[IC] Juggernauts (BigPapaBelial and kingkonrad) IC

[FourtyTwo]

Ross nodded, looking over at Felix, simply saluting to respect his senior officer. This was a man that was particularly famous around these parts, and his role in all of this was no doubt, an instrumental one. He was a stern man, even on the other end of the projector. He seemed to know what he was doing, and explained it in enough detail for Ross to understand, fully aware of what they were going in on. After the end of the General's brief, the reality of this was falling onto Ross. It was a big job- this was a holdout that had to go, and 500 men against 50,000 sounded fairly unbalanced. The Captain knew, however, this was an enemy that was exceptionally well-equipped, and would give no quarter on the route up. You couldn't fit 50,000 men on a handful of routes up the mountain either, no matter how elite they were. No, it would be a task down to a few hundred, and it would be one that would force them to at the very least, put the key in the lock to get the rest of the task force in.

"Understood, General." Ross simply replied, as they were dismissed, Ross's Devonshire accent sticking out as he looked out to the other two Juggernauts, Carl and Jennifer. He knew that Carl should be combat ready sooner or later, but it did linger in his head that the ankle was going to still be weak, with all that weight thrown in. Ross just didn't want anything to happen to him, because he was sure as hell not carrying him out of this again.
"So, a head on assault then. It's going to be interesting, that is for certain. We'll need a punch to take them on and win, so at least we'll have backup in the form of those fucking monsters." He added, Jenny nodding in response.
"No doubt. 500 men is a bit too much for us, but if we hit them fast, they won't be able to get their explosives on us. I will need to do some EOD work on that road, but if they have the height advantage, they'll rain down shit on us. I suppose that is where Natalie and Victor come in. Crazy motherfuckers. I still can't believe how much firepower they have." She added, as she looked over at the topagraphical map, taking in the details, as well as the LZ that had been marked out.

"It's why they're coming. We need firepower and armor on two feet, and they are practically invincible so long as they don't get shredded. If they're paradropping a platoon to a company of men in, to reinforce how badass those two are, then we're going to have some serious fighting along that whole trail. That mountain road is going to be sugar coated in snipers and TOWs. Both could stop us in our tracks, and I suppose we offer the best protection from them. Those giants will be a big target for any of their AT capabilities, and their men would be susceptible to even light fire. We're an in-between, if you could call it that." Ross looked over at the same map, seeing the winding route head up to the fort, occasionally doubling back and occasionally going a little gentler along a lesser gradient of the mountain, checkpoints dotted along with potential IED fields. It was going to be hell, but no doubt, once it was cleaned out there would be a chance to actually get inside the fort and wipe it clean, and Ross could understand that element to all of this.

"There's going to be traps all along, I can tell. It's perfect ambush territory. We've got advanced bomb detection kit that we can grab, with a pair of sweepers and my ATO stuff, I can pick most things apart. That said, if they put a large enough charge, that road is going to collapse, let alone the whole fucking mountainside, and with it any chance of us getting in there at all. Command probably doesn't want to bomb it due to the high value intel inside." Jenny commented, looking through the maps once more, the Scottish Royal Marine just contemplating this all over.
"Most likely. Here's to hoping we don't have to pick up pieces of people once we're in position." Ross said, as he looked at the LZ once more.
"We're dropping into hell, from the looks of it. Small area, it's on a flatter gradient. But it leaves no room for error. Fuck it up, you'll get seriously injured. So we'll have to regroup and set up a movement along that road as fast as possible, snipers covering throughout. They'll be our eyes and ears on what will be above us. A couple of MAV drones wouldn't go amiss, to give us a view of what we're going to run into before we even hit it." Ross added, as he looked to Carl.
"This might be the craziest thing we've done yet."

[BigPapaBelial]

Wakhan Corridor, West of Fort Breshna

Nolan stared through the scope on his Tac50, licking his lips clean of the salt of a few hours in their hide. They'd been watching the road up too Fort Breshna for two days now. Day and night, taking turns getting a kip and then checking the scopes and binocs, relaying information back to the FOB. They'd been watching a particular outpost here for about a day now. Watching it slowly build up. Troops from the Fort up the road and up the mountain slowly filtering in, a single ancient looking T-80 MBT, mounted LMGs and HMGs.

They were fortifying the hell out of the place, like they know that something was coming and they were trying to prepare. There had ben convoys going south and north as well, where they knew there were other outposts. But this particular outpost was the one that the taskforce would encounter head on as they moved in. Nolan sighed and rolls to his left, away from his rifle. He sighed and rubbed his eyes, and reached down with his boot and nudged Andrew, "Hey...think we're either going to need to make a judgement call here, or call back to the General. This outpost is hot." He groaned then reached for the radio.

He switched the frequency to a coded one then began, "Fallen Angel to HQ, message over." He waited a moment or two, then got a response, "HQ to Fallen Angel, send it, over." Nolan looked out over the base, "Holding position at Grid 33101, Enemy base within four hundred meters. Heavy deployment of assets, request advice over." Some time passed when a new voice joined the call, "Fallen Angel, this is Golf Foxtrot Lima, you copy?" Nolan pulled back abit, "Wow the General himself." He cleared his throat, "Golf Foxtrot Lima we copy. Orders? Out?"

General Lawrence on the other end smiled, looking down at his map, "Orders are as follows Fallen Angel, do everything in your power to make a mess of that base. Wait until sundown if you have too. Get in there, set charges, kill and maim if you must, Vangaurd team drops in one day. With Sword Unit to come up behind them past that location. You have green light to do all the damage you can think of. How copy? Over." Nolan grinned brightly, "Gold Foxtrot Lima, Fallen Angel copies. Wilco. Fallen Angel over, and out." Nolan turned off the radio then nodded, "Let's do some damage, 3 hours I'd say to twilight. Gather shit up. Let's make some noise. Don't bring your rifle for now, let's go in CQB." He started to worm around in their hide, gathering up stachel charges and his SMG.

Several hours later

Nolan and Andrew picked their way across the slightly hilly ground, through scrub and brush making their way towards the base. Nolan on his stomach at the moment, his silenced pistol peeking out through some brush, watching a man who wasn't more then eleven meters away, taking a piss at the very edge of the light from a huge spot light overlooking this section of ground. Nolan wasn't sure if he wanted to take that shot yet, not with the guy on that spot light still looking this direction. He instead decided to wait, letting the man and the light set off. Then began the crawl in closer to the base. He looked for Andrew, waiting for the right moment to start the covert assault. ROE? Set charges on the tank, the two IFVs, spike the mortars and the MGs. Kill or incap anyone that might give them away. There is just too many on sight for it to turn into a fire fight, and all Nolan is wearing is his ghille and a chest rig with a single ceramic plate in it.

He got in close, out of sight of 90% of the base, the other 10% wouldn't be able to see his position directly. Now was the time he just had to wait until Andrew joined him.

[FourtyTwo]

Andrew let Nolan handle this one, as he kept watch with the spotting device, the tripod it was mounted on offering stability, as he continued to watch into the outpost, the road that passed through and around clearly being one that guarded the fort, provided it with a buffer layer of protection. And it had to go, not a single doubt was given. Andrew had taken the XM500 once more, but he had it entrenched, set up on a tripod, low, low down. It gave a good angle of fire, and was loaded with APDFS rounds- enough to penetrate a couple of inches of steel, and punch a solid hole through something. He didn't know if it would on those crazy bastards from Blue Sword, what with the exceptionally dense and complicated system of layered armoring that they had, but it would work on most Soviet APCs, that much he knew. With Nolan's more precise .50, this would be a hammerblow, a quickfiring bastard to sort out all problems.

Apart from that, Andrew only had the Mk14 EBR with him, set up with a thermal imaging optic, a heavy thing that sat on the top rail, alongside a BuRDS- or Backup Red Dot Sight system installed on the side of the rifle, comprising of a Aimpoint Micro-T1, that could offer a quick sight alternative to the big thermal optic on the weapon. A smaller H&K MP7A2 complimented that, with a simple EOTech Holographic attached, and a Surefire silencer and laser/flashlight setup, would do perfectly for closer encounters.

Moving a little as he paid attention to the radio call, Lawrence clearly knowing the duo's capability. This would be interesting, no doubt. Damage was to be done, and he knew that following their drop-off, they had obtained an unholy amount of C4.
"That sounds fun to me. Take lead, Nolan, I suggest we make a barbie out of that place."

---

Keeping his head down, the green and brown ghillie suit doing it's job here, helping him to blend in. Adjusting the tan beanie on his head, and the blackout facepaint a little, the Kiwi looked on, simply observing and keeping a track of the situation. The darkness that had followed the sunset made the opportunity perfect- this place was heavily reinforced, and Andrew could hazard a guess that if anyone had NVGs, it would make this job far more difficult than it already was. He had a webbing set up across his chest, containing mags, frags, and even a couple fags. It was a good setup, but for now, Andrew was wired. Quad-lens NVGs over his eyes, just tracing, watching movement.
"Covering." Andrew said, in a quiet tone that he knew that Nolan would silently receive, watching from the hillside, the illumination and strong lighting in the base being intermittent, as he watched on, peering through the blue-red thermal optic on the EBR. He knew he was situated well enough that even to the trained observer with a pair of NVGs, it would be very difficult to pick out his pattern and camouflaged rifle from this.
"Patrol moving your way, keep your head down." He simply said, watching on again, as a small foot patrol headed past where the man had pissed, before Andrew slowly moved from cover.
"Guards are switching at the towers, I'm moving in." Andrew quietly whispered, as he slowly pushed forward, making his way down the hillside, shrub to shrub, rock to rock, taking his MP7 out as he slowly crawled in around the outer perimeter of the outpost, or whatever it was comprised of.

Setting up close, he moved through the shrub, looking across, as he pointed out an ammunition cache, in a rudimental tin-shack structure, the sight of one of the mortars there enough to give him reason to think about it. He checked his MP7, before crawling forwards, looking across to Nolan.
"Get the IFVs. I'll deal with that." He mouthed to Nolan, barely even making a sound, more like a movement of his mouth to say what he was doing, and he didn't know how well it came out. Moving out of the shrub, into the darkness, he slid between a set of crates, then peeking cover. Slowly crawling across, he moved to another set of vehicles, keeping underneath the UAZs as he stayed out of the main conical points of light, the UAZes offering a good position in which to sweep around. Letting another vehicle pass, going through the outpost rather than stopping, he moved to the third one, pulling out one small slab of Semtex. The Czech-produced explosive had a different composition to C4 or PE4, in that it could do a little more thermal damage in hitting a soft spot. Hence, punch through a vehicle's undercarriage to hit the fuel tank, just a little easier. Plus it felt easier to handle, nice little blocks rather than big slabs or wedges of C4. It was a terrorist's weapon, and was virtually undetectable.

Rolling back over, he watched a couple of trucks roll in, two old Urals, stopping nearby on the other side of the road of the outpost, clearly heavily laden. They had no fabric cover, so the contents of all was visible. Silly mistake. It was a hell of a lot more gear and equipment than Andrew wanted to deal with, and getting to it would be very difficult, from here at least. Looking around, he gave a quiet command.
"Those trucks have a couple of ZU-23s and Strelas mounted, it ain't good for close air. Either we get trace tags on it for the flyboys, destroy it from afar, or you jimmy some sort of way to put C4 on it." He said quietly, keeping an eye out for guards, his voice faintly picked up by the throat mic, transmitted efficiently to Nolan's earpiece, so as to not compromise their current situation.

Looking on, he saw a break occur, as one of the men headed to the ammunition shack, Andrew taking his knife out, the stabbing tool of choice a Swedish-manufactured Bowie, with a clean enough knife blade to make quiet slashing easy. The Kiwi slowly moved out, following behind, minimizing exposure as he moved around some low cover, following him straight in. And then, he lunged.

Moving forwards, the man was in a half turn, but it was nothing, not enough to stop Andrew quietly pushing the blade through his throat, and his hand over his mouth, throwing him down onto the floor with a comfortable push. The artery poured, as blood sept out, Andrew dragging his body around, behind the door. He would sort it out later, but right now, he had C4 to set. Moving out of the light, he set up a nice stack, using it over the Semtex this time round, making a nice layer right inside a case of grenades, and by a small armory of AN-94 rifles, able to blow it all apart. It would maybe even be enough to level the building, and either would have the perfect effect.

Heading back to the body, he slowly picked the dead man up, tearing his wool jumper off, looking around before he got to work. He rubbed the blood in the dusty floor in a little, before covering his bleeding neck with the jumper. He got around and picked him up, dragging him to an empty ammunition crate, lobbing him inside, before finding a pallet and placing it on top. It would do, and nobody would question it, fingers crossed. Heading back out, he got into position by the side of the building, diving out of the light into a small ditch by the side of the building, peering out as he saw another two-man patrol head into the outpost. He observed for now, watching, waiting, for a chance to cross the road and get to work on some of the other vehicles.

[BigPapaBelial]

Nolan darted out to the next cover point being very careful as he went. The patrol that Andrew had spotted continued on. Nolan slipped into cover. Turning his head slowly scanning the area. His pistol coming up to cover Andrew as he moved up. As Andrew moved up and got in cover Nolan scanned about. He listened carefully for any approaching enemies. Then leaned out and darted just a little further, melding into shadow. He looked Andrew's way, "Right, be careful. I got this weird itchy feeling on the back of my neck like I've got a high powered scope watching me." Nolan darted across one of the pathways of the camp. Sliding into a shadow, peering up the path, then back down it. Before continuing on his way to the IFVs.

He got down on his hands and knees, and crawled under the first one. This thing had been repaired and broken, and repaired and broken so many times, that it had holes in places the mechanics just couldn't take the time to repair. Nolan wiggled his way under and found a breach in the chassis armor, a rough, dirty and rusty hole in the bottom just forward of the engine. He sighed and whispered into his mic, "I'm gonna get tetanus from this aren't I?" Pulling out a stick of C4 he stuffed it up in there, making sure that it would kick off and atleast destroy the engine. Who knows he might be able to get the fuel tank too, set the IFV aflame. He carefully crawls his way out from under the IFV.

Stopping dead when he's mostly out, as a soldier comes walking around from the side. Before the woman by the looks of her can say anything Nolan has grabbed her in a headlock. Cranking it once to shock her into submission then pulled her back and into the shadow of the IFV. He held her there as she squirmed in his grip and he waited to make sure no one else showed up or she wasn't part of a patrol. After a few moments passed he whispered, "I'm so sorry..." To her, before locking his arm around her neck, cutting off air and the flow in her arteries. And squeezed. She started to fight, trying to claw him off her, but those movements became slower, less pronounced. His hand clamped over her nose and mouth, no air...no blood flow. It was over quickly. When he let her go she had a blue tinge to her skin already. He checked her quickly, feeling no pulse then moves on. He felt a little bad for doing that for abit. But he had a job to do. He couldn't feel bad for long. He moved onto the next IFV. Checking the underside of it like he did the last, finding no easy way to rig that under there. Instead he spiked the barrel of the IFV with the stick of C4. It'd have to do.

He slid back into cover. And made his way to the tank carefully. Having to pop a pair of soldiers who just wouldn't move. Double taps, back of the head, dropping them both he then spent some time to pull the bodies into some cover. He made it to the tank. An old T-80. Seen better days and better times. Probably some old ancient cold war deal, some arms dealer somewhere had in a storehouse, and these guys thought it'd be intimidating. Facing modern Abrams tanks that the Joint Forces are fielding as well as Bradley and other fighting vehicles these IFVs and this old tank would be utterly annhilated in a matter of minutes. Nolan placed a pair of IR beacons on the tank, hiding them in such a way that the attack vehicles sent would be able to see it.

He made his way to another section of cover. Then pressed a finger to his throat mic, "Armor's been marked. How about the ammo?" It had gone well enough, he'd only had to kill three of the outposts garrison to do it all. He peered about, "Trying to spike those MGs and mortars is likely a death sentence. Finish what you're then start to exfil. We mark the area for ordance once we get back to the hide and for an aerial attack. Mark those MANPAD equipped trucks too. I think we've about overstayed our time here." Nolan started to pick his way towards the outer walls of the outpost carefully. Passing nearby one of the AA trucks as he did. Placing a IR beacon on it so he could see it from the hide. The end game of this place is coming up. It'd be a hell of a thing to watch.

[FourtyTwo]

Andrew moved back up, crossing the road as he moved across into cover, staying out of the light, and in the shadows. He watched ahead, as he began crawling once more, peeking cover. Hostiles. Lots of them. They had moved from the trucks, they were busy here, no doubt. He had to make his move, and going to the rear AA truck, he set a beacon up underneath, alongside another strip of C4, as an insurance policy. Backing away from the undercarriage, he headed back to the rock he was in cover in, peeking over, before then moving back across the road as the attention was focussed on a warehouse across the outpost. Moving through, he headed back a different way than that of which he had come, the New Zealander moving proficiently and tactically as he slipped through to some more cover, keeping out the way as another patrol moved. Like a ghost, he knew that any exposure could fuck their moving, and it would no doubt, result in some serious problems. Death, certainly. Capture would be worse, he was not repeating China all over again. He hadn't even taken a single life, he had just kept his PDW's mouth shut and with it, done the work he had to.
"Agreed. I'm bugging out, MANPAD truck at back is rigged. Let's not take any more risks, we're going to cause enough hell to this place as it."

Moving up into the hills, Andrew could only look back down, as he headed back to their OP, moving from cover to cover, giving it a couple of minutes as he then set up a position by a small cluster of rocks.
"I've set up around 500m south-south-east, careful on your approach. Don't go direct, go around the back. I've got eyes on an enhanced movement, there's more trucks rolling in. Thank fuck we got out while we could." Andrew simply added, watching the lorries drive in, passing to the gate. He continued his observation, the sniper aware that they had pulled off one hell of a quick infiltration, barely taking a couple of minutes inside, yet being able to inflict damage that would surely put a dent into this side of the world.

[BigPapaBelial]

Nolan carefully edged his way along a wall. Pressing himself flat against it when he heard the sound of boots on gravel. He looked left right, and down the row of boxes in front of him, then realized the person or people walking were on the other side of the wall. Further into the compound. He waited, listening, the steps stopping just on the other side of the from where he is standing. He took a long slow breath. Waiting, listening. The sound of the person shuffling in his jacket. Something made of paper...maybe plastic. Nolan sniffed, tobacco, an illicit smoking break. There was a snap as a flip lighter was opened. And Nolan smelled the cigarette or cigar smoke on the air. He started to move again. He almost screamed in surprise. For a moment forgetting that no one else would hear the earbead in his ear, and no would would hear Andrew telling him he's out of the compound.

He took a moment to wait for his heart to stop beating a mile a minute. He waited, and waited a bit longer. He heard the growl of an engine start, and a vehicle begin to idle. He used that to get further out of the compound. Step by step, until he was at the edge of the camp. He looks back in, then out, calculating where he is in comparison to where Andrew now held position at. Getting an idea he started to pick his way along through the scrub and bush. He made his way out, in some places even scrambling on his stomach. Freezing completely at one point, the only thing between him and being spotted was his camo and a light piece of scrub that broke up his outline in the most meager of ways.

It took him a little while to make it back to the hide. Whispering just loud enough for Andrew to hear him, "It's me." Before slipping in beside him. He let out a groan softly, "Okay. That's that. All of those vehicles were cold. They aren't going anywhere in awhile. Let's wait out for abit. When the main group approaches we cause the opening havoc by blowing the charges. The main force hits the rest of the outpost and we move up with them." he looked at his friend, "Get somemore shut eye man. I'll take watch." He squirmed over and grabbed his rifle. Watching as the trucks Andrew spotted rolled into the outpost. It would be abit of a night.

*************

Twenty Four hours later, the next evening, 32000 feet above ground

The Juggernauts, all Five of them in fact sat in the rear of a C-27J Spartan. Abit cramped with the 5 heavily armored soldiers. And the 10 other lighter armored soldiers along with them as back up. Between them, Carl, Victor, Ross, Natalie and Jenny could utterly massacre anyone placed in front of them. But sometimes they can get tied up with something. And wouldn't be able to take care off all the targets. so the lighter armored men in light juggernaut armor are there to pull their bacon out of the fire in case they need it.

Carl grinned brightly as he walked in down from the front, "Three minutes ladies and gents. Pilot says our jump point is coming up, and we're good to go. Might want to consider getting ready to jump." He walked along the row of soldiers. Stopping in front of Ross, Jenny, Natalie and Victor, "Ready kiddies?" He chuckled and started to shrug on his jump kit.

[FourtyTwo]

Natalie looked over, her helmet sitting in her lap, the titan of a woman enjoying this little ride in the compact transport aircraft. She had been inhaling pure oxygen for an hour now, as had the others, the fact that you were 32,000 feet making for an environment which was begging for. Her legs wide, you could take in just how armoured every single part of her body was, it literally could withstand pretty much all of the firepower that the other men within. Her GAU-19 was in a specialized jump pack, mounted onto her side, as well as a parachute system installed onto the suit, capable of HALO, and similar to their previous insertion, based of a large round parachute to take the weight. She felt big once more, and despite the fact that she had suffered a wound that would have practically killed anyone , Natalie Ivanovich Denisova tended to be made of stronger stuff. The Doctors had said it was remarkable, how quickly she had reacted to treatment, and within three weeks, already been pumping lead in the gym, then in this suit. They told her it was not advisable. Doctors did not know her body, Natalie said to herself. They knew very little about what was under this, all seven foot two of her being, being able to do whatever it took to get back.

Her sharp blonde hair had been colored slightly blue, and even though every single military figure would consider it a travesty, it was flowing to her neck, and with her beautiful face, it said. If you looked down from her face, a different figure emerged. Carbon black, hexagons, honeycomb, and what may have been the hurtiest of hurt lockers of armour, like her fiancee's. She put her hands into a fist and palm, feeling the weight, feeling the power in her body. She grinned, as she stood up, taking a deep breath in. The rustling of gear alone turned Ross and Jenny's sight to her, as she looked over at them, then over at Carl. She towered over him, looking down with a venomous smile underneath, the cooling system kicking in. As per usual, she was stark naked underneath the armour, and it was the way she rolled.
"Hmmm...I think you should ask yourself the same question, Lieutenant. You haven't seen our version of madness in a while. And I've almost died twice in the last few months, so I feel particularly mad today." She added, as she patted her GAU-19 on her side, smirking a little. She slid the helmet onto her head, pulling the oxygen supply that she had been breathing in from the aircraft out, to be replaced by that of through her own helmet. The helmet locked in, as the HUD fired up, already engaging in a mode suitable for freefall, as she felt it lock into place. Taking in air, she gave a hand to Victor, smirking through her visor, as she looked on at the others, towering over most of the men in the cargo hold, alongside her fiancee.

Ross looeked on, as he put his visor down, standing up, his ammunition rucksack mounted on his front and a rig on his back, oxygen flowing, as it did on Jenny's suit, in a similar manner, over the armoured faceplate.
"Fuck, we are going to have a fun time, aren't we? It's still two and a half minutes of freefall, even in these suits!" Jenny asked over the radio, checking her own LMG, the belt-fed MG4 sitting in it's position, as she checked Ross's rig, before he did the same for her, looking over over, the two Juggernauts aware that they were going back to the void, on this evening.
"No doubt, but keep an eye on your altimeter. These two are going to pave concrete through hell. Holy shit, I thought you couldn't get more fucking armored, Bear." Ross said, as Natalie chuckled, her voice like gravel today, a dark Russian female's voice rather than her sweeter French-sounding accent.
"Well, we found a way. It is laser-precise, and I have a weapon that fires fifty caliber rounds at a rate of 800RPM. It's the same plate, but with technology that should still be in a scientist's laboratory. The visor alone is made of materials that sound like they're from...what is that show, with Spock?" Natalie said, her Russian accented English kicking in a little harder than of late, probably due to the last operation that she had been on involving a hefty amount of them.
"Star Trek? Hey, have you seen any TV over the last decade?" Jenny said, semi-jokingly, as Natalie glanced a stare.
"I would watch tongue, Sergeant. Anyway, you're going to be up first. To secure the LZ, then we will probably be above you. Remember, we can provide fire from above, depending how high we pull." She added, looking across, as she looked out at the rear cargo door, then back at everyone else. She looked across at the door, walking over, reaching into her hip.

From the hilt, she pulled it out, the sight of Athena's Wrath could be seen as she raised it high, scraping the roof of the cargo bay, turning around and planting it into the floor, one handed, before inspecting the blade. It was as beautiful as it felt, it was like her armour, not a show, not some medieval weapon, it had a blade sharper than , and it had a design that was not alike what she wore. Laser precise, but a weapon of huge size, and brutal methods, as she stroked it in her gauntlet.
"You have a fucking sword?!" Jenny added, looking on in shock as Natalie held it with barely an floundering problem, the huge fucking weapon sitting comfortably, being her own size. It was insane, how that was possible, she thought to herself.
"Oh, so now I get criticized for not watching Star Trek, because I watch real woman TV. If I am honest, it works better than a Scimitar." She added, Ross chuckling.
"It's the fucking Mountain and his wife. We're in safe hands." Ross added, as he checked over his gear for the last, last time, before heading past Natalie, who had slid her sword back, heading to open the cargo door. With a simple switch, the door began whirring open, the sight of orange on the distance, the evening setting in, with clouds far, far below, partly covering the world that they were going into, the noise loud as hell, even through his helmet.
"Shit, this reminds me a lot of our first time, Carl! Popping the fucking cherry by dropping into a city on our lonesome, then hot extracting the fuck out....well, I guess fate likes it's repeats!" Ross yelled over the comms, looking across to the group, readying himself up to follow Carl and Jenny.

[BigPapaBelial]

Victor quietly made sure his jump kit is secured. For someone weighing in at a little less then a ton of armoring and kit, he actually had three parachutes as his main jump kit and then another two as his back up. He made sure every buckle and every belt is secured, he had alot of stuff on that would cause a nice big crater it if all disconnected in the air. He gave one last tug as Carl came back into the cargo compartment. Grinning at him and the smaller juggernauts, "It's been a good long time since we had a chance to fight beside each other. Everything should be quite fine. We've all gotten new toys I see." Looking at all the new kit that Carl, Jenny and Ross were packing. He smiled, "And we do too." He watched as Natalie drew her sword grinning broadly. She favored that heavy crushing edged weapon. He reached down and brought up that heavy titanium rifle butt club he had made some time ago. Refined even more. Made almost completely of titanium with a few hefty dense pieces at differant places. The business end of the club now weighted with a chunk of lead-platinum-osmium alloy. Making the swing of the thing deadly. Back in testing he had swung it hard enough that he had very nearly lost the damned thing. It now came with a hand strap that he could put on if he wanted to use it as a proper weapon. After testing throwing the weapon it had pulverized a granite block at twenty feet. He reached over and tapped the club against her sword.

Carl watched this from where he stood, keeping three points of contact for how he stood. He felt a little under armed honestly in the presence of these two behemoths. But at the same time he knew he had a great deal more maneuverability then them, he'd be able to apply that in combat alot more. But he knew that he'd never be able to contend with that pair of giants in the strength or sheer devestating power they could likely employ.

At the far end of the plane, the jump master stood speaking into his headkit. After he got the information he called out on the unit comms, "Alright Ladies and Gentlemen, and I use those terms loosely, Drop zone in two minutes. Perform final prep. Check your lines, and your chutes. Again two minutes." Victor got to his feet as the rest of the Blue Sword unit did as well, the soldiers in lighter armor started checking each other over. Victor turned to Natalie and began to check her after he stood up. Carl walked over and looked Jenny over carefully. Ross doing him and Jenny checking Ross.

It took everyone about a minute to get that settled. And just as the majority of them finished the jumpmaster nodded, his hand on his kit. And hit a button, the red jump light coming out, calling over the comms, "Red is on! Red is on! Opening the ramp. Push the kit pods up!" A few of the Blue Sword soldiers pushed five kit drop pods forward, cylindrical pods holding extra weapons, ammo and other things that the group will need on the ground. Enough there hopefully to keep them until the rest of the task force reaches them later in the day.

The jumpmaster called out, "Last check! Ready up! Set your pull timers, 800 meters! We're coming in towards the mountain face so there won't be any need to adjust your drop on the way! Get ready!" The rear door of the plane finally opened, decompression sucking at the soldiers. The jumpmaster hit another button and a green light burnt brightly. He called, "Green is on! Green is on. 45 seconds!" The pilot called back to them, "Good luck! Task Force Retaliation is moving! Once you're on the ground you're on your own until they arrive. Forward observation will be blowing an outpost while you're in the air. So the targets will have something else on their mind." The jumpmaster waited, watching his handheld timer, then shouted, "Pods go!" The five pods were pushed out, "Jumpers go!" The Blue sword soldiers, Heavy Juggernauts and O.G. Juggernauts followed moments later.

Down on the ground Nolan had the radio reciever tucked against his head, "Right! We got it. Blowing charges. Andrew hit it!" Andrew depressed the wireless detonators. And the outpost went up in a ball of flame and sharpnel, the IFVs and APCs going up in flares of fire. The ammo blazing, several rockets kicking off and crashing into technicals and other equipment. The enemy scrambling to get clear. An armor piercing rocket slammed into the side of the tank, piercing a small hole in the side of it and toasting it's controls. It could be repaired but in the hail of explosions it'd be awhile until anyone had time for it.

The push to end the terrorist group who had attacked Brussels was in full swing now. Nothing could stop it now.

Up in the air Carl couldn't even see the explosion all he had eyes for was the altimeter on his arm, and making sure he didn't bump into anyone. The meters ticked away, the late night air roared by his helmeted head. All that mattered for him, was the jump. And what a jump it is.

[FourtyTwo]

Ross and Jenny ran, diving out of the door as they entered freefall, eerie, cold, terrifying, fascinatingly and fucking cool as hell. From the gentle mist on his oxygen mask, to the freefall, they were falling towards the earth, the rest of the Blue Sword soldiers ahead, and it was madness. They were falling for two and a half minutes, and they were going straight to the point, beating the majority of the forces involved in the main assault, paving the path up onto the mountain before taking the Fort itself.

At the designated altitude, they deployed, Ross checking his altimeter before deploying his 'chute, the dusty landscape 1,000 feet below. They were coming in fast, and he saw Jenny and Carl on his side, as well as the rest below. Steering into a spiral, the canopy responded, the armoured soldier suprised but capable, knowing that they were coming into the danger zone, right here, right now.

They found the LZ quickly, and Ross steered his parachute carefully, crashing down carefully as he moved up, taking the Mk48 up, as he watched the two Heavies come in. A group of fighters were running out of the base, but before he could even begin to start suppressing fire, something far madder was about to happen, his own 7.62mm rounds going relatively quiet.

----

Adjusting the rifle in his grip, Andrew looked over at Nolan, as the base went boom. The C4 did the trick, and the outpost was shattered, blasted apart, the shit they wanted to hit dead. It was a hot LZ, quite literally, as he could see the sight of canopies roaring open in the sky above.
"Calvary's here." Andrew calmly said, chuckling as he adjusted the XM500, the heavy .50 cal rifle loaded as per usual, and their hidey-hole still as useful as it could be.
"Okay, let's keep them covered. Up the hill, if they move anything heavy, it's up to us. We'll have to relocate in due course." He added to his sniper companion, loading in a magazine, the heavy bolt pushing back and forth, as he got it set.

-----

Natalie and Victor had gone last, owing to the fact that their suits were going to fall, and quickly. Most people would say that it was only air resistance that played a part in fall rate, but the basic physics didn't apply, not when the weights and air flows were very different indeed. As soon as the others had left, Natalie looked to Victor, and with a simple movement, stepped to the edge of the door. With an almost poetic moment, she turned around, her tinted visor in her faceplate covering her face, as she put her hands up and like some kind of bird, fell backwards and dropped, knowing that Victor was after her.

They were falling fast, and the enormous kit over her suit felt weightless for a moment, the air resistance heavy and the noise loud, even through the helmet. She turned over, seeing Victor take position, as she entered a dive, going head down and flying past him, taking a hold of his enormous gloved hands in freefall. It was quite a sight, to see Natalie flying upside down, in her enormous armour, in freefall.....but she knew her suit well, and in a near-enough weightless environment, she knew how to get head down, and fly alongside Victor, her helm at the level of his, in a way.

Tracking away, she levelled out and pulled the enormous ripcord, the three round chutes roaring out of the enormous jumppack, a violent opening up thrusting her suit from 170mph freefall to twenty, in barely a couple of seconds. She chuckled, the evening sun on the horizon, as she saw Victor's chutes come open, the skulls and crossbones visible on her matt-black chutes saying it all. She was made of stern stuff. The burning outpost was in the distance, and the others had landed, already taking fire. This was an opportunity to make an entrance. Swinging the GAU-19, she span the weapon up, firing up her radio.
"Fire support is coming in." She said coldly, taking out the men that were running from out of the outpost, to the significant group of soldiers that her HUD already marked as friendly. The others, they weren't lucky.

The GAU-19 shat out rounds, cutting the ground they stood on into bits, the two dozen men dropping like flies, as Natalie stopped fire, flaring the front canopy forwards, the whole thing rushing down as she began to approach the ground quickly. She was taking fire, but she didn't care. And it was with that, she headed towards the set of men, with a certain gusto, a certain madness. Ross could only watch, as the enormous armoured lady that was doing this did the utterly unthinkable.

Slamming into one of the men that was firing up at her and her parachutes, torn to shreds by the time she had done it, Natalie's armoured feet had made more than a print into him. It was around half a ton of weight that had both kicked him and cemented him into the ground, her right foot splintering apart the man's jaw and neck, as she cut away the parachutes. The wind blew them away, as she didn't even have time to ditch the rest of the chute bag. Her suit was covered a little in blood and guts, and something had snapped in her head. She wasn't swinging the GAU around, it felt too out the way, it felt unsuitable. Time slowed, and she was among a lot of soldiers. Too many to take on. Party piece, she said mentally. One thing she could do.

The sword shone, and with a sharp movement, she was charging forwards to men spraying wildly with their AKs at her, as she let rip with her rear end, the flames catching against the other men she had dropped in behind, as she swung out with the sword. It practically cut the man in half, as she charged forwards, and three other men found themselves in the worst place. Natalie's armour, weaponry and her body may have weighed almost half a ton, but it looked almost as if the pure adrenaline and the pure intensity had hit her harder and harder. She was just in a mist of anger, and the three men soon were cut to pieces, hacked down, as she only then stopped letting rip. The flames had roared for at least 10m behind her, and at least four poor bastards had found themselves incinerated by her rear defensive measure....and her flatulent booty, to say the least. She moved through, blood covering her beautiful black carbon, as Natalie swung again, striking down two men, cutting one open and the other with half his organs torn through. A grenade went off, and she didn't even acknowledge it, her heaving, huge mass just completely content. A couple of grenades to her side later with a swipe across her chest plate, and one last man was left, the outpost destroyed, and this little rally point outside now very much dead. She kicked him over, and with a sword through his sternum, she pushed it through till she could see it come out of his neck. Even with a sword that large, it was half sumberged in his fucking body.

It took at least a good thirty seconds for Natalie to catch her breath again, as she looked around.
"Okay. Clear." She said, as she took her helmet off, the other men in the distance, about 200m away, on a ridgeline above where the DZ was. She looked around, and took it in. Red mist didn't do scale well. She'd killed at least 20 people in that time. What Ross had seen was impossibility. She had moved like a ballerina, like the suit wasn't weighing her down for a second, and was now half-clad in blood, the suit that shone looking like she had waded in a pool of blood and guts, her blue hair blowing gently over the top of the neckbrace. Her sword in itself was covered, and from grenades, .50 rounds, and being fucking hit with a sword, they were all dead. This outpost was cleared, and Ross could only drop his jaw at it.
"Well......I guess that's one way to do a baptism of blood for a new suit." She said into her comms, knowing that there were no snipers around, as she walked the distance, placing the blade over her shoulders, before taking it in her both hands. Wiping the worst of the guts with her left gauntlet, she licked the blade, and put it away, muttering something in Russian, quietly to herself. Never, ever die again, she said to herself. Her mind restored back.

Ditching the parachute pack, she swung the GAU-19 into her hands, grunting gently. Her body was weakened, she was tired, and it would take her a while to get her breath back, and her energy. Nothing a bit of a stim couldn't fix, as she slowly walked back towards Ross, Carl, Victor and the rest, as they gathered their gear. She moved up the slope, and crouched down, as Ross retrieved his gear, the rest of the soldiers setting up.
"We don't need to talk about how many clauses of the Geneva Convention you just broke, but I think in the space of thirty seconds, you re-wrote the rulebook. Good to be working with you again, Bear." Ross said, as Natalie swung her helmet back onto her face, visor back down, covering her eyes and face completely.

"That is what we do. Re-write things. So, we are to move up, yes?" She asked, as she took a knee, her on one knee still towering a little over Ross, as he couldn't help but admire it. Words didn't do these crazy motherfuckers justice, he thought to himself.
"We've got a couple more checkpoints to clear, then the fort itself. You'll get shot to fuck if you go up alone. We'll shield you, and we'll go head-on. The snipers will pick away Anti-Tank and RPG threats ahead of us, all you need to do is rain hell. We'll take the stragglers, flankers and suicide bombers." Ross said, as he put his helmet visor back down, checking his radio, Jenny nodding as she took her ammo, and the rest of her kit too, moving to Ross's side, as the rest of the men began a sweep, Natalie looking to Victor.

"Well, this should be fun, Brute. I feel like I'm in the mood."

[BigPapaBelial]

Carl whistled down through the air sticking up and to the left of Ross well up and high from Jenny just in case. He watched the Blue Sword soldiers below them jockeying in and out, finding safe positions. He checked his altimeter, flashing a thumbs up, signalling they were on target, if coming in a little hot.

Above them he didn’t see Victor or Natalie leave the plane. So he never got to see that incredibly delicate and dramatic fall that Natalie pulled off. Victor did. And the twinkle in his eyes said everything. Watching his beautiful fiancée twist then fall free of the plane. He took a step, then with a spinning and flipping twist followed her out of the plane. Some would say that there is no way that someone as big or heavy as Victor could be as limber and acrobatic as he looked as he pulled off a full 1080 degree spin with a double black flip through the air before righting himself and falling in beside Natalie. Just no way. He’d have proved them wrong with that twist and flip he pulled off falling out of the plane. Soon he’s level with Natalie. The pair fell a great deal faster then their smaller companions.

Carl twisted into the air, the warning signal on his altimeter going off. He grabbed the ripcord and pulled hard. The chute bag opening, unfurling and catching the air. He grunted as the chute snapped open and slowed his descent. He floated down steadily through the air. Scanning their landing sight as he came down. A stretch of road just outside the base. They’d still need to slog up the road to get to the front gate. And even as they touched down and the Blue Sword soldiers were getting into cover points to provide base of fire, he could see the first of the enemy come out to join them. First responders. Rifles, shotguns and pistols. He didn’t see anything larger then an RPK among them at the moment. But that would change. He touched down, skipping and being pulled by his chute. Fumbling abit with the release.

A ways behind them Nolan spat out the piece of scrub he’d been chewing on. “And here comes the main line.” He checked his range card, “Furthest distance 1090 at the top of that back tower. Watch your lines of sight. Ground pounders can switch positions without notice.” He smiles, working the bolt of his Tac50 forward, chambering one of those big .50 rounds. He settled his cheek against the cheek rest and began to get his breathing rate and heart beat into sync again, “Force multiplier right? IF what they have up there is already 100%...what do we add. Another one hundred?” He chuckled, licking his lips, “Let’s see now…” He sighted through his scope. Right over Carl’s shoulder, a man with a BREN smg running out screaming in some native dialect. He squeezed.

Up above Victor and Natalie were just landing. He heard his fiancée already starting shit. That stunning brrrrrtttt of her minigun cutting the air. He blink locked several rocket locations as he fell. When he landed, and cut the three chutes free and catching them, stowing them to retrieve later. He turned fully. And braced. It was a roar of flame and smoke. He emptied his rocket pods on his shoulders. The semi-smart rockets roaring up, changing angle, locking in on the targets before streaking down and slamming into the walls of the base, and the great steel gate as well. Holes appearing in the walls, and the gate denting heavily inwards. He watched the Blue Sword soldiers start to move forward. And stopped a moment to admire the work of Natalie as she drew that sword and waded into the enemy. He could only grin, “In a mood love? You look it. Let’s go. We have things to do.” He strode forward, drawing a shotgun in one hand and a tomahawk in the other.

Carl let out a yelp as a large round sailed right over his shoulder, drifted right past Natalie’s cleaving sword, and punched a target right in the chest. He flew back a good 4 feet and lay still in front of the gate. There’d be no way he’d get up from that. He turned to look over his shoulder, he couldn’t see the glint of scope light or even the dust cloud that the shot had kicked up. Which made him all the more glad that Nolan and Andrew were out there.

Nolan just smiled, “And you’re quite welcome Mister Cardinal.” He whispered softly. He switched his target. A man just above the gate who was trying to set up a heavier gun.

From the point of view of the snipers everything looked like it was going smoothly. But then they couldn’t feel the bullets whizzing by them like Carl could. Carl slammed his armored form against a hunk of iron at the side of the road. And made motions at the top of the wall where a .30 cal HMG was barking down at them. Victor smiled, “As you wish.” He raised his GMG, aimed and started to hammer the lip of the wall leaving big craters in the edge of the wall, making the men up there duck to get out of the way of the grenade rounds peppering their positions. They wouldn’t hear it at first. But Victor had turned on the speaker on the outside of his suit. So they could hear every roaring laugh he made as fired at the wall. A deep bass growling laugh. The giants are truly here for them this time.

[FourtyTwo]

Natalie kept the sword drawn, and Ross and Jenny kept back, moving to the wreckage of a truck, exposing themselves less than Natalie was right now. It was a savage sight to see, with Natalie holding the zweihander in one hand, a little quieter yet just as distinct as Victor. His throaty laughs could be heard, and it was a sound to behold, interrupted between punctuated 40mm rounds against the outpost wall, and what Natalie was doing was nothing short of lunacy. She lobbed a cluster of grenades over the wall, and heading in, rounds pinging off, seemed to be on the lead. Ross adjusted his position, and popped his M32 towards the wall, a joke really compared to the sheer volume of shit that Natalie and Victor were applying to the outpost.

It seemed that Victor's suppression fire had worked, as Natalie was inside, and already, was having at least another set at her mercy. Her sword was slow, so was she, but the men were firing at every part of her, as close as they could, these terrorists perhaps not as well versed in the fact that well....they were armoured, and not really that subceptible to 7.62mm rounds. The sight was incredible, as Natalie swung Athena's Wrath at one of the men, decapitating him with the sword, the man too slow and the blade surprisingly faster than anyone could have anticipated, as she drew her left hand. She had wanted to try this for a while, but knew it wasn't exactly easy to use sometimes. Yet a trio of enemies were outside of her reach, and she was about to do something mad. The harpoon was charged, overpressured almost as she rose it, her HUD knowing Natalie well enough to understand that this wasn't a small jab.

The harpoon fired into one man's skull, and into another's abdomen, pulling the third man onto the ground as the titanium cable became taut, as she retracted it through. The retraction was powerful, driven by a pnmotor fuelled by the suit's hydrogen cell, and it didn't drag the men back. It tore them in two, the third man knocked onto the ground as Natalie span Athena's Wrath in her right hand. Ross was able to see in the distance, following into the breach himself, Jenny close by as they took out a pair of guards further away, Natalie the main attraction and them barely making a mark. Swinging it, she caught it hard, like a knife-like grip, the enormous blade clutched tight in Natalie's hand, her suit's black material already bloodied enough. Then, she plunged it into the man's head, barely even resisted by the skull, as she left it in him. An RPG flew through the compound, slamming into one of the walls, as Ross and Jenny looked in shock.

"Okay, I take that back. That's fucking insane." Ross simply said, as he moved through, taking some rounds now himself, as Natalie also was shot at by a heavier MG on the other side. She swung her GAU-19, and the .50 cal minigun burst into life, after spinning up, as she managed to take it out, alongside the vehicle it was mounted inside.

"Victor, I'm inside. You can stop blowing everything up out there, any more, and you'll hit ours." She chuckled, as she took down another set of soldiers, moving to the flank. Ross moved up, using her as a shield, Jenny staying back with her MG4, laying down supressing but more accurate fire than Natalie's enormous minigun, a complete fucking lunacy to watch, the giant that stood inside the courtyard clearly not giving a damn. Using his Mk48, he took out another trio of soldiers, rounds pinging off his shield in front of him, the big Russian giantess moving slowly yet surely when she stopped firing, the element of fear truly induced into the enemy. Some were running down the road, some didn't know how the fuck to react.

Andrew watched on, looking over at Nolan, nodding.
"That is mental." He simply said, as he adjusted his position with the XM500, pointing it out.
"Another vehicle, about 1.1km out, looks like a BTR. Moving to the camp, I see multiple soldiers aboard. I say I hit the engine, you have it's occupants with your rounds. There shouldn't be much left of them after that, they'll be too scared to even counter-attack." The sniper said, as he adjusted his shot, watching down his spotting device, before inhaling. Crosshair was ahead of the vehicle, as he fired, the AP rounds hitting the IFV, the round slamming through the armour of the vehicle, knocking it's engine, bringing it dead to a stop. Now, the sniper knew that his partner's specialised ones would tear through even further, and frankly, leave nothing untouched inside that thing.

Natalie moved slowly and surely, sweeping the area, turning suddenly to see Ross behind.
"Lucky you weren't in my backblast area, or you'd be burnt. Captain, you have the point, with Carl. I'll regroup with Victor and we'll hold security." She said, putting her faceplate up, looking down. Ross couldn't lie, it was unbelievably terrifying working with these two giants, if they were on the other side, they'd most certainly not have a hope in hell. Mercs did bring one hell of a set of firepower to the game, and these two big ones were capable of holding a skillset no regular would have, not in this current climate. She moved, methodically and surely, pulling her blade out of the man's head, before sheathing it once more, her GAU-19 in her hand, as she looked back at Victor, the other heavy's face covered by their helm, yet Natalie able to still see inside and read him, from her experiences, changing her personal radio channel, to herself and Victor.
"Hmm....you know, I didn't realise how much I missed this madness." She walked up to him, and kissed him on his visor, smirking as she put hers back down, her HUD activating once more, as she headed up behind the other soldiers that were pushing forwards, her footsteps heavy, her curvy suit standing a little different to Victor's, yet no less imposing.

Ross moved up, the trio of Juggernauts looking like they were in bare clothes compared to the other heavies, but they did wear their suits and from it, merited their protection, albeit at moving a little slower. Raising his Mk48 again, Ross took out another man on a rooftop, before sliding into cover, mounting up the LMG to take out a trio of enemies running up the road, looking to get to a set of mortars, as he looked back at the other two.
"I think that might be it."

[BigPapaBelial]

Victor made a proper mess of things on the stone gate and the walls at the top of the road. His HUD telling him that Natalie, Ross, Carl and Jenny were making their way up under his fire. The BlueSword Mercs who had come with them entering another hole in the wall to his left. He’s a one man destruction crew. Hammering rounds into the walls. Chasing the enemy back into their holes deeper inside the fort. He pulled up his GMG as he heard Natalie, “Alright ceasing heavy fire.” Carl smiled, “Well that’s fantastic I was getting worried.” He ducked out of cover, firing from the hip with his M249. Rounds sparking off the ground and on metal sheets around the inside of the fort.

The inside of the base consisted of a large number of low squat buildings, made of mud brick and mortar, some of them up armored with pieces of steel stolen from construction sites. Or over-laid with corrugated steel sheets. It’s a warren, a last ditch effort kind of place everywhere. The last of this terrorist army are jumping into fall back positions, slipping into houses, disappearing into holes in the ground like cockroaches disappearing from the light. But despite this they still fought. The houses made amazing firing positions, offering multiple angles and over lapping fire oppurtunities. For the BlueSword mercs they need to get in cover. But it’s Victor, Natalie and the other Juggernauts who can wade into the battle. Victor used one more round to blow the two gate doors inward then almost casually walked right through the. The shower of rounds hitting him from small arms like 7.62 and 5.56 rounds weren’t so bad. He didn’t mind. But there is work to be done.

Outside the base, Nolan was scoped in when he heard Andrew’s warning about an approaching vehicle. He moved his position over, getting an eye on it, “Must have been that APC we saw leave earlier. Coming back after their patrol.” He got into position, adjusted for wind, time of day and distance. He waited for abit, waited, let Andrew fire so the vehicle stopped. He then squeezed his trigger. Worked the bolt, squeezed and worked the bolt again and again. A trio of rounds in the air. A trio of targets being blown clear of the stopped BTR. He grinned broadly. Pulling his eye away from his rifle. It took him a moment or two to let out a soft groan of pain. His hand coming up to his brow, rubbing a curving line of red just above his eyebrow, “Fuck…I got scope bit. The hell I thought I was a professional!?”

On the valley floor the Task Force from the Armies arrived. Grunts, Rangers and Marines forming up and starting to make their way up the mountain. It’s the General who gets on the horn to Natalie and Ross, they being the senior officers up there, “Captain, Major, Task Force Clean Up on site. Artillery will be set up momentarily, teams of Marines, Rangers and Soldiers are making their way up the pass as we speak! We have an AC-130 circling into air space in 10 minutes and will provide close support when on station. General Felix out for now. Channel 8 for support you two. Out.”

Time passes

The fight through the base is tough. BlueSword soldiers backing the two Super Heavies and the three Heavy Juggernauts up closely. It’s close quarters and brutal. The only wide through fair is a coverless lane that leads from the gate, up to a large administration building then hangs a sharp right heading towards the face of the mountain. The building having outstanding lines of fire down that main throughfare. Pretty much forcing all but Victor and Natalie to duck into the side streets and small paths between buildings. Which wasn’t much better really. The fighting in the back streets is house to house. Carefully making their way through, clearing buildings. Atleast once the occupants of building choose to firebomb the house when it looks like the BlueSword Mercs or a Juggernaut was about to take it. And thus came the rush to get out and away from the fire. This happened several times as the fight through the base continued.

As the group made it’s way ever closer to the administration building the survivors of the firefights in the barracks and the side buildings ran to the admin building. Bolstering their defenses. The Juggernauts with back up soldiers knew they would have to either storm that admin building or make sure the enemies inside couldn’t use their open flank against them. It was eventually decided that Victor would do something spectacular. He cued up all his rockets on the base supports of the building. Then coupled with some withering suppressive fire from the other juggernauts and the BlueSword mercs he strode out into the middle of the street, braced himself, and unleashed every rocket in his pods that he had. He caused the lower half of the building to collapse on itself. And the upper half to partially cave in on itself. Trapping any survivors left inside.

As the lead spearhead group of Juggernauts and mercs took the admin building the first elements of the Task Force from below reached the fort. And began to dig out any remaining insurgents behind the main team.

But things took a turn for the surreal. When the Juggernaut team and the mercs were faced with a huge steel wall, built into the face of the mountain. The fort structure hid this from the outside. The drones never saw it. There’re more to the base. And the main problem. The wall, is armed. Two huge Bushmaster auto cannons turned out suddenly as well as gun ports that allowed insurgents in the mountain to fire down and into the group outside. There were fifty cal MGs pissing bad news out at them. Even Victor and Natalie had to duck into cover. Luckily it didn’t seem like they had any explosive ordanace besides the autocannons.

Carl pressed himself up against some cover and shouted out over the radio, “Cap! What the hell do we do here? We can hit that thing all day and all night and then into the next day and night, and still not make a dent. No offense Major or to you Master Sergeant, but this is some heavy shit.” He ducked as one of the autocannons turned to bracket his position. The BlueSword Mercs with him jostling abit, trying to keep behind solid cover with that heavy gun hammering their position. Victor grunted leaning out then ducking back as a fifty drilled the corner of his building, “I have to agree. There is not a lot we can do against an armed wall of armor like this.” He checked his rocket pods, which were still undergoing auto reload after that devastating strike on the admin building. Not that he’d be able to safely use them at this point. He couldn’t give them a clear shot on the wall. He wasn’t even sure if they’d have any affect on the wall anyway, “Ideas? Anyone?” He twisted around the corner, and raised one of his shotgun and fired a few rounds up towards the top of the 40 foot wall, sending off a few rounds at the shooters up there. He ducked back into cover and pushed the people with him back a few steps as a fifty and one of the cannons rounded on his position. He grunted as masonry and bounced all around him, one large piece of stone pinging off the face plate of his helmet.

[FourtyTwo]

Natalie, Ross and Jenny, alongside the others walked through the now quiet outpost, the noise of a distant roaring thunder coming. The Task Force was coming in full force, and they were it's spearhead. A head-on fight, yes, but there was no other way in, no other way out. This was going to end in blood and hell, as Natalie put her faceplate up, looking down from her enormous frame down at Ross, and Carl.
"Captain Henderson, I'd imagine you understand. This isn't an ending. I prefer to see it as a beginning. Let's get ourselves to the top of that mountain." She said, as Ross chuckled heartily, putting his visor up, looking up at the giantess, Natalie's enormous GAU simply insane to see, the .50 cal minigun a sight and a half.
"Well, Major, I can't say we'll have a problem with you and Victor if that's the plan."

------

The fort had been a hard assault, and breaching it alone had been difficult, the whole assault taking a toll. Even Natalie had to stop for a moment, to grab a new ammunition rucksack for her GAU-19, the barrels almost constantly glowing a dulled red-brown from the heat that had gone through it. She watched Victor, the sound of gunfire constant, as she saw him hunker down, and unleash a fury of missiles, blowing apart the building in a multi-layered explosion, that made it seem more insane than it already fucking was. Natalie couldn't deny, her fiancee was a man of

Ross and Jenny used the two Super-Heavies as cover, and were taking points to the side, Ross moving through into a vehicle dump, and pushing through. He took two enemies out with a clean sweep, as Jenny moved around, firing a little more wildly, but to a good sucess. Ross's fire was precise, Jenny's was not, but the result was the same- enemies were killed. Leaving the ramshackle, they headed back out, watching as Natalie turned a corner, swinging the huge GAU onto her side. She drew Athena's Wrath, and arming the harpoon on her left arm, moved around the corner, enemies laying rounds into her, throwing grenades and all. But it was close quarters, and while a pair of SMGs would have worked here, Natalie was more sophisticated than that. She fired the harpoon at the man at the back, then hit retract, half tearing him apart but dragging him and his three friends in, the motor whining as Natalie charged, her war face on beneath her faceplate, before sliding the blade through the three, like they were paperweights.

She roared, turning around and charging one last man, a high swing down onto him, pretty much splitting him into two. She let rip, flames roaring from her behind, as she let the harpoon pull in, watching another group of enemies make their way around. She felt Ross hug against her rucksack, firing on her left flank, so moved forwards, on a smaller street of fire than Victor was on, hitting the barracks hard. She fired it at another, splitting him in the face, as she drew her Deagle from the right hand side of her chestplate, the tether then retracting. It looked surreal, the man almost torn apart as she flew into Natalie's raised boot, a messy sight to see, her beautifully black armour at this point covered in blood, dust and guts. She took shots at two men on a rooftop, almost running away in fear, no longer firing, as she put a plurality of rounds into them, puncturing them fast. It was not a pretty sight, but there was zero doubting that Natalie had a little rage pent up inside of her. While she didn't have Victor's warrior blood, and the ability to go on a bloodlusting rage, it looked like she had just made her movements fluid, and relentlessly brutal, with zero thoughts.

She moved back into the way, firing her GAU-19, rounds streaming from the tri-barrelled minigun, as she saw Ross push on, using his M32 to blow apart a part of the left wall of the fort, as Natalie finished up the men on it. The bodycount was high, and Natalie had forgotten hers. It had to be in hundreds now, same with Victor. Moving up to regroup with the rest, her sector was clear, and she knew the other Juggs had raised hell across the entirety of the fort. That was, till the enormous wall came into view.

"Shit!" Natalie yelled, even being forced to take cover behind an overturned and blown apart IFV, as she looked at the rest.
"Artillery is coming in, right?" Jenny called across the comms, as Ross nodded to her, close to her side, peeking the wall.
"Aye, standby. We can't take the wall out, but we can take the mountain holding up. But that is going to be danger close as fuck. We'd need someone to make use of the opening to get us inside too, or else they'd just adjust their position. We'd need someone fucking crazy to charge it." Ross said, interrupting himself, as Natalie roared, moving across, firing her minigun at the top of the position, heavy rounds pinging off her suit, the Russian heavy more exposed than the other Juggs, well, apart from Victor, perhaps.
"You were saying?!" She replied, as Ross chuckled.

"Gotcha. I'll call it in." Ross said, as he moved around, taking out his laser designator, as the comms crackled.
"Vapour, This is Knight Actual, standby for laser designation for 155mm artillery, we need rapid fire, send twelve, over. Danger close to friendlies, but you are cleared for fire mission!" Ross transmitted to the station, as he heard the crackling back.
"Vapour copies, Knight Actual, standby. Repeat your danger close distance, over?"

"We're 200m away from it, but do it! We need the side of this fucking mountain, gone!" Ross sent the message again, knowing that it would be insanely danger close, for that calibre of round and the amount of material it was going to blow apart, but the Captain understood that only the armoured infantry were on point.

"Sending rounds, ETA 45 seconds."
"Rounds complete." The transmission and the wait felt like forever, as Natalie got back into cover, the noise of autocannons tearing apart the cover, loud as hell.
"The fucking mountain is made of steel, I hope your rounds come quick!" Natalie yelled, as she looked across to Victor, giving a simple nod through the helmet, readying her GAU-19 for what was to come next.

When it happened, the rounds that Ross had designated for were precise to about 10m from the laser dot, and did exactly the job they had to do. The sandstone was blasted, and part of the wall began to fall out of it's mounting frame, dust, and hell kicking up. But for Natalie, she knew what to do, and she knew she was with Victor on this one. She emerged from cover, to where she would have been eaten alive by autocannon fire to the max, the rounds not even yet complete, the artillery puncturing the mountainside, enough to throw most men off their feet cleanly, the rockfall raining down to the sides of the fort, and the right flank of the enormous metal wall. Nobody was firing anymore, not the Juggs, not anything, but the noise of 155mm rounds were alone the sole attraction, blasting apart the iron wall's flank, the rock that held it, not the metal. And in that chaos, only two people could even imagine going forwards, not on their asses, but charging into hell. Natalie's body felt like it was liquid, every muscle, every single part of her racing, her heart going through her stomach, and her stomach through her chest, pushing into the gap, the GAU-19 in both hands, knowing that whatever they came across on the other side, it was only herself, and Victor by her side.

[BigPapaBelial]

Victor popped GMG rounds off at the wall from his position. He was a little further outside cover then the rest at the moment. But it's not until Natalie steps out that he does all the way too. Rounds spattering against his suit. A few rounds kicking and cracking off his face plate even. Making himself a big target for the guns to fire on. Couldn't let his fiancee show him up after all. His Mk19 joined the rattle of the GAU with it's raaazt, his own weapon's repeated chung-chung-chung of rounds firing. He listened to the comms in his helmet, "Twelve rounds sound about right." He let out a grunt as a large .50 round slammed into the side of his knee. Throwing his balance off briefly. He was righted a moment later. Looked up and bracketed the gun that he thought had hit him with fire from his GMG.

Meanwhile Carl was bunkered down behind a low stone wall with some of the BlueSword mercs. He grunted as a round whickered off his shoulder plate. That same round would have taken off the arm of the man beside him who ducked with a yelp. Another man down the line called over to him, "Sir! This cover is gonna go soon if those guns keep trying to pick on us." Carl looked over, the wall used to be about 5 feet tall, but had been whittled down to four feet. He grit his teeth, "Right okay." He peeked up and over the wall, not worrying at the moment as the big guns were trained on Victor and Natalie. He spotted another cover point to their nine. And he nodded, "Alright big guns are on the big guys. Smaller guns are still spraying. Up and over the wall and sprint for the cover at just a little beyond nine o clock. I'll cover as best I can." He then got up, and started to blurt rounds up at the top of the wall, sending a few of the men up their diving for cover. The BlueSword quickly got to their feet and beat feet for the new cover. Carl followed them shortly after, thumping into cover just as one of the .50s turned and tried to get some fire on him. He could take those lighter 5.52, 5.56 and 7.62 rounds just fine. But he didn't want to risk that 12mm .50 cal in his armor. He thumped into cover with the rest of the men he was with and rolled his shoulder, "Fuckin' eh this is intense. Fire from here." He ran up to the front, joining Ross and Jenny at the front, just behind Victor and Natalie.

He was just in time for the first of the arty rounds to land. He ducked into cover. Clouds of dust, pulverized stone and pieces of rock as big as his head sailing into the air. A boulder the size of his fists put together hissed by. Victor was out of cover fully and moving right before the last two rounds hit. And was running with Natalie for the wall and the open area on the setting. He slammed his GMG onto his back and drew his gunstock club and a shotgun. Someone would need to get in there quick, take out the shooters quickly, and make room for the rest to approach. And he couldn't think of a better choice then himself and Natalie. He charged in, a warcry streaming from his helmets speaker unit.

He reached the breach and is right behind Natalie. While she ventures in he puts his shoulder to the warped steel and before god and every one bends it even further out. The whirr and sparking of his leg actuators telling in just how much power he has to put in it. He widens the breach a fair bit, maybe another two feet before he turns and joins his shotgun fire with Natalie's fire. Picking off the shell shocked shooters on the wall.

Carl turns and shouts at the BlueSword soldiers, "What's the matter? Feel like living forever? Your Juggernauts are tearing ass. Do your worst. Let's go!" He lead the first group of them forward, and into the breach joining Natalie and Victor inside.

The area just past the wall is all limestone walls, and crushed rock. A natural cave for the most part, until about 500 meters in where it starts looking like there has been a drill and tools applied to it. The floor is less rock and more compressed stone. The walls are reinforced with concrete.

The men on the wall were quickly taken care of once there was a force in behind the wall. And the group were able to move deeper into the cave. It'd be a surprise to find that the cave soon began to spiral down, somehow someone had created a much larger base in there then there should be. As they progressed down they encountered a few small groups of fighters come up and out of the base below. Luckily there is a great deal of cover on the way down, well luckily for one side or the other. It isn't until they had descended almost all the way down INTO the mountain back to ground level that they find they have come across a glass, steel and plastic realm. Looking like a place picked out for some wierd covert video game location.

Victor carefully makes his way into the first room of the high tech almost space age material base warily, "What am I seeing here exactly?" He says this outloud as he slowly scans the area with his shotgun.

[FourtyTwo]

The hell rained through, rock and gunfire, as Natalie charged, side by side with her partner in chaos, her fiancee in ferocity. Victor charged the wall, tearing through metal, as Natalie rushed by him, the sight of a man firing a AK-12 right in Natalie's face nothing. She wasn't to be stopped, the rounds noisy, as the female heavy cleared the man to the floor, a sharp foot to the neck quickly knocking him dead, in the state of the other men charging into the breach. She saw the men on the walls, and already had the GAU-19 raised, the weapon recoiling hard, the rounds heavy, physical, tearing into their position. It echoed, loud as hell, Natalie standing tall and taking their fire, bullets richocheting, the cavernous inside area now getting cleaned the fuck out. They manned mostly RCWS, or remote weapon-station based weaponry that was on the wall, some directly, but they were getting fucked up, as Natalie took them out, the inside well lit, the enormous sandstone-limestone cavern illuminated well. In here, it seemed like the usual terrorist stronghold, now with an enormous hole in the side of it, though further down, a trace could be seen of something weirder.

Natalie stopped, the barrels sizzling hot, as she turned to Victor, looking on at the other giant in the room. This had been a hell of a clearance, as she took her breath back, her HUD clear of enemies inside the enclosure. The place was an absolute mess, the .50 and explosive shotgun rounds had echoed throughout the place, it appeared, with this part of the compound clear.

Ross and Jenny followed on Carl, the rockfall clear, and only intermittent now, with the occasional boulder the size of a car now splintering down the mountainside, though it appeared to be clear of the breach that had been made. The sheer chaos that had been made was visible, as Ross held his Mk48 high, firing accurately at a few stragglers on the walkways above, one whole walkway collapsing as one of the Blue Sword soldiers laced a 40 mike into the support, bringing it down onto a couple more men. Shit, it was a good shot, Ross thought to himself, but the kill count compared to what Natalie alone, or Victor had just done inside here, was miniscule, even if a little dramatic. The two Heavies looked hit hard, and from that charge, Ross could only guess that all hell had rained down inside, as he moved on the flank, the level of rounds that were flying still echoing inside the cavern, but focussed perhaps more on the main attractions in here.
"Tangoes, top walkway!" Ross called out, as Jenny moved behind a set of ammunition crates, the bipod down, laying them out as Ross offered some more accurate fire, the magnifier over the holographic optic, their MMGs perhaps a little muted in comparison to explosive 12 gauge, or blaring .50 cal rounds that seemed to punch bits of the sandstone to dust.

The area was cleared out, as the noise of enemy fire could be heard to tone down, the internal cavern clear, as Natalie and Victor were back on point again. The enormous GAU-19 slung over Natalie's side, impractical for the tighter concrete-lined, and increasingly space-age looking surrounds that they were in, no longer just a natural cave formation, but as if it was dug out, constructed into this. Whatever this was, it looked cutting edge, with strip lighting and clean white and grey surfaces. She drew one of her Deagles in her left hand, a pocket-version of her GAU perhaps, with Athena's Wrath in her right, the arm-mounted harpoon weapon on her left arm, ready to fire. She kept close to Victor, moving slow and steady, any enemies taking a clean shot from the Deagle, and she had magazines to spare. Sweeping through the corridors, Ross and Jenny kept close, ahead of the Blue Sword mercenaries and the rest of the British and American Marines that had now begun to witness the outer chaos inside the fort itself. This place was something else.
"Radio signal is going weird in here. I've got static." Ross said, there being a certain quiet as they moved deep into the mountain, the sound of the earth perhaps audible, and the fighting outside quieter. A silent blaring alarm was going off, the clean metal, plastic and glass surfaces, with numbers everywhere, looking seriously fucking worrying to anyone inside. This was beyond cutting edge, that much they all knew.

"We'll need to use a repeater, or it's a jammer. Either way, if they have enough money for this futuristic shit, they have money to spend for another tunnel system. We need to keep pushing, sweep, and clear. The Task Force should be picking up on us and sending people through to keep relaying signal." Ross said, as Natalie looked back, holding what was basically a sword the size of him in one hand, her enormous carbon-black, blue-visored heavy armour saying all that needed to be said. He had never been able to properly see into Natalie's eyes, given that her helmet from the rear was covered by an enormous neckbrace, and her height was difficult to see. He didn't even know what she really looked like, the visor fully reflecting light, though for a moment, Ross could have sworn he saw a pair of blue eyes beyond the dark blue, reflective, hexagonal-lined polycarbonate-lined nanofluid nose-to-forehead visor, looking icy cold into his eyes. His neck was strained looking up, and he made a mental note to never, ever look there again. He had seen something he just couldn't wire out of his head, from just that momentary stare, he had seen into the eyes of someone who was not messing about, with Victor even more difficult to see up to. He stopped dwelling on it, as they moved through the corridors, taking it in.

"They're regrouping, delaying us, Captain. They know we'd punch through them, it's only a mater of time. Water leaks through any crack in the rock eventually....and that's why we haven't seen any yet. They want to blunt the sharpest point the spearhead when it suits them, not us. Which means they know what we look like, and what to expect. And if they can afford the future, they can afford cameras. Be careful what you ask for, Henderson. We are no longer hunters, we are in the dragon's lair." Natalie replied, looking back once more, staring at the British Captain. He was a firm man, yes, he was brave, and definitely a born leader, knowing his way. It reminded her of herself when she was in the VDV, though back then, she was perhaps a little more terrifying than even he was in armour. She stopped short, hearing Victor's comment.
"Whatever it is, this is money and tech invested heavily. This isn't the Taliban, or any armed force I've seen. It's the Network, for certain." Natalie replied, as she kept her Deagle raised high, in a different hand to what anyone sane would do, let alone being a hand-cannon for usage in one hand alone. Her wrists were tough enough, she reminded herself, giants weren't exactly like normal people. Ross could hear the thorny, knife-cutting tone of Natalie clearly, and knew he couldn't argue with her on that one.

"Aye, eyes open. This material looks like it's implanted into the mountainside, so charges won't collapse the whole fucking temple onto our heads. Just sections." Ross commented, as Natalie stopped at a corner of the corridor, the sight of nothing for so long worrying.
"And that still doesn't help us from several tons of blasted rock. So we are either in a trap, or we are about to be.....everyone, quiet, now....." Natalie added, as she stopped dead on the corner, hearing the echoing noise of soldiers loading up guns, and it sounded heavy. Total silence enveloped the Blue Sword soldiers, Natalie, Victor and the other three Juggernauts, as they only listened out. Not even radio chatter was coming through. Natalie, up against the wall, and looked back to the rest, using the corridor for cover, not even clearing the corner, not even peeking it just yet. Signs on the wall were in Russian and English, in a digitzed font, with the area around the corner pointing to "Server Centre", of some kind, the area that they had just moved through being mostly an armoury, with barracks lined in glass and beds to the side of that. It was high-tech, and felt more and more strange to the sight and feel.

"Blyet, don't even fucking ping anything. This is a choke point, make a fucking noise or movement past me, you die....it's a bear trap. They won't have light calibre weaponry there, it will tear through us like butter. Tanks won't survive it if I think I know what they have." She simply whispered into her comms, knowing that they'd hear, friendlies that is, not the enemy. Natalie thought hard, before looking over at the Canadian Juggernaut, knowing he might have a piece of equipment even her advanced suit wouldn't have. Backscatter was experimental, and even thermal imaging couldn't see through floors. But that could. It seemed strange how Natalie was thinking this through, though clearly, it was a chessmaster's mind at work, her tactical vision able to already see how she'd stop a set of unstoppable armoured soldiers charging in, and seeing that exact moment, before it went to shit. Natalie knew that while Victor was an engineering god, she knew people, she knew frames, and she knew that there was all too good a reason not to charge the corner.

"Lieutenant Cardinal, do you still have your sensors? I need you to look for a dummy floor, and go through it with Brute." She said, knowing it would seem strange, as she looked back across at him, adding on to her statement.
"Because I think they wouldn't build this facility on just one plane into the mountain, as we found going down. It's going to be thinner than the rest, used when they may have built it. If we toss smoke through the corridor where they have the trap, we'll raise their attention on what they think we're going to do, put some grenades and sporadic gunfire. When we're actually going to go under them, and around them with a fractional force. If this is an advanced facility, they'll build more than one way into their server rooms if they lost access at one point, and they shouldn't even hear you coming if we make enough noise. Just do it." Ross looked confused, as he didn't entirely get what the hell this situation entailed. The whole place was lit up strange, it felt clean, polished, bright, and precise, the blood and spent ammo, with bodies everywhere making it only messy, not dust or dirt.
"How the fuck is that meant to work?" He asked bluntly, as Natalie turned back on him, staring down at him, popping her visor for just a second. Ross was terrified earlier. Her face was beautiful, clearly, but she had a fire to her eyes that he didn't even think he could handle, something that had done insanity, and walked through it with middle fingers raised.

"Because it's how I'd frag a whole platoon of armoured soldiers, and built an advanced complex meant to funnel technologically inferior forces unknowingly. It's why this is better defended than a giant steel wall. You can't level this place....but you always need to design for fuck-ups." She said, walking up close, her stare cold at Ross. She did like the Captain, but felt sometimes like she was already a leap abound ahead in how this was going to work. Even if it didn't, there was another route through, anther pressure point, that they could use to outflank or relieve pressure, divert or divulge the enemy's trap.

[BigPapaBelial]

Carl and the small group of BlueSword soldiers who had by now permanently attached to him for this operation moved in behind Victor and Natalie. Helping to clear the way. As they descended he directed the soldiers into cover points, making sure their way forward is covered. He jumps along belong behind the leading elements carefully, also making sure Ross and Jenny are covered.

It’s when the plastic, carbon fiber and light but strong metals that he gets a little out of sorts, “Are we in like Call of Duty or something here? This can’t be real can it?” He inched further along having fallen in with Jenny and Ross, the BlueSword soldiers taking up the rear. He murmured, “I don’t like this…just want that to go on record Cap.” He took cover against a wall when they came to their first major room. And was about to proceed past the choke point to act as point when Natalie began to run off what she could see. He stopped. Just a meter behind her and Victor. And went to a knee, “Heavy stuff. 50s, 40mm, autocannons, yeah this section is likely to cut us to bits.” He motions to his little buddy command, letting them know to secure the rear, and let no one flank them if they can manage it.

Victor knelt down just behind Natalie, looking past her and murmuring, “Tewake’nikòn:rhare…Concerning. That this Network, would go to so much trouble. Did they know that we would be called? The Juggernauts I mean? They must have known. Even for large force like the Task Force, they would not need the weaponry they will have here. That’s even assuming the Taskforce could have made it this far. So the Network knew we’d be here. Knew we’d find a way in, and knew they would have to try and take care of us.” He nodded, “It’s a little off-putting isn’t it? To know there are groups who are actually gearing up to combat us.” Though everyone could hear the smile in his voice as he said it, as if that fact excited him.

Carl spent some time reloading his M249 then looks up sharply at Natalie when she mentioned his scanner, “My scanner? Oh my Backscatter? Yeah.” He took another step forward then pulled his monocular down. Setting it to his faceplate. Then hitting a small button on the side of it twice. The lens on the front going from Silver, to green then finally a blazing white. He scanned about to get his bearings. Purposefully looking at Jenny, then at Natalie then finally at of all people Ross. A big grin behind his face plate, “It works. Backscatter Xray…you’re fucking built by the way Major. Your fiancée is lucky.” He ducked as Victor reached out to try and cuff him, “It’s a compliment! Come on!” He stepped forward and around Victor and Natalie, getting cuffed on the back of the head anyway by the larger first nations man once he does. He grunts then sets to scanning the area. After abit he takes a few steps to their left, and pats the wall. “Right here. It’s about an inch thick. Plastic and Carbon fiber if I’m reading the scan off this. A fraction in comparison to all the other walls. I think you’re right Major. There’s an entire other section behind this.” He motions to one of the BlueSword soldiers, “Breaching charge.” The soldier digs into his pouch then tosses the charge to Carl.

Victor steps back abit as Carl catches the breaching charge. One of those nice little thermite rope charges rather then a shaped charge. He uncoils the rope of Thermite and applies it to the wall, making sure the hole that it will create will be large enough to fit anyone who goes through it. Once it’s all applied he takes two steps left and holds up the detonator, “Breaching.” A click and the thermite begins to hiss, burning through the wall quickly, then a small charge blowing the hunk of wall inwards. A surprised gasp sounding from within, and someone screaming about something getting on them. Carl gives a nod to Victor. Who tosses smoke down the hall to cover their movements. Then leading the way goes through the wall and down the steps on the other side. Carl slipping through a second later.

The steps took them down then back around and into a chamber just below the warren of hallways above them. By the time Carl got down, the crunk crunk crunk of Victor’s shotguns were already going. He came out onto a landing and observed the mass of soldiers and mercenaries. A short way down was another stairs that likely lead up into the kill zone for the hall the rest of the unit was waiting. Carl ran forward mounting his LMG on the railing. And began to fire, chasing the fighters out of the room below. Victor took a few running steps and was down into the remains of them a second later, his shotguns swinging on their tethers as he brought out his rifle club. Batting fighters away like so many dolls. Carl in the meantime opened fire on the stairs up to the kill room as the fighters in there came running down to see what was going on.

It was over in a few moments. The fighters either running into other parts of the base. Or lying dead thanks to the pair. Victor was checking the bodies to make sure none of them were faking, and applying the Mercy kills to those who were dying. Carl in the meantime roamed the room looking at the arsenal. It’s there he finds a strange set up. A pillar covered in dishes and emitters. And a large bank of computers nearby with wires leading from the computers to the pillar. He hrmed. Then took a step back, pulled his Carl G off his back, made sure it’s loaded then put a HEDP round into the base of the pillar and the computer banks.

There’s a short squeal then all communications comes back. The Taskforce outside reporting they had cleared the fort of any remaining elements. A secondary group saying they had a hidden exit at the south side of the mountain bottled up. Carl grins, and cues into Natalie and Ross’ channels jointly, “Major, Captain! Killzone is clear. There’s a fucking arsenal down here. I found and destroyed a Jammer down here too. You may notice that comms are back up.”

Somewhere deeper down in the mountain a quartet of figures watched the CCTV monitors of the mountain base. Three of them already panicing. The fourth though, dressed in a dark charcoal grey body suit under a black robe with a burnt earth brown hajib on hrms softly, “Run. Try and run anyway. All exits appear to be covered. I will die here with honor.” She grabs a long curved gleaming scimitar off a table beside her and disappears out a side door. As she goes the other three, the leaders of this group can hear her say, “I may die here. But I intend to make the fight hurt for them all. Zarai bint Zara stalks again.” The other three began to frantically attempt to gather items they would need to survive or rebuild the group in the future.

[FourtyTwo]

"That's why we're good at this shit, mon cherie." Natalie's Russian hardness never, ever melted, but underneath that, you could almost imagine that inside that suit, was a red-dress wearing femme fatale, from Paris, the blood that ran through her veins sometimes coming out, replying to Victor, and that hidden excitement he had. It was fucked up, but somehow, knowing that they were in the heart of darkness, raising hell, was what made it what it was. Ross and Jenny could only look on, a little bemused, at how the two interacted, as Ross turned to Carl.
"Neither do I. But we're in the heart of hell now, and someone's got to go and confront the demons inside." Ross simply replied, putting his visor up momentarily, clearing the sweat from his brow, as he put it back down, watching as Victor and Carl looked around. For a moment, he didn't understand why he was looking back....and how it almost turned ugly, the noise of Natalie's equipment and suit turning around almost 180, almost like a rhino at Carl, before Victor was already first. She stayed quiet and stopped dead in her carbon-fiber-titanium hitting tracks, as Victor loomed over Carl, making the poor fucking guy probably shit himself, she thought. Well, if he wanted to admire her body, she'd give him that.
"I'd prefer you didn't use that scanner on me, Lieutenant. Or you're going to be looking at one soon of your own broken bones. Be lucky there's a fellow First Nations between me and you who understands too.....or you'll forget that flesh you saw faster than you think." She was cold, the ice that could be heard through the comms clear as day and yet a little with laughter at the end, as she turned, looking at the other female operator of the team, who looked like for a second, had just kinda had everything that needed to be said about the subject by Natalie, Jenny only nodding out of a scared respect. She didn't like being a bitch, but hot damn, if it wasn't fun sometimes.
"Too much? Sorry, I can't help it....but you should totally get one. Or a camera inside for you? Don't want you losing your mind in there though...." She said over the private comms line with Victor, chuckling a little, as she turned back to the corner, and the other troops that were holding the point, watching, waiting, if something would change.

As Victor and Carl moved through the alley, the noise of gunfire being heard, the soldiers on the defensive point waited. Natalie span up the GAU-19, as Ross moved behind, chambering a round, Natalie looking back.
"Ready?" She said, visor open still, as she locked it shut. With it, Natalie, like a bear of some kind, hauled the tri-barreled gun into her two sturdy gauntleted hands, and readied herself. Then, the noise of shots could be heard in the hall. She moved around, into the smoking fire, and stood still for only a second, to open up.

Whatever was left was torn apart, .50 rounds bludgoning the rest of the soldiers, the 7.62mm rounds that the other men were firing down range having little effect, as they pushed through. Natalie and Ross pushed forwards, Ross taking out a couple as Natalie hosed down the group that were on the defense, Natalie providing suppression fire as Ross and Jenny ran over the battlement, as the anarchy began. Natalie moved forwards, and moved quickly over the battlement, as Ross, Jenny and the rest of the soldiers provided cover fire, and they began to sweep, clear, and rush into the very veins of the inner compound. The noise of Carl's HEDP could be heard, blowing apart the computer servers, the lights cutting for a second, before coming back online, the whole mountain feeling like it was being blasted apart in times when there was a loud explosion, even though they were deep inside now. As mad as it was, Natalie knew that it was people like herself and Victor that embraced the chaos, and fought through it. Perhaps Ross and the others would see less to that.

"Good to hear, Lieutenant. We'll regroup further down, there should be a command centre in here. We can meet there." With that, Natalie led the way, heading deeper into the mountain, over the piles of bodies, and blood that lined the plastic floor, the place a mess, that for certain. They headed through the corridors, towards the apex of the base's last usefulness. The others were staying back, leaving Natalie, Ross and Jenny to sweep ahead with a smaller team than they set out with, headed to the command area of this high-tech base, a stark contrast to the 1800s fort outside, this being pulled from what felt like the future. They had no idea of Zara, none yet whatsoever.

[BigPapaBelial]

It started quietly. Victor and Carl had relinked up with the main force and they started making their way deeper into the installation. Small groups of fighters were encountered, fighting to protect their leaders deeper down inside the mountain. So when a BlueSword merc went missing, no one immediately noticed. In the act of clearing a room, and Carl backscattering the room to make sure there were no surprises. IT was then, that the man vanished, no one heard the slide of steel hissing from a scabbard. No one saw the curved scimitar blade whipping out. The lash of the blade across the man's chest, the honed steel whispered through the mans vest and cut him open, just a few drops of blood landing on the floor. And somehow the petite woman carried the body out of sight.

It wasn't immediately apparent they had lost one, until they had lost about seven of the mercs. Carl turned to his little group of mercenary buddies who had attached themselves to him and was about to ask for a volunteer to take point on the next part when he quickly counted them. Narrowing his eyes. He asked quietly, "Where's Olez? And Navez?" he took a headcount. Then cued into his helmet mic so he's not speaking aloud and can only be heard by the group, "We may have a problem. We haven't lost anyone to a fire fight since the push into the fort. and I see four missing from my little squad here and I think we maybe another three down in the other squads. I think something's picking us off."

He looked ahead, as Victor, Natalie, Ross and Jenny turned around, and just behind them he saw a small shadow dart away. It was hard to see but it happened, he knew it did. He raised his LMG and was about to fire but Victor stepped in the way to see what he had saw. He swore softly, "It's quick that's for sure. If we kept moving past that point it would have jumped someone else." He turned his backscatter on really quickly to see if he could get an image of who ever just run off. But it was too little too late, "Fuck...okay if you have heat vision or something on your visors turn it on and scan every little nook and cranny we come across. Don't want to step on the officers toes, but we need to be watchful now." One of the mercs moved forward. And the only warning the juggernauts got was a tick and whirring sound before a near invisible set of wires hissed up, and bisected the merc into two pieces. Even Victor took a step back from that one.

Further into the mountain Zara growled, the Lieutenant had been observant. She hadn't set up anything big enough to hurt or kill one of the giants. She only had the time to string a pair of wires up before he had spotted the damage she had done. If he had been a little slower she might have been able to set something up to harm one of the giants. Put one of them out of commission perhaps. But it was not to be. At the moment she was putting together something that would seperate the heavily armored soldiers, the Juggernauts, from the lesser peons. She could deal with the lesser soldiers at her leisure once the heavy ones were done with. she looked at the passage into the room she's in. A wide and long room, barely lit. Perfect for her style of quick hit and run melee tactics. She tied off one last wire. Then disappeared into the shadows.

The Juggernauts lead the way. They were down deep now. likely in the very center of the mountain by now. It's Victor in the lead, shotgun loaded and facing forward. Followed close by Natalie just behind him with Ross, Carl and Jenny just a step behind them. Carl was facing behind them, as much watching the Mercs as he was watching their six. So he almost came face to face with the trap that is set for them. There's a click as someone in front of him trips something. And he jumps backwards, thumping against Ross, pushing him forward against Natalie's ass. And it's a damn good thing he did as the roof slab of the tunnel entrance into the large dark room swings down and a few tons of stone slam down behind it.

Victor turns, a light cannon on his helmet blazing into light, highlighting the collapse. Carl steadies himself, murmuring an apology to his commanding officer. Then turns his backscatter xray on. Getting a pulse quickly, "We just walked into a trap didn't we?" There's a burst of static when the ranking NCO in the mercs calls forward, "Path is blocked. We'll see if we can find a way around. Stay alive!" Carl scans about carefully. Reading the pulses from his backscatter, "I want to go on record that I don't like this." Exercising his right to gripe.

It's faint though but atleast Natalie and Jenny would be able to hear a faint hiss. It's not gas, or air. It's the hiss someone makes when they want to appear menacing. The voice that the person makes is strangely disembodied, "I have you now. I am Zara daughter of Zara. Your deaths are mine to give."

Victor nods, "Okay...this ought to be fun." He swings his light cannon around, that high power flashlight scanning the room, where it doesn't reach there are still deep pools of darkness. The pillars around the room also casting deep shadows and pools of darkness. Carl hrms, "Well...I don't want to sound like an utter nerd...but I think we stumbled into a boss fight somehow..." He makes a quick brass check to make sure he's loaded. And keeps his backscatter going as he scans the room, following the path of Victors high power flashlight.

[FourtyTwo]

"Shit!" Ross called out, as Jenny looked around, all flashlights on, no NVGs used right now, not in this environment, it was dusty and difficult to see. Natalie felt Ross and Carl go into her, as the stone crashed down. Victor's huge light beam poked out, as Natalie heard the murmour of apology, seeing Ross and Carl scatter around, as she came in close. The beam on, it lit up, as she slung her GAU-19 to her side, knowing it was of no use in here. She's faster gun her own people apart than whatever the fuck it was, because it was moving quickly. Rucksack against Victor's side, she looked at him, not into the light as best as she could, as she changed the filter on her HUD. The thermal imaging was state of the art, but whoever she was, her robes were thermally blanketing, or at least, she thought to herself, was going to be if she couldn't see right now. Pulling the blade from her side, she looked back, sliding one of her Deagles out into her left hand, flicking the blade around in her right hand.

"Okay, I suggest everyone calm the fuck down." Natalie's voice was stern, hard, harsh to address Carl's concern, as the noise of movement could be heard. The blurs of vision could be seen, as Natalie gulped, Ross moving through, lights on, sweeping where Victor's giant beam didn't.
"There's one of them, and six of us. I still do not like our odds...." Ross commented, as he moved through, slowly looking about, the cavern less of the technological wonder, and more the interior, tall cave network that it was. It was a huge cavern, it was very high, and felt like a cathedral.
"It won't work better with five, blyet. Quiet." Natalie kept her sword raised, knowing that rather than have a weapon, she'd want something up close if whoever the fuck this was, came close. Stopping her movement, Natalie felt something. She turned, the gentle thermal signature sliding around, as she fired a round into the black, slamming a rock apart. as the team froze. Natalie stood ardent, looking at Victor, before looking around, realising she had't carried on her trajectory.
"Everyone, stop your fucking movement, now." Again, Natalie didn't really see this as a boss fight, but as a tight and difficult place to be. Her suit's cooling mechanism had almost entirely conked out due to the intense heat and length of the battle, as Ross moved back. Blurs came up, as Zara seemed to dart in, and out of image. And Natalie felt like something was going on. They were being wrapped up. And right now, Natalie was further from anyone than she wanted to be.

[BigPapaBelial]

Victor turned slowly on the spot, scanning the room. As he did Carl reached up and placed his hand on the giants shoulder, "Hold on man..." He took a step forward, pulling out his combat knife, reaching forward and set the blade against a strange line of light that just seemed to run wrong as it passed in front of them. As he touched the line with his blade a snap-hiss cracked out. And the tip of Carl's knife sheered off as that line, which appeared to be a taut line of thin steel wire snapped away, causing a pillar nearby to produce a deep, thin cut appear in it.

It was Victor who said it though, "She's trapped the room." Carl looked at his knife curiously, checking out the almost clean cut on the carbon knife, "And here I thought that only happened in movies." He looked closely, counting the lines that Zara had strung up between these two pillars alone. "Four...five...seven...nine...twelve....eighteen...thirty four..." He chuckled, "I think this trap was meant for someone big like you or Natalie Vic...there are enough filament lines in there to maybe cut you into a few pieces there. If one line cut my knife, who knows what it would have done to you."

Nearby Zara snarled, they had spied one of her traps. She let out a soft bark of annoyance. And didn't see it when Victor began to scan again. The light playing right across where she hid, and silhouetted her for a brief moment. Carl who was following the light, bark, "There!" And without thinking opens fire with his LMG spraying the piece of rock Zara hid behind with round. Zara ducking, cursing and hunkering down even forth when Victor joined in with his shotguns the modified Raufoss rounds punching craters in the stone.

Zara waited, the amount of fire kicking up stone dust clouds and debris, during a particularly thick moment of dust she darted away, making a long loop, and tried to come up on their left. The play of gun fire and spark of muzzle flash making it look like she is moving in slow motion in the darkness as she approached, sword raised high, making a play for the smaller woman. To draw first blood.