Durgama Takeover

As the Morat assault continued all along the line a unit of heavy EI construct with support units advanced towards a sector defended by ariadnan forces. It was a motley crew of mercenaries, named men and lowly grunts that had been forced together in a desperate defense against the Morat ambush against the research center.

Jim, a USAriadna Grunt, hefted his heavy flamethrower as he lay in wait behind a large container, directly in the path of the EI’s forces. He knew John, the only other Grunt, was somewhere to his east along the hastily established perimeter. He wished John was right there with him, behind the container. He wished this was just a normal everyday skirmish against antipodes on Dawn. Or even a scrap against PanO or Yujing corporate thugs on Kurage. Kurage had been bad but this was another kind of nightmare. Dawn was so far away…

He let his thoughts wander like they always did the last moments before an engagement. He desperately wanted to be back at Dawn. He desperately wanted to take a peak behind the container. He was glad to be rid of the steaming jungles of Paradiso but it was still damned warm and sweaty.

All of a sudden what little calm remained was shattered as heavy sniper rounds rang out followed by hard impacts. For a split second Jim thought Knauf had missed, something he didn’t think possible, and then the explosive rounds tore something apart. Something big crashed to the ground not twenty feet behind the container. Time to rock’n’roll. Jim lit the flamer as he heard the mercenary motorbikes and desperados rev their engines and speed towards the enemy. He always loved to see the small flame dance, knowing the destruction it could release. And then there were no more thoughts as Jim went to work. Grunt work.

The engagement didn’t last more than a few minutes. Knauf destroyed a high threat target designated ‘Charontid’ that would have decimated them given half a chance. Luckily it didn’t get that chance. As ariadnan units moved up supported by light motorcycles another heavy construct materialized, seemingly from thin air, incinerating an unfortunate desperado in a ball of raging plasma fire. The construct, this one designated ‘Anatemathic’, tore through their ranks but was ultimately defeated by the Unknown Ranger after an antipode sniffed it out. Together they waded in and destroyed it in hand-to-hand combat.

An Umbra Samaritan, looking on from a distance as his forces were taken apart by bullet and claw, leapt into action but ultimately did little to change the outcome of the battle.

Afterwards, as they secured the sector against any lingering enemies or infiltrators Jim heard the story of how John had been obliterated by plasma fire. Even though he searched he found nothing remaining of his friend but his heavy flamer, fused together into a lump of metal. Another light of Dawn extinguished in this hellish never ending war. Slumped down against a wall with his friends destroyed flamer in his lap Jim lit a cigarette and took a breather. Everything felt so lackluster. The enemy would come again. It always did. He was very far from home and Jim wondered, for maybe the thousand time, when his luck would run out and whether he would see Dawn again.

[It wasn’t much of a fight. I had deployed both the Charontid HMG and the Samaritan very poorly. The Charontid was killed by Knauf in the very first order of the game and after the Anathematic was taken out the Samaritan was out of position and could not fight his way out being outranged with his plasma carbine. I’m just glad I could keep it down to 0-7 instead of a ten.]