Chapter 20: "Priority: Battle of Icia"
-World building fact-
Intergalactic Special Operations Command (ISOC) recruits SIF members by looking for outstanding individuals in other brands of the UNE military and extending an offer. Once a servicemember accepts the offer, they become a SIF candidate. Every soldier can also apply to become a SIF candidate as well.
Each SIF candidate has to pass a series of hash psychological and physical tests in order to be accepted into ISOC academy and start their training to prepare for another test, which if they pass, will allow them to officially become a SIF member.
In short, you have to be perfect to become a SIF candidate, but you have to be more than perfect to become a SIF. Because anything less than perfection means death in their missions. Therefore, the presence of a SIF team on the battlefield is a massive morale boost.
-Outside of Icia-
The 8th Marine division deployed from the 9th Terra fleet in orbit met up with the 23rd Armored Battalion, peeled away from a siege of another city, on their flight path to Icia and the D-20Bs carrying the 5th and 9th SIF caught up with them not long before reaching the city.
King Duran is sitting in the same D-20B with Ava and is looking through the holographic screen showing the city of Icia. The outer wall defenses were completely annihilated in pure minutes, he can see smoke and fire coming from the area close to the wall and the wall's towers are no more than a pile of rubble. Around him is a massive flying fleet of transportations and escort gunships all heading in the same direction. He is impressed by the flexibility and the ability to rapidly deploy such a massive force over a great distance.
At about 500 meters away from Icia's wall, the fleet descends to deploy the troops while the GS-12s keep their attitude to secure the landing area. Once on the ground, the Lancers open fire on the wall using HEIP, destroying the part of the wall with each shot, while starting their advance on the city. Marines take cover behind the vehicles as they're moving forward to Icia. As soon as they come into range of the few remaining catapults on the outer wall and the ones behind the wall, a volley of massive burning magic barrels is launched at them.
The barrels are mostly taken out by the PDS on the vehicles that are capable of tracking at Mach 3. A few that slip through explode harmlessly against the shield domes of the APCs. The escorting gunships unleash their missiles destroying a few dozen catapults and ballistas.
King Duran is watching the battlefield from the cloaked D-20B as it continues flying forward to the temple, for the first time he is witnessing the destructive power of UNE military ground force. Each shot from the Lancer tanks' main gun destroys a large chunk of the thick wall of Icia. The wall that once stood tall and beaten back countless darklings sieges during the ancient time, the wall that never fell once. The Empire only managed to take the city of Icia from the elves after 10 years of siege and starved almost every elf in the city.
"This is the first time I see your army action in force. Very impressive" King Duran says.
"Force? This is nothing more than a skirmish force. You should've seen the planetary invasion, even I was terrified during that landing" David replies.
"Erkant?" Ashley says over the radio as she's in another D-20B.
"Uh-huh, Erkant" David nods.
"One of the bloodiest planetary invasions during the Second Intergalactic War" Jimmy says.
"War is hell," Ava says.
The light turns from red to green as the pilot announces that they've reached the AO and prepare to deploy.
"Alright, get to your position I want the rooftop secure as soon as we land" Ava orders.
Each D-20B carries 2 SAT8s and they are the first to be dropped down on the rooftop of the temple. There is no guard on the roof as the enemy is only expecting an attack from the ground level. The D-20Bs remain cloaked while the SIFs are jumping out of them onto the roof, from afar it looks like they're dropping out of nowhere.
"We're clear at the moment, they haven't noticed us yet. Over" David reports as he's looking down at the guards below.
"Chris, how's the AO looking? Over" Ava asks.
Chris sitting in the command center looking at the holographic screen, he can see the entire battlefield with every possible information. After checking, he replies "A lot of hostiles in your vicinity but it looks like they don't know you're there yet. Once you start shooting they will know your present. Over".
"Copy that, Raider 5 is breaching. Over" Ava replies as she waves Rob over to plant the breaching device.
Rob run over and, with Ashley's help, set up the breaching device on the roof. It's a circle large enough for 4 operators to stand-in. Ava, Ashley, Rob and Jimmy step into the circle. Ava checks her TACNet and sees that the room below them is empty.
"Commencing breach" Ava orders as the device active and release superheated plasma, which melt right through the roof.
The 4 operators drop down into the room with the part of the roof under their feet.
"Clear" Ava says as the other 3 operators also reporting clear for their sectors.
The 4 proceed to secure the room as the rest of the 5th SIF jumping down into the same room.
"Alright, it looks like enemy combatants are all concentrated on the ground floor. There's only civilians from here down to check your fire. As soon as we make contact they might alert the enemy of our presence, so be ready" Ava briefly informs the platoon of the situation then point out 2 SIFs "You two, stay back and protect the mage. Rory and Duran you're with them. Move out!"
The 5th SIF move down the hallway, methodically, clearing every room on their way. As the point man and the operators behind him enter a room to clear it, the next one in line becomes the point man and moves forward. Like a well-oiled machine, they clear room after room encountering slaves and servants. While some of them yell out of terrified, most of them just tremble with fear as they've already been shaken up by the sound of the battle that is raging from the outer wall. Some grabbed brooms, chairs or knife try to attack the SIFs but were all shot down before they could do anything.
As the platoon moves room by room clearing each of them, the ones at the back of the formation shoot the bodies to make sure they're dead. In the case of Rory and Duran, stab the bodies. King Duran follows closely with the platoon and observes them in action. He is impressed by the professionalism and the efficiency of their action as a team but not a single word is spoken. Not a single action is redundant and everything they do has a purpose.
Ava kicks down a door into the room that leads to the stairway to the lower level of the temple. She is the first to go in to clear the room and there's a kid on the ground. The kid was locking the door when Ava kicked it down and threw him against the wall behind him. On the wall are the decorative swords and daggers.
He stands up terrified by the look of the SIFs in full gear and is looking at the swords on the wall.
Knowing the kid's intention Ava tries to stop him "No kid, don't do it. No, don't even think about it!".
The kid grabs the sword and turns to the SIFs with the intention to charge them but he is killed by a clean headshot by Ava before he could act. Scan shows that the kid is not older than 13 years old.
"God damn it, kid!" Ava shouts out of anger "Keep moving!".
Rob and David take point leading the unit down the stairway to the lower level. The way is large enough for 2 columns of men and some space in between them. However, they don't know that the Imperials is waiting for them on the second floor below them and they set up 3 scoripo in the hallway facing the stair. As Rob turn the corner they realize what was waiting for them.
"Contact!" both Rob and David shout as the scoripos release their magic enhanced bolts on them.
The bolts explode on contact throwing both of them back and making their shields fluctuate but not disabled completely. Jimmy and Ashley each grab one of the guys and pull them back as Ava and another SIF through 2 grenades down the hallway. Once the grenades explode, the SAT8s charge through the burning plasma fire and unleash their weapon on the Imperials.
"Move move!" Ava orders the platoon to move down the hallway and engage the hostiles "This is Robber 5 lead, be advised, we've made contact with hostile combatants. I repeat, Robber 5 has made contact with hostile combatants. Over" Ava reports over the radio as they move down the hallway and engage the Imperials.
"Copy that Robber 5, Robber 9 has also made contact with the enemy. Proceed to find the objective as quick as you can, I'll monitor the situation and provide fire support as I can. Over" Chris says.
Chris has taken control of the weapon system of the GS-12 that is circling 3km (1.8 miles) above the city, through TACNet, to provide fire support around the temple and the keep. He has been picking up enemy's reinforcement that is trying to get into the temple with the GS-12's 25mm gun. He could not use heavier arsenals as the civilians are in the area. Therefore, Chris could not stop all of them from reaching the temple.
"Action enough for you, David?" Ashley asks as she pulls him up.
"Wooo, hell yea!" David replies.
The SIFs continue fighting their way down to the ground level of the temple. Each time someone's shield is fluctuate or disabled, they rotate to the back of the formation and wait for their shield to charge back to full. Hundreds of Imperials pouring in the temple trying to stop the SIFs but most of them killed or severely wounded.
"Robber 9, this is Robber 5 we're at the ground floor. I'm leaving Robber 5-2 and the SAT8s to secure the level. Over" Ava informs René.
"Copy that Robber 5. I'm heading down to the underground levels, leaving Robber 9-2 and our SAT8s to help your men. Over" Rene replies.
"Roger that" Ava replies then turns to Ashley "Ash take your squad and link up with Robber 9-2 and secure this floor. Make sure we have a way out".
"Will do, Commander" Ashley replies as she leads the 2nd squad out while Ava and the rest of the platoon continue down the stair. An explosion kicks down the wall in front of Ashley as she turn the corner that leads to the main entrance "Too close Chris!" she shouts.
"Roger that Robber 5-2, adjusting fire. Over" Chris replies.
Rene leads his squad down the empty narrow hallway underneath of the temple. He could still hear the explosions happening above him as the UNE forces advancing through the city. The sound of battle is no stranger to him, but what is making him uncomfortable is the lack of enemy resistance. Since the moment his unit breached the roof of the temple, the enemy had been throwing men after men trying to stop them. Therefore, the sudden quiet is giving him the feeling that something is not right.
He stops at a t-section and holds his fist up signaling the squad to stop and wait for an order. Going straight is a small empty room filled with flowers and a stone block table in the center with some candles, which seem to be some sort of a ceremonial room. The turn leads to a large room with the only entrance and a single door on the other end of the room. Scanners on his TAC suit could not read what's inside the room behind that door.
"Mage, come here" He waves the mage to come up next to him and continues "Is that the secret chamber?".
The mage peaks over the corner to take a look at the door "I do not know, commander, but those symbols above the door are runes and I sense a powerful concentration of mana. It is a good chance we've found the chamber".
"Very well, stay back and keep your head down. If it's the secret chamber then we need you alive to break the runes" Rene orders.
"This is Robber 9-1, I believe we have found the secret chamber" He says then peaks to take another look at the room then continues "No visual of hostile apostle or guards, we're moving in close for confirmation. Over"
"This is Robber 5-1, copy that, we've not encountered any enemy resistance. We will continue the search until your confirmation. Over" Ava replies through the radio.
Rene's squad enter the room and spread out to investigate. It's a large room without any columns, on the walls are beautiful carvings of various religious figures like it's telling a story. Once everyone reports clear, Rene tells the mage to start breaking the runes.
"Mage, you're up. I don't know how magic work but please be hurry" Rene says.
"These are very powerful runes, commander, it will take some time" the mage replies.
"Well, do your best" Rene replies as he tabs on the mage's shoulder and walks away. He looks around the room and mumbles "This is too easy, something isn't right".
As Rene and his squad are checking the room while the mage is doing his magic, the door opens and kicks up a cloud of dust. Stepping out of the door is a young boy holding a spear as the door closes behind him. Before anyone could react, the boy leaps forward with incredible speed and pierce the mage with his spear, instantly, killing him.
"Hostile apostle, engage! Engage!" Rene quickly realizes what is happening and orders his squad to start engaging the apostle "This is Robber 9-1, we've encountered enemy apostle, our mage is down. I repeat our mage is down, requesting assistance. Over".
"Robber 9-1, copy that, we're on our way" Ava replies then turns to Rory "You're up, go".
Rory rushes forward and breaks through the wall and heads straight in the direction of the 9th SIF.
"Damn, why can't our TAC suit go that fast?" Rob is amazed by how fast she is "Where's Duran?".
"What?" Ava looks at the back of the formation trying to look for Duran but he's nowhere to be seen "Where is he?".
"I'm sorry, Commander, he was right behind us" one of the SIFs that was ordered to stay behind with the mage replies.
"Duran, this is Commander Ava, come in. Over" Ava waited for a reply while checking the TACNet for the location of Duran's suit. The signal is standing still somewhere between her unit and the 9th SIF "Duran! Damn it I knew this was a bad idea. Let's move"
Ava and the squad make their way as fast as possible toward the location of Duran signal hoping to find him there, but the signal is staying very still making her worry that something happened to Duran. However, when they arrive at the location, Duran is nowhere to be seen but the box of his suit is on the ground.
"He took the suit off, he knows we could track him," Jimmy says "What is he up to?"
"Whatever he is up to, we can't look for him and find out now, the key is our objective so let's move" Ava orders.
Bullets after bullets penetrate right through the apostle's body with ease but the bullet hole is quickly healed up as he continues fighting the SIFs. Rene is trying to line up his shot at the apostle but the boy keeps dashing around through the SIFs like children's toys. At one point, the apostle jumps up to the ceiling and smashes on it causing it to collapse. Directly above them is the square of the temple where the Imperials are gathering to try to take back the temple from the SIFs. One of the officers sees the opening and order one of the mages helps lower troops down to fight the SIFs below.
"Alnus base to all Robber units, there's an opening in the temple square and enemy troops are entering it. Scan indicates Robber 9-1 is fighting underground directly below the opening. We're attempting to stop the enemy's reinforcement. Over" Chris reports.
"Roger that, Alnus. Robber 5-1 is coming to reinforce Robber 9-1. Friendly apostle is already on her way. Over" Ava replies.
"Alnus base, this is Robber 5-2, recommend you to redirect air support around the opening. We can hold them off on our own. Over" Ashley says.
"Roger that Robber 5-2, redirecting fire. Over" Chris says.
The apostle dashes toward Rene and grabs his rifle then throws it away. Using the spear, he swings at Rene and through him against the wall creating a large hole in it and disabling the shield.
Rene quickly gets back on his feet before the apostle leaps toward him with his spear trying to stab him. He uses his left arm to parry the attack and materializes a knife in his right hand then stab the boy with it. However, the apostle quickly dodges it by jumping back and then dashing toward for another attack. Rene grabs the spear with one hand and punches the apostle's chest with the other hand but it doesn't seem to hurt him. He then activates his thruster trying to ram the apostle against the opposite wall but the boy jumps up and swings his spear at Rene's back, breaking a piece of his armor and throwing him at the other wall.
Before Rene could get up, the apostle lands on top of him and slams the spear on his chest breaking another piece of his armor. The nanotech quickly draws from his legs armor to cover the broken part on his chest. As the apostle swing for another attack, Rene stops it by crossing his arms but the force of the attack break more of his armor. Not giving Rene time to get up, the apostle continuously striking him with great force. Every time a piece of armor covering a vital part is broken, nanite from his back facing the ground and his legs are drawn to repair the broken parts.
As the armor is covering less and less of Rene's body, one of his men breaks away from fighting the legionnaires and tackles the apostle off him. The same SIF then turns back and touches Rene's chest to transfer nanite to his CO but he is pulled back and then be thrown to the ground by the apostle. Before he could react, the apostle's spear glows golden and with great force pierce right through both the SIF's armor and body. He then swings the spear cutting the SIF in half.
"Nooooo, you fucker!" Seeing one of his men was killed trying to save him, Rene could not control his anger. He has enough time to roll to his rifle and start unleashing in the full-automatic fire at the apostle "You're gonna pay for that!".
The apostle slams his spear on the ground creating a shockwave that knocks everyone back then run at high speed to Rene and kicks him flying at a wall. He dashes forward and strikes Rene but the commander dodges the attack in time to save his life. However, the apostle was fast and managed to pierce his right shoulder and with a swing tears, Rene's left arm right off. The armor quickly encloses the wound to prevent blood loss. As Rene is taking a painful and exhausted breath, the apostle is raising his spear to strike the final blow.
King Duran rushes into the room and sees what is happening, he shouts at the apostle "Kaian my son!".
