Personally, i'd say this is the weakest chapter i've written so far, but your mileage may vary.
Chapter 5: Predators
The day was coming to a head; the sun was high in the sky and our planes were high above the clouds now. Looking around the seating area I could see the various squads all anxious to get their feet on the ground and get it over with. Amongst them I saw young men; some were probably the same age I was when I first joined. Fumbling with my assault rifle, I knew that today was going to be something that was going to cost us dearly but there wasn't really much we could do about it now; we had our orders and Unova needed the support. That's what we'd been training for.
Suddenly the intercom crackled to life; the pilot signalling the countdown to our HALO jumps.
Thirty seconds
Sixty-four men from our C-130 alone would parachute down to the fields outside of Nuvema Town, to meet up with the passengers of five other planes.
Fifteen seconds
Upon landing, we'd all be required to send out all our Pokémon making the total support force nearing two thousand heads.
Five seconds
The rear doors ground open, the outside wind sucking out the air from the seating bay.
"GO!" the pilot ordered.
In a steady stream, we all leapt out the rear end and dove through the thick layers of clouds. The wind whistling loudly through my oxygen helmet, as I kept my arms tucked against my body to reduce drag.
As we passed the clouds, we flew straight into pouring rain; the droplets spraying against our shaded visors.
"Alright men; pull!" I called through my helmet radio, as I yanked on the parachute cord; the wind filling it instantly, slowing my decent.
As I directed myself away from the nearby trees, I glanced around to see my platoon soaring past me, touching down on the sodden mud.
As I hit the ground, I jogged a little to keep the momentum going before stopping and releasing my parachute. Grabbing the five Pokéballs from my beltline, plus a special sixth one containing Haxorus, I let my Pokémon out onto the grass. The 'special' Pokéball is different because it isn't a permanent capture; it's temporary for missions such as this.
"Alright soldiers. We need to head to Castelia City ASAP; that's where we'll be linking up with the local forces. The other platoons will have landed close by, and will be heading in the same direction so watch for friendly fire. Form up on me, and keep your helmets on; we can't take any risks out here.
A Mexican wave of salutes acknowledged my orders, before we readied our weapons and jogged off towards Accumula Town.
Each platoon would get to Castelia via their own means, so I decided to try and commandeer several Lorries from the local supermarket, just outside of Accumula. I'm sure they'd be happy to oblige.
As we arrived, we were greeted by civilians; welcoming us and thanking for our support.
"Looks like the welcome wagon, Colonel." Nade said, patting me on the back.
"Just make sure they keep their distance Gunnery Sergeant; we can't be sure of anyone yet. I need to speak to the manager of the store." I said, pointing to the crowd.
As the workers left the supermarket, I approached the head and told him we needed his vehicles. He looked at me, bewildered, for a moment. I wasn't sure he was going to allow us to just drive off with them.
"Just make sure I get them back in one piece." He laughed, as he shook my hand.
I couldn't help but notice the accent he had; exactly like Surge's. That and the willingness of the locals.
Approaching the swarm of men behind me, I spoke through my coms.
"Alright men; get in the back of the lorries. Those soldiers need our help, and us being here ain't doing much good." I said, pointing backwards, towards the bright green semi-containers. "Curtis?"
"Yes Colonel?"
"You drive the other one, and stay close behind me. We can't afford to get separated."
"Yes sir."
The roads were surprisingly clear; we'd only passed a few cars on our hour journey, as the rain beat down on the windscreen of our trucks. Haxorus sat in the front with me, as the rest of my squad and team were in the back with the rest. Glancing over to her quickly, I noticed her pupils were constricted and her teeth were bared. Her 'split personality' was out, it seemed.
"Don't worry Haxorus; we'll be there soon." I thought to myself, chuckling quietly.
As we reached the outskirts of the massive city, I signalled to pull over before getting out.
"We're on foot from here on out; we can't chance being larger targets than need be. Willow; see if you can get in touch with the Unovian Captain. Tell him the terror deterrent's here."
"Sir, yes, sir!" the Major replied, removing his radio.
"Listen up men; we're going in hard and fast. I wish I could say I want this cleanly done, but that's out of the question for them. If you see an HVT; attempt a capture. If the situation isn't right; don't hesitate to kill them. Same goes for the rest of them."
Fists rose in the air, as sixty four teams of six flooded the street; various roars and cries sounding alongside the cocking of weapon chambers. Today was going to be a busy day for all of us.
"AGGRO! TWO O'CLOCK, HIGH! GIVE ME COVERING FIRE!"
"GOT IT, GOT IT!"
"COVER ME, MY RIFLE'S JAMMED!"
"SOMEONE, GIVE ME A HAND OVER HERE! THEY GOT US PINNED DOWN!"
The buildings were peppered with holes and debris; grenades and rockets streaming through the air as gunfire was exchanged through the large streets. From experience, I can say that this wasn't a support operation. This'd turned into a war.
"Nade! Get a frag in that window; Curtis, you're with me!" I called, as bullets pelted against the overturned car we were using as cover.
"Sir!" Nade called, as he tossed a grenade during the lapse in gunfire.
Waiting for the explosion, me and Curtis sprang from cover and darted for towards a doorway; smashing it down as we went. As our Pokémon fought valiantly against the enemies, we humans were figuring out ways of ending this fight as fast as possible. I didn't land here to get slaughtered.
Holstering my rifle, I readied my serrated combat knife and leaned against the stairwell wall. The tell-tale 'crack' of sniper rifles sounding from upstairs.
"Curtis, you stay here and kill anyone that's not ours if they come in; I'll deal with this." I said, wiping the dust and dirt off my visor.
As 'The Gun' set up on a low wall, I crept upstairs, my heart pounding hard, I saw a masked soldier looking down his weapon's scope.
Sneaking up behind him, my knife in my right hand, I slammed it into the centre of his back, placing my hand around his mouth to muffle his pained shouts, as he flailed his arms. Quickly collapsing, I placed him on the floor and ventured further upstairs, swapping hands and pulling out my pistol; fitted with a silencer I slowly climbed the stairs. Three more men were looking outside; their weapons drowning out all other noise. As I picked off the first man with my pistol, one of the men stepped back from the window and noticed me. Quickly firing a round at him, my weapon jammed as the third soldier pulled away. Desperate to unclog the barrel, I pulled on the chamber repeatedly but to no avail. Luckily the enemy had to reload himself, so I dropped my gun and launched my full weight against him, knocking him to the floor.
Throwing a Kevlar infused punch at him, he hit my hand out the way and side swiped me, knocking me off. As he stood up, he kicked me in the chest hard, causing me to splutter. As he tried again I smacked his boot away before kicking him between the legs; taking the moment to right myself, I rammed against him again, punching them on the nose, before sweeping his leg from under him; sending them crashing to the ground again. Stamping on the soldier's chest, I unsheathed my knife in an attempt to silence him, but the man brought his leg back around kicking it out of my grip, sending it into the corner of the room.
"You fucking son of a bitch!" I shouted, punching him in the stomach as he stood up, trying to catch his breath.
Launching a volley of punches into his chest and head, I grabbed his shirt and slammed him into a wall, before throwing him against a mirror; smashing it in the process. Pushing me backwards, he grabbed a piece of glass and slashed at me, narrowly missing, before trying to throw it. Dodging the shard, I punched him in the jaw causing him to recoil towards the window, before slamming into him, sending them smashing through the glass and onto the street below.
"...Bastard." I coughed, blood spattering the mouthpiece of my helmet.
Retrieving my knife and weapon, I removed the blockage and headed back downstairs.
"Curtis; There's a good vantage point up top so-" I stopped suddenly, coughing violently, before continuing, "-so I want you to set—to set up you sniper and lay down covering fire from there. I'll join you after I've placed a few traps." I said, rubbing my chest lightly.
"Sir." He nodded, before jogging upstairs past the bodies.
Breathing deeply, wincing at the sharp pain, I realised he must have broken a rib or something; but I had to continue. It's not like we were in a situation where we could pull out.
After placing a few booby traps, I removed my rifle, outfitted with a 1-4 magnification scope and headed back upstairs to set up next to Curtis on the roof level; two more enemy bodies on the floor.
"Were they..."
"Yeah, Colonel. Don't worry though."
Nodding, I looked through my scope and began to pick off targets, as our forces (combined with Unova's) cleaned up the rest. Unova had air superiority whilst the ground troops gave us more of a problem.
As I fired a shot through a skyscraper window, straight through the skull of an Eelektross, I noticed something that seemed... familiar. Curtis noticed my ceasefire and attempted to ask what the problem was, but I never noticed. He was wearing what seemed like a blue suit, with a white shirt, and seemed to be quite old. His hair was thinning and grey and appeared to be enraged. Was he a hostage, perhaps? No... I'd seen them before, but I couldn't place my finger on it. They had a briefcase with them too; but I couldn't be sure of where I'd—
"Colonel! For fuck sake, Colonel, enemy sniper up high!"
Snapping out of my trance, I saw a glint from a rifle scope from one of the upper skyscraper floors, and it appeared to be pointing towards the ground. Shifting my attention to the streets, I saw my squad.
As I took aim, the enemy fired before I could kill him, the shot ringing out loudly, before I fired back; striking him in the chest.
Returning my attention to the road, I saw someone lying on the ground, an LMG by their side.
"...shit." I muttered, before sprinting back down the stairs, back to ground level.
As I got to the bottom floor, I heard a break in fighting; guns fell silent, as hundreds of footsteps were heard in the distance.
Running back outside, back to the overturned car, I saw a body covered in blood. They were still alive... but only just. It was highly unlikely that they'd survive a shot to the chest.
Crouching next to the man, looking at his bloodied face, that's when I realised... it was Aggro...
Coughing loudly, he raised his hand shakily to me before placing it on my shoulder.
"Co—Colonel...? D—did we—win?" he sputtered, blood flowing from his wound and mouth.
Tears began forming in my eyes as I watched him smile; his breathing erratic and wheezy. A Corpsman approached us and tried to sedate Daniel, before patching up his injury.
"Don't... don't worry Danny; we'll get you out of here." I said, patting him on the shoulder.
"D—don—don't lie Sir-" he whispered, blood running from his nose, "I know i—I won't make it. Just ma—ke sure my team gets- gets out." He continued, his eyes dilating suddenly,
"Don't you die on me you angry son of a bitch! Who do you think'll take the piss of me when you're gone?" I chuckled slightly, as tears rolled down my cheeks.
"Ju-jus' use—protection sir... you'll be alright." He laughed, before his breathing slowed to a halt; his heart becoming silent.
I sat still, quietly, before turning my attention to the medic. He knew what I wanted to know.
"I'm... sorry Colonel... he's gone." He said, dipping his head.
Lowering my head, I cried quietly to myself, before standing up. If only I'd noticed that sniper earlier; I could have saved him. If only I hadn't noticed that one mysterious man.
The thought of my mistake still chills me today.
Sitting in the back of the C-130, our platoons heading back to Kanto, I stayed silent throughout journey; Haxorus sitting next to me for the trip. She was persistent in trying to cheer me up; even going as far as to remove my helmet, and kiss me on the cheek. That was also when she noticed that I had blood on my visor and face. She insisted on cleaning me off, before forcing me to tell the medic.
Unfortunately, he told me that he couldn't do extensive tests onboard a plane, and I'd have to see him when we get back.
When I sat back down, Haxorus gently nuzzled me; unaware of the other soldiers onboard, but I'm not particularly sure they're surprised.
It was going to be a long ride home and I didn't enjoy the feeling of it.