NationStates Jolt Archive

The cold sea hung like a solemn grey banner, its surface rippling tumultuously with the passing of the thousand ships. Bits of white crested the innumerable tiny white caps, evaporating into the air giving it a metallic scent. From this rolling tapestry of grey and white arose a great throng of transports, nestled in the center of the fleet they seemed a world away from the hit and run strikes that were befalling the outermost escorts. Despite the dark skies and even darker seas the men were in good spirit. They were confident of victory and on the many decks, stacked high above the waves, camaraderie and true brotherly love flowed without end. Neon sports balls flew through the air, from ship to ship, many of which were lost to the dark water below. It was in these men that the true threat towards Blackhelm and Griffincrest came, not from the thousands of missiles secure in their launchers, or the tremendous cannons waiting to unleash their fury. In these men there was a devotion that seemed invulnerable, a passion sublime and intangible yet indestructible. Victory beat in the breast’s of these men, and there it would wait for naught much longer…

Aboard Transport MXXXIV there was a young man, just barely nineteen he held a steady gaze, infallible mind, and lethal shot. His name was Itamar Zion, and he was an Ulses Pontos in the CDF. Including himself he was in command of five men, Alter Reuban, Elkan Liron, Karim Mahomet, and Aridai Areli. Like so many millions of others they stood on the very brink of war, precariously perched above the fires below, waiting for the moment they would descend. Zion slowly bowed over the rail, leaning out over the waves far below. He craned his neck looking down in on the decks below. He caught the eye of a nameless CDF trooper who seemed to be built a little too heavily for his own good.

The man glanced up at Zion, “What’ya doin there buddy?”

Zion smiled, his face turning red as blood began to rush into it, “You seen a Firos Liron down there?” The nameless soldier shook his head and returned to his decks interior. Zion heard the muffled cries of Liron’s name on the deck before.

A few moments later the soldier returned, “No, we don’t have anyone by that name down here.”

Pulling back Zion thanked the man. No sooner than he had turned around than did Liron jump from within the ships interior not a few feet away from Zion and send a seizure inducing pink ball straight towards his face. Zion ducked and moved to tackle Liron, but fell as he tripped over a small shift in the deck level. The pink ball now sailed down to the sea below joining the long bright funeral parade in the fleets wake. Liron was now dying with laughter at spectacle of un-coordination before him. Shaking his head he approached Zion and lent him a hand up.

Unknown to them they had been observed from afar by Supreme Regelarc Christos. Smiling Christos took his eyes away from the binoculars and turned to his officer, “That… that, is why we are going to win this war.” The officer nodded with a vague sense of understanding. Christos quickly realized that he did not completely understand and answered his unasked question, “You will soon my friend, soon.”

An officer tapped Christos on the shoulder, “Sir, we are about to come into the range of the first line of defense balloons, likewise our thirty inchers are now in range along with our heavier missiles.”

Christos turned to face the officer, his eyes turning to slits, “You know what to do.”

“Yes sir.”

The numerous air defense patrols which had surrounded the Crucible fleet for the past several days fell to the rear, as to avoid coming into the range of the air defense balloons. They were to remain on rear standby unless a direct air assault was mounted on the Crucible fleet, something very likely considering the airships which had recently moved to defend Divinity. The Regelarc took the forefront of the fleet, spearheading the assault, flanked on either side by numerous Guardians and Shields. The more fragile ships had fallen to the center, still however, providing a protective circle around the precious transports. The guided missile submarines had taken up an advanced position, several miles in front of the fleet, and were waiting for the unsuspecting air fleet to pass above.

Slowly the massive thirty inch guns of the Regelarc pointed towards the sky. A moment of pure silence passed before a massive thundering could be heard as all the guns began to open fire on the distant air defense balloons, still far over the horizon. Tremendous air burst shells screamed at the balloons. The Regelarc would destroy each and every balloon, filling the skies with smoke and fire. As the fleet closed in, the Strikers and eventually Shield’s would also lend their fire to the battle. As the massive guns pounded away on the balloons thousands of missiles burst from VLS tubes all around the Regelarc filling the sky with thousands of thing spindly trails of smoke. These one thousand missiles were headed for the second line of air defense balloons and the airships.

Following the Regelarc’s lead, ever arsenal ship, including the two super arsenal ships, opened fire with full salvos. Twenty thousand missiles took to the skies, five thousand were destined for the second line of air defense balloons, hoping to destroy them before they ever got in range. Another five thousand of the twenty thousand were targeted at the airships. The remaining ten thousand were headed for critical locations within Divinity and the surrounding area. Radar sites and anti missile sites were the primary targets. However, several thousand were also targeted at the 500mm guns and troop concentrations.

The JSON network was on full alert, constantly scanning for incoming threats that may not be otherwise detectable. Fleet defensive alert was at its highest of the entire war. How the enemy responded could only be determined with time.

Airship and balloon alike were struck from the sky. Counter-measures were deployed, but with only twenty Hyperions in the air, they were not enough. Of the original twenty, only two survived. Chaos filled the radio waves as ship after ship crashed into the ocean, small escape pods flying from the sides and hitting the water, the men on board signalling for any help they could get.

Four of the ships attempted to volley off their two 105mm howitzers before they went down. How succesful they were, they did not know. Others loosed their arsenal of missiles as their giant mass rushed towards the water in a ball of flame, hoping that the loss of their ships would mean something. Every airship had fired its load of six Tomahawks at the fleet. The one hundred and twenty Tomahawk missiles were supplemented by a volley of two hundred more Harpoon and Exocet missiles, which screamed for the enemy fleet.

At the Confederate Command Base (CCB) in Paradise City, General Blueshield recieved word of the air fleets destruction. "Abandon them. They are a rebelious group of self-rightous pigs. This will teach them what life is like without the assistance of the Confederacy" he told the young officer.

In Divinity, President Faustus Splitiron watched the destruction from his window. The phone rang. The news that he soon recieved devastated him. He quickly dialed a number as soon as he hung up. "The Confederact wants us to hold out on our own, can we do it...I see..very well.......prepare the defenses,"

The Divinity Semi-Autonomous Military (DSAM) quickly set about. Massive armoured columns were rolling towards the beach. SA-6 and -11 batteries were set up throughout the city and surrounding countryside. Fifty HY-2 positions guarded the coast, waiting for the enemy ships to come into range. With them, nearly a half million men stood by, RPK's and AK's ready to repel the intruders who dared assault their homes.

At sea, that lone stealth ship stalked ever closer to the pickets. The Bladerunner torpedo had the ability to travel 100 miles on its own. Once in range, it would fire.

The waves of 105mm howitzer fire fell vastly short or wide of the fleet for the most part, however multiple shells crashed amongst the frigates and battlecruisers. Fortunately, for the most part only external and aesthetic damage was received. One frigate, however, its radar and detection systems crippled was forced to fall to the back of the fleet and be replaced by a more battle ready ship. Unlike during the stealth ship strike before the fleet was ready for a large missile assault and a great many of the tomahawks, exocets, and harpoons were obliterated in the massive deployment of countermeasures by the frigates. Still, dozens broke through the lines and crashed amongst the fleet. The majority impacted the Regelarc, as it was the lead ship in the formation, however they did little. Numerous others crashed amongst the battlecruisers, one of the ships suffered an extremely unlucky hit and its rear severed from the rest of the ship. Men plummeted from the gaping wound into the inky abyss below. Still more obliterated four frigates, one of them so totally destroyed that only bits of scrap metal floated on the turbulent waves. Hundreds of men amongst the fleet were death or dying.

As the fleet closed into missile and gun range of the shore, the true battle began. The Regelarc began unleashing devastating barrages as all its cannons, began to pound the fortifications around the city of Divinity. The massive thirty inch shells split the air and unleashed the very flames of hell upon the foes of the Crucible. The handful of battleships and numerous cruisers joined the fight, opening up with eighteen and fourteen inch cannons respectively. They coated the beaches and fortifications both within and surrounding the city of Divinity. As they fired, they slowly spread out as to canvas more and more land. Dozens of miles behind the front lines the arsenal ships began firing at will on designated targets, hitting anything and everything that was known to be an enemy military asset. Over the course of several minutes hundreds, and eventually thousands of missiles took to the air. The numerous supply ships moved frantically about, desperately trying to keep the voracious appetites of the arsenal ships fed.

Far closer into shore the Heavenly Faher’s released hundreds of USV’s, unmanned submersible vehicles, which began to move in towards the scuttled ships and cement blocks that prevented any sizable landing. Slowly, one by one, the small subs planted demolition charges on the obstructions, holding off detonation for the moment. Beyond that the USV’s moved to destroy any mines that happened to be in the area, hoping to make the coming landing as easy as possible. A few hundred meter’s behind the Heavenly Fathers the guided missile submarines prepared their attacks. Although loaded with the slightly inappropriate Shrike Anti Shipping Missiles, the submarines were ordered to attack land based targets. Only a few hundred meters from shore, thousands of Shrike missiles burst from below the waves and traveled to targets in land. They were to hit radar sites, and anti air sites. The missile themselves accelerated at almost 100g’s and achieved an astonishing top speed, making them very difficult to intercept.

With the confirmed destruction of the air fleet and AA balloons the eight hundred hybrid attack fighters moved towards the shore, preparing to release their payloads on the already swamped defenses. Five hundred of the air supremacy fighters were scrambled to assist them incase any air threats emerged that had been undiscovered.

Far in the rear of the fleet numerous landing crafts were being loaded, it was expected a land assault would begin within the next few hours. Hundreds of thousands of men loaded into innumerable landing crafts, the first of many waves. However, for the moment they waited.

Far away, in the distant lands of The Infinite Crucible the massive Ouroboros’ transports had just arrived and were already being loaded up with the forty Peacemakers purchased for the conflict. The massive piers groaned under the wait of the passing behemoths. Their massive shadows casting a shadow of doom over all the Blackhelm lands. Soon the transports took to the air, their tremendous wings blotting out the sky, sun, and all hope. All around the ten transports swarmed escort fighters, ensuring that the precious cargo would be delivered. Within hours they would be landing with the fleet, completing the ground assault force.

In addition, the Super Heavy Strategic Bombers and Stealth Bombers were mobilized and dispatched with appropriate escorts. Although it would also take them several hours to reach Blackhelm lands, once they arrived the very earth would shake with their ordinance.

The pieces were set, the engagement begun, and it was only a matter of time until Divinity, and eventually the entirety of the Blackhelm Confederacy fell under the holy armies.

OOC: Missed the stealth ship, it wont be spotted as it wont come within the scanning range of JSON.

Divinity's defenses on the beach were a mess. Missile after missile poured down. Thousands of brave men lost their lives, never even getting to fire off a single bullet. They were ordered to pull into the city, and mine the beach. Along the surf, thousands upon thousands of both Claymore and ATG-44 mines were being set up. This would hopefully stop, or at least slow the enemy landing.

Further impeding the landing were the fifty HY-2 positions. Each position would fire upwards of three times, aimed at the enemy transports that were inbound for the beach. The men worked frantically as the targeted the enemy and fired the missiles, then tried to reload as best they could. Three of the HY-2 positions were obliterated in the show of Crucible force, but the rest continued doing their duty to defend the city they loved.

Twenty SA-11 positions, along with another forty SA-6 positions began opening up on the Crucible fighters. Each SA-11 launched four missiles, each SA-6 had three. A total of two hundred surface to air missiles were now screaming towards the enemy fighters. The soldiers had hoped that maybe somehow, if they took out enough fighters, the enemy might just go home. Divinity did not like the Confederacy. They did not want to be part of this war. They saw this as yet another betrayal by the rest of the nation.

President Splitiron was moved into an underground bunker, far beneath the city. He was spending most of the day desperatly trying to get Confederate support from either the Chancellor of General Blueshield. Finally, the Chancellor gave in. He allowed seven hundred Pythogrian designed XM-1 tanks, supported by forty of the Confederate made Godfear heavy tanks, and three hundred Confederate made Vengeance AA tanks to begin moving north to reinforce the city.

The stealth ship crept into range of the enemy fleet. Its target would be the arsenal ships which had caused so many problems for the men on shore. This ship was now carrying a full load of ten torpedoes, having replaced its stores with them rather than Tomahawks. The Bladerunners flew out, two at a time. When the fifth set was finally away, the sleek black ship once again zipped away, dissapearing into the sea.

The massive Ouroboros’s cruised in a massive formation that stretched for miles in every direction. The massive transports, which seemed to defy the laws of God in their flight were very near to their landing zones at sea. They had flown for multiple hours straight in order to deliver the final piece of the invasion force.

Vishta Ahn’Sayid, one of the newest pilots slowly put the plane into a steady descent that would land him rear of the fleet, providing the maximum safety for the transports. As the Ouroboros submerged below the clouds he began to mutter a short prayer, but was stopped short when he saw what lay before him. Although the coast was not in site, he saw hundreds of Crucible ships unloading wave after wave of missiles on the distant lands. It was at that moment that he realized that the clouds were not those of God’s but those of man’s machines of war. Whether he couldn’t or wouldn’t, his copilots did not know, but he never finished that prayer. After a few minutes he and the rest of the transports landed, and within seconds massive tenders normally reserved for super capital ships were upon the planes aiding them in the unloading of their cargo.

From the great cavernous bellies within the transports game, colossal machines of war, The Peacemakers, were slowly unloaded. The massive multi-legged effigies to death were slowly released into the inky depths below, where they quickly sank hundreds of feet and made contact with the bottom far below. Slowly they began to activate and move towards shore, tiny ripples forming above where their massive strides shook the very foundations of the earth.

As the Ouroboros began to receive the thousands of wounded and dead, Vishta Ahn’Sayid looked up through the unnatural clouds that hung like hideous specters of death. For a simple brief moment he saw the light of the skies above, hope amidst this war, however the light was crushed beneath the shadow of a Super Heavy Bomber. There would be no dawn, no true life, for quite some time. As he departed his last image of the fleet below was of yet another salvo of missiles headed towards shore.

Those missiles, which were coming in constant and random waves by now, the amount of ordinance only, yet severely, limited by how fast the arsenal ships could be reloaded. The missiles’ targets remained the same for the most part, cruise missile sites, radar, and AA sites. The very air stank of fuel and exhaust, choking any a meek man, fortunately there were none of those in this army.

However, amidst yet another massive volley, multiple Arsenal ships, eight in total detonated from within. The very ocean fell away from their deathbeds, there was nothing left of the once proud ships, shrapnel flew for miles around, killing or wounding many sailors on the decks of other ships. The arsenal ships had been hit by the Bladerunner torpedoes.

On the Regelarc, Christos received the news. He swore under his breath, “God damnit, do we know what happened?”

“It seems they struck from outside the standard scanning range of JSON, that puts their attack range in excess of fifty miles,” responded and officer.

“Alright, I want more satellites devoted to our fleets network, move the effective scan radius out to a hundred and fifty miles, I don’t want that to happen again,” stated Christos. Far in the dark void above hundreds of JSON satellites moved to provide a wider scan range for the fleet.

Above Divinity and the surrounding territory the massive air incursion was taking sporadic, but heavy fire from land based anti aircraft sites. The fighters and hybrids fired off their countermeasures, and attempted to take evasive maneuvers. Despite their best efforts, however, an excess of thirty planes fell from the skies. Great long lines of black marked their final descents, soon the darkness of the sea would hang over these lands.

The many hundred aircraft began to split up into strike groups. Some moved to hit the SA-11’s and SA-6’s with laser guided munitions. Soon hundreds of bombs screamed towards the earth below. Others moved to hit points where beach resistance seemed to still be especially heavy. They took great care to avoid being caught in the excessive cannon fire blanketing the beaches being released by the Regelarc and its younger brothers. After releasing their munitions on the retreating soldiers, and those attempting to lay mines amidst the cannon bombardment they proceeded to strafe targets of opportunity. The final groups moved to strike at the cruise missile sites, but just before they could strike, hundreds of missiles were launched out to sea. Although the pilots knew not the destination, the landers which had just broken from the relative safety of fleet cover were now moving in towards shore under the covering fire of the battle cruisers.

Dozens of landers, carrying anywhere from thirty to several hundred men were struck. A few were lucky and were destroyed outright, however far more were struck trapping the men within as it sank to the bloody waters below. However, the frigates were still able to provide a degree of support and hundreds of lives were saved. One transport was knocked to the side as it sank, capsizing. What caused this was to be a mystery for only a few more minutes.

There were to be five primary assault locations. The primary force would strike the beaches outside of Divinity and attempt to push into the city. However, the four other, albeit slightly smaller assault forces would hit beaches flanking the city. The inner two flanking assault forces would move to surround the city and cut off reinforcements. The outermost assault forces would guard the flank of the surrounding force and cover them when they eventually pushed into the metropolis from all directions.

As the landers drew closer to shore, the helicopters, transport and assault, that had previously been on standby moved to assist them. The assault helicopters moved in, hoping to provide cover once the cannon fire stopped. The transport helicopters would drop soldiers at advanced locations and at the enemy’s flanks whenever they appeared. The final parts of the assault were the Angelic Tactical Strike carriers. The large and powerful jets raced in at supremely low altitudes, large gliders grasping their bottoms like perverse undercarriages. These Strike Carriers would deposit troops far inland with incredible rapidity and precision. There targets were key locations, such as bridges and chokepoints. On board the gliders were the most elite soldier in the Crucible. They were men trained in every art of war.

As the landers approached the massive obstructions, they did not stop, or even slow. As they drew close the explosive charges that had been planted earlier detonated, destroying most of them. A few landers, however, were forced to change course as the obstructions remained even after the detonations.

It seemed as if all the pieces were in place… save one. It seemed as if the sea began to boil, tremendous bulges forming along its surface. It was if the very earth was trying to restrain the terrible works of doom that were now surfacing. The Peacemakers were surfacing amongst the landers, their massive and terrible bodies soon towering over the seas below. Slowly they began to move towards shore. The multitudes of cannons aboard the peacemakers began to open fire the instant they were away from the water. 172mm and 90mm machine cannons blanketed the beaches in firestorms. The 90mm Vulcan cannons also joined in, laying even more fire into the obscene show of force. All in all fifteen peacemakers were striking Divinity head on, with the other twenty five spread out amongst the flanking forces.

Within minutes the initial landings would begin…

The city was in chaos. President Splitiron knew hope was lost. He could only now hope that he could inflict enough casualties onto the enemy to stop them from advancing. Throughout the city, militias were forming. They would continue the battle, even after the city fell. Positions were being established by DSAM forces at points all over the city. Thousands of bodies littered the beach, all once proud wariors, not ready for the overwhelming force the enemy forces projected.

At Divinity's main airbase, forty Ching-kuo fighters took to the skies to defend their beloved city. Behind them came over a hundred MiG-21's. Ground fire had taken some planes out, but a large number of the SA-11's and -6's were now destroyed or disabled. Mi-24 attack choppers took to the skies as well, determined to kill everyone who intruded on their territory.

On the beach, the ten remaining HY-2 batteries continued firing, trying to hit whatever ships they could now. Soldiers were scrambling around trying to fall back to the city, when suddenly, the massive figure of the Peacemakers rose from the water. Panic erupted, as men tried to run away and others tried to kill the machines. RPG-7's began firing at the monstrosities, over a hundred rockets recorded being fired, and an M109 self propelled howitzer also threw its weight into the fight, firing its 155mm cannon at the massive walking machine.

Fishing boats and anything else that could be converted to military use began to do so. Over a hundred boats of varying sizes and shapes began to set out to try and halt the enemies. Mainly armed with no more than an RPG-7, the boats tore out to sea. A few of the larger ones had a torpedo on board, but this was rare. Some of the smaller motor boats were simply packed full of explosive and sent toward enemy ships.

The Confederate relief force was now closing with the beleagured city.

Many thousands of meters above, a lone Arbiter II (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=452252) stealth bomber, reconfigured for surveillance, quietly cruised the edge of space. Its bomb bays were empty, and the drone racks were not installed. Instead, it carried a payload of a single highly-sophisticated observation pod, filled with a battery of high-resolution still and video cameras in various spectrums. The remainder of its payload was reserved for fuel, giving it an impressive loiter time.

Hardened Military Intelligence compound
Mountainous region outside Vilnius

In a barely-lit room within the bunker complex, a half-dozen Military Intelligence officers looked over an LCD screen built into a nondescript conference table's surface. Most of the room's illumination issued from the screen, casting harsh shadows on the gaunt, craggy faces leering at what was displayed. The feed from the surveillance Arbiter, beamed via laser to a number of orbiting satellites, and directly to the MI compound. No other Brettonian governmental offices had access to this viewing.

"Hmmm..." one said, stroking his chin with a gloved hand. "Our property is wading ashore."

"Indeed, and now, finally, a chance to examine its effectiveness in combat, beyond Brettonian hands," another added, leering in closer. "A historical moment, to be sure."

"I am less than certain that this will be effective," one of the more junior officers stated, withdrawing a hypodermic needle from his arm. "If the BMI reports are correct, the weapons platform was never tested during an amphibious operation out of salt water." As he returned his sleeve to its original position, the empty syringe, formerly containing a dose of highly pure heroin, was casually discarded in a waste paper basket near the table.

"It is true, unfortunately," an older member muttered, having not spoken since the feed began. "The body, limbs and secondary weapons should be proofed against the harmful effects of immersion, but its conductive effects on the main gun are... unknown."

"Well... we'll see soon enough, I imagine," the younger officer stated, sliding deeper into his chair as his leather coat's collar and shoulders began rumping up the sides of his head.

The faces returned to the screen.

It was almost like the womb. However, Itamar Zion doubted the womb was filled with assault weapons and stank of oil and sweat. The landing craft lurched from side to side in the waves, the men gripping at the handles and each other with each tumultuous sway. It was quiet, the muffled sounds of the battle outside were reduced to a faint drone by the thick armored plating. Slowly rumbles and dim cracks were all that reminded the men that this was no combat exercise, that they were not landing on any native beach to be hit by laser guns. This was war, and men, lots of them, were going to die.

Loud quick pangs startled the men, they ripped at their psyche, they had just been shot at. Itamar got his fire teams attention, he commanded just a fraction of the men in the craft.

“Alright, we are going to be part of the second wave, the first is already securing the beaches and the enemy seems to be in full retreat, however we have only just begun to push into the city’s outskirts and we are meeting heavy resistance from militias.”

He paused as there was a deafening roar and the boat lurched to its side, a howitzer round most likely targeted at the Peacemaker missing its mark. He turned his gaze back to his men.

“Now we are to adva…”

The world about the men cried out, and they were blinded. Flames licked at their skin and turned them to ashen effigies of their former selves. Zion was lucky, his support gunner had eaten the brunt of the explosion and been obliterated in the process. Zion, however, was still very much alive. The world was black and red now, he burst to the top of the waves and surveyed his surroundings. The transport was broken in thirds and a few men thrashed at the waves. Most, however, simply sank leaving blips of blood where their carcasses had floated momentarily.

He gasped and turned his gaze towards the shore, which hovered tentatively a few hundred feet away. Slowly he began to push his way inland. The black sea pulled at his body, its density now that of pudding, slick with oil and flesh. Slowly however, it cleared as he pushed from the destroyed lander. He gasped for air as he hurtled the waves in land, praying he would not hit a stray mine. With each moment his head cleared the water he caught glimpses of the beach.

CDF soldiers cresting dunes into the waterfront districts. Peacemakers, small trails of smoke rising from scattered armaments, blasting the districts with prodigious covering fire. Attack helicopters locked in duels with the enemy, guns and missiles leaving arches through the sky.

Soon he made contact with the land and jogged up on to shore. He glanced back out at sea and noticed that no one else from his lander had made it. A few still writhed in agony, but soon they two sank below. He scanned the beach from horizon to horizon. Despite how bad it had gone for him, most men seemed to be landing without incident. He jumped to his feet and looked at his rifle. It had been waterproofed for the landing, just in case, and now he was happy for the fact. He stripped away the burden and ran towards an unloading transport.

A Sergeant looked up at him, “Where did you come from soldier?” Zion only pointed out towards the smoldering remains of his entire human military career. “Shit.” The sergeant motioned for him to join up with his squad.

He jogged up the beach with the men, turning to an engineer he spoke, “What happened to that Peacemaker’s guns?”

“As far as I can tell, we tried to seal them as we loaded them into the water, but we had to rush the operation, guess a few seals failed before they could surface.”

Zion turned his gaze back on the titanic beast, he flinched as multiple RPG’s flew into its side, great blooms of smoke rising from the impact points. However, as the smoke cleared it seemed as if little real damage had been done. More howitzer fire crashed into its sides, but it simply strode through the fire, remaining guns blazing and turning the few remaining buildings of the waterfront district into tinder.

The squad advanced down the broken street, ducking in and out of craters that still smoldered. The man to his left, the Engineer suddenly collapsed as a massive resounding crack then whiz was heard. The engineer toppled over, blood spurting from the wound in great streams, coating Zion. Zion dove into a crater, smashing through the torched remains of a group of humanoids. Whether they were men or woman, child or adult, could not be discerned. All he knew that they bones turned to ash under his weight and that they were very, very dead.

A group of poorly armed men emerged from the half destroyed remains of a building a hundred or so yards down the street, their rifles blaring as they took cover behind a, remarkably, intact car. Zion heard something over his comm. and he turned looked up towards the bleeding sky. He didn’t know what had been stated, but it was something along the lines of, “Air support is in bound, stay under cover.” It didn’t matter, he just zoned out, listening only to hiss of the passing projectiles.

He eyes focused on the skies far above, hundreds of enemy aircraft has engaged the Crucible fighters, and were outnumbered almost ten to one. Bits of fire and smoke burst from the clouds as fighters were hit. He wondered how the flanking landings were going, whether they had hit such stiff resistance as well. He realized that he really wondered about too many things. He paused, and wondered why he became a soldier.

Suddenly the sky was blocked as a massive attack helicopter passed overhead, its rockets engulfing the militia in fire.

“Advance!”

This was going to be a long war.

The ships out at sea had slowed their bombardment to a far more tactical level, only hitting confirmed targets, so as to prevent any friendly fire. However, they continued to his the cruise missile and anti air sites. The hybrid attack fighters had retreated to the fleet in order to reload, but the air superiority fighters had engaged the enemy aircraft and helicopters at all possible points. The peacemakers, were largely still in working order, save for a few broken weapons which had not been properly sealed. The peacemakers were also accompanied by multiple small rotary bladed UAV’s which relayed information to the central logic processor, giving the peacemaker better and more accurate information. The city landing had hit stiff resistance and was advancing slowly, and armored units were slowly being brought to shore behind the first waves of infantry. The units hitting the country side were making good process, having to fight through more favorable conditions that those in the city. Still none of the flanking units had entered the city, preferring to push forwards until a complete of night complete perimeter could be formed. The Myrmidon Special Forces had met a good degree of success in their initial strikes of the inland targets, however, they would need reinforcements soon. Intelligence had reported the advancing armored columns, unfortunately no armor would be able to move to meet them, so the next best thing was employed. A number of the newly arrived stealth bombers destroyed a number of the roads they were likely to take, and also moved to begin assaulting the armored columns themselves. Whether or not they hit resistance, was to be seen. Finally the super heavy bombers had begun unleashing their massive payloads on the central city, millions of pounds of explosives began to blanket areas which had not yet been assaulted by ground forces.

OOC: Sorry for the long wait, but last week was the hardest week of my life in terms of homework. Anyway, if you have any questions, as I put what I did in a rather odd format, feel free to ask. Also, I had meant to post that I was sealing the Peacemaker's weapons, but I didn't. Too bad, now I must RP them with a few broken weapons. Also, I have given them escort UAV's, which are really just very very small drone helicopters that can go look inside buildings and such to help prevent ambushes.

The one remaining HY-2 launched its last missile, as soon enemies were upon the position. That one cruise missile was fired at the left leg of a nearby Peacemaker, in hopes of toppling it. Within the city, a massive panic had broken out. Trucks drove around the city of Divinity, handing out RPG's to the entire populace, much like the Panzerfausts in Berlin at the end of World War II. The infantry of the DSAM were pulling back steadily, garrisoning buildings as they went, making each block a battle.

Mi-24 attack choppers were engaging the Crucible choppers, as well as attacking the massive Peacemakers, while Mi-21's supported them, striking down enemy attack helicopters, and firing their missiles at the legs of these behemoth machines.

T-55 tanks were positioned all throughout the city, some in heavy concentrarions where an important building stood. They too were prepared to engage the Crucible forces. A number of the tanks fired in vain at the approaching walkers, but seeing that they were unable to damage the machine, began to focus on the men pouring into the city. Milita technicals, armed with .50 cal machine guns assisted them, driving for enemy positions.