Chapter 6

Once more, they walked across the sands of V'rounsthan. The sun was peeking at zenith point, painting the desert in light tan. The slopes obscured their advance, covering them from the prying eyes of the Dusk Riders who were encamped in the distance. They were half way across when Keron heard the rumbling of engines and the sound of spoilers spewing smogs in loud coughs.

"They're advancing!" Razion said.

"And there is nothing to be afraid of." Keron replied as he continued. "We will be able to outflank them definitely."

"I hope you are right."

They reached the end of a long slope and moved around the corner. Keron strode with confidence before a round was fired and penetrated his right breast. Keron recoiled backwards as he spat blood from the interior of his helmet. The filters ejected the red liquid while his Battle Gear automatically doused the wound with healing fluids that were dispensed from the damaged part of his armor.

When the lavender-scented liquid reached the bloodied gaping hole on his body, he felt itchiness. The nerves were irritated by the presence of the foreign substance that accelerated his body's self-repair process. It even itched more when the ruined tissues began to knit itself in its own accord. The bullet that embedded within was slowly pushed out of the bleeding hole and fell onto the dusty ground. Soon enough, his skin was fully repaired; no marks of the wound could be seen. The armor began to repair itself shortly until he was fully sealed.

"Damn those bastards!" Keron cursed. "Razion, watch my flank!" They are expecting the Protectorates, something that surprised the leader of the Patrol Team.

The two of them moved out of cover. Keron extended his left hand while Razion, followed by Vieron and Aran, came out next. The five Dusk Riders opened fire at the Protectorates. Keron constructed a psychic wall that shielded the Patrol Team from harm. When the bullets came, it collided with the wall and rippled across the surface.

"Now, brother!" Keron ordered as he replaced his hand back under the barrel of the Blast Rifle and opened fire.

Four of the Dusk Riders fell prey at the hail of plasma spheres that were sent by the Protectorates. When the barrage ended, the corpses fell, steaming and sizzling. Beyond, the other two were scrambling towards their bikes to escape.

Keron and Razion pursued to intercept them. Keron hopped over a foldable chair and kicked another one as he neared his target. He swung his left hand downwards; the gesture was recognized by the Battle Gear and was responded with the extension of his left forearm blade. When the fleeing Dusk Rider was close enough, Keron thrusts his fist forward and impaled the Rider from the back to the chest.

He raised the Rider a few inches above ground. Droplets of red dripped from his blade while the dying Dusk Rider twitched for a couple of times before freezing. He retracted the blade back home and the Dusk Rider fell with a muffled thud.

Beside, Razion was gripped the head of his kneeling target with his left hand, its neck slit open. His armblade slid back home.

"What the hell are these?" Vieron asked as he moved in the middle of the encampment.

There were trash everywhere, from oil packets to sandpapers. Keron could also see rectangular food containers that contained brownish liquid. If the Dusk Riders ate this, he doesn't wanna know what it tasted like. Aside from the trash, he saw tiny boulders carved with grotesque imagery and symbols. Keron, out of curiosity, picked up one and studied at it. The stone displayed a pair of spiral and an elongated ellipse below. In the middle was an inverted cross but both the northern and southern ends branched out in three prongs. The carvings glowed faintly.

"Damned devils," Keron muttered weakly. "They have done what we have feared."

As a punctuation to his sentence, a powerful explosion was heard ahead. Keron glanced up to see the monolith where the other Patrol Team was hiding in suddenly fell to the side. He swallowed dryly as he glanced at Razion.

"To the bikes, now!" He pointed at the alien motorbikes and rushed to embark on one. As soon as he was on the top of its saddle, he glanced at the handlebar and the dashboard before him. He frowned, looking for the object that would prompt its activation when he noticed a green button underneath the dashboard. Out of curiosity, he pressed it.

He almost leapt from his seat when the engines roared and the spoilers coughed. The others simultaneously brought their vehicles to life. If they had the same reaction, they didn't show it. Keron was glad that they have sufficient bikes for everyone. With a cautious turn of the throttle grip, the Protectorate advanced. The others followed, but not without accidental swerving that they managed to control.

They arrived at the fallen monolith. Keron's heart sank at the sight of Gareon's unrecognizable corpse. Hephaeron's body was separated by the midriff completely while Leran and another Protectorate was perforated. The last one was missing, however. Tell tale signs that he existed was a lone arm lying among a few corpses of Dusk Riders, its armblade extended and impaled a green skinned Rider in the neck.

The sight of a brother's death was not new for Keron but the magnitude of the damage done here was almost unbelievable. He wondered what had transpired. The speed of the events scared him. Keron stepped off from his bike and approached Leran's corpse. He reached for her chestplate and pulled the external compartment open. Beneath, a cylinder containing green liquid could be seen, glowing even under the brightness of the sun. He pulled it out and placed it behind his waist. The belt reacted to the surface of the cylinder and pulled it like a magnet.

Keron walked back to the bike and nodded at Razion as he sat on the saddle.

"Toran, can you hear me?" Keron inquired.

He received static in reply. Keron frowned. He repeated the action, hoping he would get a favorable result when the other line came back with a dislocated transmission for help.

"--eron! They'r--aking--fire! Th--walls! The city walls are--tack!"

"Toran, you're breaking up!" Keron yelled in frustration. "What on Triton is going on?!"

"--eed assistance!" Then complete silence.

Keron glanced ahead. The city was nothing but a thin line in the horizon that seemed to radiate colorfully due to the lights emanating from its buildings and skyscrapers. He swallowed again out of nervousness. He shook his head.

What was he doing?

"Father," he prayed. "Provide me strength." He finally raised his chin upwards. He is the leader of the Patrol Team. He shouldn't be displaying fear but instead, courage to inspire bravery to his subordinates.

With a glare in his eyes, he turned the throttle and sped towards Forward Post-131.