Infinity, Once Again (Rewriting/overhauling, hold please!)

Chapter XXIV

CHAPTER XXIV

Infinity120

Munin

"First (true) Contact"

Present

0600 hours

Universe: 124293891

Munin was anxiously flipping the safety of his rifle on and off. Something felt so incredible... off that he had been on edge for the past 20 minutes. He had switched out the assault rifle for his sniper, the familiar feel of the cool grip comforting him only slightly. He felt like quickscoping today. The rifle was actually much lighter than the older models used by almost everyone in the Peacekeepers, since its frame was made mostly from a lightweight plastic polymer, and was 3D printed into the shape. The barrel was made of a light alloy, and Munin basically threw on the lightest attachments he could find. No point in dragging around a heavier scope for no reason. His assault rifle had replaced the sniper rifle in the case on his back.

"Munin...?" Exodus asked from his side. "What's up? You've been messing with your rifle for the past like 25 minutes." Munin sighed, looking around, paranoid.

"Something feels off." He muttered. "We're in the middle of the natural plains, and there are less animals than the Capital Square..." He said. He glanced at Yume, who was walking beside him. She caught his gaze, and gave him a teasing smile, making him scoff and look away. "What about you, Yume? Do you feel it?" He asked. The kitsune nodded, but seemed hesitant.

"Yes..." She said, the playfulness disappearing from her voice for a fleeting moment, before it came right back in full force. "Of course, it might just be your paranoia rubbing off on me, dear~" She teased, curling a strand of her hair with her finger. Munin gave her a deadpan look, before turning to the horizon, absentmindedly turning up the electromag assistance. The rifle was two staged, with an electromagnetic rail accelerator inside the body of the gun, which accelerated the projectile to its full muzzle velocity after the chemical propellant got it going, making a medium caliber round hit with the kinetic power of a 14.5mm cartridge.

"Exodus, set up the drone and link it to Raven." Munin ordered, prying the case off of Exodus's suit and opening it, setting up the drone. "I want it in the air ASAP." Exodus nodded, his expression going serious as he took Munin's tablet and linked the UAV to Raven. The AI, not wasting a moment of time, took full control of the drone, lifting it off to about 20 feet, before hovering there, waiting for Munin to give it instructions. "Take up the front, I want a 150 meter buffer between us and the drone." He said, closing the case and putting it back on Exodus's back. "I don't want a repeat of what happened when we lost Emily." Munin said, shaking his head. Exodus winced, looking back at him.

"Damn, bro... Did you really have to dig that up? You know that Eclipse never let go of that incident..." He said. Munin shrugged again, sighing.

"There's nothing I can do about it. The only thing I can do is wish that he can find someone else. Or we will find her again." He murmured, before shaking his head once again, as if clearing his head and taking a step back. "Let's get going?" He asked, and was met with agreements from the other two, though Exodus's response was much more muted. They continued on, with Munin looking around and Exodus quietly murmuring to himself, trying to get all the bad memories out of his head.

Munin could still feel the weight of their losses pressing down on him, even as he tried to push the memories away. The pain of writing those debriefs never got easier as he finished the last. Each individual one, it felt like he was carving pieces out of his soul and laying them bare on paper, knowing that these were more than just names—they were friends, comrades, people who had trusted him. And he had failed them.