As the ship came in close proximity of the Diablo, Alexio and another man climbed out on top of the ship. Holding themselves in place with Alexio's tendrils, the man shouted through the whistling of wind,
"You're sure this will work? If it's not enough, both of us will end up pancaked on the side of that hull!"
"Relax, Haru! I'm almost positive it'll work! Just match your timing with mine! NOW!"
A second before the ship collided with the hull of the Diablo, Haru and Alexio leaped forward, bringing their fists back for momentum on the strike. Electricity arced from Haru's arm and flares of plasma emitted from Alexio. Their fists collided simultaneously with the hull and a huge explosion followed, engulfing the immediate area in a blinding white light.
Haru was the first to open his eyes. He woke under piles of broken and smouldering metal. The blaring sound of the Diablo's alarms rang his ears as he immediately aimed his gauntlet at the source of the noise and blasted the siren with plasma, shutting off the alarm. He tossed the debris that was on top of him aside. Alexio's plan to hit the shielding with high voltage as well as temperatures simultaneously seemed to have worked out. He lifted himself off the ground and looked around and saw their ship lodged in the flooring with smoke rising from the cockpit. Just then, the hangar bay door, which was now facing the ceiling, cracked and went flying across the room. From the open cockpit, a pair of hands emerged as a woman and another man climbed down from their drop ship. The woman dusted herself off as the guy came up to Haru,
"That was a risky plan, dude. Imagine it doesn't work and the ship and everyone in it gets flat-lined in one gamble. Anyway, Sia, which part of the ship are we in again?"
Sia, who was now healing a scratch on her arm, turned to Riku and opened the schematic they had obtained a few months prior,
"We should be near the prison cells. The schematics we got from that Kridora base were difficult to decrypt fully. What I have right now more or less just gives me a general idea of key areas of the ship. I believe if we head out of this area and turn left, there should be a hall that leads to the armory- "
"We don't time right now, Sia."
The drop ship was lifted off the ground and tossed to one side as Alexio climbed out from the crater. He tore off the jacket sleeve which was already in tatters from the collision but otherwise, he looked unharmed. He jumped on top of their ship and extended his tendrils inside. The tendrils reached up to the flight controls and wrapped around the panels, crushing them entirely. Alexio then jumped back down to join the group.
"We're lucky to have survived that, Alexio. But you're right, Kridora soldiers will be coming here any time now to check what happened. Good call to destroy the control panel on the ship, by the way." said Riku.
"As we discussed, Alexio, you'll be heading to the prison cells. I'll be taking the Armory, Haru and Riku, you two-make your way to the central command. Everyone, play it safe and keep communications open, in case someone is cornered. Remember, self-preservation has to precede anything we do here. If the plan fails, abort and fall back. Don't hesitate to run. Especially you, Alexio. I know the plan is to rescue commander Ricard but if you also get captured or killed here, our chances to win this war are slim."
Everyone nodded and began making their way out of the room. At the exit, Alexio split off from the others and took the left route towards the prison cells.
On his way, Alexio silently muttered to himself, "I'm coming, father. Just hold on a little while longer. We will tear this fortress down if we have to to bring you home."
Alexio pulled up the rough schematics that Sia had shared with everyone and kept running. As he took a right turn, a Kridora soldier came into view who was patrolling the area. Both caught each other by surprise but Alexio reacted immediately. He extended his plasma tendrils towards the soldier's gauntlet, crushing it and his arm in one strike. As the soldier was about to cry out in pain, another set of tendrils wrapped around his face as Alexio lifted him, swung him in an arc, and slammed him down. He then pulled the Kridora soldier towards himself and swung his plasma blade at the same time, severing the soldier in two.
"Now then, where was I headed…?"
(In Another part of the Diablo Ship)
"Damn, I didn't expect such a heavy guard. Rather, I didn't expect a single soldier to be in this part of the ship. They're really careful regarding things like these. Nevertheless, I didn't expect things to go my way from the start either." Haru muttered to himself, sitting behind a couple of barrels. He was pinned down by an unexpected patrol strolling around the stairs that led down to the lower deck.
He began thinking of ways to get out of this situation when an irritating stench hit his nose. He quickly looked over inside the barrels to find them filled with a greenish-black liquid. He was taken aback by the sudden smell of fuel and hit his head on the wall. A hollow sound followed which alerted one of the guards, who began pointing out the same to the others deep in conversation.
"Probably came from the prison wards. Those Qura have been pretty riled up these days since we have had their Templar commander on board with us as a prisoner. Without him, the Qura forces in this settlement of theirs, ah what do they call it? Tredje or something, will fall into disarray. Don't downplay the importance of having a strong on-field commander for an army. With this, we should be able to clear out this area soon. I can't wait to get off this ugly planet."
Haru heard the entire conversation and clenched his fists. He knew what the Kridora soldiers meant. Tredje kingdom not having their commanding officer Ricard would mean their war coordination and planning would fall apart. Just then, the familiar stench, the hollow sound and the alarm he heard before all coalesced in his mind into a way out of this situation. Haru looked up at the walls and found what he was hoping to see - the alarm systems.
"Alright, the timing's going to be tricky. I'd much rather not take risks like these but-" He aimed his gauntlet at a point near the alarm and rested his right hand on the wall. He conjured up energy in his right hand and at the same time, fired at the ceiling near the alarm. Haru then immediately leaped through the small hole he had made, emerging on the other side of the wall into an empty corridor. He could not hear the guards' steps due to the alarm but he caught what they shouted to each other on the other side,
"I keep telling these fools to change the volume on that stupid thing! I swear its like a nuke going off every time the alarms triggers! "
"Hey! Did you hear an explosion over there!?"
"We have a faulty alarm system in Grid 4-B! Turn this shit off or I'm going to silence it myself!"
"Why is this fuel barrel open-"
The soldiers never saw the explosion coming. The fuel barrels exploded in a blinding light, knocking the guards across the corridor and down the stairs. Haru then returned to the corridor through the hole and went up to the stairs that went to the lower deck. He saw two guards completely lifeless, their bodies charred by the explosion from head to toe. The third one seemed to be alive, although he seemed to have lost one of his arms and half his face. Haru walked down the stairs and aimed his gauntlet at the Kridora soldier's other arm and shot it off. The soldier's howl couldn't be heard over the alarm.
"Well now, there goes your communications. Surely the central command won't rule this out as an isolated operational failure and leave you to die here, will they?"
The Kridora soldier began trying to scoot away but Haru brought his blade down on what remained of his leg, pinning him in place.
"If you want a quick death, tell me how to get to the central command or not even God will want to see what I'll do to you."
(Near the armory of the Diablo)
Sia enabled the communications on her gauntlet as she climbed up the last flight of stairs.
"Alright, I'm at the armory. Took a while to get here; had to sneak around a lot. Give me the signal when everyone's in position." Having some time to pass, she started to fiddle with her emitter when she heard heavy breathing over the headset.
"Damn! I got spotted before I could even reach the upper levels. Fortunately, I had an EMP in hand which shorted their communications. They've started running towards others in hopes to relay the intrusion. Sia! They're going to be right above you in a few moments! Have something ready! ETA 3 minutes."
Sia started panicking a little since she had no idea how to assist Haru in such a situation.
"Ah shit, What to do now? I can't take them out with guns blazing; that'll definitely let them know there's been an intrusion. Besides, there's no guarantee we can take them out in time before their communications come back."
"Come in, Ava. Where are you? I'm almost at the prison wards; had to deal with a little detour but now I'm back on track. ETA 5 minutes." Alexio spoke in the midst of the chaos.
"Tch, I'm already at the armory but we've run into a problem. Riku was spotted and is now chasing a few soldiers across the damn ship. It's only a matter of time before they spot someone else and the entire ship goes into high alert- "
"No time to talk now! Just kill them or whatever. Out!"
Sia just sighed and ran towards the back of the armory, looking for something to turn this situation around. Suddenly an idea struck her. She started scampering through the stash of weapons, gauntlets and medical supplies and finally came upon armor and jackets that belonged to the Kridora. She quickly put them on and grabbed a few grenades as she left the room.
"Alright Riku! Raise your energy level! I need to be able to sense you as clear as sight for this to work."
On cue, she felt not only Riku's energy but also something else flying in front of Riku.
"The Kridora never cared for the heat their equipment produced."
As far as she could tell, there were three paths that branched out from the corridor Riku and the Kridora soldiers were in. One of them was directly above her while the other two had security guards posted along the way. She had to make sure they fly in this direction. Ava placed her hands on the floor, feeling for the subtle warmth of the alarm systems in the ceiling below her. Then she blasted a hole through the sensor, triggering the alarm and jumped right through.
"Here's hoping this ridiculous idea works out."
(Some time earlier, in an area near the prison wards)
"Well, I knew my luck was going to run out eventually. Still, to encounter an entire battalion right as I'm at the destination, things never get easy, do they?"
Alexio conjured two plasma blades, one on each arm as he assumed a stance before the battalion of Kridora soldiers, ready to fight.