The Shielder raised itself on its two feet and gathered strength and slammed down the ground. The ground shook, stumbling the outpost. The buildings around the creature fell down, scattering rubbles everywhere. As soon as it was finished, the huge Zakana turned around and ran away, and jumped down to the sands. The Gallant's shot missed the giant creature.
At the center of the outpost, Marve is cowering in a sniper tower. When the Zakana charged from the Shielder, he helped to slow them down. "They did it..." He stood up and looked ahead. The screech of the Shielder and its slam to the ground must have killed or scared the other Zakana away. There was a brief stop to their attack before it gradually happened again.
"We can use the rocks as cover!" He heard Sterling commanding the soldiers. They hid behind large rubble piles but small enough for them to peek ahead. "Miss Kirin! Our line has been destroyed and we retreated to form a new one inside!" He heard her call out with a small hint of anger.
"She sure looks scary when she's angry..." He observed her expression as she continues to report to Kirin. "That Narukh'za blood must have been awakened..." He kept mumbling things until he saw Kirin arriving at the line.
"Shit, was it hit?" Kirin asked Sterling. "No, they missed!" Sterling extends her arm towards the ruins. "Sorry for that, the thing shook the planet" Averthos's voice came out from Kirin's suit. "Alright, make sure you pierce him next time, Averthos. That thing will crush our defenses and the rest will overrun us" Kirin warned the Gallant.
"Just so you know, I'm commanding this line" Sterling winked at her. "You are?!" Kirin's eyes widen. "Yes. That convoy leader allowed me to. Isn't that amazing?" Sterling said as she looked at the soldiers observing the Zakana ahead. Not a moment longer, the Zakana started surfacing and charges once again. "Here they come! Let my eyes guide you!" Kirin gets in position with Sterling.
With Kirin assisting Sterling, she proceeds to shout out commands to the soldiers, telling them where to shoot. They fought for a few minutes before they felt the grounds below them rumble. "It's the Shielder!" Kirin used her eyes to see down below, she saw the Shielder heading west.
"The shaking is disappearing in that direction!" A Narukh'za soldier pointed behind them. The rumbling is leaving the eastern line towards the center. "Averthos! Head west!" Kirin quickly called out. "Sterling, keep up the good work! I will go to the west with the Gallant!" Kirin and Sterling nodded to each other and Kirin left with the Gallant.
"Boar company to Averthos of the Gallant, there is a seismic activity below us! Possible Shielder resurfacing to our line, get your ass in here now!" Captain Carlos called out. Kirin was surprised by how fast the Shielder travels below. "That huge and it can travel faster than a Gallant?!" She shouted. Averthos popped out. "That thing shouldn't even be able to move underground" He said.
"Argh! We need to kill more of those! We can't keep them under the sands any longer! This sudden attack everywhere is a warning to all of us!" Kirin furiously scratched her head. "That means more Gallants around these parts" Averthos said. "Yeah, if that's what it takes to reduce these Shielders down to zero! How do they even raise something big like that?!" She complained.
After a while, they reached the rear of the western line. Coincidentally, the Shielder surfaced once again in front of the line. "Shielder! Shielder inbound! Boar company to Gallant! Shielder has resurfaced!" "We got it!" Kirin quickly replied to Carlos' call. The Gallant stops and aims at the center of the creature's shield.
"They are gathering behind the Shielder!" One of the Boars shouted. "Miss Kirin! The Zakana gathers behind the Shielder!" "Yeah, I fucking heard you!" Kirin shouted over Carlos. Two Bogues is firing its auto-cannon along with the soldiers against the Shielder despite their shells not going through. "Laying some fire, do your magic, Gallant!" Carlos said. "We are aimed for bullseye...!" Averthos said as his gunner readies to fire.
"And..." Averthos waited until the Shielder charged. "It's charging!" Carlos shouted. The Bogues fired their lasers against the creature. "...Now!" The Gallant fires, shaking everything around it. The powerful cannon sent a shell inside the shield, letting out a loud smack and cracking sound. The Shielder's deafening cry followed after. The big creature raised up to its two feet and slammed the sands, scattering the gathered Zakana behind it.
The soldiers saw a hole formed in the middle of the shield. The sight and the creatures crying in pain boosted the soldier's morale, cheering all together. Carlos complimented the Gallant. "Now, aim your lasers on that hole, bring as much pain as you can" Kirin instructed. "You heard her people! Aim your weapons at that hole! We will make it feel pain it will never forget!" Carlos instructed his soldiers and some Narukh'za.
By his order, the soldiers ignored the straggling Zakana and focused their fire on the hole from the Shielder. The big creature screams in fear and charges ahead unbalanced. "Bring him some more pain!" Kirin jumped out of the Gallant and charges her eyes. After a few seconds, her eyes fired a straight beam to the hole.
The Shielder cries loudly and stops. It started shaking its head, moving its shield's hole away from the soldiers' aims. "Focus some fire at the hole, the rest shoot its legs!" Kirin instructed. Carlos told the soldiers what he was told and they divided their fires.
Every time the Shielder moves its head to the side, its feet become vulnerable in a short time. The Bogues used this opportunity to wound the big creature more. It didn't take long for the creature to notice their strategy and faced away. It ran away desperately, crushing some Zakana on the way. "All flesh and no armor! Shoot his ass, Gallant!" Carlos shouted.
"Averthos?!" Kirin called out. "Aiming!" Averthos readied his gunner again. The Shielder reached a distance and jumped up high. "It's about to burrow!" The soldiers shouted. "Fire!!!" Averthos shouted loud and the gunner fired.
Headfirst, The Shielder dives down and hits the sands. Its lower body explodes, scattering its flesh and blood in the area. The soldiers cheered loudly as they confirmed hit. "You hit 'em, Avenue!" Kirin cheered. As they were cheering, they felt the grounds shake below them. The shaking then headed to the center.
"It's not done yet?! Averthos, on me!" Kirin then ran back while looking at the ground. "Shit! It's still alive! I can confirm the damage but it's still kicking!" She said as she saw the Shielder move with only its upper body. She then saw it go down further. "It's... It's trying to surface on the concrete!" She warned everyone.
While Kirin and the Gallant wait for the Shielder to surface at the center, the defense around the outpost continues. The Zakana are still appearing in every direction and the company and the outpost garrison hold their line.
"Marve! Get your attention to us!" Kirin called him out. "Roger that!" Marve faced their direction and waited. Kirin then continued to observe the Shielder below. As they wait, Ravens started appearing above. "Damn! Do we have air cover?!" She asks as she looked up to shoot at them. "We have our Eagles watching the skies, don't worry" The outpost commander relieves them. As he said, the Demon Eagles started appearing above.
Kirin shot down three more Ravens before focusing back to the ground. As she looked down, the ground shook and the image of the Shielder is getting closer. "Shit, stay back! It's coming!" Kirin ran away from the spot the Shielder's going to appear. The ground shakes aggressively as it reaches the surface.
"Here it comes...!" Kirin readies herself. In the tower, Marve aims his Silverline at the spot. As he waits, his sight on his scope got filled. The ground gave a violent shake as it surfaced, breaking the solid ground with its shield. As it surfaced, it let out the same pained cry. It landed in front of Kirin.
"You're one hell of a big Zakana I have ever seen..." She said as the creature turned its cries to angered screech. Despite its effort to intimidate Kirin, it can't stop crying in pain. "Curse be with the Gallant...!" Marve saw the rear of the Shielder. Its lower body is blown up completely, still bleeding intensely, its flesh and organs are thrown around when it surfaced and hit the ground. With its little energy left, the Shielder slowly crawls towards Kirin.
"Here's some more pain...!" Marve aims inside the creature and fires. The Silverline penetrated its body with no trouble. The creature cries louder. "Averthos, you're ready to fire yet?" Kirin glanced over her shoulder. "Not yet..." Averthos replied. "Marve, keep firing. Try to slow him down as much as you can" "Got it!" Kirin instructed him and he replied. He kept firing at the Shielder's exposed rear.
"Keep at it...!" Kirin said as she slowly walks back. Feeling enough pain, the creature tried to stand up again. "Not again! Averthos!" Kirin quickly noticed and faced the Gallant. "Three seconds!" Averthos hurried his loader. There was not enough time for three seconds, the Shielder was about to hit the ground.
"Brace!" Kirin called out for Marve and ducked to the ground. Waiting for the Shielder to shake the ground, Kirin closed her eyes. At the very moment that she did, she heard the creature explode followed by its cry. She opened her eyes and looked up. The Shielder was hit by something at the side of its head that came to the left.
Multiple round-shaped starfighters flew by with mysterious wobbling sounds. One of them landed a bomb on the Shielder's head, killing it. The creature lays dead on the ground. "Those fighters!" Averthos gasped at the sight. The round-shaped starfighters dominated the skies along with the Demon Eagles. Some have started strafing at the ground, helping the ground units fight off the Zakana.
"Those things are from the Bastion! I can't believe it!" Kirin said as she stares at the skies. Averthos popped out of his Gallant. "I heard you are afraid of them, Miss Kirin" He said in a calm manner. "Yeah. I tried my best to avoid those back when I was active, so I never get to see them up this close" Kirin replied. "Don't worry. They're on our side for now" Averthos returned back inside.
"Command to Boar Company, multiple Bastion spacecraft has taken the skies, do not fire" Kirin warned the others. "Boar to Command, we should leave!" Carlos pleaded. "Not with the Zakana hot on heels to the outpost!" Kirin objected. "Oh, curse be with this day, the Narukh'za is all over us..." Carlos watched the skies as the round starfighters dominates the Ravens and the ground.
"Lonara has trusted the Loyalist's words! We can't go against that" Averthos said to Carlos. The count of the round starfighters continues to increase by the second. The efforts of the defense of the ground units have lessened. After a while, the outpost commander spoke through everyone's suit.
"Our Great Bastion has arrived and is laying her punishment to these savages!" "Let us make the aliens regret their appearance in the face of the Narukh'za at this day!" The Narukh'za soldiers shouted in unison. The Boars and Kirin's squad watched them go. "I feel uncomfortable..." Carlos mumbled. "Boar and Marsterravon, stay put. Don't make a mistake. You may cease fire and let them do the job" Kirin told her soldiers.
"What the hell kind of name is Marsterravon?" Carlos scoffs. Niela and Chirlin heard him and became flustered. "Save your ammunition in case these bastards turn on us, we aren't going down without a fight" Carlos added. "Ready up your transmitters, contact the base immediately if trouble happens" Kirin then called Karuga.
"Hey, Loyalist. Your Bastion is here. Show yourself" She said. A second later, Karuga replied. "As you say" Kirin felt anxious about what was going to happen next. After a while, Karuga phased beside her. Kirin gasped and quickly turned to the red figure.
"Averthos, Marve, weapons on that red thing!" She said as she aims her Resolver to the phase. They watched as Karuga phases in the spot. "Lower your weapons" Karuga spoke during her phasing. "We are outnumbered, let us at least feel safe by guarding ourselves" Kirin replied. "And I am vulnerable as I phase myself in front of you. None of my soldiers can do anything if you or that sniper of yours shoot my head" Karuga said as her full figure is now visible.
"Lower your weapons or I will have my army point their barrels on your soldiers as well" Karuga glared at Kirin. The two were silent for a few seconds before Kirin gave in. "Alright, weapons off..." Kirin said as she lowered her Resolver. Karuga looked past her to the tower. Noticing it, Kirin turned around. Marve still has his rifle pointed at the Loyalist.
"Marve, what did I just say?" Kirin asked. "Hey, it's not like I can hit you and make you bleed to death, right? It's only fair" Marve shouted. Kirin grunted in annoyance. "That was an order, goddamn it. Put away your rifle!" She kept her voice low and controlled her anger. Pressured, Marve utters and lowered his weapon. Satisfied, Karuga focused on Kirin.
"Your soldiers lack discipline" She said to her. "Yeah, what about it?" Kirin raised a brow. "You either teach them now or they will be a liability later" Karuga then looked up to Marve. "Especially that none of these people you have under your squad looks capable of warfare" She then looked straight at her eyes. "I'm certain that you are aware that they will not make it out there. With the Narukh'za... and the Zakana" Kirin let her speak.
"I have yet to understand why you have brought them with you out here, without knowing about anything about bloodshed" Kirin was itching to speak against the Loyalist, but bested by her curiosity, she just hear her next words. Karuga then coughed a laugh. "No matter how technologically advanced your artificial eyes are, you won't be able to keep them in your sights at all times"
"Right now as we converse, your squad is standing side by side with my soldiers holding the lines together. Just telling them to keep their heads down does not prevent the risk of their death. They will die just like my soldiers in these sands" "Fortunately for you, none of them is hurt, for now. You may believe that they will survive longer every time you return to your safe space, but know that they are just like many other soldiers out there. You won't know when but they will be killed and drop dead in the field someday and sooner than you expect, you won't ever feel the same relief and pride you feel when you return to the others. You are no hero. I can assure you, you will regret bringing these children on to war once that happened"
The two glared at each other for a few seconds. "Are you done? That's some discernment coming from a Narukh'za" Kirin clenched her fist. "I've seen plenty of horrors that wars bring upon humans. I know what it's like to lose someone in a blink of an eye because of your misjudgment. It happens often" Karuga sighed. "That's not a surprise, being a Narukh'za" "It's more than that!" Karuga raised her over Kirin's.
"I know that you are not just some cretin in the Arkula, Kirin Solana. You refuse to acknowledge my words because our societies are in conflict for eons!" "Such wars cannot be allowed to cloud your reasonings. Every thought and decision you make will shape the future of these children, whether their horrible end or a squad of strong warriors. But know that it's easier to send them to their death than whatever you have thought about them"
Karuga glances past Kirin, to the soldiers in the eastern line. She cleared her throat. "You have called me. What do you need?" She asked. Kirin rubbed her forehead in frustration and sighed.