Three Wolverine IFV walkers moved across the rugged terrain of the Australian Outback, kicking up dirt as they jogged away from the Steel Talons base. Only minutes ago they had received word that one of the outer Tiberium refineries had lost communication, at the same time word came down that Nod may have been on the move. The timing was too convenient, so Battle-Commander David Greyson was expecting trouble. Three Wolverines would be more than enough to mow down any Nod infantry and leave nothing left but bloody pieces, but just in case Nod decided to bring something more, he had Hurricane attack craft and Hammerhead gunships ready to deploy in an instant. If the Brotherhood wanted to try its luck, it would be met with the overwhelming firepower of the Steel Talons.
Greyson watched the Wolverines move closer to the refinery through a holographic image displaying real-time events. The rest of the command room was in a tizzy as officers readied base defenses and Quick Reaction Forces. They also had to put the civilians on lock down inside the Tiberium research lab until things settled. Greyson hoped it was nothing, just a false alarm and wasted time, but he was prepared for the worst.
Or so he thought.
"Kestrel-1 to Rooster Actual, come in?"
"I read you, Kestrel-1, send traffic." Major Bao replied into the radio.
"We have visual on the refinery and we see a lot of smoke. We are still unable to reach anyone on comms."
"Can you see the Harvester?"
"Negative visual on Harvester. I can send Kestrel-3 to have a look."
"Belay that, Major. Have them focus on the refinery." Greyson ordered.
"Negative Kestrel-1, continue on to the refinery."
"Affirmative, Rooster Actual."
"Get QRF One deployed. There is definitely something wrong."
"We don't have confirmation of hostile presence. It is possible its an accident."
"Then they can assist with rescue efforts. But it is Nod, Major, no doubt."
The next few moments passed slowly as everyone in the command room waited with nervous anticipation. The three Wolverines got closer to the refinery, which the holographic table displayed with thick pillars of green tinged smoke spewing from the central building. As the walkers reached the sonic fence that surrounded the refinery, four new images began to form just as the Wolverine leader reported in.
"Nod contact confirmed! I say again: Nod contact confirmed! I have four Subterranean APCs on visual!"
"Bingo. Can they confirm sight on any infantry?" Greyson asked.
"Kestrel-1, any visual on hostile targets?"
"Negative."
"What's the ETA on the QRF?"
"Five minutes, sir."
"Tell Kestrel-1 to move in and engage. They can more than handle any foot troops, and they will have air support in minutes."
"Kestrel-1, back up is imminent. Move in and engage."
"Wilco, Rooster Actual. Okay boys let's go in and clean house. Spin up the guns and-"
The radio abruptly cut out and the holographic images of the Wolverines turned from blue to red, indicating the display had lost data to keep the images updated. If they had taken fire, then Greyson would have known it but the fact contact was cut off so abruptly was strange.
"Major, what's going on?" Greyson demanded.
"Unknown, sir."
"Where's the QRF?"
"Coming into visual range now."
Two Hammerhead gunships and four Hurricane attack craft formed on the display and quickly flew towards the refinery. The aircraft came to a hover above the last known coordinates of the Wolverines and Greyson gripped the table in equal measures anger and excitement. The Wolverines were smoldering ruins, having clearly been destroyed by a powerful laser weapon. The four Nod APCs were gone, and in their place was a column of Tick Tanks moving into the barren field that separated the outer refineries from the main facility. Flanking the tanks was nearly a company sized force of infantry, and even on the holographic display Greyson could see them panicking at the sight of the GDI helicopters.
"Order them to engage! Wipe them out!" Greyson barked.
He watched with morbid satisfaction as the Hammerheads fired off their rockets and destroyed the Ticks with ease while the Hurricanes tore apart enemy infantry with their Vulcan cannons. The Nod attackers were cut down like saplings against a buzz saw. But this was merely the warning rumbles.
The storm was about to unleash it's full fury.
… … … … …
Chapter 2
Fort Gallwitz
China, Y-21
September 14th, 2035
18:00
Greyson once again found himself in the air, this time crammed together with his entire platoon inside the hold of an Orca Transport. After the Platoon's original Orca had been shot down, Greyson had frantically called for any nearby GDI bases – Steel Talon or otherwise – for assistance. Thankfully a relatively nearby Army supply base had an Orca Transport on hand and gave it to the Talons. While Greyson was thankful for the good luck, it had still cost them precious time while Fort Gallwitz was being attacked. News of the attack was limited, but it told of a large assault by elite Nod forces. How the Brotherhood could marshal such a force after their sound defeat in TW2 was a mystery. Nod simply should not be able to bring such a force to field, and yet the Steel Talons were under siege. Greyson would not have history repeat itself and so he silently willed the transport to fly faster.
He glanced up and down the troop bay, trying to gauge the attitudes of his men. They all held stoic faces, ready to deploy to defend their home, but they all avoided eye contact with him. Or was he just imagining that? He couldn't tell anymore, were they merely focussed on the battle ahead? Or were the judging him? Expecting Greyson to fail again, drag the Steel Talons further down?
"Lieutenant?"
Greyson snapped his head around to face Sergeant Richter, who must have been trying to get his attention while he was distracted.
"Yes, Sergeant?"
"We still don't have comms with Command, but we just linked with the base's EVA." Richter reported.
"Excellent! Patch it to my tacpad."
Greyson brought up his wrist mounted tablet and hastily typed in commands as Richter talked into his radio. Seconds later Fort Gallwitz's EVA began speaking to Greyson in it's robotic yet feminine voice.
"Lieutenant Greyson, welcome back to Fort Gallwitz. Unfortunately, at this time the primary runway is closed due to hostile forces currently engaging the facility."
"I'm well aware of that, EVA. I need a landing zone, now!"
"Affirmative. Hostile forces are engaging the bulk of their force through the airfield in an attempt to breach the main entrance. But reports indicate smaller forces around the outlying supply depots, as well as a secondary strike force currently engaged at the facility's rear entrance. Command has authorized you to land at our outer warfactory, currently under attack by hostile infantry. From there they would like you to proceed on foot to alleviate the assault on the rear base entrance."
"Understood. What kind of forces do we have at the warfactory?"
"Accessing, one moment."
"What's the situation, LT?" Richter asked.
"Nod is hitting the base from every side. Looks like we'll need to land outside and walk up."
"Great, more fucking walking."
"Last communication with the warfactory indicated a single squad of riflemen serving as defence, but radio contact has been lost. Inventory indicates several War Dog drone platforms and a single Titan walker are still in working order."
"Better than nothing. Inform Command we will land at and secure the warfactory, before moving up to assist in defending the base."
"Affirmative, Lieutenant Greyson."
"Everyone, listen up!" Greyson shouted through the squad channel. Heads swiveled to face him, and Greyson had to force down a sudden lump in his throat.
"Fort Gallwitz is being sieged on all sides. As a consequence we will be landing outside the base at an outlining warfacfory. We will secure the factory before moving up to the base."
"Recon the relay station, secure the factory, retake the base. How come we never get to secure the bar or recon a strip joint?" The platoon gave a hearty chuckle of Duncan's question and Greyson appreciated him adding some levity. He allowed the laughter and mock shouts of support before continuing.
"Perhaps next time, Corporal. But we have our LZ and I want it secured quickly. We will not let Nod destroy our home, we will kick these bastards back to whatever hole they crawled out of!"
The men gave a hearty shout of acknowledgment, Yet Greyson couldn't help but hear their silent accusations.
Don't fail again. Don't lead us to ruin.
But he wouldn't fail again, this time he would make Nod rue the day they decided to mess with the Steel Talons.
"Coming in for a landing now! We're taking small arms fire so be ready when the ramp drops!"
Greyson relayed what the pilot had told him to the platoon and what replied was the welcome sound of Steel Talon veterans readying their GD2 rifles. Seconds later the Orca Transport shuddered as it landed and harsh light flooded the troop bay as the ramp lowered. Talon soldiers rushed off the transport and fanned out to the left and right. Greyson gulped nervously as gunfire erupted and the radio became flooded with combat chatter.
Greyson followed West and the others of the recon squad out the transport and onto solid ground. West led the squad to the right and found cover with another squad near a Tiberian Bulb plant. Viscous liquid poured out of the alien plant as bullets pierced through, narrowly avoiding the Talon soldiers.
"Get the hell out of here Pelican!" Greyson shouted to the Transport pilots.
"Don't have to tell us twice! We are RTB, good luck down there!"
Greyson watched the Transport lift back into the air, bullets pinging off the vehicle before it flew away. Satisfied the Orca was safely away, he peaked from around the plant, trying to get a view of the battle. The Warfactory was still intact, though the large garage door that opened to main motor pool was badly scorched and dented. Across from the warfactory was a standard GDI barracks, and while it was difficult to tell from his position, it seemed that Nod soldiers were engaged in a firefight with someone inside. The Nod force itself consisted of basic infantry, deployed by Subterranean APCs judging by the two large holes that marked the space between the two buildings. It seemed the enemy had been trying to breach the small outpost when Greyson and his platoon arrived.
A bullet whizzed past Greyson's head, sending him scrambling back into cover. West glanced down at him as he slammed a new magazine into his rifle, and once again Greyson's mind saw hatred and scorn where in truth West looked at him with concern.
"Sergeant, do we have any better cover?" Greyson asked before West could speak.
"Negative, LT. Not much good cover around, what there is the other squads are using." West answered.
More bullets passed through the Bulb plant, spewing more of the alien liquid and causing the strange plant to wilt.
"Damn it. Alright. I'm going to try and contact whoever is inside the factory, see if they can offer any support."
"Got it."
Greyson lay prone on the ground, reducing his figure as he yelled into his radio. No one from Command felt it necessary to talk directly to him so he was still dealing with Gallwitz's EVA. The AI's calm voice felt even more annoying as bullets passed by overhead and men screamed in agony as they were hit. Finally the EVA connected him to someone inside the factory, and a scared sounding woman responded.
"Uh, hello?"
"This is Lieutenant Greyson, Fifth Platoon. Who am I speaking with?"
"Oh thank God. Sorry, uh, I'm Corporal Ling Zhao, uh, sir."
"Who's in charge here?"
"Lieutenant Connor is…was in charge of the outpost. But he is KIA, and so is everyone else. I'm the only one left."
"Okay, Corporal. Take a deep breath and then tell me the situation. What is the status with the Titan?"
"Titan is fuelled and ready to go, but the crew are trapped in the barracks. I was talking with them but they stopped replying about five minutes ago."
Greyson remembered seeing small arms fire come from the barracks and he hoped that meant the Titan crew was still alive.
"Richter, we may have friendlies trapped in the barracks! See if you can get to them!" Greyson ordered.
"Copy that, LT!" Richter shouted back.
"Corporal Zhao, what about the War Dogs?"
"The drone operator…he bled out just before you guys landed."
Greyson jolted as a body abruptly landed on him. He craned his head around to see Duncan had fallen on him and struggled to get up with a string of curses. Greyson glanced at the ongoing battle to see the Nod troops were advancing slowly behind an Attack Buggy and would soon overrun Greyson and his men.
"Corporal, listen to me! We are out of options so I need you to operate those drones. Get them out here to support us."
"But I don't know how to control them! I'm just a mechanic!"
"We don't have a choice!"
"Fuck me! Okay!"
Greyson got to his knees and joined the battle. He fired a wide burst toward the enemy but failed to hit anything. He scanned the field for a target when he noticed the factory garage door begin to open. Several Nod soldiers whirled around, weapons at the ready, before they suddenly turned to run. Greyson didn't have to wonder why when those soldiers exploded into a shower of gore before four GDI combat drones emerged from the factory. The quadrupedal drones were the size of a pre-Tiberium horse or a current age Tiberian Fiend. The boxy drones had a large Vulcan canon atop their frame, along with a 40mm grenade launcher. The War Dogs were one of the latest weapons the Steel Talons had been given to test bed for the GDI Army, and Greyson would at last see their effectiveness.
The War Dogs came rushing out of the factory, canons roaring as they chewed apart Nod infantry. The enemy turned to face the new threat and fired near simultaneously on the drones. Bullets were harmlessly deflected off the War Dogs' heavy armour, and the field was quickly stained red with blood and body parts. The Nod Buggy turned its heavy machine gun on the War Dogs, but the drones simply scattered out of the way before one launched a trio of grenades. The Buggy exploded into flames and jagged metal, and with that the Nod force was soundly routed.
The War Dogs went chasing off the few survivors and Greyson calmly walked across the corpse strewn field towards the barracks. Around him his men quickly moved up to secure the two buildings or tended to their wounded. Richter appeared by Greyson's side.
"Four KIA, eight wounded, all combat ineffective. Hard to tell at the moment, but I'd say we just wiped out a full Nod platoon. Not bad numbers if you ask me." Richter reported.
"Not bad at all." Greyson agreed.
Before the two reached the barracks three men emerged from the front entrance. Greyson knew at a mere glance that this was the Titan crew, based on their tanker uniforms and the small SMGs they clutched. One of them stomped over to Greyson, an unlit cigarette hanging from his haggard face.
"You my knight in shining armour?" The man asked.
"Lieutenant Greyson, Fifth Platoon. Are you my Titan crew?"
The man's eyes widened as he registered who he was talking to, and Greyson cringed from the recognition.
"Holy shit, the God damned Pariah in the flesh."
"Now isn't the time, Sergeant. I need you in that Titan."
"Well I guess you are still my superior, even if you did fall down the ladder quite a few rungs."
The man walked off laughing as his other crewmen followed, throwing dirty glances at Greyson. He sighed deeply before pushing the encounter from his mind. Richter gave a sympathetic pat on the shoulder before he walked off to check on the various squads. Greyson walked into the barracks and found a crate to sit on while he made calls on the radio.
"Corporal Zhao, good job with the drones."
"Thank you, sir." Zhao replied, sounding much less frazzled.
"Call them back then go and help the Titan crew get that walker up and running."
"Copy that, LT."
Next Greyson called command and was shocked to hear a human voice on the other end. "Lieutenant Greyson, excellent job taking back that outpost."
"Captain Kruger, good to hear from you. What's the status of the enemy attack?"
"It's Major now, sir- er, Lieutenant. Anyways, the enemy is pressing their assault. They've taken most of the airfield and are sieging the main facility directly. Commander Bao is confident we can hold them, but the enemy has already begun digging themselves in. General Mitchell is on route with a Steel Talon armoured unit, but the Commander worries they will find a well entrenched enemy."
"What about the Nod force attacking the base's rear?"
"Enemy forces have already breach the interior of the base, but we have them pinned down in the central atrium. Commander Bao wants an update on the status of your force."
"Twelve casualties. But we have the Titan crewed and operational and have four War Dogs at our disposal."
The line went silent for a moment, likely as Major Kruger conferred with Bao and Greyson couldn't help but feel a stab of anger at the thought of his former subordinate.
"Lieutenant, you are to take your platoon and escort the Titan to the front line. There you will join with the primary defence and help repel the Nod assault. Once that is done, you are to detach a single squad to assault the Nod strike force at the rear of the facility."
"Understood, Major, wilco."
The line went dead and Greyson sat alone for a moment, wiping the sweat from his face, though truly he wished he could wipe away his shame. He heard footsteps approaching and looked up to see Richter standing in the barracks' doorway.
"Titan is ready to go. What's the plan?"
"Command wants us to support the defence at the front. But I want you to take most of the Platoon and the Titan to take care of that."
"What are you going to do?"
"Nod is inside the base. Bao doesn't seem worried but I'm going to take a War Dog and West's squad and hit them from behind."
"Is that going against the Commander's orders?"
"No, not really. Orders are to detach a squad once we've moved to the front line, I'm merely taking the squad now. I'm more than confident you can handle taking the Platoon."
"David-"
"You have your orders, Platoon Sergeant."
"Yes, sir."
Richter left and Greyson allowed himself a moment to wallow in his self pity and doubt before pushing the emotions down and joining his men outside. As he stepped back out he arrived just in time to see the Titan emerging from the warfactory. Greyson had seen Titans all throughout the Second Tiberium War and his tour with the Talons, yet the sight of the mighty battle walkers never ceased to amaze him. The Titan began stomping its way towards the base, its massive tank canon ready to turn any Nod armour to scrap.
Richter was already leading the Platoon away and West and his men were waiting for Greyson. However, he spotted a woman standing by the War Dogs and walked over to her. She saw him approach and was about to snap a salute before she stopped herself.
"Corporal Zhao?" Greyson asked.
"Yes, LT. Thanks for saving my ass."
"Not a problem. Listen, I want you to accompany Sergeant Richter and the Platoon. You seem capable of operating the drones."
"It doesn't seem too hard. I'll do my best, Lieutenant."
"Good. Transfer control of one of the War Dogs to my tacpad, then take the other three with you."
"Sure thing."
Zhao tapped away on the drone control console, a device that looked little different from a hand held gaming system. After a moment Greyson's tacpad beeped and one of the War Dogs walked over to him.
"Unit two is under your control now, sir. I'll take the others."
"Excellent job, Corporal. Good luck."
Zhao walked off with the other three drones, leaving one to stand at Greyson's side.
"This going to be enough? Do we know the size of the force hitting the rear base?" West asked.
"Details are limited, but so far our comrades have the atrium locked down. But I have a gut feeling there is something else going on." Greyson remarked.
"What do you mean, LT?" Kerby asked as he opened his water canteen.
"Back at the Relay there was a Templar, a Nod special forces unit. Now there's an entire Nod strike force attacking a GDI base. Not a Blue Zone fortress mind you, but still a large and well defended facility. How the hell have they marshalled such a force? And why Gallwitz?"
The others mulled over his words as they marched through the rocky terrain. Fort Gallwitz had been built into a rift between a stretch of mountains that had been created by tectonic shifts caused by underground Tiberium. It created a naturally defensible position, but also made for rough and ugly terrain as Tiberium had consumed all plant life, leaving the whole area barren. It made for dull marching, so Greyson continued to ponder the situation with the squad.
"There's something here they want. That much is obvious. What bothers me is how did they gather such a force?" Greyson asked.
"Must have come from Vietnam. Nod has held that territory since the First Tib War. Plenty of places to hide a base and a large army group." West answered.
"Lieutenant, don't you know what's here at Gallwitz? I mean back when you were…you know…in command?" Zielińska questioned hesitantly.
"No. Fort Gallwitz was constructed after… No, I am not privy to such information now." Greyson answered.
The group went silent, Zielińska and Duncan knew what happened through the media and barracks rumor. But West and Greyson had to deal with the painful memories. Greyson could feel the depression tugging at his mind, threatening to overwhelm him, until he noticed Duncan and Zielińska had moved slightly ahead, leaving him alone with West, minus the War Dog trudging along beside him.
"LT, I need to ask; are you sure this is the best thing to do? Command wanted us at the front line."
"The Platoon Sergeant can handle things at the front. Command wanted a squad to support the rear line, I decided it prudent to split the force beforehand."
"But is that wise, sir?"
"I'm not some green butter-bar, Sergeant. I've been leading men for years." Greyson snapped sharply.
"I'm aware of that, sir. But you aren't full bird anymore and these are my men. Their lives are my responsibility." West bit back.
Greyson was silent for a moment before saying, "You do your job, Sergeant and I'll do mine."
They walked on in silence, no one wanting to open anymore wounds. They walked over rocks and deep crags before finding their way onto a dirt road that led to the rear of Fort Gallwitz. Earthmovers and tar laying machines were left idle on the sides of the road as the engineers had been in the middle of building a permanent road to the warfactory. Greyson ordered West and his squad to check the vehicles, but found they were empty and showed no signs of damage.
They moved more quickly up the dirt road, the sounds of gunfire and explosions ever prevalent. Finally they came in sight of the base's rear entrance. While the front was dominated by the large airfield, the rear had only a single landing pad for VTOL craft. The entrance itself was a large blast door recessed into the thick concrete walls. As Greyson led the squad cautiously towards the door, West abruptly stopped the squad.
"Trip wire." West said pointing down between two empty fuel drums.
Greyson peered closer and noticed the thin wire. He stepped over it carefully and noticed the claymore mine hidden behind the drums.
"Damn good eye, Sergeant. Everyone sit tight. I'll use the drone to check for more."
Everyone stood still as Greyson began fiddling with the drone controls. By the time he had the thing moving, Kerby had cut the trip wire to the claymore and Greyson moved the War Dog forward. All across the VTOL pad random debris had been scattered to hide claymores and grenade bouquets. Greyson documented each one and typed out a warning to EVA to have an EOD team clear the rear entrance once the base had been secured. That done, he sent the War Dog to secure the doorway before a large explosion sent Greyson falling backwards. He was quickly hauled to his feet by Duncan and saw the drone had been blown to bits after stepping on an unseen landmine.
"Damnit! At least the explosion cleared the way." West said, spitting dirt and grit from his mouth.
"You okay, LT?" Zielińska asked.
"Yeah. Yes. Let's go. Carefully!" Greyson stammered out.
Moving at a snail's pace, West's men stacked up at the door, West and Duncan taking the right, with Zielińska and Kerby taking the left. Greyson got into position behind Duncan and radioed Major Kruger.
"Major, I have a squad at the rear entrance. Open it up so we can move in to assist."
"I thought you were with your Platoon? Uh, I'll inform the Commander. In the mean time I'll patch you over to Captain Jean Luc."
Greyson opened his mouth to curse but was cut off by another voice on the radio.
"Did Command finally send me my damn reinforcements."
"Affirmative, Captain. Open the rear door." Greyson said through gritted teeth.
"Christ on a stick. Of course its you they send me. Opening the door now, try not to kill my guys, Pariah."
Greyson grinded his teeth as the door slowly opened. West and the others tensed as the door slid further apart, but there was no burst of gunfire coming through. Greyson waved the squad inside and followed closely behind.
The atrium was a tall vertical space, home to the various department offices that kept the Fort and the Steel Talons running. Everything from small arms repairs to logistics requisition offices were located here and opened to the atrium. Glass and detritus littered the entire space and more than a few bodies of Nod soldiers and GDI rear echelon types were strewn about. Gunfire rang out from above, causing Greyson to crane his neck up to see. Bullets and the occasional laser bolt arced across the space between the left side and right side of the atrium. It seemed Nod had made it to the third floor and were attempting to fight to the fourth where Captain Jean Luc and his men were likely held up.
"West get you men up there! Let's go!"
West led the squad up the ramp that led to the second floor where they would have to cross a walkway to the other side to reach the next ramp. As they ran forward, rifles at the ready, Greyson called on the Captain.
"We're coming up now. What's the enemy position?"
"Third floor, holding at the ramp. Two squads of riflemen, two Templar with laser weapons. I'm loosing men quickly here!"
"Understood."
Greyson and the others stormed up the ramp onto the third floor and came to an immediate stop. They took a single moment to catch their breath and began to inch forward, ready to assault the enemy on sight. They passed by a series of offices dedicated to human resources, all of which were empty of hostiles or corpses. They took up position behind a row of filling cabinets – if Greyson looked, would he find folders of complaints against him? About his failure as a leader? – and took aim at the two Nod squads. The enemy had formed a barricade with computer desks and office furniture and were busy taking pot shots at the GDI soldiers across the open space. Greyson scanned the enemy for the two Templars, and spotted them by their laser rifles, the barrels glowing red from constant use.
"Target the Templars." Greyson whispered to the others.
"Duncan and Kerby take the tango on the left. Zielińska and I will hit the tango on the right." West ordered his men. They all nodded in response and took aim. As they did a Nod soldier ducked down to reload and happened to look up, directly at them. Greyson fired a single shot that caught the man in the right eye, spraying blood all over his comrades. Before anyone could react, West, Duncan, Zielińska, and Kerby fired simultaneously. One of the Templars went down as he body was quite literally ripped apart. The second took a hit to the arm as he was in the middle of ducking down. He snapped up his laser rifle faster than Greyson expected and fired off a single bolt before he too was shot dead. Greyson felt the skin of his left cheek burn as the laser narrowly missed him and burned into the wall behind.
By this point the Nod soldiers turned to face the new threat, only to be caught in crossfire by West's squad and Captain Jean Luc's men. Greyson fired off a few more shots but by that time it was already over. Over a dozen Nod soldiers were now dead and the atrium became quiet, save for the dull sounds of battle from outside.
"Clear!" West called.
"Friendlies moving up!" Another voice shouted back.
Greyson got out from behind cover just as a group of Steel Talon soldiers rushed past. None of the soldiers stopped to even look at West or his men, as they rushed to retake the lower levels of the atrium. However, Captain Jean Luc sauntered down the ramp slowly, making his way directly to Greyson. Greyson suppressed an urge to growl, Jean Luc had been a pain in the ass long before Australia.
"LieutenantDavid Greyson. Commander Bao seems to be mighty displeased with you taking liberty with his orders. A dereliction of duty I believe he referred to it as." Jean Luc all but purred.
"If the Commander has an issue he can address it to me personally." Greyson snarled back.
"Oh I'm sure he will. He's requested your esteemed presence in the command room immediately."
Greyson stared daggers at Jean Luc who merely smiled back, a shit eating grin that he so desperately wanted to punch off his face. Instead he opened the radio to Major Kruger.
"Major, I need confirmation on orders to see the Commander."
"Uh, yes. Captain Jean Luc was to send you up here and take your current squad."
"I see."
"Is there an issue, Lieutenant?"
"None at all."
Greyson hung up and while still staring at Jean Luc, spoke to West, "Sergeant, you and your squad are to follow the Captain until otherwise ordered."
"Yes, LT."
Greyson didn't look back, but he could practically hear the relief in West's voice. Any chance to get away from the "Pariah" was a good one. Jean Luc walked passed out his sight but Greyson didn't move. He clenched his hands into fists to try and stop them from trembling and took deep breaths to try and stave off a panic attack. After a few minutes, but what felt like hours, he felt in control enough to begin walking to the command center. Moving through the interior of the Fort gave a strange disconnect from the events of the past few hours. Officers and staffers moved around with languid ease, as if blissfully ignorant of the battle going on outside. And the halls were completely undamaged, a fact that shocked him given the state of the atrium so close by. But as he walked down those halls he noticed the looks people gave him, the quick glances or the lingering stares. He tried to ignore them but he could feel his anger rising. He wanted to shout at them, yell at them to stop, tell them he did what he had to, scream that-
The entire building shook as the roar of jet engines passed over the base. Moments later the booming of explosions reverberated through the floors causing everyone to exchange nervous glances. Yet more planes flew by and more explosions rang out and the base remained undamaged. Greyson called into his radio and Major Kruger replied ecstatically.
"General Mitchell has arrived! Nod is in full retreat!"
Greyson didn't respond, he merely passed the word onto the people nearby. They all gave a hearty shout or breathed in obvious relief. Greyson merely kept walking, ignoring them all. His anger and anxiety at meeting with Bao was now replaced with a different sense of nervousness and equal measures excitement at seeing Mitchell.
All the way up to the main command center Greyson heard the constant noise of jet engines, even long after the battle had apparently ended. EVA quickly updated him, letting him know the General had recalled the entire Steel Talon force in Y-21 to Fort Gallwitz, meaning all the noise outside was from Orca Transports and Dropships arriving with infantry, walkers and tanks, and all the equipment and supplies they carried. Not to mention a near endless number of Orca Bomber and attack craft sorties being launched against the retreating Nod force.
Finally Greyson made it to Gallwitz's main command center. Immediately he spotted Bao at the large window that overlooked the airfield below. All the other staff were busy coordinating the defences or directing the reinforcements. The only person to look up at him was Major Kruger who offered an apologetic look before turning to talk to another officer. Greyson merely marched through and right up to Bao.
"Lieutenant David Greyson, reporting as ordered. Sir."
"I should have you thrown into the brig. Your insubordination could have cost us." Bao turned to face Greyson, his face completely stoic, though Greyson had worked with him long enough to hear the anger barely hidden in his voice.
"There was no insubordination, sir. I merely improvised with orders given."
"You aren't in command anymore, Greyson. You think you can do as you please? Just because you used to be Battle-Commander? That's not how this works! You follow my orders and you follow them exactly as I say!"
"Damn it, Lin! There is more going on here if you can look passed your damned pride! How was Nod able to muster such a large force? Why are there Templars here? There is something going on!" Greyson struggled to keep his voice from shouting.
"That is not for you to concern yourself with. There is a chain of command to follow, and you are at the bottom. Besides, if you had secured that relay sooner we may have averted this disaster." Bao stated smugly.
"If you had given me more than a single recon squad I could have secured that relay! But instead you-"
"Shut up!"
Both men whirled around at the sharp retort, only to snap to attention as General Mitchell strode into the room. Everyone saluted the General as he glided forward but he only focussed in Bao and Greyson. While physically almost a foot shorter than Greyson the man's sheer presence made him feel small under his furious gaze. Mitchell looked at Greyson before sliding the same scornful eye at Bao.
"Arguing in front of your men like a bunch of old ladies! How disgraceful!" Mitchell roared.
"Sir, the Lieutenant is out of line. I recommend he be placed under arrest for dereliction of duty." Bao hastily said.
"'Dereliction of duty' huh?" Mitchell turned to Greyson, "What's your version?"
"I was given orders, I simply improvised and restructured those orders." Greyson replied, feeling sweat drip down his brow.
"Uh huh. Major Kruger! Front and center!"
Kruger came running over, his face turning pale as he feared he would now suffer Mitchell's wrath. Greyson almost found it funny, except he dared not smile less Mitchell rip him apart.
"Major, tell me, what is it the Lieutenant did?"
"Sir! Lieutenant Greyson was ordered to lead his platoon to the front to help alleviate the attack. Afterword he was to detach a squad to support our troops holding the rear atrium. The Lieutenant sent his Platoon Sergeant with the platoon forward while taking a single squad to the atrium. Technically following orders but going against the timeline in which he was to follow them. Sir." Kruger reported.
"And that is considered dereliction of duty, Commander? Tell me, if the Lieutenant had not taken his squad when he did, would the enemy have breached further into the base?" Mitchell asked.
"I can not speculate, sir. But I had every confidence in Captain Jean Luc's abilities. However, Lieutenant Greyson's presence at the front could have been a critical factor had you not arrived so quickly, sir." Bao said with the tiniest hint of hesitation in his voice.
"Sir, if I may speak freely?" Greyson ventured.
"What is it?"
"The enemy went through a lot of trouble to hit us. Disabling the relay, deploying Templar special forces. I felt it necessary to make sure the enemy did not have a foothold inside the base. I did not want to let them take the base."
Mitchell stared back at Greyson and he tried not to flinch at the General's piercing gaze. But instead of anger there seemed to be a sympathetic look of understanding, but it was hard to tell as Bao spoke up, turning the General's gaze stern once more.
"That is not for a lieutenant to decide! Greyson forgets his place."
"Yes, he does. But he does raise a valuable point. The enemy clearly knows it is here, implying you have a security leak, commander." Mitchell scorned.
"So there is something here." Greyson remarked.
"You two come with me. Its time I let you into the loop, David." Mitchell said.
"Is that wise, sir?" Bao asked.
"Are you questioning me, Commander?"
"Uh…no, sir."
"Good, let's go."
Greyson and Bao hastily followed Mitchell out of the room, but not before Greyson glanced back to see Kruger visibly sag with relief. The three men walked in silence as the General led them deeper into the base, passing by officers and enlisted who all snapped salutes at the General. Mitchell finally led them into an elevator that was oddly placed behind a series of R&D offices. Inside he opened a keypad and typed in a lengthy code before the elevator began moving down.
"After Australia I had to call in a lot of favours just to keep the Steel Talons afloat. That disaster was the perfect thing for the penny pinchers and liberal members of the Board to cut the military, but thankfully Generals Cortez and Harkin managed to keep us from being totally defunded. But unfortunately public perception of the Talons was…tainted we'll say. So both HIGHCOM and the Board of Directors wanted to shove us to the far corners of the Earth, give us some shit job and forget about us. But General Cortez still believed in the vision we both had for the Talons, so instead of Gallwitz being the Steel Talons' intended grave we were entrusted with safeguarding a very high value asset." Mitchell recanted.
"But how? Or why? If you could barely keep the Steel Talons from being made defunct, how did General Cortez get the Board to green light us maintaining a high value asset." Greyson questioned.
"Simple; the Board doesn't know. Dr. Boudreau and the Daedalus Team needed a place to safeguard an important asset so General Cortez offered them Fort Gallwitz. It's a win win, we get a chance to show the Talons are still valuable, Daedalus gets a safe place to store the asset."
"And if the Board ever found out?"
"The Directors in Reykjavik have no reason to worry about an out of the way military base in China." Mitchell dismissed.
"So…what is the asset?" Greyson said as the elevator continued down.
Neither Mitchell nor Bao answered as the elevator finally came to a stop. Greyson wasn't sure what he was expecting, but it certainly wasn't for the doors to open on a small office filled with computers covering every wall. No one was in the office yet all the computers were on, displaying a dizzying stream of information that Greyson couldn't even begin to grasp at. Bao followed Mitchell into the heart of the room, leaving Greyson to jog over to them.
"What do you know about Daedalus Team?" Mitchell asked.
"Just the official story: a military science team dedicated to researching advanced Nod tech recovered from the war." Greyson answered.
"That's half right. In truth, they are researching alien technology."
Greyson stared dumbfounded at Mitchell and Bao. He half expected them to crack a smile and start laughing at his expense. But both men remained stone faced, clearly waiting for him to absorb the shocking truth.
"Aliens? Like little green men from Mars?"
"Aliens as in extraterrestrial life. Intelligent life that have left behind an extremely advance data storage device." Mitchell said.
"And that's the high value asset we're keeping here?"
"No. The Tacitus is being kept in a very secret location known only to Daedalus. What we have is a specially modified EVA unit created specifically to help translate the alien language. The Xeno-Linguistic Translation Electronic Video Agent, or XLTEVA. We just call her Rosetta."
Upon hearing her name, one of the computer screens turned from the stream of data to a rotating 3D image of the Steel Talons' sigil. The same synthetic female voice used for all EVAs spoke from the ceiling.
"Greetings Lieutenant David Greyson, I am Rosetta."
"So Fort Gallwitz is housing an EVA built to translate an alien data storage device? And now Nod somehow knows its here." Greyson reiterated.
"Yes, and I'd love to know how." Mitchell said, turning to face Bao as he did.
"I'll have the cyberwarfare unit get to work." Bao said crispy.
"No. Clearly the leak is internal, could very well be from cyber ops. I have no choice but to turn this over to InOps."
Greyson felt immense satisfaction at seeing Bao's face turn sour. However, he also felt sympathy, had he still been in command it would have killed him to have the spooks at InOps be nosing into the Talons.
"What I still don't understand is; why tell me?" Greyson asked after a moment.
Mitchell sighed deeply as he placed a hand on Greyson's shoulder. "You are a damn fine officer, David. Despite what happened in Australia. HIGHCOM wanted to discharge your ass, lock you in a prison, drag you through the streets and lynch you. But I fought like hell to save not just the Talons, but you as well. I know you, you were a damn good man to have during the War and you have a score to settle with the Noddies. If they'd let me I would have kept your command, instead of knocking you down to rock bottom."
Greyson had to fight to keep tears from showing. He felt such immense relief hearing those words from Mitchell.
"The point is is that I trust you. Now you and Lin need to fuck and make up cause I need you working like a team."
"Of course, sir." Bao said with little enthusiasm.
"Good, cause we're going hunting for the bastards who attacked my base."
… … … … …
Author's note: Hey everyone, sorry for taking (checks calendar) two months!? Oops. Time sure does fly. Anyways, here's chapter two!
As in my other stories, any time I introduce a unit from another game, I like to make a little note just so people are in the know. Two units in this chapter are the Hurricane and the War Dog.
The Hurricane is an anti-infantry air unit from Tiberian Twilight. While the game is universally hated, I always thought some unit designs were pretty cool, so I wanted to bring some into my stories.
The War Dog is a drone unit from the mobile game Rivals. Again, a game that's pretty well disliked but had a handful of interesting units. Since C&C was released in the 90s to early 2000s it came out before drones became prevalent in warfare, so its cool to see an attempt to add drones into the roster.
That's all for now. I hope to release chapter 3 within a month at latest. But I'm sorry in advance if it takes longer.
Until next time.