Orphan Company (Sci-fi Char RP|IC|Open)

[Dyelli Beybi]

There was a long pause, long enough for people to get into position. Long enough for them to start getting nervous. Finally, the call everyone had expected came back from the Nebuchadnezzar, "We've got transports incoming. Two on sensors so far. Looks like they're using Mount Sharp for cover. They can put down relatively close to us so expect contact soon."

"All non-combatants who aren't already on one of the ships and don't have an immediate job to do getting the machine fired up, get back on the ships!" Cohen called through the comms, "Everyone else... good luck." There was silence for a long time. Troopers hunkered down. Abruptly there was an explosion of Martian rocks a few feet from where Cohen had positioned herself, sending the Major scampering behind a larger boulder, "Did anyone see where that came from?" she called.

"I didn't see anything," Hannah answered.

Cohen risked a glance out, across the dusty landscape. A chunk of the boulder a foot or so above her head exploded, sending a shower of rock shards raining down on her. She ducked back in, "I saw them this time! Sniper, probably a click away. Standard weapons won't dent their armour at that range. Everyone keep your heads down! Make them come to us, and if they don't... gives our friends more time to get that weapon online."

The broken landscape between them and where the shots had come in from offered some sparse cover, but not enough to easily conceal a ragon, even one scampering on all fours. Smaller species might have been able to close to gap while keeping relatively well concealed but it would leave their position exposed if the ragons chose to come from another angle as well...

[Nachfolgia]

Allison Clark

Allison returned the hug, wrapping her massive arms around Nikolai. She was careful not to hold him too tightly. Before, she wouldn't even think about hugging him, fearing that she'd crush him. Those insecurities were long gone though, she knew how to control her immense strength.

Choking back tears at Nikolai's words, Allison loosened her grip on him to look him in the eyes.

" You're one of the few things in my shit life worthwhile. Stay safe." She said before bending down to kiss him.

With their moment of affection over, Allison but on her helmet and got into position. She didn't have to wait long as the ragon approached in force. Several troop transports were inbound, ready to kill them all.

She readied herself for the fight that was to come, something that she was far too used to by now. A life time of fighting, both in her real life and the simulation, came down to this final battle. Allison knew what the stakes were and what it meant of they lost. Her mind went to all the people in her life that she lost, all those in Houston that were cut down by the Ragon. Her anger boiled over as the fight was about to rage.

Before any of the enemy got close, their group got bogged down by sniper fire. The accuracy of the shots kept their heads down. It seemed like Allison would have to wait to crack skulls until the Ragon were right on tip of them.

[Europa Undivided]

Smaller species might have been able to close to gap while keeping relatively well concealed but it would leave their position exposed if the ragons chose to come from another angle as well...

Ivan knew snipers well; his late friend Jean preferred to use sniper rifles and other long-barreled guns, for some reason. He often said that he liked shooting things from very far, especially when they had their backs turned on him. That kind of thinking was... well, pretty in-line with Ivan's own occupation, but to think that a spaceship captain also had these specific interests would always live rent-free in his mind.

Either way, the Ragon equivalent of a sniper tried to take them out right here and now, though with no success as of yet. There didn't seem to be any advancing Ragon forces on the plains between them and the sniper fire, which made a lot of sense. There was barely any cover there, especially for creatures as big as them. And yet, the Ragon Empire was anything persistent, so if they weren't moving in these plains, then...

"I'll have one of the drones go out to scout for movement anywhere other than the area in front of us, since they're making us keep our heads down," Nikita announced, preparing one of said machines while he set the control computer in front of himself, which he would directly interface with using his technomancy. "Just in case my brother decides to go out there himself as a small ice bird. So..."

The drone began to float, though Nikita didn't send it out yet. "Perhaps a smoke round could cover its exit from these dungeons?"

[Tesserach]

Cpl. Tuesaaya Sanmanee

Tuesaaya stalked down the trench line, hunched over, bent at the waist – the only way to keep her towering head from sticking above the trenchline - as she marched to the distinctive hollow sound of her own breathing within the old worn vacsuit she was wearing. The sniper blast from the ragon sniper probably would’ve been deafening in normal atmosphere, but here it was barely audible. She listened to the voices over the open net as she stalked past the other members of weapons squad, giving Recoski a short hand-signal which both understood to mean: “You’re still in charge because I still got shit to deal with.” He gave a short nod of understanding in response.

“Let’s get this drone airborne.” Tuesaaya announced pulling out a smoke grenade, one of the colloidal ones designed to function in vacuum and low atmospheric environments. “Nikita – when that smoke pops: you go.” She switched over to squad net. “Weapons squad, we’re gonna pop smoke and get a drone up. When the drone goes up, I want an AT rocket on that sniper position. Don’t care if it hits: just let them know we got ‘em.”

”Who else sees that defilade running towards that sniper position?” She announced, slinging a launcher and an extra pair of rockets over her shoulder. “Anyone wanna take a walk with me? If so, get up here. When that rocket takes off we’re going over the wall. .” O’Hare and a pair of brand new privates from weapons quad decided to come stick it out with their corporal. When the others signalled they were ready, Tuesaaya spent a moment seeing if anyone else was showing up, then primed the smoke grenade and tossed it over the line. “Everyone ready?”

Tuesaaya, waited until she saw Recoski and his team huddled, ready with the anti-tank rocket. Recoski was watching Tuesaaya and the smoke grenade, the private with the launcher and his spotter we both primed and ready.

“Smoke out!” With a heave, Tuesaaya lobbed the smoke grenade out just ahead of Nikita’s position. Tuesaaya looked back at whoever she had collected up behind her now, and prepared to scramble over the trench-wall - it would have to do.

[Rynagria]

The relief that he felt from not being vaporized by the weapon was short-lived, as the inevitable hostile Ragon response came after such an event.

In a matter of seconds, Jonah had made his way to a defensive position and had met the rest of fireteam there, upon there taking a last-minute stock of everything they had. Armed with nothing but rifles and nothing heavier, it was clear the four of them would be disadvantaged in any long range engagements. Which just happen to be the immediate thing to occur, a Ragon marksman suppressing them after downing one of the scout vessels. Unable to do anything, they stood around wordlessly until Tuesaaya's announcement came over their comms.

"Izz, Logan, and Pax! Whatever Tuesaaya's doing, we're going to help out. Come on!" Ordered Jonah, as he made his way towards the machine creature, not even checking if they were following him. The three members of his team only looked at each other, as they all non-verbally reaffirmed their concerns with one another, but nonetheless followed their leader. The short trek didn't take long as they formed up with the alien veteran, steeling themselves for whatever it was to come.

"I hate combat in the void." Muttered Logan, as his gaze followed Jonah closely.

”Who else sees that defilade running towards that sniper position?” She announced, slinging a launcher and an extra pair of rockets over her shoulder. “Anyone wanna take a walk with me? If so, get up here. When that rocket takes off we’re going over the wall. .” O’Hare and a pair of brand new privates from weapons quad decided to come stick it out with their corporal. When the others signalled they were ready, Tuesaaya spent a moment seeing if anyone else was showing up, then primed the smoke grenade and tossed it over the line. “Everyone ready?”

Positioning himself directly behind the other Corporal, he responded to her question. "On your six Tuesaaya, my rifle team's ready when you are."

[Nachfolgia]

Cpl. Tuesaaya Sanmanee

Tuesaaya stalked down the trench line, hunched over, bent at the waist – the only way to keep her towering head from sticking above the trenchline - as she marched to the distinctive hollow sound of her own breathing within the old worn vacsuit she was wearing. The sniper blast from the ragon sniper probably would’ve been deafening in normal atmosphere, but here it was barely audible. She listened to the voices over the open net as she stalked past the other members of weapons squad, giving Recoski a short hand-signal which both understood to mean: “You’re still in charge because I still got shit to deal with.” He gave a short nod of understanding in response.

“Let’s get this drone airborne.” Tuesaaya announced pulling out a smoke grenade, one of the colloidal ones designed to function in vacuum and low atmospheric environments. “Nikita – when that smoke pops: you go.” She switched over to squad net. “Weapons squad, we’re gonna pop smoke and get a drone up. When the drone goes up, I want an AT rocket on that sniper position. Don’t care if it hits: just let them know we got ‘em.”

”Who else sees that defilade running towards that sniper position?” She announced, slinging a launcher and an extra pair of rockets over her shoulder. “Anyone wanna take a walk with me? If so, get up here. When that rocket takes off we’re going over the wall. .” O’Hare and a pair of brand new privates from weapons quad decided to come stick it out with their corporal. When the others signalled they were ready, Tuesaaya spent a moment seeing if anyone else was showing up, then primed the smoke grenade and tossed it over the line. “Everyone ready?”

Tuesaaya, waited until she saw Recoski and his team huddled, ready with the anti-tank rocket. Recoski was watching Tuesaaya and the smoke grenade, the private with the launcher and his spotter we both primed and ready.

“Smoke out!” With a heave, Tuesaaya lobbed the smoke grenade out just ahead of Nikita’s position. Tuesaaya looked back at whoever she had collected up behind her now, and prepared to scramble over the trench-wall - it would have to do.

Allison Clark

Seeing the other soldiers gearing up to charge the ragons, Allison decided go with them. She grabbed the nearest big gun she could find; a mounted machine gun. She ripped it off its fixed position and carried it in her hands. Normally, a weapon of this high caliber would require a crew to operate it, but with Allison's strength, it was practically weightless.

Slinging Ammo belts onto her shoulders, Allison took up position next to Tuesaaya. Allison simply gave her a nod as she looked out to the open martian ground in front of them. Her helmet obscured her expression which was that of pure hatred and contempt. The Ragon's wanted a soldier, they're about to get one.

[Europa Undivided]

“Smoke out!” With a heave, Tuesaaya lobbed the smoke grenade out just ahead of Nikita’s position. Tuesaaya looked back at whoever she had collected up behind her now, and prepared to scramble over the trench-wall - it would have to do.

As the smoke grenade launched from the trenches and disgorged a plume of smoke, Nikita willed the drone to fly out as well. The little machine paused for a second inside the smoky mist, its systems adjusting its flight plan. With a single mental command through the control computer, the drone flew off, soaring higher and higher into the air. Soon, it began to pick up speed; with any luck, it would be too small and too fast for any Ragon sniper to shoot from the sky. Not without dedicated anti-air systems with excellent targeting arrays.

"Beginning survey of the surrounding area now," Nikita called out from his position, letting everyone else know what the drone was seeing whilst it flew across the Martian landscape. "Sensors are engaged, we should be able to see if the Ragon Imperials are flanking our position. It's not like we should miss those big lizards in the sand dunes, yeah?"

Meanwhile, Nikolai stayed put. Though instinct and passion told him to go with Allison, logic told him that they had the firepower they needed, and he wouldn't be much help when his own cryomancy had such a short range. However, Ivan had followed Tuesaaya, carrying a blaster rifle with a curious rocket grenade launcher attached to the barrel's underside.

"Everything's fine," Ivan simply stated to himself as he followed the cybernetic alien veteran of a thousand wars, alongside a few others whose names he couldn't remember. "This... is fine."

[Tesserach]

Cpl. Tuesaaya Sanmanee

Tuesaaya noted Logan's team, Ivan and of course Allison who came in carrying an XM HMG, which Tuesaaya acknowledged with an approving nod. "O'Hare, grab extra belts for that HMG." She said hastily as the smoke grenade in front of Nikita started spilling out smoke.

"Get ready." Tuesaaya said, broadcasting across the wide net. "Here's the plan. Nikita, keep eyes. Weapons team: Keep suppressing with AT. Clark, Ivanov - with us. Logan's team and mine: bounding overwatch." She traced the line of cover towards the sniper position, making sure everone knew the plan even though she was speaking quickly. "My team will get close enough to suppress the position. Logan's team - with, Ivanov and Clark will assault - we clear the position then return or hold."

Nikita's drone started its ascent. "Yeah?" Tuesaaya looked around, long experience had taught her when working with soldiers like this to look in their eyes, and make sure they were 'dialed in' and they called it before committing.

For everyone else, Tuesaaya looked bored and tired - like this was something she'd done a thousand times before. Her worn down, replacement eyes whirred about, making sure she saw understanding in everyone's eyes before she gave Recowksi the nod to fire.

If the Ragon sniper had any thoughts to fire at Nikita's drone, they now also had a AT rocket trailing a line of smoke barrelling down on them.

"That's us." Tuesaaya said waiting until the rocket was about to land. She stood up and gracelessly flopping forward out of the trench. She then hauled herself to her feet, waiting to make sure everyone made it out of the trench before ambling forward herself, trying to stay low.

The first rocket impact could scarcely be heard in the thin martian atmosphere. But in the mild Martian gravity, the explosion and plume of dust made it look like it had been hit by an artillery shell three times larger.

As the group covered ground, another AT rocket flared out towards the sniper position from another part of the trench line - keeping the sniper suppressed, preventing them from reseting.

Tuesaaya ambled forward as quickly as she could l, pausing with O'Hare and her team behind a set of rocks to provide overwatch as Logan and his team pushed up to the next cover position.

Step by step they began closing in on the sniper.

[Dyelli Beybi]

Cpl. Tuesaaya Sanmanee

...

If the Ragon sniper had any thoughts to fire at Nikita's drone, they now also had a AT rocket trailing a line of smoke barrelling down on them.

"That's us." Tuesaaya said waiting until the rocket was about to land. She stood up and gracelessly flopping forward out of the trench. She then hauled herself to her feet, waiting to make sure everyone made it out of the trench before ambling forward herself, trying to stay low.

The first rocket impact could scarcely be heard in the thin martian atmosphere. But in the mild Martian gravity, the explosion and plume of dust made it look like it had been hit by an artillery shell three times larger.

As the group covered ground, another AT rocket flared out towards the sniper position from another part of the trench line - keeping the sniper suppressed, preventing them from reseting.

Tuesaaya ambled forward as quickly as she could l, pausing with O'Hare and her team behind a set of rocks to provide overwatch as Logan and his team pushed up to the next cover position.

Step by step they began closing in on the sniper.

The drone turned out to be a pretty good idea. As it was, the sniper wasn't just a sniper. A large cluster of ragon forces were just beyond the ridge, while a second group was quietly circling around upslope, waiting for Tuesaaya and anyone with her to walk into their pincer. There was only limited return fire because they wanted to lure the defenders out.

A third group, even further uphill was moving at a fair clip, evidently trying to swing around and hit the ships while the troops weren't guarding them...

[Europa Undivided]

The drone turned out to be a pretty good idea. As it was, the sniper wasn't just a sniper. A large cluster of ragon forces were just beyond the ridge, while a second group was quietly circling around upslope, waiting for Tuesaaya and anyone with her to walk into their pincer. There was only limited return fire because they wanted to lure the defenders out.

A third group, even further uphill was moving at a fair clip, evidently trying to swing around and hit the ships while the troops weren't guarding them...

The drone quickly scanned the surroundings and found the trap that was waiting for Tuesaaya and her excursion. Apparently, the sniper had been a bait; the Ragons must have predicted that the Federation and the Army of the Light would try to remove that sharpshooter from the equation so that they'd be able to properly defend their positions. Well, the trap was laid bare, and Nikita had seen it.

Quickly, he picked up the comms, communicating to the away team as his drone flew forward, finding a third force climbing the hill to outflank the Federation position and destroy the parked fleet. If the ships got destroyed, they'd have no way off this rock. The Federation at large wouldn't be able to rescue them in that position; not when they were deep within enemy territory. And so, that outcome was completely unacceptable.

"Tuesaaya, Allison, away team, do you copy? There are Ragon forces over the ridge, the upslope, and uphill. They're waiting for you! You must get back here immediately!"

He then switched channels, approaching Newton and Tefford, who were ostensibly the ones in charge. "The Imperial Ragons moving uphill seem to be heading to our ships while we aren't there to defend them. What should we do?"

[Tesserach]

Cpl. Tuesaaya Sanmanee

"Acknowledged, stand by." Tuesaaya responded as she hit the hillock they were using as cover near the base of the sniper's position, landing with a plume of martian dust nearly 10ft tall. Fire from the sniper position momentarily peppered the hillock but they were safely behind it. Tuesaaya's voice was, characteristically, unphased by either that or the fact they were under-fire.

She gave an annoyed look to O'Hare and the other privates, which was plainly read as: suppress that position even as she chimed over the comms. "Logan, Ivanov, Allison - go help the others and deal with this ship situation. My team will hold here and cover your move."

Tuesaaya groaned as she tossed her kitbag down against the hillock. There'd been a reason she'd warned them to keep the ships in the air where they could at least run away. She took a long hard sigh - she no longer had the energy to dwell on such things anymore. Regret were useless, and she had a Ragon strike force to deal with. She gave the rest of her fire team hand signals to start putting fire on the sniper position, while she began pulling out smoke grenades and tossing them forward. The placement was meant to obscure Logan, Ivanov and Allison from observation.

Tuesaaya contemplated their position. The smoke-screen they were laying had a double purpose. It would conceal Logan, Ivanov and Allison pulling back from the Ragon's forward observers - but the way Tuesaaya had it laid, it also looked like it was creating a corridor for them to cover open ground to assault the Ragon sniper position. Without drones of their own in the air, it would maintain the illusion that they were bumbling into the Ragon trap, hopefully buying the defence time to double back and keeping the Ragon from feeling they needed to make any counter-moves.

They'd be instead be waiting to ambush an assault team that wasn't coming - and when they realized things were taking too long - then they'd start probing ways to dislodge Tuesaaya's position.

After their first battle, Tuesaaya had made sure they'd come with plenty of firepower capable of stopping Ragon. Covering open ground to assault Tuesaaya's position, or try and flank them, might prove trickier than the Ragon bargained for. Her team carried two launchers with her, and nearly two dozen rockets between them. And while they were out of rifle range from the trench-line, Tuesaaya had made sure they had plenty of rockets as well.

That would mean contingency planning for what else the Ragon might try. With this thought in mind, Tuesaaya reached into her enormous rucksack pulling out a modest sized container. Tossing the container lid aside, the contents had somehow already been coated with a thin layer of martian sand. Brushing it off with a mechanical hand revealed a set of stenciled letters in yellow paint, boldly declaring: THIS SIDE FACING ENEMY

It would have to do, she reflected.

"Tuesaaya to Command." She broadcast onto the same comms-net Nikita had switched to along with Netwon and Tedford and presumably Major Cohen. The sound of blaster fire from her rifle was clearly audible in the background. "I'm sending our assault team back to assist with the ship defence. My fire-team will hold here for now. We'll buy as much time as you need to deal with the ship threat." Her voice remained steely calm throughout. "Tuesaaya out."

[Nachfolgia]

Allison Clark

Allison thudded against the martian dirt and she made it to cover behind the hillock. She expected there to be more incoming fire as the moved up, but it seemed that the Ragons didn't bother with them. She wondered why they let them get closer to the sniper position. Were the Ragons laying a trap for them? Would this be like what the veterans talked about the fall of Austin where the Ragons let the defenders advance only to slaughter them from all sides?

It didn't take long for Allison to get her answer as Nikita's drone picked up on Ragon troop movements. That prompted a timely call over the radio from Nikita on what was happening. The Ragons were moving to assault the ships while the heavy hitters, so to speak, were away from them.

Allison looked back to the direction of the ships, thinking about how vulnerable Atalia was in that position. She wanted to instinctively rush over to help her best friend, leaving the assault team behind. Luckily, she didn't have to as Tuesaaya gave the orders for them to intercept the ragons moving in. Nodding in agreement, Allison waited for the smoke to obscure them before rusing out with the rest of the team.

[Dyelli Beybi]

Rebecca Cohen

Cpl. Tuesaaya Sanmanee

...

That would mean contingency planning for what else the Ragon might try. With this thought in mind, Tuesaaya reached into her enormous rucksack pulling out a modest sized container. Tossing the container lid aside, the contents had somehow already been coated with a thin layer of martian sand. Brushing it off with a mechanical hand revealed a set of stenciled letters in yellow paint, boldly declaring: THIS SIDE FACING ENEMY

It would have to do, she reflected.

"Tuesaaya to Command." She broadcast onto the same comms-net Nikita had switched to along with Netwon and Tedford and presumably Major Cohen. The sound of blaster fire from her rifle was clearly audible in the background. "I'm sending our assault team back to assist with the ship defence. My fire-team will hold here for now. We'll buy as much time as you need to deal with the ship threat." Her voice remained steely calm throughout. "Tuesaaya out."

"Get back here!" Cohen snapped over the comms, "We have well prepared positions. There's no need for a noble sacrifice."

Not yet, at any rate. She mused to herself. Maybe there actually was some logic in Tuesaaya fighting a delaying action from out front, but, God help her, she actually liked most of her team and couldn't bring herself to sacrifice them like chess pieces... throwing them all into a meatgrinder and letting them take their chances with the whims of fate was completely different. Maybe it was a little hypocritical on her part, but it felt different...

Any further musing was cut short as suddenly fire erupted from multiple locations. Seeing the forward force was pulling back, out of the pincer, the Ragons attacked in concert, launching the pincer movement against the troops who had advanced, though they weren't completely surrounded yet, while also attacking the ships from the North. Rebecca didn't know if it was the Imperial Ragons, Resistance or the Orphans who fired first. It certainly wasn't her. She was near the South side and hadn't spotted a Ragon. It was the wrong side according to Nikita but if they pulled everyone back from here they'd leave a gap in the perimeter, "Hannah," she called over the comms, "Get all the resistance fighters to the North side. We'll only keep a skeleton force on the South side... 'Tali -"

She wanted to keep her sister safe and out of the fighting, that's what a big sister was meant to do (even if 'Tali was taller than her now), but the girl had some spooky abilities. When she didn't want to be seen your eyes just seemed to scan right past her. She was perfect as a sentry, "- get over to the South side and hunker down somewhere where you can keep watch to make sure they aren't encircling us. It's time to put that creepy power of yours to good use."

[Tesserach]

Cpl. Tuesaaya Sanmanee

Rebecca Cohen

"Get back here!" Cohen snapped over the comms, "We have well prepared positions. There's no need for a noble sacrifice."
Not yet, at any rate. She mused to herself. Maybe there actually was some logic in Tuesaaya fighting a delaying action from out front, but, God help her, she actually liked most of her team and couldn't bring herself to sacrifice them like chess pieces... throwing them all into a meatgrinder and letting them take their chances with the whims of fate was completely different. Maybe it was a little hypocritical on her part, but it felt different...

Any further musing was cut short as suddenly fire erupted from multiple locations. Seeing the forward force was pulling back, out of the pincer, the Ragons attacked in concert, launching the pincer movement against the troops who had advanced, though they weren't completely surrounded yet, while also attacking the ships from the North. Rebecca didn't know if it was the Imperial Ragons, Resistance or the Orphans who fired first. It certainly wasn't her. She was near the South side and hadn't spotted a Ragon. It was the wrong side according to Nikita but if they pulled everyone back from here they'd leave a gap in the perimeter, "Hannah," she called over the comms, "Get all the resistance fighters to the North side. We'll only keep a skeleton force on the South side... 'Tali -"

She wanted to keep her sister safe and out of the fighting, that's what a big sister was meant to do (even if 'Tali was taller than her now), but the girl had some spooky abilities. When she didn't want to be seen your eyes just seemed to scan right past her. She was perfect as a sentry, "- get over to the South side and hunker down somewhere where you can keep watch to make sure they aren't encircling us. It's time to put that creepy power of yours to good use."

Tuesaaya's voice, crackling over the comms came back quickly. "Solid copy command." Her voice as cool and un-phased as it ever was, a distinct contrast to Cohen's shouted instruction even despite being drowned out by the sounds of blaster fire in the background. Tuesaaya's mic was also picking up broken chatter over her helmet speaker from her squad mates nearby.

"...left to right, in the open 250m..."

Tuesaaya cut back in. "Be advised HQ, I assess our current pos..." the transmission cut out again amidst a hail of blaster fire and heavy breathing. "... I assess our current positions as..." She cut out again.

"...back blast clear!"

An explosion was heard in the background of the mic. The result was inaudible in the thin martian atmosphere, but even from her position Cohen could feel the faint tremor in the ground. "...standby..." There was a grunt of effort over the still open comm as Tuesaaya clearly did something requiring exertion. "Be advised I assess our current position as highly effective. Please advise you still want us to displace, Over."

The results of the firefight were currently playing out, plainly visible from the north end of the trench line. The Ragon - launching their pincer movement over open ground - were doing so exposed to withering heavy anti-tank rocket fire from multiple angles.

Rocket trails continued to streak into the exposed Ragon soldiers, who likely hadn't expected this small force to be putting out a volume of AT fire usually only carried by much larger Federation units.

Plumes of black smoke began rising in the horizon where Ragon power armour had been struck by Federation AT plasma munitions. Their black smoke from the ongoing engagement began drifting idly through the unusually still martian air, provided further concealment for the assault team making their way back to support the defence of the ships.

[Europa Undivided]

Plumes of black smoke began rising in the horizon where Ragon power armour had been struck by Federation AT plasma munitions. Their black smoke from the ongoing engagement began drifting idly through the unusually still martian air, provided further concealment for the assault team making their way back to support the defence of the ships.

As the battle raged, Nikita had created something of a tactical map based on the drone's sight, marking red triangles as the Imperial Ragon forces, blue triangles as the small groups of friendly forces either holding in the front, like Tuesaaya and her fireteam and the assault group swinging towards the ships, which was composed of Logan, Ivan, and Allison. He used a projector mounted on the wrist of his suit to illuminate said map into existence, allowing the others to see what the drone was seeing in real-time, at least as representations on a map.

"This should make coordinating our efforts easier," Nikita said to Cohen while he activated the other two drones to assist the assault group in defending the ship from the Imperial Ragons. The blaster rifles, two mounted on each drone, would be perhaps more than enough to annoy or hurt the Imperials enough to draw their fire, or maybe even score a kill or two on the wretched transgalactic invaders. "And," Nikita continued, blinking his emerald eyes, "I think I can manage all of these. I can... multitask."

"That would be a first," Nikolai quipped, slightly chuckling in a vain attempt to alleviate the stress of the situation. "I mean, yeah, you're really good at it. Just gotta make sure you don't start bleeding your nose."

"I've..." Nikita frowned. "I've never had a nosebleed."

In the meantime, Ivan and the rest of the assault team stole through the ridges that they used in the attempt to ambush the Imperial sniper with the aid of the smoke screen. He could, however, barely keep up with Allison, whose enhanced strength allowed her to move with speed and dexterity that would befit an Amazonian from a certain movie universe. "Don't leave us hanging, Allison," Ivan called out as he moved with her and Logan. "Or not. Let's just get there as soon as possible."

[Tesserach]

Cpl. Tuesaaya Sanmanee

Tuesaaya, waiting for Cohen's response, glanced at her datalink as she handed off one of the rocket launchers. "Reload this." She said, scuffling into the hillock as she dialed in Nikita's net. "Tuesaaya to Nikita. We used to have a trick - I can't do it anymore but maybe you can. If I start lobbing rockets, can you set the drones to auto-orbit and... connect with the rockets? Guide them into targets you're seeing from the drones?"

[Europa Undivided]

Cpl. Tuesaaya Sanmanee

Tuesaaya, waiting for Cohen's response, glanced at her datalink as she handed off one of the rocket launchers. "Reload this." She said, scuffling into the hillock as she dialed in Nikita's net. "Tuesaaya to Nikita. We used to have a trick - I can't do it anymore but maybe you can. If I start lobbing rockets, can you set the drones to auto-orbit and... connect with the rockets? Guide them into targets you're seeing from the drones?"

"That's a..." Nikita thought about it for one moment. "That's a genius idea! I can set the targeting systems of the drones to paint the Imperial Ragons with markerlights, just like guided missiles of old. After all, our rockets already have guidance systems; it's just a matter of directing them with detectors to hit things beyond line of sight."

With that, he went to work setting the drones to connect to any Federation rockets coming out of either one of the teams holding the front or heading to the ships. The two drones he was about to send out would be configured this way, alongside the one that was already floating just barely within the reddish dust clouds of Mars. "I hope this works perfectly," Nikita thought to himself as he mentally calibrated the drones. "It's just guiding missiles, what could go wrong...?"

[Rynagria]

Cpl. Tuesaaya Sanmanee

"Acknowledged, stand by." Tuesaaya responded as she hit the hillock they were using as cover near the base of the sniper's position, landing with a plume of martian dust nearly 10ft tall. Fire from the sniper position momentarily peppered the hillock but they were safely behind it. Tuesaaya's voice was, characteristically, unphased by either that or the fact they were under-fire.

She gave an annoyed look to O'Hare and the other privates, which was plainly read as: suppress that position even as she chimed over the comms. "Logan, Ivanov, Allison - go help the others and deal with this ship situation. My team will hold here and cover your move."

Corporal Jonah: Currently Mid-Assault

---

Everything had been going textbook until the drone spotted two other Ragon contingents, one moving on the assault team and the other towards the ships. With less defenders, everyone back the entire mission crew has a larger chance of getting overwhelmed. A quick decision to be made, Jonah abruptly stopped his team's advance with a hand signal.

“Caught between a rock and a hard place, eh?” Joked Paxton as he kept up the fire on the sniper position, before ducking back down behind the rock he used as cover, then feeding more ammunition into his rifle. Jonah gave him a momentary glare and responded with a frustrated grunt.

Taking short moment, Jonah replied back. "Loud and clear, Tsueaaya. Wilco. Give 'em hell."

All that effort to get close, only to get told to turn back. He thought with a small sigh.

“Alright! We’ll let Tsueaaya’s team handle the sniper. Logan and Izz, you’re up first! Once you’re back in, Logan grab a heavier weapon if you can, Izz find ammo for that thing. Pax, you and I won’t be far behind from them. We’ll be responsible for retaliatory fire, should the Imps decide to take potshots at anyone else falling back.” Barked the young man to his small team, all of them quickly repositioning themselves in preparation for the move back. Now set, they awaited for Jonah’s command to go.

In the meantime, Ivan and the rest of the assault team stole through the ridges that they used in the attempt to ambush the Imperial sniper with the aid of the smoke screen. He could, however, barely keep up with Allison, whose enhanced strength allowed her to move with speed and dexterity that would befit an Amazonian from a certain movie universe. "Don't leave us hanging, Allison," Ivan called out as he moved with her and Logan. "Or not. Let's just get there as soon as possible."

“Ivan and Allison, my team and I are pulling back to help with the defense, this little maneuver of ours will be pointless if the Rags destroy the ships, you know?… Regardless, Private Paxton and I can provide additional covering fire when the sniper’s been destroyed once we’re set. Just give us a heads up, when you’re ready to move. Catch y'all on the other side.”

When he gestured for his fireteam to return, they all broke out into a full sprint and made their way back. All of them hoping, that the now diminished assault team would be okay.

The run back was far easier and faster than the approach, the chaos of battle in full effect, as the four of them quickly made their way to the trenches, with Lizz jumping in first and Logan dropping down not a moment too soon. Dust, sand, and the smoke had done an excellent job in hiding their presence with not so much as a single shot aimed at them specifically being fired. This made Jonah and Paxton's job a lot easier, following suit in entering the trench. At the same time, Logan had managed to procure an automatic rifle to supplement his first weapon and radioed his NCO back, “Joe, where do you want us positioned? North or South?”

“Stick around with the Resistance Rags, but be prepared to displace and reposition if the South needs a hand. We’ll do the same if need be… Major, my fireteam and I are back in defensive positions. Just give the word, if we need to relocate.”

[Dyelli Beybi]

Rebecca Cohen

Cpl. Tuesaaya Sanmanee
...

Tuesaaya cut back in. "Be advised HQ, I assess our current pos..." the transmission cut out again amidst a hail of blaster fire and heavy breathing. "... I assess our current positions as..." She cut out again.

"...back blast clear!"

An explosion was heard in the background of the mic. The result was inaudible in the thin martian atmosphere, but even from her position Cohen could feel the faint tremor in the ground. "...standby..." There was a grunt of effort over the still open comm as Tuesaaya clearly did something requiring exertion. "Be advised I assess our current position as highly effective. Please advise you still want us to displace, Over."

....

"When you run out of rockets, fall back." Cohen responded, leaving it at that.

---

Corporal Jonah: Currently Mid-Assault
...

“Ivan and Allison, my team and I are pulling back to help with the defense, this little maneuver of ours will be pointless if the Rags destroy the ships, you know?… Regardless, Private Paxton and I can provide additional covering fire when the sniper’s been destroyed once we’re set. Just give us a heads up, when you’re ready to move. Catch y'all on the other side.”

When he gestured for his fireteam to return, they all broke out into a full sprint and made their way back. All of them hoping, that the now diminished assault team would be okay.

The run back was far easier and faster than the approach, the chaos of battle in full effect, as the four of them quickly made their way to the trenches, with Lizz jumping in first and Logan dropping down not a moment too soon. Dust, sand, and the smoke had done an excellent job in hiding their presence with not so much as a single shot aimed at them specifically being fired. This made Jonah and Paxton's job a lot easier, following suit in entering the trench. At the same time, Logan had managed to procure an automatic rifle to supplement his first weapon and radioed his NCO back, “Joe, where do you want us positioned? North or South?”

“Stick around with the Resistance Rags, but be prepared to displace and reposition if the South needs a hand. We’ll do the same if need be… Major, my fireteam and I are back in defensive positions. Just give the word, if we need to relocate.”

Jonah had made a good call as, almost as soon as he arrived back to where the ships were, they came under attack and by the time Jonah arrived the resistance forces had been partially driven down from the heights surrounding where the ships were in position. There were a number of dead on both sides, huge hulking bodies strewn amongst the rocks. Hannah was there firing from a position behind a boulder that would have afforded little cover to one of the reptilians. A blaster shot narrowly missed her, sending a shower of shattered rocks into her face. She fell back in the dust. Anyone who was close enough would be able to see her helmet was cracked and leaking oxygen, "I'm falling back to the ship!" she called, "Need a new helmet."

She dropped from her position, sliding down the slope towards the ships, leaving a plume of dust in her wake. The odd shot was directed her way, though the Imperial forces seemed more interested in driving the remainder of the Orphans and Resistance fighters off the ridge... apart from one ragon, equipped with a huge cannon on it's back. It hunkered down, the close-to impenetrable armoured crown of it's helmet the only part of it visible over the rocks. Then the cannon began to fire, massive blasts of energy at three second intervals that sent a shockwave that raised a great dust cloud around the creature.

From the air, they could see another Ragon had brought in an external power supply for the weapon. It was the kind of monstrosity that even Allison or Scott would falter under the weight of... It hit the Ragon ship. There was a purple flash where the shield absorbed it. It continued firing and quickly it became apparent that the shield was giving way. Tendrils of energy seemed to snake inwards from the otherwise invisible barrier, inching closer with each hit.

"If anyone has something to deal with that, take that gun out!" Cohen called from wherever she was on the bridge.

A moment later a shot slammed into an engine. There was a burst of fire, followed by a plume of noxious looking black smoke.

[Tesserach]

Cpl. Tuesaaya Sanmanee

The transmission back from the forward position crackled with a static-clad fascimile of Tuesaaya's voice. "Copy command. We'll be brief."

Having difficulty, and no doubt wondering just how many goddamn AT rockets a single fire team of lousy humanoids could possibly have out there they'd re-enforced the sniper position and focussed on suppressing the position. No doubt they thought the position largely overcome when when Tuesaaya and her team stopped peaking their heads up to fire rockets at them and they could start moving their forces forward.

Only for rockets to continue firing high, only - with Nikita's help - only to start acquiring targets only after becoming airborne and course changing to fly directly into them. Another scramble for cover, only for the rockets to hit them there as well. With Tuesaaya directing fire from behind cover with a small rangefinding periscope.

Black smoke poured over the battlefield from smoking ragon battle armour until the distant wastes, hill, and the forward fireteam's position were obscured from the trench positions by smoke and dust. Visible only by the exchange of blaster fire raining down upon it and the flare of a rocket engine plume in the smoke, rising up breaking the rolling bank of smoke cloud, contrasted against the martian sky, before pitching downward and beginning a violent descent back down to silence whichever guns had been firing at them.

"Tuesaaya to command, we're down to our last three rockets. We're pulling back. Be advised..." Tuesaaya's voice began, interrupted briefly by repeated flashes of Ragon blasterfire.

"Contact close!" Someone else's voice crackled, picked up by Tuesaaya's helmet mic broadcast. "They're assaulting out of the smoke!"

Tuesaaya continued her broadcast. "... we have wounded, and I am leaking oxygen. Standby Command."

There was a sudden, furious, exchange of flashes visible through the rolling bank of smoke from the trenches. Punctuated at the end by one large one, an explosion large enough to be heard distinctly in spite of the thin martian air, but more so felt by the tremors in the ground. A plume of cloud rose high, high up into the Martian sky, marking where the forward fire position had once been.

There was no radio communication back from Tuesaaya however, no matter how many calls were made.

There were no more flashes. No more explosions or rockets fired.

Just silence.

[Rynagria]

Rebecca Cohen
From the air, they could see another Ragon had brought in an external power supply for the weapon. It was the kind of monstrosity that even Allison or Scott would falter under the weight of... It hit the Ragon ship. There was a purple flash where the shield absorbed it. It continued firing and quickly it became apparent that the shield was giving way. Tendrils of energy seemed to snake inwards from the otherwise invisible barrier, inching closer with each hit.

"If anyone has something to deal with that, take that gun out!" Cohen called from wherever she was on the bridge.

A moment later a shot slammed into an engine. There was a burst of fire, followed by a plume of noxious looking black smoke.

Corporal Jonah Maldonado: Defending the Ship

---

“Sir, new target! A heavy weapon of some kind targeting the ships! LOS is zero! I repeat, LOS is zero!” Informed Elizabeth over the team comms, as she continued to fire at the advancing Imperial Ragon, the sound of the harsh bark of Logan’s newly acquired automatic rifle being heard in the background.

More problems, great.

Taking a deep breath, Jonah gave a response. “Logan, maintain fire on the Ragon you can effectively engage. Liz, your position. It still has plenty of munitions and other weapon systems around, correct? There should be some rifle grenades there. Use those to engage heavy weapons, I’ll send Pax over to assist in just a bit. How copy?”

“Affirmative, sir. Wilco.” Was the response given, Jonah wasting no time to relay this to the only subordinate around him. Once done, the other private made a beeline for his other fireteam members. Upon arrival, Paxton and Elizabeth hastily configured their bolt-action rifles for grenade launching duties. In a matter of less than a minute, a small puff of martian dust being kicked up was seen in the periphery of Jonah, a clear indication of the firing of the rifle grenades. But these were sure to fall short, as they landed a good 100 meters off the target.

His full attention now invested in the disabling of the large gun, he aided in getting genades closer to the target. “Volley landed short and to the left! Adjust the range for 100 meters further.” Following his instructions, another volley was fired from the pair of grenadiers, landing closer to the weapon. Relaying another set of instructions, Jonah would watch as another duo of rifle grenades flew through the void, expecting a direct hit or a near miss.

Cpl. Tuesaaya Sanmanee
There was a sudden, furious, exchange of flashes visible through the rolling bank of smoke from the trenches. Punctuated at the end by one large one, an explosion large enough to be heard distinctly in spite of the thin martian air, but more so felt by the tremors in the ground. A plume of cloud rose high, high up into the Martian sky, marking where the forward fire position had once been.

There was no radio communication back from Tuesaaya however, no matter how many calls were made.

There were no more flashes. No more explosions or rockets fired.

Just silence.

While they were still on the backfoot, Jonah had hope. There was only victory ahead and that like the most recent battles of the past, they would emerge victorious once more. This was especially the case if the assault team can just keep up the fire a tiny bit longer, rocket, blasters, or otherwise.

Suddenly the ground shook and Jonah saw a large plume of Martian dust erupt from the position of Tuesaaya’s team. His eyes widening in shock, Maldonado's heart skipped a beat before sinking slightly in despair, expecting the worst of the situation. Of course, he wanted to voice his concerns but that wouldn’t change anything, he needed to stay focused for the coming moments ahead. Although, enough guilt lingered in his head, a small voice saying that they should have stayed there to help out, it seemed to get louder and louder. Before it could continue, his thoughts were interrupted by one of his subordinates talking over their team comms.

“What the-….. Joe, they just took ou-“ Logan began, but was stopped by Elizabeth, non-verbally telling him to keep his attention on the advancing Ragon. In which the young private did, forcing himself to place his worries in the back of his mind. The other two had understood that it would be best to simply do what they can.

In the meantime, Jonah attempted to raise anybody from the forward position. Tuesaaya, Ivan, Allison, O’Hare, everyone single one on that group left up there. When all he received was static, Jonah could only sigh, what else could he do?… An idea came into his mind.

“Nikita, can you confirm the status of the assault team, over?”

[Europa Undivided]

In the meantime, Jonah attempted to raise anybody from the forward position. Tuesaaya, Ivan, Allison, O’Hare, everyone single one on that group left up there. When all he received was static, Jonah could only sigh, what else could he do?… An idea came into his mind.

“Nikita, can you confirm the status of the assault team, over?”

Nikita's heart had sunken when his spotting drone up in the sky registered a conflagration of fire and smoke emanating from the assault team's position. The last few transmissions there were garbled, with the only two certainties being that they had wounded and were out of rockets to fire. "I can try. But the pillar of smoke is obscuring all visuals even from above, so unless I get a drone closer and make it vulnerable to enemy fire from the ground, I have to wait for the winds to blow it away... except, the winds here on Mars are really weak, so that will take a while... I'm sending down one drone to check on their former position, and another to the ships."

With that, the two drones that had just launched off flew off in two different directions, with one moving towards the pillar of smoke that rose high in the Martian sky, descending closer and closer to the ground to ascertain the fate of their assault team. Nikita hoped beyond hope that the explosion, whatever it was, hadn't taken them out.

In the meantime, the other drone sped off towards the brewing battle near the landing places of the ships, which hosted a desperate battle between the Imperials and the Army of the Light. He was quick to spot that the gun, as Cohen had stated, was dealing damage even to the notoriously tough Ragon ship. Seeing that their tickets out of this forsaken planet were being damaged, Nikita immediately contacted Jonah and his group. "Do any of you have rockets left? I can link the targeting system of the drones to the rockets and send them downward after they're airborne."

In the meantime, Ivan had been marching alongside Allison and Logan towards the ship when the explosion had ripped through the Martian air. The atmosphere here was considerably thinner than the one on Earth, so for a detonation to be heard at such volumes here would mean that it was particularly powerful. The man could little more than sigh as he looked up at the pillar of smoke, thankful that he and the others in the group had left before whatever conflagration had hit their companions landed. Hopefully, Tuesaaya, that strange contraption of machinery and alien that was, frankly, in dire need of repair, survived the blast. If she could survive for as long as she did, then this should be nothing. Right?

Soon enough, the group had just about reached the general area where the ships were located. Ivan began laying down precise shots with his blaster rifle, though he aimed for the gun itself. He hoped that the thing didn't have a shield for some reason, because that would be the most irritating thing he'd ever had to deal with.

Hannah was there firing from a position behind a boulder that would have afforded little cover to one of the reptilians. A blaster shot narrowly missed her, sending a shower of shattered rocks into her face. She fell back in the dust. Anyone who was close enough would be able to see her helmet was cracked and leaking oxygen, "I'm falling back to the ship!" she called, "Need a new helmet."

Ivan waved her off as Hannah exited the fight and fled back to the ship. With a leak like that, one could expect the oxygen supply to last at least a few more minutes. Though he considered escorting her, he reminded himself that this was a very capable woman that can handle herself. Getting a new helmet from the ship wouldn't be much of a deal...

Meanwhile, Nikolai had gone with the rest of the group to the north side of the Crater, where the ships were parked. He had already transformed into his icy avian form, though he kept himself in a shrunken state so as to not give himself a timer. If there were no rockets left for Nikita to redirect, and grenade launchers proved inadequate in actually hitting the weapon, then he may have to go and freeze it from above, diving in like the extinct peregrine falcon.

[Dyelli Beybi]

Rebecca Cohen

Amidst the chaos, one of the sibilant ragon voices sounded over the comms, "We are ready to fire the weapon," it reported.

"Fire it, now!" Rebecca ordered without even a hint of hesitation, "Everyone, fall back to the Nebuchadnezzar!" It was their only chance to escape alive. If they lost the ship then the Ragons could pick them off... or just leave them to run out of oxygen. Either way it wouldn't end well. She would remain here, provide cover, then drop down the slope like Hannah had when the moment was right.

The beam that fired seemed as bright as the sun, blinding even from behind closed eyes and a tinted helmet, lancing up into space, straight as a beam. If looked at sideways it was an awe inspiring sight. Thankfully it drew the intention of the Imperials as well and as the Ragon Resistance fighters, Orphans and others scampered for the cover of the ship, for a few moments the assault slackened, enough at least to allow them to break contact.

There were a few moments, then a sound. The sound seemed to come from inside the head of each and every person, echoing in their skull, a bone-chilling scream of pure hatred from something so alien, so malevolent that to look upon it would surely be like gazing into the abyss. There was a pause, then the same Ragon as before called, "Something is wrong!" Which was both obvious and a colossal understatement.

A few moments later Newton's voice came over the comms, "We are picking up ships coming through the wormhole. Lots of ships! They are... I have no idea what they are."

Rebecca felt it, a primal fear that gnawed at her gut. What the hell had they just done? "To the ship!" she called again, "Run like your lives depend on it!" she had a very strong feeling they did. She paused for a moment, then dropped off the ridge, sliding down the slope as Hannah had a few minutes before, kicking up a red cloud that quickly obscured the ships, one burning and one not, from sight. God, she hoped 'Tali was making quick time...

---

Meanwhile on the Nebuchadnezzar...

They were being ordered back to the ship so Hannah didn't try to replace her helmet. She was still a bit shaken by what had happened earlier. She had got to the bottom of the slope and for a moment had almost run to the Ragon ship, before thinking they were more likely to have dhasath sized gear on the Nebuchadnezzar. If she had gone the other way she might not have survived. Yes, some of the crew had managed to evacuate, but it hadn't been everyone.

Biting her lip in worry at what might be happening to her friends, old and new, she trotted up to the bridge. Scott was there. He favoured he with one of his more suspicious glares. The kind her reserved for deeply suspicious people, "Brown, what are you doing up here."

"I broke my helmet and took it off, so I can't hear anybody's comms anymore," she explained to him, keeping it friendly. She'd win him over sooner or later, "I wanted to hear so I know who's okay."

He grunted, "The older Cohen is fine. You can stay. Don't get in the way."

"You know," Newton mused, twisting in her seat to look back at the pair of them, "The data from that chip is starting to look a bit more relevant. I said it was to take a ship through a fleet, and I'm starting to think it might be for that fleet. Except it has been in that cave for God-knows-how-long. Spooky."

[Europa Undivided]

Rebecca felt it, a primal fear that gnawed at her gut. What the hell had they just done? "To the ship!" she called again, "Run like your lives depend on it!" she had a very strong feeling they did. She paused for a moment, then dropped off the ridge, sliding down the slope as Hannah had a few minutes before, kicking up a red cloud that quickly obscured the ships, one burning and one not, from sight. God, she hoped 'Tali was making quick time...

With the evacuation order sounded after the mind-grating scream that consumed everyone's minds for a few seconds, Nikita did the next best thing he could to help cover everyone's retreat. The trio of drones converged around him and his companions, laying down a withering hail of blaster fire that peppered the martian rocks and dust. Rusty plumes of dust erupted as the drones pressed on their relentless barrage in an effort to keep the Imperial Ragons distracted from their efforts. Explosions peppered the ground as Imperial forces, the Orphans, and the Army of the Light fought; the former sought to hamper the retreat, whilst the other two had broken into a full retreat to their ships. Nikita felt vindicated as one of the gargantuan beasts fell facefirst to the ground as blaster bolts riddled holes into its body. In exchange, a whole squad of Orphans, whose names he never knew, died as they tried to fight a delaying action to allow the rest of their comrades to retreat. Two of his drones had been sent to their sight to help them out, laying down covering fire, but he could only do so much while running towards the ships-

Nikita was flung to the ground as an explosion lit up behind him. To his momentary horror, his helmet didn't just have a hole; the visor had shattered, exposing him to the oxygen-less atmosphere of Mars. The drones reverted to base protocols as Nikita lost all control over them, gasping for air whilst trying to get to the Nebuchadnezzar. He could see the ship just in front of him now. Just a few more meters...

Nikita genuinely thought that he would die until a pair of hands put a new helmet over his head. Nikita looked around just in time to see brother without a helmet. He had obviously just phased back from his icy phoenix form, presumably to help Nikita with his breathing problem.

"Nikolai, you're-"

"I will not need one," Nikolai answered as his own metahuman powers, granted by the mad experiments of Prefeton the not-island, went to work again. Within a span of a moment, he had turned into a phoenix of ice, a state in which he presumably didn't really need a helmet to breathe.

Nikita hesitated, but his brother would have none of it. "Go in now, before you break your helmet again," he said with a commanding tone as he looked around for anyone else that might need help. With that, Nikita fled into the Nebuchadnezzar. Once he was inside, he nearly stumbled into the bridge, and saw that the second Hannah, Scott, and Newton were already there. He had just caught the tail of their conversation.

I said it was to take a ship through a fleet, and I'm starting to think it might be for that fleet. Except it has been in that cave for God-knows-how-long. Spooky."

"Does it matter how it got there if it can tell us how to safely bypass the incoming fleet?" Nikita asked. "We could always... discuss any theories later."

On the meantime, Ivan had been running into the Nebuchadnezzar, just like everyone else. He spotted an Imperial Ragon getting dangerously close, prompting him to take one of the flash grenades and throw it in the beast's general direction. The ensuing flash and guttural roar told Ivan that he had distracted the creature just enough for him and the rest of his companions to cross the distance to the Nebuchadnezzar. The rusty dunes, though, were, despite their best efforts, strewn with the dead of both sides. Orphans that had been running to the ships got shot down, the high-powered weapons of the Imperial Ragons pretty much guaranteed to kill anyone with a direct hit. Already, Ivan counted that they'd be escaping with, at best, a third of their original number, though he hoped that there would be more.

Nevertheless, this was just how war operates. There can only be loss and more loss. Except, there seemed to be some kind of unwelcome third party that would, for all he knew, strike both the Federation and Ragon Empire without prejudice. There was also the matter of the hateful scream that had drilled itself into everyone's minds; even as he ran, Ivan still shook within. If he were to decide, he'd say that whatever it was, a "demon" would be a fitting descriptor.

Ivan soon stumbled into the Nebuchadnezzar, and was quickly followed by Nikolai, who flew in as a full-sized phoenix as opposed to using his shrunken state. Outside were two Imperial Ragons that had been frozen in place, though far more were coming.

"What the hell is happening?" Ivan managed as he slung his blaster rifle. "We're... ugh. Can we get out of here now?"

[Tesserach]

Pfc. O'Hare

Two figures hobble over wafting red martian sand, their footprints drifting back into the horizon.

"I can't feel my legs." The one figure says.

"That's the tourniquets." The other replies, pulling them both forward another step. "You gotta keep your legs under ya bud. Mine are fucked too!"

"Fuck." The first figure tripped over their feet again, it was all the second could do to keep them both standing. Ragon fire was still passing by them on either side in the distance, the flashes distinctly visible.

"Just a little further." The second figure assured the first. Lungs and legs were burning. The goal was in sight. He waived frantically. "Friendlies! Friendlies! Almost there. Fucking roasted those lizards and we fucking made it!"

"Good, good." The first figure said, trying to convince themself.

The second figure waived again. "We need a medic! Fuck, anyone!"

Finally he saw movement further back.

"Hey!" They couldn't respond. He threw a rock to get their attention.

Finally someone came over. The second figure helped the first settle on the dirt.

"Where is everyone? We need a fucking medic here!"

"We're pulling out. Everyones pulling back to the ship." The looked over at the private who collapsed in the sand. "Can he walk?"

"He can if you fucking help me carry him."

"Were you weapons? Anyone else with you?"

The second figure was bracing himself under the private's arm as they prepared to lift him. "Just us. Powers is gone. The corporal, we just couldn't fucking move her."

The soldier standing there said nothing to this. Instead he was on the radio. "We got two survivors from the forward weapons fireteam. Their comms are out, they confirm one KIA, and one wounded that was too heavy to move. We're moving to you now but they're in pretty rough shape and we are exchanging fire with the lead Imperial elements."

---

Tuesaaya came to again, looking up towards the Martian sky. All around there was unearthly silence. Just the sound of her breathing, and air now moving through her patched up suit.

She ran her hand along the umbilical line, from her back to the dead ragon next to her

The ragon's dead face - exposed to martian air through its broken faceplate stared lifelessly back at her. She was thankful, at least, she didn't have to smell it.

The ragon's battle armour was depressurized, but - she remembered now - the ragon's rebreather unit was still functioning. She'd closed the bypass valve and cut into the line. Must have lost consciousness again.

The smoke had cleared, or rather, moved off into the distance. The battle had moved on without her.

Shifting in place Tuesaaya could feel where she'd been shot. Most humanoids would be dead right now she reflected. Her attention was suddenly drawn by nearby blaster fire. Three rounds into Power's already lifeless body.

Tuesaaya tucked herself in close beneath the massive dead armoured ragon. The one who'd done the shooting looked around. Tuesaaya felt the footsteps approaching. The ragon was very near now. She could hear it breathing.

Could hear it's sibilant voice calling in their report, their position, the number of dead ragon, and the lone human body they'd claimed in return. They reported the number of spent rocket casings with some astonishment, and also that two survivors footprints had headed off. That was good. It mean O'Hare and Reilly had made it out at least.

The Ragon voice began moving off, while Tuesaaya continued waiting face to face with the dead one.

She remembered how she'd killed it.

---

Earlier

Powers had been screaming.

Tuesaaya had tossed the expended tube on the ground next to him as the strobing flashes of Ragon fire starting cutting swathes out of the dusty martian hillock like a buzzsaw. Within the smoke around them, the flashes illuminated like staccato lightning strikes.

A dozen meters down O'Hare was watching them both questioningly. "When they stop, you put fire out. You got 5 seconds." Tuesaaya reminded them while she leaned her helmet against Powers'. "You're gonna have to tourniquet this yourself. Okay? You hear me? You tourniquet - then reload this." Tuesaaya nudged the expended AT launch tube against the wounded woman. "Nod if you understand."

Despite the wimpering, the soldier nodded.

Rising to her feet Tuesaaya took the other AT tube. "Last round. Once Powers is up, we're gonna move." Tuesaaya called, waiting for the Ragon fire team pinning them to pause and reload. With Nikita's help, they already put a rocket into the other gunner, so at least they couldn't run doubles on them now.

The fire stopped. O'Hare and Reilly were returning their own now.

Tuesaaya thumbed the radio over to command channel. "Tuesaaya to command, we're down to our last three rockets. We're pulling back. Be advised..."

More Ragon fire. From a different direction. Close. Way too close.

O'Hare and his partner were completely suppressed on their end of the hillock.

"Contact close!" O'Hare yelled. "Assaulting out of the smoke!"

Tuesaaya finished her broadcast even as she turned direction back to her kitbag
"... we have wounded, and I am leaking oxygen. Standby Command."

The first Ragon grenade came over the top, landing another right where Tuesaaya had been. Even exploding a distance away she felt the familiar sting of shrapnel. It didn't stop her though, the detonator was primed next to her kitbag.

The second grenade fell just far of O'Hare. There were two armoured ragon, at least, assaulting them then. Reilly's voice now. "They're coming up and over!" The second Ragon grenade went off.

Air hissing, Tuesaaya didn't have time to check on either. She hit the detonator on the mines then scrambled up the hillock to meet the ragon.

The force of the explosion was enormous. Even in Martian atmosphere, even behind the hillock, Tuesaaya felt not only the blast, but the back pressure as thin martian air rushed to refill the vacuum. Dust was falling everywhere, the smoke had been bad, but the dust now had visibility down to almost nothing.

Cresting the hillock, despite the explosions, neither of the two ragon were dead - though neither looked happy. Tuesaaya rose right next to one, scrambling - clearly wounded and disoriented - from its side from where the mine had blasted it onto its back.

The second, slightly further off looked less injured. It's armour still mostly intact though it moved lethargically, still reeling under the concussive force of the mines detonating. Too slowly it noticed Tuesaaya and tried to turn on her, but with a pop, Tuesaaya fired the AT rocket point blank from the hip.

The ragon, armour and all, was carried off all four feet by the blast that hit it - originally designed to destroy vehicles weighing over 60 tonns - even a fully armoured ragon only weighed a fraction of that. It landed with a 10cm hole gaping in its chest even as the power pack in its suit caught fire and began to cook off.

The first Ragon tried to struggle back to its feet, rising unsteadily - the front of its face was scorched. It's armour and faceplate were both damaged, missing pieces even. Tuesaaya could see the oxygen spraying into the Martian air, the blood leaking from its face as it tried, desperately to orient itself.

The rocket tube dropped and Tuesaaya went to her rifle, shooting it directly in the face again - the great beast dropped to the ground as all four legs went out from underneath it as though they were so many wet noodles.

For a moment Tuesaaya thought it might be dead, but then it moved. Tried to rise again.

Tuesaaya, O'Hare and O'Reilly all lit it up at the same time then.

And that was it. Or would have been. If it had only been two.

Because then came the flashes of light. Then the familiar feeling of being shot and shot again. The weightless feeling while the ground rushed forward to meet her. That feeling off falling, hitting the ground. And then rolling. End over end. Light and darkness, light and darkness. Like a dozen slaps to the face and she'd been unable to stop any of it.

And then there'd been nothing at all.