Mort
Malevelon had fallen, but that didn't mean the UNSC and SEAF had given up on it or any of the sectors held by the Automatons. On Mort, a planet of ashen grey and fog, a planet of a horrifyingly dead ecosystem, the Automatons' advance force had slammed nose-first into the UNSC's prepared defenses.
Above the planet, a fleet of fifteen UNSC ships, capitals and frigates alike, fought, tracers visible through the thin atmosphere, MAC rounds ripping through hostile vessels like hot knives through butter. In the skies, EAGLE Fighters and Broadswords secured air superiority over the enemy's oculus fighters.
And on the ground, in the dead jungles, Scorpion Main Battle Tanks advanced, crunching under treads the dead foliage as infantry rode on top. Oryx transport vehicles fired 30mm autocannons with disregard into the fog, ripping through the foliage as well, while infantry squads of Helldivers, Marines in pressurized suits and ODSTs led the assault.
Johnson and Alessia were once again at the forefront of the advance with the armored fist of the UNSC and SEAF. Beside them, SEAF Infantry advanced with their weapons at the ready. Railguns thundered as the first Automaton tanks tried to come in and support the assault, but the first round punched through the leading vehicle and two more buddies before ripping apart still-drying concrete.
An enemy defensive position exploded in a ball of flame as more infantry dismounted, the fog of war filled with the silhouettes of allied troops moving in to flank Automaton landing positions. Beside Alessia and Johnson's squads, Caleb, Farkas and their teams pushed up, moving to the cover of a deep ditch.
Johnson dropped into the ditch first, boot meeting the masked face of a Commiebot. He took cover, aimed and fired his shotgun three times as Alessia also dropped in. She reloaded her rifle, stood up and fired a burst, before ducking back down as Sun Devils raked the heavens above them, shooting down several enemy drop-ships.
"Looks like the tin cans didn't expect us to drop in this hard and this fast!" Alessia seemed almost happy at the sight of the Automatons ahead being slaughtered. She wondered for a moment just how many had the brains of fellow Divers in there, but she squelched the thought real quick when she saw a squad of Berserkers surging toward them.
Beside her, Tomas hefted his launcher, cried, "BACKBLAST!" and once he got a pat clear from Radomir, he fired. The recoilless rifle's projectile shot forward like an arrow, striking a Strider center-mass and shattering its hull. Radomir opened the tube, pulled out the spent shell and slammed in a fresh one before Tom slung it back onto his back and drew his shotgun.
Helena checked her medical kit, then radioed, "This is Black-2-4 to BASE PLATE, requesting a marker for our intended target!" only to pause as a ping appeared on the map. Alessia gave the girl a thumbs up, then showed Farkas to follow. The Chief nodded, grabbed his gear, LMG included, then ran forward with his platoon.
Beside them, two Pelican Gunships hovered, autocannons tearing through the enemy's defenses. They pushed up to the destroyed wall, hearing Automaton battle calls and chatter as Troopers and Jump Troopers advanced, led by Commissars. In the sky, an enemy landing ship detonated as a MAC round speared it.
"Town beyond the wall," Johnson spoke as he checked his gun.
Alessia replied, "Big place. Keely's Retreat," then scanned the area ahead. The Fog was too thick to see through, sans the Automatons' red eyes. She stated, "I hear they're sending us to the Bug Front after this. Gonna need us to contain a few of those damn things because they got out of their containment…"
"Bug Front sounds like fucking paradise right about now," Tomas mumbled. He knelt beside her, poked out and fired a burst at a pair of red eyes as the rest of the allied force advanced around them, encircling the Automaton Outpost and the town it held hostage. Alessia looked at Caleb, who shifted uneasily, glaring at a dead machine near the wall.
She asked, "You gonna be good?"
He nodded, "Fine. Just praying we don't find similar shit here," and he pat Johnson on the shoulder. When the green light came, the team pushed past the broken wall and into the town itself, another small-time city of prefabs. They advanced into the city, sweeping the area alley by alley, street by street and block by block.
Behind them, IFVs, Saddleback transports and other vehicles rolled into the city to provide cover. Most were light anti-infantry units or scouts, with Mongoose ATVs rolling into the narrower parts of town, their passengers dismounting the moment they reached target areas and houses to raid. Entering the town, the UNSC Force meant to liberate Mort found it deceptively empty.
As reports were streaming in from the various LZs around Mort, Alessia and her squad had taken a moment to breathe, gazes sweeping around the place. Bullet holes marked the prefab container homes, some blood stained the grey and their boots were also grey thanks to the dust. She sighed, hit the side of her helmet, then said, "Damn air filters…"
"Place is really hitting rough, huh, ma'am?" Radomir asked, holding onto his rifle.
She spoke, "I'm more concerned about the fact all we met outside was a token battalion of enemies," before she stood up and looked around. The fog made it painfully annoying to see, but that didn't mean they didn't have minesweeping equipment out and about, too. The main thrust bypassed the town, however, moving Northbound to encircle Bot landers.
She sighed deeply, cocked her jaw, then stretched and said, "Alright, boys and girls, check the place thoroughly. Radomir, you and Tomas get on the southern quadrant. Helena, on me. We take the East. Johnson and his team are gonna take West and Chief Farkas…" She paused and looked around, "Well he already went North…"
"Ma'am," The team replied. Radomir and Helena exchanged a quick glance, gave each-other a nod, then went with their respective partners. Radomir himself spoke, "Well, this oughta be interesting. Has been a while since we worked on an assignment alone. Liberty knows what the hell we'll find out here, though…"
"Ash, ash and more ash," Tom shrugged, "But maybe survivors too."
"Hoping so, man," The soldier replied as they walked through the place. Using the lights on their rifles to check corners and the insides of buildings, they did see silhouettes retreating deeper into hiding. So, the people here were momentarily untouched, surprisingly enough. Why would the bots build a defensive wall around a town?
Probably to do what they did to everyone they grabbed more easily, Tomas thought to himself as they marched on through. A platoon of UNSC Marines marched forward to their far left, their Oryx IFV now acting as impromptu Triple-A against any possible attempted Bot deployment. Checking the wrist pads, the two men watched the Front Line advance, a perimeter forming around the original LZs of each SEAF and UNSC Unit.
A perimeter which now included this town, whose bot-made defenses had just been broken. Zooming in on the Tacmap, neither saw signs of any more Bot units in this section of the AO, so, right now, it was just a matter of securing the place. As they walked, providing patrol and forward recon for the rest of the unit, Tomas asked, "Say, man, you and Helena finally sign that C-01?"
Radomir doubled over, nearly tripping, then cast a glance at his friend through his visor. The rocketman raised a brow and asked, "What? It's a genuine question?" as they walked. He also noticed that the heavy weapons specialist was kind of keeping an eye out on the alleyways of the town, noting down anything out of the ordinary… For as stupid or filterless as he tended to be, he wasn't dumb.
"Do you have any filters?" Radomir mumbled as he scanned the rooftops.
Tomas replied, "For coffee, mostly. You have no idea how many the Sarge broke," which got a genuine laugh out of Radomir. The rocketeer wasn't kidding, though, but he let the man laugh still, continuing to walk until his eyes caught something. He tensed and Radomir, immediately noticing his buddy was like that, readied his weapon.
The two moved toward an alleyway, rifles raised and flashlights locked onto a set of trash cans. They saw movement behind them and heard a foot kick against one. With one quick exchanged glance, Tom nodded, then waited as Radomir called out, "Come out! If you're human, we won't harm you!" only to pause as he saw a small frame slink out from behind the cans.
A young girl.
She stepped out from behind cover, hands raised. Her body was covered in the grey ash of the planet and she had multiple bruises and injuries, blood staining parts of the grey. She had a respirator and goggles, with the glass of the latter being fogged up by tears. The two men lowered their weapons and Rad took a knee in front of her, saying, "Hey, hey. It's alright," and extending a hand, "We're Helldivers."
He slung his weapon onto his back then said, "We're carrying her back to command…" as he approached. The girl, though shy, soon saw the black uniforms of the Helldivers and perked up. She ran into Radomir's arms, crying and further fogging up her goggles. He caught her and lifted her up onto his shoulder.
Tomas nodded, then radioed, "Command, this is BLACK-2 and -3. Be advised, secured one living Civilian child, female, age unknown. She has a respirator, goggles. Bears various injuries and is covered in ash. Requesting MEDEVAC back at COP," only to receive an affirmative. He tilted his head and showed Rad to follow, the duo moving back toward allied lines.
Other Helldiver teams and SEAF infantry pushed through into the place and moved to find more civvies. Rad looked at the young girl and started calmly, "Hey…" and caused her to look at him. He asked, "Can you tell us what happened?" only to pause as he saw a few more wounds buried beneath the ash now that he was up-close.
"Bot claws," Tomas said as he walked, "Wonder…" and he cast a glance back. Even through the fog, he could faintly make out the rising peak of a mountain. He radioed, "BLACK to command… Be advised, possible civilians at the mine…?" and he looked at the girl. She nodded quickly, her choked sobs filtering through the mask. Tom nodded, then added, "And hostiles. Be prepared for contacts…"
As they reached the rear section of the town, where a few other surviving civvies had been gathered, the UNSC Medical staff approached and took the girl. Tomas added, "Careful. We don't know how bad her injuries are. Dust's covering up everything…" before noticing that Rad was staring at him. He shrugged and said, "I know that look. I have a little sister at home…"
The two men moved back out to patrol the rest of the town. It continued to be the same. Empty streets and homes, save for what little of the civvies the Bots could take to do Liberty-knew-what with… Only for both to pause as a radio call blared, the voice of a local Skull General echoing through, "This is SkG Tarasov to any and all available assets, we have a Code Grey in sector Forty-Four. One mining town encircled past LZ Victor. Liberty bless you all…"
They felt a chill run up their spines… A thousand stuck civvies in one of the most heavily-contested sectors and only a dozen Helldiver units and ODSTs there to protect them spelled an oncoming disaster. And it was pretty much halfway across the planet for them, going by orbital imagery taken by Prowlers…
Sector 44
General Tarasov had under his command three dozen men and women from both sides of the Human alliance. ODSTs and Helldivers equipped in various gear stared from the safety of a zig-zagging trench network at the gleaming wall of scarlet ahead of them, a furibund army of the damnable machinery that would slaughter all.
Behind Tarasov's forces, a thousand civilians hid in the maw of an underground mine. Tracers lanced high into the sky, hostile air assets engaging evacuation craft that were attempting to come over to them. He gripped tightly the revolver on his belt, then cast his gaze forward again, thankful they had a somewhat defensible position.
They were, however, pinned against the wall that was the mine and the mountain itself with maybe tens of thousands of bots, if not more. He breathed, hit the back of his helmet to clear the filters, then looked at himself. Clad in a Hero of the Federation armor set, he gleamed like a golden beacon against the sun. The bots had a clear shot at him.
They weren't taking it. Their distant chanting and singing filled the airwaves, the frames of their war machines vibrating with the anticipation of slaughtering mankind. Tarasov wasn't about to let them do that. Even if his Corps had been reduced heavily in numbers by the Slaughter at Malevelon, even if his armor was half-broken and damaged, even if he'd lost a gallon of blood, he wasn't gonna let'em.
He called, "Lieutenant," as he looked at the ODST's leading officer. She stood up and walked over to him, to which he said, "You should have evacuated the moment you could've. We're surrounded here until SEAD breaks the enemy AAA cordon… And we won't live to see the sky glowing with our birds' engines."
"Sir, with all due respect," The woman spoke, her voice rough, "I was on Actium… I got off that rock when the Covvies glassed it, but not before seeing one of our armored divisions blast apart three LZs as one last defiant Fuck You to the Squids," then she racked the bolt of her MA40, "I'm not going to leave another Civilian or comrade to die, regardless of our differing views."
Tarasov nodded, then breathed a heavy sigh and replied, "My grandfather fought during the First War," as he motioned to the Bots, "Always was on the Cyborg Front. Bastards took him from my grandmother, left mom without a father," and he pulled out his revolver, checking to see if it was loaded. He told her, "And now their kids are here, trying to do the same to these people… Not again."
"Not one step back, then, eh?" She asked. The man nodded approvingly, then drew his pistol. No speeches, no pep talks, no nothing. The air grew tense as the voices of the machines slowly faded out, only the distant drone of their vehicles' engines reaching the troops. The General swallowed his own spit, grip tight around the pistol's handle, his other hand wrapped around his Breaker's grip.
His laser Warden detached itself from his backpack and charged its weapon, gently hovering on its four engines. Other Divers prepared their own secondaries, with Autocannons, rocket launchers, Expendable AT weapons and even various energy guns at the ready. The ODSTs hefted Spankers and Spartan Lasers as heavy weapons. The thump of feet echoed in the distance, the rumble of tracks pushing through the ashen ground and the clap of Striders…
The Lieutenant gave one wave forward, the General stating, "Enemy Mortars will soon be in range, ladies and gentlemen. Should we fail in this defense, a thousand of the Federation's citizens will die with us. A thousand fellow humans," as he lifted his revolver to an at-ready position, "If we don't stop those Mortars, we might even be holding on for nothing. Leave a formation of twelve to guard the place, the rest of you, on me… We're taking the fight to these mechanical oil stains."
A battle cry echoed across the line. The ODST nodded to a couple of her men, a medic and a sniper, to hold position with them. He called out, "Alright, then! SOLDIERS OF LIBERTY, DO YOU WANT TO LIVE FOREVER!?" only to get a raucous reply, weapon safeties flicking off. The General raised his hand, then pointed forward at the advancing tide.
An indecipherable roar filled the air as the ODSTs and Divers surged forward. The bots seemingly paused for a second as the cry filled their own audio receptors, but only a moment passed before bursts of scarlet tracer fire filled the air. The Machines fired wildly into the fog, only for the soldiers to return fire the moment the first Bot frame came into view.
Automatic rifle fire and armor piercing rounds ripped through circuitry, spilling oil onto the grey landscape as the first battalions of Automaton Troopers met them. The General's revolver barked, meeting the Commissar leading the charge and taking its head clean off. He lifted his rifle and opened up from the hip. He didn't need to aim as the area ahead was thick with tin cans.
The ODSTs themselves advanced, firing their rifles and weapons with disregard, too. The first man of the Lieutenant's troop collapsed, drilled full of energy shots by the automata, while two Heldivers who were manning an Autocannon were nailed by a Devastator's arm-mounted cannon. If they could've, they would've called reinforcements to deal with the enemy's force, but orbital guns and AAA put them at an impasse…
A Helldiver female medic adorned in their white armor blunted a machine's charge with her elbow, pinned it down with her boot and filled it full of lead with her Liberator, then aimed up toward a Devastator, barely dodged its first shot and fired. Rounds drilled into the machine's armor, right near the head, but it was still standing.
It adjusted its aim and the woman could see the end of her life in the glowing barrel, only to gasp as the machine caught fire, the burst of a BR75 echoing in her ears. She looked right, watching an ODST push up beside her. He pat her shoulder, then showed her to follow along. She gasped, however, when a Helldiver tumbled over, shot through the helmet.
She ran to him to check him, then scoffed when she saw he was dead and fired at the enemy onslaught. She and the ODST fired at a trio of Devastators silhouettes. They paused, however, when the leading machine of the three appeared with its shield raised, pockmarked by their rounds. The ODST aimed for the slit, but lost his leg and missed the first burst the moment it fired.
The three machines stomped forward, surrounding the trio and preparing to fire as the young medic tended to the man's injuries. The General, however, was quicker on the draw, nailing all three machines with headshots. He barked, "HERE! HOLD HERE!" only for the group to realize they were atop a rise in the ground.
The General took position on top, firing both of his weapons as the unit formed a half-circle in front of him, firing their weapons. The ODST without a leg dragged himself forward, firing from the prone position, spent rounds dropping onto the ground. He fired with a purpose, regardless of the feeling of sickness and the blood he was losing.
He felt the Medic stick a needle into his neck, suddenly gaining a second of rejuvenation as she tied a tourniquet above the stump, drew her rifle and fired from beside him. The Lieutenant came in to check on the ODST, said, "Looking good, corporal!" then ducked as a tank round somehow narrowly missed her and the rest of the formation.
She gave one wave of her hand toward the tank and the Spartan Laser operator close to her aimed, locking onto it. The Laser charged, its internal systems heating up as the lenses aligned. When the thermal cam locked onto the tank, the laser hissed, then fired in a terrifying pulse, coring the tank with a bright-burning scarlet beam.
Furious return fire cut down the forwardmost of the three lines in front of the General. One of the soldiers was shot by a Strider that soon found its pilot sniped by the General's revolver while the Lieutenant laid waste to entire squads of Mechs. The jump-pack units followed, diving into the middle of the line, only to get shot out of the sky by the ODSTs that aimed their guns high.
A Commissar appeared out of the formation, stabbing the Lieutenant in the chest and causing her to stagger. She grit her teeth and slammed the butt of her rifle against it, then gunned it down. She felt her wound and saw blood seeping through, then swore, feeling Adrenaline kicking her heart in the ass and overcharging it.
She'd be dead in the next few seconds, she thought, so she fired her gun indiscriminately. She roared a battle cry, laying into the machines as she felt the blood seeping from her chest, while the General beside her fired his pistol. He cried out, "FIGHT! FIGHT! WE'RE HOLDING THEM BACK! IF YOU DIE, DIE WITH THE THOUGHT YOU'RE SAVING THE LIVES OF FAMILIES! OF INNOCENT CIVILIANS!"
"DON'T ANY OF YOU DARE GO OUT QUIETLY!" He bellowed as he fired the last bullets he had for his revolver. He spun it around, gripping it by the burning barrel and using it as a bludgeon as he fired his rifle with his other hand. The monsters closed range enough for melee. The Lieutenant fired her rifle until it ran dry, drew her sidearm… Then collapsed.
Beside him, two of his troopers took rounds to their helmets. The Spartan Laser-carrying trooper fired another burst into the enemy formation, shearing in half a dozen enemy machines and another enemy tank only for a Strider and a Devastator. It left only his legs, which collapsed. The General dropped his spent revolver, grabbing the Lieutenant's pistol and firing it.
He dropped a spent magazine from his rifle and slammed the last fresh one home while holding the rifle under his arm. He slammed the bolt home, then fired his weapon at the enemy troops that began to overwhelm and surround their position. The ODSTs around him were gunned down, many now armed with pistols and knives which were stained by oil.
Corpses of Automata piled around them as the Federation Skull General dropped his spent rifle, grabbed a UNSC belt-fed machine gun and hefted it high, firing it from the hip. He cried out to his remaining troops, two of which died, and to the Machines, defiant, "FOR THE FEDERATION! FOR HUMANITY!"
Automatons surrounded him, rounds tearing through his armor as the last of his comrades perished beside him. He fell to his knees as bolts penetrated his chest plate and one round ripped his arm off. He gazed up at the sky, breath labored. Though surrounded by scarlet eyes, he huffed behind his helmet, feeling the taste of copper in his mouth.
He dropped a beacon he had clipped to his belt… And he smile as he saw the scarlet beam lance into the sky, marking his position for the silhouettes above. The Automaton Commissar in front of him put its gun up to his head, mimicking a human laugh… Only for the first airburst bomb to bring the very sky crashing down upon it.
Three five-hundred kilo bombs slammed into the Automaton army's advance as Longswords in SEAD duty fired their anti-radiation and cruise missiles. Pelican drop ship engines roared, touching down and disgorging infantry while Eagle fighter-bombers dropped their payload. Sergeant Alessia's team was the first one forward.
On top of the hill, she found the General's corpse, on his knees and surrounded by dead Bots and his own…