Swim's Shorts: The Tragedy of Unit 6

[Swim]

Alright it's been a little over a week, nobody nagged me about posting another Short but that's okay, you all are my fail-safe for when my discipline/motivation run out and I'm still going strong. Here is my follow up to Training Exercise. While this next piece skips ahead and is not a direct sequel I do recommend reading these short stories in order. Although my intention is that each stand on their own, if you care about world building and the larger story it would be better to read them in the order that I post. This Short will be a two parter. As always leave comments and critique in the reply section, enjoy.

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The Tragedy of Unit 6 (Part 1)


Sub had been in his armory performing routine cleaning and maintenance on his weapons when it started. There was a loud crash and even from inside his building Sub could hear the screams of people in the street. Moments later a round of explosions followed, Chip rushed into the armory to brief him on the situation but he already knew it was a maverick attack. Sub activated his armor and gave the call to mobilize his team, many of them were not at the headquarters but he knew they'd need every one of them. Mavericks didn't usually attack this close to home.

For as long as he had been active Sub had hated the reactive nature of their job, but mavericks could attack any place at any time, and they could be anyone. There was virtually no way to detect them until the shots began to fire, the only thing hunters and mercenaries could do was get to the site as fast as they could. And by that time the mavericks might have already come and gone, or worse, started the initial attack to draw the good guys away from the real target site and hit there. It was a scary world to be a human in, when reploids were walking weapons and could teleport around the world in seconds. And it was frustrating for Sub to chase the mavericks around in circles, even though most of the time the mavericks didn't want to fight. Just a quick slaughter, a little mayhem and they would be gone by the time anyone that could stand up to them had arrived. But that would not be the case today. Today they were attacking his city, and the city where MHHQ was located. The mavericks were calling them out, which meant that something big was going down.

Ganye rushed in and began strapping on his armor with Zigs hot on his heels. That just left Whauler and Lunchbox unaccounted for. Chip began to brief those present as they strapped on their armor. Even though the attack had begun only minutes ago she had access to live camera feeds all over the city and was able to piece the details together.

"It started at the construction site a couple blocks over," she began. "The mechanaloid builders over there just went crazy, demolishing the structure and attacking the workers before spreading out into the street. That appears to be the origination point of the attack. Since then there have been reports of mechanaloids going berserk all over the city, we can surmise that a sample of the maverick virus has been introduced and is spreading fast. The maverick hunters are setting up a quarantine of the 15 block radius around the construction site to keep the virus from spreading. So far there are no reports of any reploids succumbing to the virus strain, but it seems to have a nearly perfect success rate in the corruption of mechanaloids."

"So if it's not sentient we can assume it wants to kill us," Ganye said in summation.

"Just the same I want you to stay in the back Chip and watch everyone's vitals," Sub ordered. "If you notice the virus start to take hold on anyone's systems you initiate remote shutdown and move to Containment Protocol Alpha. I'm not losing anyone to this."

"Do we have visual on a target?" Zigs inquired. It was an important question, someone had unleashed the virus and it was important that they bring him down.

"No target at this time," Chip answered, "I'll notify everyone if I notice any suspicious characters on the video feeds."

"We have enough to go on," Sub said, calling on everyone to focus. "Until Chip finds us a maverick I want everyone to spread out, assist residents in making it to the edge of the quarantine zone and destroy any rampaging mechanaloids you come across. We've wasted enough time, let's move!"

The team dispersed in different directions, Sub headed in the direction of the construction site where the fighting would be thickest. He doubted the maverick would have stuck around, Chip and the hungers had both been quick to pinpoint the initial infection point, but maybe he could find a clue. Most of the humans had already fled the area but there were still quite a few running away as he ran in. A truck horn blared at the end of the street, it was a mechanaloid vehicle, a so called 'smart car' used for automated waste management. Most vehicles now were automated, although it looked like most of them had already crashed into buildings, fire hydrants or other cars. This garbage truck was not without its share of scrapes, it looked like the front had already been knocked in, but none of that mattered when it was still mobile and looking to run down civilians. Sub grabbed a grenade from his belt and hurled it toward the wheel on the driver's side, causing the truck to swerve and divert from its path. Then drawing his katana he dove into a roll over to the passenger side and sliced the wheels as the truck passed by, causing it to swerve, tip and crash in the street. The truck was still operational, but could do nothing more now but spin its wheels angrily.

The construction yard was just ahead, Sub ignored the tape and the caution signs and let himself in. The building that had been going up for the last few months was now almost completely demolished, and it would only be the first of many if the rogue mechanaloids weren't stopped. As far as he could tell there were no hostiles still remaining at the construction site, and he was disappointed that there was no delivery device to be found. A whine of engines could be heard above, Sub looked up to see his brother Jet descend next to him.

"Looks like we had the same idea," Sub said in greeting. "No sign of the maverick who did it though, or the transmission device."

"Intel places the outbreak here though," Jet said, a little uncertain. "There's got to be something we're missing." He looked carefully around the site looking for anything out of place, which there was quite a bit of. Eventually he zeroed in on the rubble that had been the building. Now it was a pile of broken concrete, wood debris and steel girders. "How much do you want to bet we find the needle in the center of that haystack?"

Sub looked at the ruined building in dismay. "You're probably right, it's a good way for them to cover their tracks. And it's not worth it for the two of us to sift through the rubble looking for a needle or a canister right now, that could take us hours."

"And meanwhile there are people to help," Jet agreed. "It can wait until we've dealt with the immediate threat, Hunter HQ will send a cleanup crew to comb through this area after we're done, they'll be more efficient than the two of us digging."

"Boss I'm reading enemy activity in your area." It was Chip on the comm. "Not mechanaloids, maverick ground troops. I've got Lunchbox and Whauler suited up and ready to go now, I'll send them your way."

"Negative," Sub replied. "I've got Jet assisting me here, I want our team spread out elsewhere helping to evacuate citizens and dismantling rogue mechanaloids."

"Roger that," Chip confirmed. "I'll let you know if they spread elsewhere, but right now they're funneling straight toward you, happy hunting."

"Funneled straight at us," Jet echoed to Sub. "Makes you think there's something here they don't want us to find."

"I just hope there's no more to it than that," Sub replied, drawing his katana. "I still don't see the logic in this attack. It screams mindless massacre but I can smell a plan here under the surface, I just don't know what it is yet."

"Well mull it over for a couple of minutes," Jet replied as the first wave of mavericks came into view. He ignited his sabers and spun them around to limber himself up. "You can let me know if you come up with anything."

"Looks like there are quite a few of these guys," Sub said, attention now focused on the maverick ground troops. He handed Jet a cluster of grenades. "Help me break them up a little bit."

Sub pulled the first pin and cooked the grenade for a few seconds before heaving it toward the mavericks, Jet followed up with a second grenade a moment later. The pair of them alternated throws until they had each pitched six grenades, by that time the lucky survivors were upon them. Sub rushed forward to close the distance before the first maverick was ready, he feinted a high strike but swept his katana low and sliced off the maverick's leg. He spun around the second maverick and cleaved him in two with a horizontal cut through the torso. The next maverick stepped up to meet Sub's first attack but wasn't quick enough to block the follow up slash that Sub made across the stomach and up through the shoulder.

Jet flew in front of him to take on the next maverick, simply drilling into him with both sabers extended and slamming him into the enemies behind his immediate foe. When he'd gathered up a few he switched his thrusters off, brought both sabers up high together and cleaved the entire group in half with an enormous blue saber. A handful of enemies remained, Jet locked sabers with the closest one, as the others rushed in Sub danced around their attacks and dropped them each in turn with a single bullet through their heads.

"That wasn't too difficult," Sub remarked as the last maverick fell apart at his feet. A second wave of mavericks appeared a moment later at the end of the street, charging in to attack.

"I think they heard you," Jet quipped, "You may have hurt their feelings."

"They're going to get a lot more than hurt feelings," Sub retorted. "Common, keep up."



Elsewhere Zigs had just finished rescuing a group of civilians from one of the construction mechanaloids. He drew his sword out of the machine's engine cavity and it deactivated with a hiss. Zigs turned back to the civies and pointed down the street toward the edge of the hunter quarantine. "Let's move on," he said.

Several of the children in the group cried out, a maverick had appeared in their path brandishing some sort of buster rifle. Zigs stepped in front of the group to shield them from harm. "Once I move in on him, lead the group to safety," he whispered to the nearest adult.

Zigs readied himself, normally he would attempt to dodge shots from a ranged attacker but that wouldn't work in this case as he acted as a shield for the civilians. He could activate his personal barrier as soon as the shot came, that ought to block out most of the damage. And once he got within striking range there would be no problem. The maverick prepared to fire his weapon, Zigs raised his sword to an offensive stance and charged.



"What the hell just happened?" Chip exclaimed. She'd been monitoring the team's vital signs and Zigs had just gone dark. There had been no warning, all of a sudden he was gone.

"Chip what's going on?" Sub demanded. There was an edge to his voice, she must've sounded a little shrill.

"Zigs has gone dark Sub, I'm not sure what happened. Ziggy this is Chip, do you read? Ziggy?" There was no response. "I'm teleporting over to him," Chip informed Sub.

"Hold on Chip, wait for backup," Sub protested. "Ganye and Whauler are close."

"There's no time to wait for backup," she pressured, "I can't detect any vitals as it is now, every second we wait increases the likelihood that we'll lose him."

Sub gritted his teeth, he didn't like the decision before him, but he didn't think his medic would listen even if he forbade her. "Go then, but be careful," he told her. "Lunchbox you lazy ass, I want eyes over there on the double, find a good position."

"I'm on my way," Lunchbox said, speaking into the comm. The sniper stood up and strapped his rifle to his back. He'd been lying prone on a rooftop and picking off targets from afar. Zigs' last known location was a couple of streets over. Lunchbox hefted up his cooler and dashed off the roof, burning his leg thrusters in order to reach the next building. He repeated this maneuver four more times to get where he needed to go.

"I want us all to meet up," Sub was saying to the team. "Drop what you're doing, let the Hunters handle any stragglers, we're going after this maverick ourselves."

"How is Zigs Chip?" Ganye asked. "Chip?" he repeated a little more urgently when she didn't respond.

"Lunchbox..." Sub began, the edge in his voice.

"I'm there," Lunchbox cried, vaulting over the roof and sliding into position. He raised his rifle to his eye and peered into the scope, and what he saw made his heart stop. "Chip is down Boss, she's right next to Zigs and they're both down."

"What?!" Ganye screamed.

"Where is the maverick Hedges, do you see him?" Sub asked Lunchbox with deadly seriousness.

"Negative. No sign of the perp," Lunchbox responded weakly. Alexis had been the only one of their gang of jerks he'd actually liked, and she was gone. Despair however quickly turned to rage. "I'm going to kill that mutha trucker," he snarled. "Right after I make him wish he were dead."

"Keep it in check guys, we all want to make him pay for this," Sub ordered. He needed to rein in his team. "The order to regroup still stands, I don't want any of us engaging this maverick until we're all present and we know what we're dealing with."

Jet nodded, understanding but not fully on board with the idea. Sub had just called his team together, yet he was asking Jet to leave him alone. "Here are the rendezvous coordinates," Sub said, uploading them to Jet's HUD. "Go take a look around and meet up with us there."

"I don't need to tell you not to do anything foolish..." Jet began.

"Then don't," Sub said simply. "It's me remember?"



As Jet flew over the city he allowed himself to open up to the pain he'd repressed, he'd known Zigs and Chip for a long time and they'd always been good to him. He'd been a de facto member of Sub's Mercenaries since before he'd joined the Maverick Hunters, his crew were the first family he'd known apart from his two brothers. He didn't want to believe that Zigs and Chip were really dead, down maybe, but no one had confirmed them killed in action yet.

Against his better judgment he considered flying down and examining their bodies for himself but he knew that it was probably a trap. Chip had made the mistake of rushing to Zigs' side and it had cost her, Jet knew Sub would never forgive him if he did something so stupid as to fly down alone. None of the other mercs were there yet, but Jet remembered Lunchbox was close enough to provide sniper cover.

"Hey Lunchbox," he called into the comm, "Are you still in position?" And there was no reply. A familiar chill crept up Jet's spine and he felt a sense of foreboding. He spun away from the attack site and flew in the direction of Lunchbox's last known position, and sure enough he found the sniper lying on the rooftop. But instead of being hunched over his rifle the mercenary was flat on his back, staring up at the sky with eyes that no longer saw anything.

"Dammit." Jet cursed, flying around the building to check for mavericks but he saw no one. He flew down next to Lunchbox and began to examine him. "Sub," he reported in, "I just checked in on Lunchbox, he's down too. I don't see any obvious wounds, no punctures or scorch marks. He looks drained of energy, couple be an EMP strike. I'm going to try giving him a jump now."

Sub was distraught to hear that another of his team had been lost, but he kept his composure and remembered his responsibility to the others. "Ganye, Whauler, sound off."

"Whauler here, I'm with Ganye. Both up and kicking."

"Good," Sub answered. "Now I'm coming to you, and I don't want any surprises when I get there. So maintain radio chatter, I want to know everything you're looking at."

"We're on the corner of 5th and Main St." Whauler reported. "Standing back to back, no action here right now. I have a smashed electronics store behind us and a bus rolled over in front of us."

"I can't jump him," Jet interrupted. He'd tried to shock Lunchbox back to consciousness but if the mercenary were still alive it was beyond his skill to heal.

"Thank you for trying Jet," Sub responded. "I don't think you can do any more good for him, best we can do is get the area secured so the medics can come in and look at them."

"They're gone," Ganye broke in bitterly, "There's no point in pretending otherwise."

"Excuse me, are you our medic?" Sub retorted. Ganye was his XO, he couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Chip never pronounced Zigs KIA, she just said his signal had gone dark. We don't begin mourning until we know for sure, until then we keep it together."

"I've got movement on my end of the street," Whauler said. "I think it's the maverick."
Ganye turned around to look at Whauler's target. "Well that isn't a hunter, that's for sure."

"Give me the specs," Sub demanded. "The armor make, the weapons you can see."

"He's carrying some kind of energy rifle and I see a beam saber on his hip," Whauler reported. "He's got grey armor, some blue power gems built into the arms and shoulders, a big red one on his forehead. His helmet covers up his face, there's just a slit for his eyes."

"I think I know that maverick," Jet said. That armor description sounded familiar to him, though he hoped he was mistaken. "You should wait to engage until Sub and I arrive."

"It's two on one, how dangerous is he?" Ganye questioned.

"Dangerous enough if he's taken down three of our squad," Sub countered. "Jet's right, disengage, wait until we get- ksssh."

Without warning the radio was flooded with static, Jet could no longer hear Sub or his mercs on the ground. He tried to contact HQ and other hunters in the area but those were static as well, all comms were being jammed. Jet dove downward to join up with his allies, he could see the battle taking place even though the standing order was to disengage. Jet supposed they might have been caught in a fighting retreat, though part of him thought that Ganye just wanted a fight. Usually he was pretty rational, and he'd never been known to ignore an order from Sub, but losing Chip had really cut him up deep inside.

Jet dove in, aiming to take the maverick's head off or at least slam him into the street but he was spotted. Faustus aimed his rifle skyward and squeezed off a blast of grey energy, forcing Jet to barrel roll away and abandon the strike. Whauler flew in, having been launched by Ganye, he was now tucked into a ball. There was a dull flash, and Jet knew that he had just increased his armor density by several times, hoping to slam into Faustus like a cannon ball. Faustus merely leveled his rifle, fired, and sidestepped out of the way. Jet wouldn't have expected the blast to do any damage against Whauler's hardened armor but he crashed into the street, flopped around like a rag-doll and lay still.

"NO!" Ganye shouted. He leveled his buster and squeezed off a shot, a small blue orb of energy. It struck Faustus, making him double over and freezing him once the paralysis kicked in. Ganye rushed forward, hammer raised high but at the last moment the stun bolt wore off and Faustus dashed backward, the hammer impacting only the pavement and leaving a crater. Jet rushed forward but it was too late, Faustus raised up his rifle again and shot Ganye at close range. The merc dropped where he stood.

Jet couldn't understand what sort of weapon this was that could seemingly take down any reploid regardless of shield or heavy armor. That sort of technology didn't exist as far as he knew, yet it was staring him straight in the face and it frightened him. He'd defeated Faustus before on more than one occasion but this new weapon far tipped the scales in the maverick's favor.

Jet backed away slowly, ready to dodge, to fly out of the way as Faustus stalked forward lining up his shot. Jet slowly began to ascend, hovering a couple of feet off the ground. From here not only could he dodge left or right, he could rocket straight up to avoid the shot. It was difficult to read Faustus' expression under his face mask but his eyes widened and a second later something slammed into Jet from behind, knocking him back down to the ground. He was caught in some sort of net, two of Faustus' minions appeared behind him carrying launchers. He struggled against the constriction but his bindings held fast.

Faustus walked up until he was about ten paces away. Jet was stuck, so either Faustus wasn't confident in his aim or he wanted to gloat. "I've waited a long time for this moment," he whispered, bringing his rifle up and pointing it directly at Jet, who struggled futilely against his bindings and could do nothing but watch.

Two shots rang out but they were not from Faustus' rifle. Instead the mavericks behind Jet fell over, a bullet through each of their heads. Sub came vaulting through the air, knocking Jet out of the way as Faustus fired and absorbed the shot himself. Jet looked on in horror as his brother collapsed in the street as Faustus laughed and laughed.

"Oh how noble," the maverick cried. "But ultimately a worthless gesture. This changes nothing, he's traded his life only to extend yours by a couple of seconds. And really, this makes my victory sweeter, the look on your face is one I'll savor forever."

Jet stared into Sub's lifeless eyes and embraced his own impending death where at least he'd be reunited with his brother in the afterlife. Only the end didn't come. Faustus pulled the trigger over and over but it just clicked and the rifle beeped.

"I don't believe this, the core is full already?" Faustus exclaimed. "I shouldn't have been so concerned with filling this thing, I shouldn't have bothered with hunter rabble and mercenary scum. But I couldn't be sure I'd get a shot at you today." The maverick unclipped his energy blades from his thighs and ignited their crimson beams. "But if you won't feed Lord Dagmor then I suppose you'll have to sate the hunger of my blades."

Faustus had wasted enough time talking, Jet was finally able to reach one of his own sabers. Once activated the blue energy quickly burned through the net and Jet scrambled to his feet. "You want my life? I'll fight you for it."

Faustus froze, conflicted, but he quickly made his decision. "There's really no point in staying any longer except to stroke egos. You would have been a nice bonus but I'd still call this a victory. I really should get back to my lab now, there's lots to do to get ready."

"Get ready for what?" Jet shouted at him in desperation.

Faustus smiled with his eyes and put his swords away. "You'll find out soon enough."

"Stand and fight me," Jet yelled, rushing forward but Faustus had warped away.



When the hunters finally secured the area and lifted the quarantine they found Jet sitting in the street cradling the body of his mercenary brother. The bodies of the other mercenaries, as well as several hunters were recovered, all in the same mysterious condition. Hunter medics and technicians tried everything they could think of, from energy infusions, core transplants, even linking into a secure server and trying to reach out to their consciousness via cyber space but none of their tests generated any results.

After a could of hours Hunter recovery teams provided the final piece of the puzzle. Jet and Sub had guessed correctly, the demolished building had been used to hide the transmission capsule for the virus which turned out to be a variation of the usual strain. After analyzing its residual content Hunter scientists determined that it affected base machines such as mechanaloids in the usual way, by driving them berserk. In more complex machines such as reploids it had quite a different effect, apparently being designed to attack their immune system and internal defenses in the way that a real virus could make humans susceptible to illness. The working theory was that the mavericks spread the virus around to enhance the effectiveness of Faustus' strange new weapon.


"He'd said something about the core being full," Jet said. He was in a small room back in MHHQ debriefing with Alia and Lifesaver. Signas could not be there but Jet was sure Alia would brief him on the important details later. They had just informed Jet about the significance of the virus and now they were trying to piece together the big picture.

"I had assumed the battery on his gun had died and that's why it didn't work, but instead he said that the core was full and that the reason he'd come was to fill it?" Alia repeated. She exchanged a look with Lifesaver. "Then he seems to be implying that the weapon was designed to take something from its victims whenever it kills, similar to how we Hunters absorb powers and abilities from defeated mavericks. Would you say that's the case Doctor?"

"Most reploids are designed with the ability to absorb powers and grow stronger, it doesn't make sense why the mavericks would need a new weapon to do that," Lifesaver replied slowly. "Nor does it explain the condition of the victims, they're metal husks, empty shells without a spark of life in them."

"That's it then," Jet said abruptly and rising to his feet.

"Eh? What's it?" Lifesaver asked looking confused.

"The spark of life," Jet repeated. "Most weapons are designed to give death, this one was made to take life."

"Is that even possible?" Alia asked. Lifesaver shook his head.

"It has to be," Jet insisted. "We know from the Nightmare incident that reploids have souls, or an essence that separates from the body upon death. What if this is a way of ripping them from the cores of operating reploids and harvesting them?"

"Impossible," scoffed Lifesaver. "The technology does not exist."

"We know Faustus has a first rate science team," Jet persisted, looking directly at Alia now. "You remember the monsters he created with the blood transfusions, and the cloning. They're actively making the impossible possible, and we're the test subjects."

"To what end?" Alia wanted to know.

"I don't know, Faustus didn't tell me everything," Jet admitted. "Though he did name drop Dagmor and say that if I wasn't going to feed him he'd settle for killing me with his sabers. I thought it was just threats and posturing but maybe there's something to that, maybe they've revived Dagmor or they're trying to bring him back."

"Extremely unlikely," Lifesaver started to say but he silenced himself after a glare from Jet.

"It is a lot to swallow Jet," Alia said.

"So we've gone from impossible to extremely unlikely within a couple of minutes while the mavericks are out there making it happen," Jet lashed out angrilly. "Your old friend Gate and his partner Isoc were able to use reploid souls to bring dead reploids back, why shouldn't Faustus be able to do the same? Yes I know that was before my time but I've read the old files, and technology has only gotten more advanced since then."

Perhaps he shouldn't have mentioned Gate, Jet could tell he'd made Alia uncomfortable. Lifesaver cleared his throat and took over. "Jet, suppose you are right. About all of this, everything you've just said. What are you suggesting?"

"Put all our resources on this, find Faustus and stop him."

"I'll stop you right there," Alia said finding her composure again. "Signas won't sanction putting forces on the ground until we know more about this weapon and that virus. Until we develop antibodies to counter it we could be walking hunters into a slaughter."

"So what are you suggesting?" Jet demanded. "That we do nothing?"

"I didn't say nothing, I just said no boots on the ground until we have more intel," Alia replied. "We'll do everything we can to locate him in the meantime. Is there anything either of you would like to add?" Neither Jet or Lifesaver said anything. "Alright, then you're both dismissed. I'll compile my report and have Signas review it when he returns."

Jet returned to his quarters. He supposed he should check in with his team but he didn't want to see anyone right now. Maybe Tank, but he'd been encapsulated and it wasn't worth waking him up for some emotional support.

He couldn't believe Sub was gone, in the blink of an eye he had been taken away and Jet hadn't even gotten to say goodbye. He'd lost allies before, even friends, but none of that had prepared him for the loss of a brother. This was something new. Jet couldn't even reconcile Sub's actions, he couldn't have known that Faustus only had one shot left. By rights he should have been killed a moment later, it was reckless and foolhardy and something only a family member would do for another. It was stupid and brash and extremely characteristic of Sub now that he thought about it. He'd left behind a gaping wound inside Jet that no one else could ever fill; he was going to miss him terribly.

A notification chimed on Jet's terminal, breaking into Jet's thoughts; someone had sent him a message. It was sent anonymously but after a reading the sender became clear. The first few lines were coordinates leading to a remote island in the Pacific Ocean. Underneath them it said "Come alone or lose Sub forever." Jet sat in silence staring at the message on the screen for nearly an hour but his mind was racing. It was clearly a trap, but if there was even the faintest chance that Sub was alive there was nothing Jet wouldn't do to help him.

In the end he gathered his team, the 6th Unit and departed for a Hunter naval base in the southern region of the Pacific, some 30 miles away from the coordinates he'd been sent. Officially they were on a training mission honing combat and rescue techniques and unit coordination. He couldn't even tell his team the real reason they were there. Night had fallen by the time they'd settled in. Jet called everyone together and gave them their instructions.

"Tonight I'm going to be drilling you on your search and rescue training. In a couple minutes I'm going to leave the base, I'll be skimming low over the water so you won't see me on radar, and as you can see it's plenty dark out there. In a couple of hours I'll be activating an emergency distress beacon, you are to assume that I am a merchant vessel beset by mavericks and come in with weapons hot. You will be graded not only on your response time but by your assessment and handling of the situation, whatever that may be. Work as a team, look out for one another, you're only as strong as your weakest link. I will see you tonight, make me proud."

[Swim]

The Tragedy of Unit 6 (Part 2)

If there were questions Jet didn't wait to hear them. He dropped over the side and took off, knowing full well that he might not come back. Even if he did he'd probably be removed from command, but that mattered less to him at that particular moment than it otherwise might have. He cared for the well being of his team and he wouldn't send them into anything more dangerous than the missions they took on routinely, especially since they had not been briefed on the full situation. At most Jet expected he might need help getting home if he made it out alive, so preparing them for search and rescue wasn't far from the truth. But Alia had been correct, if Faustus was waiting with the new virus strain he'd be putting them in terrible danger, and he wasn't going to risk anyone else's life on what was no doubt a suicide mission. He left his doubts behind with his team and made his way over to the coordinates Faustus had left for him.

By the time he arrived at the island it had begun to rain. It was a cold rain, and it made visibility poor, but it could potentially work to his advantage. The wind and the rain shook the trees and whipped the branches around as he landed atop a bluff on the edge of the ocean. Jet didn't see any patrols, but just the same he dropped to a crouch and moved in close to the treeline as he made his way inland.

After several minutes of searching the island seemed deserted. There were no sentries, no outposts or buildings of any kind. All he saw were trees. There was a beach down below but Jet had avoided it thus far, wanting to begin his search on top before working his way down. The beach was extremely exposed, if the island was being watched there would be no way for him to hide down there. Which meant that if there was a hidden base it would definitely be located there.

He circled the beach, remaining elevated for as long as possible before sliding down the cliff and dropping into the sand. He circled the beach again now on even level but couldn't find anything unusual. He knew something was missing though, Faustus would send him into a trap but he wasn't enough of a prankster to send him into the middle of nowhere just to waste his time. Jet turned around and circled the beach a second time from the other direction at a much slower pace. Eventually he found what he was looking for.

There was a small indent in the side of a cliff creating a rocky ledge; it wasn't visible unless you approached from inland. Jet jumped up to the shelf and found a cavern in the rock. Once inside he ignited one of his sabers to see, illuminating the space with a soft blue light.

The cavern was spacious, and led deep into the heart of the island. As Jet made his way down he became convinced that he was on the right path, the cave looked artificial. This had to be what he was meant to find, though he was surprised by the lack of guards. He supposed they would be in the base's interior; the mavericks clearly wanted the world to think the island uninhabited.

At last he came to the back of the cave, a dead end by all appearances. Jet ran his hands over the wall looking for a hidden door or a switch. The wall was very smooth but he could find nothing. He looked around on the ground for any stray rocks, any trigger that needed to be pressed but the mechanism eluded him. Unexpectedly however, the wall rolled back on its own to allow him entry. Faustus' voice could be heard over an intercom system. "Welcome Jet. Were you looking around for a key? I invited you here, you only needed to knock. Please come in."

Jet said nothing to the sarcastic pleasantries and stepped over the threshold and into an elevator. There were no buttons to press or floors to select but his ride began moving all the same, taking him even deeper underground. The element of surprise was gone, if he ever had it to begin with. Faustus seemed pleased rather than concerned about his presence; meaning that he was ready to receive him.

The elevator opened up to reveal a larger cavern, completely open but the air was suffocating, there was no circulation here which mean no air flow. No exit. There was a dampness to the air though, it was humid and sticky. Clearly water was able to get in, but Jet supposed it was trapped there. He followed the path before him which led up a short metal stairway to an elevated platform. There were banks of computers installed in the walls; some of them displayed security feeds across the island, some were maps displaying troop presence and movement, and a final bank of screens appeared to be complex scientific data, possibly monitoring someone's vital signs.

In the center of the room there was a deep vat which bubbled with dark liquid, salt water by the smell of it. Faustus stood by this var, flipping switches and turning dials on some sort of command console. He looked up when Jet got close. "I'm glad you could join me for the party," he said in greeting.

"I didn't come to soak with you in your little hot tub," Jet retorted. "Tell me how to make Sub better."

"It's true that the party seems a little dead right now," Faustus said, still playing his game. "But that's only because not all of the guests have come around yet. Speaking of, I told you to come alone and I understand you brought some party crashers with you at the naval base. They weren't invited."

"How do you know about them?" Jet demanded to know. It wouldn't do any good to deny that he'd brought his team, Fuastus clearly knew.

"You've caused me quite some trouble, it's true," the maverick responded. "But I'm hardly the only one you've inconvenienced. It seems not everyone in your squad was thrilled with your leadership, and they were happy to sell you out." Faustus flicked a button and one of the camera feeds changed to a view of inside the naval base. Bodies lay strewn on the floor, those of his team. They were very clearly dead, most of them bearing wounds like they'd been stabbed by an energy sword. The camera shifted and refocused on an image of Lancelot and Galahad. Both alive, both smirking.

"Brutus and Cassius," Jet addressed them. "How could you?"

"I'd say we're closer to Danglers and Ferdinand," Lancelot replied. "And it was easier than you'd think."

"You've had this coming for a long time," Galahad added.

"You'll never get away with this you know," Jet told them. "Even if I die here the maverick hunters will hunt you down as mutineers."

"Officially we'll be listed among the dead," Lancelot informed him. "No one will come looking for us, we'll be enjoying early retirement."

"In the meantime there's a much different sort of retirement in store for you," Faustus said, breaking into the conversation. "The Hunters might spare a thought for you every now and then, but you won't be remembered fondly, you'll be the failure who foolishly led his team to die. Such an unfortunate legacy to leave behind, only a tale of reckless impulsiveness that ended in tragedy. No matter what other deeds you might have done, your failure here will define you."

"I'm not going to stand here and take this," Jet told them. "You want to fight we can fight, but I'm not going to listen to all this crap." Jet pointed his buster up and fired at the screen, destroying the images of his traitorous former teammates. He didn't need their distraction right now. Rather, he needed a distraction from the images he'd seen, of the corpses that had been his team. Most of all he needed to focus solely on Faustus.

"Not a very polite guest are you?" the maverick remarked.

"I'm done playing games," Jet said loudly, anger in his voice. "I'm here, now tell me how to heal Sub and the others."

"There is no 'healing' them," Faustus mocked him. "All of those reploids as you knew them are dead, their personalities boiled away, they exist now only as energy. Your brother is completely indistinguishable from any of the other lives taken in that attack, even if you could rejoin the spark to his body it would be a blank slate with no identity. You failed him too, if that makes you feel any worse before you die."

"One of us is going to die here," Jet raged, drawing his sabers.

"One of us is," Faustus agreed, turning back to his console. "But only after I do this." He turned a dial and some sort of focusing crystal descended from the ceiling above the vat. It didn't look like a conventional weapon, but it wasn't there merely for decoration either so Jet drew his buster again and fired. Before the shot could hit home though an electrical field appeared, negating the damage and funneling energy into the salt water.

"You can't stop it now!" Faustus gloated. "Your failure is complete!" The crystal glimmered and channeled dozens of balls of light into the vat, through their illumination Jet could make out a figure submerged under the water. It was more of a skeleton than anything else, but as Jet watched the leftover skin began to dissolve and reform, stretching to cover the body in dark black particles. The tissue began to reanimate, tendons began to reform and attach to ligaments, and the being in the pool began to rise...

It was difficult to see the being that struggled to break the surface, its head, its body and the hands that clung to the edge of the pool were obscured by the black particles, like flies swarming over a piece of meat. And it spoke. "More!"

"The process isn't finished yet," Faustus explained, "Lay back in the water until your reanimation is complete."

The thing jerked its head in Faustus' direction, seeming to notice him for the first time, although not seeming to really hear his words. "MORE," it bellowed again, lashing out against the electrical barrier with a massive fist.

"No, Master, what are you doing?" Faustus cried. The barrier shattered and the massive hand seized Faustus around the waist and dragged him into the pool. The black molecules reacted immediately, covering Faustus' body as well. "Noooooooo" Jet heard him cry out before being abruptly silenced.

Jet thought himself out of range but quietly moved further away, not wanting to be pulled in and assimilated into this monster. Luckily it didn't seem aware of his presence just yet; it'd only noticed Faustus when he started speaking. Jet moved over to the computer panels looking for some way to shut off the power before this thing got any stronger, but there didn't seem to be an abort button anywhere. One of the screens did display a progress bar; it was getting dangerously close to finishing. Jet whipped his head around to check; the monster was stirring in the tub but not moving around just yet. The black particles had settled down a bit, allowing the being underneath to take shape. It was one Jet recognized. The progress bar was almost at 100%, in desperation Jet whipped out his sabers and buried them in the console. Sparks flew, screens shorted out but it did not stop the electrical flow to the machine.

From behind him there was a splashing sound; Dagmor had taken a step out of the pool displacing water as he came. He took his second step out of the water becoming fully visible at last. He was exactly as Jet had remembered. He towered taller thank Tank, than Sigma even. His arms rippled with muscles and his body was covered in tough black armor. A horned helmet crowned his head and behind it were a pair of bright yellow eyes which were now fixated on Jet. "You," the maverick lord growled, recognizing Jet. "Why are you here?"

"Faustus invited me to be the guest of honor here at your rebirthing party," Jet replied. "And I really couldn't pass on the opportunity to kill you a second time."

Dagmor actually laughed. "You are a bothersome fly, a distraction and nothing more. There's no army of Hunters, no friends ready to burst in and rescue you this time? Very well then, try to last as long as you can." A metal rod appeared in the maverick's hand, he activated it and a pair of blades came out. One was the curved blade of a scythe, the other formed at the butt of the rod making a lance. It was different from the lance that he'd destroyed last time, Jet realized. Having just been resurrected Dagmor would not have had time to split his essence and tether himself to the weapon, there would be no invulnerability at work this time. Just a one on one slug fest. "Where is Faustus anyway?" the maverick asked as they sized one another up.

"You dragged him into the pool while you were reanimating," Jet replied truthfully, astonished that Dagmor didn't remember. "I think you absorbed him."

Dagmor frowned. He didn't recall any such thing, but it was too strange a claim for Jet to be bluffing. It was of no consequence though. "Faustus has served me well but I'll find a new second to take his place."

Now it was Jet's turn to chuckle. "Faustus was all you had left," he told Dagmor. "While you were gone the Hunters took your organization apart piece by piece. Every base, every lieutenant, every secret project. There's a reason you're waking up in some isolated cave instead of a massive base surrounded by joyful followers."

"Then I'll just have to rebuild from the ground up then," Dagmor declared as he swung the scythe. It was a horizontal sweep, one that Jet was able to jump backward to avoid. He landed on the balls of his feet and sprang back in before Dagmor could recover from the swing and return to a ready position. The scythe had left the maverick exposed but the lance option was in a good position to skewer Jet. He reached out and grabbed hold of the metal rod, avoiding the blade and pushed downward, vaulting over the maverick's head and landing behind him. He spun around to slash at the maverick's back but Dagmor had also reacted, crashing into Jet with a powerful shoulder slam. Jet was knocked backward, somehow feeling like Dagmor had gotten the better part of that trade.

He tried a different tactic, hurling his sabers at the maverick. The glowing blades whirled around Dagmor in an arc before turning around to strike on their way back to Jet, but Dagmor was quick and managed to block both sabers, knocking them to the ground. Jet reached out with his hands to recall the sabers. One of them made it back to his waiting hand but Dagmor stomped down on the second one, depriving Jet of his weapon.

With only one saber Jet charged, forming a ball of energy in his free hand and lobbing it at the maverick who stood his ground against the attack. Jet formed another energy ball and launched it as he vaulted through the air. The maverick absorbed the damage from this attack too, caring more about retaliation. His scythe swept through the air once more, forcing Jet to burn his thrusters and shoot vertically. Now hovering above Dagmor Jet opened fire with a myriad of buster attacks, ice blasts, drill shots and missiles. The barrage finally forced Dagmor to raise his arms in defense and take an involuntary step backward.

No longer trapped, Jet's second saber flew into his grasp. He activated it immediately and tucked into a dive toward Dagmor to bait out an attack, then dipped low and to the side when the swing came. He delivered another glancing blow as he passed but it would take a stronger attack than that to bring Dagmor down.

Dagmor had also decided stronger attacks were in order, as Jet banked around a massive fireball careened past, narrowly missing Jet and creating a sizable crater in the cave wall. The destabilization was also causing rocks from the ceiling to come down. Suddenly Jet had a very bad feeling about fighting in this cave. It wasn't just the potential for being buried in rock. The air was hot and suffocating, he couldn't achieve the kind of lift that he would otherwise be able to with his thrusters. Not that the close confines left an abundance of room to maneuver anyway.

Dagmor seemed unconcerned with the potential for a cave in and blasted at Jet with another fireball. Jet dodged around it and streaked forward, wanting to move away from the already weakened section of the cavern. Wreathing himself in an aura of blue flame, Jet streaked toward the maverick and rammed him with all the force he could muster. His sabers penetrated deep, clear through the maverick's core and out the other side of him. That should have been the end of most opponents, but Dagmor could take a lot of punishment.

Before Jet could pull his sabers out and fly away Dagmor smashed his face in and pushed him off onto the scythe blade where he spun Jet around and slammed him into the floor. The scythe blade had cut deep through the armor on his back, but that was nothing compared to the pain that came next. As soon as Jet was released from the scythe's cradle Dagmor spun the weapon around and drove the lance through Jet's core. Jet struggled to feebly crawl away but Dagmor only stomped down on Jet's back leg to put a stop to any movement. Jet sand down onto the rocky floor as Dagmor placed his second foot on his back and pulled the lance out. He lined the weapon up with the back of Jet's head and prepared to thrust clean through his face. The lance came down but stopped just short of Jet's skull, for some reason Dagmor's arm had frozen in position. Damage to his core must have caused the joint to lock up. He brought the weapon up again but before he could strike his body betrayed him once more, completely seizing up.

Jet opened his hands weakly, trying to recall his sabers from Dagmor's chest cavity. They began to burn more intensely before slowly raking down the maverick's torso and bursting out of his undercarriage before returning to Jet's grasp. As soon as his hands closed around his sabers Jet felt a new surge of energy fill his body. He twisted around and drove his right saber into Dagmor's leg, at which point the maverick finally removed it from Jet's back. Jet maintained his grip on the saber, and even though Dagmor was again driving the lance into his back Jet was able to bring up his other arm and cut into the same leg. He'd almost sliced the foot nearly off when Dagmor knelt down and hurled him across the room.

Jet slammed into the rock wall, dropping a few more rocks from the ceiling but he managed to get to his feet. He extended his hands once more and his sabers ripped free of Dagmor's foot, completing the cut and leaving the maverick with a stump. "Why aren't you dead?" Dagmor growled.

"Because you should've stayed dead," Jet countered, flying in close once more. Dagmor swung his scythe wildly but Jet wasn't about to let it make contact again. He swiped at the maverick's side as he flew past, disengaging his thrusters and dropping behind him. Jet slashed quickly at the maverick's backside as Dagmor spun around and swung again. Jet ducked this swing and slashed the maverick's functioning leg then prepared for the next attack. This one was a lower sweep so Jet jumped clear over Dagmor with the aid of his thrusters, turning his flip into a spin where he was able to strike the maverick thrice before landing. Jet prepared to dodge and counter attack once more, but this time Dagmor actually backed away.

The maverick lord was not looking so good now. His newly rejuvenated body was covered in scorch marks, and several chunks of flesh had been cut away entirely, to say nothing about his leg. His eyes were full of rage and hatred as well as something new. Jet wasn't so arrogant as to call it fear but maybe disbelief? Now the maverick had thrust his scythe into the ground and was channeling power into it. Jet wondered for a brief moment what he was doing, but then the ground began to shake. The floor began to crack and the ceiling started to crumble in earnest. And then it started to get even hotter and stuffier in that cave as a lava geyser burst through the floor. Jet cried out in surprise and flew out of the way.

"You wanted to know why we were on an island in the middle of nowhere?" Dagmor reminded him. "Because it was a dormant volcano, and the geothermal power was beneficial for my resurrection. Now that it's no longer dormant I will bury you and all evidence of this lab at the same time."

"You'll kill us both!" Jet shouted as he dodged falling rocks that threatened to knock him into the spreading lava. Dagmor only laughed maniacally, he was either confident in his ability to survive or he was not worried about dying again. He morphed on of his hands into a buster cannon and began launching fireballs at Jet once more, who now had something besides boulders to weave around. Several of them struck Jet, but they were only successful in knocking him around a little, especially once he overloaded his sabers and wreathed himself in blue fire once more. Jet crashed through boulder and fireball alike as he streaked directly toward Dagmor. The maverick gripped his scythe tightly as he followed Jet's trajectory and waited for his opportunity. Jet rocketing in spinning like a drill as Dagmor swung his scythe.

Both sets of weapons were forced cleanly through the cranium of their opponent. Jet's thrusters died as the scythe sank into his control cluster, but even so the momentum carried both Jet and Dagmor toward the back of the cave. For a minute neither of them moved as the lava crept closer and closer. Then a fresh surge of energy coursed through Jet, shocking him back to semi consciousness. He grasped the maverick's weapon and slowly drew it out of his skull, throwing it down on the floor once it had been completely removed. He then drew his own sabers out of Dagmor's head and deactivated their beams.

He was only semi aware of the lava as it crept up behind him, swallowing up Dagmor's scythe and then the maverick himself. Jet staggered onward, not quite sure where he was going, too damaged to process intelligent thought. His ears were ringing but he could make out the sound of rain, of waves crashing into the shore. He stumbled and fell into a shallow pool and sank to the bottom, too exhausted to float. Then everything went black.