The Sentinels: The Special Region Campaign

The Battle of Italica

A/N: Aside from my OCs I don't own any of the characters that may appear all rights belong to their respective owners. Thanks to Zzshark_Stormbeard for allowing me to use their character Serial Designation U from Their Murder Drones fan comic Serial Designation U

April 14th ,2603, village of Coria, Special Region

Lieutenant Ryan Carter of Spartan Fireteam Redhawk leaned out of the passenger side window of the M18 Saddleback IMV he was in as the convoy arrived at the village of Coria. "Hey, Ritter, what's happening?" Carter asked, gesturing towards a line of horse-drawn wagons obstructing the road. "It's a refugee convoy from Italica; the city is under siege by bandits," Ritter explained. "Poor bastards," Carter muttered, reaching for the comms. "Alpha Razor Six, this is Redhawk One. Any word on when we'll proceed?" he asked. "Redhawk One, this is Alpha Razor Six. We'll reroute to Italica to assist with the siege once the refugees have cleared out," Michiru responded. "Copy that" Cater said before turning of the coms. "Damn it, so much for a simple recon mission," Carter grumbled to Ritter. "I'm pretty sure this ceased to be a normal recon mission the moment we raided that slave camp," Ritter replied sarcastically, just as the convoy started moving again.

Italica, 1600 hours

Carter clutched his rifle as the convoy stopped at Italica's East Gate. "Ritter, Moore, come with me. Everyone else, stay put," Carter commanded, disembarking from his vehicle and approaching the gate. "Do you want to do the honors, kid, or should I?" he asked Michiru. "You should do it," Michiru replied. As Carter rapped on the wooden gate door, it swung open abruptly, smacking him in the face. "Ah, damn it, what the hell?" Carter exclaimed, shielding his visor, just as a red-haired woman clad in medieval knight armor emerged. "Are you the reinforcements Lord Itami summoned?" she asked in her native language. "Who the hell is Lord Itami?" Ritter questioned. "I don't think she understands English," Moore said "well no shit" Ritter said sarcastically. "Tell her that we arrived from the gates of Malius and Dalnus Hills, encountered the refugee caravan near Coria, and have come to assist with the siege," Carter told the interpreter, who echoed his words. Upon hearing this, the woman's expression transformed from curiosity to a combination of shock and dismay. "Come in," the woman said, ushering them into the estate. "Damn, this place reminds me of those old-fashioned houses back home," Mccoy remarked as they were escorted to a room. There, they encountered soldiers clad in uniforms and gear from the early 21st century. "Lord Itami, these individuals claim to come from the gates atop the other two hills," the woman said to a man in his early thirties, distinguished by the single silver bar of a First Lieutenant. Itami looked at the group with a mixture of curiosity and awe "So, you guys also came through the gates, huh? Did you come from the U.S.?" Itami asked in Japanese. Carter and Ritter exchanged confused glances, thinking, "What the hell is he talking about?" "We're not from America. Heck, in our time, America doesn't even exist anymore, and most of us here aren't even from Earth," Michiru clarified in English. "Oh my God, you guys are from the future! What kind of FTL technology do you have? Have you ever fought against aliens? Do you have robots? How many planets have you colonized?" Itami asked excitedly in English. At that moment, Wolf and Uzi entered the room. "Lieutenant, the vehicles are all parked near the south gate as you ordered," Wolf informed Michiru. Upon seeing Uzi, Itami's face brightened with excitement. "Oh my gosh, an actual sentient robot! What is she made of? What powers her? Is her hair real?" Itami asked, bouncing up and down like a child in a toy store. "Bite me" Uzi snapped as she flicked Itami's hand away. How about we head to the south gate" Michiru suggested. "Jeez, what's her problem?" muttered a woman with the insignia of a Sergeant First Class. "Uzi is, how do you put it, a real firecracker, and a dangerous one at that," Wolf said as the group headed toward the south gate. "How so?" the woman asked. "She wiped out an entire Spartan fireteam, except for Carter," Wolf explained. "Damn," the woman muttered. "You got that right. By the way, the name's Wolf," he said, extending his hand. "Kuribayashi," the woman replied, shaking Wolf's hand. 

Italica south gate April 15th ,2603, 0300 hours

"Damn it, when are those bandits going to attack us? We've been here for hours," Brookes groaned, removing his helmet to smoke a cigarette. "I don't know, but it seems they're focusing on the East Gate," Mccoy replied. "Then why are we just sitting here?" Brookes asked. "Orders are orders. If Princess Pina wanted us at the East Gate, she would've called for us by now," Mccoy stated. "They're likely too busy getting slaughtered to dispatch a runner to come fetch us," Wolf stated icily. "I can't stand this any longer," the demi-goddess Rory Mercury exclaimed, grabbing her halberd, pushing Brookes and McCoy out of the way, and dashing across the rooftops toward the East Gate. "What's her problem?" Wolf asked with a hint of sarcasm. "Damn it, Uzi, follow her! First Squad and Fireteam Redhawk, gear up—we're moving out to the East Gate," Michiru commanded.

FOB Malius airfield, 0330 hours

The men of the 1st Battalion, 324th Airborne Regiment, 501st Airborne Division, stood in the briefing room as their Commanding Officer began to speak. "Alright, listen up. Some Spec Ops personnel are under siege in the city of Italica. They have requested backup, and Command has decided to send us in to bail them out," Colonel Hayes announced. "Any questions?" Hayes inquired. Captain James West raised his hand. "Yes, Captain West," Hayes acknowledged. "Sir, can we attach speakers to some of the dropships and play music as a form of psychological warfare?" West proposed. "What song do you have in mind, Captain?" Hayes questioned. "Sir, heavy metal," West replied, eliciting a few chuckles from the other officers. "Permission granted, and to the rest of you, happy hunting," Hayes declared before dismissing everyone. The entire battalion suited up, donning their Infantry Combat Assault Armor and AIR ASSAULT helmets, and checked that their M23 Carbines and M470 LMGs were ready for action. Once fully equipped, they embarked on the C390 Dropships, accompanied by six AH-72 Howler attack helicopters, for the thirty-minute flight to Italica.

0400 Hours near Italica's East Gate

"Damn it, any ETA on when the backup arrives?" Uzi heard Michiru ask over the comms as she chased after Rory. "They are still five mikes out, ma'am," the radio operator responded. Uzi halted at the edge of a roof; below, Rory dispatched a bandit by wedging his head between the blade and handle of the halberd, sending the body tumbling. The remaining bandits gazed at Rory in terror as the sound of heavy metal thundered in the distance, punctuated by a missile slamming into the East Gate, resulting in a massive explosion. "Here comes the Blue Devils" Mccoy shouted over the coms as C390 Dropships appeared over the horizon. Uzi leaped off the roof, landing next to Rory. "Let's show these bastards what we're made of," she declared, morphing her hands into blades. She thrust at the nearest bandit, piercing his chest, then transformed her left hand into an SMG, mowing down several bandits in a swift burst. "Damn you!" one bandit yelled, striking Uzi with a hammer and knocking her back. "What will you do now, hell spawn?" another taunted, as several encircled Uzi. With a smirk, Uzi retorted, "I'm going to kill out each and every one of you bastards," as she wiped blood from her lip and shifted her left hand into a railgun. "Eat this!" she shouted, unleashing a green plasma beam that vaporized most of the bandits instantly. The few who survived were swiftly dispatched with her right hand, now a whirring chainsaw. "Comon you mother fuckers who wants to die next" Uzi yelled as she cut a bandit in half.

"Fire only on the tangos outside the walls, repeat, only on the tangos outside the walls," Colonel Hayes commanded through the comms. As the battalion unleashed Hellfire upon the bandits, spent bullet casings and links showered down like rain. The AH-72s fired off volleys of 20mm shells and Anvil IX Missiles. "Raptor Five, we have enemy AAA on the North wall—eliminate it," Hayes ordered. ""Copy that, Cobra One, moving to engage," Raptor Five communicated as he maneuvered his AH-72 in front of the Bandit Ballista and launched an Avil IX missile. "Cobra One, this is Raptor Five, enemy AAA destroyed," he reported over the comms. "All units, this is Cobra Two, be advised: the JSDF is sweeping inside the Eastern wall. All friendlies are to pull out immediately. You've got, ten seconds," Cobra Two announced over the radio.

"You heard them pull back," McCoy yelled over the comms, as a single JSDF AH-1S Cobra Attack Helicopter hovered over the East Wall. The bandits stared at the Cobra in shock just before it unleashed its 20mm rotary cannon, mowing down the bandits with brutal efficiency. The screams of the dead and dying echoed through the air as they were torn apart by the 20mm shells. "And to think those bastards were going to overrun us look how that turned out" Wolf muttered as the Corba ceased fire and flew away. With that the siege of Italica had been lifted.