After moving into position after their breakout on the beaches, the Branriech artillery opened fire with rumbling terror, supporting the marines as they rapidly advanced inland, eliminating any opposition. The unit in question was bogged down near a small town in a forest, local wildlife had already cleared out, allowing the soldiers to fight and nothing else. The enemy defenses were starting to be too much for the unit, and they recently requested some fire support from the rocket forces nearby who were glad to test out their new weapons. Turrets traversed with a mechanical grind, treads churned up ground and bracers locked the vehicles in place. With an audible "Whoosh!", the long, slender rockets zipped from their tubes and arced through the air on an impact course with their enemy.
The sounds of gunfire and shouting was the most prominent, but the sound of approaching tanks could be heard as well, beyond the horizon, as more and more forces began their landing operations. A few jet fighters that slipped past the enemy defenses also roared over, dropping their munitions on tactical targets farther back.
The Urranese forces were known to be fierce fighters, they moved silently through the dense forest where the tanks could not go, the Branriech forces would have to go in after them if they wanted to put down the resistance. They had some combat advantages over the humans, they had better eyesight, they were faster, they had better hearing, and they were more agile. However, they lacked strength and endurance that the humans possessed and dared not face them without reinforcements. They opted instead to shoot at them from their dense forest cover.
Among them was a twenty three year old writer, Warrant Officer Tokai. His breath was heavy and short as he ran through the forests that provided he and his troops with cover. He hid behind a tree and stood up straight so as not to be seen be the enemy forces. He peeked out from behind his chosen piece of cover as explosions threw dirt and bullets whizzed around him. He saw the enemy forces advancing, slowly, menacingly. He clicked the safety off of his rife and threw himself into the leaf litter, firing a few tri bursts from his TAR-21 at what appeared to him to be an officer. His emotions were conflicted, on one hand, this man probably had a family and friends, but on the other, this man was trying to kill him and his people. “I-I’m sorry” he whispered as he fired, he felt a slight recoil from his rifle.
As the officer, a Major, fell, the rest of his troops fell back into the brush as their artillery started falling around them. The rockets made a terrifying screech as they entered the range of sight. The Urranese soldiers could see their impending death approaching now. The tanks that were behind the infantry opened fire as well, their dual cannons posing a dire threat to anyone in the front of them. More jet fighters stormed over as well, but they weren't a threat at the moment, neither were the squadrons of strategic bombers soaring over as well, creating a long forgotten hum as the Branriech was still operating turbo-prop aircraft, the still formidable Tu-95 Bear.
The rockets struck a few moments later, standard High Explosive rounds laced with small internal compartments of shrapnel. The sparks flew when the small shards of metal bounced off each other in the air. It would have been a horrifying sight for those not affected by the blast.
There was nothing the infantry could do to stop the Bombers or fighters. The air force would deal with them soon enough. A whispering death was approaching the Branriech troops in the form of tanks. They were among the fastest and most maneuverable in the world. But they were hiding in the forest, waiting to ambush the Branriech troops as they charged forward.
But that didn’t matter to the infantry trapped on the front line. The rockets screamed overhead and ripped the trees apart. Many Urranese were killed. They cried out in agony, and were suddenly silenced, fires burned and trees cracked under the heat. Yoshi was covered in smelly, brown earth as a rocket exploded nearby; he jumped up and hid behind another tree. He was panting as fear took over, could this be the end? No, no, he had to make it, for the sake of his friends, his family back home.
“Warrant Officer?” came the voice of another Urranese soldier. Yoshi turned and saw the other soldier, a corporal, bloodied and bruised, running towards him with an AT4. “The Lieutenant’s dead Sir, that means you’re in charge.”
Yoshi stood still, fear washed over him, the lives of 30 men rested firmly in his hands, he stared at the other man blankly, trying to figure out what to do, stand and fight, or turn and run.
“Sir, I have a few shells left, we can take some of them with us!” he said over the roar of the rockets and the screams of the dying. Yoshi was just about to speak when another rocket exploded nearby and threw him against a tree. He screamed in agony as he heard his back crunch against the rock hard trunk of the mighty forest giant.
“Warrant Officer!” the other soldier screamed and rushed to his side. Yoshi was bruised and bleeding. The other soldiers eyes widened in terror and shock. He lowered his launcher and stared at the wreck before him. Yoshi’s lower right leg was missing, leaves and dirt had collected on the scorched flesh that oozed a purplish-blue liquid, blood. He was covered in cuts and scrapes, he was fairly certain that his other leg was broken and it felt like his pelvis had been shattered.
Yoshi reached up and grabbed the other man’s pistol off of his hip and lay down his rifle. “G-go” he coughed weakly, a small amount of blood had collected on his lips.
“Sir, I can’t leave you like this” the other man said and went to pick up the bleeding Yoshi.
“No” Yoshi protested. “I-I’ll slow you down, you’re in charge now Hiyama. G-get the others to safety. I-it’s not much, b-but I can act as a speed bump.”
“Sir..” the other man had tears brimming in his scarlet eyes.
“I said go! Take my rifle and go!” he ordered roughly, he wasn’t about to risk this man’s life to save his own.
“Yes sir.” The soldier said and he got up and ran off, leaving Yoshi a few magazines for his pistols.
Yoshi was now alone. He was hurt and bleeding, the others had abandoned him totally. He was alone with his pain. He loaded his weapons and listened to the approaching enemy forces. He could hear the squeak of treads and even the foot falls of enemy troops as they advanced.
“K-k-katya.” He whispered. “I’m sorry” tears filled his eyes. He wasn’t scared of death, he was afraid of leaving his friends and family back home. They had all believed in him, and he let them down. He could feel his life slowly ebbing away. “I-I’m sorry.” He repeated. He lay there, under his tree, awaiting his last battle. “I’m sorry”
"Вверх! Полковник, мы получили одно живое здесь!" One soldier shouted over the din of distant battle and rocket strikes. The several hundred Branriechian soldiers moved up cautiously. His words were translated to "Colonel, we have a survivor here!" and several soldiers halted in their advance. They heard the cries of pain, but knew it wasn't the one they were moving towards, and one soldier, the medic on duty, shouted out in broken Urranese. "We're coming forward! Are you wounded?!" He shouted, seeking the approval of his commanded who nodded. The young man ran out of his shell hole, dragging a few others with him for help.
The trio zipped over, under the threat of snipers as well. They saw Yoshi lying against a tree and the two soldiers that weren't medics pointed their rifles at him, hoarsely ordering him to drop the weapons in a foreign language.
"Yuri, gather branches from nearby! Oleg, tell the colonel to keep advancing, don't wait on us!"
The two soldiers nodded and got to working on their respective activities and the medic knelt down, picking out needles and gauze from his pack. He jammed a needle into Yoshi's neck, nulling the pain.
"You're going to be alright!" He shouted, terrified in Urranese.
Yoshi’s response was to shake his head and lower his pistols; he didn’t have the strength to hold them up anymore. He couched up more blood, a sticky, purplish blue liquid, different from a human’s. “I-internal damage, I-I’m n-not going to make it” tears ran down his face, forming clean, wet trails through the grime. “K-katya, T-tora” he whispered hoarsely. Yoshi took a shaky hand and opened a pocket on his body armor. The content of said pocket was a photo book. It had the address of the building as well as pictures of all of Yoshi’s friends and family: Katya, Torii, Bran, Rylli, Gio, Swith, Tolya, Jacob, and the others. “Please” he whispered. “T-tell them I’m sorry, I-I let them down.”
"No! NO!" The Medic screamed at the top of his lungs, still injecting Yoshi with painkillers. If he couldn't save the boy, he would surely make his passing as painless as possible. Once he was numbed up enough, he got to work, wrapping up his leg stump with a cloth to stop the bleeding, and preparing to stabilize his wounds. But it would be too late. The other two soldiers arrived just to see his final moments as well. The medic set his tools down and started cursing the sky. He grabbed the photobook as well, pocketing it.
"What's your name, boy? Just relax, it's going to be alright, you got it?" He asked.
“Y-Yoshi Tokai…” he whispered. He knew he was dying; there was nothing he could do to change it. His emerald eye was brimming with tears. “G-Gio!” he called out suddenly. He wanted to live, for their sake; he hoped that she could save him, or at least hear him. “G-gio, please, d-don’t let me go…d-don’t…let me….” And with that, he faded away. His body went limp, but his lingering spirit shrieked in terror before it left his body and entered eternity.
