The Race For Power (old & incomplete, revision in progress)

Chapter II

You held your Spitfire tightly in your hands as you and Cooper slowly moved through the thick Planet Victor trees. You looked on your minimap in the corner of your HUD for anything that could point you in the right direction, but the only dots were yours and Cooper's.

You sighed and loosened your grip on your Spitfire's handle. "Where are we even supposed to go down here?" You asked.

"Briggs just told us to look for some sort of ancient ruin. Just keep following the marker on your HUD. It shouldn't be long until we make it there," Cooper sighed.

You frowned, noticing Cooper's discomfort. You knew something was wrong with him, but you didn't want to say anything that would upset him further. You reached out your hand to rest it on his shoulder, but hesitated and gripped your Spitfire firmly again. You wanted to tell him that you loved him, but you just couldn't bring yourself to do so, since you were afraid you would be rejected. I wonder if he's feeling the same way? You thought to yourself.

A massive, moss-covered stone structure came into view through the trees. The marker on your HUD started getting bigger the closer you approached it. "Cooper," You said in a low voice. "I think we found it."

"Yep, looks like it," Cooper confirmed, crouching slightly.

You studied the mud gathered close to the start of a long stone path. Footprints dotted the area, the boot marks unlike the Militia's boots.

"These don't look like our boot tracks," You pointed out to Cooper, aiming your Spitfire at one of the tracks.

He looked over at where you pointed and slowly approached them, bending down and scanning them with his helmet. "IMC tracks. They look pretty fresh, too."

You swallowed a lump in your throat at the mention of the IMC. "Let's hope they didn't get that crystal."

Cooper nodded his head toward the path, signaling you to follow him. You nodded and crouched, taking deep breaths to calm yourself down as your heart started beating faster.

You cloaked and kept your senses alert as you and Cooper slowly moved through the ruins. You kept close to him, your hands shaking the further you went into the ruins.

Cooper halted and stood still for a moment. You panicked and nearly ran into him. "What is it? Are there IMC Grunts nearby?" You whispered.

"No," He replied in a low voice. "We found the crystal."

You crept next to him and stared in astonishment at the glowing seafoam-colored crystal sitting neatly on a pedestal in the middle of the small room. The glow from it reflected in a puddle of water in the corner of the room. "Wow,"  You breathed. "It's beautiful."

Cooper nodded. "Indeed. It's also powerful, supposedly. Go grab it so we can get the hell outta here."

You nodded curtly and slowly approached the pedestal, gently removing the crystal from its holder. You slung your Spitfire behind your back and gripped the crystal firmly. "Come on. Let's get going before the IMC decide to come back."