Memories of War

[ZenosArrow]

Hey I wrote some quick lore this morning and someone said I should post it here, so here it is!

~

The morning cry of some unknown alien fauna had awoken him with such a start he almost fell out of the tree. His legs dangling, he scrambled to pull himself back onto the branch. His frantic climbing caused some of the leaves to fall from the tree, one of them had landed on the medic's lifeless corpse below.

He quickly drew his rifle and looked down the scope in every direction, nervously he scanned the hilltops around him. The near fall hadn't seemed to have alerted any enemies to his presence. He could hear no footsteps from the nearby tower, and he couldn't risk wasting his last recon dart. Reluctantly he lowered his rifle and let out a wary sigh.

"The tree conceals me well." He lied to himself. He had died here before, and he knew he would die here again. "Hopefully quick and clean this time."

His gaze shifted back down to the medic. The gaping hole in his head had not bled, the plasma round had cauterized the wound instantly. It was still a ghastly sight.

They had come in the dead of night. Sleep had almost been upon him when he heard an explosion in the distance. He sprang into action, the explosion had come from the north, from the Crown. Then more explosions, still far away. The answer had come in gunfire and screams, this time just over the hill to the north of his tree.

As abruptly as it had started, the night was suddenly shrouded in silence save for the moan of some dieing soldier in the distance. For an eternity he had waited, watching the ridge to the north. When he saw the first one he was filled with a moment of hope, hope that they were members of Vanu, finally coming to reclaim this territory, and release him from his watch.

They moved slowly, crouched in the shadows, when he saw the flashes of blue and yellow his heart sunk into his stomach. They came over the northwest ridge and down into the grass below the tree. Their voices hushed.

"Put him here!" The medic said in a frantic whisper. "Sir we should get him inside the tower." Said one of the two heavy assaults carrying the wounded engineer. "I need to do something about that leg NOW or he's going to die! Put him up against the tree!"

Slowly he brought the barrel of his rifle around, pointing down through the leaves. "Too many, even with a silencer." Sweat was pouring down his brow, he pressed his eye tighter to the scope, leveling in on the medics helmet.

As the heavies reached the base of the tree it went off. "CRUUUUNNNNCH" Like the sound of a million cans imploding the proximity mine detonated. Shredding through the armor of the first heavy assault, sending the wounded engineer sprawling onto the ground and knocking the second heavy on his back.

For an instant the medic glowed green. Then with a flash the plasma bolt burned through the medics skull. He heard the second heavy cursing as he got back to his feet.

Suddenly the tree around him began exploding and splintering, chunks of wood were bouncing from his mask. The deafening sound of LMG fire sent fear shooting up his spine. Making himself as small as possible he edged himself around the other side of the tree.

The branch he had been perched on was dangling from bark, the heavy below cursed at the click of his empty magazine. A quick glimpse revealed the first heavy laying lifeless and bloody, his gun had been mangled by the explosion and a sharp chunk of the barrel protruded from his chest. The wounded engineer had not been moving when they approached, now he lay in the grass convulsing violently and coughing up blood until suddenly he fell motionless, dead.

"BOOM" The heavy's rocket caused an explosion that rocked the tree and nearly sent him falling to the ground.

Still hanging onto a branch with one hand he shouldered his rifle and swung himself around, the heavy was preparing to fire another rocket. The huge launcher obscured any view of the man wielding it, and so on a prayer he fired at the trigger.

With a scream and a curse the launcher hit the ground, along with two of the mans fingers. With his one good hand the heavy drew his sidearm and fired wildly into the tree as he retreated up the hill.

The fight was over. He calmly pulled himself higher into the tree, ignoring the bullets that zipped past. When he reached the highest branch he could see the heavy in the distance, walking slowly and clutching his maimed hand.

He fired a lazy shot and caught the man in the back of his calf. The heavy went to his knees and looked back sorrowfully at the tree.

He could see the man's face through his scope, filled with anguish and agony, he was saying something. Curiously he held his trigger finger steady and read the mans lips.

"Mercy."

But all the sniper felt was recoil.