FSE

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The war was sudden, and to minimize civilian casualties most of the fighting took place on the gray planet or in the void of space. Intercepted communications suggested that the original General in charge of obtaining the black technology had been removed from service, though rumors among the soldiers suggested that it was an execution by the Military Lord who has since taken over. Although the enemy forces had gathered with haste and landed a great many troops and secret containers, the Fallen Sky fleet led by the Siren II kept reinforcements from landing.

The Albatross was on ground support and Zero Unit couldn't help but wonder about everything, "So what do you think were in those giant containers? Can't be weapons if they were aerial drops like that, nor vehicles. Definitely not people." Chey was slowly thinking about the possibilities.

"If they were explosives, they would have went off. Reinforcement supplies wouldn't do much good. Who has time to build up a city when you have an army at the door?" Sere was tinkering with bits of scrap metal, "Damn state secrets."

"The canines are known for keeping things to themselves, but we need to focus on the now. They have powerful weapons and armor and legions of troops that would die for their leader." Victoria added while staring at surveillance videos.

Ratchet laughed once, "No, they probably face execution if they disobey. No telling what family members have to go through."

Jean was on the bridge, but rather than being on watch she was still learning the ins and outs of every gun in the ship, primarily by dissembling them and then reassembling them, "Dante and Isa know what they're doing I think. We should just follow their orders."

"Please. Dante hates when people blindly follow orders. We follow him because we think and agree with him. Most of the time. That and he can pretty much do everything by himself." Wendy bit into a sandwich, "We're just extras that help out now and then."

"Speaking of Dante... where is he?" Alarms went off, "What's happening Angel?"

"The contents of the containers have entered the battlefield. Visual on screen." A monstrous steel robot shaped like a person marched through the wasteland, occasionally firing beams of light from one hand that destroyed fortifications and ground vehicles, "It is approximately fifty feet in height, weight is impossible to determine without calibrations and a full list of components. Bipedal movement and protected joints. The laser has destructive capacity, but at the output effective range is less than one mile. Energy source unknown."

"I want one." Sere was practically drooling, "Hey, get Dante to catch one."

"Dante is currently on the ground, approaching the unknown machine."

"Wait what?" Was the uniform reaction from Zero Unit.

"He requested to be on the surface earlier this morning. If anything is to happen, I acquire leadership rights and make judgements about what to do next."

Ratchet shot up, "What did he take with him?!"

"The contents are to remain secret, as per his wishes. He will shortly engage th machine, please watch."

..............................................

"Ha! Is that all you punks have! The infamous Fallen Sky scattering like ants!" A speaker echoed the pilot's ranting over the plains, "Oh look, another little ant in the sky!" The pilot raised the left hand up high and fired the energy blasts at the Fallen Sky ships in sight, though they were clearly out of range, "Fly away!"

Red lights flashed on his screen and the entire robot shook violently, "Damage to torso: 13%. Armor plating damaged."

"Source!"

A small peripheral screen showed an image of a single man. A one-eyed human with a rocket launcher in his hands, a large disc on his back, and a bag hanging from his left shoulder. The side loading weapon extended and was manually loaded with another rocket, "No way a rocket could do that." The man took aim and fired, "Pathetic!"

The pilot attempted to swat away the approaching rocket, but soon learned that was an unwise decision. The robot was shaken to the core, "Right hand diabled. Cutting energy to right arm. Wiring damage contained. Pistons in torso damaged 7%."

"Armor piercing rounds?! Can't be, this hunk of junk is resistant! Fine! We'll crush him!" He ran as fast as he could while the one-eyed human loaded another rocket, "Suffer!" The pilot lifted the left foot and stomped down on the man, "Ha! Is that the best you had?!" He continued to rant, his speaker spreading his insane laughter throughout the area.

Nearby Fallen Sky forces stood still, shocked at what had happened. How could Dante be so stupid and die so quick? Didn't he have the best team in all of Fallen Sky? Why did he go alone? Questions reverberated around the backup fortifications but answers came as quickly as they were demanded.

"Computer, update." The pilot waited for a moment, "Computer, update!" Spark flew around the cockpit and the robot itself was unresponsive, "What the hell?!" The simple peripheral cameras locked into a man walking from under the robot's foot, apparently safe in the high arch. He was not shaken, he did not run, and he seemed more irritated than before, "How... that's impossible! He didn't even know about that spot! Computer!"

Fires sprouted up and the giant machine groaned. It slowly fell face first onto the hard dirt and rock, shattering in damaged areas and bending in others. The pilot did not have a quick death, being trapped in his safety seat as the fires engulfed him.

Dante stood ahead of the wreckage and looked back, "These are nothing more than hunks of metal piloted by power hungry idiots! Don't cower, fight! Hit them hard and don't stop until nothing remains! We don't cower, we dominate!"

Crowds of shouting and cheering Fallen Sky mercenaries rushed past Dante, "Hey, what the hell?!"

"Albatross, send a message to Isa. The mechanical giants are weak against direct energy pulses. Pick me up, we're done sitting around."

Without further questions or arguments, the dull sheen of the Albatross cut through the dust and lowered a ladder, "Mind telling us why you were out there alone?!" He wasn't inside before the angry yelling began, "You could have been killed!"

"Do you really think that those greenhorns could have done anything by themselves? They would have given up land. If that happened we could have lost a munitions base and a lot of supplies. Now move in Angel and shoot at whoever isn't one of ours. Our first target is any sort of vehicle lot. Chey, Titus, get on the side front guns and assist."

Ratchet slapped Dante as hard as she could, and he stumbled a bit, "You should have told us! We could have helped rally the troops too!"

"I have my reasons. Let's just finish this up, not like it's a challenge anymore." He walked to the bridge and felt the presence of a crew of angry mercenaries following. Upon sitting in his seat, he turned to face them, "Well? We don't have all day."

"Dante, why did you do that? Just give us an answer." Jill was almost in tears.

He examined his crew with his weary eye, "Because I'm tired. We are given enemies but no challenges. We are told to fly all around and perform petty tasks. I'd rather retire knowing that someone stronger than me is out there, but it seems that won't happen." Dante yawned, "Any more stupid questions?"

Jean adjusted her heavy rifle, looking a bit nervous about the strap breaking, "You are going to help Fallen Sky finish the war, right?"

Dante turned around, "I've been training you for a while in secret, you take over. I'll interfere if you screw up bad."

"What?! I didn't even learn how to shoot that long ago!"

Wendy nodded, "You can choose from myself, Cratis, or Titus. We all have leadership experience. This is no time for experiments."

"As I recall, you left headquarters undefended without thinking clearly about your situation. Cratis, you can lead to a degree but you're more of a follower. And Titus... I have severe doubts about your abilities. Jean, you're in charge. Ask Titus for help, I'm taking a long break."

Jean had no idea how to really lead a group, let alone the group of individuals that were reined in by Dante. She was only an average shot at best and knew very little of tactics, "Uh... but I'm not really..."

"You'll be fine. Hell, Angel is doing most of the work. All you have to do is keep an eye on things. Now all of you get out of here and do whatever. Better yet, I'm going to rest on my bed." The new captain's quarters were just below the bridge. Even better, a ladder led down from the bridge so he wouldn't have to walk far. A shelf full of broken and shiny trophies opposite the ladder, and a double-wide bed for comfort.

Dante examined his rifle and made sure it was in firing condition, "Are you really serious?" Ratchet had climbed down, "I mean, I'm sure you can teach like a madman, but she's still green."

"She'll do well enough. After all, she's got Zero Unit watching her back."

"I can only do so much you know. This is a full-fledged war, not a training opportunity."

Dante cleared the chamber and loaded a new magazine, "It's not training, it's the real thing Rachet. She'll either impress us all, or fail miserably. Only time will tell."

She slowly walked to his bed, "Not everybody can be you. She can barely handle recoil, let alone a war."

"If she can handle a fraction of what I could at a young age, she'll do fine in the future." He grabbed her arm and tossed her onto the bed, "I wouldn't worry."

Ratchet started pulling at the strings on her dress, "Yeah, you're probably right. Not like we're up against geniuses out there." She pulled off her dress and started to undo Dante's pants, "What's the worst that could happen?"

Dante helped pull off his pants and got on top, "Not much, they're already in serious trouble and I'll make it worse for them soon enough."

.........................................

"Sir, we have... lost more ground." A man in full armor hit a button, "This is the city, and the surrounding circle is our defensive line. For the most part, it has held."

The Prime Minister flicked his ears, "And what of the red blocks?"

"Like I said, lost ground. They have moved in slowly, and so far they haven't breached our inner ring."

One spot on the map was red "L" shape, and there was no green between the city and the invaders, "What of that, idiot."

"Hm, yes. We had to redirect troops to that area. They're holding and so far no Fallen Sky has invaded. I believe it was a special unit that attacked, and they hit hard. We lost hundreds and even a few Walkers. At best, we only have an advantage in the North, and they're putting constant pressure on our men. No resupplies or new troops in days."

"Fill me in on the aerial situation."

The armored man cleared his throat, "They have complete dominion over the skies. Rumors from the men would indicate that we will receive no more support, nor can we abandon this planet."

The Prime Minister slammed his fist down, spilling his drink, "I don't care about rumors! My council will not abandon me!"

The armored man looked at the map, "If I may speak, that has already happened. Morale is near dead, and many men have abandoned their posts. This is a losing war sir."

The Prime Minister glared at the man, "How dare you! This was is against savages and mercenaries, not a trained army! Double your efforts, I want them all crushed or it's your head!"

The armored man bowed and left the room. He looked to one of the guards, "Get ready for our plan, death it not worth this." The guard nodded, "No more will be sacrificed for petty pride. We should have left long ago."