Z
Zack
ON > Planet 188604
The largest city ont he planet stretched out infront of them.
They were a collection of thousands from all across the dirty wastes, gathered here under one banner. Their rallying point on the muddy dunes just outside of the city affording them a view of the army dug in on the other side, the large expanse of buildings, trees, and eventually the green, alge covered waters that extended out to the horizon.
They were all there for different reasons.
Some where isolationists,
Some had strong ideas about policy,
Some just needed a paycheck,
While others were true belivers in their glorious leader.
Regardless, they were all there for the same thing. To smash the army encamped by the city, and to end the Osman goverment's interferance in their lives one way or another.
---
Across the no-mans land between the two armies was the goverment's forces. Men and Women in blue jackets, carrying rifles wrapped in heavy sacks to keep out the constant dirt. They had already dug in, creating a small, muddy, trench only about a foot or two deep. Behind them were cannons, freshly unwrapped and ready to fire. Their numbers seemed just as endless as those arrayed against them. They were prepared, capable, and experianced in fighting off their rivals. Though the skys were fairly clear, they never were any clearer than a dirty blue. It had been days since the last storm, and time was on their side. All they needed to do was hold out. Eventually a dust storm would come again, and those that were caught in such storms without ample shelter were often doomed to die one way or another, high winds, fast, sharp bits of rock, or even simply being crushed under the weight of the sand and dirt.
---
A man in a striking red coat atop a large white horse sat in front of one army, riding slowly back and forth in front of the front line. He wore two shiny silver-plated revolvers at his waist and a saber with a silver scabbard engraved with a three-headed dog. His short blonde hair was hidden beneath a red hat to block the sunlight from his piercing gray eyes. He stopped in the center after making two laps. The men and women before him began to chant his name out loud.
"Aaron Grant! Aaron Grant!"
With a quick wave of hand he silenced them instantly. "My people," he began. "We have been lied to. The Osman government claims we are alone. They claim that mankind is all that exists, and we are all that remains. Well, we know better!" He finished with a shout. "I have shown you the evidence. It fell from the sky and changed me. Now, I've awakened you all to the truth. They are coming! The Osman government? They know. The corrupt bastards made a deal with them." This stament was met by angry shouts and curses directed at the Osmans. He waited a moment before silencing them again.
"We are here to open their eyes! Today, their oppression of these fine townfolk ends. We must unite the independent cities. Then, we march on the Osman territory and take the capital! The only way we can fight off the coming invaders is united as one people! The Cerberus Syndicate will save all from annihilation! Give them no mercy and let none who support them survive!" Aaron drew his saber and raised it above his head. "Are you ready?" He yelled. Every man and woman standing or sitting on horses in front of him screamed as one. "Yes, General!"
There was a deafening roar of screams, comming from the thousands gathered to see the general.
Those that doubted, and those that weren't behind him 110% all seemed to melt away in the sea of voices cheering for him to end their oppression. Of course, no general could lead a force this large without some assistance. A young woman moving up towards the general's horse, and placing her hand on the beat's neck, "Sir, Our main force is awaiting your orders. We can also communicate with the rest of the forces in the outskirts by flag signals. Will we be sending them directly towards the Government's lines? We could go around... but we may not have time. Its been a while since the last storm, and if we get hit unexpectedly...." She let her voice trail off a bit. Celest had been with the general for quite some time. She had been the first to listen to his crazy stories about aliens, and had been instrumental in helping organize all that he saw around him... but it seemed that she was not quite cut out for fighting, choosing instead to help organize the fight.
The General stroked his short blonde beard thoughtfully while he contemplated their course of action. "We will send a small force around while the main force attacks head on. When they're occupied with our main force, the secondary forces will hit them from behind." He turned to Celest. "Thank you for staying with me through this. I couldn't do it without you." He seemed like he wanted to say more, but he cleared his throat instead. "How many do we have in the outskirts?" He asked her.
"You know I wouldn't miss your big adventure," She said with a smile, looking off into the distance towards the rest of their army, "I think we have three thousand worth of soldiers willing to help us off to our left flank. Another four to our right... but it is hard to tell. People keep comming and going... We outnumber them in the center sure... but not by enough.... Aaron, I'm worried we don't have enough to win here AND hold the city after."
He considered their options silently, looking towards the government army across from them. "Maybe we can get them away from the city. If we can keep them from reaching shelter when the next storm hits, the planet will take care of them for us."
Celest shook her head, "They have been dealing with Rebels for decades... they have their own shelter and assume that our forces will disperse in a storm... Many here are just itching for a fight... your play could work, but we would need a way to draw them out."
Aaron nodded slowly. "What if we have a small force act as if they are leaving us and lie in ambush while our main force fakes a retreat? Then while they're in disarray, we turn and charge the center with the cavalry." He said, thinking out loud.
"I am sure they think the storms will finish us... leaving may let them lower their guard... and I am not certain we could get the bulk of the army to follow a strategy like that. As much as I hate to say it... Not everyone trusts your leadership like I do. We may end up seeing some attack regardless of what we do." Celest added.... thinking for a moment, "M..maybe if we start bombarding the city with cannon shot? We can't hit anything reliably at this range but it may force them to attack us."
"Yes, but if we hit civilians then they will be less likely to support us after we take the city. We may just add to the enemy ranks." He turned his gaze toward the city and the body of water behind it. "First our artillery will begin bombarding the enemy center with cannon fire. We then advance with our main infantry along the center and turn our cannons to the right flank while our cavalry hits them on the left flank. They will break through the enemy lines and hit them from behind."
"Yes sir!" Celest shouted, the woman practically bouncing as she ran off... They didn't have radios avalible, so the commands had to be sent by flag.
The army spread out before the general was eager for a fight, the men and women barely able to stand in line... much less stand still... shifting, talking among themselves, occationally just inching forward. They were all ready for a fight.
*BOOM*
The first cannon shot rang out, the first projectile sailing through the air and landing a bit short of its target... the cannon crew immidiately starting to swab the barrel and start reloading... while the rest began filling their cannons with powder.
The Government's army, on the other hand, was not eager to fire off their supply of cannonballs... instead choosing to hunker down in position and wait while the bombardment was readied.
"Finally going through with your plan, General Grant?" Rubi asked, sauntering up to the General's position. Knowing full well what she was getting into was uncanny, an advising role for the General of the Syndicate was an amazing step in her plan. "I would've thought you were going to lose a majority of your support with alien rant but it seems you've brought thing together for the assault. Though..." She always made a small pause when when pointing a flaw to his plan. "I know that you won't be able to bombard them enough with supplies as is. Attrition is not a tactic we can current forgo. We must sabotage some of their supplies in their forward positions if we want to draw them out."
Although he hated to admit it, Rubi's plan was sound. The thought had occurred to him, but he wasn't sure it would be doable. However, if Rubi thought it could be done... "I wasn't planning on attrition, merely hoping to hold their attention while our cavalry breaks through. I do like your idea, though, and it could benefit our strategy.." He turned to Rubi. "Find some of my soldiers adept at stealth techniques and send them to destroy their forward supply warehouse. If you can disguise them, maybe they can get close enough." Aaron didn't completely trust the female mercenary. She had proven a valuable asset so far. He was highly suspicious of her motives for assisting their rebellion.
*BOOM* Another cannon shot rang out, and it looked like small groups were taking that as a signal to begin the fight. Small skirmishing forces started advancing along either side.... slowly. While the general had plenty of soldiers, they were no professional army.
Rubi turned back to take a look at the army Grant had assembled. Professional was not a trait this army carried but she was sure was there was diversity in skill and tactics within the group. One problem did haunt her mind though. "With all due respect..." she let the pause seep as she turned back to the Grant. "I have no doubt in the tenacity and loyality of the men to you, but I feel they'll be hard pressed to follow under my command, my former profession being what it was. Perhaps you can assist?"
"Hold on one second.." He turned his horse around with a pull on the reins and rode forward to the advancing troops. Then he yelled. "Did I say advance? Wait for my signal!" He shook his head. "If we don't act as one, we will fail! Stay in formation. Two more volleys, then advance. Together!" He turned and his horse quickly galloped back to Rubi. "I will accompany you." He climbed down from his horse and patted his neck. He walked into the mass of troops and picked out a squad of ten of his most experienced soldiers. He walked with them to a tent set up nearby. "Listen up. I have a mission for you. Rubi will be commanding you, so I don't want to hear any grumbling.." Aaron said, using his most autthorative tone. "Rubi will give you the details." He walked back to his horse and climbed back on leaving Rubi to brief them.
Infront of Rubi were die-hard survivalists, fiercely independent and constantly expecting the government to come crack down on them at any time. They saw this war as an opportunity to strike first, and to prove their own skill. They certainly had ample experiance with muskets, revolvers, and moving quietly through the wilderness... though their rugged looks and well-worn-long coats made them stand out like a sore thumb among the more groomed members of the city.
"Just what do you expect us to do?" One of them would ask,
"And just because the general likes ya, doesn't mean we do." Another added.
All in all there were about fifteen men arrayed infront of Rubi... mostly willing to accept her orders.
Meanwhile the rebel army would back up a little bit under the generals orders. Those that were on the flanks were far outside the range of his voice and continued anyway. The government forces starting to open up with long range musket fire, causing those skirmishers on the side to duck down and start crawling, hiding behind small humps in the terrain in order to shield themselves from incoming fire. The center, however, held firm without advancing. Celest could be seen near the cannons, relaying orders, and trying to get the bulk of the army under control as the cannon-teams contiuned their work, finally getting all the cannons loaded at the same time and firing one massive volley, the cannon balls landing a bit short again... and then bouncing forward, smashing into and over the enemy lines and smashing themselves to a stop against the outermost wooden walls and structures of the city.
Rubi frowned a for a multitide of reasons but mainly for the sqaud she was with. She folded her arms and looked over them as the General left. "Alright gents," the professional air in her voice disappearing, "We need to help draw out the enemy from their frotifications in the city. Our job will be to raid an enemy supply warehouse that maintains their forward positions while our main army distracts them. This is going to be a simple hit-and-run mission. I want everyone to grab at least a stick of TNT before head out. The quicker we can get this done, the quicker we can fully engage the enemy. Clear?"
There was a collective grumble from the group of assembled soldiers... they started discussing amongst themselves why THEY should have to put their necks on the line for this dangerous mission... why it fell to them to go above and beyond, but it was quickly decided that this is what they were there for, to strike a blow against the Osman government and possibly blow a lot of them up in the process.
"We'll get our supplies and meet back here in a few minutes." One of the soldiers said, the group dispersing to go get their TNT... and to swap out some of the gear they had so that they would be more stealthy, choosing to leave their muskets behind and instead take revolvers.
Rubi followed suite and went with a simple loadout of her revolver and a stick of TNT. As soon as the men under command were assembled, she waved them on to their horses and set out for the nearest warehouse, hoping all would go according to her plan.
The city itself was built in the rain shadow of a large mountain. It was this that protected it from the worst of the storms. Many armies had tried to climb it before... and failed. Countless others had also tried their hand at taming the mountain. Roads were started and left unfinished, as were mining tunnels. It was largely considered impassable so the government's army didn't bother to guard it.
And that was how Rubi's group was planning to sneak past their defenses.
A short ride would take the assembled men up the base of the mountain a short way, just out of sight of the government troops that were now busy hunkering down in their small trench. Behind Rubi were 15 men, armed with revolvers and TNT. Though they were quite disagreeable only a short time before, now they were deathly silent. The weight of what they were doing starting to dawn on them, the only sound being that of the Rebel cannons firing another barrage across the no man's land.
General Grant watched Rubi depart with his men. If they didn't succeed, this would likely be a complete disaster. He turned back towards his army. "Now is the time! Advance and send these government dogs to their graves!" He gave the signal to begin the attack. His horse seemed a bit nervous from all the cannon fire. He patted its neck gently. "Easy, Cervantes. We'll fight too. Not now, though."
Rubi eyed the warehouse that was a good distance away from the government troops. She waved the men to fellow as she kept low and advanced towards it, keeping an eye open for any patrols that may appear. Though her mind appeared to be focused on the mission, it was less about how to not get spotted but more of how to exit quickly.
A quick exit for Rubi was looking less and less likely as they rapidly climbed the mountain, the group eventually coming up to a cliff face and it was either go over, or go around... of course, going around meant being seen by the government forces, so the group started to prepare ropes for climbing, sending two of their number to wait with the horses as the rest began the steep climb. Of course, they still might have been seen if it weren't for the battle about to take place. Celest was waving the rebel's flag, urging the army to move forward. Finally the full force of the rebel army began to charge forward, the forward front slowing to a stop to fire, innacurate shots bouncing infront and behind of the government soldiers while more rebels moved up infront of those who had already shot. Likewise the government forces had begin their firing line, volley after volley shooting forward, with only the occational, rare, hit. Their weapons only barely effective even against unarmored people at these skirmish ranges.
Grant watched the battle for a while. It was quickly becoming impossible to see anything through the smoke from the muskets and cannons. He thought about all the battles he'd heard of. Horses were not very common, considering how much food it takes to keep them alive. You either had to be rich or a government goon.. Or steal them, which is punished by death. He wasn't sure he wanted to send in his cavalry for offense. He rode to Celest's position to speak with her, having to shout between volleys. "Hold back our cavalry! We can't afford to lose them! They are to defend our flanks from the enemy! Everyone else focus fire on the center. and keep the attention away from Rubi's squad. Keep firing the artillery." There was a slight pause before he spoke again. "When Rubi's attack succeeds we will try our flanking maneuver, but not a moment sooner. Right now I'm afraid it would be suicidal."
Rubi slowly ascended the cliff face first, keeping an eye on the govenment as Grant's gamble rushed force towards the defenders. She'd occasioanlly look over to see if any of her squad had already abandoned her but silnently knew that they were too far in on this to quit now. She knew the next series of minutes would determine the victor of the conflict and that she didn't want to disaapoint the higher-ups with this. Not wanting to waste anytime, she waved thr group forward over the rocky terrian, hoping her own gamble would work.
Unfortunitly, nothing would happen quickly here. While Rubi's squad was bogged down with crossing over the mountains, the rebel force was bogged down by musket fire, and Celest was bogged down by having to physically send one of her own to the calvery hiding behind the hill to tell them to wait.
But eventually, as the casualties on both sides slowly started to increase, Rubi's squad would find its way over the mountain top, finding itself slowly decending behind enemy lines. While the exterior of the city was heavily fortified... the interior only had a precious few guards, most of which had their eyes turned towards the fight brewing outside. This left Rubi's target, a powder warehouse towards the center of the city, defended but vulnerable. A trio of guards were on the roof, and another three by the front door, though their eyes weren't turned towards the soldiers approaching from the direction of the mountain. Of course there were plenty of other eyes in the city, shops, warehouses, homes, all of which had been boarded up. If anyone inside saw their approach, they remained quiet.
Seeing their target finally within range, Rubi rallied the sqaud together for on last brief. "We got three on the roof and three in front of the main entrance. They seem pretty distracted by the battle going on so half of us are going to sneak up on the front entrance guards before taking them out and tossing a couple of sticks of TNT in. The other half move up enough to give covering fire on the rooftop guards. Once that building goes up, we're falling back to the horses, don't get left behind." She waved for half the squad to follow her as she lead them up to the front enterance.
The squad would split up, half sneaking around to other buildings, finding ways to climb up to higher positions while the rest followed Rubi. With everyone distracted, it was quite easy for her to get up close to the remaining guards, hidden just around the corner from them. Being this close, it was easy to hear their conversations,
"You think they are going to get thorugh this time?" One of the guard's asked.
"No way. Battle lines are far away from here and it ain't like they've been able to break through before."
"How can you be so casual about this? They're right on the edge of the city... If they break through they will slaughter everyone..."
"Everyone who resists if they overthrow the army then there isn't much you could have done about it yourself."
"Don't let the captain here you talking like that...."
Rubi silently waved three of her men forward, making a motion to more quietly slit their throats to avoid any attention. As the men stalked up to the guards, she orderedanother person to get out their stick of TNT before moving up to the front door. As soon as the first guard was dispatched, she lit her stick of TNT before tossing it inside and bolting away, hoping the others would follow suit.
"Oh please, the captain doesn't care... he's" *THUD*
The soldiers were quite literally cut off mid sentance, their bodies falling to the ground as the attackers started throwing their sticks of TnT into the warehouse. As they bolted off, they'd get spotted by one of the guard's on the roof,
"HEY! YOU DOWN THERE!" He shouted, taking aim with his rifle. Before he could bark another warning, the roof underneith him would be heaved up into the air, a shockwave sending bits of wood flying as the powder warehouse started cooking off, Bullets, powder, explosives, all starting to detonate in a series of rapid explosions and pops
---
Meanwhile back at the front,
The government's army could hear the powder warehouse going up. The sparks and trails of fire as the ammunition cooked off could be seen all the way at the front! Even from the great distance that grant was viewing the battle he could see his blue coated opponents gathering up officers while still behind the lines, sending men running around with some fresh orders. Slowly, he'd see handfuls of men being pulled away from the front and directed back into the city, the gunfiring leveled at his own troops starting to disapate.
The sound of the warehouse going up was like music to the General's ears. It meant Rubi had succeeded, but the effect on the enemy wouldn't be immediately seen. He smiled when he saw the officers gathering and issuing new orders. He almost shouted he was so relieved, but it wouldn't do for their great leader to show any indication he thought the outcome had been in doubt. It would be good if Rubi and the men with her had survived, he thought, but he wondered if it might be more beneficial in the longrun if she had perished. His eyes scanned the camp for Celest as he pushed that thought from his mind. He would wait a little longer before sending in his cavalry. Hopefully his soldiers would start gaining some ground, then the cavalry might stand a chance of breaking the government's line.
the sound of the explosion was the signal to begin the next part of the mission: Getting the hell out of there. She sprinited towards the cliff they climbed upm ordering the sqaud to either follow and fight on or stay and fend for themselves; Either would suit her purposes and improvision was key at this point. The only time she stopped or slowed was to dodge a peice of debris from what remained of the government blackpowder storage.
*BOOM*
A large store of black powder exploded, sending chunks of burning wood, metal, and flesh high into the air, turning what had once been the warehouse and its guard into a literal firestorm. The peices started to rain down onto the city, which also started to catch fire. Even from the hills beyond the city Grant could see the smaller embers start to flare up around where the warehouse used to be. Soon people would be scurrying from their homes, headed towards the nearby coastline to get water... unfortunitly for most the military was usually hte ones to put out the fire.
The government's cannon teams began firing at the approaching infantry as fast as they could, a grim determination setting in as the remaining soldiers stepped up their attacks. The race was now on to defeat the invading army, if they let the battle draw out too long the city might burn to the ground and leave them all to certain death when the next storm came.
While the troops being pulled back to help with the fire helped Grant, they were an obstical for Rubi. No doubt they were searching for sabatours, but between the fire, smoke, and gunpowder they had limited their search to near the warehouse... and Rubi was already back towards the mountainside making her escape. She would be able to return without much issue, horses still waiting for her back where they had left them.
He noticed the fire spreading and it gave him ideas. If he could pin this on the government being negligent it might cause unrest, maybe even open rebellion. At the least there would be protests, especially if there were casualties. He didn't like to think like that but he could handle people dying as long as it served the greater good. Maybe I should ready the cavalry to charge. Looks like their line is shrinking, Grant thought. His forces were facing the same dilemma as the government, if they didn't defeat the enemy quickly enough to get the fires stopped the next storm would be a disaster. In this instance the enemy would be helping by putting out the fires. He gave Celest the signal to prepare the cavalry to charge on his order.
Rubi hurriedly led her men as they retreated, dogging through alleyways and streets trying to avoid some of the larger patrols. When the occasional sentry wandered in the way, she pull out her revolver and try blast him as she ran. If she missed, the rest of her men followed after her, popping shots at them. By the time they'd reach the cliff edge, several sharpshooters had already set up in some of the nearby houses. She didn't stop to give them a chance to get a bead on her. She sled to the cliff edge, grabbed the rope, and quickly shimmied her way down. Several of the men quickly descended down after her while the rest stayed up to cover them, firing widly at any snipers or pursuers thy can before being picked off.
As Rubi made her escape, Celest would grab the calvery flag, getting ready to signal the attack, she would look over at Grant, holding the flag about waist high... the entire group of calvery starting to mount up, getting in formation just behind the hill. Celest would be watching Grant with a combination of nervousness and excitement. It wasn't that long ago it seemed like they were just kids, playing around, occationally listening to Grant's crazy stories. She never actually thought they would make it this far, but behind her the largest group of mounted calvery she had ever seen was forming up in a line and infront of her the Government forces were seemingly crumbling. "A.. Aaron, I think we're going to pull this off!" she shouted, the nervious excitement welling up within her voice.
Meanwhile, in the city, soldiers were scrambling to help put out fires, throwing dirt onto burning walls and homes as best they could, the fire spreading as explosives continued to go off inside what used to be the warehouse, bits of flame falling down all over the city. Rubi was now quite visible, and soldiers were shouting for help in chasing her down, but even a good shot would have a hard time hitting her as she climbed down the cliff's edge to where the horses were waiting, small metal bullets occationally plinking rocks nearby.
"Come on, we've done what we came here to do," One of the rebels snapped, untieing his horse and mounting up... already sore that they had left him to watch the horses instead of coming to blow up the warehouse, "If we.... *SPLAT!*"
Before the soldier could finish, he was turned into a cloud of red mist from the waist up... a cannon ball having passed right through the space where he used to be, and then embedding itself in the mountain face, sending a massive wave of dirt up into the sky. One of the cannon teams near the front line had been clued in, and had turned their attetion towards Rubi's group, and unlike the muskets of the nearby soldiers, they had the range to actually hit.
Grant couldn't help but smile when he saw how excited Celest was. They had come a long way since the two of them first met. No one believed him at first about the aliens, and he never trusted anyone enough to show them his evidence. Not until he met Celest. Something about her made him want to trust her. Her innocence, or naivete some would say. Whatever it was, he always felt she was trustworthy, and she proved it the day he showed her his proof. An empty Elysian escape pod had fallen from the sky and crashed into his house. The organic, cocoon-like object was like nothing he'd ever seen.
A lone cannon shot brought him brought him back to the present. Except the cannon went towards the city, near the mountain. I guess Rubi's squad did survive, he thought to himself. Let's help them out. He gave the signal for the cavalry to charge the line.
Rubi didn't have time mourn the fallen comrade or try to bring his body back to line, she didn't want to end up like him. As soon as her feet hit solid ground, it's a striaght sprint to the horses. She used what remained of the former rebel to pull herself up to the sadle, pushing off the lower half. She didn't wait for the rest of group to mount up and quickly sent the horse on a full gallop back the way they came, zig zagging to throw off any spotters trying to zero in on her. The rest could fend for themselves.
*BOOM* There was quite a delay between the cannon shot, and when the projectile finally fell where Rubi had been only moments before. As she made her escape, the cannon team would again re-aim their cannon, swabbing the barrel, preparing fresh powder....
Meanwhile, she could see the General's flab being hoisted high as Celest stood ontop of the tallest box she could find, waving the flag around in a circle once and then pointing it directly towards the government forces. A large yell rose up from the rebel ranks, and a deep rumble started to form as hundreds of soldiers on horseback rode out from behind the hill to join the soldiers slowly moving up towards the line.
The largest city ont he planet stretched out infront of them.
They were a collection of thousands from all across the dirty wastes, gathered here under one banner. Their rallying point on the muddy dunes just outside of the city affording them a view of the army dug in on the other side, the large expanse of buildings, trees, and eventually the green, alge covered waters that extended out to the horizon.
They were all there for different reasons.
Some where isolationists,
Some had strong ideas about policy,
Some just needed a paycheck,
While others were true belivers in their glorious leader.
Regardless, they were all there for the same thing. To smash the army encamped by the city, and to end the Osman goverment's interferance in their lives one way or another.
---
Across the no-mans land between the two armies was the goverment's forces. Men and Women in blue jackets, carrying rifles wrapped in heavy sacks to keep out the constant dirt. They had already dug in, creating a small, muddy, trench only about a foot or two deep. Behind them were cannons, freshly unwrapped and ready to fire. Their numbers seemed just as endless as those arrayed against them. They were prepared, capable, and experianced in fighting off their rivals. Though the skys were fairly clear, they never were any clearer than a dirty blue. It had been days since the last storm, and time was on their side. All they needed to do was hold out. Eventually a dust storm would come again, and those that were caught in such storms without ample shelter were often doomed to die one way or another, high winds, fast, sharp bits of rock, or even simply being crushed under the weight of the sand and dirt.
---
A man in a striking red coat atop a large white horse sat in front of one army, riding slowly back and forth in front of the front line. He wore two shiny silver-plated revolvers at his waist and a saber with a silver scabbard engraved with a three-headed dog. His short blonde hair was hidden beneath a red hat to block the sunlight from his piercing gray eyes. He stopped in the center after making two laps. The men and women before him began to chant his name out loud.
"Aaron Grant! Aaron Grant!"
With a quick wave of hand he silenced them instantly. "My people," he began. "We have been lied to. The Osman government claims we are alone. They claim that mankind is all that exists, and we are all that remains. Well, we know better!" He finished with a shout. "I have shown you the evidence. It fell from the sky and changed me. Now, I've awakened you all to the truth. They are coming! The Osman government? They know. The corrupt bastards made a deal with them." This stament was met by angry shouts and curses directed at the Osmans. He waited a moment before silencing them again.
"We are here to open their eyes! Today, their oppression of these fine townfolk ends. We must unite the independent cities. Then, we march on the Osman territory and take the capital! The only way we can fight off the coming invaders is united as one people! The Cerberus Syndicate will save all from annihilation! Give them no mercy and let none who support them survive!" Aaron drew his saber and raised it above his head. "Are you ready?" He yelled. Every man and woman standing or sitting on horses in front of him screamed as one. "Yes, General!"
There was a deafening roar of screams, comming from the thousands gathered to see the general.
"Is he serious about the aliens thing?" Someone ended up asking,
"I"m really just here to stick it to the man..." Another added.
"I"m really just here to stick it to the man..." Another added.
Those that doubted, and those that weren't behind him 110% all seemed to melt away in the sea of voices cheering for him to end their oppression. Of course, no general could lead a force this large without some assistance. A young woman moving up towards the general's horse, and placing her hand on the beat's neck, "Sir, Our main force is awaiting your orders. We can also communicate with the rest of the forces in the outskirts by flag signals. Will we be sending them directly towards the Government's lines? We could go around... but we may not have time. Its been a while since the last storm, and if we get hit unexpectedly...." She let her voice trail off a bit. Celest had been with the general for quite some time. She had been the first to listen to his crazy stories about aliens, and had been instrumental in helping organize all that he saw around him... but it seemed that she was not quite cut out for fighting, choosing instead to help organize the fight.
The General stroked his short blonde beard thoughtfully while he contemplated their course of action. "We will send a small force around while the main force attacks head on. When they're occupied with our main force, the secondary forces will hit them from behind." He turned to Celest. "Thank you for staying with me through this. I couldn't do it without you." He seemed like he wanted to say more, but he cleared his throat instead. "How many do we have in the outskirts?" He asked her.
"You know I wouldn't miss your big adventure," She said with a smile, looking off into the distance towards the rest of their army, "I think we have three thousand worth of soldiers willing to help us off to our left flank. Another four to our right... but it is hard to tell. People keep comming and going... We outnumber them in the center sure... but not by enough.... Aaron, I'm worried we don't have enough to win here AND hold the city after."
He considered their options silently, looking towards the government army across from them. "Maybe we can get them away from the city. If we can keep them from reaching shelter when the next storm hits, the planet will take care of them for us."
Celest shook her head, "They have been dealing with Rebels for decades... they have their own shelter and assume that our forces will disperse in a storm... Many here are just itching for a fight... your play could work, but we would need a way to draw them out."
Aaron nodded slowly. "What if we have a small force act as if they are leaving us and lie in ambush while our main force fakes a retreat? Then while they're in disarray, we turn and charge the center with the cavalry." He said, thinking out loud.
"I am sure they think the storms will finish us... leaving may let them lower their guard... and I am not certain we could get the bulk of the army to follow a strategy like that. As much as I hate to say it... Not everyone trusts your leadership like I do. We may end up seeing some attack regardless of what we do." Celest added.... thinking for a moment, "M..maybe if we start bombarding the city with cannon shot? We can't hit anything reliably at this range but it may force them to attack us."
"Yes, but if we hit civilians then they will be less likely to support us after we take the city. We may just add to the enemy ranks." He turned his gaze toward the city and the body of water behind it. "First our artillery will begin bombarding the enemy center with cannon fire. We then advance with our main infantry along the center and turn our cannons to the right flank while our cavalry hits them on the left flank. They will break through the enemy lines and hit them from behind."
"Yes sir!" Celest shouted, the woman practically bouncing as she ran off... They didn't have radios avalible, so the commands had to be sent by flag.
The army spread out before the general was eager for a fight, the men and women barely able to stand in line... much less stand still... shifting, talking among themselves, occationally just inching forward. They were all ready for a fight.
*BOOM*
The first cannon shot rang out, the first projectile sailing through the air and landing a bit short of its target... the cannon crew immidiately starting to swab the barrel and start reloading... while the rest began filling their cannons with powder.
The Government's army, on the other hand, was not eager to fire off their supply of cannonballs... instead choosing to hunker down in position and wait while the bombardment was readied.
"Finally going through with your plan, General Grant?" Rubi asked, sauntering up to the General's position. Knowing full well what she was getting into was uncanny, an advising role for the General of the Syndicate was an amazing step in her plan. "I would've thought you were going to lose a majority of your support with alien rant but it seems you've brought thing together for the assault. Though..." She always made a small pause when when pointing a flaw to his plan. "I know that you won't be able to bombard them enough with supplies as is. Attrition is not a tactic we can current forgo. We must sabotage some of their supplies in their forward positions if we want to draw them out."
Although he hated to admit it, Rubi's plan was sound. The thought had occurred to him, but he wasn't sure it would be doable. However, if Rubi thought it could be done... "I wasn't planning on attrition, merely hoping to hold their attention while our cavalry breaks through. I do like your idea, though, and it could benefit our strategy.." He turned to Rubi. "Find some of my soldiers adept at stealth techniques and send them to destroy their forward supply warehouse. If you can disguise them, maybe they can get close enough." Aaron didn't completely trust the female mercenary. She had proven a valuable asset so far. He was highly suspicious of her motives for assisting their rebellion.
*BOOM* Another cannon shot rang out, and it looked like small groups were taking that as a signal to begin the fight. Small skirmishing forces started advancing along either side.... slowly. While the general had plenty of soldiers, they were no professional army.
Rubi turned back to take a look at the army Grant had assembled. Professional was not a trait this army carried but she was sure was there was diversity in skill and tactics within the group. One problem did haunt her mind though. "With all due respect..." she let the pause seep as she turned back to the Grant. "I have no doubt in the tenacity and loyality of the men to you, but I feel they'll be hard pressed to follow under my command, my former profession being what it was. Perhaps you can assist?"
"Hold on one second.." He turned his horse around with a pull on the reins and rode forward to the advancing troops. Then he yelled. "Did I say advance? Wait for my signal!" He shook his head. "If we don't act as one, we will fail! Stay in formation. Two more volleys, then advance. Together!" He turned and his horse quickly galloped back to Rubi. "I will accompany you." He climbed down from his horse and patted his neck. He walked into the mass of troops and picked out a squad of ten of his most experienced soldiers. He walked with them to a tent set up nearby. "Listen up. I have a mission for you. Rubi will be commanding you, so I don't want to hear any grumbling.." Aaron said, using his most autthorative tone. "Rubi will give you the details." He walked back to his horse and climbed back on leaving Rubi to brief them.
Infront of Rubi were die-hard survivalists, fiercely independent and constantly expecting the government to come crack down on them at any time. They saw this war as an opportunity to strike first, and to prove their own skill. They certainly had ample experiance with muskets, revolvers, and moving quietly through the wilderness... though their rugged looks and well-worn-long coats made them stand out like a sore thumb among the more groomed members of the city.
"Just what do you expect us to do?" One of them would ask,
"And just because the general likes ya, doesn't mean we do." Another added.
All in all there were about fifteen men arrayed infront of Rubi... mostly willing to accept her orders.
Meanwhile the rebel army would back up a little bit under the generals orders. Those that were on the flanks were far outside the range of his voice and continued anyway. The government forces starting to open up with long range musket fire, causing those skirmishers on the side to duck down and start crawling, hiding behind small humps in the terrain in order to shield themselves from incoming fire. The center, however, held firm without advancing. Celest could be seen near the cannons, relaying orders, and trying to get the bulk of the army under control as the cannon-teams contiuned their work, finally getting all the cannons loaded at the same time and firing one massive volley, the cannon balls landing a bit short again... and then bouncing forward, smashing into and over the enemy lines and smashing themselves to a stop against the outermost wooden walls and structures of the city.
Rubi frowned a for a multitide of reasons but mainly for the sqaud she was with. She folded her arms and looked over them as the General left. "Alright gents," the professional air in her voice disappearing, "We need to help draw out the enemy from their frotifications in the city. Our job will be to raid an enemy supply warehouse that maintains their forward positions while our main army distracts them. This is going to be a simple hit-and-run mission. I want everyone to grab at least a stick of TNT before head out. The quicker we can get this done, the quicker we can fully engage the enemy. Clear?"
There was a collective grumble from the group of assembled soldiers... they started discussing amongst themselves why THEY should have to put their necks on the line for this dangerous mission... why it fell to them to go above and beyond, but it was quickly decided that this is what they were there for, to strike a blow against the Osman government and possibly blow a lot of them up in the process.
"We'll get our supplies and meet back here in a few minutes." One of the soldiers said, the group dispersing to go get their TNT... and to swap out some of the gear they had so that they would be more stealthy, choosing to leave their muskets behind and instead take revolvers.
Rubi followed suite and went with a simple loadout of her revolver and a stick of TNT. As soon as the men under command were assembled, she waved them on to their horses and set out for the nearest warehouse, hoping all would go according to her plan.
The city itself was built in the rain shadow of a large mountain. It was this that protected it from the worst of the storms. Many armies had tried to climb it before... and failed. Countless others had also tried their hand at taming the mountain. Roads were started and left unfinished, as were mining tunnels. It was largely considered impassable so the government's army didn't bother to guard it.
And that was how Rubi's group was planning to sneak past their defenses.
A short ride would take the assembled men up the base of the mountain a short way, just out of sight of the government troops that were now busy hunkering down in their small trench. Behind Rubi were 15 men, armed with revolvers and TNT. Though they were quite disagreeable only a short time before, now they were deathly silent. The weight of what they were doing starting to dawn on them, the only sound being that of the Rebel cannons firing another barrage across the no man's land.
General Grant watched Rubi depart with his men. If they didn't succeed, this would likely be a complete disaster. He turned back towards his army. "Now is the time! Advance and send these government dogs to their graves!" He gave the signal to begin the attack. His horse seemed a bit nervous from all the cannon fire. He patted its neck gently. "Easy, Cervantes. We'll fight too. Not now, though."
Rubi eyed the warehouse that was a good distance away from the government troops. She waved the men to fellow as she kept low and advanced towards it, keeping an eye open for any patrols that may appear. Though her mind appeared to be focused on the mission, it was less about how to not get spotted but more of how to exit quickly.
A quick exit for Rubi was looking less and less likely as they rapidly climbed the mountain, the group eventually coming up to a cliff face and it was either go over, or go around... of course, going around meant being seen by the government forces, so the group started to prepare ropes for climbing, sending two of their number to wait with the horses as the rest began the steep climb. Of course, they still might have been seen if it weren't for the battle about to take place. Celest was waving the rebel's flag, urging the army to move forward. Finally the full force of the rebel army began to charge forward, the forward front slowing to a stop to fire, innacurate shots bouncing infront and behind of the government soldiers while more rebels moved up infront of those who had already shot. Likewise the government forces had begin their firing line, volley after volley shooting forward, with only the occational, rare, hit. Their weapons only barely effective even against unarmored people at these skirmish ranges.
Grant watched the battle for a while. It was quickly becoming impossible to see anything through the smoke from the muskets and cannons. He thought about all the battles he'd heard of. Horses were not very common, considering how much food it takes to keep them alive. You either had to be rich or a government goon.. Or steal them, which is punished by death. He wasn't sure he wanted to send in his cavalry for offense. He rode to Celest's position to speak with her, having to shout between volleys. "Hold back our cavalry! We can't afford to lose them! They are to defend our flanks from the enemy! Everyone else focus fire on the center. and keep the attention away from Rubi's squad. Keep firing the artillery." There was a slight pause before he spoke again. "When Rubi's attack succeeds we will try our flanking maneuver, but not a moment sooner. Right now I'm afraid it would be suicidal."
Rubi slowly ascended the cliff face first, keeping an eye on the govenment as Grant's gamble rushed force towards the defenders. She'd occasioanlly look over to see if any of her squad had already abandoned her but silnently knew that they were too far in on this to quit now. She knew the next series of minutes would determine the victor of the conflict and that she didn't want to disaapoint the higher-ups with this. Not wanting to waste anytime, she waved thr group forward over the rocky terrian, hoping her own gamble would work.
Unfortunitly, nothing would happen quickly here. While Rubi's squad was bogged down with crossing over the mountains, the rebel force was bogged down by musket fire, and Celest was bogged down by having to physically send one of her own to the calvery hiding behind the hill to tell them to wait.
But eventually, as the casualties on both sides slowly started to increase, Rubi's squad would find its way over the mountain top, finding itself slowly decending behind enemy lines. While the exterior of the city was heavily fortified... the interior only had a precious few guards, most of which had their eyes turned towards the fight brewing outside. This left Rubi's target, a powder warehouse towards the center of the city, defended but vulnerable. A trio of guards were on the roof, and another three by the front door, though their eyes weren't turned towards the soldiers approaching from the direction of the mountain. Of course there were plenty of other eyes in the city, shops, warehouses, homes, all of which had been boarded up. If anyone inside saw their approach, they remained quiet.
Seeing their target finally within range, Rubi rallied the sqaud together for on last brief. "We got three on the roof and three in front of the main entrance. They seem pretty distracted by the battle going on so half of us are going to sneak up on the front entrance guards before taking them out and tossing a couple of sticks of TNT in. The other half move up enough to give covering fire on the rooftop guards. Once that building goes up, we're falling back to the horses, don't get left behind." She waved for half the squad to follow her as she lead them up to the front enterance.
The squad would split up, half sneaking around to other buildings, finding ways to climb up to higher positions while the rest followed Rubi. With everyone distracted, it was quite easy for her to get up close to the remaining guards, hidden just around the corner from them. Being this close, it was easy to hear their conversations,
"You think they are going to get thorugh this time?" One of the guard's asked.
"No way. Battle lines are far away from here and it ain't like they've been able to break through before."
"How can you be so casual about this? They're right on the edge of the city... If they break through they will slaughter everyone..."
"Everyone who resists if they overthrow the army then there isn't much you could have done about it yourself."
"Don't let the captain here you talking like that...."
Rubi silently waved three of her men forward, making a motion to more quietly slit their throats to avoid any attention. As the men stalked up to the guards, she orderedanother person to get out their stick of TNT before moving up to the front door. As soon as the first guard was dispatched, she lit her stick of TNT before tossing it inside and bolting away, hoping the others would follow suit.
"Oh please, the captain doesn't care... he's" *THUD*
The soldiers were quite literally cut off mid sentance, their bodies falling to the ground as the attackers started throwing their sticks of TnT into the warehouse. As they bolted off, they'd get spotted by one of the guard's on the roof,
"HEY! YOU DOWN THERE!" He shouted, taking aim with his rifle. Before he could bark another warning, the roof underneith him would be heaved up into the air, a shockwave sending bits of wood flying as the powder warehouse started cooking off, Bullets, powder, explosives, all starting to detonate in a series of rapid explosions and pops
---
Meanwhile back at the front,
The government's army could hear the powder warehouse going up. The sparks and trails of fire as the ammunition cooked off could be seen all the way at the front! Even from the great distance that grant was viewing the battle he could see his blue coated opponents gathering up officers while still behind the lines, sending men running around with some fresh orders. Slowly, he'd see handfuls of men being pulled away from the front and directed back into the city, the gunfiring leveled at his own troops starting to disapate.
The sound of the warehouse going up was like music to the General's ears. It meant Rubi had succeeded, but the effect on the enemy wouldn't be immediately seen. He smiled when he saw the officers gathering and issuing new orders. He almost shouted he was so relieved, but it wouldn't do for their great leader to show any indication he thought the outcome had been in doubt. It would be good if Rubi and the men with her had survived, he thought, but he wondered if it might be more beneficial in the longrun if she had perished. His eyes scanned the camp for Celest as he pushed that thought from his mind. He would wait a little longer before sending in his cavalry. Hopefully his soldiers would start gaining some ground, then the cavalry might stand a chance of breaking the government's line.
the sound of the explosion was the signal to begin the next part of the mission: Getting the hell out of there. She sprinited towards the cliff they climbed upm ordering the sqaud to either follow and fight on or stay and fend for themselves; Either would suit her purposes and improvision was key at this point. The only time she stopped or slowed was to dodge a peice of debris from what remained of the government blackpowder storage.
*BOOM*
A large store of black powder exploded, sending chunks of burning wood, metal, and flesh high into the air, turning what had once been the warehouse and its guard into a literal firestorm. The peices started to rain down onto the city, which also started to catch fire. Even from the hills beyond the city Grant could see the smaller embers start to flare up around where the warehouse used to be. Soon people would be scurrying from their homes, headed towards the nearby coastline to get water... unfortunitly for most the military was usually hte ones to put out the fire.
The government's cannon teams began firing at the approaching infantry as fast as they could, a grim determination setting in as the remaining soldiers stepped up their attacks. The race was now on to defeat the invading army, if they let the battle draw out too long the city might burn to the ground and leave them all to certain death when the next storm came.
While the troops being pulled back to help with the fire helped Grant, they were an obstical for Rubi. No doubt they were searching for sabatours, but between the fire, smoke, and gunpowder they had limited their search to near the warehouse... and Rubi was already back towards the mountainside making her escape. She would be able to return without much issue, horses still waiting for her back where they had left them.
He noticed the fire spreading and it gave him ideas. If he could pin this on the government being negligent it might cause unrest, maybe even open rebellion. At the least there would be protests, especially if there were casualties. He didn't like to think like that but he could handle people dying as long as it served the greater good. Maybe I should ready the cavalry to charge. Looks like their line is shrinking, Grant thought. His forces were facing the same dilemma as the government, if they didn't defeat the enemy quickly enough to get the fires stopped the next storm would be a disaster. In this instance the enemy would be helping by putting out the fires. He gave Celest the signal to prepare the cavalry to charge on his order.
Rubi hurriedly led her men as they retreated, dogging through alleyways and streets trying to avoid some of the larger patrols. When the occasional sentry wandered in the way, she pull out her revolver and try blast him as she ran. If she missed, the rest of her men followed after her, popping shots at them. By the time they'd reach the cliff edge, several sharpshooters had already set up in some of the nearby houses. She didn't stop to give them a chance to get a bead on her. She sled to the cliff edge, grabbed the rope, and quickly shimmied her way down. Several of the men quickly descended down after her while the rest stayed up to cover them, firing widly at any snipers or pursuers thy can before being picked off.
As Rubi made her escape, Celest would grab the calvery flag, getting ready to signal the attack, she would look over at Grant, holding the flag about waist high... the entire group of calvery starting to mount up, getting in formation just behind the hill. Celest would be watching Grant with a combination of nervousness and excitement. It wasn't that long ago it seemed like they were just kids, playing around, occationally listening to Grant's crazy stories. She never actually thought they would make it this far, but behind her the largest group of mounted calvery she had ever seen was forming up in a line and infront of her the Government forces were seemingly crumbling. "A.. Aaron, I think we're going to pull this off!" she shouted, the nervious excitement welling up within her voice.
Meanwhile, in the city, soldiers were scrambling to help put out fires, throwing dirt onto burning walls and homes as best they could, the fire spreading as explosives continued to go off inside what used to be the warehouse, bits of flame falling down all over the city. Rubi was now quite visible, and soldiers were shouting for help in chasing her down, but even a good shot would have a hard time hitting her as she climbed down the cliff's edge to where the horses were waiting, small metal bullets occationally plinking rocks nearby.
"Come on, we've done what we came here to do," One of the rebels snapped, untieing his horse and mounting up... already sore that they had left him to watch the horses instead of coming to blow up the warehouse, "If we.... *SPLAT!*"
Before the soldier could finish, he was turned into a cloud of red mist from the waist up... a cannon ball having passed right through the space where he used to be, and then embedding itself in the mountain face, sending a massive wave of dirt up into the sky. One of the cannon teams near the front line had been clued in, and had turned their attetion towards Rubi's group, and unlike the muskets of the nearby soldiers, they had the range to actually hit.
Grant couldn't help but smile when he saw how excited Celest was. They had come a long way since the two of them first met. No one believed him at first about the aliens, and he never trusted anyone enough to show them his evidence. Not until he met Celest. Something about her made him want to trust her. Her innocence, or naivete some would say. Whatever it was, he always felt she was trustworthy, and she proved it the day he showed her his proof. An empty Elysian escape pod had fallen from the sky and crashed into his house. The organic, cocoon-like object was like nothing he'd ever seen.
A lone cannon shot brought him brought him back to the present. Except the cannon went towards the city, near the mountain. I guess Rubi's squad did survive, he thought to himself. Let's help them out. He gave the signal for the cavalry to charge the line.
Rubi didn't have time mourn the fallen comrade or try to bring his body back to line, she didn't want to end up like him. As soon as her feet hit solid ground, it's a striaght sprint to the horses. She used what remained of the former rebel to pull herself up to the sadle, pushing off the lower half. She didn't wait for the rest of group to mount up and quickly sent the horse on a full gallop back the way they came, zig zagging to throw off any spotters trying to zero in on her. The rest could fend for themselves.
*BOOM* There was quite a delay between the cannon shot, and when the projectile finally fell where Rubi had been only moments before. As she made her escape, the cannon team would again re-aim their cannon, swabbing the barrel, preparing fresh powder....
Meanwhile, she could see the General's flab being hoisted high as Celest stood ontop of the tallest box she could find, waving the flag around in a circle once and then pointing it directly towards the government forces. A large yell rose up from the rebel ranks, and a deep rumble started to form as hundreds of soldiers on horseback rode out from behind the hill to join the soldiers slowly moving up towards the line.
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