Deadly Visitors
A/N -I do not own any of the claymore characters or locations.
September 4th, 2167: 1453 Hours, Pieta.
The air is still in the room of in the city hall of Pieta. Inside are the leaders of the occupying humans. Myself, Miria, the Claymore squad leaders, and the Lieutenant of the marine detachment begin the briefing. I'm surprised to see the Claymores are so uncomfortable with the presence of the lieutenant and I. I have behind me, a rough map of Pieta drawn on a wall.
"We're lucky. Between the recon group of yoma, and my little strafing run we have gained valuable time and knowledge. We have a couple hours before the attack is expected to commence. Also, they seem to panic when they are killed so easily," I look to Miria and nod, indicating for her to take over.
"Indeed we are lucky. Though we still have a lot of work to do, the arrival of the men and woman outside may turn the tide," she said, though to nobody but me did she admit her disbelief that any of us would survive. Just looking at her no one could tell how hopeless she is.
"We need to draw the yoma towards the center of town, by keeping them packed together in a confined space even our tanks should be able to maintain a level of effectiveness. Snipers and heavy weapons teams have already begun digging in, either in or around this building, or in key positions nearby. Our Hawks will remain on standby to assist in evac should we be unable to hold the line," The Claymore squad leaders look nervous. They're not used to things working like this, though the way the operated before seems half assed and almost careless.
"All warriors need to keep the yoma away from marine positions but within line of site so they can provide support. It appears as though their weapons are highly effective against the yoma, regardless of the fact that they are awakened beings," Miria says, she's scared too I can tell.
"Lieutenant Dante, here are the positions your men need to maintain and these are their fallback points," I point to a large drawing on the wall. "Claymores, keep in mind when fighting that heavy weapon fire will be coming from this building. I don't want any of you to get hit, so inform your warriors exactly where the fire will come from. Now, if all else fails, a squadron of bombers will strafe the area and level the city, on top of the Eve of Judgment will also be in orbit above us and can open fire if we are about to be overrun. Remember, even if we cannot stem the tide, this whole area will be decimated. Good luck everyone, God speed," I hand everyone but Mira a few sheets of paper detailing where different units will be and other important details. As they leave I ask Miria to stay back.
"How are your troops handling themselves, I couldn't help but notice your captains are a little nervous," I notice her shift a little.
"They are uncomfortable with you being here. They would rather fight alone and die than seem weak and ask for help. The only reason they have not spoken out is because you never asked if we wanted help." She said.
"They need it, you know it too."
"Be that as it may, your marines are going to die. Even with your weapons you're no match for an awakened being.
"And you are?"
"…."
"Exactly, you need help. You're so heavily outnumbered even with our assistance this is still going to be close if not hopeless."
"Then why are you here?"
"Because I refuse to sit by and let them win, even with reinforcements I'd still be here with Stewart fighting beside you."
"So you would stand and fight, in the face of certain death?"
"Yes Miria, without hesitation."
"Even though you'd fight and die next to warriors who aren't even human?"
"Would you like to know my callsign? It's what I'm supposed to be called if I need to be discreet."
"Alright, but what is its importance.
"It's Ghost, and the importance is why I'm called that."
"And?
"I'm called Ghost because in my first firefight with SCAR the squad I led was wiped out but me. And everyone, including me, saw me as a shell of a once strong man. Until I met Stewart, I was suicidal on any op I undertook. I met her on a two man mission, when things started to go to hell she managed to snap me out of a blood lust and convinced me to get home alive. Since then we have been friends and we have been a two man squad. On an op we undertook we were forced to retreat from an overwhelming enemy force. Although we had left, they had believed we were still I the town and proceeded to burn it to the ground and kill everyone. Had we stayed, fought and died, that town and the people in it would still be there. Since that day we don't back down from a fight when other people are still in harm's way.
"That's touching, but that doesn't change the fact that we are not human. If we die no human will have died in your place"
"We are all human here, even though you have yoma in you, you're still human. You and all the warriors out there are humans. Until you awaken, you are human," I'm about to continue my little speech when my comm buzzed.
"Major, we have movement. The enemy forces are inbound and en masse. Looks like they're going to attempt to bulldoze right over us," the marine said.
"Solid copy, inform sniper and zeus units to prepare to fire," I said and clicked off.
"What is a zeus?" Miria asked puzzled.
"A zeus is an anti-tank high yield laser cannon. At range they will be highly effective." I activate my hud, closing up and sealing my helmet. "Get your warriors into position Miria."
"What about you?"
"I'm going to assist the snipers until the yoma close in, and then I'll aid the marines and warriors on the ground."
She nods and leaves. I start to make my way up the winding stair case. The wood creaks under me step after step. One hundred and fifty yoma, and that's just an approximation, against fifty marines and a handful of Claymores. Even with armor support this wasn't looking too good. I pull out the wrinkly map of human positions. Every point of defense has a clear straight run to the Hawks in case everything goes south.
I reach the upper levels and bring up my rifle; slowly I twist the sniper barrel onto the housing and calibrate my sights. Even now I can see the huge dark forms of awakened being wading through the snow and ice. I nestle down and get comfortable as my hud picks up the signal being given off by the marines' transponder chips located at the base of their neck. I had made a point of handing out wrist mounted transponders to the claymores, and even now I can begin to see them moving into position.
"Miria are your warriors ready?" I asked over the comm, her and her captains each have a headset so they can maintain communications.
"Yes we are,"
"Good, all units check in," I said.
"Team Veronica ready,"
"Team Flora ready,"
"Team Undine ready,"
"Team Jean ready,"
"Lieutenant Dante, squad one in position, all marine units standing by,"
"Major Orion I'm sending Clare up to you. She has orders to keep you safe," It was Miria
As if on cue she knelt beside me and I nodded to her.
"Keep your head down," I tell her and in response she lays on her stomach with her hand on her weapon ready to attack.
"I will keep you safe,"
"I appreciate it, but don't worry I've seen worse holdouts than this," I laugh a little to myself but the moment quickly fades. "Stewart are you in position?" I ask over the comm.
"Yes sir, I'm with squad three near team Jean," her response was quick.
"Copy, this is Major Orion, all snipers, and zeus teams call your targets and open fire."
A second, no two, ticked by, and for a moment the world held still, the bellowing wind, the downpour of snow, it was all stopped. The silence so thick I could reach out and cut it. Human blood was soon to be shed and I had just ordered it to begin. Oh how Andrew would laugh seeing how much I'd changed, if he were still alive that is. But with his memory, with all of them on my mind I get ready for what is to come. For my brother, for my old squad, I'll make them proud.
Time starts back slowly at first and the first crack brings it all back with full force. Bright beams of light stab out into the snow intermixed with vapor contrails of .50 cal high explosive rounds. Looking through my scope I saw the weapons take a fearsome toll. And even as time returned to normal, taking a breath and looking through my scope slows it all back down. I can see the yoma, they're panicking, but not much. I place my reticule over the head of a beast and fire. It doesn't go down, so I fire again, and again, and finally with one last shot the head of it is obliterated and its body falls limp to the cold ground. I pick another target and continue firing. Shot after shot I fire into the weak spots of the onrushing yoma . The laser cannons are punching right through them and the hail of sniper fire only adding to the death toll. How many have died so far? How many are left? These questions go unanswered as the first screams of men are heard over the comm channel. The awakened beings reacted a great deal faster than I had anticipated.
Bursts of rifle fire erupt all along our lines; I can hear metal clashing with claws and other hard objects. I hear the screams of the dying and the wounded. I toss aside my sniper barrel and equip my assault rifle; Clare begins to get up as I hurl myself out the window and into the midst of the fighting.
I hit the soft ground and find the closest yoma, blinding firing into it. Clare is beside me protecting me from attack. Lobbing an explosive grenade into the side of it, I sheer off a couple of its limbs and I pour fire into its exposed neck. Clare is deflecting blows from a number of yoma and I can tell it's taking all of her concentration to cover me. I fire a long burst into a nearby yoma, tearing its stomach to shreds. As it falls in pain a nearby squad of marines rush in for the kill; only to be stopped when a Claymore appears above it and decapitates it. The marine squads form circles and fire at anything larger than a human. They hold their own for a while, dropping several yoma while the claymores keep them at bay. One by one though, the marines take casualties. I look around and see a tro of marines armed with shotguns point blank with a yoma's screaming face in theirs, they all fire at its gaping maw simultaneously obliterating it. Similar scenes of slaughter occur all around me. A marine to my left is rent in half and her head bitten off by a yoma reminiscent of spider. Shortly after a beam of light punches right through its chest and I finish it off with a quick burst to the face. The marines' armor isn't holding up against the attacks of the yoma, unlike Stewart's who has already taken several blows to her upper body.
The two outlying marine positions are heavily battered and fall back to the square in front of city hall. The three central units begin to lose ground little by little. Clare and I find ourselves fighting yoma all around us. The city is overrun, faster than I had expected. Bodies and gore litter the streets, the snow seems as though it is pure red with human and yoma blood.
"Buffalos move in and secure the square," I scream into my headset.
Nearby engines rev as the tanks move into position, they surround the square and all six Hawks that are in it.
"All units give a status report!" I holler.
"Team Miria, two warriors remaining, as well has six marines from squad one, the lieutenant is dead."
"Team Flora, myself and one warrior remain, marine squad four is wiped out."
"Team Undine, I'm down to three warriors."
"Team Veronica, three warriors left, marine squad two is gone."
"Team Jean, we are down to three warriors and four maines from squad three."
"Shit, all Claymores and marines pull back!" I yell, I didn't know we had already lost so many. Eleven Claymores, and twenty marines left, squad five was in the building with the heavy weapons and sniper rifles. I look around and see all the men and woman falling back, running and firing and slicing their way through. I watch as marines are cut down, and Claymores are mortally wounded. I need to get as many people out of here as I can. While falling back more Claymores and marines are killed, some stabbed in the back and run through. Others are torn in half. A handful of marines detonate C4 whilst in the clutches of the enemy.
"Deneve!" Clare yelled
I looked over and sure enough, she had a horrible wound in her leg. Between bursts of fire Clare and I pulled her towards a Hawk. There were almost no marines left and the Claymores were down to a handful.
The tanks tore through the yoma with ease, bristling with heavy weapons the yoma were no match for them. The tanks' thick armor protected them from the tendrils launched at them. Cannon fire decimated the yoma, high caliber rounds punching and rending the monsters. It was a beautiful sight to behold. I hadn't thought the tanks would be so effective against the agile yoma, but with so many packed so tightly together even the main guns were taking a toll.
One of the Buffalos had "Shield of Heaven" emblazoned on its side skirt. It was the first to die. Several yoma latched onto it, tearing its weapons off. I heard over the comm channel as the crew inside were torn out of their vehicle and ripped to shreds in a mess of blood and gore. One by one the tanks who attacked, though they took a score of the foe with them they all fell. Blood seeped from the vehicle hatches and a few crew members took hold of pintle mounted heavy machine guns, blasting away in pure defiance to their killers. Even after losing an arm I saw one man hold on to his weapon and fire until he took two tendrils to the chest.
While the tanks put up their last stand I grabbed what few survivors we had left and piled them into the Hawks. A marine, Miria, Clare, Deneve, Helen and Jean climb into one while myself, Stewart and a couple of marines get into another. Everyone else was dead. I look out the window and see the other Hawk, its cannon pouring rounds into the horde. Our craft turns and looses all of its rockets at point blank range, the other ship follows suit and together destroy anything close enough to pose a threat. I feel us banking and taking us into the sky.
"This is Major Orion, bomber squadron "Shark Bite" engage our last known position," I say over the comm.
I don't get an answer, instead I look back see seven bombers swoop in and drop their devastating payload on top of Pieta. As we pull away further all I can see are the explosions and fires left behind. A lot of good men and woman were left behind, all dead. I look through the roster of troops in the platoon, only three survivors. Out of a platoon of fifty strong, only three souls remained. This was just an opening skirmish, but if this is what a platoon of marines with minimal support could do then several thousand marines with all our tools of war should be enough.
I look over at the other Hawk; those five women would soon be invaluable. Their knowledge will allow us to fight a war against the yoma. They lost a lot of their friends today, but they, just like us, have a job to do. As I finish checking on Stewart and the marines I get called to the cockpit.
"Sir we have a comm of the Judgment, they want to know if we are at safe distance to bombard the area," the pilot said.
"Inform them we are, destroy it all," I look at the ship above us and see its orbital weapons batteries powering up. Beams of bright red light showered the planet below, impacting Pieta and anything within twenty miles. Due to the size of the beams when they struck the planet below they caused a large explosion. With a dozen such weapons firing every few seconds they soon littered the target area with craters. Typically reserved for ship to ship combat, when turned against a planet the results were vastly more destructive than even a nuclear device. We are barely outside the firing radius of all those cannons, and the thought of being caught in the bombardment isn't appealing. But the thought of the carnage on the ground brought a smile to my lips.
All the yoma we failed to kill would soon find themselves under an attack so intense it would seem as though the heavens above and been rent open and the gods themselves exacted their furious judgment on the monsters. Death would come to them all, at least I could stand here and know that we had put up a hell of a fight. The next time the Imperial Marine Corps engaged the yoma, they wouldn't be so lucky.
As the Hawks docked in the large vessel I gathered my gear and stepped onto the rear hatch. There was a loud clang and I noticed the Claymores were already disembarking from their drop ship. I was dying to get out of this tin can but had to wait until the ramp lowered.
When it opened I saw Clare standing there in tears, and her fist collided with my face. I flew back a few feet, my head slammed against the metal floor boards and I was rendered unconscious.
AN/ -Sorry for the long wait, but life's been crazy. I'll need to read the manga before I continue but thought it'd be fun to get the battle done. I hope you all enjoyed it. Reviews/Questions/Suggestions are welcome! (In fact I would really appreciate them)