as written by Saarai and Script
Night fell on the expansive desert, the only source of light coming from a fire inside a small cave dug into small mountain. It was an attractive light, beckoning every raider and criminal towards it with it's haunting dance.
One such raider found himself creeping up towards the fire, pistol in hand so that he could the jump on whomever was inside. He'd take their things and sell them Siren. Make some quick profit.
"Hands up!" He shouted at no one but a fire, "Huh?" He looked around to make sure he wasn't missing any valuables left behind since the cave seemed abandoned.
"Hands up." A woman said, pressing her own handgun to the back of the man's neck. She grabbed his gun as soon as he raised his hands, tossing it to the side before taking a step back.
"Turn around and then leave." She commanded. The would-be thief did as he was told, resting his eyes on a dark-skinned woman dressed in a poncho over a black jumpsuit.
"Now!" She yelled, firing a shot up into the cave ceiling. The shot and the woman's authoritative tone sent the criminal running out of the cave.
He left the two-wheeler he rode in on not far from the cave, he was too busy focusing on not being shot.
"Okay, we're clear." The woman said, making her way out of the cave to be greeted by the darkness. There was only a faint glow from one of Hera Prime's three moons.
As she planted her feet into the sand, several similarly dressed men and women climbed out of it. Rebreathers over their mouths and goggles over their eyes so they could deal with being submerged in the sand.
"Think he'll come back?" One of them asked, "Counting on it. Be ready." The woman said.
____
"This guy's creeping me out." Benedict said, his voice resonating through his team's comms. "Like, he hasn't moved, talked, and I don't think he's breathed once. It's weird." He continued, following behind Vanessa's bike.
"Deal with it, Benny. He'll be gone soon. Shouldn't take long to reach the outpost." Vanessa told him, "How are you, Alanna? Don't mind the heat?" Vanessa asked, pointing up to the lowering sun.
Despite it getting darker, it seemed like the heat wasn't going away any time soon. The planet's twin suns kept the planet, the Badlands especially, baked.
____
"I'm doing good," Alanna grinned, "but I guess am cheating." A small trail of vapour was left in her wake as she drove, as the baking heat of the Badlands met the faint aura of frost she was projecting around herself. It was like personal air conditioning. She'd produced a duster hat from her pack just before setting out, fixing it to her head to ward off the sun's rays as well as its heat.
The dust was the more annoying factor. She wasn't willing to waste the energy necessary it would be to keep it away from herself with magic, and so she simply pulled the neck of her duster coat tighter and tied a rag over her face to stop the worst of it. "I do look a little bit like a twat in a cowboy costume, but I guess that those are the sorts of sacrifices that you gotta make out here."
____
"You look more inconspicuous than we do. We'll get pegged as mercenaries instantly. Not that it seems to matter here." Vanessa said, "Blending in can wait. We've got at least another hour and a half before we reach our destination." She added.
"At least we'll be done soon. I'm still getting weird vibes from this du-..." Benedict was interrupted suddenly by his buggy violently flipping over. He and his passengers braced themselves as they went rolling through the sand.
The source of the crash was nothing nefarious, just an extremely large creature that immediately went tunneling underground. It was a local predator.
Vanessa brought her bike to a stop, the other buggy stopping as well.
"You guys okay?" A mercenary shouted, "Other than my grievous injuries? I'm fine." Benedict answered.
____
"So glad I didn't encounter any of the local wildlife last time I was here," Alanna remarked as she hit the brakes and her bike came to a halt. She looked around warily, keeping a close eye on the dirt for any signs of further movement in case the creature decided to come back for round two.
"How grievous is grievous? If you have time to be sarcastic, it can't be too bad, right? What about the others? How's tall, scarfed and silent doing?" Dismounting, she began to walk over to where the mercenaries and their passenger had been scattered.
____
"I'm actually okay." Benedict told the others, he and his passengers climbing out from beneath the buggy. Their mysterious and eerily quiet guest seemed unscathed, raising a hand to indicate that everyone should stop where they were.
The creature was near, the slight rumble beneath the sand was indication enough. Growing more and more intense the closer the creature got until it finally dug it's way back above ground.
There it was, slightly smaller than your average car and with dark leathery skin. A horn protruded from it's snout, it's eyes small and milky.
It was ready to make it's move, at least when others made their move. It was apparent that it's eyesight wasn't very good, it found it's prey a different way.
____
Alanna froze the moment she noticed the creature's eyes. It saw based on movement. Tremors in the earth, perhaps? It would make sense, if it was a burrower. Her hand slipped into one of the pouches in her belt, brushing against a smooth stone there.
In the next instant, a runic glyph appeared in the air before her and she slowly rose off of the ground, carried by some invisible force.
Moving slowly in case it still 'saw' her, she reached for the rifle strapped to her back.
____
"I think it's waiting for us." Vanessa said, "Probably injures it's prey and waits for it to scream out or writhe around." She continued, looking towards Alanna. "What are you doing?" Benedict asked, "Shannon, what is Alanna doing?" He then asked a mercenary.
"Don't do anything crazy." Benedict told Alanna, "But, save us from being gored by that thing. I've seen the running with the bulls enough to know I won't like it."
____
Whether the creature saw through sound or movement, Alanna was careful to produce as little as possible of both. She slowly took her rifle in hand and aimed it straight for the creature's head - careful to avoid the horn.
I just hope this thing isn't endangered, she mused, before she pulled the trigger.
The shot rang out loudly across the wasteland, and a second followed shortly after - just to be sure. Both were set to strike the creature in the head, provided it hadn't made a move before she fired.
____
The creature went down after the two shots, but it wasn't quite dead just yet. It was big, it was strong, and it attempted to power through it's wounds to stand back up and attack Alanna. Unfortunately for the animal it was too badly wounded to actually get back to it's feet with falling down again.
It groaned loudly, clearly in immense pain. Vanessa rushed towards the animal, placing his her gloved hands around it's nose and using her body to force it's mouth shut.
She was killing it. A mercy kill that wouldn't involve using up ammunition. You never knew when that extra bullet could come in handy. "We'll need to split up." Vanessa told the group, "Alanna, you, Benedict and some of the others will go straight to Siren." She told Alanna.
"The rest of will drop off the package. I want you all to wait for us in Siren. It'll take awhile, we'll continue on foot." Vanessa said, eyeing the creature until it went still. "The mission is first, if we don't get to Siren in six hours or less, move on and find Stryfe."
____
"Alright," Alanna slung her rifle back over her shoulder, looking regretfully at the dying beast. She'd hoped for a clean kill. But with a creature she didn't know the anatomy of... it'd been a risk.
"I'll see you there. Here, take this," she reached into one of her pouches and pulled out a smooth stone, a glyph inscribed upon it. She tossed it over to one of the mercenaries staying behind. "If you get into trouble, grab hold of that and focus really hard on it. If it's not doing anything, trace the symbol on it with a finger, yell 'activate', whatever it takes to get your mind focused on triggering it. It'll bring you some backup - an elemental."
She paused, "It'll also help if you run out of water, though I can't imagine it'll be pleased about it."
Alanna lowered herself back to the ground and walked back over to her bike, readying herself to leave with the others.
____
Vanessa quickly pointed out several of the mercenaries, that was her team for the delivery. They wished their friends good luck, the same being sent their way as they moved to join Vanessa.
"Mulan, you can't be serious?" Benedict asked, "Nina put me in charge, follow my orders. Find the boss, take her home." Vanessa told Benedict, "Alanna, there is a chance we will not meet again. But, I'm glad we met the first time." She told Alanna, glaring at Benedict until he made his way over to Vanessa's bike.
"Move out. Change your route towards... the southwest from here. Should bypass the outpost and send you straight to Siren."
____
"It's been good," Alanna replied, nodding her head respectfully, "I'm confident I'll see you again, though. You don't seem the type to get beaten by a crummy desert."
She smirked, "And remember that magic pebble. Could save your life."
____
Vanessa nodded, "Yeah, I can handle a desert." She told Alanna, "We'll see you soon." She added, turning to approach the mystery guest.
"We gotta move." A mercenary said to Benedict, climbing into one of the remaining buggies. "Yeah, I know. On me, guys." He said, revving his bike's engine before it went flying through the Badlands.
"Try to keep up, Alanna. Wouldn't want you getting lost."
____
"The concern's appreciated, but so long as we don't hit any more living landmines ... or actual landmines, for that matter ... then you don't have to worry about me," Alanna replied with a smirk as they shot off.
____
Nights were rare on Hera Prime, a planet with two suns where one was almost always in the sky at some point. The Badlands were devoid of both, allowing all manner of man and beast to come out and take advantage.
The small convoy of bounty hunters and mercenaries travelling through the desert was a deterrant to anyone with bad intentions on their mind, "Are we close?" Benedict asked, "Almost!" Responded the untrustworthy man that provided everyone with a payday.
"I don't like him." Benedict called out to Alanna, "Be ready for anything."
____
"I've lived in Westeria my whole life," Alanna replied, fixing Benedict with an amused stare. "It's pretty much drilled into my subconscious to be ready for anything, at any time. For any, or no reason."
She flicked her wrist, and a trio of runestones appeared between her fingers. With another flick, they were gone. "If this falls through, at least I can always fall back on being a street magician."
____
"I've always been partial to street magicians. They do card tricks and remind me that I could have been much worse off." Benedict said to Alanna, "Granted, getting shot at for a living isn't exactly what most men my age prefer."
"There!" The weaselly man shouted, pointing to a small mountain across the expanse. Light could be seen from a cave entrance. It could only be fire, protection from the cold and at the same time an open invitation for anyone criminally minded. The closer the convoy got, the more tense things seemed to become.
The local mercenaries were all about a payday, they couldn't be trusted. The man leading everyone to the payoff was an obvious liar, a scoundrel, one of Hera Prime's lower lifeforms.
"Nothing but bad vibes." Bryce muttered.
____
"I hear that," Alanna replied lowly, keeping her eyes on their 'companions'. "I have a feeling that these evil terrorists aren't going to be all they've been made out to be."
She paused. "Either that or they're in on it, and this is all a scam to kill us and take our stuff. One of the two," she murmured. "Want to take a bet?"
____
"I'll give you all of my Yu-Gi-Oh cards if we get robbed and murdered." Benedict joked, watching as the mercenaries ahead of them came to a stop near the cave. "I don't think they have Yu-Gi-Oh on Valore." Bryce informed Benedict, the two coming to a stop of their own to join the other members of their fellowship.
"Only one way in." One of the local mercs noted, "We're walking into a trap if we head in." He said, climbing out of his buggy. The sand beneath his armored boots was soft, somewhat like it had been tampered with.
____
"Yeah, whatever yoogey cards are, that reference went way over my head," Alanna answered, before her eyes noted the strangeness in the sand.
"Hold up," she called sharply. "The sand there," she pointed it out. "It's loose, like someone's been digging around. Watch we aren't walking into a minefield, or more of those burrowers."
____
"I'm allergic to mines." Benedict said, taking some time to think on the matter. Only one way inside, possible minefield, and some unsavory locals on a hostile planet in another galaxy that was foreign to him.
There weren't many options.
"Limited gear for this op, can't scan to see what we're dealing with." He said, taking a few careful steps forward. Benedict kneeled down, placing a palm down on the sand.
"Are you crazy?" One of the local mercenaries asked, "Shush." The Invictus soldier began to dig a finger into the sand. "It's too deep to be mines. I don't know what this is. I'm touching something."
____
"That's a pretty common one. Like seafood, or bullets," Alanna remarked offhandedly as she watched over Benedict's shoulder.
"Want me to prod around with my staff?" she asked, pulling a thin metallic tube from her belt. She hit a switch on it, and the rod extended to form a full-length quarterstaff.
____
"Be my gues-..."
Bendict didn't get to finish his sentence before a hand shot up out of the sand and gripped his throat. "Jesus Christ, someone please help!" He barely managed to scream as his attacker slowly rose from the sand.
They weren't alone, others began to rise and reveal themselves to the group. Men and women dressed in tattered robes with armor and jumpsuits underneath. They were heavily armed and clearly waiting for someone to arrive.
Everyone was right about a trap, but it didn't come from where they expected it to come from.
"No sudden moves." One of the women ordered, her accent very distinct and clearly not native to Hera Prime.
____
Alanna had reacted quickly, her boot coming down on the face of the attacker that had grabbed Benedict's throat. As more of them rose, however, she stepped back defensively. No sudden moves indeed. A pair of innocuous marked stones were held between her fingers on each hand, produced with a quick act of legerdemain upon the initial ambush, but she otherwise made no moves to arm herself or otherwise react rashly.
They were obviously outnumbered here.
"So, to who do we owe the pleasure?" she inquired, sweeping her eyes across the attackers to get a headcount and take note of their positions.
____
The first attacker easily let go of Benedict, moving to distance himself from Alanna and the others to avoid any more trauma to the face. "Fuck me." He muttered, a little blood trickling from his nose down his dirty face.
"You know who we are. If you didn't, you wouldn't be here." The woman with the strange accent said, raising a pistol towards Alanna. Her face was covered in grime and what appeared to be tribal face paint. The others in her band seemed to take the same tribal inspiration.
There were at least seven of them total, counting the leader.
"You're not Sirens, just trying to look like them." A mercenary said, "Crowley's got a bounty on you." The other told them, "Hefty price for some dead foreigners." The first continued, "Only dead." The second added.
"Everyone just calm down." Benedict said, getting to his feet. "Benny?" The woman asked, "Sonia?" Bryce asked her, "Holy shit, Alanna. These are our friends we were looking for." Benedict told Alanna.
"Sonia," Benedict said, stepping up to the armed woman. "We're taking you ho-..."
The sound of bullet cutting the air around it could be heard, said bullet dropping Benedict to the sand.
The mercenaries couldn't be trusted, to no one's surprise. They quickly turned their weapons, pistols, on Alanna. She was the next closest threat.
____
The moment the sound of the gun discharging had sounded, Alanna had acted. The first of her runestones was cast out, bursting in the air in a bright flash of arcane power. Seemingly from nowhere, an explosion of water burst outwards, splashing in every direction like a geyser.
The next stone burst into life moments after the first. Its light pulsed through the cascading water, instantly freezing the spray into a barrage of deadly ice shards. From there, Alanna took control.
Spears of ice shot towards the mercenaries with purpose, guided by the water mage to single out them and avoid her allies - including the 'ambushers' that Benedict had identified as friends, not foes. It was unlikely she'd take out all of the mercenaries in one shot, but the sudden burst of frozen death would hopefully at least give the others a window of opportunity to react and pick off the remainder of the merc group before they recovered enough from the surprise to return fire.
____
The mercenaries were lucky enough to be protected by their armor, it was their only real advantage in the fight. Numbers weren't on their side. One went down and the other charged Alanna, looking to tackle her and keep her from using her abilities again.
The first began to climb to his feet, being met with a barrage of gunfire that would eventually tear through his armor and destroy the body on the inside.
The sheepish guide made an attempt to run, Bryce moving quickly to intercept him with an arm hook. He wasn't about to get off easy, not today.
____
The charging man was met with a forceful swing of Alanna's staff to the side of the head, followed swiftly by a kick to shove him backwards. While he was reeling, she brought her right arm up, extending the blade sheathed upon the back of her forearm and jamming it into his chest. The enchantment on the blade allowed it to carve through his body armour like a hot knife through butter, sinking into the flesh beneath. Without hesitation, she wrenched her arm to the side, tearing the blade out through the man's torso with a splatter of red and leaving him to drop to the ground.
She turned her gaze on the third mercenary then, raising a questioning eyebrow as though to ask if they really wanted to stick with their current plan, now that their two 'buddies' were dead.
____
The charging mercenary fell hard to the sand, leaving the last to raise his hands and clearly surrender. He wasn't ready to die, not even for the kind of money Crowley was offering for these people.
"I guess I should make myself useful." He said, "The guy who placed the bounty, Crowley, has people that stay in towns like Siren and keep him appraised of what goes on. It's how bounty hunters get paid."
As the mercenary spoke, Sonia was kneeling down beside Benedict. Her hands pressed against the entry and exit wounds he had from the gunshot. Benedict himself was unmoving.
The lack of armored protection was probably a bad idea considering the fact that Hera Prime was an unknown entity. From the look on Sonia's face as she took her hands away from him, it cost him his life.
Bryce took notice, raising his rifle at the mercenary unbeknownst to him. He was just waiting for permission to take his head off of his shoulders.
"I'm sorry for your friend." The mercenary said, slowly removing their helmet to reveal their pale skin and lack of hair. A face covered in tattoos and cybernetics.
"You have to understand, a lot of money would come our way for doing this."
____
"No, you're not. You're sorry we turned out to be more than you could handle, that's about it. I know your type." Alanna's voice was steel, and she stepped over to the mercenary, her blade still dripping blood.
"How would someone go about meeting this Crowley? What are his points of contact, where do rumours say he's based? And I'd better like your answer."
____
"Go to town, Siren especially, spread word of your success with one of his bounties and his people find you." The mercenary told the group, "Some of his people make a home at an old military base not far from here." He continued, "Oh, Aether City, he took control. No one actually saw Crowley, but his inner circle is there."
Sonia gestured to Benedict's body, her people moving to lift and carry him into the cave. He didn't need to be exposed to night air and the creatures that would be showing up soon.
"Crowley's a name our intelligence back home brought up." The woman said, turning her gaze to Alanna and then Bryce. "I assume it wasn't just you three?" She asked.
"Mulan is taking care of spook stuff, the others are in Siren. Mulan's going to flip when we tell her about Ben." Bryce answered, hands shaking as he resisted the urge to kill the last mercenary.
"We should go. Make a choice about him." Sonia said to Alanna.
____
Alanna nodded. She kept the mercenary fixed in her gaze for several long moments, before shaking her head with a grimace and turning away from him to join the others.
"Name's Alanna, by the way," she said, nodding to Sonia. "I'm here to help point you guys in the direction of the prison, once Vanessa catches up."
____
"Sonia Hughes, Invictus. But, I'm assuming you didn't need to know my affiliation." The Englishwoman said to Alanna, "We should get back and see if she made it." Sonia continued, "Luckily, we have vehicles." The still bloodied Invictus agent said, wiping his nose clean.
"You hit hard." Another told Alanna.
Bryce forced the mercenary to his knees as the others spoke, still deciding what he wanted to do. Murder wasn't the modus operandi of the Invictus. But, a friend was killed and would likely be left on the alien planet.
The possibility of Benedict never really receiving a proper burial came when the other Invictus began to barricade the cave his body was in.
"Let's go." He finally said to the group, lowering his weapon. "We've got to save Stryfe and get back home."
____
"Sorry about that," Alanna nodded an acknowledgement to the man she'd kicked. She was silent as Benedict's body was interred. She hadn't known the man well, but he'd been good company on the trip so far. He'd seemed like a good man.
Men like Crowley inevitably built their empires with the coffins of good men as their building blocks.
She took a free spot in one of the vehicles, nodding her head. "The less time I have to spend back on this godsforsaken planet the better."
____
Bryce slammed his weapon into the mercenary's head as the others headed for the vehicles, taking as much pleasure as he could in knocking the man out. He secretly hoped he had brain damage.
"Okay, I'm ready." He said, jogging over to join Alanna just as Sonia was getting into the vehicle to drive. "We've got to move fast. It's been a long time here, who knows what they're putting Fatin through?" The Englishwoman asked, "Hope you know how to use a gun." Bryce said to her.
"Because we're the rescue team and we're already one down." Bryce told her. "I grew up in Brixton, I know how to use a gun." Sonia boasted. "No more deaths, agreed?" Sonia asked her passengers, starting up the buggy and starting off back towards Siren.
"I can dig it." Bryce answered.