The Battle for Crescent Bay (PT Jungle War/Closed)

[Neu Engollon]

CB HOSPITAL

Lt. Duncan Gerardé sighed, knowing there was little left he could say to Major Sextus to make him keep the other Uli-Schwyz pilots from being tortured, or at least stay and discuss it more. Short of being a traitor, that is. He couldn't really justify that as he wasn't even under much duress and he couldn't even confirm anything had really happened to the other pilots, either. The man was determined to let things take their course, or a damn good negotiator.
"Major, I hope you change your mind. I really do. Keep in mind that you really are the one with all the power here, while I am the prisoner in the bed. You may say different and I know you know better, but...please, rethink this, Major."

CB JAIL

Townsend fought a little as they dragged him to the room from his cell, but he wasn't really putting much effort into it. Finally going limp as they shoved him into the chair. He saw the blood on the floor and the table and finally became a little fearful of what was coming, but he would face it stoically.
The militia commander he had seen earlier with the purple beret stepped forward from the dimly lit rear of the room. "If you give me your name, rank and serial number I am going to break your nose. Now, what flight are you from?"

"Uh...Icarus?"

[Blackhelm Confederacy]

Hospital

"Sadly Lt. Gerarde I think that by this point in conversation you know well that I have no power over the militia. The only one with the power to save your men is you, and the information you possess. Now I ask you a final time, do you have anything you'd like to tell me before I go?" The major said from the doorway.

CB Jail

"Icarus flight. Good. And how many aircraft are in this Icarus flight?" The commander asked, not realizing that the American was feeding him BS

[Neu Engollon]

CB HOSPITAL

Gerardé sighed again,
"No Major, I don't think so. That was it. I hope you survive and I get to talk to you when the tables are reversed. Remember this moment."

CB JAIL

Everett sighed and steeled himself once more.
"Well, sir, ya got me...just the one. You see, my feathers melted off..."

[Blackhelm Confederacy]

Hospital

"Very well then" the major sighed. "Nurses will be in to check on you on the hour. Have a good nigh lieutenant" he said before leaving Duncan to himself.

Jail

The commander realized he was being toyed with and punched Everett in his nose. "So, we have a comedian in our midst eh?" he asked before pulling out his sidearm and holding it to Everetts head. "I don't like comedians" he said letting several seconds pass before he pulled the trigger. *click*

"Tell me what I want and make this easy on yourself"

[Neu Engollon]

CB HOSPITAL

Duncan watched as the Major walked out. There was nothing more he could say to make him stay. Some part of him told him to make something up, it didn't have to be truthful, it just had to stall for time.

Maybe he could fight his way out. Duncan Gerardé had grown up scrapping his way through the Tri-Point area of New Giroux, before his family had been able to afford to move to Old Giroux and save him and his brothers and sisters from the dismal, rough life to the outskirts of the Old city, where there was a bit more hope to cling to. He had learned how to fight dirty and make a point. Later, he had some training in the Strettan Air Force, when they were taught escape and evasion, then, when he joined the Uli-Schwyz Air Wing, he had learned even more fighting skills. Granted, it wasn't to the level of the full commando training the soldiers got, but the pilots were given a sort of mini course to get them by.

He hoped he could do something now, but he had his left hand chained to the bed rail. He yanked, then rattled, then yanked some more. He could still extend himself a bit, and tip over the bed if he had to.

"WAIT! MAJOR! We're not done here. I can tell you something! WAIT!" He hoped it wasn't too late.

CB JAIL

Townsend's head ricocheted back when the Militia commander punched him. The blood began to flow freely from his nose. He shook it off, trying to regain his wits, when he felt the gun barrel touch his temple and then the loud click.
Not being able to help himself, he wet his flight suit a little at the loud pop. He realized that he had shut his eyes tight, awaiting the bullet to tunnel through his brain. He slowly opened his squinted eyes.

"Tell me what I want and make this easy on yourself."

"wuh...Yee...ahh...Ok. Wuh? Wuh'd ya wanna know?"


NEARING THE COAST
NORTH OF CRESCENT BAY

Captain Doerfeld was back on the radio, as they could see clear details of the coast, with smoke still pouring from the town off to the right, where the bombs had fallen hours earlier.
"Achtung! Ja, this is it. Remember your positions. We're going high this time. Right in for thee Echo Nine base. All flights watch your formation. Bronze Leader you copy?"

"Yeah, All set Green Leader. We got your six."

"Ja, affirmative. Here we go. Cameras on. Eyes open for bogeys."

The Sabre, Tunnan and MiG jets raced in, climbing to get altitude from the AA positions near the coast that started to send up their flak. They would now see what defenses were 45km north of the Crescent Bay as they would be over jungle almost the entire time. It was time to see what they still had in operation and how much of it.

[Blackhelm Confederacy]

Hospital

The major popped his head back through the doorway. "Yes?"


Jail

"I want to know what flight you are from, and how many aircraft it was made up of" the commander said leaning towards Townsend menacingly.

Coast

At 45 km up the coast the mercenary pilots were going to be running into a whole new batch of AA. The government had positioned four gun batteries every half mile all the way to Albandaea, and while the last pair of airstrikes had knocked out the guns near Crescent Bays immediate coastline by half, there was much more to deal with further out.

Within the jungles, the guns remained silent.

[Neu Engollon]

CB HOSPITAL

Duncan sighed, looking over at the Imperial Exponent Major,
"Alright, so...you're looking for what? How many of us? What the unit is? We...we're from the Alpen Krieger Legion. We have six squadrons. Good start there?" He was taking a big chance, hoping that Sextus wasn't just looking for verification, already knowing that the Neu Engollian mercenaries were of the Uli-Schwyz Regiment. Right now, the lie just had to hold up a few hours until they hit the beaches. He would stall as much as he could.

CB JAIL

His moment of weakness over, with blood flowing down his face, Everett Townsend faced the Militia commander and smiled, his teeth turning pink,
"Right, like I said...Icarus Flight...but ya know, I think there were two of us...or maybe that was a gull, I'm not sure..."

NORTHEAST OF CRESCENT BAY

They flew in a wedge shape, the flights coming off from Green in a chevron. Right away, a Tunnan from Orange was hit by flak,

"Green Leader, Orange Six's hit. He's turning back while he's still got power."

"Roger that, Orange Leader. Hang in there."

It was not as thick as when they went in over Crescent Bay itself, but it wasn't clear blue skies, either.
Blue flight spotted targets and moved in, dropping ordnance on what could possibly be trucks or other transport.
Captain Doerfeld was back on the radio,
"Let's save it for around the base, if we can, ja?"

Within 25 minutes, they were there over Echo Nine and circling, having skirted around Klerksdorp. They wagged wings to the friendlies as they swooped over. Then Blue Flight went in, risking closing with the AA to strafe the enemy outside the wire and in the clearings they could find beyond. Kurt saw vehicles, or some other large movement and he started to dive down,

"Green Two and Three, cover me, going in for targets."

Further out, Red Arrow was also pounding targets south of Echo Nine while his Black Arrow Squadron took the north. He watched as one of the MiGs turned into a fireball, tumbling to the jungle floor. He swore, knowing what Captain Vercero must be going through. He pushed on the stick still, having no more time for extraneous thought as the vehicles or possibly tents loomed larger. He toggled the release and felt his Sabre jump up. Rather than fight it, he went with it, riding quickly up as his wingmen looked out for enemy air.

Soon, they would unleash the rest of their ordnance, including the fire bombs, and sprint for the safety of the carriers, only to do this all over again in a few more hours. They just had to survive the now.

[Blackhelm Confederacy]

Hospital

The major sighed before taking a photograph from his breast pocket and handing it to Duncan. "If you are from this legion as you claim, care to explain the roundels on your aircraft?"

Jail

The militia commander roared out in anger before throwing a fist into Townsend's face again. "I will break you" he said before ordering the guards to take the prisoner back to his cell to kneel on his grain once more.

Near the firebase

Still the seventy guns hidden in the jungle sat silent, even as the enemy aircraft pounded the forces assaulting the Panzermmian base. The men on the ground cheered wildly as a lucky catch from the heavy machine guns they had managed to catch a MiG and bring her down but this was quickly shut down as the militia attack against the flank that had previously been underway was virtually incinerated. The attack was now halted, but mortars and sniper fire would continue as the Imperial troops regrouped and planned their next move.

[Neu Engollon]

CRESCENT BAY HOSPITAL

Major Sextus sighed before taking a photograph from his breast pocket and handing it to Duncan. "If you are from this legion as you claim, care to explain the roundels on your aircraft?"

"Ah, Yes, Cheers. Leased aircraft that we haven't had a chance to paint over. Not sure who's they were originally. I realize that jet fighters are rather new and not so easy to come by, but I think the original purchasers had to unload them quick, or ended up backing out of a deal...or something to that effect." He watched the Exponent Major's face carefully to gauge how his story was going over. So far, it seemed, not so well.

CRESCENT BAY JAIL

Everett Townsend craned back from the blow to his face. This one was much harder, with more force than the first couple. His nose was still trickling from previously and this one opened up a cut over his eye. No serious damage was done, but the head tends to gush blood a lot easier than most other parts of the body. As they dragged him out and back to his cell, the blood cascaded down. His feet dragged through his own spilt blood and left a bloody, smeared trail behind him all the way back to the cell block.

OVER FIREBASE ECHO NINE

The two squadrons continued to pound and strafe at the forces they could find around the Firebase. Fire bombs were released and cut swaths into the jungle several meters from the Panzermmian fenceline. Napalm was just making its debut, and so hadn't reached the tech and arms shops of the Uli-Schwyz yet, but the firebombing of German and Japanese cities had made quite an impression on them. They had perfected rounds that would perform such tasks on a much smaller scale, and figured it would be perfect to use these as long as they were far enough out from friendly forces.

Several more jets received small arms fire and some minimal damage, but nothing to bring another plane down as the MiG had gone. Finally, Captain Doerfeld made the call,
"All flights, Black and Red, I think we've done all we can do for now. Let's head back."

The fighter/bombers formed up and turned to head out to the coast, most would avoid Klerksdorp, but one flight was tasked to take photos and veer as close as possible. They headed out to do that. A few of the fighters flew over Echo 9 one last time and wagged their wings as if to say, "Adios. Good Luck." They were careful to climb as soon as they cleared the base, to avoid most of the small arms fire still coming up. Two planes started to emit small dark clouds. They immediately went for altitude.

Black Arrow and Red Arrow Squadrons, minus one downed plane, headed West towards safety, fuel, repair and rearming. If they could find more targets and they still had ordnance, they would use it along the way.

[Blackhelm Confederacy]

Hospital

"Friend, your co-captives have already informed us that these are the roundels of the Uli-Schwyz regiment. I already know for whom you fly, I was hoping that there would be no reason to play these games and need to sort through your lies. We simply needed you to verify these facts to justify us keeping you here, and out of reach of the savages in the forest" the major said, looking rather disappointed that the lieutenant had lied to him.

Jail

Townsend was made to kneel back on the coarse grain. In Grimaldi's cell, grain was poured on the ground as well and he too was made to kneel in it.

Jungles

With the atack temporarily halted, the regulars and militia troops began to regroup and plot their next move. The coastal guns would shoot goodbye to the mercenaries mercenaries as the past overhead, hoping to catch one on their way out, but still the jungle guns sat silent. Near Klerksdopr, however, the 2 heavy guns at the entrance to the town and the single 20mm AA gun near the railroad sprung to life, peppering the air with munitions as the enemy aircraft came in close for their pictures. The 20mm gun was under strict orders to maintain its cover (hidden inside a smal storage shed on the side of the tracks with fold away walls) until a passing aircraft was at near point blank range. And so it would wait until it heard the jets of a low flying plane approaching for a buzz over of the train station before opting to expose itself and fill the sky with hundreds of bullets.

[Neu Engollon]

CB HOSPITAL

Duncan reeled from the news, but cycled through his thoughts quick. There might be an element to this, but he was sure that no matter how many pilots they had captive, they couldn't have all broken down within this short span of hours. It was time to attempt to turn the tables one last time,
"Major, you lie! You are the one who lies! You play the games and you control ultimately what happens. I give you one last token chance...You tell your goons in the militia to lay off our pilots and I will make sure they spare you from the gallows when my compatriots take over. Don't give me the bollocks that you have no say in the matter, we know different. You have all the information you need. That is...that your time is very limited before the hammer falls. No more torture, no more crimes. Major, Stop them! DO IT. NOW!"

CB JAIL

Both Townsend and Grenaldi were doing their best to conserve their energy and spirit, knowing that their rescue was coming soon. That or their time on this earth was coming to a close. Bullets to enter the backs of their heads if they were lucky, if not...a more grisly death awaited. Either way, they needed to keep their mouths clamped tight until then. They both went into a limp mode, refusing to cooperate, kneel, walk, crawl or do anything to comply with their captors.

OVER THE COAST

Captain Doerfeld took another sitrep from the pilots of Black Arrow and from the Red Arrow Squadron leader, Captain Vercero. So far, other than the one loss over Echo Nine, they were holding strength, having avoided the worst of the AA. One jet from Red Arrow seemed to be slowly losing altitude. When they neared the fleet, a decision would have to be made as to whether to ditch or to try to land the Tunnan. More than likely, they wouldn't risk damage by coming in hard on to the Panzermmian carrier and jeopardize future operations by attempting the landing. The Saab jet would have to ditch out near the fleet and the pilot eject, awaiting rescue. Some other damage had been inflicted to the planes, but nothing that would interfere with normal flight and a safe return. It had been less of a catastrophic operation than the first strike. Once again, the former Luftwaffe officer hoped that it had been well worth the price in the coming hours.

THE PANZERMMIAN FLEET

Meanwhile, the Uli-Schwyz troops took last minute orders and secured gear before climbing into landing craft. On other ships, similar preparations were happening among the Panzermmian units. Others prepared for a heliborne assault, which, with little known precedents, hadn't been attempted on such a scale before. Especially not from moving aircraft carriers and cruisers. Rotor operations were in their dawning age and had yet to be tested in the coming conflicts of East Asia.

They would be the last of the aircraft aloft, after air support had been launched from the Panzermmian and Uli-Schwyz air fleets to suppress defenses in the closing minutes before the amphibious craft touched the beaches. Several of these would be the same jets returning from Black and Red Arrow Squadrons, refueled, rearmed and with some fresh pilots rotated in to replace the fatiguing men of the previous two missions.

Pilots, sailors and soldiers alike had no recognition or care that they were setting precedents and initiating a new age of warfare. Their only concern was for the next few hours and how many of their comrades would survive to see the next dawn after.

[Blackhelm Confederacy]

Hospital

The major sighed. "Come now lieutenant, I have not raised my voice at you. You have no reason to raise yours to me. Its most unbecoming of a man of your rank. Clearly, this experience has shaken you. Hopefully a night's sleep will find you in better spirits in the morning. Sleep well Duncan, you'll likely need it"

And with that the major left. He hadn't gotten much, but from the recent outburst he was confident that he had touched on something, as the mention of the mercenary corps brought about the last tirade.

Jail

The two men did not wish to cooperate. As such the guards were left to toss buckets of freezing water on their captives from time to time. The assumed exhaustion was the cause of the insubordination, and so they figured the routine water dumps would keep the foreigners from the pleasure of sleep.

[Neu Engollon]

CB HOSPITAL

"Come now Lieutenant, I have not raised my voice at you. You have no reason to raise yours to me. It's most unbecoming of a man of your rank. Clearly, this experience has shaken you. Hopefully a night's sleep will find you in better spirits in the morning. Sleep well Duncan, you'll likely need it"

Major Sextus, the Imperial Exponent officer, said with his constant, annoyingly placating voice. He turned and walked out the door, closing it for good this time, as Lt. Duncan Gerardé was left almost in tears at his utter helplessness to save his fellow pilots from further pain and harm.

Gerardé let out frustrated gasps and grunts as he started to yank on the handcuffs attaching him to his bed.

"Bastard!"...*yank*...."Bastard!"...*yank*..."Bloody Bastard!"

He felt his legs and his sides with his free hand. Truthfully, he wasn't in such bad shape that he should be bed ridden, now that he was conscious. He kicked his legs off the opposite side of the bed, taking the bedsheet with them. His chained arm made him bow over the bed, until he stood up, causing some pain to the wrist. He knew he was probably drawing attention and guards. He also knew that if he took the time to think it through, he would come up with a better plan that would not raise the alarm. He didn't have that time. He couldn't think...or focus at all. His thoughts were solely on causing a ruckus and attempting something. He yanked the wrist again, extremely hard and towards him. The bed came with it, tipping over and crashing loudly as it teetered on its side. All the while, pain convulsed through him. Maybe he wasn't as able as he first hoped. His legs and sides were on fire and his head throbbed. Another wave flowed over him of hot, white searing pain and he collapsed on the floor next to the bed, which completed it's 180 to swamp over him. Luckily, the side rails kept it from smothering him. He drifted off, to the streets of Old Giroux.

CB JAIL

Both Townsend and Grenaldi flailed and sputtered as the frigid water hit them. Grenaldi was briefly astonished that they could get water so cold in this tropical hell hole, or afford to waste it on prisoners. Then his thoughts turned to more immediate concerns of pain, shock and the erroding of his will. The Neu Engollian pilot struggled, his arms and legs didn't work and ineffectually kicked and wheeled about. He was starting to feel the pain, but some of it was still pure stubbornness. The only weapon left to him and Townsend, the American, was to use their bodies, if not to hurt, then to impede. His POW survival training on the island, with the Uli-Schwyz flight instructor came back loud and clear: "Slow the enemy down. Make them expend effort to control you, or manipulate you. When your destruction might be assured, use the last asset left. Shear, plain, stubborn defiance."

And so he did. He defied. He became Mule. King of all asses. Or the Mountain Goat, the national animal of Neu Engollon. What did a goat do? It butted and rammed. So he did, and kicked and rammed, and spun, and tried again. What he perceived to be the actions of a fighting goat, was actually the flopping of a dying fish. They were able to secure him much faster and easier due to his diminished strength. With a dislocated shoulder and battered ribs and limbs, his squirming was all that was left, then he went slack with exhaustion, passing out.

In the next cell, Townsend went through similar motions, to also similar results. No avail.

PRN OSTARIMA
PANZERMMIAN FLEET

The Uli-Schwyz Lieutenant stopped outside the room, before being waved through by the Panzermmian marine. He handed a piece of paper to Colonel Hindelhaus, who took it without hesitation.

He looked at the list:

LT Ruizuki Hazakawa
LT Duncan Gerardé
FO Constantin Ermescu
FO Everett Townsend
FO Samuel Grenaldi
FO Guillermo Rodriguez

Six pilots gone. Presumed dead, although at least three chutes had been seen. There was no telling what the enemy had done and if they'd left them alive, or if they simply broke their neck upon hitting the ground. There were still several more missions to fly, and possibly more brave, young pilots to throw their bodies into the grinder. He handed the list to Colonel Klempmann, who took it and laid it gently on the map table, smoothing it out.

"There will be more. You know that. Possibly, we can save some of them. But also, soldiers now are going to make this list, and quickly, maybe by the dozens. It is a deadly dance we do."

Colonel Hindelhaus nodded back without comment, knowing that the Senior Colonel was respecting his flyers in his own way.
Earlier, they had watched as Black and Red Arrow Squadrons landed.

Now, in a couple hours, it was the turn of Gold Arrow, who would be heading up and out to support the Uli soldiers as they made landfall on the northern beaches of Crescent Bay. Panthers and Thunderstreaks to strafe and bomb ahead of the Panzermmian and Uli-Schwyz elite. Further on, the Bells and Sikorsky Chickasaws of Pelican and Ark Squadrons would be dropping troops out into scouted clearings to hop over the manned defenses. Meanwhile, the landing craft were loaded up as dawn's light was still more than a couple hours away.

It was unknown, what power radar the Expos had, but it had to be assumed they might have some of the best technology cranked out by the British and Americans. They'd already shown they had formidable AA batteries, why should radar capability be any different? So, keeping that in mind, they were sure to be in range within the hour or so, as dawn crept closer.

The men were in the holds of the ships and LCs, rechecking the straps on their webbing and packs, a few of their trademark slouch hats, so similar to the Aussie ones, were visible, but most were tucked into the bergens in favor of the round button, paratrooper style helmets. A smattering of M1 Carbines and Tommy guns visible, but for the most part, the majority of the multi-national men that made up the Uli-Schwyz Regiment held their FN-49 rifles and Madsen M-50 SMGs at the ready, or made sure they would survive a dip, with condoms over the barrels and old cut up raincoats covering the rest. The makeshift sheaths were easy to pull off, usually with the tug on a string or a quick yank from the top. All that was left to do was jabber, make verbal bets and do all the things soldiers did before they might go charging to their death.

Additionally, the men of Captain Bhao's Iota Company oiled up their bicycles, reluctant gifts from their comrades in Delta. Meanwhile, Captain Stockbridge's Delta were busy tuning up their motorcycles. Indians, Triumphs and BMWs would hit the streets of Crescent Bay and the roads beyond leading to the jungle.

The officers looked them over and nodded to their NCOs as they kept the men in line and on task, making sure that things didn't unravel in the short few hours they had left. Captain Ensio Rimuinnen, the tough Finn who had survived the Winter War against the Soviets was icily silent as he observed, only making one to two word orders to his subordinate platoon officers of Lambda.

Captain Maurice Genault, the former French Legionaire, smiled and tapped his boot, watching as his men tuned up the machines. Tank Destroyers, Greyhounds, Bren carriers and Saracens would all be gearing for combat in an urban environment. SPAAGs would be brought ashore as well, even though the Expos had yet to show a single plane, fearful of the Uli and Panzer airpower that pounded them, most likely.

It would be a formidable force hitting Crescent Bay and putting the squeeze on the Expos, and that was just Klempmann's troops. The Panzer soldiers were even more numerous and keyed up. They had comrades to save...a much larger incentive than money.

[Blackhelm Confederacy]

Hospital

Two nurses and a guard entered upon hearing the commotion and found the unconscious foreign lieutenant on the ground, crumbled beneath his toppled over bed. The nurses went about lifting him back up into the bed and straightening everything back into order before the guard now cuffed one of his legs to the bed as well, to keep him from getting up and try to pull the bed over again. When the pilot would finally wake up, he would find a small, neatly folded piece of paper resting on his chest. In it, written in a nice cursive script was written

"Lieutenant,

I have been told of your escape attempt. You must know surely that there is no place to go, as you are surrounded by jungle teeming with rather rough militiamen and worse. Should you need anything, do not hesitate to inform the nurses of it, they are at your beck and call. I shall see yo in a few hours, but for now I need my sleep. After that, you will be transferred to the custody of the local unit for transport, and I can not be sure of when I will see you, if at all, after that. Best of luck in your journeys, and try to get some sleep. You will need it.

- Major V. A. Sextus"

CB Jail

Once again a guard woke the pilots with smelling salts. "No resting for you" he sneered at them before walking out of their cells, leaving the men bloodied and broken.

[Neu Engollon]

THE PANZERMMIAN FLEET

The fleet plowed ever forward in the darkness, most certainly crossing the radar detection line. The planes of Gold Arrow, the Black Riders, and a combined squadron of some Red and Black Arrow planes that had been patched up, refueled and re-loaded with ammo prepared to take to the skies. They would launch in about an hour's time, clearing the decks for successive waves. Three flights of the two attack squadrons' sole responsibility was to flush out the rumored Expo air power and destroy it, only diverting to ground targets when opportunity presented. The rest were ground support. The B-29s of the Black Riders would unload on the outskirts of Crescent Bay, closer to the jungle. The guns of the Panzer fleet's best capital ships, including the PRN Ostarima, would be pounding the forward defenses nearer the beach.

As they got within 20 miles off the coast, landing craft were launched as the first salvos from the ships' guns sailed overhead to hit pinpointed bunkers and defenses both in Crescent Bay and up and down the coast. The beaches were actually just to the north of the town, out of sight of potential heavy guns hidden in buildings. The most open stretches were picked, where the trees didn't come to within feet of the surf. Still, there were bound to be some surprises.

A smaller squadron of ships: A cruiser, some corvettes and 3 frigates sailed south towards Espis. They would hit the nearest coastal road that led from that large city to Crescent Bay, thereby impeding easy reinforcing of the Expo garrison.

The Panthers and Thunderstreaks of Gold Arrow sailed in, strafing and bombing as targets were visible. They didn't want to completely turn the city to rubble, but it wasn't for concern of the citizens, so much as it would give the defenders more defensible terrain so early on. As all the planes that could be launched at the moment were cleared off decks, it was time to bring up the Bells and Sikorskys that would ferry in the airborne assault. Timing was everything, and it was sure to take several trips to get all dropped to land, but the first wave needed to be the best equipped in order to form the DZ perimeter.

Five of the planes in the air were the lighter, faster Cessna L-19 Bird Dog flyers, unencumbered by armaments. They would observe the Expo reaction in order to transmit back to the command staff on board the Ostarima where the focus needed to shift and what part of the Panzer/Uli-Schwyz assault was most in trouble. They waited as the allied landing craft cruised by below, watching for the response of Expo guns, both ship and plane killers, which they expected to be in action momentarily. It was doubted the Expos would let the Panzermmians land unchallenged.

CB HOSPITAL AND JAIL

In the hours before the naval and aerial bombardment hit, the Uli-Schwyz prisoners continued to deal with their fate in varying levels of consciousness.

Dawn broke in the hospital room.
Duncan woke up and read the note, crumpling it up. He sneered at his predicament and wasted effort. It was light out, but still no chaos of returned war could be heard in the town. Should the assault have been delayed, he and the other pilots, no telling how many they had in captivity, would be doomed. Shunted further off in the wild Expo jungles and distanced from rescue, their will would be broken down by the militia. He sighed heavily.

[Blackhelm Confederacy]

The ships crossed the radar plane and the alert went throughout the area. Militia men hustled to their positions along the coast and last minute preparations were being undertaken to repel the invaders. Torpedo boats were readied to go at Espis, but not deployed yet, and torpedo bombers and aircraft were getting ready on the runways in case they were needed to strike against the Panzermmian forces.

Hospital

The major walked in. "Have you decided to tell me anything more?" he asked cordially. Hiding on the sides of the door were two members of the militia. Once the foreign lieutenant declined to provide any more information they would burst in and remove him from the room, uncuffing him and then dragging him down the hall to a waiting truck.

Jail

Guards entered the cells and dragged the two bloodied pilots out, tossing them into a different truck from the pilot. Together, the trucks as well as several others would begin a convoy further inland, where the men would be released to a holding camp in the jungle.

[Neu Engollon]

IN CRESCENT BAY

At the hospital, Sextus addressed him one last time:
"Have you decided to tell me anything more?"

Duncan shook his head at Major Sextus, not even bothering to cuss him out. He was totally dejected and disoriented from his rage and mild concussion. He also knew he was spinning his wheels in trying to save any other pilots. Ultimately, his revelation was that he might have kept himself from being able to be closer to his fellow Uli-Schwyz pilots, holding out that he might be of extra value to the Exponential Intelligence apparatus. Any plan to barter for info had completely backfired on him. He stared down the Exponent Army Major, then stared away.

Grenaldi and Townsend, as well, were all spent from their struggles of the night before. They could only put up token squirming and wiggling, to make the guards' job a little annoying at best. They were loaded into the truck without too much trouble, bleeding, ragged and limp.

THE INVASION

The first of the Allied air armada approached the Exponential shores. Some of the Uli-Schwyz Saab Tunnans escorted in the Panzer and Uli-Schwyz C-54 Skymasters. One was hit badly by a direct flak blast, to come crashing down to the jungle, spilling chutes and gear and killing the crew. Two more were damaged to some degree, but kept going. There were many more to take the fallen one's place as they made their way towards Echo Nine, just outside Klerksdorp. Nearing the Dropzones, chutes started to appear with dangling figures underneath. It would be some minutes and some mad scrambling, and probably much expended ammo before the Expo defenders realized that the paratroopers were rubber dressed dummies, that is the ones that actually fell out of the perimeter of Echo Nine. They very much resembled the ones that had been dropped by the Allies on June 5, 1944 over Normandy, except that they were crudely dressed as Panzermmian soldiers.

Out to sea,
The Panzer ships of the Espis Task Force closed to within a little over 20 miles from shore, just in range of their guns to start hitting the city dock area. The torpedo boats were not visible to them, as aerial recon hadn't yet arrived over the city, but they saturated the whole Espis coastal area with heavy shelling to disrupt operations. They moved the bracketing further north, and moved in closer to get at the roads that connected Espis to the northern front, continuing a steady stream of rounds that pounded the roads, docks and buildings closer to the coast.

The landing craft knocked down onto the surf and shot back up. It was as if the pilot was aiming for the roughest waves he could hit. The men in LC 732 hung on for dear life as they saw the little puffs of smoke coming from along the hazy shoreline. They couldn't see them, but little fingers of lead death were zipping out to meet them as they neared the sands and jungle of the Exponent Empire.

Extra time had to be taken to blast through holes in the barrier reef, some of it natural, some of it built up by the Expos, that had been a mile out. Uli-Schwyz and Panzer commando crews in small rafts had paddled up earlier, at night, laying mines to blow holes in the reef, and to disable other Expo mines. It was a long process, but it would save quite a bit of effort and save the crafts vulnerable sides from being exposed to the versatile flak/AT/Anti-ship/anti-personnel guns that the Expo crews seemed to have so many of.

Now the morning had arrived, and with the exception of a couple LCs getting bogged down on the reef and missing the clearings, most were able to navigate through. It may be some time before the craft could be dislodged, and it was more critical that the rest of the craft made it to the beach and unloaded before coming back to ram their stuck brethren off their coral anchorage. In the meantime, everyone hoped the guns didn't sight in on the immobile targets.

Sergeant Arq'aan Vëkha had been too young to have served throughout the Trophy Wars in Trellin, but he had seen the last bloody year of it. It was enough experience for a lifetime, yet here he was, back in the thick of it again. He pushed up his camo net sheathed helmet and looked over his squad. Normally he would say something to steel them up, but they were statues of stone right now. What they really needed was lightening up. Bronzy skin on the Trellinese soldier's cheeks broke with a smile.
"K'uhv! We're ginna get up that beach and stick us some Expos, we'll be partying on a rooftop by noon, yeh? Jus' keep yer heads down and charge up that beach. Cover yer buddy."

"I hear that, Sergeant." An Earadal Corporal replied.

Jet fighters of the Uli-Schwyz Air Wing streaked overhead, tearing towards the Expo jungles and targets unseen. Over to their left, the B-29s of the Black Riders were back in flight further up, already, little black specks of open bomb bay doors showed as they passed over.

To their left, a sudden orange glow lit up another LC. One of the Expo guns had found their mark. Black smoke gushed, with little licks and sparks of flame shooting from the column of charcoal clouds. It had been many of the men from 4th Platoon, Lambda Company. Now they were scrambling up the sides of the bobbing torch, themselves turning little human torches. Those that could rise up from the pool of fire and over the side, dove into the deep water, encumbered by their gear. Most of them drowned, but at least they didn't burn to crisped cinders.

Many of the Zeta Company men in LC 732 couldn't suppress looks of shock as they watched fellow Uli-Schwyzers, some they knew, burn alive a few meters away, and there was nothing they could do about it.
All they could hope for is that each new blast from the Expo flak guns turned to shore guns were answered by the Panzer naval guns that sought them out to extinguish them. Sure enough, a fountain of black and red burst forth, visible even at this distance as a shore battery disintegrated closer in from Rose Beach towards the town.

Rose Beach, their target beach, would be the toughest nut to crack, being closest in to Crescent Bay, unlike Orchid and Tulip beaches, further north. Some of Zeta Company and Delta Company would be landing on Tulip, in support of the mainly Panzermmian force landing there, while Orchid Beach was an all Panzermmian force, with a little of Gamma's arty and Zeta mechanized support. Over 6,000 men, Panzermmian and Uli-Schwyz, would be coming in amphibiously in the first wave to Rose, Tulip and Orchid. That didn't include the follow on wave and heli-borne assaults.

They stood in silence, absorbing what they had witnessed. Some clinging tighter to the sides of the 2 M8 Greyhound APCs that they shared the craft with.
A Neu Engollian private climbed up the assault ramp to peek over towards the beach. Sgt. Vëkha shouted to him,
"I wouldn't do that, Private."

The private ignored him.
"Merd! I can see little pink flashes! It's like Chr- Gplarrggh!!"
The Uli-Schwyz trooper turned around. A lucky round had punched into his throat. From this distance, it didn't have enough force to fling him back, nor did it have the power to pop through the other side of his neck, only tearing it open. The soldier looked down on his comrades in horror, and the soldiers of 6th Platoon, Zeta Company, up at him. His M1 Carbine slid down the ramp. Quickly, the front row started to grab him down, before he slid to the floor of the LC. Sgt. Vëkha fought his way through to the front, practically punching men out of the way to get to the Private.

"COME ON! PASS 'IM BACK!"

In a hazy state of shock, his comrades did so, with equipment clashing and catching from his rucksack and gear to theirs, but he was finally moved to the back. Vëkha had a hold on one strap, his other closed over the gap in the neck to staunch the flow. He dragged the mortally wounded soldier back. It happened so quick that there was nothing Sgt. Vëkha could really do about it. The Neu Engollian private had bled out before reaching the makeshift aid station in the back, leaving a crimson trail down the center of the LC. The medics looked up hopelessly as they slapped a bandage over the neck wound. He was staring glazed and lifeless. They stopped trying to administer any more aid, instead reaching for a body bag.

It was something that destroyed the psyche of even the toughest soldiers. They had watched as one of their comrades died rapidly in front of them, unable yet to take retribution on the enemy, who was still at least a half hour away over the bay. Not to mention the reality that they could end up as another floating torch, like the craft hit minutes earlier.

All that mattered was that Arq'aan get the men snapped out of the shock and into battle mode again. A bunch of mopey, defeated men might as well wander around trying to catch bullets on the beach, like carnival game targets.

"AWRIGHT! K'UHV! Ya wanna live fer ever? Time ta get some fer Hans there and 4th Platoon, Lambda. We're taking Rose Beach, yeh? Last weapon checks, get ready fer the ramp down. We goin' swimmin boys!" He gestured with his blood drenched hands, flinging droplets all over the soldiers that he was trying to motivate and snap out of the horror.

Finally and reluctantly, they all checked their weapons, which were mostly M50 Madsen SMGs and M1 Carbines, with some Thompsons here and there. Unlike many of the infantry that carried the FN-49s, being mechanized infantry they needed the shorter weapons that wouldn't catch on IFV and tank destroyer hatches. Some heavier duty equipment lay in the M8 Greyhounds, ready for when needed, such as flamethrowers and recoilless rifles.

Time stretched as they got closer in to the beach, the craft pilot maneuvering around some obstacles and bunches of wire. The bullets had more force now, so close in.

Per-RAAANG! TOOWWWW! KRAAAK!

They caromed off the front slope of the LC. Then the ramp was lowering and the men dipped and ducked to stay with it, out of the path of the Expo defenders' rounds. Then the first rows launched out, some of the men grunting or letting out little war yelps. The Earadal Corporal tumbled forward and nosed into the surf. It was unclear if he had stumbled or taken some machine gun rounds.

"K'uhv! Go ya lazy bastards! Go! GO! GO!" Sergeant Vëkha urged them on and upward. They moved forward and away from the craft, to give room to the Greyhounds to hit the sand and motor up. The men slogged through the waves as fast as they could, crouching lower but picking up speed as more of their legs were freed from the salty bath. Two more Uli troopers of LC 732 fell to incoming rounds. Greyhound engines revved and the first one was out. In the meantime, the Zeta Company men were ever vigilant for large flashes or any enemy running around with an obvious big tube- an obvious bazooka or Recoil-less rifle. At the moment, no enemy were visible, but they were certainly there and making their presence known. Rounds from the machine guns and sharpshooters further up in the jungle continued to pepper the dunes, flinging up little fountains of sand.

"Go! GO! GO!"

Lambda, Zeta and heavy weapons teams from Gamma Company moved up to seize Rose Beach. Men were dropping to the steady fire from log bunkers up the beach, set into the berms, and off to their right, from town buildings that overlooked the beach. Still, many more were making it to cover and returning fire. Wounded comrades crawling forward were grabbed by their bergens and pulled to safety. At times, this added to the casualty count as the rescuers were bowled over from machine gun rounds themselves.

On all three beaches, Saracens, SPAAGs and Greyhounds were hit by the AT teams and recoilless rifles in these log bunkers. Men spilled out of them, some unable to reach weapons and gear burning up, others unable to reach burning comrades. Near one hit Bren gun carrier, Lambda Company men began to take rounds from it as the ammo cooked off inside and then lanced out in all directions. Response was swift from the Uli-Schwyzers and Panzer troops, grenades were pitched at the bunkers and over the Expo channels of berms. Flamethrower teams came forward and spewed jellied flammable death across the bunkers and into portals. One troublesome bunker on Rose was blasted with one of Gamma's own recoil-less rifles to finally silence it. Resistance dwindled, but still was stubborn.

Another LC had been hit further up the beach and burned, spewing oily black smoke. The ones that were still intact backed up and went into reverse to load up more troops off the ships. Meanwhile, squads and bits of platoons organized from the various Uli-Schwyz elements continued moving up Rose, their primary and immediate goal to knock out the log bunkers and machine gun pits that held up further progress. Gamma company's medium mortars were the next heavy weapon to go into action, landing rounds in past the berms and into the jungle beyond in amongst the Expo defenders. Not only did they have man portable flamethrower teams, but some of the Greyhounds and Saracens that made it ashore were also equipped with flamethrowers.
All in all, it would still be a long morning as they next dealt with the surrounding jungle and closed to the outskirts of the town.

Sgt. Vëkha just had one word for it, "K'UHV!"

[Blackhelm Confederacy]

Hospital

The militia dragged the lieutenant from his bed after handcuffing him and dragged him down the hall to a waiting truck. The major followed behind in a staff car, and together they joined a convoy bound for the prison camp at Klerksdorp.

Beach

Near Espis, the pair of 380mm coastal defense guns, "Lucilla" and "Lucretia", now sprang to life. Guarding each side of the mouth of the harbor, these two massive pieces f equipment let loose from beneath their heavy concrete and steel bunkers, taking aim at the largest ships of the task force sent to do damage to their city. Capable of putting out three massive shells a minute, each shell weighing a solid 1,800 pounds, these guns would hopefully do as much damage as possible to the Panzermmian forces off the coast, and make them regret the day they ever decided to deploy themselves off the coast of the Empire.

The decision was finally made to pull some of the flak cannons from the jungle in order to replace the ones destroyed on the beach. Gun crews quickly began hustling about packing up and hitching their guns to mules, men, and whatever else was readily available to make the trudge towards the shore where they would be needed. Only the ones closest to the coast, about fifteen in all, were to be transported but it was hoped that by doing this they would be able to continue to keep up the merciless ground fire that had by this point begun to die down considerably from the combined air and sea attacks from the foreign invaders.

Meanwhile, shells and bombs fell also upon the men behind the berm. The crews of the Italian made anti-tank guns were working in overtime to pound out as many shells as possible. Able to churn out one fourteen pound shell every six seconds, and capable of reaching out to a range of almost 14,000 yards, these guns were going to try their best to do as much damage as they were able before the inevitable capture of the beach by the better armed and numerically superior forces of the enemy. Still, these guns targeted the incoming transport vessels as often as they were able to, hopefully drowning as many men as possible and destroying any vehicles they carried before they were able to wreak havoc on the shore.

Behind them, the few remaining flak cannons split their duties. Some continued to fire up into the early morning sky in their attempts to throw up as much metal as possible and hopefully knock those wretched marauders out of the sky, while the others depressed their guns and began firing away at the oncoming transport vessels. The focused in on the narrow lanes of approach that the enemy had pounded through the coral, effectively funneling the transports in through a number of bottlenecks which the cannon crews could now use as perfect killzones, spraying away with their deadly flak shells as the invaders approached.

Within Crescent Bay itself, it seemed like chaos was reigning. Militiamen scrambled to establish positions throughout the town as civilians panicked and rushed to leave, clogging the road between the town and Klerksdorp. In windows and around corners all over the place, the men of the local militia vowed to fight their hardest to cause as many casualties for the Panzermmians and their hired guns as they could.

In the jungle too, the men prepared. TM-10 multi-rocket guns were still hidden beneath the canopy, all waiting for the foreigners to get off the coast and cross a certain boundary, upon which they would open up with their rain of rockets. They only had enough for a few volleys before the guns, all mounted on the back of pick up trucks, would need to be abandoned by their crews. Underground tunnels criss-crossed the area as well, allowing the men access to hidden machine guns and firing pits all throughout the region. Other men climbed trees, hidden amongst the dense forestry, and took up positions as snipers. For the enemy, the beach was only the beginning. The jungle held plenty more obstacles to be faced.

On the beach, the mix of militia and regular infantry were giving all that they could. The bolt action rifles they possessed, however, were no match for the enemy's much faster firing guns, and the handful of regular troops that did carry their PM-42 submachine guns were simply not numerous to make a dent. The heavy machine guns posted along the line were the best hope for the troops, but they all certainly had a target on them and were unlikely to survive much longer. Still though, the soldiers lobbed grenades and a number of the militia tossed make shift molotov cocktails to cause whatever damage they could, yet all present knew that once the enemy arrived in number along the beach, one determined charge would be enough to overcome the berm and break the Imperial force. Until that charge came, however, they would continue to fire, continue to throw their bombs, and continue to fight.

Imperial soldier with PM-42 awaiting the landing

At the airfield at Espis, a decision was finally made that none wanted to make. It was finally decided to launch up twelve planes, and attempt to make a sortie against the beach to strafe enemy positions there. They would time it for just after they felt certain that a mercenary strike group had made a pass and was returning to base, but all involved were sure that this would be the last mission of this squadron. The first group of four would attempt to divert the attention of the enemy by taking to the air first and going in to mix it up with the decoy paratroopers, while the second group of eight would take off and head towards the beach. The priority would be to hit the transports as they neared the coast, with orders to actually crash their aircraft into them if the situation seemed to be certain that they were about to be shot down, but if not they would strafe the boats, then swing back and fire against the enemy already on land if they were still able.

The decision to release the torpedo boats and bombers was still being debated, but for now at least these would be held back, awaiting the results of the current air attack.

[Neu Engollon]

CRESCENT BAY
LEAVING THE HOSPITAL

Lt. Duncan Gerardé didn't put up much resistance when he was dragged out of bed and re-cuffed. Primarily as it wasn't a surprise and Major Sextus had all but prepared him for it, if not the brusque manner it would occur. Secondly, because he had seen the futility of resistance and his shallow reservoir of energy. He wanted more strength to take advantage of opportunity on the road. He would need to act as a leader for any other prisoners and be able to snap into action, should the attack still go through later that day. Possibly a nearby shell, or mortar, or even a firefight with Panzer troops taking the road...anything might happen. He had to hope, at least. So he would be Johnny-On-The-Spot when the God of Chaos took over. Duncan was already sizing up the Militia guards dragging him and loading him up onto the truck. The Strettan pilot tried to keep his feet as he was shoved roughly into the back.

He bowed his head and took in a view of his soiled flight suit, trying to hide his renewed disappointment. He was the only one on the truck.
Either they had enough trucks to divide them up, they were heading to different holding camps in the interior, or he was the only Uli-Schwyz or Panzer pilot that had survived capture over the last day. He raised his head back up and steeled himself for the unknown journey.

ESPIS

The squadron of Panzermmian ships continued to pound away, viewing through their binoculars the damage being done. They also received reports from the observing Cessna Bird Dogs that were able to fly near enough to Espis, but keep their distance from the few flak guns in action. Vital support facilities and some of the roads were taking hits, but the large guns that were starting to return fire at the ships were not being phased much by the naval fire. One had taken a direct hit and was still in action, although not churning out nearly the fire of its sister guns. Probably, it had lost some of its crew.

None of the Espis guns had yet hit the Panzermmian ships, but it was only a matter of time as their bracketing closed in and the crews prepared for the worst. It was not taking them very long at all to find the range.

The aerial reports stopped as the Bird Dogs hightailed it back to the carriers. They had seen the enemy AN-8 prop fighters start to launch from the Espis airfield and were not equipped to defend themselves. They might not be the enemy fighters' main targets, but no sense in taking chances. They radioed back the launching of the planes, confirming what the radar operators were already reporting on board various ships of the fleet.

THE LANDING BEACHES

78% of the landing craft made it back to the fleet to reload the second wave of invaders. Besides several more batallions of Panzer troops, it included Zeta Mechanized company and Theta Company, 1st Bn, of the Uli-Schwyz Regiment. Theta Captain Fagulia urged on his NCO's and junior officers as they scrambled into the craft. Zeta Captain Maurice Genault, a former Gaulic Foreign Legionaire, did the same; harrasing the crane operators to double time it in getting the vehicles loaded up onto the LCs. Despite the extreme difficulty of their task in loading up Zeta's armor onto bobbing and dipping craft, they successfully complied.

Meanwhile, on Rose Beach, the first wave moved up, continuing to pepper the Expo bunkers and machine gun pits with as much ordnance as they could heap on them. One flamethrower was lost as MG rounds tore into him and burst the tanks on his back. The Gamma man didn't let out the expected horrific shreik of a man being incinerated. He was overcome too quickly for that.

Aside from the bunkers and defensive pits, the next most vital targets were the Exponential forces' Italian designed flak guns, that were being leveled down from aerial defense duties to tear into the men on the beaches. AT rockets and mortars were directed at pinpointed positions, and spotters were on their wireless radio sets back to the naval guns and to the CAS planes that remained to hit gun sites that were too well hidden from the beach assaulters.

Some of the marksmen of Iota and Lambda Companies had made it to solid cover and were able to pick off some of the Expo defenders that peaked over the berms from time to time. Sergeant Nigel Delman, a former Camelasian veteran, contributed to the hail of lead with his FN-49 rifle from a slight dune a meter up Rose. Exponential rounds rocketed up fountains of sand around him, but like the bodies littered around him of his comrades, he paid it no mind as he went about his deadly work.

In several spots, the berms were breached and the Uli-Schwyzers were in among the Expo men, whipping grenades short distances, with PM-42s trading fire with the various SMGs of the Uli troopers, mostly Madsen M-50s, with a smattering of Stens and Tommy guns. Most of the troopers carried the FN-49 rifle, which was still able to put out at least triple the fire with their stripper clips, in comparison to the Expo militiamen and Imperial soldiers' bolt action C-1941s. Ultimately, firepower was negated as the soldiers were on top of each other, their hot, panicked breath in each others' face. Knife to machete, rifle butt to entrenching tool and fist to clawing hand they dueled it out in the bloody macabre dance of close quarters combat. The Uli mercenaries numbers won out against the tenacious Expo defenders. In the heat of the moment, few prisoners were taken as the Ulis were swept up in red hot battle rage.

Elsewhere, scenes were being repeated on Orchid and Tulip Beaches by the Panzer troops and the outnumbered mix of Expo militia defenders and bolstering Imperial regulars. Tulip Beach was some of the bloodiest fighting seen, even outclassing the brutality of Rose in its fierceness. Colonel Klempmann and Captain Simmins were already making plans to divert their reserve forces for Orchid to help the breakthrough on the middle beach, which was progressing at a slower rate.

On board the carriers, Delta Company loaded up their Indian, BMW and Triumph motorbikes onto the last of the craft. Once the rest of the first wave had breached into the tree cover, they would be hitting the beaches and hitting the light paths and roads to rapidly overtake enemy reinforcements, using their special rapid mobile tactics. Sergeant Vaclav Lovek swore at his men, urging them to take care of the machines that would bear them through the shitstorm ashore, Crescent Bay, and hopefully all the way to Echo Nine. Captain Stockbridge joined in the chorus of his subordinates, although he had a much more fatherly, benevolent tone.

"Come on, lads. Daylight's burnin' now. Load 'em up, chaps."

They watched as the select platoons of air assault troopers took off from the decks above. The Sikorsky Chickasaws would be dropping them in to reinforce the beleaguered troops of Echo Nine. With fixed wing escort, they would blaze their way across the jungle towards the Fire base, hoping to stay somewhat intact as a force in order to relieve the Panzer soldiers within. The worst cases and volunteers would be leaving back out on the return flights. Following, subsequent choppers would bring in supplies and ammo for the remainders and their fresh bolstering comrades. Such an operation had never been tried before, but hinted at in the waning days of the cataclysmic war that tore across the Pacific. As the Americans started to utilize the new hovering contraptions during resupply runs on the last few hops to the Imperial Japanese islands, they had started to draw up plans to use helicopters in more of an offensive role than their originally conceived support missions. Two atomic bombs and a treaty had nullified and made irrelevant further air assault planning.

Many veterans from both sides of the war had found their way to the ranks of the Uli-Schwyz Regiment and with them, they brought some of these revolutionary ideas in warfare that were being developed by their respective sides.
The one most relevant to the Uli-Schwyz had been the use of helicopters in quick, lightning operations. General Caragin and the high command had seized it with both hands and ran with it. They had been unable to use it during the contract against Red China, because of the rapid collapse of the Kuomintang precluded them from establishing a base too far inland. Now, finally, their well rehearsed tactic might come to fruition. Many fingers were crossed.

THE AIR NORTH OF CRESCENT BAY

Word of the sighting of the AN-8's was relayed back to the last of the Black and Red Arrow Squadron fighters that were just launching off the decks to join the fight. Some would continue on to the Klerksdorp-Crescent Bay corridor, while two flights were diverted to intercept the long overdue enemy air.
Currently, much of the air cover from Gold Arrow was starting to dissipitate as they returned for refueling and rearming to the carriers.

It would be a race, as the Expo fighters were sure to reach the beaches before the Uli jet fighters could reach them. Some of the invasion force might suffer, but once the Uli air support would catch up, it was certain that the outdated Expo fighters would face swift and deadly retribution.

On the way out, the Panthers and Thunderstreaks of Gold Arrow made their last passes on enemy positions, expending the last of their bombs and ammo on whatever they could hit or spot, both in the jungle fringes and the beaches.

One Omega Company armored Bren gun carrier and its crew that had advanced far up onto Orchid Beach, fell victim to friendly fire, being farther forward than the CAS planes had suspected the invasion force had reached. They took a strafing from the cannons of a F9F Panther, which tore apart the cab and minced up most of the crew, save one survivor that crawled away wounded.

The two flights of Sabers and MiGs raced in towards the enemy fighters. The lead Saber was piloted by Captain Doerfeld, the former Luftwaffe ace. Like the rest of his pilots, he was more than anxious to finally put paid to the rumored small, but tough Expo Air Force.

[Blackhelm Confederacy]

Beach

Dozens of men lay dead all up and down the beach behind their berm, and many more wounded. The presence of the Panzermmians and their mercenary allies had appeared to simply be too much for the men of the militia, and the addition of flame throwers simply set many of them over their edge. Many grabbed a hold of the nearest wounded or two that they could grab, and dragged them by the suspenders back into the dense jungle, hopefully to buy them some time to get to a field hospital and keep them out of the hands of the enemy. For the most seriously wounded, however, many did not want to risk moving them and so they were left there on the sand to fall into the clutches of the enemy. It was hoped that perhaps they would recieve humane treatment at the hands of their opponents, but not much could be guaranteed.

Not all of the men had departed the berms, however. Some of the more staunch Imperial regulars simply refused to retreat and continued to fight. Many of those still on the line were armed with the rare PM-42, either brought along with them or scavenged from one of their dead countrymen. These men would fight to their last as they swore they would when they took that oath of honor upon joining the army, but even a large number of these stalwart defenders were beginning to melt away into the wilderness as it became apparent that the superior number of the enemy was not about to be stopped by a handful of soldiers and a small hill of sand.

In the Air

The four aircraft that had been set to engage the enemy transport aircraft were now approaching their targets and starting to lose their nerve. They began to climb to almost their service ceiling in an attempt to possibly get a jump on their enemy, but even as they did so all four of the men in the flight kept their hands firmly on the ejector button.

Near the shore, however, the eight fighters had split into two groups and prepared to come in low. Group A was preparing to make a sweep of the beach, and let the 5 guns a on each plane, coupled with a pair of 350lb bombs on the wings and a 2,000lb bomb under the fuselage, tear into the enemy on shore just as they thought they had achieved total victory. The four would dive down, dropping their heaviest bomb first as they came in before targeting vehicles with their smaller bomb pairs and then come in extremely low to let their cannons do the rest of the work. One last little slap to the invader before the beach was completely ceded to them. The other four aircraft of Group B would be a bit further out, over the water. They were to strafe any landing craft still making its way towards shore, with some attention being paid to those boats still stuck out on the reef.

[Neu Engollon]

THE BEACHES NEAR CRESCENT BAY

Upon the beaches, carnage was all around. The Expo Militia had finally been driven off at considerable cost. They fell back to the jungle in a fighting retreat, more falling as the Panzermmian and Uli-Schwyz troopers were hot on their tail.
Vehicles were starting to land in force from the second wave arriving. The Panzer tanks and heavily armed carriers and troop vehicles of the Uli-Schwyz added their dense firepower to the mix, convincing the last of the surviving stalwarts of the Imperial regulars to follow their Militia brethren away from the beachhead. Their main mission was to continue to seek out the Expo flak guns that were still in action and within sight of the sea. They blasted more out of commission.

The Uli-Schwyz troops were heavily skewed towards combat roles, so the Panzermmian logistics and support troops also served to back them up. At the moment, many of these support soldiers were overwhelmed with retrieving the dead and wounded from both sides and bringing them to their proper stations across all three beaches. Medical personnel flitted about trying to triage and treat all the wounded. The Panzer and Uli troops were seen to first. Then, when time and supplies permitted, the Expo wounded were seen to. This guaranteed, unfortunately, that many more of the most severely wounded Exponential soldiers perished before receiving the desperate first aid needed. The rows of body bagged corpses far outnumbered the rows of wounded on stretchers.

On more than one occaision, there was just no possibility of helping the maimed defenders. With the heavy use of flamethrowers to flush them out of their bunkers, more than a handful of the militia and Imperial regulars were found crisped, with charred disintegrating skin, but still technically alive. Unable to move without parts falling off, they could only blink or move their eyes during the last few horribly tragic minutes of their lives.
The allied troopers put merciful bullets in their heads when they came across such horrific cases.

Meanwhile, the allies drove on, expanding the beachheads.
Two large pincers of several hundred Panzer troops pushed out from Orchid and Tulip beaches, with some Uli vehicle support.
Hopefully, they would meet some ways in to the jungle, continuing to punch holes through the layers of defenses as they fought towards Echo Nine.

Uli troopers ride atop a Panzermmian amphibious tank as it rolls on to Tulip Beach.

On Rose Beach, the Uli-Schwyz held the line at the trees, setting up machine guns and snipers to continue to harass retreating Expo forces, but not pursuing much farther. Instead, a small wing drove west to reinforce the drive from Tulip Beach, while the main thrust was east of the beach, into the town of Crescent Bay.

They had dealt with some of the Expo marksmen that were holed up in upper floors overlooking the beach area. When counter sniper fire didn't do the trick, they blasted away with bazookas and panzerschrecks. Finally, they were able to start to infiltrate down the roads on the outskirts. Delta Company, having arrived on Rose Beach with the second wave, were funnelled towards the town, branching off down four roads on their motorbikes to scout ahead for both the infantry and the armored vehicles. Sgt. Lovek led the northernmost group. Fearlessly, the Smertolinan smiled as he shot ahead of the smattering of bullets that chewed up a brick facade behind him. One rider, a young Woodsteasian private in his troop was bowled over and off his Triumph bike by a hail of fire from a PM-42. In return, the rest of the squad slowed as they sprayed towards the offender with their Madsens and Tommy guns. Having dealt with the ambusher, they rolled on to the next intersection.

Back on the beach, command posts were set up by officers of the various companies as they directed their men towards the objectives. They were oblivious to the fact that there might be a blip in air superiority. They were not totally unprepared for the eventuality, as some of the teams from Omega Company set up light AA mobile guns and heavy machine guns on tall tripods on the periphery of the beaches.

Captain Ensio Rimuinnen, Lambda Company commander, was one such officer that was unaware of the danger. Surrounded by a guard contingent, some radio men and other support personnel, he listened on the wireless set worn by a Corporal as one of his platoon lieutenants gave a report from further up in the treeline. The veteran Finnish officer had served under Mannerheim in Karelia as they fought off the onslaught of the Soviet Red Army ten years ago. He had seen a bit of carnage during his career, but none to rival what he had witnessed on Rose Beach. As one of the AN-8s dove from formation and braved the flak and fire, Rimuinnen locked eyes with the distant prop fighter plane. He pushed up his Aussie style slouch hat in order to keep it in view. When he spotted the heavy bomb separate from the silhouette of the Expo fighter, characteristically, the stoic Finn only uttered one word clearly,
"Vittua!"

A second later, the whole command post of Lambda Company was vaporized as the bomb made a direct hit among them.
Elsewhere, Uli and Panzer soldiers scattered as the angry, vengeful Expo fighters tore into them, strafing them with canon fire. Many dropped to the sand to join earlier casualties as they had limbs shredded and large gaping holes were torn into them. The Omega Company heavy weapons teams returned fire, leading the planes as they plunked away on HMGs and light bore AA guns.

Still more damage was done by the marauding Expo fighters as they were able to release some of their payloads on the first passes. Some of Captain Genault's prized APCs and mounds where clusters of men had sheltered were left smoking and derelict, or blasted open craters. Their victory would be short lived as the lead jets of Black Arrow Squadron caught up with the slower propeller driven enemy fighters.

Captain Rimuinnen and the Lambda Co. CP moments before they were wiped out on Rose Beach.

UP IN THE AIR

Captain Doerfeld, in his F-86 Saber, led the attack on the Exponential air squadron that was in turn, attacking the Uli beach invaders. He started to toggle his gun right away as he swooped up from his nearly water-skimming path over the ocean.

"Green Three, break off. Go for the trailing two."

"Roger, Green One."

"Green Five, take the jungle side pair."

"Roger, Cap."

Doerfeld continued to multi-task, but his pilots really needed very little direction as they picked apart the Exponential formation and separated enemy fighters from their wingmen.
They blazed in and through the enemy fighter formation, chewing into them like a thick sandwich.
The only problem they currently faced was constantly overflying their prey.

More jets, the MiG-15s and Saab Tunnans from Red Arrow did figure 8's as they looked for targets along the path of the Chickasaw formation just starting to break in from the fleet. Should the Black Arrow attackers fail to bring down all the Exponential AN-8s, it would fall to them to fend off the enemy from the firebase reinforcements.

Aboard those choppers, Captain Truong Van Bhao's Iota Company prepared for a bumpy ride as they watched the sand below start to transition into the green and tree canopies that meant they were pushing further inland. With that transition came the thicker enemy fire. One Uli commando near one of the Sikorsky bay doors took a round in the face and fell back to his comrades, instantly dead. A few others were hit as rounds penetrated through the floors of the helicopters and lanced upwards through torsos and legs.

Meanwhile, the one flight of MiG-15s raced in towards the remaining four enemy aircraft that were swooping in on the LC transports. As they were out to sea, it took a lot less time for the Red Arrow flight to reach them. One transport was lost, hit and sinking before they could engage the enemy. Their guns lit up as they dove upon the hapless AN-8s.

Everything hinged on moments and seconds of sheer terror.

DEEPER IN THE JUNGLE

They rumbled along, bouncing and banging in the back of the truck.
Sam Grimaldi, suffering through dull, then sharp, waves of pain from his torture, perked up slightly as he heard the distant sounds of explosions and flak. He looked over at Townsend who was currently passed out. Rescue would be coming soon. It had to be their salvation. To think otherwise was swallowing the doom whole.

"Psssst. Townsend! They're here. Finally."

FO Everett Townsend didn't respond or wake up.

OFF THE COAST OF ESPIS

The inevitability finally occurred. One of the Panzermmian frigate escorts was hit by one of the powerful Exponential coastal guns. Still able to keep afloat but severely damaged with considerable loss of life, it was towed away quickly under fire, while the rest of the small squadron of ships gave covering fire, blanketing and trying to do damage to those same coastal guns. Ultimately, the mission was accomplished, so they retreated in hasty, but organized order. Most of the infrastructure they wanted to hinder, had been hit. The only sore point was they hadn't made noticeable progress in taking out those damn fortified coastal guns.

[Blackhelm Confederacy]

In the Jungle
(the mighty jungle, the lion sleeps toniiiiight)

Snipers popped off shots at the enemy as they began to make their way into the thick undergrowth. Hidden machine gun nests, connected into the vast underground tunnel system, would make life a horror for the Panzermmians and their friends, letting them pass before opening up from the rear, or doing their best to enfilade the enemy whenever an ambush party sprung their trap. And traps there would be, as small parties now hid all over the area, waiting for the terrain to force the enemy to loosen their formations and then popping out to attack stragglers while doing their best to avoid large groups of men. Deeper in the jungle was another series of second line defenses, these simply felled trees forming a low wall behind which the majority of the militia that had escaped the beach now waitied, potentially to launch their counter attack if things seemed to favor them but most likely to merely make a kind of speed bump to slow the enemy advance.

The worst thing the enemy would face, however, would arguably be the boobie traps left behind by the fleeing militia. Land mines, punji pits, and a wide variety of other little traps were laid all over the jungle in anticipation of the oncoming enemy. While these traps were deadly, the primary purpose of these were to maim their opponents. Many were only strong enough to blow off a few toes or a foot, just enough to take a soldier out of the fight as well as force his comrades to pull him out of the area. It would be at this point, when small groups of men were making their way to the rear with their wounded, that many of the ambush parties would strike most, many popping straight out of the ground as snipers preyed on the foreigners from overhead.

On the beach

As the plans skimmed their way over the beach below, one of the aircraft could a burst from the enemy ground fire and began puffing out a thick black smoke and slowly started to roll to it's right before its wing clipped the ground, sending the plane and its unfortunate pilot tumbling down the coast before sliding to their final resting place on the sand. For the rest of the planes, however, the incoming enemy was expected, and they all turned and broke for the jungle as soon as the enemy was seen. Even the ones over the ocean broke off, making a strafe of the beach as they past on their way to the lush green treeline. Once over that area, they would fly as low as possible, just over the canopy while alerting the men on the ground that they were passing overhead. Beneath the trees, the crews of the flak cannons eagerly awaited the enemy jets to buzz by in pursuit of the older prop fighters.

Meanwhile, the four aircraft that had sortied against the paratroopers planes had opted to turn back, realizing that any attack on the heavily escorted flights would only end with losses for the IAF.

In Crescent Bay

The militia and the handful of regular soldiers were dug in and preparing to meet the coming attack with a vengeance. Machine guns, snipers, and anti- tanks teams were scattered throughout the city, with small batches of militia often ed with one or two regulars making their way through the rubble. The Imperial troops and their militia allies were by no means about to let this town fall easily, not without at least inflicting significant losses upon the mercenaries sent to take it.

Regular soldier giving militia machine gun team instructions

[Neu Engollon]

ROSE BEACH

A soldier ran up, nearly breathless and greedily gulping down air. By the look of him, he was Spartanian or Prudenesian in his facial features and pallor. Like many of the Uli soldiers still on the beach, he had traded out his helmet for his slouch hat, and it was pushed back and nearly tipped off from his tread across the sand. Other than the recent attack by air, the closer Exponential guns had mostly been silenced near Rose Beach, so the need for helmets was not as pressing.

"Take your time, regain your breath, Private." Major Matarano told him, then glanced at the company COs that had joined him, Captain Fagulia of Theta and Captain Stockbridge of Delta. The other company commanders continued to direct their company's from other spots around the beachhead. Captain Genault was on Tulip Beach. Captain Bhao and his Iota Company were ready to drop into the firebase by chopper to reinforce the heavily seiged Panzer troops.
Colonels Klempmann and Hindelhaus still remained on the Panzer flagship with the fleet. It was not deemed safe yet for them to come to shore, although they were both itching to lead the fight personally.

The officers present looked curious and patient as he was, all the while keeping their peripheral on the constantly evolving situation on Rose Beach. The suicidal enemy AN-8 fighter attack had knocked out more of their manpower than they cared to contemplate, yet they still needed to march on with what they had.

"PFC Ver'Tri'a report...ing, Sir. HQ...Lambda...Company" *gasp* "One of...the enemy...*gasp*...dropped a bomb."

"Yes, we all saw it, PFC." Captain Stockbridge acknowledged.

"It...hit the Lambda...CP, sirs." The Soldier was starting to regain his breath back. "Two officers survived...but are badly wounded."

Major Matarano fought down the panic,
"Was one of the survivors Captain Rimuinnen?"

"...No, sir."

"Merd!"
They all bowed their heads briefly for the crazy brave Finn.

The Major came to a quick decision.
"Captain Fagulia, I'd like you to peel off some of your Lieutenants to help get Lambda back in the fight and organize what's left of their command."

"Right away, Major." He stood up from his crouch and dashed off to have his own quick command staff meeting, and split off some of his officers. PFC Ver'Tri'a followed with his FN-49 in a braced ready position.

"Captain Stockbridge, carry on, get back to your company in town and remember what we talked about. We will be joining you shortly."

"Yes, Sir. Cheers." The former Brit Commando fastwalked a few yards, re-slinging his Tommy gun, then climbed into a sidecar of a Triumph driven by one of his men. They sped off, spraying sand and cutting the palpable air with the scree of the higher pitched motor, which could just be heard over the nearby Panzermmian tanks and Uli armored vehicles still trundling up the beach.

Uli-Schwyz Soldiers from Zeta Company fight their way into the Expo jungle from Rose Beach.

IN THE AIR OVER THE BEACH HEAD

"Keep on them. We need to destroy them. Don't let them get away!"
Captain Doerfeld felt like screaming in his rage, but he kept his voice calm, not blasting the ears of his fellow Uli-Schwyz pilots through the radio channel.

Even though they were far outgunned and outclassed, what was probably the bulk of the Expo Air Force had risked all and came after the invading Panzer and Uli troops on the beaches. It fell on Captain Doerfeld, Green Leader and head of the Black Arrow Squadron, as ultimately a failure to protect those on the ground. It was their primary mission and they had come up short.

One of the AN-8 propeller driven fighters had already been downed by ground fire, cartwheeling across the beach, spewing flaming debris. The rest climbed and raced inland, then dipped back towards the trees, attempting to not be cut off by the pursuing Uli jets. The Sabres and Tunnans cut loose with their canons as they made their initial passes at, then over, the much slower IAF fighters. They banked away to circle and make another effort, waiting their turn in line behind the next attacking wave of Red and Black Arrow fighters that went after the dwindling AN-8s.

As the first retribution wave completed their tight turns, they saw sparks from down below in the jungle canopy. More AA guns were opening up, ready and strategically lined up to make the trail behind the Expo beach attackers a death trap. One of the Tunnans was nicked and rose up, trying to get altitude.

"I'm hit. Heading back!"

"Watch yourselves! Enemy flak opening up." Captain Doerfeld said the unnecessary.

The fighters dodged and weaved to make tougher targets from the ground. Speed helped as they far faster than most aircraft had been before. When they came in line with the Expo fighters at points during their zig-zagging, they mashed the gun toggles of their jet fighters and eyed their handiwork through their sites.

Meanwhile, one flight of the Red Arrow MiG-15s pursued the AN-8s that had looked to be heading towards the rescue air armada heading for Echo Nine. Their turning chicken and heading back to base would not save them, as the Uli fighters were determined to squash any future air resistance from the enemy. They closed on them fast.

IN THE JUNGLE

Sergeant Nigel Delman led his squad in deeper from Tulip Beach as machine gun fire raked above them. They hunkered lower until they were crawling. When they could get behind a palm, they returned fire at the Machine guns and sniper fire. Their progress was halted as the enemy Militia fire became exceptionally heated.
Delman, the former Camelasian turned Uli NCO motioned with his one hand while the other held his FN-49 forward,
"Grenades out!"

It was a risky proposition as an unlucky toss a few inches off could send the hand bombs bouncing off a trunk and back into their faces, but as badly pinned as they were, they were running out of options to shut down the grinder and move forward. Move forward they must.
The men tore the pins out of the explosive eggs in unison and cocked back their hands. Luckily, this time, their aim was true and the grenades sailed through the gaps in the tropical trees. One Corporal had risen up too far and taken a bullet in the shoulder for his troubles.

Other squads nearby were doing the same and trying to work forward.
Sergeant Arq'aan Vëkha led his squad up, near the edge of where the jungle and the town outer road met. They came across another Zeta squad, wiped out to a man, bloody tears showing across their gut sections. They lay sprawled across a ditch, their eyes glazed and staring to the cloud cover above.

"GET DOWN!" Vëkha waved his arm in a flattening gesture.
Just in time, his squad complied as the hidden MG hoping to catch them in the same trap opened up. Heavy slugs and tracers streaked down the road, chipped off building corners and low hanging branches.
The NCO beckoned forward the flamethrower operator they happened to have with them from Gamma Company. They were lucky indeed.

"K'uhv! Win I sayuh go, wee all giv' te coverin' fire!" He stated through his thick Trellinese accent, "Yah let looose wit te flame, ya?"

"Yes, Sergeant." The young Neu Engollian armed with the flamethrower responded. This was the toughest, riskiest part.

"NOW!" Their bullets lanced out from Tommy guns, Madsens and M1 Carbines, as the flamethrower operator darted forward, squeezing the lever on the wide nozzled gun. The jellied gas ignited with a faint 'Whooorp' as it squirted out in a far reaching arch. He swept it back and forth, holding the ignition lever down for one continuous stream.
Howls were heard, then an Imperial soldier and two civvie clad militiamen ran out into the road ahead. The clothes that distinguished the regular trooper from his Militia advisees became indistinguishable as they all charred black from the flames that raced up their bodies.
They didn't suffer long as they were shot down by the SMGs and Carbines of Sergeant Vëkha's squad.

"K'uhv! Wot a hirrible way te die." The Uli NCO's flat tone didn't seem to match the import of his words. He motioned his men on as they gave a wide berth to the still lumps that were three torches in the road. No more heavy machine gun fire greeted them. The fallen squad had been avenged.

Flamethrowers put paid to the Exponential defenders' bunkers and MG pits.

IN CRESCENT BAY

Sgt. Vaclav Lovek peeked around the corner and jerked back again as a barrage of fire blasted at the shop corner. He had his riding goggled down, but his cheeks were stung by the brick chips. Little blood droplets as if from a bad shaving job welled up on them. You would never know it bothered the Smertolinan as he grinned back at his squad. They were of Scout Platoon, Delta Company. The light motorized shock troops.
His bike leaned up against the shop front, handlebar through an already shattered window pane. The rest of his Uli squad sat on their bikes, idling, with their SMGs pointed forward at the street intersection.
"I guess they mean business, eh?" Lovek shrugged at them

He looked across the intersection and again shrugged to Master Sergeant Schuchmann, who's squad seemed to mirror their own in suspended, tense anticipation. Schuchmann pointed back to him, then up the street at the enemy roadblock. The junior NCO nodded. Rank had its privileges.
"Yeah, we're takin' point. Back up yer bikes, and park 'em. Let's try a little stealth up the alley and see what they got in store for us." The men groaned. Not because they would be in the vanguard, but rather the fact that they would have to temporarily leave behind their precious BMWs, Indians and Triumphs to keep quiet and to navigate the narrow alleyway.

"Aw, quit yer griping. We'll come back fer the babies! Get a move on...'fore tha Expees decide to move on us."

Scout Platoon, Delta Company saddles up to ride into Crescent Bay, Tommy guns at the ready.

Elsewhere in the town, the rest of Delta and some Lambda troopers were advancing with mixed results and mounting casualties. The Exponential defenders had not turned tail and run for the jungle as some might hope, rather they were making barricades and debris pile berms to hold up the Uli-Schwyz mercenaries as they pushed further into the burg. The defenders were taking and giving a toll of blood. Explosions rang out as scattered firefights denigrated into grenade tossing and bazooka contests.

Back on the beaches, the new casualties from the surprise air attack and town battles were being brought to the aid stations where overworked Panzer and Uli medics triaged them and continued their radio calls to the fleet for more first aid supplies and plasma. Very few supplies were left for the enemy Exponential wounded they had recovered.

Colonel Klempmann and Captain Simmins had already answered their calls and Sikorskys bearing the supplies were on their way, having had to throw ammo crates and other needed supplies onto the deck in favor of the medical packages. They would return with the critically wounded, then eventually bound by tender to the hospital ship in the fleet. Some majorly wounded would not be risked moving from the beaches, rather treated where they lay. Many would not make it that day and become another dreaded name on a list, moved from the WIA to KIA column.

[Blackhelm Confederacy]

In the air over the jungle

The planes were being shredded one by one, slamming down into the trees in large puffs of smoke. The aircraft had been flying so low that there wasn't even a chance to eject should the enemy land killing blows to the planes, so the best that the pilots could hope for was the slim chance that the thick canopy would be enough to break their impact and give them a chance at surviving. It was little comfort, however, as one by one the planes went down to the far superior mercenary jets. From the ground, however, the flak fire was as thick as ever as it continued to pound away into the sky, filling the air with their deadly clouds.

The other four, those which had decided to turn back and break for home rather than attack the transports had pulled the same move as their comrades racing back from the sea. They too dove down to just above the tree level, and hoped to lure the foreign fighters to within point blank range of the flak below.

Crescent Bay

The battle had reached its peak, and many of the soldiers and militia were beginning to feel that the tide was about to swing against them. Hidden anti-tank cannons continued to pound away from rubble, snipers continued to do their work, and the combined militia/regular squads throughout the city would continue to fight, but it was becoming undeniable now that their numbers were thinned considerably.

One militia squad was proving to be particularly stubborn in its resistance to the oncoming mercenaries, holding a position in the rubble of a house and remaining their despite being up against overwhelming numbers and arms. Finally, however, a round of grenades was tossed in, and despite doing their best to throw as many as they could back at their attackers, the explosions hit home and tore a number apart. forcing the others to flee. Once entering the rubble, the mercenaries would find a number of torn and scorched bodies. Among them was one man, heavily bearded, with his bloodied and burnt beret laying nearby.

Anti tank gun in Crescent Bay

Jungles

The enemy seemed unstoppable, and their flamethrowers were absolutely terrifying, especially tot he militia. While many had been formerly in the military during the last war, many were now wishing they could just go home and let these people go rescue their friends and be gone, rather than be set on fire here in this jungle. Still however much the lines fell back, which they seemed to be doing over and over, the ambushed would continue. Perhaps most aggravating of all for the enemy troops would be the appearance of Imperial forces in positions well behind their lines, appeaing from tunnels and holes, many attempting to drag enemy wounded beneath the ground to their subterranean caverns.

The majority of the men were just praying for night fall. The Imperial army was trained and skilled at night fighting, and here, in their own turf, in their own jungles and with tunnel systems winding their way beneath the ground under their enemies feet they felt confident that they would be able to strike a heavy blow. For now, however, they would fall back to their next line in the forest, and dig in and hope to hold the enemy for just a little longer.

Imperial troops manning a defensive trench in the jungle

[Neu Engollon]

THE AIR OVER CRESCENT BAY & ECHO NINE

They came in low, following two flights from the Red Arrow Squadron that were still hunting down AA guns and other targets in the jungle. While the planes were fast and for the most part able to navigate the flak clouds, they did lose another Tunnan to AA fire. The pilot's chute was visible as it drifted down to the jungle canopy below. The slower moving, more vulnerable S-55 Sikorskys, however, did not fare as well. Over two dozen of the helicopters were loaded down with Iota Company, as well as their folding bicycles on loan from Delta Company. Before they reached the safe zone over Echo Nine, the Panzermmian fire base, three of the helicopters were downed, crashing to the jungle floor below with their 2 crew each and 3 dozen Iota company Uli-Schwyz troopers. Casualties were unknown, but predicted survival rate was extremely low.

Retribution was taken on the offending AAA sites by the Red Arrow Squadron support fighters, as well as the ground support craft of Gold Arrow that were finally arriving on target. Gold Arrow Squadron consisted of a mixed group of aircraft of Bell helicopters fitted with rocket pods and guns, F9F Panthers and F84 Thunder Streaks. While the Bell H-13s were light and highly maneuverable, they had no armor and were vulnerable to ground fire. Out of the 8 Bells, two were lost during crucial minutes near Echo Nine. They joined the Chickasaws at abrupt ends on the heavy foliaged ground of the Exponential Empire. The rest laid heavy fire down on Imperial and militia troops surrounding the beleaguered men of Echo Nine, and of course, the ever pervasive AA guns that were spotted by their fire.

Black Arrow Squadron was the main pursuer of the remainder of enemy fighters still aloft. Captain Doerfeld's Green Flight pursued the flight of four AN-8s that raced away from their aborted attack on the transports. Rather than stay tight to them low and risk so much flak, they had taken to ribboning, that is, they would dive in on the enemy fighters, spraying them with their guns, then swoop back up towards higher altitudes to get away from the Expo AA guns. Two of what was left of Green flight incurred some flak damage all the same, but not enough to warrant breaking off the counterattack.

ECHO NINE

The members of Iota Company that survived, quickly disembarked into the fire base amid the chaos, the S-55s taking as quick a rotation as possible, while the Panzermmians provided cover fire launching fierce barrages out at their attackers from mortar teams and howitzers, counter snipers and machine gunners. Captain Truong Van Bhao and a small complement of HQ officers ran out from one of the Sikorskys, directed by a base soldier to where they needed to meet the Panzermmian CO and start coordination. He ducked into a fortified bunker and introduced himself and his men. Hopes rose with the Panzermmian troops now that reinforcements were here and the prospect of rescue seemed closer.

IN THE JUNGLE

Trying to fight their way forward, the Panzer troops off Orchid and Tulip beaches weren't able to get much further than a couple kilometers into the trees, and at some points, even less, as the Expo Imperial and militia troops continued to spring their traps, ambushes, and hop out behind the advancing invaders from their trapdoors. Rarely was fighting organized or well coordinated at further than a squad level.

The plan had been for the two pincers from the beaches link up, or advance parallel, yet the resistance hadn't been expected to be as fierce. The Panzer troops, along with the Uli-Schwyz support from Gamma, the heavy weapons company, and Zeta, the mechanized company, began to get bogged down as dusk approached. Company and Platoon commanders made the tough decision to start to hold positions and dig in, rather than risk more chaos and fragmenting in the dark. The pressure continued to be immense as the defenders that were left, inflicted more behind the lines counter attacks, despite their heavy losses.

IN CRESCENT BAY

Progress in the town was marginally better, as it seemed like the defenders were starting to crumble and fall back. The cost to the Uli-Schwyz troops had been severe though, with Lambda, Delta and Theta companies all taking dozens of casualties. Urban fighting was not a new experience for most of the mercenary troops. Even recent recruits were veterans of national armies that had seen much fighting in the past cataclysmic decade, fighting both for and against fascist and communist forces.

Sgt. Lovek's squad had taken two casualties, one of them killed, during their struggles to reach the city center. Some other squads from Delta's Scout Platoon were fighting parallel to them on neighboring blocks, through the winding streets. They had managed to over take an anti-tank gun crew, but with the surge of friendly forces behind them, they didn't feel the need to spike the gun and deny its use to the enemy should it be recaptured. A follow up squad from 2nd Platoon took over guarding it until they could bring in a crew from Gamma Company to operate it and turn it on the Expo troops. As they came upon a battle scene where a fellow couple squads had battled it out with militia troops, Sgt. Lovek spotted a swatch of purple in the otherwise drab pile of debris, bodies and smoke.

"Be careful a' boobytraps, men!" The Smertolinan NCO shouted out to 'Shrieker' Squad. He reached out and poked with his Madsen M-50 SMG at the purple thing, which turned out to be a beret, near the head of a burly, bushy Militia man who was covered in brick dust and blood. He picked it up and brushed it off, then tucked the odd purple beret into one of his web pouches as a souvenir. Shrieker squad moved on, retrieving their bikes to motor to the next intersection.

ON BOARD THE PANZERMMIAN FLAGSHIP

The Uli-Schwyz Colonels and Captain Simmins continued to monitor the radio reports of the battles being fought on shore.

Colonel Klempmann looked at his colleagues,
"I don't like this, we're losing momentum."

"We do have most of our troops on shore, now. There is only a small reserve of Panzermmian forces left on board the transport ships."

"It's not a matter of numbers, but rather capturing objectives in time. We're running out of time. Exponential reinforcements should be expected en masse from both the interior and Espis, and we should still be prepared that Echo Nine is just a hair from being over run."

"I think we just need to continue to have hope, Colonel."

"I think that's all well and good, Colonel Hindelhaus...and Captain Simmins, but a lot can happen in the next few hours overnight."