© 2006 All Rights Reserved.
Before Reading- Please view this stories website for basic and important information. The link can be aquired as my homepage. This is also the fixed version of the story I had first posted. I fixed all the miss spellings, understanding issues in some areas, the foul up at the end where the story cut to something else and back to another thing do to posting wrong chapters at wrong times and other things.

Febuary 22, 2553

The D77-TC Pelican dropship flew low and fast above the water. The formation consisted of 15 dropships followed in by heavier air support if needed. This was our last attack in the war, if we failed the world would surely fall to the enemy. Our army had grown tired and low on supplies during World War III, and to have, as we come to call it 'The War of all Wars' to happen durring WWIII on us, really but us in a bad spot to fight it.

I sat in my seat nervous. Looking out at the sea from the back. I didn't know most of the people in the Pelican except my brother who sat two seats down from me. Fear and a lost hope was the only thing most of us had in common and kept us united after all we had gone though at some time. I wanted to wipe my face that had become wet with perspiration, but I was not allowed to remove my helmet before combat.

The dropship formation swayed a bit to the right and began to break apart in search for our invasion target. The target was a island called Relic. We launched from the captured beaches of Zanzibar that we took from the EWCU. We knew it was around here somewhere, but didn't know exactly where. Pelicans filled with troops broke off from our sides and ours continued straight with two others. It wasn't long before we found it. A large tower loomed into view. The big ancient looking tower in the middle was our target. It was the key to the war, what determined what military fraction would win. Thats all I knew. Pilots began chatting over the com, I ignored them.

We began to ready for a quick air-to-ground aerial assault. We would then be dropped off on the beach. Thats what the commander said anyway after talking to the pilots. A German soldier stood with a dismounted M41 Pelican rear Machine Gun. He carefully made his way down by me in the back and began hooking it to the attachments on the roof. A British soldier walked down with a extremely long belt of ammunition and began loading it into the gun. The gun was missing its bag that held the ammo so the British soldier grabbed hold of a walking handle on the roof with his left hand and used his right to hold the ammo, ready to guide it into the gun and keep it from twisting.

I sat uneasy but ready to fight. This wasn't my first engagement with the enemy, I knew what to expect from them. I looked around at the the others in the D77. Most where glancing at the floor while other loaded and made sure their guns where good to go. One guy was praying to his god it seemed. I glanced down at my BR55 Rifle. Semi Auto or three round burst gun. I suddenly realized it wasn't loaded. I picked up a magazine and loaded it and watched as the ammo counter flashed thirty-six.

I leaned my head back against the wall of the pelican and closed my eyes. I nearly fell asleep. Seconds later, explosions surrounded our Pelican squadron. I didn't think much of it, except for that it annoyed me. I looked out the back of the pelican and could see missing shots of anti-air fire, coloring the sky a blackish orange followed by a sudden flash of white which was caused from the burst of e.m.p that was compacted in the round.

I could heard gears starting to move around behind me. I took to the conclusion that the AV Missile Pods where being deployed from the wings.
"Twenty-five seconds." Said the pilot over the com.
Another dropship appeared into sight from the flanking rear, gaining speed to catch up. I turned my body to face out the back of the dropship, the man across from me did as well.
"Pelican 214 engaging." the pilot announced over the com.

The Pelican suddenly bolted upward and the dropships chain gun erupted on the beach. Anti Air fire was all over us. We came up on the beach and took a sharp right. I now had a line of sight down the line of the beach. The M41 gunner opened up on the enemies that where down on the ground in a small rocky area by a small cliff. Me and the guy across from me did as well with our Battle Rifles. The Pelican made it to the end of the island and turned left over a small hill with a tree on it.
"Armor in the open, moving to engage." Said our pilot over the com.
Our dropship turned to the left again over a bigger hill that had no grass on it and where facing the other way, ready to head back down the opposite side of the beach. "Copy that." Came a reply. There was a flurry of loud snaps. The AV Missiles where fired, followed soon after by a huge explosion.
"Armor destroyed." He announced as we headed off overhead over the now destroyed scorpion tank and down the beachline.

In a matter of seconds the Pelican had made its way down and had turned down the opposite side and was now heading back the other way, toward the hills. There was a extremely loud bang as a shot hit the side of the Pelican, the dropship shook violently and swayed downward to the right, almost hitting the water. The pilot forced the dropship back upward. After I got myself organized again, I noticed we where trailing smoke. "Mayday, mayday, Pelican 214 is hit. The left rear engine is losing power! Where going down!" Screamed the pilot as he was madly flipping a bunch of switches.
One soldier panicked. "This is it, were all gonna die!" He screamed and was silenced by the CO.

The dropship started shaking a lot and got worse by the second. I stood up and grabbed onto one of the roof hand rails. Others sat in their seats with their heads down by their knees and rifles tucked in between their chest and legs, holding them tight. One was acting as though he didn't care what was happening and sat there relaxed. The left rear engine died. The blueish flame that had once come out was gone. The dropship was coming up on the end of the beach. The troopship suddenly swerved to the left over the small hit to make an emergency crash on the rim of the beach.

The dropship slammed into the tree, knocking it into pieces. The dropships front flipped down on the impact, forcing the Pelican to do an entire flip on its way down. The Pelican slammed down into the ground and slid to a sudden halt as it collided with the bigger hill on the beach.

"214 are you alright!...214!" came the cries over the com.
I laid in the sand looking out toward the water, I had been throw out with the gunner and his mate. I could hear the yells of others in pain. I just laid there, numb. I began to wonder if my brother had made it. I coughed a bit as my eyes began to close.

I was unconscious for only a minute or two. I started to come to from the sound of infantry gunfire nearby. I rolled over, facing the ancient tower. My gut hurt a bit and I was dizzy, that was surprisingly it. A loud screech flew by overhead. I barely made out the C709 Longsword as it screamed by. The troop firing line by the hills ducked for better cover. Fire spread across the ground out ahead between the tower and the firing line on the beach, followed by a trail of explosions inside the fire heading down along it. The fire quickly put itself nearly out as it was chemically altered to. A few enemy bodies lay smoking on the ground, most in pieces or in the newly formed small foxholes.

Without warning a soldier suddenly grabbed me and pulled me up to my feet. My side tightened up with pain a bit.
"I thought you where dead!" Said the soldier as he slammed a BR55 into my hands. "Now get out there and fight!"
He pushed me by toward the firing line. A bit of blood drooped down into the corner of my right eye. I shook my head trying to get it out of the way.

I started to make my way up to the line. I gazed around. Roughly seven men where out from wounds. I took it that two or so other Pelicans must have dropped of their load of troops as well. I looked over to my right at the wreckage. One man was missing his body from the gut down, he laid there next to a medic, still alive, talking to him. I stopped, under the cover of the small hill ahead and looked at his insignia to see if it was my brother, it wasn't.

I came into view of the enemy and dashed into cover behind a small hillside where other soldiers where. Our defence was fairly good, the environment provided great cover on the right. Where I was on the left was horrible. There where so many of us that we boldged out in the back and where taking dings in our armor.

Our positions consisted of the south side of the beach. We had a small mount to the left and a hill line to the right. The hill line had a big hill on the right and swooped down into a walkway kind of area with a small mount on the left. Almost like a trench. Soldiers soon managed to drag up the armored plating down by my position which had little cover. There where two big ones and a small one. They where set up in the middle between the gap of the two hills. We where forced to pour in behind them to provide more cover. Others used the hills.

I knew that this fight would be hard to win but had to be done, the worlds fate rested in this engagement. I looked up at the tower. It had a platform halfway or so up, then the sides extended extremely high into the air. The structure also stretched out to the other end of the beach, at the other end was the enemy AA position.

I checked the top of the tower for a sniper but found none. I glanced down back at the platform. The enemy had brought up a one of our M41mobile railguns they must of acquired from some previous battle. I watched as the small black bipod was setup and the black turret put atop of it. The gunner kneeled down and fired. Our lines on the left suddenly stopped shooting, pinned by the MG. I ducked down from the fire behind a armor plating.

Someone slid in beside me on their knees and glanced over at me.
"Thomas!" He said. I glanced over, it was my brother.
"Dave!" I reached over and pulled my bother in by me, hugging him.
"I didn't think you made it." he said. "I looked for you but couldn't find you."
I was overjoyed to be with my brother again, though the moment was brought to a stop as a soldier by me was suddenly hit and brought down. I reached over and pulled the soldier in more. I sat him up against the armor shields where I was and examined him. The bullet didn't pierce his armor, only knocked him back and left a nasty dent.
"Lucky bastard." I said.

We sat there under fire, occassionaly poping up to put a few shots off before the bullets flew on us again.
"Fifth Squad!" I head someone yell over and over.
I looked around. "Fifty Squad on me!"
I glanced down toward the right of the troop line. I saw a man in green armor, the troop commander calling our team in.

A Pelican came in and and hovering a bit off the ground dropped off fresh units, ammo, weapons, and then took off. Two people came running up my way. I glanced over at them. A man carrying a M41 and another a stationary setup with a built in shield where heading our way. They where the remaining company gunners, though they carried a stationary setup rather than a mobile. The gunners mate slammed the four foot setup into the sand behind the small metal defence that no one used. The other guy put the turret on the rail and then fumbled with the lock on the right while the mate put in a fresh ammo belt. The gunner started firing.

The enemy turret quit shooting, suppressed by our fixed MG with with superior cover for the gunner.
"Lets go." I said tapping Dave.
He looked at me as I stood up and bolted off toward our company commander and the rest of fifth squad, Dave soon right behind me.

We went up the small grassy incline by the big hill that was to our right now. I didn't even notice the blood on the ground until I slid on it, I slid about a foot or two on a pool of blood, nearly tripping. I continued on, now behind my brother. A smaller hill ledge covered us on our left from enemy fire, which was where our squad was taking cover.
"Where the hell have you two been?" Demanded the commander as jogged up. We just stared at him.
"Forget it, you missed the main briefing... To cut it short, where moving up the right here to flank the enemy." He pointed off to a small rocky area by a small cliff which sat the smoking armor our Pelican hit.
"Where gonna keep them busy there, while some of the others here will make their way up the left."
We nodded in understanding.

"Everyone, get ready!" he yelled.
The team lined up in a line along the small ledge to our left, ready to move out. We went a bit further down the way so we could get up and over without having the broken tree log that had landed there from the wreck in the way.
"Lets do this!" Yelled the commander as he hopped up onto the ledge in the open and jumped down into a lower section of the beach on the other side. Others started hopping up and jump down behind him. I hopped up with my brother.

I had hopped up onto the ledge. I looked out as the world suddenly turned fuzzy and began to drown out. The world flipped before my eyes, suddenly the sky took over the ground. I landed in a heap on my back where I had jumped up at, my gun fell to the ground.
"Medic!" I heard someone yell in what seemed slow motion.
I was dragged up and put in a sitting position against the ledge by a unknown soldier. A medic ran up and glanced at my chest, said something to a man by me then dashed off down the line.

I looked down at my chest as best I could. A hole was in my armor and blood was slowly coming out. I began breathing heavy from the pain and damage of the wound. The medic came back with some supplies and removed my helmet and set it aside.

"Your going to be okay son." he said rather quick.
"What happened... Wha..." I choked on blood talking. I spit it up and continued "What's wrong with me?"
The medic said nothing and started removing my chest armor. The pain grew stronger and stronger and the world had seemed to spin for a split second.
"Tel...Tell me?" I demanded in pain.
"You where hit by a sniper round." he paused and looked at the wound better. "It looks like it went in your chest and out your back." he said as he applied a foam into the wound. "But we got him back." He finished.
I looked away and stared blankly into the air while he operated on me, thinking.

...I never really believed in the theory that you saw your life flash by before your eyes before you die... Not until it happened to me. I sat there as my team moved on without me, leaving me staring into the air with these unknown people, watching my life flash before my eyes.