Renegades (The Slingers Trilogy, Book 3)

Chapter 1

Captain Dross Howren of the GDF was known for being no-nonsense with his men, so when his battalion hear that he was being assigned to the reclamation of an important artifact, they shuddered a bit inside. Howren never tolerated failure, and always expected the best out of his men. He drove them like they were slaves, and accepted no excuses. The small convoy of GDF military vehicles rolled down the street of the small town, passing by several frightened occupants who stayed to the side of the road or inside their homes, wisely avoiding the display of power that was in front of them. Strethen had been a GDF-occupied world for a long time, and the population always expected several soldiers to regularly patrol the streets, but nothing had ever come before that was this big. They had no idea what they were going after, but if they did, the GDF would probably kill them anyways. The convoy consisted of a singular hovertank, along with a few trucks and quad cycles. Some GDF soldiers were walking alongside it, their guns at the ready for the first sign of trouble. Howren scanned the horizon, looking for any anomalies that might pose a threat to their mission. He was determined to make sure that this operation was a success. This endeavour was a direct order given by the High Monarch. If he succeeded, he would most likely be awarded the highest possible medal from the GDF, and be promoted to a Director. And if he failed...well, it gave him more motivation to succeed. "Captain! We have a reading!" Howren looked down, and saw the soldier who shouted out pointing towards a ruined house on the edge of the town. Howren smiled. The end was in sight. "Get the diggers!" The two large drones with the drills and scoopers moved forwards, and began to unearth the ground beneath the ruins. Then, they stopped, detecting something hidden beneath. Howren leaped off the tank, and ran over to the small hole. He walked down, and saw a small item sticking out of the ground. Brushing the dirt off, he saw the golden glow shimmer in the sunlight. They had found it. It was a Dorado Piece.

As the soldiers watched as the Captain and a few other soldiers went into the newly dug hole, they stood guard around the area, watching for any suspicious activity. Then, a mysterious figure in a brown cloak seemed to notice the digging, then move quickly off into a nearby alleyway. This caught the eye of one soldier, who motioned to one of the others, and the two of them raised their weapons and entered the alleyway. The figure in a brown cloak was standing facing away from the two soldiers. The GDF trooper raised his rifle. "Stop right there! Identify yourself." The cloaked figure arm's slowly raised in the air, and spoke. The voice was shaky and frail. "I-I'm sorry, I was just trying to get home..." The GDF trooper stepped forward and grabbed the figure's arm. "This area is restricted! I'm placing you under arrest-" Then, seemingly from nowhere, a small silver and black dagger appeared in the figure's hand, and then whipped around, cutting through the trooper's armour with ease, making him release his grip and cry out in pain. Then, the figure's leg kicked upwards, hitting the trooper square in the jaw, making him fly backwards and knocking him out. The other trooper keyed his communicator. "Backup! We have a hostile!" As soon as the figure saw that he was radioing, another dagger appeared in the other hand, and the figure flicked it forwards, the dagger flying through the air and piercing the GDF soldier's helmet, making him fall backwards. Then, as the alley went quiet, the figure removed it's hood. Long, flowing silver hair that was wrapped up into a ponytail fell out of the hood, and revealed pale skin and ocean blue eyes. Elicia Wavery looked over the two guards, and muttered to herself. "Damn it." She pulled the dagger out of the guard's faceplate, and ran her fingers through her hair. She had to be faster next time. She held her wrist communicator up to her mouth, and spoke into it. "We've been compromised. Go loud. I repeat, go loud." 

Howren looked over the Piece, thinking about how the High Monarch would reward him when he returned, when he heard a panicked voice come over the radio. "Backup! We have a hostile!" All the soldiers looked up immediately and scanned the area, looking around for any signs of movement. Howren stared at them incredulously, then shouted. "Don't just stand there you idiots! Spread out!" The soldiers quickly fanned out in a tactical pattern, then all of a sudden, something dropped down from one of the buildings. It was a small orb, that rolled over to the side of one of the transport trucks. Everyone stared at it, then it began to beep rapidly. "DOWN!" One of the soldiers yelled before the entire truck erupted in a large explosion, blowing several soldiers backwards. Almost immediately after that, the street began to fill with gunfire from the rooftops. Every single one was filled with soldiers wielding guns clad in black and green that had seemingly come out of nowhere. Howren looked up, and grit his teeth in frustration. A Resistance ambush. How the hell had they known they'd be coming? It didn't matter. He had the Piece, and he wouldn't let it slip through his fingers. "RETURN FIRE!" Howren shouted over the gunfire. Some of the surviving soldiers raised their rifles and tried to retaliate, but with the Resistance having the advantage with the height, it was like trying to touch a mile-high ceiling with your finger. But Howren had something that they didn't. He moved to the front of the tank and yelled to the driver. "Take out those gunmen! Rooftops on the north and northwest sides!" The driver nodded, and the tank's huge cannon swivelled slowly towards the rooftop. It fired a single shot, the large shell making the street reverberate with noise. The entire rooftop exploded, flinging many Resistance soldiers off. "Hit em again!" Howren shouted, and the tank clanked as it reloaded, then shot the spot next to the building, taking out more. As Howren was about to direct the tank to it's next target. He felt a bullet whizz past him, then strike the ground, a few inches away from his foot. He looked around, trying to find the shooter, then another bullet struck in front of him, hitting the tank's armour. He ducked down, cursing. Drawing his pistol, he looked around the tank, then ducked back just as another bullet struck the tank's treads. Who the hell was this sniper? Then, another explosive rolled to his side, making him run out from behind the tank without thinking. As soon as the bomb exploded, a bullet went straight through his leg, making him trip and fall and he sat behind a wall, clutching his knee in agony. Looking out from behind her scope, Andress Lovecraft smirked as she pulled the bolt back and forth on her composite rifle, chambering another round. "Bullseye."