The Daily Grind

[noxious]

Notes: Forgive me for any errors in my English as I�m not very good at self-editing. Also forgive the lack of character development, in some cases they will become more developed as the story moves along, in others I�ve simply chosen to not develop them as I don�t want to drag things out too much. In addition, some characters have yet to be introduced at all. The first installment follows this text, the second is done and I�ll post it in a day or two (it was too long for one post I decided ). The rest will come as I finish it. With that, I hope you enjoy my work, thank you for taking the time to read it.

I. A Simple Plan
II. Slowly Going The Way Of The Buffalo

The Daily Grind
I. A Simple Plan

The wind flutters softly, the warm mid-summer�s air pouring itself through the open cockpit. On the right, large rock formations descend into a sandy beach, which vies with the ocean for control of the land. The water quietly rises and falls, waves crest and roll as the tide slowly moves itself in. An unstoppable, indubitable force of perfection God must surely control himself. On the left, green fields turn to lust forests. Large trees create a suffocating canopy, and below lies a floor composed primarily of ferns and dead foliage. The smell of the ocean rears itself, perhaps not for the first time, and I take notice. I breathe in deeply and slowly release the air from my lungs. For something that tastes so horrible, the smell of the ocean is always a welcoming one.

My radio chatters incessantly, softly accompanying the monotonous whine of my Harasser�s little engine. In front of me, a pair of Magriders follow a Skyguard. Behind, a Sunderer leads an AMS. Another Skyguard takes the rear flank. Overhead, two Reavers ride shotgun to a Mosquito in a perfect wedge. My mind twists and bends, rises and falls, just as the road passing under me. Far behind us, victory, and ahead, I am largely uncertain. A quick, precise assault on Orisha established our presence on Cyssor. I don�t know that any other outcome would have been possible however, as my platoon is currently filled with many high-ranking officers who are also quite talented by nature, failure is not something we are often forced to accept.

Our column is now heading for Pamba, while another, led by Kytana, moves on Shango. Only light resistance is expected. So while the bulk of our Empire�s forces deal with the Terran Republic on Amerish, our platoons have been charged with the task of further establishing Vanu Sovereignty presence on Cyssor before a full-scale invasion begins.

The scene is so surreal. Everything is so peaceful, so perfect. This is how the grind begins. My mind races whimsically, ignorant to what is coming. However, it�s not truly oblivious, instead, I force the negative thoughts out of my mind. This eases the emotional pressure that coexists with this line of work. On a day like today, I find this easy to do. I find myself condescending of simpler times, when war was just a word with a foreign meaning. War was something other people fought, their sacrifice I never truly understood. The lead Skyguard begins to spew flak into the air and I�m reminded the meaning of this word is no longer alien at all. A New Conglomerate Mosquito has noticed our movement. The Mosquito�s afterburners thrust the scout out of harms way as he turns around and swoops down behind the top of a hill. Dogtag, who flies the mosquito above me, requests permission to give chase, however I see little point in allowing him to do so. The New Conglomerate pilot has already had ample time to relay our position. I know all too well the damage that has been done.

Just like that, the situation is tranquil again. This time I do not allow my mind to wander, as there is much to ponder. I have worked at Pamba before, and I�ve got everything worked out in my mind. While the AMS sets up to the Southwest our infantry will unload and quickly take the tower. Once we have established a foothold by taking the tower, the AMS will move to the northeast and we will work to drop the spawn tubes in a timely fashion. Failing this, I�ll try to sneak a pair of infiltrators into the generator room. Despite having lost the element of surprise, I find myself unconcerned with what is coming.

MAXcommander sits behind the wheel of our Harasser. He reminds me we�ll be entering Pamba�s SOI in a few minutes. I run the final plan by the platoon and no one has any objections. I contact Kytana over my radio and her platoon is also a few minutes outside the SOI of its target. MAXcommander and I talk casually as I quickly run a check on my lasher, as well as my CUD, Medical Applicator and BANK. All seems well and we cut the chatter as we come around a bend in the road. The tower becomes visible.

Like a hive-mind, the platoon goes to work. Everything is done with no need for my direction. The Magriders immediately begin firing on the tower�s wall turrets. The AMS sets up on the road just before the bend that would have put it in sight of the tower. The Sunderer unloads while the Reavers fly CAP. Not one mine or spitfire turret lies in the area surrounding the tower and our infantry quickly moves to the entrance. Duffman626 hacks the door�s IFF. The door opens to unveil three New Conglomerate MAX armors, two Scatter Cannons and a Falcon MAX. They immediately begin firing and realize they are up against superior numbers. All three turn on their shields in unison and proceed up the stairs.

Up to this point I have been overseeing the operation from my Harasser, MAXcommander still by my side. I decide to dismount and we join the rest of the infantry at the towers entrance. A Vanguard surprises us from the west. Even our air support had somehow missed it. The Vanguard quickly begins firing on our position. The tank gets only three shots off at those of us gathered by the tower�s entrance before both Reavers engage and decommission it. Millerbug and mental888 were both killed and I quickly revive them. We all take a moment to playfully mock them before getting back to work.

The battle for the tower turns into quite a standoff. It becomes apparent there are engineers keeping the MAXes armor functional. Millerbug and Blackwater are pumping decimator rounds into the MAXes, despite this, their ominous presence remains, unwilling to falter. Dogtag, still zipping around in his Mosquito, notices our stagnation and asks to drop on the tower from above. The plan is simple yet often effective, so I give him the green light.

Seconds later he surges down the stairs and his looted Mini-Chaingun comes to life. Spitting cast-iron fl�chettes of death, he quickly disposes three soft targets. Without these engineers to keep the MAX armors solid, coupled with the confusion caused by Dogtag�s snarling Mini-Chaingun behind them, we are able to storm the tower and efficiently eliminate all three MAX armors.

I stay with duffman626 as he begins hacking the Control Console. Once the hack goes through and the tower is transferred to our control I ask direwolf20 to place our AMS somewhere to the Northeast. He gets right to it and the Reavers offer to cover him as he does so. The Magriders are now hard at work dropping the base�s wall turrets. Meanwhile, mental888 begins to setup mines and spitfires in the area surrounding the tower while the rest of us restock and prepare to storm Pamba itself.

[Mognoc]

Holy shit, that was awesome...More!

[xmodum]

dang, ur not a n00b to the fan fictions, sounds like u have a degree in this sort of thing good writing , hope to see me in it in the near future

[noxious]

The Daily Grind
II. Slowly Going The Way Of The Buffalo

The sound of a Skyguard sending flak into the air erupts for the second time today. The sound of a Vanguard�s massive cannon begins to thunder as well. Our Skyguards are both parked and unmanned just outside the tower�s entrance; because of this it�s pretty obvious the flak cannon we are hearing is not friendly. Less than sixty seconds after the Skyguard first begun shooting, Direwolf20 reports both of our Reavers have been shot down and two Vanguards are about to blast him into oblivion. He also reports three Sunderers in addition to the Skyguard and the Vanguards. Moments later his radio goes silent.

Both Magriders begin moving to intercept these new threats. They concentrate their fire on a single Vanguard and use their range and mobility to avoid taking any real damage. The heavy armor of the Vanguard doesn�t have a major problem with the Magrider�s Rail Beam, and the four tanks battle for quite a while. Eventually one of the Magriders fires off a lethal shot, penetrating the first Vanguard�s armor. It spectacularly explodes into an inferno and both Magriders commence firing on the second Vanguard.

The progress is reported to those of us still nestled within the tower. Their success is enthralling yet the joy brought by it is very short-lived, four Reavers swoop in from the east and begin pounding the Magriders. They split into pairs, two Reavers fire on each Magrider. The new threat is reported as they begin to retreat. I scramble to one of the Skyguards, eager to help my friends. MAXcommander comes along with me. Millerbug and Blackwater hop into the second Skyguard. All four Reavers are already plainly visible, as are the Magriders, fleeing in our direction.

I begin firing on the Reaver closest to me as Millerbug, behind the sights of the second Skyguard, starts to shoot at another. My target zigzags back and fourth while still landing most of his payload on the intended target. It becomes apparent he is quite a talented pilot. Nevertheless, I continue firing and my persistence is rewarded as he bails and begins rapidly descending to the ground, his kinetic dampeners sure to absorb the fall. I take note of his name, VashTheStamped, as I acquire a new target. I know he is a very high ranking New Conglomerate officer, but nothing more. I think to myself, maybe today we will have a chance to get acquainted, obviously in a less than friendly manner.

The three remaining Reavers are now firing on a single Magrider. Its armor eventually gives way as it explodes much in the same way the Vanguard did only minutes earlier. Seconds later, the Reaver Millerbug had been blasting away at finally disintegrated into a million pieces. The pilot was unable to eject in time. Millerbug starts firing on the only Reaver I am not while both remaining Reavers continue to fire at the last Magrider.

Their decision to pay no heed to our Skyguards proves to be a mistake as both Reavers are downed almost simultaneously. The pilot of the Reaver I was shooting at was again able to eject, unveiling his name, Hawkeye, as he quickly falls to the ground. The last Magrider had been on the verge of destruction, its anti-gravity drive no longer functioned, all mobility lost. Both the driver and gunner dismount and begin running toward the tower, only about 150 meters away.

At a most inopportune moment, the Sunderers that Direwolf20 had reported now make their presence obvious to us, their seventy-five millimeter cannons raining death on my Skyguard and the Magrider crew. Millerbug�s Skyguard had already returned to the tower and I realize it would be foolish if I didn�t follow suite. Both the Magrider gunner and pilot are unable to make it back to the tower. They are suffocated in the blanket of death the Sunderers weave. MAXcommander and I dismount and hurry into the tower.

The Vanguard that the Magriders had been unable to dispatch also decides to make itself known. The massive tank begins to relentlessly shell our tower as we scramble to setup for the impending assault. I set down my Lasher as I contact Kytana and request reinforcement as soon as possible. A brief feeling of relief overcomes me when I hear that her platoon has encountered very light resistance at Shango. I explain our situation and she agrees that without assistance we have little hope of survival.

I pick up my Lasher and prepare for what is coming. It will take Kytana�s full platoon about thirty minutes to arrive. The shelling becomes more frequent. It becomes apparent a second Vanguard had arrived. The sound created by the smaller, yet still intimidating cannons mounted on the Sunderers is omnipresent as well. The mines and spitfires will only stall the New Conglomerate infantry another five minutes at most. Soon, a force that numbers thirty or forty will begin pressing its way into the tower and up the stairs. The fourteen of us who remain are in for one hell of a fight.

[xmodum]