Pyrrhus City

Corinth River- Corinth Sands

"Holy fuck!" Private Aston screamed as a stream of bullets leapt up from the ground and blotted an Intruder out the sky. This wasn't the first Intruder he'd seen knocked out but it was the closest that has been to him. He held onto the rail with a death grip as the Intruder he was on banked left narrowly missing another Intruder to avoid AAA fire.

"We're gonna get knocked out the friggin' sky before we even get close to the LZ!" Sergeant Mitchel yelled. He cringed as a wave of heat swept over him when an Intruder exploded in a massive fireball several meters away.

"We're going to make it!" S/Sgt. Daniel yelled trying to reassure himself. Honestly he wasn't all too sure about those odds but his men needed hope. An Intruder about ten meters in front of him took several hits and broke in two showering the men in oil.

"The fuck man!" Pfc. Jason yelled as he rubbed his eyes.

"This is some sincere bullshit!" Private Cody screamed over the howling wind. This wasn't his first combat insertion by Intruder but it was shaping up to be his worse.

"I see the river!" Private Percy exclaimed as he stood up a little and pointed. He was nearly knocked on his ass when another Intruder was shot down and a piece of metal went flipping end over end like a boomerang came right at him.

"Where? You better not be fucking with me Percy!" Pfc. Lars shouted.

"Over there!" Private Percy shouted now making sure his ass was planted firmly on the Intruder. The entire squad leaned over the railing and after a few seconds of looking they saw their objective. The Corinth River was a large, wide river that ran along the industrial base of Pyrrhus City. The water was choppy and a dark yellow from years of dumping. Not anything any of the men would want to swim with anytime soon.

"Marines!" S/Sgt. Daniel shouted to get the men's attention. Once everyone looked at him he continued. "When we hit the ground we're going to be taking heavy fire! I want you to clear the Intruder and rally on me! If I'm dead then you rally on Sergeant Mitchel and if he's dead then you rally on Corporal Joshua! Oo-rah?"

"Oo-rah, Staff Sergeant!" the men barked. As they neared the beach the men double checked their weapons. S/Sgt. Daniel checked the holographic sight of his M82 to make sure it was working. The thing was damn fragile and he learned during Vekta that if you didn't take care of it then you were stuck with iron sights. Sergeant Mitchel patted the pouches on his chest and thighs to make sure each had a magazine in it. Then he patted his waist feeling the grenades he kept there for easy access. Pfc. Jason pulled the bolt back to his M224-A1 chambering a round. Pfc. Anderson adjusted the scope to his M82MV making sure it was properly sighted. The M82MV was the marksman variant of the reliable M82. It featured a longer barrel and a 4x magnification scope. Private Andy put a 40mm grenade in his M303 grenade launcher mounted under the barrel of his M82 and closed the breech. Private Cody, who always kept his weapon unloaded whenever he was not participating in an operation, slapped a magazine in and pulled the charging handle. Private Aston had done his pre-fight checks before they even boarded the Intruder so he just sat there thinking. At the moment his thoughts were about his nineteen year old wife. She was expecting their first child soon and he hoped this whole thing was over so he could be there for the birth. Corporal Joshua taped his magazines together in pairs jungle style for faster reloads. He picked the trick up from a Rapid Response Force friend he met back at the staging areas on Vekta. Pfc. Lars checked and then rechecked the pouches strapped to his thighs and waist. The pouches were filled with ammo for his M224-A1. You could never have too much ammo for a fight. Pfc. Howard tapped his finger nervously against the stock of his M82MV. He'd killed dozens of Higs on Vekta but this would be different. He was fighting on their turf now. Private Jonah on the other hand didn't have a worry in the world. He'd kicked Hig ass on Vekta and he was completely sure he would kick Hig as on this piss poor excuse for a planet. Private Blake rocked his head listening to music only he could hear. It was how he dealt with the war. At the moment Mozart calmed him into an almost zen like state. Private Percy sat there thinking about every beach invasion he'd ever read about. The list stretched into the hundreds but he chose the one that would have been most suitable. The landing at Omaha Beach at Normandy during the Liberation of France was the best he could think of. High casualties had almost put the entire operation in jeopardy. Hopefully this would not be another Omaha.

As they got closer to the beach they could make out Marines already on there fighting their way forward. Helghast soldiers in foxholes and in buildings showered torrents of lead on the advancing Marines. Hig machine guns on the small bluffs overlooking the beach turned the Marine advance into a Marine slaughter.

With a loud thunk the Intruder hit the ground raising the men up and slamming them back on. It took S/Sgt. Daniel two seconds to get oriented but when he did he was waving his men off yelling, "Go! Go! Go!"

Pfc. Anderson was the first off. He leapt over the rail and hit the sandy ground. His boots sunk two inches into the wet sand making it hard for him to move. He trotted forward ducking low to avoid what felt like millions of bullets flying over him. He looked back just in time to see the Intruder start to lift off but a rocket slammed into it. It wheeled over and crashed into the river. The smoke swirling around the beach stung his eyes and made his throat burn. For a split second he worried it may have been gas but then he realized it was from all the weapons discharging. Remembering that he got on one knee and looked through his scope. He saw a regular Helghast trooper in a two man foxhole firing at Marines to his right. His buddy that was supposed to be in the foxhole with him couldn't be seen. Pfc. Anderson fired off two rounds in quick succession striking the Hig in the chest and left shoulder. That was enough to make him tumble in the foxhole and leave Pfc. Anderson's fellow Marines alone. Satisfied he looked for his next target.

Private Andy had fallen face first off the Intruder and into the soft sand. He probably would have been stuck there too and suffocated if Pfc. Jason wouldn't have yanked him up by the collar.

"Thanks!" Private Andy shouted as he and Pfc. Jason slowly advanced.

"Anytime!" Pfc. Jason replied. They both spotted a Helghast soldier making a run from one foxhole to another and fire at the same time. They weren't sure which of them had hit him but the Hig took a few more steps before his legs gave out from under him and fell in a ragged pile. Out of the chaos of battle Private Andy was able to make out one sound among all others. Maybe because he'd heard it and his entire platoon was wiped out by the weapons that made that sound during the opening stages of the invasion of Vekta. The loud, shrill howling noise only got louder and louder. Without any input from his brain Private Andy pushed Pfc. Jason in a crater created by the pre-invasion landing barrage. He was reacting by pure nature and experience as he jumped next to Pfc. Jason and covered his head.

Private Percy was thrown backwards by an explosion that also turned a Marine a few meters to his right into little more than red mist and ribbons of meat. Private Percy should have been able to recognize the distinctive sound of the Helghast VC18 Mortar. In a split second he had the weapon visualized and all known specs about it ran through his head.

The VC18 weighs eight hundred kilos flat and fires a 105mm shell. Its rate of fire is anywhere between 8 and ten rounds a minute but they are usually grouped in batteries of twelve allowing them to lob a lot of explosives in a very short time. Front line troops nickname it the Screaming Mimi for its high pitched sound when shells are incoming.

Private Percy filtered all this information before he hit the ground hard five meters away. Without missing a beat he got up and looked for the nearest source of cover. He stumbled forward and threw himself against a burnt out Intruder. Another Marine was running towards him shooting at Helghast positions. A few steps away from the Intruder a burst of Hig machine gun fire hit the Marine in the stomach nearly cutting him in half. Private Percy curled himself up against the Intruder and watched as the Marine thrashed about a little before dying. Even though he'd seen this kind of stuff dozens of time on Vekta it still got to him.

S/Sgt. Daniel was only a few feet away from a trench filled with Helghast. He'd picked up any Marine he found on the way since his squad got scattered by those damn Moaning Minis and charged what he figured was a week spot in the Hig lines. He just hoped all his men were okay mainly because he saw them as his friends but also because he didn't feel like getting a whole new squad of Pups.

"Eat this you ISA dog!" a Helghast soldier yelled as he brought his StA-52 Assault Rifle up. S/Sgt. Daniel jumped forward not really thinking and tackled the Hig. They both slammed into the back of the trench knocking the wind out of the Helghast Trooper. Without hesitating S/Sgt. Daniel whipped out his M-4 Revolver and went to put it at the Hig's head.

"NOOOO!" another Helghast roared as he took a swipe at S/Sgt. Daniel with a combat knife. He side-stepped him and put two .357 rounds in the trooper's chest at point blank range. Before he could make sure the Helghast was dead the one he was pinning pushed off the wall and slammed S/Sgt. Daniel into the front wall of the trench. S/Sgt. Daniel tried his best to point the M-4 at the Hig but he was too strong. Slowly the Helghast started to point S/Sgt. Daniel's own weapon at him. Without thinking he kneed the Helghast trooper as hard as he could in the groin.

"Fuck!" the Helghast moaned as he slumped down to his knees in front of S/Sgt. Daniel. Without a moment's hesitation he blew the Hig's brains out the back of his head before he could recover. He ducked as a flurry of bullets ate up the sand around him. Taking a moment to organize himself he looked around to make sure the trench was clear. There were only Marines in the trench for the time being so that was good. Next he tapped the microphone in his ear twice activating it.

"Hitman One call in." S/Sgt. Daniel said hoping his voice was broadcasted as calm as he really was.

"This is Hitman One. Where the fuck are you, Sarge?" Sergeant Mitchel replied.

"Hig trench. Took it from 'em. Where's the squad?"

"I have most of Fireteam Ice Pick and some guys from Hitman. No idea where everyone else is. This is-" Sergeant Mitchel's voice was cut off by a shrill howling noise. "Get the fuck down! Get out the open! You see a fuckin' shell hole you jump in it!" S/Sgt. Daniel tensed up waiting to hear the sounds of a Screaming Mini shell with his name on it. He only half way relaxed when none fell in his sector but instead seventy meters to his right. That was where what was left of his squad was. Checking to make sure he had a full mag, he looked towards the plumes of sand for a moment and started down the trench towards them.

Sergeant Mitchel cowered in a foxhole as the world went to hell around him. He looked down at the sprawled mess at his feet and nudged it with his boot to make sure it was really dead. Whoever killed that Hig was one hell of a shot. A single round right between the eyes. The Hig probably died before he even collapsed at the bottom of the foxhole.

"It's all cuz of you." Sergeant Mitchel said more to himself than to anyone else. He lowered his head as a mortar landed near the lip of his foxhole almost burying him with sand. "You goddamned sons of bitches!" Sergeant Mitchel yelled. He knew the Higs couldn't hear him but it made him feel a little better. He hated being shot at by something he couldn't shoot back at. Artillery ruined the romance of war for him. That and the dead friends…and the mangled bodies…and the constant threat of being blown to kibbles and bits.

When the bombardment let up he stood up with his rifle to his shoulder expecting a horde of Helghast charging at him. Instead he saw four Hig tracked APCs come to a stop on top of the bluffs. Immediately tiny black forms filed out the front of the APCs and started opening fire. More Helghast soldiers. The APCs added their two cents and opened fire their VnS-10 Machine Guns. A Marine ran past him running towards a shell hole to take cover in when one of the APCs opened up on him. Sergeant Mitchel watched in amazement as the nimble Marine bobbed and weaved his way through the fire almost making it to the shell hole. Unfortunately he bobbed when he should have weaved and a few rounds stitched its way across the soldier's chest. He collapsed and rolled over on his back.

"Momma!" he screamed as he writhed on the ground like he was having a seizure. Blood poured shot out from half a dozen wounds in his chest and blood was coming out his mouth like a fountain. A corpsman skidded to a stop next to him and started to try to patch him up but a stray bullet knocked the corpsman's head right off his shoulders.

"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" Sergeant Mitchel yelled banging his hand on the edge of his foxhole in frustration. Next he took out his anger on the Higs on the bluff. "Fuck you!" Sergeant Mitchel as he fired a well-aimed burst from his M82 that knocked a Helghast on his ass. He was sure he wasn't getting up. A trio of 6.8mm rounds to the chest would leave a very big hole. He looked back at the downed Marine who was still thrashing about. He couldn't just leave him there. Sergeant Mitchel took a deep breath and scrambled out the foxhole.

"Get some!" Pfc. Lars yelled as he mowed down six Helghan troopers coming down from the bluffs. "You want some too?" he shouted sarcastically as he cut down another Hig running up the bluff.

"I think you like your job just a little too much." Private Blake joked as he emptied a magazine into one of the pillboxes overlooking the beaches.

"Just doing what I'm good at." Pfc. Lars replied. A Hig poked his head up out of a trench on the bluff and brought his weapon to his shoulder. He didn't get a chance to fire as Pfc. Lars drilled several holes into the Hig's forehead. Pfc. Lars and Private Blake stood in a foxhole together trading rounds with the Helghast at the top of the bluff. They were with Sergeant Mitchel but mortars forced them to spread out and lose track of each other. Pfc Lars ducked down when he heard an ear splitting roar but Private Blake stood upright.

"Thank God for the Navy." Private Blake said as several salvos of rockets smashed into the bluffs and exploded in towering balls of fire. Pfc. Lars saw one Hig APC take a direct hit resulting in a catastrophic kill. The turret flew one hundred feet in the air like a champagne cork except instead of being propelled by bubbles it was shot up with fire. The barrage had the dual effect of throwing up a wall of sand in the Marines' faces.

Both men's earpieces suddenly came to life. "All Marines advance!" a senior voice ordered. Private Blake and Pfc. Lars looked at each other for a moment. They didn't need words to convey what they would do next. They both leapt out the foxhole at the same time and charged in the direction they thought the bluffs were. Despite the wall of sand still coming at them they could see muzzle flashes at the top of the bluff. There weren't as many as before but the two Marines still ran hunched over as they made their way towards Helghast lines.