She expected a sense of unease to fill the cramped corners of the rattling shuttle, its crude features demanding practicality over pomp and polish. In fact, she would have liked it that way. Yet Sonera was met with nothing but the distasteful scent of respect.
A warrior's respect.
Lunae had the privilege of cowering behind Yrix, deserving not a lick of acknowledgment from Venrith or her guard. She was barely even visible behind their dense black armor. Like a forest of metal and grit.
There Sonera stood firmly in the center of that crowd, her new prosthetics lending strength to her stance. With claws at her sides, she glowered in silent fury. Venrith liked that.
She liked it more than she cared to admit.
The Praetorian had always deemed Yrix to be suspicious, since before the days of the Emperor himself. Her forced involvement in the princess's visit was more than a mere coincidence brought upon by the Infestare. She had something to prove. And Sonera was getting in the way of that.
"We shall drop you off in the center of what Yrix calls the Crimson Forest." Venrith huffed, fiddling with a holographic display that projected itself from her gauntlet. "No hunt. The fight will come to you."
Sonera nodded in response.
"You against our company, and its commander aboard their vehicle. Triumph, and your Aerie will have my approval."
The shuttle began to rattle as something massive flew overhead. Using her heightened senses, Lunae observed the vessel to be a barge of sorts, transporting a vehicle of frightening proportions. Her fear only grew as the minutes dragged on.
"Be careful, you can't take it head-on," Lunae whispered into Sonera's mind. "We're landing soon."
"I'll handle it," Sonera shrugged.
"Don't get cocky."
"It's not about that."
"Then what is?!"
Sonera didn't reply, turning her gaze towards the ramp in front of her as it began to lower once more.
"Just...stay safe."
The air swirled around the shuttle as its deafening engines polluted the exposed interior.
"Mind the drop," Venrith chuckled, much to the amusement of her guard.
The shuttle was still a few hundred feet in the air, prematurely opening its ramp before the descent was complete.
"Hmph," the assassin stepped forward.
She leaned forward calmly until her body plummeted headfirst towards the ground below. With a graceful flip, Sonera landed feet first onto the dirt, creating an updraft around her. Once more, the Daregen and their Praetorian acknowledged her efforts with a silent stare.
"Very well," Venrith turned away as the ramp closed shut. "We will see what your student is made of Yrix."
"Oh, I'm already quite certain." Yrix boasted as she pinched the air with her sharp nails.
Venrith extended a curious hand. "Grit? Resolve?"
"Complete and total insanity."
"This is why I don't trust you."
"I know."
Lunae reached out with her mind, probing the area for Sonera as she felt the distance between them increase. She herself could confirm the validity of Yrix's claim. For never had Sonera been so disturbed.
If only Lunae had been there to see the girl fight the Infestare.
"Sonera," she whimpered. "What are they doing to you..."
Back on the ground, Sonera found herself in a barren clearing at the center of the red foliage, waiting impatiently for her enemy to show itself. She drew a radiant blade prematurely, only to frown at its refined shape. Just like before, it still contained the mark of a Consortium Psion. Though the assassin still wasn't quite sure where in her memory such a design had emerged.
"Mmh," she bit her lip, throwing the dreaded thing away as it dissolved into thin air.
Sonera picked at the air much like Yrix, feeling her way around her new limbs. They certainly felt more powerful. Though maybe a bit dry.
That could be fixed.
A distant rumble shook the pebbles beneath her feet, causing the girl to look down with contempt. Her challenge was near. Yet still she felt impatient.
Come on.
I need something to kill.
Something to make me feel.
Sonera lifted her gaze towards the distant tree line, exhaling slowly as a square, metallic figure emerged on the horizon. The Consortium had indeed brought a battle tank of absurd proportions, rolling along treads that spanned a mile long. In familiar Martian terms, it was like someone cut out an entire sewer system and slapped it onto a set of wheels.
"Bones and Bounty. Death and Duty," Venrith's voice bellowed in the distance, carried by an intercom system somewhere on the Mountain Shaper. "That is the way of our people. That has always been the way of our people."
There was so much Sonera wanted to say in response. But as per usual, she kept silent, letting only her thoughts brew in hatred.
Prattle and Promise.
Just let me kill you already.
She stood her ground, even as the mountain shaper drove closer and closer, toppling both rock and tree with ease. For a moment, it seemed the beast would swallow Sonera whole. But after crossing the distance between them, it came to a stop a few dozen meters away.
Sonera looked up at the central headlights with an unamused expression, almost as if the girl were staring down a living beast. Atop the balcony stood a small army, aiming down at their prey with rifles both large and small. It seemed they were waiting for something.
"Come on," Sonera rolled her shoulder, cracking a few bones in her joint. "We both want this."
Her eyes carried an unusual weariness, like she had failed to sleep the night before, or in Lila's words, drank bad coffee after a sad manga night. But her vigor was undeniable. For as the first crack of gunfire rang out, Sonera was ready.
Cheeky.
The first shot came from behind, somewhere in the crimson woods. Had she been anything less than a manic Psion, that would have been the end of the story. But with reflexes beyond the anticipation of her enemy, Sonera simply dodged out of the way, allowing a thick shell to whiz past her head as she performed a stunning backflip.
Undeterred by her skill, an onslaught of Consortium warriors spilled out of the forest in tight formation, charging at the girl on her little mound with fearless determination. The larger Daregen took the front, holding disk-like shields aloft as the smaller Psions aimed their railguns at Sonera through their slender scopes. A larger captain stood with them, hoisting an entire chaingun with visible effort before using both arms to swivel the behemoth around and fire a stream of bullets at the girl.
"Finally," Sonera thought to herself as time froze around her.
She had more than enough time to react, twirling to her side as she extended a metallic palm. Her Psionic grasp caught the first barrage of fire from the Psions, redirecting them towards the captain in front of her, knocking their helmet clean off. The assassin then wasted no time disintegrating the ugly face beneath with a flash of radiant energy.
Holding her smoking barrel in hand, Sonera somersaulted off her mound as another volley whizzed overhead. She swiftly transformed the glowing weaponry into a dagger before tossing it at the exposed feet of the nearest Daregen. Closing the gap, she slid through hellfire before pressing her hands against the dirt, propelling herself high above the stunned Daregen before crashing down onto its head with a sharp heel.
Noise.
So much noise.
Sonera's amplified strength finally showed itself as the Daregen exploded into a gush of red, providing its killer ample time and cover to rush towards her next victim. The Psions in the distance could do nothing but watch helplessly as the girl eagerly demonstrated her resolve against every warrior unfortunate enough to engage in a melee. With nothing but her bare hands, she caught a spinning shield from rather bold Daregen before returning it to sender with crushing effect.
The assassin could barely hear herself growl as a few stray bullets bounced off her Psionic Ambience.
Didn't feel a thing.
Only numb.
What she could feel, however, was the warmth and spoils of that which governed the physical world. Cause and effect. Thermodynamics and blood.
Sonera slashed with her claws, tearing a shield in half before flip-kicking another head clean off its shoulders. She nearly blinded herself with the sparks that shone off the metal. But with heightened anticipation, she began sprinting towards her next foe with speed that nearly resembled Lila.
"Ngh," she slid across the ground in pain, feeling a sting in the back of her head.
The assassin was still holding the arm of a Psion she had just finished mauling, unsure of when or how she had even reached her prey. But with her head feeling like it was about to explode, Sonera began to realize that the other Psions were coordinating an attack against her mind, no doubt realizing that conventional warfare was folly from their position.
"You..." She caught a handful of dirt, mustering her own mental strength as she thought of Yrix. "Are pale imitations of her."
Sonera lurched forward and grunted loudly, creating a visible shockwave of radiant light around her head. The golden crown lasted for only a moment. But its aim was true.
The singular eye that rested upon the Psion's skulls quivered in pain before collapsing like a rotten grape. Lost and spent, their souls disappeared into the endless torrent of the mindscape. But Sonera didn't even bother to wait for them to collapse.
And even though the exchange had lasted only a brief second in real time, she had grown impatient.
Get aboard their precious beast.
Kill.