Chapter 541: Chapter 541 Assault on the Odium Syndicate (6)
Ezra checked his sensors one last time to make sure that there were no other enemy vessels around.
Since fighters had started pouring out of the Odium Syndicate base, he had been leading a squad to crush them.
They had been severely outnumbered, but that had only proven to be a minor inconvenience against such inferior foes.
The cheap fighters might as well have had paper for defenses, as it did not take but a solid attack or two to take each one down.
Halfway through the battle, some heavily armored medium ships had joined the battle and made it marginally more difficult.
Nevertheless, they served as only momentary obstacles as Ezra was able to bring them down easily with a single hit from his vessel’s railgun.
After he had destroyed around five of them, the pilots must have realized that they were a horrible matchup against him as they turned their attention towards other areas of the battle.
Many of them had tried to group up on the Dauntless which was fighting alone.
When Ezra had seen this, he had already known what the outcome was going to be.
Avery was only counting to grow in skill from what Ezra had observed. Opponents like these were going to provide absolutely no challenge for him.
As expected, the Odium Syndicate’s forces proved to be a mere impediment that simply took only around half an hour to clean up.
No one on Ezra’s squad had taken any serious damage, and once he received status reports from the other leaders, he found that not a single one of the company’s ships had even had their shields breached.
It was rare for one side to be so dominant in a large-scale fight like had just occurred, but Ezra just chalked it up to their vastly superior vessels and pilots.
Despite how little action the Asteria Mercenary Company had seen in the last few months, Ezra had been keeping his skills sharp in the Intrepid’s advanced simulators when he was not on duty.
From what he had seen from the rest of the crew, most everyone else was doing the same.
Avery might not have realized this himself, but he served as an inspiration for everyone working under him.
Even though he was young and had not been in the mercenary business for long, he was always striving towards improving himself.
Already he could stand shoulder to shoulder with some of the best, but he still did not allow himself to grow complacent.
That, and his fierce loyalty to those that followed him, was why Ezra had joined up with Avery and continued to serve as his second-in-command.
Had Avery been any less exemplary, Ezra likely would have broken off to start his own group, or attempted to take over as he had warned Avery back when they first became partners.
Now though, he did not ever see himself leaving.
He figured he would stick with Avery until either the day he died in battle or grew old and retired.
While his mind was wandering through the past, a message came in with new orders.
He and Olivia were to lead their squads and breach the station through the hangar that the enemy fighters had been coming out of.
Out of the entry points it would be the most difficult to take control over, but it was necessary to make sure that no one escaped.
Though no more fighters or assault craft were coming out, there was still no telling how many ships might still be held in reserve. It was best to prevent any potential problems that might occur.
Ezra led the charge into the hangar, blasting through any security gates that got in the way.
Soon his and Olivia’s squad arrived to a less than friendly welcome.
There were still several operable laser turrets within the hangar that opened fire the moment Ezra’s Specter entered the hangar.
Naturally, he had been ready for hostilities and only took a few hits as he maneuvered as best he could in the space while firing back.
The turrets proved to be only a slight problem, and along with members of his squad, Ezra dispatched all of them and secure the hangar.
As expected, the place was pretty bare as the Odium Syndicate had not held back any of their combat capable vessels.
There were only five ships left in the hangar, and each of them was a luxury civilian model only meant for transport.
No doubt that these were the vessels that the higher-ranking members of the production facility used whenever they needed to leave the station.
Now though, they were going to be spoils of this battle.
Ezra made a note to find the people registered to these ships and have them transfer over ownership.
That would make it a lot easier to take them. Otherwise, Ezra would need to arrange for them to be dragged out of the hangar or have Grito and his team come aboard and break into their systems.
’Something to deal with later. For now, subjecting this station comes first.’ Ezra thought as he exited his ship in full combat gear.
It felt like forever since the last time he had fought like this.
Typically, several times a week he would spar with Olivia, Kaiden, Kasandra, or Avery. However, a true in person battle against enemies that were at least decently equipped had not occurred for a while now.
Ezra was keeping an eye out for possible ambushes as his squad formed ranks.
There had not been a sign of any people so far, but becoming lax in enemy territory was a good way to end up with a laser through the head. He had seen it happen too many times before.
Of course, his gaze eventually did wander over to the green haired woman organizing her own troops not far away.
It was not long before everyone was ready, and Ezra led his smaller group over to where Olivia had set up.
"You seem excited." She said. "Feels like old times back in the Ryflorien System, doesn’t it?"
Hearing the nostalgic name of the system where the two of them had first met, Ezra flashed back to a moment when they had been fighting together on a pirate outpost that they and several other mercenaries had attacked under instructions from their employer.
"I don’t know if I would say this is anything like back then. That was a chaotic mess. We’re far more organized now." Ezra replied, glancing back at the other mercenaries lined up in an orderly fashion behind the two of them.
"Isn’t that true. But if things hadn’t been that way, we might not have noticed each other."
Ezra nodded recalling what had drawn him to Olivia in the first place.
Out of everyone participating in that battle, the two of them were the only ones fighting at close range with hardlight weaponry.
"I believe that’s enough reminiscing. The scan of the area is complete now. Our enemies are set up and waiting for us ahead." Ezra said, his expression becoming serious.
"Let’s not keep them then. I’ll be right behind you if you don’t mind taking point."
Ezra nodded in confirmation and grabbed his shield and glaive from the mount on his back.
Upon activation, the two hardlight constructs sprung to life.
Ezra approached the entrance they would be infiltrating the production facility through and readied himself.
In a blinding flash of movement, he sliced straight through the reinforced metal door and knocked them away with a solid kick.
As soon as the way was open, he positioned his shield in front of him and charged.
There were Odium Syndicate troops position in the corridor, but they seemed woefully unprepared for a large bahnen to suddenly burst through judging by the shocked looks on their faces.
Of the six troops stationed directly in front of Ezra, only four of them reacted quickly.
The other two fumbled with their weapons in a display that would have had them chastised and ridiculed just about anywhere.
Laser came flying towards Ezra, but he kept his shield firm and did not slow down for a moment.
Hardlight weapons were difficult to use effectively, but for those that mastered them, they became more reliable than anything else.
"F*ck this!" One of the Odium Syndicate combatants that had fumbled with his weapon shouted as he unclipped a grenade from his belt.
His compatriots went wide eyed as they saw this.
They were in a fairly constrained corridor, and the blast from a grenade could easily hit them as well.
To make matters worse, the panicked man had elected to grab a plasma grenade. Something undoubtably far more dangerous than the laser or explosive variety when used in an enclosed area.
Ezra simply remained calm and prepared himself. This was not the first time he had seen an idiot improperly use a dangerous weapon.
As the grenade was thrown towards him, Ezra pushed off against the ground and rushed to meet it.
Turning his glaive in his hand, he positioned his weapon so that he could strike with the flat of the blade.
Just a second and a half after the grenade had left the hands of its incompetent wielder; Ezra stuck it and sent it flying right back the way it came.
He then jumped back and braced his shield in front of him.
A couple seconds later, there was a bright flash and six wailing screams.
When things became clear again, there was nothing left of the six Odium Syndicate troops. They had been disintegrated by the plasma along with their surroundings.
