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Neu Haven: Chapter Three
Posted By: Blue Jaguar<madsh33p@netscape.net>
Date: 9 February 2004, 4:11 AM
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Chapter Three
1023 hours, August 20, 2418 (EZT) Neu Haven Military Installation 001, Delta Jaguaris System
"INCOMING!"
Corporal Alfred Schuler jumped back into the foxhole he had just gotten out of. The earth shook around him as a massive plasma artillery round struck a fuel tank, obliterating a small portion of the marine base.
Schuler waited a few seconds, then braved to stick his head above the ground. The now believed to be alien forces had been randomly bombarding the marine outpost for almost a day now. This time they had finally gotten lucky with one of their rounds, and destroyed the only fuel tank the troops had to refuel their vehicles.
Schuler saw that it was fairly secure above, and crawled out of his hole.
"God dammit, there goes the tanks!" An army sergeant yelled, throwing his helmet down in disgust.
"Corporal Schuler!" Lieutenant Kent, his senior officer, yelled.
Schuler immediately turned and ran towards him.
"The army has only limited fuel left in their tanks. Now if we don't find some way to get them back operational, we are going to be over run, do you understand me?"
Schuler nodded.
"I want you to take a team of men to the colony, and get all the fuel you can from the local population, then inform them to get into the mountains with all essential supplies, and wait for us to secure the area."
"Aye aye sir!" Schuler responded with a salute.
Since sergeant Jackson had been killed three hours ago, Schuler had been the commander of the Force Recon platoon that had been assigned to the marine battalion on this mission. Having been in numerous battles with small rebellious groups, the recon troops were hardened and well disciplined. But after facing these aliens and losing their sergeant, some of the men were starting to crack under the pressure, which only made Schuler's job all the more difficult.
"All right men, lets lock and load, we gotta job to do no lets do it right!" Jackson yelled to his men.
All of them immediately formed up, or all that was left of them.
Schuler took notice of another man missing.
"Where the hell is Jared?" He asked the men.
"He's dead, he was over by the tank filling some of the LRV's." Private Lancaster reported.
"Dammit.." Schuler muttered.
"Ok men, lets move out."
The soldiers jogged over to their two remaining ATICS's(All Terrain Infantry Combat Scout), or Junkyard's as the men liked to call them. They were utterly unreliable, despite what the name said. They featured three 7.62mm chain guns, all capable of piercing all but the newest infantry armor. Unfortunately, the treads on the half-track had to be replaced about twice a day on combat maneuvers, reducing the amount of ground it could cover in a day to about two hundred kilometres.
The two vehicles would have been vastly overloaded, but only fourteen men remained. Even with so many gone, they were still overcrowded. One person in the driver seat up front, with nothing but a few steel supports and glass protecting him, two gunners behind him to the left and right, and then a rear gunner just aft of them. On each vehicle there were three men sitting behind the drivers seat, and on top of the roof above the two gunners.
"If we get hit by some rocket we are fuckin toast.." Schuler muttered to himself.
Schuler grabbed the radio on the panel next to him. "Ok Louis, take us out." He ordered the lead driver.
The half-tracks bounced forward and began to roll out of the base.
1129 hours, August 20, 2418 (EZT) en-route to Neu Haven main colony, Delta Jaguaris System
Schuler jumped off of the Junkyard and looked down at the treads.
"Fucking horse shit!" he yelled, as he punched the side of the vehicle.
To his despair, the treads had broken, again. This time it wasn't just a small problem with it slipping off or getting caught up in something. The entire tread had snapped, and it was rolled out for about 7 metres behind the half-trak.
"All right, get out a new tread." Private Daniels, the rear gunner, said to Lancaster.
As the men on the rear Half-Trak began repairing their vehicle, the troops in the front set up a perimeter on the heights around the hills that the road wove through.
Schuler climbed on top of a rock and looked out to the east.
"Almost noon, and we aren't even half way to the colony." Private Louis noted.
"Yeah, this place sure sucks ass." Schuler remarked, giving hint to the thirty five degree (Celsius) temperature.
"At least it isn't thirty-nine like it was when we first got here."
"Yeah, tell me about it, if you asked me some guy back at the UNSEC (United Nations Space Exploration Command) screwed up when he picked this place out."
The two remained silent for a few moments, observing the landscape, with its slow rolling hills and parched landscape.
"How in the hell would you figure this planet to be of importance?" Louis finally threw out in anger.
"Titanium and tungsten, tons of it here and I guess they want there hands on it."
"Well there is enough of that shit on Reach, why the hell come out here for it?"
"They must think they are looking ahead for future needs or something idiotic like usual."
Both men were interrupted by a shout from Lancaster. "It's fixed!"
"All right lets get the hell out of here."
1349 hours, August 20, 2418 (EZT) Neu Haven Colony, Delta Jaguaris System
"My god...." Schuler said in amazement. "Command really fucked up on this one."
Before him lay the Neu Haven Colony. Civilians lie dead in the street, some of them had guns in their hands, but most of them were unarmed. The most frightening thing, is that there was no trace of an enemy force to be found. No blood, no guns or equipment, and no vehicle tracks.
"Dismount!" He yelled to his men. "Alpha Squad has point, Bravo stay and secure the vehicles."
Bravo squad immediately set up a perimeter around the vehicles, while Alpha spread out and moved into the colony. As they neared the command facility, they began to hear strange noises, and some of the men began reporting movement, but they didn't know what it was.
"Everyone quiet, get down." Schuler whispered into his headset.
His men immediately got down on the ground, and began looking around cautiously. Schuler walked forward slowly, careful not to step on anything that might cause more noise.
Schuler signaled with his hand for his men to start moving forward again. They slowly got up and crouched forward.
As they neared the command building the noises they were hearing became loud enough that they could tell that they were voices. But nothing human.
Schuler's team separated into an echelon formation as they came within a hundred metres, and slowly crouched forward.
"Contact, I've got two bogies on the roof' Schuler whispered into his microphone.
"Roger, I have a shot, take them out?" Lancaster replied back through the comm.
"Negative, wait until we get closer." He answered.
"Too late for that!" One of the guys yelled, as the two persons on the roof turned towards the squad and began firing blue plasma rounds at them.
"Take cover, return fire!" Schuler screamed, as he jumped behind a bulldozer.
Alpha squad opened fire on the building, ripping it to shreds and tearing apart the two targets on top of the roof. After ten seconds of suppressing fire, a large explosion inside the building silenced the marines, as they waited to see what else needed to be done on their art work.
"Alpha squad, move forward!" Schuler yelled.
The first of the men to stand up from behind cover was struck in the chest by a sniper inside the building. At once the entire squad opened up on the origin of the shot, disintegrating the target with at least a hundred 5.8 milimetre rounds.
"Everyone stay down!" Schuler ordered.
"What about Stevens, he's fucked up?" One of the men replied.
"Stevens is wasted, hold your position." Schuler yelled at the man.
Although Schuler couldn't be sure he was dead, Private First Class Daniel Stevens had taken a hit directly through the heart, and unless Steven's was a god or an alien, he couldn't have survived that.
"Bravo One this is Alpha One, we are taking enemy fire from the command facility, requesting back up." Schuler said into his platoon com channel.
"Roger Alpha One, we are moving out." Louis responded.
"Everyone sit tight, Bravo is coming to assist."
The men waited for a minute, careful not to stick their heads too far around each corner. The peace and tranquility was beginning to mesmerize the men and they wondered if they had gotten everyone now, but they weren't willing to risk their lives to find out.
"Alpha One Echo this is......" An unknown man screamed into the main military com channel.
"This is Alpha One Echo, say again last."
"Alien forces......over......position...do....copy......."
"This is Alpha One, say again, who is this, over."
"..........Alpha...Major Anton....attack........here now......"
Schuler paused for a second. "Roger that, Alpha One Echo on the move."
"Main camp is under attack, Harris, Stenson, cover fire, rest of squad move out!" Schuler yelled to his team.
Immediately Harris and Stenson stood up and began firing like mad at the colony command building, while the rest of the squad sprinted in the opposite direction down the street.
By the time Alpha squad merged back up with Bravo, the Alien forces had already brought reinforcements into the area, and were in hot pursuit of the platoon as they left the area, fortunately for the marines, all of the Aliens vehicles and aircraft were being used to support their forces in the assault on the main base, and the pursuit was a short one.
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