly notifies. "VIPs are throughed! First squad, retreat!"
"Roger! First Squad, displacing!" Sergeant Lola shouted before one by one, the ten members of the first squad started going through the portal with haste. "The first is cleared!"
"Copy that!" Erika responded. "Second squad, fight and retreat!"
Erika then looks at Yuki who's just disposed of a spent magazine. "Marshal, we need to go."
"Right behind you, Captain." Yuki nodded while slapping the charging handle.
As the second squad starts filing through the portal, Yuki, Erika, and the remaining guards walk backward while firing their weapons at the front, cutting down countless zombies. Ultimately, every single member of the rescue platoon has made it onto the Parseval safely. Their objective is secured and a request has been passed over to Sirin to start closing the portal. Only ten seconds are left till impact as the portal starts shrinking.
But it's not fast enough.
Right on the other side of the portal, a large boar-like demon suddenly rushes through the smoke curtain. With strands of smoke still clinging onto its menacing form, Erika reacts quickly, calling out to Lola. "Sergeant!"
"On it, Cap!" Unslinging a tube on her back after putting away her MP9, Lola quickly reveals that she has been carrying a Panzerfaust all along.
To be more specific, she has been holding onto a Bunkerfaust, a Panzerfaust fitted with a thermobaric warhead.
"Clear backblast!" Lola warned with a wide grin on her dwarven face while aiming through the shrinking window of opportunity. The people at the rear of the tube quickly disperse.
After checking the surroundings, the Marshal calls out. "Backblast cleared!"
"Fire in the hole! Fire in the hole!" Lola shouted before pulling the trigger.
*ZWOOOOSHHH*
The warhead boosts from the tube and through the portal, flying for two seconds, it impacts right on the demon's forehead. The shockwave from the explosion, accompanied by a rush of hot air, reaches through the portal partially before dissipating on the deck of the Parseval. While it isn't possible to check the damage as the portal has closed by this time, it's sufficient to estimate that the demon won't be able to go anywhere after taking a thermobaric to the face.
With a wild smirk, Lola exclaims. "Kaboom, baby!"
Yuki and Erika can't stop a smile from growing as they see the dwarven Sergeant's trigger-happy face. The most chaotic mess ever since Alsace has been partially cleaned up, at least.
Chief Warrant Officer Carl Durant. Status - Alive, severely injured.
Crew Chief Elias Albrecht. Status - Alive, moderately injured.
And with that. I am finally caught up again! Damn I love this series. Thanks for the chapters!
UmU
TFTC
UmU
TFTC!!
