Cleaning and Looting.

"Say, Rex, do you think what we're doing is right?" Even though Carlos was following orders and doing the job, he couldn't shake the doubt that killing those who couldn't defend themselves didn't sit right with him.

Rex glanced at him. "Carlos, these are criminals. You think they showed mercy to anyone who begged for it? Or worse, do you think they'd let a beautiful girl go once they got their hands on her?"

Rex's words were harsh, but they carried the ugly truth. Bandits like these had no mercy.

"Think of it like this," Rex added, "we're helping release the souls of the ones they've already killed." Without hesitation, Rex kicked one of the crawling criminals in the face, sending him back into the debris. Then, with a quick shot to the head, he finished him off and turned to look at Carlos.

"But if you want to call it quits, I don't mind giving you the 50,000 credits from this job. You can go start a new life. After all, getting a body for my wife... that should be my task, not yours."

Carlos tightened his grip on his gun. "Of course I'm with you, Rex. You're like a brother to me. Sorry for doubting; I'm just not used to all this."

Rex clapped him on the back. "Don't worry. I'd probably feel the same if it weren't for Cleo making me look so damn cool, you know."

With the issue settled, they went back to clearing out the bandit camp. Now it was time to loot. Thankfully, Cleo's missile hadn't done much damage to the structures, and it was just to the poor bastards on the ground, so the warehouse with the valuables was still standing.

"Cleo, you can land now. Area's clear, but be careful since there might be patrols coming back to check on the noise." Rex spoke into his communicator while he and Carlos reloaded their weapons, getting ready to head into the warehouse.

"So, Cleo, how many enemies are inside?" Rex asked. Earlier, Cleo had already sent in her spider drones to scout the place while they cleaned up the camp.

"I've got ten armed targets inside the warehouse," Cleo's voice crackled through the device, "and some females locked in cages. It looks like they were going to sell them, either to a brothel or into slavery."

Carlos could hear her too; Cleo had given him a communication device just before the mission.

"See, Carlos?" Rex shook his head. "And you wanted to show them mercy."

"Bastards!" Carlos clenched his fists, ashamed of even considering sparing them. Now he was angrier than ever, ready to act.

"Alright, Cleo," Rex said, "since you've got the layout, go ahead and knock on the door for us. We'll wait on the sides; just, uh, try not to shoot us, okay?"

Rex and Carlos took cover near the warehouse entrance. Cleo brought the ship down next to the door, positioning it so that four of its turrets were locked on. And then it began the hailstorm of bullets.

The bandits inside didn't stand a chance. The turrets fired rounds so big that no cover could protect them. Even the warehouse door looked like it was made of paper. The noise was deafening, and the sparks flying off metal in the dead of night made the scene both terrifying and mesmerizing.

Once the hailstorm of bullets stopped, Rex and Carlos slipped into the warehouse, staying low and using the chaos and dust as cover. In the confusion, they could find survivors and finish them off before anyone realized they weren't part of the gang.

They found three survivors huddled behind a chunk of concrete. It didn't take long for Rex and Carlos to take them out.

"Cleo, how's it looking? Any more left?" Rex asked, giving one of the bodies a quick kick to make sure he was dead.

"Negative," Cleo responded. "The spider drones' infrared only detect the females in the cages."

"Alright then. Start sending in the cargo drones to grab the loot. And get a medic drone down here to check on the captives."

"Understood." Cleo deployed the drones from the ship's cargo bay. They hovered into the warehouse, ready to loot whatever they could find, while the medic drone headed for the captives.

Carlos took control of the cargo drones, making sure they only grabbed the important stuff. Rex, meanwhile, walked over to the captives. As he got closer, they started screaming, panic written all over their faces.

Without a way to communicate, words were useless.

"Cleo, got any idea how to get them out of these cages?"

"Based on the data I've gathered, the cages require a special key, and none of the bandits inside had one."

"Can't you hack it or something? Override the lock?"

"Negative. These locks are purely mechanical; there is no system to hack. And the metal is strong enough to withstand even a savage creature's attack."

"Great... That's a problem. Wait, could I make a hole through the bars in overdrive mode?"

"Affirmative. You should have just enough strength to do that. Shall I activate overdrive?"

"Do it."

As soon as the words left his mouth, his wings emerged, and the white aura that had flared up during his fight with Talon surrounded him once again.

The captives fell silent, their eyes wide. They had never seen anything like the radiant white wings and golden eyes of the figure standing before them. It was as if something holy had descended into that grim, dark room.

Rex ignored their stares. He approached the first cage, gripping two of the iron bars. With a surge of strength, he pried them apart, making a small hole just large enough for the captive to slip through. He did the same for the other cages, freeing them all.

Once they were out, Cleo deactivated the overdrive mode to conserve energy. Rex's new form burned through power much faster than the last.

Once Rex spotted the medic drone, he walked over to one of the recently freed girls and extended his hand. She hesitated for a moment before finally placing her hand in his. Rex gave her a reassuring smile and guided her toward the drone.

It scanned her body and, after detecting a few injuries, began treating them. Rex repeated the process with each of the girls until all were attended to.

A cargo drone hovered nearby, stopping next to Rex.

"Rex, hand these devices to the girls," Cleo's voice came through. "They're translator units that Carlos grabbed off the bandits."

"Oh, perfect! Just what we needed," Rex said, distributing the translators to the girls. "By the way, what are we going to do with them?" he asked while fitting one of the devices onto a girl's wrist.

"The standard procedure is to turn them over to the city guards. Or..." Cleo paused. "We could sell them. Technically, rescued captives are considered loot by mercenary codes."

Rex sighed heavily, looking up at the ceiling. "The galaxy's a pretty dark place, huh?"

"Indeed it is. So, what's your decision?"

"Easy, neither of those options. What if we hired them to work in our underground city? We could set up shops to sell some of our loot and have them run the businesses. What do you think?"

"That's a solid idea, Rex. Head back to Thunderblades HQ to finish the quest and collect our payment. I'll send a list of materials to your phone that you'll need to buy, so you better rent some trucks unless you want to make a ton of trips."

"Damn, Cleo, you're a slave driver," Rex muttered with a grin. "What about the girls?"

"I'll take care of them. I'll bring them to the underground city with the ship. Now hurry up and get moving. See you there."

Rex chuckled, shaking his head. "Hey!, at least give me a kiss." He turned to the rescued girls who had gathered nearby and explained what would happen next. Most of them already knew the grim reality of being saved by mercenaries; some had even resigned themselves to the idea of becoming slaves.

But instead of the usual two options, Rex offered them a third choice. Though it wasn't perfect, it was better than the alternatives. They could work in the underground city for five years with no freedom to leave during that time, but after those five years, they'd be free to contact their families. If they wanted, they could even invite their families to join them in the city.

Some of the girls weren't thrilled about the idea of working for so long, especially those who were daughters of traders or wealthy families. But there was no room for negotiation. As tough as the third option seemed, it was still better than being handed over to the guards or sold into slavery.

So after some consideration, all the girls accepted to work at the soon-to-be underground city since it was by long the best option for them that had no place to stay.