The Will of Revenge

by Gamer83888

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

42. Part 5, Chapter 10

Welcome back to The Will of Revenge! Last time we've seen each other, events took place on planet Nashina, the homeworld of Nashini people. In the darkness caused by EMP explosion, SOF and Nashini Marines made a mad dash for the Unity Square, taking it back from GC hands, only for a sudden counterattack to come by three full Laconian divisions. And the attack was thwarted by sudden show of power by Norrine, who left all three divisions in ashes. This allowed allied troops to perform a counterattack that broke the enemy presence on the planet. But while this was happening, Andromeda was hard at work. So let's see what's going on there.

Without further a do, let us begin.

Chapter 10

August 31, 2166

12:42

Orbit of Emloy, Flareian System

Captain Sidonius sat on the bridge of his Heavy Cruiser, the Sanguin, orbiting the planet of Emloy and holding the blockade that was put on it for the past few months by Sons of Sadera. Truth be told, he was getting tired with this whole situation. Everyone was actually getting tired. The Maio-Margas Plan promised everything will be over within a single month and instead, the fourth was about to start. If it was up to Sidonius, he would just take his ship and return back to allied space. The problem was, he would be then executed for desertion of his post. And he still wanted to have his fun in life before reporting in the afterlife.

The only good news was that everything seemed to be coming to an end sooner or later. Reports from Taurus System were saying, that invasion forces on Taurus III were literally a few dozen leagues from the last big city still under enemy control. It was just a matter of time before the city falls and the planet with it. Same on the surface below his ship. Battle of Emloy City was entering it's final phase and before long, they will have the planet under their control. There will most likely be some enemies remaining and doing a guerrilla warfare or something, but that wasn't that big of a problem.

Looking at the holo-table in front of him, he could see the projection of the planet beneath them and the ring of ships surrounding it. Honestly, he wasn't fully sure how a planetary blockade had to work. He knew it was supposed to make it harder for ships to leave or approach the planet. But still, it didn't seem like a pretty good tactic in his mind.

He was torn out of his thoughts, when the voice of radar officer came to him:
"Captain!"

"What is is?"Sidonius asked, turning to the man.
"We're detecting allied hyperspace signature."

"What's so interesting about it?"
"It matches the Dark Vengeance."

This made Sidonius frown. What would Legatus Polanius do here?

Soon, the space distortion appeared and the shape of the Dreadnaught emerged from it, slowly making it's way towards the blockade. Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary, as the ship approached the blockade and flew between the ships in it.

Sidonius turned to the comms officer:
"Hail them and ask what's the reason they're here."
"Yes, sir."comms officer replied.

He turned to his console and after searching for appropriate frequency, he said:
"Dark Vengeance, this is Heavy Cruiser Sanguin. What is the reason of your presence and what is expected of us?"

There was a short period of silence, as everyone waited for the answer, but none came. At least at the start, but soon, the voice answered:
"Legatus Polanius wanted to inspect how your work is progressing. Also, we wanted to support our forces on the ground in their fight."

Captain risen an eyebrow. These were some good reasons to be here, but he still couldn't help but feel something was fishy about this whole thing. But for now, he decided to push it all to the back of his head. There were matters more pressing than wondering why would Polanius come here.

As he was thinking about what to do now, the whole bridge turned red with warnings and sirens blaring on full volume. Chaos erupted across the bridge as everyone tried to understand what's going on.

"Everyone, calm down!"Sidonius ordered."What the hell is happening?!"
"Sir, it's Dark Vengeance!"WSO replied."They are targeting us and numerous ships in the fleet!"

"What?!"shocked captain asked.

Meanwhile, numerous guns, missile tubes and PDC guns aboard the Dreadnaught came to life, spewing fire in the direction of unprepared Sons' ships. With just the first salvo, five ships, two Heavy Cruisers, one Destroyer and two Frigates, were put out of commission, blowing up in a magnificent display of destruction. Panicked beyond comprehension, SoS ships were unable to respond in time and more and more of them fell to the fire from the supposedly allied warship.

Sidonius watched it happen while at the same time screaming orders. What was this head fucked bastard Polanius thinking?! He was supposed to be in charge of the whole fleet and now, he was personally destroying this fleet, not even giving it a chance to respond! If he somehow put his hand on him, he would literally tear his head off and then…
"Captain!"radar officer shouted towards him.

Sidonius looked at him with a sight that was the question.
"More signatures detected! These aren't allied!"

Right as the radar officer said it, space distortions appeared in the whole mayhem, soon turning into Andromeda Branch warships. They immediately joined the Dreadnaught in it's dance of destruction and death, blasting SoS vessels left and right.

It was at this moment, that a terrifying realization fell on the captain.

"Target the Dreadnaught!"he ordered."It was taken by the enemy!"
"But sir, our weapon systems won't manage to activate in time!"WSO shouted back.

"I don't care! Destroy it!"

By this point, fighters and fighter-bombers started leaving AB and Dreadnaught's hangars. Machines quickly joined the fray, firing at everything that was moving. Andromeda Branch forces, basically unopposed, cleaved through the blockading ships like knife through butter, leaving behind death and destruction. Nearly entire remaining naval power the AB had left came to take part in the operation. And now, they were finally able to unleash all the eagerness for battle they harbored for the past few months.

Some SoS ships finally managed to activate their weapons and were now returning fire against the advancing AB fleets. However, it was already too late by this point. Whatever enemy ships were left were being mopped up by much better prepared Andromeda Branch fleets. When they tried to jump into hyperspace, they quickly became the priority targets and were dispatched faster than before. Even fighters that tried to join the SoS in fight were being destroyed before they could even leave the hangars.

Sidonius only watched on the display of his holo-table as carefully prepared blockade is getting demolished within minutes. They were caught with their pants down and now they were paying the price.

"Sir, enemy missiles!"WSO reported.
"Fire at them!"captain ordered.

PDC fire from the Heavy Cruiser came to life as a barrage of missiles fired by Dark Vengeance and a Guided Missile Cruiser started making it's way towards Sidonius' warship. Lasers worked so hard that they started to overheat after a few seconds, but that didn't save them. Soon, a full volley of missiles was just meters away from the bridge of the Heavy Cruiser.

"Shiiiiiiiiit!"Sidonius shouted.

His scream was ultimately cut off when a wave of missiles slammed into the ship's bridge, drowning it in flames and killing everyone aboard. The rest of the ship soon followed as a passing Skandian Light Cruiser nailed it's reactor with a railgun shot.

The battle, or rather slaughter, continued for the next few minutes, as Sons of Sadera's ships were being put out of commission by Andromeda Branch. Then, after that time, everything went silent, as no enemy ship was left still afloat and operational in the orbit of Emloy. Immediately, AB sent units to collect life pods of SoS crews to later bring them to Flare Prime and put in the POW camps.

As the fighting ceased, AB ships set up around the planet.
"That went easier than expected."Fleet Admiral Tyuule said.

She was sitting on her new bridge aboard Dark Vengeance, or rather, as the ship was called now, Soul of Retribution. Following the end of operation to capture the ship, she quickly decided to personally take over the command over it, while command of Selene she left to her former First Officer, Tia.

Admiral was truly impressed by the speed the engineering teams brought the ship back to action without any shipyard help. Within a week, they made all damage caused by the ambush vanish completely. Immediate once that happened, the ship was ordered to take part in retaking Emloy. Fleets were assembled, troops were loaded aboard the ships and soon, the whole, combined power of Flare Prime was set loose upon the besieged world, while at the same time, a task force was retaking other positions and facilities in the system taken by SoS.

Now, with enemy fleet already taken care of, the second part came.

"How does it look on the ground?"Tyuule asked.

Her new FO, a halfling named Nico, looked at his datapad.

"Apparently, from data we managed to dig out of the ship's logs, enemy controls around 1/8 of the planet's surface, but they are already storming the capital."Nico replied."If we keep them contained in this area, we might quickly eliminate the threat they pose to us."

"Good that ours didn't let them spread further. It will be much easier for us."Tyuule said.

Next, she turned to comms officer:
"Relay to all forces that they have to start landing. Also, inform our allies in Emloy City. Let them know that cavalry's coming."
"Yes, ma'am!"comms officer replied and got to work.

At the same time, Nico looked at the wrecks all around them.
"You know, I feel kinda bad, that we had to lie to them."he admitted.

Tyuule looked at him.
"Don't pity an enemy that won't pity you."she said."That's what my catchphrase was back in the old days before the Saderan invasion."She smirked."Besides, it's not like we lied to them fully."

Nico risen an eyebrow.
"We really are going to assist our forces in the ground in a fight."

Halfling smiled.
At the same time, numerous dropships and fighters turned and flew towards the surface.

August 31

At the same time…

Emloy City

Explosion rocked the walking tank as it skittered through the streets of the city. Seyi looked back through the periscope, at the SoS vehicles chasing them. There were three Leonidas-21 tanks and several Mastiff APCs, all firing at the single spider-like vehicles running away and shooting back at them.

"Fuck."Yuzu exclaimed as she almost dropped the shell she held in her hands.

"Careful, or this shit will blow us up instead of them!"Eiko shouted.
"Shut up!"loader exclaimed back.

Michael was literally doing miracles, making sharp turns and many times almost making the vehicle fall over. Seyi held onto everything she could on her place, as she recounted everything that led her to this moment.

The Battle of Emloy City raged for weeks and once it started, the allied forces quickly went to enacting the plan they came up with. Positions were being defended, troops retreated, roads were blocked by detonating explosives and one path was left for the enemy to move through. Then, when there was only a singular axis of offensive, allied troops sprung to action and eliminated that column of enemies. Everyone celebrated that the plan worked.

For a short while.

Unfortunately, Sons quickly figured out what the plan was and as quickly adapted to it. Now, instead of falling for it again, they simply blasted through blocked pathways and continued through them, stretching allied troops beyond measure and making the successful defense harder and harder. Everyone knew it was all just to buy time before imminent demise, but still, to think it would come so fast was something nobody thought of.

This is why now, AB forces were grabbing on everything to at least make enemy pay dearly for every inch of the ground they take.

"How far?"Seyi asked.
"Just behind the next turn!"Michael exclaimed back, directing the walking tank forward.

Another shell fell right next to them, almost throwing them upwards and making them fall upside down. But Michael, being the great driver that he was, saved it and continued to run the vehicle on it's way. They got to the next turn and quickly made it, their pursuers close behind them. They were completely unaware.
"Now!"Seyi exclaimed into the radio.

"Copy."the reply came.

Not long after, a number of tank shells flew out of nowhere and slammed into the tops of Leonidas tanks. Seeing the sudden demise of the armored part of the pursuing party, the APCs tried to back off, but they soon started being picked off one by one, turning into fireballs on the street. Crews of the vehicles tried to find where the fires were coming from, but where unable to and soon, they were all turned into smoldering wrecks which now cast shadows and light over the street.

Jester King quickly stopped and turned to look at the graves of their pursuers.
"That was terrifying…"Eiko admitted.
"I know. But it worked."Yuzu said, looking at their commander."Good on you, Seyi."

Seyi nodded and grabbed the radio.
"Good job, you three."she said.
"Thanks, ma'am."the commander of walking tank nicknamed Kaiju Smasher said.

Kaiju Smasher and two other Type-63s were currently utilizing another thing that characterized the vehicle: capability to climb onto buildings and serve as wall-hanging artillery pieces. They dug their legs into the walls, moved their barrels to the top of their turrets, as special mechanisms mounted in them allowed, and now were helping all units that needed help within their range.

Seyi let out a deep sigh.
"Damn, this shit is gonna make me go gray soon…"she said.
"Same…"Eiko said, taking off her helmet and moving her fingers through her hair."I already have some gray hair."
"Nothing else that I expected."Yuzu stated, loading the shells into the barrel, just in case.

"At least it will be over soon."Michael said.

As much as Seyi and others didn't want to, they had to agree. The center of the city was just twelve kilometers behind their backs and already some enemy forces were storming it. It was just a matter of mostly days before it falls and with it, the city. Once this happens, there will be no reason to fight anymore.

"To think it has come to this…"Eiko sighed.

"We all knew this was gonna happen sooner or later."Michael replied."We were just putting off the inevitable."

They had to agree with him. Many soldiers and civilians shared the same outlook on it. Sons were too close to victory. At this point, only miracle could save them from a certain defeat. At least they could make the enemy pay for said certain defeat.

"Jester King, do you read me?"Ishikage's voice came from the radio.
"Loud and clear, sir."Seyi quickly replied."What is it?"
"We need some extra firepower to the East of your position. Enemy is giving our troops a hard time there. Think you could help them?"

Seyi sighed.

"Of course, sir. We're on our way."she replied.
"Thank you."Ishikage replied and disconnected.

Eiko looked at her friend.
"Did he just say 'thank you'?"she asked, clearly surprised.
"Yeah, he did."Seyi replied."First time that ever happened…"
"Even he feels it's all gonna flop soon."Yuzu shook her head."At this point, he's just thankful we even follow his orders still."

"Yeah, good for him, I guess."Michael said, preparing the machine to move.

Seyi grabbed the radio again.

"Kaiju Smasher, we're moving East. Keep an overwatch over this area."she ordered.
"Copy, ma'am."Kaiju Smasher replied.

Seyi put down the radio.
"Okay, we can…"

Missile came out of nowhere, flying over the buildings and slamming into the ground right next to the walking tank. It's power was so big, that the vehicle made a few somersaults in the air, throwing everyone inside of it all around it. Screams came out from Eiko and Yuzu, but Seyi held on. Even as the vehicle literally flew like a bird, she still tried to think about how to come out of this situation. She knew that after so many somersaults, the tank would most likely be wrecked. Which wasn't good, certainly. Enemy was now probably closing in on their position and who knew what was gonna happen. She just hoped that Kaiju Smasher and their team would manage to hold them off for long enough.

Her thoughts were violently stopped, when a panel on the side wall of the turret came loose and smashed into the back of her head, making her black out.

She woke back up after she had no idea how long. Even without looking around, she could tell, that the tank stopped flipping around and was now laying on the ground, destroyed. She was actually surprised she was still alive. Touching her face, she felt a sticky liquid and quickly realized her brow was cut.

A groan came from her left and she looked there. Eiko was hanging in her harness, a waterfall of blood covering her left eye. A bone was sticking out of her unnaturally bent arm. Seyi winced while looking at it. Meanwhile, to her right, Yuzu was laying on the ground, motionless. Cat girl had no idea if she was breathing or not.

From the outside, sounds of explosions and gunfire were coming. She didn't know what the hell was going on, but it couldn't be good.

"Michael?"she asked.
But there was no response from the driver. Where the hell was he? From her position, she couldn't see Michael seat. What was going on with him?

"Je…K…ou…hear…?"

Seyi looked at the radio. Somehow, it was still working. She could recognize Kaiju Smasher's voice, but she couldn't reach for it. Everything ached her too much to do anything.
"Enem…regime…incoming…"the voice said."We…them…ff…out…"

"Enemy regiment incoming. We're holding them off. Get out."she pieced together in her mind."Yeah, how?"

There was a rumble at the upper hatch. Forcing herself to look up, Seyi saw as it's pulled open. Fearing that it was an enemy soldier checking out if there were any survivors, she was relieved when Michael's face appeared in the circle of the hatch.
"You okay?"he asked.
"Barely…"Seyi replied. Her voice was hoarse.

Driver reached into the turret.
"Grab my hand. We have o get out of here."he said.

Forcing herself to do just that, Seyi reached out. She could barely stand, every move gave her pain, but still, she had to reach out if she wanted to live. All she just wanted was to see Yuko again. Tears came to her eyes when she remembered her sister. This couldn't end like this…
"I got you!"Michael said, grabbing her hand and starting to pull up.

Smile appeared on Sey's face…

…and disappeared short while after.

There was a series from a machine gun. Lasers flew too close. Before Seyi could realize, Michael's head disappeared, evaporated by laser fire. His headless body fell backwards, letting go of Seyi's hand. Panic filled the cat girl as she realized, that it was over.

She was ready to accept her fate. She lived a good life anyway. Even though part of her childhood was spent in a slave camp, where she had to watch her parents get sold and satisfy a mercenary leader. She endured and found a new family. Now, she was gonna die in a metal coffin, in another galaxy, far from her beloved step-sister.

"Yuko…"she whimpered, tears flowing down her cheeks.

And then, she heard the jet engines.

She knew that these jet engines could belong to some SoS machine that came here to bomb them. But as she waited, that didn't come. There were explosions, but none on the tank. She frowned.

"We…s…ed!"Kaiju Smasher exclaimed in the radio."Gi…em…hell!"

Seyi frowned even more, swiping away the tears. He sounded excited. Nobody would sound excited if they were going to be killed by a bombing raid. What the hell was going on?

Putting all her strength into it, she stood up. She wobbled a bit, but held her ground. Next, she grabbed onto the hatch and pulled herself up. She looked around and saw a whole column of burning enemy vehicles and dead soldiers, some also burning. Some where clearly destroyed by Kaiju Smasher, while others seemed like they were…

Jet engines continued to roar across the sky. Looking up, Seyi widened her eyes, thinking she was dreaming. She could clearly recognize the shapes of Eurofighter Cyclones and F-44 fighter-bombers flying around, dropping bombs or firing missiles. Seeing this, she felt a great relief. Help came. They were gonna make it.

They were gonna survive.

She couldn't stop herself from simply throwing her hands in the air, ignoring the pain and screaming at the top of her lungs. Then, when she looked down, she saw what remained of Michael and her joy completely vanished.

They may have been saved. But wasn't it too late for many?

Soon, as the fighter vanguard took care of some enemy forces and air defenses, allied dropships fell from the sky, allowing Andromeda Branch forces to disembark and join the fight. Taken by surprise, Sons forces were completely unable to withstand the sudden onslaught. They were being decimated just like the fleet in the orbit.

The attacks were not limited only to Emloy City. All across the occupied surface, allied attacks hit the unprepared soldiers. Sons started panicking as orbital bombardment and bombs dropped by air force decimated them on mass. Communications were being quickly severed as EW sections came to action, cutting off SoS troops from each other, allowing for easier elimination. Sons had no clue what hit them and basically overnight, all the progress they made was overturned, as Andromeda Branch regained the initiative.

At the same time, the task force sent to retake space installations and facilities on moons of different planets managed to retake the last space station and mining facility near one of the gas giants, Hardy. Two days later, Andromeda Branch forces pacified the last remaining SoS troops on Emloy, essentially ending the siege and battle of the planet. And with the liberation of Emloy and everything else, there was no enemy presence in Flareian System.

With that done, the next phase of the war could begin.

September 3

12:43

Royal Palace, Sadera, Flare Prime

Pina sat at the top of the table set up in the conference room of the Royal Palace. With her sat other members of her cabinet. To her right sat Minister of Defense, general Grey, admiral Tyuule in hologram form, Hamilton and colonel Rius. To her left sat representatives and ministers of non-force resorts, as well as Prime Minister Garcel. Looking at it, she couldn't help but smile. It was the first time they were meeting here since the start of the war. Not in Jade Palace in the middle of night, but in the Royal Palace itself, in the middle of the day. Not only that, but she also got a good night sleep for the first time in months. Finally!

"Well, ladies and gentlemen."she said."It seems like our plan worked."

Everyone nodded.
"Indeed, Your Highness."Tyuule said."We managed to eliminate enemy space and ground forces in the entire system, which basically means, that we can once more operate freely within the system's space. Not only that, but we can also send ships to others."
"Which is already underway."Rius chimed in."We ordered one of our Stealth corvettes to make a jump into Taurus System and check if the communications we intercepted was true. We're also sending one to Narum System to assess enemy forces in there for the future operations."

"Good, proceed with that."Pina agreed, nodding."What about forces we can send in case of possible operation in Taurus System?"
"We can send nearly one seventy thousand soldiers to support our allies there."Grey said."From all allied nations."

"Not as much as I expected."Minister of Sport stated.
"There isn't enough place for more on all the ships we acquired for possible operation."Minister of Transport said."We went to big lengths to acquire as much transports as possible, but we still weren't able to get more."

"Still good. With additional elimination of enemy forces in the orbit, it will be much easier to control enemy forces on the ground."Grey stated."That will allow us to launch a counterattack easier."

"If you say so."Pina said."Hamilton, when do I have the meeting with other leaders? We have to discuss the whole next phase of the war."
Hamilton looked at her datapad.

"In about eighty minutes, Pina."Queen's secretary replied.
"Good. On that meeting, I will discuss with them our next steps and how many forces are they willing to lend us. If we want to retake Taurus III and Taurus System, we will need all international cooperation we can get."
"I think this is pretty much a given."Minister of Foreign Affairs said."All our allies are willing to lend us their hand. But how many forces will they send? This, I cannot tell."

"We're not gonna force them to anything."Sherry said."We will accept as much help as they can possibly give us."
"Exactly."Minister of Defense agreed.

"Still, Your Highness…"Prime Minister Garcel said, rubbing his chin.

All eyes turned on the veteran politician.
"What is it?"Pina asked.
"As much as I know Zorzal, when he learns about what we just did here, he will not take it lightly."Prime Minister stated."And when he does, we have to be ready for everything. He still can pull a fast one on us and we might not even know it."

Silence fell in the room. They knew that Prime Minister was right. Zorzal was not the type to take a defeat of such scale lightly. Not only that, but they didn't known the actual size of his forces. Who knew, if even though today, they are celebrating, tomorrow they wake up only to a fleet numbering hundreds over their heads? Fighting an enemy you knew close to nothing about was a true pain for everyone.

"We'll find a way to deal with him."Queen stated."For now, let's focus on getting ours to Taurus and back."

"Indeed."Tyuule said.
"And I will already say, that you, Tyuule, will lead the task force sent to Taurus System."Pina pointed out.

Fleet Admiral nodded.
"Okay, ladies and gentlemen."Pina said again."Let's come up with a plan."

September 4

15:03

Taurus III, Soutlandian C.Z.

They abandoned the Mastiffs two days ago. It was actually a miracle that the vehicles had enough fuel to go for this long. Still, they were grateful for that.

Now, Dora, Rangers and Herons were once more forced to move on foot. They were walking in a single column, making their way through a forest somewhere in the C.Z. They knew that they were getting close to Leender. Mainly because two days ago, they saw a sign saying 'Leender-120km' with an arrow pointing in the city's direction. If they kept the pace they had now, they would reach it tomorrow or the day after.

"Man, I can't anymore…"Simon said, trailing behind Fenis.
"Come on, dude, now it's just bullshit."Fenis replied."Edvin treated your leg long ago. Stop whining."
"Well, it still hurts…"

"Don't overdue it."Edvin said.
Simon looked at the Herons' medical officer.

"You're the one saying it?!"Simon exclaimed.
"Keep your voice down, or who knows what will come to get our asses."Stig said.

Simon just huffed and started mumbling to himself.

In the front, Maddie, Dora, Hal and Stig were discussing their next moves.
"We're closer and closer to Leender."Hal said."What do we do once we reach the city?"

"It's simple."Maddie replied."We will help them defend it."
"They could probably use some spare guns."Dora said.
"And a weird alien sword."Stig added, looking at the blade strapped to Dora's back.

Pilot smiled.
"Yeah. That too."she said.

Maddie and her giggled. Hal and Stig just rolled their eyes.
"I think that's their coping mechanism."commander of Herons said.
"Probably."Stig agreed.

They continued to walk for a few more minutes before a stop was announced. They may have been battle hardened soldiers, but even they needed a break to allow their feet to rest before reaching their goal.

Everyone basically sat where they stood, breathing and observing the area around them. They heard some rustle and bustle in the trees and bushes not so long ago, so they had to keep watch in case something decided to try and make them it's dinner. Whatever it would be, it was gonna regret it fully.

As they were sitting, Hal and Stig looked at Maddie and Dora.

"Hey, there is a thing we probably need to discuss."Hal said.

The two looked at the Skandians.
"What is it?"Dora asked.

Skandians looked at each other.

"Well…"Stig said.
"Spit it out."Maddie said.
"We've been thinking…"Hal said."We're going towards Leender to join the fight there…"
"Yes."

"…but what if there's no fight there anymore?"Stig finished.
Maddie and Dora looked at each other.

"What do you mean?"Dora asked.
"Think about it. It's been so long since we got disconnected from our communications. It's been weeks or months since we last had any connection to our allies? What if it's already over? If Leender fell and the war is over? What if we're the last Andromeda Branch soldiers still not in POW camp?"Hal asked.

Dora and Maddie blinked as they thought about what he said. Truth be told, they didn't even considered such a possibility. They basically assumed that once they reach Leender, there still will be a city to defend. Meanwhile, as far as they knew, the city could already be in the hands of the Sons, same as the rest of the planet. They would walk right into their hands and who knew what would happen after that. Nothing good, that's for sure.

"Yeah, you're right, we totally ignored that possibility."Maddie said."Who knows what's happening on the planet at this point?"

"Still, there isn't anymore other options, right?"Dora pointed out."We've come too far to turn back now."

The other three nodded.
"Agreed."Hal said."We just need to think of what to do in case this situation turns out to be true."
"We'll figure it out once the time comes. For now, let's focus on getting to Leender."
"If you say so."Stig said.

They continued to rest for another half an hour before standing up and being on the move again. Just one day and they will reach Leender. Their journey will be over. But what will they discover once they reach the city? Nobody could say that.

September 5

00:23

Unified Staff, Leender, Soutlandian C.Z.

General Harlen Ordell, commander of United Taurusian Defense Forces, stood above the holo-table in the command center of the Unified Staff. Looking at it didn't make him feel better in the slightest. The red stain representing SoS zone of control over the planet was so big that it reached all other C.Z. capitals and now, it was approaching Leender. In the time following the retreat from Obsidian Mountains, was stretching to the limits trying to slow down advancing SoS forces, to no avail. Sons pushed forward and forward, meeting barely any resistance.

And now, Sons' artillery was pounding East bank of the river cutting through the city and the air raids started to be more and more frequent. It was only a matter of time before Sons reach the suburbs and after that, another round of urban combat will begin. And considering that everyone is betting the whole war on the city, there was no doubt that the fighting will be brutal, both for the bled out UTDF and still battle capable Sons. Not to mention all the civilians that were left in the city.

Before war, there were two million people living in the city. Now, only half a million.

"Hey."

Herlen looked behind himself and saw Will approaching him with two cups of coffee in hands. Araluenian Ranger was here because he managed to evacuate from New Araluen with most of Araluenian military command, right before the city fell. Now they were in Leender and tried to coordinate the joint effort from here.

"For you."Will said, handing him the coffee.
"Thanks."Harlen replied.

He grabbed the cup and took a quick sip. He could feel the warm liquid flowing down his throat and into his stomach, bringing with it the pleasant warm feeling which Harlen missed, as he didn't have much time to leave the command center.

"You look terrible."Royal Ranger said looking at the general.
"You try commanding a planet-wide defensive effort."Harlen replied."It takes a toll on a man."
"I know. I was just messing with you."

Lieutenant colonel then glanced at the map as well. He winced when his glance flew over Araluenian C.Z.

"Four months."he said."And we're still standing. Kinda surreal, isn't it?"
"True that."Halren agreed."But it's a shame it's all gonna end soon…"
"We did all we could."Will said, patting his back."You did all you could. And we still can give them hell before everything goes to hell."
"That's the plan. We still gonna fight, even if it's a lost fight."

"And that's why I'm here. To help you with my advice."

Harlen smiled. He always was happy when he had friends to help him. Especially in times like these. For a moment, all his life flashed before his eyes. His life in king Orman's court as an illegitimate son, his travels with Arlan and Imri across Orisia, the return home and his life as the commander-in-chief of Soutlandian Armed Forces…It was a good life. Shame it was gonna end this way.

But he wasn't gonna sell his skin easily. Nobody was gonna sell their skin easily here. If Sons wanted to have Taurus III, they will have to tear Leender from their cold, dead hands.

As his morbid thoughts circled through his mind, Tim suddenly came running into the command room with his datapad in hand.
"Harlen!"he exclaimed.
Harlen and Will looked at the adjutant running towards them.

"What is it?"Harlen asked.
"You won't believe this…"Tim said.

He approached the holo-table.

"We… "His words stuck in his throat.

"Spit it out."Will said.

Tim took a deep breath and said:
"We've been contacted."

Lieutenant colonel and general looked at each other.
"By who? Do Sons want our surrender?"Harlen asked, crossing his arms.
Tim shook his head.
"No, sir. We've been contacted on Falmartian intelligence frequency."adjutant replied.

The two widened their eyes.
"Falmartian intelligence?"Will asked."Are you sure?"

"Yes. We've confirmed it with 10th Armored Brigade intelligence officer. This is a frequency used by Royal Falmartian Intelligence Service."

Immediately hundreds of options flew through Harlen's head. The signal could actually been sent by allied RFIS which somehow managed to get a ship into the system to contact them. But at the same time, it could be some ploy by Sons, who got the frequency from conquered Flare Prime and now used this as a way to maybe dial their position and bomb them from orbit to save themselves some effort. Or it was some signal sent at the start of the war and only now did it reach them. Whatever was the case, they had to check it.
"Do you still have the connection?"Harlen asked.
"Yes. I got it transferred to the datapad."Tim replied, showing the device.

On it's screen, they could see a white, slightly waving line, often indicative of a voice communication.
"Can you hear us?"Harlen asked.
"Yes."the voice on the other side replied."Who am I speaking to?"
"General Harlen Ordell, commander-in-chief of United Taurusian Defense Force."general said defiantly. If these were Sons talking to him, at least let them know the name of a person who caused them so much trouble.

There was a moment of silence on the other side.
"General Harlen Ordell?"the voice finally asked."Commander of Soutlandian Armed Forces?"
"Same one."

There was a laugh on the other side. Harlen risen an eyebrow.
"Well, who knew? I won the bet!"
"Bet?"Will asked.
"Everyone in RFIS was betting on who was giving Sons so much trouble in taking the planet when we learned about the fact that Taurus was still fighting. And I placed my bet on you, sir. Good to know you're alright."

Smile crept on Harlen's face.

"So Flare Prime is still holding?"he asked.
"It is, sir."voice on the other side replied."For the past few months, the whole system was besieged by Sons forces. But recently, we managed to lift the siege and are now preparing to come and support you. We just need to know what';s your status."

"Alright. Tell them this."General cleared his throat."Sons control most of the planet. All C.Z. capitals but Leender have fallen. Enemy is already at the city's gates and it's only a matter of short time before the city falls."

"And how many forces do you have?"
"We can't tell for sure, but we took severe losses. We still defend the Soutlandian C.Z., but in all other C.Z.s, our forces are most likely scattered and disorganized."

Another moment of silence.
"Understood. We will tell everything to the command. Don't worry. Soon, we will come for you."
"Understood."Harlen replied."Just be quick."
"I'm not the one in charge, sir."the voice replied."But we'll pray for you down there."
"Thanks. Every type of help is welcome."
A short laugh.
"We have to go now. We can't risk detection. We may be Stealth, but too much radio contact can completely screw us over."

With that, the connection was cut. Silence fell in the room, as everyone who heard the conversation looked at each other. Noticing this, Harlen looked at them all and smiled.
"Let's get to work, people!"he ordered."If we have to hold out until that support arrives, we better get to it!"
"Yeah!"everyone exclaimed and quickly returned to what they were doing.

Next, general looked back at his two companions.
"You really think support will come and this was an actual communication from RFIS?"Will asked.
"I see no reason to believe in it."Harlen replied, crossing his arms."Truth be told, I can see some people back home coming up with a plan to lift the siege of the system. Especially a certain Warrior Bunny Fleet Admiral…"

Smirk appeared on Will's face.
"I get what you mean."he said."Alright, I'm off for now. I have to take care of some business."

"Sure thing."

As the Royal Ranger was leaving, Harlen looked at Tim.
"Maybe there still is some light for us?"he asked.
"I certainly think so, general."Tim said, with a defiant smile on his face.
And with that, the two of them came back to work.

September 5

00:47

East of Leender, Soutlandian C.Z.

Teferon-G1 was jumping and shaking like crazy, just like during the field tests done by Sons back on their current home planet. Second lieutenant Xanderus Desa leaned halfway through the hatch, trying to see the details in surrounding darkness. While first-line units armed with Leo-21s were breaking through the enemy forces slowing down their march and bleeding them out, units equipped with the purely Erecan designed tanks were just waiting for their time to shine. This finally came, meaning that lieutenant Desa would finally feel the taste of war.

He went to it full of dreams about glory. Say what you want, but it was the best way of going up the ranks of the army. Before they even left the LZ, Desa's enthusiasm withered. Whenever he saw destroyed vehicles by the road, he wondered, what happened here. In each vehicle sat more enthusiasts, after all, buddies from the boot or the unit. During one stop, he approached one of the dead machines next to which sappers were doing something. Mastiff was hit in the right side. It was still stinking of burns and corpses. The steel box became a coffin for an entire infantry squad. Bodies were already collected, leaving only unrepairable wreck. One of the sappers sprayed a big X on the side, signaling there was no danger. Before it could get tugged back, weeks, or even months or years, could pass. Repair crews couldn't catch up with current needs. Technicians were barely standing and there still was so much work to do. Next they passed by a destroyed car and another Mastiff, sprinkled with HESH disfiguring.

Desa's curiosity vanished like a candle's flame. He decided to not come close to such findings anymore, especially after hearing what happened at one three days earlier from an NCO-a gravedigger working there had both his arms torn off by an unexploded missile. Poor guy bled out and died from shock before help arrived.

Since then, second lieutenant Xanderus Desa didn't want to fight as much as before.

Additionally, anxiety filled them because of the yet unconfirmed information that was coming to them for a few days now. Some said, that allied forces in Flare System have sustained a total destruction, although nobody knew if it was true or not, as information control was completely and thoroughly employed by Oprichnina officers. But judging from sudden 'accidents' and 'desertions' of some soldiers, lieutenant wasn't so sure if these were just rumors.

Someone at the top didn't really think through how all of this will end and now, guys like him were going to pay the price. To be precise, 1st Centuria of 11th Cohort of 1st Armored Legion. His centuria and his subordinates.

He didn't see a lot in the darkness around. It was middle of the night and additionally, weather got worse. Already during the evening, gray clouds appeared in the skies, announcing rain and gale, what was certainly gonna affect the air support quality, what worried hims as much as putting his cohort's units on the first line.

First raindrops fell on Desa. He ignored them, looking into position lights of the vehicle before them. He wasn't fully sure which direction are they going. It seemed like they were going North-West, but he couldn't be sure. Traffic regulation and MP units stood at every crossroads and directed to the right road. One time they were driving down paved road and next, down a field one. There were no lights in little to no homes they passed.

Desa shuddered when one of the clouds suddenly flashed like during the storm. The lighting escaped him. Or maybe it wasn't here? He changed the direction again. Sound of artillery cannonade broke through the sound of engines and tank threads. They passed by a column of trucks and personnel carriers on the side of the road. Medical unit was going further.

The sight of medical vehicles made Desa feel slightly depressed. Soldiers stood next to the vehicles, smoking cigarettes.

Vehicle in front of them stopped, not turning off the engine. There was a reinforced point to the left, a hole in the ground surrounded by concrete plates and sandbags. Machine gun barrels aimed in all directions.

The rain turned from slight pour into an annoying drizzle. In the purple light, he searched for his jacket and put it on. Everyone was napping except the driver. He put his feet on the seat he normally took and looked out just in time to see a Veska engineering vehicle tow away a smashed Leo-21 to the back lines. This view made Desa realize one thing: battle area stretched from here on.

Flashes were coming from the hills. Just in case, he checked the machine gun mounted on the hatch. Just in case, he'll hit the enemy with a series from a 10mm plasma machine gun.

"Viper 1, come in."The voice in his ears belonged to the company's commander, captain Furian Scaeva.

"Viper 1, listening."he said with a thin voice, not like he was supposed to.

"You will take the Hill 87…"

Desa again jumped into the vehicle, where he found a liquid crystal monitor. He moved his fingers across it, moving the map. There was the path they were moving across and their stop, but he couldn't find any hill. Silence in headphones started getting long. He started panicking, moving his fingers in all directions until he finally found the point of interest. Recent modernization was useful. The screen replaced a map that was not practical in a dark interior.

"Found it."
"Excellent."Probably if Scaeva sat next to him, his breath would make everything freeze."Go there immediately. They are already waiting for you, callsign Spider 5."

"Understood."
"Good hunting. Out."
He looked at the screen without earlier anxiety now. The point was nine leagues forward. A range of hills, covered in barely any trees, emerged from a flat rural landscape. Rocks making it hard to dig in were in majority. If something, the resistance will be organized at a lower point. There were only few singular farms, villages and towns in the area.

He expanded the map to max scale and quickly diminished it, trying to find the shorted route to Spider 5. A cohort of mechanized infantry was hiding under this name. Finally, he checked where Leender itself was. The city wasn't that far, actually, the urbanized area belonging to the agglomeration was stretching just beyond the hills.

"Nap's over."

He woke up the gunner who, leaning on the gun, tried to catch a few calm moments.
"Viper 1 to others."
Commanders of vehicles 2, 3 and 4 reported in order of being called out. He gave them a quick rundown of the task.

Desa was both excited and stressed. It was gonna be his first combat mission he was gonna do alone. What will the rest of the cohort do, he didn't know. When he looked out and and in front, he didn't spot anyone. But in the back, it was starting to get crowded. Everything with tracks or wheels or was painted with shades of purple and green was already standing on the road.

The officer commanding the point gave them a sign. They were free to go. He gave a command. Soon, the night will end and new dawn will come. He hoped not to be his last.

September 5

01:02

Hills East of Leender, Soutlandian C.Z.

Scratching in the throat was a clear sign of approaching cold.

Sergeant Marcus Remus of SoS special forces quelled a sneeze by holding his nose. His sinuses hurt him, as if they were pierced with needles. The medicine didn't work, what additionally made him somber. In a day or two, when fever gets him, he will be moved to the back. Common sense told him to take care of this earlier, but he thought that he could get away with the damned illness. He was allergic to antibiotics, side effects appeared after a few days of curing-he started aggressively vomiting after each dose, and bloody swelling appeared in some places. It was better to struggle a bit on the frontline.

He knew the source of illness. Wet uniform and laying on a cold ground. His bones were completely freezing at night.

He couldn't melt over it now. The hill in front of the commandos made a depressing impression. Soon, offensive on Leender will start from here. If enemy prepared some surprises here, they needed to be detected before that.

Night was a scout's best friend. Time was running out. Green-black view of helmet's night vision drowned the world. Remus already got used to it, though he had problems with it from the start.

As they were sitting near ruins of a home, sergeant eyes were suddenly blasted by bright headlights. He didn't like surprises like these. He quickly got down on the ground to not be spotted. Military or civilians?

He quickly got his answer not long after. A Combi stopped at one of the ruins. Three men, one Human, one alien and one Falien, got out of it and immediately started rummaging inside, helping themselves with flashlights.

Scavengers. Such hyenas will not honor anything.

Their work was going smoothly. They didn't pay attention to everything, even though cracks and rumble around. What they didn't manage to take, they smashed.

Remus' finger was twitching. If he took out these bastards, he will make a favor to everyone. After a second, he let it go. Who knew who they are in cahoots with? Police, even the best, could be bought. If they're from Leender, they'll be stopped at the tollgates. Normally, in times of war, one would get a shot in the back of the head or something. These ones seemed pretty calm. Maybe they ran into cops getting some extra gain after work?

Screw them.

They went further, making an arc. Darkened hills were close.

September 5

01:27

East of Leender, Soutlandian C.Z.

Second lieutenant Xanderus Deas preferred to check everything thrice, mistake was unimaginable and mistaking a pathway was pretty easy. Electronic map on the screen showed an entire web of roads. The main one, transit one, would be seen as local in more civilized society. It was hard to distinguish from some random trail, made by a farmer going from his home to a market in town.

The column he led stretched on a few hundred meters. Armored platoon in the front, Mastiffs and armored cars in the back. He didn't really count how many soldiers there were with him, but a thousand or so at least. He actually wondered, if he'll be able to lead them all into battle.

Some village or small settlement was burning on the horizon. It was hard for Desa to figure it out, but the view was still shocking: powerful white-orange balls of fire turning into gray-black smoke, mixing with passing clouds. All of this was happening just four and a half league from the trail they were traversing.

He drove between small hills. It was raining completely now. He was partially happy it didn't rain on their heads.

Fork in the road. He checked earlier where he had to go. Another village found itself in their path, a bunch of huts placed near the road. They were just two leagues from Hill 87.

The fact he hid inside the Teferon-G1 probably saved his life. Sudden cannonade that sounded outside almost made his stomach squeeze.

"Contact!"he managed to shout before a true avalanche of steel smashed into the tank.

He stuck to the periscope, trying to find out where was the fire coming from. It seemed that they were being under attack from every free part of surrounding buildings.

He cursed himself in his mind. They should've sent scouts ahead, but how could he know about ambush?

He fucked up. The whole fault was on him. He focused too much on the hill instead of insuring security. Well, he just had to live with it.

The banging of bullets hitting the armor almost made him puke. If UTDF didn't come out with something stronger, they were gonna be safe.

Speak of the devil…

GAZ with a TOW missile launcher mounted on top of it drove out from behind the nearby building. The operator leaned over the sights, making last corrections. Desa felt nauseous, his throat was squeezed by fear and time stretched like as if he was in the event horizon of a black hole.

"Go!"That was all he managed to shout out.

The driver shot forward at the same time the missile left the launcher, pulling a short directing cable behind it. It beat the distance of two hundred meters in one 1,5 seconds. It was by accident that the missile bypassed the turret of Teferon by millimeters.

"Gunner, GAZ, three to the left."
The plasma shell was loaded into the gun, what didn't really matter. The distance was small and the GAZ didn't really impress with it's crew protection.

"Ready."
"Fire!"
105mm plasma gun fired and recoiled. The shell left it, staring a short flight. The casing fell out, smell of burned metal filled the inside even though the air conditioning was working on full throttle, getting into mouth, nose and eyes.

Heart sank in Desa's chest. It seemed that they missed. He wasn't even satisfied, when the jeep was torn apart. Only the chassis was left, the rest vanished.

"Good job."he heard a praise in his headphones.

He didn't think long about it, because here was a machine gun nest located in a basement of one of the houses. By looking at it, it was the famed Browning M37 machine gun, pretty deadly when used right.

"Marius got hit."Another message filled him with fear.

How could this be, they were driving with them. It was Desa's Teferon-G1 that took all the fire on itself. They'll figure it out later.

"Pillbox 1 to the left."
"Ready."
"Hit it!"
It seemed as if the building exploded from the inside. Giant blocks of rubble started flying in the air. The view was amazing. They passed by the ruin and left the urban area. Further, there were only fields.

"Driver, to the right."They will flank the fuckers from behind. Don't let them think it's the end.

They were shaken strongly.

"Slower."They had to search for targets to eliminate, at the same time looking out for their own infantry, which started sweeping enemy manpower from the village."Stop!"He didn't know if it was reasonable, but only that way he could find the firing positions. Viper 2 and 4 took positions next to him. Viper 2...The sight of burning Teferon shook him to his very core.

Marius' body hung out the commander's hatch. Poor guy didn't even leave the vehicle, he was mowed down by a series from UTDF's MG. Smoke was rising above the tank. It wasn't thick, more like the one that comes from a small fire.

Desa moaned. He expected losses, but really, sergeant Marius? Old veteran, who served back in Saderan Empire, one of the first tank commanders of SoS, unreachable role model of a tank commander? He didn't fight long. Actually, he didn't even fire once. Well, they'd have to avenge him.

A shape of low-profile armored vehicle appeared in his view. He was about to give an order, when he realized that it was one of those he was supposed to protect.

The gunner fired from the coaxial machine gun mounted next to the gun; only singular points were still defending. They gained advantage, what didn't mean this was the end.

Desa thanked Emloy. If enemy tanks were in the area, there would be nothing left to gather from his pathetic platoon. And what kind of idea was that, to push BP-07s into the frontlines? He knew SoS was doing it from the start, but the vehicle was designed as a scout and patrol vehicle. It's armor was too thin to withstand being hit with anything above machine gun ammo. It was great for police and MP, to get the officers where populace would resist.

This Erecan armored car saw it's debut during the Haska Rebellion. Haskan forces used them pretty often, but not well.

Was it that bad? Where were the Mastiff infantry chariots? Did they lose them all?

Maybe not. Probably they wanted to save the APCs for urban fighting in Leender. If so, then they expected resistance, what of course led to another conclusion, a really unpleasant one: there will be a lot of casualties. They will get into street fighting. Or maybe they will besiege the city, trying to starve the enemy out?

He left the strategy to the staff, for now, he had to focus on clearing this part of the frontline.

September 5

01:41

Hills East of Leender, Soutlandian C.Z.

What the hell was going on out there? A fierce fighting was taking place to their East. To see anything, one had to make it through an extensive valley and climb a hill on the opposite side.

The sight before his eyes didn't really fill him with optimism. Tactical group tasked with taking Hill 87 was engaged in combat with UTDF's slowing unit. Some tank was destroyed in the middle of the spread out homes and farms. Do these morons don't get the fact that time was of the essence?

He stopped taking care of what was happening in the settlement and turned his helmet towards the point marked as Hill 87 and activated zoom in his helmet. Immediately the HUD zoomed there.

From the place they were at, Remus saw everything perfectly. By hill, they probably meant the flat bulge, not the ridge over it. Small, gray dot of a dropship circled around the whole area. UTDF Skyhawk was barely visible on the background of storm clouds. Marcus sneezed, blew his nose and returned to observation.

As he calculated, they had one league to the hill. Nothing really, but in the open and under surveillance. At least some of the distance could be made under the protection of a brick wall. After that was only an empty field.

He won't be stocking up worry. They started moving one jump at a time, from one cover to another.

Remus found it hard to breath. He gasped, groaned and cursed the military, war and himself. He felt piercing cold. His underwear was getting filled with sweat, just a little more and he'll burn his…

"Stop!"He stopped his men just in time.

If not his sixth sense, he wouldn't spot the recently violated ground. Clever bastards. They just entered a minefield, one wrong step and a jumping mine would tear off his genitals and maybe even leg.

The squad gathered behind him like a scared herd of chicks.

"Back."

They won't get through here. There was no way. They started to backtrack their own steps in opposite direction.

If they couldn't go through the shortcut, they would go around. They had to hurry. Fire exchange coming from the direction of the settlement came silent. Forces of the reinforced cohort would appear soon and he still had no idea, what was this Gods forsaken hill hiding.

September 5

02:56

East of Leender, Soutlandian C.Z.

The major in charge of the infantry seemed furious. Two dead and eleven wounded, together it made eleven soldiers that died and left the cohort's ranks since the start of the war. Also, one tank, making it one barrel less, and they had no clue what was waiting for them.

Several grim defenders, without their gear, and with hands above their heads, were led to the back.

It was few minutes before three in the morning. They dispersed to their vehicles, the task still had to be done.

This time, they moved more carefully. The march seemed like a nightmare. He expected an attack from any direction.

The calmness lasted until they found themselves under heavy fire coming from the direction of a forest at the feet of the hill. They had to quell it before lightly armored BP-07s would find themselves in range.

"Viper 1, we're going East. Platoon, follow me."

A treeline with flashes from firearms was an easy target.

"Disper."Desa ordered.

"In."

He searched for an appropriate place to hit. He zoomed in. He saw the UTDF soldiers sneaking between the trees. Finally he spotted a part of the trench and a heavy machine gun position shielded with sandbags.

"Hit it!"
"On the way!"

Perfect. He'll kill all the enemies. Someone had to avenge sergeant Marius.

September 5

03:10

Hills East of Leender, Soutlandian C.Z.

What was that dickhead doing? Blood boiled in sergeant Remus' veins. These morons were pushing through a minefield, allowing themselves to be pulled into another trap. Something bad will happen soon.

There it goes…

Mine exploded under one of Teferon-G1s, destroying it's thread and making it spin and show it's side to the UTs. The thread was torn apart and beyond repair.

He reached for the radio mounted on his left arm. He already set it up on appropriate frequency. He just hoped that these bastards didn't decide to jam communications.

"Setra Vada Teron."

September 5

03:19

East of Leender, Soutlandian C.Z.

Some voice broke through white noise and creaks and it certainly didn't belong to the infantry major. Who else could get on their frequency?

"Viper 1."he said with a dose of uncertainty.

"Setra Vada Teron here, you just drove into a minefield."
Whole life flew in front of second lieutenant Xanderus Desa's eyes. He allowed himself to be fooled again.
"Stop!"he exclaimed.

Driver slowed down.
"Stop I said!"

Such a maneuver in the middle of battlefield was equal to death. No matter what they do, they lost already. Only now did he notice that Viper 4 was a sad memory. Viper 3 also ceased moving. Going forward equaled going into embrace of death. The driver shifted the gear to reverse, but even half a minute didn't pass before they drove onto a hidden explosive. This time, explosion was pretty spectacular. Fire covered the Teferon-G1. Nobody left the inside of the vehicle. Finally, ammo and fuel detonated.

What have I done?
"Setra Vada Teron, can you lead us out of here?"

"No."The answer was short and direct.

Desa fell into black despair. He acted like an idiot from very start. He got a responsible task to do and he screwed it all up big time. UTs turned out to be more cunning than he expected. He was immobilized. All they needed was one AT missile launcher operator and they would be done for.

September 5

03:24

SoS back lines, Soutlandian C.Z.

Call for help reached major Octavian Semina at the moment when he was preparing for the final charge. Leender was almost there, in their reach. One precise and powerful strike would press the UTs against the sea. They were already grinding through this for four months. The whole war should have ended within the first one, it had no rights to last this long. Nobody could seriously think about resiting the power they represented. And right now, when he was about to decide the fate of this ordeal with a precise assault, everything started falling apart.

Some idiot tasked with taking over a hill overlooking one of the main roads leading into the city not only failed to do his task, but additionally was stuck in the middle of a minefield. Sad duty of fixing other people's mistakes fell on his shoulders.

This also meant reorganizing the offensive. Well. When life gives you dry fruits…

He used his radio to get information about how the situation looks from Viper 1's perspective. It was worse than he thought: one last remaining tank and three infantry centuries were stopped by enemy fire. If they get blown up, the staff might move the offensive to another day and all of major's plans will go to the Underworld.

The Blitzkrieg was slowly turning into a trench warfare, what seemed like an ominous memento. Carefully designed strategy got screwed over. Where were these great maneuvers that had to smash the enemy?

Semina didn't think the UTs managed to create a single ring of fortifications around the city, surrounding it from all sides, more like fire points aimed at discouraging from attack. Such a point seemed to be on Hill 87. If they bit into the ground hard, it will be equally hard to throw them out of there.

The more he thought about how to deal with the problem, the more unappealing results he came up with. He only commanded a recon cohort, already weakened after months of fighting.

He looked through casualties lists daily: wounded, burned, dead and lost. He trained them, trying to hammer rules allowing them to survive on the battlefield and they still thought this was some kind of wargame or a many adventure.

Like shit it was.

Didn't paying attention to the falling rain, he sat in the open hatch of his Leonidas-21. Every so often, he wiped the annoying wetness from his eyes. Another storm seemed to approach from the East.

He focused on the hill. He could hear the muffled sound of machine gun cannonade and tank plasma gun. First BP-07s came into view. The area was covered by smoke and fog.

Two Teferon-G1s were burning, one was standing in the middle of the field. Anyone trying to come with help died. It happened to the sappers trying to de-mine the area. Snipers took them out with no problem.

UTs didn't even have to try much. Everyone was in perfect clear. They didn't smash Desa's vehicle only because they didn't want to for now.

Semina stopped his tanks on the road and could see the whole area from there. The situation seemed completely sucked. It was like on a shooting range. It was a job for artillery, not the tanks.

He gave the coordinates. Symphony of death started two minutes later. The 175mm howitzer shells were plowing the field better than a plow. The forest UTs were hiding in literally exploded; entire tree trunks were flying. Infantry, unprepared for what was happening, was quickly hiding their faces in the ground. It was like driving a construction pile driver and a roller coaster at the same time.

They lost precious minutes for no reason. They should've done it from the start. Pleased, he was already ready to give order to continue forward, when the vehicle shook. The BP-07 standing next to the exploded. This time, they were under the fire of UTs' guns.

"Move!"
It was easier said than done. The view was covered by masses of swirling dust. In all this confusion, they hit a personnel carrier unfortunately parked on the foothill. Were these people's screams that broke through all the noise?
"Floor it!"he hurried the driver. Rocks and fragments hit the sides of the vehicle.

160mm shell was one hell of a shell. If it hits the thinner, upper armor, they'll become a fuel for metallurgical furnace.

They jumped up on a small earth bulge. Pillars of fire grew out nearly everywhere they looked. Major didn't expect such a concentration of fire means. UTs brought everything for defense and as it turned out, they had a lot of it. They even tried to counterattack a few days ago. They were stopped then. How will it go now, was up to them.

They finally go through the steel curtain. The rest of the duel will be fought by the artillery crews in the counter battery fire. The more fitter one will come out on top. Radars quickly located the places enemy guns were placed. UTs will be pressed into the ground before they could change positions, or they will rain shells on SoS artillery crews earlier.

The road turned slightly left, passing by the unfortunate hill from the West. He even spotted an information sign: 'Leender 12km'.

September 5

03:51

Hills East of Leender, Soutlandian C.Z.

Using the chaos, sergeant Marcus Remus snuck up on the copse, or rather what was left of it after a sudden artillery barrage. He wasn't fully certain if he wouldn't get hit with a friendly fire, but what he saw made him sure, that another round was not needed.

Only a few salvos were needed so everything seemed as if it was mixed in a giant mill. People, weapons, tree parts were thrown around the area. Stench of burning bodies was mixing with the smell of materials set on fire by detonations.

Remus swallowed seeing a corpse torn in half. Arms and torso stayed. Head as well. Both legs were missing. Somewhere else, a Shakayan head in helmet with wide open eyes. One could go gray in a minute. He climbed higher. Everywhere was the same. As it seemed, none of the UT defenders survived.

Swirling fog covered the hill with inscrutable cloud. Sound of autocannon was coming from the side, spewing fire with a characteristic sound.

"Setra Vada Teron…"

His only response was a white noise in the radio. Nobody replied. The ash he stood on burned his feet.

"Setra Vada Teron."And again, only echo responded.

The smog was so thick he had problems breathing. He has to leave this damn hill before he faints for good.

He was already preparing to leave, when in the gap between the ribbons of fog, he spotted southern suburbs of Leender. He saw only a small part of the area, but it was enough to see the angular shapes of UTs' tanks leaving their safe covers. There were tens of them. It seemed as if every tank UTDF had left was gathered here.

They stopped them for long enough. The intelligence said, that enemy possessed only a limited number of heavy equipment on this part of the frontline. That everything left from 10th Armored Brigade could be counted on one hand.

As always, someone screwed up.

The one who will come to face the fresh reinforcements, will have a tough nut to crack.

September 5

04:04

East of Leender, Soutlandian C.Z.

Major Octavian Semina felt the inflow of panic. He counted nearly four centuries of tanks in front of him. It was true that, the crews were already battered and most likely drained after months of fighting and took severe losses, but it still was surprising to see that many of them.

However, they will be fighting to protect Leender till their last breath. Well, they should've seen it coming.

"…Vada…"Someone tried to contact him, but the he barely heard them. Jamming was much better than expected.

"Tank, 12 o'clock."

The gun grunted starting the fight. With eyes glued to the periscope, he observed the field. It was crawling with enemy tanks. A cohort worth, or more. One hit. Flash and then a gray smoek appeared over it. Soon he noticed an another eliminated UTDF tank.

He may have sat in a pretty advanced vehicle, but when fighting against equally advanced enemy, things were not as great as one could think.

The elation vanished, when they started to get hit as well. Artillery started it's cannonade again after a short break. The view blurred among the explosions and fires covering the whole battlefield in smoke. The fighting was taking place all across the frontline.

Octavian remembered an event from a few days ago. He won't deal with them all by himself. If he won't receive any support soon, he'll be forced to fall back.

"We're running out of ammo."

That wasn't what he wanted to hear. He couldn't see almost anything in the night vision. They ended up too close to the enemy, losing the advantage of higher caliber guns.

The world became a chain of repeating activities He located targets, gave orders and destroyed enemy vehicles, trying not to get absorbed by chaos.

Never before in his life did he take part in something equally terrifying. He eliminated a whole bunch of UTDF tanks and enemy still didn't let go. People running by made him frown from surprise, it wasn't the place for infantry. Only after a second did he realize these were not infantry, but crews of destroyed vehicles that didn't fry alive. Many of them still bit back, firing SMGs at Sons which suffered the same fate.

He contacted a cohort of howitzers to tell them to shorten the firing distance and move it more to the West.

He couldn't understand it, but he lost eight tanks already, as well as all Mastiffs with AT launchers. If another wave of UTDF tanks appeared out of this smoke, they would be unable to stop them.

At one point, enemy resistance started to get weaker. Fire from the guns and personal weapons wasn't as thick as before. He, on the other hand, did a job meant for someone else. He tied armored brigade with fighting, but wasn't able to penetrate enemy lines.

With the number of shells he had left, he could still fire a few more times and that would be it. He had the order to retreat on the tip of his tongue, when UTs let go. Octavian couldn't comprehend it, but that was how it happened.

A steel wall burned in front of him. Around forty to fifty tanks burned in front of him, forming almost unbreakable barrier. Already cloudy day turned almost nigh dark. A fat, thick sooth fell onto everything.

An occasion for chase appeared. He was fighting his thoughts.
"Forward."

He decided, that it was worth it, even at the price of more casualties.

XXX

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