Author's Note:The Naggiar Campaign is too epic for one chapter so it could take some time before the entire thing is done. That being said, I have no idea how many parts it will actually take. I intended this chapter to be longer but...you'll see why it isn't when you reach the end. Enjoy!
Chapter 8 – The Naggiar Campaign - Part One - From Bad to Worse
The morning sun shined upon the Naggiar Plains, revealing two forces gathered on either side, stretched out as far as the eye could see. Both the Imperial and Gallian forces were preparing for the inevitable battle that was most likely going decide the fate of Gallia, but it wasn't hard to see that the Gallian side was clearly outnumbered. Morale among the Gallian forces was poor at best, and it was this subject that was being discussed during the strategy meeting with Captain Varrot and the officers of Squad 7.
"So let me get this straight Elle," sighed Largo. "General Stupid expects us to take out not only the enemy's radio communications hub and central camp, but also two reinforced bunkers, five machine gun nests and Valkyrur knows how many troops between us and the objectives?"
"I don't like the situation any more than you do Largo," said Captain Varrot, pushing her glasses up. "I've tried and tried to tell General Damon that going on the offensive is unwise, but he will not budge from his strategy."
"It's like he's completely clueless to the situation," said Rosie as she shook her head. "Is there anything else we should be aware of?"
Captain Varrot gestured toward the map of the battleground. "As you can see, there is a large stretch of land between the trenches that separates our forces from theirs. We expect that the Imperials will be constantly bombarding this entire area with long range mortar rockets, hence why you must take out the radio communications that they have set up on their side."
"Then there's no way we can deploy either the Edelweiss or the Shamrock until then," said Welkin. "If the mortars don't kill us, then the heat from blasts will..."
"That means you won't be able to give us orders either Welkin..." noted Alicia.
"So we're supposed to run across a No-Man's Land, dodge mortars, bullets AND lancer rounds with zero armor support?" asked Edy, tugging on her right pigtail nervously.
"Is there any good news at least?" asked Zaka.
"There have been heavy winds in the area lately," said Varrot. "There is a possibility that there will be dust storms. There's no guarantee on that though. Also, Fina has been assigned to be your Squad's medic."
Largo let out a bitter laugh. "At least I'll have something pretty to look at when I croak then..."
Ignoring the comment, Varrot motioned back to the map. "I know it's not great, but I have a strategy as well. We will split the Squad into three groups for an attack on their defenses. Sergeant Melchiott, you will lead one group to attack the eastern side and take out the bunker and machine gun nests located there. Largo, you will do the same for the western side. Corporals Stark and Nelson, you will both lead the third group to attack the middle and if possible hit their bunker defenses from behind once inside the enemy trenches. Lieutenant Gunther and Sergeant Zaka will remain in the base camp to defend it until it is safe to deploy them."
"Looks like we got the easy job Edy," Rosie sarcastically told the other shocktrooper.
"You will begin the attack at noon," ordered Varrot. "That gives you two hours to get prepared. I wish you all luck out there."
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"So what do you think Welkin?" Alicia asked as the group left the command tent. "Do you honestly think we have a chance?"
"Anything is possible," he said as he looked over the soon-to-be battlefield. "But there's not much I can do to help in this battle...It's going to fall on you four to lead the squad this time."
Rosie took a deep breath as she also surveyed the scenery. "This is really it huh?"
"You're not getting scared on me are ya Rosie?" asked Largo as he patted Rosie on the head.
"No that's not it," she growled, punching Largo's arm. "I've made my peace with it and all but looking at it now...It's just...heavy you know?"
"Can't say I disagree," nodded Largo. "Even back in EWI I can't say I've been in tighter spots than this."
Rosie looked over at Edy, noticing the younger shocktrooper had not said anything yet. "What about you kiddo?" she asked.
Edy closed her eyes and nodded. "We've made it this far right?" she said. "We can get through this too."
"That's the spirit Edy," said Welkin, giving her a thumbs-up. "Now as for the battle plan..."
"You got any ideas?" asked Alicia. "The Captain's plan was kinda vague after all."
"Well let's start with what we do know," said Rosie. "They've got us outnumbered, outgunned, and outclassed probably."
"True, but look at this," said Welkin as he kicked up a cloud of dust with his foot, inadvertently showering Alicia with it.
"Agh hey watch it!" fumed Alicia, knocking the dust away from her hair. "What was that for?!"
"Woops, sorry Alicia!" said Welkin. "But the point of that was to show that these plains are nearly as arid and dry as the Barious Desert."
"Meaning?" asked Rosie, not wanting to hear another history lesson.
"Well if the Captain is right and the Imperials use mortars in the middle area..." began Welkin.
"Instant dust storm!" Largo said as he pounded is right first into his left palm. "Score another one for the nature guy!"
"That's right," nodded Welkin. "If the dust becomes thick enough, Alicia and Largo can probably sneak a few units in with them to ambush the Imperials without having to dodge a lot of fire. If you strike hard and fast enough you should be able to ignite the the ragnite ammunition deposits that are stored at the rear of the bunkers without too much trouble."
"What about us?" asked Rosie, pointing at her and Edy.
"You'll have to charge straight ahead when the opportunity arises," explained Welkin. "Your job will be to divert the enemy's attention toward your group, making them think you're the only attacking force."
"And here I thought it was going to be hard," sighed Rosie. "But, hey, whatever you say Boss! Your crazy plans have worked so far, so there's no reason to doubt you now. Ain't that right Edy?"
Edy nodded. "I'll do my best too!"
"Don't forget that a lot of the fighting is going to be close quarters combat inside the trenches once you get to their side," added Welkin. "So make sure the scouts have their bayonets fixed on their rifles. Don't forget you guys have sidearms too; use them if you have to...It's better than nothing."
"So who's going with who?" asked Alicia.
"Alicia, I want you to take Aisha, Rosina and Dallas," said Welkin.
"You sure you wanna put a little girl in the front lines?" asked Largo, referring to the twelve year old shocktrooper Aisha Neumann.
"She's small, so she can slip by the enemies easier," said Welkin. "Plus she and Rosina have been working on a certain 'maneuver' that might come in handy."
"Whatever you say," sighed Largo. "What about me?"
"I want you to take Aika, Vyse and Ramsey," Welkin answered. "Edy and Rosie, you'll have Salinas, Freesia, Jann, Ted, Susie, Homer, Mica, Jane, and Elysse. The rest of the squad is going to defend our base from our trenches."
"Got something against snipers Boss?" asked Rosie.
"I need them to give you support from our trenches as well," explained Welkin. "They'll be able to provide some degree of suppressing fire for your attack, so it'll be up to you on how to use them. Also, even though we have Fina to act as our medic, she's only one person, so if you need to, have the engineer that I assigned to your groups to patch up anyone that's hurt."
"Hmm, this isn't sounding so bad," said Alicia. "At least the way you're describing it."
Welkin shrugged. "Well it's just an idea after all. Anyway, go ahead and get your groups ready to go."
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Squad 7's camp quickly became very active upon receiving their orders from Welkin. Welkin watched as everyone began to scurry about, preparing for battle. Near the Edelweiss, he watched as Karl and Nadine set up sandbags for a final defense in the event that the Imperials overran his squad. He hoped it wouldn't be necessary, for even though he had the utmost faith in his squad, this was the one battle where it would take more than simple faith to get the job done. His thoughts were interrupted by what appeared to be an argument between Freesia York and Cezary Regard. Looking at them, Welkin noticed that in addition to the usual scout armor, Freesia also wore a pair of goggles on top of her head and a bright yellow muffler around her neck that also covered the bottom half of her face, her personal desert combat gear. That wasn't surprising to Welkin, for Freesia was a desert-bred soldier. Somewhat more surprising was that she was also carrying two scimitar style swords; the same swords that she often used to dance with when she occasionally performed for the squad.
"So what are you gunna do with those, huh?" smirked Cezary. "Dance the enemy to death with them?"
"Don't you have someone else to annoy?" sighed Freesia as she placed her swords in their scabbards that were strapped to her back. "Jerk."
"Well, there's an old saying that goes like this: Don't bring a knife to a gunfight," laughed Cezary, clearly enjoying Freesia's annoyed reaction.
In a flash Freesia drew one of her blades and pointed it Cezary, the point of her sword stopping an inch from his face. "I hear it's hard to pull a trigger when your hand is gone...or your head for that matter."
Welkin stepped forward and stopped the fight. "Save that energy for the Imperials guys," he sighed.
Freesia complied and returned her sword to its scabbard and hurried to take her place in Rosie and Edy's group. Cezary grumbled and shuffled over to his post at the eastern side of the forward trench.
Welkin sighed as he put his right hand over his forehead. We haven't even started yet and we have people fighting already...
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Marina and Catherine were both keeping watch in the middle of the forward trench, constantly watching for any sign of Imperial movement through the scopes of their rifles. They had both heard the battle plan from Rosie and Edy, whose group they were next to. Secretly, they were both glad that they didn't have to join the attack groups, after all they were snipers and as such, they were not trained for close quarters combat other than the basics that were taught in training camp. The Imperials had begun to bombard the middle stretch of land between the two forces with mortars and as Welkin had predicted a large cloud of dust had begun to form. Suddenly Catherine nudged Marina in order to get her attention.
"You see anything out there?" she asked.
"No," replied Marina, still attempting to scan for any signs of motion that the dust might be covering. "What about you?"
Catherine sighed as she looked away from her scope. "I can't see a thing dear."
"Was it like this when you and my father fought here in the first war?" asked Marina, still scanning.
"No," answered the other sniper. "Believe it or not this place was covered in grass and trees back then. Such is the effect of war."
"So it seems," agreed Marina. "It's a shame that-" The sound of a lancer round flying above their heads interrupted Marina's sentence. Suddenly, dozens of Imperial troops began pouring out of the dust cloud.
"They're coming!" shouted Rosie. "Get into defensive positions!" Damn, they used the strategy that we were going to use...
Squad 7 quickly began returning fire at the attacking Imperials, dropping several of them within a few seconds. Their quick response, however, was not enough to stop the Imperials from reaching the squad's trench, and the battle quickly turned into what Welkin didn't want: a melee brawl with his Squad outnumbered.
"Emile! Oscar! Start laying suppressing fire near the top middle of the trench!" he ordered from atop the Edelweiss.
The Bielert brothers nodded and took their positions atop the Edelweiss itself and began picking off would be attackers as they approached the trench.
Welkin himself took control of the machine gun that was equipped on the Edelweiss and began firing in the same area that he had ordered the sniper siblings to shoot at. This slowed the progress of the Imperials, but there were still many more reaching the trench. This isn't good, he thought as he continued to fire. I wasn't expecting this. Alicia and the others need to hold these guys off or it's all over...
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The fighting inside the trench had intensified to the point where the squad had been split in half with Alicia and Edy leading the left side and Rosie and Largo the right.
"Fight them back!" shouted Alicia as she shoved an enemy scout off of her. "There's nowhere for us to retreat, you hear?"
Marina and Catherine had already swapped their rifles for their sidearms, a Colt .45 and a Gallian PP7, respectively, and were behind Edy and Alicia, doing their best to stem the tide of the attacking Imperials. Next to them, Freesia and Jane were also firing at the approaching enemy.
"Die Imps die!" shouted Jane as she emptied clip after clip at the advancing Imperials.
"Don't go too crazy Jane!" warned Edy. "You can't kill anything when you're dead!"
"Eh crazy schmazy!" laughed Freesia as she began hacking away with her swords at any Imperials who were foolish enough to get within melee range of her. "They can't touch me!"
Edy and Alicia marveled at how Freesia was able to move with such grace and speed even in a situation like the one they were in. And laugh while she did it.
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On the other side Largo and Rosie also had their hands full keeping the Imperials at bay. Although Largo could not fire his lancaar as such close range, his fists easily made up the difference. As he picked up and tossed a nearby Imperial trooper into a cluster of approaching Imperials, Vyse and Aika were fighting off a pair of scouts next to him. Like Freesia, Vyse also kept a pair of swords on him for melee purposes, but these were cutlass style swords, gifts from his father. Aika's Gallian rifle had jammed and she had to resort to her personal weapon, a razor sharp boomerang. As the two were forced back to the end of the trench, the situation was clearly not in their favor.
"Uh oh, looks like our hero's in trouble!" grinned Vyse in spite of the situation.
"Doesn't anything make you worry Vyse?" asked Aika as she dodged a bayonet thrust from the scout she was fighting.
"Nope!" laughed Vyse as he knocked the scout he was facing away from him.
As the fighting continued around her, Rosie suddenly remembered Leon's new attachment. Flicking the switch on the Flame Flail, the underside of her gun emitted an impressive spout of blue flame. Although the amount of fuel inside the cannister did not allow for a long term ragnite flame spray, the results were effective enough set an entire line of attacking Imperials on fire. The troops that were fortunate enough to not be immolated began to back up, not wanting to suffer the same fate.
"Hey, Edy," said Rosie over the radio, as she loaded another cannister into the attachment. "Use your Flame Flail!"
"Oh right!" answered Edy. "I forgot about that!" Pointing her weapon back at the numerous Imperials that were upon them, she activated the attachment. Just like Rosie's, her Flame Flail instantly caught the nearby enemies on fire, causing them to scream in fear and pain. When the fuel had run out, she watched as the surviving Imperials began to back away.
"Now's our chance!" shouted Edy. "Charge!"
The squad members cheered in response and began to chase the retreating Imperials. On the other side Rosie and Largo issued the same orders, and the Imperials suddenly found themselves surrounded on both sides within the trench and with no place to go. Within minutes, the entire invading Imperial force had been repelled.
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"Whew," sighed Alicia as she loaded a fresh clip into her rifle. "That wasn't what I had in mind."
"Anyone hurt?" asked Edy over the radio as she stepped around the fallen bodies of the Imperials.
"Amazingly just a few minor stab wounds on a couple of people," replied Fina. "I'll have them back in shape in no time!"
"Well that's good," sighed Rosie as she and Largo rejoined Edy and Alicia.
"Think we'll still be able to use the plan?" asked Largo. "Looks like they thought of the same strategy we did."
"I think we still need to try it," said Alicia as the Imperial mortars resumed bombing. "At the very least, we thinned out their numbers."
"We don't have anything else to go on either," agreed Edy. "We won't do much sitting here so-"
"Edy look out!" shouted Alicia.
"Wha?" Edy spun around in time to see an injured Imperial scout pointing a rifle at her. Alicia quickly shot him but not before he was able to fire a round off. Instantly, Edy felt a sharp pain in her chest and stumbled backwards against the trench wall. Unable to draw a breath, she fell to her knees. As her vision blurred, she heard Alicia screaming for the medic just before losing consciousness...