Previous: Chapter 26[]
Hillside[]
Within a flash, Sardec was teleported in the middle of an ongoing firefight on UBP116's frozen glaciers. He looked down from the cliff he was on to see two groups of similarly-armored soldiers firing various weapons at each other. Each side appeared indistinguishable from one another. Sardec laid prone and kept his head down as he observed the battle. Within a moment, he heard a familiar language.
"Graah inhk ben gan!"
There was no mistaking it -- one side were Kartinava forces. He listened carefully to the chatter and distinguished which side were the enemy. He determined the Kartinava soldier manning a Fort-II to be their strongest unit. Sardec drew the HBS-VI Phantom from his Immortal backpack and readied its bow form. Releasing the bowstring, dual energy bolts struck the machine gunner right in the head. The other soldiers looked around as saw Sardec atop the ice cliff and pointed their weapons at him. Sardec quickly jumped onto the battlefield below, evading fire and falling down a square chasm.
"Their turret is down!" Yelled a Black Hole-clad figure with a noticeable orange stripe on the forehead.
"Push forward, brothers and sisters!"
With Sardec's interference, the other group were able to push beyond their cover. The Kartinava slowly made for their retreat as they were being gunned down. Soon after, the Hillside region was cleared of Kartinava forces.
The Duel[]
Sardec got up to his feet and found himself in a small cavern with various consoles installed in the walls. Soon after, footsteps were heard descending the ramps connecting to the field above. Before he knew it, Sardec was surrounded by armored figures pointing their weapons at him. He dropped his weapon and put his hands up.
"Take it easy, I'm not your enemy!" He exclaimed.
Their guard remained up until a voice from behind spoke.
"Secure the perimeter. Leave us alone."
As the armored figures returned to the surface, the orange-striped figure remained.
"Grab your weapon." The figure said.
"Good to see you believe me. I'll fight alongsi-"
"Silence! Now draw your weapon."
"What? I don't understand." Said Sardec as he prepared his bow.
"Where is your sword? All warriors carry a sword."
"I uh..." Sardec morphed his Phantom into a sword.
"Impressive technology. I wonder if it's as sharp as mine." The figure said as it drew its sword.
Sardec's HUD labeled the sword as PWC-I Bloodseeker.
"Duel me."
"Please! I don't want to waste time fighting!"
"I told you I'd kill you personally if you returned. I shall honor you with a warrior's death."
"Wait! No!"
The striped figure charged forward. Sardec raised his Phantom sword to clash with his opponent's.
"Stop! I want to help you guys!"
The figure aimed for a forward strike. Sardec quickly dodged out of the way.
"I remember you! You're the Turauz resistance leader, right?"
The figure attacked with consecutive swings. Sardec held his sword forward to block each one.
"Your guys found my body in a sand crater!"
"Silence! I do remember you. Now fight back!"
"Ugh! Fine!"
Sardec leapt forward and slashed down. The striped figure dodged and sliced a part of Sardec's Krypton shoulder pauldron clean off. Sardec stumbled and was struck with the hilt of the figure's Bloodseeker, causing him to fall on his back. As he opened his eyes, Sardec saw the figure preparing to stab him in the face. He quickly rolled out of the way as the blade stabbed into the snowy ground. Sardec got back to his feet as the figure pulled his Bloodseeker out. Sardec responded with a wide horizontal swing.
The figure readied his Bloodseeker, catching the Phantom into a sword-lock. Both pushed their blades forward. As the sword-lock was extended, Sardec began to struggle. Eventually his Phantom sword cracked and broke off the hilt, allowing the striped figure to push Sardec to the ground. The figure stepped forward and placed his foot on Sardec's chest, pointing his sword at his opponent's face.
"Surrender." The figure said.
At that moment, Sardec threw snow at the figure's Black Hole visor, temporarily blinding him. Sardec grabbed his broken Phantom and tossed it at the feet of his opponent, stumbling him to the floor.
"Why, you!" The figure growled as he removed his helmet, revealing a feathered head with two reptilian eyes, a beak, and a pair of small tusks. He threw the snow-covered helmet at Sardec, hitting him directly on the face.
As Sardec was stunned, the figure tackled his body to the floor. The two struggled on the floor until the figure got Sardec in a choke hold. Sardec struggled to break the figure's grip, but to no avail. Sardec's vision began to lose color. As things started going dark, Sardec could suddenly breathe again. The figure released his grip and stood back up.
"Get up." He said as he reached out his hand.
Sardec didn't understand what was happening but grabbed his hand and was pulled up.
"You fight dirty." The figure said.
"Only a pathetic little animal resorts to such tactics. Even in the end, you didn't give up. You are clearly not our enemy."
"That's. What. I've been. Trying to tell you." Sardec said with a gasp between each sentence.
"You needed to show your resolve. And show it, you did. What is your name, human?"
"Julian Sardec. Or just Sardec. I don't care anymore. Just let me fight with you."
"And fight, you shall. Come with me, I shall provide you with a new weapon."
"Wait! While we're at it, would you mind telling me your name?"
"In Turauz culture, we don't reveal our names until we have reached a certain level of bondage. If you earn my trust, you will know my name. For now, you may call me Stripe, as you have certainly noticed the orange stripe on my helmet by now.
Sardec's HUD identified the figure as Stripe, much to his own confusion.
"Good to meet you, Stripe. It's been too long."
An Old Friend[]
Stripe brought Sardec up the slope and onto the outer surface of the Hillside region.
"Our current mission is to retake UBP116. By overtaking the Kartinava forces, my clan is now able to disable the security beacon of this sector. The Planetary Fortress you gave into the enemy hands is now one step closer to its proper ownership."
"Stripe! Sector is clear."
"Thank you, Strain. Sardec, this is my sister that you may call Strain. She is my scouting expert."
"A pleasure to meet you, Sardec. I see you have gotten to know my brother. He didn't kill you too hard, did he?"
"My head is still pounding." Sardec commented.
Strain chuckled.
"Don't worry. Come back to our place and I'll get you patched up."
"Speaking of which, I've been wanting to ask. What do you Turauz call yourselves? For example, I come from a group called the UNCC."
"You wish to know my clan's name?" Stripe asked.
"We go by the name Black Dawn. For in the time of darkness dawns an era of hope."
At that moment, Sardec's helmet began to receive a transmission.
"Sardec! I'm glad to see you made it safely. Stay close to the Black Dawn for now until more backup arrives."
Sardec snarled at the voice of Kellogg.
"Don't even try to play games with me. I have no doubts you know of my situation now, Radian."
"'Radian'? Sardec, what are you....?" Kellogg's voice then changed.
"Very well. I suppose it is a waste of time, hm? You're not as foolish as I thought." Said Radian.
"Why are you calling me?"
"I wanted to congratulate you on your survival of planet Hellus. It's a lovely little place, isn't it? I hope it gave you a bit of perspective as to why we Kartinava do what we do."
"You're telling me. That place was a shit hole."
"Indeed it is. And now you've made it completely uninhabitable for us. I must say, you seemed to have made quite the mess over there. Gajuro wouldn't shut up about it for hours! He would never admit it, but I think you got to him. Never have I seen him so angry over something. And knowing him, that says a lot about you, my friend."
"So he's scared, huh? Good. You should be too, after I'm done with things here."
"Ah ha ha!!! Hellus has changed you, I see. You sound MUCH more bold than before. But you remain just as stubborn. Tell you what. I am so grateful that you cleaned up those nasty bugs of this planet that I'm willing to make you an offer."
"Oh yeah? What's that?"
"Oh ho ho! You'll have to see me in person if you want to know more details. I'm currently relaxing in the control room of the Planetary Fortress. That's where you'll find me. I do hope you survive, because I'm going to throw everything I have at you and the Black Dawn. Give me the show of my life, Sardec!"
"You're on, Radian."
"Wonderful! And to start things off, I'm sending your little Hillside a barrage of Massing Energy Strikes! Have fun out there!"
The transmission cut off as the sky lit up with incoming projectiles. Energy shells began striking the surface of the Hillside region.
"Everyone evacuate now!" Exclaimed Stripe.
"Go go go! Get back to base!" Added Strain.
Sardec ran alongside the Black Dawn warriors as the Hillside base became buried in snow and rubble.