War
The dream started with Cayce walking home from the university. It wasn't so much a dream, it was a forced replay of an old memory - a memory from a time when Cayce had loved ones he would call his family.
As he walked home, he neared the last turn. His home was just around the corner. Cayce knew exactly what horror he would find. He had seen this dream, this memory, countless times. He screamed at himself to stop, to look away, to wake up. Anything was better than seeing it again, but he would always continue walking towards that damned corner for what felt like an eternity.
He tried shaking his body from that accursed path. He poured all of his effort into taking control, but his body didn't respond and simply kept walking forward.
That's when he heard it. It was a sound that didn't belong in the memory, a faint whistle from the sky from somewhere far above his head.
He still didn't have control, but his head turned skyward to find the source. The faint sound's intensity grew. The whistle was quickly twisted into a piercing scream, yet he saw nothing above.
"What's going on?"
BOOM!!
An earth-shaking explosion tore Cayce away from his dreams. He could feel the tremors and hear the roar of a nearby building collapsing.
The city was under attack.
Throwing his blanket aside, Cayce immediately dressed himself in one of his combat suits. It was the one he always left ready at the end of his closet in case of an emergency. He then threw on an emergency pack and grabbed his old-age 1911 handgun before running down the stairwell to the underground tunnel system.
Countless bombs shrieked over each other as they fell from above. Tremors shook dust from the roof of the tunnel as he entered the dark passageway. The frequency of the bombs was getting worse. As he ran through the tunnels leading to the hangar, he activated his personal assistant machine to check the state of the city.
It wasn't good. An unknown enemy chose to expend a whole fleet of bomber aircraft in order to cripple the contractor's city.
After the Shattered Star event, the world's greater governments fell apart and the abilities to manufacture, trade and mass produce were severely hindered. However, the rise of mana provided an alternative branch of technology which was easier to develop. This lead the previous generation of weaponry and tools to be known as "old-age" technology since it was no longer cost-effective to repair or fuel such things on a large scale.
This enemy... chose to spend a whole fleet's worth of non-replenishable bombs and fuel to destroy the city.
BOOM!!
An explosion from above burst the roof of the tunnel. Another contractor running slightly ahead of Cayce shouted in surprise as he jumped back and narrowly escaped being crushed under the debris.
"Damn it! What the hell is the city guard doing? The sirens should have been going off by now!"
It was strange. Even if the enemy was using old-age tech, the city still should have seen them coming and sounded the alarm. Something was wrong.
"This way!"
Cayce waved the man over before leading him through another series of tunnels.
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This mission was meant to be fast, but it took time to load armors up into transports. The plan was to wipe out the city guard, sneak in and steal as many armors as possible while crippling what was left of the city.
It was a fairly brutal first-strike, but this city wasn't necessarily special. Actually, it was only one of many targets. These raids all had to happen simultaneously in order to maximize the element of surprise against all enemies. Normally, fighting on many fronts at once was an impossible task, a fool's fantasy. But if they crippled all fronts in one move, then the war would only last a brief moment and the Jelena Alliance would reign supreme.
But still... what were the higher ups thinking? This risk was far too great. If you poke all the hives at once without destroying the hornets, you'll have to run from them all.
Only twelve armored machines with glowing, blue eyes stood guard around the hangar as forklifts drove back and forth, loading the city's armors into various transport vehicles. This number of guards was far too low, but this was all they got since this same mission was happening in so many places at once. Luckily, everything was moving along smoothly.
After the thirty or so transport vehicles were loaded up, they waited for the air raid to end. It wasn't long.
"Alright, it's time to go!"
Five armors stayed behind to delay the city's retaliation while the remaining seven armors escorted the transport vehicles. However, as the line of vehicles crossed over a certain hidden tunnel...
"Hmm?"
Cayce felt something just now, but they were alone in this tunnel. Just a little further, and they could return to the surface near the hangar just outside the city.
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A series of empty notifications lit up the inside of the helmet on the Fallen King's Gladius. However, there was no one inside to read the notifications, so it didn't matter. Two grey eyes ignited and lit up the dark inside of a transport vehicle.
"Hahaha! We're home free! As long as we keep up this pace, this mission will be a success!"
The seven escort armors were laughing with each other, but any experienced combattant should know... The most dangerous part of any mission is the moment you let your guard down.
BANG!!
One of the seven flying escorts suddenly jerked upwards. Something hit in the center of his chest. The lights in the machine's eyes flickered out and after the initial jolt, it went limp. Momentum kept it in the air for a moment, a stream of dark smoke tracing it's path as it began to fall. The others only realized he was dead when the armor hit the ground.
"We're under att-!"
BANG!!
Metal burst from the side of another escort as a heavy mana projectile tore through him. The angle of the shot made him twist in the air and his body began to barrel roll towards the line of vehicles he was meant to protect.
Some of the vehicles tried to swerve away, but only the first four escaped. The spinning armor crashed heavily into the fith transport, causing the remaining vehicles to also crash or remain stuck behind the wreckage.
BANG!!
A third blue-eyed escort was almost destroyed, but he quickly twisted away and was able to avoid the attack just in time.
He had noticed. The soft cover on the back of one of the transports now had three singed holes in it. Someone was shooting them down from inside!
He was filled with adrenaline and began to rain hellfire down on that transport. Using both of his assault class magi-rifles, he tore countless holes into the transport.
"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!"
His raging war cry made the remaining escorts turn and also open fire on the vehicle. Countless masses of blue flames rained down on something that could no longer be seen behind the cloud of smoke and dirt.
Overkill?
Well, yes. It's a typical response to fear, isn't it?
Finally, the raining blue fire ceased. They had spent ungodly amounts of mana to eliminate the threat. Mana was both fuel and ammunition, you had to be careful to balance how you use it. They couldn't afford to waste much more mana.
"Get moving! We need to get out of here now!"
Forests of pine trees stood on either side of the road, it would be impossible for the majority of the vehicles to pass, but the four ahead of the wreckage could still make it out.
BANG!!
... Nevermind.
The cloud of smoke and dust spun in a vortex as another heavy mana projectile plunged forward and tore through both wheels along the right side of the first transport vehicle.
None of the transports would escape.