It was a race of life and death, literally.
- Excerpt from A Peacekeeper's Journey
"All Baseplate One Victors, Maintain dispersion, 40 meters. Speed, 50 kilometers."
"Copy that One Actual."
The convoy rushed out of the town, straight into the fog, until they spotted the insurgents, currently retreating.
"Contact Front, 300 meters, ENGAGE! ENGAGE!"
Enemy troops were marked in Anderson's HUD, allowing him to fire his XM32 rifle accurately at the enemy insurgents. He kept himself silent as he fired burst after burst at the retreating hostiles.
Their convoy sped through the unpaved road like how the cavalry of the old would charge at a routing enemy, as six heavy machine guns and multiple rifles peppered anyone that found themselves in the road.
Still, due to the fog, visibility was low. Still, luckily for them, the insurgents weren't using magical cloaking devices that hid their IR signatures, allowing the convoy to target anyone on their path accurately.
"Baseplate One, this is Baseplate One Actual. Keep cover fire in the right flank. Break, all Victors, we are turning right, over."
"Copy One Actual."
The group of Hemlats turned right as they passed through the middle of two hills. Blake turned the turret to the left, keeping the HMG fire at whatever signature he could see, letting down an unrelenting torrent of lead at the enemy.
"Put lead on those goddamned Romeo fucks, DIE MOTHERFUCKERS!" One machine gunner shouted as he kept firing his gun.
But the insurgents were responding as gunfire began hitting the armor of their Hemlat, forcing Blake to duck a bit, causing the accuracy of his fire to plummet.
"Shit, we're getting hit!" He shouted.
They began turning left, bit by bit, as the road turned like a semi-circle, causing them to slow down a tiny bit. Still, they were going fast, decently fast, and they were passing through squad after squad on the side of the road.
"Smoke those Romeo fuckers on the left side, bearing 3 o'clock, 50 meters away! They're laying down HMG fire on us."
Suddenly, a shot entered the passenger area of the Hemlat through Anderson. While he wasn't hit, the bullet went straight to a digital screen that showed the speed they were going on the car's roof.
"OH GODDESS!" Sherry shrieked in shock, shouting out the name of the holy goddess of every Lethians in vain as the vehicle suddenly turned right. "I WISH I PRACTICED MAKING MAGIC SHIELDS!"
"Yeah, you really should have!" Anderson said as he reloaded his rifle, putting in another 30-round magazine before firing his gun once again at the enemy.
They continued their mad rush west as bullets were exchanged between both sides. While the Draconic guerillas suffered severe casualties, rear echelon Demon Knights formed hastily created ambush positions in their former staging grounds.
And now, Baseplate One is rushing like hell toward it. Dust and fog mixed in the air as the heavy-duty tires of the Hemlats drove through the unpaved road, the sounds of endless automatic gunfire filling the air as the convoy neared the bridge.
"Centaur, this is Baseplate One Actual. We are now moving to the bridge, over."
"Copy that Baseplate One Actual, Bravo Four and Two is ready for fire support. How copy?"
Lieutenant Jones watched the silhouettes of the Demon Knights form up as they neared the bridge. He hopes that luck is on his side. He speaks at the BatNet while they are 1000 meters away.
"We read you loud and clear. Bravo Four, this is Baseplate One Actual, requesting fire support at Grid Alpha-Bravo-Two-Eight-Niner-Six-Fife-Niner, over."
"Grid Alpha-Bravo-Two-Eight-Niner-Six-Fife-Niner, out."
"Approximately Two Platoons in softcover, we are danger close, over."
"Copy that, loading and firing High Explosive, over."
"I hope that doesn't blow the bridge." The Lieutenant said as he returned to firing his rifle in the hostiles at the road as they approached the bridge 700 meters away.
"YEAH, NO SHIT, EL-TEE." His driver replied as he kept the vehicle on the road, ducking a bit in instinct as bullets slammed into their Hemlat.
Two distant roars erupted from the town, announcing that the artillery fired its guns.
"Shot, over."
Lieutenant Jones paused from firing his gun and replied to the FDC.
"Shot, out."
Katelyn slapped another clip on her rifle and then began firing her rifle once more. It was pitiful, she thought, at how much ammunition the humans were wasting in their mad dash.
Using her magic, she can spot practically all hostiles around them in a two-kilometer radius even with the fog. And she can see clearly that while the humans were hitting many Teratan forces, many bullets were hitting nothing except for trees, rocks, or the soil.
And so, she resigned herself to shooting important things accurately, like that dragon knight shooting his rifle probably 400 meters away on their right, hiding behind a rock. Charging her rifle a bit, causing a purple glow, she pulled the trigger, and the Knight's head exploded.
"THAT'S HOW YOU SHOOT, YOU FOOLISH HUMANS!" She shouted pridefully while Anderson was struggling to hit anything on the move.
"NOT EVERYONE HAS MAGIC, GIRL!" He replied back. He's not a sharpshooter, he told himself; his job is just to shoot in the enemy's general direction. It was alright, he thought, to be already down three magazines in the span of minutes.
She merely growled in response and fired her rifle once more as two explosions suddenly engulfed enemy positions near the bridge they were supposed to cross, 400 meters away.
"HOLY SHIT, DID THEY BLOW OFF THE BRIDGE?!" Anderson asked, turning his head towards the direction of the bridge.
"NO, THEY DIDN'T," Reynolds replied, keeping his hands tightly on the steering wheel, his eyes deathly focused on the road.
"THANK FUCKIN GOD," Jeremy said, still firing his rifles on the side.
"All Baseplate One Victors, maintain dispersion. I say again, maintain dispersion, we are about to cross the bridge, and I do not want fuckups!"
"Roger that One Actual."
The Hemlats sped further, and soon the leading vehicle of Lieutenant Jones reached the bridge, causing it to glow as the Resistance focused their fire at the bridge.
"ALRIGHT, HERE WE GO, WE ARE CROSSING!" Reynolds shouted while Anderson stopped firing and turned his head forward to see the bridge before turning to check Sherry.
She is currently frozen stiff as she watches the carnage unfold.
"Sherry, are you alright?" Asks Anderson, and then they reached the glowing bridge - and then gunfire began hitting their vehicle from all directions, causing Sherry to scream girlishly.
"I AM ALRIGHT. EVERYTHING IS ABSOLUTELY ALRIGHT!!!!"
The Hemlat sped through the bridge, closely following Lieutenant Jones' lead Hemlat. One by one, they passed through the bridge, then passed through the bombed-out positions of the Demon Knight platoons.
"Dayum dawg, them arty smoked a ton of Romeos today!" The gunner of the last Hemlat shouted in glee as they passed through the bridge before returning to firing his machine gun.
"One-Actual, this is One-Six, crossing succesful, over."
"Copy that One-Six. All Victors maintain formation. Let's get the fuck out of here, over."
The group continued to rush under fire, demonstrating their utter determination to push forward as the Teratans threw everything they had at them.
More moments passed as they drove through the road, making multiple turns, but never stopping, only breaking when slowing down to turn. Their machine guns only turned silent during reloads, but otherwise, the sound of the .50 cals didn't stop as they fired their machine guns in all directions, keeping the Teratans at bay.
In moments, they neared the part of the road where they would split.
"All Baseplate One Victors, we are about to split up, over."
"Copy that One Actual."
The convoy began splitting, but then, the gunfire coming from the road going down south intensified, and one of the Hemlats was suddenly hit in its turret by the fast railgun-like shot that happened earlier.
The convoy stopped and began firing in the southern direction to cover the stunned Hemlat.
"MAN DOWN! MAN DOWN! This is Baseplate One-Six. WE HAVE A MAN DOWN!"
Reynolds pressed the break as Blake turned the turret to the direction of the shot, laying down .50 cal gunfire in its general direction. The other Hemlats behind them did the same and began giving Lieutenant Jones' group support fire.
"What the hell, man!" Jeremy shouted, already a little bit panicked.
"Calm the fuck down," Reynolds said as he contacted the other vehicle.
"One-Six, what's your status?"
"Bad, half of Eric is fucking vaporized. He's fucking dead. I think the shot rattled some sensitive electronics of our Hemlat. Our IR sensors are down. Well, our turret is fucked by all measures."
Lieutenant Jones' voice came in the BatNet. "One-Six, can you still move?"
The response was immediate.
"Yes, El-tee, we can still move."
Jones looked in the direction they were about to charge and realized it was already too defended. And they were currently stationary, getting pinned by small arms fire and HMG fire. He needed to make a decision.
"Centaur, this is Baseplate One Actual, requesting to deviate from the original mission. Returning to Tria seems infeasible. Heavy Romeo resistance down south, over."
There was a momentary silence over the comms as the convoy continued fighting for their collective lives until the familiar voice of Captain Santos spoke.
"This is Centaur Actual speaking, we already received enough intel from your actions, and you seem to have disrupted them. You are all green to go to Kloch. Godspeed to all of you, out."
The BatNet of Baseplate One changed into platoon-level comms, where Lieutenant Jones ordered the two other Hemlats to back off while his vehicle followed the retreat.
The three rejoined Sergeant Reynold's group, and immediately, the Lieutenant's voice came again.
"All Baseplate One Victors, we're Oscar Mike. Destination: Kloch. Let's get the fuck out of here, over."
Reynolds stepped on the accelerator, and his Hemlat surged forward, followed by the rest of Baseplate One, all still firing their guns at their rear, except for the badly damaged One-Six.
Soon, Anderson, Jeremy, and Katelyn stopped firing their rifles as they drove off away from Tria and away from the insurgents.
Katelyn let out a breath she was holding for the duration of the battle, her hands slightly shaking from the fatigue. She also noticed the group had gone silent. Their "BatNet" stopped its endless chatter while the squad she was with was also quiet.
No one spoke as they drove through the fog. As the sounds of close gunfire turned into distant gunfire, the convoy continued their mad dash, but for now, they stayed silent.
Minutes of silent driving lasted, and already, they were kilometers away from Tria, yet the skies were still red, and the fog was still there. Until it slowly dissipated, and the skies slowly turned blue.
It was as if they were leaving hell. Suddenly, Anderson exhaled loudly and broke the silence.
"What the hell did just happen?"
"Oi, what the hell, man? Why'd you break the mood?" Someone from another vehicle groaned loudly, fully awakening the dumb chatter in the platoon until Jones broke it.
"Alright, shut up, everyone. All Baseplate One Victors, increase speed to 70 kilometers, but maintain 50-meter dispersion, over."
"Roger that, One Actual."
The convoy sped up as they now drove through the Alterian countryside while the sun began rising. Still, they were all tired from hours of zero sleep and combat. Then, their adrenaline began waning. Thus, it was unsurprising when Blake suddenly began whining.
"Jeeesus, I wanna take a sit. Jeremy, can I please take a seat?" He requested, which Jeremy immediately denied.
"Nah, keep standing there, you jerk. You didn't shoot enough."
"Wha? My machine gun is literally overheated. Hey, let me have a sit. Oh, come on, why did this have to happen to me." Blake continued whining before suddenly targeting Katelyn, which was a dumb mistake.
"Katelyn, why did you have to steal my seat anyways? How about you stand here?" The dumbass asked, and immediately an offended response arrived.
"HOW DARE YOU ADDRESS ME THAT WAY, YOU SLIMY FOOTSOLDIER! AS A PUNISHMENT, YOU ARE TO STAND THERE AND DO YOUR JOB!" The irritated lady replied, which made Blake back off in defeat.
"Fine, fine, sorry ma'am, didn't mean it. I'm zipping my lips now," Blake replied and simply resigned to standing. Well, he was the gunner anyways; he coped. Katelyn merely gave a "Hmph" in response and looked at the side, specifically at the Alterian countryside they were passing through.
"Ugh, Ladies, man, even in another world." Blake groaned as he turned the turret forward and leaned his back to relax a bit.
"I think big sis is just a bit of a meanie," Sherry said, attempting to disprove Blake's statement, to which Anderson readily agreed.
"Yep, she's a bit of a meanie."
"Can you all stop talking behind my back?" The Lethian aristocrat hissed, irritated at the group's antics.
Jeremy merely sighed in the front as he placed his rifle to his side.
"Well, at least we survived that shit." He said as they drove off to their next destination.
...
Hannah growled as she watched the Humans speed away. She didn't expect such a bold and risky move. Many of her troops died, and her plans are now disrupted.
"I guess the timetable will have to be adjusted."
Even then, she felt a sense of respect for the humans. To boldly charge that way was eerily inspiring in a way. Perhaps that's why they decided to travel to the stars.
Still, it was a shame that she didn't position her anti-armor demon knights on the west flank. If a breakout were to happen, she expected it to be on the roads south and north of the city.
But it didn't really matter much; it was just six vehicles that escaped. Much of the territories around them have already been captured by the resistance or abandoned by their comrades. That group would not last long, she mused.
"Hans, I redeploy all of our anti-armor units around the town. I do not want them getting out of the town anymore." She said to her Demon Knight subordinate.
"Oh, and do prepare ambush positions on all roads. Let's remove any possibilities for them to escape before we assault them." She said as the Demon Knight bowed.
"It will be done, milady." He was already about to leave before she spoke again.
"These humans, they are worthy opponents, yes. But, for what they have done to our lands, brutal justice must be served. And this act calls for one."
...
The convoy continued their drive through the vast Alterian countryside for hours, and it was already midday when they stopped in the middle of the road.
Already, Katelyn and Sherry have fallen asleep in their seats - including Jeremy, while Anderson, Blake, and even Reynolds are barely awake.
"Baseplate One, this is Baseplate One Actual, we're taking a small break here. Check yourselves and your vehicles. Let's have a sitrep."
They soon parked themselves on the side of the road as they began leaving their vehicles to check and repair any damaged parts.
Minutes later, Blake and Anderson, are trying to remove their M2A8 Browning's overheated - and damaged barrel.
"Blake, how'd you even break this thing?" Anderson asked as he assisted him, the machine gunner merely shrugging in response.
"Too many targets."
Jeremy soon walked from the back of their Hemlat and delivered a new barrel for them as Anderson handed the worn-out barrel to him.
"Geez, Blake, have some trigger discipline. I bet you spray and prayed this shit to oblivion." Jeremy said in a mocking tone.
"Shut up, asshole. You told me to shoot more. Well, there you go."
"I didn't tell you to break the gun."
"Yeah yeah, whatever, asshole."
"CAN YOU LOUD MORONS SHUT YOUR MOUTHS!? People are sleeping!" An angry shout emanated from the inside of the Hemlat, that being an irritated and awake Katelyn.
"Shit, I forgot we're with a cranky aristocrat."
Anderson merely chuckled. "Yeah, never forget about that one."
Lieutenant Jones, Sergeant Reynolds, and other NCOs of Baseplate One platoon stood in front of the hood of Lieutenant Jones' Hemlat, a large map placed on it.
"We are here. That's about 20 kilometers to Kloch. But the roads are not straight, and it seems like we have to pass through four villages and a forest here." Lieutenant Jones ended.
"Can, can we bypass those villages?" Staff Sergeant Trombley of Baseplate One-Three asked.
"Depends on whether they are insurgent-controlled or not," Jones replied. "We don't really have many choices except if you want to go back to Tria."
"Is our long-range comms still down?" Sergeant Reynolds inquired, hoping they could somehow re-establish communications with the 18th.
"Nope, still nothing but static. Only short-range comms are working. I don't understand it either." Lieutenant Jones replied, his hands then pointing at Kloch.
"And we don't even know if any elements of the 18th are at Kloch." He added uneasily. A gush of wind blew at the group of officers, slightly moving the map to the side.
"Well, let's hope they are still there then," Reynolds said as they all stared at the town of Kloch.
Word Context
Baseplate One - Callsign of Lieutenant Jones' platoon.
Baseplate One Actual - Callsign of Lieutenant Jones himself.
Victors - "Vehicles."
Romeo/Romeos - From the name of the Alterian Resistance (The Resistance) or Tango Romeo for UN forces, Romeo became a popular slang to refer to Alterian - and later other Esuvian anti-UN rebels.
Oscar Mike - "On the Move."
El-Tee - Informal for Lieutenant.
XM32 Rifle - Standard issue rifle of the UNDF and the UNPC since the 2070s, chambered at 6.8x51mm.
M2A8 Browning - The 2050 variant of the more than century-old M2 Browning, the M2A8 is designed for the same purpose but upgraded to work optimally in extraterrestrial environments.
