Nipton
The Legion was caught off-guard by this sudden attack by...the Brotherhood? Thier 'Father Elijah' must be more insnae than thought! But whoever it was, they were doing to Nipton what Vulpes had wanted, wreaking untold havoc on the town, the fortifications, and the human shields. But Artificer King Actus, now the acting leader of the defense, sent the signal for the counterattack anyway - the light troops were withdrawn, and from the alleys and burning buldings stormed the medium troops held in reserve, attacking in wedge formations with the front of each wedge being led by an armored man with a super sledge that can crush even Power Armor, flanked by two soldiers wielding thermic lances, and the far corners held by people shooting brush guns.
At the same time, two bands of frumentarii were sent to clear the way to retreat, and sneak their way to where the nuke guns were, respectively...
"The enemy is reacting faster than anticipated, so much for an easy victory." That was Brams, doing away with coms ethiquette. Normally Carmen would have said something about it but considering there was 12 of them and they all knew each other's voice by heart it was a little bit redundent at the moment. That and Carmen had other things to focus on as the 'medium' soldiers were leading a counter attack. The use of quotes seemed important here since after all they had attacked in the dept of night and such a quick counter attack came at a price, some Legion soldiers hadn't had the time to done their armor! Not that it made much difference in front of Carmen's plasma caster. Ultimately this resistence was futile: The melee soldiers didn't step a feet outside that they were mowed down by laser, plasma and 5mm bullets. Even the oh so dastardly brush guns were silenced by the sheer volume of firepower sent their way and the moment one raised his head he was sure to catch a projectile in his skull. They simply didn't have the firing speed needed to counter the supressive fire sent their way and so, they were just meat waiting to be diced by frag grenades.
On the outside of the town, Iota team had fired its last nukes and Xavier sat on the ground with his grenade machinegun between his legs, bracing it to fire like a mortar at the town. He and his men weilding missile launchers and plasma rifles on their backs for close quarter defense hadn't seen the infiltrators... yet. But each step they took brought them closer to detection for darkness didn't hide them from the Enclave's night vision gear.
As the Epsilon Cell got closer and closer to the town hall, the Artificer King would try another tack; at his signal, barrels filled with turpentine oil will be flipped over by a crude mechanism using levers and strings, launching a flood of flammable fluid that would reach the Epsilon cell's feet. This was originally intended as a trap for NCR Infantry, and would have doubtless killed a few dozen of them once they had been lit by snipers using incendary ammunition. With the Epsilon cell, however, the snipers weren't needed, as they were lighting up the city in fire themselves.
So, they would be confronted with a wall of fire, a wall of fire that might - might - discomfit even them enough for the remaining troops to regroup; the medium troops would begin laying down proper fire from their own guns and ballistic fists, while brave light troops/hastati would throw petrol bombs at the enemy.
Nevertheless, this was only to buy time for the cache of flammable materials (dynamite, fertilizer, oil, and even human dung) that had been contained in the town hall to be set to blow up in five minutes (so that the Artificer King can evacuate in time); not even power armor can survive such an explosion intact.
And finally, the infiltrators trying to take on the artillery, once they realized they were dealing with what they thought were Father Elijah's Brotherhood, began to use rocks, trees, and depressions in the ground as cover, while at the same time trying to present a low profile...
Carmen's initial surprise at the flames that lit up at her feet was quickly changed to mild irritation. It was in no way a trouble for them, the armors were flame-proof after all, but the thick smoke and heat blocked their vision and their sensors. No matter, the enemy was affected as well and so Carmen kept moving forward, confident she wouldn't end up face to face with an enemy as after all, they didn't have flame proof armors. "Everything's on schedule still, keep pushing them out!"
Time was too expensive to be bought by the Legion.
Epsilon didn't stop for a second to clear a building, instead allowing the troops with their flame throwers to light it up and leave everyone inside to die a horrible death. The NCR would have bought the bait and entered since they wanted to recapture the town, but Carmen's only mission was to push the legion out, even if that meant leaving no town behind. And so, from the flames walked out a demon as William Nash lifted his flamer and doused the town hall in napalm, the thick gell like substance clinging to people and all surfaces.
"Out of missiles!"
Iota team had expended the arsenal they had brought with them almost entirely now, only the grenades kept raining on the disorganized light troops to further put the pressure on them. Loweing their missile launchers the soldiers looked at the town, lit aflame, with jeering cheers. It would all be over soon. One soldier believed he caught something with his eyes though and turned to face the darkness, his yellow eyes menacingly scanning the darkness. Stakes were high, that grenade machinegun could end all the infiltrators in a single burst but still they remained undetected.
Artificer King Actus had almost managed to get out of the town, his remaining usable assets in tow, when William Nash set fire to the town hall and pre-emptively lit the 'bonfire' he had been preparing for the NCR but were now taken by Epsilon Cell. It was too late for him as he was engulfed by the explosion, an explosion that would at least blast William Nash in explosive force, heat, and flame, which might probably end his life thanks to power that not even his armor can withstand. Depending on how close the rest of his team was, a few others would die in the explosion that would engulf most of Nipton, whose deafening sound would at least crack Carmen's visor.
Not merely that, but unless Iota team were inhuman in their ability to not get distracted, the explosion would draw their attention...for enough time for the infiltrators to reach them and attack with thermic lances and cowboy repeaters at a range close enough to be dangerous.
The explosion certainly did take everyone by surprise, many being forced to kneel from its force, but not Carmen. No, what forced Carmen on the ground was the small house being blown off, that explosion after hundreds of years of decrepitude being the final blow its structure could handle. There was no pain, as Carmen was on an adrenaline and psycho fueled rampage but as she was picking herself up, a hand came to grab the neck plate of her armor. She assumed it was a companion here to help her up but as she looked up, she saw a man. Tall, extremely muscular with a power fist going straight into her stomach. The sound of metal against metal and what she assumed was a rib cracking filled her ears. "You guys just don't know when to quit..." The man readied for a second punch with a smile of confidence in his face but as the fist flew, Carmen showed how these armors could be surprisingly nimble and grope his wrist, using her strength her armor and his own momentum to make him fly above her.
She picked herself up as did the man who came back running at her. She was good enough at boxing that she did manage to dodge the first blow and counter with a quick jab on his face. To keep it from exploding, he dodged and countered. But Carmen saw an opening: He had one power fist. But like any fighter, fought with two hands. She grope the fist and looked at the man in the eyes. She now stood a head taller than him thanks to her power armor. Now starting to see his own death, the man prepared for a power fist swing, but was stopped by Carmen head butting him, breaking his nose. The punch, even with the fist, didn't have enough energy to damage Carmen who promptly broke his arm. Pitifully he turned to make a hasty retreat but only saw other power armored figures. Some finishing the wounded and others looking at him with amusement. Powerful hands grope his neck and his own life was ended as Carmen broke his neck.
"I think that means we won." Said one of the soldiers from Iota team. They laughed, except for Himmelman however, who merely stopped firing. "All assault teams, status report please." Suddenly there was a detonation, a close one. The soldier hit turned to face the danger, confused that his helmet had suddenly dinged against his skull but was met by a guy with a thermal lance. He tried to pull back, place distance but tripped in doing so. Probably what saved his life though as the lance missed him and the lancer was felled by a plasma bolt. His dead body hid but also hindered his ally who charged the turtle on his back but managed only to stab him in the leg, causing intense pain in the Enclave soldier. The troopers jumped in cover as much as they could, taken by surprise. All except Himmelman who merely rose up and lifted his machinegun toward the enemy. All it took was indeed a burst to vaporize the enemy. Still, it was annoying they had been taken by surprise like this, the heat and light of the lances should have given them away.
"Carmen here, we pushed them out, its done."
"John here, my fucking chainsaw jammed in the middle of the fight!"
"What a terrible casualty... Anyways. William. William, report in!"
"This is Charles... He was blown away by the explosion and ended in a brick wall. The armor is still intact but I think he got internal injury and his organs were crushed by the force."
In the town, Carmen looked at the smoking crater that was in the middle of the city. There had been 23 of them when they left to go west. Now it was 11.
"...Scuttle his armor and weapons. If the body is... still in a single piece we'll evacuate it, else we'll burry it here. Unmarked grave so the next to come won't desecrate him."
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