Chapter 9 – The Naggiar Campaign - Part 2 -Race Against Time
She couldn't hear anything. Or feel anything. In the far reaches of her consciousness, Edy swore she could hear a voice calling her name. I must be dead, she thought as she slowly opened her eyes. I was shot after all...So that means I must be in heaven or...
As Edy's vision slowly returned to her, all she could see at first was a bright light followed by the outline of a face. As her vision slowly came into focus, the face appeared to be that of an angel; blue eyes, blond hair...The typical description she had read about. Suddenly her senses returned to her and it felt like a ton of bricks had just fell on top of her head. The sound of mortars and gunfire filled her ears. The face that she was looking at was not that of an angel but rather that of Homer Peron, who's features were difficult to make out due to the sun blinding her.
"If this is heaven," groaned Edy, "then God has a weird sense of humor..."
"Edy?!" gasped Homer, with a relieved expression. "Y-you're alive?!"
"It looks like it," said Edy as she sat up.
"You were shot point blank in the chest," said Alicia with a puzzled expression as Fina appeared next to her. "And you're fine? I don't believe it!"
"Neither do I," agreed Edy, reaching inside her BDU jacket. A moment later she revealed the reason why she was still alive. In her hand was the good-luck charm that Lynn had made for her, the bullet embedded inside a silver ducat piece that was inside a pouch in the center of the doll.
"You know," said Lynn, "When I said it was a protective charm, I didn't mean it in a literal sense!"
"But how does a silver piece stop a bullet?" asked Rosie.
"Well the Imperial ZM KAR series rifle uses a different type of ammunition than our Gallian series," explained Fina as she examined the bullet-embedded coin. "Those rounds are designed to lodge rather than penetrate. Plus at such short range, the bullet didn't have sufficient time to gain enough momentum to penetrate the coin completely."
"Well, that was a bit more info than I wanted," laughed Rosie. "But you are fine now right?"
"Well my right boob is gunna be sore for a bit but yeah," confirmed Edy as she returned the charm back inside her BDU jacket.
"Not to sound insensitive," said Largo, "But we need to attack soon if our plan is still gunna work. I don't think we can handle another Imperial attack."
"I'm ready," said Edy . "So how do we do this?"
"There's a one minute interval between the Imperial rocket salvos," said Alicia. "So basically you're going to have to run full steam at them if you wanna make it."
"Sounds fun," said Rosie as she watched as more Imperial rocket mortars blast the no-mans land. "Well, hurry up and get your groups in position you two! We need to hit em before they can regroup and attack us again."
Largo and Alicia nodded and took their group members and went to their respective sides.
"I hope this won't end up like Marberry," sighed Edy as she watch the two groups leave. "I don't think I can take losing another friend."
"Me neither," agreed Rosie. "But we gotta trust the boss' plan on this, or we'll all wind up with Isara a lot sooner than we planned to."
The two listened as another Imperial rocket salvo hammered the area.
"Get ready guys," announced Rosie over the radio. "We're going to go after the next round of rockets have been fired."
"Just stick with us and you'll be fine," said Edy to her group. "We've made it this far, so there's no reason why we won't make it out alive this time too."
She watched as her group members nodded and steeled themselves for the charge that was to come. Their eyes showed a mixture of fear and anticipation. Edy couldn't blame them for this; after all, it was very likely that they would all be killed once they began the attack. Edy herself wasn't quite prepared to go meet her family in heaven just yet though, and if she died then who would lead the Edy Detachment? Marina? Edy giggled slightly at the thought.
Bakoom! Bakoom! The sound for Imperial mortar rockets snapped Edy's attention back to the battlefield and the now large cloud of dust that blanketed the middle zone. The time to charge was now, and there would be no going back from this point onward...
"Let's do this!" shouted Rosie as Edy shouted "Charge!"
Alicia watched from her side as Edy and Rosie's group plunged into the dust cloud. She wanted nothing more than to be with them as they ran toward the other side, but both her and Largo's group had to wait until the middle group had breached the enemy's trench so that the other two groups could make a run at the bunkers unnoticed. Provided Edy and Rosie's group survives long enough that is, or even makes it to the enemy trench...
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Alicia's fears weren't without merit, for as soon as as Edy and Rosie's group emerged from the dust cloud they found themselves charging straight into an entire squad of Imperial shocktroopers that were dug in behind sandbags, thus effectively blocking the entrance to the trench.
"Elysse! Jann! Blow those sandbags now!" shouted Rosie as she and the other non-lancers dropped to the ground.
"You got it honey!" shouted Jann as he and Elysse each launched a round into the sandbags. The blitzkrieg proved effective as the sandbag blockade was blown away and the troopers behind it were left staggering in surprise. Not wasting any time, Rosie and Edy set upon them with their Flame Flails, incinerating all ten troopers in a matter of seconds. Paying little heed to the dying screams, the group pressed onward into the trench, preparing to push deeper. They were met with some resistance, but nothing that they couldn't handle.
"This is almost too easy," said Rosie as she turned on her radio receiver. "Hey, Alicia, Largo. We made it to the other side, and I think we got their attention."
"Roger that," answered Alicia. "On our way,"
"Leave some of them for us eh?" said Largo.
"I'm sure there's plenty left for you guys," sighed Rosie as she turned her attention back to the battle and the large number of Imperial soldiers that were starting to appear from either side in front of them.
"Maybe not..." muttered Rosie as her group began returning fire.
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The sound of more mortar fire signaled that it was time for Alicia and Largo's groups to make their move. The trip across the middle area was quick and easy, even with Aisha falling slightly behind. Emerging from the dust, both groups found no resistance at all on either side, meaning that the plan had gone even better than planned, and that destroying the bunkers seemed a much more realistic task than before. Alicia's group quickly hurried along the trenches and positioned themselves below the bunker on their side, but soon found themselves with no way to get up to it as there was no ladder to climb.
"Great! Now what?" asked Dallas as she looked up at the seven foot high trench wall.
"Hey Aisha, wanna try out that little thing we've been practicing?" asked Rosina as she set her lancaar launcher down on the ground.
"Yeah!" answered the shocktrooper. "Aisha's ready to go! Oh, can Aisha get some spare grenades from you Dallas?"
"Uh, sure..." trailed Dallas as she opened her ammo box and handed Aisha a pair of grenades. "But how are you going to get up there?"
"Watch and see," grinned Rosina as she crouched down and cupped her hands in front of her. Alicia and Dallas watched as Aisha ran up to Rosina and was vaulted upwards and over the trench wall and landing right behind the bunker. The young shocktrooper recalled the plan to detonate the ragnite ammunition and after spotting it, took the two grenades that Dallas gave her and two others that she had with her and pulled the ripcords on each simultaneously and placed them on the ammunition pile and jumped back into the trench as the ammunition exploded, the result being the bunker collapsing.
"Hey good job Aisha!" praised Alicia as she patted the young soldier on the head. She then turned on her receiver. "Hey Largo, we got rid of the bunker on our side; how's things on your end?"
"Not bad," answered a gruff voice on the other end. "You'll see in about five...four...three..."
A few seconds later Alicia heard an explosion and saw that the bunker on the other side was a smoking ruin as well.
"Alright!" said Rosina as she pumped her fist. "So what's the plan now?"
Alicia thought for a moment before coming up with a decision. "We should probably join up with Rosie and Edy. Come on."
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Although Alicia and Largo's teams had been successful, Rosie and Edy's team found themselves pinned down halfway to the enemy's radio communications camp by two machine gun nests and with more Imperials rushing into the trench, it was clear that reinforcements were needed and Edy relayed this to Welkin over the radio.
Back at Squad 7's main camp Welkin heard the message and began to relay orders to some of the remaining members that were guarding the camp.
"Looks like it's now or never guys," he said to the others. "Marina and Catherine go and make for western side of their trenches and see if you can use the area near the destroyed bunker to snipe from."
"As you command," replied Marina as she and Catherine hurried away in preparation to make their run.
"Cezary, I need you and Lynn to join up with the middle group," ordered Welkin.
Cezary sighed at the order. "I gotta partner up with a dark-hair?" he asked. "Don't I have all the luck..."
"You got a problem with it?" demanded Lynn as she put her hands on her hips.
"Yeah, but whatever," answered the sniper. "An order is an order. Let's go, just don't slow me down."
Welkin sighed as he watch the two hurry off toward the end of the trench but had no time to wonder about their situation as another voice came over the radio, this time belonging to Faldio Landzaat, the leader of Squad 1.
"Hey, Welkin I don't mean to worry you," reported Faldio. "But that Valkyrur general has been laying waste to my unit and we've got no choice but to retreat to your position..."
"But we have no way to defend our camp from her," said Welkin in disbelief. "And with those mortar rockets still coming in, we can't even deploy the Edelweiss or the Shamrock!"
"Well, I hope your troops can get the job done soon, because there's only a handful of my squad left," answered Faldio. "You'll see what I mean when we meet up with you."
What do I do now? Welkin put his hand to his forehead as he tried to ponder another plan to defend his camp from what appeared to be an unstoppable enemy.
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Cezary and Lynn had just made the daunting run across the middle zone and jumped into the trench when they spotted a small group of imperial troopers ahead of them heading toward Edy and Rosie's group.
"We need to take them out fast or they'll kill Edy's group from behind in a matter of seconds!" said Lynn.
"Yeah, sure," said Cezary as he sized up the situation. "I'll back you up..."
"Just don't shoot me you got that?" demanded Lynn as she rushed behind the group to ambush them.
As Cezary raised his rifle to target the back of one of the Imperial's heads he thought to himself about how shooting her wouldn't be such a bad idea...
Lynn moved silently behind the Imperial group, grenade in hand, careful not to make any sudden noises because if they saw her, she would be killed, no doubt about it. Fortunately for her, they were focused entirely on striking Edy and Rosie's group from behind and paid no attention to their backs. As she raised her hand to toss the grenade, a shot rang out from behind her and she watched as a sniper bullet struck one of the Imperials in the head. The remaining five spun around and watched as Lynn quickly tossed the grenade. Damn it Cezary, you shot too early on purpose! Lynn thought as she pulled out her machine gun. She wasn't fast enough though and she was instantly shot several times, the bullets striking her in her legs and chest. Grimacing through the pain she was able to take down the other Imperials before finally collapsing to the ground.
Cezary walked up to her with his trademark smirk and watched as she bled on the ground.
"Help..me..." gasped Lynn as she looked up at him pleadingly, coughing up some blood as she did.
"Sorry but I don't have time to babysit you," chuckled Cezary as he knelt down and removed Lynn's radio earpiece and took her gun. He then whispered into her ear, "Have fun rotting in hell, you dark-hair slut.."
"Cezary...you...bastard!" coughed Lynn as she watched the sniper run away toward the middle group. I should have seen this coming...And now Cezary is going to look like a hero when it's all said and done... Lynn looked at the sky as she continued to bleed out into the trench. "Karl...I love you," she whispered as her vision began to dim. "I'll always..." As the world faded to darkness she thought she could hear footsteps coming from somewhere behind her...
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By this time, Marina and Catherine had finally reached the remains of the destroyed western Imperial bunker and had taken their positions atop what was left of the bunker roof.
"I see two gun nests on either side and twenty soldiers in the center," said Marina as she scouted out the situation through her scope. "Edy certainly has her hands full."
"At least she's alive," commented Catherine as she looked at Edy through her scope. "It seems Alicia and Largo's groups have joined up with them as well but they're not gaining any ground."
Welkin's voice suddenly came over the radio. "I don't mean to worry you all with this but Squad 1 has been pretty much wiped out by the Imperial Valkyrur general. If we don't take out the enemy radio communications camp soon, she'll wipe us out too."
"Great," muttered Marina as she stared down at the left machine gun nest. "Let's get to work Catherine. I'll take out the left nest, you deal with the right one."
"Sounds good," said the older sniper. "On my mark then. Three, two, one.."
The simultaneous crack of their rifles sounded the doom of the two machine gunners that were responsible for pinning down the main group. As other Imperial troops moved to man the guns, they too fell to the dual snipers.
"Too easy," said Marina as she took out another would-be gunner. "That makes five for me."
"Only three for me," sighed Catherine. "I must be losing my touch."
"Maybe you're just getting old," chuckled Marina as she watched as the middle group take out the Imperials that were hiding behind the middle sandbags with several well-placed lancer rounds.
"That's not very nice," huffed Catherine as she set her rifle down and looked at Marina. She was about to say something else when she saw that three Imperial scouts had somehow sneaked up on them and was about to shoot Marina.
"Watch out!" shouted Catherine as she threw herself at the scouts. Marina wheeled around in time to see Catherine kick one of the scouts off the bunker before getting stabbed with a bayonet from behind.
"Catherine!" screamed Marina as she saw her friend crumple to the ground. Drawing her Colt .45, Marina shot the second scout directly in the head. Although the armor of the standard Imperial helmet was strong enough to stop most small arms fire, the Colt .45 was anything but. Marina watched as the the scout was blown off the bunker from the force of the shot and turned around to face the final scout. His rifle had jammed and had a combat knife in his hand, ready to charge at her. Marina couldn't help but smirk at this before emptying the remaining five rounds of her Colt .45 into him. When he fell over dead, the realization that Catherine might be dead as well suddenly registered to her.
"Catherine, say something!" said Marina as rushed over to her friend and held her in her arms. "Medic! Corporal O'Hara has been seriously injured! I need assistance now!"
"Roger that," acknowledged Fina, who was with Edy's group. "I'm on my way!"
"Me too!" said Ted. "Can't have our Medic go unprotected now. Hang in there Marina!"
Marina opened Catherine's BDU jacket and saw that she was bleeding heavily. Reaching for her ragnaid device, Marina's heart sank as she saw that the glass shield on the top had been shattered, rendering the device and medicine within useless. Making matters worse was the knowledge that Catherine didn't carry ragnaid, opting for additional ammunition instead.
"Catherine, if you die now, I swear I'll hate you forever," sobbed Marina as she held her friend's head close to hers. "Wake up..."
When she got no response, Marina began to cry, the first time she had done so since the death of her father. The only person who really understood her and had been there for her even when she didn't want it was now going to be taken away from her. "Please God, don't take her away from me," she whispered, tears streaming down her face. "She's the closest thing to a mother I've got..."
"That's...nice of you to say, Marina dear," said Catherine in a weak voice. "That's more like the sweet girl I once knew."
"What?" Marina looked down at Catherine's face and saw that she was alive, albeit barely. "You're okay?"
"It's not the first time I've been bayoneted dear," coughed Catherine. "Still hurts though. I'll be alright provided Fina doesn't take her time getting to me."
"That's good," said Marina as she breathed a sigh of relief.
"Did...you really mean what you just said?" asked Catherine.
"...Maybe," huffed Marina, feeling her face get hot. "Better not tell anyone."
Catherine managed a weak laugh. "Wouldn't dream of it Marina dear."
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With the middle area cleared and the machine gun nests dealt with, the path to the radio communications camp was clear, and with Edy and Rosie leading the charge, they made their way into it, scattering the few remaining Imperials left.
"Alright guys," announced Largo with a grin on his face. "Let's blow this place sky high!"
"Roger that!" said Rosina as she and the other lancers aimed their launchers at the radio tower and a moment later blew it to pieces.
"Well that should stop the mortar rockets at least," sighed Homer as he began to scan the area for mines.
"But what about the Valkyrur?" asked Edy. "This will be meaningless if she blows us all up or something!"
Alicia activated her radio. "Welkin we've taken out the Imperial radio camp. What's the situation now?"
Back at the Gallian camp, Welkin was seeing the arrival of what was left of Squad 1. Faldio wasn't joking about his squad being wiped out. Other than Faldio, there were only three members of his squad still alive...Upon hearing Alicia's report he scanned the battlefield for the Imperial Valkyrur general, Selvaria Bles, and spotted her retreating back to the Imperial lines.
"I think she's retreating," sighed Welkin. "We're saved. Good work everyone." The battle was over. For now at least.