VI
I guess now that Xavier has left, I should introduce the other two people with me. We had Arthur, who preferred to go by his last name Rex. Rex had a strikingly angular visage, electric blue eyes, and jet black hair, which, because of its length, he typically wore his in a braid. Also, he was extremely muscular. When using a sword, he was dangerous at his worst and a hurricane at his normal capacity. Rex was a star warrior. He could take down a team of fifteen human warriors singlehandedly. However, Noxx were a different story.
Then we have Seth. Seth was slightly tall, and lean, with slight muscles. Seth had long legs, black hair, and he was known for his poker face and noble morals. He was always known for his extremely swift, agile running and for being the more intelligent one. What Seth always excelled at, at least in a weaponry sense, was stealth, daggers, and archery. In fact, it's been too many times to count on two hands that Seth had carried out a perfect stealth mission. He could aim an arrow lethally, 99 times out of 100. Seth had also made significant contributions to weaponry as well. He designed a bow that aimed more accurately and an arrow that not only flew faster and straighter, but was also incendiary. Seth's weapon of choice was the longbow, and he carried one with him on this mission.
But enough of that.
We three carried on our mission inside the impossible, fallen star. We found a food cache, its kitchen counterpart, and a weapons cache holding electrodaggers and electroswords. Rex took an electrosword and Seth another dagger after I okayed the thefts with quick eye contact.
We came upon a larger cargo hull stocked with crates of all shapes and sizes, which provided lots of cover. Rex noted that the floor, while metal, was hollow.
We were about to continue on when Seth stopped us. He put his index finger to his lips to indicate silence. Just then we heard a slight metallic clinging, getting louder and louder, like soldiers marching.
Seth crouched and put his ear to the floor for a moment. He stood back up and whispered, almost silently, that there was a group of 5 soldiers approaching. He estimated that we had a maximum of two minutes to get dug in. So be it.
Rex moved a little ahead, into a corner formed by two large crates. I followed him and hid on the far wall. Seth stayed crouched behind a crate at our original position, which offered a clear shot to the route the approaching soldiers would be approaching from. He waited with his longbow drawn, non-incendiary arrows at the ready. We didn't want to risk a fire in here.
The footsteps became louder and louder until the Noxx soldiers were close enough. Seth fired an arrow at the leading Noxx (carrying an electrosword). The arrow, as Seth later informed me, was a perfect shot through the eye, into the brain. Instant kill.
You know what was the last thing through that guy's mind? The fucking arrow!
Anywho, the remaining four Noxx charged. They all filed through the small opening just behind which Rex and I were crouching. They ran through and then did a double take. I mean, why would only one guy who was a longbow specialist take on a group of 5 alien warriors? This halt gave us our chance. Rex and I charged the Noxx, weapons at the ready. Rex thrust his electrosword into the closest warrior's back. The flesh sizzled and the Noxx hung dead. I took my dagger and slit the next guy's neck. Blood spilled out quickly and the Noxx had just enough life to whisper, "Damn you," as we ran past him.
Two left. we were doing good. The Noxx closest to Seth was carrying a glowing metal rifle. He squinted through the scope at Seth and pulled the trigger.
For what seemed like forever, time stopped. The glowing yellow bullet emerged from the barrel of the gun. I lunged for the rifleman.
Time sped up again. The bullet, thank God, barely whizzed past Seth. I collided with the Noxx and we tumbled to the ground.
This was my advantage against the apparent leader: he was wearing heavier armor than I was. You might think that's counterintuitive. Wouldn't he have an advantage against me then? But he could barely move a muscle thanks to his armor pinning him to the ground. My electrodagger buzzed to life and pierced the back of the leader's head. A smell of burning flesh arose and I pulled the knife out.
One left. Both Rex and I leapt for the soldier.
We were too late and collided with each other in the air as the Noxx fell back with an arrow in its chest. Thanks, Seth, for that lovely impact.
We got up and saw that the arrow had hit the Noxx straight in the heart. I told you Seth was a stellar shot. We noticed a small flame coming from the Noxx's groin, there was also another arrow there. One with a smaller amount of incendiary fuel. Still enough to hurt like hell, serves the asshole right.
I took the rifle from the dead leader's hands and took it with me, along with his ammo. I decided that we couldn't risk any more encounters with Noxx. We only got through that because there were only a few of them. A couple more and we stood very little chance.
We made our way back through the star and back to base.
