An Infantry Story by Endeavour

"Heroism isn't something you're born with... It's not inherited or learned... it's courage under fire. When you all get out there today, piloting a trident or running into the battlefield, remember this:

Heroes are born when the bullets fly,
When the ground explodes,
When the cannons roar...
Heroes are born... When the trumpets fade.

Now quickly, prepare yourselves for battle, another skirmish against the Titan Militia is at hand, we are the more advanced military and that is our advantage! GO GO GO!!!"

"Roger that, Roger"
"Matrix 7 go, Roger"
"Yeah, it's a beautiful day for..."

"SHUT UP! You heard what the captain said! Lets get serious and get this stupid battle over with!"

"Geez, don’t have a cow, just messing around…"

Radio Silence

As the soldiers all run out to the vehicle hangars and to the battlefield, the Sergeant grabs a Trident and heads out toward Kliest’s Ridge. While leaving the hangar, he calls over two soldiers to gun.

"Good Day Sniper, Stechen."
"G’day sir."
"Ditto."
"So, what do you say to kicking some Titan ass today lieutenants?"
"Lets Go!"
"With ya all the way, sir."

The Trident is somewhat of a fast vehicle compared to the Leviathon, but still slower that an infantry unit, despite this, many of the soldiers follow the trident so that they can have some cover from enemy fire while trekking to their destination.

"So, I see we’re heading out to KR today sir, what’s the game plan?"
"Well Stechen, seems the Titans decided to hold a stand off at KR today, the military has had some trouble wiping them out since they have about 5 squad leaders all ready to teleport and summon without a moments notice. Basically, we will provide some cover fire for our snipers to set up and eliminate the sarges, the Titans always seem to take a liking to attempting to blow up a Trident, so the snipers should have little trouble situating themselves."
"Ah… But what happens if our Trident here gets blown to bits? I’m sure they have LAWs over there."
"Well, you better hope it doesn’t happen, but if it does, you run like hell and inject whatever is in that medi-kit into you."
"…"
"I don’t like that idea either."

Static…Crackle
"Sarge! Sarge, Harloch, do you copy?!"
"Yes Endeavour, I copy."
"We’ve encountered heavy opposition enroute to KR, we need immediate backup, we can’t hold out much longer…"
"Roger that, we’re on our way…"
"Hurry u… AHHHH!!!"
Crackle... Static... Silence

"Crud, ya’ll ready for some action up there?"
"Jacked up and good to go sir."
"Same here, sir."
"I knew I could count on you Sniper."

Kliest’s Ridge.

"Bogies 2 O’clock, 3 O’clock… Geez! They’re everywhere!"
"Stechen, make sure the Hull MG is ready to fire, Sniper, load up your shells!"
"Roger."
"Roger."
"We’re going in"

As the Trident rises over the hill there almost seems to be a small cease-fire between Titans and the Collective and they recalibrate their crosshairs toward the incoming Trident.

"We caught them by surprise, FIRE!"

A silvery projectile is hurled from the main gun of the Trident, followed by the "Pap, Pap, Pap, Pap, Pap!" of the MGs being fired.

"Alright, we gotta cover our snipers until they move into position, provide cover fire for them, then we move in!"

A LAW suddenly strikes the right side of the Trident, but the person that fired it was gone for good right after the rocket left its barrel.

"Keep it coming guys, we’ve got plenty of armor left on this sucker…"

"Snipers in position sir, begin firing on your mark."

"Now."

Sniper fire rains across the battlefield hurtling itself toward the peak of KR, as one squad leader falls, the infantry gather there and attempt to return fire to the out of range snipers as another squad leader warps to the peak and summons more men, only to be sniped down again.

"Sniper, Stechen, prepare for some serious battle, the snipers seem to be holding their own, now it’s our turn to wreak havoc."
"Roger."

The Trident rolls out into the outskirts of the battlefield, Sniper and Stechen going trigger happy with their MGs, gunning down the remaining soldiers. The Trident eventually makes it to KR where it is met by a barrage of exploding Earth being up hurled by the MRLs.

"…Heroes are made when the bullets fly…
When the ground explodes…
When the cannons roar…"

"Talk about real-world situation…"
"The irony of things, huh Stechen?"
"Always happens, Sniper."

"Prepare for some serious action… All their LAWs are aimed directly at us, boys."

"Oh crap…"
The Trident is pelted by heavy LAW fire on its left side; Sniper then turns his cannon and fires at the soldiers, the entire ledge where they used to be disappeared.

"Those LAWs really knocked the wind out of this vehicle, we’re at 217 HP, keep a sharp eye for anymore enemies, especially rippers and LAW carriers, I’ve got the automated repair system running at full, but it will take some time for it to do anything of significance, and the LAWs did some serious damage which needs to be manually repaired…"

"On it."

Static…Crackle
"Nice to see some friendly fire around here, how’s about getting me out?"
"What the? Endeavour?"
"Yep Harloch, I’m lying behind a boulder to your right, my Medi-Kit got turned into Swiss Cheese, so I need a little help here."
"Hold on, we’ll be right there."
Crackle…Static

"Stechen, I’m going to wheel this thing over to the boulder, jump out of the Hull MG with your medi-kit and give Endeavour a hand."

"Okay."

The Trident makes an abrupt turn and Stechen jumps out, wielding a Medi-Kit and a PDW.

"Hey Stechen…"
"Hey Endeav, seems you got pretty beat up here."
"Yeah, I’m surprised the Titans didn’t come and try to finish me off, seems the snipers got here right on time."
"Hold still, this should sting a bit, but feel like a rapid adrenaline rush, it’ll fix you up in no time."

Stechen plunges the syringe into Endeavour’s arm and injects its contents; Endeavour winces a bit, but evidently feels better almost instantaneously.

"Alright, Harloch, we got room for one more in there?"
"Yep, get back in here, both of you, seems the Snipers missed a squad leader, gotta take the rest of the Titans on this hill out."

Harloch turns the Trident back onto the beaten path and proceeds to a somewhat covered area to freely fire at the gathering Titans.

"Well, there they are, fire?"
"Fire."

The entire summit of Kliest’s Ridge is literally leveled and rid of any Titan Forces.

"WATCH OUR FLANKS!!!!!" Yells Endeavour as the Titan Rippers open fire on the Trident.

"Geez! Sniper, get a shot at them!"

The Trident, having only recovered to 275 HP, is pierced open by the Ripper’s bullets, though Sniper managed to get a shot out at the rippers, it wasn’t large enough to engulf them all, or on time for that matter. As the bullets drive deeper and deeper into the hull of the Trident, Harloch jumps out of the drivers seat yelling at the others to follow. When the rest of the crew evacuates the vehicle, the find Harloch crawling on the ground with a pained facial expression. Sniper and Stechen pick up Harloch while Endeavour runs ahead shooting at any sign of enemy activity. Near the bottom of Kliest’s Ridge, Stechen and Sniper lay Harloch on the ground, and then inject the syringe into his arm. Harloch gets up; still a little messed up and then leads the way toward the top of Kliest’s Ridge. As they reach the summit, Harloch realizes they had leveled the area completely flat, leaving no crates or sandbag bunkers for cover.

"Crud, we’re sitting ducks here, any sniper could take us out where we’re standing…"

Static... Crackle
"Sergeant Harloch here, I have taken KR over with a small band of soldiers, there are still enemy forces in the area and sniper cover fire is all we’ve got, type "H" for my summons."

As the summon requests come in, one by one soldiers appear at the KR summit, each run and crouch down by the hillside and ready their weapons. The summon requests slow down and then Harloch gives the word to fire.

"Thanks for your help guys, summons closing now."
Crackle... Static

The soldiers immediately respond to Harloch's order, opening fire onto the band of Titan renegades. Though the Titans are outnumbered, they still manage to get a fair number of shots off at the Collective Soldiers. After about 5 minutes the Titan infantry forces have been virtually eliminated, but they then brought in some grizzlies and MRLs. Missiles launched by the MRLs arch through the sky and land near the foot of the ridge, splattering the Collectives with dirt and rock. The soldiers on KR then pull out their LAWs and take a few shots out of the MRLs and Grizzlies. The soldiers manage to destroy about 3 out of 6 Titan vehicles, but 2 Grizzlies and 1 MRL are left.

"Harloch, we’re out of LAWs!" Cries one soldier
"Then get the Rippers out! HURRY!"

A Grizzly squeezes off a lucky shot that hits the far left side of the ridge, leaving a hole were a Cliffside and 4 soldiers used to be. The Rippers quickly pull out their guns and start firing at the MRL. They take out the MRL, in turn causing plasma from its reactor to arch through the sky.

"All right! 2 Grizzlies to go, c’mon, ya’ll can do it!"

The Rippers keep on trying to eliminate the last of the Titan threat, but slowly they all start to run out of ammunition…

"Ripper1 out of ammo"
30 seconds later
"Ripper2 out of ammo"
43 seconds later
"Ripper 3 out of ammo"

"Geez, all rippers are out of ammo, medics, you got any spare ripper rounds?"

Endeavour and another medic drop their small supply or ripper rounds, totaling 300 bullets.

"That’s all we got? Dang, well, it’ll have to do… it should be enough to take out at least one more grizzly, each ripper gets 100 rounds, hurry."

The Rippers quickly pick up their share of rounds then return to their firing position. After depleting about half of the supply of ammo, the rippers manage to destroy one grizzly.

"Alright, one more left, keep at ‘em boys, this is our last chance."

The ripper rounds pierce though the hull of the last Grizzly, but the rippers run out of ammo before they can complete the job. The Grizzly finally locks onto the KR summit area and fires out a plasma bolt making a gaping hole in the side of the cliff and taking some collective soldiers down with it. Exasperated and out of ammunition, the Collective soldier prepare themselves for the worst.

"SUICIDE FOR THE REBELLION!!!" Yells Endeavour as he skids down the Cliffside and lands at the bottom of Kliest’s Ridge.

"ENDEAVOUR! NO!" Sniper cried as he also skids down the hill to attempt to stop him.

As the two soldiers start running, the Hull LMG of the Grizzly starts its infamous "Pat, pat, pat, pat, pat, pat, pat, pat!" raining bullets toward the two of them. Sniper is hit, not bad, but it immobilizes him, Endeavour notices this, and becomes even more enraged, as he gets to about halfway between KR and the tank, he pulls out a hand grenade and prepares to throw it at the grizzly.

"ENDEAVOUR! DON’T BE A FOOL!!" Yells Harloch as he gathers some soldiers to attempt to help and possibly save him.

The soldiers all skid down the Cliffside running after Endeavour, shooting aimlessly at the Grizzly all the while. As Endeavour nears the vehicle, he thinks aloud to himself:

"Heroes are born when the bullets fly, when the ground explodes, when the cannons roar, when the trumpets fade… Well, I may not make it out of here, but I’m sure as heck gonna try!"

Endeavour stops briefly and chunks the grenade at the tank, it’s a hit, but it doesn’t appear to do nearly as much damage as he expected it to. By throwing the grenade, he really got the driver’s attention, now it’s after him instead of the incoming small Collective force.

"Crud, not enough damage, I’ve got two more, better make these count…"

Harloch and his small squad are still trying to catch up to Endeavour when they see him lunge and jump on top of the tank.

"What the heck is he doing?"
"He’s gone mad! Jumping on top of a functionally, manned, enemy vehicle, it’s crazy!"

The soldiers run, but still watch in utter amazement as Endeavour opens the tank’s hatch and drops a grenade in, then jumps onto the turret and drops another one in through that hatch. The timing on the first grenade was too little, therefore blowing up the cockpit and many vital areas, hurtling the soldier about 25 feet away from the tank.

"Alright guys, throw all your remaining grenades at that sucker then follow me!" Exclaims Harloch, then runs over to the general area where Endeavour landed. He finds him unconscious but breathing, a little cut and bruised, nothing too terrible…

"Stechen, get over here! Bring the Medi-Kit!"

Stechen runs over and administers something to wake up Endeavour and then injects the syringe into his arm to heal him.

"Did I get it right that time?"
"You sure did Endeav, you sure did…"
"What about Sniper? I saw him fall."
"He’s alright, Stechen took care of what he could, then got another squad leader to summon him home."
"Good… So, this is it? We won this one?"
"Yep."
Endeavour slowly drifts into a daze then falls asleep, he is grabbed by Harloch who teleports with him back home, and then he summons the remaining soldiers back also.

"Take him to the hospital, just let him get some rest and feed him, he’ll be better soon."
"Alright." Replies an on-duty officer.

Harloch walks over to the base headquarters where he is de-briefed by the admiral.

"So Harloch, took you long enough, what happened out there?"
"Well sir, we arrived in the Trident in order to provide some cover fire for our snipers to set up and re-claim Kliest’s Ridge, there was more opposition in the area than what was expected and we had trouble taking all the enemy forces out."
"I see… Can you give me some more information..?"
"Well, we arrived at KR, covered the snipers until they were set and then they opened fire on the Titans positioned on the ridge. Sniper, Stechen, and myself proceeded ahead in the Trident to meet a friendly MRL firing at the ridge. We made it, but encountered heavy fire, with all enemy units at KR pointing their LAWs right at us. Well, the MRL was lost, along with its crew, but we managed to stay alive at 217 HP in the vehicle. Sniper then aimed his cannon at the summit and leveled the place completely, leaving no forces there. By that time Stechen had picked up Endeavour who was hiding behind a boulder wounded, with no medi-kit. Stechen healed him, and we brought him into the Trident. Anyway, after the flattening of the summit of KR, we wedged ourselves into a covered area, but it wasn’t as safe as we though, by the time we realized we were being hit, it was two late, I maneuvered the Trident away, only to be hit by more ripper rounds, I shut the thing down and jumped out, then we ran off as the thing exploded."
"Ah… So we lost another Trident… I hate filing for new vehicle replacements…"
"Well, things progressed throughout, until we met enemy vehicle opposition, and I think you know the rest."
"Yes, yes, well, I’m sorry for the whole ordeal, it wasn’t exactly known, much less expected that it would happen."
"Not your fault admiral."
"Well, I think I have enough information for my report, by the way, Captain Harloch, you just got a promotion."
"Thank you sir."
"Dismissed."

Harloch walks out of the Admirals office, pleased and glum at the same time, and heads for the hospital. He finds Sniper and Endeavour eating at the cafeteria and greets them.

"Congrats, we all made it through another battle, again."
"Yeah… I guess if you look at it that way it was good."
"Seems that the Captain’s phrase proved true, at least 3 new heroes were born today, both of you are being promoted, you are now Officers, so is Stechen."
"Thank you sir."
"Thanks."
"No problem, you earned it… By the way, where is Stechen?"
"He’s out on the battlefield with a few other people, they’re bringing the Trident back here for a complete overhaul, the admiral said he wanted to repair it."
"Ah… Admiral is gonna have a heck of a time with that…"

Analysis
-Titan Forces Eliminated in the Kliest’s Ridge Area.
-Collective Forces win battle with some damage and vehicle loss.
-Collective Mission successful.
-Promotions Given.
-End Transmission.

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