Outpost Chiron. The Galactic Liberation Front has ties with the leadership of Mbongu. However, they were only given a small piece of land and only a few privileges for atmospheric travel. The outpost existed beside a town. Though large, it was dense with GLF troopers and officers. They remained neutral with the townsfolk but those who caused the most trouble were the two Tariol Operators.

“We shouldn’t have left Monarch in that desert.” Vlad commented.

“It was his order for us to leave him be with that enhanced. Stop complaining about it like a kid, kid.” Edenia replied with anger.

The two strolled down the street. They were stationed in the town by the Supreme Leader until ‘further notice’.

“The enhanced that the Supreme Leader wanted to personally execute was Kal Rexington.”

“And? Oh…You used to have a shootout with him. Bet he won the Mexican standoff haha.” She would laugh without control at her comrade.

Vlad halted, pivoting to the woman’s face as he hovered a knife attached to his gauntlet onto her throat. The knife slowly went closer before touching her skin.“The only reason Kal lived was because I was rudely interrupted during our standoff. I have a feeling that he lives. A bullet with his name on it will pierce between his eyes and when he is buried face down, I will sew your mouth shut. You got me, comrade?”

“I want the first thing to happen but I'm afraid that you will not be able to accomplish the last one.” Her left hand jolted to the sheathe resting on her waist.

“You know, a skilled duelist with a sword is faster than a bullet, Vlad.”

“Said fucking who?”

“Said Edenia Hardy.” Edenia would smile.

Vlad would then whip out his pistol, jamming it to her face.

“Here’s a story for you. Paranoid former Olympian thought her sword fighting medals meant she was a somebody. She tried to make a name for her in the big leagues and ended up with a bullet in her head.” 

“Might wanna lower your gun down, bimbo. As much as I would like to see this story, I’m not sure the attention is appropriate.”

The soldiers and townsfolk that were walking around halted when Headhunter pulled out his gun. As he lowered it, the crowd dispersed slowly. He turned to Edenia shaking her head with disapproval while smiling.

~~

“They were those 2 operators that cleared the way for Monarch.” Mumbled Destoria.

Both Destoria and Cee-G were on a rooftop overlooking the street. She was prone while the android was crouching. They had made their way to the town, only to find it crawling with GLF personnels. Cee-G was analysing information and clues fed by Ajay while Destoria was keeping an eye on the two.

“With the information presented by Mr Shrader, it appears that Mr Rexington is still in the premises.” Cee-G would alert her.

“Great! We should blend in and search the area.”

Cee-G’s eyes would flicker from orange to green. Ajay is now in control.

“We could do that and hope they don’t check ID, idiot. Or, we can wait until dark and we sneak around.” Ajay would speak through Cee-G.

“You saw the amount of blood Kal bled out. By Cee-G’s calculations, he would either be out cold or just barely hanging on to his consciousness. We have to act now.”

“Kal’s a survivor. If he made it into town and is undetected by the looks of it, he would have done something to prolong his survival rate.” Ajay replied.

“That is a risk you’re willing to take? For a smart guy, you sound like a botched dumbass.” Destoria would stand up.

Cee-G would stand up too.

“Better than risking our cover being blown.”

Before Destoria could speak, a bullet would fly between the two.

As they panned towards the direction of the gunfire, bullets would rain down on them. Luckily, both of them were fast enough to take cover. The gunshots echoed around the small little town. It attracted patrol units to diverge on the location and for both Edenia and Vlad to take action. They failed to consider that upon standing up, there would be snipers camping on buildings to provide overwatch over the town.

Cee-G would make their lives easier by revealing itself. As the snipers fell for the bait, it would use its auto-targeting system to fire killshots at the snipers targeting them. Slowly with every echo of a sharp gun sound, a body would fall from buildings. As the snipers were eliminated, Cee-G would rush for cover. By then, there were GLF patrol units around the building. Though there were only a few units that responded to the gun shots, the fighting odds were balanced as Edenia and Vlad were ready to support.

Before the patrol units could begin a breach, Destoria leaped down. Both her kunai chains would fly through the air as it found its targets. Slowly, Destoria would expand her attack range as she fights off numerous troopers at once. She swung her chains around to finish off troopers faster. Cee-G, on the other hand, went straight for the Headhunter, Vlad. Both of them would be locked in a duel as each of them fought for dominance over their firearms. Stuck in the standoff, Vlad would leave Edenia alone to face Destoria.

Destoria finished off the last trooper before her attention shifted to Edenia. Again, she seemed familiar, like a remnant of a past life. Her appearance seems blurred like how she looked at Joe back on Tessa. However, that did not stop her advance.

She walked to the woman with tenacious intent. She swung her chains slowly as her boots made a clicking sound upon each step. Edenia, on the other hand, stood calm as Destoria neared her.

“You know, Omega said that you were powerful.” Edenia commented as she released a pin holding her hair. Now, her hair would fall down to her shoulders, though a ponytail. It was less restrained. It made her more elegant for combat.

“What else did he say?”

“Powerful yet stupid. Easy for someone like me to counter.”Destoria would stop swinging her chains as she pulled the kunai attached to the end of it closer to her hand.

“I like your energy. Almost a shame I have to end you.” Destoria smirked as she went into her attack stance.

Edenia, in an instant, would pull out her sabre with her prosthetic arm.

Clash! Both of them would start duelling. Edenia was fast enough to repel the swinging chained kunais while Destoria kept exerting force to make Edenia vulnerable.

On the other hand, Cee-G and Vlad would trade shots. Their gunfire was so close to eliminating each other yet so far to end the whole standoff.

In an act to gain an upper hand, Vlad would activate his rocket boots to have a visual on Cee-G. He knew that he wouldn’t miss upon direct range to the android. However, Cee-G’s advance would surprise him.

Smoke clouded Cee-G’s front. Before Vlad could even attempt to disperse the smoke, the android would fly out, chasing him. Ajay knew that Cee-G would face opponents using weapons and powers beyond comprehension. Due to that, he made sure that the android is equipped to fight anyone, even the Supreme Leader. Cee-G would chase the marskman, manoeuvring around buildings to grab hold of Vlad. Ajay was caught up in the moment watching over Cee-G that he didn’t notice his comrade struggling to comprehend the speed of Edenia through his operations monitor.

Destoria, though possessing more physical strength between her and Edenia, was struggling to defend herself against the swift speed of Edenia’s weapon. Edenia twirled her saber, constantly switching stance with ease from defense to attack. Even though Destoria’s attacks were aggressive and packed with sheer power, she wasn’t able to halt her opponent’s advance. It came to an extent that she was forced to a corner, without backup.

She pulled the kunais to her hands as she pointed it to Edenia.

“Come at me, bitch.”

Edenia would twirl her sword forward. The tip of the blade pointed right at Destoria’s heart.

As she advanced forward, she would barrage Destoria with heavy attacks. Destoria tried to prevent any damage inflicted on herself but her weapons could only stop so much.

Destoria struggled to defend herself while Cee-G was in reach to Vlad. As it neared the marksman, it would grab his right leg. Already attached to Vlad, Cee-G would deploy a parachute to forcefully stop him from flying. Vlad would then grab hold of Cee-G, shoving a blaster to his face as he fired shots after shots. However, the android was quick enough to respond to his attacks as the metallic plates would transform. A gel-like barrier formed in time to catch the bullets. It was then that Cee-G grabbed both of Vlad’s arms and flew straight down, slamming him down through a building. Coincidentally, the building was one of the two buildings that Destoria was cornered against. As the fog from the collapsed building filled the street, Destoria would lunge out to save herself from Edenia’s reach. The swordswoman would make her way carefully with her sword in front of her. She does not have a predatory instinct like Destoria. One flaw in her defence could end her life. However, 2 glowing spheres would catch her attention.

The spheres rose up from the crash site. It grew brighter as it neared Edenia. It would then be followed with a dark figure. As the fog slowly cleared, Edenia rushed into cover. The glowing spheres were Cee-G’s eyes. The android locked its targeting matrix onto her after finishing the chase with Vlad. As bullets poured on her position, she would be ambushed by Destoria. She barely pinned Edenia down with the distraction caused by Cee-G, disarming her when given the opportune moment. She pressed the heel of her boots onto her cheek as she chuckled.

“Gotcha!”

Before Cee-G could be at ease, a knife would be plunged into the circuits of its neck. It reached out to the handle but it was too late. The damage paralysed the android’s movement. It fell onto the sandy grounds as its head rested facing Destoria.

Destoria turned at the sound of the metal thud on the ground as she pulled her weapons to her hand. Her predatorial senses kicked in yet a gunshot sound echoed. She too fell onto the ground as a bullet pierced her right knee. She looked to the direction of the gunfire. Her eyes widened in awe as Vlad climbed out of the wreckage he was forced in. The muzzles of his pistols he held in akimbo smoked as he paused right at the top of a rubble. He pointed both his guns at Destoria. Both the muzzles aligned right at the head of the Head Operator with Vlad’s visor glowing red.

“Dasvidaniya, suka.”

Before the Headhunter could fire, a gunfire would disarm his left firearm. He looked to his hands in confusion before tilting his helm to the direction of the gunshot. He had a moment, staring at the man. He recognised the way he strolled, the sound of the coat waving in clash with the wind and the boots...

The man who fired the gun walked down the street. His boots clinked with every step. His trench coat waved around as the sun shined down on his figure. The man stopped as his body faced Vlad. The shadow covered the street. A hooded man with…one arm?

Vlad walked to the other end of the street as he faced the man. He gripped his blaster tight, anxious about his opponent. The man eyeballed Edenia from afar. This provoked her to crawl for cover.

“Thought you died.”

“I thought I did too.” The man replied.They both stared at each other. The streets were completely empty. Bodies surrounded them as the dust cleared for a standoff.

"I was disheartened. I thought I lost a chance to take revenge on the man who chained me to a breathing apparatus and a destroyed face. But now I see clearly. God raised you up from the grave the devil dug for this moment.” Vlad would set his blaster from full-auto to single shot.

“Bet your Russian ass he did.” With his left arm, the man took off the guard from his revolver holster. The hood waved away as his vision was disrupted multiple times.

The streets grew awfully eerie as silence flooded the area. Both Destoria and Edenia watched in suspense as both Vlad and the man locked eyes. The Headhunter and the Gunslinger. The man grew calmer as Vlad’s blood boiled. His hand shivered as he tried to control his anger. Failing to contain his rage, Vlad pointed his gun up high. In synchronisation, the man drew his revolver. Both of them had their muzzles pointed at each other. Without a second waisted, 

BANG!