First In, Last Out
The Siege of Combat base Gloria
The jungle was shredded. 8mm rounds had left the jungle tattered and broken. Branches hung limp from trees like broken arms, trunks pockmarked from a dozen different hits oozed sap, slowly bleeding out. Zerg bodies, the ones that hadn't been dragged away, lay still. A Hydralisk lay on the ground, cut in half at the waist, thick ropy intestines slowly oozing out onto the ground. Grayish smoke drifted through the trees, the smoke from weapons and grenades and burning foliage. The ground was splattered with green blood and shell casings, some of which still had faint wisps of smoke trailing from their open ends.
Taggart stood amid the destruction talking with Captain Ryan, other marines lay spread out in a line facing north, taking cover behind fallen trees and bodies, the grunts sat and talked from their positions. They reloaded magazines and adjusted gear on their armor. They talked in low murmurs about the assault on the tree line but kept an eye peeled for more Zerg. Other marines walked through the bodies, firing single shots into each. The bodies jerked with the shots. The two officers ignored the shots, Captain Ryan, while not as experienced as Major Taggart, was experienced enough to ignore the sound of gunfire.
Ryan was still pumped from having led the assault on the tree line. His heart felt like it would beat its way out of his chest and he could barely concentrate on what his CO was saying. The major was ordering his company to come on line and move north. Bravo company would be on his left, Charlie would move up from the strip and take position on his right. Delta would send up four Arclites as soon as they landed to create a reserve and leave eight in Siege mode for fire support. The line would sweep north about 1,000 yards, if they didn't encounter resistance they'd fall back to the strip and march the couple hundred yards back to Gloria. Ryan yes sirred and nodded in agreement. At this point Taggart could have ordered him to light himself on fire and he would have obeyed.
Taggart watched the young captain, he was practically hopping from foot to foot. There was a huffing sound and Taggart turned to see the Sergeant Major huffing into the jungle from the strip. "Sorry sir," Hatfield explained, "One of the 'lings decided it wasn't quite dead yet. Almost took my foot off." Taggart looked down, the leg of Hatfield's CMC suit was scratched and chunk looked like it was bitten off.
Taggart nodded and filled Hatfield in on the plan off attack. He nodded "Where do you want me sir?"
"I want you back on the strip, Sergeant Major, you're in charge of LZ security, the wounded and the battalion mortars when they drop in." Hatfield nodded and ran back out of the jungle towards the strip huffing and puffing.
Looking down at Ryan, Taggart nodded, "Let's do it Captain, jump off in fifteen minutes." Ryan scrambled off towards his gaggle of radiomen and started giving orders in a cool, level headed voice. His marines quickly formed into three distinct platoons, kneeling in one long line. One platoon was directed back behind the other two so two platoons were up and the other back. The Goliaths of Bravo and Charlie split off and assembled on each flank of Alpha. The birdlike feet of the massive machines crunched down foliage and small trees. The grunts did a final check of ammo and grenades, Corporals got thumbs up from their fire teams, Sergeants got thumbs up from their squads, Lieutenant from their platoons and finally the Captains got the final thumbs up from their platoons. With the exception of Delta company, 1st Battalion was ready to roll.
Taggart watched on his tactical display as all the dots representing his various forces assembled. There was the chatter of autocannon's and the whine of ramjet engines. Taggart watched as the third and final wave of dropships streaked overhead to deposit the third and final wave of 1st Battalion marines. Delta companies tanks rolled out of the dropships. The tanks couldn't be dropped from heights like the Goliath's so the dropships actually had to touch down. The engines from the dropships kicked up test and blew the thin scraggily grass on the strip away from the ships. The tanks rolled out and formed into their own platoons. More marines also poured out, 1st Battalions support personnel carrying supplies and the battalions heavy weapons platoon with its three automatic mortar launchers and heavy anti-tank gun.
Taggart, turned towards his radioman and FO who were crouched behind him "You two, get in contact the CO of Gloria and tell him we're beginning our sweep, also I want on-call fire support if we need it." Turning, Taggart patched the small communication system built into his suit into Delta Six's tank. "Delta Six, this is Gunslinger six, come in"
"Read you, Gunslinger six" came the reply from Captain Bill Wilder
"You get the order's over your Tac computer?"
"Yes sir, moving into position now, I've got third platoon up on fire support, 1st and 2nd are moving behind Alpha now"
"Where are you gonna be six?"
"You know me, I'll be riding up with second platoon"
"Roger that Delta Six, Gunslinger out"
Taggart inwardly grimaced, Wilder shouldn't be at the front of the formation like a green 2nd Lieutenant but Taggart knew that if he ordered Wilder to the rear he would simply ignore him. As long as Wilder ran a tight company Taggart would let him do whatever he wanted. Fucking tankers are nuts anyway he thought to himself.
The eight tanks of Delta company's first and second platoons rolled across the strip trailing dust. Four more tanks locked their supporting legs onto the hard earth and activated their siege cannons. The massive barrels swiveled so they were facing north, glinting in the hot sun. The eight tanks, including Wilder's Command and Control tank which bristled with radio antennae, rumbled into the forest. They stopped about 50 yards behind the line of infantry. Standard doctrine said that marines should advance behind the tanks, however, too many Arclites had been cooked by a fast Zergling ambush before the infantry could react.
There was movement behind Taggart, turning he saw two marines dragging Alpha's one KIA by the arms. The dead marine jostled and bumped with every irregularity in the ground. His chest plate was had three deep rents in it, blood pooled in the gashes and every time the marines jerked his body it ran out and trickled down the side of his armor.
Taggart looked away, it was just another piece of meat, nothing more, nothing less. He eyed the battle line, and opened the communications link in his CMC suit to the entire battalion. "Battalion" he called out "Prepare to advance," there was a pause as the marines rose to their feet and chambered rounds into their rifles, Taggart raised his hand, holding it above his head, he could feel the eyes of the grunts on him, he swung his hand down in a violent motion "Advance!" The long lines of marines and Goliaths swung into motion. The sounds of the advance were muted, the rustle of camouflage leaves against metal, the whine of the leg actuators from the Goliath's and the distant hissing from the radios. The eight engines from the Arclites rumbled to life and they started to slowly advance behind the marines.
Taggart and his HQ was between the grunts and the Arclites, he could see Captain Ryan talking with his radioman, trying to keep his platoon's online, the thick jungle was hindering the movements of the battalion, one platoon would hit a relatively open spot and speed ahead, another would be slowed down by thick jungle. The Goliaths had an easier time of it, there were fewer to manage and they could simply crush smaller trees. The battalion crept northward. Taggart watched the wavering line of blue on his tactical map, while the jungle was thick, it only lasted for another hundred yards before the land opened up into grassland and clumps of trees.
There was a sudden burst of fire from a C-14, Taggart simply stopped, he watched the less inexperienced members of the company throw themselves flat and ready their weapons. The more experienced soldiers simply stopped and listened, the word filtered down through the com system. "Nothing, just shadows"
"Shadows"
"Shadows"
The marines who had dove for cover regained there feet while those who hadn't looked on with a mixture of disdain and bemusement. Taggart knew that the marine who had fired had probably seen something, it had just disappeared, the Zerg were always watching. Taggart recalled the words of an old black First Sergeant, who had remarked after an incident like this "Those fuckers be ghosting us man." Ghosts. Shadows. The battalion continued north through the jungle, fingers a little tighter on triggers and muscles a little tenser.
The men of 1st Battalion reached the end of the jungle and broke out into a field of elephant grass. The grass was about waist high. The marines stopped half out of training and half out of shock. The field was one long panorama of death. Marine bodies lay in every possible position, many had detached limbs or heads. A blasted Arclite lay near the middle of the field still producing a few wisps of smoke, pieces of Goliaths lay near by. The stink of death was in the air.
The com line crackled to life with the voice of an anonymous grunt "Jesus, these must be those 7th marine guys"
"They didn't even pick up their dead man"
"Jesus, do you smell that, I got a bad feeling about this, real bad"
Taggart cut in "Clear the damn channel, let's do this, check the bodies and grab all the weapons, Delta, you're on over watch, sweep to the opposite side of the field." There was a chorus of confirmations and the marines moved out into the field. The line moved forward into the field, occasionally a marine would halt to check a dead marine's vital signs or pick up an abandoned rifle. The heat was intense, Taggart could feel it through is suit. The dead bodies had turned black in the heat and started to bloat. Taggart was glad he had his suit sealed or he wouldn't have been able to stand the stench.
Each corpse he passed told a story, a dead medic, half her skull torn off, flopped on top of another dead marine. Two shredded marines back to back, a crater made by a Guardian blast scattered with pieces of marine and torn bits of radio. As he neared the burned out Arclite there was a sudden eruption of dirt about twenty yards beyond the tank. "Contact front!" Taggart screamed and threw himself to the ground as the world in front of the marines exploded.
The Siege of Combat base Gloria
The jungle was shredded. 8mm rounds had left the jungle tattered and broken. Branches hung limp from trees like broken arms, trunks pockmarked from a dozen different hits oozed sap, slowly bleeding out. Zerg bodies, the ones that hadn't been dragged away, lay still. A Hydralisk lay on the ground, cut in half at the waist, thick ropy intestines slowly oozing out onto the ground. Grayish smoke drifted through the trees, the smoke from weapons and grenades and burning foliage. The ground was splattered with green blood and shell casings, some of which still had faint wisps of smoke trailing from their open ends.
Taggart stood amid the destruction talking with Captain Ryan, other marines lay spread out in a line facing north, taking cover behind fallen trees and bodies, the grunts sat and talked from their positions. They reloaded magazines and adjusted gear on their armor. They talked in low murmurs about the assault on the tree line but kept an eye peeled for more Zerg. Other marines walked through the bodies, firing single shots into each. The bodies jerked with the shots. The two officers ignored the shots, Captain Ryan, while not as experienced as Major Taggart, was experienced enough to ignore the sound of gunfire.
Ryan was still pumped from having led the assault on the tree line. His heart felt like it would beat its way out of his chest and he could barely concentrate on what his CO was saying. The major was ordering his company to come on line and move north. Bravo company would be on his left, Charlie would move up from the strip and take position on his right. Delta would send up four Arclites as soon as they landed to create a reserve and leave eight in Siege mode for fire support. The line would sweep north about 1,000 yards, if they didn't encounter resistance they'd fall back to the strip and march the couple hundred yards back to Gloria. Ryan yes sirred and nodded in agreement. At this point Taggart could have ordered him to light himself on fire and he would have obeyed.
Taggart watched the young captain, he was practically hopping from foot to foot. There was a huffing sound and Taggart turned to see the Sergeant Major huffing into the jungle from the strip. "Sorry sir," Hatfield explained, "One of the 'lings decided it wasn't quite dead yet. Almost took my foot off." Taggart looked down, the leg of Hatfield's CMC suit was scratched and chunk looked like it was bitten off.
Taggart nodded and filled Hatfield in on the plan off attack. He nodded "Where do you want me sir?"
"I want you back on the strip, Sergeant Major, you're in charge of LZ security, the wounded and the battalion mortars when they drop in." Hatfield nodded and ran back out of the jungle towards the strip huffing and puffing.
Looking down at Ryan, Taggart nodded, "Let's do it Captain, jump off in fifteen minutes." Ryan scrambled off towards his gaggle of radiomen and started giving orders in a cool, level headed voice. His marines quickly formed into three distinct platoons, kneeling in one long line. One platoon was directed back behind the other two so two platoons were up and the other back. The Goliaths of Bravo and Charlie split off and assembled on each flank of Alpha. The birdlike feet of the massive machines crunched down foliage and small trees. The grunts did a final check of ammo and grenades, Corporals got thumbs up from their fire teams, Sergeants got thumbs up from their squads, Lieutenant from their platoons and finally the Captains got the final thumbs up from their platoons. With the exception of Delta company, 1st Battalion was ready to roll.
Taggart watched on his tactical display as all the dots representing his various forces assembled. There was the chatter of autocannon's and the whine of ramjet engines. Taggart watched as the third and final wave of dropships streaked overhead to deposit the third and final wave of 1st Battalion marines. Delta companies tanks rolled out of the dropships. The tanks couldn't be dropped from heights like the Goliath's so the dropships actually had to touch down. The engines from the dropships kicked up test and blew the thin scraggily grass on the strip away from the ships. The tanks rolled out and formed into their own platoons. More marines also poured out, 1st Battalions support personnel carrying supplies and the battalions heavy weapons platoon with its three automatic mortar launchers and heavy anti-tank gun.
Taggart, turned towards his radioman and FO who were crouched behind him "You two, get in contact the CO of Gloria and tell him we're beginning our sweep, also I want on-call fire support if we need it." Turning, Taggart patched the small communication system built into his suit into Delta Six's tank. "Delta Six, this is Gunslinger six, come in"
"Read you, Gunslinger six" came the reply from Captain Bill Wilder
"You get the order's over your Tac computer?"
"Yes sir, moving into position now, I've got third platoon up on fire support, 1st and 2nd are moving behind Alpha now"
"Where are you gonna be six?"
"You know me, I'll be riding up with second platoon"
"Roger that Delta Six, Gunslinger out"
Taggart inwardly grimaced, Wilder shouldn't be at the front of the formation like a green 2nd Lieutenant but Taggart knew that if he ordered Wilder to the rear he would simply ignore him. As long as Wilder ran a tight company Taggart would let him do whatever he wanted. Fucking tankers are nuts anyway he thought to himself.
The eight tanks of Delta company's first and second platoons rolled across the strip trailing dust. Four more tanks locked their supporting legs onto the hard earth and activated their siege cannons. The massive barrels swiveled so they were facing north, glinting in the hot sun. The eight tanks, including Wilder's Command and Control tank which bristled with radio antennae, rumbled into the forest. They stopped about 50 yards behind the line of infantry. Standard doctrine said that marines should advance behind the tanks, however, too many Arclites had been cooked by a fast Zergling ambush before the infantry could react.
There was movement behind Taggart, turning he saw two marines dragging Alpha's one KIA by the arms. The dead marine jostled and bumped with every irregularity in the ground. His chest plate was had three deep rents in it, blood pooled in the gashes and every time the marines jerked his body it ran out and trickled down the side of his armor.
Taggart looked away, it was just another piece of meat, nothing more, nothing less. He eyed the battle line, and opened the communications link in his CMC suit to the entire battalion. "Battalion" he called out "Prepare to advance," there was a pause as the marines rose to their feet and chambered rounds into their rifles, Taggart raised his hand, holding it above his head, he could feel the eyes of the grunts on him, he swung his hand down in a violent motion "Advance!" The long lines of marines and Goliaths swung into motion. The sounds of the advance were muted, the rustle of camouflage leaves against metal, the whine of the leg actuators from the Goliath's and the distant hissing from the radios. The eight engines from the Arclites rumbled to life and they started to slowly advance behind the marines.
Taggart and his HQ was between the grunts and the Arclites, he could see Captain Ryan talking with his radioman, trying to keep his platoon's online, the thick jungle was hindering the movements of the battalion, one platoon would hit a relatively open spot and speed ahead, another would be slowed down by thick jungle. The Goliaths had an easier time of it, there were fewer to manage and they could simply crush smaller trees. The battalion crept northward. Taggart watched the wavering line of blue on his tactical map, while the jungle was thick, it only lasted for another hundred yards before the land opened up into grassland and clumps of trees.
There was a sudden burst of fire from a C-14, Taggart simply stopped, he watched the less inexperienced members of the company throw themselves flat and ready their weapons. The more experienced soldiers simply stopped and listened, the word filtered down through the com system. "Nothing, just shadows"
"Shadows"
"Shadows"
The marines who had dove for cover regained there feet while those who hadn't looked on with a mixture of disdain and bemusement. Taggart knew that the marine who had fired had probably seen something, it had just disappeared, the Zerg were always watching. Taggart recalled the words of an old black First Sergeant, who had remarked after an incident like this "Those fuckers be ghosting us man." Ghosts. Shadows. The battalion continued north through the jungle, fingers a little tighter on triggers and muscles a little tenser.
The men of 1st Battalion reached the end of the jungle and broke out into a field of elephant grass. The grass was about waist high. The marines stopped half out of training and half out of shock. The field was one long panorama of death. Marine bodies lay in every possible position, many had detached limbs or heads. A blasted Arclite lay near the middle of the field still producing a few wisps of smoke, pieces of Goliaths lay near by. The stink of death was in the air.
The com line crackled to life with the voice of an anonymous grunt "Jesus, these must be those 7th marine guys"
"They didn't even pick up their dead man"
"Jesus, do you smell that, I got a bad feeling about this, real bad"
Taggart cut in "Clear the damn channel, let's do this, check the bodies and grab all the weapons, Delta, you're on over watch, sweep to the opposite side of the field." There was a chorus of confirmations and the marines moved out into the field. The line moved forward into the field, occasionally a marine would halt to check a dead marine's vital signs or pick up an abandoned rifle. The heat was intense, Taggart could feel it through is suit. The dead bodies had turned black in the heat and started to bloat. Taggart was glad he had his suit sealed or he wouldn't have been able to stand the stench.
Each corpse he passed told a story, a dead medic, half her skull torn off, flopped on top of another dead marine. Two shredded marines back to back, a crater made by a Guardian blast scattered with pieces of marine and torn bits of radio. As he neared the burned out Arclite there was a sudden eruption of dirt about twenty yards beyond the tank. "Contact front!" Taggart screamed and threw himself to the ground as the world in front of the marines exploded.