Battle at the End of the Universe (FT, Closed, ATTN Huerdae)

[Setulan]

End of the Universe, Farazen

"The damn thing still isn't working."

"Well...have you tried percussive maintenance?"

The private-a fresh faced kid no more than nineteen who had only reached the End of the Universe a few weeks prior-gave Captain Nyman a confused look.

"Uh...sir?" The kid even scratched his head as he asked the question, shooting a worried look to his team leader (who was doing an excellent job of not laughing).

Nyman simply rolled his eyes, shooting the kid's NCO a look. The Military Police Captain took a wrench off the bench and, with a slight grunt, smacked the hell out of the FTL transmitter's casing. The private jumped at the sudden noise and gave a wide eyed start, staring at the technician in the back room.

Gods, he's just like a fucking puppy.

"Anything?" The commo gave Nyman and apologetic look and shook his head.

"No, sir. Sorry. We're picking up signals from Xiscapian and Alversian stations just fine, but Setulan seems to have dropped off the grid."

"Well, keep working on it."

"Sir."

Nyman strode from the room, finally allowing himself a smile. This post sucked pretty hard for the twenty six year old cop. Not that it was a bad post, per se. Farazen had ten thousand citizens in the middle of nowhere, and it wasn't like there were many options for entertainment around the place. The only way off the rock were the biweekly bulk freighters that stopped on their way to more prosperous trade routes farther out towards friendlier space, and it wasn't like bringing more fun things to do was high on their list of priorities. That meant that people gut drunk a lot, and that meant a lot of fights, which meant that his two hundred and forty three soldiers-mostly MPs, with attached support personnel-were always busy. Not busting-skulls-in-the-hives busy, but not just sitting around on their asses either. There was always work to be done. Just not the kind of work that made your career.

On the bright side, doing a good job on his own like this was a sure fire route to promotion. He was the highest ranking military official on the entire planet, and arguably the highest ranking Republican authority too. The city council and mayor looked to him for any real decisions, and it wasn't like he couldn't just ignore them if he disagreed anyway. On the downside, well...

It was hard to shine when there was nobody around to see you.

Still and all, there were worse things. Nyman had seen his share of real fighting in the Danaversian War several years back, and he much preferred police work to open battle. Even if that police work took you to a police station called End of the Universe.

His radio clicked with static and he reached down, opening the link.

"Go for Hooligan 6."

"Hooligan, this is Blackbeard 6. Any update on FTL comms?"

Nyman grinned to himself. The fact that the very feminine Chief Warrant Officer Lila Garret went by the moniker "Blackbeard" never ceased to amuse him. The leader of the colony's twenty five agent Customs detachment was a competent, if sometimes eccentric, investigator and friend.

"Nothing new to report, Beardy. Comms still down. I attempted percussive maintenance, but that didn't work out so hot." What sounded like laughter came across the link.

"Glad to hear it. Just a heads up, I think there was an FTL jump in system." That little factoid got Nyman's attention. The freighter wasn't due for another several weeks, and there were no other planned visits. When he answered, his tone was no longer playful.

"What does 'think' mean, exactly?"

"It means, 'think', Hooligan. We don't exactly have top of the line sensors out this way. Our magnetic sensors started pinging pretty hard. Could just be an asteroid, but I've sent out Old Boy just to make sure." The corvette-purchased from the Xiscapians-was the one little bit of "fleet power" the colony could bring to bear.

"Alright. Keep me informed."

"You got it. Blackbeard out."


Farazen, Space

Old Boy had slipped its moorings and rocketed off towards the detected anomaly the moment word had come that something was out there. The Destructor-class corvette had come off the Nakamoto assembly line not even three years prior and already had a decent amount of wear and tear. Less heavily armed than the navy counterparts that were so common in the Xiscapian fleet the Destructors used by the Setulan Customs office were designed to carry more people and fewer weapons, a decent enough combination when used in conjunction with full orbital support but less than optimal when it was the only ship encountering raiders and pirates. There was no real reason to suspect that the ship was indeed going to find such as it powered towards the dark of the outer system.

For all that, Captain Troy wasn't so sure. Something told him this wasn't an asteroid. He knew it was just paranoia talking, but the crash of the FTL comms, combined with mysterious signatures, seemed...strange.

He told himself to calm down. Grabbing his mug, he took a sip of coffee.

"Anytime, sensors!"

The Customs agent in the sensor suite looked back in confusion.

"Sir...uh...those are ships. Warships."

Troy felt his body break out in cold sweat. Old Boy wasn't a match for a frigate, much less a battle fleet. He was about to reach for the comms to give a desperate warning to the authorities on the planet when he realized that his sensors operator wore an expression of surprise, not fear.

"Sir..."

"What? What is it?"

"Those ships...they're...Huerdaen?"

[Huerdae]

I.M.S. Iron Vengeance, Blackstone-Class War Frigate
Moored at Forgotten Exile, Sinnis System

Normally, the trip from the Blooded Blade to the Iron Vengeance would have had a convenient moment to gather herself and her effects, clean up her haphazard hair, and straighten her uniform to the best of her ability. Normally, she would have taken a Roc from one ship to the other. Normally, she wouldn't have been woken up after only an hour of sleep after a full day's work, to half-jog, half-run through the halls while pulling on her dread black officer's shirt alongside the captain of first the Blooded Blade, then by the end, a dozen other ISN or Shield officers. The only consolation was that half of them were as badly off as she was, pulling her flattened, black hair straight was only par for the course this morning. Seated not two seats over, Major "Kawaii" (Who chooses a name like that?!) was having an even worse time of it, dead-eyed Nogitsune picked at her fur and tried to bring order to at least the fur that was showing.

Only three people in the room looked like they were up, ready, and willing to go. The first, and most notable, was the AJAX officer attached to the 1-1st Home Regiment, but she was AJAX, and Fay'Shaila was pretty sure that she was one of the AJAX officers who earned them the jokes that they never slept, they just planned how they were going to make everyone else miserable in the coming day. Saerah was a good thirty centimeters taller than Fay herself, and had carefully straightened, shoulder-length hair that would have been beautiful if not for the grim look on the woman's face, and the glare that could have killed any three ISN crewmen at once.

Next was Bol'Garren, a man she knew only by reputation. He was a corporate man, it didn't make sense that he was here, but he looked more ready for it than most of them. He wore a simple working shirt and pants, and if she had to guess, she'd say he had been up when the call came. He had the circles under his eyes that indicated a long night, but he seemed otherwise unaffected.

Last was Admiral Lan'Kalmar himself. Newly promoted, he had been Captain of the Iron Vengeance before taking his new role as battle group commander, leaving the Vengeance in the hands of his previously-XO Colonel Ra'Malka. Where Ra'Malka looked like he had been woken up and had time to prepare, Lan'Kalmar looked like he had even starched his uniform, with how crisp it was as he stood in front of the assembled officers, hands clasped behind his back at the wrist. Despite his fine appearance, however, his face was exceedingly grim.

"Approximately eighteen hours ago, contact with Setulan Prime was lost, with conflicting, and ultimately, concerning, reports being all that was garnered. To save time and more than a few headaches, we simply don't know anything about what's happening in the system. AXIS forces have begun gathering, however, and more than a few have simply locked down all modes of communication to official channels. All indications are that the nations involved are going to war."

He let that sink in, and his eyes passed over each commander in turn, from General Al'Macoy, who still had his casual shirt on, and inside-out, all the way across the room to stare her down. She was certain it was meant to impart the weight of the conversation on her, but had to cover a smile at how badly he failed. All the act did was waste time, and he seemed to realize it. Quickly, he moved on.

"In accordance with our own interests, we need to secure our area against enemy attack. We do not know the source of this attack, nor do we really know their capabilities. As such, we'll be moving to secure our own flank against this attack. The Dread Black will be positioned in all strategic approaches to Sinnis, and a conversation has been made to offer the support of Forgotten Exile to damaged allied vessels, though none have yet agreed. At this time, your orders are simple. Set up a base in your allocated system, prepare defenses, and be in a ready stance to move. We will deploy by battle groups, with supporting Shield complements and their levies deploying to the surface."

In an instant, he turned to a 2d projection, indicating the nearby systems. "Brother to Death, your battle group and garrison will secure our path to the Sen gate home. Fortune squadron will be making shipments through this gate for us, to increase our logistical capacity."

Bol'Garren nodded to the comment with the same finality that told Fay that he had almost certainly earned a tidy profit from the deal. "Retribution in Steel, with it's garrison, the MST, and the Nogitsune trainees, will deploy to the Setunalite trade hub for the region. It's little more than a pretty rock with fertile land right now, but it's the only one with a major starport. As such, we want to come down hard. If the operation demands it, use of Helhammer rounds are authorized. No holds barred, people, we may be on the losing end of this very, very quickly. Play it by the book, play it safe, and move fast."

Finally, he continued. "The last good approach to Sinnis is Farazen. It has little strategic value to anyone but us, but it gives us a flank if they try to hit either Retribution and her group, or Brother to Death and hers. I'd like to think you'll just find dirt there, people, but again, we don't know the nature of our enemy. Play it safe, play it carefully. Each deployed unit will have access to deployable fortifications and any heavy weapons we have available. As we stand, we are at the bottom of the reinforcement list, so we don't need heroics, we need sustainable positions. This will not be pretty or easy. Get your position shields up, get your forces in place, and do it fast. It's a hurry-up-and wait operation, if we're lucky."

Glowering, he nodded to the door. "The command and specialist battle groups will remain at Forgotten Exile. We will serve as reinforcements and reserves for where it is needed. We don't want to show everything we have. Reinforcements will be doled out as needed, when they arrive. If they arrive. We're consolidating and preparing, so be ready for anything. All deploying battle groups have active priority, from largest to smallest. I want all three battle groups out of Sinnis within five hours."

The man stopped, looking at them for approximately half a second before his scowl deepened.

"Now, fuckers, not tomorrow."

Fay was out of the room, reaching for her comm to get base staff moving to load up their gear on the five transports she had for deployment. Most of their gear was still on board their garrison warships, which meant that there was no way they'd make the five-hour mark without getting priority. Most of the other ships were in various levels of pre-deployment, but she had been tasked to run training missions on-board, so they not only needed to move their gear, they needed to supply up with live rounds.

I'll be lucky if I get out of Sinnis in twelve hours, let alone five.

End of the Universe, Farazen - Deployment +9 Hours

It hadn't been as long as she had feared. Most of the officers knew what they could and couldn't go without, and some of the other ship captains let her get her things in order before they started making use of the rare Heavy Augments on the station to get heavier gear in place. Even so, Their gate was three hours past deadline, and they were the last to leave. Another hour was lost when the Blooded Blade turned out its FTL was still in a simulated 'damaged' mode from the last training mission, and it had to drag longer while they reconfigured the drive. Worse, that was recognized after they had left their little base, and it had left her, sitting with her command staff inside their Gravedigger, twiddling their thumbs for another hour.

Of course, it could have been a lot less pleasant. Major Aegan wasn't too different from her, and 'The Cold' that the telrosians had didn't reach him very well. He even smiled once, at a joke she made. Of course, none of this really sat well with You'Galna, her XO. He was the senior of them, in terms of experience. Like many here, she was new to her position - he had commanded three different regiments into battle on fourteen different occasions. She couldn't even say that for companies. In fact, the only real combat experience as an officer she had was from Foer - and while she had been in near constant battle for the entire Foer invasion, the Vocians were the only enemy she really knew. This man had fought everyone, it seemed. He saw Ticks on Sojent-Ra, he led an armored assault at the landing on Foer, and he even fought Ikittitl when they began to rebel on the surface of their prison. She was, quite simply, in awe. Still, the way the system ran, it put him as her second-in-command, as she had trained as his second-in-command since Foer. She'd gone from a fresh Junior Lieutenant there, with a green platoon, to a Colonel here.

The silver-haired man was as tough as anyone she had met, but he was terrible company. Kristof, at least, had proven to be somewhat pleasant, even though he kept glancing at their driver, who, for her part, did nothing to dissuade him. Still, her division commanders here had given her plenty to do, and to have to see to. First Division was hers - Command group, with some extra toys. In this case, a handful Kodiac-Variant gravediggers, one of which they were sitting in. Otherwise, it was pretty standard mechanized. She had a Company in her division of the medium Goliath tanks and a good set of variant turrets. She lacked the Belial, which is something she regretted, but could cover herself with artillery or AAA if needed.

5th Division, under Major Ja'Kaowka, was her ace in the hole. Imperial engineers, they had everything from a handful labor-fit Watchmen, to a full platoon of AVIE-chassis tanks. Demolitions, destruction, and repair were their game, and she had yet to see something broken so badly they couldn't bring it back to some semblance of working order. More impressively, however, she had yet to see a mountain they could not blast a hole clear through.

The other three divisions, under Colonels Lac'Saiba, Shi'Vessu, and Dex'Bollun, were pretty standard units. Mechanized infantry, solid gear, gravedigger chassis falling out their asses. Shi and Dex both had goliath units in support as well, but Lac had chosen her support as a more mobile, light infantry option. It was particularly rare, but the talons had come in useful in the past, and having some air cover was never a bad thing, especially when the whole company was built in Rocs and Talons, instead of gravediggers and goliaths. All told, between 2nd Division and 5th, they had pretty much anything she'd need to do well.

Except an enemy stupid enough to fight the HSE, that is.

There really was no way to tell they had entered Farazen, and if not for the Kodiac and its sensitive command gear, she probably wouldn't know even now, but suddenly the comms came to life as their driver worked to get it settled in. It didn't take long to figure out they had entered the system...without informing those within.

"This is Colonel Chou'Ellah of the I.M.S. Blooded Blade, we have been deployed to this system to land troops on the Farazen colony. Power down your vessel, there is no need for bloodshed."

It made her want to scream. No explanation, no reasoning, just a statement of intent. Of course that's what they're doing, but in this case, why is just a TINY BIT IMPORTANT. Particularly because now it made them look like invaders, when they were trying to reinforce and consolidate in case something came this way. The man couldn't have done more damage to her job if he had just said 'Drop your pants and bend over, fucker!'. Beside her, she could hear her XO groaning, and she realized the position it put them in. Flipping on the comms, she keyed in her units.

"Change of plans. The ISN is going to make our jobs harder, no matter how this ends up. First and third divisions will set down in the hills west of...End of the Universe." Suitable. "We'll set up HQ there as well as supply. There's nothing of major value there, and it gives the residents some privacy. Second and Fifth will set up just north, along the road toward where the setulanites have their...whatever they set up up there...set up." she grimaced, wishing she remembered what was there. It was a minor tactical target, but would serve as a good liaison between them, so she didn't have to send her own forces into the residential centers if she didn't have to.

"Fourth will set up in the mountains, southwest of End. That leaves their food and other supplies relatively unmolested by our presence, and we may yet keep them from thinking we're simply invading."

A choir of affirmatives came back, as the captain from the landing craft groaned. "Ma'am, you want me to land this thing on hills? That's like trying to drive a tank down a hallway."

Rolling her eyes, she just waved it off. "Get me as close as you can. All our stuff is mounted up, we can hike it. Just get us to ground safely."

"Aye, ma'am."

As an afterthought, she turned to Major Aegan. "We'll base your Division at HQ, but I want at least one company in the field at all times. Keep eyes on the world for me. Avoid the locals if you can, we're not here to police them, we're just a garrison. I don't want incidents."

The man nodded, and that left her alone with her thoughts. And all she could think of was what the ISN and setulanites were about to do. With a battleship, four cruisers, and sixteen destroyers escorting a handful of heavy landers, she could only hope that the Setulanites were aware enough of the situation to know what they were doing...instead of thinking it was exactly what it looked like.

I think first time I visit End, I'll have to bring Chou with me. I want to see if these Setulanites can really hit as hard as Xiscapians think they can.

[Setulan]

Furst's Landing

The sirens hadn't stopped wailing yet, but Nyman had effectively tuned them out. He was helped by the insulating nature of his helmet, of course, but given his state of mind he didn't think he would have needed it anyway. Standing outside the End of the Universe, he turned around just in time to see a Maxellian APC come roaring out of the subterranean basement. The heavy vehicle rocked on its suspension before rolling down the street as the vehicles commander hastily forced the belt feed to link up with the Banshee mounted on the cupola, giving the heavy gun a burst of juice to make the barrels whir. Nyman was pleased to see that the Mauler was already squared away. Huerdaens, just like Setulans, were big into mechanized warfare. Anti-tank was a must.

Huerdaen. God damn motherfucking Huerdaen. How had he forgotten about those short little fucks? How? Thinking he was safe because no pirates would raid near their space, he had completely neglected to prepare himself or his men-mentally or otherwise-for what had to have been a well planned betrayal. Things had never been peachy between the Republic and HSE, but he didn't realize that it had gotten this bad.

"Nyman! Captain Nyman!"

Nyman turned around quickly, seeing another power armored figure bounding towards him. Clad from head to toe in MPBA powered armor and toting around a K-14 RAWS, Chief Warrant Officer Garret looked much the same as her counterpart. He had only recognized her from the unique Customs logo emblazoned on her chest that stood in stark counterpoint to the hawk and shield of his own.

"What do you got?"

"Old Boy got away. That's confirmed."

Nyman breathed a sigh of relief. Confronted with overwhelming odds, the little corvette hadn't sacrificed itself but rather made an emergency FTL jump towards somewhere, anywhere that wasn't here. It could get help. They were all still likely to die, of course, but at least they could get a warning out to other Republican forces in the area.

"Thank the Gods. Whats your status?"

"My boys and girls are on crowd control for now, getting everyone into the bunkers. Don't know how much good it'll do, mind you."

The MP nodded. Once word of the fleet reached them, they had immediately initiated emergency protocols. The civilians were being herded into bunkers despite many bitter protestations and angry demands that they be allowed to get their guns and fight, and the Customs agents had freed up the MPs to prepare themselves for battle.

Ha. Prepare.

Farazen wasn't prepared for this at all. Though End of the Universe was as well equipped as any MP compound in the Republic, it was meant more as a place of refuge for civilians during riots than for this kind of thing. Granted it was a miniature fortress, but there was no way it could stand up to the kind of firepower a mechanized column would bring to bear. Nyman's arsenal included six Maxellian MP variants, each of which was equipped with a Banshee rail cannon and a Mauler AT missile. Every one of his cops also had their personal equipment-a full set of MPBA and K14 RAWS, in addition to side arms and shotguns. For reasons he didn't fully understand, there were also three suits of the bulky Tactical Assault Armor, but nobody in the company was trained to use them and they were just sitting in the store room gathering dust.

"So what's the plan, Captain? We can't fight this."

"We can't, but we will." Nyman sighed, removing his helmet to feel the breeze on his face. It was only after he did so that he remembered that the colony's energy shield had been raised and the closest thing to a breeze he would feel was from somebody making it themselves. The shield being raised was, to him, the ultimate sign of futility. It was an environment shield, not a combat shield, and it wouldn't last more than five minutes against real artillery or any serious effort to shatter it. And lord, did the shorties pack artillery when they went to war. But raise the shield they had.

"We'll use the layout of the city to our advantage. It's all windy and screwy and shit. No real planning. Means it's harder for them to roll armor right down the street. We'll have the Maxis sting and move, blast a tank here and fall back before they get crushed. We have some limited AA at the End of the Universe, hopefully it'll keep their gunships off us for a bit. The blockhouse will be our one little fortress." He smiled grimly. "Fuck bloodless, and fuck this Colonel Chou'Ellah. He clearly doesn't know Setulans well if he thinks we're just going to give up without a fight. I'll give that piece of shit a taste of Setulan Steel."

"Short fucks. Those short little cocksucking fucks. Had to get greedy, didn't they? Had to happen eventually. Ever since the treaty with the Viprans they've wanted to start shit with us." Garret was obviously just as heated as Nyman, and just as prone to let everyone know it. "I almost look forward to it, you know? I really do. Showing these little shits what's up. Shame about the inevitable result, though."

Nyman snorted slightly.

"That's a fact." The Captain's vox chirped at him and he answered it immediately.

"Go for 6."

"Sir, this is Red 1. Charges are set. We can blow the mines at your word."

"Roger that, Red 1. Good work. Get back here ASAP, we'll hold off the detonations till we can take some of the fuckers with it."

"Aye aye. Red 1 out."

"Sir! Sir, they're coming!"

This voice didn't come over the radio at all, but from the roof-they could properly be called battlements-of the End of the Universe. An MP manning a Maimer multi-missile system was pointing towards the sky and Nyman immediately saw what he was pointing at. Comets were burning in from the edge of the horizon as the Huerdaen drop ships began their terminal descent. The trooper immediately brought the Maimer to bear on one of the targets and was getting a target lock when his CO's harsh voice made him stop.

"Enough! Hold your fire, damnit. If we waste a drop ship there's no way the fuckers will let anybody get away from here. They might just flatten Furst's Landing from orbit." Besides, I doubt you could do more than scratch the paint. Nyman kept that part to himself.

"Get ready, boys and girls! Here they come!"

"I don't think they are." Nyman turned sharply to face Lila. She had removed her helmet and was staring at the drop ships speculatively.

"Excuse me?"

"They're coming in wrong for that. Look." She pointed in the distance and he followed her hand, seeing nothing.

"Lila, let's pretend for the moment-since it's absolutely true-that I have no fucking clue what you're talking about."

"They're not coming in for a direct assault, Nyman." Garret gestured to the drop ships again as they burned overhead. "Their landing zones are going to be way farther away than they need to be for that. If they really wanted to burn us down, they'd be way closer."

"Bullshit. Whatever, I don't know. Get to your position please, Chief." She gave him an off look.

"Aye aye, sir." Throwing an exaggerated salute, she sauntered back to the blockhouse. Nyman stared after her for a moment before replacing his helmet and opening his vox.

"Stay frosty, MPs. Stay strong, stay alert and stay alive. We might not have a chance, but by the Ten we'll make them bleed for Furst's Landing."


End of the Universe, 45 minutes post drop

"I really hate it when she's right, you know."

Nyman's First Sergeant-a burly man named Hurst-nodded in a sympathetic manner.

"Yes, sir. Really stings the pride."

"Fuck it. Seriously, fuck it. They haven't attacked. We're surrounded, and they haven't attacked. We should be crawling with midgets by now. Why the fuck haven't they attacked? The Shield isn't exactly known for being tardy. I mean, the LEAST they can do is send us a message. Or they would. Except, you know. We have no comms."

"Tardy they aren't. I talked to an Atoran once. She fought the shorties in one of their endless skirmishes. Shield fight hard, die harder. They ain't a joke, sir. If they haven't attacked, there's a reason."

Nyman rose from his crouch angrily, ignoring the angry hiss of his chief NCO. Standing boldly atop End of the Universe, he waved his arms wildly and activated his helmet's speakers.

"Hello? Anybody out there? Midget snipers? You there? Cus I am! I'm the big fish you want!" Nyman swatted away the insistent hand of the First Sergeant absently. "They're not here, Top. They really aren't." He looked down, amused. "Go on then, stand up. I'm serious. They'd have popped my ass by now." Hurst rose and shot his commander a look that was clearly flat even through the dark visor.

"You're out of your fucking mind, Captain."

"Oh, don't Captain me. Something is off, and I mean to find out what it is." He made a snap judgement. "Get me a Maxi. You're in charge till I get back."

"What makes you think you'll come back?"

"Oh, I bet that idea gives you the warm and fuzzy in your no-no zone, huh."

"No sir, only you give me the warm fuzzy there."

"Yeah yeah. Get me a Maxi."

Ten minutes later, a Maxellian-weapons pointed towards the rear with a Republican flag flying proudly above its cupola-was hurtling across the duty plains towards the foothills, where comms had said most of the radio traffic was coming from. About halfway between the drop zone and the city, the Maxellian slewed to a halt. Nyman hauled himself out of the Cupola and jumped down, flag in hand. He planted it pointedly in the soil and stood there, heavy rifle held loosely in his power armored gauntlets. He cut an impressive figure this way; average height by Setulan standards, he was broader than the usual and his power armor could barely keep in his very well muscled body. His visor was dark as he scanned the hills in all visible spectrum. There was no way the Huerdaen could have missed his dust-covered ride to the hills. He assumed somebody would come to meet him.

He just hoped they didn't blow his head off before he got a chance to say anything.

[Huerdae]

Huerdaen Field HQ, Farazen
1-1-3rd Home Regiment, Mechanized

Fay'Shaila was trying very hard not to scream into the comms from where she sat, the inside of the vehicle abuzz with activity. The command staff around her were giving orders, clarifying issues, and generally doing all kinds of things and saying things that she never expected to have to clarify with a group that was as organized as she had thought that her regiment was. Really, the orders weren't that hard.

"No, I want your troops in that gully, awaiting further orders. Do not peek for spots, do not line up shots in case of trouble, just hide in a damnable hole until I tell you otherwise! I don't want a single railgun pointed that way! We already saw them starting to track us on our way down, do you really want to be the reason this goes from 'particularly unfriendly' to 'Whelp, boss, we're kinda at war now'?"

The line clicked dead and she swore again, and she checked the display to be sure that her orders were followed. She let out a sigh when the tanks rolled back from the hill, no longer in ready firing positions. It was driving her nuts, and even though it was only one platoon here, or one squad there getting ready, she had given strict orders, and some were being carefully skirted. The only two units that she had which she had not had to yell at a single time were the 5th Division, Imperial Engineers, and the AJAX. The AJAX, for their part, had set up their own gear hanging about their Icarus flyers, and were calmly playing cards, which was really all she expected from anyone. The engineers, for their part, were flattening huge sections of the hills around them and constructing a base with a simple efficiency that made the entire area sound like some sort of massive foundry. Pre-fab units were still being deployed, and almost as soon as they were groundside, they were fitted in place. She'd been told it would take a day to have HQ up and running, but at the speed they were moving, it seemed like darkness would see her sleeping in her new bed.

Ja'Kaowka banged on the outside of the Kodiac-variant's door, ringing the inside like a bell, and she slapped the door release to let the thing slowly fall open at the back of the chassis. Before it had even lowered all the way, he stepped in. "Boss-girl, we got company."

Everyone in the Kodiac perked up, and she reached for her rifle, but he put his hand over it first. "One vehicle, guns pointed to rear, bearing a flag."

"Have they responded to us yet? On anything?"

The man shook his head, but shrugged. "Some of my boys called it in when they were setting up the spotlight you asked for. It's possible these guys really don't have any comms."

She nodded, gesturing out of the vehicle to the others. "We're going."

After a second thought, she pointed out Kristof and You'Galna. As an afterthought, she realized it would be best with a full-strength squad, just in case, so she snagged the nearest of her command staff, a corporal who served as a rifleman in her command unit. Pulling them into the Kodiac, she slapped the release again, and the door which had just fallen began to rise. Every one in the vehicle was armored, and even though Major Aegan's armor was only power-assisted, he was the largest of them. The vehicle was designed to hold a squad - barely - and it did just that, with all of them standing, weapons in hand.

The road, if you could call it that, was bumpy as any she had been on, and the dual tracks of the LAV threw dust into the air that quickly concealed their work site and HQ. Their vehicle, small and quick, and designed as a command vehicle, didn't have the gear or added charges that the Gatecrasher variants did. Instead, it bore dual-mounted Hades rotary cannons on a small, fast moving turret. They had this turned around, but the vehicle didn't even have a proper cupola, and they had no flags. Instead, it was just a quick-moving LAV that sped along the dusty paths, the whine of the electrical engines belying the power behind the vehicle's drive.

It didn't take more than ten minutes to get within sight of the other vehicle - larger, due to the fact that it had to carry larger passengers, no doubt, and the man standing there with a flag and rifle. Its own weapons were turned toward the rear still, so she kept hers pointed away as well. Instead, she slammed her armored fist against the back of the wall that served as the back of the driver's chair, and protected him from fire if the rear was open. "Slow, sergeant. Bring us up about ten meters back. Give the man plenty of room, he's got good reason not to trust us."

The Kodiac crept forward, and as it did so, she could see the size of the man, as well as his vehicle - their LAV, with five in it and a driver, was probably half the size of the Setulanite monster. Both were armed, both served their purpose, but it was particularly telling to her why large bodies simply didn't fit in today's wars. Snorting as the vehicle slowly stopped, she hit the release again, gripping her rifle in her hands.

And then, carefully released her hand from around the grip, holding it in her off-hand, around the barrel. The others near her followed suit, and as the ramp hit the ground, she held it around the side of the vehicle where it could be seen. When no shots rang out, she stepped out, the dread black armor of the Shield quite visible, as well as the golden shoulderpad that marked her out as a command-level soldier. Behind her, her XO followed, then Ja'Kaowka and the rifleman. Last was Kristof, in his AJAX armor, just over a third of a meter taller than the rest of them. Of the Shield, only the rifleman wasn't marked in golden shoulderpad, instead having the basic black.

Slowly, she approached, until she was craning her head back to look up at him. Even the flag he carried was massive, and it drew her face out in a scowl. Her group fanned out behind her, and with a thought, her shielding faceplate lowered, allowing the man to see her face within the armor, instead of the gloss black shield that showed nothing. There was no reason for her to wait for him to speak - he wasn't the one who owed an explanation.

"I'm Colonel Fay'Shaila, Imperial Shield, of the Mechanized One-One-Three of the Home Galaxy Army of the Imperial Shield, commanding officer. Some of my command staff is with me. Major Kristof Aegan, 8th-2nd Telrosian Assault Jaegers. Ja'Kaowka, Imperial Engineers. You'Galna, Imperial Shield, and my second-in-command. And rifleman-" She glanced at the man "-Zu'Issika. Part of my command platoon."

Tossing her Maedar on the ground in front of her, the woman smirked, her deep brown hair matted to her head in sweat, either from the heat in the suit, or from work, or some other reason, but it barely reached past her ears. Her eyes matched the depth of the brown, but her skin was stark white, almost blue in how pale she was, and she squinted away from the light of Farazen's sun.

"Since the navy jackass up there doesn't know how to tell you what's going on, let me clarify. We've been sent to reinforce your position. As one of the colonies near Sinnis, you guys have been determined to be of tactical importance, and with the attack on Prime..."

She stopped, eyes searching him. "You really don't know, do you? Alright, well, just over an Imperial day ago - twenty hours - Setulan Prime went dark. Nothing was coming out of there, last we heard. Thing is, what happened just before that set everyone off. I've got about no details on this, but the Star Empire thinks you guys are at war - when you're at war, outlying colonies tend to breed piracy, and become insecure bases where people can operate in the surrounding areas. It also means whoever hit you may be going after your 'friends', and that means us, however unfriendly we may seem to be. As such, it was in our best interest to reinforce weakened positions. That means you guys, and two other systems nearby. The major one had a starport, Helissan or something like that. Another on the other side of it, flanking. Those two hit dirt first, last I heard they were digging in. You guys got unlucky enough to deal with our fine Colonel No-Wits-In-Head so we're hours behind."

As she was depicting Colonel Chou'Ellah, she made a gesture akin to stuffing her thumb up her ass, and rolled her eyes, before continuing. "So I'm not sure if you're in charge around here, but you've got markings of an MP, so at least you can get a report in of what we're about. Base north of you is pretty simple, just a mobility post. I can support most anywhere from there, so I've got my fast-movers ready. AJAX, engineers, and my mechanized division are sitting pretty at our HQ, where we just came from. Got another position down south of you, with a Big-Twenty-Five - an anti-orbital piece. He's probably just about set up now."

She stopped, and sighed, her neck already starting to hurt, so she turned around, and climbed atop a windswept rock, to more evenly look the man in the eye. "I'm not police, and I have no business in your town, so my boys will steer clear. With luck, we'll just be neighbors for the time being."

In the distance, behind her, one of the massive landers, not a dropship, but a full-weight transport, began to lift off, heading back out to the protective battle fleet above. "I've got comms off-world, but since you haven't been answering, I'm guessing your own comms are out. What do you need to get them back up? I have no doubt shit's going to hit the fan if we can't talk, and I'm really not interested in fighting you guys if I don't have to. I rather liked this post when all it was was drinking, fucking, sleeping, and training. An easier tour than Foer."

She stopped, to let the man speak, but Ja'Kaowka butted in, his faceplate dropping as well to show the same, almost-dead-looking white skin as his CO. "I've got AVIEs on the ground, in case you need to move earth. I'm not sure how your life or plans change with this move, but once we're done at HQ we can get some fortifications built up for you. I've got a full division of manpower, with armored vehicles, so we can move a lot of earth."

Fay nodded, and her eyes returned to the man who looked so heavily tanned, compared to them. Most of her unit was out of Mah'Lahn, and even among the HSE they were pale, due to the sun of the system. Mah'Lahn 'Ghosts' they were sometimes called, because of it, but it set them even more apart from the Setulanites, when the Huerdaen were so very different in all ways. The man was even comfortable with the sun, and wind, and open air, where she was carefully sealed away in her suit, only her face visible. It occured to her they probably thought that all Huerdaen were dwarves - big heads, misshapen legs, disproportionate and ugly. It brought a smirk to her face, but the man's expression drew her attention.

"Well, speak your mind. I came out here for a conversation, not to hear myself talk."

[Setulan]

No Man's Land, Farazen

Nymen stood calmly for what seemed like forever, stock still, as he waited for some kind of response from the Huerdaen. What he got wasn't exactly reassuring.

"Sir...sir, they definitely have tanks in position. Big armor, lined up to fire onto Furst's Landing." The MP broke out into cold sweat. Had he just made an awful mistake? Maybe all the stuff he had heard about the Shield was just talk. Maybe they screwed up their drop, some virgin officers fucking up a relatively simple assignment. Gods knew that stupider shit had happened in the Planetary Guard before. Maybe...no. He had to stop thinking like that.

"Hooligan 7, how many tanks we talking?"

"Ah...about a platoon strength element...wait one, 6." There was a pause. "Alright, OP 4 reports that the tanks have pulled back from the hill. You really shouldn't be out there, sir."

Nyman breathed a soft sigh of relief, unheard over the radio.

"Negative, 7. Probably just some over eager tank jockey."

"With all due respect, sir, you have no fucking clue what you're into right now." The First Sergeant's tone had a bit of an edge to it as he broke the connection. Nyman just shook his head. He had only been standing there another five minutes when he saw the dust trail getting closer.

"Here we go..."

The LAV rolled to a stop nearby and the Captain couldn't help but think about how small it was. Made for smaller people and to carry half the number, the vehicle-his helmet display identified it as a Kodiak-was almost half the size of his Maxellian. Then a rifle butt poked around the corner and he almost laughed out loud. Whoever was in there clearly though this might be a trap.

If only.

After he didn't start shooting-in fact his rifle was still held loosely in one hand-five of the midgets came out of the vehicle. It was a pretty collection of gold braid to be sure, and before he could dreg up Huerdaen rank from memory his armor once again saved him the work, identifying the group as pretty senior brass. He remained completely stationary as the figure in black with the most braid walked up close enough that they had to crane their neck to look into his visor. The faceplate lowered and revealed an incredibly pale female face.

"I'm Colonel Fay'Shaila, Imperial Shield, of the Mechanized One-One-Three of the Home Galaxy Army of the Imperial Shield, commanding officer. Some of my command staff is with me. Major Kristof Aegan, 8th-2nd Telrosian Assault Jaegers. Ja'Kaowka, Imperial Engineers. You'Galna, Imperial Shield, and my second-in-command. And rifleman-" She glanced at the man "-Zu'Issika. Part of my command platoon."

Nyman winced inwardly. That was a lot of firepower. He didn't want to surrender the city outright, but the fact was that many troops could kill every man, woman and-

She tossed her rifle to the ground and smiled-not a pleasant smile, but a smile nonetheless. The MP was nonplussed.

"Since the navy jackass up there doesn't know how to tell you what's going on, let me clarify. We've been sent to reinforce your position. As one of the colonies near Sinnis, you guys have been determined to be of tactical importance, and with the attack on Prime..."

The Captain gave a start, visible even under all his layers of plate. Attack on Prime? But what...that meant...

"You really don't know, do you? Alright, well, just over an Imperial day ago - twenty hours - Setulan Prime went dark. Nothing was coming out of there, last we heard. Thing is, what happened just before that set everyone off. I've got about no details on this, but the Star Empire thinks you guys are at war - when you're at war, outlying colonies tend to breed piracy, and become insecure bases where people can operate in the surrounding areas. It also means whoever hit you may be going after your 'friends', and that means us, however unfriendly we may seem to be. As such, it was in our best interest to reinforce weakened positions. That means you guys, and two other systems nearby. The major one had a starport, Helissan or something like that. Another on the other side of it, flanking. Those two hit dirt first, last I heard they were digging in. You guys got unlucky enough to deal with our fine Colonel No-Wits-In-Head so we're hours behind."

Slowly, Nyman let his rifle hang on its sling and he removed his helmet with both hands, revealing a lined, tan face that made Fay look even more pale. An attack on prime. His station cut off. It was too much. There was no way that a place like Setulan Prime just "goes dark." His mind reeled as he thought of possible enemies. There was no way the Danaversians could knock Prime out of the air like that, and the Pentastar Alignment wouldn't have made it past Foxfire, no way. What the hell could do that to his homeworld? He was so caught up in his thoughts he almost missed Fay's thumb up the ass motion, which brought the first hint of warmth to his face as a corner of his mouth twitched up momentarily.

"So I'm not sure if you're in charge around here, but you've got markings of an MP, so at least you can get a report in of what we're about. Base north of you is pretty simple, just a mobility post. I can support most anywhere from there, so I've got my fast-movers ready. AJAX, engineers, and my mechanized division are sitting pretty at our HQ, where we just came from. Got another position down south of you, with a Big-Twenty-Five - an anti-orbital piece. He's probably just about set up now."

The Setulan spoke for the first time, his voice deep compared to Fay's.

"I am, for all intents and purposes. Captain Nyman, Setulan Military Police." He realized that since this Huerdaen woman was technically not invading, and was technically his superior from a friendly power, he should salute. It only took a half second to decide fuck THAT!

"I've got comms off-world, but since you haven't been answering, I'm guessing your own comms are out. What do you need to get them back up? I have no doubt shit's going to hit the fan if we can't talk, and I'm really not interested in fighting you guys if I don't have to. I rather liked this post when all it was was drinking, fucking, sleeping, and training. An easier tour than Foer."

"I've got AVIEs on the ground, in case you need to move earth. I'm not sure how your life or plans change with this move, but once we're done at HQ we can get some fortifications built up for you. I've got a full division of manpower, with armored vehicles, so we can move a lot of earth."

"Well, speak your mind. I came out here for a conversation, not to hear myself talk."

The MP stood there for several seconds, completely silent. Then he began to chuckle, a deep sound that quickly escalated into a full belly laugh. It was uncontrollable. The Huerdaen probably thought he was insane, but he didn't care. His home system was under attack by an unknown enemy and his post was overrun by midgets with huge guns, but he couldn't stop himself if he wanted to. He had no idea where it came from, but he let it run its course, unconcerned with how he looked. When it finally subsided, he turned towards his guests.

"Thank you for your offer of...protection, Colonel. And your offer to build fortifications, Major. Truly, I'm...grateful? No, that's the wrong word. Furious, I think, is a better one. I would demand you get the fuck off of my FUCKING planet, but I think we all know that isn't going to happen. Do you have any idea-any gods be damned fucking clue how close you came to kicking off a fucking war of your own? I have...gah!" The MP turned his back for a moment, trying to calm himself down. As his gaze fell over Furst's Landing, he let himself still the rage that was still a presence in his mind.

"I can't get you off this planet no matter how much I want to, Colonel. But I'll be damned if I let you anywhere near my people." He snapped his fingers, the sound like a gunshot in his armored gloves, and the driver's hatch opened to reveal another power armored figure. "Radio, private." The driver dropped back into the hatch for a moment before coming out with a handheld radio, which she tossed to Nyman. He caught it neatly before popping it underhand to Zu'Issika. "You can reach me on that. It's pre-programmed to reach me and me alone. And I wasn't kidding about staying out of the city. Setulans may not be as armed as Huerdaens, but there are lots of guns and lots of rough miners in that town. And my people can't be everywhere at once. So no. There will be no fortifications, thank you." He took another deep, calming breath before continuing on.

"Colonel...I am grateful for your presence. Understand that I hate to say this, but it's true. If Prime really is under attack, than I'm glad that we aren't alone out here. But next time..." He growled again, at a loss for words. "Maybe next time have somebody other than that pretentious piece of shit Chew-whateverthefuck make contact. Or teach him some minimal fucking people skills."

[Huerdae]

No Man's Land, Farazen

The man responded in more or less the same way she had expected. Big, overproud, and completely hostile. It was almost refreshing to see something that she was used to dealing with, for once. The only difference is, when she dealt with it on Foer, her response tended to be at muzzle velocity. Politics be damned, wars were easier than peace in that regard. Still, there wasn't much point in an argument.

"I'd say my report is already on about him, but it's not. Admiral in charge is only at Sinnis, so that's not going to be a problem getting it to him, but when your trackers go live and I can see your defenses pointed at us, well, the Shield isn't used to sitting by and waiting for things to happen. Not when there are people with loaded guns that really, we don't like so much. So that report has had to wait until I could at least set the stance between us. I'm glad to see you agree that it would be terribly unfortunate if I had to level your asses. That's a pain in the ass I don't need."

It took only about that long for her face to fall into the completely characteristic, absolutely-no-shit Huerdaen scowl. "I'll keep my people out of your ass-backwards little hut-town, but I expect you'll be hitting me on this radio before you fire a shot. I'm very pleased to hear you have a fine and reasonable view toward weapons, but just like your guys, mine aren't about to let some jackass shoot at them without returning fire. Your fields and food are all away from my positions - I made sure of that - so I don't expect you'll need to come anywhere near my forces except up that north road. Anyone going through there will see troops I have watching it, but I'm not about to move them. They'll hold their shots, they're actual soldiers. But only up to the point that someone down here gets some brilliant idea and becomes an enemy. We both know I have more tanks than you have armored vehicles, so drop the bravado, pigdick. You're standing here swearing at me because you wanted to, even though you already admitted you know I'm not going anywhere."

She seemed about to continue when Ja'Kaowka cleared his throat, looking annoyed. "Colonel, we have business, if you're done comparing cock sizes?"

It wasn't the particularly best way to put it, but it quieted the woman, and she simply nodded. "This little radio the best you got? If something DOES happen, being able to organize a unified defense is our best chance at getting out of this with as few dead people as possible. And while I have no doubt that my Shield firing will wake you up, I really doubt that it will let you know all you need to know about an oncoming enemy, in a way that will cover our flank. I left you a lot of land, Captain, and all you're doing is telling me you don't need my damn help. Fine, I expected that, but even a thick-skulled ass like you has to realize that there's more to war and defending a dirtball like this than me calling you up and telling you somebody who is more of an ass than I am wants to shit on your people. If we lose your stupid little huts, that splits my forces. That, I care about."

She glanced at Ja'Kaowka, then, surprisingly, to the taller, silent Kristof, before she continued, and it was clear she actually made an effort to temper her words. A minimal effort. "If it helps, the offer for was to get you in touch with the other colonies so you could confirm my story. I didn't get this far by thinking everyone would trust every word I say because I wear Dread Black. That stupidity gets people killed. What I want is to be sure that you're not the weak spot on a planet that I am defending, and if that means I have to babysit you personally until you believe me enough to get your people to stop pointing guns at us, I'll damn well do it."

She took another deep breath, and made a point to look him in the eye. "The stupidity of the Colonel above us is no longer an issue you and I have to deal with. Our job, since you're boss over there, and I'm boss over here, is to get this place ready to dish out hits if someone comes at us. That means we need more than a toy radio. Even if you keep it dead until there's trouble, we need some manner of data link, so we can at least see where we're weak in time to react. How about you tell me what you need from me to show that I'm not here to try kill everyone, and I'll do what I can within reason to meet your needs. Don't mistake me - I make no promises that I'll be able to do everything, but I'll take it and see if it's possible."

The man she had introduced as her XO gave a nod - barely noticeable in his armor - but she didn't seem to notice. The other officers stood about awkwardly, as did the rifleman, who had clearly not expected anything of the sort. Looking around at everyone, she gave an exasperated sigh. "Can we just get things to the point that we can both go to bed at some point and not expect to be woken up with news that a new war has started, and it's our fault? That seems to be the last news anyone wants."

She stopped, as if coming up with a thought, and held up her hands. "Maybe the information we have about Setulan Prime? The only report I have before it went dark was that some of the defense stations were firing. I can't honestly even say what at, we were too far out to see much more than that, and KEX and Alversia have decided telling us what is going on isn't high on their priorities, even though they're pulling in ships from all corners of this galaxy. I have the data to prove that at least, if you want it."

[Setulan]

No Man's Land, Farazen


"I'd say my report is already on about him, but it's not. Admiral in charge is only at Sinnis, so that's not going to be a problem getting it to him, but when your trackers go live and I can see your defenses pointed at us, well, the Shield isn't used to sitting by and waiting for things to happen. Not when there are people with loaded guns that really, we don't like so much. So that report has had to wait until I could at least set the stance between us. I'm glad to see you agree that it would be terribly unfortunate if I had to level your asses. That's a pain in the ass I don't need."


"As a rule, the Planetary Guard tends not to sit idly by while potentially hostile invaders start dropping in from orbit." Nyman was fighting a losing battle and he knew it, but that didn't mean he was going to stop-he was a Setulan, after all. Hopeless fights were practically a cultural norm. The fact that the Huerdaens actually seemed to have good intentions didn't make him any less pissed off.

"I'll keep my people out of your ass-backwards little hut-town, but I expect you'll be hitting me on this radio before you fire a shot. I'm very pleased to hear you have a fine and reasonable view toward weapons, but just like your guys, mine aren't about to let some jackass shoot at them without returning fire. Your fields and food are all away from my positions - I made sure of that - so I don't expect you'll need to come anywhere near my forces except up that north road. Anyone going through there will see troops I have watching it, but I'm not about to move them. They'll hold their shots, they're actual soldiers. But only up to the point that someone down here gets some brilliant idea and becomes an enemy. We both know I have more tanks than you have armored vehicles, so drop the bravado, pigdick. You're standing here swearing at me because you wanted to, even though you already admitted you know I'm not going anywhere."

"Get fucked, Colonel. Sit in your damn camps. We're done here." He had already begun to turn away when another voice broke in.

"Colonel, we have business, if you're done comparing cock sizes?"

Nyman stopped moving immediately, turning back in time to see a look pass between the Huerdaen officers.

"This little radio the best you got? If something DOES happen, being able to organize a unified defense is our best chance at getting out of this with as few dead people as possible. And while I have no doubt that my Shield firing will wake you up, I really doubt that it will let you know all you need to know about an oncoming enemy, in a way that will cover our flank. I left you a lot of land, Captain, and all you're doing is telling me you don't need my damn help. Fine, I expected that, but even a thick-skulled ass like you has to realize that there's more to war and defending a dirtball like this than me calling you up and telling you somebody who is more of an ass than I am wants to shit on your people. If we lose your stupid little huts, that splits my forces. That, I care about."

Well, she's trying. Not very well, but she's trying.

The MP took a deep breath himself before responding.

"As a matter of fact, it is the best I've got, short stuff. This post is called the End of the fucking Universe. We didn't get that name because of our overabundance of supplies. I have a single command unit, and it isn't even a theater command set-it's for running an MP company in a less than urban environment. I can deal with civil disorder and rioting, but that about sums up my command and control abilities here. So if shit goes down, yes, that radio really is going to be the only way we can communicate."

He looked over his shoulder briefly at the private in the driver's hatch. There was no question that the recent exchange of heated comments had the guy on edge, and his finger was probably hovering over the "auto engage" switch for the Banshee. Which would be bad for all involved parties, really. He would just have to trust in the kid's judgement

Great.

"If it helps, the offer for was to get you in touch with the other colonies so you could confirm my story. I didn't get this far by thinking everyone would trust every word I say because I wear Dread Black. That stupidity gets people killed. What I want is to be sure that you're not the weak spot on a planet that I am defending, and if that means I have to babysit you personally until you believe me enough to get your people to stop pointing guns at us, I'll damn well do it.The stupidity of the Colonel above us is no longer an issue you and I have to deal with. Our job, since you're boss over there, and I'm boss over here, is to get this place ready to dish out hits if someone comes at us. That means we need more than a toy radio. Even if you keep it dead until there's trouble, we need some manner of data link, so we can at least see where we're weak in time to react. How about you tell me what you need from me to show that I'm not here to try kill everyone, and I'll do what I can within reason to meet your needs. Don't mistake me - I make no promises that I'll be able to do everything, but I'll take it and see if it's possible."

"What I need is word from Prime that you aren't the ones who cut us off in the first place, but I'll take any kind of contact with other Republicans just as happily. And unless you're willing to sacrifice a data link of your own, I have nothing to give you."

"Can we just get things to the point that we can both go to bed at some point and not expect to be woken up with news that a new war has started, and it's our fault? That seems to be the last news anyone wants."

"That, at least, I can agree with."

"Maybe the information we have about Setulan Prime? The only report I have before it went dark was that some of the defense stations were firing. I can't honestly even say what at, we were too far out to see much more than that, and KEX and Alversia have decided telling us what is going on isn't high on their priorities, even though they're pulling in ships from all corners of this galaxy. I have the data to prove that at least, if you want it."

Nyman froze again. Trying not to be to obviously eager for any word, he nodded slowly.

"That would go a long way. Sourced intel from the KEX or Alversia would be good for me, yeah."

[Huerdae]

No Man's Land, Farazen

There was plenty to think about. First off, the man had an ego the size of...well, himself. Second, it was only the timely intervention of the entirely-too-rational combat engineer Major that kept this from breaking down too far. Still, she got something out of it, and that proved to be the first step in a long time. Even though the man seemed to think that she wouldn't actually be able to supply it. Turning to her XO, she shot him a few orders.

"Get a gatecrasher down here with a Squawker. I don't need an escort for it, just a driver. We'll give the man a datalink now, so he doesn't have to wait. It'll at least give him a shot at getting contact off-world."

Turning back to the Captain as her fellow officer turned away, she seemed not quite pleased. "I can't get you anything sourced outside the HSE, I simply don't have it. But we were watching you guys, like any sane nation. That's why we can't tell much more than the fact that your defense stations were firing. We're just too far out. I can get you that. Will that suffice?"

She stood there, sizing the man up. He had glanced more than once at his driver, and she realized that it probable the man was as nervous as anyone else without power in this situation - most likely, if she was going to die here, it would be from him. It made her consider the private for a moment before she sighed, folding her hands. "This thing isn't very smart, in case you wondered. It'll pick up pretty much anything, but you give it enough juice and it'll be able to bounce out to most of the other nearby colonies. It brings up a neat question, though."

She considered Nyman as she continued. "When we showed up, you didn't respond. We guessed, rightly, that you were unable to. But what kicks my balls is that we are having no issues. our own jamming gear kills our stuff as well as everyone else. We have to shut it down or set up encoding to break through it - I've got none of that set up. Truth is, I don't even have a jammer on the planet. Any idea what kicked you guys out of contact?"

In the distance, the dust started to rise as another vehicle began to traverse over the hills on its way, moving at a very good speed for an LAV. She glanced back, not even needing the report from her XO about what it was, but her eyes turned back to Nyman.

"Have you guys seen anything else happen? Other than going dark, any other issues? Powerplant, infrastructure? Anything that would make you think it may have been someone preparing you for an attack?"

A thought crossed her mind. "I guess they wouldn't...if they thought you wouldn't be able to resist."

The gatecrasher rolled up, grinding to a halt and throwing dust and dirt at the assembled party in a shower. The driver, however, stayed inside, and the thing just sat silently. It took a groan from the XO for Fay to realize what was happening. Finally, the AJAX Major moved over and banged on the side of the vehicle, causing the door to swing open.

As the smoke cleared, the design became fairly obvious. The door swung open and became a shield from anyone in front of the vehicle, angled back at a modest 45 degrees, a design with obvious intentions. The front was coated with what appeared to be replaceable segments - probably armor or breaching charges. What the AJAX officer pulled out was a simple crate, a little under a meter cube, which he dragged with one hand across the ground. It was armored in simple dark metal, like most Huerdaen items, but had the unmistakable appearance of a shipping crate.

The man looked at it, then at Nyman, then decided there was nothing to it. Really, there wasn't. A more-or-less universal power input allowed the thing to take juice, and from there it had its own display, speaker, microphone, and handset for basic conversations. It could move data, but with its limited display and no obvious cybernetic uplink, it wasn't likely to do anything particularly fancy. Shrugging, he left it for the Captain to deal with.

Fay seemed to be considering her options, but shook her head in the armor, turning her eyes back to Nyman. "You get that thing hooked up, and we can have this conversation without young guns getting so heated. Anything else you want from before we split?"

She hopped down from her rock, as the Gatecrasher began to pull away, her own Kodiac still idle where it had been. There was a little hesitation, then she simply saluted, placing her hands on the pistol and hilt of the sword at her side, feet spread at shoulder width. Inside the armor, she was probably straight-backed, shoulders back, but it was impossible to really tell. She let it go after a second, scooping up her rifle on the way back. "Once you get that up and running, Captain, I'll get you whatever info I can on Prime."

[Setulan]

"I can't get you anything sourced outside the HSE, I simply don't have it. But we were watching you guys, like any sane nation. That's why we can't tell much more than the fact that your defense stations were firing. We're just too far out. I can get you that. Will that suffice?"

"It will." Nyman was being curt and he knew it, but he couldn't help himself. The idea that his home planet was under attack had finally started to sink in, and the feeling wasn't a pleasant one.

"This thing isn't very smart, in case you wondered. It'll pick up pretty much anything, but you give it enough juice and it'll be able to bounce out to most of the other nearby colonies. It brings up a neat question, though. When we showed up, you didn't respond. We guessed, rightly, that you were unable to. But what kicks my balls is that we are having no issues. our own jamming gear kills our stuff as well as everyone else. We have to shut it down or set up encoding to break through it - I've got none of that set up. Truth is, I don't even have a jammer on the planet. Any idea what kicked you guys out of contact?"

"No." The Huerdaen looked like she was about to get pissed about the short response again, so Nyman hurried on. "No, seriously. I have no idea. Comm issues aren't exactly uncommon out here, but our guy can normally get them up and running again pretty quick. This is unprecedented. Frankly, I'm surprised a battle pack hasn't shown up yet. That's normally the reaction when a colony drops off like this, after what happened during the Clak-Tok Wars."

"Have you guys seen anything else happen? Other than going dark, any other issues? Powerplant, infrastructure? Anything that would make you think it may have been someone preparing you for an attack? I guess they wouldn't...if they thought you wouldn't be able to resist."

"The thought has crossed my mind. Our contingency plan in the event of an attack is to call for help and hunker down. That's it. The idea is that somebody gets here before we all die."

Nyman couldn't help but be amused by the paranoia of the driver of the gatecrasher, and the absurdity of the situation struck a chord. He looked back to the Maxellian a last time before sighing heavily, looking back at the Huerdaen who had dragged the comm set over.

"Thanks." He waved a hand over to the driver, and the kid punched open his hatch and jumped down, running over to a side panel and undoing a battle lock. A segment of plate was pulled back, and he began unwinding a slave cable to the set.

"You get that thing hooked up, and we can have this conversation without young guns getting so heated. Anything else you want from before we split?"

"No...no."

The Huerdaen saluted the preoccupied Nyman and he returned it more or less willingly. As Fay walked away, he stood back up from where he was crouching.

"Colonel." When she turned around, the Captain gave her a crooked smile. "Thank you. If the Republic is really under attack, I'm glad you're here."

With that, he fired up the set and began to play with dials. It didn't take him long to confirm what Fay had told him.

Prime under attack. The orbital fortresses letting rip. All contact lost. AXIS making massive fleet and army movements.

"Oh, fuck."


Outer System

The ship that dropped out of Blink was massive and would set alarm bells ringing throughout the Huerdaen fleet before positive identification could be made. Somewhat bemused, the tracking computers would classify the heavily modified ship as a Rachellian-Class Light Freighter not registered in its database, a common sight in the Home Galaxy. The Setulan produced ships were two and a half kilometers long and almost a kilometer wide and deep, capable of carrying approximately two million metric tons of cargo. Used predominantly as sprint traders, they were favored by shipping companies across AXIS and ran with a fairly small crew of forty.

But this one was heavily modified. Instead of the usual defensive armaments of a Rachellian, which amounted to little more than point defenses and a few missile launchers, it was packing dozens of torpedo and missile bays. The main gun was clearly based on the Alversian A.N.S.C laser, a spinal cannon of no small power. Though its shields and armor were still no match for a proper warship, it could hold its own against a frigate well enough in a stand up fight. What would be most strange were the life signs that were picked up. Though it was difficult to pick up the exact numbers with the shields raised, the crew numbered closer to twelve thousand than forty.

The more Setulan-savvy crew members would realize that this was what had become colloquially known as a Godship, a vessel of the Setulan Church.

Upon realizing it wasn't alone in the system, the ship began a sedate cruise towards the Huerdaen, apparently not intimidated by the clear discrepancy in firepower. A message was blasted across open channels all over the system, a female voice heavy with authority demanding to know what the HSE was doing in Setulan space "in the name of the Saint."

[Huerdae]

I.M.S. Blooded Blade, Juggernaught-Class Battleship

The arrival of the new ship in system was a jarring surprise to the Huerdaen battle group. Deployed throughout the system in three patrol groups, with the last silently watching over their precious battleship, the Star Navy warships did not expect anything the size of the godship. At over twice the size of the Blooded Blade, it dwarfed each and every ship the Huerdaen had in the system, and its arrival set off alarms almost instantly, as every ship immediately went to general quarters to meet the sudden arrival of the massive ship. Crewmen scrambled from bunks, surprised and tripping over themselves as they hurried to positions and locked down the vessels, but without orders from the Blooded Blade, they maintained their position, even as the woman's challenge was heard in each ship.

The sound of the massive blast doors closing rumbled behind him as Chou leaned forward in the Captain's chair, surprise written across his face at the audacity of the ship, and the size. His jaw dropped as his eyes passed over the information coming in, and the woman's challenge went unanswered for nearly a minute before he responded, his eyes on the ship and it's approach path, watching as it easily cruised toward them. The information they had on the type of ship turned his worried glance into a derisive laugh, and he shook his head. "Get me some more information on the vessel, use the 'scopes. Is it really trying to be threatening?"

As he turned back, he finally keyed in to respond to the vessel's challenge, his words almost mocking as he spoke to the arrogant woman. "This is the I.M.S. Blooded Blade, of the Battle Group Carrion out of Forgotten Exile. We are here in support of the First-First-Third Home Army Mechanized Regiment deployed to the planet below to support against possible hostile action against the system."

At the speed the ship was making, it blast doors could be heard opening, but he didn't register the noise as he watched the displays before him. Twenty seconds to range with their spinals, another ten after that on the broadside. The patrol groups around the system were nowhere near in position to support, but by his count the large spinal on the enemy ship could likely engage in less than five seconds, if not already. Sounding bored and annoyed, he contacted the vessel again.

"You are ordered to cease your advance and state your name and port of origin, to be checked against our records."

Shutting down the line, he asked aloud to his crew. "What do we have on FF IDs?"

It was a smaller, younger officer who answered, having recently been promoted from a cruiser. "Nothing, sir. Their FFIDs aren't recognized. We can't confirm against our database, no matter what they claim."

Annoyed, but ultimately unconcerned, he stared at the ship as it continued to approach with the fleet still hanging across the system, awaiting orders. Suddenly, his console lit with an encrypted message from one of the destroyers escorting the Red Violation.

We have informed Colonel Fay'Shaila. She has 'requested' that you stop this ship immediately or put it down. Orders, sir?

He sat down to respond when the grating of the blast doors leading to the bridge interrupted him, and his XO stormed in, literally crawling under the door as it rose while giving orders to the bridge crew, even while still on his hands and knees.

"Captain Chou, you're relieved! Operations, get our fleet in order. Bring Red Violation and Forgotten and Nameless in on us, form them up to strike. Get the Price of Failure and Desecration of Dreams in front of that beast on broadside to intercept any strike on the planet. Re-form the destroyers - I want ALL our Anger-Class destroyers formed up on the Joker's Skull and lining up for a ventral strike on the target. Split the Rage-Class into pairs however you can and get them ready to sweep for smaller craft. The Terror-Class, I want them split - Put Reaper of Heroes and Tarrasque with the destroyer groups respectively. Get Valerie with Price of Failure and get her intercepting any communication going from that ship to the ground. I want it intercepted, logged, and destroyed. They should only be talking to me. Finally, get Titanflea to touch down near one of the third's positions where it can interact with them. If it goes south up here, I want them to have an option to call out."

The bridge became a storm of activity as orders were given out, and ships began to make tactical FTL jumps in-system. Chou sat, dumbstruck, in the command chair as he watched the orders carried out, and slowly his gaze turned to the man who had relieved him, previously his XO, and now captain of the ship. He had time only to close his mouth from where it had been hanging open before the man grabbed him by the hair at the back of his head and threw him from the Captain's chair.

"Contact Fay'Shaila. Get her talking to Valerie for a firing solution for her Big Brother down below, make sure she has that thing warming up. Do we have anyone dirt-side from the Republic? If so, let them know what we're seeing, too. Maybe they have this monster on file. Give them all the info we have and see if it's something they expect."

Looking over the displays, his scowl deepened further, and he tapped out a quick command. The steady thunder of general quarters became a much more urgent cadence as the ships in the battle group thundered out the new update to the situation in their simple, repeated beat. It was a simple, easy code to anyone who was listening, with two-tone drums standing for the old computer on/off switches, and using an ancient key for letters. It gave the impression of a massive cacophony of drums and noise to most, but to the cybernetic Huerdaen, it was a basic set of orders should battle be joined, they knew the score and their responsibilities.

BW Scramble orders. WC Primary escort planet. Cap disable weapons target ship.

Reading over the code displayed before him even as it pounded over the shipboard intercomms across the fleet, his mind translated it without a thought.

Bomber Wings scramble orders.

Gear up and launch, prepare for strikes on named targets

Weapon Crews primary escort role planet.

Primary objective for weapon crews is to eliminate ordinance or strike craft headed for the planet.

Captains disable weapons on the target ship.

Be ready to bring this bastard to its knees and focus on its ability to hurt either the fleet or the planet below.

Only then, as the cruisers were beginning to appear in position, Gating in from across the system and with the destroyers forming up, while bombers began to pour out of the ships, did he realize what it looked like. The dread black cobra that was the Star Navy was spreading its hood and baring its fangs.

Huerdaen Field HQ, Farazen
1-1-3rd Home Regiment, Mechanized

Fay'Shaila had been back at base for almost an hour, and had barely completed her report to the Admiral regarding the Colonel when she got notification from the I.M.S. Valerie. The communication was short and sweet, but it sent her way over the edge, and her fist slammed down on the table she sat at in HQ hard enough to bend the metal, and split the skin.

Foreign contact in-system. Fits profile of Setulanite 'Godship'. We've been unable to identify with FFID.

She shot off a response as quickly as she could, and bolted from her chambers, even as she kept hand against her leg to slow the bleeding. She had no time for bandages on minor wounds like that, and when she burst into the command room, things were already moving. The first to speak was Aegan, already standing near the back.

"Colonel Chou'Ellah has been relieved of command. Colonel Il'Isska removed him from command approximately four minutes ago. We're getting set up to accept feeds from Valerie, she's settling into orbit now to orchestrate information. Titanflea is setting down along the north road, she's our backup and naval play if we need it."

She nodded, not even bothering to turn to look at him, and instead heading to the map that hadn't even been fully set up yet. With the sudden work though, it was being updated as quickly as possible, with a technician literally laying on the ground under the table working on getting the redundant systems up and running while she watched the thing flicker to life.

"Ja'Kaowka, get in touch with Nyman, see what he's got. Any reason one of those fatasses would show up here? What's the word on the Big-Twenty-Five?"

The response came from...somewhere, but was about what she expected. "He's winding up, sir, but we didn't have much warning. We're being given target data, but it will be another 10 minutes before its firing. If this thing is hostile, it will be ISN who puts it down before it throws up dirt."

She grit her teeth, but continued giving orders. "Contact Lac'Saiba, have her get her lights moving. If we get in trouble, they'll be our first line of defense. Aegan, your AJAX are going to need to suit up. We may be in a pitched battle."

The man nodded, and she looked over the battle map. It had just switched to the second shift's sleep cycle, which meant that a full third of her unit was probably bunked up. That put her a half hour behind on scrambling any of them out. If Lac'Saiba's light infantry group was on that cycle, she'd be without a fast response if this turned hairy.

One disaster after another.

"Any word from Valerie?"

[Setulan]

End of the Universe, Command Center

Nyman was sitting in the meager command room with Chief Warrant Officer Garret, her senior NCO Master Chief Karrol, and First Sergeant Hurst as they tried to figure out what the fuck was going on.

More importantly, they were all pretending they could do a damn thing about it.

"You know...and I really hate to say this, Nyman, I really do...but at least we're covered." The MP shot his counterpart a dirty look that she ignored, instead speaking to the room. "They've got a significant fleet presence up there, about the same strength as the Terror Squadrons that patrol Alignment space. That's a solid amount of ass kicking. Nothing is getting past that."

"And if it does, the Shield is here." Nyman's furious gaze turned to his First Sergeant, who held up his hands defensively. "Hey, I'm not fucking happy about it either, ok? But be reasonable. We're fucking worthless, Cap. Every Setulan soldier is on a transport to Setulan right now. Foxfire is probably so full of metal that they can read the magnetic shift from fifty lightyears off. We need some kind of protection."

"But from who? Fucking who?"

The room lapsed back into silence as they all pondered once again who could be so incredibly foolish to attack Setulan. All of them were thinking the same thing.

Gods, I wish I was on Setulan...

The Huerdaen control set, sitting on the table between the four, chirped. They all jumped, startled at the noise, and Karrol put on the headset and listened for a minute before saying "wait one." He looked up, a curious expression on his face.

"Ah...a Godship just showed up." Nyman's sullen expression turned into a big smile.

"Finally, some good news! Get it on scopes, see if we can identify it." He looked at Garret, who was similarly pleased. "We have a database, right?"

She nodded.

"Yeah. Part of the agreement the Church made with AXIS, they had to register all of their vessels that carry capitol-level weaponry. We'll know what it is."

"Sir, image coming through."

The sensor and imaging feed coming from the Huerdaen fleet was pulled from the command set with only a little fiddling around and Garret hurried out of the room to her own Customs module to run the specifics. Nyman was positively glowing as he looked at the image of the ship coming closer to the agitated shorties.

"This'll be fun, eh? Fuck the shield, we're about to have a godsbedamned Tenth here!"

"What's wrong?" The tone was what caused Nyman to turn more than anything. Hurst was looking at Karrol, who wore a look not of excitement but consternation.

"We didn't see it coming."

"What?"

"The Godship. We didn't see it coming. No warning. No pre-FTL warning. No magnetic warnings once it got in the system. Nothing."

"And?" Nyman was getting agitated again, his palms itching as a familiar feeling of paranoia came over him. "Our sensors are shit. This isn't surprising."

'Yes, sir, it is. This ship is big. Fucking big. There is absolutely no way we shouldn't have been able to pick up something...especially a blink transition."

The MP Captain rose slowly, exchanging a look with his First Sergeant. The senior NCO looked concerned, never a good expression to see on a man who had been a cop and a soldier for more than forty years.

"Top, get to comms. Now. Find out what the fuck is going on."

"Sir." Before he could even take a step, the door slammed open and a pale faced Garret was standing in the doorframe.

"What? What is it?" Nyman's voice cracked slightly and he hated himself for the visible display of stress.

"It's the Carrow Spear." Nyman looked at the other men in the room, all three sharing the same bemused expression.

"So what?"

"The fucking Carrow was part of the fucking Exile."

Total silence.

"Oh shi-"

A colossal explosion rumbled the building and a ball of fire came rushing towards the quartet...


Farazen, Space

The Carrow Spear did not slow down or heave to. In fact, it actually did the opposite. Completely ignoring the threatening posture of the Huerdaen warships, it began to pump even more power to its shields though its weapons remained dormant. The engines began to glow a hotter white as the plasma cores were stoked, cranking even more momentum into the huge ship as it headed towards what looked like geosynchronous orbit over the planet. The course it set would cause it to pass through the Huerdaen formation directly in its path, coasting no more than a hundred miles from the Blooded Blade itself. The fly by - point blank in fleet terms - was clearly a calculated game of chicken.

Would the HSE be willing to engage a Setulan ship in Setulan space? Would they take the risk?

Clearly the Captain of this ship thought not.

[Huerdae]

I.M.S. Blooded Blade, Juggernaught-Class Battleship
Farazen Local Space

When the ship began to accelerate, Il'Isska took a long, slow breath, fighting to keep from closing his eyes for increased focus. It was simply no longer needed, and would hide from him some information as he thought. When he began to breath, his cybernetics kicked in, and everything seemed to slow around him, letting him gain a few precious moments to analyze the information. Readouts showed the vessel was increasing its speed aggressively, while at the same time bolstering its defenses against him. Even so, it was on approach for the surface. Analysis of the path showed...that it would burn up in the atmosphere.

That thought stopped him, and in the time-slow, his lips began to turn down in a displeased scowl, as he gazed distrustfully at the ship. He felt himself starting to breath out, and the realization hit him what the ship was doing, just as the effects of the cybernetics began to fade and time ramped back up to its normal, frantic pace. The ship wasn't trying to land, it wasn't trying to engage them. It was a blockade runner, and its target was the colony. In an instant, he snapped his orders off.

"All ships, open fire, we need to force her off course. Don't let her pass over the colony! Spinal weapons, use nuclear nose, jar her off of her current trajectory."

He blinked at the light of the blasts as the view slit displayed a hit on the ship's shields, momentarily blinding him before the dampener kicked in, but he continued. "Bomber group, I need sequential runs. Locate and destroy communication and weapons systems. Prioritize point defense. He's not here for a fight with us. Destroyers, I want you along her belly, if anything bigger than a drop pod deploys, chase it and destroy it. If they're doing a hot-drop, we need to be sure we maintain the mobility advantage. Anything even remotely like a dropship or big enough to deploy a tank, I need it cored. Cruisers, I need an active flak screen below this beasty! If she's a suicide ship bringing in ordinance, we can't let it hit groundside. If she's a transport, we have to minimize their deployment here, and now."

He didn't even look as he continued his orders, watching as the ships moved forward to follow his orders, as the massive spinal guns of the cruisers began to tear at the shields alongside the dual spinals mounted in his own ship, the Blooded Blade. He barely even noticed the violent shaking of the ship with every shot as the guns cycled repeatedly, the pair of massive railguns loosing ordinance against the enemy's hull at this short range. Against most enemies, it played out of their comfort zone, but against the ISN, this was prime engagement range. Whole batteries of guns on his vessels were filling space with violent, kinetic death that tore at shielding and armor where it pierced. Flashes of antimatter detonations splashed against the shield, bright even through the dimming done by the small viewslit. Even at this range, the enemy ship was large to the naked eye, though, and Il'Isska scowled.

"Helm, roll us over. Line up a broadside for when they pass."

But the order was simple, and the implications disturbing. The enemy was passing out of the fire from their most powerful guns. She was hot with point-defense fire, but it was doing little against the kinetic slugs slamming into her, but more of a concern was the fact that the ISN was unable to stop her. Flames were already feeding on oxygen from hull breaches, and bombers had loosed dozens of anti-matter tipped rockets along the hull of the ship, but the behemoth came forward like a death's-head. There was no way it was going to survive the journey, but then, it didn't need to. Her shielding was staying together through some unreasonable act of madness that had long ago torched their own engineering crew, and the Blooded Blade could not descend safely into low enough orbit to bar her path. The cruisers, small as they are, would be lost trying to impede the approach, and Il was left with no choice.

Even as the ship thundered as wave after wave of smaller guns thundered their fury at the godship, he could see the enemy deploying forces. It came with a sigh of relief - he had truly feared that such a vessel had been used to deploy heavy ordinance, or some form of world-breaker. To find that it was just a lander was...refreshing. It decreased the danger to his own ships, and it showed a gross mistake on the part of their enemy. They were so determined in their duty they would sacrifice a ship like that to reach the ground, where they'd be fighting against the Imperial Shield. It didn't seem right. With orbital support, that seemed suicide.

"Bring back the bombers and re-arm for ground strikes. I want-" Another pass of the Anger-Class destroyers shook his ship, even at this range from the detonations against the enemy's shielding "-I want them ready to support the ground when the enemy masses for an assault. Can we get an idea of where those things are going down? Any sort of organized deployment?"

The Ops officer just grimaced, shaking his head. "It's a standard Setulanite hot-drop, sir. They're going fucking everywhere."

Nodding, the Colonel just snorted. "Begin air strikes and get the Red Violation and Desolation of Dreams standing on their noses. They're going to begin orbital strikes if need be. Get a sit-rep from Fay, is she set for this sort of mess?"

The battle, such as it was, continued forward. The point defenses of the ship were limited, at best, and while it cost a number of bombers, it proved little threat to the nearby cruisers and battleship that pounded the vessel. Still, the godship had bypassed the threat. Now below them, and entering the atmosphere, it had endured the worst of the pounding, and the ISN ships were forced to slowly come about to bring their guns back into the fray, while each passing second dispersed more of the enemy toward the surface.

Huerdaen Field HQ, Farazen
1-1-3rd Home Regiment, Mechanized

Fay leaned over the holomap of the local area with a grim look on her face, eyes searching across the terrain with no particular goal even as she listened to the conversation between the other units. Of course there would be a godship coming in. Not that the words really meant a lot to her, in all honesty. She knew...vaguely what that implied, but it didn't sink in right away. It was only when the MPs didn't come back after signing off to identify the craft did she look up, her gaze passing to the device. The thing showed no connection, blinking idly while she stared at it, confused. A moment ago, they had been speaking to the MPs.

The table shook lightly against her hands, and glanced at it just as her squawker lit up, a man's panicked voice coming over clearly. "Someone just bombed the town. I've got a mushroom forming, it was a sizeable hit. We're not sure on the damage yet."

It was more than enough to get her moving. Pushing past the man, she hurried through a quick series of doors, coming out onto one of the exposed gun positions in the base, from where she could see smoke, dust, and fire out at the position of the town. It was well too far out to make out any details, but it drew her lips into a thin line. The fact that they hadn't gotten a call from the MPs was more distressing, but almost as soon as she turned back, the same man was standing there, looking even more grim. Her first thought, that they had contacted the group and the Captain was dead, was quickly stripped away as the man reported.

"Ma'am...they've opened fire on the Godship."

The words sent a chill up her spine, more than the open air she was standing in did, and she hurried back inside, ticking over to the base comms as she called up her unit. "Sound general alarm. Battle readiness, the ISN has engaged."

For a moment she considered telling her guys to hold fire, but the word that the man up above had been relieved made the situation worse. The flash that lit the surface of the planet caused her to spin sharply, her eyes drawn to the path of flame that reached across the sky. Following it, she traced it back to where it started, south of her position where the Big Brother sat. The other end she traced up to the flaming mass that was starting to descend, and straight out the far side. What was worse were the pods and active deployment. The thing looked like an angel, massive streams of forces falling from it like drooping wings, until the sky flashed again, this time lighting up with a nuclear fireball as the Big Brother landed another hit, trying to break up the big ship before it got close enough to the ground to do damage. The first streak through the sky, now no more than a fading line of smoke, was alongside the still-burning plasmas left behind by the high velocity shell, but she barely saw it. The nuclear fireball forced her to cover her eyes, and only then did she realize the shitty little radio she was given. Lifting it up, she spoke across it, hoping someone on the far end was still up to answer.

"Captain? This is Fay. You wanna tell me what's going on?"

Looking up at the deploying troops, she scowled. Too many were making it to the dirt, and in a sudden realization, she turned to her subordinates, as the men from the newly formed unit watched the blazing ship as it descended. "Well, what are you waiting for? SHOOT DOWN THE LANDERS!"

Just because I hate having to look up this info all the time.

Juggernaught-Class Battleship "Blooded Blade" under Colonel Il'Isska
Deathwing-Class Cruiser "Forgotten and Nameless"
Succubus-Class Cruiser "Price of Failure"
Deathbringer-Class Cruiser "Red Violation"
Deathbringer-Class Cruiser "Desecration of Dreams"
4x Terror-Class Destroyer
6x Anger-Class Destroyer
6x Rage-Class Destroyer

1-1-3-1st Division - Mechanized Command Unit under Col. Fay'Shaila, Positioned at HQ
100 Gravedigger-Chassis
Armored Company Specialists, Including 25 Goliath-Chassis
1-1-3-2nd Division - Mechanized Unit under Col. Lac'Saiba, Positioned at North Road
100 Gravedigger-Chassis
Light Infantry Company Specialists, Including 5 Roc Dropships and 10 Talon Gunships
1-1-3-3rd Division - Mechanized Unit under Col. Shi'Vessu, Positioned at HQ
100 Gravedigger-Chassis
Armored Company Specialists, Including 25 Goliath-Chassis
1-1-3-4th Division - Mechanized Unit under Col. Dex'Bollun, Positioned Southwest Mountain Base
Garrison for Big Brother
100 Gravedigger-Chassis
Armored Company Specialists, Including 25 Goliath-Chassis
1-1-3-5th Division - Imperial Engineers under Maj. Ja'Kaowka, Positioned at North Road Base
Armored Engineering Company Specialists, including 25 AVIE

8-2nd Assault Jaegers, under Maj. Aegan, positioned at HQ
10 Icarus Hybrids

[Setulan]

Carrow Spear, Bridge

To call what the Godship was doing a proper Setulan hot drop was almost laughable, but Sister Honorious Omion was doing her best. The warrior of the Fallen's Chosen Legion had made plenty of proper hot drops before, and this was a mess. But it would serve. Ignoring the flames that erupted from a nearby console, burning the face off of the man who had been manning the station, she turned towards her escort.

"To the ships. Now."

They began to move as the Spear shook and burned and fell apart in the atmosphere.

When the Planetary Guard drop divisions entered a battle, it always meant bad news for somebody. The D-Pattern Vipers would supercharge their engines before banging off towards the target planet, bellies glowing white in the atmosphere as they "skimmed" the top of a planet's gravity well. Then hell would come forth in a storm of men and tanks. Setulan Light Assault Mecha (SLAM for short) would simply grav jump out of special pods, but almost twenty thousand drop troopers would be fired out of the ship in a huge, forty second display of terrifying material power. Alongside their drop pods, the Vipers would dump massive amounts of decoys that outnumbered the drop pods two to one, all seeming to fly under some kind of power. Many of these decoy pods would split further as they deployed, cluttering AAA displays with hundreds, then thousands of contacts.

The Carrow Spear was not in any way a D-Pattern Viper, but it wasn't worthless either. Its escape pods erupting from their tubes en masse, the huge ship dumped debris all over the atmosphere to protect its departing passengers.

The huge ship burned through the atmosphere over Farazen, a new beacon of destruction flaring over the End of the Universe trailing plasma for hundreds of miles. Yet through the white hot flames dropships would still brave the storm of collapsing metal, fanatical servants of the Exile facing almost certain death. Those ships that made it out of the imploding and burning launch bays would then have to brave incoming Huerdaen strike craft and almost numbing levels of fire streaking up at them from the Shield down below. The Big Brother spat once more, the colossal nuclear explosion lighting up the sky once more before a crack heard on the surface a hundred miles away signaled the end of the Godship. The massive ball of fire split first into two parts, and then thousands as the void ship finally succumbed to the massive abuse it had taken.

Unfortunately for the defenders, it would be far too little, too late.

By the time Huerdaen bombers began attacking the troop ships that had landed safely, many of the Exiles had begun going to ground. More than six thousand Exiles had were swarming to the safety of the mountains and caves.

When the Carrow Spear hit the ground fourteen minutes later, its plasma core collapsed completely and utterly obliterated it and three hundred kilometers of terrain. Fauna simply ceased to exist as the white hot ball of destruction expanded like a gigantic nuclear detonation, the power of a small sun briefly unleashed on the surface. This was just the beginning.

Forty miles outside of Farazen, Sister Honorious Omiom smiled at the flash, crouched behind cover. She turned to her warriors.

"Now we see how good our aim was." She looked at a time piece. "Come, brothers. We must find firm ground."


End of the Universe, Farazen


Nyman came too with his ears ringing. He shook his head groggily, dust cascading off of him in weird spirals, and he looked around with bleary eyes. Garret was out cold, bleeding from her head as Hurst tried to staunch the bleeding with a field bandage. Karrol was down, staring at a piece of rebar as long as his forearm that had embedded itself in his thigh, power armor be damned. Hurst looked over at his CO and shouted something indistinct. Nyman waved it away and staggered to his feet, using the wall for support. Hurst yelled something to him again, and like a diver coming to the surface of a pool his hearing returned in a rush.

"Sir! Captain! Get your fucking helmet on!" Nyman nodded and immediately regretted the motion as he jerked on his helmet. The system immediately began to interface with the rest of his command, and he began a damage assessment.

Holy fuck...

The bomb had detonated in the barracks and absolutely demolished their communications suite. it was a good thing that the majority of the command was out in the city still, or else they might have had mass casualties...

Which was the point...

"Captain? This is Fay. You wanna tell me what's going on?"

The voice of Colonel Fay chirping in his ear was somewhere between welcome and incredibly annoying.

"Colonel, I'm here. We just...we just got hit by something." Something internal...my god. "They're Exiles, Colonel, Exile Setulans! Kill the fuckers before they drop priests all over us! I need to get my shit organized here, we might have-"

There was another explosion, this one more distant, followed by gunfire and screams.

"Fuck, they're here. They're in the fucking city." Drawing his Manstoppers Inc. Lawman .85, he ran towards the door and shoved aside some rubble with a power-armor assisted burst of strength.

"First Platoon, fall back to base, we've got hostiles coming in!"

"Sir, none of the drop pods landed in the city-"

"Then we have terrorists here, you fucking idiot! On me, now!"

A face showed up around the corner, a civilian miner by the looks of him. Nyman was confused for a heartbeat until the man stuck a J88 sub machinegun around the corner and let rip, rail rounds wailing down the hallway.

His burst went high. Nyman's shot punched his head clean off his shoulders. More bullets spanged and ricocheted down the corridor at the MP and dove into cover, banging off a few more rounds.

Before the explosion, there had been thirty MPs in the station. Now, his helmet showed no more than nine active, and he was under attack from an indeterminate number of enemies.

Fucking lovely.

"Please tell me you got some good news, Colonel!" The transmission was punctuated by more gunfire.

ORBAT of the Carrow Reavers

Sister Honorious Omiom, Commanding
10x War Priests, Fallen's Chosen (Legion)

4000 Warriors of the Gods (think like a less well trained AXIS soldier)
2000 Sons of the Fallen (fanatics)

Equipment: Loads of light weapons, presume explosives as well
Warriors of the Gods are known to have power armor of a similar but slightly cheaper design than the standard Setulan HIBA.

[Huerdae]

Huerdaen Field HQ, Farazen
1-1-3rd Home Regiment, Mechanized

It seemed overall rude to be standing there, looking out over the open ground between her HQ and the city, and see the plume rising. The ship had gone down far in the distance, but the blast only served to highlight the smoke that filled the sky, trails from the rounds of the Big Brother and the massive black trail that had been its approach. And here she stood, looking out across the land and not even able to hear gunfire at this distance. It was patently insulting that the enemy would completely ignore her positions and hit the town. Lifting the radio, she took a quick stock of the situation for the man.

"Good news? Big Bad ship is dead. Popped over the horizon in a pretty light show, and I've got no reports of anyone else coming. Within thirty seconds I can have six bumblebees giving you artillery support on the streets, but we'll need a grid setup to get any sort of accuracy without that squawker I gave you. I've got a company of AJAX ready to deploy, but no idea where we need to put them down. You have a very pretty new landing zone in the middle of town that someone gave you, even if it is filled with smoke." Well, I tried. "We've got Titanflea on the ground that's prepping to liftoff now and get us some overhead view to help with target acquisition so I can start to roll out on heavies and knock these guys out before they really dig in. Now for the bad news. That fucker dropped shit all over the place, with no major concentrations that I can recognize yet. Big Brother's too big for this kind of fighting, so it's a liability and we have to defend it in case more of those things come in. If they take it, I'm a sitting duck, but I don't dare scrap the thing just yet. Without that uplink I gave you, I have very limited communication with you or your unit. Are you able to patch into our comms from your suits? Any idea where the lines are drawn in there? We've got bombers overhead, but without targets all I can tell them to do is flatten the whole damn place, and that isn't in our best interests yet. I don't think so, anyway. I've got two groups of infantry that I can deploy out, but no real good intel on where to put them. What are the chances you can organize yourselves in there so I can pull you out?"

She stopped, letting it all sink in. In truth, she was pretty well unscathed, but her positions weren't even finished yet. Worse, the enemy's lack of an organized deployment meant she couldn't move her heavier units without exposing her garages, which left them with only a few groups she could support the town with at first. Worse, she didn't have the supplies for a long engagement here, and she certainly couldn't feed a bunch of Setulan refugees without raiding the stores that the town itself had. Just something to add to her list. But that made it even worse. To do that, she'd have to roll on it now.

"Captain, I should be able to extract you and your people, but we need you to gather them up. I'm also going to have to get some supplies to keep you fed. Any weapons or gear, I will also want to pick up before we pull you out. Where could I find these things? An armory or granary or something so that we can pull you out and have a reasonable chance at not surrendering too much to the enemy? How do I recognize this enemy from you guys? I don't know much more about Exiles other than that they used to be you guys."

She found herself back in the command room of her base, with engineers still hooking up the last of the equipment, but it only made it look more ominous. The entirety of End of the Universe was blacked out in fog of war, and where they did have good intel it showed that they were still on an uneven footing. The only real advantage she could tell was that the enemy didn't have a lot of armor or air power, and that was one thing she had. She even had orbital supremacy. It should limit the combat to a series of search-and-destroy operations, if she could get her units in place in time. But every unit was now reporting in some manner of trouble. It was a fresh crew, and people were screwing up. She simply didn't have time to indulge their reports, and was forced to over-ride comms to get her orders out.

"All units, prepare to receive enemy attacks. Keep only skeleton units working on base construction, all other soldiers are active as of now. I need light infantry and AJAX prepping for go. Third Division, I need you gearing up to begin an extraction operation into End. Move it! People in there are dying every second this takes!"

The first piece of good news came in from the Titanflea, as the destroyer signaled it had completed lift-off. Almost immediately, it completed a pass over the town, filling in many of the gaps there. What she saw caused her heart to sink. There was no way to really tell friend from foe in the streets and buildings, meaning anything not manually called in by Captain Nyman may as well be firing a Hades into a crowd. It would end in deaths on both sides, and that wasn't a sacrifice she was willing to make just yet.

Gritting her teeth, she keyed back into the radio. "Captain, you got anything I can use to help you out? Anything you know I can do that would put these people back in their homes so we can clear the streets? NBC drill or something that will buy us some time? I've got to get some control in there. What will scare rioting people to a place of safety? Something tells me simply bombing them just won't do it right now. How would I trigger an alert for chemical attack? That would clear the streets, right? At least buy us some time to get in there?"

But she couldn't just wait, and instead turned to her immediate staff, a third of which was still off helping the base get up and running. "Contact Dex'Bollun. I need his second company mounted up and moving immediately. Have them meet up due south of End. They will rendezvous with..." Her eyes ran over the information before her, selecting a local group.

"They will rendezvous with my third, and your...first, second, and fifth companies, Shi'Vessu. You'll take immediate command of that unit. You're our first move on this, and I simply can't have you bogging down. Get your men mounted up and be ready for a running battle. I'll approach the ISN for a bomber wing as air support."

Her eyes shot up to him just in time to see him throw a quick salute, hurrying out with his own small group of staff, already giving orders as she got back on the line with the Captain. "Captain Nyman. I've got an Icarus waiting on its pads for a place to put AJAX down and I'm gathering a heavy group with Shield just south of End. I can have heavies at your gates in about 20 minutes, or AJAX on your doorstep in 5. Are you in a position to know who needs to get out, and if not, how long before you are?"

OoC: I updated the ORBAT to include commanding officers, attached units, where they're based, and what armor they have.

[Setulan]

End of the Universe

Nyman ducked as more fire whizzed overhead. He had been joined by a shell-shocked duo of MPs, and they were returning fire against the incoming targets with gusto. Though the police headquarters would have served as an excellent bastion on its own, it was somewhat ironic to the increasingly angry Captain that the massive blast had scattered cover all over the place. His vox squawked, and Fay came over the line.

"No way can I figure out how to patch comms, Colonel. I'm not techie, and I think ours just bought the farm in that explosion." He rolled out of cover and hustled down the hallway away from the firing, putting his back against a massive block that had once been part of the wall. "I don't like what you're telling me here. If they're everywhere, then we've got serious issues."

Before the MP could continue, an emergency comm transmission barged in. Sergeant First Class Shan, First Platoon's platoon sergeant, sounded calm as he barked over the radio over the staccato sound of rapid fire weaponry.

"Hooligan 6, this is Red 7. We have made contact en route to your location and are fighting through."

"7, what kind of contact are we talking?"

"IED fracked the lead Maxi, sir, the LT is a goner. They lit us up with light weapons after and we are engaging." He was cut off by the scream of the cupola mounted Banshee letting rip with a stream of high explosive shells. "Gonna be a while before we can get to you." Nyman's cursing, unheard over the radio, was long and fluent.

"Do what you can, 7. We are holding here, kill them all."

"Wilco. Red 7 Out."

Nyman gritted his teeth as Fay's voice came over the comms again.

"Colonel, are you suggesting we evacuate the city? Cus that isn't going to happen. My standing orders are to keep this city safe, and I refuse to give up on that. As for target recognition...I whhate to say it, but for the time being I think it is going to be determined by who is shooting at you and who isn't."

Running back down the hall, he almost hit Hurst head on. The First Sergeant had grabbed two K14s, and Nyman took his with a grateful nod.

"How's Beardy?"

"Banged up but she'll be alright. You heard about First Platoon?"

A curt nod.

"Well, that's not the worst of it. I made it to the roof. There's shooting going on all over the fucking city. A sniper almost knocked my block off."

"Did you get him?"

"No. Didn't stick around long enough. Anyway, I think we have a concentrated enemy push coming at us from the east, sir. I definitely saw movement out that way. Company strength at least, and all we have in the area is a squad from Second."

"Fuck. Ok, I'll contact Fay."

"Colonel, I need your heavies and your AJAX! We have a company strength enemy element moving in from the east, and those heavies are critical to getting control back in the city. Our guys are getting whacked by IEDs and small arms fire all over the fucking place."


1-1-3-4th Division, Big Brother

Even as Colonel Dex'Bollun got his mechanized units ready to roll out to support End of the Universe, Big Brother would come under serious attack. The only warning they would have would be the short, sharp scream of light mortars before explosions began to ripple inside the compound. They were soon joined by the less frequent but much more devastating thunder of a 150mm siege mortar. The first round from the big gun detonated directly above the anti-orbit cannon, but it was not a conventional explosion. Cries of "gas!" would echo around the compound as the deadly Devourer chemical rained down over the Big Brother and any Huerdaen unfortunate enough to be nearby. The Devourer was a specialized anti-material/anti-armor chemical that caused massive decay in metals of all varieties, eating away armor plating on tanks or structural supports. Before effective counter battery could be organized, shots began to rain down from all around, rail rounds smashing into flesh and metal in a cacophony of sound. The small arms were soon joined by the thunder of two or more crew served heavy weapons that sent tracers whickering into the compound.

More than forty Exiles, all in powered armor and touting high quality weapons, began a suicidal delaying attack on the Huerdaen position.

Suicidal...unless there were more coming.


Approximately 2 Kilometers outside 1-1-3rd Home Regiment

The only warning Shi'Vessu would have that he was under attack was a brief cry of alarm when a sharp eyed infantryman saw what might have been a metal on metal reflection. Then there was a sharp scream - immediately recognizable as a Mauler anti tank rail rocket - and a cloud of smoke. The lead Gravedigger erupted in a catastrophic fireball that sent shrapnel whizzing into the surrounding territory. The burning shell of an APC that had just become a super hot tomb was shunted over by the force of the blast and cackled merrily, the smell of burning flesh repugnant and heavy.

Another rocket coughed out of its launcher and smashed into a Goliath. The missiles, designed to kill the toughest Setulan armor, was badly aimed and succeeded only in ripping apart the track sections of the heavy vehicle. Two more projectiles flew, cratering the road and smashing apart another Gravedigger, before the small arms fire began. Though most of it simply pattered off the armor plating of the vehicles like rain, the slower pitched but much more dangerous heavy thud of a large caliber machine gun buckled the light plating on the APCs and turned a duo of unfortunate infantrymen into little more than paste and scrap metal.

A quick scan of the surrounding territory picked up more than a hundred foot contacts, moving with clear purpose and laying down a devastating two sided ambush, with the relief column stuck in the middle.


Huerdaen Field HQ, Farazen
1-1-3rd Home Regiment, Mechanized

The attack that hit Fay's headquarters lacked any of the sophistication or cunning of the other ambushes, but it more than made up for it in raw fury. More than three hundred screaming fanatics hurled themselves out of cover and came running, screaming obscenities at the under prepared fortifications. They fired wildly as they ran, rail rounds more of a nuisance than a serious threat, and died in droves. Heavy Huerdaen fire ripped apart fanatics like so much tissue paper, creating what seemed like a lasting cloud of gore and pink mist that coated the faces and bodies of the ones who ran behind. It was almost laughably easy for the Shield.

Until the first of the fanatics finally made it to a pillbox and threw themselves inside, triggering their suicide vest with an ecstatic shout.

The bunker detonated spectacularly, vaporizing the gun crew inside and sending a spear of bone shrapnel into the neck of an exposed Huerdaen private. More detonations began to sound as other fanatics either reached their foes or blew up prematurely. They didn't care if only ten made it through to the enemy, because ten was all they needed.


Deep in the Bowels of Farazen

Something moved.

Spurred by the colossal plasma detonation above, one of the world's tectonic plates shifted and finally slipped three feet.

In another life, Sister Honorious Omiom was an officer in the Planetary Guard. Specifically, a Drop Division combat engineer tasked with finding valuable metals on Danaversian worlds. In another life, Dr. Patricia Omiom was a professor of geological science who specialized in localizing the components to Setulan Steel. Her Battle Lord had recognized this in her, and she had been perfect to take a planet that produced so much of the valuable ores needed to fuel the Destroyer Moon.

Now, her PhD was being used for an altogether more nefarious purpose. Realizing that she couldn't hope to fight through the Huerdaen in space or on the planet, she had brought up all the data she had on Farazen's plate tectonics and planned a little surprise for the midgets.

The earthquake's epicenter would be a 9.6 on the Richter scale. By the time it reached the End of the Universe sixty eight minutes later, it would have been reduced to a meager 7.8.

Note that this is here so you can have somebody go "oh shit" if you want to, but I figure it won't actually start shaking things for another few posts

[Huerdae]

1-1-3-4th Division, Big Brother Anti-Orbital Position

The sudden attack on the massive weapon caught much of the crew off-guard, and only the Huerdaen lack of trust for open air saved them from a worse catastrophe, as most that were outside still bore shielded, powered armor or were within short distance of the base doors. Even so, the terrible screams of those caught in the gas or the mortar barrage were forcibly cut short by a number of officers as they wrote of casualties and marked out their locations on the map for after the strike.

The box-like black structures that made up a Huerdaen compound sheltered them from most of the lighter mortar fire, but a direct hit from a 150mm round tore through the upper layer of the complex, spraying turning the compartment within into a macabre art piece of splattered remains and dripping gore. An open door allowed the flesh to spray into a nearby compartment, leaving the forms of those within in relief against the red-sprayed walls. Almost immediately, the crews began to button up their vehicles, gearing up even under fire. While the Shield Infantry surged outward in their small, five-man squads, the armored column continued to prepare. Position by position, Infantry swept through the heavily outnumbered Exiles, taking or smashing the mortars as they found them, until the relief unit was almost ready to leave.

Hundreds of Shield mounted up, moving out under fire as those that remained continued to fight against the sudden attack, carefully taking up positions of their own around the base, and making use of the enemy's own weapons to supplement their fire as they sought out additional positions. Despite this, much of the intended damage had been done. One of the supports of the massive artillery piece had taken significant damage, and although it didn't fall, the four-pillar structure that almost rose higher than the terrain around it began to lean, the metal groaning as the weight shifted and supports weakened under the gas strike.

1-1-3rd Regiment, Shi'Vessu's Command
Approximately 2 Kilometers outside 1-1-3rd Home Regiment Field HQ

The ambush on the Shield wasn't entirely unexpected. The Gravediggers were rolling at full speed, throwing up enough dirt and dust into the air to be seen clear from End of the Universe, but while their speed kept them from being too vulnerable to following units, it clearly gave away their position. Rolling two across, they kept ten meters between the columns, ready for the oncoming strike. They weren't disappointed.

Even Shi'Vessu himself was impressed by the speed at which the enemy had gathered, hitting them barely outside of their operational HQ. Sitting safely in his Kodiac-Variant, he couldn't see the first blows that were struck, but the process was something he knew. Hands shaking, he felt numb, listening to his own voice as he called out commands.

"Evens and odds! Clear it and move! Heavy sweep on the wide."

It was a testament to the organization of the shield that the column began almost immediately to follow his orders. On the tactical display in front of him, it was almost magical as the two wide column split, spreading from a two-column formation into what was almost an opening flower. Even units cut hard outward away from the column center, while the even-numbered units turned toward the outside of the formation, disgorging Infantry to follow move out on foot. The side doors of the Gatecrashers groaned open, slanting outward to provide cover as the Infantry bailed out, moving on foot and using the vehicles for cover. Burned out wrecks became shields, fire and smoke became concealment, and the Shield continued to roll. When the even-numbered units reached 45 degrees out from the original column, they, too, stopped and disgorged their forces, causing the column to have turned into a double-delta formation, with two units of Goliath-chassis tanks at the extreme flanks, while the other two continued to roll forward at the very tip.

And then one of the Goliaths got tracked, grinding to a halt and turning its face toward the inside of the formation. Up until that point, they had continued to push through the ambush, Maedar rounds and rail rounds trading back and forth between powered-armor equipped soldiers, tearing through metal and flesh and littering the ground around the combat zone with dead. The another rocket screamed at the formation, and the grind-like report of the Whirlwind's quad-mount tore the rocket clear out of the air, before sweeping across the landscape with high-explosive shells, shattering the landscape and hurling clumps of dirt and flesh indiscriminately skyward. Sloping green plains turned black as the shells tilled the soil with blood, bone, and metal, showering the Exiles nearby who managed to take cover from the stream of fire.

A gatecrasher on the left flank exploded, away from the protective arc of the whirlwind, but a Kodiac joined the fray almost immediately, the dual-Hades mounts making a disgusting display as they almost matched the rate of fire, spraying white-hot shell casings high into the air, and burning into the fertile black soil where they landed, heat causing them to deform as if they were putty where they struck the ground, shaping to stones, bones, and setting meat afire as they fell around the bodies of the fallen.

But with one of the few and precious tanks tracked, the group could not continue without sacrificing it, and Shi'Vessu clenched his fists. "One-One-Three-Third, pitch and secure. Consolidate the losses and pack it up. Get that Gol rolling and catch up."

It took a fair chunk out of his formation, but it was worth it to keep the Goliath from being lost so early in the battle. Gatecrashers fell out of formation, forming a small armored ring around the damaged tank while Imperial Shield began laboring to repair the damaged tracks, all under heavy fire. The ground around them was littered with shell casings, the armor was pocked by bullet impacts, and the big beast roared its defiance, as the 105mm gun sent another group of Exiles tumbling.

But the forward push was more spectacular still, as a Cyclops unleashed a concussive round, where it dug into the soil. A visible shockwave stormed out, shattering the shell casing, but leaving it still. The concussion, however, blew past the armored forms of the Exiles before it, turning them to jelly, and liquefying even their bones, leaving them formless in heaps before the treads of the tank. A close-in assault on the flank found themselves faced with a nightmare, as a sudden torrent of plasma fire tore a gash in the ground where the unit had been. All across the advancing line, Gravediggers, Goliaths, and Cyclops sent out massive blasts from turret-mounted railguns.

Infantry fanned out between the armored vehicles, using the extended side doors of the Gatecrashers as cover as they advanced, with the heavy fire of the Kodiac and Gravedigger-Variants driving at the enemy. Despite the tenacity, however, here and there vehicles would fall out of place, leaving the infantry unprotected, and the tally of bodies continued to slowly, but surely, increase.

Taking hold of himself, he called back in to HQ to report his progress, and the isolated group of mechanized he was leaving behind to protect the immobilized Goliath until it could continue.

Farazen, 1-1-3rd Home Regiment Field HQ

Her conversation with Nyman was less than inspiring. The man was clearly under direct personal attack, which was no way to be in command of any position, but somehow she doubted he had much choice in the matter. Compared to her thousands, Nyman couldn't even boast a number in the hundreds, and it put her ill at ease. The images they had garnered from End of the Universe made it look like the town that hadn't seemed very large at all suddenly was swarming with bodies, with no determining friend from foe. She nearly crushed the radio in her fist at the frustration and lack of planning, information, and preparedness. It was almost like they had wanted to be invaded.

Gritting her teeth, she keyed in commands to a group of Bumblebee SPGs, locating what she thought was the group by Nyman's description and comparing it to Titanflea's overhead data. In an instant, she could hear the tracks grinding as they accounted for the expected movement of the mob, got a final reading from Titanflea, and sighted the guns. The vehicles were right outside, past that black steel wall that separated the compound from the outside world, and she knew she couldn't hear the guns elevating to firing positions, but that didn't stop her from imagining it. The thunder of the guns firing, however, she did not imagine. Each gun emptied a four-round autoloader in two seconds, using the recoil to push it into careful position for a second shot, putting four rounds in the air from each to land in the streets leading up to what was her best guess as Nyman's 2nd Squad. What wasn't best guess, however, was the mob's positioning. The first Bumblebee had aimed to set its rounds a few feet in front of the group, and each hit went in sequence across the road, an exploding barrier alerted only by the smokey trails that marked a Huerdaen railgun by the plasma fire that burned in the air even after its passage. Even the screaming of the round came afterward, too slow to warn of the oncoming death.

The other rounds fell almost immediately after as well, a creeping barrage that led away from the republican position. They were nothing but high explosives, but the blast craters were left smoldering, as the incendiary byproducts of the Huerdaen-made explosive left glowing red holes in the ground, some burning stone and dirt and road alike without a care in a pock-marked hellish landscape of bodies and blood-red fire.

She didn't even have time to ask for a report. She stood there, looking as her board lit up with enemy contacts, until her XO slammed her upside the back of the head, the only warning she needed to keep going. "I can't give you the AJAX and the heavies. My heavies are en route, but I can't drop my guys in there without some manner of extraction planned. They don't have the gear to make a stand to help you out. I'll give you a best effort, though. Get your guys off the streets. Abandon vehicles if you have to, or go through walls. I'm about to bring some order in with force. I repeat, GET YOUR MEN OUT OF THE STREETS BEFORE THEY BURN."

She dropped the radio, switching back to their own comms as she called up the ISN, feeding them target data for every street in End of the Universe. "I need strike craft runs down every street they have. Criss-cross it, we need to immediately pacify the area. Limited baelrog usage."

No sooner had she made the request, before the Colonel above responded, his voice grim. "Fay, I've got to refuse that. We're packing up to head out. Orders from the admiral, we're needed to reinforce the other systems. I can't leave my strike craft here. We got hit by a ship. The others took a battle group each, and there's blood in the sky already."

Snarling, Fay nearly screamed at the man. "Just one damned strike, Colonel! I know you have some bombers carrying Baelrogs right now, just let them empty on dirt! They'd have to re-arm up there anyway!"

There was some hesitation, but finally the voice came back, agreeing. "I have two wings with Baelrogs. I'll give them the target data. They can't blanket the whole area, but we can hit the main roads."

"And Titanflea? She's just a destroyer, and not a heavyweight at that. I need eyes, or we'll be dead down here, too."

You can keep her, but no more atmospheric operations. She's on strict orbital duty as eyes, I can't risk losing her. I may have to pull her anyway, but I can leave her for you for now. Best I can do."

He forcibly cut the link, and the Colonel turned back to the map, glaring at the unit she had left with Shi'Vessu. Even before she could bring him online his report was coming in.

"Colonel, we've taken fire but continue to move. Had to slow to Infantry-Walk, but continue to make progress. I left 1-1-3-1-3rd to garrison and recover a Goliath, he was just immobile. They'll mount up and join soon. The enemy doesn't want us to make contact with the city, Ma'am. They brought gear for us, but we're destroying any launchers we can. Any chance we can get AVIE out here for our own wrecks?"

Glowering, she just shook her head, responding curtly. "AVIE stays home until we can move her safely. Don't leave them a Goliath, Shi. If one is dead and gone, make sure there's nothing they can use against us. Any heavy gear you get, break it. We carry more armor than they do for now, limit how much they can change that."

The affirmative came through, moments before gunfire erupted around the compound. Almost directly overhead she could hear a hephaestus gun start firing, and the muffled thunder of the Huerdaen base's defenses drew her eyes upward, to the XO. He nodded, heading outside for direct control and command, but before he even stepped through the door, a blast shook the ground. His steps became a hurried jog, and she turned back to her map, purposefully making herself oblivious to the nearby combat. It was then that she got word from the 1-1-3-4th, that they were under attack and the Big Brother had taken damage. The mechanized were rolling out on schedule, but that weakened the position. Slamming her hand down on the table, she had a moment of fear as the image flickered, then returned.

With a much more gentle touch, she keyed in to that group.

"Dex'Bollun, belay current stance. You're getting out of there. I can't get you resupply or reinforcements quickly, and you're an exposed flank. Pack up what you can, get everyone on board. Crew and support personnel into the Gatecrashers, Infantry supply the protection. You were an engineer specialist, right?"

The man's affirmative was barely even out of his mouth before she continued. "Set the Big Brother's farewell. Make sure they don't find them all, and that thing can't be used against us, then roll on back. We've got the 1-1-3-1-3rd Company providing protection for an immobile Goliath on the dirt, group up with them and come on home."

She killed the link, sitting quietly as she realized the gunfire around base had stopped. A quick glance at her XO and the man just shook his head.

"Unarmored fools. Suicide bombers. Not even good at it, but it means every position we have is vulnerable."

Nodding, she keyed into the as-yet-untouched northern position. "Get your Talons airborn. They're hitting everything they can find, star sweeping the hills, you're the only ones not yet hit. I need you to put two Rocs in the air, as well. Keep eyes out for heavy gear, they weren't entirely unprepared for us."

To her XO, she didn't even look. "I need patrols around this base. They never get this close again. Roll out a platoon of Goliaths if you have to, but don't let them knock on my doors again." His salute was almost sadistic, and she made a point not to question him about it later. All she was sure about was that if the Ticks couldn't dislodge the man, she was in good hands here.

Her eyes shot to the map of End of the Universe again, and tipped her head to the Major. "I need your Icarus up there too. I need a team that can get in and mix it up, and deliver a new Squawker. Sounds like Nyman lost his already."

She looked at him, her face grim. "No more than two squads. I can't promise they'll be coming home."

The Major's look didn't even flinch at the proclamation, instead he just shrugged, and handed her a datapad with a list of names. "If you care to see it, these are the volunteers. It's not our first defense, Colonel." He even offered a smile. Fay couldn't stomach it, and just turned her back.

She didn't even reach out to take it. "Get your Icarus airborn, then. Pick your squads and take a squawker out there. Organize with the ISN jocks to be sure you're not plastering the same road."

The man nodded and was gone before she could turn, but she grimaced all the same.

Farazen, End of the Universe

The retribution visited upon End of the Universe, or more specifically, the streets of the End of the Universe, came with only the low rumbling warning of the ISN bombers. Fire streaked from above, and the streets light up as torrents of fire surged across their surfaces. Vehicles, people, stone, and metal all fell away as the roaring fires consumed what had once been maintained roads. The heat drove people back away, causing highly combustible items to light on fire, and vehicles popped like bubbles before the sudden heat and pressure. Whole roads turned into rivers of fire, completely without regard for the people there.

The Icarus strikes were no less brutal. There was no rumble, no shrieking approach. Instead, there was a flash of fire as the vessel streaked in, extending its wings to slow only moments before it released its ordinance. The effect was that of massive flaming ship passing overhead, filling the sky with even more smoke before the the ground exploded, as ordinance decimated roads without mercy. The sharp crack of the thing's arrival was lost in the thunderous detonations, as water mains and utilities were blasted apart by the ordinance, and the air of the entire city was soon filled with dust, smoke, and mortar.

Behind Nyman, not more than ten meters away, a similar strike hit the blast crater throwing the entire structure into the haze of dust and concealment. It was from here that voices, bearing Telrosian accents, carried out. Mechanically distorted into a genderless grind of words, a Myrmidon was the first thing to appear from the dust, held sideways, like a bar, as the first of the two AJAX squads showed themselves.

"Friendlies, Republic. Colonel Fay'Shaila said you lost your squawker. We're here to supply and reinforce."

After a moment, the Jaeger removed the helmet that distorted her voice, showing a tattoed, scarred face, as she looked around the remains of the structure.

"Nice place. I'm Sergeant Kariss Lyetz."

She didn't offer a salute or any form of respect beyond that, instead gesturing her squads to cover, while she knelt with a machine they carried between them.

1-1-3-4th Division, Big Brother Anti-Orbital Position

Colonel Dex'Bollun was one of the last to leave the site. Jumping into the last Gatecrasher, and surrounded by the sweating, uncertain, and afraid, he knocked on the hull to signal the closing of the doors. All around them, the charges that had been set were starting to go off. The six trucks that carried the massive 2.5m rounds for the Big Brother had their cabs destroyed, the loading arm was blasted clear. Whole sections of the mountainside began to tumble down on the half-built facility. The massive body of the Big Brother was cut down halfway up, tumbling down on the black steel of the structure, even as the Gatecrashers rolled out of the facility.

They were slower than most, but moved with a purpose, keeping to the easy to traverse passes, with Infantry hanging onto the sides of the APCs and LAVs as often as they could. They were fighting to make time away from the site, leaving most of the explosives to do their work, but Dex kept checking the time inside the chassis, holding his dirtied, peaked cap in one hand, with the detonator in the other. Behind them, they could see the dust of the site starting to settle as the charges ceased their work, with stone covering most of the site. To Dex, it was a signal, and he grit his teeth.

"Unless we're under fire, have everyone hang on to the sides of the armor. Five minutes to detonation."

Behind them, buried below tons of stone that shook and rattled with the earthquake, the timers ticked down on the nuclear rounds that Dex himself had set. Five minutes to the detonation of seven different anti-ship nuclear warheads, ready to wipe the site clean of whoever may come calling, while the men and women who had manned them hurried away on their transports, desperate to meet up with the heavier forces to the north.

[Setulan]

End of the Universe, Farazen

"I can't give you the AJAX and the heavies. My heavies are en route, but I can't drop my guys in there without some manner of extraction planned. They don't have the gear to make a stand to help you out. I'll give you a best effort, though. Get your guys off the streets. Abandon vehicles if you have to, or go through walls. I'm about to bring some order in with force. I repeat, GET YOUR MEN OUT OF THE STREETS BEFORE THEY BURN."

"Wait, what? Colonel? COLONEL FAY?" The link was dead. Nyman, pale beneath his armor, hit the emergency link on his vox.

"All units, clear off the streets! Get off them now!" Protests started to come in but the Captain overrode them, nearly shouting in his helmet. "Get the fuck off the streets any way you can! NOW!

It was barely in time. The Huerdaen strike craft absolutely leveled parts of the city as the main streets cackled and burned. With the End of the Universe as badly damaged as it was, the MPs had no way to send out any kind of warning to civilians, and hundreds were killed. Most died mercifully quickly, the air sucked out of their lungs from the intense heat, asphyxiating them. Others were not so lucky, with dozens caught on the fringe of the fire. They died screaming, agonizing deaths as their skin sloughed off of blackened bodies before they would crumple, utterly undone by the Baelrogs. The facades of buildings rumbled and collapsed, the moisture sucked from the walls of the less sturdy pre-fab structures causing them to fold. The streets had become a burning, fiery pit.

As Nyman rose from where he was in cover, he barely took note of the screaming of the AJAX dropship. The HSE had just bombed his city. A Setulan city. He had no idea of the death toll, save that none of his MPs had been caught in the blast - though three of their precious Maxellians were now only so much slag in the middle what were once roads. There was total silence over the radio as the enormity of what had been done began to sink in.

"Friendlies, Republic. Colonel Fay'Shaila said you lost your squawker. We're here to supply and reinforce."

"Friendlies..."

It took all of Nyman's formidable self control to not shoot the Jaeger in the head as she popped around the corner.

Friendlies don't bomb fucking friendlies.

"Nice place. I'm Sergeant Kariss Lyetz."

That snarky comment almost tore it. It was only the fact that Lyetz was clearly not Huerdaen that kept things at least somewhat civil.

"Just...you..."

A deep breath.

"Put it in there." He gestured to a mostly intact room. "Have your team secure a perimeter. I'm fairly sure that anything that was out there is now gone." The tone was entirely too neutral and too polite to be anything but furious. "Keep an eye out. Targets are dressed as civilians."

Then the earthquake hit.

The massive rumble was all the warning anyone had before they were whipped off their feet by a huge surge of tectonic energy. The structure of End of the Universe groaned but didn't collapse anymore. The rest of the city would not be so lucky. The buildings that had been in any way damaged by the bombing came down completely in huge clouds of dust, smothering and crushing civilians who had just begun to leave their homes and shelters. More than a third of the city simply crumpled, the prefab structures not designed to resist earthquakes in a place that should only have experienced them once every eight thousand years. More screams could be heard, and sirens began to (belatedly) scream.

From a distance, the city looked like a colossal pit of fire and smoke, with dust rising in great plumes from everywhere. The screams could be heard for miles.

Almost immediately following the earthquake the Big Brother detonated. It was not entirely clear whether or not this was caused by Exile tinkering or the timed detonations; all people knew was that the massive shockwave blasted apart more than a hundred houses on the outskirts of the city, ripping away their supports and killing everyone inside. The few survivors trapped in the rubble would expire slowly as the main fire rescue station had been destroyed in the earthquake, and more than half of the firemen themselves had been on the streets trying to help the wounded when the strike craft dropped their payloads.

The police heard quarters was half gone and under attack, half the city had collapsed, and more than fifty percent of the fire rescue teams had been killed.

And the nightmare was only beginning.


1-1-3-1-3rd Company

Though retracking the Goliath was not a particularly complex operation, it was hampered greatly by the Exiles. At first, it was not a particularly heavy attack; the Shield had handily dismantled the ambush on their position, but the infantry guarding the tank had to deal with intermittent mortar fire. To the inexperienced grunts, this was a particularly nasty way to fix a vehicle. It was made immeasurably worse when one of the gold-edged veterans leading the effort had his head blown clean off his shoulders by a sniper in the hills. Cries of "sniper!" had barely begun when another sharpshooter shot the throat out of a heavy weapons trooper, the soldier dropping in a spray of crimson. The two marksmen began to hammer heavy rail shots into the cowering Huerdaen, and it was readily apparent that they were both some distance away. Railguns spat metal at probable locations to no avail.

Finally - after what felt like an eternity that cost the lives of eight more Shield - the Goliath roared into life on its new track.

And promptly detonated as it was it took four micro-missile hits to its topside armor plating, rupturing the tank in a gout of fire that sent whizzing shrapnel into backs and faces.

A squadron of three mecha that were clearly replicas of the Setulan Light Assault Mecha (S.L.A.M.) jetted overhead, massive amounts of rail fire screaming from the banshees mounted on their arms. The mortar fire intensified simultaneously, and inexperienced Huerdaen exploded into chunky gobbets of flesh and metal. One of the Gravediggers exploded as a R.E.A.P.E.R. found its mark, the entropy beam ripping apart the armor plating like playdough and incinerating the crew. One of the snipers blasted the spine out of the Company commander mere seconds later as the woman tried to organize a proper resistance.

Now bouncing around, using their thrusters to jink erratically, the SLAM squadron reaped a terrible toll on the isolated infantry company. A heavy weapons trooper managed to get a series of good hits with AP rounds from his Akki that ripped apart one of the mecha. The vehicle went crashing to the ground, thudding and deforming after the thirty meter fall. It lay, crumpled on the field, with no way to tell if the pilot was still alive.

With mortar fire raining in, snipers trained in on them, and two mecha engaged, the infantry company found itself surrounded once again as small arms fire came from the torn up countryside. More Exiles had joined the fight. It was clear that they wanted to crush the isolated company before Dex'Bollun could reinforce them.

[Huerdae]

Farazen
1-1-3-1-3rd Company, Mechanized

Sergeant Al'Issandi threw himself to the dirt as soon as the shot tore the head off the Captain he had been standing next to. Even before he hit the ground, he could hear his voice screaming about the sniper, but the events were starting to pass in the blur of simply staying alive. It was just like Foer all over again, only this time instead of having Fay drag him out of the trenches to attack with her brilliant gold of the Senior Lieutenant on her shoulder, he was laying under the decapitated body of the captain who would have given her her orders. He'd been green back then, a new guy full of spit and vinegar and proudly running out ahead, ready to get to grips with the damn Reds that tried to hold it against them. Sure, the Bavinese were there, but it was the Reds they fought. The Battle for Foer never would have ended up in the favor of the people who lived there - it was the red of the IStaR or the black of the HSE, from beginning to end. Thanks in some small part to him, they now lived under the black.

He kept his head down, remembering how things went there, staying still and picking off another one of the soldiers who tried to push toward their ring of vehicles, but everything was wrong here. People were still standing, some of the officers even - those who hadn't fought on the ground before, and had served in stations or starship boarding or other 'mundane' combats. It was nothing like fighting on the ground, and he knew that. The ranges were different, the environment was different. The way that people responded to mortar fire was awkward, at best. Poorly practiced. Growling, he grabbed an 'awkward' member of his squad and threw the man against the side of the transport he cowered next to, getting him into some semblance of cover just in time for a mortar to destroy a nearby area, sending shrapnel through the air where the man had once stood. Viciously, he kept dragging the four under his command into cover, keeping them alive.

The detonation of the Goliath spelled the end of that. Two of his died in the explosion, torn apart with many of the others who had helped gear the machine up to move again. It left him with just two of his babes left, one of which stared wide-eyed at the wreck and the bodies that lay around it...but mostly the parts of bodies that were only partially recognizable. The fire around him intensified, and somewhere in his mind he screamed, wanting to fling his arms in the air and run, or fire wildly, or just dive under the nearest rock and hope they didn't find him. His hands dragged the nearest gold-shouldered soldier into the Gatecrasher next to him, and as the mortars kept coming down, and the SLAMs circled overhead, he dragged the driver out of the hull gun position and just screamed for him to drive.

A few of the other vehicles started lurching forward, too. One or two spun, having already lost a track. Those that could move, did, haphazardly, with Shield grabbing on and clinging to the sides, or climbing up on top. He barely paid attention, checking on his two squadmates - Corporal Gal'Vauun, a soldier who stared across the gatecrasher, unable to move for the three others piled on top of him, taking cover, and Private Li'Kassra, a fiery young girl who was hanging out the open door, firing past two others and trying to get some rounds on target. Out the open back, past the men and women hanging onto the rear door that was only barely lifted enough to not slam against the ground as they drove, when one of the last vehicles near the Goliath wreck detonated from a direct hit, and a notification pinged off on his HUD. He was now fifth in line for command.

That was something he wasn't expected. Wasn't prepared for. Behind the gatecrasher, running across open ground, he could see the Infantry who hadn't been lucky enough to grab onto the southward-heading vehicles as they were gunned down one after another. There were a few groups still fighting around the wrecked vehicles, but they were terribly outnumbered, completely without effective positions, and had no support of their own. Another group of infantry got strafed down and the ticker changed to show that he was second in command. His eyes turned down to the man at his feet, the Junior Lieutenant he had pulled in, who still stared dumbly at the fight behind them as the vehicle bounced forward.

Kicking the man's helmet, he waited for a response, before keying in his own command code to bring up the command information, his breaths ragged as he reported in to the woman who had dragged him out of hell once already, hoping she would be able to magically do the same across the kilometers of ground between him and the HQ.

"Colonel! Sergeant Al'Issandi-"

"Al! What the hell is going on down there? Where's Yi'Kouva? What's our situation?"

"Down, ma'am. We're around..."

The earth shook, and the vehicle slid, and shuddered as the tracks fought against the suddenly unsteady ground. Near the rear, they could see a Gatecrasher throw a track, quickly overcome by the SLAMs as the remaining units left them in the dust. Gritting his teeth, he focused.

"We're a little over 20 percent, ma'am."

There was a pause, and he could tell that HQ was feeling the quake, but it seemed so insignificant to him. "20 percent down? Why are you the one calling in?"

"Twenty percent survivors. We've got SLAMs up high tearing us up. Hold on."

Pulling himself forward, he pushed the useless people back into the group, recognizing that many of them weren't even in his platoon, and a few weren't from the company at all. one of the tank crewmen was there, his dusty uniform bearing the markings of a driver as he was squished between all the powered-armored soldiers around him, wearing little more than a personal shield and flak vest. Sticking his head out, Al growled when he saw what was keeping them alive.

"Ma'am, one of the Kodiacs is with us, keeping fire hot in the air, but we're down to three chassis. We're keeping them at bay, but anything goes wrong and we're toast. I've got JLT Kas'Sorrid but he's gone blank. It's just me calling shots, everyone else is dead. You got anything that will take us where we need to go? Bearing to head to?"

There was only a momentary pause as she updated, and a series of explosions could be seen in the mass of fire and smoke behind them, causing him to tense, but Fay continued talking. "You're almost on track. You're going to have to meet up with Dex'Bollun but you have to break eight degrees toward the east from your current heading. Get those men back, Al. You've got to drag them home now. Stay alive another seven kilometers at your current rate, and you'll be within reach of friendly guns to scram those SLAMs."

The news left the man sweating, but at that point a SLAM made another successful run, this time only barely missing enough to send the Gatecrasher rolling as it tried to evade, rose up on one side, and ended up lying on its back, the treads spinning helplessly in the air. It was all he could do to grab Li and drag her inside before she became another smear in the battle, but others weren't so lucky. Checking for any heavy weapons they could use, he dragged his two babes out of the back, pushing them toward the south, eyeballing the bearing.

It was the screaming that brought him back around and his gun up, but it was too familiar to be the SLAMs. He didn't recognize their noise, and it just faded into the background. The screaming, instead, was something familiar. Safe. He barely had time to bring his sights up as the pair of talons swept overhead, following the sound of their approach so closely their passage threw him and his two to the ground. Their autocannons blasting into one of the SLAMs until a rocket found a home, and the brilliant over-white of antimatter burst completely annihilated the thing. The Kodiac ground to a halt as others ran to him and his small squad, but he was already up dragging them forward toward the vehicle. The screeching, high-performance 'pods on the Talons sang overhead, and he could have sworn it was a song of victory, but he knew far too many had already died. Overhead, the gunships danced with light mechs under fire from the Kodiac until finally the SLAM aborted, backing away from its prize, but one of the talons was already limping, smoke trailing from its side and he could see that it had already jettisoned its antimatter munitions - preparations for a crash if needed. Still, the Gatecrasher and Kodiac rolled side-by-side with the gunships overhead, Shield sitting, standing, or simply clinging to the sides of the vehicles as they approached the distant cloud of Dex's column. Gritting his teeth, shouldered his gun, yelling at his squad.

"Eyes up, babies! We're still in a warzone! You want to survive that and die sitting on your ass?"

Something about the line sounded like Fay had, in what seemed like such a different time. The warmth on his leg told him his bladder had evacuated itself sometime during the fight. He figured he'd leave that part out when he talked to the squad next, or reported in.

1-1-3 Home Regiment Field HQ

The arrival of the Talons was news to her, as she blinked at their sudden arrival and the safekeeping of the remains of her own broken 3rd Company. Many of them she had served with, much like Al'Issandi, who had first seen combat under her command. Others she had just started getting to know, but they were gone. The Captain, who had been rather cute and forward, someone she enjoyed but had never allowed to step into the bedroom, was now gone. Most of his own officers were gone. Now there was a stunned and worthless JLT who hadn't seen combat except against a few Karkouah raiders, and Al'Issandi. With less than one in five surviving. Worse, she simply couldn't afford to pay any more attention to it. They were headed to Dex, and his problem now. She shot off a simple text notification to the man regarding the survivors, and followed with a unit-wide warning abound SLAMs.

It was then that she was able to look back into the Talons. Lac was waiting for the call.

"I had a group of three in the area, ma'am. I made a call, I didn't have time to check it on you."

Fay didn't know what to say. Quietly, she went back to Lac's record, and found out why it happened. The woman had been a sergeant on Sojent-Ra, one of the few others who knew how to fight this fight. She'd stolen a civilian heavy hauling truck and drove her whole platoon out of a combat zone after they had been decimated, acting without orders and dragging others in place as she had to. It had earned her a promotion. She was a woman who took the initiative. Fay just nodded. She just wished she could praise the woman with 'you saved a lot of lives'. She hadn't. She had just managed to save a fortunate few.

"Quick thinking, Colonel."

It took her back to her own movements. The major force of heavies, minus her broken 3rd Company, was still moving as ordered. Dex was only a few dozen kilometers out, but their fields of fire were starting to overlap. Lac had talons and Rocs up in the air overhead a cycling base defense, which looked eerily familiar to the one her XO had set up - almost an exact copy, in fact. It kept their forces moving, alert, and ready for combat should either of their remaining two strongpoints come under attack. You'Galna kept track of what she was doing, but he was handling the defense of her HQ with careful strokes, moving the forces out to check for mortars, snipers, and anyone out of place at almost random intervals, making any sort of approach anywhere near the HQ an uneasy, if not suicidal affair. The Goliaths were on standby, ready to roll out at a moment's notice, but the base was alive and moving.

Even after the earthquake, which had jarred many of those in the base, the place continued to run. Partly because of You'Galna. Somehow, he inspired people he wasn't even directing with his mere presence, and it was a trick she would have to learn. He'd use open comms so others could hear some orders, and an even voice, or keep direction to a very specific level when needed. It had the effect of making it seems like the very earth itself was shaking to his will, and even she steadied her hands to that sort of cadence of war. Outside, one of the AVIEs that had been setting up a protective burm that had collapsed over top of it dragged its way out of the dirt with the sort of stubbornness that only an engineering vehicle ever could seem to have, pouring black topsoil, clumps of sod, and small plants off it like they were little more than water as it dragged itself out, lined up, and rammed it all back into place. Gritting her teeth, she knew she needed to move, but there was little more to do regarding base. Her cards had been played, and it was time to see how it was working out. From above, Titanflea fed her images and information regarding End of the Universe. The place was...more ruined than she had hoped, but most of the fighting was stopped. From above, it looked like everything was over, but anyone who had fought on Foer or Sojent-Ra knew that there was no such thing as 'finished' in urban combat. Just deceptive moments of quiet. She grit her teeth, signalling for someone to bring her a drink to keep her alert.

End of the Universe

Kariss simply nodded at the man's directions, taking the gear into the room just as the quakes hit. It was chaos for a moment, as the soldiers struggled against the shaking, but the structure they were in held, mostly. Even before the worst was over, they were working on setting up the gear, with two working at the controls while the rest fanned out, relieving the locals with a tap on their shoulder and a gesture to back away, so they could re-arm and get a drink or whatever else they needed. Kariss stood by, looking at the devastation with a face that said she had seen it before, and she simply had. She had been at the front during the Shatterpoint Operation against the Viprans, where a heavily urban area was cleared out with nukes...and then a counter-strike by the Viprans matched the assault to drop even more of the city to rubble around her. It was almost tame by comparison, but she had seen the looks in the eyes of the locals then, and could see the same look here. Betrayal. Hate. Fear, sometimes, but that generally took longer to set in. Nyman was mostly hate. When she had Fay back, she crouched out of sight, near the squawker, speaking to update Nyman as the information came in.

"Captain. Most of the city fighting is quieted - the place is pretty much in shock right now, but it will come back after the fires are back under control. Some may not be under control for a few days, but from experience I'll say we don't have more than ten minutes to get your men moving back to positions they can take advantage of. Here looks good. We've got reports of powered-armor and trained soldiers outside, as well as a few SLAMs. Suicide bombers as well, though those seem limited to our hardened points. A heavy unit was ambushed and repelled the strike, and is still en route. If possible, we're going to do our job on the outskirts - secure and entrench against attack. The more we can take quickly the better position we are to minimize losses. If there's anything in this city the enemy may attack, we need to take it, now. If you have troops in the area, you can do it, or if it's near here I can help. Otherwise, we need to bomb it or wait for the heavies. About five minutes ago Fay lost all ISN support - the Exiles hit everything around here, and there's at least two major fights going on. With this bird down, we get a single destroyer in orbit for intel and E-War, and that's it."

She looked up, her accent particularly vicious as she called out to him. "Captain Nyman!. My people are here to die for you, so we need to know WHERE YOU WANT US TO DIE.. Make it worthwhile." Somehow, the last seemed like a threat from someone who was perfectly willing to shoot her way back out of death just to punch him in the nuts if he failed to do that.

Next to her, she had managed to bring up a rudimentary map that showed what End of the Universe looked like now, as it quickly and efficiently parsed the data and clarified regions as Titanflea sent updated information, increasing the false-3d resolution to show how bad the damage really was. The smoke and fire were unimportant to the scans, but it left the city itself looking almost as sad as the cloud of dust and smoke that hung over it, shadowed beneath the massive mushroom from the end of the Big Brother.

Calmly, the Sergeant watched him, waiting for him to give her information they could use to fight the enemy with. Assuming he still knows which enemy we're facing. A few thousand dead - nothing compared to what it could be.

[Setulan]

Cave System, Somewhere outside the City

Patricia Omiom was sweating, and she hated it.

Unlike the professional armies of the universe, most of whom didn't want their leaders engaged in direct combat, the War Priests of Setulan had a very different philosophy. A soldier is only a soldier, and a company commander is only one more rifle; in the ranks of the War Priests, skill at arms and standing in the Legion was a direct reflection of the gifts received by the Gods, and to not use those gifts is a sin of great magnitude. From Battle Captains to the most deadly Battle Lords, all were expected to command while personally engaged in the battle. There, in the heart of the fighting, they could make all the difference with their tremendous skill at arms, glorious armor marking them out so all could see their example. The God helped, of course, and it was rumored that the most dangerous of the Church could think faster, more clearly, and more decisively than normal mortals. It was said that Hymrik could think more quickly than a supercomputer, and the legends abounded about Solamar.

Perhaps they were even true for some. Omiom knew the gods gave gifts to their children, but she certainly didn't feel any help right about then. Organizing six thousand disparate warriors one small detachment at a time, she had nothing but her command setting HUD and her own formidable intellect to try to stop the shorties from achieving their objectives and denying her the planet. She was pleased to see the isolated company was largely destroyed. Though committing some of her precious SLAM had been a gamble, and had played one of her hands, making an entire Shield company combat ineffective was no small achievement. Contacting Sub-Lieutenant Morgan, she ordered the woman to disengage. The Talons made it unfeasible, and besides...Dex'Bollun's column was in for a nasty surprise of its own.

She opened a link to one of her personal guards, the man not present in the cave with her.

"Brother Lalent."

"Aye, Honorious."

"You may commence your attack."

"Your will be done."

Omiom closed her stinging eyes briefly. Taking a deep breath, she resumed issuing orders. Time was not on her side, not yet. She still had a war to win.


1-1-3-4th Division

Dex'Bollun's column came under attack, much as could be expected. What was unexpected was the scale.

Once it became clear that the Huerdaen were going to abandon the Big Brother, Omiom had scrambled to come up with something to throw in their way. There were only two places for them to go - back to their main compound, or to Farazen to link up with the other major column. Trying to organize an attack on the Division as they rolled towards their HQ would have been impossible, so she took the risk and sent one of her precious War Priests to rally her disparate forces and hit them on the way to the beleaguered city. It was a gamble, but one she felt confident on. If the Shield managed to properly dig in around the city, her life would become much more difficult; the Huerdaen had a fearsome reputation in urban combat, and they had overwhelming artillery support. Any attack from the outskirts into the mining town would be nigh impossible against a well prepared HSE force. So, she needed to blunt it.

The attack started with the death of one of the Talons providing top cover. The gunship detonated in a brilliant white flash as its anti-matter payload dissolved from the hit of a previously unseen weapon that spat quad-tracers of heavy rail fire into the sky. The flak gun (quickly joined by others0 turned to engage other air targets which began to jink and evade while hoping to home in on it. Though nowhere near the level of a Shield flak blanket, the fire they put out, interspersed with the scream of Maulers, was enough to seriously hamper and CAS.

The front of the column then came under serious assault. Missiles spat, and though many were swatted aside by the point defenses of the Gravediggers a few made it through to turn armored vehicles into so much scrap metal. Small arms fire picked up, and Shield jerked like marionettes with their strings cut as they were blasted off of the tanks they rode on. More than three hundred Exiles, dispersed across the road along the advancing axis of the 1-1-3-4th's advance, engaged in a storm of fire with small arms and crew served weaponry.

Even as the Huerdaen responded shots began to ripple in from their flank, presaged by the death of a pair of Gravediggers and a Goliath courtesy of six SLAM that jumped into the fray. Heavy firepower raked in, the usual scream of crew served rail weaponry joined by the higher pitched wailing of some kind of plasma grunt cannon that vaporized a Shield squad that didn't get to cover in time. Five hundred Exile troops were engaging across the line into Dex's flank as the first true pitched battle of Farazen began.

Brother Lalent had set up an L-shaped ambush in the foothills for the relief column. Committing some of the Carrow Reaver's precious mecha for the assault, he was nonetheless struggling to gather any kind of true fire support in the form of mortars. Though his flak could keep the Talons somewhat at bay, the Exile had already witnessed how the inexperienced Shield froze under heavy indirect fire and wanted to make more use of it. Unfortunately, a battery of medium mortars slated to support had been crushed by a platoon of Shield light infantry descending in their Roc almost immediately before the attack began. He was further hampered by the standing orders that his troops remain highly mobile, even the crew served weaponry. The last thing he wanted was to see an entire company eradicated by artillery in the same was as the unfortunate, late, and not particularly lamented Under-Lieutenant Bame.

Metal flying and blood misting, the 1-1-3-4th would find itself in a fight for its life.


1-1-3 Home Regiment Field HQ

The Shield headquarters had become effectively unassailable. Omiom knew this, and had known that it was inevitable. The fanatic attack that had occurred earlier had actually done so entirely without her consent, and she bitterly reflected that occasionally the fanatics were more trouble than they were worth. Still, she did not leave them entirely unmolested.

Snipers in the hills and mountains would smack the occasional unwary soldier with the disgusting sound of a watermelon being hit by a mallet as heads burst. They would only fire one shot before moving, as the few who were foolish enough to stay put quickly found themselves hammered by indirect fire, counter snipers, and air attack. Intermittent mortar bombs would detonate in the middle of the compound or just above, spraying super hot metal fragments on anybody unfortunate enough to be outside, but even those weapons would only engage briefly before packing up and going, not daring to risk the counter battery. It was enough to be a nuisance, nothing more.

You'Galna became a favored target of the snipers, but none managed to kill him. The wily veteran was moving too much and too erratically to present a good target, and though his armor plating became covered in knicks and scratches from the mortar fire only one sniper managed to land a hit - which was stopped by the man's gold lined chest plate. The Shield snipers quickly picked up on You's effect on the enemy and began to use him as bait, waiting for foolish Exiles to fire on him before they tracked the position and hit back.


End of the Universe

"Captain. Most of the city fighting is quieted - the place is pretty much in shock right now, but it will come back after the fires are back under control. Some may not be under control for a few days, but from experience I'll say we don't have more than ten minutes to get your men moving back to positions they can take advantage of. Here looks good. We've got reports of powered-armor and trained soldiers outside, as well as a few SLAMs. Suicide bombers as well, though those seem limited to our hardened points. A heavy unit was ambushed and repelled the strike, and is still en route. If possible, we're going to do our job on the outskirts - secure and entrench against attack. The more we can take quickly the better position we are to minimize losses. If there's anything in this city the enemy may attack, we need to take it, now. If you have troops in the area, you can do it, or if it's near here I can help. Otherwise, we need to bomb it or wait for the heavies. About five minutes ago Fay lost all ISN support - the Exiles hit everything around here, and there's at least two major fights going on. With this bird down, we get a single destroyer in orbit for intel and E-War, and that's it."

Nyman listened quietly to the Jaeger, his breathing shallow and rapid as he fought to control his anger. Only Kariss' calm tone as she gave the briefing, so familiar to the Setulan, managed to penetrate the red haze that had settled on him.

"Power station. It's a relay station, about two clicks from here. I have two squads already in place defending it cus if that goes we lose power for the whole city. If Fay can afford it, anything she's got that can cover the actual plasma generators would be good, but I seriously doubt they'll frag those anyway. Not unless they have to." At Kariss' questioning look, he explained in a tight voice. "Mining operation, Sergeant. Only reason you come to this shithole is for the Kerramine, and you need the generator live to run the deep works. Twenty six kilometers to the north west."

He stepped up to the squawker and looked at the city - his city - as it burned. He was disheartened but not entirely surprised to learn that the Exiles had both suicide bombers and SLAM. They had taken some of the best with them when they left, after all.

Fuckers.

"Captain Nyman!. My people are here to die for you, so we need to know WHERE YOU WANT US TO DIE.. Make it worthwhile."

Despite knowing that it was a stupid, childish thought, the Setulan almost responded by saying "we didn't ask you to come here." Then he reminded himself that Huerdaen were dying by the dozens, and while he was less than sympathetic to their commander he couldn't fault the grunts.

"Main food and water storage is half a kilometer down the road. I have another squad guarding that. Reinforce it, if you've got the manpower. Once your heavies get here..." he breathed a heavy sigh. "It's a city fight, Sergeant. You know what that means. I've seen it before too, so don't give me that fucking look. We fortify what we can, and we'll need those heavies to keep a perimeter up to keep more leakers from getting in, but with them already in among us we're going to need to dig them out." And I don't have the manpower, he didn't need to add.

For clarity's sake, I make Shi'Vessu's column to be about four/five klicks out, so feel free to have them arrive in your next go, or I will.

A more updated ORBAT for the Reavers, since I'm throwing more stuff at you now:

8 SLAM squadrons
-3 SLAM/Squadron

15 Tactical Assault Armor squads
-5 grunts/squad
(yet to appear - the boarding suits we talked about a while back)

Fucktons of light/medium mortars (Exiles love mortars, as you'll see in the main thread too)

10 Heavy Mortar Batteries (150mm)
-3 guns/battery
(Note: most of the batteries did not come down in a well organized way, and there are single guns scattered around, as seen during the attack on Big Brother)

3 Rage MBT
(Considered not mentioning this and throwing it in later with a "surprise, cockfags!", but fair is fair. A single drop ship with a platoon of MBTs DID make it down. These are pretty much carbon copies of the Fury MBT used by Setulan and Xiscapia- see Xis' factbook for more details )

29 Zuzi Quad Guns
(Those nifty new things that just showed up and will also make an appearance in the main Exile thread shortly)

Aaaand that's it, really, for special equipment. No other vehicles made it down. I don't know how good Titanflea is at seeing guys on the ground, but the Exiles are overwhelmingly using the cave systems/chunky topography to hide themselves as best they can.

Disposition wise, you have a serious attack going on against Dex's column, but aside from that no major concentrations. About a hundred and fifty baddies have made it into the city proper, and they're supplemented by nearly four hundred fanatics that have done the same. Those guys are dispersed and rather shellshocked, but they'll start rocking and rolling soon.

[Huerdae]

1-1-3 Home Regiment Field HQ

You'Galna got the distinct impression the Longshanks snipers really didn't like him. Sure, they were good shots, and they loved that golden shoulderpad that marked him out as a member of the command tree, but they really seemed to have it in for him. He had even tested it once, standing next to the Senior Lieutenant who operated as XO of one of the companies here. Both with gold on the shoulder, both with the same empty black faceplates that made it impossible to truly tell who they were. And as he got the report, half-in-cover, three enemies had taken shots at him. None had even so much as bothered with the SLT. All told, it was something of a compliment.

Even better, it had cost the Longshanks at least four of their snipers that he could tell. The Shield teams weren't the best at concealing themselves - it came from the white-hot plasma trail that followed the large round as the outer coating burned off, and the massive plume that came from the barrel of the mighty Sauron - but they were certainly doing a wonderful job of keeping the enemy on their toes. The incoming rounds were more numerous, but the smoking trails through the air were no less deadly, and he had yet to hear of an infantryman getting hit by the mighty rifle where that flash of shields breaking or the vicious spray didn't mean a kill. He'd seen a man hit in the leg on Foer, where the suction from the impact had dragged the man's lungs out a shot in his thigh, and the intestines were in pieces sprayed on the ground nearby.

But the enemy persisted. They harassed, fired at him, and kept him on his toes. It was forcing him to move from sending out small raiding parties, chasing down enemy groups with Talons, or trying to gauged their paths and direct his snipers, or simply rolling an armored unit out to force them back again. His foe was no fool, he could determine that, but it was just a delaying tactic - something that he could happily afford. The enemy had none of the heavy gear the Shield had, and even with the earthquakes nearly costing him his life when a round was deflected by his armor when he was catching his footing, they were in a game that they wouldn't win with time. They needed resources, and that was one trick that he was sure Fay knew. She wasn't a veteran commander, but she was no fool. The enemy came with no supplies, and if they couldn't secure any, all the Shield had to do was wait for a few weeks while the enemy starved. And, hopefully pick off another few snipers and mortar teams while the enemy was willing to waste them on this position.

Another spray of blood fountained in the distance as a white-hot shot streaked out, followed by the thunderous crack of the rifle, and he couldn't contain a smile. Even as Fay called in the dropships he had been using to keep the enemy at bay, he hunkered down in the back of the Kodiac he had been using as a impromptu shelter and command bunker, calmly dropping to his rear and looking at the command staff for the Company who seemed amazed to see him back again, with a few more marks on his armor. After all this time, getting shot at was starting to feel normal. Maybe even right.

Fay, for her part, was not enjoying the job nearly as much. Titanflea had caught the Exile movements toward Dex'Bollun's column moments ago and she was frantically trying to counter. It was not the first time she was glad for the engineers who she kept in her unit, who were still preparing the defenses, keeping things running, and generally ignoring all the minor annoyances like mortars and snipers that were trying to pick them off. Even so, most of the unit was within the complex now, protected under black steel and out of sight, with her at the very heart. It would take quite an enemy to get at her, and that left her to lean over the map, barking orders, directing units with her hands to disseminate to the troops and their HUDs, and keep her forces moving.

The thing that she regretted most, though, was that she didn't dare warn Dex. The man had been a combat engineer, and that meant his nerves wouldn't fray if she took a slayer's blade to them, but it didn't make her feel any better about letting him walk into the ambush. He was too cautious, too careful. If he knew it was ahead, she wouldn't have the time to engulf the enemy. Of course, there were just too many targets. Information from the AJAX lit up a few worthwhile targets in the city, but if she wanted to keep her own positions secure, she couldn't move out too heavily into Furst's Landing itself. And then there were the mines. Of course there were the mines. She'd get to that later.

Lac'Saiba had still not committed the majority of her forces. Her 5th Company, the light infantry, were out roving, but she was sitting on the other four companies like a mother egg, and that made it dangerous - but also useful. Seated due north of Furst's Landing, she was conveniently right between the city itself and the mines that they worked, a position that was both dangerous, and ideal for the high-mobility unit. It was time to bring them to bear.

"Colonel Lac'Saiba! Grab one of your more veteran officers and give them a command. I need two units of Mechanized moving south into Furst's. The goal will be to secure the generators and their surrounding areas. We need the area pacified. If you have a chance to stop the fire from spreading, do it, but don't if it's going to cost lives or gear. Secure a few positions and sit on it. There's also a supply dump - food and water - not far from Nyman's Stand. I want a best-effort on two platoons out that way to reinforce and hold, that would solidify our position in the city. It's also on Nyman's doorstep, so it gives him a fallback point. We can't afford to lose people on this one, though, if the light chassis won't do, we'll find another way in, don't give up the troops. Heavies are hitting from the west in a few minutes, so we're expecting the enemy drawn into that fight to keep us out - take advantage of that. You're much closer, so be on the move and get it done before they can contest."

The lack of a verbal response was fine with her - Lac had shown she was capable of thinking on her feet, and with the decreased numbers of defenses, she was spreading out her position, increasing her hold on the surrounding area. It took more active men, but gave her more room to move if the enemy came at her, and made her harder to displace. A few mutually-supporting firebases went a long way against the sort of attacks they had faced so far, and unlike most of them, Lac had a few mortars of her own.

Drawing Aegan to her side with a crooked finger, she gave him his orders curtly, directing on the map. "The enemy is drawing a flank on Dex's column here. I need your AJAX to drop the hammer on them. Dex isn't likely to fight a running battle, so you're going to have to. Get behind the enemy's flank and annihilate it. Two companies on the enemy flank, one right behind them. Give them nowhere to fall back. You have the command."

The man nodded, grabbing his weapon after passing out of the command area, on his way to the pads. Fay was sorry to see him go, watching him for a moment (and his fine rear, even though he was a little tall and she really didn't have time for it) before turning back to the battle. Something told her the tribal wasn't about to get killed in the coming fight anyway. He carried the Nereid in a casual way that spelled death to those who tried to kill him first. Of course, war had a way of finding even the best and striking them down.

1-1-3-4th Regiment, Dex'Bollun's Column

For all of his reputation, and all of the steel in his bones, and the things he had seen, blown up, and endured under fire, there was one thing that always made him sweat, and that was running away from an explosive he had set and left with a timer. The vehicle that now carried him away from certain death could have any number of problems and he wouldn't survive the blast. He had planned the path of his men as best as he could, putting a large hill between them and the blast site, as well as setting the timers for as long as he dared, but all he could do now was sit, feel the sweat beading on his hands, and wait until the bright light flashed over the horizon, or consumed him and everyone he knew.

Not that he even knew anymore when the nukes went off. In the engineers, he used to watch the blasts. Cover his ears, duck behind cover. He learned fairly quickly that having your hands over your ears in powered armor didn't help even the tiniest bit, and the flash came well before the noise. Hiding behind cover didn't help if you were in the blast zone anyway, and watching it had almost gotten boring. So now he rode, with everyone else crowding around the monitors to watch, while he stared at the detonator he had been forced to yank out of the device to plant his own.

He still wasn't sure why he made a habit of keeping momentos from things he messed with. His room, seemingly so far away now, on the station, was full of wires, detonators, pieces of plating, and an endless supply of strange bolts, screws, timers, and encoders. Stuffing the new trophy under his seat, he sat back calmly, feeling the rocking of the vehicle as the blast wave hit, having barely even noticed the muted sounds of admiration at the bright detonation. It started as everyone was settling down, joking lightly, and the great mushroom cloud gravestone stood over them, casting a shadow out as far as they could see.

The talon went out like a firecracker, leaving almost nothing left of the gunship, but what got Dex's attention was when a warhead slammed into the vehicle directly to the left of Dex's own vehicle, turning the gatecrasher into a blazing inferno, with the driver and everyone inside cooking alive while the vehicle rolled onward, the engines enduring the heat much longer than the poor corpses inside, causing it to plow uncontrolled into the vehicle in front of it. All across the column, similar scenes played out, as weapons-fire streamed in from the flank, striking at the Shield who hung onto the sides of the vehicles, or who fought their way out of vehicles to return fire. The response was much slower, as Dex sat stunned for a second before he moved, growling like some manner of great golem as he rose from his seat, stepping out the rear of the now-stopped Gatecrasher and stalking his way through the firefight toward the nearest Kodiac, to get a better view of the situation.

He stopped twice on his way, gazing over the heads of men ducking behind cover to try to get a good look at the enemy lines, but too quickly he had to keep moving. By the time he reached a generally-safe command and control vehicle, he already had a reasonable idea of what had happened. Stepping inside, he began giving orders immediately, bulling the platoon leadership out of the way with sheer force of will.

"Gather the 5th, I want them moving. Infantry can bog down like this, but I need my tanks mobile. 2nd was at the front as well, get anyone mounted moving with the 5th. Swing them to our right flank, roll around the enemy position. 1st, 3rd, and 4th need to hold. Have 1st build up at the center, where the enemy is on both sides. Use the vehicles for cover, get me a basic fortification. I need hull guns chunking Longs immediately. 3rd is best effort reserves. I need them filling gaps as they appear. MOVE IT!"

Even as the orders went out, and the Huerdaen started to move again, shifting their group, the battle began in earnest. And the flaming stars that streaked toward the Exiles from HQ heralded a whole new threat, coming up from behind them.

8-2nd AJAX, Maj. Kristof Aegan

"You tired, you worthless dogs? I've seen better, more worthy shit in what even a black hole won't swallow."

The normally calm, cool face of Kristof Aegan was creased in a frown so deep it looked like it would break his face, and his eyes were made of steel as he snarled at the men and women under him, walking back and forth in the short flight to the target.

"These bastards think they can make the universe a better place. They think they can control it. Form it to their will. They want to make a light at the end of a tunnel, and somehow they don't realize that tunnel ends in death, Rethast, and pain. What a bunch of idealistic, pointlessly fanatical cretins. They're almost as worthless as you."

"But I don't care what they think. I don't care what you think. What I do care about is what you owe me. What you will give me. You're the Assault Jaegers who ended up in my Division, and that means your lives belong to me until you've paid up. I don't want money, or guns, or sex, I'm not from Bavin, or Pantos, or Xiscapia. I am Telrosian. I want trophies. Bring me eyes, ears, and tongues. Bring me nose rings, and holy symbols so I can melt them down and make a plate out of them. You all owe me the right to eat my meals off of the shattered hopes and dreams of worthless cretins too large to know what the universe really is."

Glaring, he didn't even need to glance back at the light that was flashing less than five seconds remaining before drop as he strapped in, his teeth grinding.

"Go. And kill every last one."

The Icarus transports hit with a wave of explosions, rippling over top of the Exile ranks. Where Dex had dug into his position and the Exiles had matched it, they seemed to have purposefully made a wonderful line over which the hybrid strike/craft dropships could stream rockets into the enemy positions on their approach.

Even so, the downside to the speed of the approach was obvious - the Icarus was nearly incapable of turning until it decelerated, so as the Exiles moved forward or back in combat, they inadvertently saved their own lives from the coming storm of fire, which struck moments before the roar of the dropships struck, rattling teeth with first explosions, then the wave of sound as the dropships shot overhead, wings aflame from the friction with the atmosphere. And out of the ringing of explosions, and the settling dust and falling sod, came the AJAX, with all the ceremony of a mass grave.

The heavy chunking of maedar rifles was suddenly interspersed with the high cracking of Myrmidons, and the flaming streams from Hellfire SMGs as the Telrosian tribals fell on the Exiles from behind with grenades, SMG fire, and the new Nereid LMGs, pushing them relentlessly forward at the Huerdaen around their vehicles. Unheard signals sent detonations from grenades rippling across the Exile positions, and the hyper-velocity 5mm rounds punched holes through flesh, armor, and dirt with abandon.

They made no warnings in the form of warcries, and no yelled orders pierced the fog of war. Assault kit Jaegers stormed forward, some descending upon their enemies in a roar as jetpacks dropped them into the chaos of war. Others, carrying Myrmidons stormed out of the falling dust and smoke like the shades of ancient warriors, their drop concealed behind heavy ordinance, detonations, and the ringing of ears. Kukris sheathed in energy tore through throats, limbs, and spines as the Telrosians made good their devil's deal to kill for the Huerdaen who had promised them their pound of flesh in return.

Distant, behind them, and almost forgotten, were the mostly foot-borne remains of Al'Issandi and the 1-1-3-1-3rd, trudging their way toward the battle, faces grim as they watched the AJAX drop from afar. Among them, a ragged cheer rose, but they were too few for it to sound more than desperate, and afraid. Al scorned them for it, urging them to spread out, in case any of their enemies chose to flee their way, intent on repaying the blood spilled among their brothers and sisters.

1-1-3-2nd, Ja'Farrik's Column

Captain Ja'Farrik had been stunned by the sudden orders that came in, placing him in command of the 1-1-3-2-2nd and -3rd. He was Junior to the officer of the -2nd, and had been given the command regardless, despite the other's lengthy service record. He was fresh, and transferred from a heavy infantry unit. Still, the woman from the -2nd stood before him, ready for his orders as preparations were completed to roll out.

"Our primary objective is the generators. If we secure those with little or no bloodshed, I need you to take two platoons and move fast on the food stores. I can't promise we'll be able to do so without taking a lot of heat, both from civvies, and from Exiles, so if you get surrounded or cut off, just burrow down. Bring breaching charges, and blast your way into the sewer. We did that at Abraham, and it saved our lives more than once. Most enemies won't follow you down, so you can make good time. There are two squads of AJAX in the city, so they may be able to reinforce if the enemy doesn't punch them hard, but don't count on it."

The woman nodded, and he glanced at the uneasy troops around him. He didn't like speeches. He wasn't inspirational at all. They always sounded weak, pathetic, and pointless. Still, they seemed to want one. Disgruntled at the delay, he climbed on top of the Kodiac-Variant he used to command, opening up the comm link.

Much of the unit turned toward him, and he said the first thing that came to mind.

"Consider yourselves inspired, jackasses. Now let's go kill some people before they kill us."

Jumping down off the vehicle, he strode into the back, as the others did the same, and the unit began to roll toward Furst's Landing, the northern flank of Fay's first push into securing the city for the Dread Black and her ally.

1-1-3-3rd, Shi'Vessu's Column

Shi'Vessu didn't have time to worry about the 1-1-3-1-3rd, or their fate. All he knew was that the enemy had taken advantage of his isolated unit, and ruined it. It was a mistake. A hundred lives, maybe more, because he didn't want to lose a tank. A waste of bravery and flesh. It wouldn't be his last. It most certainly wasn't his first. But the time for worries was over. The churning dirt of the outskirts of Furst's Landing became the grinding of tracks on pavement as the heavy vehicles rolled into the edges of town, but he didn't break back down to his two-wide column. Instead, he kept the wide, winged-echelon from before, and as the Gatecrashers struck the sides of the town, they barely even slowed.

Armored vehicles slammed into buildings, blowing breaching charges against the sides of structures that were barely standing, throwing rubble aside as they tore through, releasing the Shield inside the buildings without warning. The Goliaths followed, more slowly, in smaller groups surrounded by their mechanized cousins, turrets swinging about lazily as they awaited the enemy's response. But it was the second line of Gatecrashers that truly stormed the city.

As they neared the mainstream roads, still clogged with fire, one drove purposefully down into a smashed building, blasting out a wall to spill sewage across its front. Others followed, as all across the rear of the Huerdaen line, APCs emptied their bellies into buildings...and a full company disembarked into the sewers below, storming unseen under the city as they gathered up, preparing to make their way toward Nyman's position, and the nearby food stores. Shi'Vessu, already preparing his own localized HQ, kept the vehicle closed as he organized the defense on the outside of town, keeping most of the tanks concealed, facing outward, while the more urban models dug into the rubble, Nightmares and Cyclops waiting for the enemy to strike. In moments, Shield were surging into houses near the edges of town, passing over those civilians who didn't raise arms against them, and gunning down those who did without a thought.

It was preparations for war, they knew, and only once they were set did the Shield offer asylum to those who had remained away from the fighting, gesturing them toward the rear, where Shi'Vessu was preparing a safer zone, away from the heat of the incendiaries and the coming gunfight. It took minutes before the first signs of an attack began to appear, and he settled in, out of his armor but within the armored hide of the vehicle, clenching his fists.

"Colonel Fay'Shaila. We're in. The bait is set, and the rats are on the way. Let's see what these bastards have for us. Let Nyman know it's about to begin."

The response was quick, and offhand, as the woman was clearly paying attention elsewhere. "You have priority on the Bumblebees, Shi. Don't risk the opening breach for pride. Bring down the pain when and where you have to."

Nyman's Stand

Kariss nodded to the man, quickly working at the Squawker for a moment, as she motioned for her team to get ready to move, but almost immediately signaled them back into place. Silently, she went to the line with the others, planting her magazines nearby in case she needed them, and taking cover with a good view over an intersection, eyes gazing through the fiery haze into the street.

"Colonel is sending in cavalry for the generator. Sounds like she's of the same opinion you are, and plans to hold it. Sounds like they've got a detachment that will try for food and water as well. Rats in the tunnels, on top of that."

Shooting the man a glance, she continued, somehow seeming annoyed that she had to talk to get her point across. "A company of Shield are going to try to work their way here to secure or extract this position, and it sounds like the battle outside the city has begun in earnest."

Calmly, she lifted her rifle, sighting down it at some figure in the haze, but dropped it again, conserving ammo instead of bringing the poor, burning soul rest from pain. She didn't even flinch at the thought of what was being endured before her, instead waiting with a cold patience that made the grim Huerdaen and their deep rage seem to be little more than a cultural tantrum by comparison. In a flash she signaled her group, and they suddenly rotated as a unit, covering different areas with a precision that told of an elite unit, as could be expected from the Telrosian levy. "Squawker is set up for you, Nyman. We're here to reinforce now, the Colonel is all yours."

[Setulan]

1-1-3-4th Regiment, Dex'Bollun's Column

The arrival of the AJAX signaled the end of the ambush's ability to destroy the column moving to Farazen, but that didn't mean the Exiles were going to simply give up. Marshaling what strengths he still had, Brother Lalent ordered the flank being hammered by the Telrosians to begin a fighting withdraw in the full knowledge that few if any would survive. With no artillery to speak of and no way to properly cover a retreat, the Exiles on the flank of the column would be hunted down and killed for sure, though they would take many of the foe with them before they went. For all that, he wanted to give them a chance. He began barking orders into his vox before the telltale contrails of jump troopers ruined his concentration.

Turning slowly, the War Priest found himself face to face with five power armored Telrosians. He smiled, unseen behind his mask, as power sheathed Kukris crackled into life and guns were raised.

When Lilent moved, it was faster than should have been possible even for a power armored figure. The Fallen's Chosen warrior had his glowing sword in hand too quickly to follow with the human eye as the rail gun built into the wrist of his bulky power armor sprang out, spitting a heavy round into the face of the nearest AJAX. The warrior detonated as their entire upper body burst like a ripe melon, spraying its companions in gore. Lilent seemed to flow around the hard white stream of shots and lashed out, ripping first an arm and then a face off of a second Telrosian. Parrying a kukri with contemptuous ease, Lilent spun and eviscerated a third warrior before kicking them off his sword. Throwing himself into the final two, he smacked one off balance with a backhand before following up the blow with a punch that knocked the soldier's head clean off, helmet and all. The last circled him for a moment.

"You do not scream, warrior. That is good...if disappointing." Another four swings and it was done. Lilent looked up and saw more contrails coming his way. He should run, he knew...but he also knew it wouldn't help.

"Commend me to the God, Honorious. I go to meet my demise."

Major Aegean would land with his men and find Brother Lilent standing calmly, sword in hand, surrounded by the messy remains of a squad.

---

Dex's column dealt with the ambush in a way almost resembling an experienced Shield division. The attack had been far more conventional than others experienced so far, and it was easier to respond to a threat that one had trained for than something they had no idea how to face. Even the SLAM had been manageable, with two of the six no more than smoking wrecks even before the AJAX arrived.

That changed the moment Lilent's order came through.

The mecha had been jetting back and forth over and around the column erratically, raining fire down in the form of REAPER beams, micro-missiles, and rail rounds since the attack started. At the war priest's command, the stupefied Huerdaen would find Sledges not jumping over them, but jumping onto them. While two of the light mecha began an intricate dance of death with the AJAX to try to cover the retreat of the embattled flanking force, four landed directly in the middle of the column. Where once two smoking and rotating banshees were on the right fist, massive energy sheathed hammers appeared as if from magic. The huge mecha - which towered over Setulans, much less Huerdaen - began laying about themselves with what could only be glee. Using their tremendous mass to shove over vehicles and their thrusters to hurl themselves erratically around the field, they became blurs of metal death that trailed a pink mist as infantrymen were turned to paste. Only pausing long enough to occasionally smack a REAPER beam into the exposed armor of a vehicle, they twirled and slayed until they were brought low.

Dex was between vehicles when he drew the ire of one of the mecha. Running from one Gatecrasher to another, screaming jets nearly knocked him over as the SLAM dropped nearby. His command squad unleashed a torrent of fire against the walker that pattered off of its shell like rain. A private was literally flattened by a massive downward smash of the hammer while a JLT was kicked so hard her body dented a vehicle. The Mecha turned slightly and raised its left fist, firing its REAPER.

Had Colonel Dex'Bollun been six inches to his left, he would have died a messy, gruesome death. As it was, the beam that fragged a Goliath only caught him on the edge. The entropy ray nearly unmade him and he caught fire, left arm disintegrating into mist and half his helmet sluicing off of his face and melting his eye. Before the Mecha could finish the job a particularly ballsy Shield private leapt onto it, anti tank grenade in hand. The muted boom spelled the end of both the brave private and the mecha, and as if it was a signal the rest of the SLAM (only two of the original six would survive) disengaged with a wail of screaming thrusters.


1-1-3-2nd, Headquarters

The most isolated of the Shield detachments had not taken any major contact yet, but that was about to change. Another one of Omiom's retinue, Brother Majus, had been gathering everything he could in the north and preparing for a major assault. The gunships at this station were a huge threat, possibly the single greatest threat the attack had at this point. With Titanflea distracted, it was time to attack.

The first of the fortified buildings would survive the huge 150mm mortar shell that smacked its roof. If wouldn't survive the next three, and the building collapsed in a rapidly expanding fireball and dust cloud. Concentrated, heavy mortar fire began to scream into the base in a way that no other unit had experienced yet. Three Talons hovering over the station waiting for resupply would find themselves desperately trying to survive as massive amounts of precision AAA erupted from ten different locations in the surrounding foothills. One Talon got three streams at once and simply came apart, shredded like tin foil with no chance for the pilot to eject.

One of the mortar bombs landed smack in the middle of the airfield, mauling the ground crew that suddenly found itself in a race against time and shrapnel to get their aircraft mobile. Small arms fire began to rain down on exposed Shield as well, supplemented by what was becoming the all too familiar sound of Banshees and K2s.

A squad of Shield running to man a gun position would be the first to fall victim to a previously unseen threat. With a crack of displaced air, the five Huerdaen found themselves staring up at five massive figures in suits of armor that towered over them before they were torn messily apart in a flurry of shot and screaming chainfists. The Tactical Assault Armor team turned from their position at the edge of the compounds perimeter and simply began to walk towards the center of the base. Quickly joined by two other teams, the three heavy armor squads unleashed devastating amounts of firepower into the scrambling Huerdaen. Ignoring their own artillery, a group turned calmly and unleashed a storm of micro-missiles at the grounded Talons.

With more than four hundred infantrymen attacking with heavy mortar support, TAA, and the screaming thrusters of two mecha squadrons, the northern Shield position - which had just been weakened by sending out a convoy to reach Furst’s Landing - became a battlefield in its own right.


1-1-3-3rd, Edge of Furst's Landing

As the Shield column smashed into the mangled edge of the bleeding city, screaming civilians who had so far managed to survive the fire and the earthquake by luck or skill found themselves being crushed to death by their would-be saviors. A team of jumpy privates opened fire first, gunning down a trio of power armored figures before their sergeant realized they were mowing down unarmed rescue workers and ordered a halt. Other civilians were leery of the Shield who beckoned them to "safety", vividly remembering the gunships that had torn apart their town and rightly assuming these foreigners were responsible. Still, many would struggle towards the cordon. One mother dragged her screaming child past Shi'Vessu's command tank, the preteen cursing everything about the Huerdaen between the tears that ran down his grimy, soot covered face.

The first actual contact the Shield would take wasn't even from an Exile. A furious miner whose family had just died in a structure collapse calmly stepped into the middle of the street and began shooting indiscriminately at a squad of infantrymen that prowled bnindiscriminently. His pistol's shots had no chance of penetrating the power armor of the infantry, but that didn't stop the grunts from blasting apart his gut and chest, leaving him to die on the pavement. Proper contact soon followed as power armored Exiles began to take potshots at Shield from across streets and the burning rubble that used to be the main avenue.

Still, the infantry at the edge of the town didn't take much in the way of contact. Though a squad was vaporized when they went into a house full of fanatics with suicide vests, the more professional Exiles didn't even begin to try to attack the dug in professional soldiers.


End of the Universe

The same could not be said of the ruined Military Police headquarters.

It started off with intermittent rifle fire at the AJAX, who either ignored it or returned it with deadly accuracy. The incoming grew, however, and soon a full fledged combat was underway as AJAX and the remaining MPs at the station fought a dedicated enemy that badly outnumbered them. First Sergeant Hurst directed the remaining MPs in an effective counter, putting a squad with a few light machine guns on the roof to suppress the enemy. Though they had to deal with snipers, the First Sergeant picked up a K-13 and began to do some hunting of his own. Chief Warrant Officer Garret, more pissed than groggy, stuck by Sergeant Kariss' side. Though the Telrosian's initial response to this may have been unfavorable, it would be rapidly revised when Garret proved that she was a superlative shot and cool under fire. Coordinating with Hurst on the roof, the CWO could inform the AJAX about enemy troop movements seen by the Setulans with a better vantage point.

Nyman had other concerns. Manipulating the squawker and using trial and error, he began to properly coordinate his own response with his troopers. Not bothering to speak to Fay at the moment - he had nothing to say to her and besides, he wasn't sure he could do so in any kind of professional manner - he put his full focus into directing his company. Ignoring the increasing fire outside with great difficulty, he began to order his squads around in a way to deal with what looked like incoming insurgents. Across the city, MPs began to breach and clear houses suspected to have fanatics in them.

[Huerdae]

1-1-3-4th Regiment, Dex'Bollun's Column

To say that chaos reigned in the column wouldn't necesarily be true. This was in no small part to the rumor that Dex didn't know how to panic, so when his orders had come out, they were quickly followed, gathering the unit together in a rather stable position. Even with the SLAMs overhead, the Shield were giving as good an account of themselves as could be expected. Their vehicles, somewhat vulnerable and lightly armored, were suffering the worst of it, but the number disabled greatly outnumbered those that were knocked out, and the Shield was responding. All along what had been the right flank of the man's group, the Armored 5th company had driven hard into the enemy force, beating back the exiles with cannon and fire, as gouts of flame scorched the landscape before the advancing tanks and heavy rounds tore through metal, flesh, and bone.

When the AJAX arrived, it was the beginning of the end of the Exile ambush. what had been a flank attack became a desperate fight for survival as the Telrosian 5mm hyper-velocity rounds pierced armor and bore down the large setulanites. Still, the enemy wasn't an undisciplined mob, and the battle raged on, even as Dex's 5th Armored crushed the armored enemy bodies beneath bloodied treads and the Telrosians on his left tore through the enemy units with abandon. Those who began to fell back fell the treatest of their ire, as Standard-Kit AJAX sprinted at inhuman speeds, cutting them of and gunning them down in the open, leaving bodies littering the field before heading after another group that tried to fall away from the combat. Mortars were sought out and destroyed by Assault-Kit units, and a bloody melee had erupted all across the left flank.

But Dex wasn't pleased. Sitting still in the Gatecrasher that served as 2nd Company, 4th Platoon's command vehicle, he could tell 3rd Company wasn't responding. It was the fourth time he'd have to move, and he signalled the door to be opened for him, giving one final order to his Armored unit, having them swing around. A friendly unit from the 1-1-3-1-3rd was coming down from the north, blocking a few stragglers from escaping, so he veered his armored unit across their path, to meet up with them and keep the small unit from being overwhelmed. It was as he stepped out into the light once more, headed for 3rd Company's command vehicle, that he finally realized the issue. He managed to duck into the vehicle before the SLAM noticed him, but what he saw inside was no more inspiring. Half the command crew were dead from hits through the roof of the disabled vehicle, and even though the dual Hades guns on top were keeping the SLAMs from finishing the job, only two of the men inside were still alive, with the Captain in charge yelling madly at his men.

"Kill that damn thing! Kill it now! It's going to kill everyone!"

Dex's first act was to turn and flip his switch to disconnect the man's command codes, passing command to the next man down the line, another captain in charge of 3rd Company's 4th platoon. A veteran who had been in command of a company before, but been demoted following acts on Foer where he had been absent from his post. Dex didn't know the details, but the man had shown he had a good head in combat scenarios, and he passed the existing orders for 3rd company to the man with a flick of his wrist. Like a machine slowly grinding to life, 3rd company started to move into place, supporting the other units. Making a mark on the two men's records, he headed back out into the open, moving back toward what would finally be his own Kodiac.

Colonel Dex'Bollun never made it. The small escort he had gathered carried only a single Vasily, but when the SLAM came down, it destroyed the Corporal carrying it completely out of hand, following up with a nearby private. The return fire, including a cerberus that damaged the thing's arm, couldn't stop it from making its move, smashing a disabled goliath, and with it, putting Dex down. His whole world had gone from sprinting toward his vehicle into searing pain in a moment.

He was down, his identifier ticking him over to a casualty as soon as he lost consciousness, leaving him unmoving on the ground. His arm was gone, the seared end of his flesh splashing blood across the ground in amounts far too small for the massive wound the man had suffered. His face, with melted metal searing into his flesh and molding with the skin and his eye, was simply too much for him to bear as he shut down, his cybernetics keeping him alive merely out of a stubborn refusal to let shock overtake his body. His head could not even turn, melted metal keeping it in place looking slightly to his left. His limbs jerked as he lay on the ground, out of control of his waking mind until a medic hurried to his side, shutting down the suit to make him less of a target, and applying A-CAS to the wound to keep him from bleeding out. The man was left where he lay after that, as the battle continued around him, with the remains of his team, his body, and the SLAM that had put an end to him laying in a shared field of slaughter.

Across the field, on the left flank, another showdown was taking place as the AJAX Major stood firm, glaring down the Exile Warpriest. His squad, around him, stepped forward to attack, but at a silent hand signal, they stopped mid-stride forward, spacing out around the man. None stepped into reach of Brother Lilent, instead keeping out of his reach by a step and a slash. They stood about him, careful, until Aegean stepped forward, as if to strike.

It was a feint. Instead of bringing his kukri forward, instead he planted the foot, firing the Nereid one-handed from his hip, and as the rest of the squad surged in, Lilent was forced to pivot, deflecting the strikes. However, to lend strength to the blows that struck down the first of Aegean's squad, he had to plant his foot into the blood-soaked ground.

And that one braced leg was his downfall. While the AJAX fell, the woman smiled grimly at the Brother, even as part of her face slid away, because Lilent was falling with her, his right kneecap and hip destroyed by multiple hits from the Major's LMG. The other AJAX backed away, too slow to save a second from having his guts spilled across the ground, and Aegean stepped forward, blocking the strike that came too fast toward him. His face was calm as he looked down at the power-armored man, even as the rounds tore through Lilent's shoulder, forcing his hand to drop the weapon. Unfeeling fingers released the hilt of his blade, heedless of the warrior's commands. The other shoulder shattered under another hail of bullets almost immediately, and Aegean smiled, standing over the downed warpriest.

Only then did Aegean smile, as Lilent pushed himself up, trying one last time to take the Major down, but he was stopped as the kukri's blade sank through his throat as the man drove himself onto it. Blood spilled out his mouth as Aegean leaned forward, holding the man up on the blade. The energy sheathed blade boiled the man's armor where it continued to touch, and Aegean whispered the last words Lilent would hear as the Exiles continued to die around them, trying to fall back from the blades, bullets, and blasts of the Imperial Shield and its levies.

"Welcome to my collection."

As the AJAX quit the field, after several more minutes of combat, they had taken nearly 10% of their numbers as casualties, with another 20% wounded but still active. The Shield had suffered greater losses, but were quick to restore their disabled vehicles, managing their wounded as Titanflea turned its attention toward the city. When they began their movement again, the 1-1-3-4th had a wide picket of AJAX scouting before it, having met up with the remains of the 1-1-3-1-3rd. And out, at the very tip of it all, was Major Aegean, with Lilent's head hanging by its hair from his belt, eyes wide and dried blood spilling down its chin.

1-1-3-2nd, Headquarters

The sudden screaming of incoming mortar rounds roused the base out of its relatively passive isolation. Ground crews that stood outside loading rockets into the gunships dove for cover, and Imperial Shield found themselves battling against superior numbers of enemies. The sudden attack caused part of the base to collapse, and dust filled the air, shrouding much of the area, clearing only following the disturbances as a SLAM or Talon passed overhead, clearing away the dust for mere moments before simply kicking up more into the air.

A set of three talons were grounded when it began, taking on new munitions for another run against an exposed Exile position, but the resupply never completed. As soon as the attack began, they started to lift off, but AAA fire sent one of them screaming out of control as a thrust pod was hit, and it spiralled wildly into the hills not far away, detonating in a white flash as the handful of rockets that had been loaded cooked off, leaving no doubt as to the fate of the pilot. Another never fully lifted off, its hull shattering under fire and it was left burning on the grounds as its attending crew scrambled away, only to disappear as a mortar landed on their position, causing the entire crew to disappear in the blast.

Weaponsfire erupted all around the base as Shield squads moved to cover around the installation, some taking up gun positions, others fighting around anything they could find, desperately trying to make their way back into the protective base structures. But the shock of the initial assault was quickly lost as the Exiles moved on the base. Ground crews escaped into the base proper, while gun positions came alive, returning fire with autocannons and mortars of their own, blasting holes in the oncoming Exiles. For a moment, it seemed that the attack would be quickly and easily repelled as Exiles were blasted apart, but the arrival of the TAA squads renewed the assault with unequalled vigor. Micro-missiles tore apart another Talon as the craft diverted away from the base, to escape to the 1-1-3rd's HQ, sending it screaming down into the hills far out from the base as the propulsion failed.

But the Huerdaen base was not ready to give in yet. That stacked prefab buildings were becoming harder and harder to crack open as the mortars struck and destroyed the ones on top, leaving the rubble as impromptu armor for those below, as black steel twisted, bent, and shifted with each blast. For each of the base modules that popped open, it seemed a dozen more rounds were required to get further into the piled, cancer-like mass that was the Huerdaen base, even as fire streamed back down at the approaching enemies. Three stories of sprawling black steel lay where once only hilly landscape had existed, and it fought to defend itself with cannon and mortar.

Inside, in a module nestled between two hills, and thus in an isolated 'basement' below the first floor, Colonel Lac'Saiba scrambled to give orders, her brow covered in sweat, and her uniform top discarded to better manage the heat she felt, leaving only a thin black shirt that bore no sleeves, and only just covered her stomach. Her second request for intel from Titanflea had been denied, as Fay focused most of her forces and attention on the Setulanite city, leaving her to fend for herself. The only support she could expect from HQ came in the form of the 1-1-3-1-5th's field guns that they were finishing setting up, allowing her to bring down some artillery on the oncoming Exiles. Even so, she could barely recognize the blasts of the friendly guns as they shook the ground from the impacts of the enemy guns as they shook the walls.

Still, most of her men were already up and geared for combat, with most of her 5th Company out in the field searching out enemy mortar positions to take them down in support of other units. It left her, with her arms stretched out all across the warzone, alone and with few friends. Not including the base staff, who were scrambling to armories for weapons and the limited armor they had, she had only two companies of mechanized to fend off what she could only guess were twice that number. She still had one advantage, however, one which she was determined to use.

Her 2nd and 3rd Companies were already on their way south, but 1st and 4th had acted as Garrison up until this point. Despite the brutality of the attack, both units were largely intact, and had mostly withdrawn within the base, preparing to defend it against the too-tall attackers. 5th Company, her Light Infantry, she called in from across the warzone, ending their harassment of isolated units now that the enemy had begun engaging en masse. Instead, she directed them around the rear of the enemy that attacked from her north, having them deploy on foot to skirmish with, locate, and destroy the mortar positions firing on her base. Their dropships remained nearby, but with the abundance of AAA fire in the area, did not engage, as she kept them back to avoid stranding her own units.

But it was the Mechanized that would really determine the success of the defense, and keyed over to a line to the 1-1-3-2-4th, which was gathering in the southern end of the garages, their vehicles getting ready to move out to counter the attack.

"Captain Ey'Sorren, I need you to split your forces. Two platoons to defend base. I need your 5th platoon, the Pioneers, in the base. Prepare the northern end of the garage for incoming. They're coming, it's just a matter of time. I'm pulling two of my platoons as well. I need all of your vehicles in the field. Your troops will move around the west flank of the enemy, We've got some heavy PA or something on our front yard, I need them GONE. Keep mobile. You have that command, I'll get my own XO to handle the base defense. Captain Mo'Jhai will command the base defense. East flank is under SLT Cha'Miggur, and he's got my tank destroyer platoon in support. I need tracks grinding ASAP."

She stood there, watching as things began to unfold, but she couldn't help but think it was too slow. She hated standing in front of the enemy attack, it was one reason she had opted for the Light Infantry group. They were quick, mobile, and deadly, and that kept the enemy from being able to bog her down. But now, so soon after deploying, she was vulnerable. Without a full army at her back, she had nowhere she could really go, except try to blunt the assault. Making sure none of the other commanders were connected, she called up HQ.

"Fay, I'm in this bad, anything you can get me? Anyone? Dex? He's pulled out now, right?"

Panic crept into her voice a little, causing the command crew around her to look up, their nerves starting to fray. Fay's gruff response wasn't particularly reassuring, but it was enough of a reminder for her.

"You're not done yet, Lac. Dex got ambushed on the way, but his group is rolling again. Word is he's down, but alive. Stable. When I have his armor back at HQ, I'm gathering it up with my own and we're moving out, straight for you. Just hang on until then."

Lac nodded, gritting her teeth as she glared at the rest of the command unit. Feeling like she was sweltering in the heat, she wiped at the sweat on her brow, snarling at her crew. "What are you looking at? We want to live, we have to break this attack! Get my GOD DAMNED TANKS ROLLING!"

The entrances to the structure were few, but the largest was the garage doors. Going straight through the base from north to south, the garage held the maintenance gear, vehicle bays, and other supplies for the many vehicles that the 1-1-3-2nd required. It had two exists, one on each of the north and south sides of the base, and each defended by emplaced weapons, which were worked by crews of desperate Imperial Shield. What had been a resupply point was quickly becoming a battlefield, pocked by blast craters where antimatter munitions had cooked off or where heavy mortars had smashed apart the ground. Debris of utility vehicles and destroyed gunships provided cover for the attackers, while only a few defenders remained outside, behind fortified positions, bunkers, and gun positions. The heavy pounding of Hephaestus and Thor over top of the high pitched sounds of smaller weapons, and bodies littered the field, both Huerdaen and Setulan alike.

Black smoke popped over the base as defensive batteries tried to keep the SLAMs at bay, while the ground shook between the constant pounding of 150mm mortars and the 105mm field guns of the Huerdaen. Incendiary clouds hung in the air where the Huerdaen guns had blasted away men, equipment, and the ground itself, like a cloud of dead souls that lingered in the still air. Despite all of this, it was not enough, and it was only a matter of time before the Setulanites would break into the base proper. Inside, the Huerdaen prepared, and made ready. Pioneers laid traps inside the garage, while a full platoon of Infantry garrisoned the other two entrances, gun positions readied and mines deployed before the weapons.

But their time was limited. It didn't take long before the first exile blew his way through the garage door, helped in no small part by the TAA that supported the attack, even under fire from the deadly Hephaestus guns. Before he had even placed his second foot within, however, a blast tore clear through him as a Pioneer bearing a disruptor sent what little remained of the organic body within spilling over the Exiles behind him, and sending shards of armor scattering across the ground, all that remained of the man after the ravages of the brutal weapon. Inside, more Shield were prepared to meet the oncoming enemy, firmly entrenched in the one place in the base where the enemy would be able to stand upright.

The Shield had no intention of simply letting them break their way in. Fire and smoke streaked across the front of the base as the Tank Destroyer platoon opened fire, blasting apart the armor of one of the TAA soldiers in such a spectacular display of firepower that nothing but the two legs remained standing where the man had been before, rocking slowly before one finally fell into the dirt, spilling blood across the ground. Hades cannons from the other side peppered across the units preparing to assault the front of the base, trying to drive them back as the mechanized attacked from the flanks, pushing their infantry out away from the base to either side and surging into the hills, trying to clear out enemy firing positions and isolate those that had already made it to the base.

Another TAA went down from combined fire from a series of Hephaestus guns, as the 60mm cannons drew a bead on the target, showering it in shells as hit after hit tore apart the armored behemoth as it fell, finally unmoving, to the ground.

Nyman's Stand

The squawker's function wasn't particularly hard to figure out, and within moments Nyman had successfully updated it do send the information directly to his HUD. Information that had shown in a simple 2D display now displayed in full 3D, including the sub-levels of the city that were made up of sewers as Titanflea's attention passed overhead. What had been an estimate about the state of the city became a very real assessment of the matter, including locations for survivors and the marked out locations of food stores and the generator. Already, he could see the Huerdaen moving inward from the west, drawing in those survivors that they could safely secure into their growing 'safe zone' behind Shi'Vessu's position. Even the incursion from the north seemed to be going according to plan, as they were moving quickly toward their objectives and breaking into the city proper. It put hundreds of Imperial shield in, around, and below the city in various acts of securing the location, but neither of these groups was closer than several blocks from where Nyman was stuck, under fire.

Kariss, for her part, cared little for the movements outside Nyman's Stand. The Exiles gave them little breathing room, and between the relatively rare fanatic bombers and the increasing number of power-armored soldiers, she had fired her gun until the barrel glowed red. Beside her, a surprisingly skilled MP had taken position with her, passing on information while Kariss quietly took shots at the enemy, signalling another rotation of positions to keep them from being too easily pinned down, and to give them all different viewpoints.

Finally, Kariss actually spoke to the Chief Warrant Officer after another group the First Sergeant and his men had picked out crossing through the open had been eliminated, her voice gritty against a dry throat, as if she wasn't used to talking as much as she had been lately.

"So what did you do wrong to get sent out into this little chunk of nowhere?"

She glanced over for only a second before sighting down rifle's sights again, cracking off a series of shots that ended with two more of the enemies down, laying in pools of their own blood. One still struggled vainly to try to crawl back to cover, but it was obvious his strength was leaving his limbs.

"You running from something?"

As she continued to fire, the tattooed side of her face was clearly visible, as the AJAX helmet didn't cover the entire face. It wasn't actually true powered armor, either, instead simply supporting the user and its own weight, classing it instead as power-assisted armor. Not that it truly mattered when it came to guns and the range that they were fighting at.

Quietly, Kariss signaled here team again, and the group moved, with her stepping over one of the fallen AJAX as more enemies began pouring in and the hard cracking of their rifles became more frenzied as they tried to keep the enemy at bay. Even with all their skill, though, other than the one they had already passed that was down, three others of the AJAX had been wounded, and the numbers were starting to wear at them, even with the support fire from above.

1-1-3-2nd, The Power Generators

Ja'Farrik's entrance to the city came with far less fanfare, and even less aggression. The mechanized vehicles quietly rolled down the streets until they reached the powerplant, creating a loose cordon around the structure by deploying into nearby buildings. They didn't force an entry into the plant itself, with Ja'Farrik carefully working not to make a scene, and only one of the buildings put up resistance to their entry, though it was quickly suppressed. The two companies seemed to be trying to maintain a low profile as they took the location, desperate to let Shi'Vessu and his unit draw the enemy into the prepared environment that they were holding.

Taking up his own position due south of the generators in one of the few multi-story buildings in the area, Ja surveyed the landscape around them. The incendiaries had set several of the nearby buildings on fire, and some burned in healthy blazes, while others choked and sputtered. His XO had already taken off into the sewers, trying to make their way toward the food supplies not far from Nyman's Stand, but hadn't gone far enough to need to report in yet. Instead, he simply watched the smoke rising from around that battlezone, listening to the crack of rifles in the distance, and watching the roads for others coming in. Those who lived in the cleared buildings were directed toward the power center, putting them safely within the circle created by the Shield around the structure.

1-1-3-3rd, Shi'Vessu's Column

As the enemy began to open fire, Shi'Vessu was neither sparing, nor forgiving in his use of artillery. Almost as soon as it was clear that the enemy was attacking along that road, artillery began to fall on and around the makeshift cover and blasted vehicles. Despite the city environment, the Huerdaen were relentless against their foes, and shells thundered with abandon down the main avenue of Furst's Landing. Where the Exiles took up positions in a building, the Shield stormed it from behind, or from below, or simply pounded it into a pile of rubble with artillery, purposefully building up a 'no-man's land' around their part of the city as they continued to set up their position. The rare thunderous crack of the medium tanks punctuated the air, but most distinctive was the Cyclops. Several were hull down in the city, and their low rumbling reports as they shattered squads whole. Along one flank, the Shield crept forward into a group of generally undamaged buildings, while other units crept forward through the sewers, trying to quietly evacuate the enemy.

But Shi'Vessu's greatest concern had never been the city itself. That would likely take care of itself, with friendly units operating in the area as few as they were. No, what had drawn his attention was his exposed rear of the formation, causing him to keep nearly 80% of the armor he had dug in facing back the way he had come, where the enemy had already shown to be operating in large numbers. It also provided a much larger killing field, and the long-range medium tanks were already well prepared for the oncoming foe. The creation of the safezone was going well, the numbers were growing less quickly than he had hoped. Still, considering the state of the city, the clustered of structures still held many who would simply not trust the Huerdaen. Still, the lack of direct resistance nagged at the back of the man's mind, like a puzzle he hadn't solved.

[Setulan]

1-1-3-2nd

The massive garages continued to hold for a solid few minutes despite the incoming fire, the Shield inside stopping the attack cold. The heavy guns set up by the pioneers made a mess of everything that tried to force its way in, including several TAA suits that attempted to spearhead an attack. When the tanks rolled out, Lac'Saiba would feel momentary relief as it looked like the tide of battle was turning.

Then everything went wrong.

Four kilometers out from the assault, Captain Kyle Tane was staring through his scopes at what was unmistakably a Huerdaen Tank Destroyer Platoon. He didn't need the computer on his Rage MBT to tell him what he was seeing, either; he had seen that very same formation dozens of times in simulations in another lifetime.

"Captain, this is Brother Majus. It is time. Begin your attack."

"Confirmed."

The Captain shut down the link before he had to listen to any more platitudes. A devout man, he was also a pragmatist. There was a time for faith, and a time for action. This was clearly the latter. He opened another link.

"Platoon, this is Kat-6. Mark your targets and engage at my command." He was barely listening to the replies before he was back at his scope. The Goliath-chasis, a solid armored vehicle. Better than anything the Alversians or Sen had. Almost the equivalent of his own vehicle.

Almost.

Still ignoring his computer, Tane found the command variant of the platoon by eye and highlighted it with his reticle, which began to flash to show that his gunner had locked the vehicle's 175mm main gun onto the Huerdaen tank. The Setulan enjoyed a moment of delicious irony for a moment, the order to fire on the tip of his tongue. Ten years as a Planetary Guardsman. He had killed Danaversian tanks, Boolean tanks, Zillar tanks, and Fursian tanks. He had led armored cavalry on a dozen worlds, and had spent countless hours training to kill Huerdaen. It pleased him that his time in the guard had prepared him for its destruction.

"Fire!"

Downrange, the Tank Destroyer platoon that had been putting a massive hurting on the attacking Exiles suffered a trio of resounding hits. Two of the vehicles detonated in colossal, catastrophic explosions as their flank armor was struck, and SLA Cha'Miggur was dead before he knew what had happened. The third Goliath took one of the massive shells to the tracks, ripping apart the armor skirting and shattering the road wheels. Another trio of shots was not long in coming, and the final two vehicles in the tank destroyer platoon died as they desperately tried to counter the new and completely unexpected threat of enemy tanks. The attack served its purpose as the remaining Shield vehicles in the field found themselves in a completely untenable position - either they could turn to face the new armor threat, or continue to harass the infantry. Ten seconds of hesitation in issuing a command by the SLT of the western armored flank spelled death for another slew of vehicles as heavy shells screamed in, now accompanied by Maulers from infantry elements who had finally been given breathing room from the relentless attack. Seeing vulnerablity, SLAM squadrons concentrated heavy anti tank firepower on the Shield vehicles.

The armor assault signaled a second phase of the attack. TAA teams that had so far been held in reserve blinked directly into the garage effectively on top of gun positions. While some were brought down by pioneers in a near state of panic, the massively armored figures made short and messy work of anything in close range. Efforts now focused on stopping the intruding TAA, a renewed infantry push resulted in Exile infantry making a beachhead in the garage. Within a few messy minutes that saw blasted corpses in dread black and muted desert camo scattered all over the garage, the Shield fell back into their complex, where the Exiles found - much to their frustration - they couldn't follow. The low ceilings made it impossible for even the basic power armored infantry to go after their foe, much less the huge TAA. To make up for this, the conventional troops equipped blasting charges to doors and hatches before sending fanatics running into the rabbit warren of prefabs. Even in death, the suicide-vest strapped exiles caused massive internal damage every time they were killed.

On the outside, the mortars changed tact. Seeing that raining raw destruction down on the top of the pyramidal block structure wasn't having the desired effect, they began dropping oxide and high explosive shells exclusively on the miserably exposed gun positions that lined the perimeter. The light infantry that had been dropped off to silence the batteries would find that the Exiles were taking no chances with the protection of their heavy guns. The Zuzi quad guns used for AAA made explosive, bite sized messes of infantry caught in the stream of heavy rounds, and every battery had at least fifty power armored soldiers tasked to defend it. Ferocious firefights broke out between the light infantry and Exile troopers as the mortar crews continued to service their weapons grimly, the occasional soldier dropping with a gaping hole in their person as stray rounds or Shield snipers hit them.


Nyman's Stand

Pressure continued to grow on the increasingly pressed defenders of the ruined headquarters. The Exiles in the city had apparently decided that there was no point yet in trying to attack the very well fortified Shi'Vessu beyond harassing attacks, and hundreds of the warriors seemed to be pressing in on the building. Were it not for the fortress-like nature of the police headquarters and the Setulan's natural paranoia about law enforcement, the building would have fallen fairly quickly; as it was, the ground outside became littered with corpses as Exiles attempted to cross the wide roads to get into close range. The fight certainly wasn't one sided, as MPs on the roof and AJAX on the ground would be jerked backwards as they were messily ended by the shells flying at them.

On the ground, Garret continued to engage the enemy alongside the AJAX without complaining about the lack of conversation one way or the other. She had swapped her RAWs for her massive MP shotgun and was blasting eight gauge grenades at support weapons with unsuppressed glee when Kariss spoke to her.

The Customs officer didn't even look over at the Telrosian as she answered.

"Not running from anything. A post is a post." She slammed an explosive across the road and nodded in satisfaction as audible screaming reached her.

"Still probably shouldn't have fucked my CO's best friend though."

A throaty chuckle as she pumped the shotgun and lined up another shot.

"Ah well."


Shi'Vessu's Column

Though it could hardly be considered a proper attack, the Shield on the edge of Furst's Landing finally began to take some kind of contact as the fight progressed over the city. Light mortars, usually 60mm or 80mm, were set up in the rabbits nest of side streets and rubble. Exile crews would bang off two or three shells before packing up their weapons and running to another position before they could be found. Some crews that were too slow found themselves vaporized by Thors used for counter battery, but for most it turned into a vicious game of cat and mouse. Shield teams rushing through the city would be engaged by soldiers who banged off a series of rounds before breaking contact, and calls from wounded teams soon filled the radio waves.

For all that, no major attack had yet to come at the Huerdaen securing the southern side of the city. It was obvious that the Exiles didn't want to try to fight the bountiful armor without series support.

[Huerdae]

1-1-3-2nd, Headquarters

The battlefield around the 2nd Division's Headquarters was already littered with the bodies of the dead and dying. Many of the gun positions around the perimeter had been destroyed or silenced, and only a few of the heavy Hephaestus cannons still hammered on the soldiers who dared stray into their line of fire. The spray of blood and the smell of burning corpses still filled the air, though, as the barrage from the primary HQ continued to rain down on those pressing into the Garage structure itself. The burning wrecks of the light armor littered the flank of the attack, and foot-bound infantry fell back to the base, avoiding the now-contested garage as they made their way back into the structure. The remaining flank immediately fell back, under the quick hand of Captain Ey'Sorren in her Kodiac-Variant. Keeping the units lower in the hills, they quit the flank as quickly as they could, using the base as cover from where the Rage MBTs had set up their firing positions.

As the TAA surged into the garage itself, the Pioneers fought desperately, defending the gun positions within, with one of the TAA taking a direct hit that resulted in a dull thud and a visible shockwave, only to slump to the ground as bones and flesh liquified within from the concussion weapon. Another shattered and its back detonated against the far wall as the pioneer hip-fired the Medusa in shock. Three more shots later and the man screamed, a scream which ended as the weapon itself detonated, clearing out nearly a quarter of the garage in the destruction, and taking many of the remaining Shield, as well as dozens of Exiles, with it. Blood from the detonation and shrapnel from what had been powered armor was dug into the black metal walls, floor, and ceiling as the few survivors fell back into the halls, reporting the loss of the garage to the Colonel as they hurried back to their next positions in the hallways, slamming down the blast doors and preparing the next stage of the defense.

They didn't have to wait long. A little under two squads of Pioneers remained, and despite the use of the flamethrower to keep the fanatics who ducked through the halls at bay, it wasn't long before they were again in a quick retreat, hurrying up ramps to the prepared gun positions as they were forced to surrender several halls around the garage as the blast doors were blown open by suicide troops. The base shook and rocked violently as the detonations tore at the insides, throwing blood and bone down hallways, coating them in chunks of flesh, that dripped down the walls and ceiling where they continued to stand. Several modules were completely compromised, and after a handful of firefights, the base began to creak, then groan.

As another charge went off, the entire north-east facing of the base began to collapse, with the men who were manning the few remaining positions above screaming as they were crushed within the rubble. It started simply, with only a few toward the middle of the section, but it continued outward until the outer modules shattered and slid away, crushing fanatic and Huerdaen alike. Only the reinforced walls of the garage held strong, keeping most of the base intact, but it left the entire flank of the base unprotected, and deep in the bowels of the black structure, Lac swore.

Even so, the gains the Exiles made were not without cost. Two gun positions refused to give in, even to fanatics. One was sprayed in blood as a concussion mine was set off as a group passed over it, turning them into a spray of blood that flowed like a tide partway up the ramp, only to slowly seep back down, laying in a knee-deep puddle at the lowest part of the ramp, forcing further units to try to pick their way through it, avoiding sharpened bone, weapons, and armor. The other had been fully fortified, with the overhead defenses pulled down to give the Huerdaen firing slits, but protect them from grenades. Dozens of fanatics lay upon the ramps, their bodies torn apart. Intermittently one of the fanatics set off their charges, it served mostly to clear the bodies from the ramp, and blood dripped down the fortified position over the smoking barrels of the Huerdaen defenders, sizzling where it met red-hot metal, all under the almost-surreal blood-red lighting.

Within, Lac was tireless as she tried to maintain what she could and keep her people alive. The collapse of the base put her badly on the defensive, and she was busily pulling back units that were in danger of similar fates, including what remained of the pioneers as they tried to skirt their way around the garage, to come at it from another angle and try to recover it from the Setulanites. But it was the Light Infantry which supplied the response, as the Captain in charge of the company suddenly broke through her comms.

"Lac, I've got gold for you. These assholes are dug in and built up around these mortar positions, throwing rounds out like they're candy."

"And that's supposed to be gold, Nai'Ganuul?"

"They're not moving, ma'am. I've sent target coordinates for two gun positions, and we're looking for more. We can't get at these as we are, and they outnumber us, but we're closing in on one and these guys are in such a hurry they have live ammo laying all over the place. Give me a VT, and we can take some pressure off."

Lac didn't even wait for the coords to finish before she called it in, attaching the info so she wouldn't have to outright say the targeting data.

"All available units, Victor Targets. Five-rounds-and-on. Confirm firing."

The responses were immediate, as the engineering crews that manned the Desecrator weapons immediately began, but what surprised her was when the artillery crews manning Bumblebee SPGs started checking in targeting as well, as their fire information from Shi'Vessu's column was limited due to the lack of targets. Within moments, she had several 105mm guns firing at both sited positions, and the Light Infantry were hurrying back from the hastily named targets.

The Exiles didn't have much warning. The rounds came in at supersonic speeds, and only the visible trails of smoke that followed the rounds of Huerdaen railguns gave away the approach before the massive detonations rocked the two firing positions. One of the first rounds struck the stacked ammo near one of the mortar positions, and the high explosive Huerdaen round detonated, cooking off the entire pile almost immediately, and sending a shattering shockwave across the location, even as dozens of other rounds dropped. The whistling of the rounds that approached came after, left behind by the speed of the bombardment, and only after it had already ended and the dust had begun to settle did the Light Infantry re-appear, as Captain Nai'Ganuul led his men in an assault on the position. The first warning the Exiles had was when one of their own Zuzi guns suddenly turned, opening fire across the Exiles that were picking themselves up from the bombardment. The rounds that had so recently taken down Shield now tore apart the Exiles who had defended the positions as Myrmidons cracked death and the group stormed forward, gunning down the Exiles as they tried to recover. One of the other Zuzi's came live, and was quickly put down as a Vasily-armed Infantryman put an anti-tank round straight through the device.

In minutes it was done and the infantry were pulling back, leaving the mortars destroyed and un-salvagable as they returned to their dropships, getting ready to move to the next position. The other site that was bombarded was left without the infantry attack, but it was now a clear threat to their support fire as the Light Infantry continued to harass, seeking out more targets to kill.

With that success, Ey'Sorren came up with her own plan. Gathering her armor outside the garage, as well as her infantry, she keyed in the open command, and the door rose, revealing the armored, prepared, and readied might of the Imperial Mechanized. Exiles turned to try to counter this attack, as Hades cannons filled the air between the two groups with brass and shells, even as the rare Gravedigger blew a hole clean through the Exiles before them, and straight back out the far side of the garage. Fanatics awaiting their turn to attack were gunned down in droves, as Infantry who lay prone fired into the readying mass that clustered around the entrances to the base, and what had been a secured garage became a killing ground as the only side that had any cover was the Huerdaen firing from behind the extended doors of their Gatecrasher APCs, trying to break the assault on the base.

Nyman's Stand

Kariss grunted her acknowledgement to Garrett, but didn't speak while she cracked off another set of rounds, forced to duck down as a mounted gun swept fire over her position, and she took the moment to calmly check the magazine on her weapon, seeing that it was still half-full. She was pinned for the minute, as more fire streamed toward her position, and so she simply turned her head slightly, watching the other woman destroy yet another position. A quick signal with her hand directed the woman to the gun keeping her in place, and in moments she had shifted again, calmly taking out targets that moved alone, where the 8-gauge wasn't as effective.

"Stupid."

She let that sit for a minute, as she put down another two who were creeping along a rooftop with a marksman rifle of their own before she continued.

"Who cares who you fuck? Huerdaen still think they can beat this damn universe if they fight it hard enough, but even they figured out how to avoid issues like that. A good soldier is a good soldier, it's a waste to send them out to a place like this."

She looked at the other woman's face, quite clearly enjoying the action, and just shook her head. "It's pretty obvious you were bored out of your mind here, anyway."

It was then that the fire increased drastically, as a trio of HMGs got set up across the way, spraying down the side of the building. One of the AJAX with a Nereid tried to respond, but got cut down silently. It was the way of the AJAX, it seemed, to do everything in stone cold silence, as if they were simply butchering meat. Even dying was cold, and empty. It was no small surprise why the Huerdaen depended on them so heavily as elite troops who could carry the burden of battle.


The fire continued, and one of the MPs from the position above fell across the two women, his weapon still clutched in unfeeling hands. From all across that side of the building, enemy fire increased, until a new, sudden chugging sounded and the enemy fire began to fly wide, then stopped completely. Moving across the half-destroyed remains was a small group of Imperial shield, sludge dripping from their armor as they began to fight their way back down the building toward the sewer entrance again, moments before the charges went off, destroying the mounted guns. In seconds, Kariss was back up, firing at the small firefight across the path, with a grim expression on her face. A quick check of the HUD showed her what Nyman probably already knew, that it was a mere platoon of Shield filtering back into the sewers and headed his way, little enough support against the enemies that continued to attack the position.

1-1-3-2nd, The Power Generators

The movement and fighting through the streets around the power generators was probably the most aggravating thing that Ja'Farrik had yet to deal with. Unable to step out without walking his men into a possible ambush, he instead widened his stance around the power generators, keeping his vehicles out of direct attack and digging his own units into the buildings around their objective. All told, it was far more men than he probably needed, but he wasn't comfortable splitting it just yet to hunt down the group of harassing mortars, leaving him stuck with the MPs and civilians who had taken cover inside the structure. Leaving standing orders to hold, he went in search of whoever commanded the locals.

1-1-3rd Headquarters

Fay could not have felt more helpless if she were a kid who had never fired a weapon before in her life. She could see the updates from the battle at the 1-1-3-2nd's base, but other than switching over artillery support to Lac, she could do very little as she watched the pieces move, everyone playing their part. Shi'Vessu and his men were digging in rapidly, getting ready for whenever the Exiles prepared their assault, but nothing had truly come their way other than a series of mortar strikes and some traps. The man kept things well in hand by having mobile units hunting the mortars, but it wasn't anything she had to worry about. She was left, instead, watching as Dex's column crawled back toward base, and listened for more firing from the heavy guns as they continued to be called in by Lac's men as they tried to keep things under control.

It seemed like forever before Dex's column was spotted, rolling up toward the HQ structure, some of the vehicles gunning down an Exile sniper who had set up too close to their path. It almost seemed heroic as they rolled into place, driving into the garage and offloading their wounded as quickly as they could, but Fay had to get them ready to roll out, and she called Dex in over the command channel.
When another man's voice answered, she was struck silent for a moment.

"Colonel, this is Captain Yuru Kasagai. What is it you need? Colonel?"

She shook off the stun, and ground her teeth, responding.

"Captain, What is Dex's condition? We need to relieve the 1-1-3-2nd at their HQ, they're under heavy attack. When can you move?"

"Colonel Dex'Bollun is a casualty, ma'am. Down, but alive. I can have my men ready....soon."

The uncertainty was telling, and Fay grimaced, knowing by the sound of it that the Pankrees man wasn't used to commanding a force this size. Still, she had few other options.

"Section your command into three groups, Captain. Offload the wounded and any support personnel into base and mount up. Make sure your heavies are good to go. I need you to allocate one fully mechanized unit to Lac to call in where she wants, but I want the other group and all your armor to meet up with her Light Infantry, north of their position. You'll be helping assist in taking down enemy mortar positions. Be advised, the enemy has heavy fire in the area. We don't have confirmation yet, but it is likely some manner of enemy armor. No count, so keep your tanks safe and don't commit unless you know the score."

There was a pause, and the man sent an affirmative. Quietly, she checked on the refueling and re-arming of the Talons, only a few of which were ready to deploy back to the field. Lacking the capacity of Lac's base made everything slow, and if the enemy did have armor, she'd need the talons, so she kept them grounded, and on standby as the AJAX re-armed themselves and re-kitted. The presence of Talons slowed down the AJAX as well, though, as their own Icarus couldn't get at their resupply gear, keeping her support out of the fight.

Quietly, she stewed, unable to properly respond as quickly as she had hoped.

[Setulan]

1-1-3-2nd HQ

As the garage doors came up and the prone Shield began firing, their heavy rounds would meet shin plates with sickening cracks as screaming Exiles fell to the ground only to be perforated with more heavy fire, messily ending their pain. Desperate soldiers threw themselves behind the mangled carcasses of their dead friends to get some kind of cover and return fire as the miserably exposed garage began to turn into a charnel house.

The TAA units inside - four in all, making up twenty armored warriors - turned to this new threat and began to respond with vicious abandon. Realizing the horrible danger, they began emergency dumping their micro-missiles, emptying their entire payloads in single cataclysmic bursts of rocketry. Gatecrashers simply disappeared as they were ripped asunder, sending white-hot shrapnel not just into the nearby Shield but also whistling into the hangar. So close was the range of the firefight that brass from the Hades and even smaller weapons was getting in the way of the incoming firepower, shots ricocheting drunkenly around slaughtering unsuspecting soldiers from unexpected angles. The TAA stormed forward, Banshees screaming as they sent explosive rounds rippling through the attacking enemies. None lasted long as the Huerdaen concentrated firepower on the huge figures. Dents led to concussive injuries that pulped organs, and with their operators bleeding out inside the assault armor was knocked over by the sheer kinetic volume of the shots.

The Gatecrasher only managed to get off a second shot, coring a score of Exiles, before an almost wildly fired rocket ended its resistance forever. Somewhere a fanatic exploded as her suicide vest was touched off, creating yet another messy gap in the Exile ranks. Misted blood settled on the figures as the last TAA went down, and with their heavy support gone the remaining Setulans began a fighting retreat. Soldiers exploded as armor-cracking shots ripped into them, their friends not even stopping to pick them up as they walked backwards with their fingers stuck on the triggers. Heavy rail rounds screamed back and forth across the garage. Shield simply died in place, their bodies jerking like marionettes with their strings cut as the prone soldiers ceased fighting. The few foolish enough to present any kind of larger target died quickly, upper bodies turned into pink mist and shrapnel as their life-giving implants proved the death of their comrades.

And then it was over.

The last few Exiles were running for the hills, badly bloodied. The last fanatics made their suicide runs into the collapsed section of the base even as their better armed and trained cousins fell back. The remaining TAA and SLAM pulled out, and the armor had withdrawn the moment they had detected Titanflea changing location. The desperate shootout in the garage had turned the tide and likely saved everyone in the base. It had last less than eighty seconds.

Inside the garage a mist of blood condensed on the roof and began to drip down like red rain, bathing the hundred and seventy eight corpses that littered the floor...some in more pieces than others. Outside, oily black smoke and crushed chasis was all the remained of two armored companies. A single Gatecrasher appeared operational, though it had been tracked by an errant micro-missile. Ey'Sorren would stand up amid the chunky remains of her command squad, herself miraculously unharmed but the psychological damage associated with being painted red by the blood of all of your friends and coworkers. No more than a dozen infantrymen stood up with her.

In the distance, the success of the Light Infantry would not go unnoticed. Even as the remaining heavy guns packed up their heavy tubes and made to move out, their infantry escorts pushed out their cordons and caught several Shield teams. The firefights, though vicious, would be devastatingly one sided as the teams of light infantry were badly outnumbered and overwhelmingly gunned down.


Nyman's Stand

"Nobody cares who you fuck, officially. But people will be people. And yeah." She fired another grenade. "I was definitely bored."

Even as Garret ducked and an MP fell next to her with a heavy crunch-splat, the navy cop remained calm. Taking advantage of her inability to return fire, she looted the man's body for extra magazines for her K14. Watching the Telrosians fight, she didn't comment on their silence. She had seen quiet a bit of odd things in her time, but this was high on the list. Xiscapians and Setulans were full of fire when they fought, and died just as full of rage. Alversians were more clinical, but in the heat of the moment they were still human. The Telrosians...they were something else.

She suppressed a shudder as the HMGs were silenced. The Shield infantry would hear Nyman's voice in their ears seconds later as he used the squawker to patch into their comms. Collating the data he was getting from the Shield and his own units, he began using the platoon of Shield as a mobile hit team against Exile heavy positions that threatened to suppress the defensive positions of End of the Universe. Even as he did it, the young Captain was marveling at the command power he had at his disposal. Though he knew that the Republic had comparable systems to this one, he had never used one before. It was a humbling experience. An idle, inane thought crossed his mind.

If I survive this, they better make me a fucking general...


1-1-3-2nd, Power Generators

With the generator compound itself more or less secure, Ja'Farrik was able to sprint to the central building where the MPs were taking a breather. The two squads - originally eighteen men and their platoon sergeant - were badly depleted. Only six men were uninjured, and another four combat effective wounded. Of the other eight, four were dead, three were in critical condition, and the leader of the group was badly wounded but stable. The Shield Captain would walk in to find the Setulan waiting for him.

Staff Sergeant Offe greeted the Huerdaen with a respectful nod.

"I'd salute, Captain, but as you can see that would be difficult." With a rueful jerk of his head, he indicated both of his arms in slings. "Big mortar went off nearby. Broke my goddamn arms. Glad you made it when you did, though...I don't know how much longer we would have been able to hold."