The sound of sticks breaking, the sounds of a creature moving through the forest. On the coastal plains of one of the innumerable Islands on planet Kyushu. With no moon, the sky was lit only by the stars, the light reflecting from the Seiran dustcloud and planet Aso so many billions of Kilometers away. The Ocean could be heard close, the breeze through the coniferous trees which thrived at this high latitude.
The creature was on the hunt. Making it's way through the underbrush. Stopping to listen, query, decide, before moving onward. Down a bare, rocky ridge it was forced to go. Exposed. Nevertheless, it lay low in the grass to see that nothing could see it. Itself darker then the night sky. Other shapes could be seen below it, but these were other predators, other dark creatures. Waiting.
Rapelling down the sheer face of the cliff, it met with it's pack. Silently, they gathered and made their way toward their quarry. Lead by the beacon of smoke and light rising through the forest. Others were already prepared. Waiting only for the spearhead to slice it's way in.
They moved, for what would seem like an eternity, into their prey's den. The house was surrounded by their victim's kindred. All of them vigilant, but they could only be so wary... to them, this night was like any other. Hundreds of others had gone by without their encountering a single threat, so they were complacant, irrelevent to how ready they were...
Tonight would be diffrent.
The diffrence between these predators and their prey, and the animals they modeled their hunting styles after were but one. These were not deer preyed on by wolves, but humans preyed on by transhumans.
The Predators: The Planetary special forces of the Consortium Legion, armed with some of the best weapons money can buy, with training akin to military special forces, combined with something that no human could claim... true fearlessness. Not by extreme training or experiance, but by a level of Cybernetic conditioning which rendered them effectively numb to any emotion at all when in combat...
Their Prey: A local protection ring guarding a particularly unplesant member of the Kusari military internal affairs beaureau. One who had something the Consortium wanted very badly... unfortunately for him and his hired guardians.
The predators cared not for the name of what they were about to take. Names mattered little in this arena. All that mattered to them was their mission, which they were hard wired to complete... or die trying. They approached the manor, a walled home of Traditional Kusarian engineering. Atop the walls stood hired bodyguards armed with blaster pistols and small rifles and repeater weapons. Little compared to the military-grade weapons wielded by their counterparts, but dangerous nonetheless.
A shooting battle would not end well unless it was tightly controlled. When it began, and when it ended. The pack broke up, just out of view of their prey, still concieled by the forest trees and dense undergrowth surrounding the property. Sharpshooters armed with silenced rifles made their way around the property, taking cover on high points such as rock edifices and the terraced hills surrounding the house. Allowing them to dial in their targets easily. But the main assault squad waited... the night was clear, but not totally. They waited until the winds blew a whip of cloud from the sea over the home, obscuring the light from the stars. Then, they made their move.
The front gate of the home was well protected and in the glow of a floodlight. To the side however was a small dranage culvert, which created an opening in the wall, covered by a metal grate. The lead man of the team pulled out a roll of what appeared almost to be malliable clay, rolled into the shape of a cord. He wrapped the cord around the grade, and took the end of it, which revealed that the 'clay' was inlayed with a copper wire. Attached to it to a small object which emmitted an electrical current, and the 'clay' turned red hot, melting through the grate and creating an opening for the team to fit through. The man behind the pointman carefully lowered the grate to the ground as not to make a sound, and the team made their way into the compound...
The culvert lead into the garden of the property, consisting of an artifical pond and decorative plants. The culvert opening was hidden behind a growth of bamboo, specifically to hide the unsightly steel grate. The squad moved behind the bamboo, staying low to the ground. There was a few meter gap between the end of the bamboo wall, and the ajacent building. The squad halted to verify the coast was clear, one of their members drawing his rifle, which was equipped with a camera linked to a head's up display in his helmet.
The main building of the complex lay across the garden, which was itself illuminated by a series of paper lanterns and watched by a number of individuals. The Lanterns were decorative, lit by electric lights. The light string was plugged into a power outlet on the main building, clear across the garden. The point man of the squad lowered his rifle and drew one of his sidearms, an electromagnetic sleep-dart gun. With reflexes and a steady aim enhanced far beyond that of a 'normal' human, he took aim and fired a single dart into the power-plug, knocking the entire lantern display out. The near-silent weapon was not heard by the guards, who had little idea what was going on.
The pointman have a hand signal for the team to move. Without the lights, it was near impossible to see the men moving across the yard against the out-building, their footsteps muffled by the background noise of the artificial pond's waterfall feature. The six-man squad moved around the main house, into a side door, and armed their weapons. The time for stealth was just about over...
Swiftly, they moved tactically through the hallways into the house. Pausing at a corner, they looked and saw a man, presumably a janitor, sweeping the floors with a broom. Witness. One shot from a dartgun and the janitor was flat on the floor. The squad passed the juncture and broke in two. Proceeding down seperate corridors. The first squad moved around a corner, to where the home's living room was. Several men sat therein, sipping sake and laughing at each other's tales, a holovision showing a newsfeed in the background. The squad waited until the second group completed it's objective.
The second team moved through the hallways, slowly rounding a corner. However, they walked streight into a surprised Geisha. Before she could make any noise, the squadleader fired another dart from an underslung attachment on his rifle, knocking the woman unconcious. Passing her, they went into a stairwell and down into a basement. The squad switched their weapons from darts to bullets, as they went in...
A single man was sitting in a chair at the bottom of the stairs, and had no time to react as the squad stormed in. Their weapons were silenced, but nobody in the basement would not have noticed. Nevertheless, their reaction time was not enough. The man in the chair was struck by three rounds as the impact sent him tumbling backwards. Another man who was standing in the middle of the room was next, struck in the head and chest by the second squadmember.
A third man yelled as he drew his sidearm, leveling it on the squad. His reflexes weren't fast enough though, as a high-velicity metal spike flew into his chest, pinning him to the wall. The squad went through the basement, finding a forth man now cowering in a corner. One of the squadmembers pulled out a needle filled with the same sleep solution and jammed it into the man's neck, knocking him out. Now they could concentrate on their task at hand...
The open area of the basement had an ajacent corridor, which was lined with heavy doors along it. The squadleader pulled out a key from the now-dead guard, and walked to a metal fusebox at the end of the corridor. The key opened the box, which contained switches to open the doors. As the heavy doors squng open, their nature was revealed. An improvised series of jail cells, for the homeowner's 'personal' prisoners.
"Come, We are here to take you home..." The voice of the Consortium soldier, warped through a vocoder broke the silence.
Out of the open cells, their inhabitants began to come forth. All of them women, many were clearly Golden Chrysanthemums by the look of them. Most were dressed in tattered garmets, if anything at all, and were obviously terrified by the events unfolding.
"You are unharmed?" The Consortium soldier asked
One of the women, apparently a leader, replied. "Y... yes... we are fine... we will be okay... "
"Good." The soldier replied. "Stay behind me, we are awaiting extraction and word the area is secure."
"Right... b... but... who are... you?" The woman asked
"We are the Blackwatch."
***
Even the surpressed sounds of weapons fired in the basement was enough to alert the men in the Living room. Enough of a signal for the other element of the squad to move into action. Charging into the room, they opened up on the several men, one of whom managed to draw his pistol, striking one of the Consortium solders in the leg. This did not save him, as that same soldier replied in kind with a tactical shotgun, killing his assailant instantly.
Despite his injury, the Consortium soldier and his compatriats were unfazed. They felt no pain, nor dispair. As they pressed on through the hallways. A few guards met them along the way, guns drawn. But with no cover and no armor, they had little chance against the hail of bullets, buckshot, and crystalline shards which met them.
The sounds of the shootout alerted the Hogosha on the walls and outside... as well as the snipers which had them dialed in since the beginning. Alerted via wireless datalinks with the squads inside, they needed no orders to fire. In near unison, the snipers opened up on the men outside and around the property. One by one, bodies fell to the ground as the assault continued.
"Delta-Kappa-2, status update. Are the personel secured. I want a headcount." One of the snipers, now clear of targets in his firing solution, asked.
***
"Affirmative... checking..." The leader of squad 2 replied, checking the freed GC prisoners. "Were there any others present here?"
"S...sister Inoue... the man took her... just before you got here! Please... find her!" The woman replied.
The Consortium soldier nodded and spoke into his communicator. "Negative, we have one individual unaccounted for. Be on lookout."
***
Squad one rushed up a stairwell to the second floor of the building, where they were met be a guard armed with a sawn-off shotgun. However, the sqadleader was simply moving too quickly to allow the man time to aim and fire. He used his rifle as a meele weapon to push the barrel of the gun up, causing the man to fire it into the cieling. A kick to the groin sent the pointman's assailant reeling, and a single shot to the head from a rifle finished him.
With no other guards on this floor, there was but one target left. The squad made their way to a door at the end of the hallway. The pointman wasted no time in kicking it open, as the squad walked into the room. Immedietly, they were met by a man armed with a Wakizashi bearing down on them. The blade however, was met with cold steel itself... the pointman quickly drawing his Consortium-issue machete and using it to hold against the Samurai blade.
"Who are you!? What are you doing in my home!" The man yelled
"Irrelevent..." The squadleader replied in an extremely cold and emotionless tone.
Despite his opponant putting his entire weight onto the Sword, the gene-boosted Consortium soldier easily held him at bay with one hand. He brought the other around and grabbed the hilt of the Wakizashi, at the same time kicking and forcing the man to the floor, Driving the sword into the tatami mat next to him.
"What do y... you want!?" The man asked
The Consortium soldier placed the tip of the Machete next to the man's throught. "We want you."
"A... I... I am an officer in the Kusari Military! You WILL answer for this... I swear!"
"No." The Consortium soldier replied, sheathing his machete and picking up the Kusarian by his robe collar, he pulled out a tranquiliser needle and jammed it hard into the man's neck, before punching him across the side of the head, knocking him unconcious.
"Objective Bravo secured. Request EVAC flight deploy. We are ready." The Consortium officer stated.
"EVAC en-route. But where is the missing personel?"
At that, a soft whimpering/moaning noise came from behind a partition in the room. The Consortium soldiers entered to find a young woman, bound and gagged, laying on a bed. The expression in her eyes indicaded that she was more angry then scared, squirming and trying to get free.
"Personel located and accounted for." The soldier replied, walking over to the woman and removing the gag.
The woman was quick to respond. "...that bastard! Let me at him, I'll peel his damned skin off! Frakking perverted piece of s..." She was interrupted by the Consortium soldier as he removed her arm and leg ties.
"You are unharmed. Yes or No."
"I am unharmed, but I'll feel alot better when I gouge this pig's eyes out!" She replied
"Negative. Biotic is to be recovered and interrogated..."
"Biotic? Just who are you anyway!?"
"We are the Consortium Blackwatch.... We are Legion."
***
Within a matter of minuites, a dropship had arrived on station, touching down in the open cortyard in the center of the building complex. Outside, stood the survivors of the battle, under the guns of Consortium troops. The GC prisoners were first to board the transport, ushered into the forward compartment. The Kusari officer and his personal servants were placed in back, as were a few surviving bodyguards, all tied up and equipped with shock-restraints.
However, there were a number of guards who were injured and waiting to board.
"Hold's full, we can't fit anymore aboard." The soldier in charge of passenger handling yelled over the engines of the dropship.
"Understood..." The Consortium squadleader replied.
"Under... stood? What are you going to...?" One guard asked, before being interrupted by the Consortium guard.
"Trihage." He said cruelly
Before anyone could say anything, a series of rifle reports echoed through the property. The remaining guards fell to the ground, dead. Their assassins, uncaring toward what they had done, boarded the transport and took their places aboard. Closing the aft hatch, they gave the signal for the vehicle to depart. The Dropship gunned it's engines and lifted off, quickly accellerating away from the scene of the battle and out into space.
Behind it, another aircraft, a modified Consortium Scimitar fighter, waited for the dropship to clear the area. Making a sweeping pass over the property, it released a large, thermobaric bomb, before jetting off after the Dropship. The fuel-air explosion instantly leveled the compound and ignited many of the trees nearby, destroying all evidence of what had been done...
Deep within the confines of the Seiran dust cloud, the ghostly shape of what was once an Outcast Destroyer, flanked by a pair of gunboats and fighters drifted through the Nebula. All of the ships bore Consortium heiroglyphs patched over the Outcast markings, as well as numerous antennae, armored fareings, and other hardware not part of their origional design. A prow-mounted rig covered the Destroyer's forward facing, and a large extension under the main fuselage created a docking fixture.
A GC transport ship was connected to the Destroyer by a docking rig, as the Dropship and it's escorts approached the fleet. The dropship quickly attached itself to the bottom of the Destroyer, as a scaffolding rig configured to allow an access ramp to be attached.
Onboard, the prisoners and freed captives were led off it seperate directions. The GC went to the ship's sickbay, where GC medics and Consortium technicians awaited. The prisoners taken in the raid were taken at gunpoint through a maze of corridors into a cargo bay. The interior of the ship had been gutted and extensively re-engineered for maximum efficiency. No regard for asthetics, exposed machinery and hardware, piping, and various robotic arms and equipment moving along via rail systems in the cieling, floors, and walls.
The prisoners were lined up inside the bare cargo bay. The few hogosha guards, personal servants, and geishas were all scanned by a series of camera arrays and under the watch of more of the same Blackwatch troops which had brought them here. A man wearing a fleece-lined trenchcoat and a Consortium helmet walked along the line, flanked by the squadleader of the capture team and a technician. He moved to the Hogoshan at the end of the line and looked him over.
He checked the body mass, general health, and a number of other factors undeterminable before speaking, coldly and to the point.
"Augmentation..."
The bodyguards quickly blindfolded the man and hauled him away. The Consortium officer went to the next man in the line. Who was somewhat smaller and injured.
"Recycling."
The man was lead off in another direction forcefully. The Consortium officer continued to walk along the line quickly looking over several more bodyguards.
"Augmentation."
"Augmentation."
"Recycling."
One of the Hogosha grunted and tried to charge the officer. Instantly, the troops raised their weapons. But the Hogoshan was stopped as the officer's hand wrapped around his neck, and held him at arm's length.
"...Augmentation." He said with a much crueller voice then before, as he threw the Hogoshan to the ground. He then walked over to the former Geisha, who was clearly terrified at this state of affairs.
"External Transfer." The officer stated, intending to hand off the woman to the GC. One of the guards escorted her toward the sickbay, kindly and respectfully, as opposed to being hauled off like the others.
Finally, he came to the last man in the line... the captired KNF officer.
"Interrogation." He said, before turning and walking down an ajacent corridor. The guards forced the man to follow him toward the detention block.
The commander of the blackwatch capture squad and his lieutenant stood obediantly by as the prisoners were led off to their respective, and largely equally hideous fates. Before yet another voice alerted them... a voice from within their heads...
>Shamshir Delta: To briefing room. Overwatch requires your attention<
Obeying the wireless transmission, the men departed, making their way through the maze of cramped corridors and up a lift to the briefing room to await their next instructions.
The Consortium soldiers walked into the spartan briefing room, sitting at a round, central table. The room was little more spacious then any other on the ship, the numerous holo-displays and LCD screens casting an eerie blue glow across the room. Around the table sat a dozen other Consortium soldiers wearing various types of armor and bearing diffrent markings.
In the central display mounted on the table itself, stood a scaled down figure of a man wearing a cyclopean suit of combat armor. Speaking through the room's audio systems, the shadowy leader of the Consortium, known only as 'Ironwatsas', relayed his message.
"It is time to accellerate our plans in this region. I have arranged for a strike on a 'Samura' factory on the surface of the planet. You will be the spearhead." He spoke, emotionlessly.
The Leader of Blackwatch Delta squad, known only by the codename 'Shamshir', spoke up in response. "Might I ask what the strategic perogative is for something this big...?"
"Number of reasons. First off, this facility manufactures a lot of metal parts of all types for the Kusari Aerospace industry. As well, it houses a research lab which I want infiltrated." Watsas replied.
"This will prompt the Kusari Army to respond. Contingencies?"
"We anticipate the nearby garrison to respond tactically, and we expect to engage them. Therefore, I am sending you in with heavy duty firepower. ASCAs, Cyclops Mechs, Hornets, Guardian Bots, SPAAGs, the works. Whatever they send, I want wiped out. I want to test their capabilities..." Watsas stated.
"Understood. What is the plan?"
"We'll send in ASCA and Airwatch fighters to clear the area, then the dropships will drop in our troops to storm the facility, while the Guardians and Cyclops bots set up an ambush to take out the Kusari Responders. Once you capture the factory, dig in and we will deploy Stinger Mortars and Lasertowers from orbit. I highly doubt the KA have planned for this kind of attack. The local garrison will almost certianly be unable to dislodge you, and their re-inforcements will take a few hours to arrive. We will be long gone by then."
One of the other Consortium soldiers, by the look of his uniform, a member of one of the armor divisions, replied in a thick Rhineland accent. "This ist risky. A failure on zis part would set us back significantly in zis theatre?"
"I have contingencies. Remember that we learn from failure. Always. But it should not come to that, you 'all' know why you are here... why you were chosen..." Watsas replied.
To the Blackwatch troops, this statement was little news. But it's meaning said much about the Consortium. Most of these men were members of foriegn militaries, unfortunate enough to become the subject of the Consortium's capture policy. Forcibly taken from their homelands, they were enslaved, through propaganda, subjective memory replacement, cybernetic surgery, and rigorous conditioning. Not a thought about their previous lives mattered to them now... all that mattered was their mission, no matter what that might be.
That is what makes Blackwatch, and the Consortium so dangerous. If they don't have the best and brightest, they will find and take them. And every victory means that many of their defeated counterparts add to their forces.
"Ja. We are willink. When do we deploy?" He replied.
"One hundred twenty minuites. Lead elements are already securing an LZ for our heavier units. Rest, nourish yourselves, and gather your weapons." Watsas finished.
"End of Line." Was the last thing he said before his holographic image disappeared, switching to an interactive tactical map and mission data displays. The soldiers looked over these, though most could simply download the relevent data through their cybernetic implants at any time.
Shamshir stood up and began to leave the room. He was followed by the 2nd in command of Delta squad, codename 'Chons'. The two, neither hungry, made their way immedietly to the armory.
"You've studied KIA tactics and strategies. What do you think we're up against?" Shamshir asked.
"I'd think a garrison this small would mainly have infantry and light ground vehicles. The real problem is going to be Chimaeras and Kite drones. Their shields won't work efficiently in atmosphere, but they're still manuverable as ever. And the Kites aren't going to mess around either." Chons replied.
"I'd think Watsas would deploy a whole bunch of Scimitars to overwhelm and aircraft."
"Safe to assume, though we should bring some Anti Aircraft Rockets and March guns with us."
"Five minuites to singularity." Came the emotionless female voice through the mech's datalink.
The man once called 'Detrich', wordlessly stared into the data panels and steam-guages on the interior of his mech's cockpit cocoon, his arms and legs working the humanoid mech's corresponding parts via control grips, motion sensors, and co-ordinated by an AI. Quite a feat considering the vehicle was flying at close to the speed of sound, almost a kilometer above the surface of Kyushu.
Consortium aerospace engineers and military analists have always maintained a 'think' outside the box mentality, wether it be creating man-portable recon drones propelled by razor sharp serrated blades, attaching holographic emmitters to space fighters to allow them to disguise themselves as asteroids or other ships, or in this case, taking a normally land-based mecha, attaching anti-gravity emmitters, high-powered thrusters, and retractable winglets, and adding spaceflight-capability to allow self deployability from orbit.
Such is the Consortium's ASCA (Airmobile Self-deployable Combat Armor) type vehicles. Most based off of several similar designs manufactured by Daumann or Ageria, stolen in Consortium raids, and unrepentantly modified from their origional form. While lightweight and sturdy, they are ill-suited for orbital or aerospace combat, as they are quite ungainly due to their shape and center of gravity, and their weapons are calibrated for destroying land-based vehicles. Hence, they were closely followed by a squadron of Airwatch Scimitar fighters modified into drones, and a pair of Mustang combat dropships carrying a number of infantry troops and Guardian robots.
The mechs and the dropships steadily descended toward their objective, a Samura industrial plant which was apparently built in part to disguise a military lab, hence, why the Consortium had decided to flex it's military muscle with a tactical strike. Detrich could see the facility toward the end of the valley they were descending into. A complex of large buildings and warehouses.
"Airwatch, assume vertical pattern 7.1.3. Keep it together, hold ceiling at six hundred stay together now... ready... SPREAD."
"Delta-11, continue descent pattern. Declination, 17 degrees, stay constant, decellerate at 2500 meters. Give word when you have visual on the LZ."
"Delta-1.1, Intel.Spike reports sightings of armored vehicles and personell in the vicinity of the main facility. LZ is hot."
"Watch the spread pattern, stay sharp."
Random chatter came over the comms from a number of sources. Detrich was fully aware of this, given his increased awareness capacity as the result of his Consortium surgery. While most Consortium troops can communicate silently through their Neurocytes, voice communication is nessiscary when the Neurocytes' processing capacity is focused on other things. In this case, the tactical datalinks and operations of the ASCA, monitoring everything from airspeed, ammunition and fuel, system integrity, climate control, and external conditions.
Detrich was conciously aware of his surroundings even without watching the holographic displays (though he did for redundant assurance that all was well). He could clearly see people and vehicles moving about the parking lot infront of the Samura facility, and could sense the incomming radar contacts without looking at his display. Apparently, the facility was better protected and secured then anticipated.
"Picking up incomming missiles..."
"What the...?"
"Maintain formation, evasive pattern 12, fire spoofer missiles, ping their targeting systems, and jam them."
"Keep the glide slope open for the landers."
The chatter resumed as the first tracers and plasma bolts whizzed by the flight wing, and explosions filled the sky around the group. Despite the chaos beginning to unfold, the Consortium troops remained almost completely calm and cool despite the chaos. To anyone else, especially hardened military veterans, this would be unnerving, if not downright 'creepy'. Despite the barrage, the flight group mapped the enemy firing solution, and thrusted latterally in several directions to throw off their aggressors' aim.
It was unclear who exactly the defenders were. Presumably either Hogosha, Farmers' Alliance, or a combination of the two. Samura security forces were not this well equipped, which was obvious, and the air defense strategies were inconsistant with Kusari Army tactics. The weapons fire was poorly aimed, mainly trying to establish a 'kill box' of lead, plasma, and flak. Of more concern were the three aircraft now taking off from the landing pads behind the factory, which flight patterns and energy emmissions quickly identified as Black Dragons.
"Three Bogeys, bearing 007, attempting to intercept. Airwatch to claw formation, open spread pattern."
"Flood, Coagulate, Clamp, Shield, Sterilise."
Immedietly, the Airwatch Scimitars punched their afterburners and swarmed toward the Dragons, having numbers and manuverability on their side. The Dragons fortunately went directly toward this inital threat, as did a few of the antiaircraft guns.
Below the squadron, in the main parking lot outside the facility, several defenders took cover, now realising the mechs and dropships were headed right for them. While lacking sophisticated targeting sensors for their weapons, the defenders possessed a few manually targeted antiaircraft guns and man-portable missile launchers. One of the men in charge barked orders to his men to fire on the mechs before they landed. Quickly, four launchers were leveled on the incoming landers and fired.
"Mud spike, 12 'o clock low, shield, evade."
The larger dropships fired spoofer flares and countermeasures to confuse the missiles', though one virtue of their small, cheap nature was their dogged reliability. However, two of the missiles missed while the other two flew home toward the ASCA. Detrich's mech shuddered under a direct hit to the torso, and another mech took a glancing blow to the leg. However, the missiles' simply lacked the punch to critically damage the vehicles, and hit the most well protected parts of the vehicles.
"Direct hits, non critical damage, continuing operation." Detrich said into his communicator.
"Ten seconds to singularity... nine, eight, seven..." the AI said as the mechs' punched their decelleration thrusters.
By this point, the defenders could do little to stop the oncomming mechs. Detrich was the first to land, tearing up a chain-link fence and crushing several cars and landspeeders in the parking lot as his vehicle recoiled and stood to combat stance. The second mech also made a perfect landing. The third however stumbled as it's leg collapsed, apparently due to damage to it's hydraulics from the missile impact. It's pilot attempted to get the mech back to it's feet and in combat.
Detrich saw this, and the oncomming and angry defenders marching toward him as he barked orders. "Landown, shield Astoria. Full pacification authorisation. Weapons free. Clear Landing Zone."
Detrich gritted his teeth as he raised his mech's rifle and leveled it on the regrouping defenders. With little hesitation, he depressed the trigger firmly, and all hell began to break loose...
The chaotic scene which erupted immediately upon the Mechs' landing was worthy of a movie spectacle. Tracers, energy bolts, rockets, and grenades flew every which way, the pair of infantry dropships orbited above the factory, raining plasma bolts and rockets onto the defenders, while high above, the defending fighters were now desperately trying to evade the Consortium scimitars, which had them heavily outnumbered.
Detrich's mech shuddered as another rocket impacted, inflicting little more then superficial damage. He wheeled his machine around and leveled the mech's rifle on a pile of mangled cars which several defenders were using as cover. He depressed the trigger on the right arm control handle and felt a dull vibration and heard the muffled sound as a long burst of 25 millimeter high explosive shells tore the cars, and the defenders beyond them, to ribbons, leaving a cone of wrecked metal, blood, and oil on the far side.
He then turned his attention to one of the anti-aircraft guns firing on the Dropships, which were orbiting just far enough away to avoid accurate flak fire. He walked his vehicle closer, despite being peppered with small arms fire and the occasional hand grenade, which had virtually no affect on the armored battlemech. Another long burst aimed at the gun emplacement was all it took, the force of the impacting shells knocking the remains of the gun on it's side.
To Detrich's left, the mechs callsigned 'Landown' and 'Astoria' were now both operable and quickly opened up on the opposing infantry. Both walked to flank the lead mech and sprayed continued bursts onto the infantry. The second anti-aircraft gun was desperately trying to draw a bead on the ASCA lance, but due to it's positioning and the limit of it's gimbal, it was hopeless. A burst of autocannon fire was all it took to destroy it.
"Rockets..." Landown yelled.
Several infantry fired a simultaneous barrage of rocket propelled grenades and more complicated munitions at the mechs. Now however, the ASCA's active protection systems were functional, as they were no longer in flight. Small laser emmitters began firing on the missiles, detonating several. Invariably though, some made it through. The mech codenamed 'Astoria' took several direct hits and was once again immobilised. Unfortunately, the defenders' victory was short lived, as the remaining mecha sprayed the area with their rifles, for a full 20 seconds, repeated, rapid bursts of fire went out.
"Ceasefire, fire zone is clear."
In the wake of the onslaught, little remained except the twisted remains of cars and speeders, and few bits of what could be identified as human remains.
"LZ is cold, routing dropships to position."
"Delta lance, proceed to coagulate hardpoint. Assume position around the facility."
Detrich was taking in the data from the various other elements of the Consortium strikeforce. Two of the three black dragons were still fighting in the skies above, although despite destroying two of the Scimitars, they were being overwhelmed, and desperately looking for a way out. Finally, one of the dragons collided with a Scimitar in a head-on pass, causing the mangled wreckage of both ships to fall to the surface with a dull thud.
"Splash two." Came the voice of whomever was monitoring the drones' progress.
Detrich and Landown moved toward the large bay doors at the back of the large warehouse. The dropships were moving in and the re-inforcement platoon which had landed while Detrich's squad secured the warehouse was on the way. Everything had become quiet all of a sudden...
"Conveyer 5-1, on final approach, clear LZ."
"Astoria, report status."
"Still immobile, will require engineering support."
"Alright, Alpha lance, get ready to breach the doors..."
"Energy spike, inside the warehouse."
"What the...!?"
Suddenly, the doors of the warehouse exploded outward, and forth charged a Samura-built attack mech, which immedietly opened up on the Consortium force. Landown and Detrich doubled back and returned fire with inhuman reflexes, but were now suddenly facing down a superior foe.
In contrast to the strictly utilitarian Consortium machines, the Kusari mech was designed with an asthetic touch similar to their space vehicles. Though it was by no means weak, being a much heavier armed and armored vehicle then the ASCA.
The Kusari mech opened up with it's twin arm mounted photon cannons, which forced the Consortium mechs to go evasive while returning fire with their autocannons. Their shells however had little effect on the dense composite-ceramic armor of their foe. Seconds later, the Kusari mech primed and fired a pair of shoulder mounted antitank missiles, which flew toward Detrich and Astoria respectively. The former's superior reflexes gave a split second oppurtunity to punch his jumpjets and fly upward, narrowly avoiding the missile.
Astoria was less lucky, unable to move, took a direct hit from the missile. An orange-white gout of flame erupted as the remains of the mech were strewn about the parking lot. The threat of death did little however to phase the rest of the Consortium soldiers. Detrich thrusted and landed to the right of the attacking mech, and primed his own shoulder pod, launching a missile at the Kusari mech. Landown did the same. Unfortunately the Kusari mech also had an active protection package, easily shooting down both missiles.
"Delta lance, we need fire support at hardpoint. Now." Detrich replied, calmly yet sternly, continuing to evade the deadly bolts of energy launched by the opponant.
His primary weapon was beginning to overheat as he and Landown in unison fired a second missile barrage. One of the missiles however did hit it's mark, breaking the left arm of the attacking mech. However, ASCA were out of missiles, and the Kusari mech focused it's attention on Detrich.
"Secondary target detected."
From within the open wearhouse building, from an underground lift concealed in the floor, emerged a second Kusari mech identical to the first, which rushed as fast as it could to join it's partner, opening up with it's own photon cannons as it locked it's missiles on for the kill. Unfazed despite near certian death, Detrich continued to fire his primary weapon in vain, to the point where the barrel was nearly red-hot, and his ammunition reserves nearing depletion.
"Yeah, Yeah! Who's the big man NOW! Gaijin Scum!" Yelled one of the Kusari mech's pilots over the open comms.
"Delta lance in visual range of target facility. Friendlies clear fire sector." Came another emotionless voice over the comm channel.
Detrich and Landown both activated their thrusters to evade, and before the Kusari defenders could react, a streak of plasma flew from outside the facility and tore into the first mech, knocking it clear off it's legs.
On a small rise just outside the facility, Delta lance approached. A pair of Cyclops walkers and a number of smaller scout cars, mobile anti aircraft guns, and Guardian bots. While the ASCA were designed mainly for mobility, speed, and stealth, the Cyclops' were walking tanks in every aspect of the word. The intimidating vehicles' slowly strode forward, emmitting an inhuman orange glow from their main sensor opening.
The second Kusari mech quickly turned to face this new threat as Detrich and Landown fell back. A third Kusari mech quickly emerged from the building and joined it's ally. Both fired Photon cannons and a salvo of anti-tank missiles. But the Cyclops' active protection system easily shot down the missiles, and their armor and shields sloughed off anything that got through.
Within less then a second of one another, both of the Cyclops' fired their main weapons, a pair of multi-gigawatt plasma cannons. The Kusari mechs stood no chance, both being instantly obliterated, and their molten remnants scattered about the now cratered and scorched parking lot.
"Sector is secure. Condition Yellow."
"Damage report."
"One unit down, others suffered damage, need resupply." Detrich replied
"Affirmative, engineering teams rearm Alpha lance. Delta lance, secure the perimiter. Conveyer, clear to land."
One of the Cyclops mechs moved to cover the doors of the facility incase of any other surprises, while Delta squad's AA guns and Guardians moved to occupy the area. The scout cars parked alongside Detrich and Landown's battered mechs, and several occupants jumped out and began field servicing the ASCA. Replacing ammunition and several external panels, as the mechs' nanobot system repaired what damage it could.
Finally, the dropships touched down and Shamshir's infantry team began to disembark.
The Dropships carrying the infantrymen finally touched down, as the remaining Scimitars flew overhead. The Black Dragons had been destroyed, with the loss of four of the Consortium craft. As the dropships' doors slid open, the light infantry departed. No less then thirty heavily armed and armored troops moved forth with percision and swiftness to the entry positions of the battered Warehouse.
Around the perimiter, the Consortium forces of Delta platoon were now on the defnesive. Establishing a perimiter and setting up cover, barricades, and emplaced antitank guns to protect against a Kusari Army response force.
All this for a seemingly unimportant warehouse, A hollow construct of Reinforced steel beams and sheet metal. With the doors blown off, there was little of interest visible inside the facility itself. Just some machinery, an overhead crane, and a pair of unmanned Black Dragon fighters. Indeed, aside from a small office and work area, there was nothing else to the building... or so it seemed.
"Squad 3, clear and secure the warehouse interior. Take any prisoners you find. Alpha lance, get those fighters outside and use them for the barricade." Shamshir commanded.
He looked around at the carnage. Why so much wasted time for so little reward? Not that he questioned his orders, he knew there was something else here... but where?
"Something's not right. There's something else here, or Overwatch wouldn't have deployed us." Chons mutterd.
Shamshir looked carefully around the room, observing every crack in the floor and cieling. His attention resting mainly on what looked like a closed trap door in the floor, a square, uniform depression about 12x12 metres in diamater, surrounded by Black and Yellow caution striping around it's perimiter.
"Wouldn't be surprised if this whole operation was for some little piece of paper..." Chons continued.
"Look there. That's definately a door. Where does it go?" Shamshir pointed at the depression in the floor.
"Maybe a lift? Didn't see anything of significance on the Ground Penetrating Radar scans. No underground cavities..."
"...Unless it's shielded. Squads 2 and 3, check for anything that might be lift controls. I want to see where this goes."
The infantry squads moved with percision, checking every corner of the facility for a button or lever which controlled the assumed 'lift'. At the same time, several operations coordinators checked blueprints of the facility, which apparently showed no such lift or any sort of underground structure.
Before either could muse further, their suspicions were confirmed when the door slid open and a lift infact appeared. Unfortunately, the lift was carrying yet another battlemech, which was armed and ready.
"Cover!" Shamshir yelled as the exposed infantry scattered.
The Kusari mech had little time to zone a target, or even move, as a Cyclops mech was already providing overwatch of the Warehouse interior. A fiery explosion tore through the area as the threat vehicle exploded and crumpled to the ground. The impact was enough to severely weaken the lift, causing it to collapse into it's shaft, taking the mecha with it.
Shamshir counted mentally as the debris fell, listening for it to hit the bottom of the shaft. The dull thud came quite a while after it was expected too. He quickly got up and walked to the edge of the shaft and looked down, bringing his rifle up as he did so.
"So much for no underground structure..." chons muttered, striding up next to him.
Beneath their feet, was no mere elevator shaft, but a massive, open, vertical facility. The lift going down for several hundred metres, was suspended in the middle of the facility by four sturdy rails, though their diamater took up a mere fraction of the diamater of the shaft. Several access platforms connected to the elevator, and a number of windows, wall mounted robotic arms, and other hardware indicated that this shaft was just part of something much, much bigger. The warehouse's sole purpose was apparently to hide the entrance.
"All ST teams, prepare for vertical insertion. We're going to be here for a while..."
