Illumination

Chapter 6

The dim red glow of the emergency lights did little to aid the surviving mercenaries of Gunther's Guns stationed in the tunnels below La Alimentaire Méchant. The guns were determined to find just who, or what, it was that lurked in the shadows, killing off their fellow soldiers before vanishing. By the time they had realized just what was happening to them, the intruder had cleared most of the underground corridors, leaving two-thirds of the guns as casualties in their wake. Any remaining units now patrolled in full squads of ten, after paying a high price to learn that any search team numbering less than four could be eliminated with little effort, and in most cases, before they had fired a single shot. These new, larger squads had yet to be attacked, giving the soldiers a much needed moment to regroup and strategize. The guns knew that they had to take the fight to this killer now, or they would never get another chance.  

"Team 2, take Tunnel A. Team 3, cover Tunnel B. Everyone must be on their guard. We lost the upper levels to this thing and we can't afford to lose these too. Got it?" Barked the sergeant in charge, pounding his fist into his palm. 

The assembled troops gave a chorus of "Yes, sir!", which satisfied the man. 

Sergeant Mortimox Soma had taken over leadership of the remaining guns after the previous head of command, Lukas Shanks was deemed unfit for his position. The decision came after Lukas had been found with a five inch blade lodged between his fourth and fifth vertebrae; yet another victim claimed by whatever had been cleaving its way through the complex over the last half an hour. 

"As for the rest you," the sergeant turned to face the dozen soldiers he had not yet assigned places, "you all are going to act as Team 1. Your mission is to stay here with me and ensure that nobody, and I mean nobody gets through this door without our noticing. We were hired to guard this exit and if we mess this up, not only are we going to be breaking our contract and damaging the good name of Gunther's guns, but we won't get paid either. At this point we've got our backs to the wall and it's do or die people. Now, I want you to get out there and show 'em just what it is we guns are made of. Do you understand?" 

"Sir, yes, sir!" 

Mortimox Soma looked out over the various men and women that he had selected to form each of the teams. He scanned each of their faces in turn, seeing fear and fatigue in the eyes of more than one of the soldier. Soma did this not out of concern, but more out of curiosity to see just how many of his old squadmates had survived up to this point. Through the crowd and poor lighting he determined that only three members of his original unit, Bottles, Savory, and Rose, remained. Unfortunately, it looked like his old buddy Michaelson wouldn't be paying him back the gambling money he owed him after all.  

Well, no use dwelling on that now, I guess.  

"Glad to hear it. Keep a sharp eye out. Since our attacker sabotaged the generators we're running on emergency power, and while it does mean reduced visibility for us, our attacker will have the same problem. The moment they shine so much as a wayward beam of a torch our way..." Soma gave a small chuckle "we'll see the bastard lit up for good" 

However, despite the sergeant's claims, the crimson lights of the tunnels provided ample illumination for the eager yellow eyes that watched them from above. 

******** 

If the guards below had bothered to look up, it was doubtful that they would have noticed anything more than a large, odd-shaped smudge on the ceiling. This smudge was no ordinary stain however, but the result of a Personal Nebula Cloaking System. While it did include a cloak, the full Nebula system was more than just that. A custom made full-body suit the color of shifting shadows, the Nebula Cloak was designed to obscure and blur the silhouette of its wearer, silencing their movements and making detection impossible to all but the most elite persons or equipment. In exchange for such systems and the ability to move unhindered, the form-fitting suit had little in the way of actual armor plating. Instead, the Nebula Cloak operated under the idea that "The best armor is to never be seen", a school of thought embraced in full by the Mascherari and put to devastating use by one Valencia Specter. Landing a telling blow or discerning her exact location had been made a maddening experience for the guns, courtesy of Valencia further enhancing the Nebula's effects through use of her own special abilities, warping her image into that of an indistinct haze.