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Shadows of an Empire: Chapter 4
Posted By: tsukahara10<st.krueger@comcast.net>
Date: 18 October 2006, 4:17 pm
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Chapter 4: Outnumbered
0042 Hours, March 31st, 2561 (UNSC Military Calendar)
Outpost Foxtrot, Beta Cassiopeia III
"Outpost Foxtrot is ours, ma'am," Major Gundersen said to the picture of Lieutenant Colonel O'Brian on the small personal datapad he held in his hand. "All rebel forces have been eliminated from the area."
"Excellent, Major," O'Brian replied. "However, we need to keep the pressure on now. We need to strike on the next base as soon as possible. You guys over there can have a little time to rest, but you have to be on the move in no more than twelve hours. I'm sending the weapons company to meet up with you at Foxtrot and you are to take them with Tango Company to Charlie Base about five hundred kilometers east-northeast from Outpost Foxtrot. Charlie Base contains the controls to a small portion of BCIII's planetary defense system. If we can gain control of that, then the UNSC might actually ponder the possibility of sending reinforcements. It will be heavily guarded, and since it must be done soon, you won't have the advantage of darkness. You will be outnumbered, but I trust you'll be able to outsmart them. You must capture Charlie Base if we are to win here. Failure means the loss of this world to the rebellion."
"Yes, ma'am," Markus answered.
1735 Hours, March 31st, 2561 (UNSC Military Calendar)
En route to Charlie Base, Beta Cassiopeia III
Markus could barely hear over the loud rumble of the forty Scorpion tanks leading the attack force. The Major sat shotgun in a Warthog LRV following behind the Scorpions. Traveling due east, they were still about four hours from Charlie Base. This was a long trip without the help of Pelicans. They didn't have enough Pelicans to carry all the tanks, so they had to travel by land which doubled their travel time. About an hour ago, the forest thinned out and now they traveled across a wide open plain. Markus hoped the rebels didn't have surveillance satellites.
After about another half hour of eventless travel, Markus heard a warning beep on his personal datapad. He pulled it out of his pocket and was taken aback by what he saw on the screen. Thousands… no, hundreds of thousands of rebel soldiers marched towards the flank of the Marines about ten klicks away. The rebels had gathered their entire strength to no doubt march on Delta Base.
As he stared in awe at his datapad, a message came on the screen. It was Captain Garcia.
"Sir, we are under attack. The rebels outnumber us by at least twenty to one. We can't hold the facility any longer."
"Get your men out of there, Captain," Markus replied. "Find those experimental plasma warheads, and set them for a one hour timed detonation. We don't want those falling into enemy hands. Then take the Pelicans back to Delta Base. The rebels have amassed an enormous army and are headed towards Delta Base. O'Brian will need your help there."
"Roger that, sir," Garcia said.
Garcia's face left the screen, and Markus contacted Lieutenant Colonel O'Brian. She had to know about the imminent attack.
"Ma'am, the rebels are marching on Delta Base," Markus said. "Outpost Foxtrot has been overrun, and Sierra Company is on its way back to your position. And from my position, I can see an enormous army heading this way."
"About how big is the rebel force, Major?"
"Several hundred thousand. We don't stand—"
Markus's thoughts were just rattled by a nearby explosion. He looked around to see the damage, and turned just in time to see several more explosions in and around his column of soldiers. Dirt and smoke flew everywhere, obscuring his vision. The rebels were closer than he thought.
"Return fire!" he shouted over the company-wide comm. link. He returned his attention to O'Brian and said, "We'll hold them off while you prepare the defenses."
"Negative," she replied. "Get back to Delta Base as fast as you can. You won't last long out there, and if you can get back to base we might be able to hold them."
"Roger that," Markus yelled over the din. He switched his comm. link on again and yelled, "Fall back! Make best speed to Delta Base!"
As one, the column of UNSC soldiers turned directly south. They repositioned themselves back into a reversed column with the Scorpions in the back, continually firing on the rebels. This kept the rebels back. Since the UNSC tanks were firing at targets moving towards them, the UNSC Scorpions had a much greater range than that of the rebels, who were trying to fire at targets moving away. Occasionally a rebel shell would explode in the UNSC ranks, but they were slowly pulling away from the rebels.
The chase continued for several hours. Finally, Delta Base came in sight. The large concrete bunker-like structure sat as an outcropping at the base of a cliff. This strategic location meant that it could only be attacked from one side. Markus heard a faint roar above him and saw several missiles fly overhead. From about a half hour into the chase, Delta Base had been firing its surface-to-surface missile defense system at the rebels. The missiles had a maximum effective range of three thousand kilometers, so this was a relatively short distance and thus the missiles were much more accurate against the moving targets. Then, once the rebels got within fifty kilometers of Delta Base, the long range artillery could target them. The four artillery cannons were fixed into the cliff face and were fired remotely, so they could fire extremely large rounds. The five hundred millimeter shells packed a twenty-five kiloton punch. Nothing stood a chance against those guns, not even the heaviest armor. Rebel tanks disintegrated from the sheer explosive force.
Finally, Markus and his troops reached Delta Base. Once inside, they took up defensive positions and waited till the rebels' arrival. Hangar B was the most vulnerable area, so the majority of the Marines hid in and around the ten Pelicans in defense. The large hangar door was closed, but it could easily be blown open. Inside the base was a much larger hangar, Hangar A, which opened up to the sky. The rebels would have to scale the cliff just to get there. Inside Hangar A were twenty Pelicans and forty Longswords waiting in case the Marines needed a fast exit. Unfortunately, they barely had enough to transport even half the Marines out of Delta Base. Four hundred Marines would get left behind if a retreat was necessary.
The rhythmic thumping of the artillery cannons kept going for several minutes. As if the base didn't have enough defenses already, the sound of machine gun fire joined in. Delta Base's final outward defense was a series of automated twenty millimeter machine guns. The base could hold off a fairly large attack force by itself, but against several hundred thousand troops, it was only a matter of time before the rebels would overwhelm them.
Suddenly, Markus heard a few loud explosions near the base, and he noticed the artillery had stopped firing. The rebels must have destroyed the cannons. From his position on a catwalk, he shouldered his rifle and took aim at the hangar door. It would only be a matter of minutes before the rebels invaded the base.
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