6 The Black Knights

Concurrently at the Dragena headquarters, inside the control room.

"Captain, Syncros activity detected, ten, no twenty, no fifty, the number keeps on increasing. Location is five kilometers from here, in the vicinity of Truton, alongside the coast. This is an emergency, I repeat, an emergency!"

"Roger that, quickly ask for permission to dispatch the Black Knights, if we don't do something quickly it's going to get out of hand."

"Understood Sir, I'm on it."

The control room was in full panic mode, even though the only people present were, Captain Koldok Guthuka, an ex-assassin who had served in the Black-Ops for ten years until he was hired by Dragena and his subordinate, First Lieutenant Paien Thaddeus who was also formerly in the Black-Ops.

"Why does it have to be now after ten years? Let's hope that our youngest recruit will hold her own out on the battlefield." Koldok thought to himself whilst strategizing about ways to approach this situation.

"We have the clearance to dispatch the Black Knight; also I've already set up the communication channel, you may proceed ."

"Good job Paien, alright everyone, we have received confirmation that Syncros have been spotted in the vicinity of Truton. All the information regarding their location will be forwarded to you in just a moment.

Now, this is very important, it's been ten years since the Syncros first appeared, we may have gotten more advanced weaponry but that doesn't mean that this fight is going to be easy. All I'm going to say is to be careful out there, don't try to be a hero, that sort of attitude will get you killed. Once on the field, platoon leader Rainhard Edwardson will take charge and if the need arises, I'll step in to give further orders. Lastly, we have a recruit, Autumn Garnet. I hope that you guys will take care of her, may your swords pierce through the darkness and lead you towards victory, good luck."

"Another great speech captain, I see you haven't lost your touch even though we have stayed put for about ten years now," Paien added.

"Well, that sort of skill doesn't just vanish out of thin air. Let's just hope that this mission will go smoothly without any casualties."

Few corridors away, inside the weaponry, everyone was getting ready for the next assignment.

"Now this brings back memories," commented Platoon leader Rainhard.

"Sure does, but I had wished that we would never have to face a situation like this ever again."- Replied Vurdal Windtoe.

Everybody present nodded their head in agreement, which excluded Autumn as she was new to this whole thing.

"Don't be like that Vurdal, I agree that going into battle like this is basically a death sentence, but we are standing here, aren't we? Besides we have had about ten years of intensive training, physically we are prepared and together there is nothing we can't accomplish." That was Rainhard trying to justify his trail of thoughts, but Vurdal knew better as that was Edwardson's way of dealing with anxiety.

"Rainhard, you're scared, aren't you? That's perfectly normal, but together we are the Black Knights. You, Me, Silvio, Alvord, Alfie and not to forget our newest member Autumn." Vurdal responded.

"It is true that I'm a bit nervous but once on the field, it all goes away so don't worry men, we are doing this."- Avowed Rainhard.

"Attention, the chopper is ready to take off, everyone that has been chosen for this mission, please head to the roof." The announcement could be heard over the radio.

"LET'S DO THIS!"- Yelled Rainhard.

All the members except Vurdal and Rainhard were silent. Most of them were ex-assassins or came from the black ops. Each one of them is a merciless killer which made them even more anti-social as they carried the burden of all the innocent lives they took for the sake of duty. Among them, Autumn was the youngest. Don't let that fool you. To be recruited by the Black Knights requires the person to have taken the lives of at least one hundred people whether it be soldiers or innocents. Raised as an assassin for the Black Ops, Autumn killed her first victim at the age of six and her kill count up to now is rumored to be over two hundred.

The whole voyage lasted about five minutes, but it seemed to have gone on for hours. Finally, the red sea was insight, on the coast, countless Syncros laid there on the beach. The estimated count was around one thousand.

"Alright listen up everyone, before we head into battle; please remember to not be reckless. We are against an unknown enemy, so even the slightest mistake could result in death. Autumn, you will be paired with Vurdal. Silvio, you're with Alvord and last the not least, I'm with Alfie."

"Roger that." Everyone responded simultaneously.

"We have the green light to jump, GO! GO! GO!"

*Tsst, Tssst* "Autumn, can you hear me?" Vurdal asked as they jumped from the chopper. "Loud and clear, can you check if you can hear me?" Autumn responded. "The communication is working just fine; you and I will be providing covering fire for the others. Head for that tall building situated about twenty meters from your current location. After we land there, we'll await further orders."

Below, under Rainhard's command, the remaining members were in position awaiting orders from First Lieutenant Paien.

At headquarters, "Captain, the Black Knights are in position and have requested the order to engage the enemy."

"Roger, but hold that thought, let the Syncros make the first move. They've just been standing still. That doesn't seem right to me, it may be a trap. Let me think about this." Koldok was in deep thought, simultaneously hypothesizing six different outcomes if the black knights were to engage the enemy at this very moment.

Back in the field, Autumn spotted something weird happening with all the Syncros crowded together. "Sir, something isn't right, why are they standing still? Wait look! It's as though they are combining."

"Holy hell, you're right. This is bad, contact HQ right now." Vurdal was starting to panic. Nonchalantly, Autumn contacted HQ while he was screaming at the other team through the microphone basically deafening them. Everyone got the message that something bad was going to happen.

At headquarters, "Paien, tell Rainhard that he is in charge from now on." After receiving the order to take charge, without any hesitation, Rainhard took command and started barking orders at everyone. The battle against Syncros had finally begun. From the roof, it practically rained death as the young recruit was shooting down every Syncros she set her sight on. The whole team was bewildered to see such level of skill from a sixteen-year-old, deadly. "Don't let that newbie show us up, everyone let's prove why we were hired to exterminate Syncros." Exclaimed Rainhard as he was fired up.

On the ground, a barrage of bullets from every single member held back the Syncros advancement. One by one their number was decreasing. Few hours into the battle, the team's ammunition was running low; luckily the same could be said for their opponent's strength.

"Vurdal, look they are retreating," Autumn uttered still calm and collected.

"This girl is a monster; she didn't even break a sweat." Vurdal thought to himself, completely exhausted. He responded with, "Finally, it's over."

Little did they know that it was the calm before the storm. Upon the sight of seeing the enemy retreat, the whole team caught their breath and spoke to each other casually through the communication channel. As usual, Vurdal and Rainhard were making inappropriate jokes; Silvio and Alvord were having an argument about who killed the most. Alfie was just boasting about how awesome he was on the field. Autumn, on the other hand, was just stupefied to see the team like this, a complete reversal of their personalities from when they were inside the chopper.

Everything from waves crashing against the shoreline to the aromatic sea breeze tickling the nose relieved everyone's nerves. To top it off, the gentle warmth from the sun which had been missing for days finally completed this picturesque scenery. However, before anyone could give a sigh of bliss, an uncanny rumbling could be faintly heard from where the Syncros appeared.