Moon D2404

  “Since Hardgrave has been so kind to jump all the way to Gamma class, we’ll be well on our way to winning this whole scuffle if we get him more charge.”

  Moravan’s prosthetic eye flickered all over the place as he explained their company’s plan, his demeanor that of barely restrained excitement, “But there’s just a teensy wrinkle to that idea. I’ve been getting a bunch of distress calls from the other companies nearby, and we can’t just leave them high an’ dry. So, we’ll kill two birds with one stone.”

  He turned around and pointed down one of the tunnels, “There’s a supply depot that has a bunch of Meta batteries a ways that way. I’ll send you the map.”

  The Pioneers received a map of the facility’s tunnels, with the depot highlighted in red, Moravan explained, “It should be a good opportunity for the rest of us to resupply as well. We’ll go toward the depot while helping anyone in trouble along the way. Understood?”

  Every Pioneer saluted as one, “Sir, yes sir!”

  And with that, Moravan lifted his twinblade and belted out, “Then follow me!”

  And with that, he dashed off down the tunnel, the rest of the company following him with a chorus of cheers. Their clomping footfalls created a ruckus that echoed down the tunnel, ensuring they wouldn’t have the element of surprise, but speed was more important. Daniel exulted in the feeling of dashing to the rescue as the wind whipped through his air, yet he soon realized something. Everyone around him was running pretty hard, while he was barely jogging and keeping up. On a whim, he shifted his angle and sprinted up the side of the cave wall, body horizontal as he dashed forward with all his strength. Several of the men yelled out in shock as he ran by, Daniel a blur in their vision, and he decided to start obeying gravity again as he came to the front of the pack. He pulled in alongside the captain, grinning exultantly at his CO and slowing to match the group’s pace.

  Behind Daniel, one of the lieutenants muttered, “Show off,” though his tone was good-natured. Daniel pretended he couldn’t hear, continuing to revel in his newfound power. Moravan gave him a complex look, commenting, “Careful there. I know you feel invincible, but pride goes before the fall. If you let the power get to your head, you’re liable to make a stupid mistake.”

  “Yes, sir,” Daniel said, acknowledging his superior even as he didn’t lose his earsplitting grin. Moravan cracked a wry smile of his own, shaking his head in faux exasperation, “Ah, to be young again. I’ll just have to bail you out if your ass out if you get in trouble. Then we’ll be even.”

  They then turned to face forward, attention returning to the task ahead. It wasn’t long before the whole group heard fighting further off in the distance, and the men followed the sound before they emerging into a chamber a lot like the one they’d left behind. Their fellow Pioneers were locked in a death struggle with a pack of Kharnidd at the center of it, their war cries echoing off the walls in a cacophonous din. Several of Kharnidd in the backline turned to face Daniel’s group as they came up on the Xenos rear, but it was futile. None of the enemy were higher than D class.

  Moravan shouted as he unleashed another Psionic-extended swing, devastating the Kharnidd backline in a cloud of purple blood. Beasts screamed as they died in droves, yet Daniel wasn’t about to let the captain have all the fun. He jumped into the Xenos mob, brandishing his white-tipped spear as it glowed with emerald light. Empowered by the Destroyer’s Strike, even the relatively basic spear was enough to cut through the Epsilon class enemies like they were butter. Many didn’t get the chance to scream as they died, their bodies totally skewered or brutally bludgeoned in the blink of an eye.

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  Daniel only stuttered when he was forced to twist backward, dodging a ball of energy thrown by one of the enemy Goliaths. The creature bellowed as it leapt toward Daniel, fists shining with a Destroyer’s Strike and raised high for an overhead strike. Daniel backflipped away, avoiding the creature’s attack as it splintered the rock where he used to stand. He landed on his feet, then dashed forward as quickly as possible. He dodged the Goliath’s follow-up punch, slipping inside the creature’s guard and viciously stabbing it in the torso. Its body glowed with reinforcing power in retaliation, but Daniel only grinned at the enemy’s futile effort.

  However, to Daniel’s surprise, his spearhead shattered as it crashed into the Goliath’s chest in a fountain of blood and metal. The creature screamed, wounded yet very much alive, and it consumed an Enhancement sphere before coming after Daniel with a flurry of empowered punches. As he dodged, he sensed a Greater Thrall sneaking up behind him, and he decided to stop being conservative. With a single click, a flaming sword replaced the broken spear in his hands, and he went back on the offensive. With three quick strokes, he cut off both the Goliath’s arms and disemboweled the creature. He was right in time to pivot around and cut through the Thrall behind him, deflecting its attack and beheading the creature in a flash.

  Daniel was officially no longer playing around as he went back to cutting through the enemy lines. He was like an angel of death, running around and massacring the Xenos in flashes of ivory fire. Moravan could be seen alongside him, swinging that twinblade around with brutal efficiency. The two elites bore the brunt of the fighting, with many of the other fighters in their company hanging back and providing supporting fire. When the Kharnidd began to lose heart and attempted to retreat, the Pioneers were there to cut them down, using their superior numbers to decimate the retreating Xenos with little difficulty. The Pioneers from the other company also started to fight more fiercely, the soldiers excited to go from a dangerous situation to a winning one.

  It wasn’t long before all the Kharnidd were slaughtered, their bodies carpeting the ground all throughout the chamber. The captain shouted, “Not much time to loot, gents! Search one or two corpses, then start running. Remember to leave some for the others.”

  Stealing others’ loot was absolutely bad form, yet Daniel’s group definitely had a major claim to a portion of the Kharnidd loot here. Rather than taking the time to go through the various protocols and decide who deserved what, Captain Moravan decided to give the men a short time to grab what they could and move on. In times of great difficulty, normal protocol could be tossed out, and the law of finders keepers became supreme. If they did anything egregious, like take everything, they could get in trouble, but Daniel’s group wasn’t going to do that. They scooped up a decent chunk of the loot and moved on, leaving the other company simultaneously dumbfounded, awed, and relieved.

  As they dashed away, Moravan whistled to get Daniel’s attention. He materialized another spear and tossed it to the younger man. The weapon had a white haft with a ruby-colored head, its sharp edge lined in a bright gold. Daniel suspected it was worth more than most houses, but before he could even say thank you, the captain spoke, “You’re giving me that thing back. Along with the blaster. Right now, I just need you to save your charge. Understood?”

  Daniel saluted his CO in response, grateful to finally have a good commander for once in his life. His old spear had only been designed to deal with Delta class energy at best, so it was no surprise that it couldn’t handle his Gamma class self. He’d have to be careful not to break this new one.

  The Pioneers left the battlefield behind nearly as quickly as they’d entered it, running down another adjoining tunnel like bats out of hell. They were drawn to the sound of battle like sharks were to blood, and as they approached a new room, Moravan called out, “All right men, let’s do it again!”

  The men let out whoops as they rushed forward into a new battle. Daniel was no different, hoisting his spear aloft and crying bloody murder as he crashed into more Kharnidd lines.

  Once again, the Xenos never stood a chance.

  …

  Brekinar Family Home

  The Pioneers gathered in the forum of the Brekinar family home, with Markus Haraldson being the man to explain the situation once again, “The Brekinar family has been called upon to reinforce critical portions of the city’s frontlines. Oran contacted me and requested that we help shore up the struggling portions of their lines.”

  “Are we the Brekinar’s dogs now?” Stan questioned, frowning skeptically. Markus, stoic as ever, responded in the negative, “No, this was a just reward. But a friend has asked me to help him out, and I intend to do so. You don’t have to come. You could always sit here and wait for new orders from Central.”

  Pacified, Stan looked away, and he stayed where he was. It was Scalia who asked the next question, “You fought with an Alpha class right? What if another one shows up?”

  Markus’s expression didn’t change, and he didn’t say a word. Instead, his whole body began to glow a deep crimson, and everyone suddenly found it hard to breath as an incredible Psionic power washed over all of them. It vanished as soon as it appeared, and Markus neutrally stated, “Let me handle it.”

  Without another word, he swung open the mansion’s doors and walked out. And the other Pioneers followed.

  Patreon. I need to start outlining and planning for Book 4, and I think Book 4 is going to take a bit more in terms of delicate planning than the past three books. Keeping up my normal upload schedule while also doing that planning would be...tricky. So I'm taking a 'break' to do my planning.

  Patreon has 10 free chaps for members and 15 paid chaps for the truly curious. If you can't wait, you can always go look at that. If not, then I'll see you in March!