Damn, no new reviewers, I'm trying to fix the formatting problem on chapter five but it's proving troublesome. Oh well.
Chapter 6: The battle for Cheboksary, part 3
The first of the machines came into view.
Sentinels, only about five of them. Scouts no doubt, hovering from place to place, looking for enemy positions, relaying the information to their friends that were hidden away somewhere else, and then joining in the mass slaughter of A.O.H personnel when they showed up.
"Fire!" Bellowed the anonymous sergeant. If he made any other noises after that they were inaudible, gunfire was the only thing that could be heard now, or seen. The bright yellow flashes of the experimental pulse weaponry, the latest breakthrough in A.O.H munitions research, (which was inaccessible in most areas and obsolete by New Order standards), filled the sky.
One of the sentinels died instantly, the energy pulse broke open the metallic head and wreaked havoc with the internal circuitry. The machine fell to the floor like a leaf from a tree in autumn.
Another two sentinels died as they attempted to take cover behind a nearby butcher's shop. The A.O.H weapons tore through the wall after a few seconds, causing a minor landslide of plaster, cement, glass and brick remnants. The sentinels were lurking behind the wall were torn to shreds by weapon's fire shortly afterwards.
The other two sentinels successfully escaped the firing line. One brought forth the miniature communications satellite that was built into an 'arm' of every sentinel. Within moments, every New Order soldier and war machine was informed as to the enemies' location.
Not long now, Jose Benitez thought to himself after he noticed the two sentinels slip away. They'd be back soon enough, and they'd bring hundreds of their friends with them.
He was almost past caring. Only trace elements of fear still haunted him. Most of what he felt now was relief. At least now he wouldn't have to feel the fear of death or defeat that was coming closer and closer towards Spain. He wouldn't have to worry about what would happen to his family and friends back home. He wouldn't have to feel the shame that accompanied this callous attitude towards his loved ones, and he wouldn't have to feel the loathing and contempt for the leaders and ideals of the side he was fighting for. All that was going to end with the rest of him.
"Stand your ground men!" Boomed the voice of the sergeant behind them. "Stand your ground. Kill them all! Kill them for the honour of the Alliance of Humanity."
A weary cheer accompanied this. Very few people cheered with genuine enthusiasm for what the man behind them was saying. Very few people were paying much attention. The only reason they cheered was to provide a momentary relief from the thought of their impending deaths.
Jose didn't cheer. He simply shook his head and rested his hands on top of the firing apparatus momentarily. The same thought repeated in his mind as he did this. Give it up; give it up you pathetic PR shit swallowing moron. Even you must be able to see that we don't stand a chance against those things.
A low whirring sound became audible in the distance; this was a sound that sent a collective chill up every one of the A.O.H soldier's spines. It was the sound of hundreds on sentinels, all flying towards them or clawing their way along the walls of buildings. One man standing close to Jose threw up after hearing the sound. Another person was whimpering. Jose closed his eyes and tried, one last time to picture whatever happy memories of himself and his family he could dig up from his mind. All that came however was an image of his 8-year-old son Antonio spilling a jar of ink onto the carpet. At the time he had been angry, now he would have given almost anything to relive that moment.
And then the image was gone, as the first of the much larger wave of sentinels appeared.
The New Order soldiers that had been clinging to the Porcupine all climbed off once it had reached a slow enough speed. Azami wasted no time in raising her weapon and charging in the direction in which everyone else seemed to be running.
Gunfire could be heard in the distance. The feeble attempt to stave off their deaths Azami thought, grinning as she did so. It'll fade out soon enough.
A.O.H corpses could be seen as the line of marines turned at a street corner. One, the body of a middle aged man with an expression of terror on his face, had simply been riddled full of holes by conventional New Order weaponry. Another; the body of a young looking woman looked as if it had been scratched to death. This was undoubtedly the work of sentinels.
Despite their efforts, it was impossible for New Order soldiers, both man and machine, not to step on the occasional corpse. The charred head of an A.O.H soldier that had presumably been hit by a sentinel's welding torch attachment was crushed under the metallic foot of a humanoid machine soldier. The heated contents were flung in all directions, most colliding with the uniforms of marines close by.
"Watch where you're walking!" Screamed one man, "I just got this sodding thing cleaned!"
A round of faint laughter accompanied this. Not many of the soldiers actually found this overly funny, but it helped quell the remaining nervousness that was circulating within them.
Azami grinned at her comrades' callousness. She wanted to make the soldiers of the Desperate smattering of Racists pay for what they'd done to her, and she didn't want anyone with poorly aimed compassion sharing in her vengeance.
Eventually the marines came to an area where A.O.H soldiers were trying to hold one of the main roads in the city, with limited success as the distant screams, (barely audible over the sound of gunfire), would suggest.
Azami took cover behind a shop wall next to two New Order soldiers that she didn't know. She had hoped to get closer to the battle, somewhere where she could fire a number of shots in the direction of the enemy. Unfortunately, from her current position it seemed as if she'd have to wait to do any killing.
She noticed the bright yellow bolts flying in the direction of her comrades and noticed immediately that they weren't dealing with conventional projectile weaponry. The Alliance of Humanity it seemed had finally developed working pulse weaponry. Not that's it's going to save them of cou...
Azami cut herself off in mid thought as she remembered what this kind of weaponry could do.
"Get away from the buildings! She screamed at the perplexed soldiers near her. She took several steps away from the building and gestured with her arms. "That's fucking pul..."
Too late.
The first gun shots gut through the wall. One humanoid A.I soldier was cut in half instantly, his body gave out a short electrical groan as it died. A human marine's chest seemed to explode as a gunshot passed through the wall and through her.
Azami, and everyone else who was still in one piece, dived for the floor. The gunfire continued for a few moments before it returned to the sentinels that were attacking the forces on the street.
Azami lifted herself off of the road and moved to the corner of the building, which was now simply a pile of rubble. Peering over the top she saw the most likely candidate for the fire she had just had to avoid in the form of a man standing behind a large gun turret, the device looked as if it should be too heavy to lift, anti gravity devices were probably in place to make the task of moving it easier.
Azami lifted her own weapon over the rubble, aimed carefully and sent several shots into the leg and chest of Jose Benitez. A short lived scream which came after the first two shots tore his right leg to ribbons was cut short as the next one tore his heart and lungs out of his back.
To be continued.