Sgt. Edwin Ambroz sat in the dim red glare of the ZH-47 cabin lights, cramped between his squadmates and their Black Eagle anti-tank system. Through the window to his left, he could see the sunset’s glare reflecting off the whitecaps of the Tau Sea beneath the 23rd Combat Aviation Brigade.
A few kilometres ahead of Edwin, the RAH-96s of the 23rd and 22nd brigades would be reaching their engagement point, and if all went well they would eliminate enemy radar coverage for their compatriots. To his left, Cpl. Akner was muttering an inaudible prayer. If Edwin didn’t know the man the way he did, he might’ve been worried. That fucker prayed over everything.
The cabin lurched suddenly as the troop lift maneuvered closer to the deck, skimming a mere 10 metres off the water towards shore. The shore came into view as they banked towards the LZ, flashes of light popping into the dusk as missiles from the RAH-96s found their marks. Above them, the attack helicopters surged ahead to secure the LZ, close enough he could feel the rotor wash through the fuselage.
“Five minutes,” the staff sergeant yelled over the noise of the rotor.
“Final checks!”
Edwin found himself counting second by second, half waiting for SAMs to swat their bird out of the air. Forty-five, forty-six, forty-seven seconds.
He tightened his helmet strap as the helicopter banked again.
“Finch 4, contacts near LZ. Engage, over.”
“Finch 4 wilco.”
Rifles were checked and double-checked.
Around the LZ, flashes of fire and tracers cut through the growing darkness.
“LZ is green.” The radio crackled briefly.
“Two minutes!”
Edwin began triple-checking his equipment. A streak of gunfire cracked past the window, and Edwin's face smashed into the Black Eagle as the helicopter jerked to the right to avoid it.
“Contact left, tank!” came a shout from the cockpit.
“Engaging!”
A few seconds later the AH-95s were on the hostile, ripping into it with autocannons and missiles. The fuselage of the helicopter rattled and groaned as they came around on the LZ, dropping and flaring for a second before the whole formation slammed onto the ground almost simultaneously.
“Chalk 3! Go! Go! Go!”
The rear ramp fell open onto the ground, and Edwin sprinted out of the bird carrying his section of the Black Eagle. His fireteam rushed after him with the rest, as the ZH-47 rapidly lifted off behind them. Relying on their exosuits to support the heavy equipment, they quickly pushed through the brownout towards the hill overlooking the harbor.
Edwin and his fireteam cleared the ridge in about 2 minutes, followed by another infantry team that established a defensive perimeter around the Black Eagle. A deep roar filled the air as 60 of the strangest boats he’d ever seen started up their engines to flee the assault.
His headset clicked before the staff sergeant came on again.
“Charlie two-dash-two fireteams, engage surface vessels! Over!”
Edwin thumbed the laser designator as a missile was loaded into the anti-tank system, bringing it to center on one of the nearer monsters, which Edwin realized with a jolt of surprise were ekranoplans.
“Bravo ready.”
The answering calls came in quick succession from the other teams.
“Alpha ready.”
“Charlie ready.”
“Delta ready.”
“Triggers free.”
Four points of light leapt out of the bushes on the ridge, jerkily bee-lining it for the harbour. A few seconds later, the other squads began firing wave after wave of anti-tank missiles towards the ekranoplans. The onboard CIWS kicked into action, shooting down as many as it could before they began to leak through. After the third wave of missiles, Edwin looked at the sky behind him to see several lines of missiles incoming towards the harbor.
For a brief few seconds, the ekranoplans sprayed a furious line of tracers into the sky above the harbour, desperately attempting to intercept the lines of missiles. One, two, three explosions flared in the air, before one of the missiles pierced the stitching of tracer rounds and an ekranoplan detonated with a massive thundercrack, leaving Edwin’s ears ringing. The rest fell in quick succession, their air defense systems reeling from the sudden chaos.
On top of the hill, Edwin let out his breath. The harbor below flickered and danced with burning oil slicks, as the remains of the beasts drifted across the surface. The screams of burning sailors permeated the air, making Edwin involuntarily turn up his headset. No rescue would be coming for them until much later.
“Charlie two-dash-two, objectives secure. Stand down and await follow-on tasking.”
Across the bay, a large formation of attack helos swept inland to secure the garrison. For Fireteam Bravo, the battle was over.
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