The Guard

Chapter 3 - Abandoned

"Alright, listen up!" Fox orders his men with authority. "Before you lot decide to get cozy, we need to do a thorough search of this base. While Buzz did say there weren't any life signs, we all know that doesn't mean Poodoo when clankers are concerned."

The fifteen clones and five Massiffs were just on the outskirts of the base, a simple guard post being all that stand between them and the base's interior.

"What's the plan of attack, Fox?" Asks Thorn.

"Simple. We will split into five teams of three." Says Fox. "Looker, you will be paired with Fang and Growler. Your task is to search the dockyards."

"Understood, sir."

"Pointer, you take Husk and Rott. Your objective is to search the supply depot."

"You got it, Marshal."

"Jek, you take Rook and Boxer with you to find the power station. See if you can find a way to restore the base's systems to full operation."

"We'll see it done, sir."

"Good. Thorn, you take Hound and Rys with you and scope out those large living quarters we saw earlier."

"What exactly do you want us to find?" Asks Thorn.

"Whatever you can, Thorn. Any clues as to who or what used to operate this base and what happened that made them abandon it." Fox instructs his secondary.

"And you, sir?" Hound questions. "Where are you going to be?"

Fox points at a towering structure that stood tall over the rest of the base, its form similar to that of a stone fortress, but instead of stone, it was made out of steel. "I will be taking Buzz and Thire with me to inspect what I am guessing is the main hub of this base. When you're all done with your tasks, meet up with us there. Do you all understand your objectives?"

"Sir yes sir!"

"Good, get to it then."

(Scene)

"I tell you guys; this place is starting to give me the creeps," Fang says as he, Looker, and Growler begin searching the dockyards.

"What tipped you off exactly, Fang?" Growler asks sarcastically. "The spooky atmosphere, the eerie silence, the haunting shadows..."

"We get it, Growler." Says Looker. "But you are both right, something about this place isn't right. It's almost like... we're being watched."

(Scene)

"Let's see here. Crates, crates, and more crates." Rott says as he looks through his thirtieth crate. "And all they have in them are machine parts or just plain scrap."

"Well, this is a warehouse, Rott." Pointer, uh, points out.

"Yeah, but I doubt we will be able to make use of any of it." Says Husk. "Even if we had a good smelter, it would probably take the entire contents of this warehouse just to make a couple of plates of Durasteel. And that is only if we were able to get our hands on some Zersium."

Rott scoffs. "Like we will find any Zersium on this rock."

Husk shrugs, "You never know."

Pointer tries to get his two brothers back on track. "Alright, enough about that, let's get done here so we can..." But is interrupted by his Massiff, Spot, who suddenly starts to growl and snarl, its reptilian eyes trained on the warehouse entrance.

The three clone troopers turn to look just in time to see a shrouded figure quickly duck out of sight.

"Hey!" Rott runs to the entrance, only to find no one around. "Bugger!"