Ad Mortem, Inimicus

The last thing they had expected was a sword-wielding maniac to charge through the wall. Staff Sergeant Alban recoiled as the wall on his right exploded inwards and the pointman was run through with a longsword. The armoured figure quickly ripped its blade from the surely dead trooper and dashed down the narrow hallway towards the rest of the squad. The initial surprise of the warrior's entrance had worn off and the man in front of Alban dropped to a knee, allowing both to fire freely.

"Back out!" Alban barked to those behind him as he fired a burst. Rounds sparked off the charging warrior's armor, causing nothing more but a slight stumble. By the time Alban loosed another burst and spat a curse, the sword pommel had smashed into the faceplate of the man in front. He tumbled backwards into Alban, desperately bringing up his rifle to block a downward slash. The sword cut through the man's weapon and across his chest. The tough composite carapace the trooper wore prevented a killing blow, but a follow up punch to the head sent the man to the floor, leaving Alban exposed. during the brief struggle, Alban let his rifle drop on its sling, and ripped his cut-down shotgun from his back. As the other soldier hit the ground, Alban fired as quickly as possible into the metal mass in front of him.

Repeated impacts from the shotgun knocked the warrior back several feet before they tripped on some rubble. Dropping the empty shotgun, Alban took advantage of the extra space and reengaged with his rifle. As he methodically sent round after round into the fallen figure, he took in the full appearance of the warrior. Silvered metal plates strapped over a maroon waistcoat with a high collar. A diamond-shaped faceplate with no visible eye-holes or optics glared back at Alban before another bullet slammed into it. Maybe it shouldn't have been a surprise that the "Pearl Kingdom" employed knight type soldiers. Even at this range, the rifle rounds failed to penetrate the armor. Alban keyed his microphone to call for the SAW gunner and yanked another magazine from his vest.

Suddenly, his left leg buckled and a searing pain shot through his calf as bullets impacted, eliciting a yelp from Alban. He completed his reload purely on reflex even as he fell onto his behind. He let out a forceful snort as he tried to ignore the pain and refocus. A few rounds zipped overhead as he brought up his rifle. An ornately decorated handgun roared in the knight's hands, but it was still rattled from the previous barrage so the rest of the shots missed. Alban returned fire, managing to shoot the pistol from the knight's grasp. The knight twisted back, grabbed the ankle of the dead soldier behind it and heaved the corpse down the hallway. Unsurprisingly, Alban was completely unprepared for this and failed to move away as dead weight smacked him flat on his back.

He found his arms caught under the body, but he could see the knight rise back up, sword in hand. It rolled its shoulders and limped forwards. Alban managed to free an arm and tried pushing the body away, only to find it tangled in his webbing. "Where's my fucking SAW!" he screamed to no one in particular. In response a long, burst tore into the approaching enemy. Alban couldn't see if it penetrated the armour but the knight slumped against the wall. With a roar the knight surged up, diving over the struggling Alban. A flick of the sword shifted the barrel of the SAW away from the knight, allowing it to yank the machine gunner down. A headbutt and a viscious series of stabs left the soldier in a pool of his own blood, gasping.

The knight turned around to find Alban propping himself up on the wall, rifle in hand. Alban's facemask hung from his helmet by a single strap, revealing his sweat-caked, panting face. The knight settled into a fighting stance, nodding. "You will die well." A hoarse, feminine voice emanated from the blank helmet of the knight. "Standing as a soldier should."

"Awesome," Alban growled as he fired the underslung grenade launcher. He was using it well under the minimum arming distance of the grenade, but the 40mm projectile was enough to blow the knight off of her feet. Alban attempted to jump onto her, but came up short and barely pushed aside a hasty kick from the knight. He wrapped an arm around the deflected leg and pushed himself off the ground, forcing the knight's leg up into a painful position. She used his momentum to swing her trapped leg to the side and push Alban against the wall, then whipped her other leg around and brought it crashing into Alban's side. He crumpled, gasping for air.

Alban swatted helplessly as the knight hauled him upright and stood him against the wall. "Up!" she barked, "I promised you a good death." She backed away, raising her longsword into a guard position. Alban let out a pained sigh, starting to feel weary. He groped for his rifle, only to find it had detached from the sling during the previous scuffle. It lay at his feet, but he wasn't sure if he could reach it in time. "I'll die on my fucking knees, thanks!" Alban registered how stupid that sounded a little too late. His fingers barely brushed the grip of the rifle before the sword stabbed into his abdomen and pinned him to the wall. Alban howled and the knight pressed against him briefly before stepping back, head bowed. Her hands remained firmly on the sword's hilt while one of Alban's smacked uselessly against them. The knight's helmet whirred briefly as the faceplate raised to reveal young eyes and a furrowed brow. She couldn't be that much older than Alban's 19 year old niece. "Well fought, I-" she paused as she felt something bump against her left thigh.

Alban jammed his pistol into a small gap in the knight's armor and squeezed the trigger. The knight's solemn expression twisted in agony, then quickly turned to wide-eyed shock as she fell down. In Alban's other hand was a grenade. He primed it and let it fall between them. The knight's faceplate clicked shut and she scooted backwards, hand landing on one of the other bodies littering the hallway. As before, she gripped it and unceremoniously slung it over the grenade as it detonated. The room was still for a moment. Much to Alban's surprise, he wasn't dead. He blinked the dust out of his eyes and groped at the sword still lodged in him. He saw the knight sitting on the floor, hand pressed against her left side. More out of annoyance than anything, Alban managed to raise his pistol and fire the remainder of the magazine and throw the spent weapon. The bullets and handgun harmlessly bounced off the knight's superb armour. In a final act of defiance, Alban spat a bloody glob towards his opponent, but most of it ended up on his chin. "You...you fucking shit-fish..." Alban let out a final sigh before his chin fell to his chest.

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Dame Sofia Visser slowly stood up and leaned against the wall. Her helmet's radio buzzed with reports from her team that they had cleared out the rest of the building. She called them back to her, omitting any report of her injury. She could already hear her father berating her for allowing such a thing to occur. Sofia hissed as the rune patch released healing magic onto the entry wound. She let it fizz for a few seconds before looking back to the final soldier she killed. They did not have the same level of skill as Sofia, but the knights of The Pearl Kingdom were knights for a reason. These soldiers fought like vicious dogs- no honour, but brutally efficient. The casualty reports could attest to that. The knight moved to retrieve her sword, taking care not to tread on any of the bodies. She grasped the blade just above the hilt and placed a hand on the man pinned to the wall. Blood trickled from his mouth and onto his chest armour. It flowed into a stylized 'A' carved into the dark grey material. Just above was what Sofia assumed to be his name in small white letters.

"Well met, Alban," she whispered as she withdrew the sword from his body. She kept him held up as the blade came free of the wall and slid out of his midriff. Sofia was no stranger to death; she had been sent to combat the pirates that plagued The Pearl Kingdom. She certainly felt more respect for this fallen opponent than for those criminals. She lowered him to the floor, sitting him up against the wall. She began to stand up, then hesitated and gently lifted his rifle into his lap, folding his hands atop it. A couple royal marines from her retinue strode into the hall as Sofia stood cleaning off her blade. They noted the numerous dents and scrapes adorning her armour plates as well as the shell casings that littered the floor. One marine readjusted his helmet and gestured towards Alban's still form. "Tough bastards," he grunted.
"Indeed," Sofia replied as she idly wiped down her sword with a rag. There was a lot of blood. "Plenty more to fight before this island is ours again, lieutenant." She looked down at Alban once more. "Call someone up to attend to the bodies. Friend and foe alike." Sofia scooped up her pistol, noting a gash along the engraved slide. A family heirloom made more precious by war. The young Dame Visser was eager to face down more worthy opponents, but felt a small tinge of remorse. Courageous warriors such as Alban might have made good comrades. In another life, perhaps. Sofia holstered the weapon and strode out of the hallway to join her men in battle.