The Pelican flew low and quick above the ground. Dirt and rocks kicked up against the bottom of the dropship, we where only about eight or so feet from the ground. We had been flying for around thirty-five minutes and had left the snowy region and came into a area that had none. It was mainly all dirt and canyon like with some grass here and there, from what I could make out when leaning out my seat and looking out the back.

"Alright boys." said the CO. "Heres our orders."
I had been waiting for our direct orders since we took off and almost began to wonder if he was going to tell us.
"We are coming up on a hill region with lots of side cliffs and tunnels. We believe the EWCU will be coming though here. We will hold up in the hill sides and observe what they do if they come. We have been told that we are to defend ourself as we see fit as well."
He glanced at all of us, we all had our eyes fixed on him.
"Once we drop off, we can't leave for another four or so hours and expect no help." His head hanged downward a bit. "Prepare yourself." he added and walked back into the cockpit.

We sat there quietly. We where all thinking to ourself. The dropship swung to the left and did a one-hundred-eighty degree turn into a stop. We all swayed to one side and back to the other with the movement. The dropship hovered for a second and began to lower down. We where at the LZ.
"Pile out boys!" Barked Ryan.

We all hoped out and six or so feet down to the ground and set up a defensive circle around the dropship in the daylight. The Pelican engines heated up more and it was soon off. We sat there for a second. The CO was scanning the environment.

I glanced around. We where on a small hill. In front of me was a small cliff that cut into the a gigantic hillside, the cliff formed a walkway along to the left that feed up into a cave on the hillside on the left, it also entered into another cave on the right.
"Sir." I said. The CO came over to me. I pointed out the small cliff ahead of me, and traced my finger along it to the left which led into a tunnel on the high ground.
"Lets move!" Yelled the CO.
We made our way to the small cliff and hopped up and made our way down the cliff side to the tunnel. The dirt cliff side curved into the tunnel. So there was a bit of the hill side in front of the tunnel, meaning we could use the high ground against an enemy attack from the front.

The cliff side also slanted up to about two feet at the entrance to the cave, enough for one or two mean do kneel down behind and have cover.
"Squad gunner." said Ryan.
Steve and Jake jogged over to him. "Set your M41 up here, behind this small ground bump." He ordered.
It was a good idea to set the MG behind the cover. It drastically strengthened our defences. He also ordered three men down to the end of the cliff, where we had come up, to prevent the enemy from using the flanking tunnel or using the way we came in to get up where we where.

"Thomas." Ryan called out to me.
"Yes, sir." I replied as I walked up to him.
"The small cave below us. Go down there and rig a trap." He told me.
"A trap sir?" I asked.
"Yes." he replied "If the enemy gets below us, they will most like take cover in the tunnel against the fire of the flankers down at the end of the cliff where we came up. When they go in, I want them to come back out... In pieces."
"Yes, sir." I answered and made my way down.

I looked at the small cave and questioned on how to make a trap. I finally got an idea. I headed back up and got a piece of string from the team sapper, the one that should of been doing what I was but was also busy doing something else at the end of the walk path. I took two M9 Frag Grenades and planted them into the sides of the cliff a small bit, at the front. I took the string and tied it around the switches of the frags. When the enemy came running in, they would trip on the wire, causing the switches to flip and set the grenades off three seconds later.

I felt quite content with myself, having set up a trap all by myself. I made my way back up the dirt cliff to the rest of the team in the tunnel. I sat by Dave who was sitting on the edge of the cliff by Steve. We gazed out at the environment. The path ahead and extremely hilly. The smaller hills had grass on them, while the one that where a bit bigger didn't.

Way out to the far right we made out a cliff side that circled around a wall of rock. Gazing more to our right, we made a patch of about twenty or so large stones, about fifteen feet big in each direction, for each of them.

"Do you think they'll come?" I asked.
"Na, if they come, they'll be running and the marines will be right behind them." replied Dave. We chuckled.
"You guys, into the cave also." said a voice.
We glanced back behind us. It was Ryan.
"Lets go. Into the cave. We don't want them to see you if they come."
We got up and walked into the cave with him. I sat down up against the wall like everyone was. It was extremely quiet. It made me feel uneasy.
I moved my body around on the dirt ground and got myself into a leaning position against the wall a bit better. I put my gun up against the wall and closed my eyes. Within minutes I was in a light sleep.

I awoke about a hour later to find everyone peaking out though the cave entrance and looking down the way though the open lands. I sat up more. Even Steve and Dave where looking out.
"What's happening?" I asked and grabbed my rifle and stood up.
"We just noticed there's a structure out there, way out in the distance." said some soldier.
"So." I replied and walked up to join them.
"Its crawling with The Royal Troop." said the soldier. I froze.
"How do you know this?" He pointed out to a small hill out in the distance a bit. I look out and noticed Ryan out there with binoculars. He was observing way out in the distance, farther than I could see.

After a few minutes he stood up and began to make his way back to us. He soon entered the tunnel again.
"So what's out there?" I asked.
"Infantry." he replied catching his breathe. "They also seem to have warthogs as well." He glanced around at us. "They know where here." he said softly.
My heart beated a bit faster.
"How do you know that?" Asked a soldier. He looked over at him.
"They where there before we even landed, i'm sure of it. I'm sure they know where here as well." he paused. "Their numbers have grown to, since last time I went out and checked."

I looked out into the open. I couldn't see the structure. Amazed that they where possibly there the entire time. I looked back at Ryan. He had picked up a rock and was drawling out their positions on the ground.
"Here they have about twenty men, and here about seven." I looked back out as he continued.
"They have two jeeps here and a machine gun here on the structure here."

Something caught my eye. I stepped out a small bit and glanced over toward the right a bit more. There. They where on the move.
"There on the move!" I said. The CO rushed over and everyone grabbed their guns.
"Where?" Asked the CO.
"There." I said and pointed them out, they where heading for the rocky region off to our right..
Ryan put on his binoculars and put them back down.
"David Steel! Front and center!" He had called for my bother. "You see those men out there?" Ryan asked.
Dave glanced out and then put his sniper scope to his eyes.
"Yes, sir, I see them now." he replied.
"What do they have?"
"Two of them have M7s and the other has a S2 AM Sniper, sir."
Everyone backed away from the tunnel entrance, even I did.

"Alright then, keep your eye on that sniper. If he even points his gun out this way, shoot him. Are we clear son?" asked Ryan.
"Sir, yes, sir!" Yelled Dave.
Dave stepped out more went prone and Ryan stepped back in more.

"If Dave is forced to shoot. Then we know they're out to kill us." stated the CO.
We all had our eyes on Dave. Time went by and he still just sat there. Roughly five minutes later came the snap of his rifle, followed by two more shots. We all jumped a bit and listened as the shots rang though the hills.
"Did they point the sniper at us?" Demanded Ryan as he headed over to him.
"Yes, sir." replied Dave. "I shot all of them, sir."

Ryan stood there for a minute.
"Everyone ready defences now!" He yelled.
We rushed to find a position. Steve and Jake took positions behind the cover on the MG.
"Form a line on the cliff side!" Ordered Ryan.
The rest of us made our way down the cliff and went prone along it. I laid on my stomach looking out at the openness of hills ahead of me. The sound of drums being played could be heard, they where going to attack.

Out in the distance I could see extremely tiny people coming into view. A long line of tiny people. They where getting bigger. They where coming for us.
"Should I fire sir?" Asked Dave.
"Not yet." replied Ryan.
We listened as they got closer. We could hear them marching now. The drums where getting louder. They went out of sight behind a hill line ahead and the drums stopped.
"If they come charging over that hill, then you may fire at will team!" Yelled Ryan. We all laid there, ready. A sudden spam of grenades flew up over the hill and landed a good distance out in front of us and exploded. They where smoke grenades. Then we could hear them.

They started yelling and we could hear them, all their feet running at us. I positioned my gun better and took aim at the smoke. They broke though the smoke. Our lines erupted and they started to drop. Some stopped and kneeled down and fired back in the open with their SMGs. I shot back and watched as my ammo indicator dropped. 53...45...32...

Steve started to chew them up with the M41 MG as they came. Not even after twenty seconds of fighting they started retreating back though the smoke.
"Cease fire!" Yelled Ryan.
We laid there silent. The hills ahead of us once covered in dirt where now bathed in fresh blood and bodies, I counted twenty-six dead.

Soon the sound of engines and the sound of something sliding on dirt could be heard. It was the warthogs. Fear swept over my body and my hands became sweaty in my armored gloves. I began to wonder if we could stop the warthogs or not without a rocket launcher, if they got Steve then we where doomed.

More grades flew up over the hill and landed much closer than before. Smoke came out and blocked our line of sight against them. We heard the vehicles start moving and the footsteps running again. Steve fired the MG though the smoke. Screams came out from the other side.
"Cease F..." started the CO, until he heard the screams. "Fire, fire now!" He yelled and we all started shooting into the smoke.
Seconds later pockets of infantry broke though. Some kneeled down and fired back as those before had. Some 'tripped' to the ground but they never got back up.

June 14th, 2552, 10:22 PM

The warthogs came into sight. They came up and stopped atop a hill in front of us and opened up among our lines. Men all around began to fall. Steve opened up on the vehicles with the MG. He took out everyone in one vehicle but the other went on the move, firing at him as it went.

We all focused our fire on the jeep. I took aim at the thing and pulled the trigger slightly. A few rounds shot out, I did this over and over. Suddenly, the hog spun out of control and the driver fell out to the ground dead as it made its way up the hill in front of us and came to a stop. Steve fired on it. A few seconds later the vehicle exploded, sending parts of it everywhere, along with the gunner and passenger. I leaned to my side and pulled out a fresh magazine from my belt and reloaded my assault rifle.

The Royal Troop made its way below us. The team on the far end of our line, where we had come up at, opened up on them from the flank. The enemy rushed to the cave for cover... Seconds later a explosion shook the ground beneath us. The enemy troops using the hill for cover ahead of us started to retreat back toward the structure. Some got away, other didn't and where shot down as they ran. We had won the fight, for now.

I put my face to the ground and laughed with happiness. I looked to my left and quickly quit laughing. Three guys lay dead and one other man did as well to my right. Everyone else was letting out a taunts. The men, they had been killed by the warthogs that had opened up along our lines.
I glanced back toward the cave tunnel and found my brother standing behind Steve, looking out at the retreating enemy. Dave shot and picked off a guy way out in the distance with his sniper rifle.

I got up and headed over to him. Corpsmen came up our lines and checked for wounded and where checking the dead. We took guns and ammo from the dead and laid them inside the tunnel for now. Everyone was upset about the men lost and confused about why The Royal Troop had attacked us. It was also racing though my head. But we showed them what happens when you do. I also wondered where all their military was coming from.

I went into the tunnel and glanced over the dead. All wore red armor, all where basic mechanized soldiers. They where placed by the huge amount of packages off food. I stopped at the third body in the line, it was the war-hawk. I walked over and kneeled down beside him and removed his helmet. Blood poured out the front and back of his head and a stench filled the air, a bullet had gone though his upper head and out the upper back.

The guy, I had took for as a man from his deep voice was actually a kid, possibly eighteen years old. He was a mix of white and black and had a babies face, puffy cheeks and a small nose. I looked at him a bit, I began to wonder if I would had ever figured this man out. Tears came out of my eyes a bit. I put his helmet back on him and walked away as drums began to play out in the distance.