[012 - 0J] The Flotille Conflict

[Gepoise]

"We have removed the oppressors from one planet, now we must save our brothers and sisters on others. To arms, my brothers and sisters, for the blood of our enemies will not stop flowing over these lands until every last man, woman, and child is free from this tyrannical Government. For the Union!" - Lieutenant Commandant Claudius Betancur

Waves upon waves of Union soldiers arrive at the Northern Flotille Union Outpost, their Lieutenant Commandat greeting every new arrival with a smile and a wave. Morale is high, however the coming battles and terrible weather have put a dampen on the mood of every soldier, even the Union's High Command are questioning if the Flotille campaign is worth the losses. Flotille, a near-by planet to Uthaum, is under complete Helkion control, any human or Kahldorr citizens on the planet have been put into secluded prison camps across the archipelago-type planet. After many hours of planning, the Union has begun to launch their first large-scale assault on the capital city of the planet, Harrkon. The city, which had the good fortune of being able to reinforce their walls for the coming Union offensive, is now a complete police state, any and all shops have been shut down, and curfews last nearly all day. The coming battles will surely change the city, for better or for worse.



As sporradic battles across the planets islands continue, the Helkion are becoming more and more desprate, as they resort to dirty tactics such as gas (Which was banned by the Union and Helkion Conflict Charter, in which both sides agreed to not use any kind of chemical warfare to better their cause), heavy explosive weapons (usually used to knock out entire civilian cities that the Helkions lost), and suicide bombers. Even though most of the battles between the two factions end in a bitter stalemate, the walls are slowly but surely closing in on the Helkions that are loyal to their leader, Lord Vaxx. Lord Vaxx has transmitted multiple pleads for help by any civilization or faction that can aid them in the defence of their planet from the "evil and tyrannical Union", however most barely make it out of the system. The Union, however, has multiple retorts ready, as they also ask for assistance in the battle, showing the brutal and disgusting conditions and torture that the Helkions put upon the humans of Flotille. These propaganda-type-battles are almost always happening, the two sides constantly trying to out-talk the other.



While battles upon the planet are sporadic and almost always a type of surprise attack, the situation in the planets orbit is much worse, and even more unpredictable. While the Union is attempting to retrieve and get any refugees (even Helkions) off of the planet, the Helkions want to do the complete opposite. The Helkions show no mercy to civilian ships, and they are often shot down a few minutes after take-off. This unfortunate circumstance has left the Union no choice but to send a multitude of their frigates to the orbit around the Flotille to prevent any ship-to-ship combat with the refugee ships. The battles are often won by the Union, however they have lost more frigates and refugee ships than they would have ever liked to. As the battle rages in both orbit and on terrain, some civilians are questioning their loyalty to either side.






_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

-AUU Combat Operations Headquarters, Northern Hemisphere, Evening. ETA on Operation Hell Gate: N/A-

The constant hustle and bustle of the outpost during the day has finally calmed down, many of the outposts soldiers heading into the mess-hall for dinner and evening PT. The outpost, which is contained and defended by large walls, has basically turned into a ghost town, most of the refugees posistioned at the outpost have either made their way safely to Uthaum, or died on the way. Men and women line the large walls, their bulky military garb giving them a sort of imposing look to them. Searchlights swivel and pivot around the area, the bright lights able to reach the secondary outpost nearly ten kilometres away. The outpost, often referred to as Balken, is the main port for any incoming and outgoing Union ships, and was the first port taken when the Union invaded Flotille. In the middle of the outpost is a large, three story building with several ledges, all of them having two Anti-Air cannons positioned on either side. Blinking red and green lights turn on and off sporadically, the light from the beacons allowing anyone from the ground to spot the outline of a soldier or two, but only for a split second. Around this building are the barracks and medical centers, along with the airport and civilian housing. The PT and mess hall are tucked away in the corner of the outpost, basketball courts spread out along the side of the building. The paved roads that cover the outpost make for less stress on the ground vehicles and mechs that are deployed at the outpost, the engineers and mechanics clearly thankful for this small yet significant addition to the outpost.

"I need a report on the southern Helkion sector, B-2. If it's not on my desk by tomorrow, may the Commandant strike you from your posistion, Corporal." The man taps the Corporal on the shoulder as he passes, chuckling as the enlisted soldier stares down upon the large stack of papers in front of him. The man, the Operation General for the Northern Flotille sector, closes the large wooden doors to his office behind him as he enters, his old and battle-worn features softening up as he enters the spiritually empty room. Rounding his ornate wooden table, the man (Operational General George Stefan) takes a seat upon his pompous leather chair. Behind him sits a large window overlooking the eastern-most part of the outpost, the occasional atmospheric fighter swooping by the window every now and again. Next to him sits a large, military-esque radio, which constantly spews random strategic information of the enemy. Bright red Union colors are splattered all across the room, the Union flag draped on every wall. Even if the room is cozy, the militaristic view and George's responsibilities to the Union make this his most detested room in the universe. Whether or not George will die on the battlefield or blow his brains out from the sheer "depressingness" of this outpost has yet to be seen.

[Gepoise]

A split second was all it took.

Almost everyone in the outpost was shaken awake by the scream of men and women as they are ruthlessly shot from their wall positions, some type of energy mortar slamming into one of the bunk houses that contain multiple civilians (who were thankfully out of the area at the time). Panic and distress sets in as every single soldier suits up and gathers their equipment, radio broadcasts are scattered and garbled as so many soldiers are simply gunned down as they exit their buildings. The Helkions, who arrived via drop-ship during the guards shift change, easily overpower most of the human forces there. These are grim tidings from what is to come.

Hundreds upon hundreds of soldiers are laid to waste not ten feet away from their barracks, as a few hundred more are positioned on stationary turrets. Vehicles rip around corners with large turrets on the top, attempting to push back the coming Helkion forces. The mechs, with a thick layer of ice and snow coating them, finally make their appearance into the battle, moving with a sort of spryness not seen for quite some time. Even though the Union soldiers were far from prepared, the fighting continues as countless distress messages bounce from the outpost, near dead individuals gasping for air over the radio. Buildings crumble and burn with every passing moment, and there's nothing they can do to stop it.



As more and more Helkion troops arrive, several Union fighters swoop into the area, sending rockets and heavy machine gun rounds into the ranks of the men and women leading the Helkion charge. The battle suddenly appears to have taken a turn for the better, only until three large rockets pop from the ground and slam into all three fighters, knocking them out of the sky in mere seconds. The CO's shout profanities and orders to the aircraft pilots as these three pilots are killed in action, telling any other on-coming ships to pull back and wait for the Anti-Air to be removed. Little do they know that the Anti-Air was unlikely to ever be destroyed.

Up in his perch in the Headquarters, the Operational General stares out his window, his hands posistioned under his chin. Two soldiers burst into the room, scanning the area before coughing and standing at attention. "General, this Headquarters is vulnerable. High Command has suggested we move South to the second operational outpost V-5." The General mumbles under his breath, his eyes darting around as he watches his men being cut down in waves.

"Not yet."

[autist supreme]

Space on the edge of the sector rippled, flashed then 4 Nakar frigates Fired in, followed by a cruiser.

"And what do we have here? These people seem to be pretty close to us, what should we do?"

"Make contact, wait, IS THAT A WAR?"

"Yes, yes it is commander, what should we do?"

"Monitor the area for now, if we are pinged, explain are situation, if we detect weapons systems being trained on us, take us away from here and report back."

A potential ally this close was not something Mordanus had wished to squander, especially a race of seemingly dignified warlike creatures.

[Blitz]

The old masters walked along the Union barracks, holding their guns at the hip and firing their automatic weapons into the thin walls of the barracks. The union soldiers tumble out of the doors, being gunned down as they try to run. They take cover around the barracks as the armed troops come. Several roars and croaks are emitted at the humans as they return fire.

The Helkion dropships fly over low, the Helkion troopers jumping out and landing heavily, they move forward without fear. They believe their trinkets and charms will save them as they advance at the slow but determined pace of a humanoid in heavy armor.

[7dast]

There was only a silence and what seemed to bright explosion of light in the sky, a large hulking beast of metal showed up in the sky, it appeared to stretch out miles, massive armaments sat on the sides of this thing, it was then followed by what seemed to be two obnoxiously sized battleships. The Red Army's emblem shining proudly on the sides of the ship.

"Attention crew, set status to RED ALERT. Scanners are detecting bio-signals."

There was a delay as two unarmed transports sat there, each of them proudly shining the flag of the U.S.S.A. on its sides.

~R.A.S. Eastern Bloc, the pride and joy of the Soviets~

The bridge was full of high-ranking and experienced navymen, the lowest ranking being that of Captain. High Admiral Akileev sat in the massive seat was black and had both the emblem of the armed forces and the flag of the U.S.S.A hanging from it's sides. He had an almost devious smile on his lips as he barked orders out, the true signs of a mad man.

"Load main guns and aim for the planet. Have the lighter weapons aim at any and all contacts currently in space, pass orders to the R.A.S. Stalingrad and the R.A.S. Russia to aim onto all targets in outerspace, we still have the Motherland and Red Storm on stand-by."

The entire bridge erupted in a massive roar, "Da!", they screamed and went to work, the massive Capital's main guns turns for the planet below, all the meanwhile the troop transports slipped between the two battleships and capital for protection.

[Gepoise]

-Union Planetary Defence Station (Flotille), E-2-

______________________________________________

Hundreds of flashing red lights glow off of almost every wall of the large MAC cannon facility, troopers rushing here and there, helmets and kevlar bumping around as they scatter to their designated combat positions. The thousand or so men and women of different races, creeds, and religious backgrounds adorn an aggressive posture as they march throughout the compound. This is their fight, the Helkion's retribution for their slavery and oppression, and some bloody commies are not going to let that objective get in their way.

Hundreds of large mechs slowly make their way onto the tarmac of the holding bays, their large figures shadowing any other vehicle at the facility. As soon as their large feet reach a certain threshold, they suddenly jerk to a stop, and the blaring red lights turn to a bright blue, signifying that the entire base is combat ready.

______________________________________________

"Captain Jelrune, the fleet should be here momentarily. Our MAC cannons are primed and ready, and our planetary defences have been set up across Union-secured areas. We also have multiple Union ships on-route from Uthaum, however they will arrive later than the current team. If things get ugly, we'll be ready."

The young Captain waves off his messenger dismissively, staring down at the stack upon stack of reports that lay in front of him. For a few moments, his eyes seem to glaze over, his mind wandering where only he knows. Suddenly, the man snaps back into reality, standing up from his seat and carefully placing his black peaked officers cap onto his freshly shaved head. After a final glance into his brightly lit office, the Captain flicks the light switch, and exits the room.

______________________________________________

After a few minutes of walking, two elevator rides, and one long tram ride, the Captain finally arrives at the Command Centre. Before walking into the large, domed room, he slips his cap and his ID card towards a guard, not stopping to chit-chat like he usually does. He finds his seat among several other high ranking officials, their imposing figures have little to no effect on the young slender Captain. No words are exchanged while the group of officials stare at a screen, their eyes trained upon the large ship that recently entered Flotille space. Each one of them is waiting for anything, even the slightest sign of a pin dropping on the seemingly hostile ship.

______________________________________________

-Flotille Space, five minutes later-

All is quiet. Any Union ships in the area remain stationary, their weapons seemingly offline, yet are trained on the new arrival to their conflict. They are few and far between, and stand little chance against the large battle-group that has recently exited slip space. Every Admiral that has control of a ship in the orbit of the planet has a red phone next to their ear, and a finger next to a bright red button. No messages have been sent, and no form of communication from the strange ship is accepted. Everything is quiet.





Suddenly, a slip space rupture near one of the Union ships wakes everyone up, as two large battle-groups lurch into Flotille space. One is clearly under the Union's fleet, however the other appears to be of another, seemingly unknown faction. They are quick to respond as their weapons are already primed and ready, quickly being able to shift to face the communist ship, weapons trained. Their numbers are large, both groups having at least one capital ship. The Union's group appears to have multiple frigates and several cruisers, while the other has more cruisers and less frigates. The different coloured ships now all remain stationary.

Suddenly, a communications channel is opened, a message being sent towards the communist ship...

"Unidentified vessel, this is the Deputy Fuhrer of the Union Battlegroup Kilo, and my companions here are from the USCP of Hunsrück. You are, from what I see here, outnumbered. You have approximately one hour to send us a reply message. If none is sent, we will be forced to open fire upon your seemingly hostile cruiser. Please make it quick."

The transmission ends with a sudden click.

[7dast]

~R.A.S Eastern Bloc~

The bridge had been sent into a frenzy as multiple air contacts suddenly boomed into the area, a Captain stepped up to the Major before kneeling slowly and raising a hand to salute, he would open his mouth to speak.

"High-Admiral, we have been completely surrounded and the enemy outnumbers us greatly."

The High-Admiral slowly rises from his seat as he looks over his crew with slight disapproval, he crosses his arms and slowly descends the long staircase down into the nest of naval men, he moves to the comm-center and makes lurks over another Admiral.

"Admiral, open up communications with the fleet. Start translating their messages if it's any known language."

"Da, sir."

"Have the R.A.S Russia and Stalingrad start up their FTL drives. We're not here for war..... yet."

With the command the communications officers quickly began work, being the best of the best in the navy. It is only a matter of seconds before communications are sent out towards the ship in a frenzy, despite their opposing appearance and they've only come to speak diplomatically.

[GentleMao]

To stir it all up a bit, another rupture occurred. A group of ships exited their warps into the system. A trio of unarmed, cargo-carrying frigates and it's security detail of four cruisers and a battleship. Each of the ships are decorated with the mark of the Worker's Party. The recently arrived ships slow at the sight of the armada of other space-craft. The group remained a fair-distance away, but in space it was a few minutes flight.

On the bridge, every Synther officer was busy working at their consoles. A stream of messages came up to the captain's computer and if it wasn't for the computer-system slowing everything down, it would of all been a blur.

/Multiple signatures.
//We are out numbered.
///Attempt to open up communications?
>No.
>>Alert the trade-ships, possible consumer-race.
/Confirmed.
>Make sure weapons are not armed.
>>Prepare tactical denial protocols.
/. . .
//. . .
>Confirm.
/Confirmed, captain.

The lieutenant paused after typing, his mandibles stretching outwards in thought -- a rare occurrence for a Synther. He looked around the room of other so-called officers and let his mandibles slowly retract back into their neutral positions. He, with some hesitation, typed in a command at a second keyboard and soon turned back to his own.



The captain stared blankly as the emergency screen to his right popped up with a simple prompt.

<Y/N>

[Blitz]

In Helkion controlled territory, the mighty and massive defense weapons of the old slave runners was operational. The shield generator deactivated over the large blast doors, which began to roll open. As the doors slide apart, large three pronged devices with huge generator devices behind them were rolled up into the ceiling. There was a pause, and then the generators let off a bright light as the three pronged weapon fired a large ball of orange plasma straight into the sky. It streaked into the atmosphere, making a unique sound as it broke through the ozone.

It careened out of the atmosphere and flew into the general muck of space ships in orbit, aimed mostly for that of the Union.

[7dast]

~R.A.S. Eastern Bloc~

As the planetary defense batteries flew outward, the R.A.S Eastern Bloc had already powered up it's weapons, the High-Admiral moved toward the communications table once again with a sigh of frustration, stopping by the communications officers as he leaned in and gave a whisper, the Captain nodded and moved back before typing frantically on a keyboard.

~Open Space~

One of the unarmed troop carriers moved forward, before four hangars opened up and a total of six drop ships moved out the front of it, the ships began to speed down towards the planet, towards the Helkion planetary defense batteries to be exact. It was only a matter of time before they reached the planet.

~R.A.S Eastern Bloc~

The High-Admiral moved to shove aside a lesser ranked naval men as he quickly sent out a message to the Union.

"We are moving a force to destroy the hostile defense, it is clear you do not have control of these, for you have not opened fire yourselves. Do not engage, I repeat. DO NOT. Engage."

[Gepoise]

-On-board the Capital Ship of the Union, The Viking-

"The ship has contacted us- Multiple slip-space ruptures on the other side of the planet, Fuhrer! Their weapons are powered down, but we- Ah shit, multiple rounds from a Helkion MAC cannon have been shot from Flotille! They're headed straight for our battle-group!"

"All ships, evasive manoeuvres! Evasive manoeuvres!"

"One of our frigates have been hit, the AUSC Gaklio! No survivors detected, Fuhrer!"

"Ground HQ is reporting that the fire has been traced back to a mountainous compound near the peak of Mt. Waslion, multiple special forces units have been sent to eliminate the orbital threat. ETA ten minutes."

Almost all of the communication channels that the Union has at her disposal are virtually clogged up, yet through-out the utter chaos that came after the Helkions downed one of the Union's frigates, the soldiers of the Union remain stone faced, this loss of life simply adding another reason to win this bloody war.

_______________________________________________

The Deputy Fuhrer begins to sweat, watching as one of the Unions best frigates goes down in flames. His fingers begin to twitch, and sweat drips from his eyebrow. The Deputy, after heavy consideration, pulls out a small tablet, punching in a few commands for his soldiers in orbit. Even though things are not going according to plan, the Union has came back from worse.

_______________________________________________

"Attention crew of the Viking and our allies, the Federation. The Deputy Fuhrer has declared that our current mission will continue. We will mourn for those on the Waslion later. All combat units, get ready for ground combat. Pod drops are a go. If you have not been designated a pod, you will be deployed via dropship. I want boots on the ground in twenty. For the Union!"

As the intercoms and televisions on all of the ships flick back to their regular programming, every soldier marches towards their designated positions, orbital drop pods opening their large metallic doors for the select few soldiers daring enough to drop feet first into battle. After fifteen minutes of organization, a bright green light above each of the drop pods and dropship hangars pops on, signifying that the mission is indeed a go. In a matter of seconds, the Capital ship and her frigates alight with activity, drop pods and dropships screech down towards the planet. The Federation would likely follow, however towards another Landing Zone.

_______________________________________________




"Corporal, open a line of communications with the new arrivals, the ones with the cargo ships. Send a message, similar to the one we sent to the communist ship a few hours ago. Be polite, yet stern. We mean no harm as long as they are accepting of a diplomatic envoy. If not, blow them out of our fucking orbit."

The Corporal nods, saluting the General soon afterwards. With a spin on his heel and a flick of his cap, the Corporal marches off towards the communications room.

"Things on Flotille just got a whole lot more interesting, boys."

_________________________________________________________

-Half an hour later, near the Helkion Orbital Cannon facility. Current Time: 14:33-

"Warlord, this is Hunter 1-1. Boots are on the ground outside of the Helkion OCF. Got a few uglies movin' around but no sign of any vehicles. We'll be moving up once Boone gets a height advantage. Operation Take It Back is a go."

"Copy that, Hunter 1-1. May the sun guide your steps."

[Blitz]

The Soviet dropships come under heavy fire, as balls of plasma are fired from mobile anti-air platforms. As they approach deeper into Helkion controlled airspace, several missiles are fired into the air. They lock onto the radar signatures of the dropships, and would close in. If nothing was onboard the ship to deflect the radar lock, they top of the missiles would pop off, firing a large shotgun like shell into the vehicle to shred up things like thrusters or engines. They would then close in and explode around the dropship within milliseconds of the shotgun like blast being fired.

---

The Helkion bunker is heavily defended, large brutish Helkion guards scowling heavily as they watch their sectors and patrol. The white bunker holding the artillery is two stories tall and very expansive. It could be assumed that there were underground facilities as well.

The roof of the building was heavily guarded as well, several AA emplacements on the wall, with soldiers walking along the ramparts. While they patrol, they often turn to admire the large cannons firing.

[GentleMao]

As the group of ships begin to get attacked by plasma-fire, the group of Synther ships drift off to the left to avoid being caught up in the cross-fire. The leading battleship's weapons arm but they are purposely pointed away from the ships and the planet.

Sulfide - command deck.

The captain watched with some amusement as the Union ship went down in flames. Space was boring. Micro-management was the only job and the AI took care of that. His live-action theatre was suddenly interrupted by a communication line opening up.

/Prepare FTL?
>No.
/Confirmed.
//They are attempting to open communications.
>Accept it. Send it to me. Scan through available translators for [HOMO_SAPIENS]
/Confirmed.
//Appears to be two different factions. They may be engaging eachother. Orders?
>Wait and watch.
/. . .
//Confirmed.
>Prepare [PLATOON #2452700] and [ORBITAL_STRIKER #92]
>>Possible mineral bin.
/Confirmed. Estimated time until armed and dangerous. . . 10 minutes.

The lieutenant was getting more defiant with every contact. The captain glanced over to the other side of the room where he was typing and his top mandibles drooped over the lower. A scowl. No-time to tack action, as he moved a keyboard to the center and positioned it infront of himself. He made no attempt to make himself look good -- visual communications hadn't run through his thought-process yet.

Open space.
A 10 meter long, metal tube extended from the underbelly of the battleship. It pivoted slowly towards the planet and halted when it met it's target. It remained stationary and disarmed after that.

[7dast]

The drop-ships broke the atmosphere as they were inside, the rockets were sent out and the drop ships did in fact, have counter-measures. Launching decoys out the sides of their ships as they quick neglected the missiles, but unfortunately a big fat ball of plasma hit one of the ships' engine, causing it circle off and smash into another one, two of them were sent down, towards the ground, frantically the pilots screamed over the comms.

"This is Red-Six, we're going down! Shit! Hard landing! Hard landing! Engine is fucked! Oh god! No! Ahhhhhh!'

"Red-Two, Red-Two going down, I repeat. Red-Two going down!"

The two downed birds hit the ground hard, Red-6 burst into flames and drifted off into dense forest, unseen from air. Red-2 however landed about two hundred meters from the Helkion positions, the other four unharmed drop ships hit the ground and a total of eighty men emerged out the backs of the ships, quickly regrouping, two of them wearing Zaytsev Mark-Twos, which is heavy power-armor and wielding RHMGs, it was a small but formidable force.

"Red-One, Three, Four, and Five have all touched down in the designated L.Z., current orders stand, Red-One and Five will move to recover survivors from the crash-sites, Three and Four, move forward and take out those emplacements!"

All eighty soldiers reached their hands into the air and let out a bone-chilling war-cry in unison, before they split off into groups of two.

~Red-Two Crashsite~

The bird had had a pretty successful crash landing, one of the pilots was deceased, the other severely wounded, though they managed to keep the twenty soldiers in the back alive, four of which were wounded. A Senior-Sergeant stepped up and took command, the LT having been wounded and deemed unfit for command, he called the men around and gave them their orders. They were hunkering down.

~Red-Six Crashsite~

The burning mess was a tragic mess, eight men dead, only two surviving as they sat back, one of which wounded, the one man who managed to come out unscathed held onto his Makovich 22 shotgun, looking over at his wounded comrade, the wounded man's leg had been completely shattered and he held onto his V-TAR rifle, ready for action.

"Pavel? Want a smoke?"

"Da..."

The one man reached a hand up to the side of his helmet where he had Soviet issued cigarettes strapped to it, slipping one in Pavel's lips and giving it a light, they both leaned back against a tree and waited for their fates to be decided.

[Blitz]

From behind a thick, bullet proof glass, a highly decorated religious leader points towards the dropships landing in the distance, his jowls flapping about"Do not let them get into the compound, they threaten our skies!" The subordinate military leader bowed his head and exited the room, leaving the religious leader in privacy.

---

The Helkion quick reaction forces, tracking down the main Red force quite easily, revv their Helkish speed bikes down the slum streets. The Reds can hear them around the abandoned plaza they set down in. Their only cover would be to run to the outlying buildings, with odd misshaped alien architectural designs, and a 50 foot long collapsed statue of a religious leader in the center.

The speed bikes suddenly cut out, distant groans and clicks echoing from all around them. Suddenly, the Helkions take up positions on 3 exits out of the plaza. The hulking beasts hunker down and begin to fire on the group, taking cover behind fallen rubble and odd civillian vehicles. As they advance from cover to cover, they fall on all fours, grunting and snorting heavily, before sliding into cover and beginning to lay down suppression again.

A dropship is seen in the distance, at about 500 meters elevation. It moves forward lazily to the main red group.

---

Red two was under attack instantly, the heavy machine guns on the massive artillery bunker rained down suppressive fire from the walls, and the AA emplacement cannons were turned downward, firing large plasma pulses at the ship, rocking and tearing it apart. The Helkion infantry fired on anyone who exited the ship, dropping down on all fours and moving as fast as they could in their heavy armor. They kept their weapon holding hand raises in the air as they advanced on their hands and feet, trying to get up close and personal to fire their compact CQC weapons.

---

At the red-6 dropsite, the high pitched squeals of the Helk speed bikes can be heard. The two soldiers would catch glimpses of the bikes moving inbetween the brush and the red bark of the alien forest.

[7dast]

~Red-Three and Red-Four~

As the Helkion insurgents closed in, the Soviets quickly formed a perimeter and fired back, one of the heavily armored soldiers with the RHMG laid down fire on any and all Helkion insurgents moving down the street, the other one however began to fire off into the sky towards the dropship, very large rounds being fired at high speeds towards the moving object erupted. Behind him a two man AT/AA Rocket team prepped a missile, the one man sliding the rocket into the back of the RPG, before long the man holding the massive launcher squeezed his hand into a fist, the rocket-propelled grenade does as it's supposed to flying towards the dropship, however none of the Soviets have died within the main force yet. The commanding officer moved within the dropship as he sent out a transmission towards the Union and his own fleet.

"We're sustaining heavy fire! Insurgent forces are closing in fast! I am requesting orbital bombardment of the fortified compound, coordinates are X-Too-Tree-Niner, Y-Wun-Tan-Twunny, Z-Negative-Sev-Tree-Ate. One hundred meter spread, high concentration."

With that the LT picked up his V-TAR and moved back to support his men.

~Red-One and Red-Five~

The forty men moved through the forest towards the crashsite of Red-Six, before they caught a glimpse of a speeder bike and quickly hunkered down, the highest ranking NCO yelled out and with that, the entire group of men began to engage the speeder bikes with fury.

~Red-Two Crashsite~

The entire surviving crew was wiped out in a few mere moments from the plasma fire and heavily fortified emplacements, the engine of the wreckage finally exploded and created a massive fireball into the sky, devouring the entire area within forty-five meters.

The R.A.S Zanovich

The High-Admiral moved around the bridge frantically as the transmission came out, sweat began to pour down the man's face as he seemed frightened by the entire situation, he simply pointed at an officer and barked out an order. The man nodded and quickly transmitted to the Union fleet.

"We are the United Soviet States of Astonia. We came as a purely diplomatic force, though this planet appears to be hostile to both of us. I, High-Admiral Akileev, am requesting we form a military alliance to seek and destroy the hostile emplacements, before either of us pointlessly waste life."

[Mother Superior]

The Federal battle group that had accompanied their Union allies broke off from the main flotilla, avoiding the plasma arcs and averting their heavy artillery weapons planet side to support the troop ships that began to ferry troops, vehicles and supplies to the planet’s surface. Troops of the 542nd Orbital Drop Regiment piled into their drop pods that seated a platoon sized element, their recon company was to be the first boots of the Federation in combat. The pods were secured, pressurized and fired to the planet.

They were aimed for the northern side of the planet towards the "Eume" forest. The pods came into the atmosphere as flaming balls of metal, they descended rapidly and smacked into the frozen earth of the forest, snow and dirt being kicked up, trees cracking and splintering. The pods depressurized and opened, the soldiers poured out and took defensive positions around their pods, and they waited for their company commander to catch her bearings, she did and took charge of the company.


"Company! They know we're here and that's our job! Our job is to be the best of the best and to be fucked almost all the time! First platoon, take point, second and third will follow behind! Four, five, and six! I want you lot to space out to our west, least a few hundred meters, want you to act as a support element in case we encounter any ugly alien cunts, got me? Looks like it's going to snow, let's get moving!"

She waved for her company to start and they did, they were at a moderate pace and they were jumpy.

---

"The Green Zone," Union Controlled Zone, Flotille.

Two of the Marie class transport cruisers descended into the low orbit of the safe zones, they then made their way to a predestined landing zone, a large open field of snow. They were spaced with three kilometers between themselves, and began unloading troops, various armored, motored, and winged vehicles.

[Blitz]

The main red force would have no way to split up their platoon to save Red-6, as the Helkions have locked down their main LZ and are defending all the roads. The dropship has much time to gain altitude over the launched rocket, but it is struck in the rear VTOL engine. It soars over the battle ensuing, as three small pods are launched from its belly. The pods land on the other side of the wall of buildings. The dropship slowly careens into a slum district a kilometer away, the crashing and exploding can be heard in the distance.

Loud humming and mechanical noises are heard as three exosuits bearing the same facial features as the Helkion lumber into cover. They wield heavy machine guns in their hands and lay down heavy suppressive fire on the powered Soviet suits. The advancing Helkion are put to a stop by the power armored men, but they hold their positions in the rubble and return fire, attempting to further push the soviets in.

While the Soviets seem to be holding their own, more and more Helkion flood in. Soon, the buildings begin to be occupied, Helkion entering from outside the plaza and manning the upper floors of the buildings to fire down on the platoon with limited cover. Different vehicles from before are heard making their way towards the plaza, heavy foot steps accompanying them.

---

The speedbikes, which are actually hovercraft, spot the downed dropship. They rev their engines and pivot towards the ship, charging towards the ship. As they approach, the Helkion trooper on the back leaps off into close quarters combat, the driver pulling off to dismount and find cover in the distance.

---

All the while the plasma cannons fire onto the assorted fleets in orbit, but after a sustained bombardment of 30 minutes, they halt. They roll back into their hangars, the large blast doors sealing behind them. It would be assumed that they were going to be recharged and cooled down.

[Gepoise]

-The Helkion Orbital Cannon Facility, twenty minutes later-

"We're set up, Captain. The Major has prepared the secondary force that will move in from the south of the compound, and our surprise artillery barrage is set up five clicks out. ETA on the rounds is about twenty seconds."

"Are the charges set on the walls?"

"Yes sir, charges have been set and Bravo company is ready to detonate as soon as the rounds hit."

"Good. Alright ladies, its the Unions time to shine. Fuckin' red bastards gave us one hell of an opening. For the Union!"

Every trooper in the Captains squad shouts along, setting their weapons up along the ridge line. Hundreds of troopers have carefully made their way under the Helkion radar, scopes and range finders being set up. As soon as everything has been completed, the group remains silent, only the large insects of this virtually inhospitable planet making any noise.

And then it happens.

Suddenly, the sky tears open, rounds upon rounds of explosive ammunition rain down onto the unsuspecting and somewhat distracted facility of Helkions, the explosive charges set up around the walls blasting any defences around that area completely down. Two Union-class atmospheric fighter jets roar over the horizon, spraying hot death all over the barracks and AA emplacements that the compound contains. The troops that surround the compound roar with rage as they jump over the ride line, thousands of rounds being sent towards the compound, yet similar fire is sent towards the Union troopers as well. Dozens of men drop dead along the wall of the compound, however hundreds more are able to make their way into the facility. It's a full-out war in the facility, with bodies of several different species littering the previously neat-looking base.

______________________________________________

-Union Capital Ship, The Viking-

"Listen, "High-Admiral", I have no fucking clue what your objective is, but what you just did cost you a few good men. I am the Deputy Fuhrer of the Aeonic Union of Uthaum. Now, my forces are currently attacking the orbital cannon emplacement, and we will attempt to rescue your men, however I highly doubt we'll find anything but their dog tags. The Helkions of Flotille are barbaric and extremely intelligent. They are an enemy you have never faced before. We will talk later. For now, you will not deploy any more troopers or you will be in violation of Union law, and then I will be forced to take hostile action. Is this clear, High Admiral? Good."

The Deputy Fuhrer scoffs as he closes the communications link, tossing his officers cap in the corner of his dark office. His fingers drum on the glass table that sits infront of him, his eyes staring off into nothingness.

"Jack, get me a coffee."

[7dast]

~The Main Soviet Force~

The valiant soldiers of the Red Army fought bravely, the total of eighty men standing still as they continued their fight, becoming completely surrounded the Lieutenant yelled out to his men in a fit of rage, the suicidal maniac ordered the unexpected.

"Brothers of Astonia! Soviets! We are dead in this position, and I'll be damned if I'll stand still when I die! Rally on me! We charge! I'm activating the self-detonation protocols on the dropships! For the motherland!"

The zealous men responded with enthusiasm, the Lieutenant entered each and every one of the dropships before emerging from the last one, the situation had grown worse as four men were K.I.A., seven wounded, but the Reds held strong, the Lieutenant proudly carried the flag of the U.S.S.A., he waved it in the air and the men cheered, before he pointed toward the forces down the road and gave the command. A sea of men rose from their positions and charged forward; a dangerous and ballsy move if there ever was one. The Lieutenant was struck down right from the start, a comrade inspired by his motives picked up the flag and continued the charge.

The power-armored Soviets stood their ground, just the two of them, taking the moment to literally shoot at everything, their advanced infrared detectors scanned for heat bodies and they reacted, the heavy machine guns expelling a storm of bullets, the Soviet soldiers had accepted the fact of possible death and decided it was best to go down as heroes for the Soviet Union rather than dying in a pile of corpses.

~Red-Six Crashsite~

The Red soldier stayed quiet as his comrade had nearly passed away beside him. The man held onto the Makovich 22 as the soldier slowly crept through the trees, the man turned the corner and fired the shotgun towards him, loading with high explosive shells, it impacted a tree and bark flew off, the soldier turned back and pulled the fast-action pump and the shell ejected out, he waited.

[Blitz]

The facility's emergency shields activate, a bluish green hue forming over the bunker, with about a foot of space inbetween the bunker armor and the actual shield. The Helkion troopers are caught off guard, the emplacements outside of the bunker are annihilated, heavy machineguns and AA emplacements being turned into twisted metal. As the Union troopers close in, the Helks reconsolidate in the trenches and cover. The heavy fire is returned, some of the defenders slumping over and rolling into ditches and trenches as they are shot dead. As the Union troopers grow close, they break cover and attempt to fight their last moments in brutal melee combat, swinging their large fists and heavy weapons over the humans.

---

As soon as the soldiers leave their cover, they are slaughtered. The Helkion do not break their cover to honor the 'heroic charge'. The exosuited Helkion fire on the power suited Soviet men, their heavy machineguns beginning to turn bright red. A few Helkion roar in pain as they collapse, but the 360 fire down onto the plaza does not stop.

---

A Helkion driving a speedbike is hit directly in the chest, being thrown off his bike as he rolls down into the snow, his blood staining it bright red. The bike does barrel rolls as it crashes into a tree, crumpling into a heap of metal and rebounding into the snow. As he gives himself away, the Helkion soldiers close in, firing on the tree he hides behind.

[7dast]

~The Main Force~

The Reds charged forward with lightning speed, rounds flying overhead and past one man to hit another, they kept charging towards the men at the end of the of the road, in the end only twenty three of the Reds would make it to them, afterwards proceeding to try and enter melee combat with the men, meanwhile behind them them power-armored units fought to the very end, the self-destruct sequences were armed and finally detonated creating a massive fireball that completely devastated the area in a seventy five meter radius, shock-waves being propelled elsewhere.

~Red-Six Crashsite~

The man was pinned as he sat back, taking the moment to look at his fallen comrade he slowly stood up against the tree and reached a hand down, pulling the man up. He tried to make a run for it, firing a blast of pellets behind him as he ran for a large piece of metal from the hull of the dropship.

[Blitz]

The men wouldn't last very long out of cover, and if any of them did happen to make it to the Helkion, they would stand little chance, being outnumbered and outmatched by the Helkion strength. The large humanoids beat their large weapons and fists over the humans, very little being done to them in melee. Once the power suited Soviets were destroyed, some of the Helkion were killed in the blast, thrown off their feet as shrapnel penetrated their bodies. The buildings around them shook, and then all was eerily silent. As dust clears, the plaza once again is a eerily quiet ruin. They look among the bodies, and begin to make their leave, loading their dead onto the speedbikes. The gathered soldiers move to reinforce the bunker half a kilometer away, their heavy armor jingling and rustling as they move.

---

Even as they ran, their ruthless pursuants closed in, their gunfire becoming heavier as the soviets tried to retreat.

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