57mm cannons met the advancing Legion force up ahead with extreme prejudice. Raiden regarded the company of enemy units, anger welling in his heart as he watched them all charging toward them. Standing against them were him, Shin and a dozen other Processors belonging to Spearhead. Meanwhile, in the distance, there lay a single Dinosauria-class Superheavy tank, escorted by a dozen other enemy units and with the guard of that ODST Shepherd and his Skorpion platform and units in the distance, raining hellfire.
He swore to himself, then murmured, "Feel like we should've brought at least some UNSC support now," with a grin on his face as he scoped in and blasted apart an Ameise, then jumping to the right to dodge an artillery shell. As it exploded, it sent shrapnel blossoming in a flower-like pattern, one of the superheated fragments piercing through his vehicle's canopy.
"You're telling me..." Lecca murmured as she fired her MGs at flanking Ameise, "They're getting smarter! They're flanking!"
"Don't waste your shells on them. Keep them for the bigger units," Shin ordered Lecca as he scanned the battlefield. He looked forth at the Dinosauria as the voices of the hundreds of Legion ahead of them screamed in his head and in the heads of their comrades. The roars of artillery fire told them the exact distance of the battery of Skorpions, but they could do nothing about it right now.
They just needed to keep moving to stay alive and to get at Shourei, wherever he was in this entangled mess of Legion troops and gunfire, as well as Eintagsfliege. Above them, a whirling cloud of the small machines danced again, while Anti-Air CIWS systems also screamed at them from the forests. Shin was pretty sure Rei was here, same for the ODST Shepherd. He intended to make sure, however, because if he wasn't-
"SHIIIIIIIIN!" An all-too familiar voice cried out in anger toward the Captain of Spearhead Squadron, through the mess of voices from the Legion troops, through static and through it all. A sadistic grin slipped its way onto Shin's face. His brother was here after all, exactly where he'd tracked him. His eyes locked onto the Dinosauria, his fingers twitching around the triggers.
"Well," Daiya murmured as he fired the arm cannon of his machine, "That was..."
"Him," Raiden noted, slowly rolling back as another wave of artillery rained down, shrapnel pinging off the angled hull of the Juggernaut again. He swore to himself, then said, "We gotta assign a platoon to deal with that Legion artillery piece..." as he scoped in another pair of Legion units. He let loose with his fifties, unwilling to expend the 57mm ammo that they'd definitely need when the tanks came.
"Pain in the ass, that ODST!" Laughed Theo as he pelted the next wave, "Daiya, I'm gonna need a bit of heavy ordnance here!"
"On my way!" The boy called out. The thunder of the bipedal mech's feet stomping against overgrowth and concrete surprised the crew. Rounds from the Ameises' machine Guns pinged off the hulls, ricocheting or shattering on impact. The boy replied to one of the Ameise by slamming the left fist of the mech through its optical sensors. He laughed, then said, "This is actually pretty fun!"
"Looks like it!" Kurena remarked as she took to her sniping job, snapping off shots alongside the other surviving members of her platoon. She looked to her right, watching as Shin took off to engage the machines guarding his brother, then said, "Undertaker's just engaged! He's going after the main Shepherd!" and she yelped as another shell struck beside her. Letting out a colorful string of curses in a different language, a skill that she must've gotten off of the more verbal UNSC staff of different nationalities, she then reported, "Damn artillery nearly got me!"
"We oughta keep moving! Have someone reinforce Undertaker as he's going in!" Lecca voiced as her main cannon thundered, the APFSDS shell rippling through the air. She then scuttled away to the right, taking cover behind the trees to the right of their vantage point. Haruto hummed in agreement as he fired his MGs at a horde of AP mines that were charging them from the right.
"We're all a little busy!" Anju remarked as she watched Daiya charging in with his new Black Dog, the arm-mounted 75mm cannon letting loose with shell after shell. Two Ameise tumbled over as the round penetrated through one and struck through into the other before sticking itself into the dirt and exploding. Following that up, the young man in the machine provided cover as Theo went to rearm.
"Shin!" Raiden called out, "Don't rush too far ahead!"
"I'm clearing a path. Follow me if you want," Shin replied calmly, the rumble of his muffled gun echoing through the Para-RAID. Raiden breathed in, then out, letting out a deep sigh at his comrade's way. He knew Shin had it out for his brother, he just wasn't sure why he had to go and do the craziest thing possible, such as charging headlong into enemy fire, to get to him.
He sighed, then smirked and said, "You heard the man, people! Light them all up! Let's give the Reaper some cover!"
As the team engaged, in the distance on a broken radio tower of some kind, a sniper sat with her weapon trained on the engagement. GRAY Team's Adriana, one of the finest SPARTANs in the business of behind-the-lines cover operation. Below her, the SPARTAN-IIIs Jai had selected for their operation readied their weapons. She tracked Jai and Michael as they marched forth through the forest, dodging enemy units all while carrying a payload to destroy the enemy anti-air in the area.
She then turned her attention back to Spearhead's CQC fight against Legion mooks and reported, "Command, confirming SPEARHEAD's presence in AO... They're engaged in heavy fighting."
"Can you transmit your helmet footage, GRAY Two?" Inquired Admiral Nakano, her voice filled with concern. The girl flipped on a transmit system, then heard static over the com, to which Nakano swore in Japanese, then stated, "Right, the damn Eintagsfliege... Stand by, we'll get a Drone on-station that can transmit through San Magnolia's systems and over to us. You disable that damn Triple-A."
"We're already on it, ma'am..."
On board the UNSC Spirit of Fire, Admiral Nakano marched down the corridor toward the bridge, cap in her hand. The ripple of gunfire echoed all the way over to the Spartan sniper's position. She huffed, then entered the bridge to the salutes of the deck crew, Serina and Cutter. She saluted back, then pulled a TOPO map onto the holographic table and said, "Patch me through to SANMAG ATC. I want one drone sent over the area. Transmission by proxy from planetside systems."
"Yes, ma'am. Message sent. Wombat drone being prepped..." The com officer replied, "We're patched through."
"SANMAG Air Traffic, send Drone to grid coordinates fifteen-thirteen-sixteen and provide direct visual confirmation on the situation in the AO. Arm it with AGMs if you fucking feel the need to, but get it in the air ASAP, I want eyes in the sky in that area in five..." She ordered firmly, her voice unshaken. The affirmative reply filtered into her com system as she looked over the topography of the zone. Flatlands and forest next to the ruins of a city. Good enough for drone ops, she figured. Humming, she told ordered, "Serina, prep Strike Package GOLF. I want those XGBUs in your inventory at the ready on a pair of Longswords."
"Already on it, ma'am," Serina replied, "Figured it was as good a time as any to test the EM Bombs."
"Hah..." The woman laughed bitterly, then switched frequencies and said, "Lena, we're bringing up a drone in the AO and we're about to send in a strike squadron."
"I hear you, Admiral..." Lena replied over the Para-RAID, clearly focused. She added, "I and the others are in the Handler command rooms now... I'm trying to raise them and will patch them through as soon as possible. Ma'am, we also have artillery that can hit in that general grid square. The old Mortars around the Gran Mur, put there in case of rebellion or a massed Legion advance. I can bring them up..." Lena almost pleaded with her.
"Granted, major, granted. Fire when ready and do whatever you need to. We're bringing Spearhead home alive, no question about it," The woman ordered. She looked over the radar portion of the map and tracked the F-99 WOMBAT Combat and Reconnaissance Drone launched directly from SPEARHEAD FOB. She said so both she herself and Lena could hear, "ETA on the Drone is two minutes out..."
"All bombers reporting payload is on board," Cutter reported, "They're on stand-by alongside the CASEVAC teams."
"Good. Good..." She nodded, then stated, "Now, if only we could see what they're dealing with..."
"Holy..." Adriana started, then spoke with anger in her voice, "Command, spotted MASSIVE enemy unit! Looks to be the commander of the entire force currently engaging Spearhead! Classification:Superheavy tank! It just came out of the woodwork!"
"Crap..." The woman murmured, then checked the drone's ETA. Thirty seconds. She ordered, "Serina, patch the visual from the Wombat through to the monitors! I want EYES ON the moment that thing crests the hills!" before turning to the screen. Though unusually low-flying, presumably to avoid the cloud of mini-drones up and above it, the Wombat dodged, weaved and flew as low as it was allowed to to avoid the swarm.
Five seconds. The Admiral watched the screens with the captain. In the distance, six explosions rocked the area, shockwaves rumbling through the trees. Jai reported over the com, "Enemy Triple-A is down. We're retreating, enemy presence is thick in the area and we'd rather not get spotted..." words to which the Admiral merely replied with a hum of acknowledgement, staring at the screen with bated breath.
The Drone's optics transmitted a fuzzy image as they came upon the target area. A dozen Juggernauts and a CYCLOPS were engaged in battle with almost two hundred enemy units, their guns flashing in the darkness of the cloud of robot bugs. It panned across the battlefield, flying at basically tree-top level as it veered in. Flying in, the drone finally caught a glimpse of the target, which Serina froze.
An eight-legged machine at least twice the size of the Löwes and many times the size of anything else. A massive 155mm cannon sat in a turret that was up-armored to the umtpeenth level, while its body seemed covered by thick plating. Legs made up of three segments were its propulsion method and the massive radiators at the back flashed with heat as it fired a shell that narrowly missed BLACK DOG.
"... What is that...?" Cutter inquired, eyes wide.
"I don't know..." The Admiral replied, glaring at it. She watched the images of the Drone play a little more before the Swarm finally decided to intervene. In the time between the swarm overwhelming the machine and now, they did see that there were at least a hundred more enemy units coming into battle. She tensed, then grit her teeth and said, "To Hell with this... They'll need the Air Support... Roll out Strike Package GOLF on Unidentified Legion target and escorts! Maintain XGBU Payload and utilize FALCON squadrons already planetside as air support! I authenticate, Echo November at Sixteen-hundred hours time, SIERRA MIKE."
Cutter nodded, then listened in to the Radar ops...
"Roger!" One of the men reported as the bridge suddenly grew into a hive of activity, "Be advised, all birds, this will be a DANGER CLOSE FIRE MISSION."
"Com's just got a call from Sparrow squadrons, requesting confirmation to engage," The Com officer turned to the Admiral. She gave a clear-cut nod, to which the man turned over and said, "Sparrows FALCON ONE and TWO, squadrons are clear to engage, head for Killbox One-One after first strike from Squadron Six, Callsign TALON... Clear to engage with Energy Weapons mounted and EM Bombs. Secondary barrage from Friendly Artillery near San Magnolia incoming."
"Artillery's hot! Cluster munitions, ready to fire!" Lena reported proudly, "Grid coordinates locked in! Hundred-fifty-Five Shells hot! AND I GOT A LINK!"
The Admiral smiled, "Patch coms through to captain Nouzen and the others, then."
"Squadrons are launching, payloads are hot, DANGER CLOSE FIRE MISSION," Reported the ATC Coordinator of the ship. In the hangar, cones of Afterburner kicked in, burning the rear wall as a squadron of seven Longswords belonging to TALON squadron. The aircraft burst out of the bay, turning over and diving toward the planet to their target area, Electromagnetic Pulse bombs loaded and at the ready in their bays.
"This is GRAY Team! We're lasing the target!" Jai reported as gunfire echoed over his radio. The team had armed themselves with weapons capable of piercing through Ameise armor, so the group figured they should be fine, "SPEARHEAD ACTUAL, be advised, friendly Air Support en-route to target area, including EM Bombs and heavy armament payloads! Don't stray too far forward! ETA is TWO MINUTES! All Strike Package elements, FRIENDLY units are due west of targets being lased! DANGER CLOSE!"
Planetside, Shin gasped as he heard the callout from another squadron of Spartans. Craning his head to the right, he saw their IFF tags flashing on his Augmented Reality sights, then said, "Roger... All SPEARHEAD assets, stand by for friendly fire mission!" as he hacked away through the treeline filled with Ameise. He gasped, watching as his brother turned the turret of the tank.
"I found you..." He spoke, his voice menacing.
Shin grinned, "Yes... You did..."
... Shourei Nouzen had not had much time to prepare when the Legion unit that'd taken him out had inducted him into the ranks of the force. He had known that, one day, he would face his brother in battle. The Superheavy machine he wielded was no match for the mobility of the Juggernaut and he was aware of that, but the Juggernaut could not penetrate his armor from the front. And he would not let his little brother get to the back.
"Yes, indeed, Shin..." Shourei smiled within the machine, "We'll soon be reunited. You'll no longer need that frail human body..."
Shin dodged the first shot from the Shepherd, listening through the com as the UNSC pilots reported in, "XGBU Payload ready. Eintagsfliege Swarm sighted... Major, prep the One-Fifty-Five shells..." and he gasped. He ducked again, feeling the spark of rounds zipping around his hull. He fired again from his main gun, this time striking the Legion Dinosauria. The shell bounced off.
"Three. Two. One. XGBUS OUT! AIRBURST EMP INCOMING, DANGER CLOSE! THIS IS TALON ACTUAL, BUGGING OUT!" The pilot called out. The group looked above for a moment, watching the sky. A series of electromagnetic blasts glowed in the sky, bolts of lightning tearing through the small drone swarm up above. The little monsters started raining down like flakes of glittering snow, revealing a darkening sky with an orange tint.
"This is Sparrowhawk squadron FALCON. Good effect on target, moving in," One of the VTOL pilots reported. Shin dodged another shot from his brother's mech, one eye locked on his team. Up above, a dozen UNSC Sparrowhawk-class VTOL Gunships came in. Beams of scarlet light cut into the night. Brilliant streaks of light cut into the machines below, two squadrons of Ameise torn to shreds by the combined laser fire of the gunships.
Gatling guns rippled, rounds sparking off the hulls of the enemy machines as Daiya cheered loudly, firing his 75mm cannon into the thinning lines of silver machines. Raiden grinned, then said "Good effect! Good kills! Thank you, ladies and gentlemen!" then he gasped. One of his eyes flickered and he could swear he saw the silhouette of a woman reflecting against his screen.
"I'm sorry, Vice-Captain, but I need your eyes! Annette, confirming grid coordinates! Fire Cluster Munitions!" They heard the Major speak aloud.
"DANGER CLOSE, CLUSTER AIRBURST SHELLS OUT!" Replied a voice that was eerily familiar to Shin. The rumble of artillery echoed in the distance as the gunships above them hovered, firing their weapons against the advancing line of Legion reinforcements. Gatling cannons tore into machine bodies and lasers. Above, sixteen shells detonated, splitting into hundreds of little pellets which detonated. Hundreds and hundreds of smaller HE shells struck the rear lines, penetrating munitions and High-Ex tearing through the advancing Legion Reinforcements.
Raiden blinked again, breathing heavily, then asked "What the FUCK was that!?"
"I needed your eyes to confirm the hit, Wehrwolf," Lena replied calmly, "Admiral, I finally got through to them properly. Call out targets of opportunity, Lieutenant Shuga. Everyone else, I need your help guiding the munitions. Gunslinger, can you confirm strikes? I have a need for a good spotter down there since I won't take Wehrwolf's eye again... Safety concerns."
"So you know that could've caused blindness in your eye and yet you still fucking did it, Major!?" Raiden demanded.
"Yes. You're not the only ones who can come up with crazy plans," She shot back, presumably grinning behind the mic, "FALCON, SITREP?"
"Legion Rearline reinforcements are coming in. I'm counting thirty tanks, sixty Ameise IFVs... Give or take maybe twenty artillery pieces in the rear, but they're retreating. We're engaging enemy units. All FALCON elements, remain mobile and look out for possible enemy Triple-A in the area of operation. Guns, guns. Guns, guns, guns, guns." The Pilot replied as the miniguns on his birds revved up. Beams of angry red cut into the enemy
"You're crazy, Major," Kurena snorted, "I got your eyes. Just keep firing!"
"Major, what the hell are you and the UNSC doing?" The man demanded, "We had this."
"I could see that," She stated nonchalantly, the furious mechanical clicks of a keyboard echoing in his ears, "I'm tracking Captain Nouzen further ahead. I'd suggest you go back him up."
"He's after his brother," Theo remarked as he put down an Ameise with a single shell to the face as he, Lecca and the others marched up to Raiden's side. The group gazed up at the UNSC Gunships, their spent casings dropping from portholes as they began flying evasive, guns spinning, roaring, thundering and lasers weapons whining, screaming, blasting apart foes. He spoke, grinning, "You're one crazy bitch, no offense, Major. What's gotten into you, folks, anyways? We're one squadron..."
"We ain't letting you die, Lieutenant Rikka," The girl replied, a hint of anger contained behind an otherwise professional attitude.
"That's not the point, Major!" Raiden called out, then squeezed the triggers on his MGs, "You just sent a squadron and a half of men and women of the UNSC's just for a bunch of kids who could easily be replaced-"
"I've made a vow to Spearhead!" The girl snapped, "A vow to all of you that I would get you home, to the Republic, so we could all enjoy out home once more, so that you have a reason to fight beyond your current ones... So that you had a future to look forward to. And you made a promise you'd be coming home to visit and share in some sweets with us... I intend to make sure you get to keep it."
Raiden smirked, stating, "... You could've given me some warning for when you used my eye as a spotting system, though..."
"Apologies, but I just... Well, as I said, I needed a targeting system and the drone the UNSC sent in got shot down..."
"Well, you got it! And now we got Kurena acting as spotter!" Lecca laughed heartily, "Don't worry, Major. You'll see us again soonish... Let's hope..." She whispered that last part, "This is Burnt Tayl to Undertaker! Coming in to reinforce with Falke! Laughing Fox, Black Dog, Snow Witch, care to tag along!?" to which her friends cheered. They all surged forth to Shin's side, opening fire on the Dinosauria to distract it and utilizing their speed to dodge its machine gun fire.
Shin sighed, then stated, "I have my brother. Nobody else touches him... Is that understood?"
"Aye!" The entire squadron replied.
"That means the UNSC as well, Major... The Dinosauria superheavy is mine," He ordered. Lena let out a confirming hum. He nodded, then stated, "Alright... Let's move!" and he charged. Utilizing the forestry for cover, the Captain quickly dodged fifty caliber rounds and 155mm rounds from the main gun of the Dinosauria while his brother still called out his name, full of spite.
In his ear, the Admiral barked orders to air support, while Lena ordered hits from the artillery again. Above them and to the right, the forest exploded in shrapnel and shards of wood as more and more enemy units that tried to cross were shattered. Meanwhile, air support from up above expended ammunition and battery power, firing cannons and laser weapons respectively at their targets.
Shin made a note to ask about the laser cannons if they survived the fight, pressing his advantage. He fired his grappling hooks while dodging his brother's fire, weaving a web with them around the trees to provide himself quicker repositioning ability than normal. To his immediate left, Shin saw Daiya's BLACK DOG, the Cyclops heavy mech pummeling a Löwe with 75mm fire and his secondary armaments.
Lecca and Haruto moved together as a unit, putting round after round of machine guns and 57mm into the machines protecting the Dinosauria. Hellfire came from the sky as even more artillery shells landed around them, blasting apart Legion reinforcements and the units currently on the field, while the group of a dozen Processors punched through, advancing as a wedge formation, deep into the enemy's lines.
Shin, meanwhile, moved as agilely as his systems allowed him, several safety warnings muted and pushed aside as he fired his gun into the Dinosauria. One of the shells struck and shattered on impact, unable to penetrate the heavy armor of the enemy mech. He grit his teeth, utilizing the trees and his speed as cover. A round sparked, punched through the paper-thin canopy and scratched his cheek.
He grit his teeth and fired again, the round veering off to the right after striking the front plate of the tank. He pushed his machine past its limits, hearing the whirr of the over-stressed hydraulics and the screaming of his engine. He unhooked, then fired the tow hooks upward and launched himself out of the forest canopy through a combination of overclocked hydraulics and the already-damaged tow-hook launchers reeling him upward.
He emerged above the canopy, his turning his Juggernaut to face downward and lining up a shot on the top of the enemy machine as time seemed to slow around him. She grit his teeth, squeezing the trigger. The recoil of the 57mm gun sent his mech flying backward just as the Dinosauria replied. The round struck the top of the turret and dug its way in, but did little damage.
Landing back among the trees, Shin pushed his machine to maximum speed, extending the twin vibro-blades he had on instead of machine guns, then fired his tow hooks as he emerged from the treeline. The hooks stuck to the machine as he drove forth, his machine screaming with the pain of the wounds and stress, but fighting nonetheless. The left-side blade made contact with one of the eight legs of the behemoth, cutting into it at a molecular level.
The monster staggered and, seemingly out of nowhere, two silver, wriggling 'hands' picked Shin's mech up, tossing it aside like a discarded tin toy. Undertaker toppled once, twice and came to a stop at the third, landing belly-first. Shin stifled a groan of pain, feeling his head with his hand. Bringing his hand down after feeling a warm liquid, he saw his own blood, pooling on the top of his head, his vision blurred by the concussion.
"That was close..." he murmured to nobody in particular. He tried willing his machine to move next, but found no purchase. Just the weak purr of a dying engine. His eyes grew wide as he craned his neck to the left, blood seeping down his face, through his hair and onto his cheeks and chin. His brother slowly marched toward him, barely stable on seven legs.
The boy tried again, pulling on the sticks to will the machine to move. Yet again, Undertaker responded with a whimper from its engine, its legs trembling. He brought up a screen, checking hydraulic pressure and found that one of the hoses had nearly burst, so the machine had actively countermanded orders and shut it off. He scowled, then punched in a code to countermand that order. If this thing didn't move, both of them would die.
Shin felt his ear, calling, "I'm stuck-" then realizing that the system was malfunctioning. He must've hit his head hard enough that the Para-RAID Device itself had gotten damaged. Running a hand over the earring-like device on his right earlobe, he tried again with his free hand to lift the mech, finding a little more purchase this time, but still not enough to fully lift the machine off the ground.
He looked over to his brother, to see the machine's seemingly liquid metal arms extending toward him. He tried again, willing the machine to its feet. He said, "If we die, we aren't dying, stuck in a goddamn ditch..." to it. As if it would listen, Shin thought, it was just a machine. Like him. He paused, watching as a diagnostics routine seemingly ran itself. The machine's engine roared like a cornered lion as Shin tried again to will the legs to lift it.
It stood on all four, giving Shin slight pause. The boy, however ,had no time to wonder about it. Above him, the sky split as several shells impacted the body of the mech, followed by beams of laser fire. His Para-RAID device also came back to working order just as the weapons struck, with the Major's voice calling to him, "-SHIN! Oh, thank the heavens, we got your link back. Stand clear of the Dinosauria! I have a plan to clear you a path!"
"Major... I..." He started, dumbfound.
"No time! You want to put your brother to rest, don't you!? Listen to what I say... Annette, second volley! FIRE!"
Shin staggered, then doubled over and pushed himself away as a rain of shells struck again, denting the armored plating of the machine. He gasped, looking at the damage as the machine seemed to keel over for a moment, its main cannon firing wide and missing him. Its liquid metal arms, or nanomachine arms, whatever, refocused on the shells, trying to block them and the energy weapon fire from striking him.
"PESTS! PESTS, THE LOT OF YOU!" Shourei screamed at them as he swatted the dud shells out of the sky, "Why do you have to intervene!? Why can't I just have him back!?"
"Because you fail to see the perspective..." he heard a young voice speak to him. The rumble of gunfire subsided from Shourei's ears as he turned to face her. He saw her, the little Alba girl he had rescued from the Ameise. She stood there, gripping that open chocolate that he'd gifted her, but staring at him with a combination of fear and anger. He raised a brow.
"... What do you mean...?" He asked, looking to her, "He's right there... He's come to me... He wants to be home..."
"He would've wanted you to go home..." She replied calmly, her eyes growing sad, "Yet you didn't."
He grit his teeth, murmuring, "That wasn't my fault... It... Why is he here, then...?" as he stifled tears.
"You could not even stare him in the eye to say goodbye to him before you left..." She berated him, a hint of anger behind her voice. Then, she told him solemnly, "He's come here to make sure he gets to say goodbye to you, though... And his friends, his comrades, are here to help him see to that..." and she pointed outside. As his inner self argued with a child, whatever she was meant to be in his jumbled thoughts, his outer self fought. Fifty caliber machine guns mounted on the top of the Dinosauria he drove fired at the aircraft buzzing around him, rounds scraping off armor and almost penetrating canopies of glass. Before him, Shin rode his Juggernaut.
He rode the machine into battle with a pride and skill Shourei hadn't seen since his own officer of old, a person so strong that he couldn't have ever caught up to her, try as he may. He grit his teeth, grabbing onto his head, "I'll... Have him back... He doesn't need to say goodbye..." and he retook control. The Dinosauria spun on its seven good legs, firing away at Shin and at the reinforcements. Dullahan, the machine, focused its processor on recalling the Artillery unit Hades to assist.
It replied negative. Risk too high.
Dullahan demanded again that it return to provide covering fire.
It replied negative. Risk too high.
Shourei swore to himself, gritting his teeth as he glared at the few tanks and reinforcements he still had being destroyed by the bushel by the Undertaker's new allies and his Spearhead Squadron. The United Nations Space Command, an elite fighting force, alien to the world at large. He heard the girl speak again, "He doesn't want to come to you, Shourei Nouzen... He wants to help you let go..."
"Shin..." The man whimpered... Then, his voice grew loud, his tone full of anger and regret as it reverberated across the neural net, "SHIIIIIIIIIIN!"
"I hear you, Brother..." Shin whispered, "Don't worry... I'll end it, soon. And you'll be able to rest..." And he pushed his machine to the limit once more, then past it, surging forth as his allies peppered the machine with lead, distracting it. He flanked the distracted Dullahan and caught sight of the rear radiator exhaust. The only spot Shin figured he could punch through with his fifty-seven.
He charged.
Shourei noticed him, then whispered, "No..." dumbfound.
Pouring more of that goop out of his system, which was in fact a series of microscopic machines that coalesced to form these elastic items, he produced another pair of arms that lunged at Shin as the boy fired shell after shell of APFSDS toward him, catching each shell with the hands and stopping them, outright causing them to shatter and explode. Shin closed as much as he could before Shourei had had to remove the other pair of arms from stopping projectiles and lasers to grab the Juggernaut, lifting Shin up off the ground.
The young boy continued firing until the systems of his machine started blaring warnings. The micromachine goo covered the gun barrel, effectively stopping Shin from firing, while Shourei smiled, "Finally... I'm sorry it took so long ,brother, but... Your comrades are annoying..." And he pushed his hands through the cracks in the armor of the machine, grasping at the boy's neck... "Shin..." he whispered...
But the young boy heard the bemoaned cries of his angry brother, the one who blamed him for the death of their parents, the one who had choked him out in their room. His eyes closed as his mind flashed. His throat felt dry, his windpipe being pressed by two firm hands. Shin gasped for air, finding none as he clawed at his neck. He closed his eyes, tears and blood running down his cheeks as his brother screamed through the machine, through Dullahan... "SHIN! IT'S YOUR FAULT! YOUR FAULT THEY DIED!" and his mind brought him back to the moment he had died, in that barrack in the Eighty-Sixth sector's village... The anger in his brother's eyes was unbearable.
"... Do you not hear what you're really saying to him?" The young voice asked the man as he fell to his knees, his hands extended toward his brother.
"... I want him back..." Whimpered Shourei, clearly not even listening, "I'm... So sorry... That scar..."
He blinked and the scenery changed. The cyberspace of the Legion, a dark hellscape where nobody could even remotely think of escaping from. All they could do was serve. A thousand voices screamed around him, the distorted faces of the dead he'd wrought and brought into the fold surrounding him. The ripple of gunfire echoed around him, muffled by the screams of his Black Sheep. He looked down, tears running down his cheeks as he stared at the young girl before him.
She scowled, "Then let him go..."
"I can't do that..." He spoke, the voices of the other commanding officers around him clearing out through the screams of the damned. No Face himself had come to speak to him, but his words were muffled. He looked up again, watching as his hands slowly moved to grasp at Shin's throat. He heard a whirr, a purr from Shin's Para-RAID Device. He looked down at the girl...
His cheek hurt.
He looked down at the girl. She'd just... Slapped him...?
The frame of the Dinosauria BUCKLED as a barrage of Dud shells struck him. He grit his teeth, looking around via the external cameras, then murmured to himself, "Duds...?" as laser beams cut into his other legs, causing him to stagger as they melted the alloy. Around him, thirty-millimeter gatling guns spewed lead into his frame, rounds bouncing off the plate. He heard the incessant rattle.
He made a mistake, removing his hand. Shin took his chance, lining up the Juggernaut's gun as he still gasped for breaths. His friends cried out to him, "SHIN! IT'S OPEN! KILL IT!" as they ran toward him in their machines. Shin growled, checking his ammo counter. Two shells. One to break through the grate, one to kill it. He took aim... Then fired the first, feeling as the fingers of his brother 'unwrapped' from around his neck.
"You've got this! SHIN!" Lena cried out, "YOU CAN DO THIS!"
The grate shattered, but a chunk of that strange metal stopped any further penetration. Shinei Nouzen grit his teeth, slashing away at the arms that tried to peer through the plate and choke him again away, pushing himself closer and closer. As another volley of gunfire from his allies rained down on the machine, staggering it, Shin planted the barrel of his gun into the open backend...
"Brother...!" He whispered, "Goodbye...!"
He squeezed.
"Oh..." Shourei felt the round penetrate through into his heart. An arrow of depleted uranium pierced him through. Suddenly, the voices of the Machines around him went quiet, the world slowly going dark. Even the young Vladilena vanished. Blood soaked his hands and ran down his cheeks as he stared at the angry young man that was his little brother, his hands still outstretched for the boy's face. He smiled as warm tears flowed, cleansing the blood that stained his face. He smiled, lowering his right hand while ,with his left, he caressed his brother's cheek for but a moment, whispering, "I'm sorry... Shin..."
... And then, Shin's anger turned to anguish.
"Brother...?" He asked, shocked as the micromachines went inert and the two machines collapsed in a heap together. The crust of micromachines that had surrounded him fell apart around his damaged machine as his comrades advanced to join him. He looked down at his hands, then felt the top of his head as he fell back into his chair, exhaling a breath he hadn't even realized he'd been holding.
He'd done it...
He'd...
... Raiden listened from outside as the Reaper... No, as Shin let out his anguish. He spoke, "Thanks for the help, Major... And to you as well, Admiral... I'm thinking we let Shin be for now," and he disconnected his Para-RAID from Shin. He hummed as he thought that there was still the other Shepherd, Hades, to deal with. The former ODST in command of the Legion's artillery platoon. Lena had disconnected a moment ago by mistake.
"We can send the CASEVAC to get you kids home," The Admiral offered, then sighed, "But... Knowing you... You're going to go hunting for that damn thing, right?"
Raiden smiled, "We're not done yet, aye..." then he looked to his team as they unloaded from the vehicles, each of them falling on their asses and breathing sighs of relief, cheering and raising opened cans of soda to the victory. Raiden then looked to the damaged machine, murmuring, "... Though we'll find some way back home... Hopefully, after we're done here. That fellow's just one last loose end, after all."
"Past the com line, you'll be going into Legion territory. Our EWAR hasn't been able to penetrate their higher-function jamming in the area, so you won't be getting any backup from us until you make it beyond the Old Borders and to the Federal Republic..." The Admiral spoke softly. it was clear she was considering sending CASEVAC with a squadron of commandos to drag their asses home. But she simply chose not to. She spoke, "Lena's gonna fuckin' hate me for this, kids, but if... No, when you make it to the Federal Republic, send us a message, a ping, anything so we know you're alright. We'll try to have scouts on a daily patrol, but..."
"Don't worry, ma'am," Theo noted, approaching Raiden's side with Haruto and grinning, "We made a promise to the Major, too... Though we're gonna be late on that one."
"I'll... Keep her appraised of your status. We have units in the FR as well, so it'll be easy to gauge if you kids made it there. Just do us all a favor and be ready to return home, you copy?"
"We'll do our best..." Raiden replied, then sighed and said, "Take care, Admiral."
"You too, Raiden..." She replied. Then the com went dead the moment Shin climbed out of his damaged machine. The group heard the rumble of Fido's legs hitting the floor and watched as the UNSC aircraft waved off. Though his eyes were red, Shin maintained a certain composure about him. Looking at the dead husk of his brother's machine. He sighed, then looked to his team and gave them a small, thankful smile.
Raiden smiled back, then looked over to Fido as it beeped happily. He then looked to Shin and said, "Let's get Undertaker patched up and head on out..."
"Yeah," Shin nodded...
It was gonna be a long road ahead.
San Magnolia Military HQ.
Lena called out "You can do this!" as she watched the battle unfold. Undertaker and the enemy Shepherd were so close to one-another that she couldn't believe it. But then, she heard the roar of the gun of Undertaker over the com. Twice. And, with those two shots, the last lights of the machine winked off the screen. Lena's arms shot up into the sky as she let out a "YES!" that'd been muffled by the fact that her Para-RAID shut down.
"They did it!" Annette called out from beside her, then laughed heartily, "Shin actually did it...!" and turned toward Samantha and Mathieu, wrapping her arms around the two French-but-not-French ONI Operatives as the cheers of the rest of the Handlers loyal to the new Government echoed throughout the hall. They'd all been watching the battle unfold, seeing as they were preparing to send in their own reinforcements to get Spearhead back.
Lena breathed a sigh of relief, placing her left hand on her chest as she felt her heart beat rapidly. She smiled, watching as the rest of Spearhead gathered around their commander, then she looked to her friends. Matt gave a proud thumbs up, while Sam and Annette simply smiled at her. Dustin, behind them, gave an approving nod and stepped away with a stack of paperwork.
She turned on her Para-RAID, then said, "Mission accomplished, Admiral."
"Indeed, Major. Well fuckin' done..." Sighed the elderly woman, "I'm gonna need a whole bottle of whiskey after today..." and she definitely sounded apologetic. She spoke, "I'll talk to you later, Major... Spearhead's gonna brief you on what comes next, I'm afraid..." and she went off the air, leaving Lena with that cryptic message. She showed the three joyous comrades behind her to be quiet as she switched her link.
"Ah. Major." Shin spoke as his unit's systems whirred to life, "I was... Just about to try and make the connection... Thank you for the artillery. Smart use of those dud rounds..."
"Thank you, Captain..." She replied, smiling. That smile soon turned into a confused frown as she watched the dozen machines of Spearhead start moving forth, toward the Legion's high-yield jamming area, the one not even the UNSC's sensors could penetrate properly. She blinked, then asked, "Are you okay, captain? You finally finished your quest... Your brother's at rest..."
"I'm fine, Major..." He replied calmly, "Though our job isn't done. Not yet."
"Captain, you did your work... What're you pursuing? I can't see anything on the radars..." Lena suddenly felt her heartrate rise again. She tapped in a few commands while her comrades stared, surprised. Annette leaned forward and raised a brow, to which Lena shrugged. She spoke, "I'm trying to ping the area ahead of you and I'm getting nothing. No Legion IFFs, no nothing... And the Radar's at its maximum."
"... We're saving Major Volkov the trouble. The ODST was here. I can still hear him... We're going to track him into Legion territory and put an end to him," Shin explained in a murmur, causing Lena's heart to stop. She started sputtering, but before she could form a coherent sentence, Shin stated, "Don't worry, Major. We still owe you the sweets and tea... We'll be back. We just don't know when."
She stood up, listening as the others linked into the Para-RAID. Raiden spoke, "Shin's right, Major. We do wanna keep that promise... But we can't just let a smart artillery piece run around now, can we?"
"Don't worry. We'll be back to pester you in no time," Kurena quipped, probably grinning while Lena turned and bolted out of the room, to the surprise of her comrades. They gave chase as the girl burst out of the hallway of Handlers, down the stairs. She had to get to the border, maybe she'd grab a Pelican and head out with it. She just had to make it to them before they vanished.
"Keep a seat open for me at the table. Someone's gonna have to draw the 'Family Portrait'... Y'know, for what that's gonna be worth," Theo said nonchalantly.
"Hah. C'mon, Theo, give the girl a break... But, yeah, we're gonna come home, Major. We've just gotta finish this one tiny thing for the people in the UNSC. A sort of thanks, I guess," Daiya remarked. Through his Para-RAID, Lena could hear the stomping feet of his Cyclops as it thundered ever-forward with the rest of the team. She dashed down the stairs, with Annette, Sam and Matt behind her calling her name.
"Tell your friend she has to learn to make Chifon cake if she hasn't already..." Anju spoke softly, "I remember liking it as a kid."
"I'll get us some sodas if I can! I ain't that into tea and nor is Lecca, but we do like sweets!" Haruto laughed, just as Lena burst through the door, tears welling in her eyes as she ran. The girl ran down the main boulevard, her friends trailing behind her, out of breath as the sun began to set around them. He heard a few laughs escape the rest of the unit.
"Hey, Haruto! I'm not that picky with what I drink! Anyway, thanks for everything, Major. You saved our asses a few too many times for me to even count, so..." Lecca spoke... And even though she tried to keep a straight face, it sounded like she, too, was about to burst into tears. Lena bounded across the capital, her legs cramping up. She never once stopped running as she heard the rumble of the people's machines.
She could make it. She hailed a gunship of the UNSC's just as it took off, then called out to them as they moved. They were carrying Shiden's squadron, it seemed. To Lena, it didn't matter. She had to get to the border and talk them out of this. She made several signs requesting the pickup, but the crew chief of the aircraft shook his head apologetically, then motioned to the east and raised three fingers before the bird closed its back doors and punched it to the squadron HQ.
Lena swallowed empty, feeling her ragged breath scratch her dry throat as she moved forward. She had to get to them. She had to. Nothing else mattered right now, she'd made a promise to them, that they'd get back to the Republic and just have fun before they'd have to go fighting again. She called out to them, "Wait...!" her throat hoarse. Ahead of her, stretched the last of the city and the tall walls and fortifications of the Gran Mur...
She could reach them! She could...!
"Major..." Shin spoke, his voice soft, almost apologetic, "We're going on ahead..."
She stopped. In the middle of the bridge leading out over the canals, she stopped. Her Para-RAID Device flashed six times as she felt the connection fail. They were going outside the operative range... No... No...! She breathed, falling onto her knees. Ahead of her lay the orange sky and the setting sun, beyond the Gran Mur. She reached out toward it, toward them, pleading through heavy breaths, "Please...! Don't...!"
The Link went dead.
She looked at her hands as the flood gates opened. Warm, salty tears began rolling down her cheeks. She began to cry. An anguished cry, one begging for help. One that slowly turned into a wail that filled the air around them. Annette ran up to Lena's side, sliding to her right and wrapping her arms around her friend, while Sam and Matt both approached slowly. Each placed a calm, reassuring hand on the crying girl's shoulders, then looked out to the Gran Mur.
SPEARHEAD FOB. A day later...
The UNSC Pelican in which Major Vladilena Milizé swung in for landing at the Forward Operating Base. Lena regarded what the UNSC had done with the place with awe. So many reinforcements had been deployed that the base had become more than just a simple FOB. It'd become an active component in the UNSC Military's batttle against the Legion and one could easily tell.
Touching down at the landing pads near the main airstrip, the woman was greeted by the presence of a dozen soldiers, each bringing their hands up in salute and lined up face-to-face behind the Pelican's hatch. With slightly wider eyes, Lena stepped off the aircraft, then stopped as she saw a man clad in a familiar black armor approached, his helmet under his arm.
He saluted, then smiled, his beard and hair trimmed. Lena smiled and saluted back, then said, "Major Volkov... A pleasure to finally meet you face-to-face."
"Pleasure's all mine, Major Milizé. Admiral Nakano spoke highly of your tenacity in helping plan the coup..." He offered, then showed for her to follow him, dismissing the gathered Marines with a nod. The two descended onto the tarmac directly. It looked like it'd been freshly-laid, with the lines newly-drawn instead of how Lena had expected them. She'd have thought the entire area would have cracks and dings, but no. The UNSC took care of its own.
And of Spearhead...
She continued following the Major, asking, "Any... Reason I was summoned?" with a hint of hope. She'd have come to visit anyways, to see the kind of conditions her soldiers had lived in for the past year of their service in Spearhead and in the Juggernaut Corps, as it was now being rebranded. The UNSC had begun a large-scale rearmament program, namely by building factories to boost the production of the country.
Still. The place looked nice. Very modern.
The man turned to her, then replied, "Sergeant Forrester was told by Lieutenant Rikka that we should probably call you after they depart. That there's something they had to give you through her and us. I don't know what they'd want to give you beside the cat, but..." he shrugged. As they entered the Eighty-Sixes' section of the FOB and their barracks, they were met by staff talking and smiling. Some of them saluted the two Majors, but others were too busy and not worth troubling...
Lena noticed that everything was pretty much brand new. Light fixtures, walls, paneling. Lena had to admit that, for the last month or so, they must've at least lived a semi-luxurious military life. Volkov brought her to a wooden door, propping it open to reveal a game room and recreation area with a series of computer terminals, bookshelves and assorted board games, as well as couches, toys and everything in-between.
He nodded to Lena, gave her a quick salute, stating, "Congratulations on your upcoming promotion, by the way..." and departing.
Right... Lena was becoming a Colonel because of her handling of everything from Spearhead to the coup. She looked around, the scent of stale carpet filling her nostrils. She looked below at the carpet itself, noting the yellowish color. They must've not had a lot of options in regards to cleaning the damn thing, so she couldn't blame them for it. That, or they'd kept it as a memento.
"Yeah, the place smells a bit..." A voice quipped. Lena gasped, turning toward one of the couches.
She saw a red-haired, freckle-faced, blue-eyed girl clad in UNSC fatigues. Said girl stood to her feet, saluted and said, "Hello, Major. I'm sergeant Forrester... Theo asked me to give you a couple things. And I imagine Captain Nouzen did through him, too," before smiling. She approached Lena, pulling a piece of folded paper out of her left thigh pocket. She handed it to the girl, firmly tightening her fist around it and saying, "Thanks for all you've done, Major... Let us know if you hear anything about them. Okay?"
"I will..." Lena nodded. She watched the girl depart through the door, too, then hummed. She looked at the paper in her hand, then slowly unraveled it, revealing a less than flattering drawing of a pig girl in a princess's dress. Her name was written above it, as it seemed, as well as... A few dedications from Spearhead's members...
"Yo, major! Surprised you got here to read this! Don't go dyin' out there 'till we meet, ya hear?"-Lecca
She bit her lower lip...
"Howdy, Major! Turn that frown upside down! We're gonna keep that promise!"-Haruto
"Been waiting for a while to be able to say this. Go fuck yourself... You're too kind to all of us... Thanks."-Theo
A soft chuckle escaped her lips. She could hear their voices...
"Can't believe I'm writing this, but I doubt you'll ever see it anyway. Thanks for everything and don't go doing stupid things in there... Not until we're back, anywho. Left you a picture of us. Bet you're surprised, huh?"-Kurena
"Been an honor, major! See ya soon!"-Daiya
"Make sure to take care of the cat for us! Oh, and give him a cute name, please."-Anju
"I left a few fresh ingredients in the kitchen. Have at'em."-Raiden
Tears began to flow down her cheeks... And she gasped as she read the last one.
"Hello, Major... When we meet, could you bring flowers? For those we lost."-Shin
The waterworks started again. She gazed down as she heard a meow. A black cat with white paws and a white belly stared up at her, seemingly smiling as its glimmering amber eyes stared into hers. She knelt, smiling, then wiped her tears away and pet the little creature. Looking once more upon the paper and picking up the cat with one arm, she swore...
She'd see them again. No matter what it cost her.