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Chapter 5: Scattered Effort

Dragon Realms, Uncharted System

March 3, 2204

0212 Hours

Alongside ‘Alpha River’

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           â€How far away is a few clicks?!†One of the Marines griped as they walked.

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           â€Far enough.†Wagner simply responded. Allison kept the rear guarded as the small group of Marines and two pilots walked alongside what they now referred to as ‘Alpha River’.

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           Spyro and Cynder walked alongside them and looked up to the stars. Spyro was being soothed by the sounds of the river slowly running. Spyro wondered just how far away ‘Delta’ was. They had walked for an hour or two already with no sign of them and Wagner made it sound like they still had some walking to do.

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           They heard some sounds off nearby and Wagner held up his hand. Spyro was wondering what he was doing but noticed the other Marines with them fall to a knee and halt in their tracks. In their crouch positions it looked as if they were hiding from something.

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           â€What’re you doing?†Spyro asked. Wagner hushed him and talked in a low whisper.

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           â€There’s a village up ahead, Allison, Jackson, go recon the village! Allison take point!†As he whispered this, Allison and another soldier- Jackson- dashed through the grass and went to the edge of a ridge that overlooked what looked like a small village.

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           Spyro was a bit confused… but sat silently and awaited their return.

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           Allison dashed through the grass, keeping low the whole way. They arrived at the edge of the ridge that overlooked the village. The ridge was a 10 foot high cliff which gave a perfect look over the series of crudely erected huts that made up the village.

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           She slipped on a telescopic sight to her rifle and peered through the scope. Her vision was magnified by 4X and she saw a few creatures sitting around. They were Lakadors…

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           Of course… but why were they in a village? She looked around and saw a perfectly intact UERMC M7887 Jaguar MBT! This worried her. Tanks had been dropped with Marines during the drop and wherever there was a tank, there were Marines. This was bad.

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           She franticly scanned the area with her rifle and found the Marines in question. They were tied up and tossed to the side, as were some other creatures. The new creatures looked like… anthro cheetahs?

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           She disengaged the scope and looked through it again. She wasn’t seeing things. They were cheetahs. Well, she just finished talking with dragons, so this shouldn’t shock her.

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           She watched in horror as one of the Lakadors grabbed a Marine and tossed him to the ground. The Lakador kicked the soldier before raising his head and saying something to the soldier. She saw the Marine spit on the Lakadors face and the Lakador recoiled back. The Lakador got infuriated and punched the soldier across the face.

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           The Lakador then drew a sword and Allison shut her eyes right before the Lakador delivered a fatal blow to the neck with the sword. She heard the silent scream of the fallen soldier and she opened her eyes again to see the Lakador sheath his sword and walk away.

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           She cursed to herself quietly and wanted to just drop the bastard right then and there. But she knew that would give them away and they’d never rescue those Marines! She calmly left the safety to her rifle on and watched as the Lakadors interrogated the Marines and cheetahs. She removed her eyes from the scope and turned to Private Jackson who was also watching the scene before them.

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           â€Jackson, get the Lieutenant over here! We need to help those Marines!†Jackson nodded and was immediately on his way down to the where Wagner was.

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Meanwhile…

0242 Hours

Unknown Stretch of the Forest

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           â€Keep up the fire!â€

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           â€Over there!â€

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           â€In the tree!â€

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           Karson tossed himself to the ground as an arrow sailed over his head and fired a short burst into his attacker. The horned creature snarled before toppling over. Karson picked himself into a crouch position and fired a prolonged burst into the tree line around him, multiple creatures falling dead out of them.

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           â€They’re getting close!†One of the Marines yelled and Karson turned to see several creatures that were about his waist height dash from the trees and slash huge swords at two Marines. The Marines were knocked down but not killed. Their Marine armor protected them from the swords but they still landed hard on their ass and Karson and two other Marines swerved their rifles to assist.

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           Karson pumped 6 rounds into one of them and the other was thrown back into the bushes by a burst from the other two Marines. As Karson finished off another his rifle started to clack from the bolt- his ammunition clip was empty. He cursed, saw more coming and placed his rifle on his back. He grabbed his shotgun and pumped 3 shells into the oncoming creatures. The loud BAM made a few others cover their ears and try to flee.

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           The hostiles kept up their assault even as the Marines retaliated. A few got lucky and almost scored lethal blows to the soldiers with their weapons. Thankfully though, the Marines kept them at bay and finally the last of them retreated into the woods.

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           â€Alright damn, why’s everybody trying to kill us?!†One of the soldiers said as he dropped the empty clip from his rifle and inserted a new one. Karson sighed and placed a few more shells into his shotgun. Upon his examination, he found that he was starting to get low on ammunition. He only had ten shells left and about four more clips for his assault rifle. If they didn’t find a way out of this hell hole soon or find any trace of human forces, they’d be in some hot water.

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           They started off on the path again and as they neared a clearing in the forest Karson began to hear the sounds of water. As they neared the source, it became clear that there was in fact a river nearby.

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           The river ran with cool, crisp water that filled the air with an ever cool mist of vapor that slapped against Karson’s face. The other Marines trotted off towards it and undid their canteens. Karson followed suit and set his rifle down as he made a grab for his canteen. He dipped the canteen into the water and filled it to capacity before retrieving it and screwing the cap on once more.

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           â€Alright, everybody rest a bit, we’re going to try to move out again as soon as possible.†The Sergeant said calmly as he sat in the grass. Karson sighed. They did not know where the hell they were. They were obviously not on Sirus anymore… that tunnel must have taken them somewhere… somewhere new… somewhere mysterious… Where ever the hell it was it sure as hell didn’t have any humans. This place was devoid of any United Earth Forces or any other Human denomination for that matter. It had been known for other human governments to break off from the United Earth Republic and started their own Colonial Jurisdiction else where, but it didn’t look like any were here.

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           Karson made a grab for his canteen, undid the cap, and let the cool waters flow into his awaiting mouth. He felt a wave of rejuvenation wash over him like the waters themselves. As he sipped on the waters his thoughts turned to Allison… Oh how he missed her… but he only liked her as a friend, right? He had always been fond of her, but as a friend would be, right? Did he… love her? No, no, that would be a mistake, for she surely didn’t feel anything towards him…

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           With a heavy feeling in his heart he redid the cap on the canteen and set it back on his belt. He retrieved his M74 assault weapon and set it on his lap. He tweaked the sights on the weapon so that it would be more accurate. He had the sights set for high range, for use in the city. Now that they were in the forest, the gun battles were closer in proximity.

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           Once he finished with the weapon he set it aside and looked up at the stars. The stars were in a different alignment then on Sirus, confirming that they weren’t on Sirus.

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           As he gazed upon the stars he saw something up there… a constellation that caught him that was of a… dragon? The dragon constellation was more brightly lit then the other stars. The dragon looked familiar…. Though he couldn’t quite put his finger on it… like he had seen it before… He sighed and dismissed it.

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           â€Shhh… anyone else hear that?†One on the Privates asked.

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           Karson listened in and heard the unmistakable sounds of… gunfire! There were humans in the area! Remembering the Cheetahs however, Karson’s hopes were diminished as he wondered just how advanced they had… but he knew that those sounded like the retort from the M74D Assault Rifle.

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           That meant that there were Human forces in the area! And for that matter, United Earth Forces! The other Marines stood up and grabbed their rifles as the same thoughts entered their heads.

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           â€Hot damn, our guys are here!â€

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           â€Shit yeah!â€

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           â€That doesn’t mean that they know where we are, we need to link up with them! Come on!†The Sergeant said and they grabbed their gear and leapt up to regroup with friendly forces.

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           They dashed through the forest near the river and kept tracking the sounds of the gunfire until they saw a village on the other side. They could see a gun battle already under way between United Earth Marines and Lakadors. The Marines with Karson cheered as they saw that the other Marines were assaulting the village and kicking the Lakadors’ ass.

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           They were so intent on the fight that they didn’t even notice someone slip in from behind them.

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           At once one of the Marines dropped his rifle and they heard a wet sound and turned around to see one of the Marines get stabbed through the stomach by a Lakador. The Lakador was covering the soldiers mouth to cover any sounds. The other Marines quickly brought their rifles to bear but as soon as they did, a volley of dark energy rained from the bushes nearby and smashed into the Marines. They screamed and fell over as the dark energy splashed over them. Karson fired off a burst, killing the attacking Lakador but had to get low to not get hit.

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           â€Into the river, double time!†the Sergeant yelled. The remaining Marines made a blind dash for the river and Karson watched as the two in front of him jumped into the waters and swim towards the Marines on the other side.

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           As Karson was about to jump, he felt a energy bolt hit him in the side and he collapsed into the waters. He tried to fight the current, but his energy was low and the burns from the hit were intense. He finally gave up and let the current take him away.

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Meanwhile…

0259 Hours

Alongside Alpha River near unknown village

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           â€Alright, Jackson, you’re in charge of 1st, go along the side and flank while 3rd and 2nd move along the other side! Wait for my command!†Wagner whispered as he knelt in one of the bushes along the ridge. The small platoon of 10

Marines nodded and moved as quietly as they could to their assigned positions.

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           Spyro and Cynder sat in the brush as well, near Wagner.

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           â€Where do you want us to go?†Spyro asked.

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           â€You’re with me, let’s go!†Wagner said and they slowly went down the ridge. Spyro could see the other Marines setting up alongside the whole village, hiding in bushes and tall grass. Yet, they just sat there. Spyro figured that they were going to ambush, use the element of surprise.

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           Spyro sat hunched in the grass and waited for the first strike. The other Marines quietly waited in their positions and Wagner motioned for Spyro and Cynder to follow. They did and quietly moved through the soft grass and crept up to a group of Marine and Cheetah prisoners who were tossed to the side and there were a few Lakador guards standing by, watching for anything.

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           Wagner gave a few hand signals which the other Marines saw and did. The Marines started to move inwards and Spyro saw a Marine sneak up to the prisoners and as the Lakadors weren’t looking, started to undo their bindings.

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           One of the Lakadors spotted this, snarled dashed to slay the soldier. That’s when Wagner screamed, â€NOW!â€

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           At once the Marines hiding in the shadows opened fire, the area becoming lit up by their muzzle flashes. The Lakadors toppled over and screamed as a result of the sudden Marine ambush. Spyro and Cynder took this opportunity to dash into the fray and they locked onto the first Lakadors they could.

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           â€Friendlies moving up, shift your fire!†Wagner yelled. He dashed up to join Spyro and Cynder and as he did, the Marines ceased their fire towards their area, ensuring they didn’t get hit in the crossfire.

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           Spyro tossed a Lakador to the ground before breathing electricity onto the others, paralyzing them. Cynder unleashed a torrent of shadow breath onto the Lakadors which caught them into a haze of purple black mist. They toppled to the ground and Spyro engulfed his body in fire as he swiftly plowed through them in his mighty comet dash.

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           The Marines along the side poured their gunfire at Lakadors trying to flee, silencing their horrid reptilian cries for help. One of the Marines tossed a grenade and a hut partially collapsed into itself as chunks of ground were tossed up to accompany the black and red explosion that ripped through the village.

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           The Lakadors then made an all out retreat and the Marines moved in and secured the village and the now two UERMC Tanks.

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           Spyro grabbed on the ropes and broke them, allowing the Cheetahs and other Marines to gain their freedom. They stretched and began to cheer as they saw the Lakadors in full retreat.

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           â€Thanks for the assist sir!†One of the soldiers said to Wagner as he helped him up.

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           â€Sergeant Malarkey, where’s the rest of the Company?â€

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           â€Don’t know sir, we managed to round up 3rd and a few parts of 1st but we’re still missing a large part of 1st platoon. They seemed to have just vanished.â€

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           â€Damn… well we’re on our way to go help Delta, they need help but I don’t know if they are still alive…â€

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           â€Well there’s one way to find out isn’t there?â€

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           â€Well we’re on our way then.â€

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           â€Oh and who are they?†Malarkey asked, motioning to the two dragons.

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           â€I’m Spyro.â€

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           â€And I’m Cynder.â€

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           The Marine Sergeant wasn’t at all taken back by this. He had already made conversation with cheetahs, so he wasn’t at all surprised that the next step was dragons.

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           â€Get those tanks up and running, we’re moving out!â€

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           â€Thank you so much Spyro,,, and… Sergeant, you’re aid has been much appreciated.†One of the Cheetahs said as he dusted himself off. Spyro presumed that he was the chief of the village.

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           â€I didn’t do anything though, its Lieutenant Wagner you should be thanking, he’s the one who led the rescue!†The Cheetah bowed to Wagner who bowed in return.

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           â€Are there any other villages in the area, where are we anyway?â€

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           â€You are in the Avalar Pass. The Valley is just beyond and there are a few villages along the way. My guess is that they’ve fallen pray to the similar misfortunes that we have.â€

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           â€Well let’s get going then, we need to help them!â€

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           â€Sir, are those Marines swimming in the water?†One of the privates pointed out. Sure enough, there were two UERMC Marines who crawled from the river and panted as they laid themselves out onto the grass.

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           â€Sergeant Bradly?†Wagner asked as he ran up.

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           â€Lieutenant?†The soldier asked as he started to stand up.

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           â€Wait, Sergeant?! Were you with the others from 2nd?!†Allison asked as she ran up. The Sergeant looked at her, remembering that she was from the same platoon.

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           â€Karson was with us… but he and the others were killed on the other side of the river…†Allison had a look of sadness wash over her. Wagner considered going to the other side to launch a rescue op but dismissed it remembering the besieged Delta Company.

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           The tanks came to life and they thundered down the path. The Marines got onto the tanks and the vehicles drove onwards. Spyro and Cynder followed, eyeing the tanks with interest.

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           At least with this armor they’re efforts at rescuing Delta was increased… but they weren’t out of the woods yet… not by a long shot…

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0315 Hours

???

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           â€Who am I?†Only silence answered…

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           â€What am I?†Again, the question was met with silence…

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           The void was eternal… as was the desire for answers… Questions flowed through this mind… but with no resolution in sight… Just who was he? Where was he? Suddenly memories began to resurface.

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           He was Private Joshua Karson, a soldier in the United Earth Republic Marine Corps. But why was he here? Just where was… here? As he inspected his surroundings he found himself floating in a sea of darkness… no light to be seen.

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           He looked around and saw that there were memories flowing through the void. His childhood, his teenager days, even some of his actions as a Marine flowed through his head. Suddenly other images popped into his head… those that he did not recognize. They were of dragons… fighting… why were they fighting? Who were they fighting? As Karson looked an entire scene was depicted in front of him.

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           A huge battle was erupting in front of him. Two sides duked it out with each other… columns of fire dashed between the opposing armies… but, they weren’t beams of fire… but rather light. The other side was made of dragons as well, but they used darkness… In the center there was another dragon, but he was of another color then the others. He was purple… The purple dragon built up a powerful beam of energy and leveled the area. Both armies were gone… all except for the purple dragon. The purple dragon flew away and left the scene. As Karson watched a voice started to drone through his head.

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           â€Young one, your arrival is at the most desperate of times… We must act quickly to gather the others and stop this disaster before it occurs…†A female voice said to him.

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           â€Wait, disaster? Others? Desperate? What are you talking about?!â€

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           â€There isn’t much time to explain… you must locate the others and find the purple dragon and keep him from repeating history… I need you to do this for me… go now, quickly.†The voice quickly began to fade and Karson started to look around franticly.â€

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           â€Wait, what’s gunna happen?! Tell me!†Suddenly everything became wet.

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           Karson’s eyes shot open and he noticed that he was no longer in the deep void, but lying on the ground near the river. He gripped his head and noticed that he had no weapons to speak of. He cursed his horrible luck and stood up. He must have drifted for a while… but for just how long he didn’t know. Then he remembered that he had gotten shot!

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           He felt around his back and felt where the armor had indeed melted away in an area. He even felt his bare flesh… but it was perfectly fine… no injury… Karson was in complete astonishment. He sighed as he started off in a random direction, hoping to find some trace of humanity in this screwed up world.

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           Karson must have walked for a while before finding anything. He finally came across a downed UER escape pod. He looked around but there were no bodies. After leaving the site he found the dead body of an HACO Special Operations soldier. Next to the soldier was an M74C Assault Rifle. The rifle was in perfect condition and as Karson picked it up he grinned. The C variant of the M74 was a specially modified M74D. Even though regular Marines used these as well, it was more common place for an HACO or Army Ranger to have these.

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           He noted the laser dot reflex sight, grip, flashlight, and even bayonet attachments to the rifle. The reflex sight was much better then a regular sight… it allowed for more vision since it shot a laser on a clear targeting panel where the regular sights would have been.

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           Karson’s favorite part by far was the bayonet attachment to the weapon. It would prove to be more effective then a knife and especially since some Lakadors preferred to use swords, he now had something to use as a ‘sword’ so to speak.

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           He picked up a few clips of ammunition for the rifle and started off towards any sign of life. As he went he picked up a few Fragmentation Grenades and even an Incendiary Grenade. These things were excellent for clearing out areas with one sweep… After all, who didn’t like watching enemies get engulfed in a wall of fire?

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           He kept on and slowly approached a few bodies of Lakadors and a few of those new creatures. These new creatures were the same that they had seen at the village. Karson walked over and inspected the Lakador body. He found a few of their Ice Grenades and even an Electric Grenade. These things were awesome…. Though he still preferred to watch explosions… which is why he favored the Fragmentation Grenade to all.

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           He kept moving down the path and heard a few sounds of battle in the distance. He started to jog down the path and noticed that there were a few floating orbs around him… probably fireflies… The forest environment around him began to become more open and the night sky illuminated the area and made in into a surreal scene. He noted more escape pods and now he started to see Marine regulars lying on the ground.

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           As Karson walked alongside one of the fallen soldiers he noted that on his helmet there was the markings that made him out to be a member of Delta Company, 3rd Platoon. The Marines must have been spread all over this entire area. From the signs that there were escape pods this world must be uninhabited and the Marines just hit the ground, like him. As he looked over the Marine again he noticed that the Marine was a member of the 72nd Marine Division… the same as him. Was Alpha here? Was Allison here? He had to know… As he retrieved the soldiers ammo, he looked around and heard sounds all around of battle. He dashed off towards them.

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           He looked up and saw that there was a cliff face with a waterfall just in front of him. He went off towards it and started to scale its cliff face. The cliff was easily 20 meters up and as Karson reached the top he looked out and saw a battle raging a few dozen meters ahead. There were Marines trying to hold a position from those creatures that he had seen earlier.

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           The creatures swung swords at them and archers fired arrows at the Marines as they took cover behind rocks and trees. Smaller creatures came from the ground and had wings on their backs. They reminded him of mosquitoes except they had arms, legs, and swords! They flew up to a Marine Corporal and swung their swords at him. The soldier’s Marine armor protected him but he was swept off his feet and flew into the ground nearby. The other Marine with him sprayed the creatures with a burst from his rifle which put them down instantly.

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           Karson dashed over, readying his rifle and making sure it was ready to fire. He dashed behind a rock that was positioned about 12 yards from the actual fight. However from here he had a perfect line of sight and fire on the hostile’s vulnerable flank and from here, they wouldn’t suspect him to attack.

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           He raised the rifle and aligned the laser onto the target and placed it on the creatures. He pressed down on the trigger and felt the rifle kick back on him. He heard the familiar tat, tat, tat, of the rifles retort and heard empty bullet casings clang against each other as they flew from the ejection port.

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           A few of those flying creatures immediately fell to the ground as clouds erupted from their sides, signaling a clean hit. He moved the rifle and put the sight on a few archers in the back and squeezed the trigger again. The .22 caliber bullets flew from the barrel and connected with the archers as they aimed for his fellow Marines.

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           Clouds erupted from them as the bullet’s impact caused any dirt on them to immediately get blown off. The creatures snarled and ceased their archer fire as they collapsed onto the ground from the fire. Karson withdrew and dropped the empty clip from the M74C and slipped another in. After Karson heard the click he reached and pulled down on the ejection port, loading the rifle.

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           He once again put the weapon out and fired it. Once more the air was filled with the weapons retort and the weapon flashed a yellow-white as the gas from the exploding powder escaped the muzzle.

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           Several more creatures were silenced by his continues gunfire and he smiled slightly as they few finally took notice to why several of their numbers were falling. One of them pointed at him and snarled. His smile disappeared and he pulled away and got up to retreat as some of them came his way.

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           The other Marines saw this and returned fire with renewed vigor. Bullets and arrows flew this way and several Marines and enemies alike took hits and toppled over. Karson gritted his teeth and tossed one of his new Ice Grenades into the enemy ranks.

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           The grenade flashed blue and the creatures around it were encased in ice and fell to the ground. Finally the creatures let up their attacks and began to pull back. The Marines cheered and rounded up their wounded. Karson sighed to himself and stood up from his rock. He started off towards the Marines that were in the position and he saw a few of them take notice of them and cheer a bit.

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           One Marine dashed towards Karson and he saw the silver bar on the Marine’s helmet. The Marine was a Lieutenant.

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           â€Lieutenant, sir!†Karson said as the Marine approached and the Marine smiled.

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           â€What’s your name soldier?â€

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           â€Private Joshua Karson, 72nd, Alpha Company.â€

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           â€Alpha? Where’s the rest of your guys?â€

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           â€Not sure sir, we got separated on Sirus and we came here via a tunnel and my squad got whipped out. I don’t know where Alpha is.â€

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           â€Tunnel? What the hell are you talking about, we came on board the Achilles! Where did your nighthawk land?â€

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           â€Nighthawk?â€

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           â€Nevermind… we need to regroup before those things come back. For now you’re with us Marine.â€

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           â€Yes sir.†They walked off and took position near the cliff face and they looked down to the valley below and off in the distance forests stretched for miles.

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           â€We need to find the rest of Delta, they’re around here somewhere!†the Lieutenant said aloud. Karson presumed he was the Company Commander.

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           Karson reloaded his M74C and readied for whatever was going to come out next. The soldiers also reloaded and Karson heard the sounds of Lakadors coming. He frowned as he saw Lakadors emerge from the trees in the valley below and spot the Marines above.

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           The Marines opened fire into the valley below and the Lakadors began to fall as they took hits. The Marines kept up the fire as long as they could and Karson joined in on the fray. However, a Lakador thrown sonic grenade detonated below and the wave of sound that came from it blew away the rock beneath Karson and he tumbled below as the ground gave way. He tried to grab onto something but found himself tumbling farther and farther downwards.

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           He hit the ground and was knocked out.

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End of Chapter 5

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