First In, Last Out
The Siege of Combat base Gloria
A/n: You can pretty much disregard the secondary title, the story has taken a completely different path than I originally envisioned. I'm just going to keep it up there for continuity's sake. Also, I'm usually on FF.net messenger. A moment of celebration for passing the 15,000 word mark. WOO! Erm…um…yeah, back to the story. Finally, does anyone know where I can find the story line to Starcraft and Brood war online, mainly because I hate having plot holes.
Taggart hugged the ground as the initial volley of Hydra spikes criss- crossed over his head. From the ground the tall grass cut visibility down to a few feet, the only thing he could see was the CMC armor of a dead Seventh marine. Firing erupted up and down the line as other marines tossed themselves flat, the Goliaths opened up, the slamming of their autocannons rising above the C-14 fire. Finally the eight Arclites on the south side of the clearing acquired targets and opened fire.
Sticking his head up, Taggart swung up his C-14 and opened fire on the Zergling that was only 10 yards from his position. The 8mm slugs tore into its carapace, shredding its armored shell, then its internal organs. It finally died five yards from Taggart position. Taggart and his radiomen dropped two more Zerglings in quick succession as they rushed from their burrows. He could see more and more Zerg unburrowing, not enough overrun the marine positions but enough to cause a fairly large firefight. Some Hydralisks were also in the tree line providing fire support.
Aiming the 40mm grenade launcher, Taggart thumped out a cassette of five High-Explosive grenades as fast as he could, the spent casings falling near his feet. The black dots of the grenades flew straight into where the Zerg were unburrowing and exploded. Taggart coolly ejected the emptied grenade cassette and locked in a fresh one. Taking a smoke grenade from its armored hard point, he snapped the safety off with his thumb and tossed it to his front. The grenade lay in the grass, producing greenish smoke in billowing clouds. The firefight quickly spread from the center of the marine line to its flanks and the air was filled with the snap of spines and gauss slugs.
Firing off another quick burst at a Zergling, Taggart ran for the bombed out tank, he slid in behind it just as two other marines came around the front side, panting and out of breath. Both immediately started shooting over the top of the tank, raining hot shell casings down on Taggart who had his back against the tank. His two radio men slid in beside him, he noted with satisfaction that his FO was calling for artillery and his radioman was getting status reports from the three companies in the assault.
The metal carcass rang with return fire as spikes slammed into the charred metal. One marine ducked as spines whipped over his head, the other didn't continuing to fire for several more seconds before he caught one in the side. It spun him around, the one spine wasn't nearly enough to kill him but he crumpled to the side, out from behind the tank. Spines kicked up dust in front of him, then he jerked as several penetrated his armor. The other marine was back up shooting, his C-14 spraying out covering fire, and thumping out two grenades, Taggart reached over and pulled the fallen marine behind cover. The marine shooting ducked behind cover long enough to scream "Corpsmen!" then was back up shooting.
Looking to his left and right, Taggart could see the Goliaths trying to press the Zerg, spikes sparked off the sleek black armor. The Hydralisks and Zerglings were piling up in front of Alpha company. The marines were firing their rifles furiously, Captain Ryan was in the middle of the action, getting his men up and firing. Taggart noticed one Ryan's radiomen collapse like a rag doll, a puff of armor shards lingering in the air. The other one rolled him over, looked up at Ryan and shook his head. Ryan nodded, unhooked the radio and snapped it on to his own armor.
Back on the strip, Hatfield could hear the pounding of his battalions fight. He wished he could be up there with them, but he was needed here. He had gotten the battalion aid station and artillery positions set up as soon as the sweep had started. The three automatic mortars were dug into three craters that were almost overlapping, the four Arclites from Delta company were also in position, their Mjolnir cannons deployed and facing northwards.
He could hear the gun teams relaying coordinates from Taggart's FO. The mortars teams locked magazines with six 60mm mortar rounds into their mortars and slapped the fire buttons. There was a sudden flurry of CLANG's as the mortars launched, their arcs taking them high into the air. The Arclites opened fire with their cannons a moment later. The recoil from the massive guns rocking them back on their supporting legs.
BOOM BOOM BOOM, the incoming rounds from the Arclites and mortars sent dirt cascading high into the air. Zerg simply came apart under the intense bombardment. Taggart saw a Hydralisk take a direct hit, a head this way, claws another way, he thought to himself, and that's one dead bug. The bombardment continued and the marines were still firing furiously, but the fire from the Hydralisks did not slacken, nor did the amount of Zerglings coming from the trees. He could see the Zerg dieing, but it didn't seem to be affecting their combat effectiveness. He sighed, it was going to be one of those days.
His radioman had given him the battalions status, Alpha had six marines KIA and ten WIA. The wounded were currently being moved back to the strip, the dead would be left in place for now. Charlie company had also taken losses, one of their Goliaths was down with a severed leg. Taggart could see the machine from his location behind the tank, it was crumpled on its side its pilot already having escaped ,he could also observe Alpha's marines. They were down in the tall grass, most had dug fighting holes with their entrenching tools or simply blasted one with a 40mm grenade. After the initial volley they had taken almost no casualties so they were simply shooting the Zerg as they appeared. Zerg bodies were piling up, forming a gruesome carpet to the marine positions. A charging Zergling stumbled as autocannon and Impaler fire erupted around it. It fell over as a 20mm round from a HMG blew out its spinal column in a spray of red.
Hatfield watched the handful of wounded working their way through the jungle towards him. Some were able to walk on their own, others were being assisted by able bodied marines. Hatfield sent out a team of litter bearers to help as they hustled forward toward the wounded, he noticed a line of red shapes, moving towards them just inside the tree line. Zerglings.
Hatfield had his C-14 up and opened fire, raking the Zerg column. The Zergling continued to run forward, unaffected by the long distance pelting. Some of the marines carrying the wounded, also saw the Zerg. They quickly set the wounded down and interposed themselves between the wounded soldiers. At a range of 100 yards they opened fire. There were only five marines able to shoot, they poured grenades and rifle fire into the Zerg, some of who exploded or collapsed. Shit shit shit shit, Hatfield thought as he continued to shoot at the Zerglings, his rounds hitting mostly trees and brush, They're right on top of those guys. The lead Zergling was only ten feet away from the thin line of marines when one of the Arclites that had been providing supporting fire depressed its siege cannon and fired a round of canister.
The canister round has been a part of the artillery for hundreds if not thousands of years. Originally consisting of bits of scrap metal rammed on top of a charge of powder, the current Marine Corps canister round consists of thousands of plastic darts, laser configured inside the shell for optimum spread pattern. The effect is still the same as it was hundreds of years ago, a shotgun 120 millimeters in diameter.
Hatfield felt the massive blast roar past his head like a freight train, the whole section of jungle containing the Zerg disappeared in a sudden explosion of dust. The Zerglings, without any hard armor were devastated. The plastic darts, moving at about one thousand feet per second punched through the carapace of the small dog-like animals, but didn't possess the kinetic force to punch out the other side. The Zerglings were bowled over, one side of their bodies covered in holes evenly spaced apart.
The marines closest to the impact zone of the flechettes shot the few Zerg who were left standing, and continued dragging the wounded. Hatfield immediately redeployed some of the marines he had available to cover the path the wounded would have to take. It was going to be a long day.
" Gunslinger Six to all units, three…two…one…execute pull back now!" Taggart ordered over the com link. All around him, marines backed out of the fighting positions they had dug during the days fighting, they fired blindly at the jungle and the few live Zerg charging at them. The covering fire from the Goliaths and Arclites streaked over head. The mass of tracers and shells screamed overhead, illuminating the darkening battlefield like laser beams. Artillery fire still exploded in the tree line, with the smaller mortars tossing smoke canisters among the marines. It was an impressive display of firepower, and Taggart knew, completely ineffective. The Zerg had dug into that tree line hard and they weren't planning on moving. Taggart had spent the entire day trying to either flank or destroy the Zerg positions but the aliens had chosen their defensive positions with intelligence and every attempt at a breakthrough had been met with massed firepower on the part of the Zerg.
As the marines pulled back, dragging the dead and wounded the Zerg followed cautiously, an Ultralisk stumbled out of the trees and was promptly greeted by a hail of autocannon fire that sent it crashing to the ground. It struggled to rise then disappeared as several Arclites pounded cannon shells into the massive armored carapace. Several more Zerglings and Hydralisks were gunned downed and added to the pile of Zerg bodies opposite the marines and a few more marines were hit as they fell back.
Taggart trudged south at a slow walk despite the Zerg still sniping at him. He was thinking of an incident that had happened earlier. A flanking patrol had been sent out to try and get around the Zerg, they had been shot up and a wounded marine had been left sitting up against a single tree, the bodies of his fellow marines in a circle around him. Taggart had ran down to where the patrol was with a small group of volunteer and had yelled for the young marine to crawl to him. The marine had simply sat against the tree, telling Taggart to just leave him alone so he could finish his smoke. Taggart had looked at the young marines in the trench next to him thinking that he could send all of them, half of them or one of them to go get the young marine. Taggart gradually sent the marines back to the main battle line until it was just him and the wounded marine. He finally thought Fuck it, he's not willing to do what he has to do, and I'm not willing to do what I have to do. He had gotten out of the trench and walked backed to the burned out tank, waiting for a Zerg sniper to drop him.
Now as the marines set up a perimeter on the northern section of the strip, Taggart was having second thoughts, maybe it was his own sense of fatalism, created by years of front line combat, that had prevented him from getting that kid. He sat on the edge of a foxhole with Hatfield, drinking coffee and telling him about the wounded soldier. Hatfield listened but didn't say much, because there wasn't much to say.
Dropships from the Concord landed on the strip and the wounded and dead were brought out. They Concord would be leaving the next morning, and would be back in a week to pick up the marines. Until then all wounded would be airlifted to Gloria.
The Arclite's, the whole company now, were in Siege mode, tossing shells into the Zerg positions. The crews had set their tanks on autopilot, they fed in the coordinates they wanted to bombard and went to sleep. The bombardment would continue throughout the night, The Goliath pilots powered down their armor and curled up in their seats, the Alpha marines did the same, with every other man on watch.
Taggart closed his eyes to get some sleep, tomorrow the marines would try to break through the Zerg line. In the distance the lights on Gloria snapped on, creating a heavenly glow about the combat base, he could hear the bagpipes being played from atop a bunker, the mournful wail somehow comforting to the marines crouched in their foxholes, awaiting another day.
The Siege of Combat base Gloria
A/n: You can pretty much disregard the secondary title, the story has taken a completely different path than I originally envisioned. I'm just going to keep it up there for continuity's sake. Also, I'm usually on FF.net messenger. A moment of celebration for passing the 15,000 word mark. WOO! Erm…um…yeah, back to the story. Finally, does anyone know where I can find the story line to Starcraft and Brood war online, mainly because I hate having plot holes.
Taggart hugged the ground as the initial volley of Hydra spikes criss- crossed over his head. From the ground the tall grass cut visibility down to a few feet, the only thing he could see was the CMC armor of a dead Seventh marine. Firing erupted up and down the line as other marines tossed themselves flat, the Goliaths opened up, the slamming of their autocannons rising above the C-14 fire. Finally the eight Arclites on the south side of the clearing acquired targets and opened fire.
Sticking his head up, Taggart swung up his C-14 and opened fire on the Zergling that was only 10 yards from his position. The 8mm slugs tore into its carapace, shredding its armored shell, then its internal organs. It finally died five yards from Taggart position. Taggart and his radiomen dropped two more Zerglings in quick succession as they rushed from their burrows. He could see more and more Zerg unburrowing, not enough overrun the marine positions but enough to cause a fairly large firefight. Some Hydralisks were also in the tree line providing fire support.
Aiming the 40mm grenade launcher, Taggart thumped out a cassette of five High-Explosive grenades as fast as he could, the spent casings falling near his feet. The black dots of the grenades flew straight into where the Zerg were unburrowing and exploded. Taggart coolly ejected the emptied grenade cassette and locked in a fresh one. Taking a smoke grenade from its armored hard point, he snapped the safety off with his thumb and tossed it to his front. The grenade lay in the grass, producing greenish smoke in billowing clouds. The firefight quickly spread from the center of the marine line to its flanks and the air was filled with the snap of spines and gauss slugs.
Firing off another quick burst at a Zergling, Taggart ran for the bombed out tank, he slid in behind it just as two other marines came around the front side, panting and out of breath. Both immediately started shooting over the top of the tank, raining hot shell casings down on Taggart who had his back against the tank. His two radio men slid in beside him, he noted with satisfaction that his FO was calling for artillery and his radioman was getting status reports from the three companies in the assault.
The metal carcass rang with return fire as spikes slammed into the charred metal. One marine ducked as spines whipped over his head, the other didn't continuing to fire for several more seconds before he caught one in the side. It spun him around, the one spine wasn't nearly enough to kill him but he crumpled to the side, out from behind the tank. Spines kicked up dust in front of him, then he jerked as several penetrated his armor. The other marine was back up shooting, his C-14 spraying out covering fire, and thumping out two grenades, Taggart reached over and pulled the fallen marine behind cover. The marine shooting ducked behind cover long enough to scream "Corpsmen!" then was back up shooting.
Looking to his left and right, Taggart could see the Goliaths trying to press the Zerg, spikes sparked off the sleek black armor. The Hydralisks and Zerglings were piling up in front of Alpha company. The marines were firing their rifles furiously, Captain Ryan was in the middle of the action, getting his men up and firing. Taggart noticed one Ryan's radiomen collapse like a rag doll, a puff of armor shards lingering in the air. The other one rolled him over, looked up at Ryan and shook his head. Ryan nodded, unhooked the radio and snapped it on to his own armor.
Back on the strip, Hatfield could hear the pounding of his battalions fight. He wished he could be up there with them, but he was needed here. He had gotten the battalion aid station and artillery positions set up as soon as the sweep had started. The three automatic mortars were dug into three craters that were almost overlapping, the four Arclites from Delta company were also in position, their Mjolnir cannons deployed and facing northwards.
He could hear the gun teams relaying coordinates from Taggart's FO. The mortars teams locked magazines with six 60mm mortar rounds into their mortars and slapped the fire buttons. There was a sudden flurry of CLANG's as the mortars launched, their arcs taking them high into the air. The Arclites opened fire with their cannons a moment later. The recoil from the massive guns rocking them back on their supporting legs.
BOOM BOOM BOOM, the incoming rounds from the Arclites and mortars sent dirt cascading high into the air. Zerg simply came apart under the intense bombardment. Taggart saw a Hydralisk take a direct hit, a head this way, claws another way, he thought to himself, and that's one dead bug. The bombardment continued and the marines were still firing furiously, but the fire from the Hydralisks did not slacken, nor did the amount of Zerglings coming from the trees. He could see the Zerg dieing, but it didn't seem to be affecting their combat effectiveness. He sighed, it was going to be one of those days.
His radioman had given him the battalions status, Alpha had six marines KIA and ten WIA. The wounded were currently being moved back to the strip, the dead would be left in place for now. Charlie company had also taken losses, one of their Goliaths was down with a severed leg. Taggart could see the machine from his location behind the tank, it was crumpled on its side its pilot already having escaped ,he could also observe Alpha's marines. They were down in the tall grass, most had dug fighting holes with their entrenching tools or simply blasted one with a 40mm grenade. After the initial volley they had taken almost no casualties so they were simply shooting the Zerg as they appeared. Zerg bodies were piling up, forming a gruesome carpet to the marine positions. A charging Zergling stumbled as autocannon and Impaler fire erupted around it. It fell over as a 20mm round from a HMG blew out its spinal column in a spray of red.
Hatfield watched the handful of wounded working their way through the jungle towards him. Some were able to walk on their own, others were being assisted by able bodied marines. Hatfield sent out a team of litter bearers to help as they hustled forward toward the wounded, he noticed a line of red shapes, moving towards them just inside the tree line. Zerglings.
Hatfield had his C-14 up and opened fire, raking the Zerg column. The Zergling continued to run forward, unaffected by the long distance pelting. Some of the marines carrying the wounded, also saw the Zerg. They quickly set the wounded down and interposed themselves between the wounded soldiers. At a range of 100 yards they opened fire. There were only five marines able to shoot, they poured grenades and rifle fire into the Zerg, some of who exploded or collapsed. Shit shit shit shit, Hatfield thought as he continued to shoot at the Zerglings, his rounds hitting mostly trees and brush, They're right on top of those guys. The lead Zergling was only ten feet away from the thin line of marines when one of the Arclites that had been providing supporting fire depressed its siege cannon and fired a round of canister.
The canister round has been a part of the artillery for hundreds if not thousands of years. Originally consisting of bits of scrap metal rammed on top of a charge of powder, the current Marine Corps canister round consists of thousands of plastic darts, laser configured inside the shell for optimum spread pattern. The effect is still the same as it was hundreds of years ago, a shotgun 120 millimeters in diameter.
Hatfield felt the massive blast roar past his head like a freight train, the whole section of jungle containing the Zerg disappeared in a sudden explosion of dust. The Zerglings, without any hard armor were devastated. The plastic darts, moving at about one thousand feet per second punched through the carapace of the small dog-like animals, but didn't possess the kinetic force to punch out the other side. The Zerglings were bowled over, one side of their bodies covered in holes evenly spaced apart.
The marines closest to the impact zone of the flechettes shot the few Zerg who were left standing, and continued dragging the wounded. Hatfield immediately redeployed some of the marines he had available to cover the path the wounded would have to take. It was going to be a long day.
" Gunslinger Six to all units, three…two…one…execute pull back now!" Taggart ordered over the com link. All around him, marines backed out of the fighting positions they had dug during the days fighting, they fired blindly at the jungle and the few live Zerg charging at them. The covering fire from the Goliaths and Arclites streaked over head. The mass of tracers and shells screamed overhead, illuminating the darkening battlefield like laser beams. Artillery fire still exploded in the tree line, with the smaller mortars tossing smoke canisters among the marines. It was an impressive display of firepower, and Taggart knew, completely ineffective. The Zerg had dug into that tree line hard and they weren't planning on moving. Taggart had spent the entire day trying to either flank or destroy the Zerg positions but the aliens had chosen their defensive positions with intelligence and every attempt at a breakthrough had been met with massed firepower on the part of the Zerg.
As the marines pulled back, dragging the dead and wounded the Zerg followed cautiously, an Ultralisk stumbled out of the trees and was promptly greeted by a hail of autocannon fire that sent it crashing to the ground. It struggled to rise then disappeared as several Arclites pounded cannon shells into the massive armored carapace. Several more Zerglings and Hydralisks were gunned downed and added to the pile of Zerg bodies opposite the marines and a few more marines were hit as they fell back.
Taggart trudged south at a slow walk despite the Zerg still sniping at him. He was thinking of an incident that had happened earlier. A flanking patrol had been sent out to try and get around the Zerg, they had been shot up and a wounded marine had been left sitting up against a single tree, the bodies of his fellow marines in a circle around him. Taggart had ran down to where the patrol was with a small group of volunteer and had yelled for the young marine to crawl to him. The marine had simply sat against the tree, telling Taggart to just leave him alone so he could finish his smoke. Taggart had looked at the young marines in the trench next to him thinking that he could send all of them, half of them or one of them to go get the young marine. Taggart gradually sent the marines back to the main battle line until it was just him and the wounded marine. He finally thought Fuck it, he's not willing to do what he has to do, and I'm not willing to do what I have to do. He had gotten out of the trench and walked backed to the burned out tank, waiting for a Zerg sniper to drop him.
Now as the marines set up a perimeter on the northern section of the strip, Taggart was having second thoughts, maybe it was his own sense of fatalism, created by years of front line combat, that had prevented him from getting that kid. He sat on the edge of a foxhole with Hatfield, drinking coffee and telling him about the wounded soldier. Hatfield listened but didn't say much, because there wasn't much to say.
Dropships from the Concord landed on the strip and the wounded and dead were brought out. They Concord would be leaving the next morning, and would be back in a week to pick up the marines. Until then all wounded would be airlifted to Gloria.
The Arclite's, the whole company now, were in Siege mode, tossing shells into the Zerg positions. The crews had set their tanks on autopilot, they fed in the coordinates they wanted to bombard and went to sleep. The bombardment would continue throughout the night, The Goliath pilots powered down their armor and curled up in their seats, the Alpha marines did the same, with every other man on watch.
Taggart closed his eyes to get some sleep, tomorrow the marines would try to break through the Zerg line. In the distance the lights on Gloria snapped on, creating a heavenly glow about the combat base, he could hear the bagpipes being played from atop a bunker, the mournful wail somehow comforting to the marines crouched in their foxholes, awaiting another day.