The Gallian attack began with an artillery barrage but with smoke rounds not high explosive. Once the screen has been made the Gallians quickly advance. They have to cross the open ground quickly or they'll be cut down.

"Move like your life depends on it! IT DOES!"

The Imperials fired blindly into the smoke. When the HMGs fired they cut down dozens of Gallians in seconds. As her allies fell around her Brooks kept sprinting knowing the only way she can survive is reaching the trenches. She's so focused that she runs into the trench slamming into the wall so hard the wind is knocked out of her and she falls onto her back. She got up and sees a machine gun to her left. She kills the gunner and loader reveling herself to the Imps.

"GALLIANS IN THE TRENCH!"

She shot the Imp who spotted her and lies prone. Two Imperials come looking and she kills both of them before reloading. There is gunfire behind her, and she looks over her shoulder. Justin has just jumped into the trench and killed an Imp who was sneaking up behind her. "I've got your back sir!" They move up the trench quickly running into resistance. Brooks hit the dirt while Justin crouched behind her and fired.

Three members of the 422nd jumped into the trench surprising the Imperials. They quickly killed them and engaged more Imperials in the trench. Brooks and Justin moved up to them. Brooks recognizes the one of them, the Darcsen from before. The second member is a scout and her most striking feature is her two-tone red and white hair. The third member is a shock trooper with a version of the 422nd uniform that has a jacket and snug fitting pants with yellow running up their sides. She has come to the conclusion that the 422nd doesn't really have a standard uniform. Just another oddity about the unit. They quickly moved through the trench leaving Chole and Justin to fight on their own.

"Ah! Son of a bitch!"

"Justin! You alright!?"

"Yeah! Don't worry about me!"

Brooks stayed in cover as bullets tore into the trench. A grenade landed at her feet. "DOWN!" She jumped away. BOOM! It exploded raining dirt down on her. She stood up and turned around just as a shock trooper rounded the corner. She fired hitting him in the chest twice; he fell and didn't get back up.

Four of her squad mates jumped into the trench and drove the advancing Imperials back. Justin got to his feet, having used his Ragnaid to heal his wound. "I'm good sir!"

"Then let's get back to it!" They followed after their squad mates who are engaging the Imperials. The trench splits off in two directions and the Imps are defending both routes. A jet of blue flame shot down the trench. Their squad mates quickly scrambled backwards to avoid being burnt. The Imperials used this to advance. Brooks and Justian covered their squad mates as they fell back. A jet of flame shot towards them and Justin fired down its track hoping to kill the flame trooper. They fell back and Brooks readied grenade. She through it at the split and it exploded.

"PUSH FORWARD!"

They pushed the Imperials back and made them retreat. "We'll split up. You three head down this trench. We'll head done the other."

"SIR!"

"Justin, you're on point."

"Got it."

Rockets screamed over their trench followed by the super-heavy cannons on the massive tank firing. "We have to destroy that monster, and fast."

An Imperial tank backed over the trench. It exploded when a tank shell hit its ammo rack. The fire team ducked, "Nice to see our armor is pulling their weight!"

"We have to pull ours! Keep moving!"

Ahead of them, some of their squad mates are engaged in a fight. They moved up to them and added their firepower. "Damn fine timing sergeant!"

"What have we got!?"

"Imperials have a damn MG up there! It's already cut our first advance to pieces! I sent some men to flank it but they clearly haven't succeeded!" There is an explosion and the MG fell silent. "Maybe I was wrong! MOVE UP!" They rushed the position and caught the Imperials on the retreat. "What the hell took you so long!?"

"We got bogged down sir! If it wasn't for the 422nd we'd all be dead!"

"Where are they now!?"

"They split off once they saved our asses! I saw them heading for that massive tank!"

"Crazy bastards! We'll meet up with them later! For now, secure this trench line!"

"Ah hell! Enemy aircraft!"

"Hit the deck!" A flight of four biplanes strafed the trench lines. They followed up by firing rockets into the trench. "Everyone alright!?" They shouted their affirmatives and got to their feet. "Looks like they're coming around for another pass!"

Ratta ratta ratta ratta ratta!

Two squad mates are riddled with bullets as Imperials charge their position! "Counter-attack!"

"Grab that MG!" Two of their squad mates maned the MG and set it up. "Grenade!" It exploded and the Imps are on top of them. Their squad mates on the MG are killed before they can fire. Brooks found herself on the defensive as and Imp attacked her with a bayonet. Justin killed him but was shot twice dropping his SMG and falling on his back. He pulled his sidearm and fired. A squad mate grabbed him and pulled him into cover. BANG! Bang bang bang! Bang!

"Fall back!"

"I've got you covered sergeant!"

Brooks fired twice before falling back. The shock trooper back peddled firing as he did so. He tossed a grenade and turned to run. Brooks covered him until he got into cover. "Dammit!" RATTA RATTA RATTA RATTA RATTA! The opened up again suppressing them. "Fall back! We can't fight them here!" They continued to fall back with two squad mates covering them.

"I hope squad twelve is having more luck than we are!"

"KEEP YOUR DAMN HEADS DOWN!"

Three fireteams from Squad Twelve are pinned down by the HMGs on the massive Imperial tank. The Imperials are pushing forward with tank support. "Where the hell is our armor support!?"

"They can't get close to that thing! Its main gun is a fucking battleship gun!" The twin cannons roared almost in response to what he said. Jess winced as her ears ring like a bell tower. "We have to destroy the HMGs on that tank!"

"How the hell are we going to do that!?"

"I need your fireteams to stay here and draw its fire! I'll take an AT fireteam and destroy the MGs on this side!"

"Make it quick ma'am! I don't know how long we can hold this position!"

"Parker, Sherman and you three lancers are with me!"

"On it ma'am!"

They moved through the trench keeping their heads down as bullets cracked over their heads. There is an explosion in the trench destroying it and killing their comrades. "Fuck!"

"This way!" They took an alternate route. "Will our lances even scratch that armor!?"

"They should destroy the HMG turrets! That will take a lot of pressure off our squads!"

"That's great but we won't destroy that monster with infantry! We need our armor!"

"It has weak points! Look for them when it fires its main gun!"

"What if it doesn't!?"

"Then we'll find another way! We'll board the damn thing if we have to!"

"Ma'am! We can hit the MG turrets from here!"

"Alright! Parker Sherman and I will cover you." Jess fired at the Imperial positions. At such range, her SMG isn't very effective. Sherman is having the same problem. Parker doesn't. He fires slowly and accurately killing one Imp after another. Behind them, the three lancers fired destroying one of the MG turrets. This immediately made them the focus of attention. The volume of fire directed at them made it impossible to even peek out of cover.

A shell slammed into the ground creating a smoke screen. "Stay down and relocate!"

"Nice to see our armor helping out!" They relocated to another position. The tank was hit again by lances drawing the ire of the MG turrets. The lancers prepared to fire when autocannon rounds ripped through them. One of the lancers is killed but the other two take cover. "Shit! We have to destroy that light tank!"

"Sherman! Grab that lance and hit it in the side! Parker! Go with him!"

"Ma'am! We have a light tank moving to assist!" Jessica looked behind her seeing a light tank and Squad's 422nd tank moving forward. The light tank fired but the shell landed short. The second tank stopped and fired hitting the light tank killing the crew. The lancers stood and fired destroying another MG turret. "Keep it up!"

The tanks fired destroying another MG turret. A shell came screaming in and destroyed the light tank. The 422nd tank backed off. "Where did that shell come from!?"

"Somewhere out there!"

Jessica raised her binoculars and scanned the general direction Parker pointed at. "I don't see it!" There is a flash at the edge of her vision. She quickly looks to it and barely sees the low profile of the tank. Its peaking over a hill just enough to its gun can fire. Return fire from the 422nd tank fell short. "I wish I could communicate with their tank!"

"You see the Imperial tank!?"

"Yeah! It's got such a low profile they'll never hit it unless they close in!"

"We'll have to deal with it later!"

"Imperials are coming out of the tank!"

"They have heavy weapons! Don't let them set those MGs up!" Despite their best efforts the Imperials outnumbered them keeping them pinned while they set up their HMG. It's rate of fire outmatched any MG the Gallians had keeping them pinned down while Imperial troops moved forward. Parker rested his rifle on the edge of the trench and made himself as small of a target as possible. He returned fire at the MG crew killing the gunner.

His head snapped back and he fell to the ground. "PARKER!" Sherman sprinted over to him. A bullet had gone through his forehead and blew the back of his head out killing him instantly. He grabbed his tags and pocketed them. "Rest well Parker."

"Sergeant Jessica!" Fletcher, Doyle, and Kelly jumped into the trench with the lancers. "Doyle, kill that MG crew!" She nodded and took aim. Ignoring the sounds of battle, she sighted her target. Controlling her breathing she squeezed the trigger and watched the Imp's head snap back. She racked the bolt and killed the loader next. "MG down!"

"Lancers! The MG turrets are down! Look for heat radiators when that super tank fires its main gun!" The sounds of rockets filled the air as the super tank fired a rocket barrage at allied lines. "Sergeant look! The 422nd is breaking through Imp lines!"

"Let's help them out! Fireteam on me!" They quickly moved to the 422nd fireteam who are meeting stiff resistance. An Imperial medium tank is supporting three Imp fireteams. The lancers quickly aim and fire hitting the tank twice. The tank backs off heavily damaged.

The super tank fired its main cannons with a thunder strike that deafened everyone around it for a second! "Now! HIT ITS WEAK SPOT!" A heatsink appeared from the hull glowing orange and distorting the air from the excessive heat. The two lancers fired. The first hit low but the second hit home destroying the heat sink. The sink is blown apart creating a chain of explosions that rock the super tank. Smoke and fire billows out from the hole. Smoke raises form the other side indicated the second heat sink has been destroyed.

"Hopefully that destroyed the main gun!"

"The damn thing is still operational though! Kelly! Find a radio and call artillery on the damn thing!"

"Yes ma'am!"

"It's firing another rocket barrage! We have to destroy those rails!" Squad 422nd tank rolled forward and destroyed the heavily damaged medium tank. It provided supporting fire while the Gallian fireteams advanced. "More Imperials coming out of the tank!"

"Do they have an entire garrison in there!?"

Doyle ignored the fighting around her and searched for Imperial NCOs. Unfortunately, this Imperial unit didn't mark their NCOs with red armor making it difficult to identify them. Well, difficult for everyone but a sniper that is. She sighted a scout that other Imperials turned to frequently. She squeezed the trigger and watched him drop. She scanned the battlefield and spotted a lancer with a mortar-lance. She waited until he stopped and squeezed the trigger. His head snapped back and he dropped. She crouched down and reloaded her rifle.

The whistling of artillery shells filled the air but they'll drowned out by the sound of battle. The shells started slamming into the super tank. The barrage destroyed the racks for the rockets leaving the super tank combat ineffective. More Imperials exited the tank and it slowly started backing up. "They're starting to fall back!"

"We have to destroy that tank! Don't let it escape!"

"Easier said than done! We can't track the damn thing because of the armor skirts!"

"Hit the damn thing with everything we got!" Artillery shells continued to pound the super tank doing damage to its armor. "All units fighting the super tank hit it with everything we have!" Lances slammed into the thick armor doing minimal damage; their heavy artillery is the only weapon they have that could damage the tank. A massive explosion rocked the super tank blasting away the armor plate around one of the heatsinks. Smoke and fire poured from the hole creating a weak spot. Squad 422nd tank along with the lancers poured fire into the weak spot. More explosions rocked the tank and gouts of fire blew out the destroyed MG turrets. The super tank stopped and the crew started bailing out.

"We got! We destroyed that monster!"

"Defeat the remaining Imperials!"

"Lieutenant Jackson! This is Sergeant Jessica! Super tank defeated!"

"Excellent work Sergeant! Focus on defeating the remaining Imperials!"

"Lieutenant! We have the Imperials on the run!"

"Excellent work!"

"Lieutenant Lane, we've destroyed the Imperial super tank and have the Imperials on the run, over."

"Understood Jackson. We've delt with the Imperials on our end. Once you're finished rejoin the main force. From what I've heard it doesn't sound good."

"Copy that Lane."

"Lieutenant Sharp, rally your squad. We're going to rejoin the main force."

"Understood."

She turned out, "Sergeant Hardins! Can your squad hold this hill?"

"Yes ma'am! We won't let the Imperials take it from us again!"

"Excellent. My squad and Squad Twenty are moving to rejoin the main battle." Hardins nodded, "Good luck ma'am." It took a few minutes for both squads to mount up and get moving. "Colonel Adams, Squad Eighteen and Squad Twenty are on the move to the front. Over."

"That's good to hear Lieutenant! Get to the frontline ASAP!"

"Copy that Colonel. Diver, top speed!"

"Aye ma'am!"

It only took a few minutes for their squads to reach the front. The main force of both armies is clashing, and the Imperials have the advantage. "DISMOUNT! MOVE, MOVE, MOVE!"

"Find cover!"

"Into the trenches! We have to retake them!"

"Gunner, target bearing 3-3-9. Imperial light tank. Range, 50 meters."

"Firing!"

"Target destroyed." The tank shuttered when a shell bounced off the front armor. A Gallian light tank is destroyed by an Imp medium. The shrapnel bounces off the side armor of the Firefly. "Imperial medium tank. Bearing 0-9-0."

"I see it. Firing!"

"Target hit! It's backing off!"

"Firing!"

"Target destroyed! Excellent shot!"

"Lancers front! Hit them with the coax!"

"Driver! Back us up!" The coaxial machine gun opened fire killing two lancers. The third fire his lance hitting the driver's view port killing him instantly. "Damnit!"

"Give me a minute Lieutenant! I can drive this damn thing!" The loader moved to the driver's position while Lane took his position. "Back us away from the trench line!"

Two Imperial aeroplanes dove through the clouds and attacked the trench line. They strafed them with MG fire before firing off six rockets. They broke off their attack and climbed away receiving minimal anti-air fire as they did so. Six Imperial tanks entered the battlefield with infantry support. Four of the tanks are a new model of heavy tank. The tank doesn't have the high profile or the hull-mounted cannon so common with the Imperial heavy tank. Instead, it has a more conventional design while keeping the same boxy profile all Imperial tanks have.

"Looks like the Imperials have a new tank!"

"Target them first!" One of the heavies fired hitting a Firefly infront of Lane's tank. Fire shot out of the hatches before it exploded. "Firing!" The shell hit the top of the gun mantlet and bounced off due to the angle. "Aim for the front armor! It's flat so we won't have a problem penetrating it!"

"On the way!" The shell slammed into the front armor and fragmented inside the tank killing the drive and wounding the other crew members. suddenly, the Imperials start pulling back. Smoke rounds blind the Gallians allowing the Imps to retreat safely. "Why are they falling back?"

"No idea. Colonel. The Imperials are pulling back. Orders?"

"Pursue them Lieutenant! Don't give them the chance to reman their defenses!"

"Understood sir! Driver get us moving! Full speed!"

"Copy that!"

The Firefly lurched forward gaining speed. Dozens of tanks followed suit with the infantry following behind them. They broke through the smoke screen and found the Imperial army in attack formation with a women armed with a lance and shield and bathed in blue flame at the front. "Shit! That's the woman who was at the Barrious Desert!"

The Imperial army infront of them outnumbered their forces and Lane had read what that woman, Brigadier General Selvaria Bles, was capable of. The rest of the Gallian army charged though the smoke and took defensive positions as soon as they saw what opposed them. "What the hell are they waiting for?"

"Lesson to me Gallia! Throw down your weapons and surrender! If you don't, Naggaier's Plains, will run red with your blood!" The Imperial army cheered at the speech. Lane just looked on, unimpressed. "Does she really think we're just going to surrender because she asked?"

"Apparently."

Lieutenant Jackson's voice came over the radio. "Lieutenant Lane, what have we missed?"

"Brigadier General Selvaria Bles just asked us to surrender."

"Seriously?"

"I can't make this up Jackson."

"Well, we should give her our response. What the hell?"

"What is it sir?"

"It appears we have a Valkyria of our own."

"WHAT!?" Lane turned out and quickly spotted the blue glow coming from their lines. The rest of their army has as well since everyone has turned their heads to the glow. She slowly walked infront of their lines and took a defensive stance. "No, she can't be a Valkyria!" Lane turned and saw Lieutenant Welkin watching with wide eyes full of shock and denial. "Lieutenant! You know her!?"

"Alicia. My second." She nodded and looked back to see the Valkyrias clash. The shock wave they created washed over both armies forcing Lane to brace herself. She raised her binoculars but they've moving so fast all she sees are two blue streaks. She turned to the assembled army. "WHAT THE HELL ARE WE WAITING FOR!? ARE WE GOING TO BE SPECTERS TO THIS!?"

She received a thunderous response. "HELL NO!"

"THEN LET'S DRIVE THESE IMPERIALS FROM GALLIA! CHARGE!"

"FOR GALLIA!"

The entire Gallian army charged forward with their tanks leading the way. Their main guns and MGs opened fire. The Imperials, still shocked at the sudden fight, they quickly reacted to when the Gallians charged them. Their tanks returned fire while the infantry took defensive positions. The Gallian force takes a wide birth around the melee fight currently taking place. All they can see are two blue streaks that clash every second. With the Gallian army pressing the attack Brigadier General Bles gave ground to avoid being surrounded.

There is little to no cover where they're fighting so the Gallians keep charging despite mounting losses. Their tanks slow allowing them to accurately engage the Imperial armor.

"Hell! Our infantry is about to smash into their lines!"

"Hold fire on the MG! I am not having a friendly fire incident!"

"Gunner! Engage the new Imperial heavy tank! I'll be calling these Type 2s for now!"

"Copy! Firing!"

"Hit! Damn thing's still operational!"

"Again!"

"Hit! Damn that armor is strong!" A shell rippled through the gun mantle sending deadly shrapnel knifing into the turret. Lane and her gunner are wounded but alive. Had Lane still been in the Commander's position, she would be dead. "Destroy that tank!"

"AWAY!" The gunner watched the shell slam into the heavy tank. The turret hatch opened, and smoke poured out. He watched two crew members climb out of the tank. "Crew dismount!"

"Excellent!"

"Lieutenant Lane, this is Lieutenant Gunther, we've spotted an Imperial tank destroyer."

"Tank destroyer Lieutenant?"

"We've only recently encountered it. Its gun is far more powerful than any we've seen them field before. It will destroy our armor one tank at a time unless we do something about it."

"Understood Lieutenant. Lieutenant Sharp, what's your squad's location?"

"We're on the left flank ma'am. Why?"

"I've got a target for you. There's an Imp tank destroy that needs to be destroyed. Can you do it?"

"I see that tank ma'am. We'll deal with it. Out."

The left side of the battle has slightly more cover but both sides are still fighting mostly in the open. "Squad Twenty, we have a new objective. An Imperial tank destroyer is tearing our armor apart. Our objective is to destroy it. Sergeant Dalton, get a fireteam together and mount up on the tank."

"Copy that! Phelps Wade and you four are with me! We're going tank hunting!"

"Always wanting to hunt a tank! Shame I didn't bring my AT rifle!" The fireteam mounted up on the Firefly. "Man, have you ever seen that?" He pointed at the two clashing Valkyria. "No. No one has."

"Alright people breaks over! Dismount now!"

They jumped off the Firefly and took cover around it. It fired hitting the tank destroyer in the side and destroying it. The infantry that were covering the tank quickly retreated. "That was too damn easy! Let's get back to the fight!"

"Sir! The Imperials are retreating!"

"What!? Why!?"

"We defeated their Valkyria! It's a complete rout!"

"That's what I like to see! We'll drive them all the way back to the Empire!"

"For Gallia!"

"FOR GALLIA!"