[AlexFili]

=== Armament 2: Slig’s Regiment===
=== Chapter 11: Udra===

= 1 Year Ago =

A Paramite bit deep into Udra's side. He screamed in pain as he tried to get the thing off. Reint heard his cry and aimed very carefully. He shot the Paramite so that it instantly let go of Udra. Udra fell to his knees, holding his stomach.

"Udra!". Marek called over to him, "Get over here quickly!". Udra nodded, picked himself up and ran towards Marek, his mechanical pants whirring noisily as the Paramite hisses could be heard. Gunshots were heard nearby. Reint and Krisso were picking off as many Paramites as they could. Reint reloaded. Suddenly he noticed something, "Hey Krisso, on your right!". Krisso turned around as three Paramites were running towards him. With a quick burst-fire shot from his rifle, they fell down to the ground.

Meanwhile Udra reached where Marek was. He leaned against a tree, wincing as the pain rushed to his side. Marek looked at Udra’s wound, "You OK, Udra?". "I'm alright, just a bit shaken that's all", Udra stood up, "Come on, let's get out of this place".

Udra and Marek headed for a nearby boulder in order to reload their weapons and look around. "This place is some kind of canyon", Marek looked around sighed. Udra looked concerned, "This is more like a death-trap, it's like those things knew we would be here".

A Mudokon with a spoocebow walked up to them, he held it at waist height. "What business do you have here?", the Mudokon snarled. Marek stood up slowly, not making any sudden movements. "Listen pal, we have orders to get rid of the Paramites here for the Glukkons to build a factory", Marek gestured towards the field, the Mudokon gave him an indifferent expression, lowering his bow.

Udra stood up, "We can do this two ways, either we can blast all these Paramites into bits, or you can help us move them. We work for the M.A., we promise that the native Mudokons in this land will not come to any harm". As much as the Mudokon might want to shoot the Slig, he knew that the Slig was being sincere. Besides, if he killed the Sligs there would only be more replacements brought into the area. More violence towards the native Mudokons and unwanted bloodshed would be catastrophic.

The Mudokon turned away, "There's hundreds of Paramites here, you won't be able to shoot them all to death. Why don’t we get the chanters to make them move to a new area?". Udra nodded, "Thanks, I'll see that the Mudokons get treated well, you have my word".

There would be no hostile takeover. The Merchants Alliance was created in order to unify the native Mudokons with the Industrial Glukkons. Happy workers are busy workers. Instead of slave labor the Mudokons were free to choose whether to join up or not.

Marek whistled to Reint and Krisso, they walked up to him. "Change of plan, we're letting the natives handle this". Reint nodded, "Alright. Let's call our boss then".

Marek called Kolon and informed him of what happened. As Marek hung up the phone, he smiled, looking at Udra. Udra smiled back, but the smile faded from his face, his muscles and nerves going numb.

Marek's expression turned to shock as he watched Udra collapse to the floor, Udra didn't make a sound... he just slumped to the floor, all muscles gave way and he hit the floor face down, not moving, not making any noise.

"Udra, you OK? Udra? UDRA?!".

Reint and Krisso came running, Reint quickly took out a first-aid kid.


=== Chapter 12: Trapped ===

= 1 Week Later =

Marek and Reint were talking in a medical facility. A Vykker entered the room. Reint stood up, with a concerned expression on his face, "Doc, how is he?". The Vykker hung his head, "I'm sorry, but he's in a pretty bad shape, he had a very bad reaction to that bite, we believe it was some kind of infection". Marek looked at the Vykker, "Is he going to live?". The Vykker nodded, "He is stable, but I'm afraid there are worse complications then that", the Vykker motioned towards a health-chart next to Udra's bed.

"His muscles and nerves SHOULD be working fine, but there is something wrong, it's as if his brain has gone into a kind of stasis... nothing we can do will get his attention. This kind of infection is very serious can cannot be cured with standard medicine". Marek looked worried, "Doc, is there anything we can do?". The Vykker shook his head, "Without specialized equipment and medicine, he's going to be stuck in that state. Even I don't know how long it will last, weeks? months?".

Reint felt a tear forming underneath his mask. He hung his head and looked depressed. Marek focused on the Vykker once more, "Listen, whatever equipment he needs, we'll pay for it. We have plenty of cash from the Glukkons". The Vykker walked away, "I'll see what I can do, come back in a week and we'll talk some more about his condition".

Reint sat on the chair next to Udra's bed. He was clearly on the verge of a breakdown. Marek put his hand on Reint's shoulder. “Come on man, there's nothing we can do for him now. Let's go back to the Barracks and think this through”.

Reint nodded and stood up, the pair left the room. Reint turned his head towards Udra, after all this time... how long would it take Udra to get back to normal?

= 1 Year and 1 Month later =

Udra blinked, he moved his arms in order to raise his body. The Vykker nearby gasped. He yelled for the nearest Intern, “Get in here quick! He’s awake!”.

= 1 Month ago (Present Day) =

Marek and his squad were flying towards Farda’s location. They lowered altitude and headed towards the ground. They equipped their walking pants. Reint approached Marek. “Wait. I don’t like this. Farda is up to something”. Marek nodded, “I agree, it is not natural for a Glukkon to request protection from a small squad like us… especially at a time like this”.

Yars walked up to Marek. “Are you saying he wants us dead?”, Reint shrugged, “I don’t know but something just doesn’t feel right”. Krisso approached them, “Alright, we’ll just keep our wits about us. Let’s get going”.

They walked to the east. A chilling breeze was blowing from the north. Marek adjusted his pistol and walked forward. “How far?”, Reint checked his navigator, “About three miles”. Marek and his squad kept walking for a while, before stopping to set up camp.

Shortly after, Reint began tinkering with his rifle, motioning Yars over. Yars and Reint were talking about rifle tactics when a noise nearby made Marek stand up.

Another twig snapped, Marek’s squad turned around, their guns pointing towards the source of the noise. Suddenly one thing was made clear… they had been set up.