***Author's Aside***
This story was originally posted on my Wattpad, but will now be available here. Since it is still ongoing it will update with five chapters per day until we catch up then it will become one chapter every other week.
[Story Start]
He awoke to a world of white. Or, rather, was there just a lack of color? The man sat up and clutched the back of his head which was throbbing. Looking down, he saw he was dressed in his usual Griffin & Kryuger Commander's uniform, though he was missing his hat. As he tried to stand up, a dull pain shot up through his right leg causing him to falter. "Блядь (Fuck)," he cursed and moved to try and stand again while making sure not to move his right leg too much. He wasn't even thirty yet, but he already had a bad leg. Though, the reason for that...
"Hello, Commander." An unknown voice broke through the silent void causing the man to spin around. Standing a few feet away from him, there was a tall woman with long, pure white hair that currently was covering her face. She was wearing a black robe which made her stand out against the white void. "Feeling better?"
"...?" The man tried to speak but now found his voice not working. It was as if his voice refused to speak to this woman.
"Hmm, not yet, perhaps?" The woman stayed where she was as she spoke. "Although, time isn't an endless gift either of us can afford so we'll have to speed things up a bit." The robe she wore parted partially allowing a pale arm to emerge and point at the man. A low, dull noise started making itself known as it slowly ramped up in volume to eventually become a deafening wail. The man covered his ears as the noise was making him lose focus on the world around him. Yet, even with the intense noise and the world spinning, the woman's voice still found its way into his ears though he could not make out her words. There was only darkness.
"Oi, Zeldri, wake up!" Zeldri's eyes snapped open as he felt someone shaking him awake. Looking up, he was met with the face of a rather gruff-looking man in his mid-twenties. "Had a nice nap?"
"How could I when you keep shaking me like some faulty computer, Peter." Zeldri shoved Peter away causing the man to fall back into his seat and a hushed chuckle escaped from the rest of the people around them. Zeldri was currently sitting in the back of a KamAZ-63968 Typhoon personnel carrier driving down a dirt road through a forest.
"Can't let you get too comfortable, Старшина́ (Sergeant Major)," Peter retorted as he readjusted himself back into a comfortable position, "Doesn't look good to the men if you start getting too relaxed while on duty."
"Really?" Zeldri rolled his shoulders to help wake up. "I didn't realize your squad was so undisciplined, Мла́дший сержа́нт (Corporal)." The soft chuckling in the vehicle stopped. "Maybe, when we get back, you and your squad can help clean this Kamaz?" A sly grin overtook his face as he continued, "We got a fresh batch of toothbrushes ready to go."
"пожалейте меня, сэр (Have mercy, sir)," Peter said while giving puppy dog eyes, "Think of the poor toothbrushes!" Both men gave a hearty laugh which instantly lightened the mood in the transport. "Haha... Ugh, don't get me wrong, though, I get the boredom when it comes to missions like this." Peter's head fell back against the headrest as he gave a tired sigh.
"Someone's got to do it, might as well be us so it's done right," Zeldri said as he grabbed his radio. "Дворник (Janitor)-32, how're we looking?"
"This is Дворник-32," the radio crackled, "We're about to clear the woods. We have a visual on the AO."
"Roger, Дворник-32. Once we're clear, have Дворник-21 dismount and continue on foot."
"Confirmed, Дворник-11." Zeldri re-hooked his radio to his vest and cracked his neck one last time before addressing the people in the truck.
"Alright, Дворник-22, you're with me on dismount. Дворник-23, remain in the Kamaz."
"Да сэр (Yes, sir)," resounded through the truck.
Peter chuckled, "Bringing me along so you won't get lonely?"
"Nah, I'm doing Darby a favor by getting your whinny ass out of the truck."
"Слава Богу (Thank God)," one of the soldiers, Darby, said while putting his hands together and looking to the sky.
"Yeah, yeah, keep praying," Peter said while picking up his AN-94 and giving it a check. A few seconds later, the truck stopped.
"Dismount," Zeldri ordered, picked up his AN-94, and followed Дворник-22 out the back of the transport. A cold breeze met him as the wind howled through the carcasses of apartment blocks that stood silently before them. This town was located in the middle of a dense forest and had long since been abandoned, but military patrols still regularly went through to make sure it stayed that way. However, even if this town was abandoned Zeldri still had to be careful since all his men were humans. Due to the delicate nature of their mission, they couldn't bring dolls. As he walked to the front of the Kamaz, Zeldri watched as Дворник-21 finished filing out of the BTR-90 that led their little convoy. "Listen up!" Zeldri yelled over the engines of the vehicles to be heard, "I want a loose formation. 21 leads with the BTR while 22 sticks with the transport." He grabbed his radio. "Дворник-32, take it slow."
"Roger, Дворник-11, taking it slow." The BTR drove over the curb that led onto the paved road and started the slowly move up the street. The Kamaz followed suit and the convoy entered the town proper. It was never an enjoyable assignment, being told to march through the broken remains of your nation. Blown-out windows stained the sidewalks with their glass, piles of concrete debris stood as gravestones for former buildings, and the burned-out remains of cars littered the road. Even if a building hadn't collapsed, it was still littered with bullet holes, scorch marks, or had holes from explosives. The patrol primarily kept to the main road and used binoculars to look down any long side streets. As they were about to leave an intersection, Zeldri's radio crackled to life.
"We got movement to the south!" Дворник-23 had opened the roof hatches on the Kamaz and were using it as a vantage point. One of their soldiers was peering through binoculars down the road they were at.
"Стой (Stop)!" Zeldri called through the radio, and the convoy halted. Walking to the other side of the transport truck, he called up to the soldier with binoculars, "Where are they?"
"That corner store," the soldier replied and pointed to a store that was three blocks down from where they were.
"Right..." Zeldri bitterly remarked under his breath. He turned to Peter and motioned him to the store.
"Let's go!" Peter gave a shout and his squad followed Zeldri towards the store. They wouldn't get too close to the building, instead choosing to only go a block away from the convoy. "Hmm," Peter squinted his eyes, "Looks like there's movement near the back."
"We're two blocks away and it's dark inside the store; your eyesight's too good."
"How else would I capture the asses of the seniors from across the lunch hall?"
"You mean to instigate a fight with their boyfriends?" Zeldri rolled his eyes. "I swear, your entire grade was terrible."
"Quit sounding like an old man," Peter playfully slapped Zeldri on the shoulder, "Besides, these eyes make our job easier."
"Yeah, if only they would." Zeldri gave a heavy sigh as he clasped his hands around his mouth and shouted, "Убирайся (Clear out)!" They waited for a few seconds for a response.
"...All movement's stopped." Peter looked to Zeldri, "Though I don't see any new light, so they're probably hiding thinking they're sneaky."
"Убирайся!" Zeldri shouted and, again, waited for some kind of response.
"..." Seconds passed. Peter gave an annoyed sigh, "Nothing."
"Put a burst in the street."
"Да сэр (Yes, sir)," Peter said and brought his rifle up. There was a car wreck just outside the store, so he put a few bullets into its hood. The air cracked as the AN-94 fired off two bursts.
"Убирайся!" Zeldri shouted once the echo of the rifle died down. This time, two figures dressed in mismatched clothing dove out the window and bolted down the street. Zeldri and the rest of Дворник-22 watched them leave.
"Fucking scavs," Peter remarked as he watched them go.
"Why don't we go after them?" one of the newer soldiers asked.
"Because," Peter turned to the man, "If we arrested every scav we came across we'd run out of prisons to fill them with." Although crude, Peter was right. While, officially, they were supposed to capture scavs and ship them back, it was an unofficial decision that if they just ran after being told to leave then the patrol should just let them go.
"Why not just put some Cyclops' on this instead of actual men, then?"
"They don't usually fight back when it's people." This time it was Zeldri who responded. He turned back to the truck and started to head back as he continued, "Since they're dolls, the scavs feel no qualms about fighting back. It's a lot easier to kill a robot than a person. Plus, if they do take the Cyclops down then all we've done is give them a massive payday with military-grade parts."
"Which is why our callsign is Дворник (Janitor)," Peter added as he and his squad followed. "A lot of these buildings are unstable and could collapse at any time, but these scavs are willing to risk it so we gotta clear them out every now and again."
"And, we have the whole rest of the town to patrol, so let-" As Zeldri was talking, he was interrupted by the echoing sound of screams followed by the cracks of automatic weapons. Then, the air went silent.
"Дворник-11!" Zeldri's radio crackled to life, "What was that?"
"Ждать (Wait)," Zeldri replied. With a single hand motion, Дворник-22 took cover behind an upturned truck that was nearby. Everyone had their weapons drawn and trained down the street where the sounds came from. The same direction the scavs ran off to.
"...Sir?" the new soldier was anxious as he kept sporadically scanning the horizon.
"Ждать," Zeldri's reply was swift and quiet. Seconds passed as the world remained silent. "Peter," Zeldri tapped Peter's shoulder, "Start moving back to the convoy. Make sure to-" A ray of sunlight pierced through the overcast skies and glinted off something on the rooftop of the corner store. Even Zeldri could see what it was from its unmistakable triangular shape and large pink visor.
"Sangvis Ferri!" Peter called out the Scout that was hovering on the rooftop, and all hell broke loose. Bursting around the corner of the store, a group of Dinergates sprinted towards them.
"Weapons free!" Zeldri shouted and aimed his rifle. "Don't let them get close!" The once quiet town violently awoke as Дворник-22 all opened fire on the encroaching swarm of machines. While fragile, Dinergates were quick little machines that could easily use all the debris and car wrecks in the street as cover to close the gap between them. They were falling, but not fast enough. "Дворник-31," Zeldri ducked down behind the truck, "Get Дворник-23 here now! Дворник-32, flank around the blocks! Дворник-21, we ne-"
"GAH!" Zeldri was interrupted as the soldier that was standing next to him was torn apart by plasma rounds. Peering over the truck, the Dinergates were no longer alone as a squad of Vespids rounded the corner and set up behind a car.
"We're getting pinned!" Peter ducked down as the Vespids laid down suppressing fire. Two Dinergates leaped over the car and turned to tackle them, but Zeldri quickly put a burst of 5.45 through each of their optics.
"Focus on any Dinergates that get close!" The squad stopped attempting to peak and instead took on a defensive approach with immediately taking out any Dinergate that reached their cover. Luckily, since the Dinergates mainly relied on tackling their foes they would have to stop to change directions around the cover. A loud horn blared as the Kamaz barreled up the road and parked itself sideways in the street to give additional cover. Дворник-23 quickly filed out of the truck and joined Дворник-22 in returning fire. "Hold this line!" More Vespids emerged and started laying into the Kamaz, but its armor was too thick for their rifles.
"As if dealing with scavs wasn't enough," Peter bitterly remarked as he reloaded, "Since when was Sangvis in this sector?"
"Just focus on the right! Дворник-23, focus left!" Zeldri attempted to keep the fire on both groups of Vespids so they couldn't advance. But, the Vespids were just the warm-up. The sound of twisting metal filled the air as a wrecked car was pierced by the large, spike foot of a Manticore as it rounded the corner three blocks down and faced itself towards the Kamaz. "Get dow-!" Zeldri couldn't finish as the Manticore's under-slung cannon tore through the Kamaz. The transport truck exploded sending shrapnel everywhere and raining the human's side in burning embers. Smoke was starting to clog the air as Zeldri attempted to get his bearings after being knocked down. With the line disrupted, the Vespids began advancing towards them. As he lifted his rifle in an attempt to aim, Zeldri watched the Manticore become wracked with explosions.
"32!" Peter gave an excited shout as the BTR-90 entered the battle. It took a bit, but they had finally reached the correct street. Upon seeing the Manticore, the BTR's Shipunov 2A42 autocannon roared to life sending 30 mm rounds into the Manticore's side. The Manticore wouldn't go down easily and attempted to turn its gun towards the APC. But, the crew wouldn't give it the chance, and the BTR charged into the street ramming the Manticore at full speed. Since it hadn't fully turned, the BTR struck the Manticore in the side and weaker rear legs. It buckled and fell onto the APC which continued forwards to slam the walker into the side of a building. Concrete debris pelted the Manticore as the BTR's autocannon continued to pour 30 mm rounds point-blank into the machine's main body.
"Seize the initiative!" Zeldri cried over the confusion. "Urra!"
"Urra!" Filled with courage from seeing the BTR's actions, the soldier's morale bolstered and they redoubled their efforts. The Vespids were caught off-guard by the BTR and were momentarily stunned which was all the time Zeldri's forces needed to begin taking them out. Дворник-21, who was left behind on foot, also finally caught up and joined in the counter-attack. From its rooftop perch, the Scout silently watched the battle unfold and relayed new information back to its command unit before disappearing behind cover. The BTR backed up and out of the now collapsing building leaving what remained of the Manticore to be crushed. With the APC's support, the rest of the Vespids were quickly dispatched.
"Fucking machines!" Peter crushed one of the Vespid's heads under his boot.
"Enough!" Although Zeldri understood his friend's frustration, they had more pressing matters to attend to. "Дворник-32, and 22, secure the perimeter! 21, help me check on 23!"
"Да сэр (Yes, sir)!" Peter's squad took up positions around the BTR which parked itself in the middle of the road. Its turret constantly swiveling as it scanned for targets. Zeldri rushed to the still burning carcass of their Kamaz transport to find some of Дворник-23's members still breathing. Four men were outside the truck when it was destroyed, but the other two members of the squad had stayed inside to use the roof hatches for increased visibility. A burnt corpse with its legs missing was all Zeldri need to see to know they didn't make it.
"Блядь (Fuck)!" he cursed under his breath before grabbing his radio. "Come in Дворник-01, this is Дворник-11."
After a second of silence, the radio crackled a response, "This is Дворник-01, go ahead Дворник-11."
"Report. After entering the AO we were attacked by Sangvis Ferri forces. Repeat, Sangvis Ferri forces. Our transport has been destroyed and we have wounded. Requesting immediate helicopter evac for the wounded. How copy?"
"Stand-by, Дворник -11." Zeldri gave an impatient sigh as he watched 21's medic give what first-aid he could to the injured soldiers. A few seconds passed until the response came, "Affirmative on your request, Дворник-11, we have a gunship spinning up and inbound to your location. Over."
"Affirmative on the gunship, Дворник-01. Дворник-11 out." Zeldri re-hooked the radio to his vest, took off his helmet, and rubbed his face. The adrenaline from his combat high was wearing off which meant he could start to breathe normally again.
"Zeldri." Darby was the least injured of Дворник-23 and was already on his feet.
"Helicopter's on the way," Zeldri checked the mag in his rifle before continuing, "We'll be holding here until they arrive. Once they do, help 21 load your squadmates up as I'm sending you back to base for proper treatment."
"But," Darby protested, "Zeldri, I can stay! I-"
"Am God awful at hiding a limp." Zeldri interrupted Darby, who subsequently shut up. Zeldri had noticed as soon as Darby walked up to him that he wasn't fit to stay. "You're their leader, Darby. See them back safe. Got it?"
"..." Darby didn't respond immediately, though Zeldri didn't hold it against him, "Understood."
"Good," he gave Darby a pat on the shoulder, "Tell 21 to move the injured behind the blue truck; the wind's picking up." Darby gave a silent nod and returned to his squad. Zeldri watched him go before turning his attention back to Дворник-22 and the BTR. Thankfully, it looked like these Sangvis units were alone as reinforcements didn't appear to be coming. "...It's the little things." Zeldri took out a cigarette and lighter. He didn't usually smoke, but it was always the scav missions that found a way to make him. "Mmm... Now if this damned wind would die down." The wind had picked up again and started to howl. The weather wasn't usually an issue, but he had injured men which were going to make this weather troublesome. A strong gust blew past making a screaming noise. "...Screaming?" Zeldri took a step towards the truck with the wounded before he was thrown from his feet and across the road.
"Zeldri!" Peter's voice was muffled and sounded distant. Zeldri tried to get up, but the world wouldn't stop spinning. Why couldn't he feel his right leg? Muffled gunfire and explosions tried to make themselves known, but Zeldri was too focused on trying to move. Suddenly, his vision shifted as someone started to drag him away. The blurry image of Дворник-22 laying down suppressive fire against some distant enemy was all Zeldri could make out. As the world continued to spin, a new figure made itself known. The tall woman in the black robe stood before him, although Дворник-22 didn't seem to notice her despite some of them looking in her direction. Zeldri did his best to focus on the woman, but all he could make out was a single sentence before succumbing to unconsciousness. A single sentence that she had said before, but he couldn't hear the first time.
"Wake up, Commander, you're screaming again."