Chapter 61: Fall of Osaka
"Damn it, how many of these bastards are there?!" Pepper snarled, firing wildly at the approaching horde of Neo-Machines. "And what does it take to kill them?!"
Every time they thought they killed one, it just glowed purple and got back up, all the damage done to it repaired!
Only headshots or the destruction of their maso core seemed to put them down properly. And even then they could still rise up if their remains could be dragged off to be put back together by the other Neo-Machines.
For two days now the Neo-Machines had been pushing forward, unceasingly throwing themselves at the defenses the androids had set up around Osaka. It was like an endless tide of metal trying to sweep over them, heedless of casualties taken.
And worst of all, it was working. The Neo-Machines had managed to drive the defenders of the port city back to a mere handful of defensive positions. And now, it seemed one more was about to fall.
Pepper grunted as she ducked back behind a ramshackle barricade, which had been hastily thrown together out of a bunch of rubble. It was blocking off entry to the Shin-Yodogawa Bridge, forcing the Neo-Machines to assault them if they wanted to cross over one of the few remaining ways across the river.
"Sergeant! Prepare to pull back!" a lieutenant ordered.
Pepper swore angrily but complied, firing one last burst of armor piercing rounds towards the Neo-Machines before turning to her squad.
"Retreat! Retreat across the bridge!" she shouted, and her companions nodded grimly. She had started out with nine other androids earlier in the week. Now? There were only three left.
They obeyed, while one of them chucked a couple grenades over the barricade towards the Neo-Machines to cover their retreat.
They bobbed and weaved, evading the energy blasts sent their way, and along with dozens of other android soldiers that had been desperately holding off their foes.
The Neo-Machines charged forward in pursuit, clambering over the barricades. A few rockets were fired off, exploding amongst them and buying enough time to reach the other side.
"Activating EMP bombs!" an android called out as the last android crossed over, and Pepper unconsciously flinched back as dozens of electro-magnetic pulses erupted up and down along the bridge, frying the circuitry of the approaching Neo-Machines. They collapsed, temporarily stunned.
"Detonating demolition charges!" another android announced, and pressed down on the plunger. In the distance, chunks of metal and asphalt were thrown into the air as explosions began to rip through the city, and in the distance, the handful of remaining bridges spanning the Yodo River were blown apart, preventing the Neo-Machines from crossing, trapping them on the other side. For now.
"Thar she blows," one of her squad mates chuckled, and Pepper rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, yeah. Move it, funny guy," she told him after slapping his shoulder. "We've got a lotta ground to cover before we make it back to base."
He nodded, and together the four of them trudged back to the basecamp that'd been set up. Dozens of dirty and weary soldiers walked down the streets in the same direction, other groups joining up until their destination could be spotted on the horizon.
Their current camp was in Osaka Tenmangu, the place hastily fortified with walls and fencing, and was filled with tents and supply crates.
The place was bustling with activity as their temporary base was dismantled and packed up. Trucks were being loaded up as the rest of the area was abandoned.
"Shame to see the place go like this," one of Pepper's squad muttered.
"Same. Though I won't miss the tents," another one added. "Can't stand sleeping on the ground!"
"We don't sleep, though," Pepper snorted.
"Yeah, but I like the option!" was the response. They all laughed at that, happy to enjoy the moment of levity while they could.
"Oi, you lot! Gather up! Captain's got something to say to ya!" a warrant officer called out, and the Resistance models all began to gather around the central tent.
"Settle down, settle down!" the base's commanding officer growled out as he stomped to the front. "As you can see, we're pulling out! There's a dangerous number of Neo-Machines coming towards us. As such, HQ wants us to head back to Osaka Castle. After we lay down some mines and prep the last couple of bridges for demolition, of course."
"Are we seriously abandoning Kita Ward to the damn clankers?" one of the Resistance units asked in disgust.
"Unless you think we can keep them from crossing the Yodo River, then no. We cannot," the captain retorted, an eyepatch doing a poor job of covering the large chunk of his head that was missing. "We have to consolidate our forces."
"And then what?" Pepper demanded. "What do we do when they encircle as at Osaka Castle?"
"The Bunker has given the order for all units to pull back to reinforce New Babylon," the captain replied, sending a wave of mutters through the crowd. "Only a few units will stay behind to act as bait to draw as many Neo-Machines to allow the rest to retreat."
"If that's the purple bitch's destination, then why would she bother trying to kill us off?" another android wondered. "If she just went around us she'd have a straight shot there!"
"New Babylon is Purple Athena's main objective," the captain continued, revealing a bit of intel. "But she won't be foolish enough to allow any bases to remain as a thorn in her side or knife in the back."
Grumbling rang out, but there was common sense in what he was saying.
"When we return to Osaka Castle, the colonel will brief us on the final strategy. Thankfully, knocking down those bridges will delay the Neo-Machines by a few hours as they try to rebuild it. We move out in ten minutes! Dismissed!"
The captain then walked off, no doubt to do officer stuff and organize the evacuation.
Pepper watched him leave, not at all envying him for his tasks, before turning to her squad, or what was left of it. "Alright, folks. You heard him. Go get some extra ammo and grenades before they're all gone, and for the love of humanity, Spoiler, get a new set of boots! Nobody wants to look at your ugly-ass feet!"
Everyone chuckled at that, and ten minutes later, the base camp was left behind, dozens of vehicles driving away and leaving it behind. Groups of saboteurs lingered behind, laying down mines and other traps to slow the Neo-Machines down when they inevitably came sniffing around. But Pepper planned to be long gone by then.
It wasn't much longer before the group could see Osaka Castle, and boy had it seen better days. The walls were scorched and riddled with holes, the burnt out husks of AA guns, mortar emplacements, and turrets were scattered about, and dozens of piles of Neo-Machine corpses were stacked up along the roads. It was nasty.
Hundreds of androids manned defensive barricades along the road leading to the castle as well as hunkering down in bunkers placed strategically around the castle.
As the trucks trundled up to the parking lot, the passengers spilled out, ready to get to work. But it wasn't to reinforce the place. It was to clear it out.
"So, we're really leaving," Spoiler muttered, looking around sadly.
"We have no choice," Pepper replied, though that didn't take away the pain. Osaka had been… it had been home. Since the end of the 14th Machine War, the city had been her home, as it had been for many others. And for many of them, choosing to make the city their place of residence had been the first real choice they'd ever been able to make in their lives. To be forced to abandon it all galled more than many could articulate.
"We'll be back someday," one of her other squad members, Gyro, stated. Pepper merely nodded.
"Of course," she agreed. Just how many of them would be left, though…
That sort of negativity wasn't good for the mind, and so she ignored it. Unhealthy? Probably. But focusing on anything else was necessary in order to keep going.
'I can cry when it's all over,' she thought to herself as she directed her squad to help with loading up some of the rest of the materials and cargo onto the trucks. Space was at a premium and many soldiers had to sit down on top of crates and boxes to save room on the transports for as many materials as possible.
When they reached Osaka Castle, the place was buzzing with activity. Hundreds of androids were rushing about, loading up and refueling trucks so that when the evacuation order came, they'd be ready.
"Sarge, there's a meeting for the officers up in the castle," Spoiler informed her a little bit later. She raised an eyebrow at that but simply nodded and went to go attend, passing the box of ammo she'd been carrying over to her subordinate who grumbled a bit at that.
Pepper, along with the rest of the newly arrived officers, headed up to the castle and into the old audience chamber. Long ago, human lords had supposedly sat in here and discussed policy and other matters. Now, their 'children' would do the same. It was quite humbling, in Pepper's opinion.
"Atten-SHUN!" a lieutenant barked as one of the most beat-up androids she'd ever seen entered the room. They all saluted the colonel, who also broadcast his ident-codes in case some of the ones in the back couldn't see his rank insignia on his uniform.
"At ease," he ordered them, and everyone stood at attention, waiting for the debrief.
"I won't lie, the situation is grim," the colonel said, eyes sweeping over the assembled androids. "We've lost two-thirds of our forces, and the lowest estimate we have for when the Neo-Machines manage to cross the rivers and get here is eight hours, so that's the time-frame we'll be operating under. I want the base's personnel ready to leave by then."
"Where will we be going afterwards?" a sergeant asked, and Pepper tried not to roll her eyes at him. Had he not heard the plan already?
The colonel wasn't impressed by the question, either, if the scowl he wore was any indicator. "The plan, as it always has been, is to retreat to New Babylon and help fortify it. We are also to conduct scorched earth policies to deny the Neo-Machines any resources they can use."
"What about the bases in Kyoto?" a captain inquired. "Couldn't they send a little help our way? Make the pull-out more orderly or go faster?"
"They've already begun pulling out their own forces from the city. They won't be able to cover our own retreat," the colonel informed them.
"Damn," somebody grunted.
"But good news! YoRHa has graciously lent us the aid of a couple B-types to help us throw off and hold back the Neo-Machines," the colonel huffed, clearly unimpressed by this. The rivalry between YoRHa and the Resistance was an old, well-worn subject at this point, but it got a couple snorts and chuckles from the androids listening. "They will be here in five hours."
"A small group of androids – including the B-types – will hold the line here at Osaka Castle to ensure the rest of you get away," the colonel continued, laying out the plan, and Pepper winced. It sounded suicidal.
'But that's what YoRHa's forces are for,' she supposed. The elite combat units could store their memories and download them into new bodies if their old ones got destroyed. That was not the case for Resistance models like herself.
"Anything else?" the colonel inquired. When nobody seemed willing to speak up, Pepper bit back a sigh and raised her hand.
"Sir, what about the older Machines?" she inquired. She'd seen some in the ruins of Osaka here and there. Most were 'peaceful,' remnants of the pacifist units who were part of some community called Gear Town or something near New Babylon.
A depressingly large number of old Machine Lifeforms however were still feral and lurked in the rubble like angry metal rats. They'd proven to be a decent distraction against the Neo-Machines, who hated everything that wasn't part of Purple Athena's army equally, and Pepper had often employed tactics that involved leading them into feral Machine nests.
"They are not our responsibility," the colonel told her with a shake of his head. "If they haven't already evacuated by now, then there's nothing we can do."
"Understood," Pepper replied with a nod. The order made sense. She approved. Not everyone around her seemed to agree, though, and scowled at the thought of abandoning the few Machines who weren't murderous scrapyard rejects.
"Alright, then. Dismissed!" the colonel instructed. The soldiers are saluted before departing, Pepper among them.
She returned to her squad, facial features scrunched up into a thoughtful frown.
"So, Sarge, what's the deets?" Spoiler asked when he spotted her, pausing in his tasks. The other members of the squad perked up as well.
"Same plan as before. Pack our shit up and get the hell outta here before that purple bitch comes for us," Pepper replied bitterly.
"What? Are we just abandoning Osaka?" Gyro demanded incredulously.
"We are," Pepper confirmed, and the android slumped dejectedly. Our orders are to evacuate to New Babylon and hole up in there for now. Gotta protect the humans."
"I don't like it," Twister, last of her group grunted, and Pepper shot her fellow gynoid a commiserating glance.
"Same," she confirmed. "But the Neo-Machines are ruthless, and we have a job to do. So let's do it."
Spoiler, Gyro and Twister all saluted her and got back to work, loading crates and boxes with the rest of the androids at the castle.
Several hours passed by with only minimal worries about Neo-Machines and explosions tearing them to shreds. Demolishing the bridges had worked to keep the New Machine Army away from Osaka Castle, but the sounds of construction could be heard ringing out from the rivers as new ways across were built by the tireless slaves of Purple Athena.
A small bit of excitement popped up when the YoRHa reinforcements finally arrived, and ahead of schedule to boot, and Pepper, as a sergeant, was allowed to observe.
Along with a few other soldiers, Pepper watched as five flight units descended from the clouds, landing with pinpoint accuracy in front of the colonel.
"10B, reporting for duty," the B-type announced, saluting the colonel upon exiting her flight unit. Pepper felt a pang of envy at how gracefully the gynoid had dismounted from the vehicle. Where were the upgrades for the Resistance models, huh? She wanted to be elegant as well!
"Good to have you here, soldier," the badly injured officer replied, returning the salute. "All things good with the Bunker?"
"New Babylon and the Bunker are ready to receive you and your units," the YoRHa android confirmed.
"Excellent news, best I've heard all day," the colonel chuckled. "Let me show you around."
With that, the officer led the YoRHa team away into the castle to fill them in on the defense procedures, and Pepper went back to her squad.
Then, exactly eight hours after the bridges over the Yodo River had been collapsed and Kita Ward abandoned to the Neo-Machines, everyone not assigned as the rear-guard was ordered to load up onto the transports.
"Go! Go! Go!" a captain ordered, slapping the rears of trucks as he ran past, as if urging the vehicles to move. "Don't lollygag! The Neo-Machines are crossing the river! Move out!"
"Come on," Pepper grunted, clambering into the back of a truck, her squad following in short order.
"Never been to New Babylon before," Spoiler said, trying to be upbeat, but he kept looking back over his shoulder in the direction of Purple Athena's army.
"That's a lot of fliers," Wobbles said nervously as he also glanced back in the direction of the enemy. Like black storm clouds on the horizon, hundreds of UFO-shaped Neo-Machines began to fly towards Osaka Castle, causing Pepper to bite her tongue in anger at the sight.
"How many of them will make it?" Gyro wondered, glancing at the castle as the truck started to drive off.
"I don't know," Pepper admitted. However, she knew the answer. Zero. None of the Terran Army that was staying behind would survive what was coming. The best they could do was hold it off for a time.
Only a hundred androids, including the colonel and the five YoRHa units, were left to man the defenses, these courageous folk willing to sacrifice themselves to allow the rest of the army to retreat.
Less than ten minutes later, Pepper watched with a pained expression as Osaka Castle unleashed a blistering artillery barrage, its dozens of defensive cannons roaring like thunder as they sent fiery, explosive death towards the advancing Neo-Machines, blowing dozens out of the sky with every shot.
This in turn prompted the accursed false-life creatures to retaliate, and maso-charged bombs flew alongside lasers towards the castle. They were stymied by a powerful barrier that sprang up around the structure, and Pepper couldn't help but wonder how long that had been there.
The energy shield deflected the Neo-Machine's attacks, and Twister let out a cheer, pumping her fist into the air. Other androids were cheering with her, booing the Neo-Machines and shouting insults even as they sped away down the road away from the castle and Osaka itself.
The barrier protecting Osaka Castle wouldn't last forever, and Pepper wasn't the only one who knew it. Still, finding something to celebrate was important in these trying times, and she didn't bother to hide her own victorious smirk as the cloud of enemy fliers thinned out, the Neo-Machines exploding one after the other.
'Onwards to New Babylon,' she thought to herself, eventually looking away from the scene, unable to watch the exchange of artillery strikes any further. Her home was gone, and it hurt having to abandon Osaka like that. But when it was all over, hopefully they could rebuild.
'I wonder what the Last Human is like?' Pepper wondered, turning her thoughts to something more pleasant. She'd never had the chance to meet Sir Alexander Spero in person before. Maybe she'd be lucky and catch a glimpse of him at the final bastion? One could hope!
Author's Note:
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