Captain Meulemann leaned back in his chair as he listened to reports coming in from the front line. Progress was being made at an exceptional rate, with his column and the other army units pushing deep into enemy territory, encountering minimal resistance along the way. The results flew in the face of the saying 'No plan survives contact with the enemy', since everything was indeed going according to plan. Better than that, actually, since they had taken less casualties than the original projections had estimated. As his aide slid markers around the map, Meulemann lit a pipe and started to puff on it thoughtfully, allowing himself a minute to relax. Maybe, just maybe, this plan would go off without a hitch.



30 minutes later, the plan encountered a hitch and the captain was back hunched over the map, observing the movements of markers and listening to reports again. "Contact! Zero, this is Eleven. Imperial counter-attack in grid 4-2-7. We're holding them off, but... wait, what's that? SHIT, IS THAT A TANK?! RUN! MOVE! MOVE! MOV-*static*" Meulemann pursed his lips as his aide slid a tank marker onto the grid. The platoon commanders in the area started broadcasting orders for the southern portion of the army to fall back and take up defensive positions, when broadcast from the northern section came in. "*static*-Nine. Imperial's attacking from the rear in, uh... Grid 4-2-4. Haulting our advance to return fire." A minute later, the radio operator started transmitting again, this time abandoning all semblance of formality or proper protocol. "It's a goddamn pincer! Squad 10 is gone, we're being overrun! We're retreating to the *BOOM* north! We need reinforcements right now!" "Roger that, Zero, this is Fourteen. Our column's turning south to support the remnants of Nine and Ten." Meulemann scowled as the reports kept coming in. Squad 9 and 10 nearly got wiped out, but 13 and 14 managed to turn south and rescue the survivors. The northern portion of their sector was managing to hold their own, at least, but the southern section kept sounding worse and worse. First it was a single tank and a squad or two that were reported, but now the Imperial's apparent strength had ballooned into three tanks and several squads of supporting infantry who were skirmishing across the street from the southern forward command post. If something wasn't done, there was a significant chance that it would be overrun. That meant it was time for the reserve unit to be put into action. Standing up from the table, Meulemann yelled for squad 4 to form up in the main room. "Squad 4, come here and gather 'round. The situation has rapidly become dire."

Once the squad graced him with their presence and rallied around the table, Meulemann and his aide began moving markers around the map to brief them on the battle. "Lads, the situation has rapidly deteriorated into the imperial's favour. At the start of the operation, my company and elements from the Gallian 1st army began to advance through the city." He spoke quickly, as he paced back and fourth in front of them, clearly agitated. "It was in this sector..." He pointed to a section of the map to draw the squad's attention.


"That we have encountered a problem. The column managed to break through the Imperial defenses and began advancing along the two northern streets, with the regular army's assistance. It seems that the Imperials were expecting this, however, as a large group of reinforcements has crashed through our southern line, and... eliminated one of our advancing units." The captain spat out the word 'eliminated' like it was sour, disgusted that one of his units had been caught in a pincer attack and slaughtered before additional forces could be rallied to their assistance. As he spoke, his aide shifted some of the markers around on the map to give a visual representation of what had happened.


Meulemann waited a moment to allow the squad to digest the information, before rearranging the markers a 3rd time with his aide, and leaning on the desk, a complex look on his face. "The current Imperial positions are here, here and here. Our northern section is currently fighting the pincer attack that took out squads 9 and 10, but the southern section is in the worst shape. As of the last report, they claim to be engaging no less than three imperial medium tanks and five squads of infantry." He looked up at the squad, gauging their reactions to this large number, before continuing. "This is where you fine chaps come in. The southern forward command post is in danger of being overrun, and will not last much longer unless someone comes riding to the rescue. You have two possible approaches."


Meulemann slid a pair of yellow arrows onto the map to designate the locations he was talking about. "You can deploy and advance up the main road on the west side to break the assault on our command post. This is where the majority of the forces besieging the command post are located. Their tanks are currently clustered together, halted behind the tank traps, but they are putting so much lead down range that the CP's lancers can't hit them for shit. Their attention should be focused entirely forward, so you'll be able to inflict some significant damage before they realize you're there or get turned around." He took a deep breath, before pointing to the other arrow. "Alternatively, you could attack along the east-most road and assault the imperial command post. This would disrupt their communications and force them to pull units back from the front line to defend, taking a bit of pressure off our CP. They seem to have committed the bulk of their forces to the counter attack, so expect it to be lightly defended until their reinforcements show up." After finishing this, he swept the pieces off the map and onto the floor before rolling the map up and thrusting it into Hunt's arms. "Time is of the essence, gentlemen, get to it. Mount up and make your plan en-route, there is no time to waste. You should reach the battle within 10 minutes if you're quick. I know this is asking a lot from you, but the fate of this battle depends upon your success. After you have completed your objective, you will assist what ever remains of our forces in clearing the city. Does anyone have any questions? Good. Dismissed."

PFC Snider was the first to leave, sprinting out the door and climbing into his tank to start it. Once the rest of the squad had climbed onto the top, he yelled "Does everyone have something to hold onto? Alright, hold on tight, we're moving out." With that, the tank rumbled off as fast as it could go while the squad waited for Hunt to come up with the battle plan.

As they rode towards Vasel, James went over everything in his head. Ideally, he'd want to hit that Imperial command post, but they would end up caught between the defenders and any reinforcements they called in. Alternatively, he wasn't really sure they had the firepower to take out three medium tanks. But if we can take the pressure off of our post, then we can launch a counter offensive into the Imp's command post. Then that's what we'll do. Having decided on a course of action, he turned to Snider. "Alright, here's what I'm thinking. This tank should be able to at least damage a medium tank, if not outright destroy it from behind. Snider, I want you to take as many shots as you feel safe taking on the medium tanks pinning our people down at the command post. In the meantime, Jatmoore, take your fireteam someplace with cover and a vantage point, have Durandal start dropping lances on those tanks and anyone using them for cover. Meanwhile, my fireteam and I will be hitting anything we can see with whatever we have. No one play hero, no one take any unnecessary risks. You're all going to be celebrating our victory tonight."

While Hunt was giving the briefing, Snider was busy driving the tank. The radio operator, however, had stuck his head out the hatch and was listening in, relaying the discussion to Snider after it had finished. From within the tank, he hollered his reply up through the hatch. "Alright sounds good, Hunt. Good luck out there everyone.

Lilly on the other hand, was much less relaxed about this whole situation. Having very little room, nearly dangling off the side of the tank and hanging on for dear life wasn't helping, either. When Hunt had explained the plan, Lilly nodded in affirmation. "I understand. We will see if we can find a two storied house to shoot from." *static* Damn it, was she going to be able to do this? What was going to happen? They were going to be fighting THREE tanks and were outnumbered 5-to-1 as infantry... Were they just going to be lambs for the slaughter? A distraction to buy time for the rest of the army? They were only one squad, what could they possibly hope to do? She shook her head, and clung tighter to the tank, trying to push these thoughts out of her head. They'd be fine. They had to be fine. Maybe this was all a bad dream...

***

When they approached the city, the situation was just as bad as the Captain had said. Imperials were charging forward and the three tanks were putting a truly impressive amount of outgoing fire down range. Mortars crashed everywhere, lances flew through the air, and so many bullets had been shot that several buildings looked closer to sieves than proper structures. Fortunately, this tremendous commotion easily masked the sound of the light tank's approach, and the Gallian defenders were fighting ferociously enough to keep all eyes forward (and none to the rear).

Snider kept the tank driving at full speed as they approached, before quickly (for a tank) pulling off the road and onto someone's lawn, sheltered between two buildings, about half a block from the front line. "Alright everybody off! Lets kick some ass!"

On the way in, Lilly was visibly shaking, the intensity of the battle clearly intimidating her. So much violence... So much destruction... She managed to keep a clear enough head, though, to make a few observations about the battlefield. She spotted a two story building on the street corner ahead of them. It looked like it had been an old general store, but had apparently been taken over by the imperials. As she watched, bullets flew from the first and second story windows and smoke trails from lances hung in the air. Despite not wanting to go anywhere near a building as hotly contested as that, it seemed to be an important position in the imperial front line... and it overlooked the tanks, which would make Durandal's life easier. That was where they'd have to go.

When everyone began to dismount, Lilly jumped off the tank and quickly ran over to and crouched against the wall of the building that was providing them with cover, before waving her fireteam over. "Um, Ok everyone, we-we're going to sneak through that back alley towards the interaction. I saw a two-story shop on the corner, and I think we can take it if we attack through one of the rear entrances." Wait, she had forgotten to tell everyone what formation they'd be traveling in, damn it! How was she expected to set this up? Think Lilly, think... How would Hunt have organized this... "Um, ah... As for formation, Miss Skyora, could you please lead for us? Myself and Mr. Webber will be at your side, and Miss Durandal and Hexner could follow behind us." That was how things were supposed to be set up, right? Have the shocktrooper in the front and the engineers/lancers in the back? She hoped she hadn't made a mistake, so she quickly asked: "D-does that sound alright to everyone?" A sudden explosion cut off any replies that might have came, leaving Lilly looking perplexed, before realizing that this was not the time for democrasy - there simply wasn't enough of it. "Alright then, everyone please move out. Let us all try to come back alive from this."

@CirusArvennicus@Evil Snowman@Shyla Nesthorn@Slypheed

Colin wasn't a military mind, but he was a fine shooter and knew the best place for him to be. It was almost like a sixth sense to him, and he let out a calming breath as they drove to the battlefield in the tank. Most people would have felt a bit disheveled from how quickly events occurred, but honestly it was just his speed. He just needed to work up the courage to request something.

The armored vehicle bumped along the road, and quickly pulled into a yard. Colin and his team spilled out, his helmet almost falling over his face before he caught it. "Hey, excuse me." he said to the closest superior officer. "I-I'm much better as a distraction and single firing squad. If I am given leave, I might be able to find a good position to get their attention and cause a few casualties, and you guys can hit them in the flank when they turn." He might have been asking for permission to die, but this was what he was good at. "Y'see I'm a scout and well, it's what I do."

Pvt. Reginald Weber

Weber sat on top of the tank as it rushed towards the battlefield, enjoying the wind running through his hair and casually finishing off a cigarette. He wasn't a stranger to firefights, but even he'd admit one of this scale was new to him. The other criminals he was used to shooting didn't exactly have mortars, lances and tanks... well there was that one time they had a tank. But despite that, Weber felt relaxed as the growing sound of gunfire and explosions grew near. He missed the rush of fighting for your life and the taking of another, he couldn't help but smile as the tank finally came to a stop at their destination.

Weber hopped off the tank, stretching out arms and legs while tossing aside his cigarette.
"Let's see if this old body still has it in it to be a killer." After his quick stretching he followed his 'superior'. It was painfully obvious that she was new at this, that or was just plain bad. Following her could quite easily mean death and in any other situation he'd have just gone off on his own. But this was the military, he couldn't just forge his own path like he was used to else he'd be slapped with going AWOL or something. He let out a sigh and followed the girl. Up close, the battlefield here was indeed more intense then anything he had seen before, but at the same time it felt all the same. One group trying to kill the other without being killed, and killing without being killed was something he was good at, at least.

---

The introductions proved to be insightful for Aria as she silently watched them happen after her turn. Making mental note of the names and faces of her squad mates. Thinking how many of them would not live to see tomorrow. Hopefully they'd all live but Aria had her doubts, then again she wasn't sure if she'd make it. Still until then she'd memorizes the names, hopefully they'd if not then she'd have problems with them but would come later.

When the call to move out was made Aria was quick to grab her rifle having left it in the other room accidentally forgetting to grab it when she put her pack back on. Grabbing on to the side of the tank Aria with her weapon loosely strapped around her front, it hitting her in the face a few times as the tank rumbled down the road. The young woman trying to bury the anxiety she was starting to feel as tank quickly approached its destination. The same feeling, she had always fought with before each battle, although she had learned to deal with it. The feeling being like a little voice in the back of her mind that kept trying to distract her. Sometimes it still did, but those moments where becoming less and less.

Once the tank arrived at its detestation Aria dismounted and cocked her rifle, following Lilly and the rest of the squad closely. Listening to Lilly as she began to speak and issue what might have been considered orders.
"She not confident, great just what we need. She better not get us killed. Aria thought as she listened to Lilly as she gave every one her their orders. Aria nodding about to give a yes ma'am as a reply however an explosion cut her off so didn't bother. She didn't need to hopefully.

Looking at Regan, hoping she was a good lancer as by the sounds of it she was going to getting quite bit of action.
"I've got the rear, so don't worry about your back." Aria simply stated at Regan. Aria liked being at the back of the squad less chance of getting shot at ... unless there was an ambush. Hopefully there wouldn't be an ambush, that would be most unpleasant, not to mention remind her on how her last squad got wiped out. She didn't need that right now, it was still hard accepting most of her old squad mates where now simply bodies left to rot where they fell. Maybe tossed in to a mass gave by the imps if they were lucky. Didn't matter either way now. Dwelling on it would only hinder her ability to focus on the battle at hand.

The young lady Durandal had been rather quiet. Focused on her inner calm, she knew that her state would do her no favors in combat. She needed to be crisp and mentally sound to face combat, and that was how she intended to be. To that end, she spent her time in a meditative state, securing her mind against whatever insecurities or doubts or... whatever it was that had been plaguing her.

They were deploying, and Miss Jatmoore had assigned her to the rear guard with someone new, a Private Hexner. The explosion shook her from any further meditation. "Two sets of eyes to watch everyone's back, including yours. We'll work together." Regan made some final, fine adjustments to the position of the Far Eastern sword on her hip, and hefted her mortar lance up to clear her legs, so she could keep up with the squad.

The journal the Sergeant had given her, the one she'd been reading from Sergeant Attenborough rested in her breast pocket. It wasn't really something to take into battle, was it? But, all the same, she knew she should hang on to it.

As Jatmoore's team made off to take position inside one of the two story buildings, James already had his team moving for another position in another two story house that would provide decent cover while they did their job. When Colins asked permission to go off on his own, James shook his head. "Negative, Colins. I'm a scout too, but I won't be letting anyone off on their own. We're fortunate the building we're heading to is vacant. Once we clear it and secure it, you can take up a position on the second story with me. Remember, I said no heroes." The house was, thankfully, unused by the Imps and so clearing and securing the building wasn't too hard to do. Once it was finished, he turned to his fire team. "Alright, Rousseau, Fairglaive, you two stay down here, barricade any other ways in besides the back door we came in through. If we end up having to retreat, we'll go back that way and use the alleys and buildings to keep them guessing. Once it's secure, rain hell on the Imps you can see. Colins, you come with me to the second story and we'll start picking off infantry. Hopefully Jatmoore's team is in position to start putting the hurt on those tanks. Get to it."

Go! Quickly! Before they notice! *static* Lilly and the rest of the squad hurriedly rushed through the back alleys, heading towards their objective. It was fortunate that all the infantry were either in the buildings or on the front line, for someone spotting them here would spell certain doom. Back from where they came, she heard cannon and machine gun fire as Snider's tank began it's attack. In the street she saw several infantry running back towards his tank, but she quickly yelled for everyone to hold their fire. "Don't shoot! Not yet! Don't let them notice us!" *StaticStaticStatic* Lilly's heart was racing and that accursed buzzing was filling her ears. Up, left, right, ahead, she constantly scanned the buildings, windows and alleys for signs of imperials. Fortunately, their rush through the alley was over quickly and they managed to arrive at the back door to the building with little trouble. The imperials were far more focused on attacking either the tank now behind them, or the Gallian defenders ahead of them.

The shop was made of brick and mortar, so despite the fact that the front had taken some serious damage, the rear half of the building was still completely intact. Good. Lilly's previous experience with indoor combat was less than pleasant due to the building collapsing on her, so she hoped that the structure was sturdy enough to withstand at least a bit more explosive force being directed at it. As the fireteam clustered around the rear entrance, Lilly looked through one of the smaller rear windows to gage what was going to be in the room they were about to enter. Of course the back door only lead to a simple storage room, but she could see figures moving about through the doorway leading from it. She quietly relayed this information to her team after she was somewhat sure of herself. "It... it seems like most of the shock troopers are on the front line. T-T-There are at least three scouts that I could see on the first floor, and there are probably more upstairs where the lance shots came from." *static, crackle, fizzle* Lilly took a deep breath and tried to calm her nerves, before looking up at her group again. "O-Ok. Let's go. Breach the door and drive out the enemy!" On her command, Brenna kicked open the door, and the group rushed in.
@Shyla Nesthorn@CirusArvennicus@Evil Snowman

Once the infantry had moved out, Snider move the tank into the main road to begin their attack. They needed to get as much attention as they could to take pressure off the front line, but he also needed to avoid actually taking any hits. "Is everyone ready?" he called to his crew members, before easing the tank back onto the road.

"Alright then... Ready? FIIIIRE!!!!" *BOOM! Rattatat! Rattatat! Rattatat!* On his command, the tank's gunner fired the main cannon and sprayed the imperial line with machine gun fire. The explosive shell impacted one of the imperial medium tanks beside the radiator, heavily damaging, but not destroying it. "Nice shot, Neville! Now do that again!" *BOOM! Rattatatatatata!* As his gunner fired again, Snider got ready to move when they attracted enough attention. This time, the shell went wide and only sheared off some of the spaced armour on one of the other tank's turrets. "Neville, I thought I said to HIT THE BASTARD!" As the machine gun fire started up again, Snider spotted the rear medium tank's turret starting to turn this way, and a few of the imperial infantry pointing his way and charging from cover to cover as they advanced on his position. "Get one more shot off, Neville, then we're out of here!" *BOOM!* After the cannon fired, Snider immediately reversed the tank back behind the building they had dropped the infantry off in before. Just before the building cut off their field of view, he saw the shell impact on the first tank's turret (the one they had hit in the first volley), penetrating it and causing an explosion as the ammo detonated. "Excellent work, Neville! That's one down!"

The tank going up in flames had caused cheers to echo around the inside of their tank, as the gunner and radio operator/loader patted each other on the back, but Snider knew that they might still be in trouble. Now that the infantry coming towards them had seen where they were hiding, they might cut through the buildings and hit them from behind. He shouted an order to the radio operator, who hailed Hunt's group. "Corporal Hunt! Snider here. We managed to take out one tank, but infantry have started down the street after us. We can't suppress them with our MG from our position and the tanks are preventing us from relocating. You guys were across the street, right? Could you lend us a hand?"
@Zarkun

James' muzzle flashed two more times as he picked off a pair of Imps who'd popped up to fire on the forward command post. The radio they'd brought with them crackled to life and while Colins kept firing, James approached it and listened. "Copy that, Snider, we'll give you cover. Go through a building if you really need to to get the hell out of there. Colins, shift fire to the street!" Running to a different window, he stopped at the stair way. "Fairglaive, Rousseau, fire on the street, imps are moving on the tank!" Having given his orders, he smashes a window with the butt of his rifle and then takes aim. Immediately upon looking down the street, he spots a pair of Imps moving carefully up the street. *BANG* The one of the right drops like a stone, a bullet in his heart. The other one begins to run for cover and James curses as he pulls the trigger twice more. *Crack* *Crack* One round hit the Imp's shoulder, spinning him around. The other found it's mark in his right lung, dropping him to the ground. A third shot put the man out of his misery, as even James wouldn't want to drown in his own blood. "Status check! Fairglaive, how's things down there?!"

@Zarkun

Had done just what she had been ordered too as she pushed the larger wooden objects like cabinets filled with fine dishware in front of several of the side windows to make sure they were not flanked. After this happened she moved to make sure her guns were all nice and loaded given that she only ever kept a bullet in the chamber on her imp handgun. The sound of gunfire was starting to become a rather normal thing by this point it seemed, she half wondered if that was something that had become so normal for her over these last few weeks, and for a moment she thought about being concerned about it. That was until she was ordered to open fire on the imps down the street, which she did by ramming herself against a wall for cover and peeking out the open window and down the street. "Understood!" With that she opointed her rifle down the street and started to unload as many rounds as she could into the imps, or at least force them to panic from the bullets flying past their heads. "Surpressing fire under way." She gave him a update before pulling out the imp officers SMG and opening fire down the street as well, the rain of hot bullets ripping through a few of them and dropping them to the ground.

Two cracks from his rifle ripped through two imperial soldiers, and a third had just run out as his comrades fell. He dived back into cover, and fell behind a wall with a bullet hole in his chest. Colin was breathing steadily and healthily. He seemed much more competent now in this situation of life or death than he ever had been when talking to his new comrades. He followed Corporal Hunt up the stairs, letting out shots via every window he passed as if it was second nature to him. Through every flash, men fell with bloodied chests, legs, and shoulders. "Status check! Fairglaive, how's things down there?!" "Doing good sir!" he replied before he realized that Hunt was not speaking to him. "O-oh, sorry haha." @Zarkun

*CRASH!* *Static* *StaticCrackleStatic* After Brenna kicked open the door, Lilly and the rest of the group charged through after her with the order going 'Sykora, Lilly, Webber, Hexner' and Durandal bringing up the rear. Her pulse pounded in her ears and the accursed static noises filling her head made complex thought difficult for her during the attack. As such, she was acting mostly on instinct and what their training had pounded into her muscle memory. *Rattatat! Rattatatatatatatata!* The imperials on the first floor were caught completely by surprise as Brenna let loose a several bursts of fire. Lilly lent her own rifle shots to the barrage, successfully downing one of the scouts. The remaining imperials fell in quick succession to the combined attack of the other three members of her fire team, with only one of them managing to even turn around before they were killed. In a matter of seconds, it seemed that the fire team had secured the first floor.

"ha... ah... ha..." As the smell of blood started to fill the air, Lilly's breathing became more sharp and ragged as she began to feel nauseous. Damn it... She had to keep moving and keep her mind off it. "Clear! E-Everyone, upstairs! Move!" They had to take the house before the defenders managed to organize a defense, or they would be stuck battling room to room with half an army outside their door. Before they lost their momentum, Lilly charged up the stairs to the second floor. *CrackCrackCrack!* *Ping!* The second floor was home to a trio of lancers and a pair of scouts, but they were just as slow to react as the soldiers below. With the last three bullets in her magazine, she managed to gun down one lancer before the scouts raised their rifles and fired, forcing her to duck behind the thick wooden door frame at the top of the stairs while she reloaded. *StaticStaticStatic* "Someone use a grenade! Clear them out!" As the rest of the team formed up on either side of the stair case's doorway, Lilly frantically yelled her orders. "Durandal! Once the room is clear, get in there! Take one of their lances and kill those tanks! Everyone else can guard the staircase or attack the infantry!" *StaticStaticStatic* There once was a battle long ago where Lilly was described as being in hysterics. Well, actually not that long ago. It had only been a couple months, but for Lilly, it felt like years. During the Battle of Rinneheim, she he been barely able to do anything more than flee in terror as her emotions overwhelmed her. Those same emotions where here as well, but the training had helped to suppress them and focus them away from fleeing and more towards aggression. She just hoped she could hold it together long enough for the battle. A breakdown here would not be welcome.
@Shyla Nesthorn@CirusArvennicus@Evil Snowman

It was a trick, with all the tension in her mind and body, not to fire on the imperial infantry, but reason told her not to. She herd the orders not to fire and restrained herself, instead approaching the building with the rest of the unit. Regan watched the alley for a rear attack while the rest of the squad poured in and took the first floor. She wasn't one to lag behind, following once everyone else was in and patting Hexner on the shoulder to signal her. She followed Jatmoore as she led the charge upstairs, and was quick on the draw when she requested a grenade. "On it." She pivoted to a crouch in the doorway and fired quickly at the first imp she saw, a poor scout that had been firing at Jatmoore. Short-range mortar, right at his feet.

Her round spent, she pushed forward into the room. She slung her lance to the side, laying it down (somewhat?) gently as she rushed the second, winded scout. She drew her sword and ran it through the man, before slicing it out from his body. She moved to find any cover available to her, trying to keep out of the way for her squad to follow.

"Spread yourselves out, there are mortars incoming. I forbid you from clustering up and dying like imbeciles! Shocktroopers, keep the fire on them. If any of the bastards break through, I'll have your heads. Lancers, try to make yourselves useful an-" *pfft* "AND KILL THOSE TANKS BEFORE THEY MAKE MINCE MEAT OF US!" Lord Barst's usual sneering voice swiftly turned to one of rage as a sniper bullet landed in the window frame beside him. The Imperial counterattack had hit hard and fast, forcing them back until they were left making a desperate defense at the street surrounding the forward command post. Worst of all, apparently a damn sniper had spotted him! He quickly moved to a different location in the building before the marksman could correct his aim.

Amongst the troops, Lord Barst's commands were met with mixed feelings. Ordinarily a high ranking man such as himself would not be giving orders to mere front line soldiers, but a platoon leader and several squad leaders had already met their ends as a result of the Imperial attack. As a result of the leadership shortage, the lord had taken it upon himself to personally command the defense. While his orders were competent enough, the disdainful sound of his voice was not particularly helping moral.

***

Meanwhile on the front line, the west-most group of Gallians (designated 'Charlie Section') were holding on desperately against a determined attack. PFC Cheslock, Private Pierce, a pair of scouts and a radio operator were hunkered down in a building overlooking the southern road and were in the process of trying to prevent a squad of imperial shocktroopers from crossing it. The imperials had taken their own positions, either crouching in the alleys or firing from the windows of several houses, trying to whittle down the defenders with sheer numbers and firepower.

*CrackCrackCrack!* Private Smythe, the radio operator, frantically fired off a few shots from his rifle before diving to the ground as a barrage of machinegun fire tore through the window he had just been shooting from. Before crawling to another position, he took a moment to check on the status of the two shock troopers he was sharing the room with. "Cheslock, Pierce! Hows your ammo? Is anyone injured?"

A few minutes later, his radio crackled to life and relayed a sneering status report from Lord Barst. "That's it, keep beating them back! A reserve unit is on its way to assist us. Keep the bastards away from command for another 10 minutes and we will turn this battle around." *CrackCrackCrack!* *Ping!* Smythe fired off the last few rounds in his magazine towards the imperials in an alley before ducking back down to reload. "You guys hear that? Reinforcements are coming! We've just got to hold on a little bit longer!"

***

Ten minutes later, Smythe was astounded that they were still alive. The house they had been defending was becoming increasingly pockmarked with bullets as the Imperial assault intensified. It was getting to the point where no one was able to accurately fire, such was the volume of bullets cascading towards their position. Somehow though, they had managed to hold and prevent the imps from crossing the road. The bodies of several dotted the street, serving as a testament to their effectiveness.

When a sudden explosion occurred and one of the Imperial tanks by the intersection detonated, a cheer rose up from the defenders, quickly followed by a transmission from Lord Barst. "Congratulations gentlemen, the reinforcements have arrived. Now listen up. Continue holding your positions until they start to break through, then we are going to begin our offensive. Charlie section, the Imperials in your area are about to be cut off and should start retreating soon. Once they take the pressure off, I want you to take the fight to them. Use the tank traps for cover and advance across the street in pursuit. Link up with the reinforcements if you can, I'm sending two more troopers to help you. Onwards gentlemen! For glory!" ... Well that was that. They WERE charlie section, so Smythe quickly relayed the orders to their group. "The reinforcements are here! Barst says he's sending 2 more shock troopers to help us, and that the enemy in our area shoul-" *Phew!* He recoiled as a bullet wizzed through the window he was standing beside. Apparently the Imperials hadn't retreated quite yet. "-Should start to retreat soon! Once they do, we're supposed to attack them and advance to join up with the reinforcement squad!"

@Jotunn Draugr@Roxim Teaga

PFC Fenrir Cheslock

*Ratatatatatata*, the constant firing of Imperial machine guns rang through the room's blown-out windows, accompanied by a shower of chipped brick and mortar off the far wall. Crouched just below the window, PFC Fenrir Cheslock grumbled impatiently.

“So we're gonna follow the Imps' lead then?” he inquired sarcastically, to his comrade.

“They'll be pulling back soon. It'll be easy enough to pick them off from behind.” Smythe responded.

“Yes, but let's make sure the reports mention Charlie Section by name.” Cheslock concluded, with a devilish grin on his face.

“Okay? You got something in mind?” Smythe said, somewhat confused.

Cheslock gave him a wink, and bolted for the staircase.

His trusty MAGS M10 clasped firmly in his hands, he tumbled down the staircase to the first floor, and sprinted through the building's front doorway. The Imps were so focused on his squaddies in the building, that they didn't immediately respond to him charging out the bottom floor. This gave him time to get halfway across the street. As the bullets finally began whizzing in his direction, he ducked behind a tank trap and headed for the closest building. As a few bullets flew past his ears, he leaped forward, plunging through the window of one of the Imperial-occupied buildings. All the glass hand long-since been knocked away, so it was little more than a square hole in the wall.

Tumbling to the floor, Fenrir righted himself without hesitation. The Imps were hold-up on the second floor. Staying low, he made his way toward the staircase. Nearing the bottom, he lodged the butt of the rifle into his shoulder, and prepared to open fire. They were no doubt aware of his position by now. He paused for a second, and noticed that the gunfire in the building had stopped. He figured the Imperials probably had their guns pointed at the top of the staircase, waiting for him to poke his head up. It wouldn't be safe to approach like that.

“Well, here's to you, Sis.”

Cheslock slung his gun over his shoulder, and withdrew a grenade from his belt. Leaning forward, he tossed the grenade up and over the lip of the staircase. It hit the floor above with a thud, and was met with a series of screams. He ducked against the wall and covered his ears as the grenade went off. A thunderous boom rang out and the ceiling gave way, sending a pile of rubble crashing downward, along with one, two, three dead Imperial soldiers. Through the dust and smoke, Fenrir smiled ferociously.

“That one's for the family business.”

He didn't have long to savour the moment, however, as bullets started whizzing through the front window. He fell to the ground, and crawled his way toward the front, planting his back against the wall. A tinge of pain shot through Fenrir, and he gripped his left thigh. Thankfully, it looked like the bullet had just skimmed the skin. Where were they coming from this time? They were keeping the pressure on, and he didn't feel like risking an eye to check through the window. As shots continued pouring in, Fenrir looked around for other options.

“Argh! This place should have a...”

Back door, there, just behind the staircase! Cheslock made a dash for it, as a couple enemy rounds bounced off his shoulder-pads with a metallic clang. Leaping over the rubble, he charged into the door, which thankfully opened outward, into the alley behind. Now he'd be able to get a surprise angle on the intersection, and really do some damage. Swinging his gun back around, and holding it at the ready, he charged down the alley. He rounded a corner to get sight of the street again and nearly ran into the back of an imperial soldier, who was busy peeking out into the street, firing potshots at the Charlie Section building. Holding his gun in his left hand, Fenrir used his right to slide his hatchet out from his belt.

He lined up the shot, right where the helmet meets the shoulder, and swung. The axe head buried itself deep into the soldier's neck, as he fell limp to the ground. Cheslock kicked the body to the side and took a peek around the corner. The Imps must have called the retreat. Soldiers were starting to disappear from the windows, and make their way down. No doubt, some would have access to back alleyways.

Fenrir holstered his hatchet, gave a wave in the direction of the Charlie Section building, and then ran back into the alley. He was sure they'd be able to pick off the Imps that had to run out into the street. He'd clean up the ones scurrying through the alleyways. Rounding the corner again, sure enough, a couple more Imperials came clamouring out of a nearby building. One took off in full sprint, but the other looked back and noticed the young shocktrooper. The Imp hoisted his gun up and shot. Fenrir ducked, firing his own bullets in the opposite direction. As the shower of lead hissed over Cheslock's head, he heard the rattle of his own bullets hitting the enemy's armour. The soldier fell backward with a hefty clang, and Fenrir took off after the one that got away.

---

As the team made it way to the building Aria held the rear with Regan, watching the alley in case any imps tried to flank the rest of the squad as they seized the building. Aria pleased she wasn't helping take the first floor. She hated indoor combat, it was to confined and made her rifle hard to wield. When she was tapped on the shoulder Aria moved with Regan keeping only two paces behind the Lacer so she'd have plenty of room to move her weapon around. Watching as Regan fired a grenade at an imperial scout. Aria moving up to take cover at the door as Regan, much to Aria's surprise charge into the room and ran a scout though with a sword.
"Impressive but stupid." Aria thought as she took aim at a lance and fried three round into his chest. Downing but not killing him. Aria turning to the last Lancer who seemed to be overwhelmed by the attack and Regan bursting into the room killing one of his allies with a blade. Not wanting him to recover and end up of her comrades Aria put the last two round of her clip into the Lancer one shot somehow hitting the Lancer in the head the other ending up somewhere else in the room. Having made a kill Aria felt a pang of savage pleasure. Hating imps she enjoyed killing them or watching die, why exactly Aria wasn't sure but she always enjoyed the feeling. Glad her lack of expression meant it didn't show very often, unsure how she'd explain why she looked at least slightly happy fighting imps.

________________________________________________________________________________________________
PFC Fenrir Cheslock
_________________________________________________________________________________________________

The Imp was off in a full-out sprint down the alley. Fenrir, weighed down in his shocktrooper uniform, was having trouble keeping up. How the hell someone in a full suit of armour could be an effective scout, he had no idea, but right now he was having a tough time catching up. Still running as fast as he could, Fenrir hoisted his machine gun up and sprayed a few rounds at the enemy's feet.

One or two must have landed, because the Imp tumbled forward, landing face-down on the brickwork alleyway. Catching up to his prey, Fenrir gave his usual hostage speech.

"By the Valkyrur, surrender now or I will gun you down!" Cheslock bellowed at the soldier.

Groaning in pain, the soldier brought one hand up, placing it on the back of his head. The other hand quickly reached down and pulled out a pistol. Seeing this movement, Fenrir squeezed his trigger and poured a series of bullets into the back of the imperial. Severely frustrated, he let out a sigh.

"You idiot!" he shouted at the now lifeless body. After huffing and puffing for a moment, the gunfire on the street reminded him that the battle still wasn't over. Turning around, he ran back to continue the hunt.

_________________________________________________________________________________
meanwhile, at Charlie Section
__________________________________________________________________________________

"You idiot." Smythe muttered under his breath, as Cheslock hustled down the stairs. "Well, let's try to take a little fire off him."

Hopping up, Smythe stuck his rifle through the window and fired a couple shots off at the enemy building. Following his example, Pierce jumped up with his machine gun, and shot a couple bursts. Looking across the street, he caught a glimpse of an enemy falling backward. Ducking down as a barrage of bullets retaliated, Pierce smirked at his success. They continued trading volleys for a moment, but were interrupted by yet another explosion.

Pierce peered through the far window, as smoke, dust, and debris flew out of the windows of the building opposite theirs.

"Shit!" Pierce exclaimed. "Think that was Fenr-"

The young shocktrooper's knees gave way, and he tumbled to the floor.

"Pierce!" Smythe shouted, scurrying over to the body. Looking him over, Smythe saw that a stray bullet had flown right into his left eye.

"Damn it!" Smythe spat. "Dead before he hit the ground."

A shower of dust glided over Pierce's body, as yet more bullets pelted the far wall, reminding the militiamen that they had no time to mourn. One of the team's scouts quickly took up Pierce's position, and began firing back through the window. Crawling back to the wall, Smythe loaded a couple more rounds into his gun, and prepared to even the odds. As he turned back to the window, he heard a thumping on the stairs. He span around just in time to see the head of an imperial trooper emerging from the floor below. As the Imp aimed his machine gun, ready to spray down the resistance, Smythe got a shot off, landing straight between the enemy's eyes. With a great calamity, the metallic form tumbled back down the stairs, landing heavily on the bottom floor.

"Kipper! Take my window!" he commanded. "I'm gonna keep an eye on the stairs."

The young scout rushed over and starting firing away through the hole-ridden opening. The three of them held on for a short while longer, when suddenly the gunfire began dying down.

"This must be it!" he shouted, glancing out the window, to see Imps leaving their stations and running into the streets. He jumped up next to his compatriots, and started gunning down his turn-tail adversaries from above. A couple turned around, and fired back as they ran, causing the three scouts to duck back down again. Then came the sound of a great spray of bullets, just up the street, along with the dinging of lead-on-armour just beneath their windows. A stomping traveled up the stairs, and Smythe again trained his rifle on them, this time seeing a blue helmet emerge. It was the Gallian shocktroopers.

Together, they exited the building, and started chasing down the last of the fleeing imperials. As Smythe fired away, he heard gunshots from a nearby building. Charging to the window and sticking his gun through, he saw PFC Cheslock, wrestling an imperial to the ground.

"Hah! This bastard lost his pistol!" Cheslock grunted through gritted teeth, as he held his target's face to the ground.

Calm down, Lilly! Focus! *static* Once the house was cleared, she finally had a moment to breath and quickly looked over their surroundings. The gunfire from the front seemed to have masked their firefight, so they had at least a few seconds before the imperials realized their lancer nest had suddenly gone quiet. From a firing perspective, their new position was pretty well perfect. The corner looking out over the street had been demolished by a lance or mortar round from the Gallians earlier in the fight, and that had been where the imp lancers were shooting from. She took a quick peek over the edge and found herself staring down at the 2 remaining medium tanks. One of them was aiming towards Snider's tank and slowly turning, no doubt to advance on his position, while the other kept firing on the Gallian command post. The elevated position, though, meant that both of their radiators were clearly visible to them.

Lilly quickly hustled back from the edge and whispered to the team, trying to speak strongly enough to be heard over the explosions, but quietly enough that she didn't give them away. "Miss Durandal, grab one of the anti-tank lances from the imps. If anyone else here knows how to use one, they can grab the other. We need to destroy those tanks and then hold our position. The Imperial infantry will probably charge us and try to retake the house, if they don't retreat." *KABOOM!* A sudden explosion nearby caused Lilly to duck and cover her ears. "a-alright. Everyone else, either cover the stairs or get to a window. We need to do as much damage as we can. Is that alright? Good luck everyone."

***

"Ok... Ok... is everyone ready? 3... 2... 1... FIRE!!!!" Once her team had gotten into position, Lilly started the count down and signaled their attack. She lent her own rifle to the barrage, firing towards an engineer taking cover beside the furthest tank. The attack came as a surprise to him, and he fell quickly, several bullets in his chest. As the tanks got hit, then detonated, chaos began to overtake the imperial force. Soldiers ran everywhere, some nearly bumping into each other as they scrambled for cover, not knowing where the attacks were coming from. Caught between Lilly's fire team and the Gallian front line, they began to fall in quick succession. Some took cover behind sandbags, thinking the Gallian defenders had redoubled their attack, only to be gunned down by the team members in the building. Others recognized that they were being attacked from the rear, but were shot by the command post defenders when they tried to turn around. Even Snider had managed to join in, firing his tank's MG and cannon once the medium tanks were no longer present. All in all, things were working fantastically.

By the front line, a lone Imperial officer managed to grasp the situation and began to organize a frantic retreat. He stood up, shouted and waved to his men, gesturing for them to withdraw back up the street and... well, he didn't get to finish his orders; Lilly's rifle made sure that. Go. Shoot. Attack! Kill! As the imperials broke cover and started to run, Lilly's firing became increasingly frantic. She barely bothered to aim; there was no time. They needed to inflict as much damage as they could while the imps were disorganized, and that meant unloading bullets as fast as her trigger finger would allow. When she needed to reload, she began shouting orders. "Imps by the alley! Gun them down! They're coming for our house! Stop them before they get here!" *Static* *StaticStaticStatic* The stress of the situation was once again having an affect on Lilly. There was so much to do, and she could only move so fast or shout so much. This panic crept into her voice and actions, resulting in an even shriller voice and shakier limbs. The straw that broke the camel's back was when a group of scouts that had managed to take cover in a building across the street. They had spotted the team and began to return fire, alerting Lilly to their presence when a bullet grazed her cheek. *StaticCrackleFizzle* *SNAP*

"IMPS IN THE YELLOW HOUSE! DURANDAL, USE YOUR LANCE! SHOOT THAT HOUSE AND BURN ALL THE BASTARDS!!!"
@Evil Snowman@CirusArvennicus@Shyla Nesthorn

"YEAAAAHHH!!!" Cheers erupted in the tank again as the imperial assault broke, allowing Snider to pull the tank back out onto the road. "Alright, let's show them what we've got! Neville! FIRE!!!" As the tank advanced and began it's attack, the radio crackled to life. "Snider, Hunt. This is Captain Meulemann. Excellent work on the front line there, chaps, I've received word that the assault has been broken and the Imperials are in full retreat. Now, I have new orders for both of you. Advance up the street, towards the intersection. You will be joining the defenders to begin a counterattack immediately. One of their units, 'Charlie section' will be temporarily folded into your fire team for the remainder of this operation. Understood? Keep up the good work, lads."

Snider was grinning from ear to ear as the tank rumbled forward. Everything was going according to plan, and the honor belonged entirely to his crew and squad 4. Today's fight was turning out to be a good one. "Roger that! We're beginning our advance."
@Zarkun

As the Imperials were swept away, Lord Barst nodded with satisfaction. They had gone from being on deaths door to about to hand the Imperials their most decisive defeat yet. From his new vantage point, he surveyed the battle, watching the explosions and gunfire as the reinforcements and his defenders brought the fight to the fleeing imperials. Most of them were behaving exactly as he'd expect from professional soldiers, but there were a few notable exceptions. Charlie section had advanced with a vigor hitherto unseen, killing far more imperials than he had anticipated, and the reinforcing squad may as well have been blessed by the Valkyrur themselves, for the amount of damage they were causing was truly immense. He made a mental note of this, before going back to examining the battle. Once all was said and done, he may need to have a word with them. Congratulations were certainly in order.

***

Meanwhile on the southern defense line, the Clarke siblings arrived at the street they were supposed to reinforce, only to find it deserted with dead imperials everywhere. Private Joseph Clarke turned to his sister and shrugged. "I guess they've already attacked. We'd better hurry." The two hustled across the road and down the alley a moment later, searching for their missing comrades.

Body... Body... Body... More Bodies...

When the twins finally found Cheslock (who had just finished off the imperial he had been wrestling with) and Smythe, Sue Clark shook her head. "Cheslock... What ARE you?" Just how had he managed to take out this many Imperials on his own? Judging by Smythe's expression, he didn't know either. "Regardless, we don't have a map so we'll follow you two. Lead on when-" She was suddenly cut off by a pair of imperial scouts charging around the corner of the building beside them. It was clear that the encounter was a suprise for both parties, because the imps took a split second to react. The shocktrooper duo quickly exploited this by firing from the hip and gunning them down before they had a chance to aim their rifles. "REGARDLESS. We'll follow you and breach any buildings we need to clear. Lead on."

"Roger that sir, I'll pass the orders to Jatmoore." Taking a moment, he tuned the radio to Lilly's frequency before speaking. "Fireteam Bravo, this is Corporal Hunt. Regroup at the intersection just up the road between us. Continue pressing the attack as you do so. Let me say it again too, no heroes. We're all going home today, I already promised you that. Hunt out." Putting the talk piece down, he turns to Colins and taps his shoulder. "Come on, first floor."

Leading the way down the stairs, he gets Fairglave's and Rousseau's attention from raining death and hell on the Imps. "We're moving up, You two keep cover fire for us while Colins and I clear the barricades."