Here's the next installment! Hope you are all enjoying the story!
Chapter 11: Homecoming
…Connection Re-Established…
"ETA Five minutes" the pilot announced through the microphone in the helicopter.
During the initial invasion of North America, allied forces were unexpectedly barraged by a massive amount of enemy artillery fire, which were thought to have been taken out pre-invasion. It turns out that Father had hidden several artillery pieces that the S.R.S.S.T had missed.
After several weeks of little to no progress, Rachel and other commanders concluded that the only way they could take the Western part of the continent was to launch a massive assault on the artillery compound, which was heavily defended and fortified, making launching an air strike alone ineffective. Despite heavy protesting from the other officials, they finally let Rachel lead the assault on the fortified base. Meanwhile on the East Coast, steady progress was being made, but their advance was ultimately halted by the artillery emplacements stationed there.
In order to successfully liberate Earth, North America must be taken so that the Kids Next Door would have a foothold on the planet for which they could use as their base of operations.
Rachel looked around the gunship, a little uneasy for the battleground they were about to arrive on. She had brought along Nigel and Sector V. Initially, Rachel was against Nigel being sent to the front, but concluded that operatives like him were needed on the battlefield to help put an end to the war. Also aboard the craft was half a dozen S.R.S.S.T soldiers who were wearing newly issued black uniforms that were covered in a new light and flexible armor that had been recently developed. On the armor, she could spot several unique designs and images on the plating, which was customized by the soldiers themselves, a unique privilege given to all members of the S.R.S.S.T or other elite operatives. The headgear they wore also appeared to be much more advanced and armored, consisting of a new sharp design , a face mask that provided ventilation ,and newly issued shades that allowed them to see through smoke, darkly lit areas, at night, and so on. These uniform changes also carried on to the regular army, minus the technology advances and the much more durable and flexible armor worn by S.R.S.S.T forces.
A thought entered Rachel's mind for a minute; just by the new designs of their uniforms it had occurred to the blonde girl that the war was changing the Kids Next Door, and to her it looked like for the worse. Diversity and individualism seemed to be replaced with conformity and subordination, forcing soldiers on the battlefield to follow orders without question, effectively turning them into killing machines. Despite the increased combat efficiency reported by global command, she had heard horror stories of commanding officers ordering their operatives to execute surrendering enemy soldiers. What was once a relatively liberal and open organization was now an organization that seemed to become more closed off, suffering from the growing attrition of war.
Her thoughts were interrupted when the pilot announced another message through the craft's microphone.
"ETA two minutes." This caused all the operatives on board to make final preps on their equipment as well as begin lining up near the exit of the helicopter, where they would slide down a rope onto the ground below.
Nigel gave a reassuring smirk to Rachel, hoping to ease the tension building up in her.
"ETA 30 seconds." The pilot stated, the sounds of war now sounding closer than ever.
Just before they were about to slide into the field of combat Rachel gave one last words of encouragement.
"I expect nothing but victory from the finest sector and operatives in the Kids Next Door."
This last comment seemed to boost morale, and the doors of the helicopter slid opened.
In the distance they could see an ensuing tank battle followed by air strikes on enemy armored columns. The smell of gun powder and burning vehicles immediately flooded the craft, causing all of the operatives on board to put on their face masks.
Another unusual scent also managed to seep into the nostrils of the soldiers. One that neither the S.R.S.S.T or Sector V could recognize.
It was the smell of burning flesh.
The Kids Next Door had adopted new tactics against their enemy, using a new flammable substance much more deadly than napalm. The flames consumed anything in its path within several seconds and could nearly incinerate any human being almost immediately upon contact. It was a controversial and cruel weapon indeed, but a quite effective one.
Rachel quickly searched the ground beneath them, making sure that the area below them was secure.
"Go, go, go!" She instructed, personally assisting Sector V and the soldiers on board.
All the operatives quickly slide on the rope to the ground below, leaving only Rachel and Nigel left aboard the helicopter.
Nigel turned to Rachel really quick. "Hey Rachel, whatever happens down there…."
Suddenly an explosion rocked the helicopter, and blinking red lights illuminated the whole craft.
"Get out now! I don't know how much longer I can keep her in the air!" the pilot shouted, struggling to keep the helicopter airborne while alert messages on the crafts computer appeared. The helicopter jerked to the left forcing both commanders to slide near the exit of the airbourne vehicle. The two didn't hesitate and immediately roped down. Seconds later, the aircraft took another direct hit from a SAM missile, exploding it in midair. Debris showered down on the group of operatives, forcing them to take cover.
"Guess we really stirred up a hornets nest now!" one of the soldiers responded.
"Couldn't agree with you more!" another S.R.S.S.T soldier replied.
Rachel and Nigel looked towards the mostly cloudy sky, which was littered with KND helicopters dropping in reinforcements and gunships. Enemy flak blanketed the sky in small thick blankets of black clouds. She watched one helicopter stop and land to unload more soldiers before it exploded into flames. She quickly turned her head the other way, hoping to avoid the disturbing image.
Meanwhile on the ground, operatives were running around everywhere, trying to take cover from the onslaught of enemy gun fire and artillery barrages.
"Over here!" a soldier yelled out.
Rachel and her squad quickly ran to the source of the voice, quickly jumping into the foxhole. The boy who called out to them was not a part of the S.R.S.S.T but rather serving in the regular army.
"You guys really walked into a living hell…. Supreme Leader and Numbuh 1? It's an honor to meet you two in person! I see you brought an S.R.S.S.T squad with you, we were in dire need of reinforcements."
"What the status of the situation?" Rachel responded, the sound of artillery shells pounding the ground nearly drowning out her voice. One shell hit so close to their position that the blast from the impact showered them under a layer of dirt.
"That was too close!" Hoagie yelled out.
The soldier wiped some of the dirt off his helmet and continued.
"We've been trying to take the enemy's position for days, but those damn artillery barrages and machine gun pillboxes have been keeping us at bay!"
"I see, have you tried radioing in air support?" Rachel responded.
"Yeah we have, but their defenses are too fortified to be affected by air attacks."
"I thought so… is there any way into the compound?" The blonde commander questioned, hoping for some good news.
"Nope, the only way to get there is through a direct charge."
"I see, can you provide suppressing fire?"
"Yeah I'll… Wait! That's suicide!" The soldier was baffled at what she was suggesting. Her idea would mostly likely be suicide, and the fact that she was the Supreme Commander made things even more complex.
"Either we take our chances or we don't go anywhere. Just trust me!" Rachel commanded.
The soldier hesitated, but followed her orders. He then signaled other foxholes nearby to prepare to provide suppressing fire for Sector V, Rachel, and the S.R.S.S.T troops.
Rachel looked onto the landscape, which possessed several rocks that could act as cover.
"Nigel see those rocks?"
Nigel nodded.
"We'll take cover near that one, advancing closer to those pillboxes." She pointed at a large boulder located only several yards away from the enemy defenses.
Nigel agreed, gesturing the rest of his sector to follow close behind.
"On the count of 3, we charge to the nearest rock." Rachel announced to the group.
"Can anyone remind me why the crud we volunteered for this mission?!" Wally couldn't grasp the idea of charging straight into the crosshairs of the enemy machine guns. What they were doing, too him anyway, was straight suicide.
They all leaned against the edge of the foxhole and Rachel began the count down.
"…1…2…"
She turned to make sure that the operatives especially Nigel were ready to follow behind.
"…3…!"
The small group immediately jumped over the foxhole, frantically running to the rock she spotted on the field, dodging enemy artillery and stray bullets on the way.
"Suppressive fire!" The soldier in the foxhole called out, causing all of his fellow troopers to sprout of their cover and fire at the enemy pill boxes in an attempt to diverge their fire away from Rachel and her group. It appeared to be successful as the dozen or so operatives managed to make it to cover unharmed.
"Where to now?" Abby questioned.
Rachel then looked out to the side of the rock. The enemy pill boxes were now only several yards away. She looked closer, trying to get a better view of enemy entrenchments without being spotted. Perfect she thought, the enemy soldiers were distracted by the KND soldiers who were providing suppressive fire.
"Numbuh 2, you got anything on you that can take out those enemy positions?" Rachel whispered.
Hoagie responded instantly, pulling out several grenades that resembled a tennis ball made out of a shiny metal. "Yeah I do, I got a couple of grenades I recently developed."
"Good, hand some to the others."
Hoagie passed the grenades around, making sure everyone at least had one.
"So how do you trigger these things off?" One of the soldiers questioned, examining the unusual weapon.
"There's a small detonation button that protrudes from the grenade. Be careful though, you only have 7 – 10 to get rid of it seconds before it goes off."
All the operatives carefully searched their grenades to find the protruding button.
"There seems to be a total of four enemy pill boxes just up head, on my command we throw our grenades into each of them." Rachel announced, trying to project her voice loud enough so that they could all hear through the sound of bullets traveling past them and hitting their cover.
All the operatives nodded.
Rachel quietly directed each member of her group which pillbox they would their grenades in. She then quietly gestured everyone to throw their grenades simultaneously, and at least two grenades landed into each pillbox.
The enemy soldiers were stunned, and were a bit confused by the shiny ball that just been thrown into their positions.
Suddenly a bright light emerged from the grenade, followed be a large pulsating energy blast that threw all the occupants in each of the pillboxes against the wall and nearly causing the structure to collapse. Where there was once the sound of machine gun fire was now replaced by an eerie silence. The only thing they could hear now was the sound of artillery in the distance as well as occasional gun shots.
"Looks clear." One of the S.R.S.S.T soldiers stated, peeking behind the rock.
One by one they exited the safety and cover of the boulder and slowly advanced where there were once four defined pillboxes. They inspected the badly damaged buildings, concluding that all the enemy occupants inside were now terminated. They then entered the compound, towards their objective.
The half a dozen S.R.S.S.T members went in first, followed Rachel and Sector V. The compound was awfully quiet and it almost felt like the enemy made a full scale retreat. The machine gun emplacements mounted on sandbags were completely abandoned, and several enemy vehicles looked completely deserted. Ammunition deposits still sat out under the cover of camouflaged nets, and the enemy command post seemed to be unoccupied.
As they descended deeper into the enemy base, they could hear a distinct sound close by. The sound of metal clanking on the ground and loud explosions coming from cannons suddenly became more defined. They were close to the enemy artillery.
As they quietly moved forward in the direction the sound, Rachel noticed something was unusual about the place. None of this was making any sense. Why would the enemy just leave such an important asset undefended?
"Something's not right…" She said to herself.
Just as she finished her sentence, one of the soldiers in front of them took a bullet to the forehead, instantly dropping him to the ground.
"Ambush!" One of the soldiers yelled out, checking his downed team mate. Too his surprise the boy was dizzy but still alive. The metal alloy that covered the new helmets saved him from being instantly killed.
The squad then retreated behind a sandbag, carefully looking to see where the shot came from.
They could spot nothing, until Rachel saw a faint light glimmering from the top of the enemy command post. She then grabbed a set of binoculars from her bag to get a closer view. As she zoomed in, she could make out what appeared to be a sniper.
"Sniper on top of the command post." She whispered to the entire group.
She quickly signaled one of the soldiers to take a shot at the sharp shooter.
The squad sniper quickly grabbed his rifle and aimed to the top of the building. Just as he was about to take the shot, a bullet hit him right in the shoulder. The force of the bullet threw him back a foot, and his 5 other squad mates quickly rushed over to evaluate his wounds.
"We need a medic!" shouted one of his comrades. The boy was bleeding right through his armor, which now had a large hole in it.
Numbuh 3 quickly ran over, her medic kit in hand. She quickly took out her equipment and carefully examined the wound.
"Is the bullet inside me?!" The wounded soldier asked, cringing at the pain.
"Nope, it went right through." Kuki replied, taking out some anti-biotic and bandages.
"Is it life threatening?" He questioned again.
"Not at all, you'll be fine! It's just a flesh wound, nothing more." Kuki answered back in a joyful voice. This caused the wounded soldier to relax a little.
"Wish more medics were as cute as you."
Kuki blushed, and Wally appeared to grow extremely jealous. If that boy wasn't wounded, he'd probably beat the living day lights out of him by now.
Rachel moved to look out from the cover of her sandbag. As she peeped over the protection, a bullet immediately hit the sandbag, causing her to immediately duck down back in safety.
"Crud, that sniper is zeroed in on us now, Numbuh 2 can you radio in additional support?"
"No can do sir, the division behind us can't advance unless the enemy artillery has been knocked out."
Rachel had to do something about that sniper and fast. For every minute they delayed, allied troops were being killed. She immediately grabbed the rifle the wounded soldier had dropped and looked out towards the direction of the sniper.
She could see him looking right at her, ready to pull the trigger. Without hesitation she shot the rifle, which zoomed towards the top of the command post.
She saw the bullet go right through the enemy snipers scope and straight into his head, killing him instantly. It was a perfect shot.
"Nice shot Rachel!" Nigel stated.
"Just lucky I guess…" she replied back. If she had pulled the trigger just a second later, she could've been on the receiving end of his bullet.
Rachel quickly got up, dusting the dirt off her uniform. "Guess we're ready to proceed to the artillery. Numbuh 3, did you patch the boy up yet?"
"Yeah, he can manage. He'll need to be sent to the field hospital after just to make sure there isn't anything I missed."
However, the situation wasn't over yet. Just as Nigel and his Sector exited the cover of the sandbag, the ground below them began to shake.
"Um… what's that sound?" Abby questioned.
They could hear the sound of metal tracks grinding together and the sound of boots stomping on the ground.
A tank soon appeared from behind the command post followed by a small platoon of enemy infantry.
The tank slowly turned its turret and took aim at Nigel.
"Numbuh 1 watch out!" Rachel yelled.
Nigel looked to see what the girl was talking about and laid his eyes upon the tank. The vehicle fired its main cannon which headed straight for him. He quickly jumped, evading the enemy shell which caused the ground he once stood upon to shoot up in the sky causing a rain of dirt.
"Get back to cover!" Nigel commanded his Sector.
They quickly ran back to the safety of the sandbag, which was being peppered with bullets from the enemy soldiers.
"This sandbag won't hold up against that enemy tank, we need to do something about it and fast!" Rachel suggested.
"Well we can't move really flank the damn thing either, it's covered by enemy infantry." Nigel pointed out.
Rachel took note, and raised her head slightly above the cover of the sandbag. She could spot several fuel barrels right next to the tank and the enemy infantry. The angle of the tank however, blocked her from getting a clear shot. If she could manage to cause an explosive chain reaction between the barrels, she could take out the tank.
"Still got those grenades Numbuh 2?"
"Yeah, only got a few left though. It's not effective against armored vehicles if that's what you want it for."
"Don't need it for that, quick hand it over."
Numbuh 2 handed her the grenade, and Nigel was curious to see what the girl had in mind.
"What are you going to do with it?" he questioned.
"You'll see." Rachel smirked.
The blonde girl pushed down on the button and quickly threw the grenade near the small stockpile of barrels. The enemy soldiers quickly fired at Rachel, and the sound of stray bullets whizzed past her, causing her to quickly duck down under the sandbag. Several seconds later, the grenade went off, causing the barrels to explode. The force of the explosion blew up the tank, causing it's turret to fly several feet over its chassis before it came back down. Most of the enemy platoon was either incinerated or thrown back from the blast, causing the remainder of them to pull back.
Unsure of the results, Rachel slowly lifted her head from the cover of the sandbag. All that was visible was the burning wreckage of the tank and the several bodies. It looked clear but she needed to make sure.
"Numbuh 4 take point over there, make sure there are no surprises." The Supreme Leader pointed to the burning hull of the enemy tank.
"But… Ugh, fine." Wally wanted to protect, but knew he couldn't argue with the blonde commander.
The Australian boy slowly moved away from the sandbag, slowly walking towards the wreckage. Wally then examined the wreckage of the tank, and checked the pulses of the Father's fallen soldiers.
"Clear!" he shouted.
One by one the operatives moved into the open, aiming their guns around the perimeter. It became apparent the platoon that had attacked them just minutes earlier had either pulled back or been completely eliminated.
The small squad then advanced closer to the enemy artillery. The sound of explosions and men loading shells into the large guns became much more deafening. They finally made it up to where they were only about a couple feet away from the enemy position.
There was a count of 10 heavy batteries, all which were capable of hitting anything on the West Coast of the continent. Rachel then loaded her gun, and took out the last grenade Numbuh 2 had brought along.
"On my mark, we attack." She whispered.
The other operatives nodded, and silently loaded their guns.
She took aim for one of the enemy soldiers head. Unexpectedly, the soldier looked back, spotting Rachel.
"Enemy attack!" The man replied, causing all the soldiers in the emplacement to scramble to their guns.
Rachel immediately pumped a round into the man's chest, and threw the grenade near one of the batteries. The grenade exploded near a dozen shells, causing a massive explosion that nearly blinded the squad of operatives. They could feel the intense heat on their skin.
"Kids Next Door battle stations!" Nigel yelled.
The dozen operatives jumped out of their cover and shot at any of the remaining soldiers.
Rachel knocked out one of the enemy troops, and shot another who was about to grab her from behind. Several feet away, Nigel and his sector as well as the 6 other soldiers were systematically taking out enemy soldiers who were attempting to retreat.
They cleared the position in less than 30 seconds, successfully routing the enemy artillery. The group then assessed the area in complete silence. They were interrupted by a loud supersonic boom above them. The operatives quickly turned to the sky, and could spot allied fighters zooming above them. Their arrival was soon accompanied by sound of KND tanks and foot soldiers moving into the base.
The allied troops quickly passed by, saluting them on the way. A jeep suddenly sped towards them containing Numbuh 60, who leaped out of the vehicle.
"Good job taking out the enemy artillery, our forces are now rapidly advancing across the West Coast."
"Excellent, what about the East Coast?" questioned Rachel.
"Nothin' but good news. Serena and her team have taken out key enemy defenses, allowing them to roll through the region with little resistance. Father's forces are also doing a full scale retreat back to Europe. North America has been taken"
"Finally." She muttered.
"Order the rest of the fleet orbiting to begin the global offensive, we have Father's armies on the run."
"Yes Sir!" Patton then saluted, quickly entering his jeep and driving off.
"Looks like things are finally turning in our favor now huh?" Nigel said as he came towards her.
"Yeah, looks like it."
As Nigel walked closer to the Rachel, he noticed strange movement in one of the bushes behind the girl. He looked at it intently, and then realized that a gun was pointing straight at her.
"Rachel watch out!" Nigel pointed, running at full speed.
He then heard a gunshot, and the bullet zoomed towards the unsuspecting girl. Nearby allied soldiers pummeled the bush with gunfire, and the perpetrator behind the bush soon fell out, dead. Everything happened in slow motion as he jumped in the front of the girl, barely arriving in time to block the bullet. Nigel suddenly felt a sharp pain hit his abdominal area as he hit the ground. He then put his hand on the source of the pain. As he brought his palm up towards his face, he saw that it was covered in blood.
Rachel was initially shocked, Nigel had saved her life. She then quickly ran towards him and held her wounded comrade tightly in her arms.
Nigel could see the girl's face, her hair and face being lit up by the sun that broke through the once thick clouds. He stared right into her eyes, getting one last good look at her, taking in every feature of her face. Everything suddenly started to become blurry, and the sounds around him started to become distorted. He tried to mutter out something, but ended up passing out due to the massive blood loss.
"Nigel, stay with me, Nigel… Nigel?! MEDIC!" Rachel shouted at the top of her lungs, Nigel's blood now soaking her sleeves.
…TRANSMISSION INTERRUPTED…