A Rigorous Revelation

[Bishop Morse]

In the Cargo Bay

When they moved through the halls they had to get by a large amount of people and supplies that were tipped over. Now in the cargo bay, things just seemed worse. Boxes of ammunition had been tipped over and clips and bullets had fallen all around. Rifles were scattered about, but nothing seemed to have discharged. The rest of the supplies were mixed between still being stacked right, and dumped all over the cargo bay. Pickle stepped out into the large bay to see people moving their equipment, trying to get back up to optimum. He tended to be more quiet any way, so when Ray took over at screaming at Lieutenant Minor, he just stood there

Minor had been trying to maintain order inside of the cargo bay, though no one was really making structure an issue. He thought the best thing to do was to make sure people in the cargo bay remembered that they were all still soldiers, though he wasn’t very good with that aspect himself. ”Huh?” Minor said turning to look at who was talking. He saw Private Hudson coming at him, and he was saying something about a button. ”What button?” He asked confused. For a reason he didn’t understand, Ray was straining his voice and speaking quietly, but he didn’t know why. Then when he was informed it was the com, he realized that his com was still active. ”Oh.” He said after he fixed the problem. But then Ray started to yell at him. Minor was almost 10 years younger then Ray, but he was still of higher rank. Minor had only recently joined the war effort, and didn’t have remotely the experience that the others did, but he tried his best to hold up his own. He liked the captain and his crew, and wanted to be “one of the guys”, but he didn’t exactly match their sensibilities. ”Hey” He said stopping Hudson from flicking his helmet. ”I’m just making sure I keep order. And that works when they have a goal.”

”Keep order? Who the hells resisting the chain of command, the boxes of bullets? Besides, Morse ordered us to hold up till we can actually assess the situation." Pickle asked starting to light up a cigarette.


On the Bridge

Morse worked with the switches, there were a great deal of readings, but the ship itself wasn’t his over all concern at the moment. ”Willy, you getting’ anything.” Morse asked, taking a drink off of the flask he’d pulled out of his coat.

Willy shook his head. ”Nothing. We lifted off, but fell 27 miles into enemy controlled territory. We’re off on the edge quite a ways, and I don’t see anyone around. But I’m not getting a signal from regional command." Willy said, still looking at console.

Morse rolled his eyes. ”That’s because we’re not in anyone’s region anymore.” He stood up from the chair and turned towards Andy, but kept looking at Willy. ”Start tracking troop movements in the area. I don’t want em’ to sneak up on us, cus were the prime prize for anyone walking through.” He didn’t need an answer from Willy, he looked at Andy next. ”Hoffman say anything about our engine troubles.” He asked.

”He says we’re gonna be here a while.” Andy said looking up. ”Do we have an estimate?” Morse asked hoping for an answer that was a bit more alleviating then the last. ”At least thirty minutes he thinks.” Andy replied. Morse had a smile form on his face, of ironic amusement. ”Ai ya, hwai luh. It’s always good news.” Morse said turning to look at his console, bringing up the navigation data, to look at the map. He got an idea of what was happening around them, and decided what was best. ”Pickle, Ray, start settin’ up for defense on the starboard side of the ship. Grab all able bodied fighters and bring have em’ get armed, fit, and help set up a line on the outside. I’m commin’ down.” Morse said into the com, implying they should set up boxes and strong set materials outside. He knew they were soon to have trouble, and he wanted to be ready when they did.

[Ray Hudson]

After hearing Morse's order on the com, Ray looked at Pickle and cleared his throat. He took a step forward, towards the large collection of tipped over crates and injured soldiers, and spoke to them all. "Alright everyone, as you may know the ship has crashed and the Alliance is probably on their way here right now. We need every able bodied soldier outside setting up a perimeter. We need to hold out here until we get the ship up and running again." Ray said this loudly, walking back and forth. Morse had told him that he was heading to the cargo bay so he knew that Morse would probably word it better when he got there.

After saying this, most of the soldiers in the cargo bay began shifting around, moving out of the ship. Some moving crates and boxes to help set up the line outside. Ray began to make his way out of the ship, looking all around the room at the soldiers. On his way out, he noticed four soldiers sitting between two tall crates with their backs on the wall. The soldier on the far left was gazing at the floor in front of him while resting his head on the crate, The one next to him was shacking, the third was looking inside a large sack and pulling things out and inspecting them, and the final soldier on the left was smiling and conversing with the one looking inside of the sack.

Recognizing the soldiers, the smiling one in particular, Ray approached the four of them. The smiling soldier noticed Ray coming and his grin faded slightly and he looked back at the soldier he was speaking to.

"Danny." Ray addressed the man,. Danny looked back at Ray this time not ignoring him. "What are you doin'?" Ray asked the soldier.

"Sorry Ray but...I can't go out there. Both my legs is broke." Danny answered with not much worry or pain in his face. His rim accent wasn't extremely thick but it was very noticeable. Danny was about 6 foot and 2 inches. he had short brown hair and a long, bird like nose. His mouth was slightly agape, as it usually was and his unimpressive features made him a very average looking person.

"Really?" Ray asked.

"Yeah." Danny replied

"Is that the truth?" Ray continued, now with a smile beginning to form.

"On my momma's life." Danny promised confidently.

"Hmm." Ray buzzed. He approached Danny who remained seated but was now looking worried. When Ray reached him he kicked his leg with moderate force. This caused Danny to call out in pain but not as much as if he actually had a broken leg. "Your moms dead." Ray pointed out in a dry tone

Danny began to laugh lightly and shook his head. "Did I tell you that story? I cleanly forgot."

"Yeah I'll bet. C'mon let's go." Ray said. Danny stood up, picked up his light machine gun and walked up to Ray. "Bring your three friends too."

"Oh Christian can't come." Danny claimed, referring to the soldier staring at the ground.

"Why, he break his legs too?" Ray asked facetiously.

"Shellshocked. Jus' been starin' at the floor since he got here. Didn't blink once when we was tiltin' and tumblin' in the crash." Danny explained.

"Yeah he's no good to us like that. What about the other two?" Ray asked more silently.

"Well Chrystal's just checkin' her gear and Ivi..." Danny then turned to look at Ivi and saw her shaking and trying not to panic. "well Ivi's more prepared than all of us" Danny explained.

"I like her confidence." Ray said sarcastically. He looked at the two soldiers. "Alright you two, let's go."

The two soldiers stood up and joined Ray and Danny. Ivi was a very short woman and her face was round and resembled an egg. her hair ended at the middle of her neck, just above her shoulders and her eyes were small due to her half-Chinese origin. Her uniform was tattered, dirty and worn. The other soldier, Chrystal, was a very attractive woman. Her face was something to admire and she was very fit. If the mud and grime from the battles she was in were cleaned off and replaced by reasonable amounts of makeup she would have been a sight to behold. Her hair was black and her eyes were dark brown unlike her uniform which was a lighter shade of brown.

As they made there way to the exit of the cargo bay, Danny noticed a soldier that seemed fairly fit to fight. "Look at him, why doesn't he need to go out an' fight?" Danny asked. He wasn't angry or upset, he was perfectly willing to go out and fight, he just felt like kidding around earlier. The question was just simple curiosity.

A medic standing next to the soldier whom Danny was referring spoke up. "No no no, he's not fit to fight. He's got bad nerve damage, his entire right arm is unusable."

The soldier with the nerve damage spoke up, angrily "Gorramit, I can still go out there and fight!" the soldier hollered at the medic.

"You can't fire your rifle with one hand!" The medic exclaimed

"Course I can!..." The soldier replied. The two bantered back and forth, but the Ray and the other three soldiers had already moved on.

When the four of them got out of the ship they gazed at the starlit sky. Soldiers were setting up the perimeter, forming cover, taking position, and making everything as ready as they could. Ivi was beginning to panic and was struggling to contain herself. Danny picked up on this and calmed her down.

"I'm just scared." She said after a minute of consoling from Danny.

"Were all scared." Danny said softly "I'm scared, she's scared, hell I'll bet Ray over there's pissed his pants nine times already."

"You should have seen me on the bridge." Ray replied, acknowledging his extreme cowardice.

"You should have seen him on the bridge, I'm sure that was quite the skeptical." said Danny, unaware that he had used the wrong word to describe Ray's reaction. Ivi calmed down a bit and helped Chrystal and Danny set up the perimeter.

Rather than helping Ray just stood near the ship, watching the four of them work. He rubbed his hands together and raised them up to his mouth in a cup-like form and blew into them. His teeth chattered and his arms shook.
"Forgot how fuckin' cold it is out here."

[Bishop Morse]

The door to the bridge slid open, and Morse stepped forward into the lower deck hallway. Much of what had previously hanging was on the floor. For the most part it seemed that the hallway was cleared. There were still a few men who were just far to injured to move. On board they didn’t have the medical staff to treat them all at once, and they by far didn’t have the space to put everyone in a room. He opened up all the doors to the quarters as he went by, checking inside to see what the damage was. Some of the quarters were being used as nothing more then armories or supply stores. Others were being used as mobile operating rooms. He came by the first one on his left, which was being used just as such. Upon opening he found one of the medical staff, still wearing uniform and helmet, working on removing shrapnel from someone. The room was rather ragged from the crash, but at least they’d manage to get right back to it. He continued walking through, passing wounded soldiers in the lounge. The lounge that had once been for just that, was now holding multiple hammocks, all of which were empty. More supply nets were holding materials suspended from the ceiling. 

Activating the next door control in front of him, he stepped out into the cargo bay. It was quite a mess, but not that different from when he’d come into it last. The real difference was in the amount of people that were there. Most of them were outside. The side ‘Starboard’ and ‘Port’ side doors had been opened, as well as the large ramp which came out of the rear of the massive cargo pod. The pod itself nearly doubled the length of the ship, and it had been filled up with soldiers and supplies. Morse wasn’t sure what the upper deck looked like right now, but that wasn’t particularly the most pressing issue. Up there they kept the more severely wounded, so it wasn’t as though he was dealing with people planning to desert. 

He had a battalions worth of soldiers on board. The issue was in that many, if not most, of them were not fit for action. And with what the Alliance had on world ready to deploy, even if all of his people were ready for duty, they still might not stand a chance. It was an issue of numbers and power, and he was not in a good position. The main advantage that they had, was their obscure position. Morse knew the battleground well enough to know that the Alliance couldn’t send anyone from the ‘Port’ side, at least not without them knowing long in advance, because they were far to flanks. What was more is they were nearly thirty miles back. The man power loss from the front lines would be far too great to spare, so their main fear would come from one place, starboard. He stepped out of the Starboard door to take a look at the position that had been set up. 

A large group of soldiers, numbering near three hundred, were moving equipment into position. They had several ‘stonewalls’, which were essentially an instant bunker, that they had put up. The boxes were very strong, and were pull out pieces that would rise to about four feet and wrap around nicely so that as many as four people could take cover behind them. However the rest were utilizing everything that they could find. Emptying out ammo boxes, just to stack them up for cover. They were all moving fairly quickly, even though none of them really knew that the danger they were in was very real and likely imminent. The running lights on the ship were still up, but Morse would have them taken down before anyone got there. Some of the soldiers were already getting into their own positions. There were some good sized rocks, and other bits of dirt piles that the ship had likely kicked up when it slammed across the surface. They had a good distance and variety, but the terrain wasn’t exactly ideal.

They were on an awkward hill, almost like an oversized ditch. If the Alliance came through, they would have the “highground” as it were. But it wasn’t that high up, and many of the soldiers were taking up a position by a tree that had long since been burnt and dried out. There were some down logs that his soldiers were using that he hadn’t seen when he first looked over the position. His officer staff, with the exception of ‘49’, had a good handle on the situation, and were well versed in setting up their own small positions, and with the many groups of them, it fit like a puzzle. It wasn’t that much worse off then the rest of the army on the planet. This made Morse smile, even though they were in a very bad situation.

”Morse! I’ve got something coming in ahead of us.” Suddenly rang Willy’s voice in Morse’s ear. His com had been activated the whole time as he waited for that inevitable news.

”What kind are we looking at Willy.” Morse said putting his finger on his ear, stepping back towards the hatch on the ship he’d just come through.

”It’s at least a platoon, but my guess is more are coming.” Willy replied, the com clicking off after he was done.

Morse came through the hatch to a line up of weapons just on the other side. He grabbed an AR-24s, Alliance standard issue assault rifle. He didn’t trust any of the other weapons that the Independent’s were using, and the Alliance tended to leave these everywhere. They didn’t really ever jam, they were extremely accurate, fired fast, and fired a lot. A perfect weapon as far as Morse was concerned. ”Keep the scans on Willy, and keep us updated. Tell Andy to keep working with engineering to get us up fast. How long before their on top of us?” Morse was bouncing between commands, but there was a lot to do. Keep the soldiers outside ready and ordered, getting the ship back online, relaying information from Willy to the officers, all while analyzing all of it, and making sure he didn’t get killed. Sounds like a hell of a time. He thought stepping back outside.

”About five minutes. You want me to ready the lights for when they get here?” Willy asked. He sounded scared, but that was undoubtedly because the Alliance might kill him and he wouldn’t be able to do anything about it sitting where he was.

”Switch em off, and turn em on at my signal.” Morse ordered. He took his finger from his ear and cupped his hands beside his mouth. ”Enemy Soldiers, commin’ in straight ahead! Ready on the lines!” Morse yelled forward as the lights were killed on the ship. It was very dark, and they stars, along with the flashing off in the distance were the only light they had. ”Hold fire till I give the order!” Morse finished his orders. He was loud, but he’d also had his com open to his various squad leaders, so if they were too far, they’d hear. He moved up towards one of the ‘stonewalls’, setting up next to a group of soldiers with brown helmets whom he’d never seen before. Everything was then suddenly quiet and still. You could still see the other bunkers, but there wasn’t much noise, as every soldier waited with their weapons ready, at their cover for the engagement to begin.

[Ray Hudson]

It felt like a virus. Ray clenched his stomach trying to hold back the pain, but he didn’t consider the sensation a problem. Lately, death was a popular topic that ran through his mind, always asking himself if today was the day. So many people were dying around him at all times and it was impossible not to question whether he’d live another hour or minute. People he knew, people he didn’t, people he liked, people he hated. There was no prejudice, over a billion people were already dead and Ray’s death seemed imminent. It wouldn’t be long until an Alliance soldier’s bullet would tear through his heart and send him face down in the sand. He would bleed until there was no blood left for him to donate to the dirt. His heart would pump and pump with all the might it could muster, unaware of the lethality of the wound. His heart would pump and pump until it exceeded its limit and finally give in. Ray’s eyes would remain open as he exhaled for the final time.

Day dreams of his projected death haunted Ray and he couldn’t stop imagining his demise. Every day he would think about it, every hour and every minute. Ray had always feared death, but now he felt as if he was constantly running away, just trying to stay alive for one more minute. He clenched his stomach harder and tried his best not to vomit.

Chrystal aided another soldier in setting up a ‘stonewall’ while Danny and Ivi set up one of their very own a little further to their right. Danny and Ivi were helped by two other soldiers while Ray continued to stand there and do nothing. 

There was something about Danny, Chrystal and Ivi that Ray liked. He wasn’t a big fan of Christian, the shell shocked man from earlier, but the rest of them each had certain traits about them that Ray enjoyed. They had only known each other for about two months but he had gotten to know them since then. He liked Ivi because she seemed like just some normal person. She was human in her actions and she seemed like your average woman that you would see just walking down the street. Danny was eccentric and just a bit unstable. He was odd and that’s what Ray found interesting. Chrystal was who Ray liked the most. She was strong and proud. She had a great sense of humor and was very kind. Ray had expected a woman as beautiful as her to be uninteresting and kind of a bitch but she was extremely interesting to talk to and an enormous pleasure to be around. When she told Ray that she had a daughter, he assumed that it would lower his idea of her. He later found out that it only made her stronger. Chrystal fought for a purpose whereas Ray fought for nothing. She reminded him of someone he knew, someone he loved.

After growing tired of Ray doing nothing, Chrystal turned to him and waved him over to help. Ray walked over to where she and the other soldier he had never met were working on setting things up. They seemed like they were almost done so he just stood next to them while they wrapped things up. After setting up the ‘stonewall’ the soldier turned and sat down, leaning on it while he checked his weapon. The soldier was wearing some sort of brown poncho that stopped at his waist. A bandage was wrapped around his forehead but his hair covered most of it. Chrystal set her large pack down and glanced at Ray and rolled her eyes while a smile formed on her face. She was about to look through her pack but she noticed something wrong with Ray. She looked back at him and saw him staring at the distance.

In the two weeks that she’d known him, Ray hadn’t displayed many sides of himself, when he wasn’t laughing he was yelling. Now, however, Ray had an expression of deep worry. His eyes were foggy and his stance was weak. He was pale and he displayed no confidence. It was as if he knew for certain that he was going to die. Chrystal’s smile faded as she was worried for him. She approached Ray and her expression was that of sincere worry and consideration.

“Hey,” She said, trying to get his attention. “hey you alright?” she asked. 

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Ray lied.

“You sure?” Chrystal asked, knowing the truth.

“Yeah.” He lied again.

There was a long pause until Chrystal spoke again. “Ray.” She said softly.

He wanted to resist telling her how horrified he was. He didn’t normally share his feelings with people he didn’t know very well but this was different. He felt like if he didn’t say what he thought, he would lose his mind. Ray looked at her for a moment and then looked at the ground. His mouth opened and closed, unable to find the words he wanted. After a long pause he was eventually able to say something, “I just-“ he stopped and looked at her for a moment before looking back at the ground. “I’m just having a hard time trying to relax.” Ray stared into the dirt and shook his head. His voice was shaky. “I mean look at that, we were in that.” Ray said, looking towards the crashed Logan. “We were in the air, and then we hit the ground and slid for like fifty miles.” He exaggerated.  “Now where out here, waiting for the Alliance to finish us off. They’re gonna kill every fucking one of us.” This was the most worried Ray had ever been. They were deep behind enemy lines and the majority of their forces were wounded. He had never been in a more dire situation and he felt like they were just waiting for the final blow “They’re gonna kill me.” Ray stopped again and looked around as if searching for something to get him out of this. “They’re gonna fucking kill me.” He repeated. His voice was weak and he looked like he was about to cry.

“Hey, it’s gonna be okay.” Chrystal said, softly. “It’s gonna be alright. Were all gonna be fine.” She nudged his shoulder with hers and Ray turned to face her. “This isn’t where it ends for us.” A smile formed on Chrystal’s face.

Her words weren’t very motivating or charismatic but Ray was relieved by them. Chrystal seemed to really care about his comfort and he didn’t understand why. He wanted to thank her but for some odd reason, he couldn’t bring himself to do it. Not many people paid attention to him or care about him in the slightest, but Chrystal did care and she seemed to really want him to make it. He enjoyed the feeling of being wanted. He smiled back at her and the knot loosened.

After standing silent for a moment, Ray felt her hand go on his shoulder and he tensed up a bit at her touch. He turned to his right and saw Danny approaching them. His position was pretty close to theirs and they would be able to look over and see each other at all times. When he reached them, Chrystal removed her hand from Ray’s shoulder and faced Danny. “So…what’s the plan?” Chrystal asked Danny.

“Well me an’ Ivi should be good over there. Were all set up with those two guys and they seem shiny enough.” Danny looked near his 'stonewall' and Ivi was sitting with two soldiers. It would be a tight fit for the four of them but it wasn’t uncommon for four people to share a ‘stonewall’. “Got my machine gun set up so I’ll be able to mow down any purple bellied son-of-a-bitch that come our way.” Danny turned back to Ray and Chrystal. “what about you guys?”

“Ray and I should be fine right here.”Chrystal answered. The other soldier in the brown poncho just sat in his spot, saying nothing. “How’s Ivi doing?” She asked.

“She’s freakin’ out but she’ll be fine. Don’t worry I’ll take care of her, make sure nothin’ bad happens.” Danny wasn’t as confident as he usually was. His cheery demeanor was absent and all that was left was a blank face and a serious tone.

The conversation was tense and uncomfortable. Normally their conversations were filled with laughter and merriment but such things were absent in Serenity Valley. The Logan’s lights turned off and Major Morse’s voice was heard, informing the soldiers of the incoming Alliance threat. They were to get ready on the lines and hold their fire until he gave the order.

The news caused all of the soldiers to ready their weapons and wait for the engagement. Danny looked at Ray and Chrystal, then turned around and began making his way back to his position. “Danny, Zhège dìfāng bù huì shì wǒmen de fénmù.” Chrystal said to him.

“Gāisǐ de zhí.” Danny replied, returning to his position.

Ray and Chrystal took cover behind the ‘stonewall’ and readied their weapons, staring down into the night, waiting for the enemy. 

The knot tightened.

[Bishop Morse]

Morse had his finger on his ear, listening to the chatter of the varied officers. He’d known that there were several Lieutenants there, and a handful of sergeants. However mixed officers commanding a regiments worth of soldiers from various units wasn’t particularly great. He had the highest authority in that area, but he was out of range of anything with the exception of a few saboteurs or snipers that might be sneaking around. And they wouldn’t be able to help hardly even if they wanted to. He wasn’t even sure who the officers were that were with him, but they seemed to have nabbed control of various groups. In his experience, the soldiers were fairly good at keeping good with what they needed. At least they weren’t going on the attack, a defense was fairly easy to uphold. Respond to the strikes before they hurt you, that was really all there was to it. With all the lights out and the explosions going on far off, they were fairly safe. They had the cover of various bomb holes, and ridges. Realistically this was an ideal position for some commanders. But Morse needed the ship up in the air because this was an inevitable blood bath waiting to happen while they were sitting there.

The mixed groups weren’t talking very much, they were mainly just waiting after the report of the incoming attack. Morse too kept his eyes ready looking at the small ridge which the enemy would inevitably come from. He looked up at a small group that was up on top of the ridge, and were hidden fairly well. Hopefully one of them had a com so that they could give him an update. He waited not saying anything. He sat down, not looking at the ridge a moment as he checked his weapon. He loved the AR-24s that the Alliance pumped out. The things had almost no recoil, but fired fast and accurate. He made sure it was loaded right, and he withdrew its safety. It gave an energized sound as it was cocked and ready. He was rather at the back, fairly close to the ship, mainly so that in case coms were lost, they could get a hold of him. He was hunkered down and stayed fairly low and ready. 

Suddenly his com activated. 

”Platoon is in range, requesting permission to commence firing” Came an unfamiliar voice. He didn’t know who it was, or where it was that they were. He didn’t know how close they were, but he knew there’d been enough time that they were likely close enough that they’d be engaging the whole force. But it would be better to catch this group in crossfire, rather then have it one side standing directly against the other. So he had his decision, and he looked over his force quickly making sure everything was placed as well as it could be. It took only a second for him to have decision.”All forces are cleared to engage when you have visual.” Morse announced over the com on all open channels. Any private or higher with a com active would have been able to hear it. 

Almost time passed between him giving that order, then suddenly the sound of rounds started coming from just over the ridge. Everyone started to look up as the flashes started coming. It was very loud and then light from each side was visible. Finally on the edge there were men wearing fine uniforms, of a dark purple, who didn’t appear to have been there very long. They didn’t seem to have noticed the large cluster of soldiers, but if they had, they likely wouldn’t have stepped over. All at once machine gun fire, and assault rifles opened up with a dazzling light that flared into each of them. Morse brought his Ar-24s up, but he did not fire as the mass amount of weapons already going off were effective enough. The soldiers began to fall quickly, with not a single among the men in the brown uniforms dropping. 

[Ray Hudson]

Warmth was what Ray coveted most. The breeze numbed and petrified his fingers and he wasn’t sure if he would be able to pull the trigger on his rifle. A purple web spread across his hands while the rest of his skin became bright red. All he wanted was a king sized bed with thick sheets and a soft pillow. Ray hadn’t slept well in weeks. There was hardly any time for sleep and when there was he was kept awake by terror. Warmth would signify safety and security, something that he so desperately desired. Ray wanted to climb into the large, cozy bed and wrap himself up in the blanket. Perhaps even multiple blankets would be more preferable. He wanted to completely cover himself in the thick blankets and become consumed in a snug dimension of beautiful contentment. He wanted to be curled into a ball with the blankets shielding him from the horrors of war, like a child hiding from the monsters in his closet. A heater would add to the feeling of warm safety. Ray wanted that feeling when you wake up in the perfect position in your bed, the comfort holy land, and you know that if you move at all the bliss is lost forever. You can try all you want, but you will never find that perfect position again. He wanted that feeling were your decide not to fulfill your responsibilities and just lie in bed for the next couple of hours. That comfort was what Ray coveted most.

A shower was also desirable. It had been awhile since the last time he bathed, which was the case for most of the soldiers. He had a thick coat of filth caking his skin and he always had a feeling of discomfort. His hair was greasy and itched constantly while his clogged pores made him feel ill.

The silence made Ray more anxious and the mixture of blistering cold and fear caused Rays arms to shake. His aim was going to suffer because of it. He struggled to keep the sights straight but it wasn’t going to matter. They were told to fire once they saw them and who ever came over the hill would be torn to pieces.

Once he heard the shots Ray tensed even more and he was shaking extremely violently. The Alliance came over the hill and he fired inaccurate shot after inaccurate shot. Him missing most of his shots didn’t matter since the other soldiers were already killing the Alliance troops in droves. Even if Ray had hit his targets dead on, he probably wouldn’t have been the first one to hit whomever he was aiming at. The Alliance troops were doomed from the start.

[Bishop Morse]

The firing was heavy on the poor soldiers in purple that came over the hill. As they did many of the slipped, and some fell just at the complete shock and urge to run away from the sheer number of brown coated soldiers that were dug in. Some of them got back over the hill, and a good number hadn’t yet even made it to the hill. However at least half of them had poured over and were used as essentially target practice by the fine soldiers of the Confederacy of Independent Worlds. Many of them were dead within seconds. The massive cluster of soldiers was just too much for such a small organized unit to comprehend that they just fell apart. Whoever there officers were must have either run away or been killed already as there was no organization to them. Some of them fired, but mostly they just collapsed, and were decimated. The flashes and firing then soon stopped as someone yelled. ”THEY’RE RETREATING” yelled a soldier from on top of the hill. An uproar came about from many of the soldiers. They started cheering for the crushing defeat they had just awarded the Alliance. Many began to chatter amongst themselves exclaiming the magnificent job they had just done.

”Kàn tāmen rúhé qù yùnxíng! started a soldier at Morse’s ‘stonewall’ ”That’s how this wars getting’ won!” He yelled standing up and doing a fist pound with the soldier next to him. 

But Morse stood up not taking much joy in what had just happened. Granted he understood their desperate need for a morale booster of any kind, and this was as good as any. However all of these soldiers were his responsibility, and he couldn’t let them get blinded by the overconfidence this might give them. ”Tāmen huì zài huílái.” He said to himself aloud, in response to what the soldier by him had said. He walked further away looking up towards the hill. ”Make an attack again.” He continued on his own thought looking around at hill itself. He looked over his troops and back around the hill line. Then he spun to look at the ship. Quickly he whipped around and started walking forward, holding the AR-24s in his hand. 

”ALRIGHT LISTEN UP!” He yelled walking forward into the dug in position. He activated the com piece in his ear so that soldiers too far away could hear him. ”I WANT THIS POSITION MOVED UP ONTO THE HILL. THIS IS A BLOOD BATH TUB WERE SITTIN’ IN. He held up his fingers then to start counting off his order. ”I WANT IT SET UP, TWO BY THREE BY TWO.” His fingers shifted as he went through the different numbers. ”IN FRONT OF THE HILL, ON TOP, AND DOWN HERE.” He took a moment to inhale from yelling. ”LUO JIE?” He yelled out he yelled out with his eyebrows raised to emphasize that he wanted to make sure they understood.

”LUO JIE!” Was the response he got both around him, and through his ear-piece. But it was very loud in his ear ”Yēsū!” He yelled as it hurt his ear, and he pulled it out. He adjusted the volume and he put it back in. As he did, the soldiers were already hard at work pulling the stone walls and barricade materials forward and up the small hill. He thought about calling behind to get a time reference on the engines, but he’d get one when progress was made. In the meantime he had to make sure everything was moved up right. The soldiers moved very quickly up the hill and over the side to set the bunkers up as he’d ordered. Two at the base, three at the top, and two where they were. That way it was a good line of fire. And if it wasn’t, they’d probably be so overwhelmed by incoming troops anyway that it wouldn’t matter. 

[Bishop Morse]

16 Minutes Later

There was another explosion. Sand and dust kicked into the air, with a bright flash as it struck the front of the hill. There had been several of these, though fortunately it had been rather light, only one falling every few minutes. Artillery barrages were a dangerous and scary thing, but with all of the trouble that the Alliance was having at the front, a downed transport within their own lines probably wasn’t the highest priority for their grand army. Regardless the strikes that had come in, and one of them had hit a group of soldiers right on, killing all five of them within a moment. The explosions and firing far in the distance was still audible as the battle continued around them. The positions in front of the Logan however were rather silent. Set up as ordered, with two small bunker positions set up in front and behind of the hill, and three on top, they were still waiting for whatever was to come. Some sharp shooters had taken a position near a rotted dead tree, and so this was a rather formidable holding. But if anyone knew that this thing wouldn’t hold, it was Morse.

He had stayed closer to the ship, still trying to get reports of status on getting the starboard engine fixed. Apparently his primary mechanic, his friend Hoffman, had been critically injured in the explosion. He couldn’t go back and see to that now however, he was in charge of these people out on the ground, and an attack was surely coming. According to the rest of the engineering staff they were making decent progress on getting it fixed, but that may well not be fast enough. Several times they heard Foxbat skiffs fly over heading towards the front, and Morse feared that one of the flights of them might change course and destroy their entire position. However they had not yet come and that was good enough for him. He oversaw some who had been wounded in the artillery barrage taken back into the ship, but the medical staff inside was overworked with the ones already wounded. Keeping them safe was more of a priority. 

”INCOMMING CONTACTS!” Came a voice on the ridge, and over the radio.

” Tā mā de” Morse said looking up at the ridge where the call had come from. He started to move up quickly towards it, as groups of the soldiers got back into their positions. They’d dug some quick little trenches, which were little more then holes that were a few feet deep at the back. There were a few of the bunker points, but this group was like a water wave that would move about given the order of action. So when the call of incoming contacts came up, they all began to run up and take positions at the ridge. Morse had a bit of a ways to go, so he kept his finger to his ear as he ran up towards it. ”How many are there?” He said as he tried to keep his pace while holding his weapon. 

”A few A-FTS, there might be a some LST’s with em, can’t tell yet.” The voice came again. Morse took it to be one of the officers in his group. He charged up the ridge along with a large group of his other soldiers, to join up with the rest of them.

Morse didn’t need any optical tools to see this thing, it was clear enough. A set of transports was up in the air and heading to them. Morse considered they may try to land behind their line, and take them there. But that would make them fly over, and if they had any serious anti air weapons, they could put them to the ground, and a hundred Federal Troops would be dead. They’d probably just land in front of them, and try to over power them, a feat they could no doubt achieve. However these soldiers seemed ready for a serious fight like that. They were all ready and placing their weapons to the spots they wanted. Morse looked back at the distance between them all and the ship. He looked then far to his right to see 49, his lieutenant, arguing with some of his men about how they should keep themselves spread out. Morse rolled his eyes, he really hated 49. He had gotten a large number of troops killed because of his stupidity, and he just never seemed to realize that he was the problem. Regardless he needed the people, and once the shooting started, that might fix itself when the soldiers stopped listening to him.

The landing craft were coming in at a fairly fast speed. Not nearly as fast as most vehicles, but far faster then someone could run, and it wasn’t long before they could hear their engines. But just as they were able to hear their engines, they could hear something else. 

Bang Bang Bang Bang Bang

The crafts auto-cannons began to start laying into their positions. They weren’t apparently going for accuracy, as much as fear. The dirt in front of them ripped up with every hit, some of the shots went over their heads. But they weren’t completely inaccurate, as a scream and a whole ripping straight through one of them told them all that. Everyone took cover where they could, while some of the soldiers moved a bit more proactively. They grabbed a rocket launcher and fired it down at the landing craft. It wasn’t effective at all as a decoy missile launched from the side of the craft and the missile collided with it. The landing craft were getting in close, and Morse knew he’d need a standing order for the troops. ”Officers, order men to fire as you see fit.” He said. He had a lot of men and positions around, and he didn’t quite have the perception that those at the front might have. And down came the landing craft, about 300 yards away from them. They landed sideways as to provide the men with cover when they did. But that was long enough for the soldiers in brown holding at the ridge. They began to open fire the moment they landed. And then the doors of the craft opened up, and they could see purple soldiers charging out of the landing craft and returning fire on their position.

[Bishop Morse]

”Fire!” The call came out from all around. The officers, the soldiers, everyone at the ridge began to poor fire down on the purple wearing soldiers that stormed out of the landing craft. To meet and match them the purple soldiers did the same, charging out of the landing craft and firing at the positions ahead. It had started with a few sporadic shots being unleashed to set the tone. Then suddenly both sides began to unleash such a spray of fire that it was almost deafening. Flashes of light from the ends of rifles, as bullets whizzed all about. Machine gun fire came from both sides, as the small bunkers the stranded Independents had set up reigned down on the landing ships, yet at the same time the Alliance Landing craft were still unleashing fire down upon them so that their soldiers would be covered. The initial slog was just a terrible volley of death. Soldiers on both sides were just collapsing as they were struck. The large cannons from the landing ships just ripped into the men in the Brown Coats, however the steady and quick streams of fire from the Independents positions decimated clusters of the Alliance soldiers.

Morse, like many of the others there, had begun to fire. The Alliance soldiers were still fairly far away, but that didn’t matter to either side. He had opted, like many of the Independents on the ridge, to get down onto the ground, and remain on the upward slope in front of the ship. Bullets came around and he kept his head down, though continued to fire, three rounds at a time. He had no helmet, but he had a reason for that. There was no real point to one he’d found, given the deficit of soldiers that were shot in the face, and high caliber rounds that tore straight through them. He lifted up a bit to fire again, however with the amount of firing that was peppering all around, he got back down. ”Fuck!” He said. The hysterical denial he had of what was going on was rather slipping away. The serious nature of what was going was now entering his mind, but there wasn’t a whole lot of difference. A few feet away a soldier stood up from the dirt and fired down. He started firing and roaring out with slurs against the Federal soldiers attacking. And just as soon as he’d started he took several bullets into his chest and legs. He only had time to scream before he was dead and fell backwards. Morse leaned back over onto his back and checked to make sure had more ammunition. Unfortunately he didn’t grab as much as he should have when he was directing the soldiers. 

He suddenly heard a loud explosion, and there was a bright flash from the opposite side of the ridge. Morse turned back around to look over. There was a large smoldering mess where one of the landing ships had been, a large split down its middle and fire spilling from it. One of the Independent groups had deactivated the targeting sequences in their missile launchers and unleashed a volley into the landing craft at the center. A number of the enemy soldiers were caught in the explosion, and it was a strong blow against the soldiers. Morse crawled a bit forward and fired once more. He was too far away to tell if his shots were the ones killing the soldiers he aimed at, but it was enough that their soldiers were dead. At this point many of the Alliance was hiding behind their landing ships, as it was the only real cover they had. There were still a great deal of them standing to the side firing at the soldiers. Morse could hear a metallic grinding coming from his ship. He turned once more to see the engines on the Logan titling down towards the ground, like it was preparing to lift off. ”God willing.” He said to himself without actually saying his full statement. What he meant was by the grace of God the ship was about ready to launch. ”Andy!” He said placing his finger to his earpiece. ”Are we ready to go!?” He yelled so Andy could hear him over the noise, while hoping it was indeed ready to launch.

”Negative on that.” Andy said. His tone was much calmer then anyone else there it seemed. Likely because he was watching this battle from behind a window, and not really doing anything. He’d more then likely have to surrender, rather then be shot like the rest of them. ”But I’m hearing we’re almost there.” 

Without warning there was another grinding sound. Only this was more like something being hit then a mechanical turning of engine. Morse scooted up to see what was happening. One of the forward stone walls had been torn to pieces. Visible now was a set of tanks, three he thought, but he couldn’t stay up to keep looking. They were large infantry attack models, and had a heavy high powered machine gun turret mounted on top. It had literally shredded through the bunker and the soldiers on it. Standing there while the tanks were there would be incredibly stupid, and so they needed to pull back entirely to the ridge. ”All forces, pull back to the ridge!” Morse yelled into the com. He continued to fire. Though not all at once the soldiers were already moving back. Some moved at a full run, others kept trying to fire. Either way this was not looking good, and the Alliance soldiers were starting to come back from behind the landing ships to press the attack.

[Bishop Morse]

As soon as the words to pull back had been called, a spray of fire from the Alliance lines came souring up at them. The majority of the Independent force was already at the ridge, and were fortunate. However those that had been sitting down at the small bunkers were in far more trouble then they could handle. They were trying to get up the ridge, but they were being cut down by the Alliance fire, almost in a familiar yet ironic way, as they had done the exact same thing to Alliance soldiers not more then half an hour ago. Only a handful of them actually made it up to the top of the ridge, where the others were all cut down by fire. Morse couldn’t really do anything about it, no one could. If they had not had the forward positions, then they would have washed right on top of the ridge first thing, which would have had this end much faster. By doing this, it left the Alliance somewhat unprepared for the fight that was in front of them. He fired down with his weapon at the onslaught of soldiers charging the ridge, but there was a great deal of fire, and so many of them it almost seemed futile. But the main trouble that was in his mind was easy, the tanks. 

The tanks were rolling forward, and their power was hardly being matched. The weapons they had on hand they couldn’t fire so well because they were being hit hard with machine gun fire all over. Granted the Alliance advance was reckless and too fast and thin, or too slow and bulky. This was an advantage the soldiers in brown used as they would empty into them. But the tanks kept rolling and firing. Chunks of dirt would fly into the air as the fire would smack into the ridge. Soldiers were yelling to each other about their status in terms of ammunition or injury. Of course the constant screams from both sides was enough to answer that. 

”Morse!” Came a voice in his ear from his communicator. ”Morse! I’ve got word from the airborne!” It was Willy. Morse knew that well enough, he could tell. In that moment he was a bit panicked when he first heard his name. He presumed it meant something bad, however this news couldn’t have been better, at least that’s what he was hoping. 

”Patch it through!” Morse yelled over the firing line. He was laying on the dirt with whole squads of soldiers to his right and left, all firing across at the advancing troops. It was very loud, and Morse could almost not hear any of what was being said. The only thing he could do was move away from the firing line. He wouldn’t be able to concentrate on shooting much if he did was talking to the airborne, and getting these people help was the more important thing to do. He got up from his position on the ground and began walking down the hill at a quick pace. He didn’t run because he might trip, and he didn’t need to deal with that. Then came an unfamiliar voice came through the com piece. 

”Errant Red, Errant Red, this is Hailhound 5, I say again. What is your situation.” Came the voice. They’re voice was rather calmer and clearer then most of the others. He clearly hadn’t been shouting, though the troubles in the air may have been as rough as they were on the ground. 

”Hailhound 5, this is Errant Red Head. We’re under heavy fire and need assistance anywhere we can get it. Are you in range?” Morse yelled back, still moving himself away from the line. He waited for a moment, hoping that the signal wasn’t about to be blocked by Alliance forces.

”I’m tracking your signal.” The voice said. ”I can be there in a few minutes, but it’s just me, and I’ve got only half my payload.” The voice continued. ”I’ve got some external damage and I was on my way to return. Are you certain you require assistance?” The voice requested. 

Morse’s eyebrows came together as a look of aggravated confusion came over his face. ”Why would anyone ask that?” He wondered. What came out was different. ”What the fuh….. Yes! We’re about to be run down by tanks and five hundred Purple Belly Fuck Nuts! Yes we require your assistance!” Morse spat. Morse was commanding a cavalry unit, but if he had to land to get people out, that was his duty, not to ask how badly they needed it.

”Roger that Errant Red.” The voice said, not seeming to react to the way Morse had spoken. ”E.T.A three minutes, over.” 

Morse didn’t respond, but turned around and headed back up to the ridge. He charged up quickly. He came up next to a group of three soldiers and continued firing. His coat was different then theirs, being a dark black, and no real elements of military equipment visible, with the exception of the weapon that was in his hands. He looked at the soldier next to him on the right. ”Pass the word, air raid commin’ in, eta 3 minutes!” He said to the soldier next to him, and repeated it to the soldier on his left. This was essentially a very long line, so it would get around. But he knew his earpiece wasn’t going to be secure, where the craft that was incoming was no doubt working off a secure channel. They only would have maybe what he’d said, and that was only if they were piecing it together, and that was only if they were looking for it. This way was just safer. He just hoped they’d actually be able to hold for three minutes.

[Bishop Morse]

The seconds that went by were pure misery. Flashes from the forward positions of the Purplebelly’s weapons were relentless. It was as though they didn’t have to reload, or if they did, they had someone take up shooting for them. The only word to describe it was a peppering. Bullets hit the dirt in front of them without end, and it forced many of the Indepedendent soldiers there to keep low. Unfortunately, they had to watch many of the more daring soldiers get up on the line to try to fire into the unrelenting wave of soldiers that was just ahead of them, only to meet that noble end that they seemed to forget was what would happen. The smarter soldiers stayed low to the ground, and fired only when they thought they could get away with a shot. However even they were not safe from the terrible sprays of metal from the Federal troops. 

Morse looked around to see if he could gauge his casualties. It was absolutely impossible for him to tell. Many of his soldiers were lying at the same ridge line he was, and when they were killed, they remained lying down. However there were a great amount of soldiers that had been blown clear off the ridge, or were shot so full of holes that they just stumbled back. Those tanks however were coming up on them quickly and they had no way to stop them. While they seemed to have perked up in spirit a bit with the news of the aerial attack that was incoming, that still wasn’t soon enough. They were falling by the dozen. Of course the Federals weren’t favoring much better, as many soldiers in brown threw grenades at them, and continued their barrage. But the fact was that they simply had more. Morse lifted up over the ridge once more to fire, just as did the soldier to his left. But then with a sudden thud the soldier next to him fell to the fire as he blood from his face. Morse’s eyes were wide at this point, and he got back down. At this point he had the concept that he’d argued many times before that there was no point in wearing helmets and body armor. But as slightly elevated he felt about being right, he couldn’t help but wish in that moment that he had worn body armor and a helmet as he might have been comforted. He peaked his head up a moment once more. The tanks and men had closed the distance considerably. They were less then three hundred feet away, and moving up to the ridge, conquering more feet as every second that went by.

”Errant Red, this is Hailhound 5.” Came a voice in Morse’s ear. He brought himself lower to hear it, and pressed his finger tight to his ear. ”Droppin’ in ten, take cover, over.” 

The news was incredible, and not a moment too soon. The Federal force there had just begun a powerful charge and were closing in fast. In less then a minute they would likely be on top of the line, and no doubt his line would break. As thin as it was that was all he had. ”TAKE COVER!!!” Morse yelled as loud as he could, in the air, and over coms. He slapped his head down to the dirt and started to count the seconds, knowing full well that he would be off in his timing.

One, he could hear the soldiers from the Federal lines bearing down on them, rolling their tanks, and moving their men in closer.

Two, he could hear the bullets hitting the dirt just in front of him, and another slam from a large shell from the largest of the three tanks.

Three, he could hear men uttering obscenities as they got they could still see the soldiers coming in closer to them.

Four, he could hear the scream of an engine over head. 

Five, he could hear a sudden harsh sound of a series of jet engines boosting off all at once.

Six, He could hear a thunderous roar, like a lawnmower, and a heavy pounding on the ground, and in the same second saw flashes of light out of his peripherals. They were met within the same moment an incredible force of huge explosions. The explosions were immense, and the titanic sound they made was deafening. 

As it happened, Morse couldn’t help but look up. A huge wall of fire had over taken the Federal charge, and split them up to pieces. The tanks that had once been there were piles of wreckage that were demolished into bits of shrapnel that went straight through the soldiers near them. The screams were audible, but they came in louder after the fire started to fall down. Seemingly none of the soldiers at the front of the charge had managed to survive, the ones directly hit had done just as poorly. It was the ones at the rear that had faired the best. They took a massive barrage dead on with no cover. They were lucky they had any to spare at all. However it was a boost of confidence that the Independence needed. With strong cheers they got back over the ridge to shoot at the shaken and battered Federals, who were taking cover behind the charred tanks. 

In spite of the barrage however, as many as two hundred of the soldiers at the rear still remained, and they knew the air attack was over. They were now just mad as hell, and the Independent line was terribly thin. Many of their soldiers were already previously wounded, giving all they had to keep the fight going. Now they had more wounds, and not many left. 

Just then Morse heard something, he wasn’t sure if he was ready to believe. A loud and powerful woosh. It was as though something was powering up and discharging a lot of power at the ground. It caused the ground to rumble, a bit more then it had. Morse turned around, to see the scorched starboard engine of the ship pointing downward and discharging exhaust upon it. 

”Morse!” Came a voice in his ear. ”Morse, we’re good to go!” It was Andy on the bridge. He was excited, yet very serious. It was almost as though he was screaming ‘lets get the hell out of here’. Whether or not it was what he was saying, Morse was ready to do it. He looked over the ridge and saw that the damned Federals were rolling out a tank. No doubt they’d been keeping it in reserve. It was purely infantry, he could see that by the quad barrel turret on top. But this was always a fight that he could not win. His men were already looking at the ship, and they could see the tank were waiting for what to do. They seemed willing to stand and fight, holding that ground as long as they could. But their time was done, and Morse knew it.

”All forces, retreat back to the ship!” Morse yelled. ”All forces, retreat back to the ship!” He repeated. He knew that it was probably clear the first time, but he needed it done. And as he ordered it, he himself stood up, fired his last rounds over the ridge, and he began to move back. 

[Ray Hudson]

Once the first group of Alliance soldiers retreated, several of the independent soldiers moved up. Chrystal, the soldier beside her in the poncho and Ray moved towards the front, much to Ray's protest. Once they reached their position Ray checked his hands. They still shook viciously while sweat pooled off of him. He sat behind his cover next to Chrystal who was waiting for the continued onslaught. The soldier in the poncho had an emotionless face which hid his deep worry. Ray looked over to the soldier in the poncho and saw him looking at a small picture. Ray chose to ignore it and just went back to sitting and trying to control his shakes. Chrystal saw the man looking at the picture and her curiosity got the better of her.

"Who's that?" She asked, staring at the image.

The soldier in the poncho looked at Chrystal for a while until he looked back at the image. He was wondering if he should share that information with her. He assumed that there was no harm in it and told her. "She's my stepdaughter." he answered loudly. The sounds of moving soldiers and shouting orders made it difficult to communicate without the necessary amount of yelling.

Chrystal smiled and gazed at the image. It was a young girl smiling while she stood in front of a large statue. Rather than leaving it at that, she continued with the questions. "Oh, she's a cutie. How old is she?" She asked, still staring at the image.

Both of them were staring at the picture while Ray stared at his hands, with the occasional glance over their cover. He was listening to the conversation however. The man didn't answer for a while and his features sunk. "Thirteen." He answered simply. The soldier was unable to keep it at that. He didn't speak to anyone about his personal life, but he saw this as a therapeutic escape from the horrid battle they were apart of. "I married her mother six years ago." The soldier started to show an inkling of emotion. Shame that it was sadness. "She's never called me dad." 

"INCOMING CONTACTS!!" yelled a man on the ridge. This news ended Their conversation and all eyes were on the Alliance Transport that was landing in front of them. It fired a few shots and not even a rocket could stop it. Orders were being issued but Ray knew that it didn't matter. They were stalling. Kicking and screaming as they went down. Ray knew that death had come to collect them and Ray felt nothing but fear and regret. He regret knowing that he was going to die for a cause he never believed in.

Calls to fire rang throughout the valley and Ray and the two soldiers next to him popped out of cover and fired their rifles at the Alliance soldiers in their sights. There was a routine. Ray would pop out and fire a few rounds and pop back into cover. Once in cover, he would observe the slaughter around him. The Independent soldiers around him falling over and expiring around each other. The small was awful and he could barely hear a thing. Each time he watched a soldier fall and die he knew that once he moved out of cover, there was a good chance that he would be shot down and killed, joining them.

Being killed didn't seem like a bad out for Ray. He was disliked by almost everyone and there was nothing for him back home. He wondered if just letting himself die would be all that horrible. Perhaps death wasn't what should be feared. The thought exited his mind as soon as it had entered. The one thing Ray feared more than anything was death. The eternal nothingness. Ray had been an atheist since he was very young and it wasn't doing him any favors in the last few years. Ray was horrified of death. The idea that there would be no thought, no images, no emotion, no movement, no humor, no light, no feeling, only complete, %100 nothing. He feared the thought of turning off. The thought of all being lost. The swift ending. There was no God waiting for him, to redeem him, to save him. No joy for eternity, no damnation. There was only life for Ray. Nothing after. The thought of this kept Ray from taking many risks in his childhood and left him as a coward. The military was a way out for him, a paycheck. He never believed in the cause.

After expelling every round in his magazine into the crowd of Alliance soldiers, Ray sat back behind the stone wall and reloaded his rifle. He sat there, trying to convince himself to expose himself and risk his life to fire at the enemy. As he sat there, Chrystal slid back next to him after firing a hail of bullets into the crowd. She caught another look at the death around them. She saw other Independents get torn to shreds while she stayed breathing. She looked down at her lap with exhaustion showing on her face. Ray looked to his left, watching Danny, Ivi and the others with them fighting the enemy. 

A horrified scream was heard next to Ray and he quickly turned his head to see what had happened. People were screaming all over the place but this one was coming directly next to him. Once he turned, he saw the soldier in the brown poncho lying dead on Chrystal's lap. His eyes were open, gazing towards nothing while blood gushed from three large holes in his chest. Chrystal screamed some more and she kicked and shoved violently, trying to remove the corpse from her body. With one rough push, the man rolled off to the side and laid on his stomach. Ray and Chrystal stared at the dead soldier for some time before looking at one another. They were both surprised at how tired and beaten the other looked. The fire got heavier and heavier. Chrystal popped back out and fired more and more into the enemy, with Ray joining her a short moment later.

Soon, Ray's magazine went dry once again and he sat back down to reload. After inserting a new magazine into the rifle and loading a round into the chamber, Ray looked around once again. Their numbers were thinning more and more. The Independent soldiers were being killed in droves. As Ray scanned their lines he saw a head lying lifeless just outside of a stonewall. The head was still attached to the body but all Ray could see was the soldiers face. It's eyes were open and it seemed like it was staring right at him. Ray stared at the head, horrified. The face gazed at him, lifeless while Ray returned the gaze with air still entering his lungs. Unable to keep looking at the head, Ray turned to his left and saw something far worse.

Danny was kneeling over Ivi, his hands covered in blood and his face welling with tears. He was holding Ivi's hand tight with one hand, while putting pressure on a bullet wound in her stomach with the other. All of the other soldiers around Danny's stonewall were dead and he was praying that Ivi would not go with them. She had died moments earlier but Danny kept holding her hand and putting pressure on the wound. Soon Danny removed his hands from the dead body and looked back towards his machine gun. He went back to his position and fired his weapon with more hatred than before.

Ray was about to lose it. His arms felt so weak that he didn't think he could lift up his rifle. His legs refused to move and he just stared at Ivi's bloody corpse. After firing into the Alliance soldiers some more, Chrystal got back in cover and noticed Ray's focus. She shook him with one hand and he didn't react. She got closer and yelled into his ear so he could hear her, "What's wrong?"

Unable to move, Ray just sat there. He didn't want to say it, if he did it would make it feel even more real. He just yelled back, "She's dead." He didn't specify who, but when Chrystal looked to see what he was looking at, she knew who he was referring to. After hearing it come out of his own mouth, Ray became filled with indignation. He kicked the dirt at his feet and jerked his body about, like a child throwing a tantrum. As he flailed around he repeated, "Shes fucking dead!"

Chrystal had to calm him down so she placed both hands on Ray's shoulders in an attempt to keep him steady. "Ray, RAY!!" She shouted in his face to get him to listen. He stopped shacking around but looked her in the eyes. "I need you with me on this, ok!? I need you calm. We gotta have each others backs if were gonna get through this, alright." Her voice was shaky and her eyes were welling with tears. Grenades went off behind her, sending dirt flying up into the air while the soldiers hit by it swung back. Bullets zipped over her head and people shouted and expired all around them. Chrystal had known Ivi far longer than Ray so seeing her dead on the floor devastated Chrystal far more than Ray. "You good?" She asked, hoping she could keep Ray from losing it.

Ray stared at her, seeing how she was taking the death of her friend and he knew that he needed to keep it together. "Yeah." He answered, nodding his head.

"You good?" She asked again, for reassurance.

"Yeah" He repeated.

After calming down, Ray looked down at his lap, taking a moment to gather himself. Chrystal checked her ammo and realized that she was almost out."Got any spare mags?" She asked Ray.

"This is my last one." He answered, lifting his weapon a bit to show that he was referring to the one in his gun.

Chrystal cursed to her self and sat, thinking. After almost no time at all she turned to her right and gazed at the dead soldier in the poncho. She grabbed him by the waist and pulled him closer. She dug threw his pockets and discovered that he still had three magazines left. She handed one to Ray, loaded one into her rifle and tucked the other one into one of her pockets.

An explosion went off close to Ray's position and he looked over the stonewall and saw the cause of it. Tanks were moving towards them and destroying anything in their path. "Oh God, we are so fucked!!" Ray shouted after seeing the killing machines rolling in his direction. He heard the order to pull back to the ridge and he looked towards Chrystal to see if she was ready. When he turned to face her she was already looking at him, waiting for him to get ready. Running to the ridge would involve them exposing themselves to enemy fire for quite a long ways. It was practically getting exercise and your reward was death. Soldiers were already running, soldiers were already dying.

"You good?" She asked, ready to make the journey.

"Fuck no!" Ray shouted back.

"Come on, we gotta go!" She screamed.

"Shit, ah shit, AH SHIT!!" Ray yelled, readying himself for the trek into the tank fire. "Alright, let's do it, LET'S FUCKIN' DO IT!!" He screamed, shoving off of the cover and sprinting towards the ridge.

Regret pooled out of Ray. Regret of joining the Independents, regret of moving to the front, and regret for not just lying down and playing dead. He sprinted as fast as he could towards the ridge. People were being mowed down all around him. Blood sprayed onto Ray's legs and chest as soldiers from all around him were being torn to shreds in every direction. Bullets hit the dirt and people around him. Ray was yelling the whole time, aware that this was the end. There was no way that he would survive this mass slaughter. Luck was not on his side, fate did not exist. It was fact, the tanks would eliminate him from his worthless existence. The journey towards the ridge felt like the longest run in his life. He use to run quite a bit in his youth, but that was for fun. If people shot at him when he ran back then, he would have done it a lot less. The horrid shrieks of Independent's being slaughtered filled his ears and Ray knew that his screams of terror would soon turn to screams of pain. His body would turn into a bloody mess. He was out in the open with several tanks firing into his destination. He was running into bullets with the hopes of not getting shot, like jumping into a pool hoping not to get wet. He saw a stonewall getting closer and Ray felt his pacing slow. His mind made him believe that he would never make it and he felt himself slow down as he neared his destination. Ray pushed himself harder, throwing one leg in front of the other. Soon, he found himself right next to it and he grabbed the side of the stonewall and flung himself around it. 

Clenching his chest, Ray gasped for air. His heart pumped with such speed and Ray tried his hardest to bring air into his lungs. He felt a hand pat his back and this caused him to cough harshly. After finally collecting some air, he looked up to see who had patted him. Chrystal face looked down on him with a bright smile on her face. The relief that the two of them had survived sent Ray into hysterics. He laughed out the air he had tried so hard to gather, causing him to cough in between loud laughter. Chrystal started patting Ray all over his body. She pat down his chest, back and legs. She grabbed him by the cheeks and moved his head to the left and to the right, observing his face. Ray was visibly confused and Chrystal picked up on this."Just checkin' to see if your all there." She explained, which caused Ray to laugh some more. She wanted to make sure that he wasn't shot and at the same time, wanted to make sure he was real, if she wasn't just imagining that he was alive. Only a handful of people made it up to the ridge alive and both of them probably should of been dead.

The joys of survival didn't last. The Alliance were still moving up and were going to overrun their position. That wasn't what sucked the joy out of Ray, however. When he looked around at their new position he saw Danny, on the ground. A few feet to his left, Danny was on his stomach, apparently shot in the back just before he reached the ridge. He was lying on his stomach with his face pointing away from Ray. The soldiers next to Danny just shot down at the Alliance while he just lied down and bled.

Horrified at the loss of another friend, Ray looked at himself and saw all of the dirt and blood that covered him. Ray wasn't dressed like the other Independent soldiers. He wore civilian clothing, with the only military gear showing on him being a bulletproof vest and an assault rifle. His coat was a charcoal color and he had a black shirt underneath. His pants were black and his boots weren't standard issue. He didn't wear much brown, but now he was a crimson and brown mess, with the blood and dirt mixed together into a horrid sludgy mess.

Chrystal saw Ray just staring at something and the situation was the same as the last time he gazed at something motionless. Another friend of theirs was taken from them in this disgusting valley, but Chrystal couldn't snap Ray out of his frozen state. She continued to shoot at the Alliance soldiers. Good new came when a soldier to her right told her that air support was coming in three minutes. Chrystal turned to Ray and shared the news with him, but he didn't respond, he just stared at Danny's body, lying on the floor.

As the time went by the Alliance moved up, closing in on their position. Chrystal could barely get a shot out without being met with a hail of bullets coming right at her. The soldier that had informed her about the air strike was dead now, four bullets torn into him.  Ray was still just lying behind cover, staring at Danny. She knew that the Alliance would be closing the distance soon and they would all be killed. She fired a few hopeless rounds at the Alliance soldiers in a vein attempt to hold them back. When she got back into cover she heard the order to take cover. She knew the air strike was coming and she checked if Ray had listened to the order. While everyone around her covered their heads, Ray just stared at Danny. Chrystal grabbed Ray and covered his head with one hand while covering her own with the other. After a few seconds a loud screech was heard by everyone and the bombs fell onto the enemies heads. The sound caused by the bombing deafened her for a moment, then left her with a loud ringing. She looked to see what kind of damage was done and it was uplifting. A large bulk of the incoming forces were killed and most of the tanks were destroyed. The good news continued when the Logan's engines roared and the heat burned the floor beneath it. The order to retreat came soon after and this lit up the confidence that she had once again. She turned to Ray with joy visible on her face. He was staring at Danny again, this time with a puzzled look on his face.

"Ray, come on let's go!" She ordered

"Wait!" Ray shot back, still staring at Danny. Chrystal grabbed his collar and began to pull him forward. "WAIT!" He yelled louder, this time turning to face her. Chrystal stopped pulling but kept her hand on his collar. Ray went back to staring at Danny. After only a short moment, Ray continued. "We can get'm!" He claimed

"ARE YOU FUCKING CRAZY!?! WE NEED TO GO NOW!!" She screamed, obviously furious at Ray's lack of cooperation. She knew Danny was dead and going back for him was a waste of time.

"Look! He's still moving, he's still alive!" Ray claimed, pointing towards his body. Chrystal looked over and saw Danny. "We can save'm, We can still save'm!!" He screamed.

Chrystal stared at Danny for a moment and looked back at Ray. She was wasting time thinking about it. She knew what Ray was feeling, and she knew that he needed her support. She wanted to save Danny just as much as Ray did. He was willing to risk his life to save him. "Alright...alright let's go."She yelled back.

"Cover me while I drag'm over the ridge." Ray requested. She agreed and the two of them ran to Danny's position. Nearly all of the soldiers were running back to the ship while Ray and Chrystal stayed back. Once Ray reached Danny, he went to grab his arms. Most of Danny's body was exposed to the enemy, so getting him over the ridge would cause Ray to expose himself to enemy fire. Chrystal took some cover and fired at the Alliance soldiers but it wasn't long until they stopped her. After about her fifth shot and round tore right into her left bicep. She was sent onto her back and she howled in pain. As Ray almost finished dragging Danny over the ridge, he too was sent to the ground. Several shots flew all around Ray as he pulled Danny into cover but almost at the same time, two rounds went through his body. The first ripped through his shoulder and the second tore through his left leg. He was thrown to the ground and he screamed in pain. He had been shot before in earlier battles and the pain was still the same. The horrendous pain that went throughout your body. The fear of losing whatever was shot. Everything in Ray's mind went blank and then all of his focus went into his wounds. Chrystal saw that Ray was down but Danny still wasn't over the hill. She pulled him further in until he was completely in cover. Chrystal stood up and went over to Ray. She pulled him up to his feet, which caused him to scream again in pain. He stayed standing however and limped towards Danny. Chrystal and Ray grabbed his arms and put them over their shoulders with Ray on the right and Chrystal on the left. The pain was close to unbearable, but Ray kept holding on. Danny's body was drenched in blood due to the two bullet wounds in his chest. The three of them started limping their way towards the ship as fast as they could.

"I got ya Danny, I got ya." Ray told him.

"yuh..." Danny said weakly. "why yuh...You stu...you stupid." His voice was weak and his sentences were broken but he kept speaking. The ship was open for their entry, they just had to get their. Their pacing was slow but they kept moving. Danny kept muttering his broken sentence "Your stu...your....your stup...dropped...nuh...not mine...yuh...yuh dropped..."

[Bishop Morse]

The stampede was smaller then Morse had hoped it would be. He had thought that after he’d given the order to fall back that more people would be rushing down the hill towards the ship. However, that simply wasn’t the case. There had been nearly three hundred soldiers there at the start that had moved to hold the position. Now there was maybe half of that number which were actually able to keep moving. He could see that a lot of his operational group was helping the wounded. He started to realize that even a good percentage of what he thought were his soldiers that were fine were also clutching wounds, or limping. He had gotten back off of the ridge himself, and was halfway to the ship. He looked back to see that a group was still on the ridge. As he noticed that he looked and found his lieutenant running over to him.

”I’ve got a group still up there to hold the line while we fall back.” Said Lieutenant Minor. He was sweaty and dirty, like they all were, but he seemed serious. It was as though he actually found this to be a good idea.

Morse’s eyebrows came together and raised in confusion. He started to mouth words, but there was no time ”What the….. fuh………why…… why do you think these stonewalls are here!? There are a hundred guys chargin’ at us. GET EM DOWN!” Morse yelled at 49. Morse quickly then started running back to the ship. A large chunk of his soldiers were also making it in, and others were still helping the wounded. A soldier was dragging another one who was obviously shot in his shin. Morse slung his rifle over his shoulder, and grabbed the mans legs. The wounded man began to scream in pain as Morse lifted him up. But there wasn’t time. ”GO, GO, GO, HURRY!” Morse yelled at the man holding the wounded soldiers arms. He was completely ignore the pain that he was causing the wounded soldier. But it was either this or he would get killed right there. Another soldier came up and grabbed the mans other leg, and it helped to carry him. 

”I got it sir.” The new soldier said, recognizing that Morse was an officer. Morse just nodded and let him have the legs. He quickly moved off to see what else he could do. In an odd way he felt like a cattle rancher, moving a heard. 

He looked over and saw a dark skinned youth. He was more then likely one of the youngest people in the entire group. He was clutching his stomach, and was trying as hard as he could to keep moving back to the ship. Morse looked back to the ridge to see that the men 49 had put up there were all being shot, and falling. ”Fuckin 49.” He said. And at that moment the soldiers in purple were now seen. They began shooting down at them. The stonewalls set up had 5 men each it seemed, and opened up with turrets. But they wouldn’t hold for more then a minute. And at the rate this dark skinned boy was moving, he’d never make it. ”God Dammit.” Morse said running as fast as he could. He fired up at the ridge as he did. A fully automatic spray, as were many of his soldiers still doing as they back pedaled. He wasn’t the farthest back, as many more soldiers were still trying to get back, and were being dragged the distance. It was a snails pace though. Morse through down his AR-24s, the moment it clicked out of ammo. He couldn’t waste time reloading, but he didn’t think he had any bullets left. He ran over to the dark skinned boy, who was stumbling to the ground. Morse could see he was shot in the shoulder, as well as taking some hits to his stomach. Apparently the armor had stopped them from being fatal, but he may well have had cracked ribs, making it hard to breathe.

Morse saw he still had his rifle. ”Take this off, TAKE IT OFF!” Morse yelled as he grabbed it off of him. Morse didn’t think he could just scoop him up, so he did the next best thing. ”Get on my back, NOW!” Morse yelled. The boy had tears going down his face, but Morse couldn’t bother with any of the pain, or any of it. The boy tried to jump a bit, but didn’t get much lift. So Morse bent down so he could get up, and then once he felt the full weight of him tried to lift him up. ”Ho FUCK!” He wheezed out lifting him up. Morse wasn’t the strongest person by any means, and hadn’t needed to be. He started moving at the quick step, sort of at a little less then a jog towards the ship. This was good, as the Alliance soldiers began opening up on soldiers down bellow. Morse moved faster then the boy could, though it was slower then he could have gone on his own. But that didn’t matter. Step by step he moved in closer, until he was finally at the starboard side, and came in through the airlock which had been opened to the cargo bay. Once inside Morse just dropped the boy, not bothering to set him down gently. He didn’t have time. ”Jah, fuck.” He said as the boy hit the ground, as it was the closest thing he could get out to “sorry” at the moment.

Many of the officers were directing soldiers deeper into the ship, and back away from the walls so there was room. ”KEEP MOVIN’ BACK, HEAD IN!”Morse yelled as well towards many of the soldiers. The “Arms” of the ship were moving the engines up over the ground and pointing down. They were still belly on the ground, so it needed to lift them up if they were going to get off the ground. But just as that happened Morse saw the tank coming over the ridge. ”Mǔqīn tā mā de” He said looking at it. He had several dozen men still trying to get back, and that tank might rip the cockpit to bits. He looked around for something to do. He then saw what he almost what had been a miracle of memory. Next to the door a number of rocket launchers sat. Some had been fired and were empty, but two over the over under devices hadn’t. He picked one of the loaded ones up, knowing it was loaded by a greenlight on the side of it, and brought it to his shoulder. It was two rocket tubes, one on top of the other, he saw the tank. 

But Morse had never shot one of these before. He looked it over trying to figure it out, but he couldn’t do it. ”HOW THE FUCK DO YOU FIRE THIS THING!?” Morse yelled aloud holding it in front of him trying to figure it out. A soldier on the ground, who was missing a foot Morse noticed, held his hands up.

”Here, give it here.” he said weakly. Morse handed it to him. The soldier pulled out from the side a targeting site, and then clicked an item near the trigger at the bottom. ”Here, just aim and fire.” The soldier said again, holding it back up.

Morse just grabbed it and looked back out the airlock. Soldiers were still coming in, and he was in the way, so he stepped back out of the ship. He didn’t take notice anyone around him, he couldn’t, he needed to focus. At that moment the men at the stonewall were running away from it, as the tank unleashed a shredding blow to it. It began to turn its turret towards the next one, Morse brought the rocket launcher to his shoulder. He looked through the targeting device, and it showed the area in front of him, with a grid. It showed only silhouettes of heat signatures, bright red for the sensory targets. Morse found tank, as it was bright and hot. The device began to beep in a rapid succession. Morse had no idea what it meant, he just hoped it meant it was locked on. At that moment Morse remembered the men firing the rockets earlier. Granted they’d shot at the landers, and the decoy rockets were fired. But he started to think about what if this didn’t work. What if this didn’t stop it? It would most likely rip everything apart, and it was all over. But he needed to try, even if it was only a long shot. He gritted his teeth, and squeezed the two triggers underneath, accidentally, since he’d originally only meant to shoot one of the rockets. But he fired both. ”Shit!” Morse said. The device was empty, but he kept it over his shoulder as he watched the fiery missiles soar overhead. Like lightning they went over, with nothing but maybe a second till it would hit. But that second lasted a very long time. Soldiers were still running around, but Morse didn’t care. He was just focused on the rockets.

BOOM

There was an explosion at the tank as both of the rockets collided. Soldiers near it were thrown to the side, as the force and fire struck them. A fireball rushed out and smoke entered the air.  Morse’s eyes were still fixed on it, not sure what he would see. Then the fire went away, and the brightness stopped, and it could be seen.

The tank was still there, and it was moving to profile. However, the turret was gone. The entire top portion of the tank had been ripped off. Morse could see a soldier getting up out of the tank. He was wearing a helmet, but there was probably a lot of smoke inside of the tank. ”HAHAHAHA, YEAH!!!!!” Morse yelled, reveling in what he had just done. However this moment was short lived, as Morse came back to reality and saw this didn’t stop the purple soldiers from coming after them. ”Shit.” Morse said coming back to that realization. Just on instinct he reached into his coat and drew his two LeSnuf revolvers. He fired up into the soldiers coming at them, as some of the last of his soldiers were coming in. He fired out, aiming though did it fast, as there were so many soldiers he wasn’t likely to miss. All twelve round were out just as soon as he’d drawn. He quickly ran inside and came around the corner. Some of the soldiers were still standing out there shooting as the engines started to kick out with heat. The last of the soldiers were dragged inside. And as far as Morse could see, there was no one left to get. Through the walls you could hear bullets pelting the ship. But they couldn’t breach the hull, though they didn’t stop.

”ANDY TAKE US OUT!” Morse yelled over all the commotion. The engines suddenly began to spew out heat and force, the moment he said it, and Morse could feel the ship lifting up. The rear cargo door was closed earlier, and from the airlock some soldiers were still shooting. Morse looked out to see the ground starting drift away from them, and the last soldier ceased firing his weapons as he then closed the door. The rounds hitting the ship stopped, and the ship kept going up. ”Andy” Morse said. ”Andy, take us to orbit. We’ll re evaluate there.” Morse said giving his final order. He took out his earpiece, and he breathed a tired sigh as he came to grips with the fact that they had survived.