Chapter 53: Choices and Consequences

The blazing sun shined down on Ford's black Guardian IV Armor as he walked over to the Phasewalker Command Center, which was a single concrete building in the middle of Fortress Alpha. Four Security Troopers with Defender-I and Deflector Shields stood around the entrance as sentries.

"Major Ford." One of the troopers recognized Ford. His face was covered by the dark face shield, which, even under this temperature, was pulled down. This was the case with all four Security Troopers, making them seem almost identical. "Please enter." They moved to the side and let Ford, Taylor, and Kane, the other Tier 1 Mutant, into the building.

Ford smiled and nodded as he entered. Four Security Troopers...not too bad. With the element of surprise, either one of the three Mutants could slaughter them with ease.

Not a problem.

The inside of the Command Center was much cooler. In fact, it was air-conditioned, just like every other indoor facility in Fortress Alpha. The Phasewalkers really weren't short on things like energy.

The Command Center was made of multiple parts. Caity's office, along with Ryan's office and the offices of all the Majors and Battalion Commissars, were all parts of the building. They were protected from public view by curtains or walls, but Ford knew very well when he started his rampage, neither curtains nor walls would be able to stop him. With everyone in the Command Center dead, he could easily take over the foot soldiers. Ordinary people were no threat to Mutants without a leader and proper coordination, nor would they have the will to fight.

In Ford's mind, after he killed the leadership of Fortress Alpha, aside from a few absolute loyalists, most troops here would simply surrender. This was common in survivor camps, for most survivors had little loyalty to specific individuals.

What he didn't know was that Phasewalkers were hardly ordinary survivors. Kill Caity and Ryan and all the Majors, and the Phasewalkers wouldn't stop going after him until either he or they were dead.

Seeing the three Mutants here, Cara, as Caity's assistant, walked out and greeted them.

"Colonel Hunter is inside, talking to Commissar Ryan." She smiled politely. "She'll be with you in a bit."

Ford nodded slowly as he sat down in one of the seats along the hallway. He would just break the cover and strike now, but unless he had Caity in his line of sight, the Colonel could always have a chance of escaping. People don't reach her position by being slow or foolish. If that happened, he was done.

The other two Mutants sat down beside their leader.

Meanwhile, near the armory of Fortress Alpha, a squad of Rebirth Troopers was hiding around a corner. Their gadgets were Phasewalker standards. Brown sigils marked their shoulders. But today, they wouldn't be fighting for the Phasewalker Corps.

The two Lieutenants glanced at each other. Despite their best attempts, they couldn't stop their twitching cheeks and shaking hands to betray their anxiousness. What they were doing here was playing with fire. Win, and Fortress Alpha and its seemingly endless stock of resources would be theirs for the taking. Lose, and they would be done. They turned against their own saviors. Only fools would give them a second chance.

"When are we moving in?" A Rebirth Trooper asked. He was holding onto a Defender-I Rifle. In fact, all the Troopers in Fortress Alpha, Phasewalker or Rebirth, had Defender series rifles on them at all times. This was so in the case of a surprise attack, the troopers wouldn't be completely defenseless. But all the tanks, APCs, and artillery units were put under lock and key. These weapons could still pose a threat to the Mutants, so Ford had to have them secured.

"We wait for the signal!" The lieutenant, James, repeated for the seventh time. "When Ford takes out that Colonel Hunter and her fellow High Command, we will strike in the moment of confusion."

The other lieutenant, Frank, was looking at the armory. As far as he could see, there were four Phasewalkers standing guard there. Assault Troopers. He didn't know which battalion they belonged to, not that it would matter too much when he kills them all.

But for now, they had to wait.

In the Fortress Alpha Command Center, Ford looked around in boredom. This feeling, having to sit still and wait just before all hell breaks loose, was making him sick. Also, he couldn't help but feel a sense of doubt. What's taking Colonel Hunter so long to see him?

Suddenly, Taylor turned to him.

"I should go look around. Check the perimeter" She suggested. "Make sure nothing is wrong."

Ford nodded. Taylor was a Mutant with enhanced speed. Even Ford couldn't chase up to her if she was in motion. The perfect scout. As Taylor stood up and walked out, Ford and Kane kept on waiting.

A full ten minutes went by, and nothing happened.

"That's weird." The other Tier 1 Mutant, Kane, frowned. Whether Taylor saw anything or not, she should have reported back by now. But...even if something did go wrong, what could possibly stop her? With her speed, a squad of riflemen couldn't even stop her! And he didn't hear the sound of armors or artillery either.

Suddenly, Ford's expression changed as he reached a horrible possibility. With surprising speed for his mutation, he leaped up from the seat and charged to the room where Cara was sitting. The secretary's office.

There was no one there to be seen.

Kane realized that as well. He dashed straight to Caity's office, crushing through the concrete wall in the process.

Likewise, there was no one there.

Chills covered Kane's back as he turned to Ford.

"It's a trap!"

Meanwhile, outside the Command Center, Caity looked up from a computer that was showing the security camera footage of inside the Command Center. As the two Mutants realized they were made, she turned to Major Olsen of the 3rd Artillery Battalion.

"Light them up."

Before the two Mutants could do anything, the entire Command Center exploded into a giant ball of fire. Flames erupted from every corner of the building before coming together and clashing against each other in the middle of the Command Center, destroying everything in its path.

Tier 1 Mutant Kane was hit by the full brunt of the shockwave and the flames before he could even react. With his powers, he created an invisible force field around himself, but guess what? The entire Command Center was rigged with explosives. It would take much more than a Tier 1 Mutant to survive this.

When his force field was cracked, it didn't take more than a few seconds for his body to dissolve into nothing.

Within seconds, the entire Command Center was leveled.

Caity turned to Ryan. "Do you think they're all dead?"

Ryan glanced at Caity. He had to admit he was proud, not of her question, but of how cautious she was. Behind them, the 1st Armored Battalion was moving into position. Predator IIs tanks and Archon I power armors were deployed. A safe distance away, the 3rd Artillery Battalion could lay down more punishment on the Command Center at a moment's notice.

Caity didn't know if Ford was killed or not, but she deployed precautions either way. This level of readiness was what it took to be good commanders.

Suddenly, a roar echoed through the wreckage of the Command Center.

"Caity Hunter!!! You will pay for this!"

A few concrete pieces were pushed away as a figure emerged from what was left of the building. Ford. But he was no longer the well-dressed leader of Rebirth. His clothes were no more than a skeleton of what they once were, and his entire body was covered by countless wounds, all of them still dripping blood. Even as he slowly walked out, he was stumbling.

Ford thought he was decisive enough. Face Caity Hunter and kill her with surprise. But...who the hell would blow up their own Command Center, their own office, just to kill him? That brought ruthlessness to a whole new damn level!

And how did Caity even know? Did...did someone betray him? Who? Zhao? Taylor? His two lieutenants?

All of them?

"Ok. So he survived." Caity commented quietly as Ford expressed his hatred. "How...unfortunate of him. All units, proceed as planned."

Caity's calm voice was delivered to all the Armored Troopers and Artillery Troopers. If some of the Phasewalkers were terrified by the idea of confronting a Tier 2 Mutant, then Caity's nonchalant tone gave them an extra boost of confidence.

Ford barely made his way out of the burning wreckage when the sound of artillery shells piercing the air appeared once again. A dozen M109 Howitzers roared as they dumped their load on Ford. In the air, half a dozen attack choppers closed in. Their Gatling guns and air to ground missiles lashing out on the poor Tier 2 Mutant relentlessly.

Without another word, Ford charged forward as countless explosions engulfed where he was just moments ago. He was aiming right at Caity. Even after the ambush, he still had some tactical mindset left. There was no way he could survive for long under the coordinated assault of the Phasewalkers. A single missile couldn't kill him. How about ten? A hundred? Stand his ground and he would be a dead man.

His only chance lay in one possibility: if he could kill Caity Hunter and create some chaos among his ambushers, he still had a chance left.

But killing Caity Hunter was far from easy. This was what Ford realized when he saw the army that had placed itself between him and Colonel Hunter.

3 Predator II that were confiscated from Fort Sentinel and survived the gruesome battles that the 1st Armored Battalion took part in were on the move. These gigantic, moving fortresses unloaded on Ford with multiple Gauss machine guns. Every few seconds, its main cannon would roar once, leveling a piece of ground where Ford was.

Ford was forced to keep moving. He was already half-maimed by the initial explosion, and his wounds only got worse as he was forced to move at full speed. If he had a while to rest and regroup, his situation would be much better, but as of now, whenever he as much as stopped somewhere for too long, that field would explode and worsen his wounds even more.

With all the firepower unleashed upon him, without his Mutation, Ford would've died a thousand times already. In reality, he was one of the toughest Tier 2 Mutants there were. Even a weaker Tier 2 Mutant would've died long ago.

Hell was unleashed all around him, but the Tier 2 Mutant somehow tanked through all of that. Ignoring the Predator II, he went straight for where Caity was. As he got too close for comfort, most of the attack choppers and artillery units had to cease their firing to avoid friendly fire.

Hundreds of Armored Troopers raised their Defender Gauss Rifles and opened fire on Ford. Less experienced troops would be routing when a Tier 2 Mutant capable of withstanding an entire artillery barrage was moving toward them with all the fury in the world, but these Armored Troopers were far from inexperienced. Whatever generation they were, they have faced hordes of Mutants and stood their ground. Even in the face of death, they put in everything they've got.

Countless Gauss bullets pierced Ford's skin and buried deep inside, each adding a small injury to the Mutant's body. At this point, Ford was pretty much maimed beyond repair, but he wasn't dead. Of course, the man was well aware that he likely wouldn't leave Fortress Alpha alive. At this point, all he wanted to do was bring down the woman who took everything from him.

And then three Armored Troopers in Archon I Power Armors crashed into him.

Archon I Power Armors. Unlike the Guardian IV armors that were more like uniforms than armors, Archon I Power Armors fully resembled what people imagined futuristic power armors would be. They stood over three meters tall, completely covering their wearers from all sides. Each Archon I was armed with a Gauss Machine gun attached to the side of the armor and a giant metal sword over two meters long strapped to its back.

Unfortunately, Archon Is weren't in the battle when the Phasewalkers made their way toward New Sara because the wearers were in training, but this was no longer the case, and these Power Armors showed their might for the first time against the rogue Tier 2 Mutant.

Just the initial collision forced Ford, who was in motion through all the fire and fury, to a screeching stop.

Ford screamed and punched one of the Archon I in the helmet. He managed to crack its protective glass shield, and if he was at his full power, he had a chance of breaking through and killing the Armored Trooper inside.

But today, luck wasn't on his side.

The Archon I attacked reached out and grabbed onto his arms while the two Archon I on the side reached out and pulled out their swords. Without hesitation, the Phasewalker pilots reached out and chopped Ford's arms off clean off in two swift strikes.

Ford screamed and collapsed. His severed limbs hit the ground and blood spilled out. Strangely, the Archon Is didn't go in for the kill. Instead, they reached out and cut off his legs as well, completely disabling him.

When all that was done, as the Archon Is held whatever was left of Ford down, a combat medic walked up and treated his wounds so he wouldn't bleed to death.

Finally, the captured Tier 2 Mutant was brought before the woman he blamed everything for. Caity Hunter.

And suffice to say, he wasn't happy.

"Caity Hunter! You traitor! I swore my loyalty to you and this is how you treat me?"

Caity smirked. Even now, Ford was trying to lie his way out and play the victim.

"We both know what you had in mind when you came to see me today, Ford. You wanted to kill me, Ryan, and every single one of my people and take over the camp. What I did...it's merely self-defense."

Ford's mouth hung open in shock. Caity knew it! But...how? That was when his eyes deviated to the side and landed on a particular Mutant. Taylor.

"You!" Ford roared. Suddenly, everything all made sense. Why didn't Taylor return? Not because she was assassinated, but because she was working for Caity all along. How did Caity know about this? Taylor sold him out. "You fucking traitor! I should've killed you when I had the chance, along with that traitor Zhao!"

Taylor's mouth hung open, but she didn't say anything.

Ford snapped back at Caity. "Fine, you win! What else do you want from me, you whore!" Ford's face was white from all the blood-loss. The pain of losing all his limbs still weighed down on him. "Just kill me now and get this over with!"

Caity tilted her head. Her voice was cold and merciless.

"Kill you? I'm afraid death is a luxury you can't afford."

The Phasewalkers and Section X have been trying to get access to the secret of this Mutation ever since they arrived. Now, they have brought back to Earth more than enough samples of Tier 0 and Tier 1 Mutated Animals, but a Tier 2 Mutant, and human, nonetheless, was completely different. Ford not only had the power, but he also retained his own mind.

He would be a great test subject.

Ford's expression changed when he realized what Caity wanted, and curses turned to plead. Death was bad, but being kept alive for god knows how long and tortured...that could be the worst fate possible.

Caity didn't give in. If Ford was an innocent Mutant, she would never do something like this. She and the Phasewalkers wouldn't fall to something as low as kidnapping innocent people and experimenting on them, at least not yet. But Ford was a traitor. She saved him and he wanted to kill her. In fact, even if Ford asked to leave, Caity would've allowed it.

But Ford chose to pick up arms against those who saved him, took him in, and fed and sheltered him, and that was enough for Caity to condemn him to a gruesome future.

Everyone had to take responsibility for their own choices.