Operation: Phoenix, Battle for the TRES Corps HQ, Part 6 by CyberPyro (cybrpyro@iac.net) Admiral Mysterium paced back and forth on the command deck of the Ellipsoid, frequently glancing at the array of monitors which depicted the battle unfolding. His stance indicated nervousness. The comm bleeped. "Yes, Commodore," greeted Mysterium. "Sir, the spongies are preparing to make their main thrust into our territory. It looks like damn near all of them, too," said CP. "Wonderful, what do the odds look like?" "Given our earlier casualty reports, I'd say we'll come out of this rather well. The spongin may be more organized, but they still suck at fighting." "I see." "The Wyrm Bots and X'hirjq have yet to be engaged, however. Since we've yet to fight either of them on a large scale, your guess is as good as mine. Though, I wouldn't say we'll get off without heavy casualties." "Understood. If we had clearer conditions, all of this artillery and air support might be of some use, but we're out of the picture for now." "CP out." ... Thirty Five thousand BattleArmored TRES Marines and assorted personnel waited at their positions throughout the valley. The Dark Hymn, even from a distance, echoed loudly throughout the valley. The Jihaddi were getting irritated. "The spongin have arrived," reported a forward unit. "Fall back, dishing out as much damage as you can," ordered CP. ... "Flanks ... *crackle* ... East and *crackle*,Ó spluttered the comm unit. "No *crackle* where they came from *crackle* *crackle* *crackle* report back soon." "Commander," demanded CP, "repeat that again." Only static answered his requests. "Heads up everyone," said Kylun, scans reporting on-coming floods of sponge minions. ... [time: near sun down, 6:30p] [place: outside of the Shi Shi Ski Town] "Everyone regroup! Coordinates: 23,98,64. NOW!" ordered CP. Ever in the heavy snow fall, flashes of plasma cannons could be seen all around the battling Jihaddi. The spongin outnumbered the TRES personnel ten to one, and though their numbers had been thinned significantly, they continued to attack. A violet bolt of energy burnt through the snow, striking a heavy suit of BattleArmor dead center, killing the pilot instantly. "Oh, no," said Lt. Jaina with a sinking feeling. "Jello Beasts...." She'd heard about these creatures from the ambush CP and Most Holy had survived at the Oxford, OH Wal-Mart store, but thought she'd never meet one. "o/~ I luv you ... o/~" blared across the battlefield at a full 6,000 watts, deafening nearby spongin and Jihaddi troops as the b'harnate machines rolled onto the battlefield. With the 30,000 remaining TRES Marines already battle weary, the tide had turned decidedly against the Jihad. ... "I can't fire blind!" complained Mysterium. "Gimme control of the F*CKING ARTILLERY!" screamed CP in the comm unit. Mysterium recoiled as though heÕd been smacked; he'd never know the Commodore to use language like that, or with a superior officer. "Al right, they're yours," he said, signaling the crews to stand-by. "Good," said CP, already feeding coordinates and firing instructions to the gunnery crew. Outside, even through the thick glass, Mysterium heard the roar of the artillery. ... "They're fleeing!" yelled the Captain of the Wyrm Bot battalion. "Command!! We've secured the entire south eastern ridge!" "What?" asked the General on the other end. "The Jihaddi just ran! They..." "YOU IDIOT!!! GET OFF THAT RIDGE!! *NOW!!!!*" bellowed the General. The Captain didn't understand the warning until, a split second later, the 'Target Lock' sensors screamed in his ear and a low whistling noises drown out the movement noises of his bot. Gigantic, roiling explosions consumed the Wyrm Bot covered south eastern ridge. Trees, boulders, spongin, wyrm bots, and top soil all tore free from the underlying bedrock and cascaded upwards in a fiery torrent as the shells' explosions lived their short lives. Across the valley, outside of the Shi Shi Ski town, Lt. Jaina jumped in shock, the explosions visible through the extreme blizzard. A second or two later, a thunderous *BOOM!* rattled her BattleArmor, knocking accumulated snow from pine trees and shattlring windows in Clear Springs. "That was ... impressive," said Jaina as she glanced over at CP. ... [Have your troops engage the Jihaddi at point blank range] ordered X'huurrj'qx to Wheri'El. "Are you giving me orders?" demanded the Lyran. [Perhaps you'd care to argue while your troops get annhilitated from TRES Corps' artillery?] "No, but I don't..." [Then do it. The one known as CyberPyro is sighting for them in the field; their fire is much more accurate because of him.] ... A few sporadic explosions ruptured the landscape, opening molten craters in the Earth as the b'harnate forces closed the distance to the Jihad forces. However, they quickly ceased, the danger of killing friendly personnel too great. The b'harnate forces formed a closing circle around the TRES Corps personnel, flanking them as they tried to move past the Shi Shi Ski town to the HQ. However, SÕmoles erupted from the ground to their north, disgorging tons of armored troops. Before Corps Marines could react, they were surrounded. "Hello, CyberPyro," spoke Sargent Williams in command of his b'harnii bot. "I'm sure you'll appreciate this..." The continuous loop of the Dark Hymn cut out as the other bots silenced their speakers. The voice of X'ehmahr, gloating over her slaying of Samhain, thundered from William's speakers. A comm channel bleeped on every BattleArmor's, indicating a video transmission. "CP, don't!" yelled Jaina as she saw him view the transmission. It was a mission record of the X'hirjq that attacked the W.E.D.J.E.E. HQ in Iowa. The film showed in glaring detail as X'ehmahr shot Samhain, broke his limbs, and then picked him up to tear his head from his body. Scalding tears burned down CP's face as he watched the death of his friend. In a flash it surfaced: blazing, intense beyond description *killing* rage. The Wrath of Arioch armor shuddered, as though having a minor convulsion, and lunged forwards, its pilot of one mind, one purpose, one goal: kill. "Follow him!" commanded Jaina, running after CP as he charged head long into a huge cluster of Wyrm bots where Sargent Williams waited. Her voice, full of authority, had a lightning rod effect of the Marines. In once solid wall of Jihadiium and steel, squads of BattleArmored Marines charged forwards. "TRES CCCooooooorrrrrrrpppppppsssssssssss!!!" screamed the men and women in unison, rage and determination forging them into a unified foce. Williams fired the bot's hip mounted plasma cannons directed at the sprinting cyborg, only to have him snap sharply to the side, snow and top soil spraying high from the force of his maneuver. The huge BattleArmor suit rolled across the ground, sheets of plasma roiling above it from the Wyrm bot's 'thrower. Chain guns ripped up the ground where CP had been a split second before, leaving him completely unscratched. "Kill him!" yelled Williams, the steel grip of terror seizing his gut as the Jihaddi thundered closer by the second. B.LA.N.K.E.E.s, missiles, bullets, laser, and plasma bursts filled the air as his underlings tried to vaporize the charging Jihaddi. A vicious snarl crackled across William's headset as CP danced through the incoming fire, none of it even grazing him, as the relentless closing continued. All the weapons of William's Wyrm bot blazed, only to singe air as the Jihaddi closed in. "NOOOOO!!!" he screamed as jump jets fired on the BattleSuit, propelling it through the air, giving him a clear view of the Jihaddi's face. The Sargent wet his pants, his soul knowing true terror. A loud *clunk* and lurch as the machine fought for balance, and the Wrath of Arioch armor latched unto the bot's head. The blue plate glass exploded inwards, glass embedding in William's skin, a single swipe from CP removed the last barrier between himself and his enemy. The wyrm minion drew his pistol and raised it to fire, only to have it slapped from his hand before registered the movement. His arm slammed into a console, completely numb to the instrumentation and glass stabbing deep into the flesh. "Nn..." begged the wyrm minion as CP reached for him. His chest harness, used to hold him in place during battle, exlpoded in seven places as the cyborg tore it free from its anchors. The wyrm's begging ended in a high pitched squeal as CP's metallic hand locked around his throat and roughly hauled him forwards. Williams swung overhead in a high arc, the cyborg using his neck as a grip, smashing viciously into the side of b'harnii bot's face. A split second later, his full body slammed into the bot's face again, leaving a red, steaming stain. The William's unconscious body slapped against the top of the bot's head and slid down, CP gripping his throat again. A whistling, metallic punch slammed into his rib cage, sending a thick, dark stream of red plummeting to the snow at the bot's feet. An other blow fell a split second later, blood erupting from his mouth, ears, nose, and staining his pants red from the inside. The Wrath of Arioch's armored first smashed through the human's rib cage and unfolded its fingers. The other first seized one of William's shoulders in a, literally, bone crushing grip. William's body tore in two, blood splattering BattleArmor and bot alike, as bone, vertebrae, muscle, cartilage, and sinew bid a hurried farewell to one another. CP tossed the steaming remains of the human to either side, threw back his head, and screamed. His rage, fury, pain, and murderous desire giving the sound an edge that threatened to freeze everyone's blood in their veins. Private Jones took off his pilot's helmet for the b'hii j'haa bot, clearing away his afternoon's lunch. Seeing the fate of his commanding officer left him with a hollow, acidic, burning feeling deep inside. He jumped with a scream, his bot lurching as the nightmarish cyborg landed on his b'hii j'haa bot's face. Before he could react, the plate glass exploded inwards, an Owsenite Great Sword skewering him to his seat. ... The b'habii b'hopp bot crashed to the Earth, CP jumping from it a moment before impact. His rage had died a slow, blood soaked death. Around him and his fellow TRES Officers were dozens of scrapped Wyrm bots, their pilots either mutilated beyond recognition or the machine blasted into slag. Ring upon ring of Wyrm bot and Jello beast glared at the surrounded company of Jihaddi as the main battle raged far to the north of them. Their weapons, locked fully on target, pointed at every member of the battle group. The wyrm bot pilots and Jello beasts were ecstatic. They had cornered and surrounded, not only one of the twelve b'harnii wanted dead, but the field commander of the entire TRES defensive force. With a flick of their buttons, two major problems would be taken care of at once. "Prepare to die," sneered the lead wyrm bot pilot. CP Copyright, Pyrokinetic Productions, Inc. (1996)