Author notes:
Sorry that I've been taking longer than expected to post a new chapter. But it's here at last! Was scrapping the chapter many, many times before I settled down on finishing it. Not gonna lie, the amount of words I discarded has been thrice the size of the chapter I posted. Feelsbadman
Fortunately, I had a nice weekend with my mum. This makes me think that I have been fortunate enough to have you guys and gals around to support us. Many thanks to you all as always!
Now then, three new pics are up! Enjoy!
https://photos.app.goo.gl/waZgkRa3UQhqKQBi9
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Yuki is, for a lack of better words, exasperated. After quickly grilling Sirin for the important bits that she has to know, Yuki has gleaned enough information for her to exhale a heavy sigh. Sirin, on her part, has the mind to scratch her cheek sheepishly, having been interrogated by Yuki about her wrongdoings.
So here's what Yuki's dealing with. For some reason, for some mind-bogglingly stupid reasons, Nicolae, a powerful Shoggoth, is unable to open a clean-cut portal inside that blasted dome. Yet, Sirin, a girl who has been in captivity mere hours ago, has been semi-successful in her own attempt. The only reason why she failed was because her mana pool ran dry, thus infringing upon her not-yet-recovering stamina. Honestly, Yuki is both surprised and confused as to how Sirin managed to pull that off. She understands the theories behind it, yes. But if Nicolae has been hampered by the will of the planet Gaia then why wasn't Sirin affected? Might Sirin be the loving child of the planet or something? Questions for later, Yuki supposes. Now though, time is running short and if Sirin's method is anything to go by, Yuki may be able to build something around that. The only thing missing would be something to fuel Sirin's portal, and Yuki may have a battery handily lying around that.
Herself, basically.
"You got that?"
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"Yeah, I got that." Yuki answered to, well guess what, herself. The grin that suddenly appeared on her face didn't escape the notice of Bryn, who had been dutifully by her side ever since this fudged operation. Without the Valkyrie as her adjutant, Yuki would have been swamped with task delegation and battlefield management.
"Has there been a new development with the Overseers, Marshal?" Bryn, having struggled to familiarize herself with Yuki and her clones, instantly picked up on who Yuki had been talking out loud to.
Yuki grins at that. "I can just count on you to identify the voices in my head." She jested, earning herself a wry smile from Bryn, before saying with all seriousness. "ETA till the synchronized strike?"
"Twelve minutes and counting, Marshal." Bryn replied. Having known Yuki for a long while, Bryn knows what to ask next. "I dare say that you have learned something that we can use?"
Yuki nods without much fanfare. "That would be the case, I have something that can get Outlaw 2-6 out of there before the bombs drop. Though we're on a tight timeframe with this one. Patch me to Erika, please."
Bryn nods before connecting Yuki to the chief of her personal bodyguards, who have followed her aboard the Parseval. "You're patched through."
Yuki thanks Bryn before speaking to the mic. "Erika, do you read?"
"Five-by-five, Marshal, send it." The voice of Erika could be heard from the other end.
"Gear up. Bring your team and meet me at the armory." Yuki informed them.
"Roger that, Marshal. We'll meet you there." The call then disconnected.
Bryn takes the chance to ask. "You heading out there, Yuki?"
The girl in question nods. "Overseer will take the lead. I'll be staying here to oversee the sync attack." Yuki then looks at Bryn with a light smile. "The I right here won't be going anywhere in case you're wondering. However, it's best if we clear the flight deck of the Parseval till further notice. We will also need a marine detail for security and a medic crew on the deck."
Bryn sighs while a naval officer responds. "It will be done as you said, Marshal."
"With Yggdra favoring us on this one, we may secure ourselves an express ticket. Traveling light is important since speed is essential. That means my own guards should be more than enough to extract the remaining survivors." Yuki commented before taking a look at her watch. "Time's ticking."
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Overseer Yuki, after making sure that Sirin is mobile without any lingering pain, has called for some help to bring the young girl topside. While she heads for the ship's armory to requisition gear for an upcoming firefight. Once there, Yuki comes across her own security detail, headed by her long-time friend Erika Hartmann and her 2IC, Lola the dwarf. During the time Yuki has been walking from the medical bay, Erika and the rest have already fitted themselves with enough ordinance to sink a destroyer by their lonesome. Now, it's Yuki's turn to arm herself up. The Parseval's armorer is quick to allocate Yuki with only the best that she has on her hands. This translates to Yuki kitting out with a special operations naval marine loadout.
Currently, Yuki is holding onto a G1 rifle with a red dot sight, an adjustable buttstock, and a vertical foregrip. Of course, let's not forget the standard-issue USP pistol that's neatly holstered on her hip. Moving on, Yuki has opted to just wear a tac vest over her normal officer attire and under her coat. The vest has everything she needs to fight a short-term battle with six primary magazines, two secondary magazines, and medical supplies, alongside two frags and two smokes. Additional nick-nacks are also presented on her body, but they're mostly for auxiliary supports. Yuki does forgo a helmet though, seeing no point in weighing herself any further.
Now that everything is set, Yuki gestures her head to Erika, motioning for them to follow her. Without delay, Erika, now a Captain after a couple of years guarding the Marshal, has the twelve-man section falling behind Yuki. As the leader of the security detail, Erika finds it in herself to inquire about the upcoming deployment, one that involves Yuki going out there armed. "Marshal, what's the mission?" Though Yuki has given both Erika and Lola permission to call her by name, the Captain dares only do that in a private setting now that Yuki is a revered Marshal.
Yuki responds as they navigate the inner corridors of the August von Parseval, with its crewmates standing by the wayside and in salutes. "It's a simple combat search and rescue mission. We have finally found a way to pull Outlaw 2-6 away from the hot zone. Once we're topside, a portal will be opened, connecting us directly to 2-6's location. Expect immediate hostile contacts on the other side with an unknown level of firepower. Time is pressing and by my calculation, we have less than eight minutes starting from the opening of the portal to get the survivors back to safety." The Marshal then gives Erika a side glance. "This will be your first combat ops in a while, I trust your subordinates are up to the challenge?"
Erika confidently nods, having full faith in the veterans who formally belonged to the 404th, now acting under her lead to protect Yuki no matter the cost. "Bodyguard duty hasn't dulled us of our fang and instinct, Marshal. Quite the opposite, in fact."
"Good." Yuki said succinctly before holding out her wrist in front of her. Mounted on an arm bracer is a small tablet for battlefield intelligence. Flipping open the protective casing, Yuki checks the state of Outlaw 2-6, only to frown upon seeing the video feed. "Damn it, it would seem that we're still too late. The Osprey has exploded, taking out Shughart and a bunch of zombies altogether... The man sacrificed himself."
Her words cause the bodyguards to put more strength into the grips of their weapons. Nonetheless, the short walk up top has no further exchange. Once they get to the flight deck, a clearing has been made with marines forming a secured perimeter. Outside the perimeter are Sirin's group and the sailors that ensure partial operation of the flat-top. Leading the way, Yuki moves toward Sirin's position. The girl is flanked by her guardian Cocolia and older sister Mash.
Nodding at the older woman and her charges, Yuki opens up by saying. "We appreciate the help, Sirin, are you ready?"
Sirin is about to reply when Cocolia steps forth, placing Sirin behind her protectively. The mama bear then asks directly without mincing words. "What do you want with my child?"
Undisturbed, Yuki answers. "I'll be direct, two lives are at stake here and your daughter is crucial for us to conduct our rescue operation." The Marshal then dispassionately glares at Cocolia.
On another occasion, Yuki would have loved to make friends with Cocolia, who has been a valuable undercover asset in Auschwitz and the guardian of eight wonderful girls. But right now, she's an annoyance that stands in Yuki's way to get her air boys back. "Now step aside or they will make you." Per Yuki's cue, Erika and Lola step up, ready to pull Cocolia away from Sirin.
Facing the oppressive aura of the guards, Cocolia instinctively steps back but does not quite move away from Sirin. Yuki is just about to give the hand signal for Erika and Lola to apprehend Cocolia when Sirin suddenly grabs her adoptive mother's hand. "Mother Cocolia, please, I want to help them."
Cocolia turns around. "You're still not recovered, Sirin, and who knows how far are we from the battlefield. This could kill you!"
"If you're worrying about her not having enough energy to power the portal then don't be. I will handle that myself. Now step aside!" Yuki reiterated, more forcefully this time since Erika and Lola started pulling Cocolia back. Fortunately, the mother sees reasons this time though that doesn't stop her from sending Sirin concerned glances, even when Mash moves to help the mother cool down.
Sirin though, just smiles to assuage Cocolia's concerns before turning over to Yuki. "Sorry, big sis, Mother Cocolia just wants me to be safe."
Yuki sighs, nodding. "That I can understand quite well."
"Right. However, I think we should... portalling now?" Sirin asked, earning an affirmative hum from Yuki. "How should we do this, sister Yuki?"
"You just repeat what you have been doing earlier. I will handle the cost for you."
"Ok, sister." Sirin answered. "Well, here goes nothing then."
Like earlier, Sirin starts finding a spatial connection to Outlaw 2-6's position. However this time, Sirin pushes for the complete formation of a two-way portal. A part of Sirin instinctively dreads the feeling of her barely recovered mana being drained, only to find that a soothing hand has been placed on her shoulder. Sirin comes to see that the hand belongs to Yuki. From the Marshal's hand, a stream of mana is injected into Sirin's body, thus paying the transfer cost for the portal Sirin's forming. Soon enough, a purplish vortex appears inside the marines' perimeter before it stabilizes into a screen of static.
Still with a hand on Sirin to pump her with more mana to maintain the portal, Yuki gives the hand signal for her guards to move ahead. Erika acknowledges the order, commanding the guards to form two firing lines in front of the portal. A few seconds later, the static screen fades away, it's slowly being replaced by the view coming from the other end of the portal. It's a scorching wasteland, one with dangers prowling and waiting for them. From the look of it, the portal has been opened inside the garage 2-6 has been hiding in.
Wonderfully done, Sirin.
With Sirin receiving enough mana, judging from the young girl's nod, Yuki then flips open her tablet. "Five mikes!" The Marshal announced their time limit.
Erika nods at the information. "Lock and load people!" The Captain said, prompting all of them to disable the safeties on their weapons. "Lola! You're up first!"
The dwarven lady nods with a wide grin. With one hand holding up her MP9 fitted with 60-round casket magazine, Lola motions for her unit to push up first. "Team 1, on me, let's go slap some senses into those white butts!"
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Albrecht wakes up, startled. Looking around, all that the crew chief can see is ashes, ashes everywhere. The moment he notices that Albrecht starts coughing hoarsely, biles and blood intermixing his spits.
"Fuck..." Albrecht cursed. "You got the number plate on the truck that hit me, Carl?"
Albrecht rolls onto his arms and feet. "Carl?" The man called out to his friend once again, only to receive no reply.
Regaining his bearings once more, Albrecht tries to rouse his friend up. "Carl?"
Fearing the worst, Albrecht looks around, only to see Carl sprawling on the floor, his chest barely rising up and down.
"CARL!"