Battle

There was no sky; deep sapphire eyes stared into dark red blood-colored clouds, as inky black smoke swirled around her, like creatures from myth searching for an escape. She could hear nothing but an intense ringing in her ears, but the deep rumbling vibrations shaking the earth beneath her pain-riddled body was proof enough that the battle was still raging. Her shallow attempts at breathing racked her chest with even more factual proof that the explosion had not entirely killed her; it had just tried very hard.

Being honest with herself, as she watched the tendrils of smoke drift ominously overhead, she wished she could just stop. To not get up, to let her body's agony slip her into the darkness of that smoke, allowing her mind to become nothing, while her body decayed on this nameless moon. The constant fighting, the endless campaigns, just a repetitive cycle of wake, train, eat, and sleep broken up by conflicts and endless rivers of blood, red as the clouds that seem to have buried the sky above her now. An orphaned child with no living relatives, one adrift with no purpose but to be someone else's sword, someone else's shield, endlessly fighting for someone else's freedom…

"Captain Yun, requesting orders! Captain, snap out of it and return to the present! We require your orders, ma'am!" The urgent, familiar desperate cry broke through her dark thoughts. Her brain flashed mental images of the faces of her men. Her men! Those who depended on her relied on her, and those hapless idiots that followed her onto this nameless ugly moon, trusting she could pull them out. Their smiling faces, laughing drunkenly after each victory, hiding their dice games with chagrin and fear when she stepped into the barracks for inspection. They had hopes; some even had families; for those men, for their futures, she needed to move; she needed to survive for them, her family!

"Stop screaming like an abandoned child, Shine; I'm here! Stay focused and keep your voice down. We're in enemy territory; yelling that loud will give away your position. What's the situation? How bad are your injeries?" She rolled with a groan onto her belly while scanning her position, mentally comparing it to the terrain map she had memorized before they landed. She should be near the largest of the three cliff faces on the moon's dominant side. She slapped her helmet harshly, cursing from the pain and the brief flash of her heads-up display before it went dark again. Suddenly hundreds of panicked voices exploded on the communications channel.

"Captain Yun, is that you? You're alive!" The same familiar frantic voice of Shine inquired through the speakers of her helmet.

"Shine, you prefer to be speaking to my ghost?" Catian Yun asked sarcastically, bracing against more agony.

"Thank the maker; we're pinned; we need your assistance!" A strained voice relayed urgently over the open communication channel.

"I'm injured!" A higher-pitched cut in adding to the channels racket.

"We need an evac!" Screamed yet another new voice

"SHUT UP, MAGGOTS!" She announced in a deep, authoritative tone that silenced the com line.

"Only Shine is allowed to speak up unless otherwise commanded! My interface is down, status report." Captain Yun growled, her hands clenching around the handles of her blast blades as she inched her way towards the lip of the hole she seemed to have been thrown into; cresting the lip on her belly, she cautiously peeked over the top. Her eyes landed on three forms, not moving a few yards away from her position, their red and black battle suits identifying them as friendlies.

"Ma'am, all our HUDs are down, and we believe it's due to an unknown jamming technique. However, I was able to restore communications by accessing the old remote life support monitoring system. According to the last readings I have from the old system before my transmissions were blocked, we have just under fifteen hundred remaining. You are currently the highest-ranking survivor. We have a lot of lost chickens out here, ma'am. The majority of our forces are located near drop point alpha, but we have a detachment of four hundred troops near the south cliff and approximately three hundred surrounding your position. It appears that the enemy has underestimated our surviving strength, as some of our men are playing possum. Nonetheless, the situation is dire." Her mind reviewed the information she had just heard while her eyes focused on her glitching HUD and sensor readings.

"Shine, my suit's picking up data transmissions. Who the hells receiving?" A gruff voice interrupted her thoughts. She wanted to bark back about how nobody follows orders anymore, but the information was too alarming.

"No one on our side, Sir. All I can pick up are vitals," Captain Yun's stomach dropped, a bad hunch seeping in, she had no proof, but every instinct screamed that the information was not good for her or her men.

"Shine, I need you to disable the standard info transmissions for all men within three hundred meters of my location. And then, gradually cut them off for the ones at the south cliff. Can you do it without actually killing anyone? " Another blast suddenly exploded, showering her with dirt, and leaving a crater a few meters to her left. She flinched at the impact, sharp tendrils of pain bursting through her wounded body. She grimaced while taking slow, deep calming breaths, her brain running through their next steps.

"Affirmative, ma'am. I'll take care of it starting now."

"Attention all units, this is Captain Yun speaking. We're in a tough spot here but we can still turn this around. We need a diversion at point alpha, draw the enemy in and keep them occupied. As for the rest of us, hum the planetary anthem before coming toward my location; look for the visible tar fire near Big Drop. If my hunch is correct, we will pincer them from behind. We move out when I have five hundred; everyone else must merge with us en route. Any injured unable to move, hold tight; no one will be left behind; wait for us!

"I want blast blades set to max for anyone who has them, and everyone spaced accordingly, no cutting off friendly limbs! If you did not request blast blades, borrow if you can, or use the rifle as a damn club and push them toward someone who can make them really bleed. We need to make these bastards feel it! Now move out and show them what we're made of!"

A deafening, "Yes, Captain!" blasted through her helmet as she quietly started to sing to herself, then slowly moved her limbs to assess her condition. She pushed a small blue button on her the left forearm of her battle suit and with a soft hissing the last dose of pain inhibitor filled her vains.

As Captain Yun waited in the smoke-filled battlefield, the blue transmission light on her left bracer suddenly blinked out. As if on cue, the enemy bombings ceased, and she could sense a shift in the battlefield. It was as if the enemy troops were repositioning themselves, inching further from her location.

*There was something definitely wrong about the transmission.* She felt like cursing, trying not to speculate on how the enemy hacked their battle feed.

Moments later, she heard the sound of footsteps approaching her position. Her grip on her blades tightened as she prepared to face whoever was coming her way. But to her relief, it was her own comrades who arrived, wearing their distinctive red and black armor and sporting various shades of violet-colored skin.

The soldiers lined up before her in perfect formation, their blaster blades glinting menacingly in the smoke-filled air. Captain Yun crossed her arms, observing the soldiers with a mix of pride and apprehension. They were her team, her fellow warriors, but the battle ahead was far from over.

"Listen up, Maggots! We were sent here to clear this depths cursed rock, and that is what we will do! The ore here is necessary for the survival of our friends, our families, and our planet! We will not fail them! We will survive to see their faces again! I, for one, am not dying on some shit-hole moon with no alcohol! It- Will- Not- Happen! So if I won't die, you lot are sure, as the depths not allowed to check out above your rank! Your only option is to survive and win! For yourself! For your families! For our people! Is that understood?" Her voice boomed into the smoke-filled air flowing stronger than the thick dusty haze, the glint of the fire reflecting off her cracked black and red visor as smoke curled around her battle armor.

"Yes, Captain Yun!" Exploded over the communications channel once more, vibrating through the ground from the determined men and women standing before her.

"Those before me are now Attack Squad Beta! Those Defending at the Drop Point are Defense Alpha! Attack Squad Beta, you all know how to attack in "Fei" formation. I do not want one man stepping out of sequence! If that happens and they survive, I will personally cut their legs off for endangering your fellows! Defense Alpha, you will shift into attack formation "delta" when you see my signal; we are moving out!" She raised her blast blade high, punctuating her command.

"Yes, ma'am!" She turned, and the ordered troops behind her fell into formation as she led them in a steady jog, her breath coming fast, her heart pumping hard, and her sore muscles stretching and tensing for the fight to come. In half the time it took to burn an incense stick, she saw the enemy's back. Her hands moved to her waist, pulling the last of her pulse grenades. She paused for a moment, her feet digging in with a gritty sound as she pulled back, lifting her right leg knee-high before throwing the grenade for all she was worth.

"Ma'am, what's the signal?" A tense, scared voice was briefly heard over the channel seconds before the center of the enemy line exploded with heat and blinding light. Her helmet darkened for a split moment. Not waiting for it to clear, she and those behind her charged into the back of the enemy line.

A determined rage-filled battle scream exploded from the depths of her burning chest, her fellow countrymen following suit, screaming with a thunderous cacophony. Hundreds of long energy blades lit up, emitting a burning dark blue flame as the black and red-clad battalions moved together to slice down their blue and green armored foes.

The enemy's armor was thick and dense, making projectile weapons ineffective when combined with the moon's gravity. During the mission briefing, she had been very loud about the need for blaster blades on this mission. Both superiors had brushed it off though Major Su had eventually placated the request by stating it was standard survival gear and would be allowed for soldiers that "felt the need" to equip them for this mission. The weapons issued by the higher-ups for this mission had been RS9 riffles and Enxi pistols for each soldier.

She and her fellow soldiers had quickly discovered the harsh reality of combat on the moon's crumbling red surface. Their long and midrange firearms were completely useless, leaving them with nothing but their wits and their blaster blades to fend off the enemy. More than half of them had survived the initial bombings and had managed to set up a fire line, but they soon found themselves helplessly watching as the enemy advanced and kept advancing.

Too many men had died in those first few moments, and the survivors were forced to find cover as a wave of suspiciously precise explosions rocked the battlefield. When the smoke cleared, she found herself the highest-ranking officer left standing.

But there was no time to grieve for the fallen. Thank the Maker, the enemy was equipped with an energy pistol that had a limited range. Otherwise, the soldiers would have been mowed down in the first encounter, and they might not have had the chance to adapt. But adapt they did, and with their blaster blades in hand, they were more than a match for the enemy. Seeing every single soldier holding at least one blast blade almost made her want to laugh and cry with relief as several hundred individuals reaped death with each instinctive swing.

They fought with everything they had, their blades flashing in the dim light of the moon's surface as they cut through the enemy ranks. Every swing of their blades brought death, and several hundred individuals fell before them. It was a brutal, savage fight, but the soldiers were determined to see this mission through to the bitter end.

Captain Yun charged forward into the enemy line, her blast blades flashing with deadly intent. Her limbs felt heavy, and every swing of her blades was an effort, but she refused to give up. She left a path of devastation in her wake, her blades carving through flesh and bone with ease.

To her left, a slim short soldier stumbled and nearly fell, but Captain Yun quickly reacted. With lightning-fast reflexes, she flipped her left blade closed while swinging her right hand, decapitating the enemy aiming for the young soldier's head. Blood sprayed across her visor, but she didn't care. She pushed the soldier slightly behind her, reactivating her left blade and stepping into a defensive pose to protect him as he caught his breath.

"We're making headway, people! I don't care how tired you are; the first ones to fall from exhaustion will get my boot so far up their ass, it'll need lasers to remove it!" she barked into the comms, her voice laced with determination. She sent a man twice her size flying with a powerful kick, creating enough space to bring both blades together and down, slicing him diagonally. His body fell apart in two pieces, showering her with gore.

The response from her troops was immediate and thunderous. "Yes, Ma'am!" they cried, their voices echoing through the chaos of battle.

From above the battle may have appeared as a strange choreographed dance if one could see through the clouds of smoke and dust. Instead, it was a dark vision of light as shadows moved through the smoke like wraiths of death.

Those dug in at the drop zone began to push forward, slicing through the middle of the enemy lines with their blades. Those coming up behind fanned out to tear through them in a crescent-shaped formation.

The enemy fought back fiercely, but they were no match for the determined soldiers before them. Captain Yun and her comrades fought with all their might, their blades lighting the dark surface of the desolate moon as they cut through the enemy ranks. Every swing of their blades brought death, and several hundred individuals fell before them. The battle raged on for what felt like hours, though in reality, it only took a few hard-pressed moments.

The enemy's eyes began to show fear and panic as they realized they were no match for the relentless assault of her men. Many tried to retreat, only to find there was no escaping the churning blades of Captain Yun and her comrades.

Those who had truly lost all hope dropped to their knees, throwing their hands up in surrender. The wails of the dying and injured filled Captain Yun's ears, but to her, it sounded like hope, they would survive.

When the end of the battle did come, her armor was drenched in blood, the light of her blast blades dimmer than when she had first started, but she had emerged victorious.

"Find a partner! Begin securing prisoners; if anyone does not surrender, make sure you give them the fastest trip you can to the depths. We have no time to draw this out! Once everything is secure, Defense Alpha start treating the wounded and organizing the dead. Everyone else fan out, find the auto shellers they were using to launch those damn explosives at us. Disable the depths out of them before setting up the auto miners and gathering the forsaken reason we landed here in the first place. Shine, how many of our ships do we have on the ground, and can we radio command?"

"Captain Yun, we have five undamaged troop transports between the three drop zones," Shine replied. "If we hug real close, that could get us off this moon. However, we have no room for the injured or prisoners; that is standing space only. Also, unless we find what is causing the jamming and can disable it, assuming it isn't environmental, we have no way to call for help."

Her head buzzed with frustration as she went over ideas. They had prisoners, casualties, wounded, and ore to move off-planet. To her, the ore, remaining mobile friendlies, and the injured were more critical than prisoners or the dead. However, some of the dead were higher-ranking officers; someone would have something to say if they were just left to rot on the moon. Someone would also get bent out of shape if they returned without anyone to extract more information from. She hated most petty political nonsense, but she would have to throw a few dice into this game as the only one currently making decisions.

"I want all ships brought to drop zone alpha; Shine, I'll meet you there to brainstorm." She powered down her blast blades, feeling the familiar heat reseed as she slid the handles back into the protective slots on either thigh. Her feet made heavy crunching sounds in the moon's crisp, fragile soil. Tiny red wisps of dust rose up to swirl around the base of her thick boots with each forward motion. All around her was carnage and destruction. She was silently grateful for the stale refiltered air her suit fed her. The smell of burning flesh and the thick metallic blood scent would have made her too nauseous to move otherwise.

Passing soldiers helping each other to secure the remaining hostiles, she nodded to gracefully acknowledge their efforts. Their tired, worn faces managed to give her a grateful smile as she journeyed through the battlefield. She moved ever closer to a solid black wall of metal standing stark and imposing against the deep red backdrop of clouds. Then, as if sensing her approach, a loud hissing sound filled the air around her just as a large wall section shifted left. In the gap stood a metallic form, twice her height and tripled her width, its black and red paint ominously reflecting the fires from the battlefield behind her.