Ch: 6 Shanxi Stands
April 7th 01:57, Deep Space, TFV. Broken Bow:
"Have we made contact with Shanxi?"
"Negative Admiral." Came the response of the ship's captain. "As my officer told you, in all likelihood, their long-range communication satiates have been destroyed. However, per protocol, we will continue to raise them. In case they still have them, or they come up with an alternative means of establishing a link with us."
Grayson nodded to the woman. "Very well. I'll be in the ready room. Inform me of any developments." He said, turning away and making his way across the Bow's Command Center.
"Aye, sir."
Coming to a set of doors, and enter a small room. The ready room was a small but spacious room with a single simple desk in the middle. The desk had a chair behind it and two in front, on top of it was a computer terminal. To the side was a couch big enough to seat two people comfortably. In the corner was a holo-projector for communications. He went to the projector. He tapped a few buttons on the terminal in front of it. After a minute or two of waiting the image of a woman about thirty years his senior appeared, dressed in a fleet admirals uniform.
"Report." Fleet Admiral Ines spoke with a Salute.
Saluting back, Grayson made his report. "We continue to try and raise someone on Shanxi, but so far have gained no response. But I remain convinced that General Williams forces are still holding out. We did have around three days to prepare, thanks to the Quarians." For that he was thankful. They may have had no idea that they were entering Federation space, and intending to save their own people, but the Quarians had given Shanxi a fighting chance. In most cases, a colony world would have no warning of an incoming D-Orphan attack until they had entered the system. Sometimes an outpost would get a warning out, giving the local forces a few hours or a day at most to prepare. But space was huge and there were plenty of places to hide. On average the defending colony would fall quickly, forcing the local militia to resort to Guerilla warfare to combat the Dragon Orphans until a relief force arrived. Shanxi was fortunate, with the arrival of the Migrant Fleet, they received an advanced warning that gave them several days to prepare. Enough time to get as many civilians as they could off-planet and the rest into underground bunkers, all the while preparing the city for the coming invasion. The Quarians had inadvertently saved millions of Lives. For that, the people of Shanxi would forever be grateful.
"I agree with your assessment Rear Admiral. However even with the preparations he had, by now a large portion of the city may have already fallen to the Dragon Orphans."
That he already knew, by his calculations half the city was likely overrun. "None the less, he will hold until your arrival."
"Good. How are the repairs with your ships going?"
Grayson smiled, that was the bit of good news he did have. "The repairs are going very good Fleet Admiral. Both ships have weapons and barriers are operational, right now we're just patching up the holes. We are combat-ready." He paused for a second, letting his report be processed by the older Admiral. "Fleet Admiral, I know I have already asked you this. But I will ask again, I request that my ships be a part of the operation to retake Shanxi." More than fourteen thousand lives had been lost in the fleet battle for Shanxi, about hundred-twenty of them had come from the Victory. He and several others were rearing to avenge those lives.
Ines gave the younger admiral a look of understanding. A look that him that she knew what it was like to lose lives under their command. "Not to worry Rear Admiral, I have already made my decision. Your ships will be a part of the effort to retake Shanxi. All you have to do is meet at our arrival coordinates. Sending them now."
"Thank you, Admiral Ines, you don't know what this means to me." He said gratefully.
"No thanks are needed. I know it is like to lose people, and the desire to avenge them." She said in a tone that spoke of her experience more than the words themselves.
"Regardless I am in your debt. Now is there anything else you wanted to know?"
"Not at this time Rear-Admiral Grayson. Just meet us at the arrival Coordinates. Understood?"
"Understood."
With a quick Salute, the link was terminated. Grayson relaxed his posture showing the tiredness he felt since they had escaped the battle. Though his shoulder had been treated by the Broken Bow's medical staff, he still felt some pain lingering. Nor did he have any sleep in the last thirty hours. While he knew he could go a lot longer without it, he knew that a bit of rest would do him good. He walked to the couch. "Helen."
"Yes, Admiral." Came the female Synths voice. She had taken over as the Bow's main AI.
"Order our ships to set course for the coordinates that Fleet Admiral Ines has given us."
"Aye, sir. Relaying that order now. Anything else?"
"Yes." He responded sitting on the couch. "I'm going to take a rest. Unless we establish a link with Shanxi or an emergency comes up no one is to disturb me. Wake me ten minutes before the 1st Fleet is due to arrive."
"Very well, Admiral."
He lied down on the couch and closed his eyes. He would need all the energy he could get.
April 7th 02:15, Capital city of Shanxi, command bunker:
While Rear Admiral Grayson was resting in the ready room of the Broken Bow, General Williams was wide awake in his command bunker. It had been a long day for him and his staff coordinating the defense of the city. It wasn't easy holding back the horde of Dragon Orphans whose numbers were projected to be around seven hundred thousand. But held they did, and in the span of fifteen hours, they had inflicted significant damage to their forces. It was believed they had killed a little two hundred thirty thousand of the D-Orphans. Against a loss of around twelve thousand of his soldiers, he considered that to be good. As the creatures got deeper into the city their lines became more and more starched lessening their advantage in numbers, and his lines became studier with less territory.
But now the battle that been going relatively well was about to take a turn for the worse. On the projection of the city, he along with everyone else could a giant red mass forming in a single area along what had been designated as the 5th defense line. This red mass was the Dragon Orphans, they were marshaling their forces for a final push. Not good by any standards, the most dangerous aspect of the D-Orphans where their overwhelming numbers, a single massive push were they threw everything they had at a single point could cause even the most harden of positions to fall quickly. One general strategy used to combat this advantage was to find any means to spread out their numbers, namely by offering them multiple points of attack or using small mobile units to attack and then retreat causing portions of the horde to give chase. The D-Orphan weren't ones for strategy and operated more on instinct, which made it easier to fool them into spreading themselves thin.
However, the sudden massing of their forces suggested one thing. A grim change in the tide of the battle which had been confirmed by blurry images taken by a Synth named Vertigo, before his mech units in the area were destroyed, the presence of a Dragon General. The Dragon Generals were the most dangerous of the D-Orphan variants, unlike their lesser cousins the D-Generals were capable of intelligent thought and could fight one on one with some of the Federations best soldiers. They were divided into three categories which donated their level of intelligence and strength as a combatant, Lieutenant, Captain, and General. Lieutenants were weakest of the bunch, having the intelligence of a dim-witted adolescent, and the Generals being the strongest and having a high level of intelligence.
Thankfully in all likelihood, this one wasn't a full General, they preferred to stay on their command ships, rarely ever personal leading their forces on the ground, the same went for most Captains. So in all likelihood, this one was a Lieutenant, if it was a captain then it was likely on the lower end of the scale. Either way, it was big trouble for Williams's forces. The creature had likely gotten tired of waiting for them to fall and decide to lead a final push personally.
Looking at the projection Williams could see that it had gathered its forces in preparation for an attack on three harden points along the 9th defense perimeter simultaneously. In response to this new threat, he ordered all available forces to those areas to strengthen their defenses. Soldiers, tanks, artillery, gunships, the works had been gathered there for a final defense. If they held than the back of the D-Orphans offensive would be broken and they go on the offensive to reclaim some of the city. If not then they would likely reach the center of the city before reinforcements arrived. Orders had been given hold no matter the cost and to concentrate all fire on the D-General if it was spotted. If they could kill the D-General than the rest of the D-Orphans would fall into chaos.
"General!" He heard the voice of an aid break the silence of the room. "The enemy is on the move. ETA to the 9th defense line ten minutes."
Seeing the massive red mass move towards his people like a tidal wave of death, General Williams prepared himself mentally for the coming battle. Not for the first time, he wonders if he'll make it out of this. If he would ever see his family again. Last he heard from them was that his eldest son had gotten married. A small pang of regret shot throw him, he had missed his own son's marriage. It should have been a momentous day in his life, seeing his son be joined to the woman he loved for the rest of his life. Instead, he had been stuck here carrying out his duties as a General.
'The sacrifices that we of the armed forces have to make, are indeed high.' He thought to himself. New determination filled his being, he made a solemn promise to himself. He would make it out of this battle alive, and see his family again. He took his hand to the comm unit and activated it. "Tokyo stands, Washington stands, Reach Stands, and most importantly Cadia stands." He called almost hear the shouts of "Cadia stands" from outside. "Today Shanxi will stand." This time he heard several shouts in the war room.
"Shanxi Stands!"
"Shanxi stands!"
"Shanxi stands!"
Williams smiled a savaged grin. "All forces give these bastards hell." He ordered.
'Perhaps,' He began to think. 'the next I see my boy, I'll see about having him give me those grandkids I always wanted.'
April 7th 02:24, Shanxi Capital City, 9th Defense perimeter:
Everyone held their breath in anticipation. In less than a minute there would be a massive clash that would decide the outcome of the battle for Shanxi. The enemy had marshaled their forces together for a single massive offensive against three points along the 9th defense perimeter. Several hundreds of thousands of Dragon Orphans were heading their way. Vastly outnumber the remaining Federation forces had gathered along the targeted area, to make a final stand against the tide of death.
All around her Sanders could see countless men, women, and combat mechs taking firing positions throughout the street and within the surrounding buildings. A dozen turrets were being manned and pointed in the direction of the D-Orphan horde, and behind her were numerous assault vehicles. Much further down around the 11th defense line were the artillery units continuously shelling the enemy forces, to thin their numbers out a bit. Over her head half a dozen gunships held their positions, their weapons primed and ready to tear into the D-Orphan forces.
Sanders checks her rifle, a standard-issue M5-Lancer Assault Rifle, making sure it was still in good order. She had done this a dozen times already, it more a means to keep her stress at bay. The coming fight would be the most hectic and fierce she ever had in her life, and for everyone else as well. She could see the looks of fear on just about everyone's face, even the mechs as impossible it was seemed to show a certain tiredness. But at the same mixed into that fear and tiredness, there was a grim determination in their eyes. The people around her in spite of their fears were willing to lay down lives not just for king and country. But for their homes and the people they cared about. For their very way of life, they hold no matter the price, anything to hold back the tide of destruction coming their way. The line had been drawn, and none would get past it without paying the price in blood.
"Enemy sighted!" She heard a voice ring out. She snapped her head up and say the horde before her. An endless stream of monsters marched towards them. D-Orphans of all variants could be seen, standards, spikers, prowlers, mega-prowlers, fliers, and brutes. Thankfully there appeared to be no Titians in the ranks. Either they had none or they had been killed in the fleet battle. Either way, it was a small comfort, as in this horde there could be a Dragon General. Depending on what type it was it could be more dangerous than any Titian could be.
"Everyone ready your weapons!" She hears the commanding officer, a Major shouted. Everyone including her holstered their weapons into firing positions. The horde was closing in on them they were probably about a kilometer away now, on occasion she sees large explosions erupt from their ranks as an artillery shell found its mark.
Sanders breathed calming her nerves as much as she could, her finger on the trigger, and her Ukaku out. For a brief moment, everything in existence stopped as though some entity pressed the pause button to engrave the moment into eternity. Then all at once, everything broke loose.
"Fire!" Sanders pulled the trigger, and her Ukaku sprang to life
A wall of bullets and Rc shards tore into the horde, leaving piles of torn bodies in their wake. Now taking heavy loses the horde of monsters loosed roars of anger and surged towards the Shanxi defenders, breaking their slow stride. Spikers fired their shards creating a rain of death that came over the Federation forces.
Around her, Sanders saw several of her people drop to the ground bleeding from their wounds, some of them dying. Others were more fortunate as the shards impacted armor and barriers that were able to hold. She felt a sharp pain enter her shoulder, but she ignored it and continued to fire.
From above the gunships fired their autocannons and missiles. The missiles surged to the D-Orphan ranks and impacted to create a wall of fire that reduced hundreds of creatures to charred chunks.
D-Orphan fliers soared into the ranks of the defenders taking heads or whole bodies with them. Several would be shot down by weapons from soldiers or nearby AA vehicles. At the same time, some of those fliers dive into the horde and swoop up a D-Orphan and carry it over past the barricade. Some would be shot down before they reach their destination, but all too quickly the sounds of weapons fire erupted from behind as the D-Orphans now had presence behind their lines.
Hearing shouts of "behind you" Sanders rolled out from her position just in time for a storm of Rc Shards to impact uselessly on the Barricade. Others were not as fortunate as they found their deaths coming from behind rather than the front.
Turning her attention to the forces behind her, Sanders fire off her Lancer killing three spikers. Out from the corner of her eyes, she saw more people take up the positions of the fallen. Deciding that they could handle it and she was needed more the ground behind them, she jumped off from the Barricade and engaged the D-Orphans. Shard impacted her shields, and she returned fire dropping two more spikers and a prowler. A standard tried rushing her, but she extends her Ukaku outwards and pierced it in the chest. Then by twisting herself slightly, she sliced through it and four other D-Orphans.
Other Ghouls had joined the fray Ukakus, Rinkakus, Bikakus, and even one Koukaku flailed to life tore into the D-Orphans. The situation behind their lines was quickly becoming more manageable, as fewer D-Orphans were being dropped from the air.
Sanders had just dropped a spiker when a large shadow appeared over her. Instinct alone caused her to jump back and prevented her from being flattened under a brute as it landed. Two more landed near it.
'Shit.' Sanders put more distance between herself and the brutes. Fighting one brute today was bad enough, there was no way she was going to fight three more, and all at once. Let the heavy ordinance take care of them. And take care of them they did as several of the tanks fired shells into two of the brutes obliterating them. The Third want down when a group Grenadiers fired their M-237's, blowing its legs off. A nearby ghoul used his Bikaku to smash its head in ending its life.
An odd silence fell over the area, the brute had been the last D-Orphan to get behind their ranks. Sanders walked out into the middle of the area checking bodies to see if they were dead and putting an extra set of rounds she wasn't sure of. Nearby Anderson walked up to her side.
"That was a bit intense." He muttered out. Sanders nodded in agreement, the D-Orphans getting behind them had caused some confusion to occur in their lines. But training had kicked in, and they quickly resolved the situation. "You may want to get that shard out your shoulder. It won't do you any good" He points to the shard that had lodged its self into her shoulder.
She had forgotten about that and carefully removed the offending shards. A bit of blood oozed out from her wound, but it quickly stops as it began to heal. In a matter of seconds where there had once been a bloody hole had been replaced with a fresh layer of skin.
"You know sometimes I'm jealous of you Ghouls. That healing factor of yours must come in handy a lot." Anderson said with a smile.
"Maybe you should consider undergoing the Kakuhou transplant surgery, to make a Half-Ghoul." Sanders joked, to the man.
Anderson chuckled. "No, I think I'll pass on that." His expression took on a more series look. "How you think we're holding?"
The two of them turned and looked up at the barricade. Several more soldiers had taken up firing positions and were let loose everything they had. "I don't, but considering we're not knee-deep in a tide of those bastards. I'd say we're doing well. If we can keep this up, than-."
It happened so quickly. One moment there was a line of people firing into the horde, and next their lifeless bodies slumped to the barricades floor as a figure landed in the middle. It was said that the Dragon Generals took on the appearance of the victims that were consumed by the Dragon when it appeared in Tokyo over four hundred years ago. For a moment Sanders wonder what poor soul had this creature taken the appearance of. The figure appeared to be rather average looking, average build, average face, and a mop of messy brown hair on its head, and pale skin. These were the only human-like features it possessed, its arms and legs look like they were kagunes shaped into legs and arms. Instead of fingers, it had razor-sharp claws at the end of its hands, and streaks of Kagune like structures lined the sides of its body. The figure was naked and lack any feature that indicated its gender. Though judging by the build of the body and the structure of the face, Sanders guessed the figure would have passed for a man. Behind it, a large blood-red tail swung back and forth.
Then the realization sunk in, a D-General had joined the fray. They knew one had come down to lead the final charge personally, but no one knew which of the three hordes it had joined with or when it would make its move. As such everyone looked on in surprise at the D-General. A captain variant by its more human appearance, as a Lieutenant would have appeared more deformed. The good news was it wasn't a full-blown general, but the bad news is it was still a fucking Dragon General.
It was this realization that finally caused someone to act. A gunship above their heads fired its autocannon directly at the D-Captain. Before the bullets could reach it, it jumps into the air reaching an impossible height. Than its Bikaku lashed out at the gunships. It smashed right into the cockpit creating an explosion of shards of blood. The Gunship spun out of control and crashed into a nearby building into an explosion of metal and fire. The D-Captain land on the ground, it's tail like Kagune retreating behind it.
Then chaos ensued. Bullets and Rc shards rained from all directions as everyone in the vicinity fire their weapons at the D-General, to reduce it to a bloody smear on the road. This effort was failingly and failing hard, as the creature bobbed and weaved its way out of harm. The few that did manage to hit only left small wounds that quickly healed themselves. All the while the monster tearing everyone it got close to apart, claws, legs, and a Bikaku lashed out with a ferocity never seen before. Several Ghouls tried to swarm the D-Captain and were meet with death for their trouble. One tried to jump at the monster when their head was wrapped by its tail and promptly was popped like a balloon. Not even a heartbeat later it threw the lifeless body into an oncoming group knocking them over, and in a swift fluid motion, it slips into the guard of another ghoul and with a powerful thrust punched through their head.
In a span of a few seconds, more than two dozen had been killed and more were quickly joining them. Then things started to go to shit. Sounds of bodies colliding with metal drew the attention of several. In the mess to fight the D-Captain everyone had forgotten the horde that was coming their way and had now reached the barricade. The Barricade itself about a meter and a half thick and three meters high and made of reinforcing ARC metal, but even that would not hold them forever. To make matters worse with so many focused on the Captain there had been less gunfire being directed into the air, allowing the Fliers to come in and drop off more D-Orphans behind the barricade.
Far too quickly everyone found themselves fighting for their lives as they tried to fight off several D-Orphans at once or the D-Captain, the later more times than not resulting in a swift death.
Through this whole messy turn of events, Sanders found herself frozen in shock and giving her best impression of the thousand-yard stare. Her mind having trouble processing the events transpiring in front of her. It was only the shouts of "Fuck you Murphy!" and "Watch out!" did she snap out her stupor, and with a speed that would have made the Flash jealous she extended her Ukaku out and harden it. In time to block a powerful attack from the D-Captain. Under her breath she cursed herself, she had almost gotten herself killed due to negligence.
She had no time to think about this further though as the D-Captain unleashed a torrent of attacks on her. It took every bit of energy and focus she had just to survive the onslaught, as she did her best to block or deflect the attacks coming from its hands, feet, and tail. Her assault rifle long since discarded, she was slowly being overwhelmed and pushed back. She gritted her teeth, she needed to put some distance between them, and fast. Quickly going over her options at the moments, she settled for a risky course of action.
As she blocks another attack, her free hand reached for one of her grenades and in one swift motion removed the pin and threw in the D-Captain's face. Shock flashed across the creature's face as the live explosive flew into the creature's face. Taking advantage of the monster's stupor, Sanders was able to break herself away from it and put several meters of distance between them with several jumps. A second later the grenade exploded now having falling to were the chest of the creature was, and it was enveloped in a small ball of fire.
Sanders breathed heavily and her heart pound in her chest. Several whoops of joy broke over the sounds of battle. But she knew even before the dust parted, they had been premature. Those very whoops quickly died in the throats of everyone as the D-Captain still very much alive stepped out. Half its face was gone none, being little more than a gory mess now. Burnt muscle and bone were exposed with pieces of shrapnel sticking out. Its chest wasn't much better with some of its ribs exposed and its arms were burned.
'Good news is I manage to hurt it badly.' She thought to herself. The creature looks at her, pure murderous rage radiating from its eyes. 'Bad news is I pissed it off and now it really wants me dead.'
April 7th 20:32, Shanxi Capital City, 9th Defense Perimeter:
Anderson had watched with amazement as the former Governor not only held her own against the D-Captain but severally injury it as well. He like everyone else had thought she had killed the damn thing when the grenade she'd thrown exploded point-blank on it. He even was going let out a holler of joy, when it had died in his throat when he saw the creature walkout from the small dust cloud, alive. Badly injured, yes, but alive none the less, and emanating an aura of malice directed at the female Commander.
It didn't that the D-Horde had reached the barricade and could break through it at any moment, and that several were being dropped behind their disarrayed defenses. Anderson knew that if they didn't come up with something quick, then the horde would be knocking at the door of the 10th defense sooner than they would. Hell with the D-Captain they could break through to the center of the city. That could not be allowed to happen.
Gritting his teeth Anderson shot a Dragon Orphan that got a little too close for comfort. If they could somehow take out that D-Captain, than the horde, would fall to chaos which would allow their forces to go on the offensive and retake some of the city. Easier said than done though.
A Dragon Captain while not as powerful as a full General, was still a tough son of a bitch to kill. It takes overwhelming force to… An idea started to form in Anderson's head.
Dodging an oncoming attack, Anderson looks to the D-Captain that was now advancing on Sanders. It was being slowed by several other soldiers, and now that their initial confusion had worn out they were faring better against the monster. Not by much, but enough to slow it down. Anderson's was a risky one, but if pulled off.
Taking cover inside a nearby building Anderson activates his com-link. "Commander Sanders, this second Lieutenant David Anderson. I've got a plan for killing that Dragon Captain. But I need you to listen." He began to recite his plan quickly to the former governor.
April 7th 02:33, Shanxi Capital City, Command Bunker:
"General! A portion of the 9th defense line is in extreme danger of falling. A Dragon General, Capitan variant is leading the assault." Came the panic shout of an aid.
Looking to the holo-projector Williams saw that the mid-most of the three attacking hordes was now right on top of the defense line. The other two were being held back but were slowly advancing. "Order our forces there to pull back to the 10th defense line." He said to the aid. Before he could give out more orders a shout caught his attention.
"Sir a Lieutenant David Anderson is requesting to talk to you. He claims that he has a plan to kill the Dragon Captain. Shall I put him through?"
Williams blinked for a second, the name sounded familiar to him. But he couldn't quite place the name to a face. Did, this Anderson have such a plan, or was he spouting nonsense? After another second to think it over, he decides it wouldn't hear the soldier out. "Put him through now." Who knows maybe he saw something that he didn't.
"Second Lieutenant David Anderson here." Came the voice of a young man. In the background, sounds of weapons fire and shouts could be heard.
"Report Lieutenant. I've been told you have a plan for handling our D-Captain problem." "I do sir." Came the response.
"Then tell me." A moment later the Lieutenant had given the General his plan. Williams was surprised to find it wasn't a half bad-plan. It was something of a gambit and required possibly sacrificing a good soldier. But it was better than nothing, and if pulled off right than it quickly turn the tide of the battle into their favor. "Alright Lieutenant your plan as my approval, just see to it that Sanders is in position. Understood?"
"Yes, sir." The link went dead.
"Get me a link to Commander Jackson, I have orders for him."
April 7th 02:33, Shanxi Capital City, 9th Defense Perimeter:
Fury. A burning hot fury had consumed the creature and so did the pain. The pain of its face being burned away, of its chest being torn open, and the sting of metal in its being was ever-present. All because of the female it had fought. At first, it was excited to fight her. She had quickly proven to be worth prey to fight. Better than all the others it had killed.
Then she threw that strange object. An object that had disappeared in a flash of light, fire, and metal, and caused it to know pain. Pain it had never felt before. Now it only felt a burning fury. A fury that drove it to kill the female in the most painful and brutal way it could. It would her limbs away, and rip out the soft organs within. It would feast on her and enjoy her screams of pain as she died.
Closer. It got closer to the female, tearing through those who tried to stand in its way. Just a bit closer and it would have its revenge. Then the female did the unthinkable.
She ran at a speed that momentarily shocked the creature, disappearing into the passaged formed by the strange structures that the progenitors were so fond of creating. It roars in anger and began to chase after her. She would not escape.
She. Will. DIE!
April 7th 02:38, Shanxi Capital City:
Running as fast as her legs could carry her, Sanders weaved her way through the abandoned city streets and alleyways. Right behind her was death in the form of a very angry D-Captain. 'Anderson this plan of your's had better work, or else I'm kicking your ass in hell.' She screamed internally. The plan was simple, but it required her to act as bait, drawing it as far away from the horde as possible.
So instead of running away at her full speed. She had slow herself just enough for the D-Captain to keep track of her, but fast enough to make it seem like she was trying to getaway. The result, some of the most stressful minutes in her life, as she made her way through the city. The roars of anger that promised her a painful death did not help her.
She saw a large building in front of her. It was about five stories high and there was a ramp that look like it lead to a large parking area. Sanders smiled to herself, it looked like the perfect place to spring the rest of the plan into action.
Knowing the D-Captain was quickly catching up to her, she ran full speed to the building, down the ramp, and into the parking area. It was rather dark down here, but she didn't pay it any mind and darted behind a random pillar. Then she waited. Waited for what could be very well her death.
But if the plan worked, then her death would be well worth it. She did not like the idea of leaving her son motherless or her husband as a widower, but if it meant thousands more would live to see another day. That the Federation would see a victory here she would pay the price. No matter how it would pain her or her family. It would be hard at first for them, but they would move on with their lives. Her husband would continue running his bar, and their son would grow up to be a fine young man and maybe one day he'll find a handsome man to marry.
She smiled to herself, yes life would go on without her.
She clenched her hands into fists, her smile morphing into a frown. But it does not mean she would let herself die here. She wanted to live, she wants wanted to grow old with the one she loved enough to marry. To see her boy say "I do" to the man that would become her son-in-law. To see them adopt a child or two, and to see her grandchildren grow up and have families of their own. She wanted to be surrounded by friends and family when she died.
Yes, there was a chance she would die here. But a chance of death also meant a chance at life, and she would fight with everything she had to take that chance. She would do her damndest to walk out this fight alive.
She heard loud footsteps enter the parking area, followed by loud hisses. For a tense minute, it was the only sound she heard. On occasion, she would hear the sound of a Kagune swaying in the air and on the ground. The noise stopped. Breathing through her nose, Sanders stepped out from the pillar and stood in front of her pursuer. Even in the darkened area of the parking area, she could see the creature.
It had healed a fair bit from the grenade explosion. The minor wounds and burns had all but disappeared, and its chest and face while still bloody messes no longer showed bone. Unfortunately, its temper head did not show the same level of improvement, if anything it had gotten worse. For a fleeting moment, there was silence between the two as they sized each other.
The Creature raised its right arm and points a single red claw at Sanders. It mutter/grunted two words. "You. Die." Its voice full of malice.
Half a second later Sanders pulled out her Kessler and fire off several shots at the D-Captain. Its Bikaku lashed out blocking the bullets, it retracted and the creature lunged forward, claws extended. Sanders continued to fire, all but one missing their mark it fluidly dodged and blocked the attacks. The one that did hit had only grazed its check. Within seconds the D-Captain had closed the distance and with a swipe of its claws, her Kessler was sent flying away.
Reacting fast Sanders block an attack aim at her head, but the creature was not done. It twisted itself and brought its leg to strike at the side of her head. Sanders quickly dropped, feeling the rush of air on her hair. Now on the ground, she shot out her leg in a wide swipe, tripping her opponent. While the creature was still in the air she sprung forward and brought her leg down on the creature's side. It connected and with all the power she could muster she brought the monster crashing down hard onto the pavement, creating several cracks.
Before she could do anything else she saw its Bikaku shot straight towards forcing her to jump back. Landing on her feet she saw the creature rapidly jump and spin back to its feet, its large tail extending and sweeping out towards her. With no time to get out of the way, she extends her Ukaku out to her side. The force of the impact sent her flying towards another pillar. Thinking fast she used her kagune to slow her speed and with a flip she lands on her feet facing in the direction of D-Captain, her back almost touching the pillar.
Her eyes widen in surprise, as the D-Captain was now right in front of her. Faster than her brain could process, it grabs her head on the sides and brought it crashing down into knees. She didn't need a doctor to tell her that nose was most likely powder at this point, as a searing pain shot through her. This was not the end of the creature's assault on her, as she felt a powerful blow to her stomach, causing her to cough up a blob of blood. An instant later she sent flying and crashing through the pillar behind her and into another.
Her head spinning, a steady stream of blood leaking from nose and mouth she shakily got to her feet. Her back burned from the sensation of moving. Seeing double, she watched as the Dragon Captain swiftly make its way to her. Her vision cleared, just in time for her to block a strong kick to the side with both her arms. Just as quickly she pushed it away and shot her right arm out to strike the creature's head. She felt the monster grab her arm and with a sadistic smile, it twisted it snapping it. Sanders screamed as she felt the bones in her arm break and tear into her flesh. Her scream was cut short as she felt a clawed hand slam into her mouth and imparted its momentum into her head. It slammed into the pillar leaving small cracks. Dazed once more Sanders was unable to stop the next attack.
Searing pain in her shoulder brought her back to reality, and she saw the D-Orphan tear a chuck out of her shoulder with its mouth. It let her go and she slid down the pillar clutching her wound shoulder. She watched with a certain horrid fascination as the creature slowly chewed swallowed her flesh. With an all too pleased lick of its lips, it knelt in front of her. Malice still filled its eyes, but there was something else there now too, something that made her angry but unable to do anything about it. A look of triumph. A look of a predator that had finally caught its prey. The look of a being that was going to take the time to savor its victory.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
And that would be its undoing. She could hear the confusion in the way it was breathing. A small smirk form on her lips. She may die here, but so would this monster.
'I'm so sorry, Joseph and Aiden. I won't be home when you get back.' She thought herself.
"You're a very pretty lady." Sanders gasped, she was no longer on Shanxi in the middle of a fight. Instead, she found herself in very a familiar-looking bar on a world whose name she had long since forgotten. In front she was two very familiar figures, a younger version of herself with a half-empty glass was no staring at a handsome man.
"So what of it? I've heard that a lot from plenty of other men and women." She said in her half-drunk state. The man laughed, it was such a beautiful and simple thing that caused her heart to flutter.
The man looks at her with his warm brown eyes. "My name is Joseph Sanders and it's a pleasure to meet you." They spent the whole night talking.
A single tear ran down her cheek. That had been the night she met him, it wasn't love at first sight, but it was the start of something beautiful. Another memory formed.
It had been a busy day at the base. Receiving new recruits and helping with preparations with a raid on pirate base, had left Maria exhausted. The only thing that allowed her power through the day was her upcoming date with her boyfriend of five years, Joseph. The last five years had been truly wonderful for her. Never in her whole life did she think she would someone who could make her so happy. She'd been wrong and couldn't be happier because. Yes' their relationship wasn't all flowers and sunshine. They had their rocky moments and they some legendary fights, but what relationship didn't? No matter how badly they fought or how life would at a whim tear them apart, they would always somehow hours, days, and in one extreme case months later find themselves in each other's embrace, saying soft "sorries" and "I love you's".
All dressed up in a pretty dark blue dress, she looks to Joseph dressed handsomely in a tuxedo. He was opening a bottle of champagne with a bit of difficulty. She smirked to herself seeing how he was struggling. She was about to offer her help when the Corte finally popped off and a steady stream of liquid poured out. A bit too much though as just about the entire contents of the bottle spilled out.
She would have laughed like a hyena at the sight of her loved one awkwardly scrambling to clean the mess he made. If it had not been for her eye catching sight of a small object drenched in the cold liquid laying on the table. Curious she picks it, and almost dropped it in shock. It was a simple silver ring with a small diamond embed in it. She looks to Joseph his face scarlet in embarrassment. "Joseph is this?" She tried to ask, her heart racing.
The man flashed that smile she had come to love. He took the ring and her hand gently. He knelt and silence filled the restaurant. He looks at her with love-filled eyes. "Maria Yeoman, will you do the honors of marrying me?"
It had been the happiest moment in her life and was soon followed by the day of her wedding.
Walking down the aisle with friends and family on both sides, dress a beautiful white dress had been the most nerve-racking moment in her entire life. More than any battle she had ever been in. As her superior officer officiated the wedding, had raced with such a speed that she was surprised that no one had heard her. To her credit, her fiancé appeared to be in a similar state of nervousness.
Then came the words that made the whole ordeal worth it. All the restless nights and frantic worries that had plagued seemed to be nothing none. "By the power vested in me by the United Terran Federation, I pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss."
What followed was a passionate night of intense lovemaking and many more nights like it. Which lead to the other most important day of her life. Meting her son Aiden.
Maria Sanders scream and raged as waves shot through her being. Her breathing heavy she clutched her fist hard around the hand of her beloved husband. Beloved would probably be stretching it right now as she all but decide to murder him for he made her go through. Nine months of morning sickness, mood swings, weird craves, and having to take special medical injections had taken a toll on the two. But finally today and hopefully soon enough she would have her release. With final heavy breath and a push the pain had ended all at once, and moments later she heard the sounds of a baby crying. Her baby crying.
"It's a boy." She heard the doctor say. All bundled up in medical blankets the baby was handed to her. It was the most beautiful sight she had ever seen. She looks to her husband. His eyes were full of adoration as he stared at his newborn son. Alright, maybe she wouldn't murder him. But he would still suffer the consequences of putting her through the hell that was childbirth.
That night she realized her life had been completed. She had a loving husband and adorable son to dolt on. They were her whole world, for they had given her a life she never knew she wanted. For them, she would fight any horror that the universe had to offer if it meant they would live. For them, she would die.
Her good first tighten into a ball. For them, she would live.
The Dragon Orphan never saw it coming, it could not even conceive that its prey could suddenly have this much energy. Adrenaline surging through her, Sanders lunged at the D-Captain. She did not notice the gasp of surprise that emanated from its mouth, nor did she feel the pain as her head collided with its jaw. With bot of their bodies in motion in the air, she grabbed the monster by its neck, and with everything she had she span and throw the creature to the side. It flew several feet away and saw that it began to orientate itself for a landing. Sanders, however, was quick to land on her feet, and one swift motion she grabbed the pouch where her grenades were stored and flung it towards the monster as it lands on its feet. Faster than it could react, Sanders extends her Ukaku ignoring the pain that it caused to her back. With a shout, "Burn in hell you bastard!" she fires a storm of Rc shards towards the pouch.
Not even a second later a large explosion enveloped the area between the two fighters. Smoke filled the area as the fireball dissipated. Sanders ran for her life.
April 7th 02:45, Shanxi Capital City, abandoned building:
Fury. Fury course through the creature's body. It had been so close to ending that female's life, so close to making her suffer. So close to feasting on her flesh. Then with an energy it had not thought possible, she fought it off, denying its sweet victory. That alone would have made it so angry, after all, it was more fun to kill prey when it was fighting back. It made the hunt more exciting.
What had set its fury off was that vile female had pulled off the same trick that had wounded it so badly. Throw those things caused fire and metal to shoot out everywhere. But this time it was ready for such a thing. It blocked the blast with its tail, having it take the brunt of the attack. It still felt the searing pain as fire and metal lashed out at it, but such was meaningless.
A malicious smirk formed on its lips. Ready to end the life of its prey the creature surged through the cloud of smoke and extended its claws out to take its targets to head off. Only for it fly through empty air. Confused the creature landed and scanned the area. The female was nowhere to be seen.
Using what was left of its nose it searched for the prey's scent. It was hard to find at first then it caught her scent, and it realized that it leads out of the structure. Boiling with anger the creature attempted to pursue the female.
Only to be stopped by the sound of something crashing above its head. It looks up, in time to hear a loud boom and to see the ceiling fall on it. After that, it only knew darkness.
April 7th 02:45, Shanxi Capital City:
Unknown to the Dragon Captain is that Sanders Com-link had maintained an active link with Shanxi's command bunker. Using this they were able to keep track of location in real-time. Once she had lured the D-Captain to a location far enough she was to enter the neared building, hopefully, one with several floors. Once there she was to enter its basement area or baring that remain on the ground and wait for it to catch up to her.
The moment her beacon stopped moving, the coordinates were relayed to an artillery unit that was in firing range. A bunker buster shell was loaded into the main gun of a Thunderbolt. These shells were designed to destroy bunkers or cause buildings to collapse in on themselves, they were only used if taking such bunkers or builds were deemed too costly.
In this case, the building would contain a high-value target that needed to be eliminated. Once the shell was loaded and a fire solution calculated, a signal had been sent to Sanders Com. It did not matter if she would escape the building or not, it was only sent to give her enough of a warning to get the building if she was able to.
Once the signal had been sent the Thunderbolt fire its cannon. The shell found its mark in less than a minute and burrowed deep into the building. The shell stops at the second floor and detonated its full payload destroying the entire floor, and causing the rest of the build to fall in on itself. Half a second later several tons of debris collapsed in on top of the Dragon Captain.
There was no need to confirm the kill, as an instant later all the Dragon Orphans suddenly stopped. For a single tense moment, both sides of the battle stared at each other unsure as to what to do. Then all at once, the D-Orphans went into a frenzy attacking friend and foe alike. Mostly friends as there more of them and they were closer.
In his command bunker, General Williams smirked to himself. Not wasting any time he gave the order for all Federation forces to go on the offensive. The time had come to retake what had been lost.
April 7th 02:47, Shanxi Capital City, near the blast zone:
The world was ringing, and she felt like her body was on fire. The blast from the building had sent Sanders flying several feet into the street. Still alive but barely clinging to consciences the female ghoul pulled herself across the dust-covered road. Her vision obscured and her breathing coarse from the dust cloud that spread in all directions.
She did not care, only one thing was on her mind right now, living. Her body refused to move of its own accord and so she had to force it to move ever slow that movement was. She ignored the pain-filled protests that shot through her body, she just kept crawling. Fighting with every ounce of strength she had left to keep conscience.
But to her horror, she was quickly losing the battle. 'No, no, no." She thought as her vision started to blacken. "I have to… Live.' She found her body was now no longer listening to her, leaving her to lay in the street.
"Com … er …? She heard something, almost like someone was calling out to her. "Com…anders…. ear me?"
She looked and saw shadowy figures over her. Her vision blackens and the last thing she saw was the smiling faces of her husband and son.
April 7th 02:57, Edge of the Shanxi system:
In the cold empty depths of space, two lone ships waited the Crazy Horse and the Broken Bow. Suddenly the space around them was filled thousands of blue streaks like small comets shooting past the atmosphere of a planet. Those same streaks quickly morphed into ships, thousands of them. In seconds four thousand-five hundred ships emerged, the full might of the Federation's 1st fleet had arrived. At its center was one of the new Olympus class Fleet Carriers, the TFV. Athena her powerful weapons ready to tear into her enemies, and her massive fighter complement read to spring to battle. Flanked on both sides were two Kaneki Class Dreadnoughts, The TFV. Thousand-Eye and the TFV. Haise, their main guns ready to fire.
The two waiting battle cruisers quickly formed up with the rest of the fleet. Further, in the system, two stealth destroyers transmitted the data they had gathered. The information was then analyzed and used to create fire solutions for the whole fleet.
With the information in hand Fleet Admiral Innes order the entire fleet to preform a micro FTL- jump to Shanxi. A minute later the fleet appeared less than five thousand kilometers from the D-Orphan fleet, which was unable to respond to their sudden appearance. Mainly because their occupants were too busy tearing each other apart.
What followed was less of a battle more akin to a one-sided slaughter as the entire Federation fleet unleashed a devastating barrage of weapons fire. The Dragon never stood a chance, even if they been able to respond the result would have been the same, complete annihilation.
With the skies over Shanxi cleared the 1st Fleet took position over the colony and numerous strike craft and transports rained down on the planet's surface. At the same several large ships appeared in orbit, Marine transport ships had arrived. All together an entire Marine Legion was being deployed to the planet.
Shanxi would stand.
And Shanxi is saved. So what you think of that fight with the Dragon General (Captain)? This was my first time reading a one on one battle so I'm a little nervous about it. Hopefully, as I keep writing I'll be able to make better ones in the future.
Anyways next chapter will be on the aftermath of this battle.
Please leave a review saying what you think.
Remember the poll for Kaiden's Kagune is still up.
