Avalanche

I stare wide-eyed as I look over the ledge. The snow pack has smashed into millions of pieces on the rocks, triggering an uncontrollable chain reaction. Although the Reprocessor and its drivers are now out of danger, the same can't be said of the Ordis soldiers bringing up the rear of our convoy. The snow hammering down on the ridges has detached multiple blocks of ice, which are now tumbling to the bottom of the valley. I need to do something. Oddball. My Chimaera has already set off before I even signal to him. I watch him fly down at full throttle, slaloming between the masses of fallen rocks, furious billowing powder and shards of ice as sharp as flint. Like a deadly fog, the avalanche buries the Aegis recruits, swallowing them like a hungry wave collapsing on the shore. I clench my teeth.

As each body disappears under the roaring snow, my Alter Ego drops a beacon in a desperate attempt to help locate them more accurately once the wave stops. I can no longer see them from where I am. All I see is a cloud filling the valley. But through the sensors that my companion has dropped, I see a completely different scene. Snowy squalls are still moving in slow motion, settling on the rocky foothills. Dazed soldiers are flailing about as they try to extract themselves from the snow. We need help, and we need it immediately if we're to get them out of there. Responding to my thoughts, Oddball starts to emit a distress signal on all official channels. With a bit of luck, other teams won't be too far away and can respond to our request for help. But I still can't afford to sit around twiddling my thumbs. Using Alteration, I turn my prostheses into little snowblades. And without further ado, I set off.

SIERRA