EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

For the remainder of the quick, bloody battle, Meesei’s pack was the hammer that crushed the Daedra against the anvil of their allies. Vicious and deadly, Kaleeth crushed and cleaved through every Skaafin in front of her. Her armor was still more than strong enough to hold off their weapons, and they were given little chance to aim for precise strikes. Janius certainly would not allow them the chance, and any he did not slay with claws and blades, Sabine would pierce with ice and freezing cold. Mages among the Skaafin attempted to defend their ranks, but between Sabine’s chilling cold and the awesome power of Meesei’s lightning that followed it, there was no defense that would be good enough. The momentum of the pack was all but unstoppable; by the time they pushed through to the point of reuniting with their allies, they were practically competing for kills.

The reinforcements from the pass had bolstered their weary allies, both in numbers and morale. With the cavalry moving around the perimeter and attacking from any angle they could, the Daedra’s own numbers withered as they fell more and more quickly. Now that Arinette was no longer leading them, the Daedra did not entertain the thought of retreat. They fought to the death, down to the last single individual. Their relentless struggle did cause more casualties on the part of the mortal invaders, but they did all fall in the end.

Standing over the last, freshly-killed Skaafin corpse, Meesei turned back and looked up to the tower at the top of the hill above them. The pillars of energy that swirled around it were much clearer to see, and feel, from here than they had been from the other side of the valley. They were still a fair distance away, but the power looming over them was beyond immense. It was a concentration of magicka on a scale that she had never witnessed before. Without a doubt, that was where they would find Vile.

Unfortunately, the threat of Vile’s Daedric servants was far from over. They had killed all that stood in their way, but as they could see from their vantage point down into the valley below, more reinforcements were on the way. A substantial portion of the Daedra fighting down in the valley were breaking off from the “main” battle below to come protect their lord’s tower…a force much larger than the one they had only just managed to defeat. Saras approached Meesei on one side, and Hjergir on the other. Both still lived, but neither had been through the battle unscathed. Saras was burned across his stomach. Badly. He looked like he had taken a direct hit from a fireball, and it was likely only the fact that he was a Dunmer that was allowing him to keep going. Hjergir’s white fur was stained red across much of his body, and it was hard to say how much of it stemmed from his own wounds.

“The Daedra are drawing off quite a lot of their forces to come deal with us.” Saras commented. “Our forces in the valley will certainly gain a great deal of ground off of this…but it won’t matter if we are overwhelmed first.”

Hjergir reached out one hand and pointed a claw down towards the bottom of the hill. “There’s only one good path leading up here. That’s a chokepoint we can hold. Not forever, but…”

“...long enough.” Saras nodded in agreement. “As our lord Hircine said, it is our Champion who will defeat Vile. Your pack is the one that needs to reach him. We can make sure his minions don’t have a chance to overwhelm you.”

Ri’vashi sheathed her katana in its scabbard and dismounted her horse nearby. “This one agrees, but she will not leave the Champion’s pack unprotected. She made a promise to guarantee that the Champion reaches Vile, and she intends to keep it.”

The Cradle

Vreta had seen the explosive drones in action before, so his implant knew to mark it as a priority threat. The drones were quick, but that did meant that, by tracking the drone’s vector, he could know just as quickly which one was targeting him. In an instant, Vreta snapped his aim towards the incoming explosive. His implant gave its projected path, as well as assisting his hands in aiming precisely enough to put a shot right in that path. Vreta took multiple shots, though it was his first that struck the drone mid-air.

The detonation was still close enough to stress Vreta’s shields and drop them low, but he was still able to dive into the nearest cover. He had to wait for his shields to recover, so he took the time to observe the state of the battle. He was not sure what was causing his frontline to lose ground, considering the advantages they had over the enemy, but it was a circumstance he would need to adjust to. The soldiers behind Vreta were at least keeping Saddam occupied for the moment, so Vreta could afford to focus on Thebes. The marines Vreta was pushing with did not yet have pressure on them, though they had still not found a shot on Thebes. He was not sure he could rely on Kjartan to defeat Thebes alone either, so he needed to help personally.

Vreta shifted over next to one of the Blue team marines in cover near to him. “I need this.” He said as he grabbed the Human’s lethal grenade. “Kjartan, shield up. Grenade incoming!” He warned through their comms before arming the grenade and tossing it over towards Thebes. He stayed down while his implant tracked the explosive through the air. Though he did warn Kjartan, he still made sure to throw it such that Thebes would be between Kjartan and the grenade, just to be safe. At the last moment, Vreta peeked a narrow angle and shot the grenade to airburst it on Thebes’ position.

Halo: Aegis Team

As tough as its defenses were, the Brute Chieftain was not invincible. At least, not any longer. With his shields now depleted, his armor had to handle the incoming fire. Many pellets from the shotgun blasts either deflected off of the armor or was stopped by it, but each shot weakened his defenses, and some broke through. It might have been hard to notice in the chaos of battle, but bright red blood dripped from some holes in the Jiralhanae’s armor plating.

Had the Brute’s ambush not been discovered, or his allies not taken so many casualties when they tried to rush across the room, they might not have been able to place as much focus on the chieftain himself. Alone, the chieftain could be overwhelmed from all angles. Still, in his blood rage, he may not have even been aware he was essentially alone, and he would be fighting to his last breath. Tar nearly knocked him off of his feet when she jumped on him from behind, but he managed to keep standing. In a rage, he let out a roar as he managed to reach up over his shoulder to grab a hold of Tar’s arm. He had her in a vice-grip, and despite his unfavorable leverage, his raw strength was not something to be ignored. Although, in his struggle against Tar, he could not focus on many other threats.

The Cradle

Athena had been taken down, but not before taking Carthage with her. That was a pivotal kill to swing the momentum back in Blue team’s direction. The Red team flag had been dropped, but it was closer now, at least, and Carthage’s respawn timer would give them an opening to push and claim it. If they could take out Thebes as well on the way, their opponents would have less effective leadership for a time.

Once again, it seemed like Vreta’s opponents were not rating him too highly as a threat. Saddam elected to shoot Athena rather than Vreta, but it suited him to go under their radar. They might not have realized that Vreta was constantly marking their positions. If all went well, they would have the enemy flag captured before they realized Vreta’s contributions. About a dozen marines had respawned around him in their spawn, which was a good-sized force to make a second push for the enemy flag. Since Saddam was recovering his shields, Vreta focused his fire at first on the remaining marine on the ground floor. Though the supersoldier on the floor above would be a persistent problem that would need to be dealt with.

After firing a volley of shots at the marine on the ground floor, Vreta picked out three of the Blue team soldiers around him and directed their attention up to Saddam’s window on the first floor. “Saddam is firing from that position. You three, take him out if you can, or at least keep him suppressed. I’ll keep him marked, so you can predict his movements.”

For the remaining nine marines, Vreta decided it was time to join them personally in moving forward. He would be moving near the rear to stay within his weapon’s preferred range, granted, but it was time for him to help with one good, final push. “Help Kjartan. We’ll take out Thebes, then push for the flag.” He ordered to the soldiers around him. It also seemed like there were some Blue team soldiers on the upper floor of the apartments that had managed to claim part of the building. It was a pleasant surprise, and it would be good to have their covering fire for the push ahead.

As he moved out into the street once more, Vreta jumped onto a pile of rubble to get an angle on Thebes while his allies were advancing. He put more of his implant’s focus on predicting Thebes’ and Kjartan’s movements based on their momentum so he could weave in shots from a distance in the midst of their melee.

The Cradle

It was in times like this that quick and calm tactical analysis could serve Vreta well. Knowing his enemy’s positions, he could work out a reasonable plan, even as events had not gone perfectly well. His implant had collected enough data to be able to project a live-updated map of the arena, and the people in it, in the corner of his vision. He could identify the supersoldiers by their silhouettes, so he knew where they were, and which needed to be dealt with most urgently.

Thebes had bested Knossos, but he was still near the middle, among the clouds of smoke. He was still a few seconds from being able to help, at least, and more than that, he was behind enemy lines. Supersoldier or no, his shields were no more powerful than anyone else’s in the simulation, so if any Blue team marines turned around on him, he could not ignore them.

“Thebes' position is marked, behind our lines. Take him down.” Vreta said through team-wide comms. Though, his own focus had to be on the threats immediately around them. If Carthage was taken down, the momentum could easily swing in the other direction. She was carrying an object for cover, but he doubted that a simple door could stand up to a railgun intended for anti-materiel roles. Athena just needed the chance to take one shot.

Vreta himself had backed up away from the bus, taking cover in some rubble closer to their spawn and near to the flag itself. He no longer had an angle to shoot down the street, since the building to his right blocked his view, but he could still see the apartments. Saddam was accurate, but since he and Athena were in quite different positions, he still could only suppress one of them at a time. Vreta could use that. “Athena, eliminate Carthage. I will cover.” He ordered simply.

With Carthage’s position marked for his allies, Vreta fully-committed onto taking out Saddam. He peeked out from behind the rubble and fired into the window, quickly and accurately. Being that he was firing from long range, Vreta’s weapon did have the edge. It was only three shots for it to break shields, in this simulation. Still, whether he won or lost the duel was not important to his goals. Only a supersoldier like Saddam would be accurate enough at long range to stop Athena from taking her shot, so he just needed to be occupied for a few seconds. If Vreta lost the duel, Athena would still be able to take her shot, and a trade of his life for Carthage’s would be more than worth it.

The Cradle

The team did run into some bad luck when the enemy soldiers barged into a room that had an angle on Athena from the door itself. Vreta did mark them, but it gave him less time to warn Athena than if they had approached from any other room. Still, Vreta responded right away in giving her cover. They committed onto taking out Athena, so Vreta was able to focus one target down to score a kill, and Athena was able to make it to cover, if only narrowly.

Being that they were supersoldiers, Carthage and the rest of the Sacred Band had distinctive silhouettes, so Vreta knew right away when he had detected her. It took a moment to transition his aim, but he was able to see her the moment she was in view near the fire exit. He saw the launcher she wielded, and his implant could estimate its trajectory based on her current point of aim. She might have been able to take advantage of the opportunity, but, perhaps for reasons of pride, she inadvertently gave Vreta the time he needed to respond. The time she took to taunt Kjartan was only seconds, but on the battlefield, seconds may as well have been an eternity. Those seconds were enough for Vreta, while keeping low and out of sight, to retreat back a sufficient distance from the bus to keep his shield from breaking. Carthage had picked her target well, as Kjartan was not an immediate threat to her at range, but she may not have expected the trio of shots that Vreta sent through the fireball onto her position.

The Cradle

“I see.” Vreta answered. He kept himself in cover behind the bus, though Kjartan might have been able to see a smirk cross his face. “I see everything.” Naturally, there were some limits to what information his echolocation could give him. Anything deep within the building, in the interior hallways, were outside of his awareness, but he could see into any room open to the outside through a window or door. Vreta did stay behind the bus, though he did move from hard cover to a position where it was just the bus’ roof blocking the line of sight between him and the shooter. Vreta pointed his rifle up to the source of the shooting on the first floor, then fired, quickly and accurately, at the shooter straight through the thin metal roof of the bus. Whether Vreta got the kill or not, just forcing the shooter back to make them recharge their shields would be sufficient to buy time for the moment.

Vreta gestured towards the frontline. “We may or may not stop them, but we can stall them. Keep them from getting value out of their position. Push forward quick and get the flag. Just leave a few soldiers to help us contest the building.”

Vreta spoke first to Athena, then any other soldier that was helping to hold their flank. “I can see into the rooms. I can show you exactly which rooms they are in, and precisely when they are going to peek. The moment they peer out to shoot, you can take off their heads. Or if your railgun can pierce the walls, take them out as soon as they step into the rooms.” Vreta recommended. For the purposes of the simulation, he was not sure what surfaces could or could not be destroyed, but if Athena’s weapon could pierce the walls, then the apartments would be more of a deathtrap for them than a flanking route. “Just make sure to mark the window you’re going to handle. Everyone else, we can suppress their windows right as they are about to peek. Get kills if you can, but just stay alive and focus on keeping them from getting anything done. I’ll warn you if any of them try to leave the building.”

The Cradle

Vreta could track the fight between Thebes and Knossos. It had turned into a melee briefly, which meant that Thebes would not be able to focus on staying completely behind hard cover that Athena could not pierce. “Can you get the shot, Athena? I’ll keep him marked.”

With the number of lives they had available to them, it was not long before Kjartan was ready to head back into the fray. Ideally, Vreta wanted to try and prevent him from continually throwing himself at Carthage, because he had a feeling that she had the edge in that duel. Of course, from what he had witnessed of Kjartan’s personality, saying that directly would only encourage him to keep taking the fight. Vreta had already tried reasoning with him, so he decided to take a different approach to talking to him this time.

“I ordered a retreat from the building. With just a few soldiers, I can keep the exits locked down and keep her trapped in there.” Vreta answered. “We do that, and she won’t be able to accomplish much beyond taking a few potshots. Meanwhile, I say you march straight down the middle, bash your way through the rest of them, and take that flag straight out from under her nose. We’re filling the frontline with smoke, and I’m marking targets through it. If someone like you gets in there, you’ll slaughter them.” He said, and at least in this case, he did mean it. The current situation on the frontline was perfect for a soldier like Kjartan.

The Cradle

Vreta kept his position behind the bus and no longer tried to take shots on the front line, so the soldiers trying to suppress him were mostly just wasting their time. From the position he had, he could see the doors and windows of the apartment building perfectly fine without exposing himself to enemy fire. Even without firing a shot, he could still provide a great deal of assistance to the frontline, especially once the smoke came out.

As quickly as he could, Vreta spoke through the team-wide comms. “Help Knossos’ push! Get more smoke on the enemy; I’ll keep targets marked.” He ordered. The enemy team was winning out in the apartment; that much was undeniable. As confident as Kjartan was, Carthage had the edge on him. However, the frontline was where they could exploit their own advantage. It was a simple advantage, but one that could not be understated: the Blue team could shoot accurately through the smoke, while the Red team could not. Vreta had his implant working as fast as it could to give live updates on enemy positions based on his echolocation data. With more and more smoke covering the battlefield, now was the time to push. All his marines had to do was shoot at their HUD markers onto targets that could not meaningfully shoot back. The enemy had already used a large portion of their lethal grenades in their previous attempted push, so they would not have enough to repel this one.

The Cradle

Vreta moved behind the bus to block off the line of sight between him and Thebes, then took his other grenade in hand. It was a “scrambler” smoke grenade which, in addition to being a visual obstruction, provided disruption to enhanced vision modes, such as EM or thermal vision. Given the prevalence of augmented vision among militaries, smoke with disrupting capabilities was the norm. He landed the grenade just outside the doorway on Knossos’ flank to block off the sightline Carthage had on him, so she would have to run outside to have any impact on the front line. Since the smoke did nothing to disrupt sound waves, Vreta could still track enemy positions through it.

Since Kjartan had lost the apartment building, Vreta stopped trying to challenge Thebes and instead kept in cover while watching the windows and doors of the apartments. “Anyone still inside, retreat. I can cover the doors and keep them from giving chase. Our soldiers are holding the middle for now, so if we can keep Carthage and her squad trapped in that apartment building, they won’t be accomplishing much for their team. Every one of them in there is one less between us and the flag.”

Vreta’s conscious attention was now on the apartment exits, while his neural implant handled the live updates on enemy positions. “Knossos, Athena, work together to take out Thebes. If you can get smoke on him, Knossos, I can keep updating his position through it. He might not expect that. You don’t even need to get him out of cover. With me tracking his position, you only need to get him behind something Athena’s weapon can pierce through.”