Durgama Takeover

“Confirmed TAG contact near my location, Desek. Permission to engage.” Desek Hartok glanced to his right through the misty jungle in the direction of the Zerat’s forward position. The smell of damp vegetation permeated their deplaoyment zone. Just ahead, it gave way slightly to human designed structures. There lay the objective. Consulting his comlog, the morat lieutenant verified his skirmisher’s location on the battefield.

“Pa Ka, Gabat. Hold your position, protect the bug.” he ordered. “We will do our duty, it is the Morat way.”

“I wish we were not required to protect this exrah observer, but orders are orders. Sumi Na Rat,” came the formal relpy.

Hartok opened the wide channel band on his communicator. “This is Desek Hartok of the Ugasorak Regiment. We received orders to take this base. Our regimental honor demands we do so at any cost. I offer you the opportunity to die like soldiers. May our battle be glorious.”

He switched to his command group frequency. “Karanatat, we have the sacred task of getting some new blood their battle insignia, the Gadarak. Look after your brothers in combat. For the regiment!”

The cry echoed through the forest as the rest of the Morat repeated the oath. As the jungle absorbed their cry, the eery sounds of the Daturazi combat prayers enveloped them. Hartok dialed up the fireteam frequency. “Gabat says the enemy Blue Wolf TAG is approaching her position. Prepare to fire.”

Jartok, one of the bloodless, gripped his heavy machine gun so tightly his knuckles shone pink. Hartok sent a message to the comlog of the obvioiusly nervous rookie. “Your marksmanship scores are excellent. Aim true. Remember your training.” The young Morat quickly glanced at his comlog, then Jartok’s shoulders visibly eased. “It approaches, Desek,” said Gabat. The witch soldiers hum raised in speed and pitch. “Perhaps they sense the imminent,” the lieutenant wondered at their timing.

Across the buildings and through a break in the foliage, the animalistic TAG appeared for the briefest of moments. Ammunition leaped from Jartok’s HMG and his companion’s missile launcher. The TAG pilot seemed surprised and tried to ward off the salvo with its own panzerfaust shot. Smoke enhanced the jungle haze before revealing that very little remained of the Yu Jing armored cavalry. “TAG neutralized,” confirmed the skirmisher. Another roar erupted from the morat ranks. An enemy remote materialized just ahead of their position, tried to fire the team’s position and met a similar fate. Some of the enemy warbands tried advancing toward the middle and Hartok’s Yaogat reduced their number by a third. When the enemy realized it needed to regroup before another attempt on his position, Desek Hartok sensed an opportunity.

“Daturazi, engage.” The air seemed to buzz as the five esoteric warriors rushed past his team’s position. Reaping the benefit of the hail of ammunition sent down field, the Daturazi swarmed a supply chest between the two battle lines, rummaged a few things out and then radioed they had found the enemy communications console and it was heavily protected. “Flush them out,” was all the lieutenant said. One of his warband broke from his group and ran full speed into the teeth of the enemy ambush. Explosions rang through the jungle for a third time but when these cleared, the Morat soldier still stood. Another enemy remote materialized just beyond the communications console and the same soldier lunged toward it, engulfing it and something behind it as well in the massive report of his chain rifle. The robot, two mines, and the witch soldier all lay smoking on the jungle floor in the aftermath.

Just as Hartok had repositioned his team for more effective cover fire, the White Banner troops regrouped and turned to repel the four remaining Morat. Hartok’s Yaogat cursed, saying the Daturazi had pushed too far and he couldn’t draw a line of fire to cover them at that angle. An enemy Guilang dropped two more Daturazi with its shotgun as they lay smoke to try to cover their comrades. The remaining two witch soldiers did their best to survive as the enemy monks again attempted to push up the field towards the supply depot. An enemy Jujak stood up on the roof of a building overlooking the remaining Daturazi and the Yaogat barked two shots at it through the smoke. When the shots cracked off the parapet, the ruse folded and the Jujak revealed to be a Tian Gou. “Kusit Tu,” the Yaogat cursed.

The monks raced around the far end of some crates on the Yu Jing lines and evaded the first volley of fire Hartok’s team sent their way. Jartok’s HMG silenced a second monk while the third, much more seasoned warrior priest flew threw the air as a missile cratered the area he theretofore occupied. Yu Jing and Morat alike cheered as the veteran used the momentum of the blast to vault and flip his way back to the ground landing only slightly worse for surviving a missile explosion. “Not even the TAG did that,” gaped Jartok. More ammo sped towards the monk and Hartok swore some hit home. Still, the soldier continued his march toward the Morat line. Hartok’s comlog tagged the soldier in his retinal display as Liang Kai and listed some of his many achievements in this field of operations. “We have a worthy opponent, Karanatat,” Desek Hartok announced to his troops. All still conscious cheered.

“Sir, a lone Jujak approaches my position.” announced Gabat from her perch on the far side of the battle.

“Jartok, repeat the TAG drill,” commanded Hartok.

“Udo, Desek Hartok.” And the heavy infantry met the same fate as the TAG it had accompanied.

“Destroy the communication console and the regiment will sing your praises, Daturazi.” With snarls that could be heard back on the Morat lines, one and then the other witch soldier threw themsleves at the objective and pummeled it beyond function and recognition. Both fell to reprisals of the enemy. Unfortunately, Hartok knew Liang Kai was still a threat to his console and his team. He called their drone support over hoping its advanced plasma rifle would make short work of the veteran warrior-monk but he evaded the EI drone remote as well, dodging dangerously close to his team’s position. They were now in range of a chain rifle burst. Before he could utter a command, the Yaogat shouldered his sniper rifle, unholstered his sidearm and moved to engage the famous warrior. Three loud reports finally silenced the threat.

As Liang Kai’s IFF transponder switched to the inactive state on his comlog, the Zerat reported more news from the front. “Sir, the enemy is pulling back.”

“Deploy the Rasyat to harrass them and ensure we can recover our Daturazi team.” No sooner had he commanded it than did a star burn its way from near orbit to strike the ground near the furthest edge of the Yu Jing lines and begin hunting the stunned humans as they began their strategic withdrawl. “Alright, Karanatat, recover our wonded and raid the buildings and depots. We’ll celebrate when the relief force arrives.”