With the pieces in place Elias found himself on the roof of the first floor of the command tower. He fired once more from his sniper rifle. Being so close to the Crystal Mouse had managed to link him directly to the power source meaning he could fire as quickly as he could aim. He spread his fire across the first rank of approaching Swarm breaking the charge that was now directed at the settlement. There was a cold detachment in his actions honed in on the moment rather than considering the implications if they failed.

The six larger vehicles had broken in two groups and circled the outer ring of defences and set up in three pairs around the ziggurat. Each of the two groups nearest the settlement had been joined by the smaller light vehicles drawing the Swarm in their direction. The only fire other than his own was when Ginge had taken a pot shot at one of the passing bikes. Elias had clamped down on this immediately and issued him a demerit. They all wanted to take out their frustration but he couldn't let his men act on this feeling, they had to focus on the Swarm.

Even without having to concern himself with the battery level for his weapon Elias was only able to shoot so fast with the sniper. The size of the horde must have meant that the Swarm had been chasing the convoy for at least a day. Their fatigue was one of the things he could take advantage of, the steady loping run that conserved their energy made it hard to change direction. For each Swarm he hit, he took down ten or more following behind. Unfortunately it wasn't enough to do more than put a dent in their numbers.

Harmon stood in the tower waiting to take the first batch of drained batteries for recharging. His squad was grateful he chose to be the runner and he was grateful they had let him. They were his squad he was proud to be a member. Even after only a week working together they knew each other's strengths his would be staying out of the fighting. Instead of joining the four react and start shooting as the Swarm entered their designated target area he watched on.

The Swarm onslaught spread around the outer ditch and ring wall as well as trying to force their way forward. The eight gunners on the towers were soon joined by another eight on the western wall as the broken bodies of Swarm filled the ditch and helped those behind push on further. Runners were sprinting back and forth from the charging units, boosted as they were now inside the dome, the Crystal increasing the speed at which they worked.

The hardest task for the runners was to ignore the men and women from the convoy who had casually climbed their outer defences from the east and were stood in a semi-circle outside the dome waiting. In plain sight was a force great enough to hold all the walls and secure the settlement but rather than be supportive they were a reminder of the reason Libertas was being attacked.

Elias switched to his rifle. He intermittently let out a burst of fire over the heads of the recruits on the base wall. He watched as the Swarm that smashed into their outer defences in the west led to those behind rolling round to the north and south. Soon squad five were switching their aim to these rather than the mass of the horde. Any Swarm that continued to follow the energy signature that brought them to the area were shot down by the defensive line of recruits that had disgorged from the troop carriers. Their presence reminding those facing out that if they fell back from the approaching Swarm a greater foe would sweep in after to mop up the rewards.

First ten then twenty and forty Swarm fell to the group. The overspill to the sides of the defences increased as Elias watched the inner ring of the western defences was breached. A looser pack of Swarm had ignored Libertas and attacked those outside instead. As the pressure mounted on the twenty recruits defending the wall so did the pressure on the two hundred waiting outside. The two forces faced with completely different odds were also the complete opposite in their attitude. Elias's troops held firm, concentrating fire on weak areas and cross covering the overlapping fields he had assigned on the shared map. The Prevail troops would all aim towards the nearest Swarm, members would freeze and robotically walk back in line after trying to back away or charge in front. The overall effect was organised chaos with more recruits dying as the number of Swarm approaching them increased.

They had planned for the wall to be scaled by the Swarm. Elias sent out the call as the first Swarm entered the blind spot under the wall.

"Three, four and five. Switch to melee. One and two stay in the towers and add supportive fire." The message over the comms was acknowledged by each recruit, small green dots appearing next to their name on his display. Elias continued to switch between monitoring the overview and using his rifle to fire down over at the Swarm. He could see the back of the horde now, the only concern being that their final numbers included three larger beasts that dwarfed a normal Swarm. They ate a number of their fallen brethren as they came, crushing others underneath their feet. It was not something the recruits would be able to manage and Elias doubted he could do much from afar to take them down.

Jim's blade snickered in and out of the climbing Swarm. They were spread thin on the wall and he was sure he was not the only one scared that the next Swarm would get onto the parapet they were just managing to hold. Another limb reached over the lip of the wall to be slashed in half by Kyla who was standing to his left.

"We're going to get overrun." She panted, pushing back into the centre of the area marked out for her to hold.

"No, just hold a little longer." Came Elias's voice over the comms. "Squad one and two, switch to melee and reinforce the lines." He added. Once he made the call he took one last look from his vantage point. They were coping along the western front and adding in the new numbers would solidify things for a minute until the larger Swarm appeared. His eyes flicked to the sides realising where the new problem was occurring. They were being flanked along the north wall the Swarm being diverted from the line of recruits out by the ziggurat who had survived so far. Instead they were drawn by the energy being given off by the Crystal. He looked south to see the same occurring there. With no defence against being flanked squad five was getting in trouble both sides.

"Shit. Runners. Support squad five on the southern wall. I'm heading north. No eyes overhead." They had hashed out a plan for the most likely scenarios and Elias knew he would be drawn in to the fighting by the end. He yelled in frustration as he took one last look west and saw the three lumbering giant Swarm coming up to the wall. One thing at a time, secure the flank first.

He pushed off the rooftop, rolling as he hit the ground only to spring back onto his feet and boost his leg armour to leap the distance to the wall. On route his rifle was pulled apart in to the two hand grips that instead formed up as twin blades. The signature move of bringing both down in a paired attack cut straight through the Swarm that was trying to climb up beside Five-two who had valiantly been holding the flank until this point. Suddenly close up to the action Elias realised that spread as they were they were destined to fail. He punched up into the neck of a nearby Swarm that reached the top of the wall, its eyes glazing over as the tip of his blade passed through its spinal cord. Slicing sideways he stopped the next attempt to flank the group by removing the two front limbs being used to pull a Swarm over the wall.

"Rolling retreat." He shouted as slicing through another Swarm caused the parapet beneath him to be covered in blood and gore. They had practiced this move alongside moving left and right. His armour flared as he turned his concentration to his neural link and marked the troops into two groups so they could coordinate their movements. Another flare of his armour pulled his attention back to the Swarm in front of him that had managed to score an indirect hit with its shield like limb, bashing it repeatedly into his blade and damaging the arm of his armour. A quick duck and slice brought Elias up closer to cut through the knuckle of the Swarm and defeat his opponent with another blow through the thorax.

Knowing he had done his duty to guide the troops through the next phase Elias allowed himself to be consumed with protecting the flank. One blade punched through the thorax of a Swarm only to find him spinning to use the other as leverage to jump over the back of a third and take all three down with blows to sensitive areas. His left hand switched to a shield that knocked away an approaching limb only to find his right blade had the reach to take off the head of the attacking Swarm. Left and right he swung shield and blade, absorbed it his task to protect the flank.

After a blur that seemed both forever and a moment he suddenly realised the numbers around him had faded and he was in a space free of attacking Swarm. He looked up to find that the rolling defensive line had been moving back as he stayed by the wall. Around him he could see the dregs of the Swarm horde had crossed the wall already and were being held by the troops behind him. At least on the northern wall, all was well.

Even above the noise of the battle the crash and scream coming from the west was clearly heard. Elias knew what it meant, the three higher level Swarm had arrived. His armour at half charge but weapons nearly full Elias changed out the armour battery as he ran along the walkway by the wall that was now relatively free of Swarm. The unlucky few that had not pushed forward towards the Crystal had little defence against his attacks from the side causing him to barely slow as he aimed for the northwest tower. A running boost took him up over the protective wall to land within.

Chaos reigned below. The semi-circle of recruits had been slowly retreating back, each next step pulling them closer together and better able to protect each other. Instead of seeing this there were two punched out holes in the formation. Both filled with the larger Swarm. The third was stuck at the gate its swollen abdomen squeezing over a chunk of wall that had fallen down under the weight of one of those that came before. Taking this in and acting before the situation got worse Elias picked a target and launched himself down into the fray.

The nearest Swarm stood twelve instead of eight feet high the upper parts of its limbs as thick as a mans torso rather than just an arm or leg. It barely reacted as Elias landed with twin blades stabbing down into the thick carapace as it met between the torso and abdomen. Instead of cutting through the depth of the blade only a few inches entered the Swarm's body. It shook its body causing Elias to slide off and land hard on the ground. He drove his blade into the nearest smaller Swarm before retracting it and bringing his hands together to transform his weapon into its shotgun form. Now able to hit the softer underside of the beast he pumped four of the five remaining shots into it in quick succession. The position behind its left shoulder protected him from retaliation. He recklessly switched back to twin blades and threw his weight into an attack as he forced the blades deep into the side of the Swarm's abdomen. Rather than draw out and plunge them in again he twisted and bent his attacks from side to side enduring the thrashing of the Swarm. A final scream came from the beast as it fell down in Elias's direction crushing him with its weight.

Ken and Kyla watched as both Jim and Jared were smashed back out of the formation by the massive Swarm that marked the end of the horde's attack. It reared up onto its four back legs allowing it to sweep further to the left and right. Ken ducked and threw his shield arm up to block as Kyla lent into him bracing against the attack. The other side two more recruits were knocked back out of line.

"Pair up." Jim shouted. "See if we can get in its blind spots." He had regained his feet and stood with Jared over his left shoulder both of them using their shields in combination to give a bigger area of protection.

"That's easier said than done." Countered Ken. "It hits like a truck."

Kyla slashed her blade as hard as she could into the joint of the nearest limb. There was barely a scratch to be seen.

"We just need to slow it down, distract it from the others." Jim called as he watched the last recruit get back to her feet and rejoin the line. All the other recruits had continued retreating and made the most of the fact the smaller Swarm seemed reluctant to get in front of their larger ally.

Jared dodged another attack meaning Jim took a hit on his shield. He stepped in as Jim moved back under the weight. His attacks with his blade didn't even seem to register with the beast that was attacking them. They continued to move back, their limited impact doing just enough to keep its attention. A faint cheer from one side was ignored as the group retreated further, their backs pressed against the protective dome.

"Down!" The shout from behind Jim held authority but came from a voice he didn't recognise. He had a moment to make a choice and decided to follow the command. All four of squad three dropped to the ground. A heavy thudding noise rang out over their heads, bolts of energy pulsing into the body of the massive Swarm. Each bolt tore a hole in the carapace that had been untouched by the blades. A whoop came from the direction of fire, Jim turning to find a three wheeler with twin mounted cannons with a cable snaking back inside the building continued to fire out bolt after bolt of energy.

Elias used the boost on his armour, draining the last of its energy. It was enough to lift the Swarm off his legs and allow him to get out from under its weight. He snapped out the drained battery to replace it with the half empty one from earlier. A red flash alerted him his energy weapon had drained too and meant he was looking for his last battery as he saw the bulk of the last massive Swarm accelerate in the direction of the command tower. He blinked to process the scene in front of him thick pulses of an energy weapon that could not be a recruit coming out from the dome. The stragglers of the Swarm horde were still pressing against the defensive line that had reformed and was holding just outside the dome. Holding until the last massive Swarm crashed into and through their number.

Elias fell to his knees as the Swarm pushed through the dome to try and reach the tower inside. There was no relief as it was torn apart by the modified cannons on the light vehicle, only the bitter taste of failure. Even worse that they were so close. He screamed in rage as he looked back up at the smaller Swarm still battling against his troops. While they might have lost control of Libertas he could still protect his men. The whole platoon responded as he gave off a battle cry, flying forward to smash into the nearest Swarm. Every man and woman still standing fought harder as they watched their commander enter the melee. They watched on in awe as he tore apart one Swarm after another with his twin blades, not resting until the last had fallen.

It wasn't until he fell down on his knees once more that the surge of adrenaline left him and tears started falling down his cheeks. It hadn't even been his dream, how had he become this invested in so short a time? He looked up at his exhausted troops expecting a mirror of his emotions. They all knew the rules of their defence and the price they would pay if they failed.

It was with confusion that he looked up to find his men celebrating, Mouse standing on top of Oberon's trike roaring in success. What had he missed? Had it been only in his imagination that the Swarm had crossed the threshold of the dome? He tried hit his comm to find out what the excitement was about and found his helmet missing. Without realising he must have knocked it off in the fight. Still confused he started to walk towards the nearest recruit.

Meanwhile Commander Daggart was watching on in frustration. He had expected the Swarm horde to smash straight into and through the defences a settlement like Libertas could muster. To ensure the success of his mission the ten elite units and all the scouts had been positioned immediately by the dome. His Command skill allowed him to set parameters in advance that those under his command could not move forward until confirmation that a Swarm had entered the dome. The flanking recruits to either side of the eastern wall were simply there to stop any Swarm coming towards the command vehicle and sweep in after the elites had secured the command tower.

Instead of a quick outcome he was left watching as the Swarm numbers depleted under the fire of the settlement troops.

"I thought they were all fodder. Fucking Cady must have got his intel wrong." Daggart was fuming. His staff knew to keep quiet and keep their heads down when he was in this mood.

"What the fuck is this?" He shouted as he was handed a coffee by one of his aides. "Get out. You," he pointed at the aide, "get out. Out." The aide stood stunned for a second before recognising that he might have just caught a lucky break being asked to leave the vehicle at this point. He turned to open the door of the vehicle letting the fresh air wash into the stuffy space within. The aide froze as he looked out to the Crust beyond.

"Sir." He said.

"What the fuck do you want now? I swear we will leave you out here on the Crust." Daggart bellowed at the aide.

"Sir." The aide held his nerve and tried once more. "You need to see this." He gestured out over the clearing on which they had parked to the Crust beyond. What looked to be a small row of dots on the horizon was slowly growing into a cluster of Swarm. It was nowhere near the size of that they had enticed from the other direction but was at least a hundred strong, perhaps more.

"What is that?" Commander Daggart pushed his way forward to look out in disbelief. All thought was suspended in his mind while he tried to process what he saw. He was meant to bring the Swarm towards Libertas and then push in to take the settlement. There was not meant to be a second Swarm horde approaching from the other direction. This was not meant to happen. The options appeared on his visual overlay the standard tactics for each scenario ingrained in his methods. He was on an offensive mission, his troops were deployed and already under instruction.

The recruits were too far away to bring in to form a standard defensive line. Engaging the enemy there was no way to reposition these troops in time. To move his command vehicle and leave the threat to approach would allow them to ambush those same recruits from behind, crushing them between two fronts of Swarm. His tactical algorithms narrowed the solution down to one option. It would risk the primary mission, the desired outcome to take the settlement. He had to call back some of his elite and scout troops.