Chapter 6: A New Enemy
Somewhere near the borders of Kashkur
9 months after the Locust War
Keller glanced at the destroyed bridge from the open hatch command Half track. He was assigned to the 455th Iron Cross Platoon along with the joint 14th armored divisions in advancing into the heart of Kashkur. However the advance was halted due to unchartered territory of Kashkur and unfamiliar regions. His task was to mark territories for Forward Operation Bases , listening outposts and Supply drops from the luffwaffe.
Keller also heard that the Luffwaffe with be deploying paratroopers into the region from air. But he didn't like the idea of working along with the 'stranded' who held a grudge against the COG for leaving them to the hammer strikes. Thankfully, he , Engal and the entire German army hated the stranded for a very good reason.
" Sir we have a problem." said a soldier beside Keller who was glazed at the river and the ridge.
With a hint of annoyance, Keller got off the Half track and marching towards a squad of soldiers but Keller recognized them as Waffen SS.
The squad saluted Keller as the squad leader reported his findings. "The bridge across the river has been blown up by unexpected Resistance. Engineer corps will on their way in 2 days. Should we delay the advance?" reported the squad leader.
Keller growled with irritation clearly German high command gave him strict orders to advance into Kashkur.
" No , we will step up camp here in this spot , I want the regiment to be divide ; half of them will be making camp and the rest form into scouting teams." Answered Keller with a hint of annoyance masking his tone. "Then I will deal with high command myself. Someone get a mobile bridge across the dam river."
"Peaceful isn't ? Without the on slaughter of war right." Said Keller to himself as he glazed at the fields in the ridge spared by the locust war.
Meanwhile back at Ephyria, General Deathshead along with Lieutenant Sofia watch from the balcony of the House of Commons overseeing massive formations of infantry , armor , war machines and artillery massing across the new constructed city with propaganda echoing. How Sofia defected to the Third Reich was a mystery.
Hundreds of planes , bombers and transports flying over the city as a flag of the Reich flew freely along with zeppelins and large airships
" What the hell are we looking at ? "asked Pad lowering the scope of his rifle. Masses of Vehicles in grey and size joined by hundreds of infantry dressed in grey uniforms and other equipment the COG never seen
" I reckon it is a big ass army of people but it weird to see them popping up in mid air." Said Dizzy with a hint of concern. "They got tanks and big ass artillery."
" That's a army out there." Said Pad " We better tell Hoffman about this. I am not taking any chance of sniping a thousand of them. "
" Let get the hell out of here." Said Dizzy to Pad then they paused to hear the sounds of aircraft echoing in the skies. Cargo planes with German markings flew across the valley dropping hundreds of paratroopers from high attitude as the soldiers massing in a group.
"You seen anything like this." Asked Dizzy "But they are human alright but never seen this firepower and those airplanes before. Hell this is bad."
" But who the hell are they ?" said Pad as he look deeper into scope and Dizzy adjust the binoculars and starching his beard. Suddenly Pad and Dizzy both heard click of guns behind him , the two gears turned to see a dozen Waffen SS Elite troopers dressed in camo fatigues , black armor vests and armed with assault rifles and numerous paratroopers beside them.
" Well what do we have here ?" chucked an Waffen SS officer with the assault rifle. " First catch of the day boys."
" Shit." cursed Pad in his tone as he dropping his rifle as he raised his hands up slowly and Dizzy repeat the same action.
" Who the hell are you people." asked Dizzy looking confused at the mysterious soldiers.
The officer grinned " COG allow us to intro ourselves , we are the 15th infantry Regiment of the Third Army from the Third Reich. We are the Germans. "
" Third Reich ? Who are you guys?" said the puzzled gear in confusion causing the soldiers to laugh out loud. "Oh you better be joking COG." sneered the officer "This is only the beginning of our new world and your world is ready to die. Sera will rise under the might of the German Empire."
" Uh you are forgetting one thing German." spattered out Pad " The whole dam planet is a no man zone and I mean the world already ruined."
The German officer grinned wider " We see about this. We will see. Take them away to the Forward Operation Base for interrogation."
Somewhere in the ridge , a mysterious man drove on a motorcycle with a woman behind him, the pair stopped and glanced at the landscape. " How much further William ? "
" Few more miles I reckon Anya." Said the man as he and his lover continued their journey across the barren landscape.
Meanwhile , Marcus and what is left of Delta squad were on the road paying a visit to the town of Mercy and little do the battle harden gears know there was a new enemy lose on Sera but an tyrannized enemy that will start the birth of a new war with an iron fist.
The packwagon rolled to the stop when the vehicle exited out of the tunnel to the explosion site , the squad remember their friend Dom gave his life to save the entire squad from the horde of lambent and locust.
Bodies of Locust and lambent decaying around the burnt site of the gas station , some of the buildings were burned from the blast and stalks remained decay and rot. The rest of the sites was reduce to debris and rumble but the town is wary form war
The packwagon stop 10 inches away from the destruction of the gas station as the gears slowly debark from the transport. The present members in Delta Squad were Jace ,Sam , Anya , Dizzy, Baird and Cole.
Marcus stepped out of the vehicle as he came face to face to where Dom gave his own life. He sighed and was ready to get this over with. He and the rest of Delta Squad mourned Dom for long , they been paying visits to Mercy every month and now they are paying their respects to the old friend and comrade once and for all.
" You sure you want to do this Marcus." Asked Anya as she came to his side with a concern look.
" Don't look at me and two I know that answer Anya." Said Marcus "We are all here together for Dom and that all that matters if we're still going to be there for him. We won the war for him."
" Alright we are still there." Said Anya.
" Let go people before this place depressed the hell out of me." said Marcus signaling the group to move forward through the wreckage and rumble of the former battlefield / grave of Dom Santiago. The group wandered through the narrow alleys of the abandon town as they attempted to find the graveyard, They walked through a passage way of the another alleyway of sheds , pipe lines and laundry hanging overhead.
A soldier in waffen SS cameo uniform , black armor covered his torso and armed with an assault rifle came around the corner with a cigarette in his mouth but didn't notice the gears in the alley who stopped in surprised.
His lighter was in his right hand and his rife behind his back , the soldier cursed as he attempted to light up his cigarette. The soldier turned around to see Marcus with the lancer aiming at his forehead. In shock , the soldier dropped his lighter and cigarette from his mouth with horror then froze ,but at the same time Marcus threw a swift punch against the man , knocking him out cold. The rest of the gears moved up to the alley with weapons at the ready. Marcus just stood there with an uncertain frown on his face with the look of 'what the hell?'.
"What the hell was he doing here?"asked Sam glazing at the unconscious soldier as she pick up the assault rifle before stripping the soldier of equipment. Sam took the stick grenade and a radio along with a cigarette box.
"He looks organized and heck he military." Said Jace."They came out of nowhere."
"I don't know Sam but Jace I got a feeling they aren't around here." Said Marcus "Let go before they find their buddy."
"How did he dress like this and he come ?" asked Anya at the sight of the soldier."I got a feeling they aren't stranded or UIR."
"Only one way to find out because whoever those guys just overstayed their welcome here." said Marcus with annoyance in his tone before moving up. The squad paused to hear the sounds of airplane engines the gears look up to see a squad of jets flying in midair but suddenly caught off when two soldiers noticed them in the another corner alley while they were both smoking
"Contract! ALARM!" roared a soldier who fired his assault rifle at Marcus who quickly ducked. Behind a corner , Marcus fired his rifle back. The soldiers shouted out language Marcus didn't understand. The pair of soldiers took cover behind the shed.
"Shit !" cursed Marcus ducking as the bullets flying and he glazed at his friends who were so luckily to find cover behind. "What the hell did we walk into ?" shouted Marcus.
"I don't know. I mean we don't know." Shouted Jace.
"We are pinned !" cried Anya next to Marcus.
Meanwhile near the middle of the town , a dozen squads of Nazi soldiers escorting a pair of bulldozers as they tore building after building to clear path for the invasion force . A Nazi officer watch as a bulldozer torn down a brick wall and a small building while the next bulldozer rampage it's way through the town complex . Then gunfire was heard in a distance and the officer barked an order at a squad in a halftrack to attack the source of the gunfire. German soldiers debarked from their halftracks and rushed into the town.
Cole ducked behind a well and fired 8mm rounds at the nearest German squad rushing down the stairs ; rounds penetrated body armor and spilling out blood. Three Germans collapsed to the ground.
"Move up." Shouted Marcus as he lead the way as they reach into the center of the Courtyard. An armored soldier with heavy shoulder plates and body armor covered with plating shouting orders and then he saw the Gears rushing behind the sandbags and barriers of stone stretch out in the courtyard. A courtyard was a size of two trashball fields covered with pattern of fountains, brick fences , stairs connecting to all fronts and torn statues. Three squads of waffen ss infantry were waiting for them as the gears went on the defensive and took cover behind the marble barriers.
" Ok this is new , I thought we are dealing with stranded assholes again." shouted Baird to Marcus. "I don't know whoever these pricks are." Marcus snapped back." They are armored to the teeth and they punch serious firepower but hell I don't know what the hell they are speaking." As gunfire rained intensive from the barrage of Nazis assault soldiers who took defensive positions in the end of the courtyard.
"Boy they are bitch ass serious about overstaying." Added Cole" But this is Dom's house, lets make them pay."
"Shit they got a machine gun." Shouted Sam as she watch as a pair of Waffen SS infantrymen deployed their infamous MG 42 on a second floor of a Traven. " Fire!" roared the gunner as the machine gun came to life splitting 7.88 mm rounds at a rapid rate.
" We are pinned down." Shouted Anya before ducking behind the sandbags as the machine gun ratting on with the Germans roaring with blood lust. Sam pull out a stick grenade and she grinned at soldiers were completely drunk in their own firepower that they didn't even notice a stick grenade landed near their cover and take out four Germans in one explosion. Anya shouted at Baird and Cole to flank left and then she noticed a new infantryman in black combat uniform , black armored vest and an thin lethal looking RPG. Marcus covered fire when the two gears flank undetected.
" Death to the Coalition and the false lies of unity. For the fatherland." A panzergrenadier roared out as he drew an RPG from his back. "I am going cook up a can of –" The panzergrenadier jerk back as a bullet went in and out his head . Sam duck as reload her sniper rifle.
" I got to say these guys are distracted easier." Said Marcus "They put up a hell of a fight. Hell I like that. Let move and let finish these assholes."
Sam managed to drop a soldier who tried to throw a grenade. Jace provide suppressive fire while Marcus and Anya gunned down an entire squad while Cole and Baird managed to take out the gun nest in the Traven by throw a pair of frags in the window finishing off the last of the infantry.
"All clear people." Said Marcus before he picked up an assault rifle from a dead waffen ss infantry spawning on the stairs. Examining the rifle for the moment before he decide to drop it. Anya and Sam knee down and glazed at the lightning bolt insignia on the dead german's uniform. Baird was showing off an RPG and a MG 42 in his hands much to Coles annoyance.
Jace was stripping gear off a dead panzergrenadier and his hands were pulling a pair of stick from the soldier's belt gear. Jace then notice a small pile of photos on the ground and picking them up for a closer look only to shook him to the core.
"Marcus . You guys want to see this" called out a horrified Jace to the rest of the gears who stopped and turned to Jace who had the photos in his hands. Anya cover her mouth at the sight of the gruesome carnage , Sam ,Baird Marcus took the photos and his mouth dropped ; photos of victims dead , burned and main both men ,women and children. Swapping the photo after photo were nothing but death until Marcus swapped the last photo to reveal a Nazis soldier standing proudly with a rifle with his foot on a back of a dead man.
"How the hell did they get here. "asked Marcus
Seen enough Marcus threw away the photos with disgust and turned to the rest of the horrified Gears as realization came hitting them hard. They are facing off a new enemy they never seen and this is only the beginning of a war. It was an invasion.
"Let get the hell out of here before more of them show up. Great idea coming here my mistake." Grumbled Marcus as he lead the squad out of the courtyard . They were coming out of the corridors to see a bulldozer razed through the graveyard. The bulldozer torn through tombstones , the ground and fences leaving nothing but a path of rumble in its path. A dozen soldiers escorting the bulldozer just smiled and laughed at the destruction.
"No !"roared Marcus in anger at the destruction of Dom and his family resting place . "God. "cursed Anya hearing the sounds of the bulldozer rumbling and the laughter of the soldiers.
" God dam these fuckers are going to paid for this." Snarled Cole charging his lancer , the Gear snapped into action before opening fire on the unexpected soldiers. Many soldiers caught off guard were taken down instantly before the driver was shot in the head while the rest flee as the gears charged guns blazing.
Cole planted a frag on the bulldozer before taking cover behind a pile of debris as the bulldozer busted into flames.
An officer in the cap took off running while his men were almost wipe out he took shelter inside the nearest townhouse.{ "Call in reinforcements now."} while the remainding soldiers continued suppressive fire.
{" Copy that reinforcements are on the way."}
" Look !" cried Anya pointed to the sky when the gears saw a cargo plane with two jet propellers on its wings . The gears went into cover behind the rock fence to watch as a figures dropping from both sides of the cargo plane revealing to be paratroopers. Paratroopers dropped in mid air before active their parachutes .
" Dropship dropping paratroopers !" shouted Marcus "How the hell did they find us."
"Reinforcements inbound." Shouted Jace as he rose from his cover of a sandbags and fired at the sky. Paratroopers dressed in camo jackets and blue pants with flak vest over their chests armed with burst rifles landed on the ground before joining the battle with the remaining soldiers.
"Where the hell did they get the hardware , the firepower and the manpower. Oh shit." Shouted Baird when he saw the cargo plane dropping a grey and red stripped hexagon like drop pod from high altitude before smashing into the roof of a house.
The gears peek from the fence at the dent of the townhouse and the walls burst in the pieces revealing an armored large humanoid in grey armor dressed to the feet with armor plating on shoulders and chest holding a strange futuristic mini gun and a facemask of a man shielding it's face.
" What the hell is that ?" shouted Sam.
" So kind of new motherfucker in town. Hell it scare the shit out of me." Called Cole.
"I don't know." Roared back Marcus then his eyes widen with shock as their lancers had no effect on the giant with heavy armor , their rounds only to deflect upon the armor. Then the Super soldier active it's minigun , it rotating disk growing yellow and it's mouth of the minigun glow red then hell came loose from it.