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Part 5: The Assault

Chapter 21: The Pass of Mandobar Dragon Realms, Uncharted System March 10, 2204 0721 Hours Location known as Mandobar Pass

The trees rustled in the wind as the winds were funneled through the mountain pass. Birds chirped at a distance and the morning sun broke through layers of clouds just to the East of them. The calm was broken as a single Human Nighthawk flew over the trees, brushing against the tops of them and gliding over boulders. The Nighthawk was accompanied by two UERMC Raptors as they flew through the air.

The Gyros on the wings flared and released more fuel to lift the aircraft to avoid a large mass of rock and flew over into the central part of the pass. The two Raptors nearby did the same and flew until they reached a clearing. The Nighthawk flared its engines against and kicked up dust as it touched the ground.

A few Human soldiers deployed from the drop ship and spread out to secure the area, their rifles pointed outwards in an attempt to keep any possible hostiles away.

A few Dragons who had been in flight caught up to the drop ship and landed nearby, the grass parting as they did so. The drop ship flared its jets and rose above them and blasted its engines to gain momentum and it disappeared over the treetops. The two Raptor support craft did the same as they passed overhead. The morning sunlight reflected off of the scales of the dragons as they hit the ground and looked around, a few watching the aircraft pass overhead.

One of them, a purple one, looked around and saw the beautiful yellow-green colors radiating from the sun breaking through the clouds. He turned to see another black dragon land nearby and smiled as she touched the ground and she returned the smile. The few Marines with them, which were about five, sat in the grass with their rifles out still.

"All clear!" One of them said.

Spyro, the purple dragon in question, walked in the grass near one of the crouching Marines. After he had told them about what he had learned last night, he had been hard pressed to get Colonel Dyke to approve a major mission moving north. He had been skeptical about it, especially since he only had very sketchy information to give.

Dyke finally agreed when Rithul vouched for the information and a major ground operation was moving north towards Mandobar. Almost all of the available foot soldiers were being used, several hundred Alliance soldiers... a few hundred Marines and dozens of Tanks and other vehicles.

They had landed to make sure the pass was clear for the main assault force to move through. The group had assembled just south of the pass and were waiting the all clear.

"Let's go and make sure it's all clear!" The Marine leader said. Instead of Wagner leading, a platoon from Epsilon had come in. Under the command of Sergeant Richards the Marine group was about 10 strong. The others fell right behind as the morning winds swept through the area. Though running off of minimal sleep, Spyro was maintaining his attentiveness as best he could. He knew Cynder was in the same situation, for she had found him in the Garden. It was shortly after that they found Wagner sitting somewhere near, a pale look to him as he sat in the grass. He never said what he was doing there...

Nevertheless, they kept going. Krypto and Aaron took to the sky and flew just above them as the others continued via the ground and the calm winds created an interesting array of sounds from the whistling air to the rustling trees.

They walked through the cool grass and sunlight shined upon them. Occasionally a butterfly or two would pass by and a Marine would comment silently on how beautiful it was. Birds chirped nearby... the wind rustled the trees... and grass swayed as the moving air touched against their graceful green stalks.

"So peaceful..." Cynder said as a soft prevailing wind swept through the area and caused the trees to rustle more.

"Let's check out that ridge up top, we can see the whole pass from there!" Richards said. They nodded in agreement and climbed towards a ridge that ran along a mountainside and could see across the main part of the pass.

The climb was peaceful and uneventful, babbling brooks and small streams occupying the interesting stretch of the climb. Once they reached the top the Marines walked around to ensure the area was secure. Krypto and Aaron landed nearby and Roxy and Tom sat atop a boulder and enjoyed the morning sun as it broke through the clouds and warmed up their skin from the cool breeze coming in from the East.

A few more birds chirped over the calming sounds of trees rustling and the wind softly slapping against the area. The sun's rays cast themselves upon the ground, giving a nice warm feeling to defeat the chilling breeze. Shadows danced across the grass as the light broke through the clouds and lit up their area.

Spyro watched as a pair of Marines set themselves up along the edge of the ridge, one of them holding a rifle with a long barrel. The other soldier held onto what looked like a large cylinder attached to a stand. They sat down at the edge of the ridge and used the equipment to look across the valley. Spyro figured they were using some sort of telescopic device to see over great distances.

"Things look clear..." One of the two said.

"Let's move up, I'll signal Dyke that the path is clear." Richards said. The others got up and walked towards another portion of the ridge as the Marines along the ridge got up and shouldered their equipment.

"Colonel Dyke, this is Sergeant Richards of Recon Blue 101, path clear, we're moving up." Richards received a response over the COM and he nodded, motioning the soldiers forward again.

The Marines trotted along the path and the others followed, Krypto, Zephyr and Aaron taking to the skies. The sun was now almost fully visible through the clouds, its yellow rays casting themselves down onto the luscious green valley beneath.

Spyro craned his neck and saw the assault force.

Dozens of Tanks, Jeeps and foot soldiers advanced through the valley in the convoy like manner. Several hundred alliance soldiers accompanied them and Nighthawks and Sparrowhawks flew above, hovering over the assault force and providing an aerial view to the scope.

"Come on, let's go!" Richards said as Spyro finally noticed he had been standing still. He dashed forward to catch up with the Marines as they walked up an incline to another section of the ridge. Nearby there was a waterfall that dropped off and went directly over the ridgeline.

They reached the area and saw something troubling.

"We've got a problem..." Spyro said as he saw it before the Marines did.

"What?" Richards asked, turning to look at the dragon.

"Look!" Cynder said, pointing it out.

Behind a few Pine trees ahead of them sat a large weapon. It was a catapult that looked as if it was using dark energy as its power. There were Dark Gems all across it and it looked like a huge artillery piece.

"That thing'll murder our tanks..." One of the Marines said. Krypto let out a huff.

"You've got bigger things to worry about..." He said as he hovered in the air.

"What're you talking about?" Aaron asked but then he saw it. They all saw it.

A large army of Orcs, Grublins and other creatures were gathering in the valley, a few entrenched catapults being positioned atop small hills or atop small knolls. The army was as massive... if not... bigger then their own army moving north.

"We've got to do something!" Cynder said.

A trio of UERMC Raptors streaked over the oncoming army and dropped canisters over the army, releasing hundreds of smaller bombs that detonated and turned the scene into a haze of fire and smoke. Another pair flew over and fired their main weapons at the ground, kicking up dirt and debris as their machine guns spurted out hundreds of rounds of ammunition.

The Tanks lurched as they fired their weapons, huge shells flying across the forest and hitting the enemy army and blowing them away. The cheetahs, dragons and other races launched their own attack, rushing the flank of the enemy as the Humans fired rifle ammo, tank shells, airborne missiles and other various projectiles.

The large weapon near them fired and hit near a tank, scorching it as it lobbed a large purple sphere at the Human assault force. The tank halted as its metal was partially melted and a few Marines vanished in the purple impact. "We need to take that out first!" Richards yelled.

"Let's go!" Aaron said as he landed and launched the attack, firing a fireball at the weapon and the ball landed harmlessly on the side of it. The Marines fired their rifles and Spyro and Cynder took the skies and flew upwards towards the weapon. A few Apes let out a wail and dashed at the line of 10 Marines.

Roxy fired her arrows, nailing three Apes as they dashed recklessly at the Humans and Tom grabbed one by the neck and tossed it off the cliff-edge, its body flying down towards the valley beneath. Krypto landed in the midst of them, tossing several aside before they even knew he was there. Aaron picked up the stragglers and tossed them into trees while Spyro enveloped his body in a wave of electricity and shocked the nearby Apes, Cynder smashing the stunned Apes into the ground and the Marines picking off the ones remaining.

"Blow that thing!" A Marine yelled and chunked a package towards Cynder who stood near the weapon. At first Cynder didn't know what to do with it, but an obvious trigger, a string to pull with a ring attached to the string gave Cynder the idea on how to trigger it. She pulled the string out and a small red light lit up on it. A second orange switch next to the words C-4 made Cynder flick her talon and press down on the orange switch, causing the light to turn an amber orange and flicker.

She tossed the device down at the weapon and rolled to the side just in time. The charge detonated, blowing the base from the weapon out and causing it to fall and hit the ground and collapsing down the cliff just ahead.

"Yeah, we kicked their ass!" One Marine called out.

"Can it, clear the area!" Richards said.

They moved and secured the area where the weapon once sat and saw the Tanks moving forward with the rest of the soldiers. They went down the ridge to a location where there was a higher ridge just nearby, facing towards their path. To their shock, a few arrows hit the ground near them and Roxy flinched as her sword began to glow- a sign of danger.

"We've got trouble!" Aaron said, seeing this.

A few Apes and Orcs sat at the top of the ridgeline, firing arrows at them.

"Take cover!" A Marine said and they dashed behind boulders to return fire and the dragons advanced, having to dodge a volley of archer fire.

Suddenly the Apes and Orcs tumbled down to the ground as a Nighthawk drop ship fired a machine gun mounted in the troop bay at the hostiles. Two Marines sitting in the troop bay assisted and fired short bursts or single shots, nailing the hostiles and causing them to tumble down.

"Move up!" Richards instructed. The Marines moved forward and the Dragons in the group took to the sky, Roxy and Tom following with the Marines as they pushed up the ridge. Two similar cannons in the valley erupted in flames as two UERNF Ravens flew over them at high speeds and delivered bombs directly on top of the cannons, blowing them apart.

Tanks rolled through forest paths and blew through Ape positions and decimating the oncoming assault force. The Cheetahs and Dragons on their flank were crushing through the Orc defensive lines, clearing through them in a quick manner. The assault was going excellent.

"Let's go!" Richards yelled. They moved towards the ridge where they had been attacked and they moved towards a rocky path that went around the ledge, forming a land bridge that ran alongside the cliff side. They walked down the narrow path and a few almost tripped and fell as the others took to the skies and flew over the high ridge, watching the Marines, Roxy and Tom traverse the area.

Once they passed up the ridge, they saw another large cannon that fired at the oncoming convoy. The same Nighthawk that had assisted them before fired its machine guns once more, ammunition hitting the defending Apes and Grublins as they dashed at the Marines moving in to assault.

"Take out that gun or this assault's over!" Richards said once more. The Marines dashed onto a small hill and fired bursts of fire at the Apes as they dashed at them. The Apes leapt, trying to catch them but were cut down by the Marines' automatic fire.

Krypto and Aaron took the initiative after that, pounding into the ground and pushing several Apes back. Aaron fired a beam of acute darkness while Krypto let lose a wave of fire which swallowed a group of Apes and Grublins whole.

Roxy rolled to the side to avoid a sword slash and countered with her own, applying enough force to throw the attacking Ape off balance and then using the blunt end of her sword to hit the Ape in the jaw and knocking it back. She then leapt at it and inserted the sword in its chest and kicked it back.

Tom pounced on an Ape as it prepared a sneak attack on the Marines and with the monkey in its mouth tossed it towards another and leapt to bite the second in the neck. A third threw its sword down and made a mad dash to retreat, only to get hit 4 times in the back by rifle rounds.

Zephyr had caught two apes in a wind attack and smashed them together as he rolled to avoid three arrows. He rolled behind a rock and got an idea in doing so. Using his wind element, he lifted the rock off the ground and hurled it at two unsuspecting Apes. The creatures let out a wail of fear and raised their hands to block in vain. Needless to say, they were crushed.

Spryo and Cynder had found themselves fighting the mass of Grublins. The smaller creatures dashed around, zipping and biting them on their arms and legs.

"Little pests!" Spyro heard Cynder sat as she caught one and smacked it into the ground with her paw. Spyro rolled to the side, grabbed one and tossed it from side to side, repeating the pattern as the creature was smacked into the ground over and over again. He tossed the creature aside and enveloped his body in flames as he plowed through five more, burning them and tossing them aside. Cynder smirked and her body vanished as she hid herself in a vial of darkness. A small black cloud was visible traveling to a crowd of Grublins and she reappeared, pushing upwards and the sudden updraft and unleashing of energy sent the creatures skyward, easy targets for Marines.

"Area clear, blow that thing!" A Marine said. As the Marines went on to place a charge on the weapon, a large crystalline creature burst out from the ground. It donned a large shield and they were those enemies that Spyro and Cynder had encountered back at the temple coming from those pods.

"Hit 'em!" A Marine yelled as they opened fire at the new creatures. The bullets hit and shattered against the armor of the creature but the armor started to crack from the bullets. It roared in defiance and more creatures rose from the ground. The Marines focused on the first and their gunfire shattered its armor and caused the crystal-like creature to fall to its knees while the Marines finished attacking it.

The other two that had emerged dashed madly at the Marines and knocked several away with one swipe. As it prepared to come again, Spyro latched onto its back and drove his claws into the crystal-like body. The creature noticed and flung him off.

Cynder hit the creature with her fear breath, but it had no effect. Instead, it hit her with its long arm. It opened its hand to reveal it had a weapon for an arm. The creature fired a salvo of dark energy spheres which detonated nearby and flung dirt and debris into the air.

Krypto snarled and flung himself at the creature, pinning it to the ground and preparing to bite it on its 'head'. The creature countered by grabbing Krypto's jaw and threatening to snap his neck.

"Krypto!" Aaron yelled as he ran from behind and blasted the creature's arm with dark energy. It had no effect.

Spyro charged a ball of fire and blasted the other creature which slashed at him, the fire having little effect. Cynder rolled to the side as it swung a sword at them and it hit the ground right next to Cynder's muzzle, eliciting a small whimper from her as she pulled herself up and growled before blasting it with shadow breath.

Spyro rolled away and fired ice shards. The ice hit the creature and stuck out of its chest as they penetrated the dark crystals. Roxy charged her arrows with energy and fired them. They hit the creatures and the arrows penetrated, causing them to roar out.

Zephyr went to aid Aaron and Krypto and with their help they shattered the creature's arm and Krypto was free. He flapped his wings and used his claws to crack the creature's chest and sent it down before driving it into a tree with his horns and hitting it repeatedly with his claws in a vengeful manner.

Finally the last of the creatures fell and Krypto retreated from the shredded crystal-creature.

"Well that was fun..." Zephyr said.

"Let's not do that again..." Roxy added as she placed her bow on her back. The Marines rigged the weapon to blow and they took cover behind boulders as they pulled the charge and detonated the gun, its wreckage tumbling down the slopes and into the valley below.

In the valley, the assault force was equal with them, the tanks the infantry driving off the opposing army and capturing the valley.

"Let's go, we've got to hook up with Delta and head up with the convoy!" Richards said and they headed off and up the ridge more, hoping to find a path that lead down into the valley.

1123 Hours POW area, Dragon Temple of Warfang

Field Commander Yahade' sat in a cell as a pair of Cheetah guards stood nearby. That failed assault on the Human command post had gotten him captured. The Humans and dragons had overpowered him and had captured him. Now he sat with a few other prisoners awaiting interrogation. Things were not going so well...

"Yahade'..." A silent voice said into the dark cell. He looked up.

"Yahade'... over here!" He heard it again and looked up to see the Guards knocked out and saw Sondohwa standing at the cell doors. He had a cutter and was cutting the doors open. Once finished, the doors fell ajar and collided into the ground with a loud clang.

"What're you doing?!" He asked.

"Getting you out, c'mon!"

End of Chapter 21