Futuristic Starpath X: For All Mankind

[Infab]

Sam had spent most of the hour they had been given to recuperate simply tending to wounds and helping others get their bearings after the firefight. He fully expected more injuries soon enough, so he spent what little time he had left, after tending to the others, searching through the gear of any of the upyri corpses that they could find. Medical supplies were in high demand. They'd need as many of they as they could find in the coning days.

He also thought over the incident with the Kanad tank commander. He seemed like an utter asshole, honestly, and it made Sam wonder if the rest of his group were the same way. Hell, they all could be. He hadn't really interacted with any.

He also wondered if the incident would bite them in the ass later. Pissing off your allies wasn't the wisest of ideas, and they could simply ignore your calls for help or simply watch you get your shit kicked in. Even fire on you themselves, if you angered them enough.

Now that they were on this side of the bridge, pushing further inward towards the fuel plant, he was both curious as well as worried as to what the upyri would throw their way. It was a key resource, and the upyri knew that. Fuel was fuel, used by all. They likely would task their better squads, or even elite units or armored groups to defend it.

He just hoped they made it through this in one piece. So far, they had been lucky save for their alien friend. He wondered if he actually had been killed in the blast, or simply left as stealthily as he had shown up? They'd probably never know.

"So, do we just kinda hang back and let the Kosoks take 'em on? They seem to have the firepower to manage things, unless the vamps bring in anti-armor weapons." said Sam, looking to the others. "I'm sure they have one of those anti-vehicular railguns around somewhere. Just waiting to be used."

There had been rumors that railgun-type weaponry had been put to use by the upyri over the past few weeks. Of course, mainly by the Honor Guard when they appeared, but some of those weapon types seemed to be trickling down into typical grunt hands. Or was it Gauss weapons? Sam wasn't entirely sure. Rumors always got a bit twisted when they passed from person to person.

 

[joshuadim]

Tense confrontation aside, Mazurek remained silent as the Kosoks strolled past to push further into the city - all the while giving the squad time to rest - and keep the pressure up on the Upyri forces. Mazurek took the time to get a bit of shut eye, mumbling in his nap as brief images flashed to create brief dreams before waking up when it was time to go. He still felt rather upset towards the Kosoks' flagrant disregard for the lives of their allies, which stirred a question in his mind: what were they after in the first place in helping us?

Regardless of whatever answer he could come up with, none would satisfy as a resolution as the soldier instead focused on getting back towards the task at hand. "I guess for a unit our size, we'll be serving a more pronged or covert role, especially with the heavy artillery they brought in just now." Mazurek replied to Sam as he looked off in the distance towards the ruined streets of the city proper. "Thankfully, we won't be getting much attention for a bit when there's heavy armour strolling on through."

 

[bat_hacker]

Atlas remained silent and still as the Kosoks departed. Once he was sure he had a moment to spare to himself, he dimmed his visor screen and closed his eyes to regain his bearings. Such an explosive outburst was unbecoming and threatened the integrity of his mission. His fury and hatred of the blackbloods must be a spear of precision and will, not a boulder of indiscriminate destruction. He sought inner quiet, but was disturbed by the humming of his suit's filtration system. The water from the river had long since been cleared of any particulate or bacteria and had returned to its off-putting sterility, why was the filter still running? He returned his attention to his visor's HUD and noticed his suit had raised a warning that he had ignored in his rush to return to the fight. The words appeared in human symbols first, indecipherable to Atlas. The translation which followed was ominous, but exceptionally poor and unclear: "Your enclosure requires clear water immediately. The hidden waves of harm have invaded." Dissatisfied with this, Atlas approached Krawczyk and asked her assistance. An expression of shock Atlas had never seen briefly flashed over the sergeant's features, and she immediately ordered him to return to the river to replace his suit's water, emphasizing that he was not to enter until he was as far upstream from the crashed Kosok vessel as he could safely progress on land. Atlas was deeply perturbed but determined not to panic. Regardless, he took his leave swiftly.

For all their impudence, the Kosoks were thankfully drawing the enemy's attention away from the riverbank, so Atlas was able to get quite far beyond where the vessel had crashed with no trouble and in little time. He hurried into the water and cycled his suit, watching the warning on his HUD pensively until, at last, the yellow bar of light vanished. Atlas relaxed and opened his suit the rest of the way. He took the opportunity to let the current wash over his body and hopefully take with it whatever foul thing had infested his suit. After a minute or two, he began to feel better, though couldn't be sure whether it was mental or physical relief. He lingered for as long as he felt he could, then slid back into his dive suit and prepared to make his way back to the rest of the squad.

As the HUD of his visor lit up, Atlas took an extra moment to check the alerts again. The ominous warning was gone for good, but something new appeared. His suit had automatically generated a waypoint in the direction of the downed Kosok fighter, and an attempt to receive from a nearby device was being made. This was more than strange, to say the least. He was certain he couldn't leave without knowing the signal's source. Krawczyk had implied that the vessel was dangerous, but she hadn't ordered him to avoid it entirely. He would need to remain in his suit to follow the signal anyway, so if this mysterious contamination was in the water, he would be protected by the same seal that protected him from the open air. Regardless, he watched his suit's HUD carefully as he approached the wreckage. Whatever was transmitting was generating a very powerful signal, which repeated itself every two or three seconds. It was too short to decipher, but since it was loud enough to locate at more than 200 meters underwater and appeared to be emanating from the downed ship, he surmised it must be some kind of beacon, signaling for help. He couldn't imagine the Kosok was still alive, but his curiosity urged him forward anyway.

The device broadcasting the signal was about the length of a human forearm and cylindrical. It was rimmed with a bright phosphorescence that made it easy to find even when he got too close to the signal to locate it via his receiver. The symbols adorning it were unfamiliar. Atlas assumed it was Kosok writing. As he turned it over in his hands, the cylinder suddenly fell silent, no longer broadcasting. After a brief second, the cylinder began transmitting a quiet but much more complicated signal directly to his suit, as it seemed. He didn't need to decrypt it, the device was transmitting using one of the encryption keys the suit already had, but the message couldn't be translated. It was another indiscernible collection of symbols. More Kosok. The words streamed past his eyes, impossibly quick as information flooded his visor. Then, suddenly, it stopped, and the cylinder went dark. Atlas thought it prudent to bring both the strange device and this strange message to Kang, who could hopefully translate them.

Carrying the device under his arm, Atlas walked his dive suit out of the river and back up the bank to where his squad was waiting. "I apologize for my delay. This artifact was speaking loudly, so I retrieved it from its hiding place near the dead metal fighting-bird. It appears to belong to the sharkfaces, perhaps a final message from the bird's rider. I hope for Kang's assistance in this matter."

 

[K0mori]

"So, do we just kinda hang back and let the Kosoks take 'em on? They seem to have the firepower to manage things, unless the vamps bring in anti-armor weapons." said Sam, looking to the others. "I'm sure they have one of those anti-vehicular railguns around somewhere. Just waiting to be used."

"I guess for a unit our size, we'll be serving a more pronged or covert role, especially with the heavy artillery they brought in just now." Mazurek replied to Sam as he looked off in the distance towards the ruined streets of the city proper. "Thankfully, we won't be getting much attention for a bit when there's heavy armour strolling on through."

Krawczyk knelt and checked over her equipment one last time. "...No, I think we need to press on even harder, if I'm being honest," she replied to Caine.

Kang looked worriedly over her shoulder. "Ma'am?"

"I think it's obvious that the Kosoks don't care much about friendly fire; I don't want to know what they think about civilian casualties and collateral damage," she grumbled as she stood and pulled back the charging handle on her rifle. "Mazurek's right, though. Those tanks are going to draw a lot of fire, especially since it's alien equipment. If we can just slide through a gap somewhere we'll be at the fuel depot in no time." Krawczyk wiped her brow. The prolonged sunlight felt hot on her skin, even if the air was cool, blowing in from sea.

Oberto had been listening, and gave Krawczyk a concerned glance. "What if they've rigged the fuel plant to blow like they did this bridge? We don't have our drones anymore, and that big xeno that was helping us is gone."

Krawczyk shook her head. "We'll just have to see if we can procure some equipment from the other UFS units in the area. Maybe even pick some off the upyri, if the Kosoks don't blow it all to hell before we get there. But I don't think they'll have rigged anything like they did with this bridge. There's so much fuel in the depot that it would take out anything they've still got on the ground. It's more likely that they'd drop a bomb from one of their starships on the way out, when they're ready to leave New Durban entirely."

"Then what's the rush?" Oberto asked, almost accusatively. "We're already ahead of schedule, and they can't fuel up any faster. It'd be safer for everyone if we worked together."

Krawczyk bristled at the suggestion. "I'm more concerned about the civilians they've taken as laborers," she replied.

Carrying the device under his arm, Atlas walked his dive suit out of the river and back up the bank to where his squad was waiting. "I apologize for my delay. This artifact was speaking loudly, so I retrieved it from its hiding place near the dead metal fighting-bird. It appears to belong to the sharkfaces, perhaps a final message from the bird's rider. I hope for Kang's assistance in this matter."

"Kang!" the Sargant replied.

Kang trotted up to take a look at what Atlas was holding. "Oh...? Oh!" she said, her eyes suddenly bright as she turned it over in her hands, tracing the text back to its beginning. "Kamik-Nilmika Geshytk Kadarnik," she read, continuing to speak the tongue-twisting Kanad language as she turned the tube over in her hands. When she had reached the end of the directions, she looked up and gave a toothy smile.

"What does all that mean?" asked Oberto.

"To be honest, I didn't understand every word I just read, but I think it's basically a black box," Kang explained. She rotated it around and spoke slowly, giving insight as to what the words actually meant. "It says to connect using a compatible, uhm, 'data interpreter?' ...to receive something or other... probably telemetry... and voice."

Krawczyk shrugged. "Normally, I'd be of the mind to return it to the Kosoks, but seeing as they're a little preoccupied being the front line, we'll just have to carry it for a while and see if an opportunity comes up to figure out what happened. That was... fucking strange, I've got to admit," she said, looking back to the wreck of the starship, its tail still sticking out of the river's surface. She sighed, realizing how close Atlas would have had to get to the machine in order to recover its black box.

"Atlas, you need to understand: some machines contain a rare metal that's extremely poisonous. The poison can travel not only through water, but air and space also. It's a poison that can make you very ill or even kill you, and can harm you long after you encounter it. To be safe, you have to stay away from the poison. Get clean water if you see the that warning about 'invisible waves,' and don't go near crash sites like that one again," she said, gesturing at the Kosok wreck in the water.

Acheson approached with a handheld scanner and held it up to Atlas' dive suit. Its built-in Geiger counter clicked a bit more near the surface of the dive suit than it did the open air, but Acheson gave a reassuring smile. He then walked over to the river and dipped the end of the scanner into the water. It clicked more ominously there, but he again shrugged it off. "Don't worry, Atlas," he said. "Your dose was less than half of what we'd consider a serious matter."

Kang sought to clarify: "You got away from the metal before it could poison you," she said.

---
​

Getting back on the move, Patrol 2 linked up with some scattered UFS soldiers and advanced to the next city block. The Kosoks had pushed the front line as far as Six-Point Park, what had been a shady public rest in the midst of the city. Due to the war, the trees which had originally covered the land were nothing but charred and gnarled stumps and limbs on dirty, overgrown grass. At the center of the park, a lone concrete building with a pavilion and bathrooms had survived the bombing campaign, and a few dead upyri lay slumped over their machine gun emplacements. The Kosoks had taken their place, and were securing the perimeter by sweeping the six sides of the park with the tanks. Somewhere beyond the walls of the first lines of buildings, active combat was taking place, but on the grassy lot, all was peaceful for the moment.

"I'll get Lt. Das on the horn," Oberto said. "Seems like a good time and place to resupply."

Krawczyk, surprised by the confluence of positive factors, nodded and concurred. "You could easily land some transport craft in this park."

 

[joshuadim]

After the brief discussion over their next course of action, Mazurek followed along as the squad pressed forward and arrived at Six-Point Park. What once had been a peaceful stop for denizens of the city had now been turned to ruin by the actions of the Upyri. He couldn't imagine if there had been children here when the violence first overtook this world... a thought that he put away as to keep focus. An emplacement had already been secured by the Kosoks, which provided some cover in this open area as they moved through, but also secured a landing point.

A distant howl of engines grew closer and more intense as a large, bulky dropship - not of Human, Upyri, or Kosokom design - approached and made landing. Being a veteran of the Battle of Terra, Mazurek recognized exactly who this vessel belonged to based on its clan markings as he visibly beamed up. "Damn, those are the Ursataari Expeditionary Forces of Clan Blacktooth! Saw them in action back on Terra, as well as a few of the other clans too. They pack hell of a punch." he explained to the others who might not have known.

As the ramp opened, large, bulky ursine aliens hopped out and took positions around - twelve in total - before their commander, with paint markings to signal as such, shouted an order in their language to ease up. For Jemmez, it was a relief that they weren't immediately dropped into a hellish fight but had time to gain their bearings of the terrain and orient themselves. He spotted the humans nearby and approach with his fellows. They all positively towered over the humans in size, which made them and their armaments all the more impressive or even intimidating. "Hail, humans." Jemmez spoke in English as he lifted an arm up high above his furred head, "I am Jemmez, son of Torric. We are here for the fight."

"I'm Aleksy, son of Peter." Mazurek responded, raising his own arm vertically before setting it down quickly. "We welcome you as we did on Terra."

"I was not there, unfortunately, as I and my companions had not finished our training. But now, we make up for lost time!" Jemmez replied as he turned to his compatriots, giving off a war bellow which was reciprocated by his peers.

 

[Breadman]

"Big enough to land some heavy gear." Boyan answered with some interest while looking at the park. "Some artilery pieces here and there and some more tanks would be good to have right about now." He glanced towards the Kosoks that were now stationed on the perimeter. "Tho maybe with someone else manning the guns."
---
A few dozen kilometers away

"Fifty thousand. Half in advance and half when the job is done." The bounty hunter stated his price "You're in a tight spot, but so am I." His face was obstructed by the helm he was wearing, but the officer in charge could see the grin behind it all the same. If the damn alien and his clan weren't so useful in the war, he would have tossed him out by now.

"Fine. We'll have the amount transferred to your account within the hour."

"Smart move, human." The alien motioned with its fingers, mimicking a sign he's seen humans do with theirs. A point when some of them make a good decision. "I have to be honest, ever since you entered the galactic stage, business has gotten better. I haven't hunted like this in years, be alone or in a pack." One of the soldiers nearby gave the hunter a nervous look and then glanced to one of the others wondering if he heard him right.

"Glad we can be of service I suppose." The officer answered "To whom are we making this payment? Or do you prefer your clan to get the payments?"

"Just make it out to Kumcho." He gave a rather enthusiastic answer. "My kin will get what money I decide to set aside. But you haven't told me what proof I should provide from each kill? Head, heart, testicles?"

"Nothing so grizzly, thank you." The officer raised his hands in objection "Photo or video evidence of killed Upiry VIPs will be enough. Or dogtags if you can get those."

"Oh that's what those are called. Odd name, but I'm not gonna question my clients over minor things." He looked to the list of names "Any way for me to track them besides how they look? Any way for me to find their scent?"

"If we did, we would have provided you with that."

"I'll improvise then." The hunted nodded. Not ideal conditions, but he's hunted in worse. "Is there a transport I can attach myself to?"

"Should be something leaving soon."

"Good. I'll have your targets soon enough." He nodded and turned around to leave for the frontline.

"Sir. Did we just send a wolfman to hunt the vampires?" The soldier that was listening to the entire conversation unfold spoke up as he looked at Kumcho leave.

"Positive on that, Jenkins." His superior answered with a dry tone. "We're new to the whole galactic stage thing, so this is gonna get more common." Jenkins could just watch as the wolf strode away. He wondered what else was in store for them on this hell planet.

 

[Infab]

Sam took a moment to look about, taking in their surroundings as everyone moved about the large park. He wondered just what the park had looked like before the war. Hell, even the city and planet itself. Humanity tended to leave some elements to a world they colonize alone, seeing it as sort of beautifying a planet unlike what they had done to Earth. He had heard that Earth itself was once a beautiful place, full of a variety of different wildlife and plants. The numerous wars and drive for resources to sustain humanity's early lifestyle put an end to a lot of that.

As a landing site was secured, the first of the many transports that would be landing arrived. These bearing some of the Ursataari Expeditionary Forces. Sam had heard of these xenos, resembling the large bears of old Earth. He had also heard of how vicious they could be in combat. They'd be plenty useful in fighting off the Upyri. Mazurek seemed to recognize exactly what clan they belonged to, but Sam didn't quite catch the name. Still, he was familiar with them, which was good.

"I wonder what other races will show up to fight? The Upyri seemed to have pissed a lot of people off." said Sam, glancing to Boyan and Krawczyk.

But then he caught sight of something surprising. Out from an alleyway to the southwest, a group of five individuals strolled out. Four of them were dressed in what appeared to be various bits of trash and discarded refuse, fashioned into an urban makeshift ghillie suit that snipers would prize. They blended in extremely well with their surroundings, as most of the city was already covered in debris and trash from the fighting and bombing. In the midst of them was a lone Upyri soldier, bearing the marks of a Lieutenant and whom had their hands bound behind their back.

As they neared, the four dressed in the makeshift ghillie suits removed their face coverings. Snow white skin, bright red eyes with a thin line of yellow surrounding their pupils. Sam's eyes widened. El'uth snipers. The tribal El'uth were practically myths and legends in Human space, hailing from a snow-covered world sandwiched between Upyri and Human space somewhere to the northwest. The Upyri had conquered their homeworld early in the war, but had immense difficulty controlling it due to the El'uth and their guerilla warfare tactics. The Upyri couldn't bombard the planet from orbit, as it was filled with various vital mineral deposits that would be destroyed in the shelling, so they sent an endless torrent of troops to maintain their foothold and control over the resources.

"Hail, sons and daughters of Terra. We bring a gift for your leaders." spoke one of them, featuring a masculine tone to their voice. He then pointed towards the Upyri with his thumb, shifting his massive kinetic sniper rifle into one hand. "One of the invaders surrendered himself to us. Gave us the locations of his own leaders and the rest of his group, who's lives we took quickly as they were preparing to strike at the Kosoks with heavy weaponry."

The Upyri man spoke up, with a faint chuckle. "Well, I figured it'd be a nice present for you lot, to show I mean well. Better than just showing up empty handed and end up in a POW camp somewhere, or on the business end of a snaggletooth's plasma rifle." he said. He wiggled his arms a bit, seemingly getting his wrists in a more comfortable position in his bindings. "I'd remove my helmet, but these trashy snow bunnies have me tied up pretty nicely."

The male El'uth glanced back to him, a look of disdain appearing on their face as their red eyes looked him over. They then looked back to Krawczyk, Sam, and Boyan. "He claims to have more information about other invader positions scattered around the area. Locations they are intending to use to set up counter-attacks against your metal boxes. Useful information, should it prove true, and I believe your leaders could use it."

One of the others spoke up, with a female voice. "We must return to our scouting on the western side of the city. As we promised your superiors, we are locating potential VIPs and mapping out Upyri strong points and locations of interest. We can't bring him with us."

 

[bat_hacker]

Atlas solemnly watched the translation of Krawczyk's explanation. It was clear from her expression and the intonation of her voice that she was exerting some effort to be as clear as possible, lending credence to the gravity of her message. This wasn't the first Atlas had heard humans speak of the "venomous rocks" or the "sinister heat" as it was sometimes translated. He had regarded the notion as shockingly childish and superstitious for such a seemingly-enlightened people. Objects without the light of life did not possess intent and could not project their will to the world around them. To suggest otherwise was considered to be highly irrational, bordering on lunacy. Humans had the inclination to do this often, however, sometimes speaking to inanimate objects as if to coax them or berate them into behaving. When questioned about this, the response varied widely but nearly always included an eventual admission that, yes, they were aware the object they were speaking to or about did not possess self-determination. This tendency was a quirk of their species in this way. Regarding some things, however, they would get defensive and protest the question. Humanity, in its infancy, developed a rich and deep mythology to explain phenomena they couldn't yet explain. A vast majority of these myths had been abandoned as explanations were found, but there were some that persisted to the modern day where it was considered outright offensive to question them. It seemed so immediately logical that forces acting upon the world would have observable effects, if not by sight then some other sense. That was simply the way it had always been. Even the extremely advanced technology of the humans, kosoks, and others had largely been well within reach of his perception, but trusting their holy books or machines to tell them what their senses had failed to detect seemed like a leap of faith no Fishman would be willing to make. This encounter and the gravity with which his comrades regarded it had unsettled him, however. If such an insidious thing as this accursed intangible poison could exist, what other indescribable horrors might be lingering beyond the veil? He would have to comply with Krawczyk's orders either way, but he was more than happy to avoid taking any further chances.

He didn't have much time to dwell on the thought, either. Some new allies had just arrived. The blackbloods had even more enemies than he could have hoped. He lined up with the rest of Squad 9 to greet their new companions.

 

[K0mori]

"Big enough to land some heavy gear." Boyan answered with some interest while looking at the park. "Some artilery pieces here and there and some more tanks would be good to have right about now." He glanced towards the Kosoks that were now stationed on the perimeter. "Tho maybe with someone else manning the guns."

Krawczyk grunted in agreement. "Yeah. I don't know what the fuck their problem is, but if we're not careful, they might be the ones to blow the fuel plant before the upyri can pull the trigger. But let's not worry about that just yet. We've already seen that they're not covering ground as fast as we expected. We should be able to get out front and secure the civilians before it becomes an issue." Moving along toward the concrete building at the center of the camp, Patrol 2 initially took stock of the other human units in the park before gradually becoming aware of the incoming, friendly landing craft. Mazurek quickly identified the newcomers:

"Damn, those are the Ursataari Expeditionary Forces of Clan Blacktooth! Saw them in action back on Terra, as well as a few of the other clans too. They pack hell of a punch."

Krawczyk looked tiredly at the vehicle as it set down on the ruined parkland, a bit of optimism tugging at the corners of her mouth as she became infected with Mazurek's excitement. The ramp deployed, and Kang took it upon herself to stand at the forefront of the group with the expectation that her services would be needed, as unlikely as it would be that she would know how to communicate with the...

"Bears?" she said aloud, dumbfounded. The Ursataari poured out of the door of their craft and took up position, mostly out of rehearsed preparation, as there was currently no danger to them or their equipment. Krawczyk let out a chuckle; they did look like bears.

"Hail, humans." Jemmez spoke in English as he lifted an arm up high above his furred head, "I am Jemmez, son of Torric. We are here for the fight."

"I'm Aleksy, son of Peter." Mazurek responded, raising his own arm vertically before setting it down quickly. "We welcome you as we did on Terra."

"I was not there, unfortunately, as I and my companions had not finished our training. But now, we make up for lost time!" Jemmez replied as he turned to his compatriots, giving off a war bellow which was reciprocated by his peers.

"They speak English?" Kang sputtered, relieved that she wouldn't face the pressure of having to feel her way through another xeno language on the fly, especially since these particular aliens were much more intimidating than the diminutive Kosok races. "I guess that makes sense... There's been plenty of contact with our local community, just not much beyond."

"Yeah," Krawczyk replied, "amazing how easy it is when they actually want to talk to us." The Ursaatari gave a powerful roar which staggered everyone, an impressive display of fighting spirit. Krawczyk's smile turned to a grin. "Good to have you, Jemmez, and all of your crew, too. My name is Sargent Iga Krawczyk. To make things simple, just call me Krawczyk like everyone else. Likewise, that's Sargent Oberto," she said, gesturing to the other commander. "Together, we lead Patrol 2 of Tango Company. Right now, we're headed for the Achenar Gateway, the starship fuel plant on the east side of this city."

"I wonder what other races will show up to fight? The Upyri seemed to have pissed a lot of people off." said Sam, glancing to Boyan and Krawczyk.

As if on cue, another surprise appeared from a nearby alleyway just as Sargent Oberto stepped up to greet Jemmez. The El'uth, well-disguised and equipped for asymmetrical warfare, were an exciting ally to have, especially since they were bringing along a captured enemy officer. "Well... I'll be damned!" Krawczyk lauded.

"Hail, sons and daughters of Terra. We bring a gift for your leaders." spoke one of them, featuring a masculine tone to their voice. He then pointed towards the Upyri with his thumb, shifting his massive kinetic sniper rifle into one hand. "One of the invaders surrendered himself to us. Gave us the locations of his own leaders and the rest of his group, who's lives we took quickly as they were preparing to strike at the Kosoks with heavy weaponry."

The Upyri man spoke up, with a faint chuckle. "Well, I figured it'd be a nice present for you lot, to show I mean well. Better than just showing up empty handed and end up in a POW camp somewhere, or on the business end of a snaggletooth's plasma rifle." he said. He wiggled his arms a bit, seemingly getting his wrists in a more comfortable position in his bindings. "I'd remove my helmet, but these trashy snow bunnies have me tied up pretty nicely."

The male El'uth glanced back to him, a look of disdain appearing on their face as their red eyes looked him over. They then looked back to Krawczyk, Sam, and Boyan. "He claims to have more information about other invader positions scattered around the area. Locations they are intending to use to set up counter-attacks against your metal boxes. Useful information, should it prove true, and I believe your leaders could use it."

One of the others spoke up, with a female voice. "We must return to our scouting on the western side of the city. As we promised your superiors, we are locating potential VIPs and mapping out Upyri strong points and locations of interest. We can't bring him with us."

"We'd better not let him out of our sight, then," Kang said. "After what happened to the last one, we don't want to risk losing him as an informant."

Krawczyk nodded, but nonetheless glared at the prisoner brought before her. He didn't seem impressed with Squad 9's obviously battle-tested recruits, and probably thought that the "last one" Kang mentioned had escaped, rather than suffering a painful execution. Krawczyk cleared up the confusion immediately: "We left him restrained on the opposite side of the river while we were taking the bridge. The Kosoks got to him." Her tone was flat, with a not-so-subtle implication. If he did not stay close to Patrol 2, then he would suffer a similar fate.

She then turned to the El'uth. "Thank you. We'll need all the updates we can get as we push in further," she replied, but she wasn't quite sure what else to say. They would not be in close contact again, so she decided that she should wish them well on their ultimate goal. "We're going to win back everything they've taken," she assured them. We'll liberate your world. Mine too.

---
​

At the eastern edge of Six-Point Park, the Kosoks faced a long and wide avenue which the upyri had fortified heavily, and were advancing slowly behind the tank column. Sargent Naghan Rozel, commanding the unit, glanced back at the field to keep an eye on the human units, as well as the alien support and reservists that had either joined the fight in the Black Fleet's wake, or of their own accord.

"[Sargent!]" spoke Private Ikrye Skakom, a lirya of the planet Vashkom. Her armor was shaped to her strange physique, including flexible shrouds coated in armor platelets to contain her batlike-wings. "[You still haven't told me what happened back there.]"

"[I spoke with their translator. She was proficient. We didn't need you,]" he replied gruffly. "[You don't even speak their language, anyway. They were speaking English, not Russian.]"

Ikrye groaned at the annoyance of multiple languages for a single species, but then ducked quickly as she felt upyri bullets rip through the air between them. Getting closer to the tank, she hotly replied, "[I speak some English. They looked angry; I could have helped.]"

"[It was that czrektir signal we detected on the opposite side of the river. Their spies have been spoofing friendly signals all day long to avoid our bombing runs, so I assumed it was another false-flag. That one was apparently working with them though, and they reacted as if we killed a human.]"

"[The fuck?]" Ikrye blurted as the tank came to a stop. Leaning up against its backside, she primed her rifle before peeking around its edge and firing several shots at a likely enemy position. "[How were we supposed to know?]"

Naghan shrugged, marking a target using his suit's built-in rangefinder before turning back to Ikrye. "[I could have delayed our fire, but we were already risking an artillery strike, out in the open like that. I'm not going to risk any more Kosok lives for their sake than what's necessary, and I told them as such.]" He paused a moment as the tank fired off a powerful blast, blowing out the ground floor of another nearby building. "[Next time, you'll talk to them for me. Maybe it'll go better.]"

"[I'm sorry I don't speak their preferred language,]" Ikrye snarked. "[I'm fluent in seven languages, so of course they had to find a war where I can't use any of them. I'm sure it'll reflect well on the Collective when all the other allies speak the human language and we struggle.]"

"[Not our fault,]" Naghan replied, no humor occupying his voice or demeanor. "[This war was a mistake.]"

 

[joshuadim]

["What is she saying?"] one of the Ursataari asked Jemmez in their native tongue, both out of curiosity but also out of a desire to know what they were discussing. ["Introduction? Or what their mission is?"]

["Both."] Jemmez replied with a snort as he gave them a glance before returning attention back to Krawczyk and the others. "I saw while landing the place you mentioned. Plenty of Chiu'gar there."

"I believe that's their term for the Upyri." Mazurek commented to Krawczyk for clarification, which brought out a nod from the ursine warrior. "What else did you see?"

"Heavy defences. The Kano'dyar move on the north road, and so the south route is available. I believe I even saw tanks, but how many I cannot be certain." Jemmez then explained the situation, "The fight will be hard. But nothing me or my warriors will shy away from. For the Chiu'gar know nothing of battle like we do."

Mazurek did not share that same optimism with the mention of armour being fielded, even with the help of the Ursataari, as it presented a significant challenge to deal with. He looked at Krawczyk and shrugged: "What do you think Sarge?"

 

[Infab]

"Thank you. We'll need all the updates we can get as we push in further. We're going to win back everything they've taken."

The quartet of El'uth smiled in response to Krawczyk's statement, and the male spoke up again. "Yes, we will. No matter how long it takes, we shall be free again." he said, giving her a nod.

Then, one of the others spoke up. Another male. "If your group is on the way to the fuel plant, then I suggest searching for some of our tribal bretheren in the area. With such big game to claim, our hunters would be happy to assist should you need the help."

After they finished, the four El'uth gave the group a nod before putting their masks back on and departing. Moving back towards the alley they had emerged from, and leaving the Upyri lieutenant standing with the group.

The lieutenant was silent for a few moments, before eventually speaking. "Let me guess. The POW... they shot him, and left him to bleed out?" he asked. "The Kosoks aren't the type to keep us around for very long, judging from the reports on recovered POWs... Then again, we would probably do the same to the Kosoks. Maybe worse, if the Honor Guard is around."

He cut a look towards the Kosoks in the distance, staring at them for a few moments and uttering a string of Upyrian curses under his breath. After he finished, he looked back towards the sargeant and her translator.

"...My name is Adam Zetter. First lieutenant, over the 3rd Heavy Weapons Platoon of B Company, 3rd Battalion." he soon said, speaking in English once more. "Well, I WAS over the 3rd Heavy Weapons Platoon. They're, well, dead now along with the other platoons."

He then looked to Mazurek and the Ursataari nearby as they spoke. The term Chiu'gar made him tilt his head in confusion for a moment, wondering just what it meant really. Probably a slur.

He glanced back to Krawczyk. "Sounds about right. The heavy weapons teams were meant to thin out the Kosok armor, so that the tanks and marines could mop up the rest of you."

Sam soon butted in, motioning a finger to the Upyri lieutenant. "Why are you even here? Why'd you desert?" he asked, eyes narrowed. "You even sold out your own, and got them all killed. Why?"

Adam simply turned his head towards Sam, his face obscured by the helmet he was still wearing. "Regret is a powerful thing. This entire war has made me regret every choice I've made and action I've taken up to today. I finally made a choice I don't regret an hour ago. Maybe I'll make more choices I don't regret going forward by helping you all."

 

[Breadman]

Boyan was getting accustomed to alien allies and any surprised they might bring. He still would have never guessed they would be greeting bears among their ranks in the fight against the Upiry. He remembered all those stories and legends back home of talking bears and wondered if those weren't just early encounters of these furry warriors. But they wouldn't be the only ones. El'uth snipers would emerge and take him by surprise. He knew about the obscure people that have plagued Upiry occupation on a certain planet, but he didn't expect a team of them to just show up. And they had a gift with them.

"Oh, this vampir has a conscience?" He sneered "Entire colonies burning and the bloodiest war in our history is all it took." He gave the lieutenant another lookover "Fuck it, bring him along I asy. If it leads to killing more high value targets, we only win out of this."

 

[K0mori]

The quartet of El'uth smiled in response to Krawczyk's statement, and the male spoke up again. "Yes, we will. No matter how long it takes, we shall be free again." he said, giving her a nod.

Then, one of the others spoke up. Another male. "If your group is on the way to the fuel plant, then I suggest searching for some of our tribal bretheren in the area. With such big game to claim, our hunters would be happy to assist should you need the help."

"If we can work in tandem, we'll get the job done quicker. The upyri will probably have snipers up in the catwalks and on top of the fuel tanks. We could definitely use some ranged support," Krawczyk replied with a nod.

"Let me guess. The POW... they shot him, and left him to bleed out?" he asked. "The Kosoks aren't the type to keep us around for very long, judging from the reports on recovered POWs... Then again, we would probably do the same to the Kosoks. Maybe worse, if the Honor Guard is around."

Returning to their earlier conversation, Krawczyk nodded, but it was Kang who replied. "Sounds like you were made for each other."

"They literally were," Krawczyk added, bitterly.

"...My name is Adam Zetter. First lieutenant, over the 3rd Heavy Weapons Platoon of B Company, 3rd Battalion." he soon said, speaking in English once more. "Well, I WAS over the 3rd Heavy Weapons Platoon. They're, well, dead now along with the other platoons."

"Good, fuck 'em," Krawczyk replied with a shrug. She didn't feel like introducing herself right now, since there were more important things to discuss with the Ursataari.

"Heavy defences. The Kano'dyar move on the north road, and so the south route is available. I believe I even saw tanks, but how many I cannot be certain." Jemmez then explained the situation, "The fight will be hard. But nothing me or my warriors will shy away from. For the Chiu'gar know nothing of battle like we do."

Mazurek did not share that same optimism with the mention of armour being fielded, even with the help of the Ursataari, as it presented a significant challenge to deal with. He looked at Krawczyk and shrugged: "What do you think Sarge?"

He glanced back to Krawczyk. "Sounds about right. The heavy weapons teams were meant to thin out the Kosok armor, so that the tanks and marines could mop up the rest of you."

"I think we'll need some AT weapons," she replied to Mazurek. "Oberto!"

Sergeant Oberto, despite being twenty feet away and focused on another conversation, answered without missing a beat. "Yeah, mom?" he replied, causing Krawczyk to snort a laugh.

"Did you get Lieutenant Das yet?"

Oberto shook his head. "I pinged him, let's see if he'll pick up, now." He looked at his tablet while Krawczyk did the same. A moment later, Das joined the comm line and asked about their status. The two sergeants discussed their position, the overall health of Patrol 2, and the recent events involving their alien allies.

"...Did I just hear you say that your unit was the first across the bridge, Krawczyk? Over," Das asked.

"Yes sir, closely followed by Oberto, and then the Kosoks behind them. Over."

There was a long pause, after which Das' tone seemed much different. "Well, I'll pass that along, and see what I can do for you all. Over."

"Sir? Do for us? Over." Oberto asked.

Another pause. "...Patrol 2, you got out in front of the entire coalition. You'll be getting some decorations for that. Oberto, go ahead and disconnect so I can have a word with Krawczyk privately. Over."

"Yessir! Over and out."

With Oberto off the line, Krawczyk knew what was coming and grit her teeth. "Sir? Over."

"Listen, Sargent. From here on, you let Oberto set the pace of your unit. You've done a hell of a job today and you should be proud of that, but I don't want to be sending a bunch of medals home to the families of dead soldiers, understood? Over."

Krawczyk winced. "Yes sir. For what it's worth, this wasn't about my feelings; the opportunity just presented itself, that's all. The Kosoks have overtaken us and we'll be fighting from behind from here on. Over."

"Good to hear," Das replied. "I know you would take Achenar all by yourself if you could, but you just need to trust that the coalition is going to get the job done. Take care of your men and women, Sargent. I'm going to send a drone with some AT weapons, like you requested. Over."

Krawczyk nodded. "Yes sir. Over and out."

Leaving her call, she gave Oberto a thumbs up regarding the incoming supplies without telling him that he was named the primary authority over the Patrol. She would do so in private, later, once they were out of earshot of the Upyri lieutenant, who was eyeing her with curiosity the entire time she was speaking with her superior.

Sam soon butted in, motioning a finger to the Upyri lieutenant. "Why are you even here? Why'd you desert?" he asked, eyes narrowed. "You even sold out your own, and got them all killed. Why?"

Adam simply turned his head towards Sam, his face obscured by the helmet he was still wearing. "Regret is a powerful thing. This entire war has made me regret every choice I've made and action I've taken up to today. I finally made a choice I don't regret an hour ago. Maybe I'll make more choices I don't regret going forward by helping you all."

"Oh, this vampir has a conscience?" He sneered "Entire colonies burning and the bloodiest war in our history is all it took." He gave the lieutenant another lookover "Fuck it, bring him along I asy. If it leads to killing more high value targets, we only win out of this."

"Bullshit," Krawczyk spat, joining in Novy's mockery. "You're just playing the only card left in your hand." Disgusted, she walked over to Oberto, who was checking in with Acheson to get an update on a few of the soldiers in the Patrol. "Hey, Oberto. They're sending a drone with our AT equipment. It should get here any minute now."

Oberto turned, and surprisingly he wasn't smiling. "Hey. Champlin needs to sit out for a while. Doc says she can't take the stress of being frontline anymore. We pushed her too hard."

Krawczyk frowned. "Oh."

"He says the UFS is setting up a medical station here in the park, so we can leave her here for now until we can get her an evac. So... We're pushing the Gateway next?"

Krawczyk lowered her head for a bit, indicating she had something private to tell him. He leaned in. "It's your call. Das thinks I'm being reckless with the unit and he wants you in control, now."

"Aw, fuck," Oberto replied, a bit frustrated at the situation for a variety of reasons, not the least of which being the unwanted responsibility of calling their next move. "Well, we've got allies, we've got the upyri drawn away... I don't see any reason to change plans, now," he said.

Krawczyk smiled. "Good. If we take the Gateway, we'll take this city in two days, tops."

There was a chopping noise in the air as a drone flew in low overhead, selecting an open position in the grassy lot between the groups of soldiers to set down. As the blades quickly came to a halt, Oberto stepped in under the rotor and held his tablet up to a panel on the side of the craft, which lit up. He punched in a five-digit code, which caused an internal mechanism to unlatch itself and a timer to begin ticking down. He then backed away, and at the timer's expiry, the rotor spun up again and the drone flew away, leaving a large container on the ground.

The lid was opened as Squads 9 and 10 gathered around in curiosity, and inside there were four AT rocket systems, each with four laser-guided rockets. "Two for each squad," Oberto declared.

 

[Infab]

"Oh, this vampire has a conscience? Entire colonies burning and the bloodiest war in our history is all it took. Fuck it, bring him along I say. If it leads to killing more high value targets, we only win out of this."

"Bullshit, You're just playing the only card left in your hand."

Adam shifted his stance, gently shaking his head. It was really the only way one could tell of his reaction to their mockery. He could have responded, but Krawczyk had redirected her attention to her fellow sergeant, so he remained quiet. It was probably the better option for the time being.

Sam, meanwhile, eyed the Upyri lieutenant for a brief moment before glancing up and watching the drone fly overhead. There were their weapons to use against Upyri armor. Hopefully they'd work. The question, after Oberto declared that there were two for each squad, was who'd be carrying the weapons? Sam had no training in the use of anti-armor weaponry, so that'd be a whole new experience for him. Really the only training he had weapon-wise was small arms and emplaced weaponry. Grenades too, but mostly traditional fragmentation and smoke grenades.

He was a medic. He was meant to leave the heavy fighting to the regulars and the specialists.

He walked over, gazing in at the contents of the drone for a brief moment, before glancing back to see Adam approaching at a slow pace. "Nope. You stay right there." said Sam, forcing Adam to stop mid-step. The Upyri lieutenant planted his foot back on the ground, and simply stood there about twenty feet from the crate.

 

[joshuadim]

With the arrival of suitable AT weaponry for their coming combat operations, Mazurek couldn't help but let out a dry smile when he was the ordinance that had been given to them. Even against Upyri armour they would pack a punch, especially when hitting a weak spot such as thinner plating or the ammunition hold. "I suggest the Ursas be a frontal force to attract attention. That way we can hit the tanks where they hurt the most in their defences." Mazurek suggested to Krawczyk once he finished admiring the rocket systems. "Can use the alleyways or the rooftops to our advantage in getting around the blind spots."

 

[Breadman]

Behind the front line

"Tank is coming your way, Commander. Looks like it's outfitted with IFF sensors." Loren spoke over the coms. "Heading straight to the front by the looks of it." The sniper was quiet for a few seconds. "I can try a shot if you like."

"Negative, Loren." Sinclair cut him off. "I need you spotting targets and keeping us covered, if he gets a beat on you, we lose that." She turned to the rest of the commandoes "Tank can't pick up our signatures due to masking, he can move straight past us and not notice us. Can't say the same for our soldiers at the front. Even if they pop smokes, that thing can zero on them. But we're not here to let him do that." Sid's expression was pained, Mordecai on the other hand looked intrigued "We're here to break their toys. Newbie. " She looked straight to her second in command "Any ideas?"

"Yeah newbie." Sid looked straight to Mordecai, his voice dripping with animosity "What's the plan?"

"Simple." He looked at his subordinate and placed a hand on his shoulder "We put your armor to the test." Sid shook his head as if he didn't expect that for some reason "You're with those new shields right? Lets see if they can beat some heavy rounds."

"Nah, nope. Forget about it. I'm not doing anything this asshole says."

"Hold on, lets hear the rest of the plan." Jacob added "What's next boss?"

"Judging from the feed from Loren's scope..." Mordecai tapped his bionic eye "I see a good place for us to sneak behind the tank as it passes, but we need it to stop. No time to plant a mine." The rumbling started to get closer. "Sid has to get the driver to slow down at least."

"You know he can just shoot me while moving, right?"

"Not necessarily." Sinclair switched on the coms again "Loren, what was the shot you wanted to take?"

"EMP round they want us to test. In theory I can hit him in the weaker spots, bullet lodges itself and emits a pulse that forces the electronics inside to shut down for a bit. I have a good shot on him."

"Yeah lets say it works in theory. Motherfuckers in the turret and machine gun can still see me."

"That's where the armor comes in." Mordecai spoke again. "You keep the machine gun on you. We get behind the tank and blow the engine block."

"Or we can just let it pass..."

"No. We go with it." Sinclair heard enough "Loren take the shot when ready. Sid charge your shields. Jacob can handle the tank. Lead the way Mordecai." As the other two prepared to move, Mordecai tapped Sid on the shoulder again, forcing the man to look at him in anger.

"You'll be fine." The smile on his face could only be described as sinister. His reputation for his ego was well known, but this was something else. "Go get em!"

Time slowed down as they got into position behind some rubble. The tank kept rolling forward, leaving a small cloud of dust as it did. Then the crack of Loren's shot echoed through the air. That was Sid's signal to move. If he would actually listen. Inside the tank muffled yelling could be heard as the crew was trying to figure out what had happened. The machine gun turret on top started to spin as it was manually operated from the gunner. It stopped as it spotted Sid. His shouting was loud enough to grab the gunner's attention.

"Come on you son of a-AAAGH!"- The gunner started firing. The shields were keeping up, but it wouldn't last for long. Sinclair gave the command for them to move. While her and Mordecai kept watch for any infantry, Jacob climbed the tank from behind. The gunner didn't notice the commando behind and the arms wrapping around his neck. A pop preceded the crack of the neck. Jacob pulled a pin from one of his grenades and dropped it inside along with the body. "Took you long eno-" Sid was cut short from the explosion from inside the tank. "Yeah that."

"You did good, man." Jacob laughed "Now lets wreck this thing for good." He knelt down behind the tank to plant the charge. "Those shields are pretty damn good if you could handle that much fire."

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say." He glared towards Mordecai. "I'll remember this, newbie."

"I hope so. This tactic can be quite versatile." He responded with that same smile. He then looked to Sinclair next "Looks like both Sid's shields and Loren's ammo are performing well in the field. Score two for R&D." The commander didn't answer, instead she motioned for them to follow her. Once they were at a safe distance, Jacob detonated the charge.

"One less tank for our team to worry about."
---
"I think we can have some fun with these." Boyan said as he looked at the rocket systems. "If the bears can keep their attention, we can knock a lot of their armor offline."

 

[bat_hacker]

Atlas had remained quiet when regarding the new arrivals. While it was clear that all of them spoke the human language, he had had time to reflect on both his outburst at the kosok leader and his miscommunication regarding the crashed vessel. He regarded everyone respectfully, and lined up with the rest of the squad in greeting, but once pleasantries had been exchanged and everyone had split off to do their own thing he busied himself superfluously inspecting his rifle, content not to speak unless spoken to.

That was, of course, until the metal bird touched down with a large container of weaponry that seemed extremely large and unwieldy compared to his rifle. Before he realized it, he'd let his curiosity get the better of him and he found himself hovering over the edge of the crate, wondering what justice might be meted out at its contents' whims.

He began to reach for one of the weapons but caught himself and repurposed the motion into a somatic gesture. "Honor...!" A non-sequitur in both languages. He restarted. "It would be my honor to wield one of these impressive weapons," he said to the rest of the small crowd.

 

[K0mori]

He began to reach for one of the weapons but caught himself and repurposed the motion into a somatic gesture. "Honor...!" A non-sequitur in both languages. He restarted. "It would be my honor to wield one of these impressive weapons," he said to the rest of the small crowd.

Krawczyk looked at Atlas' gloves and quietly wondered whether they would be a hinderance to the operation of a weapon not designed for him. After a moment, she decided that it would probably be fine. If anything, his suit would make carrying the heavy launcher easier. "Alright, sure. Watch me; I'll show you how it works," she said, picking one of the launchers up out of the case. "The tube rests on your shoulder. There is a screen that folds out, like this," she said, opening up the flat panel display on the side of the unit and standing in a way that allowed Atlas to see.

She moved the launcher around, showing how the display automatically adjusted its focus to the proper degree to avoid a blurry picture. Pressing down on a button on the side of the tube, just behind the fold-out display, she activated targeting mode. "You see the crosshairs? When you press this button, it marks whatever you're aiming at. The weapon uses radar-tracking and it fires a rocket that can steer in the air," she explained, motioning with her offhand in a sort of slithering motion to illustrate. "The rocket will fly toward the target you marked, even if it moves. It will also try to avoid anything that gets in the way."

She picked up one of the rockets from the case. "You load it like this-" she demonstrated, touching the tail end of the rocket against the front end of the tube. "You slide it in and then twist, and it will arm itself. To disarm it, just twist it again until it comes loose, and you can pull it safely back out of the tube. One other thing: if you hold down the targeting button as you squeeze the trigger, you will take direct control of the rocket's flight. It will go wherever your crosshairs are aiming, which is useful if you're trying to hit something on the other side of a barrier that would confuse the weapon, like a chain-link fence."

She glanced over at Mazurek and Novy. "Since Atlas is going to carry our AT, one of you should take the other one, in case we need to split the unit in half again."

"I suggest the Ursas be a frontal force to attract attention. That way we can hit the tanks where they hurt the most in their defences." Mazurek suggested to Krawczyk once he finished admiring the rocket systems. "Can use the alleyways or the rooftops to our advantage in getting around the blind spots."

"I think we can have some fun with these." Boyan said as he looked at the rocket systems. "If the bears can keep their attention, we can knock a lot of their armor offline."

"Hanging around tight corners is going to be a must, you're both right. We don't stand a chance if we attack the tanks head-on, but if the Ursataari can keep them occupied, then we can employ a hit and run strategy. Remember, it'll probably take more than one rocket to destroy those damned things. We might even need to call for air strikes again, but I think the Kosoks won't be so eager to help us in this part of town. There's too much AA coverage."

She then glanced to Caine and chuckled at his scolding of the upyri lieutenant. "Hate to do this to you, but I think you're on babysitting duty until we reach our next stop," she said.

Meanwhile, Kang brought up a standard map on her tablet, one without the markers of friends and foes that updated in real-time, to get a feel for the next few city blocks. As she paced along, she tripped on something in the tall grass. "Oh!" she said, catching her balance, before turning and scooping it off the ground. It was a pistol dropped by one of the Kosoks during the earlier fighting. Turning it around carefully in her hands, she found a small crystal display at the at the rear, situated below a metallic red canister. She recognized the symbols in the display as the numbers for "65" in the Kanad language.

"Hey, guys, look at this," she said, bringing it over. "I found a plasma pistol. Do any of you know how to work this thing?"

"It's not just, you know, point and shoot?" Krawczyk asked. "It looks like a toy."

Kang held the pistol out straight at an empty building nearby. "Can I...?"

"Well, yeah..." Krawczyk replied with a shrug. By this time, Oberto and his unit had stopped discussing the rocket launchers as well and looked at the demonstration that was about to take place.

Kang pulled on the trigger, but nothing happened. "Hm. Is there a safety?" she wondered aloud, turning the gun sideways and noticing a rotating switch. As she pressed it, the gun began to make an unnerving whine, and in a panic, Kang pulled the trigger several times. A series of flashes burst from the end of the barrel, sending plasma across the field to the wall of the building on the other side, where it splashed and sizzled against the concrete. The whining from the gun continued, until a thin flame shot from a port just above the webbing between Kang's thumb and forefinger that quickly subsided. The sound seemed to level off as the flame retreated back into the port, but it didn't become quiet again until Kang pushed the safety switch back to its original position.

"Shit!" she said, once she had regained her lost composure. Checking the small crystal display again, it now read "60" in the Kanad language. Apparently, it was an indicator for the gun's fuel.

 

[Breadman]

Boyan looked to Mazurek and extended an arm, his hand was balled into a fist.

"Rock, paper sicsor you for it."

 

[joshuadim]

Mazurek looked towards Boyan with a bit of surprise but then shook his head, "You can have it. Explosives aren't my forte regardless." the Corporal conceded, "Besides, I'm not the one who got nearly killed earlier today. You should have the honour of taking out that armour."

 

[Infab]

She then glanced to Caine and chuckled at his scolding of the upyri lieutenant. "Hate to do this to you, but I think you're on babysitting duty until we reach our next stop," she said.

He cut Adam a look. Babysitting duty. Great.

Adam, meanwhile, was looking on and listening as Krawczyk explained to Atlas the workings of one of the rocket launchers. After everything was explained, however, he spoke up. "If you'd like, I could point out a few spots to hit with those." he stated.

"Yeah, so we can waste our shots." responded Sam.

"No, you idiot. So you all don't get killed and I don't get shot myself." Adam's tone had shifted to one of calmness to one of annoyance. He then shifted his attention back to Atlas and the others whom were listening. "Upyri tanks, and a few other vehicles, typically use autoloading systems. The turret is unmanned, and a bit shorter in design and profile. The problem is that it means the ammunition sits on a rack inside a compartment in the back of the turret. There's extra plating on the back of the turret, but a double tap with rockets will destroy the compartment housing the ammunition."

He shifted his stance as he continued, his bound arms wiggling behind his back as he tried to get them into a comfortable position. "There are two other spots to hit with missiles, if you can't hit the back of the turret or a soft spot like the underside. Aim for the lower half of the engine in the back, as a strike there will hit the fuel lines and the fuel tanks in general. The whole back half of the vehicle will go up in flames."

"The second spot would be one of the hatches on the body of the tank itself. There's a large technician's hatch that can be hit just to the rear of the turret, in front of the engine. Looks like a set of double doors that you have to open with specialist tools. Hit that, you wreck the electronics and the tank loses power. If you can climb on the tank, however, and you have a crowbar, you can pry one of the doors open and toss a grenade in. That's if you're ballsy enough."

"Other things you can do, if you lack a rocket launcher, is shoot at the little camera mounted to the driver's hatch in the front. If you hit the camera, they can't see to drive and will have to open the hatch and poke their head out. You know what to do when that happens. Kill the driver, and lob a grenade into the hatch. That'll deal with the rest of the crew."

"If there's other vehicles around, like APCs and such, they're far easier to deal with. A rocket or two should take them out of the fight. Just watch for machine gunners, as well as the secondary gun atop the tank turrets. They're automated, so they'll need to be dealt with before you get in close to the things." he finished, before looking to Krawczyk. "That help?"

He then noticed Kang playing with a pistol she found. Plasma pistol of Kosok make, which made him cock an eyebrow beneath his helmet. "I'd suggest making sure she hides that around the Kosoks. Doubt they want you fooling with their tech."

 

[bat_hacker]

"No, you idiot. So you all don't get killed and I don't get shot myself." Adam's tone had shifted to one of calmness to one of annoyance. He then shifted his attention back to Atlas and the others whom were listening. "Upyri tanks, and a few other vehicles, typically use autoloading systems. The turret is unmanned, and a bit shorter in design and profile. The problem is that it means the ammunition sits on a rack inside a compartment in the back of the turret. There's extra plating on the back of the turret, but a double tap with rockets will destroy the compartment housing the ammunition."

He shifted his stance as he continued, his bound arms wiggling behind his back as he tried to get them into a comfortable position. "There are two other spots to hit with missiles, if you can't hit the back of the turret or a soft spot like the underside. Aim for the lower half of the engine in the back, as a strike there will hit the fuel lines and the fuel tanks in general. The whole back half of the vehicle will go up in flames."

"The second spot would be one of the hatches on the body of the tank itself. There's a large technician's hatch that can be hit just to the rear of the turret, in front of the engine. Looks like a set of double doors that you have to open with specialist tools. Hit that, you wreck the electronics and the tank loses power. If you can climb on the tank, however, and you have a crowbar, you can pry one of the doors open and toss a grenade in. That's if you're ballsy enough."

"Other things you can do, if you lack a rocket launcher, is shoot at the little camera mounted to the driver's hatch in the front. If you hit the camera, they can't see to drive and will have to open the hatch and poke their head out. You know what to do when that happens. Kill the driver, and lob a grenade into the hatch. That'll deal with the rest of the crew."

"If there's other vehicles around, like APCs and such, they're far easier to deal with. A rocket or two should take them out of the fight. Just watch for machine gunners, as well as the secondary gun atop the tank turrets. They're automated, so they'll need to be dealt with before you get in close to the things." he finished, before looking to Krawczyk. "That help?"

Atlas side-eyed the blackblood derisively. He had avoiding doing so as it made his bile crawl up his throat to see him alive. The upyri had only taken fishman prisoners when they had intended to torture them to death for information. Why was this filth allowed to live under their protection, much less permitted to speak to them on equal terms? He bristled, and opted to speak to Krawczyk directly.

"Huntmaster Krawczyk, I will trust your judgment on the volunteered information. However, if we intend to bring someone with us, it would be prudent to cause silence by binding the mouth. Compliance is expected when caught in our snare, but in the presence of others of the same kind there may be unintended consequences. Alerting the enemy, revealing our position. Those who betray once are likely to betray again."

Atlas intentionally made no direct mention of the captive. It was considered a grave degradation in fishman culture to refuse to address someone's presence in a conversation. He didn't care if it would make sense in translation, he did it for his own sake.

 

[K0mori]

The rocket launchers were handed over to Atlas and Novy, along with their ammunition, with each soldier receiving four rockets. As they picked up their gear and ensured they were ready for the path ahead, Adam listed off the likely weakpoints of the upyri tanks. Krawczyk allowed him to speak freely, since he made a simple and compelling argument about his own need for survival in order to sell his honesty.

"That help?"

The soldiers of squad nine looked to Krawczyk, who nodded. "Do what he says," she instructed.

He then noticed Kang playing with a pistol she found. Plasma pistol of Kosok make, which made him cock an eyebrow beneath his helmet. "I'd suggest making sure she hides that around the Kosoks. Doubt they want you fooling with their tech."

"No, they don't want you playing with their tech," Kang replied, rolling her eyes. "If they didn't want us borrowing their gear in a pinch, then they'd have said so ahead of time."

"Huntmaster Krawczyk, I will trust your judgment on the volunteered information. However, if we intend to bring someone with us, it would be prudent to cause silence by binding the mouth. Compliance is expected when caught in our snare, but in the presence of others of the same kind there may be unintended consequences. Alerting the enemy, revealing our position. Those who betray once are likely to betray again."

Krawczyk nodded sympathetically, but then disagreed. "While we're trying to avoid being caught in the open, there's no way for us to get closer to the Gateway without them figuring out our position. All we can do is make it clear to the 'Lieutenant' that if he keeps running his mouth in a way that puts us in danger, or if he tries to run off, we'll end him right then and there," she explained, lifting her rifle and shaking it a bit to make it clear that she was talking about an execution. She glanced over at Adam, disgust in her eyes. "...I don't think it'll be an issue. Like you said, he betrayed his side once already. They won't take him back."

Oberto had already selected two soldiers from his own squad to carry their launchers, and it was now time to round everyone up and get back on the offensive. Champlin was left behind with a medical team at Six-Point Park, just as the sergeants had discussed before, while the rest who were physically and mentally prepared headed for the eastern boundary of the park. There, the ursataari were already in position, ready to become the spearhead of this thrust into the residential blocks south of the Achenar Gateway. They synched their comm links together, and then laid out their goals.

"We have three blocks to cover to the east on Oceanic Avenue," Oberto said. "The ursas will be front and center, taking the heat, while the humans make their way up the side streets. Stay off the avenue, and attack from unexpected angles," he reiterated. "We need them to be overwhelmed with the variety of attacks and the angles that they're coming from, because if they get comfortable enough with the defense they could easily flip the script and turn it into a counterattack with their armor. Out here, there are apartments, but there's enough open land between the buildings that their vehicles can get through. Any street or open lot is potentially a killing field, understood?" His daring smile had been replaced by a furrowed-browed, serious expression.

Krawczyk spoke up next. "Once we cover two blocks, Squad 9 turns north, leaving the ursas and Squad 10 to cover the rest of the distance alone. They'll be one of the two main prongs of this attack, out on our right flank, while the Kosoks make up the other on our left. That will leave a soft spot in the middle that we can slip through. Once we're behind the Upyri, we'll have to decide which side we'll divert toward, left or right. It'll all depend on which flank of the operation is more likely to break through and join us in the fuel depot. One thing's for sure, though. We need to do what we can to disable any anti-air we encounter along the way, not just the tanks. We might get the better of that armor, but we're fucked if we can't call in any air support once we get to the spaceport."

The humans nodded along, realizing that this two-pronged strategy had, possibly inadvertently, put them in competition with the Kosoks. This was a good opportunity to prove themselves against the galaxy's more elite fighting forces.

​

The attack on the residential areas began in the late afternoon with the use of long-range cruise missile strikes on the neighborhood that had been ordered by Lieutenant Das on behalf of Patrol 2. In the immediate aftermath of the strike, the ursataari barreled into the smoke-filled Oceanic Avenue, immediately encountering a wave of machinegun fire which they either evaded, or utilized armor and other countermeasures in order to continue their approach. Meanwhile, the humans moved through a half-destroyed business at the edge of the park-front to emerge into an ally which connected to a side street. Just as they had anticipated, the buildings in this region of the city were spaced further apart, making the approach less about roads and more like a winding maze of walls and fences. Many trees and shrubs along these once-sleepy suburbs still held their leaves, meaning that the residents had been spared the heavy bombing runs experienced by the rest of the city.

This, of course, had worked to the advantage of the upyri, who were now in dozens of strong defensive positions with plenty of space between them. The humans followed a fence to a broken gate and slipped through the gap onto the street, before immediately running across the road to the next building. Already, there was a sound of gunfire. Up the road, a machine gun had spotted them and tried to shoot, but their sight wasn't calibrated properly for the distance and the bullets missed their mark widely. Almost as soon as Patrol 2 reached the duplex house they had been running toward, a mortal fell onto the building's roof and blew a hole into it, scattering debris into the side yards. Beyond the edge of the wall, they knew they were safe from the enemy MG, and, looking up the next street over, spotted where the upyri mortar team was positioned in a cul de sac, surrounded by sandbags. An APC sat in a yard behind them, its turret scanning their direction as the sergeants ducked back into cover.

"We've got a vehicle moving our way," Oberto warned the rest of the unit. "Light armor, try to take it out without wasting a rocket, if you can."

"Spread out," Krawczyk instructed. "Take whatever cover you can and try to hit it from every angle at once."

 

[bat_hacker]

"Understood. Strike true, friends." Atlas swapped his rocket launcher for his rifle and sprinted to put some distance between himself and the approaching tank, trying to keep the line of sight between himself and the approaching tank obstructed. Remembering what the blackblood had said, he knew his best shot was hitting the vehicle's exterior front-facing camera. He'd be looking for the iridescent glint of the glass lens. If it came to the worst and he wasn't able to find a target on the vehicle, he tried to pick a vantage point that would allow him to snipe at the upyri mortar operators. He took the briefest of moments to peek around and spot his targets, then connected his suit to the electronic sight on his rifle, which replaced the view from the inside of his helmet with the view from the scope, giving him a vastly zoomed-in view of whatever he was aiming at. With this, he would be able to stay hidden behind his cover while firing without losing sight. He didn't expect a residential building to be an effective barrier to vehicle or mortar fire, but he hoped the maneuver would prevent him from being spotted as he took aim.

 

[joshuadim]

Once the AT weaponry had been collected and assigned, Jemmez and his cadre positioned themselves to prepare for the attack. As Oberto and Krawczyk relayed their plans to the Ursataari it was Jemmez who then relayed to his compatriots in their native language. There was no discontent or concerns levied by the ursine aliens, as they readied themselves to be a spearhead in the fight. It was what they had trained their youths for - a chance at glory and bringing honour to their families and clan - and so they anticipated with an anxiety filled eagerness in the moments preceding the attack.

["Come on, when can we go!?"] spoke Kazkhar, one of the more hot-headed youths among them as he shifted his weapon - a powerful laser chaingun - to signal his impatience.

["When the signal is given. Have patience."] Jemmez replied quickly as he remained up front to the others, while they prepared for the inevitable. His breathing was steady, yet his heart raced as his body's reaction to inevitable violence coursed through his veins. Wordlessly he recited a prayer to his ancestors, to guide his aim and his step through battle, so as to find this battle a blessed occasion. The roars of rocket artillery then pounded into the area, sending blast waves and dust flowing throughout the region with a thunderous roar that in turn was the blatant signal to begin their offensive.

["FOR ASRAM!"] Jemmez then roared, cocking his weapon in honour of the scarlet war god. ["FOR THE HONOURED DEAD OF HAKATAR!"]

All the ursine warriors roared as they rushed out into battle, advancing up directly the centre and straight into enemy fire. But the Ursataari were not defenseless as a few of them brought up shields from their wrist devices to act as a frontal bulkhead while others darted from cover to cover. Return fire was given from the Ursataari heavy ordinances as their massive ammo tore through walls and cover of the Upyri forces in the area. This led to a great amount of suppressive fire that in turn allowed the Ursataari to advance relatively well up the main street while Jemmez motioned to two of his compatriots.

["JA'LLOR! TAMAKH! SET UP THE LAUNCHER!"] he shouted, which had them start to set up a *very* large mortar behind a mass of rubble as their cover. Jemmez then turned to Kazkhar and nodded: ["LIGHT THEIR MONGREL HIDES WITH YOUR FIRE!"]

The young warrior laughed aloud as he primed his weapon, the energy cells spinning up as he roared with glee: ["GLADLY!"]

Soon thereafter, a mass barrage of laser rounds barreled towards the Upyri positions to add more pressure to them as their mortar was set up to flush out the enemy. Jemmez himself took cover behind some rubble and let out a few shots, managing to catch one of the Upyri soldiers as he tried to change cover. The soldier was practically torn apart due to the caliber of the weapon, leaving a puddle of flesh and torn organs where his torso used to be.

---

In the distance, Mazurek could hear the violence unfold as he let out a smirk. He imagined just how much hell the Upyri were receiving now, and hoped that he could replicate at least a bit of it with what his squad was about to do. And immediately they had a target coming in as Oberto warned. Light armour - which wasn't theri main target - which served as an annoyance between them and their goal. Mazurek quickly darted into an emptied building nearby, and dashed up the stairs to the second floor to get a higher vantage point. He set his rifle on the windowsill for additional stability and waited for the attack to begin.