Rising from the Embers of Sera

by thehappy

The people of Sera rebuild, spreading to the stars. Wars will be waged. Peace will be sought. The Coalition has risen from the ashes to take their right to exist in the galaxy. They will survive...no matter the cost.

13. Chapter Twelve: Ash and Steel

Well, here I am with another chapter! Nothing much to report except that the war should be tied up in 2-3 chapters including this one. Aside from that, I hope everybody enjoys reading!

Chapter 12: Ash and Steel

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Earth, Vienna. 2161 A.D. May 3rd (423. A.E. 1st of Thaw)

Crowds of protesters marched with picket signs beyond the gates of parliament, their shouts and cries echoing along the street as news reporters, onlookers and police watched for trouble. So far they were peacefully protesting as was their right, but all it would take is one to turn the protest into a riot.

"END THE WAR! END THE WAR!"

Their desire was clear, matching several groups that had unified in protest among several major cities across Earth.

Ever since the casualty numbers had been released from the disastrous invasion of Vio'shelek, anti war sentiment had increased dramatically.

Looking down at the several hundred strong picketers, Prime Minister Molotov could understand their frustrations and anger. Holding a small glass of vodka from her native homeland, the fifty three year old woman tossed it back, her guilt palpable.

Of course she had made a statement to the public, trying to explain why they were fighting and for many of the states of the alliance, it did smooth things over. But some only saw the losses or dead family and loved ones.

"They just don't understand, do they?" Svetlana said out loud, her feminine voice carrying through the office as sunlight poured through the windows. Rolling hills lead to the distant alps, but she couldn't see them from her position, the distance to great.

"Can't really blame them. As a species, our people haven't suffered such casualties since the world wars. It's shocking to the system and hard for the average citizen to understand such losses" Bashir Yaqquid interjected, the director of Civilian Safety and Rights sitting in a plushy chair across from the large desk and the Prime Minister.

"Still. Half a fleet destroyed or crippled. Another thirty thousand estimated dead among infantry forces. We're looking at eighty to eighty five thousand casualties for nothing! Nothing but retreat and loss!" Anger rising, she poured herself another drink as her anger swelled.

"Not entirely. I've been in contact with Ambassador Kojima and Almstead. While the retreat was unfavorable to all involved, the Serans were impressed with Admiral Hood's resolve during the battle. And it did allow the COG to launch a second invasion against another target world, further weakening the enemy. While I'm sure they won't admit it, but our efforts did contribute to hastening the opening of a second planetary invasion. We have to remember, which was stated by the Chairman herself that the Coalition was in full retreat for nearly half a year before they mustered costly, terrible victories. They are impressed the council forces managed to extract as much as we did considering the Toads pulled a fast one on everybody"

Molotov sighed, taking a sip of the vodka in crystalline glass. "Everybody thought they were on the ropes, and they managed to sneak behind even the might of the Turians and wreak havoc while launching daily naval attacks. Those Caliphate bastards really surprised everybody"

Bashir gave an understanding nod, the swarthy man enjoying a chilled glass of brandy himself. "Obviously the Council isn't going to let this loss deter them. They're starting to assemble a massive combined fleet to continue the war. At least five Turian fleets, another three from the Asari and another full fleet from the Salarians, but it will take time implementing the upgrades for increased light year range. Estimates say three to five months" He added.

Molotov looked down at the war protesters, their chants diminished by the window and distance to the ground. "Folding now would only prove to the Serans, and the galaxy as a whole that we have no resolve. As much as I hate it, we must provide all the force we can muster to bring these religious fanatics to their knees"

"That's the majority assessment among the cabinet and military. Quitting now would be disastrous from a political standpoint. Any respect the Turians or Serans have for us would be gone. We'd become the laughing stock of the galaxy"

Svetlana set her glass down, the clear liquid clinking among ice cubes. "Can we even muster any forces? We share a long border with the Batarians and we can't just pull all our naval assets from patrols. That's just asking for pirate raids despite the treaty"

"You'd have to ask the naval heads about that. Although with the new engines, we will become a more versatile military from what I understand"

Molotov scoffed. "Yeah. Us and everybody else just got a nice level playing field. And yet the Cog still has the edge with slipspace drives"

"Can't really blame them for withholding that technology considering how badly first contact went for them and their history. Besides, its not hard to reason that everybody is working on those drives anyway"

"You know I can't confirm nor deny that"

Bashir shrugged, knowing he was right. Ever since the first readings of those spatial fissures were taken by council forces, it was assumed that every species had begun work on developing that slipspace drive for themselves.

Dismissing the topic, Molotov looked back out the window, her eyes studying the throng of protesters still chanting to end the war. "So, what can I do about them?"

"Right now, nothing. They haven't rioted or attacked anybody. No public damage from the reports I've received…aside from a few littering citations. If they become violent, then the police can deal with them, but until then, they have the right to peaceful protest anything"

Molotov sighed, knowing that continuing the war would most likely lead to riots. But if she folded now, the System Alliance would suffer for it despite the terrible losses.

In the end, there really was no choice. The Terrans would continue the war despite the recent setbacks.

Le'hak 423. A.E. 16th of Thaw

Ash swirled and danced, a flowing ebb of charred war that fluttered on the chilled wind coming from the northern reaches of the second continent. It bit like knives, adding to the hellscape of this desolate city.

Charred pillars of Klor'vians stood in horror among the heat blasted ruins, their arms outstretched to the sky as their ashen remains stood frozen among the cracked pavement of gridlocked roadways. Younglings were covered by the frozen forms of their parents, the ash choking the air around them as they huddled in their last moments. Looks of horror were etched among them all, a visual realization that death was coming. Twisted expressions of fear and sorrow were rampant among the pillars of ash, some trying to flee on foot before the Hammer of Dawn strike had pulsed out from the city center, burning everything in a reminiscent char of the Seran homeworld.

Burnt vehicles lined the roadway, the metalwork blasted by heat and covered with gray ashes. Some still held the trapped occupants, the aliens frozen in their last moments as crumbling rubble of fallen structures shot toward the sky like broken teeth.

The city center was even worse, the towering structures of buildings falling into the crater caused by orbital fire. Some leaned precariously, their steel melted by the heat as crumbling roadways littered with vehicles created a hellish gridlock among the ashen dead.

Gears of the 6th company, 17th Battalion pushed into the ashen city of corpses, securing part of the eastern front for the 9th Tri-Ostrian Rifles. Further East among the crumbling ruins and billows of falling ash was the 2nd C.A.G. the mixed unit fully reinforced and rested.

Sergeant Lea Kaliso crouched low, her newest squad spread out among the flash burned vehicles and frozen bodies.

A tracer flew past her, cutting through a dead civilian in mid stride to be quickly followed by more green tinted tracers burrowing through the floating remnants that billowed on the chilled wind.

Somebody screamed to the far left of her position, not that Lea could do anything about it as the gunfire picked up against her company.

"Stay low and don't bunch up!" She bellowed out as a ripping scythe of rounds poured outward from the haze. The tacking tracers cut through two more Gears of a different squad, the men spilling to the broken pavement like ragdolls.

Cutting to her right, Lea smashed through an ashen corpse, the vile concoction of remains breaking against her cheeks and hair like a fine dust. Sliding into cover behind the rear end of a ground vehicle, the rampant rifle and machine gun fire snapped and screamed off of metal, flinging with errant destinations before snapping to either side of the narrow street.

Pointing along the pulverized road, the ground transport was most likely a family car, the remnants inside a frozen dust pillar that was quickly ripped apart by a fresh fusillade through the missing windscreen.

"Tallin! Gretoski! Help me push this wreck!"

A screaming furrow of a round spit past the trunk, adding to the situation as the hidden machine gunner kept up a stream of bursts.

"Got it, Sarge!" one of the helmeted men shouted under the constant fusillade that seemed to erupt around them. Pushing against the wreck, the three Gears began to push it along the ashen choked road, the wheels a ripped wobble of rubber and bare rims.

The Toad gunner must have seen them, because the ripping sound of cloth erupted like a fresh fire, slamming into the engine block while cutting down more of the ashen corpses like a scythe.

Grunting with exertion as bullets snapped past, Lea was jarred as the car suddenly crashed into something, preventing any further advancement.

Peering around the rear end of her temporary cover, the wreck had been pushed into the circular wall of a fountain in the middle of a round-a-bout, not that the near total damage made it recognizable.

"Into that fountain!" Lea yelled out, the woman surging low and fast. Practically tumbling into the dry pool and several charred aliens, Kaliso almost choked on fresh ash while scrambling toward the northern wall.

"Sarge! That row of houses!" Tallin indicated with a nod of his head, the Gear staying low as more ripping tracers flew above their heads.

Lea took a quick peak, her eyes studying the enemy held position before hiding below the rim of concrete. A few rounds crashed into the fountain wall, splintering chips as supporting rifle fire kept their heads down.

In terms of fortifications, it wasn't much. Just a few half burnt homes that were acting as a machine gun nest with supporting troops. Unfortunately, that nest had a complete visual of the circular intersection and south bound road. A fact quickly reinforced as several cracks of rifle fire snapped out at other Gears of her squad.

Gunfire erupted to the east, another contact between the C.A.G. and other Toads fighting in the ruins of this dead city. A few crumping explosions and howls meant plasma mortars, which thankfully, Lea didn't have to deal with at the moment.

Taking a rapid tally of her squad, Kaliso spotted her lance team huddled behind the crumbling walls of a building to the left, the snapping bullets of the enemy cracking over their heads or sparking off the abandoned wrecks that clogged the circular intersection.

"Corporal Hannor! Get a lance into that Toad nest!" Lea shouted over the cracks of gunfire. Popping up, she unleashed a small burst from her rifle, the rounds impacting to the left of the caved in front room of the closest home. Ducking down, rounds split the air above her, a scything reap of bullets cutting the ash choked air.

A flash of light burned in a blink, the thermic lance team hitting the machine gun nest hidden inside the ruined home. A few alien screams erupted from the interior along with splashes of errant shards that burned with extreme heat. Fire billowed, an eating furnace of hate that quickly began to consume the ruins.

"With me! Clear em out!" Leaping over the cracked wall of the fountain, Lea surged low and fast with her squad as Toad rifle fire continued to pop and rip through the frozen pillars of the dead. Several bullets cracked past her head, a brush with death that made her insides bunch up. Reaching the burning home, Lea ran up the small pile of rubble into the living room.

Three Toad bodies were ripped apart near the machine gun, their entrails a splatter as fire consumed all.

"Vermin!" An armored alien screamed out, the being rushing through a broken wall to her right. It was un-helmeted, the yellow eyes and sickly green scales covered with ash and grime. Raising its Lancer, the teeth began to churn as Lea quickly did the same.

"Eat shit and die!" The sergeant screamed out as the chainsaw bayonets met in a hail of sparks and screaming teeth. Planting her feet, Lea leaned forward as hate and rage coursed through her veins, her muscles tense. Pushing through as the Toad realized in a brief moment it had lost, Lea cut through the shoulder armor and neck muscle. Sparks screamed as the armor was rendered, then green blood sprayed outward as the Klor'vian died a horrid death.

Gore dripped down her chin and breast plate, a slick ichor that quickly turned a disgusting gray as more ash seemed to choke the area. Stepping through the spilled chunks of the corpse, Lea took cover at the gaping hole in the home's living room, the brick and rubble a spillage that led to the next home. Leaning out, she quickly pulled herself back as several bullets smashed the outer edges of the hole, a ripping of rounds that made her pause.

Private Tallin took the other side of the gaping maw, the Gear quickly throwing a frag grenade.

It blew, the blast of shrapnel and noise a thunderclap that ripped through two aliens, one of them an obvious female by the shriek coming from beyond. Tallin swung into the open, immediately executing the duo of wounded splayed in the ruined hallway.

A stairwell led to the second floor of the home, the stairs themselves coated with dust and ash before sharply turning out of view. But the enemy gunfire from the living room beyond was the primary concern, the second rate troops firing from whatever cover they could find.

Lea remained in the first house, firing into the second as her squad started to fan out. "Tallin! Take some Gears and work your way around to flank them! We'll keep these fuckers busy!" Kaliso screamed to the man as more tracers erupted in the exchange.

Nodding, the man rushed back toward the street, taking a handful of soldiers with him as the hardened vet continued to lay down short bursts. Another Gear, Private Hargrave rushed up behind her, the man gripping a scorcher with his gloved hands.

"Only through sacrifice will Klorta see us victorious against your feeble kind!" An alien shouted before firing an older bolt action rifle, the bullet tearing through the opening to smash against a Seran. Grunting in pain, the man barely managed to crawl behind a ruined piece of furniture.

"Dammit Faulk! Don't move in the open!" Lea shouted out as the aliens continued to fire with rapidity. Blindfiring around the edge of the gaping hole in the wall, she knew it was pointless as the Toads maintained a heavy fire.

A fresh fragmentation burst suddenly ripped into the aliens beyond, along with stuttering reports of rifle fire. Screams of agony and torment were quickly silenced by more gunshots, the tiny alien squad suddenly wiped out.

Peering around her pockmarked cover, Lea saw all were down in the next room, with only one still clinging to life. Marching forward, she crushed its head under foot, a squelching burst of gore and brain matter while the dull roar of war wracked the city around them.

"Some of you secure the upper floor" Pausing as a nearby explosion vibrated the structure, spilling more dust onto them all, Kaliso soon found herself back outside, the nearby intersection a haunted hellscape. Glancing Eastward, the row of homes were heavily charred, nothing but broken walls and burnt visages filled with the ashen dead.

Explosions of green flashed from a block away, the crumping noise mixed with howls and torment.

"This is Captain Mumi of Second Company! Toad plasma mortars are really chewing us up! Any nearby units please assist if possible!"

"Shit" Hearing the frantic comms, another rumble of mortars seemed to spew hate as the ground vibrated, the rubble almost dancing with each nearby burst. "Captain Galwich, this is Kaliso of third squad. Toad mortars are tearing apart some C.A.G. units nearby. Permission to assist?" Lea spoke into her comms as another low level flash illuminated the ashen filled sky.

"Granted. Eliminate all targets then hold position"

"You heard the captain! Time to kill us some fucking Toads!" Lea shouted as she moved along the broken walls of the housing row. Pillars of alien dead were avoided, the men and women quickly cutting between a narrow opening to the alleyway beyond the homes….not that it was any better.

The pavement was bowing downward, cracked and almost glassed from heat while Sergeant Kaliso lead her squad through the graveyard of ash.

"Like the old history videos from the locust war…that's what this feels like" Regripping her lancer as she sank to one knee behind some burned out wreck blocking half the alleyway, Kaliso was always looking for movement, but the swirling ashes made spotting potential ambushes a problem.

Rumbles and green flashed meant more falling plasma mortars, spurning the Serans into movement as they advanced down the alleyway.

Gunfire ripped through several dead Klor'vians, spilling their ashen remains among the charred concrete. A gear grunted, his armor stopping an errant round before taking cover nearby.

Kaliso dove into the remnants of a collapsed home nearby, crashing through another pillar of ash as rifle fire raged among the alley-way. A mixture of burst fire and the slower bolt action, tracers and lead ripped through the cold air.

"It's coming from that building at the end of the alley! Work your way through the block!" Kaliso yelled out as she crouched behind a ruined appliance in a kitchen. The exterior wall was basically gone, a crumbled ruin while alien dead cowered nearby. Moving from cover, she sprinted to the next wall as movement further ahead made her stomach churn. Sliding behind a brick wall that once supported the home, several bullets smashed against the material while Toad militia moved forward. Popping up, she fired a burst at one, causing an agonized scream as the alien fell in the open among the ruins. Ducking back as rifle fire flashed back and forth between the warring species, Lea pulled a grenade from her belt.

"Frag out!"

Throwing it toward the estimated location of two aliens, she didn't wait to see before taking cover once more.

A blast of noise and shrapnel ripped through the shattered ruins of this alien neighborhood, a small mixture that added to the unending mortar bombardment a few streets away.

Breaking cover as a few rifle rounds punched into a nearby fallen beam, Lea moved through the former rooms of these homes. Coming upon a wounded militia soldier crawling away in a feeble attempt, Lea crushed its head underfoot, a sickening crunch of bone and brain.

Taking a fresh place of cover behind a broken wall, Sergeant Kaliso felt a small sense of relief as Private Diller and Corporal Hannor rushed up with his loader, the gears covered with a fine sheet of ash. Rifle fire smashed against the low wall, pitting into the ruined brickwork as several more Toads fired from cover. One tossed a grenade, the orb a sickly green before landing short of their position.

A burst of flinging plasma roiled through the living room, burning away some destroyed furniture.

"Get some lances into that fucking apartment complex at the end of the alley! Bring it down if you have too! Diller! Help me clear these assholes out!"

"Got is Sarge!" The man shouted as he popped up to fire at some of the aliens daring to move forward. One gurgled, two rounds punching through the green tinted helmet at the jawline. Dropping back down, five more of the enemy continued to fire.

Corporal Hannor hefted the larger weapon on his shoulder, the large Gear working from another wall of ruin at the corner of the home. A shattered mixture of brick, glass and spilled material, the male had an excellent line of sight. A quick tap on his shoulder by Private Jirez meant he was ready to fire, so he did.

The lance of light pulsed through the flowing ash, the projectile striking one of the exterior walls of the half collapsed apartment at the end of the alleyway. Brick and dust exploded outwards from the closest wall along with a few alien bodies that burned during the fall.

"AGAIN!" Kaliso shot out before popping up and firing at a Toad, the bullets only staggering the fanatic before he disappeared behind cover.

A second thermic lance soon pulsed toward the apartment, striking further inside the structure as heat and flecks of thermite bloomed outward among howls of alien torment.

The remaining Toads began to fall back, firing while retreating toward the ruined strongpoint.

"Don't let them regroup!" Lea yelled over the crump of falling mortars and encompassing combat that raged through the ruins. Firing into the back of a second rate militia soldier, the alien screamed as the rounds ruined his spine. Trying to crawl, he was quickly shot dead by the combat veteran as the squad moved forward.

Three armored Toads shot across the narrow road, the Serans cutting them down without mercy among the spinning ashes.

"Find that mortar nest and clear it!" Running across the narrow road past the fresh dead, the apartment burned ferociously while choking the air with black plumes of smoke and embers. As if to remind her, the crumping explosions wracked the pavement, the green glow bursting behind the Gears as the Toads no doubt shifted fire.

Rushing down a narrow alleyway strewn with debris and trash, the eating blaze nearby heated her face as the apartment inferno raged. Coming to the end, Lea rushed through another ashen pillar of a dead Klor'vian, the dust spilling into her hair. The collapsed ruins of another structure gaped toward the sky, the building gutted as she slid up to the crumbled supporting wall.

Machine gun fire ripped through the air nearby, but it was dulled as the Toads engaged the C.A.G. company trying to push forward from the south. Bursts of rifle fire and alien grunts added to the shouting as the enemy did all they could to halt the Coalition.

Peering into the former lobby of yet another apartment building, it was essentially a gutted lot of collapsed floors and ruin that had fallen into the basement. A Toad mortar detachment had set up, six of the weapons easily visible as they loaded and fired. Several more aliens appeared from a ruined opening in the far corner, the darkness leading underground to a presumable safe zone or supply depot in the sewers.

The crumping burst of noise meant another plasma burst could kill or maim as the enemy constantly reloaded and made ready to fire once more.

Sergeant Kaliso looked around her, finding three Gears of her squad missing as the rest crouched out of sight. Presumed dead, she really had no time to deal with the fallen. Knowing what needed to be done, the Gears found a position at the wall, waiting for a few brief moments as the enemy continued to load and fire the plasma mortars that spit death and destruction with each passing moment.

Errant rifle fire smashed into the low wall, a cascade of bullets that chipped away at the material.

"They know we're here! Hannor! Get to work!" Sergeant Kaliso roared out as enemy soldiers scrambled to shift defenses against the Gears. Aliens took refuge among the far wall of the structure, hidden among the rubble and ruin while ash billowed and shifted with flecks of falling snow. Tracers flew across the gutted buildings length, a deafening roar of conflict as the mortar teams began to pack up.

A searing lance of light erupted from Corporal Hannor's launcher, the thermic charge splashing among two of the mortar teams. Bodies were ripped apart and tossed, the shards of heat burning through armor and flesh with a horrific ease. Screams erupted among the chattering exchange of gunfire, two of the wounded Toads clinging to life as their bodies burned from the splash damage.

Lea popped up, firing into the back of an alien helping to carry a crate of plasma mortar shells, their haste to the subterranean sanctuary apparent by the yelling. The alien fell, six rounds punching through the plate as green blood blossomed.

Extra rounds spilled out as the other alien lost his balance, only to be ripped apart by another thermic lance splashing among the charred ruins. Another mortar team was vaporized, their internal gore spreading across the cracked brick as the remaining soldiers fell back into the sewer entrance.

"Keep hittin em!" Kaliso roared out as she reloaded, her head low. Bullets continued to fly, the enemy forces doing their best to extract to safety. Popping up, a spray of crimson blood erupted from her left as the head of Private Hascombe exploded from a three round burst, the man slowly crumpling to the ground.

Fighting through the horror of errant brain matter and gore covering her left cheek and chin, Lea shot a retreating Toad in the upper chest with a long burst, the alien dropping from the fatal damage.

A third thermic lance from Corporal Hannor slammed into the collapsed ruin of the mortar pit, spitting shards of heated metal in all directions. Five aliens were cut down along with the ruination of a fourth mortar, adding to the hellish fight as several other enemies were badly wounded.

The Gears cut them down without any sense of mercy as the surviving elements fled underground, hasty to retreat and regroup among their shattered units.

Ripping machine gun fire came from the right, a chattering carnage of rounds that echoed and ripped.

"Clear the rest! Corporal Hannor, take half the squad and secure the surroundings! Rest of you with me!" Shouting due to the sheer volume of noise, the Gears split up, Lea taking half the squad right along the broken wall of this cratered structure.

Coming to a tilted set of stairs that had seen better days, Kaliso peeked around the corner as the chattering machine gun became louder. Nothing tried to kill her, which was surprising. Moving upward, the six Gears with her came to a ruined second floor that presumably had been part of an office. Destroyed desks, spilled supplies and broken walls greeted the Gears as they hastily moved into cover.

Thundering noise came from further into the office block, along with flashes of light as alien shouts rose above the roar of war.

Coming to a gaping hole in the forward wall, Kaliso could see down into the street as Second Company slowly pushed forward under the command of Captain Mumi. Bodies littered the road, many of them chewed to pieces or blown apart as the choking gridlock of vehicles tried to provide some semblance of cover as machine gun rounds continued to rip through the air. Unfortunately, a good one hundred feet of street was devoid of any sizable cover, creating a tiny no-man's land that had been cratered with plasma fire.

No wonder they were having problems.

Moving away from the hole, Lea crouched low among yet another shattered office wall. It was flimsy, nothing more that decoration for the former business. Coming to a support pillar, she stood while giving silent hand signals to her squad.

Three of them moved further into the building, hoping to get a drop on the enemy as they continued to feed death and fire into the stalled company in the desolate streets below.

A machine gun crew was still firing, the two aliens at the shattered wall feeding and loading while a third Toad shouted commands in their native tongue. A second team was further along the length of the building, creating a hellish crossfire that promised to chew up any coming infantry attack.

Gripping a thermite grenade, Lea tossed it into the former office, surprising the officer as he hastily turned. Possibly a low level priest or morale officer due to the painted splendor of his armor, it really didn't matter as the explosive blew, spreading super heated shards into the trio. Green blood and howls erupted, but only for a moment as her squad cut them down.

A spinning howl of a lancer was soon followed by screams and gunfire, then immediate silence as Serans found the office building devoid of enemy forces.

Putting two fingers to her comms, Lea spoke with exhaustion, the woman trying to wipe the dust and horrific viscera from her face. "Hostiles eliminated. Your clear to advance"

"Thanks for the assist, Sergeant. I owe you one"

Letting the communication end, Kaliso took the time to take a sip of water from her canteen as her squad began to set up a defensive perimeter among the shattered ruins. Knowing 6th company would be with them soon and with friendly forces nearby, Lea took the brief moment to try and calm the ebbing fear and adrenaline of combat as the war continued to flow around her.

Le'hak 423. A.E. 28th of Thaw

Sleet and frozen rain poured from the dirty-gray sky, falling on a shattered city scape of ashen corpses, gutted buildings and a nightmarish maze of ruins and half collapsed structures.

While the Klor'vians preferred humid climates and swamp-like landscapes, they could settle in colder areas of planets, which really didn't concern the Coalition in the slightest. Artillery shells blasted believed outposts and strongpoints among the desolation, an unending barrage of steel and hell that glowed among the darkening clouds of evening.

Some enemy troops were killed or maimed, but those that still held this heat-seared graveyard were hardened veterans and knew to stay hidden as the Serans continued to rain down an unending hail of steel

The city center was nothing but a blasted crater, the Hammer of Dawn strike months earlier burning downward past subterranean transport lines.

Still, the fanatical troops only fought harder, doing their best to kill and destroy the vermin invaders that dared to touch one of the sacred worlds of the Caliphate.

Dust rained down upon young Hal'ek, the sixteen year old male clutching the bolt action rifle as the bombardment continued uninterrupted. Looking around, his militia unit was a mixture of males and females, young and old…all with the same look of hatred as more dust rained down in the subway line. Many were checking weapons, ensuring full loads of ammunition as Priest U'lan spoke, his resplendent armor painted with an emerald green.

"Remember my fellow believers! The vermin are weak! They fear our might and our god! Once we push them off this planet with the blessing of Klorta, our glorious fleet will crush them and send them to the polluted pits of hell!" Pausing, he pressed a closed fist to his chest piece near several medals awarded to U'lan by the church.

Another shell impacted the street above, raining more dust down upon the priest as his yellow eyes narrowed, the male insulted. "Remember the might of our god in the coming battle! For Klorta will ensure your victory!"

As if his god proclaimed his blessing, the heavy artillery bombardment seemed to end, baying hundreds of the militia troops into a frenzy of revenge.

"GO MY BROTHERS! FOLLOW ME INTO VICTORY AS OUR FORCES LIBERATE OUR HOME!" Grabbing his lancer rifle, the priest surged up the ashen caked stairwell of the subway line, his words spurning on the mixed unit.

"FOR OUR GOD!" Ha'lek screamed in fanaticism, the young male holding his long rifle as the bayonet gleamed under the freezing sky. Running past several overturned vehicles and over shattered brick, the young male surged into the open to bring war to the vile enemy.

Urdnot Wrex crouched low behind the crumbling wall of the burned out building, one of many that lined the East-West roadway clogged with charred cars and frozen bodies grasping for an uncaring sky. Plasma mortars burst among the dead in a sudden salvo, eating away at ash and rendered vehicles while fresh gunfire began to rip and snap from the darkened ruins to the north.

"Got company! Get ready to fight!" The Krogan yelled with a satisfied grin. Popping out of cover, Wrex laid down a burst toward some shifting shadows, earning a grunt and scream. Some other shapes in the crumbling cityscape went lower, firing as they went. A few nearby Turians and Terrans put down a heavy fusillade of rounds, the noise almost titanic as enemy bullets smashed into the face of one, spilling a blue hued blood in an arc across piles of broken rubble.

"FOR KLORTA!" Toads screamed in a battle cry, the aliens surging across the piles of rubble and through chokepoints. Bullets flew with screams and snapping hatred, maiming a few more around Wrex, but nothing the company couldn't handle as the first machine guns opened up on his flanks. Tracers and flashes of searing light added to the swirling attack through the ash and freezing rain, only to be illuminated by flares arching into the sky.

"No mercy! Kill them all!" Wrex sneered, the frontal attack beyond foolish as Toads began to drop from heavy rifle and machine gun fire that ripped into their ranks.

Fresh Coalition artillery began to fall, the massed attack of infantry in this sector drawing the heavy fire as the gunners to the rear quickly resumed the bombardment. Bursts of shrapnel and steel exploded under the pulsing flares and tracers, ripping apart Toads in the open. Body parts and limbs flew like spreading ichor, the freshly wounded and dying howling as the priests pushed the attack.

"FOR OUR GOD! KILL THE INTRUDERS!" A green armored alien screamed with a shout as a burst ripped three militia troops apart, the shards peppering against an overturned transport. Firing as he went, U'lan felt the lancer shudder and jump in his gloved hands as vermin bullets stabbed the falling sleet and darkness. Running over a pile of shattered brick and debris of a collapsed store holding the cowering remains of his people, U'lan kept up the attack as more artillery ripped and flayed the charge.

Six rounds slammed into his chestpiece, the last three breaking through the armor to shatter his scales and rip through U'lan's lungs like a knife. Falling to one knee, green blood leaked from his lips, pooling at the bottom of his combat helmet. Trying to stand, the priest managed to reload and fire at the enemy line as more falling bombs flayed his followers.

"For..FOR KL—"

A bullet ripped through his head, blowing out his brains across the desolate landscape.

"Heh. Good shot" Wrex complimented the nearby Turian, the avian giving a smug look while working the bolt of his longshot.

"It was easy. Damn fool was lucky enough to get that far!" Private Simdas yelled out as more artillery crumped and fell among the massed charge. A few pockets of Toads still tried to move forward, but machine gun and rifle fire were slaughtering them with horrific ease. Working the bolt of his sniper rifle, the Turian popped up from behind the low wall and fired, claiming another enemy who screamed from the sudden damage fifty yards away.

The fact that they were mostly second rate militia troops with out-dated equipment made the slaughter more horrific, not that the Coalition cared.

The artillery stopped falling, the last explosions bursting among shattered piles of debris and skeletal buildings that billowed with ash and sleet. Soon, a deafening silence overtook the sector, leaving a field of freshly killed aliens among the charred hellscape of this dead city.

Some moaned and cried, trying their best to find salvation, but their pitiful wails fell on deaf ears.

"Second Company, advance. Battalion is moving forward" Captain Mumi ordered over the comms as troops began to shift. "And for fucks sake, don't shoot at the 9th Tri-Ostrians on our left flank"

Wrex grunted, the Krogan heaving himself over the wall as the reduced company moved into the broken and cratered street. Several had taken wounds during the attack, others killed by enemy rifle fire, but nothing that would break the unit.

"Damn fools. Would've done better to wait in the ruins and make us come to them" Wrex muttered as his large boots crunched broken pavement and glass. Hearing an alien groan, he spotted a Toad desperately trying to crawl away. Revving up his lancer, the Krogan plunged the spinning blades into the exposed back of the enemy, causing a flaying of gristle and blood as the dying creature screamed. Gore splashing his boots, Wrex moved onward as a few more executions were carried out.

"Oh god…this is a war crime right? Right?" a freshly arrived Terran tried to reason, the male flinching as some nearby Serans executed a few more of the alien wounded to the farleft flank among some shattered buildings.

"You should know by now that the COG doesn't fuck around with that. These assholes burned and butchered tens of millions of their people. Forgiveness and mercy isn't exactly their top concern" Shooting another wounded Klor'vian as sleet fell harder, Wrex stepped over the corpse as the Gears advanced through the broken neighborhoods and streets.

Blinking lights and tracers stabbed through the falling sleet from a half collapsed office block near the subway entrance a hundred yards north. Exposed steel jutted toward the solemn sky like rotten teeth, the freezing sleet and billowing ash adding to the misery as Klor'vian machine gunners in the ruins opened up on the advancing troops.

Several screams erupted among the line, mostly among green Terrans as the veterans immediately sought cover among broken walls and heat blasted vehicles. Heavy fire interlocked from several positions in the distance, the heavy rounds having claimed a handful of lives as several more wounded cried and moaned where they fell.

"Stay down, dammit!" Captain Mumi yelled from the right, the Asari Captain huddled in the gutted ruins of a structure with no roof. Fresh tracers ripped and stuttered across the hellscape, shattering the charred remains of aliens frozen in death. Sniper rounds pitted the brickwork where the Captain took cover, along with standard rifle fire that smashed into crumbling brickwork and exterior walls.

A younger Krogan tried to take a peek, only to have a heavy sniper round bore though his face, killing the soldier instantly as bone and blood sprayed across the captain.

"Fucks sake!" Wiping some of the excess gore away, she held up a hand to summon a biotic barrier as more cracking rounds snapped and furrowed through the night air. Her company was returning fire, but the next line of enemy troops were smarter this time, deciding to fight from cover. "Corporal Janwitz! Get ready to fire!" Yelling out the order, the young Terran from Earth hefted a thermic lance, the man trying to hide his fear behind the helmet.

A shield of biotic energy rippled outward, instantly drawing the attention of the hated aliens as they concentrated fire on the glowing wall of purplish energy.

Janwitz took a knee in the half collapsed doorway of the current structure, the laser targeting falling upon that distant office block. Firing at the source of their grief, a flash of light pulsed out in a mere blink, blowing into the office structure. Debris and chunks of material flew out from the explosion, silencing one of the machine gunners as the structure started to collapse from the added destruction. With a groan, the building's floors pancaked to the road below, pluming up dust among the swirling char-scape.

Gasping as she released the biotic barrier, Kaga Mumi stayed in cover as the blooming dust cascaded outward. About to give the order to advance, her comms crackled.

"All forward units of the Second C.A.G. Ninth Tri-Ostrians and Twelfth Azuran Rifles maintain position. Incoming naval bombardment for sectors B-seven through B-twelve"

The voice was cold and calculating, devoid of emotion as the warning went out.

"STAY DOWN! INCOMING BOMBARDMENT!" Kaga roared out, the Asari diving upon an uneven pile of rubble behind the wall as nearby troops did the same.

All across the line that cut through the dead city, Coalition troops took whatever cover they could, the naval ships in orbit lending their weight of steel.

MAC rounds from three battlecruisers fired in the next minute, the slugs flying toward the planet at 0.9 percent light speed. Slamming into the northern suburbs of the pulverized city, the blasts waves were like nuclear warheads that spread heat and destruction outward in a pulse of noise and heat.

The shattered remains of the last three Klor'vian regiments in the city were consumed in the orbital fire, the warriors having dug in among the ruins and subterranean transport and sewer tunnels. Barely two hundred would escape death as the waves of fire roasted and burned their comrades among the dead…not that it really mattered.

They would be hunted down and exterminated in the coming days, leaving the Coalition to advance toward the final defensive lines to the North-East of this northern continent. A mass of steep valleys, hills, and low mountains that ended among a craggy, jutting peninsula into the nearby ocean, the bombardment by the fleet on that sector had been continuous and brutal as the night sky lit up with pulsing Hammer of Dawn fire on the horizon.

Le'hak 424 A.E. 3rd of Storm

The final Klor'vian lines were shattered, the unending naval bombardment searing the landscape to an ashen char of dust and smoke. Bunkers had collapsed, burying occupants alive while connecting tunnels became tombs. Interlocking strongpoints of machine gun nests, mortars and snipers had been ravaged by artillery and close in support, but still those that lived fought on as was their creed to their god.

A trio of plasma bursts rocked the shallow, broken trench line that ran along the elevated ridge, spitting shards of deadly material onto a Salarian and Turian. Eating through their armor, the two soldiers screamed as their flesh burned, only to be chopped down by a short burst from an elevated bunker further up the craggy hill.

Hill eight three two was one of the last hold-outs, the Klor'vians within fighting with an unending ferocity and tenacity as surviving mortar crews, machine gun nests and hidden bunkers carved throughout the hill unleashed an unending hell upon the attackers.

"Stay low and follow me!" Sergeant Kaliso shouted out as another ripping machine gun burst cut through the air and into the shallow trench, killing a nearby Terran by basically cutting him in half. More mortars fell, bursting with a green flash as the super heated material maimed and killed. Rocket fire impacted a distant knot of soldiers, ripping apart several further along the hellish landscape.

Rushing forward in a low crouch, Lea couldn't even keep track of where her proper company was anymore. The outcropping of rocks, shattered defensive works and constant enemy fire meant units had mixed together out of sheer necessity for survival. Pressing herself against the left side of the ascending trench, ripping machine gun rounds snapped past, barely missing as the assembled Krogan, Turians and Serans tried to make themselves as small as possible.

Diving to the rocky earth as the trench line ended, the murderous fire whizzed and snapped above her head. Flinging a fragmentation grenade at the opening with a grunt of effort, it burst against the exterior, flinging shrapnel like hail. Firing her lancer while prone, Kaliso knew it would only buy a few moments before the Toad inside recovered.

"VORGE! BURN THAT FUCKER!" Firing the rest of her magazine, Lea hastily reloaded as the Krogan in question surged up, the large scorcher tank on his back filled with napalm.

"Time for a fucking barbeque! Hahaha!" squeezing the trigger, a spurt of napalm shot out of the nozzle to wash over the machine gun nest. Horrific screams came from inside, along with haunting smells of burnt flesh.

"GO! Clear that bunker!" Kaliso shouted as she jumped to her feet and ran full sprint toward the still burning firing slit. A narrow cave was tucked into the side of the rocky hill nearby, low and short. Stooping in a crouch, Lea entered, her fear and senses heightened by the stress of war. Standing up inside, she immediately took cover at the corner while more Gears entered.

"DIE SERAN!" The Klor'vian surged around the corner, his lancer already spinning while dust and grime coated his helmet and armor. Lea didn't even remember flipping the switch on her chainsaw, only that she was already meeting the alien in a duel as sparks as metallic howls screamed between the two.

Private Meldus shot the Toad three times in the flank, the third round punching through the armor as the hostile grunted from the abdominal damage.

Taking the opportunity, Lea yelled, pushing her lancer blades into the shoulder of the creature. Howls of screams and agony bounced through the cavern bunker, along with sprays of greenish blood that coated parts of Lea's chestplate and chin. Kicking the corpse away, she gave a nod to the Turian. "Thanks for the assist"

Incoming gunfire snapped past the little alcove of an entranceway, the ripping rounds loud and thundering in the enclosed space. Popping around the corner, a dozen Toads were advancing, many rushing from cover to cover. Firing at the leader, Kaliso managed to destroy the alien's knee with a burst before the fire became too heavy.

The screams were not a distraction as the woman blindfired around the corner.

"Anybody got a Boomshot!?" Flinching away as several bullets puffed against the corner, Lea was distinctly aware of several cuts as the Toads kept moving forward.

A Seran came forward, his larger frame prominent as he unslung the weapon. "Thermite and frag loadout, Sargeant!"

"Then put some downrange and fuck those assholes up!" Stepping aside, she wiped some of the green blood from her chin as the crumping explosions soon wracked the cavern, shaking dust loose as alien howls and screams came from beyond. Flashes of light and noise thrummed against her senses, the larger Gear firing off his whole ten round cylinder in a bid to kill the enemy squad.

Swinging around, the Gear had done his job as most of the Toads were dead, leaving only two alive.

One gasped while trying to crawl away, pulling out a sidearm and rolling over to fire as his mangled leg pumped emerald blood. The bullet slammed into the central gear symbol of Kaliso's armor, staggering the female like a hammer blow.

"Piece of shit!" Kicking the weapon away in a surge of adrenaline, Lea grabbed his wrist and forearm, planting a boot on his back while pulling. Twisting, the Klor'vian howled as his arm suddenly came free, the sinew and gore green and slick. Tossing the limb away without a care, she took cover in the former machine gun nest that had been firing on them prior.

"Damn, that was messed up" Private Meldus observed, the Turian taking cover with the Sergeant.

"They fucking deserve it" Scowling, Kaliso waved troops forward, the assembled species firing at the enemy further inside the bunker. Pushing forward, flashes of napalm and plasma glowed from further ahead, the frantic shouts and cries of combat mixing in with gunfire and war.

Rushing low and fast to the next piece of cover, Lea shot half a magazine at a group of Toads, keeping their heads down as her mixed squad laid down a heavy fire. Bullets zipped and pinged, some missing, others finding targets. With Meldus at her side as the two took sanctuary behind a heavy, metallic crate on the left, Lea blindfired over the top, using the rest of her magazine as brass fell.

"Won't hit anything like that!" Meldus hollered, his silver eyes taking in the movement of a Toad trying to advance. Leaning around the side, the Turian shot the alien in the helmet, spraying a green paste across the nearby wall.

"The life of Klorta is too good for you vermin masses! Suffer for your arrogance!" A Klor'vian screamed as his comrades covered him by laying down a murderous fire. Leveling his plasma thrower, the toad unleashed a burning wave of green flame that washed through the bunker tunnel, burning and wounding an Asari, two Terrans and a Krogan.

They would live, but the skin grafts and healing would take nearly a year after the war ended.

Lea and Meldus shot the plasma thrower dead, smashing his armor with several well placed rounds that cracked and broke through.

"Time to burn! HAHAHA! BURN! BABY! BURN!" Vorge yelled in battle fury as several of his comrades screamed and howled from the plasma burns. The larger Krogan took several hits to the armor as he unleashed a fresh plume a napalm at the enemy. Washing over several Toads, they screamed with manic howls as the others fell back toward an ascending stairwell.

"Keep hittin' em!"

Rushing low and fast past several charred bodies, Lea kept low while hugging the wall. Stopping at the stairwell, the Seran flinched as bullets cracked past the corner, keeping her at bay.

"Vermin! Your worlds will burn under Klorta's wrath!" a reptilian voice yelled, the vowels a harsh baritone. Several grenades landed at the bottom of the stone-carved steps, prompting Kaliso to turn and dive into a nearby bunkroom.

"GRENADE!"

They exploded with a blast of green, spitting hellish material and shrapnel to rip apart two Terrans, their crimson blood a splatter among the dead as their flesh sizzled with horrid plasma.

Picking herself up, Lea's ears rang and her body hurt, the nearby Gears already continuing the fight. Switching to her Gnasher loaded with thermite shells, she slid up to the corner, ignoring the nearby dead Terrans. Rifle fire came from the stairwell, a continuous popping of rounds as the Toads continued to taunt and bellow.

"Vorge! Ready to light some asses on fire!?"

The Krogan across the stairwell entrance grinned, his hands griping the weapon firmly. "I'm always ready to burn some shit"

"Then hose those fuckers down!"

Vorge stepped into the open, the large Krogan grunting with laughter while squeezing the trigger of his weapon. A fresh stream of napalm erupted, the harsh stink of fuel only a minor detail as the jet of flame rushed up the bunker stairwell to claim more lives.

Screams rose along with the stink of burning flesh as Sergeant Kaliso as others swung into the stairwell. A Klor'vian tried to stand, flames still licking at his armor that glowed with embers. A thermite slug blew apart his neck and head, the burning shot ripping through flesh and material with ease. Racking a fresh shell as she moved to the mid-level landing, Private Meldus took the time to execute a fallen enemy, the charred remains trying to crawl away in desperation. A crunching of a skull and boot meant the end for that beast, barely a notice as the Gears surged upward.

Taking cover at the top step, Kaliso saw an exit tunnel to the exterior hill on her right, the frosting snow and encompassing noise of war filtering in like a dull roar. But the alien shouts and rifle fire coming from the left were more pressing. Leaning out, she fired at a Toad rushing toward her, an obvious second rate troop with inferior armor. Thermite ripped through his off-brown scales and flimsy armor, a sundering of flesh as the enemy fell with a scream of agony.

Gears surged into the tunnel, cracks of gunfire and ripping chainsaws a constant sound that only mixed with the fear, dust and stench of loosened bowels.

The defenders of the bunker died to the last man, none surrendering nor begging for mercy.

Reloading her Gnasher, Sergeant Kaliso inched toward the exit tunnel, the woman joined by a collection of species from five different homeworlds. Peering out into the freezing landscape, another crumbling trenchline carved into the hill led to yet another nest fifty feet away. It was still active as the barely visible firing slit opened up on some distant target, the ripping of rocket and machine gun fire a hellish roar.

Above the trench and adjoining steel door set into the steep, near vertical hill was another firing slit facing along the length. It opened up with a howl of rounds, the bullets snapping through the air and punching into loose dirt and rock.

One struck Kaliso mid-plate, bowling her backwards as she gasped from the sudden hit. Hands grabbed her, the stunned woman immediately dragged into cover.

"Fu..fuck!" Coughing, Lea felt like she had been drop kicked by a Krogan as her hands numbly tried to feel for the wound.

"You're alright, Sergeant. Didn't go through…barely" Private Meldus informed her, the Turian's eyes a piercing silver as he studied the deep impact crater of the woman's armor. It had saved her life, but a second round would have gone through no problem.

"Still hurts…hurts like a bitch" Groaning, she tried to stand only to fall back against a wall, her head swimming. "Broken ribs? Maybe cracked?"

Machine gun rounds continued to shatter the air immediately outside, almost a taunt from the enemy.

"Somebody get a lance and kill that fucker!" Coughing heavily after the order, she could only rest and wait as her body was wracked with pain.

"Got it, Sarge!" Corporal Hannor rushed up, the Gear covered with a fine layer of dust and ash. The Thermic Launcher was quickly rested on his shoulder as his loader slammed a fresh round into the tube. Taking a knee at the entrance, the helmeted man lined up the shot with haste as ripping machine gun rounds smashed against the opening.

"FIRE IN THE HOLE!"

A blast of noise and air filled the tunnel with the Gears, a dull roar as a flash of light pulsed outward to smash into the Toad nest beyond. Flame and shards of heat blew outward along with ruined rock, the debris spilling downward as the weapon emplacement fell silent.

"Go!" Kaliso ordered as she stood, the veteran ignoring the throbbing pain in her chest that made breathing difficult. Running into the open, she stayed low as fire and smoke belched from the sundered bunker slit above, the pain burning with each step.

Thrumming noise vibrated in her bones as a company's worth of Raven transports surged above to land troops on the summit of the hill. But that was a distant concern.

Reaching the recessed bunker door, she stood to the side as a breeching charge was set. It exploded with a dull bang, another blast of noise and light that wracked her senses. Pushing the ruined barrier open, Lea rushed left behind a supporting pillar of steel. Bullets pinged and snapped past her, the Toads inside abandoning their fire upon advancing units to try and kill the intruders.

"FOR THE CHURCH!" A Klor'vian screamed with a hated howl, the alien firing a burst of rounds at the advancing Gears. An Asari grunted from the impacts, two bullets smashing her armor plate before tumbling in a haphazard roll behind Lea.

More enemy soldiers lay down a broken, staggered fire in desperation, wounding or killing half a dozen Coalition troops as they advanced into the fortification. Grenades sailed, frag and plasma that ripped through armor and flesh, resulting in fresh screams of agony on both sides.

Boomshot rounds flew, the explosive shells falling among a knot of second rate troops huddled behind a stack of crates. Body parts and ichor splattered the stone walls, the burst ripping the aliens to pieces.

"Don't let them regroup! Kill them all!" Kaliso ordered as she popped out, sending a ten round burst into the chest of a Klor'vian who sagged and fell to the dirty stone floor. Rushing low with the recovered Asari and several others, the Serans advanced.

"DIE VERMIN TRASH!" A few second rate troops screamed in a frontal attack, the enemy firing on the run with obsolete bolt rifles equipped with bayonets.

"Fools" Private Rani uttered, the nearby Asari's face still contorted in pain as she raised a hand that began to glow a harsh purple. A mid level biotic, the energy coalesced in a singularity in front of the rushing aliens. Crackling with power as the Toads were lifted into the air, the Asari held them in place with a snarl.

Kaliso, Private Meldus and three others shot them dead without mercy, letting the bodies drop to the ground like ragdolls.

Two plasma grenades were thrown, landing short. Exploding among the trio of dead, the heated material ate through flesh with a harsh stink as bullets continued to fly between both forces.

Crouched low behind an odd outcropping of stone, Kaliso and three others waited as snapping rounds tore the air above, the cracks of battle unending.

Meldus blind fired, a full mag stitching across the tunnel in the hopes of distracting the enemy. Flinching as bullets snapped above his head, the Turian reloaded as Kaliso and Private Rani popped up to fire downrange.

They killed another Toad, the enemy taking horrific damage to the upper chest and head.

"KEEP YOUR HEADS DOWN!" Corporal Hannor shouted from the right side of the tunnel near a firing slit and stack of crates. The pulse of light and noise was almost deafening in the enclosed space, but effective as the lance rushed along the bunker's length to explode against a Klor'vian who had moved at the wrong time. The alien was vaporized while the splash damage ripped through ten of the enemy, maiming and burning with uncaring efficiency.

"Make them pay!" Lea shouted with a roar as she rushed into the open, a few errant bullets snapping past her from the few enemy still standing. Taking a knee as a bullet snapped past her left ear, the veteran Gear put a burst through the neck of a Toad trying to fall back, only to nearly sever the head as her comrades pushed forward.

"For the Hierarchy!" Meldus howled as he met a Toad in a lancer duel, the harsh sparks of churning teeth a scream of metal. Pushing through with strength and pride, the Turian narrowed his silver eyes as armor and scales ripped, throwing ichor and green viscera across his chest plate like a spray. The body collapsed, nearly in half as organs and gore spilled outward.

In moments, only the wounded were left, their burns, charred flesh and rendered armor a horror show as their cries of agony filled the bunker.

Walking up to a horribly wounded Klor'vian, Lea simply stomped its head with a crushing boot, the crunch of bone and brain matter unnaturally loud despite the sounds of battle wafting from outside. Getting some on her boot, the female shook her head. "I always hate getting Toad on my boot. Like stepping in shit" Trying to wipe it off, Lea gave up as private Vorge chuckled.

"That's why I like you Serans. You don't get squeamish about killing your enemies" Stepping on yet another desperately wounded alien's head, the Krogan grunted in satisfaction as the cranium exploded outward. Hefting his scorcher, the Krogan read his fuel level, finding nearly half a tank used.

Comms crackled, a hiss of noise in Lea's ear as she held two fingers to her head.

"This is Captain Leonard Fenix of first company, Twenty Sixth R.T.I. We've taken the summit of eight three two and the upper bunker levels of the stronghold. Enemy forces have broken and fallen pack to the last interior pocket. Cease all artillery bombardment of hill eight three two. Supporting units will assist in advancing from lower levels to clear the enemy"

The echoes of gunfire, screams and low level explosions echoed from above, the connecting stairway leading further upward inside the hill no doubt leading toward the enemy.

"Reload and advance! This fight is almost done, dammit!" Popping and checking her magazine, Kaliso snapped it back into her rifle as the mixed squad quickly stormed the next level. Angry, alien grunts and curses were loud, along with the frantic rush of boots and footfalls.

Swinging out into the open to the right, Vorge grinned with feral ferocity as he laughed with near psychotic glee. "I love the smell of napalm in the morning!" A roar of searing heat and flame flooded the nearby bunker tunnel, roasting half a dozen Toads like kindling. Most were unarmored, their scales catching alight in mere moments as Vorge washed the flame back and forth, ensuring death.

"Frag out!" A helmeted Gear shouted, the obvious female throwing the orb toward a cluster of Toads rushing further from the charred kindling of their brothers. It burst, claiming one and maiming two which were quickly cut down without mercy.

Shouting and screams came from further along the tunnel's curvature, the firing slits showing shafts of dismal light and gusts of cold air. Ripping gunfire was joined with explosions that caused fresh dust to fall and dance among the bunker.

Sudden silence was nearly deafening as Kaliso moved forward in a crouch, her senses sharp while pain flared along her chest. "Watch for friendlies. We know they're in the area" The sergeant warned while hugging the mishappen wall of rock. Passing a bunk room with beds, it was empty as the silence loomed.

Movement shifted further along the curvature of the passage, prompting Kaliso to duck into the bunk room along with several others. "Coalition troops! Are you friendly!?" She shouted in warning.

"Captain Mumi! Kaliso? Is that you?"

Sighing with a semblance of relief, the combat vet moved into the open, finding the Asari captain approaching with dirty and exhausted troops. Obviously, Urdnot Wrex was standing nearby, the Krogan's battle armor splattered with green gore and visual damage as Mumi stepped forward. Slapping their respective lancer's against each other with a mechanical thud of metal, Mumi gave a small grin.

"Had a feeling the rest of my company was with you, Kaliso"

"Yeah, shit got mixed up during the climb up this fucking hill. I'm sure my company is scattered all over the place right now"

A few more gunshots rang from a floor above, then nothing as comms once crackled to life. "Captain Fenix here. Hill eight three two is now secure"

Running a hand through her dirty, brown locks, Lea's glove came back with bits of green gore and dust, a fact that really didn't disturb her anymore. Walking toward one of the firing slits carved out of the craggy hillside, the Seran watched as a few distant hills were pulverized by artillery and rocket fire. In all likelihood, they would fall in the next few days.

"How much more can these assholes take? This will be the second world we've cleared, a third will fall soon and their fleets are outclassed and outgunned" Captain Mumi asked in wonder, joining the Sergeant for a brief moment as several Ravens rushed through the air, no doubt laden down with more Gears to take the fight to the crumbling mountain line.

"As long as it takes. As long as it fucking takes" Kaliso snarled, the obvious hatred for this species like vitrol as the last few holdouts of Le-hak continued to fight to the death among billowing ash and freezing snow.

Glortha. 424 A.E. 23rd of Storm

Dust rained down on the hatchlings, females and elders that were simply too old to fight, adding to their freight as the bombardment continued almost non stop. The dim lights flickered for a moment, casting the massive, underground bunker in darkness. Soldiers and militia troops, the few that could be spared from the ever shrinking front tried to maintain calm, their rough voice punching through the darkness.

The power generators didn't fail, the lights flickering back on as vibrations rumbled through the nearby walls.

Ground Commander Evo Javo'tik looked at the huddled masses of civilians, their cries of fear and prays to Klorta most likely going unanswered. Standing near one of the main tunnels that lead further into the base, the Klor'vian gave a light flinch as another round of orbital fire and artillery crashed into the mountains above.

"Father? Are we going to be alright? The priest says the vermin will soon go away" His youngest hatchling of four years asked, her scales of emerald green showing a likeness to his bond mate every day.

Evo tried to smile down at her, then to the rest of his family huddled nearby among a collection of cots and privacy curtains.

"Just keep up your prayers to Klorta and he will protect you, Evon" His soldiers voice didn't betray the lie he just told, but his bond mate staring at him knew. She would not be fooled like the young.

Another rumbling crash flickered the lights again, raining more dust and debris from the low ceiling. "I must go and tend to the battle. Sh'ran, protect our young if I cannot"

"I know how to use a rifle. Go and bring glory to our people" Her words were tired, unbelieving of the statement as morale fell day by day. Giving a small wave to his three hatchlings and mate, Javo'tik turned and hurried his stride to the command center on this same level.

A few volunteer militia troops saluted him, but the Klor'vian was so pressed in thought he ignored them as more rumbles of bombardment rang from above. Coming to the command bunker at the end of the tunnel cavern, he gave a salute to his two guards stationed at the door, not that they could really stop anybody at this point.

Entering the post, he spotted a few of his sub-commanders shouting orders into comms, trying to fight off defeat as a glowing holographic image of Glortha spun above a central table. Pixels fluttered, making the image disappear for a moment before reassembling in a cascade of light.

Nearly the entire surface was now painted a dull red, taken by the Coalition and their grinding, horrific war to destroy them. Aside from this location beneath the central mountains of the lone continent, only a few spattering holdouts among the island chains still remained in Caliphate hands.

"Any change since yesterday?"

Tor'hav snorted, his throat sac taking on a bit of blue in depression. In command of twelve hundred troops, that number had shrunk to barely three hundred as he pointed. "Hill five zero five and the southern ridge fell during the night. The serans know where one of our main entrances to our bunkers lie and are pushing hard to reach it. I'm told they took heavy losses, but our own were even higher as none retreated"

"How much longer can we hold out?"

Tor'hav went silent, knowing the answer was already grim.

"Indefinately. As the will of our god will not allow failure"

Turning, the high priest of Glortha strode into the post, his silken robes and emerald green scales showing off his superiority. Haughty and educated, he had taken command when the planetary governor had been killed, the public servant taking up a rifle to defend his home. Flanked by two of his personal aides, the lower church personnel were dismissive as warriors.

A few of the younger officers nodded, but Evo found himself hating the spoiled priest with each passing day.

"While we will obviously fight, our supplies are dwindling with each day. The enemy pushes closer every hour! We cannot just will them away!"

"Do you doubt the might of the church, Javo'tik!?"

The commander paused, then breathed to calm himself. "Of course not, but our situation is far from ideal, A'grith"

Grinning with that high born grin, the reptilian simply pointed to the nearest Seran concentration of troops on the holographic display. A pulsing blob of red pushing along the western fortifications.

"I believe a test of your resolve is in order. Launch an attack in this sector. Use some of the civilians to carry on the word of the church. I understand your hatchlings and mate still live? They will participate to show their dedication to the church"

Commander Evo Javo'tik didn't even think about his actions as pulsing red rage filled his mind. Only that this madman would kill them all before the Serans could. Putting his young into a ground assault? Especially one for no gain was even worse. Pulling the heavy pistol from his hip holster, Evo shot the priest in the head.

Horrified eyes were the last thing A'grith witnessed before his brains were splattered over the nearby console and his body crumpled with a soiling of his robes. Turning, Evo shot the two lackey's in similar fashion, their anguished cries of panic almost pathetic. One lived, trying to crawl away.

"Help! Help! The comm—" Evo crushed his head under foot, the bone and brain matter splattering across his combat boots.

Silence, along with the fresh stink of cordite, loosened bowels and fear filled the command room as the staff gulped, their visual fear palpable.

"The high priest…you…you assassinated him" Tor'hav whispered, the officer's throat sac a pale white among his splotchy scales of ivory and off brown.

"He would have led all of us to destruction…just like the church has done in this war"

"You…YOU SPEAK OF TREASON!" the other officer yelled, his emotions rising.

"Am I the traitor for saving the lives of our young! Our females and elders? The war is already lost, Tor'hav! Or do you think we are winning with half the Caliphate burning under the wrath of the Serans!? Bo'link is a graveyard! Vio'shelek is broken! Le'hak is gone and we are next! Or do you wish for your own mate to run into the maws of war for the sake of a god that has forsaken us!? Remember, Tor'hav! We started this war against these people, and now they are winning! Our fleet has fled to the core worlds, leaving us to die alone!" Turning in a circle while holding the still smoking pistol, Evo snarled. "I will seek peace with the Coalition, to end the slaughter. If you wish to go and throw your lives away in some foolish regard to the church, I will not stop you. But I will kill any of you that attempt to stop my attempt at peace"

"And if they refuse? If they wish to kill us all anyway?" Tor'hav asked with a semblance of calm.

"Then I will fight to the end"

Tor'hav blinked heavily, the solider running through the facts in his mind. The amphibian finally snorted, tossing up his hands in defeat. "Not like we would have lasted much longer anyway. The Coalition would have breeched this bunker in the next week at best" Stabbing down on a button, the agitated alien waved over the commander as another heavy bombardment shook the ceiling, raining down fresh dust and dirt.

"Go ahead. Make peace and become a traitor to the church" Leaving the room, Tor'hav knew that Evo had been correct, but the voiced facts of how badly the war had gone were galling to him.

Commander Javo'tik knew the comms were open, meaning the next words would be history making for his people. This would be the first surrender to a foreign power, and history would remember him as a traitor and failure.

"But at least my family will survive"

Straightening his back, he spoke. "This is ground commander Evo Javo'tik of Glortha. I…I would like to discuss terms for surrender" Almost choking the words, he knew it was a horrible day, but the outcome would be worse if the current course continued.

Rumbling impacts above continued for several minutes, then suddenly stopped as the constant background noise became absent.

"This is General Casini of the Twentieth Oceania Armored Division, Fifth Army. You will cease all defensive and offensive operations across the planet. All ground troops will surrender weapons in sight of Coalition troops. You have one hour to comply before we resume offensive operations"

Javo'tik leaned toward the comm station, his splotched lips and yellow eyes showing obvious worry and suspicion. The Serans could easily destroy them unguarded, especially civilians.

"We have approximately ten thousand civilians here in the bunker. What will become of them?"

"We will provide food and water along with tents in an internment camp. That is the best I can do on short notice. You have now lost three minutes until the resumption of bombardment"

Evo knew it was the best he could manage. And if the Serans decided to gun them down, at least it would be fast. "I will spread the word for my troops to surrender"

Switching channels, he did as promised, notifying the collapsing front and surrounding fortifications of what he had done. Once that distasteful act was complete, he stepped away from the station, feeling the depression of what he had done sink in.

He had surrendered a world to the enemy.

Major Chaz Illum had ordered his battered and reduced 2nd Battalion of the 20th Oceania Armored to take up the flanks of the heavily fortified roadway leading toward the enemy's subterranean bunkers among the central mountains. Heat blasted and pockmarked by three months of artillery, rocket fire and orbital bombardment, the road was more akin to the surface of a moon than a transportation link.

"If any damn fool fires without cause, I'll have them shot. Every Gear will maintain discipline" General Casini warned over the comm net, his heavy voice laced with promise. Risking the surrender because of some damn mistake would not be tolerated.

Still…

Chaz felt incredibly vulnerable out in the open, knowing that just an hour ago, these same aliens were doing their best to chew his battalion and subsequent division to ribbons among the ever shrinking pocket of defensive works.

Approaching footfalls soon echoed as several Ravens thrummed in the air, their nose pointed cannon aiming down the narrow ravine road while several battle scarred Centaur M.B.T's did the same.

"Here they come" Illum muttered, the tanned man subconsciously taking cover among the cratered ruins of a gunpit that overlooked the pulverized road below. The dead alien inside had been ripped in half, the corpse already covered in crawling maggots as the Seran tried to ignore the stench.

The Klor'vian's marched in a column ten abreast, the soldiers still in armor, but holding their hands above their heads after abandoning their weapons. Their commander led the way in front, his pride not allowing him to be anywhere else except to lead.

Most were dirty, their armor covered in dust and grime while others clearly didn't have the equipment for a war in this day and age. Some wore bare clothes, letting the warm sun fall upon an assortment of colored scales.

Civilians came next, a ragged line of elders, females and children that looked beyond terrified of the victors watching their every move.

Clearly unaccustomed to sunlight at this point, several seemed gaunt and broken in spirt as they filed past toward a hastily erected prisoner camp near a burned out city to the East.

"Shit. Never thought I'd see the day these bastards would actually surrender" Chaz observed as the column continued to march past in a long slog of defeat.

"I heard nearly twenty thousand total. Too bad they decided to wait so fucking long. Assholes killed a lot of Serans over the last three months…uh sir" A female lieutenant stated, her helmet hiding any features while she unconsciously flexed her hands holding her lancer rifle.

"I fought at Blaze and Bo'link. Fuckers could've avoided a whole damn war if their government wasn't controlled by a fanatical church of madmen intent on a genocidal holy war" Knowing he shouldn't be grousing in front of such a young officer, Chaz went silent as more Klor'vians marched under the watchful eye of the Coalition.

The Widow System. The Citadel, Flux. 424 A.E. 24th of Storm

A few patrons were dancing, the strobing lights and music of the popular drinking establishment pulsing while others sat at the bar, savoring a multiple assortment of colored drinks that seemed to glow. The visual screens on the walls were showing some entertainment shows, a tiny distraction for the patrons.

The screens flickered, showing a smiling Asari as the music suddenly ebbed. "Hello, I am Bea Ja'tol with C.N.N"

"Hey, turn it up. Might be about the war" A turian asked, the male sipping on a purple drink with a few coworkers after a long day. The Asari behind the bar nodded, using a remote to increase the volume as the dance club almost fell silent.

"This special report brings important war news from the Coalition front against the fanatical forces of the Caliphate" Smiling warmly, the reporter maintained a calm and dignified manner. "For the first time since the war began three years ago, Caliphate forces have surrendered the Glortha system to the COG. An estimated twenty five to thirty thousand troops and civilians have been taken prisoner after three months of brutal fighting to take the colony. This victory, along with the costly victory at Le'hak last month has no doubt hammered another nail in the crumbling Caliphate war machine" Taking a pause to breathe, Bea continued her report across the Citadel. "These back to back victories will no doubt free up substantial Coalition resources for the war with the possibility of a combined offensive with Council forces after the Vio'shelek withdrawal last year"

The report ended, going back to regular programming as the patrons muttered among themselves.

"Costly is an understatement. I have a friend that joined the C.A.G. Last time I talked with her, she said the fighting was absolutely brutal" the Asari bartender mentioned offhandedly before pouring herself a glass of drink of glowing pink alcohol.

"I've heard that attrition is around thirty to forty percent. Sometimes higher depending on the theater"

The Asari nodded, understanding the few Turians nearby. "At least the Seran's take the same risks from what I understand. So long as you fight and do the job, they really don't care where you're from" Raising the glass in a slight salute, the bartender tossed it back as the patrons raised theirs.

"To victory"

The music began thumping once again, a heavy mixture of pulsing lights and noise once again pushing the war to the back of many customers minds as they danced, drank and enjoyed their lives among the security and safety of the citadel.

Tenvor'ti. Capital city of Klortha. 26th of Storm

Humidity was thick in the air of the holy temple, almost choking with moisture and the promise of rain. Sandstone pillars of the ancient site were almost sheenlike from the dampness while the towering statue of Klortha stood silent and looming in the main hall.

"COWARDS! WEAK, TRAITOROUS COWARDS!" Y'larv screamed, the supreme priest's throat sac a vile crimson of rage and fury. Surrounding officers and other priests remained silent, knowing that the wrong words could be disastrous for their lives or families. Throwing the data tablet, his silken robes swished, glittering with embroidered jewels as his emerald scales glistened with moisture. "HOW DARE THEY SURRENDER GLORTHA WITHOUT FIGHTING TO THE LAST! Every one of those feeble minded vermin are excommunicated from the church and will face execution!" Breathing deeply, the priest stared up at the statue of his god, suddenly remembering his station and stature. Flexing his clawed hands, Y'larv took another deep breath, the crimson hue of his throat sac slowly diminishing to a less vibrant color. Suddenly turning on his heel with another swish of his robes, the leader of the Caliphate managed to reduce his snarl to a thin line of pursed lips as his vertical eyelids slowly blinked.

"Tell me, my fellow believers. These traitors deserve death for their betrayal, do they not?"

A chorus of nods and supporting voices echoed in the temple, none daring to say otherwise.

Giving a small smirk of pleasure, Y'larv knew that this blessed action would be viewed favorably among the faithful. "Send two full corvette fleets and some of our older frigates and destroyers. I'm sure Fleetmaster Bo'klar will complain, but the needs of the church outweigh the hero of Vio'shelek" Chuckling at his own joke, he knew Bo'klar would see the reasoning for launching this punishment force to carry out the will of their god. Suddenly pointing to Gre'jan, a mid-level priest of his inner circle, Y'larv preened with the excellent choice. "You will personally lead the attack in my name. Failure or retreat is not to be tolerated, understood?" His voice was weighed down with the promise of punishment and terror, but Gre'jan was faithful as his lips curled upwards. Bowing deeply, his voice was thick and harsh.

"Of course, Supreme Priest. I will destroy these…these inferior Klor'vians who dared to sully the name of our god after I burn the Seran filth from the system. They will lament and cry for repentance, but none will be saved by the wrath of Klorta"

"Then go, and bring upon the church's justice"

Turning back to the monolith of his faith, Y'larv didn't even hear the officers and priests leave as he bowed his head in prayer and devotion.

As tropical rains began to fall outside the temple, the gears of war churned, pushing more lives into the furnace of loss and destruction…

I think that's a good place to end the chapter! Sorry it took so long, I had serious writers block on this one which is funny because I have the next chapter already forming in the headspace. I really don't have anything else to add expect I'll be working on the next chapter along with some others from my other stories, just hope it doesn't take as long next time.

Also to guest reviewer asking for a halo crossover with this story, that would be waaaay after this is done if I even have the motivation to write something so similar. Unless I do a short story spin-off kinda thing? Think a different universe where a Seran fleet encounters an anomaly and finds itself in the Halo universe. It wouldn't have any effect on this story at all but could be fun to do. That or Star Trek because these ships would crush the Federation easily

Anyway! I hope you all enjoy and leave some reviews! As always, reviews from assholes being shitheads will be immediately deleted.

Thehappy signing off!