The GR-8 Recoilless Rifle.

A man-portable, shoulder-fired, anti-armor support weapon, it is best-in-class in terms of destructive power for a support weapon, destroying the heaviest of armor and leveling the toughest of structures.

When requisitioned, the Hellpod is equipped with the GR-8 Recoilless Rifle itself, and its support backpack loaded with five eighty-four-millimeter shells.

Being another support weapon to be refashioned and refurbished from its predecessor, the GR-8 lacks many of the amenities the RL-112 MK3 features, such as its laser sighting module and its significantly enhanced anti-material capabilities. Despite the seemingly steep trade-off, the GR-8 foregoes it all for an updated chassis and the option of programmable ammunition.

Much like its AC-8 counterpart, the eighty-four-millimeter shells the GR-8 utilizes are programmable for anti-armor and anti-personnel capabilities.

Though the RL-112 was designed solely for an anti-armor role, as reflected in its Armor-Piercing-High-Explosive-Capped-Ballistic-Capped munitions, much to the confusion of S.E.A.F Command, many Helldivers from the First Galactic War insisted on utilizing it to eliminate fodder.

As such, in its trade off of its laser sighting module and APHECBC munitions, Super Earth engineers created the GR-8 Recoilless Rifle. Largely inspired by the heroic actions of the Helldivers during First Galactic War, it now houses an electronic suite that allows the Helldiver to program their shells for what the situation calls for.

Be it the option of High-Explosive-Anti-Tank shells to defeat super-heavy targets,

Or purely High-Explosive shells to completely annihilate anything less than an armored vehicle,

The GR-8 Recoilless Rifle is capable of both anti-armor and anti-personnel roles.

Similarly with the AC-8 Autocannon, the GR-8 Recoilless Rifle has the capability of being either crew-served or solo-operated. Though not of the same versatility of the autocannon, the Recoilless Rifle leans heavier on its role of pure destruction. When crew-served as intended, the lengthy reload process is largely circumvented, allowing the Helldiver to launch ordnance in quick succession.

Be it rapidly disposing of multiple high-priority targets with H.E.A.T munitions,

Or leveling structures and annihilating droves of clustered enemies with High Explosive shells,

Look no further than the Recoilless Rifle to spread Democracy, eighty-four-millimeters at a time.

The GR-8 Recoilless Rifle.

"Blow 'em to Hell! Divers!" - 'Admiral Defense Contracting'

Within the Abydos Courtyard

"Keep 'em coming! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! FOR SUPER EAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRTH!"

Valiantly, at the top of my lungs, I screamed as I loaded stripper clip after stripper clip of ammo into the autocannon, watching as the twenty-millimeter rounds flew into the dissident lines, the programmed flak rounds exploding spectacularly into shredding shrapnel, clearing out the helmeted dissenters by the handful.

"Watch those flanks!" I ordered as I let loose a hail of shells into the breach that the Helmet Gang blew into the gate.

Tossing away an empty mag, I drop my 'Breaker' before swapping to my 'Redeemer', the machine pistol releasing a hail of fire, shredding a few more in the barrage.

"Sensei-!" Ayane yelled out as a drone hovered overhead, her voice emitting from it. Craning my head upward, I wave briefly at it. "-We have dozens of Helmet Gang members storming the school! Looks like they're all funneling in through the main gate!"

I nodded as I turned towards Shiroko. "Shiroko! Grenades! Thin 'em out!"

With a nod and with the newly acquired G-12 H.E grenades, she pulled the pin on one before lobbing it over into the middle of the enemy's ranks, the subsequent explosion kicking up sand and dissenters alike.

I grinned at the excellent use of explosives. "Serika! Another! Don't let up the pressure!"

At the order, the Serika pulled the pin of a grenade before letting it loose.

"Good! Their ranks are scattered!" I loaded another magazine into my 'Breaker' before looking over my shoulder. "Nonomi! Sweep and clear!"

"Hehehe~!" With a smile, the cheerful blonde hefted her minigun, the multi-barreled support weapon spinning up before filling the air with 7.62 tracers.

I nodded at the Liberal use of the minigun before turning over to Hoshino, her shield in hand. "Hoshino!" I glanced at her with a grin. "That shield have room for two?"

Giving me a split-second look, she lifted her shield and nodded before turning back to me. "Uhe~, might be a tight fit with you, Sensei, but I think it'll work."

I give her a thumbs up before dropping my 'Breaker', its sling catching it before finally shouldering my autocannon. "I'll trust you with covering me while I give 'em a little Liber-Tea!"

This gained me a bewildered look before returning the thumbs up. "Just don't move too much behind my shield!"

Stacked up behind her, I reprogrammed the autocannon to fire flak rounds. As we pushed up, Hoshino worked her shotgun around her shield, blind firing with one hand and holding up the shield with the other.

Not to be left behind, I leaned past the shield, letting the AC-8 Autocannon sing its Democratic song in twenty-millimeter notes.

Letting loose a single flak round, the report of the expended round momentarily drowned out the noise of the battlefield. Just before the twenty-millimeter round impacted the chest of one of the dissidents, the proximity sensor activated the explosive charge onboard, showering the immediate area in piercing shrapnel.

Those just outside the lethal radius collapsed to the floor, writhing in pain.

"Ha ha!" I cheered as I unloaded another four into the confused and terrified Helmet Gang members. After expending the fifth round, I reached a hand around into the support backpack before pulling away with a full stripper clip of ammo.

Pulling it over the autocannon and locking it to the mag-well, I pressed down, forcing the rest of the rounds into the internal magazine.

Hefting it back over my shoulder, I find Hoshino to be staring at the weapon with intrigue.

Ignoring the rounds pelting her shield, she nodded at the support weapon. "Where'd you get one of those, Sensei? We could use one at Abydos!"

I grinned. "Just another piece of hardware at my disposal!" Then an idea came to me.

Hefting the autocannon off of my shoulder, I nodded at Hoshino. "Wanna give her a test run?"

Her amber and cerulean eyes went wide as she stared at the autocannon. Then an evil grin crossed her as she looked into my eyes.

Handing it off to her, I raised a brow in awe as she effortlessly took it up into her arms before shouldering it. "Uhe~, it's a bit large for me."

I shook my head. "Not at all! You're looking a bit more like Super Earth's finest! Here-" I cut myself off as I leaned over, one hand holding up the shield, the other pressing at the terminal. "-Press this for armor piercing, this one for anti-personnel!"

She looked over the controls before giving me a nod.

"Oh!" I then pointed at the fire selector. "This one's single fire, and this-" I pointed with a grin. "-Is the fun switch, you give them dissenters hell, I'll make sure you're topped up on Freedom!" I patted my support backpack.

She gives me a look as I give her a thumbs up.

"Whenever you're ready, Diver!"

With an exhale, she steeled herself, properly shouldering the autocannon before getting to her feet. Pulling the trigger, the first shot rang out, catching her off guard. Keeping her steady with a hand on her shoulder, I pulled out my 'Redeemer' before gunning down a dissident in our blind spot.

"Now give 'em hell!"

Throwing caution out the window, Hoshino switched the autocannon into full-auto, the support weapon firing at a steady but terrifying rate.

"Keep 'em coming!" I cheered at the pink-haired student. "AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! FOR SUPER EAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRTH!"

I ignore the crazed looks from behind me as I continued to load ammo for my new artillerist. With the full-auto fire of the autocannon, paired with me reloading for her, the Helmet Gang proved to be no match for the awesome firepower of Democracy.

Loading the final clip of ammo, I patted her shoulder.

"Last clip! We're empty!"

She looked over her shoulder as she fired the final five rounds. "WHAT!?"

I laughed, knowing full well she got carried away from the firepower. I held up a spent clip and shook my head while yelling out 'NO AMMO'.

With a slightly dejected look, she handed the autocannon back before picking at her ears, the concussive force of the constant pounding of twenty-millimeter rounds causing her to go temporarily deaf.

Slinging it over my shoulder, I handed the shield back to her, which, admittedly, is quite heavy, even for me... whereas the same little pink-haired student effortlessly took it up with one hand as she held up her shotgun with the other.

I cleared my throat before continuing. "So, what do you think?"

A smile crossed her. "That was pretty darn cool, Sensei! You let me know if we get any more ammo for that thing, it's a blast to use."

I patted her shoulder. "Well, after Shiroko gets a try, at least."

She turned her head to see Shiroko staring at the spent clips and shells littering the sand with a slightly jealous gaze before looking straight at her with a glare.

Then at me. "I wanna try next."

"Later..." I trailed off as I turned my head towards the breach, watching what's left of the dissidents scramble around as they picked up their wounded and retreated. "For now-" I pointed in the gang's direction. "Do we chase 'em down?"

Hoshino shook her head. Just above her, Ayane's drone hovered close above, this time with a blue holographic of her emitting from below it. "Nope, even if we knock 'em out, we have no place to lock them up."

"So you all have just been beating them back and letting them go after?" I ask with a raised brow.

They all shrug. "Not like we have a jail." Serika replies.

Ayane nodded with a scowl. "Yeah, the previous student council had to put it up for collateral."

I tilted my head slightly, hiking up the autocannon on my back to a more comfortable position. "That is due to the debt, correct?"

This turned heads my way.

Serika then glared daggers. "How'd you know about that?"

I raised my hands defensively. "I had the GSC brief me about the state of Abydos, including the academy that once prospered here, and the few students that remained." I shrugged. "She didn't go too far into detail on the debt though, only informing me that it exists."

Her glare drops, but she scoffs my way as she crossed her arms.

Ayane laughs awkwardly. "Uh... yes, Sensei, that is correct." Her drone turns as her holographic double gestured towards the school. "I'll explain further once you all are inside."

Within the Abydos School Clubroom

As we filed into the classroom, now turned clubroom, I watched as the girls sat around the table posted in the middle of the room, with Ayane standing in front of a whiteboard.

With a nod, I pulled out one of the chairs before seating myself, but not before a blur of white and blue catches the corner of my eye. Before I could fully sit down, Shiroko had taken to my left side with an extreme swiftness.

I give her a momentary glance before shrugging, focusing my attention onto Ayane.

With a smack to the whiteboard, Ayane then cleared her throat. "Good work today everyone, now, it's time to officially start introductions and finish up with a debriefing."

"Introductions?" I asked with a raised brow. "Well, nothing professional, but didn't we already go through that?"

Serika clicked her tongue and jabbed a thumb my way. "Yeah, he already went through our backgrounds, and does he really need to be here for this?"

I turned my head her way with a raised brow.

Another awkward laugh. "Anyways, welcome to Abydos High School, Sensei." She gestured towards all of her classmates. "And this is the Foreclosure Task Force, a club formed to restore Abydos to its former glory." Then she placed a hand on her chest. "I'm Okusora Ayane, a first-year student and the Foreclosure Task Force's medic and technician."

Shiroko raised her hand next to me. "I'm Sunaookami Shiroko, second-year student and the field captain of the Foreclosure Task Force."

"I'm Izayoi Nonomi, a second-year student! I currently don't have a role, but I'm still a member of the Foreclosure Task Force!"

Then after a bout of silence, Nonomi poked the side of Serika.

"Wha- hey!" The black cat exclaimed as she swatted her hand away.

With a smile, Nonomi gestured to Serika to go ahead and introduce herself.

Turning my way, she glares once more before clearing her throat. "Kuromi Serika, first-year student and treasurer of the Foreclosure Task Force." With a huff, she crossed her arms.

With their introductions done, all heads turned in the direction of a certain pink-haired student, who's head is currently tucked into their arms.

Shuffling her seat closer, Nonomi gently jostled her.

"Uheeee~." She sounded as she shuffled in her sleep.

Jostling her again, this time with more force, Hoshino finally relented, raising herself up with a yawn.

"Please proceed with your introductions, President Takanashi Hoshino." With an ice-cold tone, Ayane glared at her small president, who shivered under the gaze.

"U-uhee~, uh, hey Sensei, I'm Takanashi Hoshino, vice-president of the Abydos Student Council, and the President of the Foreclosure Task Force."

Easing up her glare, Ayane turned my way, followed up with the rest of the girls looking my way as well.

I nodded. "I am Sergeant Allen Hicks of the Helldiver Corps, pleasure to meet you all."

This earns me a few looks... again.

Ayane placed a hand on her chin. "You've told us you are special forces from another planet... how'd you come to be a 'Sensei' here?"

I crossed my arms. "Somehow, one of my deployments had me sent here. " I shrugged. "I'm not one to shirk duties, so here I am-" I then jabbed a thumb at myself. "A Helldiver and a Sensei. Pretty cool, eh?"

I catch in the corner of my eye, Shiroko looking at me with a sort of adoration in her eyes.

"What is a Helldiver anyways?" Nonomi asked, propping her head up on the table with her arm.

I grinned. "A Helldiver is an elite soldier of the Super Earth Armed Forces, the scalpel of Super Earth's military might, we deploy deep into enemy lines to disrupt and destroy key targets."

Hoshino raised a brow. "Well, I guess you weren't lying about being military."

"Also!" Nonomi exclaimed, as if remembering something. She then pointed at the autocannon and now empty support backpack sitting next to the door. "What is that?"

"Interested in Super Earth's armaments, are you?" I say with a grin.

She nods a few times, followed by Shiroko a few times next to me.

"That there is an AC-8 Autocannon." I say as I pointed at the support weapon. "Perfect for cracking armor and neutralizing personnel."

Then she gave me an appraising look. "How come only Hoshino got a try?!"

Ayane nodded a few times. "Well, gotta say it was pretty cool to see."

I shrugged. "Well, maybe once it gets resupplied, you all can get a try."

They all nod a few times, including Serika, before Ayane could cut into our talk, bringing this tangent to a close.

"Anyhow!" She exclaimed as she smacked the whiteboard once more. "Thank you for answering our request for aid, Sensei. I suppose this will be the perfect time to discuss pressing matters here in Abydos."

Serika jabs another thumb my way. "Does he really need to be here for that?"

Ayane nods. "Yes, he needs to know the details of what Abydos is facing, including the debt."

The black cat glared my way again. "But he's an outsider."

Ouch.

"But-" Shiroko cuts in, catching her off guard. "-He's the first one that has helped."

Serika glances between her classmate and me before slumping back into her chair. "...I guess."

"Do you know why our club is called the Foreclosure Task Force?" Ayane asked.

I nodded slowly. "From what I've gathered from my briefing earlier at the GSC, the Abydos District fell onto hard times following-" I pointed to the vast desert outside the window. "-A natural disaster. More like unnatural."

She sighed. "Yes, a few years ago a devastating sandstorm of unseen proportions swept across the entirety of the district." Her eyes followed outside. "This left large portions of Abydos buried in sand, effectively halting the district in its entirety."

"This led to the Abydos Student Council to route most, if not all funds towards relief and repair." She shook her head. "Unfortunately, the scale of the disaster was at a magnitude unforeseen, and funds all too quickly dried up."

"Coupled with the fact that most infrastructure was damaged in some way, a lot of the residents packed up and left, similarly with the student body."

She shrugged. "Well, we still have a few residents that live here in some capacity, but compared to what it once was, it doesn't even come close."

With a sigh, she continued. "With coffers dried up, the council had no choice but to look to banks for loans to help pay for the damages, but not a single bank wanted to risk loaning that much money. They even requested aid from other school districts, but even they steered clear."

With a grimace, she glanced up to me. "Not even the General Student Council lent a hand. To them, they simply saw a failing school district that saw no merit in aiding."

That is extremely strange, not even their main governing body attempted to render aid?

"With no other choice, they turned towards shadier loan companies. They assumed that they could eventually pay off that debt once things were cleaned up, but more sandstorms struck the district, and with that, more loans were made."

Her head was held low as she shook it. "It was a deadly spiral, more storms, more loans, more debt."

Unfortunately, I have little experience when it comes to finances, much less debt. All of that was always handled by the Ministry of Finance, who governed over pay, taxes, and Liberty forbid it, debt.

I grimaced under my helmet. "...If I may, how much is the debt?"

"Approximately nine-hundred-sixty-million yen, is the total we are facing." She replied as she met my eyes.

I don't know exactly how much that is, but given that it is in millions, that should be enough of an indicator of how bad things are.

I leaned forward onto the table, hands clasped together. "What is being done to, uh, circumvent the fact?"

She waved a hand towards her classmates. "We've been brainstorming ways to tackle the debt, amongst doing odd jobs here and there. We've been barely able to pay off the interest these days..."

"Leaving isn't an option?" I asked, against my better judgement.

In the corner of my eye, Serika shot me a hard glare, but stayed her hand.

Ayane shook her head. "The moment we leave is the moment the power of the student council is voided." She waved a hand towards Hoshino. "The vice-president here is the last council member that holds power"

With a shake of her head, she continued. "As soon as we leave, Abydos will be dissolved immediately."

I slowed my breathing, the gravity of the situation finally weighing down on me.

"This... loan company." I began, my voice taking an edge that us unlike me. "What might be the name of it?"

Ayane recoiled somewhat at my question. "Kaiser Loans... why, Sensei?"

I sighed as I glanced at Hoshino, who has an eye on me. "I might not look it, but diplomacy is my other strong suit."

This gains me a few askance glances, which I reply to with a wave of my hand.

"Do you... uh, plan on dealing with them somehow, Sensei?" Hoshino asked, her eyes no longer sleepy.

I shrugged. "I would hope so, as a Sensei and a Helldiver, I don't think I could have this injustice continue."

Their eyes light up, notably that of Serika's.

"Though-" I cut in, pausing their rising joy. "-We currently lack information on this... Kaiser Loans. I'll see about getting more information on them from the GSC, if not, from the locals."

The students glanced at each other then back to me.

"Does that mean-!" Ayane began, an unbelieving look on her face.

I nodded as I got to my feet. "Of course!" I raised my voice. "What kind of Helldiver would I be if I refused to aid those in need!"

I glanced at all of them before standing at parade rest. "For now, you let me know what we need-" I paused as I grabbed a strategem beacon and grinned. "-I believe I could oblige."