Star Knights: The Legend of The Cyberwarrior - Act 1 Of 4: Strange New World

Chapter 5: Meids Liberation

Within a small transport carrier, Kurt, Fritz, and Marsenko are primed to jump out of the vehicle as soon as the side doors open. Marsenko makes a few adjustments to the Cycler, Fritz double checks the strength of the many straps and pouches across his arms, torso, and legs.
With his radio, Kurt speaks to the newly formed Beta team where Kornow and Persius assist the Western contact line alongside British special forces.
“Come in Beta, come in Beta.”
“This is Beta.” Persius answers back, his voice slightly masked in static.
“Please adjust your frequency, you have some static on your side, over.”
After a minute of silence, Persius speaks once more, this time nearly static free: “How's my voice?”
“Clear, over.”
“Do you need to keep saying ‘over’? This is not a hold button radio.” Persius asks.
“It's tradition, over.”
“I see, well we're approaching the West F.O.B.”
“What was that? Over.”
“We're approaching the West F.O.B.” Persius reiterates.
“I know you're trying to say something but I'm just not hearing that special word, over.” Kurt says, turning to Fritz who shakes his head.
“What? The West Forward Oper-...” Persius stops talking, background laughter is heard from the radio from Kornow.
“Humorous, Captain. Over.” Persius says, Kurt answers back: “Thank you, I hear you much better, over.”
Fritz taps Kurt on the right pauldron asking: “Why do you always joke?”
“Lightens the mood, try it sometime.” Kurt looks over to one or the few small windows of this infantry carrier. A white capped land of ice so thick that one would not need to worry about falling into the oceans below. But what these trucks drove over is a pitch black asphalt, midnight veins over a world of light like cracks of a marble shell.
As they approach the city, the sounds of gunfire and explosives shake the ground and vibrate against the frame of the carrier.
From the driver's seat, the army driver turns on his speaker: “Disembark in five… four… three… two… one!”
A light within the carrier turns green, the doors of this chariot open to a city in chaos.
“Go go go!” Kurt shouts, he, Fritz, and Marsenko rush out of the carrier.
Engaging the micro boosters on their armor, the team sprint across the silica concrete below them towards a defense checkpoint which blocks the main street towards the residential high-rise sector.
Gunfire erupts from the checkpoint as both the British and the Ardash militants exchange gunfire with one another.
Keeping behind the protection of high walled gabion, the team moves up to assist these soldiers.
From several mounted machine guns in their own metal and concrete nests, soldiers keep a sustained fire while a volley of small arms fire flies from the deep recesses of the city.
“Keep on it, men! Send them back!” The commanding officer of this checkpoint shouts.
Kurt quickly approaches the commander, hoping to offer assistance.
“Ah so has the Federation finally come to help us poor bastards!?” The commander shouts over, seeing Kurt and his team dawned in Federation style armor, he and his men remain in white camo armor with slightly more fabric covered armor.
“Kurt Steel, part of the infiltration mission.” Kurt Steel reports, Marsenko and Fritz standing just behind Kurt.
“Of bloody course, you and those Spanish blokes. I'll tell you what, you help defend this post and I'll make sure you have a clear path into the apartment district, yeah?”
“Sounds like a deal.” Kurt answers.
“Good, give em’ hell!” The commander shouts before heading towards a small computer system tented over. With a press of a button on the terminal, several electronically enabled turret systems turn on across the checkpoint.

Rushing over to the front, Kurt's helmet activates its combat mode and he opens fire on the enemy. Casings exhumed from the side of his assault rifle, tracer-less bullets fly across the air, their destination being a large smoke heap kicked up from extensive combat.
After nearly an entire magazine had emptied, the smoke was too thick and Kurt along with the entire checkpoint had halted their fire.
“You see anyone!?” One of the soldiers shouted, his speaker though loud, was slightly clogged by dust and ice.
From the marine’s team channel, Marsenko tells the team: “No heat signatures, Captain. Either no one is alive or-”
“Bots!” Fritz shouts, several rounds smack against the concrete gabion and several metal humanoids emerge from the cloud.
The turrets open fire, piercing through several of the skinny-limbed automatons. A few rounds from the enemy manage to hit the turret, one of the rounds penetrating its armor, exploding soon after.
Kurt ducks down as metal fragments bounce against his suit, a manned gun nest closest to Kurt fires its machine gun at the robotic horde.
“Get down! Get down!” Kurt shouts over to the soldier in the nest, a flurry of bullets flies into the nest. With pinpoint accuracy conducted by the best of sensors used by this robot army, this soldier had no hope for his fabric outer clothing had torn apart, the metal plating within had been pierced, and the internal suit had been breached. Bullet after bullet, his torso had been invaded, his lungs pierced through, guts torn open, ribs crushed, and spine shattered. This poor soldier slumped down over the machine gun, an instant death one would wish for in a situation like this.
“Shit! I can't get a shot out!” Kurt exclaims over the radio.
“We need some armor over here!” Fritz shouts, trying to look over his cover, he is forced back down from a hail of bullets.
Kurt quickly crawls over to the fortified tent behind him, looking for the commander of this post, he is met with the fallen corpse of said commander.
Unlucky in his attempts at cover, a round was all that was needed to cause the death of this man. His blood that had oozed out of his helmet instantly froze upon exposure to the below zero environment, the second among many friendly casualties Kurt expects out of this tumultuous liberation of a city taken so quickly.
“The commander's down!” Kurt shouts over the radio, several rounds fly just over his head as the entire team is pinned down by the seemingly endless hailstorm of bullets.
But from the corner of Kurt's eye, there is salvation.