NationStates Jolt Archive

The tunnel was pitch-dark, and the only sound was the occasional drip of water. It had been lit until twenty minutes before; that’s when they’d moved around the piece of mining equipment that was the only real piece of cover between them and the forces around the station.

The man at the head of the squad stopped suddenly, raising his hand for anyone who actually needed to look, ‘You see them?’ he hissed.

The Neko woman behind nodded, ‘Looks like two with AMAT rifles, four others with bolt-actions, maybe more. She nudged the soldier next to her, ‘And something else...I think I’ll need my barrel.’

The squad leader glanced down the tunnel, ‘Yes, I’d say you probably will.’

Two Months Earlier; Lanfor, Grafton’s Isle

Jean sighed; The voter turnout on Grafton’s Isle was never impressive; often the only people who bothered to vote were GMC dual citizens, since the People’s Party under Donald Love was always a dead cert, both for the Senate and the Presidency. President Love was on his way to make his inaugural speech for the sixth time in a row, and it has got to be a standard routine; the parade with tickertape, the thankyous, and another three years before they did it all again.

And then a shot rang out, and the President slumped back against his seat in the open-topped limousine. Another shot, and another; the limousine sped up, people around it screaming and panicking. Jean blinked as he realised what had happened. Sweet Jesus, President Love is dead...

And at that moment, an explosion rang out from the direction of the Capitol building, and a column of sickly black smoke began to rise into the air.

Two Months Earlier; Section 3 Operations, the Hack

The information that was coming in from Grafton's Isle was very disturbing. It took Mikhael a couple minutes to make sense of the traffic that he was receiving. He'd always wondered about Grafton's Isle. It was about equidistant between the Hack and GMC, and was a long time protectorate. He scanned the information, blinked, and frowned. This was bad.

A few minutes later, Victor was sitting in his office, mulling over the news he'd just received. Without really thinking about it, he raised a cigarette to his mouth, lit it, and started smoking. After a couple drags, he reached over to a special phone on his desk. It had no number pad; it was a direct line.

"Yes, it is Victor. I have important information for the Supreme Commander."

Federal Department of Internal Affairs, 18 hours later*

Shiala sat down on a rather comfortable sofa that looked out of place amid the severe surroundings, much as a fourteen-year-old girl looked out of place among the military brass and spooks assembled. She smiles brightly, '...And I do concur with Anesca on that point, the same group must be behind the assassination and the bomb at the senate...Something big's going on.'

Field Marshal Embersby nodded, 'Lot of weird movement of bulky equipment by road, lot of dodgy passports going through customs on the Isle and not being checked...And now this. I don't like it, not one bit.'

Shiala nodded, 'Me neither...And the Supreme Commander's ordered lockdown of the ISON missile batteries on the Isle...the SAMs, ASMs and standoff missile batteries. Most of those are already offline, although a good engineer could probably get a few back up with some fiddling.' she blinked, 'Ok, that I wasn't expecting...My hardline just died.'

Around the room, people sitting at consoles started talking quickly, mostly calling out numbers.

Shiala blinked, 'Looks like someone doesn't want us talking to them...'

Field Marshal Embersby nodded, 'Or people talking to us.' She turned to the map of the Isle, 'Our main concern if this is a coup is that eight coastal defence guns...They're manually loaded and fired, and can hit the coasts of both GMC and Hack up to 15 miles inland. Guns one and five, North and South, are no real threat; that leaves two to four and six to eight as problems.' she nudged a man standing next to her, 'Get me what you can, and forward another copy to the Marines if it's anything bad.'

Shiala grinned as everyone except Field Marshal Embersby left, 'Annie, aren't you overreacting a little?'

Anne-Marie smiled, 'Si vis Pacem, Para Bellum.'

'Yes, but a lot of people won't see it that way.'

Annie grinned, 'And at the moment, they don't need to know.'

Lanfor, 26 hours later

It'd been quiet since the shooting, mainly because of the mandatory curfew and armed police on the streets. With the government gone, nobody was really sure what to do; Jean got the feeling everyone was just waiting to see what would happen next. As he walked along the road, he heard an odd sound in the distance, almost like...Rotors?

Air Attack Squadron Halo, approaching Lanfor

'This is Halo 7 to all units, your primary targets are the national broadcast building and the telecom tower; after that, start hitting satellite receivers and TV and radio stations.'

'Roger, sir.'

The black-painted helicopters broke formation, banking away from each other. Soon, the odd explosion and the sound of sirens could be heard from where Jean was standing.

[*As in after the assassination]

Victor Solis' Office, Corporate Spire, The Hack

A cloud of smoke hung thick in the room, solely from Victor, who was all but chain smoking at this point. In moments of crisis, his smoking picked up dramatically. In fact, it was the only way anyone could tell that he was stressed. Aside from the copious amounts of nicotine that he was consuming, he seemed the very picture of calm certitude.

Unfortunately, the smoke tended to bother the other people present at such meetings. Mikhael was largely used to it at this point, and he felt he had no room to talk, considering his own vices. General Crotty hated the smoke, but wasn't about to let on, being the consumate military official. The fourth person in the room, Anesca, was clearly bothered. Her eyes watered, and she often coughed. The fact that she looked about twelve made it all the more pitiful.

"The current situation," cough, "is that the rebels have completely disabled incoming and outgoing communications. Shiala," cough, "tells me that she's also unable to," cough, "access anything over there; her hardline's been severed. I tried a few," cough, "of the backdoors that we installed, but those have also been shut down." She glanced over at a screen and a series of images popped up on them, mostly of destroyed buildings. "As these satellite images show," cough, "all satellite receivers, TV and radio stations," cough, "are out." A new series of images appeared, "As is the nation broadcast building, and all telecom towers. Our Hacker3000's are our only eyes into Grafton. I'm working with Shiala right now to see if there's any," cough, "hand-held units with the loyalists we can connect through, but we are very hopeful." She coughed loudly, several times, and sat down, rubbing her bloodshot eyes.

"What about the rail defence system?" Victor asked.

"According to the information supplied by GMC," answered Mikhael, "The range of the ISON is short enough that it won't be able to hit the Tindalos site, let alone Chiba itself. Unfortunately, they can hit Hali."

The mood of the room darkened even more as the meaning of Hali being hit sunk in. Very few people lived in Hali, which was on the northern end of the Hack. It was designed that way, as Hali was the location of all of the Hack fusion power plants. They were built there so that in the event of a catastrophic melt-down, few civilians would be injured. While they weren't worried about a huge explosion from a hit, they were worried about losing 95% of their power. That would probably cause more chaos and confusion than a direct hit to the center of Chiba.

"That... would be bad," Victor said quietly, his understatement speaking to the gravity of the situation.

"GMC's on that," Mikhael responded. "I've been assured they'll handle ISON, and that we don't need to worry about Hali."

"And just in case," the General's voice was a deep baritone, "We're moving point defence systems in. That should minimize the risk." He turned to Victor, "What do they need from me?"

"Logistics, mostly. We are to provide the usual sort of assistance we always do, much of which will be handled by Anesca. "However, they also want some soldiers. Generic grunts will be needed, as will a fire-team for infiltration into the island itself."

--

The tabloids had a field day trying to figure out what, exactly, was going on. The Hack's military hadn't been mobilized like this in ages. Troops were being whipped back into shape after years of getting paid to clean vehicles and play cards, maintainance crews were working over-time, and rumor had it that a series of atto-pulse laser defence arrays were being shipped north, along with some missile batteries. Something big was brewing, and people were nervious.

Lanfor, Grafton's Isle

Karl frowned as he walked down the road with the other soldier...Dillenger was his name, or something like that, barely mattered since he was obviously a civvie kid with too much enthusiasm and all of no training to back it up. He hadn't particularly liked the idea of kicking Neko and psychic citizens out of their homes, but the money was good enough to pay off his conscience.

'Do it peacefully for now. No point wasting bullets on subhumans.' That's what General McCall had said. Karl winced at the sentiment, but had to stifle a laugh at McCall himself, a man with Sergeant written all over him trying to pass himself off as a General. Still, better than that nut in charge of the seperatists...General Copeland, that was it. Karl found him creepy, though he couldn't really say quite why.

Well, at least the Neko citizens were reasonably easy to find...Apparently severing the link between Marshall Island's CoC mainframe and Grafton's Isle had wiped every record of the Isle's psychic population, and they were hardly going to come forward voluntarily. One thing at a time. He swung his rifle over his shoulder, and knocked on the house's door.

The Neko woman who answered the door was surprisingly attractive; in fact, she put Karl a little in mind of his own wife, back home thinking he was just a bodyguard. He cleared his throat. She smiled curiously, 'Err, good evening?'

He nods, 'I'm afraid not...I'm here to tell you to pack your things and leave, miss.'

She blinks, 'Come again?'

'By order of General Copeland of the Free Government of Grafton's Isle, all nonhuman citizens are to leave Lanfordshire immediately.' Of course, Copeland had said subhuman, but no point insulting her.

'Just like that? May I ask what'll happen if I don't?'

'At present it's just a request, ma'am...But there would be consequences if you didn't comply.'

And then he noticed her daughter on the stairs behind her; a girl in perhaps her early teens, holding a heavy OCAW assault rifle. As he watched, she flicked her hand down and then forward on the two safeties, with the kind of practised movement he'd expect from a professional soldier. 'Leave my mum alone!'

He raised his hand, 'Hey, take it easy...' he looked at her mother, 'Um, can you tell your daughter to put the gun down?'

The mother smiled, 'As she told me a lot when I first married her father, she's not my daughter. She grew up in Hammer Bay, if you know what that means...'

Karl most certainly did; he'd taken a few jobs with the mob in that area, and it was crazy; he'd thought the little carbine he'd packed would be overkill until the first time he saw guys with military-grade hardware working for gangs, even some who actually were military...

He nodded, 'Just doing my job, lady...If you get out now, nobody has to get hurt.'

'Damn subhumans, coming in and taking our jobs!' Dillenger added. In a smooth motion, Karl drew his pistol and put a slug in the man's leg.

'My apologies.' he said, and walked away, the other man limping after.

Special Forces Anti Tank Headquarters, Hammer Bay, Marshall Island

'Till the roof comes off, till the lights go out
Till my legs give up, can't shut my mouth
Till the smoke clears out, and my high perhaps
I'ma rip this shit till my bones collapse'

Major Wagner grinned. Hardly the official marching song, but then SFAT wasn't really big on formalities. SFAT was drilling hard, with rumours of a big mission coming up along with amazingly few details. Obviously something important, and he'd be damned if SFAT wasn't ready for it.

'Again! From the top!'

Federal Department of Internal Affairs

'From what we can gather, the majority of paramilitary and military groups on the Isle are loyalist, it's differing agendas that are dividing them...' Shiala finishes, 'The big problem is the group in Lanfordshire...Seperatist extremists, from the looks of things, and big on pulling in military gear...They've got the contents of several of Grafton's own military bases already, and as we feared, they're taken all the guns but #1.'

Field Marshal Embersby nods, 'Meaning they don't have the manpower to attack the Federal base at North Point yet, that's worth knowing.' she thinks to a moment, 'Well, the 1812 treaty is very clear on our obligation in this situation; it's our duty to restore order. Get the orders sent out to prepare for a full amphibious assault, and tell SFAT to get me an insertion team...We'll have to kill the East cannons before we can attack the West coast installations. And tell the navy to get Rapier ready, it might come in useful.'

'Sir!'

Fort Linux, North-East of Chiba City, The Hack

Drill Sgt. Urbanik spat on the ground, scowling at the five men standing in front of him. They actually looked like soldiers, as opposed to the usual batches he had to deal with. Of course, these goons had been chosen specifically for this mission. He smiled inwardly, since they were amung the best, that ment they could take more abuse, which ment more fun for him.

"Fun and games are over, ladies, and ditch everything you know about weapons, you'll be using GMC SFAT issue equipment. We want you to familiarise yourself with the basics... Hicks, Frost, you two get some fun drilling with the EMG-55 today..."

He handed Pfc. Frost a large, shoulder mounted weapon. "Go meet Specialist Hubbard at the firing range. He'll show you two how to handle a real gun." Hicks and Frost looked at each other, and then the weapon, a little stunned. Urbanik screamed at them, "Did I stutter? Get you asses in gear. Now!"

"Sir!"

He turned to the other men standing at attention, a malefic grin spreading across his weathered features, "As for you three..."

The Quantum Flux, Warrens Level 18, The Hack

The man slouched at the bar, barely aware of anything around him. He noticed movement to his right, and glanced over with bloodshot eyes, trying desperately to bring the shape into focus. It seemed to be a man in... a suit? That probably ment money...

"Brother, my cup is empty..." he verbally stumbled through his speech, "And I haven't got a penny..." he indicated the empty shot-glass in front of him.

"I know." The stranger's voice cut him off. "And it's going to stay empty, Owens. I need you sober."

OOC - Apologies to Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds for swiping from one of their songs. Again.

Federal military base, North Point, Grafton’s Isle

'...I don’t see why we can’t just act ourselves, Lieutenant-General Hoshino' the young private finished.

The little Neko shook her head, taking the sheaf of reports off him, 'Because we don’t have the resources to do any damn thing of the sort, soldier. You know as well as I do that half of the two divisions I have here is service kiddies with no combat experience to speak of. North Point's supposed to be an easy assignment.'

The soldier nodded, saluting, 'My apologies for questioning your judgement, sir.'

She saluted back, 'Dismissed.' She stepped over to the window, glancing out at the growing shantytown around the base perimeter; miserable-looking Neko families arriving from Lanfordshire with whatever personal effects they could bring. Most had come to North Point because they hoped she would be able to do something, but she always had to tell them the same, 'Impossible with our present resources,' she'd say, which was totally true; if she ordered an attack on Lanfordshire and the enemy counterattacked she wouldn't be able to hold North Point, and all these people would die. GMC would need the North docks to land heavy armour, too, although with no communications all she could do was sit tight and wait. That was her responsibility at the moment. She smiled to herself, But the minute I get reinforced, I'll get these people their homes back.

Cradle of Sky Hammer Rapier, Comberth Harbour, Marshall Island

Sparks drifted from the flanks of the giant Sky Hammer as the crews worked on her; it had been going on for around a week now, and had, in Cassandra's opinion, managed to do the near-unthinkable and make the thing even uglier.

She flicked her white hair out of her eyes, and tilted her head slightly, 'So why does an airborne strategic artillery gun need external plating?'

Admiral Frakes grinned, 'The Army wants to use her air wing for close support and her gun for direct fire inland, and it'd be a little embarrassing losing the first Sky Hammer to groundfire just because it had no external armour.'

Cassandra nodded, 'I guess that makes sense...I suppose this means Valiant's timetable has been advanced too?'

'Damn right it has, and with Goliath down for repairs you'll be deploying with the main assault force. I'd suggest you have your crew drill until they can fly that Air Destroyer in their sleep.'

She grinned, 'You think I haven't done that already?'

Dock of Amphi-Carrier Shiva, Hammer Bay, Marshall Island

'It's about time we got a chance to see if she actually works in combat.' Admiral Hunter grinned, 'And on the beach she was first bought ashore on, no less.'

Field Marshal Peters nodded, 'It's pretty damn important that she does work, we'll be wanting her for air cover when we get to Lanfordshire if they take out airbases as they retreat, and for supply drops.'

'She'll work.'

Parachute training grounds, West of Miles Bishop Airbase, Marshall Island

Trent grinned, and wondered idly as he waited if any other country did paradrops quite like GMC did...

'Red on!'

Kinda a formality, since the support crew got to check his gear for him; it was a little difficult from where he was. He looked at his monitors, watching the cargo door at the rear of the Atlas open.

'Green on! Brace!'

And then his drag chute uncoiled, hauling his frame clear of the transport. He was used to the odd sensation of going from lying flat to sitting vertical in the COM Frame's cockpit as the main chute deployed, and he smiled, flicked on the air conditioner and lit a cigarette as he watched the altimeter count down. He glanced around at the dozens of other chutes, mostly soldiers, the other fourteen frames in the jump clearly visible from their huge camouflaged parachutes. Seven other COM frames like his, four heavy ART frames and three MAC frames, easily spotted from the shape of their Siege Rifles.

Hell, this was, what, the fourth time the First Parachute Armoured Division had jumped this week and they hadn't been told why yet? He flicked some ash into the can he'd wedged in one corner of the cockpit, Something's going on, and I'm sure I won't like what it is.

Federal Department of Internal Affairs

Field Marshal Embersby turned to the assembled GMC military brass and Hack techs and Generals, 'While I'm sure you're all familiar with the generalised force requests that have been put out for the operation, I'm sure most of you would like to hear the exact details and timetable for Operation Sabre.' There's a murmur of agreement around the room.

Shiala stands, and the viewscreen changes to a map of Grafton's Isle, 'Since I'll be coordinating most of the assault, I'll explain; as has been stated before, our initial targets are the three guns on the East coast numbered two to four inclusive. Obviously, any major naval strike against these would be a bad idea, since they'd most likely threaten to fire if a naval force approached.' She smiled, and the view changed to a holographic 3-D map of the Isle, zooming in on the West coast, a glowing red line appearing below the Isle's form, intersecting with a highlighted building far inland.

'This is the partially completed high-speed rail link between Marshall Island and The Hack; there's a service tunnel that leads down from a surface installation near Landfordshire. As of my last check thirteen seconds ago, the surface shaft is open and the tunnel isn't flooded. We will use this tunnel to insert a platoon of SFAT troops. There are numerous piece of construction equipment remaining in the shaft that limit us to infantry, unfortunately, and the drilling machine near the far end of the tunnel is a perfect location for an ambush; that's if the enemy knows of the tunnel's existence, and we have to assume that he does.'

'Our intel says the separatists are lacking badly in night vision optics, so as soon as the SFAT team is in position we'll be killing power to the tunnel lights; there's three power sources to them; the mains at our end, which will be shut off, and a mains line and auxiliary generator at the service shaft.' The view shifted to a streetplan in 3-D, with below-street lines highlighted, 'The powerline under route 6 and the generator house here well be targeted by the Supercruiser Yui; we'll be using subcalibre precision non-explosive rounds from the main guns to limit collateral damage to the surrounding area as much as possible.'

'Once the shaft is secure' a nearby area highlighted, 'The assault force will secure this area for an air support drop including elements of the First Parachute Armoured Division. Those forces will then assault the three objectives at the discretion of the field commander, since we can't be sure of force dispersion around them; what we do know is in the dossiers in front of you. What we do know is that the cannons themselves are vulnerable to a rear assault, far more so than from the front, since they were never designed to resist an attack like this.'

The Parachute Armour Commander nodded, slightly taken aback by receiving a military briefing from a schoolgirl in a dress, 'Orders concerning the manner in which the guns are to be dealt with?'

Field Marshal Embersby smiled, 'Place them beyond use. It's not required that they should ever be operable again.'

Shiala continued, 'Once all three guns are disabled, the assault force will rendezvous with a loyalist force here' another area highlighted, 'And await reinforcement. Be advised that you'll be there a while, and that a further support drop may not be possible; we have snowstorms forecast in that area, I'm afraid.'

The view zoomed out, highlighting a block off the Island's coast, 'With the East guns not a factor, the Federal group will assault the West coast; the Marine Corps will be making landings at these two Western beaches; the North Beach is Hail, South is Sword; you will refer to them by these codenames at all times. Any naval deployment by separatists will be handled by the naval taskforce; primary choices for that would be the submarine battleship Isengard and the S-T-double-B Siegfried.'

Shiala took a sip of water and stroked a strand of hair back behind her ear before continuing, 'Once there beaches have been secured, your primary objective is to relieve the Federal base at North Point, or to retake and secure it if it has been taken by the enemy by that time. The North port is vital if we are to provide super-heavy armour in support of our advance or deliver heavy supplies to the North Point base. Following that, we'll pretty much have to play it by ear; it's vital you gather as much intel as possible so that we can determine separatist targets in Lanfordshire. That, however, is outside the initial Operation Sabre timetable.'

She smiled, 'GMC's fleet will set sail the day the UNMC arrives, that'll avoid any difficult accusations that would come if we move sooner. Any questions?'

Fort Gibson, Undisclosed Location, The Hack

Brand flopped around on the ground as he was hit with the firehose again. The man in the suit watched, his face blank, as the soldier soaked Brand mercilessly. He sputtered pathetically, shouting at them, only to be hit again with the hose. He was pushed back by the force of the spray, gasping for breath.

"That's enough," the man said. His voice was calm, almost bored with the goings on. "Put him in the dryer."

The soldier nodded crisply, and grabbed Brand almost violently, and pulled him over to a small building, tossing him inside, and turning on the blowers. After a few minutes, the soldier dragged Brand back to the man in the suit. Brand's mood had not improved.

"What the fuck, man?"

"Well, Brand, it seems you've sobered up a little. We have uses for you."

"Huh?"

The man rolled his eyes and motioned for Brand to follow him. A quick glare from the soldier convinced Brand to do so. They walked about half a mile to a small, squat building, with thick blast doors. Typing a brief code into the keypad, the doors slowly worked their way open. The man pulled Brand into the building, the doors closing behind them. Past the entryway was a conference room that took up much of the building. Brand took a seat, his face betraying his complete bewilderment.

"Since you've spent the last several years hiding from collectors, ducking your responsibilities, and drinking yourself into a pathetic, drunken stupor, I'm going to assume that you have no idea on the current events." Brand started to protest, but realised it would be pointless. "Rebel forces are currently trying to seize control of Grafton's Isle. We need you to be part of the liberation force."

"Me? Why me?"

"The path that the SFAT will be taking may very well be mined, or rigged for explosions. We, obviously, can't let that happen. We need you to accompany the insertion team, and make sure that they survive."

"No way man. Nothing's worth that risk."

The man smirked, "This coming from the man getting drunk on the lower levels of the Warrens. You really don't have an option on this, Brand. If you agree, you get a clean slate. If you refuse, you'll be taken into Federal custody, where you will be prosecuted for dereliction of duty, as well as your various civil crimes." His smile turns feral, "Tell me... how long has it been since you paid your child support?"

Brand's face fell. The last comment cut him deeply. His voice was barely audible, "Fine."

The unnamed man nodded smartly, "Good. You'll be transfered to Fort Linux immediately to begin training with your team. You're behind, so you can expect Sgt. Urbanik to kick your ass soundly."

Federal Department of Internal Affairs, GMC

The personel from the Hack sat quitely in the meeting by Field Marshal Embersby and Shiala. When an opportune moment presented itself, one of the techs cleared his throat nerviously, "As long as we're provided with schematics, we'll be just fine, ma'am."

Road leading out of Lanfordshire, Grafton's Isle

Karl grinned as he passed the border between Landfordshire and Kingshire, 'You're safe now, kid. You can come out.'

The young woman came out from under the sheet she'd been curled up under when the border patrol had checked Karl's pass; luckily, mercenaries were still allowed in and out of Lanfordshire easily enough, even though nobody else much was. Mostly now driving out non-human was translating into shooting them on sight, something Karl had refused point-blank to have any part in. Copeland had made a public statement that Lanfor City was secure, which was a blatant lie, the city was a warzone, battles raging between loyalist and resistance controlled districts and Copeland's forces, with no sign yet of victory.

'My jacket's on the back seat there if you're cold...' of course, she probably was cold with her shirt ripped like that...He'd found the little Neko woman with Dillenger standing over her, holding the rest of her shirt. Dillenger had grinned, 'Guess you want a turn once I'm done?'

And he'd turned to find himself staring down the barrel of Karl's pistol. 'No' Karl had said, and pulled the trigger.

'I'm sorry you had to go through that...What's your name?'

The girl shivered, 'Shi...Shinobu, sir. Shinobu O'Brian.'

'Well, you're safe now. I'll take you to North Point, and...Huh?' Karl glanced at the valley below them, to be met by the sight of dozens of tanks and armoured personnel carriers moving in the same direction they were. 'Deep six that, we're getting to North Point fast.' Karl put his foot to the floor.

North Point Base, Grafton's Isle

'Shinobu?'

'Meow?'

'We're here.' Karl grinned as his car was surrounded by a circle of armed men wearing resistance uniforms, 'They seem happy to see us...'

Office of Facility Commander, North Point Base

'...Lieutenant General Minato Hoshino, isn't it?' Karl smiled.

'Could we cut the pleasantries until after you tell me what you saw?'

Karl grinned; five feet really wasn't the right height for a commanding officer, no matter how good you were at it. 'Sure...Looked like a full armour division heading your way. Armour up to heavy tanks, with APCs and arty support, looked like heavy artillery guns with a couple of standoff ballistic missile launchers.'

Minato shook her head, 'Shit, can handle everything except the last one...Baines, where the hell are you?'

An untidy-looking man in a People's Resistance uniform with a red beret stepped forward, 'Sir!'

'I want you to take two squads and hide out at the old factory. It's the most likely spot for them to deploy those launchers. O'Farrel, I want two seven-ay-three Mammoths on the South gate.' She turned to the communications officer, 'Any luck getting past the jamming yet?'

'None, sir.'

She shook her head, 'Damn, that's not what I wanted to hear. Well, looks like we're defensive until reinforcements show up. Get some more armour on the South gate and hand out anti-tank gear to the troops there. Get all the civvies inside the base perimeter, and get me a goddamn coffee.'

Karl grimaced, 'How long do you think you can hold out against them?'

The little Lieutenant-General grinned, 'As long as we have to.'

Tunnel between Marshall Island and Grafton's Isle

'Yo, DeSade, how the hell long is this damn tunnel? Feels like we've been walking for days.'

'At a guess, sixty-odd miles, just like they told us in the briefing?' the Captain grinned. DeSade was an old nickname that nobody ever dared to ask the reason for. There was a distant rumble like thunder, and the lights in the tunnel flickered and died. 'Though it seems we're nearly there.'

Most of the team did nothing; the enhanciles and Nekos didn't need night vision gear anyway, leaving only the unenhanced humans to need night-vision gear. The Neko on point raised her hand, 'Sir, got you the drilling machine up ahead.'

'Izumi, Shima, McDuff, you're up front with me.' They moved forward until DeSade suddenly raised his hand. 'You see them?' he hissed.

Izumi nodded, 'Looks like two with AMAT rifles, four others with bolt-actions, maybe more.' She nudged Shima, 'And something else...I think I’ll need my barrel.'

DeSade glanced down the tunnel, 'Yes, I’d say you probably will.'

Standing ahead, a couple of sensors shining in the gloom, was a large four-legged machine with a large underslung rotary gun it's main feature. It took a step forward.

'An Extor? Where the fuck did they dig up one of those, a museum?'

'Doesn't matter how old it is if it's gun still works, Shima,' Izumi hissed, 'And if I recall, the damn thing'll probably take it's ammo and power cells with it if I hit the engine block. That's probably too much for the tunnel lining.'

'Shit, you're probably right. So what do we do?'

'I'm open to suggestions.' There was a flash as the Extor fired a burst from it's cannon, 'Preferably fast ones. I could take a shot at it's processor if it stopped fuck-ing moving...'

Tunnel between Marshall Island and Grafton's Isle

Brand shuffled down the tunnel, dumped in the middle of the insertion team with the rest of the techies. He was tired, irritable, and was ready to kill for a drink. He'd managed the retraining at Fort Linux, despite the constant abuse that DS Urbanik had heaped on him. Not to mention the abuse the five lunkheads that made up the rest of the fireteam had decided he needed. His bruises had healed, his pride was another matter.

He had long since given up muttering under his breath when one of the GMC Neko's had thumped him of the head, hissing at him to be quiet. He had been grumbling about his night-vision goggles then. "How the Hell am I supposed to do my job when everything's fuck-ing green?" It seemed a perfectly reasonable question to him. If they want ordinance disposal, he needed to be able to really see, with, you know, actual light.

Then the Neko thumped him.

He sighed as they continued their march.

--

Cpl. Lanes, on the other hand, was loving every minute of the march. He was in charge of the Hack's fireteam, and, unlike the other members, he'd never slacked off during the past couple years. While his squad members had largely done nothing except play Virtual Death-Sport Match XXIV: Bring The Pain, he'd been training. Working out constantly, reviewing tactics, and, basically, acting like one might expect a special forces soldier is supposed to. He'd actually managed to piss off the DS, who'd been hoping to abuse everybody. Granted, that ment a lot more work for him, but he loved it.

His revere was broken when they stumbled upon the Extor. He knew that Hicks and Frost couldn't use the EMG-55, as the humans around the Extor would track the glow and blow them away. Same problem for the real member of the SFAT. Suppressive fire was out, as the damn thing would mow down anyone trying that. Something more direct was needed.

His mind reeled, trying to remember the specs on the Extor. Its cannon fired again, and he decided that he already knew the important specs, mainly that it could chew them up. He slowly, carefully, started to move forward. Izumi's concerns about the thing blowing up and taking the tunnel ringed in his ears. Maybe if I knock out a leg... He had a small charge with him that he could set. The trick was dealing with the 6 or so rebels with the Extor.

Hopefully the snipers would get busy.

Tunnel between Marshall Island and Grafton's Isle

DeSade ducked behind the drilling machine as the Extor fired another burst from it's cannon, suddenly noticing Lanes moving along the opposite wall of the tunnel. He grinned, More guts than brains, that one...

He motioned to the remaining snipers in his team, 'I need you guys to take out the snipers in the tunnel up ahead, and do it fast. This idiot's going to push his luck!'

He leaned out, focusing, looking for...Ah, there you are.

And then that man's thoughts ceased, as he slumped forward with a bullet from DeSade's rifle in his head. First thing they taught psychic recruits in SFAT; you can't aim a gun at someone without thinking.

'Izumi, stand by to take that shot as soon as Lanes knocks that thing's leg out. McDuff, you give him covering fire when he runs back. I want to have enough of this guy left to pin a medal on when we get him back.'

Strike Platform Farbanti, West of Grafton's Isle

There was a solid thud and several mechanical sounds as the number one hull locked into position, the transport planes already taxiing into position 'Ok, let's get this show on the road fast! Get those aircraft in the air! MOVE!'

Yui's voice cut in over the radio, 'All vessels be advised, we have multiple small unidentified surface ships heading for the fleet, look to be gunboat-sized and smaller. Maintain close watch on them, Railships Siegfried and Isengard move to encircle them. Do not fire unless fired upon.'

As the order went through, Isengard submerged and Siegfried flickered slightly, before vanishing completely.

Railship Siegfried, West of Grafton's Isle

This was the strangest thing about serving on Siegfried; the reason for her name, but also one of the most unsettling things any Federal Navy seaman would ever be asked to do. As the cloak engaged, the whole world shimmered, then gradually faded, until all that could be seen through the windscreen was an endless black void, same from every other porthole and aperture in the ship's hull. Most service kids couldn't handle it, and Captain von Schoenvorts could hardly blame them for that.

'Steady as she goes. Follow telemetry from Yui to target'

'Aye, Captain.'

Outside the silent, empty world Siegfried sailed in, the gunboat squadron raced towards the Federal fleet; most were either small river boats with light cannons or speedboats hastily adapted to carry torpedoes, 'Remember, your targets are the two Strike Platforms only! Don't waste your torps on ships you can't sink!'

The lead motorboat turned sharply as Siegfried appeared in front of it, decloaking bow-to-stern, turned broadside-on towards the approaching squadron. Within seconds, Isengard surfaced behind them, her foredeck splitting open to deploy her main guns and missile batteries.

Von Schoenvorts clicked the speaker on, 'Attention enemy vessels, you have nowhere to run! Drop your weapons and come out on deck with your hands above your heads!'

A cannon round bounced off Siegfried's bow, exploding harmlessly in the sea next to her. Von Schoenvorts shook his head, 'Stupid bastards...Open fire!'

Air Destroyer Valiant, West of Grafton's Isle

Cassandra looked at the satellite map of the battle at North Point, noticing the company around the launchers at the old factory, 'This is Air Destroyer Valiant to operational command, request permission to break from landing force and provide suppression fire for the garrison at North Point.'

There was a slight pause, then, 'Affirmative, Valiant, take a heading due North of Hail beach and fire at your discretion.'

Abandoned factory yard, thirty-six miles Southwest of North Point

Connoly leaned out from behind the empty propane tank and fired another burst at the sniper's position, ducking back quickly and cursing as another burst of machine-gun fire from the tank narrowly missed him. Everyone had been surprised when the massive blacksmith had joined the resistance; most knew him as a man who would never hurt a fly, but it seemed after he'd slung his father's ageing Bren gun across his back and donned his uniform that he'd never been anything else.

Baines ducked behind a wrecked forklift, and pondered his next move. The tank defending the six launchers couldn't move, thanks to the sacrifice of O'Bannon and Locksley, and he had a strong feeling they had no ammunition for their main gun or were too stupid to fire at Connoly through the propane tank, but both it's machine guns were in good enough order, and there seemed a lot of troops backing it up.

'Connoly! Use your RPG-7 on the sniper up the water tower!'

The big man nodded, and at the next pause leaned out and fired; the water tower simply folded up on itself, the rotten timbers holding it up giving way.

And at that point, the nearest launcher exploded suddenly, a colossal ball of fire rolling lazily into the air and the ground shaking. Baines blinked, then grinned as the scream of the descending shell that had just hit sounded out, firing a burst into the air from his AK and yelling towards the separatist troops, 'You hear that, you bastards?! They've come for you!'

Tunnel between Marshall Island and Grafton's Isle

Lanes started to wonder about the wisdom of his plan as he slowly crawled forward, using any and all cover he could find, which was precious little where he was going.

A shot, a thud, and he saw the shape of one of the snipers falling over. Well... there's one... The Extor's guns fired again, and he sucked more dirt, Fuck-ing thing's getting closer... He layed low, letting the SFAT take care of the snipers as he fiddled with his magnetic charge, trying to find a good balance between keeping the time short, but not so short he'd get creamed. Well... it seemed like a good idea at the time...

Frost crouched under cover, his rail gun loaded and reade for use, but worthless. If the snipers up ahead were any good they'd put a bullet in his face as soon as he pulled the trigger. He swore softly in frustration, whispering to Hicks, "What's the point of this damn thing if I can't use it?" Hicks shrugged, smirking slightly.

Military Command, Corporate Spire, Chiba City, the Hack

Military Command took up and entire floor of the Corporate Spire. It was a monsterously large room for a peaceful nation, but when the Spire was built, the Corporate Rebellion was still fresh in everyone's mind, especially the mind of then-President Gibson. As well as the mind of his young assistant Victor.

The room contained some of the best electronics available, and plenty that weren't available. This was the stuff that nobody else got, not even GMC. Anesca sat quietly, her eyes closed, in deep concentration. Her sister, Shiala, was sending her a constant stream of data, mostly dealing with her... well... cousin, she supposed, Yui. She shook her head as she started to try and trace all her links to other AI's, and resumed her primary tasks.

She was also patched into the room's mainframe, via her own, and was busy feeding it all the information, as well as some basic analysis, while the room crunched the numbers. The result was an amazingly impressive, and realistic holographic display in the center of the room. No simple squares and triangles to represent troops and ships, but actual, to scale, images of the ships themselves. Actually, it took up the majority of the room, currently providing a top-down view of the entire area, enough to cause severe vertigo in people who weren't familiar with it.

Towards the middle of the naval "battle", the black box that represented the invisible Siegfried shimmered and morphed, much like it was doing in the real world. Anesca could just imagine the stunned looks from the sepratists.

She smiled at the assembled military generals, admirals, security staff, and President Solis, "Things are going well so far. The naval battle looks to be over before it begins, and as you can see," the map rushed inland and zoomed in on an area centered on North Point, with a 50 mile radius, "the loyalists are roughly holding their own, especially now that air support has arrived. The only concern is the team in the tunnel, and we won't know about them until they surface."

Tunnel between Marshall and Grafton's Isle

DeSade grinned as the charge detonated and the Extor collapsed forward and to it's left, trying to raise itself back up onto it's three remaining legs. 'Izumi, take your shot!'

The huge muzzle flare of Izumi's cannon lit up the darkness, the bullet tearing straight through the Extor and smashing into the far end of the tunnel. The Extor simply stopped, the light in it's sensors slowly fading.

'All units, move out! We've got to secure that DZ!'

Shima kissed Izumi's cheek as she removed the HVAAR's barrel, 'Nice shot.'

Izumi grinned, 'Don't you expect that by now?'

First Army Transport Unit, overflying Gothamshire, Grafton's Isle

'...The DZ's in Karlshire, only a few more miles now. All units, prepare to jump!'

Trent whacked the release catch on the pilot's cocoon, stepping to the side as the COM frame's chest split open. He grinned, pocketing his cigarettes as he checked over his frame's gear to make sure it was secure, before climbing inside.

'Red on!'

Fields near Leechester, Karlshire, Grafton's Isle

DeSade watched the giant frames descending along with around a hundred infantry, and pondered the tactical reports again. He'd told them before he'd set out that they'd been too fuck-ing vague, but he guessed he'd have to live with that. 'Ok, split into three and advance through the woods West of the guns. I want one MAC frame in each team, other force allocations as per your briefing. Move out!'

Abandoned factory yard, thirty-six miles Southwest of North Point

Baines was sitting on the roof of the burned-out separatist tank when the giant Air Destroyer finally flew past them; most of his troops waved and fired their guns into the air as it passed, still firing occasionally in the direction of North Point.

North Point Base

The separatists were already in full retreat from Valiant shelling the road they were advancing down, and the appearance of the Air Destroyer on the horizon dropping dozens of Wasp fighters from her underside killed what little resolve they had left. 'Fall back! All units, retreat!'

Lieutenant-General Hoshino grinned, 'All units advance and secure a perimeter at the edge of the village! Destroy any and all separatist forces you encounter!'

Both of the huge 7A3 Mammoths guarding the South entrance to the base warmed up their engines and began advancing, simply running over or pushing aside the burned-out ruins of tanks left on the road.

'This is Air Destroyer Valiant to North Point, you will be receiving shipments of combat supplies within the next day, what is your status?'

Lieutenant-General Hoshino blinked, then grinned, 'The jamming's gone...Well, answer her.'

The radio op nodded, 'This is North Point, our status is ok; we have around twenty thousand civilian refugees currently within the base perimeter and around a hundred wounded, looks to be around fourteen KIA from that attack. Thank you for the support, Valiant.'

Tunnel between Marshall and Grafton's Isle

As the snipers fell, Lanes inched his way forward. Finally he was right next to the Extor's leg. Carefully pulling the magnetic charge back out, he carefully raised himself to a crouching posting, taking care to keep out of the Extor's line of sight. He gingerly placed the charge at the joint; fingers brushing over the buttons on the face, he found the one with three raised pips. Pressing the button, he immediately started running, diving over a piece of rubble; the Extor's fire close enough for him to feel the heat. He had just enough time to brace himself before the charge detonated, blowing the leg clean off. He barely had time to congratulate himself for living through this before he saw Izumi fire her HVAAR, cursing as his field of vision went white, the compensators on his goggles kicking in, to keep him from being blinded by the muzzle flash. He grinned as his vision returned, "Effective..."

Woods near heavy coastal emplacement #4, Berkleyshire, Grafton's Isle

Trent aimed his COM frame's rifle at the nearest enemy position, and waited; the MAC Frame nearby took aim with it's gigantic Siege Rifle at the blacked-out form of Gun Four; 'This is team one, we're in position, awaiting further orders.'

'Maintain your position and hold fire for as long as you can, team one. Do not fire unless you are discovered.'

Leightonsbury, half a mile West of heavy coastal emplacement #3, Meganshire, Grafton's Isle

Most of the second fire team fell into step behind the ART frame as it stepped out onto the bridge, still hurling fire at the separatist positions on the other side of the river. The unit's MAC frame levelled it's Rifle at the building where the majority of the tracers were coming from and fired; the whole front face of the central library collapsing into the street. Dozens of fires lit up the night.

'This is unit two, we have encountered heavy resistance along Route 9!'

The MAC ducked behind a building to reload, 'Fuck it! Captain, I lost a mag during the drop, only four more rounds left!'

'Unit two to command, request permission to fire on the target.'

'Negative. Hold off from firing as long as you can.'

Captain Harrison grimaced as he flicked the radio off, 'Yeah, that's easy for you to say.'

Woods near heavy coastal emplacement #2, Brackley, Grafton's Isle

The MAC stepped into position on the edge of the forest, levelling it's gun at the emplacement.

'This is unit one, we're in position; all units, fire at will!'

The MAC fired, the ground shaking with the force of the shot. The bullet tore into the side of the emplacement, the explosion coiling up around the cannon aperture. After a few moments, the barrel of the coastal gun dropped sharply, then fell out of it's mounting, crashing into the sea below trailing a sheet of flame.

Leightonsbury, half a mile West of heavy coastal emplacement #3, Meganshire, Grafton's Isle

'Fall back! All units, pull back as soon as the MAC takes the shot!'

The bullet from the MAC's gun went through two intervening buildings before smashing into the top of the gun emplacement and exploding, bringing the emplacement's roof down on the gun's breech.

'This is Captain Harrison to all units, pull back and regroup at point K!'

Woods near heavy coastal emplacement #4, Berkleyshire, Grafton's Isle

A thin trail of smoke curled from the Siege Rifle's barrel as the rest of team one opened fire on the troops around gun four to cover their retreat.

'Team one to command, we confirm that gun four is out of action.'

'Affirmative, all units fall back to People's Resistance position at point K and await reinforcement.'

Supercruiser Yui, fifty miles West of Grafton's Isle, heading East

'Ok, I have defence guns seven and eight targeted' Yui finished, 'I'd rather not risk a full broadside if I can avoid it.' She blinked as her point defence swatted a shell out of the air in front of her, 'They're got some nerve firing at us...'

A voice cut in over the radio, 'This is Sky Hammer Rapier, I have the sixth gun.'

Yui grinned, 'Affirmative. Fire on my mark.'

West Coast of Grafton's Isle

The sun had just begun to peak over the horizon as the Supercruiser and Sky Hammer opened fire; three rounds from Yui each on emplacements seven and eight, tearing both to pieces and hurling fragments of them high into the air as the mushroom clouds from the explosions slowly rose into the morning sky. Emplacement six fared little better, folding up on itself as the Sky Hammer's shot smashed into it and then exploded, another mushroom cloud rising as fragments of the gun and the emplacement feel into the sea in front of it.

'Supercruiser Yui to all ships; landing is secure, operation Sabre is go.'

Leightonsbury, half a mile West of heavy coastal emplacement #3, Meganshire, Grafton's Isle

"Sonuvabitch..." Lanes muttered darkly under his breath, his eyes scanning the area in front of him from behind the rapidly disintegrating building he was using for shelter. Between the MAC being short on ammo, and every damn sepratist in the world shooting at him, he was begining to wish he was still mucking around in the tunnel. "Christ, are they importing these bastards?" He flipped the selector on his OCAW, and leveled it at a convenience store that several rebels were using for cover. Gently squeezing the trigger, and sending the grenade screaming through the air, blowing the front of the store apart. Swinging the gun around, and flipping the switch back smoothly, he opened fire on some more speratists, and suddenly found himself wondering why he wasn't firing any more.

The relative silence was disconcerting. The only sound he could make out was the OCAW clattering to the ground. That and a nauseating thud. He looked to his right, realising that the reason everything was wrong, was because he was missing most of his right arm. "Oh, fuck..."

Just off the Coast of Hail Beach, Grafton's Isle

The Higgins boat crashed against the waters violently. "Oh, bloody hell," was the common phrase being said by the Hacker troopers as the got nearer and nearer to the beach. Pfc. Johnson smirked at Pvt. Avers, "Ya know, it's not so much the charge onto a beach that's being defended, it's the damn water ride... "

'Point K,' Loyalist Position in Blakesbury, Berkleyshire, Grafton's Isle

A ragged cheer went up as the Federal troops moved into the town, most of the town militia standing in various approximations of attention, most wearing the dark green uniforms and red berets of the People's Resistance. Of the Federal troops, the hardest hit were the second group, with dozens injured and one dead with several others in a very bad way, and damage of varying severity across all of their Frames. Most of the wounded were rushed to the local church, one of the few buildings not just a hollow burned-out framework of blackened timbers or a heap of rubble.

Most of the soldiers were greeted by the town militia commander, a lean middle-aged man with an old Thompson submachinegun slung over his shoulder. 'Welcome to Point K, Comrades!' he grinned. Already, fog was beginning to settle around the town, with snow falling gently, and the technicians with the group busied themselves working on damaged frames and concealing them as best they could. Most of the rest of the Federal troops spent their time digging in or relieving the militia soldiers of their watches, SFAT teams taking over sitting in the perimeter watch towers. Others worked at digging trenches and foxholes. The militia commander grinned at DeSade, 'I'm sorry we can't offer you comfortable beds, comrade, but the separatist dogs have been shelling us here ever since this whole mess kicked off.'

DeSade nodded, grinning; 'Comfortable beds were never in the job description anyway, sir.'

Inside the church, Lanes woke with a start, being greeted by the odd sight of a young Neko woman wearing a bloodstained apron. She smiled, 'Ah, you're finally awake...For a while back then we didn't think you'd make it.' She blinked, 'Oh, don't try to get up, please...You lost a lot of blood back there.' She watched as he looked at the bandaged stump of his arm, and tried to smile reassuringly, 'I guess you'll have to get used to a bionic...'

Sword Beach, West coast of Grafton's Isle

With the sun just setting, the order was given to move ashore. Even the most hardened of the GMC Marines in the dozens of landing craft that were heading ashore started slightly as the Bombardment Platform Lady Eboshi fired on the beach, the dozens of artillery guns kicking up plumes of dirt, most hitting their targets. Fire from tanks and artillery guns on the beach answered, mostly directed at Lady Eboshi but several rounds exploding in the sea near the landing craft.

'This is Lieutenant Baelz to Lady Eboshi, tighten up your supporting fire on those artillery guns.'

One of the landing craft took a hit and exploded just as Baelz finished, and he pulled his helmet down, as if that would make any difference. 'Ok, keep your head down and don't be too proud to call for air or arty support, you've got a whole fuck-ing navy backing you up. Remember your training, and you'll get through this alive. See you at the top of the hill.'

He shook his head as he noticed one soldier cross himself, Yeah, a bit of help from Him wouldn't hurt either.

'This is Baelz to command, I have enemy helos and ground-attack aircraft over Sword Beach, where the hell is my close air support?'

'Hang in there, a squadron is inbound.'

'One squadron? What the hell is it, AFSO Black?'

'Yes.'

Baelz blinked, 'Affirmative on that, and tell them I'm going to want a few words with their commanding officer later on.'

Five Starblades faded into existence as they made a pass along the beach, marking most of their shots to the first line of bunkers near the shore. At the end of the beach they accelerated, heading North and disappearing again. 'AFSO Black to Sword landing force, we have a request for air support on Hail Beach. Stand by on all further requests from this squadron, out.'

And then the first boat hit the shore, dropping it's ramp, the troops inside rushing for cover as enemy machineguns in the bunkers above opened fire; 'This is unit seven, we're on the beach!'

More calls; 'This is unit four, we're on the beach!' 'Unit six, on the beach!' Lady Eboshi fired again, hurling shots at the bunkers at the top of the beach, one huge concrete structure giving way completely so a section of it tumbled down the hillside onto the sand. A chain of explosions as it hit the ground made Baelz wince, 'All units be advised, there are minefields in the dunes!'

'This is armour unit one, we're on the beach!'

Baelz had to admire the separatists' resolve; in spite of the shelling from Lady Eboshi being added to by the heavy flak guns of the Dreadnought Akujiki, squadrons of armour were still making their way down the beach to engage the landing force's tanks, and missiles from a battery of launchers on the other side of the hill were starting to rain down on the beach, although they were quickly being silenced by the weight of fire the naval taskforce's battleships were throwing back.

He crawled over to the nearest squad, ducking as an attack helicopter swooped through a storm of flak more by luck than skill and fired on one of the GMC tanks, sending a ball of orange flame rolling skywards. He tapped the man next to him on the shoulder, 'Luke, does your squad have a SAM for that fuck-ing helo?'

The man nodded, 'Johanson, take out that damn chopper!'

A young woman up the line nodded, taking aim with her launcher as the drizzle of rain that had been falling before rapidly turned into a full-blown downpour. The missile sped after the helicopter, hitting it's tail and sending it spinning into the sea.

Seconds later, a huge explosion rang out on the hill, raining debris down across the whole beach. Glancing to the sea, Baelz grinned at the sight of the gigantic Sky Hammer moving slowly towards the beach, hundreds of Wasp drones dropping from her underside as she advanced. 'This is Rapier to landing force, do you have any further targets?'

Baelz watched the smoke clear, leaving a huge crater in the centre of the fortifications at the top of the beach, 'All units, advance!'

Hail Beach, West coast of Grafton's Isle

'This is Dreadnought Hornet to all units, we're about to sweep the upper beach with our wave cannon!'

One of the GMC squad leaders blinked, 'All units, hit the deck! Find cover, get low and stay low! All armour, fall back to the lower beach!'

The air around Hornet's main gun shimmered as it built up charge, discharges of electricity arcing between the two sides of the wave cannon's barrel. The whine of the cannon's capacitors charging was rapidly replaced with a loud hum as it fired, the shimmering beam panning across the upper beach. The Federal soldiers who looked up watched as the bunkers were crushed like eggshells, separatist troops running for their lives as the bunkers collapsed.

'All units move forward! Advance on the upper beach!'

'This is amphi-carrier Shiva, we're coming ashore!'

There was still sporadic fire coming from the remaining artillery on the upper beach as the carrier started moving ashore, dropping her tracks and moving up onto the beach, firing from her heavy gun turrets as she moved. 'This is Shiva, we're on the beach!'

Federal Department of Internal Affairs, Marshall Island

Shiala sat with her eyes closed as a holographic image of the battle hung in the air in front of her, 'Initial losses were heavier than was expected on Sword Beach...It looks like we underestimated their resolve.'

Field Marshal Embersby frowned, 'I guess we'll need to increase the ground force allocation if they're going to put up this kind of fight in Lanfordshire...We've got to pull this off with minimal civilian casualties.'

Shiala smiled as she watched the amphi-carrier move ashore, 'Well, I guess Alice will be happy with that.'

Field-Marshal Embersby nodded, 'Happy with the performance anyway...I don't think she likes to think of it actually being used in combat.'

Shiala nodded, 'Well, I doubt anyone actually does like thinking of it that way.'

Annie shrugged, 'Some people do...Each to their own, I guess. You ready for another damn Joint Forces Briefing?'

Shiala blinked, 'What the hell didn't I tell them last time?'

Annie grinned and adjusted her dress uniform, 'It's the second stage briefing, they'll want telemetry and briefings on all action so far. Just be thankful it's not a democratic government you're talking to or they'd want costings and justification for the expenses of the whole action.'

Shiala winced, 'Eep. Glad I'm not doing that at least.'

'Me too. Well, those guys aren't going to brief themselves.'

'Point K,' Loyalist Position in Blakesbury, Berkleyshire, Grafton's Isle

Lanes nodded weakly as the Neko... surgeon? wandered off to help another soldier. Lifting up slightly he scanned the church, seeing several wounded people, civilians and troops alike, some in much worse shape than he. Thunking back down into the pew, he muttered, barely managing to keep from swearing. No sense in pissing God off, in His house. He sighed as the throbbing pain washed over his body, "Urgh... she was right... I'll just, ah, not move."

He looked at the stump that was his right arm and sighed again. It was strange, really. He could almost observe himself running through the whole gamut of emotions, from despair to anger. A bionic arm. He smiled darkly, thinking of the friends he had who would cut their own arm off to get one of those. Of course, he was hardly a normal citizen of the Hack. He'd much rather have his real arm. Wonder if I have to retire now?

Hail Beach, West coast of Grafton's Isle

"Okay ladies, last chance for gut checks and prayers!" Captain Maki was yelling to be heard over the roar of the water, even with the voice magnification provided by his radio. "It's really simple. Blast the shit out of those communist bastards so that huge fuck-ing thing they call Shiva can roll her fat ass up the beach! Keep your head down, eyes open, and guns spitting! Make sure your radio's five-by-five, too. I don't want any of you getting splatted if Hornet busts out it's Gun Of Doom!" He readied his rifle, squared his helmet, and spit over the side of the boat, more for effect than anything. "Remember, we're hitting first, keep them busy so the armor can land!"

The Hacker soliders let out a collective roar as their ramps crashed into the sand, particles being tossed up, and knocked back down by the spray. They charged into the fray, firing as soon as targets presented themselves, charging the hail of bullets showing far less fear and ackwardness than one would expect from a nation like the Hack. Cpt. Maki smiled to himself, proud of the work that had been done, and so quickly too. They'd taken the laid back and green Hack military and whipped it up to performance levels in record time. His reverie was broken as he felt a strange tapping sensation on the back of his mind, causing him to dive to the ground, seconds before a bullet wizzed over his head. "Holy shit... it works..." He flipped a switch on the strange box mounted on his gun, and suddenly his vision was filled with ranges and targets. Rising to one knee, he started firing. One bullet, one kill, zero effort, the small device plugged into the back of his neck actually worked.

Secure Research Lab A-43-17B-85, Corporate Spire, Chiba City, The Hack, 2 Months Ago

Alysa shook her head slowly, looking at the tiny little plug in her hand. They hadn't made something like this before. Which, she supposed, made sense. After all, she only knew one other psychic, and she was in Foreign Affairs, and would have no use for this thing. She looked up at the monitor infront of her, showing a secure operating room. Some military officer, Captain Scott Maki, if she remembered right, was on the table. He'd been there for two days now as they performed the surgery. It was an amazing thing to watch. She'd been through a similar surgery herself, but nowhere near as intense, or involved. She just got a jack, he was getting rewired. The odds were amazing, really. The Hack had something like one psychic in five hundred million. The odds of finding another were pretty slim, but to find one in the military, now that was just astronomical. And then for him to be willing? Unbelievable.

She looked at the schematics on her computer again, shaking her head. If this works, he'll be... well... awe inspiring... Aside from just connecting the jack to his brain, they were connecting to the optic nerves, the spinal column, and dozens upon dozens of nerves, as well as installing a miniature motion detector, GPS system, and a microprocessor to make sense of it all. Of course, he'd have an appetite like a bear to power all this crap, but the benifits in combat would be astronomical. And once the device in her hand was plugged into his neck, he could connect to the gun GMC was making for him, and just tear up the battlefield. Of course, if it didn't work, or he bought it in combat, they were out a bucket of chits...

Hail Beach, West coast of Grafton's Isle

Cpt. Maki felt another twitch in his mind, and red letters flashed up in his field of view. He was diving down again, even before he'd finished reading, turning on his radio and shouting, "HIT THE DIRT! Hornet's gonna fire!"

tag for good readin'

'Point K,' Loyalist Position in Blakesbury, Berkleyshire, Grafton's Isle

The Militia commander saluted as he entered the makeshift barracks, where a group of Federal troops were watching a young psychic soldier hammering a group of resistance militiamen who had obviously seen themselves as card sharks and made the mistake of betting with cigarettes. She already had two dozen cartons and two pouches full of tobacco beside her, several of her colleagues busying themselves smoking her winnings. He grinned, 'Comrades! I see you've made our honoured guests feel welcome.' He turned to the Federal group, 'I would like to speak to your commanding officer...What was his name?'

'People tend to call me DeSade...It's a long story as to why.' DeSade stood up, 'Lead the way, Commander.'

The commander laughed, 'Please, friend, call me comrade,' he grinned, 'After all, we're all comrades here.'

DeSade nodded, handing him a cigarette as they stepped out onto the pub's balcony, 'So, away from them, how bad is it?'

The Commander frowned as he lit up, 'It's bad, comrade...This fog makes it difficult for their snipers, but their artillery knows where we are...I guess the only reason they've stopped firing is they ran out of ammunition and they're awaiting resupply' he took a drag, 'That or they're being reinforced to make a full-scale attack on the town, we're not really that sure which. Their main position looks to be in the freight train yards Northeast of here.'

DeSade nodded, 'We've lost most of our satellite uplink gear, damaged or slung to get here quicker in case they pursued us...The stuff we do have is either really light imprecise units or it's on Frames we need to save power for; no checking that way.' He took a drag on his cigarette, 'And sending out radio signals would give away that we're here.' He grinned, and unsheathed his combat knife, holding it so it caught the light from the door, 'Which leaves recon the old fashioned way. Can you spare me some men?'

The commander grinned, 'How many do you need?'

In the old church, the doctor looked out at the rest of the hospital, 'Looks like you got hit pretty badly out there...'

Izumi sat by Shima's bed, absentmindedly fiddling with her engagement ring. There was still a slight sting where a bullet had taken a nick out of the little Neko's ear, but otherwise she was in pretty good shape. Unlike Shima.

She was still breathing, and the heart rate monitor still beeping regularly, which Izumi guessed was a good sign, but she'd taken a half-dozen hits after the first before Izumi had picked her up and carried her to the medic. And she hadn't opened her eyes since. 'Please don't die on me...' Izumi whispered.

A soft, weak whisper responded, 'Don't worry, Reika...'

Izumi blinked, then hugged Shima, 'D-dammit Sakura...' she smiled, tears running down her cheeks, 'Don't you ever scare me like that again...'

Sword Beach

With the landing over, Baelz had set up a temporary command post in one of the few remaining intact bunkers up on the hill. The Federal fleet was mostly silent now, occasional volleys of fire from the battleships being directed at stragglers who refused to surrender, which seemed to be most of them. Baelz wasn't complaining, it was good to get in out of the rain that was hammering down outside, the occasional clap of thunder booming across the sky and making the less disciplined men duck.

He flicked on the radio, 'Command, this is Lieutenant Baelz, commanding officer on Sword beach. Losses counted up so far are five hundred thirty wounded, two hundred eleven dead, mostly in the first wave. Most of the stable wounded have been evac'd to hospital ships. Along with those, four armoured vehicles lost with damage to four others,' he paused as a explosion sounded outside, 'Make that five lost with damage to three.' He put his hand over the receiver 'Get a couple of medics over there to make sure nobody's hurt.'

He continued, 'No sir, it's impossible to make any accurate estimate...We've no idea how many of them were in the section of the bunker Rapier hit for a start, so any figures are pretty meaningless. Yes sir, we'll carry on. Thank you sir.'

Baelz clicked the radio off. Estimate of enemy casualties? He could see why, with the possibility of the UNMC asking unfortunate questions about missing or 'excessive' casualty figures, but still, they hadn't even treated all their wounded yet. He shook his head, 'Damn bureaucracies.'

North Point

The first cargo ship moved slowly into the dock, the teams quickly working to unload it. Lieutenant-General Hoshino watched curiously, 'Doesn't look like fuel, spares or ammunition...Where's the manifest?' someone handed her a clipboard.

'Clothes, fresh water, blankets, medical supplies and food for the civvie refugees on this one, sir.'

She nodded, 'Makes sense to unload it first, then...See that it's properly distributed.'

The man saluted, 'Sir!'

The little Lieutenant-General glanced out to sea, looking at the other ships, bearing far more ominous cargoes; containers full of weapons, tanks and drums of aviation and vehicle fuel, spare parts and, on several of the larger ships, huge 7A3 Mammoth tanks under tarpaulins. Two Air Destroyers hovered over the convoy, Leopard and one of her sisters, while Valiant hung in the sky above the base itself.

Joint Forces Briefing, Federal Department of Internal Affairs, Marshall Island

Shiala stood up before the various military representatives, clearing her throat as a hologram spread out before her.

'As you're aware, the initial stage of Operation Sabre is complete; the landings at Hail and Sword beaches, though not without incident, are now moving large numbers of troops ashore and the base at North Point is secure; that only leaves reinforcement of the Federal forces at the loyalist area here. You will refer to this area as 'Point K' until it has been relieved.'

Shiala took a sip of water, and continued, 'The major problem we have is there's a large amount of armour massing Northeast of Point K, and it looks to be coming from separatist controlled areas. Most of the movement,' a long line highlighted on the hologram, 'Is by freight train along this line, additional supplies being moved along these four roads.' Three red dots appeared, one on the railway line, the other two on two of the roads, 'The rail bridge here and road bridges here and here are obvious targets to halt any further movement of supplies; Army B-95s taking off from the Strike Platform Farbanti will be taking that job and doing their best to damage the remaining two roads to halt movement of supplies entirely. Chances are they won't be expecting high-altitude bombers attacking the roads or bridges, so resistance isn't likely.'

The view panned back to the freight yard, focusing on five launchers, satellite photos in several spectrums appearing alongside, 'Unfortunately, I can't say the same for the freight yard; we have high-altitude SAM batteries positioned around the rebel positions, and they look to be concealing a number of VTOL aircraft in the engine sheds here; satellite images give a count of not less than five whole aircraft moved in on flatbed trucks over the past two days, maybe more if they've moved others partially dismantled.'

She frowns, 'We've had no word from the Federal troops in the area, so we have only a limited idea of their status. My satellites confirmed a major firefight between the second unit and separatist forces near gun #3, and several of their frames look to be damaged from that, so they're not operating at full capacity, and they look to have a number of wounded.'

'Given that destroying their path of retreat essentially commits the separatist forces to an attack on Point K, speed in the relief effort is paramount. The only option that really has a chance of saving those men is dropping a large contingent from the Second Parachute Armoured Division here...' another area highlighted as a Parachute Armour commander stood.

'Hold on...You want to drop frames in the middle of a snowstorm? We don't even give our men training simulations of that kinda of jump, let alone actual drops.'

Field Marshal Embersby nodded, 'It's risky, yes. But they'd do it for you.'

The man frowned, 'Yeah, I guess they would.'

Shiala continued, 'That contingent will move in to support the unit already present at Point K and hold until Federal armour squadrons from Sword Beach have broken through to relieve them. Armour from Hail beach is to advance and meet up with armour from North Point, then await further orders. Separatist positions are to be destroyed on sight and reported to each unit's commanding officer.'

Third Army Transport Unit and Second Army Heavy Bomber Squadron, overflying Gothamshire, Grafton's Isle

The giant Grand Dragon bombers slowly banked away and headed for their targets as the transports descended, soldiers inside running final checks on their gear, 'Remember to keep an eye on your parachute controls at all times; we're putting you down into weather nothing like you've ever been taught to jump in, so be careful!'

Tag, 'cause we loves ya!

'Point K,' Loyalist Position in Blakesbury, Berkleyshire, Grafton's Isle

The fog was a bitch. The sepratists were a bitch. The ancient equipment was really a bitch. And being on the roof of a church just made things worse.

Alistryn and Lenura were on the roof, swearing under their breath about the shoddy equipment, the shoddy working conditions, and the general state of low-tech squalor they were living in. The third technitian, Arton, was attempting to take a smoke break.

"Comrade! Allow me to offer you a cigarette, you have earned our thanks." The large native walked quickly to Arton, holding out what looked like it might be a cigarette, although it looked more like several leaves shoved into newspaper. The loyalist was something of a frightening sight, really. He had a large rifle slung over his shoulder, and his clothes (didn't really have a uniform to speak of) had washed-out red stains on them, much like blood that had been soaked by rain. Which was probably the case.

"Uh... sure, thanks... ah, comrade." Arton gingerly took the cigarette, accepting the poffered matches as well. Taking a deep drag that caused his eyes to water, he croaked, "Thanks..."

"Of course, my pleasure. You and your friends have provided a lot of help."

"We do what we can. That's a pretty old dish we've got there, and... well... it's been shot up pretty bad, but we'll get it working." He smirked, "As long as you and yours can keep us from getting shot."

The man nodded, "You can count on it."

"Arton!" Alistryn was glaring down from the roof of the church. "You care to actually do some work?"

Arton smirked, flicking the cigarette butt lazily, "I am working, Ali. Public relations is important, you know."

"Asshole."

"He hates it when I call him that," Arton said to the loyalist, a gleam in his eye, "So, of course, I use it every chance I get."

Hail Beach

Maki sat in the ruined remains of a sepratist bunker, cigar dangling from his mouth. He glanced at the techie that was sitting next to him, "You got that connection online yet? The brains wanted a report as soon as I could manage."

"Not yet sir, we're trying, but... we don't have all the needed equipment."

"Yar, yar. Let me know when you manage."

Stepping outside the bunker, he surveyed the carnage. They'd taken remarkably light losses, all things considered. He'd heard the other landing had been far bloodier. Of course, once Shiva had rolled onto the shore, much of the morale was broken. He headed for the command bunker, to check on their progress securing the rest of the beach.

Point K

Izumi shivered a little as she showered; the building was missing two walls, after all, and the groundsheet strung across the gap didn’t do much to keep the cold out. While the water from the broken showerhead wasn’t freezing, it wasn’t warm, either. Still, it felt good to get rid of the dirt, sweat and blood from her fur. She winced a little at the pain from her ear, and rubbed it a little. 'Ow.'

She thought for a moment; Dammit, that HVAAR's useless without ammo...I'd better find something else. She slipped on the clean clothes that had been left for her while one of the townspeople did their best washing her uniform, and tied the white ribbon she usually wore in her hair, then headed for the Resistance's armoury.

She found herself faced with several stacks of crates and dozens of rusty and badly neglected weapons stacked in piles or propped up against the walls. She smiled as she spotted something familiar, and pulled out an old Enfield No. 4 sniper rifle, 'Wow...Please tell me you have ammo for this.'

The quartermaster, a jolly-looking red-faced man who was better known as the local butcher nodded, 'It's that case down there...No, you've got your hand on it...Yes, that one.'

Izumi took a cloth from her pocket and polished the sight, then took a look down it; 'It's in damn good shape; this belong to a collector?'

The man smiled, 'Naw, belonged to Tom the baker...'Im and ol' Bill used to hunt deer up on the moor.'

In the middle of the night, DeSade's group returned; DeSade himself was covered in blood and carrying a young woman across his back, 'Get this one to the hospital!'

The militia commander blinked, 'A prisoner?' he looked to his men, 'Should probably assign Yurika at the hospital a guard...She's the best damn doctor you'll ever meet, but she's no fighter, that one.'

A man stepped forward, 'I'm free for guard duty, comrade.'

The militia commander grinned, 'Bickson, if the first think I saw when I woke up was your face I'd probably have a heart attack.'

DeSade shouted across the square, 'Izumi, that you?'

'Sir!'

'Mind standing guard on our POW? I'm pretty sure she's a civvie, so it's not like it's going to be hard work.'

Izumi saluted, 'Sir!'

Field Hospital, Church of St. Edward, Point K

Christina winced at the pain in her head as she woke up, then blinked at her surroundings, 'Huh?' she winced again, 'Oowwwww...'

It was at that point she remembered falling asleep at her post, and noticed the Resistance flag on the wall of the room she was in. Oh, no... She looked over to the door, noticing a little Neko woman wearing a blood-spattered apron, a Resistance armband over her doctor's whites, and all the stories about what the Resistance did to prisoners, especially female prisoners, came back to her. She crawled back up against the wall.

The Neko blinked, 'Um...Hi there, good to see you're awake. What's your name?'

Christina swallowed hard, 'Christina...Christina White. No rank, I'm just a security guard...' she gave the Neko a pleading look, 'Please don't hurt me.'

The Neko gave her a puzzled look, then looked down at herself and stifled a laugh, 'Oh, I'm sorry...This probably looks pretty bad from where you are.' She smiled reassuringly, 'You're in a hospital, nobody's going to hurt you.'

Christina looked at her; she'd never really seen a Neko before, but the propaganda films her mother had made them watch had always shown them as filthy, scheming, disease ridden, horrible things...Animals, really. Her father had always turned the TV off if he found that on, or if one of Copeland's speeches came on...Then him and her mother would spend the rest of the night shouting at each other.

Looking at the doctor, she could she why her father didn't want her to think of Nekos that way...She wasn't anything like the things Copeland talked about; she looked tired and a little dishevelled, but in a way she was actually rather pretty.

She smiled, 'Do you want me to get you anything for your head? He did hit you pretty hard, from the look of things.'

Christina nodded cautiously.

'Ok, I'll see what I can find. You lie back and rest, 'k?'

Christina lay back; it was kind of odd realising everything her father told her about the war was true...Up until today, she hadn't really known what to believe, her father saying Copeland was a lunatic or her mother saying he was a visionary. Not that she's seen or spoken to her mother since her father had found out she'd taken her and her brother to one of Copeland's rallies. It'd been horrible, really, watching her mother joining in with the chanting, the screaming of slogans and the cheers, trying to get her and her little brother to join in too. As soon as her father had found out, he'd had them pack their bags and driven them out into the country, getting a job at a friend's timber mill. She'd taken the guard job because they needed the extra ration points for her little brother.

With nobody around, she took a little time to look at where she was; it looked like a small church room, with stone walls, an old oak door left wide open, looking out into the hall. Christina moved quietly over to the door, tenatively peeping out into the hall, meeting the gaze of another Neko woman. She was dressed in slightly too-big jeans and a baggy t-shirt, and was sitting on a chair writing on a notepad. She smiled, 'Meow?'

'Um...Just looking...I wasn't trying to...'

'Don't worry. Anyway, I could use someone to talk to.'

Christina let herself be escorted back into the room, and watched the Neko sit on the end of the bed. 'Reika Izumi, before you ask. Christina, isn't it?'

Christina nodded.

'Well, tell me a little about yourself.'

Christina sighed, and lay back a little, Well, I guess telling her a little won't hurt...

The Black Bear Pub, Point K

'Good to get in out of the snow, comrade.'

DeSade nodded as the militia commander spread out a map on the table, 'So, what did you see?'

DeSade lit up a cigarette, 'Bad news. The artillery company that's been shelling you is still in position. On top of that, you've now got tents pitched in this yard, and armour here and here. Looks to be VTOL aircraft in a couple of the engine sheds, too.'

The militia commander, nodded, 'Bad...' he paused, and then bought up what had been nagging him since DeSade had returned, 'Comrade...One thing I don't understand...You killed three men with just a knife. Why not her?'

DeSade frowned, 'Comrade, I'll do a lot of things I'm not very proud of, but killing a little girl asleep in a guard box who doesn't know one end of her gun from the other isn't one of them.'

Road near Dreyton River, Greenley, Grafton's Isle

The push off Sword Beach had been somewhat easier than the landing, although resistance was getting stronger again in some places as the armour moved closer to Lanfordshire. At present, though, the separatist force at Dreyton river was in full retreat, being pursued by most of the Fifth Armoured Division.

'This is Mike-Tango four-three of unit four to command, is Route Seventeen the only one that crosses the river in this sector?'

'Affirmative, Mike Tango four-three.' The commander of the huge Mammoth Tank grinned, and flicked over to a different frequency, 'This is Mike Tango four-three to Rapier, I have a target that needs some of your special lovin', over.'

'Ten four, Mike Tango. Cover your ears, it's gonna get real loud down there!'

The ground shook as the explosion tore the bridge apart, a mess of twisted steel and cables crashing down into the river. The separatist commander turned to face Federal tanks heading towards him with his back to a river, 'No surrender! Fight to the last-' he fell to the ground, the mercenary behind him holstering his pistol.

'Didn't pay me nearly enough for suicidal courage, ace...Someone find something white to wave before they decide to shoot us?'

Point K

It was a strange sight watching dozens of Frames moving into the town, laden with supplies and wearing thermal camouflage sheets across their shoulders like cloaks. A woman stepped forward from the group to DeSade and saluted, 'Susan Davies, Second Parachute Armour at your command, sir.'

DeSade grinned, 'A Colonel at the command of a Captain, sir?'

Susan blinked, 'Oh.' She grinned, 'Well, no point pulling rank at a time like this, I hear you're in need of some support.'

'Guess I could use some help if you're not too busy.'

The Colonel smiled, 'Russel! Hopkins! Start unloading those anti-tank mines!'

Church Roof, Point K

Arton sat on the edge of the roof, smoking another one of the Cigarettes of Doom, as he had termed them, finding himself rather enjoying them. Once you got past the burning sensations and the gag reflex, of course. He started wondering if he might import them once all this messiness was over.

He glanced over at the spire, where his associates were still trying to get the neglected communications equipment operational again. "Lenura, could you be a doll and bring my bag up here?"

She nodded smartly, "Yes sir," before quickly climbing down the ladder and vanishing into the church.

"Alistryn, go ahead and take five. I've gotta talk to a couple people."

Alistryn muttered something under his breath and stalked off, leaving Arton shaking his head slowly. The guy was good, but had the social skills of an alligator. He got up and looked over their progress so far. They were getting close, the biggest problem being the dish itself. "Nobody said it would be easy..." He climbed down the ladder and started wondering around the villiage.

After a few minutes of walking, he heard a friendly, "Comrade!" causing him to spin around. He smiled as he saw the grinning face of the guard he'd talked to yesterday. "Looking for another cigarette?"

"Not exactly, but I won't say 'no', if you're offering." He smiled, shaking the large man's hand, and accepting the smoke.

"So what do you need?"

"Well... it's like this: We're not using our normal comm systems because we don't want the rebels to notice and trace it here. However, we can use the old system."

"It still works?"

"Not yet," Arton grinned again, "But we're working on that. Anyway, if we use your old system, they might think its mere propaganda. Unless they try listening in..."

"Okay," his face scrunched a little, not following Arton's line of thought.

"Basically, I need noise to cover our transmitions. Propagandistic noise. Noise I'm hoping you might be able to provide."

"I should be able to handle that."

"Great!" Arton smiled broadly, this was going to be fun. "I'll let you know when we're ready for you."

Back on the Roof

Lenura had retrieved the bag, and was rubbing her hands to keep warm when Arton strolled up, walking as if he was a roofer in his previous life. He smiled at her, and started rummaging around in the bag, "Ah, good... I did pack it..." He pulled out his laptop and set it aside.

"You brought your computer?"

"Of course. I figured it was worth the extra couple pounds." He extracted a roll of gray tape from his bag, "But this is what I wanted." He held it up triumphantly, "Duct tape. Gray, sticky gold."

Lenura blinked, grinned, and then started giggling. Arton smiled, "Don't laugh, this crap's useful." He extracted a roll of electrical tape as well, "Never leave home without it." He slipped the electrical tape into one of his cargo pockets, and got to work on the dish, peeling off long strips of tape, tearing the strips with his teeth, and generally making the dish look whole, but even uglier than it originally was.

After working the dish, he knelt down and started rewiring the guts of the thing. Lenura watched him, surprized. She'd never worked with Arton before, but know that he was often sent to work in other countries, and in bad conditions. In fact, he'd just come back from Lavenrunz. You'd never know it, she thought to herself. She'd pegged him as a Grade A Goon. I see why he'd in charge...

Arton looked up just in time to see Alistryn coming back onto the roof. "We're just about ready for a test run, Alistryn. Go find Eric, and bring him up here. He's the loyalist I was smoking with yesterday. Lenura, notify DeSade." He grabbed his laptop, flipped it over, and unscrewed the back cover. "Let's see here..."

Woods North of Point K

The separatist scout shivered slightly as he lit his cigarette, looking through his binoculars at the loyalist positions, 'That's not right, it's not right at all...'

He handed the binoculars to his commander, 'Left of the old supermarket...Do you see it?'

The commander looked, 'I see something all right...What the fuck is that?'

The scout frowned, 'Looks like a frame.'

'What the hell are they doing with a frame way out here? Couldn't it be a decoy?'

'Could be, probably is, too.'

The commander shook his head, 'Can't take the chance, though. We'll attack at first light tomorrow. Mortar teams...I want four teams set up now; there, there, there and there! Contact the depot and get me some arty up here!'

'Sir!'

Infirmary, Point K

Christina smiled, 'But, well...I just wasn't doing so well at law in college...And...Well, then all this happened.'

Izumi smiled, 'Quite a life you've had...' Christina nodded as Izumi yawned, 'Sorry...I should probably get some sleep before tomorrow.'

Christina smiled. In the past couple of hours the little Neko had listened attentively to her, laughed at her jokes and generally made her feel completely at ease, which she wouldn't have really thought possible given where she was. 'Why, what happens tomorrow?'

'Hopefully nothing, but we have to be ready.' Izumi sighed as footsteps sounded outside, 'Ah, that'll be my replacement on guard...' she smiled at Christina, 'Try to get some sleep yourself, ok?'

Christina nodded, and Izumi yawned again, 'Ah, freezing cold tents and itchy bedrolls is my idea of fun...' she said in a tired, sing-song voice.

Strike Platform Farbanti

Another of the Grand Dragon bombers from the night's air raid touched down, taxiing to a halt near the far end of the Platform's runway. The crew climbed out to make their report, having kept up radio silence the whole way top the target and back.

Up in the Strike Platform's briefing room, the bombardier saluted, 'Second pass BDA confirmed the refinery is inoperable and four of the main storage tanks are holed, sir. Major fires throughout the complex from the incendiaries and fuel-air bombs.'

The Captain nodded, 'Excellent.' Hitting Federal Oil's refinery four miles from Lanfor had been ordered by operations command to damage the separatists' ability to deploy armour. While it wasn't their only source of fuel, losing the ability to process one hundred fifty thousand barrels of crude oil a day would at least curtail the numerous counter-attacks that both landing forces had encountered and give some time to start negotiations between the various loyalist factions, some of which were openly at war with one another.

Church Roof, Point K

Arton looked up from his laptop watching the the horizon light up with an orange glow. "Holy shit..." Eric turned to where Arton was looking and let out a low whistle, "They probably hit the refinery."

Arton nodded and got back to work. He had put his computer back together, mostly. There were wires running out the back to the transmitter, and another running to a hand-held microphone. He handed the microphone to Eric, and finished his prep. "Okay, once Lenura returns with DeSade, we can start. I'll just need you to yammer on about the Glorious Resistance, or the like. Say whatever you want."

Eric nodded, "I think I can manage that." He sat down next to the laptop, passing the microphone from hand to hand, waiting.

Lenura popped back up onto the roof, handing Arton a piece of paper. "Er, DeSade said he was too busy right now, but that's got all the information you should need."

Arton frowned slightly, and looked over the paper, "Well, this'll work, I guess. Thanks."

She smiled, "Cool. Oh, ah, you don't need anything else from me, right?"

"No, not really. Why?"

Lenura smiled weakly, "DeSade kinda asked if I could guard the prisoner."

Arton nodded absentminded, "Oh, sure, sure." He blinked, "What? You're an electrical engineer. Why are you getting guard duty?"

She shrugged, "Well, aparently she's not considered a threat, and they kinda need the army-people for... ah... army-things. And, it's not like there aren't people around, they just need someone to pay attention to her."

"Eh. Whatever works. Have a party, Lennie."

She laughed a little, and went back down the ladder.

Arton shrugged randomly, and started working at the computer again. "Actually," he murmured, as much to himself as anyone, "this note makes it easier. Can do everything first. Short transmittion." After a few minutes of typing he turned to Eric and gave him the go ahead.

"Greetings Comrades!" He called out, seeming to enjoy this project, "This is Radio Free Grafton, giving you the word on the rebellious pig-dogs who think they can stand to the might of The Resistance!" Eric continued his broadcast, causing Arton to smirk. It took him a few moments to remember that he had work to do, and resmued typing. After a few more minutes, the transmition was sent. He let Eric ramble on for a bit before signaling that it's time to wrap up. After a final "LONG LIVE THE RESISTANCE!" Arton shut down the connection.

"That was so much fun it should be illegal..."

Point K

The Resistance man grinned at Arton, 'It is illegal, comrade.'

Point K, the next morning

The SFAT troops in their foxholes couldn't help but smile as a party of enthusiastic little human and Neko children played around with them, helping them sort out covers but more often getting in the way. A couple sat with soldiers in finished foxholes, listening to stories, several wearing the soldiers' helmets as they listened. A couple of soldiers returned, empty bags slung over their shoulders; 'Minefield's set across the break in the trees in front of the line, that's the most likely place for them to come through.'

DeSade nodded, heating a mess tin of coffee on a gas stove, 'Good work...Oh, you want some?'

The man nodded, 'Shit yeah, I need something to wake me up.'

DeSade had just started to pour the coffee when a high-pitched wail broke the morning calm, and the roof of a nearby building exploded, 'Shit, INCOMING! Take cover!'

Another shell slammed into one of the perimeter watch towers, hitting one of the supports and spraying splinters across the street, one Resistance man being hit as he ducked out of his foxhole, screaming 'Medic!' as the tower slowly toppled over.

More explosions followed, the children near the frontline trenches diving or being dragged into the foxholes by the soldiers, most crying or shivering with fear. 'Stay down! STAY DOWN!' DeSade shouted, 'Ready your guns, I can hear armour!' he turned, 'Lanes? Where the fuck is that crazy bastard?'

'Infirmary, sir!' the soldier ducked as the front of a building next to him exploded, 'He's WIA!'

'Shit! Izumi?!'

Izumi appeared from behind a house, 'Meow?'

'As of now you are Sergeant Izumi! Take a squad around to the West of the clearing through the woods and kill those fuck-ing mortars!'

Izumi blinked, then nodded, 'Sir!'

One of the frames under camo sheets exploded as an artillery shell smashed into it's chest, it's arms sagging as it burned fiercely. Izumi looked around, 'Ok, I need a squad...Grady, Forest, you two get your MG, the rest of you follow me! Trent, saddle up that COM frame and take point, and for Christ's sake keep quiet!' Izumi blinked as an artillery shell smashed into the church's spire, sending it toppling into the square nearby. She had to steady herself not to run to make sure Shima was ok. 'MOVE!'

On the front line, Separatist armoured personnel carriers had started appearing in the fog, along with dozens of troops. In his foxhole, DeSade managed to get the little Neko girl who had dived in before him to stop holding on to him for long enough to aim his weapon, 'All units, hold fire unit they hit the minefield! Save shots on your EMGs for any tanks that turn up!' he flicked to his radio, 'Two PAD, I need ART frames up here on the double!'

The first APC exploded violently as it passed over one of the anti-tank mines, burning fiercely. A few soldiers managed to climb out the rear ramp, all on fire, only to be hit by fire from the forward trench's machine gun.

'All units, this is ART frame Bravo Two, I have multiple moving targets approaching...' the driver of the frame paused, 'Fuck it, can't see shit on IR or motion in this blizzard. Radar's degraded badly, too.'

DeSade rolled his eyes, 'Perfect!'

Mortar Position, North of Point K

Izumi nodded, 'Four teams there...Two men per mortar...Can't see anything covering them...Oh wait, an MG nest facing us, another on the other side. Looks like they haven't spotted us. Trent, you move around to the left and take out the mortars; Grady, Forest, suppressing fire on the MG! Go!'

The Separatist mortar team froze as the COM frame broke from the woods, one team holding a shell in the air above their mortar. Trent blinked; most of the mortar crews were barely out of their teens, all looking terrified.

One of the Separatists grabbed his radio, talking quickly, 'I need a full barrage, bring it down on the source of this si...' he was cut off by fire from the frame's machine gun.

Trent turned his frame, a coil of smoke curling from the barrel of it's gun as the red mist in the air started to settle, 'Arty's coming down here! RUN!'

Point K

The artillery stopped for a moment, the explosions sounding in the distance, before starting up again, one shell striking the foxhole nearest DeSade dead-on, killing whoever was inside instantly. The Separatists were faring no better, the ART frames on the edge of the village having pretty much stopped their armour in the edge of the clearing, although one frame lay in a burning heap for it. DeSade grinned as he watched the Separatist tanks turning away and retreating, 'Enemy's pulling back! Do not advance, hold this position!'

He put his arm around the sniffling little Neko girl, who was curled up next to him, shivering. 'It's ok...They've gone now...'

It was getting dark when Izumi's squad finally returned, all looking rather the worse for wear, two carrying other soldiers slung across their shoulders, one missing a leg, the other a foot. Trent's frame was barely standing, dragging one foot and with most of it's right arm and all of it's left missing. Izumi winced, 'MEDIC!'

Staunton, Gothamshire, Grafton's Isle

The huge Mammoth tank led the parade as the crowd that had gathered to greet them cheered and threw confetti in front of the Federal tank division, banners and flags hanging from windows. The mayor had taken it upon himself to officially greet the Federal unit that had liberated the town from the retreating Separatist forces, and from the wild cheers and singing his people agreed entirely.

Federal Oil Refinery, four miles from Lanfor

Gene shook his head as the last pair of firefighters staggered through the door and collapsed, their heatproof suits melted and distorted, 'It's hopeless sir, it's just too hot...The heat, and the smoke, it's unbearable!'

He nodded; the middle of the fire was, as he'd feared, utterly beyond his reach, and all he could do was wait for it to burn itself out, and hope that the evacuations downwind of the blaze were going smoothly; the huge cloud of toxic chemicals reached out for miles South, luckily all that was in that direction was farms and small villages, and they could only hope the wind didn't start blowing East towards Lanfor.

He shook his head, staring at the flames as they leapt high into the night, Damn you...

Amphibious Carrier Shiva, Craftshire, Grafton's Isle

It was pretty tough finding ground level enough for Shiva to run on at the best of times, but she'd managed to make it as far inland as the field she was now parked in, surrounded by a few dozen tanks and infantry squads in tents. Mostly, her air wing was doing recon flights over Lanfor to plan the final attack on there, although there had been surprisingly little word as to how it would be executed.

Department of Internal Affairs, GMC

Anne-Marie shook her head, 'It's a problem, alright...We're losing momentum. Every time we liberate an area we have to leave troops behind to police it and divide our supply lines to make aid shipments. Not to mention we need professionals to sort out the problems we're encountering...Sanitation engineers, admin staff, builders, policemen, clerks, teachers...I can't see how we can ship all that across without shifting the schedule down for liberating Lanfor.'

Shiala nodded, 'Well, I agree...Combat and minimal civilian supplies is bad enough, never mind policing and rebuilding...' she smiled, 'You could always try asking for help from someone...Foreign aid shipments would help us keep supplies going to the front lines, at least,'

Anne-Marie grinned, and picked up the telephone, dialling, 'Operator? This is internal affairs, trace the call.' She waited a moment, then continued, 'I need to speak with the Xikuang embassy.'

Chruch Roof, Point K

Arton smirk at Eric, "Yeah, yeah. Go on back down, I'll join you later." As the Loyalist went down the ladder, Arton got back to work on the computer and communications system, trying to figure out if he could make it powerful enough to crack into the Hacker systems. He heard an unfamiliar sound and looked up, "Oh, fuc..."

Inside the Chruch

Lanes always was a man to recover quickly; he was already able to hobble about the church, even if it was slowly, and for brief periods of time. He talked to the injured, especially the seriously wounded ones. He would have prefered to go out and fight some sepratists, but that wasn't particularly feasable, so he did what he could, specifically helping the others keep hope for the future. It helped him too, of course.

The Neko doctor who had patched him up was less thrilled with his activities. Every time she saw him, she would chastise him, telling him to get some 'damned bedrest', but he always chalked that up as a recommendation, as opposed to an order.

He was hobbling over to the far end, to check up on the "prisoner", Christina, and her "guard", Lenura when his head jerked up, almost of its own volition, "Hit the deck! INCOMING!"

Mobile Command, Outside Craftshire, Grafton's Isle

Cpt. Maki looked over the map on the table in front of him, shaking his head slowly. "Figures. GMC's getting pounded on the way up from Sword, and we get the B team..." He took a long drink of his coffee, "This has been going on long enough, really." He turned to his Lt., "Wilson, our position here is pretty much completely secure, right?"

"With that huge ass aircraft carrier over there? Yeah. We're secure."

"Good. We need to step up the elimination of the sepratists, and we need to get someone in touch with North Point, let them know we're on our way."

"Sgt. Bradley?"

"Sounds good. Tell him to get his shit together. He leaves tonight."

Chruch Interior, Point K

Lenura screamed as a large shell crashed through the roof and lodged itself in the floor not three feet from her. Christina, the prisoner she was guarding dove off the bed, even more terrified than Lenura.

After a minute Lenura opened her eyes and stopped screaming. She blinked and looked around, catching sight of Lanes. "Uh... um... sir? Why aren't we dead?"

Lanes looked visibly relieved, and more than a little surprized, "A dud... don't touch it." He reflexively ducked as another shell slammed into the town, a bit north by his estimation. He caught the eye of the Neko doctor, "Stay out of this room, move everyone that can be moved to the other side of the church, and stay the fu... the He... stay away from that thing." He turned to Lenura, "Get her," he pointed vaguely at Christina, "somewhere safer."

Corporate Spire, Anesca's Office, Chiba City, The Hack

Anesca sighed as the information streamed in from various sources: Shiala, Hacker satellites, GMC satellites, field reports, and the like. It was something of a depressing mosaic of death and destruction. She would have prefered to shut off her links, and sat in quiet solitude, but she needed to review all of it, and compile it into reports, strategies, expense estimates, and a million other things. Her eyes blinked rapidly as she reviewed a couple hundred pictures of a burning oil refinery, picked the best few and incorporated it into her report. Simultaniously, she tapped into another satellite and ordered it to swing into the already crowded orbital space over Grafton's. She wanted some real-time footage of this. She also wanted to track weather patterns. The composition of some of the clouds it was spewing out weren't healthy...

Point K

Unexploded shells. Wonderful. I hate these damn things... It was touch and go with the proper tools, all but suicidal without. Normally they just blew the damn things up, but the sepratists had crap equipment, much of it old, so there was almost a dozen duds scattered around the town, and they could afford to blow up their base of operations disposing of duds, so Brand was told to take what he needed and get to work.

Stress was a strange monster, working in different ways for different people. Brand often found himself completely stressed out just living day to day. That was probably why his marrage fell apart and his life generally went down the proverbial shitter. The only times in his life when he was calm, were the times he was doing a manual disarm of a live explosive.

Water cannons were handy for blowing bombs to pieces, and mobile disposal tanks worked great of course. Robotic units were swell, too. But the times that Brand felt truly at peace where those raw few times when his life hung in the balance of the wire clippers in his hands. When a slight tremor or shake could reduce him to a thin red paste. Those were the moments he lived for. The moments when he felt at ease in his own skin.

He wiped a rag across his forehead, removing the sweat. This shell was in the church; the wounded mostly hustled out the door. If he screwed up, he'd be the only casualty. Aside from the rectory, of course. What would be left of it would be covered in the chunky salsa that was Brand. "Bleh." That wasn't a pleasant thought. He unrolled a long sheet of felt, several tools resting snug in their sleaves, much like a theif's lockpick set. He cracked his knuckles and selected a long, thin tool, twiddling it around in his fingers before getting to work on the shell. All this tech, and it comes down to flesh, blood, and little bits of metal...

Infirmary, Point K

While Brand was dealing with the dud shell most of the patients still needing rest had been moved to the other end of the church, beds crowded together, the moans of pain from the wounded from Izumi's team and others hurt in the night filling the air.

With the more severely injured being dealt with, the doctor turned to Izumi, 'I should probably see to that now...' she pointed at the splinter sticking out of Izumi's side, surrounded by a dark patch on her uniform. She sat Izumi down and started bandaging around it, 'Ok...I'm going to take it out now...Hold still, please.'

Izumi gritted her teeth as the splinter came out, the doctor quickly applying a bandage, 'You're a lucky one, Reika...Few inches this way and you'd have been paralysed from the waist down.'

'Yeah, I feel so lucky.'

Shima laughed from her bed nearby, 'She was like this in school, too.'

First line positions, Point K

The morning fog was punctuated with wisps of smoke curling from the newer shell impacts; most of the foxholes were occupied by Federal troops as Izumi, her side bandaged, moved forward to make her report to DeSade, finding him in his foxhole, 'Sir, report on last night...'

DeSade shook his head, 'Don't bother, that guy Trent from First PAD reported already. Good job, Izumi.'

Izumi saluted, 'Thank you, sir. How was it up here?'

DeSade sighed, 'Lost at least fourteen of ours, Resistance says they've counted twenty-four dead on the line and in town, looks like the Seps lost at least a hundred, not counting however many poor fuck-s were in those APCs.'

Izumi blinked as she noticed a little Neko girl, perhaps ten or so, wandering around aimlessly looking in foxholes and at the ground, tears running down her cheeks, 'What's she doing?'

DeSade shook his head as he lit a cigarette, 'Name's Rei...Poor thing's looking for her little sister,' DeSade frowned, 'For the record, I saw a girl fitting her sister's description dive into McCoy's foxhole.'

Izumi nodded, 'Where's that?'

DeSade pointed to a crater with scattered pieces of cover around it, 'That one...Girl's already an orphan from this fuck-ing war, and I've no idea how to tell her.'

Izumi nodded sadly, 'Lost my mother when I was young...I can try talking to her with your permission, sir.'

DeSade nodded, 'Go ahead...I don't want her out there if they start shelling.'

Izumi walked over to the little girl, kneeling down and talking to her quietly for a moment before Rei collapsed into her arms, her little body shaking with sobs. Izumi picked her up and carried her back to the village.

DeSade shook his head and got on with fortifying his foxhole and organising the Resistance men who were taking the place of the SFAT soldiers killed the night before. The morning calm was broken by the odd mortar round which made everyone duck for cover, but the big artillery guns seemed silent, until an almighty shot rang out from the direction of the depot, the wail of a shell passing high over head making everyone leap for their foxholes.

One of the Resistance men near DeSade shouted over to him, 'Comrade, what the hell kind of artillery gun was that?!'

DeSade shook his head, 'It's a fuck-ing railway gun, they're firing on the lead column of the main taskforce!'

The Resistance man blinked, 'Fuck, then they'll be shooting at the town soon?'

DeSade shook his head, 'No way a gun that size can shoot at a target this close from where they'd have to put it, it'd hit the ridge.'

The Resistance soldiers were visibly relieved.

'Until we're relieved we can't move on that gun or any of the others. Rourke?'

'Sir?'

'Take command here, I'm going to get a hot meal and a goddamn shower.'

'Sir!'

Separatist position, freight rail depot Northeast of Point K

'Colonel Youngs, permission to speak?' the young soldier said eventually as the man continued making himself a coffee.

'Yes, private?'

'May I ask why we're digging in rather than attempting to take the town as ordered, sir?'

Youngs smiled, 'Because, private, I've just received word that a squadron of bombers has torn up every road and rail leading to this complex, and last night's attack came back reporting a GMC force supporting the town. I have to assume that's the Federal main taskforce, and they're cutting our supply lines as a prelude to moving on this position.'

'So, um...Why order our Type Thirty to fire on the road into the town?'

'To stop them bringing in any more heavy armour as reinforcements to whatever the hell's already there. With no road in, at least we won't be worrying about Mammoth Tanks.' He frowned, 'You're asking these questions on behalf of an officer, aren't you, private?'

The man nodded, 'Captain Stevens, sir. We, um, drew straws.'

Youngs grinned, 'Yes, that's Stevens alright. Anyway, now that you know, carrying on setting up wire and mines around the perimeter. Is there any word on those missing sentries?'

'We found Davis, Hawke and Ortega with their throats cut...White's still missing, haven't found a trace of her.'

Youngs shook his head, 'Then just hope those bastards don't have the poor girl.'

Infirmary, Point K

There was a creak at the door as a few men came in, dragging a young woman, 'Medic!'

The surgeon, Yurika, ran out, 'Ok, what happened?'

'Splinter from a mortar shell hit her in the eye!'

'Ok, get her to a bed. Nurse, get me some morphine and bandages, the Parachute Armour team outside should have some spare.'

One of the men with the group who had dragged the woman in turned to Christina, 'Why the fuck are we looking after one of those bastards?' he drew his gun, pointing it at her, 'Dirty fuck-ers are all the same...' he growled.

The man next to him blinked, 'She's just a civvie, Compton. Jesus, what the fuck is wrong with you?'

Shima sat up and sniffed the air, 'He's drunk, that's what's wrong with him.'

'Bastards come in here and try to kill us...' his voice cracked, 'And kill our fuck-ing friends, and our families, and this is what we do for them?!' the man clicked the hammer back on his pistol, making Christina cower in the corner of the room.

'Man, she never killed no one. Put your damn gun away, Compton.'

The man's hand was shaking, and he was breathing quickly. There was a click behind him, and in a level voice DeSade said, 'Compton, put your gun down or you'll be dead before you hit the floor.'

'Damn it...' he slurred, 'All you bastards taking their side...' his finger moved a little on the trigger, and DeSade's pistol sounded out, a few drops of blood landing on Christina's face as Compton fell to the floor. DeSade shook his head, scowling and wiping blood off the barrel of his gun.

'As of now I don't want anyone drinking without at least one other person with them, and for God's sake keep weapons away from anyone who gets like that. Someone find me the stupid bastard who gave him whatever he was drinking.'

The man who'd been standing next to Compton shook his head, 'Nobody gave it to him, sir. Him and his brother used to make homebrew in their own still.' He noticed the way DeSade was looking at him, 'Collins, sir. People's Resistance.'

'And where the hell's his brother, Collins?'

'He was killed last night, sir.'

Christina shivered, starting to cry as DeSade walked out.

Even mods double post.

Nearing North Point

Cpt. Maki sat on the back of the APC as it drove through the center of some random ramshackle town. The townspeople cheered, offering flowers, trinkets, cigarettes, and plenty of ticker-tape. It was nice to see that their efforts were appretiated, but it seemed to be a bit more than was really necessary. Maki had never been a fan of pomp and circumstance, and had trouble just relaxing and enjoying himself. Instead, he found himself scanning the crowds, looking for things out of the ordinary.

It was when they were leaving the town square that Maki felt a dull throbbing in the back of his neck, and data streamed in front of his field of vision, even as his body started to move. "SNIPERS!" He dropped to the ground as bullets started to rain down on the troops. Powering up his rifle, he tried to use the APC for cover, blocking out the screams from the people in the crowd. It was tough to concentrate with all the chaos, especially as the fear from the civilians washed over him like a wave, its undertow almost drowing his sense of self. "Bloody Hell..."

The small device plugged into the base of Maki's skull kicked into high gear, overriding parts of Maki's nervious system. Unnecessary systems were shut down, and his body attacked fat reserves, harvesting them for needed energy. Maki's temperature rose close to ten degrees as tje Hack's circuitry took over Maki's body.

The motion sensors installed behind his ears sent floods of information to the central processor, lounging at the top of his spine. It filtered the information, removing the motion of the crowds and of his own men, trying to focus on the incoming bullets. Filter controls installed on his optic nerves cycled around, trying to eliminate obscuring colors while enhancing ones that could help in his quest to locate the snipers. All these calculations happening as he ducked and looked around, flowing together seamlessly, almost as if it was perfectly natural for his body to go through these contortions.

Between the cybernetic enhancement, and his more mundane training, Maki survived the barrage long enough for targeting reticles to spring up over his field of vision. There were a few in trees, it seemed, and on top of the city hall. Raising his rifle, he started firing into the trees, shooting back at the snipers, while calling out, "City hall, roof!"

The back of the APC dropped to the ground, and a young soldier, Cpl. Erikson, Maki thought idly, raised his rail gun and fired at the roof, blowing up a large section of it. The reticles in Maki's periphery winked out of existance as the snipers expired. Maki continued shooting into the trees, dropping snipers as a handful of other soldiers fired blindly into neighboring trees.

Point K

After DeSade splattered Compton's head all over the floor of the church and walked out, Lanes limped over to Lenura, who was sitting on the floor, rocking back and forth. "Hey... Lenura..."

"Huh... incoming... gun..." she was having more than a little trouble dealing with the most recent events.

"Hey." Lanes snapped his fingers in front of Lenura's face a few times until her eyes came into focus. "Lenura, take Christina out of here."

"Huh? Wha?"

"Take her to the inn. She's going to be a lightning rod for this sort of nonsense. Get her out of sight. Hey, you there?" He sighed, and pulled her up to her feet, struggling as she was so much dead weight. Dragging her outside seemed to help a little. "See the inn? Yes? Okay. Go there and find an empty room. Can you do that?" Lenura nodded mutely and wandered off toward the inn. As he turned to head back inside, he heard a soft groaning. Wandering around a bit, he found a rubbish heap, Arton lying in a heap on top of it. It never ends... With a bit of work, he managed to wrap his remaining arm around Arton, and slowly drug him inside, dropping him off at the entrance, he found the Neko doctor. "Looks like he fell off the roof." Before she could chastise him for being up and about again, he walked off.

Alistryn was towards the back of church, in a state about the same as Lenura. Lanes shook his head sadly. The people were technitions, not soldiers. No wonder they were freaked out. With a bit more finger snapping, and a quick slap to the face, he got Alistryn to return to reality.

"Ow! Fuck-er."

"Good to see you back," Lanes smirked. "Look, take the "prisoner", her name's Christina, she's over there," he pointed to the sobbing girl, "take her to the inn. Lenura's already there. There's no need for you people to be here, and it'll be better if she's out of sight."

"Yeah... yeah... okay..."

Outside North Point

Maki sat in the APC, muttering darkly to himself, picking at the bandage around his leg. He'd been diving to avoid some sniper fire when a second sniper had tagged him in the knee. It hurt like a bitch, and would require some surgery, but at least he wasn't going home in a body bag. At least not yet.

The rest of the ride hadn't been too horrible, actually. At least, that's what they told him. Maki was still pissed that he was out of combat, but he delt with it, because all the tricked out eyes and reflexes in the world wouldn't let him use a kneecap with a bullet hole in it. There was a point when it seemed like the snipers would never end, and he'd lost a good twenty men to ambushes, but when he started having his men use a jury-rigged flamethrower on the trees, the snipers largely gave up. It was one thing to risk being shot, but they weren't being paid enough to burn. A good number of the sepratists they ran into all but fought each other to surrender first. The ones that had vehicles, generally didn't have gas for them. The tank they stumbled into had run out of ammunition, so things weren't too bad.

Eventually, they were rolling up on North Point itself. Sgt. Bradley was talking to a civilian, cigarette dangling from his mouth when they rolled up. He flicked the smoke away and saluted sharply as Maki hobbled out to meet him.

"Sir! Lieutenant-General Hoshino eagerly awaits your report." He smiled, "And there's a lot of people here that are gonna be thrilled to see you. Welcome to North Point."

Point K

Trent sat in the gap in the roof of the ruined building on the town's West side, watching the road out for separatist forces. With his frame a write-off , there wasn't much else for him to do but sit up here wrapped in a blanket, watching the darkness with a pair of night vision binoculars. The other man in the guard post was currently sleeping under a pile of hay in the opposite corner, snoring loudly.

Trent blinked as he saw movement on the road, reaching for his flaregun to warn the forces in the town, before he recognised the equipment. It was all GMC-issue, the trucks, the tanks, everything. 'Holy shit...Jones, wake up! The relief column's here!'

He looked at the sleek frame leading the column, clearly more advanced than the others in town, and lowered his binoculars, grinning like an idiot, 'Looks like someone bought me a replacement, too...'

He handed the binoculars to the PAD engineer next to him, 'Say, isn't that the new one?'

'Yup, that's the new Scimitar COM frame prototype.' Trent grinned, 'I should know, I was one of the test drivers.'

A few minutes later the force had arrived in town, starting to unload food, water, equipment and medical supplies. Dozens of replacement troops had arrived too. DeSade appeared from the pub, running his hand over his hair, having obviously just woken up. 'Ok, I want fifty men to report to the frontline trenches immediately, take ten MGs with you and be sure to wrap up warm, it's fuck-ing cold up there. Squads one and six, unload the ammo trucks first and stick it in basements, the second the Seps see what's going on here they'll be hitting this whole area with arty. You two, move those trucks around the corner and stick tarps over them. Medic!'

Two men turned, 'Sir?'

'You two men report to the church and check through the wounded there, get the bad ones onto trucks and take them back to your command post. We've got a POW who needs to go too, though don't bother questioning her, it's a waste of time.'

'Sir!'

'Combat engineering should see what they can do about the burst water main on Hammond Street, we can't find the shutoff valve. Who's CO here?'

A man saluted, 'Lieutenant Winters, sir!'

'Get the rest of your men indoors and get them a warm meal. Am I right in thinking the mainforce is still a few days off?'

'Yes sir, they're engaging a Sep position about nineteen miles West of here.'

DeSade sighed, 'Then see what you can do for the frames we've already got in town, most of them are damaged, and get that shiny thing under a tarp before someone spots it.'

'Yes sir!'

DeSade shook his head, 'And for Christ's sake stop fuck-ing saluting, we've got Sep snipers here and I'd rather not get my ass shot because of you.'

Christina was sitting on a chair in the basement of the pub sniffling, sitting close to Lenura, occasionally crying into her shoulder. DeSade appeared at the door, 'You four will be relieved to hear you're being sent off the front line. Pack your things and be ready to leave in an hour.'

An hour later, most of the trucks that had come in full of troops had left again full of wounded, only one left to go. Christina slipped as she was climbing onto the truck, falling and lying sniffling on the ground. Two Federal soldiers picked her up and helped her on, slamming the tailboard up after her. She realised that other than Lenura, everyone else in the truck was wounded to some degree, and both Izumi and Shima were on board, Izumi holding the little Neko girl she'd been taking care of.

The replacement troop who slammed the tailboard handed the SFAT man next to him a cigarette, noting the contrast between his pristine Arctic camo uniform and the SFAT man's dirt-stained gear. 'Most of the Sep forces in Gothamshire have been rallied at a position on the main road leading here for a last stand against the entire Sword Beach landing force.' He took a drag from his cigarette and shook his head, 'They're outnumbered badly and outgunned even worse...It's going to be a massacre.'

Separatist position Northeast of Point K

'Scouts say there's a column of reinforcements moved into Point K, light armour and infantry, looks like they moved around the disabled road.'

Youngs nodded, 'Have the Type Thirty fire two more rounds at the main road and tell the troops to be ready to defend this area. Any word on White?'

'No sir, none.'

Youngs frowned, 'I guess I'll have to be the one to write to her family and tell them the news...'

'That she died a hero in combat with the enemy and her death made a difference, you mean?'

'You seem a little familiar with that...'

'Lost three men this morning when they screwed up setting a mine...Just finished writing the letters.'

Youngs shook his head, 'Damn this stupid war.'

Another man ran in, 'Sir, scouts report trucks heading West from the village.'

Youngs nodded, 'It's their wounded. Have the Type Thirty hold fire until they've passed, there's no point killing wounded soldiers.'

'Edge of the Sword,' separatist position in Hartley, on the border of Gothamshire and Karlshire, Grafton's Isle

Another building shattered and crumbled into the river as a shell from one of the Mammoth Tanks hit home, spreading a cloud of masonry dust across the front line. Kynes sighed as his Lieutenant ran up to his position, 'It's hopeless, sir, there's no way we can hold out against this!'

Kynes nodded; most of their armour was gone from the first bombing run that had turned most of the town into rubble, his men were hungry and demoralised and panic was spreading as more and more artillery moved in on the other side of the river. There was talk of deserting, and from the way the Lieutenant had his hand resting on his pistol holster Kynes realised what he was really there for.

'You want me to surrender?'

The Lieutenant nodded. 'Colonel Kynes, I have always believed in freedom and autonomy for Grafton's Isle...But not when the price is this high. A Bahamut has just been sighted on the other side of the river...Please, before it's too late for any of us.'

Kynes nodded; the huge Arsenal Tank was hard to miss, a flat-topped Mammoth Tank sitting silent on the other side of the river, it's upper surface bearing a payload of hundreds of missiles. 'Bailey?'

A young man with dirt and dried blood covering his face appeared, 'Sir?'

'Radio to the Federal force that we wish to surrender and will cease fire when they confirm.'

Road out of Hartley, one hour later

Kynes sat in the back of one of their few remaining trucks, driving slowly and miserably down the centre of the road as his men marched around him, all of the nineteen thousand who'd handed in their weapons and agreed to surrender. Occasionally an explosion could be heard back in the town where the Federal artillery and troops continued to engage the four thousand who'd refused his order. Either side of the marching troops a seemingly endless column of Federal tanks and APCs moved in the other direction, helicopters occasionally thundering overhead as people displaced from the town lined the sides of the road cheering the Federal troops on.

Kynes blinked as he saw a flash on the horizon, a split second later huge explosions sounding out back in town. He took out his binoculars, picking out the form of a gigantic Air Destroyer hovering over the road miles ahead of them, slowly moving forward.

He nudged the armed Federal soldier sitting in the back of the truck with them, 'Up ahead...Is that Goliath?' he knew only too well what the other big Air Destroyer Valiant had done to morale up North.

He nodded, 'Yup, she's just got here. Guess your men should thank you for surrendering when you did, it looks like the town's going to be levelled before the rest will surrender.'

Kynes shook his head as another volley from the Air Destroyer hit home, 'My Lieutenant Keenley's leading them...Daft bastard was always too proud for his own good.'

North Point

The relentless sniper attacks gradually faded as the Hail Beach force neared North Point, moving through a desert of ploughed-up mud, craters and burned-out tank hulls. The landing force was greeted with hugs and cheers by the Neko refugees surround them base, having been moved outside the perimeter again to accommodate the huge amounts of armour and material being shipped into North Point daily. A man in a Separatist uniform with all the insignia ripped off saluted Maki from a machine-gun post on the edge of the complex as he passed, 'Welcome to North Point, sir.'

Lieutenant-General Hoshino's command post stood in the shadow of Valiant hovering high above, the giant ship tethered to the ground with dozens of heavy cables anchored to the roofs of buildings.

The little Neko smiled as Maki entered, 'Good to see you broke through, Captain...I heard the countryside around here was occupied pretty heavily...' she smiled, 'Sit down, please'

'I'd have deployed in your support, but our communications out are still pretty bad, even with the jamming gone...Our comms engineering says it was probably sabotaged before the war kicked off by a Sep sympathiser, so we're having new gear shipped over tomorrow.'

She flicked on a holographic map, 'Situation as of now is we have one corps of not less than four divisions between us and Lanfor, looks to be two infantry, one armoured infantry and one armour, all at full strength. Rumour has it there's another full corps in Lanfor itself, although the Resistance says that's propaganda and it's a division and a half at best. Most of the remainder of the forces listed have surrendered or deserted, but that still leaves me with two divisions up here against four, so there'll be no attack on Lanfor until the Sword taskforce is done relieving those lunatics at Point K.'

One of her Lieutenants blinked, 'Lunatics?'

Lieutenant-General Hoshino grinned, 'Paras are lunatics, Lieutenant, they jumped out of a perfectly good plane.' She turned back to Maki, 'Anyway, Intel says Point K has a separatist corps of three divisions opposing it, mostly arty, and that the commander of those three divisions is a Colonel Youngs. Looks like they're running out of officers.'

'Anyway, HQ says to hold tight until Point K is reinforced, so that's what I'm doing. If you've got any medics or combat engineers we could do with help with our refugees, there's twenty thousand of them out there and we're having trouble getting clean water to them all.'

Separatist command, Emperor's Palace, Lanfor

General Copeland holstered his pistol, the messenger lying in a pool of blood in front of him, 'Let that be a lesson to all of those who would doubt our great and noble cause, telling these filthy lies about how our heroic and just war is progressing.'

The man next to him nodded, 'Such talk of defeat only weakens our men, General. We must do our best to silence such lies before they spread to the ears of our gallant men.'

'Correct, General McCall. So, away from such untruths, how does the war go?'

McCall paused, 'The evil Resistance continues to retreat in the South of the city, sir!'

Copeland grinned, 'Excellent, soon the dogs will be driven out all together!'

McCall had got rather used to throwing away reports from outside Lanfor, since they were almost always of retreats or defeats, and telling Copland about such things tended to be the last mistake you ever made. Still, with four divisions between Lanfor and the vile subhuman commander of the North Point base, it wasn't over yet. 'Here in Lanfor we will hold the evil enemy off until they realise the folly of their attack and surrender, sir.'

Copeland nodded, 'See that you do. I have another rally to attend to.'

Federal Department of Internal Affairs, Marshall Island

After having their passes checked several times, the Xikuang delegation was escorted inside through several two-feet thick steel blast doors. It was a fairly dark room, the outside lined with monitor screens and consoles, most of which were occupied by people talking quickly into microphones, mostly in rather complicated code or calling out grid coordinates. Another area of the room was taken up by several rows of seats with a large, circular raised area in from of them, near which was a comfortable sofa looking totally out of place, with a girl of about fourteen sitting on it. She was wearing jeans and a t-shirt, and had long white hair and yellow eyes. She smiled, 'The delegation from Xikuang, right? My name is Shiala PHALANX. Please, sit down, I'll brief you on the situation.'

She waited for a moment, then the air above the raised circular area shimmered, resolving into an incredibly detailed map of Grafton's Isle, 'Here is the current SITREP and pertinent details regarding the Federal deployment on Grafton's Isle and what we're requesting of your government. As you may be aware, several months ago the elected President of Grafton's Isle, Donald Love, and the entire senate were killed, by a sniper and a bomb blast respectively. Grafton's Isle has always had a minority of separatists who object to Grafton's status as a military protectorate, and they have previously largely been ignored by the voting public.'

'Extremist elements within the separatist movement are now known to be behind the assassinations and subsequent attempt by military forces to seize control of the country. Their leader is believed to be this man,' a file photograph appears of a man leading a rally, his face a mask of hate, 'Grant S. Copeland. In addition to separatism, his platform is also based on violent human-supremacism. Since a full twelve percent of Grafton's population are Nekos, his policy of forcibly evicting Nekos from occupied areas has lead to an enormous humanitarian crisis, all the more so from human refugees fleeing the war itself.'

'As of now there are over half a million refugees displaced from their homes, and since GMC is moving to restore order on Grafton's Isle as per our obligation under the 1812 treaty we have the problem of supplying humanitarian aid and combat supplies to the troops liberating the Isle, something our logistics simply weren't created to deal with. Since your country has an enviable reputation for compassion, we are requesting assistance in supplying aid to these people; blankets, food, clean water, clothes and medical supplies, as well as any medical and civil law enforcement staff you can spare. Protection of such staff would be handled by the Federal military, of course.'

She smiled hopefully as she finished.

Point K

Lanes sat in the back of the truck, next to Arton as the last of the wounded were loaded in. The two were comparing their injuries; Arton stubbornly refusing to admit that he wasn't as bad off as Lanes.

"Look man, you broke your leg. I'm missing an arm!"

"No, I shattered my leg, big difference," Arton wasn't about to let this go.

"I lost a limb! You still got your leg."

"Yeah, and it hurts. Which one of us is hopped up on pain killers, huh?" Arton grinned, "Yeah, I am. Your pain's done."

"Ever hear of phantom limb pain?"

"Psychosomatic pain doesn't count. Besides, you get a cool new arm, I'm stuck with a banged up leg."

Lanes looked at Arton, and laughed, "Fine, man... you win."

Frost closed the back of the truck once the last people had gotten on board, smiling reassuringly at Lenura, who seemed almost as out of it as Christina. He leaned over, and gave Lanes a light shot to the arm, "Don't take no shit from the swine, sir. Get a psycho-crazy cyber arm and return to duty."

Lanes grinned, "Yeah... I know. I can always send a telegram to the Right People."

"Yeah... Explaining your Position."

Lanes laughed and returned Frost's salute. "I'll see you back at Fort Linux, don't worry."

"Yes, sir!" Frost called as the truck moved away.

North Point

Maki smirked as he hobbled into Hoshino's office, shifting his makeshift cane to his left hand to salute, before half falling into the offered chair, "Thank you, sir." He smiles, "Yes, you could say we ran into some resistance. It wasn't a pleasant trip all things considered. In general, the snipers would wait just outside of the towns we drove through, hoping the cheers from the civilians would reduce our alertness. It almost worked the first time too." He waved vaguely at his bandaged knee, "This was more poor luck than anything. Our casualties were minimal for any operation, and, from what I've heard, far less than what the Sword Beach force had."

He listened carefully to Lieutenant-General Hoshino's debriefing, nodding occationally. He smiled a little, "We can hold tight. I've got some techies with me, and civil engineering will be almost like a vacation. We pushed pretty hard to get here. We've also got some better comm gear, and good encryption, of course, so we can hook that up. I'll also get the intellectuals cracking on solving your water problem."

The Xikuangese delegation, consisting of Ambassador to GMC Military Arms Jhying Cixing, accompanied by Elected General Commissioners Kheri Tzexi (International Affairs) and Ahn Thi (Domestic Harmony), complies happlily enough with all security checks: they know perfectly well that GMCMA's exemplary security protocols are not in place without reason, and they have no cause for complaint. At last they are cleared and escorted through the mazelike innards of the Federal Department of Internal Affairs. Ambassador Jhying is unfazed-- he has been here for some time, and has become accustomed to this sort of environment, but the two women seem a bit overawed. A far cry from the humble General Council Chambers, this. They don't seem to be terribly put out by being met by a child of fourteen: Jhying has briefed them that Shiala is rather more than she appears to be. The three of them bow in the traditional manner, clasped hands raised to forehead level, and sit at Shiala's invitation, listening carefully as she speaks.


'Here is the current SITREP and pertinent details regarding the Federal deployment on Grafton's Isle and what we're requesting of your government. As you may be aware, several months ago the elected President of Grafton's Isle, Donald Love, and the entire senate were killed, by a sniper and a bomb blast respectively. Grafton's Isle has always had a minority of separatists who object to Grafton's status as a military protectorate, and they have previously largely been ignored by the voting public.'

'Extremist elements within the separatist movement are now known to be behind the assassinations and subsequent attempt by military forces to seize control of the country. Their leader is believed to be this man,' a file photograph appears of a man leading a rally, his face a mask of hate, 'Grant S. Copeland. In addition to separatism, his platform is also based on violent human-supremacism. Since a full twelve percent of Grafton's population are Nekos, his policy of forcibly evicting Nekos from occupied areas has lead to an enormous humanitarian crisis, all the more so from human refugees fleeing the war itself.'

'As of now there are over half a million refugees displaced from their homes, and since GMC is moving to restore order on Grafton's Isle as per our obligation under the 1812 treaty we have the problem of supplying humanitarian aid and combat supplies to the troops liberating the Isle, something our logistics simply weren't created to deal with. Since your country has an enviable reputation for compassion, we are requesting assistance in supplying aid to these people; blankets, food, clean water, clothes and medical supplies, as well as any medical and civil law enforcement staff you can spare. Protection of such staff would be handled by the Federal military, of course.'


Commissioner Kheri studies the shimmering map, frowning slightly. "This certainly is a terrible situation for these people. Of course we will help in any way we can. We should be able to make material resources and people available to you right away. Food definitely won't be a problem-- the trade contracts we made with surplus producers over the Lusakan famine crisis will hold good."

"Clean water and co-ordination of resource distribution will be a priority." Commissioner Ahn says, turning to Shiala. "My committee has seven disaster relief teams to hand; that's over and above what is maintained by the individual Provinces. I can make four of them available to you immediately. They'll be able to set up basic supplies and necessary services in good time, but by the looks of it, I'll need to find more people. That shouldn't be difficult. Civilian police can be supplied as well-- Xikuang may have no military, but our police force is well maintained."

"We also have to ensure that any assistance given is appropriate." Jhying says. "A great many of the refugees are Nekos. We don't want to see a situation where we've brought in food half the people can't eat or medicine that works for humans but is poisonous to Nekos. It will be necessary to get as accurate a picture as we can of the distribution of people and a comprehensive list of special requirements. There isn't much of a Neko population in Xikuang."

"Indeed." says Ahn. "In fact, there isn't one at all at present. We will have to discuss that with someone."

Federal Department of Internal Affairs

Shiala smiled brightly, bowing, 'Thank you.' A tall blonde woman in military dress uniform stepped forward, saluting, 'Field Marshal Anne-Marie Embersby, commanding officer of the Federal Army, I'll take it from here.' Shiala nodded, and sat down.

'As my daughter* said, thank you for your generosity, it's most appreciated. I'm afraid we're going to have to take you up on your offer of those four disaster relief teams, we have an unpleasant shortage of trained medical personnel in several areas. As for Nekos, we can give short training courses to your medical staff on major differences in anatomy and medical needs. In terms of food, the only real dietary concern is that Nekos need somewhat more protein than humans in their diet...I'll have the army send you our rationing listings for Neko soldiers as a guideline, and our listings of the populations of known refugee camps.'

'As far as police forces go, since firearm ownership is legal on Grafton's Isle and as far as I'm aware the Xikuang police force has no firearms units, we'd have to confine your law enforcement units to policing less dangerous areas only; we still get snipers even in the occupied and cleared areas from time to time. You'll be coordinating with the Army directly on that, I'll have details on which field commanders you should contact sent to whoever will be responsible for your police on the Isle.'

'However, we would request that three of the four ready-to-go teams be deployed immediately.' She nodded to Shiala, and a section of the holographic map inland highlighted, 'To here, the Edge of the Sword.' She looked at their puzzled expressions, 'It's the term for the extent of the Federal advance off Sword Beach...It's actually a city.' She sighed, 'Or rather, it was one.'

Base Camp Echo, Blakesden Moor, Greenley, Grafton's Isle

Most of the Xikuangese arrivals found themselves at the huge base that had sprouted up a few miles from Sword Beach. It was sprawling complex of prefabricated buildings and vehicle parks, with a long dirt-strip runway nearby. There were crates and boxes piled up everywhere, and row upon row of white tents. Most of the paths they walked along were just trails of ploughed-up mud, and it was bitterly cold. They were handed barcoded ID badges the minute they arrived, and asked to wear them at all times.

A Neko Lieutenant met them, 'Ok, all of you head into the ward room over that way and take a look at the assignments board up on the wall, it's a map with a bunch of notepads attached to it. Stick your name and ID number from your card down on whichever assignment you'd prefer and we'll go from there, okay?'

The board was exactly as he said, several names already on each of the notepads along with numbers. There was a brief description by each assignment; most were law enforcement or work in refugee centres, but there were several working as frontline medics or handling forward aid work; those with red borders. A key noted that there was 'significant risk' to these.

Field surgery, Base Camp Echo

Lanes woke to find himself surrounded by monitoring equipment; a few complicated-looking bloody surgical instruments lay in a tray next to him, along with several cables and more complicated devices. The doctor smiled, 'Ah, good to see you awake again, sir. Can you try moving your arm for me?'

Lanes was surprised that anything happened at all, more so at the black, slightly metallic hand and forearm that he now had, with '171E' clearly marked in red on the back of it. The replacement ran up to his elbow, several wires currently trailing out of it across the floor to pieces of equipment, 'Ok, seems to be moving ok...You should have touch sensation in it in a few minutes once we've finished the diagnostics on the internal circuitry. You might have a little trouble getting used to the setup for pain it has. It's set up to report for things that might damage it, so things like putting your hand in a fire won't hurt at all, but get sand in that wrist joint and by God you'll know about it.'

The doctor stepped over, pointing to a panel on the inside of Lane's wrist with his pen, 'The dismantler key's in there; it's recommended you dismantle, clean and lubricate the fingers and wrist joint every couple of days. If you have any trouble with the elbow, you'll have to see a specialist.'

The Edge of the Sword

The three teams of Xikuangese disaster relief workers found themselves in a hastily commissioned airliner along with a group of GMC and Hack medical staff, mostly quiet or chatting nervously. Looking out the window, the eerily beautiful snow-covered landscape of Grafton's Isle passed by below them, until suddenly it was replaced by another sight entirely.

Columns of smoke climbed lazily into the morning air over the city of Hartley, the sun picking out the vast grey forms of an Air Destroyer and a Sky Hammer hovering above, the snow swirling around them. Below them, the city looked like something out of a bad dream; fires smouldered in the gutted ruins of buildings, most of which were merely skeletons or a couple of walls standing alone. Huge craters punctuated the landscape; as the aircraft passed some on board noticed one so deep a burned-out subway train could be seen at the bottom of it.

Assembling at the airfield the plane touched down at, they were greeted by an untidy-looking man in a grey, dirt-stained trenchcoat, who spoke with a thick Irish accent, 'Welcome to the Edge of the Sword.' He offered his hand to the leader of the Xikuang group, 'General Miles O'Grady, commanding officer of the Federal taskforce in this area.' He motioned for them to follow him as a rattle of machine-gun fire sounded out in the distance, followed by several explosions. The Xikuang group quickly realised there was nowhere they could tread that didn't result in the crunch of broken glass, and the air was thick with the smell of smoke and open sewers. 'Twenty-seven thousand Separatists thought they could stop the entire Sword taskforce...Eight thousand of them are still here, dead or still fighting,' he pointed to one of the few buildings which still had a roof, 'Or in there, which is where any medics among you will be going.'

He carried on walking, passing streets completely blocked with rubble, one with a massive tower block lying on it's side across it, 'Almost all the civilians from here are at the refugee camp on the edge of the city being sent to shelters in occupied areas. The ones that are left seem to be holed up with the remaining Separatist troops. It's a bloody mess.'

They walked past a dented and smoke-stained Mammoth Tank; the hundred-forty-foot thing having more in common with a building than a tank, really. Fallen masonry covered any flat parts of it, including both the turrets. While the odd wail of a mortar shell or burst of fire could be heard far away, the only real sounds were the crackle of fires and the odd clink of masonry, along with the endless crunch of glass underfoot. 'Most of the wounded we've been pulling in are really badly hurt. Amputees, third degree burns...Kind of thing you expect from heavy artillery strikes, really, not that I'd expect civvie medics to know much about that.'

He blinked as he spotted an antiaircraft gun set up on a street corner, 'What the fuck are you doing?'

The soldiers at it turned, one clearing his throat. Both were rather more stained with dirt than the General, their uniforms almost black with it, 'General, you ordered us to set a gun up on Swain Street.'

O'Grady shook his head, 'I said Swan Street.'

The man blinked, 'Oh for Christ's sake, where the fuck is that?'

'Other side of town. Now get this thing out of the road before someone drives a truck into it.'

The General carried on leading them, eventually arriving at the building. The first thing that the aid workers noticed was the truck nearby; a heavy military flatbed with the rear section loaded with corpses, several horribly mangled and burned. General O'Grady frowned, 'I hope you've all got strong stomachs.'

Inside was a single long hall full of beds, tables and anything else that could be dragged in and used as a place to treat wounded; there were hundreds of them, from those with minor injuries bandaged to sickeningly injured people with doctors moving quickly around them. A few rooms off from the main one were being used as makeshift surgeries. The vast majority of the wounded had the same uniform, presumably separatist, although there were several with GMC uniforms and a number in civilian clothes, 'Got two hundred ninety here at last count, another five hundred in the other infirmary across town, and we've got half-starved Neko refugees walking here now word's got around that the taskforce is here.'

An attractive young woman, looking about college-age and wearing an army medic's uniform ran out of one of the side rooms, saluting quickly, 'Sir, are these the new medics?' she looked extremely worried.

O'Grady nodded, 'Aye, and I've told you not to salute, Winterson.'

She looked to the group, 'Has anyone any training treating children? We've got a five-year old in there who's taken most of the shrapnel from a Sep RPG.'

Someone in the group** nodded quickly, following her in. The rest of the medical staff were distributed around, half of them being driven over to the second infirmary. O'Grady laid a hand on Winterson's shoulder as she came back out, 'Go and get yourself a hot meal and some rest, girl. You look like you haven't slept in weeks.'

A group of Federal troops sitting by the door watched her leave; one had his eye bandaged, the rest were guarding the door, 'What's her story, anyway? She service?'

Another nodded, 'Ya, and a conshie, that's why she hasn't got a pistol holster. And a psychic.'

'So what the hell's with her? She's been real quiet ever since those civvies came in.'

Another soldier nodded, cleaning her rifle. A patrol had found a group of separatists hiding out in an old building supply warehouse on the edge of town, one of the few places the bombers and artillery hadn't hit. A squad had been sent in to clear the place out, only to find hundreds of separatist soldiers holed up there with their families, apparently believing the propaganda about GMC and the Loyalists mistreating prisoners. They'd lost twelve soldiers out of the patrol and pulled twenty civilians out. 'Didn't you see that little girl they bought in? Half her face gone, poor thing, got hit by the Seps' own RPG on the way out. I should know, I was covering them on the way in.'

'Not just that...You remember that Sep officer they pulled in yesterday?'

They all did; the woman had shouted endlessly about how evil they were and how they would soon be forced back. Now she was sitting quietly in a chair with her head in her hands, sobbing occasionally. 'Yeah...They interrogated her for a couple hours and she never said a word, right?'

'Jesus, that's why she's like that?'

'Nope...That kid's her daughter.'

'Shit...I heard she told them everything just after they bought those civvies in...She thought we were withholding treatment to make her talk?'

'Maybe...Or maybe she just couldn't stand seeing her little girl all torn up like that.'

Temporary Federal Command Post, Edge of the Sword

Miles lit a cigarette and sighed, turning to face the people in charge of the groups that had arrived. The command post was an office of some sort; there were long cracks in the walls and masonry dust covering almost everything, and filing cabinets had been pushed up against the windows. A couple of clerks worked at cleared-off desks sorting out paperwork. There were several military officers present too, one of them with her arm in sling, and a couple of Resistance soldiers guarding the door, one a boy in his mid-teens wearing an ill-fitting uniform. 'It's bad here, as you can see, and it's going to get worse before it gets better. I'm reliably informed I have a major separatist unit of around four hundred soldiers holed up on the edge of town. Normally that wouldn't be a problem, but it's hard pulling up armour with all the damaged streets around here, and that's not even the worst part.' He frowned, 'There's not less than five hundred fifty civvies in there with them. That means no arty, at least not explosive arty.'

He pointed to a satellite photograph, 'A separatist Major has told us the majority of the civvies are in this part of the building, and we've got heavy machineguns here, here and here, and mortars at the circled locations. The assault force also had an RPG fired at them from this window and had snipers here and here, and our Major says they've got a flamethrower there somewhere, too. Luckily, she also says she hasn't seen any kind of NBC gear; the Army Chemical Warfare Corps is bringing us up a dozen cases of CS gas mortar rounds to hit them with before we move in, that should make things a little easier.' He turned to the aid workers, 'That means you may be receiving civvies with severe asthma attacks and breathing trouble, possibly other wounded as well, so be ready for that. We've also got another truckload of refugees coming from up North, so well want them checked over. Other aid teams, we've got ruptured gas mains on four main roads and can't find the shutoff valves, and most every water main in this city's been hit too.' There was a wail, and an explosion nearby made the lights in the room shake violently, 'And can someone find out where that fuck-ing mortar fire's coming from?'

Hilton Air Force Base

Major-General Sykes sat down. While the majority of the Federal taskforce had moved on Hartley, his division had moved to the South and driven off a separatist force laying siege to the loyalist airbase. Most of the base's runways were still usable, same for the aircraft...It looked rather like the seps had wanted the base intact.

'Guess when we get some fuel in here our first target is that Sep base near Point K. Looks on the sat-photos you sent me,' the base commander gestured to the photos spread out on the desk in front of him, 'Like there's some kind of railway gun there.'

'Yes, it's a Type Thirty, fires shells as big as trucks. Made a real mess of the main road into town.'

'Shall I get a squadron in the air to whack it, then? It'd give your guys some breathing space...'

'Actually, it'd do quite the opposite. There's a plant on the edge of town that makes plastics, and those,' he pointed to five railway carriages with large chemical tanks mounted on them, 'Are tanks of acetonitrile, or methyl cyanide if you prefer. If you miss that gun by ten feet you'll kill everyone at that facility and the wind'll get Point K too. It's not an option.'

'So what, the arty guns on the perimeter?'

'No...Your orders are to hit a separatist artillery platoon in Lanfordshire.' He pointed at a couple of photos, 'Here.'

North Point

Lieutenant-General Hoshino grinned as she watched the last of the huge Grand Dragon bombers landing on the base's runway, slowly taxiing to a halt and winding its engines down. She turned to face the Captain who'd landed with them, and he saluted smartly, 'Michael Harvey, Captain of the Fifth Army Heavy Bomber Wing, sir.'

She nodded, smiling, 'So, Captain, why do I have ten Army bombers on my runway?'

He handed her a sheet of paper, 'Orders are for us to load up on the fuel-air and incendiary bombs you were delivered and hit the second site of the Federal Oil refinery and the first again. That should whack the whole complex and deny them processing of three hundred seventy-five thousand barrels a day rather than one hundred fifty thousand. On the way back we'll drop whatever's left on that Sep Corps' HQ for you.'

The little Neko grinned, 'How thoughtful,' she saluted, 'Carry on, Captain.'

[*Adopted, her full name is written as Shiala PHALANX-Embersby on most documents]

[**To Xikuang: feel free to have this as someone from your group]

Plane Flight Into Grafton's Isle

Warrent Officer Briggs slamed the cockpit door closed behind him, rubbing his temples, "Oh bloody Hell..."

The pilot looked over his shoulder, a bored look on his face, "What's your problem now, Briggs?"

"If I have to hear 'We Shall Overcome' one more fuck-ing time I'm going loose my mind!"

"Heh... calm down man," the pilot grinned at his copilot and then smirked at Briggs, "We've got a plane full of commies from Xikuang. What do you expect?"

"They're asleep! It's our citizens!"

In The Back of the Plane

"I'm telling you, it bastards like the people flying us in that are to blame. They're oppressing the people of Grafton's Isle, who only want freedom," Alex was working himself into a tower of fury. The Xikuangese largely ignored him, while the still idealistic volunteers from the Hack hung on his every word. "And that freedom is being denied by the imperialists from GMC and our own country. I don't know about you," he cast his eyes from member to member, "But I will be on the front lines. I will be there to help to brutalised citizens, and the righteous freedom fighters, provided the oppressors and their jack-booted thugs haven't killed them for sport!"

Briggs just shook his head sadly. Maybe he'll get shelled...

Base Camp Echo

Lanes was more than a little distressed. Again. It seemed to be a common theme these days. Slogging through a disgusting tunnel, shooting sep fighters who looked like teenagers, getting his arm blown off, and now this. It was difficult for him to wrap his mind around the concept of dismantling his arm and cleaning it. That was a bit much, really.

He took a few mental steps back, and tried to get used to the concept of a metal arm. "Range of motion..." he murmured softly, slowly rotating the wrist, and wiggling his fingers. It was a strange sort of disconnect. It was like... like moving your arm after its fallen asleep. He knew he was moving it, but he couldn't exactly feel it. He had to smile, however. These folks from GMC knew how to make replacement limbs. Holding his arms up as if he was bringing a rifle to his shoulder, he smiled. "Maybe I'll see some more action after all..."

Point K

Brand wiped his brow, rolling the felt sheet that contained his tools up, and tying it with its leather thong. He slipped it into the cargo pocket of his pants, and leaned back, hands behind his head, and tensed his muscles. The sound of cracking joints raced from the bottom of his back all the way up to his neck. Rolling his head to get the last few, he exhaled softly. He grinned at his resistance bodyguard, who looked more than a little nervious, "It's okay, I'm done. Go tell DeSade that was the last one." As the bodyguard quickly left the dismantled shell, Brand gingerly picked up the timing charge and the core explosive, carrying it over to the large hole they had dug in the middle of a ruined building. It would be detonated a bit later, and since the building was already rubble, nobody would miss it.

"Now... where the Hell can I get a goddamned drink in this shithole?"

A few hours later, Brand was still sulking about. He couldn't find a drop of booze. DeSade had ordered it gotten rid of after some nutter flipped his lid while drunk and almost killed some poor sep girl. "Probably for the best," he grumbled. Eventually, his aimless wanderings led him to the back of the church, where a twenty-something kid was wretching his lungs up. Turning up his nose he slunk inside. "Hey, Yurika... who's the dry-heaving champ out back?"

Yurika sighed; her weary, yellow-green eyes betraying her lack of sleep, "He just arrived. He's name's Alec, or Eric, or Alex. Something like that. He's supposed to be in here helping. By the way, what's your blood-type?"

"Er... I don't give blood... don't like needles and all..."

Yurika shook her head slowly, motioning Brand over, "You do now."

Federal Department of Internal Affairs

"Thank you, Field Marshall Embersby." Commissioner Ahn says, geeting the Field Marshall with a bow, and-- truth to tell-- mangling the pronunciation of her name more than a little. "I can make arrangements as soon as now, if you can arrange the necessary training courses for the medical staff and the dietary requirements for the Nekos. We certainly share and appreciate your concern for the safety of our people, and we thank you for the support you will no doubt have to provide to them in terms of defense. But though guns are criminalised in Xikuang, that does not mean that all of our people are entirely unfamiliar with their use. Several of our professional police have been trained by the Guo Leng military. They are... highly skilled. If it is necessary, they need not be such a drain on your resources."

Ambassador Jhying squints, studying the highlighted section of the map. "Edge of the Sword." he mutters. "The part that bites first into the flesh. Let's hope the blade does not twist."

Base Camp Echo, Blakesden Moor, Greenley, Grafton's Isle

The first of the Xikuangese to arrive fall in line immediately behind the GMC personnel meeting them. They do not seem much bothered by the cold, but then they have come well-equipped for the severe climate. They are generally observant as they walk through the encampment, taking in details, occasionally remarking some feature or other to one another in that impenetrable language of theirs, or almost as often in English. The Neko Lieutenant directing them to the ward room may be impressed with how well organised the Xikuangese seem to be, given that they are civillian, not military, personnel. With an awareness heightened by years of service, he also cannot help but feel himself watched as he is directing them, more so than the usual attentiveness to his command. As they head into the ward room, a few heads turn back, and there are half-whispered comments, again in that weird language. It probably isn't anything other than curiosity, though. He must be the first Neko most of them have ever seen.

There are some conferences and comparing of notes over the boards, but in the end, the Xikuangese assign themselves to jobs they evaluate to be maximally useful given the distribution of personnel and skills available. Many of the law enforcement jobs were taken, but a significant proportion of them have their numbers surrounded by red borders.

The Edge of the Sword

"Good day, General. It's an honour to meet you." a tallish man, his hair greying in a weirdly asymmetrical way, stepped forward to meet O'Grady. "Khu I'ixi, co-ordinator. We understand you've got quite the mess here. Just throw us where you need us, and we'll get on with it best we can."

Following the General's lead, the Xikuangese crunched their way down the ruined street, the smell of destruction and new decay heavy in the air. They have, all of them, chosen and retained this line of work, because they are, all of them, good at keeping their wits about them and putting their skills to use in situations that unhinge others. But they are more accustomed to natural disasters, or smaller scale human-engineered catastrophe... nothing on this scale. Someone in the back starts coughing, and is roundly thumped-- then discreetly removed to a somewhat sheltered corner for a moment-- by a colleague.

Once inside, the medics immediately began evaluating the situation. It wasn't hard: rows upon rows of wounded; frazzled staff who probably hadn't seen more than an hour's sleep in the last 30; the pervasive, characteristic pong of not-enough-time-for-proper-hygiene could leave them in no doubt. Too many wounded and not enough walking. They didn't need General O'Grady to tell them how many personnel they had on hand to know that their own numbers would be not quite sufficient to supplement it. Almost as soon as they came in the door, a white-haired man with a clipboard approached, asking about what supplies they had brought, and was soon engaged in a comparison of lists with a few of the Xikuangese.

An attractive young woman, looking about college-age and wearing an army medic's uniform ran out of one of the side rooms, saluting quickly, 'Sir, are these the new medics?' she looked extremely worried.

O'Grady nodded, 'Aye, and I've told you not to salute, Winterson.'

She looked to the group, 'Has anyone any training treating children? We've got a five-year old in there who's taken most of the shrapnel from a Sep RPG.'

A pale, rather fragile looking young man nodded quickly, disengaged himself and followed the young woman into the side room whence she had come. She evaluated him silently. the Xikuangese looked far too delicate to be with this conditioned lot, and his expression a little too distant, perhaps. "You're experienced treating children?"

He nodded, briskly. "I used to do fist response on the Khetari/Qabka border. Before the minefields were cleared." He looked straight ahead as they marched, not meeting her eyes. "Land mines take a lot of kids."

In the side room, a few harried staff hovered around a makeshift bed where a small child lay still, several drips feeding into her right arm, the left covered in bandages, blood still seeping through. Straight white hair framed her face: the right side perfectly formed, cherubic now, promising beauty in later years; the left, straight out of a nightmare. Great gouges were left where the shrapnel had ripped through her cheeks and mouth, and her hair was stained red around a great oozing patch where her scalp had been cut clean from the skull. Worst was her eye: her dim, discoloured, staring eye, into which a tired-looking young woman-- just a girl, really-- was devotedly dripping saline, for the eyelid had been torn completely away.

"Tashajhila." the fragile-looking doctor muttered to himself, as he approached the bed; the attendants admitted him at a glance from Winterson. Gingerly, he inspected the damage, lingering over the eye, looking into it with the aid of a small torch and a magnifying lens he fished from a pocket and deftly affixed to his spectacles. Abruptly he turned to one of the attendants.

"What have we got for surgical theatres?" he asked.

"This is it." she answered.

"What have we got for medics?"

"You've got me. I'm just a dental nurse, but at least I have the book learning."

"Me too." piped in the saline-dripping girl. "I'm a pharmaceuticals student, but I was going for General Medicine originally."

"Right." he said, looking quickly around the room, wishing there were more in it. "She has a splinter in the back of her eye, very near the optic nerve, or in it, it's impossible to see from here. The swelling alone could be very, very dangerous that close to the brain, let alone what toxins might have been carried in. We'll have to remove the eye-- it's beyond healing anyway-- and then see what we can do. Where do we scrub? And we'll need blood. This could get messy."

Internal Affairs

Field Marshall Embersby smiled, 'I'll see to it that your aid workers are trained with Neko and enhancile medical treatment procedures. If you could spare any law enforcement units with firearms training it would be appreciated; they'll be given short orientation courses with our equipment, and we'd welcome an observer from your government if you have any worries about the course's content.'

Federal Oil refinery, Landfordshire

With every wail the siren's sound became more distorted as it melted, eventually stopping entirely. The fire crews who had survived the second bombing could only stand back and watch as the refinery burned, a single immense wall of fire encircling the whole complex now, sickly black smoke towering miles into the air above it. Occasional explosions still rang out and areas of the fire occasionally briefly changed colour; it would almost be spectacular if Gene didn't know how many men had died inside.

And when it's over there won't even be ashes left.

A man in a partly melted fire suit tapped his shoulder, 'Sir, what are we supposed to do? There's no way we can fight a firestorm, is there?'

Gene shook his head, 'Nothing to do but wait for it to die down now. There's nothing we have here that's anything but a waste of time to throw at something like this.'

Gene watched as the swirling fire and explosions hurled burning debris out of the heart of the complex, a barrel smashing into the ground a few hundred yards in front of him, splitting open and covering part of the road with a spreading pool of burning oil. He sighed, 'Everyone pull back...All we can do here is die.'

The Edge of the Sword

One of the doctors outside the operating room sighed as he went through their supply listing with one of the new arrivals. 'We haven't got much more than what you see for medical supplies...This is everything we could scrounge out of soldiers' aid kits and pretty much all the medical gear from the Sky Hammer up there. They keep flying us supplies down from the Air Destroyer's surgery, too. It's ridiculous having a fully sterile operating theatre two thousand yards from here and having to put up with this because with this snowstorm it's too risky trying to fly critical patients up to her, and the shell winches are no good for that. Not much else...The main hospital a couple streets up from here was being used as a command post by the separatists, it was one of the first things the bombers hit. They're still picking through what's left looking for anything worth sending up here.'

Inside, one of the nurses shook her head, 'We've got antibac, but for water you'll have to settle for the tap on that Jerry can propped up on the stool outside. There's not many places in this city that have clean water, the artillery saw to that.'

In one of the infirmary's back rooms, Winterson sighed exhaustedly as she read the words she'd written on the dented locker she'd been given, before heading over to the water tank that had been pulled in and trying to wash the blood off her hands.

I fought the war and
The war won

Point K

In the middle of the night, several heavy trucks pulled into town, figures jumping off them and starting to unload supplies. A Neko jumped out of the jeep leading them, heading over to a group of soldiers nearby, a Corporal recognising her as she came into the light, 'Holy shit, Izumi! Welcome back!' he blinked at her uniform, 'Whoa, Sergeant? You keep this I'll end up having to salute you.'

Izumi grinned, 'How's it been without me, Moore?'

The Corporal grinned, 'Oh, you know these salty bastards...Sittin' in trenches whiling away the hours being shot at, same as usual. How's Shima?'

'Getting better, slowly. Having fun looking after our little girl, by the sounds of things.'

'Shit, they gave you adoption papers already?'

'Well, she's got no living relatives, and, you know, with a cute NCO asking...'

'Don't tell me, asking an equally cute, easily corrupted young Neko clerk?'

Izumi grinned, 'How'd you guess?'

Moore laughed, 'Because I know you, Izumi.'

Another man blinked as he stepped out of the building nearby, 'Shit, though I heard you...We get you shot in the ear, Yurika pulls half a fuck-ing tree out of you and you're already back? What the hell does it take to get rid of you?'

Izumi grinned, 'More than you've got, Lorenzo. Anyway, I'm not supposed to be here, I'm AWOL. Stayed there just enough time to grab a clean uniform and sew on some chevrons.' She grinned, 'Because I know you're all lost without me. Found Major Downes here heading this way, asked if I could get a ride.'

'He know you're AWOL?'

'Sure, he knows. Anyway, grabbed you guys all the ammo I could beg, borrow or steal back at The Edge...They seem to think we're about to be attacked.'

'They miss us being attacked yesterday and the day before? Why is us being attacked big news?'

'No idea, but it looks like something big.'

Infirmary, Point K

Yurika handed the soldier his boot and frowned, 'Yup, that's trench foot.'

The man shook his head, 'Jesus, what century is this?'

'Try to keep it dry...Loosen your boots and wear dry socks, otherwise you might lose it.'

Yurika sighed, sitting down and sipping a cold cup of coffee, 'If there's one thing I really didn't think I'd end up treating, it's that...'

Temporary Federal Command Post, Edge of the Sword

General O'Grady went through the report on the attack slowly. There hadn't been much resistance after the mortars had finished shooting CS gas into the building, minimal casualties on both sides, most of the separatists taken prisoner and almost no casualties among the civilians. He'd have had no problem calling it a complete success if only he hadn't seen the pretty young woman crying for her baby who'd choked to death on the gas.

He lit a cigarette and sighed. Everything else he could have done would have killed more, in the end.

Woods Northeast of Point K

When Maya Shitow had heard 'sentry post,' she'd rather assumed it would be a four-legged tower like she'd seen in films, or something permanent and warm. She shivered a little and pulled the blanket around herself as she sat in the foxhole, staring out through the branches that covered it into the dark forest, looking nervously at the trees broken off by artillery strikes, and the burned-out APCs and tanks covered with snow nearby. 'I can't feel my fingers...' she said, her teeth chattering a little.

Shifty, the man sharing the foxhole with her, grinned, and put his blanket around her shoulders, revealing the two chevrons on his jacket under a triangular badge of a stylised tank on a parachute, a large '1' below it. Maya blinked, 'You're first PAD?'

Shifty nodded, 'Well, not that it makes too much difference with my ART frame lying in a heap of slag in the town square, but yes, Shifty Evans, First Parachute Armoured Division.' He lit a cigarette, ''Bout you...Maya, isn't it?'

'Just doing my term of service...' she sneezed, and took off her helmet, flicking her ears a couple of times, and sneezing again, 'I must seem pretty pathetic...'

Shifty smiled, 'Hey, news to me...I thought you were a reg in the infantry. Nobody expects you to be Superman just because you're holding a gun. Just happens I have a rare psychological disorder which means I don't think strapping into a hundred-ton frame and jumping out of a plane is a bloody stupid idea. You're pretty damn brave to have taken this assignment, anyway.'

Maya looked at him, the light from the moon reflecting oddly in the young Neko's eyes, 'Really?'

Shifty nodded, 'Say, where you from, Private?'

'Pensbury, sir.'

'It's corporal, I'm not sir.' Shifty paused for a moment, 'Never heard of it.'

'It's a tiny little farm town about halfway between Miles Bishop Airbase and Marshall City...One of those little places where everyone knows everyone else, you must know the sort of thing I mean. My father's a bricklayer, brother runs the local corner shop.'

Shifty grinned, 'That letter you haven't opened got something to do with them, then?'

Maya blushed a little, 'Actually, I just can't find my glasses...I need them for reading...' she sneezed.

'Well, I could read it, if it's nothing personal.'

Maya nodded, handing it to him. 'I think it's from my brother.'

'His name Akito?'

Maya nodded.

'Then it's from him.' Shifty opened the envelope and unfolded a neatly-written letter. He cleared his throat and began reading. 'Sis,

'I hope that this letter finds you well. Everyone in the village really misses you, and we want you to know we're all really proud of you.

'I was hoping when I wrote to you I could help you out a little, having gone through service myself, but all I can really do is pray for you to come back safely and soon.

'Back home, Nanami's just had school sports day – she won silver in the hundred metres and gold in the two hundred. She keeps asking when you'll be back so she can show you her medals, and she's told everyone in school her big sister's a soldier. Her class all signed a card for you, it's in with this one.'

Shifty felt around inside the envelope, fishing out a greeting card with 'Good Luck!' on the front of it, 'Says good luck from all of them, and be safe. Your sister's drawn a heart.'

Maya smiled, 'Did Akito anything else?' she coughed a few times.

'Ah, let's see...' Shifty looked down the page to find where he had left off, 'It's just not the same here without you, Maya-chan, though I'm sure you're making everyone there happy. Take care.

'Your brother

'Akito'

Maya sniffled, wiping away a tear, 'Wonder how I'm going to answer...Guess saying I'm spending my birthday hiding in a freezing cold foxhole and I can't feel my tail isn't quite the way to go.' There was a soft, muffled meow, and Maya opened her jacket a little, a kitten poking it's head out.

'You still looking after that cat, huh?'

'Well, I don't think her owner's around anymore...Found her wandering around the ruins on Short Street, and, well...'

'You've got a soft spot for your ancestors?' Shifty grinned.

Maya stroked the kitten's head, 'You're just jealous yours aren't this cute.'

Shifty paused, 'Wait a second...You ever know a girl called Josie?'

Maya smiled, and nodded, 'Sure, she joined halfway through my second year in school, I was assigned to her as a buddy. She was one of my best friends...Wait a minute...' Maya blinked, 'You're that big brother who was never around?'

Shifty nodded, 'Half brother. Her dad's a fuck-ing jerk, no idea why my mother married him. Moved out just after that bullshit...'

Maya smiled, 'Small world.'

Shifty grinned, 'Yeah, guess so.'

Maya's ears pricked up, as did the kitten's, 'Um, you hear that?'

Shifty nodded, 'I do now...birds, animals...engines...And tracks. One big one, almost sounds like...' he stared out into the forest. As an enhancile, his view of the world was never really completely dark, the infrared saw to that, and now he was looking... 'Shit, the lead's covered in thermal sheeting, but she's a big girl...Jesus, looks like a Mammoth.' He blinked, 'Holy shit, I see what they're doing...They're cutting a path through the forest around the minefield for their armour. Maya, run back and warn the Captain, I'll stay here and see if I can get a better idea of their numbers.'

Maya nodded, and shouldered her rifle, running back towards the town as fast as she could. When she arrived she was panting, 'The Captain...Where's...DeSade?'

'Here, Private...What's up?'

'Sir...' Maya took a minute to catch her breath, then saluted, 'Sir, spotted enemy armoured column moving toward the western section of the line...Looks like the lead is a Mammoth, sir.'

DeSade blinked, 'Jesus, where the hell were they hiding that?' Maya ducked as dozens of shots lit up the other side of the tree-covered ridge Northeast of the town, the thunder of artillery guns breaking the silence of the night with the wail of shells. There were odd flashes in the air as rocket artillery rounds ignited at the top of their arcs, the conventional ones simply falling to the ground, 'Shit! Get off the streets! Find some cover!' the first shells started hitting, smashing into buildings and hurling broken glass and lumps of stone across roads. 'Get everyone who can't fight out to the South or into cellars!' He shouted to a soldier hiding behind a heap of sandbags across the road. 'McDuff!'

'Sir!'

'Get together all the mortar teams you can find and set up on the rise Southwest of town. Bates, head to the infirmary, tell Yurika to start evacuating anyone who can still walk and move the ones who can't down to the basement. Where the fuck is Colonel Davies?'

'First line trenches, sir, middle of the line!'

'Can't fault her fuck-ing timing. Ernst, grab something with wheels and get your ass back to General O'Grady, tell him we have a major mobilisation towards our position and I don't know how long we can hold out. Tell him we need medics for an aid station and we're evacing everyone we can towards him. And say we need ammo, everything he can get!'

'Sir!' Ernst saluted, 'What if I can't secure transport?'

'Just see that you do.'

Another soldier ran up, bleeding profusely from a wound in his shoulder, 'Sir, got light armour moving on the eastern trenches and infantry, lots of them!'

DeSade nodded, 'Hold out as long as you can on the front line, I'll try to run you up some ammo for your machine guns.'

'Sir!'

Infirmary, Point K

Yurika was already working as fast as possible to get everyone onto their feet who could when Bates ran in, 'The Captain says to evac everyone you can,' he panted.

Yurika nodded grimly, 'Way ahead of you.' She flinched as a nearby impact threw fragments of one of the few remaining stained glass windows across the church, covering the empty beds with glittering fragments. Yurika turned to one of the other doctors, 'Ok, you take over here, I'm going to see if they can use an extra pair of hands further forward.'

The doctor nodded, clapping a hand on her shoulder, 'Good luck, Yurika.'

The little Neko nodded, 'You too.'

The Edge of the Sword

General O'Grady had pretty much given up on being surprised by things he saw, but he couldn't help but smile as he watched a dirt-streaked white horse with a soldier on it's back galloping through the snow into the shadow of the giant Air Destroyer hovering overhead. Ernst pulled the reins back sharply, the horse whinnying and stopping quickly, turning side-on to the General revealing a trail of drying blood down it's side coming from a shrapnel wound. 'General!' Ernst saluted with his free hand, 'Reporting from Point K, we have a major separatist attack on our position currently in progress, the Captain requests immediate reinforcement and as much ammunition as you can spare.' The horse snorted, and shook its head, whinnying again.

General O'Grady blinked, 'Holy shit...' He turned to a woman standing with him, 'Colonel, I need you to get started moving out as much as possible, armour and APCs, take the least damaged roads and for Christ's sake stay off the main road to Point K unless you think your tanks can deal with a railway gun. Barnes!'

A man walked over slowly, throwing his cigarette aside. 'Sir?'

'Pull every string you can to get Point K some air support, I don't care how. Radio those AV-11s over in Kingston Park and tell them to get their helos off the ground as fast as they can.' He glanced up at the Air Destroyer, which, since earlier that day, was part of the Army command instead of the Navy, 'And tell Aki to move Goliath off immediately, same for the Sky Hammer.'

O'Grady flagged down a jeep, 'Sergeant, get down to the infirmary and tell them we need medics to set up an aid station for wounded from Point K, five doctors at least, more if they can spare it.'

The man saluted, 'Sir!'

O'Grady cursed under his breath, 'And that leaves us having to deal with what's left of that artillery company covering the path North of the main road on the move. Just have to hope the bombers hit them hard enough that they pulled back.'

There was a roar as the Air Destroyer's engines started up.

Point K

'Fall back!' another artillery shell exploded near the first line of trenches on the edge of the forest, all the soldiers in them flinching. In the line behind, Izumi watched as the soldiers in the first line climbed out of their trenches and started to run; they were barely halfway before an artillery barrage landed across the field. One minute there were men running, the next plumes of dirt, then nothing but coils of smoke and craters.

'Jesus!' Izumi ducked as more machine-gun fire raked the trenches, peering up through the branches covering her trench towards the edge of the forest, the whole area lit up by muzzle flashes and tracers. With a creak another tree collapsed in front of the Mammoth Tank, and it swung it's forward turret towards the town, tearing the line of trees in front of it out of the ground like twigs as it's guns contacted them, panning it's searchlight along the trench line. The tank's upper surface was covered in machine-gun nests, made out of sandbags, breezeblocks and corrugated iron sheets. 'Looks like she's got ten GPMGs and five or six fifty cals on her back...No fuck-ing way we can stop her with what we've got here, we'll have to fall back before she reaches the first line of trenches.' The Mammoth's turrets fired, the forward one first, then the rear, the deafening sound making Izumi duck as one of the other trenches was torn apart, 'If not before.'

The man next to her looked out, 'Sarge, I can see tanks and APCs following her, lots of them...'

She glanced down the line, and climbed out of the trench, running between what little cover there was while machine gun fire kicked up plumes of snow and dirt from the ground around her.

Izumi ran to each trench, tapping soldiers on the shoulder and telling them to fall back once the tank crossed the empty first line trenches 'Go when you see the smoke,' she tapped a smoke grenade on her belt. Finally, she reached the machine gun post, 'Payne, Jones, I want you to give me some suppressing fire on that tank...Aim for the MG nests and cover our retreat. Stay as long as you can.'

Jones nodded, 'We won't let you down, sergeant.'

Izumi nodded, ducking into an empty foxhole as the Mammoth fired again, the shells screaming overhead to hit the vehicle park in the square. She paused, before pulling the pin and throwing the grenade, waiting for the smoke before running for the village. 'Fall back!' Most of the squad made it, only a few being cut down by the machine guns firing blindly through the smoke.

One soldier shouted out, 'Nixon! Medic, man down!'

The medic frowned, grabbing the man by the arm, 'Leave him, he's dead!'

On the other side of the line, DeSade shook his head, 'Shit, there goes our left flank!'

The troops ducked to one side as a pair of tanks made their way down the road, firing as they did. The Mammoth's guns blew both apart as soon as they made it outside the town onto the old school football field, a twisted goalpost the only reminder of that now. Izumi motioned for Moore to come over, 'Listen up, we're fuck-ed as long as that Mammoth keeps coming towards us, I don't think we've got a damn thing that can knock her out.'

'We're totally outgunned.'

'No fuck-ing shit, Moore, you work that out all by yourself? Everyone fix your bayonets!' There was a wail and a nearby building's roof collapsed on itself, a huge explosion rolling into the air seconds later. One of the Resistance men frowned.

'Fuck, there goes the armoury!'

A Private blinked, 'Sarge, won't she have to stop when she hits the edge of the town? These roads aren't wide enough for her to move down, are they?'

Izumi stared at her, 'Mammoths can move one and a half times their own weight, I don't think a couple of old brick shop fronts are going to stop her.'

'Shit, then what do we do?' the squad moved back as the Mammoth approached, tearing the fronts out of the buildings either side of the road as it did so, enveloping the whole street in a cloud of dust. There was a metallic screech and a crash of something heavy hitting the ground, followed by the sound of breaking glass.

'At least the streetlamps should slow her down a little...' Izumi thought for a moment, then ducked back down one of the side-streets, 'Peters, you got any ammo in your EMG-55?'

'Sure, five rounds left, sarge.'

'Good. Give it to me.' She paused, peering through the windscreen of a burned-out car as the huge tank slowly entered the market square in front of her, 'Moore, cover me.'

Moore blinked, 'COVER you?!' but Izumi was already running toward the nearest of the tank's rear tread units. 'Shit...Ok, give her some covering fire...Suppression fire on the vision slits! Tell five's MG to do the same! Green, you too!'

Green watched as Izumi ran, 'What the hell?'

At first the machine gun crews didn't shoot at Izumi, probably because they couldn't believe what they were seeing either. In one of the facing machine gun positions, a separatist loading one of the machine guns spotted her, 'Morrison, the right...!' he was interrupted by the man's head jerking backwards, the impact covering his face with blood, 'D-dammit...' he pushed his friend's lifeless body aside, and started firing.

As Izumi reached the side of the tank the railgun was already fully charged, the discharges between the two rails lighting up the side of the tank as it moved past her slowly. She pointed the gun straight down, fired twice into one of the track links, dropped it, and ran back towards the side street, the machine guns kicking up splinters of stone from the cobbles behind her.

The tank kept moving for a while, the damaged link going back around the guide wheels before, with a loud bang, the link gave way, the tank grinding to a halt leaving it's track spread out on the road behind it. Izumi leaned against a wall, panting, 'If I ever...Ever...Try...To do...Anything...Like that again...Shoot me...'

Moore stared at her, 'Sarge, that your Gerhart Cross performance?' he grinned, 'Got you a squadron of near-empty Grand Dragons asking if they can lend a hand, what shall I tell them?'

Izumi smiled, 'Tell them to hit the woods ahead of our Northwest forward trenches with whatever they've got, that'll slow their armour down. And why the hell are they asking you?'

'They say they can't raise the Colonel or the Captain's radio ops, that only really leaves us.' Lit by the fires burning nearby, Moore's dirt-streaked face betrayed how worried he was.

Izumi blinked, 'That's just fuck-ing perfect!' she ducked back into the alley as the Mammoth's machine guns fired at the entrance, 'Moore, call that thing's coordinates out to the mortar teams and see if they can do something about those MGs!'

'On it, sarge!'

Yurika climbed over a pile of rubble and ducked slightly as she made her way to Izumi, 'Anything I can do to help here, Reika?'

'Jesus, why the hell haven't you evaced with the other civilians?'

Yurika gave her a determined look, 'Because I can still do some good here.'

Izumi nodded, 'Go along the men and see if anyone's hit, couple have caught shrapnel that I know of. And thank you.'

Fourth Army Heavy Bomber Squadron, approaching Point K

'This is Wyvern One-Seven to all aircraft, target is confirmed, all aircraft enter bombing pattern.' Haines flicked over to the internal speaker, 'All gunners to your positions, we may be needing you.'

Holmes and Christianson slipped on their flak jackets, running down the fuselage, Holmes hitting the other gunners he passed as he ran to the tail gun, 'Rise and shine, boys and girls!' One gunner sighed and turned over, 'Ok, ok...'

'No, not ok lie down, ok get up, unless you'd prefer a fuck-ing parachute!'

Point K

Izumi couldn't help but cheer as the mortar rounds hit home, several of the machine gun nests disintegrating, showering the square with fragments of concrete and filling the air with plumes of sand. She blinked as the forward turret started to turn. 'Moore, tell the mortar teams to relocate and fast, the Mammoth's got their position!'

'This is Echo group radio to mortar teams, Mike Tango has you zeroed, abandon your current position immediately!' He was interrupted by the tank firing both it's forward guns towards the mortar position, two huge explosions lighting up the top of the hill and sending trees crashing to the ground in flames.

Izumi shook her head, 'Just hope to God it missed them...'

There was a low rumble as the Grand Dragons passed overhead, fireballs blooming in the woods as they dropped their remaining payload on the advancing tank column which was following the path the Mammoth had cut through the trees. Numerous tanks ground to a halt in flames.

'This Wyvern One-Seven to all ground units, that's all we have for ya.'

Moore looked at Izumi, 'Sarge, they're empty.'

'Tell them thank you and if they can do anything else it would be appreciated.' She ducked as another tank entering the square fired its machine gun towards the alleyway.

'This is Echo to Wyvern, can you give us additional fire support?'

Haines grinned, 'Affirmative, coming around for a strafing run.' He turned to the plane's intercom, 'Ok, chin, belly and tail gunners, you're firing on ground targets, cheek and waist positions see if you can hit anything. Mid-upper gets to sit this one out.'

Izumi watched as the giant bomber flew over the town so low it's wings were almost clipping the roofs, tracer fire from it's gun turrets lighting up the streets and sending the separatist troops running for cover, the bomber kicking swirling trails of embers into the sky behind it. At the end of its run the Grand Dragon dropped one wing, turning tightly over the burning church, engines howling. The Mammoth's flak guns swung upward, most of the bullets crashing into rooftops, none finding their target through the columns of smoke over the town.

A tank with a Resistance flag hastily painted on the side of the turret moved into the opposite side of the square, bringing it's turret around as one of the separatist tanks fired, the shell hitting home and the tank erupting in flames as its ammunition detonated. It carried on moving until it hit a building, bringing the front down on itself in a shower of masonry dust. Izumi frowned, 'This is hopeless...' she suddenly noticed that the tank that had just fired had swung its turret around, the main gun now facing the alleyway, 'Shit, everybody get...'

She was cut off as the tank fired.

Of our elaborate plans, the end
Of everything that stands, the end
No safety or surprise, the end
I'll never look into your eyes...again
The Doors, "The End"

Hack Mobile Command, Eastern Coast of Meganshire

"Meganshire... shit. I'm in Meganshire..." Captain Marlow was stretched out on his cot, muttering softly to himself, half drunk, half suicidal, and totally depressed. "When I was here, all I could think of was getting home. Once I got home, all I could think of was coming back here..."

"I remember..."

It was a week ago, I was across the field, talking with Colonel Gorman, and his various aides about the mission I was to take part in. They had largely secured the eastern end of the island, and their only source of resistance was a Sep Colonel, who was deep in the bowels of Meganshire. Once he was eliminated, the forces of "Truth and Light" could push through Brackley and down into Lanfordshire, providing support to the loyalists there. Col. Hertz was a man out of his time, and out of his mind.

"There's two kinds of Seps," Gorman had told me. "The mercs who are just doing it for a paycheck and those who believe in the cause. Hertz believes in the cause, and he's as batshit as Gen. Copeland, and has convinced those under his command of the truth of their cause." Gorman was just as convinced of his righteousness as Hertz was; he just appeared to be on the right side of the line. "We need you to solve this problem, Marlow. With extreme prejudice."

I nodded. There was nothing else that could be done. I had no illusions of this war; it was little more than a power play. The Seps wanted independence; the Federation wanted their ducks in a row.

I looked over the dossier on Hertz, and the general orders I was to follow. The mission, in theory, was easy. Follow the Aims River on its lazy south-by-southwest path into Meganshire's interior to a small village that was being used as Hertz's command center. I'd be on a small patrol boat named the Nellie. Its crew was mostly green, aside for the Captain, who'd been doing missions like this for the whole war. I was to assassinate Hertz, and take the boat back, hopefully demoralizing his forces. It struck me as ironic to involve morale, or morals, in any way.

Road Into Point K

It was a bumpy ride in the back of the truck; the road had taken a pounding by the artillery. It could hardly even be called a road anymore. The soldier in the back bounced around, trying desperately to keep from getting even more banged up than he already was. The truck's utter lack of suspension made things even worse. Still, the civvie had balls of steel for agreeing to this. About a mile out the truck stopped, and the man called out, "This is as far as I can take you, Corporal. I'm sorry."

Lanes hopped out of the back, stolen railgun clenched in his new metallic hand, "Thanks anyway. You've done more than I could have hoped." Slinging the weapon over his back, he started humping it to the shelled village, hoping he could still do some good.

Aims River

The Nellie's crew was green, just as Marlow had been promised. Most of them had probably lied about their age on their applications, hoping to get some war experience, and come home big heroes, having fought for human rights, and freeing the oppressed Nekos.

Marlow's cynicism poured off him in waves.

The Captain was going to be a problem, he could tell. That man was no fool; he knew that Marlow's cover story was a load of bull. He wasn't there to "plot out enemy formations", and the Captain knew it. He was a smart man, however, and knew not to ask any Difficult Questions, or seek Specific Answers, but he sure as Hell wasn't going to risk his crew for this mission. Darting little missions to mop up resistance pockets were one thing; going into the lion's mouth was something else altogether.

"What's the target, skip?" The Captain may be experienced, but he was far from subtle. Perhaps that was an artifact of his experience, Marlow figured.

"About five miles as the crow flies. Bit more with the switchbacks."

"Five?"

Shit... "Yeah, is that a problem?"

"That's Sep country."

Don't have time for this..., "Yeah, and you've got your orders. Just get me in and don't give me any shit." Marlow's voice snapped more than he wanted, but he didn't have time for this. He didn't want to be talking with the Captain, he didn't want to be questioned, and he sure as Hell didn't want to start all over again with a different crew of mopes and losers.

"Yes, sir." The Captain managed to make 'sir' seem like the biggest insult ever. The greenhorns glanced up at the exchange, but at least knew enough to keep their mouths shut.

Bridge of the MGS Azathoth, Off the Eastern Shore of Meganshire

"Everything's fine, sir. No Sep activity since the last lesson."

"Thank you sailor."

The Azathoth was, currently, the flagship of the Hack navy, and it would be until Rei was finished. There was some bitterness over this but nobody could really argue that the Supercruiser was a more fitting flagship than a railship. Still, the Azathoth's crew was determined to perform impeccably, perhaps in the futile hope that they could retain the title. They had been pounding the Hell out of the remaining Sep positions. The 19.2" guns had made hash of what little was defending the beach. The battle group's guns had been quiet for hours now, floating off the coast, like Hell's fury just waiting to be needed again.

Outside Sep Command, Heart of Meganshire

Marlow crouched in a tree, looking down at the building that Hertz had taken command of. He'd lost his gun in the chaos of the journey, and only had a large combat knife with which to fulfill his mission. He watched Hertz, pondering the man he was sent to kill, and his trip here.

It should have been simple, dammit. Ride along the river, stop a bit from the camp, sneak in, do the deed, and cruise back out. It was only a few miles? How could it be so completely fuck-ed?

Stopping was probably our first mistake. We weren't there to help the civilians, and we shouldn't have stopped. How did we not see the ambush? It was fuck-ing telegraphed. It couldn't have been clearer if it in giant neon letters. We were too close to The Source, and I should have known that those civilians didn't want our help.

The Captain and I should count ourselves lucky, I guess. We made it out, and the Nellie was operational. I guess I should be happy those rooks are dead. They'll get more honors than their worthless lives deserve, and with them gone, the Captain has nobody to protect. He said he'd wait for me.

And now, Hertz...

I think he knows I'm here, and I don't think he cares. This place has turned into a vortex of madness, both fed by Hertz, and feeding Hertz. I feel it seeping into my bones; deadly poison. I never understood the wisdom of this mission, and now I don't think I understand anything. Hertz is God-Among-Man here, but outside of this cluster, he's just another insane separatist; buggy as his General, likely as nuts as their counterparts in the Hack, or GMC...

Marlow dropped silently from the tree, knife in hand, as he crept into the hovel that Hertz was sleeping in. The pale, physically fragile man was asleep in his bed, unaware, or uncaring of his fate. Marlow's blade rose into the air, almost without his willing of it, and plunged downward. Idealism, and the Separatist movement in Meganshire dying with a solitary, swift blow.

A Brief Interlude

North Point "Officer's Club"

It wasn't so much an Officer's Club, as it was a room that currently had officers in it. Capt. Maki, Tech Officer* Cave, and 2nd Lt. Digilio were the officers in question, and they were engaged in a furious game poker. They were taking advantage of a strange lull in action, and they all figured the break would be useful. Most of the enlisted men were likewise trying to take a break. It was an uneasy lull, to be sure, as at any moment all Hell could break out, but for now they were content to play cards and choke on Maki's cigar.

"Glad I ain't using money..." Digilio was, frankly, getting his ass kicked by Maki.

"Not my fault you suck," Maki said, grinning like a shark.

"I don't suck, you're a fuck-in' psychic, plug-neck."

"What was that?"

"I'm sorry," Digilio was grinning, "You're a fuck-in' psychic, sir."

"Pfft." Cave looked almost bored, as usual, his gray eyes half closed. In fact, he almost always looked like he was stoned. Rumor had it he once had a killer heroin habit. "He's not cheating. He's a shitty psychic, just like you're a shitty card player."

"Hey!" Both cried out in unison. "What the fuck choo talkin' `bout," Digilio added.

"Digilio, you can't play cards. You haven't had a higher hand than a pair. You're tossing decent hands, shooting for straights and flushes. Maki, on the other hand, is an Instintive Psychic."

Maki blinked a few times, "Huh? What the Hell does that mean?" Digilio just muttered.

"An Instinctive Psychic," Cave looked even more bored at this point, "Two cards, by the way. Look at it this way, Cap'n. Can you levitate shit?"

"No."

"Read minds?"

"No."

"Do bloody anything that all of these GMC psychers can do?"

"Er... no. And two cards, Digilio."

"Feh." Digilio passed out the cards, taking three for himself.

"Exactly. You've pretty much got the suck-pipe psychic ability. You get feelings and hunches and sudden urges to duck. Basically, you've got just enough ability to actually use that neck-plug. Probably why you worked so well with it," slight shrug.

"Christ, Cave. Sure know how to kill a guy's ego."

Another shrug, "Look at it this way, it's not like I can use one. Even a shit-ass psycher like you has more ability than I do. Ace-high straight, by the way."

[* In the Hack, "Tech Officers" hold rank something like Doctors do. In effect, he's a Major.]

A friendly neighbourhood tag, from your friendly neighbourhood Tagger-man. :)

Point K

Haines' B-95 turned another tight circle over the town, tracers pouring from its gun turrets onto the streets below, a burning engine scoring a glowing trail in the night sky behind the giant bomber. In the chin turret, Kent's guns abruptly stopped firing, the only sound the brass rolling on the floor as the plane moved, and he pulled the two cocking levers back at once to be presented with a pair of empty chambers, 'Shit!' he punched the intercom, 'Chin turret, rounds complete!'

In Haines' headset Christianson's voice chipped in, 'Belly turret, rounds complete!' followed seconds later by Holmes with 'Tail, rounds complete!'

Haines shook his head as another engine fire indicator lit up, 'That's it, then...Radio ground and tell them we've done all we can and we're heading out.'

'Wyvern One-Seven to ground, that's it from us, good luck and God be with you.' The radio operator shook his head, turning to Haines, 'No response, sir.'

The bomber turned away from the town, staying low as anti-aircraft fire from the woods climbed into the sky after it.

Town Square, Point K

Izumi crawled out from under the beam that had nearly crushed her, wincing in pain from the shrapnel in her leg, instinctively looking around for her squad, noting several lying dead in the burning remains of the building. Yurika, one eye closed with a trail of blood running from it down her cheek, was crouched next to her. Izumi coughed, 'Any other survivors?'

'Uh, there's a dozen or so across the road...' there was a moan from nearby, and Yurika ran over, digging through the rubble and pulling Moore out. His face was a mass of torn and bloody flesh and there was a gaping hole in his leg that pulsed sickeningly, the squad's radio still on his back, smashed. Yurika blinked in shock, before calling out, 'I need bandages and morphine!'

Another medic ran over and they moved quickly, bandaging and doing other things Izumi didn't recognise. She hauled herself to her feet, limping over to the rest of her squad, leaning against the wall and gasping from the pain, 'Green, report!'

Green looked up from tending to a wounded soldier, 'Mammoth's still there and the tanks are pushing forward from the square...Guess they think we're all dead here.' He ducked as a nearby building exploded in a huge ball of fire, 'Jesus, what the hell was that?'

The remaining Resistance man with them shouted above the shelling, 'The distillery, comrade!'

Izumi crept forward, glancing around what was left of the archway into the square, watching tanks moving around the giant Mammoth, infantry following them too now, squads heading into side streets, rattles of gunfire sounding as they encountered resistance. She turned to her remaining squad members, 'Right, everyone off the streets, get the wounded you can move inside with you. Get me fire positions in the windows there, there and there. And someone give Yurika a hand moving Moore. Go!'

Vale Park, Point K

The Scimitar was barely standing now, most of the other Frames had been destroyed by the first artillery strike and Trent couldn't raise any of the ones that hadn't, leaving him alone against the tanks and infantry pouring into the town. He ducked back behind the wall as another anti-tank rifle round barely missed him, reaching for another magazine for his railgun and finding none left. He cursed, throwing the weapon aside and drawing the frame's four-foot bayonet from it's sheath. He paused for a moment, before stepping out, sweeping the knife in a long arc across the line of troops in front of him at head height, and burying it in the timbers of a building at the far end of the swing.

The Scimitar stood unarmed in front of the two Separatist tanks at the far end of the park, Trent watching them level their guns at him. He kicked the ejector, the lower part of his cockpit falling to the ground and his harness breaking away, letting him slip out, swinging to the ground as the Scimitar exploded above him, showering him with debris as he ran for the edge of the park.

He couldn't really shake the feeling he wasn't getting out of this alive.

Town Square, Point K

The separatist soldiers ducked back behind the heap of sandbags they were sheltering behind, and Green called out, 'Sergeant, there's a radio op with them!'

Izumi nodded, running up to the top floor of the building, taking aim with her rifle from the collapsed roof and firing, the man falling to the ground. She quickly flicked the bolt back and forward, putting a shot into his radio as well, then running for the door as a volley of shots from the rest of the separatist squad crashed into the timbers around her. In the square she could see the Mammoth's two turrets fire in turn, the shells crashing through intervening structures and exploding in a couple of occupied buildings, bringing them crashing to the ground and filling the surrounding streets with smoke and masonry dust.

Green fired another burst as Izumi got back downstairs, leaning against the doorframe, barely able to stand on her injured leg anymore. 'I suppose I'm wasting my time asking what we're supposed to do to fight this off?'

Izumi shook her head, 'Hope Ernst made it to The Edge, and hold out, that's all we can do now...'

Yurika glanced at her, 'Izumi, let me take a look at that leg.'

Izumi shook her head, 'Not until this is over.'

Yurika muttered under her breath and went back to pulling broken glass out of a young service soldier's back, 'Just hold still, Maya...' the little kitten she'd been carrying sat next to Maya, licking her face occasionally.

Green blinked at a familiar sound, grinning as a squadron of AV-11 Helitanks thundered over the city, 'Sarge, look!'

The helicopters poured fire into the streets below, explosions blooming ahead of them as their rotors kicked up swirling trails of glowing embers behind them. Artillery fire crashed down on the separatist positions, tanks reversing as streets ahead of them collapsed into the sewers. Izumi sunk down the wall, sighing in utter exhaustion, 'Thank God...Keep up fire on their position.'

Separatist Type 65 Mammoth Mark 7 A1, town square, Point K

The radar operator shook her head as another artillery round exploded on the tank's upper surface, 'Sir, I have an Air Destroyer coming in on the edge of our sweep...'

The commander sighed, 'Ok...Radio ops, signal the following, "This is commander of separatist Mammoth Tank registry four-one-eight-five, we will cease fire on your acknowledgement of this message and surrender to one of your units when such reaches our position. Repeat until they acknowledge.'

One of the engineers blinked, 'Surrender? Are you out of your fuck-ing mind?!'

The commander shrugged, 'Kiel, you lose a lot of money gambling?'

The man nodded cautiously.

'I'm not fuck-ing surprised, you don't know when to fold.'

Town Square, Point K

Youngs stood in front of the Federal squad, still managing to look proud in his dress uniform. His remaining soldiers were mostly handing in their weapons or searching for friends in the shattered ruins of the town, but his officers, mostly injured, stood silently behind him, standing at attention in torn, dirt-stained uniforms. He saluted smartly to General O'Grady, 'On behalf of the seventeenth, nineteenth and twenty-third divisions of the Army of Free Grafton's Isle...' he drew his pistol, holding it by the barrel, 'I hereby ask that you accept this as my formal surrender. Nearby, a building shuddered and collapsed, a late casualty of the night's shelling.

General O'Grady nodded, taking the gun from him, 'And on behalf of Taskforce Sword, your surrender is accepted. Get your men assembled to be shipped out, Colonel.'

Youngs saluted, turning smartly on his heel and marching back toward his officers.

O'Grady sighed, then spotted Izumi with her squad, 'Sergeant Izumi?'

She managed a salute, 'General sir!'

He nodded, 'I'm not happy with the state of your uniform, Reika, it's not befitting of a commissioned officer,' he stepped forward, handing her a small bar-shaped badge made of silver, 'Do something about it, Lieutenant.'

Izumi blinked, 'Yes sir!'

Aid Station, edge of Point K

Winterson blinked as a barely breathing woman was dragged in by two dirt-stained soldiers, her clothes torn and covered in blood and hastily-applied bandages, her face barely recognisable, 'Jesus, what the hell happened?'

One man caught his breath, 'It's Colonel Davies, just found her around the forward trenches.'

They lifted her onto the table, Winterson working quickly as the woman groaned in pain, blood running from her mouth, her breathing shallow with a sickly wet sound to it. She reached out to Winterson, trying to talk, leaving a bloody handprint on her uniform, 'I...I...' she managed.

Winterson winced, 'Don't try to talk...It's going to be ok...' she cut the woman's jacket open, and realised it wouldn't be ok at all; a deep wound in her torso had already lost her too much blood. Still Winterson worked as hard as she could, until she noticed one of the other doctors tapping her on the shoulder, shaking his head.

One of the soldiers who'd bought her in cursed, 'Guess I'd better go tell command...She's got a husband and a little boy and girl back home who need to be told.' he sighed, 'Had, I mean. Stupid fuck-ing war...'

Winterson blinked as a figure appeared at the door; DeSade's uniform was torn and his eye swelling, and he was swaying dangerously. He held a bloody sword in his hand, the arms of his uniform stained crimson, 'Medic...' he managed, before blinking, 'Carrie...Nice to...see...' he collapsed..

Winterson ran over as one of the other soldiers stared at her, 'You know him?'

'Yes...Give me a hand here, I need to get him on a table...' she sighed, 'This is my brother.'

Internal Affairs

Shiala smiled at the Xikuangese delegation, 'Um, you've been called here because we have a rather delicate situation we would like to request your assistance with...Sit down, please.'

The holographic map zoomed in quickly to a pair of towns, both highlighted, 'The town to the east is Justfield, the western one is called Brookhaven, controlled by the Resistance and another loyalist group called Red Hand respectively. Justfield is a vital position for us, since the missile battery stationed there...' a road highlighted, 'Denies the separatist forces south of the battery use of this route for supply convoys, and also discourages any advance by them to the Northeast.'

A large circle centred on the town appeared on the map, 'Unfortunately, Brookhaven also lies well within the battery's effective range, and friction between Red Hand and Resistance means we've had numerous demands for the removal of this battery from the Red Hand.' A 3-D render of a large railway gun appeared, rotating slowly, 'Brookhaven has a major freight rail yard nearby which is now home to this, a Type Thirty railway gun, pointed towards the missile battery in Justfield. Given the presence of civilians in both areas, this isn't a situation we want to allow to continue.'

'Since the Federation is seen to and does favour the Resistance as we rely on them for most of our ground intelligence, we can't send in negotiators and expect to be seen as a neutral party. As a result, the Federation would like to humbly request your assistance in this matter.'

The Edge of the Sword

General O'Grady sighed; it was good to be back in his makeshift office again, even if it meant dealing with all the problems the ruined city was still finding for them. 'Ok, notice from demolitions to all units civil and otherwise, this afternoon they'll be taking down the Jack Dreighton Tower and Vickston Suspension Bridge, since they've been declared unsafe, so don't report the explosions. Remind all civil units that they're not to enter the airport terminal building under any circumstances without someone who's qualified to clear mines, same for runways one and four. Did I hear right that they're taking down the Freedom Memorial tomorrow?'

One of the demolitions guys nodded, 'Love to tell you no, but the fuck-ing thing's started swaying in light winds, it's only a matter of time before it goes on it's own.'

O'Grady glanced out of the window at the tower, made of latticed steel girders a century ago,* and sighed, 'Just in time for our NDA application to be made public...The gutter press are going to love that. Ok, throw a press cordon around that before you blow it, let's at least limit the number of photographs of it going down.'

Internal Affairs, Joint Forces Briefing

Shiala sat next to Field Marshal Embersby quietly as Anne-Marie talked, looking a little worried. Anne-Marie continued, 'And it's quite clear that the taskforce currently in place is inadequate in number to fulfil it's objectives without spreading it's lines too thinly in the process and opening itself to counter-attack, as we recently saw at Point K and are seeing now again at North Point. Therefore, it has been decided that Taskforce Sword is to be reinforced to a total strength of five hundred seventy five thousand, and will from now on be referred to as Army Group Sword. As a result, I will be in direct command.' She saluted, 'See to it that mobilisation begins immediately. Dismissed!'

The assembled staff saluted, filing out. Anne-Marie sat down next to Shiala, smiling and hugging her, 'It's not your fault, nobody really thought they'd put up this kind of fight.'

Shiala nodded, looking tired, 'You're kind for saying so, mum...I guess now it's briefing North Point?'

Anne-Marie smiled, 'Yes...There's a threat there that if they can divide our force and push hard down the middle of the moor they could reach the base before our forces regroup. It's pretty bad...I'll stay here with you. Your avatar should get some sleep, though.'

Shiala nodded, curling up with her head in Anne-Marie's lap, drifting off to sleep.

North Point

North Point's entire combat force sat around the holographic projector, an eight-inch tall hologram of Shiala standing on it. The hologram blinked a couple of times, then nodded, 'Ok, I've got image feed now, I can see.' She smiled nervously as a three dimensional map of the area shimmered into existence in the air above her, 'As you're aware, General Hoshino has been promoted in order to command an assault on the Separatist positions between North Point and Lanfor, primarily the large tank force located here under the command of General Robert Curtis. From air recon photographs of the facility he has not less than two full armoured divisions under his command and another of mechanised infantry, along with a large amount of additional artillery. This force is the single greatest obstacle currently facing the Federal advance on Lanfor.'

'Recently, we've monitored the movement of numerous artillery weapons out of his base and onto Blanstead Moor, including but not limited to 88mm heavy flak guns, self-propelled howitzers, and mobile multiple rocket launchers, as well as anti-aircraft guns and surface-to-air missiles protecting them. Along with them, it seems, are the jammers used on this facility in the early stages of the war; they look to be sixteen of our satellite jamming systems mounted on flatbed trucks, probably taken from a military base somewhere. As a result, satellites over the Moor are all but useless, and as long as this severe weather warning continues and the freezing fog stays put any engagement on the Moor would effectively be a matter of fighting blind.'

'Unfortunately, that's more costly to us than them, so it's my belief that they'll attempt a counter-attack, and we've had reports from Resistance spies stating that large amounts of armour are moving onto the Moor, looking like a full-scale mobilisation.'

'Our first problem here is that while radio communication is extremely difficult the farms and towns on the Moor are still connected by the civil telephone gird, and this potentially allows them to coordinate their fire extremely effectively. SFAT scouting operations have determined that the exchanges are heavily defended to the point where an assault by unsupported infantry isn't an option. However, they can't possibly be defending every pylon, so the first deployment will be an advanced party to do as much damage to the local telephone grid as possible.'

The map rotated to a top-down view, dozens of small towns and farms highlighting along with four large open areas, 'These are known locations of enemy artillery positions from mortar squads right up to full firebases as confirmed by spyplane, there'll be individual objective briefings once I've completed this outline. The large highlighted areas are four known locations of minefields, but be on the lookout for others.'

'The Marines and SFAT pathfinders will be sent out first along with light to medium armour in support, a couple of squadrons of Mk1A2 Mammoths and the group of mechanised infantry that's already been briefed on the matter. You'll have heavy support from the Mk7A3s codes Mike Tango one-four and two-seven. The main tank column including Second and Fourth LWB will hang back to cover the approach to North Point until we can locate the main separatist armour column and have a clearer idea of what's out there and where. Remember, these photographs are just that, and it's possible that things could have been concealed will enough that they couldn't be spotted by any of the three PHALANXs or intel; there may be other units hidden out there, these are just the ones we spotted. Be careful.'

'It's likely that you'll become separated out there, so study these maps, charts, holographs and sand tables until you can draw a map of the area from memory and familiarise yourself with the objectives of every unit. Try to visually confirm targets before firing if at all possible; remember there's a lot of civvies still in the combat area and if you get turned around you could end up engaging friendlies.'

A little while later, General Hoshino caught up with one of the Marines leaving her briefing, 'Second Lieutenant Tara Bishop? I've been looking for you.'

Tara blinked, saluting, 'General Hoshino, sir.'

Minato smiled, 'I've heard you have a happy event planned...' she smiled, pointing at Tara's engagement ring, 'And since you'll be commanding a desk after this operation, I thought I'd give you something easy to go out on, so you can get back to whoever's waiting for you.'

Tara blinked, and smiled, 'Th-thank you, General!'

'You'll be with the unit securing Pensworth. There's only supposed to be a small garrison there, so it should be easy going,' she smiled, 'And good luck with your family.'

Tara saluted.

North positions

General Curtis tore up the order as the messenger stared at him aghast, 'I might have known McCall would try to reassign part of my force, but a whole fuck-ing division? I swear, when it comes to strategy the guy doesn't know his dick from a claw hammer.'

The young man blinked, 'B-but sir, what shall I tell the General?'

Curtis sighed, 'Don't ever call that jumped-up NCO a General in front of me again. You go and tell Sergeant McCall whatever you like. Tell him I'm complying with his every order, if that's what it takes, but I am not letting him take away enough of my command that that damn subhuman at North Point has numerical superiority as well as everything else. The best I can throw at them is D-65 MBTs with shitty transmissions and under-trained crews, and I can't make do with any less than I have.'

The young man almost ran out, one of the Lieutenants who had requested to meet with Curtis saluting, 'Sir, permission to speak?'

Curtis sighed, 'Go on...'

'How can you possibly expect to win this? You know damn well that we barely have a chance of pulling this off, why the hell are you doing this?'

Curtis took a drag on his cigarette, and frowned, 'Because it's better to die on your feet than live on your knees.'

The Lieutenant scowled, 'Right. I'll be sure to tell that to the families of all the kids who are going to die out there, sir.'

'Dismissed.'

Greyfriar's Farm, Blanstead Moor, Astley / Benham county border, Grafton's Isle

Lily shivered and sneezed as she stared down the camouflaged barrel of the 88 flak into the swirling fog, an endless wall of white that meant she couldn't even make out the other side of the field, let alone the road any enemy vehicles would be moving down. Like most of her division, she'd been recruited from the farm towns on the moor, and told unpleasant stories about what was happening to the families of separatists in the occupied areas. While she didn't know if they were true or not, she did know neither of her parents were in any condition to fight, so she'd volunteered herself. Now she was sitting in a chair only staying awake because the only place to rest her head was the freezing cold barrel of the 88. The only break in the monotony was the occasional ritual of opening the gun's breech with gloved hands and spraying anti-freeze into it so it didn't seize in the cold.

She shivered again, making sure the dust mask she was wearing to keep the fog out of her lungs wasn't slipping, and muttered, 'I can't see shit...'

A nearby soldier inside the farmhouse grinned, 'Then stop looking for it, Lily.'

Lily smiled, laughing hoarsely and breaking into a fit of coughing. The other soldier, Hans, put his mask and trenchcoat on and stepped out into the cold, resting his hand on her shoulder, 'It's about time someone switched watches with you. Go inside and get yourself a warm coffee and some soup, 'k?'

Lily gave Hans a hug as she got up, almost tripping over the ammunition crates on the ground around the base of the gun. Hans slipped on a pair of goggles and sat down, shaking his head, 'Don't know what a sweet little thing like her is doing out here...'

Lily sat down in front of the stove inside, pulling her gloves off with her teeth and warming her hands as best she could, 'Has anyone contacted us yet?' While the radio was almost useless in the fog, the phone lines still worked. At present, Lily's hope was that the enemy would attack somewhere else and she could go back home to her family.

One of the few professional soldiers in the farmhouse, Val, shook her head, 'Nothing yet...We got a call from the farm a mile up the road saying they're lost a couple of lines, probably ice on the pylons or something. It's all pretty quiet.'

One of the other men came inside, a bucket in his gloved hand, 'Well, they should have been out there long enough now, anyone want a cold one?'

A couple of soldiers jumped up, grabbing beers out of the bucket. One grinned, 'As the saying goes, "A One that is not cold is scarcely a One at all."'

Lily smiled, turning down the offer and sitting in front of the fire, listening to the sound of the wind outside, glancing out the window at Suzy from her village shivering, manning the antiaircraft gun by the barn, the little thirteen-year-old looking tired and frightened. Lily knew Suzy well; a carol singer and wonderfully talented violinist. Val sat down next to Lily, offering her a lukewarm cup of coffee, 'You'll feel better with something warm inside you, hon.'

Lily took the mug in her hands, smiling and resting her head against Val's shoulder. Val had looked out for her since she'd arrived, somehow reminding Lily of the beloved big sister she'd lost to a car accident just a few years before; she had short, dark hair and pretty brown eyes, and was taller by far than Lily. Val grinned, ruffling her long, slightly curly straw-blonde hair, 'You're such a silly little thing...'

Air Destroyer Valiant, over Blanstead Moor

Cassandra cursed as the windmill's sail collapsed into a ruined heap of splintered timber and shredded cloth. It was utterly ridiculous having to fly so low the gargantuan Air Destroyer was clipping buildings, but any higher and she couldn't identify targets at all. She sighed, 'Maintain current heading and course, and could someone please get me some details on the height of buildings in this area?'

Refugee Centre #23, West of Blanstead Moor

The wind was stronger here, the trees swaying with it, but at least it was away from the deadly fog that covered the moor, and the refugees shivering in tents were doubtless thankful for that. More so for the Mammoth Tank that acted as a makeshift windbreak, the vast, dark, shadowy form of it rearing up into the night above them.

Johanson looked over the refugees with a sigh, crowded around fires cooking, their few belongings with them or around their tents. A few were singing to small children.

He smiled as a little Neko girl tugged on his trouser leg, 'Um, mister?'

'Hi there. You looking for your parents or something?'

She shook her head, 'I've drawed a picture of you, mister.'

He grinned as he looked at it; a brightly-coloured tank with a smiling crew chasing a group of grey, angry-looking people, 'It's you chasing the bad men away, mister.'

Johanson grinned, 'But my tank isn't orange.'

The little Neko smiled, 'But it's nice.'

One of the other tank crew laughed, 'Can't argue with that, can you?'

Fields near Pensworth, Blanstead Moor

Tara raised her hand as she heard a sound nearby, pausing and hissing, 'Hammer?'

'Bay!' came the reply. A group of soldiers came out of the nearby hedge, armed mostly with high-precision rifles, their dirt-streaked white fur and bushy tails giving them away as Kitsune. The leader of the squad grinned, showing her pointed canine teeth, 'SFAT pathfinding team fifteen, we got turned around when we found a mortar post in the trees over that way' she pointed, 'Wasn't on any of the maps. Been looking for a landmark to get our bearings since then.'

Tara nodded, 'Marines, Echo company.'

'Echo? Jesus Christ, we are lost...You're taking Pensworth, right?'

Tara nodded, 'Should be just up that road.'

The Kitsune woman grinned, 'Sergeant Madoka Akashi, by the way.'

'Second Lieutenant Tara Bishop. Your squad got an MG or HVAAR?'

Madoka grinned, 'Got a support gunner and an HVAAR team back there, rest of us with the good ol' GTV.'

Tara nodded, 'Right. We think there's an MG in the inn window covering the road into town, Chance didn't report anything else spotted. Briefing says there's an 88 in the town square with a couple MGs defending. We'll provide suppressing fire on the MG while you flank it. The inn door is on the South side, it should be safe going around the bookstore, it's out of that MG's line of fire.'

Madoka nodded, heading back to her squad.

Pensworth, Blanstead Moor

Madoka put her ear to the door, nodding as she heard the machine gun, stepping back and kicking the door down, firing her rifle as the machine gun crew turned in surprise. She quickly threw a smoke grenade out of the window, trying to ignore the gunfire and explosions she could hear come from all across the Moor now.

Tara soon appeared at the end of the corridor, Madoka nodding, 'Area secure, move on to the square.'

While the explosions and booms of artillery in the distance didn't stop, the town itself seemed eerily still and quiet, the only sound the inn sign creaking occasionally in the wind. Everything around here was old, from the buildings to the beat-up cars in the streets, the old water pump in the square, the wrought iron benches and horse troughs by the side of the road. Outside the inn stood an abandoned horse-drawn brewery wagon, the mighty shire horses that pulled it presumably stabled somewhere else, since they weren't lying dead like the sheep and cows left in the fields Tara had passed. Old iron street lamps carved halos in the endless curtain of fog, and owls hooted from the roof of a barn as they passed it.

Madoka was acutely aware of the crunch of fresh snow under her feet, and the few lines of footsteps and tank tracks marked in it. 'Bolton, Kisaragi, I need your MG set up over there.'

Konoka Kisaragi blinked, whispering 'Sir, why haven't they fired?'

Tara shrugged, 'I guess they don't want to give their position away.'

Madoka glanced across the road, 'Shiratori?'

Another Kitsune crept forward, 'Sir?'

'Nanami, scout out the square. Head right around that car. Rest of you, we'll need dynamite or a thermate grenade to disable the 88. Bishop, have you heard anything on the mainforce's location?'

Tara shook her head slowly, 'Nothing. Not sure how with everyone out on this moor we haven't spotted a force of four thousand tanks with full arty support...'

Madoka nodded, 'And I'm not hearing Mammoths firing yet, either.'

Nanami crept forward, kneeling slightly and ducking behind the old car, peering over the bonnet at the square. She signal for Madoka to come forward, pointing as she arrived and hissing, '88's over there, under the awning of the butchers' shop...There's an AA quad just there by the fountain, looks like one MG in the top floor of the shoeshop, right hand window, and one other on the second floor of the bookshop, middle window.' She quietly cocked her bolt-action rifle, motioning towards a group of frightened-looking soldiers staring uselessly into the fog, 'I think I can get a clear shot at the quad's crew from the top floor of the flats just behind us.'

Madoka nodded, motioning the machine gun crew over, 'Kisaragi, set up next to this position. Don't open fire until Shiratori takes her first shot. When she does, suppressing fire on the middle window on the second floor of that bookshop.'

Madoka ran back as Nanami crept around the back of the building, smashing a window with the butt of her rifle and opening it, carefully climbing through into the darkened block of flats. She shouldered her rifle, checking her submachine gun and slowly moving up the stairs. She cursed as she found the door locked, drawing back and kicking it hard. It flew open, presenting her with the sight of an old man and woman holding each other tightly, looking up at her fearfully. The whole room was full of photographs and keepsakes from what seemed a large family, an ageing grandfather clock ticking slowly in one corner.

Nanami pressed her finger to her lips, the old couple nodding silently and quickly moving to a different room, the lock clicking as Nanami moved to the window, opening it carefully and taking aim with her rifle. She took a breath, centred the crosshair over the woman in the gunner's seat of the antiaircraft gun and pulled the trigger. The woman slumped over, the rest of the gun crew looking around in panic as she drew the bolt back and forward, taking aim again at the man pushing the gunner's body out of the seat. One of the separatist machine guns opened fire, bullets slamming into the face of the building Nanami was in, smashing the windows on the floor below her, the bullets easily tearing through the flimsy walls, the impacts knocking plates and photographs of the shelves behind her. She winced as she heard a child scream in the room below.

Konoka's machine gun opened fire on the bookstore window as Nanami fired her second shot, the bullet hitting the man's shoulder and knocking him to the ground. She blinked as the 88 slowly swung around, quickly changing her aim and cursing as she realised she couldn't see the gunner.

The shot exploded against the wall of the bakery next to Madoka's squad, the flour dust the shell kicked up adding to the explosion and dropping most of the front facade of the building into the square. Madoka winced at the masonry shrapnel that had embedded itself in her arm, 'Medic! Keene, get some fire on that 88!'

Soldiers began to run out of a couple of buildings in the square as a machine gun opened fire from the steps of the village hall, Madoka cursing, 'Cruise, the town hall...!' She blinked as she saw the young sniper slumped against the wall nearby, a trail of blood running down it from a gaping wound in his head. 'Damn! Where's Monroe?'

'Right here, sir!' she ducked as a bullet glanced off the cobbles near her, 'Shit, sniper!'

Monroe jumped behind a postbox as Madoka hid behind the car, 'Anybody see him?'

Konoka shook her head, 'Negative, sir!' next to her, Bolton suddenly cried out in pain as a bullet struck him in the neck, Konoka spotting a muzzle flash in the fog beyond the square, 'MEDIC! Sniper's in the clock tower!'

The 88 fired again, the explosion bringing down the wall of the hotel behind them on top of two soldiers, Madoka cursing loudly, 'We can't stay here with that fuck-ing thing firing at us! Dobbs, King, head around the back of the bakery and see if you can get a better shot at it!'

'Sir!'

As the two moved around the back of the burning bakery the 88 fired again, hitting the pavement on the opposite side of the road to the car Madoka was sheltering behind and spraying it with fragments of cobblestone. King glanced out across the square, quickly screwing a rifle grenade to the barrel of his gun and taking aim. His shot landed on target, hitting the side of the 88 and exploding, the crew dead or dying as the smoke cleared. He nodded to Dobbs, who called back, 'Gun's down!'

Madoka nodded, noticing Konoka wincing in pain as she carried on firing the machine gun, the smoking barrel she'd just changed with her bare hands lying next to her, a circle of melted snow around it. 'Bergman, do we have artillery support?!'

'Affirmative, sir, I have a gun crew replying but they're very faint.'

'Tell them I need them to knock the top off the Pensworth clock tower!'

Bergman's radio message was quickly followed by the wail of a shell and a flash in the fog, the clock tower slowly toppling over and falling with a ground-shaking crash. Madoka sighed as she realised there was nobody firing at them, 'Cease fire and consolidate positions immediately, I can hear armour! Probably mechanised infantry come to reinforce.'

Greyfriar's Farm, Blanstead Moor

Suzy sat huddled behind her antiaircraft gun, the little thirteen-year-old crying, with her hands over her ears. Lily watched in horror as one of the Mammoth's heavy flak guns levelled at the front of Suzy's gun and fired, the shell tearing through the steel gun shield like it was paper, striking Suzy's right elbow. It snapped her arm in half like a twig before smashing through the barn door, a dud. Suzy flopped to the ground, sobbing in pain.

Lily ducked behind the 88's heavy steel blast shield as another volley from the Mammoth's lighter antiaircraft guns slammed into it, the thick sheet of metal visibly buckling under the weight of fire. Still Hans and Roberts stayed, Lily passing them up shells from the scattered crates, the barrel of the 88 starting to steam from the heat of firing.

The Mammoth just kept coming, the shells exploding ineffectually against it's forward plating or simply bouncing off, the only obvious damage the shattered headlight on their side. Hans looked down into the stack of crates, blinking, 'Rounds complete! Fall back to the farmhouse! RUN!' Hans and Roberts ran, Lily tripping over one of the empty crates of shells, falling flat on her face as the Mammoth's lighter AA guns cut down Hans and Roberts. She got back up to her knees, wincing in pain, and then made the mistake of looking behind her.

Val watched as Lily froze, eyes wide with fear as she stared up at the tank, the 88 buckling with a screech of tortured metal under the opposite track. Val cursed and ran, tackling Lily so that both ended up lying under the tank's hull.

Mostly.

As the next track plate hit the ground, Val felt a sudden shooting pain in her legs, looking down to watch as, with a sickening crack, hundreds of tons fell on her right knee and left ankle trapped under the track. Understandably, she screamed, tears streaming down her cheeks. Lily could only watch, paralysed with fear and horror staring up at the belly of the tank and trying not to hear the cracks of bone.

As the first track unit passed, Val managed to pull what was left of her legs clear, lying shivering in a spreading pool of blood as the tank passed overhead, one arm around Lily's waist.

Pensworth, Blanstead Moor

Nanami sighed as she stared into the gloom, realising belatedly the sun had set. The little white birds nestling on the desk nearby chirped curiously at her from time to time, even as the whole building began to vibrate from the tank column moving down the road into town. Nanami blinked as she realised how far away the lead tank was and looked down her sight at it, swearing and running for the building Madoka was in, 'Sir, that's not mechanised infantry!' she panted, 'It's the whole mainforce!'

Madoka and Tara both blinked, 'Jesus, what the hell are they doing this far south?'

'I have no idea, sir, but I visually confirmed that the lead is a seven-A-one Mammoth Tank.'

Madoka nodded, 'Get everyone to pack up, we're leaving. Assemble at the East edge of town near the inn, we're evacing North across the fields and heading for Foxtrot Company's objective at Greyfriars' Farm, there's no way that garrison will have held out against Beck's Mammoth.'

'On it, sir!'

Quarters of General Douglas Arthur McCall, Imperial Palace, Lanfor City

The intern looked nervous as McCall read over the report of Youngs' surrender; she'd been bought in as a replacement for someone who'd been shot, and didn't really want to go the same way. As her eyes became used to the dark, she could pick out the gleam of empty whiskey bottles stacked on every flat surface; the whole room stank of it, especially McCall himself. The man was nothing like the images she'd seen on posters; unshaven, unwashed and his hair lank and greasy, eyes bloodshot. He sighed wearily, closing the dossier and throwing it to one side, 'Thank you. That will be all.'

The intern bowed quickly, almost running back to her office. McCall poured himself another whiskey, staring at the sniper rifle propped against the door, the rifle he'd taken to that abandoned apartment just a few months ago and fired the only three bullets that had ever left it's barrel. He rolled one of the casings around on the desk, shaking his head.

'Sleep no more...'

[*It looks like the Eiffel Tower / Tokyo Tower]

Internal Affairs

Shiala smiled at the Xikuangese delegation, 'Um, you've been called here because we have a rather delicate situation we would like to request your assistance with...Sit down, please.'

The holographic map zoomed in quickly to a pair of towns, both highlighted, 'The town to the east is Justfield, the western one is called Brookhaven, controlled by the Resistance and another loyalist group called Red Hand respectively. Justfield is a vital position for us, since the missile battery stationed there...' a road highlighted, 'Denies the separatist forces south of the battery use of this route for supply convoys, and also discourages any advance by them to the Northeast.'

A large circle centred on the town appeared on the map, 'Unfortunately, Brookhaven also lies well within the battery's effective range, and friction between Red Hand and Resistance means we've had numerous demands for the removal of this battery from the Red Hand.' A 3-D render of a large railway gun appeared, rotating slowly, 'Brookhaven has a major freight rail yard nearby which is now home to this, a Type Thirty railway gun, pointed towards the missile battery in Justfield. Given the presence of civilians in both areas, this isn't a situation we want to allow to continue.'

'Since the Federation is seen to and does favour the Resistance as we rely on them for most of our ground intelligence, we can't send in negotiators and expect to be seen as a neutral party. As a result, the Federation would like to humbly request your assistance in this matter.'


Commissioner Kheri looked at the map, lingering pensively on the rotating icon representing the rail gun.

"Hmm, I see. Am I given to understand that there are tensions between the Red Hand forces in Brookhaven and the Resistance forces in Justfield? Certainly, neither would wish to allow the separatists access to that supply route, and it would indeed be a pity for hostilities to erupt between two forces united in having a common enemy."

Point K
A little before the surrender

Lanes carefully made his way around the craters, wincing at the explosions and the bullets flying around. He muttered to himself, thinking of how this place had been when he'd left, and how everything had fallen to Hell. The church was in ruins, but he was able to find a small two-storey building, quickly scrambling to the roof, crawling forward on his belly to survey the battleground in the square.

It was worse than he'd feared. Dead bodies where all over the place, and a giant tank was making hash of the place. He was sure that his weapon would do nothing to it. The smaller tanks, however...

He powered up the gun, grinning at the soft humming noise it generated as the two prongs generated their field for the shot. Luckily, everyone was more concerned with the events in the square so they didn't notice him or his glowing gun. The weight of the rail-gun felt good in his hands. Taking careful aim, he gently squeezed the trigger with his metallic finger, the shot lancing out at one of the smaller tanks, blowing a hole in the side, killing the crew. He quickly brought it to bear on another tank, even as he started to take fire, and the Mammoth's turrent moved to his position.

Blasting another tank to uselessness, he started running, hoping to avoid being killed as he lept to an ajacent roof, moments before the Mammoth's cannon leveled the building he'd been standing on. The seps on the ground started firing at him, an impossible-to-believe shot riccocheted off his new arm with a pathetic 'ting!' He fired a shot at a group of soldiers, sending them flying, before running again as the smaller tanks opened up on him. He was quickly running out of buildings, causing him to rethink the wisdom of this particular action.

He landed on the next roof with a thud, pain racing up his legs before firing at a third tank, missing what he was aiming for, but managing to blow its treds all to Hell. He started to run again, but hit a weakened portion of the roof, falling through with a yelp. He crashed down onto the second floor which gave way with a crack, sending him down to the ground floor in a heap, crying out in pain as he felt his leg snap. He'd lost the EMG-55, which left him with only his side arm. Not an enviable position. Just as he was trying to get up a shell crashed through the window, slamming into a wall and detonating.

For the second time this war, the world went black for Lanes.

Internal Affairs

Shiala nodded to Kheri, 'Opposite political motivations and mutual distrust are the main problem; the Resistance is powerful in terms of military strength, but their leadership is mostly hardline communists, and they've never polled well. Red Hand is small, but it's led by Senator Dawn Jefferson. She's the only Senator we know of who wasn't present when the senate house was destroyed, and being as she's a representative of the People's Party and therefore the most likely candidate for President once this has all blown over, we can't afford to be seen to favour the Resistance against her.'

'I believe that in actual terms the tension is mostly due to a more personal matter of distrust between Senator Jefferson and Gavin Kent, the Resistance commander in charge of the missile battery. It's some complicated matter involving some very old accusations of corruption during President Love's administration, but there's a lot of bad blood between those two.'

Shiala sighed, looking tired, 'I'd suggest you discuss it with them personally...I can arrange a helicopter to get you to Justfield, if that's acceptable?'

Fields near Pensworth

The explosions and gunfire across the Moor showed no sign of dying down, Madoka now able to hear odd much louder guns firing in the distance, sounding almost big enough to be Mammoth Tanks. Her unit had quickly fled East from the town as the huge separatist tank force had cut the road North, managing to avoid being spotted. The rumble of the Mammoth taking rearguard on the Sep formation was still barely audible, but at least she couldn't feel it through the ground anymore. She glanced around the field, hearing a rustle in the hedgerow opposite, hissing 'Hammer?'

'Bay!' came the reply, a company quickly coming through from the adjoining field. Their Major blinked, 'There's not supposed to be any Pathfinders South of Pensworth, is there?'

Madoka shook her head, 'It's a long story. Where'd you come from?'

The man winced at a shrapnel wound in his shoulder, 'Markstown, down the road. Had the objective when this whole fucking column of tanks rolled in, too many to count...Did what we could, but I'm down to less than fifty percent manpower and had to pull back. Lost a lot of good men.' He shook his head.

Madoka nodded, 'They moved up this road afterwards and hit our position, we abandoned rather than engaging. Looks like they've stopped to get their bearings now.'

He groaned as a medic treated his shoulder, 'Major Jack Horton, by the way. Madoka Akashi, isn't it?'

Madoka nodded, 'We think the best place to head for is Greyfriar's Farm to the North, across that road...If you agree, sir, I'll take my unit and scout it out.'

He nodded, 'I'm in no condition to stop you, sergeant.'

Madoka crept back to her unit, 'Shiratori, Yamamoto, on me.'

The three moved quickly and silently past the rest of the unit crouching in the ditch before the hedgerow to the old gate, Madoka quietly opening it and slipping out, jumping down into the ditch that ran alongside the road. She blinked as she looked up the road, 'Akira, you see that?'

The young Kitsune nodded, his face and fur streaked with dirt and camo paint from the earlier engagement, 'Looks like a sixty-five...'

The tank was parked at the T-intersection at the far end of the road, it's turret facing down one of the turnoffs but it's hull machine gun covering the crossing between their field and the next. A couple of soldiers stood nearby, trying to see through the fog. Madoka grimaced, 'Fog's too thick for them to spot us...Get Suzuki and Tanaka up here with the HVAAR just in case, but don't destroy it unless you have to, it's not worth giving away our position.'

The two Pathfinders quickly crept over, Tanaka lying down in front of the gate and flicking the rifle's bipod down as Suzuki clicked the barrel into position and tapped the back of her helmet twice. Tanaka glanced over at Madoka, hissing 'Ready!'

Madoka winced as she heard a creak, the gate swinging back in the wind and slamming rather loudly. One of the soldiers back at the tank had long since left, but the other turned quickly, raising her gun. 'Hello?' she walked forward slowly and hesitantly, gun raised, 'Is someone there?'

Akira screwed the silencer onto the barrel of his rifle, changing magazines quickly and quietly as Madoka moved up the ditch a little way, drawing her knife. The soldier walked down the road slowly, 'Niles, is that you?' she looked around nervously, aware she couldn't see the tank or the intersection anymore, 'Come on man, this isn't funny...'

Madoka stood up, stepping behind the woman and pulling her mask up, clapping her hand over her mouth as she tried to scream and pressing the knife to her throat. Akira stood up in front of them, rifle raised. Madoka nodded, whispering in the woman's ear, 'I'm going to take my hand away in a moment. If you scream you'll be dead before you hit the ground. Do you understand?'

The woman nodded quickly, a tear running down her cheek. Madoka took her hand away, keeping her knife in place, 'What else is with that tank?'

The woman was on the edge of breaking down in tears as she pulled her mask back down, 'Th-there's nothing else, it's just a rearguard...Just the crew and me as a spotter...P-please, don't kill me!'

Madoka sighed, taking her knife away, 'Can't afford to leave you here...' she sighed, 'Akira, drop her weapons and gear, she'll have to come with.'

Akira quickly went over the woman's uniform, tossing the ammunition to Nanami and shouldering her rifle, Madoka grabbing her afterwards, 'Now, what's your name?'

She blinked, 'Um, H-Hazel...'

'Well, Hazel, you're coming with us. Behave and you'll get out of this just fine, understand?'

Hazel nodded hesitantly, Madoka leaving her with Akira as she ran across the road, vaulting the fence. She returned a moment later, 'Clear! Start moving troops across!' she hissed, 'In twos, get an MG on this side for cover!'

Nanami nodded, jumping out of the ditch and heading back into the field as four distinct shots sounded out in the distance in sequence. Madoka blinked, 'That's not right for a Mammoth, they fire guns in pairs...' she shook her head, 'Trouble...'

The first pair of troops dashed across the road, one with a wounded man on his shoulders, Tanaka talking aim at the tank and clicking the safety on her HVAAR off. Each pair of troops jumped over her as she lay perfectly still, trying to keep her breathing steady and not think of how much it would hurt if someone fell on her.

Eventually, Suzuki tapped the back of her helmet and pulled the barrel off the rifle, swinging it over her shoulder, 'Your turn, Kaneko.'

Tanaka quickly collapsed the gun's bipod and slung it across her back, running across the road into the next field as four shots rang out again, 'That sounds like trouble...'

Madoka looked out through the gloom, 'Ok, that should get us away from the main force, we keep heading North we should get to Greyfriar's Farm pretty soon, it's not that far.'

One of the soldiers nearby tapped one of those who'd been carried over the road, 'You hear that, Doc? Hang in there, it ain't far now.'

'Ok, same as before...' she headed over to the gate.

Temporary Federal command post, Greyfriar's Farm, Blanstead Moor

The command post was hardly what Colonel Foster was used to, the run-down old farm buildings peppered with splinter-edged bullet holes and the tanks and APCs parked in the open. He sighed, 'One arty strike and we're fucked...Good thing they're as confused as we are.'

He walked slowly past the squadron of grounded AV-11s, the big Helitanks all but useless in the fog. They'd had a couple of near-misses with buildings already from flying too low, so he'd reluctantly given the order to keep them on the ground until conditions improved.

He pushed the door of the farmhouse open, closing it and hanging up his mask. In the sitting room, most of the surfaces had been cleared and maps spread out on the tables and pinned to the walls. A group of officers stood at attention, and he nodded, 'At ease.'

Four shots rang out again, 'The shots that you're hearing are being fired from a battery of twelve-inch artillery guns positioned at Black Hill Farm here, presumably at our primary column or it's approach route onto the Moor. Suffice to say we'll be seeing none of our armour support until that battery is out of action. I'll pass you over to Madoka Akashi, her pathfinder unit did a recon on the facility there and returned a half-hour ago.'

Madoka smiled wearily, none of her fur not stained with dirt and her uniform several shades darker than the Colonel's. She'd gone straight back out to recon Black Hill Farm after returning, and had yet to catch any sleep. Four other Pathfinders, fur similarly matted, lay around on the chairs that had been pulled in, Nanami already sound asleep . 'Black Hill Farm is the biggest on the Moor, we think it's being used as a command post by the separatist division out here, as it's the most heavily defended location we're aware of. The farm itself consists of the regular buildings for a farm of its type; barns, farmhouses, tractor sheds and a machine shop. In addition, they process grain on-site; there's a large mill building here' she pointed to a part of the area map in the table, 'With some big grain silos and a parking yard and loading dock for shipping out. This entire area belongs to that farm,' she gestured, 'It's open fields divided by thick hedgerows.'

'We confirmed not less than six of the big twelves at the location, four arranged in a line West of the main farm connected by trenches. They've got some damn good camo covers on them, so I'd say this unit isn't just farm kids like the rest we've seen out here. Along with them...' she pointed to two locations, 'Two more twelves here and here that aren't firing, both on full-traverse mounts instead of the limited-traverse mounts the others are using, with their barrels levelled. Anti-tank, I'm pretty sure of it, to use against Mammoths.'

'It looks like the Resistance has already had a crack at this position; there's wreckage of four tanks, a TD and an APC in the field south of the farm, with a fifth scattered all over the field...Looks like they took a hit from the twelve, poor bastards.'

'The best approach is across that field to the south, it looks like there's complete anti-tank and anti-personnel minefields covering the other approaches, but there's only a patchy anti-tank minefield that way. You'll be looking at enfilading fire from not less than three or four machine guns, a pair of eighty-eights and a group of anti-tank guns facing that way, with mortars in dugouts behind them. There's a complex and well-built trench system surrounding the farm with access to the entire gun battery, so our best bet to take out the guns is to get into that.'

'I counted four eighty-eights total on the farm, probably more, at least a dozen machine gun positions and a group of prefabricated bunkers around the farmhouse, along with not less than five light towed anti-tank guns. Looks to be two trench lines in most areas, probably at least a battalion present along with not less than four tanks, a pair of tank destroyers, an SP howitzer and a group of trucks. Couple of covered troop transports, few civvie trucks and a pair of prime movers.'

'There's heavy anti-air present; there's a mobile launcher that looks like a Crotale by the farmhouse, a pair of AA quads there and there and Nanami thought she saw another there. Double guns there and there, single over that way somewhere, and a ZSU-23-4 parked up in the yard by the loading dock. There's also a network of fixed SAM launchers dug in behind the trench line, looks like Rapier...Didn't spot the fire control station.'

'As far as fortification they've got concrete road barriers, sandbags and razor wire around the trenches, more sandbags around the farm buildings. I couldn't see any civilians present, but that doesn't mean they aren't there. Couldn't confirm which building they're using to store ammunition, either.'

The Colonel nodded, 'And that means destroying the position with artillery or cruise missiles is not an option. We'll be sending in a group hand-picked from SFAT, Army Pathfinder Corps and the Marines to knock out the big guns. The six main guns are your primary objective, along with any other guns of that size that may be at the location but not firing. You'll be taking a group from the Engineer Corps along to that effect.'

A young Elf man stood up, 'Vonhar Shaoran, Army Engineer Corps. I've been around the units we've got here, we've only got four Thermate grenades left total, and not nearly enough dynamite to blow open the barrels of six guns that size, never mind if there are more we haven't seen. Best bet is to go for the breeches and elevation gear, rotation gear too on the AT ones. That should keep them down at least long enough for two and four LWB to get into action.'

Colonel Foster nodded, 'Remember, your objective is not the farm itself, only the guns. You won't take the farm without armour, count on that. Go in, get your job done and get out. Any questions?' he paused, 'Good, go brief your teams and get some sleep, you move out in two hours. Dismissed!'

Foster walked back out, clipping his mask on and adjusting the straps absent-mindedly, glancing in at the barn they were using as a makeshift infirmary. Dozens of Resistance, separatist and Federal troops lay on blankets on the floor or tables, the timbers of the floor stained red with blood in several places. Along with them were occasional civilians caught up in the fighting. One man in particular caught his eye, an old man in a bloodstained white suit, standing over a young girl. The two had been bought in by the squad that was in Pensworth, the girl having been accidentally shot by a separatist machine gun.

The old man grabbed a medic as he walked past, pointing to the girl, 'Please! You have to help her, she's my only granddaughter!'

Foster shook his head sadly and walked on to the next barn; for want of a better word, their barracks. Most of the soldiers who weren't too badly wounded or standing by friends in the infirmary were lying around on the floor or leaning against the walls, a few having pulled chairs and tables in to play cards. A couple of shellshocked-looking Xikuangese medics were trying to comfort the small group of civilians huddled in one corner.

Two terrified-looking young Neko service girls were huddled in another corner, holding each other tightly. One mewled softly at the other, who nodded, 'No, Kaori, it's not really our best anniversary...'

Foster tapped one of the officers, who stood up, 'Ten-shun!'

The four guns sounded out again as the room quietened down, Foster clearing his throat, 'The shots that you've been hearing are being fired by a battery of twelve-inch heavy cannons that opened fire a few hours ago, most likely on our armour support. Now, until those guns are down we'll be receiving no armoured support, so I'm looking for volunteers in addition to the SFAT, Marine and Army Pathfinder teams that have already been chosen.'

A few soldiers stood up immediately, mostly NCOs but a couple of service privates in with them. Foster smiled, 'Good. Report to the unit commanders to be briefed and assigned. Anyone who saw anything that shouldn't have been there, report to the farmhouse and put it on the map. The rest of you, take a rest, you've earned it. As you were.'

A soldier raised her hand, 'Sir, where's our artillery support?'

Foster grimaced, 'Until command has a better idea of what's going on they can't risk hitting our own troops with arty. I'm afraid you won't be able to count on arty support until the main tank force moves out, and maybe not even then.'

Pensworth, Blanstead Moor

Major-General Mann walked quickly down the line of stopped tanks outside town to the APC in front, frowning and pulling his coat tighter against the bitter cold, 'What the fuck is the goddamn holdup?'

One of the crewmen shrugged, the engine making another series of horribly unhealthy sounds, 'The motor, sir. It's thrown a rod.'

Mann blinked, 'That serious?'

The crewman nodded, 'Yup.' He sighed, 'She's a write-off unless you've got a new engine on you.'

Mann cursed, 'Push the fucking thing off the road into the ditch, we need to get this column moving.'

'Right, sir!'

Mann watched as one of the tanks turned it's turret around, moving into the back of the APC as it's crew looked on. The machine moved slowly forward as the tank pushed before pitching over and rolling on its side into the ditch, shearing off its turret as it contacted the ground. The turret rolled through the hedge, coming to rest upside-down in the field beyond. Mann sighed, turning to one of his officers, 'How many is that now?'

'I count five MBTs dead and another swapping out a broken transmission, three APCs and a pair of trucks. That plus the ten units we lost to that GMC force in Markstown.'

Mann winced, 'And we've barely fired a goddamn shot yet.'

Fields near Black Hill Farm, Blanstead Moor

Nanami ran back down the edge of the field, jumping into the ditch with Madoka as the four cannons fired in close sequence, making the ground shake, 'All units are in position and ready to move, sarge.'

Madoka nodded, 'Right. This is our fallback point, set up mortars here.' A group quickly set up their four mortars, Madoka turning to them, 'First round at the grain silo on the right, there's a spotter on top and the explosion should distract them. Fire on my signal.'

She moved down the line to where Nanami was waiting, her rifle raised, 'I count two of those Resistance tanks with operable machine guns, can we get two on them for suppressing fire on the trenches while we advance?'

Nanami blinked, 'Be two brave fuckers that'd do that, with those anti-tank guns pointed at them...'

Madoka sighed, glancing down the line, 'Volunteers?'

Akira and a Marine raised their hands, 'Ok, you two get over to the first and third tanks, climb up and give me suppressing fire on the trenches for as long as you can as soon as Nanami fires the first shot.'

The Marine, a young Indian woman Madoka seemed to recall being called Danni, nodded, quickly running to the farthest tank, Akira making for the nearer one. The four guns fired again, Madoka close enough now to see the four enormous muzzle flares bloom from their barrels, 'Ok, everyone in position. Mackie, get your MG set up, Tanaka get your HVAAR ready over there. Everyone else, fix your bayonets and get ready to start dodging bullets.'

Nanami took a breath, concentrating and whispering a prayer as she centred the crosshair of her rifle over the separatist soldier manning one of the trench machine guns, closing her finger over the trigger and easing it back.

As the man collapsed a huge explosion sounded out on the other side of the farm, the grain silos folding up on themselves and scattering wreckage all over the farm, the troops in the trenches staring in shock before running for their positions. Madoka quickly ran ahead of the rest of the troops down the ditch as the two machine guns on the Resistance tanks started firing on the trenches. A volley of smoke rounds from the mortars landed across the ground between Madoka and the trench, Madoka gesturing toward the trench with her hand, 'Go! GO!'

The battery fired again as a machine gun sounded out ahead of them, followed quickly by another, a couple of soldiers falling as bullets caught them. Madoka jumped down into the trench, a confused soldier staring at her as she raised her rifle, double-taking just as she pulled the trigger and he fell to the ground. The parts of her squad that hadn't been hit followed, one of the Marines quickly tossing a grenade into the dugout nearby, the explosion mixing with the cut-off cries of those inside.

Madoka glanced around, 'Ok, battery's thisaway. Bailey, Forrest, Kirk, Patrickson, Weinsberg, secure the first gun for the engineers.' One of the anti-tank guns fired, the shot narrowly missing the tank Akira was firing from, Madoka shaking her head and running up the trench.

She could hear yelling from near the farmhouse, along with engines starting up, 'Come on, we don't have much time!' she leaned out around a bend, tossing a grenade at the separatist soldiers there and ducking back as it exploded. 'Ok, move on up the line and take the first gun!' the whole world seemed to shake as the guns fired again, dirt falling into the trench. Madoka leaned out, firing at the remaining separatists and running as the last one fell, the rest following her. 'Langley, Dukeman!' the two moved ahead, gunning down the crew of the first cannon, the huge thing towering over them with it's breech open, steam streaming from its barrel.

'Bentley, dynamite this one, the rest of you on me!' an explosion sounded out from the gun facing the field, the team retreating from it leaving the breech smoking and ruined as the first separatist tank swung out around the barn opposite, firing it's main gun at the trench. The three remaining guns fired in turn as machine guns in the farm buildings opened up on the trenches, several hitting much further up than the Federal force had moved.

Madoka grinned, 'We must be doing something right, we've got them so confused they're firing on their own positions.' She glanced down the trench, 'Right, next gun, everyone on me. Keep your heads down!'

Their mortars fired again, exploding further up the trench, one triggering a much larger explosion that threw a huge cloud of debris into the air, only two shots sounding out in the next volley. The soldier ahead of Madoka signalled her forward, pointing up the trench, 'That round looks like it got the ammunition trolley for gun three, I doubt it's crew came off too well either.'

In the field, Danni jumped down off the tank as one of the anti-tank guns levelled at her, the shot smashing into the base of the turret, trigging the ammunition and lifting the entire turret off. She screamed in pain as a lump of shrapnel tore into her leg, lying on the ground and crying out for a medic as the turret smashed into the ground nearby. Akira glanced over, muttering, 'Christ...' and quickly reloading even as the anti-tank gun turned towards him.

In the trench, Madoka dragged Dukeman back around the corner as the separatist machine gun crew that had hastily turned their gun to fire down the trench fired again, bullets thudding into the trench wall. 'Anyone got a grenade left?' one of the Marines tossed a grenade around the corner, running out after the explosion.

The engineer, Bentley, ran up the trench to Madoka, keeping his head down and jumping over bodies as bullets kicked up dirt around him, 'Gun five is dead, Sergeant!'

Madoka nodded as a tank round smashed into the trench ahead of them and exploded. She ran up the line before the dust had even settled, joining the team at the next gun, 'There an engineer up here?'

The soldier there ducked behind the gun as a burst of machine gun fired clanged off it, Madoka ducking back into the trench. He shook his head, 'No, not yet, we'll hang in here until they get here, sarge!'

Madoka nodded, heading up the trench to another corner, a large crater beyond it where the 12-inch shell had exploded. She joined the rest of the squad there, hearing the sound of a tank approaching the trench line, 'Not much time left, move out!' They ran through the exposed crater quickly, half-ducked, past the gun which was lying on it's side under a shredded camo cover that flapped in the wind, the explosion having done their job for them. Ahead, soldiers from the farm were jumping down into the trench, firing on Madoka as she ducked into the intact trench at the far end of the crater. She sighed, wincing at the pain in her cramping muscles and resting against the trench wall for a moment, gesturing the rest of the squad to run past her.

Gunfire sounded ahead of her as she caught her breath, ignoring the pain as best she could and hauling herself to her feet, the lone remaining gun in the battery firing even as the Federal troops fought their way towards it. Gunfire and explosions were all around them now that separatist troops had got into the trenches behind them as well. Madoka ran for the last gun in the main battery, the soldiers there firing shots at the farmhouse machine gun as they waited for an engineer. Madoka ran on, ending up at the end of the trench line and gun one, a group of separatist soldiers sheltering behind the gun's blast shield the only thing between them and their final objective. She ducked out and fired off a burst from her rifle, a bullet catching her in the shoulder as she ducked back. She gritted her teeth, shooing the medic away as he tried to tend to her.

'Gun first, then shoulder.'

'You're a fucking idiot, sergeant.'

'I know!' she grinned, swapping her gun to her other hand, 'Why else would I have been talked into this bullshit?' she turned, 'Webb? Where the fuck is Webb?'

A Marine turned, 'Took a hit in the back, sarge, Nakamura stayed with him!'

'Ok, it's just this gun left!' she winced as a tank cannon round hit further up the trench, another explosion sounding out near where their mortars were. 'Bishop, when I say go, cover me!' She laid her gun down, drawing her knife and tensing back. 'Go!'

Tara leaned out just as Madoka sprang into the gun emplacement, rolling as she landed and catching the nearest soldier in the leg with her knife, slashing the woman's throat as she fell. The other separatist soldiers threw down their weapons and ran at the sight of Madoka, fur soaked with dirt and blood, panting with her mask off and her teeth bared, holding a bloody knife. Madoka slipped her mask down, sheathing her knife, 'Ok, get an engineer up here quick.'

Vonhar ran down the line quickly, almost tripping several times and trying not to look at the three tanks heading towards them, 'Sarge, this is the last one, two's down.'

Madoka nodded, finally letting the medic look at her shoulder, 'Then kill this one and we can get the fuck out of here.'

He nodded, working quickly and jumping away as the charges went off, the gun falling off it's mounting and crashing to the ground. Madoka glanced down the line, 'All units retreat to fallback position immediately! Fall back!'

They fought their way back down the line quickly, Madoka picking up a rifle from the ground, having long run out of ammunition.

Lead Mammoth Tank of Second Land Warfare Battlegroup, Blanstead Moor

Erikson smiled as she lowered her binoculars, 'That's two volleys they've missed...I think our problem has just been solved.' She ducked back into the tank, the turret hatch locking behind her with a hiss of hermetic seals, 'Second LWB is to move on Black Hill Farm immediately, let's not let those bastards catch their breath!'

The huge tanks began to move off, turning slowly towards their targets. The lead tank lowered a giant bulldozer blade as it smashed through the hedgerow, mines exploding uselessly in front of it.

Black Hill Farm

Madoka made it to the fallback position last, with Danni on her shoulders. She all but collapsed into the ditch, two of her squad-mates lifting her by the shoulders and hauling her back to her feet, 'Come on, sarge, this is no fucking place to take a nap...'

She smiled as the first shots from the Mammoth Tanks landed in the field near the separatist tanks, throwing columns of dirt high into the air, 'Never thought I'd be so glad to see an explosion...'

Internal Affairs

Shiala nodded to Kheri, 'Opposite political motivations and mutual distrust are the main problem; the Resistance is powerful in terms of military strength, but their leadership is mostly hardline communists, and they've never polled well. Red Hand is small, but it's led by Senator Dawn Jefferson. She's the only Senator we know of who wasn't present when the senate house was destroyed, and being as she's a representative of the People's Party and therefore the most likely candidate for President once this has all blown over, we can't afford to be seen to favour the Resistance against her.'

'I believe that in actual terms the tension is mostly due to a more personal matter of distrust between Senator Jefferson and Gavin Kent, the Resistance commander in charge of the missile battery. It's some complicated matter involving some very old accusations of corruption during President Love's administration, but there's a lot of bad blood between those two.'

Shiala sighed, looking tired, 'I'd suggest you discuss it with them personally...I can arrange a helicopter to get you to Justfield, if that's acceptable?'

"That would be perfectly acceptable." Commissioner Kheri answers, hoping the determination in her tone does something to lift Shiala's flagging mood. "Ambassador Jhying and I are prepared to depart as soon as our security can be arranged, which should be quite soon. Commissioner Ahn will remain with you as a liaison and to co-ordinate whatever material resources from Xikuang are necessary. We can be optimistic that our neutral position will facilitate reasonable dialogue between Senator Jefferson and Commander Kent."

Dear Mom and Mom,

I miss you and love you both.

Things are going ok, I guess. I know you're both all proud of me and stuff, but at times I really wish I was back with you and not here. It's been quiet the past couple days, some of my team say its because some insane Col got killed. I don't know much about him, but they say he was the one who kept the seps fighting and with him gone they're on the run. Good chance I bet.

Crud. Coming up on a patrol.

Bastards. They were waving a white flag and then SHOT at us! Mark was shot and the medic says he probably won't make it thru the night. Why the hell do we have to do this? They're still fighting even tho they don't have a chance. Why? Do these seps get off on killing?

Sorry. I had to stop writting because I was getting too mad. I've calmed down. Still....... I've got to wonder...... why are we fighting this war? I mean, I know that we're here because GMC is but why? I know the seps are doing bad things. Shikobe says they're putting all the nonhumans in camps or shooting them and I know that's no good, but.... It's all so confusing, you know? I mean, who in their right mind would fight with second rate weapons against us? They can't hope to win. Even when they put up a fight, we still end up crushing them. I just don't get it.

It's a couple days later. We helped out a few refugees. They look like hell. We also ran into more seps but they didn't fight. As soon as they saw our armor they just dropped their weapons and begged us not to kill them. I feel bad saying this but after what happened to Mark (and all the others) I was tempted to just shoot them. We didn't but it was really tempting.

Don't know when I'll have a chance to write again so I want to be sure to ask how thing are in your new place. I've heard Tindalos is really very nice, I hope you like it. Hopefully this'll be over soon.


Erikson Military Base, Tindalos Megalopolis, The Hack

Capt. Pietruzska rubbed her eyes as she set down the half finished letter, sighing heavily. Fucking war. She walked over to her printer, pulling out another letter that started with the dread words: We regret to inform you and walked back to her desk. She looked at the two letters; one an unfinished letter home, the other saying why the first was unfinished. She sat for several minutes, trying to put herself in Pvt. Rollins' parent's frame of mind. Which would they want to read first? Would it matter? Eventually, she decided that it would be best to receive the official letter with the fragment attached. It was a bastard situation no matter what. She gently folded the two letters, putting them into their envelope, and hand addressed them to Mrs. and Mrs. Rollins before putting it with the others she had written today. Her Outbox was never empty these days. Or at least it seemed that way. Closing her door, she unlocked the bottom drawer to her desk and pulled out a well used bottle of whiskey, pouring herself a drink. "I hate this fucking job."


Karlshire / Lanfordshire Border, Grafton's Isle

"What the fuck is going on man?" Sgt. Harteker was yelling so she could be heard over the explosions and gunfire.

"Like I know! They told us their ranks were brok-urk" Pfc. Gohen's words were cut off as a Sep's shot hit her in the forehead, her body slumping over into the mud.

"Well... shit." Harteker had long given up getting worked up about her comrades getting killed. It just wasn't worth it in the long run, she figured, ducking back behind the remains of her gutted jeep. Her radio was useless, and glance at the two other destroyed jeeps, she figured there wasn't much hope there either. Right now, she just had to hope that she'd survive until the main force arrived. She laughed darkly, "Not fucking likely."


Hack Mobile Command, Eastern Coast of Meganshire

The a pair of three inch holograms shimmered weakly in the command center. The one of Anesca looking irritated while simultaniously seeming to stare off into space. The military commanders waited patiently, having gotten used to both taking orders from a young girl and doing nothing as she downloaded new data from various sources.

"Good news, and bad news. As always." Anesca's projection sighed. "Capt. Marlow's mission to assassinate Col. Hertz was a success."

"He even made it back in one piece, much to his chagrin," added the other projection, Mikhael Aronofsky.

"As I was saying," Anesca shot the other projection a cold look, "The assassination largely eliminated the resistance movement in Western Meganshire. There was little more than token resistance by die-hards who wouldn't have surrendered to Yui if they were on a raft. I'm told casualties were within expected levels, and much lower than they would have been if Capt. Marlow had failed.

"However, our forces are now on the Karlshire / Lanfordshire border and have met heavy resistance."

"How heavy?" Major Milius asked, glancing from one hologram to the other.

"Very," offered Mikhael blandly.

"Yes," agreed Anesca, "They've run into Gen. Raloff's forces. He's holding the eastern line, and he's not going to give up without a big fight. We lost a forward patrol to an ambush about 2 klicks into Lanfordshire."

"What little we're able to get through the abysmal weather," added Mikhael, "is that he's one of the two or three remaining forces operating at more or less full strength. Which means we're knocking on door of ending this mess, but it's a big fucking door."

Milius spoke again, "A similar mission like what we did for Hertz?"

"Doubtful," Mikhael said frowning, "Raiding Hertz was like killing a cultist in a village. They had guns for sure, we lost the boat crew, after all. But he was nuts, and so were his inner circle. Raloff actually knows what he's doing and he's dug in, so it's gonna be a slow slog."

"We'll overpower him," Anesca said without much enthusiam, "Between our numerical and tech advantages, and from numerous simulations, I can say with 99% certainty that we'll, eventually, take Lanfordshire. Casualties are another manner. And since there's still civilians there..."

"...we can't bomb until the twitching stops," finished Mikhael. "However, General Crotty has officially requested that President Solis authorized the mobilization of more troops. It'll take awhile for them to get here, unfortunately."

"Odds of that happening?" Milius' voice was unreadable.

"Absolute certainty, Major." Mikhael's projection smiled a little, "I talked with the President before this meeting, and he said he'd get the Senate to agree, even if he had to dissolve them to do it."

Milius nodded, "Thank you. We'll let the lines know that there's renforcements on the way." He smiled darkly, "That should raise morale."

Justfield, Brackley, Grafton's Isle

The helicopter's rotors had stopped by the time the steps swung down, the air chilly and only warmed a little by the early morning sun. Occasional distant explosions could be heard from Blanstead Moor even from here, though nobody seemed too troubled by that.

The sight that greeted Kheri and Jyhying was probably one of the most surreal they'd ever seen; the bustle of an old market town with cobbled streets and stall owners shouting for customers, with the stark forms of six enormous missiles on fixed launch platforms rising among the stalls, three others on transporters nearby. Their fuelers and assorted support vehicles were parked around the edge of the market square, warning sirens nearby.

A man in a shabby Resistance uniform grinned as they approached, showing off a gold tooth, 'Comrades! Welcome to Justfield!' he gestured to an old inn, the creaking sign hanging diagonally from one chain, 'Comrade-Commander Kent is waiting for you inside.'

Black Hill Farm

Madoka winced a little as the medic went about his work, the rumble of the giant tanks building as they moved through the nearby field. Shells were already impacting along the trench line, throwing columns of dirt high into the air as the remainder of the farm's tanks quickly moved to defensive positions. Teams grabbed the skids of the light anti-tank guns on the far side of the farm and pulled them into position near the farm buildings on the near side. The air was still heavy with the stench of gunfire and burning. Madoka winced, 'Hold this position and give the tanks supporting fire, watch out for snipers.' She blinked a couple of times, 'I think the fog's thinning out a little...'

Vonhar nodded, blood running down the Elf's cheek from his half-missing ear, 'I couldn't even see the farm from here before...'

Their machine gun team set up on the edge of the ditch, the HVAAR team running to the other side of their position and then a little further up. Madoka glanced back at the mortar team, one of them shrugging, 'Rounds complete, sergeant.'

Madoka nodded, 'I need two of you to secure transportation and report back to Greyfriar's Farm that one of the LWBs has moved off and try to scrounge us some more mortar rounds and another medic. Steiner, Morton, you just volunteered.'

The two nodded, quickly moving back through the gate and down the road. Madoka nudged the soldier next to her, 'Lost my binocs back there, can you see if anyone's got a pair?' she yelped as the medic tightened the bandage around her leg, 'Fuck, warn me next time you're going to do that!'

At the farm, Brigadier Jason Dwight ducked as another Mammoth round impacted, shaking the building. His daughter tugged his sleeve, sniffling, 'Why won't the bad people leave us alone, daddy?'

He knelt down, the sound of the klaxons in the yard, the engines of the tanks and desperate shouts in the floor below meaning he had to almost shout, 'We're in their way, honey. Don't be scared, I won't let them hurt you. Go and find your brother and come back up here, you'll be safe.' She nodded.

In the yard the three Rapiers in the trench line levelled at the hedgerow in front of them, the field beyond still lost in the rolling haze, the Mammoths still out of sight, the trembling of the ground and the odd explosion of an anti-tank mine in front of them the only way to tell where they were. Nearby the Crotale's crew busied themselves preparing their vehicle, other tanks doing likewise.

Cables snaked back from every Rapier on the farm to the Fire Control Station in the yard, Jonas sitting back in his uncomfortable chair inside as he looked at the bank of screens in front of him for any signs of the tanks approaching. The shelling from the Mammoths was a little less intimidating now they'd realised the monstrous tanks were firing blind and only aiming for the forward trench line as a result. That had at least helped calm his fear for his little brother hiding in the cellar under one of the barns.

'Come on big tank, let me whup your fat metal ass...' he murmured.

And then realised that the pictures he'd seen really didn't do the Mammoth justice.

Nobody who saw the lead tank break the line of the hedgerow would ever forget what it looked like. The first part of the thing that became visible was a giant bulldozer blade, blackened and distorted at the base from clearing the minefields, more than twice as wide as the Mammoth itself. The troops in the trenches started firing immediately, the bullets bouncing uselessly off it like gentle rain. Jonas froze for a minute, staring blankly at his monitor, before coming to his senses. Three launchers... he tapped the keys in front of him, flicking the clear plastic cover off the launching controls for the battery.

Missiles streaked away from all three of the squat launchers, two slamming into the front face of the thing and exploding, the other bouncing off and flying in a high arc, engine sputtering, before crashing down in the field beyond. Jonas grimaced, muttering, 'Fucking duds...'

Just behind the trench line, the tanks opened fire, the AT guns following their lead. The immense Mammoth didn't seem to even slow down, moving on with fires burning on its surface from the more severe impacts, its turrets swinging around. The hatch on one tank popped open, one crewman making it out and running for his life, turning his head just in time to watch the fireball consume his tank and his friends. Piece of distorted steel showered the ground around him as he ran for the farmhouse.

In the forward trenches separatist troops stared in disbelief as two more of the huge tanks broke through the hedgerow ahead of them, ducking as fire from the first Mammoth's AA guns raked the trench line. Three missiles slammed into the lead tank's bulldozer blade from the Crotale, leaving smoking ragged-edged holes in it but not slowing the thing down at all. The Mammoth replied, the launcher disappearing in an enormous ball of fire. In the trenches, Captain Michaels ducked again, turning to the Lieutenant next to him, 'This is fucking hopeless, there's no way we can stop those bastards breaking the trench line now! Get Brigadier Dwight and request permission to fall back to the farm!'

The Lieutenant nodded, flicking on the field radio he'd taken from a man killed in the earlier assault, 'This is second section, we can't hold it any longer! We're pulling back!'

In the farmhouse Brigadier Dwight glanced over at his son and daughter, shivering with fear in the corner of the farmhouse as the whole building vibrated with the Mammoths' approach. He grabbed the microphone, 'No, don't give up yet!'

In the yard, Jonas winced, two of the three screens marked 'West' filled with static and the last showing the lead tank halfway to the trench line already. The scorch marks and slight nicks in the thing's armour were the only sign his battery had left in the monster, and he knew at the back of his mind that even if he fired his last four missiles the best he could do was immobilise it. He couldn't help but ponder the incredible futility of it all.

Greyfriar's Farm

Colonel Foster ran out into the yard as a battered car pulled up, the soldier in the passenger seat jumping out quickly and saluting, 'Colonel sir, reporting on behalf of the team at Black Hill Farm.'

He nodded, 'What's their status?'

'The guns are down, sir. We took some nasty casualties doing it, Sergeant Akashi requests a medic and additional mortar rounds ASAP.' He grinned, 'Also, we left before it was confirmed visually, but we think one of the Land Warfare Battlegroups has moved out and is heading for the farm.'

Foster grinned, 'Ok...Knight, Potter, get these guys a jeep and some mortar rounds, I don't think that rolling junkyard is going to make it back. Hendrix, ever steal a motorbike?'

The young private grinned, 'Don't know what you're implying, sir...'

'Don't fuck about. There's one by the farmhouse, take it and advise the commander of the tank force of our location and the location of the enemy tank units around Pensworth.'

'On it, sir!'

Black Hill Farm

Captain Michaels winced as a near miss flipped the last assault gun over like a toy, the lead Mammoth now so close to the trench line he could make out the 'no step' warnings painted on various parts of it. A soldier ran up the line, the young man's expression betraying his fear, 'Sir, the machine gun in emplacement four is empty and requesting more ammunition.'

Michaels cursed, 'Ok. See if you can get back to the farm and grab some more from the barn.'

The young man nodded, running through the craters and scattered wreckage towards the burned-out shell of the nearest tank. One of the Mammoth's antiaircraft guns caught him in the shoulder, the force spinning him around as he fell, crying out in pain. Michaels ducked as the gun kicked up plumes of dirt around the trench again, 'Give me the fucking radio!'

In the farmhouse, Brigadier Dwight sat in front of the radio, shaking his head slowly as the Captain shouted into the radio over the sound of the Mammoth, 'Sir, we can't stay here!'

Dwight looked over at his children again, and sighed, 'Pull back into the farm buildings at your discretion, Captain.'

Michaels threw the radio down, 'Get down the line and tell them to pack up those machine guns and get ready to run. On the smoke, run for the farmhouse.' He reached down, picking up a smoke grenade from one of the dead men in the trench and taking another from his belt, 'And for fuck's sake don't follow me. Lieutenant Cripp?'

'Sir?'

'Look after my cat for me.'

The rest of the soldiers watched in disbelief as Michaels climbed over the front of the trench, running towards the Mammoth and throwing both grenades towards it, the smoke encircling him and, moments later, the front of the tank as well. Cripp blinked as shots sounded out ahead, before turning to the rest of the men, 'Run, you fucking idiots!'

There was a wail as a mortar round hit the trench further down, followed by others around them, men being thrown to the ground as they ran, some getting up and continuing running but most remaining on the ground.

Brigadier Dwight lowered his binoculars as he realised the lead tank had stopped, picking up the radio's headset as he heard someone talking, 'Captain?'

'This is Stephanie Erikson, commanding officer of the Second Land Warfare Battlegroup. Who am I speaking to?'

'Brigadier Jason Dwight, Army of Free Grafton's Isle.' He'd have thought of a thousand witty remarks any normal time, but now his mind was a blank, 'Why have you stopped?'

'Intel says there's civilians in your firebase, and you should be able to see what your chances are here. Run a sheet out of the facing window of the farmhouse if you really want to protect them.'

Dwight scowled, 'And what guarantees do I have for my troops and those civilians?'

Erikson sighed, 'Let's start with the fact that you're not dead.'

Fourth Land Warfare Battlegroup, Blanstead Moor

The motorbike skittered to a halt in front of the Mammoth, Hendrix jumping off quickly as a puzzled tank commander turned to face him, 'Report, private. And you're damn lucky I didn't shoot you.'

Hendrix grinned, 'I'll report at the CP, it's a lot of stuff. And I want a cigarette first.'

Fourth Land Warfare Battlegroup Command Post

Hendrix flopped down in the comfortable seat, tossing his lighter down and taking a long drag on his cigarette. Have to hand it to them for putting their CP in a hotel... he grinned to himself, fishing the map Foster had given him out of one of his pockets and spreading it out on the table.

'Colonel Foster wants you to be advised that he's using Greyfriar's Farm as a CP here and that the sep mainforce's last known location was along the A62 with the head of the column in Pensworth, extending back all along the road with the tail of the column somewhere near Markstown. Pathfinders keep coming in on that, but it looks like it's the full force out there, all four thousand plus artillery support. As of five o'clock this morning when the last pathfinder team reported they haven't made any move North, I think they're trying to get their bearings.'

'Foster advises your best bet is to engage them now while they're disorientated. We're starting to get sat tracking back, thought there's still some bigass deadzones out there where we couldn't get to the jammers or couldn't find the fucking things. You wouldn't believe the camo on some of those things.'

Colonel Jordan nodded, rubbing his chin, 'I'd love to, but I need tac reports from the other COs on the moor, really, and somebody needs to find out where Valiant's got to.' He pulled a printout from under his desk, 'Her last report was that she'd lost position over a wooded area and was holding that position until the jamming around her was clear, so Christ only knows where she is.' He grimaced, 'Never thought you could get weather so bad you could lose an Air Destroyer in it...'

Jordan paused, 'We'll move out onto the Moor, though. No sense waiting here and giving them the initiative. Thatcher!'

A soldier ducked inside, 'Sir?'

'Tell all tanks to prep to move out and our rocket arty to set up here, SP and towed arty is to come with. How's the weather?'

'Got a report sent down from central COC here, sir. It's clearing up, radar and radio should be back up some time this evening.'

'Good. Get a message to North Point advising that we may engage the enemy at any time, I want additional medical staff and any new shipments of fuel, tank spares or ammo they've got since we left. When this blows up it's going to get real nasty real fast. Where the hell is the Lieutenant-General?'

'Kaufman? Haven't seen him since we arrived.'

Jordan winced, 'Well that's just fucking perfect, isn't it? Find him or advise North Point that our CO is AWOL.'

'Sir!'

Air Destroyer Valiant, holding position over woods near Vale Farm, Blanstead Moor

Cassandra sat back in her chair, and closed her eyes. She was used to it making no difference, her other sensors feeding her information even when the avatar was asleep and gave her no feedback but heartbeats, but everything else was blank or a haze. Nothing had happened since the group had slid down lines to the ground to look for friendlies, and the sole source of information she had, her acoustic sensors, couldn't determine who was firing, only where and when. She sighed.

This must be what it's like to be human...

Nothing on the radio, the satellites' idiot chatter of encoded positions and bearings gone, the comforting presence of the communications from her sisters and PHALANX quiet.

For the first time in her life, Cassandra knew what it meant to be alone.

Black Hill Farm

Madoka sat back against an overturned water trough as her unit supervised the surrendering troops, making a pile of their weapons in the middle of the yard and trying to organise an aid station as best they could. One of the barns was still on fire from the missile they'd fired at a sniper who'd opened up on them earlier, the ruined water tower lying on it's side nearby meaning they'd just have to wait for it to burn out by itself. The giant Mammoths had already turned South and started to move.

From the farmhouse Dwight watched them leave, still holding his pistol and watching the troops in the yard, his children huddled behind him. He could hear them searching downstairs, and wondered what he was going to do when they got to this floor, this room...

His daughter tapped his shoulder, 'Daddy, I'm scared.'

He sighed, 'So am I.'

The door handle clicked, Dwight raising his pistol to the soldier who entered first, the Kitsune blinking as she spotted them in the corner. Dwight tried to get his thoughts in order, the gun shaking in his hand, 'I demand to be allowed to stay with my children!' he managed.

Nanami nodded, 'Um, ok...Just, um, don't shoot, ok?'

Dwight lowered his gun slowly and hesitantly, finally dropping it. Nanami kicked it away, gesturing for him to follow.

A45 and surrounding fields, Blanstead Moor

Thomas Atkins woke to the sound of his dog barking, and assumed, as always, that it was the postman. He'd already got his dressing gown and slippers on before he recalled the recent events that made a visit from old Burt the postman unlikely to say the least. He sighed, picking up his walking stick and pipe, noticing a loud rumble, though without his hearing aid he didn't realise how loud. 'What is it, boy?'

He entered the front room to find the dog resting his paws on the windowsill, growling and barking at something outside. He walked over as quickly as his old legs would allow, to be presented with the sight of a road full of tanks, stretching in both directions as far as he could see, the fields across from him filled with them too. Turning and putting his glasses on he was just in time to watch an assault gun crush his toolshed.

He lit his pipe and blinked a few times, 'Goodness me.'

Lead Tank of Fourth Land Warfare Battlegroup, Blanstead Moor

Jordan smiled as the static on the radio became more distinct; still pretty useless, but it was a good sign. As the tank force moved their artillery deployed where it could, occasional patchy artillery fire so far only being a nuisance rather than a threat. He'd feel better if he had the faintest idea where his commanding officer had gone, but that could wait for a while.

There was a crackle as words faded in, '...I say again, cannot confirm status of the tank column, request orders.'

'This is Gong One to Gong Four, do not fire unless engaged.'

Jordan grinned, 'Four LWB here, who's side are you on?'

There was a laugh on the other end, 'Yeah, that's an official radio call, isn't it?'

'How many of you idiots up there?'

'Five, Colonel. There's more over at Greyfriar's, but I still can't raise them.'

'You spotted that sep column?'

'Thought you were it, Sir. I guess it's still south of you.'

'Right. As you were.'

Pensworth, Blanstead Moor

Mann fumed, pacing like a caged animal, 'I'm not going to sit here and wait for the fog to clear so they can pick us off from a hundred fucking miles away with naval arty. Kerry!'

'Sir?'

'Get the word down the line that we're moving North, deploy our arty in town and along the road line with whatever sandbags you can get. I want cables laid as we move forward so we can keep contact with the artillery batteries at all times. Is radio up yet?'

'Not yet, sir!'

He frowned, 'Well, at least we don't have to worry about aircraft for a little longer.'

Fields around Gatesby, Blanstead Moor

The squad of Kitsune waited patiently by Jordan's Mammoth as he climbed down the ladder, the leader stepping forward. He nodded, 'Report.'

'Sir, sighted the Air Destroyer holding position about a mile North of Pensworth, near Vale Farm. Also, on the way out there were sep tanks moving through the fields. I think they're mobilising.'

Jordan winced, 'Fuck everything...Craine! Get hold of North Point any way you can and advise them I'm about to be engaged and I still have no idea where my CO is, tell them I need a new CO or a field promotion and I'm taking command until then.'

'Sir!'

'Advise all artillery that they'll be receiving firing orders shortly and prep all tanks, I want infantry chains in the fields ahead of us with radios. The minute they see anything that's not ours they run it back over here, we'll get it to the arty.'

Air Destroyer Valiant

Cassandra blinked as a brief radio message, just a few disconnected words, flickered for a moment and then faded again. She waited; sure enough, another flickered in, the callsigns and slang comfortingly familiar. She smiled brightly.

'This is Air Destroyer Valiant to four LWB, request orders.'

The was a pause, and then 'This is Four LWB, request that you move to Gatesby and await further orders.'

Cassandra smiled as the engines fired, the crew running to their stations as she sounded General Quarters, 'On it, Colonel.'

Separatist pathfinder unit, South of Gatesby

Lieberman blinked and raised his hand, the rest of the soldiers stopping, ducking down as best they could. Hawke spoke first, 'What do you hear, boss?'

Lieberman paused, before nodding, 'Pulse jets...'

Hawke blinked, 'Dear God, an Air Destroyer?'

Lieberman nodded, 'Run back and get the word to Mann, there's an Air Destroyer somewhere near Gatesby, I advise extreme caution.'

Hawke nodded, and started running. A little further down the road he heard a soft sound from the nearby bushes, a split second later tasting his own blood as he fell, his last sight a young Kitsune sniper ducking back into cover.

Air Destroyer Valiant, North of Gatesby

Jordan grinned as he watched the shell lifts unfurl from the underside of Valiant, her anchor cables following a moment later. Her main guns slowly rotated, eight of them facing South now, 'Right, get someone back up to the ammo dump and tell them we need flatbeds of nineteen-point-two inch shells up here on the double!'

A service soldier ran up, 'Sir, Valiant reports she's running on half rations and low on fresh water, she's requesting additional supplies.'

He nodded, 'Get them to her. Where's the infantry?'

Another soldier saluted, 'They're just starting to arrive, supply chains for artillery are taking priority as per your orders.'

Another soldier ran up, holding a piece of paper, 'Colonel, it's from North Point.'

'Dispatch rider?'

'No sir. Radio.'

Jordan grinned, 'About bloody time. What does it say?'

'Message from General Hoshino, 'In light of your difficulties with command and a lack of replacement officers, until such time as your commanding officer reports you are to assume his full rank and responsibility. If and when Lieutenant-General Kaufman is found, he is to be arrested immediately and returned to North Point pending court martial for dereliction of duty in the face of the enemy. Good luck, Lieutenant-General.'

Separatist pathfinder unit

Lieberman blinked as he saw the first tanks break through the fence, 'What the fuck...?' he ran over, banging on the side of the tank, the commander popping his hatch open and glancing down. Lieberman climbed up onto the body of the tank, 'What the hell's going on, haven't your orders been changed?'

The man looked confused, 'What? Why the hell would they have been?'

Lieberman pointed forward, 'There's an Air Destroyer somewhere up ahead, didn't Mann advise you of it?'

'Haven't heard anything about it! You sure of your intel?'

'Heard it with my own two ears!'

The tank commander paused, 'Well, until I hear different I've got to follow the original order to move to Gatesby and then have the light armour scout ahead for Federal units!'

Lieberman scowled, 'But the fuckers are probably in Gatesby! Can't you get us some arty down on that position?'

The tank commander glared at him, 'Not while my damn family's there!' he paused, 'Now, are you staying or going?'

Lieberman jumped down as the tank started moving again, 'I'm fucking telling you, they're there!'

Federal scout unit, two fields North of Lieberman's position

The Neko in the squad, Kawasaki, flicked her ears a couple of times, nodding, 'That's tanks alright. Do any of the other units have visual?'

Her radio operator shook his head, 'Negative so far.'

'Ok, run it back down the line that we have sound contact but no visual as of yet...Wait...' she lifted her binoculars, staring out into the darkening fog, 'Moving contact dead ahead. King, take a look on IR.'

King quickly took the IR goggles out of their case on the ground, checking the settings and raising them to her eyes, 'They're tanks, Sergeant!'

Kawasaki nodded quickly, 'Deep six that, we have positive contact with tanks at our location, request arty on this position and advise them we're pulling back. Get the same message to the other scout units.'

Gatesby

One of the soldiers manning the radios turned to Jordan, 'Sir, scout team sixteen has positive visual and IR contact, they're requesting artillery support.' He blinked, 'More contacts, teams ten, eight, five...They're everywhere sir!'

Jordan nodded, 'Run the order back to all arty positions, I want a full strike on all clear stretches of the B195 and the fields immediately North of it. Go!'

He started running back to his tank, 'Warm everything up and get ready to start dodging bullets, tell the aid stations to get ready to receive casualties. Nicholson, take command of my tank, I'll have to stay back here!' With a roar the nearest Arsenal Tank opened fire, cruise missiles climbing high into the air before turning and streaking South, the wail of artillery shells arcing overhead sounding moments later, booms of artillery shattering the calm evening.

First line of separatist tanks, fields near the B195 road

Briggs watched in disbelief as everything in front of his tank suddenly disappeared, fireballs and huge clouds of dirt and debris rising high into the sky as the wails of descending shells filled the air. Coming to his senses he quickly threw his tank into reverse, tearing his gaze from the awesome display of firepower in front of his to ensure he didn't back into the tank following him. The barrage crept backward with him, annihilating the road and the hedgerows around it, showering the tanks around him with lumps of tarmac and splinters of wood.

'Holy shit...' he whispered, 'Get word back to the General and get the infantry ahead to find out where this fire's coming from!'

A huge explosion hurled the three tanks nearest his into the air, the nearest one narrowly missing Briggs' tank as it crashed to the ground scattering fragments all over the field. It was followed by another in the adjoining field; as he looked back he noticed faint flashes in the gloom, even as the bombardment ahead of him continued to pulverise the road and fields. Here and there horribly injured crewmen limped or crawled out of the clouds of smoke, medics quickly running past the tank line to pull them the rest of the way. It took him a moment to notice his gunner tapping his shoulder.

'Sir, we can't stay here, we have to keep moving forward!'

Briggs blinked, 'Are you fucking blind or something?'

The gunner shook his head, 'You want to wait for them to get our range?'

Briggs sighed and nodded, 'Keep moving forward.'

Federal tank force, South of Gatesby

The artillery fire was obviously random, but no less effective for it; as Nicholson's Mammoth moved forward it frequently shuddered with impacts on its upper surface. Four of the main battle tanks moving with him were already burning, one still moving despite the hit, the rest stopped and burning fiercely. Nicholson grinned as an image appeared on his satellite interface, 'All tanks be advised we are outside jamming, sats are back up!'

'Heat sources ahead, sir!'

Nicholson frowned, 'Looks like they're moving through the artillery. All tanks are to engage at their discretion, do not await firing orders! Get word back to Jordan that we're engaging and get me some trucks up here to ship wounded out!'

The Mammoth shuddered as its two turrets fired in turn, the shells hurtling off into the darkness scoring brilliant trails of fire behind them, the explosions sounding out as the gun crews in the turrets hurried to reload. The other Mammoths fired as well as the first tanks broke through the hedge several fields ahead, finally coming into view. Nicholson's radio operator didn't even wait for him, 'This is Mike Tango five-four, visual contact, engaging now. Still no sign of the enemy force's Mammoths.'

Gatesby

Jordan watched as the endless sea of armour carried on moving past the window of the drive-in restaurant he'd taken for his command post, the cheery signs advertising speciality meals mostly covered with maps hastily tacked to the walls. Already whole trucks full of wounded were coming back, the aid station the medics had set up overflowing into the surrounding fields. He couldn't help but notice that under the dimmed floodlights there the grass was matted with blood.

He shook his head and turned back to his staff, radio ops talking quickly as a group near them worked feverishly to keep the markers on the tactical map stretched out on four tables pushed together in the right positions. One turned to him, 'General, I have a tank commander Nicholson requesting additional fire support in three locations and committal of the second reserve column along the A23.'

'Give him his fire support and a negative on his request, second column is to mobilise only when we've sighted the enemy force's Mammoths. Get on the line to Greyfriar's Farm and ask them where the fuck my helos are!'

'Sir!'

A tank crewman, her face stained with dirt and blood running from an empty hole where her eye should have been, staggered into the command post, saluting hurriedly, 'Sir, reporting the loss of...' she swayed, grabbing the doorframe for support. 'Five tanks in my...unit...' She looked up, a tear running from her remaining eye, and then fell, her back a mass of ragged shrapnel fragments.

Jordan blinked, 'Medic! Get a fucking medic up here, on the double!' he ran over, kneeling by her side, 'Dammit, girl, you're a tanker! Don't fucking give up, that's an order!'

Fields South of Gatesby, engagement +1 hour, 32 minutes

Nicholson scowled as the call 'rounds complete' came in from the forward gun turret, 'Shit, where the hell's my resupply unit?'

Around the tank there was nowhere he could look where there wasn't a tank either moving or burning in the fields, the regular sounds of gunfire and explosions not having stopped since the first shots were fired. While none of the enormous Mammoths had been seriously damaged yet, they'd suffered losses in their way; several had gaping holes where their antiaircraft guns should have been, bodies sprawled nearby on the ground or around the burned-out guns themselves. One of them had thrown a track and stood immobile in the middle of the next field, artillery pounding it from time to time, it's surface blackened and stained from fire.

Nicholson's gunner turned, 'Heat source at six o'clock, sir...It's the resupply convoy.'

Nicholson nodded as the group of ungainly vehicles started to set about the task of loading heavy fourteen-inch shells into the tank, 'About bloody time.'

Pensworth, engagement +2 hours

Mann stared at the map in front of him, 'Too many losses too damn quickly...I didn't think they'd target the entire damn road...' he shook his head, 'Ok, I want both Mammoths made ready to move forward by tomorrow morning. It looks like that Land Warfare Battlegroup is the only thing holding the middle of their line together, keep hitting them with everything you've got.'

'Sir!'

'I want another five hundred tanks on the front line by morning, do whatever you have to do to get me them!'

Gatesby, engagement +27 hours

Jordan knew what he would see if he glanced out at the aid station; crews struggling to throw up new tents fast enough for the trucks with blood-drenched floors making increasingly regular trips back from the front, refugees with medical training from North Point hastily shipped down here to ease the strain on their own overworked medical staff...

He turned back to the tac map. The light had come and gone, so he guessed a day had passed, but it seemed like far longer. The thunder of artillery and the roar of engines hadn't let up once since it had started, and he could see very well the effect it was having on his command staff, the tables lined with filled-up ashtrays and empty coffee cups. 'Ok, reports of casualties...Forward the names back to North Point and mark them off on the rosters...' he sighed, a radio op tapping him on the shoulder.

'Um, sir?'

He looked up at her with red-rimmed eyes, 'Hm?'

'Got a message here from the Lilia Litvyak, she's been cleared to support with artillery fire and airstrikes, she's requesting orders.'

He smiled despite himself, 'Ok, get the word down the line to our tankers and tell them to look for heavy concentrations of enemy armour for bombing runs. Phelps, go see if North Point's Grand Dragons have been given clearance too.'

'On it, sir!'

'Get me some ground attack equipment to Valiant as well, she's got dozens of Wasps in her drop arrays and they're fucking useless with air-to-air gear.'

A Brigadier appeared at the door, 'Sir, Brigadier Harry Underton, you sent for me?'

Jordan nodded, 'Can you handle things here, Brigadier? I need some fucking sleep before I start making stupid mistakes.'

The man nodded, 'Count on it, sir!'

A solider ran in, 'General, we've just lost radio from one of the AV-11s supporting, we think she's gone down.'

Jordan sighed, 'I'll leave you to it, Brigadier.'

Carriers Lilia Lityvak, Hawkeye and Exodia, North of Grafton's Isle, engagement +27 hours 15 minutes

The aircraft climbed quickly into the sky to clear the muzzle blasts of the carriers' heavy cannons, the regular flashes sending shells screaming inland trailing smoke from their rocket engines. The bombers and ground-attack aircraft would be rather slower in arriving, but no less welcome. As they passed North Point cheers went up from the refugees below, the refugees quickly disappearing from view and being replaced by rolling countryside.

And then that too was replaced by something out of a bad dream.

The beautiful fields and quiet, narrow roads had been reduced by artillery and tank treads to an endless desert of ploughed-up mud and water-filled craters, smoke rising from the newer ones and dozens of fires lighting the gloom below. One by one the aircraft split off to engage their set targets, the sky filling with tracer fire and flak as they were spotted.

AWAC Magician Two-Zero, above Blanstead Moor

Altman sighed, 'Doesn't look any better up here than it does to them on the ground, I shouldn't think.' They'd made contact with the Command Post a few hours earlier and were giving what help they could, but the sight of hundreds of tanks and APCs streaming onto the Moor from both directions made it pretty clear that this wouldn't be over for a long time yet.

He blinked as a unit caught his eye, grabbing his radio headset, 'This is Magician two-zero to unit four-three, check your fire; you are engaging friendlies, repeat, check your fire...'

Gatesby, engagement +34 hours

Jordan woke with a start, glancing out at the men running to another group of parked APCs, 'What the fuck's going on?'

A woman turned and saluted hurriedly, 'We just lost a Mammoth out on the Moor, recon thinks the two enemy Mammoths are moving on Four LWB's position.'

Jordan was suddenly awake and running for the command post, shoving the door open, 'Why the hell wasn't I informed of this?'

Underton turned, blinking, 'Um, you were asleep, General...'

Jordan walked over to the tac map quickly, 'Ok, get me four pathfinder units ahead of the B195 with radios and recon flights over the fields here and here. Tell Two LWB to move out immediately and support Four. What's the status on the Mammoth and which is it?'

'Mike Tango Five-Seven, Five Four reported a large explosion near her stern turret and she hasn't moved, fired or made radio contact since. No activity from the crew, they think she's a dead loss.'

Jordan cursed, 'Fuck it...That's Patrick's tank. I was best man at his wedding two fucking weeks ago. Get a recovery crew out there on the double to check for survivors. How's the front line holding?'

Underton pointed to the map, 'Mostly still deadlocked around the B195, it moves back and forth but they're taking far higher losses for it than we are, and SFAT Ten Commando got us positive locations on some of their arty this morning, so their barrages are getting further apart.'

Jordan nodded, 'I want those two Mammoths spotted ASAP, this is top priority!'

Separatist Mammoth Tank, near Knightsridge Farm, Blanstead Moor

Payne grabbed the microphone as another volley of artillery rounds smashed into the roof of his tank, the vast machine sinking down on its suspension under the weight of the barrage. There was a scream on one of the open internal communications lines, followed by a long silence, then a pained, hoarse voice, 'Sir, this is B turret...That last one was too much, the roof just gave way...Alf was right under it...' there was a pause, 'He's dead, sir.'

Payne nodded slowly, 'Is A turret loaded?'

The woman at the gunnery station, Deckard, turned, 'Two rounds ready to go, sir.'

Payne sighed, 'Everyone is to abandon the charge. Clear that seat for me Deckard, I'm staying.'

She blinked, then nodded, 'Yes sir.'

Deckard couldn't help but turn as she ran from the tank, watching as one cannon fired before something crashed into the tank's side, folding the plates inward like rubber in a split second before the shell detonated and the tank disappeared in a cloud of fire that rose lazily into the morning sky.

In the distance she could see the smoke billow from one of the Air Destroyer's cannons.

Gatesby, engagement +52 hours

Jordan sipped his coffee blearily, vaguely aware he should get some more sleep. Flares hung over parts of the Moor as the artillery and gunfire continued, joined now by the sound of the huge Air Destroyer moving slowly out to provide direct fire support now that both the sep Mammoths were out of action. Her shell lifts quickly retracted as she moved off, firing at irregular intervals.

'Sir, all reserves are now in the field unless you want to start pulling the final units down from North Point...'

Jordan nodded, 'Do it. Get them down here and in the field as soon as possible, and tell the we need cas-evac fights every half-hour instead of every hour, there's too many wounded here now for us to treat and road convoys are killing my supply times. Where the hell did our last shipment of fuel get to?'

'Um...' the young Naga serviceman sorted quickly through the papers in front of her, 'Oh, here it is...North Point's awaiting a tanker that was delayed by rough seas, your fuel should be arriving within a half-hour.' She looked upset, 'I'm sorry sir, with all these reports it just got buried...'

He sighed, 'Don't worry...Everyone's having a rough time.'

Pensworth, engagement +68 hours

Mann looked at his watch briefly, mumbling, 'Two thirty p.m.' as he watched the battered tanks retreating into town, huge explosions sounding out on the Moor, 'What the fuck's going on? I never ordered a general retreat!'

One of the tanks stopped, the man on the turret pulling the cocking handle of his machine gun back, 'Then now's your fucking chance!'

He scowled, 'You will get back out there and engage the enemy...'

He never finished, the rattle of the machine gun cutting him off as the tank started to reverse again, the Air Destroyer already far too close for comfort, casting its shadow over the fields of ploughed-up mud and shattered, skeletal things that had once been tanks. The Federal tanks moved below it, firing off shots at the retreating separatist column.

North Command Post, Southeast of Blanstead Moor, engagement +72 hours

Curtis had already watched the mangled remains of his command pass by and ordered them on to Lanfor, knowing full well that the base that had been his home since all this had started would be little more than a minor nuisance to the taskforce sweeping off the Moor. Most likely they'd consolidate their position here anyway. He sighed, closing the propaganda book he kept in his desk drawer and standing, his second-in-command coming in without knocking, a look of panic on his face. 'General, it's here! We have to leave now!'

He turned to the window, opening the blinds lazily. The Air Destroyer hung there; as he watched, its guns slowly rotated to face the command post, eight muzzles pointing right at him. He shook his head, sighing, 'No...I don't feel like running anymore.'

There was a flash ahead, and the command post disappeared.

Jhying and Kheri looked around, taking in the weird contraposition of fully modern-- and gigantic-- military equipment on the cozy market town. For the younger Ambassador, though she had tried to familiarise herself with as much as she could during her tenure, this was a side of GMC Military Arms she had had but little occasion to see: a glimpse into its old world, for all the bristling weaponry, to which he was becoming accustomed. To the older Commissioner, however, the scene evoked quite a different set of responses. In character, GMC Military Arms was unlike Xikuang in almost every possible respect, apart from the cold, which was biting, and which, unlike her comrade, the Eastern lowlands-born Kheri felt rather acutely. But at its heart, in its essence, Justfield might be compared with any one of Xikuang's market towns, and Kheri was old enough to remember the brutal occupation of her own country through adult eyes. She shuddered, reminding herself that it wasn't like that here; that these guns belonged to the people, but some part of her refused to believe it.

"Where to now?" Kheri asked as the rotors slowed above their heads. "Just wait." Jhying answered, looking around. "They will send somebody. Everything is very organised in this country. Despite how things might look here." As if on cue, a man approached them, his broad grin showing off a gold tooth.


'Comrades! Welcome to Justfield! Comrade-Commander Kent is waiting for you inside.'

"Thank you, sir." Jhying answered, and both bowed politely to the soldier. "Please lead the way." They followed, struggling a bit to keep in step with the man's brisk pace.

Anesca's Construct, The Hack's Neural Network

Anesca sighed softly to herself. Everything up until now had been little more than prepatory work. The Hack's major offensive was about to begin. Her models predicted some rather unpleasant casualties. Despite all the military protocols that had been programmed into her network, she was still a living thing, and she felt bad that she was, essentially, ordering troops into what could be very bloody combat.

She could only imagine how Shiala had to feel about this mess.


Hack Mobile Command, Western Border of Meganshire

Anesca's hologram shimmered a little as she looked over the officers in the command tent, ready for orders. A second hologram sprang to life next to her: a satellite photograph of southeastern Lanfor. "This is where we are going to be heading, our final goal is the Imperial Palace, north west of the remains of the Walworth Building and west of the National Museam of Science. However, as you can see, there is a lot of city between us and that.

"Also," the image zoomed out a little, "There is a fortified defence line to deal with too. They've had a little while to fortify this line, but it's far from impenitrable. We can expect pillboxes, machine gun nests and the like, as well as numerous troops. They know this is their last stand, and they're planning to go out in a blaze of glory. Expect fierce resistance. Luckily, most of their armor and artillary have been used elsewhere, so we have an advantage in that regard.

"GMC should be advancing from the west, so this is a pinching move, which means we need to crush this line as quickly as possible, as taking the city will not be a quick activity. Expect street to street fighting and aircraft once we break the wall.

"Finally, keep in mind that we are to keep collateral damage to a minimum once we're in the city, so no random building levelling or firebombing." She sighed internally at the grumbling from the assembled officers over her last admonition. It would be much easier to simply level the city and clean up the pieces, but she had her orders.


Near the Line, Outside of Lanfordshire

Forward Scout Pavlak lowered her binoculars, frowning slightly. She keyed her radio, transmitting back to her unit a few klicks back, "They're dug in pretty well. Found out what happened to the other scouts... smoked." She shook her head, "Robo-girl wasn't kidding about the blaze of glory. Looks like we've got a couple divisions here."

"Are you serious?" Captain Riggleman's voice crackled in responce over Pavlak's earpiece.

"Deadly serious, ma'am. Looks like they cleared out the Barbed Wire Warehouse too, that shit's everywhere."

"Great. Send us some coords and we'll see if we can't soften things up. Just don't go too deep, we'll need those freeways."

"Well, Hell... that's where a lot of their heavy shit is... anyway, here they come..."


Hack Positions Outside the Eastern Line

The Hack was never known for its military ability, which tended to make the soliders train a little harder. Consequently, the men and women manning the artillary units quickly reacted to the coordinates as they received them, firing quickly and accurately.

The shells launched in graceful arcs before slamming with near pin-point accuracy on the Sep positions a few kilometers away, reducing many of the Sep tanks to slag. From her forward position, Pavlak continued calling out coordinates, occationally giving a soft 'whoop!' at particularly stunning explosions.


The Line

The shelling had continued for about an hour. The Sep's return fire had been considerably less accurate, due to a lack of any kind of scout, but had still taken its toll. After the artillary strikes, the Hack forces rumbled forward for the primary engagement. Mammoth Mk. 5 and Mk. 1's leading the forces, a lone Mark 7 making the ground shake as it neared the line, its four primary guns blowing installations to pieces. The Mk.7 plowed ahead, shrugging of Sep fire and ignoring spools of barbed wire as well as anything else in front of it.


North of the Line

Fusayoshi watched as the troops on the northern extreme of the line were called down to give support to the Hack's assault up the middle. His team's mission, to say the least, was probably the most dangerous. Luckily, the troop call had happened as expected, which made their first objective much easier; specifically, making their way through the line to disable the artillery.

The Kitsune glanced at his team, smiling to himself. They had all trained together, but this was their first actual mission*.

>>WiFi Encrypted: Fusayoshi to Team: Okay, this is as good as it's going to get, gang.
>>WiFi Encrypted: Uyo to Team: There's a couple still hanging back, sir. Shall I?
>>WiFi Encrypted: Fusayoshi to Team: Be my guest, Uyo.

Uyo shouldered her sniper rifle, moving it slightly from soldier to soldier as her eyes locked on to their locations, storing them in the nanocomputer embedded in her brain; a scope was unnecessary. She smiled a little and quickly fired several times, her body absorbing the recoil effortlessly as she moved from soldier to soldier, in referse order, retracing back to the original, killing them before they had a chance to respond. Ieyoshi murmured softly to herself, never having shared Uyo's aparent blood lust.

With the soliders tainting the ground with their blood, the four Kitsune worked their way forward, cutting barbed wire as needed, slinking around where they could. Uyo quickly took point, leading the way for her teammates, killing soldiers as needed, slinking around when possible.

>>WiFi Encrypted: Fusayoshi to Team: There's the arty... Uyo, take position to snipe as possible, Ieyoshi, keep her safe. Futima, you're with me.

The three nodded and Fusayoshi and Futima made their way forward, as the rest of the battle raged behind them.


[* Thanks to fluid time, this is before their excursion in Eurusea]

Fourth Land Warfare Battlegroup Command Post

Jordan had skipped sleeping to inspect his tanks, and was beginning to regret it. The fields nearby were almost filled with wounded, the dead piled unceremoniously onto flatbeds to be hauled back to North Point. As for his command...

All sixteen tanks looked a lot worse in the light of day, armour a mass of dents and bare and blackened metal, most missing their antiaircraft weapons and several with track units inoperable. The crews worked feverishly on them as they had throughout the previous night, sparks from cutters and welding torches drifting slowly to the ground, but most of them had resigned themselves to simply patching the tanks up so they could make the journey back to North Point. Like him, they miserably recognised that for Four LWB, the war was over.

Patrick's tank sat at the end of the line, surrounded by the arc lights they'd set up while opening one of the side doors during the night. Though at the back of his mind Jordan had known what would be inside he'd still prayed that they were somehow alive, but as the door had fallen open everyone had realised their worst fears were true. The tank's interior had been ruined by internal explosions and gutted by fire, the charred bodies lined up in their khaki bodybags all but unrecognisable. From the outside, oddly, the tank looked barely damaged; as he walked around it he could still make out 'Deus Ex Machina' written down one gun barrel, and recalled the ridiculous rope-and-plank seat he and Patrick had rigged up so they could paint it on there.

He sighed, turning to the clerk with him, 'Make a note to inform North Point that all interior crew of Mike Tango Five-Seven were killed in action, and have letters sent to their families, excluding Gerry Patrick.'

The girl, obviously doing her service and her empty holster a clear sign of a conshie, blinked, 'Why not him, sir?'

Jordan sat down, 'He was a good friend...It'll be easier for his wife if it comes from me. I'll tell Marline myself.' He got out his cigarettes, pulling one out of the packet with his teeth, 'I owe him that much.'

Temporary Federal base camp, off Blanstead Moor

Spooky grinned as he stepped back, the young Kitsune jumping from one foot to the other in front of the Hack officer inside the makeshift boxing ring. The tarpaulin sheet they were using as a roof leaked in several places, meaning the boxers had to watch their footing carefully. Spooky grinned, 'You lookin' tired, boy...' he twitched his head slightly, 'Sure ya wanna carry on?' the young medic's strong Cajun accent tended to surprise people.

The man spat, checking his gumshield and banging his gloves together, 'Damn right! Your luck's not going to last much longer!' the squad on his side cheered.

Spooky smiled, gesturing to the 'Strength' Tarot card tucked into his left glove, 'That ain't what the cards told me, boy, and the good book says "The Lord is not a man that He should lie..."'

General Hoshino smiled as she turned away, walking on through the cluttered temporary base camp, past stacks of crates and containers and a pair of large ten-wheeled trucks with mounted cranes, their crews currently leaning against them smoking or playing cards. She noticed, further ahead, a small group of Naga servicemen sat – insofar as it was possible to sit with a snake tail instead of legs – in front of a small makeshift altar on the bonnet of a jeep. A white cloth was spread out over it with a pair of candles in snake-shaped holders on top, a chalice between them. The priestess smiled as she finished drying her hair and opened the clasps on the backpack that carried the heavy scroll, her copy of the Book of Yig. She coughed, and started reading, feeling a little miserable in the dull army uniform instead of her usual elaborate and colourful robes.

She took a breath, and began, 'Our Father Yig is with each and every one of you; may His hand guide and protect you on this day of days...'

A little further on, a group of Hack and GMC troops sitting under a tent were listening to a young Lieutenant reading out the news from a printout that had been wired up from headquarters, 'In other news, there's some kind of scandal involving Chiba City Cubs' star cheerleader. Haven't got much on that but North Hack News keeps threatening to send a reporter down here, so maybe you can ask them.'

104 Westward Drive, Hammer Bay

Sakura hugged Reika happily as they lay together on the sofa, purring contentedly, 'My Rei-Rei...' she whispered.

Reika grinned, 'Been a log time since you've called me that...Last time was...'

'...Our prom night,' Sakura smiled, 'The night I decided I'd join SFAT to stay with you. I only joined to stay with you, Rei-Rei.'

Reika smiled, 'You mean...All that training you put yourself through was just for...?' Sakura nodded, and Reika hugged her firmly 'Oh, hon...That's the sweetest, stupidest thing I've ever heard.' She smiled, 'How's our other Rei?'

Sakura sighed, 'As good as can be expected. She misses you.'

Reika stood and took a folded report out of her pocket, 'I got a file on her, at last. She had a mother, father and sister, all gone. In less than a week she saw all of them die.'

Sakura nodded, 'We got a box of her things sent up, toys and her family album. I'll give that to her when she's a little older, it's far too soon.' She smiled, 'You didn't tell me she was a Christian...You should have seen the look on her face when I said I didn't say grace. Had to call mom and ask her how...She says hi, and, um...'

Reika cocked her head, 'Come on, what else?'

'She offered me a place in the family business.'

Reika smiled, 'Shima Ramen? That restaurant?'

Sakura nodded, 'I'm thinking of taking her up on it and settling down a little. We've got a little girl now, after all...'

The door slowly creaked open, Rei standing in the doorway in her pyjamas, blinking sleep out of her eyes, holding a plushie Mammoth Tank under one arm, 'Momma, I heard someone talking...' she meowed as she saw Reika, 'Momma!'

Reika smiled as the little Neko-kitten pounced her happily, purring gently and stroking her hair, 'Heya, Rei...You been ok while I was away?'

Rei shook her head, 'I missed you...You're staying now...?'

Reika sighed, holding her close, 'I have to go again soon, I just came by to make sure you were ok.'

'Please don't leave, mommy!' Rei clung to Reika's legs, holding her tightly.

Reika knelt, hugging her, 'I have to, honey. Don't be scared, I'll come back. I won't leave you all alone again.'

Rei smiled pathetically, 'Promise?'

'I promise.'

As Reika went to leave, Sakura followed, touching her hand, 'Rei-Rei...Be safe. You're already a hero.'

Reika nodded, 'I promised I'd come back.'

Joint Forces Briefing, Briefing Room of Air Battleship Vione, Temporary Federal base camp off Blanstead Moor

Vione smiled as she stood in front of the assembled squad leaders and field officers, the little Neko-avatar looking a little preoccupied, 'Good morning. I've been requested to give the briefing for the operation to retake Lanfor City to ease the workload on the PHALANXes at this point, and I'm pleased to be able to do so.'

She coughed slightly, 'As you're aware, the majority of separatist armour units didn't make it off the Moor and their supplies of fuel are now running critically low after the bombings of various fuel storage depots and refineries by Army Bomber Command. It has been decided that now is the right time to launch a full-scale assault against them.'

The holographic map shimmered into existence in front of her, the area around Lanfordshire highlighted in red, 'It's recognised that the terrain West and South is unsuitable for moving heavy armour through and both lines are basically stalemates. Buying ground in either AO would be a lengthy and costly procedure with huge casualties on both sides, so neither approach is particularly desirable. Pending a Hack breakthrough to the East, we must concentrate on the North approach as our fastest method of getting into Lanfor.'

'It's believed that two full divisions and the remains of at least two others are present in the city along with anything up to two thousand tanks, operational status of those tanks unknown but a high percentage damaged and emplaced to conserve fuel and parts. Additionally the separatists control not less than three airstrips in the area including one military; we don't have accurate intel on aircraft numbers yet, but you can expect to see ground-attack aircraft and air superiority fighters or fighter bombers. There's also an Army Air Support Unit stationed at Lanfor international airport with at least five AC-130 gunships.'

A Special Forces soldier, Kerrick, raised his hand, 'Is this intel from that idiot Atlas?'

Vione sighed, 'I'm well aware that some of you have misgivings about Atlas, but as the leader of the Resistance in Lanfor he's the best source we have at present. You're to meet up with his units on the West side of the river for additional SITREP before attempting to move on the bridge. Your rendezvous point is the Rockford Tool Warehouse on Prince Street, about two miles from the objective.'

'Primary objectives in this operation initially are to capture and hold the Harold Callahan Suspension Bridge and any other suitable points for the Second Land Warfare Battlegroup to cross the Stein River; Callahan is our main objective because it was constructed specifically with super heavy armour in mind. Two LWB is currently engaging a separatist unit on the M10 motorway leading into the city with the objective of capturing Exit 7, which will be your route in. Our first deployment into the city itself will be SFAT and Pathfinder units along with other volunteers, with a small Pathfinder unit crossing the river covertly tonight to scout out and disable as much arty facing the bridge as possible. Our own arty and ground-attack aircraft will be standing by to take calls on live batteries once they're confirmed, sats are fuzzy in some areas of the city. Sergeant Madoka Akashi, you will be leading that unit. You'll cross the river here and land near the military docks by the bridge.'

Reika blinked, 'Status of combatants at those docks?'

Vione paused, 'From intel Atlas gave us, negligible. At worst it'll be a couple of torpedo or gunboats.'

'The remainder of the initial deployment force will be under the command of Lieutenant Reika Izumi. You will have a separate briefing to go over your objective in more detail, but for now I can say you'll be taking a force with APCs and light armour only. You are to secure the East side of the Callahan Bridge until your position is reinforced, using whatever means necessary to keep it intact.'

'Assuming the success of this stage of the operation the next objective will be to take the Knight's Cross train station here to allow reinforcements to be bought in on the East side of the river more quickly. Following that we'll have to play it by ear. There's been heavy combat in Lanfor since the war began and the whole place is a mess. Your final objective will be to take the old Imperial Palace with the primary goal of bringing General Copeland in alive. As of now this is Operation Wolf, you will refer to it by that name at all times.'

She paused, 'Now, I don't think I have to stress that the AO isn't like Blanstead Moor; it's a highly built-up area which is home to forty-seven million, with over half still presumably there. Check your fire carefully, your whole AO is full of civilians. Forecast is heavy rain and thunder.'

There was a low 'Fucking wonderful' grumble.

She smiled, 'From Field Marshal Embersby, to be passed by unit commanders to their troops ASAP.'

A hologram of Field Marshall Embersby replaced the map, 'The Federation is proud of each and every one of you. Victory is almost ours, and with it a chance for peace again. I had hoped to deliver this briefing and this message to you in person, but sadly I have been unavoidably prevented from doing so.'

Reika tapped Madoka's shoulder, whispering 'Unavoidably prevented...?'

Madoka nodded, whispering back, 'She caught a bullet in the shoulder from a sep sniper a few days back.'

The hologram continued, 'It is my honour to have such fine soldiers as yourselves serving under my command, and I will ask of you only this; give it your all in the days that will follow, for yourselves, for the people of this Island and for the Federation. I will not lie to you and say this will be easy, but together...' she gave a slightly pained smile, 'You can end this war.' The hologram saluted, and faded again.

Vione smiled, 'Any questions?'

Reika raised her hand, then pointed at a long, ragged line that crossed several blocks on the satellite map pinned to the wall behind Vione, 'What the hell is that?'

'Until a couple of weeks ago, that was the central bank tower.'

Reika blinked, 'Christ...'

One of the tank commanders raised his hand, 'What's our update on tank idents? Have you got ID on Hundred Four Arm Cav yet?'

Vione shook her head, 'At present it's believed the Hundred and Fourth made it off the Moor and is currently in Lanfor.'

Reika tapped Madoka, 'I only just got back from visiting my wife...Must've missed the update on this.'

Madoka grinned, whispering 'Hundred Fourth is Death's Head, it's an elite sep tank unit that did a lot of damage to our units on the Moor.'

Vione paused, 'Further briefings will be conducted as per the schedule posted outside. Sergeant Akashi, Lieutenant Izumi, your units move out at nineteen hundred hours tonight. The rest of you will be made aware of your schedules during your unit briefs.' She smiled, 'Good luck to all of you. Dismissed!'

Temporary Federal Base Camp, near mooring point of Air Battleship Vione

As the lift descended, Vione watched a little bemused as a six-engined Hercules flying boat touched down in the lake nearby, its props slowing as it coasted to a halt. It was a little strange to see the thing, its design having borne it through two wars and now a third; it was a relic, no doubt about it, but it still had its place. Like the horse she'd watched gallop to The Edge through Aki's eyes, even relics could find their own use sometimes.

She looked up, at the vast Air Battleship, her 'other' self, and looked back through its eyes at herself. When she looked in the mirror, she saw the little Neko that her sensors and monitors picked out on the elevator, and, well, she'd been a Neko a little longer than she'd had the other body... And being a neat five feet tall was more useful for most things than being two thousand eight hundred feet long and almost as wide, with a bloody great particle cannon in the middle of her back. She smiled, and waved to herself. Yes...This is me.

Vione blinked as she saw Cassandra waiting for her at the base of the lift, sheltering from the pouring rain under the huge body of the Air Battleship above even though she'd already got soaked walking over from Valiant. She purred, Valiant's avatar pouncing her as she reached ground level, a faintly ridiculous action since Cassandra was the better part of two feet taller than her. 'Oh, Vione...' she was almost crying, 'It was horrible...I missed you so bad.'

Vione smiled softly, purring. She hadn't stopped talking to Cassandra over radio and satellite since the fog had cleared, and she already knew how lonely and afraid she'd been, sitting blind over a forest with just her crew for company, not the constant feeling of another there who adored her... It had been just as bad for Vione, maybe even worse because she was psychic with it. She hugged Cassandra as best she could, 'It was horrible for me too...I didn't know if you were safe, or if...' she let the rest of the sentence stay unsaid.

Cassandra nodded slightly in her arms, 'Promise me you'll never leave me alone again?'

Vione nodded, whispering 'I promise.' She sighed, 'It's time to move off...I'll be with you over tightbeam as long as I have LOS, 'k?'

She kissed Cassandra's forehead gently, then stepped back onto the lift platform as Vione's engines fired, waving to her for as long as she could see her. In her mind a dozen satellite images showed fighting already erupting in Lanfor beneath the clouds, the Resistance apparently having decided to kick off a little early. She ran through the automated system checklist a couple of times, sending requests for hand-checks of critical systems to the relevant sections. She glanced over at Valiant just before the lift platform locked into place, and nodded to herself, No matter what...I'll never leave you alone again.

A massive shadow
threatens the city.
This used to be our only refuge...
-R-Type FINAL

M10 Motorway Exit 7, Northwest Lanfor City, H-hour

The sounds of battle in the distance kept getting louder as Reika looked across her soldiers. The trucks moved slowly down the darkened street, headlights out; most of the faces were unfamiliar after all the injuries at Point K, but a few of her squadmates had made it along. She smiled as she recognised another face, 'Maya?' she walked back down the open-topped truck, careful not to slip on the soaking floor, 'Maya Shitow, that is you, isn't it?'

Maya looked up, smiling nervously, looking soaked and miserable. 'Um, yes sir.'

Reika sat down beside her, 'WIA is enough for a Distinguished Service Star in a serviceman, never mind a ticket home...What the hell are you still doing here?'

Maya sighed, 'They found Shifty Evans a few days ago...They said he was killed during the attack, and, um...' she paused, 'I know it sounds really stupid, but, um...It doesn't feel right just leaving. I...I just want to be able to go back and tell Josie that he made a difference, and, um...That it's all over now.'

Reika smiled as they passed a burned-out Hackburger restaurant, 'Doesn't sound stupid to me...As long as you've had FIBUA training...?'

Maya nodded, glancing nervously at the shattered buildings that lined the heavily cratered road. 'I came here on holiday once...' she sighed, 'Stayed for two weeks, with some friends...I stayed near this road, in a flat...But...I don't recognise this place at all.'

Reika nodded, 'I know what you mean.' She glanced over the river, fighting already breaking out there, 'Looks like the Resistance has started the party without us...'

Maya turned her gaze to the distant fire and explosions on the other side of the river, an AC-130 catching her eye, circling like some kind of gigantic vulture with tracers streaming from its side. 'I'm scared.'

Reika put an arm around her shoulder, 'A wise man once said; "Courage is being scared to death but saddling up anyway.*"'

Armoured Pen #6, Military docks on the Stein River, Lanfor City, Grafton's Isle, engagement + 8 minutes

There were only a few lights left on inside the pen, and even those were being shut down one at a time as Sarah Renard watched her father talking to her mother, holding her Neko friend, Masumi, tightly. Behind her father the vast railship Duke Red made ready to move off. She sniffled again as another volley of shells impacted, closer this time.

She watched him walk slowly up the steps, and could briefly see the sadness in his eyes as he waved back to her.

As he stepped onto the bridge of Duke Red for what he knew would be the last time, James Renard glanced back down at his daughter, and all the Neko and Kitsune families he'd been able to shelter in the Railship's immense concrete pen for so long.

He noticed his First Officer waiting behind him, and sighed, 'Nobody knows they're here but us, but they know this ship's here. You're still young, you don't have to follow an old man to his grave.'

She shook her head slowly, 'My son's down there too, Captain.'

Renard rested his hand on the wheel; Duke Red was still unfinished, her bridge still smelling of fresh paint and plastic covers on most of the seats. 'And the rest of the crew know too?'

The First Officer smiled slightly, 'Isn't this what heroes are for?'

Renard managed to laugh, 'You're right, it's exactly what heroes are for.'

Clark Boulevard, near Rockford Tool Warehouse Engagement + 39 minutes

Reika gestured her unit forward; they'd dismounted from the trucks a few blocks ago and left their tanks behind to scout ahead. Maya stayed close to Reika, the two Nekos jumping nimbly over the rubble and craters as they made their way to the warehouse, Reika waving the others forward as she spotted Atlas, doing his best to look inconspicuous. He wasn't terribly good at it, the effect of his soaked khakis spoiled by a bright red resistance armband with a yellow hammer and sickle emblazoned on it.

Reika ducked down behind a ruined car, hissing 'Marshall!'

Atlas blinked and glanced around 'Square?'

Reika stood up, gesturing for Maya to follow, 'Over here!' she hissed, 'Is it clear?'

Atlas nodded quickly, 'All the way to the bridge, comrades!'

Outside Armoured Pen #6, Military Docks, engagement + 47 minutes

Madoka gestured the rest of her squad forward, blinking a few times and pushing her soaked hair out of her eyes as another clap of thunder reverberated across the city. She blinked again as with a screech of motors the huge outer doors began to open, kneeling behind a stack of crates on the dockside, her squad likewise finding cover. 'There's something moving in there...' she glanced back, 'Nanami, you got a rifle flare on you?'

Nanami nodded, quickly screwing the flare to the barrel of her rifle and pointing it into the black void beyond the doors. She eased the trigger back, the flare moving in a graceful arc, picking out a bow, then a turret, then another, then...

Then it became all too obvious how big the ship was.

Madoka was first to speak, whispering, 'Dear God in heaven...A battleship?' she blinked as the light from the flare reflected off hundreds of pairs of Neko and Kitsune eyes inside. 'Civilians...' she turned, 'Aya, radio the force on the West side and advise they're about to be engaged by a battleship and the pen is not a legitimate target...Scratch that, she's a railship, I recognise the outline...Looks incomplete...' She glanced at the ship, then back again, gesturing off the dock towards the park where their first artillery battery had been spotted as squadrons of Federal fighters began to engage the separatist AC-130 gunships. Sep fighters would soon be joining them. 'Showtime, ladies.'

Madoka tapped Nanami as they started to move out, the river behind lighting up as the railship fired, 'Something's wrong...'

'SNAFU, something always is...' she grinned, 'What is it, chief?'

Madoka paused as the park came into view, 'That ship...Why aren't they firing on the Callahan Bridge?'

Separatist Area Command Post, Lanfor Opera House

Mills glanced out the window, whirling around as he realised what was happening, 'What the fuck...?' he shot an accusatory glance at the officer in front of him, 'Why the hell is Callahan still standing?'

The man winced, 'Orders from General Copeland...The Callahan Bridge is to be left standing so it can be used to re-take the West side once the Federal attack has been defeated. No attempt is to be made to damage it in any way!'

Mills' jaw dropped in utter disbelief, 'That fucking fool!'

The officer nodded, sounding almost pained by what he was saying, 'It's his explicit order, sir!'

West Side near Callahan Bridge

The first volley had all but missed Reika's unit, only one shot landing close and showering them with shrapnel. Yurika smiled gently as she carefully tended to Reika's leg, 'It only grazed you, you're lucky...'

Reika sighed, 'Since when are you Army Medical Corps, Yurika?'

Yurika smiled as another crash of thunder lit up the bay, 'Since I can still do some good here...' she paused, 'That battleship's not-'

She was interrupted by nine brilliant fireballs blossoming from the Railship's cannons, the whole harbour front disappearing in a series of huge explosions. One round screamed by overhead, tearing the roof of the building clean off and showering them with fragments of slate and timber, exploding after going through a couple more buildings. Reika blinked several times, before wincing as she got up onto her injured leg, 'Relocate! They know we're here!'

The front of the building disintegrated under fire from Duke Red's six-inch secondary gun turrets just as Maya ran out, three soldiers being thrown across the store like ragdolls. Reika ran back in as the shells continued to pound the building and surrounding area, checking each; picking up the young Elf Lytria and carrying her out as she shook her head sadly at the sight of the other two.

Reika arrived where the team had regrouped, an office area adjoining a group of warehouses, just in time to watch Kerrick grab Atlas by his jacket and lift him off the ground, scowling, 'Is THIS your torpedo boat, Atlas?!'

The young man struggled, 'But...They said it was incomplete!'

'You stupid fuck! That doesn't mean inoperable!'

Reika sighed, 'Leave him the fuck alone, it's not his fault.' A volley of tank rounds slammed into Duke Red below her waterline, the huge ship barely even registering the impact. Reika blinked as she glanced out, seeing what had been there all along, 'Shit! She's run aground on a sandbank, she won't sink!'

Another volley from her main guns smashed into the waterfront, the earth-shaking impacts blowing out all the windows facing the river and showering the inside of the room with broken glass, Reika's unit diving to the floor. As Reika opened her eyes, she found her hand on her photo of Rei, the little girl's eyes looking up at her hopefully. She gritted her teeth and stood, 'Where's the radio?'

'Here, sir!' Maya was kneeling on the floor, one eye closed, the fur around it dark with blood. Yurika glanced up, 'Oh my...Maya, let me take a look at that eye...'

Reika took the handset, 'This is SFAT forward unit, we are pinned down by enemy fire approximately...' she glanced out of the broken window, noting Duke Red's searchlights sweeping the area as she fired on the tanks again, 'Eight hundred yards due Southwest of the objective, request immediate fire support!'

The operator on the other end sounded a little taken aback, 'Control to forward unit, what is the status of enemy combatants in your AO?'

Reika glanced out the window again, wincing and shouting into the handset over a clap of thunder, 'They have a Railship!'

'Control to forward, repeat your last mess-'

Reika cut the operator off, 'I said a fucking Railship! Get me fire support!'

Sky Hammer Rapier, 45 miles Southwest of Lanfor City

'Confirmed fire support call and co-ordinates, sir, a Railship's been sighted on the Stein River.'

Gun Commander Harding nodded, sitting forward in her chair, 'Battle stations, begin firing sequence immediately.'

The sound of Rapier's rocket engines firing shattered the calm night, the huge machine turning the muzzle of her main gun to face her distant target. Plumes of smoke spread in front and behind as the rockets balanced each other's thrust...

'Fire!'

The forward rockets abruptly cut out an instant before the cannon fired, the immense muzzle flare sending a streak of white fire in the direction of Lanfor City, the truck-sized brass casing spinning end-over-end, eventually crashing to the ground in the middle of the field below.

Stein River, Lanfor City

Duke Red's point defence computer hopelessly threw a signal to the empty mounts on her flank in the fraction of a second before the Sky Hammer's shot struck her, the 28-ton round ploughing through her starboard secondary gun deck, finally exploding as it hit the armoured deck on her port side. A gigantic ball of fire rose from the Railship's side as it split open almost down to her keel, a second even larger explosion sounding out moments later as the reinforced roof of one of her magazines caved in. Reika watched out of the window as, with horrible slowness, the Railship's entire bridge tower slowly toppled forward onto her foredeck, crushing one secondary triple gun and splitting apart, the upper section landing on top of her 'B' turret.

Part of her wanted to cheer, but it didn't seem right at all. She slowing raised her hand to her forehead and saluted as the giant ship settled on the sandbank, burning fiercely. She remembered something her great-grandfather had recalled from his time in the military, as a Navy officer, and without really thinking repeated it.

'Don't cheer, boys, the poor devils are dying.'

Olympus Mall, East of the Stein River, Lanfor City

As Reika's unit moved quickly over the Callahan Bridge they watched a group of transport helicopters fly past beneath them, flying low enough their rotors kicked up swirling spray from the river. As they reached the shore they quickly climbed, turning over the roof of the Olympus Mall on the waterfront. On board, Atsuko Yamamoto checked herself in her mirror, the young Segonune making sure she'd applied enough boot polish to her fur to cover all the white patches that were visible.

'Showtime! Lock and load!' there was a brief chorus of mechanical sounds as her unit variously readied their weapons, Dawson keeping the heavy fifty calibre machine gun trained on the roof as they slowly descended. Atsuko jumped out first as she always did, quickly moving to the edge of the roof and looking down at Clark Boulevard, the road dotted with ruined tanks and shattered cars. She checked her binoculars as a flare climbed high into the air nearby and exploded, illuminating a couple of blocks as clear as day.

'Sniper teams, on me!' she hissed.

The view out over the city wasn't one she'd forget in a hurry, fires burning all across Lanfor, flashes of gunfire in the nearby streets and occasional explosions meaning even with the thick clouds it wasn't hard to see. Above all that could be seen of the air battle was engine flares and occasional flashes as missiles streaked into the night, every now and then planes spiralling out of the sky trailing orange flames to smash into the city below.

The Federal tanks were making slow progress up Clark Boulevard, the Mammoth in the lead simply crushing the makeshift barricades of cars and light vans the separatists had used to block the exit to the bridge. Smaller 1A2 Mammoths overtook it as it stopped in front of a line of burning trucks wedged under a railway flyover. A pair of Mammoths turned North, spearheading a group of mechanised infantry moving on Knight's Cross Station, patchy Resistance units soon moving with them. Atsuko's radio crackled, and she recognised the voice of the radio op from the lead tank.

'This is Mike Tango Six Seven to spotter unit two-six-three, do we have visual on any enemy Mammoth Tanks, repeat, do you have visual?'

Atsuko glanced across her unit as each shook their head, 'Negative, Mike Tango Six Seven, no joy.'

'This is Six Seven, will move ahead to junction with twenty-sixth street and await fire calls. Stay frosty, two-six-three. Six Seven out.'

Atsuko picked up her binoculars again, flicking her hair out of her eyes, 'They're out there somewhere.'

She ducked as a squadron of ground attack aircraft passed by with a shriek of jet engines, banking into Clark Boulevard, the skyscrapers either side offering them little escape from anti-aircraft fire if they encountered it. She crossed herself, whispering;

'Then they rode back, but not
Not the six hundred.'

Air Battleship Vione, over Pearl Boulevard

The patchy moonlight and frequent flashes of lightning meant Vione cast a gigantic shadow over the road below, flying low enough that the tips of her vast wings occasionally knocked water towers and ventilation inlets off the roofs of buildings. Tracers bounced uselessly off the sides of the Air Battleship as she moved slowly forward, trying to match pace with the tanks advancing beneath her.

The city below was little more than ruins in some places, and the initial rapid gains of the tank units were slowing down drastically as they encountered collapsed elevated railway tracks and whole streets blocked off by fallen buildings.

Finn Road, near Clarke Boulevard, engagement +5 hours 35 minutes

Elana almost fell off Karen's shoulder as the young serviceman quickly crouched behind a heap of rubble, the tiny Sprite yelping softly. Karen leant back to try to catch her breath, Elana sighing at how miserable and frightened she looked as another volley of tracers climbed high into the night sky from nearby. It was Elana's first time outside her home in the national gardens, and she'd be the first to admit that it would probably be the last, but she hadn't wanted Karen to go on her own.

Karen's squad was ducked behind rubble all along the road, machine gun bullets kicking up plumes of soaked dirt in the street ahead. The squad leader, a middle-aged Kitsune man named Hideo, moved to look over the upended skip he was hiding behind, yelping as a bullet clipped his ear. As Elana looked back at Karen she realised her friend was crying.

'I'm gonna die...' she sniffled.

Elana shook her head quickly, 'No you're not...Come on, please don't give up!' Karen looked up at her, almost managing a smile. Elana peeked out around the corner, hoping she was too small for the machine gun crew to see in the pouring rain. The street was lined with hollow shells of buildings, missing doors, windows...In some great gaping wounds that crossed several floors. Even though she'd known it would be terrible, the sheer scale of it, especially from her viewpoint, was utterly horrifying. She blinked a couple of times, looking around for the machine gun.

She didn't have to wait long; the muzzle flash coming from the window of the hotel facing them, though the sound was drowned out by another mighty clap of thunder that illuminated a somewhat bigger gun hidden in an archway next to the hotel, behind a low sandbag wall. She ducked back behind the wall, creeping back to Karen, 'It's in the window of the hotel with the caved-in roof, from the left three windows across and two up. And, there's, um, a bigger gun...' she trailed off, looking crestfallen as she realised she didn't know what any of these guns were actually called.

Hideo ran for the pile of rubble Karen was hiding behind as the skip began to buckle, the side it was lying on caving in with screech of metal. The machine gun caught him in the ankle and made him fall short, one of Karen's squadmates grabbing his hand and pulling him the rest of the way. Karen coughed, 'Um, sir?'

He winced, 'What is it, soldier?' the blood from his leg slowly traced the water's path across the street as the medic tended to him, heavy raindrops hammering against the awning above them.

Elana spoke up, 'Um, I saw the machine gun, at least I think that's what it was...'

He growled loudly as the bandage around his leg was tightened, 'Where?'

Elana steadied herself as the rain almost knocked her over, 'Um, the hotel with the caved-in roof...' she flicked her soaking wings a couple of times, 'Three windows across and two up, from the left.' She smiled as Karen put her hand over her to shield her from the rain, 'And, ah, a bigger gun in an archway nearby.'

Hideo scowled, 'How big is 'bigger?''

Elana tried to think of something that might actually be useful, 'Err, it was a pretty big gun with one long...um...part...about twice as long as you are tall, on, um, some kind of...Turny thing?' she trailed off, feeling ridiculous.

Hideo paused, 'An 88 flak...Hoping we'd send in APCs, probably.' He was interrupted as a group of Kitsune with dirt-streaked white fur moved quickly down the street, 'Marshall!'

'Square!' Madoka grinned, stopping short of the junction near an overturned jeep, 'Report!'

'We're pinned down by an MG in the hotel window and can't get a clear shot back!' Hideo hissed. 'Also sighted a possible flak 88 nearby!'

Madoka nodded, tapping Nanami, 'There was a fire escape stairwell in the alleyway back there, get inside and see if you can spot that MG. If you have a shot, take it!'

Nanami nodded, 'Gotcha, chief...' she shouldered her rifle, tapping one of the other snipers, 'You're my spotter then, Itsuko, follow me!'

Both Kitsune women moved quickly back down the road, past a wrecked tram lying on it's side. There was a long pause, then a single shot rang out, followed a few seconds later by a much, much louder one and the sound of falling masonry. Madoka blinked, sighing with relief as Nanami and Itsuko returned, Itsuko limping a little, 'Bastards took a shot at us with the 88...'

Madoka blinked, 'Shit, now they're given away their position there's no reason for them to hold fire...' she pointed forward, 'Move!'

Karen barely had time to scoop up Elana in her hands and start running before a second shot hit the rubble she'd been sheltering behind, showering the whole street with dirt and shrapnel. She stopped in the doorway over the road, setting Elana down before swaying and collapsing, a short length of steel rebar visible stuck right through her thigh.

Aimes Park, near Clark Boulevard, engagement + 14 hours

'...While we wait for some combat engineering to clear the way ahead we're pretty much stuck here.' Locke finished, before jumping down from the tank turret he'd been standing on. The tankers who weren't busy fixing damage to their tanks grumbled vaguely.

Alison glanced around; as a country girl the gigantic skyscrapers that surrounded the park were rather alien to her, since the tallest building she'd seen until her term of service had come around was the old windmill on the edge of one of the farms near her village. There were few that were undamaged, and the streets below were littered with huge fragments of broken glass. She stared up at a building bearing the Chiba Bank Corp logo, 'This must have been the financial district...'

She glanced down as she noticed a soldier walking past, 'Hey! Can you take a look at my running gear? It's sounding a little off.' She shook her head, seeing the soldier's confused expression, 'Look, just turn the release handle and pull, the whole panel hinges out.'

'Ok...' there was a short pause, 'What the fuck is this supposed to look like?' Alison shook her head.

'Never mind, I'll take a look myself...'

Locke was nearby, talking to one of the officers 'Have you got that Hack unit over our missing ammo run?' Most of the Hack units were on the East side of the city, but part of the original Hail taskforce were still with them.

'Leader says he doesn't give a wooden nickel about our run and wants to know where his ammo is.'

'Tell him his ammo can wait, he doesn't have a unit of fucking Sturmtigers sighted up ahead!'

Alison banged her head on the guidewheel above her as she tried to stand up too fast, wincing and rubbing it, 'Ooowwwwww...'

Cale's Drive-in Motel, East of the Stein River

Madoka yelped slightly as the chair she sat on collapsed, jumping back up again and sighing, 'Well, that was embarrassing...See if you can scrounge some tarps to cover the holes in the roof and then bed down here. Akira, go get us a couple of MGs from that reg unit ahead of us. Everyone else, take a rest.' She reached inside her jacket, 'Shiratori?'

Nanami turned, 'Sup, chief?'

'Got a letter from home for you, forgot to give it to you before. It's from your sister.'

Nanami smiled, 'Aww, I bet Keiko's just missing me.' She read through the letter, smiling a couple of times, 'She says hi to all of you.'

Madoka glanced over at the young service girl, Karen, lying on a stretcher nearby. They hadn't done anything about the length of rebar other than bandage around it, but it seemed she'd only fainted from the pain. Elana was still knelt on a chair nearby, alternating between praying and crying.

There was still fighting all around them and a long way to go before they reached the Imperial Palace.

*John Wayne.

North of the Line, Near Sep Arty Positions, 'Near' Side

Uyo was flat on the ground, her rifle tracking the Seps running around the nearest artillery battery. Her right hand wrapped securely around the handle of her rifle, the small plug in her palm connected to the gun, targeting information scrolling in her eye.

We're never gonna handle all of these by ourselves... you good to call coords on some of these, Ieyoshi?

The smaller Kitsune nodded, pulling out a set of modified binoculars, Sure. I'll call in on the middle ones. Stand by for Fusa and Futami.

Uyo nodded, watching as an ammo truck pulled up near the battery, unloading more rounds. Ieyoshi flicked a little switch on her binoculars, a wide powerful beam of UV light lancing out, highlighting the other batteries. She shifted her vision up into the ultraviolet range, following the light.


North of the Line, Near Sep Arty Positions, 'Far' Side

Futami and Fusayoshi carefully made their way through the night towards the far arty. Having a different suite of modifications from Ieyoshi and Uyo meant they had to be much more personal; it also meant they would probably only take out the one battery. The plan was to hit the ends simultaneously while Hack artillery took out much of the middle, allowing a single air strike to handle mop-up duty. Once that was done, the majority of their task would be complete.

Meanwhile, the fight on the line would just be starting.


Just South of the Line

Cpl. Sievert was proofreading what she feared would be her last letter home. Sealing up the envelope, she handed it to her superior so that it could be sent. It would be her last chance until after the engagement, and she didn't like her chances.

She had moved to GMC a few years ago, having grown sick of the rampant capitalism in the Hack. She figured that GMC was a worker's paradise, and hadn't even blinked at the compulsory military service. After all, GMC never went to war, so it wasn't a concern. She'd run around, do some training, and then be done with it and get free housing. A perfect plan.

And then a war happened.

Just to add insult to injury, she'd been sent to help the Hacker forces. Not only am I going to die, but I'll be doing it with the kists. She sighed, clearly God hated her. Not only was she stuck with the Hackers, but she didn't even have modern equipment. Clearly the Generals were getting desperate, dragging the old 'Boreals' out of moth balls.

The Boreal was an old two person tank from before the Hack was even the Hack. During the reign of the Socialist Commune of Mhu Thulan, there was plenty of fighting over Grafton's Isle, as both the Commune and GMC claimed it. There had been many skirmishes and outright wars during the years, and the Boreal was one of the vehicles used. All things considered, they weren't that bad of a vehicle, they were just very claustrophobic and slow. On the plus side, it was heavily armored and sported a nasty 105mm smooth bore cannon loaded with flechette rounds. It was built to be Hell on civilian uprisings, and would make meat of poorly armored seps.

Unless one of those Mk1's get a bead on me, then I'm lunchmeat she thought darkly.


North of the Line, Near Sep Arty Positions, 'Far' Side

Stevenson tossed his cigarette on the ground, the last of the smoke lazily trailing out of his nose as he stepped on the butt. Out of the corner of his eye, he thought he saw movement. Spinning around and raising his rifle he had just enough time to notice Fusayoshi's fist before it crashed into his face, shattering his nose and snapping his head back. Just before his neck buckled from the impact he wondered why he'd signed up.

Fusayoshi shook his head sadly; he didn't enjoy needless killing, but tried not to think about it. "Easier to just do the job," he muttered softly before continuing his way to the howitzer.


North of the Line, Near Sep Arty Positions, 'Near' Side

Ieyoshi sighed softly, briefly offer a prayer as she saw the three quick flashes of light from a UV flashlight. She triggered her internal communications with Uyo, Fusa's ready, go ahead.

As Ieyoshi started calling in coordinates through her headset, Uyo fired her first shot, hitting the driver of one of the ammo trucks. The truck veered wildly before slamming into one of the howitzers, bursting into flames. As the seps tried to get away, Uyo cut them down, keeping the fire from being put out. By the time the explosives planted by Fusayoshi went off, the ammo in the truck exploded. She took aim at the next howitzer in the battery as Hacker artillery started to rain down on the middle batteries.

Ieyoshi brushed a couple tears away, wondering how she was helping to make the world a better place as she continued to call in coordinates.


Fusayoshi's Apartment; the Hack
Just under 10 years ago

Ieyoshi smiled, giving Fusayoshi a hug, "Kiemon! Where have you been?"

He smiled, picking her up in a massive bear hug, "Oh, well... a bit of this, a bit of that. How's life been, Setsuko?"

"Pretty good. Thinking about leaving the service, actually."

He blinked in surprise, "But... why? I thought you were going to do some medtech stuff..."

She sighed, following her childhood friend into the apartment, accepting a beer and taking a long drink from it, "Don't see the point, really... and I don't much care for shooting things."

Fusayoshi sighed, sitting next to her and putting his arm around her, "Setsuko... please, reconsider. I've got an offer for you."

"Oh?"

"Yeah... you familiar with Section 4? No? Hm. They're like the secretive cousin of Sec 3." He shrugged, "Anyway, they're looking to integrate some of the new cybernetics and they need another volunteer. I'd like you to join."

She blinked, "Me? Why?"

"I want someone I can trust to be there with me. And someone who isn't in desperate straits. The other team members are good people, but they need this. You and I don't; we'd be a balancing force. Keep the sanity levels up." He gave her a hug, "Besides, don't you want to make the world a better place? How better to help than to do the things nobody wants to, or can do?"


The Line
+152 Hours

Captain Riggleman smiled inwardly as she accepted the surrender of the forces that were holding the line. She was drained physically and emotionally, but her forces had done their part. She only wished that this was the final battle as she was not looking forward to street to street combat. It would require realigning of their forces, for one. But more importantly, the moderate casualties suffered here would probably be nothing to the slow push through the city to meet up with the GMC forces.

After turning over the seps to the MPs, she went back to the medical tent, watching the injured being taken out. She kneeled beside a stretcher, the soldier on it bandaged pretty heavily on her arm and chest. "What's your name soldier?"

"Cpl. Sievert, sir." She winced in pain, breathing was more than a little difficult.

"You did a good job, corporal... thank you. You saved our asses there. I'm putting you in for a medal."

Sievert managed a weak smile, "No offense sir, but I'd rather be back home."

Riggleman laughed a little, patting Sievert's uninjured shoulder, "Me too, Corporal. Me too."


Point K

Lanes groaned as he came to, trying to get his bearings. He was covered in rubble, and pushed the shattered walls and shelves off of himself, looking around the darkened gloom. Looking over himself, he winced as he noticed his mangled left leg, only able to laugh darkly, "Right arm, left leg... what's next?"

He looked over the destroyed wall of the shop he was laying in, and started crawling towards the medical tent. Luckily, everyone hadn't pulled out yet.

I am here alone again
In my sweet serenity
Hoping you will never find me in any place
I will call it solitude when all my songs fade in vain
Fly my voice, far away to eternity
~ 'The World,' .Hack//SIGN

Knight's Cross Train Station, 5:30pm, engagement + 15 hours 35 minutes

The scout, a young male Kitsune, raised his hand, waving Lieutenant Foster forward, the middle-aged woman quickly crossing the road. 'Report!' she hissed.

'Two 88s either side of the car park and MG nests in the signal box and entryway, at least. I count thirty infantry in the windows with rifles, probably more.' He pointed, 'And a tank somewhere over there, I can hear it idling but can't see it.'

The human woman ducked slightly as a massive clap of thunder reverberated across the city, a searchlight from the train station slowly panning across their position, highlighting the pouring rain in its beam. Foster gestured for Sergeant Carter to come over, the serviceman hesitantly ducking between heaps of rubble and craters, a humourless grimace on his face as he got to her, 'Christ, and I thought doing that in videogames wasn't fun...'

Foster glanced around the side of the overturned double-decker bus they were hiding behind, 'Are there any IFVs back there?'

'Pair of Rattlesnakes just down the block waiting for a SITREP, like the rest of the armour.'

'Tell them two 88s in the parking lot and at least one tank and thirty infantry.'

Carter blinked several times, 'That doesn't sound right.'

Foster nodded, 'Advise there's probably a lot we can't see, see if there's an AWAC watching this sector that can give us a better picture of what's down here.'

Carter ran back, the scout, Private Hibiki, raising his binoculars to the soaked fur around his eyes again, 'There's got to be more...Should be at least a battalion in a station that size, and there's plenty of room to engage our tanks in that car park...'

It was an awfully large empty space to cross, too, only bushes and the odd car for cover, bent lamp posts rising above, almost none still working. Foster paused, her platoon now gathered around the wrecked bus, 'Ok, I want Charlie Company up here, where's Major Yamamato?'

'He's down with second platoon, Sir!'

Foster winced, 'Shit...Ok, Nicholson, get down to him and tell him we have not less than two 88s in the car park and I want the whole company to move with me, request he bring mortars along for the ride.' A clap of thunder suddenly illuminated the stark form in the middle of the car park, Foster's eyes widening, 'Oh my God...'

The Grand Tiger rose high above the cars and the line of the hedges, the massive supertank a relic of the war on Grafton's four generations before. Its two 14-inch main cannons tracked slowly as it panned the sensor set crudely welded to its turret front across the car park.

Foster shuffled back from the edge of the bus to Hibiki, 'Any idea what the hell a Grand Tiger is armed with?'

Hammond, the young tank crewman with them, slipped her .38 revolver back into its holster and tapped her, 'Two fourteen L-fifty-fives, a four-barrel light AA flak on the roof and MGs on the turret and a double set on the hull front.' She smiled sheepishly despite the conditions, 'Dad got me a model of one for my thirteenth...'

Foster sighed, 'No fucking way I can deal with that without armour, but we can't bring light armour up here without killing the 88s...Fuck, catch twenty-two.'

Yamamato hopped over one pile of rubble, the rest of the company crouching behind cover in the same area, 'Report!'

Foster saluted, 'Sir, situation's changed, we've just sighted a Grand Tiger in the middle of the parking lot...Must be why their armour's hanging back.'

The Neko rubbed his chin thoughtfully, 'You have to take out those two 88s before Thorne will move his IFVs into the lot, that's a given...Quietly, it would seem. Third platoon will hold back here and provide fire support, as will they...' a couple of self-propelled guns drove up the far side of the road, the loading crews ducked behind the gunshields, as much to shelter from the rain as for protection.

Foster grinned as the two vehicles turned to face the parking lot and readied their guns, 'That evens things out a little...'

Yamamato nodded, 'First platoon will head around to the right and engage the first gun, disabling the crew is enough, second platoon will circle around the line of parked coaches and engage the left gun. Set up a base of fire left of the Greater Chiba Touring coach there to cover your retreat. I'll get word back down to Thorne to get his cowardly ass up here to move in as soon as both guns are down. Justman, any luck raising air support?'

The radio operator shook his head, 'No joy, there's a fucking jammer in the station, it's patchy as hell.'

Yamamato shook his head, 'Fucking perfect, the one time I actually need some dumbass flyboy I can't reach one.'

Foster ducked low behind the line of cars as she led her platoon into the car park, trying to ignore the rattles of machine-guns and occasional explosions all across Lanfor now. She left her machine gun team sheltering beside an SUV, the rest of her platoon stopping near the embankment on the far right of the car park. 'Right, Hibiki, you stay here and keep your eyes open, if you hear that Tiger fire don't bother waiting up, just fall the fuck back.'

Hibiki nodded, folding his rifle's bipod down and pausing, 'MG in front, envelop to the right...'

Foster nodded. A few minutes later, barely visible through the sheets of rain and the water running down his sight, the first shots were fired ahead, the brief firefight ending with a grenade explosion. There was a pause, then Nicholson became visible in the rain, waving Hibiki and the MG crews forward. As he came to the 88 he immediately spotted the two surviving crewmen kneeling backed up against the hedge with their hands above their heads, rifles pointed at them. Foster pulled Gregson over, 'Take these two back to Yamamato and see if they know what's in the station, tell them we're holding position around the 88, the Tiger hasn't spotted us yet.'

As Gregson escorted the two crewmen back out of the car park the MG teams arrived, Underwood ducking next to Foster, 'What are we doing now, sir?'

Foster paused, 'Radio back for suppressing fire on the Tiger, we'll move past it to the next parking area and make sure there's nothing nasty waiting there.' A volley of rifle shots from the station sounded out, Foster ducking instinctively before looking up, 'They're firing at second platoon, must have spotted them...' There was a wail of shells passing overhead and a pair of explosions tore out several windows in the front of the station. The Tiger's engine growled into life as it started to move.

Foster shook her head, 'This...Is very bad.' Shells from the two self-propelled guns smashed into the front of the Grand Tiger as it moved, leaving ragged flame-edged holes in its frontal armour as it returned fire, the deafening sound of one of the buildings in the street collapsing filling the air. Foster blinked, 'Holy shit...Gregson...'

Hibiki tapped her shoulder, 'Lieutenant, more tank engines ahead!' Foster looked up as the lead tank swung around, her whole platoon briefly lit up by the headlights. 'Oh shit...Fall back!'

Knight's Cross Train Station, engagement + 16 hours 27 minutes

Foster hauled herself up against the fence, blood streaming from a long cut just below her hairline, and tried to reach across to her weapon. She was unable to stifle a scream as she was presented with the ragged thing that had been her forearm, bare muscle and exposed bone where her hand should have been. She winced in pain, 'Report!'

No answer. Most of them hadn't made it, Nicholson the only one she could make out, the sixteen-year-old hiding in the ticket booth a few yards away, her blonde hair matted with blood and one cheek stained with it. She started as Foster staggered over, but couldn't do anything with no weapon to raise, managing a weak 'Don't kill me...' before she recognised her Lieutenant.

Foster leaned against the outside of the booth, sliding slowly down it as her legs gave out, 'What the hell is going on, Amy?'

Nicholson looked up with her one remaining eye, surprised Foster had used her first name, 'Um...I-I don't know...A lot of tanks came in, and, um, th-then there was a lot of shooting...' she sniffled, 'I wanna go home...'

Without really thinking, Foster nodded, 'Me too.' She hauled herself back up again, her head throbbing painfully, 'But we won't get home if we don't find the rest of first platoon, so come on...' she offered her remaining hand, her voice softening a little, 'Please, don't give up...' she blinked as she hauled Nicholson to her feet. 'That's the Tiger's engine...It's still moving?'

Nicholson nodded, 'It backed up out of the street and reversed into the station building about ten minutes ago...'

'To protect it from artillery and aircraft, I guess...Not our problem, anyway.' She drew in a deep breath, a surprisingly painful action, and called out for a medic.

Steps of Knight's Cross Train Station

The Pit Viper didn't slow down as it hit the steps; the tank destroyer pushed the burning APC out of the way, Manheim's platoon ducking aside as it slid down the steps. The Grand Tiger's shell tore straight through the Federal tank, a badly-set fuse meaning it exploded in the air over the middle of the car park, spraying the cars with shrapnel. The ruined Pit Viper coasted to a halt just inside the station.

Yamamato scowled at Manheim, 'You let a fucking Grand Tiger get inside the station?'

'I didn't let it, sir...You want me to go inside and ask it to come back out?' Manheim shook his head, 'It's fucking hopeless, that thing'll hold us off until it runs out of ammo.'

Yamamato nodded, the Neko man nursing his broken wrist, 'Get on to Echo company, I need them to envelop to the right, tell them what's left of my company will go left and outflank that son of a bitch.'

The sensor set on the Grand Tiger's turret abruptly rotated to face them, machine gun fire slamming into the pillars of the station's main doorway. Manheim ducked back, 'Perfect! Now it starts working?!'

There was a sound of cracking pavement as something huge pulled into the parking lot; in length, at least, even bigger than a Mammoth. It seemed to be a tank chassis almost a hundred feet long without the gun, with no turret and a single massive cannon mounted on the front of the hull, supported by cables secured to rings around the barrel and a frame underneath. Two huge concrete counterweights hung from the rear of the hull, and as lightning lit the car park again Manheim could see it had two rows of tracks on either side. The left side of the hull bore an extensive set of campaign marks and painted citations, with artwork on the right side next to a large '35.'

Yamamato scowled, running over and pulling the telephone from the box on the Death Adder's rear armour plate, 'This is Major Jin Yamamato, do not fire unless you see Echo company falling back, we need the station intact if there is any option.'

'This is Tower, ten-four.'

Grand Tiger tank, inside Knight's Cross Station

Morris blinked as he raised his head from peering into the thermal sighting gear, 'Boss, got you something you'll want to take a look at...'

Fieldman pulled the commander's sight down from above her, blinking herself, 'Good God...What the hell is that?'

Morris frowned, 'Unless they've built something else that uses the three-oh-five L-eighty-five, it's a Death Adder.'

Fieldman shivered; she'd seen them on Wavell Gunnery Range shooting through racks of dozens of steel plates as part of some research program or other during her term of service, and knew only too well that the Tiger would offer her little protection. On the other hand...

'It's a bluff, it has to be. They know our ammo would go up and bring half this station down if they fired that thing at us...' she crossed herself, At least I hope they do.

Outside the station

Foster made her way back across the station car park, having dropped Nicholson off at the aid station and politely told the medic to bandage her arm and then let her go back, ignoring his protests that she needed to stay. She blinked as she recognised Hammond lying on the ground near a car, running over, 'Gemma?'

The young woman glanced up, her good looks spoiled by a ragged hole in her cheek, through which, Foster realised with a sick feeling, you could see her teeth. She covered it with her hand, blood running from her mouth as she spoke, 'P-please don't leave me here...'

Foster put her right arm around her shoulder, looking for a Syrette of morphine in her jacket and shouting for a medic, trying to slide the needle in slowly despite her shaking hand.

A figure appeared in the rain, shouting 'Marshall!' Foster waved her remaining hand, 'Square!'

The medic glanced at Foster's bandaged forearm that stopped at the wrist, Foster shaking her head quickly, 'She's the casualty, I've given her one Syrette. Where's Yamamato?'

'He's up by the station last I heard...Listen, were you just down at the CP?'

Foster nodded, 'Overheard something about our optics being delayed because they didn't think we'd take this much ground this fast, lack of supply trucks...There was a lot of shouting just as I was leaving.'

West of the main station building

Yamamato shook his head as he handed the radio back, gesturing his soldiers forward, 'Listen up! Just got word down from Battalion CP that elements of the Sixth Guards Armoured Division have cut the road West of the Callahan Bridge, we're advised that all supply runs are suspended until further notice. Lieutenant-Colonel Scott said he's trying to get us an airdrop, though I doubt he'll have much luck in this weather, and advised me that I should suspend action against this target unless I'm sure we can take it.'

He grinned, 'Well, I told him I've got the best goddamn soldiers in this whole city and I'd give him his station bang on time.' There was a ragged cheer, Yamamato nodding, 'I'm pulling armour forward to support this, so give me everything you've got. We can do this shit.'

A pair of artillerymen carrying a cable drum between them ran to the cover of a nearby wall, quickly wiring up a telephone to it. 'Ready, sir.'

Yamamato scowled as he looked through his binoculars, 'Wish we at least had some fucking night optics and thermal sights...' He blinked as Foster ran over, 'You get the fuck back to the aid station, soldier.'

Foster shook her head, 'With respect, sir, I can still do my job like this...'

Yamamato paused, then nodded, 'Oh, fuck it...Get back to your unit. First engine shed on the left and clear them out one at a time clockwise around the yard...There's something in that shed right ahead across the yard, get a shot from the Death Adder into it.'

There was a pause, Foster watching as the muzzle flash of the Death Adder spread in a gigantic star from its muzzle brake, blowing out the windows of the cars nearby. The bullet made a loud wail as it passed over them, smashing into the front of the engine shed and folding the whole wall in half as it passed through, the roof pitching forward.

Foster shouted for her platoon to follow her just as the shell exploded at the back of the shed, throwing the far end of the roof into the air so violently that the entire roof flipped over and landed upside-down in the yard. The burning ruin of the shed folded up on itself, a tank coasting into the yard trailing flames, eventually dropping over the edge of the platform and stopping.

There was a brief silence, then the whole yard was lit up by tracers and tank fire, Separatist tanks pulling out of the engine sheds they'd been hidden in and towed guns opening fire. Foster held her revolver tightly in her remaining hand as she came to the first structure, a set of offices, kicking the door down and stepping aside as two soldiers with OCAWs and one with a light machine gun moved in ahead of her. The sound of gunfire and the stench of blood and cordite filled the air inside, windows exploding outwards as the Federal soldiers tossed grenades into the rooms ahead of them.

Foster headed forward as someone ahead called 'Clear!' She ducked down by the door, glancing at the nearest shed.

'Do we have a sharpshooter left?' she pointed at the machine gun set up behind a stack of sandbags, one of the soldiers in her squad grinning, 'Don't need one, sir...'

She and a couple of others crept forward out of the door, hiding behind a stack of crates, then standing together and throwing grenades before ducking back down, the machine gun nest disintegrating. The woman who'd stood first, First Sergeant Bailey, gestured her squad forward, 'Go! Go!'

AWAC Magician Two-Zero, over Lanfor City, engagement + 18 hours

Altman cleared his throat and took another slip of water as the report from the Death Adder came in, 'This is Tower. Request permission to move ahead into the yard and engage enemy Tangos with my twenty-five, over.'

'This is Magician Two-Zero to Tower, request denied, you are not to move beyond the line of the main tracks leading into the station, your tracks will render the rails unusable. Copy this message.'

The man on the other end was obviously scowling, 'Copy that message, Two-Zero.'

Knight's Cross Station, engagement + 25 hours 44 minutes

Foster ducked back behind the water tank they were hiding behind, more from the hail than anything the separatists were doing, 'This weather is fucking obscene.' She glanced back at the huge Death Adder, parked as close to the rails as the driver possibly could, occasionally firing bursts from its chaingun into the darkness ahead.

She glanced back at Yamamato, 'Can't they see the Tiger from there?'

Yamamato blinked, 'No...But if they went up onto the platform they'd have a shot. Radio!' he took the offered set, 'This is Yamamato, I'm with Charlie Company, I need you to make me some noise around the front like you're going in. Don't argue with me, just find a fucking way!'

He handed the handset back. 'Four MGs between there and here, we'll try to give covering fire. I need a volunteer.'

Foster stood, 'I'll go.'

Yamamato scowled, 'You got a death wish, soldier?'

Foster grinned painfully, 'It looks that way, yes.'

Yamamato shook his head, 'The rest of you, suppressing fire!'

And then she ran.

Grand Tiger tank, inside Knight's Cross Station

Fieldman watched the remains of the vehicle that had just tried to pass through the main entrance coast to a halt, blinking, 'That was no tank, just a damn SUV...What the hell are they playing at?'

Morris blinked, 'Heat source at two o'clock!'

There was a rumble as part of the station's wall collapsed, cracks spreading across the platform as the Death Adder crushed the edge of it. The Tiger's turret had barely turned halfway to it when it fired, the massive shell passing clean through the turret ring and through the station wall behind it, a water tower in the yard collapsing as it finally hit the ground. The Tiger's turret stayed as it was, Yamamato's unit cheering as the message came in, 'This is Tower, that's a clean mission kill on your Tiger, request cleanup.'

Knight's Cross Station

Yamamato watched as the two soldiers cracked the Grand Tiger's hatch open, one blinking, 'Jesus Christ, medic!'

The woman in the Commander's chair was clutching her chest with both hands, her sleeves and trousers dark with blood and her hands covered in it, the rest of the crew around her doing their best to keep her calm. Morris looked up, 'We need to get her out of here!'

Spooky glanced down, the Kitsune shaking his head, 'No you don', boy, not like that...' he glanced down at Yamamato, 'Need us some cuttin' gear up here, sir, we gon' have to take part a' the roof off...' he jumped down inside the tank, ignoring the rest of the crew. 'Now, you gon' be fine, just stay calm. Bandages, you got any bandages?'

Morris stared at him with a mixture of shock and distaste, 'Why the fuck do you care so much about an enemy tank commander?'

Spooky grinned humourlessly, ''Cos I ain't you, boy.'

Second East Sector Separatist Command Post, Old Station Bank building, engagement + 25 hours 2 minutes

Brigadier Ulysses Morse slammed his fist on the table, 'So you're just going to let a column of subhuman scum march right the fuck in there and take the Palace?' He was a proud-looking young man, dressed in a soaking tank commander's uniform with his leather trenchcoat hanging over one shoulder.

Mills scowled, 'You're out of line, Morse.'

Morse shook his head, 'If you don't give to ok to detonate those charges you're as much a damned traitor as that bastard Kynes!'

Mills sighed as he looked out of the window at the fire and explosions, 'Go, then. Tear the whole fucking city down if that's what you think it takes, but I won't be held responsible for your unit anymore. I know you and the Hundred Fourth killed humans too in your purges, you sick fuck.'

Morse grinned, 'Well, we'll see who they build statues to once all this is over, shall we?'

Mills sighed, looking up at the skyscrapers further down Clark Boulevard, focusing on the glittering form of Abbot Tower, and shook his head, 'May our children forgive us...'

Olympus Mall, Engagement + 26 hours

Atsuko looked down at the battle on the other side of the river, before shaking her head and looking back to the East side where she could actually make a difference, spotting an awkward four-legged machine walking slowly down one of the narrower roads. A cable trailed back down several blocks to a Mark 7 Mammoth Tank parked in a children's playpark, with a large cable drum welded to its side.

She reached for her radio, 'This is spotter unit to Delta Company of Seventh Battalion, be advised there is an Extor one block Northeast of your position on Fifth Street with a Seven-Ay-One three blocks East of it.'

'Copy that. Do you have a shot at the cable?'

Atsuko smiled, 'Yes, yes I do.'

She locked the bolt of her sniper rifle back, pulling the two clips out of the internal magazine and then easing the single bullet from her pocket back inside in their place, before returning the bolt forward, muttering 'Damn shame, I liked this rifle...'

The rifle kicked violently against her shoulder as she fired, the bullet's rocket engine gutting her gun's delicate rifling and scoring a trail through the air, striking the armoured cable and snapping it cleanly as Atsuko rubbed her shoulder, 'Oooowww...'

She wasn't too surprised that her rifle's bolt wouldn't move when she tried it, and laid it down on the ground. She picked up the radio set again, 'Be advised your Extor has no control cable, Delta.'

'Meaning it's disabled?'

'Negative, it's in automatic mode. It'll fire at anything that moves now!'

Mammoth Tank Mike Tango Six-Three, Second Land Warfare Battlegroup, Clark Boulevard

Erikson sighed as she received the call from the other side of the river, 'Yes, this is Brigadier Stephanie Erikson, is this more bad news, sir?'

On the monitor, General Hoshino nodded, 'Yes, I'm afraid. It's tough going over here, it looks like a significant part of their total mobile armour was waiting for you to cross the bridge. It'll be some time before we can resupply you, can you hold position until then?'

Erikson shook her head, 'Not here, I'm getting low on everything and I have armour around here that's running on vapour. I can either push ahead three blocks to Wilkinson Park or hand them back three quarters of a mile of Clark Boulevard on a plate and regroup in the carpark of the Anderson Shopping Centre.'

Minato nodded, 'Proceed at your discretion, I'll send the Air Destroyer Leopard to support you.'

'Thank you, sir. Out.' She glanced over at the huge Death Adder Judgement advancing with her, tracers from its chaingun darting down the street towards the nearest separatist gun crew.

SFAT Pathfinder No. 54, East of the main column on Clark Boulevard, engagement + 26 hours 13 minutes

The four Kitsune crept forward carefully to the alleyway behind the coffee shop, Sato gesturing them forward as she kicked the door open, pointing her shotgun into the darkness beyond. Darkness wasn't much of a problem for her at the best of times, but still, she had her night goggles down, and quickly picked out a young woman hiding behind an overturned table. She raised her gun, hissing 'Marshall!'

The girl looked up, glancing around, 'Square?'

Sato smiled, lowering her rifle and making her way over to the young soldier half-crouched, 'They said a few of you Hundred Seventh regs had got lost ahead of the main column...You don't look scared.'

She smiled humourlessly, 'You're fucking kidding, right? Cassie Wallace, I'm an art student with the Hundred Seventh.' As Sato got close she noticed that while her voice was clear and level, she was shivering with fear, holding a rifle with the whole trigger group hanging from the frame. 'I'm seventeen years old, I don't know how to fix this and I want to go back to my girlfriends in Marshall City...' she sniffled softly.

'Yeah, you're a long way from home, then...Where is it?'

'Right around the corner there...I've never seen tanks like those before...'

Sato frowned, 'I'll be right back...Ito, on me...Takahashi, Nakamura, stay here with her.'

She hopped over the broken front window, quickly making her way along the road before ducking inside the office on the corner, gesturing for Ito to cover the door as she looked out the window.

She was immediately greeted by the sight of an assault gun, painted black with grey lines drawn parallel to its outline around each major part of it. On the sideskirt was a large silver-grey skull-and-crossbones marking. She glanced along the street, several stranger-looking tanks with the same colour scheme lined up behind.

The one in front was the one that most concerned her, the wide stub-barrel with its heavy counterweight meaning it could only really be one thing.

'Must have been the one she was talking about...She's a Sturmtiger, alright...' Sato waved Ito over, 'Jagdtiger Sevens there and there, Cobra there and a King Cobra further down...It's the Hundred Fourth Arm Cav, has to be...'

She turned away just as the nearest tank's engine started, 'Ok, let's get our art student back to her unit and report. On me, Ito.'

Separatist fighter aircraft 'Black Knight One-Three,' over Lanfor City

Dalton cried out in pain as a volley from the ground tore through the side of his cockpit, clutching his side and being met with a large, wet hole where his waist should have been, his fingers tracing a single exposed rib.

He gritted his teeth as he banked around Mason Tower, an Air Destroyer filling the sky in front of his aircraft, and pulled his bloody hand from his side. He wrenched his fighter around sharply and pushed the throttle to full, leaving a last hoarse, laboured message to the rest of his squadron.

'I'll get one even if it's suicide!'

Air Destroyer Leopard, Clark Boulevard

Feb blinked as her antiaircraft guns whirled around, the heavy shells tearing the wing off the separatist aircraft and shredding its left engine, jerking it around in a painfully tight turn that ended as it exploded against the roof of one of the nearby buildings. 'Dear God...He wasn't going to turn away. Not sure if I could stand up to a direct hit from a whole plane...'

She flicked over to the radio, 'This is Air Destroyer Leopard to AWAC Magician Two-Zero, advise you that I am dropping into Clark Boulevard and maintaining minimum altitude to avoid hostile enemy aircraft.'

'Magician Two-Zero, ten-four.'

I know mommy’s not here right now and we don’t know why
We feel how we feel inside
It may seem a little crazy, pretty baby
But I promise, Mama’s gon' be alright

~Eminem, 'Mockingbird'

James F. Grey Tower, Clark Boulevard, 2 miles East of Callahan Bridge, engagement +27 hours 2 minutes

Emiko Watanabe held Nari tightly in her arms as the little seven-year old flinched at another explosion, smiling gently at her little sister, 'It's ok, nobody's going to shoot at us up here...'

She wished she could believe it herself, but it was important not to frighten Nari or her ten-year-old sister Hisako any more than they already were. Rika, being only two years younger than Emiko herself at fifteen, didn't believe it, but was at least responsible enough not to say so.

Her youngest sister, Anri, was just three, a Neko like all of her other sisters except the Segonune, Nari. She was far too young to understand what was going on, or even to be afraid of it. She'd always loved fireworks, and in this flat, high up the tower, it was impossible to see that people were dying in the streets below, only the tanks moving and the explosions and gunfire.

As a explosion sounded out across the road, Emiko glanced up at Anri, gazing out of the broken window, her face occasionally lit by flares or gunfire, 'Come down from there, it's not safe...'

They'd been sheltering in the old flat for what felt like months, since they'd been bundled into the house by the landlady, a kindly old woman named Rachel, ahead of a separatist patrol looking for 'subhumans.' She'd looked after them in terms of food, water and heat as best she could, but it had largely fallen to Emiko to play mother to her four sisters, and shut out her own fear for her family who she hadn't seen or heard of since that night.

She sighed as Anri ignored her, checking the dressing on Hisako's arm again. She'd fallen asleep too close to the little stove that was all they had for heat and burned herself, and Emiko'd had to beg Rachel to steal her some antibiotics from the hospital after it had gone septic. She seemed to be getting better now, though it was still nasty to look at and Emiko would give anything just to have a real doctor treat it.

Rachel hadn't been back in a couple of days, and Emiko and her sisters were starting to get hungry when all this started. When the window had been blown out Emiko had swept up the glass and dropped it into the sink, and since then she'd spent most of her time hugging her sisters under the blanket Rachel had found for them a few weeks before. Only Anri wasn't scared by it all, watching wide-eyed in wonder at the flames and explosions.

Anri purred softly as she watched; she'd always loved to watch the fireworks and bonfires on the many holidays celebrating the liberation of Grafton's Isle at various times. She loved to make firecrackers with her mother and blow up tin cans and bottles, enthusiastically shouting 'bang!' as they went off.

What she was watching now was the most awesome display of firepower she'd ever seen in her life. The only thing that really bothered her was why, unlike all the other times, her sisters weren't laughing and smiling as they watched as she was.

She blinked a few times as she peered over the window ledge, careful of the broken glass and mewling a little as the hail drummed against her fur, seeing a huge shape moving below. Resplendent in white and green arctic camouflage, the Air Destroyer covered almost five hundred feet of Clark Boulevard, her forty-five foot rotodome the part nearest Anri. The little Neko blinked and pointed, brightly saying 'Mushroom?' to her sister.

Emiko picked up Nari and wrapped another dressing gown around herself, this one being her third. She walked carefully over to Anri, pulling her back over the window ledge sharply, 'It's dangerous to lean out that far, Anri!'

Anri sniffled, 'Aww...'

Emiko paused, briefly looking down into the street below, at the fires and the tracers darting back and forth, the tanks moving East pushing relentlessly forward. The Air Destroyer's gunfire was almost painfully loud, the staccato whip-cracks of the chainguns on her underside mixing with the rattle of her upper surface antiaircraft guns. Nari sniffled, 'Are those the nice people or the bad people?'

Emiko smiled and held her a little more tightly, 'It's the nice people...They're coming to take us back home.' She nodded to herself, Yes, moms and dad are safe.

She was interrupted by a deafening explosion, a bright orange fireball blossoming from the underside of Leopard's rotodome as it abruptly stopped turning, swaying slightly before, with a screech of buckling metal, one side suddenly dropped and it slid from its mounting. It fell only a short distance before contacting the flat VLS array on the Air Destroyer's starboard side, the edge of the rotodome disintegrating as detonating missiles sent huge pillars of fire into the air above her, the VLS channelling the blasts upward just as it was designed to. Shrapnel tore into the face of the glass-fronted skyscraper beside Leopard, huge sheets of razor-edged glass crashing into the street below as the Air Destroyer listed slightly.

The rotodome slowly toppled over, dropping off the back of the projection housing the ruined VLS and taking the diagonal fin on the hull behind with it to the ground, where it broke apart against the road. Leopard flew on, trailing a faint wisp of flame from the twisted remains of the rotodome support and a great line of smoke and fire from her ruined starboard VLS.

Nari looked shocked, but Anri was still purring as she watched, 'Wow...'

Emiko sighed, taking Nari back to the corner and spreading the sheet back over her. Someday, Anri would understand what she'd seen that night, but for tonight the tiny Neko would simply watch in wonder at the surreal beauty of it.

International Space Station, Earth Orbit

Carol Beattie floated in her cramped quarters, watching the news feed from Kitsune News, an upstart news channel broadcasting from Tindalos. While she was far away from the killing in Grafton's Isle, she still felt horrible about it, and wondered how her sister was dealing with it. The news channels would often hound Alysa, trying to get a statement from her, even though she was just a programmer. As far as they were concerned, any member of the Oligarchy was fair game, involved in the war or not, and since Alysa was a very public figure, she was bothered a lot. Not as much as Elisa, naturally, but still more than there was any reason for. Carol idly wondered if it was because Alysa and Elisa's names were so similar. Needless to say, Carol didn't have a very high opinion of the press.

She glanced at the photo of Alysa taped to her wall and sighed sadly. They hadn't seen each other in years, and never much even before then. When she was younger, her father had worked hard and sent her to the best boarding school in Chiba, hoping to give her the very best opportunities. When Alysa had been born, her parents had been caught quite off guard. They couldn't afford to send Alysa to the same school, so she'd gone through the public school system. Thus, the two sisters only saw each other on holidays; they had never been very close. Sis is so talented, and I'm just a pissy astronaut. She sighed again and went back to work. Must be getting old if I'm pining for family I never knew...

She pushed off against the nearest wall and floated over to her terminal, pulling up her file and taking a look at when her tour in space was going to end. Pretty soon, it seemed. She fiddled around a little, turning down the offer to stay up for another term; she was ready to go home.


Outside Saint Luke's Airfield, Grafton's Isle

Uyo scaled back her eyes to normal, no longer using their zooming function. She turned to Fusayoshi and frowned, "They're dug in up in the control tower. Snipers, gun nests... looks like they even hoisted up some light anti-tank equipment. We're gonna have to drop that thing before the force can move in."

Fusayoshi nodded, bringing his rifle to his shoulder and surveying the area with his scope, "That's why we're here." The two Kitsune were at the limits of their rifles' ranges, to the southwest of the airfield. There wasn't much cover, but being so far away provided them with enough cover. "Okay, I think Futami's ready to lead the team in... get ready to be a distraction." He picked up a small ultraviolet flashlight and gave a few flashes towards where Futami and her team were hiding near the terminal. Ieyoshi saw the flashes and nodded before pointing to Futami, You're on.


South Eastern section of Lanfor, Forward Sweepers, +2 hours

Sgt. Frank 'Crispy' Crispin checked over his OCAW once again as he stood outside the tenement building. It had become a habit before his team stormed a building, this street-by-street gig was frightfully dangerous, but they had to do it. A squad of Boreals was rumbling up the street a few blocks down, but they were under orders to minimize property damage, which meant teams snuffing out pockets of Seps and snipers, one building at a time. He had no need to check his gun before every building, but he'd done it the first time, and in situations like this superstitions grew quickly. He pointed to Hitchens and shouldered his gun.

The hydraulic ram smashed into the doors, flinging them open and almost breaking them off their hinges. Crispy slipped inside, sweeping his gun back and forth, looking for anybody inside. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed some movement. Ducking and bringing his OCAW around he fired a burst, catching the Sep in the shoulder; he moved over, stepping on the Sep's wound, "How many more?"


Marshal City, GMC

Aela murmured softly as she woke up, rolling to her side and putting her arm around... nothing. She sniffled sadly at June's absence; she still hadn't gotten used to her wife being off fighting the war. She crawled out of bed and sulked over to the shower, hoping it would wake her up a little. She had taken to avoiding listening to the radio or watching television, as news from the war never made her feel better, it just made her worry more. Even good news, like the Hack breaking the eastern line, failed to fill her with hope or patriotism, it just made her fearful that it was the calm before the storm: the sinking of the DN-01 Nihilanth.

The drive to work wasn't much better. Once her job had been pretty interesting, but it had quickly grown unnecessary as Hack-GMC ties tightened. After all, the embassy was hardly necessary, being the head of security for the embassy was becoming downright stupid. Since she generally had absolutely nothing to do, it meant she had plenty of time to think, worry and sulk. Granted, she had no need to work, June was compensated more than enough for the two of them, but she liked to have something to do, and since she technically worked for the Hack, she got to keep all her earnings. It was spending money, essentially.

Somewhere around her third hour of doing nothing, she found herself messing around with her computer, randomly reworking the embassy's website. It was never used, so nobody would really notice and it gave her something to do. As she looked at the redesigned (and rather improved, in her opinion) site she started thinking about switching jobs.


Control Tower, Saint Luke's Airfield

Futami and her team had slowly made their to the tower, avoiding the notice of the snipers above. It had taken longer than expected to move into position, largely because the special forces soldiers with Futami needed to be much more deliberate about their actions. The eight soldiers gathered outside the access door to the tower, Futami pulling out a few crude lock picks and working the door.

As she worked, her nose twitched slightly, the display on her eye displaying a few chemical formulas. She frowned even as she heard the lock click, the chemical analyzers that had been integrated into her nose were picking up trace elements of something, but were having a hard time figuring out what it was, and she didn't recognize the chemical strains. She was about to tell the team to wait when a loud shot was followed by a cry of pain from the tower; Uyo or Fusayoshi had started firing.

Before she knew what was happening, the point man kicked the door open and charged in, the team, and a still mildly confused Futami followed in. A few steps in red letters blared across her field of vision: the analyzers had figured out what was in the air. Oh... "shit. SARIN!"


Just Outside the Floyd Carter Stadium, Forward Sweepers, +13 hours

Crispy ducked behind the burned-out husk of a car as more shots came from the ticket booth of the stadium, cursing under his breath. He popped up for a moment, shooting back before dropping down again as the Seps returned fire. He and his team were largely stuck until reinforcement arrived. He was preparing for another exchange when he heard a familiar rumble, About fucking time...

The old Boreal rumbled up the street, a burning car smacked out of the way by the armored plate on the front. It lowered its smooth-bored 105mm cannon, pausing a moment to aim and fired at the ticket booth. The flechette round tore through the booth and the Seps hiding inside before it surged forward again, crashing through the remains of the box office and charged into the stadium, its cannon firing repeatedly even as four more Boreals followed it in.

Hitchens glanced at Crispy, "Do we follow them, sir?"

Crispy shook his head, "I don't think we'll be much help. See if you can contact command and get them some backup. Crazy fuckers..."


Makeshift Medical Station, Saint Luke's Airfield

Futami coughed a few times and relaxed again as Ieyoshi put the oxygen mask back on her. They were outside the remains of the control tower; after Futami had fled the tower, gasping for air as her toxin binders worked to keep the Sarin from overpowering her, Ieyoshi had managed to call in an artillery strike, which had reduced the tower to rubble. Futami coughed again, trying to apologize to Fusayoshi, "I'm so sorry... I should have waited..."

Fusayoshi shook his head, "You didn't do anything wrong. How were we supposed to know the bastards would flood the tower with gas?"

"But all those soldiers... they're dead..."

Fusayoshi smiled sadly, "Part of the job." He rested his hand on her shoulder, "But it looks like you'll get a chance to make up for it."

Futami blinked in confusion as she breathed in some more oxygen.

"Apparently some other crazy bastard just collapsed a bunch of buildings, trapping a bunch of armed cav, SFAT, and some others. They need us to go in and give them some support as everyone gets out. We'll get a more full briefing on the way in." He grinned at Uyo, "And some new toys. Ever felt the urge to use an HVAAR?"

So much death...What can men do against such reckless hate?
~Theoden

Abbot Tower, Clark Boulevard, 6:57 am, engagement + 29 hours 2 minutes

'Jesus, Kerry, hurry the fuck up!' Durrant glanced out of the window again at the advancing tanks as the woman with him hurried to rig up the last of the wires that joined the charges to the detonator a couple of blocks down.

'I'm almost done, damn it, you can't rush things like this!' the building was already vibrating slightly as the Mammoths of the Second Land Warfare Battlegroup closed on their position, separatist tanks pulled back ahead of them, most genuinely retreating, unaware of what was about to happen.

Kerry stood up and packed her toolkit away, smiling, 'That should do it...Let's go.'

Two blocks ahead of the Abbot Tower, engagement + 29 hours 36 minutes

Kerry carefully wound the second stripped wire around the screw on the twist-detonator for the last set of charges, tightening the bolt down to hold it in place before placing it next to the others, 'It's all ready, sir...Should we warn the other units?'

Morse shook his head, 'There must be no chance for anyone to inform the enemy.'

Kerry blinked, 'But...Some of our units are still in the...'

Morse raised his hand, 'Sacrifices must be made for the cause, they will be remembered as heroes. Fire in two minutes.'

Clark Boulevard, engagement + 29 hours 38 minutes

Erikson sat back in her seat a little, watching the tanks ahead of her creeping forward as the enemy pulled back further. Having taken Wilkinson Park already and with a shipment of ammunition and fuel on the way from the train station she'd decided to keep up her momentum and push forward as far as her supplies allowed, and it didn't seem the seps were regrouping fast enough to stop her.

'This is Whiskey Foxtrot Zero-Nine, passing Seventh Street now.'

'Whiskey Foxtrot Zero-Nine, continue following Mike Tango Six-Two's lead, over.' Erikson smiled a little; the Werewolf's crew had been a little apprehensive about urban warfare during the briefing because their AEGIS tank wasn't equipped well for it, with just a few twin 50 cals in her sub-turrets to defend herself. She was rather looking forward to a little 'I told you so' once all this was over, but that could wait...

Suddenly the radio was full of confused chatter from the infantry ahead, Erikson watching as a cloud of masonry dust spread from the base of one of the builds up ahead, 'Damn it...Booby traps.' She picked up her headset, 'Forward units, you were told to keep this channel clear of-'

'The Abbot Tower is falling!'

Then she noticed how the skyscraper itself and the one opposite were slowly tilting, toppling into the street like gigantic trees, 'Oh God...Whiskey Foxtrot Zero-Nine, back up immediately!'

As the Abbot Tower toppled forward it contacted the much lower Harrison Building on the other side of the street, spraying broken glass and masonry dust along Clark Boulevard as it split in half. A massive explosion sounded out under it as the lower part of the tower landed on top of Whiskey Foxtrot Zero-Nine, before the falling Plaza Grande, the second building, blocked her view of what was going on. The radio was full of panicked reports now as more charges went off, Erikson trying to back her tank up without crushing any of the smaller armour behind her. The periscope and external cameras were only showing the spreading cloud of masonry dust, the tank shuddering again as another skyscraper smashed into the ground ahead.

She shook her head in disbelief as she watched more charges detonate on the satellite image, until finally ten buildings lay across Clark Boulevard, surrounded by a vast cloud of choking dust that was slowly settling. 'Jesus Christ...' she whispered, before picking up her headset, 'Mike Tango Six Three to all remaining units of Two LWB, sound off.'

She pulled out her pen as the responses came in, scribbling the names down on the back of the checklist. 'Missing reports from five-no, four Mammoths, and one of our Werewolves...' she clicked her headset on again, 'Mike Tango Six Three to headquaters, request BDA on forces along Clark Boulevard immediately and SITREP from all light and heavy armour commanders.'

Area between Graber building and Roscoe Plaza, Clark Boulevard

Cassie was woken by someone slapping her face, mouthing a soft 'Ow!' before she opened her eyes. She found herself looking into Sato's dark eyes, the Kitsune woman managing a smile, her uniform dirty off-white with damp masonry dust. She sniffled softly as she realised how much her body ached, letting Sato haul her to her feet and check her over as she glanced around. On both sides, the road ended suddenly in a huge pile of rubble, broken glass and twisted girders. The one ahead partly covered the Mammoth Tank they'd been moving with, all the way back to the first turret, which was badly crushed at the front.


She winced as she felt her wrist, looking down at the cracked face of her watch. Sato smiled, 'Don't worry, it's only sprained.'

Cassie nodded, slipping her watch off and noting sadly that it had stopped. She slipped it into her pocket as Sato gave her a curious look, 'Something important?'

Cassie nodded, sitting down on a broken desk nearby, looking ready to burst into tears already. Sato sighed, 'Ito?'

Mamoru looked up, 'Sup, sarge?'

'Keep looking for survivors, I'll stay with our art student here. She looks like she needs someone to talk to.'

Mamoru grinned, 'Wilco.'

Sato smiled softly, sitting next to Cassie and going through her pockets for a cigarette, 'So, who gave you that watch?'

Cassie shivered a little, glad the rain and hail had eased off a little and still to numb from shock to cry, 'My Ashley...'

Sato grinned as she lit her cigarette, 'Human?'

'No, she's a Segonune...We've been friends since she was my buddy on my first day of school, there's nobody who loves me like her...' she blinked as she realised the rain had turned to snow, falling slowly from the thick black clouds overhead. 'I used to love it when it snowed, me and Ashley would climb up on the roof and look at the stars...'

Sato nodded, 'Well, nothing much going on, how about you tell me about her?'

Cassie ran her fingers over the cracked watch, sighing, 'Well, um...She likes scary movies and she's a foot taller than me. I watch most of them with my left eye, when I'm not hiding behind her shoulder...' she shook her head sadly, 'I wish I was back with her...She always knows just what to say to cheer me up.'

Sato smiled gently, 'Well, I know a little something that might cheer you up a little...I'm not SFAT Pathfinder...There was a shortage of officers in Pathfinder after the Moor...' she smiled, and pointed to her insignia, 'Kiyoko Sato, Six Commando. If anyone can get you back home it's us.' She sighed, giving Cassie a gentle hug, 'This'll all be over soon.'

'I know you're saying this just to take my mind off things...'

Sato smiled, 'Is it working? Tell me a lil' more...'

Cassie sighed gently, watching the crew of the smaller Mk1 A2 Mammoth Tank clearing rubble off the roof of the tank. The sun was still a few hours away, winter making the nights long, and Cassie was feeling horribly tired, 'Well, um...It's her, Saeko and Risako, they're all a year older than me, did their service last year and now in college. It took me a while to get used to being part of a four, but, well...' she smiled sadly, 'I just want to get back and never have to do this again.'

Sato nodded, 'Just keep focused on getting home and you will. It's always worked for me.' She patted Cassie's shoulder, 'You should try to get some sleep, you look shattered.'

Clark Boulevard, just ahead of the Graber Building, engagement + 30 hours 17 minutes

Higgs stroked his chin, 'Looks like we've succeeded in dividing up the Second Land Warfare Battlegroup nicely, just like Morse said. We're to engage them from East to West, starting at nine twenty am to synchronise with the units from the Second Guards Armoured Division south of us.'

One of the tank crewmen blinked, 'So soon? Surely we have all the time in the world?'

Higgs shook his head, tapping the radio set Kaufman had got to them. It wasn't good for much with the regularly changed codes, but there were a few units it could still pick up, 'Nope. They're calling for Air Destroyer Goliath...'

Wilkinson Park, West of Knight Industries building, Clark Boulevard

Erikson sighed as she watched a pair of officers holding a sobbing young woman by both arms to stop her running forward, 'Please! My sister was ahead!' she struggled some more, one of the officers shaking her head.

'They'll be sending units forward soon, just calm down!'

Erikson tapped one of the combat engineers on the shoulder, 'Do you have a count back from HQ yet?'

He nodded, 'The Abbot Tower, Richmond Building, Hofburg Insurance, the Plaza Grande, Knight Industries, Silberman-Lennox Tower, Nakatomi Plaza, Unit Six-Two-Six, Graber Building and Roscoe Plaza...Ten altogether.'

She frowned, 'Divide and conquer, sly bastards...I want some helos up here to reinforce our cut off units and get supplies to them, and get on the line to the Air Force to see if they can organise some kind of flyover to show the guys ahead we're still behind them. And tell the General I'm getting really fucked off with these sep fighter-bombers from Lanfor International.'

A radio operator looked up, 'Sir, this message was sent to us from a Brigadier Morse of the 104th Armoured Cavalry; "This city will never be captured. Go back to your countries."'

Erikson shook her head, 'Bastard...' she took another printout from a messenger who'd run over.

'Sir, Magician confirms the furthest unit forward is composed of elements of the hundred seventh and a Hack unit from TF Hail with the callsign "Thunderhead." They don't respond.'

There was a resounding crash and gentle splintering sound as the engineer corps bulldozer finished shoving all the parked cars into one corner of the nearby parking lot. Erikson sighed, 'Ok, get all the damaged tanks back here and use that lot as our repair yard, fuelers are to hang back at Anderson and make runs up here, it's too risky just to park them up this close to the front line...'

Command Post of General Minato Hoshino, West of the Stein River

Minato sat inside the command post scowling slightly, 'I have a bigger problem, Field Marshal, I have a totally blocked road to my objective that's going to take months to clear even in peacetime and not enough combat engineering support to clear one of those buildings in less than six. Now I need to know just what you're prepared to give me in order to resolve this situation, because we're losing momentum out there and we're still trying to re-secure the bridge here after the sep counterattack.'

The hologram of Field Marshal Embersby nodded, 'Firstly, I'd hoped to tell you under better circumstances, Minato, but as of now you are Field Marshal and I am First Marshal of the Army, 'First Marshal' will do.'

'Secondly, I've allocated an additional SDF armoured division and ordered all loyalist militias to deploy their remaining armour to support you, they should report to you as they arrive. After discussion with my opposite number in the Navy, you have been authorised to use fire support at your discretion in areas known to be free of civilians. More combat engineers and explosive have been allocated to close off sewers as per the request from one of your unit commanders.'

She smiled, 'Finally, Field Marshal, the Air Force has pledged you all units not undergoing maintenance from the East Sector Air Command and relevant sections of the Airborne Self Defence Force. I entrust this force to you, Minato.' She smiled gently, 'I know you can put an end to this war.'

Minato smiled to herself, clicking over to the channel for the air force command, 'This is Field Marshal Hoshino to all air units, you are to sanitise the air over Lanfor International for strategic bombers. Army bomber wings four, five and eight to take off as soon as they are loaded, target all the facility's runways and then all command facilities and communications.'

The woman at the other end sounded surprised, 'Sir?'

'Pathfinder confirms no civilians are sheltering at the airport, it is to be placed beyond use for the remainder of the campaign. Leave no stone upon stone.'

Helicopter heading to Western line from Eastern lines

The Kitsune quartermaster frowned, holding a heavy rifle in both hands, 'Listen up! This ain't one of those cute self-orienting smartguns that those toy factories in The Hack turn out, so you're going to have to pay attention to this. That includes you, soldier.' The last comment was addressed at Ieyoshi.

'This is a prototype short-barrel version of the HVAAR for enhancile soldiers like myself and 'special' soldiers like yourselves. HQ's been kind enough to send a couple down, and seems you've been good little boys and girls so this is your merry Christmas.'

'It operates like the full-size weapon, fair bit less hitting power from the shorter barrel. As with the HVAAR, don't bother shooting at the front of heavy or medium armour, you won't do a damn thing unless you've got the grace of the Lord God Himself on your side. Sides, rear and weak points like the turret ring, that's your shot.'

He laid it back down, 'We'll be stopping off at base camp for a moment so you can take a few shots on the firing range and get a feel for her, then briefing with the rest of the rescue team. Questions?'

Area between Graber building and Roscoe Plaza, Clark Boulevard, engagement + 31 hours 25 minutes
'Mike Tango Six-Zero's Last Stand'

Cassie was woken by the wails of descending mortar shells 'Wake up! Wake the fuck up! The seps are bringing y'coffee!' she found herself being dragged by the hand into the nearest shop, the shells bursting between the tanks, scattering rubble and dirt.

Sato scowled, 'Doubt that's it, what's the status report from the Mammoth?'

One of the handful of professional soldiers with them glanced up, 'No survivors forward of the stern turret except the radio operator, she's still pretty damn shaken up. Gun crew says her reactor's fluttery and they can't tell how long before it shuts down, and something about having to used the periscope because the rangefinder's busted...Point defence is out on one side, too.'

Sato frowned, 'Will their turret move at all?'

'They think so.'

'Then get the hell over there and tell them to fire it up,' she pricked up her ears, 'I can hear engines.' Sato was rather glad she'd had people digging the rubble into makeshift defence positions since she'd woken up, though looking over her force of dazed and frightened students didn't really fill her with confidence.

'Everyone, defensive positions!' she hustled them out, 'Remember your training and this'll all be over soon! Go! Go!' With a screech of protesting metal the Mammoth's rear turret slowly turned to face one of the roads leading in to the area of street between the two collapsed buildings. The Mk7 Mammoth took up most of the middle of the road, with their two Rattlesnake APCs and three Mk1 Mammoths parked either side, 'Anti-tank teams take cover behind our armour and pick your targets carefully, MGs there and there!'

She tapped Ito, 'Go organise the other side, I've got this.'

Ito nodded, hopping over a girder as he quickly made his way to the other side. Cassie rubbed her eyes, checking the sight on her rifle. Shafts of sunlight pierced the clouds as the morning began, one look at the scared faces around her making her realise it would be a long day.

On the other side, Ito tapped the barrel of a service girl's Light Support Weapon twice, 'You've fired this thing before, right?'

She nodded slowly, her hands trembling a little as she replaced the magazine, 'Yes, at targets...'

He sighed, 'If you can hit a target, you can do this. You're a Segonune, girl, if you don't kill them they'll be happy to kill you.' He turned and stood, 'Someone get up on the Mammoth's roof, if it's still working that twin fifty cal will shred anything not behind two inches of steel!'

On the North side, Cassie could feel the ground vibrating under her as the unseen tanks approached, Sato scowling, 'From both directions...Take aim and make every shot count! Semi-auto only!'

Chance Street ahead of them was four lanes wide with a concrete barrier separating the two sides; it was quite wide, and accommodated what was probably a pretty row of small trees before all this had kicked off. Most were snapped or dead now, though. There were a few cars parked by the roadside, and an overturned car transporter on the left-hand side of the street, polished cars and SUVs straight out of the factory spilled across the road.

The first vehicle Cassie saw was an old open-topped APC, which quickly pulled out of one of the side-streets on the right side of the road, and was halfway through turning when only of the Mk1 Mammoths fired. The shell hit the front of the APC and exploded, scattering debris across the street. For one horrible moment she saw one of the soldiers inside, her clothes and hair burning fiercely, struggling to climb out, before a shot rang out and she flopped back into the transport compartment.

Cassie stared in shock for a moment before Sato hit the back of her helmet, 'Stay focused! There's more!'

Troops ran out, using the burning APC as cover as the Mk1 opened up with its coaxial chaingun, Sato shouting out 'Suppressing fire!' Another APC pulled around the corner, Cassie concentrating on the anti-tank crew helping each other over the central concrete barrier. With shaking hands, she centred her rifle's sight over one figure's chest and eased the trigger back, the figure falling, twisting painfully as it hit the ground hard. Cassie sniffled a little, the sound of gunfire quickly becoming overwhelming.

She blinked as a bullet ricocheted off the ground nearby, missing her by inches, Sato growling ferally and raising her rifle, aiming for a tiny flash in a window far down the road as the sunlight caught the sniper's scope and firing a single shot. She glanced back, 'Keep it up! Don't give those sons of bitches any ground!'

The first shout of 'MEDIC!' came from the other side of the line just as an assault gun much larger then the APCs pulled into Chance Street, quickly turning to bring its main gun to bear as the Mk1 missed it, the shell ploughing into an office further down.

Cassie was suddenly thrown to the ground, her hearing dropping out entirely as a deafening report sounded out. As her hearing returned and the aching and pain told her she wasn't dead she glanced up, being presented with a huge smoking crater in the road, pieces of the burning APC and the assault gun scattered around.

Sato winced, pulling her ear defenders back down and glancing across at all those who hadn't heard the warning. Cassie looked up at her, her beautiful, fear-filled red eyes framed with dirt-streaked short white hair, 'I'm scared...'

Sato sighed, 'Me too.'

52b Mitchell Street, Marshall City, 9:50 am, engagement + 31 hours 55 minutes

Ashley woke with a start as the sunlight crept in between the thin, delicate curtains, sighing gently and turning over, her hand meeting the soft bed sheet. She sniffled softly, her hand tracing the shallow dip where Cassie slept...Should be sleeping, still.

Saeko sat up, rubbing her shoulder, 'Ashley-chan?'

Ashley turned over, rubbing her eyes. Saeko shook her head sadly, 'Still not sleeping so good?'

Ashley shook her head, curling up and burying her face in the pillow a little more. Saeko sighed, 'You're not eating or sleeping properly, honey...' she looked more concerned than anything else, 'You're making yourself ill worrying like this.'

Ashley sighed gently, 'I...should have signed up to go with her...'

Saeko shook her head, 'Then she'd be fretting about you getting hurt too...At least this way she's sure you're safe.' She sat Ashley up as gently as she could, giving her a hug, 'You have to stop blaming yourself, hon...She'll be safe, I know it.'

Ashley smiled weakly, 'I just...I hate not being able to be there for her...'

Saeko nodded, 'I know...That's why I'm here for you.' She smiled gently, 'Like you've always been there for me when I needed a shoulder to cry on. She'll need some snuggles once this is all over, don't you go upsetting her by making yourself sick...You know how guilty she'd feel.' Saeko offered her hand, 'Come on, Risako's probably got breakfast cooked by now.'

Ashley rested her head on Saeko's shoulder as they walked into the kitchen together.

Mk1 Mammoth Tank Tango Three-Three-Seven, Area between Graber building and Roscoe Plaza, engagement + 32 hours 36 minutes

The loader turned again as the shell clattered out of the breech, being presented with an empty ammunition bin, 'Shit...Boss, rounds complete!

The tank commander scowled as she looked through the periscope, 'I never seen no shit like this in my life before...' She winced as a mortar round hit the rear of her tank, 'Fuck it, we're sitting ducks!' There was a painful mechanical grinding sound as the gunner tried to bring the coaxial chaingun to bear on the troops taking shots at them from behind their overturned APC.

'Son of a bitch! The turret's jammed!' The gunner's eyes widened, 'Jagdtiger, dead ahead!'

It was hard to miss; the Jagdtiger was advancing slowly through the odd fires covering the road directly ahead of them, gun levelled at the APC nearest them. Machine-gun fire bounced harmlessly off it like rain, a tube-launched anti-tank missile rebounding of its frontal armour and exploding against the side of a building high above it.

Cassie was standing behind the APC, and made the mistake of looking up just as the Jagdtiger fired, the heavy tungsten carbide dart kicking off its sabot as it left the barrel, easily passing right through the Rattlesnake and out the other side, burying itself in the side of one of Mike Tango Six Zero's track units.

Cassie fell to the ground, clutching her eyes and crying out in pain, the medic running over quickly, 'Shit, steady girl, steady...Need someone to hold her, she'd been splashed in the eyes with something from the engine...Water, someone got water?'

Cassie screamed, the medic trying to tend to her, 'It's ok, soldier, it's just oil, just need to wash it out and get you back to an aid station.' He suddenly noticed the burning feeling in his own hands where he'd touched her face, looking at them to be presented with reddening skin, 'Oh shit...Higgs, Lieberman, I need that damn water!'

One of the soldiers looked up, 'Just trying to get you a jerry can, sir...'

'Don't fuck me about, this ain't diesel, damn it! It's battery acid!' he glanced up and called over to the other medic, 'Bishop! You got any morphine?'

One of the SFAT soldiers nearby glanced over at the Mk7, 'Red light! Hit the ground!'

The shot hit the Jagdtiger so hard it spun it around over ninety degrees, leaving the wreck to crash through the front of the car showroom it was passing and scattering broken pieces of armour hundreds of yards down the road. Sato stood back up first as a pair of Wolverine attack helicopters swept in overhead, 'Keep it up, you can do it!'

Control Tower, Miles Bishop International Airport, Marshall Island, engagement + 34 hours 9 minutes

The Flight Controller blinked several times as he listen to the Air Force officer on the other end of the phone, 'All of them...? Yes sir, yes, I understand, sir...Right away.' He replaced the phone, 'Cancel all takeoffs and final approaches immediately and place all civil aircraft in holding stock, all SDF aircraft are to mobilise immediately.'

The control room, until then fairly sedate, suddenly filled with noise as the operators went to work, 'Affirmative, first flight do not await takeoff clearance, take off as soon as you enter the runway.'

He leaned over the PA microphone, clicking it on, 'Due to a slight technical problem all arrivals and departures are subject to delay. We apologise for any inconvenience...'

In the departure lobby, Leanne, a young geography teacher waiting with her school party, a slightly rowdy if not a little tired group of six and seven year olds, sighed, 'Great...' she stood up as she realised the children were all running to look out the window overlooking the runway.

One of the children tapped the glass, wide-eyed, 'Whoa...FG-22 Shrikes with Javelin nine-five missiles...'

Leanne blinked, watching as the ground crews slowly pushed the heavy doors of the SDF's hangars open, the bright sunlight picking out the sleek forms of dozens of military jets inside. Others were already taking off, engines glowing brightly as they streaked off into the sky, heading East.

A little Kitsune girl, Miyuki Sato, glanced up at her, 'Miss, what's going on?'

Leanne shook her head, 'I don't know...'

Grand Dragon Bomber Wyvern Zero-Three, heading for Grafton's Isle

'All aircraft trailing in formation, sir, no problems.' The radio operator went back to checking as the pilot rested his hands behind his head and yawned, 'Amazing...They always said defence readiness on the East coast wasn't lagging behind like South claims, but I never thought we'd manage this.'

The copilot nodded, 'And yet up here in the lead it's still like flying alone. Hard to believe there's really three thousand one hundred fifty squadrons back there.'

Behind the Grand Dragon, three hundred and fifty combat wings of aircraft filled the morning sky, holding formation like they were on parade. Which, in many ways, they were.

Area between Graber building and Roscoe Plaza, engagement + 35 hours 14 minutes

The last Rattlesnake was now enveloped in a huge cloud of steam from its smashed radiator, the separatist troops firmly entrenched behind a line of overturned trucks and cars. The craters left by the Mammoth had given them a makeshift trench line, the sporadic machine-gun and mortar fire from them slowly pushing the remaining Federal soldiers back.

Sato blinked and nudged one of the machine gun crew in front of her, the young man wincing, 'What is it, sarge?'

'The rubble from the skyscraper's settled enough to start moving across it...Soon as they figure that out they'll start moving infantry along one or both sides...How're you for ammo?'

'Not good...And I'm shot.'

'Fuck it, everybody's shot...Just keep it up.'

Sato sighed softly as she felt the first few drops of rain on her fur, pulling her rifle up with aching arms and scanning along the top of the massive pile of rubble that had been the Graber Building, 'Movement...Looks like a mortar team. Get a shot from our own mortar at them if they've got any left.'

She glanced back, 'How's Cassie holding up?'

The medic sighed, 'Couldn't save her eyes, sarge...Given her morphine but that's about all I can do 'less you've got a hospital in your pocket.'

Sato smiled grimly, 'You know, I think I forgot that.'

Michfield Park, East of Aimes Park, engagement + 35 hours 16 minutes

Alison Jenson blinked as she realised what was going on ahead, flicking on the radio, 'This is Thirteen, enemy friendly fire incidents are not isolated or random, Magician, please advise.'

'This is AWAC Magician Two-Zero, we see it too, trying to patch in enemy radio from the Third Guards Armoured Division to you now.'

There was a crackle of static, and then other voices came in over the radio, '...Won't follow a commander who is willing to fire on his own tanks! All units loyal to your country follow on-'

'ANY VEHICLES not following the main column are to be destroyed immediately!'

Alison blinked, grabbing her radio set, 'Help those brave defectors!'

Command Post of Field Marshal Minato Hoshino, West of the Stein River

One of the radio operators placed another marker on the city map. 'Confirmed; Field Marshal, we now have sep armour versus armour engagements between elements of the Third Guards Armoured Division in Michfield Park, the Sixth Guards Armoured Division on our side of the river and the Eighth Guards Armoured Division Southwest of the objective.'

Minato smiled slightly, 'Looks like they forgot to tell their own troops they'd be tearing down Clark Boulevard...This is our chance to retake the Callahan Bridge. Hit them with everything we've got and link up with the defecting units where possible. What's Goliath's ETA at Mike Tango Six-Zero's location?'

'Another forty minutes, sir.'

'That's too damn long...They need extraction now. Where's the extraction team?'

'Final briefing, sir, they'll be underway in five.'

Minato glanced up as she heard engines, smiling at the hundred of perfect V-shaped formations overhead, giant Grand Dragons flanked by fighters, ground-attack planes and an endless black tide of second-line SDF fighters. 'About fucking time, too.'

Area between Graber building and Roscoe Plaza, engagement + 35 hours 19 minutes

Mamoru raised his hand, blinking with his remaining eye, 'Friendly aircraft, sarge!'

Sato blinked, barely able to hear the engines from being so close to the machine-gun, 'How many?'

Mamoru grinned, 'All of them, I think...'

As the massive formation passed ahead the fighters split away in groups to attack unseen targets around Clark Boulevard, explosions and gunfire sounding out all across the city. Mamoru blinked as he glanced up the street, 'Oh no...More tanks, it's gonna get hot!'

Sato grimaced, trying to rally the remaining troops clustered around the Mammoth, 'Come on, they'll send someone out to us soon...We just have to hang in here a little longer. I know you can...' she yelped as a bullet caught her in the throat, clutching the wound with her hand.

The medic jumped up quickly, reaching for a bandage, 'Inch to the right and I wouldn't be telling you you're lucky, Sato...But you need a proper fucking doctor for this.'

Sato smiled, feeling a little lightheaded, 'Then I'd just b-better hope I was right, hm?'

Just Outside the Floyd Carter Stadium, Forward Sweepers, +15 hours

Crispy growled, still outside the stadium and watching the smouldering ruins of the Boreals. The damned commander had been too cocky to wait for proper backup, and now he was dead. Things ain't looking to hot for us, either he noted darkly. There were tank traps in the field around the mobile HQ, and plenty of sandbags in the stands forming machinegun nests. It was almost as if they wanted the Federation to try and take this stadium. Luckily, the seps holed up inside seemed content to sit there, especially with the box office annihilated. His men were getting antsy. They didn't want to bail out for fear of getting shot, but sitting around and waiting wasn't high on their list of activities either.

"It's been two hours, where the fuck are they?"

"Do I have a rotodome sticking out of my ass? Christ, Hitchens, how should I know? They know we're here, they know we haven't reported back. They know the Boreals haven't reported back. We just need to sit tight."


Sea Goblin Heading to Area between Graber building and Roscoe Plaza

Fusayoshi calmly slipping on a pair of voormis hide gloves, growling slightly as the tight gloves matted the black fur of his hands. He glanced at his modified HVAAR and then at Uyo, chuckling, "So, you think that quartmaster was made of piss and vinegar, or did they add the vinegar to make more socially acceptable?"

Uyo was busy looking over her HVAAR for the hundredth time and cracked a smile, "Definately the second." She slid the bolt into place and looked up at him, "How we doing this?"

"I'll go down first, then Futami and Ieyoshi. You give us fire support as needed until we're down, then it's your turn. We'll just drop the line and slide down," he nodded to his gloves. "We need to be fast and accurate." He glanced at Ieyoshi, "I know you don't like this sort of thing, but we need to get these people out, so don't hold back."

Ieyoshi simply nodded, the WA2000 looking out of place in her lap, "Yes sir."


Just Outside the Floyd Carter Stadium, Forward Sweepers, +17 hours

Crispy sighed. His men had finally stopped bitching and a couple had even nodded off. He was starting to wonder if he'd be here for the rest of the engagement when he felt the ground start to shake. Everyone was awake in an instant, desperate to know the source of the rumbling.

"The fuck...?" Crispy blinked as he saw the front of the tank, "What the Hell is that?"

Hitchens blinked as he lowered his binocular, "I don't fucking believe it..."

"What?"

"That's a Gnoph-Keh... I didn't know any were operable..."

Crispy frowned. He meant to glare at Hitchens, but he couldn't tear his eyes from the massive tank, "You're not helping."

"It's an old Union superheavy tank."

"Like the Death Adder?"

Hitchens grinned, "The Adder was made in responce to the Gnoph-Keh..."

The tank was a testamony to the Union's over-engineering ways. It was a massive monstrosity with three turrented guns, the two in the front were what one would expect as a normal tank's main gun. It's main gun was a titanic affair, slightly offset from center. It was painted in urban cammo, and the red star that normally sat on the back had been ripped off. Quite possibly by a crowbar. The titanium ram on the front pushing rubble and destroyed cars out of the way without effort. The main turrent turned suprizingly fast for such large vehicle. When it fired, the roar was deafening, and the frame of the stadium entrance disintegrated, widening the gap enough for the leviathan to pass.

Crispy grinned, "Maybe we'll take this thing after all..."

The Gnoph-Keh rolled towards the entrance, the secondary guns firing as quickly as they could manage at the entrenched seps. Almost as an afterthought, half a dozen Boreals zoomed in behind it, helping to sweep up.


Sea Goblin Over the Area between Graber building and Roscoe Plaza

Uyo kneeled by the open door, firing the HVAAR rapidly, her hand a blur as she worked the bolt, lining up her shots as she chambered the new rounds. Fusayoshi paused briefly before sliding down the cable, his HVAAR strapped to his back. He was always amazed watching Uyo, it was like she fell into another world.

Fusayoshi jumped from the Sea Goblin, his gloves almost smoking as he slid down the line. On his way down he had a great view of Uyo's shots slamming into the sep IFVs. Her shots stopped briefly each time she had to replace a magazine, but the fire was almost constant. He released the cable from about twenty feet up and landed next to the Mammoth, his naturally and artificially enhanced legs absorbing the impact effortlessly. As he unslung his weapon, he scanned the area around him, noticing a human looking worried and kneeling next to a bleeding Kitsune woman. He ran over in a half-crouch, kneeling down next to the medic. His eyes twinkled slightly as his occular cameras started taking pictures, "Somebody call for the calvary?"

Area between Graber building and Roscoe Plaza, 1:24pm, engagement + 35 hours 29 minutes

The ground shook as the Mammoth fired again, the canister round ripping out the face of one of the buildings far down Chance Street, going through the steel shield of the anti-tank gun in front of it like it was paper. A bloody hand gripped the shield for a moment as Mamoru watched, before abruptly releasing its grip, leaving four dark streaks on the metal.

He growled, 'If only I had a goddamn radio to tell them to haul ass over here with retrieval...' he slapped Sato's face gently, 'Stay with me, Sarge, I haven't got a good suit for your fucking funeral.'

Sato coughed painfully, fluttering her eyes, 'Still...Here...'

It had started raining again, the water matting Mamoru's dirt-streaked and bloodstained fur even more as he glanced up over the burning IFV, 'Damn, they're dug in tight...At least we haven't seen any more armour for a while.'

He felt Sato's hand on his leg, and glanced down at her, the fear in her eyes plain to see, 'L-listen...' she coughed again, 'T-tell Miyuki I love her and I'm sorry I won't...' she winced, 'Be there for her birthday...'

Mamoru shook his head, 'Bullshit, you're going to tell her yourself. They must have figured out we're up here by now.'

Wilkinson Park, West of Knight Industries building, Clark Boulevard

The pouring rain drummed loudly against the partly collapsed storefront awning they were standing under, Madoka looking almost ready to explode, 'God damn it, we have people out there and you just want us to sit here and wait for them to die?'

Erikson scowled, 'I know, it's not my fucking decision! There's a relief force on the way there already, you're needed here Akashi!' she looked down, composing herself a little, 'Until we re-take the Callahan Bridge I have no supply runs, and with this storm back again they've deep-sixed the drop they were going to give us. I have a supply run coming down from King's Cross, but that'll take time. In the meantime we're wide open to counter-attack and I have to reinforce the elements of the isolated units in order of distance. I can't leapfrog the whole column to Six-Zero!'

Madoka growled softly, then laid a hand on Erikson's shoulder, 'I know...I'm sorry.'

Erikson sighed, 'We all feel the same, Madoka, but we can't risk everything East of the river for them. If I was there and they were here I'd expect them to come to the same decision.'

One of the radio ops looked up, 'Brigadier Erikson, AWAC for you?'

Madoka stood to one side as Erikson took the microphone, 'Magician Two Zero this is East River Command, Brigadier Erikson speaking.'

'This is Two Zero, bingo fuel, request permission to RTB.'

Erikson sighed, 'Copy that Two-Zero, RTB and refuel, get some rest.'

'Negative on the request, command, we're turning around as fast as possible. There are no other AWACs available at this time.'

Erikson blinked, 'Roger that. Command out.' She turned around, 'There's a stadium by the river, they must have a couple of airships somewhere nearby for advertising. Get some volunteers from that spotter unit on the Olympus Mall roof together and get them in the air; tell they they're to stay clear of all hot areas, I'm not having any more isolated units to deal with.'

A set of huge explosions sounded out north of them, the ground shaking slightly. Erikson blinked, 'Talos bombs...That's the International Airport out of the picture.' She glanced up, 'Continue to be heads up for VTOLS and helos, they're operating them out of parking lots.'

She blinked as an LACV pulled up outside, the four-wheeled light truck skidding to a halt as it's gunner swung the roof-mounted 50 cal to face up the road. The driver jumped out, running up and saluting quickly, 'Lieutenant-Colonel Lightoller, 83rd Recon...We just got here on the train from North Point, there's fuel and ammo behind us.'

Erikson nodded, smiling slightly, 'Thank God.'

Parking lot of Bailey Stadium, East of the Stein River

There was a splutter as the first airship's propellers started, the garish yellow commercial blimp with 'ULTIMA RATIO' emblazoned on the side in black slowly climbing into the sky as the other two were made ready. Behind them on the river the two burning halves of Duke Red slowly settled on the sandbank, explosions occasionally ringing out as the fires hit unburned ammunition.

Atsuko leaned out of the door as the airship levelled off, looking out over the city and gasping slightly at how much worse the devastation on Clark Boulevard looked from the air. She sighed, 'Still a long way to go...'

Mike Tango Six-Zero, area between Graber building and Roscoe Plaza, 1:35pm, engagement + 35 hours 40 minutes

Harding looked through the periscope as another tank pulled into Chance Street, glancing down into the barbette at the empty ammo bin for the right-hand gun, 'I think we've foreshit our quota this time.'

The soldier manning the 50 cal miniturret kicked the hatch above them open, looking worried, 'Fault panel says main bus undervolt...I'm not getting current to my rotation motor!'

Harding sighed as the turret's lighting flickered and died, being replaced by the dull red emergency lights after a moment, 'The main reactor just shut down, it's switching over to the emergency cells...' She sighed, 'It's over. Ten minutes on the emergency battery and that's it.'

The second member of the turret's loading crew shook his head, 'How many left?'

Harding looked at the floor, 'Three rounds.'

The other loader, McKnight, clenched his fist, 'Then we're staying. We'll keep her going until rounds complete.' He smiled, noticing how tired Harding looked, and trying to manage a more friendly tone, 'Come on, let's give them all the chance they can to get someone out to us...For those kids outside too.'

Harding nodded, moving over to the winch controls, 'Ok.'

Two blocks North of the Graber building, 1:37pm, engagement + 35 hours 42 minutes

Morse scowled and took the radio handset, 'Give me good news, Mendell...' he winced at the sound of rotors in the background, his subordinate coughing hoarsely.

'Ain't got no good news, Brigadier. A squadron of heavy transport helos escorted by gunships just passed us heading for Clark Boulevard, looks like they're coming right for you!' there was an explosion and gunfire on the other end of the radio, 'Akk...Dammit!'

Morse lifted the handset, 'Mendell, what's going on? Mendell? Answer me!' He threw the handset down and kicked the wheel of the jeep next to him, 'Fuck!' he glared at his subordinate, 'Why the hell is this taking so long? We're human, we're better than them!'

A young man in a bloodstained uniform appeared from the alleyway opposite, leaning against the wall for support and breathing hoarsely, 'Sir...' he winced, blood running from the corner of his mouth, 'They...They came out of nowhere...' he coughed, 'They slaughtered us...You've gotta get out of here...'

Morse blinked, his face twisting in rage 'Who?!'

The man looked up, 'T-the Eighth...Guards...Armoured...D-Division...' he lost his grip, his feet sliding out from under him. He hit the rain-soaked pavement hard, and didn't get back up.

Morse clenched his fists, 'Damn it all...Do they want to live in a mongrel society all their fucking lives?'

The radio operator raised a shaking hand, closing her eyes and praying Morse wouldn't shoot her. Instead he simply bellowed 'What is it now?!'

'S-sir...' she shivered, 'Major Higgs is requesting further backup...'

Morse closed his coat, storming off down the street. He raised one hand, yelling 'Proceed!'

Area between Graber building and Roscoe Plaza, 1:41pm, engagement + 35 hours 46 minutes
6 hours 8 minutes after the towers went down

Sato smiled, glancing up at Mamoru, 'Rotors...' she coughed, 'Hee, now I'm hearing things...'

Mamoru pulled her back up to a sitting position again, 'Stay with me, I'm not letting you fucking die!' he twitched his ears, 'Wait...I hear it too...'

Some of the remaining service soldiers ducked instinctively as the lead pair of gunships roared overhead, kicking up lines of bulletholes in the dirt as they strafed the separatist units in their makeshift trenchlines. Mamoru watched as one soldier fastroped down from the first transport helo, managing to grin, 'What the fuck kept you?' he glanced around, 'Got seventy-three left with...' he paused, 'Nine critically wounded and needing immediate medevac...' he gestured to Sato, 'Including our Sergeant.' He blinked, 'Hear it? Enemy armour...Get the wounded on the first bird out!'

He stood up, 'The rest of you stay alert! Don't let your guard down and get killed this close to home, understand me? A hundred and ten percent! Five of you on me to help with the wounded!' he turned, 'Hamilton! Get word up to the Mammoth's crew if they don't know already!'

He turned just as the IFV that had swept around the corner burst into flames, an HVAAR shell casing bouncing off the ground below the helicopter, 'Hell of a support gunner you've got up there! Ok, Reagan, Lance, Gunn, Maeda, Taniguchi, you're evacing with this bird! Nishida, you take over the MG!'

One soldier climbed down from the Mammoth's turret, ducking as machine gun fire clattered off the tank's armour, 'Ito, our Mammoth reports she is Wincester, they're requesting permission to place a demo pack in the magazine to prevent her being used by the enemy.'

Mamoru nodded, tossing a satchel charge up at him from the ground, 'Here! Set fuse for five minutes!' He winced as a bullet caught him in the arm, growling and clutching the wound, 'God damn it!' he glanced up at Fusayoshi, 'We need to get out of here now! Get those other helos in here!'

Fusayoshi smirked slightly, communicating with Uyo up in the chopper as well as his team trying to lay suppressive fire, No time to fuck around, Uyo. We need those choppers! "Yeah, she's fucking nuts, so of course she's a good shot." He shouldered his own modified HVAAR, kneeling down and tracking the enemy, "Don't worry, Sarge… we'll get you and yours outta here."

McKnight climbed out of the Mammoth's hatch after Harding, pausing to set the satchel charge. He sighed, kissing his fingers and pressing them against the dirt-stained metal of the turret, whispering 'Thanks for everything, pretty baby' before dropping the charge back down the hatch, watching it fall through the open barbette cover. He climbed down quickly, shouting out 'Five minutes!'

52b Mitchell Street, Marshall City, 1:47pm, engagement +35 hours 52 minutes

Ashley had spent most of the day so far watching television with Saeko and Risako, trying not to worry about Cassie too much. It hadn't really worked, she still felt sick and on the edge of crying. She was glad her college had given students with significant others out fighting time off, because she knew she couldn't study like this at all.

She blinked as the cooking show she was watching abruptly switched over to the Federal National News logo, the newsreader cutting in, 'We interrupt your scheduled program to bring you live coverage of events currently unfolding in Lanfor City.'

The broadcast was a shaking, flickering camera mounted on a news helicopter, the panorama of the city unfolding below, most of the view taken up by a pair of collapsed skyscrapers. Flashes of gunfire and explosions could be seen everywhere, columns of smoke drifting lazily into the sky.

In the space between the buildings was a small group of destroyed tanks, a damaged Mammoth at one end partly buried in rubble. In one clear space a transport helicopter was kicking up clouds of dust as it took off. The reporter on the scene's voice cut in, 'What you are now seeing live is the conclusion of the shocking events of early this morning when separatist forces under the command of General Grant S Copeland demolished ten of the tallest buildings in downtown Lanfor in an attempt to stop the forces participating in Operation Wolf.'

Ashley ignored the flashing newslink windows that appeared along the side of the screen to various related stories, concentrating on the reporter as he continued. He yelped softly as the Mammoth in the street below suddenly exploded, a huge ball of fire lifting the roof of the turret off as both guns dropped down to rest against the hull. 'The last helicopter has just lifted off, taking our brave troops back to recover from this ordeal which has...Hold on, please, I'm getting a message through...' There was a pause. 'Initial reports indicate that of the estimated two hundred soldiers from the Hundred and Seventh Infantry, Second Land Warfare Battlegroup and SFAT Six Commando involved there are around seventy survivors now being airlifted to a friendly base camp...'

Ashley pricked her ears up, shaking her head, 'No...That's Cassie's unit...' she started tearing up as Saeko wrapped her arms tightly around her, Ashley sobbing, 'Oh God, please let her be ok...'

Command Post of Field Marshal Minato Hoshino, West of the Stein River

Minato shook her head, ducking slightly as another tank shell went off nearby, 'God damn it, no!' she scowled, hissing softly at the hologram of the Speaker for the Department of Internal Affairs, 'I know you think it's good PR to send them back after what's happened, but I'm up to my ass in alligators out here, I cannot sent anyone back down the line!'

The hologram of the young Cervidine woman looked visibly shaken, not used to people shouting at her. 'I-I'm sorry, Field Marshal, I-I only wanted to know if it was possible...'

Minato shook her head, 'It's not!' she flicked the communications set off, scowling and sitting back down. She sighed, 'Oh, I'll buy the poor thing dinner when all this is over...But I can't return everyone doing national service because of what happened on the other side of the river.'

Her orderly smiled nervously, 'Wire down from HQ on reassignment of forces from North Point... They've transferred elements of the fourth chemical warfare corps to Galyana. HQ's worried that now they know they can't win some elements might try to do as much damage as possible. Galyana's the most likely target, and we know they have chemical weapons available.'

Minato smiled, 'Well, at least that's not combat soldiers...How's it looking outside?'

'Still not much progress...They're dug in tight in St. Luke's Park and down by the church on Kendridge Avenue.'

Minato scowled, 'Damn it, we have to re-take the bridge!'

Kenneth Banks Shopping Centre, near Wilkinson Park, 6:37pm, engagement +40 hours 42 minutes

Erikson yawned, rubbing her eyes as one Sergeant went along the lines of collapsible beds on the floor of the shopping centre's main hallway, banging his helmet against the metal frame of each occupied one, ignoring the groans of the soldiers in them, 'Wake up! Wake up! Come on, hands off cocks and on with socks!'

Erikson stepped up onto the platform in front of the shut-off fountain, pulling out her clipboard, 'As of now the Second Land Warfare Battlegroup is off frontline duty and back to artillery, there's just no way forward. That means the rest of you tankers are going to have a harder time, and for that I offer my sincerest apologies. Those of you with friends or family at Mike Tango Six-Zero, a casualty list correct as of eighteen hundred hours has been posted outside the coffee shop in the lobby.'

'For now I leave you in the capable hands of Brigadier Mariella Cortino of the Galyana Self Defence Force.' She smiled, handing a letter to her orderly, 'See that's sent home as soon as possible, my husbands must be worried sick.'

The little Nekoite hopped up onto the platform, adjusting her cap a little and checking over her clipboard, 'Right, listen up! SFAT Pathfinder's got me positive ID on a group of not less than six SP one-five-five howitzers in a parking lot off Lee Avenue that opened fire on our forward positions a little under a half hour ago. Now, since I don't know any of you I'm going to need an honest evaluation of who'd be best to take a platoon up there to check for civvies. If there's nobody there but seps, radio for arty support from the Navy battlegroup near North point, otherwise radio back to this HQ and I'll send you further support. Clear?'

Reika stood up first, 'Brigadier, I'd be willing to take a platoon on up there, but I'm pretty thin on NCOs, need a new sergeant. I've got a private I'd very much like to make a Corporal of, if it wouldn't be any trouble.'

Mariella nodded, 'No trouble for now. Ok, hand pick the guys you want and sort out your gear, depart in fifteen.'

In the sports equipment shop the two were getting changed in together, Maya smiled, tapping Reika, 'So, um, who's the new Corporal?'

'Well, seems to me I have someone in my unit who all my replacements look up to...Been wounded twice in combat and kept going, leads by example, always give a hundred and ten percent...' Reika paused, smiling, 'You have no idea who I'm talking about, do you Maya?'

Maya shook her head, Reika grinning, 'Well hell, Corporal, it's you. Ever since Point K you've been the one holding my guys together.'

Maya would have blinked if she still had both eyes, 'Me?'

Reika smiled, 'Yes, you. Don't tell me you never noticed yourself leading people?'

Maya smiled, 'I guess I just wasn't looking right...'

Reika put an arm around her, 'You're a brave girl, Maya. I'm giving you this because I have faith in you, and because I know you can do it.' She smiled, 'You've come a long way from that cute lil' thing hiding in her foxhole at Point K.'

Maya smiled, 'Well...I had a hell of an officer watching out for me.'

Reika stood up, 'Come on, hon, let's get ready.'

Maya gave her an odd look, 'You just called me 'hon...''

Reika grinned, 'Yeah, I suppose I did.' She gave Maya a little kiss on the cheek, 'I'll talk to you about that later, 'kay?'

Maya tilted her head, 'You know, I've heard you have a reputation for this kind of thing...This isn't why you wanted to get me alone, is it?'

Reika shook her head quickly, holding both Maya's hands, 'I swore to myself I'd be faithful to my Sakura all the time I was here, Maya.' She smiled, 'I want to get to know you, because I think I want you to be part of what me and Sakura have too.' Reika giggled, 'I always did have trouble saying "I love you."'

Maya looked taken aback, 'Erm...Wasn't expecting that...'

Reika smiled, flicking Maya's nose gently, 'Like I said, we can talk about it later...' she abruptly pulled Maya forward, kissing her firmly on her lips and holding her close. Maya resisted for a moment out of sheer surprise, before closing her remaining eye, purring happily. Reika smiled as she pulled away, 'That's why I wanted us to be alone...I don't want people thinking I promoted you just because I've fallen for you, because that's not true.'

The two looked into each other's eyes for a moment, purring softly, still holding hands, before Reika flicked her ears, 'Time to move out.'

Maya smiled happily, 'I'll be ok out there, I promise...And thank you, Reika. Do you mind if I ask Akamatsu-sama to watch over you too?'

Reika smiled, tilting her head, 'The God? Well...I'm Christian, but I guess having two watch me couldn't hurt.'

Eisley Street, near Lee Avenue, 6:59pm, engagement + 41 hours 4 minutes

Reika waved to the APC following her to stop as six shots from the carpark nearby cut through the more mundane rattles of gunfire and explosions from the battles deeper into the city. Behind their two APCs a group of four King Cobra tanks stopped; Reika had been thankful when the commander of the mechanised unit from the Galyana SDF had insisted on coming with them, since the last thing she wanted now was to be facing tanks with infantry.

Maya ran further on, waving her squad forward to the other side of the overturned bus that blocked the road into the carpark. Reika watched her run back, climbing through the bus' broken windscreen and crawling down to look out of the rear window. As she climbed back out a helicopter thundered overhead, making her duck as she ran over to Reika, panting. 'Looks like the six SP guns with a pair of towed One-sixties that aren't firing, one, maybe two light anti-tank guns and a couple of MGs. Couldn't see any civilians...What's the plan?'

Reika paused, following Maya back to the junction and pointing at the far end of the car park, 'Ok...Take your squad around to the right and set up your MG to give me enfilading fire on the far side of their position. We'll move in from here as soon as you open fire and get suppressing fire on that MG facing you. As soon as that gun's out move forward and link up with us, we'll play it by ear from there. Got it?'

Maya nodded, 'Got it.' Six shots rang out again, the rain starting to fall harder as Maya ran back, her squad quickly making their way down a side-road as Reika waved her own unit forward, watching for the flash of the machine-gun on the far side of the car park. As the first shot rang out she waved her soldiers forward, 'Go! Go!' Their APC pulled into the road behind, emptying one smoke grenade launcher into the area ahead of them.

Their own machine gunner checked her thermal sight and opened fire as they ran, the surprised sep unit caught off guard, quickly scurrying to their weapons as the self-propelled guns fired again. Reika ducked behind a low wall, grabbing the handset from her radio operator's backpack, 'What the fuck was the callsign for those tanks?'

The radio op looked up, 'GSDF uses "Priest," Sir!'

Reika nodded as a grenade round from the hatch mount of one of the self-propelled guns exploded nearby, 'Fox to Priest Zero-Five, negative contact on civilians, request you support us immediately, do you copy?'

'Priest Zero-Five, copy that, we'll be with you shortly!'

Reika flicked over the channel to the artillery battery, 'This is Fox to Zeus, I need a flare over the target in sector Red Three-Seven ASAP!'

There was an explosion back down the road as the first King Cobra blasted the middle out of the overturned bus, pushing the two halves aside as it entered the car park. It fired its coaxial chaingun across the sep positions ahead of Reika as it turned its turret, a shot from the main one-three-five smashing into one of the howitzers ahead as it started to turn around, the vehicle exploding spectacularly. An anti-tank missile exploded against the wall near the Cobra, Reika standing, 'Anyone see where that was fired from?!'

They ducked as the artillery-fired flare exploded overhead, illuminating the whole area; the howitzers, the running sep troops, and, on the other side of the car park, a broken shop window piled with sandbags. Reika raised her rifle, shots hitting all around the launcher as the two crewmen ran for their lives.

It wasn't long before they had the crews of the four howitzers that had survived long enough to surrender lined up in front of their vehicles with their hands in the air. Reika smiled, hugging Maya as she radioed back that their position was secure.

King Cobra tank Super Six-Five, St. Luke's Park, off Clark Boulevard, West of the Stein River, 12:52am, engagement + 47 hours 38 minutes

Tank Commander Jennifer Pershing flicked on the microphone of her headset as her tank backed up, another shell impacting close enough the she could feel the tank shake, 'HQ, this is Super Six-Five, request immediate fire support. The enemy is staging a heavy counter-attack in St. Luke's Park...Tanks, arty, VTOLs, gunships...They're throwing everything they've got left at us! Help us!'

She blinked as another voice cut in, 'Super Six-Five, this is the Air Battleship Vione, moving to assist.' The fire abruptly stopped, Jennifer blinking and after a while opening her tank hatch warily, glancing out into the darkness as the rain drummed against her helmet. She'd never forget what she saw.

The vast black shadow of the Air Battleship seemed to fill the whole world ahead of her as the Vione moved slowly forward, silhouetted by flashes of lightning. The immense sweep of her downward-curved wings covered almost three-quarters of the park. Shells exploded uselessly in the air in front of her as the enemy tanks wheeled around. Jennifer's radio crackled again, 'This is Vione to all friendly units, preparing to fire our Neutron Cannon. All units pull back to beyond the line of the Eastern lake, copy this message.'

Four huge balls of fire blossomed in the air in front of the Vione as the sep force's Mammoth Tank fired at her, slowly spreading around the shimmering translucent wall of something that briefly became visible. Jennifer blinked, 'So it is true...' she pulled herself together, grabbing the handset, 'Super Six-Five, we copy.'

As Jennifer's tank reversed she couldn't tear her eyes away from the Air Battleship, watching as the two angular halves of the neutron cannon's 'barrel' split along their vertical centreline and moved apart, brilliant discharges of electricity crackling from the tip of the accelerator to the opening at its base. Even this far away, she could her the low-pitched hum of the thing building up charge. Finally her loader grabbed her leg, and she quickly slammed the turret hatch and closed the NBC seal tight, watching through the panorama periscope instead.

'All units be advised, firing in five...four...three...'

As the count hit zero Vione's thrusters kicked the gigantic Air Battleship nose-down, a strange line of distorted air tracing the line of the cannon's beam. Flames spread from the ground where it hit, carving a huge arc of fire across the sep positions as the Vione swung around to port. As the beam shut off, the accelerator immediately snapped shut; the Air Battleship righted herself, her underside now illuminated by flickering orange fires all across the park below.

Jennifer noticed something in Vione's voice as she reminded them to keep their hatches closed, a little waver in it almost as if she was shocked herself. She almost sounded, well, upset.

Command Post of Field Marshal Minato Hoshino, West of the Stein River, 3:55am, engagement +50 hours 41 minutes

Minato smiled as gently as she could; with most of the medics busy with wounded prisoners she'd offered to help out down at the aid station. While she only had basic medical training, that was still ok for treating some of the injured, like the young Cervidine woman who's leg she was bandaging. Minato reached for another bandage, 'So, your name is Tsukai Okumura?'

She nodded, looking a little pained. Minato couldn't help but notice she was a medic herself, and an unarmed one. She smiled, 'I heard about what you did to get shot like this, by the way...'

Minato had heard, alright; people tended talk about a service medic running forward of her own lines under enemy fire to drag back injured troops. Especially if they'd done it twice and made it back the second time despite being shot in the thigh and torso. Tsukai shook her head, 'It really wasn't anything special...Anyone would have done the same thing, right?'

Minato blinked, 'Well, maybe that's what people say, but you're exceptional.'

Tsukai sighed softly, 'No I'm not.'

Minato carried on dressing her wounds as the endless column of APCs and tanks continued moving between the massive pillars of smoke and flickering fires surrounding the Callahan Bridge, to carry on the fight on the other side of the river.

Floyd Carter Stadium

The Stadium was largely in ruins. The damages from the fighting that had been required to take it had caused extensive damage; the fighting had been much more intense than anybody had expected, and the seps had dug in and built up more than Intel was led to believe. It was no wonder that the lone Boreal that had charged in had been so quickly destroyed; the thing hadn't stood a chance.

The Gnoph-Keh (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v453/GMCMA/GMC/Gnoph-Keh_image-Final1.jpg) had been a fortuitous Catch-22: they never would have been able to take the Stadium without it, but it caused such heavy damage with its massive guns and sheer bulk that the safety of the stadium was in question. The Lanfor Lions wouldn't be playing any more games here, that was for sure.

The stadium had been converted, as per plan, to a forward command base for the assault on the rest of the city. The Gnoph-Keh was parked by the main entrance, a silent sentinel, looming imposingly and scaring off anyone who would even ponder retaking the building. Snipers had been set up in the remains of the seats, and a dozen or so tents were scattered about the field as make-shift shelters. A rather small one was over by home plate, officially called the Liaison's Tent, it was more regarded as the place where The Lucky Bastard was going to be staying.


Liaison's Tent; Floyd Carter Stadium

Lt. Josuke Takata smiled as he read over a well worn letter from his Arvia and Reya, his elven girlfriends back home. He was mildly relieved that they were subtle about their letters. Or, at the very least, they paid lip service to subtlety. This particular letter, for instance was perfectly normal and included a rather nice picture of them posing in matching bikinis. Included in the envelope, however, was a smaller, sealed one that also contained a letter and pictures. These were of a much more 'personal' nature, and after one of the enlisted men had seen the bikini picture, they were the subject of much gossip. He'd taken to carrying the smaller envelope on his person at all times. He was proud of his girlfriends, of course, but he didn't really feel comfortable being that open about just how creative they could be.

He glanced up as Sgt. Harrison walked in, "Yes, Sergeant?"

"Sir, the Hacker commanding officer is ready to see you."

"About damn time." He carefully folded the letter and slipped it in his pocket.

"Ah, sir?"

"Yes, Sergeant?"

"Could I possibly see those sealed pictures?"

"No. Fuck off." He chuckled as he walked out of the tent.


Area between Graber building and Roscoe Plaza

Futami winced as a shell exploded against the rubble she was hiding behind, desperately reloading her rifle, "Hey, Uyo? Lil' help?"

Uyo glanced up from where she was kneeling, surrounded in lightly smoking shell casings, "Eh?" She swung her gun around, as if in a dream, firing at the light tank in question, the treads shattering, causing it to crash into some nearby rubble. Uyo rolled her eyes, spinning back to find more targets.

Elsewhere, Fusayoshi stood in the middle of the battle zone like a Greek god, not bothering to crouch or hug the ground. His HVAAR was held loosely by his side, only raising it when needed, his aim impeccable. Occasionally his body or head would jerk rapidly as he dodged an incoming round or an exploding bit of rock or shrapnel. He glanced back to where the rest of his team was, barking out orders for targeting, looking like a furry Lt. Col. Kilgore

He stepped up to Mamoru, kneeling down next to the younger soldier, "Last call, Ito. It's time to bail."

Mamoru shook his head, "I told you, it's minor. I'm not leaving until everyone else-"

"Everyone's already out, man." Fusayoshi cut him off, impressed at the young man's heroics, but also very much wanting to leave the battle zone, "You are the last one. Get on the fucking bird."

He abruptly lifted his head, bright red information streaming across his field of view, "INCOMING!"

Just as he managed to get out his warning, a shell from a partially disabled tank slammed into the rubble Futami was hiding behind, bricks and debris tumbling down and landing on her. Letting off a stream of curses, many of them aimed at Uyo, Fusayoshi ran over, switching to their direct connection to be sure nothing was misunderstood. Ieyoshi, get Ito on the chopper. Uyo, fucking disable the goddamn tanks. Immobile doesn't fucking cut it. Futami, stay with me, babe. Throwing his gun aside he started digging his teammate out, even as the others moved wordless to follow his orders, Uyo's eyes flashing with anger.


Temporary Field Office; Floyd Carter Stadium

"Lieutenant Takata from GMC Intel to see you sir."

SFC. Crispin looked up from his desk, "Eh? Send him in." Crispy looked haggard; like he hadn't slept in days. His desk was covered in maps and papers, off to the side was a well used coffee mug and an over flowing ash tray. He looked as the young Kitsune walked in and heaved a pained sigh. This was the last thing he needed: some young punk commie kid who was given a commission because he went to school for it. The pressed and crisp uniform looked like it had just been taken out of storage.

Josuke, for his part, felt bad for the man in front of him. Having done his homework, he'd read up on the recently promoted Staff Sergeant. While a lot of people would be thrilled to have received a battlefield promotion, they rarely understood the price it carried. They didn't usually happen because nobody died, after all. He sighed, trying to put things as delicately as possible, "Command is… not happy, Sergeant."

Crispy looked up, blinking as he lit another cigarette, "Oh they aren't? Well neither am I if that makes you feel better. What the hell are they bitching about now? We took their damn stadium, and we're planning our next assault."

"Yes…" Josuke nodded, "That you did… unfortunately, you did massive structural damage to the stadium when your Gnoph-Keh barged through." He chuckled softly, "You rather doubled the size of the entrance. We're worried about the stability of the stadium."

Crispy frowned, taking a long drag from his cigarette, "Now wait a fucking minute, sir,"

Josuke coughed and raised his hand to stop the older man. Unlike what would be expected from a young man plucked out of school, given a small pair of stars and thrown in the middle of a war zone, he had a great deal of confidence, and wasn't about to be yelled down. At the same time, he had the ability to listen, something often lacking in young commissioned officers. "Sergeant, I am not here to berate you. If Command wanted to do that, they wouldn't have sent someone far more intimidating than I am. I'm here to assist you with the next stage of the assault." He set the hollow tube he'd been carrying on the sergeant's desk, "And to give you some new imagery."

Crispy just blinked a few times, not having expected anything along these lines before leaning back and smiling a little. No wonder they'd sent this kid to talk to him, he was good. He blew a long stream of smoke from his nose, "Okay, so what does Command want?"

Josuke grinned, pulling out a few fresh maps, "We're going to move on to the Palace and seize it. Command has been very specific that it not be damaged, so keep the Gnoph-Keh in reserve, 'kay?"

Crispy smirked, "Hey, it wasn't my idea, sir. I didn't send the fool thing in, and I sure as shit don't know who did."

Josuke blinked, "You don't? Hrm. Have you done an investigation?"

"No offense sir, but I've been a little busy getting used to my command and setting things up around here."

Josuke frowned as he looked at Crispin. The sergeant probably wasn't exaggerating: he was still wearing his old insignia. Hell, it was possible that the new insignia hadn't even arrived yet. "Fair enough, fair enough." He glanced around the tent before grabbing a chair and sitting down. He slid forward until his knees touched the front of the desk. Dropping his voice he continued, "Personally, I don't give a shit who was responsible; who gave the order, who followed it, or any of that. I'm going to mark it as a 'Fog of War' miscommunication and be done with it. Since it was either the tank commander acting on his own, or the commander you replaced, I see no need to dig deeper. Gnoph-Keh commanders can't be common, and I have no desire to smear the record of a fallen soldier. We'll keep this between us, and I'll deal with Command. You just need to make sure that your troops understand that this can't happen at the palace. It is critical that it be taken intact."

Crispy blinked. The young officer had caught him completely off guard by being so candid about what amounted to falsifying an investigation. Still, he had a point. While the stadium wasn't usable for civilians, it was still safe enough for their purposes, and by receiving this favor, he was indebted to the Kitsune. And he knew that he would be hung out to dry if anything happened to palace. Damn, this kid was good. "Understood, sir. What can we expect on our way to the palace?"

Josuke sighed, "More of the same, I'm afraid. It's gonna be a long, slow slog to the palace, just like it was getting here. Make sure your Boreals are in good condition, Sergeant: we're going to need all the anti-personnel firepower we can muster.


Liaison's Tent; Floyd Carter Stadium

Josuke stretched out on his cot, sighing softly and staring at the top of the tent. This was not how he'd intended to spend his mandatory service. "Well, me and every other poor bastard here," he muttered to himself. It had been so long since the Federation had been at war, who expected it? And to be fighting over this island again? Seemed that even those who knew history were doomed to repeat it.

He glanced over at his 'desk' (a wooden board resting on a pair of buckets) and thought about trying to write to Reya and Arvia again, but he just couldn't put it into words. What was he supposed to say? 'So far so good – I haven't killed anyone yet!'? He sighed again, finding himself realizing how hard the war must be on people back home, too. He shifted on the cot, taking his eyes off the desk, trying to drill the idea from his mind; it would only make him miss them even more.

Fate, it is said, occasionally has a good sense of timing. Sgt. Harrison popped his head into the tent, "Sir? You have a phone call."

Josuke sighed wearily, getting up on his feet, "Bloody Hell. Command again?"

"Er, I don't think so, sir. She sounds way too nice."

With a quirk of his eyebrow, Josuke went across the stadium (towards center-left field) to the make-shift radio room that had the secure phones. "Which line?"

"That one, sir," Harrison pointed to the bank of satellite phones – for personal calls. There was a small group of curious soldiers, hovering around while trying to look like they weren't.

"Clear out, men." Josuke mumbled as he grabbed the phone, "Lieutenant Takata."

"Lieutenant… mmm… sounds nice, Jo-sama."

Josuke did a heroic job of keeping his jaw off the floor as he whispered into the phone, "Reya?"

"Who else? We're worried about you, you know. Are they treating you right?"

He chuckled darkly, "As well as can be expected, what with the shooting and all."

"Oh…" Her voice dropped a little.

"Oh, Reya, everything's as good as it can be. Sorry."

"Okay." She sounded like she was smiling, "Are you eating okay?"

He laughed at the question. Not out of malice, just at the fact that she was concerned about his eating habits in the middle of a war, "Yes, yes. Don't worry, I'm in no danger of scurvy."

She laughed on the other end of the phone, "Good. We want you back in one piece. Speaking of, did you get our letter?"

"Er… yes. Granted, some of the guys are a little curious about the other pictures you sent…"

"Tell them I'm not that kind of girl, Jo!"

He laughed a little more, "Don't worry, I'm not going to. Someone saw the bikini picture, and… well… it was probably the best thing any of them have seen in their lives." He looked up and sighed, "Look, I hate to do this, but I'm attracting a crowd, and I've got to get to work."

"Aww…"

"I'm sorry, hon, but I can't much help it. Tell Arvia I miss her, and give her a kiss for me. Love you both."

"Love you too, Jo, and I will. Take care of yourself. Please."

"I will. G'night." He hung up the phone with a sigh, growling at the eavesdroppers, "G'way."

Back in his tent, he dug through some papers, pulling out floor plans for the palace. They wouldn't need them now, but they would eventually. As he did, he paused, pulling out the sealed envelope of pictures. He rifled through the pictures of his two lovers in various stages of undress and various 'action' poses, before finding the one he wanted.

It was a picture of the three of them, taken one day when they had gone to a park for a walk and to enjoy the sunshine. Scrawled across the front in Reya's handwriting was 'We Miss You!' He smiled at the picture, kissing it softly, starting to put it back before pausing and slipping it into his left breast pocket.

tag

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Onward to the sacred battlefield
Where justification and limits are revealed...
David Baker & Shawn McPherson ~ 'Devils Never Cry'

Super Six-Five, Highway 4, near the financial district, East of the river, 5:41 pm, engagement +64 hours 27 minutes

The King Cobra halted, sending another round screaming through the pouring rain towards the roadblock further down the highway, a dull thump sounding out just before lightning lit up the sky again. The storm had got even worse in the last twelve hours, the black clouds overhead so thick it was difficult to tell it wasn't night.

Tank Commander Pershing cursed softly as a round from the separatist D-65 heavy tank exploded against the building next to her, 'This is Super Six-Five to all units, be advised that the left hand side of the highway is mined, cross the central reservation and continue moving forward!' she started as a series of explosions sounded out along the road beside her, a shriek of jets piercing the air.

'HQ, HQ, this is Super Six-Five, unknown number of fast movers in my AO, request air support ASAP!' she cried out in pain as the tank lurched to one side, throwing her shoulder against the wall, 'God damn, they got us good this time.' She rubbed her shoulder, her glove tracing a bloody gash in her uniform. 'This is Super Six-Five, we've thrown a track. Super Six-One, take the lead.'

The radio crackled, then, 'Super Six-Five, this is Super Six-Three, I'm looking at you right now, there are pieces of your roadwheels all across the highway. That tank ain't going nowhere, sir.'

Jennifer winced, 'Understood.'

'Six-Five, you ok in there?'

Jennifer gritted her teeth as her loader climbed up and started bandaging her arm, 'Agh...I'll live.'

Another voice cut in, 'This is Mike One-One-Seven,, be advised: we killed one of those fuckers, others are coming around for another pass, heads up!' Jennifer crossed herself silently, the loader, a Neko woman, starting to pray quietly as the tank shuddered from the bombs dropping further down the road.

And then suddenly, with a shuddering crash, the bombing stopped. After a while, the Neko, Toshima, stopped praying and glanced up at Jennifer, who still had her hands clasped together too, 'Um, was that your God or mine?'

Jennifer leaned up, blinking a couple of times at the distorted view through her periscopes before she realised they were probably broken. Cautiously, she opened the hatch, glancing down the road. Just ahead of her tank, a trail of deep scratches in the road and burning debris lead up to where one of the sep Harriers was lying upside-down, one whole wing missing and the tail broken off nearby.

Back down the road, a flash of lightning traced out the shape of the Vione as she crossed the river. Tracers streamed away from her autocannons into the darkening sky as the remaining pair of jets turned in tight circles to avoid them, one yawing violently as a shot clipped the tail and tore off the rudder. Before the pilot could regain control, the Harrier smashed into the water tower on the roof of a high-rise nearby, scattering burning wreckage into the street below.

The second lasted only a few more moments; a burst of flak right ahead of it as it dived placing a cloud of shrapnel in its path, the jagged fragments shredding the fighter's turbine blades and leaving it trailing fire from all four exhaust nozzles. Seconds later, it hit the ground next to the highway, a pall of thick black smoke drifting lazily into the sky. Behind, the eye could just about make out the shape of the Air Destroyer Goliath over Clark Boulevard.

Jennifer watched as one of the heavier prototype Mark 1 A3 Mammoth Tanks passed by, a flash from it's hundred-fifty-eight blossoming into the road ahead, 'Mike Eight-Eight-Three to Super Six-Five, HQ is sending retrieval, do you require medevac?'

She picked up her headset, 'Super Six-Five, negative, we're good.'

Kenneth Banks Shopping Centre, near Wilkinson Park, 7:51 pm, engagement +66 hours 37 minutes

Atlas had seen a lot since all this had started; buildings he'd recognised since he was a child crumbling and falling apart, explosions, gunfire, death...He'd thought nothing could really surprise or shock him anymore.

It had shocked him nonetheless when Brigadier Cortino had grabbed him by his collar and pinned him against the wall; Nekoites were normally meek and rather cute, at least in his past experience, and to see one genuinely ears-back angry was unsettling in itself.

Cortino growled softly, 'What the fuck kind of outfit are you running, Atlas? I'm getting reports in again of your boys down in the South sector firing mortars at units of the Eighth Guards Armoured Division. The Eighth is on our side, Atlas. Now, you tell your boy down there to unfuck himself or I'll be sending my armour down there to do it for you, because I need the Eighth on side much more than I need him right now. Capisce?'

Cortino dropped him before he could answer, turning to face Erikson as she walked out and saluting, 'Sir, are you coming to relieve me?'

Erikson nodded; she'd been taking the time to check over her forces and the stream of reports and paperwork coming in from all across the city, so she'd found it simpler to leave Mariella in command. The little Nekoite brigadier seemed more than capable of handling things, anyway.

She studied Mariella for a moment; she wasn't as small as most Nekoites, a comparatively impressive five-foot-six, and she had a reputation as a proud, determined soldier. Like a lot of the GSDF, she seemed to feel she had something to prove because of the stereotypical views of Nekoites. Overachievers, all of them.

Erikson saluted, 'Mariella, thank you. You should go catch up on some sleep yourself.' She turned to face the hallway, 'Two more Sep RPG teams have been reported in our sector, another seven in grid three-A, fourteen in grid five-C...As of now all forward movement is cancelled until we've run search and destroy in all currently occupied areas. I want supply SITREPs from all units on my desk by ten...Be a few days before we can made a serious assault on the palace with all these supply shortages. Oh, there's a call for you Mariella...Line five.'

Mariella nodded, 'Thank you.'

As she picked up the videophone she found herself looking into the eyes of one of her wives. It was sometimes a little hard to tell Annamaria and Donnessa apart since they were fond of looking alike, but it was definitely Annamaria from the silk bow in her long black hair; Donnessa never wore her hair up.

She looked like she'd been crying, but smiled despite herself as she saw Mariella, drying her eyes a little, 'Mariella?' she sniffled again.

'What's wrong?' Mariella sat down, flicking her tail out behind the seat, resting her hands in her lap, 'Calm down and catch your breath, honey.' She tilted her head, 'What's the matter? Please, don't just phone me up to cry...'

Annamaria blinked away her tears for a moment, 'W-we got a letter...' she sobbed softly, 'Mom and mom were in Lanfor...I-in a building that was hit...' she sniffled, 'They w-were...They...' she sank her head into her hands, 'They never hurt anyone! Why them?'

Mariella blinked, feeling like she'd just been punched. 'Oh God...Anna, I'm so sorry....'

Annamaria looked up, whispering, 'Promise me you'll come back safe, Mariella. Please, I can't lose you too.'

Mariella nodded firmly, 'I'll come back, don't you worry.' She had a soft growl in her voice, 'After I've made sure the bastards who did this can't hurt anyone else.' She reached out and touched the screen, Annamaria raising her own hand to meet Mariella's fingertips, 'I promise.'

Annamaria nodded softly, 'Please, Mari...Be safe.'

Comberth Harbour, Marshall Island

Ashley held Saeko's hand tightly as she watched the ships coming into the floodlit harbour, the crowd of reporters standing respectfully back as they spoke to their camera crews. The nearest to her was a female reporter speaking for Federal National News, Ashley barely noticing her voice.

'...As these brave soldiers return home to their loved ones we must still remember those who remain out there on the battlefield fighting to secure justice and freedom for the people of Grafton's Isle. Nonetheless, these heroes have shown once and for all that the youth of the Federation is just as proud of the society that we have laboured to...'

Another reporter's voice caught her ear, '...Been said many times already, that alongside heroes like Reika Izumi and Madoka Akashi from our armed forces stand the Federation's servicemen, a new generation showing their determination to keep Grafton's Isle free from tyranny. Servicemen like Tsukai Okumura and Maya Shitow are truly an inspiration to us all...'

Risako hugged Ashley gently, 'Stop worrying, Ashley-chan...Please? I know she'll be ok.'

Ashley sniffled in her arms, 'I just want to see her again...I want all this to be over.' She watched silently as a uniformed Army officer stepped onto the crate in front of them, the Kitsune man coughing softly, raising his clipboard as the press went silent. 'The following is the official casualty listing correct as of a half-hour ago, relating to all those known to have been at or near the location of the Mammoth tank Mike Tango Six-Zero. Aardman, Private First Class Juliet Samantha, killed in action...'

Ashley held Saeko's hand tightly as the list went on...Far too many killed or wounded, people breaking down in tears as they heard news of loved ones or friends lost. There were odd happy moments; a young Naga woman sobbing with happy tears into her Wolfen lover's chest as she heard her sister was ok; but it was an agonisingly long time before Cassie's name came up. 'Wallace, Private Cassandra Elizabeth, wounded in action...'

Ashley's heart almost stopped, and she quickly turned to the officer nearest her, 'I need to see Cassie...Please!' she sniffled, 'Is she hurt badly? Please, tell me she's going to be ok!'

The Cervidine woman smiled understandingly, checking her notes quickly, 'She's ok...She's on the hospital ship docking at pier five.' She pointed over to one of the white-painted hospital ships, 'They'll let you see her as soon as it's docked.' She sighed gently, holding Ashley's hand, 'She's going to be fine...You're Ashley, right?'

Ashley blinked and nodded, 'Yes.'

'She wanted us to tell you she'll be fine and she misses you...She kept talking about you.' The woman smiled, 'From what I gathered, you're very special.'

Ashley blushed, smiling despite herself, 'Thank you.' She bowed gently, hurrying over to the dockside with Saeko and Risako.

Our Merciful Lady Kakimi General Hospital, waterfront, Comberth Harbour

Cassie sat up in bed as she heard the door open; everything was still dark, and her body still ached, her hand tracing the bandages over her eyes. She paused for a moment, 'Um...Hello? Is someone there?'

There was no sound for a moment, then she heard someone running over and felt herself embraced by a pair of slender but strong arms, a soft-furred cheek snuggling against her neck. Ashley sniffled softly, 'I thought I'd never see you again...Oh Cassie, I'm so sorry, I should have...'

Cassie smiled weakly, stroking her hair, 'Shhhh...It's ok, Ashley-chan.'

Ashley kissed her gently, 'I prayed every night that you'd come back home, Cassie...' she snuggled against her chest, 'I had a million things I wanted to say...' she purred happily, '...But seeing you smile is all I need.'

Kenneth Banks Shopping Centre, near Wilkinson Park, 7:44 pm, engagement +89 hours 30 minutes

One of the other GSDF officers ran in as Brigadier Cortino stepped out and yawned, pulling her cap down over her short, pale grey hair and flicking her ears a few times, 'Something to report?' She blinked, noting a deep cut on the woman's cheek, 'D'Ortenzio, what's going on?'

The young Sergeant paused to catch her breath, 'Sir...' she saluted hurriedly, 'We found it.'

Mariella paused, 'You're sure it's Morse's CP and not someone else?'

D'Ortenzio nodded quickly, 'Beyond a shadow of a doubt. Colonna and Rossi confirmed two tanks with Hundred-Fourth Arm Cav markings in the rear parking lot of the Belmont View Mall, another larger one we couldn't identify. Took a couple of hits from a sep mortar team on the way back, but I don't think anyone at the CP saw us. There look to be civvies sheltering inside.'

Mariella nodded, 'Belmont view...I'm trying to recall it, think I've been there.'

D'Ortenzio paused for a moment, 'Um, large glass-fronted five floor with an open interior accessed from the front by a low-roofed walkway supported by pillars that runs from a lobby area to the interior.'

Mariella paused, then grinned. 'Lingerie store on the fourth level?'

D'Ortenzio nodded, Mariella smiling, 'I know the one. Erikson!'

Erikson was sitting nearby on the edge of the ornamental fountain, flicking though a set of reports. She glanced up as she heard her name, 'Say it quickly, I'm trying to get this done so I can go to sleep.'

Mariella nodded, 'I've had GSDF scout units out searching for the enemy CP since yesterday, specifically the CP of one Brigadier Ulysses Carey Morse of the One-Oh-Fourth. With your permission as acting superior officer in this area, Brigadier, I'd like to request permission to deploy the GSDF taskforce under my direct command to secure and clear out the Belmont View Mall.'

Erikson paused, 'And you're aware I may not be able to offer you support from the units under my command if you find you can't take this objective alone, correct?'

Mariella nodded again, 'I fully understand my support status, Brigadier, but I believe the destruction of the enemy force at the objective is critical, and that the elements of the GSDF under my command are not necessary where they are currently located.'

'And how much of your Brigade would you be taking with you, Mariella?'

Mariella paused for a moment, 'If I can, all three battalions. I'd ask for a minimum of two.'

Erikson nodded, 'Take three. Akashi!'

The Kitsune woman glanced up from where she was bandaging a young man's injured leg, 'Sir!'

'I've got a GSDF unit here moving out to attack Belmont View Mall, figure they'd be better off with a Pathfinder unit like yours. You up for?'

Madoka grinned, 'Always, sir.'

Mariella nodded, 'I'll be leading the assault on the objective personally. We'll move in hard and fast, have our IFVs establish a base of fire in the lobby area and move in under that. The structure of the objective prevents any heavy armour moving past the lobby, best we'll manage is our LACVs, but they have the same problem. Locate and evac all civvies. The primary target is Brigadier Morse, he is to be shot on sight.'

Erikson shook her head, 'Mariella, you know very well there's a standing order in place to take enemy officers prisoner where-'

Mariella raised her hand, 'With all due respect, Federal military policy is not GSDF policy, Brigadier, you know that. On sight.' She grinned humourlessly, 'Move out in ten.'

'As we realised, we looked at ourselves in horror, in revulsion, in fear. How could we call what we had done victory? In defeating our enemy, we found we had become him.' ~ Unknown Eurusean soldier

Belmont View Mall, South of Clark Boulevard, 8:25pm, engagement +90 hours 11 minutes

The rain and thunder hadn't eased up at all as the column of SDF tanks and armoured vehicles stopped some distance from the Mall itself, waiting by a set of ornamental trees. Mariella hopped out of the lead LACV, the light truck's engine idling as the gunner on its forty-millimetre grenade launcher looked around warily.

Mariella stepped forward, raising her hand to her radio's earpiece, 'Zeus this is SDF command, I need a flare over grid blue two-five, out.' She carried on standing up straight in the pouring rain as the flare burst overhead and the rest of the troops took cover, looking through her binoculars as the light from the flare cast a long shadow behind her.

She turned to D'Ortenzio, 'It's as you said. Two SP guns out front to the right, we can probably get the IFVs past them if we swung around to the right.' She stepped back, pulling down the telephone from the back of the nearest King Cobra, 'Di Marco, go around to the left and destroy those two SP guns as soon as we reach the entrance or you think they've spotted us, whichever comes first.'

The tank commander's soft voice briefly sounded out 'Sir!' as Mariella hung the phone up and swung the box closed again, already turning and pointing to a nearby store 'Both our portable twenty-fives into the second floor of that furniture warehouse, go! The rest of you on me, you Pathfinders too!' she paused, 'D'Ortenzio, Akashi, come with me to check ahead...' she tapped another crewman beside her, 'Rest of you to follow when you see the IR beacon!'

Without even looking to see if the Pathfinder unit was following, she slung her submachine gun over her shoulder and began to move quickly across the car park. Madoka shook her head, 'Now there's a Brigadier with Sergeant written all over her...Come on, on me.'

As they stopped at the entrance Mariella was already peering up over the hedge she was hiding behind, glancing back to Madoka, 'See it?'

Madoka nodded as she spotted the Jagdcobra parked in front of the building, the upper hatch's machine gun left unattended, 'Can hardly blame them for staying buttoned up with all this fucking rain...You got a plan, sir?'

As Madoka glanced over, Mariella had already knelt and flipped down the microphone of her radio headset, 'Tanks Priest Two-Zero, Priest Two-Five to engage the enemy Tango in front of the objective, all other armour wipe out those other SP guns. Go when you see the flash.' She glanced up at Madoka, pulling a grenade from the Kitsune woman's belt, 'Time to stop being subtle about this.'

And with that, she threw it.

Madoka had already ducked into the soaking mud behind the hedge by the time the grenade went off, a fraction of a second later two dull thumps sounding out from across the car park. The sound of shattering glass filled the air even after the explosion faded, the exploding Jagdcobra bringing the glass front of the mall's lobby crashing down into the patio area in front.

Mariella stood, flicking her radio on, 'Now! All units move out!'

Belmont View Mall, East Side, 8:47pm, engagement +90 hours 33 minutes

It had been harder than they'd thought getting this far, into the main area of the mall. Tracers flashed back and forth across the little area of grass and trees in the middle of the lower floor, the shallow lake and river incorporated into it dark with mud after the sep force had retreated back across it.

Mariella stepped back as another explosion sounded out behind her, the flashes from the machineguns overhead lighting up the dark building as thunder reverberated across the city again, 'Martino?' the young Sergeant saluted hurriedly. Mariella didn't even flinch as one of the sep heavy machine guns tore up the column near where they were standing. 'Get that SFAT team with you and take out that antiaircraft gun on the far side in the window of the sports equipment store, we can't get to the central stairways with that fucker targeting us.'

She nodded, 'Sir!' and turned away, quickly running to Madoka and Nanami, 'Brigadier Cortino wants us to take out that quad AA gun on the far side, can you do that?'

Madoka paused to study Martino; she looked to be a college-aged girl, small and slightly built, with the nervous expression of someone doing National Service about her; still, there was an odd confidence to her, too. To all of them, in fact. She couldn't help but wonder if it was something to do with their Brigadier.

'Right. Go!'

Belmont View Mall, East Side, 8:51pm, engagement +90 hours 37 minutes

Madoka ducked back behind the wrecked LACV between her and the antiaircraft gun, shells from it pounding the other side of the burning truck. She winced, 'Not going to die hiding behind a goddamn jeep...Come on! Martino, suppressing fire on that thing!'

Martino blinked, 'Suppressing for what?'

Madoka growled softly, dropping her pack and webbing beside her and checking her rifle, 'Me.'

Martino looked up at her for a moment, nodding blankly, 'Sir.'

'A sergeant isn't sir.' Madoka smiled, 'Now...On my mark...' she tensed, ready to run as Martino learned carefully out, resting her Bren on the ground beside the truck.

'Ready, Sergeant,' she whispered, trying not to flinch as another volley from the AA gun crashed into the truck near her. Madoka nodded, 'Go.'

Martino couldn't help but gasp as she watched Madoka run, vaulting over the low wall ahead of them as her Bren's bullets bounced off the armoured shield of the AA gun. She quickly changed magazines as her first ran out, watching in horror as a shell from one of the heavy cannons clipped Madoka's waist, a long splash of blood marking the floor. But what she'd remember most was seeing Madoka haul herself to her feet and keep running, gritting her teeth and drawing her pistol and dagger.

She jumped to one side as she neared the store, the AA gun turning too slowly to follow her; Martino though she saw one of her bullets catch one of the gun crew. The rest was a blur; the gun suddenly stopped firing as a scream sounded out from behind the metal shield, then several shots, followed by a final ominous silence.

Martino crossed herself, whispering for the Kitsune woman to be ok as she ran over to the silent antiaircraft gun, not even thinking of crossfire or the snipers on the higher floors, just wanting to see Madoka was still alive. She found her kneeling on the floor, panting heavily and holding her side, the white fur of her hand stained with blood. Martino gasped softly, 'Oh God...Sergeant?'

Madoka smiled weakly, feeling a little light-headed, 'Someone ought to tell me to stop doing this...' Martino ran forward, managing to catch her as she passed out. She shivered, calling out 'Medic!'

Belmont View Mall, East Side, 9:19pm, engagement +91 hours 5 minutes

Morse was aware that the third level was already overrun as he started to load his handgun, turning to the door and then back again. The rifle leaned against the wall, carefully wrapped in brown paper, the one he'd been careful to bring with him from his grandfather's flat to stop it being looted...He couldn't just leave it here...

He heard a sound in the doorway, turning at the last minute as the bullet punched a hole in the wall beside him. He turned to face the door, blinking, 'Who...?'

Mariella growled softly; at any other time, the angry little Nekoite would have looked almost comical, but there was something murderous in her eyes that made her oddly frightening. He still managed to smirk, 'GSDF? It figures they'd send a pretend army to do their dirty work...'

Mariella hissed, dropping her gun beside her and drawing her knife, whispering 'Shut the fuck up and die.'

Morse smirked, drawing his own along with his pistol, 'I'll make this quick, girl.'

Mariella hissed again, circling him briefly before leaping forward, her knife meeting his as she bought her other hand around to knock his gun out of his hand, turning her arm to elbow him in the ribs.

Morse was shocked at just how viciously the little Nekoite woman fought; while she wasn't strong enough to match him, she more than made up for it with sheer speed and determination. Several explosions rocked the whole building, the lights flickering briefly. Morse felt a sharp pain in his cheek as Mariella bought her knife up, aiming for his throat and barely missing.

He managed to connect with a punch to the woman's ribcage, knocking her back and winding her. Suddenly the sight of her wasn't so funny; he'd never dreamed a Nekoite could be this way; they were supposed to be useless little things that just rolled over for anyone...

The woman in front of him fought more like she was possessed. She jumped forward again, her knife a blur as he struggled to find her with his own, finally managing to shove her back with his elbow, leaving a deep cut in her side with his knife in the process. She winced, to Morse's amazement still trying to get back up, spitting blood, 'Won't...Let...You...Go...' she managed, a low growl in her voice, 'Bastard...'

Morse took a step back as the fire door behind him opened, one of his Lieutenants glancing out, 'Brigadier, Marine Corps Amphibious APCs have been spotted South of our position, we have to evacuate!' The young woman blinked, realising Morse was still staring at the Nekoite in front of him struggling to get back to her feet; he was pale as a ghost, his knuckles white from how tightly he was holding his knife.

Mariella growled softly, panting, with one hand held against the deep wound in her side, the other holding the pillar beside her, 'C-coward!' she stammered, 'Don't walk away from me!'

She lost her grip, her knife clattering to the ground as she fell. Morse stared for a moment longer before he could finally pick up the rifle leaned against the wall and whisper, 'Fall back to the Palace. All units...Fall back.'

He turned quickly, and started walking down the steps of the fire escape, his Lieutenant blinking, 'Sir...You're not going to shoot her?'

Morse looked back up at her, and she suppressed a gasp; she'd never seen anyone look so afraid in her life. 'No,' he whispered hoarsely, 'I just want to get away from here.'

Outside Belmont View Mall, 9:30pm, engagement +91 hours 16 minutes

The rain was hammering down again, explosions and booms of thunder leaving barely a moment of quiet as the remaining separatist tanks retreated, GSDF armour raining shells on them as they split off down sidestreets. Nanami dragged Madoka back outside, her Sergeant bandaged up by the medic, handing her over to a Marine Corps medic behind one of their amphibious APCs and smiling half-heartedly, 'She ain't dead so you can't eat her, Marine.'

The man smirked, 'Ten-four, private.'

There was an explosion from the opposite side of the car park, one of the GSDF tanks grinding to a halt trailing flames from its engine compartment. Nanami jumped forward, settling behind a low hedge, '...The fuck was that?' she whispered to Akira, who was lying on the ground next to her.

Akira shrugged, 'Got some garbled shouts from the team out back about some strange tank they'd spotted, then this...Over there, see something moving?'

Nanami glanced over to where Akira was pointing, straining her eyes a little and then pulling out her binoculars. The giant tank certainly looked odd; the main gun's barrel supported at the top and bottom with solid reinforcing structures, a half-dozen cylinders secured in line with the barrel on either side with larger drum-shaped objects behind them. As she watched, they quickly swung out from flat against the barrel to jutting out at forty-five degrees to it, the cannon firing again as the thing began to move off. 'I see it...What the fuck kind of tank is that? Looks like something out of a Shirow comic...'

Akira crawled up behind her to take a closer look, 'Jesus, that's an Object Three-Thirty-Eight. Wonder where the fuck they got ammo for it...'

Nanami nodded as one of the GSDF soldiers knelt beside them, pulling out her radio, 'Easy Red, Easy Red to Black Rook, do you copy?'

Nanami caught the reply even with the rolls of thunder, 'Easy Red, this is Black Rook, hear you loud and clear.'

The Nekoite winced, her shoulder bleeding profusely from a deep wound; she mewled in pain as Nanami started to treat her, 'Easy Red, request a full barrage along Haling Road, Sector J-ten, one-one-zero, no civvie presence in area, fire pattern Able, fire concentration Charlie, fire for effect!'

'Black Rook, ten-four, have that with you shortly, don't forget to tip the delivery boy.'

The sky west of the parking lot lit up as the artillery batteries opened fire, the apartments and shops along Haling Road disintegrating as huge plumes of dirt and fire rose into the air. When the artillery finally stopped firing several minutes later, there was no movement, only the sound of burning and odd crashes as the rubble settled. The Nekoite radio operator smiled, 'Thank you Black Rook, enemy Tangos down or not a factor, we'll clean up here.' She grinned as she turned to look at Nanami, 'I think that's the last we'll be seeing of the Hundred Fourth.'

Jordan Avenue, four blocks East of Belmont View Mall, 7:51am, engagement +101 hours 37 minutes

Morse gritted his teeth, his fingers tracing the jagged edge of the lump of shrapnel in his thigh as he sunk down the rain-soaked wall, sitting on the broken paving slabs and resting his head on his knees, sliding his hand up to cover his eyes. He'd seen maybe a dozen tanks making their way to the Palace, several looking to be severely damaged themselves. The rest...

They were all dead.

Banks, Phillips, Jackson...He hadn't seen a single one of them make it out of Haling road. People he'd known since he was a boy, gone in an instant...It wasn't supposed to be like this, none of it. Copeland had talked of sweeping aside all enemies, of finally making Grafton's Isle its own country again, not a pissant non-state carved up by a pair of superpowers.

All that was left of the glorious Hundred Fourth, a regiment even the Federals had spoken of with fear less than a week ago, was a few dozen vehicles and a line of blackened, twisted wrecks along Haling Road. He thought, for a moment, of just letting the GSDF find him here; they wouldn't hesitate to put a bullet in his skull before they bought him in, after all.

Then his hand came to rest on the rifle on the ground beside him. He paused, No...That's not what they would have done. We can still win this. He took a breath, leaning on the rifle to stand, and began to limp back towards the Imperial Palace as another volley of explosions sounded out behind him.

Kenneth Banks Shopping Centre, near Wilkinson Park, 7:55 am, engagement +101 hours 41 minutes

Minato sat down next to Erikson, lighting a cigarette as she glanced over the stack of reports, the sounds of the rotors of the last group of helicopters that had taken off from outside fading as they headed off into the city. 'Ok, now assume I don't have a spare month to read through all this bullshit, what's your status?'

Erikson smiled, slipping the letter from her husbands back into her pocket. 'Got some good news, Sir...Commander Peter Mills just ordered all Sep forces in the city to stand down. Elements of the Eighth and Thirteenth Guards Mechanised Infantry Divisions have already surrendered, looks to be about eight thousand total.'

Minato nodded, 'And your problems with sep RPG teams?'

Erikson sighed, 'Still a lot of stragglers left in the buildings around here with sporadic fire from mortars and artillery to the East...I assume our friends in the airborne are handling that?' She glanced up as the low drone of prop engines became audible, several dozen heavy cargo planes flying low over the shopping mall.

Minato nodded, 'Field Marshal...Um, General of the Army Embersby has authorised all necessary measures to be taken to secure the Palace as quickly as possible. The Supreme Commander himself has signed an Order 355 regarding Grant S Copeland, sentencing him for crimes against humanity. Make it clear to your men he is absolutely not to be taken alive under any circumstances. What's your timeframe for an assault on the Palace with present progress?'

Erikson sighed, 'About three more days.'

Minato nodded, 'You have authorisation to use all means you deem necessary in the execution of this operation.' She handed over a set of signed papers, 'Tactical nuclear warheads up to point two kilotons included.'

Erikson blinked, 'Stage Three authorisation? What the hell's happened to warrant that, sir?'

Minato shrugged, 'Can't say for sure...I've heard some stories but nothing with a stamp on it from intel. I guess it's partly from Mike Tango Six-Zero...I've got a whole stack of papers down from Central Command asking why those buildings weren't checked for demolition charges, and all I can really say is because nobody's ever been so fucking dumb as to block off Clark Boulevard before. Experience working against us, and all.' She sighed, 'They do say the Army's always ready to fight the last war.'

Erikson shook her head, 'Not your fault, sir.'

Minato sighed, 'How did the GSDF do in the attack on that mall? Haven't got a piece of paper on it yet...'

'Both the ranking officers were injured, they're resting up in the infirmary. Shiratori from the Pathfinder unit is doing the write-up, but she's never done one before...It'll be a while.'

Minato nodded, 'Well, as long as I have something...What's the status of the Hundred Fourth? I heard they caught a pretty serious arty strike from the GSDF.'

'Looks to be no survivors at all from their first battalion, a few from the second and third. From what we can gather, you can expect a Grand Tiger, a Mammoth and an Object Three-Thirty-Eight at the Palace, probably two or three dozen tanks, a large unit of SP guns from the First Guards Armoured Division and about a thousand infantry. It looks like they're getting ready for a last stand there, I've got reports of their forces raiding supermarkets along Clark for supplies. They're probably almost out of fuel, too.'

Minato sighed, 'Ok. You're to continue as you were, sweep out the apartment blocks in Dog and George sectors next.' She glanced out of the glass front of the mall, sighing, 'You know my mother died fighting for this city in the last war?'

Erikson blinked, 'Really?'

Minato nodded, 'Yes. She was a Major, took a hit from a sniper when the Union was pulling out.' She glanced along the road, pointing, 'About there...I used to pin a wreath to the lamppost there when I was a teenager on the anniversary. November eighteenth.' She stubbed out her cigarette, muttering 'If these streets could speak, what stories they would tell...'

Federal Artillery Battery Charlie 5, West side of the Stein River, 9:20 pm, engagement +139 hours 6 minutes

Shioko Matsuo sighed softly, wiping her oil-matted fur on the cloth she'd slung over the mobile radar's inspection hatch and picking up her telephone, 'Hello, what is it?'

She paused, looking over at the gunfire lighting up the other side of the river as she listened, 'No, Tameki's bed time is ten o' clock, Otsune is nine thirty and ten if she's been good. Yes, yes I know, she's allowed to do that. No, not that.' She smiled, 'Alonza, calm down. You're a good babysitter.' She laughed, 'Don't mention it. Call my sister if there's anything else, her number's under memory-four on that phone. I'm up to my elbows in a field radar, I'm afraid. See you tomorrow morning.'

The soldiers manning the radar blinked at the pretty Cervidine woman as she hung up her phone and went back to work, a civilian contractor apparently totally unfazed by being in the middle of a warzone. She smiled, 'Ah, right here...Could one of you hand me my socket set, please?'

170 Hawk Terraces, Marshall City

Alonza sighed; she should probably have asked Shioko about this, too. It was a good film, all right, but it didn't seem suitable for little girls of Tameki and Otsune's ages.

'The Gun Katas. Through analysis of thousands of recorded gunfights, the Cleric has determined that the geometric distribution of antagonists in any gun battle is a statistically-predictable element...'

The two little Cervidine girls Alonza was babysitting were watching in fascination, Tameki wearing her pyjamas and trying to match the movements on-screen with her two short, blunt swords. She glanced up curiously, 'Auntie Alonza, can you really sword-dance with guns?'

Alonza shook her head, 'I don't think so...It's probably just pretend. And your mom says you're not allowed to stay up 'til eleven at all.'

Tameki frowned, 'Aw.'

Clark Boulevard, near the Imperial Palace, 2:30 am, engagement + 169 hours 16 minutes

The rain poured down as if the sky itself was falling now, thunder rolling across the darkened city as the Federal units participating in the final assault on the Imperial Palace readied themselves behind the looming forms of the two giant Death Adders. Their engines growled softly as their crews assisted the teams fueling them, a pair of tanker trucks parked up beside each. The crews of the IFVs nearby panned their thermal sights over the nearby buildings warily; the decision to keep the massive assault guns at the head of the column even now seemed odd, though there was no fire coming from the sep positions in the Palace.

Everything seemed oddly quiet, in fact. Most of the buildings overlooking the intersection were occupied by Pathfinder teams anyway, parachuted in a few hours ago to clear out the last possible threats to the taskforce in the street below. About a mile back down the road the remains of the last collapsed building closed off Clark Boulevard completely; it'd be tough retreating if they had to, but retreating didn't seem too likely anymore.

Nanami, her white fur soaking wet and matted against her face, ran up to Erikson, saluting hurriedly, 'Sir, looks like there's a barricade between us and them...Cars, minivans, SUVs and a tour bus, looks like they've been bulldozed in a heap.'

Erikson nodded, lowering her binoculars, 'Anything that'll stop the Death Adder?'

Nanami grinned, 'Oh, not a chance in hell. Took a look out the window of the apartment over there, there's a few light and heavy AT guns in the West part of the AO, nothing that'll stop the Adder.'

Erikson smiled, glancing over to where one of the two Cervidine Priestesses with them was dancing with her swords, her robes flowing in the wind as she intoned an invocation before the assembled group of her Goddess' followers. '...My Goddess Akemi, mistress of the air and clouds; I your servant call upon your awesome power, you who make the earth and sky tremble with your voice...'

Erikson scratched her chin as another roll of thunder sounded out, 'Shiratori, inform your fireteam the operation is clear to commence in two hours.' She glanced back at the ragged Resistance units that had gathered with them, a few tanks and a lot of soldiers with old rifles and submachine guns, 'Tell them too.'

Nanami saluted, 'Ten four, sir.'

Imperial Palace Square, 3:51 am, engagement + 170 hours 37 minutes

'This is it, soldiers.' Brigadier Morse paced slowly back and forth at the top of the marble staircase leading into the Palace. His pristine trenchcoat had long been stained with mud and diesel and his hair was slicked down with motor oil and dirt, a fresh, bloody cut across one cheek, 'This is the moment when we make our stand.' He scowled, 'Though many cowards have deserted us, you will stand, and they shall not break you!' he clenched his fist, 'They are scum! They may have been lucky, but we not let ourselves be defeated by fucking animals!' the look of pride on his face returned a little, and he stood up straight.

'I stand here now because I recognise that man has laboured to raise himself to something higher than the beasts! That is why we fight, and that is why we cannot let them live!' There was a ragged cheer. As his troops - the remaining elements of the Second Guards Armoured and his own unit - moved to their positions, he placed his hand on a newly promoted Lieutenant's shoulder, pulling her to one side.

He scowled, saying slowly, 'Baker, where's Copeland? He should have been the one giving that speech.'

Baker shook her head, 'Nobody's seen him since yesterday, Sir.' She blinked, 'You don't think...?'

Morse slapped her hard, the woman yelping in pain, 'No, damn it! Copeland wouldn't run!' he paused, 'He wouldn't...'

Imperial Palace Square, 5:32 am, engagement + 172 hours 18 minutes

For the first time in a week, it was almost quiet in Lanfor; the distant explosions and rattles of gunfire silent at last, replaced with ominous silence. That silence hung in the air, only broken with the growls of tank engines as columns joined the taskforce assembling just beyond the square, and the sound of rain and thunder. Clark Boulevard had been blocked from view by the barricade of cars and buses that they'd hastily bulldozed into place, closing off the entrance to the square.

Nina Pierce was one of those in the unfortunate unit that manned the first line of makeshift concrete blockhouses and sandbag walls, their mortars, machine-gun nests, tanks and heavy anti-tank guns facing towards the far side of the Palace's car park for tourists. A deep roll of thunder sounded out over the city, lighting up the beautiful ornamental gardens nearby.

A sound a little way off made her blink, and she raised her sniper rifle to her eye, switching to the thermal sighting and gasping softly as she spotted the huge heat source moving beyond the barricade.

Her Lieutenant turned to her, 'What's going on?'

'Something's moving out there...Something big.' She blinked, realising what she was hearing; the sound of pavement cracking.

The Death Adder's main gun fired with a report louder than the thunder, the barricade disintegrating in a massive ball of fire, spraying molten metal, shrapnel and broken glass across the road into the car park. Nina watched in horror as the largest vehicle in it, a tour coach, bounced end-over-end across the car park trailing flames, shearing its roof off and coming to rest lying upside-down on top of an ornamental gazebo at the very edge of the palace's gardens.

Nina had just enough time to blink and whisper 'Holy shit...' in the silence that followed before the night sky beyond the buildings ahead lit up with the muzzle flashes of Federal artillery. Flashes in the sky above signalled the ignition of rocket engines in the seconds before the shells crashed down onto the positions, hurling great columns of dirt and smashed asphalt into the air all around them. She pulled her helmet back on as she hauled herself back up to look over the sandbag wall, watching as the enormous Death Adder's treads crushed the remains of the cars ahead of it.

The Death Adder turned as it pulled into the car park, even the heavy gun rounds bouncing off the monster's frontal armour. Other tanks followed, Nina blinking as a flash of lightning lit up the square again, briefly rendering the Tarot card painted on the side of the Death Adder's superstructure visible. 'Judgement?' she shook her head, 'But why would He tell me like this?'

She ducked behind the sandbag wall as machine-gun fire skipped off the pavement and thudded into the sandbags in front of her, closing her eyes and praying. The ground vibrated beneath her as the second gigantic Death Adder moved into the car park beside the first, the air heavy with the stench of burning metal. Like the first, a large painted Tarot card adorned the superstructure on the left-hand side, facing her. She blinked as she saw which it was, her rifle falling from her hands.

'The Tower...So this is...Wrong?'

Lieutenant Chambers glanced down at her, 'What the fuck is wrong with you? Fire back, damn it!'

Nina shook her head, 'Sir, this isn't right!' she yelped in pain as he struck her across the face, clutching her cheek, 'We don't know what we're fighting for anymore!'

'It doesn't fucking matter!' he growled, 'Copeland said to defend the Palace to the very last man, and that's what we'll do!' an explosion rang out, the orange-red fireball rising from the fountain behind them and showering them both in chunks of ornate masonry, 'You will return fire at the enemy or God damn it I'll-'

He suddenly stopped, his voice dropping to a shallow bubbling sound as a tracer bullet scored a trail across his throat, coils of smoke briefly rising from the wound as he clutched at it and fell. Nina crawled back against the other side of the emplacement and shivered in fear, 'M-medic!'

Imperial Palace Square, 5:40 am, engagement + 172 hours 26 minutes

On the palace steps, Baker ducked as a volley of rounds from on Death Adder's 25mm cannon slammed into the wall above her, smiling humourlessly at Morse, 'I always knew you'd get me killed, sir!'

Morse scowled, 'Where the hell is the Grand Tiger? Are those idiots still having trouble starting it?'

Baker nodded, the young woman's face covered in blood on one side; it wasn't hers. 'The Tiger took a piece of an exploding SP gun to her final drive case on the right and one of those incendiaries went right through the top of her engine grill...They only just got the fire out twenty minutes ago.'

'Damn it, that's not good enough! Tell them if they don't have it in action in five minutes I'll shoot them myself!'

Baker nodded, 'Argonaut this is HQ, be advised...'

Morse stood and turned as another burst of cannon fire crashed into the nearby window of the Palace, the machine gun there falling silent, 'Baker, take over here, I'm going to check on the gun crews inside.'

'On it, Sir.' She smiled, 'Good luck to you.'

Morse frowned as he walked inside, mumbling, 'What the hell has luck ever got me?'

There was a low rumble followed by a dull roar from the back of the Palace as the Grand Tiger's crew finally managed to re-start its engine, the supertank moving painfully slowly around the side of the Palace to avoid breaking its damaged treads. Baker glanced out over the lines ahead of them to the Federal tanks moving into the square, blinking as she recognised the classic shape of a Sturmtiger, with the red-painted barrel counterbalance ring and mudguards that indicated...

'God in heaven...' she whispered. She grabbed her radio, 'Argonaut, be advised, you've been spotted! There's an Atomic Annie moving to intercept you!' she tossed the handset aside without waiting for a reply, 'Paris!' the Sergeant glanced up at her, 'All units are to focus all fire on that tank! Don't let it get into a firing position!'

'Sir!'

Baker watched helplessly through her binoculars as one of the giant Death Adders moved between their antitank guns and the Sturmtiger, shielding the smaller vehicle with its enormous chassis. She scrambled for the radio handset on the rain-soaked ground, hearing the Grand Tiger's crew yelling for her to respond, 'Baker, what the hell is going on out there? Where were you?'

'Nevermind! Hold your current position and be advised that we cannot destroy that Sturmtiger at the present time.'

'Ten four, sir.' The commander intoned, his slight Chiba City accent showing, before being interrupted by a series of alarms, 'Akk, damn it...'

Baker blinked, 'Status!'

'Damn it! We just lost braking...Final drives are shot too, best I can do is coast to a stop, sir.'

Baker shook her head as she watched the Sturmtiger level its gun at the advancing form of the Argonaut, 'Get out of there, now! That's an order!'

She was interrupted by an almighty flash from the Sturmtiger's barrel as it fired, the rocket scoring a brilliant trail in the air and kicking up a plume of dust behind it as it travelled the few hundred yards to the Argonaut, hitting right under the turret ring. The nuclear warhead detonated, a spectacular fireball rising from under the Grand Tiger's turret, lifting the massive structure off the hull with it and leaving it to crash down in the flowerbed beside the burning wreck, which coasted on for a moment, finally throwing three tracks and halting. A column of black smoke began to spread into the sky from the hole where the turret had rested moments earlier, Baker staring down at the radio in her hand, haunted by the final scream she'd heard.

Paris tapped her shoulder firmly; as she looked up she realised the flash had almost blinded her, 'Sir, come on, snap out of it!'

Imperial Palace Entrance Hall, 5:57 am, engagement + 172 hours 43 minutes

Staff Sergeant Hakuma Araki was one of the first through the main door as the separatists fell back; the Cervidine priestess breathing heavily as she left her rifle propped against the door, her hooves clicking softly on the marble floor. Bursts of automatic gunfire sounded out ahead of her, the fires raging down several side-passageways reflecting from polished areas of the floor as she walked. She looked straight ahead, holding the pendant her sister had given her before all this had started.

The same sister who had been killed at Mike Tango Six-Zero.

Ahead a group of Resistance soldiers who'd come in through a window were exchanging fire with a separatist fireteam in one of the smaller dining rooms; as she walked they ducked behind the doors again as bullets thumped into the other side of the old oak. Their leader, a college-aged girl with an eyepatch saluted hurriedly, 'Sir, fireteam of around twenty-five inside with a couple of support weapons, we're all out of grenades and we-'

Hakuma raised her hand, nodding, 'I understand. I'll take care of it.'

The Resistance girl, Dailey, gave her an odd look, 'You'll...?' she blinked as Hakuma fastened the pendant around her neck and drew her swords, bowing her head. Her mother had taught her this when she'd realised her daughter was a psychic...

'My Goddess Miyuki, guide these blades; place in my hand your strength that turns to ashes all before it.' Dailey blinked as she realised the two swords the sergeant held had begun to glow faintly, the glow increasing as she continued until they glowed a bright orange-red, Hakuma growling the final line of the invocation, '...This power that destroys!'

Dailey blinked and she was gone, the door creaking back as gunfire sounded out from inside, quickly replaced with a series of guttering screams and hideous hissing and bubbling sounds, the stench of burning flesh making her gag.

When she finally opened the door, Hakuma was kneeling alone in the middle of the room crying, holding the pendant in her hand; on the floor around her lay the fireteam, all dead.

I'm so tired of being here
Suppressed by all my childish fears
And if you have to leave
I wish that you would just leave
Your presence still lingers here
And it won't leave me alone
-Evanescence, 'My Immortal'

Imperial Palace Roof

With tears in his eyes, Morse slowly unwrapped the brown paper and tossed it aside, checking the bolt group of the old service rifle that had been handed down his family for generations; even after all these years, the action was as smooth as silk. For a moment, he ran his fingers over the ornate script on the stock, 'Army of Free Grafton's Isle.'

He sighed, thinking back to whatever ancestor of his had fought the invaders in what he'd come to know as the Unsung Patriotic War. Copeland was gone; he really had run, just like Baker had thought, and with the rattles of gunfire inside the Palace moving closer to the roof, Morse himself didn't have much time left, either. He felt the tears welling up again, stinging the deep cut in his cheek as he whispered 'I guess I don't have what it takes after all.'

Almost unconsciously, he'd reached to his pocket, withdrawing a clip for the antique rifle under his arm. The rounds slid easily into the magazine, a roll of thunder drowning out the clink of the clip hitting the roof as he tossed it aside and closed the bolt.

Right ahead, the monstrous, dark shape of the Vione hung over the city. Eyes clouded with tears, Morse raised the rifle to his shoulder, centred the sight over the Air Battleship, and fired. By now, the action of operating the bolt was almost a reflex; the first casing spiralled down into the square below as he fired a second shot, sobbing softly. A third shot. A fourth. A fifth.

Many people would later say the most memorable image of the war was the Resistance men waving the red star flag over Imperial Palace, but those who were there that night wouldn't soon forget the sight of a lone young man on the roof, firing his rifle hopelessly into the night.

Morse suddenly felt a searing pain in his chest, looking down to see a spreading patch of darkened material. He managed to bring his eyes back up to look at the vast form of the Vione, his body going numb as he stepped forward, the rifle dropping from his hands onto the roof.

The Federal sniper watched him through her scope; he reached out his hand as if trying to touch something, taking another step towards the edge of the roof, swaying slightly. She'd already looked away by the time Morse took the third and final step, and fell.