At first, the ground team was committed to their mission, planning to scour the quarry for intel quickly before they left the area. However, Rynoske and Alex both pointed out the unconscious slaves being in danger if they had left them there. Lock, at first, argued that their mission takes priority and that the welfare of those slaves, unfortunately, will have to be put aside. He soon discovered he was standing alone as Tobias and Mye stood on the other two's side. Seeing no point in arguing further, he reluctantly agrees to stick around and see if they can at least get some sort of evacuation down to aid them.
Once again, the team divided their tasks. Alex and Rynoske took charge of clearing the area and moving the slaves. In contrast, Tobias, fatigued earlier and heavily injured, was now fortifying the area as his wounds and energy healed surprisingly quick after the fight. Lock and Mye, on the other hand, found themselves searching the command building for any valuable intel, their roles shifting as the situation demanded.
"Nothing, absolutely nothing of interest here, just basic logs on everyday bullshit," Lock tosses a handful of paper with dated information aside onto the hologram table that is smashed with specks of drying blood as well as other paper forms. He placed his hands on its edge as he felt so frustrated.
Mye glances over his way before she continues looking through the materials she was tasked to rummage through. However, she was checking out the file names without opening them as she felt there was no need to. However, she does so with a lack of urgency, which may have caused some attention to be directed towards her.
"You got anything over there?" Lock's voice calls out after a frustrated sigh.
Stopping her search, Mye turns her body slightly towards him. She shook her head in response. Lock stares at her for a while, making her feel somewhat uncomfortable. She was expecting him to scold her, similar to how he acted around that drakon-semifer. This uncertainty makes her shift a bit as she mentally prepares for it, as his eyes narrow.
"...I have an idea where to find what we need then. Think you can keep searching around here, or do you need to take a break?" His voice sounded slightly condescending but not as aggressive as the tone used with Rynoske.
Not giving him a verbal reply, Mye returns to her work. This might agitate him even more, but she would rather not interact further with him. Seeing how she is acting towards him, Lock decides to leave it at that. Turning and walking towards the door, he makes a remark that throws Mye off.
" Just so you are aware, that magic majigy thing you did, at least that makes up for your inexperience for stealth and the poor aim."
The door closes, leaving Mye to process what he just said. She stares at the door briefly before slowly shaking her head and standing up.
"...what a weird way to compliment people," she says quietly. Though, she guess it wasn't meant to be one anyways as he is an android.
Something caught her eye as she was about to return to her previous action. One of the files that Lock probably tossed aside had a symbol that she recognized. Walking to it, Mye picks up the folder and inspects the cover. Unfortunately, the symbol seems to have been chemically damaged, which is to be expected. Whatever was spilled onto it had long before dried up. Opening it up, her usual tired and emotionless face slowly morphs. A hint of uncertain fear washes over her as she flips through the pages. An explosion completely breaks her focus as she tries to process what she is reading. Mye nearly lost her footing as the blast seemed to be close by. Closing the folder, she tucks it under her arm and hurries to the entrance just as another violent blast erupts outside. Gunshots, along with the sound of artillery, pierce the brief peace that the team had a moment prior.
Upon opening the door, she felt a hand grab her arm and yank her off to the side. Taken by surprise, Mye instinctively grabbed the pistol holstered to her chest. Before pulling it out, she found herself pulled to the person's chest and then falling onto the ground. Thinking that a hostile had gotten hold of her, she began to activate her magic. Energy that lay dormant within her began to awaken like atoms reacting to heat. With a firm grip, she grabs the person's arm with her right hand. The fingerless glove she is wearing begins to illuminate as it detects the energy flowing from her into it as she feels her magic being amplified. Before she could go any further, a pained voice speaks up.
"Mye-I don't feel like having my brain...fried." Alex forces their words through. Realizing who it is, Mye stops the energy flow, releasing her mental grip on Alex.
"S...sorry." Mye can feel the hands letting her go.
Alex painfully laughs it off as they use their good leg to prop their body up.
"No worries-agh...wow. I keep forgetting how deadly that ability of yours is. Nearly lobotomized me."
Mye glances away as her bangs shadow her eyes from view. Despite knowing Alex is joking, the fact that they weren't wrong makes her feel self-resent.
"-ye, Mye!"
Alex shakes Mye back to reality just as another shell hits the quarry. The shell's impact slams into one of the few crane machinery left standing. Causing shrapnel to fly and essentially destroying the very supports that keep the entire thing up, the crane creaks as it begins to give way.
" Oh, ain't that moonlight dandy. Duck!"
Both of them hurriedly run as the crane begins its descent. Diving to the ground and curling up to make herself smaller, Mye braces herself as the ground shakes around her. Dust and earth pelt her back as metal fragments crash around her. After a while, Mye uncurls and gets up. Her eyes widen a little upon realizing how close she nearly died. The crane, thankfully, didn't land anywhere too close. However, the main body of the crane was not the big issue, as mentioned previously. Multiple fragments, some sharp while others are just large scraps, are scattered across the ground. One of those fragments just so happened to be impaled into the ground mere feet from her position.
"Are you okay, Mye?" Alex's voice calls out.
Turning her head in their direction, Mye's heart nearly stops. Alex slowly was getting up before they wince as their splinted leg seemed to have flared up with pain. That, however, was not the big concern. They crawl onto their knees when their helmet smacks into the corner of something significant. Looking up, Alex's visor makes a screeching sound as it scrapes the object's corner before they back away slightly. A large metal sheet that fell from the destroyed crane lies mere inches from where Alex took cover.
"Huh." was all they could say.
Mye begins to push herself up to check on Alex when she suddenly feels a sharp pain shocking her left side. In pain, she glances down towards where the source is. A tiny shard of metal is sticking out from her arm. The sticky feeling of blood mixed with the dark tint of brownish red can be seen around the injury. Soon, she sees the thin trail of blood emerge from under her sleeve as it makes its way towards her fingertips.
"Hey! Alex! Mye! Are you alright?"
Mye manages to reach her feet just as Rynoske lands between the two.
"We're fine, Ryn, I am also sure-' Alex turns their head towards Mye only to see her wounded arm, ' oh gods."
"I...I'm fine..." Mye says as Alex limps over to her.
[Get down!]
Lock's voice urgently calls through their comms. Mye does so hastily, but then a boom with a shockwave sends her tumbling. The wound in her arm flares up as she scrunches her face. Opening her eyes was another labored task as she noticed a few spots in her eyes. Her ears ring as she sluggishly stands on her feet. Through blurry vision, she sees a figure rushing towards her with a blade brandishing in their hand.
" This is for my brothers, witch!"
Without hesitation, Mye brings out her pistol and pulls the trigger. Despite her groggy state, she maintains some control over the gun as the energy rounds start flying. However, it wasn't long before she shut her eyes, and the recoil began to control her. As she lets the gun shoot erratically, the sounds of footsteps nearing her grow ever louder. In a panic, she turns her pistol around and is about to pull the trigger when a voice calls out to her.
"Point that gun elsewhere, dammit!"
Mye drops her pistol in surprise as Lock's cold, sharp tone snaps her eyes back open. Looking over, she sees Lock approaching the three and kneeling beside Alex. They groan in pain as they slowly sit up. Still, the blast disoriented them. Rynoske could be seen returning to his feet. Still, his eyes and usual laid-back behavior now look like a feral animal about to be unleashed. His heavy breathing and shivering indicate some sort of self-restraint.
" Come on, retreat back towards that back entrance we came in earlier!"
Mye slightly narrows her eyes, hearing Lock's order. His suggestion meant exposing themselves as minimal cover led up to it. Also, the artillery firing into the quarry would be on their way before they could make it halfway up.
"I-"
" Tss, tk, clik!"
Before Mye could argue, Tobias made himself present, slamming his shield beside her as bullets flew.
"Hey."
Mye looks back to see Lock with Alex's arm over his shoulder as he helps them to their feet. His eyes locked onto hers.
" We just need to pull back slowly. I got an update that air support is coming, so we just need to hold out. Besides, we have those innocents who need to be medivac. Do you think you can stall the enemy with that magic of yours?"
"...I can try," Mye replies as she picks her pistol back up and holsters it.
"What you mean-you know what, that's fine, Ryn! Help get Alex to safety."
Rynoske snaps back at them. Though his expression softens, realizing how badly injured Alex looks. His feral look disappears as he quickly takes Alex over his shoulder.
"What about the three of you?"
"Worry about yourselves first. How about that." Lock points towards the back of the quarry, glaring.
Rynoske shakes his head with disbelief. Yet, without another word, he makes haste. Lock turns to Mye and nods to her before he assists Tobias.
Mye grips her right hand to her chest as she feels the pressure. She grimaces at the feeling but takes a deep breath before she stands on her feet. Ignoring the shrapnel in her arm, she takes a deep breath and begins casting.
"focus..." she mutters before exhaling.
Misty invisible tendrils emit from her as they lash out toward the fortification. She could feel the energy flowing through her and the glove in her hand beginning to glow, amplifying her power. The tendrils quickly wrap around the heads of those within her sight. Then, the actual fight begins. She begins to struggle alongside the enemy as they cry in anguish, ceasing their assault. Mye could only describe this struggle as if she were trying to hold down a feral beast with only a fiber rope. This feral beast is also attempting to rip her apart, forcing her to keep changing angles and keeping them in place. Now multiply that by several more. It is a fight to see who will break first, with her barely holding her ground.
"I...can't..." Mye whimpers as she falls to one knee. A cold sweat forms on her forehead, which seems to become paler.
Thankfully, the other two managed to hear her voice despite its softness.
"Let them have it, Tobias." Lock says as he reloads his pistol and pulls out his knife before charging forward. The Extranicus huffs in acknowledgment as he charges in a while, morphing his shield into its war hammer form.
However, Mye could feel the bleeding from her arm starting again. Despite it, she exerts herself to keep the enemy under her mental restraint.