Chapter 5 No Man's Land
July 25th, 2017
10:30 AM
Meridian Prime Warzone
No Man's Land
Sympathy For The Devil – Freedom Dub
The final battle began with Valor Team's all-out assault into No Man's Land. Divided into three teams each. One on the ground. One in the air. Another down in the river stream. Max, Chloe, Bryan, and Frank taking the ground assault. David, Cayce, Cage, Heard, and Dhaled take the air support. Rachel, Alex, Kristine, Logos, and Newblood on the waterfront. Chronos had departed from the team to oversee the overall battle on Meridian for anything vital enough for him to need support. Just as he stated back during the debriefing.
Max was commandeering a heavy artillery turret mounted on a jeep with Bryan driving and Chloe taking shotgun and assisting with her rifle. Frank was on another four-by-four armed with another mounted turret with one Chrysalis troop driving and another was armed with a rifle for cover fire in the passenger side. All like the Warthogs from Halo. Both drove with support vehicles that were Humvees, APCs, armored vans, tanks, or other four-by-fours mounted with machine turrets in the convoy.
David and Cayce were on one helicopter with Captain Cage and a co-pilot piloting. Dhaled and Heard were in another helicopter flying next to David and Cayce's with Dhaled and Heard's pilots flying. David and Cayce armed themselves on the two mini guns mounted on their chopper. As well as Dhaled and Heard on their chopper. Attack choppers, VTOLs, and CH-47s surrounded the two helicopters to support them.
Rachel, Kristine, Logos, and Newblood were all aboard their gunboat. Kristine, Alex, Logos, and Newblood take the three turrets mounted on the left, right, front, and rear sides of the boat. Logos got the left, Newblood got the right, Kristine got the frontal row, and Alex got the rear. Rachel had armed herself on the bigger turret with two fifty-caliber barrels and a seat Rachel sat on for her to take control of the two triggers that fire the turret. A Chrysalis soldier was the boatman driving the boat. The team's boat was being tailed by smaller gunboats surrounding it to support it.
Max
July 25th, 2017
10:31 AM
Meridian Prime Warzone
No Man's Land
Cage: (comms) Comm check. One, two. One, two. This is Valor One, over. Standing by.
Newblood: (comms) I copy Valor One. This is Valor Two. Standing by. Over.
Max: This is Valor Three. Standing by. Over.
Cage chose to make me the superior officer of Valor Three given my imperativeness to this last battle. Newblood was put in charge of Valor Two. Cage put himself in charge of Valor One.
Heard: (comms) Remind me, Captain, why you thought it was a bright idea to put Max in charge of Valor Three?
Cage: (comms) It wasn't. Her uncle vouched for her leadership skills and I listened to him. Here's hoping I don't live nor die to regret that.
Bryan: You won't regret it, Captain. You have my word.
Cage: (comms) Her actions can speak better than your words. That's my final word.
Frank: (comms) Don't have too much fun on the water, my lioness. That's an order.
Rachel: (comms) I don't take orders from you, my lion. I take them from the captain. Nonetheless, I appreciate the thought.
Cayce: (comms) I was about to give you the same encouragement, Rachel. We still owe each other from Bolivia and Portland.
Rachel: (comms) That was a long time ago, Cayce. But thanks.
Cayce: (comms) Kristine, you and Rachel take care of each other. I know you can.
Kristine: (comms) Thanks, Cayce. We're gonna need it.
David: (comms) Happy hunting, everyone. Special thanks go to Specialist Caulfield.
Max: As you were, David. Valor Three out.
On my four-by-four, enemies were spotted. Only ConDef infantry retreating in the lushes and woods and I didn't hesitate to eliminate the threats with my loaded turret. I shot my targets with my turret. Frank shot his targets on his turret on his four-by-four. Like an on-rails shoot-em-up game but without the computer or television screen. The convoy was passing through some ConDef checkpoints and we all didn't hesitate to shoot everything and everyone down. I was able to destroy an entire checkpoint just by targeting barrels of gasoline that sent a watch tower and a turret base into orbit. Along with ConDef infantry dying in a blazing inferno.
Rachel
July 25th, 2017
10:35 AM
Meridian Prime Warzone
No Man's Land
It was a bloody battle for me down the water stream. I fire my turret at ConDef gunboats firing at our boat. The enemy boats go down exploding as I unload every round from my turret at them. ConDef jet skis even come riding on towards the boat. Speeding across the river where a soldier would drive and another would fire his gun. They were easy to pick off with a single round from my turret. The soldiers and jet skis bounced off the water with every heavy bullet that took them out like a fish in a barrel.
The boat is then driven towards a ConDef outpost of some kind. Where watch towers, turret bunkers, and AA guns are built between the stream. Me and the rest of the crew shoot down everything in sight. I take up the most amount of damage with my larger turret destroying the towers, bunkers, and guns while everyone else shoots down the bare minimum of infantry posted between the riverfront.
Once all targets were eliminated, we were then cut off by a water gate built for the outpost that had been sealed shut. Blocking the boat's route.
Chrysalis Boatman: Shit! We're cut off! Gonna need that gate open!
Newblood: Valor Two to Valor One. We've been shielded by a water gate. Mind blowing a hole open for us?
Cage: (comms) Anything for you, Valor Two. Valor One, let's make an exit for Valor Two.
Cage and David's helicopters come hovering over the boat. Preparing to fire on the gate.
Cage: (comms) Fire in the hole!
The helicopter fires rockets at the gate. Instantly destroying the metal structure with the explosive projectiles. Leaving us a hole through the gate for us to drive through.
Newblood: Thanks a many, Valor One. We'll raise you again if we need to.
Cage: (comms) That's what we're here for, Valor Two. Now let's roll out.
Max
July 25th, 2017
10:38 AM
Meridian Prime Warzone
No Man's Land
My convoy continues its attack across No Man's Land. Me and Frank shooting down ConDef with our 50 Cal turrets, the tanks firing at anything that moves, etcetera. Unti we come to a screeching halt when a bulkhead gate at another ConDef outpost barricades the path ahead. I called Valor One for help.
Max: Valor One, this is Valor Three. Gotta gate blocking our path. Requesting assistance, over.
Cage: (comms) Anything for you, time girl. Valor One, you all know what to do.
Heard: (comms) Is it just going to be our job to blow up gates from now on?
Cage: (comms) It's our job when I say it is, Heard. Fire at the gate!
Cage and Heard's helicopter flew over us and fired their heavy bullets and rockets at the gate. The gate itself exploded a hole caused by the firepower allowing us safe passage out of the outpost.
Cage: (comms) You're all clear, Caulfield. Call us when you need us.
Max: As you were, Valor One. Caulfield out.
David
July 25th, 2017
10:41 AM
Meridian Prime Warzone
No Man's Land
On my helicopter, Cayce and I shot up ConDef on the ground from thirty feet in the air. Unloading the mini-guns on infantry and other defenses the convoy was cutting through. My helicopter was providing air support for Valor Three on land. Heard and Dhaled's helicopter supported Valor Two on water. It all proved too easy flying and gunning in the air until it didn't.
More flaming Fallen pods were raining down on us. Some of them took out our surrounding choppers. Others are the supporting tanks and ACPs surrounding Valor Three's level. And others hit the ground spawning more Fallen. Revenants and Hounds mostly. Some of them spawn Brutes as well.
David: Incoming Fallen!
Cage: We all knew we were fighting these bastards eventually, Valor. Time to turn up the heat and give them everything we got!
Shooting at the Fallen on the ground floor from the air is no harder than neutralizing ConDef. Cayce and I could see Valor Two on water and Valor Three on land taking out their targets. Then suddenly, a newer breed of Fallen was now closing in. The sound of shrieking and roaring that came from where we were flying. A sound I hadn't heard since the refugee base in San Francisco.
Cayce: What the hell was that?
Cage: Valor, it's those Hydras! We have flying dragons incoming! Evasive maneuvers!
And that is when we saw Hydras flying by. Draconic flying creatures with draconic wings that were the flying breed of Fallen Cage had debriefed us back at the FOB. They looked exactly like Ares's dragon I had witnessed in San Fran but smaller in scale. Like Chronos had mentioned as well. We all knew what we had to do.
Cage tried flying our chopper left and right to evade the burning projectiles the Hydras spat out of their mouths as their offenses as well as the Hydras themselves swooping by like a dark fairy tale. Cayce and I tried shooting down the Hydras with our mini-turrets. Cage tried shooting them out of the air with the frontal guns of our choppers. Our entire air convoy was still getting hit badly. Attack choppers, VTOLs and the CH-47s were all dropping like flies. Either hit by the fireballs or struck down by the Hydra claws. Picking them off like flies to a swatter.
Then suddenly, Heard and Dhaled's helicopter got hit with a fireball. The propeller of their chopper struck down and burned as their bird descended into the trees.
Heard: (comms) Mayday! Mayday! Cagey, we're going down!
And then the chopper hit the ground with a big boom. Unknown if Heard and Dhaled lived through the crash or not.
Cage: Heard!
And that's when our chopper got hit next. A Hydra picked off the tail rotor with its clawed feet as it swooped over us. Causing us to lose altitude as well.
Pilot: Captain, we just lost our tail rotor!
Cage: Everyone, hang on to something! We're hitting rock bottom!
Cayce and I hung onto the safety handles inside the helicopter while bracing ourselves for impact. The helicopter's alarm was ringing as the bird descended towards terrain level. Then the helicopter hit the ground, slid on impact as we were crashing, and hit a tree in the lushes to break our fall.