9- Argonia
-Arthur West-
The autumn leaves had begun to fall and paint the world orange. "Hold on, I'm detecting movement ahead." Called out FAL. We dropped to the side of the road and squirmed into the ditches to lie in wait. An abandoned truck lay on its side in the middle of the highway. On either side of us was forest and underbrush. With the agility of a cat, Vector snuck up to the rear end of the truck's trailer. Inside, she set down explosives that were connected to my remote detonator. With her task complete, Vector retreated back to her side of the highway. "Get ready." Said Sass. Sass and FAL stayed back with their rifles, while the remainder of our company advanced so that we were just before the overturned truck. I clutched my M4 tight against my body as I lay against the side of the ditch.
"Hey Holst?" I asked. He turned to me. "Yes?" He replied. I glanced around the highway above and dropped back into the ditch. "Oh for fuck's sake, it's nothing. Just don't get shot." My friend snickered to himself. "Like hell I want that."
A couple of minutes passed. As the Sangvis drew nearer, Sass identified them and spoke into the headset system. "Distance, 600 meters. 2 manticores, a division of Rippers, and a small group of 3 Vespids." I continued her message. "Distance from vanguard, 200 meters, prepare for engagement." Ahead of the humanoids, the manticores walked side by side in the front. "3… 2… 1… Engage."
"The truck exploded into a cloud of debris and flames. Bits of shrapnel launched into the air, cutting down several Rippers. The Manticores collapsed and crushed their plasma cannons, instantly being rendered useless without their combat ability or mobility. From behind DMR fire brought down one of the Vespids in an explosion of machinery and grotesque synthetic organic material. The Sangvis immediately moved to seek cover.
The vanguard rushed, using the cover of abandoned vehicles for safety. I slid behind an old humvee with Holst. Just as we reached cover, plasma bolts began hitting our cover, filling the air with loud hissing noises. I leaned out from cover with my carbine and pulled the trigger. As I did, Alex ran to the car ahead of the one I was at. He quickly got down, and repeated my moves. I frantically sprinted while firing my own rifle in the direction of the Sangvis forces. On the other side, Markus and Vector mirrored our actions. We continued our pattern of movement until we were no more than 20 meters away from the other forces.
"Smoke, get a smoke!" I yelled. Markus grabbed a grenade from his vest and hurled it over the top of his cover. It hit the ground, rolled, and stopped as it began emitting a cloud of dense smoke.
We charged them and drew our arms. Our small company peppered the Rippers with bullets, tearing apart their bodies. Their limp forms fell to the ground with dull thuds as we continued our assault. Shots echoed as we pressed forward with murderous conviction. We emerged from the smoke and rapidly dove behind anything that would provide shelter. With deadly accuracy, I raised my rifle and leveled it with the roof of the car, firing a burst on my weapon. The final Vespid was jerked backwards before toppling over.
A resonant explosion shook the earth, drawing all of our attention. "What the-" I trailed off. Gun fire split the silence in the distance. "Name?" I asked. Everyone looked at me with confused expressions. "Group name." I said curtly. "Well, 51 is between 50 and 52, so I say 51." Said Alex. The rest of the company also nodded in agreement. "Alright, squad 51, let's head out."
-Super SASS-
"T-dolls ahead." I declared. We had regrouped and were moving towards the commotion. "Squad 51, on me." Said Arthur. Our column paused and knelt, watching the street for contacts. The other file made their way over and joined us. "What is it?" Asked Markus. "That noise. It was far too much for a standard weapon. If we're going to investigate it, we should be careful. Besides, there are already other forces engaging them, judging by the sounds, so we may be caught in the crossfire." Arthur raised his hand to his chin and remained silent. "We'll watch from the forest and engage if necessary." He said.
We could all feel a sense of tension amidst our unit. Something was off where we were headed. As we reached the area of combat under the cover of the trees, Arthur held a hand up. As soon as he did, our squad dropped down, kneeling with arms raised to fire. We were arranged in a circle so that every angle would be covered while the commander examined the situation. "It's Argonia. Their forces are fighting Sangvis. Issue is, there's a lot of Sangvis." Half of us left formation and turned to listen to the commander. What was squad 52 closed the formation and continued to keep guard. "What do we do? They're our competitors, but we can't let them be killed." I said. "Exactly." Agreed Holst. Expectantly, I watched Arthur. "Come on Westie, you always know what to do. Lead the way." I said confidently.
As our squad moved up, the sight that greeted us shocked us stiff. From on our small hill, we could see T-dolls lying dead in the streets, with more Sangvis Ferri units pressing ahead. Dinergates and Scouts lead the way. "Damn it, it's bad." Whispered Alex. He shifted his attention to West. "Do we open fire?" An uncomfortable mood emanated from the commander. "No. Follow Argonia's forces and we'll help with the wounded." Like phantoms, we tailed the retreating T-dolls. Bits of machinery and green garbed dolls were scattered across the battlefield debris. Compared to the Argonia BDUs, our dress clothes made us look like passing civilians, with the exception of our bags, vest, helmet, and guns of course.
Without warning, a scout zipped over to our location. It's eye camera met us for a brief moment, before soaring away as fast as it had come. "Shit, what do we do?" Hissed FAL. However, the Sangvis forces soon retreated. "What?" I asked out loud. "They're withdrawing." As one, our unit scrambled and began running towards the Argonian echelons. "Don't shoot!" Cried out our squad. Confused, the T-dolls turned to watch us approach them. "We're from Smith Co." Markus said. One of the T-dolls stepped forward and shook his hand. "We're the main combat force of Argonia. Pretty sight, isn't it?" She said with resentment. Her hand moved in a sweep across the dead and wounded to showcase them.
"The fuck happened here?" Asked Vector.
"It was a high paying job. The command staff accepted it right away, but of course we couldn't do it."
Cautiously, the T-doll peered across the area. "Our commanders let us walk in to this. They knew it was a death trap." She said while sliding her Mosin Nagant's sling around her shoulders. "They treat us like animals. Just because they bought us, doesn't mean we're lifeless tools!" She nearly screamed in frustration. I looked to Arthur. "If our command allows it, I would like to return with your force, to speak with your command staff." I said calmly. "Wait, Sass-" Arthur spoke, then paused. "Actually, I think we should."
At the landing sight, we found multiple helicopters of varying sizes, ranging from an old Chinook, to a newer light model. "Alright squad, let's get going." I said. "Go on ahead." Insisted Alex. Arthur faced his friend, taken off guard. "Pardon?" Holst laughed his signature laugh. "There's some work to be done with their forces. I'll help a bit and join up with you all." He extended his hand towards West. "I don't know when we'll next meet. Probably in less than a day, but you never know with the world today. So, it's been nice meeting you all." Hesitantly, Arthur shook his hand. "Take care, mate."
As our ride lifted off, squad 51 watched their comrade fade into the distance, until he became no more. "I can't help but feel like we've lost him." Grumbled Arthur. "Hey, don't blame yourself. He's got stuff to do." I reassured him. The bay door shut, and with it, the world went dark. I could hear some of the dolls around us sniffle. Some of them snored. The world remembered, but the world also moved on.
