Jace jumped out of the vehicle and moved to the building he jumped out of going in through the door. As he entered he looked over the enemy bodies and picked up a gun. Looking it over he realized it was a laser based assault rifle. He could make that work for the time being.
He then opened the back door which loudly squeaked. He began making his way out into the alley following the trail of movement that went through the dust, dirt, and debris that had been getting thrown around in the city. When he heard a loud noise and saw something bounce off his armor.
He looked in the direction it came from and saw a man in camouflage uniform and black gear. He had only a second to process this before he saw a little girl come running out from behind the man. She came up and hugged Jace’s leg. Jace relaxed and patted the little girl’s head.
"Who might you have found?" Jace asked as he looked at the man with suspicion. One of the police officers walked out from beside the man. They were hidden in a large crack of a building. Using it as a choke point.
"He says he is... from the Union. They sent several ships to extract civilians. They arrived and made it past the blockade during the multi-way flight in orbit. Fortunately they are all hidden but they cannot get off the planet." The former soldier turned police officer quickly explained. He was probably hoping to avoid a fight.
"Okay." Jace nodded his head. "How far is your closest ship? We need to get these civilians there and away from danger."
"Why should I bring you military types with us?" The Union soldier asked. He had a clear axe to grind against Vexical soldiers. Jace could tell from his slightly blue skin tone and pointed ears that he was Siren-Hybrid. Or possibly another type of sea person hybrid.
There is a lot of mixed baggage there especially since the original Vexical before the Grand Hexarian Empire subjugated their planet and turned it into a desert planet. It was not something that could be easily forgiven. Some still saw it as a slight, but some forgot and forgave.
"The majority of the Vexical population is military or former military." Jace reminded the hybrid. "Now I just killed a bunch of Montez Kingdom soldiers and they are sending backup because they managed to send out a call for help. So I doubt it would be a good idea to stay here."
The Union soldier grumbled and relaxed his stance. He then sighed and pressed a hand up to his ear. "I have a group of survivors. Most are civilians, some are kids. There are four soldiers and three police. Located near a hotspot."
He then listened and nodded his head as he heard a response. He then waved his hand and they followed the man down the alley. He looked both ways and then motioned for them to cross. Across the street at another alley was another Union soldier. This one had a colorful set of hair but looked human.
Jace motioned and made the soldiers wait. While they were waiting he picked up the injured soldier and put him over his shoulder. Jace ignored the grumbling from the soldier, who apparently disagreed with working with the enemy as he called them.
Jace took the moment to discretely disable the soldiers armor functions so he could not send out a signal to the enemy in a moment of frustration. He had a feeling this was that type of soldier. One who self-destructed because of their grudge.
It was soon the soldiers’ and police officers’ turn to move across the street. As Jace stood waiting the hybrid Union soldier felt the need to start up a conversation. "Most brawny types like you are usually head strong."
"I am brains, not brawn." Jace countered, "it only seems like I am brawn because I am just that much stronger." Jace informed the man as he prepared to move across the street. The hybrid ran across with him so Jace kept the pace slow.
"I am more surprised that you have no issue with working with the Union. Especially since the Vexical Military classifies us as a terrorist organization." The hybrid was clearly still wary because Jace was so okay with the Union’s presence.
"My boss informed me to prioritize two things in the message she sent to my armor before they left the system to regroup. The first was to prioritize the safety of civilians, the second was to prioritize my own safety. In that order. So if I have to work with the Union to guarantee civilian’s safety then that is what I will do." Jace explained as he and the hybrid made it to the other alley way.
"What about after the civilians are out of harm’s way?" The hybrid asked as the female Union soldier with the multi-colored hair joined them by walking away from the street and towards a set of stairs that went lower to under a building.
"There are plenty of civilians on this planet that will be in harm’s way until the enemy is repelled. So I do not see a situation where I would be your adversary while on this planet." Jace explained as he ducked down into a door. They entered the basement of the building. Jace watched as another pair of Union soldiers pushed aside a large fridge that was outdated by at least a century.
"What about if a superior officer orders you to go against us?" The hybrid asked, it seemed the conversation was interesting to the female Union soldier as she started listening in.
"That would be unlikely, considering the only two people in the military hierarchy who can order me are not here. The first being the Emperor himself, I doubt we will just run into him. The second is Director Fenrir, but she is a big softie and will let your presence slide on account of you helping civilians." Jace explained and got looks of confusion from both of them.
He then realized that the annoying soldier he had over his shoulder had stopped speaking. He crouched down and pulled him off his shoulder. The soldier had passed out, Jace removed his helmet and saw the man was pale in the face and sweating profusely.
"Shit," The hybrid cursed. "We just need to get down the steps. There are battle nurses down there where they can patch him up."
Jace nodded his head, "Then I will carry him for a bit longer." He pulled the soldier up again, handing the helmet to the hybrid. While he carried the soldier in a princess carry. Completely undignified but it was not like the injured soldier was awake enough to care.
"What rank gets you to be only able to get ordered around by the Emperor and Consort Fenrir?" The female Union soldier asked.
Instead of Jace answering the answer came from a soldier that came out of the crack in the hole that the civilians had been moving down into. But it was not quite a soldier, and Jace recognized this person on sight. "Spectre."