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Battle of the Zzuragg

By

Dustin Feyder

Commissioned by

Rogueybear

A gloved hand reaches over slapping Kauri on the side of his mask. "Hay pup, you doing all right?" the hand belongs to prvt. Maize, she is a silver haired fox with shimmering blue eyes, not that they can be seen thought the mask she is covered with. Prvt. Kauri finds himself locked into a personnel drop ship, dressed in his full body armor: a vacuum suit, self-contained atmospheric admitter, and a slew of armored plates and tools tide to his body just like the others, not in inch of his body visible through it. Each and every one of them pacing 2 magnetic guns, a SAW called the Mg Mk VRSN 3 (or MG3 for short) and a side arm called the Vt7.

The drop ship has ten min in it, two Lt.'s from the Navy here to piolet the command ship, and eight SM's: 1 corporal, 3 privet first class, and 4 privet second class that is where Kauri finds himself.

Today is Kauri first day on active duty. After 14 weeks of hand to hand training and 46 weeks of utility training. But it turns out that no amount of utility training can prepare someone for the feeling of being on a ship, a star ship, and even if he had been in a star ship before today a drop ship is not the same.

Prvt Dover shouts over "come on, lets see if he is still awake when we touch down!" Dover chuckles, he is a red fox, young and irresponsible, a place like the SM was never meant for the likes of him. This place will brake him. Maize reaches out to grab at Dover threateningly, Dover giggles and slaps at Maize "you want to start something island girl?" Dover's behavior is childish.

Cprl Dawg Barks "knock that shit off or I'll teach both of you respect with the back of my hand."

Maize sits back and clinches the locking bar over her set. Dover giggles "I love you Dawg!"

Dawg locks eyes with Dover and points. Dawg is in old wolf, he has been in service for over twenty years, no one knows why he is so low in the picking order, or why he keeps signing up for more tours. After a long star Dawg whispers "one more word and I go get your mama."

Maize leans over Kauri "you good?"

Kauri nods "I think I'm going to be sick."

Maize nods in return "Everyone is there first time."

Kauri calls out to Dawg "Cprl. Can we get a brief?"

Dawg calls out "All right you knot-head! Damage control time. Here are the fax: A mining ship passing through Thaghta encountered a hostile. We lost contact with them 07-26-4014-23.55. we encountered a SOS at 08-03-4014-01.01 coming from the same region. We are going to investigate. According to scans taken by the SS.Titan Thaghta is currently under the control of Zzuragg."

Maize inquires "what are Zzuragg?"

Dawg adds on "If we are lucky we don't need to find out."

Dover ask "and if we are unlucky?"

"you will find out what happened to my other eye."

Lt. Corman's voice comes over the radio "landing codes are locked in, we are making our final approach."

A new voice comes in and a video feed starts in on one side of the visor everyone is equipped with "I am Elion, I will be your navigator. Your radio's have all been linked into mine. All your broadcast will be filtered through me and in the event, that contact is lost with Crpl. Dawg I will be taking over as your S.O."

The drop ship flies around a wreckage then off in one direction in order to find the landing spot they had locked on to. The planet they witness is covered in a gray black slime, strange stone spires shoot from the ground, the party lands on a lonely stone island. The rear hatch drops open and the SM walk out in signal file MG3 in hand.

Dawg taking up the lead looks over his shoulder after completing initial perimeter sweep. Each man yelling 'clear' in turn "Ok, everyone flip on the tracing light of the man in front of you." One by one each solders shoulder mounted lights get activated. Dawg waves the last man to the front to turn on their light for them.

Dover looks to Dawg as his lights get fired up "so Cprl. Why aren't you doing some sexy desk job? You're like seventy or something, aren't you?"

"Because I want to die with my boots on."

Elion's voice comes in over the party radio "one of you has a spy bug strapped to your back. Turn it on, I will take remote control of it from here." Each of the solders search the body of the solder next to them.

Kauri call over "Maize has it."

Dawg nods "you heard the lady, fire that shit up." After a few short moments of assembling the spy bug the small brass gold helicopter looking tool starts to levitate.

Corman's voice comes in "we have eye. Seems there is a healthy amount of terrane radiation. Keep an eye on your atmosphere generators, if anyone's filter reads over 70/30 drop what you are doing and get back to the ship."

Elion adds on "your cameras seem to be flickering some. Anything you can do to boost your signal Dawg?"

"all our shit has been flicking for days. I say you should put in a call to D.S. and get us some new gear." Dawg replies frankly.

Elion signals "Copy. Now Dawg, Kauri should have a low power radar pulse emitter strapped to his arm, the entina for it is on his back, collect Kauri's MG3 and hand him the entina."

After being given the radar Kauri is pushed to the front of the team. It is a two mile walk through ankle deep slime as the lot of them make their way to the downed mining ship.

"anyone have any idea what this shit we are walking though is?" Maize ask from the third rank.

From fourth Dover calls up "do you really want to know?"

At first rank Kauri calls back "I can see something on radar. Movement eight, maybe twelve signals."

Dawg holds up his riffle looking around "which is it; eight or twelve?"

"Don't have a positive lock." Kauri declares.

Dawg talks to base "what do my eyes see?"

Radio chatter picks up as Elion and Corman speak back and forth

Corman starts the exchange "I see movement at your 10. Four confirmed."

"markings?"

"Abdominal section figure eight."

"is in an eight or an hourglass?"

"is there a difference?"

"there is."

"hourglass."

"Willow family."

"five more at your two Dawg. Marking, two rings, large and small."

Elion takes over the radio "Dawg, you have at least 2 families of Zzuragg in your proximity. Both are 3 generations displace from Hive. This could be a territory dispute you are walking into. Hopefully you can slip between them without being noticed. Your objective is to reach the crashed ship. Engage only if necessary."

Dawg prods for more info "Do we have classifications on potential hostels?"

Corman cuts back in "according to the index seven scavengers and two hunters."

Kauri speaks up "that leaves two unconfirmed."

Dawg nods "I noticed."

The walk is slow and tense, the SM unit crouches to stay hidden in now waist deep slime. Dawg keeps his head slightly higher then the other as he servase the battlefield in waiting. He knows the threat that hides in the creep below, but never has he seen it in its own environment. Kauri whispers "twenty-six, there are now twenty-six signals in range."

Skittishly Dover calls over "twenty-six? What is the range on that thing?"

Corman is the one to retort "33.334 cubical yards"

Dover starts looking around franticly "that's like 90 feet or something, isn't it? Shouldn't we have visual lock on?"

Elion whispers into her headset "take it easy Dover, they are hidden by the creep."

Maize taps her helmet to join in the communication "can we change to search mode to compensate."

Dawg picks up the back-and-forth ". This sludge is protein based and if you switch on your search mod it will overload. Stay low and a stay slow."

A winter fox from rank seven calls over "Protein? You mean this is liquefied meat?" his name is Huston, he is a pretty boy who is a charming as he is incompetent, his family is wealthy and influential in the courts, the type of kid that has a habit of skipping town when the service calls. But if Huston wants to run for congress when his mother retires he needs to finish at least one four-year tour with S.M. six years with Navy or eight years with S.D.F.

Dawg calls back to the team "four groups of two. I want you each locked at the hip, each man is responsible for covering the four through eight of the man next to them" this is a S.C.R.A.M. (Secure, Control, Retain, Aim, Move.) maneuver, Dawg is getting uncomfortable. The S.M. can feel it. The move together in teams of two, one man on point the other walking backwards covering their tail.

In double time the team reaches the crashed ship. Dawg waves the team out into cover possession, crouched and watching the horizon he then looks about, the ship is mounted in the ground at a 45* angle, it would be impossible to find entry "Demolition!" he yells, Maize brake the line to comply "we need a door"

Shadows move on all sides, chartering and creaking sounds fill the air, snarling and hissing. Spotlights light of the swamp, the threat moves ever closer, but the lights see nothing.