Landing Craft 6-6, Tiananmen Coastline, Shanxi, July 4, 2192, 19:44 Local Time.
"Thirty seconds! God be with you!" the landing craft pilot said through the sounds of AA fire and small arms fire zipping and cracking through the sky. Williams and his tank crew prepared to deploy.
The craft landed on the sandy coast with a muffled thud and the latches holding the tank opened with a clang.
"Step on it Whitman!" Williams ordered the driver.
The Mattis class Main Battle Tank roared to life and leapt drove away from the craft as it flew away. The twin 50. Caliber machineguns tore the enemy infantry like they were paper and sent those who got away into cover, allowing the Alliance Marines on foot to advance. The gunner, Jackson, kept the MGs pounding continuously. She wouldn't give the enemy a chance to fight back.
The rapid thundering of anti-air cannons brought Williams' attention back to their primary objectives.
"Whitman, get us to that AA bunker! Jackson, I want our guns pointed at them!"
"Roger that boss." The gunner said as she turned the turret to face the bunker.
Williams peeked through the spotter's periscope and saw how imposing the target truly was. It was the size of a small house and it had firing emplacements and gun holes covering all angles. Williams and the tank platoon currently with him pushed towards the bunker, five tanks strong.
The group pushed and provided cover for squad that was also advancing. This advance was then halted when the left most tank struck by an AT rocket in the side, crippling one of its tracks. Williams cursed and took the radio in the tank.
"Vickers, Tomasino, you push on ahead with the infantry, we need to give Jareau cover while his tank's being repaired.
"Aye, on it Cap'n." Vickers answered as her modified King David class Light Assault Tank charged forward with Tomasino's basic King David class following closely behind.
"Jareau, Rodriguez, provide suppressing fire for the infantry, try to stop that rocket shooting fuck from hitting another one of us!" Williams then ordered into the radio again. The two other Mattis class tanks had their twin MGs pounding on the bunkers emplacements as soon as they could.
Williams hung the radio to the side again and peered through the periscope. The twin MGs on his own tank then began to pound on the bunker too, as it attempted to suppress enemy retaliation. Vickers' Irish accent cut through the staccato of machinegun fire as she called through the radio.
"Cap'n, some of 'em grunts found 'e door in the rear of the bunker. I'm gonna push with 'em."
"Copy that Vickers, proceed with caution." The Captain replied
The two King David tanks pushed up a steep hill with a squad of Marine grunts hiking behind them. Vickers' tank reached the top first and launched a stream of fire from its flamethrower.
Following the suppression from the two tank's combined fire, the Marines pushed through and lobbed several of grenades at the cowering Batarians. Unfortunately, one of such grenades was thrown back by a quick-thinking Batarian and had it land in the middle of a trio of Marines. The explosion tore the Marines apart, killing all of them.
Tomasino's tank pushed forward and fired its main gun at a gun emplacement, killing its operators. A lone Batarian soldier jumped out of cover and shot an attacked with his rocket launcher before the light tank could reposition itself. The rocket struck the tank's main gun and destroyed the rails in which the turret rotated on. Being crippled, the tank swerved wildly and crashed into a wall with a loud crash. The Batarian launched another AT rocket which slammed into the side of the tank and hit it in a relatively unprotected side. The explosion rocked the tank, and knocked out most of the crew, if not killing them outright.
Inside her tank, Vickers cursed.
"Fuckin' hell, Tomasino's tank took a rocket to the face!"
Ordering the driver to push on ahead, she turned her turret and held onto the trigger, blasting fire and lead at the Batarian which was using the rocket launcher. The quad machineguns endlessly hammering with .50 caliber bullets which tore apart everything near his position.
A marine squad breached the bunker doors and stormed inside. Gunshots cracked through the sound of battle and muzzle flashes shone through the gun slits. The gun emplacements firing away from the bunker one by one began to fall silent. All 12 remaining heavy machineguns stopped their staccato of fire against the Alliance marines as their gunners were killed. This all reached its climax when the AA batteries at the top of the fortification exploded in a shower of fire and sparks.
Williams took the radio again and reported to the Defiance.
"Defiance, this is Spectre-1. Objective foxtrot has been secured, requesting reinforcements and medivac at our position now."
"Copy that Spectre-1. We have Mammoths en route with reinforcements now. Sit tight and dig in, ETA is 20 minutes." The ACI operative in the Defiance's AWACS room said through the radio.
The Captain switched frequencies on the radio and addressed all troops within the area.
"To all forces in this area, dig in around the bunker, we're getting reinforced with more troops, ETA 20 minutes."
The tanks formed a perimeter around the bunker as the grunts took cover and treated their wounded.
Williams climbed out of his tank through the hatch and walked over to the Tomasino's tank. There was a hole on its side where the rocket had impacted it, and another on the turret which had crippled it. Some dried blood was visibly sticking on the impact hole, which caused The Captain to look away slightly.
The top hatch opened as the tank's gunner, bloodied and wounded as he was, climbed out and dragged a body out. The body being dragged out was missing an arm and half of its face, as well as it was severely burnt. The gunner removed the hat and goggles from the body, revealing the body to be the tank's commander.
"Dammit." Williams said.
"He died the when the first rocket hit us, sir. Gone in a flash, just like that." The gunner said.
Another one of the crew climbed out of the hatch, this one seemed to be the driver. He visibly scarred in the face and was bleeding heavily from his right arm. The gunner helped his crewmate down.
"Thanks mate." The scarred crewman said as he wiped the dirt and soot that had stuck on his face from the explosion.
The gunner let his friend rest and went to talk to the captain.
"I suppose we'll be taken out of the active combat." The gunner said. "Seeing as how most of the crew is either injured or dead."
"It's possible." Williams said as he knelt down and closed the dead commander's eyes. "Though with things as it is right now, the brass is probably going to throw you a new crew as soon as you boys recover. Hell, you might even get your own crew to boss around."
Williams stood back up and took a good look at the gunner. He looked rather young, though he was well built. He had some stubble growing on his face unevenly.
'The guy couldn't have been over 25' Williams thought to himself.
The gunner looked excited at the prospect of getting his own crew. Williams couldn't tell exactly what to think of the soldier in front of him.
"Unfortunate that such a promotion had to happen their demise." The gunner said. As he wiped the dirt off of the dead men and closed their eyes. "They were good soldiers, both of them."
Williams nodded and took a seat on a nearby rock. Rummaged through his sling bag in search of his vice, and pulled out a box of cigarettes.
"Gertrude would kill me if she found out I've been smoking again." He said to himself, though he lit the roll of tobacco on anyways.
It wasn't until a group of Mammoth crafts began their approach and landed, opening their doors and letting out more tanks and marines that he stood up and extinguished his cigarette. He climbed back onto his tank, where his crew had been waiting. Before he got in, he turned around and look for the wounded gunner, who was now being treated by a medic.
"Say, kid, I never did catch your name." Williams said loudly called out.
The gunner looked up and replied.
"It's Petrovsky, sir. Oleg Petrovsky."
-000-
Qian Forrest, Shanxi, A few hours earlier.
"Take cover you shitheads!" Zaeed shouted through the sound of gunfire and explosions. He tackled a pair of soldiers to the ground as a hail of gunfire ripped through the air where they had been standing. The three of them crawled back into cover behind a large rock as the several Batarian soldiers focused their fire against the trio.
"Where the fuck is our armor support?" Zaeed shouted at his communicator.
"We're still 8 minutes out, we got stuck in some mud." One of the IFV commander said.
Zaeed cursed under his breath, his boys were getting hammered, and he didn't have enough firepower to make a counterattack. He hated the fact that the Goliath transport that he was in had to be the one that got shot down instead of the dozens others in the air. Air dropping entire armored vehicles is also a huge pain in the ass. Times like these he wondered if things would be a lot simple if he joined the Marine Corps instead of the Airborne Infantry.
It probably wouldn't make much of a difference though.
"Vosque, where's your fucking RPG?" Zaeed demanded. He didn't have time to deal with any bullshit at the moment.
"Right here boss!" the soldier in question replied as he ran to him. Vosque took cover behind a tree close to the sergeant, and aimed his launcher. He fired, and the RPG launched itself with tremendous speed, screaming through the air right until it slammed into the side of a tree which was standing near a group of Batarians. The explosion destroyed the tree's base, as well as the aliens near it. The explosion was enough to begin slowing down the enemy's momentum, though not by a lot. A dozen more Batarian soldiers streamed through the dust and smoke that the explosion had kicked up as they stampeded past the corpses of their fallen brethren, sending the Alliance Paratroopers backpedaling yet again.
"Everybody, fall back to the second line!" Zaeed heard the company commander shout through the radio.
A hail of gunfire shot from the Batarian group as the paratroopers fell back to a second defensive line, where another platoon of paratroopers had already dug in. Zaeed did a running slide down into one of the hastily dug trenches. Vosque and Jedore ran up beside and took cover as well.
Things certainly were falling to shit real fast.
It was tough fighting in the dark forests of Shanxi, only having the lights on their HUDs and the fire from the crashed Goliath behind them illuminating the shadows. Muzzle flashes lit up the darkness as the Alliance forces opened fire once more on the advancing enemy. In the midst of all the chaos another rocket flew from somewhere within the crowd of Batarians. The HE rocket arced and hit the ground a few meters short of the trench. The fiery explosion illuminated the night as the grass and bushes around the explosion caught on fire.
Zaeed peeked out again and took potshots at the enemy. There didn't seem to be an end to their numbers. Every paratrooper capable of fighting was already throwing everything they've got at the Batarians, but every time they kill one, another two of the alien soldiers would appear and continue the fight.
It was almost frightening.
"C'mon you sons of bitches, is that all you've got?!" Zaeed taunted as he fired another burst from his assault rifle.
He was answered when another two dozen Batarian soldiers. Charged forward with menacing, orange blades appearing in most of their wrists.
"It's a blade charge, brace yourselves… AAGH!"
Zaeed looked to see the company commander get stabbed in the stomach by one of the Batarians. The attacking Batarian shoved his Omni-blade deep into the commander's stomach, before cutting through the side and spilling out his innards.
The second line broke as even more Batarians rushed forward. Though the paratroopers had better training and, to a certain extent, better gear, they simply could not hold against the overwhelming numbers of the Batarians.
"This trench is fucked, fall back to the third line!" Zaeed shouted as he tried to rally what little soldiers were left on the blood-soaked trench.
As he pulled an injured soldier, who while being dragged, fired back against the Batarians with his own assault rifle Zaeed took a split second to look around him.
People were dying left and right. Batarians with chunks of their body missing, paratroopers being rushed by the aliens, and he even spotted one being ganged up by a bunch of Batarians who were repeatedly stabbing him with their Omni-blades.
They were running out of time, and they were running out of it fast. He picked up the soldier and picked up the pace towards the trench.
At the moment, nothing mattered to him except for their survival.
Zaeed finally reached the third line. Though it too was a hastily dug trench, it was at the very least more properly set up. Metal panels from the broken Goliath was propped up as small shelters on key points in the trench as to make pseudo-bunkers. Zaeed dropped the soldier onto the trench. Throughout the entire ordeal Zaeed didn't even take a single glimpse at the man he was dragging. He was about to ask the soldier if he was ok, only to realize that said soldier was already dead. There was a hole in his face the size of a golf ball, and the hole carved straight through the head.
"God damn." He said letting go of the corpse.
Zaeed shook his head and took the dead soldier's rifle. He popped up again and opened fire at the Batarians. He held on the trigger and swept the rifle across as to try and hit as many aliens as possible. The rifle kept spitting bullets up until its magazine ran out, after which Zaeed grabbed the rifle by its stock and hurled it at the enemy. He took out his side arm before starting to pick off the enemy one by one.
The sergeant ducked down as he reloaded his pistol. He grabbed his communicator and shouted at it.
"Where the fuck are you shitheads!" Zaeed all but shouted. Screw military ethics, they're going to need those APCs and IFVs if they even want to have the slimmest chance of surviving this battle.
The Batarians charged again with what he reckoned was over a hundred soldiers. Zaeed didn't bother counting, he just needed to survive.
Another barrage of HE rockets flew from the rushing aliens. The rockets exploded all over the place as the charging aliens collided again with the Human troops.
If the fighting had been brutal before, now it was a total blood bath. The third line was about to break. They were trapped between a burning wreck and hundreds of four-eyed slaver freaks charging at them with fanatic zeal, leaving them little to no choice but to fight back.
Zaeed drew his knife and rushed a Batarian while he was focused on another target. The sergeant stabbed him in the back of the throat and twisted the blade just to make sure he would die. Covered in orange blood, Zaeed took the alien's shotgun and began hammering away at the enemy. He kept firing, accenting each one with a war cry. Shot after shot he fired, until the gun began beeping, and a red hologram glowed on the side of its barrel. Before he could figure out what was going on with the gun, Zaeed heard a Batarian shouting something and swung around with his knife, ready to fight. He was greeted with the Batarian with his fist covered in the same orange-glowing matter that formed the Omni-blades, and was punched right in the face with it.
The force of the strike launched him several meters away where he hit a tree, and was promptly knocked out.
-000-
Galactic News Update:
Citadel Central Broadcasting: Latest update from the frontlines are in, with the steady advance of the JCF and the Volunteer Corps being halted and was pushed back as the Turian Hierarchy. Citadel affiliated casualties have risen from 13% of all deployed forces to a staggering 39%. Sources from within the Volunteer Corps has told CCB that the Turians have begun fielding newer weapons, and are, and I quote, "defending occupied territories as aggressively as they would when attacking." Support from the Asari Republics have been shaken as the war's popularity in the core territories have dropped by 9%, and in the frontiers by 29%. Another terrible blow is also dealt when Matriarch Benezia, leader of House T'soni and current head of the Armali Circle of Matriarchs, announced earlier today that both the states of Armali and Serrice will no longer be supporting the war effort.
Hierarchy Official News: Military correspondents have reported that the Tor offensive, now entering its 2nd stage, has been a phenomenal success. While being a departure from standard Hierarchy doctrine, the newly dubbed "Elastic Combat Formations" have been proven to be very effective against the relatively disjointed Citadel Volunteer Corps. In a press release earlier this month, High Primarch Fedorian announced that the Tor offensive, if successful, would eventually force the council back into a stalemate at worst, or would force the Asari Republics to capitulate into diplomatic negotiations at best. Though some of the other Primarchs are still skeptical on the possibilities of the plan when it was announced last month, many of them are now praising the High Primarch plan.
Tuchanka Federal News: In an act of uncooperativeness and cowardice, the Asari Republics has refused to contribute more of their economic and industrial capability to the war effort. This has left the 9th to 16th JCF fleets without the 13 dreadnoughts originally requested, as well as cutting down on projected fleet construction from 19 to 8. This development is not all bad however, as they have conceded 112 of their own frigates and cruisers. In better news, the Salarian Union has agreed to deploy 9 of their own fleets to pick up where the Asari Republics had refused to help with. The new Arakis shipyard over our glorious home world Tuchanka has also completed construction, which when fully functional, should be able to deploy 8 new frigates every month.
Colonial News Center: President Harper's war economy plan has finally come full swing as the far more civilian factories than required has been retooled into military factories. Production of supplies and equipment is believed to have quadrupled in number. Fuel and food rationing is now also underway in the core systems as high-end restaurants and other 'unnecessary droughts of resources' are being temporarily closed, and the resources that they previously used being sent into the many bunkers and stockpiles all around Alliance space for the duration of the war. The President has promised to pay compensation for the 'necessary evil' and understands how damaging this is to businesses. Rumors of a new player in the war is also surfacing as unidentified warships were spotted during the Alien attack on Eden Prime. An elderly citizen claimed that well over a dozen warships that she did not recognize as neither Alliance nor Batarian while she was being transported from the Eden Prime near orbital. AFCom has refused to comment on this at the moment, saying that it was "A matter to discuss another time."
-000-
A/N
I kind of feel that CODEX entries are just, eh I don't know, off. I kept thinking on how I could still do some world building, but not make it like so blatant like that. Well technically it's still pretty blatant, but then again I'm not really sure how to describe it. Yeah, so CODEX entries will be replaced with either News Updatesor maybe Archive Updates for things that have happened in the past.
Anyways, this is the second chapter of the second arc (season?) which stars everyone's favorite merc Zaeed, and Ash's father (who if you still can't figure it out, is the guy the first section of this chapter is focused on). I realized when writing this chapter that I've been giving the Alliance too many wins, and I feel like they should be taking a whole lot more hell than they are. I originally wanted to have the APCs and IFVs arrive at the last second, but after a few revises, and accidentally making this chapter the most graphic in this story so far, I decided to make it like it is.
Anyway folks, thanks for reading, as always. Put what you think in a review, or PM them to me if you feel like it. Thanks again, and enjoy the rest of your day.