Taejin Mission 4: Unforseen Invasion | Cloud and Squall
Squall watched with unblinking eyes as the approaching army of Pulsework armaments drew closer to their vantage point on a high cliff, where he had quickly formulated a strategy. They would have to succeed. The idea of an army this size reaching Oerba was unthinkable.
This is it. No room for hesitation.
“...and that’s about it. Remember your signal and who you’re with, and keep your wits about you once we’re down there. Make sure you know all the details from our briefing, we’ll have to play it by ear once we’re in there.”
He noticed the nervous look in the men’s eyes as they nodded silently, but said nothing about it. Everyone knew how heavily the safety of Oerba weighed upon the outcome of the mission. It was unavoidable that they be nervous. But Squall was determined. They would not fail. He glanced at his assigned partner beside him. His role was essential to their victory.
Turning back around, he drew his gunblade and crouched down, body poised to jump. Closer. He closed his eyes and drew a deep breath. This was it.
His target drew closer, and Squall jumped, gunblade tip pointing downward as he fell. His eyes took in everything about his target, searching for that one point he was looking for. Adjusting his position, preparing for the landing.
There was a sound of metal scratching against metal as his blade found its target, a small gap in the enemy’s armor. It slipped in from a combination of his momentum from falling and sheer effort, and he tilted the gunblade, using it as a lever to force the armor plating up. He bit back a roar of exertion as his muscles strained, cuts from his previous mission tingling with the tension, but he persisted. The bolts holding the armor plating down groaned, then creaked, and finally gave way as the armor plating came away.
Chest heaving from the effort, he leapt off the Ambling Bellows he had landed on, blitzing the area around him to clear it of some of the many Hoplites.
