When The Skies Fall

Damage

"Five minutes till landing." 

A robotic voice announced over the intercom. They knew what that meant. They'd all been woken up in the middle of the night and ordered to gear up. The blaring of the alarms coupled with the yelling of Commanders and the intercom was disorienting in a way. 

"Aries, come on!" Nova yelled.

Her regular battle gear had been replaced with the new model. It was sleeker than the old gear. It fit her much better. The material was heat resistant and harder to penetrate with bullets, or knives. Her utility belt was easy to access and since the armor was lightweight she could carry more tools with her.

"Are they sure about this new gear?"

"Yes, and if anyone should test it out it should be me." She was cocky. Normally he would like that in a girl but she is his partner, if she dies so does their bond.

"They could've chosen someone who isn't as important." She frowned at him. "I'm serious Nova, you are not invincible. What if you get hurt."

"Then they know what to fix and someone with a faster heal rate is the one who gets injured. You know this is the best option. Just stay close, help me get to the bomb site and then we can put this all in the past." She stood up quickly and grabbed her pistol off the seat next to him.

"Landing in progress." The intercom sounded again.

"What's going on?" Lila asked her.

"The sooner we get this over with the sooner he can stop pretending to care about me." Nova spoke under her breath as she made her way to the loading bay.

"You know, she's actually really sweet. If you'd take a moment to stop and look at her for who she is rather than the fact that she's bonded to you by power." Alex, one of the researchers she works with, spoke from the other side of the armory.

"I'll take that under consideration." His words sunk in as Aries made his way to the loading bay.

"Aries!" Nova called out to him. She was by the doors. They were unlocking and rolling down. The hydraulics were deafening. "Are you ready?" The question echoed.

"Are you?" He repeated her question and watched her face as the doors began to open.

"Absolutely." A smile played on her lips as the shield of her helmet lowered.

The thud of the ramp hitting the ground was the signal. It was time to go. She slammed the side door open jumping out into the dust. He felt his boots hit solid ground and began to run. Something was strange, there was no gunfire. There was a possibility they made it here before their enemies but they couldn't be here alone. The helmet made seeing through the dirt easier but it was still hard to see more than a foot in front of you. He caught a glimpse of Nova to the left.

The dust began to lift. Before them was a commonplace. It was old and calm but for them it was dangerous, everyone from the ship knew there was a bomb. Inside the confines of the town they took a moment to rest.

"For a war zone you'd expect more resistance. I am going to check up the street. You wanna come or stay down here and watch my back?" Nova was scanning the area with her eyes. She could sense it too, something wasn't right.

"I'll stay down here. Watch the alley to your right." 

"I don't like this," she spoke into the radio, "where is everyone? Why hasn't there been a sighting?" She was right but that didn't change the facts.

"Maybe it's a trap? Either way, we need to complete the objective. Disable the bomb, that's all we need to worry about."

There was a creaking sound from across the way. Nova jerked her head to the left looking directly at Aries.