The Will of Revenge

by Gamer83888

Fifteen years have passed since the event that changed history. Flare Prime, under the guidance of United Nations, prospers and develops. It's nations, united under the UNSA Andromeda Branch banner, look into bright future. However, old enemies long presumed dead or missing return to bring chaos. A new war is on the horizon and the outcome will decide the fate of billions of lives.

34. Part 5, Chapter 2

Welcome back everyone to another chapter of The Will of Revenge. As you remember, in the previous chapter, we explored a bit of the repercussions of the nuclear explosion in Infit. Of course, even with nuclear cloud over their head, SoS won't stop the conflict they began. On the other hand, we accompanied Dora and Rangers as they discovered a secret and gained a new weapon to help them survive. But the war continues. So let's see how's it going.

Chapter 2

August 6, 2166

12:12

Zadia, 5km from Erak City, Skandian C.Z.

General Felix Io Notius, commander of 78th Mechanized Legion and, since the death of general Kerrel and destruction of the 2nd Armored Legion, commander of the entire Western front of Sons of Sadera, stood on top of his command vehicle, with binoculars. He watched the skyline of the capital city of Skandian C.Z. There, he could see large piles of smoke coming from various parts of it. That wasn't surprising. After all, artillery hitting the city was certain to start some fires, especially by hitting ammo depots or other locations important to the enemy defensive effort. Which, in his eyes, was futile.

Although the whole setback during Operation: Axer, the Western front held actually pretty well. True, they did lose an entire Armored Legion and thousands of other soldiers, but that didn't mean much. After all, the offensive was more of a problem for the enemy. They used almost all of their offensive power, lost thousands of troops, too and hundreds of pieces of equipment. Not a very good trade for simply pushing away the inevitable. While UTDF couldn't replenish their loses very effectively, SoS had reinforcements coming basically everyday and before long, they had the initiative again.

Now, two days ago, long effort came to an end and encirclement was finally closed around the city. Inside of it, there were hundreds of soldiers which survived the offensive during Axer and since then were delaying the Sons' offensive. These units were already tired and reports gathered by the intelligence groups, lost nearly seventy percent of their personnel and equipment, which meant, that they basically didn't represent anything with themselves. General was actually surprised that they still held their ground.
"General, better go down from there!"someone exclaimed.

Felix looked down and saw his deputy, colonel Marcellus.
"I told you it's dangerous!"deputy continued."Enemy snipers might be anywhere!"

"I know."general replied.

He was well aware of the reports. Apparently, there were some enemy snipers, which managed to sneak past their encirclement and started hunting soldiers in the field. Some officers, which Notius knew personally, already fell to them. But general was not scared.

"I'm not scared of them."Felix continued."Besides, they are not brave enough to come this close."

"That's not what I'm talking about."Marcellus stated.

Felix sighed.
"Fine."he said.

Soon, he was on the ground, hiding the binoculars in his jacket. He stood before Marcellus.
"Happy?"

"Very."colonel replied.
"So, what's the commotion?"

"Commanders wish to give you their reports."

"Fine, let's go."

The two of them started towards the main command center, which was set up in a nearby house. On their way, they passed soldiers tending to the vehicles, the wounded and prisoners. The last did not need explaining. Seeing their commander passing by them, soldiers stood on attention and saluted. Felix quickly told them to stand at ease and return to duties.

They entered the house, saluting to the two guards and made their way towards the living room, where the holo-table was set up. Around it, he could see other officers, which were under him.

"Hello gentlemen."Felix said."I guess you have something for me?"
Officers nodded. Marcellus then turned on the table, which showed the hologram of the city and surrounding area. Right now, the blue color representing their forces reached halfway through the main road leading through the city towards the center. There were also symbols showing the positions of their forces.

First person to speak, was colonel Sylens, a commander of 3rd Shock Regiment. He was a clone, what was pretty rare to see in higher echelons of command. However, he showed such a good commanding capabilities, that he was promoted and got here.

"Our forces are currently in positions suitable to start the final assault on the city center."Sylens said."Enemy troops are still in our way and flood towards the CC, but their numbers are still dwindling. It's safe to assume, that they won't put up much of a resistance."
"I can confirm this information."colonel Serionus, commander of the 11th Independent Tank Regiment, said."Our troops pushing forward down the main highway are reporting weaker and weaker enemy resistance. Soon, it will be over."

Other officers agreed with a nod.

"So, if I have to assume, according to you, everything will be over today?"Felix asked.

Honestly, that was a surprise for him. He expected, that as with other such situations, enemy would fight much fiercer under siege. Reports from the Siege of Utgard said, that enemy was fighting like a wounded animal and for many days. He expected something like that from Skandians too. But as it turns out, everything would be over much sooner than anticipated. Which was actually good. This was actually a proof, that enemy was actually running out of everything and would soon crumble. When will that happen exactly, he had no clue. But he was certain, that this war was in the bag.

"These are great news, actually."he said."I'm impressed, gentlemen. If we actually end this siege after only two days, we will certainly get some kind of reward."

"And then, we can laugh at those idiots from Margas!"lieutenant colonel Helius, commander of 5th Special Forces Squad laughed.

Other officers joined him and started laughing too.

"Alright, enough of that."general ordered."To work, men. We have a city to conquer."
"Yes, sir!"officers exclaimed and made a Saderan salute.

With these words, everyone started leaving. Soon, there were only Notius, Marcellus and Helius left. General looked at the lieutenant colonel.

"I guess you filled them in?"Felix asked.
"Yes, on everything. Battle will be won today, no matter how their troops will fair."Helius replied."And no matter how mine will do."
Marcellus looked at them.

"What do you mean, sir?"he asked.

Notius and Helius looked at him and at each other.
"I think it's safe to tell him now."Helius said.
"Same."Felix agreed."Listen here, Marcellus."

Saying that, he pressed a button and a holographic image of a dropship appeared in the air.
"Before the siege was started, we already had a plan how to quickly end it."Felix said."Which we crafted along with lieutenant colonel Helius here."

The holographic dropships started moving through the city's holographic skyscrapers and other buildings. As they flew, by analyzing their flight pattern, Marcellus slowly started realizing, what that plan was.

"You're planning to…"he started.
"…capture colonel Sigurd Gergon?"Helius finished."Indeed. We figured out, that if we get our hands on the head of the snake and tear it off, the body will soon die with it."

"Well, Nordians certainly aren't a normal snake."deputy whispered.

"What was that?"Felix asked.
"Nothing."Marcellus quickly replied.
"Good. Go and do something useful. We will discuss the last details with Helius."
"Yes, sir."

Marcellus took one last look at the hologram before leaving the building and the two commanders continued their conversation.

August 6

12:35

C11 Highway, Erak City

Sylens and Serionus jumped out of the dropship that had carried them from the meeting and approached their units. Seeing them, soldiers saluted and didn't stop until they came by. Unlike Felix, which had some kind of respect for his soldiers, these two didn't care for the losses. Their only concern was how fast will they finish their jobs and achieve their goals. Both had their reasons. And the main one was climbing up the ladder of command to one day take place of people like Maio or Margas or Felix. They believed that one day, they will get there.

Approaching their respective units, they stopped and looked at each other.

"So, time to finish throwing the trash?"Sylens asked.

"Indeed."Serionus replied."Whoever gets to the city center first, pays for the other's dinner."

"Understood."

They both gave themselves a Saderan salute and went to their units. Serionus approached his Leo-21, climbed into it and put his helmet on. Next, he turned on his communicator.
"This is Serionus to all units."he said."Resume the offensive. Today, we're taking this city."

"Sir, yes, sit!"all officers under him replied.

Soldiers on the outside started getting into their vehicles and revved up their engines. Tanks set themselves in the front of the formation of course, as they were to serve as the vanguard and main offensive force of the last assault on the CC. Behind them, lighter units of the 3rd Shock Regiment also prepared for battle, manning their armored vehicles. Not long after, the whole cavalcade was on the move, driving down the highway towards the city center, where all the roads crossed.

For the first few minutes of the advance, nothing was happening. Turrets on top of Mastiffs and other vehicles looked around, trying to detect an enemy. But as of now, nothing like that was happening. Their only companions were the sounds of battle going on across the city.

"It's quiet."Serionus' deputy said."Too quiet."
"Come on, Rouns."another officer said."Never say that. Whenever anyone says that it's too quiet, shit hits the fan real fucking fast."
"Silence, lieutenant Marius."Serionus said."You're both right. We have to stay vigilant. The silence can only mean…"
"Missile!"someone shouted on the radio.

Before anyone could react, one of the Mastiffs and it's passengers were taken away from this world in a flash of explosion, when an armor piercing missile hit the lightly armored vehicle. Several soldiers sitting on APCs on both sides of the destroyed one were burned by the explosion and fell off, some under the wheels of other Mastiffs. Several turrets immediately turned in that direction and opened fire, although they could not know, that the Skandian soldier which fired was already gone.

"Enemy movement, front."someone reported.
Soon, two enemy BMP-O infantry fighting vehicles came out from their hiding in nearby alleys and blocked the road, accompanied by a whole company of soldiers, which opened fire on the approaching Sons. As if that wasn't enough, two tanks appeared on the top of the nearby multi storey car park. Guns of two M5s had enough degrees of lowering their guns, that they could easily open fire on the approaching force. They also opened fire, but fortunately for Sons, they missed.

"Focus fire on the car par!"Serionus ordered.
"Infantry, flank and destroy enemy vehicles!"Sylens ordered to his troops.

Several of his clone Shock Troopers then left the formation and ran for the nearby alley, which they intended to use as a way to flank enemy defenders. Tanks fired their shells at the two IFVs, but their anti-projectile systems went to work and managed to take down the shells before they hit their marks. Their autocannons opened fire, hitting the fronts of the tanks. With each hit, ringing which spread across the machines made people inside clench their teeth.

One of the BMPs fired a TOW missile Serionus' tank. It's active protection system worked in time and missile was take out of the sky.
"Fire on those tanks!"Sylens said.
"We're trying!"Serionus replied.

Enemy troops started falling one by one, but there was still a lot of fire coming. Another Skandian fired a missile from his rocked launcher, which the Leo-21 systems were unable to intercept. But much to Serionus' relief, the missile ricocheted from the frontal plate and hit the nearby building.

At the same time, Sylens' soldiers were getting through the alleys, preparing their anti-armor equipment to deal with the two vehicles blocking their way. At the same time, Skandian tanks still tried to hit their enemy. It wasn't their fault they couldn't hit. The gunners in them belonged to the better ones in the brigade. The problem were the targeting systems, which after months of fighting were so run down and damaged, that they were unable to aim properly.

Sylens' troops finally managed to sneak past the defenders and were currently behind one of the IFVs. One of the clones pulled out a missile launcher and aimed it. He pulled the trigger and the missile flew out, reaching the BMP after a few seconds. Back door of the machine were not strong enough to withstand the hit and missile literally broke through them, flying inside ant exploding within the vehicle, making it's ammo light up. Explosion also managed to kill many soldiers surrounding it.

Burning shrapnel from the explosion also hit the second missile on the turret of the second BMP-O and made it detonate, destroying the turret. This allowed the tanks to finally score a good hit on the vehicle, completely obliterating it. When this was done, they aimed towards the car park.

Seeing this, two Skandian tanks tried to fall back, but it was too late for them. High explosive shells slammed into the building, touching it's structural integrity. Then another batch and another. Three times was enough to make the supports so weak, that they couldn't support the weight of the building and quickly collapsed. Burying the two tanks under the tons of concrete and steel.

Remaining defenders quickly started running, although Sons didn't allow them to. Riffles, machine guns and autocannons were cutting down escaping Skandians with such a precision, that soon, out of the entire company, only a dozen managed to flee the advancing enemy force.
"What even was that ambush?"Sylens asked."From my point of view, that doesn't make any sense."
"But it does from theirs."Serionus replied."They are trying to delay us as much as possible, as well as give us high casualties."
"Well, doesn't work for them very well if you ask me."
"True, but they are desperate. And desperate people resolve to desperate measures. But for now, let's continue the advance."
"Understood, continuing the advance."

"Yes, sir."the officers replied.

Soon, the whole attack axis was on the move again, driving down the highway. Tanks, moving in the front, drove over the dead bodies, making them explode, but advancing forces paid it no mind. Armored beasts rammed the two destroyed BMP-Os, pushing them off of the way and allowing the rest of the force to advance forward. Now, after this ambush, they had to be more careful if they wanted to reach the CC.

However, immediately after rounding the corner, they were met with an unpleasant sight. It was a barricade made of of various materials, from furniture to metal pieces. Not only that, but there was also another tank built into the barricade. However, because of that, it's turret was fixed, so it could not turn to target any of the tanks, which were not driving straight at him.

That couldn't be said about the soldiers manning the barricade. They were already aiming down their sights and started firing at the Sons' vehicles.

"They never learn, huh?"Serionus' gunner said.
"Indeed."colonel Serionus agreed.

He connected with the rest of the unit.
"Open fire. I want this obstacle removed."

"Understood."other tank commanders replied.

Soon, still under fire, but from small arms, tanks started firing. Both tank shells and machine gun lasers flew out of the barrels, immediately eliminating numerous enemy troops. However, the barricade itself, surprisingly, still stood and numerous enemy soldiers were still on top of it. One of them even had a missile launcher, which he used. Missile flew forward, but another counter measure managed to easily take care of it.

"Persistent, aren't they?"Sylens asked in the radio.
"Yes."Serionus replied shortly.

Right then, all four tanks aimed at the machine standing in the middle of the barricade. All four barrels spoke at the same time. Four shells slammed into the tank, and soon, a fire erupted through the upper hatch, burning through some of the barricade and soldiers standing on it.

"Well, turns out there was ammo in that tank."Serionus' driver said.
"Then why didn't it fire at us?"the gunner asked.
"Who knows?"Serionus asked back."Maybe they were simply lacking other materials to finish this barricade and used the tank? But that's not important now. Destroy it."

In response, tanks fired and fired and fires, with shells ramming into the barricade, making it's pieces flying into the air and hurting or killing the defenders. Ammo in the tank stopped burning and now, the whole barricade started collapsing, with numerous holes in it seriously touching it's construction. Not long after, it collapsed, allowing the vehicles to drive over it's remains and pass by the wreck of the tank.

"Well, if that's how they gonna fight us, no wonder they're losing."Sylens said.
"Agreed."Serionus said."But now, we have a way open towards the CC. We get it and the city is ours."

However, Serionus didn't notice one thing. Because he couldn't.

He couldn't see a sewer hatch opening under his tank. He didn't see a hand reaching from it and attaching something to the underside. And he didn't know, that a red light started blinking on the device.

At the same time…

In the air

Dropship ride was too bumpy for lieutenant Terrenius' liking. The PI-904 was making twists and turns so sharp, that the squad inside would probably fall out if they were not sitting and the doors were not closed. He knew that all of this was because there was enemy AA confirmed on the rooftops and they were flying between the buildings, but he was sure that the flyboys could make it less nausea infusing.
"Alright, people!"lieutenant exclaimed."Let's go over the plan one more time!"
A holographic projector on the ceiling of the troop compartment turned on and a hologram of a skyscraper appeared. It didn't look special in any kind, just another very tall building, which many of them already seen on Erecan worlds, even though this one was designed by Humans.

"As you know, enemy commander was confirmed to have evacuated the previous HQ and now resides in one of the office buildings. Form there, he controls everything that's going on in the city and commands the defense. General and lieutenant colonel want to take him alive for questioning. They believe, that without their leader, Skandians will give up and the city will be ours before midnight. Our enemy is desperate, so you gotta be ready for anything they might throw at us. We know that there are enemy troops defending him. How many, no idea. So stay frosty."

"Sir, yes, sir!"operatives replied.

Right then, the pilot spoke:
"ETA-5 minutes."
Terrenius nodded. Next, he searched for an appropriate option in his helmet and connected to the cameras outside of the machine. This way, he could observe the surroundings and situation. And would know when something was going to hit them.

On the outside, he could see numerous damaged buildings. The whole city was hurt by the battle. As someone who served back in the former Empire, Terrenius heard about Skandians' might and bigotry in battle. Because of that, even though he believed in Saderan might, he prayed to never fight Skandians.

Now, however, times have changed. Skandians still showed their ferocity, but in face of overwhelming enemy force, they were gonna falter sooner or later. Even now, lieutenant could see a bunch of tanks and other vehicles advancing down the highway, firing their guns at any target they could see. In this scenery, it was certainly a sight to behold, knowing, that it's been only one and half decade, since nobody even dreamed of setting a foot on another planet. Everyone believed only gods were able to do it.

His thoughts were interrupted, when one of the tanks suddenly burst out into flames and stopped moving, with fire gushing from it's upper hatch.

"Poor bastards."he thought.

"ETA-1 minute."pilot announced.

Lieutenant turned off the camera view and focused on the upcoming mission. They had to be fast and efficient. No mistake could be made.

"We're over the target."pilot said.

The side and back door of the dropship started opening, letting the sunlight inside of the dark interior. Terrenius was the first to stand up.
"Move, move, move!"he ordered.

Twenty commandos quickly stood up from their seats and poured out of the vehicle onto a landing pad on top of the skyscraper. They quickly scanned the area, searching for the enemy, but there were none. When the unloading ended, dropship closed it's hatches and started rising up.

"We will circle around the area, lieutenant."pilot said."We'll keep watch and provide fire support when needed. Callsign is Magnitude."
"Understood, Magnitude. We will call you when needed."Terrenius said.

904 soon was circling in the air.

"Move."Terrenius ordered.

His troops quickly approached nearby entrance to the staircase leading down. Soldiers in the front of the group opened them and slowly entered. They formed a column going down the stairs, scanning the area with their weapons.

"According to the intel we were given"Terrenius said"enemy commander is on floor 38. We go down until we see the door with that number."
"Yes, sir."soldiers replied.

After next five minutes of walking down, two soldiers in the very front of the group finally reached the door leading to the 38th floor. Leading one grabbed the handle and slowly pushed it down, opening the door. When they opened fully, three other soldiers joined him, aiming their weapons to the front, left and right, making sure no enemy will surprise them while the rest made their way in. Fortunately for them, there was no enemy in sight. And if gods and Emperor would help them, they would not meet any resistance on the way to the target. But life was rarely that easy or lucky.
"Everyone in?"Terrenius asked.

All soldiers confirmed, while the one that previously opened the door, now closed them.

"Alright, listen."lieutenant said."We split into two groups. One goes right, the other left. The one which will find the colonel first, will report it to the other. We will storm the room together, from two sides, catching them in a pincer maneuver. Understood?"
"Understood."soldiers replied.

"Good. Darius, you go right."Terrenius ordered.
"Yes, sir."Darius replied.

Soon, two groups, ten men each, separated and went in two different directions. Terrenius led the group that went left and Darius went right. They both knew they tasks and were ready for anything.

Their boots stamped on the ground, making a characteristic sound. Only other sounds they were hearing, were the sounds of fire and fighting, so loud that they could hear them even here. But fortunately, it was ordered to artillery crews to not open fire on this building when they were inside. That was at least some plus.

Seeing another corner, Terrenius put his hand in the air, making his group stop. They hugged the wall and lieutenant looked back at them.
"You."he said to one of his commandos."Take a look."
"Yes, sir."commando replied.

He stepped out of the group and approached the corner. He glanced at the lieutenant and took a quick peek around it. Then, he quickly hid back behind the cover.

"Two guards."he said."SMGs. They are looking in another direction, so they didn't notice me. They also appear to have some earphones in."

Terrenius let out a sigh of relief. Luck was really on their side now.
"You and you."He pointed at two other commandos."Take care of them."

They nodded their heads and left the group. They slowly rounded the corner, crouching, and started approaching the oblivious guards. Skandians still listened to music going on in their earphones. They knew they should be more careful and more focus on their job, but at this point, they both didn't care anymore. They only stayed with their side to at least have something to eat and someplace to sleep. If they tried to defect to SoS, they would most likely end up dead, shot by either of the sides. But still, they decided that because enemy doesn't know where colonel is hiding, there was no actual need for focusing on their jobs.

Commandos approached them, unheard, and before the two knew, their mouths were being covered by gloved hands and knives were being sunk into their bodies. Their eyes widened, when they realized what was going on, but it was too late to act. Light slowly faded from their eyes and soon, they were gone. Sons slowly put them down on the ground, to not make a lot of noise.

Terrenius approached the two.
"Good job, now we…"

His words were interrupted by a sound of blaring alarm. Lieutenant looked around, not knowing what happened.
"Lieutenant, this is Darius!"Darius exclaimed in the comms.
"What's going on?"Terrenius replied.

"We've walked into several enemy guards. We didn't allow them to open fire at us, but they managed to report our presence before we eliminated them."
Damn it. There went their element of surprise and luck.

"Continue with the objective."Terrenius ordered."We can't back off now."

"Yes, sir. Moving forward."Darius replied.

Terrenius looked at his group.

"Move!"

Soon, they were running down the corridors. They didn't care about the stealthy approach now, as the alarms continued to sound all across the building. Soon, there were gonna be more guards swarming them and their mission would go to hell real fucking fast. Now, Terrenius could also hear gunfire that sounded through the corridors, which meant, that commandos were already engaging other guards, which this time actually put on some resistance.

Terrianus' group didn't need to wait long to see some action too. The door to the right of the corridor opened and a guard ran out of there. Lieutenant quickly aimed it's silenced POKS riffle and pulled the trigger. Heated plasma hit the guard, taking him out immediately.

"Grenade!"Terrenius ordered.

As they passed the door, one of the soldiers pulled out a grenade and threw it in, stunning remaining three guards the were hiding inside. As the commandos passed by, grenade exploded, killing the other three.

They approached another turn and this time, Terrenius showed the same soldier to scout ahead. Commando complied and quickly rounded the corner…
…only to score a hit to the head with a battle axe. Owner of the axe then kicked the commando's body back, tearing the blade from his head. Terrenius reached quickly and jumped from the cover, pulling the trigger and sending another Skandian to the meeting with their gods. Other commandos didn't even pay mind to their fallen comrade. For them, mission was the number one priority.

Finally, they were met with a tougher resistance, when their path was blocked by a guard wielding a minigun, which stood in the middle of the corridor and fired it's massive weapon whenever an SoS' soldier looked from behind the corner. Fortunately, commandos were also prepared for these kinds of situations.
"Shields!"Terrenius ordered.

Three soldiers stepped to the front and activated their special, extendable shields, which they had mounted on their forearms. Another present from one of Erecan Dominion's servant species. Commandos then left their cover and started walking down the corridor. They were immediately met with a fire from the guard's minigun. Shields were, however, made of a very strong material, which could easily withstand the fire. Guard, however, continued to fire, hoping that the shields would actually break. But there was no sight of that.

"Now, you."lieutenant ordered.

Another commando stepped out. This time, it was the best sharpshooter in Terrenius' squad. He stood behind the three other commandos, aiming down the sights of his riffle. He aimed through the small gap between two shields and centered his sights on the guard's head. Next, he pulled the trigger and scored a hit. Guard fell to the ground and it's gun ceased firing.

"Clear."sharpshooter reported.

"Alright, move."lieutenant ordered.

Three commandos turned off their shields and joined the rest.

"This is Darius."commander of the second group said."We reached the target area."
"Yeah, we're approaching it too."Terrenius said."Wait for us."

"Got it, boss."

Nine remaining commandos from Terrenius' group ran to the end of the corridor and soon, they were standing near the door leading into the room where the enemy commander was supposed to be. Lieutenant looked at yet another commando.
"Get a camera in."

Commando hung his weapon on it's belt and approached the door, pulling out a small camera and a screen attached to it. He knelt on the ground and slowly slid the camera under the door and pressed some buttons on the screen, turning the device on.

Immediately, the screen showed a bunch of desks set in a row, but not only that. Further in the back of the room, the camera could see a man, presumably the target, talking to some other officers and surrounded by numerous soldiers and security troops.
"How many are we dealing with, did anyone confirm?"Gergon asked.

"No, they were killed before they could report anything."some other officer replied."But we can confirm a group of at least ten, maybe twice as much."

"Have you called security from lower floors?"

"Yes, sir, but they will not come here fast. Apparently, enemy dropship circles around the building, firing at the floors where our troops currently are."
"Damn it!"

The camera was retracted from the room.

"Target's inside."commando reported.

"I could see."Terrenius said."Alright, plant the charges. We're breaching."

Commandos nodded and performed the order, placing the breaching charges on the doors. Next, they retreated to their previous positions.
"Darius, are you ready?"Terrenius asked.
"Breaching charges placed, sir."Darius replied.
"Breaching in 5…4…3…"

Commandos readied their weapons.

"2…"
Tension rose.
"1…"

The breaching charges exploded, throwing the doors out of their hinges.
"Move, move, move!"lieutenant shouted.

Commandos flooded into the room from two sides, checking their targets and quickly eliminating Skandian soldiers defending the room. Soldiers and guards were unable to respond to this sudden attack, as they fell one by one, hit by the plasma fire from the Sons' riffles. It was a slaughter.

Sigurd saw his adjutant's head get evaporated before falling to the ground, as all around him, as guards were cut down by enemy fire. He fell to the ground, hiding from the shots, while at the same time, he reached into his pocket. He pulled out the device he was looking and held it in his hand.

However, before he could press the button, he heard:
"Hands behind your neck and stand up."

Skandian colonel cursed under his breath and slowly rose from the ground. When he did, he saw nineteen commandos standing around him, with their weapons lowered. The one who looked like a commander approached him.
"I guess you are colonel Sigurd Gergon?"Terrenius asked.

Sigurd didn't answer. Lieutenant scoffed.
"Not much of a talker, I see? Don't worry, our agents will make you talk. And don't think anyone will save you. We have your troops pinned down."

Terrenius turned and was putting his hand to his helmet, when suddenly, Sigurd giggled.
"What's so funny?"lieutenant asked.
"Simple."Sigurd said."I can save myself."

Right then, he opened his hand, showing the device he held. It was small, circular and had a red button in the middle of it.

But it didn't take long for someone to recognize it.
"Detonator!"someone exclaimed.

Before commandos could react, Gergon pressed the button. Few second later, the whole building shook.
"What have you done?!"Terrenius shouted.

Colonel smiled.

"If it's my time to check out of this rock, then I will not go out alone!"he replied and laughed.

"Lieutenant!"Magnitude's voice exclaimed in the radio.
"What is it?!"lieutenant exclaimed back.
"Numerous explosions have been registered on the building's lower floors! And more are approaching the upper floors!"

"What?!"

Terrenius looked at Sigurd.
"You're killing your men too?!"he asked.
Sigurd only shown him a well known gesture he learned from one of his colleagues from Milky Way: a straightened middle finger.

Explosions stopped a few seconds later, but that didn't change a thing. Right when some commandos started thinking that it has calmed down, building shook once more and when they looked out the window, they could see other buildings passing by their floor at an astonishing speed, what could only mean one thing: the whole skyscraper was collapsing. The explosives set up by Skandians must have seriously damaged the foundations.

Floor after floor, the building collapsed in on itself, making a giant cloud of dust rise up from it. When the time came for their floor, Terrenius closed his eyes, what might have saved him some pain, but nobody knew. Only thing that was certain, was when five days after the fall of Erak City his body was dug out from under the rubble, together with bodies of all his commandos, Sigurd and other security and soldiers inside, his eyes were shut tight. He was then sent to the SoS' colony, where his body was given to his family. What was probably a little comfort, if any, for his wife and sons.

August 6

13:28

Zadia, Skandian C.Z.

General Felix Io Notius sat in his command vehicle, with the datapad in his hand, reading the report from the pilot which carried special forces squad to capture the enemy commander. It was a shame that the mission ended in a failure. They lost a whole commando unit and didn't even gain anything from it.

"But I guess that sometimes, it do be like that."Felix thought and sighed deeply.

At least on other fronts, his troops were doing well. Enemy was breaking and soon, they would probably surrender. This in itself posed new challenges, so he had to come up with something that would help them deal with it. Something simple and not too straining. But what could that be?

Right then, the door to the command vehicle opened and Marcellus looked inside.
"General."he said.
"What is it?"Notius turned to him.

"Our units are reporting. Enemy troops started a mass retreat. They're apparently heading towards the center of the city."
General nodded. It would appear, that the enemy was planning for fighting to the bitter end.

"How many?"

"Around four thousand troops. Along with equipment. Some officers suggest, that we should ask for their total surrender."

Felix rubbed his chin. Then, a smirk appeared on his face. And not a good kind.

"I have a better idea."he said.

August 6

14:57

Erak City, Square of Bravery

All across the city, Skandian defense lines started falling apart one by one, what forced the remaining troops to quickly fall back to the final defense line that was prepared for them. Square of Bravery, near which the governor's seat was placed, was the main square of the city. It was placed where the first Colonization Ships landed and where first buildings of the city were built. Now, it was the place, where Skandian soldiers would stand their ground against the approaching enemy.

Lieutenant colonel Erika Laghar was one of these soldiers. Sitting in the open hatch of her tank, observing hundreds of soldiers running around, preparing for the approaching fight. Although even she knew, that this will be a lost fight. But they were Skandians. Who would they be if they didn't put up a fight?

"Boss!"Uger called.

Erika looked down into the turret.
"Yes?"
"We counted the shells we have left."
"And?"
"Five AP, seven HE, three HESH and two sabot."

So fifteen. That was how many shells they still had to fire at the enemy. So they had to allow every shell to score a satisfying hit. Not a very good situation. But what else they could do? All supplies were cut off and there was no way to resupply ammo.

"Alright, just make sure that each one counts."she said.

Uger saluted.

Erika then looked at a soldier approaching the tank. He stopped and saluted.
"Ma'am, we report that our ammo supplies will last for no more than an hour."he reported.

So that was it. They had an hour before the judgement will fall on them. Wait, maybe more. After all, they had some melee weapons, too. And when it came to melee, Skandians would even beat entire battalion armed with riffles in melee. Battle of Terium II during the Anti-HO Remnant Campaigns showed it best. Five hundred Skandians, armed with axes and swords, versus two thousand HO infantry. Only fifty families in Skandia mourned after it. Good that in Skandian army, soldiers were still allowed to carry melee weapons of that caliber.

Thinking, Erika leaned back and looked up towards the sky. It was clear, with no clouds around. Honestly, she wondered, why when they lose battles, gods won't show how much they woe for them? She wasn't very religious, but she knew, that gods often showed some signs in hard times. At least she heard so.

Suddenly, something weird caught her eye. It was a clearly bright dot high in the sky, looking like at star. What was weird. Stars shouldn't be visible during the day. Especially they shouldn't be this bright. She frowned, wondering what was going on.

She understood, when the light started growing bigger. Her eyes widened.

"Inco…!"

Her scream was cut short, when the first laser slammed into the ground, immediately obliterating hundreds of Skandian soldiers. Soon after, a second one followed, destroying the governor's office, Then there was third, then fourth, each hitting on mark and eliminating more and more defenders. The last of Skandian soldiers were being massacred, without them even knowing what was going on.

Erika also didn't manage to say anything about it, when another laser landed straight on her tank, immediately melting the machine into molten piece of junk. Entire crew died within seconds.

Five minutes later, after making sure that all enemies were eliminated, SoS' Destroyer which rained fire, ceased firing. Half an hour later, Sons' troops arrived at the scene, without resistance. An hour later, flag of Sons of Sadera flew over Erak City, signaling them taking control over the city.

August 6

17:32

UTDF HQ, Leender, Soutlandian C.Z.

General Harlen Ordell sighed deeply, clenched his fist and hit the edge of the holo-table.

"Damn it…"he said.

He looked at the map of the planet presented on the table. Red color of SoS currently controlled nearly sixty percent of it. Today, contact was lost with Erak City and it was marked with the same red color. A week earlier, New Perth fell. Five days earlier, Taurus City. And three days ago, New Araluen finally succumbed to the pressure from enemy troops. Most of UTDF's forces were in disarray. Contact was lost with other commanders, which meant one of two things: they were captured or dead. And with SoS, the second option was more than certain. At this point, they are probably so pissed at them for foiling their plans, that they probably don't want to allow anyone responsible for this to slip out.

As of now, remaining UTDF troops that were still able to put up some kind of fight were gathered in the Soutlandian C.Z. Most of them were currently forming a defensive line in the Obsidian Mountains. Although they still knew, that it was still going to only be a postponement of the inevitable. Still, as much as it pained Harlen to order the troops to fight on, he knew, that it was better than being remembered as someone, who told them to give up. Besides, he was aware that most of them would not listen.

"This really is sad, sir."Tim said.
"Indeed."general agreed."Seems like we're the only ones left. I'm pretty sure there will be some troops left from other armies, which will not simply surrender and continue fighting."
"True."

Harlen looked at the map again.

"How is the situation in the Obsidian Mountains?"

"Our forces have already started reaching the foothills of the mountains. First units are already setting up first line of defense, while others continue further."Tim replied."Rear guard units report, that forces of general Margas are still chasing them."

"I guess they really want to get a payback for Infit."General shook his head."I knew this plan will not do much."

"At least we deal some damage to them."adjutant stated."Always something."
"Yes. Heh. I can't believe, that I reached a point, when dropping a nuke on the enemy counts as a victory to me."

"None of us ever wanted to reach this point."

There was a moment of silence.

"How about your sister in the Civil Defense?"Tim finally asked.

"Nina? From what the city's Civil Defense commander told me, she's doing good. She can shoot, she can fight. She can do what needs to be done."Harlen replied."And I hope it will help her survive…"

"Me too."a familiar voice said.

Harlen and Tim both looked in it's direction and were surprised to see the person which was approaching them.
"Imri?!"Harlen exclaimed.

Queen smiled, but then winced. She put a hand on her side.

"Damn it, still hurts…"she said.

"Imri, why are you here."upset Harlen asked."You should still be in the hospital!"

"I got bored. Besides, I'm good enough to walk."Imri replied, looking at Tim."Hey."
"Hello, Your Highness."Tim replied."I will…go and check something, while you two talk. Is it alright, Harlen?"

General simply nodded. Tim saluted and quickly scooted away to the nearby corner of the room. At the same time, Imri approached her brother-in-law.
"You really should stay in the hospital for a few more days."Harlen stated."No matter what doctors say."
"You can't order me."queen stated, crossing her arms."I'm not a soldier."
"I'm not telling you this as general. But as your brother."
Imri shook her head.
"Sometimes you worry too much."she stated."Doctors told me that I can go if I want to. And I didn't want to leave Nina and Ellia alone. Speaking of which…"

Harlen Ordell sighed. He knew where this was going.

"Listen, it wasn't my idea for her to join the Civil Defense."he said.
"Ellia said the same."Imri replied."But you could at least try and stop her."
"You know she wouldn't listen. She would do it anyway."

"But you could order recruiters to not let her join."

"As much as I hate the fact she did it, she has the right to and I couldn't just tell anyone to not recruit her. Besides, with our current situation, I have to admit it. We need all manpower we can possibly muster."

Queen Imri Ordell-Halmer looked at Harlen with the look he knew too well. Next, she looked at the situational map on the holo-table.
"We're not doing good, are we?"she asked.
"No."He shook his head."Today, we lost Erak City. Enemy controls the biggest population centers of the planet, as well as most of the most important roads. Not to mention the space around the planet."

"So it's only Leender that's left?"
"Unfortunately. If we fall, the whole planet falls. And now, with our troops tired and outnumbered beyond any turning point, we're just stalling the inevitable."
"And yet, you don't want to surrender."
"What do you think Sons will do to us if they capture us? There will be no trial, only bullet into the occiput and to the nearest hole in the ground. This is how they operate."

At this point, Imri noticed how bad Harlen looked. Bagged eyes, pale skin and beard which he certainly didn't cut in a few days, maybe weeks. He also clearly lost several kilograms and basically looked completely different than just three months ago. He was doing his best to keep everyone alive and for as long as possible. And this task was clearly taking it's toll on him and his health.

Queen sighed.

"Sorry, I got too carried away."she said.
"No, I get it. I just have so much stuff to do, that I don't know where to put my hands. Not to mentions these three enemy commandos which still wreck havoc across the city. These fuckers are good, not gonna lie. But…"He looked around."Come, I have to show you something."

He showed her to follow him. They walked through the room and towards the corner. There, he lowed his voice to just a whisper and started searching his pocket.

"I have it as a final resort, but…"he said.

Harlen pulled out a small pill and showed it to Imri.

"What is it?"she asked.
"Cyanide."general replied.

Hearing this, Imri widened her eyes.
"Cyanide? You can't be serious."

"I am, Ims. If somehow I fall into enemy hands, I will open it and not give them the satisfaction. Simple as that. Also…"

He put his hand in the pocket again. Next, he pulled a set of three other, identical pills, still packaged. Imri looked at it for a few seconds, before she realized what did he mean by this. She shuddered.
"You can't be asking…"Imri started, but was stopped.
"I do."Harlen said firmly."You get one, Ellia gets one and Nina, if you meet her. I need you to promise me, that if Sons put their hands on you, you will take the pills."
"Harlen this is…"
"Promise. Me."

Queen tightened her fists. She knew, that Harlen already made his decision. There was no turning back.
She took the package.
"I promise."

"Thank you. I feel ashamed asking you for something like this, but…"
"I understand. I just hope we won't have to do it."
"So do I."Harlen nodded."Now I have to get back to work."
"Just don't overwork yourself."
Smile appeared on Harlen's face. Something, that actually made Imri sigh with relief internally. There was still something from Harlen she knew in there.

"You know I can't do that."
She just could not not smile back.
"Yeah, I do."

Next, they both laughed, turning attention of some analysts, but they quickly got back to work.

Few minutes later, Imri was out of the building. As she got into the car that brought her here, she wondered. Her hand was still tightened around the package of cyanide pills in her pocket. How did it come to this? That she actually considered suicide? Her, Arlan and Harlen been through so much together. They barely escaped Zander's pursuers while trying to leave Soutland, almost got killed in a coup attempt, traveled from one edge of Orisia to another, fought dragons, kinds and whole empires. All if this seemed like a dream right now.

"Is everything alright, Your Highness?"the driver asked.

"Huh?"she replied.
"You seem a bit under the weather. Did something happen in the Staff?"

Queen smiled and shook her head.
"No, I'm just…reminiscing the old days."
"Alright then."

And so, the car continued to drive through the mostly empty streets towards the hotel.

August 6

19:32

RFIS HQ, Sadera, Flare Prime

Colonel Rius sat in his office, drinking Whiskey. It was a good booze, he received it as a gift from his counterpart in EGIA. Because Muslims could not drink alcohol, Amir really wanted to get rid of it, even though he himself got it from his Russian counterpart. Their loss, Rius' gain. And he didn't feel ashamed because of that.

Actually, head of RFIS wondered, how was the old Egyptian agent doing? They had no idea what was going on in the Milky Way And as long as the Intergalactic Gate was closed, they would never learn.

On the desk before him, he had numerous reports from his agents either in the field or in the city. Since the start of the war, RFIS was hard at work, same as every single intelligence agency on the planet, both state owned and private ones. And even though Sons tried to make it as hard as possible for them to operate, they were not doing well. Even now, intelligence agents were operating behind enemy lines, sending new information to Flare Prime, even though Sons were actively trying to jam all ways of system-wide communications. But agents always found a way to do it. They were putting their training to good use and the Dark Elf was proud of the job his and not his agents' work for the joint effort.

But now, going back to the reports. They were all saying the same. All across the system, Sons of Sadera started intensifying their offensive actions and pressure on allied forces still defending, especially on Emloy. Enemy troops finally reached the capital city of New Italica. Fighting was already taking place in the suburbs and seeing how ferocious enemy was, Rius was certain, that sooner or later, the city will fall. It was something that couldn't be helped right now. But it was good to know, that there were still people putting up a good fight and not going down silently.

This didn't change their shitty situation, however. While it was still good to know, that their troops were still fighting, sooner or later, they would have to surrender. Supplies will end, that was sure. And with Emloy captured, nothing will stop SoS from coming to Flare Prime and landing on the planet's surface. And they wouldn't have a lot of problems while taking over. Populace was already starting to get really annoyed by the fact, that enemy is constantly raiding the planet and dropping missiles and bombs on them, while they couldn't even turn on the hyper drives, because then that super scary enemy Battleship would jump in right in that moment and rip the allied fleet apart, like it did near the beginning of the war and five more times through the past three months.

There was no doubt, that it was this ship that was their biggest problem. Whoever built it, knew what they were doing. And as long as it remained operational, they could only sit and watch as Sons take over everything they worked hard on to built. Only thing that could actually save them, was some kind of miracle. But Rius didn't believe in miracles. He believed in peoples' ingenuity. They had to come up with something or they would be toast, as Amir loved to say. They couldn't wait for miracles to happen.

And yet, he received one.

The door into his office burst open and one of the analysts stood there, beaming with excitement and tablet under his arm.

"What is it?"Rius asked."Who allowed you to barge in like that?"

"I'm sorry, sir, but there is something I have to show you."analyst replied."We were intercepting enemy radio chatter…"
"And?"
"And we heard this."

Analyst pressed the play button on his tablet and the words poured out of it. As Rius listened, his eyes became wider and wider. When the recording ended, he looked at the analyst, surprised.
"Are you sure it's authentic?"he asked.
"We can never be sure about anything, sir."analyst replied."But it does sound real to me. Some specialists also stated the same."

Rius' fingers tapped a melody on his desk.

"Wait a second."

Colonel grabbed his phone and picked up the number.
"Hello?"he said, after the call was accepted."This is colonel Rius of the RFIS. Inform queen Co Lada, that I'm on my way to the Jade Palace. Yes, I'm aware it's late, but it can't wait. I also want leaders of armed forces branches and politicians to be there. No discussion. Goodbye."

He put down the phone and looked at the analyst.
"And you're coming with me."

XXX

And this is where we're gonna end for today. As always, leave a review, follow and favorite. It will be highly appreciated!

Also, if you have time and want to, you can visit my DeviantArt profile. There, I'm trying to regularly post images of characters from this series. Human ones, at least. There, I have the same name as here, but with one 8 less.

Alright, that's all. See ya!