"Thunder this is Vanguard good effect on target, over"

"Understood Vanguard. Fire mission complete the operation should have already begun, out."

The Lieutenant scanned the lines seeing smoke and a few fires. "Everyone ready?"

"Ready sir."

A gun crew finished setting up and loading their machine gun. "Locked and loaded."

Two lancers took cover in foxholes and readied their lances, "Ready sir."

"Alright. Now, we wait for the tanks."

"They better hurry up. Imperials are already retaking their positions."

BOOM!

An AT gun exploded sending shrapnel and its gun crew flying. More explosions followed as AT and machine gun positions were destroyed in rapid succession.

"That's our cue!" He laid prone and opened fire. The machine gun opened up and suppressed an AT gun. The lancers stood up and took aim. They fired and destroyed an AT gun along with a machine gun.

The Imperials reacted quickly and manned their positions. Anti-tank guns fired and destroyed the Gallian light tanks with ease but when they targeted the Fireflies the guns had problems penetrating their armor. Most of the AT guns were destroyed before their crews could use them and those that weren't gave their positions away when they fired and were quickly destroyed.

The tanks continued to push and crashed through the Imperial line. More tanks carrying infantry followed up behind them. They jumped off the tanks and into the trenches to start clearing them. Half-tracks and trucks followed them up and more squads dismounted. "Come on push up!"

Brooks and Moss sprinted up to some sandbags and took cover. They fired at Imperials who had fallen back to ad hoc defensive positions. Two shock troopers sprinted past and jumped into a trench. Brooks vaulted over the sandbags and followed them.

"WE GOT A TANK!"

BOOM! Ratta ratta ratta ratta!

Thomson ducked behind cover as bullets landed around him. "Someone take out that tank!"

BOOM!

A lancer took aim and fired. The lance slammed into the tank and it stopped shooting. A Firefly rumbled past and put a shell into its turret for good measure. It fired again at infantry and its machine gun opened up. An Imperial medium tank appeared and fired; the shell fell short and the Firefly shot back scoring a hit on its drive wheel. Before it could fire again a light tank got around to its side and destroyed it.

"What are you waiting for!? Are you going to let the tanks have all the glory!? ADVANCE!"

Thomson moved up firing short bursts as he went. An armored car creased a hill and its auto-cannon tore into the Gallians. Thomson hit the deck and continued to fire. A shell tore through the armored car and its engine exploded into flames. Thomson stood up and sprinted to a dirt mound where five other Gallians were shooting from.

"AH!" He crashed to the ground as a sharp pain shot through his leg. He crawled up to the mound and looked over his leg. "You alright!?"

"Yeah! Got hit with a stray round but I'm fine!" He brought his gun up and fired.

Further down the line, Jess jumped off her squad's tank and into a trench. She killed two Imperials in the trench and was joined by three members of her squad. They started working their way through the trench and ducked into cover when Imperials met them. Bullets kicked up dirt and ripped through the wooden supports for the trench sending splinters flying. Jess blind fired down the trench and ordered two of her squadmates to flank them.

They headed down the trench and turned right. A tank rolled past them and fired, the close proximity to the gun made their ears ring. It fired again and rolled forward but was knocked out by an Imperial tank. Two light tanks rushed forward and one was destroyed before the second got around the Imperial tank and fired killing the crew.

A half-track moved up with a squad firing from the troop compartment. It stopped just in front of a trench and the infantry dismounted and entered the trench. The half-track backed off and a light tank took its place.

Sergeant Dalton crouched behind a wooden box and fired. Corporal Phelps, a shock trooper, hip fired and moved up. He took cover and reloaded while Phelps pushed up to him. Another squadmate, Private Wade, joined them. "We got ourselves a party now!"

"Focus on the here and now Wade!" Bang bang bang!

Phelps threw a grenade and when it exploded he pushed forward. He killed two Imperials and continued to push up with Wade and Dalton right behind him. The trench started to widen and they came across a square section with mortars positioned in it. "Wade, Phelps get on those mortars I'll call targets for you. Hey! Can you spare a few men to provide security for us!?"

"Yes! Alright, the five of you just volunteered yourselves! Make sure the Imperials don't retake these mortars!"

"Understood sir!"

Dalton stepped on the firestep and looked for targets. He saw a lance shoot out from a crater and slam into one of their light tanks destroying it. "Aim the mortars for twenty-five meters and fire!" He waited for a second for the mortars to land. "Adjust fifteen degrees left and range for thirty meters!"

Two explosions followed and he watched a lancer be blown out of the crater. "Direct hit!" He scanned for more targets and spotted a dug-in machine gun position that was holding up the infantry. Two lancers stood up to fire but were quickly killed. "MG position at forty meters! Adjust thirty-three degrees right!" A few seconds later they fired. "Adjust six degrees left and ten meters forward!" They fired and the rounds landed just short. "Short! Adjust half a meter and fire again!"

"Half a meter!? These things can't adjust half a meter!"

"Use your best guess! Fire!" One round went long but the second landed directly on the MG position. "Direct hit!"

Dirt exploded upward in front of them. "Counter-fire! Take cover!"

They scattered and got away from the mortars. The rounds landed closer and closer until they landed directly on the mortars. A few more rounds hit the position before they stopped. "Well, so much for that plan!"

"Come on! Keep pushing down the trench!"

"We got Imperial reinforcements incoming!"

"Where did they come from!?"

"They must have been on standby in case we broke through their lines!"

"Multiple Imperial tanks rolling up!"

"Bearing 339! Heavy tank!"

"Understood! Away!"

BOOM!

"Hit it again!"

"Away!"

BOOM!

"Target destroyed! Next target direct front!"

"I have it in sight! Away!"

BOOM!

"Excellent shot! You blew his fucking turret off! Infantry front! Back up back up!"

The Firefly slowly reversed firing its MG to keep the infantry pinned. A lance slammed into its track and immobilized it. A medium tank fired and the shell penetrated the turret killing the crew inside. The driver climbed out and dived into cover before the tank was destroyed.

"Come on! We beat this counter-attack we break through their lines!"

"That's a little easier said than done!"

"Armored car take cover!" Twenty-millimeter shells tore into the trench. Brooks fell backward as shells zipped over her head and slammed into the dirt around her.

"Fucking hell! You got a plan Sergeant!?"

"Yeah! Justin, Sara, Blake you're with me! We're going to take out that car!"

"Where the hell are the tanks when you need them!?"

"Busy fighting other tanks!"

"Imperials front!"

Ratta ratta ratta ratta ratta!

"AHHH!"

"Blake! Give me cover!"

"Grenade!" Brooks grabbed it and threw it back at the Imperials. It detonated in mid-air throwing shrapnel in all directions. Justin grabbed Blake and pulled him into cover. He used his ragnaid and his breathing steadied. "You good!?"

"I've been better! God that hurts."

"Can you still fire your lance!?"

"Who the hell do you think you're talking to!? Of course I can fire a fucking lance!"

"Friendlies jumping into the trench! Watch your fire!" They pushed through the trench until they had a good shot at the car. "Blake! You're up!"

"I'm on it!"

Foosh! BOOM!

"Good hit!"

"Yeah! How'd you like that you bastards!?"

"Tank!"

"Spread the fuck out!"

Brooks jumped down one of the trench lines and covered her head as a mortar landed behind her. The blast obliterated their previous position leaving nothing but a smoking crater. Brooks shook her head, grabbed her gun, and peaked her head over the trench. The light tank was advancing with infantry supporting it. She had a perfect shot at its radiator but her rifle wouldn't do any meaningful damage. She caught movement out of the corner of her eye and saw friendlies starting to pick themselves up. She moved toward them, "Hey, any of you a lancer?"

"I am ma'am, but my lance was destroyed in the blast."

"Shit. Alright, you three are with me."

"Ma'am!"

They headed back down the trench. Ratta ratta ratta ratta ratta ratta ratta!

"Damnit! That tank has it in for us!"

"How the hell are we going to destroy it!?"

"Hey! You got an anti-tank grenade!?"

"Yeah! But we need to get that tank closer!"

"Or, we get closer to it! If we give you covering fire can you hit it!?"

"Yeah!"

"Alright! COVERING FIRE!"

Ratta ratta ratta ratta! Ratta ratta ratta ratta!

Bang bang bang bang bang!

The lancer climbed over the trench and sprinted to a destroyed AT gun. He waited for a second before taking off again. He slid behind a destroyed tank and waited. A few seconds later, the tank rolled past his position. He threw the grenade at the turret but his aim was off so it hit the tank's barrel destroying it. It stopped and started reversing. A shell tore through its frontal armor and it stopped.

Three light tanks, a Firefly, and two half-tracks rolled forward. One of the light tanks exploded and the remaining two used their mobility to avoid getting hit. The Firefly targeted a heavy tank and fired. The shell failed to penetrate and the Firefly angled its armor. The return fire bounced off its armor and slammed into the ground behind it.

The Firefly aimed for its hull-mounted MG and fired. The shell hit directly above the MG and the tank abruptly stopped. A light tank worked its way around the heavy tank and fired at its radiator destroying it.

"Hey! Brooks!"

"Sara! Are Justin, and Blake okay!?"

"Blake is fine but Justin is in bad shape!"

"Where are they!?"

"Further down the trench! Follow me!"

They rushed down the trench passing multiple Gallian soldiers as they went. They arrived at the section of trench that had been blown out and saw Justin gripping his chest tightly. Brooks and Sara rushed to him and started to fire over the trench at Imperials who were using their half-tracks as cover.

"Nice to see you too Sergeant."

Brooks crouched down next to him. "Good to see you're in one piece. I'm guessing you used your ragnaid already."

He nodded and spat out some blood. "Yeah, it was a lot worse a few minutes ago."

"Well that's saying something. You look shit right now."

He started chuckling and it turned into a cough. He spat out a little more blood. "I got hit by a tank mortar ma'am. Of course I look like shit."

Ratta ratta ratta ratta! Ratta ratta ratta ratta!

Heavy-machine gun fire killed four Gallians and wounded another three; they fell back holding their wounds. Sara fell back on her ass as bullets slammed into the dirt in front of her and whizzed over her head. "I think we pissed them off!"

"YEAH! I noticed! Justin, can you still fight!?"

He picked up his SMG and pushed himself up. "I'm not dead yet ma'am. I can still fight." He leaned against the trench and started firing.

"Where's Blake!?"

As she yelled a lance flew across the battlefield and slammed into one of the half-tracks. It hit the armored windows and exploded destroying them and sending large pieces of metal into the gunner's legs. He grabbed the MG to hold himself up and started firing again. A second lance slammed into the engine compartment and the engine exploded sending armor plating flying upward. What was left of the engine burst into flames and the gunner dismounted the gun. The same three tanks and two half-tracks rolled into view and engaged. Infantry dismounted from the M1PCs while their MGs kept up a stream of fire to cover them. The first light tank put a shell through the second half-track's engine compartment and another through the crew compartment. The second one fired a mortar behind the two and Brooks thought she saw a body fly out from behind them.

"Yeah! That's what I'm talking about!"

Justin dropped back behind the trench again, "Hey! I need a medic over here!"

A soldier who dismounted from the M1PC looked up when he heard the shout. He turned to someone for a second before sprinting toward their location. He jumped into the trench and opened his medical bag. "I got him. Don't worry, he's in good hands."

"You'll be right as rain in not time Justin."

He nodded to Sara. "Sounds, great. Kick the Imperials' asses for me."

Sara and nodded climbed out of the trench followed by Brooks; they pushed up to the Firefly and used it for cover. Its main gun fired and their ears started to ring. Its turret rotated left a few degrees and fired again. "Hey! What unit are you from!?"

Brooks turned around and saw a Lieutenant crouching behind her. "Squad fifteen First Mechanized Company! You!?"

"Squad 303 Third Infantry Division!"

"Third Infantry!? What are you doing with half-tracks!?"

"No idea!" He ducked as a bullet pinged off the Firefly's armor. "Our orders are to capture the main Imperial camp for this section of the front! It's two kilometers that way!"

"Understood!" She grabbed her radio, "Lieutenant Jackson do you copy!?"

"Go ahead sergeant."

"I just met up with Squad 303 from the Third Infantry! Their objective is to capture the main Imperial camp for this section of the front! Over!"

"Roger. Your squad is clear to assist them. Out."

"Hey! What's your name!?"

"Langley! You!?"

"Brooks! We'll assist you in capturing the camp!"

"Alright! My squad is moving up to that trench!"

Brooks nodded and tapped Sara on the shoulder. "Get ready to run for that trench!"

"Got it!"

"Holland! Can you give us covering fire while we move up to the trench on your right!?"

"We'll keep the Imperials' heads down."

"Thanks! MOVE UP TO THAT TRENCH!"

With the Firefly, the two light tanks, and the two M1PCs laying down fire they sprinted to the trench. Sara jumped in first followed by Brooks and then Langley and his squad. They took cover as Imperial soldiers fired down the trench. To their right a light tank pushed forward and engaged an Imperial light tank.

A scout readied a grenade and tossed it at the Imperials. Five seconds later it exploded. "Gray! Stewart! Push down the trench!"

"Yes sir!"

They advanced down the trench and Stewart took cover behind a box while Gray continued to push. As the smoke from the grenade cleared they spotted shapes moving. They fired down the trench and saw three of the shapes drop. Return fire hit Gray in the chest twice and knocked him down. He pressed his left hand against the wound and started to crawl backward.

"Lieutenant! I need three of your men!"

"What's your plan sergeant!?"

"There's a trench ten meters to our left! I'll take a small team and hit the Imperials from two angles!"

Langley nodded at her and pointed to two shock troopers and a scout. "You three are with Sergeant Brooks!"

"Sir!" They moved to the other wall of the trench and waited. "GO NOW!"

Sara leads the three soldiers to the other trench with Brooks following right behind them. Sprinting across open ground something explodes next to Brooks and sends her flying. She hits the ground and rolls a few times before stopping on her back. She tried to stand up but intense pain exploded from her stomach. She looked at her stomach and saw a piece of metal buried in her stomach. She took a few deep breaths, grabbed the metal with her right hand, and pulled it out.

"FUCK!" Her left hand snapped to the wound and pressed down on it. With her right hand she grabbed her ragnaid and with her teeth she held the end of it and turned it with her hand. A light blue immediately covered her body and she sighed as the pain subsided and the wound closed. She grabbed her rifle crouch walked over to the trench. She could see Sara and the other three soldiers firing at Imperials.

She jumped into the trench and the scout turned around. "Sergeant!? You alright!?"

"I've been better!" She moved up beside him and started firing. Sara pushed forward with the shock troopers while Brooks and the other scout continued to fire. Brooks ducked down, reloaded, stood up, and fired. She saw more gunfire from inside the trench, "Come on! They might need our help!"

"Right behind you ma'am!"

Brooks gritted her teeth as she aggravated her wound. She slowed down a little but the scout didn't seem to notice. The trench leads to a square section with multiple boxes laying around and a few were open with rifles, SMGs, grenades, or ammo laying in them. She grabbed a grenade and continued down the trench.

She saw the blue uniforms of the Gallian army and turned left. "Ma'am? Where are you going?"

"They've already engaged the Imperials. It would be more useful if we hit them from the flank."

He nodded, "Good idea. I'll stay with you." They moved down the trench and Brooks held up her hand. An Imperial turned a corner and headed straight at them. She saw his eyes widen and he started to bring his gun up. Brooks fired and his head snapped back; he fell backward and the scout behind him met the same fate. A third imperial sprayed his SMG at them and Brooks felt some of the bullets graze her; he was killed by the scout who accompanied her.

She saw more movement as two more Imperials took cover. She reached for her grenade when she saw something flying toward her. It landed about seven meters in front of her and exploded a second later. The blast knocked her backward and small pricks of pain racked her body as hot shrapnel slammed into her. Her head slammed into the dirt and her vision started to swim. She slowly blinked a few times and lightly shook her head. She pushed herself up and went to draw her pistol. The butt of a gun slammed into her face and she saw white for a split second.

When her vision returned she found herself starring down the barrel of an SMG. It moved out of her vision and a hand grabbed her by the collar. She was pulled upward before her vision flashed white again and she was laying on her back. A blur came down and slammed into her nose and then her mouth again, and again, and again.

Her nose was broken and she spat out blood from her busted lip. The blurry figure standing above her cleared up and she recognized it as an Imperial shock trooper who was in the process of pulling out his sidearm. His head jerked back and he fell to the ground with a 'thud.' The second shock trooper sprayed bullets down the trench while Brooks drew her sidearm. She fired two bullets; the first hit his shoulder and the second hit his neck. His left hand went to the wound and he slumped against the trench wall. His hand fell from the wound and he stopped breathing.

Brooks pushed herself up and pressed her hand to her nose and lip. There was blood on it when she pulled it away and she wiped it against her other hand. She heard a cough and turned around to see the scout coughing up blood. She rushed to his side and lifted his head up before looking for his ragnaid. She found it and went to use it but stopped when she noticed he wasn't breathing.

"Goddammit!" She threw away the ragnaid and grabbed his dog tags. "Private Jonathan Barry." She squeezed his dog tags and closed his eyes. "Rest in peace Jonathan."

"Sergeant!" She looked left and saw Thomson running toward her with five other Gallian soldiers. Upon seeing her bruised and bloody face along with the blood on her uniform he crouched down next to her and used his ragnaid. While he was doing this the five Gallian soldiers with him continued to move forward. Brooks felt the pain lessen but the ragnaid didn't seem to be as effective as it was when she used hers something Thomson noticed.

"I take it you've already used your ragnaid."

"Yeah."

He pulled her up, "Let's go, battle isn't over yet." He jogged down the trench and Brooks followed him. They ran across other Gallian soldiers coming the opposite direction. "Is this trench secure?"

"Best we can tell."

"Where's Lieutenant Langley?"

"Not sure."

"Alright, carry on corporal." He nodded to her and carried on.

"Sergeant Brooks do you copy?"

"Loud and clear."

"We've defeated the Imperial counter-attack and have captured their main camp. The squad is regrouping there for a briefing. Over."

"Understood. Is Lieutenant Langley there? Over."

"He is. Do you need to speak to him? Over."

"I do, but I need to do it in person. Over."

"Understood. Out."

"The squad is regrouping at the Imperial camp. Come on." Brooks climbed out of the trench and Thomson followed her. They heard distant gunfire and Brooks tightened the grip on her rifle ever so slightly. A Firefly rolled past them with infantry sitting on top of it and two M1PCs followed.

They saw the flagpole in the middle of the camp and flying high was the Gallian flag. They saw squads Eighteen, twelve, and twenty standing around their respective tanks being briefed. They spotted their squad and walked over, "Brooks! What the hell happened to you?"

"A few explosions that got a little too close and a fistfight. Has the briefing started yet?"

"No, we're still waiting for a few more squad members."

Brooks nodded, "Where's Lieutenant Langley?"

"Um, I think he's over there briefing his squad."

"Thanks." Brooks walked toward the squad he had pointed out. The squad dispersed when she got to them and she saw Langley talking to a sergeant. He nodded and jogged off, "Lieutenant Langley."

He turned, "Sergeant Brooks, you look worse for wear."

"I had a few close encounters." She reached into her pocket and pulled out Barry's dog tags. "I think you should have these."

He sighed and Brooks could see the sorrow in his eyes as he took the tags. "Thank you sergeant." He put the tags away and nodded to her before climbing into his tank. Brooks turned and walked back to her squad.

"Alright, gather around and listen closely because I'm only going to say this once! While the infantry secures the area we are pushing on to Hasselt! Once we take the city we will hold it until the infantry arrives! Any questions!?"

No one spoke up.

"Outstanding! Mount up!"