“Nova! Hit take that damn thing down!” I shouted as another swarm of Mutalisks swarmed toward us, their massive Glaive projectiles hammering into the ground around everyone in the area, a few even lodged themselves in my Marines shields, the edges being sheared off from the speed and force behind each Glaive.

I shot another Mutalisk from the air, their numbers only seeming to grow further, while the fucking endless swarm of this latest wave came crashing against my already worn and weary soldiers.

To make matters worse, this was the ass end of the Zerg assault forces. I knew where Walter and Raynor were the Zerg were thicker and more dangerous. They were holding though, as were we.

Over the last few hours, there had been only one break in Trenton's shield wall. One of the Glaives had managed to weaken the Marine’s shield as it was pressed in against Trenton’s own shield. Cut it right in half, the Zerglings on the other side trying to take advantage while Trenton threw him from the line, closing the gap as quickly as possible and ordering the Marine to take up a rifle and begin firing into the Zerg that was trying to force the breach wider before it could be plugged fully.

It had been close, that single moment, but with the combined effort of those that would be Imperial Guard, some crack shots from the Marines, and Trenton’s own quick action we had survived that moment. The problem was that the Mutalisks seemed almost entirely focused on this flank. Raynor and Walter were dealing with Zerglings and Hydralisks mostly, in massive numbers, but no real air threat. It made me wonder if The System was actively causing this to occur to me specifically due to my difficulty rating.

Another Mutalisk down, I was torn from my thoughts as a Hydralisk Spine managed to hit my left arm, piercing my armor and hitting the bone in my bicep. I screamed at the pain, cursing myself for being distracted and ripped that fucker out before the poison could fully enter my system.

I swung toward the Hydralisk in question and put a Burst Round in its pretty little head, ichor and bits of Zerg raining all around where it had stood beyond the shield wall. I winced as I looked at the damage, ducking for cover as another wave of Spines and Glaives came in. My left arm was all but useless.

Gritting my teeth I went away from the defensive line and found a spare rifle laying on the ground, the poor sod that had wielded it lying dead and broken on the ground. I couldn’t wield my own weapon effectively now, the Rifle was smaller and a bit easier to handle in comparison. I just needed to make it through this wave to find a Medic and get my arm back in working condition.

Sadly, that dead Marine told me there was no way I was going to get the bonus for all soldiers surviving. Unrealistic, truth be told, but it had been a hope. Turning back to the hell my men were engaged in I was able to take a really good look at the choke point, more like murder hole. The ground was littered with hundreds of dead Zerg. It was bad enough they were starting to pile up. My men were even forced to waste ammo and time to ensure the dead Zerg were really dead.

That had been when a few Hydralisks had managed to reach the shield wall and damn near ripped Trenton free from it to his death. It was a boon in the fact it added an additional obstacle for the ground Zerg to navigate, a problem because the larger Zerg were using the building walls as a kind of battering ram against Trenton's shield wall. Throwing themselves into the piled corpses and causing the dead Zerg to fly into them, or topple, the added force of the follow-up charge forcing them back.

The air threat was what was making it truly difficult though. I unloaded at least thirty bullets from the less accurate rifle I’d pilfered, one-handed, and managed to clip a wing from one of the Mutalisks, Nova taking out another three shortly after. The Overlords were gone at this point at least. Less coordination for them, or so I hoped.

I winced, a sharp turn jolting my useless arm before I unloaded another couple of dozen rounds into a Mutalisk and took out a Zergling that managed to get around our little blockade, a little charred, but still alive.

I grunted, moved up toward the firing line. “Nova, Mutalisks are you, arms useless,” I said over the Com. “Damian? We should have brought Andy, you stubborn idiot!” Following that charming expletive, she let loose a ragged scream and I saw her literally jump into the air and unload a clip into the remaining Mutalisks, at least twenty shots or so, each one ending the air menace. It left a few dozen more in the air, and she just came back toward the ground with a few controlled bursts of her fucking rockets.

I was about to tell her well done, then I saw those glowing eyes and thought better of it. She seemed really angry right now. I turned to fire into the ground Zerg, catching one Mutalisk just kinda...seize up into itself and fall to the ground. Right, leave the scary woman alone. The Zerg are safer, far, far safer.

I blatantly ignored the angry woman that could crush things with her mind and focused on shooting the Zerg for as long as I could. Another hour went by where we were bombarded, crashed into, and pushed to the fucking brink before the Zerg stopped hitting us. We all had to have stood there for a full ten minutes as the habitual firing of weapons slowly stopped before we realized the wave was over. I was breathing heavy again, nowhere near as bad as my Marines though. Trenton looked dead on his feet as well. I was fairly certain he was asleep standing in the position since he wasn’t responding to us. His vitals were normal though if a bit above the average

I was about to start throwing out orders, moving the men back so they could rest and have the Condor’s take over. The choke point was to narrow to make full use of them, sadly, once the Zerg got in to close the grenades they fired became more of a problem than a boon. The next wave I’d change that. These bad boys would be up front and would mow them down, or run those fuckers overturning them into a paste.

Before I could start though I suddenly saw the bright sky, squinting at the pain from the sun all but blinding me and yelling in indignation, I looked for the cause, ignoring the fact I was a fucking turtle right now. “W-what the actual fuck? Who’s doing this?”

The answer came a moment later as Nova’s golden-haired head came into view, her eyes still glowing a bit. She spat out a response. “You are going to the fucking medic to check out your arm and make sure the poison is gone. You will sit there, even if we get hit again, and fucking like it.” I wisely chose to shut the hell up and be dragged to the medical tent. Pretending that the funny looks I was being given were not because a tiny, one-twenty pound woman, was dragging me with one hand while glaring at everything that moved was the most difficult part of that day...for my ego at least.

---Fernando---

The final explosion faded into nothing. I scoffed at the ineptitude of the attacking militia was almost painful to watch. The fools had simply marched in formation like some old text stated ancient Earth military had once done, even as I had them blown to bits.

“Janus, keep the men on a rotation at all key points. Five on and five off every hours. Switch it to every half hour at the five-hour mark. No one is allowed to get complacent.”

“Yes, Sir!” I moved from the wall, heading back toward the Barracks where the esteemed Magistrate and his only remaining men were left. Time for the conquering portion of my job. “Stone, get to The Orion and get it in the air, I want constant air coverage. Whatever you can provide, Swann will just have to work from the ship. Pierce will join you when he’s at one-hundred percent.”

I watched as the Ghost moved away in silence, still not trusting the man, or anyone in his field of expertise. Assassins, shadows, and liars. The past was the past though, and I had to use every asset under my command to ensure that when The Commander returned, it was to a still standing settlement...perhaps more.

“...me out! I demand to be released from this containment! Do you know who I am you, worthless peon!” That’s perfect, he had fight in him after being separated and placed with his men in a holding cell. I smiled, knowing it’d be easier to break him now.

I nodded to the recruit who was standing silently outside the door. He opened it with a push of the button and I slid in, knocking by three militia who had attempted to bull rush the door. Chuckling, I regarded them all with a cool glance. The idiot was behind his men, his men were shaking after seeing their attempt at escape cut short when met with my armored frame.

“So, who wants to talk first?”...

When I left the room, absently wiping the blood and bits of bone from my armored with what remained of the Magistrates flamboyant shirt. “What did you hear son?” I asked the new recruit beside me as I left. It was cruel, making him hear everything I just did, but he needed to be toughened if he planned to remain in the military. “N-nothing...Sir”

I nodded, lifting my visor, the blood that had been smeared on it squelching a little before sliding free into the gap. “Remember, we are now at war. It is never pretty and you will, at times, be asked to do things that will haunt you all your days. Keep strong, never doubt yourself or your orders.”

I left with that, leaving him with those words. War it was indeed, and our enemy was the entirety of the Confederate armed forces. We should run in The Orion, with everyone we had, but Damian wanted to hold this planet. It would be hard, a lot of men would die in the process, but I would hold this planet, take it for my Commander, and ensure it was held.

For now, I had a few Pirates to see...then I would begin planning for the capture of the former Magistrates settlement. The Commander may be gone for a time, and I wanted to make sure he was pleasantly surprised with the progress I made. The issue would be holding the settlement. Perhaps taking the inhabitants and burning it to the ground? No, we needed the food. I’d think it over after my time with Hiko Morimoto.

Entering his cell, he was sitting on a fairly comfortable bed, eating an apple with his knife in slow, steady bites. He had angled himself to face the door, watching it. I narrowed my eyes, wondering how he could have known I was coming before shrugging. It hardly mattered now. “Well, what brings the Pretty One to my humble abode?”