Chapter 5: Rolling Thunder

"This is Red Eagle Actual. All tanks of the 6th cavalry form up. We're charging that counter-attack head-on. Form an attack line. Alright boys, we're not on a suicide mission to make ourselves look good; we're on a suicide mission to buy our boys some time AND make ourselves look good. All callsigns, report in."

The 6th cavalry battalion formed a battle line, driving their metal coffins as fast as they could to engage the Lunar Defence Force. With them was the battleship, 'Ferocity.' Mechanized infantry units would move on the flanks of the enemy and take out the artillery that's pounding 'Ace of Spades' while the tanks and battleship engage the main force in the centre of the highlands to divert their attention away from 'Ace of Spades' and their artillery batteries. In the distance, smoke trails could be seen, as the tanks drew closer, the colossal silhouettes of Lunarian Heavy Assault Walkers became visible.

"All armour, form up and hit these sons of bitches hard! Show 'em what the 6th Cav can do!" Tanks fired their cannons at the Lunarian walkers. The first shots harmlessly bounced off the Heavy walkers' energy shields, but the next barrage impacted the walkers' hulls.

The Lunarian walkers unloaded a hail of plasma fire at the 6th cavalry's tanks. "Evasive action! Keep shooting! Ferocity, take out the Heavy Walkers when you see their shields down. We'll handle the light walkers." Battleship Ferocity moved into position and began its barrage of the Lunarian Walkers.

"This is Skull Crusher three; I have a visual on Lunarian tanks advancing to reinforce their walkers." Red Eagle Actual redirected half of the 6th Cavalry to engage the Lunarian tanks.

The walkers and the tanks clashed. It was like a horse cavalry charge against elephants. The Heavy Walkers crushed tanks under their powerful legs, while tanks fired at the vulnerable joints of the heavy walkers, while the light walkers killed the tank crews attempting to escape knocked out tanks.

The Lunarian tanks caught up to the battle, and their silver and chrome coloured hulls were shining in the sun as blue plasma from their cannons streaked toward the 6th cavalry's dark-grey and green tanks. The Earth tanks answered with the cold steel of their Armour-piercing shells. It was a Lunar New Year's fireworks display unlike any other. The highlands were filled with the twisted metal and molten steel of Lunarian and Earthling armour.

The soldiers around 'Ace of Spades' could see the battle: Flashes of yellow and blue, red-orange explosions, Ferocity and its massive guns trading blows with Lunarian Heavy Walkers.

Ace of Spades was under fire from Lunarian artillery. The Earth Coalition's artillery couldn't fire back at the Lunarian artillery; they were well out of range. The 12th engineers managed to bolster point Ace of Spades' defensive capability. Anti-tank guns and mortars were placed and trenches were dug to keep troops less exposed to artillery and gun fire.

Colonel Duclair was sending as many soldiers as he could into the Lunar Capital, in the hope that with a large portion of the Lunar Defence Force committed to this counter-attack, the 4th infantry would be able to overwhelm the resistance in the Lunar Capital. What the Earth coalition didn't realize was that all they have done up to this point have only led them ever closer to annihilation; victory was never in their grasp, and the Earth coalition was about to realize that.

"This is Ferocity. We are falling back to provide cover for Ace of Spades. 6th cavalry has been wiped out. No survivors. Enemy losses are substantial but most of the Heavy Walkers are intact, and they still have a few tanks."

Colonel Duclair sighed and put his head down in respect for the 6th cavalry battalion. "Rest in Peace, you crazy bastards." They were next. This was it. They'd make a stand here. They have a small chance with Ferocity in the sky, at least.

"Sir, scanners report a massive unknown object approaching. It's airborne sir." Spoke too soon. At that moment, there was a great white and blue flash.

The Ferocity exploded in a fiery inferno, and its hull fell to the moon and joined the mass graveyard of the highlands. The flaming debris of the Ferocity managed to destroy a number of Lunarian tanks. As the sky above the moon cleared, the Earth soldiers lay their eyes on a most terrifying sight: A Lunarian Battlecruiser.

Large, and elegant in design, it was very much unlike the ugly bulky looking ships of the Earth forces. It was curvaceous and almost artistic, if not for the terrifying arsenal visible on the Battlecruiser: It was bristling with plasma cannons, and it had such a powerful shield that it was almost visible to the human eye, unlike the walkers' shields, which were near invisible.

The battlecruiser was emitting a strange, faint red light from the bow of the ship. By this point, the walkers stopped advancing, and the artillery stopped firing. It was completely silent. All the Earth soldiers went up to see the horrifying sight of the battlecruiser, and then the battlecruiser's faint red light turned into a vivid and bright red.

Many soldiers stared directly at the fascinating light. A few seconds later, they fell to the ground, hands held tightly on their helmets, screaming, and writhing on the ground, uttering gibberish.

They became totally helpless, and useless. They all went insane from staring into the light. Some of them blindly fired their guns before falling to the ground like the others. This was lunacy, literally.

The red light turned healthy men into helpless lunatics in mere seconds. The full moon somehow caused a large number of Earth soldiers to slowly fall into lunacy, but here was a weapon that channelled that strange power and concentrated it to accelerate the effects.

After a minute, the red light turned faint again. Lunarian and Moon rabbit soldiers marched through the defences of 'Ace of Spades' with no resistance; everyone had gone completely insane.

They massacred all the Earth soldiers there and began their advance to the place where the Earth first desecrated Luna: Mare Tranquillitatis; Tranquillity base.