Ceres Genna's Story

As Aschen stacked up to prepare the breach with Duncan, he was pulling up the rear of the squad and barking into his comms-bead. “This is Duncan, I’m with the HN’s at the back of the Mansion. We’re breaching the cellar, lads!” He shouted to the rest of Alpha 2-1, who were busy preventing any approach by whatever was left of the insurgents fighting on the south lawn.

It appeared that most had either been killed or fled, a few seen tossing their weapons down as they disappeared into a dense tree line of forest that ran along the outskirts of the port city. There was the occasional snap of gunfire from the Exogarden marines, another bark of returning fire or the occasional scream of a man being hit somewhere deep within the woods as they retreated.

Across the lawn of the Governor’s Mansion, Alpha platoon had gathered and concentrated on the seized trench, giving covering fire to the Aschen and Duncan. Pasters and Rattaglio had moved up with their SAW-429s, both in the trench beside one another as the marines lay strewn throughout. “Anyone seen the fuckin’ commander?” Pasters finally asked, turning his chest on the lip of the trench. Rattaglio lay down the trench with a radio pack draped on a post of the trench next to him.

“I ain’t seen him since we railed this line - did Staff Sergeant say he’s with fucking hosties?” Rattaglio barked down to the trench. Private Yechezkel was beside him, holding his rifle up against his chest while pressed against the trench.

“What the fuck’s Sarge doing jumping around with fucking Aschen - are they up to something?” The Private barked, adjusting the brim of his helmet as a Specialist down the line racked the pump of his spent grenade launcher before holding up a 42mm shell.

“Bro, if we just invaded Aschen space I’m going to fucking laugh.” Specialist Sergej remarked, kneeling down in the trench as he began to feed a shell into the launcher. “How do you say ‘stay on the fucking ground’ in anquietas?”

“We didn’t fucking invade Aschen space, Indy - “ Pasters grunted as he hauled the SAW-429 and adjusted it against the trench. “Or at least, I’m pretty sure we didn’t.”


Duncan dropped his machine carbine into his sling and reached up to take his helmet free of his head. As the Aschen put their strobes together, the Staff Sergeant pulled free a pair of goggles from his helmet and drew them over his face, covering his head with a fabric cowl in his uniform. “Mind all the lights, boys. Remember, green is friendly this time aye?” Duncan remarked, drawing the daisy chained grenades together and giving them a spin before sticking down onto the door as it activated.

Ducking off to the side, Duncan grabbed his MP-24 and readied for the entry. When the grenades blasted with a wave of heat, it peeled through the metal door with a fizzle of of hot white and blue that burned a sizeable hole into the cellar. Duncan stepped down first into staircase it dropped down into, giving the Aschen a driving hand forward as he did.

The cellar stepped down into a deep complex underneath the mansion that Duncan and the Aschen had just blown their way into, on a corner where a marine was found behind a sandbag position.

Lance Corporal Patrick Madrolus laid the G4 down on the sandbags, pointing down the long hall of the bunker. “Holy shit! Where the fuck have you guys been? The Commander’s down in the comms bunk!” Just as he did, the insurgents strung out in a few last positions let of a snap of gunfire that made Duncan crawl into a nook of the bunker wall before unleashing a shower of fire from his machine carbine for the Aschen and Madrolus to attack. Down the tunnel, another sandbag position snapped off rifle fire, another marine firing off his G4K1 battle rifle into the insurgents.

The group of Aschen Marines stacked up near the door, but behind some cover so they wouldn't be burned by the heat from the daisy chained plasma grenades. The grenade detonated in a bloom of superheated plasma, and a concussive thermal shockwave that announced their arrival. Aventus, with his wound took point as Decurion gestured he move in after Duncan, the two Senior Corporals immediately followed, with the sergeant immediately behind them, into the hole, their strobes flashing and illuminating the dark cellar interior.

The rattle of gunfire startled Specialist Aventus, as several rounds struck the concrete next to his head. He ducked suddenly, before he started to run back the way he came.

"Frak this, i'm out of here!" The Specialist called out, but was abruptly stopped as the sergeant grabbed him by his plate carrier, and swung him around behind some sandbags.

"Too soon to run, get your shit together and concentrate on that position!" Decurion shouted, raising his disruptor rifle and firing a dozen shots down the tunnel at the insurgent, one bolt struck the concrete wall, splattering the insurgent with molten concrete, the Sergeant took the brief moment of disorientation to loose two more green streaks downrange, illuminating the hallway in green light, and peppering the insurgent's position as Kalfkos took position behind a support pillar.

"Delta Team, this is Actual." Admiral Genna's voice chimed in Decurion's earpiece, causing him to pause abruptly and press himself against the hallway. "Be advised, I've got technicals approaching your position, there's at least a dozen coming up the main road, your new friends are fixing to get overwhelmed."

Decurion frowned, and then turned to Duncan. "They're coming up the main road with reinforcements! Whatever we're here to do, we gotta do it quick!" The Aschen Sergeant called out, ducking from a few rounds striking the concrete while tapping his earpiece.

"Can you slow them down?" He called out.

"I'll see what I can do, Actual out." Genna replied, and Decurion grimaced for a moment. "Tell your boys to hunker down and cover their ears, I don't like where this is going."

Aboard the Far Sight Lost...

Admiral Genna watched quietly as a column of crude armored vehicles, and technicals moved up the battered road, under cover of destroyed buildings, and bombed out overpasses. She noted they seemed to be heading up towards the Governor's mansion, and highlighted the interface.

"Right, EVE, Salvo fire, one third charge."

"Acknowledged, Admiral." EVE replied.

High in the sky, the Reverence II looming over the city slowly began to yaw to the left, turning on it's axis to orient itself somewhat facing the Governor's mansion, a trio of turbodisruptor batteries on the ventral side of the ship's bulbous prow swiveled to life.

It fired roughly eight times, sending hot plasma down along the main road where the Technicals were advancing, the impacts of each bolt shook the city, and caused flames to plume high into the sky, sending debris, molten shrapnel, and destroyed cars flying in all directions, and forcing the insurgent caravan to scatter.

Inside the bunker, the ground shook six times, almost like a powerful earthquake that rocked the mansion, causing dirt, and debris to fall from the ceiling, and Decurion to hold his helmet.

"Shit... that frakking Reverence!" He called out.

"How deep's this thing go? Because I think it's about to heat up topside."