Yet again, I'm sorry for that month long hiatus. I'm not gonna try and dignify anything with an excuse, so I'm just gonna post the chapter and let you say whatever.
Syrk and Vole continued to make their way to the planned meeting spot. It had barely been a few minutes since they left the barracks, considering Syrk was moving rather hastily and it was irritating for Vole to have to keep up with him. Syrk considered it his way of saying Pick up the pace or get trampled, stemming from the rather crowded area they found themselves in.
The barracks these two resided in were actually only one part of many; Shao Kahn's conquest of the realm left a Tarkatan outpost in nearly every city of Outworld. The two of them were operating in Sunzi, a large city that has been in Shao Kahn's control since his early days of conquest. There are few, if any, inhabitants that remember a time period where the city wasn't under a total dictatorship; most people aren't aloud to leave the city unless given special permission. The city is largely policed by the Tarkata, expectedly, which is mostly the reason there was an outpost in the city itself in addition to outside.
Vole briefly staggered for a moment, and as he was catching up with Syrk again he yelled to him. "Why is it that we don't take the Huoche?" To his surprise, Syrk actually stopped.
"To make sure your laziness isn't indulged."
"Your methods aside," Vole grunted. "Admittedly, it would be a better option than remaining on foot."
As somebody who's never been one too ignore the obvious, it didn't take long for Syrk to momentarily forget his animosity and see that Vole was correct. The Huoche was an underground metro system that ran throughout most of the region. It dated far back through Outworld's history.
The two Tarkatans made their way towards the nearest stair descent into the metro. There weren't much people in the area at this time, but anybody that was there immediately made an effort to move out of their way. This was naturally a habit that occurred when any Tarkatan entered a public place; it was either that or they went through you, literally. Anybody that didn't move was probably Tarkatan themselves. Syrk and Vole had been through this area many times before, so they knew which railroad car would take the route to their destination. It didn't take them long to find it and make their way to the meeting spot.
Barely two minutes to spare, Syrk noticed on a large clock tower as he and Vole made their way out of the metro. Fortunately, they were in visual distance from their destination. From here, Syrk could make out five other Tarkatans. He could also make out that they were getting impatient, not because of the looks on their faces, but because they seemed to have resorted to arguing with each other. What was probably already obvious is that when the Tarkata are frustrated they tend to take their anger out on others. However, what Syrk noticed was that when he actually got to them they probably wouldn't hold him responsible for anything due to them already being angry at each other. Of course, that was probably just due to him being captain, but it was anyone's guess.
"I see you brought a mate." One of them sarcastically remarked. Vole made a light growl, while Syrk remained indifferent.
"I see you're still as untactful as usual, Bralix." Syrk responded while lightly pushing Vole back.
The entirety of the squad was made up of seven members. In addition to Syrk and Vole, there was the aforementioned Enforcer Bralix. He was a somewhat pompous enforcer that spent most of his off-duty time amusing himself by making life difficult for the more defiant inhabitants of Sunzi. Syrk couldn't count how many times he'd run into him during his roaming around the city, not as though he'd like to remember.
Syrk noticed one of the other members drinking from what appeared to be a small glass bottle he put away almost as soon as he brought it out. He recognized him as Corro, a soldier who was more adept in stealth than most of his peers. An interesting fact about him was that he was often seen drinking a homebrewed beverage everyday. What it was made out of or what it did was something he never disclosed, of course, no one was really observant enough to wonder, and he preferred to keep it that way.
"I see the captain was forced to latch himself onto you again, Vole?" Another remarked, adding to Vole's already rising temper.
"Of course," He responded. "I'm hoping he wanted to give me the pleasure of cutting a bug like you."
Quist, the former, had been at odds with Vole apparently ever since they enlisted in the army. They had never been even on the slightest of good terms, and always make an effort to provoke the other. Quist, in addition to being cunning and intimidating, was primarily known as a weapons specialist and blacksmith, responsible for a large amount of weapons being used by Sunzi's portion of Shao Kahn's army.
The next two of the group remained silent for them most part; they were known as Vyker and Cylor. Vyker was a recently inducted member of the task force, admittedly only added by Syrk because there had been barely any other recruits that proved competent enough to meet his expectations. Cylor was the previous rookie before Vyker, and when he was inducted Syrk didn't intend to add anyone else to the squad until it had been brought to the intention of his superiors. After he had made sure that everybody was there, Syrk began to give his men a rundown of what they were required to accomplish.
"This will be nothing any of you haven't seen already, but I still hope you can keep up." Syrk stated casually, "About a week ago, a small number of Enforcers were caught smuggling a chemical, or something of the sort, into the outskirts of Sunzi."
"Do we know what this chemical was capable of?" Corro asked, finally speaking.
Since Corro was probably the most kept in line of the group, save the rookies, Syrk didn't comment on the interruption and indulged him.
"We know enough to figure that the ones responsible for it being illegally brought out of the city should be punished."
"Our goal is to kill these soldiers?" Bralix asked, slightly raising an eye.
"To put it simply, they've been marked as rogue, so yes."
Everyone seemed to understand the idea rather well, Of course if it's along the lines of rush in and slaughter, I figure that simple enough, Syrk thought humorously.
"Any other questions?"
Vole spoke up, "Just one. We've only just discovered these rogues' whereabouts?"
"Yes, they've picked their hiding spot rather carefully." Syrk responded. "Of course, a more likely scenario is that they've been moving from one safe place to another." Vole nodded.
"Well, it would probably help to know that they're also soon intending to leave the city apparently very soon, so we won't get much done standing here."
Syrk turned around and signalled for his men to follow, which they did in a rather unorganized fashion. Hastily they made their way towards the Tarkatan rogues' hideout.
Here's the
FF.net link for anyone that wants to review it there.
