Gears of War: Crossroads


 * For four years, the Gears of Ion Squad have beaten the odds and survived the onslaught of the Locust on humanity's front lines. Only two months ago, the Lightmass Bomb was deployed, and for a moment it seemed like the threat had passed. But now, as the city of Montevado burns to the ground, the squad has to flee the resurgence of their enemy, into the unexplored wilderness of Sera. Their journey will take them across some of the harshest parts of Sera's surface, and into the depths below it. While Locust stalk their every move, they will have allies in their fight for survival. Their squad leader now must hold together his soldiers, as forces physical and emotional strain the bonds they have forged in fire. Time is of the essence, autumn is slipping by and winter closes fast.

Coalition Gears
William Kulm – A four-year veteran of the war against the Locust, Will grew up into the aristocratic upper echelon of Jacinto. After forsaking his family’s ingratious ways, he became one of very few Gears by choice. The CO of Ion Squad, he only hopes he can live up to the father figure that was their old Sergeant.

Kloe Kaliso – Sibling of both Tai and Rias Kaliso, Kloe joined the COG Army against the express wishes of her family. A fierce and skilled warrior, Kloe has accepted that her feats in battle will go unnoticed by superior officers. But she has both the capability and desire for greatness, and an opportunity may be fast approaching.

James Reid – Despite fighting against the Locust Horde for three years in Ion Squad, Reid has somehow retained a lighthearted innocence. He is always a bolster to the morale of those around him, however, it may be that his smile is only a façade, as only one who tries may come through hell and seem unaffected.

Wayne Ogle – Wayne is a man who has survived more than he believes he has right to. First taking up a rifle in the Pendulum Wars, he was believed dead during the Hammer of Dawn Offensive and lived among the Stranded for close to a decade. In his time with Ion Squad, though, he has proven several times over that he hasn’t lost a step.

The Feral
Brown Cloak and Green Cloak – Mysterious warrior women, few have ever had contact with their kind and lived to tell about it. This pair travels in the same direction as Ion Squad, and both parties claim safety in numbers. For now, they seem unthreatening to the soldiers of the squad, but with the Feral, circumstances can change in the blink of an eye.

Marauders
‘Tampering’ Tom Anderson – A former Gear himself, Tom is delighted to make acquaintances with those still fighting for humanity’s existence. He is a skilled weaponsmith and always looking for something new to meddle with, but his allegiances must ultimately lie with Deacon McCarrick and his men.

Coals of Montevado
One of the Coalition’s last strongholds was in flames. The Locust had emerged once again, and now what Gears were left in the city were fighting for their lives. Boomers outfitted with flamethrowers had set fire to the buildings, and columns of smoke were rising into the night sky.

In the burning urban sprawl, bands of roving Locust Drones led by snarling Grenadiers and Theron Guards occupied the streets. Asphalt split and cracked as the ground shifted caused by foul, colossal creatures underneath the earth. And one group of Gears ran on.

A corner building creaked under its own weight as burning beams were eaten away by flames. Out of its shadow and the smoke flooding from it stumbled a man in heavy plates of metal armor. His helmet shone two beams of blue light, looking for a vantage point.

Gear Sergeant William Kulm climbed on top of a pile of rubble, trying to get a better view of the road ahead. It was hard for him to see in the haze, but his helmet’s systems aided him. Sweeping the road ahead with his Longshot, he motioned for the other Gears to move up with him. “Not much farther, Ion, keep going. Wayne, take point.”

Will jumped down from the pile, landing next to the old man carrying a Gnasher shotgun. He was the only one of the squad without a helmet, wearing a bandana over his hair to keep out the ash falling from the sky. He waited to take the lead until Will was down and able to assist the pair of soldiers behind him, then moved up with sharp eyes scanning for enemies.

The squad medic, Tim Atkins, was doing his best to keep up under the weight of Private Matthew Victor, who had been wounded in the fighting. Both were covered head to foot with Coalition All-Purpose armor. Atkins had his comrade’s arm over his left shoulder, and held a pistol in his right. Will took Victor’s other side, and they hurried on.

Kloe Kaliso and James Reid were covering the squad’s six. They fired their Lancers back the way they had come, cutting down a trio of Drones that had stumbled out of the flames. Kloe automatically reloaded, the combat training hard-wired into her mind. Through the gaps of armor plating, the tattoos of a South Islander showed through. Reid covered her, anxiously gripping his Lancer and waiting for her to be ready to catch up with the others. As she pulled back the handle on the gun’s muzzle, locking in the clip and putting the first round into place, the two of them turned and ran after the others.

William heard a far-off growl, and his head immediately snapped up. From the blackened sky, a Reaver came into view overhead. He turned to his squad. “Get down, everyone down now!”

Ion got off the street, hiding behind parked cars as it flew over. They had their weapons pointed up, ready to open fire if it saw them. Fortunately, it moved on without noticing them, and the Gears moved back out into the street. Just as Will was going to get them moving again, a Hammerburst round flew over his head.

“Take cover! Move!”

A Locust squad had tailed them for some time, and now the creatures were catching up, firing an assortment of weaponry. Will’s Longshot claimed a victim, the Drone falling to the ground with its skull split. As Kloe engaged in a fight with a Cyclops, chainsaws rumbling, Will slid behind a pile of rocks with Reid. “Atkins!” he shouted at the medic, “Get Victor to the Raven!”

Atkins nodded, and with Wayne covering them, began to fall back along the street. The ground shook, and the road cracked as a Corpser broke the surface. The street cracked into plates, and the one with the two Victor and Atkins slanted down towards the tunnels. Atkins managed to grab the top of the plate, hanging on by one hand, but Victor slid screaming into the darkness below.

The Corpser roared, and struck with one of its legs at Atkins. The Gear rolled sideways, covering his head as part of the plate was obliterated in a cloud of rock dust. As it recoiled for another attack, a Longshot round hit the giant spider’s belly, causing it to rear up in pain.

“Tim, run!” Will yelled, forcing another round into the sniper rifle’s chamber. The medic complied, and pulled himself up over the plate of asphalt, out of sight. The rest of the squad kept up fire at the enemy squad, trapped between Locust Drones and an angry giant, with both closing in.

Wayne had been just about to release an arrow from the Torque Bow he carried when the ground shook under the Corpser’s thrashing, throwing off his shot. The arrow dug into the ground a few meters behind his target and exploded harmlessly in the pavement.

The old Gear spun around and scowled at the beast, sliding home another arrow. It was trying to get a clawhold on the surface to pull itself up to attack the human soldiers.

Looking about, Wayne quickly spied an opportunity in the form of a burning building above them. The top floor had collapsed in on itself and now an array of heavy, smoldering beams hung over the street. The Gear raised his weapon and held down the trigger.

Both armatures of his bow strained backwards as its internal motor wound up cables to create incredible levels of tension. Immulsion in the arrow’s tip glowed hot as the fuse on it was ignited and the projectile became a time bomb. When the arms folded back almost to touching the stock, Wayne released the trigger and the appendages sprung forward, the arrow zipping in a high arc and leaving a short gold trail behind it.

It thudded into a burning beam, and for a moment sat hissing in the wood. As the hissing abruptly stopped, the area where it had embedded itself flashed brightly and a small clap of thunder echoed off the buildings.

With clouds of embers swirling off it, the burning wood broke from its anchoring and plunged to the street below. With a crash, the mess came down on the Corpser, pinning it down under the weight. It let loose a long and loud bellow as the smoldering beams seared a pattern of burns into its flesh. Shrieking, its one-track mind left it oblivious to the Gears as the giant spider desperately struggled to get out of its pain and retreat into the tunnels.

Wayne cracked a grin, satisfied with neutralizing the threat and letting it crawl away to lick its wounds, then pulled his shotgun off his back to start firing at the Drones again.

As Wayne slid into cover next to him, Will realized the Corpser’s emergence had left a chasm across the entire breadth of the street, cutting off their escape. The squad didn’t have the time or ammo for a prolonged firefight; they would have to take an alley and skirt the city wall to get to their extraction point.

He saw their chance, a side street across the block on their right, and beyond that the cover of night and the deep forest. Keeping his head down, he yelled through his voice filter, “We’re taking a detour! Go by twos, Wayne, Reid, get ready to run!”

The Gears nodded, and set to sprint through the open and to the alley. As soon as Will and Kloe started firing, they broke cover and ran, keeping their heads down. The Locust made a few potshots at them, but most were suppressed by the fire of the Gears.

Reid made it first, and readied his Lancer. Wayne joined him, taking cover at the corner of the building. He gave a signal to Will and Kloe, and fired a round of buckshot in the direction of their enemies. Kloe and Will ran for it as the others had, light rounds buzzing by through the smoke. A bullet pinged off of Will’s armor, and he sped up as adrenaline kicked in.

Will sighed in relief as the shadow of the building engulfed him, and kept him safe from the Locust line of fire. He looked over his shoulder to see Reid and Wayne still firing back, and Kloe catching her breath. It was time to get out of here. “Fall back, we’ll use the forest as cover and try to circle around to the choppers!”

Reid and Wayne sent parting shots on their way as they followed down the alley. Youngest and fastest, Reid quickly outpaced the other three, with Kloe right behind him. This left Will and Wayne to duck suddenly as a car they were passing exploded, its immulsion tank ignited by a Locust round. A Gnasher and a Longshot spun around and put a salvo of rounds a Bolter running after them.

More Locust were on their way, and Will tapped the older Gear’s shoulder. “Go! I’ll catch up with you!”

Wayne hesitated, but the tone in his Sergeant’s voice said that if he didn’t go now, he’d make it an order. Reloading the shotgun, Wayne high-tailed it after the others.

Will started sliding another cartridge into the sniper rifle, only to have the damn thing get wedged against the back of the chamber. He cursed out his bad luck in a long-dead language and ducked behind the automobile’s burning hulk as Hammerburst rounds flew by.

Still trying to push the round into his weapon, Will was unable to stop a trio of Drones from running up the alley after him and his squad. Switching tactics, he scraped at the round with his nails to dislodge it and pull it out, when the ground rumbled under him. “Ah, fierfek, it’s the fucking Corpser.” Will said aloud, still fumbling with the rifle as a heavy layer of dust fell from the building next to him.

Asphalt cracked as the beast tunneled directly underneath. Fortunately for the lone Gear, it was still intent on licking its burn wounds rather than attacking, and didn’t break the surface. It ignored the firefight as it passed under, but its very presence had an effect on those above.

Its beams and walls burning, the building next to Will began to buckle and send showers of ashes, a first sign that it was about to collapse. A cloud of dust and embers descending over him made him look up, and become suddenly aware of the danger. Without a thought of the Locust behind him, he broke cover and sprinted for the end of the alley, praying he’d make it clear before the structure came down.

Incognizant of their imminent doom, a handful of Locust soldiers aimed at the Gear and sprayed bullets at him through a haze of smoke, dust, and floating embers. They missed him by miles as chunks of mortar began to hit the ground.

William cleared the alley, but didn’t slow, instead continuing running for the trees. At the same time, the Locust screamed in horrified realization. Its framework burned away, the bricks of the antiquated high-rise fell to earth en masse, while the Locust caught in the street could do little to escape a crushing death. Some called out, some ran, and a few took last shots in the direction the Gear had been running.

Thunder sounded behind Will as tons of stone collapsed inwards, a massive wave of dust and debris obscuring the street level as it came down. Bricks and stones flew from the chaos. The rapidly expanding cloud of stone dust overtook the retreating Gear, chunks of debris falling to earth everywhere. Will was almost to the trees when something bounced up off the ground behind him and smacked into the back of his helmet with a resounding crack.

He hit the ground hard, vision blurring. Throbbing pain came from the back of his head, and he had to struggle to stay conscious. Will moved his hand into blurry view, sliding it over the dead pine needles of the forest floor. The last of the building’s rubble thudded and rolled around him, coming to rest on the edge of the treeline. Just beyond him, he saw his Longshot, and tried to reach for it. As soon as he laid a hand on it, he heard a scream.

In the settling dust, one lone figure stumbled from the collapsed building, a Locust Cyclops, with a Lancer rifle in hand. A golden beam shone from the lamp in its helmet, scanning for any sign of the fleeing Gear.

Will crawled hurriedly into the underbrush, hiding behind a dead log. He reached to his belt for another cartridge when the Locust’s heavy breathing reached his ears. He froze, waiting as the Cyclops approached. Heavy hide boots snapped twigs under the weight of the drone, and vapor streamed from its maw into the cold air. The monster twisted its head back and forth, scanning the forest floor for him. Will held his breath as the drone passed him by, unaware of how close the two came. It walked onwards, its back turned to the Gear.

He immediately took advantage of the Locust’s blunder. Grasping the barrel of his Longshot in both hands, he silently stood and walked after the oblivious Cyclops. Coming close, Will raised his rifle. Just as he was about to strike, a blackbird flapped through the trees behind him, causing the Cyclops to spin around. It snarled, and quickly brought up its Lancer and struck him with it. Will’s helmet was thrown off as the latent chainsaw glanced off it, and Will was knocked on his back by the solid force.

The Cyclops revved up the Lancer’s bayonet, and swung it over its head at him. Will raised his Longshot to block, and felt the pressure as the Locust pressed down. Sparks flew off of the contact, and he shut his eyes to protect them. The pressure lifted, and he found that the Locust had cut the weapon into two pieces, the ends slagged and glowing slightly. He dropped the pieces, looking up at the Cyclops. It barked a laugh as it raised the weapon to its shoulder, lining the sights on Will’s head. In defiance, Will kicked at its leg and heard a sharp crack as his metal boot connected with its kneecap.

Growling in pain and surprise, the Locust fell next to him, and William quickly scrambled on top of it, pinning it down under its own Lancer. He yelled, throwing a punch to its temple. The Locust’s helmet rolled away as the Gear landed another blow with his left hand, and then a third. A crack sounded from deep inside the Locust’s throat, and it lay still.

Will rolled off of it, panting heavily. For a long minute, he lay catching his breath beside the corpse of his enemy, among the forest shadows cast by the light of Montevado’s flames. As he caught his breath, he became aware of the world around him again, and he pushed himself up.

Holding the side of his head, Will stood up and looked around. The halves of his Longshot still lay on the ground, the jagged edges where it had been severed still glowing faintly. He spied his helmet laying a few feet away from him, and walked over to pick it up. A pained expression crossed his features as he noticed one of the eyepieces was cracked and dim. He stared at it a moment before throwing the useless equipment away.

The only thing he had left was his snub pistol, and that wasn’t going to do him much good against anything more than a Wretch. His eyes caught on the Lancer still lying on top of its former owner. He hesitated for a moment, then took the weapon, and headed off to find his squad.

By Moon and Firelight
For the first time in a long while, Will could feel the cold air of night push against his face as he ran through the undergrowth. He realized he might have spent too much time under a helmet, as wind ran through his uncut roan hair, and a patch of amber stubble grew from his chin having never noticed it beneath Coalition armor. The silver and blue plates of clanking armor he wore gleamed in the shafts of pale moonlight, then were dark again as shadows of the canopy hid them. With the light of Montevado’s fires behind him and his helmet gone, he had trouble seeing beyond ten feet in the dark forest, but the trail left by three Gears in full armor was hard to miss and easy to follow.

He followed the signs of broken branches and kicked-up leaves as fast as he could with exhaustion from his fight and the weight of his suit. Part of his upper lip was numb where the helmet had been smashed against his face, and he could taste blood seeping from it.

Voices up ahead caught his attention, and recognizing Reid’s pitch, he knew it had to be his squad. Trampling over ferns, he emerged in the circle of light cast by a burning King Raven, into the middle of a standoff.

Flames crackled and climbed over the helicopter’s blackened frame, and James Reid stood with his back to the downed chopper, its light outlining his bulky silhouette. Behind him stood a lean figure obscured by a full-body cloak, and hood hanging down to just above her eyes. A distinctly human woman had the Gear pulled back off-balance, and a Gorgon heavy pistol held against Reid’s exposed neck.

Kloe and Wayne stood motionless next to each other, the former on one knee and Lancer pointed toward the woman and her hostage. Unreadable behind her helmet, her nerves held her rifle completely steady and safety off. Wayne stood back-to-back with her, the profile of his eyes down to dark pupils, sighted down his shotgun at a fifth figure.

Like the other newcomer, it was a woman garbed in a long cloak and hood, this one standing in the open, obviously caught by Wayne, and unable to move fast enough to escape should he decide to fire. Though they noticed his presence, none dared take their eyes away long enough to look at him.

William was caught completely off-guard by the situation. He managed to mutter, “Someone want to fill me in a little bit. . .?”

Before any reply came, a loud howl sounded from the distant hills behind them. Will decided the noise wasn’t far away enough for his comfort. “Look,” he said to the woman holding Reid hostage, “any other day, I’d love to hear just what it was that Reid did to piss you off, but right now, we have bigger problems.”

More roars answered the first, unmistakably those of Bloodmount packs, but the stalemate held. The situation was becoming more tense by the moment, and grips tightened on weapons. It was then when Wayne decided to be the adult, and took the first step, putting up his shotgun and leaving the woman open to escape. The one holding Reid pushed him forward and sent him stumbling towards the other Gears, then turned and fled with her companion, vanishing beyond the ring of light and into the dark forest. As suddenly as Will had become aware of them, they had disappeared. But he didn’t have time to dwell on their existence; the Locust were still out there.

Noticing Reid’s Lancer by his feet, Will picked it up and tossed the weapon to its owner. “Any survivors in the KR?”

“No.” Kloe answered, getting up from her couch. “Mercifully, they seem to have been killed on impact.”

“Then let’s move out. Looks like we’re cut off from the city. Wayne, you know a way to throw off Bloodmounts?”

“I’ll havta hurry, but I know one thing that kin help. . .” With a heavy clank, Wayne locked his Gnasher onto the back of his armor, and snapped off a bough from one of the pine trees. As the sounds of their pursuers became louder, he lifted it out over the fire engulfing the Raven, and the dry needles immediately caught fire. Wayne then hurried over to the trees and lifted it up into the lower branches.

An inferno swiftly climbed for the open stars above, flames running across the trees like they were burning a hole in a sheet of parchment paper. Thick, black smoke carried the scent of burning evergreen wood down to the ground, choking the soil below. It would be hard for the Locust to track them by smell now.

Coughing, Will ushered on the three Gears that he had left, pushing them before him into the darkness, away from the rapidly spreading wildfire. He followed, taking a last look back to see the dim beacon of lights mounted on a Bloodmount’s head charging into the other side of the clearing they were leaving behind.

“So, who were they?” Will asked as they fled the crash site. Reid and Kloe were once again in the lead as their group pressed uphill, while he held back to keep Wayne company. As they got further and further from Montevado’s ashes, it became clear that they wouldn’t be going back. The screams of Bloodmounts had faded away, but weren’t completely out of earshot yet.

The old Gear huffed and pulled his legs up over another step in the bedrock and made a reply. “Not ezactly sure ‘bout that. But I gotta hunch, tho’.” He accepted Will’s arm to help get on top of the next rock. “They’re called the Feral, group’a warrior women types, got t’gether after some petic’larly hard times in the Pendulum Wars. They keep t’themselves, mostly, like Stranded. . .but more organized. An’ more dangerous, usually.”

“What is our plan?” Kloe asked from up ahead where she and Reid were standing. Her voice sounded odd, a South Island accent distorted by her helmet’s voice filter. Will had to look around. For a while now, he had just been moving in the same direction they were. He needed to make a decision. ..

“Montevado’s gone. We’ll try and find an outpost, get evac’d from there.” He said, just as the sound of Bloodmount roars returned. The Gears spun around, looking down towards the source.

In the valley below them, bursts of light and sound revealed weapons being fired between two moving sides, one giving chase to the other. It went on for a few seconds before they caught sight of the combatants. In the open for only a few seconds were the two cloaked women they had encountered before, one firing an oversized Gorgon pistol and the other a Hammerburst.

Closing behind them was a pack of a half dozen of the bipedal animals being spurred on by Locust riders. The rifles that the Drones carried weren’t proving a threat to the pair, missing their targets wildly, but the hungry jaws of the Bloodmounts were catching up.

“Hey, it’s dinner and a show!” Reid said, standing on an outcropping above the rest. Will strained to get a good view of exactly what was happening, but the trees were blocking them out. He looked around to find a better vantage point, and realized that there were only three of them on the ridge.

“Where’s Kloe. . ?” Will asked. Wayne pointed, and he followed the aim to see the back of a suit of Gear armor headed down hill, to head off the chase.

Wayne turned and looked at him, waiting for him to give the word. Will stared after her for a moment, but he knew she wasn’t going to come back.

“Dammit. . . Ion Squad, lock and load!”