Finally got this chapter done, I was planning on making it longer but I just couldn't resist the cliff-hanger!
Kudos to solidman for the review, there's something about getting reviews that fuels my writing.
"Bravo Team is in position."
"Charlie Team standing by."
Barney's COM unit crackled to life as Miranda and Greg reported their readiness. Barney flashed them an acknowledgement, he had led his group in-between Bravo and Charlie teams; an area with grass tall enough to obscure he sight of Barney's group. Charlie team was off to Barney's left, Miranda had led the team up on top of the ridge; the elevation provided an excellent view for the team's snipers. Bravo Team was lined up to Barney's right, Greg had taken his group to an area with dense foliage, it had the advantage of allowing the team to hide from the Combine. The rebels in Bravo Team were equipped with the prototype assault rifles. The new ammunition included 5.56mm Titanium bullets, as well as a pulse-bomb attachment under the rifle's barrel. Despite the impressive capabilities Barney was worried, this would be the first field test for the rifles, and if they malfunctioned in the middle of a fire-fight then the rebels would be in serious trouble
Shaking his head, Barney took in a few deep breaths to concentrate while he surveyed the enemy formation. Combine squads were still pouring into Fort Hayes, so many, in fact, that the Combine numbers outside had dwindled from a battalion's worth, to only a few companies. The units remaining outside were formed around the entrance to Fort Hayes, from Barney's position it looked as though all the Hunters had been sent inside.
Barney made sure his COM was still set on security frequency Omicron Five, the secure channel had been created just two years after the Borealis' destruction. The code was set with a random rotating frequency, this meant that any eavesdroppers would be unable to break through the security lockout to listen in on the conversation. Barney knew first hand how devastating it was for enemy forces to intercept COM traffic. A bitter defeat had been the result of Combine eavesdropping on communication, that incident had been about eleven years ago but it had left a scar in Barney's memory.
Barney growled at the distraction. Focus, he commanded himself. Pausing to take a deep breath, he spoke into the COM, "Charlie Team, report."
"Charlie Leader here. Enemy soldiers are grouped in a loose formation, mostly the standard soldiers, though there are a few squads of Elites. They have sentries formed up in a line, but judging by their position I'd say their not expecting an attack," Miranda's voice responded after a short pause.
"Estimated strength?" Barney asked as a plan started forming in his mind.
"Lead, I count 400, say again, 400 troops. Orders?"
"Standby," Barney said
"Acknowledged, standing by."
"Alpha One to Bravo Team."
"Bravo here sir," Greg responded.
"Greg, I'm going to need you to assault the enemy's right flank on my command. Hit them as hard as you can."
"I wouldn't do it any other way. We're awaiting your signal." Greg responded with full eagerness.
"Charlie Leader, I want you to cover Bravo Team when they move in on the right. Understood?"
"Copy Lead, standing by."
Barney squelched the COM and turned his attention to his own squad. Everyone looked relatively calm, all except Gordon. He looked as though he was ready to charge straight inside the Fort. Barney knew he had to act fast before his friend did something rash. He activated his COM, "Bravo and Charlie: hit them!"
Barney's statement was immediately followed by the sounds of discharging assault rifles as Bravo Team stormed in. The prototype rifles cut through Combine armour with ease, theirs numbers dwindled rapidly as Bravo unleashed fire from both the prone and kneeling position. Charlie team let loose a volley of fire right after that, the prototype pulse rounds acted like cluster bombs. The rounds themselves would kill their intended targets, but the pulse bombs inside the rounds would escape just before impact. The miniature energy bombs would vaporize anything within a metre radius.
The Combine were on the alert now, the rest of their right flank moved to engage Bravo Team. They fired back at an enemy they could barley see, the dense foliage covering Bravo Team meant that it was impossible to pinpoint the location of an individual soldier. Still, the Combine kept up their assault. The elite gave orders from the rear, sending soldiers to harass Bravo Team with burst fire from their Pulse Rifles.
Charlie Team opened fire again, Miranda had split her group into two and assigned each different targets. One group would continue to fire on the Elite while the other would cover Bravo Team. This tactic riddled the enemy's right flank, promoting disarray and confusion in such number that the soldiers broke apart their formation. They were on the verge of panic.
Alpha Team continued to observe the engagement being waged before them. Barney, especially, watched the enemy formation closely; he had to wait until he ordered his group to attack, his entire plan hinged on one event. It was a dangerous game, but the reward would be well worth it.
Barney couldn't help but grin, there was a breakup in the Combine's formation. With their right flank near collapse, the other soldiers were moving in to reinforce that position. Such a move left them vulnerable to Alpha Team, and it was something Barney took advantage of. He turned back to the others and shouted, "Follow me!"
The rebels answered with cocking rifles as they fell into step behind Barney. The sound of Alpha Team's charge was obscured by Combine radio traffic, Charlie Team's steady sniper fire, and the constant pounding of automatic rifles. It made it all the more easier for Alpha Team to move within two hundred metres of the Combine. Quick hand gestures brought the rebels into a widely spaced crescent formation.
Alpha Team quickly broke into two man fire-teams, the individuals in the team were only about six metres apart. This type of configuration would funnel any approaching soldiers to the centre of the formation. This was the formation's greatest strength, but, ironically, it was also its greatest weakness. Too often Barney had seen the centre rank panic when under fire, soldiers would lose their unit cohesion. Eventually the formation would tear itself apart and the soldiers who broke apart would be slaughtered.
It was for this reason why Barney and Gordon stood at the very centre of the formation. Gordon shouldered his weapon, aimed, and squeezed off a burst. The weapon's three round cycle punctured the armour of two Combine soldiers. Their bodies fell to the ground with a thud. Using that as a signal, the rest of Alpha Team opened fire after that. The pulse rounds silenced more than a file of enemy troops.
An entire division of Combine had been annihilated before the surviving soldiers realized that a new threat had appeared on the battlefield. Those under immediate threat turned to engage Barney's group.
The Combine outside Fort Hayes were in trouble, they were under fire from all sides. Alpha Team's crescent formation brought fire from a 180 degree arc and Bravo Team had already employed a similar formation. To make matters worse, the Combine were now packed tightly side by side. Rounds that would usually be misses were wounding enemies who were unfortunate enough to be standing beside the rounds' true targets.
Barney saw an opportunity to inflict more damage on the Combine, he quickly snapped on his COM, "Miranda, split your snipers into three groups. I want supporting fire for us and Bravo, the last is for the enemy's centre."
"Acknowledged, making it happen." Miranda shouted over the steady crack, crack of sniper fire.
Barney didn't have to wait more than twenty seconds before he saw a cluster of soldiers vaporize in front of him. With the Combine now tightly-packed together, the small pulse bombs inside the sniper rounds could inflict even more casualties.
It was hard to say how long the battle had been waged, but before long Barney was leading his entire taskforce against what was left of the enemies' rearguard. A squad of Elite were attempting to fall back into Fort Hayes, but quick burst fire ensured that the wayward Combine never reached their destination.
Barney slung his pulse rifle around his back as he surveyed the destruction his group had inflicted. Hundreds of Combine corpses littered the entrance to Fort Hayes, their bodies packed into a large square. Surprisingly, the rebels hadn't suffered very many casualties. Bravo Team had taken the brunt of the damage of course; twenty rebels lost their lives in the fierce engagement with ten others being wounded. Barney knew the numbers would have been higher if the team hadn't been concealed behind thick vegetation.
Shaking the thought off, Barney reminded himself that there was still at least half a battalion's worth of enemy troops still inside Fort Hayes. He keyes his COM and said, "Listen up! Charlie Team I need you to stay behind and make sure the exit is clear."
"Roger that," Miranda replied.
"Everyone else," Barney paused as the others turned to him, "Advance! Head inside, three at a time. Spread out and stay alert!"
A wave of replies came back to Barney with the general consensus being, "Understood squad leader."
Barney, Gordon, and Greg formed the front line of the formation as they made their way through the fort's concrete hallways. The rest of the task force fell in step behind them. Everyone walked at a slow pace, rebels took the time required for ghost walking. Their movement was time-consuming, as ghost walking demanded that soldiers place their heel on the ground first before rolling the rest of their weight onto the foot. The idea was to mask one's approach; a skilled ghost walker could move through a twig-infested forest and never make a sound.
With their weapon butts still in their shoulders but with the barrels pointed at the ground, the rebels made their way through the base. The sight of bullet holes, spent shell casings blood splattered walls, and corpses, both Human and Combine, came to be a familiar sight for Barney's group as they continued on ahead.
The team had move now more than a hundred metres when a distinctive noise could be heard, "Status?"
"Targets have fled behind sealed doors. Hunter division has been eradicated; explosives are required to complete primary objective."
"Understood, dispatch Squad Three to retrieve explosive ordnance from Sector Three."
Barney stopped dead in the hallway, logically the Combine would have left any explosives with the rearguard. He flicked on his COM, "Charlie Team, come in."
"We're receiving," Miranda responded.
"Be on guard, the Combine are sending a squad outside. Hit them fast and hard, I don't want them reporting back to the rest of their unit."
"Consider it done." Miranda replied before she cut the channel.
Barney switched the channel, "Greg what kind of explosives have you got?"
"Proximity mines, satchel charges, and the last of the EMP charges; everything a soldier needs."
Barney couldn't help but grin at Greg's words, "Tell your squad to start setting up those explosives at the end of the hallway. We're going to set up an ambush."
"Understood."
It took the better part of twenty minutes for Bravo Team to lay out explosives and EMP charges along the corridor. Since the hallway they were in was connected to the main corridor, there wouldn't be any problems if the corridor collapsed, something Barney doubted as Fort Hayes had been constructed to withstand Combine bombardment.
While Bravo Team had set up the explosives, Gordon had led Alpha Team through the adjacent corridor to the an area just outside of the Combine's position. Barney had ordered the team to stay there while Bravo set up the charges. Barney's plan called for Alpha Team to split in two. Red Team was led by Gordon while Blue Team was led by Barney. It would be Red Team's job to be the first to engage the Combine, the idea was to draw their enemies' attention enough to make the Combine pursue Red Team once they disengaged.
From there Red Team would fall back to a designated waypoint. To keep Red Team from being shot in the back, Blue Team would be standing by to engage the pursuing enemy forces. Of course, when Blue Team disengaged, Gordon's squad would be on station to provide assistance. This process was repeated until the Combine were in range of the explosives. Bravo would then detonate the charges and make there were no survivors. After that, both teams would storm the Combine's position and nullify any remaining opposition. The idea being that any surviving rebels of the fort would assist in the final engagement.
"Bravo One to Team Leader," Greg's voice whispered on the COM.
"Go ahead."
"Charges have been set, ready to detonate."
"Understood, stand by for my command."
"Acknowledged, standing by."
"Blue One to Red One."
"I'm here," Gordon's deep voice replied back.
Barney could sense his anger at the delay, but he didn't press. "Everything is set, we're in position. Ready when you are."
"Understood, we're already moving in."
The channel had barley been cut before Barney heard the thunderous roar of gun-fire.
"Fire in the hole!" The shout blared into Red Team's COM as a lone rebel threw a shrapnel grenade into the front rank of Combine troops.
"Squad fall back!" Gordon shouted into his COM as he continued to stand his ground,
"What about you!" A rebel shouted back.
"I'll be right behind you."
The rebel gave a reluctant nod in return before rejoining his retreating comrades. Gordon made sure his squad was gone before resuming his assault. He continued to double-tap his rifle as he zigzagged away from the Combine, enemy fire passing only a few inches away from his body. Luckily for Gordon, the Combine were bunched up into tight clusters, only the front rank could fire their weapons. The others couldn't without fear of friendly fire.
Still, the amount of rounds being fired was enough to make Gordon fall back. He quickly sprinted down the corridor to his squad, where the only thing visible from this distance was a vague outline of Red Team. Barney gave him a nod as he passed by Blue Team's location, he continued to run with such speed that he reached his team in just under two minutes.
By that time, the Combine had started pouring down the corridor. A fierce fire-fight ensued for Blue Team, with the Combine being able to put more of their soldiers in the front rank now that they had entered a wider hallway. No-one was expecting such a manoeuvre; the consequences were immense for Blue Team.
A third of the team was hit within two minutes, the Combine soldiers were willing to stand there and risk being hit by enemy fire if it meant that they could fire off an accurate shot. The tactics may be suicidal, but the Combine's goal was to instil fear into their enemy, and they were successful. Blue Team retreated before Barney had given the order.
Gordon quickly moved to help his friend; he waved his squad forward when he had taken a few steps forward, "Move out!"
Gordon didn't even look took see if they were following before he continued on ahead. As he passed by the rebels who had retreated from Blue Team, he fired his pistol at the ceiling and roared, "Get back in position!"
Gordon quickly reached Barney's side and the two held their position while the remaining rebels formed up beside them. Forming back into one unit, Alpha Team engaged the Combine again. It didn't take Gordon long to realize that they wouldn't be able to fall back without being slaughtered. Gordon looked over at Barney, the two shared a look before Barney nodded grimly and spoke into his COM, "Greg?"
"Read you loud and clear sir."
"Greg, we can't fall back. You're going to have to detonate the charges now."
"I can't do that!"
"We're already clear of the explosives, go ahead."
"But sir, the whole corridor could collapse. You'll be killed!"
"And if we continue arguing about it, the Combine will kill us. Detonate them!"
"Yes, sir." Greg grimly responded after a long pause. He sent a signal to the explosives through his COM system.
There was a microsecond pause before an orange and yellow flare erupted at the end of the hallway. Thick black smoke drifted towards Bravo Team, limiting visibility dramatically. The sound of electronic screams and queried radio chatter, let Greg know that the majority of the Combine had been destroyed.
Greg keyed on his COM, "Barney? Dr. Freeman?"
Static was his only reply.
In desperation he called out again, "Alpha Team?! Anyone!"
"Any sign of Barney or Freeman?" A rebel from his squad asked after a tense silence.
"Negative," Greg said with a heavy-heart as the realization struck him, "I think we lost them."
Two chapters from now, this story is gonna be freakin' awesome. Just wait! Though, hopefully you think it is already.
