Richard sat, watching Tyuule sharpen her blade against a whetstone she'd brought with her. Beside her, Sarah and the others checked their gear. A resupply truck stopped behind one of the berms and unloaded food and ammunition for the convoy while a battery of Akatsiya artillery pieces set up there as well, the Russian and Ukrainian artillery crews working in conjunction to unload, prepare and dig in.
The battalions of troops had begun squeezing the pocket of the Imperial Capital, now being only maybe thirty kilometers from it. They'd surrounded the place and the ONI agents inside were already reporting major issues pertaining to resupply in the city itself. He sighed deeply, stood up and walked past a series of defensive positions and trenches being dug by their NATO comrades.
Henry was there, too, gazing down a pair of binoculars as the Sun rose meekly to their right. His rifle was dirty and the scope looked a little cracked, courtesy of a late-night raid by the enemy. He asked Richard, "You got coffee…? I'll even take the lukewarm canned shit the SDF sent our way…" to which Dick snorted.
He handed the man a can of coffee and took the binos from him, peering through them while the man popped the can open, hearing a very weak hiss. It wasn't a Soda, so that wasn't exactly a problem. No real reason for gas to form inside, either, the UNSC Lieutenant thought as he scanned the distant walls of the capital.
Helicopters, Jets and Drones circled the heavens above, too, some taking potshots at enemy units not marked on their DataLinks with missiles and their autocannons. Two Romanian F-16s flew low overhead, their engines roaring as they turned to the left. Torres sipped from his coffee, then said, "The entire AO is swarming with allied units…"
"Joint Command agreed that we're better off not going in guns blazing," Dick quipped, "Because of the risk of Civvie Casualties, y'know? They wanna drag'em out for a fight if possible."
"We've got those weird Flying Ginsu Hellfires. Could take Zorzal out in one tap," The American mumbled, then crumpled the can, took his bag off his back and tossed it in there. Dick raised a brow, to which Henry told him, "I recycle, dude… Showing a little respect to mother nature, no matter what shithole we fight in," then he zipped up his bag and slung it back on.
Richard nodded, "Respect for that, bro…" and he looked ahead, "Fuck, man… Hope we won't be taking tanks into that when we do go in," all while another Chopper flew overhead. It dumped flares, an archway that extended out like a ribcage of flames and smoke forming on the Heli's flight-path. It jinked hard left, dodging a Jackhammer's heat-seeker missile.
"Yeah, same… Ikari!" Torres barked. The Sniper didn't need to be called upon twice, her rifle roaring loudly and busting the AA rocketeer's skull wide open. The Sniper gave a nod to the man, then scanned the treeline for other targets. The two men sighed in relief, then continued watching the vehicles of their allies arraying around the AO.
Rosie sighed as she leaned back against a box of ammunition, watching their Lieutenants talking as Taylor loaded his MG beside her. The other Marines of Torres's platoon were fast asleep, meaning she whispered when she said, "Looks like we're nearing the end…" while watching Stavrov take a puff of her cigarette. Overhead, a Lynx helicopter flew. It had British markings, obviously.
"Sure looks like it…" Taylor nodded as supporting Apaches from the British Armed Forces glided in ahead, dumping a missile toward an enemy position ahead. One of them was raked by the HMG on the back of a Warthog, while another veered left and dived hard just as a railgun round zipped through the sky at Mach Fuck.
Stavrov voiced, "Would not bet on it," then flicked her cigarette away and shifted her rifle over as she told them, "The Innies are spread across this entire shithole of a continent, as are the Imps… We've got a huge area to deal with, not just the Capital," then she watched a Wombat drone overhead scouting the capital out.
"Son of a bitch, Stavrov, just let us enjoy the fact we're about to occupy the Capital," Delilah quipped, grinning ear-to-ear and garnering the laughter of the Germans, Americans and Japanese with them as a Tunguska SHORAD system rolled in behind them, the Radar system folded away for the travel. Its turret traversed.
"Just saying, Dee," The woman shot back, grinning as well. Plopping down onto the dirt, behind the cover of the sandbags that made their temporary shelter, she gazed back at the supporting self-propelled guns seemingly traversing. The full battery was zeroing in based on the sight from an ORION drone… Then the entire team jumped as a T80 about 500 meters away fired its main gun, an HE-FRAG round exploding above an enemy cavalry scout unit.
Two Su-25s belonging to the Russian and Ukrainian Air Forces flew in familiar formation for anyone used to seeing the 'Grach', or 'Rook', in operation, just over the team. They pitched their noses up high, dumping twin lines of flares and chaff, before banking left. The first attack came from the Russian, who dumped missiles into a small hamlet being used by the enemy as a base of ops.
"I'm going to skewer Zorzal myself," Tyuule mumbled, dead serious as she kept on sharpening her blades. Meanwhile, in the background, another enemy defensive position exploded in a flurry of gunfire and rockets, the two Rooks pitching up and to the right at an angle, before flying away to provide support somewhere else.
While Rosie and Ivanov blinked almost in synch, concerned for one of their COs, Stavrov decided to ask, "... You alright, Tyuule?" while still fiddling with her rifle. She honestly never wanted to see a pissed-off Whiskey Bravo again. The girls were terrifying enough as it was when in combat, but seeing them that filled with rage was… New.
"Still stuck on the fact that the enemy is deploying the Beastmen," The Queen of the Whiskey Bravos replied calmly. She sheathed her blade, then took out her canteen, but said, "The animals are going to prove extremely dangerous, especially with weapons stolen from our comrades…" before taking a sip of the pure water inside.
"Fair point…" The girl conceded with a heavy sigh.
"We'll deal with them, Your Highness. Don't worry," Richard spoke as he walked up to them, smiling. Tyuule almost immediately smiled back and simply nodded to her husband-to-be, as so many had called him ever since they'd hooked up. One of the Russian troops brought the gang a box of ammo from one of the UNSC Supply HEMTTs that had rolled up with them.
"Get a room…" Delilah joked, grinning ear-to-ear before having to duck under the MRE wrapper thrown by her boss. She giggled at that, gave a gentle elbow nudge to Sarah, who chuckled, too, then looked at Taylor as the young man set up with the MG Gunners of the UNSC. Ikari also joined in, letting another take her place as she grabbed some food.
"Very funny, Dee," Dick himself shot back as he sat down in front of the gang. He and Ivanov both paused, however, when a new vehicle rolled up. It was a Humvee belonging to the Corps, from the looks of things, but two dismounts weren't Marines. One was a black-haired woman with her hair put up in a bun and a black suit and the other was a brown-haired Japanese girl that… Looked incredibly familiar despite the pink suit.
Ivanov hummed, then called out to the rest of the team, "Hey, we got reporters…" tilting his head toward the two women as they approached with the supporting elements that came to deliver gear and new troops to the Front, including a few Marines from Sergeant-Major Colbert's unit. Ray gave a wave from aboard the truck, too.
The peppy European-looking woman spoke, "Ah, yeah! Hey! We're with CNN!"
"H-Hello… I'm just an independent for the Japanese side…" The Japanese girl spoke, a bit shy. She was carrying the camera equipment, from the looks, which wasn't really much. Good cameras and a couple of microphones that connected to them, meaning they did literally just get a pair of Rolling Stones attached to them… Great.
While many would normally feel that it was a stupid move, one Sergeant Shino Kuribayashi stared, wide-eyed, at the new arrivals, looked the one in pink up and down, then balked, "... What the fu-... Nanami!?" before flashing a grin. The entire group looked, confused, at Shino as she took her helmet off…
And Nanami immediately jumped, stunned, "SIS!?"
"Hahaha! Yā, imōtoyo!" Shin laughed heartily as she approached the flustered Nanami and threw her arm around her neck, before starting to give the girl a noogie, causing her to let out a whine while Shino kept on giggling. Nanami, however, didn't seem upset, considering the fact she was wearing an embarrassed smile.
Tuka, in her sweet Elven innocence, asked, "... You know her, miss Kuribayashi?"
"Ya kiddin', Tuka? This is my little sister!" The girl replied happily, letting the young woman straighten up and giving her a hefty slap on the back, before putting her arm around her neck again and smiling. To the entire crew, this was a moment of reprieve and calm, with Tyuule herself cracking a smile at the sight.
"Uuuu… Please, lemme go, O nēsan…" Nanami whined, slightly embarrassed, but still smiling.
"Heh. Sure thing, kiddo," Shino smiled, then gently let her sister go and clapped a hand on her shoulder. She blinked, then asked, "What the hell are you doing all the way out in the Boonies, though…?" as she looked between her and the other reporter, who was still grinning ear-to-ear as she watched the ongoing military ops.
"They attached us to the Front Line," The woman said, extending a hand to Shino. The Sergeant was courteous enough to grip and shake it, to which the woman smiled proudly and said, "Sup, I'm your sis's temporary boss, Kaylee," while pointing back at Nanami, who was unloading their equipment. The young girl gasped when she was handed body armor and a helmet.
"New hire for CNN and you got balls to drop into the fight, eh? Welcome to the shitshow," Kuribayashi the Soldier couldn't help but respect having the gall and female cojones to join one of the most forward units in this strange-ass war. Sure, the Faux-Romans were fucking stupid, but the Insurrectionists belonging to Sapien Sunrise were proving rather tough.
Itami walked up to the group with the others not fat behind. He shifted his Howa onto his side by the strap and asked, "Sergeant Kuribayashi? What's going on?" as he stared right at Kaylee and Nanami, both of whom raised brows at the sight of the Lieutenant. Kaylee, however, suddenly changed facial expressions to a seemingly excited grin.
One that Rory had noticed and didn't like too much…
"It seems as though her sister is here, assisting… See-Enn-Enn…?" Tuka explained as she turned to face the Lieutenant. Poor girl was still being introduced to the concepts of Earth, like news channels and the likes. IT was rather cute to see an Elf of all people confused in regards to such things, with Kurata in the background chuckling.
"Ooh… Hi," Itami chuckled, waving happily in greeting. Reporters.
"H-Hello…" Nanami mumbled, a little shy.
"Heh. So this is one of the three lieutenants of HITMAN, eh?" Kaylee nodded in greeting, shifting her vest a little to better cover her vitals, then said, "Sup, man. Kaylee, with CNN. We were sent to write a report on you guys and gals's operations her," as she extended her hand. The other two Lieutenants approached as Itami shook her hand.
"Fuck me… Did we get our own Rolling Stones, then?" Torres mumbled, looking straight at the woman.
"Sure did, Lieutenant Henry Torres. Heya," Kaylee chopped her hand to her forehead in a mock salute.
"Look, I'm gonna be a dick and say this is a horrible idea," Richard hummed, then nodded, "Still. Hello. Welcome aboard…" and he paused as the distant drone of chopper rotors echoed in the background, only to immediately be joined by the deep hum of a Pelican's engines.
"And one of the famed Spacers, Lieutenant Samuels. Oh, this is gonna be hella fun," The woman spoke as she took out a camera to record the choppers and air support craft flying overhead. They were escorting a medical Pelican, meaning an evacuation bird meant to bring the wounded to various local field hospitals.
"... Anyone wanna bet this'll genuinely bite us in the ass?" Ivanov mumbled, standing up and shifting his MG onto his back. He gazed back at a distant enemy outpost that fired missiles toward one of the allied units, then watched a Wombat explode in the sky. He sighed deeply, knowing that they were about to wade into the shit with two civvies.
"At least they have the balls to be on the Frontline. More than you can say for most other news folk," Stavrov replied. She looked at Rosie, who was peering through her binos at another distant threat. She scratched the top of her head, stowing the binocs, then joined the rest of the team as they were gathering near the vehicles.
"I had not thought I would see yet more reporters, especially on the battlefield…" Lelei hummed, scratching her chin. She told them, "Concerning, but interesting. Lieutenants. What should we be doing?" as she prepared part of her magical capabilities in turn. She'd been manufacturing a healing spell for the soldiers in the background…
"Doctor Halsey actually asked for you, Lelei. You're gonna be heading back to Italica," Richard spoke, watching the girl's eyes widen in surprise.
"And if anyone else from the trio of ladies we have with us wishes to join her, feel free," Torres offered to Tuka and Rory, both of whom looked at Lelei as the girl was pondering something. One was to think she was wondering just why Halsey would summon her all the way back to the rear echelons of the military operation…
"Come with me, madam Marceau. I could use the company," She requested.
"Very well.. Are you going to be well, Your Holiness?" Tuka looked upon Rory, noting that the Warrior Demigoddess was staring, cupping her own chin and deep in thought…
"Hm?" Rory blinked, seemingly taken out of her moment of pondering. She told the girls, "Oh, yes, I will be fine, ladies. Please, go assist doctor Halsey," before watching them leave with the Humvee that had dropped the two Tabloid writers off. Sighing, she turned her gaze back toward the wide fields and rolling hills, on the crops, the various villages… And the distant, burning fires of war and tracks left by tanks and trucks.
"What's wrong?" The American Marine inquired, he and the other Lieutenants staring at the girl. The usual smug goddess attitude seemed to have been replaced by the momentary concern of her current thoughts. She sighed, scratching her chin. There was a lot of danger ahead. She knew General Em Ephes was here. The two had met before…
And the other Apostles… She could feel Giselle…
"... I sense danger. The likes of which I have not sensed in centuries. I sense fellow Apostles, meaning we will have to go in regardless of your higher officers' wishes," Rory explained, shifting her gaze toward the men as they approached. Itami himself seemed to tense, while the American and the UNSC Marine remained relatively calm.
"We can keep the city blockaded," Richard offered, though he felt that if the Apostles wanted to do some damage, they'd just focus on one area. Going by the fact Emroy was on their side, it probably meant that the Godly Pantheon of Falmart was currently in a bit of a civil war-esque bind, or an argument.
"Hm. Maybe. I ask that, if any of my cousins engage, I be summoned to deal with them myself, lest we have to also assign Blue Team…" Rory requested, dead serious as she stared down all three men. They exchanged glances, then nodded together. She certainly knew of the power of her newfound friends, of Emroy's New Chosen, but… Still. She'd rather fight Hardy's little whore on her own terms.
"Alright. I'll tell the Admiral and Generals to keep Spartans on tap, just in case. 'Till then, though…" The UNSC Lieutenant nodded, then shifted to call up on the com. The moment he did, he gazed upon the others and Rory with concern. One glance was all that was needed to tell the team. Immediately weapons loaded and HITMAN-3 moved to board their transports…
"Mhm… We will be ready to deploy," Rory mumbled, staring dead ahead at the advancing forces still moving to surround the capital. With a heavy sigh, she boarded the truck with the rest of the team and their two new additions, all while the Akatsiyas fired their first volley, the thunder-crack of the 152mm SPGs shaking the very soil.
The Germans, Americans, Japs, UNSC and other units began to tighten the noose further, not to allow the enemy to redeploy or escape. They wanted to make sure there were no chinks in their armor for when the enemy would attempt a breakthrough, that the city was in view. That the enemy's defenses would break.
Nanami filmed as per Kaylee's orders. She filmed everything. Armored fighting vehicles and tanks moving in to tighten the perimeter. An American Abrams's turret traversed and the main 120mm cannon kicked up dust. The fired HEAT round struck a distant enemy fighting vehicle, a stolen Warthog, shattering it.
The automated machine gun turret on top tracked targets and ranged, the 50 caliber MG rippling, red tracers arcing high as they passed by a pocket of forests. The T80 MBT beside the American tank aimed, fired its HE-FRAG shell and rolled past the American tank. A Jackhammer missile struck the side of the turret, however, flame gouts spouting from the side. They were extinguished quickly, thankfully, with no dead crew.
A pair of Attack Helicopters, these ones Kamov Ka-52s, rolled up on the enemy force and their missile pods hissed. With their targeting computers, the Russian helos swept the area ahead with 30mm autocannons and rockets, before both turned left, hard and fast. Above, squadrons of Jets flew high and low at various altitudes, stacking and dropping bombs in support of other advancing elements.
The film that was being taken right now by the two CNN attaches was basically the equivalent of one of those videos that seemed to be springing up on YouTube, namely NATOWave. The sight of human forces unified and fighting a common threat in the form of an Iron-Age-to-Medieval Army and their highly advanced asymmetric warfare smart buddies was already making waves back home, but footage from the Front Line? Oh, hell, Kaylee and Nanami were about to strike it rich.
Rosie, who was watching the women film, asked Kaylee, "So, why the hell did you decide to come by? I heard some of the local Marines mumblin' that you all dont' like getting your hands dirty," to which Kaylee turned to face her. She handed Nanami the camera again, then turned fully to face the shotgun-toting Sergeant.
Truly, why had she come here? Just to strike it rich? Or to brag to her workmates back at CNN HQ that she got to visit a whole-ass alien world and talk to the war heroes of a whole other universe at the same time? She smiled and answered with a hint of smugness, "The boys are cute and I've liked guns since I was born. Bit of a Mid-Westerner thing"
Torres snorted, then told Rosie, "She runs a small vlog on new guns and gear in her free time."
"You watch her often, there, El-Tee?" Joked Stavrov as he cracked his neck. The rest of the crew, save Rory, laughed and Kurata and Itami exchanged some words in Japanese before the latter turned and looked at the UNSC Marine and Kaylee. The chatter continued for a while, the entire team, Tyuule and the others included, joining in.
Nanami and Shino kept to themselves, chatting with each-other as they went. Nanami, however, noticed Shino's boisterous attitude seemed to have died down and turned to face her sister, asking her in Japanese, "Are you okay? You haven't written home in almost a month… Before you all went to fight in and capture Italica…"
Shino sighed deeply, then said, "I got the first kill that shook me up a bit before we hit Italica, Nana… That's all…" and she offered a kind, if small smile to her sis, her eyes filled with sadness. Nanami seemed to want to know more by the way she turned toward her sister. Despite her shy appearance, she was still a Kuribayashi, one who cared about family as much as the others… Shino noticed it and sighed, "You're going to make me tell you, aren't you?"
Nanami nodded quickly, dead serious while also filming the fighting and allied forces advancing around them like it as second nature. Shino narrowed her lips, then cracked a smile at the sight of her lil' sis being able to multitask like this. She sighed and nodded, "Well, docs always say it's best to get it out… A Mage, Nana… A kid. A student. Old as Lelei, pressed into service by those pieces of shit in Sapien Sunrise..."
The reporter visibly blanked, staring at Shino. The Sergeant nodded and raised her hand to wave the conversation away, but her sis took her hand gently and asked, "Go on, O nēsan…" much to her surprise.
Shino's shoulders sagged. She took her helmet off, running a hand through her hair and mumbling, "I never thought I'd look a kid in the eye and put a bullet in him… But he pulled a grenade out on us, was about to prime and trigger it, too, kill us all…" she swallowed, then scoffed, "'Course, searching for excuses now doesn't help my case. I did what I thought was right…"
"And you saved our lives," Itami spoke, causing both women to jump. He'd gotten out of his seat and walked up to the two girls, causing Shino to blank. The Lieutenant took a knee in front of his Sergeant, then said to her, "Your split-second decision didn't simply take a life, Sergeant Kuribayashi. You saved a bunch of other lives and, even before that, did everything in your power to save the poor kid. Honestly, if anyone's to blame, it's probably me for not taking the shot myself… I'm the TL."
"That's uncharacteristically nice and smart of you, sir," Shino scoffed, though she smiled, scratching the back of her neck, "Like I said… I did what I had to do. I'm not gonna mope about it while we have a duty to attend to out here, but sis asked…" motioning to Nanami, who raised her hands defensively and started whimpering out some words, red in the face.
Itami nodded to both of them. He walked back to the front and sat himself down next to Kurata, checking his rifle, making sure it was on safe, then leaned back into the seat and letting himself go into resting mode, though still partially awake. Just enough to be able to react to anything hostile should it arrive.
It wasn't long after that the unit arrived at their next position, even closer to the walls than previous. With their entrenching tools at the ready and air support still flying almost hourly sorties above their heads, trying to keep the enemy suppressed, they were about to dig another fighting position that was supposedly gonna be occupied by a different platoon.
What the hell were they? Combat engineers…?