Chapter 62 | The Standard Protocol

"Mason? Is something wrong?" Leon asked as they finished inspecting the bodies of the fallen enemies.

A few seconds of silence on the other end made his heart pound faster.

Why isn't he answering?

"Mason, come in."

Another pause. Still nothing.

Then finally—

"Leon ha… we ha… need backup…" Mason's voice broke through, breathless between words.

There was another brief silence before Mason continued, "They have Fulgaris with them. In Class II."

Leon froze.

"Why would there be Fulgaris…and where did they get Class II armor?" he mumbled under his breath.

"What was that?" Mason asked.

Leon's tone sharpened. "I'm sending Two and Four to flank them from the rear. Hold on."

He glanced up, scanning the corridor until he spotted Nyra and Four's lead waiting with their voras in formation.

He waved them over.

"New plan," he said as they huddled between Vora One and Two. "You'll take your voras and follow this route. Group One ran into Fulgaris. They need backup."

He sent them the updated path.

"Fulgaris? Why—"

"I don't know," Leon cut in, "but we can ask questions later."

"Understood."

He locked eyes with her glowing visor. She gave a silent nod.

"Alright. Move." He turned back to his vora while the others jogged to rejoin theirs.

They shouldn't face too much resistance ahead. The control room was deeper in, and most of the defenders had been caught off guard in the hangar.

"Where are the other voras going?" Ruby asked, glancing back as the two groups rushed off. She held her position behind the shield wall, still aiming her rifle through the gap between two shields.

"Group One ran into Fulgaris. We don't know how many more there are. We can't risk losing the foothold we gained in the hangar."

As long as they held the hangar, they could rig the bay's bulkhead doors with explosive discs and blast them open if needed. But that was a last resort.

Without access to the control room, the anti-ship turrets outside the bay would stay online and if the explosion brought down the structure, they'd be trapped.

Owen glanced over his shoulder at Leon. "Do we continue?"

One's shield bearers still held the formation, braced behind their wall. It had been a couple minutes since the remaining enemies had retreated, and there were no signs of reinforcements.

"That's the plan." Leon pulled up the map on his HUD. Just a few more intersections and they'd reach the control room.

At their original pace, before the last skirmish, they would've been there in five minutes.

"Let's go," Leon ordered after quickly reviewing the final stretch.

Vora One picked up the pace, shield wall advancing with urgency. It was a risky move. Their flanks were exposed, if an enemy emerged from one of the side corridors, they'd be vulnerable, but they didn't have time to crawl through this like before. If they wanted to finish this before enemy reinforcements arrived, they had to move aggressively.

If they spotted enemies ahead, they'd have to charge into melee and break the line fast. If more Fulgaris were involved, they'd need support from regulars soon.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Rounding a corner, they ran straight into another defensive line. The control room was just beyond it.

"RUBY!" Leon shouted.

"I'm on it!"

BANG!

"Don't stop! We need to close the distance!" Leon barked.

The shield wall advanced at a brisk, synchronized march.

"They have shields!" Owen called out.

"Damn! I can't get a shot!" Ruby growled. Gunfire echoed down the hall, ricocheting off enemy shields.

"Looks to be about ten," Leon relayed. "Can't tell how many more behind them. Thirty feet out. At ten out, shields—charge and break their line. Owen, your call. Drop and crouch at impact. Tess, Dove, Ruby—on me."

Leon steadied his breath, then activated Aetheric Combat State.

The mana circuits in his armor flared brighter. Blue eye-shaped lights on his visor pulsed, and excess energy vented from the shoulder-mounted exhaust ports with a hiss.

"CHARGE!" Owen shouted.

Leon watched as the shield wall surged forward.

"Follow you where?" Ruby asked, remaining behind and watching him.

Owen dropped to a crouch as the formation collided with the enemy line and held. Even with their strength, Obsidians couldn't push through if the enemy had enough Ordaris or Nullaris braced behind their wall, especially if there are Fulgaris in Class II.

Leon drew the sword from his hip with his left hand, spear still in his right.

"Just follow me!" he snapped, then sprinted toward Owen.

He vaulted over the line, planting a foot on Owen's shoulder. The shield bearer let out a surprised grunt as Leon launched himself high over the shield wall. His right arm cocked back, spear ready.

Fulgaris, he thought, as he took in the enemy formation.

Twelve Ordaris or Nullaris, he couldn't tell which, braced behind the enemy wall. And behind them, three figures in white Class II armor stood tall. Standard-issue Fulgari gear.

The one in the center began to raise its spear, but too late.

Leon hurled his weapon with full force.

The spear, core still pulsing with residual mana, flew straight and true.

It pierced dead center in the chestplate, slamming the Fulgaris backward several feet.

The other two raised their spears toward Leon mid-air, perfect trajectory to skewer him.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

A burst of gunfire exploded from behind, deafening him.

The Fulgaris flinched, trying to shield themselves from the punishing barrage.

Leon hit the ground hard, rolled, and pumped mana into the blade in his left hand. He came up on one knee and slashed low, carving into the legs of the Fulgaris in front of him.

He pivoted to strike the last one.

But Dove was already there, driving his sword into the enemy's chest.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Leon turned toward the enemy line. Ruby and Tess were tearing through what remained with the help of the shield bearers.

It had happened too fast for the Ordaris or Nullaris to react.

Leon stood and deactivated Aetheric Combat State. The blue glow from his armor faded, and his HUD dimmed. Ahead, the shield bearers moved up, forming another defensive wall across the corridor.

"There really are Fulgaris," Leon muttered as he walked over to the armored corpse and yanked his spear free from its chest.

Ruby crouched beside him, visor tilted down at the fallen Fulgari.

"Mana beasts would've been a better use of my time," she said. Her voice came flat through the helmet comms, but the irritation in her tone was unmistakable.

Leon held out a disc. "Ruby. Get those doors open."

She took it without a word, stood, and walked toward the control room doors. Owen stepped aside to let her pass.

She's done with this, Leon thought.

None of them liked what they were doing. Even more so now that Fulgaris were involved. It didn't make sense—why would they help terrorists?

Ruby planted the disc against the control room door and jogged back behind the shield wall.

BOOM!

The disc detonated with a deep, echoing blast. Smoke poured from the breach. Vora One pushed through it fast and hard.

Three guards—one of them a Fulgari—were flung back from the explosion. They were just starting to get up when the vora reached them.

Leon didn't need to lift a finger. The shield bearers stormed in, spears thrusting the downed guards before they could react.

Only a few technicians remained, unarmed and frozen near the controls.

"Step away from the controls!" barked Miles, the tall shield bearer who entered second.

The four technicians scrambled back, stumbling over themselves to comply.

"They're Ordaris," Miles said, glancing at Leon.

Leon nodded. The two other dead guards were Ordaris too. The Fulgari must've been the officer in charge.

He felt a tap on his shoulder and turned. Tess stood there, shoulders stiff, helmet slightly turned away.

"Sir… they don't seem trained," she said, shifting awkwardly, still avoiding his eyes.

"I noticed."

Untrained Fulgaris weren't unheard of, but rare. The Imperial Covenant placed a high priority on combat training for Fulgari youth. Even public schools were required to teach basic martial instruction.

Something wasn't adding up.

But there wasn't time to question it. His cavora was still fighting.

"Tess, get on the controls. Shut down the anti-ship defenses and open the bulkhead doors."

"Yes, sir."

Leon turned away and with a thought ordered his CRI to connect to Mason.

Beep.

"Mason, how're you holding up?"

"We're wrapping up the last of their defenses," Mason replied, breathing heavily. "Two and Four made it a lot easier. Was getting a bit dicey."

"Good. Control room's secure. Regulars should be inbound soon."

"Copy that."

Leon ended the call and looked toward the surviving Ordaris huddled near the wall. A lump rose in his throat.

He clenched his fist, jaw tight, then turned to Owen.

"Standard protocol."

Owen gave a small nod, stepped forward, and shoved one of the survivors. "Move. Out to the corridor."

The shield bearers led them out. The heavy boots of their armor echoed down the hall.

A minute later, there was a series of wet, gurgling noises. Then the dull thuds of bodies hitting the floor.

Unbounded members were kill-on-sight. Unless ordered otherwise, they were not to be taken alive.