Operation Pacifica:"Prelude to Ascension"
by ST

"And the snake behind me hisses what my damage could have been my
  blood before me begs me open up my heart again And I feel this coming over
  like a storm again Considerately"  -Tool, "H." _Aenima_

 ST took the pair of binoculars from a corporal and surveyed the
  landscape.  His strategy of retreating and wearing out the sponge minions
  had worked, and they had brought forth their water supply.  ST grunted and
  handed them back.

 "Inform Sergeant Bullin to move his troops into position," he
  ordered.

 "Yes, sir," replied the corporal, saluting.  He left to find the
  sergeant as ST readied his weapons.  He looked up and saw that the crack
  troops that Bullin had given him were approaching.  They stopped about five
  feet from him, standing at attention and saluting.  ST returned the salute
  and folded his arms behind his back.  He gazed over the crowd of 20 soldiers
  and began speaking.

 "If there are any in your number who are not going to take this
  charge seriously, I suggest you get your ass out of here ASAP, because this
  is not going to be a cakewalk.  If you're thinking like that, you're going
  to be going home in a body bag, if you're lucky."  No one moved.  He paused.
  "We CANNOT afford to be complacent!  In the course of history, too many
  superior forces have had their asses kicked by some pitiful group of
  amateurs simply because they thought they had the battle won before it
  started!  This is not going to happen to you, this is not going to happen to
  me, this is NOT going to happen to the Jihad!  We're going to charge those
  asshole sponges, and we're going to tear their fuckin' heads off!  But
  you're the one who's going to have to do the tearing, they're not going to
  do it for you!"  He turned around and drew Schlee. "Enough of this bullshit.
  LOCK AND LOAD, IT'S KILLING TIME!!!" he roared, brandishing his sword above
  his head.  The men behind him roared back as they armed their weapons.  ST
  pointed his finger forward.  "Company...MARCH!" he ordered, as he started
  forward.

 They were about 300 yards from where about 150 spongin were
  greedily drinking water from their stores, large nagenta-colored containers,
  while resting on the floor of the desert, without their weapons within easy
  reach.  ST and his forces formed a huddle behind a fairly large sand dune.
  "Ok guys," ST whispered, "Remember, we charge and after five minutes, we
  retreat to let Bullin's forces in.  Then we join his forces and charge
  whatever's left.  Got it?"  The soldiers nodded.  "Let's go, then."  The
  troops, armed with XRifles[tm], assumed their firing positions.  They locked
  on to their targets, be it a water supply or a roaming spongin.  "All troops
  report target lock," said a corporal to ST.  ST nodded and calmly waited for
  a few seconds.

 "Fire."

 He heard the simultaneous concussion of twenty XRifles[tm] firing.
  He could hear explosions and screaming as the spongin and their water
  supplies died.  The troops reloaded and fired again.  Some of the spongies
  tried to return fire, but they were cut down quite easily before they could
  get off any good shots.  Most of the other spongin fled from the carnage,
  running the only action they could still perform, shocked as they were.  [I
  can't delay it any longer,] ST thought quickly.  [It's time.]

 "Gentlemen!  Hold fire!" he roared.   All fire ceased.
  "CHARRRRRRGGGE!" he cried at the top of his lungs as he scrambled out of his
  sitting position, his sword at the ready.  His men swarmed around him as
  they thundered towards the approximately 70 spongin who had not fled or been
  killed.  On a cue from their commanders, the spongin raised their weapons
  and tried to meet the charge, the Hell Wyrm War Chant raising from their
  throats.  The two forces collided in a tremendous crash, rendering several
  spongin dead and a few TRES soldiers wounded.  ST started carving his way
  through the spongin, beheading and disemboweling as he went.  He brought his
  sword up in an overhead stroke, splitting an unlucky spongin's head.  He
  withdrew the blade just as he saw one of his men being accosted by three
  spongin.  He was holding them at bay, but was starting to weaken visibly.
  ST ran over, holding Schlee high.  The first attacker never even saw ST, and
  so an expression of surprise was frozen (literally) onto his face as his
  head, encased in ice, bounced from his body.  The other two attackers tried
  to turn and attack at the same time, their blades ringing off Schlee with
  bright blue sparks.  He brought the dreadful sword back, and before they
  could recover, he swung at a downwards angle, clipping their kneecaps and
  sending them to the now bloodstained desert, their legs frozen.  It was a
  matter of simplicity for ST to behead them.  He turned and looked, but saw
  nothing of the solider he had saved, who had probably left soon before ST
  had finished off his attackers.  He heard a rumble behind him, and he turned
  to see Sergeant Bullin and his troops charging into the battle.  At this
  point, the battle became a rout, and ST's troops starting running the
  survivors into the desert.  As the last of the spongin disappeared and calm
  resumed, Bullin ran up to ST.  Around ST and Bullin, their wounded troops
  were being escorted back to the transports, their comrades assisting them.

 "Sir, our casualty reports are good.  No fatalities, fifteen
  wounded." Bullin said to ST, who was cleaning his sword off on the body of a
  multilated spongin.

 "That's good to hear," ST replied.  "How soon until we can begin
  advancement on the fortress?"

 "Fifteen minutes, max."

 ST nodded.  "All right, let's get our asses over there and get this
  mission in the books.  I'll be riding point from here on out.  Also instruct
  the men to watch out for the spongin we didn't kill.  Hopefully the desert
  will finish them off, but if they see one, tell them to shoot, understood?"

 "Yes, sir!"

 "Dismissed."  The two traded salutes, and started walking back
  towards the transports.  The sun began to set over Pacifica.

 [20 minutes later]

 ST checked his watch as the fortress of the Lyrans grew ever
  higher.  1800.   He sighed and reflected back on the battle.  [It was over
  so soon,] he mused.  [I'm glad nobody got killed, but you can't keep that up
  forever.  It's sadly inevitable.  The burden of command,] he shrugged.  He
  was pondering the orders that had been given to him in private before his
  departure from the temporary headquarters when the transports halted.  They
  had reached the fortress.

 Corporals barked out the orders as the nonwounded troops poured out
  of the transports and began scaling the fortress's cliff.  ST watched them
  ascend bravely, not knowing what awaited them but going regardless.  [I'm
  more or less in the same boat,] he chuckled to himself.  He watched the last
  of them go.

 "Lieutenant?"

 ST turned around.  Sergeant Bullin had not yet gone.  "Yes,
  Sergeant?" he asked.

 "I just wanted to see if I got your plan straight, sir.  You're
  going to attempt to penetrate the fortress while we take up positions
  outside the fortress without attracting any interest.  Then, when you find
  the prisoners, if there are any, you signal us and we go on in?"

 ST nodded.  "That's it in a nutshell, Sergeant.  See you on the
  summit."

 The two traded salutes for the last time and went their separate
  ways.  ST walked into the shadow of the mountain, his mind clearing and
  preparing for his task.  He stopped and looked at the sinister citadel.  The
  structure seemed to bleed from the evil without and within as ST gazed upon
  it.  Suddenly, his pocket beeped.  He took out the device that J-Rock had
  given him before the departure.  It indicated that he had penetrated the
  fortress.

 Sir Timothy of the House of Geier took a deep breath and beganhis
  ascension.

TBC
ST