Project - Prometheus Ch. 06

The center of the village was a small hill, upon which stood several large stones. This was a holy place for her people and the one place where anything could be spoken of, even between the worst of enemies. Violence on such hallowed ground was forbidden and to do any violence upon it, was to forfeit your soul to the Darklands.

They had arrived there in short order, being only a short walk away. The rest of the chieftains that stood with her, waited for her arrival. They stood amongst the stone atop the hill, some of them prying to the gods for guidance. Some of the Yahk'shurt warriors stood nearby, but their chief was nowhere to be seen. Just before she was to ask one of her honor guard to find out where Dahr'khash was, a voice rang out, high and clear into the night.

"People of the Ahl'kanin clan, this is Luminia, daughter of Valessa, high chieftaness of the Ahl'kanin clan. I have come forth to warn you, the Yahk'shurt do not seek peace with you, but only battle, death and slavery!"

Valessa couldn't believe her ears! That voice was definitely Luminia's, but it sounded as though she was screaming, her voice was so loud. The voice continued on in its speech.

"The Yahk'shurt are trying to surround us all as we speak! They intend to break you and if they cannot do that, then they will kill you! I stand with the freed prisoners of Glaturac fortress, ready to fight these monsters, to send them back to the Darklands, where they all belong! Stand with us and fight!"

With that last sentence, an ululating war cry went up from the north, which was echoed many times over. Valessa turned and looked at her friends and allies, all of which were surprised at the proclamation as she was. Turning back, she saw that the chief of the Yahk'shurt had indeed arrived at the base of the hill. He looked thunderstruck that his grand plan had been given away. The look on his face was all the confirmation that Valessa needed to know that this whole thing had been a setup.

"Defensive stance and hold your ground! Let none Yahk'shurt live if it can be helped! Stand and fight with me, brothers and sisters!" she cried out. In moments, her entire honor guard had formed up on her, weapons drawn, ready to fight. The other chiefs followed suit, forming up on Valessa, prepared for battle. Seconds after they had assumed their positions, Dahr'khash shouted out his orders, smiling lasciviously.

"Kill them all, but leave Valessa for me!"

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With Luminia's warning delivered, Inari and her company moved forward to the icy boulders and outcroppings, pouring out of the small canyon. Several groups of Yahk'shurt warriors stood there, startled by their appearance and their hesitation cost them.

Firing in short bursts, the company of women cut through half the warriors standing there before any of them could react. The others exploded into action, ducking to find cover, and failing to do so, as more of them were gunned down in the surprise attack. A few of them tried throwing their axes and knives at Inari, as they viewed her as the biggest threat among them all.

Almost every weapon shattered against her armor plating, rendering their efforts nearly useless. A couple of the knives thrown grazed and cut Inari in some of her joints, but none of them really hurt her. Unflinching, she continued her advance, her assault rifle spitting fire and thunder.

Another group of warriors rushed her and her team, intent on seeing them dead. Reflexively, her weapon snapped up and continued churning out round upon round, each one ending the life of a Yahk'shurt warrior. A particularly large brute, shrugged off her attacks and barreled into her, knocking Inari down and sending her rifle skittering away on the ice.

With a singular, grunting laugh, it stood over her, raising its large knife. Just as it reached its apex, to begin its descent to end her life, a thunderous boom sounded. Seconds later, its arm exploded, now reduced to a bloody stump, just above its elbow. He roared in pain, clutching at his bloodied arm, unbelieving that it could have been reduced to nothing.

Inari pushed herself away, just as a second report sounded, this time, the warrior's head blew apart, as though it was made of paper. Picking herself up, Inari looked at the warrior, then up at the area which the bullets had come from. She fired off a salute of thanks to Pree, for keeping an eye out for her. The merchant captain then bent over to retrieve her rifle, then jogged back to join her attack group, as they made progress into the settlement.

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Korsa and her squad, likewise faced a similar battle, albeit on a larger scale. At least two hundred warriors had initially rushed their position, hoping to overwhelm them with sheer numbers. Once they were close enough, Korsa had them open fire on the charging warriors. The first volley had cut down easily fifty, which gave the warriors behind them pause as to whether they should continue.

Issuing her own battle cry, Korsa led a counter-charge against the Yahk'shurt warriors, cutting down another fifty via the second volley and her blades. Once they had locked into combat with them, half of what was left, fled back to the safety of the settlement, hoping the homes and their compatriots would give this tide of attackers a second thought about coming in after them.

Korsa, then heard the approach of something massive and waved her arm for the advance to wait. The Hermes then flew past them, opening fire on the men that were trying to shield themselves with the homes. The repeater cannons punched through the meager defenses they had, finding and killing many of the Yahk'shurt men.

Korsa couldn't believe her eyes! The crew from the Perseus had arrived and were providing them with a much-needed edge in this fight! She clomped her helmet back on after Lumina had tossed it to her and kept the audio amplifiers on. She raised her blades in a loud war cry, calling for the women to charge.

They flew past the charred corpses of their enemies, pressing deeper into the settlement, their guns giving them an unprecedented advantage. They were only halfway through when the aliens had run out of bullets and used the guns as rudimentary clubs. Korsa was right there, as the vanguard, leading the fight against the Yahk'shurt.

She could see a small, but well-armed group holding their ground on a small hill, near the center of the settlement. Korsa wondered if that group was Valessa's group of chiefs and guards. She couldn't tell, as it was too far to see, but she figured that was the likely place. The Yahk'shurt were doing everything they could to keep her and her group from getting anywhere near that area.

Though the Ahl'kanin had been warned, there were just too few in the village at this point to mount an effective defense. Too many were cut down in the Yahk'shurt's initial attack and those who had survived were fighting valiantly. A trio of warriors charged from a house on her left, thinking to take her from the flank.

She whipped her swords in an upward motion, catching one in the head. As he fell, the other two rolled to the right. They sprang forwards, hoping to run her through, but her blades on the right quickly intercepted their charge. She skewered one of them, with her right blades, while her left one, came from both above and below, catching her last assailant in a neat pincer.

He sputtered as he died, sliding off of Korsa's weapons, purple blood staining the once pristine ice. Surveying the battle, she had to conclude that though they had planned well, there were just too few to effectively break through the Yahk'shurt's lines. A massive sonic boom sounded in the air, causing many of those fighting to pause at the sound.

A loud roar sounded though the air, before several lights pushed through the darkness and firelight of the village. Snow swept upwards in large drafts as the Hermes class dropship had come into fight. It hovered at nearly twenty-five feet above the ground, repeater cannons blazing, cutting huge swaths through the Yahk'shurt's defensive lines.

A mechanical whirring sounded, before three figures dropped out of the ship, two of them coming to a light touchdown right behind Korsa. The third, fell to the ground with a massive crash, shaking the immediate area around him. He then brought a massive, heavy machine gun to bear, cutting down any that stood against him.

The other two figures, right behind Korsa, had moved as well, the larger one moving to reinforce the massive armored figure in front of her. The third one nearly tackled the Khontaran woman, until Korsa realized it was a hug.

"Nats?" she wondered incredulously. Tapping the side of her helmet, the visor cleared and Korsa could see the smiling and crying face of Natalya Vostrikov.

"I wasn't going to leave you down here mama!" she shouted through her suit speaker while wrapping Korsa in another hug. Returning the hug, Korsa cried a little herself, as she couldn't believe that Nats was actually here! Taking a moment, she stepped away and pointed to the other two figures, who were currently scattering what barricades the Yahk'shurt had erected in their bid to stop their advance.

"Are those...?"

"Alex and Kasumi. They insisted that every able bodied soldier was needed to win this fight. Seems like they were right," Natalya said as she drew her weapon and picked off stragglers and small clusters of warriors, trying to stop the Ahl'kanin advance.

"We need Kasumi over there," Korsa pointed to a large group of women that were being pushed back by a larger group of men. They were doing what they could, but seemed like the males were trying to pick them apart, one by one and it was working. Several women lay dead and their numbers were thinning.

Natalya saw this and agreed, relaying the order to Kas. Kasumi turned her head, spotting the beleaguered women and rushed over to help. Natalya activated her jet pack, flying through the air briefly, before landing on the roof of a nearby dwelling. She fired into the cluster of men, drawing their attention from the woman they were harassing.

Other Ahl'kanin men had joined in with the group of women and had pushed back against the Yahk'shurt warriors. Kasumi had arrived just as some of the enemy clan were throwing what they could to stop Nats from dropping them. It wasn't her they needed to worry about, but Kasumi, as she drew her shotgun and flicked the setting to full auto. In seconds, another ten of their warriors lie dead, each one with a large gaping hole in their chest.

Korsa had run up to take Kas' place alongside Alex, swinging her blade in large, arcing moves, driving the enemy back. Alex kept firing his gun, each round biting into Yahk'shurt flesh. Another woman joined the fray, doing what she could to help both Alex and Korsa, fighting as though she was possessed. Alex couldn't help but admire both her physical form and her ferocity.

"Who is that?" Alex wondered, as the alien woman continued to fight, locking blades with two Yahk'shurt warriors.

"That's Luminia, the chieftaness' daughter. Her mother, Valessa, is the one who leads their clan and has unified the others against these sadistic bastards," Korsa stated through gritted teeth as she engaged three other warriors herself.

"I'm guessing that's them, up there, on that hill?"

"Yes! If she falls, Dahr'khash will rule us all. He is a.... monster. If he wins.... all Ahl'kanin be little more, than slaves," Luminia responded haltingly, as she continued to keep her attackers at bay. Dancing around them with nimble steps kept her ahead, but even Alex could tell that she was tiring.

Despite the flurry of rounds that Stormbreaker kept churning out, there were still far too many ahead of them. They seemed to catch on to the fact that they had to keep them away from the chieftaness and her group. Alex hurriedly unloaded every round in the magazine, into the defending aliens, until he heard the clicking of the firing pins.

"Korsa, hold them at bay for a moment," Alex said as he turned around and moved away from the battle as quickly as he could.

"Hold them back?!? Where the fuck are you going??" the red-skinned woman screeched.

"Trust me!"

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Alex had indeed walked away from the fight, but he wasn't giving up. He spoke into his suit comlink, issuing orders.

"Talon, get up and circle the village. Look for any holdouts or stragglers and take them down! I'll call you down if we need an extraction!"

"How will I know which ones to attack sir?" Taal'ani questioned.

Alex took a moment to survey the battle about him, until he noticed the difference of dress between the Ahl'kanin and the Yahk'shurt.

"Gun down the ones with dark pelts or leathers on their shoulders. Avoid the ones wearing anything that's white or grey!" he shouted into the comms, over the din of combat.

"Understood sir!"

Killing the line, the big man continued moving along as the mechanical legs expanded outwards, lengthening his stride. Alex activated the hydraulic servos built into the leg joints of his armor, expanding his range of motion and more importantly, his speed. He was maybe fifty meters away when her turned around and charged.

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Korsa was doing all that she could to keep the advancing warriors at bay, forgoing proper form and slashing about wildly to keep them back.

"MOVE!"

Hearing the brazen command, she stepped away from the throng of warriors. They moved forward, thinking the massive woman had turned tail and run like a coward. Instead, they faced the rampaging captain, rushing forward to meet them. The warriors halted, thinking he would slow down to engage them. Only he didn't and at the last second, did they understand what was happening and by then, it was too late for them.

Alexander Tomisic smashed right into the tight-knit group of men, breaking apart their formation as though there were made of plastic. Yahk'shurt men went flying away from the impact of the battle suit. Those who didn't get out of the way, were trampled beneath the solid titanium boots of the Phalanx armor.

Korsa was stunned at what the captain had done, but then caught on almost instantly and charged in behind him, Thuun'tara blades whirling. Those who avoided Alex's charge, soon met with a swift death at on the edge of Korsa's blades. Luminia hurried along in Korsa's wake, also taking the time to lash out at any interlopers.

Alex's momentum had carried him past most of the enemy warriors, but there was still a sizable wall of them in the way. Korsa chanced a look atop the hill; a good deal of Ahl'kanin had fallen. The chiefs and their honor guard were still alive, though some of them lay dead, defending their leaders. A massive specimen of the Yahk'shurt was currently taking apart the honor guard, one at a time. It was a slow process, but it was one that was working, as too many good men and women lay still, their lifeblood freezing on the snow.

"We need to get up there!" Lumi shouted.

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Alex's head snapped towards their direction as his charge came to a halt, crashing into the wall, breaking the resolve of the hardened men. With his magazine empty, he didn't dare draw his machine gun. With so many Ahl'kanin around, he didn't want to chance hitting them. He pulled his battle axe from his back, brandishing it like a madman, before he flicked a hidden switch, unleashing its hidden surprise.

Flames leapt from the blades, bathing the weapon in a fiery embrace which dazzled both sides. Seconds later, the human captain put it to good use, cutting a massive swath in front of him, killing any that were foolish enough to stand too close. Those that escaped its blade, were soon wreathed in flame, as the jets continued to spew the superheated fuel, dousing them heavily.

Pandemonium erupted as the massive weapon continued to reap alien lives, felling them as though they were straw dolls. With that, a gap opened in their defenses, which Alex leapt into, and continued to swing his axe, forcing the gap to widen.

"Go! You can still get up there in time! I'll hold them off! Luminia, stay with me! Don't go up there!" the big man commanded. Lumi's first impulse was to disobey his orders, but then she got a good look at how the battle was transpiring. She could help her mother and the rest of the chiefs, but could likely end up dead beneath Dahr'khash's blades. So, she stayed put and helped Alex in breaking the blockade.

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Tuulshan and his hunters had moved forward and through the settlement once the attack on the Yahk'shurt had commenced. Already, they had made great progress in cutting though many of their warriors and were still bringing along any survivors they had found. His squad had linked up with a group of women who were being led by what he assumed, was another woman. Though she wore strange armor, it was shaped as a woman's body should be and they all carried those strange weapons.

Whenever they pointed them at something, it would either explode or be felled, as though a knife was plunged into their hearts. They continued moving amongst the various homes and dwellings of their village, picking up more fighters along the way. Eventually, they came to an area that was wreathed in the purple blood of their enemies.

Another strangely dressed woman dropped right out of the sky and conversed with another armored one in their alien tongue. The gestures and inflections of their voices showed that there was trouble, but of what kind, he did not know. He paid attention to them as they were leading the attack against the hated Yahk'shurt. Tuulshan could only hope that all hope was not lost.

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"They did what?!?" Inari blurted out, not believing what she was being told.

"I shit you not Cap! Alex just went tearing through those assholes like they were made of paper! I thought I heard Luminia say something about her mom being up there," she pointed to the small hill, near the center of the village. "Mere seconds after that, Alex went charging in, creating a path for them to walk through."

"Shit! We need to get up there now! If Valessa and the other chiefs die, it's game over! Let's move!" the dusky-skinned merchant captain shouted. Gesturing for the natives to follow her, she tore off after their compatriots, with Kas, Nats and nearly three hundred Ahl'kanin behind them.

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Korsa had managed to fly up the hill, her long legs allowing her to close in to her target. There were several fights happening in front of her and in one fight, one of the honor guard was losing badly. The woman had squared off against a Yahk'shurt warrior, but had underestimated his skills.

He was dressed in furs and leather that was finer than what most of his clan mates wore. His weapons, were also different, as they were made from some kind of metal that looked as though it was torn off of a bulkhead. The man was tall, dwarfing her by a good six inches, which he put to devastating effect. He parried each of her attacks as though he was merely toying with her.

As Korsa raced towards the pair, she saw that he was wearing metal vambraces; her metal vambraces. Anger dropped on the Khontaran woman like a torrent of rain, as she cried out in a rage, charging at the insolent whelp who had dared to take what was rightfully hers!

He looked up for the briefest of moments, eyes widening, then a slow smile spread across his face. Almost contemptuously, he knocked aside the honor guard and turned to meet this new threat. Although she had more arms and blades, he believed that it would be easy to overpower her, thinking her blades would get tangled up.

Though hatred coursed through her like acid in her blood, Korsa had reined it in and channeled it, using the emotion how she wanted. Focusing her mind, she stepped into the sword forms she knew well, starting with a Whirlwind Strike, forcing him to step back. From there, she flowed into various others, putting the young man on the defensive.