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  Another scouting drone, black and covered with Imperial Insignias. It was flying a little while ahead of the main Imperial Army, making a beeline towards the counting house. It hadn’t spotted them yet as it hovered only mere inches from the ground. Lights from the drone were flailing left and right, scouring the alley for any potential spot where rebels could be hidden for a ambush. Eli held off shooting it, knowing that the gunfire would only alert the Imperials to their presence, and the element of surprise was the only advantage Misfit had going for them.

  “Hold your fire, let the drone pass,” Eli whispered to those around him who could hear. They would have to wait until the main body of the Imperial Army, and the Sentry itself, appeared face-to-face. If they were beaten here, they could make a desperate attempt to flee to the counting house, but it was unlikely that they’d make it before the NSE destroyed them.

  Badger nodded, holding her weapon to the side. Eventually, and luckily for them, more scattered gunfire from another direction had grabbed the drone’s attention, sending it on a tangent as it flew into another alleyway away from Misfit. A lucky break, if brief.

  For the sentry was stomping closer, and Misfit would be face-to-face with the robot death machine first. Every step it took brought the sentry closer, and Eli would have to think of a plan. Yet, a plan wouldn't come soon enough.

  The sentry announced its presence with the familiar cry of its foghorn-like “voice”. In one nearly-graceful maneuver, the spider-like legs of the machine ascended up and over a wall of container, nearly dislodging one as it strode forward. The hull of the machine was marked by a large black scar, the surface where a mighty mouse managed to connect but failed to penetrate – despite some chunks of applique armor being knocked off. From the wound, it was slightly leaking that familiar black tar-like substance, like blood. It was wounded, but perfectly operational.

  The sentry’s eyes basked the entire alleyway in familiar ekron red light, making the shadows darker and more defined, forcing Misfit to scurry further into their darkness hugging the walls of the containers. There were no dragons nearby and the drone must've been scouting the path ahead for the sentry. Eli suspected that there were Avonian troops following just behind the sentry, using it as a massive sledgehammer to shatter whatever resistance the ULA could still conjure.

  Eli held his breath in anticipation as the sentry drew closer. Each stomp sent a vibration through the concrete, one that Eli felt in his core. Would it spot them?

  He saw the forms of Otaes and Temetet moving up on one of the containers to his left. They had the high ground, at roughly the same height as the sentry. Both were taking care not to skyline themselves, a task made somewhat easier as the rising morning sun was almost totally obscured by the storm. He saw Otaes' shadowy figure grab hold of the bow on her back loading a single arrow. Eli guessed that it was an explosive arrow. The only one that she had left. Surely she wasn’t hoping to kill the sentry? She should know that the arrow would only stun it at best, maybe if she was really lucky she could blind it or destroy another critical component.

  “What is she up to?” Badger whispered, “She’ll get herself killed if she tries to shoot it.”

  Eli forced himself to relax, Otaes knew what she was doing. She was a Kitchi warrior for a reason, no? “Trust her,” Eli said to Badger.

  Otaes pulled back the drawstring of the bow while aiming. The sentry hadn’t spotted her, but she was definitely in a exposed position. Temetet meanwhile was doing something else with his multitool. He was clambering down the containers on the opposite side where Eli couldn’t see… was he going after the drone?

  If Otaes and Temetet had come up with a plan. Eli would just have to trust in it, even if he didn’t know what exactly it was.

  The sentry took a few cautious steps closer, and the red lights were threatening to erode the last bit of shadow left that kept Misfit. It was either now or never.

  And she let the arrow fly. The red tipped arrow sparkled as it shot across the stormy air. And with a successful connection, it impaled itself into the armor of the sentry. A small explosion rocked the sentry, almost like someone sucker punching it. It stumbled around, knocking into a container and sending it crashing to the ground in a cloud of sparks and small fires. It tried to deploy its shield, but the magical energy field only flickered by the shield generator gave out. The shield might’ve been destroyed, but Misfit now had to deal with a now angry sentry as it clambered back to its feet to shoot back.

  “Cover her! Aim for the eyes!” Eli shouted. The Phantoms fired their guns sending volley after volley of bullets smashing into the hull of the sentry. The volume of gunfire was enough to force the sentry to reconsider pursuing its initial aggressor, as it shifted its posture to attack the phantoms on the ground. It opened fire with its smaller gun, sending bursts of energy slamming into the dodgy cover Misfit had taken. Eli, Badger, Omar, and Dutch were forced to scatter, getting up to their feet and running while keeping the pressure on the sentry. Their frantic movements in opposing directions were doing a good job at keeping the sentry guessing where to shoot, missing shots as it tried to lock onto one target only to be interrupted by yet another. Their scattered moves would keep the sentry preoccupied for now, but it wouldn’t be long before the sentry charged its primary gun to obliterate them all.

  That is until Otaes let out a whistle, a high-pitched whistle loud enough for Eli to hear even over the gunfire. Eli at first wasn’t sure what the whistle was for, until he saw Archer’s form swoop down from his position in the skies. The griffon immediately went for the sentry’s back, digging his claws and talons into the metal arm, and using his beak to cut into the rear like a fork cutting through dinner.

  The sentry screamed with a robotic shriek so high and loud that it nearly sounded organic... terrified even. Archer – for his part – also unleashed a shriek somewhere between the call of an eagle and the roar of a lion as he viciously attacked his prey where its was most vulnerable. The sentry flailed as it tried to get Archer off its back, purposefully slamming itself into containers, and judging by the way Archer’s wings were flapping to maintain balance – it was doing a decent job. Yet Archer remained tethered, and his claws exploited the gaps in the sentry’s armor to the fullest extent possible, digging underneath the armor plates and getting at the vulnerable robot parts underneath. Like a shark prying open the shell of a turtle. More of that black “blood” leaked from the body of the sentry as Archer’s talons dug further in, and the sentry’s vocalizations only got more desperate.

  “Thank fuck he’s on our side!” Dutch exclaimed in awe as he watched Archer tear into the sentry’s back.

  “Kill it dead Archer! That’s for Matteo!” Shouted Omar.

  The sentry continued to flail about, moving erratically towards where Misfit had taken a position. Its desperate scrambling forced Misfit to take cover – lest they wanted to be impaled by its sharp legs or sent flying after being hit. Eli ducked for cover after narrowly missing a leg that had come dangerously close to turning him into a human baseball. Even with the sentry being ripped apart by Archer, they were not yet safe. For as Eli predicted, Avonian infantry was following close behind the sentry. More NSE, and to Eli’s dismay, almost all of them were Alpha troops. One Alpha lieutenant led a squad of other enhanced soldiers towards the firefight. Alpha suppressors and Shock Troopers flanked their ranks, two of each. And eight elite Imperial soldiers filling the gaps. Thirteen elite Imperial soldiers and not a single militiaman in sight.

  The Imperials opened fire forcing Misfit to once again scramble for their lives as they shoddily returned fire – all while the sentry remained active.

  Eli worked his way into a somewhat workable position as he fired at the advancing NSE. The Shock Troopers charged in first, deploying their shields the moment Misfit returned fire.

  “Don’t waste your ammo while their shields are up!” Eli said to them, “If you get a clear shot, aim for their eyes, that’s the best chance we have to kill them!”

  The Alpha Lieutenants, Suppressors, and Shock Troopers were of course wearing masks with those large bug-eyed lenses that allowed the wearer to see. And in the case of the Alpha troops, those lenses were glowing bright red. Though being precise enough to nail a moving soldier through those lenses would prove a challenge, even despite their large size and glowing light.

  Eli reloaded his rifle, down to two magazines. He steadied his breathing through the holographic sight, placing the red dot around the eye of an advancing suppressors. Behind the wall of Shock Troopers shields, the two Alpha Suppressors were keeping true to their name, unleashing fire upon Misfit to keep them down and out of the fight. But from Eli’s vantage point, he could just narrowly get a decent shot.

  He pulled the trigger once, and the bullet sliced through the eye of the suppressor. The red lights in both lenses of the mask faded to black, and the suppressor’s body slumped over. Dead.

  The death of one suppressor was a big step forward at improving their odds on its own, but from the opposing side Badger also managed to score a kill on one of the advancing Shock Troopers with another clean shot through the mask lens. The NSE held their fire before trying a new strategy. The Lieutenants at front signaled for their troops to gather further behind the remaining shields, shifting the entire column of troops firmly behind cover. And from their pockets, the Lieutenants grabbed hold of something familiar. Grenades.

  “Grenades! Scatter! Scatter!” Eli shouted as the round metal objects were thrown into the skies, glowing red full of magical energy, and arched their way down to the ground. Immediately Misfit split, taking off in almost all directions to take shelter as two grenades landed with a loud metallic clang. Eli nearly fell face first as he scrambled off of the mountain of debris he’d been using as cover. Further into a smaller alley he went until the grenades exploded, sending him diving to the ground.

  Shuffling boots meant that the Imperials were quickly moving to press their new advantage. Eli did a quick check and saw that the grenades had failed to kill or even injure anybody, but the Avonians perhaps weren’t expecting them to. It was purely a means to dislodge Misfit from cover and to put them on the backfoot.

  Eli opened fire as a Avonian soldier turned the corner around the mountain of debris. Both Eli and the soldier raised their weapons, but Eli was faster, blindly firing until he hit the Imperial in the chest and the body of the soldier dropped to the floor. Just as soon as one went down, another appeared, and then another.

  Once again, Eli was forced to scramble as a new hailstorm of bullets only narrowly whizzed past him. He was only able to find cover behind a somewhat dislodged container. Though the metal was thin enough for the bullets to easily smash through, it was the best cover within reach. Omar was already there, shaking. Badly. Just like during the first battle.

  The kid was trying his best to keep it together, that much Eli could tell. But he was sitting in the middle of a puddle with his back practically glued to the container. It was like he was trying to fight himself to spring into action, but he couldn’t, “Omar!” Eli shouted above the gunfire. No reaction, “Omar!”

  The kid’s terrified eyes once again landed on Eli. And suddenly, they were back at The Nexus on the first day of their Major Kovic’s wild ride into this terrifying new world. Omar’s frail body huddled inside of a trench, shivering from fear as the behemoth advances upon them. Almost unstoppable. It seemed like so long ago. In reality, it had only been less than two months.

  Omar had become much braver since, but deep down he was still so terrified. And although Eli couldn’t admit it, so was he. He placed a hand on Omar’s shoulder, “Phantoms are impossible to kill,” Eli said. Two months ago, and he would’ve dismissed such a claim as ridiculous. But here they were. They’d lived through Avonian gas attacks, fought off dragons, escaped hordes of Imperials chasing them down, brought down sentry’s, survived hell numerous times, and even did the impossible – staring down Overwatch and forcing their hand to bend to Misfit’s will. A temporary victory, but one unimaginably major. And if Glassface’s words were to be trusted, one that would prove to be extremely consequential.

  “I’m scared,” Omar said, “I-I’m sorry E-Eli…”

  “Me too, Omar,” Eli said, “But you’re strong. Don’t apologize for being afraid. We all are. That’s natural. The world looks bleak, it always does. But if we keep trying, we will make it better. I promise.”

  Omar shook his head, trying to force on a smile but unable to keep it there for long. Eli smiled as he rose to return fire at the advancing Imperials, “Stay strong, be brave. No matter how dark it gets, as long as there is hope, a better world is possible. Even if not for us, then for the future.”

  “You said you were bad at giving motivational speeches,” Omar said, recalling that moment Eli had nearly forgotten... the first day on Narva, just after the Nexus had been assaulted by a Behemoth of all things... somehow they not only came out alive, but victorious.

  “Two months stuck on an alien planet can really change a person, huh?” Eli said, reloading his gun and standing up to return fire. He saw that Badger and Dutch were holding their own brilliantly. They’d also found shelter by climbing one of the containers while the Imperials were distracted with Eli and were firing down on the squad of Avonians to keep them at bay. He shouldn’t have been surprised that they could hold their own. Badger of course had her experience as a soldier in the Korean War, and Dutch himself was a militant long before he’d been captured and imprisoned. Put the two together, with Badger’s training and Dutch’s sharpshooting, they were almost unstoppable all on their own. That just left Omar and Eli, and while Omar had some ways to catch up, he’d do fine under Eli’s guidance.

  He wondered if this was how Otaes felt about Temetet? Training him to be a warrior in his own right. It was bizarre seeing how similar the two were. Speaking of which…

  Eli returned fire down the alley way, keeping the advancing Imperials suppressed just enough with the limited amount of ammunition that he had. Often times, he’d be forced to duck back behind the container as the Avonians fired back, sending sparks flying into his face as ekron energy collided against rusted steel. It was enough to keep the regular Avonian soldiers back. But the Alpha Lieutenant took the initiative, deploying its shield and rushing down the alley before being assaulted by a storm of bullets. Though it was ultimately an arrow piercing through the back of its skull that brought it down before it could pose a serious threat. From the distance, Otaes loaded yet another arrow into her bow before taking another target.

  And just like that, Misfit was back on the offensive. Eli got Omar back up to his feet, desperate to press the advantage that they had. He took the lead, pushing up the alley to return to their original position of cover. Firing at the Imperial soldiers and managing to down another one as he rushed upwards. Covered by Dutch, Badger, and Otaes, there was little they could do. But a drone emerged from the depths of the containers. The same recon drone from before. At first, Eli raised his weapon on the drone. But then the drone dove… into the Imperial lines. Its quickly spinning metal blades carved into loose fabric, cutting the flesh of normal Avonian soldiers deep. And to armored targets, like the Shock Troopers, it collided into their helmets and armor with enough force to stun them, at least momentarily. Sparks collided as the drone’s steel blades crashed with steel armor. Eli wondered why the drone was targeting its own friendlies, until he saw Temetet once again peek out from behind the containers. He was wearing a boyish grin as his mop of curly silver hair blew in the storm’s wind. In his hands was the multitool that he used to control Imperial computers and machines. And painted across Temetet’s face was nothing short of pure bliss from the fact that his plan was working!

  The lines of the imperials were broken as they tried to shoot the drone down. The shock troopers lowered the shields, and the remaining soldiers broke into a retreat as they fought to gain some distance. Meanwhile, with the shields down, Misfit and Otaes were able to fire upon the scattered Imperial lines with impunity. They were just on the cusp of winning this engagement, when they heard yet another whooping cry from the Sentry.

  Archer was still hanging on, now for dear life. It was clear that he was growing exhausted. He was strong enough to tear apart the relatively light armor of the dragon synths no problem. But the sentry was proving to be far more of a challenge than he was equipped to handle. His wings were beating slower, and his movements were growing even more sluggish. All the while, despite the damage, the robotic sentry had no such need for rest. It kept slamming itself into nearby containers, again, and again, and again, until…

  Archer slipped! His grip came loose. The griffon tumbled off the back of the sentry, and his wings fluttered to get him airborne once more. But he’d fallen right in the dead zone of its legs. Archer was fast, but the sentry was faster. And with a raise of its spindly, and deadly sharp legs, it swiped at the griffon.

  “ARCHER!” Otaes immediately sprung into action as Archer was sent careening into a wall of containers, with a brand new bloody wound torn across his chest.

  “Damn it! Cover her!” Badger shouted out, she and Dutch both opened fire on the sentry to hopefully distract it while the swift and nimble Otaes rushed to get her griffon out of harms way. But it was a wasted effort. The sentry took a few steps back, and then let out another – extremely angry – call from its siren. Placing itself purposefully between Misfit and Archer’s body, it blocked them from advancing. The sentry’s guns opened fire, again sending Misfit scrambling for cover. Even Otaes was forced to stop and find a place to hide. Their hope relied on Archer being able to overpower the sentry, and with Archer down, the tide of the battle had shifted against them in the blink of an eye.

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  And to make matters worse, it was charging its main gun. The sentry was determined to kill them all.

  “TAKE COVER! RUN! RUN!” Eli screamed. But it was too late.

  Red energy grew around the main gun. Badger and Dutch were scrambling for cover, with Eli doing his best to drag Omar deeper into the alleyway. But when the main gun unleashed its death ray, everything changed...

  It took only a small moment for the tide of the battle to turn. Just as Misfit was on the cusp of beating the Imperials back, the rug was pulled from under their feet. It all happened so fast that Eli's mind couldn't even process it yet. The explosion had thrown Eli to the floor, covering him in dirt and ash. He could feel the heat from the blast, and the tremors through the ground. He had been knocked down, but was still alive and conscious. When all the shaking and chaos subsided, he opened his eyes...

  He'd been knocked a considerable distance, seeing only smoke and ash in the spot where the main cannon had fired. He couldn't see the sentry, neither did he see any Imperials. But what terrified him to most was just how silent everything had become. Everything was still. No gunfire. No shouts. No screaming. Just the pitter-pattering of rain on the concrete ground and the distant crackle of thunder through the storm clouds.

  Out of his wits, and in a lot of pain, he did the only thing he could think to do, “M-Misfit!” He cried out.

  Internally, he was screaming. In his mind he was beginning to panic feeling the situation get to him, ‘come on, come on, come on!’ his mind ran in circles, and silently he was begging Glassface to work his magic. To ensure that they were alive.

  “Misfit!” He called out again, this time with more force. The sentry whooped in the distance, though it was out of sight for now. He could hear its legs marching steadily towards their position, and just behind the wall of containers, he could see the top of its head bobbing up and down as it marched closer.

  “P…please…” Eli coughed out, “Anyone!”

  “I’m here!” Badger’s answered, though weakly. He looked up to see that Badger had been knocked from the top of the containers and thrown to the hard concrete ground. But she was shakily getting up to her feet.

  “I’m fucked but I’m still alive,” Dutch’s pain-filled voice answered, he saw Dutch not too far away from Badger, also back on the ground, holding his arm, “Argh! My fucking arm! I think I… I think it’s broken!” Dutch called out. His voice was shaky, cracking at some points. Eli could tell the adrenaline running through Dutch's body was the only thing keeping him afloat. But he was still alive.

  “I’m alright,” Answered Omar, finally, “But hurt. Everything hurts. Bad...”

  It was a relief to know that Misfit was still alive, but judging by the sounds of their voices, they were in no position at all to start running again. Besides, where would they even run to? Where exactly was safe from the prying eyes of the sentry or the other Imperials for that matter?

  And from the distance, Eli could hear a whirring sound. One that sounded like blades spinning in the distance… could it be Temetet’s drone? What was he expecting his drone to do against the Sentry? But he listened closer, hearing that the whirring sound was coming from behind them. Perhaps another Imperial drone, or a fleet of them judging by how powerful the sound was...

  He placed an uneven hand on the concrete ground, his bloodied hand soaked by a puddle of rainwater. Rain continued to beat down on him, and he shakily remained there in the middle of the alleyway. Unable to move without his own body screaming for him to stop. Matteo’s gun had been launched far from his reach, leaving Eli only with his pistol.

  Red light flooded the entrance of the alley, and the damaged eyes of the sentry appeared at the end. Standing tall, blocking off exit completely. Sparks occasionally fell from the exposed parts of the sentry’s hull. And its movements were far less calculated than they once were. It twitched uncontrollably as it advanced, but it advanced nonetheless.

  It was haunting watching the spider-like monster stand in the midst of the hell it created. A titan, unstoppable. Even as it limped its way through the battlefield, close to dying, bleeding black tar across the ground, it couldn't be stopped. Not by Eli. Not by Misfit. Not even by Otaes, Archer, and Temetet. A giant so strong that even as it stood so close to death it was an insurmountable foe.

  Eli drew out his pistol. His shaking hands struggling to get a firm grasp. But it was the only thing he had left. The sentry located them through the ash, and charged its main gun. Again. This time, it was going to finish the job.

  “Guys… I don’t think… I don’t think we’re gonna make it,” Dutch whispered.

  “You have to run!” Badger clumsily got up to her feet, but her movements were sluggish, and that was being generous, “Come on! Eli what are you doing? RUN!”

  Eli held his pistol up to the sentry. As it charged its main gun. He knew that there would be no escaping it this time… but he wouldn’t go down without a fight. That’s for sure. Rafael taught him that. Cato taught him that. Matteo taught him that. Otaes taught him that. And even Sparrow had taught him that. It was better to die than to be a slave… surely. And he’d fight for his freedom.

  The whirring behind them was louder than ever before.

  He fired on the sentry once. The bullet glanced off the cracked metal hull and went careening into the void. He fired once more, hitting the sentry in the leg harmlessly. He took aim going for center mass, right at the main gun. His shaking arms steadied… and he closed his eyes.

  Instead of hearing the familiar sound of his pistol, it was drowned out by the sound of something else entirely. It was like the roar of a dragon, except even louder. It cracked through the air, sending vibrations through Eli’s core. His eyes shot open, and immediately he was greeted by a massive beam of glowing green light – tracers – colliding against the hull of the sentry. A massive white spotlight had fallen onto the sentry’s body, illuminating the beast as it was assaulted by a…

  A helicopter. Large, grey, modern. An osprey flew into view, the newer ones whose jet engines roared in lieu of propellor blades. The main rotary cannon of the osprey opened fire, sending hundreds even thousands of armor piercing rounds colliding against the sentry with ruthless fury. The rounds tore through the already weakened armor of the sentry. It pierced through the open holes, tearing through its body, ripping through the machine like a hot knife cutting through butter. Sparks, explosions, black blood, all of it erupted erupted from the broken hull of the sentry as the Osprey circled it from the skies.

  Another explosion signaled the complete destruction of the sentry’s engine, and like a giant being felled, the sentry went down in a fiery path of smoking destruction.

  The Coalition had arrived. Overwatch hadn’t forgotten after all.

  Eli’s smile grew as he watched the sentry collapse, before the spotlight of the Osprey turned to the remaining Imperial troops. Red ekron energy rounds were fired against the Osprey, but to no avail. And in return, the Osprey unleashed pure devastation on the Imperial lines. Shattering their shields, making short work of their armor, and sending those lucky enough to escape scattering away.

  Misfit erupted into cheering as the Osprey’s spotlight turned onto them, he could see the Headhunters inside identifying Misfit by their uniforms. The symbol of the penal unit seemed to glow in the bright light of the Osprey.

  “WE’RE SAVED!” Omar shouted out, his voice joining in the choir of cheers coming from Misfit. From the distance, he could see Otaes and Temetet only look up at the helicopter in recognition, before they went to tend to Archer, now that the Sentry had been felled. It’s body limp against the ground, leaking black tar that surrounded its carcass like blood surrounding the slain body of a dead man. Like Matteo’s blood had.

  “That’s for Matteo you piece of shit,” Eli whispered as he slowly climbed up to his feet. Omar and Badger helped Dutch up, and it was clear that he’d broken his arm from the fall. But they were alive. Alive though not well. Far from it.

  He wished he could feel relieved by the arrival of the gunship. But he knew that such thinking was na?ve at best. They were dead men walking. And now that Overwatch had them in their clutches, finally, they would be punished for daring to rebel.

  The osprey touched down in the middle of the larger alley not too far off. Otaes and Temetet were relieved to find that Archer was still alive, though dangerously wounded. With some magical healing from Otaes, Archer managed to stop bleeding, but it was doubtful that he could fly – meaning a trip for the griffon inside of the osprey. Eli watched the two as they cautiously approached both Misfit and the descending Osprey. Where would he be without them, he wondered? Perhaps dead? Perhaps still stuck in the grueling work of the Penal-Unit?

  Perhaps, he’d be free by now?

  Eli smiled though as he met Otaes’ eyes. And just behind her mask, he could tell she was smiling too. They’d survived Helena, against the odds, and saved the refugees to boot. But it came at a cost. A grave one. Matteo was dead. Misfit was probably to be sent to solitary for the rest of their lives in the best case scenario; hung at the worst. A spoiled victory. As close to triumphant as the phantoms could get.

  The rear landing door of the osprey opened, revealing a squad of very well equipped Headhunters. Special forces, dressed in their combat uniforms and advanced body armor, night vision goggles, carrying guns that would never fall into the hands of the phantoms. A wall of highly trained, highly dangerous, knights .And among those knights was Captain Juma. She was dressed much like the other Headhunters. Helmet, body armor, assault rifle, everything. And if looks could kill, Eli would be dead twice – no – three times over. The moment her eyes locked onto his, there was a rage painted across her face he’d never seen in anyone really.

  The door opened fully and Juma led her squad of headhunters to secure the area. They trained their weapons on the Phantoms and onto the elves, their bright flashlights stinging Eli’s eyes. She walked closer towards him, and Eli – perhaps foolishly – walked up to her. His mind was searching for anything to defend his actions. He had justified what he’d done to himself and to Misfit, and that was to do the right thing and save over one hundred innocent people who would otherwise have been killed and flattened along with the ULA base. Or killed during the gas attacks. Or slaughtered by an enraged Imperial Army. Justifying it to themselves was the obvious thing.

  But to Overwatch High Command, to Major Kovic, those who cared little for human life – or any life for that matter – the ‘right’ thing was completely irrelevant to pursuing their own mission objectives. And the refugees were not part of the mission, judging by the way Juma was glaring at Eli, they in fact were a great hinderance to that mission.

  “Captain Juma! I can explain everything that’s happened to Overwatch, but I-“

  “Prisoner Eli Freeman, stand down!” Juma gave a small shrug, ignoring Eli’s begins as she marched her way towards him – her fists balled at her sides.

  “Wait… please, you have to-“

  “Stand down,” she warned once more with a bitter growl accenting her voice, one that should’ve foretold what would’ve come next as she stomped her way right up to Eli’s face.

  “Just listen to me –" and in one moment, Juma struck at Eli punching the man in his stomach. It was a single powerful blow, one that was full of the anger that seemed to have been building up for a while now, Eli felt the blow to his core, doubling over with the fist still firmly planted in his belly and falling to his knees.

  He could hear commotion from behind, the rest of Misfit was screaming at Juma to stop, but the Headhunters had their guns trained on them. Misfit and the Elves trained their weapons back, A standoff with Juma standing tall and Eli writhing in pain at the Captain’s feet – both caught in the crossfire. There was silence, and through the pain that burned its way through his core, he could feel the tension in the air as both sides stared each other down.

  Juma, for the record, was completely unphased. She rolled her eyes as if annoyed at the matter, rather than fearful of the fact that a squad of prisoners and elves had their weapons trained on her and her Headhunters. It was as if they weren’t a threat to her at all, “I trusted you, Eli! You know that? I thought you could’ve done it. For all of us Phantoms. That you and Misfit would be the first to get out of the Penal Unit, for once and for all. And you just had to ruin that, didn’t you?” Juma’s voice teetered on disgusted, “Throw all of that away, and for what? Do you like being in the Penal-Unit? What the fuck is wrong with you?”

  “They saved innocent people doing what they did!” Otaes screamed at her, “You don’t have the right to speak to him like that!”

  “I’ll speak to my prisoners any way that I’d like, and I’d suggest you keep your head out of our business,” Juma hissed back, before training her focus onto Eli and Misfit once more, “Do you have even the smallest idea of the kind of chaos you idiots just brought to The Nexus? One hundred people. All of them hungry, tired, and without a home. We didn’t have enough food to feed two battalions of prisoners, all of the regulars, and deliver regular aid to Canau’s population. Now we have another hundred refugees on our hands! Do you have the slightest clue as to the kind of damage you’ve just caused?”

  “What were we supposed to do? Let them die?” Dutch demanded.

  “You should’ve obeyed orders. And that was to get Sparrow onto our helicopter back to The Nexus. But you didn’t. You just had to resist. And because of that… nobody’s going back to Earth. Not anymore. All because you morons wanted to play the hero,” Juma shook her head again until she stopped mid-way through, her eyes narrowed when she surveyed the group, “You don’t know what’s happening in the Nexus, do you?”

  The phantoms and elves looked at each other in confusion, “You mean… apart from the refugees?”

  Juma gave a indirect answer, sidestepping the question, “You’ll find out,” she said, in a tone so ominous that it sent shivers down Eli’s spine, “Where’s Sparrow?”

  “He’s at the Counting House with the rest of his rebels and one of our injured squad members. Rafael,” Badger said.

  “Then that’s where we’re headed,” Captain Juma gestured to her Headhunters, “Epsilon Squad, form up on me. Misfit, elves, stay out of our way. Get on the transit, and do me a favor – try not to fuck anything else up while you’re onboard?” And just like that Juma and her squad of elites moved on, making their way towards the large stone building at the center of the port. There were other Headhunters of course, the crew of the opsrey. They followed guns trained directly on Misfit to ensure that they wouldn’t shoot back.

  “Prisoners! Hands up! Now! Elves, stay back!” Shouted the commanding Headhunter whose gun was trained right at their chests. Eli could sense some slight hesitation to obey from his squad. Misfit had just pulled off the victory of a life time, like hell would they ever swallow orders from Overwatch like they used to again. But they needed to. This was the home stretch, for better or for worse. Likely worse if Juma’s reaction was anything to go off of. But they couldn’t risk losing everything now.

  “Don’t resist,” Eli said to Misfit as he stood with his hands raised above his head. Misfit slowly dropped their weapons at Eli’s behest, with Otaes and Temetet only lowering theirs. Watching.

  “Turn around with your backs facing us and walk to the sound of my voice! Slowly!”

  Eli swallowed. He couldn’t believe that it had only been one day since they were shot down over Helena. A little more than a day actually. But so much had changed. Everything had changed.

  The storm was weakening and through the clouds that surrounded them, rays of sunlight beamed down on the docks. Another helicopter was flying not too far away, an Apache, firing on Imperial positions not too far away near the Counting House. Rafael would be safe with Sosa, he knew that much. So he kept his eyes on the Apache, glistening in the increasing sunlight, as he took one step backwards to the regulars. His squad did the same.

  “Stop! Lower your hands and fold them behind your backs!” The Headhunter again shouted.

  Things had changed. Eli had changed. But the world seemed the same. The Coalition was the same, and Narva – at least what small sliver of it he’d seen – had remained the same. Just as wild and terrifying as the day he’d first stepped foot through the portal. Leaving behind the familiar old world and into a strange new one.

  He felt one of the Headhunters grab his wrists with a powerful force, and then he felt cold metal lock around them. A click signaled that the handcuffs were secured. He watched the others get cuffed too, before the Headhunters dragged them aboard the Osprey. It was Otaes who demanded that they be allowed onboard, along with their wounded griffon, and after some argument, the Headhunters relinquished. At least this was different from Raritan. Misfit wouldn’t be making the long journey back to the Nexus alone…

  The Osprey remained grounded while Juma’s squad went to capture Sparrow, Rafael, and whatever was left of the rebels. While seated aboard the helicopter, everyone was silent. Completely. There wasn’t much to say, and what little could be said was stifled by fear. He could see it in all their faces, the way they looked at the ground – pale. Like children caught in the act of breaking a grave rule. It was possible that they were scared of Overwatch’s wrath more than the Imperials – with their magic and cyborg horror machines of war. At least with the Imperials, there was a chance that they could win…

  He could see the Apache flying low, continuing to decimate the imperial forces. One moment passed, and then another. Juma reappeared again, and her squad was larger. Eli saw Sparrow’s white beard, and Rafael was being carried by a Headhunter. Sosa and Bell both made it too. Eli and Sparrow locked eyes once more as they boarded the helicopter, and when everybody was inside, the doors shut – and Helena faded into nothing but memory.

  They had survived Helena. But would they survive The Coalition?

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