"Keep firing!" The Captain shouted over the howl of Omar's cannon as the advance group approached the edge of the trenches. Hera raised her hand again, this time in an open palm. "Ah that's my cue!" The big man said, "please stand back, do not stand behind me my friends, and perhaps cover your ears." He grinned as he took his finger off the trigger and placed the cannon gently on the ground next to him, the Thralls scattered from around him, giving him room as he busied himself and put his helmet back over his bearded head. He raised his right leg high in the air and slammed it down into the ground, doing the same with his left after providing himself with a stable platform as large clamps on his armoured boots thumped down into the ground, anchoring him down in the baked dirt. The two large artillery pieces on his back unlocked and unfolded until they were angled over his shoulders. The long tubes twitched in the air as he extended his arm out, directing the angle of the cannons by pointing with the index finger on his enormous armoured fist. He gave his arms few sweeps to test they were tracking properly before nodding and aiming toward the trenches.
The technology was impressive, the man was a walking mobile weapons platform. The human commander closed her fist and Omar fired, two massive blasts created huge black smoke rings at the barrel of each cannon as superheated projectiles flew through the air at supersonic speed. They arced over the battlefield towards the trenches, splintering into a thousand pieces as they descended on the enemy before crashing to the ground once more. They blanketed the ground with explosions as the human advance team split. All fire stopped from the bunker and trenches as the air filled with smoke and dust and the occasional body part from the less dug-in Pirates.
Before anything could settle down the Hephaestus advance team jumped into the trench and began clearing it of the sheltering pirates. The three hammer wielding behemoths of Li Sasha and John split up to take a trench each, their shields folded away as their leader in white armour kept back, seemingly content to observe their progress. They went about their job with a ruthless precision, almost mechanical as they moved through the trench network. The hammers where a terrifying weapon, almost unnecessarily so. "What do you think of my brothers and sisters Captain?" Boomed the Giant, smiling down at the Thralls.
"How do the hammers work Omar? I mean humans are strong but those impacts" he winced as a sickening crunch echoed back to them and a pirate went flying fully twenty metres up out of the trenches through the air as Sasha's hammer caught him in and upward swing.
"Well my friend, I am no scientist, merely a humble weapons specialist" his eyes twinkled as he feigned being as conceit, "it is my understanding that they manipulate the effects of force of an impact." He stroked his beard as two more pirates went skidding across no-mans land, nothing but a collection of broken bones. "It works as a multiplier, the harder you hit, the more the hammer multiplies the damage. In my most basic of opinions it works on manipulating densities in the hammer's head. But of course" he smiled to himself watching Sasha squash a defender into the ground "I could merely be making this up."
The Captain nodded, and watched in horrified pleasure as the hammers wrought terrible damage amongst the pirates. Suddenly the white armoured leader Hera moved, she was like a lightning bolt, superhumanly quick she moved towards Li's position where three defenders had managed to slip behind him and were moving on assaulting him from behind. Before they reached the armoured giant though Hera was on them, a lethal curved blade had slid from the forearm of her armour. In a move that looked like it belonged in a dance hall rather than warfare the female leader leapt, spinning gracefully in the air from the trench she had been running down over the wall of earth to perfectly decapitate one of the pirates in a rippling backhanded slash as she landed in Li's trench. Before either of the other two had time to react or even turn around Hera had crushed one's throat in her armoured left hand and the other was skewered through by the blade attached to her right and like that she had hopped back away to a position where she could watch all three again in relative safety. It was vicious, it was efficient, it was beautiful and the captain couldn't help but smile a grim smile when he saw it.
The team were getting closer and closer to the bunker, which had begun to rain fire down onto them again, although most of the slag shots missed their targets which were covered by the defenders own trenches. Li and Sasha who were slightly closer to the bunker had been hit a couple of times, their armour practically shrugged the melted shots of though, causing very little damage at all apart from some mild abrasions, this being said there was always the possibility of a stray shot hitting something integral. He made a quick decision.
"OK fire team, let's move up to the forward crater, try and draw their fire away from the advance team." He looked up at Omar who was nodding approvingly "Omar would you rather you joined us or held ground here." The giant shook his head.
"If it is a target you require then there is non better than Omar." He smiled and slapped his chest again "Go Thralls, I shall follow" he said as he pulled his feet out of the ground and his back mounted cannons folded themselves away. The captain nodded.
"Ok, thralls on me, we go in two groups, second group will hold here and lay down covering fire as the first makes their way across then first group will cover our crossing, then we will all provide cover for Omar here."
"You are too kind Captain" the big man boomed, attempting a theatrical bow in his enormous armour and coming up short.
"Right then, teams ready up, first team, led by Jonas there, second team led by me. On my order, good luck everyone." He took a look around, the first running team collected below the lip of the crater watching him, ready to run. "Covering fire!" He roared and was replied with the howling shriek of Omar's cannon along with the hiss of his troops gauss cannons. "Now" he pointed at the runners who set off, hitting full pace almost instantly. This time none of them burst into flames, as the moment any Pirate started to shoot they were either incinerated or forced to take cover by the incinerating beam from the human support weapon, as well as the fact that their forces were becoming depleted now as the strike team made their way through the last of the trench system.
The running team piled into the forward crater and quickly took up firing. "Will you be alright without us?" The captain smiled at Omar innocently.
"Somehow Captain, I think I shall survive. Run fast though" he grinned toothily back at him.
"Second team, on my mark!" The howling of the cannon took up again "Now!" And he was off, it felt good to run, to through caution to the wind, to escape the crater and feel the air rush through his feathers as his legs carried him at full tilt through no-mans land and over the lip of the forward crater, barrelling in with his team to land in a crumpled heap before quickly pulling themselves up to the edge as they joined the first team in supporting Omar's advance. He raised his arm and the big man stopped firing to lock the cannon into a slot on his back, hefting his helmet off the earth nearby and onto his bald head. He turned to them and began walking. The weight of his armour meant he couldn't run, unlike his colleagues in the forward strike team, however the size of his gait moved him quick enough. He was a tempting target to the pirates across the field however and without the hammering of his cannon they found the courage to push their guns through the bunker's firing holes and begin to take aim at him as he walked methodically across the blasted landscape.
"Covering fire!" The captain yelled, but the hiss of the Gauss rifles didn't have the same effect as Omar's and the slag shots roared out at the giant increasingly. The first shot hit him and the Captain winced, the giant however didn't even noticed and continued to walk almost nonchalantly as more and more bolts splashed against his armour. The slag simply couldn't even dent the Human engineering and the pirates quickly realised this. Two explosive shots blasted the earth near the giant, followed quickly by three more as shrapnel and earth battered against him yet still he walked on, completely unfazed by a positive arsenal of weaponry being turned against him. Suddenly an explosive shot crashed against his helmet and covered him in smoke. The Captain gasped, as did several Thralls who had been glancing over, yet out of the smoke walked Omar, his pace unchanged, his demeanour identical and as he grew closer they could hear that he was in fact whistling as he walked. It was a sunny tune, full of nonchalance and warmth as another explosion thumped against his chest plate. As he marched inexorably towards the forward crater, his whistling turning into song.
"Someeeewheeerrrrreeeee over the rain bowwwww,
Bluuuuuue biiiirrrrdds fllllyyyyyyy,
Therrrrrrrre's aaaaaa land that I dreamed of,
Once in a luuuuullaaaaabyyyyyyy"
His heavily accented bass voice rolled sweetly over the troops as several more explosions thumped into him, not even throwing him off key let alone off balance. It was impossible not to cheer as the giant marched his way over the lip of the crater. He removed his helmet and grinned at them, ending his song with an elaborate bow. "Shall we get back to it then?" He boomed and was received with another cheer, the Thralls taking up their fire again with renewed vigour. The Captain shook his head and smiled at the big man as he hefted his cannon back into his hands and unleashed it's screaming beam from their stronger position in front of the bunker.
***
The strike team had made their way through the trenches now, with their commander mopping up the last of the pirates with a ruthless efficiency. Not a single target was left breathing in the whole defensive network. This only left the bunker now, which was still a formidable objective, though the commander smiled to see her allies behind her had taken up a more forward position on the field and were now battering any enemy that attempted to fire on their position.
The bunker itself was too solid for them too cause any damage externally, even Omar's Fusion cannon would take days to burn through its outer wall and no doubt the windows would have one way shielding to protect from grenade fire. She sighed, if she had more time she would have liked to have cleared it personally, but this flank was already falling behind the main advance and she couldn't risk allowing the advance to turn like that or the whole offensive would go out of whack and she'd end up being called up in front of a tribunal.
'How the hell are they so well-funded out here?' She thought. There was half a Republic legion deployed on this rock, more troops than had been put into action in over fifty years. She cartwheeled over a trench as she thought, her blade moving through the thick skull of a screaming Pirate without even the slightest hint of resistance. They should have squashed any resistance hours after the offensive began, yet here they still were, bogged down in the muck. She couldn't let them be bogged down any further though. She sighed then grimaced in her helmet as a lucky slag round caught her in the back.
"Li, Sasha, John" she called through the suit vox as she sliced the creature that had shot her from neck to leg "Form up at the base of the hill. We're calling Zeus."
***
From the ridge of the crater the Captain watched as the last of the pirates in the trenches were dispatched by the white-armoured human, in what could only be described as a gymnastic performance. The Thralls were keeping up their fire on the bunker, although it was mostly the giant human next to them who was have ing the most effect at pinning the enemy. THe forward strike team had gathered at the base of the hill beneath the bunker, but weren't advancing. "What are they..." He began but then the leader, after a few quick words with her larger companions turned to Omar and signalled for him to put his helmet on. The big man frowned but did as he was ordered, hefting it onto his head. What followed was clearly a heated conversation, although Omar had switched off his suit's vox relay and so all the Thralls could see was the emphatic movements of the man's head as he argued. After a short time the argument was clearly over as he slammed one foot into the ground and then his shoulders slumped and he nodded, the commander ahead of them turned back to her troop. Omar removed his helmet, his cheeks slightly flushed now beneath his thick beard.
"Well my friends, it appears the reveries of the day are to be brought to a premature halt." He forced a smile from behind the thick black hair but his eyes looked tired. The group looked at him in confusion "I was all for drawing this out, giving you chaps and chapesses a shot at rushing the bunker, making them pay for the lives they stole here, but our fearless leader Hera wants otherwise." He said the words fearless leader with a slightly snide look on his face.
"I'm sorry, so what is happening? Are we retreating?" Asked the captain incredulously. Baffled the giant looked down at him.
"Retreating? Heavens no my friend! Quite the opposite, we are ending this joyous day in fire and light. Hera is calling in Our father Zeus." The captain looked at Omar for a second then said
"I'm sorry but I have honestly got no idea what you are talking about Omar. What does this mean?"
"It means, my feathered compatriot, that you and your troops should take cover. You have nothing to fear so long as you stay low." With that he replaced his helmet and dropped the cannon to the ground. Marching forward he signalled to Hera down at the foot of the bunker. The strike team began to pull back from where they stood, the three larger humans still facing the bunker and Hera guiding them through the trenches. The pirates, seeing this and no longer hampered by Omar's cannon took up firing again, belching smoke and slag down at them. "Take cover thralls, I cannot guarantee your safety at this distance." He boomed over the sound of slag rifles.
"Hello weapons officer Omar, Hera tells us you would like control of the orbital Zeus platform, is this correct?" Came a polite voice in Omar's ear
"Yes Hub that's right. And I want to go on record as having said that I am wholeheartedly against this course of action. It's fucking barbaric and Hera is a coward for pushing this."
"My apologies Omar, however it is vital that this flank not be left behind the main approach. The fighting is intense in the centre and they have a significant amount of reserves including several Titan class mobile fortresses. If you do not carry out this action then we shall simply action this remotely, though that is not preferable as you yourselves may then fall under the possible casualties." The voice was soothing yet confident, yet it did little to placate the big man.
"I know, I have had it explained to me." He replied venomously. "Those are my thoughts. As I said, I want the record to show that this is an abhorrent course of action and that the blame here falls entirely to Hera. I will carry it out out of respect." He replied with a finality.
"The Zeus platform is en route, you will have control for thirty seconds. I assume this will be sufficient?" Omar sighed before straightening.
"It is sufficient" he growled.
"Thank you for your compliance Omar. The platform will be required back at the main front as soon as you are finished. Good luck, is there anything else you need today?"
"No Hub, please let me know when the platform is overhead."
"Happy hunting, twenty seconds." The voice cut out. Omar adjusted his suit settings to integrate with the incoming weapon platform and then waited as his strike team pulled back.
"Thralls, please fall back to the base of the crater, get as low as you can and we shall march on together once this day is won." He looked down at the captain, his helmet concealing the sad grimace he made as he met the bird's eyes. The captain for his part looked back at him in bewilderment then shrugged as a slag round whizzed past their heads.
"We are right behind you Omar." The big man nodded, turning back to watch the battlefield. Looking up at him, wreathed in smoke as he stood unflinching in the fire and explosions it was hard for the Captain not to be in awe, slag bolts splashing uselessly against his armour, explosive rounds thumping against his unmoving chest not even causing him to flinch. The engineering work in that suit was astonishing he thought to himself. This was Humanity, shining beacons against the blackness that rode in against them, they swept in and plucked you from the darkest situations and led you to the light. He smiled to himself as he hustled the last of his men into the bottom of the crater, excited despite himself to see this final At that moment Omar raised his right hand in silence, pointing at the bunker and for the first time in that day he felt genuine fear shiver up through him.
"Thralls get down!" The giant boomed and then the sky split open.
Down in the trenches the four other humans immediately crouched, huddled together as a split second later the most perfect thunderbolt was hurled from the sky to connect with the earth in a cataclysmic, shrieking explosion. The bunker almost immediately disappeared in blinding white light as earth and fire was flung into the air where the vast electrical current connected. the feathers on all the Thralls stood on end, quivering and bristling as they huddled at the bottom of the crater. Omar stood above them, wreathed in a perfect white light, he was nothing more than a jet black silhouette standing in stoic silence as a thunder roared at a constant level over the battlefield.
This was no usual lightning bolt, if a normal bolt was the branch on a tree, then this was the tree trunk. It was impossibly thick and perfectly still as it obliterated all traces of the enemy position. Rolling, deafening thunder masked all other senses, it was in their ears, in their skin, covering their taste buds as it shook their bones and their very souls to the core. A melting, ferocious heat radiated back, scorching the earth and tearing at their heavy metal armour suits which bristled with conductivity as their onboard systems desperately tried to dampen themselves. And still Omar stood, pointing at the bunker, a giant metal golem bringing the fury of the gods down to crush any who would stand against them. Thirty seconds felt like an age as all trace of the fortified position was removed, eviscerated from existence by the vast electrical bolt, sheer force overwhelming all else.
And suddenly, as fast as lightning is reputed to be, it was over. The vast bolt simply ended, a high pitch shriek tailing off into the booming thunder as that too rolled away in an almost natural diminuendo. All that was left of the bunker was a glowing scorch mark in the earth. Omar dropped his hand and stood motionless, looking out over the blasted dirt. The heat was still radiating out as he stood there, his suit atmosphere unit humming loudly as it worked to keep him cool. He stood, breathing slowly as he watched Hera and the other three make their way back over the cooked ground towards him.
As they arrived at the top of the crater's edge he slowly turned for the first time to look down into the hole.
"Is this what we are then Hera?" He asked softly, gesturing at the small collection of blackened bones and ash that had moments before been their compatriots.
"Omar get back in line, I heard what you told the Hub"
"Good" the big man replied softly, not taking his eyes from the charred uniform of the captain at the front. "So this is Humanity then is it Hera? This is how you would have us be? Shining saviours in White Armour" he rounded on her then, his voice rising in anger and disgust. "Saviours in white armour until we hit a fucking deadline. Tell me, oh great and noble leader of mine, what is the fucking point in taking this rock if we lose all our friends and allies along the way?"
"Their losses were deemed acceptable to..." She began, but the giant roared in response.
"Deemed acceptable? Acceptable Hera? You arrogant, self-righteous waste of a goddamn brain! Do you even hear yourself?" The other three were watching the exchange in silence. "How dare you, how fucking dare you, no losses are acceptable Hera do you hear me? No losses. Not when they are our friends."
"Omar you will get back in line or you will be disciplined." Hera shouted, trying to regain her composure as the big man towered over her.
"Oh discipline away" he waved a big hand as though swatting her comment like a fly. He took a long pause before going on, his voice now tired "if this is to be our role in the galaxy then I do not want, nor shall I take any further part in it" he turned from her and stepped down into the crater. Reaching down amongst the collection of blackened bones he pulled the charred badge from the sleeve of the captain's ruined jacket and placed it in a storage compartment by his leg. "We should have been better than this, I am sorry my friend" he whispered, before turning and striding away, out into the whirling dust.
