Compromised
Disclaimer: I do not own the X-men Evolution, GI Joe, Kingdom Hearts, or Titan AE franchises in this fanfic. The Misfits are Red Witch's creation, not my own, thanks for letting me use them. Be patient, the Misfits will appear soon when Kilo Two Zero's mission goes to hell.
~ ~ ~ ~
"Captain Fetterman?" Major Sanford said, "Your mission is good to go, but I must question the list of men you chose."
"What's this all about sir?" Fetterman said.
"Six of the seven on the team are good but I dare say number seven's just asking for trouble." Sanford replied.
"You mean Corporal Martin Bilby." Fetterman said, "With all due respect sir, he's a capable operator."
"Was a capable operator Fetterman. Make no mistake, he's a borderline Section Eight." Sanford said, "Ever since the Titan mission he hasn't been himself."
"Sir, with all respects I think Bilby is still cable of operating." Fetterman replied.
"Mike, I trust your judgment on this one. Your patrol order is good to go."
"Yes sir." Fetterman replied.
~ ~ ~ ~
"Hey Stoney, is Bilby still going with us?" Specialist Dave Morgan asked his pal, Specialist Stoney Brown, as he packed his M-16 with M203 grenade launcher attachment and his web gear.
The seven men were clad in desert fatigues and were arraying equipment out to prepare for their mission. Dave was skinny, physically fit fellow with curly brown hair and a nerd's disposition. His fellow nerd at arms was another enigmatic nineteen year old named Stoney Brown.
Stoney's had long curly hair and a passion for '60s and '70s music. He was a SAW (Squad Automatic Weapon) gunner and a damn good one at that. He always wore a headband at all times, even when he slept and now was no exception as he tied a desert khaki one across his forehead.
Link was another SAW gunner, he was an avid skier and mountaineer from Estonia. He was stuffing more ammo into his pouches. "Hey, so Bilby's going with us?"
"Yeah." Stoney replied.
"Great, our resident psychopath is watching our backs." Dave groaned as he put his black stocking cap on his head.
"Shut the fuck up Dave." Corporal Andrew Whitehurst, their communications guy, a man who was exceptionally thin and wiry with thick glasses. He wore contact lenses for every mission, "It's almost impossible for anyone to have survived an op like the Titan Mission without being knocked to fucking hell emotionally."
"Hey fuck you Whitehurst." Dave replied.
"Shut the hell up both of you." Sergeant "Ramjet" Rumpler, "We all know Bilby went through hell and back, we don't need to antagonize him about it."
"Yes Sarge." Dave replied.
Their seventh and eighth guys on the team were SAW gunner Tallman Palmer, a short Caribbean mulatto and the subject of the conversation, Corporal Martin Bilby, the team sniper.
Both men had their belt kits on and Tallman was walking to the other five guys assembled, waiting for Captain Fetterman to show up. Only Bilby sat on his cot at the FOB (Forward Operating Base). He too wore his belt kit, with his telescope sighted L1A1 Self Loading Rifle slung over his shoulder and holding his peaked Afrika Korps field cap in his hands. He was a medium built fellow with a grown in shaved head and a clean shaven face, about twenty one years old. Most of these operators were in their early to mid twenties. All were self assured, highly motivated veteran soldiers who had served together on numerous special operations assignments across the many dimensions of the multiverse.
"Captain on the floor!" Sergeant Rumpler shouted.
"At ease." Captain Fetterman replied, "Alright, you received the brief earlier, but here's the sketch. The Heartless have supposedly started operating in a recently discovered dimension. Our job is to observe their activity and keep Central Command posted on what's going on. Our rules of engagement are thus: Do not fire unless we are compromised. Our insertion platform is a Chinook helicopter into the desert about two hundred miles to the south of the installation locals of this dimension call the Slaughterhouse. Terrain is desert terrain, with a few gullies as LUPs (Lay up Points). Assume possible Heartless infestation, and very likely collaboration with the villains of this dimension, an organization called COBRA or something like that."
"Man how hokey can you get? What kinda name is COBRA? Sounds like a cycle gang." Stoney remarked.
"Just 'cause they got a stupid name don't men they're not dangerous." Tallman said.
"Alright boys, lets move out." Fetterman said.
Music was always perpetually playing in the FOB over various personal stereo systems. A favorite pre-mission song played by Charlie Squadron, 2 Troop of the Gamma Unit was Jimi Hendrix's Voodoo Child (Slight Return).
"Well, I stand up next to a mountain. And I chop it down with the edge of my hand."
The men stepped aboard the Chinook to the words of Jimi Hendrix as the aft cargo door closed. They walked under 210 lbs of equipment in their bergens (field packs).
"Well, I stand up next to a mountain. Chop it down with the edge of my hand." They waved cheerily at the other personnel on the FOB, at the mechanics and soldiers walking below.
"Well, I pick up all the pieces and make an island. Might even raise just a little sand.
'Cause I'm a voodoo child." The lyrics at last faded as the pilots started up the bird and flew into the dimension in question.
~ ~ ~ ~
The helicopter landed the eight men on a landscape that was flatter than the top of table. "Damn, the terrain is more barren than we anticipated." Rumpler groaned.
"Let's find us a hideout." Fetterman replied, indicating a gully.
The men stayed hidden, observing the ground, staying at the LOP during the day and moving at night. Silence and stealth were absolutely imperative, but if the team were compromised it had enough firepower between them to give their opposition a heck of a lot to think of.
"See anything?" Fetterman asked Bilby.
"No sir." Bilby whispered back. Fetterman turned his back when Bilby replied, "Wait, sir, I hold movement, a civilian of this dimension, a little girl."
"Out in the middle of the desert. Bilby, take her out!" Dave shouted.
"Dave, she's a fucking kid!" Bilby replied.
"She'll give us away! Shoot her! Shoot her!" Dave shouted.
"She's getting close to our position sir." Rumpler replied.
"What the hell are you waiting for Bilby? Shoot her now!" Dave shouted.
"Morgan shut up!" Rumpler hissed.
"She's turning around sir. Doesn't look like she's seen us." Bilby replied.
~ ~ ~ ~
That assessment proved to be incorrect. "Sir, we've got company, a lot of it." Tallman said.
Fetterman put up his binoculars. "Shit!"
"I hold a COBRA Hiss tank and two trucks full of personnel, closing right for us, fast." Tallman said.
"Damn it!" Fetterman shouted, "Get those 66 rockets up, take out that tank and those trucks and get ready to hotfoot it out of this place. We'll retreat towards the Slaughterhouse, we've got no choice now, since we've been compromised."
"Whitehurst, Morgan, ready with those rockets." Rumpler shouted.
"Fire!" shouted Fetterman as the Hiss tank and trucks disgorged a group of COBRA soldiers and a number of Heartless, at least 200 troops.
Whitehurst hit the tank in the tracks, knocking out the vehicle's ability to maneuver, however it's machinegun was still working.
"Shit!" Fetterman shouted, "We are out of here!"
"Tallman. Bilby cover our ass! When we're clear, Whitehurst, you and Link do the same."
Tallman and Bilby were already firing at the mass of enemy troops, at least 300 Heartless drones and COBRA vipers charged them with the Hiss tank's main gun and machineguns firing.
Tallman fired his machinegun in three and five round bursts, being careful with his ammunition. Bilby took aim with his customized telescopic rifle, every shot killing or severely wounding an enemy fighter.
Whitehurst tapped them on the shoulder. "Go! We've got your backs!"
Link was shooting steadily with accurate three and five round bursts from his SAW. A COBRA machinegun nest was shooting uncomfortably close to the rest of the patrol. Whitehurst put two 40mm grenades from the 203 grenade launched bolted to the barrel of his M-16. The machinegun stopped shooting.
Fetterman was already organizing the next pair to go and fire. Stoney and Dave were up firing next while the rest of the patrol fled behind some rocky outcroppings. As they covered the six men of the patrol behind a boulder, Whitehurst was trying to communicate.
"This is Kilo Two Zero! We are compromised! Repeat! We are compromised!" Whitehurst shouted.
"Whitehurst! Calm down and annunciate." Fetterman replied.
"Yes sir." Whitehurst replied.
"This is Kilo Two Zero to Black Cat. Compromised, need extraction. Repeat. Compromised, need extraction." Whitehurst replied. "Sir, the radio's down!"
"Keep trying Whitehurst." Fetterman replied.
Bilby adjusted his peaked German Afrika Korps field cap on his head and fired a 66mm rocket down range. "Fuck you!" he shouted towards the truck full of Heartless.
Dave put another 40mm grenade into the engine block and the truck exploded in a massive fireball that threw charred corpses of Heartless drones all over the desert floor. The eight men reloaded their weapons at Fetterman's command; Bilby knew he had at least ten rounds left out of a twenty round clip.
"Good shooting boys!" Rumpler said and exchanged quick high fives with Dave and Bilby.
"Kinda busy Sarge!" Bilby shouted, putting a bullet through the skull of another Heartless.
"Captain that tank's getting ready to shoot!" Bilby shouted as he saw the COBRA gunners turning the tank's big 75mm gun towards them.
"Scatter and rendezvous at point.." Fetterman shouted when the shell exploded into the rocks separating Tallman, Whitehurst and Bilby from the rest of the team.
"Shit!" Whitehurst yelled and tried to run over the dune that they had rolled over.
"Whitehurst stay down! They've got their own shit to worry about! We stick to the plan and head for the Slaughterhouse! Tallman cover us!" Bilby shouted.
"Roger!" Tallman shouted and fired steadily at the group of Heartless drones that decided to pursue.
"Fuck you all!" Bilby shouted, taking up his own firing, shooting down four of them with as many bullets from his rifle. Tallman and Whitehurst were reloading further to his rear.
Bilby drew his .45 handgun and started shooting more rounds as he ran behind a boulder, reloading his L1A1 rifle as Whitehurst provided covering fire. "God damn 5.56 ammo!" Whitehurst groaned. His rifle was firing the green tip carbide round, capable of piercing light armor. Unfortunately that same penetrating ability meant that his bullets were going right through the Heartless drones and unless it hit the brain or spinal column it wouldn't take them down with one shot. They used to kid Martin Bilby because he shunned the M-16/CAR-15 weapons and instead preferred to carry a customized semiautomatic L1A1 Self Loading Rifle. Whitehurst belatedly believed that Bilby was easily the smartest soldier in the unit, sure his rifle was heavy and dealt mean recoil but it took down Heartless drones with single shots and in combat, one good shot was all you got.
"Tallman, you're up!" Whitehurst shouted after he jumped over a boulder, his rifle out of ammunition.
"You're good to go!" Tallman shouted and kept firing his SAW in short, highly accurate bursts, again using no more than three to five rounds per burst.
Once Whitehurst had gotten to cover behind Bilby, Tallman pelted to another piece of cover with Bilby picking up the slack, his first bullet drilling another Heartless drone through the skull.
"Any more of them?" Whitehurst shouted.
"They're all down!" Bilby shouted.
"Hot damn!" Whitehurst shouted, "There were at least forty of those bastards after us. We killed them all?"
"Yeah." Bilby shouted, his head poking above the rocks, "If there were any alive, I'd be dead right now!"
"We're gonna have to drop our packs." Tallman said, "We're too heavy and those Heartless and COBRAs are on our asses like bees to honey. I don't expect this to last."
"That's right." Bilby said, joining Whitehurst and Tallman, "Get all the stuff were gonna need out of the bergens and let's get the hell out."
"Wait!" Whitehurst said, as he handed out ammo, food, and extra water which they crammed into their belt kits. "Let's give those bastards a big surprise."
"I like your thinking Whitehurst." Bilby replied as Whitehurst laid several proximity mines with a couple 40 mm grenades around the bergens as he left them out in the open.
Already a follow-up COBRA patrol was closing. With hand signals, Bilby indicated them to grab cover and freeze.
None too soon, for a man wearing an eye patch accompanied by at least twenty Range Vipers was picking his way among the corpses of dead Heartless.
"And these chaps are supposedly our allies that have subjugated hundreds of worlds." Major Bludd laughed with contempt as he saw forty corpses, many of them killed with one or two shots. The beings with mysterious glowing eyes that were obscured by strange metal helmets who wore a strange seal that looked like a crossed out heart were formidable, but their enemy must be even more so if these formidable troops that dispatched BATs effectively were all lying killed in the middle of the desert.
Little did Major Bludd know that their enemy consisted of three hunkered down Gamma unit soldiers, highly trained but outnumbered, outgunned, and totally isolated. Right now he had to assume there was a large group, because Copperhead, who had survived the trucks being blown up and the Hiss tank being shot claimed that they were fighting a platoon sized element.
"There's only three of them idiot." Major Bludd said as he saw three rucksacks lying out in the open.
"Range viper, check that out." Major Bludd ordered.
The Range Viper and two others moved the packs only to be blown up by several explosives. Three more were wounded by shards of flying metal.
"Fire! Fire! Everybody now! Now!" Bilby shouted.
Tallman provided a base of fire with his SAW while Whitehurst fired a couple 203 grenades down range with Bilby shooting a Range Viper through his head. Using leapfrog firing, Tallman ran back over a hill with Bilby covering him and followed up with Whitehurst picking up slack.
"Damn it!" Major Bludd cursed as he saw twelve Vipers, including the three that were blown up by the booby trap.
"Regroup and pursuit." Major Bludd ordered, "Call for reinforcements."
"That won't be necessary." Said a harsh mechanical voice.
A Heartless drone standing five feet tall and cradling a KF-7 assault rifle said, "My troops will help your men."
At least thirty more of them were standing around. "I told you any opposition the humans from our dimension would send could be formidable."
"They've already killed a large number of our people." Major Bludd said. "Conservatively your vaunted Heartless have lost forty men chasing three soldiers with small arms in this canyon alone."
"All told, we've lost 120 men to that patrol. There are only eight of them and they are split apart. Your Cobra Commander ordered your friend Copperhead to chase the five men fleeing into the mountains. We are to chase down those three men." The Heartless replied, "This Gamma unit from my dimension is a formidable adversary, yes, but they can be defeated if we outnumber them."
"What are you waiting for!" Major Bludd shouted, "Let's go kill those vermin!"
Disclaimer: I do not own the X-men Evolution, GI Joe, Kingdom Hearts, or Titan AE franchises in this fanfic. The Misfits are Red Witch's creation, not my own, thanks for letting me use them. Be patient, the Misfits will appear soon when Kilo Two Zero's mission goes to hell.
~ ~ ~ ~
"Captain Fetterman?" Major Sanford said, "Your mission is good to go, but I must question the list of men you chose."
"What's this all about sir?" Fetterman said.
"Six of the seven on the team are good but I dare say number seven's just asking for trouble." Sanford replied.
"You mean Corporal Martin Bilby." Fetterman said, "With all due respect sir, he's a capable operator."
"Was a capable operator Fetterman. Make no mistake, he's a borderline Section Eight." Sanford said, "Ever since the Titan mission he hasn't been himself."
"Sir, with all respects I think Bilby is still cable of operating." Fetterman replied.
"Mike, I trust your judgment on this one. Your patrol order is good to go."
"Yes sir." Fetterman replied.
~ ~ ~ ~
"Hey Stoney, is Bilby still going with us?" Specialist Dave Morgan asked his pal, Specialist Stoney Brown, as he packed his M-16 with M203 grenade launcher attachment and his web gear.
The seven men were clad in desert fatigues and were arraying equipment out to prepare for their mission. Dave was skinny, physically fit fellow with curly brown hair and a nerd's disposition. His fellow nerd at arms was another enigmatic nineteen year old named Stoney Brown.
Stoney's had long curly hair and a passion for '60s and '70s music. He was a SAW (Squad Automatic Weapon) gunner and a damn good one at that. He always wore a headband at all times, even when he slept and now was no exception as he tied a desert khaki one across his forehead.
Link was another SAW gunner, he was an avid skier and mountaineer from Estonia. He was stuffing more ammo into his pouches. "Hey, so Bilby's going with us?"
"Yeah." Stoney replied.
"Great, our resident psychopath is watching our backs." Dave groaned as he put his black stocking cap on his head.
"Shut the fuck up Dave." Corporal Andrew Whitehurst, their communications guy, a man who was exceptionally thin and wiry with thick glasses. He wore contact lenses for every mission, "It's almost impossible for anyone to have survived an op like the Titan Mission without being knocked to fucking hell emotionally."
"Hey fuck you Whitehurst." Dave replied.
"Shut the hell up both of you." Sergeant "Ramjet" Rumpler, "We all know Bilby went through hell and back, we don't need to antagonize him about it."
"Yes Sarge." Dave replied.
Their seventh and eighth guys on the team were SAW gunner Tallman Palmer, a short Caribbean mulatto and the subject of the conversation, Corporal Martin Bilby, the team sniper.
Both men had their belt kits on and Tallman was walking to the other five guys assembled, waiting for Captain Fetterman to show up. Only Bilby sat on his cot at the FOB (Forward Operating Base). He too wore his belt kit, with his telescope sighted L1A1 Self Loading Rifle slung over his shoulder and holding his peaked Afrika Korps field cap in his hands. He was a medium built fellow with a grown in shaved head and a clean shaven face, about twenty one years old. Most of these operators were in their early to mid twenties. All were self assured, highly motivated veteran soldiers who had served together on numerous special operations assignments across the many dimensions of the multiverse.
"Captain on the floor!" Sergeant Rumpler shouted.
"At ease." Captain Fetterman replied, "Alright, you received the brief earlier, but here's the sketch. The Heartless have supposedly started operating in a recently discovered dimension. Our job is to observe their activity and keep Central Command posted on what's going on. Our rules of engagement are thus: Do not fire unless we are compromised. Our insertion platform is a Chinook helicopter into the desert about two hundred miles to the south of the installation locals of this dimension call the Slaughterhouse. Terrain is desert terrain, with a few gullies as LUPs (Lay up Points). Assume possible Heartless infestation, and very likely collaboration with the villains of this dimension, an organization called COBRA or something like that."
"Man how hokey can you get? What kinda name is COBRA? Sounds like a cycle gang." Stoney remarked.
"Just 'cause they got a stupid name don't men they're not dangerous." Tallman said.
"Alright boys, lets move out." Fetterman said.
Music was always perpetually playing in the FOB over various personal stereo systems. A favorite pre-mission song played by Charlie Squadron, 2 Troop of the Gamma Unit was Jimi Hendrix's Voodoo Child (Slight Return).
"Well, I stand up next to a mountain. And I chop it down with the edge of my hand."
The men stepped aboard the Chinook to the words of Jimi Hendrix as the aft cargo door closed. They walked under 210 lbs of equipment in their bergens (field packs).
"Well, I stand up next to a mountain. Chop it down with the edge of my hand." They waved cheerily at the other personnel on the FOB, at the mechanics and soldiers walking below.
"Well, I pick up all the pieces and make an island. Might even raise just a little sand.
'Cause I'm a voodoo child." The lyrics at last faded as the pilots started up the bird and flew into the dimension in question.
~ ~ ~ ~
The helicopter landed the eight men on a landscape that was flatter than the top of table. "Damn, the terrain is more barren than we anticipated." Rumpler groaned.
"Let's find us a hideout." Fetterman replied, indicating a gully.
The men stayed hidden, observing the ground, staying at the LOP during the day and moving at night. Silence and stealth were absolutely imperative, but if the team were compromised it had enough firepower between them to give their opposition a heck of a lot to think of.
"See anything?" Fetterman asked Bilby.
"No sir." Bilby whispered back. Fetterman turned his back when Bilby replied, "Wait, sir, I hold movement, a civilian of this dimension, a little girl."
"Out in the middle of the desert. Bilby, take her out!" Dave shouted.
"Dave, she's a fucking kid!" Bilby replied.
"She'll give us away! Shoot her! Shoot her!" Dave shouted.
"She's getting close to our position sir." Rumpler replied.
"What the hell are you waiting for Bilby? Shoot her now!" Dave shouted.
"Morgan shut up!" Rumpler hissed.
"She's turning around sir. Doesn't look like she's seen us." Bilby replied.
~ ~ ~ ~
That assessment proved to be incorrect. "Sir, we've got company, a lot of it." Tallman said.
Fetterman put up his binoculars. "Shit!"
"I hold a COBRA Hiss tank and two trucks full of personnel, closing right for us, fast." Tallman said.
"Damn it!" Fetterman shouted, "Get those 66 rockets up, take out that tank and those trucks and get ready to hotfoot it out of this place. We'll retreat towards the Slaughterhouse, we've got no choice now, since we've been compromised."
"Whitehurst, Morgan, ready with those rockets." Rumpler shouted.
"Fire!" shouted Fetterman as the Hiss tank and trucks disgorged a group of COBRA soldiers and a number of Heartless, at least 200 troops.
Whitehurst hit the tank in the tracks, knocking out the vehicle's ability to maneuver, however it's machinegun was still working.
"Shit!" Fetterman shouted, "We are out of here!"
"Tallman. Bilby cover our ass! When we're clear, Whitehurst, you and Link do the same."
Tallman and Bilby were already firing at the mass of enemy troops, at least 300 Heartless drones and COBRA vipers charged them with the Hiss tank's main gun and machineguns firing.
Tallman fired his machinegun in three and five round bursts, being careful with his ammunition. Bilby took aim with his customized telescopic rifle, every shot killing or severely wounding an enemy fighter.
Whitehurst tapped them on the shoulder. "Go! We've got your backs!"
Link was shooting steadily with accurate three and five round bursts from his SAW. A COBRA machinegun nest was shooting uncomfortably close to the rest of the patrol. Whitehurst put two 40mm grenades from the 203 grenade launched bolted to the barrel of his M-16. The machinegun stopped shooting.
Fetterman was already organizing the next pair to go and fire. Stoney and Dave were up firing next while the rest of the patrol fled behind some rocky outcroppings. As they covered the six men of the patrol behind a boulder, Whitehurst was trying to communicate.
"This is Kilo Two Zero! We are compromised! Repeat! We are compromised!" Whitehurst shouted.
"Whitehurst! Calm down and annunciate." Fetterman replied.
"Yes sir." Whitehurst replied.
"This is Kilo Two Zero to Black Cat. Compromised, need extraction. Repeat. Compromised, need extraction." Whitehurst replied. "Sir, the radio's down!"
"Keep trying Whitehurst." Fetterman replied.
Bilby adjusted his peaked German Afrika Korps field cap on his head and fired a 66mm rocket down range. "Fuck you!" he shouted towards the truck full of Heartless.
Dave put another 40mm grenade into the engine block and the truck exploded in a massive fireball that threw charred corpses of Heartless drones all over the desert floor. The eight men reloaded their weapons at Fetterman's command; Bilby knew he had at least ten rounds left out of a twenty round clip.
"Good shooting boys!" Rumpler said and exchanged quick high fives with Dave and Bilby.
"Kinda busy Sarge!" Bilby shouted, putting a bullet through the skull of another Heartless.
"Captain that tank's getting ready to shoot!" Bilby shouted as he saw the COBRA gunners turning the tank's big 75mm gun towards them.
"Scatter and rendezvous at point.." Fetterman shouted when the shell exploded into the rocks separating Tallman, Whitehurst and Bilby from the rest of the team.
"Shit!" Whitehurst yelled and tried to run over the dune that they had rolled over.
"Whitehurst stay down! They've got their own shit to worry about! We stick to the plan and head for the Slaughterhouse! Tallman cover us!" Bilby shouted.
"Roger!" Tallman shouted and fired steadily at the group of Heartless drones that decided to pursue.
"Fuck you all!" Bilby shouted, taking up his own firing, shooting down four of them with as many bullets from his rifle. Tallman and Whitehurst were reloading further to his rear.
Bilby drew his .45 handgun and started shooting more rounds as he ran behind a boulder, reloading his L1A1 rifle as Whitehurst provided covering fire. "God damn 5.56 ammo!" Whitehurst groaned. His rifle was firing the green tip carbide round, capable of piercing light armor. Unfortunately that same penetrating ability meant that his bullets were going right through the Heartless drones and unless it hit the brain or spinal column it wouldn't take them down with one shot. They used to kid Martin Bilby because he shunned the M-16/CAR-15 weapons and instead preferred to carry a customized semiautomatic L1A1 Self Loading Rifle. Whitehurst belatedly believed that Bilby was easily the smartest soldier in the unit, sure his rifle was heavy and dealt mean recoil but it took down Heartless drones with single shots and in combat, one good shot was all you got.
"Tallman, you're up!" Whitehurst shouted after he jumped over a boulder, his rifle out of ammunition.
"You're good to go!" Tallman shouted and kept firing his SAW in short, highly accurate bursts, again using no more than three to five rounds per burst.
Once Whitehurst had gotten to cover behind Bilby, Tallman pelted to another piece of cover with Bilby picking up the slack, his first bullet drilling another Heartless drone through the skull.
"Any more of them?" Whitehurst shouted.
"They're all down!" Bilby shouted.
"Hot damn!" Whitehurst shouted, "There were at least forty of those bastards after us. We killed them all?"
"Yeah." Bilby shouted, his head poking above the rocks, "If there were any alive, I'd be dead right now!"
"We're gonna have to drop our packs." Tallman said, "We're too heavy and those Heartless and COBRAs are on our asses like bees to honey. I don't expect this to last."
"That's right." Bilby said, joining Whitehurst and Tallman, "Get all the stuff were gonna need out of the bergens and let's get the hell out."
"Wait!" Whitehurst said, as he handed out ammo, food, and extra water which they crammed into their belt kits. "Let's give those bastards a big surprise."
"I like your thinking Whitehurst." Bilby replied as Whitehurst laid several proximity mines with a couple 40 mm grenades around the bergens as he left them out in the open.
Already a follow-up COBRA patrol was closing. With hand signals, Bilby indicated them to grab cover and freeze.
None too soon, for a man wearing an eye patch accompanied by at least twenty Range Vipers was picking his way among the corpses of dead Heartless.
"And these chaps are supposedly our allies that have subjugated hundreds of worlds." Major Bludd laughed with contempt as he saw forty corpses, many of them killed with one or two shots. The beings with mysterious glowing eyes that were obscured by strange metal helmets who wore a strange seal that looked like a crossed out heart were formidable, but their enemy must be even more so if these formidable troops that dispatched BATs effectively were all lying killed in the middle of the desert.
Little did Major Bludd know that their enemy consisted of three hunkered down Gamma unit soldiers, highly trained but outnumbered, outgunned, and totally isolated. Right now he had to assume there was a large group, because Copperhead, who had survived the trucks being blown up and the Hiss tank being shot claimed that they were fighting a platoon sized element.
"There's only three of them idiot." Major Bludd said as he saw three rucksacks lying out in the open.
"Range viper, check that out." Major Bludd ordered.
The Range Viper and two others moved the packs only to be blown up by several explosives. Three more were wounded by shards of flying metal.
"Fire! Fire! Everybody now! Now!" Bilby shouted.
Tallman provided a base of fire with his SAW while Whitehurst fired a couple 203 grenades down range with Bilby shooting a Range Viper through his head. Using leapfrog firing, Tallman ran back over a hill with Bilby covering him and followed up with Whitehurst picking up slack.
"Damn it!" Major Bludd cursed as he saw twelve Vipers, including the three that were blown up by the booby trap.
"Regroup and pursuit." Major Bludd ordered, "Call for reinforcements."
"That won't be necessary." Said a harsh mechanical voice.
A Heartless drone standing five feet tall and cradling a KF-7 assault rifle said, "My troops will help your men."
At least thirty more of them were standing around. "I told you any opposition the humans from our dimension would send could be formidable."
"They've already killed a large number of our people." Major Bludd said. "Conservatively your vaunted Heartless have lost forty men chasing three soldiers with small arms in this canyon alone."
"All told, we've lost 120 men to that patrol. There are only eight of them and they are split apart. Your Cobra Commander ordered your friend Copperhead to chase the five men fleeing into the mountains. We are to chase down those three men." The Heartless replied, "This Gamma unit from my dimension is a formidable adversary, yes, but they can be defeated if we outnumber them."
"What are you waiting for!" Major Bludd shouted, "Let's go kill those vermin!"