[center][url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRhRNgqPlyk][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/211021/8ba96a84df8bfdedde18241407203eca.png[/img][/url]
[color=olive][h3]O P : R E T R I B U T I O N[/h3]
[b]Pacific Point, California[/b][/color][/center][hr][color=slategray]When faced with so much death and destruction, there could only be a few responses. When your families are likely dead, your friends slaughtered, the places you hold closest obliterated, many break. Many crawl into their shells and wait for their turn. A cold desperation for it all to be just a dream. For the non-powered masses, there was little choice but to act quickly or die. In places of the world where there were no heroes, overlooked by the Earth's protectors, chaos reigned. Many more of humanity's worst traits would shine through. In these places, countries forgotten about in the news, places many Westerners could barely find on a map, Duos and their 21[sup]st[/sup] found calling. A group of exceptionally trained [i]normal[/i] humans to do the work of the heroes. Well, mostly human. But even their Commander had little in the way of real augmentations, just superior biology in many ways. No mystical power source to draw from, only bullet and blade to fend off enemies of the Greater Good. But they were limited.

Even now, news of the ongoing invasion filtered through their tactical UI screens. Millions dead worldwide, statuses of many countries unknown. Their own homeland, and the homelands of many comrades, potentially lay in ruin. Humanity's loss of its holy cities in the cradle of civilisation would be traumatic, to say the least of it. There was enough desperation to crush someone's soul but all hands on deck, as the saying goes. When the invasion hit, the 21[sup]st[/sup] had been in transit at Fort Pendleton. News of it scrambled the Marine assets there as quickly as they could and the Holy Chosen jumped to be in the first wave of resistance. Thankfully, their methods of entering the city under siege was more covert than the Marines, who had been bogged down near the city limits by alien forces.

Three thousand pairs of boots trudged through the sewers of the great American city as quickly and quietly as they could. It was an intelligence void, they had no idea what they were going into when they were this separated from military command. Commander Duos flicked their eyes over the tactical screen as they trudged through the muck, two minds working hard on taking as much information in as they could. This was while they were coordinating the thirty 100-man companies underneath the city, moving them around like pieces on a chess board. Situations and tactics were compared to years of war under the Alien and the Human's respective military histories. It was important they moved in coordinated smaller groups rather than move as one. The further they could spread their tactical reach, the better. More targets could be hit but companies were more isolated to be encircled and destroyed. Hence the use of the sewers. The high numbers were needed to close the sheer technological gap.

In the dark recesses of their minds, they knew the large groupings also allowed Captains tactical capability of "severing a limb" to save the rest. Their comrades would fight well, knowing much more was at stake than their own lives.

The Human thanked God for small mercies as his own company of 100 rounded another unfortified corner in the sewers. The aliens, in their likely arrogance, had foregone sending any patrols into the under-city. After all, only the arrogant could somehow think that leaving communications up for their enemy was a brilliant idea. Which his soldiers were using expertly of course. Their encrypted communications channel cracked to life.

[i]"These aliens are not very good at combating our infiltration, eh Commander?"[/i]

[i]"As God is my witness, these aliens are as pigheaded as you are Ali."[/i]

[i]"Radio silence Privates. Ali, you take point at the next junction until we get into the sunshine."[/i]

You could almost hear the visible pout as positions were switched up the line. Let it be shown that humans often countered desperate unknowns with shenanigans and banter, no matter where you came from. [color=olivedrab][i]"Thank you Captain. We are less than one click away from the nearest objective. Retribution comes, let us be the hope for the common man. God be with you. For the Greater Good."[/i][/color]

[i][b]"For the Greater Good, sir."[/b][/i] With their reply, Alien only nodded in satisfaction as they continued onwards. The fighting was fierce and gunfire battled with alien technology. It only grew fiercer, a dull roar reverberating through the tunnels as they reached their objective. The group spread out underneath the building, point-men climbing up to the manhole covers or explosive charges set to explode underneath bathrooms. Throughout the city, concentrations of alien troops, artillery emplacements and supply lines would be ambushed from underneath the city. One company had been tasked with an altogether different assignment, whose goal would hopefully boost human resistance across the city.

The hundred was split into squads of ten, the movement of feet through dirtied water becoming hurried but staying quiet. Their watches synchronised, they watched the clock tick closer to the zero mark[hr]To the outside observer, it felt like another invasion was coming from underneath. Bathroom floors crumbled downwards into underground sewers, hefting amounts of smoke grenades emerging from manhole covers. Dark figures scurrying out of the underground. Covered from head to toe in black bandages, eyes covered with dark goggles, it was hard to recognise them as humans at first. But as they hurried to the alleyways and higher ground, concentrated bursts of fire would emerge from barking guns.

Duos followed their comrades, the Alien in control of the body as the Human worked overtime in their mind to coordinate the other companies relaying through their shared mouth. The basement floor in this building looked like it imploded, rubble thrown into the sewer water, pipes bursting. The squad of eleven fanned out, Alien taking point with their H&K MG5. Sprinting up the stairs and crashing through the door, their large mass crushed the power-armoured alien behind it, smearing the abominable thing into chunks of flesh meshed to the opposite wall. Alien could immediately perceive the sound of surprise and hurrying footsteps. They were only checking on the noise now. Good. Multiple flashbangs were liberally thrown to the opposing ends of the corridor as the next two special forces soldiers came out.

Continuing to mutter orders under their breath, Duos [i]moved[/i] to their right, followed by his squad. Alien shot around the corner into disoriented enemies, armour-piercing bullets impacting into both flesh and metal. Stepping around it, they noted with dissatisfaction that some enemies were still alive, saved by their power armour. Infuriating. Taking out their knife with their left hand, they proceeded to stomp over the nearest fallen alien, using his strength to step on its neck with a satisfying [i]crack[/i]. Opening up with their MG5 to take down further targets, they slashed with their left hand to the nearer ones. Behind him, comrades took cover behind alien corpses, taking potshots at a disoriented enemy. 

Clearing this corridor, the squad moved as one to the emergency steps, ignoring the gunshots and plasma-fire they heard elsewhere in the building. Their comrades would have their backs. Duos sprinted up the stairs, barreling through a squad of aliens entering through a fire exit. Bursts of fire to the head and torso killed the downed enemies as the squad continued, the sound of plasma-fire getting closer to them.

On the second to last flight of stairs, Alien could hear the low whining of a plasma artillery battery winding up. They sprinted harder, leaving behind their human comrades to barge through another set of doors. Heightened reflexes and senses flared as new stimuli entered the system. Ten pairs of shuffling feet. An alien artillery gun pointed downwards to the streets below at an unknown target. Gunfire, previously muffled by thick walls, prevalent there. Allied forces. Threat needed to be eliminated.

The knife was flung from Duos' left hand, lodging itself into the helmet of the artillery operator. Alien pressed down on his trigger finger, bullets spraying once more. They rolled to avoid incoming plasma, alerted by the searing heat which coursed through the air near them. Hunkering against a piece of large alien equipment, the plasma-fire intensified from now alert and vengeful alien soldiers. The heat seemed to sizzle the air, getting hotter and hotter as the alien equipment was being melted down.

A whoosh in the air, metal canisters impacting against cement. Rectangular and if Alien had seen it right, an angry red. Contained napalm grenades. Human rights could be stalled against aliens, as ironic as that opinion would be seen by the Human. Fast, ever-burning fire accompanied by alien screams reverberating through the air, the armour doing strong but this did not do anything to the beings inside. Alien flesh cooked inside now metal coffins, piercing through the gunfire in the streets. It almost sounded like they felt something. To the Alien part of Duos, it was nothing but the Greater Good prevailing.

Peeking over to look at the mangled remains of the artillery gun and the enemies, Alien noticed with satisfaction that the fast acting anti-Napalm foam within the canisters were already dissipating the flammable reactive compounds. A completely experimental weapon up until this point, now proven effective in the field. They nodded at Private Ali in appreciation as the human squad fanned out towards the mangled pieces of alien technology or in overwatch positions around the rooftop. The personal communications piece crackled to life once more. A female's voice came through.

[i] - This is Captain Fatima. Building cleared Commander. 15% friendly casualties, 10% of whom are dead. 100% enemy casualties, all dead. Orders, over? -[/i]

[color=olivedrab][i] - Casualties are higher than expected, reports are flooding in of higher numbers among other companies. We fall back to enforce friendly lines. Rendezvous on the ground in ten minutes, rest and recuperate, enforce overwatch positions of entrances. Commander out. - [/i][/color] 

Alien turned his mental attention to his companion, who he again gave control of the mouth to use for relaying orders. He asked for the sitrep.

[color=olivedrab][i]'Not looking good Al. I'm straining as it is coordinating attacks but overall sustained casualties are as high as 50% without our support. Most companies have had at least minor successes in operations so far with[/i] Malak[i] Company clearing their special objective. We caught them with their pants down but the further forces away from friendly lines need to leave fast Al. I'm ordering them to the sewers immediately.'[/i][/color] Alien agreed internally, pushing away the grief for another day. Many lives would be lost today and he cannot lose vision at the start of the engagement. At least his companion was holding strong. Coordinating forces at this micromanaging scale was tiring work, judging by the constant orders feeding under their combined breath.

Information was needed and the Alien reckoned it would come from their allies below. They were running in the dark here and though they succeeded, they needed more intel or the 21[sup]st[/sup] would go home in shambles. Jogging quickly down the stairs to the ground level, they witnessed combined infantry shifting through the rubble. Raising their hands, Alien called out the safety word they had been taught for allied forces on the ground. 

A man in National Guard uniform came to him, a Captain judging from his insignia. Alien extended a hand and the American grasped it firmly, crinkling his nose slightly at the smell. "I'll be damned, didn't think we had a metahuman with a private army lurking around."

Duos shook their head, able to sustain a conversation after giving final orders. [color=olivedrab]"Not a local. Commander Tariq Al-Bariqi, head of the Holy Chosen regiment of Royal Saudi Special Security. I cannot talk long, must get more information about the aliens."[/color]

The American's eyes widened in surprise but quickly shook it away. Professionalism, very respectable. He jerked a thumb to the strangely garbed aliens behind him. "Those ones are apparently fine, it's the ETs in uniformed power armour that we need to worry about. And if you want to do anything about [i]those[/i] aliens, you'll have to talk to these heroes."

Duos followed the soldier's directions towards a pair of aliens, one squid-like and one silver-coloured humanoid. Alien approached them carefully, disliking the concept of unknowns. Clearing their throat, they stood at ease, having silently approached the pair. He decided upon taking a direct approach, against the more diplomatic inclinations of his companion. [color=olivedrab]"Greetings. I am Commander Tariq Al-Bariqi, metahuman and leader of Saudi Special Security forces in the city. Are you looking to destroy the enemy for the Greater Good?"[/color][hr][@KaiserElectric]
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