STELLAR: World on Fire

Chapter 7: Master of The Dark

       Outpost 177. That was where Deadbolt had been stationed. It was a relatively large two building structure with a landing pad in front of the entrance. Deadbolt was in charge of all the soldiers stationed at this outpost and should the time ever arrive, they were to deploy and neutralize any incoming threats.

     Deadbolt hated being stationed at this outpost. It was not because of the soldiers nor the place where it had been built. It was the lack of action. In a way he missed the action, the gunfire, and the battles. As catastrophic as it was, it made his life adventurous. He wished he was out there hunting the last of Adrian's Dark Riders. However instead he was in charge of commanding an outpost and was away from the action. He stood outside polishing his battleaxe, just waiting to receive an alert or a call for backup in dealing with Dark River activity, but he knew that they had gone dark since Adrian was defeated.

       It was nightfall and as Deadbolt was about to head inside he noticed that when he turned to face the building, the lights inside had turned off. He held a tight grip on his battleaxe and took out his other battleaxe. If there was any chance he had at getting in some action this was it. "Commander what's your status?" Deadbolt said into his comm unit. There was no response. There was a group of soldiers dressed in clad white armor that stood beside him when it happened. "I'll take point, follow my lead." He commanded the soldiers as they loaded their rifles.

    They quickly, smoothly, and tactically entered the building. Inside there was little light shining from the window. But it was dark and dimly lit. When they got inside they found the bodies littered around the floor. "Quick Diamond formation, NOW!" Deadbolt ordered. The soldiers quickly and formed a diamond behind Deadbolt.

      Suddenly, two soldiers fell back as a knife was shoved into both of their abdomens by what seemed to be some unseen force. Deadbolt and the other soldiers quickly turned to face the two soldiers lying on the ground who had already lost a lot of blood. "We're being picked off watch your six." Deadbolt stated. Then, as if rendering his statements invalid, the two remaining were also attacked. They received stab wounds to their throats.

      Deadbolt was alone now. Whatever this unseen force was, managed to make work of his men, but he would not let it make work of him, at least not so easily. "Show yourself, whoever you are." Deadbolt demanded. Suddenly, to his surprise Greed appeared into view. He now stood face to face with Adrian's former second in command. "You're alone now. This fight was over before it even begun." Greed told him. Deadbolt lowered his center of gravity and gripped his battleaxes tight. "It's not done till I am six feet under, and, unfortunately for you, I'm not buried yet." Deadbolt stated.

      Immediately after he spoke those words he charged at Greed, swinging his battleaxe. Quickly thinking on his feet, Greed charged at him as well, leaned back, slid under the axe on his knees, and got back up and turned to face Deadbolt. Next, Greed ran toward him and drop kicked him in the back. Deadbolt quickly turned around swinging at him with his other axe, this time sticking the axe into his chestplate, wounding Greed heavily.

       Deadbolt gripped the one axe left in his hand and was about to deliver the final blow when he was hit with a powerful shot to his chestplate. He slowly stumbled backward for a bit before falling to the ground. He lay there in shock, not knowing what happened for him to be in this position. Greed slowly got up, pulled the axe out of his chestplate and dropped it to the ground. He walked over to where Deadbolt lay, now standing over him. "Don't worry, I'm not gonna kill you, believe it or not I need you." Greed stated as he proceeded to pick him up and carry him on his back. "Excellent shot, Prometheus, your marksmanship is unparalleled, Ghost, prep the ship for takeoff the package is secure." Greed said into his comm unit as he walked out of the building.