[@NecroKnight]

[center][h1][color=f26522]Emporium of Man[/color][/h1][/center]
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[img]http://i.imgur.com/hGlyTDL.png[/img]
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[b]Icarus Prime[/b]
Citadel-One entrance
17:12 - Icarus Prime Central Time

[color=f7941d]"This is Alpha actual, come in Squad Bravo, Charlie, Echo! I repeat, this is..."[/color] The voice repeated the message half a dozen times before stopping. Lt. Baker was getting very frustrated, his anger clrearly directed towards any object he could get his hands on. [color=f7941d]"On Jupiter's cock!"[/color] The lieutenant threw the radio on the ground with all his might, and the device broke in half as it hit the concrete tiles on the ground. He looked around at his men who looked at him with fear and confusion in their eyes. None of them had their visors on, and they weren't trying to hide their feelings at all. He looked at them briefly and then cleared his throat as he put on a calmer attitude. He sat down on a large piece of concrete that was ripped out of the ground by some explosion. [color=f7941d]"Alpha squad, Charlie squad, you guys are the only ones who made it here from your company. As it stands now, the goons of Icarus are setting up a defensive perimeter, and we are waiting for reinforcements to arrive at the drop zone."[/color] He looked over at a soldier next to him who was clenching his gun so hard that his fingers turned white. [color=f7941d]"Private, at ease. Save the anxiety for when you're shooting at the xenos. Now gimme your radio."[/color] The priavte stood forward, and reached for his radio. As he was handing it to the lieutenant his hands fumbled and he dropped the radio. This one didn't break like the last one, thought there was a large difference in their starting velocities. The lieutenant leaned down to pick it up, and the soldier murmured some kind of an apology as he walked back to his position in the formation. Baker looked at his men, most of them were people who he didn't know. His own squad was wiped out in the initial attack of the Vespen. [color=f7941d]"Do you know what this is?"[/color] The lieutenant pointed at his radio. A soldier in the line raised his hand. [color=f7941d]"It's a radio, sir."[/color] Baker smirked and looked up the sky above him. The silhoutte of the Glory battleship cast a long shadow over the square where they set up camp. Some 10 meters away another company held the same briefing, but said different words. He didn't want this briefing to be the last of his men's. [color=f7941d]"This gents is not an ordinary radio. This bulky piece of metal is your lifeline. This baby is going to save your life one day, and I'd happily give my gun for one of these. On the battlefield a radio is what decides whether you live or not. Information keeps us all alive out there."[/color] He saw the confusion in the eyes of the soldiers as they anxiously checked their guns, deciding whether it's really worth their time. [color=f7941d]"This baby is going to give us victory today. These vespen stand no chance against the will of the Emperor."[/color] He could hear the nearby company commanders shouting as well. He raised his voice to match the effect. [color=f7941d][b]"ONCE THE XENOS FEEL THE BURN ON THEIR BACKS AS OUR FLYBOYS DESCEND FROM THE HEAVENS ABOVE AND SEND THESE INFIDELS TO HELL, WE WILL SING THE HYMN OF THE EMPIRE ON THEIR BURNING CORPSES! GLORY TO MANKIND!"[/b][/color]. His men cheered in unison, and grabbed their gear as he stood up to make their leave. It was going to be a long day, but they had a perfect firing positin to hit the Vespen from behind the Order's lines. 

He left his man who were packing their gear, and headed over to the other company. Their commander was also finished, and stood up as soon as he noticed baker approaching. They shaked hands, and walked away from both companies into an open part of the square. [color=f7941d]"Where is that bloody air support? Our boys got massacred out there but I didn't see a single bomb being dropped!"[/color] The other commander didn't look half as anxious as Baker, and he just shook hishead in response. He grabbed a box of cigaretts from one of his pouches, took one out, and started smoking. After a deep breath from the narcotic, he let out a large grey smoke cloud and replied. [color=f7941d]"Appereantly the repulsor field's residual messes with the scanner. A few birds went the other way, and high command didn't saw it frr for anything flying to approach the area. It will take some time for the bombers to get here, but the gunships are already enroute to our position."[/color]  Baker was relieved to hear that. Then the sound of sirens interrupted the discussion, and a message from the loudspeakers informed them of what to come. [color=f26522][b]"Brave men of the Empire. Today you will make your stand on this ground, sacred by the will of the Emperor. You will purge the city of the Vespen, and bring glory to your names, or die in the honor of the Emperor. All squads, move to your positions. Glory to Mankind."[/b][/color] The commanders nod, and then left for their squad.

[b]17:40[/b]

An explosion vibrated across the grand entrance to Citadel-One. The concrete walls trembled and fine dust fell from the heights of the massive construction. Knights from the Icarus order stood in formation, taking on the Vespen horde head on. The EOM Militia took positions behind them, elevated on the massive stairway that leads into the city, and the last safe zone on the planet. The sounds of automatic rifles and large caliber machine guns filled the air, only briefly interrupted by explosions. Some shouted commands in the EOM lines, and the knights shouted praises to the emperor. The Vespen fell in numbers that are hard to take in, but after each Vespen came another one, and they climbed over their own kind's corpses to get to the entrance. The bloodlust of being deprived from the favourite snacks drove them mad, and their masses threw themselves at the defensive lines. But it wasn't only them who took casualties. The order of Icarus took many losses, and even thought they stood their ground firmly, it was beginning to look like they'll run out of men before the Vespen stop their assault. A machine gun stopepd firing, and then another one stopped as well. The long lines of tracers began to disappear, and turn into much smaller bursts. The sounds of guns started to die out, and the shouts from the EOM lines can be clearly heard now. [color=f7941d]"Where are the goddamn reinforcements? We are running out of everything!"[/color] A few men in large bulky suits ran down the stairs to the firing positions carrying a large crate, and dropped it hastily as they reached the other men. Like ants who found sugar, dozens of men raced to the crate to refill their ammo. It wasn't enough for all of them, and by the looks of the people who carried the crate it looked like it was the last one as well. The mortar team was the only one still firing happily into the Vespen lines. Large explosions trembled the ground every time their whistling shells hit the ground, and Vespen fell in large quantities. The mortars fired yet again, the low hum of the coils inside lingering around for seconds.

The explosion was much larger than they thought it would be. Then another large explosion shook the ground, and soon enough the sound of autocannons spewing shells accompanied the dying sounds of the Vespen. A shade larger than the grand entrance slowly crawled forward into the Vespen lines, and hid the sun from the sky. Every man in the EOM lines forgot to fire for a second as they looked up at the source of the glowing tracers that now happily chewed up dozens of Vespen at a time. The battleship that usually hovers over the capital building was slowly floating towards the origin of the Vespen, and each time it fired the hordes seemed to be pushed back tens of meters. On the massive armor panels of the construction, a name was painted on in orange letters. [color=f26522]"The Champion of the Skies"[/color] Cheers from all over the Militia lines filled the entrance, and their guns fell silent. The Vespen horde was stopped, and their bloodlust was fletting away, as were their numbers. The large animals changed direction, and instead of running into certain death, they ran back into the forest. The tracers and explosions filled the large clearing in front of the EOM lines, but they soon stopped, and the large ship came to a halt. From behind it came numerous gunships at high speeds and then landed on the square behind the firing lines. Fresh squads jumped out from them, and brought the much needed reinforcements. The battle for Citadel-One was won, but the day will be forever remembered as the bloodiest incident of the Militia. Heads will fall in the wake of the Repulsor field's sabotage, and the rebels will suffer for their insolence and treachorous acts against the Emperor.