Making a Move
Story by Philisophical_noone on SoFurry
Imported from SF2 with no description.
Dante rolled his shoulder a few times to make sure everything was still in place, “Blakovich, you know the plan, right? This could get messy fast, so be sure to keep a level head and follow orders. Liasteri, I need your ships just out of radar range and on standby. After we land-”
“Please, I know the plan. We think too much alike, remember?” Liasteri came in through his earbud, “You have twenty minutes, some change tops, before you get swarmed. After you draw attention, my people take positions and fortify the foreign borders.”
Blakovich fizzled in, his old communication radio was mostly static, “You two, there is a storm coming in from both poles. We could lose contact with each other, but so would they.”
It wasn't even the full attack, but it was showing their hand. Dante didn't like it, but to make a message you couldn't dawdle around. Direct, firm, and commanding, “We have orders. Blakovich, keep a safe distance but don't slow down. The Albatross can speed up if necessary. Once on ground, have your crew ready to move people in fast. I'm talking gate down and shoveling the refugees inside.”
Liasteri had a few spies on the surface, and their main goal was to get all of the non-Black Legion citizens off of the continent and to another. Disturbing reports were stating that the population wasn't even close to the original amount before the invasion, “Dante, making final approach. Radar detection in two minutes.” Angel broadcast to the three parties involved.
“Alright, we're going in blind and hot. I want two turrets set up and eyes peeled. Jean, Jill, and Star will assist Blakovich in getting the refugees aboard. Titus, Chey, and Cratis up front. Ratchet by the Albatross in cover. Victoria on pivot, assist where needed. Liasteri, we're jumping in. Don't lag.”
The Albatross' engines kicked into high gear and burst through the radar range and atmosphere in mere moments. Blakovich wasn't far behind, but his ship was older and took a minute to land. The airlock opened and Zero unit took positions all to a shocked group of no more than 500 refugees. Compared to a population of 30,000, this was not good, “All refugees, board the cargo ship immediately! Move it!” Titus shouted out over the engine noise.
The group of refugees trudged forward through the mud and water, a storm had already come through and another was due at any time. Blakovich's ship finally opened the cargo door and his men were urging the refugees to hurry up, “This is not a good thing. Ratchet, how long?”
“Not long, another minute or so. Mostly ground troops with troop transports. Low attack capabilities, but the mounted gun is a problem.”
Dante nodded, “Chey, lock on to the first thing you can and fire whatever missles you have. Ratchet, after the first missle is fired you take out any major threats. Titus, Cratis, you get those turrets set up and grab your guns.”
The refugees were a mix of all ages, but the youngest adults looked starved and weary. Potentially forced labor, but that was all speculation. They were moving too slow and the spotted felines feared the space people, “Dante! We got incoming from the road!” Blakovich was a little late to the party, primarily because he was no combat specialist.
Chey fired a missle and Ratchet fired her rifle, “People! Move it! Either you get on the ship or we all die! This is your only chance!” Dante raised Sere's bolt action rifle and aimed into the distance. A reflex scope limited his sniping potential, but the range was more than enough, “Move it!” He fired once, a deafening sound echoed through the muddy clearing and soon an explosion rocked a vehicle in the distance. The missile Chey fired also took out a vehicle and Ratchet's bullet disabled the driver of another. Dante could see too many for them to hold at a distance, casualties were all but certain.
“Dante, we're moving in on the far side, how's the situation?” Liasteri's voice was a bit of a blessing, though the incoming hail of bullets was not.
“Not good. Need long range fire immediately or a lot of these people are gonna die.”
Liasteri was quiet for a minute, “Got a ship lined up, but we're going to aim wide. Any closer and their anti-air facilities will tear us a new one. We're not getting them all, but it might slow some down.”
“Better than nothing. Do it.”
Chey and Ratchet continued to fire, and the large beam attack from orbit was enough to take out a large portion of the advance soldiers, but not enough to slow them down entirely, “Dante, we have a lot more coming in. No aircraft, only ground transport.”
That was a red flag to Dante. Rumors circulated about Black Legion and their unique defense systems, but nobody knew much about them. Their home planet was impenetrable and nearly immune to aerial attacks, some reports say that as soon as aircraft opened fire they were obliterated. Technology of that level would certainly have some fine tuning to avoid friendly fire, which meant one of two things, “Their systems aren't calibrated, or they're baiting us.”
“Throwing a lot of life away to bait us!” Cratis opened fire as the Black Legion soldiers started to enter range. Dante threw out two Angel Grenades to protect the slow refugees just in time, “Move it people! They're on top of us!” The hail of gunfire took out too many innocents, even with the reflection wall. Even worse, Zero Unit's shields were failing under the repeated stress of the enemy's concentrated gunfire, and because of that a lot of blood starting flying.
A combined effort helped load the last of the surviving refugees and their meager belongings, “Dante! Loaded and taking off!” Blakovich shouted over the gunfire and engines, his booming voice was finally serving a purpose.
“Zero Unit! Hold positions until Blakovich is airborne, then retreat.” Dante fired twice more, destroying two more vehicles, “Hurry it up you fat bastard! Liasteri! We're falling back! Too much resistance! Zero Unit, full retreat!” A mad dash towards the Albatross was a last resort, but a necessary one. Most of the team made it into the Albatross, but Dante had to help Chey limp in, “Angel, move it!”
Chey was growling to herself, “God damn son of a bitch asshole...” A collected onslaught of gunfire got through her shielding and pierced her thigh before she could take cover.
“Keep it together fuzzball. Kiya, first aid now!”
The terrified lamia jumped and shuddered as she slithered to one of the many boxes on the ship, “What do you want?!”
“The fucking gel-pak! For fucks sake, Angel, get this bird moving!”
Chey was instructing Kiya on how to apply the gel-pak, “Dante, are you alright?” Victoria was holding onto a steel bar installed on the ship's interior walls, “I don't think I've seen you this bad.”
He ran a hand through his hair, which meant that some of Chey's blood was now dripping down his forehead, “Because this was a stupid op that almost got us all killed! One more minute and none of us would have been alive!”
Titus was keeping quiet, even when he spoke, “We got out of there, barely. No backup in the heart of enemy territory. Hope it was worth it.” He sat down on the floor and against the wall. He was bleeding a bit, but it was all minor grazes. In fact, most of them were bleeding. Sere's shields weren't designed to withstand that amount of gunfire.
“We lost, what, over a hundred more? That's not even an okay outcome.” Dante leaned against the chrome wall, “We needed about thirty more trained soldiers and a lot more intel”
Kiya finished patching up Chey, “Sir, commander, captain, uh, what went wrong?”
“Snake girl, what went wrong is that this mission took place. This was the best possible outcome.”
Angel popped in over the speakers, “Blakovich has reported in. His ship took minor hull damage and twenty more refugees died from their wounds. We are landing in twenty seconds.”
The Albatross took position next to Blakovich's cargo ship, which was now unloading refugees. Locals from the other side of the ocean watched in awe as the two magical space boats graced their lands. One of Liasteri's lieutenants approached Dante, “Sir, we have accomplished our mission ahead of schedule. The Black Legion is isolated on their current continent. The locals have agreed to shelter the refugees for a time, but not forever. That is all.”
Dante nodded, the blood on his head and body scaring the locals, “Good enough. Tell Liasteri we got most of the refugees out, but enemy numbers were too great.”
Of all of the locals, a crowd gathered around one man in particular. Clad in scraps of metal armor and wild beast hide, he was certainly an imposing figure. A battle axe was fastened to his back by a strip of leather, “Please, you must make them see reason! You are the best of us all! A hero to the people!”
The grizzled veteran of countless battles stepped forward, and the crowd seemed to part ways leaving nothing but space between himself and Dante, “You must be this Captain Dante I've heard about.”
“Yep.” Dante didn't want to hear what the local had to say.
“My people want me to remove your people from our home, and save them all as I have done in the past.”
Victoria tensed up, but Dante didn't, “Uh huh.”
The grizzled veteran didn't change his tone or expression, “From what I can see, our swords and steeds don't hold a candle to these Black Legion monsters. You, however, withstood an onslaught and rescued a great many peoples with only a handful of your soldiers. I believe you have what it takes to save us, and I would ask that I be allowed to help.”
Dante pulled out a flask and took a swig, “I bet so, but I don't have time to train anyone. The best thing you can do is wait and pray, or perform rituals, or something. We'll put our necks out there for our own reasons. Your people simply benefit the most.”
A young man stepped up, “I can fight with you! I don't need training!” The veteran and Dante both looked at the man. He was clearly in good shape and had a fire inside, but he seemed dull and unpracticed in combat.
“Son, do not offer to face an enemy greater than yourself without good reason.”
Dante extended his hand to Liasteri's lieutenant, “Pistol.” The soldier obliged. Dante checked the weapon, making sure it was loaded and the safety was on, “Tell you what. I'll give you a chance.” He then pulled out his own pistol and threw it into the nearby cluster of trees. The dry land was a welcome change, “You take this pistol, and if you can shoot me before I can get my pistol and shoot you, I'll give you a rifle and set of armor for free.”
He handed the man the gun and took five steps away, “But-”
“Begin.” The young man's eyes had difficulty in following the one-eyed human who seemingly dashed through the air and towards his gun. The young man took aim, but couldn't figure out how to get the gun to fire. He pulled the trigger several times before a pain in his outer thigh stopped him in his tracks.
The man looked down at the mere flesh wound, “How...”
“You panicked, that gets not only you killed, but your allies killed as well. You're no good to me.”
Quinn spoke through the earbud, “Dante, I got word that Black Legion is fortifying borders.”
“Good work kid.” Dante took the lieutenant's pistol back and returned it to its owner, “The rest of you should pay attention. Pride is a dangerous thing. Quinn, you handle all incoming messages for a bit, I'm tired of this bullshit. Zero Unit, back on the Albatross, we did what we were hired to do.”
While Quinn sorted through the dozens of incoming messages, Dante took a seat in the lounge by himself. The metal shades were shut, so he didn't have to see the people or the planet for a time. The metal was soothing by itself, and so he stared while appearing to be deep in thought.
Victoria sat on a chair and followed Dante's gaze, “The blood will ruin the fabric.”
“Probably.”
“Chey will get mad with you. She loves that couch.” Kiya stood in the hallway, but didn't dare enter the lounge.
“Probably.”
“The night will get dark.”
“Guaranteed.”
“Captain Dante! We have an emergency! Everyone's on board, Angel, we need to go!” Quinn was in a panic.
“Dark indeed.”
Quinn could be heard typing loudly, “Uh, bad news, really bad news. Fallen Sky is making a move on the free port. The new Zero Unit is leading, they need our help now!”
Dante shifted in his seat as the Albatross burst into the vast emptiness of space, “Well then, it's been a short time since we saw Wendy, wonder how much she's learned.”
Victoria was not as calm, “Is it her? Is she leading more elites?!”
“I'll figure it out. The rest of you will be putting out fires, I already know where she'll be heading.”
“Captain sir.” Kiya slithered into the lounge and saluted, “How do you know already? We aren't there.”
It was simple, Wendy was too direct and had difficulty in hiding her intentions, “She's going for the power core of the colony. Trying to take it out fast. It's what amateurs that think they're big do.”
Victoria was curious, “And what would you do? Take the fight to the people? Attack the port with an array of ships?”
“No, if I would take it out, I'd do it smart and with little to no effort.”
This didn't answer anyone's questions, not even Titus who just entered, “Don't keep it a secret, I'm curious.”
“I swear... the port has no leadership, just a collective mind. Create two or more factions, turn them against each other, let them tear each other apart. Then clean up the rest. Repairs would be cheaper than destroying a multi-billion credit power core.”
Victoria nodded, “Smart, but time consuming.”
“Time is the one thing we all have, Victoria. Those without patience often fall the furthest.”
Dante didn't like to rush combat operations, but he knew that sometimes there wasn't a choice in the matter. Liasteri knew this too, and though many only imagine she hits hard and fast, most of her work was behind the scenes and discreet. Governments have risen and fallen at her whim, all without a single bullet fired. This time was too different, and required a heavy hand.
“I'm going to shower, let me know when we arrive.”