Sike
I’m only vaguely aware of the drop ship that picks up Griffin and his impromptu team as I’m busy talking to Ivan Ivonich. Honestly a stupid name but whatever.
“Let me get this straight NATO gave you the plasma weapons to use in limited numbers and told you to hold off against us. Without telling you their plan or any details of our forces and landing zones or when they would arrive to help”
He nods solemnly “All the experienced generals retired or quit with the war was declaration. I thought the rumors of your armor were just that and I never imagined you’d drop right on Moscow”
I groan inside “Explain the fortifications then” I gesture at the blown open wall around the kremlin. “All prefab and put in place for years” I mute my external speakers and check on the satellite recon I requested. Griffin's gut was right there is an army massing looking to come right this way. I radio over to Frank of zombie bait “What’s your squad’s status i need you to do some recon” he responds quickly “Yellow on ammo but otherwise green” I think for a moment “That’s fine Smo will send you the grid do not engage just report equipment and the like”
I motion to Smo then return my attention to Ivan “I’ll be blunt I have a whole NATO army coming this way so I’m conscripting your forces you're going to act as my liaison” Shock grips his face “What do you mean” I step forward to get in his face as unfortunately, I can’t tower over him so I add a slight snarl to my voice “I own you and your men so you’ll do as I say or I’ll string you up to a lamp post now relay for all of them to muster out here unless they are on a base in which case they will load up everything and rally here”
He gulps and does as I say and ten minutes later hundreds of men are lined up. I stand before them “If you thought our attack was bad then prepare to be dropped right into hell because a large nato army is on its way and we need to destroy it. Now we can’t do that effectively with civilians in the way so you all will search every building and escort them to the vast bunker complex below the city. Split into groups of four and an Elysium soldier will make the fifth and be your group leader”
It only takes an hour to get everything sorted and the squads sent out. I’m surprised they all listed but I’ll take my wins when I get them. I radio over to the engineers who I had stay behind “I want this entire plaza to be one fortress get artillery positions ready and ammo stores you know the drill”
A few hours later civilians are streaming by to enter the bunker and Ivan has disclosed the other entrances so they can be opened for now to help evacuate people. We’ll seal them later. This is when I got the unbelievable news. “General there is a pyroclastic wall headed in your direction”
My mind reels “As in a volcano erupted near us” I ask “Uh not exactly see our mission is complete and one thing led to another and the entire ring of fire is on fire” How the fuck did four no five guys manage this. “I left you guys unsupervised for less than a day and you caused the apocalypse” I sigh “How long until the earliest projections” I wait a moment “A day maybe two but the ash cloud will probably be the bigger problem”
Fuck I have an army marching to kill me and now I don’t have air support. “Noted get back once you can bring as many rations and gas masks as you can” Jed acknowledges and the line goes dead.
Over the next hours and day and a half, I watch sectors of the city get marked clear of civilians and somehow we got them all below that would listen. Those who refused to get to shelter were warned that until the NATO army is broken and scattered they will receive no help and may get caught in the crossfire. Still, they stayed. I had what spare Russian guns and ammo we could live without sent out to them so they could at least defend themselves.
Zombie Bate has returned and informed me that there are two main groups. The one that will hit first seemed to have all the outdated equipment while the slightly smaller second wave has the new toys. The numbers surprise me. One million troops. On the conservative side.
I know my forces strength by heart but I look again anyway. Less than two thousand. I offer a prayer to Spero to help me convince the Russian soldiers to fight with me then step out from my command tent.
I surveyed the area and am satisfied that only more time would let us fortify further and we did all we could in the time we had. I see that all the conscripts are eating with my men and some groups are laughing. It seems everyone is around this area.
I walk to a parked tank specifically Sherman’s as many of mine are in defensive positions. I climb on top and crank my speakers up. I clear my throat to get everyone's attention “As you all know a NATO army is on its way. Luckily we were able to get the civilians to safety… that is one worry out of the way. I have just got the estimate on how many soldiers we will be facing. Men of the 104th we will be outnumbered 500 to one. I fear we may need more ammo”
I sigh then continue “We can not do this alone we are cut off with no air support and a wave of destruction is coming from behind, brothers in arms of the Russian military join us in the defense of your motherland help us protect your families”
I pause and quickly think of a verse to add “Take our hand extended in comradery and join us among the stars… join us so that we may crush those bastards under our boots and grind them under our treads. I have no intention of dying here but instead to lay waste to the enemies of the fatherland and his friends”
I guess that did the job because many are now standing and cheering including Russian soldiers. I’m about to climb down when my visor shatters and everything goes black.
No no no no this can’t be happening not yet. I’m briefly blinded by light but once my vision clears I look around. I’m in a Perfect green field with beautiful flowers everywhere and the temperature is perfect and the sun is just the right luminosity.
Fuck I’ve passed through the gate of eternity and entered Elysium. “Not quite” I look around again looking for the voice and spot a white pergola a short distance away. “Come have some tea you're a most interesting person”
With only a little apprehension and suspicion I approach. The book Yorm gave me told me about this place. We’ll not this place I think but one similar as well as who resides here. The two visibly inhuman pillars Nyx and Casper.
I climb the few steps and find two figures sitting at a quaint table with a single open seat. “Please sit. As you may have gathered I am Nyx” he gives a slight bow. He's wearing a top hat and a nice suit with an ornate cane resting next to him. On his face is a crystal monical. But none of that is really important.
His eyes have a bright slightly glowing gold with black inside of white around. His skin is a seaweed green and he has tentacles above his mouth. Honestly, he looks similar to a mind flayer or Cthulhu.
He gestures to the other figure “And this is Casper” Casper is wearing a trench coat and vest beneath it but again it’s not as important as the fact he has what many refer to as a plague doctor mask. Only I’ve been told his is his actual face which explains the red gems in the eyes.
I stuff all of that aside and sit and sip the tea which is divine. And that’s saying something as I’m a coffee enthusiast. “Thank you for the hospitality” Nyx waves dismissively “Think nothing of it. Thank you for indulging in our curiosity”
I nod and take another sip noting how it never got any lower “I have several questions if I may” they both nod “Of course it's only natural” I smile and set down my cup “Why am I brought before the pillar of death” I look at Casper “and the pillar of the mind” I look back to Nyx.
Casper speaks up “Well you are here because you were shot in the face. Normally you would pass to the actual afterlife that Nyx and Spero built but there is something the pillars would ask of you”
I nod taking it all in barely. “Can you tell me what I was shot with first if it’s no trouble” Casper smiles… somehow “Of course, Nyx” Nyx seems to look unfocused for a moment then speaks “You were shot by a Barrett M82a2 fifty caliber rifle firing a high velocity armor piercing incendiary”
I can’t help but have my eyes go wide. “Thank you… now what is asked of me” Casper speaks “The pillars voted a while ago to appoint a saint… with only one vote against there has since then been much deliberation. Yorm came up but he’s technically a sentinel and briefly, it was discussed to have a sentinel but it would run counter to their purpose. So that brings us to you, Miss Tanya Rex. I will say what you will gain for accepting has not yet been fully decided upon but a few main points have been settled on would you like to hear them”
Still wide-eyed, I nod “The first point is so long as your faith is pure you have my protection second you must always fight to defend humanity. And lastly, you must spread the faith” Nyx added a tidbit “I can feel how hungry your mind is for knowledge so I offer my mark. You will no longer dream but instead, come here where you can ask what you want”
I blink a few times and take a drink gathering myself. Never did I imagine this. Finally, after long moments, I utter “If I accept… and the pillars add more requirements what happens then” Casper nods a few times “They would be run past you of course. think if it like a contract, one can not alter it without the others permission”
I look down for a moment then back to them “Does the mark have to be visible” Nyx strokes his tentacles like a beard “I suppose technically” I begin to grin a wolffish grin and continue “What’s the fifty done to my face” they glance to one another and Casper shrugs and answers “you’ll be missing a eye… permanently it won’t be able to be regrown and you’ll have some burn scars”
My grin widens slightly “alright then… I accept to both and as for the mark can you make the burn scars form it” They nod “As you wish then good luck with your conquest”
Everything snaps back and I feel that I’m falling backward my neck hurts and my face definitely feels on fire with bits of my visor stuck in it. My ears are ringing and I hear shouting and a few gunshots. I hit the ground hard and lay there a moment before I groan and roll over pulling my helmet off.
The inside is coated in blood. I spit some out as men surround me and several medics kneel next to me. “General are you alright” I look at him “Son do I look like I’m alright I got shot in the face by a fifty now pack my eye and give me something for the burn” They lean me against the tank tread pod.
They dab my face cleaning it and I see through everyone around me Sherman who’s eyes are huge. “Tell me someone got that bastard” someone speaks up “I believe Major Griffin was on it” I close my eye. It’ll be in good hands… probably.
“General I need it inspect your orbital socket please hold still” I grit my teeth as he begins to poke around and shine a light in. After a few painful minutes, he stops. “Looks like a spiderweb fracture inside there… You lucky it didn’t go through” he begins to pull a lot of assorted supplies out.
“Morph for the pain. It’ll be a light dose just enough to take the edge off but not enough to send you to happy land, also some meds for your head I’m amazed you're not concussed but I’m not taking any chances” he injects the cocktail in and I feel the pain ease off.
Next, he applies a burn ointment then packs my eye, and wraps my head. “All done mam” I lean my head back against the tread pod for a moment. Then I begin to stand up the medic jumping in to help. “Do me a favor and nab me a grunt” he nods and moves off. Sherman sidles up once everyone clears out to check the perimeter again.
“That’ll scar nice” I nod with a grin “You recognize it” I ask “A mark of Nyx I guess you also met Cass seeing as you're still standing… cheater” I chuckle “That’s enough out of you. Anyway I have your assignment, you're on quick reaction I’m also going to have archangels command squad and zombie bate as they both have the most experience with that tasking” Sherman nods
A short while later Griffin is back with two men in the back of a puma. At this point I have that grunt I asked for picking up my visor fragments, I have a plan for them. Griffin drops them at my feet outside my command tent. “Griffin you get bonus points for taking them alive” I crouch down next to one and check them over. Missing part of his leg and a shattered Hand the other has what I first assumed was a gut shot. “Jed you speak Americanese right” he nods
“Good you stay put with the medics as they work on them… make sure they survive the wave. If they seem lucid go ahead and ask them questions I’d recommend starting off with harmless stuff like sports or something”
He nods and I stand up then I leave the group.
I meander back to the command tent and the grunt that the medic grabbed walked up to me holding a pouch “Here’s all the fragments mam” I take it and nod “Thank you now go get some rest keep your bucket on” he nods and scurries off.
I sit at the table in the command tent the pouch and my helmet are resting on it. I go to look over where I’ve placed units and the overall forces when I simply pass out and slump on the table.
Sike
I’m only vaguely aware of the drop ship that picks up Griffin and his impromptu team as I’m busy talking to Ivan Ivonich. Honestly a stupid name but whatever.
“Let me get this straight NATO gave you the plasma weapons to use in limited numbers and told you to hold off against us. Without telling you their plan or any details of our forces and landing zones or when they would arrive to help”
He nods solemnly “All the experienced generals retired or quit with the war was declaration. I thought the rumors of your armor were just that and I never imagined you’d drop right on Moscow”
I groan inside “Explain the fortifications then” I gesture at the blown open wall around the kremlin. “All prefab and put in place for years” I mute my external speakers and check on the satellite recon I requested. Griffin's gut was right there is an army massing looking to come right this way. I radio over to Frank of zombie bait “What’s your squad’s status i need you to do some recon” he responds quickly “Yellow on ammo but otherwise green” I think for a moment “That’s fine Smo will send you the grid do not engage just report equipment and the like”
I motion to Smo then return my attention to Ivan “I’ll be blunt I have a whole NATO army coming this way so I’m conscripting your forces you're going to act as my liaison” Shock grips his face “What do you mean” I step forward to get in his face as unfortunately, I can’t tower over him so I add a slight snarl to my voice “I own you and your men so you’ll do as I say or I’ll string you up to a lamp post now relay for all of them to muster out here unless they are on a base in which case they will load up everything and rally here”
He gulps and does as I say and ten minutes later hundreds of men are lined up. I stand before them “If you thought our attack was bad then prepare to be dropped right into hell because a large nato army is on its way and we need to destroy it. Now we can’t do that effectively with civilians in the way so you all will search every building and escort them to the vast bunker complex below the city. Split into groups of four and an Elysium soldier will make the fifth and be your group leader”
It only takes an hour to get everything sorted and the squads sent out. I’m surprised they all listed but I’ll take my wins when I get them. I radio over to the engineers who I had stay behind “I want this entire plaza to be one fortress get artillery positions ready and ammo stores you know the drill”
A few hours later civilians are streaming by to enter the bunker and Ivan has disclosed the other entrances so they can be opened for now to help evacuate people. We’ll seal them later. This is when I got the unbelievable news. “General there is a pyroclastic wall headed in your direction”
My mind reels “As in a volcano erupted near us” I ask “Uh not exactly see our mission is complete and one thing led to another and the entire ring of fire is on fire” How the fuck did four no five guys manage this. “I left you guys unsupervised for less than a day and you caused the apocalypse” I sigh “How long until the earliest projections” I wait a moment “A day maybe two but the ash cloud will probably be the bigger problem”
Fuck I have an army marching to kill me and now I don’t have air support. “Noted get back once you can bring as many rations and gas masks as you can” Jed acknowledges and the line goes dead.
Over the next hours and day and a half, I watch sectors of the city get marked clear of civilians and somehow we got them all below that would listen. Those who refused to get to shelter were warned that until the NATO army is broken and scattered they will receive no help and may get caught in the crossfire. Still, they stayed. I had what spare Russian guns and ammo we could live without sent out to them so they could at least defend themselves.
Zombie Bate has returned and informed me that there are two main groups. The one that will hit first seemed to have all the outdated equipment while the slightly smaller second wave has the new toys. The numbers surprise me. One million troops. On the conservative side.
I know my forces strength by heart but I look again anyway. Less than two thousand. I offer a prayer to Spero to help me convince the Russian soldiers to fight with me then step out from my command tent.
I surveyed the area and am satisfied that only more time would let us fortify further and we did all we could in the time we had. I see that all the conscripts are eating with my men and some groups are laughing. It seems everyone is around this area.
I walk to a parked tank specifically Sherman’s as many of mine are in defensive positions. I climb on top and crank my speakers up. I clear my throat to get everyone's attention “As you all know a NATO army is on its way. Luckily we were able to get the civilians to safety… that is one worry out of the way. I have just got the estimate on how many soldiers we will be facing. Men of the 104th we will be outnumbered 500 to one. I fear we may need more ammo”
I sigh then continue “We can not do this alone we are cut off with no air support and a wave of destruction is coming from behind, brothers in arms of the Russian military join us in the defense of your motherland help us protect your families”
I pause and quickly think of a verse to add “Take our hand extended in comradery and join us among the stars… join us so that we may crush those bastards under our boots and grind them under our treads. I have no intention of dying here but instead to lay waste to the enemies of the fatherland and his friends”
I guess that did the job because many are now standing and cheering including Russian soldiers. I’m about to climb down when my visor shatters and everything goes black.
No no no no this can’t be happening not yet. I’m briefly blinded by light but once my vision clears I look around. I’m in a Perfect green field with beautiful flowers everywhere and the temperature is perfect and the sun is just the right luminosity.
Fuck I’ve passed through the gate of eternity and entered Elysium. “Not quite” I look around again looking for the voice and spot a white pergola a short distance away. “Come have some tea you're a most interesting person”
With only a little apprehension and suspicion I approach. The book Yorm gave me told me about this place. We’ll not this place I think but one similar as well as who resides here. The two visibly inhuman pillars Nyx and Casper.
I climb the few steps and find two figures sitting at a quaint table with a single open seat. “Please sit. As you may have gathered I am Nyx” he gives a slight bow. He's wearing a top hat and a nice suit with an ornate cane resting next to him. On his face is a crystal monical. But none of that is really important.
His eyes have a bright slightly glowing gold with black inside of white around. His skin is a seaweed green and he has tentacles above his mouth. Honestly, he looks similar to a mind flayer or Cthulhu.
He gestures to the other figure “And this is Casper” Casper is wearing a trench coat and vest beneath it but again it’s not as important as the fact he has what many refer to as a plague doctor mask. Only I’ve been told his is his actual face which explains the red gems in the eyes.
I stuff all of that aside and sit and sip the tea which is divine. And that’s saying something as I’m a coffee enthusiast. “Thank you for the hospitality” Nyx waves dismissively “Think nothing of it. Thank you for indulging in our curiosity”
I nod and take another sip noting how it never got any lower “I have several questions if I may” they both nod “Of course it's only natural” I smile and set down my cup “Why am I brought before the pillar of death” I look at Casper “and the pillar of the mind” I look back to Nyx.
Casper speaks up “Well you are here because you were shot in the face. Normally you would pass to the actual afterlife that Nyx and Spero built but there is something the pillars would ask of you”
I nod taking it all in barely. “Can you tell me what I was shot with first if it’s no trouble” Casper smiles… somehow “Of course, Nyx” Nyx seems to look unfocused for a moment then speaks “You were shot by a Barrett M82a2 fifty caliber rifle firing a high velocity armor piercing incendiary”
I can’t help but have my eyes go wide. “Thank you… now what is asked of me” Casper speaks “The pillars voted a while ago to appoint a saint… with only one vote against there has since then been much deliberation. Yorm came up but he’s technically a sentinel and briefly, it was discussed to have a sentinel but it would run counter to their purpose. So that brings us to you, Miss Tanya Rex. I will say what you will gain for accepting has not yet been fully decided upon but a few main points have been settled on would you like to hear them”
Still wide-eyed, I nod “The first point is so long as your faith is pure you have my protection second you must always fight to defend humanity. And lastly, you must spread the faith” Nyx added a tidbit “I can feel how hungry your mind is for knowledge so I offer my mark. You will no longer dream but instead, come here where you can ask what you want”
I blink a few times and take a drink gathering myself. Never did I imagine this. Finally, after long moments, I utter “If I accept… and the pillars add more requirements what happens then” Casper nods a few times “They would be run past you of course. think if it like a contract, one can not alter it without the others permission”
I look down for a moment then back to them “Does the mark have to be visible” Nyx strokes his tentacles like a beard “I suppose technically” I begin to grin a wolffish grin and continue “What’s the fifty done to my face” they glance to one another and Casper shrugs and answers “you’ll be missing a eye… permanently it won’t be able to be regrown and you’ll have some burn scars”
My grin widens slightly “alright then… I accept to both and as for the mark can you make the burn scars form it” They nod “As you wish then good luck with your conquest”
Everything snaps back and I feel that I’m falling backward my neck hurts and my face definitely feels on fire with bits of my visor stuck in it. My ears are ringing and I hear shouting and a few gunshots. I hit the ground hard and lay there a moment before I groan and roll over pulling my helmet off.
The inside is coated in blood. I spit some out as men surround me and several medics kneel next to me. “General are you alright” I look at him “Son do I look like I’m alright I got shot in the face by a fifty now pack my eye and give me something for the burn” They lean me against the tank tread pod.
They dab my face cleaning it and I see through everyone around me Sherman who’s eyes are huge. “Tell me someone got that bastard” someone speaks up “I believe Major Griffin was on it” I close my eye. It’ll be in good hands… probably.
“General I need it inspect your orbital socket please hold still” I grit my teeth as he begins to poke around and shine a light in. After a few painful minutes, he stops. “Looks like a spiderweb fracture inside there… You lucky it didn’t go through” he begins to pull a lot of assorted supplies out.
“Morph for the pain. It’ll be a light dose just enough to take the edge off but not enough to send you to happy land, also some meds for your head I’m amazed you're not concussed but I’m not taking any chances” he injects the cocktail in and I feel the pain ease off.
Next, he applies a burn ointment then packs my eye, and wraps my head. “All done mam” I lean my head back against the tread pod for a moment. Then I begin to stand up the medic jumping in to help. “Do me a favor and nab me a grunt” he nods and moves off. Sherman sidles up once everyone clears out to check the perimeter again.
“That’ll scar nice” I nod with a grin “You recognize it” I ask “A mark of Nyx I guess you also met Cass seeing as you're still standing… cheater” I chuckle “That’s enough out of you. Anyway I have your assignment, you're on quick reaction I’m also going to have archangels command squad and zombie bate as they both have the most experience with that tasking” Sherman nods
A short while later Griffin is back with two men in the back of a puma. At this point I have that grunt I asked for picking up my visor fragments, I have a plan for them. Griffin drops them at my feet outside my command tent. “Griffin you get bonus points for taking them alive” I crouch down next to one and check them over. Missing part of his leg and a shattered Hand the other has what I first assumed was a gut shot. “Jed you speak Americanese right” he nods
“Good you stay put with the medics as they work on them… make sure they survive the wave. If they seem lucid go ahead and ask them questions I’d recommend starting off with harmless stuff like sports or something”
He nods and I stand up then I leave the group.
I meander back to the command tent and the grunt that the medic grabbed walked up to me holding a pouch “Here’s all the fragments mam” I take it and nod “Thank you now go get some rest keep your bucket on” he nods and scurries off.
I sit at the table in the command tent the pouch and my helmet are resting on it. I go to look over where I’ve placed units and the overall forces when I simply pass out and slump on the table.
