Ad Astra - The Alagore War

AA V1 Alagore, Chapter 7

"Fraeya," Ryder said. "We need that opening."

The elf girl placed her hand on the wall and slowly slid across the smooth surface. "I need a moment. I am looking for a dip. It is easy to miss."

Not thrilled he had to wait, the captain ordered some of his team to take cover for the destroyed Bigdog and provide protection. Through their battlesuit feed, he saw the exit of the chamber and the barricade the enemy infantry was hiding behind. Parts of the barricade fortification glowed blue from the installed crystal.

The Minutemen and IRiSS opened fire at the glimmering fortification, but the 6.8mm merely ricocheted off. From what Ryder could tell from the team feed, this enchantment hardened the armor to be strong enough to shatter as it impacted the hardened shield.

Hearing one of the other captains from a Minutemen team, two Bigdogs came forth. They sprayed .50 calibers from their M2 Browning's into the fortification. The first few rounds were shattered; however, the continuous stream of their heavy machine guns quickly shattered the crystal, and the barricade started tearing apart.

The enemy seemed surprised by the sheer firepower and began to retreat as their fortifications were destroyed. However, a bright pinkish-white glow covered the path as they exited the chamber.

A group of the other Minutemen fired at the pink-white glowing field; however, the bullets bounced off harmlessly. The two Bigdogs engaged in the same field with the same result. Someone over the radio stated that the enemy deployed an energy shield.

The Comanche captain already knew what would happen next. The enemy will consolation, and they push through. The enemy had to understand that the US wouldn't sit passively back, so they correctly prepared a trap.

Glancing toward his VISOR HUD, the captain noticed that he had low bars on the DEFNET. While a connection was coming through from Earth, it was nowhere near this bad, and if they were not in combat, he might have made a joke that they were back in the 90s. Traditionally, a US soldier would always be connected to the network thanks to its massive satellite and terrestrial installations; however, there was no such infrastructure on Alagore to rely on. While this was mentioned before the attack, the reality only hit him that much of their Itlian network would become worthless.

The only reliable element seemed to be the localized radios that the military kept within Itlian, a relic from the pre-digital world, just like how most military vehicles are still analog, so they would still be functional after an EMP attack. While the military heavily utilizes digital infrastructure to make their forces highly efficient, it has always been a nightmare if this network suddenly goes down for whatever reason. While unintentional, that decision saved the Army's effectiveness in this world.

"Fraeya!" Ryder said once he rejoined his team.

"There." Fraeya placed her hand on a section of the mantellic-marble smooth wall. That section then melted away into the ground. Not onto the floor but to the sides, into the rest of the wall.

"That was freaky," Higgins said.

"How did you do that?" Gonzales asked.

"My primary magic is Geomancy," Fraeya said. "Remember, while we were waiting for your people to open the Bridge on your side, I had months to study these walls. I noticed there were these hidden digits within the walls-."

"This isn't the time for a history lesson," Barrett said.

"Twins, take point," Ryder ordered. "Let's go, Comanche." He spoke through TEAMCON. "Ghost-Lead, on my six. All other Minutemen, standby to assault."

Comanche, Ghost, and two IRiSS rushed through the small corridor. At the end of the hallway was a stairway, which everyone quickly ran up as there was no apparent alternative path. The pathway was pitch black from the lack of an external light source. The room was only lit up by everyone's flashlights that were built into their helmets. They noticed that the strange marble-like smooth walls had disappeared and turned into stone walls.