[u][b]Mordant Prime
13th Mordant Regiment, 2nd Battalion, 3rd platoon (Mechanized)
Pvt. Cato Euchar[/b][/u]
[img]https://coolvibe.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/ambush.jpg[/img]

Cato was always a quick learner, and this was not different. The fear of losing your life is a great motivator for learning lessons quickly. Mines, booby traps, ambushes, everyone still alive now learned those lessons and learned them at the cost of others.

The shake of the scout tank downshifting quickly roused Cato, throwing him into a world of sound. 

“ Are we moving?”, Cato asked groggily looking around the troop bay 

“ Yep, were moving through the park today...” another soldier answered with twisted smile

“ Great….just great” Cato said in a sarcastic tone as he grabbed his rifle and shuffled out of the troop bay.

The 13th Mordant was a newly levied regiment, one of two established personally by High Solar Priest Barca. Everyone, including the officers, were brand new and untested in battle. The planet and the regiments namesake, was its first combat action and they were learning important and deadly lessons.

The platoon quickly climbed on top of the scout tanks, making themselves comfortable as the vehicle lurched forward and traveled down the large boulevard. Cato sat backwards against the turret; his legs spread out down the back of the vehicle. His helmet was down over his eyes and his head rested on the turret bubble as he tried to gain a few more moments of rest before arriving to their destination.
	It had been nearly a month since he arrived and most of the city was under Solite control, the tank passed aid stations, relaxing troops and finally guard towers before a checkpoint marked the end of friendly territory. A hanging skeleton, long picked clean of any flesh held a sign bolted to its hands added to the border. The sign stating, “ Everyone past this point is not worthy of the solar truth, show no mercy for you will receive none”. 

A swift kick to his boot suddenly stirred Cato from his slumber once again. Lifting his helmet, he was met with the face of his platoon leader, staring down with his trademark uncaring stare 

“ Wake the fuck up Cato….” He said quietly before turning back towards the front of the tank, a cigarette hanging from his mouth. 

The pair had grown close since his early days on Mordant, the Lieutenant had taken the young private under his wing. Much like a disturbed mother goose, the platoon leader had kept them all alive and taught them lessons that he had learned over his two years in constant combat. In turn, Cato stayed alive and was an effective soldier, keeping both the Lieutenant and his platoon mates happy.

Cato grinned as he pushed the helmet towards the top of his head, the chin strap dangling as the vehicle vibrated underneath him. The troops had discovered that riding on top of the vehicles in urban settings added to the probability of surviving ambushes and sudden enemy actions. A lesson they learned after watching another tank, and its crew, burn as they tried to get the troop door open after a cannon strike.

The collection of vehicles, continued down the boulevard before a large clearing came into view, the large expanse of the city’s central park was clearly visible from the street, and seemed to go on for miles. A large lake, forest and huge grass laden vistas stretched before them. The entire expanse seemed untouched by the ravaged urban environment they were leaving adding to the oddity of the situation.

“ You could almost forget it’s a Warzone!” Cato yelled, turning his head to look toward the front of the tank.

“ Aerial recon flies over this sector every day, its been clear since we got here” the platoon leader answered. “ No reason to bomb it if there are not rebs…” he finished, taking a long drag from his cigarette. 

Cato responded with an audible hum, producing a quizzical look before turning his head to face the rear of the vehicle again. The tank finally passed the last block of buildings, thrusting them into the wide expanse of the park. The vibration stopped as they transitioned from pavement to grass, and each vehicle, spat out dirt and grass bits as they traveled down into the park. 

“ Alright dis…..” the lieutenant yelled before suddenly stopping abruptly, the faint pop of a flare gun, quickly distracting him.

‘The fuck….’ Cato thought as he quickly turned his head again towards the front of the tank. Turning in time to see the projectile rise into the sky before igniting in an eerie red glow. Cato held his quizzical expression for a few moments before the high pitched whine of a high velocity cannon shell shot over the tank, landing in the grass behind them with a small explosion. Almost immediately following the shell, the park ignited with enemy fire. The zip and crack of small arms fire coupled with the loud pinging of rounds hitting the tank filled his ears as he realized that they just drove into a prepared ambush.

“ DISMOUNT!” the platoon leader yelled, before rolling of the tank himself narrowly missing a few rounds that impacted where his body was a few moments ago. The rest of soldiers followed suit, rolling, jumping or falling off the tank as fast as they could.

Another high-pitched whine sailed seemingly right over Cato’s head before a wet smacking sound was heard, spraying him with a warm liquid and forcing him to close his eyes. Cato quickly wiped the mystery liquid from his face before opening his eyes again, coming face to face with what used to be one of his platoon mates. The shell had narrowly missed the tank and lodged itself into the chest of the man directly in front of Cato.

The soldiers face was panicked, as he eyed the shell in his chest before lifting his eyes to look at Cato. A sick grin passed over the soldiers face before the life visibly drained from his face, his eyes rolling back as he slowly settled on his knees, hunched over.

“ Shit…” Cato exclaimed, before a hand grabbed his arm and yanked him off the tank. 

“ WAKE THE FUCK UP BOOT!” a familiar voice yelled as he was dragged towards a nearby boulder for cover, his helmet falling off as they moved. 

“ You hit!?” the lieutenant yelled as they group reached the boulder, looking towards Cato with a mix of fear and determination evident on his face.

“ N…No…” Cato spat before grabbing his rifle from the ground, as he regained his wits again. 

The platoon leader grunted in response, before his attention turned back towards the battle as Cato turned to look at his former platoon mate still in a hunched over position on top of the tank. His body, shook as the main gun of the vehicle fired before another couple rounds found their mark, knocking the corpse onto its back and onto the nose of the shell lodged in his chest. 

“ No…..” Cato exclaimed under his breath as the shell ignited, blowing the top off the nearby tank and showering the group with bits of shrapnel and body parts. Cato was blown a few meters away, flying end over end before landing flat on his back. Suddenly, everything was silent, the sounds of gunfire, screaming and explosions seemingly went away as his vision slowly faded to black. The beautiful blue sky of Mordant prime slowly fading away. 


[u][b]Lieutenant Jasper Cane 
In the wreckage of the naval bomber “ Lucky”[/b][/u]
[img]https://wallup.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/27/419058-artwork-apocalyptic-destruction-science_fiction-planes-crash-ruins-city.jpg[/img]
Jasper awake to the sounds of crying before the pain in his legs washed over him. Opening his eyes, he looked at the inside of the cockpit and noticed that he was inside an office building. Smashed desks and chairs were strewn about while various electronics sat in various states of disarray. Studying the scene a little more Jasper found the source of the crying, his weapons officer, was on the opposite side of the room, strung up to the ceiling by his wrists. He was stripped down to his underwear, and his face and body was badly beaten and burned. 

Jasper opened his mouth to speak, but a sharp pain in his chest stopped him short as a shallow breath escaped from his lips. Tears began forming in his eyes as he doubled over his in chair, adding to the pain in his badly broken legs. 

“ K….Ken” Jasper said in a raspy voice…” Can you walk…” he said just audible enough for his weapons officer to hear. 

“ Shhhh……” the weapons officer answered loudly “ They’re coming back…..” he finished with a whimper as the sound of a door slamming open could be heard. 

“ Who the fuck told you to talk!.....hey, cut this pig’s tongue out!” a voice could be heard yelling before three men walked into the room. 

The weapons officer let out a loud scream before one of the men silenced him with a punch to his stomach. The two other men took him down from the ceiling and began dragging him away.

“ Hey! This one is alive!” Another voice yelled, as a fourth man climbed into the wreckage of the bomber. 

“ Have him join the party!” another voice yelled before Jasper looked up at the butt of a rifle heading towards his face.