Renzo and the ten that followed eased their LTACs down just beyond sight of the compound that was now ablaze. [Must be more than a dozen of them!] he shouted with a hint of exasperation. [Not sure how the fuck they pulled this off with dead communications!]

[Any ID’s on tanks or any heavy armor?!] he heard Dani call out over the line of sight communication channel. [What are we looking at while we have cover!?]

[We have to wait- hold defensive positions here!] Renzo barked, taking steps towards the large bank across the way from the empty abandoned commercial lot where they landed. [Gather up in groups, keep barrels aimed down street! We will adjust based on what they send us!]

[But the base! It’s just two blocks away we can take it back!] another yelled out in frustration.

[They know we are here!] Renzo cut him off sternly. [They already moved on us most likely so get that damned barrel pointed down street and shut up!]

Renzo adjusted his in-rifle camera to the right corner of his visor display, using small thumb motions to guide the barrel aim just beyond the edge of the building across the intersection. Those are crowded apartments right there. And you are telling me these rounds cut through buildings? ‘Fucking kidding me… Car traffic was nonexistent by this time, most already cleared out proceeding the smoke and noise. He felt the eerie silence beyond the distant sounds of civilian retreat heavy on his body as his grip started to tremble. A sudden blast hitting the center of the intersection from an incoming grenade round startled everyone, causing a few to instinctively throw their shielded left arm up and swing their barrel off to the side. Two more followed suit, hitting the same vicinity. [Keep it steady! Point-men keep the shield up! Wings, barrels up!] he continued, trying to keep focus. As the next ten seconds were filled with similar heavy silence, a highly unfamiliar “TAH-TAH-TAH… TAH-TAH-TAH” caused him to jerk back more than the previous blasts did, even more unsure of where the quick, intense orange flashes came from. The sharp, eardrum piercing ring echoed through the streets as he found himself having taken a few steps back, completely off aim. He quickly readjusted his position and waited for something to come through the intersection.

Damn it, Sebastian, you were supposed to fire once and hit the lower frame, not the upper! Sam thought as she watched the struck LTAC frame drop limp to the ground.

Sebastian’s Ap50 used its roller feet to quickly but carefully approach the same intersection, assault rifle up with Sam’s Axiom right behind. “I think they don’t know we’re here,” Sebastian spoke as he eased toward his right just before reaching the edge of the last building at the intersection. He then looked back at the carcasses of the two enemy LTACs sprawled mid-street before looking once more at the smoldering remains of a car abandoned mid-intersection. “But this means they are close. Samantha? Flare, please.”

Please, let it be them, she thought as flashbacks of the last encounter reared their ugly heads. Heartrate increased intensely as she nervously toggled through her controls. From between her shoulder and head unit a bright green flare shot out and landed near the wreckage, keeping an angle low enough to not be seen from beyond their surrounding buildings. Seconds later, a similar green flare fell just a few meters away.

“That’s them!’ Sebastian spoke up with immense relief.

“Go ahead and approach! I got the street ahead locked down!” Sam responded, keeping her active LADAR tracking up with her heavy round launcher now aimed up. She then felt how vulnerable she left herself, unable to check behind her. She edged toward the nearest building wall hoping it would limit her visibility.

Sebastian double checked his L-Tracker to see no NOx activity as he eased his way around the corner, rifle at ease.

[It’s Bas!] one of the pilots rejoiced.

[Thought you ditched us!] Renzo joined in, seeing his unit link up through LOS comms. All the other units too had eased up.

[Listen, we have to move quick!] Sebastian cut the celebration with a stiff response. [These rifles don’t shoot like you’d expect. Do exactly as training went because these will really mess up the town. Samantha is leading the next punch, Renzo you take over from there!]

They then saw the Axiom proceeding through the intersection without turning. “Sebastian! Tell them to turn their LACOM on!”

“Right!” As the dozen filed in behind Sam, Sebastian continued over the LOS comms channel: [While you have a second bought, activate LACOM systems. It seems we have a laser data link with the satellite above us. It will put all your communication systems back on and allow you to utilize all weapons tracking!]

Sam watched the cloud formations on her L-Tracker approaching the next major intersection. She kept her steady pace forward, hugging the left wall of buildings without getting too close as to hit the street lights and trees, carefully placing multiple rocket trajectory calculations that would land just beyond the center of the street to the left of that next intersection. She then loaded up a smoke round into her launcher, aimed it upward, dialed back launch magnitude, then launched it right into the center of the intersection. “If you are going to make your charge, Renzo, wait until I get them blinded! This should buy us time to get a plan together!”

[We are in line, following! Nice we have no radio to be intercepted this time!]

I HAVE to be the first to shoot, just like in the simulations. I can do this! Sam then switched back to her grenade launcher rounds, rotated her torso to her left, and placed her foot just over the jumper pedal. “Now!” she shouted, jumping head-first into the smoke, releasing a steady stream of her two-dozen rocket charges from her shoulder units, firing the last one just before touching down on the other side of the street, keeping her aim ahead of her with the team to her back.

Sebastian, who was just behind Renzo, saw his signal as the three formed lines charged left, middle, and right of the widened streetway, rifles up as they made their way out of the smoke cloud to find more smoke, smoldering cars, and target acquisition boxes light up their visuals like Christmas. He planted his feet, allowed the firing solution to take the split second needed to center on the farthest unit as he double tapped his trigger, emitting the same ear-splitting shrieks as heard moments ago. The volley was soon joined by dozens more as each acquisition indicator turned gray one by one over the course of a few seconds. He then instinctively followed Renzo’s careful pace forward, clearing the smoke from Sam’s rockets to find the few remaining enemy frames had turned to retreat before taking crippling rounds to the back. Each of the dozen-plus downed LTACs had no retreating pilots nearby, sending a chill down his spine as he fully realized the lethality of their weapons he had not been adjusted to.

[Holy shit!] a pilot’s voice howled over the still ringing echoes.

[What in the hell kind of rounds are these?!] another added in shock.

[Renzo!] Dani called out from the back of the pack, immediately after. [That’s only fourteen down! There’s got to be to be more of them at the compound!]

[Of course!] Renzo answered, [You two! Keep an eye out for tanks behind us! Knight, help Dani and Rodrigo hold the back! Me and Bas will lead two packs to pinch off the compound from both entry points!]

“But that’s overkill!” Sam quickly rebutted, thinking how by this point they’ve essentially killed every opposition pilot encountered, which strongly went against her training protocol. “Besides, we just bought you all plenty of planning time! In the meantime, I need to keep distance by a block to prevent anyone jumping in on you all!”

[What’s overkill are these rifle rounds! Don’t let yourself get circled up and fucked up! Now, file in, damn it! That’s an order!]

“You…” Sam bit down, shaking her raging desire to fight back. This motherfucker, she thought to herself as she doubled back. Really just does what he wants without thinking of everyone else! Ditching no plan, now bust in no plan!? Why did Dad make him the leader?! As she turned the corner at the same intersection, she saw the smoke mostly subsiding, revealing a path littered with a mix of brown and black LTAC carcasses amongst a sea of shattered glass.

▽　▽　▽

Isaiah and Marian were riding on a train, headsets in, window blinds closed. Several couples and families surround them in the nearby seating sections, carrying their own conversations. Isaiah had a cup of coffee in front, opposite from Marian’s cup of milk tea. Isaiah was studying a set of maps on his mobile while Marian read through a technical manual on hers. She then reached over to change her song playing in the background of her headset before she saw a message notification. She picked up a pair of glasses, put them on, and saw a message display in front of her view which would not be readable by anyone on the opposite side of the lens: “Party is getting unruly. Requesting quiet time.” She then took her focus off of the message to look over to Isaiah, motioning him with her hand. “Hey, it’s him. He wants us to keep it down.”

“I don’t hear anything. Go ahead,” he stoically replied without looking up, appearing to be speaking in code along with Marian.

She then swiped her mobile screen to text input, seeing her response show up on the same lens, reading: “We like the silence as well.” She tapped him on the hand a few times, then went back about her business.

▽　▽　▽

Sam heard her team’s rifle shots ring out in succession once more a block away. She heard return fire volleying back but was quickly silenced seconds later. As she approached one of the brown painted LTAC frames downed a minute earlier, she saw the cockpit had been ripped open and left that way, no sign of life nearby. We really need to figure out where the hell these things are coming from while we have a chance, she thought to herself, electing to use the down time effectively in more ways than one. She parked the Axiom next to it, noting that Dani and her wingman had already moved on, then proceeded to open her doors, slinging her PDW she took out from under her seat. She took her helmet off and set her headset to LOS with the Axiom and began to climb down the ladder that extended to the ground. [Left, clear!] she heard over the radio as she dropped to the pavement, extended the stock to her PDW, shouldered it, and approached the downed LTAC slowly.

[Right, clear!] the radio continued.

She checked her surroundings before walking up to the ripped-open cockpit of the sideways lying frame facing towards her, noting the smell of blood and burning electronics. This was the first time smelling such a thing, feeling a sense of queasiness from the shock slowly rising.

[Check for survivors!] [Keep an eye out for any reinforcements!]

Oh, shit… she reacted in further shock, seeing the mutilated body of the pilot slumped over the side of the cockpit, strung in by the still-attached harnesses. She felt herself choke up, halfway passing out as she put a hand against frame, trying to catch her breath. But upon hearing more radio chatter, something re-instilled focus in her, knowing she had a job to do and had no time to lose. Holding her breath, she looked under the seat for anything but found it inaccessible due to the body parts and blood in the way. She looked away immediately, trying not to vomit.

[Keep shields up! We got no way of detecting open explosives!]

She then caught sight of the LTAC’s grenade launcher out of the corner of her eye and walked towards it, waving away smoke rising from the smoldering, gaping holes just past the cockpit. “Wow, these aren’t Bernaud, nor are they Hexa,” she said to herself, dropping her slung PDW to free her hands up as she started to remove the main magazine.

[Renzo, we need to check the other compounds!]

Explosions could then be heard much farther in the distance. She released the magazine lock, dragged it away, and removed one of the rounds. It looked about fifty centimeters long and had obvious heft to it seeing the way she handled it, easing it to the ground as to look at it from the back of the round. “Not even sure what language this is. I need to bring this back.” She grabbed her PDW with her right hand, shouldered it one-handed, then grabbed the round and held it close with her left.

[You hear that activity? That came from downtown!] [Renzo, what-…]

Sam continued forward towards the Axiom, curious as to why her radio fell silent. After she made her way back up the ladder, she slid the round under her seat alongside her PDW and fell back into seating position. She closed the doors and refitted her helmet only to see nothing from her radar or on her map. “Renzo, this is Sam, do you copy?” She turned towards the direction of the compound, making a careful approach, launcher aimed forward. “Renzo? Sebastian?” she continued. She paused, taking her helmet off once more, and removed her headset to find the activity indicator was turned off. She fought it a few seconds to get it to come back on. “Shit,” she said in realization of something. She took another look at the satellite connection screen to see it was still severed. “EMP… This is not good.”

The sounds of cars colliding and other electronic equipment failures in the distance started to fill the void left behind by the disabled communication equipment. She turned to see every street light was out and not a single building’s display was lit. “Those bastards really did it. I heard stories about the old world war from the 2030’s, but never thought I’d be one to relive this kind of scene.” She then turned back for the compound’s general direction. “I need to get back to the others before more shit hits the fan.”

The Axiom approached the compound which was still engulfed in flames but was this time surrounded by the blue urban camouflaged group she was relieved to see all together and in one piece. She quickly spoke up upon confirming her LOS link. “EMP nuked the whole town. Did you all find out anything?”

[Hey, what took you so long?] she heard Renzo’s voice over her radio.

Sam waited for the in-ear translation for a few seconds before remembering her communicator pieces were fried. She then let out a flustered sigh. She continued forward, finding Sebastian’s “02” marked Ap50 and opened her upper cockpit door. She waved the round as she tried once more to communicate: “Sebastian. Tell them I had to gather samples from one of the downed LTACs. Need to find out where they came from, so I brought back something.”

Sebastian nodded as he spoke over the main channel: [She… said something took out our power. And if we found something.]

[Tell her ‘no shit’. What else did she say? What was she holding?]

[She said she picked up some part from a downed enemy frame. She thinks she might know where they came from.]

[Let me see it,] Renzo replied as he approached the Axiom, parked his Ap50, and climbed down to the rutted field below. Sam and Sebastian both got out as well to meet him halfway. She carefully handed Renzo the grenade round she took. [Ha! Damn, Cruella, you are a crazy bitch carrying this thing around,] he joked holding the casing up to reveal the Asian phonetics stamped into its underside. [This shit’s from somewhere like China or something,] he scoffed, carefully handing it to Sebastian as he continued: [What frame did this come from?]

Sam reverted to her old habits again, looking straight to Sebastian for a translation. “Is he asking where I found it?”

“What frame did you take it from?” he answered, studying the case himself. “This is not the same kind we use in our old ones.”

“I got it from one of the newer Kappa frames. Bernaud, that is.” She saw the two were still studying the case and continued: “Those are usually sourced from Eastern Europe. Romania has had a large supply chain underground as of late. Not sure why it’s got an Asian grenade round in it.”

[It’s the kind we see a lot lately,] Sebastian told Renzo. [The only thing she says is strange is this case.] He then turned to Sam to ask: “What kind of gun did you take this from? Was it like my one from my old Caballero?”

“That’s the other strange thing. It’s the same launcher used on our old prototype AiX. Hexa only made a few dozen. You guys were right. We are facing a major foreign threat.” She then faced the compound, hearing fire engines finally en route. “That still doesn’t explain where this ambush came from. Did you clear all of them out?”

Sebastian eased the round down to the ground before responding. “The enemy we began to chase down… just… suddenly dropped like the machines had simply died. I’ve heard a lot about EMP before, is that really true? Is our whole city… no electricity? No power?”

Sam nodded with another sigh. “It’s going to be a long time before that’s restored. Infinity does provide disaster relief, and this should easily fall under that.” She turned to see Sebastian telling Renzo what she had just said.

“[Oh, hell no!] Renzo scoffed. [First, Hexa drops in duds. Leaves us her to be rescued. Next, yeah they send us good presents, but! But, at the cost of this!] he shouted, pointing to the fire. [We are only so lucky the place has a bomb shelter built in!]

Sam couldn’t help but return a confused shoulder shrug. She turned to Sebastian who was looking troubled.

[I think we first have to be thankful to be alive,] he spoke back with an expression making it clear he had no intent to argue. “Samantha,” he said to her as he faced her, “How fast will Infinity respond to this?”

“We stay at the last known rally point. They can only pinpoint drop any necessary and essential supplies but no personnel. Last time I got training on this, response time was two to three hours.”

[We have to wait here for a few hours. They will drop supplies to us here.]

[You realize SAU will have their ground troops deployed and spread across the whole city by then, right? This is clearly a foreign terrorist attack after all.]

[Maybe that is what they wanted?]

“Guys!” Samantha interrupted with a point towards the compound’s main building being extinguished by firefighters. “I think we need to focus on something else if we have to wait?” By the time she took notice of her surroundings, she realized Dani along with three others had already walked up to the scene.

[I left the others to stay on watch!] Dani shouted over the increasingly intense noise from the fire extinguishing foam cannons. [The containment walls are fireproof, right?]

[Right, but we lost all our shit in the fire most likely,] Renzo replied with a heavier tone. The seven of them couldn’t do much in the meantime other than stare as the shock of the whole string of events set in. [Damn, they really just pulled a fast one on us like that.]

[I think I got things figured out,] Sebastian commented. [When we were training, jamming went up to block out their approach. When the EMP went off, it prevented us from ever tracing where anything came from… to hide the escape for whoever did this.] He then turned to Sam. “Can we… are we not able to track when the EMP is used on their weapons?”

Sam shook her head. “They used technology that clearly wasn’t EMP shielded, so, no. Everything they have is fried. We won’t know who did it unless we get some proof from the physical remains.”

“No, we know it was Rocha men,” he replied with a strong sense of resentment.

“But we can’t really know anything, yet, right? Let’s at least talk to our guys inside to see what they saw before the attack.”

“OK,” he reluctantly agreed. “But this is the last time we take this kind of insult.”