Authors note: This is going to be a long chapter, mostly because I have a huge battle I decided to do later to show off the power of the Sleg Imperium, and the Barbadons fighting back of course. I'm also doing this to rush things along since I don't want to spend too long in Redding, but I'll add some more character development here first before rushing into the actual battle next chapter, which I promise will be bloody and gory in every way possible. Hope you guys enjoy the next chapter and as always, reviews are appreciated.
Chapter 19: Unexpected Attack
O-O-O
As the sun rose over Redding, a now ruined town filled with murderers and rapists, Dipper couldn't help but feel hopeless. He and his group were captured by Barbadon mercs, who have every desire to kill them in the most brutal ways, the so called base he had hoped for was now gone along with the survivors dead or imprisoned, and now he was going to be imprisoned as well, wondering what would happen next while being escorted further into town while trying to look away at the chaos around him.
Mabel still kept quiet after all she had seen, having no words to express her fear of the situation while still in shock after what had almost happened last night, if it weren't for Dipper and Wendy, she would be beyond repair. Soos and Nate kept their silence as well, both men still in their thoughts to calm themselves after what had happened last night, though Nate had a much tougher time since he saw his best friend die in front of him. Wendy would have said some quips involving the Barbadon "culture", but kept silent for the sake of her group while trying to think of a plan, despite how bleak the situation is.
The human group had eventually arrived at the location where the surviving prisoners were kept, with dozens of human survivors, all disarmed of their weapons and huddled together in the middle of a road, made to crouch down in a small circle while being surrounded by a dozen Barbadon mercs armed with shotguns, ready to gun down anyone who tries to run out of said circle.
The human group was pushed into the huddled circle, forced to crouch down as the small circle opened up to make room for the new prisoners.
"Better stay put humies, or we'll blow your fucking brains out."
The Barbadon escort then left the humans, off to do whatever the hell else they wanted in Redding while the humans stayed put, unable to go anywhere else and waited, waited for some chance of hope to kick in, while Wendy made some small talk with a nearby prisoner for more info.
"Are you guys all that's left?" Whispered Wendy to the prisoner, getting a nod in response.
"Yeah. The Barbadons came out of nowhere, we had no idea how many there were." Whispered the captive. "They overwhelmed us. Killed our best guys while a few ran off, I don't know if they even made it or not."
"How many of these mercs are there?"
"Four, five thousand? I just know there's a lot of them. Maybe more on the way."
Wendy just shook her head, actually unsure about this situation and hoped to god that something would happen, since it would take a miracle to get rid of the Bloodskulls.
Distant whistling could then be heard in the air, something that caused everyone around them, humans and Barbadons alike, to look up to see where the sounds came from, until the whistling was silenced.
Explosions followed soon after, as the concrete around the road formed into craters and parts of buildings exploded into debris, with smoke and fire filling the area around the humans and distracted the Barbadons, shocked from the unexpected artillery fire and ran from their positions, abandoning the human prisoners to save themselves while the humans took advantage and ran as well, going off into several different directions in a state of panic.
"What the hell is happening now?!" Exclaimed Dipper, as Wendy grabbed onto his hand to not lose him in the panicked crowd.
"Just stick with me!" Answered Wendy, unaware if their group was still together or not, as she ran with Dipper in one direction, while Nate managed to follow close behind, but lost Soos and Mabel running in another direction.
A few artillery shells managed to hit close by Mabel and Soos, blowing them back from the force along with killing some other survivors from the blast, as they struggled to get up and run from the closer artillery fire.
Everyone was now dazed, confused, and separated, like wild animals in a stampede, the humans fled for their lives, unaware of what was actually happening.
An assault.
O-O-O
About a mile away was the source of the artillery fire, up on a wide hill were some sort of self-propelled artillery tanks, howitzers that were bombarding Redding from a good distance away. They appeared to be colored in the standard military green, appearing to be like standard tanks but smaller and lighter in design, with a long assault gun as the main weapon used to propel the high explosive shells.
There were a few more small groups of artillery tanks in a few other hills close by aiding the bombardment, while military APCs colored in the same military green color were driving towards Redding on more flatter land, appearing to be more heavily armored and bulkier than CSF APCs since they were designed for combat operations, armed with a auto cannon on a turret on top, while still retaining its transportation purpose and held an infantry squad in each vehicle to protect them from small arms fire and move them up safely before unloading, as infantry squads of Gecken and Guanian Slegs of the Imperial armed forces charged into the several openings in the walls, severely damaged by the artillery fire from earlier, gunning down several Barbadon defenders who either stayed in their positions, or tried retreating from the aggressive squads.
More military aid came in from the north of the town, which was the main point of assault for the Imperial Sleg army due to how vulnerable and lightly guarded it was, as battle tanks in the same military green advanced from behind, appearing to be a combination of an M1 Abrams and T-90 tank, since it looked large and bulky but still fast and able, armed with large tank cannons on a large rotating gun turret, with a machine gun mounted coaxially on the turret for engaging infantry, providing close fire support on the front lines while keeping a fair distance.
There was even air support for the assault, though they were not attack helicopters since it would be too much firepower needed, there were several dropships instead that provided limited air support while transporting more soldiers into Redding to quickly advance, while artillery support eventually stopped firing into town, since the bombardment phase to disorientate and wound the Bloodskull mercenaries was complete, and would only be ordered by high ranking officers in Redding for close firing support just in case things got too heavy.
One of these dropships heading straight for Redding had Selick and his squad, ready and equipped for the assault against the Barbadon mercenaries, though he couldn't help but wonder what the whole purpose of this assault was. The Barbadons were supposed to be on their side, yet they were now attacking them, he knew that there was tension between the mercenaries and the military due to the Barbadon's tendencies for bloodshed and violence, often defying orders from their employers to have their own fun, but never to the point of all-out war.
Selick was more scared than curious however, even if he knew what he was getting into this time, it didn't make it any better, since he could still hear muffled explosions in the dropship, which was also getting some turbulence and caused the dropship to slightly rumble. Gene worms were one thing, they were just wild beasts, smarter than the average beast but still wild, Barbadons were Slegs, sentient beings that actually used guns to their advantage instead of their bare hands, though Barbadons still liked close quarters combat more than guns.
The Sargent then stood close to the same position just like last time, only this time he was facing the full capacity of twenty four soldiers in the dropship, all armed and ready with mostly assault rifles, some equipped with grenade launchers attached under their rifles and bandoliers with grenades for the launchers including Zaz and Meeko, while Brok still had his shotgun for close quarters combat with both shells and slugs for different ranges, Jorg still had his light machine gun with extra ammo in his backpack for his squad, and Selick and Vek had ordinary assault rifles.
"Listen up, men! We're going in hot this time around!" Exclaimed the Sargent, getting the soldiers attention as they loaded their guns. "Usually we don't interfere with the Bloodskull's business, but due to recent incidents involving the mercenaries and an alarming increase in Bloodskull presence, along with a failed negotiation by one of the employers and a refusal to give this town to us, we have to terminate their contract by force!"
"You sure we can't just throw some booze and girls at them and call it a day? It's a tough sacrifice, but it'll shut those fuckers up." Quipped Zaz.
"There's only one way the Barbadons will respond to us now, and as ballsy as it is, we're under orders to eliminate all the mercs in the town." Responded the Sergeant. "We'll be dropping soon, so count your mags, fix your bayonets, and lock and load, this won't be easy! Any questions?"
Vek raised his hand first for his question.
"Was it Northwest that failed by any chance, sir? He's the one that usually talks to them and they actually listen to him the most." Asked Vek, surprised that the negotiations failed.
"They refused to take any more deals and claimed they wanted the town so they could burn it for their own amusement. Northwest managed to get out alive, but almost risked getting shelled in the process." Answered the sergeant, as Zaz felt disappointed about the last sentence. "You have a few minutes until we're at our LZ. Be ready."
The soldiers took the time to double check their gear and equip their masks, while still making small talk before the drop.
"A shame Northwest didn't get blown up." Said Zaz disappointingly. "I would have loved to see his burning corpse in flames."
"And you said I liked violence too much." Answered Brok jokingly.
"I thought you didn't have anything against humans?" Asked Selick, wondering about Zaz's change of attitude.
"Northwest is an exception. That fucker sold out his own kind to save his own skin. Hell, I heard he gave his wife away to the Barbadons to make one of his deals a thing." Answered Zaz, sounding disgusted at the last sentence about Preston's wife. "That shit don't fly with me."
"Isn't he some kind of politician from L.A.? What's he doing here?" Asked Meeko.
"Supposedly, he's the one that bosses them around since the Sleg politicians are too big of pussys to deal with them personally. That and Barbadons don't like the Sleg Imperium. They think we're too cowardly on the battlefield because we use guns more often than committing suicide by running into blind fire. Oh, and we killed a lot of them, so there's also that." Answered Zaz.
"He should be back there doing his usual bullshit. Siting on his fancy chair and kissing Xon's ass." Said Jorg, not too happy about Preston either. "I'm usually nice to other people, but that guy, not so much."
"See that? Even Jorg doesn't like him. That's how scummy Northwest is." Said Zaz, before talking slightly calmer about someone else. "His daughter nicer, much nicer."
"What? You met her or something?" Asked Selick, to which Zaz responded by pointing to Jorg next to Selick.
"He did. He just told me about her and she seems pretty nice for a human."
Selick turned to Jorg, wanting to hear the story about Preston's daughter, as the Guanian told his short story.
"Before I was assigned to this squad, I met her just walking by some poor, rundown neighborhood while I was on patrol for a different squad. The girl was surrounded by bodyguards since they claimed it was a bad neighborhood, but that's not true because CSF lie all the time, nuff said. Anyways, she saw a human mother with her four starving children out in the streets, walked into one of those crappy food markets close by, and came back with all the food she could carry for the family. I asked her why she did that, and she told me "They're my people. I have to help them no matter what." Then she just left."
Selick was quite amazed by the story of kindness, surprised and touched by the tale, feeling much more calm being involved in the conversation so he didn't have to hear the explosions outside.
"Stuff like that reminds us that this shithole still has some good in it." Said Zaz, also moved by the story despite hearing it before. "Gives me another good reason not to fuck you guys over."
"Good to know you're still on our side, even if you're a crazy asshole." Said Brok, with that statement being the closet thing Selick has ever heard of Brok being nice.
"The closet thing I can get to a compliment from Brok himself? I'll take it!"
"Aww, that's so adorable. You two gonna make out soon?" Quipped Jorg at the scene before him.
"If only I was actually gay and not married to a woman." Quipped Brok in response.
"You're married?" Asked Selick surprisingly, which caught Brok's attention.
"Yeah. Something wrong with that, rookie?"
Selick stuttered in response. "N-no. It's just that, you don't seem like the type."
Brok scoffed. "If there's one thing I love more than breaking necks, it's the woman of my dreams. She keeps me from enjoying war too much."
"That's such a bullshit limit. Just be single and alone like me, and all the fun is yours." Interrupted Zaz.
Meeko then decided to have his own opinion on the matter. "He's got a point. Everyone is so focused on getting a girl that they don't even focus on the more valuable things in life, such as-
"Such as being a huge nerd and fucking machines." Interrupted Zaz again. "Just because I say I like being single, doesn't mean I don't want to fuck some fine women."
"Like machines?"
"Exactly. I-
Meeko just chuckled at Zaz just realizing what he said, as Zaz attempted to kick the techie from across but was too far to do so. "I hate you."
"Aside from fucking machines, anything more valuable you guys want to say?" Asked Vek, seeing if his squad had anything else to say, whether it was something serious or another joke.
"Any advice on Barbadons? You guys know this stuff better than me." Asked Selick, with Vek responding first before Zaz could make another one of his quips.
"Just keep your head down and make sure you take the Barbadons out from a distance, especially when they're charging. They'll try to shoot at you while they're charging, but they're not very good shots." Answered Vek. "If they get close, make sure you have your bayonet fixed for that kind of situation.
"And they're sloppy at melee too, leaving themselves open to attack with every swing. Way too sloppy to be a real threat." Said Brok as he cocked his shotgun after loading it with slug rounds. "For me at least."
"They'll be blown to bits before they can even say, "BLARGH! I'M SCARY CAUSE I EAT YOU. BE SCARED!" Joked Zaz, imitating a Barbadon.
"They actually do eat other Slegs, by the way." Said Meeko, educating Selick on the Barbadons. "They claim it's because they gain their strength if they do."
"Will it also include a grenade as an appetizer? I'll gladly give them a grenade instead of my dick."
"Fun fact, Barbadons like to eat the genitals first. You'll lose your dick sooner than you think."
Zaz just stared at Meeko in silence before responding lightly. "I REALLY hate you."
"Same here, pal. Same here."
Selick couldn't help but chuckle at the banter going on, it may have seemed inappropriate to many others, but in a time like this, humor is important, something that Vek once told him before getting on the dropship for today, now understanding why he meant that.
However, the banter had to be interrupted when an announcement from the speakers came from the pilot.
"We're entering enemy airspace now. LZ should be close in twenty seconds."
"Get ready! We're dropping soon!" Ordered the Sargent, as all of the soldiers equipped their masks and prepared for the drop.
Suddenly, an alarm could be heard beeping which concerned everyone on the dropship.
"Incoming missile! Hold on tight!" Announced the pilot, who tried to avoid the missile launched at him from the town, as more Barbadons from the ground equipped with custom missile launchers began to fire at the dropships.
The dropship managed to avoid the missile, returning fire with the aircraft's rotary gun to blast a few of the missile launcher mercs into bloody chunks, with several dropships around doing the same thing by providing air support while some even landed. Not all the missiles could be prevented from being launched however, as one Barbadon got a lucky shot and managed to hit the left wing of the dropship, causing the engine to catch on fire and fried several propulsion systems, making the pilot lose enough control to cause the dropship to descend rapidly.
"Mayday! Mayday! Brace for impact! We are going down! I repeat, we are going down!"
"Fuck! We got hit!" Exclaimed Zaz, not expecting to get hit from a Barbadon missile out of all things.
"No shit!" Replied Brok, as everyone held on to their seat braces for the impact, including the Sargent who buckled up as soon as possible while holding on for dear life.
"We're gonna crash land! Just hold on!" Announced the pilot, as he struggled to make sure the dropship landed as safely as possible.
Selick was now close to panicking, as Vek shouted out to him to calm his nerves.
"We'll make it out of this! Just hold on!"
Selick didn't feel so hopeful this time around, as the dropship crashed down onto a road in the town, making the dropship slide hard while the friction of the concrete and bashing into several lamp poles slowed the ship, but not enough as it skidded to the right and crashed through what used to be a convenience store, stopping forcefully after going through the large glass windows and shattering them, half stuck out of the building while the other half was partially inside.
The soldiers in the dropship were lucky to be alive, disorientated but alive, since the seats and bracers that held the soldiers were specially designed for these kind of situations, as Selick felt light headed, dizzy, and filled with adrenaline since he had never crash landed before, even now his heart was still pumping fast while he shook his head to get a better sense of his surroundings, most of the supplies stacked above were now all across the troop bay floor, ammo and guns alike while looking at his left to see that the troop bay door was wide open, while seeing that his squad and the other soldiers were just like him in this crash, probably never even had a crash before. At least that was one thing he had in common with everyone here.
"Oh… shit. That was fucking rough." Said Zaz, being the first to say something after the crash.
Vek then spoke as well, but louder for everyone else to hear.
"EVERYONE OKAY!?"
Most of the soldiers either responded with yes or nodded, including the Sargent who noticed that the troop bay door was wide open and released his braces on him and grabbed his assault rifle, pointing at the outside if any Barbadon was there.
"Let's move out. The Bloodskulls will find this dropship soon."
Complying with their orders, the twenty four strong troops grabbed their weapons and moved out, stepping out of the crashed dropship with their guns out and ready to shoot anyone that isn't friendly.
The soldiers moved outside of the store into the street, staying close and bunched up to the dropship as the Sargent ordered Vek to check if the pilots were still alive. Explosions and gunfire filled the air, the loud noises of war and bloodshed overtook the ruins of Redding as the Sargent assessed the situation. The good news was that everyone survived the crash, including the pilots who stepped out with pistols drawn.
The bad news was that they were deep in enemy territory, stuck with limited supplies, far from any reinforcements further north, and were surrounded by Bloodskull Barbadon mercenaries who had been craving for a good battle and are eager to throw themselves into a hail of gunfire for the sake of battle, ready to be overcome by bloodlust to slaughter their foes.
The Sargent then gave his orders to his soldiers.
"Okay. We move out quickly and quietly. We'll rendezvous north to meet up with any reinforcements and push forward with them. I'll radio in command about our situation. We-
The shouts of Barbadons could be heard around the corner of the store way across the end of the left side of the block, as a group of thirty strong Bloodskull mercs, armed with mostly custom made heavy pistols and machetes ran around the corner to see the imperial troops, and began to charge the soldiers who opened fire at the bloodthirsty mercs while blindly firing back with their pistols.
"Imperial scum! Shoot them dead, boys!"
The gunfire exchanged worked in the favor of the imperial Slegs, as they fired accurately despite going full auto and managed to mow down the charging mercs, reaping the poor fools of their lives and cut them down in a swift and bloody swathe, as the mercs laid in pools of their own blood.
More shouts could be heard from the corner, with the sounds of guns being fired into the air to signal each other that enemies were nearby, indivertibly giving the imperial Slegs the sign to run, which they did so as they sprinted across the street to the right to avoid the incoming war party, now on the run to get to some form of safety to escape.
Behind enemy lines.
O-O-O
Disclaimer: I do not own Gravity Falls, but I do own the Slegs.