Moving right along folks! Before you ask, yes, I'm making up for being gone for months.

Children of Earth

Casualties, Part 2

Once back at the base and being healed by a crystal dragon, McLintock looks over the strategic display. The elves had them surrounded, they had air power covering them but it wouldn't be enough. The elves were hitting him with a whole shit ton of stuff and he didn't have the firepower to deal with it with those shields of theres. There was only one thing to do. "Starbase, call out all air power." He orders. He looks to one of the operators. "Deploy Medusa."

The operator gasps a bit and heads come up around the room. "Sir? Is that necessary?" Medusa was a last ditch effort because it was unknown if it would work. Medusa was a high powered EMP device that could blanket a three hundred square mile area when dropped from orbit. It wasn't used during wars on Earth partly because it was in development and partly because major nations had shielded equipment in their militaries. It was meant to take out things like cities and small third world nations without sending in soldiers.

McLintock shrugs. "Our equipment is shielded. At the very least it'll take down those damned shields for a few moments and allow us to get in hits on their generator vehicles." McLintock knows the cliff he's standing on the edge of. This would open the elves to use their own WMDs.

"Yes sir." the operator says. "All units, this is bravo command. Deactivate all unshielded devices. Medusa in five minutes."

McLintock takes one last look at the map. At least the drive to the front wouldn't take long. He's lost half his men in the area, but he's had to fall back halfway to the base. The line is still strong. As he turns, dots denoting aircraft head out of the area. The EMP would effect all but the EW craft, who have shielding against these things.

It's a short walk over to the medic tent. He pokes his head in and smiles at Diamond. "Ah, Colonel." She says, waving a hand at Cynder. "I was about to send for you on her behalf." She says, and then steps back a ways.

McLintock walks over to Cynder and grins. "How ya doin?" He asks. Cynder rolls onto her side. She was nude from the waist up but a soldier on the battlefield hardly cares about that during a battle.

"Thank you McLintock." She says. "I'd have been made a prisoner or a slave to the elves if you hadn't have gotten me." She looks down. "Spyro wasn't so lucky."

McLintock nods. "The fleet has the planet blockaded. If they try to get him off, they'll be intercepted and he'll be retaken. If not, we'll find him on world." He offers a hand, which she takes and gets up, fully healed thanks to the magics of crystal dragons. Combat medics and combat engineers have one or two assigned with them to heal and repair on the battlefield. "Let's get back out there." He says. Cynder grins and starts getting back into her armor.

Five minutes later, most of the engines on the Bradleys were shut down. As a result, they were taking very heavy fire. Then a bright spark appears over the center of the base and spreads out quickly in a crackling shockwave of electricity that makes no noise. Radio chatter mutes, a few lights in the base that aren't a part of the US' equipment goes out, as well as one US radar system. As it sweeps out over the battlefield, the elves stop and stare at it, several taking hits as the unphased US troops shoot, getting the rest to take cover. The blue shields before the tanks flicker, then fail entirely.

"All right!" comes the call over McLintock's radio as he rides to the front on Cynder's back. "The shields are down!"

McLintock is right on the ball. "All units! Hit em with everything you've got!" The artillery in the base flashes as it fires on enemy targets in view from the base. Cynder lands behind human lines and McLintock drops off. As Cynder leaps into the air, roaring with joy at the now evened contest, McLintock rushes over to a Bradley. They were already out of TOW missiles and the reload trucks hadn't come by, so it was engaging with its 30mm chain cannon, the rounds visible as they rush downrange and impact on a tank, the armor piercing rounds taking a few hits before they are able to tear into the armor. The tank doesn't explode as much as it stops, the driver killed. The tank returns fire but the round goes high. A Dragon missile rushes at it and slams into the turret.

McLintock drops next to the soldiers firing just in front of the IFV. The elven infantry was rushing forward. Some elven tanks had lost their engines from the EMP, leaving their line broken badly. Fighter jets rush in overhead and drop guided bombs on targets in the rear, destroying shield tanks before they could restart their shield generators. Then the dragons come, three celestials escorting Cynder and three other infernos. They all open up, beams ripping through the armor of tanks and flames roasting infantry and IFVs alike. No anti air fire rises up to meet them until their third pass. One celestial catches a shot in the head and falls smack on an AA gun, wrecking it, while the others pull away. It was enough. The elves stop and go to ground, seeking whatever cover they could.

Davis grins to Saphyra after she hugs him. "So, how's the invasion going?" He asks. Aryna was staring in disbelief. She'd not quite believed that a human could kill the prince, but the proof was right here. A pilot their government had said died fighting the prince was here before her.

Saphyra wipes a tear from her eye and heads to her display. A half minute of typing later a map of the planet comes up. "We've taken the northwest continent and the center continent where the capital is. The eastern continent has a large number of enemy troops and has orbital defense turrets. We have the 82nd Airborne here on the southern continent." She touches the screen and the image zooms in, showing the lines as they were now. "A Medusa strike was needed to halt the elven advance. A regular army unit is engaging them and without heavy armor, their shields were keeping most of our attacks from hitting their targets. Reinforcments are on their way to them, but they need time to get there." She feels the question coming before she hears it and smiles. She missed this contact. "The fleet cannot support them because there are orbital defense turrets on this continent as well. We have an operation planned to take them down just as soon as the battle with the 82nd is over. They need every bit of air support we've got."

Davis nods, stepping back. "I'll take the rogues and we'll deal with these turrets on the southern continent." He sees the red dots denoting the turret locations. They were easy to pinpoint when they're shooting at you. Six targets. That would be two fighters per target. "Where are the Rogues?" He asks.

Saphyra smiles and points to the battle zone. "They are there, for anti fighter duty. The elves threw an air attack at the fleet and while it was torn up, we know they have more bombers and fighters on the eastern continent. Eldosa Plains is the main staging area for every operation in this sector. The Rogues are going to make sure no air strike can hit the fleet and that no enemy air assets can help their ground forces. They've been doing a good job of it too."

Davis nods. "Well, since you're the Commander in Chief, you can give us clearance for this operation now, then we can take out those guns. I'm sure with the fleet supporting, the elves won't have a chance." Saphyra nods and gets to it. Soon Davis is walking down to the hangar deck with a set of orders and a clear cut mission. Time for payback. He gets in his F22 and launches. This was a risk, and he knew it. Luckily the turrets do not fire upon the F22 as it enters the atmosphere. One target wasn't worth it. "Listen up Rogues, we have a new mission." He calls out.

After a bit of confusion and a squadron leader wanting to know how his friend came to be back in service, the Rogues form up over the Enterprise carrier group, looking at their onboard displays as the battle plan is laid out. Once informed, they split, fighters heading south and southeast, skimming close to the ground. Davis and Wedge pop up at their target first, one a hundred fifty miles from the battle line. The turret was aimed up and moving slightly as it tracked on a ship just outside its firing range. They were waiting for them to come in range. Davis fires, Wedge doing the same, and two missiles drop from both of the F22s center racks. The four missiles rush in and hit just where the turret meets the muzzle. The explosions rip into the facility, cutting halfway thru the massive barrel, weakening it so much that the planet's gravity does the rest of the job. As the muzzle falls to the ground behind them, the fighters loop and drop their last two missiles a piece on the repair warehouses, tearing the structures apart with ease and hopefully killing the skilled mechanics who would have made the repairs.

Saphyra watches with a smile on her lips as the red dots disappear from the world map on the southern continent. In a half hour, all were gone. The ships lowered in their orbit and begin firing on the rear of elven units.

McLintock was amazed. The elves were still advancing, even if it was more slowly. Their tanks were the main balancer. They would take hits and shoot back with an even money chance to hit you as miss you. Almost all his Bradleys were destroyed now, and they were almost out of shoulder fire missiles. Then the rain happened. As he fired on an elf, putting three rounds into his body and five rounds around him, red dots started falling from the sky, exploding in the rear of the enemy formations. The rounds come down in a wide spread. He watched one hit the dirt in front of him. A tank flies out of the dirt cloud and lands fifteen feet behind him, flipping along the ground before skidding to a stop on its turret. He watches the fire show in awe. The fleet was showing it's fangs now. The elves had no choice. They all bend on full speed and rush towards the Americans, who open up with the last of their missiles.

Even as this is happening, heavily laden dropships come down, free of the turret threat thanks to the fighters. One lands behind McLintock's position and opens its door. The Abrams inside levels its 120mm cannon before the door is even open all the way and fires, the round flying straight and true into a tank bearing down on a squad to McLintock's right. The round burns thru the tank's armor and bores into the firing chamber of the tank. The squad ducks in their holes as the tank explodes.

With more dropships landing reinforcing the infantry with heavy armor and the fire being rained down upon them, the elves realize their situation is hopeless. One shield tank, along with the three tanks and two infantry squads it shielded, stop and drop their weapons, the tanks orienting their turrets rearward. In less than ten minutes it was over. American troops rise up and rush forward, taking charge of the surrendering troops and searching for survivors. There weren't many.