The sound of shouting and pained cries resounded across the battlefield. People were screaming for help, for medics… and some were just screaming. The battle had been raging for almost an hour now, and the casualties were immense, and still growing. The city sized alien flagship above obliterated the ground forces with plasma, fire, and a constant stream of monsters and aliens. The EDF had taken out the flagships initial defenses, made up of drones and teleportation ships, fairly quickly with a surprise strike. But now the Flagship was defending itself and it was an entire beast of its own. The outer part of the circular ship had split off into countless separate pieces and started rotating around the center, their paths fluctuating randomly. Each section was a plasma cannon, laser, or teleporter calling in monsters and reinforcements. The Storm Teams had been taken by surprise, but reacted quickly. They were able to shoot down most of the separated pieces. Now it was a matter of staying alive as they worked to destroy the main structure of the ship.
Buck Ballardy fell to the earth, taking cover behind a crumbled half wall. His back slammed up against the hard surface just as an alien foot soldier fired a burst in his direction. The massive rounds of plasma hit the wall, sending chunks of molten material flying. Buck felt the heat in his spine, and realized his cover wasn't going to last. He flattened himself on the ground as another salvo smashed into the wall. Molten concrete and rock exploded from the point where he was just crouched. Bits of the molten material fell onto his legs and stomach. He yelped in pain and rolled away. Another burst flew over his head and into the ranks of an approaching squad. Two men and a woman were cut down where they stood, their bodies being eviscerated instantly. Gore and bone slopped to the ground in front of Buck. Without warning, vomit flew from his throat and out his mouth, pooling in front of him as he lay on the ground. He heard the loud crack of a rail gun firing its main cannon, then a loud squelch in the direction of the alien. A hand grabbed the back of his jacket and yanked him upwards. He could see that the alien that had fired at him was laying dead on the ground, it's head missing, purple blood flooding from the wound. Buck turned to see who had helped him up. It was a young woman that had dirty blonde hair with green highlights and eyes. She looked familiar but he couldn't place her. She looked terrified. He nodded at the young woman and together they ran for cover. They made it into a half destroyed building that was missing its roof. Buck posted up at a window and the young woman watched his back. He surveyed the battlefield before him. A squad of aliens at the edge of his sight seemed to be ripped apart by unseen combatants. Countless tiny missiles flew into the air behind the building across from him, and homed in on a group of approaching drones. The missiles connected and dropped them from the sky. He looked up as a rocket slammed into the flagships weak spot, resulting in a small series of explosions around it.
Buck took the moment of reprieve to catch his breath and let his thoughts fill with optimism. It seemed their constant hail of bullets, rockets, and anything else they could throw at them was working. The tide of battle seemed to be changing. He was surprised that even at this point in the war, humans were still putting up a hell of a fight. Most of them in this battle weren't even soldiers, just some semi trained civilians and militiamen. Buck himself was just a furniture delivery guy before the war. This was the most fighting he had ever seen. After the invasion started, he had focused on helping build a defensive community just on the edge of this city. The aliens never really had a reason to invade here, and life had almost returned to normal. Life had almost been good. Then there was an attack. A small one in the grand scale of things, but it had been enough. A group of migrating giant hornets had spotted the settlement and attacked. There were only about twenty of them but it had been enough. Many people lost their lives in the attack. Buck had up and joined the militia the next day. But no amount of training or preparation could have prepared him for this battle. His community had been selected by the EDF to join the fight. Their job was to cover the storm teams while they worked to take out the command ship. Buck had no delusions on why his group had been given this task. It wasn't their willingness to fight or their skill in battle. It was their numbers. His group had been one of the largest in the area. Now it was probably one of the smallest. They had arrived with over two hundred willing fighters, some young enough to be in high school. Most of them were cut down during the fighting. Many more were melted, disintegrated, eaten, or otherwise wiped from existence. Buck wasn't close to anyone, but seeing his fellow fighters die in such horrible ways killed a part of him. He shoved the horrid images away and raised his rifle.
A squad of rangers and civilian fighters were making their way down the street in front of the building that Buck and the young woman were taking cover in. Buck motioned forwards and the duo joined up with them. They were making their way further into the battlefield. He looked up at the command ship and saw that there was now smoke billowing out the bottom.
"The Storm Teams are really doing it." Buck thought. It was accompanied by a tinge of hope. Just as the thought crossed his mind, a rocket shot upwards from underneath the command ship and streaked towards its weak spot. Buck watched in awe as the rocket impacted the weak point with a small blast. The strike seemed to set off a chain reaction, explosions spreading through the flagship. At the same moment it's remaining cannons and turrets stopped firing and halted their rotation. The explosions stopped and silence fell across the battlefield. An agonizing few seconds followed with every fighter looking to the sky, hoping. One of its floating turrets started to fall, another following soon after. A loud groan sounded as the hulking mass of metal and death dipped towards the earth.
There was no cheering, no victory cries. Only the silent gasps of disbelief as the war torn landscape and the very air seemed to suddenly glow in a brilliant flash of white light. Then orange. Then red. The explosion fired chunks of shrapnel sailing into the sky, disappearing atop the clouds. The shockwave coming an instant later with an ear shattering BOOM, sending bits of concrete and metal flying, accompanied by a wave of intense heat.
"We've done it." Buck continued to think. "We've finally beaten them." All around him he saw his comrades staring to the sky in silence, watching as the ship lost altitude and speared towards the earth. This was it. They've defeated the invaders that plagued their planet for so long. The silence was finally broken by a whimper. A man to Bucks left fell to his knees, tears streaming down his face. He saw the young woman that had helped him seemingly roaring at the sky. Many laughed and cheered, others just stared blankly. Pieces of the shattered flagship finally slammed into the ground, shaking the battlefield like an earthquake and knocking many of the remaining down. The rest of the ship came crashing down a moment later, detonating as it contacted the ground. Fire and shrapnel shot to the sky and outwards. Buck could feel the heat from the explosion wash over him.
The battlefield was covered in a thick layer of smoke now, making it difficult to see. Buck had feared the worst, that the Storm Teams were caught in the blast or crushed by the falling debris. They were, without a doubt, the best of the best. Losing the Storm Teams would be a major blow to humanity, whether or not they were victorious. Humanity as a whole had them to thank for surviving the invasion for so long. Buck sure as hell appreciated everything the Storm Teams have done. He was about to lose hope for their survival, when a single flash of light from behind the shroud of darkness caught his eye. A single Ranger appeared through the smoke, limping towards the makeshift fire team. It was Storm One. Or, what was left of them.
"Oh no. No no. He can't be the only one." A voice came from behind Buck, echoing his thoughts. It was the woman who had been screaming at the sky. "Please don't let him be-" A second flash of light cut her off. From behind the lone Ranger came a figure streaking into view above the man, leaving a thin trail of smoke behind it as it shot through the air. It seemed to be spiraling. Two more figures flanked the first, following close behind. It was Storm Four. Wing Divers. But where was the fourth? The Fencer unit, Storm Three, was not far behind. The wear and tear of battle was apparent on their hulking powered exo-armor, globs of blood sloshing off of their massive, broken and bent weapons. Buck couldn't see their faces through their helmets. If he could, he knew he would see tears. There was only two of them left. Two brothers lost. The Wing Diver trailing smoke fell from the sky, skidding across the ground and slamming into the side of a car, her plasma core all but depleted and shredded. Her team rushed over to help, but she was already picking herself up. Buck saw a few more fighters emerge, but there was no sign of Storm Two. He knew the likelihood of them still being alive was slim. Nevertheless, they would send teams to search for them. The death toll would rise, he knew. But this battle was over. Dare he think, this war, was over.