Shattergrounds

"Sir, back to Montelban?" Said Ellie, confused, "I don't know if the troops will be okay after our previous experiences there."

"I know," said Frank "but those are our orders. We don't have to like them." Frank shifted in his chair, fidgeting with his pen. He couldn't bring himself to meet Ellie's gaze, and knew that she would be upset by their orders. As his 2IC, it was her job to advise him on anything he needed help with, but ultimately there wasn't anything either of them could do about the rapidly approaching mission back underwater.

"Alright sir," said Ellie, standing up from her chair, "I'll get the team ready. We'll be waiting for you in the Heron bay when you're ready." She reached her dark skinned hand up to brush some stray hairs out of her face, and turned towards the door out of the CIC. "Oh, and sir? Daisy couldn't get the Chernobog ready for this mission. It's going to have to stay on board the ship for this one."

"Thanks for the update, Sergeant." said Frank, still starring at the wall, "I'll keep that in mind when picking the team." The door the the CIC closed behind her with an audible swish, and Frank was left alone with his thoughts.

Frank slowly walked through the passageways on the ship, headed towards the elevator down to the cargo bay. His heart sank as he boarded the elevator, and began fidgeting with his tac-pad in his hands. "Would this team be enough to handle the mission?" he wondered, "Is taking Daisy along without her TAG even worth considering?" The questions kept eating away at his sanity as the elevator descended towards the bottom of the ship. As the doors to the elevator opened, he saw Ellie finishing her briefing to the team. Everyone looked over to him from the semi-circle they had formed.

"Kyle, Ruby, Maia, grab your gear, get it to the Heron. Sgt. Evans," Said Frank, handing her the tac-pad, "Find the rest of the team on this list and let them know. We leave in ten"

"Sir" said Ellie, turning to go find the rest of the troops down the bay

"Daisy," said Frank, "grab your tools, we need you on this as well."

"But sir," said Daisy, perplexed, "Sparky isn't combat ready. What do you want me for?"

"We need your mechanic skills for this." said Frank, "We're taking 8-Ball and Smiley, and I want you there in case they get hit."

"Roger that, Sir. I'll pack my gizmokit and tool bag." said Daisy, jogging towards her workstation.

"Daisy, stay on that high feature with the artillery bots." ordered Frank, cocking his rifle, "Kyle, I need you to lead the grunts down this hallway towards the boarding docks. Marauders, you're with me." Frank led his fireteam down a hallway towards the shuttle bay, his mind flooded with the horrors of his previous failings there. He cued up his radio, and spoke into his headset mic, "We're tasked with holding this ground in case any CA threat comes this way, but be prepared for anyone to come through those doors. All teams report status."

"Artillery, running targeting BIT tests now, should come online momentarily." Said Daisy through the radio.

"Forward Recce, in position and waiting for visual."

"Lightning, flamethrowers are set up and in position. Locked and loaded" said Kyle

"Good, lets make this count." said Frank, into his headset, "We can't forget there is an invasion going on just because it was shitty last time we were here." He pointed up to the steel mezzanine, and turned to his marksman, "I want you and your rifle up there, good sightlines and you can see most of the area from there."

"Roger that sir." said the marksman, and headed off towards the staircase. As Frank and the rest of his team took their positions, his radio clicked in.

"4-1, this is foxtrot team. We have what appears to be Nomads coming through on of the connecting observation walkways."

"Roger that, what do you see?" Said Frank, into his mic, "Are they hostile?"

"They're moving tactically through the hallway, and they brought a Lizard with them."

"Shit. Alright, relay target grid to Daisy so she can get the area targeted for the artillery. Out." Frank un-cued his mic and turned to his team. "Alright, we have Nomads here again. Marksman, keep a close eye on those doors across the way. Shooting is about to start." As Frank turned back around to face forward again, the sound of gunfire from the down the hallway broke the silence.

"4-1, this is Lightning. We're taking fire from that TAG Foxtrot reported." Said Kyle, gunfire audible over the net, "We're engaging."

"Roger that, keep me posted." Said Frank, as he switched the channel on his radio, "Daisy, blast that thing with everything you got."

"Already on it." said Daisy, her mic still cued in as she cheered, the sounds of rockets firing in the background. Frank's attention was jerked away from his radio when the cracks of gunfire whizzed overhead, followed by the loud shots from his marksman's sniper rifle.

"Shit, I'm hit." cried the Marksman, "They got me in the arm."

"Ok, get out of there." Frank shouted up to him, "Get back to the shuttles and get the medics to take care of it." Frank motioned to his team to move forward, and headed up the hallway into the loading bay. As he opened the door into the bay, the sounds of combat exploded into the forefront of his mind. "Daisy, what's the status on that TAG?" Frank said into his mic.

"Tag is M-killed, but 8-Ball took a hit," said Daisy, the sounds of metal clanging in the background of the transmission, "I'm working on fixing him right now."

"4-1, this is Lightning." Kyle said into his radio, racking his shotgun, "We're taking a lot of fire over here, but we're holding our own."

"Roger that, don't overstay your welcome there." Said Frank, "And please don't do anything stupid." As Frank un-cues his mike, the sound of Kyle shouting "Mossberg", followed by a loud blast from a shotgun was heard from the other side of the loading docks.

"Move up the right flank," Frank ordered, moving between shipping containers, "Well try and come up on their side to pincer them."

"4-1, this is Foxtrot. Our left flank has fallen back, the rest are moving to support your advance."

"Understood." Said frank, into his mic, "Our sniper was hit, take the high-ground and cover us from there."

"Daisy here, got 8-ball back up and running, but-" her radio transmission was cut short by the sound of a rocket firing off next to her head. "We're taking a lot of fire up here. That TAG is pissed!"

"Understood, keep your head down." said Frank, "The Juno needs her best mechanic back on board when we're done here." Frank moved up to a closed door at the other end of the loading bay and motioned to his team to keep their eyes on the door. "Anything could come through that door, be ready." As Frank finished his sentence, a smoke grenade bounced across the floor behind them and began filling the area with a thick cloud of smoke. "Shit, move back." Said Frank, coughing repeatedly from the phosphorous smoke filling the air. As he and his team moved out of the smoke, the sound of armoured footsteps echoed off the walls around them.

"Oh shit, it's Perseus." Said Ellie, "Fall back." As Frank turned to look at his Sgt, he saw the silhouette of Perseus running towards Ellie. She pulled out her knife from her belt as Perseus charged towards her.

"No, Ellie." Cried Frank, rushing over to assist her, "You need to fall back from here." As Frank ran over to her, Ellie thrust forward with her knife at Perseus. Perseus batted away her arm, and, with a quick and practiced motion, plunged his knife into Ellie's side. Ellie collapsed to the ground, gasping in pain. The loud crack of a shotgun blast tore through the air, hitting Perseus' armour, and making him stumble back from the force of the impact. Frank knelt down next to Ellie, pressing his hand into the wound, hoping to stop the blood from escaping.

"Go, Sir," Said the Ranger, "I'll cover your retreat." As he said this, Frank's radio clicked on again.

"4-1, this is Lightning." Came Kyle's voice through the gunfire, "We're getting overrun here, we need to pull back."

"All units, retreat!" Frank shouted into his radio, "Maya, get the trauma team mobilized, Sgt Evans is wounded. We're on our way to you."

"Roger that sir," Maya responded, calm as always, "we'll be ready to receive you when you get here."

"Daisy, get those robots moving." Frank said into his mic, "We can't hold this ground any longer."

"Aye sir," Daisy replied, "Artillery team is Oscar-Mike. See you at the Heron."

Frank pulled a wad of gauze from his IFAK and stuffed it under Ellie's armour. "Keep pressure on the wound," said Frank, "I'm getting you out of here." Frank pulled Ellie onto his shoulders and started running back towards the shuttle they came in on, the sounds of shotgun blasts ringing out behind him. As Frank made his way to the Heron, the trauma team was waiting for him with a stretcher and IV bags.

"We'll take it from here." said Maya, immediately starting work on the large wound on Ellie's side, "It's not as bad as it looks. Missed most of her vital organs, hopefully." Frank turned to see Daisy running towards the shuttle, Traktor Muls in tow.

"Artillery team is here," said Daisy, breathing heavily from the mad sprint back towards the shuttle, "Last man."

OOC:

This was a fun battle, resulting in heavy casualties for both sides, but ultimately I lost JUST enough points to be put into retreat at the start of turn 3. My dice were rolling pretty hot for most of the night, but my friend was playing extremely well. Check out his battle report as well if you want to read about the adventures of CSU Larry, filled with hilarious antics and is written really well.

Thanks all

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