The great fire

Alia let out a short yelp as the green bolt of pure electricity and radiation sprung its way from the filthy sky and struck the earth, feeling as if it had split both in two. Some of the blackened silt had begun to sprinkle its way into the gaping doorway as some hurried shouting sounded from outside the facility.

Soon enough, the soldier in green had returned to the monolith gate, stopping just at the mouth, turning around and looking back into the storm. He was quickly followed by none other than Darken, her wasteland companion and the only person alive that she knew she was safe around. Close in behind the fox was a young female Canine, probably in her twenties perhaps, and lacking any significant form of Protective gear.

There was a reunion between the Soldier and this Canine, one not quite similar to her own reunion with the fox. Now out of the Storm, and having just run into the safety of the hangar, he trudged up to her, allowing for the hedgehog to wrap her arms around him. 

But once that was out of the way, Alia stepped back.

"What the hell is wrong with you? You would literally be a leaking can of beans if you'd been hit by that bolt! Your ass would be halfway to Angel island!"

He stood silently, not answering her and simply staring down at the reinforced steel that lined the floor, slowly gathering dirt from the storm's winds. 

Another bolt of Lightning struck, this time likely only a few dozen feet from the hangar door, causing her to leap towards the fox, her hands grabbing him and carrying him away from the opening, along with the Robotic shell draped around her shoulders.

Caen, unlike everyone else, proceeded quite calmly into the complex, not even flinching as a bolt of lightning erupted from the sky, striking down a tree in one quick shot. He looked used to dealing with storms, by now, which indeed was true. He nodded to Shrike as the doors shut behind him.

Caen’s stomach growled at the idea of food, to which he replied with a simple headshake. “I don’t think I’ve eaten in days. I could eat literal rubbish by this point,” Caen muttered. Before proceeding to the mess hall, he asked Shrike “what will we need to do?” Waiting for an answer, before nodding again, and proceeding to the mess hall, for a quick bite to eat.

He looked over the rations. Lots of cans and packets lined the shelves, and plenty of bottles of water stood next to them. He picked up a packet, before going to open it with both hands, before realising that wasn’t exactly possible. With a sigh, he ripped it open with his teeth. 

Caen peered into the packet. Inside appeared to be some kind of block, off-white in colour. He rolled the packet back a little with his hand, before taking a bite. Dry. Bland. But it was edible. 

He placed the packet down, before grabbing a bottle of water, unscrewing it with his teeth. He gulped down the liquid, it immediately making his parched throat feel a little better. “One more day... I’ve survived one more...” he muttered to himself sombrely.

The storm was getting more and more dangerous. She was beyond glad to be inside, and with others.

If she said that a few years ago, people would think her mad. Oh how the apocalypse can change a girl, right?

Once she caught her breath, the maroon wolf looked around the inside of the facility. Many memories came back to her, almost overwhelming her. They were not pleasant, but she knew there were so many other, bigger issues at hand right now, such as patching up the wounded, settling all of the new people - including herself- and getting some well needed food and drink for everyone as she was almost certain that she was not the only one who was pretty low on energy.

She had a secondary reason for needing food so much, but that could wait until later. 

"Yes. It has been so long, easily over five years since we last spoke."

Looking around the group who was slowly separating to go their own ways, whether it was to take a seat, to find food, or even just to have a moment to themselves, she found herself smiling genuinely for the first time in what felt like forever. The canine hadn't seen another living being in a good while now, so it brought her hope to see that others were still alive. Especially one she knew.

As she was pondering on what to do herself, Tala looked over to where a familiar red figure had made their way over to where some food was sitting waiting on them all if necessary.
'Caen?' She raised an eyebrow in curiosity. Could she really be seeing another comrade in the flesh that survived?
Deciding it was best to go and see for herself, Tala took cautious steps towards the red male. Upon closing the distance between them, it became almost a certainty that the horned female was indeed loking at the red hedgehog in the flesh. Another out of character smile found its way onto her white muzzle as she quietly stood behind him. Before she could contain herself, she tapped Caens shoulder to hopefully make him turn around with her words.
"Well, one friend surviving made me positive, but two? Thats a miracle in itself."

-Shrike walked down the dimly lit corridors of a once prime base, the signs of wear and tear all to obvious to the eye, it had seen better days, far better days. The armored figure takes a left, proceeds onward for a while then a immediate right, through the door with a sign hanging above saying "Command and control".

Inside this room was the heart of the base, its fundamental systems for day to day operations, the control room was fairly large, multiple seats and positions for personal be stationed at, a briefing room, radar control, communication systems, surveillance interface and the localized defense system.

The Room was dusty as all hell, most of the systems were either offline or completely usable, tho there was clear indication that inside tampering had happened, some of the systems seemed of been deliberately destroyed. The young armored figure walked across the dusted floor, clearing away any unneeded items off tables and desks, he peered up at the empty monitors to see what was still functional.

The read out was grim, only tertiary power was currently running, just enough to power the camera systems basic lighting and seismic readers, Shrike new if they were going to get the most out of it they needed the base fully operational.

The figure turned around leaning against one of the many control panels with his arms folded looking directly at the fox.- 

"It's good to see you still alive Darken....dont question how I know its you with out seeing....I know it is you if Alia is with you then its a dead give away, it's good to know you guys are still alive, I know this is all not much but it beats whats out there. You the best when it comes to the technical side of things and we gonna need a miracle out of you restore power...I need the main generator back online again and transferring power to the rest of the complex, this will probably be a cake walk for you but you the only guy who can do it."

-Shrike said getting off the side of the desk with a sigh escaping his body as he collected 4 small devices that were in a storage cabinet to the direct left.-

"The seismic readers still seem operational but the radar appears to be 50 different kinds of messed up, going to be a while before we can fix that. I need you hear to get the systems back online, every one else is off getting fixed up and getting something to eat....I on the other hand have to go back out there to place these devices at our North, South, East and West perimeter of the complex...don't worry I'll be back soon enough..unless you know a bolt hits me out of no where....keep in contact when you get the systems back online and keep a eye on the camera and seismic sensors...good luck."

-With that said the figure departs from the control room heading down the long corridor that leads to the primary hanger, the only sound was the faint one of lights flickering in the ceiling above mixed with his own foot steps across the steel floor, he stops just before the massive bulk head doors, takes a moment to check his gear and begins to open the massive bulk head doors. 

The doors clank with a massive metal thud, and before him the storm and the landscape, for the good of the security of those inside he had to set these devices in the soil of the land, it could very well be the only source of fore warning to Cybred activity. 

The figure takes a deep breath and enters into the storm as the twin massive reinforced steel doors shut behind them, walking seemed rather difficult given the sheer wind force kicking up against him, visibility was terrible, the thick black sky and black like fog made it difficult to see what was going on.- 

"DARKEN! Radio check! You hear me ?! Im heading to the first point now! Its a damn hell storm out there, going to place the first device now! Confirm its working!"

-Shrike knelt down in thick orange sand, slowly digging away a hole in the earth as lighting crackled and struck around him, he activates the first device and shoves it into the hole, slowly covering it with the sand scorched earth before, before continuing to the second location, fragments of dirt and debris slamming against his gear.-

"First device is in place Darken..check to see if its working! Im heading to the next position!" 

-Shrike trudged all the way setting device after device until finally reaching the Southern most side of the complex, almost completely zapped of energy in he's effort to weather the storm he finally plants the last device into the soil.- 

"DARKEN! Final sensor is in position! I'm heading back to the base now!"

-From with in the base complex where Darken was working suddenly the seismic sensor where Shrike had finished up at began to emit a signal, something was moving in his direction, and according to the strength of the signal it was something big. Outside Shrike was about to make his way back until he began to feel tremors in the ground, he froze for moments as the tremors began to increase in size and strength, heavy thuds coming from behind of him, the lone armored human slowly turned around completely ignoring the storm at this point, lifting his head, in a sudden flash of lightening there in the not to far distance...a Cybred...and it was heading straight for him. Shrike yelled as loud as he could over the radio to Darken.-

"CYBRED!" 

-Shrike used the rest of his energy to try and run, but running was difficult in on it self at this point, plus you couldn't really out run one of these things.- 

"Darken! get those doors open! Alert every one inside we got company!" 

The silent grey fox followed Shrike, zoned out by the recent turn of events, having been trapped in the wasteland for years, just like everyone else who was still inside the hangar. Eventually they came to the Command room, it reminded him of the tie he visited the Orion base along with... Well, it didn't matter any more anyway, the way things turned out. 

The room was full of dust and filth from the years of abuse it had suffered, despite being locked away from the dangerous world of the outside. The 2 years that had passed had certainly taken their toll, and with the radiation and absolutely immeasurable firepower unleashed upon the world, nothing could be protected entirely. 

Once entering the room, he split off from the soldier, with him moving through the room, and the fox lingering around the monitors and consoles near the door. Everything near the door was in poor condition, but the soldier had managed to come across a device that was at least still functional enough.

Shrike began speaking to the fox, and his mind was snapped out of the ditch he'd been flung into. His eyes focused properly on the soldier, and it was indeed clearly the very person he'd hoped to see in this mess. If there was one person the fox could rely on, it was Shrike.

"Good lord, Shrike! It's you! I thought you'd... Well, Everyone... Never mind. Uh, yeah, I can do that, I haven't worked on anything larger than a computer chip in a very long time, but I'll see what I can do."

His thoughts gathered them self, and realising that he was now in general safety, the fox removed his helmet, revealing a poorly kept head of grey fur, and a torn and bruised muzzle. 

"Alright, It's just a good thing that they're even Operational, that gives me something to work off, instead of having to start from scratch. I'll get to work and see you when you're done."

The Soldier began making his way from the room, carrying replacement seismic sensors. 

"Hey, I'll uh, yeah. I'll let you know when I'm done in here."

Shrike left the room, and Darken watched him walk down the hallway, lights flickering behind him.

The fox made his way to the working console, checking what systems were operational, and which parts he would be able to operate from here. There was very little of use, only the cameras and lighting were working efficiently, and readings from the current seismic sensors were ballistic.

He'd have to make his way to each of the damaged parts within the station, but for now, as many operational consoles as possible was the main priority. Darken began checking each of the surrounding Monitors, checking for any sort of activity, and anything that was damaged or dysfunctional, he unplugged and gathered on a piece of flooring which he'd managed to hastily wipe off.

A disassembly and inspection would be required to salvage any working parts that could be used to construct new devices and utilities, or repair old and mostly functional machines.

A sharp call through his transmitter alerted him to the need to check the Seismic sensors. He checked the remote signal being emitted from the replacement sensors, all clear.

"They're completely functional Shrike, proceed to objective." 

And once the first one was put into place, there was a flicker of static, and the console updated the current seismic status. At least one of the devices should be functioning properly now.

The Sensor was behaving differently to the other three sensors, but it wasn't exactly silent- either. It was detecting nearby tremors, possibly due to the intensity of the storm and the lightning strikes.

The other three sensors progressively stabilised, with there being one, then two, and eventually four seismic sensors functioning properly. The only problem was the the detected tremors had spiked heavily since the first sensor had been placed, either the storm had grown in intensity, or there was something else going on out there.

A howl of wind cut through the transmitter, and Shrike's voice came through in broken smatterings of static.


"Roger that Shrike, head back to the base."

As soon as the words left his mouth, the screen in front of him began flickering, the sensors beeping wildly. Either buildings were falling out there, the sensors had short-circuited, or the they were living up to their purpose.

The Sensors began to spike rapidly, and the fox reached for the radio once more, but was cut short by Shrike's voice shouting the one word that struck fear into anyone's heart. 

The last 2 years had weathered any survivors, no matter how tough, or how strong, and everyone had learned to fear one word, or at the least, despise it.

Cybred.


"Roger Shrike! Opening Hangar door now!"

Using the remote door access command still functional on the main console, the fox commanded that the base be opened, and with their own metallic screech, they did so.

Caen took another bite of the dry food, nearly choking as he swallowed it down, before taking another swig of water. It was certainly not the greatest meal he’d ever had, but it was something, and that indeed was better than nothing. He sighed quietly.

The hedgehog jumped as he felt a tap on his shoulder, a flash of orange coming into his eyes as he turned around, raising his arm. When he had realised W exactly who it was, he relaxed, his arm falling to his side. “Tala... Yes... Surviving... It’s, um... it’s nice to see you. I wouldn’t exactly call my surviving a miracle, though, just lucky... or unlucky.”

Caen suddenly stood up straighter as he heard clanking and clicking, before one word he knew all too well rang through the hallways. 

The flash of orange returned, before overtaking Caen’s eyes entirely, before he muttered “Cybred...” Gritting his teeth, he immediately began to run at full pelt, summoning a fiery arm as he took himself as fast as his tired legs could.

The quiet comment was cut very short as Caen lit up his hands as if ready to fight her, prompting her hands to raise defensively. He looked exhausted, to put it nicely. Then again, she hadn't exactly seen herself in a mirror, so she really couldn't judge.
The metallic noise was one she knew of all too well. Whipping her head round, she watched Caen dash out after muttering their dreaded name. Tala closed her eyes for but a second, knowing that if she wanted to survive, she would have to fight; not just for herself, but everyone else as well.
She looked down, and focused on melting into her shadow, working her way through to find another one nearer everyone else to jump out from to lend a hand if necessary.
'Guess its do or die.' She thought as a dark look crossed her dull blue eyes. 

Remembering the lioness who was injured, and most likely not moving around, Tala found her shadow and jumped out of it, hoping not to frighten the two who were next to eachother too much. They were now in the middle of the base again, and Tala looked around to find everyone accountable except for one. 

Where was Shrike?

Her answer came faster than she anticipated as the hangar doors began opening to reveal the armour clad human outside, with none other than a blasted Cybred on his tail. Just when they thought they could have caught a break for half an hour, they get this.

"Dammit..." Tala growled as she curled her hands into fists. Her hands were so dry and cracked from the last of moisture, but living was far more important than a bath at this moment. "Time to let instincts fly."

-Shrike was making decent head way through the storm but by this stage he was relying purely on he's adrenaline to carry himself back towards the base, while the base was not to far from he's position the extremely tiered nature of him made it sure feel like it was miles away.

Even if he's legs were burning he couldn't stop, coming in hot was a Cybred, it pierced the thick orange like smog, as its large feet came crashing down onto the soil with a mechanical thud, its bright blue visor shining, 3 large weapons sporting just above its body as its large gyro torso swung in the troopers direction.

Then a horrific weapons fire sound ripped from one of the massive guns on the Cybred, a thick concentrated energy beam left it's barrel exploding off to Shrikes left, throwing him like a rag doll collapsing into the dirt, he couldn't out run it any more, the machine was well with in weapons range.

The figure rolled himself onto he's back to see the Cybred extremely close to him, he's breathing accelerated, he shut he's eyes and waited for the machine to erase him from the planet, this would be the final day Shrike would see alive.

The Cybred energy barrel glowed bright orange as it began to charge the weapon, then with out cause or reason a thud was heard way off to the left, a distinct bluish glow followed by a beam tore through the smog, it punched two holes straight the Cybred, one passing through its main reactor the second striking its AI pod.

The machine stood silently for a few seconds before it came crashing down into the dirt with a massive thud that shook the area, the ground shook a bit from its impact...what the hell just happened, 

No time to properly process that thought, off to he's immediate left another machine appeared this one far larger and more powerful then the previous one who almost wiped him off the face of Mobius.

It was big, standing at just shy of 9 meters tall, armed with weapons usually reserved for things such as tanks or war ships, its large powerful reverse knee joint legs made the iconic foot steps that would send shivers and fear down the spines of any would be beings bold or stupid enough to stand before them.

Shrike raised he's head as the massive machine stopped mere meters from, it's large Gyro stabilized torso pitching down, it stare at him....yet...this time...it did not fire...upon the small figure below it.

The machine swung its torso over to the entrance of the base not to far from them, spotting other figures assembling just at its entrance. Now between them and Shrike was a huge machine, tho it was unclear why it did not fire upon them, having one this close and of this size was both bad and terrifying. 



From with in the control room where Shrike had left Darken in charge, a sudden signal began to transmitted into one of the local terminals, projecting 3 numbers across one of the screens, text wrote. 

"IFF identification number..813"

This number continued to repeat several times as the machine pingged the message to the central base, what was it doing...was it potentially alerting other Cybreds to the discovery of the base...why would it need to do that when it alone could raise it to the ground...the number was yet...familiar tho...as if he had seen it before.

The Cybred still had not fired upon any one or thing at this point, it just stood there ominously, its one hydraulic actuator foot was literally 2 meters away from Shrike, it one swift move it could easily crush him under its massive foot. Yet its behavior was strange, why did it just not fire when it had the chance.-

Before the fox could do anything to counter the impending doom that was coming to everyone within the base, the screaming cacophony of weapons fire erupted from outside the base. 

It was already too late, if what just occurred was just a fraction of what had begun 2 years ago, then the base was compromised, and everyone was guaranteed dead. But then it stopped. There were only 2 shots, and there was no damage to the base, that he could tell, although, without going outside he couldn't really tell.

And whatever had happened, happened outside, meaning that it was best he stay as far inside as possible.

He could hear frantic footsteps from inside the base, several of the inhabitants where making their way to the hangar. Suicide. If there was in fact a hostile cybred out there no way could 2 individuals take it down on their own.

"Shrike! What's going on out there!?"

He called through the comms, beginning to become confused by the lack of conflict and hurried movement.

He was cut short however, when the entire command room was thrown into darkness save the one terminal from before that was still functional. The Terminal screen was completely black, with the only exception being 3 small numbers repeating across its surface.


813..813..813..813..813..

The number seemed familiar, but Darken couldn't identify where he'd seen it before. He immediately accessed the small data core he'd managed to save from the apocalypse, frantically searching for anything relating to the numbers 813.

"Shrike, we've got an ID number"

Caen continued down the long hallway, using practically nothing but adrenaline to speed him along. With a short hop, he let fly more flames behind him, summoning a pair of wings that carried him faster and faster. However, he couldn’t keep this up for long, and let out a tired breath, dropping back to the ground, and skidding along the dirt.

He scrambled to his feet just as a large, blue beam destroyed the Cybred, the machine being replaced by a larger one, right next to Shrike, who was on the ground. 

“No!” Caen shouted, his eyes glowing a bright orange,  as he summoned the same wings again, flying straight towards the machine. When it did not attack, he stopped in the air, just metres from it, his breath shallow, and short in length. He hissed as his skin started to char in places, but he pushed through it, cautiously floating towards the cockpit of the machine, attempting to look inside.

Things were obviously getting more and more heated. Talas focus on the lioness' shade was proving a little more difficult, but not something she couldn't manage. Pushing herself through to jump out of the moving mass, she landed in front of not only her, but the other female as well, who was assisting her with walking. They must have been making their way out if the line of fire at present due to the current injuries.

With no words spoken, Tala raised her hands to show she was not an enemy, and offered to help get them to where they needed to go quicker. Getting the injured fixed up was priority at the moment. The others could hold things off, giving her time to help here then outside as well.

Hopefully she didn't over do it this time though.

-The colossal machine stood, nothing but the faint sounds of its large humming fusion reactor and servo systems were heard, even through the storm which was not starting to fade tho still very much a danger to the unprotected outside. 

The Cybreds large gyro torso quickly swung back over to Shrike who at this point was far to afraid to move, fearing being crushed by the machine, it slowly peered down at him as it began to scan the armored figure. Yet despite what should of happened many minutes ago the Cybred still had not fired a shot, it could of easily blasted the entire base straight to hell. 

The last code that was sent to Darkens computer terminal inside the command and control section of the base was DB-813, after which the transmission was cut, it was unclear if Darken recognize the number and initials that had been transmitted several times over, time would tell.

Suddenly the Cybred spotted another exiting the large bulk head base doors, heading straight for it, this time using an ability that Shrike had never seen before, wings of fire carried the red hedge hog in the air towards the bipedal machine, which stopped only mere meters away from it, at this virtually point blank range, the Cybred could easily vaporize him with a single shot from one of its arm mounted gigwat laser cannons, yet it stared at him, its thick blue visor like light looking directly at him.

The cybred once more began to use its scanning tech to inspecting the flying being that was before it, a blue beam, much like a over sized laser pointed scanned up and down the floating mobians body.

Down on the scorched earth Shrike slowly began to rise to he's feet, this behavior of the machine was strange, Cybreds were programmed or for a lack of a better term forced to engage on site when spotting living targets, they sure as hell were not known for taking prisoners, not that he was aware of. The armored figure decided to gamble, not only he's life but the entire bases on one motive, this either was a really good idea or he's final idea.

Shrike raised he's hands up high slowly stepping away from the titan machine, backing away from it until it was able to view him properly, tho the machine still seemed fixed on Caen at this point, it was at this point Shrike made's hes move.- 

"Di...Dibs....is...that you....DB-813...."

-Seconds passed, the most tense seconds probably for every one right now, these seconds felt like the longest period of time, hanging forever until suddenly the goliath machine spoke, and it spoke in fluent although synthetically like male voice-

"Shrike! I had a feeling it was you down there....I was not sure at first but it seems I finally tracked you down....You will not believe the journey I have been on. Tried to get information but no luck I eventually picked up that transmission of yours and headed this way, you luck I took care of that machine before it could of transmitted your location back."

-Well if there was ever the largest weight lifted off he's shoulders it was now, Shrike dropped he's arms, boy were they lucky, it turned out to be friendly- 

"Caen...stand down...he isn't here to harm us.....Dammit Dibs you nearly stopped by heart I swear....don't worry Caen he's not with them despite what you may think trust me on this...if he was really one of them our base would look like a crater right now."

-Shrike quickly got on open coms with the base to notify Darken of the situation development.-

"Darken this is Shrike...you can breath again don't worry It's the large metal friend..Dibs, son of a bitch scared the crap out of us and nearly crushed me.....prepare for intake of a Cybred."

-Shrike pointed towards the hanger just not to far from them, actually it was only a good couple of meters away and indicated that is where Dibs needed to go.-

"Alright every one inside now! I don't want any more unexpected surprises."

-Shrike walked back along side the tall machine, its large feet making tremendous thuds followed by a swirl of machine and servo noises, Dibs barely could fit between the open doors but he managed to get in just by mere inches, once inside he's foot steps made massive metal thuds followed by suitable echoing sounds as the after sound traveled down the hall ways of the base complex before he came to a stop.- 
https://instaud.io/3t3h

"Darken close the hanger doors, once you finish up there get the rest who are able to walk and order them to the hanger...I want to introduce them to some one important."

-Once the group had found the medical bay they had found it rather roomy, and fairly well stocked with supplies, seemed like Lysander really did go the extra mile with this kind of thing there was enough room to facilitate at least 4 wounded at any given time, as well as 2 work areas, lockers and cabinets stuffed with medical supplies both public and military type of medical gear. 

-Back in the hanger the large machine swung its torso to look back over Caen, it seemed..to remember him at least vaguely- 

"Caen...Caen yes...yes I remember you..a bit...it was a long time ago...you might not remember the event..but it was you and a handful who were sent to track me down when I was apparently "Awal" Near spagonia..along side..who was it...commander Raito I think her name was."

-While Dibs opened up conversation Shrike waited for Darken to assemble who could move to the hanger for a important gathering.-

There was some more hurried movement, the howling wind of the dust-storm outside, the booming thunder echoing around the base, and the frantic beating of his own heart drowned out all noise, until there was a single shout of fury, cut short by an eerie silence, which itself seemed to cover all other sounds.

Even the furious thunder and lightning seemed to stop for but a few seconds, leaving the distant scream of the wind against the base to buffet his senses. Once again, just as it did outside, he could feel the adrenaline begin to produce inside his system, putting him on a hair trigger for even a pin to drop in the almost absolute silence.

The 813 was replaced for but a second with an expanded form of the ID tag, DB-813. The call-sign flickered on the dying consoles screen for a second until the screen shut itself off, leaving the console offline.

Now currently unable to access the Camera systems within the base, he was blind until someone spoke.

Which, thank the gods it did, the fox could have sworn that he became something else for a mere second due to the fright that he received by Shrike's message.

But it was good news, the only news that'd been good since more than 2 years ago. He let out a sigh of relief. Dibs, yeah, he remembered the robotic bastard, big tank of a guy, friendly enough, but definitely in an unfortunate circumstance with the current apocalypse. Hell, it was an unfortunate circumstance for everyone.


"Shrike, thank Jesus it's you Dibs. Scared your crap Shrike? Man, I nearly lost my crap. All clear everyone, False alarm!"

He called the entire thing out over the Base Comms, allowing any and all to hear the conversation, but more importantly the news. The fox began to reboot the Main console as he announced it, getting ready to shut the hangar door, and funnily enough, the main man on the floor had the same idea too.

With the console now running again, even though it wasn't much to begin with, he was able to view at least some of the facilities security cams and shut the hangar door, which he was glad to be able to do, the radiation from one lightning bolt alone was enough to sentence someone to a long, slow and painful death, not to mention the filth and soot that was being blown about.

"Shrike, we've got a couple in the medical bay, I think they're a bit busy for now, but they might be able to join you shortly. As for everyone else, they're already present. I'll remain here for now, no need to introduce me again."