The Dark Edge Chronicles - Clan War

Sowing Discord

Lash turned to wave Tanis over.

"You and your operatives need to neutralize this cluster," he said, pointing at a group sitting along the south wall." He then waved Ballan over. "Take Second Squad and take this group and this group here," the big vampire then said before pointing at Fordricht.

"First Squad, take this one and this one. Truk, me, you, Narcist, Absinthe, Van Klant and Kazza, we're going right down the middle to draw their attention first. Tanis, Ballan, Ford, time your attacks to take advantage of our distraction. We clear?"

At the answering nods, Lash plucked his drone out of the air from where it was hovering near the door, awaiting a reset. Which he gave it with a tap on his wrist to restore his original instruction set. Then it was sent humming into the room as Narcist, Absinthe, Van Klant and Kazza grouped close.

A held up hand began dropping fingers to count down. When it hit fist, they were darting forward in a tight cluster. And they were quickly firing as both his sensor suite in his helmet, and those on his drone, began picking up movement closing on their quickly moving squad.

Kali's whispered death, hot ceramic split the air, and bodies began dropping. Silently counting in his head, Lash was nearly at twenty when Kali's were going off all around them as the other squads began hitting their targeted clusters. Perfect; that would pull additional units from the sides where they had been hiding in dead spots between the rectangular cell blocks that had walls that reached floor to roof, providing no overhead room to pass over them. But that also eliminated overhead ambush points the Hand could use to drop onto them and use their knives to best effect.

As they had in the storage space, the Hand were sticking to their attack-from-stealth tactics that served as their primary method of assault. Which was also making them hesitate to move from their sheltered hiding spots to possibly engage with ranged weapons instead of their knives. And, while they weren't shocked into immobility as they were downstairs by Lash's sudden charge through the space, they were slow to react to the multi-front attack.

Hanging a left at the end of the dungeon space, Lash spotted the door into the staircase. And watched as several White Flame operators tumbled through it, weapons up and heavily armored.

A flash bang grenade was in the air and going off before the modified humans could react to the vampires bearing down on them. Then Lash's squad was opening fire through the dancing afterimages, the Kali's making short work of the humans' reinforced armor and helmets.

Half of the White Flames went down under the withering fire. A step or two closer and the vampires were too close to easily use their long guns on the remaining humans so Lash slung his Kali to draw his moly knife and Shiva, piling into the surviving White Flames without slowing down.

A couple quick slit throats, a stab in the heart, and three shots in close with the Shiva and the doorway was clear.

"Kazza, you and Van Klant cover the other squads coming in. The rest of you, follow me up!" And the big vampire was exploding up the staircase, his knife and Shiva back in their particular places and his Kali back up.

With Truk matching him step for step, and Narcist and Absinthe not far behind, Lash quickly reached the top of the spiral. Where his Kali again was active to cut down the rest of the White Flame platoon that had taken up position at the door into the electronics quarter.

Again, two steps onto the landing and they were in close quarters, forcing Lash to sling his Kali and draw his Shiva to make the remainder of the kills to clear the door, Truk and Absinthe quickly joining him in dropping the final handful of humans before they could get off more than a handful of shots.