What remained of the day slowly crept down the southern face of Civalli Ridge. Two thirds of Reaper Unit 12 was stationed in the valley just to the North.
From the shadows, a tall, well muscled female silhouette glided across the dry bed of soil. To the casual observer taking on the scene, one would be quite attracted to the silky motion generated by the athletic yet feminine form that produced it......until it stepped into the light!
One's thoughts of physical attraction would quickly yield to fear and utter revulsion!
Jez stepped into the harsh light of the crawlers utility lamp, located just inside the undercarriage adjacent to the suspension. Her well built 6'4" frame marred by a tattered face, covered in a thin, clear membrane of bio-engineered skin. Anyone unlucky enough to be face to face with the battle hardened murderer, could actually see the blood coursing through synthetic blood vessels just beneath the surface as they fed life to what was left of a face that had once been strikingly beautiful!
"Blue Two to Blue leader. Come in, Blue leader." The raspy, graveled voice of the number two reaper grated past the ragged lips as ugly and malformed as her grotesque visage. Both of Jezebel's robotic eyes were fixed on the wrist mounted com screen attached to her left arm, casting digital readouts and relative co-ordinance. Almost immediately, a deep male voice responded in the number two's ear mounted receiver.
"This is blue leader. Whats your position and situation?"
The voice belonged to Lazarus 214. The leader of the three troop unit, Reaper 12. Along with unit 3, Goliath 447, Lazarus and Jezebel made up the most lethal and most productive kill team in all of the Reaper Corps. Collectively, it's estimated that this unit is responsible for over 70,000 premeditated sanctions and close to a quarter million more by way of collateral damage.
"Both 2 and 3 are located three kilometers, 117 west of way point Whisky. Requesting extraction at this location."
Jezebel's response is dry and antiseptic. Doled out dutifully, as would be expected from any Reaper operative.
"Affirmative, 2. ETA, eighteen minutes."
The tall, muscular frame of Jezebel 623 stood erect. Casting a long shadow across the valley floor as her synthetic eyes scanned the open horizon for any movement. Any potential threat. Her mind replayed previous events that had ended in several hundred dead. A few survivors managed to escape but they weren't priority targets and Reaper Twelve's objective was complete and successful. The plan had been simple. Goliath moved in full forward. Hammering the main force with the heavy guns mounted on the crawler. Jez moved in light. Flanking the massive resistance and pinpointing three dozen priority targets. All terminated up close, with a blade! Each sanction was video logged and transmitted via Reaper Two's left eye lens, which also served as a long range motion detector/heat sensor. All intel was beamed directly to an orbiting Blue Leader, Lazarus. Who monitored enemy movement and provided logistics to his ground units.
Comfortable with the high probability that all survivors had effectively bugged out, Jezebel 623 turned on her heel and began her slow, fluid stride toward the crawler.
"Two to Three. Come in, Three." The graveled voice of the female reaper once again speaking into the com. This time, haling the third reaper, Goliath. "This is Three. Over"
The husky voice in Jez's earpiece sounded very appropriate in accompanying the moniker of Goliath.
As Jezebel entered the lower access of the crawler, the coms came to life with her grating, raspy tone. "Prepare for dust off. We leave in Fifteen." "Copy that, 2. 3 out"
Lazarus would drop out of orbit soon and close on their position. Once aboard the cruiser, the long trip back to base would be spent mostly in stasis. All three reapers would be given a brief period of R&R then, it was off to another system to murder more of the company's liabilities.
