- Plan of Escape

"The situation on the ground is dire," spoke a female voice over the comm device. "What was meant to be a routine security job for two of our first year squads has now devolved into a botched assassination attempt and the subsequent chase. Crimson Corsair mercenaries, hired by an unknown party, struck at the rally in an effort to kill Mileena Aliti. I am sure you remember your first years here at the academy, and how simple the missions were compared to what you do now. They are in the exact same position you were then, but are faced with circumstances they should not until they are where you are now."

"We've dealt with the Corsairs before, we'll get the kids back safely," spoke a boy with sand coloured hair, a built body, and a scarred face. "Any idea where they are?"

"Residential district of the dome farm that the rally was taking place on, in the southern part of Algos. The plan is to drop you in just outside of the dome and have you enter and sweep the area looking for them."

"Any idea on the level of resistance we should expect? What about the EDF in the area? What sort of situation are we talking about?"

"EDF reinforcements are inbound to the area, but the original group are assumed dead. There are an unknown number of the Crimson Corsair mercenaries engaged in the operation, but likely estimates project somewhere between fifty and two hundred depending on the level of funding that they have been given, and the level of profit they stand to gain from this job. There is certainly a precedent for there to be numbers within the hundreds, assuming the attack was orchestrated by a group like the Warpath or Terra Primus."

"Understood. Golden Leader out."

***

Gus was stunned by the images he was seeing.

"And this is in real time, right?" he asked, directing the question to the Blood Knight who controlled the drone, Andros Orne.

"Behind by a couple of milliseconds," Andros responded. "Erm, yeah, it's live," he said in response to the disapproving looks he received as a result of his original answer.

He was a very small person, both in height and in overall muscle mass, but what he lacked in raw, physical strength he more than made up for with his mind, at least according to Mykolos. If technology could be considered the great equaliser of humanity, then it was an overcompensation in his hands.

"Holy…" Gus whispered silently.

"I guess this is what war looks like," Teala muttered. "What it truly looks like."

Despite the silence, it was clear that everyone agreed with her.

Bodies littered the area of the rally location, mixed between those wearing the colours of the EDF and others wearing casual, civilian outfits. In spite of what they had seen with their own eyes, of what actually happened during the fight, the scene looked like a massacre rather than a firefight.

"How could this have happened?" One of the Blood Knights asked out loud. No answer came for them, because that was the question on everybody's mind.

Judging from the patterns of the blood that were visible on the ground along with the way the bodies had fallen, the EDF had been taken by surprise during the fighting. The most likely thing that happened was that the group that initially launched the attack from within the crowd was meant to be the group that was meant to get the job done, but when it went bad the people they had in reserve stepped in and caught the EDF in a crossfire.

But that was not even the worst thing that they saw from the feed. Many of the attackers were still alive, and their numbers seemed to range in the hundreds. Whoever it was that wanted the politician dead, they had gone all out to make it a reality. And it seemed that they knew where to look.

Although the picture from the drone was not the most clear, it did show that scores of the attackers were closing in on their position.

"We're in trouble here," Faye said. "Serious trouble. Like we're livestock trapped in a pen."

"That's an odd comparison to make," Connor said. "But, you're right. We've got to move. Any ideas?" he asked, looking to Gus.

"We are supposed to be having aid coming for us at some point," Gus answered, partially thinking out loud. "But, staying here would be a death sentence. We are severely under equipped for a firefight of our own, after all."

He knew that Jet said there was going to be some people coming to help them, but he had not given a time for them to come. It was also fairly likely that the academy would also be sending aid to them, although Gus figured that might just be him being optimistic.

"Here's the plan," he said. "We need to get out of the dome, right? Moving as a group of nineteen is too risky, so we split up. Going into smaller groups allows us to be quieter, while also being able to catch them by surprise. Let's call it… four groups of five, give or take. It might sound unorthodox, but we can't face them straight up. We need to create opportunities for ourselves."

"That's good and all, but we can just as easily stick close to each other and achieve the same thing," Mykolos argued.

"Sure we can, but do you want to explain to the academy why our death toll is so high afterward? You're already one down on this mission. Don't be stupid and make it more."

Gus and Mykolos stared at each other for a long moment, before Mykolos chose to back down. "Fine, we'll do it your way, Gus. But know that I do not like this one bit."

"Don't worry. As long as you're smart, you'll get out of here alive."

"How are we dividing up the groups then?" Joel asked. "I take it we're sticking to our squads?"

"We are. Connor, take some of the Reapers. Joel, take the rest."

"What about you? You're the Leader, who are you taking?" Claire asked in surprise.

"I'm on my own," Gus said. "The older sibling has to get the younger ones out safely, so to speak."