I hunkered down behind the barrier with my battlebrothers, glancing over at the carnage.
The .50 cal was still tearing through the clinic, ripping apart everything in its path.
Bodies littered the ground, and the mob had completely overrun the police, their pistols useless against the onslaught of militants and crazed civilians.
"That serum,"
Julian growled, wiping blood from his brow.
"It's still screwing with us. That switch, we reacted without thinking. We went straight for the kill."
He was right. We hadn't even hesitated. The moment things went sideways, we'd gone from vacation mode to kill mode.
The aggression, the clarity, it was all there. The serum had turned us into machines of war, with no room for hesitation.
I continued to crouch behind the barrier, the chaos swirling around us as bullets zipped overhead, and explosions tore through the streets.
The mounted .50 cal was still ripping apart the clinic, its relentless barrage causing havoc.
The militants and crazed civilians had overwhelmed the police, and the streets were nothing but carnage.
"We go low and don't engage unless we have no choice,"
I growled, glancing at the others.
"This isn't our fight."
"Easier said than done,"
Darius muttered as he gunned down a militant who had charged at us, firing wildly. The man collapsed, and Darius had no reaction whatsoever.
"These crazies don't seem to care."
Paul nodded, his rifle still trained on the mob.
"Yeah, they're not exactly giving us much of a choice here."
Suddenly, my holo-phone rang, its vibration a jarring intrusion in the middle of the firefight.
"Not the best time!"
I growled, answering the call.
The guild manager's face flickered above my Holo phone her voice was cool and composed despite the chaos.
"Good, I see you're still on Uyiescapus Prime."
"Yeah, and if you hadn't noticed,"
I snapped.
"The place is going to hell. What do you want?"
"I have a mission for you and youre Iron Fenrirs,"
She said, her tone flat.
"The militants and crazed civilians are attacking the planet's only space lift. They're planning to blow it up."
"Well f*ck me thats certainly not good news"
I muttered, glancing at the others who were still firing at the mob.
"If youre calling me then the situation must be bad real bad?"
"Yeah,"
She replied.
"The garrison forces are putting up a fight, but this frenzy Induced by g*ds know what is happening all over the planet. They're stretched thin, and the UNOE marines are already deployed to other hotspots. I'm offering you and your squad the contract to protect the space lift until the UNOE frigate Pumpkin arrives and drops OISTs."
I ducked as bullets whizzed past, taking a second to process the situation.
"How much?"
"100 billion credits,"
She said, her voice unflinching.
I cursed under my breath. It was a tempting sum, but we were still in the middle of a warzone practically butt naked.
The space lift was our only way off the planet because Invicta could land but wouldnt be able to break away from the planet because of the atmosphere density unlike on Med Karash I.
Which barely had any atmosphere, and if it fell, we'd be stuck in this chaos well we still did have our dropship though which could be piloted by Invictas computer.
"Make It three"
I said after a brief pause.
"And we have a deal."
"Tch! Fine Ill make it work somehow though no promises,"
She replied.
"The frigate will be in position in two hours. Hold until then. Don't die."
"Yeah, yeah, mom"
I muttered, cutting the call.
I stood up, snapping into action. The .50 cal was still tearing apart the area, but I raised my rifle, exhaled, and squeezed the trigger.
Two precise shots rang out In succesion, and the gunner crumpled, slumping over the heavy weapon.
"Form up on me!"
I barked at my death chain.
"As you heard we've got a new job. We're moving to the space lift, now!"
Darius, Paul, and the others nodded, immediately falling into formation.
We sprinted out of cover, moving in a tight formation toward the armored truck that had been terrorizing the street.
More militants and crazed civilians poured in from the alleyways, screaming, their eyes wild with madness.
"Keep moving!"
I shouted as we pushed forward.
Julian was the first to open fire, his rifle finding its mark as a civilian lunged toward us, armed with nothing but a pipe.
His body hit the ground, and a militant behind him tried to raise his rifle.
Before he could, Paul cut him down with a burst of precise fire.
"They just keep coming!"
Airid growled, firing into the crowd.
"We need to get to that truck!"
I ordered, moving quickly between bursts of cover.
"It's our only way to make it to the space lift before they blow the damn thing!"
We pressed forward, ducking and weaving through the chaos, cutting down anyone who came too close.
The militants were disorganized but fanatical, their lack of precision making them dangerous in their unpredictability.
As we approached the armored truck, a grenade exploded nearby, throwing debris into the air.
Darius staggered but remained on his feet, gritting his teeth as he leveled his rifle at another militant.
"Take them down!"
I shouted as we neared the truck.
"We're almost there!"
Robert and Paul moved as a team, one covering while the other advanced, their shots clean and efficient.
Militants fell around them, but more kept coming.
"Vamp, get that truck started!"
Julian called out, firing into the mob from behind a pile of rubble.
I reached the truck, swinging the door open, and climbing inside.
The dashboard was a mess of wires and cracked screens, but I knew enough about these old vehicles to get it going.
I hot-wired the ignition, the engine roaring to life with a sputter.
"Truck's ready!"
I yelled.
"Move!"
The others sprinted toward the truck, diving into the back as I floored the gas pedal.
The truck lurched forward, its massive tires crushing debris beneath us as we tore down the street.
"We've got hostiles on our tail!"
Paul shouted from the back, firing at a group of militants who had mounted smaller vehicles to pursue us.
"Fritz man the fifty!"
I yelled, swerving to avoid a wrecked car as we barreled through the streets.
Bullets pinged off the armor plating, but the truck held firm.
"On It!"
Darius was grinning like a maniac as he swung the .50 cal around, his thumbs squeezing the trigger with pure glee.
The heavy thuds of the 12.7 mm full metal jacket rounds echoed through the street as he shredded the pursuing militants and their vehicles with precision bursts.
The gun kicked with each shot, but Darius barely flinched, laughing as he tore through them.
"This is more like it!"
He yelled over the gunfire, his voice filled with adrenaline.
"A f*cking field day!"
"Shut It and keep firing Fritz!"
I barked from the driver's seat as I swerved around another burning car.
The truck roared down the street, crushing debris and bodies under its tires as we closed in on the space lift.
The towering structure loomed ahead, and I could see the remnants of the police, SWAT, and army grunts hunkered down, barely holding off the attacking militants.
The scene was chaos, smoke, gunfire, the constant sound of explosions and corpses litering the place.
The air was thick with the acrid smell of burning fuel, blood, and sweat.
The armed forces units were fighting back, but they were heavily outnumbered, and the militants were pushing forward in waves.
I spotted a crashed UNOE Marine dropship near the base of the space lift, half-buried in rubble.
A grim reminder that things had gone south long before we got there.