Author’s Note: Internet is finally back!! And merry late Christmas and have a happy holidays!!

Chapter 41: The Ragged Edge of Disaster

Date: November 25, 3007
Time: 19:30
Location: Navasota Island

The setting sun cast brilliant hues of golden orange across the light blue sky. Little wisps of cirrus clouds streaked through the heavens, the water vapor magnificently magnifying the sun’s last rays. It was a picturesque scene of tranquility and serenity. A cool breeze rushed along the beach, rustling the palm trees and tall grass. But as the wind twisted and turned through the tree trunks into the interior of the island, it slowly died out and mixed with the red stains on the once green grass.

He was dead. Maldran’s heart felt as if it were on fire like the row of burning tanks behind him. The two of them had known each other for the longest time. They had grown up together, ate together, played, worked, had fun together. The loss of Duck was unparalleled, but the feeling seemed quite familiar.

And then Deirdre fell without warning. Maldran’s eyes followed her in slow motion as she crumpled to the ground. He tried to move, but his feet would not budge, as if they were super glued to the spot. Maldran could only look on helplessly as Damiver and Michael rushed to Deirdre’s side.

Suddenly, a rattling bang emanated from behind him. Maldran’s ears barely registered the noise when a smoking projectile screamed past his head, missing it by an inch. Ducking down upon instinct, he whipped around and fired blindly into the trees. Fragments of bark and wood splintered off of the closest trees as his bullets tore through them, making their way to the source of the noise. Maldran heard a muffled shout as his deadly aim claimed another victim.

“Captain, we have to go!” Maldran shouted as more of the Dominion’s men clambered out of the trees. The background racket of machine guns and rifles flying back and forth muted all other sounds. Maldran emptied his clip, bringing down five more men, each of them swerving around on the spot before landing in unique but awkward death poses.

“Captain, come on!” Maldran took a quick glance at Michael, but he did not budge. Though Deirdre was sitting up now, he had no intention of moving. He was going to protect Duck’s body from any further harm. Maldran, though moved by the honor, knew this would be the death of them if reinforcements didn’t show.

The screaming of Maldran’s dual sub-machine guns paused momentarily as two empty magazines landed softly upon the grass. But in that brief moment of silence, ten more men popped up from around the trees, sprinting forwards with their weapons drawn.

A lump of panic shot up Maldran’s throat as the men got closer. He could see their fingers twitch on the trigger. But then, there was a tremendous burst of fire from behind him. Maldran slammed himself onto the ground and looked up, catching a glimpse of a man’s head snapping back as a bullet lodged itself into his brain.

Turning around, he saw that old demonic smile on his captain’s face as he unleashed a storm of bullets. But then, out of no where, Maldran felt what seemed like a mosquito bite on his left arm. He saw a spray of crimson and knew he had a piece of steel stuck in his arm. Gasping in the sudden pain, Maldran dropped one of his sub-machine guns. Cursing and swearing profusely, he fell to the ground, trying to grab some cover while he reloaded his remaining gun.

Slamming the clip home, he crouched and peered through the tall grass at the incoming horde of black-uniformed men. Making his mind up to jump up at the one closest to him, he prepared to spring. But just as he was about to ambush the man, an ear-piercing gunshot rang throughout the little clearing. A large hole appeared right between the man’s eyes. He seemed to defy the laws of gravity as he did an extravagant back flip to the ground.

Smiling to himself, he sprang up and strafed back to his team, firing his weapon like mad. “Nice shot, Deirdre,” Maldran exclaimed as he regrouped. Deirdre did not answer, but shot off another round instead. She ejected the empty casing which bounced off of Maldran’s head.

But just as a grin started to spread across Deirdre’s face, Maldran watched in horror as her body suddenly snapped back, swerving around awkwardly and landing with a soft thud on the grass. Oh sh**… “Deirdre!”

At that same instant, Damiver, who was on Maldran’s left, fell to the ground, clutching his leg in pain as fresh blood stained the green grass. His LF-9 Lions Fang Machine Gun landed right next to him, its barrel smoking and hot from spewing out lead bullets. He groaned and looked over at Maldran, “Hell, this ain’t going well…”

“No sh**…” Maldran replied as he turned back to Deirdre who was swearing at the top of her lungs. Only one last barrel was roaring now. Michael looked invincible as he crouched in the clearing, surrounded by his loyal squad-mates, firing into the trees like a human Gatling gun.

But even the immortal captain did not live forever. Maldran saw a single bullet graze Michael’s left arm. Michael’s eyes darted to the flesh-wound for a brief second, a brief but fatal second. The next moment, Michael was on the ground next to him, applying as much pressure as he could onto his right arm. The evening sky was red with blood.

Maldran felt their footsteps dash closer and closer, their weapons clicking, ready to finish them off. Taking one last look through the tall grass, his eyes focused on the face of the man nearest him. The Dominion soldier’s eyes were dull and soulless, brainwashed and mechanized. His teeth were gritted in a furious rage, as if Maldran himself had wronged him. Their eyes met for a brief second. The barrel of the man’s weapon reflected off of Maldran’s silver eyes as he raised it to Maldran’s head. His finger twitched.

Suddenly, the soldier’s knees were blown out from underneath him as if he had just tripped over a rock. But there was nothing in front of him, just a flat plain of grass. Yet, Maldran’s eyes followed the man’s flight through the air. He landed head first with a sickening crunch on the ground and did not move. What the hell…?

Then, right before Maldran’s eyes, a crackling of white blue electricity materialized. The form of a slim human body formed right in front of him, and Maldran found himself staring at Nova’s backside.

She was the very definition of a Shadow. Maldran could not help but gape as she quickly dispatched every single one of the Dominion’s soldiers in the clearing with a sweeping round of her S-36. Then, he heard her voice boom inside of his head, Get the hell out…

Maldran staggered up to his feet. He helped Michael up and the two of them lifted Damiver onto their arms. Nova sprinted up to Deirdre and pulled her up with one hand, while scanning the tree line for any more targets. “Go, go to the fields,” Nova shouted as she pointed past the row of still burning tanks to the grassy field between them and the mountains, “I’ll cover you. Mikhail has his men on the plain already, fighting the old school way.”

As he ran, Maldran looked over behind his shoulder at Nova, who was firing at some more soldiers who had just appeared from the other side of the trees. She reminded him so much of someone, someone he used to know. But she was not here any longer.

The sun had set now. Night was almost finished covering up the world with its blanket of blackness and stars. The once warm breeze had chilled down to the devil’s breath. And Maldran found himself running, running from bullets and shells, from panic and fear, but most of all, from memories and recollections.

Date: August 16, 2997
Time: 00:00
Location: On the Boat: To Orbis

She was gone, or rather, he was gone. Caleio’s last scream echoed infinitely in Maldran’s ears as he plummeted down towards the earth. He could see the ship tearing itself apart as fires ravaged the once sleek and polished wooden deck. Maldran didn’t know how long he fell, but when he finally hit the ocean, it did not matter anymore. The icy coldness of the sea was nothing compared to the coldness in his heart now.

He didn’t know how the hell he survived the fall, nor how he was rescued. The entire mishap was a distant memory not worthy of recollection. Now, on the surface of the sea, Maldran rested on the deck of a rescue boat, his entire body aching and throbbing. So this is what it feels like to get totally owned by a Thanatos…

The morning had just broken over the horizon when the ship docked. Maldran felt himself being moved, but his eyes could not see. He heard distant voices mocking him with their doctor’s jargon, but his eardrums were screeching too much to distinguish any clear words. Someone was touching his forehead, but his skin was too numb to feel anything.

“You had quite a fall. It’s a miracle that you survived,” someone was saying, but Maldran did not care. His thoughts were focused solely on the one woman that was gone. He thought of the perfect life they were going to have together, of all the memories and happiness they would share. But all of that was gone now, sucked into the infinite vacuum of death.

He couldn’t stop thinking about her. It was driving him insane. Maldran needed to know what happened to her, if she lived, if she died. He needed to know for his own personal satisfaction. His mind felt as if it were tearing apart at the seams. He was living on the brink of insanity, the ragged edge of disaster.

Date: November 25, 3007
Time: 21:30
Location: Navasota Island

The stars cried shiny waves of light onto the earth. Underneath their tears lay the broken and slain, staining the ground an eerie crimson. Occasional bursts of fireballs from grenades and other explosives momentarily lit up the battlefield, creating shadows and silhouettes that danced like animals around the dead men.

And yet, Mikhail Shale and his bold 300 advanced forwards, pushing the Dominion soldiers farther back towards the smoldering and charred tanks. Maldran had reached the edge of the forest again where the clearing opened up to reveal the killing fields. Through the bursts of light, he could depict a mass of black storming forwards like the ocean’s tide.

Smiling despite the bullet in his arm, he followed Michael who had already started into the clearing. Maldran turned on his communicator, “Mikhail, we’re coming in from the southwest.”

There was a moment’s pause, then the man’s hearty response, “Copy that, Sergeant. We welcome you five home.” The last few words stabbed Maldran in the heart a thousand times.

“We… we’re one down…” Maldran replied quietly, not knowing how Mikhail would respond to the loss of their weapons specialist.

Mikhail was silent for a while, then replied in a surprisingly comforting tone, “He did what he had to do, and that’s all you can ask of him. He’s in a better place now.” Maldran didn’t bother to respond. For him, the grief was still to near.

At last, the squad of four was reunited with Mikhail’s army. Without any further exchange of words, they continued to push forwards, gradually driving the invaders off of the island, out of this world. The Dominion’s endless horde seemed to diminish drastically now in the night. Victory was so near, Maldran could almost taste it.

Suddenly, a tremendous fireball hurled through the air and landed on a cluster of Mikhail’s men. Shrieks of pain filled the air as they dropped to the ground, trying to smother the fire. Mikhail pushed through his army and drew his pistol. With five shots, he silenced them all, saving them a world of hurt and suffering.

But before he could do anything else, another flaming ball of fire screeched towards Mikhail’s army. Drawing in a deep breath, he shouted, “EDEN HIDE!” Immediately, Mikhail’s army disappeared into nothingness, leaving without a trace. Maldran pulled out his night vision binoculars and scanned the horizon, desperately trying to find the origin of the flames.

And then he saw him, standing in front of his army. His wild blue hair swayed around in the cold breeze. The fire from his rocket launcher was reflected off of his deep blue eyes, creating a sense of immortality. General Nezzy stood with his DT-109 Dragon Tail Sub-machine gun dangling casually in his deadly right hand. The chilling smirk etched upon his face sent a shiver down Maldran’s spine.