AN:Edited for the sake of clarification.
Jane did use biofoam. Tried to quite heavily, as well, while actively working to save a man who was missing two limbs and was stuck so full of shrapnel he might as well have been a full-on pin cushion on his right side.
My man had half his body completely sheared off by a 120mm mortar shell detonating basically on him. It's a miracle he was still whole enough for treatment to be applied.
I even mentioned Jane used biofoam when trying to treat him, so, please, guys, just... Read a little closer before posting reviews.
"This is PACK-9-Actual, requesting Danger Close CAS at grid 2-9-2-3-3-2. Requesting defoliants. Cook the bastards." The eerily calm voice of the NCO whose OP was only half a click from them echoed over the Radio as platoons were engaged by a massed enemy strike across the demarcation line. Jake dipped into cover behind the foxhole, dropping an empty magazine from his rifle and slapping in a fresh one, before slamming the bolt home with a satisfyingly loud click. He poked back up and aimed the underbarrel grenade launcher, then fired.
The 40mm grenade exploded on the tree-line, turning the legs of a Mobile Infantryman into mulch. Scarlet tracers rained from the Saddlebacks' MGs, .50 cals cutting through the foliage like the blades of scythes. One man took a .50 to the chest and splattered his entire chest cavity across two of his buddies and a tree. Jake aimed at one of said buddies and let loose a burst.
Beside him, Junttila hefted her single-shot launcher with a loaded thermobaric, before calling out, "CLEAR BACKBLAST!" and receiving a pat on the shoulder as confirmation. She squeezed the heavy trigger and the rocket-assisted projectile lanced out of the barrel, flying in a straight line 'till it met the ground opposite the foxhole. The deflagration sent a shockwave rippling toward the OP, taking a chunk of the forest ahead and killing another four men in the blast.
The return fire from the Feds' Moritas was a staccato fussilade, bullets striking the dirt nearby them, though some of them clearly had burst eardrums. Heikkala could see them through the scope as she zeroed in on one of their own launcher carriers. She shot, the round tearing the man's head clean off and sending the nuke-tipped missile flying into the sky. Little time to celebrate, she thought as she zeroed in the next launcher and sniped him.
She shifted aim again and blasted through two men, their helmets flung off their heads. Above, a Pelican gunship flew in low, its nose-mounted cannon ripping and roaring as it expended its rounds, unguided missiles from its wings detonating a few feet from the canopy and spraying flechettes at the enemy. The darts cut through the trees and rained down by the hundred on the enemy's positions.
Jake shifted his aim, firing bursts into the enemy's line and murmuring, "I swear to fuck, these guys came at us worse than the Kosis did against my grandpa!"
"One of your ancestors fought in the Rainforest Wars, man!?" Junttila asked as she slapped the back of her launcher closed and hefted it on her shoulder. She called out "Clear backblast!" looked back and then fired, before ducking as one of the enemy's bullets ricocheted off her helmet and slammed into the knee of one of their buddies. She ducked, eyes wide, then shook her head, "My fucking EARS!"
"Heh. Yeah, I know that feeling..." Jane quipped as she jumped in, then dropped a bunch of ammo off and said, "Sarge and El-Tee's orders! I got you grenades, incendiary! Set the fucking tree-line ablaze if you gotta! We're still waiting for the Air Force to get its head out of its ass and send in Napalm all around this OP!" then she turned to check Junttila. The girl seemed okay, just a little discombobulated. She gave her a gentle slap on the cheek and joked, "Keep your head in the game, eh?!" before springing to her feet and carrying ammo to the next Foxhole.
A bullet screamed past Junttila's ear again, causing the Finnish girl to duck, then jump up and, without even clearing her backblast and with a lot of anger behind her gaze, shoot off another thermobaric. The blast rocked the life out of six men this time, including the shooter that gave her helmet a nice new scratch on the top. She ducked, set the launcher aside and lifted her rifle.
Bullets tore bark and punctured the thicker leaves of the planet's Amazon-like flora, automatic fire roaring loud like a rebel yell, the thump of grenade launchers meeting the chatter of Morita assault rifles, while their Saddlebacks slowly advanced forward and arrayed themselves in such a way as to provide cover for the Marines and lay punishment down into the jungle.
Another of their Marine platoon long-armed a primed and active flame grenade into the treeline, before collapsing as bullets struck her armor. She crawled back into cover and gave herself a once-over, then sighed in relief and showed Jane to hold position. Loading in a new magazine for her battle rifle and thumbing the bolt release, the girl stood up and leaned off to the side, canting her rifle as she fired at them from the cover of the Saddleback.
Bullets pinged off the armored MRAPs, one striking and damaging the bulletproof glass in a spiderweb. Sparks, muzzle flashes and the bark of somewhat heavier weapons filtered in as the Mobile Infantry units charging their positions started trying to get up-close via suppressing fire. Some had brought forth HMGs on wheels, spinning them about on their mounts and letting loose.
A 12,7x108mm round sent a spray of dirt up into the sky, followed by another snapping just by Jake's ear. He noticed the MG Gunner, then pushed Junttila down as the bastard swept over their foxhole. Heikkala was quick to welcome the gunfire with her sniper's crack-pop. The contrail lanced forward like a fading spiderweb, the bullet piercing through the gun shield and tearing the man's arm off.
A second gunner manned it nigh instantly just as Heikkala ducked to reload, She swore to herself in Finnish, "Kukko imee liiton kusipää!" pulled one of the few grenades she had on her person and threw it over the cover, yelling "HEADS DOWN, GRENADE OUT!" as it flew in. It detonated with a thump. Even through the fighting, Heikkala could hear the bastard scream in pain.
She grinned, jumped to her feet through the bullets and snapped off another round toward him, flinging the helmet sky-high as the man's brains splattered all around him. Two more enemy units ran up to the gun, Jake ducking and firing forty-mike-mike at the enemy with an alarming increase in frequency, while Junttila was loading the next anti-infantry round into her launcher. She shouldered it, lased the targets and squeezed.
The airburst round detonated in front of the trees, spraying a cone of hot shrapnel at the targets like a blooming flower. The kinetic force with which the shards of metal hit their intended targets was almost poetic, considering just how much flesh and armor was torn. Two men died on the spot, while a third lost his arm and a fourth had his jugular cut by a shard, plus whatever embedded in his chest plate.
More wounded lay behind them, screaming in pain. Medics rushed forward to try and CAS-Evac some of them, rifles slung on their backs. The UNSC personnel tensed, but didn't fire. Heikkala zeroed on one, however, murmuring to herself "Don't pick up that gun..." as she watched the woman drag the armless wounded away. The woman shifted the soldier over behind cover and knelt to start treating his injuries.
She slung her weapon behind her, then looked up at Heikkala, straight-on, blue eyes locking with her green ones seemingly. She disappeared behind cover the next moment, dragging the wounded man away. Above, UNSC air assets flew in next, to the cheers of the boys. Jake looked up and called out, "Hell yeah! Nape the bastards!" before the first payloads dropped, lines of fire burning the Jungle ahead away in a sickening display of accurate napalm deployment.
Junttila sighed and slumped into a seated position, a smile on her face as she watched the flames dance. She murmured, "Least the fuckers are pulling back..." as Heikkala lowered her rifle and set it on safe as well. She leaned it against the wall of the foxhole and used her right hand as a support, staring out at the burning flames with a dreamy smile. Both Junttila and Jake looked to her with a hint of concern, because their smiles were just for the fact the battle was over.
Heikkala's seemed a bit sadistic.
"How has she not been section eight'ed ye-..." Jake started, but paused as distant thumps, like beats from a drum, cut him off. Whistles filled the air, causing the mall to look up... And the young man screamed out loud enough for his throat to hurt, "MORTARS! TAKE FUCKING COVER!" before diving into the foxhole and curling up. The first shell struck like a hammer blow, shaking the ground all around them, kicking up a mountain of dust and dirt. Following up, about a dozen more shells struck like rapid thunder during a storm.
The crack and pop continued for a good minute, one of the Marines nearby screaming bloody murder while the Saddlebacks rolled back, attempting to dodge the shells... It stopped moments later, the rumble and the quaking of the soil ending. The Marines poked their heads out of their foxholes and looked around, noting the multitude of craters dug by the shells and even some UXOs nearby.
Jake read the numbers on one of the shells, even though it was in cyrillic, murmuring, "120 millimeter mortars... Holy fuck..." his voice low, but sharp. He stood up and swept the place with his gaze before calling out, "Casualties?! Anybody injured!?" with worry in his voice. A few moments passed where both Junttila and Heikkala stood up. "Sarge! Lieutenant?!" He was getting worried, continuously calling out, "Niko! Ayaan! Jane!"
... A scream came as a reply. Then, Ayaan cried out with pain in his voice, "MEDIC!" which caused Jake to gasp. The young Marine jumped over cover without so much as waiting for Heikkala and Junttila, dashing forward to where the screaming was coming from. Jumping over the road and through the shrubs while avoiding a bunch more craters and UXO, the man slid down the dirt to the embankment on the riverside.
He went bug-eyed as Jane rushed in, too. Ayaan was on the floor, blood pooling all around him, painting what remained of the grass and the black crater next to him in a velvety red. The man was screaming bloody murder, his right arm and leg missing, chunks of shrapnel embedded into his body. Strings of flesh hanged out of the armor and half his face had been shredded by the blast.
"Fuck..." Jake murmured, standing there as Jane settled over the screaming Marine of Arabic descent. Sarge jumped up, too, running to Ayaan's side, to which Jake snapped out of it, then ran forward as well, sliding down beside him and calling out, "Ayaan! We're here, bud!" with worry in his voice. The man lifted his good hand up, which Jake took as Jane worked on tending him.
"Fuck... Fuck... Jake, I don't wanna die, man..." The man practically begged, gripping his friend's hand tightly.
Jake gave him a pat on the chest and told him, "You ain't dying on us, man!" before looking to Niura and yelling at her, "Call for MEDEVAC! NOW!" jus as the Sergeant was pulling her radio off her chest and speaking into it. With a nod of approval, Jake turned back to Ayaan and held his hand tightly, telling him, "Ayaan, bud, dude! Look at me!" as he pulled his face toward him, "You're gonna be fine! Jane's gonna patch ya up and we're gonna ship ya to the docs up top. You're gonna be home in no time..."
"Man," Ayaan whined, trying to turn and look at Jane, asking, "How bad is it, JT... Be honest...?"
"It's fine, Ay," Jane patted him on the shoulder on her side as she worked with biofoam and tweezers to stitch and stabilize him. She smiled at him and quipped jovially, "Chicks are gonna love the battle scars, I tell ya what. Just stay with us and we'll get ya a nice trip to Amsterdam after this," which made the man snort, then cough, blood foaming at the corners of his mouth. Jake held his hand still, feeling the grip grow weaker.
"I..." Ayaan started, then screamed sharply in pain. Jane winced and held him down while he cried, "I don't... I got someone I started writing to a while back already... Don't... Fuck!" He screamed again, his grip tightening around Jake's hand, to the point the man felt it, "I don't wanna die...! I promised her we'd go on another date, go see Paris or something..."
Jake patted his hand and said, "You won't die, man... Just hang in there..."
"Fuck's sake," The team's Corpsman whispered, "I'm starting to lose him! Where's that fucking MEDEVAC?!" She demanded from Niura. Heikkala and Junttila had finally caught up with them. Jake looked over to them, to see both the girls staring with wide-eyes at the injured Marine. Junttila covered her mouth, while Heikkala's previous smile was replaced by a surprising look of horror, she herself being paler than before.
"It's en-route! ETA:two mikes!" Niura replied, just as worried about Ayaan as they were...
"Two minutes?! Two fucking seconds is too long! Bleeding's not stopping no matter what I fucking do!" Jane snapped back, though she kept it at a whisper. Niura nodded knowingly, she, herself covered in blood, though it was not her own. She put a hand on Jake's shoulder, squeezing it as Jane pulled out another morphine and stuck it in his neck, telling him, "Ay, this is gonna dull the pain a bit, man. Evac's comin' soon, so you just stay with us, ya hear? Then you'll go home and go on that date with your new sweetie."
"Yeah," The man's voice cracked as he managed to sneak a look at himself. He swore in Arabic, then looked up, asking with a trembling voice, "Hey, Jake...?"
"What's up, man?" Jake asked, "Tell me what ya need..."
"Would ya mind writing to my anne... T-To my mom?" He seemed to beg once more, growing paler by the second as Jane fought to stabilize him. Jake stared, dumbfound for a moment, to which Ayaan explained through ever-slower breaths, "I want a pal t-to... To tell her I did well, y'know... Keeping people safe and happy and..." He tried to straighten up, Jake now moving a hand to hold him close as he asked, "Did I keep you guys happy...? Y'know, with my shitty jokes and all...?"
Jake snorted and said, "Yeah, you did, man. And you're still gonna..." a jovial smile on his face, "Like back in the Kenyan jungles, you got us calm and all, even while the Covvies hounded us... You did good, man."
"Good to... To know..." He replied, his voice weak, while Jane scrambled for anything else she could do. He looked up at Jake, "So... W-Will you write to her...?"
Jake took a moment to consider it, still stunned by the request, before offering him a nod and a smile, "I will, man... I will... I promise you," while knowing what was coming as Ayaan's grip grew weaker and he, himself, colder.
Ayaan smiled weakly, "Thank you..." before the last light faded from his eyes...
He went limp.
"Fuck..." Jane whispered, "Ay? Man, you there?" She grabbed him by one of the straps of his armor and shook him gently, "Ayaan. God fucking dammit, man, Ayaan!" Her voice cracking, lips trembling. She pulled her helmet off her head and screamed out, "GOD FUCKING DAMMIT!" as she threw it hard against the floor. She slumped back, whispering, "God fucking dammit..."
As Niko turned around to join the procession, Jake moved his hand over Ayaan's eyes and gently closed them, whispering, "Rest well, brother..." before gently setting him down. Everyone took their helmets off, staring at the corpse for a good minute. Niko knelt beside the corpse and shook his head, while Niura seemed to be biting back tears. She swallowed empty, staring out at the riverbank, while Jake sighed. He turned toward her and asked, "Any other KIA?"
"Two WIA, shrapnel wounds... And the Lieutenant's dead..." She sighed deeply, "Shell exploded right on top of us. He took the brunt of the hit while shielding me... Guessing command's gonna pull our platoon off the line until we get a new El-Tee slated in. As for any possible replacements for Ayaan and the wounded..." She jabbed a thumb toward the two Finnish Marines.
Jake nodded, "Yeah... He trained'em with me, so... I think he'd agree that they're a good choice."
The two didn't say anything, Junttila sitting down beside them and contemplating the loss now. Neither did the rest of the squad say a word after. Not as they covered Ayaan's body with a trap, not as the Pelican arrived, not even as they carried him aboard on a stretcher, much to the chagrin of the other Corpsmen aboard. Niura and the others gave Jake a nod, with him and Jane being chosen to escort the body back up above, get some rest. Jane seemed to both metaphorically and physically chew on her thoughts. She turned to Jake with an apologetic look, about to say something to him, but he lifted his hand and shook his head, then turned back to the body.
There was no need to apologize for circumstances beyond their control, Jake thought bitterly. Damned Feddies started using centuries-old kit... Desperate...
Fed Space, Station Ticonderoga, AQZ
Klendathu went about as well as ONI had predicted. As well as Rosie had, too. It was a wanton slaughter. Even in the large numbers of divisions of soldiers, the Federation could basically do nothing to stem the tide of the bugs. They came by the thousands, slaughtering anything in their paths. Rosie's mind replayed the images of the dead men and women, the people she'd trained with, torn in half by the beasts while plasma battery bugs fired up at the fleet above, most of which was now in dry-dock for repairs.
The chatter of Moritas still filtered into her ears. She'd known the Feds were a pretty weak military force, lacking in even the most basic of armored and air support besides TAC Fighters, but the screams of the dead and dying of that bloody battle convinced her they were even worse than ONI had originally predicted. Either that entire assault was fed bogus Intel, or the Federation was downright one of the biggest Parade Militaries in the Multiverse.
The fucking Multiverse. She'd honestly thought it was such a stupid concept at one point. To be fair, she'd thought the whole idea of ancient aliens with superweapons capable of wiping all life in the universe out was downright insane, too, but then she asked around, found some Marines and then also joined ONI, which got her the clearance to view those files and, well, she was suddenly glad humanity had won the Human-Covenant War and also was genuinely thankful the Sangheili had opened their eyes.
Serving as an Ambassador on Sangheilios for SEC-1 for a while really did bring to light how good they became as allies, even if some of their friends didn't much agree to the sentiment. The whole 'Sapien Sunrise' movement being one of the key problematic factions in their relationship with the Sangheili, though they were being dealt with. Most of their support base were refugees and the rare disgruntled military man or woman who hated the idea they'd made peace with the hinge-heads. Understandable from some angles, she supposed.
She jumped, eyes shooting open as she felt a light tap on her shoulder. She turned to her right, to see frizzy ginger hair and a welcomingly beautiful face greeting her. Dizzy Flores smiled at her and said, "Good mornin', Rosie. Nap well?" as she straightened up on the chair beside her medical bunk. Right, she was in the infirmary, its white walls and buzzing neon lights an obvious sight. She was in her own little section, separated by curtains from the worse-off patients... And she also noticed Ace hanging out beside the curtain now.
"No thanks to Navy's driving, yeah," She quipped, then straightened up, rubbing her eyes with one hand. Dizzy and Ace both let out short chuckles at the joke, before the girl yawned and asked, "How long've I been out?"
"Two days, tops. Rico's about to get out of the Tank as well and go get himself reinstated back to the world of he living," Diz quipped, then added, "Told us to thank you for saving his ass from the Bugs, too, y'know... At the cost of your own arm," And she motioned to the girl's right arm. Rosie looked down at the stump that was where her forearm should've connected to her elbow. Shit, right.
She stared at it for a second, the images of the loss of said limb playing back. She'd gone back to drag Johnny out of the Bugs' maws and managed to get to him, utilizing her right arm to fire her own Morita while she dragged the heavy bastard by the scruff of his neck. He was bleeding pretty bad due to one bug jaw piercing his thigh, so she had to move fast.
Fast enough to ignore one of the bugs on the right, which chomped her hand as they were moving. Rico had noticed and pelted it with flechettes thankfully, killing it in the dead of night. Both of them had been wounded badly, but had made it off thanks to cooperating. Only to pass out and wind up in the infirmary. Diz told her, "Don't worry about it. MI already slated you for a replacement bionic arm... And us, for another unit."
"What's the word, then...?" Rosie asked, "New plan?"
"Sky Marshal quit after we lost three hundred thousand MI soldiers on Klendathu and new one was put into place. Word's buzzing about 'Brain Bugs' and some other crap," Ace told her as he approached the bed, "Heard we're gonna be cleaning every other bug-hole this side of the AQZ before we try for Klendathu again... Honestly, I just hope we nuke the bastards at this point so we can go deal with the UNSC."
"Wouldn't look forward for a fight with'em," Quipped Diz, "Whispers are that they're already on Nova Brasilia, fighting it out in the Jungles."
"Eh, I don't believe that 'till I'm there, Diz," Ace snorted.
"So, clean out the AQZ's bigger Bug Holes, then try for Big K again," Rosie smirked. She got nods from her comrades, to which she replied, "Noted. Save me a seat on the next gunship... Gotta pay those asshole ants back for this," and she lifted her stubby arm to emphasize the joke. Diz and Ace both chuckled as they looked at the fighting raven-haired beauty. She giggled, then nodded to them.
"Well, we'll let ya rest," Diz said as she stood up, "We'll send Rico your way once he's out, too. Gotta get his proud ass to thank you."
"Heh. Appreciate it, Diz, though I won't hold it against him if he doesn't. See you guys later," She replied softly. The two waved their goodbyes, leaving her alone again... She hummed, clicked her tongue and wondered just how long it'd take her to reach the things she stowed around the place for Comms. She had to let the UNSC know the change of heart the bastards had about their deployments to fight the Bugs...