Post by EmperorMyric on Dec 17, 2017 13:34:37 GMT
Within the system named Sargon, 5 planets from the sun, there was a planet rich in resources. The planet was 120,000 km in circumference. While this planet would be a treasure trove for most races, it was never discovered. Recently, two factions have set their sights on it, while unbeknownst to them, a third faction has been watching for a long time...
XXXXXX
It wasn't very often that Tengu Legionnaires were deployed in pods outside of active warzones. The previous night, they'd tactically insterted with a chance meteor shower, drop pods cleverly masked by the astrological phenomena as dazzling lights in the atmosphere. Though, amongst the hundreds that fizzled out, a Section of troops in pods made it to the ground. The Section gathered their supplies and gained their bearings, hiding their disposable insertion pods and traversing the local ridge while the night was still full.
This planet had the same energy spike traces as Alpha Ceti V. At least Major Hunt and Lieutenant Reynolds, the man in charge of the operation and the woman second to him respectively, were delegated specifics of that information. Normally, that information would be somewhere beyond classified. But circumstances were strange.
On a ridge overlooking a wide valley, Hunt huddled down with the sniper of his Section. The other of his Section were maintaining a perimeter and running the short-distance scanners.
"Alvarez," Hunt crawled up next to the man, doing his best to be as discreet as possible. His HUD brought up the information from his neural implants; 'Junior Sergeant Francis Alvarez', annotated by his unit number and his ID. With a blink, the information box faded. "Anything?"
"Uh..." The noticeably younger man let out with a relaxed demeanor, though his body was very much poised for a deadly strike at any moment. "No sir, nothing. Not yet. What are we down 'ere for, Major?"
"We're on a treasure hunt, son," The Major remarked, excusing himself immediately thereafter by shuffling back through the foliage.
---
Sargon's surface was mostly barren, with sparse vegetation. The Kalaedan mining team was set up and already drilling into the planet's resources. The whine of plasma drills could be heard for miles
This was a standard planet inhabiting operation. The Velikii Tsar would oversee the operation, and hold the tournament to determine the Tsar of the new Kalaedan planet. Vladimir had 10 members of the Red Hand around him at all times. He was walking on the catwalk above the beginnings of the mining operation, scanning over the actions of the workers, as well as the immediate surroundings.
---
Lieutenant Reynolds and an operator worked in their nook amongst the rocks and barren flora, running diagnostics in tandem with the Corvette in orbit from her subordinate's pack. His mobile platform included an assortment of applications to view anything from battle logistics to siesmic activity, as well as coordinate with other elements compatible with the system; the systems and crew of the Ghost-Class shrouded in stealth being one of those things.
Hunt appeared in her peripheral, and even though she did not turn to look, she acknowledged him. "Sir," She began, matter-of-factly, "Energy source is definitely not Nakai of origin. It's a more tangible element. Scans bring up extreme thermal signatures and some trace elements identical to the records from Tau Volaris."
The Major made a connection with this and the faint whining echoing throughout the vale. He guessed the source must be over the next ridge; a short trip altogether. Though, the mention of the Volarian conflict made him uneasy; some stray stories of the excursions inside and underneath the domes were more than enough to drive discomfort for miles.
"That makes the next move pretty obvious, then," Hunt crouched beside the duo for a moment, nudging the junior officer for her full attention. "I'll take Element Alfa and move to it. Beta will stay here and keep an eye on the equipment and extraction site. Get us markers and beacons on our HUD."
Reynolds flashed a quick salute. "Sir."
Hunt took half of the men designated 'Element Alfa', and descended the ridge while utilizing the terrain as best they could. Though, their fast march over the vale went without cover, aside from the overwatch of Alvarez. This was followed by a gruelling hike up the noticeably shorter ridge on the other side. Their trip, in total, was several hours. Nothing the Tengus weren't accustomed to, without a bit of water to help them along.
The sight on the other side took Hunt back a bit, him having expected some desolate ruin or wreckage from a war that far outdated the founding of their nation. Instead, was an active settlement. Element Alfa formed up on the ridge's precipice, hiding themselves behind ample natural cover. Hunt motioned his marksman to take a better look that the magnification on their helmets could provide.
"Reynolds. Patching you to my marksman's scope. Stream it to orbit."
What was below them was the beginning of a mining operation, quite obviously. Plasma tools, by the look of it, were most likely the thermal source on the scans. That explained one of the pieces of the confusion. Hunt blinked. A scan ran through an IFF database; nothing came up. An unmarked people at the galactic level, even with the Union's shared database, with the technology to harness plasma and other extraordinary machinery quite like.
"Your orders, Major?" One of the nearby Tengus asked. Hunt paused for a long time, completing his thoughts just before his subordinate asked once more.
"I'll need to go down and check it out."
"Sir?" A Minor interjected.
Hunt motioned his men to hold position as he pulled himself from cover. "If something goes awry, I trust you to cover my ass."
A voice was quick to cut over from his communication line; a still portrait of an unhelmed Reynolds appeared in the top-left of his HUD, with an audio equalizer marked underneath. "I don't suppose I even need to tell you that I believe this is a very reckless idea, sir."
"Duly noted, Lieutenant," Hunt remarked, with a smirk. He left his men at the top of the ridge, descending with his rifle shouldered, knowing to only train it if he truly needed to. He knew this was pretty ambiguous in its odds, but he did not get his officer's commission for his indecisiveness or unwillingness to act.
---
Yuri, the chief administrator for the miners, ran towards the Velikii Tsar. The Red Hand instantly acted, training their Mk II "Blooming" plasma rifles on him. Yuri froze in his tracks.
Vladimir gently put his hand on one of the bodyguard's shoulders, who promptly lowered his rifle. "I trust that your bold actions are not without reason, Yuri?"
Yuri could feel his heart racing, he had just brushed arms with death, "Velikii Tsar Vladimir the Giant Slayer, High Commandant and Leader of the 4th Era," He placed his fist on his heart "We've detected some movement on the outer ridges of our sensors, a single unidentified lifeform."
"Does it look sentient?" He replied
"Well, My Lord, the reports say that he is of short stature, fully armored, wielding an unknown object. We assume it to be a weapon."
"Hmmmm..." Vladimir put his hand to his chin, "I will meet this invader on equal grounds, fetch me a Genesis drill."
One of the Red Hand members scurried off and retrieved the particle drilling mech for him. He mounted the Genesis and left the hatch open, leaving his body vulnerable. He started towards the alien, leaving his entourage behind. Starting his short voyage, his skin shone in a celestial manner as the rays of sun blazed down upon him.
When Hunt realized that his approach was only met by a single man, he was much more mentally relaxed. Yet, the thought couldn't help but cross his mind that maybe this was the camp's sole defender. It was unlikely, nevertheless. The Major's team on the ridge grew wary, the sniper training his rifle on the responder in the cockpit; his finger still safely off the trigger until he was sure.
Hunt watched the humanoid approach him, drinking in all of his features. He found himself looking up at the man, relaxing his stance. The officer brought a hand to the nook underneath the jaw of his helmet, to remove it.
"You didn't seem so tall from a distance," Hunt remarked, fully aware that this man was purposefully making himself vulnerable. With his helmet off, he felt the elements finally make contact with his face, revealing to the alien a head of short white hair upon pale skin laden with grizzled features. The man smiled, conveying some goodwill. A being with a noticeable sense of honor in the slightest could not be of the same descent of that as any Volarian element.
Everyone at the mining development continued their duties, the Red Hand was confident in the Velikii Tsar's abilities.
Vladimir jumped down from the Genesis miner, slinging Ha Mk. II around his shoulder, and letting it hang loosely. "I prefer to meet on equal ground."
His piercing aqua eyes scanned the smaller being, he had definitely been around the block, despite his fragile looking frame, Vladimir could respect that.
"I am Velikii Tsar Vladimir the Giant Slayer, High Commandant and Leader of the 4th Era." He proclaimed, as his loose pilot garb rippled in the dry wind.
Hunt's brow rose at the mouthful introduction, playing it back in his mind onceover. "I am a Major Alfred Hunt, a Minevan Tengu," He replied. He turned around to face the ridge for a moment, waving the men about a kilometer away that it was all-clear.
"I represent Her Majesty of the Unitary State of Mineva," Hunt claimed. While he wasn't truly a representative or dignitary from his country, it wasn't far from the truth at least contextually. The Tengu kept eye contact, noting the dazzling blue color and passively rivaling with the crimson of the Minevans. "With utmost respect to you and those in this encampment, may I inquire what your business is on this world?"
"We've claimed this planet in the name of Bozhe, for the Kalaedans of Bozhe's Chosen." He gestured towards a gargantuan flag waving over the tallest building in the mining complex. "Unless you have a prior claim to this planet, Major Alfred of Hunt." He continued it a serious tone.
Before Alfred got a chance to respond, a voice came from the Velikii Tsar's rifle. "Velikii Tsar Vladimir the Giant Slayer, High Commandant and Leader of the 4th Era, We've got a slight problem."
Vladimir put his hand on top of the rifle, channeling his faith into it. "How slight?"
"More unidentified lifeforms are approaching, large ones, they're gold and white, about 30 miles away, approaching fast." The disembodied voice took a second to breathe, "They look armed to fight, we're sending Genesis' your way."
Suddenly, the ground shook as a slew of six legged arachnids burst out of the hot, cracked earth about 40 meters away. They matched the description that the Red Hand operative described, standing about half as tall as the Kalaedan leader himself. They must be the vanguard.
The Velikii Tsar looked toward Alfred briefly before he pulled up his gun towards the creatures, "Friends of yours?"
Hunt planted his foot, extraordinarily quick to react and shoulder his own rifle. "Not a chance."
Too ugly, he thought. Hunt squeezed the trigger, not wasting any time to sling a flurry of E-Carbon APDS rounds at the newcomers. As if on queue, a heavy sniper round from Alfa's marksman fired at another on of the creatures at supersonic speeds. The rest of the men up top began a quick descent of the hill to support their commanding officer, running and sliding down; kicking up clouds of dust and scuffing up their armor.
Vladimir fired off a volley of hot plasma, melting through the unidentified creatures. He pressed his palm on his rifle. "Send 300 fully loaded Genesi, we hold this ground, and never give an inch!"
One of the creatures jumped toward Vladimir, he responded with a bone-shattering butt of the rifle. He glanced over to Hunt, who was spraying solid projectiles at the creatures. A few of the bullets ricocheted off the alien's hard, golden carapieces, while the rest dug into the fleshy, white skin.
"10 left, then we look towards the horizon Major Alfred Hunt." He looked over, noting the man's bravery.
Hunt swiftly exhausted his magazine, taking the moment to slide his helmet back on with a single hand as his other hit the mag release. His vision gained a faint red sheen from his reflective visor, and his advanced HUD came back to life.
"Reynolds, get a tactical scan running and call the Ghost for close support," Hunt barked. His riflemen began taking potshots and the machinegunner stopped his descent partway down the slope to rain consentrated bursts at the main body of the insectoids.
Before the Captain could respond, Hunt added, "Have them drop Reserve Section about 50 meters due north of my position."
Solid projectiles galore were now tearing into the charging creatures, easily shredding up an odd three with concentrated fire. Hunt couldn't replace his magazine before one was upon him; to which he dropped his gun in favor of his officer's blade, shifting underneath and slicing the creature the dwarfed him in twain with the draw.
"Give it 30 seconds, at the least, sir!" Reynold's voice called back over the line.
"Aye," He said back to both the Kalaedean and his subordinate officer, casually remarking aside from the dire scenario and the alien innards splattering his armor's plating, "Nothing too big to handle!"
Vladimir's Particle Blade sliced through the last of the vanguard beasts, not unlike a knife through churn-spread. He reached down and grabbed his rifle, and started toward his walker. By now, the approaching army was within eyeshot. Several hundred of them were on foot, fully clad in heavy golden armor, marching forward with long rifles attached to their arms. Others were piloting large hovercraft, each of them sporting a 300mm cannon, and several mounted guns attached. The army was headed by an entourage of larger, faster looking bipeds, fervently guarding a tall, slender figure. This must've been the leader, he was adorned in pearly white armor with a shining gold trim, sporting long claws on each of his hands.
Vladimir's Genesi were about 70 meters away, with the Red Hand being already about 20 meters away, approaching rapidly. He mounted the Genesis drill, and closed the hatch. He spoke loudly, projecting his voice outside of the walker, "Let us continue this conversation after this battle." For the first in a while, the Velikii Tsar grinned, "Make sure you keep up."
Hunt swung the blade, throwing the trickle of xeno fluids on the ground in a splatter, before sheathing it on his back again. He retrieved his rifle, nodding to the man in the hulking power suit. His attention quickly turned to the horizon, where the enemy loomed. Their imposing ornate armor glistened, with a marching formation that struck him quite odd for heading into battle. His men stopped descending the hillside while they still had a semblance of cover and high ground, using the rocky outcrops to their advantage.
The Ghost in orbit made its swift descent. Once it broke into the atmosphere, it started into wide pylon turns with view of the terrain for many miles on end. The weapons operators of rotary 120mm bombardment guns began to spin up, garnering firing solutions. They saw the distance closing rather quickly, knowing they would only get a single salvo in; two if lucky and swift enough with the first.
The heavy slugs and explosive rounds were let loose, AA firing taking its toll on a number of the explosives. Those that did strike true, however, pierced into the plating of a number of the hover vehicles, detonating once embedded inside. Although weapons operators weren't able to discern many of the ground targets, one landed in the formation near the one in the most glory exuding one of their ranks; the clawed leader. While several of those around it perished, the explosive did little more than scuff the material of his armor.
The backup Tengus, though, were just getting into their designated pods. The majority of them were armed with combat shotguns and heavy-variant armor, just as the QRF was planned. The second salvo was targeted towards the hovertrucks with obvious AA assignments.
The Red Hand had arrived on scene loaded for bear, they were wearing Crimson Class Power Armor, and each of them was wielding the powerful Mark III "Havok" Plasma Rifles. The rotaries on the plasma rifles warmed up and spun to an impressive 1,500 RPM, unleashing a hail of blazing death upon the front lines. The invaders were at 20 meters and were closing in on them.
The aliens, despite the constant barrage of fire from both the sky and ground, never faltered a step. They raised their arms and fired off their coilguns, releasing a deafening sound.
With their second barrage thoroughly destroying their anti-air capability, the Section of Tengu Pods crashed into the enemy lines, a good 30 meters in. The counterthrust slowed the fatal speeds, open flames melting those directly underneath. Once the hatches popped off from their fastens, the slags of E-Carbon smashed into even more of the foe. The battle-hardened heavy Tengus brought their shotguns forward, not wasting a moment to begin their slaughter; for all of their ornate armor, they had a hard time saving against point-blank shrapnel tearing into them. For the Tengus amongst the enemy, it was win, or die.
Not like their brothers outside of the melee were going to let them die, either way. The riflemen held steady, firing away under the cover of the machinegunner. Shots fired back at them, chipping away their cover to great affect with gauss-assisted technology. The marksman scanned over the crowd, indicator in his visor telling him that the scope was still being streamed. He stumbled upon the unique amongst the enemy rank, the claws making him a more obvious target than any. The sniper took a section to train the shot, smirking at his easy quarry.
His bullet slammed into the xeno's helmet, and to the sniper's dismay, no effect. The young man cursed under his breath, slamming the bolt back and forth to replace the massive round. The next shot was planned more meticulously, under much more scrutiny. The next shot slammed into the foe's chest plate, doing little but chink the design. The sniper squinted. "Uh oh."
The third wave of Kalaedan reinforcements arrived, 300 Kalaedan miner's, following the Soldier Populace Doctrine to a tee. Each of these men was a battle-ready warrior, fighting to honor their Tsar. The rushed headlong into the fray, flanking the enemy forces.
"Carve your way to their leader from within their forces!" Vladimir commed to his troops, raising the drill-clad fist of his Genesis to the skies.
The miners started tearing into the side of the hostile army, sending shreds of armour and flesh flying in all directions. Meanwhile, the Velikii Tsar started toward the commander of the enemy army.
"You dare attack Bozhe's Chosen?" He projected at the commander, fury accented his words, "Grace me with your name so that I can curse it as I paint this canyon with your blood!"
The commander responded with a soft-spoken voice, "I am Hukte and we are the Justicars, we have claimed this planet in the name of all that is good."
He grunted, "You'd be best giving up on that notion-" Before he could finish his sentence, Hukte motioned his guards toward Vladimir.
Vladimir backhanded the first of the attackers, with bone-shattering force. His drill whined as he bore through the stomach of the second.
Hunt, seperated from his men on the hill, realized his situation quite fast with the army upon him in the open expanse. The best thing he could do is not allow the rifles to take him, and close the gap. He unceremoniously tossed the rifle aside.
"Ikki tousen." He drew his shining blade and dashed to the enemy line. With several elegant movements, he cut himself into the swathes of attackers. He was about a half foot shorter than most of them, working well to his advantage as he cut them down one by one. The monofilament edge on his sword took no work to destroy his foes, turning the might material of their armor into mere paper.
His Tengus held fast, and those amongst the melee seemed to fend very well. Their way of fighting was a bit more rugged; using the blunt ends of their weapons, the solid force behind punches and kicks, and assistance from their monofilament tantos. Albeit much less elegant, their lethality was sufficient. Though, there was one amongst their ranks armed as an officer; sword and massive revolver. Her name was Lieutenant Farrows, and on her HUD were minor tactical markers of her teammates amongst the horde, as well as Hunt.
Hunt, having delved a bit into the fray, made quick work of those he passed. He saw Vladimir toe to toe with the uniquely armored foe who he assumed to be the leader. In Hunt's wake, a path of enemies fell to the ground as he did little more than hold his blade to the side.
The Red Hand, acknowledging their leader's issued challenge, immediately engaged Hukte's entourage, allowing Vladimir to duel the foreign aggressor. Hukte outstretched his right arm, accepting a huge golden hammer, it's sheen brilliant in the bright sunlight. He slammed it into the chestpiece of the Genesis, leaving a huge dent in the cockpit. Vladimir grunted as the concussive blow staggered his Genesis backward. Vladimir picked up a nearby boulder, his Genesis creaking in resistance. He hurled the large mass of rock at the slender figure. The boulder exploded on impact.
Once the dust had cleared, Vladimir had realized that Hukte was completely unphased by the projectile. He continued to slam his hammer into Vladimir's Genesis, blowing the left arm to pieces, and severely damaging the cockpit. Vladimir didn't falter. With great force, Vladimir jammed his plasma drill into the commander's chest. At first, the armor didn't seem to give way, but after a moment, the drill pierced, tearing a wide hole into the alien's chest.
The Kalaedan Miners were tearing through the Justicarian army, taking very few casualties, while tearing through droves upon droves of Justicars. This battle was almost over, the only thing left was to mop up the small remainder of the enemy troops.
Hunt came to a sliding halt, dodging Kalaedan power armor and Justicarian soldiers alike. Some didn't even hit the ground until he'd come to a full stop. Farrows, amongst the thinning melee, saw some of the foe turn their back to her and begin to run off. She trained her sidearm on one for a moment. Under narrowed eyes, she spared their lives for this moment; it was just as dishonorable for her to shoot them in the back as it was for them to turn heel and run.
"El-tee!" A nearby sergeant called amongst a small fray, "We've got a man down! Man d-"
Once the voice was cut off, Farrows leapt off in its direction. One stood out from the other rabble that way, holding a massive two-handed maul. She brought her gun to bear, but the enemy was lucky enough to get in the first swing. Its shining hammer flattened her firearm against a rock, with an amped shockwave blowing her helmet clean off. This elite didn't last another moment, his dire swing being his downfall. His bulky armor was rendered obselete by her blade, sending him crashing on top of his weapon. She was upon the rest of his enterouge, her tengus covering her and mopping up all the while. This fight was soon over.
Vladimir pulled the release lever in the Genesis to no avail. With a grunt, he jammed his foot into the inside of the cockpit, sending the hatch itself flying.
"Clean it up men." He ordered over the comms.
As if put into overdrive, the miner's went berserk, slamming their plasma drills in every which way. Knyaz Mikael, the squad leader of the Red Hand, was firing away at the last of the Justicars. A cluster of them were closing in his position. His gun's heat sensors were screaming, and he was taking multiple hits. The bullets slammed into his armor without piercing. The bullets created what felt like a shockwave ripping through his body, rupturing organs and breaking bones.
Still, the Knyaz was honor-bound, he would not falter. His gun finally overheated, he heard xeno flesh sizzle and melt as he rammed the barrel of the weapon into it's face. The aliens had finally closed to melee range, Mikael dropped the rifle, unable to withstand the burden of the heavy weapon. He put his left arm to block a hammer blow that would have certainly killed him. The blow pulverized the bones in his left fore-arm, his right arm reached for the alien's weapon. Mikael yanked it out of the Justicar's hands, and jabbed his face with it. His left arm hanging limp, he swung his newly acquired weapon around, trying to destroy as many of Bozhe's enemies as possible.
"I.. Will not..." He paused, catching his breath, "Falter!" The Knyaz screamed, as he delivered a punishing blow to a nearby Justicar.
The rest of the Red Hand arrived to assist their captain, but it was too late. The Kalaedan's battered and deformed body laid motionless, his crimson blood splattered on the cracked dirt. The Red Hands' bodies filled to the brim with white hot rage. Forgoing ranged combat, they rushed into the last of the Justicars, bludgeoning them to death with their veritible masses of Starplatinum. Each Knyaz of the Red Hand would mourn tonight.
"Major!" One of the worried riflemen called from the ridge as the sounds of weapons died out. There was a long silence.
"Fall in," Hunt called to his men, as what was left of the fight was far from his reach. Hunt's attention wasn't upon the hundreds of bodies before them nor the Kalaedans. The reinforcement Tengus were carrying the bodies of their fallen. Hunt hung his head for a moment, and his men remained silent.
"Reynolds," Hunt opened up a comm line, "Patch this to the ship. We've got two confirmed Killed-In-Action."
"Affirmative sir," Reynolds was quick to reply, "But... I've got a call coming to your end. ID is HiCom, Commissariat override. I'm putting him through."
Hunt blinked, though the override was rather expected. After all, he had ended up in an unauthorized engagement and encountered an entirely new nation altogether. Or two, it'd seemed.
"Major," A rough, low voice sounded over the line. Hunt immediately recognized it as Chief of Staff Bradley Novak, an old acquaintance of his through Reiko and the war. "Give me a sitrep."
Hunt set a hand on his helmet, pacing to the side as Farrows and company passed by him. "We've encountered a sovereign state that has apparently already laid claims to this world. The Volarian and November-Alfa elements are yet to be explained but heat sigs go to plasma used by mining equipment. These guys call themselves the Kalaedan's and 'Bozhe's Chosen', led by one who calls himself Vladimir, the uh...." Hunt had trouble remembering the mouthful title, not having been given a lot of time to digest the information, "Shortly after first contact we were ambushed by an unknown element followed by a massive rank-and-file force. I called for reinforcements and authorized airstrikes, but the Kalaedans took the brunt of the assault. Though, they haven't turned and started attacking us yet, so I'll assume we're on good footing."
The line was silent, and fearing connection issues, Hunt was about to check the integrity of the line. Before he could say anything, Novak began again. "Alright. I've dispatched the corvette to do area scans using current battle data to see if we can ward off the enemy. Major Alfred Hunt, you're now an ambassador of the Minevan people. Report all of your workings to me," He heard the man chuckle, before continuing, "Honor to those under you, and ancestors be with you."
The Corvette had hailed Hunt immediately afterwards, noting to him and his men that they wouldn't be able to retrieve them for at least another 24 hours due to operations. Hunt acknowledged this, now looking for Vladimir as the battle was dead.
Vladimir commed to his men, "Every one of you did me proud today, tonight, we bury our dead and mourn their loss, we shall resume the mining operation tomorrow."
The Velikii Tsar took a few step forward, looking for Major Alfred Hunt. Dusk was rapidly approaching, and he could feel the heat transitioning to what would be a biting cold. Eventually he spotted Hunt, and started towards him, each step radiating pride.
"You fought well, Major Alfred Hunt." Vladimir proclaimed loudly, placing both hands on Hunt's shoulders, "I've never seen such agility!"
Hunt sunk an inch or so at the force on his shoulders before bracing himself right. He found himself taken aback, searching for something to say. "And I've never seen someone boot the hatch off of a mech," Hunt nodded, smile forming on his lips as he pulled his helmet off once more, "I believe I speak for every one of my men when I commend your prowess in combat."
Hunt kept his comm line with Reynolds as he spoke to the Kalaedan, "I must rendezvous with my men over the ridge and across the valley, but we do have an issue. Our ship is running sweeps over the countryside, looking for the enemy and routing them to prevent a sort of counterattack. Until they are finished, we are out for ourselves. We must honor our fallen here and bring all of our men here. Do you have transport to share?"
"Of course, I shall arrange for transport, you tend to your fallen, as will we." He responded.
As both factions tended their wounded, and buried their dead, Vladimir called for a Transport-Class vehicle. The 6-wheeled vehicle was massive, with 5 foot rims, and tank tread surrounding the tires. The large bulk of metal had a bed, suitable to hold 40 Kalaedans, more than enough to carry the smaller Minevans, the Velikii Tsar, and the Red Hand.
The driver arrived, saluting Vladimir. The Velikii Tsar motioned for Hunt to gather his men and mount the vehicle.
The transport began its way over the ridge, passing the wayward marksman that was treking down to regroup with his squad. Hunt flash a thumbs up as they past, leaving everyone down there to Lieutenant Farrows.
Hunt figured it was time to fill his new 'billet'. He chuckled, leaning forward in his seat. He spoke, having to raise his voice over the monstrous engine of the machine, "I'd like to give you the goodwill of my people, the Unitary State of Mineva; on Her Majesty Regent Akari Reiko's behalf, I invite you to our capital to negotiate terms between our people!"
"Ah yes, I suppose we do have some things to discuss," He stated, "I, Velikii Tsar Vladimir the Giant Slayer, High Commandant and Leader of the 4th Era, shall meet Her Majesty Regent Akari Reiko."
"Oh, and one more thing," He added, "I would like to honor your name for your courage, within Bozhe's Chosen, you shall be known as Inostra Major Alfred Hunt, Justicar Slayer."
"I am honored," Hunt bowed his head to the foreign warrior with sincerity, taking a moment to mutter this title under his breath. It was a tad sudden, but Hunt truly was honored.
"Velikii Tsar Vladimir the Giant Slayer, High Commandant and Leader of the 4th Era," Hunt repeated, doing his best to get it word-for-word, "I look forward to fighting alongside you in the future, to take on this Justicar entity."
XXXXXX
It wasn't very often that Tengu Legionnaires were deployed in pods outside of active warzones. The previous night, they'd tactically insterted with a chance meteor shower, drop pods cleverly masked by the astrological phenomena as dazzling lights in the atmosphere. Though, amongst the hundreds that fizzled out, a Section of troops in pods made it to the ground. The Section gathered their supplies and gained their bearings, hiding their disposable insertion pods and traversing the local ridge while the night was still full.
This planet had the same energy spike traces as Alpha Ceti V. At least Major Hunt and Lieutenant Reynolds, the man in charge of the operation and the woman second to him respectively, were delegated specifics of that information. Normally, that information would be somewhere beyond classified. But circumstances were strange.
On a ridge overlooking a wide valley, Hunt huddled down with the sniper of his Section. The other of his Section were maintaining a perimeter and running the short-distance scanners.
"Alvarez," Hunt crawled up next to the man, doing his best to be as discreet as possible. His HUD brought up the information from his neural implants; 'Junior Sergeant Francis Alvarez', annotated by his unit number and his ID. With a blink, the information box faded. "Anything?"
"Uh..." The noticeably younger man let out with a relaxed demeanor, though his body was very much poised for a deadly strike at any moment. "No sir, nothing. Not yet. What are we down 'ere for, Major?"
"We're on a treasure hunt, son," The Major remarked, excusing himself immediately thereafter by shuffling back through the foliage.
---
Sargon's surface was mostly barren, with sparse vegetation. The Kalaedan mining team was set up and already drilling into the planet's resources. The whine of plasma drills could be heard for miles
This was a standard planet inhabiting operation. The Velikii Tsar would oversee the operation, and hold the tournament to determine the Tsar of the new Kalaedan planet. Vladimir had 10 members of the Red Hand around him at all times. He was walking on the catwalk above the beginnings of the mining operation, scanning over the actions of the workers, as well as the immediate surroundings.
---
Lieutenant Reynolds and an operator worked in their nook amongst the rocks and barren flora, running diagnostics in tandem with the Corvette in orbit from her subordinate's pack. His mobile platform included an assortment of applications to view anything from battle logistics to siesmic activity, as well as coordinate with other elements compatible with the system; the systems and crew of the Ghost-Class shrouded in stealth being one of those things.
Hunt appeared in her peripheral, and even though she did not turn to look, she acknowledged him. "Sir," She began, matter-of-factly, "Energy source is definitely not Nakai of origin. It's a more tangible element. Scans bring up extreme thermal signatures and some trace elements identical to the records from Tau Volaris."
The Major made a connection with this and the faint whining echoing throughout the vale. He guessed the source must be over the next ridge; a short trip altogether. Though, the mention of the Volarian conflict made him uneasy; some stray stories of the excursions inside and underneath the domes were more than enough to drive discomfort for miles.
"That makes the next move pretty obvious, then," Hunt crouched beside the duo for a moment, nudging the junior officer for her full attention. "I'll take Element Alfa and move to it. Beta will stay here and keep an eye on the equipment and extraction site. Get us markers and beacons on our HUD."
Reynolds flashed a quick salute. "Sir."
Hunt took half of the men designated 'Element Alfa', and descended the ridge while utilizing the terrain as best they could. Though, their fast march over the vale went without cover, aside from the overwatch of Alvarez. This was followed by a gruelling hike up the noticeably shorter ridge on the other side. Their trip, in total, was several hours. Nothing the Tengus weren't accustomed to, without a bit of water to help them along.
The sight on the other side took Hunt back a bit, him having expected some desolate ruin or wreckage from a war that far outdated the founding of their nation. Instead, was an active settlement. Element Alfa formed up on the ridge's precipice, hiding themselves behind ample natural cover. Hunt motioned his marksman to take a better look that the magnification on their helmets could provide.
"Reynolds. Patching you to my marksman's scope. Stream it to orbit."
What was below them was the beginning of a mining operation, quite obviously. Plasma tools, by the look of it, were most likely the thermal source on the scans. That explained one of the pieces of the confusion. Hunt blinked. A scan ran through an IFF database; nothing came up. An unmarked people at the galactic level, even with the Union's shared database, with the technology to harness plasma and other extraordinary machinery quite like.
"Your orders, Major?" One of the nearby Tengus asked. Hunt paused for a long time, completing his thoughts just before his subordinate asked once more.
"I'll need to go down and check it out."
"Sir?" A Minor interjected.
Hunt motioned his men to hold position as he pulled himself from cover. "If something goes awry, I trust you to cover my ass."
A voice was quick to cut over from his communication line; a still portrait of an unhelmed Reynolds appeared in the top-left of his HUD, with an audio equalizer marked underneath. "I don't suppose I even need to tell you that I believe this is a very reckless idea, sir."
"Duly noted, Lieutenant," Hunt remarked, with a smirk. He left his men at the top of the ridge, descending with his rifle shouldered, knowing to only train it if he truly needed to. He knew this was pretty ambiguous in its odds, but he did not get his officer's commission for his indecisiveness or unwillingness to act.
---
Yuri, the chief administrator for the miners, ran towards the Velikii Tsar. The Red Hand instantly acted, training their Mk II "Blooming" plasma rifles on him. Yuri froze in his tracks.
Vladimir gently put his hand on one of the bodyguard's shoulders, who promptly lowered his rifle. "I trust that your bold actions are not without reason, Yuri?"
Yuri could feel his heart racing, he had just brushed arms with death, "Velikii Tsar Vladimir the Giant Slayer, High Commandant and Leader of the 4th Era," He placed his fist on his heart "We've detected some movement on the outer ridges of our sensors, a single unidentified lifeform."
"Does it look sentient?" He replied
"Well, My Lord, the reports say that he is of short stature, fully armored, wielding an unknown object. We assume it to be a weapon."
"Hmmmm..." Vladimir put his hand to his chin, "I will meet this invader on equal grounds, fetch me a Genesis drill."
One of the Red Hand members scurried off and retrieved the particle drilling mech for him. He mounted the Genesis and left the hatch open, leaving his body vulnerable. He started towards the alien, leaving his entourage behind. Starting his short voyage, his skin shone in a celestial manner as the rays of sun blazed down upon him.
When Hunt realized that his approach was only met by a single man, he was much more mentally relaxed. Yet, the thought couldn't help but cross his mind that maybe this was the camp's sole defender. It was unlikely, nevertheless. The Major's team on the ridge grew wary, the sniper training his rifle on the responder in the cockpit; his finger still safely off the trigger until he was sure.
Hunt watched the humanoid approach him, drinking in all of his features. He found himself looking up at the man, relaxing his stance. The officer brought a hand to the nook underneath the jaw of his helmet, to remove it.
"You didn't seem so tall from a distance," Hunt remarked, fully aware that this man was purposefully making himself vulnerable. With his helmet off, he felt the elements finally make contact with his face, revealing to the alien a head of short white hair upon pale skin laden with grizzled features. The man smiled, conveying some goodwill. A being with a noticeable sense of honor in the slightest could not be of the same descent of that as any Volarian element.
Everyone at the mining development continued their duties, the Red Hand was confident in the Velikii Tsar's abilities.
Vladimir jumped down from the Genesis miner, slinging Ha Mk. II around his shoulder, and letting it hang loosely. "I prefer to meet on equal ground."
His piercing aqua eyes scanned the smaller being, he had definitely been around the block, despite his fragile looking frame, Vladimir could respect that.
"I am Velikii Tsar Vladimir the Giant Slayer, High Commandant and Leader of the 4th Era." He proclaimed, as his loose pilot garb rippled in the dry wind.
Hunt's brow rose at the mouthful introduction, playing it back in his mind onceover. "I am a Major Alfred Hunt, a Minevan Tengu," He replied. He turned around to face the ridge for a moment, waving the men about a kilometer away that it was all-clear.
"I represent Her Majesty of the Unitary State of Mineva," Hunt claimed. While he wasn't truly a representative or dignitary from his country, it wasn't far from the truth at least contextually. The Tengu kept eye contact, noting the dazzling blue color and passively rivaling with the crimson of the Minevans. "With utmost respect to you and those in this encampment, may I inquire what your business is on this world?"
"We've claimed this planet in the name of Bozhe, for the Kalaedans of Bozhe's Chosen." He gestured towards a gargantuan flag waving over the tallest building in the mining complex. "Unless you have a prior claim to this planet, Major Alfred of Hunt." He continued it a serious tone.
Before Alfred got a chance to respond, a voice came from the Velikii Tsar's rifle. "Velikii Tsar Vladimir the Giant Slayer, High Commandant and Leader of the 4th Era, We've got a slight problem."
Vladimir put his hand on top of the rifle, channeling his faith into it. "How slight?"
"More unidentified lifeforms are approaching, large ones, they're gold and white, about 30 miles away, approaching fast." The disembodied voice took a second to breathe, "They look armed to fight, we're sending Genesis' your way."
Suddenly, the ground shook as a slew of six legged arachnids burst out of the hot, cracked earth about 40 meters away. They matched the description that the Red Hand operative described, standing about half as tall as the Kalaedan leader himself. They must be the vanguard.
The Velikii Tsar looked toward Alfred briefly before he pulled up his gun towards the creatures, "Friends of yours?"
Hunt planted his foot, extraordinarily quick to react and shoulder his own rifle. "Not a chance."
Too ugly, he thought. Hunt squeezed the trigger, not wasting any time to sling a flurry of E-Carbon APDS rounds at the newcomers. As if on queue, a heavy sniper round from Alfa's marksman fired at another on of the creatures at supersonic speeds. The rest of the men up top began a quick descent of the hill to support their commanding officer, running and sliding down; kicking up clouds of dust and scuffing up their armor.
Vladimir fired off a volley of hot plasma, melting through the unidentified creatures. He pressed his palm on his rifle. "Send 300 fully loaded Genesi, we hold this ground, and never give an inch!"
One of the creatures jumped toward Vladimir, he responded with a bone-shattering butt of the rifle. He glanced over to Hunt, who was spraying solid projectiles at the creatures. A few of the bullets ricocheted off the alien's hard, golden carapieces, while the rest dug into the fleshy, white skin.
"10 left, then we look towards the horizon Major Alfred Hunt." He looked over, noting the man's bravery.
Hunt swiftly exhausted his magazine, taking the moment to slide his helmet back on with a single hand as his other hit the mag release. His vision gained a faint red sheen from his reflective visor, and his advanced HUD came back to life.
"Reynolds, get a tactical scan running and call the Ghost for close support," Hunt barked. His riflemen began taking potshots and the machinegunner stopped his descent partway down the slope to rain consentrated bursts at the main body of the insectoids.
Before the Captain could respond, Hunt added, "Have them drop Reserve Section about 50 meters due north of my position."
Solid projectiles galore were now tearing into the charging creatures, easily shredding up an odd three with concentrated fire. Hunt couldn't replace his magazine before one was upon him; to which he dropped his gun in favor of his officer's blade, shifting underneath and slicing the creature the dwarfed him in twain with the draw.
"Give it 30 seconds, at the least, sir!" Reynold's voice called back over the line.
"Aye," He said back to both the Kalaedean and his subordinate officer, casually remarking aside from the dire scenario and the alien innards splattering his armor's plating, "Nothing too big to handle!"
Vladimir's Particle Blade sliced through the last of the vanguard beasts, not unlike a knife through churn-spread. He reached down and grabbed his rifle, and started toward his walker. By now, the approaching army was within eyeshot. Several hundred of them were on foot, fully clad in heavy golden armor, marching forward with long rifles attached to their arms. Others were piloting large hovercraft, each of them sporting a 300mm cannon, and several mounted guns attached. The army was headed by an entourage of larger, faster looking bipeds, fervently guarding a tall, slender figure. This must've been the leader, he was adorned in pearly white armor with a shining gold trim, sporting long claws on each of his hands.
Vladimir's Genesi were about 70 meters away, with the Red Hand being already about 20 meters away, approaching rapidly. He mounted the Genesis drill, and closed the hatch. He spoke loudly, projecting his voice outside of the walker, "Let us continue this conversation after this battle." For the first in a while, the Velikii Tsar grinned, "Make sure you keep up."
Hunt swung the blade, throwing the trickle of xeno fluids on the ground in a splatter, before sheathing it on his back again. He retrieved his rifle, nodding to the man in the hulking power suit. His attention quickly turned to the horizon, where the enemy loomed. Their imposing ornate armor glistened, with a marching formation that struck him quite odd for heading into battle. His men stopped descending the hillside while they still had a semblance of cover and high ground, using the rocky outcrops to their advantage.
The Ghost in orbit made its swift descent. Once it broke into the atmosphere, it started into wide pylon turns with view of the terrain for many miles on end. The weapons operators of rotary 120mm bombardment guns began to spin up, garnering firing solutions. They saw the distance closing rather quickly, knowing they would only get a single salvo in; two if lucky and swift enough with the first.
The heavy slugs and explosive rounds were let loose, AA firing taking its toll on a number of the explosives. Those that did strike true, however, pierced into the plating of a number of the hover vehicles, detonating once embedded inside. Although weapons operators weren't able to discern many of the ground targets, one landed in the formation near the one in the most glory exuding one of their ranks; the clawed leader. While several of those around it perished, the explosive did little more than scuff the material of his armor.
The backup Tengus, though, were just getting into their designated pods. The majority of them were armed with combat shotguns and heavy-variant armor, just as the QRF was planned. The second salvo was targeted towards the hovertrucks with obvious AA assignments.
The Red Hand had arrived on scene loaded for bear, they were wearing Crimson Class Power Armor, and each of them was wielding the powerful Mark III "Havok" Plasma Rifles. The rotaries on the plasma rifles warmed up and spun to an impressive 1,500 RPM, unleashing a hail of blazing death upon the front lines. The invaders were at 20 meters and were closing in on them.
The aliens, despite the constant barrage of fire from both the sky and ground, never faltered a step. They raised their arms and fired off their coilguns, releasing a deafening sound.
With their second barrage thoroughly destroying their anti-air capability, the Section of Tengu Pods crashed into the enemy lines, a good 30 meters in. The counterthrust slowed the fatal speeds, open flames melting those directly underneath. Once the hatches popped off from their fastens, the slags of E-Carbon smashed into even more of the foe. The battle-hardened heavy Tengus brought their shotguns forward, not wasting a moment to begin their slaughter; for all of their ornate armor, they had a hard time saving against point-blank shrapnel tearing into them. For the Tengus amongst the enemy, it was win, or die.
Not like their brothers outside of the melee were going to let them die, either way. The riflemen held steady, firing away under the cover of the machinegunner. Shots fired back at them, chipping away their cover to great affect with gauss-assisted technology. The marksman scanned over the crowd, indicator in his visor telling him that the scope was still being streamed. He stumbled upon the unique amongst the enemy rank, the claws making him a more obvious target than any. The sniper took a section to train the shot, smirking at his easy quarry.
His bullet slammed into the xeno's helmet, and to the sniper's dismay, no effect. The young man cursed under his breath, slamming the bolt back and forth to replace the massive round. The next shot was planned more meticulously, under much more scrutiny. The next shot slammed into the foe's chest plate, doing little but chink the design. The sniper squinted. "Uh oh."
The third wave of Kalaedan reinforcements arrived, 300 Kalaedan miner's, following the Soldier Populace Doctrine to a tee. Each of these men was a battle-ready warrior, fighting to honor their Tsar. The rushed headlong into the fray, flanking the enemy forces.
"Carve your way to their leader from within their forces!" Vladimir commed to his troops, raising the drill-clad fist of his Genesis to the skies.
The miners started tearing into the side of the hostile army, sending shreds of armour and flesh flying in all directions. Meanwhile, the Velikii Tsar started toward the commander of the enemy army.
"You dare attack Bozhe's Chosen?" He projected at the commander, fury accented his words, "Grace me with your name so that I can curse it as I paint this canyon with your blood!"
The commander responded with a soft-spoken voice, "I am Hukte and we are the Justicars, we have claimed this planet in the name of all that is good."
He grunted, "You'd be best giving up on that notion-" Before he could finish his sentence, Hukte motioned his guards toward Vladimir.
Vladimir backhanded the first of the attackers, with bone-shattering force. His drill whined as he bore through the stomach of the second.
Hunt, seperated from his men on the hill, realized his situation quite fast with the army upon him in the open expanse. The best thing he could do is not allow the rifles to take him, and close the gap. He unceremoniously tossed the rifle aside.
"Ikki tousen." He drew his shining blade and dashed to the enemy line. With several elegant movements, he cut himself into the swathes of attackers. He was about a half foot shorter than most of them, working well to his advantage as he cut them down one by one. The monofilament edge on his sword took no work to destroy his foes, turning the might material of their armor into mere paper.
His Tengus held fast, and those amongst the melee seemed to fend very well. Their way of fighting was a bit more rugged; using the blunt ends of their weapons, the solid force behind punches and kicks, and assistance from their monofilament tantos. Albeit much less elegant, their lethality was sufficient. Though, there was one amongst their ranks armed as an officer; sword and massive revolver. Her name was Lieutenant Farrows, and on her HUD were minor tactical markers of her teammates amongst the horde, as well as Hunt.
Hunt, having delved a bit into the fray, made quick work of those he passed. He saw Vladimir toe to toe with the uniquely armored foe who he assumed to be the leader. In Hunt's wake, a path of enemies fell to the ground as he did little more than hold his blade to the side.
The Red Hand, acknowledging their leader's issued challenge, immediately engaged Hukte's entourage, allowing Vladimir to duel the foreign aggressor. Hukte outstretched his right arm, accepting a huge golden hammer, it's sheen brilliant in the bright sunlight. He slammed it into the chestpiece of the Genesis, leaving a huge dent in the cockpit. Vladimir grunted as the concussive blow staggered his Genesis backward. Vladimir picked up a nearby boulder, his Genesis creaking in resistance. He hurled the large mass of rock at the slender figure. The boulder exploded on impact.
Once the dust had cleared, Vladimir had realized that Hukte was completely unphased by the projectile. He continued to slam his hammer into Vladimir's Genesis, blowing the left arm to pieces, and severely damaging the cockpit. Vladimir didn't falter. With great force, Vladimir jammed his plasma drill into the commander's chest. At first, the armor didn't seem to give way, but after a moment, the drill pierced, tearing a wide hole into the alien's chest.
The Kalaedan Miners were tearing through the Justicarian army, taking very few casualties, while tearing through droves upon droves of Justicars. This battle was almost over, the only thing left was to mop up the small remainder of the enemy troops.
Hunt came to a sliding halt, dodging Kalaedan power armor and Justicarian soldiers alike. Some didn't even hit the ground until he'd come to a full stop. Farrows, amongst the thinning melee, saw some of the foe turn their back to her and begin to run off. She trained her sidearm on one for a moment. Under narrowed eyes, she spared their lives for this moment; it was just as dishonorable for her to shoot them in the back as it was for them to turn heel and run.
"El-tee!" A nearby sergeant called amongst a small fray, "We've got a man down! Man d-"
Once the voice was cut off, Farrows leapt off in its direction. One stood out from the other rabble that way, holding a massive two-handed maul. She brought her gun to bear, but the enemy was lucky enough to get in the first swing. Its shining hammer flattened her firearm against a rock, with an amped shockwave blowing her helmet clean off. This elite didn't last another moment, his dire swing being his downfall. His bulky armor was rendered obselete by her blade, sending him crashing on top of his weapon. She was upon the rest of his enterouge, her tengus covering her and mopping up all the while. This fight was soon over.
Vladimir pulled the release lever in the Genesis to no avail. With a grunt, he jammed his foot into the inside of the cockpit, sending the hatch itself flying.
"Clean it up men." He ordered over the comms.
As if put into overdrive, the miner's went berserk, slamming their plasma drills in every which way. Knyaz Mikael, the squad leader of the Red Hand, was firing away at the last of the Justicars. A cluster of them were closing in his position. His gun's heat sensors were screaming, and he was taking multiple hits. The bullets slammed into his armor without piercing. The bullets created what felt like a shockwave ripping through his body, rupturing organs and breaking bones.
Still, the Knyaz was honor-bound, he would not falter. His gun finally overheated, he heard xeno flesh sizzle and melt as he rammed the barrel of the weapon into it's face. The aliens had finally closed to melee range, Mikael dropped the rifle, unable to withstand the burden of the heavy weapon. He put his left arm to block a hammer blow that would have certainly killed him. The blow pulverized the bones in his left fore-arm, his right arm reached for the alien's weapon. Mikael yanked it out of the Justicar's hands, and jabbed his face with it. His left arm hanging limp, he swung his newly acquired weapon around, trying to destroy as many of Bozhe's enemies as possible.
"I.. Will not..." He paused, catching his breath, "Falter!" The Knyaz screamed, as he delivered a punishing blow to a nearby Justicar.
The rest of the Red Hand arrived to assist their captain, but it was too late. The Kalaedan's battered and deformed body laid motionless, his crimson blood splattered on the cracked dirt. The Red Hands' bodies filled to the brim with white hot rage. Forgoing ranged combat, they rushed into the last of the Justicars, bludgeoning them to death with their veritible masses of Starplatinum. Each Knyaz of the Red Hand would mourn tonight.
"Major!" One of the worried riflemen called from the ridge as the sounds of weapons died out. There was a long silence.
"Fall in," Hunt called to his men, as what was left of the fight was far from his reach. Hunt's attention wasn't upon the hundreds of bodies before them nor the Kalaedans. The reinforcement Tengus were carrying the bodies of their fallen. Hunt hung his head for a moment, and his men remained silent.
"Reynolds," Hunt opened up a comm line, "Patch this to the ship. We've got two confirmed Killed-In-Action."
"Affirmative sir," Reynolds was quick to reply, "But... I've got a call coming to your end. ID is HiCom, Commissariat override. I'm putting him through."
Hunt blinked, though the override was rather expected. After all, he had ended up in an unauthorized engagement and encountered an entirely new nation altogether. Or two, it'd seemed.
"Major," A rough, low voice sounded over the line. Hunt immediately recognized it as Chief of Staff Bradley Novak, an old acquaintance of his through Reiko and the war. "Give me a sitrep."
Hunt set a hand on his helmet, pacing to the side as Farrows and company passed by him. "We've encountered a sovereign state that has apparently already laid claims to this world. The Volarian and November-Alfa elements are yet to be explained but heat sigs go to plasma used by mining equipment. These guys call themselves the Kalaedan's and 'Bozhe's Chosen', led by one who calls himself Vladimir, the uh...." Hunt had trouble remembering the mouthful title, not having been given a lot of time to digest the information, "Shortly after first contact we were ambushed by an unknown element followed by a massive rank-and-file force. I called for reinforcements and authorized airstrikes, but the Kalaedans took the brunt of the assault. Though, they haven't turned and started attacking us yet, so I'll assume we're on good footing."
The line was silent, and fearing connection issues, Hunt was about to check the integrity of the line. Before he could say anything, Novak began again. "Alright. I've dispatched the corvette to do area scans using current battle data to see if we can ward off the enemy. Major Alfred Hunt, you're now an ambassador of the Minevan people. Report all of your workings to me," He heard the man chuckle, before continuing, "Honor to those under you, and ancestors be with you."
The Corvette had hailed Hunt immediately afterwards, noting to him and his men that they wouldn't be able to retrieve them for at least another 24 hours due to operations. Hunt acknowledged this, now looking for Vladimir as the battle was dead.
Vladimir commed to his men, "Every one of you did me proud today, tonight, we bury our dead and mourn their loss, we shall resume the mining operation tomorrow."
The Velikii Tsar took a few step forward, looking for Major Alfred Hunt. Dusk was rapidly approaching, and he could feel the heat transitioning to what would be a biting cold. Eventually he spotted Hunt, and started towards him, each step radiating pride.
"You fought well, Major Alfred Hunt." Vladimir proclaimed loudly, placing both hands on Hunt's shoulders, "I've never seen such agility!"
Hunt sunk an inch or so at the force on his shoulders before bracing himself right. He found himself taken aback, searching for something to say. "And I've never seen someone boot the hatch off of a mech," Hunt nodded, smile forming on his lips as he pulled his helmet off once more, "I believe I speak for every one of my men when I commend your prowess in combat."
Hunt kept his comm line with Reynolds as he spoke to the Kalaedan, "I must rendezvous with my men over the ridge and across the valley, but we do have an issue. Our ship is running sweeps over the countryside, looking for the enemy and routing them to prevent a sort of counterattack. Until they are finished, we are out for ourselves. We must honor our fallen here and bring all of our men here. Do you have transport to share?"
"Of course, I shall arrange for transport, you tend to your fallen, as will we." He responded.
As both factions tended their wounded, and buried their dead, Vladimir called for a Transport-Class vehicle. The 6-wheeled vehicle was massive, with 5 foot rims, and tank tread surrounding the tires. The large bulk of metal had a bed, suitable to hold 40 Kalaedans, more than enough to carry the smaller Minevans, the Velikii Tsar, and the Red Hand.
The driver arrived, saluting Vladimir. The Velikii Tsar motioned for Hunt to gather his men and mount the vehicle.
The transport began its way over the ridge, passing the wayward marksman that was treking down to regroup with his squad. Hunt flash a thumbs up as they past, leaving everyone down there to Lieutenant Farrows.
Hunt figured it was time to fill his new 'billet'. He chuckled, leaning forward in his seat. He spoke, having to raise his voice over the monstrous engine of the machine, "I'd like to give you the goodwill of my people, the Unitary State of Mineva; on Her Majesty Regent Akari Reiko's behalf, I invite you to our capital to negotiate terms between our people!"
"Ah yes, I suppose we do have some things to discuss," He stated, "I, Velikii Tsar Vladimir the Giant Slayer, High Commandant and Leader of the 4th Era, shall meet Her Majesty Regent Akari Reiko."
"Oh, and one more thing," He added, "I would like to honor your name for your courage, within Bozhe's Chosen, you shall be known as Inostra Major Alfred Hunt, Justicar Slayer."
"I am honored," Hunt bowed his head to the foreign warrior with sincerity, taking a moment to mutter this title under his breath. It was a tad sudden, but Hunt truly was honored.
"Velikii Tsar Vladimir the Giant Slayer, High Commandant and Leader of the 4th Era," Hunt repeated, doing his best to get it word-for-word, "I look forward to fighting alongside you in the future, to take on this Justicar entity."