Resistance: Chimeran Allies Ch. 07

"I'm not really sure what to do now." The Type-2 looked at the ruins of the tower that had been her home for her entire life, and a lot of the other Chimera were feeling the same way.

The explosives had done their job. The reactor had been completely destroyed, the meltdown chain reacted to every other tower in the network. All the other towers were destroyed, taking the Angels and their defenders with them.

The army that had been attacking them lost their Angels, leaving them vulnerable to capture, and the two rogue Angels swiftly took advantage of it, taking control of all that had not been killed in the tower explosions.

The two Angels now had control of around 35 thousand Chimera, and currently, they did not know what to do. There was nowhere for them to go.

"Come on, let's keep searching." X-Ray 4 walked into the open doorway of a small house, calling out. "Is anyone in here?" There was no response. The Hybrid walked in after him, looking around at some toys scattered on the floor.

There was little combat left. Every now and then a gunshot would be heard, usually when a Leaper had been found, but thankfully most of the feral creatures had gone away into forests and other places away from civilization.

The Angels had no control over those creatures. Leapers, Crawlers, and Howlers were still a threat that people had to be mindful of, luckily, Crawlers didn't survive for long before they molted into Leapers, and the Howlers could be dealt with easily enough now that they weren't supported by suppressing fire.

X-Ray 4 had no contact with Command anymore, not since his radio had been torn apart, so he had been aiding the British in searching for survivors, along with the Rangers. They had found quite a few so far, and thankfully the Hybrids stayed well clear of the survivors, who would likely never get used to seeing a Hybrid not attacking them on sight.

There was a rug on the floor of the room, and he pulled it away, revealing a trap door underneath. He pulled it open, stepping down, pulling a flashlight out of a pocket. He looked behind him, gesturing for the Type-2 to stay up there.

He went down the steps to the basement, calling out again, receiving no response. He shined the light around the room, revealing several items on shelves caked with dust and cobwebs. He walked towards a cabinet, looking at some old pictures, jumping when he heard creeking behind him.

He whirled around, relaxing when he saw it was the Hybrid. "Thought I told you to stay up there. You nearly lost your head with the last survivor you tried to help, don't want you getting killed." She had been eager to aid in the rescue process, perhaps trying to make up for all the wrongs that had been done.

It was a dangerous strategy though. Many of the survivors were armed, and the Hybrid had come way too close to getting shot, X-Ray 4 actually having to stand between her and a terrified civilian a time or two.

She ignored his comment, instead pointing her finger, nodding to a dark corner of the room, the Hybrid gesturing for him to walk over. He sighed, hoping this survivor wasn't armed. Despite all the near misses, the Hybrids were proving very adept at finding survivors that were still too terrified to reveal themselves.

He had found out that the sensor device the Type-2 had mounted to her head was capable of seeing in several different waves of light, there was no hiding from her. She could see a person hiding in the corner of the room, and she pointed them out to X-Ray 4.

He turned around, gesturing for the Type-2 to go back up the stairs, and he heard her let a grumble out before she left.

"It's ok, she's friendly." He walked to the place the Hybrid had gestured to, his light illuminating a dresser, and behind it was a young woman, her dark hair matted, a shotgun clutched in her hands, the weapon pointed directly at him.

He stopped where he was, slowly stooping down. "Whoa. Hey there, it's ok, it's safe here. There's nothing to be afraid of. Here." He raised his flashlight up, letting her get a look at it, then he lightly threw it, the item rolling on the ground towards her.

She picked up the light, turning it towards the soldier. "Who are you? Are you an American? I don't recognize that kind of uniform."

He raised his hands up to his helmet, pulling it off and setting it down. "I am. I'm part of a special division of the U.S. military. There's other American soldiers outside too. The fighting's over, we won."

"Why was there a Hybrid next to you?"

He pursed his lips, thinking for a second before responding. "It's a... long story, but they're not a threat anymore. None of them will harm you, that one up there has actually saved my life several times. They saved a lot of lives today."

She stood there for a few seconds, and then he saw her shift, slowly coming out from behind the dresser.

The soldier smiled, standing up, grabbing his helmet. "Come on, let's get you out of here. What's your name?" He started walking towards the stairs, stopping when he saw the girl was still wary of going up.

"I'm... Angela... Angela Cartwright."

His eyes grew wide as he heard that. "Cartwright? Royal Marine Commando, a lieutenant?" He watched her nod, and he took in a breath, a smile forming on his face. He gestured for her to come forward. "There's someone who will be very glad to see you, come on."

Her face had been shrouded in the pain and misery she had been subjected to for months, but he could swear he saw all of it bleed away as he said that, and she dropped her shotgun, racing past him up the stairs, though she stopped short when she saw the Type-2 looking down at her.

The Hybrid stepped away out of view and the girl continued up the ladder, X-Ray 4 following, seeing the Type-2 had moved away towards the center of the room, away from the doorway.

Angela stood at the doorway, looking at X-Ray 4 and the Type-2, walking out when X-Ray 4 walked towards her. They walked out onto the street, Angela looking around in awe at the countless soldiers walking about.

Most of them were American Rangers, but there were some British, and X-Ray 4 quickly made his way over to one, asking him to radio Lieutenant Cartwright.

It was a few minutes, but eventually they came around a corner, X-Ray 4 seeing Lieutenant Cartwright, along with Captain Parker, the highest ranking officer still alive in British Command, and Sergeant Nathan Hale.

Angela had been looking away down the other end of the street, watching a Titan push some knocked out cars away, but she turned around when she heard X-Ray 4 call for the Lieutenant. He looked at them, confused, and his eyes settled on Angela. X-Ray 4 saw his eyes narrow, but then they grew wide.

His rifle slipped from his hands, his arms falling to his side, and then a massive smile came onto his face. "Angela?!?"

He ran over, several soldiers and Hybrids moving aside in alarm as he covered the short distance to them, scooping up what X-Ray 4 now knew for sure was the Lieutenant's daughter.

The Royal Marine Commando had been through hell and back, but everything he had been through had instantly melted off of his face, instead replaced by the warmest smile that X-Ray 4 had ever seen in his life.

He looked up to the nearby roof of a building, where the two Angels had gone to sit and relax, seeing that they were peeking their heads over the ledge of the roof, silently watching the moment.

Sergeant Hale and Captain Parker soon came over, Hale holding Cartwright's rifle in his hands.

Captain Parker stooped down. "Hello there. Cartwright's talked about you a lot, it's nice to finally meet you. You must be starving, here." She pulled out a ration pack, handing it to her.

"God, I wasn't sure if I'd ever see you again." Cartwright looked up to X-Ray 4 and the Type-2. "Where was she?"

X-Ray 4 pointed to the little house they had come from. "Thank the Type-2 for that, pointed her right out to me."

The Hybrid was watching the encounter with intense curiosity, X-Ray 4 wondering what she was thinking.

They spoke, talking about what each of them had been through, and X-Ray 4 decided to excuse himself, walking away from them.

He walked up to a building, leaning against it, looking over at Cartwright and the rest of them before his attention turned to the Hybrid.

"So, does your Angel have any idea about what's going to happen in the future?"

The Hybrid placed herself next to him, leaning her shoulder up against the wall. "Well, we've lost our tower, it made a lot of things we need to survive. We weren't planning to lose our tower, and all the other ones are destroyed too."

She looked away from him, gazing at the countless soldiers walking about, a few Hybrids also walking nearby.

"And... how long are you able to survive without the tower?"

She didn't look at him, instead turning her head to look at the heat stacks on her back. "Until that pack runs out of coolant."

X-Ray 4 turned to look at the heat stacks, seeing that they were about a quarter empty.

"Their main function is to regulate our temperature, but they do a lot more than that. They keep our metabolism in check, without that pack we'll rapidly overheat, and we won't stop growing either."

She turned her head back towards him, X-Ray noticing how her voice was low.

"We control the outflow of it too. When we're in cold climates we don't need to use the pack as much, but in a hot environment we could use it a lot. If we stay in this area, and if it stays as cold as it has been, the pack will last for a year."

She heard someone walking up behind her, turning around to look, not seeing the shocked expression on the soldier in front of her.

It was Captain Parker. "I heard some of your conversation, I was actually discussing your situation with Hale and Cartwright earlier. So, you only have one year left to live?"

The Hybrid turned her full attention to Parker, and looking up, X-Ray 4 could see that even the Angels were looking at them.

"If I stay here and the climate doesn't change my cooling pack will last a year. Mine is still mostly full, but some Hybrids don't have as much left. The bigger Chimera such as the Titans or the Queens won't last as long either."

Sergeant Hale stood nearby too, though he seemed to just be listening. Cartwright was gone now, likely taking his daughter to a survivors camp where many other rescued civilians had been sent.

"There's one tower that hasn't been destroyed. The one in Nottingham. We captured it before the Chimera finished excavating it, do you think it can be dug up before your forces lose that coolant?"

The Hybrid didn't know how to react, turning to look at the Angel, which was now bringing herself down off the roof.

She looked at the Angel for a few seconds before turning back to Parker. "She thinks it can be done before any Chimera run out of coolant. Each tower is capable of operating independently, once it is running we can start crafting weapons and armor to give your soldiers an edge."

Parker thought for a moment, then nodded. "Good, that will help us a lot. I trust you aren't planning to activate any conversion processes in there?"

The Hybrid did not hesitate before answering. "Not a single human will be converted or harmed by any Hybrid under the Queen's control, you have our word. If you wish for further assurance though, we will be glad to host some of your soldiers and scientists to see that the conversion machinery is destroyed."

Parker nodded. "We'll be glad to learn more about the inner workings of the tower. I'll let my forces know about what's going on, and we can provide assistance to you if needed."

"Are you able to get us transportation there? We've unfortunately lost all of our drop ships in the tower explosion."

Parker nodded again. "We should be able to do that."

xxxxxxx

It had been a busy week. The Chimera had wasted no time getting the excavation equipment up and running. There were a few drop ships that they discovered hadn't been destroyed, which sped up the process a good amount.

X-Ray 4 wasn't there to see any of it though, same for multiple other Hybrids, and the Angel.

Command had recovered X-Ray 4 and Sergeant Hale soon after the tower had been destroyed, the Angel and several other Hybrids had been asked to come with too, and they had come without any protest. The other Angel that had joined their cause had been left in charge of the Hybrids in Britain, X-Ray 4 thought that wasn't a good idea, but the Type-2 trusted her Angel.

Among the group that had been sent away were some of the Hybrids that X-Ray 4 had become very familiar with, the Type-2, the Hardfang, and the Slipskull that had helped save him in the tower. They had all been sent to a base in San Francisco, just one of many bases that SRPA called home, the military organization that X-Ray 4 was part of.

This branch had the leading experts on Chimera in it, and they were eager to get their first looks at a willing Chimera.

They were in the base now, the massive installation extending deep down into the water, the shell making creeks and groans as it held back the insane amount of water pressure.

X-Ray 4 walked down a metal hallway, several other Hybrids flanking him. All of them were escorted by a few special ops soldiers armed with Carbines, but he paid them no mind. They led them to a hallway that housed several sleeping quarters, the soldier leading them to their assigned rooms.

X-Ray 4 walked into his, the Type-2 following him. He looked behind, watching the Slipskull get directed into the adjacent room, seeing that the Hardfang followed him in there. There were several other Hybrids that walked by, each going into their own rooms.

The Angel had brought just a small amount of Hybrids with, just a few hundred, the remaining force was still in Britain, rebuilding their tower, and aiding the forces there in whatever way they could.

Combat was over now, at least for the time being, and the allied forces were going to take advantage of it as much as they could.

He closed the door, then looked over to a bunk on the right of the room, sighing when he saw a neatly folded uniform and helmet lying on it. He made his way over, picking up the garment, comparing it to his own which had several bullet holes in it.

"What is this?"

The Type-2 was holding up a uniform which was also lying on her bed, and she was looking it over with suspicion.

"Command had some uniforms made, they prefer you to walk around with some clothing on."

It was similar to the uniform he wore, although hers was a bit darker in color. She grumbled, looking over the other items in her bunk. "I'm supposed to be able to move fast, this doesn't help me."

"Come on. Hey, you don't need to wear it in here, they just want you looking a bit more presentable out in public. We've got a debriefing in just a few minutes, they'd prefer you to be clothed, let's get this on."

The Hybrid grumbled some more, but she relented, grabbing the clothing. The pants were easy enough, she slipped them on with no problem. Next were a pair of socks, X-Ray 4 noting that these ones seemed to have extra padding, probably to keep her toes from shredding them apart. She slipped them on, and then stared at the boots, shooting a glance at the soldier.

"Don't tell me you actually like worrying about stepping on whatever crap is on the ground."

She sighed, grabbing the boots, sliding them over her feet, though she did nothing further.

"Hmm, guess you wouldn't have any reason to know how to do some of this stuff." X-Ray 4 had gotten the top of his vest and uniform off, but he went over to the Hybrid when he saw she didn't know what else to do with the boots.

The Hybrid sat down on the bunk, X-Ray 4 crouching down on his knees, grabbing one of her legs. "Ok, first, we're gonna tuck the pants into the boots here, then we tie it up with these laces here." He did one of her boots, leaning back, waiting for her to do the other one. He noted how the boots were wider than typical, to account for the splayed toes that most Hybrids had.

She leaned down, working on her other leg, though he noticed that her eyes were looking all over his chest. "A shame they want to do the debriefing now, you have no idea how much I want to continue where we left off." She finished tying her other boot up, the human impressed at how fast she'd caught on to it.

"I can only imagine. It'll have to wait though, we'll be busy for awhile I think." He picked up the jacket which was lying next to her. "I think you might need help with these last two items." He stood up, and the Hybrid followed.

He looked over the jacket, seeing four holes in the back that had been cut out, in the exact spots where her heatstacks would be. The Hybrid turned around at his request, and he opened the jacket wide, deeming that getting the heatstacks in first would be best.

He got them through, and the Hybrid was able to get the rest of the item on with no problem at all.

"Ok, last bit." The last item was a kevlar vest, also with holes cut out in the back for the heatstacks. Sadly the back couldn't have a ballistic plate due to her physiology, but the front side of the vest did have a spot for a plate, though there was none around right now.

He moved in front of the Hybrid, offering her the vest, the Chimera taking it and lifting it above her head, getting it down as much as she could, but it got stuck on her heatstacks, the Hybrid awkwardly shifting as she was blinded by the item.

X-Ray 4 chuckled, shifting behind her, weaseling the vest around until the heatstacks finally got through the cutouts. "There we go." He tightened up the vest, getting it snug to her body, directing her to tuck the jacket into her pants.

Last was a radio, gloves, and a belt with various pouches, the Hybrid quickly putting them on. He noted again how the gloves seemed to be a bit thicker than normal, also likely to keep her claws from tearing them apart every time she put them on.

X-Ray 4 walked back over to his bunk, stripping down to his underwear, deliberately turning away from the Hybrid who was for sure looking at him. He smiled as he heard a huff come from the Hybrid. He got his uniform on much faster than the Hybrid, a trivial task for him, turning around to face the Hybrid.

"Ok, let's go, the Major is waiting for us." They walked towards the door, opening it and stepping back out, the same group of soldiers from before waiting for them.

They wordlessly made their way through the place, the massive building a maze that would take forever to memorize, though he suspected they might be here for awhile.

After walking for several minutes, and taking a few elevators, they made their way into a control room bustling with activity, a man turning around to greet them.

X-Ray 4 saluted, but the man coming towards them simply waved a hand, and X-Ray 4 lowered his hand, his posture relaxing.

"Good to finally meet you, Corporal Raymond Kelly, isn't it? You caused quite a stir when you radioed in saying these guys were friendly. Sorry about your squad." He turned to the Type-2. "You're the one that's been handling most of the communication, right?"

The Hybrid nodded.

"Good. I'm Major Richard Blake, director of Advanced Tactical Ops, and commanding officer of the Sentinels, which is where Sergeant Hale has gone to. I've been told he agreed to let the Angels take control of him?"

The Type-2 hurriedly shook her head. "Well... It's a bit hard to explain, but he's not being controlled by the Queen. Every single one of us can do whatever we want, all she is doing for him is keeping the Chimeran virus from mutating him further."

Major Blake stood for a moment, considering what she said. "We'll have to look into it more. We have scientists studying him and the Angel right now, trying to figure out everything we can. We've also sent scientists to the tower in Nottingham, we want to find out everything we can once it is operational."