Right after Mario managed to reach Unit 6, one of his soldiers came from a Cheetah "Sir, Ares reported that another 2 columns came, one of Cheetah's and one of Wormtail's. In total, 15 vehicles, 80 Soldiers . But we lost the Candle, an Ares Logistic transport , had been destroyed near the Leeds Smog Cloud."
"Very well, I am pleased about the landing and too bad for the pilot and the ship, he will be remembered as a Hero. Who is leading them?" "That would be Lieutenant Goodman, Fifth Battalion, 3rd Company." "Good commander. When they are going to reach us?" "35 minutes. They landed in BB-34. Moving on to RG-23.Sir, Column 2 is in position also. They reported 3 minutes ago." "Then we better move. Decebalus, get your guys ready, Aruna, where are you hiding? Ahh, have the 10 AIT ready to move. Instruct them to use jumps and not to worry about energy expenditure, we can take batteries from the Cheetah 8. Move!" "Yes Sir!"
Mario turned toward Vatman "I am sorry Pilot but since you are an officer, I want to give you 10 AIT. Circle around the target and try to reach a 3.5 clicks from the target and cut any retreating troops. Keep on Comm 7, encryption Gamma. If you need any help, ask through the comm and I will dispatch a Cheetah Group to your position." he said and he saw the pilot saluting and moving to get to his troops.
" Come on, let's go!"
After 40 minutes and after Mario checked the placement of his teams and Vatman progress he ordered the advance toward the factory when the Cheetah units reported artillery fire, a bad sign but at the same time he saw that his 10 AIT is moving undetected.
"Wormtail 3, 5, 6 Deploy!" and he saw the troops getting out and forming a defensive circle and the plasma artillery taking aim "Cheetah, full speed, get their attention from the Wormtail. Delta Formation and watch your interval. Wormtail 1, 2, 4, 7, 8, 9 and 10 continue speeding toward the factory." he ordered and after checking his interactive map he saw that his units are moving on to position and the second volley came and Mario looked to order his plasma artillery to fire when he saw the green flare and Mario activated his HUD and he saw some Bretonian uniforms "Do not fire, friendly! Advance with care. Cheetah Column 3, pick me up and we head to the factory. Rest of the units, IR camouflage at 1 click from the factory and be on the look out at the factory and in the surrounding. Be ready to move as fast as possible."
He headed with his team to the factory and they were met by a young Corporal and after he got out of the Cheetah, he listen to him "Do not worry Corporal, now reinforcements are here. We are Leeds Expeditionary Force, Crayterian Ground Forces. You are not alone anymore. And by the way, lucky for you that I didn't ordered to fire my cannons. I kinda outnumbered you on that. But anyway, ready to depart when you are ready. If you need, we can give you a hand but at the moment we encircled the factory."
Williams nodded at the man and decide to go for it. The mission was simple, circle around, keep an eye out of runaways and maybe even shoot them.
As he approached the waypoint, an artillery shell nearly took his head off.
-Guys, we've got a prooooblem! I'm taking heavy fire! Please advise!- Another blast erupted a few meters from him and he yelled towards the enemy's general direction -Bloody amateurs!
As the shots were strangely not hitting them, the men moved in closer, being lead by Vatman. Orders were coming in from the radio, but he didn't care. Not really. Those people most likely killed his friends in the past and they were aiming to do so again. Soon, he was in the effective range of his rifle and all he needed was a couple of seconds to ventilate someone's forehead. The relentless suppressive fire wasn't making it any easier.
-Fellas, you're in for a lot of pain! MOVE UP! Let's show those hoodlums how we do things in Sirius! HUSTLE UP!!
His chance for revenge was nearing in the form of an oversized boulder. Suitable cover for just enough time to take one life. But alas, the world "friendly" caught his attention over the radio. Will had something like a perception filter, he only heard the most crucial things...sometimes. Luckily, the statement was true and the shots ceased. The men approached the factory and Vatman had the urge to rip someone's trachea out, but he opted not to. After all, that's be somewhat bad for the mission. Instead, he just walked quietly,
avoided eye contact and rejoined Mario, tapping him twice on the shoulder to announce his presence. Even after Mario looked him, Will remained quiet and just gave him another nod.
Mario noted that Vatman was near him and he looked at him and gave a smile.
“Corporal, again, please make sure that the targets you are firing at are indeed wearing Gallic uniform and not Crayterian. We expect more troops to land soon. Now please, make sure that your people will not fire as I have soldiers outside the perimeter. “ he said and he looked at his 10 AIT “Boys, help the bretonians to pack and move out. Vatman, a word”
Mario took Vatman to the side and he started to speak slowly “I saw you got shelled. Luckily this guys are kids, but at the same time I am worried. Want some action?” he said and seeing Vatman looks he continued “Look, is simple. I am willing to give you Decebalus and his team and will add 3 more Cheetah and a Wormtail. The mission will be simple, cause as much damage as you can. Doesn’t matter what. Oh, and also will give some shoulder artillery, if you reach any starport, fire at will. Hit anything you can. What you say?”
When Vatman heard the offer, he knew it wasn't really an offer. Even though a choice was present, it was actually absent. He had to take those men and hit those enemy
positions. -Well, I guess I'll bite. He tried to wipe the dust off this uniform, but it was pointless. -But listen man...I never been very good with people.
Sure, I'll take them to battle, but I don't know how many I can bring back. It just the way war is, like chess. Lose some, win some. It's inevitable. That being said, if we pick the right targets,
I can easily keep those peeps alive, but let's not bullcrap eachother, nothing's an easy target down here.
He looked the man straight in the eye and then saluted him. Whatever the mission was, he was going to do it and his actions only reinforced that statement.
-So, what do you have in mind, what are my targets?
Mario smiled "Do you think any of one will get out of here alive? Do you think the Fifth may survive?" he chuckled "We are already dead. I do not know what they say to you in the Fleet, but down to us, we are told always we are dead. Even now there may be out there someone with a shot that have my name. Trick is, to get old before he or she finds me." he looked over his AIT "All of this boys knows that we may not get out from here. I do not expect to lead all of them out here. No. You are now a high ranking AIT commander, here on Leeds, get used with that. Your concern must be that their death are not in vain." he took another look at them "They are all heroes and they do not know about it. All of them." he looked down "Sad that we still have to resolve to war to settle our problems. Look at them, how many of them could have been scientists, transporters or even fathers or uncles? So many wasted lives."
Mario stopped and looked at Vatman "Sorry for the long monologue. Yes, your target will be anything that have Fleur de Lys painted on it. Just make them feel that they are facing an entire army. That is all." he turned and walked toward Corporal Ballers but he stopped and said slowly "Oh and if you find any prisoner camp, free them if you can. If not mark them for later on. Keep contact with me on Channel 3, at 2.4Ghz. Tell Decebalus to use the battle language and while we speak about Decebalus, keep him as Second in Command, he is experienced. For anything else, I am with Corporal Ballers. Safe hunting Pilot" he said and continued his road to the corporal.
Vatman kept looking at him and didn't noticed Decebalus coming "Sorry sir, I am presenting myself to your command. When you spoke, the Major put me on secondary channel. Seems we volunteer to be early heroes. Some of us even aspiring to the angel position also." he laughed and he asked Vatman "In what Gods or God you believe, Sir? I want to know if I have another Zeus believer." he continued and he didn't seemed concerned about anything that is going on around him "The sooner we leave, the more time we have to enjoy ourselves." and then all of the sudden he became stiff "Orders, sir!"
Williams carefully listened to what Mario had to say, nodding a few times, but also shaking his head in disagreement to some of his statements. -I don't know about you, man, but I feel more alive than ever. He smiled and continued. -Me, you, them? We're all soldiers brother. Pilots or grunts, we fight for the same bloody cause. And it's a just one.Why you got me running on that ancient 2.4 gigas, man? There's better stuff, I'm sure there is. But hey, some comm is better than no comm, yeah?
As Decebalus approached, the flyboy continued.
-And you wanna know what I believe in? This is what I believe in. It's justice, I believe in freedom and most importantly, I believe in love. Sweet love with a sexy partner. So yeah, we ARE going to pull through this and we ARE going to emerge victorious. And you wanna know why? Because I'd very much like to get it on one more damned time. And as for the AIT under me? Don't sweat it. The only thing they have to worry about is not loosing count of their kills. I don't plan leaving this place with any extra holes and I make sure they don't get extra ventilation as well. Plus, I'm secretly hoping there's a whole lot of damsels in distress waiting for us to rescue them! Hooraaah, boys! Let's get this show on the road! Vatman swiftly turned around, only to find himself a few inches from Decebalus. He promptly saluted him and awaited his orders.
Decebalus saluted back "Sir, I know you are high ranking, but can I give you an advice? Do your best sir. We are ready to fight and die, if ordered" he said and then he turned his head towards the sky "Soon another Ares will land and our number will grow or we will meet with them on the bar on the Other Side. But for the moment, we should focus on the task at hand." slowly behind him the AIT assigned to Williams and him gathered "We are ready sir. "
A runner came and saluted Mario, spent a little time with him talking and he moved towards Williams and Decebalus "Sir, Squad 4 reported an armored Gallic convoy. They seem to have some ground trucks also. Formation standard used for protection of high value goods. Major ordered you to move on and intercept. Squad 4 was also assigned to you. We are already sent a scout to keep an eye on them. Ready to go in 7 minutes, sir?"
Vatman smiled and cracked his knuckles. -Watcha say, Dec? Showtime? He paused for a moment and looked at the AIT -I bet you a fiver these boys right there can kick a whole lot of ass!
Williams grinned and began inspecting his rifle
-Listen Dec, here's what's up. I don't know jack about surface to surface combat tactics. I also work pretty good without a team on my sir to worry about. So here's what I propose, you go ahead with your boys, I'll keep a few jumps back, on radio.
Will looked at this rifle for a second, before his eyes were pinned on Dec again.
-Cascabel here has an effective kill range of two kilometers. Way I see it, you're better of with me out of your sights. As a bonus, my targeting kit is built in the suit and not the ship. I've VR lenses implanted in my eyes, so if you patch me in the squad's cameras I can see what you see and provide tactical on the spot. Watcha think, Dec? Should go and play traffic police with that armored convoy?
Decebalus smiled and nodded his head "As you wish Pilot. I will lead the team on the field and you will give us sniper cover." he said and then turned to the team "Move up, you Gibbons! Double up. Pack extra rations and extra energy packs. Ava, drop those grenades and pick some shoulder artillery. NO ! No Mogg, that is not coming with us"
"But sir, what if we need to have something fixed?"
"Take the field kit but for the Gods, leave the damn vehicle repair kit here!" he shouted and then turned to Williams "Good thing sir that you allowed me to be your second, we can keep this "and here he slowly raised his voice "bunch of gorillas in check and make sure they are not ending up under a gallic boot and they get home. Well some of you , and the rest, I hope you made peace with the Gods!"
From the back row "Decebalus is up to one of his speeches? Gods, let's move and pack already. When he speaks I feel like an Armored Division on steroids ready to knock down the Gallic Palace on Ile-de-France."
"Shut up and move it, double time" Decebalus started to yell and left William to take care of the team.
Fifteen minutes later a column of Cheetah's and 2 Wormtrail's were heading to West. "Pilot, by the scout information, they are heading to Donald's mountain range. I am planning to use our Speed and set up a trap at the Camden Gorge. Right in front."
He waited for Williams reply and then gave the driver the instructions.
Two hours and a half later, they reached the gorge and Decebalus looked with strategic eyes and started to bark orders "OK, I want mines along the main dirt track. Then spread out and dig your cover. Make sure to use the IR Camouflage. Set it to mimic the soil around you. And "he said looking for Avar "No cigars, aye? Dirt doesn't smoke." a remark which made the team chuckle.
Decebalus waited for his orders to be carried out and then he jumped inside the hole and activated the camouflage "Waiting, waiting. That is all we do!" he muttered "Williams , Shinzu! Report!" he said firmly in the radio but then he remembered that Williams is outranking him "Sir! Sorry sir! Do you have anything on your six?"
"Shinzu here. The convoy stopped at a depot last time I spotted them but that was before you deployed me to the east. Perhaps Williams is having them."
The comm crackled and hissed before Williams' voice finally came thourgh -Hey, listen man. This is your thing, your team. More hisses and crackles -...hello? Yeah, lemme repeat. You're in charge man. I officially relieve command to you or whatever it's called. And please, every time you call me sir, a kitten on Yuma dies. That's cruel man, cruel.
As the connection's quality cleared up, Vatman saw a glimpse in the distance.
-Hey hoss, I think I got something. Your convoy has officially entered my kill zone. Supersonic API rounds ready.
The click of a cocking mechanism was heard and the pilot continued.
-Waiting on your orders, Hoss. Say the word and I'll have Cascabel unleash it's incendiary fury on them. I've got a solid lock on the lead vehicle's driver. Give the all clear and he's gonna loose some teeth along with his face.
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