2 hours later. Briefing room. 

"Alright then, you people seem to be well-trained enough to take on this mission, effective immediately. As you all know, one of the remaining defense mechanisms in the Hollywood Line is the quadrupedal mechanical walker, Ammit. Ammit is known to be a vigilant scout in the rocky terrains, always spotting any intruder trespassing the Hollywood Line, and terminating them with extreme prejudice with her advanced weaponry, including a mounted hyper cannon in the head of the mech, plus some defensive turrets and an electronic warfare suite. You'd say it stuffs the entire defense weaponry applied by futuristic ships and such. We recently uncovered that from every watch Ammit does, it's transported back to a large facility located near the Morongo Valley. The facility supplies an amount of energy to Ammit and reloads most of the weapons inside the mech, all within an estimated span of six hours of recharge and reloading." As this is explained, the map zooms on the western part of the county where the valley is, showing a photo of the large hangar constructed solely for Ammit to be resupplied, all while showing some spotting towers and a line of tanks around it. 

"Unlike Manta, our objective is to capture Ammit where she's stationed near the valley, and then use it once the liberation of LA begins. The operation will be better suited to take place at nighttime. Our members today will include the EW, the 2nd Marine Division, the Lycan Gunslingers from Chimera, and the support units from the conscripts, each with their own part to work with. We all need to work in tandem to ensure the success of the operation because otherwise, the Zlocu and their human lapdogs would get another kick of mowing down the ones who were this close to victory. Dismissed." 

6 hours later. 

In the deepest reaches of the night, the shadowy sky throws a curtain of darkness around the land, with little to almost no visibility in the ground, not even the faintest of burning campfires in any part of the acres of land in the valley. The only traces of light to be seen are around the facility holding Ammit, accompanied by the lights of the watch towers in front of the hangar. As well as some hover tanks guarding in front of it, it seems that there won't be any sort of disturbance in the day. 

But as fate would have it, that will be tested in the most peculiar way possible. 

Near the watch tower on the left,  while two Zlocan guards inspect the spotlight in the center, three figures dressed in black-clad suits including balaclavas and bags walk while crouched near the tower, as the Zlocan guards focused on their job. Most are armed with Honey Badger submachineguns, with night vision goggles strapped in as well. As they halt near the base of the tower, one unbuckles a C4 explosive in their belt, placing one in the left part of the wall of the tower. As they inspect that the C4 is firmly attached to the wall and ready to detonate, they signal to the other soldiers to do the same, planting the C4s in two more placements in the tower. 

Once they're all set, one of the soldiers takes out a mini lantern which once turned on, reveals a red light attached to it. Crouching near a bush next to them, they switch the lantern on and off in a flickering motion on the tower on the left, as if they're waiting for another response from the men on the other side. 

After some seconds of silence, a blue flickering light is spotted on the tower on the right, which leads to the black-armored soldier to signal the others with his hands, walking away from the tower as they both pull the detonators out of their belts. The soldier starts counting with their fingers, starting with five, then steadily counting down until it reaches the index finger. And once it's pulled, the soldiers press the detonators, which cause loud bangs to be heard as explosions rock both towers apart, the force enough to send both down to the abyss with the guards falling down and impacting the ground, some losing their rifles in the process during the fall. 

"Lycan One to all units, the spotlights have been destroyed and now we've gathered the Zlocs' attention to us. The rest is up to you, so go take Ammit for us," the male soldier says as the alarms blare in the background. 

"Copy that, Lycan One. You surely made a good bloody job in the fireworks," Seiner says, piloting inside his Chrome Chopper. Alongside him is a Blackhawk helicopter, as well as four Little Bird helicopters, and two Bell Hueys, all heading in the direction of Ammit, ready to infiltrate inside the mech and hijack it by any means necessary, and all for the path to victory. 

Inside the chopper are Logan, Rian, Jack and Ed, all either unsheathing their blades or loading up their guns between an M4 battle rifle with a grenade launcher for Jack and a Winchester pump shotgun for Ed, who steadily inserts each shell inside of it. Both wearing kevlar vests around their chests in case of any potential surprise attack aimed at them. Rian, in particular, sticks around a corner as he spins his light blade. 

"4 fellas today ain't so dang bad today, especially when we'll get to rough up those nasty Zlocs from the precious metallic camel, isn't that right?" Ed says with a smile, knowing what would come ahead. 

"You know, old timer, I think this is gonna be a fine time to learn about the tactics of fighting with others in pretty closed spaces. And at the very least, we can expect less chaos since Tany and Andrei are absent," Jack says, not glancing at Ed as he locks and loads his rifle. 

"I know damn well that they're like rowdy horses, but it'll be best to bring most of the creativity around them to wipe damn Zlocs' asses, y'know!" 

"Anyway people, heads up, we're nearing our destination," Seiner says in the intercom as the door hatches open, with some of the breeze flowing inside of them as well as the wind as they and the other teams in the helicopters near Ammit, all while the sound of gunfire and explosions are heard in the background. 

"This is Sergeant Tyrell of the 2nd Marine Division, the remaining pilots will provide covering fire to the area while the teams infiltrate inside Ammit, copy?" a female voice says in the intercom, with the sound of rotating blades heard on the other side. 

"Roger all, me and the Birdies will ensure the teams stay nice and tight in their jobs while we guard them up. Alright people, get ready to deploy." The sound of alarms gets nearer and the main body of the quadrupedal mech is shown,  with each set of stairs connecting to each side of the hangar as some Zlocan Knights, as well as some of the collaborative soldiers, are deployed in order to defend it at all costs. The human soldiers wear green short-sleeved shirts with baseball caps and body armor, some even having the flag patches of the Dixie flag on their shoulders. 

But just as they board the platforms, rockets are fired from the Little Birds at each one, exploding on impact with said platforms falling down into the abyss, with some Knights and soldiers alongside them. With almost every obstacle out of the way, the Blackhawk deploys some ropes near the main body of Ammit, in which a Marine unit each takes their positions as they rappel down to the mech, all with their dark blue camouflages in their armor as they take positions while carrying the ACR rifles. 

The Hueys descend down, where lightly armored men, some tanned-skinned and at least two dark-skinned hop down from the helicopter, most wielding M16 rifles or AK-74 rifles, as they watch the Marines take the point, heading to the gangway with a ramp that lowers into the main body of Ammit. 

"Alright, so what else do you suggest us to do, oh boss hero?" Rian says with furrowed bows on his face. 

"We've got many of the refugees heading here without much proper training. So you three stay sharp and keep them from harm's way," Logan says as he activates his Coraggio blade in his fencing stance. Jack and Ed merely chuckle as they ready their weapons as they head to the gangway. Rian merely follows with a shrug as he trails close behind the team, with the sound of gunfire and commands heard on the inside. 

Once they reach the interior cabin, it's one of pure mayhem, as ricocheting bullets, blaster and gunfire are exchanged at every corner of the floor, as well as some faint ones from below, with different commands heard on both ends as three conscript soldiers take cover near one of the elevators, the walls merely blocking the blaster fire from three Zlocan knights in the other side of the floor in the cabin. And just as the team of conscripts is about to return fire to the Zlocans, Jack steps in and presses the trigger near the grenade launcher, launching an explosive launcher that explodes on impact. Zlocans are heard screaming and grunting in response, while other Zlocans are sliced up by the sounds of a laser blade from Logan himself, slashing from vertical and horizontal angles while deflecting every blaster fire aimed at his way. 

With that out of the way, Logan, Jack and Ed head to the other side of the cabin, showing a command console with a screen that currently shows some static, but once activated, could show the sight in front of Ammit, as well as others showing the energy output between the main laser cannon, the turrets, as well as the level of electronic jamming and its range once activated. 

"Is this how you man this piece of junk? Heh, that'll be difficult," Jack says as he inspects the level of technology present in the cabin, as well as the potential commands it would when moved in every direction. 

But before they try something else, a line of screams is heard in the level from below, which is enough for Logan and the rest to glance back in its direction. This is enough to make Logan wrinkle his brows as he turns to Rian. 

"Looks like there's a far bigger danger than we thought they'll be," Logan says as he readies his rapier blade. 

"I know that, but there should be some of us who should secure the pile of machinery here in case some jerks try to hop in from above," Rian replies without glancing at Logan. "And Logan, you seem a bit pensive about it." Logan merely sighs in response. 

"I... I just don't want this whole operation to end up with nothing if the majority don't make it out alive, that's all," Logan says. 

"Chill out, boy, me and Jackie gonna make a fine job securing it here. You two can go hop around this pile of junk while we wait, OK? "Ed says as he reloads his Winchester shotgun. 

"Yeah, I get it, ya old geezer, we'll do it just fine, like shooting ducks in a barrel," Rian says while imitating a bit of Ed's accent while smirking as well. 

"Just get on with it!" With that, Logan and Rian head back near the entrance gangway while the four refugee conscripts follow close behind, especially when Rian nodded at them as a signal of sorts. Heading down to the next platform, they check a crawling dark-skinned female marine whimpering as she presses a wound from her abdomen, trails of blood leaking on the floor as she crawls back up. This makes the rest gasp, with Rian being the one to sprint towards her, holding her shoulder as she trembles. 

"Hey, what happened down there, miss?" Rian asks. 

"They're... They're too strong... We can't win... We must..." She whimpers once more, still at a loss of words from what she has witnessed before. 

"Hey hey, I know you're part of a unit of jerks and such but still, you served the Marines for a reason, and seeing them quit isn't one what I expected. I'll tell you what, let us work together and maybe... Well, maybe some fine pints I suppose," Rian says. 

"But she's losing health fast!" one of the dark-skinned soldiers says as he pulls a medkit from his bag, taking out some morphine syringes with clear liquid before injecting it into the female Marine, who winces in response and breathes heavily as well. 

"Keep up the pressure. Alright, what was it like down there?" Rian asks as he still glances at the female Marine. 

"They had drones... Automated with turrets... It'll be too hard to..." 

"Hey don't worry, we'll find a way through them as we do. Because as you know, helping is the pride of an altruistic heart," Logan says as he kneels near to her, holding her hand in the process. 

"You sure about that, Logan? Could be risky enough," Rian says as he raises an eyebrow. 

"A try's a try, and we can improvise from it." With that, Logan walks near the wall of the gangway, now holding the hilt of the blade that shifts into the Katana form of the weapon. As he reaches for the lower floor and takes a peak to the left, he gazes at a circular silver-plated device with red lights. With this in mind, Logan glances back at his team behind, lifting his finger as a form of standing by, likely as a form of counting down. 

After some silence, Logan leaps rightward with his blade at hand, and the machine reacts by unleashing a barrage of blaster fire aimed in Logan's direction. However, Logan manages to deflect both horizontally and vertically, never once grazing or wounding him in any form whatsoever. In one particular strike, he deflects in the direction of the drone, two being enough to paralyze it. 

"What the hell?!" a male Zlocan says on the other side of the room, rushing in to inspect. But before he can try anything else, gunfire is heard, with two bullets impacting the skull as the Knight tumbles down. It's from none other than one of the refugee conscripts, and he breathes heavily as a way to cover Logan from it. Logan is wide-eyed over this as he glances back, but nonetheless, still nods in response as Rian rushes down with the other conscripts to charge at the other side of the cabin. Logan follows suit by drawing fire from the drone on the other side, which is littered with the corpses of the other marines. 

Just as they reach it, and seeing the sight of Zlocan Knights trying to scramble from which side to defend, the conscripts open fire on the Knights, with the bullets impacting most of the Knights in various parts of the bodies, most stumbling down while Rian rushes forward to slice some of them apart through the chests and even beheads one in front of him. And with one final touch, he impales the drone disabled from the bullet fire from before, with sparks flying around the rupture before the red light from it flickers down for good. 

"Hey, guess it's all clear now!" one of the conscripts says while smiling widely at his comrades, not having expected to have come out of this outcome intact like that. The rest nod in agreement. 

"Seiner, what's the situation out there?" Logan asks as he reaches for the intercom on his left ear. 

"Almost down a dozen, and aside from two shot-down Little Birds, it's almost in the clear now. How about you, how's the situation inside?" Seiner says. 

"We lost most of the Marines... But Ammit is ours now." What follows is a loud laugh coming from Seiner, which makes Logan smile for a bit. 

"Guess we're on a roll lately! Now, you let the experts take this piece of scrap to a safe place while we pick the rest up including Rian in a few minutes, over?" 

"Roger that, we'll meet you there." With that, the transmission cuts off,  as Logan glances at the smiling conscripts. A sight he hasn't seen for a long while, but this could be the first time he has seen this type of teamwork function so well lately. 

"So, guess it's up to them now, I guess," Rian says as he glances at the conscripts behind him, who glances back at Rian. 

"You mean control this giant crab? Well, at least if there's a set of instructions at the very least..." a dark-skinned soldier says as he rubs his own forehead.  Logan simply chuckles with the exception of Rian who simply walks back to the gangway leading upstairs. Logan follows closely behind as they also pick up the wounded Marine still clinging to the wound in the abdomen. 

Heading upstairs, they see Jack and Ed whistling around while keeping their guns on the ground, likely as a result of a lack of interesting events as no further infiltrators are back up. This ends just as they spot the conscripts and Logan and Rian heading back up, and they show some smiles on their faces. 

"So, you fellas did by yourselves?" Ed asks, noticing the absence of further marines in the group. 

"Yes, at least partly, we couldn't have done it without Logan and Rian," another tan-skinned conscript says. 

"Hey, you all still did pretty well on your own. I have no need to take all the credit," Logan says as he smiles for a bit. Rian merely scoffs in response as he steps back up outside the cabin, not glancing back at Logan or the group of conscripts. 

"And these fellas would pilot yourselves?" Ed asks again. 

"We can try!" the same conscript says as he heads to the console, with the rest following suit as they read and observe the sensors around the console. All the while Jack and Ed regroup with Logan as they too head back outside, but not before glancing back at the conscripts. 

"Good luck y'all, we will see you in Los Angeles soon!" Jack says as he steps outside. Ed and Logan merely wave back at the conscripts as they outside the cabin to the exterior, where the sound of gunfire and explosions has mostly subsided, with the remaining choppers inspecting the area before being given the order to return to base. 

It is from that day that some may have witnessed that sometimes, the less fortunate can crack a shot in delivering victory for all humankind. 

But what about those who disagree?