Amos gently clenched his fist as the swords flew out from the water. The camp was littered with bloody corpses, their insides shredded. A grey mist began to rise from the various cuts as the metal shards flew out. A faint clinking sound could be heard as the cloud swirled momentarily before rushing over.

  ///

  Moira breathed a sigh of relief as the confirmation came in.

  She looked at the projected map, a cluster of indicators glowing red.

  ‘Ok,’ she thought, ‘let’s finish this.’

  ///

  The Manzar headcount was around ten thousand, equally distributed across the three cruisers. While the first wave was immediately deployed to pursue the scavengers, the second had been fielded away from the battlefield. They aimed to establish a staging ground to provide resupply and air support to the engaged ground units.

  The temporary base had been established in a relatively narrow mountain gorge. A massive, crumpled metal slab covered most of the narrow passage, save for the wide circular mouth only partially shaded by a metal overhang. The ground was littered with supplies and shelters as Marzans bused back and forth completing various tasks.

  The triangular vessel usually hovered overhead but had recently left to investigate a distress signal from the forward encampment. Half the fighter squadrons had left in tow – leaving the remaining sixty scattered across the base, grounded but fueled, awaiting orders.

  The hum of the engines, clank of heavy machinery, and mixture of voices create a lively atmosphere and, more importantly, a sense of false security. The soldiers relaxed, loafing around as they rested, blissfully unaware.

  Above them, a motley crew of scavengers ran in and out of the wreckage. Empire alloy was notoriously difficult to destroy even when no longer infused, but it was not impossible. The crew—armed with thermal blades—scrambled to complete their task.

  A foreman looked at one of his workers for confirmation before saying:

  “Set.”

  Kohler worked out of the center of the camp with the three other lieutenants, managing the construction of the staging ground. Suddenly, a high-pitched electronic ringing was heard as their communication network went down.

  Kohler was about to bark orders – instructing his aide to determine what had happened - when a series of blasts were heard from overhead. A chilling metallic wail sounded out as bits of dust and metal began to rain down. All the troops looked up, petrified with the instinctual knowledge of what was to come.

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  Seconds before, a series of demo-charges exploded in an ordered line. The blue flashes scorched the surrounding metals, blowing the already weakened metal struts apart. The edge of the colossal fin began to groan and teeter before, eventually, beginning to tip over and slide downwards.

  The Manzar camp descended into a frenzied panic as the soldiers desperately distanced themselves from the titanic blade rushing toward them. The metal slab consumed the sky, its sheer size making its movements appear slow before finally … Impact. A terrifying squall rose as the ground shook, knocking anyone still standing down.

  The metal wall had diagonally split the base in half, trapping the back half.

  The men all stared, firmly in the grips of shock and fear.

  They were frozen and simply could not respond to what came next.

  A fleet of gunship-style fighters streaked towards them. They bore two bent avian-type wings as their thrusters spewed out orange light. Each silvery ship was adorned with similarly colored orange strips and graffiti decorations representative of each pilot. The metal side panels were open, revealing the scavengers composed and ready.

  The vessels raced across the sky before swinging around, wielding inertia to drive by the base. The soldiers on the ground could only watch in shock as the gunship’s main gun opened fire. The Gatling-style particle weapons peppered the ground with energy bolts, eviscerating anything or anyone in their path.

  A litany of explosions was heard as the overwhelming firepower decimated the grounded ships. A few escaped but were swarmed by the scavengers’ overwhelming numbers. Rock shards and dust cloaked the air in thick smoke. Charred and broken remains littered the ground, gutted with smoldering holes.

  Behind. The metallic overhang blocked out the light, drowning everything in pitch black. The soldiers began to stumble around trying to find a source of light. Kohler grabbed his head as he groaned. He had been hit by a small piece of debris, which had broken one of his left arms. He strained, pushing the panel away before struggling to his feet.

  He looked around, trying to get his bearings, but couldn’t see anything in the murky darkness. He could hear his men shuffling about. ‘Ok,’ he thought to himself as he tried to decide on the best course of action. Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted faint blue whisps. He turned, confused, before his eyes went wide for the second time.

  Amos and his unit raised their rifle barrels to take aim.

  The muzzle began to glow with blue light, and the massacre continued.

  Overlapping energy blasts came from both sides of the slopes as blue blots rained down on the unprepared Manzar. Soldiers collapsed everywhere – their heads bored straight through. The armored soldiers systematically mowed down the blinded men, slowly constricting the encirclement.

  Kohler watched in fear as crisscrossing beams of light lit up the darkness. His only thought? ‘Run,’ as he hobbled away into the darkness of the ravine, clutching his injured arm. Amos looked up as he finished cleaning up the battlefield. ‘Huh.’

  A Manzar wearing a lieutenant’s uniform rushed as best he could. The light at the end of the other side of the ravine gave him some hope. He was about a hundred meters from the edge of the shadows when the wind rustled as a heavy blow struck him from behind.

  Kohler collapsed with a cry before flipping over, stricken with fear. A metallic figure loomed over him before shoving a blaster into his gaping mouth. A blue flash. Amos and his unit stepped out into the soft grey light.

  In the distance, eyes dyed purple glinted with amusement.