This Forsaken World Chapter 6
Sergeant Victor Grimm
The sun had set as I swiftly moved towards the inner wall. Fires raged unchecked across the courtyard and I was amazed at the sheer destruction before it was obscured from view. I made my way around a broken building and headed for the stairs.
As I approached the main gate I made sure everything was clear before taking the staircase to the base of the wall. The infected were too busy with the Walkers and surviving Defense Force soldiers to make it this far and despite everything I thanked whoever was listening for that.
The tanks had taken up flanking positions just outside the entrance to the city and thousands of troopers were in the process of reinforcing the position with spikes, sand bag bunkers, sheets of thick metal and anything they could get there hands on to form a decent barricade.
As I approached I noticed a Major who was giving orders and coordinating the defense. I made my way to the man and gave him the best salute I could muster, my head still spinning and my balance compromised.
"Sir, Sergeant Grimm, Third Squad, Second Outer Wall Defense Garrison. My entire unit is dead or missing. I was knocked unconscious by an explosion, do we know what happened?" I asked. "All I remember is unknown figures in black detonating explosives on the wall."
The Major returned my salute and looked me up and down. "You look like you've been through the ringer young man. As far as we know those saboteurs were loyalist to the enemy fleet approaching Earth. At least that's what the highers ups think. Frankly I don't care, my priority is getting these walls defensible. Report to the medical tent, its through the gates and on the right. Once you've been cleared for duty, I expect you to report for orders. I need every able body out here right now. Dismissed." The man then turned his attention back to his task.
I nodded my head, a throbbing pain informing me this was a bad idea, and did as I was told. The place was in pure chaos as more Walkers were moved into position and heavy weapons platforms were installed at various locations.
The medical tent was right where the officer had told me it was and I staggered inside. There was a line of at least five other troopers with various injuries in front of me and over fifty people were scattered about on stretchers. It was obvious very few wall guards from any of the units had survived considering how few injured there were.
I was anxious to get back on the line and get some pay back but trying to fight with a head injury was a big deal and I didn't want to become a liability instead of help.
The man in front of me was missing his entire left arm at the shoulder, a compressed skin graft was the only thing keeping him from bleeding out and the fact he was on his feet meant he was under the effect of a lot of military grade pain killers. The sight made my stomach flip and I swallowed hard, looking away from the grisly wound. I was thankful I at least hadn't suffered that type of injury.
As the medics attended the men in front of me, the sounds of gunfire opened up not far from my current position and I turned to look at the source.
A screaming mob of infected had begun pouring into the open space before the gates and the tanks and infantry had opened up. For some reason the Walkers had made no move to join the combat and I pondered this as a medic approached me.
I allowed myself to be guided to a medical bed as the battle began in earnest, explosions of all types filling the air as the scream of engines took over. Bombers and fighters from the fleet began strafing runs and the night was lit up in a brilliant show of utter destruction.
Something else I found interesting, several troop transport ships had begun to circle the combat zone. The side door panels had been removed and machine gun turrets had been installed, allowing the occupants to fire into the oncoming hordes. I remembered watching a Vietnam movie where the UH-1H Iroquois " Huey" helicopters had performed similar tactics and I smiled at the ingenuity.
Commander Devin Crowe
The time in slip stream was nerve racking as I replayed the scene of the incoming ships in my head over and over. I could not fathom how we would face such an enemy and it was driving me insane.
"Did you see how many ships there were?" Raptor asked, his voice quivering with fear. "I mean...how do they even make that many space ships?" The man was rambling over the radio.
"I don't know Rap, why don't you go back and ask them? We'll meet you at Earth when your done. It doesn't matter! All we can do is warn the brass and hope we can evacuate before those ships arrive. We have to leave Earth, there is no way we can defend the planet." This was coming from Angel who sounded truly pissed.
I could tell this was a coping mechanism for the redhead, most likely a means to deflect fear and turn it into something she could use. Regardless it helped shut Raptor up and I was thankful for that.
"Alright lets not worry about that right now people, I need ship status. Fuel reserves, ammo, fighter damage and condition. By the numbers people." I checked my own ship for the fifth time since entering slip stream.
"Reaper 2 cleared. I'm at ten percent power, fourteen rounds of ammo and one missile. No structural damage." Angel reported.
"Reaper 3 cleared. Eighteen percent power, twenty one rounds of ammo, no missiles. No damage." Romeo stated.
There was a momentary hesitation and I clicked the mic. "Reaper 4, report status." I barked with as much authority in my voice as I could muster. Raptor began to stammer as he reported, having apparently been locked in his own thoughts.
"Uh right, Reaper 4. Nine percent power, four rounds of ammo, no missiles. I have damage to my left wing and my starboard engine is damaged." He finished, his voice much calmer as he now had something to distract him from the fear.
"Reaper 5. Thirteen percent power. No ammo, no missiles. Damage to port side, unsure of how bad. Sensors are shot so I can't get a clear report, sir." Tombstone was so quiet I could barely hear him over the radio. I made a note to keep an eye out for him when we arrived in orbit, it was dangerous to have unknown damage and I didn't want him crashing while attempting to land on the A.M.S. Star.
"Reaper 6. Twenty percent power. Nineteen Ammo, one missile. I received damage to the port engine but its still functioning properly. Otherwise I'm good Commander." Doom informed me. He was professional and precise which was a good sign.
Sighing in a breath of relief that my squad was still in decent shape, I was thankful that we had six fresh fighters waiting for us in the hangar at home. With this news I was able to relax a bit more as we continued our trip in Slip Stream. It was going to take another hour before we'd arrive in Earth orbit and I was not looking forward to the battle ahead.
Sergeant Victor Grimm
The medic informed me I had a severe concussion, damaged ear drums, two cracked ribs, a sprained wrist and ankle and a deep laceration over my eye. They patched me up as best they could and I waited impatiently, listening to the combat raging not far from the medical tents.
After I'd been injected with a number of pain relievers, I looked at the man attending me. "Come on doc, get me back in this thing." I asked, wincing as he removed my armor to apply wrapping around my chest for my ribs.
"I don't know if I can. The concussion alone should excuse you from combat, not counting the rest of these injuries. It's a miracle you made it to this tent on your own two feet. If I send you back out there you'll just be in the way." He stated, finishing with the wrap and turning his attention to my wrist and ankle.
"Listen, those infected don't care if I'm injured or not. We need everyone who can carry a weapon out there right now or you won't be patching up anyone else, do you understand?" I grabbed the man's collar and pulled him close. "Patch me up and send me back in. I can fight, just give me the go ahead and forget you ever saw me, understood?" I snapped, glaring at the man.
Swallowing visibly, the medic nodded and breathed in a sigh of relief as I released him. "Fine, just let me finish getting you cleaned up, then you can go. I hope you know what your doing and you don't get anyone else killed when your injuries hinder your ability to fight." Without another word he resumed his work and the conversation was over.
I watched the strobes of light outside the tent, the defensive perimeter out of sight. The sounds, screams and explosions was making me edgy as I tried to piece together everything happening in my head.
I could imagine soldiers moving back and forth between the fortifications, the turrets firing into the infected, the Walkers and Tanks standing like titans over the action and the numerous forms of ballistics slamming into the wall of oncoming zombies.
Biting my lower lip I flinched as the man started to clean the cut above my eye. He used a wet cloth to wipe up the blood so I could see again and due to time restraints, applied glue to the cut instead of stitching. After he felt comfortable with his work, he nodded to himself.
"Alright, that's the best I can do for now. Take this note in case anyone asks if your cleared and get out there. You might want to grab some ammo while you can, its going fast. The ammo dump is around the corner. Good luck trooper."
I nodded my thanks and climbed off the medical bed, scooping up my armor and assault rifle and making my way towards the indicated location. After reaching the ammo supply, I redid my armor and exchanged my assault rifle for a clean freshly oiled replacement. I was handed four magazines of fully loaded ammo and grinned to myself.
Alright, I was ready for round two, all I could do was hope I was up to the task. I jogged back to the forward defense and reported to a Master Sergeant. "Sir, I'm ready for combat, just came from medical." I held up my letter. The pain killers were doing wonders, I felt better than ever.
The grizzled veteran didn't even look at the note, he grunted in reply and pointed to a sandbag bunker to the left where a dozen men were firing into the zombies. "There, reinforce them." That was all the Sergeant said.
I joined the troopers who accepted my presence with a glance and turned towards the enemy. The infected were being stalled by a mountain of there dead, the bodies making a large makeshift wall that had slowed the oncoming horde. Instead of firing into the mass, soldiers were now taking there time to shoot anything that attempted to climb over the pile and it was making things much easier.
I admired the efficiency with which the secondary wall defense was containing the threat and I took aim at the first head that came into view. There was still a steady stream of enemies but most were put down the second they appeared.
Smiling to myself I continued to methodically shoot each head that appeared and for a while I felt confident things were under control. Little did I know things were about to grow out of control in the worst possible way.
Commander Devin Crowe
As a warning light went off in my cockpit I grinned to myself. "Alright Reapers, exiting slip stream in three...two...one...mark!" The fighter decelerated and my stomach lurched. The light vanished and the sight of the fleet before me was a wonderful thing to witness.
As my squadron approached the A.M.S. Star, my headset lit up with the voice of Captain Connors, the Commanding Officer. "Commander Crowe. What happened? The Hammer's arrived half an hour ago and reported they disabled the enemy ship. Is the threat contained?"
I could tell the radio transmission was on a private command line and breathed in deeply in preparation for delivering the bad news. "Uh no ma'am...We held out as long as we could. Just as we were leaving, a wave of enemy reinforcements arrived. Captain, I've never seen so many ships. We couldn't even count how many there were. I'm not sure how they travel at speed but there heading this way and there is no way we can repel such a force." I bit my lip.
"Well, what do you suggest I tell the Admiral?" The Captain asked. "Ma'am, I suggest we evacuate orbit immediately. With only eight combat ready ships and limited fuel, we won't last long if they show up in force. You might also want to recall the Corvettes, we could use the fire support."
As we spoke my fighter had been locked into auto pilot for landing and I watched as I was pulled into the hangar. I waited for the pressure doors to slam shut and slid out of the fighter, stretching my cramped legs for a moment before jogging towards the hatch to the ship.
My squad mates joined me as we filed into the tight hallway and Romeo sealed the door behind us. Captain Connors was waiting for us as we removed our breathing rigs and turned to face her.
"Alright so you want us to evacuate the planet. Might I remind you half of our staff is still on the surface. We'd be abandoning hundreds of thousands of humans, do you honestly believe Admiral Burns will simply take my word for it?" She asked, hands on her hips.
It was Angel who replied before I could, her red head temper flaring. "Captain, we saw them with our own eyes. There are hundreds, maybe thousands of enemy ships on there way here right now. If we don't leave, the entire fleet and all of mankind will be destroyed."
The Star's Captain glared at the pilot who refused to back down and my admiration for Jewel grew. It took a brave person to face down a superior officer and not lose there cool. "I understand what your saying, I just don't see how I can get him to listen. I'll make the attempt however." The Captain turned to look at me.
"Crowe, get your squadron into fresh fighters and get back out there. The 12th Hammers are ready for deployment, there waiting for you. I'll try to get approval to deploy the rest of our squadrons. I just hope you guys can stall the enemy long enough for the Admiral to see reason." As the woman began to walk away, I called out to her.
"Captain, what about the Corvette's? We could really use there firepower as a picket line against flanking fighters." I was surprised as she didn't even turn back around. "No can do Commander, there out of fuel. Just get out there and do what you can."
I growled under my breath and put my respirator back on. After the rest of my pilots had done the same, Romeo unlocked the hatch and we filed into the hangar once more. Vixie was moving between six new fighters and she started to guide each pilot to there respective rides. Since these fighters were in reserve, they had no name or identification on them and as such we didn't know who was going to fly them.
I allowed myself to be directed to the furthest fighter and admired the clean shiny coating that had been applied to the metal. The ship had never been flown outside of testing and I was anxious to see what it could do.
Climbing the ladder into the cockpit, I checked the controls and made myself comfortable. Since this was a new craft I had to log into the command console so the fighter knew who I was and I waited for my authentication code to be accepted, allowing me full access to the system.
Checking my power, ammo and life support, I was finally satisfied and flipped the engine switch, listening to the powerful roar as the ship came to life. Moving out onto the flight line, I waited for the director to give me clearance and engaged my thrusters, exiting the hangar and entering space once more.
"Reaper Lead to Hammer Lead, Sledge, get your bombers out here and form up. We need to get ready for the enemy fleet." There was static for a moment followed by the gruff voice of my friend.
"Roger that Reaper Lead. The Hammer's are ready for some pay back." The edge in his voice spoke volumes for how he felt after suffering the death of two of his pilots.
"Trust me Sledge, your gonna get it. There are a lot of enemy ships heading this way. I got to be honest, I don't know what we can do, but we'll do it together." All we could do now was wait....