”All forces are free to engage. Green light is given.”
One Year Earlier - Colony of Lemnos

Five minutes before The Battle of the Fourth Ward

Varren jammed the magazine into his issued rifle and pulled back on the charging bolt, whilst peering out the open bay of the helicopter. He was barely able to think over the loud humming of the relic, a troop transport which was employed decades ago. Though, the heli was refurbished with an engine which ran off of aura reserves, making it environmentally clean. The Lemnos Police Department only had a few of them in their arsenal, since the island itself wasn’t that large in size, they were only deployed for high grade missions, where danger was at its highest. He stared at the rest of his squad, who were checking their gear and loading their weapons, prepared for a combat drop. ”How did it all go to shit so fast?” The young man thought to himself as his eyes strayed towards the Area of Operation. The formation of pave hawks was en route to the fourth ward of Miynura, which was under attack from multiple bombings, which were mostly followed through by the terrorist organization which murdered his father a few weeks ago. All Varren could feel for the organization was undying hatred and the unquenchable thirst to avenge the man. ”Alright, the terrorist group known as ‘Titan’s Hand’ has set off multiple bombs in the fourth ward, and is proceeding with their attack as we speak. The fighters have been confirmed to be utilizing low caliber arms, along with dumbfire APGs and other assorted launchers. The origin of their armnment has not been confirmed as of yet, but it is suspected that their weapons were supplied by external colonies. Our mission is to secure a LZ and extract as many civilians as possible. Ally colonies will be sending their own forces to assist in the next hour. Alright, get re-” The captain was cut off mid-sentence when an explosion went off inside of the formation, causing him to avert his eyes. A distressed voice came onto the comms,

”This is Phoenix 1-2! Our wings have been clipped, I repeat, our wings have been clipped! Our main rotor is out, we have no lights!” The pilot screamed through his microphone, Varren glanced to his side to capture the hawk’s status. The man’s analysis was an understatement, Yinyues stared with his mouth agape, taking in the scene before him. Half of the Phoenix 1-2’s rotor was completely blown off, the remaining portions of the blades were melted by a blueish residue. Varren lent away from the opened door, cuffing his hands over his lids as the heli broke into a barrel roll and plummeted to the earth, utterly left to gravity’s will. All he could hear was the hawk crashing into a building, followed by the sounds of crumbling rubble. Just in a span of a few seconds, roughly ten lives were already lost. The right side gunner of Varren’s helicopter traced the trail of energy left by the rocket, and sent a volley of rounds towards the area. This was Yinyues’ first operation as an officer of the LPD, a horrible way to start his career. Varren suddenly jumped out of surprisement when he suddenly felt a hand grab his shoulder, shaking him from his daze. ”Yinyues, get your head in the game! We are one klick out from the LZ.” His CO ordered him, then went off to check the other squad members. The young man nodded, grabbing onto his firearm tightly as the pave hawk decreased its altitude.

”This is Phoenix 1-3, no eyes on any survivors from 1-2. Splitting off to LZ Foxtrot.” The pilot notified Command of their change of course, sticking to the plan as the helicopter began to bleat its speed. Both door gunners were watching the ground, trying to spot any infantry awaiting them. ”We are landing at LZ Foxtrot now, all forces, free to hop out.” Phoenix 1-3 hovered a foot over the rooftop of the building, ”Go go go! The captain barked at the men, standing on the edges of the helicopter. Two squads consisting of four officers each deployed from the open bay. The combat armor weighed Varren down, along with the heavy helmet and restricting knee-guards. Overall, the young man was far out of his comfort zone, completely unprepared for the situation. As soon as he set foot on the roof, a comrade shouted ”Duck!”. Thanks to the extra weight of the protective gear, Varren fell flat to the concrete as a round flew over his head, deflecting off of the helicopter’s plating. The door gunner quickly acquired his target and sprayed into the adjacent building, Yinyues covered his ears from the deafening crackles of the expended rounds. The two squads took the chance to crawl towards the roof access door, and pushed down the building towards the street level. He found it challenging to calm himself in such a situation, adrenaline pumping through his veins as they ran through the hallway. ”This is Phoenix 1-3, we are spooling off from the LZ. We will remain in the AO and will continue with runs on marked enemy foot mobiles.” Varren’s commanding officer acknowledged the notification as they ran through the building, finally reaching the bottom floor.

The resistance surrounding the complex was exterminated by Phoenix 1-3, giving the two squads the chance to break off and search for survivors on their pre-assigned routes. Gunfire was constantly echoing in the distance; thankfully it wasn’t directed towards Varren’s squad. Almost as frequent as the firing of bullets, was the organization’s demolition work, causing building to collapse and take out whole blocks. After thirty minutes of searching, the fireteam managed to locate a dozen survivors, and were proceeding to the extraction point. The squad moved up in a diamond formation, creeping through the streets with the civilians in tow. Each member was on high alert, as the group had to take multiple detours to reach their destination. Varren’s CO grabbed his radio and whispered into it, ”This is Sierra 1. My squad is en route to the extraction point. Phoenix 1-3, are you nearby?” It turns out the helicopter was about 1 klick, providing close-air support for an insertion team from an ally colony on the southern side of the ward. “Alright, we’re almost there, just remain calm everybody.” One of his squadmates reassured the civilians, trying to calm them down as they walked down the road. A majority of them were shivering out of fear and shock, finding comfort in eachother’s presence. The squad members were completely silent, diverting all of their attention to their assigned angle, keeping an eye out for any hostiles.

It all happened in slow-motion through Varren’s eyes. The sound of the first shot being fired, followed by the deaths of two of his comrades. They were both lit up from multiple angles, as they were too late to react. The CO and Varren leaped behind cover, the former individual being closest to the enemy. The young man stood in front of the civilians behind a the confines of the of a collapsed building, whilst his squadmate took cover behind the only substance between him and the hostiles; a pair of small wooden crates. ”Varren, get down! APG!” The man called out from behind the boxes, until a round bursted through the crate, burrowing into his back. The man must have died instantly, as his body went limp the second Yinyues’ ears picked up the thumping of the bullet penetrating the wood. Though, the young man had no time to mourn for the loss of his squad, as he remembered his CO’s callout before he passed on. “Everybody, get down!” Varren screamed as the rocket propelled by aura of a cyanic hue flew past him, the heat and propulsion of the projectile caused him to lose his balance. The rocket came into contact with a surface, exploding behind him. It took him a bit to wipe away the grime and soot which covered his goggles, then quickly got to his feet. The young man felt his whole body tense on the spot, unable to comprehend the sight before him.

The rocket spared Varren’s life, but instead took those of the civilians. “This is… Sierra 3, need assistance.” He was able to muster before running over to where the civilians were huddled up. In their place were the vaporized remains of bodies, though the one who was the farthest back was still alive. He instantly rushed to the woman, whose leg was blown off in the explosion. “Listen, miss, everything is going to be alright. I just need to quickly close up the wound.” The young man tried to say reassuringly, bullets ricocheted off the wall providing them cover. Bravo squad, along with Phoenix 1-3, responded over the comms and informed him that they were almost at the block. The woman was taking short gasps, trying to intake as much oxygen as possible. Varren dug into his kitbag and took out some gauze, tying it around her leg with his hands, which were uncontrollably shaking. The woman was attempting to make out some words, “Please don’t talk miss, save your breath.” She rolled over to her side, revealing the more grave wound. A shard from the APG had impaled her in the back, judging by the amount which was showing through the skin, it had been burrowed deeply into her lung. Varren already realized the woman was a lost cause, relenting himself to only holding her hands as she drew her last breath. With it, she managed to let the words ”Thank you…” roll off of her tongue. He grimaced and picked up his firearm, his eyes void of emotion.

…aiming down the optics of his rifle, opening fire on the distracted troops. Along with the help of the other squad and the air support, the group which ambushed Sierra squad was eliminated. Phoenix 1-3 landed on a nearby rooftop and evacuated the survivors Bravo squad was able to find, along with Varren. He took his seat next to some of the civilians, staring blankly out the window at the raging battle. The young man slipped off his helmet and let out a sigh, unable to rationally describe his mentality. He stared down at his glovers, caked in the dry blood of the woman he failed to treat. ”This is command. Officer Varren, you will be given two hours of R&R, then you will be redeployed with Ken’s team.” The succinct voice told him over the comms, the young man stifled a cry and managed to drag the radio to his mouth, “Copy that, sir.”