*Legend mission: Slayer of the Nine Suns.*

'Huh?' Gus thought, suddenly releasing the trigger before he could fire.

*Maintain a [90]% or higher shot accuracy throughout the engagement.*

'Ninety percent? I guess I could always just land one shot, and let the others kill them. That would net me a huge amount of rewards from the follower kills.'

*Reward: [50] Hou Yi points. (Must fire at least [10] shots)*

'Damn. There goes that plan.'

On both sides, his ears were filled with the deafening thuds of the Rangers as his companions began raining heavy kinetic fire down onto the swarming creatures below.

'Focus, Gus. Don't miss.' He repeated the thought in his head as he gently squeezed the trigger.

The gun screamed as it launched its payload down into the base.

Gus felt a warm wave of panic wash over his body as the ash of the rock ground by footsteps billowed into the air in place of a dead Shenia.

He had missed his first shot.

'Damn. Alright, no thoughts this time.'

Gus closed his eyes and took a deep breath, calming his nerves and emptying his mind. For a brief moment, the only proof he had of life was the hard rock beneath his stomach and the screaming rifles that lay on both sides.

Opening his eyes, he immediately snapped his sights left and fired.

The high calibre bullet intersected perfectly with the path of one of the Shenia, tearing through its chest and sending it flying backwards.

*Enemy killed: Shenia Soldier.*

*Reward: 1 Legendary point.*

'YES!'

A wave of confidence surged through Gus, one that he rode to fire off three more shots in quick succession

*Enemy killed: Shenia Soldier.*

*Enemy killed: Shenia Soldier.*

*Enemy killed: Shenia Soldier.*

*Reward: 3 Legendary points.*

As though inspired by his surge of confidence, the people flanking Gus also increased their rate of fire to match and exceed him, each person competing with the next to achieve the greatest accolade.

The tempo of fire shifted greatly. No longer were the Rangers performing the opening melody, the one that set the tempo for the performance. Now, they were screeching incessantly, their tempo reaching the brutal, aggressive riffs of a heavy metal performance. And as they performed, their audience of victims obliged in forming a mosh pit, one that condemned them to their death. It corralled them and penned them in like sheep, making them easy prey for the lurking wolves above.

As the violent performance raged from the guns, inside Gus's mind a far gentler one, more like a lullaby fit for a baby, gently played.

Each time he landed a shot, each time he caused the last breath of one of the Shenia to be drawn, the lullaby continued.

As the barrage of fire continued, A large ship, shaped like the creature it was named after, appeared overhead. Immediately, ships were deployed from the sides and swarmed around, engaging the ships that had already departed the hangar in the tower.

"Is that..."

"It's the Orca!"

"Hey, that pile of bodies is getting pretty high," Sofia called out.

"Yeah," Gus agreed. "Everyone! Go now, down the hill!" he yelled as he stood, throwing the ranger onto his back as he did.

He immediately launched himself down the hill, knees first, yanking the Brute onto his front as he did so. He was closely followed by Connor and Krista, who both drew their Standards in an imitation of Gus, before the others followed him down the hill.

*Engagement details:*

*Enemies killed: Shenia Soldier [34]; Shenia Alpus [3].*

*Total rewards: [43] Legendary points.*

*Legend Mission: Slayer of the Nine Suns:*

*Shots fired: [40]*

*Shots hit: [37]*

*Accuracy: [92.5%]*

*Legend Mission: Slayer of the Nine Suns: Successful.*

*Reward:[50] Hou Yi points.*

'Ninety-two percent? Not bad, even if I say so myself.'

*Follower kills: [58]*

*Follower deaths: [0]*

*Follower Rewards: [5] Alexander points.*

'Only one point for 10 follower kills? Well, at least it's not Legendary points.'

Gus was running before he had finished descending the hill.

"We've got to get up there, quickly!" he yelled, directed to the people running behind him.

The group sprinted as hard as they could, erratically firing shots at random at the surviving Shenia.

Thanks to his slightly improved stats, he arrived at the open entrance to the tower a fair distance ahead of his companions.

The tower was oddly designed, at least by the standards of human architecture.

At the centre stood a large elevator.

Four pairs of grey walls, that emitted garnet lights from oddly placed lights, joined to make a corner pointed at the centre, rose the entire height of the tower, forming entry corridors leading to the elevator. Scattered all over the floor in the space between the elevator and the walls, lay supplies abandoned by the Shenia as they received the scramble order.

"Everyone, on the elevator!" Gus yelled as he turned back to face his companions. "Use the supplies and hold it until everyone's there."

He turned back towards the centre as he drew the ranger and crouched against the wall. He shot at the first sign of orange, be it a tail or a torso, determined to let his companions reach the elevator.

Gradually, he saw them pass him, before inevitably reaching the elevator.

'This is working. We'll get there,' he thought to himself, a grin of relief spreading onto his face.

His grin was quickly wiped off as he heard a human howl of pain behind him.

Snapping his head around, he saw Klaus, leaning on Frank for support heading in his direction, his right leg trailing behind him.

"Why is it, whenever I think something's going well, it all goes to shit not a moment later?" Gus muttered in frustration as he began moving towards the two.

"Where?" Gus snapped, verbalising his annoyance once more.

"Our right," Frank grunted. "On the rooftops."

Gus nodded an understanding as he readied his Ranger, taking a position between the buildings and the two men.

He fired shots off without care for accuracy as he moved with the two, taking care to ensure his body acted as a shield for the wounded Klaus.

The Shenia snipers disappeared from view, revealing only the barrels of their weapons to fire off similarly inaccurate shots back at the three men.

Just as they reached the cover of the large walls, a stray shot ripped through Gus's pelvis and spiralled out into the dust below, drawing a pained and infuriated growl through gnashed teeth in reaction.

Now safe from the snipers, Gus tucked himself under Klaus's right shoulder and helped Frank carry him to the elevator.

"Everything all right here?" Gus gasped out as he reached the rest of his companions.

"Thanks to these crates," Matty replied, yanking the chain that began the elevator's ascent to the hangar.

"Gus, you are shot," Krista noted with concern in her voice.

"Something tells me he already noticed," Connor remarked.

Gus nodded in agreement. "It's nothing. No more than a flesh wound. Trust me," he said reassuringly. "Frank," he began, turning to face the Englishman, "how's he looking?"

"It's not too bad," Frank said. "Once we get him to the infirmary on the Orca, he'll be perfectly fine."

"That's good, then," Gus murmured as he leaned back against one of the stacks of crates.

The elevator rapidly ascended the tower, far faster than what was safe for what could best be described as a slab of metal hoisted by xenos chains.

Soon, they were at the top of the tower. Unsurprisingly, it was deserted.

"Someone find me a bomb," Gus said, as he rapidly moved his eyes around the room. "And be sure to look for something we can contact the orca on."

"Well," Matty said, running over to a console found against a nearby wall, "I think I've got our communication."

"And I think I've got our bomb," Connor added.

"Does it look like it goes boom?" Gus asked.

"Oh, it looks like it goes boom," Connor confirmed with a smile.

"Get it set on the elevator, we'll blow it before we leave," Gus ordered, returning the smile. "Matty, have them pick us up from the... wait. Which way is which?"

Gus looked around the room, but no one had an answer for him.

"Okay... and... done!" Matty declared as he finished punching a variety of buttons on the console. "I've sent a coded message, and told them about the wounded. They should send us a Knight transport."

"Good to hear. Hopefully we can get Klaus up there as soon... as... pos-"

Suddenly, Gus's vision went blurry, he lost his balance, and he dropped to the floor.

The last thing he experienced before losing consciousness was the surprised cries of his companions and the now familiar melody of the system.

*Special Rewards Unlocked.*

*Protector of the Vulnerable: [100] Jace Brightstar, Unifier of Terra points.*

*Loyal Leader: [+5] Leadership stat.*