Chapter 1: Arrival

August 27 2026

Sargent Tafford looked to the floor of the old truck that carried himself and his squad on his latest mission. The war had raged on for four years now, but now that almost every major city had been retaken it was only a matter of time before these last pockets of resistance folded and went home. But so long as stubborn, obstinate little holdouts like today's target remained, his job wouldn't be done. Tafford looked down at his rifle, the weapon that had carried him all throughout the four most eventful years of his life. From those first fear-filled days when the jackboots were pulling seemingly anyone from their homes and loading them onto trucks and buses, with most never to be seen again. Through those first shaky months when his force was just finding it's footing, all the way to the recapture of Harrisburg. This battered AR-15 had been his constant companion, he had checked, cleaned, cleared, repaired, and re-checked the weapon so many times, to say he was intimately familiar with it would be the understatement of the decade. He quickly gave it a final once over before turning his attention to the rest of his gear and, finding everything in order, his eyes fell upon the rest of his squad. This particular lineup had changed far more often than he cared to remember in just four short years, but the current lineup was,

Staff Sargent Morris- Squad leader and comms officer,

Corporal Anderson- Medic,

Private Foley- a recent addition that served as the squad's sharp shooter,

Corporal Kane- the scout, and lastly

Tafford himself- who filled the role of the resident engineer.

"We all know today's mission, straightforward as it gets, a simple sweep and clear of the plant and we'll be back on base before dinner. Don't want to jinx it, but with as many teams on this as we have, this will probably be wrapped up in two or three hours."

Morris gave his usual to the point summary as had become common for the tough as nails squad leader. They had all been briefed on the mission prior to departure, jackboot holdouts had occupied some abandoned factory and were trying to contact other remaining cells of resistance as quietly as they could to try and form some kind of larger force. On it's own not very dangerous, but if not cleared out they could quickly become more trouble than their worth. Tafford had been on at least a dozen of these operation in the last six months but there were some signs that opposition was slowly running dry. The cells were slowly, but surely, becoming smaller and less organized as time went on and it didn't take a tactical genius to realize that the enemies manpower, resources, and resolve were fizzling under the unrelenting assaults of Tafford's force. This unwavering punishment was doubtlessly spurred on in no small part by a desire for retribution, the jackboots had been merciless in the opening days of the war, and it was now time for some cold hard revenge.

"Hey Tafford you ready?"

asked Anderson.

"As I'll ever be. Doubt our job will be done after this one though, but long as they keep lining up, I'm stayin to knock em' down."

replied Tafford. Anderson wasn't one of the original squad members, but he was a good man all the same.

"Hoo-ah to that!"

sounded Kane, as he hated the jackboots as much as any of them. All of their lives were turned upside down when the war kicked off, with some losing more than others, but their focus wasn't on that now.

"Were getting pretty close now, ready up!"

exclaimed Foley. Out of all of them he was probably the most no-nonsense of the group, even more so than Morris at times. As they all readied their gear Tafford mentally rehearsed the stratagem they had been briefed on. Three teams, composed of three squads each, would approach from the north, south, and east and would insert at three points along the fence outside the perimeter. Two squads from each would begin going building to building sweeping and clearing the trash, with the third squads taking positions at the insertion points to prevent enemy escape and protect extraction. The three teams would then meet in the courtyard to take the main plant where the thickest resistance was projected to be. Any enemy survivors would be funneled west towards their main force. Half a minute later the truck rolled to a stop along the eastern fence line, giving the signal for bravo team to disembark.

"We're here lets do this"

said Morris as all three squads dismounted and began to fall into position. For just a few seconds, Tafford looked to the noonday sky and breathed in the air of a warm summer day.

"Gate here, Tafford work your magic"

said Morris bringing him back to reality. As all three squads formed their plan of attack after the briefing, there was no need for discussion amongst the squads as they immediately moved to their assigned positions. A simple chain & padlock was no match for the cutters kept in Tafford's access kit for just such situations, and after the chain fell away, the two squads quietly stepped onto the factory grounds. Here the squads split up into two different buildings on either side of a narrow ally. Kane, being the scout, took point in the formation followed by Foley, Tafford, Morris, and Anderson covering the rear. As they entered the first building Tafford swept over the view with his rifle and was greeted with a dark room that served as a secondary machining area of some kind. Tap & die machines stretched out over the floor with a door on the far wall that led to another area of the building. Workbenches covered the northern wall, and a sturdy looking metal catwalk lead to an overseer's office as well as another room that couldn't be made out from their current position. Quickly and quietly the squad made their way to the catwalk, to take the high ground and gain a bird's eye view of the floor. Kane cracked the nearest door to the unknown room and peeked in whispering

"Clear"

after a minute of viewing. He opened the door all the way and the squad filed in, to a break room of sorts. A tiled floor with tables, chairs, vending machines, and coffee makers filled the room, all with a layer of dust. No one had been here in some time. With this room cleared they formed up once again and proceeded across the catwalk to the floor overseer's office.

"Clear"

sounded Kane after another minute of the previous entry procedure. This room was much more bare bones then the previous rooms they had entered, there was drab carpeting, a desk with a computer and chair, two chairs facing the desk, and a wall mounted cabinet, that upon being searched, only held papers and an empty bottle of bourbon and some shot glasses.

"Tafford get on that terminal, maybe its connected to the camera system."

Morris ordered.

"No good, this thing's dead."

Responded Tafford after several minutes of failed startups.

"Damn. Alright, listen up, here's how the rest of this buildings gonna go. Kane, take Foley and sweep the rest of the upstairs, there's a door at the end of this catwalk. Myself, Anderson and Tafford will head down through the machining floor and sweep downstairs, we meet at the western wall, understood?"

"Yes Sir"

was the universal response. With that Morris, Tafford, and Anderson descended back the way they came and stacked up against the ground floor door, with Tafford taking point. He cracked open the door and after a quick search, signaled for the two to follow into the next room. As with the last three spaces he had entered this one was poorly lit, but he could make out stacks of crates, probably filled with some kind of metal blanks if the machines in the next room were any indication. This was the building storage area, and as the men moved quickly yet quietly through the rows of wood and cardboard boxes they could hear the rest of their squad moving through the floor above. Finally the men reached what was better described as a divider than a proper wall. They quickly moved to a door and began to enter the next room. After checking the door the three emerged into a packing area of sorts, with tables, carts, cargo dollies, and all manner of crates and packing supplies dimly lit by windows located near the ceiling on the opposite wall. A sound to their left caught their attention and they looked up to see Kane and Foley descending the catwalk to their level. With this room secure they went to meetup with their squad mates.

"Top floor Clear Sarge"

said Foley

"Alright this building is clear, move to the next"

Morris ordered. The squad exited the door on the far wall and entered into the small alley that separated the buildings. After a short walk they found the door to the next building and prepared themselves as Kane checked it. The men found themselves in another break room and after moving through it they came into a second, larger packing area. Swiftly they checked the room, and stacked up against the far door, coming out into a much larger production floor. Unlike the previous building this one had long stretches of conveyor belts and robotic arms with all manner of tools attached to them. A few half finished car doors gave away that this plant must have made autos until it was shut down, and somewhat strangely was never repurposed. As they searched the floor slight, but noticeable, sounds caught their attention from the upstairs causing them all to shoulder their weapons. Morris signaled for the squad to move up a flight of catwalk stairs quite similar to the previous buildings. The squad once more stacked up as Kane cracked the door.

"Contact!"

BANG-BANG BANG-BANG

BRRT-BRRRRT

"Contact Down"

The squad stormed into the room with weapons readied, in the corner was a dead jackboot in full armor, minus a helmet, with wounds to the upper torso and head. The men rapidly filled the space, ready to put down any other threats, only to find that it's previous occupant was well and truly alone.

"Good Kill"

praised Foley.

"Alright everyone, heads on a swivel, where there's one there's more"

barked Morris, though none of the group needed the reminder, after being in this fight for years. The squad formed up and proceeded slowly and carefully along the catwalk, clearing several more rooms on the same floor, but finding them deserted. Finally they came to a door that seemed to lead to the next sections of the building, this time electing to keep together as to not divide their strength. The enemy knew they were there, and if more evidence was needed they began to hear muffled gunfire coming from the other buildings. They kept their fingers on their triggers as Kane checked then advanced through the door-

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

BAM! BAM! BAM!

BRR RT-BRRRRRRRRT! BRRRRRT-BRRRRR

- To immediately come under fire from multiple sides! The squad was sent scrambling for a few seconds in a desperate dash for cover, fortunately a few precious crates had been left sitting on the catwalk that served Kane, Foley, and Tafford nicely, with Anderson and Morris finding cover behind metal panels built into the railing. After a few seconds spent steeling their nerves they began to peek out to see three hostiles intermittently firing from cover. Tafford had to give them this, they weren't rookies, one firing while another was reloading, all while moving from cover to cover advancing on their position. In this way it was another few seconds before the squad had the opening they needed to fire back.

BOOM!

Came the report from Foley's high caliber marksman rifle, dropping one of the jackboots immediately.

BANG-BANG! BANG-BANG!

BRRRRRT-BRRRRRRT! BRRRRT-BRRRRRRRRT

BAM! BAM! BAM!

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The firefight went on in this way for a few minutes with some attempting to pin down the other two to allow Foley the time to line up a shot, while others went for the kill themselves. But soon enough all three jackboots were dead and the squad wasted no time in sweeping the room ensuring there were no other threats in the area. When they were sure the immediate area was secure the squad formed up and proceeded to the door that led to the final rooms of the building.

"Kane flash"

said Morris. With a nod Kane opened the door just enough for Morris to throw a flash-bang grenade in, closing the door as quickly as it opened.

POW!

BANG-BANG!

BRRRT!

BAM! BAM!

BANG!

With the room flashed, the squad stormed the receiving area, rapidly dispatching the four unfortunate jackboot inside. Afterword Morris began to speak.

"OK this is two down, but we're far from done. Check for injuries, we don't want any surprises in the next buildings."

For a minute the squad examined themselves for wounds, and aside from a graze on Morris's right shoulder, everyone was alright. Without any more delay the squad assumed formation and re-entered the alley. Two more buildings were cleared this way, one being a warehouse, with another being an office of some sort. Finally the next objective came in sight the courtyard was just ahead already secured by alpha team, noticeably absent a few members. As bravo and charlie hurried to the rally point Tafford noticed something- all too late. As he was running to position with the rest of his squad, he noticed a flash from one of the high catwalks on the roof of the plant.

"SNI-"

That was all he managed to get out before a precision shot tore just below his helmet line.

BOOM!

Chaos erupted at the front of the plant as the jackboots seemed to mount a full fledged counter attack out of the main factory, with squads scrambling for cover, returning fire, or throwing grenades in a desperate attempt to break the enemies momentum. Tafford however would know none of this. All he knew was pain, a horrible, wretched pain that no man should feel. So severe and unnatural, it defies all description.

PAIN

PAIN,

PAIN,

PAIN.

CONFUSION,

PAIN,

CONFUSION.

FEAR

FEAR,

FEAR,

FEAR

and then, DARKNESS.