*Russia: The Front*
Zipping through the skies with a Mech squad, Pharah observes the city of Perm for the third time tonight, flying as close as possible without entering the restricted airspace.
There have been reports of a strange red light emitting from the center of the city and it is getting brighter each day. So bright in fact that the army has begun to notice it during the day.
Most has written it off as psychological warfare, as the Null Sector has been known to do, but for Pharah, she needs to know for sure.
Ignoring the grumbling of the Mech pilots, she inched closer and closer to the city with each flight, carefully studying the anti-aircraft defenses, looking for openings in its system.
"Captain, I think I speak for the men that we need to return to the base" the Sergeant said.
"You can return whenever you wish, I think I'm seeing a pattern" she said.
She could feel the Sergeant roll his eyes in his cockpit as he translates to his men. They grumbled more but they remained as they were ordered to never leave a HSI member alone in the skies, especially if it is a Captain.
"What is that?" she pointed towards a seemingly large building that shifted slightly.
"That is the Titan that survived the last battle, now it is acting as a sentry for the city" the Sergeant said as he scans the massive heat signature.
"How are you so sure?"
"There were three Titans that attacked, we destroyed two, so left that one" he replied in a patronizing tone.
"And they couldn't make more?" she quizzed.
"Ne… They do not have the factories to make more Titans, even if they did, they could not make another one so soon"
Unconvinced, Pharah edged closer to the restricted airspace, annoyed that the Russians did not set their artillery closer to destroy the anti-aircraft weapons.
"Careful Captain, you're getting too close"
Ignoring them, she studied and realize that she could predict the pattern of the anti-aircraft guns. Seeing an opening she quickly calculated their flight path.
"We should be returning to base" the Sergeant said again, holding back a yawn.
"Follow my lead" she said, diving so quickly that the Mechs did not have time to dive with her, losing her among the clouds.
"Where is she?" one of them asked.
"She has gone from my scanner"
"Mine too!"
"There!" one of the pilots shouted, spotting a spark from Pharah's thrusters, flying low and speeding into the city.
Cursing, the Mechs dove after her.
"We should just shoot her out of the sky now and say the Omnics did it" one complained.
"Maintain radio silence, they could intercept" the Sergeant ordered.
Adopting a loose formation, each pilot silently prayed to remain undetected as they quickly caught up to her.
Miraculously they all landed on a building at the edge of the city unhindered.
*Russia: City of Perm*
"Captain, we cannot be here" the Sergeant whispered fearfully, using his speaker at its lowest volume.
Pharah ignored him as she looks over the darker side of the city facing the Front. She saw nothing but empty streets and rubbish littered everywhere.
"Captain?"
Walking over to the glowing side, she looked down and had to shield her eyes from the light as they adjust... Then froze.
"Didn't you say that the bulk of the Null Sector army is destroyed days ago?" she asked, leaning back from the ledge, swallowing the lump in her throat.
"Yes, can we get out of here now?"
"Scan the area for Omnics please"
"Fine, but when I'm done, we are…" his voice trailed away as the results of the scan displayed before his eyes.
"That... That's not possible" he choked.
Pharah said nothing as she slowly peaks her head out again, observing the sight below them.
Thousands upon thousands of Nullifiers stood in the streets, accompanied by a Behemoth every few meters. This is not remnants of a defeated army, but one that is set to invade and conquer.
They stood still as statues, the core in their chests burns red with plasma energy, their armor new and shiny, their weapons primed and ready.
All facing a single direction.
The path to Moscow.
They spotted an Omnium far away and a battalion of new Null Sector infantry marched out in perfect sync as they added themselves to the army.
"We are doomed" a pilot whispered, his voice trembling as he reads his scans.
"Shut it" the Sergeant snapped, he could barely contain his own fear and having another man whimpering nearby is not helping.
"But-"
"I said shut it!"
Pharah pulled out a datapad and began twirling the dials while the pilots tighten their formation, their sweaty hands gripping their levers tightly, their eyes darting around as if they were trying to see through the dark.
"Got it" she said.
The screen reads:
01010011 01110100 01100001 01101110 01100100 01100010 01111001
"What does that mean?" the Sergeant ask.
"Nothing we need to worry about… Wait… I'm picking up something else"
00110011 01001000 00110000 00110100 01001101 00110010 00110001 01010011 00001010
00110011 01001000 00110000 00110100 01001101 00110010 00110000 01010011 00001010
00110011 01001000 00110000 00110100 01001101 00110001 00111001 01010011 00001010
00110011 01001000 00110000 00110100 01001101 00110001 00111000 01010011 00001010
"Tell me that is not something we have to worry about too"
"We need to return to base. Now" she said, quickly storing her datapad.
Suddenly the earth shook, nearly knocking them off balance.
"Earthquake?" a pilot asked.
But their questions are quickly answered as it walks by them, causing them all to hide behind whatever they could find.
A troop of Titans, each larger than the sentry, walk through the empty street, taking each step simultaneously, causing the tremors with every step.
Each looked like they are designed for a different purpose, one armed with rockets and a rail gun, while another is only fitted with rows upon rows of armor like a turtle, and another has huge artillery cannons protruding from its back.
"Let's get out of here!" a pilot said, activating his thrusters but he was stopped when the Sergeant pointed a cannon at him.
"Sergeant?"
"Every Titan can track everything above them. You fly, we die"
Looking for a way out, Pharah saw that all the windows in the opposite building has been shattered.
"Follow my lead into the next building" she whispered.
They looked over and raised their right arm, signaling that they understood.
"Alright men, one thrust and we glide over"
The Mechs quickly take their positions and ready their engines.
"Go now!"
She activated her jump packs and flew into the apartment on the opposite side of the street. Using her concussive rocket, she shot herself to the other side of the room to avoid being crushed by the Mechs.
But no one came. She landed alone.
Looking back, she saw that no one has moved from their position, their Mechs bracing to launch.
She tried to get their attention by waving but received no response.
Cursing, she turned on her communicator and bypass their mute system.
"Sergeant, get your men moving" she scolded as her visor flashed a warning sign that her call has been intercepted.
"Sergeant! Move!" she said again.
She heard doors being flung open from below and multiple footsteps climbing the stairs.
Looking down from the window, she watched as a crowd of Nullifiers began pouring into her and the opposite building.
"Sergeant they are coming for you!"
But the Mechs did not move, still in its launching stance.
Nullifiers burst into her room, forcing her to fire a rocket at the door before flying towards the Mechs. As she rocketed towards the squad, hundreds of purple bolts skirt past her.
Weaving through the deadly volley, she shot some of her own rockets into the lower floors, hoping to slow their advance.
Without stopping, she ran just as she landed towards the Mechs.
Banging her fist against the glass, she yelled at the pilot when a group of Nullifiers kicked the door open and began firing at them.
Most of the bolts bounced harmlessly off the Mechs but Pharah knew its armor can only withstand a so much damage.
"Fight or die!" she shouted as she shot the door, collapsing it onto the Nullifiers, but not before a grenade is thrown at them.
Pharah barely had time to jump away before it exploded near the Mech, causing it to fall down on its side.
Looking up from the ground she saw a fire began engulfing it as its fuel leaked out.
"No!"
Using the butt of her rocket launcher, she tried to break the glass but to no avail.
"Cover your face!" she shouted before she shatters it with a Concussive Blast, revealing a strange sight.
The pilot is dead in his seat, his back hunched over the controls and his face filled with concentration as if he was just about to launch his Mech to the apartment.
Fearing the worst, she loaded another concussive rocket into her wrist and shot it at the Mech next to them, which still has not moved, shattering its cockpit cover.
The pilot is looking straight ahead towards the apartment, unfazed or unconcern of everything else happening around them.
To her horror both pilots have a small trail of blood flowing down their mouths.
It was as if they just died.
Before she could investigate further, the Nullifiers broke through the collapsed stairway and resumed their attack.
Unable to hold them off, she flew straight into the air to avoid the shower of grenades thrown at them.
She looked down with rage as each Mech is destroyed one at a time as the Nullifiers concentrated their fire, leaving nothing more than burning scrap.
Her visor flashed red as it detected a few missiles locked onto her, forcing her to fly away as quickly as her jetpacks allowed.
As she flew out of the block, anti-aircraft guns opened fire and despite her best efforts, she began to be knocked around as the bullets began bouncing off her armor.
"Don't stop. Don't stop" she kept telling herself.
Just as she flew out of range of the Null Sector guns, she suddenly lurched off her flight path, zig zagging randomly in the air as she felt her jetpack vibrating violently.
She did a quick diagnosis and it showed that she has been shot through her stomach and the bullet damaged her jetpack.
Switching to auto-pilot for hovering, she looked down and saw that indeed there is a large hole in her armor. Pulling out a needle in her vambrace, she quickly inject the contents through her neck, hoping it will be enough to numb the coming pain.
She looked up and saw that she is only halfway to her destination, another 30 miles.
And the missiles are streaking towards her.
Testing her jetpack, she realize that it has lost 80% of its speed. She is effectively dead in the air and not enough time to land before the missiles hit her.
Unable to run or hide, the hot-headed Egyptian strap her rocket launcher to her back and ensured her hovering is steady.
Gritting her teeth, she steel herself for what is about to come.
"Closer... Closer..."
The moment the missiles came into range, she roared out a defiant warcry as her shoulder and knee pads burst open, unleashing a volley of her own rockets, tackling the missiles head on.
*Russia: RDF Base near City of Kazan*
Promoted to Captain of the Conscripts Division, Maksim sat silently as his Lieutenant finished his report regarding the Division, barely listening as he is shaken to his core at the task before him.
"How did it come to this? I was merely invited to sit in and listen..." he thought to himself.
He was invited to participate in the meeting with his Lieutenant to learn and within just a few days he is promoted and is in command of 15,000 who are not even trained properly.
"And Perm? Do we have any additional intel?" he asked, licking his dry lips.
"Only less patrols around the city since the last battle"
Looking out the window, he saw the glorious Osvoboditel' assembled out in the fields, 20,000 in total.
Their discipline shown for all to see as they marched in an impressive unified pattern, lifting high their most unique aspect proudly as it led the march.
The Osvoboditel' flag, battered but proud. In fact, the injuries it carries complimented the image that it displays. A bear standing over a pile of Omnics, its head high and roaring to the heavens as it liberates itself from the chains of war.
It is a well-known fact that it was this very flag that flew victoriously over the last omnium in the closing days of the First Omnic Crisis.
An army within the army, the Osvoboditel' are granted their own tanks, vehicles, armor, and the most powerful weapons in the Russian arsenal.
However, the army is still not fully equipped as there are still divisions of men without weapons, the next shipment said to be delivered within the week.
"At least they still eat the same things the rest of the army eats from the hard light crates..." he thought to himself, annoyed at the fact his division has to eat from lesser quality products to clear out the storage.
If only he is leading those men instead of a group of civilians…
"Beautiful isn't it Lieutenant?" he said.
"I personally think they are nothing more than glory boys… Sir" was his reply.
Maksim looked at him while hiding his surprise.
"You think the conscripts can do better?"
"I think the RDF should remain as one army, not splintered off to different variants, sir"
"You are dismissed, get the men ready for the march, we leave tomorrow" Maxim said, sitting down.
Saluting, the Lieutenant left the room.
Pulling out a file, Maksim reviewed the Lieutenant's profile and noticed that he was a seasoned veteran of the First Omnic Crisis.
"That explains his view of the Osvoboditel'…"
Pulling another file towards him, he re-read the details that he had read so many times before.
His Division is made up of 8 Infantry Regiments, accompanied by 2 Armored Regiments.
They were equipped with what High Command label as 'sufficient quality' weapons but it was such an obvious lie that it is insult just to read it.
Old Kalashnikova designs with minimal armor piercing capabilities, a simple flak jacket, basic winter clothing, and a booklet, teaching them the most effective way to engage the Null Sector.
Their Armored Regiments only consists of APCs, which will be the vanguard. It took only an hour to convince the conscripts that these are IFV variants by mounting a PKM or grenade launcher on it.
"No artillery support… No aerial support… No reinforcements…" he thought to himself.
His stomach cramping he doubled over to his trash can and heaved, but nothing came out as he had not eaten anything for days.
Then the door burst open.
"Captain! We need to leave now!"
Pretending to pick up a pen, Maksim sat back up and saw that the color has left the Lieutenant's face.
"What is wrong Lieutenant?"
"It's the Front! The Front is gone!"
"It is what? What happened to it?"
"It has fallen! We are ordered to go reinforce it now!"
*Gibraltar: Watchpoint*
"Morrison! Morrison!"
He groaned in his sleep, it was his first good sleep in months and it happens to be the first time he is interrupted during his sleep as well.
"This better be important" he called out.
"The Front is gone! The Null Sector is preparing to break out!" Winston shouted.
Without another thought, Morrison tore the door open and ran towards the War Room with Winston close behind.
"Athena! Show me!" he shouted.
The map of Russia is projected for him and satellite images shocked him to his core.
"Why aren't the Russians firing?"
"We do not know, but we need to do something fast" Winston said.
"Recall everyone. Now. And inform the United Nations, they need to know"
"Yes Jack" Athena said, sending out messages as she spoke.
With nothing else they could do, they watched helplessly as the Null Sector army marched out of Perm.
Like a moving farm, the Null Sector marched out in neat rows. Miles upon miles of battle ready Omnics fill No Man's Land, accompanied by some of the largest Titans ever fielded.
But what disturbed Morrison the most is that once they marched out, they stopped within the confines of the non-existent perimeter, as if waiting for something.