Episode 6: The Green Tide
Chapter 6: WAAAGH Back At Ya (Part 2)
Truth of the day:
"War is worse than Hell. Want to know why? In Hell, there's no innocent people. War, on the other hand, is chock full of innocent bystanders."
NOTE: This chapter contains RETCONNED CONTENT from an earlier version of the story, which means I'll be changing something I didn't want to work with in order to use it again, in a better way. In this case, I'm bringing back the warriors from the world of Avatar: The Last Airbender, so they can turn the tide against the Dark Lord Vecna's hordes and show the Orks how to do war properly.
In the previous episode, the world of Avatar was to be conquered and colonized by the Greater Galactic Republic. Now, things are tweaked so that the Four Nations were peacefully assimilated instead, in a mutual diplomatic partnership.
Because Episode 5 has been completely retconned, the Benders and the Avatar (and ALL their past lives) are playing a role as elite shock troops in the Republic's mage department, so yes, they are already an integral part of an interstellar empire. I just couldn't help but bring the Gaang back into this train wreck crossover, because I'll admit that I'm a rabid fan of ATLA. Plus, I thought the elemental martial artists would be even better if someone decked them out in power armor.
Also: I want to address a review for SH50K that was written a while ago, giving constructive criticism and feedback. Judging what this person said, I do finally feel like my story has a feature creep problem because of just how many franchises it incorporates into its multiverse.
Well, I specifically wanted to make something akin to "The Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny," or "Avengers Endgame with LITERALLY EVERYONE," but with my own twist on the multiverse war genre. And here's the truth: I should probably downscale this fanfic a bit in later episodes, to help fix the feature creep problem. I agree that this crossover has gotten TOO LARGE.
The reviewer also pointed out that I should make the battle scenes in SH50K more detailed. A picture is worth a thousand words, after all, so these last two chapters in Wave 1 will definitely be longer and more descriptive... but at the same time, I am not very good at writing novel-length work. It's actually my biggest weakness. I struggle to make epic scenes long enough, but maybe the extra struggle will be worth it.
Between those issues needing to be addressed, and all the other crazy fanfic ideas I'm planning on writing down and archiving, I'm not sure if I'll be able to finish SH50K by the end of this year. But nonetheless, I'm really excited that I'm about to complete a sizable project, one that will probably have more than 60,000 words by the end.
With all that said... Here we go again!
Once more, into the fray. It doesn't matter if I live or die this day... this world's doomed anyway! Or so the preachers commonly say.
By this point, our company of heroes was getting a bit... BIG, and RIDICULOUS, even by the standards of a multiverse war. The arrival of Jedi Master Gale Amaranth, (Beidou's mentor,) not to mention the reinforcements he brought from Strike Team Avatar and Jedi Special Ops, put a serious strain on the party's structural integrity and ability to cooperate and coordinate effectively in battle.
Luckily, Anakin had formulated a solution to this predicament. He and Amaranth worked together to split the company of heroes into multiple squads, each in charge of killing Orks in a different area of the hive city, and holding the line as well.
With luck, skill and patience, the practically unlimited firepower available to the Republic's defenders, combined with the Benders' elemental attacks, would slowly whittle down the Greenskin horde's biomass until nothing remained, not even any possible spore residue.
There were many tenants of war meant for dealing with an enemy that vastly outnumbered you- acting decisively and judiciously, using the surrounding terrain to your advantage, maintaining morale, having a leader with especially gritty determination, having a better disciplined fighting force, and taking advantage of every single tactical mistake the adversary made. Now, more than ever, was the time to utilize these stratagems.
Author's note: Splitting this big battle into a bunch of smaller skirmishes makes writing the fight scenes and the collective whole easier, and helps deal with the problem of having too many characters in one scene.
Once again, I promise the next edition of SH50K will deal with the feature creep complications, it won't be as oversaturated with content from different franchises. But for now, I have to finish this anthology. And that means trying to get everything I've already incorporated to run smoothly.
SIMPLIFIED ORDER OF BATTLE: (just a list of everyone involved in this cataclysmic finale. Let's see how well this works out.)
First Cordon, guarding the outer gates to Grand Core:
Commanders:
Field Marshal Korra of the "Ursa Major" mechanized infantry regiment (in this story, it is possible for multiple Avatars to exist at the same time, thanks to experimental and extremely expensive soul cloning technology)
Crimson Jaeger mercenary members, Thianna Frostborn, Keyleth and Ziggs
Spelljamming Giff artillery unit, the "Hungry Hippos," commanded by Captain Merik
Assorted types of infantry from Star Wars, Warhammer 40K and Halo (that's what makes up the bulk of the defending army)
Second Cordon, backing up the gatekeepers in the outer zone:
Commanders:
Eagle Guard General Aang of the "Garuda" airborne attack division
Wolfpack Sergeants Katara and Sokka of the "Amarok" heavy armored brigade
2nd Lieutenant Toph's "Badger Mole" Trench and Minefield Infantry
Colonel Zuko's "Ruby Dragons" Pyro Trooper detachment
3rd Lieutenant Suki and the "Kyoshi Warriors" stealth sabotage unit
The Meat Grinders: The first, and most abundant major opposition the Orks will face if they breach the formidable outer defenses of Grand Core, and make it inside the manufacturing plant.
Commanders:
Jedi Generals Anakin Skywalker, Gale Amaranth and Beidou Haishan, leading the 101st Clone Trooper division
Crimson Jaeger crewmen, Prince Sidon, Shieldmaiden Noelle, and Otter Ambassador Monty Oum
The Stormguard:
A special operations force consisting of 500 experienced veteran Jedi Knights, located directly in the most valuable and strategically important area of the factory, in case of the worst possible outcome- such as the Orks overwhelming every other defensive position, and the Republic army standing on the brink of annihilation. Anakin, Amaranth and Beidou will take command, should the Stormguard attempt to engage the enemy.
With all that over with... let's go massacre some sentient mushrooms.
-THE SIEGE OF GORDASHA-
WAR FOR THE GREAT FOUNDRY
THE FREEDOM FIGHTERS VS. THE DARK ONE'S ARMY
Author's recommendation:
Music to listen to while reading this epic crossover climax: War In The Depths Of Hyrule, from Tears of the Kingdom
I think the endgame and final battle music from the most recent Zelda game will fit quite well here.
Phase One- at the outermost portion of the stronghold:
The road leading to Grand Core was already a bloodbath of shot and shell, mangled machinery, charred debris and bomb craters swollen with broken bodies, even before the Republic forces were fully assembled. Greenskin warriors beyond count scrambled over the rubble and ruin, bellowing at the top of their lungs while raising their assorted bayonet-equipped firearms overhead and flinging grenades around like a bunch of kids in a dodgeball game. And just like kids playing dodgeball, the Orks and their goblinoid relatives were enjoying every second of the mayhem.
To add insult to injury, the entire battlefield reeked in the same manner as feces and rotting flesh, thanks to the fungal odor generated by billions of verdant green monsters.
All of these appalling factors and sights combined would have probably deterred the vast majority of soldiers from standing their ground. But these were no ordinary soldiers.
These were in fact some of the United Galactic Republic's best and bravest, including the heavy weapons unit known as the "Hungry Hippos" and the elemental martial artists of the "Ursa Major" regiment, led by a legendary, renowned commander, Veteran Field Marshal Korra, who had accumulated centuries of combat experience thanks to her lifespan-increasing augmentations.
Against all odds, they tenaciously stood their ground.
"DYING IS SUPERFLUOUS, EVERYONE! CHARGE!," Korra shouted!
Captain Merik, the one in charge of the hippo gunnery squads, mercilessly mowed down scores of enemies with his highly modified Gatling gun, which weighed 150 kilograms and fired 200-credit custom tooled cartridges at 10,000 rounds per minute... which sounds awfully familiar if you're into the first person shooter genre!
While the Giff were dishing out pure, genuine Gatling gun goodness, Field Marshal Korra plowed into the thickest part of the horde like an elemental wrecking ball. Wearing one of the finest suits of human-sized Power Armor ever made, a uniquely customized Mega Man X model, bolter shells, dart shots, arrow rounds, hollow point bullets and blaster beams all bounced off of her like they were made of rubber. She didn't even need a helmet because of a built-in deflector force field projector protecting her head.
Korra went all out as soon as she got within melee range, swatting enemy tanks away like they were insects, chopping up the biggest Ork Nobz and Warbosses with a flaming katana, causing localized earthquakes that immobilized entire formations of armored vehicles, and setting off massive, colorful chromatic explosions of Dust Crystals (magic gunpowder.)
Seeing the Water Tribe warrior do most of the heavy lifting, (and appreciating it,) some troopers led by Thianna, Ziggs and Keyleth chose to set up kill zones for any Greenskins attempting to get around the primary defenses and penetrate deeper into the fortified area.
"Let's see how hungry these rabid berserkers are," Thianna said.
"Time to test out your plan, Little Miss Lorax!," Ziggs added.
To establish the kill zones, Keyleth had the idea of luring the Orks into a dead-end trap with Juicy Squigs- fungal-animal hybrids that were basically the equivalent of an expensive restaurant delicacy to Greenskins, delicious food that they would literally kill each other to have a taste of. Apparently other species found the Juicy Squigs appetizing too, because the nearby barracks had an enormous surplus of them to cook for special occasions like weekend barbecue, though non-Orks weren't actually crazy enough to murder others just for good grub.
While Korra, the Giff and the rest of the army's spearhead focused on preventing too many Orks from breaking through the frustratingly wide defensive perimeter, (which was already rapidly crumbling,) the three Jaeger agents and their smaller secondary army placed thousands of immobile, live Juicy Squigs in narrow spaces, alleyways, bunkers, warehouses, trenches and tunnel systems, then deployed hidden automated sentry turrets in each "bait station." With luck, the Orks would catch a whiff of Squig and come sprinting for dinner en masse.
Ziggs had a multi-spectrum spy camera ready, recording one of the bait stations, as well as all the others. And... he was delighted to see that the ingenious strategy turned out to be a success.
A single Ork strolled into a forsaken, ravaged bunker full of dead bodies that were riddled with laser and bullet holes, and began hunting the source of the aroma he detected earlier. Then, within ten seconds, hundreds of other Orks barged in, and they were all pushing and shoving each other looking for the Squig.
Almost immediately after the bunker reached its maximum occupancy, the E-Web repeating blaster turrets concealed in the walls unveiled themselves, and killed every Ork in the room with a hailstorm of charged plasma beams.
Across the besieged hive city, the same scenario played out over and over again, the invaders being enticed by a certain smell, until their hunger-driven curiosity overwhelmed their thirst for blood and carnage, and they were led to their untimely deaths.
Unfortunately, this fiendishly clever gambit was a reprieve, NOT a victory. It wasn't even close to that.
The Greenskins just kept coming, swarming like locusts past the broken buildings and steadily gaining ground. There was some good news, though, in relative terms- the defending army of the Republic still had plenty of ways to thin the horde, and even if the damage done was insufficient, at least the Orks weren't invincible.
But would the next cordon and line of battle be able to buy enough time for reinforcements to arrive? Or better yet, buy time for more efficient forms of weaponry to be prepared and deployed?
Phase Two: Inside the hive city bastion, further inwards towards the factory complex
The legions of Benders from the Republic's special forces units were well prepared for the brutal close-quarters firefight that was about to erupt. They had fought Orks dozens of times in the past decade or so, and had grown accustomed to taking part in campaigns where the enemy held a major numbers advantage. Horde armies, including Skaven, Illithids and their puppets, Modrons, Tyranids, Lizardmen, Tau, Gnolls, and Dryads had all been sundered by the might of the elemental Avatar and his various incarnations and subordinates.
Still, the ferocious masses summoned by Vecna would prove to be the Grand Army Benders' greatest challenge yet, for reasons that are soon to be explained.
When General Aang and his legions of paratroopers perched atop a skyscraper spotted the marauding Orks on the horizon, they noticed something wasn't quite right with their body appearance.
"My gods... what in the Maker's name is happening down there? Whatever it is, it's ugly, and we need to put an end to it!"
A closer examination via electro-binoculars revealed that they had begun to mutate to a ghastly degree, developing plates of chitinous fungal armor, clusters of explosive, corrosive pustules, embedded hives of flesh-eating insects, and even armor made from living, biological metal alloys (dubbed as Shroomite and Chlorophyte, respectively.)
The mutations had only spread to insignificantly small portions of the horde, however, which was a good thing, but now the conflict had become an even more dangerous and costly affair. The situation would only continue to escalate if action was not immediately taken.
Coming to grips with this phenomenon, Avatar Aang and the airborne assault cadre leaped off the building and glided into battle. Below them, legions of Republic shock troops were already in the thick of it, pulling out all the stops to halt the advance of the green mob.
"Swift as birds of prey, we shall rain death upon our foes today! We have hit our lowest point, but when that happens... we are open to our greatest change. Our sacrifice will not be in vain!"
On the ground, the firefight had become very literal as Colonel Zuko and his "Ruby Dragons" arrived on the scene, a regiment notorious for their spectacular displays of pyrotechnics and use of extremely destructive incendiary weapons. Flames and chemical fumes of all colors danced across the battlefield, the hellish conflagration engulfing crowds of Greenskins like the wrath of an erupting volcano mixed with the beauty of a rainbow, while Zuko's soldiers were protected from the worst of the heat and corrosion by their advanced suits of energy-dispersing armor, which worked by dissipating any kind of extreme thermal or electromagnetic radiation, as well as toxic gases.
Zuko himself was fighting on the front line alongside his soldiers, a compulsory role for Bender commanders, and lived up to his infamous title of "Ruby Dragon," in the most obvious way possible- creating a firestorm so intense that entire city blocks would be turned into molten slag.
Naturally, this type of combat would cause immense collateral damage, but thankfully, all of it took place in a wrecked part of the city with no strategic value or underground shelters holding civilians directly beneath it. All the unprotected Republic troops had been purposely relocated to avoid friendly fire casualties from the scorched earth protocol.
The whole point of Zuko's arrival was to funnel the stampeding mutant Orks into another trap and use fire and poison to cleanse the area. Yet again, they were too dumb to realize that running at an enemy yelling with no plan or discipline was a generally bad idea, even with the extra strength granted by their mutations.
Because of the immensely damaging inferno that Colonel Zuko and his soldiers ignited, the horde began to split up, with the biggest, baddest Greenskins branching off and leading their own miniature armies- visible evidence that they wouldn't stay stupid for long, if the physical fungal mutations were any indication. Time was running out, and the Allied Republic armies were stuck in an uphill battle.
Meanwhile, in one sector of the hive city with a densely packed agglomeration of now-abandoned apartment buildings, immense explosive devices had been triggered to utterly flatten the area, rendering it a perfect spot for groups of armored vehicles to assemble. Battle tanks and combat walkers, elaborately decorated with Water Tribe iconography, war paint and regalia, rumbled into position, their finely polished mounted gun barrels gleaming in the sun. This was the Amarok Wolf brigade showing up to stalk the battleground.
Sokka was waiting for the Orks to appear, while standing firm in the turret of his Rogal Dorn heavy MBT, which bristled with exotic elemental armaments, while Katara was at the helm of a Gundam-type mecha that could shapeshift from humanoid form into a blast-protected military truck (like a Transformer!)
And surely enough, the Greenskins did come, sweeping over the landscape like a floral, fungal tidal wave.
"They're here to entertain us, let's pound them all to DUST!," Sokka roared, his statement literally being a pun on the crystallized magic gunpowder that enhanced the functions of his vehicle's weapons and engines. The earth shook with apocalyptic fury as the tanks' turrets hurled shells, missiles, mines, canister shot, torpedoes and bombs into the thickest, most congested parts of the green tide, while sponson, pintle and hull gunners laid down murderous secondary barrages of their own.
On the other hand, Katara's squads of Gundams and non-sentient Autobots would be the piercing lance to Sokka's crushing hammer blow.
"Activate your kill counters, everyone, just like Legolas and Gimli! If we die this day, we die enjoying our final moments! Nobody can rob us of our dignity!"
Utilizing speed and precision over raw strength and firepower, they went toe-to-toe with the Orks' scrap metal constructs, the Deff Dreads and Gorkanauts, and annihilated them with pinpoint motorized melee strikes. Circular saws, pile bunkers, mono-edged bayonets, power lances, phaseblades, Dust cutters, chainblades, electro-whips, venom injectors, and even dinosaur-grade cattle prods were put to bloody use in the mechanized brawl.
That being said, many of Katara's troops were killed in the process of engaging the Greenskin walker contingent, due to unexpected and occasional land mines being present on the ground, doubtlessly dropped by the enemy, and some of Sokka's command tanks had been damaged or destroyed by Mek Gunz (very long range Ork artillery.) It seemed like the Orks were fighting smarter... by a small margin. The fungal mutations were doing them a big favor, too.
The Water Tribe troopers were running out of fuel, ammunition and physical stamina and water for bending anyways, and wisely chose to forsake their vehicles, then fall back to relative safety, rigging the tanks with Dust Crystal explosives in case the Orks tried to hijack them.
Right before the green menace could pursue the remaining Water Tribe warriors under Katara and Sokka's command, they were surprised from above and below, by two different obstacles- the Badger Mole trench fighters, led by Toph Beifong, who were emerging from a hidden tunnel entrance to knock the Orks off guard, and the Garuda paratroopers, helmed by Avatar-General Aang, who descended from many different high places (like skyscrapers and transport aircraft) to further disrupt the horde's movements.
The Badger Moles, being a mining regiment, were responsible for the explosive charges that flattened the apartment building sector and enabled the Amarok tank battalion to have the advantage of decent mobility, as well as allowing the latter to put all their vehicles in one location.
Toph's forces were also equipped with portable long-range repeating blasters meant to scythe down the larger Orks akin to how a combine harvester machine would shred a field of ripe grain. They pragmatically applied heavy firepower to the thickest part of the horde, shrinking it to a manageable size, while staying out of the reach of the Greenskins' slug-throwers.
As for Toph herself... she was having a field day, launching massive boulders through the air to crush approaching Ork battle-wagons that could pose a threat to her infantry. She also was under the impression that talking smack would instill fear into the Greenskin mob.
"You overgrown mushrooms think you can STOP ME?! Think AGAIN! I'm blind, yet I'm still standing! Come at me!"
When an adversary came too close, the sightless powerhouse would turn the nearby ground into quicksand, burying the Orks alive under thousands of tons of earth.
While Toph and the trench troopers pushed the enemy back, denying them access to nearby strategic locations (including the main entrance to Grand Core,) Aang's jetpack airbending infantry relentlessly harassed them from above.
These warriors, sourced from the most fanatically religious of the Air Nomad monks, and often employed as exceptional star pilots, were literally armed with piston-driven talons on their mountain boots, which could crush bone and rend flesh with sickening ease.
The chainsaw-bladed melee weapons and hypersonic flechette guns they carried had the same gruesome effect, and their airbending abilities and jetpacks allowed them to blitz through the battlefield at lightning fast speeds, each paratrooper striking at dozens of opponents within the span of a single second.
Aang, being an Avatar, much like Korra, was naturally inclined towards the thickest and most ferocious of the fighting, where his mastery of the elements could be put to the most pragmatic use.
He used his gale force airbending technique to knock over a gargantuan water tower, one holding more than 500,000 US gallons of liquid, and turned all of it into fragments and chunks of ice, to bombard the Orks with a lethal hailstorm. He then summoned pillars of earth and walls of fire to keep Greenskin reinforcements from entering the skirmish and striking at his comrades.
The odds were looking somewhat more fair for the Republic's army than beforehand, because of the Benders' unrelenting perseverance in defending their positions, but as usual, a change for the worse was on the horizon. Somebody tried to stop it from happening, though, regardless of how futile the attempt might have been.
The Kyoshi Warriors, an all-female regiment of saboteurs, stealth operatives and assassins, were paying close attention to the status quo of the ongoing battle. Led by Lieutenants Suki and Ty Lee, they snuck around the ruined city hoping to catch the gunners of an Orkish artillery battery by surprise. These big guns were getting ready to fire upon Aang, Katara, Sokka and Toph's combined forces, which would be a disastrous blow to the freedom fighters' ranks, should the ordnance hit its targets properly.
"Time to knock the malevolent mycelium down a peg," Suki whispered, in case her smelly opponents could hear her and the approach of her teammates.
Ty Lee communicated with sign language, signaling the Kyoshi Warriors to ready their arsenal of exotic weapons- explosive kunai, electrified war fans, vibranium polearms, lasguns, grenade launchers, blaster pistols, chemical throwers, modified autoguns, stalking knives, and a selection of armor piercing, incendiary and anti fungal grenades.
"Wait for it... wait for it... NOW!," she gestured, in aggressive body movements.
On a count of five, they exploded from the shadows in bursts of smoke, fire and electricity... only to be ambushed from behind by Ork commandos who had painted themselves PURPLE. In a horrific turn of events, the hunters had become the hunted, solely because of the color of their enemy's skin. After all, when have you ever seen a purple Ork? Exactly, nobody has!
Bursts of staccato gunfire cut down the disciples of Avatar Kyoshi, all while explosions of gaseous mycotoxins forced them to hold their breath. Suki and Ty Lee barely made it out alive, and only a handful of Kyoshi Warriors managed to escape the surprise attack. It was like trying to fight a literal ghost, metaphorically speaking.
As you probably guessed, it would take a long time for the Kyoshi Warriors' numbers to reach adequate levels for another campaign. The two acrobatic Amazons wearing elaborate makeup snuck their way back into Grand Core to report the dire news to the Jedi in charge, limping all the while from their injuries.
Since Suki and Ty Lee had failed to prevent the Greenskins' artillery barrage, the other divisions of Republic commandos were in serious trouble. High-capacity bombshells rained down on Aang's army, killing 90 percent of the personnel and seriously wounding Katara and Sokka, who would've been dead if they were any closer to the epicenter of the cyclone of explosions.
"Fall back to the main complex!," Toph shouted with utmost urgency, as Aang used what elemental power he had left to help evacuate his fellow warriors from the surrounding ruins.
Korra's detachments, meanwhile, were completely and utterly surrounded by the enemy, which meant that the remaining survivors in the first cordon likely only had minutes to live. It looked as if only a miracle could save Gordasha... but who would believe in miracles during a time like this?
THE CONCLUSION TO SH50K SEASON 1 ARRIVES NEXT CHAPTER!!!
Which means Phases Three and Four of the Forge World siege will be the finale, while the ending will come shortly after that.
I've been busy with my real life, away from my potato-flavored avatar, this is why the update took so long. Also, I was too invested in what I was currently writing to drop the Avatar characters. My decision is final.
Regardless, I will finish Wave 1 of Starhammer 50K once I brainstorm the scenario for this last chapter. Things are not looking good for the heroes, and I'm pretty sure the final chapter will throw a lot of curveballs your way. It will be quite unpredictable.
But my main goal is finishing this darn fanfic anthology, so I can move on to other fanfic ideas, and maybe even some of my original ideas, which I will someday post on the Internet for all to see. I gotta finish it, even if it means disappointing someone in the audience.
I'll be back for the finale.
-Spuddies