New Paris, 13:44 SET, 11:53 LT, 17th July 2312.
'Ha ha! Where ya goin'? Get back here!' yelled Colette "Shrapnel Bitch" DuVoc, blazing with machine gun outside troop bay. Long bursts had been coming out of barrel with bright muzzle flash and ripping through the air, as she was aiming to the rests of enemy forces running scattered down on the streets.
'Come on, you friggin russkies!' she was shouting, with face illuminated with fire under raised, compared with helmet HUD goggles, as she was standing packed in greyish, bulky armour of European infantry.
'Calm down, corporal, we haven't started yet,' said on comlink black skinned sergeant Ana Clair, looking outside the gunship, as it was rushing under steel, low and thick clouds, barely above roofs of the capital of New Paris, one of colonial planets of United European Federation. Despite that it was almost midday, the city was drowned in dimness, and light drizzle was falling from the sky, hitting their uncovered faces with little, sharp drops because of speed.
'ETA 45 secs,' announced Sofia Luca, one of two pilot of "Jiggy Joe". If you have never seen flying brick, now you had a chance. Angular shape of the vessel with four thrusters paired in two on each side were growling, almost deafening the roar of machine guns fixed to mounts on its sides.
Swarm of similar machines was flying above the city with assist of smaller, but more carnivore attack gunships.
'Get ready!'
'Aye aye, ma'am!' yelled Ulf Torson, with loud clash loading his rifle. His pale face was shining compared to gray armour.
'30 secs,' next communicate on the channel.
The attack gunship on their left has blazed a bunch of rockets, that with whizz gone forward, pulling a greyish trail of smoke behind their tails.
'15 secs!' shouted Sofia, violently turning left all gunship, that entrance of troop bay faced large plaza filled with thick smoke. Enemy bullets hit the armour with jingle, ricochets rung in the air.
'DuVoc, get the hell outta here, we're getting out!'
'Hell yeah, sir!' She send last, long burst and leaved a gun, catching her infantry rifle hanging on the strap wrapped over her torso.
"Jiggy Joe" rapidly came down, barley crashing on the ground, hanging almost half of a meter above stone plates of a plaza. With crack serie of smoke flares has been shot out of the cases obove troop bay, landing down and bouncing, covering them behind signal- and sight-blocking cloud.
'Move, move, do you wanna live forever? Death won't wait, come on!'
Soldiers jumped out of the gunship as fast as they could and ran to the nearest covers, surrounded by enemy bullets ripping through the air.
When last soldier have got off of the board, "Jiggy Joe" went up, leaving them down, turning back for next squad to bring.
In this time soldiers on the ground reached covers, stone blocks of completely collapsed arcs, that were crossing the plaza before artillery rounds and gunship rockets bring them down.
The air was filled with bitter smoke, blended by the wind and blasts of gunship thrusters, floating around in humid air.
'Burren, Torson, MacLaid, put some smoke! DuVoc, Pérez, fire support!' shouted to them sergeant, sending short bursts into the enemy lines.
'Sir, yes sir' they yelled back, crouching behind covers and opening intense fire.
Three soldiers shooted grenades from underbarrel launchers with thump sounds; rounds exploded about one hundred meters before them, raising thick clouds of smoke to provide cover.
The rest of the squad has been sending bunches of bullets in short series, knocking marked on their vision systems enemies down and trying to take them out, alike the rest of Echo Company, that was hiding behind covers and shooting around them.
Sergeant Clair has stopped firing for a while, to curl behind the cover and listen to the new orders coming on the comlink from their sector's HQ.
Ricochets were whizzing above her head as the rounds were hitting massive stone cover and deflecting from its surface, strewing grey, concrete dust on her head covered by thick helmet shell.
'We've gotta strike them and push back! Prepare to go!'
'Sir, its fraking shooting range!'
'So load your damn grenade launcher! You're not rookie like Torson, MacLain!' she said back to him while she was loading grenades pack to her gun.
'Hi-Ex, we shoot and move, right?'
'Roger that, ma'am!' Among squad members has spreaded clacking sound, when they were loading 30mm HE round packs into their grenade launchers.
'Report ready,' ordered sergeant. A while after that they almost in the same moment reported readiness to attack.
She has waited a little bit more for an order to assault from Echo Company leader, an then she shouted on team's channel.
'Alright, let's beat some shit outta these fuckers! Move, move, move!'
They had stood up and sent grenades right into enemy faces. The series of explosions bursted with flame and loud cracks, filling the air with deadly shrapnels and blending smoke by a pressure wave.
Soldiers jumped out their positions, sliding above the covers and landing on the opposite side, without stoppage starting to run.
'MacLain, Pérez, covering fire on front!' ordered sergeant, stopping and falling onto her knees to lay down on cold, humid stone of plaza. She has started knocking enemies to the ground with hurricane of fire and steel to provide cover for their teammates, alike two appointed soldiers.
The terrain didn't gave any holes to dig in, displaying them to enemy fire. The whole company has moved forward, shooting, killing and dying in chaotic, frantic fight, closing to the russian forces hiding in the riverbed, pushing them out of their stations.
'Burren, Torson, DuVoc, cover us, MacLaid, Pérez, go!'
Three silhouettes had stood up and sprinted forward. A few bullets flew near, with crack sound missing them, sometimes only by a few centimetres.
They had reached the line with the rest of the squad and layed down, as their comrades now standed up and pushed forward.
'Reloading!' shouted Pérez, stopping firing, when he ran out of ammunition in his rifle. He jas turned on his side, still lying on the ground to avoid bullets and started changing high-capacity magazine of 5.83mm caseless rounds.
Around them the wave of soldiers from Echo Company was spreading, shooting and moving to push enemies to the ground and shoot out, before they hit them first.
'Ready,' yelled, resuming fire.
'Okay, sergeant, move!' informed Colette.
'Go!'
Short order, fast reaction. They had gone forward, running to their comrades and with them and rest of the company attacking enemy line.
The river was lying in concrete valley, about three to four meters high, cutting through the city.
They have reached the edge and started shooting at close range to running back russian marines, that were trying to get to the water or footbridge and fall back on the other side of a river.
The bullets at this distance were deadly; some of russians have shot back, killing few european soldiers, but receiving heavy losses as they were massacred by long bursts sent by their opponents.
Torson's rifle has silenced, as the last round moved through hot barrel. He has just wanted to go back a little bit and reload, when one of Russian soldiers appeared down in the riverbed, just in front of him only few meters away.
Panicked, he had involuntarily changed fire mode and pulled the trigger, shooting grenade from a launcher and hitting him perfectly in the middle of a breastplate. The round didn't exploded; the igniters were unlocking after 40 to 50 meters to ensure that shooter won't die or get harmed becouse of his own grenade.
The armour has withstanded the strike, but the power of impact broke his rib bones and sternum, also pushing his to the ground. He started writhing and choking, drowning in his blood as a scarlet was dripping through lips and painting his chin red.
Torson has fell back on the ground and crawled a little bit from the edge, tugging his rifle and trying to load new ammunition with twitching hands.
With clack he has finally reloaded, when one of soldiers ran to him and catched his arm, pulling him up. He looked on him, recognising Pablo Fernandez from company's second squad. He knew him, Pablo was used to play cards with him and other rookies, trying to help them assimilate to an army reality.
'Come on, don't lay here or you'll catch a bullet!' he shouted to him. There was something ironic in this, because just after he has said that a russian serie hit him, instantly killing.
The blood drops has spattered on Ulf's HUD goggles, fastly mixing with a drizzle falling from the sky.
'Fuck!' Torson has shouted and fell on his back again, moving away from the cadaver.
'Shit, shit, shit!' he murmured, trying to get up from slippery pavement. He had finally stood up and still stunned a little bit got back to a fight, or a massacre, depending on the point of view.
On the edge european soldiers had been standing and shooting, knocking down retreating Russians. Some of them has jumped into cold water, trying to avoid bullets and just swam to an opposite side of a river.
At the beginning they're were counted as an company, but after attack of a gunships many of them was killed or injured, now lying an the wet ground in bloody puddles and dying.
Also their morale has been undermining for a several days, since they have attacked New Paris. Cut out of reinforcements, deep behind enemy lines they had been falling under pressure of fresh units, that were beating hard. Europeans had thrown towards them well equipped, trained and organised units to protect and rip off their hands all planet, that was such important. And now their forces were being collapsing, as the europeans were pushing them harder and harder.
A few grenades has joined the bullets, landing in water, exploding with splatters and painting steel-gray water with red.
The soldiers on the edge has moved ahead, sliding down the inclined sides to meet them in close combat.
Colette has get down, running low and sending 30mm round to the enemy on her left. The projectile has hit him in the axil, almost ripping his leg out. She had almost avoided being hit by a rifle stock of another one and striked with this same in response, hitting his face and knocking him out. She had aimed and shot directly in the HUD goggles before his eyes.
She has picked up a barrel to shoot another one, when they started shouting, throwing their weapons down and picking hands to the crying sky.
'Don't shoot, don't shoot!'
'We surrender!'
They had been yelling with strong russian accent, as european soldiers were aiming them with dark gullets of hot barrels.
'Hold your fire, hold fire!' team leaders were shouting, to prevent more massacre.
'Don't shoot, we surrender!' has yelled middle-aged Russian with brown moustache, facing young soldier with a face contorted with an anger as he was aiming him.
The burst had torn the air; the body of surrendering Russian has shuddered when bullets hit him, piercing through the armour and flesh, coming out with red spalshes.
'It was said to hold your fire, private!' screamed right in his face one of corporals, catching his gun and pulling up. Too late for a russian, who fell down to the water; his legs has twitched a few last times before they has slipped into the water, drowning in river due to weigh of an armour, pulling him to the bottom.
No one shot more. They were standing and aiming them with sounds of heavy breathing.
Sergeant Clair has lowered the weapon and beckoned her head several times, receiving new orders, as other leaders were reporting situation to the HQ.
'Alright, team, in a while Charlie Company will be here. They will pick up russkies and we're together advancing onto their positions. Get ready.'
'Yes, ma'am,' they have answered relaxing a little bit, but still standing focused on captivated. They took that phrase from navy a long time ago and started answering her interchangeably with "Aye aye" and regular "Sir, yes sir".
A while after that they had heard growling of gunships thrusters, as they were coming back with next company to support them with more troops.
'Hell yeah, 83rd leading the way!' They heard on squad's channel, as Sofia shouted to the comlink.
'We've gotta some fresh meat for you. Better hurry up, those fuckers are up to something under Paris Tower.'
They had turned back, looking at the other side of a riverbed and further, where beyond the grass fields has used to stand a great tower, bigger reproduction of Eiffle's Tower as a French legacy. It has used to, because due to the battles it had collapsed, as a scar that Russians made onto this planet in just a few days.
"Jiggy Joe" has fell down with other gunships to deliver infantry back on the ground. No matter that it was calm around, Sofia had to land violently, same as always almost crashing on the ground and shaking her passengers. She had only have up sending flares, but nothing more.
Newcoming soldiers had jumped out of the gunship fast and immediately moved in their direction, almost running to the riverbed.
They reached the river faster than first strike. Few teams had stopped to take care of surrendered russians, the rest with Echo Company has moved forward.
'We've gotta advance, before they reorganize after retreat and dig into positions. We're moving now,' ordered sergeant to rest of the squad members. They had started going fast, to reach retreating forces and smash them, before they find covers and organise to resist.
Almost 150 men and women of two companies has crossed the river on the footbridges and climbed on the ground on the other side. They have crossed next, smaller plaza and reached vast fields of grass. The smoke cover floating over ground became thicker, restricting their sight to less than 20, maybe 30 meters.
Soldiers had slowed down, becoming more watchful and careful.
'Sir, we are going there? We won't see any russkie unless we walk directly on them...' asked disturbed Torson, looking on his leader from under raised on the helmet goggles.
'Of course we are, you rabbit ass,' replied him Colette, loading next grenade pack to her rifle.
'DuVoc, shut up. Yeah, we have to advance. Just stay frosty and focus on your sensors, private,' said in a hard tone sergeant Clair, trying to calm him.
She has raised her left hand to the side of her helmet, listening to the orders.
'We can't wait for a support, we're going now.'
'Don't shit your pants, rabbit,' said at the end Colette, quickly disappearing in thick fog few meters away. Torson looked shortly on her, in last while reading well known, painted on buttplate "No panties under!". Was it truth, he didn't know; he wasn't brave enough to ask.
He has grabbed his rifle stronger and went in the cloud, nervously looking on the data's displayed right in front of his eyes on a goggles surface.
The entire European forces were coming forward slowly, sweeping the fog with their rifles, ready to fire. Quickly cloud has become so thick, that each one was seeing only nearest comrades, disturbed and uptight the same. They were crossing huge grass fields cut by smooth, concrete lanes, heading to the collapsed Paris Tower further before them, and russian forces awaiting them dug in their positions.
'Come on, you damn fuckers...' whispered under her nose Colette, barely painfully trying to pierce the fog and spot her foes. The retreating soldiers had to be somewhere there, between them and the tower. They couldn't have run away that fast, and probably their commanders have ordered to stay here and resist. Colette knows her foes enough to be sure, that they're lurking on them somewhere in the mist.
'Sir, I report I see nothing,' said on the comlink MacLaid, laughing shortly, nervously.
'Yeah, we all know you're not able to find your own ass, so shut up and get out of the channel,' replied Burren, laughing a little bit, but they were able to hear nervousness in his voice.
The bitter, little bit spicy smoke around them was not only restricting their sight, but also blocking almost all of armour's sensors, that sometimes were like eyes for wearing them soldiers.
'Ma'am, something's wrong. Its too quiet like for russkies, they're definitely scheming something nasty...' said Pérez on the comlink, connecting with sergeant.
'No shit, Sherlock. They are trying to kill us all the time, if you haven't noticed it yet,' quickly answered irritated MacLaid instead of her.
'MacLaid, shut the frak up. Pérez, we all know that, so stay focused and ready to fight.'
'And, that's why you're still private, Georgie,' added Burren.
'And I still don't know, how Colette became corporal.'
'Cuz I'm more adorable than you,' quickly answered him girl.
'You're adorable? Like a devil...'
'All, shut up and focus, or you will notice enemy when he shot your empty heads out.'
'Oh, ma'am, not so sharp, you're terrifying little Torson!'
'I'm not scared!' denied private, but his voice was trembling. 'I'm just...' He hadn't finished, when with loud gride sound numerous long needles jumped out of the ground, piercing some soldiers and lifting them up over the ground.
Nailed on heading the sky, inclined rods soldiers started howling and wheezing, dripping fresh blood on sharp metal and greyish grass under them.
Their yet unharmed comrades started screaming too, shocked and terrified by that view.
'Fuck, fuck!'
'What the hell?!'
'Shit, you're fucking kidding me, you're fucking kidding me!'
Torson has fell on his back and started crawling backwards to get away dying with gurgle soldier, hanging in the air pierced by one of the massive needles.
'What the fuck is this, what the fuck is...' He was stammering, when next serie of metal pikes has sprung out of the ground and lifted him up, nailing with splash of blood. He started choking, gurgling and wheezing through his screaming, when his guts were torned apart and pierced by giant rod's molecular cutting edges.
'It's a trap! We've gotta get the hell out of the field!' shouted one of less stunned by terrifying screams and views soldiers.
It was an banality, but has worked like a bucket of cold water for the most of them. They started running through the field, to escape the death, still jumping out of the soil.
Colette has beem almost pierced by one, that had shot out of grass directly in front of her, only split second before she ran onto it.
She has passed it by and ran further. She was still hearing panic 'Mommy, mommy!' through the painful howling on the comlink, that writhing on the pike soldier has activated just a while before he was nailed on the narrow, massive blade.
'Move, move or you die!' shouted sergeant, hurrying them.
A few has tried to run away on the paved lanes, but when they only put their foot on them, next spears surfaced from under the concrete with eruption of crushed flagstones.
'Oh God, no, no, noaaaaarghhhh...' terrifying scream has stopped in a half, speeding them even more, no matter how their legs were aching, muscles burning, lungs exploding with the pain.
'Go, go, we're close to the...' A female voice was cut by the bullets, that suddenly came from the positions of russians hiding among ruins of the Paris Tower.
'Russkiess, fire, fire, fire!' shouted one, sending bullets form left to right, still running forward on the enemies, more willingly to probably die from enemy projectiles than surely because of spears behind him.
Colette has slowed a little bit, leaning and shooting out entire, last grenades pack, next starting to fire long bursts of smaller ammunition.
Survivors have jumped out of the thick mist and instantaneously falling on the ground, to hide behind large pieces of rubble and twisted metal lying on the crushed concrete plaza.
The rain of bullets has fell around them in a while, outnumbered and shocked, pressed to the ground behind few covers.
'We need fire support, repeat, requesting fire support on enemy positions! Can anyone hear me?!' shouted sergeant Clair, alike a few other officers, curling behind block of crushed concrete and trying to connect with any unit in their AO, that could save them before not so far death.
'It's "Jiggy Joe", we're on the way, hold there just a little more,' they heard on the comlinks.
'CAS inbound, ETA 30 secs, get the covers!' said on the channel harsh, male voice of the attack gunships leader.
'Heads in the ground, we've got a CAS!' shouted Ana Clair to their soldiers, curling even more behind cover.
'Twenty seven, twenty eight, twenty nine...' she was counting fast, silently, waiting for the salvation.
It came few moments later, with whizz of a rockets and rattle of the guns.
The roar of fire and whistle of air ripping steel has exploded a few meters before then, hitting the covers with shrapnels and pressure wave, raising clouds of dust to the air and stunning them despite the armours, that they were all wearing.
'Yeah, c'mon, monkeys, show them how to shoot!' yelled Sofia to the pair of gunners standing in troops bay of "Jiggy Joe" and overheating machine guns' barrels, as they were pouring the enemies on the ground with the rain of a bullets.
'Come on, shoot those fuckers out!' yelled Colette, picking her gun over the cover and shooting at the russian soldiers as intense as their air support.
'Hell yeah, they retreating!' laughed pilot of "Jiggy Joe" seeing, how enemies destroyed physically and mentally for last days were running out.
European soldiers down on the ground has jumped out from their covers and pushed them more, to finnally crush their foes, who dared to attack New Paris deep behind frontline.
Russians has started to threw their weapons down and picking hands to the sky in hope to survive advancing forces.
First line of surrenders had been cut down by European soldiers bullets, but the rest has lied down on the ground to avoid panically shot series.
'Get down, get down!','On your knees, drop the weapons' has shouted soldiers, aiming them with hot rifles and knocking to the ground by kicks.
'Руки вверх!' shouted one of more experienced soldiers, who has known a little bit russian, almost literally sticking him on a short piece of barrel coming out of the front grip.
All of Europeans were breathing hard, with twitching because of adrenaline hands holding their guns and standing on the edge of shooting all captives down.
'It looks... That we have won...' panted MacLaid, still trying to catch the breath.
'Why so long? You couldn't shoot them out before we got grinded?'
'Sorry, we had give those fucking russkies to the MP and come back. And Harold's birds needed ammo, couse they had thrown it all out in other AO.'
'You came in last while. Just a little bit longer and...'
'Watch out, we've got a company,' reported Harold, attack gunships leader.
Soldiers on the ground has raised their heads, looking up for upcoming enemies.
'Two "Akula's", lock the targets and fire at will.'
'Roger that, we've got them,' reported pilot of machine on the side of the formation, firing two rockets.
Two or three others have joined, sending their own missiles, when enemy crafts started to running away and blasting off flares to mislead missiles.
Two fireballs on the sky proclaimed the end of them; burning pieces fell down on the roofs and streets, picking up dark pillars of smoke.
'Allright, secure the area! Its not time for rest!' yelled officer with probably highest rank in the company, giving new orders, directing soldiers and pushing them back to the work. They had been looking around, still stunned after fight. From almost 150 soldiers survived maybe one third of them, but they haven't got time for mourn, as they had to ensure, that the area won't try to kill them again for even five minutes.
'You will sleep after death, now check them and take positions! We're in the hostile land, not a holiday trip.'
'Sir, yes sir!' they had yelled back exhausted, but fastly running around to take positions. The battle of New Paris hasn't been finished yet.
