[b][u] Duro One Federation Embassy [/u][/b] "We got hostiles on advance!" Captain Ross Dodgers shouted out while firing from cover along with several others. “Hold the line!” "Come get some!" One of the captain’s men taunted the duron soldiers, firing a heavy machine gun towards the charging enemy. "I can do this all-day assholes!" He continued unloading lead on the enemy until he heard several clicking sounds. "Reload!" He yelled out, but before he got the chance, he was pulled down. "Masu!” Private Oriana shouted as she pulled him down with all her might behind the safety of the makeshift barricades they set up. “Get in cover you crazy idiot!". She paused as bullets flew overhead. "You're a sniper's magnet!" She shouted over the gunfire. Masu simply smiled. "Hah! I’m a man of pure steel, ori! I'd say let 'em try!" Oriana simply rolled her eyes at Masu’s overly confident attitude but couldn’t help but worry for the fool. “…Just please stay alive." Masu replied with a simple wink as he reloaded his gun, stood up and unleashed another volley of lead. Oriana crawled through rubble, blood and bullets as she reached the captain’s left flank. “How much longer we gotta do this, sir?!” She cried out; her voice nearly drowned out by the fighting. “We’re getting our asses kicked!” Captain Dodgers didn’t need to answer, he immediately placed two fingers over the right side of his head. "Shra, ETA on those civvies?” ---------------- Elsewhere in the city, a small convey of federation Humvees and cargo trucks sped through the war torn, battered streets of the capital, making their way towards the embassy, followed by hostile vehicles not too far behind. “No straight answer, sir!” Shra replied, static and gunfire dominating his end of the commlink. “Roads are blown to shit and we got tangos hounding our asses!” “Just get those people to safety, transports will arrive in ten! Over and out!” -------------- Captain Dodgers turned his attention back to the fighting at hand, pro-regime guerrillas and soldiers slowly encircling their position. The Captain then turned his gaze back to one of his soldiers, a Simmie tinkering with a power generator, pressing down keys, all the while letting out frustrated ooks and shrill yelps. "How are those Auto Turrets Amy?" "Working as fast as possible Cap!" Amy ooked several times at the captain, her translator collar letting out a feminine, yet frantic, digitized voice. Her frustration reaching the boiling point as she begun to smash the damned controls, inaudible screeches sounding from her collar. In her recklessness she was out in the open briefly and was shot in the arm. Letting out another yelp as she fell to the ground in agony. "Oh fuck…Medic!" The Captain cried out, and without delay, a human, private Jenkins, rushed over and dragged the injured Amy away into cover. Captain Dodger proceeded to fire blindly at the attacking fighters, more pouring out from nowhere. “Captain!” Private Shra called on the commlink. “Get clear!” From behind the mass of regime soldiers came the evac convey, the auto turrets on the escorting Humvees unleashing hell on the ill-prepared infantrymen. Mowing them down in the dozens as they trampled over their fresh bodies. Without hesitation shra and the rest of his unit rushed out of their car. “Cover the civvies!” Shra ordered. “Yes, sarge!” His men replied in unison as they ran to trucks, terrified federation citizens pouring out from the back. “Let’s Go! Go! Go!” one of the soldiers ordered the civilians. The surviving regime soldiers running for cover and returned fire on the new arrivals, several of the fleeing civilians killed in the crossfire. “Cover them and fall back!” Shra ordered, aiming for the attackers, he and his men slowly backing away towards the embassy. The roaring engines of a lone transport craft could be heard overhead as it soared through the skies, circling around the LZ. “This is it ladies and gents!” Captain Dodgers screeched over the comms. “Civvies go first, then they come back for us!” Shra’s squad and the remainder of the Embassy’s security regiment formed up in a renewed sense of hope as they took their positions at the barricade and gave it their all. Pinning down the regime soldiers as the last of the surviving civilians all swiftly stacked up in the transport ship. “Civvies are clear! I repeat! Civvies are clear!” The captain declared as the transport’s engines roared once more as it lifted off towards the sky. “This isn’t over people!” the captain shouted. “We gotta hold off until our ride gets here! Just a bit longer!” ------------- A short while passes as the fighting dies down, the regime forces moving to other parts of the capital, giving the much-needed breather for the embassy guards. In the wide main entry hall of the building, several dozen federation soldiers laid across room, some badly wounded from the fighting, others shell-shocked from the surprise attack, the few medics on hand tending to the wounded. Captain Dodgers, Sergeant Uhan Shra and the others stepped in victorious as the last of the regime’s soldiers fled. “Your timing was damn close sergeant!” The captain exclaimed with a wide smile on his face. “You did good.” “Thank you, sir.” Shra said. “That bird can’t come soon enough.” “It’s all silent on their end, but they’ll get here event-.” The captain was interrupted by several loud beeps coming from his commlink, a wide smile forming. “Speak of the devil, that must be our ride.” He said cheerfully. “I’ll be in the office, rest up while you can.” --------------- “Jesus Christ, Masu.” Oriana protested, pushing the large man’s shoulder. “Don’t go pulling stunts like that on me.” “Yeah, yeah, sorry about that…” Masu half-heartily apologizing, clearly seeing the worried expression on Oriana’s face, the adrenaline rush of combat wearing off. “It was the rush of it all.” “Yeah…I get it, but please be careful time.” “Can do, ma’am.” He said with a mock salute to ease the tension of the situation, getting a small chuckle out of her. Although that would be short-lived. The captain’s could be heard from the ground floor of the building, clearly sounding distressed and angry. “That doesn’t sound good…” Masu said. ----------- “Sir, You can’t be serious…” Dodgers said in protest. “Afraid I am, captain.” Colonel Gabriel Ironside said remorsefully on the other end of the line. “Your unit is to remain on Duro One for the foreseeable future. Reinforcements will arrive in due time.” “Colonel, we’re in no shape to do anything at the moment, that last fight spent us good!” “I understand your position, I do…but High Command see it fit that all federal military personnel on Duro One are to assist in the war effort.” The other end was silent, the captain speechless. “Look, the best you can do is get you and your men out of the city, rendezvous with Orleans forces elsewhere. Until reinforcements arrive, that is your best bet.” “…Understood sir, we’ll do our best.” The captain said, a sense of dread looming over. “If this were my call, I’d have you and your troops out this moment, unfortunately, the Generals see otherwise..” “it’s alright sir, we’ll make do, over and out.” ---------- Some hours pass and the fighting in their part of the city had died down for the most part, the Orleans invasion taking focus away from the embassy, a fortunate circumstance for the captain’s men. In what was formerly the Ambassador’s office, Captain Dodgers and his top men convene to plot their next course of action. “Alright…any hope of getting off this rock is a bust.” The captain declared, much to his men’s displeasure. “Colonel Ironside has suggested we move out of the city and locate friendly forces. Won’t be easy with all the wounded, but once we’re out, we can manage.” All was silent in the room, disappointment and fear filling the air. “How far can the Humvees and trucks get us?” “Far enough, sir.” Shra replied. “Good enough.” Dodgers said. “Lets stock pile our weapons, munitions, and rations. I want all able-bodied soldiers to man the cars, while the wounded are holed up in the trucks. We’ll move out in the dead of night. Any questions?” The room was silent once more, the captain looking at the determined expressions on his soldier’s faces. “Good, let’s get to work people.”