After an hour since leaving the relative safety of the frontline HQ, Rex and his squad moved steadily toward their objective. His team was composed of two hundred infantry soldiers and four hover tanks, but they'd opted out of air support since any aircraft in the sky would be a beacon for the enemy.
"Hey, Ys," Rex called over his shoulder, glancing at his second-in-command as they walked through the rocky terrain. "What are the chances we make it there without getting noticed?"
Ys frowned, casting a quick look around the rugged canyon walls. "Honestly? Close to zero, darling. If even one Khryssari scout spots us, the whole swarm will be on us in minutes."
"So we're pretty much screwed already, huh?" Rex muttered, coming to a halt as he surveyed the jagged cliffs towering over them, blood-red under the harsh sunlight.
Cleo had planned out their route through this canyon. It was carved by fierce sandstorms that tore across the planet's surface, creating natural cover that shielded them from air surveillance and distant patrols. But the canyon was a double-edged sword. The same terrain that hid them could just as easily conceal an ambush.
"Carlos, give the signal. Combat-ready positions," Rex ordered, his grip tightening around the hilt of his claymore.
Carlos nodded, raising his hand in a thumbs-up that sent a silent ripple through the squad. Within seconds, every soldier was on alert. The hover tanks' mounted guns swiveled slowly, their barrels scanning the canyon, ready to unleash a storm of bullets at the first hint of movement.
"What's next, Rex?" Carlos asked, standing ready with his hammer raised.
"Move slow. I don't like this silence," Rex replied, his voice barely a whisper. "Feels like we're walking right into something. It could be that a scout saw us and went to alert the main force. Stay sharp; this could go bad fast."
They advanced with caution, with their footsteps echoing against the canyon walls. The oppressive silence stretched on, and after half an hour, Rex could feel the tension radiating from his troops. Faces tightened, eyes darting to every shadow, every curve of rock. They were growing more mentally drained than physically, and he could tell that Ys had noticed too.
"Rex, this is wearing them down," she murmured from behind him, her voice almost lost in the eerie quiet. She was in stealth mode while she clung to his back like a silent shadow. "We're up against an enemy that actually knows how to use its brain."
Rex cursed under his breath. "Alright, everyone,stop! Take cover, now!"
The words had barely left his mouth when the canyon walls lit up with flashes of sickly green light. Bioplasma rounds poured down from every direction, illuminating the red rock with a deadly green glow. The narrow path erupted into chaos as the energy bolts rained down around them.
"Damn it!" Rex growled, dodging what he could, but there were too many. His energy shield flared as it absorbed several hits, cracks spreading across its surface like spiderwebs.
"Aegis units, max power to shields! Protect as many as you can!" he shouted, his voice cutting through the chaos.
The Aegis soldiers sprang into action, raising their shields and forming a defensive line. They absorbed the brunt of the plasma fire, shielding those behind them, but it was impossible to cover everyone. Plasma rounds continued to pour in from above, relentless and overwhelming. The squad was pinned, caught in the open, and Rex could see the grim reality of their situation.
They were exactly where the enemy wanted them. This was no ordinary skirmish; it was a trap, perfectly laid and ruthlessly executed.
The green plasma blasts finally stopped, leaving an eerie silence in the canyon. Rex knew this was their only chance.
"Tanks! Bring down those mountains!" he shouted, pointing his claymore at two towering canyon pillars where the heaviest fire had come from.
The hover tanks fired their main cannons, the thunderous blasts echoing through the canyon as the pillars shattered, sending chunks of rock tumbling down. A massive dust cloud erupted from the impact, thick and blinding, swallowing everything in its path.
"Three rounds! Fire into the cloud!" Rex commanded, his voice steady and fierce.
The soldiers didn't hesitate. A storm of bullets and lasers ripped into the dust cloud, lighting up the canyon in flashes of red, blue, and golden. The air filled with the unmistakable sound of flesh and armor being torn apart, and a series of agonized squeals echoed out from the cloud. The sound sent a chill down the soldiers' spines, an unearthly reminder of the alien foe they faced.
But the silence didn't last. From within the settling dust, Khryssari warriors burst forth, charging head-on with fierce, primal cries.
Carlos stepped in front of Rex, raising his shield as he braced himself. The minigun mounted on his shield spun to life, and his robotic arms unleashed a hailstorm of bullets and lasers. The Khryssari were met with a wall of firepower, but they pushed forward, relentless.
Rex grinned, glancing over at Carlos. "What's this, baldy? You finally decided you're in love with me?"
Carlos snorted, keeping his focus on the oncoming wave. "In your dreams, pretty boy. Just trying to keep that face of yours in one piece since, who knows, maybe the officers with... unique tastes will give us some favors."
Rex laughed, his golden armor accents beginning to glow with a fierce light. "You win this round, damn baldy!"
With a powerful leap, he shot over Carlos's shoulder, the impact of his jump kicking up dust and debris behind him. Carlos yelped as a few stray rocks struck him, one right on his backside.
"Damn it, Rex! You did that on purpose, you sissy-looking brat!" Carlos yelled, shaking his fist.
While he was still laughing, Rex landed on the head of a Khryssari warrior and drove his claymore down with brutal force, piercing its skull. A fountain of glowing green blood sprayed from the wound, splattering his armor.
The sight was enough to rally the troops. To them, Rex's laughter sounded like a battle cry, a fearless taunt in the face of danger. Cheers erupted from his soldiers; their spirits lifted, their fatigue forgotten. They fought with renewed vigor, as if the battle itself had become a test of their will.
But this was no ordinary surge of morale. Cleo, watching through Rex's eyes from afar, understood what was truly happening. Rex's mental strength was growing, his spirit radiating with an energy he himself didn't fully understand.
His aura, fierce and defiant, was spilling out into the battlefield, unseen yet felt by every ally around him. The effect was immediate, giving an astonishing surge of power and resilience to his troops; their abilities heightened as if by sheer force of will.
Cleo's doubts began to fade. She finally understood why Rex could lead a squad of rookies, soldiers meant to be mere cannon fodder, and turn them into a hardened force that fought like veterans.
It wasn't just strategy or skill. It was something deeper, something primal. Rex had a gift, a raw power that inspired those around him to push beyond their limits and to fight with everything they had.
And as the Khryssari warriors charged forward, Rex's squad met them head-on, their battle cries echoing through the canyon, unyielding, fearless, ready to fight to the last breath.
But Cleo wasn't the only one observing the battlefield through borrowed eyes. Far from the fray, hidden deep within the shifting sands, another figure watched with a dark, almost amused curiosity.
The Khryssari commander, leader of this swarm, had been following the battle through the senses of his warriors, expecting an easy victory, like it had always been a routine slaughter of weaker prey. But this... this was different. What he thought was mere food had not only resisted but fought back with ferocity.
A smile twisted his lips as he focused on the one they called Captain. Somehow, this warrior had breathed new life into the exhausted human troops. He felt the surge of strength ripple through them the moment the white-armored figure joined the fight.
This enemy, he realized, was no ordinary foe. A thrill ran through him, a rare feeling. His queen had commanded him to capture this one alive, and now he understood why.
When the last of his Khryssari warriors fell, he didn't hesitate. With a smooth, almost graceful leap, he mounted a massive beast lying in the shadows, its scales thick and gleaming like dark armor.
He gave the creature a firm pat, and with a single command, they charged forward, vanishing into the dust storm that still lingered in the canyon.
Meanwhile, Rex pulled his claymore free from the fallen Khryssari warrior at his feet, blood-slicked and gleaming. Around him, his troops erupted in cheers, their voices echoing off the canyon walls.
"Carlos, how much time have we lost already?" Rex asked, his voice sharp as he glanced around to take stock.
Carlos wiped the green blood from his arm device, muttering under his breath as he checked the time. "We're down forty-five minutes fighting these bastards."
Rex's jaw tightened. "Which means we're out of time. The two hours Admiral Voss gave us are up; they'll be launching the full frontal assault any second. We need to move now. If we don't take down that device before they hit, they'll be massacred out there."
He gave Carlos a solid clap on the back, enough to make the big man stagger.
"Damn it, Rex, be careful!" Carlos grunted, rolling his shoulder. "You're like a damn tank. Almost knocked the lungs right out of me."
"Oh, sorry, I didn't know you wanted a skirt, princess," Rex shot back with a grin, his eyes flashing.
Carlos sighed, shaking his head. "One of these days, when I'm as big as you, I swear I'm going to beat the living daylights out of that smug face of yours."
They both laughed, the banter easing the tension for a moment, but it didn't last long.
A low, thunderous sound rumbled from the horizon, followed by a series of sharp, piercing whistles cutting through the air. In an instant, the sky lit up with a swarm of yellow streaks, arcing down like falling stars.
Each one hit the sandstorm with a deafening explosion, filling the air with shockwaves that sent plumes of dust and sand spiraling up in blinding clouds.
Rex's face hardened as he watched the chaos unfolding in the distance. "So it's started."