Chapter 6: Shanxi I
It started as an operation to find the Migrant Fleet and make sure they wouldn't attack us later on, the Council I mean. But it all went so, so bad from the start. I tried to argue with Desolas while he spoke to the Humans prior to the battle, but he blocked me.
The Humans fought valiantly in face of overwhelming odds and did their best to stall us given their predicament. They did everything they could to defend their colony and their Quarian friends. I believe that if we had met on more peaceful terms, the Hierarchy and the Alliance would have made friends, considering the many things we have in common.
Fate made us to meet in battle due to a conveniently laid out set of lies or coincidences at first. Then… The Turian pride that saved us in the Krogan Rebellions got the better of a General for a moment, and a Councilor far longer than it should have, and only alienated a people. If not for the Reaper threat, we wouldn't have gotten close to each other, ever.
I regret every life lost at Shanxi, be it a fellow Turian or Human. A battle that shouldn't have happened.
(Extract from Admiral Kaevus Eudorian's interview, The Shanxi Meat Grinder)
HWS Widow's Wrath, Bridge
Relay 314's system
"Admiral, we are within range of Mass Relay 314. We're ready to send the signal for activation at your command," an operator reported to Kaevus.
"Very well. Send a message to the Citadel and let them know we are proceeding according to schedule. Activate the Relay," he ordered.
The two fleets were in position to go through Relay 314. First, the STG ships will go in, scout, deploy a comm buoy.
"The Relay is activating. We have successfully activated Relay 314, Admiral."
"Get me a line to the STG," he ordered.
"You're on, sir."
"STG personnel, proceed with your part of the mission. Report in anything you find on the other end."
"Roger. STG moving in."
Shanxi Anchorage, Orbit of Shanxi
Captain Ronald Taylor
It was a normal day aboard the Shanxi Anchorage. Ronald Taylor couldn't have been more pleased with how the building of the colony was going. The convoy of freighters who delivered the latest shipment of materials left hours ago and wouldn't be back for another week at least, when it would return with the fleet assembled by the Navy to defend Shanxi. Until then, Ronald had to do with 3 light frigates, 30 corvettes, two Quarian frigates and the anchorage itself.
He was father to a son, Jacob Taylor who joined the military as a Marine. Ronald was a Navy man. He was put in charge of the space defense of Shanxi after a series of tours on warships, his last command being the destroyer SSV Fretensis.
He was now enjoying his very early morning coffee in his command chair in the CIC of the station, while reading reports on a console. The anchorages, depending on models and roles, come in variations. The Shanxi Anchorage, like almost every anchorage out there, has a civilian command and coordination center for traffic and a Combat Information Center for the military to coordinate from in case of emergencies. Apart from this, it had a complement of 50 Marines.
"Captain, we have a situation," a sensors operator said.
"What is it?" Ronald asked.
"The two corvettes stationed near the Relay are reporting unusual activity. The Relay seems to be going active."
"What? Do we have a visual or something?"
As answer to his question, one of his consoles changed from the reports he was reading to an external camera of a corvette. It showed the Relay glowing blue, its core shining a white-blue light and the rings moving.
"Sir, Corvette-S20 and Corvette-S21 are requesting permission to investigate."
"Permission granted but only for one corvette. I want the other one to stay there so we have eyes on what's going over there. Send a message to the defense fleet to fall into a defensive formation near the anchorage. Let's see what this is about before we do anything else."
STG ship, Bridge
Shanxi
The Salarian small crafts slid through the Relay and engaged their stealth drives immediately. One deployed a communications buoy in the shadow of the Relay to hide its signature. Then they went ahead into the system.
"Spacecraft detected near the Relay. Two small ships of 100 meters in length. One is moving towards the Relay,"
"So it was true, there are people here. Are they Quarians?"
"Negative. Ship profiles and signatures not recognized."
"Aliens then?"
"Very possible, sir."
"Fascinating! Another spacefaring species right at the Council's doorstep. Order a ship to detach and keep an eye on the Relay. The other ship will go with us further into the system."
"Roger that. They don't seem to have detected us."
While the Alliance corvette was preparing to go through the Relay, the STG vessels kept gathering data as they advanced.
"A planet with garden world characteristics. Detecting a space station in orbit and multiple vessels from 100 meters to 200. The station is 3 kilometers tall and roughly resembles a cone with rings. It is an orbital small port, a docking station if all those clamps are a clue."
"Probably their homeworld. Can you access any of their systems to obtain information?"
"Hm… not possible. Can't find any way in without directly contacting them and attempting a hack, but revealing ourselves is against standing orders."
"I'm aware of that."
"Quarian ships! There are two Quarian frigates within the small fleet that's scrambling into a defensive position near the station!"
"Are you sure?"
"Absolutely, sir. We have a 90% match for two Quarian frigate class ships."
"Why 90%?"
"They have undergone a refit. Rather extensive considering the 10% discrepancy. Sir, we must report immediately."
"Indeed… A new species maybe working alongside Quarians? Very interesting. Let us hope this will be a fruitful discovery. Send a report through the comm buoy to the fleet."
HWS Widow's Wrath, Bridge
Relay 314's system
The three senior-most officers of the Council's task force were in a three-way conversation as they waited for updates from the STG vessels.
"We have a stable link to the other side. A comm buoy was deployed and is active. We're receiving a transmission from the STG ships."
"Already?" asked Kaevus.
"The Salarians move fast," admitted Desolas.
"We've received the package as well," said Atelas as she focused on something off screen.
"Indeed…"
"So, it looks like we were successful. Vasir was right. We found them! And a habitable planet no less!" Desolas said with mixed emotions. Kaevus was frowning at this. Desolas had an aggressive manner of conducting operations. "And the presence of at least one settlement on the surface of the planet means that this just turned into one of my operations. As of this moment, I am the senior-most officer, Admiral. Prepare to move your fleet through the Relay."
"This is a colony obviously. There's no signs of civilization beside that city," the Asari remarked.
"Atelas, the joint fleet will stay here to cover our only way in or out. No need to push with the full force through if we can keep half in reserve. Should the Migrant Fleet jump in, you and Admiral Kaevus will coordinate and catch them between two hammers that'll pound them if they refuse to cooperate," Desolas continued.
"A good idea, General. Since you're in charge now, I guess you'll conduct the dialogue. Please don't let anything cloud your better judgment," Kaevus advised.
"You're not telling m-" the General wanted to retort feeling insulted, but Kaevus outright ignored him. His attention was caught by a bleep at the sensors station.
"Report!"
"Unidentified ship came through the Relay. It's the one the STG has seen moving in, one of the alien ships. Detecting little to no Eezo on it."
"Primitives foolish enough to side with the suit rats. Probably uplifted, another offense to Citadel regulations. Uplifted to fight us in a future war the Quarians might have been planning," Vasir said from Desolas' side.
"Don't jump to conclusions yet, SPECTRE. We have no proof of that," Atelas added.
"Admiral Kaevus, intercept that ship, board it and get out as much info you can on them."
Kaevus nodded. "Send two frigates to blockade the Relay and two more to board it," he ordered.
Four ships detached from the far left front wing of the Turian fleet and moved in. Two were on an intercept course while the other two were moving to put themselves between the Relay and the Human corvette. Another channel just opened on Kaevus' console where the ships were coordinating with each other.
"We've blocked their escape route."
"Watch out, Kara, the unknown is turning around and is heading for the Relay. They might be scared."
"This is the Sevrum, we're being thoroughly scanned by the alien ship. No attempts to access any systems. Requesting orders."
"Sevrum, get close and attach a towing cable to the ship, don't let it escape!"
"Acknowledged!"
"They're training that turret on us. Charging GUARDIAN laser system for close range anti-ship combat. Valhos, cover us."
"Roger that, Sevrum. We're turning to aim at the ship."
Kaevus listened in to the dialogue while following the movement of the ships on the LADAR display. 'Come on… don't shoot. Don't shoot…' he thought to himself.
"This is the Sevrum. We're picking up a transmission from the vessel. They're broadcasting in the open. Patching them into the conversation. Our VI is recognizing Keelish as one of the languages."
A distinct voice then spoke in the Quarian tongue. It sounded like a more baritone Quarian.
"This is the Human Systems Alliance Corvette-S20 to whoever you people are. You have opened a Mass Relay that leads into Human space, against standing regulation within the Alliance. Desist from any further attempts of entering sovereign territory of the Human Systems Alliance. We can establish dialogue as soon as we get word to our Government and Parliament to dispatch a diplomatic corps."
Kaevus stood still for a moment. Atelas shared the reaction. Desolas looked up at the ceiling of his transport ship before putting on a stoic face. The Asari was very surprised by the fact that these Humans told them they were not supposed to open the Relay due to laws similar to the Citadel's.
"I'm ordering the STG ships on the other side of the Relay to run jamming ops. We can't have the primitives warn the Quarians just ye. It's obvious they're orking togethert. Frigates Sevrum and Valhos, apprehend that ship immediately and jam its comms. It mustn't warn its friends!" Desolas ordered.
"We're 1 kilometer from them. Deploying the cable to hold them in place," somebody from the Sevrum reported.
"The ship just fired!" Kaevus heard from his subordinates. "Looks like it was a warning shot since it missed the Sevrum by 200 meters."
"They fired! We're engaging!" the captain of the Valhos said. Before somebody had time to react to that, the frigate fired and one shot connected with the corvette. Due to the very thin armor plating and the speed of the mass accelerated round, the shell over penetrated and went clean through the other side of the corvette, but not without causing damage and destroying some power conduits due to the flattening of the shell.
"Only disable it! We need the intel they have aboard!" Kaevus ordered.
The corvette lost its starboard engine and entered a clockwise spin. Its turret traversed and fired at the Valhos. The low caliber (from naval standards) magnetic accelerated armor piercing shells punched through the thin hull plating of the Turian frigate and embedded themselves a few decks inside before the fuse went off and the high explosive payload of antimatter detonated only to cause further damage.
"We're hit! Returning fire!"
"They're maneuvering! We can't get that grapple on them!"
The corvette's dual turret fired again and sent two more shells into the Valhos, this time hitting the barrel of its main gun and detonating inside the barrel, effectively taking the ship's main mass accelerator out of the fight. The GUARDIAN of the Sevrum engaged the corvette and boiled the hull and caused major power fluctuations on the small vessel.
"I think we've knocked them out."
"Incoming! They launched missiles! All hands, brace!"
True to the word of the captain, the corvette fired 4 light Chimera missiles through the only pod it had. 4 out of its 8 missiles. Due to the proximity between S20 and the frigate Sevrum, the laser point defense didn't have time to react and shoot down the high velocity missiles that struck the ship in multiple spots along its broadside.
The first missile hit the front aft, the tip pierced through the hull and detonated. No crew killed there, but the spinal mass accelerator was damaged. The second Chimera struck amidships, the explosion exposed two decks to the vacuum and the small hangar where the boarding party was preparing; those who were wearing a full armor would survive until rescued, the others not so much. The third missile tore off the starboard wing of the ship with no other major damage. The fourth missile hit the engine section. The blast went through multiple layers of thin armor and conductors until it hit a fuel tank that violently exploded, leaving a gaping hole in the side of the vessel; it lead to a power failure and airlocks didn't close automatically, thus allowing violent venting of atmosphere. A damage control party managed to isolate the damaged sections of the vessel to save the remaining crew.
"The Sevrum is crippled! Their engines are dead and are drifting. The enemy corvette was hit by the secondary armament of the Valhos before detonating in a big explosion. Sir, I think they initiated a self-destruct mechanism. We're detecting a small craft that appears to be a life pod."
"Capture it and bring it aboard the Widow's Wrath. I want to see who destroyed one of my frigates and damaged another," Kaevus ordered.
"That escalated quickly. Admiral Kaevus, do you require assistance? My fleet can take care of your two frigates while you go through the Relay," Atelas said.
"Admiral Kaevus, we're moving in through Relay 314. I will prepare troops to board the station mentioned by the STG and for a ground assault. These are a primitive, yet dangerous species. Especially if they're working with the Migrant Fleet as suggested in the report," Desolas said.
Everything went really, really bad in Kaevus' opinion. He obeyed the conditions of the chain of command as stated by the Council and ordered his fleet ahead.
Shanxi Anchorage, CIC
Captain Ronald Taylor
It's been half an hour since Corvette-S20 went through the Relay and Ronald still didn't know more than 30 minutes ago. The defensive force was already in position near the anchorage in geostationary orbit over the main city on Shanxi. He called off ay civilian craft and alerted the commander of the garrison groundside, Brigadier General Karl Dietrich. [1]
"Captain Taylor, we're picking faint gravitational anomalies in proximity of the planet. Apparently, there's nothing there according to most sensors, but very faint gravitational signatures are present. It isn't an asteroid or something like that because it changed course and speed two times. Both of them."
Ronald didn't like it at all. Nope. This was probably another alien species, probably a Council one. Word reached him as well and he knew what was out there. But now that they came here and refused to make themselves known?
"Alright, stand by to enact the Fiery Night Contingency on Shanxi. These are obviously some stealth ships. Send a message to the General to prepare for the worst. Nobody comes in and tries to sneak around if they're in for honest business," Taylor said.
"Could it be some secret Alliance ships doing some tests on us?" a young man asked.
"I doubt they'd give themselves away by activating the Relay. That's ET work."
"Brigadier General Dietrich was informed. He is mobilizing the garrison."
"The captains of the QRBV Xuwal and Vayya is requesting permission to break formation and investigate further."
"Negative on that one. Any word from Corvette-S21?"
There wasn't a response from his subordinates. He put his console back to the live feed from the corvette. Then it happened. A whole bunch of ships poured through the Relay and moved through the system. It seemed like an endless torrent of white ships with red lines and markings along their hulls and wings on their sides. Mere moments after the first ships came through, three broke off and fired at the corvette, now leaving Ronald staring at a screen with static. He gritted his teeth and started barking orders.
"Fucking aliens are attacking us! Alright, I want two corvettes, S01 and S02 to intercept those two God damn stealth ships. Coordinate them to their targets!"
"Aye, sir!"
"Inform the garrison, we're under attack. Fiery Night Contingency is in effect! We have extraterrestrial forces converging on Shanxi. Somebody send a goddamn message to HIGHCOM!"
"Trying, sir! Something's jamming us! We're left with simple radio communications! AM and FM! It comes from the direction of the Relay. Is it natural for a Mass Relay to do this when it activates?"
Ronald threw the mug that used to hold coffee in it, smashing it into pieces on the steel floor.
"Work on those damn comms! Get through that jamming! We need help here! How many ships are there exactly?" Ronald asked.
"Nearly 500, sir. Pretty big ass fleet."
He slumped back into his chair with wide eyes. He was starting to resign to his most possible fate. "Fuck…" he muttered under his breath. "Charge up the MAC turret and warm up the Chimera pods! I want all four pods ready to fire!"
"Captain, the Quarians have identified the ships as warships of the Turian Hierarchy!"
"Can't get through their jamming, sir! If we had a Smart AI with us we could have been able to get through…"
"Enemy fleet approaching! They're one million kilometers out and closing fast!"
"Weapon systems online, sir."
The anchorage's MAC turret had three barrels and were higher caliber than the ones mounted on the Spirit-Class of battleships. The four missile pods were being loaded with warheads. The station used its very limited maneuver engines to acquire a better angle for its armament. The few Space Sparrow missile pods and point-defense emplacements were active and scouring the 'skies' for targets to unleash their death bringing 50mm rounds. The shield generators were powering up.
"Men and women of the Systems Alliance," Ronald began, "we might very well find ourselves on the precipice of war with another species. Stay calm, keep your heads cool and listen to the orders. If they really are here for war and invasion, then we'll give them one they'll never forget! We are Humanity! It is in our blood to fight for what's ours and I'll be damned if I go down without taking as many of them with me!"
"HOORAH!"
"Weapons ready to fire, sir! Just give the order!"
"Let them come closer, damn bastards! Marines!" Ronald called.
"Yes sir!" two of the guards in the CIC answered.
"Go to the armory and hand everybody a weapon. If they're half as smart as I give them credit for, then it is of paramount importance to capture the station for data. No war is waged without some information on your foes."
"Roger that, sir!" and they left in a hurry.
"Stealth ships keep eluding us, sir. We can't get them without better sensors, Captain. The corvettes have pulled back not to get in range of enemy weapons."
"Captain Taylor, one of the alien- Turian ships is broadcasting something. It is mostly aimed at the two Quarian frigates."
"Let's join the conversation, shall we? Tell the Quarians to patch the conversation through to us as well," Ronald told the operator.
After a few seconds of static, he barged into a conversation between Desolas and the Quarian captain.
"…telling you, you are trespassing, Turian!"
"You will address me by my rank and name, Quarian! I'm General Desolas Arterius of the Turian Hierarchy! By order of the Citadel Council, you will abandon that colony, submit your ships to boarding and submit to the authority of the Council! Failure to comply will end with you all dead."
Ronald eyed the Turian. Definitely alien. More alien than the Quarians who looked awfully lot like Humans for a species from the other side of the galaxy. This Desolas man had plates that were grey-purple in color, head fringes of a blue-black shade and his eyes were a piercing blue. His facial features were complemented by facial markings. He was wearing black armor with red lights.
"General Desolas, what gives you the authority to command allies of the Systems Alliance within our borders?" Ronald asked.
The Turian barely now noticed Ronald and took his time to analyze the creature on his screen.
"I ask again, what gives you the authority to command members of the Quarian Republic's Navy, allies of Humanity, within the borders of the Systems Alliance as if they were in your own backyard?"
The nerve on this alien to address Desolas, a respected General of the Hierarchy, with such disrespect in its voice.
"Human you say? So that's the name of your primitive species. I have to hand it to you, your small ship gave us quite the trouble at the Relay until we destroyed it. The second one though wasn't as much of a challenge."
"You bastard! Who the hell do you think you are!? What you're doing right now is grounds for war! I don't know about you skull faces, but we Humans don't take it kindly to somebody threatening our friends in our own damn home and killing our people!"
"I'm here on behalf of the Citadel Council to make sure the Quarians are no longer a threat, primitive!" he spat the last word. "Unless they submit to the terms forwarded by the Council, I will have to use lethal force. And your primitive species will share in their fate if you interfere."
Ronald now stood up, anger boiling in him. "Now listen here, you alien bastard. Watch out who you're calling a primitive. Do you think that just because you bastards sit upon a high and mighty imaginary throne and rule a few planets you can now encroach on territory of a sovereign nation, shoot our ships and backhand us?" he retorted with anger. "I'm asking you General Desolas Arterius to take your forces back through that Relay, stop jamming our long range communications, tell those pesky stealth ships to get out of here and wait for a diplomatic envoy. Otherwise, continue with this unprovoked aggression and you'll start a war."
Desolas growled dangerously. That was when Vasir joined him in the conversation. "You're not above the Council, pyjak! Stand down and hand over every Quarian in this system, least you regret ever being born."
"Well I'll be damned if I bow to and hand over fellow allies of the Alliance to a butthurt skull face, a blue space bitch and your Council! This here is not the Council, this is the Systems Alliance! Somehow you managed to build spaceships but are so thick headed that you can't understand basic logic."
"Then so be it, primitive!"
And so, the link was cut. Alarms went off in the CIC, telling Ronald and his subordinates that the Turians were charging up weapons and taking aim.
"What a bunch of morons those two are…" Ronald whispered to himself.
"Sir, I took the liberty to notify the garrison of the recent evolution of events," a communications operator said.
"You did good. Do we have firing solutions?" Ronald asked.
"Aye!"
"Order the light frigate Black Swan to detach and go to the nearest colony, alert the Alliance since these bastards seem to jam everything we have and we don't have one of those QEC communicators yet. As for the rest, unleash hell on those bastards!"
Space battle over Shanxi
The Turian fleet advanced on the small force defending the colony. The 3 Alliance light frigates and 28 corvettes supported by two Quarian frigates were squarely in the sights of 498 opposing vessels. The distance between the two closed ever so quickly. At Captain Taylor's orders, the SSV Black Swan broke formation and prepared for a hyperspace jump. It came under fire from a wolf pack of frigates and a cruiser close to him, bringing down its shields with their rapid fire mass accelerators and scoring a hit on the ship itself, forcing it into a blind jump with a damaged FTL drive.
Taylor split his ships. He knew he couldn't hold them off, so the best he could do was harass them and delay them to give Dietrich as much time to prepare defenses and evacuate the population to the bunkers. The two Quarian frigates were fast enough to keep hitting and running from the Turians. They were helped by 10 corvettes. The remaining two Alliance frigates were screening the anchorage and pull out when the enemy came crushing down on them. The limitation with the corvettes was that they could fight only frigates effectively due to their MAC's penetration characteristics and low number of missiles.
The kinetic barriers of the Turian fleet didn't activate for the MAC shells who were traveling at speeds lower than the norm. The anchorage's triple barreled turret opened fire at maximum range into a cluster of ships that were spearheading the attack. There was one pocket dreadnought in the vanguard.
The high caliber shells hit the frontal armor plating of the pocket dreadnought only to bounce off from the awkward angles shown by the Turian design or embed themselves in the armor and detonate without causing significant damage. They shifted their fire from the big ship to the cruisers and frigates while sending swarms of Chimera missiles at the mini dreadnought.
The ship took several hits from the missiles that made it through the GUARDIAN defense grid but it didn't deter it from advancing. It only slowed and let its support move in front of it for more efficient AA cover. This only made the cruisers and frigates the tempting targets.
A barrage of mass accelerator rounds started to bombard the station, but its shields held off for the moment. Disruptor torpedoes were intercepted by the PD and Space Sparrow interceptor missiles. Any fighter carrying a torpedo was shot down if it got too close to the station. Nevertheless, some found their mark and struck the structure along its docking rings, cutting power to some sections and creating a small corridor free of AA fire for shuttles to use and land boarding parties.
Corvettes were screaming around, harassing the outermost ships within the fleet with moderate success. Fighters and frigate wolf packs were sent to intercept. Having expended their missile ordnance and unable to dock with the anchorage for a quick resupply, some corvettes charged into the enemy formations with their turrets in play. A cruiser was rammed by a corvette at full speed, the impact cracked the structural supports and leaving a gashing wound in the side of the Turian ship at the cost of the Human corvette. The cruiser was turned into a wreck.
All of a sudden, ships of both sides found themselves in knife fight ranges. Two corvettes ran circles around a frigate that got way too ahead of its friends and turned the Turian 200 meter long support craft into a riddled hull. The corvettes only took minor damage from the GUARDIAN turrets who weren't able to get a consistent lock on.
The battle wasn't long lived due to the sheer number of ships the Turian fleet had. The Alliance and Quarian ships were like an ever thinner string around the vanguard. One after another, the corvettes were destroyed or initiated a self-destruct protocol in accordance to the Hackett-Anderson protocol due to sustaining major damage.
The two light frigates of the Alliance met their end under heavy fire after fending off enemy warships for an hour. The Quarian frigates fought valiantly, side by side with their Human allies, shrugging off many shots due to Human-grade kinetic barriers that are on par with the Turians', much to the shock of Turian officers who thought that the Quarians would be destroyed after a few shots. The former nomads took their toll on the enemy before being destroyed, all systems fried due to enforcement of the H-A Protocol. The last thing left was the anchorage that was taking a ferocious beating. In the end, 15 Turian warships would be smoldering wrecks or out of action due to severe damage.
Captain Taylor had bunkered in with the military and civilian personnel. The civilians requested firearms to defend the station against boarders who were on their way. After neutralizing the weapon systems of the station, Turian Marines were on their way to clear it. This would be the first close encounter between Humanity and the Hierarchy fighting with small arms, not shipboard weapons. Desolas Arterius was getting very frustrated that he was unable to get his hands on anything conclusive about these Humans, the prisoners from Corvette-S20 being tight lipped so far or pretending to be unable to understand what their captors were saying. The most common word they got from them was bosh'tet. With communications jammed and comm buoys destroyed, the defense of Shanxi fell on the garrison's shoulders.
Shanxi Anchorage, Orbit of Shanxi
Turian boarding mission
Several shuttles packed with Turian Marines[2] landed inside a small hangar with crates and containers. It was a cargo hold for the anchorage. They immediately secured the perimeter and pushed forward. There were many blast doors that were closed and had to be cut through, this taking time.
The 15 minutes were rather silent. It was after they blew open a door into the main hallway on said level that they encountered resistance. There were 10 Marines in their distinctive T-Kev body armor with blue and gray paint. The Marines immediately opened fire on the Turians.
The leading Turian, an officer by the looks of it, took a bunch of 7,62mm rounds into its head and chest. The next soldier behind him was killed in a similar manner. The rest ran for cover and fired back. At first, they were shocked that the personal kinetic barriers didn't activate. Then, their armor didn't have the capability to stop bullets as heavy as the ones fired by their foes at magnetically accelerated speeds.
The Turians boarded the station through multiple points and slowly but surely overwhelmed the numerically inferior defenders. The hallways and rooms turned into traps for grenades to slaughter everyone inside. The Turian grenades sent powerful concussive blasts on detonation that dealt damage to everything near them. Human defensive fragmentation grenades were much more lethal indoors. Designed to rain shrapnel on a 10 to 20 meter radius in open field, these grenades were absolutely devastating when used to clear rooms. And the Turians who were dumb enough to cluster up found that out the meanest way possible.
Through discipline, numbers and perseverance, Kaevus' Marines pushed their way towards the CIC. They had orders to get there faster since sensors were picking up an energy buildup in the lower sectors of the station. Alas, when they reached the CIC, the Turians found the remnants of the defenders: an aging man sitting in his command chair, several wounded soldiers and civilians. The aging man, the commander of the station, held out a controller and said a few words that wouldn't leave room for interpretation.
'I'm sorry, son…'
Ronald mustered his every fiber and whole being for this moment. With a roaring voice, he proclaimed, "FOR EARTH AND HER COLONIES! Keelah se'lai, motherfuckers!". And he pressed a button. The next thing everybody felt was the station rocking ever more violently to the point where it exploded into a million pieces.
The Humans would not go down easy.
Kaevus was frustrated and Desolas was angry. The Admiral was starting to highly doubt what they were doing. He had to follow Desolas' commands, but he didn't have to like it. His captains were now taking orders from the General and he could only fight the Humans who were most likely caught in this. Perhaps the STG that was still around would get a report out to Councilor Valern and have him call off this pointless slaughter. But it would be at least a day before word even reaches the Citadel.
Shanxi, Command Bunker
Brigadier General Karl Dietrich
The command bunker of Shanxi was bustling with activity. General Karl Dietrich mobilized his men. He had the 501st Special Marine Regiment Hellspawn a.k.a. Devil's Specials with a strength of 3,000 soldiers, a tank battalion of 40 Apocalypse tanks divided into three tank companies (A, B, C) supported by infantry fighting vehicles, mobile AA systems and 3,000 soldiers and the pitiful local colonial militia of 1,500 poorly equipped men.
Dietrich knew he was deep to the neck. He took comfort in the fact that the Special 501st was stationed on the colony. The regiment is part of the 5th Marine Shock Division, specialized in ground assaults with brutal efficiency. Initially here for training on another alien planet, they assumed garrison duties as well for the newly established Alliance colony. The Army boys were well trained too and their morale was high. The militia wasn't a comparable fighting force as the mainstay military but they were at least there. Dietrich could use them in more noncritical sectors of the front or in the woods.
At least he had a good standing on the map. The aliens would most likely land at the abandoned spaceports at first. General Dietrich took care of that by ordering some men to rig the whole spaceport full of hidden explosives. The left fuel tanks will add for some extra special effects.
Dietrich was almost daydreaming by now of the many tactics and ways to kill the invading Turians. He was awoken from his trance by the CO of the Army units stationed on Shanxi, Colonel Kain Hakey.
"General, 70% of the population has evacuated to the bunkers. The charges are in place at the spaceport. Everything is almost prepared, sir," Hakey reported.
"Not everything. Colonel Carley, come over here, please." General Dietrich says.
The CO of the marines moves from the radio to the General. "What is it, sir?"
"First, who's the toughest and craziest bastard in your unit?" Dietrich asked.
Without a moment's hesitation, "Lieutenant Kai Leng, sir," Carley answers.
"Make sure he stays alive for a day. Tomorrow I'll have a job for him. He and his platoon will wreck havoc behind enemy lines. Make no mistake, we will lose ground. We've got nothing but the terrain knowledge, will to fight, and our human nature going for us. They have superior numbers, aerial dominance and orbital dominance.
From what the Quarians told us, our enemy doesn't employ the same doctrine as us when it comes to ground warfare. Hakey, don't waste your tanks, try to keep them in the reserve and reinforce sectors that come under pressure. Always have AA systems to escort them. Last thing we need is a damn Turian bomber to take our armor out. Same goes for infantry, carry MANPADS at all times to counteract the presence of gunships or other aerial threats.
Now, as you see… We're covered by forests to the north, east and west. We expect the Turians to disembark at the spaceport. We'll let them drop the first wave, and when the second wave is closing in with the transports full of troops and are about to touch down, you blow the spaceport to kingdom come. That will take good care of 'em.
That leaves them only one place close to the city where they can drop troops and equipment… here. The spaceport is to the southwest. I expect them to divert their transports to the open area to the southeast, here. Colonel Carley, I want you to set up a welcome committee in these buildings. As soon as the schweinehunds start getting out of their ships, you shoot them down. Like the Germans did on D-Day 1944. Then you slowly pull back and reform on prearranged defensive lines and positions when the Turians start pushing. Try to not take any losses.
I'll send the militia to booby trap the forest with whatever they can get their hands on. Fuel canisters, chemical compounds, explosives… whatever they find. I want the city's flanks to be surrounded in booby traps. If these bastards are as militaristic as our Quarian buds here advertise them to be, they'll most definitely try to outflank us. This will slow them down. And militiamen in the woods in camouflage suits with some hunting rifles, sniper rifles, assault rifles, whatever… they will start picking on them and set up ambushes.
I don't plan to give these sons of bitches any meter without bloodshed on their behalf. If they think that we're some piss poor primitive species, they'll be in for an eye opening experience. They know war? We'll teach them war!" General Dietrich explained his battle plan to his officers.
"OOORAH!"
"We will fight dirty! We will fight like we've fought each other for hundreds and thousands of years! Use whatever trick that comes to your mind to inflict casualties on our foes. Strike the fear of God into their hearts. The psychological warfare is just as important. Devil's Specials, you're clear to live up to your name. Just don't endanger Human or Quarian lives or kill those who surrender. But we can't take prisoners either, we can't feed them or have the men to guard them. Our goal is to hold on until the Alliance comes. We didn't manage to send a message to Alliance Command about the situation here due to comms jamming, thus they'll know something's not right when nothing comes out from Shanxi." Dietrich continued.
Colonel Ray had a devilish grin on his face. "General, do we have phosphorus rounds for our artillery or mortars?" he asked.
"Yes, Colonel. Nothing's holy. This is an attack on Humanity. We must treat it as a threat to the very existence of our species as military doctrine states."
"Indeed. Nothing will be holy in this hellhole. I have many ideas. Sir!" Carley saluted and left to join his men in the city.
HWS Widow's Wrath, Bridge
In orbit over Shanxi
Aboard the Hierarchy's warship Widow's Wrath, the latest of the Turian dreadnoughts out of the shipyards to join the Citadel Fleets, Admiral Kaevus Eudorian was watching his ships maneuver around to make way for the troop transports. General Desolas Arterius, the one who would lead the ground troops, came on the bridge with SPECTRE Tela Vasir.
"Admiral, I will go with my men and lead them from the ground," Desolas said.
Kaevus turned to look at him and then at Vasir with some disgust. "Very well, General. I shall be here to blockade the planet for the time being. Will you take… her too?" he asked nodding at Vasir.
"You afraid to ask the person involved, Admiral?" Vasir taunted him.
"SPECTRE Vasir, you're most likely behind this charade and I don't like it. I've lost nearly 1,000 men aboard that station and in the battle. Take your Spirits damned mercenary troops and ships out of my fleet sometime soon. Eclipse… once they were good fellas, now they're scum. And you're associating with the Eclipse leader, that Jona Sederis, a most dishonorable person and organization. When Eclipse is now involved in something, it usually turns out bad. Can you see now why I don't like you, Vasir?" Kaevus told her with disgust in his voice.
"If I want to, I can invoke my SPECTRE status and stay here just to piss you off, Admiral. And you can't do anything about it," Vasir said.
Kaevus slowly walked towards her until a few inches were left between them. "I care not for your SPECTRE status but your grudge against Quarians, grudge which is the sole reason you came with all those mercs. Now… Get off my ship. Now! Or I'll throw you out of the airlock," Keavus threatened.
Desolas put his talons on Vasir's shoulder and slowly dragged her. "Come, Vasir. First wave is on the way and the second is making ready. You and your men will go in the fourth wave with me," the Turian General told her and they left the bridge.
Shanxi, Apartment overlooking the spaceport
Sergeant Major Zaeed Massani, 501st
Inside an apartment building sat SgtMaj Massani of the 501st Special Marine Regiment with a pair of binoculars and a detonator in each hand. He was lying flat on his belly at the balcony, the Marines' grey camo of their T-Kev armor was nicely blending him in with the building. He was staring at a bunch of Turian soldiers looking around the spaceport with their Phaeston assault rifles at the ready.
Massani then moved his gaze to a small cluster of what looked like tanks. All around the spaceport ships were approaching to drop a new wave. The first wave was busy securing the perimeter. Zaeed smiled as the troop transports of the second wave was touching down on the spaceport. It looked like the Turians were oblivious to the existence of the explosives.
With a simple flip switch and a button press on the remote trigger, Sergeant Major sent almost a thousand Turians to a fiery grave. From 700 meters away he watched the whole area go up in explosions. The drop ships were severed in two by the shockwaves and the soldiers fell out of their bays, only to be engulfed in the fires of fuel tanks blowing up. The tanks were a burning pile of wrecks. The very few who survived were far enough as to not be blasted to oblivion. Charred body parts of nearly 1,000 Turian soldiers were scattered all around, still consumed by fire.
"That'll teach 'em goddamn bastards!" Zaeed said and left the scene with his men. He would be back soon with another assignment.
I remember it like it happened yesterday. It started when we were aboard the Tumaren, gearing and embarking on the troop transports to be deployed groundside. We were supposed to be in the 4th wave. I knew something was wrong when General Desolas was furious that the Humans blew up the spaceport on the surface and killed almost 1,000 Turians in the explosions. First wave and a good part of the 2nd were… gone. The rest of the 2nd wave had landed somewhere to the east of the spaceport as the pilots spotted a good landing spot. They were decimated before we touched down.
I was with my platoon in the transport ship. Those things could very well fit a whole company of soldiers. And… on our way down, I kept thinking of my family, my parents weren't happy when I told them that we were sent to suppress a Quarian colony, that's what they told us first, that we were going to punish the Quarians. But I was happy that I was going to see real action. I was just a 19 year old girl at the time…
One of the very first ugly and unexpected surprises we've had to face from these Humans was the fact that their weapons launched bullets at speeds too slow for our personal kinetic barriers… shields if you will, could not recognize and activate. But they were fast enough to pierce our armor like it was made of some soft material. And the funny thing is that they had kinetic barriers capable of reacting to our weapons AND their weapons fire.
And then there was their ammunition too. The infamous 'hollow-point bullet' they called it. It would penetrate your armor and then your body. And the specialty of the hollow-point is that it expands when they encounter resistance. Those things just shredded your flesh and organs. Mortality rate was around 90% for those hit by these bullets. If you got one in your leg or arm, you could just as well kiss your limb goodbye, your bones broken and shattered by the hollow point and invite infections that required amputation sometimes. They were nasty…
The lucky ones would take an armor piercing bullet from the Humans. It didn't do the terrible and irreparable damage like the hollow-points did. If you were lucky, it would go straight through your body, enter in one side and exit from the other. But they still were very deadly… Then there were other types they used; the incendiary bullets were infamous as well. But none other than the hollow-point bullets… those were just terrible.
(Extract from Private Acinia Agolus' interview, The Shanxi Meat Grinder)
Troop transport, Shanxi atmosphere
Private Acinia Agolus
Acinia was geared up from head to talons in the standard issue armor of the Turian Hierarchy, Phaeston assault rifle at the ready. Her platoon was crowded with the other platoons of the company. They were descending into the atmosphere.
"Turians, soldiers of the Hierarchy! We're landing in five minutes! We've received information from the ground units. We're fighting Quarians and another species, probably uplifted by the damn suit rats to fight their war for them! We will teach the thieves and these upstarts what it means to associate with the troublemakers and lawbreakers of the galaxy! We will avenge our comrades who died at a coward's hand, when the spaceport exploded!
The third wave is pinned down by enemy machineguns and artillery fire. Our fighters tried to rout the out but the enemy was able to efficiently counter our aircraft so far. We've lost a whole squadron already to AA fire. We'll flank around the enemy's position and dislodge them from their dug in spots. The Admiral doesn't want to risk an orbital bombardment since the LZ is too close. Load up! We're goi-" the Captain of the company wanted to say when he was suddenly torn apart by 40mm rounds fired from an SPAAG of the Alliance stationed on ground.
The whole right side of the transport was full of holes and littered with torn apart bodies. The floor wasn't thick enough to stop the high velocity 40mm depleted uranium AP rounds fired by certain SPAAGs in service with the Alliance Army. Acinia was lucky to be on the left side of the ship. The transport's alarms went off and it was rapidly descending up to the point where it crashed on the LZ. Lucky for the remaining troops aboard, it wasn't at high altitude when it was shot and the crashing wasn't brutal.
Acinia opened her eyes and saw smoke outside of her helmet's visor. She slowly got up, still dizzy from the crash. The very first sight she got to see was the bodies drenched in blue blood of her comrades, killed by the 40mm salvo.
'Spirits…'
The door was open. She got her rifle and walked outside only to be greeted by more carnage. All around were burning wrecks of fighters, transport ships or vehicles and bodies. A hand grabbed her from behind and dragged her to the cover of a destroyed hover tank. It was her platoon's lieutenant.
"Private! Stay right here until I get the rest of the platoon!" he ordered her, to which she simply nodded.
Acinia peeked her head over the tank's hull. 200 meters away was the bulk of Turian forces, dug in behind rubble and metals. They were retaliating against incoming enemy fire. She saw a soldier prepare his sniper rifle to take out the gunner of a .50 cal heavy machinegun. Just as he stood up a bit from the cover to take aim, his head violently yanked backwards and the man fell to the ground, blue blood pouring from the hole left in his helmet's visor.
'Spirits… we are getting decimated here! Where's the lieutenant with the others?' she asked herself.
Just then, she saw her platoon come out first from the transport's wreck along with the other surviving platoons. They sprinted their way to the main line. Acinia joined them in their crazed run to cover. Several infantrymen were picked by machinegun fire. Then mortar rounds started to fall on their heads.
Two troopers who were running mere meters in front of her were hit by an 81mm mortar shell. The explosion left one of them without any legs below the knees and the other was thrown in the air, his back riddled with shrapnel.
Overhead, more transports were coming in with fresh troops. It looked like three were heading for the eastern forest to unload the soldiers on the flank. Here, Acinia saw hope. Until two surface-to-air missiles reduced two of the transports to burning steel coffins for the pilots and infantry aboard. The third one was able to hover long enough above the trees for the soldiers to disembark.
They finally reached the safe line where they were at cover from enemy fire.
"Why aren't our shields working!?" someone asked.
"Don't know! Take out that guy over there!" another one shouted and opened fire on a rooftop from where an Alliance marine fell dead. "Got one!" he boasted.
"Anyone has smoke grenades!?" an officer asked.
"My platoon has some! Where's our Spirits damned armor support!? Those destroyed weren't all our tanks, were they?" Acinia's CO spoke.
"These tanks were ours, third wave. Got taken out by the enemy! Others should be on their way here! Pass us some grenades!" the guy said and got smoke grenades.
"Alright, stick to the plan and move on the flanking maneuver! General Desolas says that he is coming down with the next transports and a massive air strike is on its way. Maneuver on their eastern flank! Go! You've got five minutes!"
"Understood. Soldiers of the 4th Company, on me!" Acinia's lieutenant shouted and made his way along the line with his subordinates back in tow.
Shanxi, Eastern woods
Sergeant Ivan Krop, 3rd Shanxi Militia Company
'How the fuck did I end up commanding a 200 strong company of militiamen?' Ivan asked himself. He was ducking behind a fence with his men around him. He could see the fear and anxiousness their eyes and posture carried. 'Fighting fucking aliens, huh? No wonder they're all scared.'
In the distance the sound of explosions and gunfire wasn't showing any sign that it would cease anytime soon. They were deployed as a rapid intervention unit to secure the eastern far flank of the main defensive line set up by the marines of the 501st. Should the enemy circumnavigate the allied positions, it was up to them to hold them off, if unable to eliminate the threat, until reinforcements from the Army or from the 501st came to their aid.
"This is General Karl Dietrich to 3rd Militia Actual, come in!" the sergeant's radio cracked to life. He reached to his helmet mounted radio and activated his microphone.
"Sergeant Ivan Krop here, go ahead General," he answered to the call.
"Sergeant, we've shot down two enemy transports that were headed in your direction. A third one was able to unload its troops into the forest. They are right on our flank. We're slowly retreating from our defensive line at the outskirts and we'll need you to get rid of those Turians in the forest. Can you give us at least 30 minutes?"
"No promises, sir! We'll do our best. When's support arriving?"
"You'll have three 155mm self-propelled howitzers as artillery support. HE rounds only. We're keeping the other SPGs hidden for later and most mortars are busy shelling the hell out of the enemy LZ."
"Won't complain as long as we get something. Sir, can you give me a more exact location?"
"Sector 1G. I'm patching you in to artillery and to the boys of the 501st so you can coordinate. Good hunting!"
"Thanks, sir!" Ivan said and turned off his microphone. "Alright, form up! We're going into action!" he shouted to his men. "We're going to intercept a Turian unit that dropped in the woods, somewhere in sector 1G. Objective is to hold on as long as possible and allow the soldiers dug in at the first line of defenses to pull out. If they get outflanked, they're in trouble. We have some artillery support. Luke, you were an artillery operator once, you'll direct the fire. Channel 66.09A is where we keep in touch with 'em. Move out!"
Just as they were getting up, a squadron of Turian fighters came in hot and dropped some ordnance on the Marines fighting near the LZ. Two of said fighters were swiftly dispatched by an SPAAG and a SAM.
'Jesus Christ… Those Marines have it rough.'
The militia at this point was equipped with an older issue assault rifle, the M5L Jackal assault rifle, the L variant that fires the redesigned 5.56x45mm NATO round. For armor they had plates of composite ceramics and titanium alloys that covers their torso, upper and lower legs, shoulders, upper and lower arms. Their color scheme was a light brown that perfectly hides them in the autumn foliage. Their helmet was reminiscent of the older 21st century military helmets; it covered their heads and neck pretty well, had a visor to protect the eyes from debris and dust and the mouth was open; the helmet has an incorporated radio just like the standard T-Kev armor suit's helmet. They didn't have the luxury of personal shields though.
After a short fast paced walk, the 3rd Militia Company reached their AO. They took defensive positions behind trees or small earth formations.
"Sarge, movement up ahead!" Luke reported.
Ivan poked his head out of cover and saw silhouettes clad in the characteristic black armor of the Turian military.
"Definitely the enemy. Get us that artillery support right now! Everybody, this is Sergeant Ivan, enemy spotted at 12 o'clock. Fire at will!" he ordered his men.
Ivan took aim with his M5 Jackal and fired a full clip at every silhouette he could train his rifle on, downing two who were caught completely in the open and probably injured another one.
Gunfire erupted along the entire defensive line set up by the Alliance militia. And an equally energetic response came from the Turians when they opened up with their Phaeston assault rifles after ducking at the cover of trees. Ivan cursed their accuracy when two of the men near him dropped dead on the cold autumn soil, blood flowing from where the miniature slugs fired from the mass effect based weapons hit them.
"Hold them back! Give them hell! HAVE SOME, YOU BOSH'TET KURWAS!" the sergeant shouted to encourage his men and insult the enemy.
The Turians were seemingly trying to push on but anyone foolish enough to stay out of cover for more than two or three seconds was killed. A squad of aliens tried to push along the flank. One of the troopers in the squad stepped on a cord that triggered one of the many traps set up by the militia. A grenade's fuse was pulled and the grenade exploded inches away from the Turian's right foot. His leg armor was shredded and his ankle equivalent was shattered. A piece of metal from the grenade hit him in the arm pit.
His squad mates pushed on. One was hit by two bullets in the torso with lethal consequences. Another one caught a 7.62mm sniper round with his neck. Said bullet pierced through his body and didn't stop until it embedded itself in the comrade who was running behind him. Two rabbits for the price of one bullet.
"Luke, where the fuck's the artillery!?" Ivan asked as he fired a grenade from the 40mm launcher mounted as a module on his gun.
"Incoming!" the man said. And, true to his words, a whizzing sound filled the background and three 155mm HE shells exploded among Turian lines, cutting down trees and infantrymen alike, sending wooden shards in all directions.
"Adjust fire to 1-5-5 by 4-1-3! Fire for effect!" Luke shouted into his radio.
"1-5-5 by 4-1-3, firing for effect," the guy at the other end confirmed.
Three more shells fell on the left flank where the Turians were making considerable advances. The three shells killed some but they kept advancing.
"Those cykas won't quit! Reynolds! Take ten men with you and go reinforce left flank!"
"Roger!"
"1-4-4 by 4-1-3! Danger close! Fire for effect!"
There was chaos and madness all around. Wounded were crying from pain and were given medigel, medics were checking on every person that was down, others were raining bullets downrange, there was also Luke's voice who was shouting in the radio over the noise of explosions and gunfire, Turians shouting in their own language 50 meters ahead…
Shanxi, Turian FOB
General Desolas Arterius
General Desolas Arterius was angry. The invasion wasn't going well. He had lost more than 1,500 soldiers in the span of two hours. He himself almost got killed when a 155mm shell fell in his proximity when he and a platoon were running to the hastily established command point on ground. The explosion's shockwave threw him in a ditch with no real injuries inflicted. Other soldiers weren't as lucky, they had been reduced to atoms when the shell detonated among them. Now he was at the tactical table relaying orders.
"General! The flanking force lost two thirds of its forces before landing. Only a third of them dropped off and are bogged down in an engagement with enemy forces. Artillery is making their advance harder," an aide reported.
"DAMMIT! We finally managed to destroy those buildings from where they were firing and almost catch them in a good flanking maneuver! Send the 6th Company right now to support the 4th and the 5th to push with what is left of the 3rd! Now!" Desolas ordered. "Have air strikes on standby if we encounter another heavily defended point!"
As gunfire died in the immediate vicinity of the LZ, the echo of gunshots and explosions could be heard from within the next set of buildings. Then they all heard a whizzing sound through the air and every Turian ducked for cover. Desolas jumped on his belly and covered his head. Another 155mm HE shell fired by an SPG found its way into their FOB and hit a medical tent where wounded were treated. Every doctor and patient inside was killed.
"ARGH! Tell Admiral Kaevus to dispatch a frigate into the atmosphere for bombardment! Right now!"
"Yes, sir!"
Desolas got up to his feet. The dust was settling down and men were salvaging whatever they could from the wrecked tent. At this point a whole bunch of Eclipse ships touched down and out came Tela Vasir and her minions.
"Vasir! Where the hell were you!? You were supposed to be on the 4th wave!" Desolas inquired of her.
She simply walked to him as if there wasn't a small war going on around her. She ignored the cries of the wounded and the mess left behind by the last artillery shell.
"Stop crying, Desolas. I'm here now. So, where are the Quarians?" she asked.
"Fighting with their human friends, that's where. These upstart barbarians are fighting fiercely and with courage, I'll give them that."
"What, you're not praising now the suit rats and their pyjacks, are you?"
"Not praising, but stating two of their traits. Get your Eclipse puppies ready, I'm sending them in with the 6th Company, right about now."
Vasir turned to the lot of mercenaries behind her. She gestured with her hand towards Desolas, "You heard him, get moving.", and they all slowly marched behind a group of turians.
"What's the plan for the day, Desolas?" she asked him.
Desolas stood straight from the leaned position he had a moment before. "I wait for reinforcements. Until they arrive I want to secure a good foothold in the city and probe the terrain with some scouts. A big night attack should break through their lines and destroy their forces," he told her his plan.
"Oh well, sounds interesting. Just let me know when you need me. Tomorrow I want to go and enjoy my time here, Tela Vasir way," she says with a maniacal grin on her face.
"Fine. Just do something useful if you're here. How many more mercs do you have?" Desolas asked her.
"There were the 100 I've just sent with your men and I've got 200 more on their way here. How many troops you've got?"
"Twenty thousand in total, but I doubt I'll call every soldier down here."
"Fair enough."
Shanxi, Command Bunker
Brigadier General Karl Dietrich
Dietrich was constantly analyzing his tactical map as it was updated every few minutes with feedback from the front lines. In the eastern woods the militia was tied down with the Turian flanking force. His initial defensive line overviewing the turian LZ was pulling back after an air strike leveled most of their buildings. The west was looking clear but not for long if the enemy was getting reinforcements. He had 40 tanks structured in 3 companies, each company with 4 platoons of tanks; they were stationed behind the lines with the possibility to deploy anywhere in town or outside.
Dietrich didn't like how things were looking. Then, he saw a red arrow originating from the enemy's position and pointing along the line of retreat of the 501st.
"General! Sergeant Massani is reporting a big enemy assault on their positions and they are requesting immediate support. They lost 200 men already and are still retreating. They're harassing the turian infantry but they've just received armor support. The enemy has what he described as 'big fucking hovers with a big a fucking cannon', tanks and their form of APCs I'd guess," a man reported.
Dietrich had one more look on his tactical map and it updated with the symbol for enemy tanks advancing along two of the boulevards of Shanxi. The General looked towards a tank company, selected it and drew an arrow colliding with the red arrow.
"1st tank platoon, 3rd tank Company, counterattack here on this boulevard, 2nd platoon on the boulevard that runs in parallel with this one. Right now! Get some SPAAGs to support them and shoot down enemy aircraft. We can't let the enemy push along those lines here. Make sure they don't push too far ahead, least they get surrounded and destroyed. I want the enemy attack broken and pushed back, not a hero run!" he ordered and a comms operator immediately got in touch with the 3rd Tank Company to give them the orders.
'If I don't create a no man's land then they can just keep pushing like this without any warning on our behalf. This counterattack should do it.'
Shanxi, Front lines
Sergeant Major Zaeed Massani, 501st
"Come on, you bloody idiots! Get to the next block!"
"Yes, sir!"
"Shut up and get moving, Private!"
Zaeed was doing his best to get his men out to the next line while continuously harassing the advancing Turian forces. His CO, a lieutenant, was killed in action and they hid an antipersonnel mine under his body for when the Turians would obviously take his corpse to analyze his gear for intel.
"TANK! TAKE COVER!" somebody shouted and a second later a shell fired from the Turian vehicle hit the wall near them, bringing it down and making way into the building. The Turian tank wasn't a real tank but more of a light armored vehicle with a gun mounted on top. An Apocalypse tank of the Alliance could chew the Turian armor like it was just for show. The Turian doctrine didn't employ the main battle tank concept like the Humans did.
"Where the fuck is the AT soldier!?"
"Dead!"
"Does anybody have an AT weapon?"
"Aye! Gimme' a moment!"
"Faster, you bastard! Shoot it before it shoots us!"
Just as the Marine was aiming his AT weapon, a pair of Turian soldiers rounded the corner behind the tank and opened fire on him, draining his shields and killing him with a few well placed shots. The two invaders didn't get to live long because they were immediately riddled with 7.62mm rounds fired from a Minimi, their corpses adding to the already big number of bodies littering the ground.
"Fuck!" Zaeed cursed and grabbed the weapon. He shouldered it, took aim with care and fired it. The warhead struck home and pierced the tank's armor with its payload of HEAT and burned the crew inside to a crisp and destroyed electronics.
"Get moving!"
"We've got reinforcements! Our tanks are here!" a Corporal said as the sound of tracks screeching could be heard and four Apocalypse tanks came out of a smoke cloud down the boulevard.
"Move! Move! Back to the lines! Get any wounded with you!"
"The whole front line is a mess! We're so fucking mixed with the metal faces, the front looks like a fucking alcoholic worm crawling on the ground!"
"We should support the attack, Sarge!"
"Do you have any ammo and energy left in you to push, you moron? Get the fuck back and evacuate our wounded!"
The first day wasn't pretty. The fighting got worse with each passing hour, but day one saw some brutal shit. The Turians paid a big price in their debarkation and then they pushed hard after they got past the first line of our defenses.
The General sent my platoon and one more to counterattack with light armor and infantry support along two boulevards. Enemy tanks and infantry were pouring down said boulevards and were headed straight for the heart of the city and to flank and exterminate our Marines.
Their tanks were worthless compared to what we had there. Even the old Leopard III could have given them a run for their money. The IV variant would have held its ground well. The V and the Apocalypse just steamrolled over their sorry excuse of tanks. They relied too much on those kinetic barriers. And the difference was that they were used to small mass projectiles traveling very very fast while ours were heavy projectiles and they developed more energy than theirs.
Call me a bastard, but I don't regret a moment all the death I've dealt there with my comrades. I enjoyed every time I pulled that trigger and shot an invader who sought to subjugate us. And we lost good men defending the colony and its people. If it wasn't for the General's orders I'd have pushed as much as I could and hit their FOB if possible. I still believe I could have ended the battle that day…
(Extract from Sergeant Major Armand Morun's interview, The Shanxi Meat Grinder)
Shanxi, Alliance Armored Counterattack
Sergeant Major Armand Morun
Sergeant Major Armand Morun, tank commander of an Apocalypse main battle tank in the 1st Tank Platoon, 3rd Tank Company of the Shanxi Garrison was leading his men in a vigorous counterattack to break the enemy.
"Marines on the right side, careful not to inflict friendly fire," Armand told on radio. He was using every sensor his tank had to detect the enemy and the .50 caliber machinegun mounted on the turret and operated from inside to rain fire on hostile infantry.
"Attention platoon! We're taking a left here and engage hostile armor and infantry. Don't let the birds get on your flanks, even if we've got a little infantry of our own to cover us."
The tanks, SPAAG and APC passed by Zaeed's men and made a left turn into the boulevard in clause. The tanks were deployed in chevron formation.
"Enemy infantry, 11 o'clock! Gunner, engage!"
"Firing!" Armand's gunner shouted over the engine's sound and the gun fired the 120mm shell a fraction of a second after. The shell immediately hit its target and killed what looked like an enemy sniper rushing into the building and a regular.
"Keep moving! Watch the flanks!"
"More enemy vehicles up ahead! Engaging!"
Three of the tanks in the platoon opened fire and sent a 120mm HEAT downrange. The shells hit their targets and, surprisingly, triggered the kinetic barriers on the Turian vehicles, depleting them completely with one shot. The next salvo didn't have to worry about the kinetics, the shells hit and pierced the armor, killing the crew and causing internal explosions. A Turian tank was blown to kingdom come when something inside detonated with such force the turret went flying into the air and the hull was blown apart, leaving a memory of a frame that stood as a reminder that it was once a tank.
An Apocalypse took multiple hits up to the point where the shields failed and the following shells were hitting its frontal armor. The odds were 50-50, half were bouncing off at awkward angles or piercing but not enough, and the other half of the shots fired pierced the tank's more vulnerable frontal spots. Armand's platoon lost its first tank in combat.
"Give them awkward angles! Everybody traverse the hulls 20 degrees to right!" Armand ordered on radio and his three remaining tanks complied, thus bouncing off every single shot from the enemy guns or the shots were penetrating too little and didn't get past the armor whose effective thickness had increased due to angling.
The APCs and IFVs caught up and unleashed an ATGM rocket each, destroying their targets, they followed up with engaging the enemy infantry of Turian soldiers and Asari Eclipse mercenaries. They were putting up a good fight but they lacked individual antitank weapons powerful enough to destroy the Alliance's land emperors.
The unit resumed its advance after destroying the enemy vehicles and tanks. Soldiers of the Army jumped out of the APCs and joined the fray. They entered the buildings on the sides to clear them of hostiles. Some engagements degenerated into close quarters combat. The Alliance soldiers were stabbing with their combat knives at every weak point they could guess in their foes' armor. They had trouble with the Asari who were using biotics, but a fragmentation or incendiary grenade took good care of them.
On the boulevard, the Eclipse mercs were getting uncomfortable with the tanks advancing on their positions. Two of them were cut off from the main group in a pile of rubble and did the worst thing you could do – they broke their cover and dashed a wild sprint across the open boulevard in front of tanks, this in an attempt to reach their comrades.
Armand immediately spotted the two blue women and opened fire with the 12,7mm he was manning from inside the turret. The leading Asari was hit by bullets in her left leg and torso, the force of the rounds leaving big gashing holes of blood and throwing her body a meter sideways, she died before she knew what hit her. Her friend wasn't as lucky. A bullet hit her in the knee cap and destroyed it. She fell face first onto the ground, crying in pain and despair when she saw her left leg was only kept attached to the rest of her body by a few strands of skin and flesh.
"RUN HER OVER!" Armand ordered to the driver who gladly followed the order. The Turians and Asari watched from cover what these brutes did. The young (by Asari standards) mercenary was trying to crawl to their location, crying in pain and begging for their help. When she realized the tank was coming straight for her, she tried to open the distance between her and the lumbering construct of death. The outcome was only one – Armand's tank caught up with her and crushed her legs first. The Asari let out an unnatural cry of pain as she felt her leg's bones crushed and flesh squeezed up to the point it exploded and smeared the area around in purple blood. Then her waist came under the tracks and crushed like a cockroach under a boot. Her entrails spilled on the pavement, brain and skull fragments in a round pool of gory mess.
"NO!" one of her Eclipse sisters shouted. "ANIMALS! How dare you-" she raged and broke cover, charging a biotic attack against the tank that ran her comrade over. But a 30mm round from a IFV made short work of her, thus decorating the ground with one more body.
The tanks and other fighting vehicles pushed on and annihilated resistance wherever it was found. But the Alliance was taking losses, another tank in Armand's platoon had its tracks blown off and became a stationary gun, a bunker. A few APCs and IFVs were lost too.
The surviving Eclipse mercenaries that supported the Turian attack were routed and decimated. The Turian discipline fared better but they were poorly equipped to combat heavy armor, relying on their now smoking tanks for armored support. Many field officers decided to retreat along alleyways back to their positions before being cut off by the Human armor on the streets and infantry in alleyways and killed.
By the end of the counterattack, the 1st Tank Platoon of the 3rd Tank Company lost one tank with another one requiring towing back to friendly lines. The 2nd Platoon lost three tanks. Half of the light armor was lost as well to enemy fire and air attacks. Turian aircraft was shot down each time they attempted to make bombing runs on the Alliance tanks. Nevertheless, some bombs fell and hit targets.
The arrival of a Turian frigate in the atmosphere over the city gave Desolas an advantage and he immediately ordered bombardment of several apartment buildings where Marines were dug in and fighting off the invaders. The Alliance retaliated with the launch of a salvo of Avenger anti-ship ballistic missiles from the only operational silo on Shanxi and destroying the Turian frigate, resulting in it crashing in a large lake close to the colony town.
Further tensions between Admiral Kaevus and General Desolas hindered the Turian fighting capability when Kaevus refused to use orbital bombardment on a garden world city, thus upholding one of the Citadel's laws. The silo was destroyed nevertheless from orbit due to its distance to the city, posing no risk on hitting civilian targets. Another frigate was sent into the atmosphere for support after a heated debate between the two. Kaevus dedicated the lower caliber guns on the frigates for heavy support instead of the dreadnoughts'.
Desolas and Dietrich both called off any further attacks given the current situation and focused on fortifying their gains. Dietrich was busy with coordinating infiltration teams into the enemy lines and organizing a fluid defense. He wanted to avoid massing troops in one spot due to the threat of orbital attacks. His doctrine called for his men to approach the Turian lines as much as possible to take out the threat of attacks from their warships due to the collateral friendly fire that would arise. The two main boulevards have been continuously fortified during the night in awaiting for the next day's fighting. Firefights were taking place in the sewers as well, with each side using them to get behind the foe's back and perform attacks.
Desolas was using the night to bring down more reinforcements and prepare an attack for the early morning against the Human lines. He was more than displeased with the losses sustained by the end of the day, more than 3,000 Turian soldiers and Eclipse troopers compared to the roughly 600 Alliance losses.
The night saw several skirmishes with each side probing the enemy's positions. Alliance mobile mortar teams rained fire on every concentration of Turian troops, thus discouraging amassing them for an attack and the Turians responded in kind with their shipboard mass accelerators where they guessed Alliance strongpoints. The night would claim roughly 100 more lives on each side.
Meanwhile, the SSV Black Swan was undergoing emergency repairs and be fit for FTL to alert the Alliance of the Turian attack.
AN: Thank you all for your support so far and for reading this story :D Here was Ch 6. Next updates will take more to be uploaded since I'm out of pre-written chapters and I will need to spend more time writing them. Should be fairly good since I know the plot in my mind. Please leave me your opinion regarding the space and ground fights in the reviews or through PM.
NOTE1: In Ch 4 I edited what the Normandy was doing due to an issue pointed out by IveGotNoIdea. Now the Alliance vessel was shadowing the C-Sec frigate Garrus was on for realistic time travel of information issues. No changes done yet to Ch 5.
NOTE2: I will add STG's reactions to the Alliance in the next chapter and some things I 'might' have missed.
[1] Brigadier General Karl Dietrich is one of the characters I sort of imported from my other story. Please don't kill me for not using Ashley's grandpa.
[2] The Turian Marines are basically naval infantry. They aren't modeled like the Alliance's Marine Corps (even canon version of the SAMC) as a military branch of its own. They are slaved to the Turian Navy and are under the command of the captains of the ships they serve on.
STORY BROUGHT BY Apollonir
CONSULTANT FOR OCs & BETA FEEDBACK: VRGL1337