Bloody Crucible- Lone Wolf

by E C Chii

  “Raven, this is Starlight Actual. We just kicked the hornet’s nest, expect company soon. Be advised the garrison is larger and better dug in than intelligence expected. This will be a bit hairy so be prepared to run back up.” the SEAL team commander radioed

  “Starlight, we copy. Raven out.” Raven replied

  Peirce had moved forward a few minutes ago to act as the welcoming party for quick reaction force and invite them to a lovely walk in the forest. Thirty minutes passed before they could hear the bridge being destroyed followed by the ‘whumps’ of their Seeker drones exploding under armored vehicles. Two minutes later Peirce came running up, screams could be heard as the Chinese Soldiers ran through their traps and auto-turrets devastated their ranks.

  Wolf stood high overhead with his optical camouflage active in a tree, below was a squad of Chinese Soldiers slowly moving through the dense woods on one of the few clear paths to the facility. Their nervousness and fear permeated the air as every Chinese Soldier has been told horror stories about how the TRFs fight. As they passed Wolf silently dropped down from his perch, focusing his breathing to reduce sound further he held his Bowie in one hand. As he got to the rearmost Soldier he used one hand to cover his mouth and pull his head back. Slicing through the man’s carotid artery in his neck blood spurted in tune with his heartbeat. Shushing the man calmly he lowered him to the ground, proceeding to stalk the next one. Once finished with this squad he would set up several tripwire traps to trigger a few ounces of C6 binary explosives. Knowing that any follow-on troops would be enjoying his little presents brought a sadistic smile to his face.

  Moving on to the road after killing off another squad, he looked over to see the Chinese engineers a few miles away finish setting up a pontoon bridge across the river with his enhanced optics. Armored vehicles began moving as soon as it was finished. Pulling out a series of Seeker drones to take out several Armored Fighting Vehicles, he watched them scurry off. Climbing a tree, then activating his optical camouflage to become unseen he waited for the next AFV to pass. As luck would have it a short convoy of three medium tanks were rumbling down the road. Pulling a quarter pound of C6 and splitting it into quarters he attached a detonator to each.

  The first tank passed he dropped one directly on the engine, the second landed just to the left of the barrel right in front of the turret. When the last one came by he himself dropped down onto the turret, tapping the hatch he waited and looked at the time. When the hatch opened, a Chinese officer poked his head out, Wolf activated the detonators. The last thing the Chinese officer saw and heard was a tomahawk cleaving right through his skull and the earth-shattering explosion of the other two tanks being destroyed.

  “Raven, this is Wolf. Starlight hasn’t checked in, in a while. I think one of us should go check it out. Over.” Wolf said after pulling his tomahawk from the skull of a Chinese Soldier.

  “Wolf, how long ago was the last check-in? Over.” Raven asked

  “Raven, last check-in was 20 mikes ago. They are over due by 10 minutes, over” Wolf answered.

  “Go Wolf, you are the closest. We will hold them off.” Raven commanded.

  Wolf dropped a few grenades into the hatch hearing frantic and panicked Chinese shouting, ran toward the facility when the explosion of grenades and remaining munitions in the tank. In the moment the tank exploded he was turning toward the facility, the next he was on his back with his breath knocked out. Instinctually he rolled left narrowly dodging a modern version of an ancient Chinese weapon. A ‘ge’ or dagger-axe was withdrawn from the ground held by a steely eyed and merciless face.

  Reattaching his t-hawks and knives his hand drew to his uchigatana. In response his opponent also took a fighting pose. Wolf sneered when he recognized the decals on the soldier’s armor.

  “Raven, be advised we got hunter-killers on sight. The SEALs may need back up.” Wolf called over the radio

  Knowing he didn’t have much time his only solution was to end it quickly. The two faced off against each other without moving. In a single moment Wolf burst forward feinting like he was going to quick draw his uchigatana but instead of pulling the scabbard back. He grabbed and threw a knife landing it directly into the center of the man’s chest. With a single signal from his onboard TACCOM the blade of the knife sprung out into all directions shredding the Chinese man’s internals. Instead of celebrating his victory, Wolf turned to head toward the facility.

  Weaving, jumping, vaulting, and dodging obstacles using the parkour method that has become a hallmark of the TRFs. Approaching the 5-meter wall that surrounded the facility he used the added strength from the Exo-Armor to launch himself over. Rolling as he hit the ground, he had the misfortune of landing in the middle of a squad of 7 Chinese Soldiers. The surprised Chinese Soldiers hesitated at the sudden appearance of Wolf, which proved fatal.

  Wolf buried his tomahawk in the chest of one and stabbing another through the neck. One of the Chinese raised his rifle franticly spraying bullets at the sudden intruder. Bullets pinged of Wolf’s armor digging grooves but being largely ineffective. Wolf released his tomahawk as it was stuck in the Soldier’s chest, he threw one his bowie knife into the chest of the firing Soldier. Turning to the other Soldiers he found two were killed by the frantic fire from the Chinese Soldier. The final Chinese Soldier was sitting on the ground in shock, the smell of fecal matter strongly emanated, and a large dark spot expanded from his crotch.

  Wolf stared at the Soldier for a few seconds before coldly saying, “I know you may not understand me, but I need to kill you. I’d say I won’t enjoy it but then I’d be lying.” Wolf walked up to the Chinese Soldier drawing a new knife gradually pushed the it into his heart. Making a shushing sound as the man in his panic-stricken state whimpered and took his last breath. Wiping off the blade Wolf sprinted on to the facility. Encountering the breached door, he entered the building to see a scene of pure hell. Hundreds of bodies were strewn throughout the rooms in various states of violent death. Blood covering everything.

  The pure carnage was as impressive as it was grotesque, SEALs were master artists, and their art was killing. Wolf didn’t even need to know where to find the SEALs, since he just needed to follow the wake of destruction wrought by them. As he sprinted ducking, dodging, and sliding his way through the building he finally encountered the first SEAL surrounded by pile of dead Chinese bodies. The SEAL sat against the wall with his exo-armor still smoldering and riddled with holes.

  “Dam, at least you took plenty with you.” Wolf said kneeling taking the SEAL’s dog tags before continuing. Letting the tag reader relay the KIA’d SEAL biometric data so that the family could be notified of the sad news.

  Wolf came to a stairwell where the doors were blown off. Bodies, blood, piss, shit, and body parts made the stairs a danger, Wolf had to focus more on his rapid descent than situational awareness. Due to not paying as much attention to his surrounding, he missed the wounded, but still combat effective Soldier who raised his rifle and fired into his back. The rounds impacted his power pack and went through the weak point in the armor’s left knee. Pain lanced through his leg falling over he tumbled down a flight of stairs. Once he stopped he righted himself unable to stand he pulled a grenade throwing it to the landing above. After the explosion Wolf extricated himself from the suit to continue moving. With his movement degraded he was lucky to be near the bottom floor. Continuing he knew time was running out, entering what seemed to be a command center he saw what remained of the SEAL team.

  Two Chinese Soldiers stood over them searching the bodies for something. Wolf drew two knives and two bodies hit the floor. A door a few meters away opened revealing a Chinese man wearing an elaborate military dress uniform. A pistol in his hand he quickly raised it firing two shots before a knife plunged into his neck. One shot pierced Wolf’s chest while the other lanced through his gut knocking him back. Wolf began to have coughing fits that were ragged and wet, blood dribbled out his mouth. One of the bullets had gone through his l
ung creating a sucking chest wound. Taking off his top he applied some sterile sealant to delay the asphyxiation.

  “Shit” Wolf lamented for a second time today as he let his guard down. The lancing pain from the gunshots caused more pain spike through his body with each breath. Entering the door, he found the targeting system for the device. A hologlobe was in the center of the room, a large cluster of blue dots just passing the Hawaiian Islands. Going to the control panel his neural implants translated the Chinese, quickly entering the coordinates and pressed the execute button. The room thrummed, and the lights dimmed before returning to full brightness. Most of the blue icons disappeared as the Chinese radios erupted with shouts. Seeing the power readings, still at 60% Wolf had a hard decision to make.

  Blood drained from his face as bullets pinged around him through the door, essentially eliminating any chance of escape. Pulling a few grenades, he threw them through the door. Two explosions accompanied with screams were quickly followed by renewed rifle fire as he took cover behind a nearby pillar. Drawing four knives he waited until he heard the boots of the Chinese Soldiers coming through the door. Popping out, he threw two knives, one hitting a soldier in the chest cutting clean through, the other impacted and stuck in the soldier’s throat. As best Wolf could he charged the remaining

  “Raven, this is Wolf. I am at objective alpha. Objective Alpha has been used on Legion, but it didn’t draw it down below 30%. Situation is tits up and I’m a broke-dick. Starlight is inactive. I’m setting the Objective Alpha to target the facility. I’ll try and keep their attention for your ex-fil. I’ll be seeing you on the other side. Wolf…out.” Wolf said with his voice cracking trying to sound strong.

  Wolf had managed to hold off an additional fifteen minutes against a platoon’s worth of Chinese regulars and even a few hunter-killers. His wounds had now reached a critical point where between his blood loss and exhaustion, he felt he was hallucinating. Figuring now was as good a time as any he shambled over to the terminal no longer caring if he was shot anymore. His job had been complete. ‘See you guys on the other side’ Wolf said thinking of his family and ancestors. As he pressed the execute button.

  The lights dimmed as the hologlobe began to take on a black hew. He collapsed into a nearby office chair struggling to breath from his wounds. Staring at globe he saw bright streaks start pulling into the center of the room. Paper, debris, shell casings started to fly inward. In the streaks of light he thought he saw images some he could have sworn there were of medieval battlefields, castles, and many other scenes but he chalked that up to delusions from blood loss.

  Deciding to meet his maker standing he attempted to stand but the world seemed to stand still. Panic enveloped him as he was unable to move. Soon everything seemed to be sucked and pulled violently. His prosthetic left arm was pulled forward, Wolf tried to resist but the pain of it being ripped off caused a new wave of agony to flash through his already addled brain. When he couldn’t resist the pull, he himself was jerked in, the pain he felt was unlike any he had ever experienced before. His mind screamed for the sweet relief of death, until he was swallowed by blackness.

  Chapter 4 – Fuck, Fuck, FUCK!

  Wolf woke to a dull white room, standing up he noticed a full body mirror mounted on the wall. Staring at an eerie reflection of himself he muttered, “What the fuck? Am I dead?”

  A slightly feminine mechanical voice spoke, “Error, data not available. Sensors indicate that you are not deceased.

  “WHAT THE FUCK! WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU?! WHERE THE FUCK AM I?! WHY THE FUCK AM I HERE?!” Wolf shouted as he jumped into a combat stance, scanning his surroundings

  “You are in the avatar adjustment room. Before you enter the world, you must set up your permanent avatar. The mirror in front of you will allow you to select your preferable avatar.”

  Unsettled at the sudden situation he kept his fighting stance and asked, “That’s not really an answer. Why did you bring me here?”

  “There is an error in your logic. You were brought here by your own hand. For the sake of ease, please call me Maria as it is a name which you are familiar with.” replied the voice

  “Ok, Maria is a bit creepy. Can I call you Susan?” Wolf asked hesitantly

  “Affirmative, that will be suitable.” Susan answered.

  “Susan, am I dead?” Truth be told Wolf was truly afraid of the answer but needed to know.

  “Error, data not available. Analysis of your stored memory indicate a 99.9% chance that you were killed. There is an 87.2% probability the Gravitational Anomaly created a breach in your world merging with this realm where your spirit was pulled through.” Susan stated

  “Susan, are you reading through my memories?” Wolf asked angrily

  “Affirmative, to best assist you, access to portions of your memories is necessary to advise you best on how to create your future avatar. This action may be denied upon the entity’s request. Do you wish to deny access to memories?” Susan asked impassively

  “YES!” Wolf said immediately to the violation of privacy

  “WARNING! Calculations indicate a reduction of 89% efficiency and a 99% chance of a sub-optimal avatar. Do you still wish to proceed?” Susan said with a hint of sass

  “Uh, what are the ramifications of a sub-optimal avatar?” Wolf asked worried

  “An entity’s avatar will be your permanent embodiment of your spirit and soul, after selection there is no possible means of making changes afterward. A sub-optimal avatar will greatly increase chances of death.” Susan said as if she were lecturing a child.

  “Yeah, that would be bad.” Wolf conceded.

  After a few minutes of thinking, he came to the idea that he shouldn’t play with fate.

  “Alright, Susan you win. Even though I hate the idea of anything crawling through my head. Dying is not on my bucket list, from what you said I’ve already checked that block. So, can you explain what’s going on, where I am, and why I am in this room?” Wolf asked

  “You are currently located in the avatar adjustment room. When travelers are transferred from other worlds through non-traditional means, they are required to create an avatar that is suitable for their new world. Do you wish to begin?” Susan informed

  “Ok, let’s start with race I suppose.”

  “According to your memories and preferences there are thirty-two races which match. Would you like to hear them?” Susan queried

  “No, just the ones with long lives”

  “The four races are Dweorh, Huldra, Beastkin, and Hybrid. Which would you like to view first?” Susan asked

  “Let’s start with the Dweorh.”

  A Dweorh appeared in the mirror. Standing one meter tall the Dweorh was short and stocky in heavy articulated plate. The open-faced helm let his long brown beard flow freely with different metals woven through out. His facial features were in a perpetual frown, battle hardened eyes stared out at him with that infamous 1000-yard stare veterans get when they see too much death. His shoulders were almost as wide as he was tall. A large halberd gleamed in the light, battle scars littered his blade and armor alike. Wolf thought to himself ‘stone cold killer’.

  Susan spoke up, “Currently displayed is the Mountain Dweorh. Choosing this race will give you the following bonuses and racial traits”

  A screen popped up next to the Dweorh’s figure.

  Dwarrows are the world’s best miners, metal workers, and physically strongest fighters. The average Dweorh stands 1 meter tall and nearly as wide, weighing over 300lbs. Dwarrows have long lives being known to live up to 500 years. Dwarrows have 3 sub-species: Mountain, Hill, Deep. Upon creation Dwarrows receive the several racial bonuses.

  Mountain Dwarrows receive upon leveling is: +1 STR, +1 CON, +5 HP.

  Deep Dwarrows receive upon leveling is: +1 STR, +1 DEX, +5 STA.

  Hill Dwarrows receive upon leveling is: +1 STR, +1 INT, +5 MP.

  All receive a +1 STR, +1 in either CON/DEX/INT depending on sub-species, +1 unassigned stat poin
t, and 1 common skill point.

  Upon creation, you will receive:

  +5% (Physical) Damage Resistance

  +2 STR

  +20 STA

  +2 CON

  Granite Skin Level 1 (Active, Racial) – for the next 10 seconds your skin and body become hardened granite mitigating 3% physical damage. 3-minute cooldown

  Miner’s Delight Level 1 (Active, Racial) – after use, the next deposit or vein yields double the amount of ore (does not work on deposits of veins which harvesting has already started). Lasts 1 hour, 24-hour cooldown

  Innate Blacksmith Level 1 (Passive, Racial) – all ore processed by you has a 1% chance of being a higher quality. All items created from this ore has a 1% chance of being a higher quality. (does not apply to ore bought, found, or traded)

  Darkvision Level 1 (Passive, Common) – Dwarrows are naturally able to see up to 10 meters in complete darkness. Vision is restricted to greyscale only.