A few days ago, Peter Fonda had pasted away. I'll never forget the first time I saw him in a movie. It was Thomas and the Magic Railroad. I loved his character and the movie, its hard to imagine he's now with my Nana and Papa in heaven. He was a good man.
Glad so many people liked my latest chapter. While it took longer to write than I wanted, I am glad that I finished it. I can promise you that there will be more exciting chapters before the story comes to an end.
Onto reviews
1049: Aside from Team Metal, I have included Sergeant Foley, Cpl Dunn, Ramirez, Price, Ghost the guy from MW2, Soap, Roach, Jackson, Vasquez and Griggs. They haven't gotten in on the action with the Lone Wolf yet, but they will be when the time is right.
Mpowers045: I am afraid I don't know what you mean, but this chapter will be a good one.
Spartan-626: The references to Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue was the part where Dooku died. It was inspired by the Loki's destruction and Diabolico's vow to avenge his friend. As for the Transformers reference, that was in the opening for the beginning of the battle of Earth, the opening intro for Transformers Armada. I thank you for the help you gave me with the Deviant Art problem.
Cronus-Prime: I mentioned in the chapter, Bring the Rain Itami and several other gate characters, same as the ones that made their appearance in Wolverines and the last chapter. Now, as to the character you gave me, I am afraid I haven't played the Crysis games, really wishing I did, so I can't promise the personality of Prophet being included.
As for the pilot called Trigger, he is a clone pilot who has the same name as said lead character, kind of makes you wonder if the other characters from the Ace Combat games are guys or girls, except for the one that takes place in the real world. As an Ace Combat fan, what is your favorite Aircraft in the games? I have several.
Well, its time for battle. Disclaimers are the same as before, enjoy.
Chapter 34: Land Down Under Battle
June 12th 2020 19BBY
1800 hours
New York City, United States
Normal point of view
A normal person would have blown their top right about, seeing as their ultimate weapon was destroyed and their enemies were starting to fight his forces across numerous fronts across the globe. But Tarkin wasn't a normal person, the moment he heard that the 'New Republic' army had started their 'liberation' of Earth by taking back an insignificant target such as the island nation of Japan, he immediately took his frustration out on Ahsoka whom was nearing her predicted birth time and had his way with her despite the objections of Sandra Quinn.
He didn't care, in fact he took great pleasure in his assault on the Togruta teen. When he learned that the Lone Wolf himself was fighting on his home planet, he decided to torment him by constantly hurting the person he loved as a way to destroy his fighting spirit. He would have continued, had Sidious instructed him to cease his 'pleasure time' with the girl and focus on eliminating the elite group of soldiers known as 'Ghost Recon'. From intel sent to them from Vladimir Makarov, the ghosts had managed to make their way back into the United States and were moving towards an undisclosed location.
These soldiers were responsible for the destruction of the shield generator that protected the Death Star before it was destroyed by the New Republic and destroyed the nuclear bombs that were to be used to destroy several cities while making it look like an accident. Makarov was also furious that the SU-57's that his group stole were returned to his former homeland.
The Inner Circle leader was demanding that Sidious use his resources to find and destroy these men before they could cripple their plans. This was a mistake as Sidious quickly reminded Makarov of his place, much like he did with to Irman Zakhaev prior to his death in 2016 by nearly strangling him with the Force. Nevertheless, Sidious assured that the Ghosts would be destroyed and the New Republic would be driven back from Earth.
Meanwhile, thousands of miles away in the middle of the Arafura Sea, off the coast of Northern Australia, a JSDF Bell UH-1 Huey Helicopter streaked across the sea towards the coast of Australia. Accompanying them was over 12 New Republic Infantry gunships and 4 carrier gunships loaded with Owens, Cougar, Raptor and Puma mechs belonging to the Dragoons carrying Pathfinders of 1st battalion Bravo company and their equipment to Darwin, Northern Territory, the capital of Northern Australia, the starting point of the Adelaide-Darwin railway and the only coastal city not under enemy control.
Their Mission: link up with the Australian branch of the Wolverines, conduct reconnaissance on the coastal defense's the enemy had placed, destroy them before the invasion of the sovereign country in a few days and determine the number of vessels the Australian Navy had intact.
Flying escort for the gunships were several captured North Korean and Chinese SU-35's, MIG-31's F-18's and F-35s flown by the JSAF and several X-Wings of Strider Squadron from the Dragoons. In the Helicopter, Robert was looking at the map of the outback. By using the rail line, the Australian Wolverines were able to move troops and supplies to the other bases along the route under the pretense of giving relief aid to the people of the towns.
An Australian Army Lieutenant Noah Foster, was to be their point of contact when they landed and ally on this mission. His knowledge of the Australian outback would be helpful since the advance forces weren't coming in with any heavy-armor. As part of the mission, the Dragoons and Third Recon would be brining in weapons from the Lone Wolfs arsenal.
As the transports neared closer and closer to the coastal city, a transmission from an incoming squadron of RAAF F/A-18F Super Hornets and much to the surprise of everyone from Earth, a dozen F-111C fighter bombers. "They probably think we're the enemy." Karata said from inside Huey. "Can't say I blame them." he added.
"Then let's not get ourselves shot down," Robert stated and grabbed the radio. "Approaching aircraft, this is Commander Robert Lehner of the New Republic army, we are not here to fight. We are here to assist in retaking your homeland from the enemy invaders. Do not open fire on us." He stated.
The helicopter became very quiet until one of the F-18 pilots spoke. "Solid copy mate, we get that you aren't the enemy, but Darwin is under attack. Those LMB blokes have been launching artillery rounds on us for over an hour and we've been scrambled to intercept enemy aircraft. Command thought you lads were enemy units in disguise." The pilot spoke.
"Copy that. Come around and provide escort for us. Our fighters are running low on fuel and need to get back to the carriers." Robert responded.
"Roger that. Be advised, ground forces are engaged inside the city so landing at the base is out of the option. You'll have to land at the docks and make your way towards the frontlines." One of the F-111C pilots called out as the escort fighters turned around and made their way back to the Izumo aircraft carriers while the Australian fighters pulled a one-eighty turn and pointed their aircraft back into the direction of the coastal city.
"Nothing I'm used to. Advise Lieutenant Foster that Allied gunships will be arriving shortly and dropping off some light armor support, so make sure to check their fire." Robert added. As the gunships and helicopter came closer and closer to the city, they could see the smoke rising from the city as several long-range missiles were launched and exploded in the city limits.
"All gunship carriers, deploy the mechs and your troops at the docks and be ready to provide close air-support as needed. Watch your fire with those missiles. The LMB is also using the M1 Abrams that the Aussie's use, so be sure to check your targets before firing. I don't want any friendly fire incidents!" Robert instructed.
By the time the gunships and helicopters arrived at the docks, an Australian captain had shown the location where Lieutenant Foster was fighting at and radio chatter indicated that his unit was under heavy mortar fire. "ITAMI! Take your men and eliminate that Mortar team. Once eliminated, rendezvous with us at Fosters position. Bad Batch, you're with them. Raptor battalion, move your asses and eliminate those enemy tanks!" he shouted.
The mech pilots and third recon nodded and bolted for their assigned areas while Robert, Breach, Cassie, HK-47, Fives, Echo and Hevy headed off towards the battle ground.
In the center of the city, Noah fired the last few rounds from his HK 416 taking down an LMB grenadier before they could throw the grenade, they had primed. Ducking down to reload, he heard the explosion of the grenade, indicating it exploded and that it took out a few droids as the torso of one droid landed right behind him. "Stupid scraphead." He cursed, slinging his 416 over his shoulder and whipped out his 417 and fired. Unlike the normal 417, his battle rifle was heavily modified, featuring a forty-round magazine, ACOG scope and forward handgrip while his 416 was equipped with a fifty-round magazine, holographic sight and a GML grenade launcher.
Single shots of 7.62x51mm rounds knocked down several hostile soldiers before he turned his attention to several incoming jet-pack equipped droids who were equipped with what appeared to be grenade launchers flew down and fired their launchers, taking out one of the FN MAG squads with a single grenade. "FALLBACK!" he shouted, ordering the men he was in command of to move back into the city while he and a select few provided covering fire before following the others as mortar and rockets exploded around him. He was nearly back with his men, when an LMB scout attacked him and knocked his battle rifle out of his hands. Unsheathing his knife, he punched the scout in the face before stabbing the enemy in the chest, turning him around and using the dead body as a shield which took the shots from enemy weapons fire before he pulled the pin on one of the dead scouts grenades, kicked the body towards an incoming squad of battle droids and dived to the ground, shielding his head as the grenade exploded sending bits of flesh, blood and droid parts around before he picked up his battle rifle and ran to join his men.
Machine gun and grenade launcher rounds from several LMB M1200 APC's knocked out several APC's that were providing suppressing fire for some of the men that were still retreating from the city center. Without the APC's providing support, the men were mowed down by an incoming squadron of Vulture droids which landed and configured to walker mode.
Rolling up behind the brave defenders were half a dozen M1 Abrams which destroyed several of the fighters only to be quickly destroyed by several rockets from an incoming enemy black hawk. With their armor destroyed, the Australian forces soon found themselves under the rain of enemy mortar fire which was coming from three clicks to the west. They tried to eliminate the mortars, but the men they sent were all wiped out by several droids with electric sticks.
A mortar round exploded nearby and took out a crew with the Carl Gustaf Recoilless Rifle before they could take out an enemy M1 Abrams. "GOD DAMN BASTARDS! I'LL SHOW WHAT WE AUSSIES CAN DO!" Foster shouted fired his 417 at one of the enemy tanks. His rounds pinged off the tanks composite armor doing no damage when suddenly, the tank exploded.
"What?" Noah started, thinking that his shots must have hit an exposed part of some modification the LMB made. His thoughts were proven false when he turned back and saw several four-winged fighters with a cannon on each wing streak towards them. He was about to call in for air-support when the fighters opened fire on the enemy. More enemy tanks were destroyed the weapons from the fighters cannons which then pulled up and began to engage the enemy fighters. One of the fighters flew low enough for Foster to get a glimpse that the nose of the fighters sported the gapping maw of a great shark, much like the one given to the P40's used in World War 2.
In the cockpit of his fighter, Trigger pulled up and braving enemy ground fire targeted a hostile M270 rocket launcher vehicle and fired. A five second burst of cannon fire turned the vehicle into a fire ball before the clone pulled up and managed to get in front of a squadron of Trade Federation Droid Bombers. Unlike the Hyena bombers, the TF bomber was equipped with shields, cannons and a large bomb bay. These bombers however, didn't fire their cannons at trigger who managed to pull a vertical climb before he and his Wing-man, Strider 2 Count got behind the bombers and splashed them all before they turned their attention to several LMB AV-8B Harrier VTOL Fighter jets which were streaking towards Noah's position with their rocket pods primed and ready. "Jaeger, Skald, Lazna, we've got enemy VTOL's coming for a rocket strike. Take them down before they get in range." Trigger ordered.
"Copy that Strider 1." The other pilots responded and broke off to engage the Harrier's.
Back below, Noah, his men and the LMB watched as these newcomers were starting to make quick work of the PMC jets. None of them noticed that a droid sniper was about to take a pot shot at the Australian soldier, thankfully someone else did.
As the sniper pulled the trigger of its blaster, Cassie ran up to Noah and tackled him to the ground before she pulled out her fathers King Cobra and fired all six shots. While her revolver didn't have the range of a rifle, three of the six shots made there mark and took out the droid sniper. "Gotta keep your head in the game, boy." She said.
Noah looked up to see an armored woman in MK V Commando Spartan Armor from Halo with a HK XM8 attached to her armors back and a pair of Rocky Mountain Arms Patriot .223 Compact Pistols equipped with folding stocks attached to her waist her thighs had saved his life. Before he could ask what was going on, several soldiers in white and orange armor appeared from behind and managed to catch the enemy off guard with a barrage of blue weapons fire while another white soldier, armed with a customized Bushmaster ACR and a crimson colored droid with a MG5 quickly joined his savior before a green ball of plasma soared over head taking out an enemy gunship which spiraled out of control and crashed into a LMB APC. "PUSH THE BASTARDS BACK!" a new armored figure in armor sporting the signature scheme of Captain America shouted before he joined the Lieutenant, firing off rounds from his own Bullpup rifle which looked a lot like the one from Starship Troopers, only firing live rounds which were .308 Winchester.
"WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU!?" Noah demanded.
"I'm the Lone Wolf and we're going to help you take your home land back." The now identified Lone Wolf answered.
"Good on yeah, Mate. Let's treat these bastards to a bit of chook." Noah answered and loaded a round into his 416's grenade launcher and fired, taking out two incoming Destroyer droids before they could uncurl and deal some damage on the defenders.
"I have no idea what you just said, but let's give these bastards hell." The Lone Wolf replied as Third Recon, the Bad Batch and Domino Squad joined up with them.
(Start Die for You, Otherwise)
Noah watched as the Lone Wolf leapt over the car they were using for cover and ran towards a wounded soldier who was just about to be executed by an LMB soldier and sent the enemy soldier flying back into another soldier before grabbing the wounded solider and pulled him back to friendly lines.
"Excited Statement: Eat Lead Meat Bags." HK-47 said and fired off his machine gun before pulling out a plasma grenade, lobbing it towards an incoming squad of droids, which upon detonation left nothing but smoldering parts of scrap metal and burnt circuits. Loading up a fresh magazine in his machine gun, HK grabbed an LMB grenadier and used the enemy as a meat shield to soak up enemy bullets before he attached another plasma grenade to the back of the solider and kicked him towards a squad of droids which were vaporized from the grenades blast radius.
"Crazy tech." Noah said in awe as the LMB and droid forces began to falter and started to fall back just as the mech support arrived with Aussie M1 tanks while howitzers launched volleys of 155mm shells down on the enemy armor that remained behind in an attempt to cover the retreating enemies.
"They're falling back. LET'S GO LADS! CHARGE!" Noah's commanding officer shouted from a top one of the tanks. Noah glared at the commander, seeing as his request for help was ignored by the officer who told him to simply hold the line.
A lot of his comrades were dead because of this commander and he wanted to personally punch the commanders lights out. "Don't even think about it, LT. Forget about the guy for now, lets just push the clankers out of here." The Lone Wolf stated, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Got it lad." Noah responded and issued orders to his men. "First and Second Platoons, left flank. Third and Fourth platoons, flank right. The rest of us will go straight up the middle. Work with the lads in white and orange. Remember, we're Australian, we're impossible to kill." Foster shouted.
His men followed these orders, following the mechs that were leading the charge. Passing over the bodies of those that had fallen before the arrival of the Lone Wolf, Noah vowed to return and collect the dog tags of those who had fallen and personally deliver them to the families they left behind.
It took a bit of effort until finally; the Australian forces had pushed the LMB back to the edge of the city. Unfortunately, an armored train and three Protodeka's were waiting for them along with the surviving enemy armor. "Artillery, enemy weapons platforms directly ahead of us. Location four-seven-six-eight. Adjust aim, fire for effect over." A corporal shouted, throwing a smoke grenade ahead of the weapons platform.
The noise of dozens of 155mm shells roared around the city before they slammed into the enemy units. Numerous enemy vehicles were blown to bits, but the Protodeka's were still intact. "Bugger me. Those things must be invincible." Noah said, completely shocked that the flying tanks had not a scratch on them.
"Big, ugly and heavily armed, yes. Invincible no." his armored companion assured. "Strider Squadron. Protodeka's blocking are path. I am authorizing the use of the new Plasma Torpedo's. Targets are marked, be advised, allied units are in the vicinity so this will be a danger close mission. Take them down." The Lone Wolf said into his commlink.
"Roger that, Commander. Recommend you take cover." A voice said over the commlink.
"Solid Copy. EVERYONE TAKE COVER!" The Lone Wolf shouted. Ducking down behind the cover, Noah looked up as the shark mouthed fighters launched several advanced rockets towards the tanks while firing their cannons at the vehicles. The missiles struck their targets and the cannon fire blew the tanks to pieces. As for the armored train, its engine was badly damaged and couldn't move.
"We did it! We pushed them back." Noah said. He then looked to the armored warrior that called in the air strike while the other men and women cheered as medics came to tend to the wounded. "Lucky you came along when you did boy. We would have been dead if it weren't for you and your men." He added.
(End Song)
"Fighting against impossible odds is what I do and I just do what I can with what I got." The armored warrior said, removing his helmet revealing his face to the Australian Lieutenant. "Commander Robert Lehner, Wolfs Dragoons, New Republic Army better known as the Lone Wolf." Robert added, holding out his hand which Noah took and shook with gratitude.
"You know, that bloke Tarkin put a bounty on your head incase anyone came in contact with you. Just so you know, I have no intention on collecting it. So, where's the main force?" Noah asked. Robert just chuckled and the two of them started talking like they were old friends.
Noah's point of view
June 15th 2020
0900 hours
In the three days since these Wolf's Dragoons boys arrived to assist in taking back our homeland, I saw the amount of damage the separatists and those motherfucking traitors had caused. Whole towns were completely wrecked, dead bodies of both military and civilians laid on the side of the roads and tracks in a mass grave style. Almost like the way those mass graves from the Bosnian War in the nineties. Shit like that makes me sick to my stomach, especially since a lot of the dead were only children in their teens. Kids shouldn't have to die, especially like that. Unlike the United States, we do everything we can to stop the amount of mass shootings in our country while those fuckers in the political parties in the U.S. senate just ended up arguing with each other trying to do who the hell knows what.
Still, there were survivors from the towns though most of them were children. While it was sad to see what happened to their families and it was going to be hard for them to live without their parents. To think, a lot of helicopters pilots saw these acts of murder occur and yet were ordered to do nothing or even sent any help to the people.
Our commander, the same guy who told us to hold the line despite the pleas I sent to him about needing backup when the seppies and LMB attacked the city was actually working with the LMB. Turns out, the guy was promised a lot of money from the LMB commander, one Lieutenant Colonel Charles Bliss, the leader of these PMC fuckers that have been messing up my country.
He is just one of three PMC leaders working with the Separatists. Colonel Anton Ridgeway, of the True Sons and Bardon Schaeffer leader of Black Tusk had been working with these bastards since who the fuck knows when and were given access to such advanced weapons which made them more deadly then they were before.
Then there's the Inner Circle. Remnants of a group called the Ultranationalists, a former Russian political party whose goal was to return their country back to the days of Soviet Union. They were once led by Imran Zakhaev, a man so determined to bring the old Soviet Union back from the dead he was willing to sell radioactive fuel rods from the old Chernobyl nuclear power plant and uranium to terrorist groups all across the world.
He was killed in 2011 during a joint SAS, Spetsnaz and the infamous Ghosts in Russia, but not before his protégé, Vladimir Makarov detonated a Nuclear Bomb in Basra Iraq after leading 30,000 men and women of the United States, United Kingdom, French, German and Russian militaries on a wild goose chase through Saudi Arabia after killing the countries leader.
Since that day, Makarov has been the most wanted terrorist across the entire world. I don't think anyone thought they would be working with invaders from the stars. Still, at least we got back up from some guys better than the separatists.
Since they've been helping us, we were able to push the separatists and LMB further into the outback and nearly reclaimed all of Australia. The bad news is that most of our fleet was in Sydney, in South Wales. All of the Aircraft Carriers we spent the last few years building were now in the hands of the enemy and no doubt being loaded with those droid fighters.
Still there was some good news. One of scout teams reported that the enemy had set up a massive communications outpost by Ayers Rock and was the warning system for any enemy attack on the South Wales capital. Take that out, and the enemy would be blind to our liberation. Not to mention, the armored train we captured and repaired would allow us to sneak in and catch the enemy off guard, if they didn't get wind of us capturing the train.
Right now, Robert and I were on top of Ayers Rock and were looking down on the communications outpost. From what I could see through my binoculars, it looked as if the enemy was more then prepared for an attack. Barbed Wire, turrets, searchlights, couple of APCs' and one enemy tank. They must have thought us Aussies to be inbred people who would be stupid enough to launch a full-scale attack and ignore the outpost. Boy, did those buggers really underestimate us.
"What do you think Lieutenant, there any way for us to sneak inside and not get spotted?" the kid asked me.
"Doesn't look like it. No way we can sneak in. Not unless you have some kind of stealth tech in that armor of yours?" I asked back.
"Yeah, but I don't think it will work. See those turrets down there, they can track a target once its in range. Even if I am invisible, the turrets will detect my movement. Sure, the armor can take a pounding, but once the shields are down, its game over." He said back.
He had a point. I have played Halo and other games that give the main character a shield. Once the shields are down, it makes the player a quick kill for the enemy. Looking through the scope of my 416 and it looked like they had some kind of dispenser device down below. Those things can sure spit out those metal-heads like there is no tomorrow. Weapons like the M72 can take those damn things out with one shot, but the two of us weren't packing a rocket launcher.
I then had an idea. "Give me your armor." I said.
"Excuse me?" he asked in confusion.
"You're a high-value target to the enemy and a lot of these guys are opportunists. They'll kill for a chance to get the bounty on your head. You go up to the main gate with those laser swords of yours and draw their attention, maybe take out the turrets." I explained.
"First off, there called Lightsabers. Second, while I do that, what are you going to do with my armor?" Robert asked and corrected me.
"Simple. When you take out the turrets, I'll sneak in using your armors stealth systems and cut off the transmissions. They will no doubt send in a repair team to fix the outpost. We leave a couple of platoons here to guard the place while the rest of us take Sydney back." I explained.
"I see, the old divide and conquer technique. That explains the suppressor on your MP5 and USP. Well then, I guess I better get ready for my role." He said. He deactivated his armor and dropped his sidearms and rifle. This was only a recon mission so he left his launcher/rifle weapon back at base camp. I was surprised to see that he was wearing a bodysuit with pieces of armor protecting his chest, wrists and knees.
I took the armor and was surprised to see it adjust itself to my body before placing the helmet on and attaching my rifle to the back of the armor. "Magnetics, cool." I stated before I followed the kid down side of the rock. I climbed this thing a lot so it was easy to get down without falling. Comes as no surprise since my home is the town of Alice Springs which is two-hundred and eight miles to the southwest of the rock. That was one of our other objectives, since the town's airport was being used by the enemy and had a lot of our captured F/A-18s and a lot of LMB A-10s. We were going to need those fighters if we were going to retake the capital of New South Wales, seeing as a large amount of enemy armor and anti-air was placed in the city.
Aside from the aircraft at my home towns airport, Port Augusta also held our Collins-class submarines. Launching the planned liberation of the United States was going to need every edge we could get. It was going to be a big challenge and I was going to be a part of it.
Once we got close to the outpost, I waited and watched as the kid ran a bit of a distance from the outpost before he turned around and walked slowly towards the outpost. I almost thought he was going to let himself get killed when the turrets started to track his movements and several droids ran towards him with their weapons primed and ready.
I was proven wrong when he ignited one of his sabers and threw it towards the turrets, slicing them and the droids in half just as the LMB began to run towards him with their own or droid weapons in hand. "Ballsy." I said to myself and crept slowly forwards once I activated the stealth system.
As I made my into the outpost, I couldn't help but look back as the kid deflected blaster bolts back at the enemy units while he sliced apart any units that got close to him. Those sabers of his were pretty powerful, cutting apart droids and their weapons.
I returned to my mission and continued towards the communications relay. While most of the guards guarding the place were trying to deal with the kid, a few of them were still inside guarding the place. Anyone I encountered; I took them out with a quick burst from my MP5 right to the head. Wearing this thing with the stealth systems activated, felt like I was using the latest Skell Tech technology. Then again, where these Jedi came from it must be pretty rare to find.
Another burst from my sub-gun took down a third LMB soldier before I threw my knife at the last one eliminating the last guard in the base. I spotted the communications relay and began to fuck the thing up. By the time I finished ripping out wires and firing a couple of magazines into the terminal, the sounds of weapons fire ceased. I ran back out and found that nearly all the LMB forces were dead while the droids were all dismantled. The remaining LMB soldiers had surrendered and were being watched by several 501st troopers who had just arrived.
I looked and saw the kid picking up his weapons while he talked with one of the clone troopers as they are called. "Lets get going." He said and boarded one of the gunships. I followed suit and in a matter of seconds we were already high above Alice Springs. Sadly, a surface-to-air missile slammed into our gunship and we were spiraling out of control heading directly towards the airport.
"Better hold onto to you lunch. This is going to be a rough landing." The kid told me having already changed back into some normal armor. Kid looked like one of those Ghosts, only with out the high-tech gear and stuff.
The gunship skidded across the tarmac before coming to stop directly in the path of an enemy A-10 that was taxing onto the runway. From what I could hear, there must be about twenty or twenty-five soldiers surrounding the gunship, checking for survivors. They were in for a nasty surprise.
Using his powers, the kid sent the door flying knocking back a few soldiers and the two of us charged in guns blazing before taking cover a wrecked doctor's plane. Peaking out of cover, I fired off a few rounds from my 416 taking down two LMB riflemen before I tossed one of my grenades towards several charging LMB scouts. Even with our cover, the enemy was starting to launch mortar rounds towards our location. "MOVE!" I shouted and bolted out of cover with the kid behind me just as a mortar round was dropped on our former location.
"I've got eyes on a mortar team on the right flank. Foster, take it out. I'll keep them occupied." Robert said, popping out of cover and fired a long burst of rifle fire taking down five LMB soldiers in seconds. With the enemy occupied, I made my way towards the mortars and quickly got the drop on them.
Rather than head back to the kid, I decided to grab a few mortar shells and ran back to the kid, before lobbing a few grenades towards the mortars taking them out of commission. By the time I reached the kids location, he had changed cover and was hunkered down behind an LMB Humvee. "Nice work." He complimented as I handed him a few mortar shells. Almost immediately, he knew what I was getting at and threw a few of the mortar shells towards the enemy soldiers which exploded taking out a few of them. Robert followed suit and tossed some of the shells he had towards the enemy.
He was about to toss a another one when he began to feel some kind of pain coursing through his body. "What the hell is wrong with you?" I asked, picking up the fallen mortar shell and tossed it. "LEAVE HER ALONE YOU BASTARD!" the kid shouted and tossed four shells towards the enemy before he vaulted over the vehicle and began to go berserk on the enemy. Charging forwards and bashing into the enemy soldiers, the kid went on a rampage before the enemy began to retreat only to be cut off by the other forces that managed to make it the back up units arrived and closed off any avenue of retreat.
The kid almost executed one of the surrendering LMB soldiers, but quickly stopped himself before he dropped his weapon. "That bastard. No one hurts the girl I love." He snarled and looked towards one of the surrendering LMB soldiers and walked up to him. "Where. Is. Tarkin?" he demanded.
Normal point of view
June 17th 2020
0520 hours
As the sun began to rise over the Sydney Opera House, an NR Class diesel locomotive rolled along the line passing LMB soldiers and separatist droids stationed along the main road to the city. Inside the trains cars, Australian, JSDF, 501st and 639th soldiers waited as the train moved along the tracks towards its destination.
"Lehner to Strike squadron. We are nearing the target location. Have all aircraft launch and get the ground forces moving out now. Be advised, enemy ground units are along the road so take them down." Robert said into his commlink from the first car of the captured armored train.
"Copy that Commander, we'll take out the targets. Thunderbolts are on station and ready for takeoff." Treadshot replied from the other side of the commlink.
"Solid copy Treadshot, see you on the other side, out." Robert answered before shutting off his commlink. He then looked back to Noah who was in the process of making the final modifications to his Benelli Super 90.
"Italians really know how to make a shotgun." The Australian Lieutenant stated, sliding a red dot sight onto his shotgun. "They also know a lot about making a good pizza." Robert added, looking out the window of the car, double checking to see that their air cover was still with them.
Flying above them were dozens of F/A-18A Hornets. Built by the McDonnell Douglas/Boeing Company in the United States, the F/A-18A is a twin-engine, supersonic, multirole, carrier capable, single seat aircraft. Like many aircraft before it, the Hornet featured folding wings making it easier to store in hangers and aircraft carriers.
Its top speed is Mach 1.8, not as fast as the SU-35 or J-7 but the aircraft carried more ammo for its 20mm nose mounted cannon compared to the other two. The fighter was also armed with nine hardpoints which could carry any combination of air-to-air or air-to-ground missiles, rockets or bombs. However, these aircraft having been owned by Australians were heavily modified from before and after the initial invasion of earth.
Using the design of Pratt & Whitney TF30-P100 turbofan engines used by the F-111C Aardvark fighter-bomber, the Hornets of the Australian Airforce could now travel up to speeds of Mach 2.5, several times faster than the original Hornet. These hornets were also able to carry more ammo for their 20mm nose cannons. Now, these aircraft were faster and more maneuverable. In fact, during the initial invasion, one of Noah's friends flew one of these modified fighters and scored a total of twenty kills with both its cannon and missiles in a single day.
Half of the squadron had their hornets equipped the MK 20 Rockeye II cluster bombs, Hydra 70 rocket pods or the AGM-65 Maverick air-to-ground missile. The rest were armed with the standard AIM-9 Sidewinders, AIM-120 AMRAAM, AIM-132 ASRAAM or AIM-7 Sparrow missiles for air-to-air combat. All of them had over two-thousand rounds for their 20mm nose mounted cannons for ground attacks or dogfighting.
Each of the aircraft bore the marking of the LMB and sent the clearance codes to the LMB air-traffic control, making it seem that these aircraft were part of the PMC company. Five miles from the city, they made contact with an LMB KC-X aerial refueling tanker and refilled their tanks, having completely fooling the enemy and continued to provide top cover for the armored train in case they were discovered.
They couldn't bring in armor of any kind for not only would it alert the enemy to the impending attack, but it would also put them in the firing distance of several Banking Clan artillery cannons located in several locations through out the city. These cannons had the range and firepower to take out a single tank column with a single shot. Even at top speed, the guns had deadly accuracy and were modified from the original design, increasing the cannons rate of fire before it had to charge up for its next shot.
Fortunately, the armored train was also carrying the ARC Troopers of the Muunilinst 10 led by Captain Fordo who encountered this type of artillery during the Battle of Muunilinst early in the war. A test combat veteran, Fordo was more than willing to take the fight to the enemy, especially since that enemy planned to have the Captain betray the Jedi, who he trusted throughout the course of the war.
As the train continued along the tracks, Robert took the opportunity to explain the plan again to the men and women onboard this train. Once they entered the station that was closest to the Sydney Opera House, Third Recon along with Alpha, Bravo and Charlie companies and the Bad Batch were to make their way towards the enemy motor pool, commander a couple of enemy tanks and harass the enemy armor. The Australian Special Operations Command, 1st Commando Regiment, Delta Squad along with the Lone Wolf, Breach, Barney Ross, Kasumi, Lee, Rally, Noah and Honoka were to head to the Opera house where the enemy commander had setup their base of operations and capture the commander on charges of war crimes. As for the Muunilinst 10, they were to go with the Rancor Battalion and eliminate the enemy artillery before the main force arrived in a few short hours.
Once the objectives were completed all groups were to rendezvous at the Opera House and hold it until the back up arrived. The radio Foster carried cracked and the engineer operating the locomotive confirmed that they were approaching the station. "All troops, prepare your weapons and prepare for battle. Its time we kick some ass." Robert said into his own radio.
As the train came to a slow stop, several soldiers in each car stacked up on the doors of the right side upon seeing the LMB soldiers waiting outside the train. Once the doors were opened, two enemy combatants entered the cars only to be silenced by a knife to the neck before a series of flashbangs were tossed out of the car's windows, which upon detonation blinded the PMC soldiers before they quickly cut down by a barrage of blaster and gun fire.
"Clear!" one of the clone troopers shouted after checking one of the dead bodies for a pulse. All of the soldiers exited the train just as the friendly F/A-18s began their own operations to soften up as much of the enemy armor and air power as possible.
"All right. You know your objectives. Split up and take out your objectives then meet at the opera house. Maintain constant communication and inform us the moment you encounter heavy resistance." Robert instructed. The others nodded and proceeded to their objectives, sticking to the alleyways and side streets so to avoid any unnecessary fighting and waste ammo.
"You ready for this Foster?" Robert asked, checking the handgun Ahsoka gave him for any problems.
"Honestly, I'm a little nervous. If these seppies have any of those defoliators you mentioned, we could lose a lot of soldiers really quick." The Lt said, looking back as Third Recon, Alpha, Bravo and Charlie companies of the JSDFSF headed for the motor pool while the ARC Troopers of the Muunilist 10 and Rancor Battalion headed for the guns.
"A soldier always knows the risks when it comes to a mission. If we're going to free up the rest of the fleet, I need you at the top of your game. We'll get through this." Robert assured the Australian Lieutenant, who grinned at the thought of kicking the enemy out of the great city.
"Well then, allow me to lead. I know the quickest way to the Opera House." Noah replied. Robert agreed and ordered the others to follow Noah.
One hundred miles from the city, several troop trains being pulled by the four surviving C38 steam locomotives and two surviving South Australian Railways 520 Class steam locomotives sped along the tracks towards the coastal city at top speed carrying troops, weapons, food and medical equipment. Flying over head and providing escort were the A-10 Thunderbolt II's captured several days ago from Alice Springs.
Due to the distance from Sydney, the Thunderbolts were launched from the Arc-Angel, Defender 2 and Retribution with Strider Squadron flying alongside them.
Down below on one of the trains, Cassie spun the cylinder of her Colt Anaconda before holstering it and loaded a magazine into her U-100 MK5 as Rex walked up to her and gave her a quick kiss before placing on his helmet. "We'll get through this babe. We always do." the 501st captain assured his wife who nodded and added sixty-round magazine in place of the standard thirty-round magazine.
Up above, flying alongside Strider Squadron, Anakin along with Shadow Squad, Gold Squadron and Red Squadron spotted a squadron of enemy armor positioning themselves on the tracks as a makeshift barrier in order to either force the trains to stop or derail them once they hit the vehicles. Seeing this, Anakin dived down on the vehicles and strafed them, causing them to scatter as the trains sped past them, leaving them to be captured by the armor that was following the trains.
Once the trains and fighters got close to the city, enemy fighters started to pour out from the cities skyline while enemy armor began to target the trains. "Give those trains some close Air-support! They won't last long." Anakin called to the Thunderbolt pilots who pitched their fighters into a dive and armed their 30mm cannons. Pulling the trigger of their fighter, the lead Thunderbolt strafed several AAT's before pulling up and banking hard right to position his aircraft for a rocket attack.
A stream of 70mm rockets slammed into the LMB Abrams and Humvees before allied VTOL's swooped past the Thunderbolts followed by Mech Carriers which dropped off their mechs before returning to the ships they came from.
"That is one impressive Aircraft." Anakin chucked to himself. R2 beeped with a slight annoyance. "No, that doesn't mean I am going to replace you buddy, we're in this to the end." Anakin assured his friend, watching as Shin flew one of the captured Chinese F-5 Tiger's captured from the liberation of Japan, which the Chinese captured when they took Taiwan in the early stages of the war shot down a TIE fighter with one of its missiles.
Back in the city, Itami and his men had just reached a motor pool containing several captured Type 74, Type 90 and Type 10 tanks which were taken by Black Tusk Commandos who infiltrated one of the Japanese bases prior to the arrival of the New Republic. A few of his men were qualified to operate tanks and they were going to need the extra firepower if they were going to liberate the Capital of New South Wales.
"1st squad, take the left flank. 2nd squad, right flank. The rest of you flank up the middle. Kuribayashi, Kurokawa, Tomita, Kurata, Hitoshi, we'll get to the third floor of that office building and set up an overwatch position. Once we're in position, we'll take out the soldiers guarding the tanks and take back what belongs to us. We need that firepower." Itami ordered quietly to his men. They nodded and made their way towards the given locations while Kuribayashi quietly picked the lock to the office building and made their way to the third floor.
Once they were in position, Tomita set up the bipod for his Sumitomo Minimi machine gun while the others positioned themselves by the broken windows with their rifles switched to semi-automatic. Peaking over the window, Itami saw a flash of light from other squads indicating they were ready for their pincer attack. Counting down in his head, Itami took a deep breath before popping out of cover and shouting "OPEN FIRE!" to his forces who also opened up their own weapons, catching the enemy soldiers off guard who were slow to counter.
Numerous LMB soldiers were cut down by 7.62 and 5.56mm weapons fire from below and above while several grenades were thrown to several enemy soldiers who were pinned down by Tomita's machine gun fire. The grenades detonated, killing the soldiers and clearing the area. Or so they thought, just as the tank operators were about to board the tanks, one of them was killed by a blaster bolt from a group of incoming Super Battle Droids. Itami was about to call for suppressing fire, but the droids soon came face to face with the Bad Batch who had broken off from the others a few blocks earlier when Hunter felt the need to counter any incoming reinforcements.
Firing his custom .50 caliber machine gun, Wrecker laid down suppressing fire giving the JSDFSF soldiers the time they needed to activate the tanks before they rolled out to engage the enemy armor while Itami and the others headed for the Opera house.
As this was going on, Fordo, Blitz, Havoc and their troopers were attacking the last artillery cannon located in the city center. This one was more protected than the last ones as both droids and LMB soldiers had set up a series of turrets in key positions with only a few AAT's and enemy M1's protect it.
"47, Longarm, where's that sniper and anti-armor support? We can't hold out much longer!" Havoc called over the commlink, tossing a thermal detonator towards several LMB gunners who were too slow to move before the grenade exploded.
As if by coincidence, just after the grenade exploded, a series of rockets slammed into the enemy armor while a barrage of sniper fire took out any remaining stragglers. Holstering his pistols and looking up to the location of the shots, Fordo motioned for his men to begin placing the last of their demo charges on the gun. Once all the charges were placed, the ARC Troopers pulled back to a safe distance before Fordo detonated the charges, destroying the gun. "Let's move it to the Opera House!" The ARC Captain shouted just as Third Recon and the Bad Batch arrived in several commandeered LMB troop trucks.
At the Opera House, things could be better. Noah, Robert and the others were able to capture the LMB commander easily, but the commander had sent a distress call to the forces guarding the docks who were heading towards their location with both infantry and light armor.
They had beaten back the first wave of attackers, but half of Delta squad was killed in the attack and Honoka was knocked out after a rocket exploded close to her location as she was reloading her Ruger MP9s. By the time she came too, the second wave of attackers had already arrived, bringing in several GAT tanks had arrived and were starting to try and destroy the Opera House.
Luckily, a F/A-18 took out the tanks with its AGM-65's and strafed a few of the LMB Humvee's with its 20mm cannon as was about to come around for another pass, but was shot down by a TIE Interceptor. The aircraft skidded along the street, causing several troops to scatter out of the way to avoid being crushed by the flaming wreckage.
Despite the armor and a few light vehicles being destroyed, the enemy forces were still pushing their way into the opera house. Taking cover on the second floor, Noah waited for the right moment before popping out of cover and fired his 416s grenade launcher, taking out half a dozen droids. "You want the steak; you'll get the snags and chooks to go with it. COME AND GET IT YOU METAL BASTARDS!" he roared, firing his rifle at the remaining droids while Rally covered him.
The droids redirected their fire and were quickly able to take out the last of Delta Squad leaving only Robert, Noah, his friends and family left to hold the position. "FALLBACK INTO TO THE STAGE! ARM THOSE CLAYMORES!" Robert shouted to the others, laying down some covering fire as the others retreated deeper into the Opera house.
Having planned for such an event, several M18A1 Claymore anti-personal mines were placed by the rows of the seats incase the enemy breached the first and second fallback points. They even rigged them for remote detonation.
Vaulting over the LMB crates they had set up on the stage, the good guys checked their remaining ammo supply as Robert arrived with a lot of hostiles on his tail. Charging forwards and not even thinking there was a trap laid for them, the droids and LMB forces ran towards the stage not knowing Noah was about to get some much-needed payback for his men. Pressing the detonator, the Claymores detonated taking out dozens of hostile soldiers just as more and more enemy soldiers arrived.
Things then took a turn for the worse when several LMB soldiers with riot shields arrived, taking the brunt of enemy fire as they got closer and closer to the stage. "HOLD WHAT YOU GOT!" Robert shouted, grabbing one of the busted seats with the force and sent it flying into one of the LMB gunners.
"ONE DOWN!" he shouted before a series of grenades exploded close to the stage, destroying the crates they were using as cover and wounding Noah in the leg. "GOD FUCKING DAMN IT! THAT FUCKING HURTS!" the Australian Lieutenant cursed, trying to pull himself back towards another crate as weapons fire rained around him. Thankfully, Barney was able to pull the Lieutenant back behind cover, allowing him to patch up the leg as best as he could, stopping the bleeding.
Still able to fight, Noah popped out of cover firing his shotgun and taking out a few enemy scouts before he emptied his weapons magazine. When the last round fired, numerous enemy units were gunned down from behind by the distinctive gun fire of a .50 Cal machine gun. "YO JOE!" Wrecker shouted from the second floor firing down on the enemy forces as Itami and the others arrived and quickly turned the tide of battle.
Having lost the momentum, the third wave of enemy soldiers was about to retreat when Cassie, Rex, Torrent Company, Treadshot and the rest of the Dragoons cut off their escape route. With no other choice, the surviving LMB soldiers threw down their weapons and surrendered.
As the prisoners were escorted away, Robert was sending a message to Charles Bliss. "This is a message to Charles Bliss, Leader of the Last Man Battalion and the rest of your allies. We've proven we can beat you mother fuckers so you better watch out. Surrender and you will be given a fair trial. But advise Makarov that when we find him, he will be executed as a terrorist. And if you're watching this Tarkin, Sidious. I'm coming for you bastards. You drew first blood when you attacked my home, not me. You push back and attack we'll give you a war you can never win." He stated, ending the transmission before he looked out to the Australian fleet that was preparing for their first naval action.
"If you can sense me Ahsoka, I'm on my way, just hold out a little longer. I will save you." He said quietly before Treadshot came over to him and showed him a progress report of several other battlefields.
Australia, Liberated. Same goes for New Zealand. Next up, lets see how well the Russians are handling the enemy with the help from the 104th, or would you like to see Master Kota help out the Chile Military? Its your call, so leave your thoughts in your reviews.
This chapter goes out to Cronus Prime, one of the many supporters I have had since 2017 when I started this story. The character, Noah Foster was given to me by him and I wanted to say thanks to all your support for this story and I am glad I could inspire you to try your own Star Wars Stories. I am reading a few of them and they are good.
Oh, and I really recommend you all check out Star Wars: The Shadow Wars by SWEULover2007. It's a multi-crossover story featuring the Star Wars Legends Universe with a bit of the Disney Star Wars series, RWBY, Lord of the Rings and several other series that have yet to introduced, like Transformers Armada. It's a joint story with several other authors and they are good reads and Tarkin is about to die in the current story.
Anyways, please read and review and I will see you all next time.