Chapter 20: Transformation and a Headache
The drones and motherships followed as the SDF retreated; though, they made enough room to launch three chapters worth of marines before sending Aze off to do his solo mission. Now, he can focus on the problem at hand which is numbers. The SDF is powerful, but it lacks guns. It's more of a carrier in the aspect that it transports varitech fighters. Makes sense as to how Duraeus summoned a bunch of attack crafts in the first place and was able to house them. Although, most are already destroyed sadly. Now, he either needs to meet the numbers or be able to shoot down swaths of targets at once with one shot.
"Techmarine, initiate transformation to alt-form. Warn and guide the others on the ship in safe places."
"Order accepted. Initiating transformation protocol 73 and 98."
"Let the machine spirit have its fun," Duraeus quips under his breath.
Suddenly, the doors to the bridge opened. Humans, the guest of honor have arrived. They strode in cautiously, as guests would at a first time visitation. Dureaus smiles before standing up to meet them. Turning around, he was met with the crew.
Future pilots, right before him.
"Hello again Dezmond. Glad to meet you guys again on friendly terms," Dureaus greeted– helm off.
"Good to see you again," Dezmond reciprocated his friendly greeting.
Dureaus turns to the others, "that extends to the rest of you as well."
"Sorry I shot at you," Chris apologies, rubbing the back of his head. His words brought some triggering aspects within the bridge crew as almost all of them dropped what they were doing and raised their bolters. That put the group on high alert as sudden fear washes over them.
But before any of them could fire, Duraeus raised a hand to stand them down. No words uttered by the techmarines, they resumed their post as if nothing happened. Although, they had this tense air around them. The group calmed as well, seeing the restraint the techmarines were exhibiting.
"You were placed in an undesirable situation, I won't hold it against you," Dureaus reassures them, "but for your information, I'd win."
Dezmond chuckles at this childish side the Primarch would occasionally show, presenting him as more human than what most would think of them. Chris felt offended and challenged but more or less got where he's coming. Even if he did hit him, it wouldn't even leave a mark.
Duraeus looked at the rest of the group. He remembers them well. They've mingled before considering they were Dezmond's inner circle.
First was Lannette. A fine woman, the definition of a motherly woman incarnate. She treats just about everybody like her child, teasing and cooing them as if toddlers. She was standing exactly six feet tall. Not an inch more or less. A tall woman, and curvy too. Not to objectify but most women Duraeus has met haven't been less than ten on the rating list. Lannette was a brunette so you know she does it better. Long fair hair running shoulder length and down her back. She sported clothing to what a mechanic would wear. Her hands were pristine and feminine, which brings up the question on how it came to be considering her line of work. Even now, as he examined her, she had this warm smile on her.
"Lannette, I see you're still… motherly," Duraeus comments.
"Fufufu," she replied with a chortle.
Looking over, the two fireballs of the group: Jone and Lenasra. They were young, too young to be in this group. They were practically adopted from what Duraeus knows. The entire group being their family. 14 and 13 respectively.
Jone was 13, his body was already showing definition. No surprise there as he and Lenasra joined in on the training. Officially, they were civvies. They were trained by their mentors, them being the group themselves. Like mentioned, the entire group was like their family. Each one taught similar and different aspects of either life or combat. Though, the two mostly answer to Lannette; the reasoning should be obvious enough.
Jone wore long shorts that came to his knees. They were white, surprisingly clean. On his feet were black and white tennis shoes, looking worn and dirty. For a top, he sported a dark blue shirt; cover by a white slick hoodie with its zipper 3/4s up, showing the shirt's neck. His face was looking like a son of royalty straight out of Korean manwha, the romance– female lead kind. His eyes showed curiosity as a child should.
Lanesra was 14; like Jone, her body was toned to that of a trained athlete. Her skin was a creamy chocolate, exotic and pleasing to the eyes as her skin complexion compliments the contrast to her blonde hair. She was mixed, her mother and father were unknown though– which was explicitly stated that they were practically adopted within this inner circle so that info doesn't matter.
She was pretty– no doubt– hair cut short just barely grazing her shoulders. Pale pink tennis shoes, white jeans coming down just short above her ankles, and a slightly dark violet volume-sleeve blouse– she was rocking with style. Her eyes had a small ember, she had fight in her. It was no doubt that given years they were going to be sought after for their striking appearance.
"Lanesra and Jone, good to see you guys well."
"Still as big as ever– what does it take to be like you?" Lanesra questioned.
"Ooh Ooh– yeah! How can we be cool like you?" Jone oozed energy.
Duraeus grimaced: on one hand, he doesn't want them to be like him or his sons. On the other hand, only Jone would succeed as the genetic seed only works with males due to limitations. Marines were also made with the intention as to not replace humanity, women were the key to the population so it was hardly explored by the masses or the Emperor himself. Plus, the advent of female astartes leads to possible pairs to be formed, bringing the possibility of breeding marines that much closer. If that ever happens, the replacement of humanity with that of genetically enhanced humans was one step closer.
"I don't want you guys to be like me or my sons," Duraeus says– ripping the band aid. He continues before they can respond, "19 organs will be surgically implanted within your body as well as the chapter's gene-seed. The surgical process alone has a high chance of death. If we were to… If I were to give the green light, only Jone here has a chance to succeed. Complications happen often with female candidates."
'Even if we do it, I don't even know how as I don't have the equipment to do so,' Dureaus quietly thought inside his mind.
The children looked dejected and mortified. They didn't have a response but their eyes showed understanding.
"Besides," Duraeus continued, "you guys wouldn't be able to start your own families."
The children had a confused look.
Marines can't start families? The kids didn't know what that implied, but the adults knew. As the ones in charge of their education, they've held off teaching them about the birds and the bees until 15 or asked– the deal with Frymrorth doesn't count.
"Heed our warning, all able bodied individuals are to report to designated areas marked by arrows. Double time!"
Dureasn't wasn't able to examine the rest of the crew Dezmond brought with him.
The innards of the ship shifted and changed. Like tetris blocks, they were refitted and formed to fit the ships alternate mode. Weapons and gear alike that were left behind in a hurry were crushed as the floors and ceiling met. Open spaces no longer as such, new halls and rooms were transfigured. The marines made it just in time as they watched it all change before their eyes.
On the outside, the aliens in motherships looked out in awe as the ship they were barely scratching changed to a giant humanoid machine. The SDF-1 alt-mode brought forth a sudden shock… maybe even fear.
Back at the bridge, the group expressed their surprise and shock with questions. Duraeus ignored them for the moment, a malicious smile on his face as he eyed the dozens of motherships spewing out drones and firing their feeble guns at his capital ship.
"Fire the main gun," Dureaus ordered. The group at this point quieted as they watched in interest.
"Compliance."
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Alarms blared. It started as soon as the ship changed. The aliens panicked. They weren't able to destroy the damned thing with overwhelming numbers within first contact. Couldn't stop the thing from retreating. Couldn't stop it from dropping reinforcements to the Earth's surface. Now, ever since changing to that form, a huge power reading is accumulating from the ship. Specifically, it's shoulder mounted structure. Not knowing what to do, they retreated. Fleeing was their top priority now as whatever that thing was cooking was going to fry them if they didn't move their asses.
Just as they initiated the retreat, the overwhelming charging power fired. A huge surge of power discharged from the enemy capital… ship? Humanoid ship. A large beam of energy unimaginable came from that thing. As it made contact, it obliterated everything it touched. The range was long, running miles ahead. The radius of effect was also an issue as anything within a half a mile from it was destroyed. No, simply reduced to ashes as nothing was left. Reduced to atoms, they were. Drones, motherships, aliens, monsters, nothing was left. The SDF-1 sweeped from right to left, stopping the attack just before hitting Earth. Wiped from the face of the Earth, a large chunk of the Primers orbital armada was gone. In a blink of an eye, the SDF has destroyed a chunk of what took years to create.
The Nameless was pissed. Reports came into display as he hunkers down in his egg-shape shift onto the surface of Earth– somewhere thought to be abandoned.
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Aze looked up, briefly ignoring the situation he was in. A large beam of chaotic energy. Orange, red, and yellow, a hot mixture of colors were seen. The ship he came from was now in its humanoid form, a neat little feature. One he liked the look of.
—Crzzck!
His admiration was brought back to reality as his cover was broken by a wave of electrical beam. Combat rolling so as to not get hit by the after effect. He ain't getting hit by that again.
On one knee, he surveys his situation. The fencer is knocked out, two rangers: one mid to close and the other is long to close. The resident wing diver covers mid and close ranges with high AOE potential. Now, he has to deal with them due to the misunderstanding.
"Oh no you don't!"
The raider is here as well, a troublesome fellow. Young just by the sound of his voice. He wields no weapon yet he holds the most firepower. His declaration was heard and a swarm of drones soon came forth from out of nowhere. Now he's got something to shoot at. Speed was his advantage here. Sprinting and gunning, he dealt with the drones whilst moving toward Hana the commander.
Round by round drones were scrapped, forcing the air-raider to switch strategies. As he was down to the last few of his drones, he plopped down a multitude of turrets. Most were machine gun related, some were snipers or rocket launchers, even fewer were laser turrets. Those were the types Aze was more cautious around, opting to use cover as he weaved through the rubble.
But that wasn't the only thing Aze had to contend with. As he transitioned towards another block of cover, that brief second he was open was enough for a sudden force of kinetic energy to stop him in his tracks. Hit him hard enough that his entire right shoulder was forced to move back. Aze, ever the resilient man, changed priorities. Hana may be the commander, but her weapon isn't the current issue.
Searching, he found the culprit. He was perched up at the highest floor. Zooming in on his visor, he found Takashi chambering another round into the chamber. With a new high valued target, he sprinted. Vaulting and moving from cover to cover.
"TAKASHI, HE'S HEADING YOUR WAY!"
Sensing danger he dove forward while twisting his body to face up. Landing on his back, he just dodged a straight beam of electricity. The assailant in question quickly corrected her aim mid flight. He moved his legs up and followed through to roll backward. From a kneeling position, he rolled to the side, grabbing a brick in the process. He stayed in cover of a raised road. As soon as the last spurt of the electrical beam died out, he came out of cover and threw the brick at the wing diver in wide open air. His muscles tensed, controlling the strength of the throw so as to not kill her or put a brick size hole through her chest.
"Hrrngh!" the diver groaned.
The impact was enough to delete all her air, sending her toppling down too by the force of the through. The others watched in worry as she hit the ground hard. Clenching her chest and stomach, she glares at Aze. As she catches her breath, Aze swirled around– bolter raised. He hadn't forgotten the threat which was the sniper on the building. Good thing too as the sniper was lining up a shot. Both Kaito and Hana saw this. Hana continued to rain down fire enough to cover an entire car with holes. The shot connects but does no damage. Kaito chucked plastic explosives at the Aze's general direction and dove for cover. Hana did the same.
—BOOM!
A cloud of smoke after a brief light of fire. Kaito peeked over his cover, Hana as well. Yuki stood up shakily, transferring power to her weapon from her generator. Takashi was vigilant, scope at Aze's last known location. Unfortunately for them, that explosion– though large and enough to kill a colonist– wasn't enough for our boy Aze the marksmen. While the smoke was at its peak, four heavy bolt shots rang. They pierced the smoke as the smoke converged within itself with each shot. Shocked, Takashi stood in place as four shots impacted around him. His cover obliterated, as well as nearby walls. As his senses came back, he took cover at a nearest wall– breathing heavily as death just brushed their scythe across his cheek.
Warning shot? That can't be!
Hana and co. saw too. Seeing the shots rang out, Yuki let it rip as she pre-aimed in the smoke. But before the first set of electricity touched the smoke, a speeding rock the size of a baseball exited the smoke; the target: Yuki. Another surprise attack. Yuki couldn't respond fast enough, the consequence was the rock hitting her right shoulder. That caused her to swing her Idunn widely, almost causing friendly fire as Hana ducked for cover. While Hana was enduring a barrage of lightning, Kaito deployed roomba bombs. An automated bomb that searches for its targets even through walls. They make a click sound, a sign of confirmation before exploding.
—Click!
Kaito furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. Then a shadow loomed over his cover. Within that nanosecond, he knew why it clicked–
—Boom!
A smaller explosion compared to the plastic explosives he had deployed. But explosives were explosives no matter how small. The roomba searched for its target before coming up to Aze, who at the time watched as Kaito played with his toys. It exploded beneath his feet; he felt nothing but Kaito surely did. His cover was blown and sent a few feet away. He groaned and moaned at the aching pain from the aftermath. While he was writhing in pain, Aze sprinted towards Takashi's building again with less resistance this time.
Takashi, who recovered his courage, peek out with his rifle–
—Whizz!
His breath quickened and time slowed for a second as he felt the pressure from the passing bullet. It impacted behind him before exploding, adding onto the fear factor.
Explosive tips? Fuck!
Safe to say his courage dwindled as he took cover again. But that won't do for long, it was for a second but he definitely saw the large fucker sprinting his way. Gathering his breath, he decided to change locations.
Hana, Yuki, and the raider were all preoccupied by something, whether it be avoiding death or relieving pain. Takashi was next on the list. While all this was happening, Steve snored inside his suit. Mumble in his sleep, dreaming of a good bout he just had.
Eyeing his prey, he quickly turned to his left as a sudden spray of debris blocked his vision. Quickly assessing the situation, two red pincers quickly munched at its silver prey. Thinking quickly, he dropped his bolter and grabbed a hold on the pincers. He was pushed back, his boots grinding and turning up the asphalt beneath him. Fully exposed, it was a giant red ant. Stopped, his strength was tested. The red ant was trying its mightiest to close its pincers on Aze's head. Trying to keep his head, Aze switched between looking at the ugly red xeno before him and the bolter he dropped. His precious bolter.
A small fire lit under him from just the thought of losing a weapon, a piece of his soul. Just as the red ant was thinking it was winning, a sudden pressure built up on its pincers. Slowly, its pincers opened instead of closing– much to the ant's dismay. Suddenly, it was pulled closer–
—WHAM!
A heavy blow stunned it as Aze used his head as a weapon. Taking this chance, he raised his left leg and pressed his boot on the face of the xeno. Planted, he pulled hard with the assist of his planted foot until–
—Rip
The mandibles ripped right off, inducing the ant it pain as its mouth was practically rendered unusable. The force made Aze stabilize himself. Looking down on the two sharp pincers on hand, he flipped them over– pointed side pointed downward. His eyes returned to the ant. Without a second thought, he ran up and jumped– both hands above his head and smashed down the mandibles. The ant's mandibles pierced its exoskeleton and dug into its head. Though, it wasn't deep enough to kill it. To remedy that, while still on top of the head he drew his combat blade and embedded it deep with one secured push. The squirming ant soon settled down, drawing its last breath.
Takashi, who was on the third to last floor up from the ground, looked out the window to see how much time he's got left. To think such a perfect shot existed, he quickly posted up and took aim. Through the scope, Aze bent down to pick up his bolter. Turning it over and over, inspecting for damages.
—Click!
—Bang!
Takashi took the shot, pulling the bolt back and forward– discharging a casing. Still looking down the scope, his eyes widened. Aze was facing sideways before the shot. He turned his head left and leaned back slightly as the bullet whizzed passed. An inhuman reaction. He couldn't believe it.
Unknown to Takashi, Aze activated In the Zone to slow down his perception of time from the moment a large bang reached his ears. The slowed perception gave him enough time to locate and react, leading to his nonchalant dodge. He's grown quite annoyed by that little ranger.
"STOP RIGHT THERE!"
Just as he was about to chase Takashi, Hana's voice rang out. Turning around, Hana was leaning out behind high cover, Kaito brought more drones with a wider variety as well as new emplaced sentry turrets. Lastly was the diver, she posted herself up on a roof, pissed as all hell and ready to release her trigger. Her exposed right shoulder was bruised– exposing shades of multiple blue and blacks. His instincts told him that the sniper from behind was already reloading. If only the mission was of the lethal sense.
He let out a sigh only audible to him.
"WE–"
—KREEE!
Hana couldn't get another word in as the cry of a monster exposed the amount of danger they were in. when one insect is around, expect a hundred. A wave of black ants crawled from underneath the Earth just like the red one did. Hana was unfortunately right above one of the spawn points. A sudden black ant emerged from where she stood, launching her up high in the sky.
"AAAAH!" she screamed in fear, flailing her arms and legs. At least her grip on her slade was tight.
Yuki, Takashi, Kaito, their hearts skipped a beat as the worst probability came to mind. Aze showed a bit of disdain, these xeno's just made his mission harder.
Between the imminent death of a commander and the critical importance of this mission, something needed to be done.
…
—Wham!
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*Yawn*
Steve had good rest. Steve slept real good. Steve stood up, standing better. But Steve confused? Why black bads around me? Steve not racist, Steve black too. But Steve black don't eat humans. These black bads eat humans. Steve knows. Steve watched, Steve hate crunchy noises.
—Kree!
Steve annoyed, but gun no Steve. But Steve have fist… STEVE CAST FIST!
—Wham!
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone