Time: 18:00 / Visibility: 11 km / Weather: Foggy Location: Run-down building
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"I feel it in the air." The Doctor stood apart from his assistant Amiya amidst the ruins of a building looking onwards to the battlefield. "Victory?" She quietly asked. The Doctor nodded in response knowing very well that this operation had been in the making since 2 weeks from that day. "You've made the right preparations I'm sure, appointing Lappland as the squad leader however-" She rubbed her shoulder as if fearing secret retaliation from the lupo operator. "She's... a notorious well-trained operator. One of my best." Lappland, famed for her impressive feats of combat was most certainly a force to be reckoned with. Anyone who went up against her would be lucky to even live to tell the tale.
Those who did were never really the same. Her freakishly fast movements and strides would trick the smartest of combatants. "Mind handing me a map of the battlefield, Amiya?" She nodded while taking out a tablet from her bag. "Here you go Y/N." After fiddling with the device a projection of the field was displayed, it was a closed city passageway laid to ruin by the reunion themselves.
"It appears they've been supplying resources to their outposts from this main road. Not a bad strategy however they missed one of the most important notions of war." Amiya turned slightly to look at him. The sunset shimmered across the horizon revealing the face behind the mask ever so slightly. "And what would that be?" The tablet was turned off and handed back to its origin. "Never put all your eggs in one basket."
He turned to face her directly. "We should go now, they're about 5 minutes away." She nodded and the two made their way down the crumpled stairs. The walls are etched with dust and sand almost detailing its history. Not too far from their viewpoint the Doctor's squad stood huddled in a room awaiting their orders.
"So it's just as we rehearsed, Texas will lead the deployment, and the rest of you will follow right behind her." He looked at Texas which she answered in response. "If I have an opportunity to kill rogue soldiers should I take it? Or wait for reinforcements?" He paused thinking before answering. "I would prefer you'd stay back, it's tempting but we can't afford to lose position. The moment they see us disorganized they'll get cocky." He looked at his squad landing his eyes on Shining by chance. "This is a crucial battle. If we are unable to take back these lands then the reunion will have the upper hand."
"Now Amiya, anything else you'd like to add before?" Her ears twitched intently. "Yes, don't think you're alone in this operation fully. The Doctor will be able to communicate with you directly through radio. If in doubt dial in and ask what to do. Remember these plans are subject to change due to the reunions unpredictability." She nodded at Y/N before ending. "So no un-rational moves."
She looked sideways at Lappland ever so slightly. She was good at working alone as an assassin operator however she was a front line guard at the end of the day. Despite tending to fight on her judgment it would always work out in one way or another.
"Have something on your mind, Amiya?" The wolf quickly snapped. "Don't think I can follow orders?" She grinned. Amiya still had trouble figuring out when she was joking or not leading to multiple confusing encounters between the two.
At the door, Liskarm walked into the decrepit building signaling for the Doctor. "Sir, we've spotted the reunion, and the rest of our squad is ready to deploy," she said briskly, aware of the situation ahead. "Alright, operators let's move!" He shouted.
Time: 18:10 / Visibility: 9 km / Weather: Foggy Location: City passage
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The Doctor's moves were always integral to the plan going smoothly. Knowing that not everyone would be able to be brought out together he turned to his Vanguard Operator, Texas, for the initial attack.
Texas was tall standing and resilient, however not by chance. Lappland was her rival so she had to always be on guard to survive. Luckily thanks to those hardships she became the glue of the team. "Texas hide behind those toppled cars near the chokehold." Not even a second passed before a muttered yes rang back through the coms. And with that, the first wave of reunion soldiers came in and started to enter the ghostly cityscape.
Multiple low-level reunion soldiers came through the narrow passageway carved out by bombs dropped earlier. "Here they come Texas. Piece of cake." The first soldier rounded the corner near the broken car hiding her. He didn't have enough time to react before he was slashed directly across the chest staining it blood red alongside with a blood-curdling scream.
Hearing the commotion his friends came rushing down unknowing that it was their demise. "Hey! Are you-" He was kicked in the stomach dropping his weapon while she flung her sword across his face breaking his helmet.
"Gah! It's- an operator from Rhodes Island!" He got his backup blade fresh from the hidden sheath and swung it frantically trying to hit her but to no avail. She dodged every move perfectly and plunged her blade deep into his heart causing him to drop the blade. "Agh. Run away, everyone!"
He succumbed to his wound shortly after his final message over the intercoms. "Run away? It's just one damn girl how hard could it be?" A group of 3 soldiers emerged from a pile of rubble. "Haha, the noobies did end up as meat shields. You know that means I've won the bet. Now pay up!" One of the men shoved his elbow to the red-plated soldier being the leader of the crew. "Shut the hell up, let's deal with her first." They all spaced out weapons drawn. "Just don't make sure to hurt her too badly, we can get some use out of someone like her."
Texas looked unamused because she wasn't. "Disgusting." She awaited orders from the Doctor. "Once they strike use your arts to stun them. Liskarm will be there shortly to help." She nodded to his orders while quietly whispering a yes despite being nowhere near him. "She's gone crazy talking to herself!" The first soldier lunged at her parrying her retaliation attack. While stuck in a clash his other two comrades equally took the chance to attack her from behind.
"Hyah!" Texas channeled her arts and a barrage of swords rained from the sky above in unison. The bright yellow swords pierced through the soldier's armor and flesh sending them into a grueling finale. "AGHH!" They cried out trying to desperately crawl away after being incapacitated by her mastered arts. "Pathetic." Texas looked at them curled up and defeated as she heard footsteps from behind. "All finished, Texas?" Two familiar figures appeared. Liskarm and Shining. "Mhm. Any new orders from your end?" She retrieved some pocky sticks from her pouch and put some in her mouth.
"None. Keep going according to plan which is to advance from here on out. Thank you." Shining answered. Her lengthy black cloak was waving in the air as the wind passed by, practically making her seem like a reaper incarnate. "Yeah. I can notice why the Doctor always entrusts you with the starting battle." Liskarm unholstered her gun and swapped it to her shield in case of any surprise attack.
"You're all too flattering. It's simple. Right now I'd just love to get changing positions." Understanding her sincerity Liskarm nodded and led the raid forward. "Prepare yourselves, Provence spotted more soldiers that of which are elite level. The possibility of casters and defenders is still in the air but not completely out of the question. I'll check back in a bit if I hear anything new."
Back at the commander's provisional headquarters of operations, Y/N moaned as he got off coms already sensing this victory under his belt. While it was foolish to think this way as anything could go wrong after so many victories one after the other, ego is sure to build up whether warranted or not.
The person who appeared to be sorrowing more than the reunion soldiers was Lappland, she was unstable in her chair just waiting for the call to action yet it wasn't arriving.
"Doctor let me out there! I could complete this mission in less than 3 minutes and rub it in Texas's face by the fourth minute!!" She pouted.
It seemed her feud with Texas was bringing out the best of her. He sighed, "Lappland you've got to learn to sit out once in a while, occasionally the team can finish up by themselves. If anything you should be resting for the great opponents who deserve your rage." She looked dissatisfied with this reply and went back to supervising the battle from the broken windows.
It was eerily silent aside from the clanking of blades and gunshots outside, but inside... the breathing of Lappland could be heard scarily close to the Doctor as if she had snuck up behind him. No reason to turn back right? He thought to himself.
Before another thought could be processed a radio signal from an operator was received, "Doctor! We've got defenders leading the way toward us! Estimated 10 of them along with casters!" The Doctor quickly stood up. "Everyone withdraw from your current positions! Meet back at the suggested recon location we talked over! We'll regroup and attack them while they're looking for us." Outside of the coms, he cursed the reunion. "Damn. This is a dent in our plan for sure, only a max of 3 defenders was anticipated." Provence, what happened?
While diverted in thought he felt a hand slip onto his shoulder. "Put me in Doctor I'll show you why you promoted me twice!" She was already getting ready to draw her blades. Currently, this was an acceptable time to send her in.
"Understood, we need all the backup we can get, stay behind Liskarm and switch to offensive if you see a chance" She nodded. She ran out of the commanding room and subsequently the entire building jumping over rubble and wires to the battlefield blades unsheathed.
The next couple of minutes were a blur, the only constant in all the chaos was the pools of blood penetrating the pristine soil and the sounds of swords cutting and shredding flesh. It was a nightmare, a nightmare for the reunion surely.
The last soldier lay crawling with a tall murderous figure slowly creeping behind, the battleground fog covering them. "Finally, you reunion scum can finally be sent to the grave. You didn't stand a chance at all." Lappland grinned as she started to manically laugh driving her blade into the soldier's neck instantly killing him. A merciful death from Lappland truly. A few operators were injured but not severely, all that was needed now was to return home and submit them to the medical center.
Doctor Y/N stood once again atop a different decrepit building with the sounds of footsteps echoing to the top to join alongside him. "Doctor, the operators are ready to leave. Any further orders?" She asked him awaiting a response that only came after another question. "Doctor?" He looked to be snapped back to reality with that. "Yes, I'm sorry. Start the trip back. Tell them they did a good job. Please." She nodded. "If anything is bothering you, tell me." She headed down the stairs quietly before stopping just in hearing range. "Now just who is the winner."
The ride back home was quiet. Some operators chatted about the success of the fight but they mostly talked about what they would do when they arrived at Rhodes Island. Many were interested in devouring a large hot meal for their struggles while others would love to lay down and not be found for another day and a half.
After a couple of hours on the drive, they finally arrived home to Rhodes Island, and the operators were properly sent off to do their own business. Lappland, however, quickly followed the Doctor to his office to presumably talk about her performance in the battle. To everyone, she loved to be praised by the Doctor and would also frequently rub it in everyone's face.
However, contrary to popular belief, Lappland really couldn't care less about the report. What she wanted was to simply ward off any female operators with her presence, leaving her and the Doctor all alone.
"Doctor, how was my performance? It was better than everyone else's right? I must've taken down more than 20 enemies all by myself! Haha, I'd like to see Texas beat that, don't you agree!" She smiled to herself, awaiting Doctor Y/N's response.
"Ahem, why yes Lappland, you did excellently, and there is no doubt that you are the reason we were able to regain control of the fight. I am proud of you, so keep up the good work," Y/N raised his arm to pat Lappland on the head. This was the agreement they had made a month ago, which was implemented to motivate her to follow orders, and it seemed as if she had finally earned what she was longing for. Her tail wagged uncontrollably at the touch of her superior.
At that moment, Amiya came through the door looking for Y/N. Quickly, he put down his arm and made his way to Amiya.
"Hello, Y/N and ...Lappland. Kal'tsit heard of your victory at the city passage and would like to congratulate you. Now, I have some reports for you to look over, which detail the base and..." Amiya went on and on, getting a devilishly strong glare from Lappland. If looks could kill, she would've been 6 feet under.
Of course, Lappland held her anger back as she watched her precious Doctor be swept away by what she must've thought was a witch out to enchant her Doctor. In Lappland's mind, she had violent crimes waiting to be committed. Amiya. A worthless evil just like that of those reunion scum. Don't worry, I'll make you vanish soon enough.
Next:
Chapter 1 - The World We Dream Of