METTLE & BULLETS : 2

The emergency sirens jerked Arnon out of his drunken slumber. His room was flashing red and white. Reeling out of bed , he pulled on his boots and grabbed his armor heading for the Precinct court yard, his eyes still half shut.

“ Boyle, take this.” A gruff voice said as it handed Arnon a combat shotgun.

“ What the frags going on sarge ? “ Arnon asked, adjusting the visor on his helmet as he suited up.

“ Sump suckin’ Ratskins killed some citizens and destroyed the air-recyce plant near the Echo. Reports say they are headed for Dome 909 to blow up the damn water purifier columns ! “ the Sarge hollered.

So much for a few day cycles off from duty, Arnon thought to himself , exiting the courtyard and marching down the rampart of the Precinct to join the other ten Enforcers. It was too cramped in the sector they were headed to for riding in the RCV. It was going to be a long walk down service tunnels and through access portals. What a crap day to be hung over.

The Sarge, as all his men called him, particularly hated Ratskins with such fervor that he kept notches for every one he brained to death with his shock maul. The Sarge had grown up deep in the Underhive and rumor has it his parents were murdered by Ratskin renegades and his sister kidnapped.

The team was moving double-time, the only sounds Arnon heard was the clang of boots upon the steel plated decks and his own labored breathing. Part of him wished he was back at his desk, trying to locate a lost family member for some citizen or solve some mysterious murder for the Guild. The other part of him though, the part that was still craving action, was glad he was with this team, on the hunt instead of reading files on a data slate.

Dome 909 was an industrial zoned dome that was adjacent to the Echo. It housed a smelting pit, several synthetic food processing plants, two converter mills, a dozen textile shops and of course , the sectors largest water purifier columns that powered not only a large percentage of the Hive Cities electricity, but , also gave clean water to the citizens above and below the Wall. The Ratskins were not only heavily armed and organized, but possibly the smartest bunch he had ever heard of. Most renegade bands only terrorized local down hive settlements or disrupted trade routes. These guys aimed to cripple half the Underhive and the lower half of Hive City with two well-planned attacks. Arnon thought about the impact that would have and shook his head in bewilderment.

“ Okay boys, you know the drill. Two man teams, thirty paces away from each other. I want radio contact at all times and a full sweep of the dome. Gordy and Sagan I want you two flanking them using the sub level walk ways. No mercy for these heathen bastards. Shoot to kill and the first one to get a rat pelt up close and dirty gets some r’n’r . Boyle, this is your first time out with us I recommend you stay with either Jaxon or Staas.” The Sarge ordered , clicking on his vox bead and taking the safety off his bolter in one motion.

Boyle nodded to Jaxon and the pair moved to the Sarges’ left side as Gordy and Sagan disappeared underneath the floor panels. The Sarge gave the signal and Tedric, the heavy weapons expert, fired smoke grenades into the dome, before sprinting towards the nearest cover to set up his heavy stubber rig. Two by two the Enforcers entered dome 909, as the smoke covered their entry and began choking the tight alleyways.