A/N: Guess who's back?back again...Stalker's Back...Tell a Friend...Well... worse came to worse and I am sad to say that my old Tablet was beyond repair. I am gonna miss that thing ~sniff~Fortunately, I was able to get a new Fire Tablet due to Black Friday sale and began writing this chapter as soon as I could. So here is the next installment of Tiger Strike and kudos to those who got the "Nuts" reference in the last chapter.
Now I know one { Lord of Seven } of you asked if the story was ending and well... it is.Tiger Strike is on its last lap and my main focus right now is ending it in a way that is satisfying and gives closure. I know there are not that many GATE fics that have been completed/have a proper ending so I want to at least say that that my Fic has one.But anyway, enough talk and on to the story...
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{ Chapter 57: Downfall Pt. I)
Forward Operations Base Battan.
04:00 hrs...
The sun had yet to appear over the horizon and would not make an appearance for a couple more hours, as the Chinooks carrying both Tyuule and Delta Force finally touched down at F.O.B. Battan for them to switch aircraft. Despite their versatility, the CH-47s of the 160th were still large and noisy aircraft and for this mission, Delta needed something that was a little faster, maneuverable and most importantly, able to provide close air support. Thus after a brief rest stop, Delta Force and Tyuule boarded several MH-6 "Little Bird" helicopters that were waiting for them and were armed with dual mini-guns. The Chinooks would still have a role to play in the upcoming mission, but would be called in when needed.
Although they were briefed about the "Special Region" and its various inhabitants, the Delta operatives were still rather taken aback when the finally meet "White Queen"/ Tyuule. An honest to god bunny girl was assigned to their team and there was just so many questions they had. But these thoughts were pushed to the back of their minds quickly, as " White Queen" told them everything she knew about not only the Imperial Palace, but Zorzal himself. Needless to say, Delta Force soon realized that the file they had read about the Imperial Prince did not exaggerate at all. Their were special places in Hell for people like Zorzal, a place reserved for pedophiles, rapist, child molesters and Honda Ridgeline owners.
But Delta had their orders and as much as they thought that piece if shit Zorzal deserved to die, they had a job to bring the bastard to justice. Their targets for that day were the Imperial Palace where Zorzal was believed to still be residing, as well as the "Citadel" where the prince was keeping his opponents. The the Citadel would require both an air and ground assault on the old prison. A two pronged attack that would not only catch the defenders inside by surprise, but prevent them from possible executing any of the prisoners as well.
The Imperial Palace would be a different affair all together, as Tyuule more or less painted the structure as a fortress disguised as a luxurious palace. Not surprising considering it was supposed to be the home of the Emperor himself. It truly was a sprawling estate with a maze of hallways and corridors that could confuse anyone who was not familiar with the layout. Which was why Tyuule would be apart of the team that would hit the palace and capture Zorzal himself. Her time as Zorzal's "Trophy" allowed the fallen queen to gain access to places one would not expect a mere slave like herself to have. Zorzal did like to show off the fallen queen at every opportunity he got, that included traveling with him to the Imperial Palace anytime an gathering was held.
Tyuule knew things about the Palace that some of its own guards and servants did not and now she was going to use it against her former tormentors. As the last Operative boarded the the final Little Bird, the Black helicopters took off to began the Operation. Delta Force would be the first Coalition troops to enter Sadera as part of Operation Downfall and unfortunately for Zorzal's regime, they were not the last.
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Imperial Palace, Sadera
04:15 hrs.
Despite the hour, Prince Zorzal waa still very much awake and despite apparent succession to the Imperial Throne, the self proclaimed Emperor was unable to fully enjoy his success. The force he has sent days ago to destroy the other worlders in Alnus had yet to return and it was growing more and more unlikely they ever would. Maybe indeed he had bitten off more than he could chew and indeed underestimated those Barbarians, but it was only a minor setback.
He still had the other worlders trapped in the Jade Palace and as soon as the sun came up, his forces would storm the building. Killing the savages inside and taking his sisters so called Knights as his personal concubines. They would have no choice, unless they wanted to die along side their families. Yet despite his success, Zorzal still could not help but to think that he was still being denied a much greater victory. Sure Sadera was now under his complete control, but there were still no word from any of the messengers he had sent out announce his ascension to the Imperial Throne. Not a single Dragon\Wyvern rider had returned to the capitol with messages from the many governors and nobles houses swearing their loyalty to the new Emperor. What was the point being the Emperor if did not even know if those beyond Sadera's walls supported him?
No matter, they would soon be given the choice to either swear loyalty to their new Emperor, or feel the taste of cold hard steel upon their flesh. His armies would make sure that his rule would not only be unquestioned, but absolute. As far as Zorzal was concerned, he would not be a true Emperor until the Empire bowed down to his might and Power.
As he got up from his throne and prepared to at least try to get some sleep, Zorzal could not help but hear what sounded like thunder in the distance. Making his way onto the balcony that over looked the city below, the self proclaimed Emperor could see that the early morning sky was clear and could even see the line of orange on the horizon that signaled the arrival of the morning sun. But yet, the sounds of thunder just kept getting louder and louder... just what in Flare's name was going on?
Suddenly, a massive fire ball erupted from the city below, coming from the direction of the Basti Wharf on the Edo Canal. Moments later the sound of the explosion reached the palace and shook the marble structure with everyone in it. Moments later another Fireball, this time coming from the East Gate, rocked the city and its population once again. But they had little time to recover as a third explosion struck the Elanti District and the location of the Imperial War Academy.
Zorzal just stood their in a shocked silence, his mouth agape as more and more fireballs erupted from the city he controlled. An unfamiliar sense of uncertainty and dread soon fell upon the self proclaimed Monarch, as he looked on at the destruction taking place before him. As much as he wanted to deny it, Zorzal knew deep down just what was going on
The Other Worlders were now here...
Meanwhile, thousands if feet above the Imperial Capitol, Black Sheep 04 and his wing man looked on at their handy work. As their F-35s flew unchallenged in the early morning skies and searched for their next target. Within minutes of receiving orders to initiate attack, Coalition Aircraft began targeting buildings and enemy encampments that had been spared during Rolling Thunder days before. But while Rolling Thunder was to break the moral of the Saderan People and bring their government to the peace table, Operation Instant Thunder was intended to soften up the Imperial Forces residing in the city. As well as give the Empire another taste of Shock and Awe. But Sadera was not the the only city to feel the wrath of the Coalition War Planes, several major garrisons located in a number of near by towns outside the Capitol were targeted as well. Including the very same Dragon pens where Basilisk had taken off from days earlier.
As this was going on, Shinano and Tome had moved in and engaged a number of Imperial Long Ships that were docked near the entrance to the city canal system. The two Japanese River Monitors making short work of the Imperial naval forces, their GAU-12 Avenger cannons tearing the wooden warships apart with little effort. No sooner had the Imperial ships been destroyed and the way made clear, a flotilla of American and Indian Patrol craft began to work their way up the many canals that snaked through the city. Following behind, were Third Tracks and their compliment of Marines and Japanese Soldiers. Their objective was to secure a number of Wharfs to allow Coalition Barges to dock and off load more troops. The People of Carli village were more than happy to build vessels for the Coalition, as long the Dragon Scales were good that is..
Using a flight of stairs that lead down towards the water, Tanker 6 made its way into the Imperial city. Its turret swinging side to side as if it was expecting to encounter some resistance, as more ACVs came up behind it and deployed their complement troops. Within minutes, the area was firmly in the hands of the Marines and not too long after this information was relayed to command, a pair of what looked liked to Landing Craft Utilities sailed up the canal and came to berth at the newly acquired beach head. No sooner had the large wooden vessels been secured, large ramps were lowered to reveal U.S. Marine Corps MRAPs armed with either 50. cal machine guns or M134 mini-guns.
One thing the Endgame Protocol stated, was that large vehicles such as Main Battle Tanks would be mostly ineffective within Sadera itself. The narrow streets would make it impossible for the Main Battle Tanks of the Coalition to navigate, as well as make them and their crews easy targets for imperial forces. The ACVs and AAVs that were being used, were deemed more suitable due to their ability to use Sadera's canal system to navigate through the city. While the MaxxPros being fielded by the Marines were more suited for the narrow streets of Sadera itself.
But the amphibious assault by the Marines was only part of a much larger operation. For no sooner had the first ACVs and patrol craft entered Sadera via the canals, a massive formation of Japanese and Indian transport aircraft suddenly appeared over the city and made their way to their designated targets. Apart from important buildings and encampments, potential anti-air weapons were destroyed by the coalition air strikes. What ever Dragons and Wyverns were able to get air born during the coalition attacks, were quickly eliminated by Indonesian Su-35s providing cover for the strike aircraft.
"Skies are clear over the Capitol, over"
"Rodger, Moving to Phase 2."
No sooner had the all clear been given, the Indian and Japanese Transports made their final approach toward Sadera itself. The sun had yet to blanket the countryside with it rays, as the first C- 2 aircraft came in.
"GREEN! JUMP! JUMP! JUMP!"
"KOOD! KOOD! KOOD!"
Within seconds, hundreds of Japanese, American and Indian Paratroopers exited their aircraft. Their parachutes deploying as they were designed to, as both men and equipment floated towards the earth below. A magnificent sight indeed. They would be landing within the second tier of the city, where most of the government buildings were located. They were to prevent any Imperial forces from the upper levels of the city from advancing towards the beach heads which had been established by the amphibious forces. The Paratroopers were to hold these points until the Marines and JGSDF units advanced and linked up with the air borne troops in the Second Tier.
Japanese Special Operations units were also busy as well, as they had successfully captured the North and West Gates that lead into Sandera itself. Making short work of the Imperial Soldiers who were on post at the time. The capture of these gates not only denied Zorzal a route from which he could have used to escape, but allow safe passage of any civilians wishing to flee the city.
In less than an hour of the operation start, ,Coalition forces had not only managed to achieve all their objectives, but had done so with little to no resistance from the would be defenders. By now American ACVs and MaxxPros crawled their way through Sadera's streets unopposed, as they inched their way towards one of the many access points that had been captured by the Paratroopers. The much feared Imperial Army that Endgame had warned about, never appeared and was replaced by small groups of fanatical Oprichnia launching suicidal charges against Coalition units. But while American, Japanese and Indian troops slowly tightened their grip on Sadera, there was one group who had yet to receive relief...
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Jade Palace...
05:11 hrs...
Just as Garrett had predicted, Zorzal had indeed sent a much larger force during the night that now surrounded the palace. Fortunately, the SEAL team commander was well aware that the Endgame Protocol had been activated and that Sadera was now under siege by Coalition forces. But there was still no word of just when help would arrive. So far the Imperial soldiers had yet to make a move towards the Palace. Which means they were still unaware of just what was taking place. But it was only a matter of time before all that would change.
Peering through the scope of his Carbine, Garrett could see the Oprichnia with their swords in hand. They were just waiting for their commander to give the word and launch the attack. These men were obviously well trained and disciplined, which was much more than what could have been said about the "Regular" Imperial Soldiers they seemingly held command over. If anything, those troops looked as if they did not want to be there at all. As a matter a fact, there were a few times it looked as if both imperial units would come to blows. But some how cooler heads prevailed and they were still working together. For now that is.
'Kingfisher to Juno Papa." a voice suddenly came over his radio. "Kingfisher to Juno Papa, how do you read?"
Garrett almost immediately recognized the grizzled voice speaking to him. "Kingfisher, This is Juno Papa. What is your location."
"Currently 30 meters from enemy camp." the man replied. "We have visual of suspected enemy commander, individual is wearing purple robes with gold trim."
"Target confirmed, that's him" Garrett replied, as he eyed the Oprichnia commander through his scope.
"How do we proceed?"
There was a moment of silence before Garrett finally replied...
"Take em' out."
Meanwhile within the Imperial camp, Lord Callisto El Almin inspected his troops one final time. The nobleman had more or less inherited the title of Chairman of the Oprichnia after the untimely death of Lord Gimlet and was now tasked with capturing the Jade Palace himself. He knew that the other worlders could not hold out forever and in an ideal world, Callisto would just lay siege to the enemy camp and just starve them into submission. But the Emperor wanted the Barbarians in chains as soon as possible and had ordered the noble to do what ever was needed to capture the Jade Palace.
This would be a task easier said than done, seeing that not only the Chairman knew just how powerful the Other Workers were, but the imperial soldiers his group commanded were less than cooperative. Apparently they too were well aware of just what the Coalition were capable of, but were not willing to blindly follow the Oprichnia to what they believed to be certain destruction. As far as the Chairman was concerned, these so called "soldiers" were a disgrace to the Imperial Military and the Empire as a whole. Just how could these men call themselves "Soldiers", when they are unwilling to die for the Empire? But no matter, with Emperor Zorzal there was no doubt in Callisto's mind that the new Imperial Military would be nothing like the mess it was now.
Dawn was coming and soon, his men would finally storm the Palace and capture/kill its occupants. Emperor Zorzal would be quite pleased and Callisto would cement himself as one of the great heroes of the new Empire. But as dreams of fame and fortune began to dance within his fragile mind, the Imperial Noble noticed a small object land at his feet. But before he could guess just what it was, the unfortunate Oprichnia was engulfed in hellfire and damnation, as the SAS grenade did what it was designed to do.
The Explosion rocked the immediate area and send burning hot shrapnel into everything and everyone who were unfortunate enough to be caught in the blast radius. But no sooner had Callisto been killed, several more explosions rocked the Imperial lines as Automatic gun fire erupted from both the tree line and the Jade Palace itself. From her vantage point on the second floor, Lady Bose looked on in Horror as the Other Worlders Slaughtered Zorzal's forces. It was not even a fair fight, as the Imperial Soldiers and their Oprichnia handlers were cut down in terrible fashion. If there was any saving grace for the doomed Imperial unit, was that the Other Worlders did not chase after them as they tried to flee.
No sooner had the carnage finally ended, the air was soon filled with the familiar sounds of approaching helicopters. Moments later, three Marine Corp Ospreys flew in and landed on the Jade Palace grounds. Just as the men of 22 SAS emerged from the surrounding Forrest and secured the impromptu LZ.
"Garrett."
"Price" the two Special Forces operators greeted each other, as the SEALs began to lead the occupants of the Jade Palace. "Have not seen you since Beruit."
"I've been keeping myself busy since." The veteran SAS soldier replied over the noise of the tilt rotor aircraft, " Where are you and your men heading after this?"
"Right now, we have been ordered back into the city and link up with an armored unit pushing its way towards the Main Palace." The SEAL replied, just as his team escorted the last of the diplomatic personnel into the waiting aircraft.
"Commander Garrett." A new voice chimed in, as Lady Boze and her knights marched up to the Special Forces leaders. "As temporary leader of the Order of the Rose, I request that myself and my Knights be allowed to join your people in the city." Boze stated in an demanding, yet almost pleading voice.
"I'm sorry, Miss Boze." Garrett replied, "But I am -"
"Commander, there are a lot of scared people in Sadera right now who don't know just what is going on." the noble woman/Knight explained. "You are going to need us to communicate with them and let that everything is going to be alright."
"I'm not sure that-"
"Please." Boze replied, almost pleading "One of the duties of the Order of the Rose, is to defend the Empire from all those who wish to destroy it. And Prince Zorzal is a much greater threat than your Coalition. We need to be there and you would need us to help you navigate the city."
As much as Garrett did not want to have Boze and her knights tagging along with his men, the SEAL had to admit that the Noble Woman did have a point. They would have first hand knowledge about the layout of the City, as well as having the added bonus of being able to act as translators between his men and who ever they encountered. There was also the fact that Lady Bose and her knights were not obligated in anyway to follow any orders given to them by himself or anyone else in the Coalition. The Rose Order of knights, despite their appearance, were an actual military unit after all.
Eventually Garrett agreed to Lady Boze's request and no sooner had the last V-22 taken off, the SEALs climbed into their Growler vehicles while the Knights mounted their horses. Within moments, the newly formed combined force left the now empty Jade Palace and made their way into the city. The Rose Knights vowed to return to their home and rebuild it once this crisis was over, but for now it would remain empty until Zorzal and his cartel of supporters were removed once and for all.
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Imperial Palace.
05:20 hrs...
Despite the apparent large scale of the Coalition Assault and Air Strikes, the majority of Sadera was still relatively untouched by the fighting. In reality, the Coalition had focused their assault on all the major entry/exit points of the city. Despite being the "smallest" districts within the Imperial Capitol, the upper ring of Sadera was still a sizable piece of real estate. As historically the "Central Districts" was where many of the most powerful Noble Families in the Empire either lived, or at least kept a residence there for reasons only known to themselves. Including the Imperial Palace
So it was not that surprising that the Upper Ring was also one of the more well defended districts of the Imperial capitol. As the walls that surrounded it were thicker and larger than what existed on the outskirts. It was also not too surprising that "Emperor" Zorzal had yet to leave the safety of his ill gotten palace to meet the other worlders in battle. As a matter a fact, the royal had instead ordered his inner circle to meet with him to discuss just what in Hardy's name was going on. Where were the city garrisons? Where was the mighty army to defend Sadera and its Emperor? Where were his generals and why were they unable to push those Savages out of his city?
The sight of the Paratroopers jumping from their aircraft and landing safely in the middle ring had a sobering effect on the Prince. Just what kind of Magic could allow men to jump from great heights, yet fall so slowly and land without injury? This question just reaffirmed Zorzal's belief that these Other Worlders had no honor and had to resort to magic and other devious tactics to defeat the mighty Saderan Army.
Suddenly, one of Zorzal's advisers came into his throne room with a troubled expression on his weathered face. Despite being the same age as his Emperor, the man now looked as if he had aged 10 to 20 years. "Allegro, where are the generals?" Zorzal asked angrily, as he glared at the man before him.
"My liege..." Allegro said apologetically, "The Generals... they are not coming."
"What?!" the royal roared in disbelief. "What is the meaning of such treachery?"
"My liege... they said that they will no longer be apart of your madness. They said they are not going to allow their men to die for what they call... a lost cause." The weathered Advisor explained, remembering what he had been told by the Imperial Officers who had more or less arrested/killed the commanders who were loyal to Zorzal and had mutinied. Of course, Allegro was wise enough to keep that fact to himself. There was no telling just how Zorzal would react when he found out that his inner circle no longer existed.
"This is TREASON!" Zorzal bellowed, as he threw his jug of wine across the throne room in a blind rage. The ceramic container smashing against the marble wall with predictable result. "I shall have their heads for this betrayal! "
"Yes, my liege." Allegro replied, before he quickly left the engaged royal to brood alone. But as Zorzal sat quietly and stewed in his own anguish and pain, he could have never for seen just what would come next.
For as his Empire began to burn all around him, Zorzal was completely unaware that several of the Other Worlders' Flying machines were currently on their way to his location. Nor did he realize that in one of them, there was an individual who would ensure that the illegitimate Emperor Sadera would know the true meaning of pain.
Before the Day was done, Tyuule's blade would taste Imperial
Blood...
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A/N: And so... it begins... Downfall is in full swing and as Sadera finally starts to feel the full might of the Tiger Strike Coalition, Zorzal is now all lone. He may have had the support of his generals, but the Generals definitely did not have the support of the men once they realized that Zorzal was leading them to their own destruction.
What will happen next? I guess you will just have to wait and see just what my twisted and scarred mind come up with. As always, leave a review and tell me what you think. Or I will be in your bed tonight... Eating Fried Chicken... and I will get crumbs everywhere and leave you alone to clean up the mess when I am done.
Until next time, Nightstalker out!
~ In memory of my Samsung Galaxy Tab, R.I.P. ~
