Good to see you again, friends. In the previous chapter, we witnessed the brutal urban fighting in Leender, from the highest echelons of command, to the simplest volunteers of Civil Defense, as they try and protect the doomed city from the oncoming SoS tide. But will their efforts bear fruit? We'll see in the future.

For now, let us continue on our journey together.

Chapter 2

September 10, 2166

12:03

UNSA San Antonio, common room

Following the events on Nashina and in Nashinian System, Special Operations Force was pulled back from the frontlines. With most of the situation becoming stable and calmer again, ICTA and other intelligence services decided to save the strength of the uni for something that would require someone with their flexibility and experience. For now, they were just resting, waiting for being called to action once more.

"And slap!"Emmy exclaimed.

Everyone gathered in the common room looked at her.
"Emmy, you don't have to so audibly react to every punch."Delilah told her.

"But I like it!"Emmy replied.
"Come on, it's just anime."Heley said."No need to get so invested."
"Say's the one who's getting invested in book characters."Emmy mumbled.
"Hey, at least in book, we know what's going on through their heads. It's much easier to get invested in them."Heley replied, pouting.
Ester, Norrine and Delilah looked at each other.
"Just let them bicker a bit."Norrine said.
"No interest in stopping them."Delilah shook her head."It wouldn't be of much use for long anyway."
"Agreed."Ester said.

Colonel looked at Norrine one more time. She still had her feat in her head. She burned nearly one hundred thousand people, an entire army, on her own and only thing it earned her was a few days in the infirmary. She recovered super quickly and returned to her normal activities like nothing happened, even though Ester was certain, that the higher ups have already taken interest in her.

But for now, she was still with them. And Ester actually grateful because of that.
"How are you today, Norrine?"she asked.
"Very good."Norrine replied."Why you asking?"
"You know, there still might be repercussions of what you did on Nashina…"
In response, the major simply lifted her hand and a blue flame danced on it.
"Nah, I feel fine."she replied.
"I hope so. Just don't strain yourself like that anymore."

"Can't promise anything. Honestly, I'm just itching for another mission. Things always get dull after so long inactivity."
"Agreed."Emmy said, just another punch landed in the anime."And boom!"
"For the love of…"Heley looked at the ceiling.

However, before she could finish, there was a voice from the PA:
"Commanders are to come to the briefing room."

And the message was over. Everyone looked at each other.
"That was short and direct."Kenya said.
"That's a plot convenience right there."Heley said."Ask and you'll be given."

"Whatever."Emmy said."It means that we will get something to do again. And I'm always happy for that."

"Except that one time?"Delilah risen an eyebrow.
"Except that one time."her second-in-command replied.

"Okay ladies, let's go."Ester said, standing up."It feels urgent and important."
"You read my mind."Norrine agreed.

The three commanders stood up and quickly left, while the other Warrior Bunnies and Elsa returned to their time killing.

September 10

12:23

Briefing Room

The three entered the room and took their usual places. Vadim did the same and looked at them.

"Welcome, ladies."he said.
"'Sup?"Norrine asked.
"I will go straight to the point."the man said."We have a new mission. And it is a big one."

"How big?"Ester asked.

A smirk crossed Vadim's lips.
"War ending."he said.

Suddenly, the room became so silent, that one could hear all the creaking in the ship's bolts. It was something all of them wanted to hear for so long, that finally hearing it seemed like a fever dream.
"To explained, the HQ just informed us, that there a joint task force being created for the sole purpose of this operation."Vadim said."We are to join this task force and partake in this mission."
"What is the goal of it, if I may ask?"Ester asked.
Vadim shrugged.
"Unfortunately, this piece of information was not disclosed to us yet. We were told that we will find everything at the gathering place for the operation."
"And where is this gathering place?"Delilah asked.
Right then, Vadim pressed some buttons on his console and the screen behind him turned on, showing the map of the galaxy. It then zoomed on one of the systems in Nashini space. Big letters on the screen said 'ZANTIA SYSTEM'.

"Zantia System…"Ester murmured."Wait, I know about this place. It's the biggest Nashini shipyard complex. And also…"She stopped.
Norrine and Delilah looked at her.
"Also?"Delilah asked.
"Also the place where Project Fusion is being built."

Silence fell among them. Everyone knew about the Project Fusion. A secret, super guarded secret of the UNSA, about which nobody knew anything except it was in the works for years. Most of the info about it was known to the public except of what it actually was. Some said, that it was a fleet of super advanced warships. Others, that it was a planet killing weapon like those HO had. While others still said that it was just a single, big ship. Whatever it was, UNSA put a lot of resources into it, hoping it could be some kind of trump card in possible war against Galactic Concordance.

"So we're finally gonna find out what the heck it is?"Norrine asked.
"Apparently."Vadim said."Whatever Project Fusion is, it will most likely take part in the mission, so we will be able to see it in action."

"Oh, this will be epic!"Norrine stated, hitting the inside of her hand with her fist.
"I can't argue, I'm excited as well!"Delilah said with a smile.

Ester couldn't help but wait with her optimism for a moment. Whatever this operation was, there could not be complete certainty it will be successful. So she preferred to be more reserved about it.

"Tell everything to the others. We're moving out soon. Dismissed."And with that, Vadim turned and left.

The three did the same.

September 10

16:23

Zantia Yards, Zantia System

Few hours of jumping from system to system later, the Stealth Frigate emerged from hyperspace in the target system. And once it did, they were gritted by a magnificent sight. Tens of allied warships from all the main powers of the Allies, were gathered around the shipyards of the system. From smallest Corvettes to the biggest Battlecruisers. It was pretty impressive, although compared to the fleets formed sometimes during the Great Galactic War, it was miniscule in scale. All of them were gathered around the main cylindrical part of the shipyard.

Standing on the observation deck, Ester, Elsa, Norrine and Warrior Bunnies whistled.
"That's a lot of ships."Elsa said.
"Eh, we've seen bigger."Ester said, looking at Delilah.
"Battle of Mobius had somewhere four thousand ships fighting in it."Delila said."Here, I can see just a few tens of them. Maybe a hundred."
"That makes me think. There were no enormous ship battles on the scale of GGW in this war."Kenya said.
"And it's wrong in your opinion?"Emmy asked.
"I'm a sucker for big space battles…"Kenya shrugged.

Right then, Norrine's eyes fell on the inside of the shipyard cylinder, as it came into view.
"And I think that we finally know what Project Fusion is now…"she said, eyes wide and mouth agape.

Everyone quickly looked in the same direction and saw what she saw. Sitting in the cylinder was an enormous warship of the size never seen before. In modern times, that is. There were still some construction works taking place across it's surface, but it seemed pretty much done. Numerous guns dotted it's hull, but also the shape seemed similar to Human space Aircraft Carriers. And as they looked at it, Ester's eyes slid over a name written in white letters.
"UNSA Alvar Eriksson."I smirk crept on her face."Well, well, well. Seems like the old Eriksson wasn't forgotten."
"Seems like it."Delilah said, also noticing the name.

San Antonio then proceeded to approach the station and slowly docked to it. Ester and others then made their way to the airlock and walked through it, entering the shipyard.

"So, now what?"Emmy asked.
"We wait for the start of the mission."Ester replied."It may be better to stay here until then. You will have time to do what you'd like."
"Certainly."Norrine said."I think I'm gonna check out some bars here…"
"Just don't get drunk."Heley said.
"Can't promise."Norrine replied and laughed.

"Colonel Barkhorn?"someone asked.

Hearing the voice, everyone looked to their left and saw two UNSA Marines standing next to them.
"Yes, that's me."Ester said.
"Please, come with us. Admiral wants to see you."one of them said."Please, follow us."

Ester risen an eyebrow.
"Alright then."she said."Lead the way."She turned back to the others."Just don't wreck the place while I'm gone."
"Got it."everyone replied.

Soon, she was being led away by the Marines.

September 10

16:57

Project Fusion Supervisor's office, Zantia Yards

After several minutes of walking and elevator riding, during which Ester could take a better look at some parts of the ship, realizing that the weapons mounted on it's hull seemed weirdly similar to those mounted on Tertan warships, she was finally led to the door leading into the office occupied by the Project Supervisor. Two Marines showed her to go in and she didn't say no. She opened the door and stepped in.

"Well. Honestly, I didn't expect to meet you again."the man behind the desk said.

Seeing him, a smile appeared on Ester's face.
"Same could be said for me, Fred."she replied.

Frederick Richards laughed loudly as he set down the magazine on his desk.

"I was joking, of course. I just wanted to be dramatic."he said.
"Same."Ester replied.

Fred pointed at the chair in front of the desk.
"Take a sit."
"With pleasure."

She approached the chair and took a sit. Meanwhile, Fred reached into a desk cabinet and pulled out a bottle of whiskey. He also pulled out two glasses put them on the desk, then proceeded to open the bottle.

"Whiskey?"Ester asked, seeing as he did it."Didn't know you drink?"
"Only among friends."Fred replied, smiling."Care for a glass?"
"I normally don't drink alcohol…but among friends? Sure."

With another laugh, Fred poured them the glasses. They took them and quickly chugged them down. Ester shook.

"Strong."she said.
"Yeah."Fred replied."It was actually from Jessica. She gave it to me not long after our wedding. I kept it conserved ever since."

"Wow. That's…impressive."colonel admitted.

Smile slowly vanished from her face as she remembered the Marines colonel. She died by the hands of her daughter in an attack on Holy Order super weapon that destroyed the Tertan System.

She shook her head to chase these thoughts away.

"Anyway, I was wondering where you were hiding these past few years."

"Yeah, I was made the Supervisor of Project Fusion."Fred spread his arms."Unfortunately, it's pretty boring here."
"Certainly better than constant fear for your life on the frontlines. Many would pay everything for your job."Ester replied.
"I bet. But nobody's kicking out doors and windows to get it now."He shrugged."I guess I was the only one the government trusted enough to put in charge of this whole thing."
"You're surprised? You're one of the greatest heroes of Great Galactic War. Of course they're gonna trust you."

He leaned forward.

"And how do you know I'm not secretly giving out info to the Concordance?"he asked in a low, threatening voice.
"Guess."she replied.

Right then, she looked down. Fred did the same and saw a gun pointed at his crotch. He looked back up at Ester, who had a smile on her face. Fred smiled back. And then, the two of them erupted in more laughter.

"Sorry, I just got lost in the moment."she said.
"Don't worry, me too."Fred replied, leaning back in his chair."Okay, enough of the pleasantries. Let's get straight to the business."

Ester looked at the warship visible in the window behind him.
"Then maybe tell me more about what Project Fusion is exactly about? I see a giant warship, but I don't know more."she asked.
"If you want."

He stood up and turned towards the window.
"What you see here, is the biggest Human warship ever constructed."he started."It is a combined effort by UNSA and Tertan Protectorate. Nashini were nice enough to lend us the construction facility to allow us to construct it."
"I managed to notice that the guns look weirdly Tertan."Ester admitted.
Fred nodded.
"Project Fusion, as the name suggests, is meant to be a fusion of both Human and Tertan technologies and mark a start of new era, where Humans and Tertans are more than past rivals. An era, when our species can actually call each other friends and partners."
Ester nodded. She understood this sentiment. While Tertan-Human relations started warming up since the end of Second Tertan War, and especially during the GGW, but First Tertan War was still fresh in everyone's minds, especially those of Tertans that lived during and fought in it. Even after Tertans joined the UN, tensions were in the air, even though Aqi tried her best to calm them down.

"So, how much of that baby is Human and how much is Tertan?"she asked.
"We supplied the hull and onboard systems. Tertans supplied the power systems, propulsion and weaponry."Fred replied."And both sides supplied the crew."
"So there are both Humans and Tertans aboard?"
"Yes."
"Well, that will be unique."
"Certainly. We were going to take a few more weeks before the ship could be allowed to enter service, but we were ordered to speed things up especially for the operation. Because of that, we operate on only 80%. But it's enough for what we're gonna do."

"I also saw the name."

Fred nodded again.
"Yes. UNSA Alvar Eriksson. The first warship in the line of Alvar Eriksson-class Super Carriers. Named after old Alvar himself."
"I'm pretty sure he would laugh about it."Ester stated with a smirk.
"Probably."Fred replied with a smirk."Anyway. You probably wonder what is this operation we're all talking about?"

"Would be nice to finally learn what it is."

"Alright."

Saying that, the admiral quickly returned to his seat. He started pulling out some documents from the drawer.

"Alright then. I won't around the bush."He looked Ester straight in the eye."We're attacking Laconia itself."

There was a moment of silence as Ester tried to comprehend what she just heard. Attacking Laconia itself. It sounded so surreal in fact, that she didn't know if Fred was joking or not. But looking him in the eyes, she knew he wasn't joking.
"What the fuck?"she asked.
"Check these documents."Fred replied, sliding the documents to her.

She picked up the folder and opened it. Inside it, she could see numerous maps and a lot of text, detailing an operation to invade Laconia. Troops, forces and what to expect. Laconia was one of the most defended planets in the universe and attacking it was not easy, everyone knew that. But at this point, command was probably ready to try anything to end the war. And Ester couldn't blame them. Both sides were so determined to win, that if worst came, the war could turn into a decades long struggle like the first Galactic War. And nobody wanted that.
As she looked through the documents, the plan became clearer and clearer. There was still one thing she didn't get.
"Why are you showing me this?"she asked."All of this seems like some super classified intel. I don't know if I'm authorized to see something like this."
"Oh, yes, you are. You will be in charge after all."Fred replied casually.

Another moment of silence.
"WHAT?!"Ester finally exclaimed, disbelief clear in her voice."B-But…No, I don't have experience. Besides, I'm just a colonel. Commanding a full-scale planetary-scale invasion is a task for someone with higher rank and better experience than me…"
"Calm down, calm down. You're not gonna be in charge of the whole operation."admiral calmed her."You will only be in charge of one part of it. But, most likely the most important."

"Which is?"
"You will be in charge of attack on Laconia City. Your goal is to capture and apprehend acting President of Laconian Republic, Zack Lioni."

Ester whistled.
"And you're giving such a job to me?"
"You got a recommendation from the top."Fred smiled."Aquexymeva sends her regards."

"Eh, Aqi…"Colonel shook her head but laughed."Alright. I promise to do my best, sir."
"Good. Because the fate of the war depends on it."
"Yeah, no pressure."
"Ester, we're both aware of your capabilities. Everyone believes in you. Oh, also on a side note, New Terta is sending a civilian official to make the arrest…well, official."

"Can't someone who will storm the Presidential Palace do it?"
"General Secretary and the staff think that sending a civilian to arrest an enemy leader would be better seen by the public. And more legal."

Ester sighed. Of course, something like that had to be in play.

"Alright."she said."I will go through all that quickly and I'll see what I can come up with."

"Good. This will be an operation of historic proportions, so better prepare."

With that, Ester stood up and saluted. Fred returned the salute and watched as she walked out of his office.

Outside, Ester took a deep sigh. Everything she just learned still tried to find it's place inside her head, as she tried to think of what to do. It was the first time she would command such an important mission. Not like the other missions were not important, but this would be important even more. After all, if it succeedes, the war will be as good as over. Without someone in charge and with their homeworld occupied, Laconia will probably still fight to the bitter end, but not as organized as before. Anyway, it was worth a try, even if it doesn't bring expected results. It will at least get the war closer to the end.

She then went towards the elevator, at the same time looking through the documents a few more times.

September 10

18:30

UNSA Alvar Eriksson, hangar

"Attention!"

Short shout quickly made several thousand commandos stand appropriately. Ester, as the official commander of the group, entered a podium set up in the hangar, alongside several officers dressed in uniforms from various armed forces.
"At ease!"Her powerful shout reached everyone.

Colonel stood in front of everyone, with other commanding officers taking seats beside her. Ester waited a bit, until rustle of chairs on metal floor calms down, and signaled to Elsa to turn on the holo-table brought here for the occasion. Lights were dimmed and everything was covered in a dusk light.

"I'm aware, that since all of us arrived to this facility, there were rumors regarding our goal. Now, the time has come to clear any doubts. We're gonna hit the enemy in their weakest point."

Hangar was filled with excited whispers. They were certain something big was coming. Delilah, sitting in one of farther rows with her team and Norrine, even heard a rumor, that they will be attacking Laconia itself, but honestly, she didn't want to jump to conclusions. Emmy hit the inside of her hand with her fist.
"When I get that piece of trash with his ugly face…"she said.
"You look like you want to tear his legs out of his ass right now."Kenya said.

Further talking was stopped by Ester.

"Our mission will be improvisation in most part. We don't have time for longer training or coordinating actions of different units, even though main operational plan was prepared long time ago in advance."

Her enigmatic explanation had to be enough for now. Delilah herself learned only three days ago, that plans to abduct Laconian president were prepared for an occasion as this months ago. Some officers from UNSA HQ, in cooperation with Tertans, started creating basics of such a project, when Laconian regime started openly threatening Earth and personnel of diplomatic facilities were endangered by antagonistic actions. Main points of the plan were not changed, but some details were added.

Holo-table turned on and map of Laconia City appeared on it. Ester took a metal pointer and started pointing various important buildings in the city, which were marked with different letters.

"The main goal is taking over the spaceport and keep a patent corridor between it and the Presidential Palace."Slight disappointment in commandos' eyes told her, that it wasn't the task they wanted."The Palace itself will be attacked by detachment of Intermarium's GROM commandos."

Human officer wearing a uniform with white-red flag, sitting to Ester's left, nodded energetically.
"Phantom Commandos and Alpha Detachment will try and take over the buildings of Ministry of Defense and TV station. Special Operations Force and others will cover their backs and don't think it will be a dull task. More importantly, due to situation on the frontline, most of city's garrison was moved off-world, but in their place, orbital drop troops were brought in."
"You mean, what's left of them."Tertan commando sitting in the first row said, causing a sudden wave of joy.

"You're right, but 'what's left of them' still means a sizable force."Ester replied.

"What resistance can we expect?"Chakdrik commando asked.

"We're about to talk about it, more patience, captain."Ester gave a sign and soon, a photo, showing Laconia City Spaceport in large zoom, appeared."This is their biggest base on the planet."colonel started after a second."At least one battalion from 5th Motorized Brigade stations there. So you can expect a fierce resistance from units armed with Mastiffs and IFVs. Don't try to fight them if possible. Recon is the most important, close air will do the rest."
"Dropping into a spaceport guarantees high losses."Nashini commando said, already looking pretty pissed.

"Nobody said it's gonna be easy, this is why LZ was designated five hundred meters from the spaceport. We're gonna be dropping the pods from inside the atmosphere, to diminish the effectiveness of enemy AA."

"By anything that's holy!"Macy gasped."That's practically suicide!"

Dropping the drop pods from inside the atmosphere was very risky. Normally, the pods were dropped from high orbit so the computer could adjust the trajectory and make sure it would land where it should. In this case, it would take only a few minutes before pod lands, not enough to properly adjust. Not to mention, that thrusters also had to work extra hard to slow down the drop at higher speed. Until now, Delilah performed only one such drop. In training. Years ago. Till this day, she felt chills at the very thought. Looking at others, she knew, that they were as equally pleased as her. Even Emmy and Norrine. Their previous combat attitude vanished without a trace.

Ester, while telling the information about low drop, also had her doubts. It was one thing to die from a bullet, but dying by crashing into the ground at several miles per hour because thrusters in the pod didn't withstand the pressure put on them was something else. Some would be lucky if they only had broken bones, but still, they could lose maybe twenty percent of their forces that way, maybe more. Not a good mission start. At least they would miss the real hell of fighting in urbanized part of Laconia City.

Finally, she shook away the bad thoughts and gave a sing. Another hologram replaced the previous one.
"Now, let's go into the details…"

September 11

11:05

Laconia City Spaceport

Captain Harry Zaycev of 2nd Battalion of 5th Motorized Brigade of Laconian Armed Forces, while driving in his car around the spaceport, saw ships landing and taking off, carrying various goods. Every half an hour, new vessel came to land. More waited in the orbit for a free spot in already crowded spaceport. Tons of equipment, both Laconian and of other origin, piled up on every square meter. From here, they were supposed to be carried off into the stars to eventually end up on the frontlines in enemy controlled space.

Zaycev slowed down to let a column of trucks by. At three gates and a barbed wire fence marking the limits of secure zone, several soldiers from his company were standing guard. External belt of fortifications was also secured by a net and a mine field was laid down between it.

More further, in ground shelters reinforced with concrete elements, the rest of his battalion was set up. Heavy machine guns and 96mm mortars could block any approach to the spaceport's secure zone.

Other battalions of 5th Brigade were located in wooden barracks set up to the North-West, near the city's speedway.

Captain spit a brown saliva on the ground. The cavalcade finally drove by and he could drive forward. Keeping close to the convoy's end, he drove up to the gate. Ten men outpost, under the command of a sergeant, was on duty for eleven hours now. All this time up, among the thunder of engines and smell of ionized fuel. It didn't influence the soldiers' well-being well.

"Captain, I report that situation didn't change."sergeant started.
Zaycev accepted the information.
"Just forty more minutes, can you manage?"
"Sure thing."

There was no enthusiasm in NCO's words. Helmet, from under which eyes red from lack of sleep looked, rolled up sleeves of camouflage uniform and finger constantly on the trigger reminded the captain about all the war movies he saw as a kid. In them, brave heroes guarded the homeland from the enemy. But there was a big difference between a movie and reality. Zaycev couldn't chase away the feeling, that sergeant would rather unload the entire magazine into him.
"When you're done, report to lieutenant Carbury for new orders."
A grimace of tiredness flashed through the sergeant's face, finger twitched on the trigger, at least that what Zaycev thought. Sergeant saluted and marched back to his men. Captain shifted the gears in his car. When he drove through the gate, a thought flashed through his mind, which he immediately rejected. It was impossible for his soldiers to rebel, right?

September 13

22:03

Laconian System's outskirts

Stealth vessels were the first to enter the system, as they were doing by the past two days of task force's sneaky approach into the system. A fleet of six Stealth Frigates, led by San Antonio, were clearing the way. Behind them, were other ships, led by Alvar Eriksson and it's escorts.

In the first wave, thirty warships jumped into the system. Other fifty awaited their turn. Meanwhile, after scouting the system with their sensors, using their capabilities, Stealth ships jumped from one point in the system to the other. Not to mention, that other ships with strong electronic warfare capabilities also went into action.

Laconian system defense system worked as expected. Radar operators saw numerous signals of ships entering the system. Their position and direction they pointed towards made it clear that it wasn't just a misunderstanding and their formation and number made it clear it was an attack force. Fear turned into consternation in few seconds. Radar signals coming from galactic West were replaced by those coming from South and East. It looked like there were thousands of ships entering the Laconian System from all corners of the universe. But this, too, couldn't last forever. Missiles fired by Stealth Frigates started slaughtering the radar stations and listening posts, clearing the way for the armada with murderous monotony. Just like they did in other star systems along the way.

When the path was clear, remaining ships could enter the system. These were the main part of the task force, carrying drop pods and dropships that would carry the soldiers to the surface. They were carrying only a relatively small fraction of all the forces tasked with the mission, but certainly the most crucial one.

September 13

22:14

Persephone Listening Post, Persephone

A chubby colonel that was responsible for commanding the most important line of listening posts and radar stations, placed on and around Laconia's moons, picked up the ringing phone.

"Chon."he murmured.
"Colonel, I'm calling from a radar station on Leonidas. We're observing something interesting."A tension was clearly felt in the voice on the other side.

"I'm listening."
"Not too long ago, we lost contact with radar station around Laconia V, also…"
Sudden white noise made Chon jump, scared.
"Leonidas, respond, damn it!"

Lack of response was not normal. Steel rim hung on colonel's throat.
"Run diagnostics! This might be a system failure."he ordered a few technicians, which were on duty with him this night.

He lied to himself for peace. He didn't want to let the worst news to sink in. He could wait a few minutes before setting off the alarm. Minutes slowly passing on a large electronic clock hanging on the wall took all of Chon's attention. Finally, he reached for the phone…and died.

Missile fired from aboard San Antonio, identical to the one that destroyed Leonidas Listening Post, rammed into his bunker, burring everyone under tons of steel and concrete.

September 13

22:23

Laconia City Spaceport

Captain Harry Zaycev watched the whole show playing out before him with eyes wide open. You could say that he found himself in the center of events.

Roar of jet engines and white-red flash of exploding missiles reminded him a bit about the light and sound spectacle. It stunned with it's might and one could get amazed by it, if not the fact, that Laconia City Spaceport was being bombed.

Zaycev fell on the ground and covered his head with his arms, when one of Eurofighter Cyclones flew twenty meters above him. Captain lost ability to hear for a second and when he regained it, he was greeted by a sight of a row of heavy dropships and several Freighters blowing up in balls of fire and turning into piles of twisted scrap metal.

Sound of air raid sirens rolled over the spaceport. Soon, it was joined by those in the city. Soon, prolonged howling of various frequencies started coming from the whole area. Almost at the same time, nearly eighty targets were attacked in Laconia City and it's close vicinity. At one point, nearly seventy fighters and fighter-bombers operated above the city, destroying previously designated targets.

September 13

22:30

Near the Presidential Palace, Laconia City

In their case, operational precision was a demand. Black colored hull of the Skyhawk dropship was almost unnoticeable against the blackness of the sky. Only above the urbanized city did it take real shapes.

Captain Krzysztof Mróz checked the working of his helmet and last time checked the hook attaching the rope to the dropship's ceiling. After him followed another seven machines, tasked with transporting a full squad of GROM towards the Presidential Palace. In one of them was a special envoy that had to make sure everything was done accordingly during the arrest of the tyrant.

Dropship suddenly shook, when the pilot made a sudden turn, flying the machine only few meters above ground. First bunch of commandos threw out the ropes through the open door and slid down them towards the wet asphalt of the streets of Laconian capital.

Captain hit the ground hard. He almost bit his tongue off. For a moment he thought it would be funny, the lose this part of the body, which was the least endangered by a bullet, but he quickly concentrated back on the mission.

Already thirty people were searching for cover among the wrecks of vehicles destroyed by the air raids which ended a few minutes ago.

Two shadows suddenly appearing above them made Mróz's heart race. It took him a second to realize that these were allied Chakdrik Howlers, not enemy Warden-IIIs or Centaurs looking for revenge. Thundering of engines slowly weakened, as more dropships flew higher and higher to escape the range of machine guns and anti-air missiles that could endanger them.

The shape of the Palace and lack of enemy resistance were a bad sign in Mróz's opinion. It was true that everywhere were remains of concrete fortifications, and the smells of fried meat from dead guards attacked the nostrils, but Mróz wasn't certain that they will be easily allowed to get inside. Intelligence clearly stated, that the place where Lioni was held was probably the most secure in all of Laconia.

Fast footsteps sounded on the ground behind him. He didn't have to turn around to know who was he going to be dealing with.

"How do you see it, captain?"
"Bad."
This kid they sent with them, Dixon, was pretty nice, but now, officer wanted to tear him apart with bare hands.

"Please stay behind. I'll give you two men as help and when everything is over, I will ask you to step forth and read the accusation act."
Captain didn't know why he, or one of his subordinates, could not do it. Politics.

"But nothing's happening."
"That's what I'm worried about."

Civilian went silent. Wearing a slightly oversized helmet and bulletproof vest, he made a pathetic impression.

"You go back."captain said, calling a well-built corporal to himself."Move up!"
Dark shapes of commandos ran towards the building. Howlers, almost constantly changing positions, again appeared above them. 45mm laser guns immediately opened fire, raining energy storm on the windows and the insides of the building.

At the same time, first drop pods started landing and troops they carried begun their missions.

September 13

22:36

Ministry of Defense, Laconia City

Commander of the Spartacus special unit crossed arms on his chest and observed the mess inside the underground parts of the ministry from under half-closed eyelids. In theory, they were all prepared for it, silently accepting the possibility of attack, but as always at times like these, all previously devised plans went to hell. Good that at least they knew how to improvise, what lately became a necessity.

Minister of Defense Manedo and chief of staff Solomon were practically hanging on the phones, giving orders aimed at repelling the attackers. Strong words and shout flew in the air, shouted by angry and sweaty commanders. The room shook when another bomb collided with the building. Dust rained on the gathered. Emergency lights flashed with red hue. It all lasted so short, that nobody fell flat on the floor or tried to hide under the desk.

"Colonel, phone to you."one of communications officers said from behind his back.

Colonel Antonius Sacredis reached for the receiver. He already knew, who was he gonna speak with.

"Reporting in."
"Are your men ready?"A note of panic could be heard in Lioni's voice.

"Yes, mister President."
"Then I'm waiting."
Connection was terminated. Antonius Sacredis knew what he had to do. He went towards the armored door, at the same time putting his DF-05 on his back.

In a sizable shelter not too far from the command center, nearly a hundred officers from the police's special unit waited for him. Underground corridor connected the room to the Presidential Palace, from which you could get to every government building in the center of the city. The web of underground passages, left to itself for a long time, was recently very well renovated, becoming an important communication artery. And most importantly, effectively protecting from a keen eye from the orbit. The tunnel through which the spartacs were moving had a height of two meters and width of two and a half. Every ten meters, light was given out by lamps hidden behind metal bars.

By running, they could Lioni's place after at least seven minutes. Until then the president was protected by his personal bodyguard, although-as Sacredis thought-it was probably mostly eliminated by the constantly attacking enemy.

September 13

22:44

Presidential Palace

A series from the enemy whistled above Mróz's head and smashed decorative chandelier on the ceiling. Directed by a trained instinct, captain immediately after sent a hail of bullets from his MSBS-4 down the corridor, soon after a grenade went after it. Thunder forced him on the floor. One more series, he got up and rushed forward. The resistance they stumbled upon was fierce, but they slowly gained advantage. Most of the job was made by the Howler anyway. Mróz felt regret, that something equally as effective wasn't yet designed for a fight in closed spaces.

"Aaaa…"Screams of hit commandos was heard somewhere behind him like an echo. There was no time to check which one of his men got hit.

He wondered, where that bastard could be. He's probably sitting somewhere in the basement and pissing his pants. The data received before the mission were not very clear. They were mostly based on assumptions and theories.

Main hall was already taken and now, fighting moved to the corridors. Rattle of riffles was drowning in the grenade explosions. Everything was covered by clouds of dust and smoke from smoking equipment.

Captain called his deputy.
"Take care of the top, I'll clear the bottom."

He nodded and joined his troops, jumping over a makeshift barricade. OK. If he remembered correctly, the entryway to the underground should be in the back of the palace. He moved forward, sweeping every suspicious place with the barrel of his riffle.

At the same time, Sacredis could see the rising corridor. Just a few more meters and they were home. The room, into which Sacredis ran, was placed on the lowest sublevel of the president's home.

Lioni himself seemed to be calm. Surrounded by ten of his bodyguards, for now safely hidden behind their backs, he tried to coordinate the defense.
"Finally, you're here, colonel."his dry voice seemed to come from down the well.

Sacredis was not sure, but a smell of alcohol long after the expiration date seemed to come from the president.
"As ordered, Mr. President."
"Try and clear the building from these bandits, we'll think of the evacuation later."

Sacredis waved his hand at the accompanying officers, some of which swill crowded in the passage, and went to the side room. He didn't even need to give orders, everyone knew what they had to do. First squad jumped forward and after a few seconds, colonel's ears were reached by the sound of strengthening cannonade.

He wondered, what will the Earthers and their alien bitches do now. In a one on one fight, he bet on his men. Both were determined, but surprise factor was on their side this time. These naive morons thought that they could easily drop into Laconia City and blast everything in sight, additionally killing their leader. Lioni, no matter how he was, was someone that had the interest of nation in mind. If not his advice and work, Tekrionis would never turn Laconia into the powerhouse it was now. Not some backwater Human quasi-state, but an actual power people had to watch out for.

Sacredis spit into his hands and went to work.

September 13

At the same time…

Mastiff, near the Presidential Palace

Sneaking through from shadow to shadow, two APCs were driving in the direction of battle sounds. Their task, which included patrolling the streets of the sleeping capital, was called off half an hour for known reasons. Dropships and fighters circles over the city, blowing everything into pieces, what made sergeant Maxim Sakharov's blood boil.

He couldn't contact his mother unit in any way, but from what he gathered by scanning the area with his binoculars, barracks of 5th Motorized Brigades ceased to exist long ago. The closer he got to the presidential residence, the more he wanted to gut out the bastards that destroyed his beloved city.

He still had to be extremely careful. Two times already enemy fighters flew over their heads, but they, currently hid under the trees and in alleys, stayed unnoticed.

"Move two hundred meters forward."Sakharov ordered the driver, himself looking out the commander's hatch. If it came to something, as he hoped, he could jump out of the vehicle and save his life.

Maxim felt the Mastiff speed up on cobbled ground. In the front, half a kilometer before them, over the rooftops, a shadow of dropship appeared. Sergeant gulped with large amount of saliva that gathered in his mouth.
"Target, twelve o'clock"he growled through tightened throat"forward slowly."

From their position, they could fire the surface-to-air Triton-2 missile, which was hidden in the tube behind the turret, he just needed to lock onto the machine. Heat seeking system took care of everything else for him. He finally had a chance to destroy an opponent, so the risk of getting shot at landed further down on his list of worries.

For the next meters of bumpy ride, he tried to hold his impatience and cursed his own shortsightedness. There. Finger on the console. Button. The missile flew at Mach 3 towards unsuspecting Howler. A fraction of a second before hit, pilot of the dropship received a warning, but he couldn't prevent the inevitable in any way.

Triton exploded few meters beyond the right back engine, piercing the sheathing and damaging internal systems. Soon, the engine flew off in unknown direction and Howled slammed into the ground. Pilot of the second Howler, seeing what happened, turned his machine and started searching for the enemy. Five seconds later, he was peppered by a series from Mastiff's gun and, trailing smoke behind him, pulled out of the fight.

September 13

22:52

Presidential Palace

Rumble outside the building shook captain Mróz.

"What the fuck was that, sergeant?"
One of the NCOs looked out the window.
"I think it was our support."

This was too much. Pressured from the front by out-of-nowhere arrived reinforcements, without dropships to lend them support…Slowly, he started to feel the losses caused by overextending mission. Mróz could call additional air support at any point, but Cyclones were not as good in urban fighting.

They were close, but chances of victory now leaned towards Laconians. He already had fourteen dead and twice as much wounded and his battle power was diminished by half. They won't make it.

"Sergeant, let's get out precious asses out of this shit."

In nearly two hundred years of it's history, it was the first time that GROM failed at it's task.
"I wonder how did the others fare."Mróz thought, following his men.

September 13

23:07

Laconia City

Battalion's landing went without a problem, even though for some commandos, raid on Laconia City ended in the landing zone. Each of the four ships launched their drop pods in planned area, so gathering of companies and platoons didn't take long. Yet, dropping from within the atmosphere had to cause casualties. Most damage was received by those landing near the building materials factory. Two pods broke through the roof at high speed, causing the troops inside to rock in their harnesses, what resulted in one of them breaking an arm and another, a leg in knee. One pod, however, malfunction and it's thrusters didn't work properly, making it slam into the Remus River flowing through the city. But this didn't kill them. What killed them, was too much equipment, which made them too heavy to get out of the broken pod before they drowned in it.

During the first decisive five minutes, non-combat losses came to be twenty wounded and killed, what was still a surprising success, considering everything happened in complete darkness, only lit up by the glow of exploding missiles and rockets.

"2nd Platoon, 2nd Company, here."Delilah exclaimed to the soldiers around.

Most of them quickly exited their pods and grabbed their riffles. They were ready to action. Directed by her shouts, they quickly gathered at the gathering point. Delilah saw one of the soldiers colliding with another on the way. Soon, said soldier came up to her, giggling.

"What the fuck Sampo, are you on a party or what?"she asked him.

"No, captain."
She looked at him for another minute, before glancing at everyone else.
"You know your task. Good luck."

Platoon started moving towards the spaceport. On both their sides, remaining squads were approaching with their commanders. Fires showed them the way. For now, no one was shooting at them, what seemed to be a good sign.

They dropped down only few dozen meters from the fence surrounding the spaceport. On the other side, Laconian fire brigades and volunteers tried to deal with the chaos that suddenly entered their lives. Most of dropships, transport ships and Freighters were destroyed, leaving only a handful of trucks, which tried to escape the trap.

Sappers with explosives moved forward. With their help, they had to make passages through minefields and simultaneously destroy the steel fence. Series of explosions shook the outskirts of the airport. Only this turned the Laconians' attention. Commandos moved forward through the breaches. Dry crack of riffle series drowned the crackling of flames. Soon, it was joined by screams and curses of fighting people.

Surprised and massacred by concentrated fire, Laconians fighting among flames and wrecks had no chance. Lack of coordinated orders and previous casualties caused by the air raid seriously thinned their lines. Only in few places did commandos needed to use grenade launchers to persuade the more resisting ones. The battle seemed more like an execution than equal fight.

Delilah ran through the passage made by the sappers and quickly fell to the ground. She looked down her sights on her AR4 and started searching for targets. A few times, one of Laconians flashed before her eyes, but as she noticed, none of them were armed. They were just running, trying to hide from the deadly flames on one side and series from riffles on the other. As much as she despised Laconians, she was not gonna fire on the unarmed ones.

"Secure the terminal!"she shouted in the radio.

She stood up and ran towards the target. The rest followed her.

September 13

23:24

Command Point, Laconia City Spaceport

Fighting stopped literally three minutes ago and already a bunch of Akula Heavy Dropships and Tertan Veziktor Heavy Dropships started landing. Inside of their sizable insides, support arrived. Several LUE-13 IFVs, Catcher APCs, tanks, soldiers and communication equipment were already on the surface. Once the first wave took off, another took their place.

Colonel Ester Barkhorn sat behind a fallen truck. Several soldiers, moving their shovels, tried to set up a field communication and command center. Making contact with assault groups spread across the city was the most important on the agenda. Spaceport was already under their control, but how did other fights were going, Ester didn't know. During the air raid, it was of up-most importance to keep civilian casualties at minimum, this is why it was decided to not use the full swing of accessible ways. A lot of attacked targets was placed in densely populated areas, what limited the pilots in several ways.
"Alpha Tango Whiskey One, confirm your location."Radio operator's monotone voice was irritating her."Alpha Tango Whiskey One, confirm your location, over."
"Not in target, I repeat: not in target!"
"Damn it!"Ester exclaimed.

She stood up, approached the radio operator, grabbed the microphone and headphones and asked:
"What the hell happened, captain?"
"They forced us out. We couldn't capture the figurehead."

Ester felt as blood slowly overflown her. Even if the took the whole Laconia City and failed to capture Lioni, the whole operation would end in partial success. Capturing the tyrant was a way to place the dot over 'i' and, as she hoped, end the war.

Inability to do it placed a large question mark over the whole ordeal. From his underground bunker, the dictator could call all available military units around Laconia City and the whole planet. At any moment, tanks from one of the reserve divisions could fall on their heads.

"Please stay there. I'll send someone there soon."
"Solid copy."
Colonel gave the headphones to the comms officer.

"I want to see captain Delilah here in a minute."

September 13

23:29

Presidential Palace

For the past several minutes, a complete silence dominated around the Presidential Palace.

Colonel Antonius Sacredis didn't know what to think about it. Certainly not that the enemy ran away. It was more likely they waited somewhere in the dark and awaited another occasion. Bodies of Lioni's bodyguards and Polish commandos were laying in almost every room, showing the ferocity of the fighting. Lioni owed his life only to the fact, that Sacredis managed to get here on time, although even now, everything could go South real fast.

"Colonel, I want to get out of here."Voice behind Sacredis' back tore him out of grim thoughts.

"In my opinion, this isn't the best course of action."
"I'm the one giving orders here, understood?"
"Of course, Mr. President. But with all due respect, allow me to point out, that it's too dangerous. There are enemy snipers everywhere and any car on the streets will become target for enemy air forces."
"No. You're to get me an evac now!"
"Okay, but it will take a while."
"Use any means necessary. As fast as possible."Lioni bit his lip."Or on second thought, I'll do it myself."
Paranoia eating on him started showing itself. Closed in a cramped bunker, he started going crazy. Underground escape routes led to other similar places like the one they were at. Good that leader's wife and sons were hidden in the countryside, protected by a large number of LIS' operators. Apparently, it was the very residence where Tekrionis liked to reside in the summer.

A new task occupied Sacredis' attention for a while. How in God's name was he supposed, with only seventy men, others were dead or injured, to get the President out? For such an operation, he would need at least an armored battalion and air support. Immediately after leaving the walls, they'll become a target of a manhunt.

"Unless…"Idea after idea flew through colonel's head.

Only one passed by the verification. Sacredis ran down the stairs to the communication center. President stood at the console, trying to contact any of the units around the capital, to no avail.

"Why isn't anyone responding?"
"Enemy is jamming all channels."colonel explained."I propose you use the standard phone."

"Well, yeah…"Dictator looked confused and suddenly, it seemed as if all steam left him.

"I'll take care of this."

Sacredis grabbed the old school black phone, dialed a number and got the connection after the first signal.

"Give authorization."the voice on the other side spoke.

"Emissary One Bravo."colonel replied.

"Understood, Emissary One Bravo. What is it?"
"Immediate evacuation from Alpha Bravo One point. Send two Centaurs."
Armored dropships seemed like the only likely way out of this situation.

"Copy, on it."

The connection was terminated. Sacredis swept the sweat off his forehead with his sleeve. As it turned out, the newest forms of communication were not always the best on the battlefield. Sometimes, old analog ones could be useful.

The airport which he called wasn't actually an airport. The air command simply decentralized their forces within fifty kilometers from Laconia City, just in case of a situation like this. Of course, fighters were not as easily hidden, but dropships needed only a camouflage net and some flat surface. It was one of such makeshift field bases that colonel called.

Maybe if they manage to fly through the tight net set up by UNSA and their allies, they might have a chance to get out. A small one, but still. It demanded a true virtuoso, but well…The worst news was the fact, that the spaceport, being additionally the main transit point of equipment from allied nations, fell into enemy's hands. Pushing the dug in commandos needed a lot of effort, but this was not the time to think about it.

September 13

23:38

Road between Laconia City Spaceport and Presidential Palace

Insides of Catchers and GAZs were cramped. So cramped, that Delilah almost passed out from the lack of oxygen. They would rather sit on the armor, but the risk of being mowed down by a machine gun made them choose this.

The column was led by an APC, which turret switched from one side to the other, nervously searching for eventual targets. It's powerful rumble rolled over the streets, eliminating real and imaginative dangers.

Vehicles following it, three Catchers, one LUE-13 and five GAZs, because that was as much as they managed to unload from the dropships, didn't fire, saving themselves for a real fight.

Captain Delilah looked through the visor in the side of the APC, but didn't see anything except black and gray shadows. Additionally, the vehicle shook on uneven cobblestone, what discouraged to look out.
"How far is it?"Emmy asked.
"How am I supposed to know?"Delilah replied.

Emmy, flatted on her commander's back, had no way to look out the periscope.

Her warm breath burned Delilah just beneath her helmet and riffle's folded stock painfully pressed on the thigh. Inside the Catcher, which normally filled ten troops, now eighteen were pushed in.
"Judging from the hurry we were loaded in, I have a feeling we'll land in another shit."Emmy breathed out.
"Here, I have to agree."

She didn't even finish her sentence, when Catcher was shaken by an explosion.

Delilah literally glued herself to the visor, quickly searching the area. At first, she didn't see anything, but only after turning the periscope did she notice the glow of burning GAZ.

The armored car was hit head on with a shot from HJ-2P anti-tank grenade launcher, which turned it into a fireball. The ones inside died immediately, just as the cumulative warhead blew up inside the vehicle.

Delilah tightened her fist and closed her eyes. It didn't work. This and many more things she saw were going to stay with her for the rest of her life.

"What the fuck happened?!"Emmy roared from behind.

Her further words were deafened by the fire from autocannon. Convoy sped up and the burning GAZ became just a memory.

September 13

23:42

Laconia City airspace

Commander of the leading SC-88 Centaur, captain Patrick Fallon, had no doubts about surviving the night. The task he received balanced between life and death, and most certain reward for bravery will be a cross, not gold, not silver, but wooden one. Although, him, as 'practicing' atheist, would probably just get a small gravestone with Spartan 'A'.

The dropship, piloted with experienced hand, shook a bit when it flew at just ten meters above the ground and was brought lower. In night vision goggles, world looked unreal, covered in hues of black and green shadows and even experienced pilots had problems with such flights. Fortunately for them, enemy activity diminished. It was clear that there was not a lot for their bombs left in the city.

Only from time to time, a pair of fighters crossed the sky at high altitude. During one such meeting, Fallon almost scraped the pavement with the underbelly of his machine.

Enemy dropships, on the other hand, became the true danger. Captain had no intention of checking his Centaur's capabilities in fight with Howlers or Skyhawks. The funniest thing for him was, that UNSA and allies had more combat experience than he did. Fights against HO Remnant not only made them perfect the way of flying, but also modernize the machines, while he could only fly over range. If he wanted to survive, the only thing he could hope for was great knowledge of terrain and his machine.

Captain pulled the joystick and machine flew up, evading the power lines. He could fly under it, but wasn't fully sure if his wingman, ensign Barto, could do such a trick. The gap was only four meters and he didn't stress already stressed out Barto even more.

They had two kilometers left to the target.

September 13

23:47

Presidential Palace

Sacredis listened. For a moment, he thought that he heard the hum of dropship engines from afar, but the sound soon went silent. Maybe it was for the better. It was too soon for Centaur, so these could be UNSA or any other's machines. Colonel looked at the glow-in-the-dark hands of his clock and cursed. He had a feeling as if the whole eternity came and went since the start of the battle, not just over an hour.

"Start preparing the landing pad for the evac"he told his deputy"and I will take care of bringing them down."
"What about the wounded?"
"They stay where they are."colonel decided."I don't know what will President decide. If I have to go, you take charge."

Deputy's sour smirk irritated Sacredis.
"You know there can be only ten people aboard."He knew this explanation was weak, but what was he supposed to say? Glorified slogans didn't fit the situation.

Deputy left and Sacredis again went to the communication center.

"I want a line to the Minister of Defense."

A cable was pulled underground, so colonel didn't expect any difficulties in acquiring the connection.

"Manedo, who's speaking?"Furious roar from the other side told him that he was right.
"This is Sacredis. I'm with the President in his residence. I wanted to know how does the situation look like?"
"You're not getting information?"Manedo said, a bit calmer.
"Of course we do, but I wanted to get them at the source."
"From what I know, it's a disaster. Every bigger unit within seventy kilometers from Laconia City is attacked from the air. Our air forces on the planet basically ceased to exist. I don't even know if we can lift off at least one machine."
Immediately, colonel thought, that the two Centaurs approaching them might be the last two on the planet.

"Movement on the roads was blocked and I myself have contact with only a selection of battalions, which are sitting in shelters anyway."Manedo's voice once more started to show anger.
"Thank you. I hope we will have a chance to meet in better times."Sacredis didn't want to continue the talk with hysteric.

Paled Lioni stood by Sacredis.
"Maybe we should check the connection to our allies?"
Spartacus' commander blinked, surprised. Well, well, well, there was still a chance. Pride and prejudice had to be thrown away when kingdom was crumbling. Military aid was one thing, but intervention was another. Interesting, what could be a trump card. Colonel started doing what he was told. Or maybe it was just about getting an asylum?

September 13

23:52

Residence of Great Khan, Nakata

Currently acting Great Khan of Nakatan Clans, Ventir Zaszah, was sitting behind a desk in his private office. He never went to sleep before midnight and upon hearing news about what's happening on Laconia, he didn't have to lose time for dressing up. Representatives of force resorts, as well as the Ministry of Interstellar Relations, were sitting at the table set up at the corner of the room. There were only five of them and he didn't feel the need to call in his entire cabinet. This was appointed for the tomorrow morning.

Nervous looks the five were giving him showed loyalty and readiness for sacrifices. In the eyes of military officials, he also saw eagerness for battle, but maybe he just saw things. The eternal dilemma of all leaders, how to continue the game, now fell on his shoulders. Promises of first Tekrionis and next his lapdog, Lioni, turned out to be just dreams. Clans drowned trillions of nexes and at least hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of lives of their sons and daughters, not getting anything in return. Literally nothing. Even the first successes from the first days of the war seemed like minor victories, no the ones they were promised. Dark shadow covered the Khan's lizard face and his eyes narrowed to slits. They were humiliated, and by who?

He was well aware, that he wasn't the only one who thought that way. Quick talks with other leaders of other member states of the Galactic Concordance assured him, that the feelings towards Laconia were mutual.

Through the door leading to the secretariat, an annoying sound of ringing communication device was heard. One of the secretaries picked it up and now stood in the door with awaiting expression.
"Pressssident Lioni."His tightened whisper spread across the office.
"Let him wait."

Zaszah didn't even flinch. Still in the same position, he looked at the holographic portraits hanging in the room. Great Khans Tero Azah, Liszia Zav, Pequar Peq, all looked at him with the same expressionless look. They had it easier. Back in their time, more things could go unnoticed in the galaxy. Even during the rule of Zaszah's predecessor, Kliom Pardo. Currently, journalists and interstellar laws were everywhere and he wasn't ready yet. Not yet.

Even though he knew, that no matter what happens, the Humans and their allies will want his head on a silver tray. And if he had to go down, he would be damn sure, that Lioni and Laconia will go with him.

Inside the underground shelter in Laconia City, silence also hung in the air. They waited. Half a minute, a minute.

They tried with Maraqs.

Same.

They tried with Varians.

Same.

They tried with most of their allies.

Same.

With each second, the silence was becoming more and more notable. Finally, President of Laconia, in his position for barely a few weeks, put down the receiver with shaking hand and fell back on a char, resigned.

September 13

23:58

Outside the Presidential Palace, Laconia City

The closer to the target, the more intense the fire became. Mostly snipers, but several times, they were attacked with something bigger. Black wounds appeared on vehicle armor, made by ricocheting bullets and shrapnel. A phantom reminder, that they were going right into the maw of the war demon.

APC stopped. The back door opened and showed a sergeant in a round helmet of special forces.
"Get out! Squad, on me!"

Delilah jumped out and breathed in with full lung capacity. After the breakneck ride through the whole city, cold, night air seemed fantastic to her, even if filled with smell of fires.

Three platoons from the company she commanded, directed by GROM soldiers, quickly spread out across the area, surrounding Lioni's residence with a wide angle. APCs, LUE and GAZs formed an armored spearhead, which had to strike straight at the palace, raining fire on it. Commandos had to move in under their covering fire.

Through the first few meters, Delilah felt completely exposed. Running by the edge of a wide alley, she heard bullets over her head, but the enemy fire was quickly drowned by the fire of machine guns and autocannos from allied vehicles.

"Move, move!"Shouts from officers and NCOs forced soldiers to a greater effort.

The clamor became so deafening, that Delilah only saw open mouths of other commanders. And uprooted tree laid in the middle of the alley. It's wide trunk gave cover and green branches-a chance to hide. The squad laid behind it, preparing for the final assault. For a second, it seemed to Delilah as if she was on a disco during a wilder night in her tavern. The strobe effect, given by the firing of guns in the dark street, intertwined with a great uproar. Only music was different.

It seemed that no one could survive the mass fire. Suddenly, one of Catchers exploded. Black shadow of a dropship spewing and avalanche of steel from it's chin-mounted chaingun rolled over it like a giant axe. The crew had no chance. Within a second, ammo and fuel ignited and a new supernova appeared on the ground.

Everything happened so fast, that only after a while Delilah realized what was happening. A shrapnel from destroyed vehicle killed a soldier laying next to her, stabbing him in the neck. Red streams of blood splashed in all directions.

Allied fire became less intense, because all vehicles started searching for cover. Only because the pilot of the Centaur lacked the sufficient experience the whole squad wasn't massacred. The dropship made a turn and the hunt started. A true pandemonium started in the alley.

September 14

00:04

Behind the Presidential Palace

Behind the palace, on an asphalt parking lot, a dropship landed. Standing in the doorway, Antonius Sacredis watched as the pilot brings the Centaur to the ground with a true mastery. Behind his back crowded the President and his bodyguards.

"You're going with us."he heard Lioni say. He was ready for them, but wasn't in the mood.

Duty. The worst part was, that he had to abandon his men. Squeezing the DF-05 in his hands, he rushed to the dropship. He leaned forward, approaching the working engines of the machine, and with full strength knocked on the side door, which slid open.

Captain Patrick Fallon watched, as a number of figures runs out of the dark insides of the building towards him. He would rather take off now and leave them behind. He fought it back, cursing the rules hammered into him throughout his whole life. Duty, homeland and all the other bullshit he'll most likely pay with head for.

The weapons and radar operator sitting in the front, meanwhile, looked back to make sure if all passengers were on-board. Fallon saw the thumb up, increased the thrust and soon shot over the treetops. He braced for the projectiles hitting the hull. He regretted, that he could send only one machine with an inexperienced crew to pin down the enemy. If the task of ensign Barto fell on him, he would tear enemy's heart out and eat it raw.

The hardest part of the mission was behind. He was scared that he wouldn't make it to the point of panic. Now, he rated his chances as fifty-fifty.

XXX

Commandos watched as the dropship attacking them destroyed one more vehicle and then disappears among the buildings. It didn't mean the end of slaughter it founded them. Emmy, completely unaware of the fact, that blood was flowing out of a wound on her thigh, coloring the front of her pants black, grabbed an AA Claw. It's previous owner couldn't do a lot about it. GROM soldier tasted with operating the AA launcher turned into a mess of bloody rags, when several 27mm bullets ripped through him. The vest, additionally strengthened by several layers of kevlar, didn't help much. After getting hit by something like this, there wasn't a lot left of a man to make the identification easy.

Emmy pressed the button and turned on the power. Delilah held her friend's mumbling. She more understood, than heard, that Emmy was praying. The hum of activated tracking told them, that the prayer was heard.
"Thank Emloy, I was starting to worry that it's only good for throwing away!"she exclaimed to Delilah.

Delilah jumped up to her and they both started looking for the target. She would most have liked to blow the bastard that ruined their attack off of the sky, but he hid somewhere out of sight.
"When I finally have something for them, they flew away."Emmy pouted.

Delilah stopped penetrating the night sky and looked to the sides. They had to support GROM and before they even started the assault proper, they were massacred. Yeah, that's right: massacred. Most of the company was either injured or dying on laconian cobblestone. Support vehicles spread out, not wanting to become target for the dropships again. Fifty meters from her, GROM captain called for help. So what? Another company which could come and help them would be here in at least an hour, maybe longer, depending on what they will meet along the way. It seemed the operation hung over a cliff.

The whistle of fired missile shook Delilah.

"Who are you shooting at?! There's nothing there!"The emotions finally found a way out.

Emmy didn't even honor her with a look, instead observing the white trace left by the Claw, following a target only it knew.

XXX

Fallon didn't notice the trace from missile's thruster. There were too many obstacles in his way to worry about what was left behind. The shake that happened ten seconds later nearly tore the steering joysticks out of his hands. The missile exploded right behind the right back engine, with it's shrapnel shredding it. Immediately, the Centaur started spinning around it's axis. With the last effort, captain pulled up the damaged machine to jump over an under construction building, but it fell down again. The dropship was being thrown in all directions and Fallon didn't even want to think what was happening to people in the troop compartment. He had to safely bring them down.

Centaur made three more spins and them smashed into the ground with it's side, the two left side engines smashing into pieces upon impact. Captain hung on his harness and lost consciousness. He at least had minimal safety measure, his passengers none.

XXX

Mróz, who observed the crash of the Centaur, stopped talking to the command and spread the bloody smudge on his cheek. Surprised, he looked at his fingers. He didn't even feel pain. Except the terrible cracking, caused by a shrapnel that hit him in the helmet and stressed his neck muscles, he felt nothing. He started to resemble a wooden puppet.

"Send someone to investigate if anyone made it."he told Delilah."Better hurry, this other dropship might still be around."
"Sure."

Warrior Bunny, followed by Emmy, started forwards. On the way, she pointed at several other commandos, who quickly stood up and joined them.

Prolonged howl above their heads reminded them, that the battle was still ongoing. Two Nashini fighters dropped their payload on one of the ministries placed a kilometer away. They felt the ground shaking beneath their feet.

They rounded a corner and found a GAZ standing there. Broken windshield and hood told them, that it's crew also didn't have an easy time.

"Is it working?"
"Yeah, but…"
"Then floor it!"Delilah wasn't interested in anything that could delay them.

They took their seats. The driver shifted the gear and the vehicle quickly took up speed. From Delilah's quick calculations, it came out that the dropship fell a kilometer from them. She was right.

XXX

Everything was dark, only the nostrils caught the smell of dropship fuel coming out of broken fuel line. Sacredis moved his hand, then the other. Working. He strained his leg muscles, pain in his left knee incapacitated him for a moment. In the last second before the crash, the machine fell on it's left side and he smashed his body into one of the bodyguards. Probably that saved him from worse injuries.

The jumble of twisted bodies on the other side of troop compartment reminded him of something he once saw in a museum. A jumble with arms, legs and broken heads jutting out in all directions. Silent moans coming from there told him, that not everyone died. Somewhere there was his President, but for now, he didn't give a fuck about him. Steps outside pulled his attention. Friend or foe?

Someone jumped onto the dropship and started manipulating the door.

"Captain, I could use a crowbar here!"

The voice certainly didn't belong to any of the Laconians. Sacredis managed to find a pistol in a holster mounted under his arm. The sound of torn metal and people panting told him he didn't have a lot of time. The door opened for ten centimeters and closed again. It was enough to let in a stream of light. Particles of dust danced in the air. Another crack let in the soft glow of the night sky. Sacredis lifted his gun and pulled the trigger. At this moment, a bullet from AR4 hit him in the mouth and came out through the back of his head. The next one hit the forehead and broke the crown. The third one didn't hit, but it didn't change anything.

Delilah scanned the inside of the troop compartment with the barrel of her riffle, after which she jumped on the ground.
"They didn't have enough?"Emmy asked.
"They did, only one of them hit his head too hard and stuff like that requires treatment."
"So you applied him the medicine?"
"Yup…"

XXX

And done! This is where we cut it for today. As always, leave a review, follow and favorite. It will be highly appreciated!

Also, since I will be starting a uni soon, it's most likely that the frequency of chapters will lower even more. Just a heads up.

For now, see ya in the next one!