1 hour later. Near Bakersfield. 

Inside a Marriot hotel on Gibson Street, the lobby is fortified to the core, with many Inquisitors and Knights placing a handful of sentry turrets near the entrance, as well as tons of cargo boxes storing all sorts of weapons and equipment. Some rooms are filled with some Inquisitors on guard, some even prisoners and hostages as a form of leverage against the UEF. Pairs of guards are stationed near each elevator, ready to inspect any sort of disturbance detected in the hotel, all while the lights on the ceiling illuminate the floor. Those without weapons keep watch of the monitors showing the latest Zlocan activity in the region. 

All looking normal so far. 

On the sixth floor, there is a meeting room with a large, oval table in the middle with connected computers next to each seat, with one showing through the TV monitor in front of it, showing between escorting troops, patrolling mechas, and much more. There are four knights inside, plus a particular individual holding a golden plated sword, with long hair with bleached silver around it, tapping his foot repeatedly on the floor. 

Dakrin Cavendish that is. Still eager to prove himself to all his cohorts, especially the Zlocu. He sneers at those next to him while inspecting their blasters. 

"How long it'll be until I get to something really good for once?" he says with crossed arms. 

"To start, wait for orders from high command," a male Knight replies, which makes another one on his left chuckle. Dakrin groans while looking back and forth between the two and the screen. 

"C'mon! All I've done is to keep 'invigilating' every corner of the floor for even a tiny fly and you wouldn't even call me when there's a real danger for you!" 

"We could, but reports put doubt in how much help you would provide us in that case." 

"Besides, you got more important problems to deal with," a female Knight adds as she reloads her rifle. The others nod along. "So focus on your job or else." 

"Fine..." Dakrin mutters as he looks away from the group. But just as he's about to sling a pot next to him to the ground, the TV screen cuts off and the ones in the computer darken as well, alongside the lights in the ceiling. And although there's sunlight outside, the absence of electricity is enough to make the Zlocu stand guard and inspect every corner of the room for any potential cause. 

"Oh great, now there's a blackout. Want to me inspect the source then? Uh?" 

"No thanks, you'll blow it anyway," the male Knight laughs alongside his teammates, which makes Dakrin groan once more. 

Motherfuckers... 

"Strange, my sensors indicate that there's no report on a fuselage burnout anywhere in this sector," another Zlocan Knight replies while using a non-electric device that inspects the power in the building as well as any potential damage detected inside. This makes the others turn around and take a peek to prove his suspicions. 

"There are no reports coming from the electricity room either," the female Knight replies as well. Dakrin approaches the group while stumbling on another. The Knight tries to raise his fist but backs down when approaching the others. 

"It's obviously a hacking attempt, and it ain't math either," Dakrin says. 

"It's more than that, Dakrin. The only way something could shut down the power in this place would be through a major cable line, or hell, even Wolowitz," This statement makes the rest glance towards while keeping their rifles tight. Why make such an observation for something like this? 

"You don't mean that...!" another male Knight says before stopping himself short from further questioning a superior as she raises her hand. 

"Yeah, sure, hope your proud that your 'superior' technology got hijacked by some-" the female officer promptly slaps Dakrin before he can continue any further. He stumbles backward while wincing for a bit, before regaining his posture and rubbing his cheek from the force of the slap. 

"Quiet, you fool!" 

"Again, we can't confirm for sure if it's related to Wolowitz. Otherwise, we could be receiving calls from help by now," the male Knight says as he further inspects the device to uncover any potential intrusion to be found. But before the rest can reply, a missile approaches at a high velocity and impacts right next to the right side of the building, causing the entire floor to shake apart, with many computers and equipment falling down from the impact and the windows shattering in pieces. Some fall over to the sides of the room while others manage to hang on to a nearby object to hold steady. 

Just as the rest stand up and grab their weapons back, the alarms blare in the background and distant chattering can be heard as well. 

"What the hell just happened?!" Dakrin asks while grabbing his sword. 

"That looked like a Tomahawk missile. Such things can't hit with such precision when there's jamming nearby," the male Knight says, which makes some of the Zlocans gasp in response to that observation. 

"No, you can't be serious," another male Knight says as the others load their rifles. 

"Wolowitz is down. I'm sure of it!" But before they can act on any order, the intercom is heard from afar, extending to all corners of the building. 

"Attention all troops, reports are coming in that the jamming device for the Shield of Krest has been disabled by an undercover force who managed to divert our attention away," a male voice says from the speakers. "New report of ground troops are arriving at every perimeter of Bakersfield. All should remain on the defensive until further notice." 

"You heard the man. Initiated code 15 for combat maneuvers. Dakrin, you stay on guard while me and my squad deal with any potential attack, understood?" the female knight says as she and the rest pack their rifles and head outside. Dakrin can only grimance in response, but can only do a mere nod as the rest exit the room except for the female Knight who keeps her eyes on Dakrin. 

"Roger!" the rest of the squad says as they head outside, ready to regroup with other Knights to guard the floor from any incoming attack that could head their way. 

And one that could guarantee some hell to come.

*** 

Near the entrance, a convoy of Humvees drives nearby with many soldiers manning the turrets each stopping in the direction of the said entrance as the soldier aim turrets at the entrance in expectation of an ambush aimed at them. All of this while planes and choppers fly in the sky behind them as the next step of the operation goes through. 

Then, many open the doors of the Humvees as the soldiers step out of the vehicles, many of them wearing the standard desert camo applied for the UEF troops of various nationalities, all lining up to the entrance as well. 

"Hey now boys, don't ya think we could use a little more of a bigger surprise from us? It's kinda lame if we started blasting like this," a familiar male voice says as he steps down from the Humvee in the center, wielding a particular hammer and a blue cap. 

Su Hyon's back again, likely to finish the job. 

"What do you mean, mister Hyon?" a tanned female soldier asks next to him. He merely smirks as he looks at both sides. The pockets of most soldiers in particular where they have the grenades. 

"I'll tell you what my pals, hand me two of these explosive babes and then I'll swing them to the entrance harder than Babe Ruth that I'll make for a bigger impression. Right?" he asks with an even wider smirk as two male soldiers, a light-skinned one and a dark one pull some grenades while approaching him. 

"On my mark, pull the pings, then flip 'em near me and swing! Off they go, OK?" The two soldiers nod as they prepare to pull the pings, which makes most soldiers duck into cover while others take cover near the Humvees in preparation. 

Counting with their fingers, they throw the grenades in the air near Hyon's direction, and with exact precision, he swings his hammer at them, with enough force to throw them at the entrance while shattering the window inside. And just some distant chattering is heard inside, it detonates inside, as the smoke billows through the entrance, while the rest of the glass shatters from the blast as well. This makes Hyon laugh a lot as the soldiers stand up. 

"Now that's what I call a Double! Now, charge my ass-kickers!" he exclaims as he rushes forward alongside a handful of soldiers toward the entrance and yells as they do so, taking advantage of the smoke to plow through the enemies inside as they have it. While Hyon holds his hammer tight, a bit of the grin vanishes for a bit, maybe for something far more than just capturing the building. 

Rita... Please, Where are you? 

Inside, the soldiers open fire gunning down every Zlocan and Inquisitor in sight, with the torn-down turrets not helping one bit as they endured the worst from Hyon's grenade swing. The barrage of fire is enough to make a handful of Inquisitors push back deep into the room as they leave the rest to their fates, either through bullets or a smash from Hyon's hammer through the face or the chest. 

"Well well well, guess we have to pay for the missing appointment from today. But we're gonna do it through cash, it'll be through giving some physical education to y'all," Hyon retorts as the soldiers secure the perimeter around the room. With the area secured, Hyon signals for a team to head to the left side of the room, while he nods at the two soldiers from before as well as some behind him to follow his lead. 

"Alright, what's the plan now boss?" 

"Let's find some of the good prisoners held hostage here, and if possible, find any possible leads on a future base. Easy peasy I'd say. Let's go!" Hyon and his team head near the elevators while the soldiers head further into the other rooms on the floor.  Some distant chattering is heard between captured people and their Zlocan captors, but what happens comes later, as Hyon and his squad enter the door, and see the stairs leading to the sixth floor. 

The group heads upward slowly, which gives Hyon's men to reload while covering his back, and despite the presumed risk, Hyon still keeps his grin as ever, almost like he's ready for all these sorts of situations. 

"We also can't afford to lose the chance either..." Hyon whispers as he clenches his hammer and looks down with a frown. The soldiers don't glance at him in spite of the visible change of demeanor. However, 30 seconds in and the group stops at the sixth floor, which makes Hyon regain his focus and look at the door. 

"Hey Carlos, don't forget to give 'em some flash too," he whispers as he readies his hammer. Carlos nods as he pulls a canister from his belt colored in grey, all while his partner covers his back in anticipation of the attack. 

And then, just as they open the door on the floor, he throws it away while leaning near the gate, enough to cover just his arm without revealing the rest.  Shouts of "flashbang" are heard, but before they can react and cover their eyes, a burst is heard which makes some yell and shout in response. 

"Let's get 'em, boys!" Hyon shouts as he sprints outside the door and heads for the group of blinded Zlocans.   With one swing, he clubs two Zlocans in a row as they get pummeled to a wall, shattering their helmets and one even coughing their orange blood. Then goes for a vertical one who is about to turn only to be trounced to the ground, with the impact enough to splatter some chunks of his blood. The rest are shot by Hyon's teammates while Hyon manages to grab one unfortunate Zlocan by collar as he whimpers from the strength of the lifting. 

"Oh, sorry if I ruined the party man, but the UEF found it to be too troubling so I came to shut it down," Hyon quips while his teammates chuckle in response. 

"Fuck off..." the male Zlocan mutters out of his mouth with barely a trace of air left in him. 

"Now... Is there someone here by the name of Rita Su? Answer me, now," Hyon says with a now lower tone as he tightens his grip on the Zlocan's neck, causing him to breathe faster and gapping for air as he tries to smack him in the arm to no avail. 

"We... we have... no record of... Rita Su... here..." the male Zlocan replies between a wheeze and a pant. This prompts Hyon to tighten his hold on Zlocan even more, which makes the Zlocan wheezing even harder as the eyes roll on his back. 

"Mister Hyon, I don't think he..." Carlos tries to intervene only for Hyon to raise his hand in response. 

"Let. Him. Feel. It. All. Of. It," Hyon replies with a growling tone, until the male Zlocan stops moving, both through his body and his breathing, and without further ado, Hyon proceeds to hurl the Zlocan to the ground as he breathes heavily, his hands getting sweaty while marks are left in the hand as well. 

"Hyon...?" the other soldier asks while patting him slowly on the shoulder. After a moment of silence between the three, Hyon opens his mouth and gives the following. 

"Check the other side, I'm going forward here," Hyon orders firmly. Without further questioning, Carlos and his teammate do as instructed and head back to look for more hostages while Hyon slowly walks forward in the path straight ahead. Continuing towards the long hallway, he sees a door to the right with the label "Conference Room". While it may sound simple, there's something that catches Hyon's attention enough to slightly sprint at it. 

Please, give me the answer this time...! 

He clenches his hammer as he reaches for the door, and with one swing, he smashes it right in front of him, throwing the door back to the other side of the room and hitting a window. As he enters the room, it appears that there's no trace of a single living being inside except for a handful of computers laying on the table. 

Stepping inside, all seems well and quiet for Hyon to investigate, someone yells next to him and before he can react, he gets slashed in his right arm, which makes Hyon yell while trying to get a firm grip on his hammer. Turning around, he turns to see the one responsible. 

Dakrin Cavendish. 

"How'd you like that, huh?!" Dakrin taunts as he swings his blade at every turn while Hyon tries to stay steady and grimaces at him. 

"What a cheap shot..." Hyon mutters while breathing slowly. He goes for a swing with his hammer in one arm but Darkin leaps backward just as it impacts the ground,  which sends a cloud of dust in the air with some fractures on the floor. 

"What a foul strike!" Dakrin quips while swinging his sword at Hyon, who manages to leap backward with his hammer in hand. And when he readies his next swing, Dakrin jumps to the next side of the table as Hyon's hammer demolishes part of the wooden table, breaking it into pieces, and gives Dakrin an opening to leap in the air and hit right on Hyon's cheeks with his knee, causing him to stumble backward while still clenching to his hammer. 

"C'mon gramps, don't you think you could use something lighter?" Dakrin says with a grin. Hyon, however is not fazed for one bit as he struggles to get a laugh out. 

"Gramps...? You're talking to a dad here... Where is she...?" Dakrin scoffs in response. 

"How the hell should I know? I'm only deployed to 'invigilate', that's all." This makes Hyon clench his teeth and then try to rush forward to clubber Dakrin, but the latter has enough reflexes to evade the swing and slashes part of his chest horizontally, leaving a big cut and a gash, and just before Hyon knows it, Darkin goes right for the stomach in one quick stab, which makes him drop the hammer and wincing from the strike as he covers himself. From this alone, Dakrin laughs in response before spitting on him. 

"A weakling like you doesn't even deserve to stand toe to toe with me! And yet you expect yourself to be able to rescue your daughter when you're like that? Hah! Perish the thought!" Dakrin laughs once more as he stomps on Hyon's back, groaning a lot as Dakring keeps the pressure of the foot on him. 

"Even so... I'd go to hell and back to do anything to find her... If there's someone who can..." Hyon whispers with a wheeze, something that makes Dakrin grin once more. 

"Ask the robo-weirdo. He knows everything." 

"He does...?" Hyon asks once more while wheezing, trying to look up at Dakrin while wincing from the pressure of his stomping. 

"That is, if I'm ever gonna let you." Dakrin prepares to raise his sword right above his head to behead the poor man himself. But just as he does so, a bleep is heard near his hear which makes him groan in response and puts his finger on it. 

"What?! I'm very busy right trying to kill somebody!" 

"Dakrin Cavendish, new orders from high command indicate that we can't hold out for much longer in Bakersfield. You and whatever troop you're part of should pull back at once," a female says on the other side. This is enough to make Dakrin frown in response. 

"But what about the one I'm about to kill?! It will be a quick one, I promise!" 

"The transport will take off in 40 seconds. Get in there." 

"I call bullshit on that!" 

"We've lost half of our forces here and we need all the troops we have to guard the remaining zones, and we won't afford any further loss in our empire! I won't repeat myself." With that, the transmission cuts off, which makes Dakrin scream in response and kick a chair next to him. Just as he's leaving for the door, he turns to Hyon one last time. 

"Guess you're getting a second chance. But don't count it when it comes to a deadbeat dad like you." With that, he eventually departs, ready to fight for another day. While Hyon attempts to carry himself up from the table, the amount of blood gushing from his chest makes it a struggling task for him, barely breathing as the skin grows pale for a bit. And just then, footsteps are heard nearby, just as Hyon is about to lower his head from a potential Zlocan arrival, one word is enough to prevent that. 

"Mister Hyon!" Carlos says as he and his partner pick up Hyon by his should while other arriving troops head inside, some gasping in response to the sight of a bleeding Hyon in front of them. "Quick, get a doctor!" A line of troops with the red cross enter with medkits, both opening them as fast as they can to get the bandages needed to stop the bleeding on Hyon's chest. 

But for Hyon himself, all he can do is tap at the right side of his chest, in what seems to be a rectangular shape of a peculiar device. Something for his daughter it seems? A gift one would lead to eternal love? 

Rita... I'll find you soon... I promise... I promise...