Here's a small battle chapter. I very much aim to please this time around.
Chapter 15: Far Side of the Forest
Outpost 327, Emerald Forest
For about 4 months, men of the newly formed Aurek Zeta Division watched every move that the occupants of the forest make. From the common Grimm wave to the rare White Fang scouts. Under the command of acting-Major Foster of 501st's Torrent Company, the troopers made sure to mask their presence within the forest well with any means necessary. Suffice to say, a few unmarked graves have already been dug.
Currently, the Torrent's Captain was encrypting the latest reports to be sent to the Flagship of the Aurek Corps. Such reports contained the details of the movement of each unit, the weapon used, and the tactics employed. Such responsibilities have already been tackled before, but to a quantity of work such as this, it made Foster's head hurt.
Just then, his comms device went off, sending him scrambling for it. Hitting the answer button, he spoke up, "Zeta Actual reads, send traffic, over."
"Zeta Actual, we have a problem, Lieutenant Jesse is asking for you in the control room," a clone's voice replied.
"Right, tell him I'll be there in 2, Zeta Actual out."
Taking his helmet with him, Foster made his way to the control room. Along the way, he noticed there was something wrong as men from Torrent Company and the assisting members of the 78th Jet Trooper Company ran to their battle stations, weapons locked and loaded. Several artillery crew from the 8th Artillery Company were also seen carrying ammo crates and rifles which caused even more alarm.
Finally, Foster arrived at the control room, where officers and advisors were buzzing about. Several warning signs flashed about the room indicating a possible attack, hence a soft alarm was sounded off to get the troopers into action stations.
"Sir," his attention was diverted to Luietenant Jesse who saluted him. The ARC Trooper had his helmet off and his face spelled concern. Foster had made a note in his early years that when an ARC Trooper is concerned, it's most likely for good reason.
"Alright Jesse, what's the situation?" the acting Major asked as he stopped next to the trooper in question.
Jesse pointed towards the screens and Foster began to realize what was going on. Several red blips were scattered around a map, his Outpost was at the center, and it appears to be surrounded. Camera feeds were broadcasting the sight of Grimm hordes amounting to almost a thousand.
"We didn't notice the build-up since now," the ARC Trooper explained, "Those hellspawns are organized, I can tell you that much."
That wasn't the issue.
"The problem is," Jesse continued with an annoyed look, "We won't be able to keep our presence here hidden if we drive them off. This kind of attack warrants heavy firepower."
Foster nodded sagely, "No we cannot... anything else? The Fang? I read the reports from the Commander."
"Scouts have spotted a small group, no more than fifty."
Torrent's leader thought long and hard about his decision. His mission was to establish a presence in the forest, using the White Fang's old base to be the outpost. It was also a priority to not be discovered as the general public cannot discover the presence of Republic forces yet. However, this entire situation had put a strain on the prospect for both.
"Any word from Golf Shed?" he asked, looking towards a nearby comms officer.
"Yes sir! Orders from Commander Moris himself, weapons free," replied the officer.
"At least we have that going for us," Foster sighed to himself before looking at his men, "Right, sound the general alarm, weapons hot on my mark. I want Captain Shuttle out on the field looking for those Fang. Deploy the tanks and give them Arty escorts. Double time boys!"
"SIR! YES SIR!" replied the staff as they began spreading the orders as required.
Foster slipped his helmet on as he rushed out of the command center to help organize the defense. He came out to the controlled chaos of Clone Troopers rushing in a full sprint to their stations. Tank crews went in droves to man their TX-130s while ARF Troopers rushed to their AT-RT walkers. Clone sharpshooters from the 95th Sharpshooters Regiment were already in sniping positions, DC-15x rifles all ready to fire. Finally, squads of clone jet troopers from the 501st's 78th Jet Trooper Company flew out of the walled base and towards the spotted White Fang.
Then, the shooting began with quite literally a bang, as the artillery siren from a mortar crew sounded off. The highly-explosive shell hurled itself into the air, before landing just outside the walls, killing nearby Grimm who were unfortunate enough to be close.
"HERE THEY COME!" a Torrent Sergeant yelled as the clones began to hold their ground, firing towards the Grimm who tried to storm the base.
Foster drew his twin pistols after he climbed up the walls, manning a position close to the gate before joining in the fray. The sea of Grimm clashed against the walls as blue bolts of light crashed upon them. Some only needed one or two bolts, while other Grimm remained stubborn, absorbing a few more rounds before the heat melted them into dust.
A sense of dread came into the troopers' minds as Grimm clawed their way up the walls, and were only stopped by troopers wielding the heavy Z6 rotary cannon. Even then, the firepower was only enough to hold their posts, but not enough to make a breakthrough for the tanks, all 7 of them anxiously waiting behind the gates to be deployed to utilize their heavier weaponry.
Foster ducked as a beowolf leaped as hard as it could above the walls before crashing near the gates in the courtyard. An unfortunate engineer was right next to the Grimm when it landed next to him.
"Wa-wait!" he tried to yell as he drew his carbine, but the Grimm moved faster as it swiped at him, scratching his armor into a mess of blood and plastoid.
The Grimm soon moved away from the trooper as it began to survey its area for new prey, but unfortunately, the Grimm's first county would be its last as a tank gunner yelled, "That's not right!"
A beam of green blasted the beowolf into non-existence. Several medics rushed to get the engineer to the medbay while the troopers on the walls watched in horror at what had transpired. Foster cursed under his breath before yelling at his men, "Eyes front troopers! Keep the heat on!"
The battle of Outpost 327 has begun, and its effects could be heard from across the forest and possibly the Hunter Academy of Beacon.
Beacon Academy, Vale
Marines rushed to the bullhead docks as they began to seize bullheads from the docks. Their pilots, confused at what was happening, surrendered when a rifle was fired into the air.
"Out! Everyone out!" Murray yelled as he and his Marines ushered out the pilots from their vehicles.
The docks have descended into a frenzy as the sudden seizure of aircraft. Students who planned to head down to the city of Vale watched in anticipation, wondering why such a ruckus was happening in the first place. Suddenly, explosions sounded off in the distance, distracting the students from the bullhead commotion. A Faunus student swore they heard the Captain of the Marines curse as he pointed towards the students, "Alright you lot! Get back to your dorms!"
"But when will the docks open?!" a student asked.
"They'll be open no later than 4 PM, now get back to your dorms now!" snapped Murray as his marines began to usher everyone off the docks.
A few more explosions in the distance rocked the trees, causing more concern from the students. Additional troopers from Toro Company under Lieutenant Loch soon arrived to finally send them all back.
The situation on the docks had finally died down, allowing the Beacon Security Forces to turn off all the remaining Bullhead transports. Their job was now done, but they very much wanted it to not be done. Their worries were well founded when Golf Shed HQ had sounded the silent alarm some few minutes ago.
There was going to be an attack on Outpost 327, the same outpost Toro Company captured during the first few days of classes. Seeing the opportunity to create a forward outpost, Marshal Azure had sent a division led by Acting-Major Foster, the Captain of Torrent Company to man the new outpost alongside his company and several others from the 501st and Supplementary Legions. When word got to command that there was an attack coming to the Outpost, Commander Moris issued several orders to the forces present in Beacon.
Murray's orders were to temporarily seize any bullheads on Beacon to avoid any prying eyes on the battlefield. His army counterpart, Captain Sixers had orders to lock down the area allowing access to the Emerald Forest. The Airwing of the BSF was sent towards the battlefield to provide close air support for the defenders and to drive away any unauthorized craft away from the field.
The highlight of the order was to deny the public knowledge that there was a base in the forest. The planned cover-up story was that forces of Beacon were conducting a live fire exercise that turned into an actual battle due to an unforeseen amount of Grimm in the area. It was the best they could come up with on short notice without the Field Marshal's hand.
They had their fingers crossed that this plan would work.
...
Swish...
"Again."
Swish...
"Again!"
SWISH!
"Too fast! Regulate the strike! AGAIN!"
SHHWING!
"Good, very good. Stand easy Jaune," Azure nodded in congratulations and offered the tired blonde a glass of water, the latter eagerly accepting the drink as he downed the contents as steadily as he could.
"Now you can swing your sword Jaune, but can you fight with it I wonder," the Marshal mused as Jaune finished the glass of water and prepared himself for what comes next.
A sword was unsheathed as Azure tampered with his own blade before he pointed it towards the young Arc, "We play by my rules. The fight's only over until one has a significant advantage, got it?"
"Do I have a choice?" Jaune asked hopefully as he brandished his sword, leaving the shield. He, unfortunately, got a chuckle in reply, "No you do not, but the effort of asking is appreciated. Now... en garde!"
A thrust was sent towards Jaune's direction, who counter-trusted, putting the attack off course. A slash upwards from Azure sent him stepping back before he tried his own offensive, first forcing the Marshal to block an overhead attack.
"Surely you can do better than that- Ah!" Azure taunted but was taken aback when a flurry of strong blows came his way. Each strike from Jaune began to little down the Security Chief's guard, and hard-pressed the latter to keep up with the sudden aggression.
Jaune continued the offensive, but he secretly began to lessen the intensity of his strikes, this was part of an elaborate ruse that he thought up on the fly. All it needed was the perfect time to strike... and there!
An opening was made when Azure thrust his sword forward again, hoping to then swipe Jaune's sword away, but this was exactly what the Blonde was waiting for. The second the sword came forward, Jaune dodged the attack before bringing Crocea Mors down with both hands, striking the Marshal's blade and well away from his hands.
Suffice to say, Azure raised both his hands with a smile as he looked at the blade pointed toward him, "Very good Jaune, very good..."
Jaune flashed a smile as he lowered his weapon while the Marshal picked up his own sword, sheathing it as he walked back to his spot. The post-fight calmness began to set in as the two settled down on some benches.
"So, what did you do to beat me?" Azure asked before he sipped on a glass of water.
Jaune did the same before he replied, "Well... I just analyzed the-"
"There you go, the first step. Analyze your opponent," the Marshal praised.
"Well, after seeing that you had a good defense, what I did was tire you out until the opportunity presented itself," Jaune continued as he began to understand where the Chief of Security was going with this.
"And as such..."
"So when you tried another thrust to disarm me, I just dodged and slammed the sword away," the Blonde finished with a bit of pride.
Azure allowed himself a small laugh, "Good hahaha... good..."
All of a sudden, the sudden sound of a distant explosion made its presence known, alerting the two. This prompted the Chief of Security to run for his comm, barking into it for an update. He was quickly answered by a clone's voice, "Marshal Azure, Outpost 327 is signaling the orange cross. I've already dispatched men to secure the perimeter and gunships in the air. Marines have the docks under control"
"Very good Moris, assemble a half company in 3 minutes, I will lead that personally. Azure, out," Azure replied as he pocketed his comms device before looking toward Jaune, "We're going to have to cut this short Jaune, go back to your team and as much as possible try to convince your friends not to do anything rash."
The leader of JNPR nodded as he grabbed his belongings before leaving the room towards the dorms, while Azure was prompted to do the same albeit heading towards the Command Center instead. As he made his way, he couldn't ignore the concerned looks that the students were giving him. It was only natural, he tried to reason to himself. When his Forces began to restrict travel via bullheads and access to the Emerald Forest, it'd be hard not to wonder what was going on.
The students' concerns were ignored when he arrived at the Headquarters, a notable presence of a Toro Company Platoon was established, rifles ready to act on anything.
Commander Moris was at the holo table arranging for the deployment of the half company being sent to the field. Noticing the Marshal arriving, he saluted his superior with haste, "Sir, the 3rd and 4th Platoons of Toro Company are ready for transport. I sent 3 of our gunships to provide air support and I have the RAC130 Crumble on the line. They are seeking your authorization to utilize all weaponry available sir."
"They have my permission to fire using any munitions necessary," Azure sighed as he looked at the live footage of the ongoing battle, "It seems we can't keep this quiet anymore."
"Ozpin is asking what the commotion is all about," Moris added, "Shall I give him the usual excuse?"
For once Azure shook his head, "Just tell him I'll speak with him shortly. Right now we have to focus our efforts on securing our men."
"Yes sir."
As the Clone Commander rushed to carry out more orders, Azure tapped on a panel. A door on one side of the room opened up to reveal his armor, all ready to go out for battle. He took the helmet in his hands and then the rest of the armor.
"Well," he thought as he looked at the black visor of his helmet, "Let's sort this rabble out shall we?"
Outpost 327, Emerald Forest
"Fire!" a mortar gunner bellowed as his crew diligently let another high explosive round lose on the Grimm outside.
The screaming of the descending rounds would've made others run for their lives, but the men of the Clone Army were not such individuals. As the shells tore more Grimm outside into smithereens, the mortar gunner looked back at his men who were already acting for the next orders, "WE HAVE OUR RANGE! FIRE FOR EFFECT!"
Several mortar crews who were also with them heard this and adjusted their aim accordingly. Soon, a barrage of shells came crashing down on the Grimm just outside the gates, creating the opening needed for them to roll out their tanks. The mortar fire stopped when word of this came to the crews of the 8th Artillery Company. In seconds, the gate that held the line for so long opened, revealing the armored column waiting for them.
"Tank crews, give 'em hell!" Foster shouted, prompting the lead tank to drive head first into the heat of battle.
"Roger that sir! Come on Axes! Let's show 'em how we do it!" the tank squad commander replied as he lead his column into a charge out of the base, letting their munitions lose as Grimm tried to rush them down. An assortment of lasers and missiles hammered the black spawn, even making some runaway.
Up on the walls, the 501st Torrent Company, finding renewed vigor, began to cheer to keep their morale up.
"Hah! Where're you going? COME GET SOME!"
"Look at them run!"
"Tell yer mother she's next you hellspawn!"
As the various troopers cheered on, a beep took Foster's focus off the battle. It was a comm frequency from an overhead ship. This caused the Torrent Leader to look up and to his surprise, he saw the unmistakable shape of a Consular-class Frigate, yet this variant seemed different. The ship began to loiter around the field, bearing its large arsenal of guns to bare.
"It's an AC-130..." Foster thought to himself, an overwhelming sense of confidence suddenly swirling within him. Troopers who also noticed the ship grinned under their helmets. It was their turn to slaughter the beasts.
The RAC130 Crumble's mass driver cannon aimed at a large pack of Grimm closing in on a TX-130 before firing a single shot. The ground below turned into a mess of dirt, fading Grimm parts and bones while the TX-130 remained unharmed. Soon, the rest of the crumble's weapons opened up, firing at any Grimm that was far enough from the base yet large enough for them to destroy.
Blue rounds of energy rained down from the sky, killing off any living being that was unfortunate enough to be within the sights of the Crumble's gunners.
Torrent Company continued to fire at any Grimm that were still left from the bombardment, but that number had already decreased, leaving some troopers idle as the sharpshooters of the company were the only ones firing.
The heat of battle died down slowly as men began to settle down and let the adrenaline fade. Several injured troopers were rushed to be treated while engineers began to work on the damaged defenses.
Suddenly, the sound of gunships roared as 2 LAAT/is landed at the center of the courtyard, releasing the fresh troops from Toro Company's 3rd and 4th Platoons. Shouts were heard as sergeants rallied their men while a familiar design of armor walked out of the gunship. The flag on the 501st helmet struck Foster as he feasted his eyes on the sight of the Marshal in his armor.
"Foster, report!" he yelled as their gazes met.
The Torrent Captain nodded as he replied, "Grimm are pulling back sir," he looked over the walls again to see the beasts still running, "You got here just in time."
"Unfortunately, they're not quite done with this base yet," informed Azure as he looked at the damage done to the base.
"With more boots on the ground, I think we can hold."
Azure then sighed "That won't be necessary Foster, we're pulling out. We can't remain here anymore."
Several heads turned towards him at the sudden declaration, one dared to ask, "Sir, we've already put so much into the outpost. Shouldn't we fight for the it?"
"No Foster, we can't anymore. We established this base for discreet recon, and we overplayed our hand in holding the position. Any further action and the Kingdoms will notice our increased presence. We pull out now."
The troopers of the Outpost held slight mournful thoughts on having to abandon the base. They knew that the base was only temporary and that in time, it would've been abandoned, but they couldn't help but grow fond of their new post. Alas, such was the life of a soldier. The Marshal was right, and they knew it. One by one, sergeants ushered their men to prepare for an evac.
Toro Company began to close the gaps in the defense as the small groups of troopers rushed to prepare for what came next. Foster walked up to Azure as the latter surveyed the blood on the ground. The Marshal turned towards the Torrent's Captain and nodded, "I'm sorry to cut your promotion short Foster, but you know the risks if we keep this up."
"Yes sir... just wish it wasn't too soon."
"I understand," he then turned to Foster, "Come now, we have a base to evacuate. Retrieve any data necessary and burn the rest. You know this song and dance."
The Torrent Captain saluted before rushing off to help with the preparations. Azure carried on to man the walls with the men he arrived with, a sharpshooter was looking into a scope, making an observation. Curious, the Marshal tapped the soldier on, "Anything unusual Sergeant?"
The trooper slightly nodded as he continued looking into his scoped DC-15A while replying, "Yes Marshal, it's the Grimm." He then took his eye off the scope before handing his rifle to Azure and pointing in the direction he was looking at, "Here sir, mark 345 North East. Spot the pack near the tree."
Azure looked into the blaster's scope and looked at where the Sergeant pointed and his eye was soon met with the sight that made him frown. While most of the Grimm seem to be retreating, a lone pack of Beowolves stayed behind, staring in the direction of the base, "They're observing us, this attack was not the main one. Sergeant, inform Foster to double the watch." The Marshal then handed the trooper's rifle back.
"Yes sir," he replied as he slung his rifle behind his back.
...
Somewhere near the forest, a White Fang sniper observed the Outpost that the Grimm attacked. He and his team were dispatched to shadow the Grimm attack that they orchestrated. The Fang, while not advanced in technology and numbers, was no slouch in their scheming for their fight against humanity.
"Against humanity? Wasn't it just to make them submit that we are equals?" an intrusive thought spoke but was quickly pushed back into the back of the Cheetah faunus' head.
"Did they get them?" his supposed spotter, a cow faunus, asked.
"Use your binoculars, Otto, maybe you could get a firsthand view," the sniper retorted as he continued observing the failed first wave.
"Pfft, Nah! You have the scope, don't see why I should waste energy when our group's mission here is to observe this outpost. You could do that just fine."
The spotter's response disappointed the sniper as the latter carried on.
A scowl formed on his face when he saw the Grimm run away from the outpost, most likely to regroup and commence a new assault soon. How the Fang managed to control the actions of the beasts was beyond him, but he was very much glad that his group of 50 didn't have to handle the threat of the Grimm. Another glance into his scope showed him that the Outpost received reinforcements and air support. He made sure to make a note of the equipment and assets this force possessed to allow a better assessment for future operations.
Suddenly, a nice filled the air around him. It sounded like a rocket, but nothing was exploding. His spotter finally stopped his lazing and checked their surroundings. More of his group came out of their camp to investigate the noise, weapons drawn and ready.
"What the fuck is tha- AAAAAAHHHHHH!" the sniper tried to ask, but was cut off when a white armored figure swooped down on him and took him into the air. The forest was then filled with dozens of armored soldiers flying out of the trees and into the camp below.
"AMBUSH!" a grunt cried as he tried to use his SMG to cut down the flying soldiers.
The camp descended into chaos as White Fang members fell left and right. The soldiers attacking them were unrelenting as they used their speed and maneuverability to their advantage. They picked off the unsuspecting Faunus one by one with their advanced plasma weapons, while some would pick up a grunt and lift them up to the air before dropping them to their ultimate demise.
The sniper from earlier tried to fight back from his captor, but with the latter being stronger, it was not much. It did not help his situation when he looked down and was met with the sight of the forest down below.
Very far down below.
He looked up again towards the soldier who picked him up and finally got a good look at him. His white armor reminded him of Atlas, but the amount of color the soldier had on his armor eliminated that thought. The White Fang was well versed in what the armies of Atlas looked like, and this soldier was definitely not one of them.
Another moment passed and he was shaken out of his thoughts when he felt himself land on hard concrete. It then dawned on him that the soldier left him in the middle of the courtyard.
A courtyard with several more soldiers looking at him with rifles aimed.
"Set for stun," he heard one of them say.
A quick loud shot was heard and the next thing the faunus saw was black.
...
"We got him, sir!" a 501st Toro Sergeant called out as he and his squad secured their new prisoner. Azure watched as the Faunus was cuffed by his men before being sent to the base's brig. Farther from the base, the small skirmish between the 501st's 78th Jet Troopers sounded off. By the way, how the dust firearms were firing, it seems that his men were expectedly victorious in their assignment.
A howl echoed across the forest, leading several snipers on the roof to keep a closer eye on their surroundings. Men from the Outpost's garrison returned to their posts to prepare for another wave. Azure didn't need a report on what was happening, the glowing red eyes approaching the outpost was answer enough.
"Mortar crews! Lively now!" the gun commanders shouted.
"Marksmen! Aim for the alphas!" another trooper yelled.
The Marshal looked at his own men, rifles ready. Knowing full well what the Grimm will throw at them, he yelled his orders, "TORO COMPANY WILL FIX BAYONETS!"
At the drop of a hat, the platoons of the famed company readied themselves to grab their blade attachments.
"FIX!"
Gloved hands grasped the blades clipped to their belts.
"BAYONETS!"
As they have drilled and done so many a time, the bayonets were secured on the rifles. The blades shone brightly as the sun shone on them. They expected to be leaving soon, but not before sending these beasts packing.
"HERE THEY COME! LIGHT THE BASTARDS UP!"
We'll leave it here for now folks! The plot behind this is rather long that I have to split it into multiple parts. Hope the battle hype was worth the wait. Certainly hope I won't be busy in the coming days.
Reviews:
ODSTFRymann: Glad to hear! I thought it could've been better, but I'm glad to hear that it wasn't too bad like I expected.
DojoYoyo: The 5th Fleet Marines learn from the Coruscant Guard's mistakes, especially Fox's! More on this in the future ;)
I'll get off here for now, remember to stay frosty folks as that is soldiering!