"Soldier! Follow the barges in a line! There are sea mines ahead of us!" Victor yelled out at the man who looked at him wide eyed and pale. The man offered the sergeant a nod before turning his attention back to the water, guiding them as best as he could.
It was then that the booms in the distance sounded and Victor looked up, seeing arcs of energy trailing through the air. He cast his gaze to a battleship to their rear and watched as one of the large cannons lit up, sending a ridiculously large bolt of energy towards the city. Victor actually turned with its movement, watching it trail through the sky until the moment the blast crashed into the beach, erupting into a massive explosion. Then came the return fire from the cities batteries. The entire morning sky lit up as fire was exchanged.
"Heads down! Heads down! Prepare for breach!" Victor yelled at the top of his lungs as he saw the enemy airships moving towards them, their own blasts of energy trailing through the sky. Screeches sounded above him as hordes of fighters surged through the air from sides, meeting in the air above the ocean and engaging in dogfights.
The ocean around the barges began to blow up in massive splashes of water and steam as enemy blasts and downed fighters hit the water line. Victor felt his adrenaline rise. And so did his fear. This was it. This was war. Chaos and death.
Passing a foundering barge, Victor turned, seeing its entire front side blasted away, a mass of hot and shredded metal. He could hear the screams from inside, the screams of those that had survived the initial explosion. He ignored them the best he could and instead surged forward through his platoon, unslinging his rifle and switching his safety off. It was time. The beach head was a dozen meters or so ahead of them, and other barges had already landed, their own compliments of marines already struggling up the beach, running into enemy fire.
He could see the shallow trenches dug by the Imperials, and a number of crude bunkers made from sand bags and timber. And beyond that he could see the terrified faces of Imperials. They didn't want this fight either, and Victor sucked in a breath. They were all common men fighting in a war of kings. He locked eyes with one of the Imperials as the man pointed his own rifle at the Sergeant. He raised his own firearm in response even as they barge ground into the sand and the front of it fell down, slamming into the sand and water. It all happened so slowly. Painstakingly slow. Then the Imperial disappeared in a blast of fire as an energy blast from a ship to the rear blasted into the bunker, incinerating it and anything inside.
Everything sped up then and Victor lurched forward, staggering off of the barge and into the water. He splashed into the knee deep waterline and cursed as energy blasts from small arms slammed into the water and marines around him. He saw the Lieutenant in front of him going forward, screaming at the men almost incoherently, and seemingly firing his own rifle at the Imperial defences randomly. The marines around him fired as well, a number of screams sounding as they were hit.
One of his marines to the left, a middle aged woman collapsed into the water face first, a scream cut off and turning into a gurgle. Victor instinctively leant down and grabbed her by the back of her vest and dragged her through the water, one hand holding his rifle. This was one hell of a slaughter. The beaches should have been bombarded for hours before the assault, not moments before them landing. Coming to the sand he hauled the woman to her feet and she sobbed and spluttered her right leg a mess of blood and flesh. She had taken a blast to the thigh.
"Get up marine! We got a ways to go yet" he bellowed over the sound of explosions and screams. The woman managed to stagger and walk some, and Victor let go of her even as they passed corpses littered on the beach. Looking up, he noticed no more barrages of energy fire coming from the naval blockade to hit the beaches. It was instead hammering home into the city itself, causing rubble to cascade every which way and shower down upon the makeshift defences of the Imperials.
He ran then, hard up the incline of the beach, coming straight to a section of the shallow trenches and jumped into it, splashing into a section of filled with ankle deep water. The trench was already filled with federation soldiers, all crouching down, and their heads barely below the edge of the trench. He looked around, seeing only a few of his platoon. Most of these marines were from other platoons, but all from his regiment. He recognised most of them, if not remembering their names.
"Hammond! Where is Cyrus?" Victor heard someone shouting at him and he turned to see the regimental Captain squatting down a few meters to his right.
"Dunno Cap. He was in front of me. Might not have made it" he yelled out as more marines piled into the trench behind him. It was quickly getting crowded in the shallow trench. Sand was constantly sliding back in and a few engineers had their shovels out, desperately trying to shovel sand back up and bank it even more. Occasionally explosions would hit the edge of the trench and shower those hidden in it with sand.
"Well, that’s shit but not unexpected" the Captain bellowed back as he made his way through the marines crammed in like sardines.
"We need to get out of this trench! The Imperials fled it on the first charge. They are in the bunkers further up and in buildings opposite the beach. I need you to lead the men to that building over there and clear it out" the Captain yelled and bobbed his head up briefly above the sand and pointed to something off to the right.
Victor stuck his head up quickly and caught a look of the building the Captain was speaking of, and saw a beach cafe of some sort. Attached to it was a utility block. Toilets and showers most likely. It was a good ten meters from the trench, and was surrounded by sand bags. It had been turned into a bunker alright. Victor had seen a few rifle points in windows and guessed the thing was full of Imperials. He just turned to look at the Captain, a knot forming in his stomach.
"We need to clear it out! Our tanks are landing real soon and we need to have that building under control before they do! We can't have them hitting us with heavies from there. You have minutes before we charge. Whistles are going to go off all along this line" the Captain continued.
"So get ready now! We will be taking all the buildings on this side of the street" he bellowed and then turned away, and moved back the way he had come. Victor gulped and moved down the line in the opposite direction, coming to the edge of a crater. No doubt where a blast from a ship had hit it. There were a half dozen corpses lying about in the crater, some imperial and some federation, like there had been a brief scuffle after the initial explosion. Victor could even see a few errant body parts, bloodstains and weapons lying around. No doubt remnants left over from the craters explosive cause. He sucked in a breath and looked over the crater to the other side of the trench, where he could see marines piled into that as well, occasionally popping their rifles up and blind firing at the cafe.
"Hey you! Marine" he yelled out at the nearest one. They turned their head and Victor saw the face of a kid, who could not have been older than eighteen. Victor felt sick to his stomach. This war had left so many dead that even kids were serving now.
"Get ready! Whistles going to blow. We are taking that cafe!" he bellowed and the kid nodded, wide eyed before turning to his comrades and passing the message down the line. Victor turned back to the ocean and saw the heavy barges approaching. The ones that had the armour among them. He could see a number of tanks and armoured vehicles, bristling with heavy guns, some of which were already firing, peppering the bunkers with fire. Victor realised quite suddenly that any fire being returned at the heavy barges was just bouncing off, leaving faint shimmers of light and he swore his heart stopped. There were mages on those barges. He actually felt a surge of anger. They should have been in the front barges protecting the marines. But as mages were rare, he surmised the big shots had decided to place them with the armour.
Victor scowled and clenched his fists in anger right as he heard the whistles start. He pulled his own whistle out, hanging from his neck and blew it hard, standing up and making his way to the crater. At least it provided a way up with a smooth incline. He lifte
d his rifle and left the whistle between his lips as he opened fire at the building in front of him. Other marines around him did the same as they all surged forward, those climbing from the trenches slipping and sliding in the sand whilst others poured into the crater behind him. Energy blasts ripped into the ranks around him, one round even hitting him on the top of his helmet and flinging his head backwards.
He collapsed to the ground as his head rang and the marines moved past him, sending their own streams of fire into the building in front of them. Screams sounded from every direction and showers of sand and debris flew every which way.
Victor came to even as he felt a person fall on top of him and he got up on hands and knee's rolling the body off of him. Catching a look at the person's face, he saw the kid he had only spoken to moments ago. Feeling that flash of anger again, he pushed up, and still a little dazed, ran forward, seeing a line of his marines pressed up against the wall of the utility block attached to the cafe. He made straight for them and was soon in the cover of the building. Looking down the line, he could see even more marines crouched down along the cafe, hiding under its windows and blind firing into the building.
"Lads! Follow me" Victor yelled out loudly and ran forward, straight for the nearest entrance of the cafe, a double set of doors facing the beach. To get there, he had to run past a few windows and he grit his teeth, prepared for the worst. But as he got to the first window, he looked inside, rifle raised and at the ready, a half dozen marines behind him. He stared inside and lowered his rifle. The place was empty. The Imperials must have retreated.
"Lads! Inside! The place is empty. Watch out for booby traps" he yelled and actually stepped between two of those crouching under the window. He threw his leg up and actually climbed through the shattered window, his foot crunching on broken glass as he stepped inside.
Numerous marines followed suit and moved inside as well, quickly checking nooks and crannies for Imperials. Groups disappeared into the kitchens and various storerooms as Victor moved forward. He was halfway through the cafe when the place became lit up, energy rounds ripping through the building from the side facing the street. A number of marines went down under the hail of fire and Victor fell straight to the floor, lying close to it as the energy blasts ripped through the structure. There were windows all along the other side of the building and they were being fired through from the other side of the street. The place was a death trap.
Swearing, he started to crawl forward even as others around him did the same, trying to reach the cover of the windows. One marine to his left flipped a table up on its side, the wooden structure serving somewhat as a flimsy barricade. The marine then started to blind fire over that, his blasts sailing out through the cafe's windows and into the buildings across the road.
Reaching the windows, Victor sucked in a breath. He was shaking and sweating profusely from the dumps of adrenalin and he could see many around him suffering similarly, their eyes wide in fear and faces pale. Peeking his head up quickly above the window edge, he saw what looked like a long line of two storey cafe's and shops across the street, with a number of makeshift bunkers built on the roofs of the buildings. The nearby streets were blocked and he hissed, realising that the street running parallel to the beach must be the cities real defensive line. It was not going to be easy to breach.
Then he heard a rumbling and looked behind him, seeing a number of federation tank's rumbling up the beach, firing big ass blasts of energy into the buildings across the road. A large cheer went out as a number of explosions ripped through the structures, spraying the street in debris. He could hear similar cheers all along the line and grinned broadly, seeing the expression taken up by many of his marines. It was quickly lost as a whirring sounded out in the sky though.
They all recognised that sound and sure enough, energy blasts from above ripped into the trenches in neat lines. The tanks took the brunt of the fire as they seemed to be the targets of the fighter planes flying past, and the mages protecting them could do little against the overwhelming fire. Victor watched as the mages barrier closest to them buckled and energy blasts ripped into the tank, exploding on its flank and leaving scorch marks and holes. The tank still moved though, rumbling on until another fighter made a pass and blasted its rounds into the vehicle.
The tank exploded in a ball of flame and Victor felt his elation die. He could see similar cases along the beach and could only imagine it was the same all along the line. A loud screech sounded and a fighter appeared in his view, smoking heavily before slamming into the beach and exploding, its frame sliding through the sand a good thirty meters before stopping. A good number of federation fighters then sped into view chasing away the Imperial fighters that had made the passes and Victor smiled grimly.
At least a third of their armoured vehicles and tanks had been wiped out in that pass from what he could see. This was going to be one hell of a fight he knew. At least they were in relative safety. He closed his eyes and leant back down into the wall of the cafe, wanting to get some rest until new orders arrived. At least he had captured the cafe like ordered.
Chapter 22
* * *
The Harlaus rocked again as a blast of energy hit the ship's shield causing Niall to lose his footing. He staggered down the corridor, teeth gritted and a hand on the corridor's wall for balance. Looking up, he saw other crew members of the airship doing the same, more than a few of them white faced and nervous. Noticing quite a few of the crew looking at him, Niall straightened up, knowing that they were looking to him as an example. Staggering down the corridor even more, he rushed as quickly as he could towards the docking bay.
Prince Harald had been right in his assumption that the enemy would attack at dawn, and the naval forces had begun with a barrage of cannon fire that had not let up for twenty minutes. Phidel's and Harald's battle fleets had barely gotten off of the ground before Admiral Raus had sent in the marines. A few marine transports had been stopped by the sea mines, but overall the assault had not weakened in the slightest.
Reaching the ships hangar, Niall looked out over the bustling area. He could see squadrons of pilots jumping into a variety of aircraft. He could see bombers, gunships and numerous generations of fighters. Shaking himself out of his distracting thoughts, Niall just sprinted over to his fighter and vaulted up the ladder to the cockpit. He picked up his helmet and strapped himself in as he waited for Princess Phidel's order to launch. Looking out and around the cockpit, he saw many of the other pilots waiting as well, more than a few looking rather nervous. Sucking in a breath he composed himself, his eyes being closed for a bare moment as he murmured the traditional prayer to the founder of the empire, Sir Geston.
A few minutes passed by and finally the order to scramble came on over the radio. Niall sucked in a breath and started up his engine. The noise gradually grew and his fighter shuddered as it began to hover in the hangar. Increasing the acceleration, Niall began to move towards the hangar exit, other ships exiting before him guided by a number of flag officers.
When it came to his turn, Niall sped up and exited the hangar, his onboard computer beeping softly as he left the large airships shield and started turning to the left in a long wide loop. He was followed by numerous other ships and they all settled into a loose formation above Pagua itself.
Niall surveyed the scene before him, taking in all the sights so he could determine the best course of action for himself, and his squadron. In the distance, past the beaches of Pagua, he could see the enemy navy undergoing its bombardment of the city and its surrounds. He could see dozens upon dozens of ships at sea, as well as the airships belonging to Clovis. Niall couldn’t help but smile grimly at the massive force arrayed against Phidels own army. The ships just kept blasting away, long red streaks of energy weapon fire arcing through the sky to land and explode on the beach's and in the city itself.
Peering out of his cockpit as he rolled his fighter some, he caught glimpses of the advancing naval landing craft and thei
r groups of marines. They seemed like they would land very soon with ease, as the coastal defenses were somewhat lacking, even if the garrisoned Imperial infantry were somewhat prepared and were firing their own artillery and large arms to slow the advance as best they could.
Finally, Niall looked either side of his fighter, his eyes tracing over the hundreds of other fighters streaming through the dawn sky. He turned his attention back to his front, noticing a large number of dots in the distance that were quickly getting bigger and bigger. The enemy had launched their own air forces, and they were rapidly approaching. Niall felt his blood pound even as a knot formed in his stomach. He knew what was to come now.
As the two forces met, they slammed through each other’s ranks, a number of fireballs and explosions appearing on either side as ships either collided, or were blown clean out of the air by enemy fire. Breaking through the federation's first ranks, Niall held down the triggers to his fighters guns, releasing the wicked energy blasts of his weapons. The shots streamed before his fighter in two neat lines that he guided into the path of the enemy fighters. He saw his shots rip through at least one enemy fighter’s shields and wings and send it careening off to the side, smoke and debris streaming off of it.
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