Chapter 8

A week after taking the AA gun, the UEN was able to land significant amounts of material and troops to the main operating theater of Trade 301. With the main uranium source of the planet firmly under UEN control once more, it was time to take the next objective: the city of Klagos.

Klagos is a tactically important city. On top of being in the top five most populated urban centers on the planet, it coincidentally was home to a major factory responsible for the production of small arms ammunition intended for both the civilian and military firearms sectors.

It seems the ROM were aware of this importance.

Allen ducked down behind an overturned infantry fighting vehicle, or IFV, as rounds impacted his cover. He and his company were attached to an armored regiment, Hellfire battalion of the 3rd armored brigade of the UEN Colonial Army, as the UEN Colonial Marine Corps lacks their own armored vehicles. They were fighting their way through the outskirts of the city, meeting fierce resistance from the ROM Army.

Unlike with the AA gun, the ROM did not have Human troops guarding the city. Instead, the ROM regiments assigned to the defense of Klagos were all members of the Itphan species, a mammalian alien race with an appearance best described as like bipedal foxes. They were originally comprising a small star nation that only consisted of their own planet and three surrounding systems, but willingly joined the ROM.

Allen wouldn't admit it, but he was relieved. The .event with the AA gun had shaken him a bit, so it was nice to be back to killing some xenos again. A Type 61 main battle tank rolled up next to his position, firing its 125mm main cannon at the top floor of a building housing an enemy sniper roughly 400 meters down the road, totally destroying the position. Were it not for the noise canceling properties of his power armor helmet, Allen might have been deafened.

He flips the radio in his helmet to the channel used by the armored units. "What the hell man?! Are you trying to make me bleed from my ears?!" he yells, not too pleased.

The trooper manning the machine gun on top of the tank turns to reply. "Oh! Hey! Didn't see ya there!" he says in a mocking tone, a smug grin on his face. Due to the cramped nature of tanks, tank crews of the UEN don't wear power armor, instead opting for typical uniforms with open face helmets featuring radios built in.

"Didn't see me? You damn near made me deaf you asses!" yells Allen, waving his arm for punctuation.

"What? You've got noise cancelers in that bucket of yours, you're fine!" yells the machine gunner, a sarcastic tinge in his words.

Allen grunts. Every tanker he's met has been a...unique character. Being in a rolling death machine must do that to a man he supposes.

He flips his radio back to his company frequency, contacting his superior fighting on an adjacent street. "Sergeant Major!" he begins. "The enemy is dug in deep! Any luck on calling in air support?"

He waits several seconds before receiving a reply. "Negative Lance Corporal! High Horse says all air support is tied up! Work with what you got! Out!"

Allen grits his teeth. The hostile troops took care in fortifying this area, and weren't rookies. All he had were two MBTs, one of which was destroyed totally via a buried mine, formerly an IFV that he is now using for cover, and half of Indigo company, the other half going with the sergeant major. He didn't even have Rog with him for medical assistance, since he'd been asked to hold back just behind the battle lines to help deal with the wounded.

He leans up from cover, opening fire on any targets he can see before quickly ducking back down. The tank fired another round at a building housing a machine gun, sending the ROM troops to the next world in an instant. Before Allen can chastise them again, a large plasma blast from an anti-armor launcher slams into the front of the tank, melting away a good chunk of frontal armor. The intense heat radiates from the blast, instantly killing the machine gunner as the front of his body is burned beyond recognition.

'Holy crap!' thinks Allen. Not only could the tanks occupants be in danger, but that tank is crucial to being able to hold down the enemy. He switches his radio back to the tankers frequency. "Are you guys alright?!" he says with agency.

"Our frontal armor is melted and our machine gunner is dead!" yells the tank commander over the comm. "Our engine is ok, but the energy signature of the blast shocked it pretty hard! We'll need a couple minutes to restart it!"

Allen swears under his breath. This could be a major issue. He peeks over his cover, seeing the Itphan Rom troops preparing to counter attack their position, already opening suppressing fire on the units position. Realizing its do or die, he quickly jumps from cover, barely being missed by hostile fire, and climbs onto the tank, picking up and removing the deceased trooper from the machine gun. He gets in the gunners position, pulls back the charging handle on the gun to ensure its ready, and opens fire on the enemy troops about to advance.

The roar of the .50 caliber machine gun echoes across the street as Allen lays down a wall of lead on the xeno soldiers who just a second ago were about to charge their position. The high caliber rounds tear through their armor and dismember them, green blood and limbs littering the sandstone street. Allen grinds his teeth, holding down the trigger with all his might, continuing to fire even as the enemy soldiers begin to fall back from their position, the sight of their comrades being torn asunder driving them to retreat.

By the end of it, at least three dozen xeno corpses...or more accurately, what's left of them litter the street. The barrel of the machine gun glows red hot as empty casings almost obscure the ground next to the tank. Allen was so focused on his actions that he didn't notice one had fallen in between the plates of his armor and slightly burned him through the fiber-muscle suit worn underneath.

After all was said in done, he climbed from the gunners position and looked down into the tank. "You guys alright?" he asked.

The remaining three man crew all look to him before the commander replies. "Yeah, I think we're good." he says. "Thanks for the help. You jarheads aren't half bad at your jobs."

Allen utters a small chuckle.

He flicks his radio on, tuning to his company frequency. "Sergeant Major, Allen here. We took this block, but I think we're gonna need some time to have everything fixed up here. Can we get fighters to do a quick fly-by to scan for hostiles? Over."

Sergeant Major Glass quickly responds. "Afraid not son. I got word from High Horse just a few minutes ago. All fighters are being recalled to the orbital carriers. A ROM naval battlegroup just entered the system, And son they have a Titan Class ship with them."

"Say again Major a Titan class ship ?"

Static goes over the comms As Allen sits there in shock.