Love Hina Fan Fiction ❯ Love and War ❯ Chapter 6 ( Chapter 6 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: Spartan429 
Anime/Manga: Love Hina Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Comedy / Adventure / Action | Type: Divergence | Uploaded On: 07.02.2007 | Pages: 5 | Words: 5.0K | Visits: 461 | Status: Work In Progress
Anime/Manga: Love Hina Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Comedy / Adventure / Action | Type: Divergence | Uploaded On: 07.02.2007 | Pages: 5 | Words: 5.0K | Visits: 461 | Status: Work In Progress
"abc"-speech
"abc"-speech over radio/TV
abc-thoughts
"abc"-English speech
Location: Business District, Hinata City. Five kilometers from Forward Operating Base.
Status: Chopper down, crew dead.
Alert Level: Defcon 1
Man, why does my head feel like a ton of bricks? Kitsune thought.
She slowly opened her eyes and looked around, answering her own question. She was hanging upside down in her seat, held in by her safety strap. To the left and right, she could see all the other girls were still unconscious. In front of her, Keitaro’s stretcher was still in place, but…
“Where’s Keitaro?” she asked in a panicked voice. “Hey girls, Keitaro is gone!”
Apparently, those were the key words, because everybody’s eyes snapped open. One by one, they undid their straps, fell to the ground painfully, and went over to the stretcher above them. The straps on the stretcher were all undone.
“Keitaro!” Naru cried out. No answer.
“Where could oni-chan be?” Kanako asked.
Wham!
The chopper’s battered body shook as something hit the side. The girls walked out of the chopper to find the body of a Chinese soldier laying on the ground.
“Too easy,” Keitaro said, walking over to the body, which he searched for any extra AK-47 ammo, the rifle he had taken from the soldier earlier. He stowed the extra clips away in his tactical vest. His shoulder wound was still bleeding, though not as much as before.
“Oh good, you’re awake,” he said pleasantly. “That means we can get on outta here. We have a long way to go to reach the base.“
“How are we going to get there?” Sarah asked unhappily.
“We’ll have to walk of course, or run, depending on the situation,” he said calmly.
“What’s that sound?” Shinobu asked.
It was a low rumbling sound, like a diesel engine. It was coming from down the street, where the hazy form of tanks could be seen. Behind there were dozens of infantry.
“And in this situation, run!” Keitaro yelled. He led them down the opposite street at a dead run. All around them, wrecked cars, debris, and bodies were scattered on the ground. Many were of innocent civilians that had been trying to escape from the city.
“Quick, into that alley!” he pointed to a dark alleyway. Everybody ran in as Keitaro checked to see if they were being followed. A few paces in, the alley made a sharp left turn into a main street. Keitaro was heading out of the alley when…
Chink! Chink! Chink! Chink! Chink! Chink!
The ground nearby the alley was pelted by bullets. Keitaro dived back into the alley in the nick of time. He scrambled to his feet and planted himself against the wall.
“Dammit!” he looked around the corner and quickly pulled his head back. “They’ve got an APC!” He looked at the girls with an uneasy look. “No matter what happens, do not move from this spot or make a sound.” He then ran into the street, firing his AK wildly to pin down the gunner in the APC. He ducked behind a totaled car and reloaded his spent clip. The gunner resumed to fire the APC’s 25mm cannon.
“Oh my God! Keitaro’s insane!” Kitsune cried out.
Keitaro fired a three-round burst, getting a lucky shot through the gunner’s open view port (inside the gunner’s position on this particular APC, the only way to see where the targets are is through a small window, which can be covered with an armored plate, and/or a monitor connected to the cannon’s mounted camera), and the cannon ceased its firing. Keitaro ran over to the APC, climbed up to the driver’s hatch, and pulled it open. There was a muffled cry, and Keitaro fired down into the compartment. He pulled out the newly made corpse out, tossed it over the side, and jumped in. The APC roared to life, and lurched forward at a brisk pace, stopping by the alley. His head popped out of the hatch.
“You girls look like you could use a ride,” he said grinning.
The back hatch of the APC opened up, exposing the main compartment. The girls clambered in, and Su entered the gunner’s compartment. The back hatch closed, the driver’s and gunner’s hatch closed, and the APC proceeded to rumble down the street.
Date: May 1, 2007; 1028 hours (Military Time)
Location: Business District, Hinata City. Three kilometers from Forward Operating Base.
Status: Engaged in combat.
Alert Level: Defcon 1
“Go! Go! GO! Get to that tank now!”
Bravo team was currently get pounded by PLA infantry with RPGs. A wrecked JSDF tank was the only source of cover in the area, and Bravo was sprinting for it. Plumes of concrete debris and dirt erupted around Bravo as the RPGs flew dangerously close by. The team jumped behind the tank, scrambling to get out of the line of fire, and hoping to God that the tank could take the punishment.
“Control Two, this is Bravo! We’re pinned down by at least seven hostiles with RPGs. We need support if we’re gonna get to the crash site!”
“Negative, Bravo. All of our forces are directed at the front line. You’re on your own.”
“This is why I hate rescue missions!”
“Sarge, APC approaching!”
A PLA WZ551 Wheeled IFV was rolling down the street. It stopped just short of the infantry’s position. Their yells of triumph came over the roar of the diesel engine. Too bad for them that it started shooting at them.
Chink! Chink! Chink! Chink! Chink!
The PLA troops screamed in dismay as their own APC fired at them. The heavy 25mm cannon rounds ripped through their bodies and sprayed blood everywhere.
“Holy shit! That APC just fired on its own men!” Julio yelled. “Alright, the bastard defected! You go, man!”
One of the soldiers positioned on the roof of a small restaurant took aim with his RPG. The APC’s cannon didn’t have a high firing angle, so it was useless. Suddenly, the driver’s hatch popped open and a man armed with an AK-47 took aim and fired. The rooftop chinaman got hit in the leg, lost his balance, and fell five stories screaming before he hit the ground with a sickening crunch.
“Move up men!”
Bravo team started walking towards the APC, weapons drawn in case it was a trap. They made sure to move quickly, taking advantage of the overturned vehicles and piles of rubble as cover. So far, the only person visible was the driver, who still hadn’t exited the compartment. He held his rifle in front of him, but didn’t have it at the ready. Nevertheless, Bravo team approached with caution.
“This is Sergeant Julio Vega of the United States Marine Corps!” Julio yelled from behind a large pile of concrete slabs. “Identify yourself!”
“I am Private First Class Keitaro Urashima, of the USMC’s Spec-Ops team Alpha,” he said aloud.
He stood in the street for what seemed like hours before Bravo team revealed themselves. Keeping their guns trained on Keitaro, they slowly walked toward him.
“Keep your hands away from your weapon!” Julio demanded, which Keitaro was all too happy to oblige.
Julio was the first to reach Keitaro, the rest of the team encircled him. One guy took the AK-47, another checked for ID, and all Keitaro could do was stand there and keep his mouth shut.
“Here’s his ID,” the man said, pulling a small booklet from Keitaro’s side pocket. He handed it to Julio, who went over it quickly.
“He’s valid,” Julio said, handing back the book.
“Of course I am, sir,” Keitaro said. “Can I have my rifle back, please?”
He got his rifle back, looking to check that the safety was on.
“How far away is the base?” Keitaro asked.
“From here, about three kilometers.”
“Good. We can get there in the APC. It beats walking.”
“Oh, that’s a brilliant idea,” the guy with the sniper rifle retorted. “Let’s drive up to a U.S. military base in a Chinese APC.”
“Radio ahead, then.”
“Bravo, this is Control Two, have you located any survivors?”
“Bravo here, we read you, survivors have been located. We are en route to the base.”
“Well you better hurry up. The PLA are massing for a counterattack on our position, and we need all available troops to defend the base.”
“Copy that. We are hauling ass.”
Julio looked up to find the APC right in front of him with the back hatch open. Eight girls (Su was still operating the cannon) were sitting in the APC. All of them had looks of exhaustion on their faces.
“Come on! Everybody get in!” Keitaro yelled from the front. “And don’t get any funny ideas. Those girls will kick your asses if you so much as look at them!”
Bravo team piled into the APC. It was a tight fit, everybody was bumping into each other. The APC lurched forward, causing everybody to crash into the rear hatch. Luckily, nobody ended up in an awkward position (that’s Keitaro’s job).
“Heads up guys,” Keitaro’s voice came over the comm. “The PLA are lashing out with all they’ve got, so the ride is gonna get very rough.”
Boom!
An artillery round impacted right next to the speeding APC, which tilted dangerously to the side before righting itself. The explosions were muffled to everyone in the APC, but that didn’t lessen the impact of the message it sent. We will obliterate all who oppose us.
“Su, chopper approaching on our six! Get a shot at it before it leaves your field of fire!”
“Roger dodger!” Su yelled happily, tilting the targeting joystick, rotating the cannon around so that is was facing the inbound chopper.
Chink! Chink! Chink! Chink! Chink!
The chopper swerved wildly, evading the 25mm rounds as they came. The pilot activated the chopper’s laser guided tank-buster missile. He trained the laser onto the APC and fired. The missile left its pod and sped away, locking onto the laser point. All that was left was to keep the laser on the APC…
Ping! Ping! Thunk!
One of the heavy rounds impacted on the chopper’s external wing mounted fuel pod. It burst into flames, and the chopper was engulfed in smoke. The explosion caused the laser guide to jerk upward before it was deactivated. Now the rocket was headed for the road ahead of the APC, which was currently racing to get past the same position. Problem is, the AT-2 tank-buster missile travels at about 100 kilometers an hour, whereas the PLA WZ551 Wheeled IFV travels at a top speed of eighty-five kilometers an hour.
“Oh shit!” Keitaro swore. “We got a missile inbound! Everybody get as close as possible to the front Su, shoot it out of the sky!”
Everybody scrunched together, trying to press up against the front. The APC’s cannon was muffled by the sound of the roaring engine. The missile was catching up to the APC and starting to descend.
“This one’s going to be close!” Keitaro yelled.
“Reason why I joined the Marines,” Julio replied.
“What about us!?” Naru screamed. “We aren’t supposed to be in this type of situation!”
“Life’s a bitch,” Julio retorted, “and we all have to deal with it.”
Naru crossed her arms a proceeded to engage in her moment of seething anger. She looked up at the other girls, who were staring at her.
“What? I took those English classes for a reason ya know.”
“Grab onto something!” Keitaro yelled.
Ka-Boooom!
Crrrrraaannkk! Bang!
The rear hatch was ripped off by the force of the missile impact. Had Keitaro driven any slower, the APC would have been a pile of twisted metal. Everybody was now hanging onto each other for dear life, trying not to fall out of the APC as it made several sharp turns.
“Would ya fucking slow down!” Sarah yelled with rage. “There’s no back hatch to keep us in!”
“I will be more than happy to stop and kick your ass out onto the sidewalk!” Keitaro yelled back. “Base is in sight, Sarge. Thirty seconds!”
“Control Two this is Bravo. We are approaching in a stolen PLA WZ551 Wheeled IFV. Request immediate clearance.”
“Control Two here. Clearance granted. We’ll be waiting for you. Control Two out.”
Off in the distance was the Marine base. The first line of defense was a meter thick wall of sandbags with barbed wire on the outside. Heavy machine gun emplacements were set up all along the wall. Besides the emplacements, soldiers with anti-tank rocket launchers were crouched behind the wall. Four meters behind the first wall was a second one, with tanks lined up behind it, and snipers took up the space between tanks. Behind that was a small fence of barbed wire, which surrounded the command center, first aid tent, weapons storage, etc.
“Kid! Tanks at five o’clock!” Julio yelled.
In the distance, the lurched as it launched a shell.
“Aw hell.”
Boom!
The road in front of the APC burst upwards as the 125mm shell impacted, creating a meter deep crater. Keitaro had no time to react. The APC came to a head jerking stop as it fell into the hole.
“Dammit all!”Keitaro swore.
“Control Two, this is Bravo. We are pinned down by a squad of tanks,” Julio said into his comm. “Request suppressing fire.”
“Copy that, Bravo. Sit tight.”
A few seconds later, shells and rockets started whizzing by towards the tanks. The first tank was decimated, and the others followed suit.
“Everybody run for the base!” Julio yelled.
Bravo exited first, firing at the distant PLA troops. The girls piled out, Su stayed behind to provide cover fire with the cannon. Keitaro forced his hatch open and started to pick off soldiers with his AK.
“Go, go! Su, get out of here! I’ll hold them off!” Keitaro yelled.
Su joined the others shortly. The base was only three hundred or so meters away, but it felt like miles. The “entrance” was a section of the sandbag wall, that had no barbed wire and was only three feet high. It was guarded by two gun emplacements, which were operated by a pair of corporals.
“Come on, move, move! Let’s go!” one of them said. One by one, the girls and Bravo team jumped over the wall.
“The entrance through the second wall is ten meters to the left. Head to the first aid tent.”
“Wait,” Naru said. “Where’s Keitaro?”
“Oh dear God,” Haruka choked out (once again, it may be the lack of nicotine).
Keitaro was still in the APC. He was sticking out of the hatch, picking off distant PLA soldiers with his AK, making no attempt to run. Left and right, troops fell, but there were too many of them, and more just kept coming. When his rifle ran out of ammo, he jumped into the gunner’s compartment and started hosing the enemy with bullets.
“Yeah Keitaro! Kick their asses! Woo hoo!” Sarah was jumping up and down as she cheered him on.
“I wanna help! I wanna help!” Su shouted. She immediately pulled out a giant rifle and started firing at random PLA soldiers (where the hell she had kept the gun is a mystery).
“I’m sorry miss,” one of the corporals said,” but you’re not military personnel. I’m gonna have to ask that you put the weapon down.”
“But I wanna heeeellp!” Su whined.
“Su, put the gun down and come to the first aid tent with us,” Motoko said.
“Meanie,” Su mumbled as she dropped the gun.
THUMP!
The ground shook violently as the rifle hit the ground. Everybody stared at it in amazement.
“Uh, Su. How much does that thing weigh?” Haruka asked.
“Oh, about twenty pounds.”
THUMP!
The ground shook again, this time with more force. Shinobu lost her footing and landed on her rear. The nearby Marines were stunned.
“What the hell was that?” somebody asked.
THUMP!
“Control Two this is Bravo. Can anybody get a visual on the source of these tremors?” Julio asked through his comm.
“Negative Bravo. There’s too much smoke for our radar to get a decent shot.”
THUMP!
“Can somebody tell me why the PLA soldiers are retreating?” Keitaro’s voice came over the comm. “Wasn’t there supposed to be a massive counter attack?”
“I have no idea,” Julio replied. “But something is very wrong here.”
“Contact! On the infrared scope! Twelve o’clock at eight hundred meters!” somebody shouted. “Anybody else getting this?”
Bravo proceeded to activate their HUDs’ infrared scanners. When looking through an infrared filter, everything is shaded green, and heat sources show up white. Thank God it was getting cloudy, or the scanners would be screwed up from the sun’s glare.
“What the fuck is that?” Julio asked.
On the scanner, a giant, white blotch could be seen. It had no definite shape, it kept moving, or more accurately, it looked like it was walking. It seemed to have limbs, but the scanner couldn’t get a better readout. Presently, the thing was behind a fifteen story Mitsubishi office building, and the area was still engulfed in smoke and dust.
“Talon Squadron, this is Bravo. We need that cloud of smoke removed for a clear shot at the target. Requesting a concussion capsule drop, Over.”
“Copy that Bravo, Talon Squadron en route to target.”
The PDCC (Personnel Disabling Concussion Capsule) is an ingenious device. Designed for aerial drops, grenades, and rockets, the device, when detonated, creates an enormous wave of high pressure which expands at incredible speed, knocking down and temporarily stunning enemy soldiers. Perfect for hostage situations, non-lethal but very effective. Even better, it could easily clear an area of smoke and dust.
“Everybody duck down, cover your mouths, and enjoy the ride,” Talon One said.
The squadron flew overhead in perfect formation. They commenced a fly-by for target verification, and then swept in. Looking carefully, the small black capsule could be trailed all the way to the ground.
Poompf!
The capsule hit the dirt and detonated. The massive pressure wave created an ever growing dome of dust, smoke, and debris that continued to spread out in all directions. Three seconds later, it was on top of the base. Keitaro was the first to get it.
“Alright! I live for this sh-”
FWOOOOOOOOOOOOOSSSSHHHHHH!
It felt like getting slammed into a brick wall. Your head is snapped back and you’re thrown into the air if you aren’t holding onto something. The girls, who were presently being dragged into the first aid tent, were not prepared for the blast.
FWOOOOOOOOOOOOOSSSSHHHHHH!
The inside of the tent was thrown into chaos as medical instruments, blankets, bandages, and other items went flying, threatening to smash somebody’s head in. The patients were lying on their cots as calm as they had been minutes earlier. Apparently, they had been through a PDCC drop before. The girls, who have never even experienced the high winds of a category three typhoon, were ballistic.
“Kyaaaaahh! We’re gonna die!”
“It’s the end of the world!”
“Private! Get these girls some morphine for Christ’s sake! They’re gonna hurt themselves if this keeps up!”
“Oh God, why does it have to end like this!?”
“Lieutenant! All the syringes and vials were just blown out of the tent!”
“Fucking perfect! What the hell could possibly happen now!”
Date: May 1, 2007; 1047 hours (Military Time)
Location: Forward Operating Base. Outskirts of Hinata City.
Status: Returning to base.
Alert Level: Defcon 1
Alpha team was currently approaching the base from the east side at a slow and steady walk. After running six kilometers nonstop, it wasn’t a surprise that they were taking it slow. They were about three hundred meters from the base when the capsule hit the ground. A nearby busted humvvee was the only source of cover, so they all latched onto it for dear life.
FWOOOOOOOOOOOOOSSSSHHHHHH!
“Woohoo! Hell yeah! That’s what I’m talkin’ about!” Brooks yelled. “Those Chinese bastards are gonna shit their pants from that blast!”
“Please stick to the task at hand,” Steven said calmly. “Let’s just get to the base unscathed.”
They detached themselves from the humvvee and proceeded to approach the base. Bullet riddled bodies and fragged body parts littered the ground, most of them Chinese.
“Well it’s about friggin’ time you decided to lend a hand.”
“Kid? Is that you?” Steven asked, completely surprised. “Where the hell are you?”
“Look about twenty meters to your left.”
Steven turned his head and saw somebody waving from the gunner’s position of a ditched APC.
“Brooks, cover the left. Harland, cover our six. We’re heading for that APC at eleven o’clock. Move!”
Alpha team headed at a fast jog towards Keitaro’s position. In the distance, the unidentified object continued to stomp around behind the tall buildings. The entire area within a two-and-a-half kilometer radius of downtown was smoke free with complete visibility, and the bastard was hiding like a common pushover. When they arrived at the APC, the now reunited Alpha team took the time to chat a bit.
“You guys look like hell,” Keitaro said bluntly. “What happened to you?”
“We were sent to rendezvous with Charlie company downtown,” Steven said. “Our objective was to push the PLA’s armor divisions uptown for an artillery strike. But we were called back to defend the base.”
“Too bad you missed the party,” Brooks said with a smile. “They put up a good fight.”
“Anyway,” Steven cut in, “what happened to you. You should be in the first aid tent with those girls.”
“That was the original plan, but our chopper got shot down by some Chinese MIGs,” Keitaro said. “It seems that God doesn’t want me airborne today.”
“Target is now moving into the open! All units, get ready for some action!”
“Hell yeah!” Keitaro said as he readied the APC’s cannon. “I’d get to cover if I were you.”
“Let’s get in position!” Steven said. “Get behind whatever you can!”
Harland and Brooks went to a nearby crater and jumped in. Steven got into a nearby busted tank (seems to be a lot of those around, huh?) and closed the hatch so that only the muzzle of his rifle stuck out. The suspense was unbearable.
“He stopped,” Keitaro said in a surprised voice. “He stopped right behind the Mitsubishi office building. He’s not doing anything and.. And my scanner is showing an exponential increase in temperature.”
“Is that a good thing, or a bad thing?” Brooks asked.
SCREEEEEEEEEE!
The infrared scanner overloaded as a temperature spike of thirteen hundred degrees Fahrenheit washed through the filter. A large circular section of the building turned white hot.
SCREEEEEE-SCRASH!!
The white section of the building blew outward in a shower of white hot metal shards and glass fragments as a bright, neon-green beam of light sliced through the building and into the ground two hundred yards from Alpha’s position.
SCREEEEEEEE-FWAAM!
The beam of light impacted the ground like a meteor, and the ground shook with the force of an earthquake. The impact sent a geyser of dirt into the air, superheating it and sending it all over the place, including Alpha’s position.
“Shit!” Harland cried in pain as the molten dirt clods landed on him. “It burns!”
“What the fucking hell is that!?” Julio’s voice cried over the comm.
“It looks like a giant laser beam!” Steven shouted back into the comm. “Even we haven’t been able to design that type of hardware!”
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The building began to collapse, the top level falling on top of the one below, and so on. Metal supports, slabs of sheetrock, and shards of glass came tumbling down, all fifteen thousand tons of it.
SCHOOOM!
The collapsing building created a wave of eye tearing, lung drying, suffocating dust and smoke, which washed over Alpha team and the base.
“Dammit -cough-, not again!” Brooks wheezed.
“I can’t -cough- get a visual!” Harland choked out.
The smoke and dust was slowly starting to settle. Visibility was increasing steadily. Everybody was tense as they waited to see what they were up against. A dark silhouette appeared through the thinning smokescreen. The dust settled. Keitaro was the first to speak.
“What the fucking hell is that?”
“Okay men!” he shouted into the comm, which was broadcasting to the entire base. “Get your guns ready, rev up those tanks, and prepare to kick a whole lotta ass!”
“Oohrah!”
The smoke in the distance was clearing. Everybody at the base had a clear view.
“Oh sweet Jesus.”
“Hey guys,” Shinobu said suddenly, “listen.”
Everybody listened carefully. All they could hear were the distant rumbles of diesel engines. Other than that there was nothing.
“Why is it so quiet?” Sarah asked.
“I don’t know,” Naru said. She got up off her cot and walked to the entrance. She pulled back the flap and looked out.
“Oh my God.”
"abc"-speech over radio/TV
abc-thoughts
"abc"-English speech
----------------------
Date: May 1, 2007; 1013 hours (Military Time)Location: Business District, Hinata City. Five kilometers from Forward Operating Base.
Status: Chopper down, crew dead.
Alert Level: Defcon 1
Man, why does my head feel like a ton of bricks? Kitsune thought.
She slowly opened her eyes and looked around, answering her own question. She was hanging upside down in her seat, held in by her safety strap. To the left and right, she could see all the other girls were still unconscious. In front of her, Keitaro’s stretcher was still in place, but…
“Where’s Keitaro?” she asked in a panicked voice. “Hey girls, Keitaro is gone!”
Apparently, those were the key words, because everybody’s eyes snapped open. One by one, they undid their straps, fell to the ground painfully, and went over to the stretcher above them. The straps on the stretcher were all undone.
“Keitaro!” Naru cried out. No answer.
“Where could oni-chan be?” Kanako asked.
Wham!
The chopper’s battered body shook as something hit the side. The girls walked out of the chopper to find the body of a Chinese soldier laying on the ground.
“Too easy,” Keitaro said, walking over to the body, which he searched for any extra AK-47 ammo, the rifle he had taken from the soldier earlier. He stowed the extra clips away in his tactical vest. His shoulder wound was still bleeding, though not as much as before.
“Oh good, you’re awake,” he said pleasantly. “That means we can get on outta here. We have a long way to go to reach the base.“
“How are we going to get there?” Sarah asked unhappily.
“We’ll have to walk of course, or run, depending on the situation,” he said calmly.
“What’s that sound?” Shinobu asked.
It was a low rumbling sound, like a diesel engine. It was coming from down the street, where the hazy form of tanks could be seen. Behind there were dozens of infantry.
“And in this situation, run!” Keitaro yelled. He led them down the opposite street at a dead run. All around them, wrecked cars, debris, and bodies were scattered on the ground. Many were of innocent civilians that had been trying to escape from the city.
“Quick, into that alley!” he pointed to a dark alleyway. Everybody ran in as Keitaro checked to see if they were being followed. A few paces in, the alley made a sharp left turn into a main street. Keitaro was heading out of the alley when…
Chink! Chink! Chink! Chink! Chink! Chink!
The ground nearby the alley was pelted by bullets. Keitaro dived back into the alley in the nick of time. He scrambled to his feet and planted himself against the wall.
“Dammit!” he looked around the corner and quickly pulled his head back. “They’ve got an APC!” He looked at the girls with an uneasy look. “No matter what happens, do not move from this spot or make a sound.” He then ran into the street, firing his AK wildly to pin down the gunner in the APC. He ducked behind a totaled car and reloaded his spent clip. The gunner resumed to fire the APC’s 25mm cannon.
“Oh my God! Keitaro’s insane!” Kitsune cried out.
Keitaro fired a three-round burst, getting a lucky shot through the gunner’s open view port (inside the gunner’s position on this particular APC, the only way to see where the targets are is through a small window, which can be covered with an armored plate, and/or a monitor connected to the cannon’s mounted camera), and the cannon ceased its firing. Keitaro ran over to the APC, climbed up to the driver’s hatch, and pulled it open. There was a muffled cry, and Keitaro fired down into the compartment. He pulled out the newly made corpse out, tossed it over the side, and jumped in. The APC roared to life, and lurched forward at a brisk pace, stopping by the alley. His head popped out of the hatch.
“You girls look like you could use a ride,” he said grinning.
The back hatch of the APC opened up, exposing the main compartment. The girls clambered in, and Su entered the gunner’s compartment. The back hatch closed, the driver’s and gunner’s hatch closed, and the APC proceeded to rumble down the street.
Date: May 1, 2007; 1028 hours (Military Time)
Location: Business District, Hinata City. Three kilometers from Forward Operating Base.
Status: Engaged in combat.
Alert Level: Defcon 1
“Go! Go! GO! Get to that tank now!”
Bravo team was currently get pounded by PLA infantry with RPGs. A wrecked JSDF tank was the only source of cover in the area, and Bravo was sprinting for it. Plumes of concrete debris and dirt erupted around Bravo as the RPGs flew dangerously close by. The team jumped behind the tank, scrambling to get out of the line of fire, and hoping to God that the tank could take the punishment.
“Control Two, this is Bravo! We’re pinned down by at least seven hostiles with RPGs. We need support if we’re gonna get to the crash site!”
“Negative, Bravo. All of our forces are directed at the front line. You’re on your own.”
“This is why I hate rescue missions!”
“Sarge, APC approaching!”
A PLA WZ551 Wheeled IFV was rolling down the street. It stopped just short of the infantry’s position. Their yells of triumph came over the roar of the diesel engine. Too bad for them that it started shooting at them.
Chink! Chink! Chink! Chink! Chink!
The PLA troops screamed in dismay as their own APC fired at them. The heavy 25mm cannon rounds ripped through their bodies and sprayed blood everywhere.
“Holy shit! That APC just fired on its own men!” Julio yelled. “Alright, the bastard defected! You go, man!”
One of the soldiers positioned on the roof of a small restaurant took aim with his RPG. The APC’s cannon didn’t have a high firing angle, so it was useless. Suddenly, the driver’s hatch popped open and a man armed with an AK-47 took aim and fired. The rooftop chinaman got hit in the leg, lost his balance, and fell five stories screaming before he hit the ground with a sickening crunch.
“Move up men!”
Bravo team started walking towards the APC, weapons drawn in case it was a trap. They made sure to move quickly, taking advantage of the overturned vehicles and piles of rubble as cover. So far, the only person visible was the driver, who still hadn’t exited the compartment. He held his rifle in front of him, but didn’t have it at the ready. Nevertheless, Bravo team approached with caution.
“This is Sergeant Julio Vega of the United States Marine Corps!” Julio yelled from behind a large pile of concrete slabs. “Identify yourself!”
--------------------
Thank God. Keitaro thought. He climbed out of the APC and dropped down to the ground. He made sure to keep his hands away from his rifle, he didn’t want to be mistaken for a threat.“I am Private First Class Keitaro Urashima, of the USMC’s Spec-Ops team Alpha,” he said aloud.
He stood in the street for what seemed like hours before Bravo team revealed themselves. Keeping their guns trained on Keitaro, they slowly walked toward him.
“Keep your hands away from your weapon!” Julio demanded, which Keitaro was all too happy to oblige.
Julio was the first to reach Keitaro, the rest of the team encircled him. One guy took the AK-47, another checked for ID, and all Keitaro could do was stand there and keep his mouth shut.
“Here’s his ID,” the man said, pulling a small booklet from Keitaro’s side pocket. He handed it to Julio, who went over it quickly.
“He’s valid,” Julio said, handing back the book.
“Of course I am, sir,” Keitaro said. “Can I have my rifle back, please?”
He got his rifle back, looking to check that the safety was on.
“How far away is the base?” Keitaro asked.
“From here, about three kilometers.”
“Good. We can get there in the APC. It beats walking.”
“Oh, that’s a brilliant idea,” the guy with the sniper rifle retorted. “Let’s drive up to a U.S. military base in a Chinese APC.”
“Radio ahead, then.”
“Bravo, this is Control Two, have you located any survivors?”
“Bravo here, we read you, survivors have been located. We are en route to the base.”
“Well you better hurry up. The PLA are massing for a counterattack on our position, and we need all available troops to defend the base.”
“Copy that. We are hauling ass.”
Julio looked up to find the APC right in front of him with the back hatch open. Eight girls (Su was still operating the cannon) were sitting in the APC. All of them had looks of exhaustion on their faces.
“Come on! Everybody get in!” Keitaro yelled from the front. “And don’t get any funny ideas. Those girls will kick your asses if you so much as look at them!”
Bravo team piled into the APC. It was a tight fit, everybody was bumping into each other. The APC lurched forward, causing everybody to crash into the rear hatch. Luckily, nobody ended up in an awkward position (that’s Keitaro’s job).
“Heads up guys,” Keitaro’s voice came over the comm. “The PLA are lashing out with all they’ve got, so the ride is gonna get very rough.”
Boom!
An artillery round impacted right next to the speeding APC, which tilted dangerously to the side before righting itself. The explosions were muffled to everyone in the APC, but that didn’t lessen the impact of the message it sent. We will obliterate all who oppose us.
“Su, chopper approaching on our six! Get a shot at it before it leaves your field of fire!”
“Roger dodger!” Su yelled happily, tilting the targeting joystick, rotating the cannon around so that is was facing the inbound chopper.
Chink! Chink! Chink! Chink! Chink!
The chopper swerved wildly, evading the 25mm rounds as they came. The pilot activated the chopper’s laser guided tank-buster missile. He trained the laser onto the APC and fired. The missile left its pod and sped away, locking onto the laser point. All that was left was to keep the laser on the APC…
Ping! Ping! Thunk!
One of the heavy rounds impacted on the chopper’s external wing mounted fuel pod. It burst into flames, and the chopper was engulfed in smoke. The explosion caused the laser guide to jerk upward before it was deactivated. Now the rocket was headed for the road ahead of the APC, which was currently racing to get past the same position. Problem is, the AT-2 tank-buster missile travels at about 100 kilometers an hour, whereas the PLA WZ551 Wheeled IFV travels at a top speed of eighty-five kilometers an hour.
“Oh shit!” Keitaro swore. “We got a missile inbound! Everybody get as close as possible to the front Su, shoot it out of the sky!”
Everybody scrunched together, trying to press up against the front. The APC’s cannon was muffled by the sound of the roaring engine. The missile was catching up to the APC and starting to descend.
“This one’s going to be close!” Keitaro yelled.
“Reason why I joined the Marines,” Julio replied.
“What about us!?” Naru screamed. “We aren’t supposed to be in this type of situation!”
“Life’s a bitch,” Julio retorted, “and we all have to deal with it.”
Naru crossed her arms a proceeded to engage in her moment of seething anger. She looked up at the other girls, who were staring at her.
“What? I took those English classes for a reason ya know.”
“Grab onto something!” Keitaro yelled.
Ka-Boooom!
Crrrrraaannkk! Bang!
The rear hatch was ripped off by the force of the missile impact. Had Keitaro driven any slower, the APC would have been a pile of twisted metal. Everybody was now hanging onto each other for dear life, trying not to fall out of the APC as it made several sharp turns.
“Would ya fucking slow down!” Sarah yelled with rage. “There’s no back hatch to keep us in!”
“I will be more than happy to stop and kick your ass out onto the sidewalk!” Keitaro yelled back. “Base is in sight, Sarge. Thirty seconds!”
“Control Two this is Bravo. We are approaching in a stolen PLA WZ551 Wheeled IFV. Request immediate clearance.”
“Control Two here. Clearance granted. We’ll be waiting for you. Control Two out.”
Off in the distance was the Marine base. The first line of defense was a meter thick wall of sandbags with barbed wire on the outside. Heavy machine gun emplacements were set up all along the wall. Besides the emplacements, soldiers with anti-tank rocket launchers were crouched behind the wall. Four meters behind the first wall was a second one, with tanks lined up behind it, and snipers took up the space between tanks. Behind that was a small fence of barbed wire, which surrounded the command center, first aid tent, weapons storage, etc.
“Kid! Tanks at five o’clock!” Julio yelled.
In the distance, the lurched as it launched a shell.
“Aw hell.”
Boom!
The road in front of the APC burst upwards as the 125mm shell impacted, creating a meter deep crater. Keitaro had no time to react. The APC came to a head jerking stop as it fell into the hole.
“Dammit all!”Keitaro swore.
“Control Two, this is Bravo. We are pinned down by a squad of tanks,” Julio said into his comm. “Request suppressing fire.”
“Copy that, Bravo. Sit tight.”
A few seconds later, shells and rockets started whizzing by towards the tanks. The first tank was decimated, and the others followed suit.
“Everybody run for the base!” Julio yelled.
Bravo exited first, firing at the distant PLA troops. The girls piled out, Su stayed behind to provide cover fire with the cannon. Keitaro forced his hatch open and started to pick off soldiers with his AK.
“Go, go! Su, get out of here! I’ll hold them off!” Keitaro yelled.
Su joined the others shortly. The base was only three hundred or so meters away, but it felt like miles. The “entrance” was a section of the sandbag wall, that had no barbed wire and was only three feet high. It was guarded by two gun emplacements, which were operated by a pair of corporals.
“Come on, move, move! Let’s go!” one of them said. One by one, the girls and Bravo team jumped over the wall.
“The entrance through the second wall is ten meters to the left. Head to the first aid tent.”
“Wait,” Naru said. “Where’s Keitaro?”
“Oh dear God,” Haruka choked out (once again, it may be the lack of nicotine).
Keitaro was still in the APC. He was sticking out of the hatch, picking off distant PLA soldiers with his AK, making no attempt to run. Left and right, troops fell, but there were too many of them, and more just kept coming. When his rifle ran out of ammo, he jumped into the gunner’s compartment and started hosing the enemy with bullets.
“Yeah Keitaro! Kick their asses! Woo hoo!” Sarah was jumping up and down as she cheered him on.
“I wanna help! I wanna help!” Su shouted. She immediately pulled out a giant rifle and started firing at random PLA soldiers (where the hell she had kept the gun is a mystery).
“I’m sorry miss,” one of the corporals said,” but you’re not military personnel. I’m gonna have to ask that you put the weapon down.”
“But I wanna heeeellp!” Su whined.
“Su, put the gun down and come to the first aid tent with us,” Motoko said.
“Meanie,” Su mumbled as she dropped the gun.
THUMP!
The ground shook violently as the rifle hit the ground. Everybody stared at it in amazement.
“Uh, Su. How much does that thing weigh?” Haruka asked.
“Oh, about twenty pounds.”
THUMP!
The ground shook again, this time with more force. Shinobu lost her footing and landed on her rear. The nearby Marines were stunned.
“What the hell was that?” somebody asked.
THUMP!
“Control Two this is Bravo. Can anybody get a visual on the source of these tremors?” Julio asked through his comm.
“Negative Bravo. There’s too much smoke for our radar to get a decent shot.”
THUMP!
“Can somebody tell me why the PLA soldiers are retreating?” Keitaro’s voice came over the comm. “Wasn’t there supposed to be a massive counter attack?”
“I have no idea,” Julio replied. “But something is very wrong here.”
“Contact! On the infrared scope! Twelve o’clock at eight hundred meters!” somebody shouted. “Anybody else getting this?”
Bravo proceeded to activate their HUDs’ infrared scanners. When looking through an infrared filter, everything is shaded green, and heat sources show up white. Thank God it was getting cloudy, or the scanners would be screwed up from the sun’s glare.
“What the fuck is that?” Julio asked.
On the scanner, a giant, white blotch could be seen. It had no definite shape, it kept moving, or more accurately, it looked like it was walking. It seemed to have limbs, but the scanner couldn’t get a better readout. Presently, the thing was behind a fifteen story Mitsubishi office building, and the area was still engulfed in smoke and dust.
“Talon Squadron, this is Bravo. We need that cloud of smoke removed for a clear shot at the target. Requesting a concussion capsule drop, Over.”
“Copy that Bravo, Talon Squadron en route to target.”
The PDCC (Personnel Disabling Concussion Capsule) is an ingenious device. Designed for aerial drops, grenades, and rockets, the device, when detonated, creates an enormous wave of high pressure which expands at incredible speed, knocking down and temporarily stunning enemy soldiers. Perfect for hostage situations, non-lethal but very effective. Even better, it could easily clear an area of smoke and dust.
“Everybody duck down, cover your mouths, and enjoy the ride,” Talon One said.
The squadron flew overhead in perfect formation. They commenced a fly-by for target verification, and then swept in. Looking carefully, the small black capsule could be trailed all the way to the ground.
Poompf!
The capsule hit the dirt and detonated. The massive pressure wave created an ever growing dome of dust, smoke, and debris that continued to spread out in all directions. Three seconds later, it was on top of the base. Keitaro was the first to get it.
“Alright! I live for this sh-”
FWOOOOOOOOOOOOOSSSSHHHHHH!
It felt like getting slammed into a brick wall. Your head is snapped back and you’re thrown into the air if you aren’t holding onto something. The girls, who were presently being dragged into the first aid tent, were not prepared for the blast.
FWOOOOOOOOOOOOOSSSSHHHHHH!
The inside of the tent was thrown into chaos as medical instruments, blankets, bandages, and other items went flying, threatening to smash somebody’s head in. The patients were lying on their cots as calm as they had been minutes earlier. Apparently, they had been through a PDCC drop before. The girls, who have never even experienced the high winds of a category three typhoon, were ballistic.
“Kyaaaaahh! We’re gonna die!”
“It’s the end of the world!”
“Private! Get these girls some morphine for Christ’s sake! They’re gonna hurt themselves if this keeps up!”
“Oh God, why does it have to end like this!?”
“Lieutenant! All the syringes and vials were just blown out of the tent!”
“Fucking perfect! What the hell could possibly happen now!”
Date: May 1, 2007; 1047 hours (Military Time)
Location: Forward Operating Base. Outskirts of Hinata City.
Status: Returning to base.
Alert Level: Defcon 1
Alpha team was currently approaching the base from the east side at a slow and steady walk. After running six kilometers nonstop, it wasn’t a surprise that they were taking it slow. They were about three hundred meters from the base when the capsule hit the ground. A nearby busted humvvee was the only source of cover, so they all latched onto it for dear life.
FWOOOOOOOOOOOOOSSSSHHHHHH!
“Woohoo! Hell yeah! That’s what I’m talkin’ about!” Brooks yelled. “Those Chinese bastards are gonna shit their pants from that blast!”
“Please stick to the task at hand,” Steven said calmly. “Let’s just get to the base unscathed.”
They detached themselves from the humvvee and proceeded to approach the base. Bullet riddled bodies and fragged body parts littered the ground, most of them Chinese.
“Well it’s about friggin’ time you decided to lend a hand.”
“Kid? Is that you?” Steven asked, completely surprised. “Where the hell are you?”
“Look about twenty meters to your left.”
Steven turned his head and saw somebody waving from the gunner’s position of a ditched APC.
“Brooks, cover the left. Harland, cover our six. We’re heading for that APC at eleven o’clock. Move!”
Alpha team headed at a fast jog towards Keitaro’s position. In the distance, the unidentified object continued to stomp around behind the tall buildings. The entire area within a two-and-a-half kilometer radius of downtown was smoke free with complete visibility, and the bastard was hiding like a common pushover. When they arrived at the APC, the now reunited Alpha team took the time to chat a bit.
“You guys look like hell,” Keitaro said bluntly. “What happened to you?”
“We were sent to rendezvous with Charlie company downtown,” Steven said. “Our objective was to push the PLA’s armor divisions uptown for an artillery strike. But we were called back to defend the base.”
“Too bad you missed the party,” Brooks said with a smile. “They put up a good fight.”
“Anyway,” Steven cut in, “what happened to you. You should be in the first aid tent with those girls.”
“That was the original plan, but our chopper got shot down by some Chinese MIGs,” Keitaro said. “It seems that God doesn’t want me airborne today.”
“Target is now moving into the open! All units, get ready for some action!”
“Hell yeah!” Keitaro said as he readied the APC’s cannon. “I’d get to cover if I were you.”
“Let’s get in position!” Steven said. “Get behind whatever you can!”
Harland and Brooks went to a nearby crater and jumped in. Steven got into a nearby busted tank (seems to be a lot of those around, huh?) and closed the hatch so that only the muzzle of his rifle stuck out. The suspense was unbearable.
“He stopped,” Keitaro said in a surprised voice. “He stopped right behind the Mitsubishi office building. He’s not doing anything and.. And my scanner is showing an exponential increase in temperature.”
“Is that a good thing, or a bad thing?” Brooks asked.
SCREEEEEEEEEE!
The infrared scanner overloaded as a temperature spike of thirteen hundred degrees Fahrenheit washed through the filter. A large circular section of the building turned white hot.
SCREEEEEE-SCRASH!!
The white section of the building blew outward in a shower of white hot metal shards and glass fragments as a bright, neon-green beam of light sliced through the building and into the ground two hundred yards from Alpha’s position.
SCREEEEEEEE-FWAAM!
The beam of light impacted the ground like a meteor, and the ground shook with the force of an earthquake. The impact sent a geyser of dirt into the air, superheating it and sending it all over the place, including Alpha’s position.
“Shit!” Harland cried in pain as the molten dirt clods landed on him. “It burns!”
“What the fucking hell is that!?” Julio’s voice cried over the comm.
“It looks like a giant laser beam!” Steven shouted back into the comm. “Even we haven’t been able to design that type of hardware!”
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The building began to collapse, the top level falling on top of the one below, and so on. Metal supports, slabs of sheetrock, and shards of glass came tumbling down, all fifteen thousand tons of it.
SCHOOOM!
The collapsing building created a wave of eye tearing, lung drying, suffocating dust and smoke, which washed over Alpha team and the base.
“Dammit -cough-, not again!” Brooks wheezed.
“I can’t -cough- get a visual!” Harland choked out.
The smoke and dust was slowly starting to settle. Visibility was increasing steadily. Everybody was tense as they waited to see what they were up against. A dark silhouette appeared through the thinning smokescreen. The dust settled. Keitaro was the first to speak.
“What the fucking hell is that?”
-------------------
Bravo was crouched behind the first wall, weapons ready.“Okay men!” he shouted into the comm, which was broadcasting to the entire base. “Get your guns ready, rev up those tanks, and prepare to kick a whole lotta ass!”
“Oohrah!”
The smoke in the distance was clearing. Everybody at the base had a clear view.
“Oh sweet Jesus.”
-----------------
The girls were busy getting patched up in the first aid tent. Other than the large gash on the back of Motoko’s head, there were only some minor cuts and bruises.“Hey guys,” Shinobu said suddenly, “listen.”
Everybody listened carefully. All they could hear were the distant rumbles of diesel engines. Other than that there was nothing.
“Why is it so quiet?” Sarah asked.
“I don’t know,” Naru said. She got up off her cot and walked to the entrance. She pulled back the flap and looked out.
“Oh my God.”