A patrolling unit of UNSC Marines rolled through the forests nearby the Kingdom of the Dragonborn, their rifles prepped and ready. Reports of both Insurrectionist and Imperial activity in the AO had come through about two hours ago. The QRF deployed from KINGDOM now consisted of a platoon of familiar ladies from the Warrior Bunny Tribes, of which Sarah herself scanned the tree-tops for hostile advances, then checked her BattleNet link.
She spoke, "This is Team Charlie, we're at Checkpoint Zulu. Bravo, you with?" as she saw them on the TacMap. Delilah's fireteam of Marines pushed up next to her, weapon at the ready. Damned if she didn't miss the Queen at this point, though, she thought as she saw Dee's light wink green on her HUD. The two fireteams converged into a full platoon, Whiskey Bravos in the lead while the human Marines brought up the rear as rearguard duty.
"Looks like nothing," Delilah murmured as her eyes darted to and fro. Seemed as though she didn't believe the AO was clear, not by a long shot. Sarah nodded in confirmation, then shifted from one foot to the other, eager, but worried. The enemy would probably have come here for one of the artifacts that activated the Gate. A Slipspace crystal of some kind, going by the reports from Doctor Halsey's away team.
Regardless of if their targets were around, the team still walked forward, taking a staggered column formation, prepared for any oncoming assault. Sarah told Delilah, "Honestly, this feels like it'd be a milk run. Why they had to stick us down here, I don't know..." while scanning the trees. There were reports of some Warrior bunnies also going missing in the area, so...
"The Dragonborn requested the help," The girl replied, "They're old friends and allies to us and the UNSC, so it only makes sense they'd stick us in here while the Queen and Doc are away," while casting a glance at her HUD's Motion Tracker. It still only pinged them and some of the Dragonborn up above, hovering over the target area and providing aerial scouting. The UNSC had finally armed them with standard equipment like they did the Warrior Bunnies.
"Look, I'm just saying..." Sarah shrugged, "Feels pointless to be here."
"You're just looking to meet that US Marine tanker again, ain't you?" Another Whiskey Bravo joked, garnering the laughter of several of the girls.
Sarah, flustered, replied, "Shut it, Rieta!" while Delilah still laughed. She shifted her rifle into her other arm and peered past a tree, then paused, focused, her left ear twitching. Every single Warrior Bunny who saw that froze and a dozen firearms were suddenly set off of safe. The Whiskey Bravo Marines all knelt, scattering in the underbrush and setting up near hard cover like thick-trunked trees and rocks and stones.
The girls gently folded their ears down with the kevlar netting, to make sure that the enemy didn't spot them hidden amidst the shrubs. Delilah heard the com click twice and looked up to see their organic drones give a wave of the hand before touching down on the branches amidst the tree canopies, aiming designated marksman rifles. Their motion trackers pinged, marking several targets in the red.
The targets ahead soon resolved. Despite donning different gear than their usual robes, the mages of Rondel, clad in old BDUs and carrying their staffs, marched forward through the trees. In the lead was a platoon of Insurrectionists, armed to the teeth with assault weapons. Delilah was TL in this case, so it was entirely up to her to give the order to engage.
The mages, male and female, beastfolk and human, looked around, concerned as they walked. All of them lacked the trigger discipline to wield their rifles, but had still been handed them anyway, with one of the leading Innies complaining, "Jesus, Camgirl really couldn't have given us a worse job than this, could she?" as they trekked forward through the brush.
"Quit your yapping. We're not the ones stuck guarding that PLA officer they nabbed, at least," A female Innie replied, scratching the tattoo on her arm, which looked a little red and inflamed. She then warily asked, "You think the tactics that Ephes chick, the wolf general, thought up... They gonna work? Cuz I'm not looking forward to continuous cat and mouse play with the traitors."
"We're only here to cause as much damage to the UNSC presence as possible. Show the locals they won't defend their allies, especially without the doctor around. Meanwhile, strike teams are gonna deal with her and her posse," He replied, checking his Battle Rifle. He continued, "With any luck, those rabbit whores and the lizards ain't gonna set foot on any of our colonies."
"Yeah," The woman replied.
Well, that was all Delilah needed to hear. She looked around at her team-mates, all of whom offered nods of approval. Her left hand shifted onto the hilt of her blade, which she gently began to slide out of its sheath. She waited for them to get closer, glad to prove them wrong about the UNSC defending their allies, their comrades in arms. When the man's foot broke a twig in front of her, she sprung up first.
She felt the sharpened edge of her blade shear through flesh, cut into bone and penetrate through the other side of the man's skull. She'd stabbed him clean throguh the mouth, split his teeth and managed to rip through bone into his brainstem. As time slowed around the Warrior Bunny, she saw the others appear out of the shrub and grass, rustling leaves making way for armored, well-equipped and camouflaged shock troops born out of the natives.
Meanwhile, the enemy's eyes grew wide as those they did not expect to be around had come. Delilah pulled back the blade from the man's mouth, spattering blood onto the grass and ground before she kicked the corpse back into his mates, aimed her rifle and squeezed. Though she fired from the hip, the Smartscope system allowed her to zero in on and immediately pepper the two men she'd pinned under their friend's corpse with assault weapon fire.
The Dragonborn men and women up above began firing, too. The conscripted mages took accurate rifle fire from them, snapshots nailing them in their vitals. Some got their magic off, gouts of flame swinging high and around as the Marines pushed through. Sarah and Rieta, sisters both by blood and in arms, cut through one man, bisecting him with synced, twin swings from their blades.
Another Warrior Bunny pounced on the female rifleman and snapped her neck with one kick, then drew twin M7 SMGs and let'em rip. The Marines around them also joined on the impromptu ambush within a second of the Whiskey Bravos popping out from beneath cover. Gunfire ripped through the trees, grazing their trunks. Blood pooled on the dirt as the Whiskey Bravos and their allies advanced into the enemy line.
Blade and lead sang together in a deadly symphony, the enemy's forty-man invasion force being put on the backfoot by the rapid assault. Sarah pushed past one man who was firing at her, swept his legs and stabbed him in the back, pinning him on the floor as her blade broke through his sternum. She fired a burst from her rifle, face impassive as she did so.
Rieta knelt beside her, snapped off two shots that pinned a pair of enemies behind trees, then surged forward and dropped two grenades between them, skidding and swiveling about to watch the grenades go off. Both men scattered, screaming before they were cut off by the detonations. She sniped a third as he was trying to rush to his friends' aid, then her ear twitched.
She called out, "DUCK!" before dropping onto her stomach. Rapid, continuous thunder filled the group's ears. Two Warrior Bunnies exploded and a trio of Marines lost their limbs as a distant autocannon let rip 30mm rounds. The flashes, rising smoke and dust gave away the vehicle's position, with Rieta calling out, "ENEMY BTR AT OUR TWO O'CLOCK!" her voice filled with panic.
Delilah noticed the BTR as it soon began to fire in bursts. The eight-wheeled APC rolled forward through the forest, disgorging another squad of enemies, which caused her to scoff. As trees exploded around them, Delilah checked her pack and found she still had a brick of C12. She quickly slapped the plastic explosive together with a detonation pack and set the frequency to her detonator.
She grit her teeth, then began to move fast on all fours, carrying the explosive in her teeth. She narrowly dodged bursts of fire from both the enemy infantry and the BTR while their squad worked to fight off the enemy's encroaching soldiers. The BTR itself focused on the squad, probably not noticing the girl as she ran exactly like an animal, all four limbs put to work to propel her forward as adrenaline rushed into every part of her body.
She felt something sting her side, but ignored it for now, approaching the BTR and, in three moves, jumping right on top of it. The turret attempted to swivel about when the men inside must've heard her land on the roof, but she was too quick. She placed the C12 pack on the Turret's ammo feed and jumped down, scrambling into cover as it turned and fired at her.
She jumped, pulled out the detonator and thumbed it. The BTR then detonated in a glorious show of fireworks, washing a pair of enemy troops in fire and shrapnel. She called out, "All units, push forward! ALCON, ALCON, ALCON, enemy infiltrators confirmed within the Dragonborn territories! One enemy unit supported by one stolen BTR engaged! BTR has been destroyed!"
She then quickly looked at her side, putting a hand against it and gasping as she saw blood. Pulling out her IFAK, she quickly stuck the needle of a canister of biofoam in the wound, activated the can and groaned, then bandaged the injury and swiveled out of cover with her rifle, firing a burst at the back of one of the men that were trying to keep her squad pinned.
Rieta and Sarah popped up, blades slicing throats open and bullets tearing through armor plate and skin. They bore anger-filled gazes, but their faces remained impassive, emotions hidden behind metaphorical stone masks as they cut down the enemy's other troops. Beside them, UNSC Marines pushed up and gunned down several more Mages, only to have maybe four of them drop their weapons and toss away their armor before raising their hands, the universal sign for surrender.
Sarah pushed up to Delilah and took a knee, then breathed a sigh of relief. She said to her, "I saw the round hit your side. Thought it hit the plate, but..." while Delilah looked down. Sarah then smiled awkwardly and said, "Looks like you'll need a new hip..." before radioing, "Targets destroyed. We'll be coming home with four prisoners and two wounded," before looking back at Rieta.
The girl had a shrapnel piece sticking out of her limp right arm and looked mighty pissed, stating, "The bastards used Shrapnel as a fucking knife!" and getting a few laughs as replies despite her pouting. Sarah chuckled, then helped Delilah to her feet as the distant hum of UNSC vehicle engines filled their ears. Above, Sparrowhawks and Falcons flew, searching the area for more hostiles while a few HEMTTs and ambulance 'Hogs moved up to evacuate the wounded and the prisoners. The enemy was obviously getting more bold, which wasn't exactly a good thing for anyone, but that new intel...
Delilah hoped doc was coming home soon. She wanted to deliver that data personally to her and the others.
US Marines Tank Platoon MISFIT
Misfit 1-3
"Gunner! Identify enemy technical! Load HEAT!" Edward barked as he watched squadron of Insurrectionist Warthogs rolling toward them on his FLIR Cam, tracer rounds zipping toward them and striking the hull with audible thunks. The breech slid open and Ramirez slammed home one of the bulky fin-stabilized High-Explosive Anti-Tank. Edward, meanwhile, washed the enemy transport in fifty-cal fire from his CROWS, watching the windshield take several shots to crack. He swore to himself, "Christ, it takes a few fiftes, huh...?"
"UP!" Ramirez barked as he slammed the Breech shut, "Come on, Pendejo, get your gun on target before these fuckers throw satchels at us!" and he turned on his Latino ass to face their gunner. The man licked his lips as he zeroed the target perfectly center. Beside them, LAVs were slowly rolling up to provide cover with their 25mm Bushmaster autocannons, but they were still behind the berm.
"ON!" The gunner replied.
"FIRE!" Edward barked. The tank rocked violently, the cannon breech ejecting the spent shell as a massive flash of fire appeared on the Thermal. Edward followed the projectile as it angled down and struck the leading vehicle. A ball of flame filled his screen and several of the enemy's Warthogs veered off their original course. The Commander then ordered, "SECOND TARGET, TWO O'CLOCK! FOUR HUNDRED METERS"
"ON!"
"UP!"
"FIRE!"
The tank shuddered again, rocking back as the 120mm cannon let loose its second HEAT projectile. It struck the side of one of the Warthogs and sent it careening on its two remaining wheels into a ditch. Its crew had been vaporized by the hit, with Edward calling out, "NEXT TARGET! TRAVERSE RIGHT!" before that Warthog fired its Gauss cannon at them. The tank audibly groaned, turret the shot skimming the turret's left. "FIRE!" He barked as soon as he heard the 'On' and 'Up' from his crew and the tank rocked back again.
Other tanks and LAVs soon rolled up onto the berm, 25mm autocannons ripping through the advancing line of enemy units. Edward ordered, "Driver, forward! We're moving with the Battle Line!" all while looking at their main objective. A defensive fortress manned by enemy infantry, many of which were still armed with rifles and anti-tank launchers. He told them, "Never thought we'd be engaging this close-up... We got Canister?"
"Still enough rounds, boss!" Ramirez replied as he pulled out a canister shell. He looked to their gunner, Smith, and told him, "We still got HEAT loaded if you wanna take down the wall, brother..." to which the man gave a thumbs up. He aimed straight center and looked back at Edward, as if asking permission to fire. Edward gave a nod, then looked at the wall ahead, watching it be torn to shreds by a volley of HEAT rounds.
The wall came down, smoke and dust filling the normal visors and the view slits. The armor advanced and the LAVs disgorged infantry from their rears, Marines preparing to meet incoming ground threats as air support levelled a building inside the compound. The tanks watched as enemy cavalry(As in, actual horse-riding cavalry) ran forward toward them.
Edward snorted and said, "Well, good thing we loaded Canister... Gunner, identify target, cavalry mass, twelve o'clock."
"Identified," The gunner quipped, grinning. Edward tapped him on the helmet. No need to waste energy screaming out anything. He gave a nod and fired, the tank's gun thundering as what was basically a 120mm shotgun shell was fired, wad and all. The dozens of projectiles scattered in a wide area, cutting down the massed cavalry charge like a scythe going through wheat.
Infantry then advanced into the fortress with the support of LAVs and Humvees while the tanks waited outside. Edward Welkin breathed a sigh, stretched and said, "That was productive," before looking at the boys. Ramirez sighed, slamming home another HEAT shell just in case, then leaning against the turret wall. He handed the man an energy bar and said, "Fast hands."
"Thanks, boss," The man nodded approvingly. He looked at John and said, "Good shit as usual with the gun, bro. Scared the living shit outta me that we were about to get VBIED'd..."
"You know I take my time when I make my shots," Smith replied, leaning forward, then breathing a sigh. He looked up at Edward and asked, "Mind if I go out for a cig, sir?" to which Edward shook his head in the sense that 'no, no smoking 'till the mission was done'. The man sighed deeply, rubbed his face and said, "You three are really trying to make my ass quit, huh?"
"Least you stopped smoking in the tank!" Pearson, the tank's driver snapped back, "It was starting to become un-fucking-bearable in here, dude! And I'm the driver!" though his voice was muffled by the metal screen separating them. The Gunner let out a low, quiet laugh at that, clicking his teeth together and crossing his arms to his chest while watching the Marines securing the Fortress.
He perked up, however, then said, "Hey, what the fuck...?" then peered through the screen. The Marines that had gone in moments ago came back out with a few wounded... And what looked to be liberated slaves. Smith switched his gunner sight from thermal to normal, then watched as Corpsmen and rifles walked over to help the slaves, many of which looked malnourished and tired. Some women broke down, while men fell to their knees, thanking their saviors.
"Jesus Christ," Edward murmured, scratching the back of his neck, "You'd think you've seen it all..."
"Never," Ramirez joked. He told them, "Cartels do the same shit to people, man. Slavery's never died, it's just being done by different people to different people now. Different assholes running the same show," before taking a bite out of the bar. He asked Edward, "Did that Sarah chick tell you what the Imps were about to do to her people, too? Before the UNSC swung by like two or three years ago, I mean."
"Yeah," He nodded, "We talked while we were rolling back to base. Keep up through letters now. They sure as shit got lucky..."
John nodded and said, "I doubt they'd've just enslaved them, too. Imps don't look like the type to really half-ass operations like that..." then looked at Ramirez, "The bastards might've outright killed a whole lot of'em to make an example. Y'know?" and Ramirez nodded, clearly aware of what would likely have happened.
Edward listened to the com and said, "Alright, area around us has been cleared. Smith, get your one cig out before we RTB with the liberated slaves..." then he got out of the turret through the top hatch to let the man do his thing. John climbed out with his help, nodded in thanks, then climbed over to the other side of the turret, leaning against the armored cheek and igniting the cigarette.
Edward, meanwhile, looked over the damage they'd suffered on the side. The Gauss round had skimmed the turret, narrowly missing anything important by inches and leaving a nasty gash in the side. Part of the cage on the turret's back had been ripped off, alongside an old tent bag that they'd had on there since the early days in training. The Tank Commander sighed again, sat down on the turret and watched Ramirez get out, too, so he could eat outside. He told the man, "Can't wait to get Leave."
"Yeah, I know, boss. Same here..." The Latino replied with a nod. He asked, "You planning to go visit KINGDOM? Meet Sarah there?"
Edward shrugged, "Would be nice, honestly," before sighing and checking his wristwatch, "Generals say the next phases of the operation are gonna begin soon, too, by the way. We took out this Fortress and we pretty much just completely surrounded the Capital. All that's left now is to put the squeeze on them and wait for the signal to kick the door down..."
"You two are really avoiding talking about this, huh?" Snorted Ramirez. He bit from the bar again and continued jokingly, "Torres told me Dick, the UNSC Marine part of HITMAN? He was the same with the Queen of the Whiskey Bravos," before chuckling as his boss cast a sideways glance at him. He shrugged and said, "I dunno, but I'm just saying. You could take her to a day trip to Italica, seeing as the renovations are complete. I hear it's pretty cool now, too."
"Ramon," Edward started.
"Yes, boss?" Ramirez smirked.
"New standing order:Don't start talking about my love life unless something actually happens," The man told him. Ramirez blinked, before watching the man climb onto the tank turret. Moments later, the order came for the troops to board their vehicles, the civvies being loaded up into HEMTTs to take to the village set up near by Fort Alnus. As Edward climbed in last, he closed the hatch and said, "All crew, roll out. First position in the Convoy."
"Roger," The others replied, with Ramirez suddenly a little worried over why boss decided to be so upfront about that bit. So, he asked, "Hey, boss? Ya ain't mad at me for the chat, right?"
"Nope," The man replied, grinning, "I was just saying, don't jinx me just yet. We're still in the Marines. I'd rather think of dating only once I'm off-duty," all while setting up his stuff. The tank took the lead of the formation while the crew let out short laughs at their officer's quips. Ramon, meanwhile, breathed a simple sigh of relief, holding onto a handle as they continued down the road.
He made sure to load an extra shell, just in case something was gonna happen that necessitated a high-caliber round to be fired from their 120. Otherwise, he'd also checked his 240 before talking with the boss. The muffled drone of Jet engines echoed from overhead, while the tank itself rolled forward with its own turbine engine roarin' and snorin' in the background.
John took out his iPod Touch and showed the boss a list of music. Edward gave a nod of approval and handed him a Bluetooth speaker, the two setting up tunes for the road. Bobbing their heads back and forth as 'Stray Cat Strut' played. Their helmets obviously muffled the song somewhat, but at least they had some tunes to drown out both the boredom and the noises of the tank engine.
An Army company reinforced by their NATO allies was moving the opposite direction, meant to man the target area. Latvian Leopard 2A6 tanks and Romanian MLI-84s rolled forward with US Bradleys and MRAPs. Even a couple of Ukrainian BTR-4 Bucephalus IFVs joined the crew, soldiers on board waving to the Marine convoy and the rescued slaves, many of whom were being tended to by Corpsmen and Medics. A pair of Longswords also flew in overhead, supporting NATO and Earth-II aircraft in their operations. Turned out BattleNet and DataLink worked decently well together.
Edward thought that, maybe, yeah, it'd be a good idea to try and go find Sarah when they had some RnR slated. They'd get to have a chat, relax over a cup of coffee and maybe learn a bit more about each-other. They had had time to talk a little aboard the tank while heading home from that battle way-back-when, but that wasn't really enough to get to know what the other was like. It was still sort of crazy to consider it, though. She was a Warrior Bunny. An alien.
An alien woman and his sorry Marine tanker ass. Fucking wild, heh.