269: A Plague of Phantoms: Covert Machinations VII
Logan
"LIEUTENANT! LIEUTENANT KINGSTON!" A soldier screamed. Hearing my name I stopped mid-step and turned around. I was pacing beside the information booth, sidelined and delegated to being a simple symbol once again while Cross was back at the hotel with Beaufort dealing with the situation that situation that popped up.
"What is it?!" I snapped, the harshness of my tone made Private Oliver flinch on the other side of the booth.
"Emergency! It's Sargent Reagan and Sargent Anders!" The soldier exclaimed.
A feeling of dread coiled in my chest. They'd been sent to steal evos from Chase's company while it was being transported to the Sadamas Center. I'd been worried about them being sent by themselves initially, even if Beaufort was planning to send reinforcements a bit after.
"What happened?!" I demanded and jumped in the soldier's face.
"They…they were captured! Soldiers from Japan, France, and England are outside with them in chains!" The soldier hissed in a hushed tone. My eyes widened and I looked to my father who was on the other side of the information booth. If he was concerned he hid it well, he shot me a look that said 'get your shit together Logan' then turned his attention back to a military official that was being a little too nosy.
"Fuck! Where is Lieutenant Cross?" I asked.
"Outside already! Two Sargent are holding him back. He's only making the situation worse." The soldier replied.
"He's supposed to be at the hotel. Fuck it! Send someone to get a general or better yet President Justice!" I ordered him.
The soldier saluted and then rushed off towards the exit. I went barreling after him, already knowing that Private Oliver was close behind me. I could almost physically feel the bloodlust and thirst for action radiating off the kid.
"Calm down Private." I said sternly over my shoulder. "This is a delicate situation, the last thing I need is a young hot head fucking it up worse. Sargent Reagan and Anders' lives are at stake."
"Understood Sir. But I'm ready to fight if need be." Oliver said. I inwardly groaned as I pushed the doors to the exit open.
'He didn't hear a word I said.' I thought as I stepped outside.
All thought immediately left me as I stepped outside and I was confronted with the enormity of the situation. It was utter pandemonium. The promenade in front of the center looked like a battle was about to kick off. On one side stood French, Japan, and English forces side by side. Several had evos acting as a bulwarks between them and Americans. I saw Reagan and Anders tired in chains and on their knees, two splicers stood on either side of both men with a hand on their shoulders holding them down. On the other side about twenty American soldiers, four of which were busy holding Cross back from attacking splicers blindly while he screamed curses and obscenities at them.
Near the back of the splicer's side I saw the very people that had sent Beaufort and my Father into a panic. Louie Gents and his family, looking terrified while being surrounded by five large evos carrying metal shields.
"Sir…?" Private Oliver said softly. Remembering my rank and the fact that I am one of the highest ranking soldiers here I growled low in my throat and stormed towards the two mobs.
"WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON HERE?!" I bellowed as I approached the American side.
The thundering of my voice shocked most of the soldiers out of their bloodlust and indigence. As they turned and saw me approaching I saw a familiar look appear on the faces of the soldiers. Hope, awe, and deliverance, beamed brightly on their faces. The look of someone that was seeing their personal hero descend into chaos to liberate them. That look was on all their faces except Cross. He looked back and glared at me.
"About fucking time you got here Kingston!" Cross snapped and jerked free from the four soldiers holding him down. He jumped to his feet and stormed over to me.
"Calm the fuck down Cross and tell me what the fuck is going on!" I snapped as I approached.
"Those crystal-shit fuckers killed our men!" Cross exclaimed and pointed back at the splicers. I grabbed him by the collar and jerked him closer.
"SECOND LIEUTENANT ALABASTER CROSS! CALM! THE FUCK! DOWN!" I bellowed. Cross looked like he was about to punch me but regained his senses at the last moment. Seeing this I pressed. "Report Lieutenant!"
"Sargent's Reagan and Anders are currently being held by enemy splicers. They claim that they were attacked by our forces and killed them in self defense!" Cross growled. I frowned and glanced over at Reagan and Anders. They looked a little beat up but nothing life threatening aside from the Thrads that were behind them guarding them. I leaned in close to Cross.
"Why aren't you at the hotel? The president was sent a soldier to find you!" I asked in a lowered tone. Cross stepped away from me and glared.
"WHAT THE FUCK DOES THAT MATTER KINGSTON?" Cross barked. I grabbed him by his arm and yanked him close.
"Beaufort sent Reagan and Anders to kill that family and take their evos!" I hissed in a low tone. "If you'd been where President Justice had ordered you'd be, you'd know that."
"What the fuck does that matter Kingston, those puss filled crystal fuckers killed Americans! They fucking dared to raise a hand to us, and took our men prisoner!" Cross snapped back.
"ENOUGH OF YOUR WHISPERING AND PLOTTING!" A high ranking officer among the French forces yelled. "I DEMAND TO SPEAK TO SOMEONE IN CHARGE!"
Cross gritted his teeth and turned towards the splicer but I grabbed him and yanked him back. It was well known within the army and the boarder guard that he despised splicers. He went put of his way on several occasions to prove that a splicer in a town or city that my squad toured through was practicing splicing. When it came to splicers he was violent, short-tempered, and crude. Which made it so much worse that of all the soldiers currently at the Sadamas Center, both him and I were the highest ranking ones. Anyone with rank above us went with Beaufort back to the hotel.
"You do not speak!" I ordered in the most serious, commanding voice I could muster. Cross looked like he was about to snap back at me again but composed himself, surprisingly, and huffed.
"You better handle this Second Lieutenant Kingston." Cross said sternly. I looked over at the French soldier that had spoke before and then looked back at Cross.
"Control yourself, we are not in America." I warned, then stepped forward.
As I headed towards the front of the line of American soldiers I all their eyes were on me. The soldiers to the center parted as I approached. As much of a sign of authority as I could have asked for. The splicer that had demanded to speak to someone in charge focused his attention on me and frowned.
"Who are you?!" The Frenchman demanded. Now that I was closer I could see that he held the rank of captain or the French equivalent.
"Second Lieutenant Logan Kingston, of the Zeonic States of America's Army." I replied which made all the Splicer's eyebrows raise. I quickly added. "Of all the military personnel present at the Sadamas Center currently I have the highest rank."
"Logan…Kingston? Any relation to Chase Kingston?" A splicer from the English army asked, a woman at that. I saw a lot of women in the splicers armies which didn't make sense to me.
"He's my half-brother." I replied quickly then motioned to Anders and Reagan. "I demand the release of my men!"
"Your men? So you claim responsibility for them and their actions?" The French Captain exclaimed.
"Actions?" I asked, feigning ignorance. The English woman soldier frowned at that.
"Attacking English soldiers! Attempting to kill a innocent family! There was a child for Freya's sake!" The woman exclaimed. I frowned and waved her off.
"Look here Lady, I'm not going to stand here and get snapped at by some trophy soldier! How about you go and get someone in charge before speaking to me!" I snapped. That made here and many of the other splicers in the English, French, And Japanese forces glare at me.
"Lady! Trophy soldier! I am a veteran of two wars! Recipient of the Queens Cross! And a Captain in the Royal Army! I am no Trophy soldier! You ignorant American asshole!" She snapped.
I gritted my teeth at the ignorant American crack then cursed myself. It was not the time or the place to be insulting people, my men's lives were at stake. I couldn't backtrack or else I would appear weak so I could only press forward.
"Whatever! I want my men released!" I demanded.
"You have the audacity to make demands!" The French Captain yelled.
He snapped his fingers and the splicers who were guarding Reagan and Anders drew the swords that were strapped to their hips and pressed them Reagan and Anders' throats. All the American soldiers behind me pointed their guns at the French soldiers and started shouting orders.
"LET THEM GO RIGHT NOW! OR WE WILL DROP YOU!" I bellowed and pointed a finger at the French and English Captain. They both shared a look then burst into laughter.
"You think we're afraid of your little guns? Please!" The English trophy Captain scoffed. "Tell your men to drop their weapons or we'll slit their throats."
"My men can gun your entire group down before you even twitch!" I snarled then pointed sharply towards the ground. "LET THEM GO, GET DOWN ON THE GROUND OR DIE!"
The English trophy Captain opened her mouth to say something but the words were drowned out by a ear-piercing screech. Everyone dropped their weapons to cover their ears, most fell to their knees and a couple soldiers past out on both the splicer and the American side. As the screeching came to an end the sky suddenly darkened as a shadow blocked out the sun. I looked up and saw the massive flying centipede looking evo that Chase made his big entrance on last night circling the Sadamas Center. It's eyes glowing a menacing red down on us all from inside the skull shaped shell if its head.
With my ears still ringing it took a moment for me to fully orient myself but I knew instinctively that everyone was fucked. There was no way that the splicer's swords could cut through its carapace nor could our bullets piece it either.
"If you don't want to die, put your weapons on the ground now!" A woman suddenly yelled from behind me. I looked back and saw a Egyptian woman walking towards the group from the Sadamas Center entrance.
The woman was obviously a splicer, she had one of those crystals under her right eye, she wore a uniform like all the members of Chase's company only she had a gun strapped to a holster on her thigh that also held a large knife as well. She wasn't a worker obviously, and the vicious glare she was sporting told me she wasn't playing around.
"Who the fuck are you to order us around, Bitch!" Cross snarled and took a step towards her. The massive evo flying overhead screeched once again, thankfully at a lower volume, making Cross freeze in place and glance cautiously up at the evo. The woman walked up to Cross and in the blink of an eye had her dagger drawn and pressed to his throat.
"I'm the bitch with big ass evo that none of you American fuckwits can even dream taking down. Name's Iris Philari, Chief of Security for Sho'lajah Artifact Company. Now drop the gun or I will slit your throat and then have Grimm-Guard up there eat all your friends." She said flashing him a murderous look.
Cross shot the Iris woman a murderous glare of his own. However the evo flying overhead reminded him of its presence and snapped its large pincers shut several times making a loud and sharp cracking noises. Cross looked back at the other men under him and then back at the woman. He curled his lip up at her but still dropped his gun. The soldiers all followed his lead. Once all of my fellow Americans dropped their guns she withdrew her knife from Cross' throats and walked past him without a word.
"That warning wasn't just for the Americans! And don't try and be cute, that evo can sense mana like a splicer. He will attack if he senses any magic!" Iris warned the splicers as she pointed her knife at both the English and French captains. They both glanced up at the enormous flying insect above us then immediately complied. Their soldiers all followed their lead.
Without missing a step Iris rushed over to the family that had started all this, the Gents. I recognized the father of the family from St. Louis, he was my father's right hand when he worked form the spirit company. Before the Ascended's rampage I thought him an airhead and often forgetful, now he seemed like a man that had his shit together and a chip on his shoulder.
"Louie! Is everyone okay?" Iris asked as she approached. He nodded his head and looked back at his wife and child.
"No one is hurt, but KC was crying. Jiggles and his Ogarai squad took care of all the Americans during the first wave." Louie said. The tallest of those weird fat evos and the only one that had both tusks and a horn threw his head back and let out a loud trumpeting noise.
"WEAKLINGS! DARING TO ATTACK THE STAR SHAPERS CHARGES!" He bellowed in a volume that hurt my ears and I was at least twenty yards away from it.
"WEAKLINGS?!" Cross bellowed in a rabid tone. I turned and saw the angry lieutenant stomping towards the larger evo with a finger pointed at if. "YOU FAT MUTANT PIECE OF SHIT! NO FUCKING AMERICAN SOLDIER IS WEAK!"
The evo in question's eyes grew wide and its arms and back suddenly erupted in flames. It let out a ear piercing trumpeting noise and stomped its foot several times. Each time it'd foot came into contact with the ground there was a explosion.
"I'M! NOT! FAT! I'M! CHUNKYYYYYYY!" The evo roared. Iris reached out to grab the evo but came up short as he suddenly surged forward as a explosion under his feet and propelled him forward.
"JIGGLES NO!" Iris yelled.
The evo crossed the distance between it and Cross in an instant. Before I could even think to grab Cross and pull him back the evo was poised to strike him with a flaming fist. It was as if time was going in slow motion, I saw the larger evo's fist flying towards Cross' face. It eclipsed it and there wasn't a thought in my mind that when it made impact Cross' head would pop like a watermelon.
"JIGGLES!" A familiar voice boomed from behind me. The evo's fist stopped, mere inches away from Cross' face and the evo jumped back and puffed his chest out. Cross stumbled back, falling flat on his ass.
"Star Shaper!" The evo; Jiggles; exclaimed. I turned and saw Chase walking towards both the splicer and American groups though his eyes were planted squarely on Jiggles and Cross. Chase had a tall guy that I thought looked familiar at his side and even worse several military officials from various countries following close behind.
"Down." Chase said casually as he approached me. Not only did the evo that attacked Cross drop to one knee but the four similar looking evos that were guarding the Gents all dropped to one knee as well.
Chase stopped about fifteen feet away from the American soldiers and took a quick look at my forces then shook his head and walked straight towards Iris and the Gents. The man that walked beside him staying back as did the military officials. Not bothering to walk around the American forces, he walked straight through our lines and right past me.
"Chase!" I snapped, the disrespect pissing me off.
Chase's eyes darted glanced at me for a brief second but then looked straight ahead, the look on his face was one of disinterest. He passed Cross who was still on his ass. Chase passed him as well without any indication that he recognized his existence and placed a hand in the evo that nearly ended Cross' life.
"Remember your orders Jiggles, don't disappoint me." He said softly to the evo. Jiggles eyes grew wide and he immediately looked to the ground.
"Sorry Star Shaper!" Jiggles exclaimed.
Under the new scrutiny of military officials from countries all over the world most of the soldiers under my command stood stiff and frozen, the others all looked to me for orders. We were outnumbered, outgunned since all our guns were in the ground, and could be easily picked off by the large insect flying over the area. That all seemed to fly straight over Cross' head who seemed to laser into the crystal on Chase's hand and his face screwed into a pure snarl.
"HEY! SPLICER!" Cross bellowed and jumped to his feet. Chase stopped and glanced over his shoulder at Cross.
"That's Chase, Master Kingston, or Sir, soldier. Ya know what, scratch that! It's sir to you." Chase said. Cross face flushed red with rage and he stomped over to Chase and grabbed him by his collar and spun him around to face him and nearly lifted him off the ground.
"THE FUCK YOU SAY! THE FUCK DID YOU SAY TO ME YOU SHIT EATING CRYSTAL SHIT!" Cross bellowed.
I started running towards Cross. Initially to stop him from killing Chase. Our mission might have been to kill him and everyone in hos company but not like this, not publicly. Then suddenly there was a bright flash of light that blinded me and I felt a surge of heat as I was knocked off my feet and sent flying backwards.
"GET! YOUR HANDS! OFF THE STAR SHAPER! NEVER TOUCH MY MASTERRRRRR!" I heard the evo called Jiggles bellow. The sound itself sending shockwaves that knocked me and everyone else nearby back several more feet.
I scrambled to my knees and looked up, seeing nothing but two bright purple lights shining. One light was coming from the crystal on Chase's hand and the other light was that big evo, Jiggles. Jiggles floated several feet into the air and to my and everyone's surprise it started to change.
It's large and round body stretched in length to get even taller. The two tusks that descended from its mouth split into four. Two stretching down towards its stomach and the last two curling into spirals, all four glittered like diamonds. The horn on his nose twisted and spiraled into a corkscrew shape that also shined like the tusks. Two bonelike growths sprouted from its forearms and curled around them before taking shape into bone forearm bracers with two holes facing its hands. Similar bone growths sprouted from its chest and legs and covered them creating chest armor and leg braces.
The bright purple light finally receded and the evo floated down to the ground and landed in front of Chase. With the light gone I could see it's body now with greater detail. The color of its skin had changed from a grayish color to a vibrant red which contrasted with the armor on its body which was a deep black. It was significantly taller than before, at least nine feet now possibly taller.
"Transcended Evolution…"