The First Contact War
Chapter 16
The Homefront
"Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths. When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is strength." Arnold Schwarzenegger
2622 July 28th Earth Standard Calendar, CDR Luke 'Polymath' Sparrow, Concordia, Firebase Santa Monica, Administrative Building C7.
The constant crack of gunfire added to the shouts, screams, and death that echoed throughout the hallway. The dull grey walls were riddled with plasma burns and in some spots, where grenades had detonated, chunks of plaster and drywall about the ground. Painstaking progress had yielded only two floors cleared in the last hour: and there were still three more in this building alone. The men inching their way through the building knew that once this building was cleared, there were at least a dozen more waiting them as they progressed further in the port facility.
Ducking behind the wall he was against, the squad leader glanced at his team behind him and shouted, "Get on your LMG-5 and lay down some goddamn fire!"
One of the Marines hustled to the front of the column and peered around the corner. Fifteen meters down the hall he could see several Fed soldiers peering around what cover they had. He quickly returned to cover as a hail of bullets poured from the Fed guns.
"Are you waiting for an invitation," the squad leader questioned, "Use your weapon Marine."
"Christ this is suicide," the gunner mumbled as he went prone and leaned his upper body to the right.
A volley of rounds quickly zipped from his rifle tearing into the Fed positions. Their heads dropped below the cover as one of their comrades fell to the ground missing a part of his forehead.
"Go," the gunner shouted as he fired another volley down the hallway pinning the Feds down.
The squad leader leaned from cover over top of the gunner and tossed a grenade down the hallway followed quickly by a second. A third Marine moved from the column and tossed a third grenade down the hallway. The Marines retreated behind the cover of the corner after throwing, and moments later the sounds of explosions echoed throughout the hallway. Chunks of wall, debris, and body parts flew across the hallway leaving a fine cloud of dust hanging in the air as the Marines burst from their position towards the Feds, firing several rounds each into the last known positions of the Feds they raced towards.
As they overran the Fed position, only one was found to be still in the land of the living. The Fed's left leg had been blown apart by the exploding grenades. Blood splattered against the wall and was now pooling at the gory stump that was left just above where his knee was moments before. The stubble on his face was all but obscured by the dirt, cuts, and blood that now adorned it. The screams and shouts were quickly silenced by a burst of fire as the Marines moved passed the position and continued towards the fighting that lay ahead of them.
"Holy shit," the gunner exclaimed as the team entered a room and found it void of hostiles, "Did you see that guy's leg?"
"Hell yeah, damn thing was blown clean the –"
"Heffron, Riley," the squad leader angrily shouted as he heard the two Marines let their focus go elsewhere, "Shut your fucking mouths."
"Christ Luke," the gunner, Lance Corporal Marcus Heffron argued back, "What crawled up your ass?"
Luke stormed across the small room towards Heffron, "What's up my ass," he shouted inches from Heffron's face, "We've lost twelve Marines in the last hour in this building alone and you're making jokes about the fucking Feds who killed them."
The silence in the room was broken only by the rushing of boots and Marines past the door towards the fighting. The words sunk into each of the Marines in the room.
"Now get your game face on and let's go kill the rest of these bastards," Luke said with a feint smirk.
Luke exited the room to join the other Marines moving through the hallway, "Saber Two, Saber Two-One, third floor is clear, how copy?"
The third operator in the room, Hex, approached Heffron and patted him on the shoulder, "You really are a dumbass sometimes you know," she said laughing as she exited the room and joined the squad leader.
"I thought it was cool, reminded me of that dude we found on Mandalor," Riley said as the two finally left the room.
"What happened on Mandalor, stays on Mandalor!" Hex heard Luke call back.
Luke had to explain who Locus was to Hex after the Caracas Mission, about how he fought against the insurrection before being hired by ONI to spy in Federation space, how shortly after he went rouge and Stoll the prototype Locus armour and went off on his quest to be the perfect soldier. He had managed to build a form on friendship with Hex who had also opened up a bit. Delta had handed over Valentine to the OAG senate where he had signed the Federations surrender. That did not mean the Federation Forces on Concordia surrendered as well. They had continued fighting which had led to today's firefight.
The four Operators and Marines entered the stairwell and continued up two flights of stairs to the fifth floor. Below them on the fourth, Marines from 1st Platoon were pitted against a squad sized force of Feds who fought for every inch of space.
Luke nodded towards his team, and with the training and precision they had practiced for years, burst through the stairwell onto the floor.
"Clear right," Riley shouted first through the breach, followed closely by Hex and the remainder of the team.
With the area clear for the moment, the four-man team quickly moved down the hallway and took positions covering the door as more Marines from the company poured through. A second fireteam moved past Luke and his men as they took point moving down the hallway. The dull grey walls and windowless hallways created a maze that disoriented some of the Marines as to which direction the Feds were.
Clad in urban MARPAT fatigues with vital areas covered by his Beskar armour with a Modular Tactical Vest and lightweight Beskar helmet, Luke carried more than thirty-five pounds of protective gear as he followed the fireteam down the hall. Gripping his M416 attached with an M303 grenade launcher, he looked like a fierce looking warrior who had proved himself time and again in combat over the years.
"Door comin' up," the leading sergeant said.
The fireteam stacked up on the door as Luke and his team took an overwatch position around them. The door to the room was kicked in, breaking the bolt and sending the door swinging inward. The four-man team was through the door in a matter of seconds, only to be cut down by a hail of gunfire emanating from the back corner of the room. Several Feds were barricaded behind cover with their weapons focused on the only entrance to the room.
"Jesus," Hex shouted as the gunfire erupted from the room a mere meter from her, "Contact right!"
Two of the Marines had survived the initial burst of gunfire and were now screaming in agony as the plasma burned through their flesh. Instinctively, Hex and Riley reached for the wounded Marines and dragged them from the doorway back towards the group. A corpsman was already racing forward to aid the two men.
The hallway now filled with shouts as the Marines reacted to the new threat that had emerged from the room. The wounded Marines were passed back towards the others, leaving Luke and his team on point for the group.
"Hex, Simon," Luke shouted, "Frag 'em on my go."
The three Marines stacked up against the wall, Hex, Luke, then Riley, and each removed a frag grenade from their combat webbing.
Luke nodded his head, "Do it."
The three pulled the pins from their grenades and waited a moment before Hex lobbed her grenade through the doorway. She quickly moved off the wall allowing Luke to throw his grenade through the door. Luke followed the same motion as Hex and allowed Riley to toss his grenade last through the opening. A moment later, an explosion rocked the room followed quickly by a second and third. Waiting a moment after the final explosion, the tea burst into the room firing into the Fed positon.
Dust obscured the room as the Marines converged on the Fed position. The lights had been blown by the explosions, severely limiting their vision as they swarmed the room.
"Clear left," Hex shouted.
"Clear right," Riley echoed.
The Fed position had been devastated by the explosions, the tables and desks used for cover had been blown apart and the bodies that scattered the area were missing an assortment of limbs and appendages. Pools of blood formed underneath the bodies staining the carpet a dark maroon. Luke looked across the room and could see that it was stocked with boxes of munitions and weapons that could have been rigged to explode at any moment. He was frankly surprised that the grenades had not detonated the ordinance stocked in the room.
"Tommy clear out, the rooms still hot," he said looking at the munitions and not wanting to risk a secondary explosion with his team in the room.
The team exited the room followed several seconds later by Luke. The two dead Marines had been moved from the area back towards the stairwell along with the wounded.
"Saber Two, this is Two-One," Luke began.
"Two-One this is Two, send it."
"We have four men down, two wounded, two K.I.A. over."
"Two copies all, continue the sweep, out."
Luke looked down the hallway, behind him were fifteen trained, and heavily armed Marines crouched against the wall waiting to move forward. He took a deep breath before patting Hex on her shoulder. This was the sign to move forward. Hex got to her feet and began walking forward, hugging the right wall, weapon trained forward.
Several rooms were passed and each were cleared of Feds using a similar strategy, careful to not repeat the mistake of the first room. One of the wounded Marines had died as he was being carried down the stairwell towards evac, bringing the number of K.I.A. on the floor to three.
Hex carefully approached the last door on the floor which was cracked open ever so slightly. Inside, she could hear rustling and the murmur of voices. She stopped and held up his left hand in a fist, stopping the column of Marines.
"What'd you wanna do Ploymath," She whispered to Luke behind her.
"Easy or hard way?"
Hex turned her head left slightly so she could see Luke from the corner of her eye. A smirk appeared on Hex's face, "Easy way."
Luke smiled as he pulled a frag from his webbing as Hex did the same. Luke moved forward next to Hex, removing the pin from the grenade and releasing the soon as Hex reached forward and pushed the door inward.
The grenade bounced off the wall of the room and settled on the floor behind the Feds. After Luke through his grenade, Hex tossed her own into the room. Again, explosions rocked the building as the interior of the room was turned to a cloud of grey dust. The fireteam entered the room with weapons raised, ready for contact, but they were met with none. More Feds lay dead in the room, and with that, the fifth floor of the building was cleared. The team exited the room and met again with the Marines in the hallway. A large window shown north, showing the buildings that still needed to be cleared of Federation presence.
Luke toggled his headset, "Saber Two, Two-One, fifth floor is clear over."
The platoon commander responded, "Two-One, Two Actual, good work. Sixth floor has been cleared by Saber Three, how copy?"
"Solid copy Two, which building is next on the list," Luke asked as he looked out the window towards the remaining buildings.
"None of them Two-One, Scarface Actual has ordered airstrikes on the remaining buildings, too many casualties at the current pace."
The response was both a blessing and a curse, no more fighting for now, but far too many Marines had died so far and command didn't want to risk anymore men.
"ETA on airstrikes Two," Luke asked.
"Sixty seconds Two-One, hunker down, Two out."
Luke called for his team to meet in front of the window to watch the inbound airstrikes. The dozen buildings that lay before them varied in size, each filled with Fed infantry. Heffron was in the middle of saying something when the first bomb landed, followed by countless more. The shockwave blew out the window but left the team unscathed except for a cut on Riley's face. The rumbling and noise of the explosions caused the team to hunker down and wait it out.
Two minutes later, after the dust had cleared, what lay before them was a wasteland. A dozen buildings had been flattened by the bombs and the remains jutted from the ground in a mess of concrete, steel, and piping.
"Holy shit," Hex remarked as she looked at the devastation before them.
The Marines crowded the window, looking in shock at the destruction before them, but Luke was focused on something else. Beyond the rubble of the buildings, several columns of black smoke rose high into the air. Fires could still be seen blazing aboard the wrecks of the OAG Nimitz and the OAG Carl Vinson. The smoke rose into the air, higher than the buildings the lay beyond, downtown Santa Monica, reminding Luke at that moment, that the war had come home.
Six Marines were huddled around a Cougar-H Light Armoured Vehicle as the latest intel was relayed to them by 2nd Platoon's commanding officer, Lieutenant Todd Burris. The Marines had been on stand down for the last eight hours after their assault on the buildings at Naval Air Station at Santa Monica, West Island. Now, they were being called on again to clear out the last pocket of Fed resistance in the city.
"Latest intel says that they occupy this northeast peninsula just off of the Silver Strand Boulevard," Burris said as he pointed the locations out on the map that was lying on the hood of the Cougar-H, "Scarface wants us to be on point for the assault to mark targets for the Hornet Gunships and heavy ass that should be arriving any minute. Sparrow I want your team on point for this."
"Roger that El-Tee," Luke said nodding, "Sir, once we make a push through, I want to take my team and put them in one of these tall buildings so we can direct strikes better."
"I like that idea Sparrow," Burris said approvingly as he continued to look over the map.
"What about the civilian population in there," Sgt Bowren asked.
"The AO is completely cleared, anything you see not Marine," Burris began as he looked up from the map, "You light it the fuck up Chris."
The team leaders nodded their heads in understanding as the briefing continued. Ten minutes later, they returned to their teams.
"So what's the word Luke," Hex asked as Luke appeared at the side of the Cougar-H.
"We've been tasked with leading the assault on the last pocket of resistance in Santa Monica," Luke said as he placed his M416 inside the Cougar-H and took a seat.
"Well that's just great," Hex complained pitching a bag of Skittles against the windshield, "Why don't they just bomb the shit out of them like they did yesterday on base?"
"Because Hex," Luke said after he downed half a bottle of water, "That would be too easy for us, gotta do it the Marine way remember?"
"Yeah, well this Marine thinks that command is retarded and should just blow shit up from a distance."
"Yeah but this is better," Heffron chimed in from the back seat of the vehicle, "Now we're the ones that get to blow shit up."
"Hey Simon," Luke said as Hex and Heffron argued back and forth, "Go prep the M40, might come in handy."
Riley opened the rear hatch and pulled a gun-case that held the M40A5 from the Cougar-H. He laid the case on the hood of the Cougar-H and began checking the optics and cleaning the weapon. The Cougar-H was parked underneath camouflage netting on the tarmac of what remained of NAS West Island. The airfield had been converted to a parking lot of Marine vehicles and aircraft. Cougar-H, M4-Trojan IFVs and several T-600 Titan tanks were positioned around the base while in the north corner the airstrip, a dozen AH-4Z SuperHornets were sitting, being prepped by flight crews for the upcoming assault.
An hour later, the platoon was on the road south out of the base. The six Cougar-Hs carrying the men of 2nd Platoon were the leading tip of the convoy: over a hundred and fifty Marines and a dozen M4-Trojans. After driving down the sunny Southern Concordia highway for ten minutes, the vehicles were at the rally point.
Burris' voice filled the interior of the Cougar-H from the radio, "All Saber Victors, this is Saber Two, dismount and continue on foot from this location, over."
"You heard the man Hex, park it over there," Luke said pointing towards a sand covered parking lot overlooking the Southern Concordian Ocean.
The vehicle came to a stop, crunching the sand beneath the tires. Luke opened the door of the Cougar-H and stepped out, greeted by the warm breeze of the Southern Coast. As the doors slammed shut around him, Luke removed his Oakley sunglasses and put them in one of the breast pockets of his MTV.
Luke turned back towards the north, he could see the full force of what was behind him. The M4-Trojans rolled past Luke's position and took up positions facing the Federation. The Trojans were followed closely behind by several AAV personnel carriers, each loaded with twenty Marine riflemen.
"Well gents," Luke began, "Let's get to work."
The twenty-four men of 2nd Platoon took off from their parked Cougar-Hs across the boulevard and entered the industrial park that the Feds had chosen to occupy. Before them lay a maze of crisscrossed roads and streets with warehouses, buildings, and parking structures mixed in.
As the platoon was crouched behind one of the Trojans, Hex commented on the situation, "It's gonna be a long ass day."
"Riley get the designator from the bag," Luke shouted over the gunfire that filled the street.
"I'm on it," Riley said as he reached into the equipment bag and retrieved a small, camcorder sized device.
Riley moved along the building to the corner where Luke and Hex were and handed the device to Hex. Hex poked her head around from the cover and directed the infrared designator towards the second floor of a building one hundred meters from the team. Twenty other Marines were in cover firing around their position, their advance stopped by this building.
Luke crouched and adjusted the radio to the correct channel, "Cujo Flight, this is Saber Two-One, how copy?"
"Saber Two-One, this is Cujo Flight, send it."
"Roger Cujo, priority target grid EFX230B," Luke said as he looked at the small folded map, "Target is lit, how copy?"
"Solid copy Saber Two-One, we're inbound, keep your heads down."
Luke turned his head towards the ocean, and in the distance, he could see two specks appear in the air that quickly became larger as they moved towards him.
Luke keyed his LASH headset, "All Sabers this is Two-One, airstrike inbound, hunker down."
Around the street, the Marine fireteams that were firing towards the building ceased the firing and got behind whatever cover they could, corners, cars, even dumpsters. The two SuperHornets flew in at around two hundred meters above the street. From the stubby wings, a dozen rockets were fired from each aircraft. The Hydra 10 free flight rockets slammed into the three story building all along the front, collapsing the majority of the building sending a column of dust skyward. Shouts and cheers roared from the Marine positions as the concrete still fell from the destroyed building. The Fed fire had ceased, opening up the street to continue the assault.
"Hell yeah baby," Hex shouted pounding her fist in the air.
"Knock that off Hex, you look like a jackass," Luke said shaking his head as he looked at Hex.
"Come on Luke, you know that was cool," Hex said turning her head and staring at Luke, "We just blew the shit out of another building. God I love this job."
M4-Trojans rolled by the team's position shaking the ground, several more SuperHornets thundered by over head of them. As the VTOLs continued north, a streak of grey smoke appeared from further down the road and streaked into the group of SuperHornets. The missile struck one of the Gunships, swatting it from the sky, sending the burning wreck spiralling down to the ground. Luke followed it as the aircraft fell until it was obscured by buildings. A fireball shot into the sky, signifying the crash and death of the VTOl.
Luke slammed a fresh magazine into his M416 and pulled the charging handle back, "Get up, we're oscar-mike."
2nd Platoon moved forward, keeping pace with the Trojans as they blasted away at the Fed positions with their 25 mm Plasma chain guns. Rocket propelled grenades, AT-12 rockets, and thousands of rounds of bullets filled the air south of Santa Monica. The Marines slowly trudged forward through it, taking casualties, but inflicting much more.
Four hours into the fight, 2nd Platoon had reached a five story building that over looked the entire area. As they approached, they took sniper fire from the building, Corporal Olsen was killed by a round penetrating his neck. The remainder took cover behind cars and in door frames.
"Two-One on me," Luke shouted as he rushed across the street from behind cover towards the building.
Seven Marines joined Luke on the wall of the building, out of the fire coming from the snipers above them. The rest of the platoon stayed on the street, firing up at the fourth floor where the Feds were. Luke led the squad into the building, checking the corners as they burst through the ground floor door.
The entrance was clear but the number of Feds in the building was unknown, raising the tension of the Marines as they began the tedious work of clearing the building room by room. In five minutes, the first floor was cleared and no Feds had been found. The eight men moved up the stairs to the second floor.
Hex was first out of the stairwell, she crouched and peered out of the door towards the left. Less than fifteen meters away were two Feds, that hadn't noticed Hex. She quickly raised her rifle and sighted the two. Hex's movement attracted their attention but it was too late, she fired several rounds at head height towards them. Their bodies dropped to the floor. Hex quickly rushed out of the stairwell towards cover behind a desk as the other Marines poured from the stairs.
"Contact left," Hex shouted as she saw more Feds appear from a room further down.
She answered the new Feds with more rounds tearing into them, joined by Luke, Riley, and the other Marines of the squad. The noise of the gunfire filled the floor of the partially constructed building. The floors were complete and several rooms were walled, but mostly, the floors consisted of I-beam supports and piles of I-beams and steel.
The fire from the Marine guns were too much for the six Feds that fought back on the floor. They were quickly killed, adding more Fed blood to the Southern Concordia landscape. The squad checked themselves to make sure no one was wounded before continuing to the third floor through a different stairwell. The Fed gunfire above them and the Marine fire from the ground continued, though now it was significantly less than it had been. Luke wondered whether that was good or bad for his fellow Marines.
The third floor resembled the second, still under construction with supplies and equipment everywhere. The Feds on this floor had scattered and the Marines were not met with fire when they exited the stairwell. They spread out, and began searching the floor. Riley was on the left side of the group, against a drywall that was up, as he approached the edge, he poked his head around and saw several Feds behind stacked I-beams.
"Get down," he shouted.
Not a moment after he yelled and the team hit the floor, Plasma bullets ripped through the drywall, holes appearing all across the thin wall. The team quickly crawled behind random equipment and supplies that were about the area, anything that would offer more protection than the drywall.
"Jesus Christ could that have been any closer," Hex yelled as she pushed up against several I-beams.
"Shut up," Luke said calmly as he keyed his headset, "Two-One Bravo, we're pinned down on the west side, can you flank them anyway, over?"
"Two-One, Bravo, give us a minute, over," elsewhere on the floor, Sergeant Chris Bowren and his fireteam moved the opposite direction to find the Feds that had pinned down the other team.
The fire from the Feds hadn't let up, stranding Luke and his team behind makeshift cover as they sat waiting for Bowren and his team to do something. Heffron poked his head above the cover and tried to get a bead on the Fed firing.
"Get your damn head down," Luke barked as he saw this, "You wanna get shot or something?"
Heffron dropped back below the cover, "Just trying to shoot back Sir."
"Don't," Luke said, "Bowren and his guys are over there and you don't know where they're at. You could whack friendlies. Besides, it's my job to bring you home."
Hex laughed, "Stupid new guy, didn't they teach you anything in Basic?"
The fire from the other side of the wall immediately picked up, then abruptly ceased after several seconds.
Luke's earpiece came alive, "Two-One, this is Two-One Bravo, how copy?"
"Solid copy Bravo."
"Enemy neutralized, floor's clear, its safe to move, over."
"Roger that Bravo," Luke said as he stood up from the cover, "Meet you at the stairs, Two-One out."
The two teams regrouped at the stairwell leading to the fourth floor. After reloading their weapons, they proceeded up the stairs once more. As Hex quietly crept up the stairs, he could hear voices coming from somewhere on the floor. As he was about to exit the stairwell, Hex quickly stopped and held her fist in the air, stopping the rest of the Marines. Across the doorway, was a thin wire which was most likely attached to an explosive device.
Hex signalled to the wire as she carefully stepped over it. She then crouched behind cover and took aim at the Feds. She held her fire until the other Marines had crossed the wire and were in position. The Feds, four of them, were lying prone on the edge of the building firing down on the Marines below. Luke drew a bead on one of the Feds, lying thirty meters away, and fired.
A hail of Plasma found the Fed soldiers, their bodies torn apart by the rounds. After waiting a moment for any additional movement, Luke signalled for them to move forward.
"Saber Two, this is Two-One, fourth floor is cleared, watch your fire, over."
"Two-One, Two, roger that, good work."
The fire from the Marines below stopped, and the area became relatively quiet; explosions and gunfire could still be heard in the surrounding area. As the four bodies were searched by his team, Luke moved to the stairwell and detonated the explosives from a safe position. He walked back towards the Marines.
"Chris go check the fifth floor then head back down here, oorah?"
"Oorah Sparrow," Bowren said as he led his team towards the stairs.
Luke looked at his team, "Sean get the M40 and lets set an OP set up."
The four Marines got to work setting their observation post up on the fourth floor of the building. The sun was still high in the sky, and several battles raged below them on the streets: the fight for Santa Monica was still not over.
The main push of the Federation invasion was directed at New Phoenix. However, raids against key military installations occurred throughout the planet. One of the main installations struck was Naval Air Station West Island, home port of three Bengal-class carriers. The initial strike damaged two of the carriers and crippled the air operations of NAS West Island. Fed troops dispersed throughout the surrounding area south of Santa Monica killing any civilians and military personnel that were in their path. Marines from Firebase Santa Monica next to the city, were immediately deployed to Santa Monica to combat the Fed troops and eradicate them from the city.
"RPG, two-two-zero meters, wind west to east, quarter value, behind the red pickup," Luke mumbled as he peered through magnified binoculars, "On scope."
Lying next to Luke, Riley sighted his M40A5 onto the target, a Fed soldier hefting an RPG-12 tube who was crouched behind a pickup truck in the parking lot adjacent to the building they were in. The Fed and his squad continued to advance through the parking lot closer to the building Luke was in. Advancing up the street opposite of the Feds, four Trojans and a platoon of Marines, oblivious to the approaching threat in the parking lot.
Riley made an adjustment to the dial atop the scope and said, "On target."
The Fed popped his head above cover.
"Fire," Luke said.
A single 7.62 plasma round exploded out of the M40 at 2,550 feet per second. The bullet traversed the distance and struck the Fed in the forehead in less than a second. Upon seeing their comrade fall, the remaining squad of Feds opened up at the advancing Marines, thinking the bullet had come from them. Riley remained invisible, thanks to the sound suppressor attached to the muzzle of the rifle.
"Good hit," Luke congratulated as he watched the Fed's head turn to a pink mist, "Second target, low profile, behind the dumpster."
"Got him," Riley said as he adjusted.
"Fire," the second round struck the Fed in the neck, his body crumpling to the ground, "Hit."
The Fed squad was in disarray as fire from Riley and the advancing Marines cut down those who were brave enough to poke out of cover. Several minutes later and four more shots, all hits, and the Marines were advancing past the parking lot, fifteen Feds lay dead on the pavement.
The team had been in their observation post for just over an hour and on all sides, Marines were making slow progress forward. Riley already had twenty-two kills under his belt with the M40, and there were still plenty of targets in their AO.
Luke and Riley continued to scan in front of them for targets to engage or call support fire in on; a building had already been levelled by combination of Trojan chain guns and Hydra rockets from the circling SuperHornets. Hex sat behind the two marksmen, manning the radio that connected the team to the SuperHornets and Trojans, while Heffron watched the stairwell encase they were to be attacked from behind.
"God, this is killing me," Hex complained as she twirled the radio handset around by its cord, "I wanna go shoot something."
"At least you get to kinda blow shit up," Heffron said as he turned his head from the stairwell towards Hex, "I suppose I could waste this wall though."
"Do that Heff," Luke said without removing the binoculars from his face, "I'll make sure you're on KP for a month."
Hex and Heffron both shrugged as they thought about the consequences Luke threatened. The silence was broken by an explosion in the distance; an M4-Trojan exploded as it was struck with several RPGs originating from a building along the road.
"You see 'em," Luke asked as he shifted his position to range the building.
"I got the building, but no shot on any targets," Reily said as he looked down the scope.
The hull of the Trojan could be seen in the road; several bodies were also lying in the street around the burning vehicle as the surviving Marines took cover behind whatever they could. The angle from their current spot offered no shot towards the building facing the road.
"Displace left," Luke said as he pushed himself up from the floor and hustled towards the northern side of the building and went prone.
Riley followed a moment later and set up the M40 once more, unfolding the bipod and fixing a secure spot to fire from. They both scanned through their scopes trying to find targets.
"Second floor, third window from the left," Riley said as he finally found a target.
From their spot, the two could see pieces of the building burst off as it was hit with small arms fire from the Marines on the street. Hex joined them a moment later carrying the radio.
"Three-three-five to target, wind west to east three miles, on scope," Luke said as he found the window and made the calculations.
Riley focused on the window and steadied his breath, "On target."
Both Luke and Riley waited, watching the window for the Fed to show himself. After what felt like a life time, but in reality was only a few seconds, a figure appeared in the window hoisting a tubed weapon: an RPG-12.
"Fire."
The round streaked toward the target yet missed the Fed by inches.
"Shit," Riley mumbled as he pulled the bolt back, ejecting the spent cartridge.
"You got him," Luke asked as he continued watching the window.
"On target," Riley replied as he centred the crosshair on the window.
After a few moments, the Fed reappeared again in the window. This time Riley did not miss, striking the Fed in his chest. The force of the impact from the round caused the Fed's finger to depress, firing the RPG-12 inside the building. Fire exploded out several of the windows followed by smoke and dust. Even with the explosion of the RPG, gunfire still came from the building.
"Enough of this shit," Luke grumbled as he reached to his right and pulled the map in front of him, "Hex get ready to relay coordinates."
"Got it," Hex said as she put the handset to her ear, "Cujo Flight, Saber Two-One how copy?"
"Two-One, Cujo Flight, solid copy, send it."
"Ready," Luke asked as he looked at the map.
"Yeah, give it to me," Hex said.
"Target grid Echo-Foxtrot-Zulu-Three-Two-Niner, target is lit," Luke said.
Hex repeated the order over the handset as Luke turned the handheld laser device on and held it up, aiming it at the building's roof.
"Thirty seconds out," Hex said as she dropped the handset and moved to the spot on the floor where Luke and Riley were to watch the missiles strike.
After lying silent for several seconds, Luke asked, "Do we have comms with that unit down there?"
Hex looked at him and made a face, "I don't think so."
Luke chuckled, "They're gonna be in for a hell of a wake up in a second."
The three Delta operatives laid on the concrete floor observing the battle below them in the distance. The dull wir of repulser engines grew steadily louder as a pair of SuperHornets flew past the building where the team was, and onward towards the target.
Smoke trails left the two aircraft as a dozen rockets slammed into the building that had ambushed the Trojan. Sections of the building's roof could be seen collapsing as a second flight of SuperHornets made a pass on the building, firing another dozen rockets into it.
"Get some baby," yelled Heffron from the stairs twenty meters from the rest of the team.
"What a crazy bastard," Hex said as she got up and moved back towards the radio, "I hope I wasn't like that when I was younger?"
"Do you want my honest opinion," Luke replied grinning.
"Don't be hatin' Luke," Hex said as she grabbed the handset from the radio, "Cujo, good effect on target, Two-One out."
The three Marines moved back to their original positions as another assault was made on the Fed positions to the south of the building. As they scouted the area, Luke and Riley could see a formidable defensive position being set up by the Feds. The Marines were sending a large force towards them. Luke noticed as he scanned the group, that several T-600 Titans were mixed in with the Marines and Trojans.
"Hex gimme the radio," Luke said as he looked up from the map.
Hex handed the handset to Luke as she went prone next to him.
"Titan Zero-Six, this is Saber Two-One how copy?"
On the street below the team, one of the three Titans answered the radio call, "Two-One this is Zero-Six, send it."
Luke looked at his map once more before responding, "Zero-Six be advised, you have large Fed activity approximately five hundred meters at your twelve."
As the tanks rumbled past the building, the tank commander viewed the area through his thermal sights, trying to find out where the called out enemy was located. After searching for a moment, he found what Luke had seen. He quickly saw over forty white heat signatures moving around a three story building directly to his front.
As he waited for the tank commander to respond, Luke's headset came alive with Bowren's voice, "Two-One, Two-One Bravo, be advised, friendlies are coming up the stairs to your position, over."
Luke keyed his LASH, "Bravo, copy, Two-One out," Luke shouted to Heffron, "Heff we got friendlies coming up the stairs, try not to shoot 'em."
"Will do," Heffron shouted as he heard footsteps pounding up the stairs.
The tank commander's voice came back over the net, "Two-One, we found the targets, thanks for the assist, Zero-Six out."
Luke gave the handset back to Hex before holding the binoculars up again, "Range five-one-niner," she began calling out.
As Luke called out the distances to the building, six men appeared on the floor from the stairwell. Heffron walked them over to where Luke and Riley were lying.
"Luke," Heffron began, "We got some visitors."
Luke turned around and faced behind him. Standing alongside Heffron were six men, clad in desert fatigues each with rough, unshaven beards. Three of the men were holding Barrett M92B3 sniper rifles by the handles while the others held ACR12 assault rifles; rifles not even available to frontline troops yet.
"Commander Sparrow," one of them asked.
"Yeah that's me," Luke said getting to his feet; he searched for a name badge on the man but couldn't find one.
"It's Green," the man said, sensing Luke's search, "SAS D Squadron. We're here to help out and touch some Feds from afar; brought some toys that could be of some assistance," he said, referencing the Light Fifties his men had.
Luke glanced at the three marksmen with the Barrett rifles, each had pouches stuffed with magazines full of the nasty .50 cal round. There was no comparing the M92B3 to Rileys M40.
"Go a head and pick a spot you like," Luke said, "Armor assault's making a move over there; could probably use some sniper cover."
"You heard the man, Mac you're with me, the rest of you up a floor," Green said.
The four other SAS members returned to the stairwell and proceeded up the steps to the fifth floor while Green and the marksman named Mac took positions near where Riley was lying.
"So how long have you been up here Commander," Green asked as his marksman prepped the fifty.
"Just over two hours I'd say," Luke replied as he got back down next to Reily and raised the binoculars once more.
"How many kills?"
"Twenty-three from killer here," Hex said acknowledging Riley, "Plus a shit ton more from the ass and air we've called in."
"Impressive," Green said as he went prone on the floor next to his marksman, "What's the range to this building Commander?"
"Five-one-niner, it's at your one o'clock," Luke said as he scanned the building through his binoculars, "Armor should be rolling into it any minute."
"Well there's no time to waste then," Green said before turning to his marksman, "Dial it in."
The scope on the Barrett was adjusted and final calculations were made by both Luke and the SAS snipers. On the fifth floor, the target building had been relayed to the SAS as they also sighted in targets.
"Gentleman, let's get this party started," Green said into his mic, "On my count, three, two, one, fire."
Three rifles fired near simultaneously, sending three large .50 cal rounds towards the targeted building. All three rounds struck their targets, killing the Feds that were unlucky to be on the receiving end of the rounds. From the observation post, Luke's team and the SAS team could fire down onto the Fed held building in the distance. The first threats eliminated were the Feds that were positioned on the rooftop with RPG-12s and high powered rifles.
The banging of the three Light Fifty's continued for several minutes. Each gunshot usually meant that another Fed had been killed and was no longer a threat. Because of the added firepower that had arrived at the OP, Rileys M40 had been silent for several minutes, keeping a watch on other sectors.
Things were going good for the time being, the Marine convoy had advanced up to within two hundred meters of the building without losing any vehicles, and the SAS sniper fire had reduced the roof of the building to a dead zone. The M92s had slowed the rate at which they fired, now having to search the windows for targets to expose themselves. However, there weren't many windows left after the Titans and Trojans began firing their main cannons at the building, quickly reducing it to rubble.
As the building collapsed, Green keyed his mic, "Good work boys, keep following that convoy and scan for targets on the rooftops."
Green then turned to Luke, "Well Commander good work today, I think we have it covered here if you want to regroup with your unit."
As Green was speaking, a snap was heard to all on the fourth floor. The M82 clattered to the floor, causing everyone to look at the marksman next to Green. He was lying face down on the floor, blood pooling around his head.
"Sniper," Luke and Green both shouted.
Riley, Luke and Green both pushed themselves off the floor and rushed back in to the interior of the building and to cover.
As they ran towards cover, Green shouted into his mic, "Sniper contact left, you see anything from up top?"
However as Green ran towards cover away from Mac's body, he was struck in the back by another Plasma bullet fired from the hidden sniper mid-sentence. Blood spilled out of the wound as his body fell to the floor lifeless. Luke, Riley and Hex had all scrambled behind cover of several stacks of I-beams while Heffron ducked into the stairwell.
"Where the hell did that come from," Riley screamed as pushed up against the I-beams.
"No idea, did you see any flashes," Hex yelled back.
The team continued shouting at each other as the confusion continued. Luke was staying calm though, instead staring at Green's body as it lay on the floor, blood expanding ever further from the wound as it stained the concrete floor. Riley poked his head out from the I-beam cover and raised his M40 quickly trying to survey the area for the sniper's location. Luke noticed Riley movement and quickly grabbed him by his vest and yanked him back behind the cover.
"The hell you think you're doing," he shouted, "The SAS are looking for him so just sit your ass down."
Luke wasn't just looking at Green's body; he was straining to listen to the earpiece that had fallen off his ear. The sound of the remaining SAS was barely audible, but enough to hear. The SAS snipers were constantly chatting trying to find the sniper's location.
"Just sit tight," Luke said as he looked around at each member of his team, "Just sit tight for now guys."
The warm Southern Concordia air blew through Santa Monica, carrying with it the smell of the Concordian Ocean that reached Luke and the team as they lay behind cover in the partially constructed building. For ten minutes, they had been behind cover, avoiding the cross-hairs of a Fed sniper that had already killed two SAS right in front of them. A floor above them, four additional SAS desperately searched for the Fed that had killed two of their own.
"Jesus have they found him yet," Hex complained as she banged her head against the I-beam she was lying behind; her helmet absorbing the blows against the steel.
"I could have found him five minutes ago," Riley said as he rolled his eyes to his left and looked at Luke.
"He would have found your head the second you poked out," Luke said looking rather annoyed.
"I think you could have gotten him Simon," Hex said looking at Riley from behind the cover.
The team continued chatting, trying to keep their minds off the fact that they were pinned down by a sniper who obviously knew what he was doing. The earpiece hanging off of Green's body came alive and Luke shouted at everyone to shut up so he could hear.
"I think we found him, grey building six-one-zero at our twelve," one voice said.
Another voice could be heard, "Which window, the second one?"
"Second, no the fourth from the right."
A moment later, a hiss was heard that came from the fifth floor. The explanation of the hiss quickly came over the radio.
"Christ he just shot Mark, he's got us zeroed in."
"Did that come from the fourth or second window?"
The SAS snipers were in utter confusion as they lost another member of their team and were nowhere closer to narrowing down the sniper's exact location. The general location however had been identified by the SAS, giving Luke an idea as he grabbed his map and did some quick distance calculations in his head.
"Hex slide me the radio," Luke said looking up from the map.
Hex did as she was ordered and slid the radio set across the floor to Luke. Luke reached for the radio set and dragged it next to him. He grabbed the handset with his right hand while he held onto the map with his left, doing some quick calculations in his head.
Holding the handset to his mouth, he spoke, "Cujo Flight this is Saber Two-One how copy?"
Several seconds later, "Saber Two-One, this is Misfit Four, Cujo has RTB, over."
"Copy, Misfit, priority target, approximately six-zero-zero meters at zero-eight-seven degrees of our building, how copy?"
"I copy you Two-One, interrogative, what is this target exactly?"
"Target is grey building, fill it with lead Four."
"Roger that, we're inbound hot, Misfit Four out."
Luke set the handset down and looked at his team, "Let's see if we can't blow this bastard to pieces."
The team waited behind the cover, and again, the sound of engines grew louder as a flight of SuperHornets blazed over the building towards the targeted building. Several seconds later, the sound of Hydra rockets exploding filled the air, followed quickly by dust as the grey building was reduced to rubble in a matter of seconds by the godly firepower of the SuperHornets.
Luke raised his head and looked at Heffron who was in the stairwell, "Go upstairs and check if that was the building they had zeroed in."
"Oorah Sergeant," Heffron said as he began bounding up the steps to the fifth floor.
He returned a minute later walking out of the stairwell, "They say we're in the clear."
That was good enough for Luke, who stood up from his cover and turned to survey the damage in the distance. He gauged the distance of the building that was now rubble to the two SAS that lay on the floor in front of him.
"Not a bad shot," he mumbled as he looked into the distance.
Hex and Riley checked the two bodies for any signs of life, even though they both knew the answer to their query. They dragged the bodies away from their current positions, towards the stairwell, their blood leaving streaks across the floor. Riley also retrieved the Barrett and checked to see if it was still operational. The blood from the marksman who had once used it now stained the black gun, dirtying the chamber and main components.
"Won't be using this anytime soon," Riley said as he placed the Barrett on the floor next to the two SAS.
Looking around the floor, Luke could see shell casings that littered the area from the once used positions; and the blood shown dark red against the concrete floor.
"Pack this shit up," Luke said as he lifted his assault pack and slung it over his shoulders, "We're linking up with Saber Two."
The three Marines quickly went about retrieving the equipment that was on the floor. Riley placed the M40 back into the gun case that he attached to his pack while Hex attached the radio to her pack. They were ready to move in two minutes. Hex led them down the stairs, Luke taking one last look at the floor, their home for the last three hours and the two SAS snipers that lay dead. Luke quickly cleared his head as he began bounding down the stairs with the rest of his team.
Minutes later, the team was back on the street regrouping with Bowren and the rest of Saber Two-One Bravo, who had been on the street level providing rear security while Luke and the team were at the OP.
"So how'd it go," Bowren asked as Luke was last to exit the building.
"Wouldn't even believe it if I told ya Chris," Luke said as he passed Bowren, "Let's get a move on gents, Saber Two is waiting."
With that, the seven Marines followed their squad leader off down the road. As they followed the road, several AAVs passed them, loaded with additional Marines. The battle that initially started with one hundred and twenty Marine riflemen and light armour, had grown to an entire Marine battalion added to the mix as well as twelve Titan tanks from 1st Tanks that had just arrived in Santa Monica and were thrown into the mix. As the squad moved east along the road, SuperHornets blazed over them firing rockets and 20 mm Gatling guns at Fed positions as Marines advanced on all the points in the assault.
After advancing up the street three hundred meters, the squad finally regrouped with the rest of Saber Two, who were hunkered down in a blown-out store front.
"Sparrow," Burris said as the eight Marines entered the store, "Nice of you to finally join us."
"Got a little side tracked up there sir," Luke said as he approached the lieutenant and team leaders who were circled around a metal table.
"Well you didn't miss much, but right now Scarface is pushing for a final assault so we're about ten mikes from kicking that off," Burris said as he highlighted the remaining Fed positions on the map.
As the team leaders looked at the map, three Titan tanks rolled by the store followed by four Trojans. Luke casually glanced up to see how many had passed. He had lost count of the number of armoured units in the fight; they all looked the same after a while.
"Are we spearheading this push sir," Luke asked after examining the map and drawn arrows.
"No, Marines from RCT-One are leading with the heavy ass right behind them. We're on follow up duty, on guard for any stragglers. Now go get stocked up on ammo from that Trojan," Burris said nodding towards an idling trojan across the street, "We're oscar mike in five."
With that, the meeting was ended and the team leaders returned to their men. Luke motioned for his team to follow him as they moved across the street to the Trojan. The rear hatch was open and inside, were dozens of boxes of ammunition and grenades. Riley stashed the M40 case inside the Trojan and retrieved several magazines of AC160 ammo. The entire team did the same, Luke grabbing several additional 40 mm grenades and stuffing them into one of his pockets. The team had finished restocking their spent munitions by the time the platoon was on the move, advancing up the street half on one side the other half on the other.
As the platoon advanced up the street, Luke was reminded of the same situation a month before on Ryloth, except the dust covered streets of a desert south had been traded for the paved roads of modern Concordia. Coming to an intersection, the platoon stopped and covered the angles on the street as they crossed as quickly as possible. A mere several hundred meters a head of them, the sounds of the battle could be heard, explosions echoing through the streets.
Restocking on ammo had been in vane; by the time Riley and the rest of the platoon reached the leading elements of RCT-One, the fight for Santa Monica had finished. As the team emerged from the street onto an open field at the end of the peninsula, the carnage caused from the battle could be seen. Panning across the field, Luke could see collapsed buildings fresh from the recent battle still smouldering, sending columns of black skyward. Further down in the distance, several Trojans were parked, with wounded Marines lying on the ground, being cared for by corpsmen and comrades. The bodies of Feds littered the landscape as black holes dotted the field, no doubt caused by Hydra rockets from the SuperHornets.
Luke led his team towards the idling Trojans and Titans, where the majority of the Marines in the area were congregated. Crossing the field of the dead was a horrific experience, the mangled bodies of Feds were across the ground, also Marines were lying dead too, a grim reminder of what it cost to take back this small section of the city.
The platoon entered the perimeter of the Trojans and were met by several ranking officers trying to organize the situation at hand. One major who had been given command of the battalion was trying to coordinate casevacs for the wounded when Burris approached him.
"Anything we can do to help here sir," Burris said as he approached the major.
Removing the handset from his ear, the major responded, "Not right now Lieutenant, can't even get West Island on the radio now, just sit back and wait for now."
The major turned and returned to his work coordinating with command as in the distance, a squad of Marines exited a building leading two Fed prisoners. The Feds were led to the major and a sergeant explained the situation.
Burris was in the middle of issuing the platoon orders when the major shouted to him over the roar of the Trojan engines, "Lieutenant," he motioned for Burris to approach him, "Just captured this Fed major and captain, since you're not doing anything, you escort them back to West Island for interrogation."
"Yes sir," Burris nodded before turning back towards the platoon and shouting, "Sparrow!"
Luke hustled from the platoon to Burris who informed him of the situation. Rounding up the team, Luke led the Marines and Fed prisoners from the perimeter towards an idling Cougar-H. However, before they could reach the Cougar-H, an Army Warbird landed on the field, kicking up a storm of dust that blinded the Marines. Debarking from the aircraft, were six men, clad in all black uniforms, even wearing full balaclavas in the Concordia heat.
The six men rushed from the Warbird towards Luke and his team who were caught off guard by the occurrence. One of the men shouted at Luke, who was between the men in black and the Fed prisoners.
"We're here to take custody of the prisoner's sergeant," he said sternly from behind the balaclava and combat goggles, his eyes the only part of him visible.
"On who's authority," Luke questioned, not knowing what to do, yet hoping Burris or the major would appear and take control of the situation.
"You don't need to know that Commander," the man replied agitated, "Now, turn over the prisoners."
Luke glanced over to the Trojans where the major was, and was shocked to see two more of the black clad men conversing with him. The major appeared to fight the words, but eventually motioned at Luke to relinquish the prisoners to the men.
Two men from the group moved towards them and grabbed the prisoners by the collars and pushed them towards the helicopter. They left without another word. After throwing the prisoners into the VTOL, the men quickly boarded the Warbird and were back in the air in seconds. Strangely, Luke thought, the Blackhawk did not go West towards NAS West Island, yet east towards the city.
"You wanna tell me what the hell just happened Luke," Hex asked as she approached Luke's side watching the Warbird disappear into the skyline of the city.
"I have no fucking idea, probably ONI spooks." Luke said confused as he stood there in the open field, gripping his rifle.
After a moment, Luke shook what just happened off and said as he turned to the team, "Let's get back to the platoon and get the hell out of this shit-hole."
The Marines agreed and they walked back towards the platoon, huddled around a Trojan. The platoon joked around, and talked about the day and the close calls they had, and how they were glad to finally be done. Luke knew, that this was far from being over as he stood in a small circle with the other team leaders, there were still other Federation holdouts still remaining on Concordia. After several minutes of this, a loud bang was heard throughout the field. The sound which many thought was a truck backfiring turned out to be a gun shot when one of the Marines in the platoon fell to the ground.
"Get some cover," several of the men yelled as panic and confusion overcame the Marines.
Marines scattered everywhere as more shots rang out across the field. Luke found cover behind the Trojan along with Bowren and Riley. Marines were scattered elsewhere as they desperately sought cover.
"Where the hell is Hex and Heff," Luke shouted over the noise to Riley, who just shook his head.
The turret of an Titan that was nearby began shifting towards the south, and stopped as the barrel was fixated on a building at the edges of the field. The tank fired once, then again several seconds later. In moments, Trojans and Titans were unloading their ordinance into the building as it quickly collapsed under the fire. It was over in a minute, five Marines now were lying on the ground, as Luke shouted for Hex and Heffron.
As Marines began appearing from behind cover, Hex was soon found with several members of the platoon with her.
"Where the fuck is Heff," Luke questioned.
"I thought he was with you guys," Hex quickly said as she realized they were missing a man.
"Hey uh Luke," Riley said knocking Luke's arm.
Luke turned around to see a corpsman and several Marines over the body of the Marine in the platoon that fell. Luke could see an LMG-5 lying on the ground next to the body as blood soaked into the ground.
"Jesus Christ," Luke mumbled as he stood over Heffron's body; another friend had just been taken from him.
Codex Update
The OAG Assault Amphibious Vehicle
The Assault Amphibious Vehicle (AAV)—official designation AAV-P12/A5 is a fully tracked Amphibious landing vehicle manufactured by UEG Combat Industries. The AAV-P12/A5 is the current amphibious troop transport of the OAG military. It is used by OAG. Assault Amphibian Battalions to land the surface assault elements of the landing force and their equipment in a single lift from assault shipping during amphibious operations to inland objectives and to conduct mechanized operations and related combat support in subsequent mechanized operations ashore. It is also operated by other forces. Marines call them "amtracks," a shortening of their original designation, "amphibious tractor.". The AAVs are like the M4-Trojans are both tracked vehicles but have been upgraded to included hovering systems from the Republic.
The OAG AH-4Z SuperHornet
The OAG AH-4Z SuperHornet is an OAG VTOL, twin-turboshaft attack Gunship with a tailwheel-type landing gear arrangement and a tandem cockpit for a two-man crew. It features a nose-mounted sensor suite for target acquisition and night vision systems. It is armed with a 30mm M510 duel chain gun carried between the main landing gear, under the aircraft's forward fuselage. It has four hard points mounted on stub-wing pylons, typically carrying a mixture of hellfire missiles and Hydra-10 rocket pods. The AH-4Z has a large amount of systems redundancy to improve combat survivability. over 4,000 AH-4Zs have been produced to date.
7.62 Plasma Bullet
It was introduced in UEG. service in the AC-12 rifle and LMG-1 in the late 2470s. It is used in various Sniper Rifles and Machine Guns such as the LMG-5, and various rifles in use by special operations forces. The cartridge is used both by infantry and on mounted and crew-served weapons mounted to vehicles, aircraft and ships. The plasma Bullet is made up of a Steel Jacket Core with a small electronic system that activates a plasma field around the bullet that cauterizes the entry and exit wounds.
Did some research on actual NATO military language and codenames to improve the accuracy of my story.