Death from above

"What were you trying to accomplish doing that, Talon?" Rex's voice was deep and reproachful, like a father scolding his child.

"Heh, calm down. Let's think this through, alright? I wasn't really thinking... the blood just rushed to my head."

Rex opened his mouth to respond but stopped himself. A moment later, Cleo deactivated the overdrive, and Rex gradually started to return to normal, his wings fading away.

"What you just did," Rex continued, his voice cold, "was attack a noble, and whats more, someone like me. And as you can see, I'm not just any low-level noble. That much should be obvious, right?" Carlos, always the dutiful assistant, appeared with a chair. Rex sat down, crossing his legs and staring down at Talon, who was still sprawled on the floor.

"You realize," Rex went on, "what you did is enough reason for me to call in a little... friend to clean out your whole organization. Sound about right?"

A shiver ran down Talon's spine. His body tensed as he forced himself up, using what little strength he had left to kneel before Rex. "No, please, noble sir, have mercy! I'll do anything you want!"

"Well," Rex said, tilting his head slightly, "if you're willing to kneel, maybe there's hope for you yet. I'm willing to give your organization a chance. Submit to me, and I'll have a job for you. Something big. You'll see the benefits soon enough. What do you say?"

"B-benefits?" Talon stammered; his curiosity piqued despite his fear. "May I ask... what exactly do you plan to make us do?"

"Shhh, shhh," Rex shook his finger, his tone teasing. "Curiosity killed the cat, my dear Talon. For now, just give me your contact info. I'll reach out when the time is right."

Rex rose from his seat and headed toward the dressing room. "Oh, and before I forget," he called over his shoulder, "bring me those jobs you mentioned. The ones that pay well."

"R-right away," Talon muttered, scrambling to his feet.

Inside the dressing room, Rex contacted Cleo while pulling on a new outfit.

"So, is this what you wanted?" he asked, sounding a bit bored.

"Affirmative," Cleo's voice responded. "With this, we've secured a mercenary group for the underground city."

"Mmm," Rex grunted. "But why don't we also ask them for credits? They've probably got millions."

Cleo sighed, exasperated. "And here I thought you were getting smarter. Rex, what do mercenaries respect the most?"

Rex paused, thinking as he buttoned his shirt. "The credits?"

"Exactly. If we start by asking them for credits, they'll resent us. But if we pay them well when they work for us, they'll become more loyal. To them, whoever holds the purse strings is the boss."

"Huh," Rex nodded. "You're right, as usual. What would I do without you?"

"Sigh. Just get on with the job, Rex."

"Yes, ma'am," Rex replied with a mock salute. With that, the conversation ended. Rex stepped out of the dressing room and walked back toward Talon, who was waiting nervously with a stack of documents.

"Here are the highest-paying jobs at the moment," Talon said, handing the document to Rex.

After scanning the list and conferring with Cleo, Rex chose the mission to take down a criminal gang operating outside the city. The gang had been ambushing merchant transports that landed in the common areas and were forced to haul their goods by truck.

The reward? Fifty thousand credits, plus whatever loot they could find in the gang's hideout.

"Alright, I'll take this one. You can keep the rest since I'm not here to rob you," Rex said with a smirk.

"You'll need assistance from our group to handle them, dear noble?." Talon asked, his tone almost groveling.

"No need; we're fine with just the two of us."

"Very well. I'll be waiting for your call, dear noble," Talon said, bowing his head slightly.

And with that, Rex and Carlos left the Thunderblades' headquarters and drove off toward the city limits.

"Man, since when did you learn to fight like that?!" Carlos asked, still buzzing with excitement from the earlier fight he'd witnessed.

"Fight? Never. It's all thanks to Cleo since she's been downloading stuff into my brain. Something about'making me the perfect husband,'" Rex said with a sly grin.

"Oh, really? She did that?" Carlos raised an eyebrow, curious.

"Of cour—AHH!" Rex yelled as a sudden electric shock jolted through his back.

Carlos sighed. "I knew it. You were lying again. One day, you'll learn." He glanced at Rex, who was rubbing his back, wincing in pain. "Good thing I'm the one driving. If that shock hit you while you were behind the wheel, we'd be in a ditch right now."

After a few hours of driving, they pulled off the road about 5 kilometers from the mission's coordinates.

"We're here, Cleo," Rex said over the comm. "How long until you can get the ship here?"

"Ten minutes, if you don't want them detecting the ship on their radars," Cleo replied.

"Mmm, perfect. Carlos and I will get closer to the base in the meantime. Don't be late to our date."

"..." Cleo remained silent, unimpressed by Rex's casual attitude.

Rex and Carlos began making their way toward the enemy base, sticking to the shadows and using the trees for cover. Along the way, they encountered several patrols. Rex, with his bionic night vision, took them out quickly and quietly.

Carlos, on the other hand, had a harder time. With just a few days of training under his belt, he struggled with even one guard while Rex dispatched the rest. At least Carlos had night vision gear, scavenged from their last mission with the smugglers.

"Rex, the radar shows you're not at the location yet. I've already arrived at the coordinates," Cleo's voice came through the comm. According to the plan, she was to fly the ship off-planet to avoid detection and then return precisely to the hideout's location.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. I'm just giving little Carlos here a workout," Rex teased. "Since he's not a PC like us, he'll have to do things the hard way."

"Understood. Let me know when you're in position."

"You got it," Rex said, motioning for Carlos to follow him as they continued their silent approach to the base.

They continued along their route, and after two hours, they finally reached the agreed-upon point. The journey had taken longer than expected, and the closer they got to the enemy base, the more patrols they encountered. Some groups were so large they had no choice but to hide and wait for them to pass.

"Alright, Cleo. We're in position. You can begin the fireworks anytime," Rex said quietly into his comms, giving Cleo the green light to kick off the mission's climax.

Inside the enemy camp, there was already noticeable movement. The gang had realized something was off since Rex and Carlos had taken out too many patrols, and the gang was starting to get suspicious. More heavily armed patrols were now being organized, and reinforcements were gathering.

Unbeknownst to the gang, the very area where they were assembling was about to become ground zero.

"Hey, did you hear that?" one of the criminals muttered, signaling for the others to be quiet.

"Heard what? I don't hear anything," his partner replied, sounding annoyed.

"No, I swear, it's like... whistling."

Just then, a missile came screaming down from the sky, slamming into one of the trucks in the middle of the formation. It exploded on impact, sending hundreds of tiny metal balls flying in all directions.

A second later, those balls exploded themselves, each unleashing a spray of high-speed projectiles, tearing through anything in their path. It was a weapon designed for maximum damage to ground troops, and it was working with brutal efficiency.

As soon as Cleo launched the missile, she circled the ship overhead, opening fire with the ship's turrets. Anyone who managed to survive the missile's initial blast had no chance of escaping the hail of gunfire raining down from above.

The camp was quickly reduced to chaos, as bullets and explosions ripped through everything in sight. After thirty minutes of relentless assault, nothing remained but smoldering wreckage, dust, and the crackling of flames.

Rex and Carlos watched from their vantage point, waiting for the dust to settle before moving in.

Carlos whistled "I have to say, Rex, after seeing what just went down, my respect for you only grows stronger."

Rex smirked. "Oh? What do you mean?"

"Well, after seeing what Cleo is capable of doing to our enemies, you're either really brave or really stupid for always making her mad."

Rex chuckled, though there was a hint of unease in his voice. "Ha, well, you say that... but deep down, I know she's just a softy. Really deep down."

Even Rex wasn't fully convinced by his own words.

Carlos laughed, shaking his head. "Yeah, sure, keep telling yourself that. But enough chit-chat—let's get to work. Time to loot what's left."

They moved into the remnants of the destroyed camp, picking their way through the debris. Occasionally, they'd stumble upon a survivor or a wounded criminal trying to crawl away or hide, but Rex and Carlos dealt with them quickly, without hesitation. This was no time for mercy.