Not one step backwards...
I am teetering on the edge of an seemingly endless abyss. No matter how I flail my arms or shift my body weight, I am always on the verge of falling in. I don't know what lays in wait inside the void, but I am determined not to find out. With a mighty heave, I throw myself backwards and land on my ass a short distance away from the pit. I sigh in relief, only to gasp in horror with the same breath.
A grotesque serpent like creature is rising quickly out of the pit. I fumble for my rifle, and am shocked to find that it is no longer slung across my back. I scan the area quickly, and I spot it lying a short distance away. I take one more glance at the creature. It is staring at me, as if it WANTS me to make the first move. I am happy to oblige.
I burst into a full sprint towards my rifle. I can feel air at my back starting to chill. I reach the rifle and scoop it up mid-stride. Pivoting on my heel, I bring the rifle to bare. The serpent is almost on top of me. With a small grin, I squeeze the trigger. My rifle barks and I spray hot lead at the serpent until I hear the all to familiar CLICK of an empty magazine.
I swallow hard, but force myself to stare defiantly at the beast. It moves so it is face to face with me. The serpent reeks of sulfur and ash. The air gets colder the closer the serpent gets to me. Finally, it opens its massive maw and speaks in a harsh, grating voice.
"Wake up Yuri."
"WAKE UP YOU WORTHLESS SACK OF SHIT!"
A swift kick to the ribs knocks away the last remnants of the nightmare along with any air I had in my lungs. Coughing and clutching my aching side, I look up to see the Commissioner staring down at me. "On your feet whelp." He snarls.
I stand up at attention and the Commissioner, much to his obvious annoyance, has to look up to look me in the eye. "Just because you've survived long enough to earn the rank of Sargent doesn't mean you get to slack off." He growls.
"Yes Commissioner." I respond neutrally.
He takes a step closer to me. "Do you know how many boys like you I've watch die?"
I process that for a moment. What is he getting at? "No Commissioner."
"Two hundred and seventy five. I keep count." The Commissioner says in a tone that I could of sworn was rueful. He shakes his head, snapping out of his reverie and the scowl returns to his face. "Drop and give me 50 push ups, And if I ever catch you slacking off like that again, I will put a bullet in your head, do you understand?"
"Yes Commissioner!"
I fall to the ground and execute 50 perfect (or close enough) push ups. By the time I'm finished, the Commissioner has already wandered away. I could have stopped doing push ups the second I was sure he was too far away to see me get up, but no doubt one off the kiss asses in the battalion would report me.
My stomach is growling like a furious ursa, so I wander over to the mess tent, and I am greeted by my men.
"What was with that "I've watched two hundred something people die" shit sir?" One of my rifleman ask. I shrug. "Maybe the Commissioner is finally losing his mind?" I say with a chuckle. "Aren't we all?" A Flak Trooper grunts. I shrug again.
I grab a bowl of lukewarm soup in sit down to talk and eat with my men. Some officers like to be isolated from their men, they say it makes it easier to deal with their deaths if you don't get to know them. While I can agree with that, I can't bring myself to be that cold.
The sad truth is, were all dead men walking. The Allies are closing in on one side, and the Empire on the other. While there will always be more Russians to take our place, I can feel that our time is growing short. If you are going to die fighting, wouldn't you prefer to die next to men you were familiar with?
The music coming from the radio abruptly cuts out. A series of beeps and tones start to play out. A chorus of what-the-fucks ring out through the tent. "QUIET!" a lieutenant barks. He leaned closer to the radio's speakers and listened closely, scribbling something out on a scrap of paper. The more he wrote, the more dejected his expression became. Soon, the beeps cut out with a burst of static, and the only sound coming from the radio is a quiet crackling sound.
It is dead silent in the tent. The only sound that could be heard was the distant sounds of battle, and the crackling from the radio.
The lieutenant looked around at the assembled soldiers and cleared his throat. "That was a message from the front lines." He begins. I fear I already know what he is going to say, but I pray that it is not what I think it is. "The Imperials have broken through, and are heading right at us." He continues. Everyone in the room exchanges nervous glances. I feel a pit forming in my gut.
The lieutenant takes a deep breath and continues. "We have been ordered to hold our ground no matter what the cost. We must fight to the last man." The tension in the air was so thick I could have cut it with my bayonet.
This was it.
I am going to die.
But I will die standing, as will my men.
We all rushed out of the tent and began preparing. Partially destroyed houses provided cover, as did abandoned cars and trucks. Several soldiers started forming roadblocks out of anything they could. In all honesty, we should have been more prepared for battle, as we all knew that we would eventually be attacked.
Soon, we were ready as we would ever be. I was crouched behind a small brick wall. I felt a tap on my shoulder, and I turned my head and see another conscript crouched next to me. He was young, probably no older than 16. "Sargent, are we really going to die here?" He asked, His voice breaking. I nod solemnly and put a hand on his shoulder. "We are, but we are going to die protecting the ones we love. Every imperial we kill here is one less that will kill a civilian or a loved one later, understand?" The kid nods. I can see his resolve harden. "I will die a good death sir." He grins, and scurry's off.
I let my gaze drift to my men assembled around me. They are ready. Some of them meet my gaze and nod.
I can hear the distant clanking and whirring of approaching Imperial vehicles. Not long after that, I see the first Imperial climb over a pile of rubble. An Imperial warrior stands atop the rubble and looks down at us. He draws his Katana and screams a war cry.
A cry that is answered by thousands of others. Thousands of Imperial warriors scramble over the rubble and charge at our fortifications, screaming at the top of their lungs. Some of them are wielding their katanas, while other are firing indiscriminately with their laser rifles. I signal for my men to hold their fire with a hand gesture.
Hold.
They are getting closer.
Hold.
The other officers and their soldiers have already begun firing.
Hold.
I can see the fanatical look in lead warriors eyes.
"FIRE! FIRE NOW!" I bellow.
The lead warriors jerk and come apart under sheets of bullets and a hailstorm of missiles. A laser blast nearly misses me, and nicks my cheek. I growl, and gun down the warrior that shot me. The Imperial charge is faltering, their zealous cries of honor are replaced by cries of fear and pain. Soon, not a single Imperial warrior is moving. The air reeked of ozone, gunpowder and gore.
"Well that wasn't so bad." A nearby Flak Trooper quipped. I'm fairly certain that someone smacked him in the back of the head.
It was most certainly was bad. Four hours later, I found myself in a mud filled trench with a few other soldiers, some of them mine and some of them not. After the first attack, the Imperials started adding new units into the mix, like their cowardly Tankbusters, raining energy blasts upon us from afar and Shinobie assassins that jumped into the trenches with us. And they sent tanks. Lots and lots of tanks.
I aim my rifle up and emptied my magazine into a Rocket Angel that had been flitting around from roof to roof and taking pot shots at us. With a sharp crack and a small explosion, the Imperial wailed and fell to the ground before exploding.
I had to admit, the secondary explosion did give me an odd sense of satisfaction.
An odd silence settled over the battlefield. Then I heard an odd pounding noise.
I risked poking my head up to take a look around.
I immediately regretted it.
Slowly making its way toward us was an enemy many of us believed to be a myth.
It was the Shogun Executioner, along with an army of King Oni's. A Tesla trooper that was in the trench with me cursed and powered up his tesla cannons. He turned to face me. "I heard that the giant robot runs on the same energy my cannons use, and that if it is attacked by that kind of energy, it heals the damn thing!" The trooper stomped impatiently and looked away. "I can still tear those King Oni's apart..." he looked back at me. "You should radio for help, we may still have some armor support left." As he said that, an energy beam scorched the air between us. I ducked and pulled my radio out.
"This is Sargent Yuri of the 6th battalion defending Leningrad, I have sighted a Shogun Executioner and am requesting armor support, over." The radio was silent.
I repeated the message. More silence.
I cursed and was about to put the radio away when a voice stopped me.
"This is Natasha, I have eyes on you, over." The voice said.
My eyes widened in surprise. What the hell was a commando like Natasha doing here?
Her voice interrupted my thoughts. "Sargent, do you see the wreckage of that Twinblade not to far from you?" I poked my head up again and after a bit of looking, I spot it.
"Yes ma'am." I respond.
"Good, that Twinblade was carrying a Vacuum Imploder missile."
My eyes go wide again.
"The missile is still operable." She continued. "If you can reach it and activate it's countdown detonator, you'll be able to escape before it turns those mechs into a big pile of scrap metal."
I feel an unfamiliar feeling as she speaks. I feel hope. We may win this yet, and the remainder of my men and I may be able to live to fight another day.
I still have to reach the missile though. That could be problematic.
"Don't worry Sargent, there's a distraction on the way."
As she say's this, I hear the familiar rumbling of approaching Hammer Tanks. Sure enough, A group of a dozen Hammer Tanks comes crashing through a dilapidated warehouse, firing their main guns at the approaching robotic hoard.
"Go now Sargent!" Natasha shouts over the radio. I look at the men in the trench. "We'll cover you sir." One of the conscripts say. The Tesla Trooper stomps up to me. "Permission to clear the way sir."
I nod my approval. I know what he's planning.
The Tesla Trooper turns and charges out of the trench with myself close behind. barreling towards a King Oni. The Oni see's the danger and attempts to cut down the Tesla Trooper, but it is too slow. The Trooper tackled the Oni and sent it crashing to the ground before he stomped on its neck. Then he turned and fired his tesla cannons into the face of another Oni, slagging it. "Go Sargent!" He shouts as he grappled with another Oni.
I make a break for the missile, firing my rifle from the hip at anything Imperial. One of the Oni's spots me and fire's. The laser misses me, but still lands close enough to send me sprawling.
The ringing in my ears is deafening and it feels like I'm in a trance. As I get back onto my feet, I look at the scene unfolding before me. My remaining soldiers are concentrating their fire on a single Oni, even as another is preparing to flatten them.
The Hammer tanks are having better luck, but are quickly being destroyed.
I watch as the Tesla Trooper threw himself at a group of Oni's before self destructing in a brilliant ball of blue and white fire.
I shake my head, and the trance like feeling along with the ringing disperses.
I have to get to that missile.
I reload my rifle and sprint as fast as my legs will carry me as I fire from the hip once more. After dodging a few more laser blasts I reach the missile. I run my hands over it's smooth surface and find a recessed button. I pressed it, and a small control panel revealed itself. It was fairly straightforward, one control was to set the countdown...
And the other was to detonate the missile immediately.
The sounds of battle have ceased. The only sound I hear now is the rhythmic stomping of the Imperial mech's.
I look up.
The Shogun Executioner was right on top of me, yet It didn't see me.
I pull out my radio. "Natasha." I say. I am suprised by my own voice. It sounds calm. I feel calm.
"Yes Sergent?" she responded, her voice sounding despondent.
"How many of my men remain?"
No answer.
"How many soldiers are left?"
"...None..."
I already had a feeling that would be her answer, but hearing it felt like being stabbed in the heart with a dagger.
I made my decision.
I would not be leaving here alive.
Escape was not possible, the Oni's were searching for me, not to mention that the Shogun Executioner was above me.
"Natasha, are you out of the missiles blast range?" I ask while I pulled a small photo out of my pocket.
"Yes. Good luck Sargent." At that, the radio went dead.
I counted the odds.
A Shogun Executioner and a small army of King Oni's for one Conscript.
A fair trade.
I take one last look at the photo.
It showed the smiling face of my fiance.
I'm sorry Sasha.
"For the Motherland!" I shout.
I slam my fist down on the detonator.
Then with a loud roar, the world went white.
Name: Yuri Chernoff
Age: 20
Lead the way: Having survived long enough to earn the rank of Sargent is quite the feat. Your leadership abilities are above average.
Veteran: Years of non stop warfare have toned your combat abilities. (additional damage done while wielding automatic rifles and fire based weaponry. Melee damage increased.)
Twitchy: Years of fighting have made you more alert and aware of your surroundings and you have the ability to sense danger, however, combat has also made you twitchy, so you may sense danger and hostility where there is none.
Iron will: Once you have set your goals, nothing short of death will stop you from accomplishing them.
Party loyalty: You care greatly for those under your command. (The more damage your party takes, the more your rage increases. Damage output increases, though you do seem to get shot at more in this state.)
