Of Beasts and Men

[Chrysalis]

The humming of the engine reverberated throughout the ship's hull as it slowly navigated the seemingly endless and thick asteroid field of Omicron Tau. The Montante gunship was in a pristine condition, recently overhauled and refitted, the improved functionality was quite noticeable in it's handling. Content to leave the ship in the hands of his first mate, Gabriel Thorne, Bassam spent the last two days in his quarters in a trance-like state, going through a rigorous exercise and diet routine in an attempt to regain the body mass he lost during his incarceration.

An edict from the Overlord has sent him by the way of Genoa, and more importantly San Remo, the planet the station orbited. An experimental outpost was to be established on an archipelago close to the North Pole, where temperatures hovered around livable levels. He was to oversee this expedition and make sure nothing goes wrong. Always easier said than done, he thought as he pulled himself up, hanging from a pole.

"All crew members be advised - approaching Genoa Base now." - the dispatch announced.

The female voice jerked Bassam's mind out of his self-induced trance, and he dropped to the ground from the pole on which he was doing a series of pull-ups. He felt reinvigorated, his mind worked with a renewed purpose after these days of ascetic isolation, he was truly ready for whatever could be thrown at him. It was time to do the job and to do it right. He looked around his quarters. Well, it will be time once he's finished cleaning the place up. Gods, it's a mess.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

[Chrysalis]

The last loose book slips into place and Bassam looks around the now neat room, a satisfied smile appearing on his face. He admires the newly found ordered state of things for a few moments as if he brought perfect harmony to the universe. A new dispatch interrupts his thoughts.

"We have entered a stable orbit. Requesting your presence at the bridge, Captain." - Thorne said, with a hint of impatience in his voice.

Bassam reached for a button on his side, while simultaneously picking up his jumpsuit from the end table. He pressed it and announced - "Heading over now, initiate the docking protocols."

"Yes, sir. This is the Adjudicator to Genoa, requesting permission to-..." - He cuts off the feed midsentence.

He slips into the jumpsuit and makes his way towards the bridge. On the way, he passes the ship mechanic, a young thing in her early twenties, red hair falling over her shoulders. She looks at him, unsure how to react. He stops and locks his eyes with hers, examining the pleasing symmetry of her facial features. An unblinking and unmoving death stare. Examining. Rating. Categorizing. This chills her to the core.

"S-sir?" - She finally mumbles under her breath, a cold sweat breaking on her brow.

He scowls for a moment, her voice breaking his concentration and ending the momentary fascination.

"Don't wear your hair like that, it's unprofessional." - he states bluntly - "At ease."

"Yessir!" - She confirms, still not quite certain about what had just transpired.

With that, he continues forward, moving with purpose down the hallway. At the doorway leading to the bridge, two guards stand clad in combat armor complete with helmets, appearing in his eyes as two faceless drones. Statues. They salute him and he gives them a quick nod but doesn't expend any more effort to regard them further, simply storming past them and onto the bridge, finally.

The officers on the bridge salute him in a similar way, and Thorne stands up from the "the chair" as he approaches. - "Captain on the Bridge! Welcome, sir." - he announces, putting on a smile.

Bassam walks past him and quickly sits down in his chair. - "Is everything in order? Have they confirmed our landing request?"

"Everything is in order, we have clearance to land." - the communications officer chimes in.

"Proceed." - Bassam puts his arms on the armrests, leans back and crosses his legs. - "Thorne, brief me."

The gunship drifts slowly towards the base and the docking bay doors open.

~ ~ ~ ~

[Chrysalis]

The lights flicker in the spacious hangar as Bassam emerges from the ship, closely followed by Thorne and the two guards. The bay is tightly packed now, they've arrived during rush hour. All sorts of people scurry about, mostly outcasts, with an occasional junker or freelancer thrown into the mix for good measure. The sounds of the footsteps, chattering voices and the rumbling forklifts tirelessly moving cargo in the distance overwhelm Bassam's senses for a moment. The ceaseless clattering of machinery and the all-pervasive atmosphere of unease strikes him from all sides at once. He stops and takes a deep breath, one, two, three. He blocks it out, everything is alright now.

"Our transports are almost finished with the transfer of our equipment from Galicia. We've rented a new section on this station and it's being outfitted in line with the schedule. Some of our researchers are already here." - Thorne said as he checked a data-pad.

"Where?" - Bassam asked, eager to get on with this.

"The Y section, down that hallway to the very end and a very long elevator ride to the bottom." - Thorne motioned towards the proper hallway.

"What about the shuttles?" - Bassam continued and started walking towards the hallway, occasionally glancing at the passerby.

"Only one is available now, though I'm not sure we'll even need it. If everything goes right, we won't even have to descend to that tropical hellhole." - Thorne elaborated, struggling to follow Bassam's pace.

"Cut down on the overwhelming optimism there Thorne." - Bassam snapped as he passed into the hallway - "Wishful thinking won't get this job done."

"Of course..." - Thorne confirmed begrudgingly as they made progress further down the hallway and towards the elevator.

"One more thing." - Bassam said as he stopped by the shaft and punched in the codes to summon the elevator. - "I've gotten the impression that you feel this transfer to my command is somehow a demotion. Nothing could be further from the truth." - He turned to face Thorne as the elevator started rumbling deep down, now ascending to them. - "This project is of the utmost importance to the Overlord, hence I am here and not elsewhere. Perform well and I'll make sure your position advances in ways you can't even imagine."

Thorne nodded in silence as the elevator finally reached them, grinding to a halt with a loud bump. Bassam turned around and climbed in. - "Besides, I hear it's quite nice down there this time of the year. We'll have ourselves a jolly good road trip, won't we?" - He grinned in an uncharacteristic manner at Thorne and the guards that entered behind him.

"Yeah, sure!" - Thorne said uncomfortably and turned away to face the door to avoid looking at Bassam's face.

"Great, down we go then!" - Bassam said cheerfully and hit the button on the console with his palm. Elevator music started playing and the elevator jumped upwards and then slowly started descending down, deep into the station.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

[Chrysalis]

The new lab in the Y section was unevenly lit, some parts entirely in shade, while others were bombed by a constant exposure to light of several different wavelengths. Unpacked boxes filled with lab equipment laid scattered across the room. In the middle, between a pile of boxes and a lit table, stood a middle-aged man, shirtless and wearing only a set of white pants, rummaging through a set of schematics, rearranging and reexamining them over and over, as if it would somehow make the problems contained within any less daunting.

Bassam carefully navigated the maze of boxes towards the man, stepping lightly, making no sound. - "Hello, Doctor." - he said suddenly.

"Auuughh!" - the Doctor exclaimed as he stumbled back over and onto the boxes, knocking some of them over.

"Easy there, doc, settle down." - Bassam said calmly while the doctor observed him, eyes wide open, completely startled. He pulled a chair over and sat down.

"Oooh...do not sneak up on people like that!" - The doctor calmed himself, inhaled and exhaled - "What I mean to say is...we weren't expecting visitors. We're still unpacking as you can see. It's quite the mess."

Bassam crossed his legs and looked at the doc's hairy bare chest, then looked away at the distance, scowling. "Yes...it seems you've got quite a hairy situation down here." - He glanced back at the doctor's chest briefly, in an uncomfortable manner, before glancing away again. - "And I mean that in more ways than one."

"Oh! Right, sorry about that!" - The doc scurried off to find his lab coat he discarded earlier. He returned shortly, now much more presentable.

"So...about the project down on San Remo." - Bassam stood up. - "Is it progressing according to schedule?"

"In a manner of speaking..." - The doctor scratched his head. - "I take it you're the new supervisor that the Overlord promised us...?"

"Yes..." - Bassam replied with an impatient tone, offended by the fact that the doctor didn't recognize him immediately. The thought of killing him with a pen crossed his mind.

"Oh very well then. The modules were sent prior to the crews some months ago, and robots have worked on establishing the outposts." - the doctor started explaining, gesticulating in an eccentric manner - "The crews went down a week ago to set up a perimeter and explore the surrounding areas. However, they encountered a set of problems, mostly pertaining to the local wildlife."

"...Go on." - Bassam insisted in a similarly impatient tone, but this time with a hint of curiosity.

"Well, I'm no xenobiologist, but the wildlife there is some of the strangest yet encountered in the sector. Quite vicious too, we're talking nine-foot tall behemoths and a specifically nasty species of insectoid analog predators that have been attacking our scouting parties left and right. A sonic repellant has been installed around the base's perimeter, and it's been doing a great job at keeping them out but leaving the secure zone is still nothing short of suicide." - The doctor explained frantically.

"So what you're saying is that your personnel is being thwarted. By animals." - Bassam crossed his hands and stared the doctor down.

"Well you see the-..." - The doctor tried to explain, but Bassam interrupted him with a sharp inhale.

"Just stop. I've heard enough." - He paced left and right for a few moments and turned to the doctor - "Prep the shuttle. I'll go down myself." - With that said, he started walking away but stopped after a few steps. - "Oh and Doctor. Clean this pigsty of a lab up."

[Chrysalis]

The shuttle stood centered on the hangar pad closest to the launch section, a plain outdated model no longer in use in most of Sirius, but appearing well-maintained nonetheless. Blue insignia of the Commune adorned it's otherwise mostly white exterior. A group of people circled it, some fueling it for the trip, others simply checking for any possible malfunctions. In the center of the commotion and close to the ramp stood Gabriel Thorne, fiddling with a datapad, trying to make sense of the outdated specifications and flight manuals.

Bassam Hussaini emerged from the hallway leading to the Y section, an annoyed scowl on his face. He walked over to the shuttle with a fast pace, his gaze set to the distance, at the hangar doors.

Thorne looked up from the datapad as Hussaini approached him. - "Did everything go okay down there? We heard the order to prepare for departure planetside, but I wanted to double check with you, just in case."

"I gave the order." - Hussaini replied, still looking at the distance. - "Are all the provisions loaded?"

"Almost, just a few more crates. We're not gonna need any weaponry, though, right?" - Thorne said while adjusting something on his datapad.

Bassam turned his head to face Thorne with one incredibly fast motion as if he said something utterly profane and unbelievable. Thorne peeled his eyes away from the datapad and looked up only to be greeted by Hussaini's cold death stare and silence. He swallowed a lump. - "Oohh-kay, more weapons it is then."

Hussaini stared for a moment longer and then looked away, sighed and shook his head. He then walked past Thorne and into the shuttle and Thorne followed him. Hussaini made for the passenger area and sat down on the bench, grabbed a belt from the wall and fastened himself while Thorne went to the pilot's seat and started punching in the departure codes, transmitting them to the station's flight control. A few marines clad in combat armor walked in and towards the benches, but all sat down on the side opposite of Hussaini.

"Shall I notify the outpost of our arrival?" - Thorne turned around and looked at Bassam.

"No, just give them a moment's notice once we're five minutes to touchdown. Let's make this a surprise inspection." - Bassam replied as he glanced from one marine to another, inspecting them, looking for any flaws he could nag them about, but to no avail. - "Start the engines and take off."

"Yes sir..." - Thorne inputted the commands on the console and pulled the safety level. The shuttle ramp retracted and the doors closed. The shuttle took off, first vertically with thrusters, hovering some 10 meters above the floor while the launch doors opened, and then straight ahead with lightning speed as the main engine kicked in.

[Chrysalis]

The shuttle hovered above the outpost's landing pad, descending with a crawl. A mass of people, all personnel from the outpost gathered around the pad to observe, civilians in the back and armed guards in the front, nervously touching their weapons, but none of them unholstering. The shuttle finally touched down as it's landing gear extended, an audible bump was heard followed by hissing as the airlock doors opened. The ramp emerged from the doors and soon enough several marines emerged from the shuttle, forming a defensive line a few meters ahead of it. Behind them, two more people emerged, first Gabriel Thorne, who walked passed the marines and towards the crowd, followed by Hussaini, who upon emerging opted to simply walk around aimlessly until the crowd dispersed.

"Move out, make way!" - One of the senior marines yelled at the crowd - "We come bearing an edict directly from Lord Nomak! Move aside" - Thorne continued his train of thought.

After some muffled grumbling and whispering, the crowd started dispersing, returning to their posts or quarters, the guards likewise stood down. It was still nighttime, though dawn was quickly approaching, the first few rays of sunlight were breaking through on the horizon. A silence permeated the surrounding wilderness. Thorne saw Hussaini making his way to the far end of the settlement towards the pier, alone. He wanted to go after him but decided it would be easier and less painful to just dial him by the personal comm device. He tapped a button on his armor, and static came through - "Thorne here. How should we proceed? Over."

Bassam glanced at his own uniform, caught off guard by the sudden appearance of Thorne's disembodied voice coming from his uniform. Oh right, the embedded comm device. He tapped the button located on his left shoulder and replied in a distracted manner - "Just get me whoever's in charge and relieve them of it, then send them over for debriefing. I'll be on one of these benches over here...Over."

Hussaini took one look around the pier, then sat on the bench closest to him, one facing away from the outpost and towards a narrow fjord-like channel, into the distance. He locked his gaze to the horizon, from whence the sun was slowly emerging. He leaned on the backrest, and placed his right hand on the armrest, eyes still locked on the horizon. The play of colors had mesmerized him, his pupils dilated to catch every bit of light that showered him from the distance, orange, purple and yellow, like a shifting painting being completed right before him. And as the sun emerged further and bathed the jungle in its rays, so did it come to life, ever so slowly. First, some tiny insects chirped, then something that sounded like birds, then many other novel and alien things whose vocalizations defied explanation and categorization joined in and made themselves known in unison, their voices growing in intensity as the sun rose, like a solemn hymn of praise to the ball of fire that made their lives possible. Hussaini was overwhelmed and could not move or attempt to block it out even if he wanted to, the perfection of this divine orchestra of nature had him completely entranced and paralyzed, and for a moment he entertained the human concepts of God, the divine creator, for if there was any proof of his existence to be gleaned in this universe, then it must be found in this very moment, this very place.

But as he soaked it all in, another sound joined the orchestra, a familiar sound, yet out of place. Erratic screaming that disturbed the symphony unfolding before him. He tried to ignore it, but it seemed to be getting louder, no, closer to him. And as it got even closer, right behind his back, he could finally make it out. It was just a hairless ape, a mere human. How fitting that one of them should destroy this perfect moment and the harmony contained within, forever - he thought. One last bit of wisdom is imparted on him through these final few chords though, God truly does exist, but alas...he hates us all.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

[Chrysalis]

"Who the hell do you think you are?!" - The woman's shrieking voice reverberated in Bassam's skull as she got even closer, now standing right in front of him. Her white one piece jumpsuit uniform was wrinkled, her hair was tied behind her and she wore glasses with an inbuilt display. - "You can't just come in here like you own the place!" - She continued frantically with every word wedging itself inside Bassam's psyche like a hot nail. Thorne followed behind her with a quick step, a look of horror on his face in, he clenched his teeth in anticipation of what was to happen.

"You can't relieve me of my command! I was placed here by the Overlord himself!" - Bassam looked at the woman then glanced at Thorne, then back at the woman with a dumbfounded look on his face. Her continued screaming and defiance were getting to him, irking the primal incubus instincts far worse than a gun pointed at his face, he was trying his best not to fly into a blind frenzy here and now, but...he just wanted her to shut up. Shut up. Shut up. - "*~Shut. Up.~*"

"I'll report this who-" - She stopped midsentence, a blank look spread over her face. Did he say it out loud? He couldn't tell. A trickle of blood slowly started flowing out of her nose, then her ears and then her eyes mixed in with tears, she opened her mouth to scream but no sound would come out. She dropped to her knees, shaking, struggling to breathe. Thorne rushed in and caught her to check her vital signs. - "Hussaini! Stop this!" - He screamed as he was holding her. Thorne's screaming broke Bassam's trancelike concentration, and within a second the woman gasped for air and let out a faint cry, still in Thorne's arms. - "You could have killed her!" - Thorne shouted scoldingly.

Bassam sighed and waved his hand dismissively. - "Don't be a drama queen, Thorne." - he said calmly. - "Not like I gave her an aneurysm, it's just a few busted capillaries. She'll live."

"You're unbelievable!" - Thorne exclaimed as he was helping her up to her feet.

"There there..." - Bassam looked at her name tag for the first time - "Outpost Administrator Whitechapel, you'll be fine." - He paused for a moment - "Though you should probably get yourself to the Med-Bay first thing, you're making a terrible mess bleeding all over the pier..."

Thorne looked at Hussaini with a judgemental stare as he held the Administrator and helped her along. Hussaini added - "Escort her all the way to the med-bay, mister Thorne. And do make sure you explain the peculiarities of our mission again, this time in greater detail, to avoid further accidents in the future." - He stood up from the bench and turned towards Thorne and Whitechapel, who were gaining distance towards the main complex. - "I'll make sure to pay you a visit once you've recuperated Administrator, but in the meantime, I'll acquaint myself with the rest of the installation."

[Chrysalis]

The searing sun was setting on the horizon and the hot air flickered in the distance as Hussaini made his way over to the settlement's main promenade. He glanced left and right at the passerby as he swaggered down the street, the hot summer air did him good and he felt invigorated. He contemplated which reconciliatory gift would be best suited for the Administrator whose brain he almost fried just this morning. A fruit basket he figured - you can't wrong with a fruit basket. He stopped by an outdoor stockpile filled with exotic fruit from the planet, laid out for anyone to take on a large metal stand, multicolored lights now kicking in all over the promenade in preparation for the coming nighttime. He picked up a plump looking red fruit and brought it to eye level. His pupils dilated to inhuman size, covering his whole iris as he examined the tiny details on this alien apple.

A gut-wrenching shock went down his spine. He dropped the apple and it hit the ground, his pupils first rescaled to normal size then shrunk to pinpoints. What was this feeling again? Ah yes, impending doom, never a good thing. The lights suddenly went out all over the outpost, leaving it in nigh-total darkness, the sun almost entirely under the horizon now. A moment of panicked silence descended over the promenade for a short few seconds, and then the silence was broken again. A scream, followed by sporadic gunfire that echoed in the distance ever so ominously. Hussaini twisted his head left and right, trying to determine where it was all coming from, but to no avail, this new environment kept him disoriented still.

He tossed an imaginary coin and turned left. Left felt good, might as well go on. He unholstered his Gauss pistol and started walking, first slowly to a corner, peeked around it and then fast around it and forward. Someone, or some thing, jumped over the street from one building to the next with incredible speed, he could only make out a shadow. He took aim where it seemingly landed, but there was nothing there any longer. Another chill went down his spine, he took a deep breath and gave in to his instincts ever so slightly, his pupils dilated once more, leaving only a thin ring of iris around them. The ring shifted and soon started glowing a bright red color. His senses sharpened as his nervous system kicked into overdrive, his movements became faster and more precise.

A faint thump, something landed behind him. He turned around, but again, nothing was there. The oldest trick in the book, and he fell for it. A sharp pain exploded from his leg and upwards, he recoiled and fell to the ground, though still holding his pistol firmly in his hand. And lo and behold, above him stood a monstrosity the likes of which he'd never seen before. Towering perhaps twice his size, clad in a black chitin-like exoskeleton, standing on four hind legs and two front sharp appendages in the air, ready to strike, to tear him apart. Time seemed to slow down as he took aim at what seemed to be its head. One, two, three shots. The creature recoiled and shrunk back. Four, five, six, seven. The creature squealed as he emptied his rounds into its head and body. Eight, nine, ten. Empty. The creature frantically moved its legs, trying to keep its balance, forward and back, with lightning fast speed. Hussaini rolled left and right, avoiding the spiked legs that aimed to pierce him. Finally, one of its legs slipped and the rest soon followed. It fell on its side with a loud thump, dead.

Hussaini inhaled deeply and helped himself to a sitting position with his arms. He looked at the beast he just felled for a moment and then tapped his shoulder to activate his comm device. - "Thorne, come in. Status report."

[Chrysalis]

"Move those crates faster! Bring up the barricades!" - Thorne shouted as he commandeered the retinue of mercenary marines that surrounded him. He held his rifle at chest level, finger off the trigger, but with safety off. - "You there, kickstart that generator and get that light going! I don't think this is over yet."

He looked around his now increasingly entrenched position. Corpses littered the area, both human and of the alien beasts that took the outpost by surprise. He approached one of the bodies, a fallen comrade, his helmet's visor busted - a terrified look on his face still lingering, mouth and eyes wide open. Thorne knelt beside him, touched his helmet and then gently closed his eyes with his hand.

"Thorne, come in. Status report." - Hussaini's voice came through his embedded comm device, startling him slightly. The God of Assholes himself is still alive, he didn't know whether to be relieved or not. He tapped the push-to-speak button. - "Hussaini. They came out of nowhere, right after the generators went down-..."

"Yes, I noticed that part. What are you doing about it?" - Hussaini cut him off midsentence.

Thorne inhaled and continued - "We've managed to hold them off for now, but not without casualties. We're on the far side of the outpost, close to the island's cliff face, I've ordered our position entrenched, the remaining men are putting up the barricades now." - He paused for a moment. - "More are coming, I'm certain of it, we can hear them rustling in the dark. I suggest you make your way to us and then we make a run for the shuttle, pull out, leave this damned-..."

"Negative. A retreat is out of the question." - Hussaini cut him off again. - "I noticed a sonic cannon perched on top of the command building in the center. I'm going to make my way towards it. You keep barricading and defending your position. I'll contact you with further instructions. Hussaini out. [static]"

"God damn it!" - Thorne cursed but didn't press the push-to-speak button. The generator started rumbling and the light post lit up, he heard the creatures skittering and saw some closing on their position. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment, then turned to his men. - "Alright men, you heard him! Get to your positions, defend the area at all costs!"

"Yes, sir!" - the marines exclaimed more or less in unison and ran for their positions, taking cover behind the makeshift fortifications, taking aim.

Thorne pulled his rifle up and aimed at the shadowy creatures moving in the distance. - "Don't fire till you see their scales glitter under the light..."

[Chrysalis]

Hussaini pulled himself up, a searing pain shooting up his torn leg. He stood for a moment, balancing on his left leg he took a few deep breaths to collect himself as he reloads his weapon. He closed his eyes and instead looked inside himself, envisioning his body within his mind's eye, and simply willed the cells to divide more quickly over the damaged area. He stood so for a few minutes, performing this feat of will as the virile nomadic tissue surged forward to repair the damage. Enough time wasted, he thought. Now at least he could manage a limp forward. And limp he did, towards the center, his gun firmly in his hand, glancing left and right, listening in for any movement.

A rustle is heard behind him. He turns around and takes aim. The rustle turns into a skittering sound, as if millions of tiny cockroaches are moving over the dark promenade in front of him. No, something far worse. He strains his eyes to see and in the distance, he sees it - a swarm of sorts. Not like the creature he faced before, much smaller, but not completely different either, their shared lineage is apparent in their form. He fires a few shots into the swarm, hoping to scare the creatures off. No dice, those who are shot down are simply run over by the rest, and with each that dies, they seem to only gain in speed and ferocity.

He turns around again, this time facing away from them and starts limping again, but at a faster pace. Not fast enough, the relentless horde of insects is closing on him. He manages a jumping limp now, gaining in speed as his leg regenerates further. In the distance - he spots him. A lone marine, taking cover behind a crate, just what the doctor ordered.

"Over here!" - The marine shouts and waves his hand towards Hussaini. Hussaini trips and falls face forward, then pulls up to a kneeling position. - "Help!" - he utters in a desperate tone. The marine hesitates for a moment, then leaves his cover and sprints towards Bassam. As he finally reaches him, the swarm getting closer and closer by the moment, he grabs Hussaini and brings him up to a standing position.

"Sir! Are you alright? Can you walk?" - The marine asks in a concerned tone. - "We need to get out of here!" - he adds shortly after.

"Yes, yes..." - Hussaini says as he places his arm on the marine's shoulder and his gun to his stomach. - "What you did now, I won't forget it. Thank you." - Hussaini pulls the trigger, and the marine drops to his knees, unable to even utter a question at this unexpected betrayal. Hussaini sprints forward, with his leg almost completely regenerated now. He looks back for a moment as the creatures reach the marine and swarm him, apparently feasting on his living body as he screams unintelligibly. Keeping up the sprint, he turns his attention forward again, towards the command center.

His nervous system kicks into overdrive again as he races towards the command structure. The door could be open, he thinks - but there isn't enough time. With his enhanced eyesight he spots a series of ledges on the building. He picks up pace, now running at a speed that to a regular human would seem preternatural. He focuses on the ledge and at the last moment - leaps. He extends his right arm as he flies through the air and grabs onto the ledge effortlessly with his hysterical strength.

He looks back again as he hangs, and sees the swarm resuming its chase again, leaving behind only cleanly picked bones and blood where a perfectly good marine used to be. Hussaini grabs the ledge with his other hand, pulls himself up and starts scaling the wall towards the sonic cannon on the rooftop.