Braxton reappeared on a red planet. The immediate area looked like a war zone. The remains of the teleportation pad he arrived on appeared to have taken a direct hit. What sort of weapon had caused the damage, he couldn't tell. Much of the platform was in pieces and the glow had vanished. Black blaster scoring covered the surface.
Explosions could be heard both near and far. He saw a couple bodies in combat suits. The heads had been destroyed clearly. They looked to have been blown to bits. Braxton saw a softball sized light come from a tower in the distance and he heard an impact nearby. The flash, he knew came from a pulse rifle and it was insanely fast. He really didn't desire to go to the target area, but odds were good that would be the base camp. He slowly moved to a wall in that direction.
He heard the sounds of melee coming from ahead of his current position. It was coming from the base camp. The concrete walls were clearly hit several times and there were holes clear through them. Some had been filled in and others appeared recent. He could see a few monsters between him and the other humans in the camp. Right now, he really wished he had a weapon besides a bow for ranged attacks.
He put his sword away and pulled his bow. The creatures engaging the humans looked like a couple of large hounds or cats. They stood three feet high and we're almost five feet long. They had black tentacles poised to strike, the tips on them looked like spearheads. Each of them had four of these to attack with, on top of their teeth and claws. He was behind them and couldn't get a good look at their heads. The sides wouldn't be hard to hit from where he was hidden. If he could distract them, it might provide an opening for the others fighting them.
The range was only about thirty yards. There was no wind. It was an easy shot from his location and he had surprise on his side. He summoned an arrow and began unleashing arrows into the first creature. The first arrow hit solidly and sunk in halfway into the creatures rib cage. The beast lurched forward into the person fighting it, knocking him back or over behind he wall. Braxton wasn't sure of the outcome but, he didn't have time to waste. The next arrow was already drawn and ready. He released it into the second creature. The angle was different and the effects weren't quite as spectacular. The creature was wounded but not put out of commission. One of the tentacles reached back and wrapped around it. The beast managed to pull it out.
Braxton didn't stop and the remaining fighter was rejoined by another man. It may have been the same one that was fighting the first creature. He was covered in blood and his battle suit made it hard to tell what he looked like. Braxton fired another arrow into the beast. The man loped off one of the tentacles and the woman slid her sword into the beasts open mouth. The last attack put the beast down.
The man retreated back behind the wall and motioned for Braxton to run into the bunker. He didn't hesitate and dashed across the open space. As he reached the shelter he saw a baseball shaped projectile pass inches in front of his face. Then he heard the explosion hit twenty feet behind him. The wind of projectile passing so close pull him five feet to his left.
"Damn, kid that was close. If you were any faster you'd be dead." The man said.
"No shit. That was crazy. I've got some supplies for the base camp is this it?" Braxton asked quickly.
"No, the base camp was moved underground. This is just our lookout camp. Go down the tunnel in the back corner there. There is a ladder going down. Stay away from the walls by five feet. The impact of those pulse rifles can kill if you're to close to them. Mind the holes in the wall too. Until we can take out that sniper it's dangerous up here. He's been shooting into this bunker for the last week off and on. We haven't been able to clear him off and they keep sending critters this way. The blood off that black cat is yours. Nice shot by the way it was a clean kill. They call me Blackjack. This is White Sparrow. What's your name?" Blackjack queried.
"Call me Ace." Braxton stated.
"Nice. You got ammo. Can I get those clips off you?" White Sparrow requested.
"Sure, I didn't get a gun. How's half of them sound?" Braxton inquired happily.
"That sounds fantastic to be honest. I've been out of ammo for a few months. If they start hearing gunshots again the sniper might run off." White Sparrow's voice took on an optimistic air.
Braxton gladly pulled off six of the clips from his belt and handed them over. Then he made his way across the structure and headed down the tunnel. He stopped at the entrance and said "Hey Blackjack you want a few grenades?"
"Are you shitting me? You got some?" Blackjack was giddy with the prospect of some heavy weaponry.
"Sure do how's ten sound?" Braxton returned.
"That would be incredible. It's been a while since we got ammo of any kind. We haven't been able to get to the last guy that came through the portal. He might have some good stuff but, the sniper got the last man we sent to retrieve gear off him so we lost two for nothing." Blackjack responded.
"Maybe I can sneak over, after I offload and my armor upgrade is complete." Braxton stated.
"What armor upgrade did you get?" White Sparrow asked.
"Combat camouflage." Braxton stated.
"Nice we got a scout again! You any good with a sniper rifle?" Blackjack questioned.
"Not perfect but I hit the target at a mile. It might be enough to get him to bugger off. Let me go check in." Braxton said.
"Sure thing Ace. We will bring the blood down for you after we get relieved." Blackjack responded.
The sound of explosions started hitting the wall again as Braxton descended the ladder. It went down ten feet then opened into a small room and another ladder went down another ten feet. When he reached the bottom of the ladder he heard a weapon charging. "Halt! Who are you?" A female voice ordered.
"Just a new arrival. My name is Ace and I've got supplies. Can you direct me to the camp commander?" Braxton replied.
"I won't waste the Major's time with someone likely to be dead inside a week. The supply tent is on the right side. Down a hundred yards you can't miss it. The mess tent is just past that. Get yourself a meal. Then the next tent has an empty bunk. Crash out there or wander around and get to know some people if you want. I'll find you in the next day or two and give you your work detail. I'm Raven, I'm second chair around here." Raven stated calmly.