Canyons of Steel – Valley of the Damned Pt. 9

Fire lapped at the base of the altar as the explosion from the LRM rocket destroyed half the platform. The Weavers returned fire, calling upon their magical abilities, reigning death upon their attackers. In return, machine guns gakked in response to the magical fire, grenades exploded sending guards retreating. It was one thing that has lived for the past one hundred years; yes, magical abilities are dangerous, but so is a man with an assault rifle and a keen eye. A unit of heavily armed soldiers will defeat a group like this easily. Fortunately, however, in the event that magical fire would break their ranks, they had some magical fire of their own, as Richard Adams had double duty, engaging with the mages and tending to wounds quickly and efficiently.

And the mages were starting to realize that. And suddenly, it only got worse.

Across the room from the small force, an explosion rocked the cavern. The newly created crater became the new escape route for the Heritage Front. And they started firing on Walker and his group once they caught sight of them. And the Weavers? They were merely caught in the cross fire. Realizing there was nothing they could do and no where else to go, they scrambled back to find safety away from the sudden war which had erupted in one of their enclave.

“Shit, I weren’t expectin’ this,” Walker gritted his teeth as he rattled off a round toward the Heritage Front soldiers.

“Doesn’t mean anything, Walker,” Christa shouted. “Just means the targets have changed is all.”

Morgan let loose with a volley from Ol’ Painless, letting a group of Undead who had just shown up behind the soldiers have hell. Omega Six barked orders to his men as Interpol agents matched the volley. They had strategic cover, as they moved into place behind the security of a natural bunker, thanks to the cavern’s formations. The Heritage Front were naked to the world, but creating a bunker of their own quickly.

A Gigantic Undead construct broke formation and ran toward the bunker, vaulting the small barrier and lashing out at Six. Everyone knew they couldn’t train weapons at the beast simultaneously, they risked hitting each other. The slight hesitation gave way for one to attack. And Adams’ magical attack on the construct gave Six time to unleash a volley into the beast. As the creature fell, Adams let out a knowing smile to Six. Maybe these boys wouldn’t be too bad with Interpol, if they could get away from Illuminati. But there would be risks too great, Omega Six would have to make the final call.

Germaine launched another rocket toward the Heritage Front soldiers and his sharp eye picked up movement. Large movement. “Shit, man. We got heavies comin’ in!”

Walker watched as the hulking mechs marched through the crater toward the line, firing as they caught sight of their targets. He looked over to Omega Six, his former comrade in Illuminati nodded signalling to one of his men. The ground shook as the blue grey units known as the Armoured Convoy rumbled into the cavern, returning the fire of the Front’s Mechs easily. Bombs and bullets echoed in the close confines of the cavern, threatening to bring the ceiling down on them all. And again, Morgan’s sharp eye caught more movement. He called out to Walker, pointing toward something moving in the shadows. Walker took up his binoculars and peered into the darkness. He sneered when he saw the figure of Hauptmann Yar’ow instructing a group as they carried some object.

“Christa!” he shouted. “Annie, Six! With me!” He vaulted the edge of the bunker and was quickly followed by those he called out, giving and receiving cover fire as they passed through the wave of Heritage Front soldiers. The three pursuing fired toward the Yar’ow and her men, but they were always just out of reach, even with their heavy burden. The cavern’s twists and turns took an odd one, as suddenly it emptied into the sewer system, the sound of battle behind them growing faint, but they could tell the remaining men and women had the upper hand.

Six arrived first at a junction, slamming his shoulder into a steel door, wincing as the pain crept into his bones from the force. He looked to Walker and shook his head. The former gunslinger placed his palm on the steel and muttered a curse. “Damn thing’s probably three feet thick an’ we ain’t got the ordinance ta blow it open.” He could almost hear the mocking laughter from the other side as a faint roar of an engine could just barely be heard. “An’ she’s gettin’ away.”

Christa came up behind Walker and placed a hand on his shoulder. “We’ll keep tabs, John. We’ll watch the Heritage Front and see what turns up. She’s gotta rear her ugly head sometime.” Walker looked to her with defeat in his eyes, but took a deep breath and nodded. At least today they managed to take out a Weavers enclave and a Heritage Front cell. Though the main target had been lost, they had still managed a victory. The three began trudging back to the rest of the unit, the sounds of gunfire quickly coming to an end, signaling the battle had been won.