The wind whipped through the Pioneers’ hair as they ran up the staircase, and the group soon emerged onto the apartment building’s peak. They leaped across the city’s rooftops and soon passed through the edge of the outer shield.

  A sea of Drones covered the roads below, and many tried to climb up the sides of the buildings when they sensed the Pioneers running above. Fortunately, the Kharnidd were far too slow, and the soldiers evaded them without difficulty. However, the squad was forced to pause when a group of Greater Thralls, led by a Reaver, swooped down to harass them. Markus didn’t use any of his capacities to deal with them, electing to take on the Reaver and several Thralls with his daggers alone. Peralta and some of the Delta class vets dealt with a handful, while the remaining E class vets and the E class rookies ganged up on one. The E class fighters were actually the first to slaughter their opponent, with Jordan striking the finishing blow when he teleported within the enemy's guard and opened its throat with his knives. The E class fighters then ganged up on the D class group’s opponents, defeating them soon after Markus finished off his own enemies.

  The Pioneers kept moving, praying that the delay hadn’t been enough to be their undoing. Those prayers were answered when they made the final leg of their journey unmolested, appearing on the final rooftop overlooking an entrance to the underground safe room. A few Drones sniffed around the lip of that entrance, but most of the Xenos had already joined their brethren at the shield's edge. The Pioneers leapt down and dispatched the Kharnidd swiftly before bolting down the stairs at top speed. They raced down the tunnels, following the sapphire path in their vision, only slowing down when they saw motion up ahead.

  A shot rang out, and a bullet whizzed toward the Pioneers. Markus reached up and almost lazily plucked the projectile from midair. No one even flinched as the squad reached the source of the gunfire. Several police officers hunkered behind a makeshift barrier, shaking slightly as they stared out at their fellow humans. The only policeman who didn’t look scared was a gruff-looking Hispanic man with bushy black eyebrows, apparently in his mid-forties, who barked out, “Armstrong, what in the sam hell do you think you’re doing? These men aren’t Xenos.”

  The younger-looking man coughed in embarrassment, “Sorry, sir. Itchy trigger finger.”

  His subordinate sufficiently berated, the older man turned back to the Pioneers, “I take it you men are the rescue team?”

  Markus’s frown grew deeper as he recognized that none of these men had been told about the lack of official rescue, but he chose not to comment on that as he honestly responded, “We’re here to help. Colonel Markus Haraldson, High Beta class, accompanied by a High Delta veteran, two low Delta vets, four High Epsilon vets, and six capable E class rookies.”

  Jordan’s father hadn’t mentioned the rookies’ positions in their classes, since they were technically all over the place. Ramirez and MacNeil were Low, Gon, Stan, and O’Riley were Mid, while Jordan had climbed his way to High. Still, all of them bristled with pride when they were referred to as ‘capable’ by their superior officer. The older policeman grunted, responding, “Captain Juan Locastro, Mid E class. Accompanied by 10 other Zeta class policemen and 20 unenhanced guys. You have any idea of how we’re going to get out of this?”

  Markus nodded, “I have a route in mind that is relatively safe. Most of the enemy is concentrated at the shield's edge, so we have some room to move around their rear. We’ll go to a place behind enemy lines where the city's defenses are the thickest. We’ll have a good chance to ambush the Kharnidd from behind and break through there.”

  The police captain stroked his chin thoughtfully, muttering, “Well, with a Beta class, that just might be possible.”

  He tapped another young man on the shoulder and said, “Jacobson, go get the people organized again.”

  The man ran down the tunnel to obey his orders, and Markus queried, “Will we need to deal with ambushes to our rear?”

  Locastra shrugged, “I’ve sealed all the other tunnels, if that’s what you’re asking. I can’t guarantee what will happen when we get above ground. This is a solid group of guys, but they’re only armed with ballistic weapons for the most part. I can’t guarantee that they’ll be enough to cover our rear when we’re above ground.”

  Markus nodded once, “That’s fine. That’s what we’re here for.”

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  As the civilians were getting organized, the soldiers and police took the time to figure out their formation. Markus would take point by himself, clearing the way, while a combination of police and Pioneers would cover the flanks and the rear. Peralta, the police captain, and six policemen (two Zeta class and four unenhanced) would cover the rear, with Peralta commanding those forces. Each flank would be staffed with twelve police officers and 5 E class Pioneers (2 vets, 3 rookies), each commanded by a Low Delta class vet. The civilians themselves would be moving in a central column, defended on all sides like this.

  Jordan’s side had MacNeil and Gon on it, as well as three vets named Scalia, Lao, and Plincaron. Second Lieutenant Adrian Plincaron was the Delta class in charge of their group. A skinny, tough-looking white man with moss-colored hair, Plincaron seemed to be well respected by the other vets. Jordan remembered vaguely that Plincaron was one of the weaker subsidiary families to the Fallanir clan, though he could tell that the CO was anything but a spoiled clan brat. The Lieutenant was stern yet fair, with a good head for strategy and a no-nonsense mentality. Scalia was a swarthy man of average height, with a perpetually crafty look in his eyes, while Lao was a tall, muscular man with Asiatic features who seemed to have the same serious attitude as the lieutenant. Jordan didn’t know either man terribly well, but he knew that he found Lao’s and Plincaron’s presences assuring.

  The Pioneers had already been introduced to each other, so they introduced themselves to the police officers as the civilians gathered in the tunnel. Jordan noticed both Armstrong and Jacobson in his group, and he couldn’t help but make a joke at Armstrong’s expense, “Try not to take my head off, buddy. I’m not as tough as the old man.”

  Armstrong looked sheepish, but the cop still tried to defend himself, “Well, I promise not to shoot you if you promise not to sneak up on me in the dark. It’s bad for my heart, especially with all the strange Xenos running around.”

  Jordan looked back at him in faux indignation, “Buddy, if you can confuse a handsome fellow like me for a beastie like that, I’m not worried about your heart. I’m worried about your eyes.”

  Jordan tapped his eyes in emphasis, and the other men half-chuckled, half-sighed in exasperation. As they waited, a Thrall and some Drones ran down the tunnel and tried to disrupt their efforts. But the rank-and-file soldiers didn’t have to do anything before Markus stepped forward. He trashed the creatures with his bare hands, splattering the Drones across the walls with a few punches and crushing the Thrall’s chest in the blink of an eye. Some of the soldiers yelled, and many civilians screamed, but all of these were delayed reactions. Once they all realized what’d happened, many let out cheers, and Jordan felt the group’s mood lighten noticeably.

  It wasn’t much longer before everyone got into formation and Markus gave the order to move out. The humans made a steady pace as they moved out of the tunnel and into the open air above. Night had long fallen, and few lights remained in the now-destroyed portions of the city. Up above was a waning crescent moon, the celestial body emitting very little light for the civilians to see by, but most of the Enhanced fighters could see just fine with their superhuman senses. They guided the civilians in a carefully planned route around the Kharnidd rear, moving as quickly as possible.

  They faced some obstacles, but nothing terribly significant. Jordan watched Lieutenant Plincaron cut down a squad of Drones with an enlarged Psionic boomerang construct. At one point, a Hunter jumped out from a shadow and tried to kill a policeman. But Jordan was there, teleporting between the two and blocking its claw strike with his daggers. The two strained for a second before a bolt of Psionic energy crashed into the Kharnidd’s side, sending it flying away. The Xenos didn’t stick around, choosing to slink away and look for easier prey.

  Besides these minor scuffles, the humans managed to move through enemy territory without resistance. In fact, the depopulated buildings of this abandoned part of town were eerie in their lack of movement, the constructions looming over the humans like ancient, silent idols. Jordan tried to ignore the ominous aura as he focused on his surroundings, staring carefully into the deep shadows of the ghost town. The group’s footsteps echoed spookily throughout the alleyways, the noises furthering the oppressive mood. It was only when they began to approach their destination that everyone relaxed slightly.

  Then an explosion boomed out from up ahead, right where Jordan’s father was supposed to be clearing the way. Several humans cried out, able to see something that Jordan couldn’t.

  And then, the roars began.

  …

  Moon D2404

  The Pioneers were milling around the 630 extractor, chatting and eating while trying to relax. Their captain knew that the whole company couldn’t always remain on high alert, so half the company attempted to decompress while the others manned the battle lines, remaining on watch. At the moment, Daniel was in the relaxing group, and he munched on fried fish while listening to Reggie talk, “An’ I tells ye’, when I was no bigga than a teacup, me Papa said to me…”

  As Reggie quoted his father’s advice about female Colare, before launching into a story about his dating life that vindicated said advice, Daniel idly activated his Oculus Mundi in an effort to remain vigilant. He noticed a smattering of Xenos, but nothing serious. One of the enemies seemed to be moving toward their group, but a lone fighter shouldn’t be too much of a threat. He dismissed the report and tried to focus on the story, “Then I tells ‘er, ‘lady, ye’ may be all shiny and blue, but ye’ don’ know as much as ye’ think ye’ do.’”

  “And I’m sure that went over well.”, commented Forsythe, both men earning themselves a few stiff glares from the women in the group. Sensing the ladies’ ire, the bald man held up his hands in surrender, “Hey, don’t get mad at me. Reggie’s the one who told the story. I’m just calling it like I see it.”

  Daniel fought the urge to shake his head, and he withdrew his focus from the conversation. He scanned their surroundings again, trying to give himself something to do. Daniel noticed that the lone Xenos had grown much closer to the Pioneers in a short period of time. It was very close now and, apparently, moving very fast.

  “Captain!” he called out, trying to signal to Moravan. The man turned swiftly, his orange eye locking on Daniel as he continued, “We may have incoming! One tango, moving fast!”

  Daniel watched as the news registered on the captain’s face, the man lifting his weapon and looking toward the caves cautiously. Then, the CO’s position was obscured in a spray of blood.