The Empire State Building (Rebel Base)

The Empire State Building, now known as the Rebel Union Base, is the rebel's main base in New York City, and their only means of protection when an attack is launched on the city. The partially damaged Empire State Building was used as the base, the rebels rebuilding it with their technology. Nothing can penetrate the building's defenses.

The black wolf carried the stick back to the rebel soldier, who was one of those who guarded the building.
The rebel laughed, he seemed a little fond but on the same time surprised that he had found such a tame wolf, since they normally were wild animals. Perhaps this one have had a couple of owners before. But in this city, you never know if your closest will live with you.

The rebel threw away the stick again, and Abyss followed it back to where it landed. When she was about to pick it up in her mouth, she suddenly smelled a discusting smell. She looked up, and saw a smoking floor drain just some meters away. She wrinkled her nose before she picked up the stick and bounded back to the rebel.
She had smelled that smell from drains around the Empire State building ever since she had come here. It was some kind of monster down there, she knew it, and she would deal with it later.
But now she just wanted to play.

She barked excited and wagged her tail, while keeping her clear-blue eyes on the man who wagged with the stick in front her.
Then he threw it away some meters.
Abyss barked happy and ran away for the stick.

*Matt and Kicker have the Rebel Base*

Kicker barged in through the door, Matt trudging slowly behind him, shutting the door behind them. A few startled guards stared at them, before the Commander appeared at the staircase and went towards them. They gave the salute and then said "Commander..."
He looked at them both, a stern look on his face. "Team Bravo, report" he ordered.
"We found the hostile presence in the sewer system. It killed a few sanitation workers then killed Sarge, Donovan and took Jase away. Possible KIA. Sir." Matt explained, the Commander having a surprised expression on his face.
"Were you able to neutralise the target?" he asked.
"No sir." Matt answered. The Commander sighed, and then recieved a call from someone. He answered it and then turned back to the two soaking wet rebels.
"Very well. Get yourselves dried off, re-equipped. And private..." he said, pointing to Kicker, "Get that newspaper off your head". Kicker noticed something had blown onto his head when they'd been running. He threw the dirty thing on the floor, and looked at Matt.
"What are we gonna do?"
"Let someone else do it. I'm gettin' a beer"
"Took the words outta my mouth" Kicker replied, heading off. Matt took his hand out of his pocket and pulled out Donovan's dog tags, the only ones he'd managed to recover.
"Better clear out his locker" Matt thought to himself.

Abyss suddenly smelled a very unpleasant smell. She turned up her head in at the pouring rain and sniffed. Yes. She recognized it, but on the same time not.
It had a strong decaying smell, but the same stinging smell she had smelled from the sewers. It was a strong smell, or it was for a dog, and it stayed in the air long after those who stinked had left. The monster had been active, and apparently it attacked rebels. Maybe all humans in general.

Abyss dropped the stick at the rebel's feet again and turned around. An enraged growl rose from her belly and she walked closer to where she sensed the smell. But suddenly a big building was in the way. The Empire State Building.
They had to be inside.

She barked and jumped up on an container as she tried to get a better look inside.

Kicker entered the mess hall of the building, eager to get some food down him, especially after what had happened that day. He noticed the room was less packed than usual. Lunch must have passed quickly, so he looked back, but Matt had gone somewhere else. Meanwhile, Matt was walking down to the locker room, dog tags still in hand. So the many labs across the world were still manufacturing? He'd thought they'd all been decomissioned when the world went to hell. He knew of an old research facility underneath New York City, hidden among the sewer system. That creature must have come from there. He looked out of the window, into the sky. There was a tiny, bright light far off into the distance, which had been there for around thirteen years. A dead planet, far off in another system. How he could see it was beyond him, but it came to mind every time he looked out the window.

The humans were gone. The wolf could no longer see them. They had walked further into the building, and Abyss wouldn't ever be allowed into the great tower.
Abyss grumbled some and looked up in the sky.
The rain storm was passing, and the night sky was getting visible.

The wolf drew her eyes at the starry sky, just staring at it for some moments.
She to saw the distant light of a dead planet, for away, even so far away that it circled in another system.
But then the mighty light of the fullmoon caught her attention, and she sighed.
She had always had a passion for the beauty that was the moon, Earth's follower. She wondered how the Earth would look from there. Beautifull on the outside maybe.
What she'd seen from the old movies of the moonlanding, the Earth was the most beautifull creation in the Solarsystem.
But that was only the outside.
Earth was a hell in disguise. The worst hell possible.

Abyss sighed once again. Boy, what would she do for just to stare at the Earth's outer beauty. She longed after sitting on the Moon's ghostly but mighty desolation and just stare at the blue planet.

The wolf drew a deep breath and uttered a long, desolate howl.

Matt stopped and listened to a wolf-like howl, coming from the lobby of the building. He rushed back to the railing and peered over, noticing it was in fact, a wolf. He was so caught up with the wolf's song-like howling that he forgot about the growing pain in his side. He grunted, grabbed his side, and leaned on the railing. He checked his side. It was bleeding bad. What had the creature done to him? Had it poisoned him when it stabbed him in the side with it's vicious tongue? He wanted to tell Kicker, but thought better of it. He walked down the lobby steps and kept an eye out for Kicker.

Abyss stopped abrupt in her howling as she saw something behind her.
She quickly turned around, and saw a human leaning to the railing. It seemed to be in pain. The wolf yelped and gracily jumped of the container and wandered up to the man. But before she reached him, he staggered down the lobby.

She yapped but froze as she suddenly smelt a discusting smell. Then she saw a a pool with something wet. She barked curious and walked closer to it.
The smell increased by each step.
When she got up to it, she bent down and sniffed it. Then she suddenly let out a surprised whimper and jumped away from the pool.
It was blood, and it was far away from the smell of human smell.
It had partly a rotting smell, but on the same time a stinging, smarting smell. A smell that every creature with a stronger sense of smell would hate and fear.
The smell of the monster. The monster down the sewers.
She looked after the human as he disappeared. He had been bitten by it. And he was slowly rotting.

Her noose wrinkled and her teeth bared. A furious growl was suddenly uttered from her throat and she barked angry after the human, but really after the monster. If hurts people, it was a danger to the citizens. And it was venomous to.
She growled again and then uttered a loud howl.

Matt finally found Kicker in the mess hall, chewing on an apple. He looked at Matt, then looked away.
"Look, Matt, it's not your fault" Kicker said.
"I know...it's just..." Matt began, before deciding to change the subject.
"What's that light?"
"'scuse me?"
"That bright light up in the sky? A planet?" Matt explained.
"It's not a planet Matt, it's a large debris field, way out in the Aura System. It used to be a planet"
"What happened to it?"
"It was destroyed thirteen years ago, during a major attack on the rebels there. I think it was called...Amarr" Kicker explained, taking another bit out of his apple. Matt looked out the nearest window and saw it again. "Why does it glow like that?" he asked.
"When it went kaboom, the glow was so bright it lasted for a long time" Kicker answered. "Guess Narrah wanted to leave something to remember it by"

The wofl began to wander back and forth around the bloodstain, but she finally realised that she couldn't do anything. She wouldn't be accepted to go in, not in her wolf form and neither in her human form.
She growled anxious.
She had to help that human. She had to tell him.
A last howl was uttered by the wolf before it returned and jumped up on the container.

There, it sat down and barked at the bright dot on the sky that was the dead planet Amarr.

Matt looked away, wondering what other systems in the universe were under siege, or control by Him. The Aura System. Neither Matt nor Kicker had been there. Donovan had been on a combat tour to the Burning Planet before. When they got back, Donovan said he'd have nightmares for life. Then two years later, that creature in the sewers killed him. Matt wondered if anything like that lived in the Aura System. He had seen creatures from the system being brought back in trucks by rebels, some big ones too.
"Where's Narrah now?" Matt asked Kicker.
"I don't know, and I don't wanna know" Kicker replied, finishing off the apple and throwing it in the bin.

A new howl was uttered, then the wolf fell silent, just staring at the sky.
It was beautiful, like the Earth. It was just because of that horrible thing Narrah that made the blue planet to a hell. If just he was destroyed, Abyss was sure that peace would be.
She grumbled and laid down on top of the container with her eyes still on the sky.
The bright dot of the dead planet was still there, and it wasn't even blinking, like all other stars.
And it almost shone brighter than the fullmoon.

She growled and looked down, as she suddenly saw something move. But it was just some rebels that changed guard.

Kicker, annoyed stood up and said "Matt, go tell that wolf to shut up!"
"Kicker no..." Matt replied, holding him back. "It's not like it's trying to annoy you"
"Ugh..." Kicker grumbled, sitting back down. Matt went back to the lobby and saw the wolf nearby. He wondered what it wanted, and walked on, passing the same rebels he'd seen outside.

The wolf looked up as she sensed an increase of that disgusting smell and looked back. She saw the same human as before, and with an anxious bark she jumped of the container and bursted of after him.
The human turned around and walked away, but this time Abyss wouldn't stop.
She ran past some other rebels who gasped surprised before they shouted and reached after they weapons.
Abyss didn't take any notice of them, but continued after the man that smelled.

With one last leap, she reached the man and grabbed him by his shirt, preventing him from moving.
There, Abyss stopped to, just staring into the man's eyes.
She did not want to hurt him. She wanted to help him.

Matt was taken by surprise for what seemed like the hundredth time that day. The wolf had grabbed onto his shirt and just stared into his eyes. Then Matt noticed it. The smell. He looked back to the wound on his side, and it had grown worse since he'd been attacked. He looked back at the wolf. Did it somehow know what had happened to him and wanted to warn him? Several rebels rushed towards the wolf, weapons out. They were cautious of it.
"Whoa, whoa. What's going on?" one of them asked.

Abyss yelped submissive and let go of his shirt, hoping that the man wouldn't run away.
He didn't.

The wolf yapped low and threw a look on the rebels around them. Hopefully they wouldn't attack her before she could make the man attentive about his damage.
She then made a soft growl and looked back at the man in front of him. He seemed confused but on the same time... it looked like he understood that Abyss was trying to tell him one thing.

The wolf made a short whine before she reached out for one of the man's sides, the one that smelled. She then nudged the man's wound. It smelled horrible. More rotten than the monster's smell.
She then looked up at the man again and made a soft growl before she once again nudged the wound, trying to tell him to take a look at it.
She was sure that it was rotting right here, right now. Dead black.

Matt stared straight at the creature. It was like it could smell something. A horrible smell. The strange thing was, he couldn't smell it. The rebels at the room's entrance pointing guns at the creature couldn't either. Then Matt stared at the wound. Jesus. What had that sewer freak done to him? And could it have done anything to Kicker? The thought stung him worse than the wound.

Kicker meanwhile, was in the communications center, helping a radio officer with an incoming transmission.
"What's the problem?" Kicker asked.
"Goddamn offworld transmissions are always crap. Boost the signal a bit more" the officer replied. Kicker increased the signal, and the transmission finally got through.
"We've got you, go ahead" the officer replied.
"KSSHHK!!! This is the UER Rickenbacker calling all frequencies to the Rebel Base. We have a new update for you on those reported Hunter sightings from the air" the female voice from the radio said, "They are definitely up to something. And we got reports that a few sewer workers and several marines were killed in the underground?"
Kicker sighed, thinking back to the events of before. "Yes, that is correct. My own men too...how are things goping on your end?"

Abyss yelped and once again pushed her nose against the wound, begging the man to take a look at it. She wouldn't let the monster to take any more victims. She threw a second look at the man's face, noticing that he was thinking. Abyss growled anxious and then backed away. Her ears laid back on her head and her tail between her legs. She was showing submission, and hopefully would the rebels around her, with guns pointed at her, notice and understand the sign. She gave a quick look around herself, trying to get the rebels to weaken with her blear, big, blue eyes, and then yelped innocent.

One of the rebels lowered his weapon, the other one kept his high, but Matt reached his hand out and said "It's okay", before beckoning the rebel to lower his weapon. He kept is raised for a few seconds, then lowered it. Matt was confused, but knew something was up, and that wolf knew what.

Meanwhile, Kicker exited the Comms room and headed back down to the lobby, where several techies were trying to fix a broken elevator. He stepped towards the window and looked out. The stars had changed a lot since 300 years ago, when the war had broke out. He noticed the same bright light in the distance that Matt had seen, and, looking to the left, saw a huge shape heading towards it, in the form of a massive mining vessel. They had become frequent ever since they had realized that destroyed planets were rich with ores and minerals. Still, obliterating planets wasn't something the rebels had on their "most wanted" list.

Abyss growled. Her ears stroke back up as she felt that she slowly gained trust among the soldiers, but she still kept her tail between her legs. She threw a quick look around herself, noticing that most of the soldiers had putten their guns down, probably by the orders of the man.
Then she looked back at Matt and yelped, beckoning him to take a take care of wound. It would be so much easier if she would be a human now, but if she would transform right in front of their eyes... Well... They would terminate her for sure. She was a monster, a werewolf, and humans always thought she was nothing to trust in, just because of that. Instead she growled light and took a couple of tentantive steps towards Matt again.

Matt just stared at the creature, wondering what it'd do next. The rebel soldiers at the door had put away their weapons, but were still watching the creature with sharp eyes. With all the animal mutation spanning across Earth, the rebels didn't like animals inside the base.

Meanwhile, on the rooftop of a nearby building, the watchful eye of a Hunter was fixed on the scene opening up in that room. He growled lowly, and clambered on all fours down where he could see. Behind him was another, younger Hunter, watching too.

Kicker, who was in the rec room recieved a call on his Comm, which revealed itself to be the mining starship they'd called earlier. It had reached the Aura System and was proceeding with mining the asteroid fields that had thrown up after Amarr was decimated. Since there were several planets in the Aura System, the ship said they'd probably have a long trip there. Kicker then put his Comm away and walked down the flight of stairs, where the Commander was lecturing a rebel soldier.

The wolf suddenly froze in her walk. Her ears pointed right up in the air, along with her snout which she put up in the weather. The scent was weak, but her sensitive nose picked it up anyway. The sound that were comming were also very low, but her mutant hearing succeeded to sift it out from the rest of the sounds. Growlings, low, tappering steps. And the smell, Hunters. No, not yet! She couldn't be taken.
A furious snarl arose from her throat. Hopefully wasn't the Hunters out for her, but no chances could be taken.
She barked short to the wounded man and once again snarled, while she began to back away. She threw wild looks around herself, checking that no of the soldiers were in her way. Then she suddenly turned around and dashed out of the lobby, out to the black world.

The rebel soldiers just watched as the wolf dashed out of the main doors, and into the ruins of New York City. Matt scratched his head, wondering what all that had been about, when suddenly he heard hissing coming from nearby. Loud hissing. He knew this sound. He pulled out his sidearm and looked out the window.
"What is it?" One of the rebels asked.
"Hunters. Stay quiet" Matt replied, peeking out the window, pistol held tight.

Abyss slipped down beneath a truck that stood parked outside and turned around. She saw dark, moving contours farther away. The rebels were getting summoned in to the building. To fight of the Hunters.
The wolf yelped nervous and crept farther back on her place under the truck. Her eyes glowed like liquid silver.
She would have to supervise the situation. But still... she felt bad about just leaving the humans there, but if she would transform into her warrior size, she would be killed. For sure.
She growled low and watched as more rebels hurried inside. If they would be desperate for help, only then she would step in.

One hunter barked out and leapt towards the building, clinging onto the window of the room Matt was in. The others watched and waited for the signal. Matt pointed his weapon at the window, the other rebels pointing theirs in case something happened. Matt was nervous, not knowing what would happen next. Then the Hunter rose rose up and growled into Matt's face. He took no chances and put a bullet through the creature's head. It appeared to let go and fall to the ground. The other Hunters didn't seem shaken at all. Instead they started closing in too. Then Matt realized it. The Hunter wasn't dead, but was climbing back up teh building, hissing loudly as it did.

Kicker was just about to go back to the mess hall when he heard shrill hissing nearby, and grabbed a weapon for protection. The Hunters planned on surrounding the building and attacking from all sides. The rebels outside had their weapons pointed directly at the assailants, preparing for any movement. The Hunters ignored this and moved in slowly.