Sherman leads a small detachment of men through one of the many tunnels in the mine. A rail track ran down the center of the tunnel which was illuminated by small lights hanging from the ceiling. Their footsteps echoed off the rocky walls and Sherman tightened his grip on his SMG.

"-Copy?"

"Lieutenant?"

"Barely- through- have you-"

"Lieutenant. Repeat your last. Over."

Whatever he said was lost in static. "Damn."

They continued down the tunnel in silence. They started to see signs of activity. Pickaxes lay on the stone ground or are laid up against the wall. Boxes are stacked up containing Ragnite and they pasted a few empty carts.

"Where are all the miners?"

"Maybe the Imperials took them further into the tunnel."

"Maybe. But, why?"

Before he could answer, Sherman held up a fist. They stopped and went to a crouch.

"What do you see sir?"

"The tunnel opens up ahead. Imperials might have set up an ambush."

"Are there tunnels that avoid the opening?"

"No. We'll have to go straight through."

"We'll follow your lead sir."

"There's no cover at the entrance so we need to move fast. On my mark."

He raised his hand pointed forward. They stood up and sprinted into the open cavern! Shots rang out echoing off the walls as they dove into cover! A scout fell has a bullet hit his leg! He scrambled to get up and slammed his shoulder against a large rock!

"CALL'EM OUT!"

"They're on ledges around the edge of the cavern!"

Bang bang! Bang!

"Sir! There's a route through the rocks!"

"Take it! You might be able to outflank the Imperials on the ledges!"

"On it sir! Parker! With me!"

"Right behind you Lewis!"

Lewis sprinted into the trench and fell when he tripped over a piece of Ragnite ore. An Imperial shock trooper appeared in front of him and raised his SMG! He jerked as three bullets hit his chest and he fell! Parker crouched down next to him, "You alright!?"

"Yeah! I fucking tripped!"

Parker grabbed his arm and pulled him up. He nodded his thanks and moved forward. He peaked over the trench; rounds tore into the rock in front of him and he ducked down rubbing his eyes! Parker fired the last two rounds in his magazine before reloading and firing again. Lewis readied a grenade and tossed it over the trench! It exploded seconds later and he turned the corner and fired down the trench!

He took cover to reload and saw two Imperials coming up behind him! He was hit twice and slumped against the stone wall of the trench. Parker shouted to Sherman, "I need help up here!"

He fired down the trench to keep the Imperials in cover. He couldn't toss a grenade because the blast might kill Lewis. He went prone, reloaded, and waited for the Imperials to come to him.

A shadow started to lean out from the corner and he fired! It went back behind the corner and fired. Bullets whizzed over his head and a grenade landed in front of him! "OH SHIT!"

He scrambled to his feet and sprinted away! It exploded and his back burned as he fell to the cold stone ground. He slowly raised his head looking for his rifle. He couldn't see it near him so he pulled his sidearm and rolled onto his back. He hissed and grit his teeth from the pain it caused. He heard someone coming up behind him and snapped his gun around. "FRIENDLY!"

He turned his attention back in front of him and a shock trooper crouched beside him. "You alright Parker?"

"Never better." He pushed himself up and found his rifle after a short search. The shock trooper slowly moved forward when Parker saw an Imperial poke his head above the trench. He snapped a shot off and the Imperial ducked down.

The shock trooper fired a few bursts before moving forward. Parker followed him and poked his head over the trench. He saw three Imperials firing at his squadmates. He fired dropping one of the Imperials with a headshot. He fired again killing a second Imperial before the third ducked down.

"Parker! Get up here!"

He moved up and saw the shock trooper firing down the trench. "Check Lewis!"

He laid his rifle down and shook his shoulder. "Lewis! Can you hear me!"

He didn't respond. Parker pressed his fingers against his neck and felt a weak pulse. He grabbed his Ragnaid and used it. "We need to get him out of here!"

"We won't be able to get him back to the team!"

"We can't just leave him here!"

"We don't have a choice! Sherman is counting on us to flank the Imperials!"

Lewis groaned and raised his head. "Go..."

"Lewis-"

"Go. That's an order." He coughed and spat out blood. "I'll... be fine."

"You're not fine... Don't fucking die on me."

"Heh, since when were you... giving the orders?"

"Parker. We have to move."

He nodded and they moved out leaving Lewis laying against the wall. They stopped at the corner of another trench and the shock trooper poked his head out. He didn't see anyone and moved forward with Parker behind him. There was a loud 'thud' behind him and he spun around with his rifle at the ready. He lowered it when he saw the body of a dead Imperial behind him. He silently thanked whoever had just saved their lives and carried on.

The shock trooper was crouched down behind a box firing at the end of the trench. He laid prone and held his fire as the darkness in the cave and the smoke created from bullets hitting stone obscured his view. The shock trooper ducked down to reload and two Imperials advanced. Parker fired all five rounds killing the first Imp and wounding the second.

The second Imp fell back and the shock trooper fired a quick burst before moving forward. He readied a grenade and tossed it! It exploded a few seconds later and he rushed forward. Parker scrambled to his feet and rushed after him. Gunfire rang out and he turned the corner finding the shock trooper and an Imperial dead. "Son of a bitch!"

He crouched down, grabbed his dog tags, and closed his eyes. He moved forward and a small ramp took him out of the trench. From his position, he could see the Imperials who had his team pinned. He took aim.

Bang! Bang bang! Bang! Bang!

The report of his rifle was drowned out by the roar of weapons fire. Five Imperials dropped allowing his team to fire back effectively. He dived back into the trench and continued to clear it. He reached the other end of the trench and climbed up again but this time there were no Imps in his sight. He jumped back into the trench and turned left.

His head jerked back and he fell on cold stone! he could feel blood running from his nose and a shadowy figure was standing above him. It raised its arms and he rolled just as a knife was embedded right where his head was! He scrambled to his feet and drew his sidearm! The Imp knocked it out of his hand and kicked him in the stomach staggering him. A right hook blindsided him and a left nearly knocked him off his feet! He got his feet back under him and swing at his opponent! He easily avoided it and caught his left fist. He slammed his head into Parker's face staggering him! He followed that up with a punch to his gut and then an uppercut that knocked Parker off his feet!

He landed on his back and his head hit the stone ground hard. His vision was blurry and he tried to stand up but couldn't get his feet under him. A hard kick to his head nearly knocked him out. He spat out a glob of blood and his attacker grabbed his uniform and pulled them face to face. He wasn't wearing the standard Imperial helmet. To Parker, it looked like a skull was covering his face.

"This will be the last thing your pathetic eyes will see."

In defiance, Parker spat in his face. His attacker snarled and drew his knife.

Ratta ratta ratta ratta ratta!

Blood sprayed from his attacker and he fell next to Parker, dead. "Parker! You alright!?"

A shock trooper crouched next to him and used his Ragnaid. Parker sighed as the pain lessened. "I'm a lot better now."

He chuckled, "Yeah. The wonders of modern medicine. Come on, Sherman is waiting for us."

He helped Parker to his feet. "Wait. Is Lewis alright?"

"One of our men helping him. He's getting him out of the tunnel now."

Parker nodded and they left the trench. Sherman and the team were set up at another entrance that went further into the mine. "Parker. You look like shit."

"Thanks," he said, sarcastically, "Got caught in CQC. It was not pretty."

"Quiet. Parker, you good to fight?"

"Yes sir."

"Alright. The Imps fled further into the mine. Move out and watch for ambushes."

They slowly moved forward checking for possible ambushes. After a few minutes, they started to hear gunfire echo down the tunnel. "That has to be another team. Let's move."

They jogged through the tunnel and the sound of gunfire grew louder and louder. They slowed and the cave slowly opened up and lead to a massive cavern that had multiple levels further down. Across from them, another team was engaging in a firefight with Imperial soldiers. A machine gun had them pinned down. "Let's help them out!"

They rotated around to get flanking shots on the Imperials. There wasn't much cover so they made do with what little they had. "Fire at will!"

Ratta ratta ratta ratta ratta! Ratta ratta ratta ratta ratta ratta!

Bang bang bang bang bang!

"Gallians on our right! GAH!"

"Man down!"

"Lancers! Get up here!"

Four Lancers sprinted up and fired! "HEADS DOWN!"

Four lances slammed into stone around the team! Thankfully no one was wounded or killed. "Kill those Lancers before they bring the whole cave down on our heads!"

Parker took aim and fired dropping one of the Lancers. A second Lancer was killed before the other two got into cover. "Imperials advancing on our position!"

Sherman looked to his left and saw eight Imperials moving up. He fired multiple one-second bursts forcing them to go prone. He dropped to a prone position and reloaded. Behind him, a scout fired five times before reloading and firing again. In front of them, another scout rolled out from the small rock he was using as cover and fired.

BOOM!

Sherman closed his eyes as his ears rung loudly. A pounding headache followed shortly afterward. "Somebody kill those fucking Lancers!"

Parker snapped his rifle up and fired the last two rounds hitting one of the Lancers. He watched him drop his lance and fall. The last Lancer turned and was hit three times in the back; he fell to the cold, stone ground, dead. "Lancers have been dealt with!"

"Good! Now if we kill that gunner we can finally advance!"

"GRENADE!"

A shock trooper grabbed the live grenade and threw it

BOOM!

"AHHHH!"

It exploded tearing his right arm up and knocking him on his back! He scrambled to his feet and took cover behind a small rock. He grabbed his Ragnaid and, with his teeth, activated it. His pain lessened and some of his smaller shrapnel wounds were healed but it did little for his arm. "AH! Son of a bitch this hurts!"

"Sir! The second team is pushing forward!"

"Alright! Drive these Imperials back and we'll regroup with the team!"

Sherman stood up and moved forward. He hip-fired his SMG sending rounds downrange. The rest of his team followed behind him with the shock troopers firing from the hip while the scouts took more precise aim. The Imperials abandoned the first level and fell back to the second.

"Nice to see you Sherman."

"Good to see you Corporal. What's your teams' status?"

"I've lost four men but we're green."

"Alright. Let's clear the Imperials out and secure that camp."

"Sounds like a plan. My team could stay up here and provide supporting fire."

"Good idea Corporal."

He nodded and ordered his team to take up positions on the ledge. They started to fire down on the Imperials while Sherman leads his team to the second level. They took cover behind some hastily assembled sandbags. Sherman blind-fired over the sandbags as rounds tore into them! A lance flew from the bottom level and smashed into the top level!

"You two! Push left and outflank those Imperials! Parker! Go with them! We'll provide covering fire!"

"Sir!"

"Covering fire!"

Sherman and his team laid down a hail of fire! Parker sprinted across open ground and dived behind a small rock wall. He rested his left arm on the wall and fired! He ducked just as a lance flew over him and slammed into the wall behind him! "Fuck me!"

He looked left and saw his two squadmates trading shots with Imps in front of them. One of them was hit multiple times and fell. The second ducked and fired blindly as the Imperials. Parker fired killing two Imps with headshots. A round nailed him in the head and he fell backward.

..."Fuuuuuuuck."

Parker groaned and rubbed his head. He grabbed his helmet and looked it over. The bullet had hit at just the right angle to ricochet. "Well, that's all of my luck for the year."

He put his helmet back on and looked over his cover. His other squadmate had killed two of the Imperials advancing on his position but was pinned by the other two. He pulled the pin on a grenade and threw it!

"Grenade grenade!"

BOOM!

One of the Imperials dived out of cover, he scrambled to his feet but was killed. Parker's squadmate pushed up while he fired at the Imperials across from him. He saw a burst of gunfire come from his left killing two Imperials. The Imperials started to withdraw from their positions.

Two more Gallians sprinted into positions to hit the Imperials from the side. "They're falling back to the third level!"

"Keep the pressure on! Don't let them regroup!"

Parker and the three Gallians pushed forward ahead of the teams. They sprinted down the incline and a hail of gunfire ripped into them! The three Gallians with Parker were cut down and he just dived into cover, although, he was hit three times in the leg. He grit his teeth, "Fuck!" He reached for his Ragnaid and tried to use it. Nothing.

"Goddammit!" He threw the useless kit away and grabbed his rifle. Multiple explosions rocked the cave and he peeked over his cover. The handful of Imperials who were left are now dead or throwing their guns down and surrendering. His squadmates moved to take them into custody.

A medic crouched beside him, "Hang on Parker. This will help."

"Search that camp. It might have valuable information."

"Where do we go from here sir?"

"After we search the camp we'll escort our poisoners out of the mine. Hopefully, the rest of the squad found the miners."

A scout walked up to Sherman. "Sir, there's nothing of value in the tents. Imps destroyed everything."

"Damn. Alright everyone, we're moving out!"