Three days have passed since the meeting and the introduction of the Gray Raven's new commandant, Ren Takeda. For these past three days, the Gray Raven's bond with Ren had formed and it started to deepened everytime they learned a new thing about Ren, like his dreams, likes and dislikes, and his philosophy of treating the constructs with respect and as equals, not just a weapon but a sort of saviour for human kind.
This philosophy of his was a surprise to them, but also a very refreshing thing for Lucia, Liv, and Lee from the usual commandants' view on constructs as tools or disposable weapons of war.
They were also surprised just how strong and skilled Ren was in combat, sure it still falls behind a construct's fighting capabilities, but he can hold himself pretty well against low-level corrupted.
After these three days had passed, they were called to the control room, and this time it was an actual mission debriefing. The Gray Raven Squad stood in military discipline in front of the screen where Nikola and their mission area showed.
"Your mission is to investigate an anomaly in City 015, a strike hawk member, Kamui, had reported a trace of Red Tide forming under a railway tunnel, find it and destroy the source before it spreads!" Ren grimaced at their mission, Red Tide is a name for an evolved, punishing virus.
At this stage of its evolution, it takes the form of a liquid state, and the virus doesn't care about what it consumes because it will devour all kinds of biomass to reproduce and make more hetero creatures, a more powerful kind of corrupted since it's entirely made out of punishing virus.
If this Red Tide can fully form, it will become a spawn point for these creatures and overrun the city, making it a dead zone, where the Punishing Virus is highly concentrated, and City 015 is close to the borders, the risk of letting this fully form is too high!
"Since there will be a massive concentration of the punishing virus in the location, Commandant Ren Takeda, report to the armory to take the protective suit prepared for this mission! And for the rest, prepare for your departure!" Nikola said in his commanding voice that poses immediate discipline to those who hear it.
"Sir, Yes, Sir!" The Gray Raven Squad saluted Nikola, and then they headed out to prepare for this mission.
—
Lucia, Liv, and Lee waited for Ren at the base's parking lot, Lee was making a final run through to his jeep to make sure it doesn't have any damages or empty fuel tanks, his militaristic jeep was a six wheel drive, heavily armored with thick yet light plating, large airless tires and inside it was filled with large cases that has anti punishing virus bombs inside to detonate at the core spot where the Red Tide is forming.
Liv was making sure that their ammo supply, serums, and first aid kit both for their frames and human commandant was properly secured and restocked, while Lucia was observing the map layout of City 015, creating battle plans before hand and mentaly noting advantageous places, blind spots, and emergency escape paths if the mission failed.
Lucia stopped her planning and looked up when she heard a sound of somebody approaching them. "The commandant is here."
Liv and Lee stopped what they were doing and stood ready for Ren's arrival. Lee couldn't help but whistle out, impressed at the armor Ren wore. Unlike the gray military uniform he always wears, his armor was painted black for extra stealth, his mask was replaced with a helmet that covered his whole head, complete with ventilation, serum ports, and lights to the side. Thick black gloves with metal plates on his knuckles and backhand. His chest was protected with a chestplate that had a dagger attached to his left pectorals, a utility belt that had a serum pouch and his gun strapped to his hips, and a single-edged blade to his backside. His pants were baggy, but they were strapped on to his thigh and calf area, and with pouches, flexible combat boots, and to complete his look, a short cape cloth that wraps his left shoulder that had the Gray Raven Insignia printed on it.
"Are all our equipment ready?" Ren's voice audited through the helmet and snapped them out of their staring and recomposed themselves.
"U-um, yes, Commandant, all our supplies are strapped and secured, the bombs are accounted for, and the Jeep is in top condition." Lucia said her report in haste, which brought a small chuckle from Ren.
"At ease, Lucia. We have talked about this. Just call me by my first name. There's no need to be formal because of my rank, it sounds too forced." Ren said in calm amusement. Lucia fake coughed at her hand and stood straight again, but with a slight flush to her cheeks from embarrassment.
"Sorry Com- Ren, I'm not used to calling someone at your rank with their first name." Lucia said while bashfully looking to the side.
"Hehehe, Well, you'll just have to get used to it, but that's besides the matter. Are we ready to head out, Lee?" Ren asked, to which Lee nodded.
"Good. Gray Raven Squad, let's head out!" Ren announced, and everyone nodded, determined to complete this mission. With that, the Jeep's engine revved up, and they headed out of the base. Lee drove the jeep towards City 015.
—
*Location: City 015 main road.*
The city was, for short, a rubble, most of the buildings here are old and are deteriorating over time, with just one bomb, it could topple the building. The roads here aren't intact either, it was full of old cars from the past human civilization blocking the road so they have no choice but to slam through it.
If that wasn't enough, the road was also full of holes and craters that made it bumpy to ride on, luckily, Lee's jeep was modified to handle rough terrains and it would still drive smoothly, save from other potholes that made it too bumpy, and his bumper was designed to push through debris or blockage in the road.
"Liv, what's our status, and how close are we now?" Ren asked while holding on to the bars, trying not to get slammed around.
"There's a small group of corrupted up ahead! Lee, turn left, you should see a tunnel underneath a raised market building." Lee grunted and shifted gears before turning the steering wheel to the left.
"We are about 2 km away from the target area, Ren!" Liv said while looking at her hologram map, which shows the location and their vehicle and how fast they were moving.
At their current speed, it didn't take long for them to reach the entrance to the underground train station. They decided that it was best to leave the jeep behind since most of the tunnel had caved in, making it hard to maneuver inside and not get buried underneath.
They took the case and a couple of supplies with them and made their way towards the lighless tunnel. Before they stepped inside, Ren gave out a couple of instructions to the team that impressed Lucia with his calm leadership.
"Liv, scan the area around us and ahead. Lee, watch our back, and Lucia, stay near Liv and watch out for any corrupted flanking us." They followed Ren's instructions and went into formation. Liv sent out her drones, and Lee pulled out his guns. Lucia was beside Liv with hand tightly holding her katana.
Nodding in satisfaction, Ren then turned on his helmet's flashlights and took the lead, stepping first in the tunnel, surprising Lee.
"Ren, are you sure you want to take the lead? It could become dangerous, and Sir Nikola specifically said not to let you take the frontline." Lee warned in his stoic voice.
"Hm? Don't worry, Lee, I can handle a couple of low-ranked corrupted on my own, just protect Liv and the bombs. And besides, Nikola's warning won't stop me from keeping my team out of harm's way, so trust me." Ren said confidently, Lee didn't show much outside, but inside, he was once again shocked by his words.
Liv and Lucia were looking at Ren with a slight glint in their eyes. They, too, were amazed by Ren, and they became determined, unknowingly to themselves, and trusted Ren more.
Lee didn't question Ren anymore and let him take the lead. The Gray Raven squad carefully made their way into the tunnel, keeping their guards up and keeping an eye out for any corrupted in hiding.
As they walked inside the tunnel, Liv's scanners then detected multiple corrupted signatures nearby, and their metal steps reverberated around the tunnel as it was hastily heading towards them. "Ren, repairers are heading towards us, up ahead!"
"Hm?!" And on cue, three corrupted came out of the shadow, welding something akin to a metal club, they were thin and fast with a round head and glowing red eyes, their hands and neck were wrapped around with ripped clothes.
"Battle formation!" Ren shouted and they didn't waste any more time, they readied their weapons and Ren pulled out his gun, it lit up to life and made a shimming sound like it was charging.
Ren pulled the trigger and with deadly accuracy, he took down the three approaching repearers with two bullets each while Lucia slashed two repaires that were about to jump them.
As the sound of battle grew, so did the number of corrupted as it was attracted by the noise. There weren't only repairers here but there were also a corrupted Ground Monitor, a small robot with a cylinder head that fires lasers, and an Aerial Monitor, a flying drone that had talons and can shoot out lasers as it glides towards them.
Lucia and Ren would deal with the Repairers, while Liv dealt with the Ground Monitors with her long-range Levi-Guns and Lee took out the flying Aerial Monitors. The Gray Raven's were surrounded however, their sheer amount of experience and teamwork were enough to deal with the corrupteds, Lee and Liv expectedly were fighting harmoniously with each other.
But the unexpected synchronization of Lucia and Ren while fighting side by side surprised them. They would cover each other's back and watch their blind sides as if they have been fighting with each other for years. If a corrupted would come close to Lucia, Ren would shoot it, if a corrupted sneaks up on Ren, Lucia would rush to his side and slice the corrupted in half.
It didn't take long for them to kill all the corrupteds in the area. Lucia, Liv, and Lee were all fine and chatting to check up on each other, they weren't tired at all thanks to their body as constructs not needing oxygen to function nor it sweats, however for Ren, he was sweating bullets and panting underneath the helmet.
"Damn armor… It's too damn hot in here even with ventilations on." Ren muttered to himself as he holstered his pistol and looked back at his team. "Is everyone okay?"
"Mmn, affirmative Ren." Lucia answered for everyone.
"Good, let's continue before any more corrupteds appearing." Ren said, and everyone agreed, that's when Liv's radar suddenly picking up something very fast heading towards Ren.
"REN, WATCH OUT!!" Liv shouted, and she pointed her Levi Guns, but it needed to be repositioned so Ren wouldn't be hit along with the corrupted. Lee and Lucia acted too and put everything to their legs to speed up, but Ren was too far and the corrupted was closing in fast!
Lucia's chest tightens at the thought of not making it in time as she tries to reach out to Ren and push him away.
Ren heard Liv's scream and looked to side to see sparks flying out in each step the corrupted's steed took, there where little to no time to think of plans to escape as the distance between them were closing in and it will be too late when Lucia or Lee arrive, he would be pierced by the pole the corrupted was wielding.
However, having already faced dangers similar to this, his body acted accordingly. With one swift motion he side-stepped to the left, pulled out his blade then deflected the pole to the side and with his free hand he grabbed the pole and did a shoulder throw as the corrupted still tightly held onto the pole.
The steed, now revealed to be a mechanical metal boar, was heading towards Lee and Lucia, who jumped to the side and dodged its sharp tusks. Ren slammed the corrupted to the ground and stepped on its chest before driving the blade to the corrupted's head, swiftly taking its life. Ren then pulled out his gun and pointed it at the metal boar. When the boar swerved to turn and looked in Ren's direction, Ren unloaded a hail of bullets at it.
The boar tried to endure and resist the bullets at first, but it eventually fell dead in the end. Ren finally breathed a sigh of relief and pulled out his blade. Lucia, Lee, and Liv quickly rushed to Ren's side, checking if he was injured.
"Ren! Are you okay?! Are you injured anywhere? Tell me!" Lucia bombarded Ren with questions.
"Woah, woah, calm down Lucia, I'm fine, it didn't even graze me." Ren explained, but Lucia didn't listen and called out for Liv to make sure.
"Liv! Come over quickly and check his vitals!" Lucia called out to Liv, who was equally worried about Ren. Liv nodded with a hum and ran towards them while Lee walked behind with a hand on his face and shook his head. He might have acted like this, but he was relieved that nothing bad happened to Ren.
Liv and Lucia frantically search Ren's body for any injuries, but they are finally relieved that Liv's scans show no signs of him being injured. Lucia finally breathed out the air she didn't know she was holding in, nor did she know she was able to.
After she calmed down, her face became fierce and started to berate Ren about putting himself in danger and almost getting killed while at it, and for the first time in their whole career working with Lucia, this was the first time Lee and Liv saw Lucia this angry and worried for someone besides them and a couple constructs but not to this degree she was showing now.
"-And you almost got hurt! I couldn't manage to reach you even if I tried! You almost died while I could only watch! And, and." Lucia was huffing in anger and anxiety if Ren didn't dodge that. Ren tried to calm the frantic Lucia down, and the only thing that came to mind was to rub her head, which surprisingly worked.
"It's okay, Lucia, hehehe, calm down, thanks for worrying about me but I'm fine, that corrupted just surprised me, that's all. Come on, Lucia, trust me, I'll be careful next time." Ren said in his softest voice he could muster.
Lucia just looked up at the arm that was rubbing her head, unaware of why it was comforting to her. Lucia could only look down with a complicated look to her eyes, while nodding still conflicted about letting him take the lead again.
"Fine… But I'll be by your side all the time!" Lucia said with a tone that leaves no room for arguments.
"Hahahaha, Okay, okay." Ren could only laugh as Lucia was glaring at him with a slight pout, while the rest of the Gray Raven Squad just watched in shocked amusement.