Chapter 7-Operation Hammer Fall…The Flame of Survival!
I was walking through our base at the edge of the desert heading towards one of the landed gunships with both Sven and Gustav walking behind me acting as my personal guards. We had reports of civilian convoys in the desert going silent…and I was going to lead a squadron of gunships out into the desert to rendezvous with a trade convoy and make sure its supplies reached the many cities that dotted the desert. Afterwards we're supposed to track down any surviving attackers and eliminate them…and I would…my big brother wouldn't have let these bandits have their way and neither would I…was I trying too hard to mimic my brother?
"My lord are you alright?" Sven inquired.
"I'm fine," I told him smiling, "I'm just nervous."
"Of course you are," Gustav laughed, "I mean it's only your first actual mission."
I scowled as we boarded one of the seven gunships along with a couple of other soldiers from the Imperial Army…their armor looked like the samurai of old but more high-tech…but I still felt a strange unease about this mission…only time would tell. Within a few minutes the seven gunships rose into the air and took off into the desert…
-About an hour later-
"Weren't we supposed to meet up with the trading convoy already, sir?" one of the soldiers inquired.
"He's right my lord," Sven commented, "We should have met up with the convoy already."
"Who gave us the tip on this convoy?" I inquired.
"It was the convoy mas-," was all Sven got out before the gunship was rocked by an explosion, "Shit we're under attack!"
"My lord gunships six and four have gone done!" the pilot yelled, "We've lost gunships two and three now!"
"Where the hell is the attack coming from?!" Gustav yelled as our gunship barely dodged another missile volley.
"…I've pinpointed the attackers," the pilot answered with a strained voice, "there are anti-air missile launchers located just to the east of us…their markings show them to be Cypher."
"I don't care who they are," I yelled, "just blow them the hell up!"
"Roger that…firing a missile volley," the pilot yelled pulling the trigger.
A single volley of missiles erupted from the gunship which eradicated all of the anti-air launchers but the enemy had managed to get off a shot that struck our gunship…and as it went down I heard the pilot ordering the last two gunships to flee…and after we hit the ground I knew no more…
-After the crash-
I shakily rose to my feet to hear the sound of gunfire and as I turned to look I saw both Sven and Gustav directing the remaining crews of the other downed gunships as they fired upon idiots in brightly colored jumpsuits…were they Cypher…I thought my brother told me they had disbanded.
"My lord you're awake!" Sven shouted running towards me…
I was looking around at several of the unmoving soldiers and I realized something…they weren't breathing…they were…dead.
"Sven what's going on?" I asked confused.
"Cypher isn't as dead as we believed," Sven snarled, "They've ambushed us and we've gathered the survivors here…but-,"
"But our forces are strained," Gustav stated walking over to us, "We're running low on ammunition and man power."
"How long have I been out?" I inquired unsure of what to do.
"We've been fighting about fifty minutes my lord," a soldier stated approaching me, "Our reinforcements will arrive in an estimated twelve minutes…our ammunition reserves will only last about ten minutes"
"So how bad is it?" I inquired in a strange calm…I knew that panicking wouldn't help.
"My lord we cannot afford to lose you," the soldier stated just as calmly, "We'll hold the line here so you can escape my lord."
"Are…are you sure?" I inquired surprised at this sacrifice.
"Yes, we're sure," the soldier answered handing me a pistol, "If you, lord Sven, and Lord Gustav perish then this battle is lost."
I was shocked to feel both Sven and Gustav grab me and begin to forcefully pull me away from the battlefield. As we turn and ran further into the canyon I felt ashamed of myself…sacrificing these soldiers to save myself…was I no better than the enemy then…We ran further and further the sounds of gunfire sounding throughout the canyon…but then it fell silent…
-The battlefield-
The bodies of soldiers from both armies littered the battlefield but dragging himself across the battlefield was the soldier who had told their commanders to flee…he was gravely wounded and knew he would not survive but as he looked up he saw one of the enemy officers approaching him a huge grin on her face…and he felt anger and defiance well up inside him as Cypher peons grabbed him and dragged him towards the officer…
"Why didn't you surrender?" the officer inquired, "After all your commanders fled like the cowards they are…why did you decide to attempt to hold the line against us…our numbers are far superior?"
"You don't understand," the soldier snarled, "We were selected by the shogun himself to defend his little brother…and we knew this battle was hopeless…but I don't plan on dying alone…"
As the soldier said this he smiled and drew an explosive…which he promptly detonated destroying all the enemies around him and sacrificing himself hoping to buy his lord more time.
-Colton's Perspective-
I turned as I heard the explosion rip through the canyon…I felt the tears well up in my eyes knowing that my soldiers would not use explosives of that magnitude…it would completely wipe out the battlefield…
"My lord we must keep running!" Sven yelled.
"He's right my lord if we stop their sacrifice will have been in vain," Gustav yelled as we all began running again.
As we rounded a corner I heard the ping of a bullet hitting the edge near me…we took cover in some rocks as more Cypher soldiers appeared…Sven and Gustav opened fire with their full-auto laser rifles…and I sat there afraid…my brother could have led his force to crush the Cypher Soldiers due to their much more advance equipment…I was an untested commander so my soldiers were given normal assault weapons…mainly they fired metal slugs…while my brothers forces used Laser technology and my brother himself used a Mass Driver rifle…I was wrenched from these thoughts about how my brother would have fared better when Gustav was hit in the arm by a shot from the enemies and fell backwards wounded…Sven moved to open fire to cove his downed ally only to be struck in the leg and brought down…I now did something I did not think was possible…I opened fire on the enemy and was repaid for my moment of bravery by a volley of enemy fire striking me in the arm and the leg…as I went down the last time I saw my brother flashed through my mind…
-Six months ago-
I was walking through the halls of the palace a book held under my arm as I went to return it to the palace library. When I entered the library I saw both my elder brother and our father walking through the aisles discussing something…as they went by me I overheard the conversation which seemed to be an argument.
"Father if you can't trust me on this then what can you trust me on?" my elder brother hissed.
"Look son it's not that I don't trust you," my father began, "but colonization is a dangerous and expensive effort…and majority of the time it's fruitless."
"Father this isn't some idiot land surveyor coming with a brochure," my brother the Shogun whispered, "I've seen these pokemon with my own eyes…I've battle them."
"Even if there are new undiscovered pokemon there it will need enough resources to fund itself," my father sighed, "and a military presence to prevent invaders from snatching the land."
"Father I will personally lead a detachment there," my brother snarled, "This is a chance we can't pass up…the empire has faded in recent times…but this conquest may bring some of the old glory back to us…please father."
"…I know when I'm beat," my father sighed smiling at my brother, "You're just like your mother…when you set your mind to something you always see it through to the end."
"Thank you father," my brother stated with a small smile, "you will not regret it."
My brother left later that month with a small detachment of soldiers to lay claim to an otherwise unknown land that he said contained new previously unknown pokemon…one of them was a wyvern like pokemon that my brother had call Yvelta…he had claimed the entire region in the name of the empire and begun building several castles for his empire.
-Present-
When I hit the ground I lay there for only a few seconds before I heard a terrifying roar…as I looked skyward I saw a stream of flame roar by me and I knew that it had incinerated several of the Cypher soldiers who were panicking at the new pokemon's appearance…I turned my head to see that the pokemon was the legendary Entei…I gazed back at the sky to see several gunships appear and begin to open fire on the enemy force as Imperial troops rappelled down from them…and high above us in the sky I saw a black wyvern pokemon…could it be…the pokemon my brother saw…the legendary Yvelta…then I knew no more.
Here ends Chapter 7-Operation Hammer Fall…The Flame of Survival!
I know this chapter was shorter than my normal ones but I hope you enjoyed it…and please review this story and if you liked this try reading and reviewing some of my other stories…thanks you for your continued support…if anyone is supporting me.
