Varren silently followed Weston in his tracks, staying to the side of the giant. Citizens who had the intentions to flee from the island passed the duo, heading in the direction of their ship. Though one of the ship’s jobs was to transport people, he was unable to think of a reason for their departure until they were closer to the town. He was barely able to make out the top of a Crucibellian Interceptor, which had landed near a port in the town. Varren let out a sigh of distress, [i]”Great. They’re here?”[/i] He thought to himself frazzly, as if the situation could have worsened more. From the looks of it, the Free Wind was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. [i]”We landed here on annexation day, just grand.”[/i] Varren unholstered his firearm and reached into his backpack with his free hand, feeling through the contents of the bag. He pulled out a suppressor and spun it around the muzzle of the tecpatl, then switched off the safety.

[b]"Go and search for a mechanic, we need to have our ship running in less than thirty minutes."[/b] With a wave of dismissal, Varren nodded and spat out a “copy that” before breaking off into a sprint. With the Crucible here, he would need to act as fast as possible. He checked every corner before rounding it, though as he proceeded through the city, he noticed something odd. It was like a ghost town, chances are, people were either at the town center or had boarded themselves up in their homes, waiting for this to be over. Yinyues had seen the cycle too many times, colonies which were conquered in a matter of days, some even in a span of hours. Those who were taken over by the Crucible were forced to give members of their community to the ranks of the army. This late into the game, it was an unbeatable strategy, since those who remained against the overlords were spread out and weakened by previous encounters. Ten minutes had gone by, and Varren hadn’t found a single being, not even a mechanic at that. “I need to get a little higher.” He muttered to himself, he scanned the area for an employable bird’s eye view. The young adult smiled when he laid his eyes on a medium sized building, outlined in metal, surrounded by a courtyard. After opening the gate and passing through the yard, he planted his feet on the exterior of the building and scaled it.

From his vantage point, he had a good overlook of the town. He stared down at the gathering of soldiers, all of which were in a circular formation next to the remains of a large building. Varren grabbed onto a rail and leaned away from the building to get a better view. From the rubble rose a man, with a warhammer in hand. [i]”Must be the town mayor. A pretty strong guy for such a small settlement.”[/i] Though, perseverance wasn’t enough to save the old man, as a Crucible officer approached him, ready to finish him off. Just before he swung his arm down, there appeared the most feared man within the Crucibellian Empire. A grin formed on Varren’s face as he watched the soldiers loosen their formation, shocked by the development. There stood the most wanted man in the whole entire region, Weston Bright. “Give them hell sir.” Personally, Varren thought it would have been better if Bright had kept a lower profile. The Crucible had only sent a small annexation unit, probably of three ships. With such a highly renowned man here, they would send a larger battle fleet in response. Though if Varren operated in the allowed time frame, they would be off the island before the ships arrived. 

Rather than staying to enjoy the show, Yinyues already anticipated the outcome. He casually walked down the side of the tower which had been built into the building, then descended until he reached the ground. He stretched out a bit, as he was sore from hanging by his skinny arm. As he was about to exit the courtyard, he caught a glimpse of two helmets, peaking over the fence. Though the soldiers weren’t looking his way, they were most likely a small sentry unit, patrolling the surrounding area. Varren clenched the firearm tightly in his hand as they continued down the street, he took cover behind the fence, waiting for them to walk into his field of view. He had the PDW aimed at the opened gate, a perfect firing angle for close-quarters shots. He listened as the footsteps got closer and louder, he held his breath until he saw the white cloaks fully appear in his sights. 

[i]Two shots. Two bodies.[/i]

The young man let out a sigh of relief as the soldiers went limp, he made clean shots to each of their heads. He stood up and separately dragged each body into the yard, then performed a field strip. He picked up one of their [url=http://th03.deviantart.net/fs71/PRE/f/2013/212/b/c/bobcat_by_shockwave9001-d6g1bv4.jpg]assault rifles[/URL], and all of the magazines the men were carrying. Varren instantly noticed the weight difference between his sub-machinegun and the extensively heavier assault rifle. “Damn, this thing is chambered with 7.62x51? That’s insane, this thing could punch a hole through a person in an instant.” Yinyues found it surprising, since the round was usually used for marksman rifles, yet here it was, developed to be used by full-automatic firearms. The militaristic power of the Crucible was definitely frightening, the gun felt heavy in his hands. Overall, Varren was a considerably skinny individual who lacked muscle mass. He was only able to actively use his tecpatl was due to the fact it was a low caliber and barely had any recoil. If he didn’t fire with caution and awareness, the kickback could easily shatter his shoulder. “Alright, got nine magazines, perhaps Heizo could use this.” Even though his comrade wasn’t too fond of the conventional bullet, since the man was already used to weapons with high recoil, it would be best to leave it in his hands. It would be best employed in tight situations where a good amount of bullets would need to be put down range.

Before he left, he tore their dog tags from their necks and nicely folded them onto their chests. Though they were the enemy, Varren had natural compassion for all living beings. The one-sided engagement only last a couple of minutes, since Yinyues was short on time, he quickly shoved his tecpatl into his backpack and left the courtyard. As he continued to proceed through the town, he caught sight of a young boy with blonde hair, who he barely recognized, [i]“Right, he’s from the forest. But what is he doing?”[/i] He didn’t have time to ponder his reasoning, but he was the only person he had seen who was openly running through the streets. Keeping his distance, Varren tailed the boy, [i]”Perhaps I can barter with him. He could give me the location of a mechanic, and he and his friends get a ride off of this to be hellhole.”[/i] From where he was standing, he was unable to see the face of the individual. [i]”I’ll have to lower my firearm, no way he’s a threat. I hope he won’t be scared, it’d be nice to have a chat with somebody new.”[/i] He flicked on the safety and aimed the firearm to the ground, then stood out into the open. [i]”The soldiers will notice a breach in their sentry units soon, hopefully Mr. Weston will keep them distracted for a little while longer.”[/i] 

[b]A few moments before the arrival of the others:[/b]

After the boy realized he was being followed, Varren quickly put on the friendliest smile he could meager, “Um, hello. Sorry if this is a little sudden, but could you please direct me to a technician or mechanic? My ship is currently in need of repairs. It would be very much obliged, we’ll even be able to offer you a ride out of here. Though, we don’t have much time, as I’m sure the annexation unit has already called for backup. I’m anticipating a full-fledged fleet to respond in the next thirty minutes or so.” He was now able to get a good look of the blonde individual. “Oh, I’m Varren Yinyues of the Free Wind, employee of the Free Wind Transport Service. Pleased to meet you.” The young man loosened the grin and let out a sigh, [i]”Holy shit, Yinyues. There are ways you greet people, and one of them is most definitely not with a [b]loaded[/b] assault rifle in your hands. This is why people shoot you.”[/i]

The boy seemed to remember Varren as well, [b]”Sure, I have a friend of mine who is a mechanic. Look, we need to get my mother out of here, and my friends as well.”[/b] The guard gave the boy a nod of agreement, and followed him after he made a motion with his hand. The two entered the house and went up the stairs, then rounded a corner and entered a bedroom. Yinyues entered the room and looked at its contents, there on a bed lied an older woman, most likely the boy’s mother. As he was waiting, Varren heard other footsteps from the first floor, “Friends of yours’?” The blonde gave a nod and focused his attention on his mother. [i]”We have to go soon. Not sure how much more time Mr. Weston can buy us.”[/i] He thought to himself as he listened to the footsteps rising the stairs.