A Tail for Tales

[Wolfie]

   Genesis was slowly closing in on the commando group, curious as to why they were here most of all and why these Metal Heads were attacking a mine. He was sure to keep Zrion in sight, not that he couldn't do it easily mind him. Genesis had a bit of feeling he was being followed himself, but payed no mind to it, he was getting closer to the one human who might be able to figure out just what in the hell is going on around here. Once he was in earshot, he made note to not touch the commandos nor get closer. Instead, he chose a much unconventional mean.

"Hey there neighbor!" Genesis yelled over the gunfire, directed towards Zrion more than the commando next to him.

[Darkjak87]

Zrion quickly spun around, aiming his rifle toward the source of the noise. While he hardly expected a Metal Head to be speaking to him, he wasn't taking any chances, considering that every Guard in the area was more or less accounted for already.

So, of course, it turned out to be a Metal Head. And, on top of that, one that Zrion recognized. "You again?" Zrion said out loud, more a statement than a question. At Mendoza's questioning look, Zrion pointed back toward the advancing Metal Heads. Taking the hint, Mendoza cast another doubtful glance toward Genesis before returning his attention to the more obvious threat.

"I knew these Metal Heads were smarter than usual..." Zrion muttered to himself. "You're the one leading this attack?" he demanded, louder so that Genesis could hear him. He kept his rifle leveled at Genesis' head, prepared to enhance his weapon with eco if needed. While he may have teamed up with Genesis once, they still weren't exactly friends, and the fact that he was here during the middle of a major Metal Head attack hardly seemed coincidental.

[Wolfie]

"Actually, Zrion, I'm here to find out what's leading these Metal Heads." Genesis looked around the hill, glad he hasn't been spotted by the grunts yet. "But most of all... why they're attacking this mine."

   Genesis didn't move from his position, nor did he make an advance towards the top of the hill, but he got that feeling again. A feeling that he was being watched. Either what ever was leading this smaller army of Metal Heads must be keeping tabs on him while he's here. Genesis shuffled his claws a bit before his ear twitched.

"Do you feel like you're being watched ever since you got here? 'Cause I do, and I don't like it." Genesis was looking around now, trying to pinpoint the origin of his feeling.

[Darkjak87]

"Isn't it obvious?" Zrion asked, raising an eyebrow. "Haven City only has two major mining operations. This is one of them, and there were only twenty Guards here. They could wipe out half our eco supply, which powers our shield wall, without a whole lot of hassle. Frankly, I'd be surprised if they didn't attack it."

A nearby roar demanded Zrion's attention, and he quickly turned toward Mendoza, who seemed to be having trouble. He moved to support his comrade, aiming his rifle down the side of the cliff and firing a few shots at the Metal Heads nearest the top. Glancing across the trench, he saw that Thompson and Braeburn were still holding on, but it would only be a matter of time until the Metal Heads really began laying on the pressure. They'd have to move soon.

"Well, I see a lot of eyes watching me at the moment," Zrion answered. "I've been worrying about those. But..." he trailed off. "Alright, these things are too smart. Some of them tried to flank us not long ago. That's not something Metal Heads do, unless it's by accident. And assuming you're telling the truth about not leading this attack, there's probably something else here leading them. Maybe another sentient Metal Head, like you."

He paused, considering his next move carefully. "If that is the case...I don't suppose you want to eliminate the competition, do you?"

[Wolfie]

   Genesis hopped up onto the hill, landing next to Zrion and his  squad member. Gazing upon the remnants of this once half-army.

"A whole bunch of Metal Heads down there, sure you can't handle this on your own?" Genesis asked with a smirk before diving for the center.

   The mass cleared and Genesis went up in a plume of smoke. The dust settled as a hole the diameter of Genesis's body that led to darkness. The group that cleared looked down with intent, anticipating the beast to come back up through the hole. Little did they know about the tipped tail emerging from behind one of them and thrusting itself through its chest.

   The grunt was pulled to the ground as Genesis' tail went back underground, and the remaining shooting at the corpse, hoping to land a shot. Genesis burst forth from behind, knocking several into the deep hole he made and quickly ridding of the the few left in the center. But when Genesis looked around, all of them stopped firing at the KG and Zrion's crew, and were staring at Genesis in the droves.

"Something tells me this can't be good..." Genesis said to anyone that could hear him.

[Darkjak87]

"Anybody got some popcorn?" Mendoza quipped over the radio, eliciting a a few weak chuckles from the squad. Although Zrion's curiosity was piqued by the events below, they weren't going to get a better opening than this.

"Alright, now's our chance!" Zrion ordered. "Move out, find another spot, put some distance between us and them."

The men quickly moved to obey, quietly making their way back down the hills and heading to similar locations nearby. Zrion and Mendoza kept a wary eye on the nearby Metal Heads, but they weren't attacking at the moment, and they certainly weren't complaining about the brief reprieve.

"Weird," Braeburn commented.

"Yeah," Mendoza answered. "I've seen them fight, I've seen them run, but I've never seen them just...stand there like that. They're like scarecrows, but creepier. What do you think it means?"

"It means we have time to haul our asses out of the way before something explodes," Zrion interjected.

"Can't argue that," Braeburn agreed.

A few moments later, both the fireteams had taken up new positions, going prone atop the nearby cliffs to observe the unfolding spectacle.

You know...I really could go for some popcorn right now, Zrion mused.

[Wolfie]

   Genesis kept looking around. All they did were stare at him, that was it. Silence overtook the battlefield now, all Metal Head eyes on their supposed target.

"What's the matter, playtime over for the kids?" Genesis mused with a wide grin.

   One of them made and move and before the others could follow, Genesis was down the hole again. The mass moved to the hole, trying to catch the large Metal Head. Too late, Genesis was down the hole and out of sight. That's when they started to split up into small search parties, going throughout the grounds rather than go for the control room.

   Genesis was busy digging his latest route away from the platforms and the mass. This wasn't a typical attack now, and Genesis saw that. It was a bait move, something normal Metal Heads weren't capable of, but not a tactic used by other Metal Head commanders. Years digging around in the wasteland finally payed off. But that wasn't his concern, his concern is what wanted him to be there, maybe it was watching him, but from where?

[Darkjak87]

"Alright, considering that we didn't manage to kill that guy when we were actually trying to, I don't think we have to worry about doing it by accident. Everyone, fire at will!" Zrion spoke into his earpiece. A chorus of 'yes sir's and 'yes commander' answered him, and the four men opened fire as one, 7.62x39mm FMJ bullets and high explosive 40mm grenade rounds tearing into the Metal Heads from either side.

Despite their momentary preoccupation with Genesis, the Metal Heads weren't so useless as to ignore the threat, so they quickly attempted to return to their previous efforts, most likely hoping to kill the soldiers quickly so they could focus on Genesis, for whatever reason. However, now that the commando unit had slipped away, they had several dozen meters of ground to cover, with four heavily armed men firing at them the entire way.

Taking a brief moment, Zrion switched his radio over to the standard KG frequencies. "Commander Zrion to Lieutenant Johnson, come in."

Zrion could hear gunfire and shouts over the comlink, but a moment later, Johnson replied. "This is Lieutenant Johnson, and I'm damn glad to hear from you. Are you reinforcements?"

"Affirmative, Lieutenant," Zrion replied.

"How many?" he asked urgently.

"One squad of Fourth Echelon soldiers, Special Operations," Zrion answered.

"What? One squad? I asked for a company!"

"Well, there's only one battle, isn't there?" Zrion deadpanned. "We've already drawn off half their number, and we've cut that down by a third. We aren't exactly dead weight over here."

"So that's where they all went...I thought they were flanking us," he muttered. "Well in that case, much obliged Commander. Guess that makes you the ranking officer now. Orders?"

"What's your status?" Zrion inquired.

"Down to fifty percent manpower, I have ten Guardsmen left. We're dug in deep and we're making the Metal Heads pay for every inch. Bit more since you showed up. We have the civvies in the control room behind us, and we've begun evacuating them through the warp gate."

"Can you hold out?" Zrion asked.

"Yeah, should. Probably for another half hour at least, more if you're all your cracked up to be."

"Good, keep at it. With you holding the control room we're free to move around and pick them off. We'll have them cleared out soon enough. If you need any help, I can move reinforcements to your position through the warp gate."

"Acknowledged, Commander. We'll keep the bastards back long enough to get the civvies out."

"Keep that in mind Lieutenant, but that's your secondary objective. Your primary is to hold that control room at all costs. If the Metal Heads destroy it, our operation here would be set back for weeks."

"Roger that. We'll dig in our heels, but we're gonna need help sooner or later if we're stuck here."

"Acknowledged. Do you what you can in the meantime." Zrion ended the connection.

"Report!" Zrion said to Mendoza.

"I'm killin' em as they come but they're going to close in eventually. I've already got another spot picked out for when they do," he called out between shots.

"Good. Keep at it, we'll run these bastards right off the island," Zrion replied, giving him a pat on the shoulder. With that, he returned his attention to the incoming hordes and opened fire as well, minding his steadily dwindling ammunition supply.

[Wolfie]

   Genesis shot out in a plume of smoke just beneath the hordes, sending some of them down his hole and up into the air where they were cut into. His dust pillar was a few feet away from Zrion's crew and new position, but even this Metal Head couldn't stay in the air for long. The beast landed on his fours, growling and his tail at the ready.

"Do ya four need some support?" Genesis asked with a coy grin as he spoke to the group above.

   His eyes locked on onto the hordes, then something entered his hearing. They sounded like whispers, thousands of them, all at once. Flooding his hearing, barely managing to disable his overall hearing at most.

[Darkjak87]

"Not really," Zrion said neutrally. "But if you want to, say, run into enemy fire and draw some of them away from us, then we wouldn't complain. I might even resist the urge to shoot at you while you do it." Zrion may not have particularly liked Genesis, but even that wouldn't be enough to contain his propensity for sarcasm. If anything, it just made it less dry and more hostile.

Another 'thump' was heard from his left, and a grenade arced from Mendoza's underslung grenade launcher, landing among the Metal Heads and killing a group that had been nearing the hill.

"Fire team two, how're you holding up?" Zrion asked over the radio.

"We're doing fine," Braeburn answered. "Metal Heads? Not so much."

Zrion chuckled. "Don't get too cozy, Operative. We'll have to move again in a few minutes if they get too close. You two need to have a spot picked out first."

"Already done, Commander. Looks like prime real estate too."

Zrion ended the connection, returning to the battle. He was down to about half his ammo, and he guessed that the rest of his squad was in a similar situation. Despite the massive firepower offered by assault rifles, the downside was that one soldier could only carry so much ammo, and since the regular Guards used a different type, it meant that Special Operations soldiers were stuck with what they started out with, barring a resupply, which was unlikely most of the time.

If it came down to it, the commandos were also excellent shots with their .45 pistols, but if the battle degenerated into a general melee things could get ugly fast. The skirmish at the warp gate had proven that - Zrion could have killed six Grunts with his assault rifle without so much as breaking a sweat. However, he had been forced to come through with that weapon holstered, since going through a warp gate gracefully was basically impossible. Fighting them had been significantly harder with his dagger and pistol, and a single mistake could have cost him his life. It was strictly a last resort, as even the most highly trained soldiers could still just be flat out unlucky.