[i]Sometimes I think about where I'd be if I hadn't been demoted. It doesn't help my reality, but I can't not think about it. It's a weed in my head that I can't get out. I think myself different from the other Dregs, yet I find myself daydreaming about being in a higher position, just like them. I suppose we'll all submit to the fanaticism eventually.[/i] Ezkor's Journal, Entry CCLXXV ——————————————————— We had rallied around the bunker. The Kings outnumbered us, their Ketch was continually dumping more of them, forcing us to fortify the bunker and it's surrounding area. We'd clumped up, a bubble of red in a sea of yellow. Other crews had held the lines while we'd carted out scrap and stone, anything we could make cover and walls with. The skiffs tried to provide air support, but the Kings were hot on their tails, chasing them around in the sky. The captains had called for reinforcement, but it wasn't arriving any time soon. We hadn't expected the kings to throw this much at us. We'd underestimated their numbers and commitment to this bunker. Which meant we had to hold it even more tightly. If the Kings wanted it this badly, there was something in that vault that was very valuable. So we held. ——————————————————— I was crouched down behind a concrete block, gunfire roaring around me. Energy bolts flying back and forth, I could feel the heat of the red hot shrapnel gun fire, hear the charging of wire rifles. I peeked out of cover, into the sea of Kings. Dregs pushed the advance forwards, Vandals and Captains mixed in. I took a shot, aiming at a Vandal trying to hide amongst the Dregs. The burst from my pistol took him in the arm, causing him to grab it in pain and fall. I fired three more times into the horde, the bursts hitting Dregs, making them flinch but not stop. I readied another shot, but a searing pain blazed through my scalp, forcing me to duck back behind my little wall. A Vandal had grazed me in the head. I shook off the pain and ducked out the other way, looking for the one who had shot me. I saw him, aiming down his Wire Rifle at another Devil. He was too far away to hit with my pistol, they weren't much good at range. I took out my shock grenade and threw it, flipping end over end in the air, until it hit the Vandal in the head and stuck. I ducked back behind my cover as it detonated, the screams of those caught in the blast joining the cacophony. I ducked out again, taking aim to fire at a Shank getting too close for comfort. Click Empty. A shot took me right in the arm, throwing me backwards, pain flaring through the limb like fire. I hit the ground and the world flashed, lights dancing for a moment, pain enveloping my head like a blanket. I groaned and turned over, crawling towards the bunker. My arm burned with pain, my vision was cloudy. Shots burned into the ground around me as I went. Dimly I heard shouts to fall back. The enemy had breached the western defense. I crawled into the bunker, narrowly avoiding being trampled by the stampede of Eliksni. I laid on the cold stone floor and the world became darkness. ——————————————————— I woke up buried. I couldn't see anything, and something was on top of me for sure. The smell was terrible. Spilled ether and blood. Not a kind mix. I struggled against the weight, finding myself in a pile of oddly shaped objects. They bent and wiggled, but we're mostly rigid. I struggled and shifted, the wound in my arm burning as I pushed against the weight, finally shifting it off, letting me see upwards. I was still in the bunker, concrete ceiling above me. I sat up and looked around, and found that I was in a pile of bodies. Vandals and dregs stacked around me. House Devils. I fought back the urge to gag. I was lucky to have not suffocated. I extracted myself from the pile, looking around more. The room was mostly empty, but the front doors were open, spilling in golden sunset light. I took a step towards the door and almost fell over. My legs were trembling. I slowly stumbled over, hand on the wall, into the blinding light. I looked out upon a field of bodies. Devils and Kings lay dead amongst eachother. Skiffs has crashed and exploded, there seemed to be a destroyed spider tank. The smell hit me like a wave, blood, ether, oil, dirt, and death. I took a step back and covered my face, breathing slowly. I looked back out and saw the remnants of the battle still raging. Kings had been pushed back almost all the way to their Ketch. Devils were winning. I cheered out loud. We'd almost won. A noise like the world being ripped asunder sounded. A beam of fire dropped from the heavens, crashing into the Ketch. I watched it fall, so slowly, into the earth. The Beam stopped, leaving me to witness the Ketch Detonate. It tore itself apart, a flash of light brighter than the sun. I looked away, but I felt the heat wash over me, and the noise hit me physically, pushing me back into the bunker as the vibration tried to tear me apart. I scuttled back, getting further into the bunker, away from that light and noise. Then, a third sensation. My comms went from quiet to static, louder and louder until I threw the whole headset off. Loud enough to hear from it sitting on the floor. Then, silence. Everything went dead. The noise from outside, the noise from the headset. It was all quiet, except my feet on the floor. I slid down against the wall, breathing quietly, and darkness took me once more.