Interlude - A Modern Type Of Warfare Part One

Pop, Pop, PopPOPPOPPOP!

"Push through the ruined town, damnit! Don't give them a second to breathe!"

"Corvettes inbound from the northeast! Prepare yourselves for their payload!"

"Klaxons! Klaxons! Klaxons burning their way through the eastern wall! We need support!"

Sounds of gunfire, mixed with the occasional sound of an explosion tore through the air.

Heavy blankets of thick smoke covered parts of the battlefield, obscuring the vision of enemy soldiers and providing concealment for the allied forces.

Allied fighters streamed left and right, using trenches dug within the earth as protection from incoming mortar shells and air to surface missiles dropped by Corvettes as they screamed past overhead, cutting a fierce figure through the sky.

Screams of other soldiers through the communications network failed to cease. Everyone was trying to give situation updates and request additional aid for the situation they or their squad was facing off with.

BBRRRRRTTTTTTTT!

An Alliance Hawke aircraft thundered overhead, unleashing a torrent of rounds on the enemy Insurrectionist encampment only some two hundred meters away.

"Hot! Watch your skin! The stuff burns something shocking!"

Spent shells rained down on the allied forces below it, forced to cover their heads with arms and protect themselves from the hot metal.

BOOOMM!

"Look oouuuuttt! Find covveerrrr!"

As if it were thunder announcing an incoming storm bearing lightning, the Hawke jerked sharply backward at the explosive hit to its nose from a surface to air missile.

The explosion tore open the cockpit and exposed what remained of the hardware and electronics within, as bits of burning debris fell groundward.

Losing power and without a pilot who had been disintegrated by the impact, the Hawke spun in circles and spiraled to the ground out of control, landing with a heavy crash that shook the earth.

A secondary explosion from its impact wiped out several allied soldiers who had desperately tried to avoid the wreckage but weren't quick enough.

Ducking her head as a rocket-propelled grenade flew by and crashed into a Florianz that was striding up behind her, Annabelle felt the rush of hot air kiss her neck from the resultant fireball.

The allied heavy support was a mechanical walker that was supposed to provide support via its heavy armor and guns.

With four legs that could clamber over obstacles and two Gatling guns mounted at its front, the operator inside was able to lay a withering amount of firepower down. In addition to the Gatling guns, it was armed with two Bullpup missiles that also spat shrapnel upon detonation.

Not that it had been much help on this occasion.

Taken out by a lone rocket-propelled grenade.

So much for that heavy armor.

Pathetic.

"Seriously, so stupid. What an idiot. If you're gonna drive that rig then you better know how to use it!"

One lone girl muttered to herself, pushing up against a sandbag that offered protection from the incoming rounds spat by a machine gun strafing the field between them.

"So many noobs today… Ugh! Knew I should've jumped the lobby when I had the chance. I'm gonna drop a ranking at this rate."

Lining up an enemy Insurrectionist with her Mark IV Field Rifle, she let off successive shots that put them down and knocked them out of contention.

Gaining experience points through the kill, she dumped the spent magazine and reloaded a fresh one, readying herself to push onwards.

"We're so freaking close! Just one more push and we'll be there!"

An Alliance fighter sidled up beside her, bleeding from his forehead.

"Yeah, except that J squad is doing sweet eff all and just being used as farming material for the other team. If the other squads don't sort themselves out, we're screwed."

"Yeah, true that! Alright, I'll push through mid while you try and flank them."

"Do you wanna be farmed by that machine gun or are you stupid?"

Annabella glared at her ally, contempt at his stupidity written all over her face.

"Don't worry, I've got a trick up my sleeve."

Flashing a wink at her, he climbed over the trench and ran straight towards the machine gun encampment.

Groaning, she peered over the pile of sandbags just in time to see the front of the gun swivel towards her ally and start spitting hellfire from its muzzle.

"SO MANY NOOBS!"

She yelled to no one in particular, exasperated for being on such a useless team. There always had to be that one guy who wanted to be the hero!

Resigned to her colleague's death, she waited for his corpse to hit the ground, riddled like swiss cheese.

Except that he didn't.

Activating a teal-colored holo-shield that burst into existence from an arm as he ran, the incoming bullets ricocheted from the defensive equipment and bit into the surrounding area instead.

"Oh… Nice!"

Pleasantly surprised, she watched a moment longer as he continued crossing no man's land and dove into the pit housing the gun and its operators.

It wasn't always that a suspected suicide attempt worked out, especially by someone she had thought was being completely reckless.

"Alright, better uphold my part of the plan, can't afford to be shown up after all!"

Running through the trench, she activated her Dash-equipped shoes and doubled her speed.

The piece of equipment was won from a random lottery she participated in and were shoes that doubled her speed when initiated.

Jumping out and sprinting as fast as they would permit, she crossed no man's land and the first enemy trench line, deciding to instead head straight for the command structure of the enemy.

Raking her with gunfire as she approached, the speed at which she traveled was too much for the enemy to track her effectively.

By the time their bullets reached where they had tried to lead with their shots, she was already gone, her after-images bearing the brunt of the rounds.

"You're first!"

Tossing the Mark IV Field Rifle, she withdrew a combat knife from behind her back and leaped at the first Insurrectionist.

"Ah! Damnit!"

Unable to bring his gun up in time to react, slashed a knife through his neck and without breaking her pace, continued to the second one.

"She's too fast! Someone help!"

"Too slow! Damn lag!"

The second one fell just as easily as the first, another helpless victim under her lightning-fast assault.

The current objective for the mission was to locate the Insurrectionists atmospheric force field generator and disable it.

Once that was done, then an orbital bombardment from the Alliance fleet would be able to rain down, laying waste to the last remaining stronghold of the Insurrectionists that remained standing.

That would end the raid for this particular round and secure their victory onwards to the final one.

It's time to mean business... These guys have no idea of what's in store for them, thought Annabelle.

Now that Annabelle could get inside the structure, a small grin began playing upon her lips.

She was capable enough with a firearm, sure, all those years of practice hadn't let her down and she could hold her own when required.

But compared to tight, smalls areas with a knife? Without space for her enemy to maneuver and use space to their advantage?

There was no comparison.

She excelled at close-quarter fighting when armed with a dagger, or in this case, a combat knife.

Methodically cutting a path through the building, the Insurrectionist players could only yell their frustration towards her as they fell.

The game gave an alert with each death, eventually stating things such as "killing spree" and "juggernaut!".

Eventually, she approached the final obstacle between her and the annihilation of the Insurrectionist team.

There was just one problem.

At the end of the long hallway, leading to the completion of the objective and assurance of their victory, stood an obstacle that she couldn't get past.

Two machine guns protected by a fortified barricade and an armored Klaxon, with its Gatling gun mounted on its left arm, were waiting.

That long hallway was a kill zone.

She'd be no better than a rat trapped in a cage if she proceeded down there.

Completely helpless.

"Ugh... What am I gonna do nowww...? This is a problem."

She wasn't equipped with the proper equipment to deal with such a predicament.

During the loadout, being lightweight and speed had been the goal.

She hadn't selected a rocket-propelled grenade launcher or some other heavy weapon because of how cumbersome the weapon would be.

Neither was the thin plated armor she wore going to be of any use against those rounds. They were simply too large.

Not only that, but the Klaxon had its special weapon which would swallow her whole as soon as she drew within its effective range.

Sprinting headlong would only be a suicide charge. Respawning to the respawn point and suffering a time penalty for it was out of the question.

"That doesn't look good."

"Huh?"