23 November 2359
0919 Hours (Helghan Local Time)
Pyrrhus City
The journey from the Gamma waypoint to our base in Pyrrhus City was uneventful, with the path already cleared by Team Epsillon. The forward operating base that we established was pieced together on the banks of the Corinth River, within the slums. The Helghast had somehow been pushed onto the defensive, a switch that our commanders had neither expected nor planned for. Surely they were attempting to regroup after the vicious storming of their beaches. Visari's Palace was already within reach.
"It almost wasn't worth the trip," Istomin joked as I wrestled with the standard-issue portable stove. After a few smacks on the ground, it finally ignited, and I set some water over the flame to boil.
"The Higs might live in a hell-hole, but at least their equipment works," I mumbled.
"Don't say that too loud," Al replied as he walked past, pointing in the general direction of the command post. He squatted down next to the tent. "Just got word that we're moving into the city proper tonight." I poured the boiling water through the rationed coffee.
"You want some?" I directed toward Al, while handing the first cup to Istomin.
"Please." Second went his direction. Finally, I filled mine with what was left, then slung both the leftover water and spent grounds away from the camp.
"Don't'cha just love littering?" I joked with a smile.
"Especially when it's not your planet," Al said without a hint of humor. The sergeant stood and walked away, toward the command post. Istomin and I sat in silence for a moment as we both took long drags on the weak coffee that the ISA provided.
"Why is Al such a hard-ass all the time?" Istomin wondered, mostly to himself, I'm sure. Still, I was compelled to reply.
"You can't understand what happened to us during the Vetkan invasion. You weren't there. We saw civilians lit on fire, homes destroyed deliberately and with joy. We saw our best friends get slaughtered. Al watched as his wife and daughter were murdered by Higs, who were laughing as they did it. I witnessed my girlfriend get cut in half by machine gun fire. The Helghast have no regard for civilians or for the rules of war. They will kill who they have to kill, burn what they have to burn, and bomb what they have to bomb to make sure that the enemy is gone for good. You'll most likely come to learn that here." Istomin was silent for a long time, not able to comprehend or sympathize with what he had just heard.
"Well, why aren't you more like Al, then?" he asked after his thinking.
"She was cheating on me." I replied simply. Istomin laughed, the noise echoing against the concrete cliffs.
"I'm sorry, but the way you said that was funny." I shrugged.
"Can't say I blame you." I stood, then offered a hand toward Istomin. "Whaddya say to some target practice?"
23 November 2359
1031 Hours (Helghan Local Time)
Outside Gamma Forward Operating Base (FOB)
"You're getting better, Zero."
"Still not up to par, Z." Istomin didn't come to be known as Zero simply because it sounded cool. Mike was a notoriously poor shot, to the point where he hadn't tagged a single target. I liked to take him out to the range whenever possible, but he's always been a medic first and a killer second.
"Well, I didn't become a good shot overnight." Myself, on the other hand, considered shooting to be among my few skills. I had originally served as a sniper during the Vetkan campaign, but Jekyll is a marginally better shot than I am, so I passed the torch to him. There are perks to fielding an assault rifle, though.
"'Anything worth doing needs practice,' right?" As well as my closest friend, I considered Mike to be my protégé, in a way. I made it a goal to tell him as much as I could before one or both of us ended up dead.
"You're learning."
"I aim to please," Istomin replied, complete with mock bow.
"Quick with the jokes. And here I thought Jekyll was our resident clown." Of course, Jekyll was the resident clown. Whereas Istomin was fast on the draw when it came to quips, Jekyll was the type to scare the shit out of you during a firefight by shooting at your feet. I ensured that only happened once.
"I don't think I could compare on a practical level," Mike said. As if on cue, the scummy Helghan mud beneath us was sprayed in our faces by a weak explosive, surely planted by Jekyll.
"Need a bath, ladies?" we heard Jekyll call from above us. A rush of water followed soon after.
"I just had these dry cleaned, you bastard," I shouted as Istomin and I started hurling rocks.
23 November 2359
1748 Hours (Helghan Local Time)
Gamma FOB
The rest of the day passed without incident, and as night fell we found ourselves crammed into the command post, listening to a colonel who's name I couldn't remember brief us on the Pyrrhus attack. In lieu of a proper name, I instead decided to call this man the childish Captain Shouty.
"In the back!" Shouty suddenly, well, shouted, with a point at me. "Name, rank, squad!" I hastily stood.
"Zachary L. Davis, Sergeant First Class, Delta squad, sir."
"Pay attention, sergeant. This could save your life."
"Yes, sir," I replied with a salute, then sat again. Istomin looked at me.
"L?"
"Lucas. After my grandfather." Captain Shouty, who was actually named Colonel Richard Alberts, was describing the plan of assault on Visari Square. The entire demonstration was rounded out by a projected map, animated to show squad movement.
"Delta will be tasked with disabling the arc towers that protect the square, in order to get the rest of the team further into Pyrrhus," Alberts explained. I cursed under my breath in reply. The mention of arc towers was already unsettling, and being inserted without backup did nothing to alleviate this. "If there are no questions, then, let's get this over with gentlemen." The entire room jostled to get out of the tent as fast as possible. I managed to drag Jekyll and Istomin out before the rest of the group. Al was already waiting at our tent. We jogged over to the weapons rack next to the command post. I swiped a M82, then handed a M224 light machine gun to Istomin.
"Go nuts," I chuckled while he checked the box and familiarized himself with the weapon. Jekyll grabbed a M54, as usual.
"My baby," he joked as we all jogged over to Al, who was waiting near an Intruder. We all climbed aboard and Al pounded his fist against the riding surface. The Intruder shook and lifted off.
"Off we go, into the fire," I said flatly.
A/N: Sorry about all the short chapters. Next time around should have some more action sequences, and it should be longer. Please leave a review with what you liked and what you'd like to see in the next chapter.