Dust skirted along the canyon, like some scene from a western movie, brushing the canyon edges in a swirl as a light breeze pushed its way through the enclosed space.

The sound of the booming canyons from within the wall echoed relentlessly, pulsating violently as the deep canyon boosted its apparent outrage. Death incarnate sat beyond metres of metal and rock, and as the Blue Ravens exited the labyrinth of tunnels, the booming sound swarmed around them, eager to remind them that they were deep in enemy territory.

As Jason leant against a rock to provide cover, Turner rested the deceased Kensington down beside them, placing his hand on his damaged chest in respect. Moving to Jason's side, both glanced down towards the enemy encampment.

Like ants scurrying around the canyon floor, the Cetis were organised and prepared. Scampering around awaiting the next misguided artillery strike or ill-prepared assault on the wall.

It appeared that only a few hundred littered the dusty floor, yet, there was no telling how many more were waiting in the walls of the canyon.

A rush of adrenaline flowed through Jason's veins. This was the final step to the liberation of Loki, with only one wall standing between them and victory.

As Donnelly rested beside him, his thoughts of victory were quickly quashed. The war was far from over, and there were plenty of enemies within still to uncover. Donnelly's fight for survival was still ongoing, but perhaps the end of Loki would also mean the beginning of the end of her struggle.

Just one wall, and now the Ravens would be preparing the way for its demise.

Turner placed his hand on Donnelly's arm causing her to initially shudder at his touch. "Jacqueline, are you with us?"

Donnelly looked at Turner, sheepishly nodding her head but reluctant to appear eager.

"I will need to call artillery strikes, yet I need you to point out the power station and its redundancies. That's all you need to do, are you ok with that?" Turner asked.

Donnelly briefly looked towards the ground, "Yes, I can do that."

Turner reached for another small device from his side, watching it as it flew away from his palm.

With the area being drawn out on her HUD, Donnelly started to spin it around with a flick of her wrist, examining the canyon in meticulous detail.

As the device started to investigate some of the entrances into the canyon walls, Donnelly hesitated, before zooming the view into one area deep in the canyon wall.

She pointed at it, causing the area to highlight and glow. "The main power station is here, and I am guessing, looking at the output it's producing, there will be three redundancies."

Turner nodded, "Where are they?"

Her hands appeared that they were flailing around aimlessly, but as Turner could see the same map, he watched in awe as Donnelly's actions were anything but pointless.

Eventually highlighting the three points in the canyon, she nodded towards Turner, "Here, that should be all of them," she responded.

"Man, they are dug in deep, will the artillery be able to penetrate?" Turner responded concerned.

"A focused barrage may not necessarily hit the power station and its redundancies, however, the sheer firepower of the AR-768 Mandalay Cobras will devastate the canyon around it, likely burying and crushing them in rubble," Donnelly explained.

Jason took the time to flash a small smile, it had been so long since he had heard the knowledgable Donnelly so focused and confident that he had almost forgotten what it was like. It pleased him that she had not completely disappeared into the depths of her mind, and perhaps, with the right expertise, that was enough to pull her back from the brink.

Turner nodded, trusting her response completely. "Mjölnir base, this is Raven lead, over?"

Silence responded a frustrated Turner.

Jason wondered if Colonel El-Hadji had given up hope of the Blue Ravens achieving their objective, happily sacrificing the entire unit just to get to Donnelly.

"Mjölnir base, this is Raven lead, over?" Turner repeated.

"Raven lead, this is Mjölnir base, receiving."

"Requesting strike package delta, authorisation tango tango delta foxtrot niner, over?"

"Raven lead, authorisation received. Alpha seventy-five, confirm."

Turner glanced over the map in his HUD, examining the highlighted areas which Donnelly had pointed towards, "Alpha seventy-five, this is Raven lead, adjust fire, over?"

Another voice cracked over the commlink, "Raven lead, this is alpha seventy-five, adjust fire out."

"Grid coordinates, thirty-five, seven seven, six-five, over?"

"Grid coordinates, three-five, seven, seven, six five out," the voice over the comms confirmed.

"Power station, depth seventy-five metres, danger close, over?"

With the artillery officer confirming the request, Turner looked to the map, examining the distance between them and the intended target. With the canyon some three hundred metres in width, he knew they would feel the full force of the artillery, yet within moments, the final battle for Loki was about to take place.

After a short pause, the comms lit up again, "Raven lead, this is alpha seventy-five, BBICM rounds, three rounds over?"

"BBICM rounds, three rounds, out," Turner responded.

It was at that moment that Jason turned to Turner before watching Donnelly rest up against a rock as she stared at the corpse of Kensington. Would El-Hadji be so daring as to launch an artillery strike on them?

"Shot, over!"

Jason shuddered as he could hear the high powered energy spark crescendo to life before a boom bellowed in the distance causing the ground to tremble.

The wait seemed to take forever as the wall hid any chance of seeing where the gun was fired from. Jason's thoughts of death at that moment plagued him and for the first time, he felt vulnerable. His rifle, which rested precariously on the rock in front of him would do nothing to help, nor would the ridiculously expensive armour that covered his body. His life was at the complete mercy of alpha seventy-five, who he had probably never even met before.

The dark clouds glowed an angry red before the blast hurtled down on the opposite ridge hitting the side of the canyon. Violently shaking, the canyon released a large wave of dust and debris as it spat its way across the canyon, enveloping the Ravens who watched the carnage from the opposite side.

As the dust started to settle, even the Cetis had now become extremely restless, rushing away from the initial bellow of smoke, before returning to help out the few wounded caught in the test shot.

"Fire for effect, over." Turner reacted, eager to have this part of the mission completed.

As if the whole planet had awaited the order, the entire canyon rumbled ferociously, angrily reacting to the scores of artillery weapons bursting into life. Within seconds, the chorus of booms, simultaneously releasing their energy, signalled doom for the canyon wall that had just been penetrated.

"Splash!"

As soon as the voice could be heard, the three Ravens ducked behind the nearest cover, curling into balls as the black sky turned read in an instant.

The deafening, pulsating noise was heart-wrenching, yet the quakes caused by the blasts were enough to have the Ravens hold onto each other for dear life. Not only had the sky returned to its original clouded darkness but now all around them, the Ravens were enshrouded by a thick suffocating dust storm.

As the tremors started to dissipate, another secondary explosion screamed into the air, lighting the once dark area.

The tremors eventually settled causing both Jason and Turner to pop their heads over the rocky formation beside them.

Dust swirled around endlessly making visibility difficult, but as their HUDs came to life they could see the devastation caused, they were both surprised at just how horrific the damage was. The sturdy hard canyon wall had now capitulated, causing a huge landslide that had spilt into the canyon below. What was once rock and mortar was now a pile of gravel and dirt, while in the centre of it all, a huge crater had emerged, scorched and black, billowing smoke enthusiastically.

On the ground, below, Cetis ran around frantically, doing what they could to clear out the rubble and rescue those caught in the carnage, while others at the gate were desperately trying to gain some life from the now-deceased fortification weapons.

"Mjölnir base, this is Raven lead, weapon systems are offline, I repeat, weapon systems offline."

As if the Cetis could hear Turner's response, they immediately started to organise themselves, forming several ranks of soldiers with their sceptres held to their side. Their leaders briskly ran to the front, their voices barking out orders which echoed mercilessly throughout the canyon, while a small batch continued to dig deep into the collapsed canyon.

A crack echoed into the canyon, followed by a metallic boom. As another boom rattled, the gate could be seen physically shaking and the canyon walls shuddered as a result.

Jason turned quickly as he spotted figures coming up behind them, his alarm relaxed as he spotted the remaining Blue Ravens sprinting to his position.

"SITREP?" Turner asked as Captain Kagasawa flopped down next to him.

Initially, he was silent as he spotted Kensington's lifeless body next to the huddled Donnelly.

"All clear, though we got a fright when the artillery struck, thought the cave would collapse on us," Kagasawa reported.

The relentless cracking of explosions against the canyon gate had almost drowned out Captain Kagasawa's complaint, but Turner knew the importance of completing their task with haste.

"Raven's, we hold here," instructed Turner, "lay low until the forces breakthrough, then we provide covering fire while our forces rout the enemy."

For twenty minutes, a relentless buffeting of weapons fire hammered against the canyon gate. Dust continued to swirl around the confined space giving no respite to the huddled soldiers, nor the efficiently lined ranks of Cetis that waited on the floor below.

Jason watched as a few of the Cetis continued to remove the dead from the collapsed canyon wall. They all shuddered as the next high-velocity weapons charge hit the gate, causing them to delve deeper into the rubble.

The waiting had allowed a small sense of guilt and sympathy to eat into Jason's mind. Thoughts of the anxiety the Cetis were enduring were something he tried to disregard, to remain focused on the task at hand, but the waiting was giving him too much time to contemplate on events. He needed this battle to burst back into life before he would draw himself into a similar abyss that Donnelly was enduring.

As another loud crack sparked against the gate, Jason watched as Donnelly sat with her back against the proceedings. She stared endlessly into the tunnel they had exited, with her hand resting on the body of Kensington. When a shell hit the gate, there was no flinch, just the careful controlled breathing of a woman who appeared to fear nothing.

Jason wondered if she had lost herself to this war, or if her mental state could be redeemed. For the first time, he realised that the conflict didn't matter, the war, and the conspiracy was all pointless. All that mattered to him was saving Donnelly. Perhaps saving one would mean more to him than saving the many.

"Prepare to engage," Turner spoke softly.

Jason's trance was broken, and his thoughts were brought back to the now. Looking towards the gate, he spotted the centre of it was turning a furious shade of red and yellow. As the smell of molten metal enveloped his nostrils, he knew that the controlled microwave emitters of the AD-55 Firebug were melting their way through the thickened metallic gates.

Turner instructed the soldiers to quietly split along the ridge as the gate turned from an orange to a bright yellow before switching to an almost heavenly white.

Shouts from the Cetis echoed through the canyon, their formations became staggered and their weapons were drawn forward.

As if on cue, the gate burst open, sparks flew wildly in the air, briefly blinding the defenders standing behind them and before they could look to see what was coming through, a hail of laser fire tore through their shields and armour like paper.

Mechanised infantry, in intense robust power suits, poured through. Gatling guns were strapped to their arms ripping to shreds all who stood in their weapons arc. The carnage was horrific as each Ceti's shield failed quickly, but it did not take them long to recover from the initial devastation.

Every mechanised soldier that pushed through the gate was quickly surrounded by several fierce enemy combatants. Swarming upon the mechanised soldiers like furious hornets, the soldiers within the suits were quickly overcome and soon became another statistic laying on the battlefield.

The USM forces, however, were relentless. Pouring through the open gap like lava flow, burning through ammunition and enemies as if neither were of consequence, but as relentless as the USM were, the Cetis had equal or more measure in resilience.

For every Ceti that fell, five USM soldiers lay lifeless by their side.

"We have to do something?" Jason called out as he watched several more soldiers fall to the surrounding forces.

Turner, too, watched in horror as the gate hole was creating a choke point, stifling any advancement the USM could make. "I agree, suggestions?"

"Without armour, the infantry will be ripped to shreds, we need to get that gate open," Jason responded.

"Yet we took the power out, so how can we get the gates open?"

"The gates can still be manually opened," Donnelly interjected, refusing to watch the carnage below, "once the clamps are removed, all it takes is a small energy source to provide the power required to swing the gates open."

No one could see his smile, but Jason was grateful to hear Donnelly's voice of reason and as Turner responded gleefully, Jason knew he was not the only one.

"Let's do it," Turner reacted, "It's unlikely the gate will be defended now, we advance with haste. Raven's, this is Raven lead, Scharn, Donnelly, Kagasawa and I will be heading towards the gates with haste. You are to provide covering fire while we enter. Use EM grenades sparingly, and make your shots count."

The unified sound of agreement could be heard over the helmet communications encouraging Turner and Jason to huddle with Donnelly and Kagasawa.

"Donnelly, are you with us?" Turner asked, knowing he was putting his life in her hands.

Donnelly got up onto one knee, her voice was focused and determined, "I refuse to kill, I do not refuse to save."

Placing his hand on her shoulder, Jason's touch of support seemed to be welcomed by her as she reaffirmed it with a squeeze of her own.

"Let's do this!" Turner ordered.

Sprinting across the dusty rock formation the four Ravens headed directly towards the towering gates. Their ragged breathing, along with the puffs of dust dispersed by their boots brought the unwanted attention of the enemy, and it wasn't long before the gangly focused soldiers from the Tau Ceti system had turned their attention towards them.

"OPEN FIRE!" the call from one of the Blue Ravens brought the canyon walls alive, laser fire rained from various points, instantly felling a few of the unsuspecting aliens.

Sprinting up to the gate, Jason immediately used his jet pack to be launched up to a gangway two-thirds of the way up the towering metallic wall. As he landed, he was greeted by the other three Ravens, eager to put an end to the war on this planet.

Donnelly took the lead as she guided them into the thirty metre thick metallic walls, desperate to find the controls to the wall clamps.

As if anticipating this potential cause of action, three Cetis stood there waiting, their sceptres open and ready. Donnelly hesitated, coming to an abrupt stop just as the Cetis launched their first attack. Seeing the blades of the sceptre flash down towards her, she gasped, preparing for the feel of metal driving into her skin, but before she knew it, she was sprawling along the floor, sliding effortlessly across the cold surface. Looking up, she watched her saviour, Jason, once more jumped to her defence, pivoting to avoid the sharp blades before they forced their way into their target.

"Donnelly, the gate," Turner called, encouraging her to complete her task.

Pushing herself off the floor, Donnelly raced towards the manual clamp overrides, avoiding the close quarter combat the other three Ravens were engaged in. Uncoupling the manual override, she went to work, pumping the handles to deactivate the two-metre wide steel rods that connected the doors of the gate.

The sound of the metal grinding was both terrifying and satisfying, and with all her endurance she continued pumping away, eager for the clamps to disengage and the rest of the USM army to finish the fight.

The Cetis knew what was happening and fought with greater ferocity than they had ever done before. Jason's adversary had now considered Donnelly as the greatest threat and was doing all it could to end her spirited actions, yet every time the Ceti turned towards Donnelly, Jason stood between them.

Donnelly's arms ached, but every time she watched Jason risk his life for her, she pushed the pain to the back of her mind, and when the final clank of the metal rods could be heard, a smile forced its way onto her face. With only a reactivation of limited power in the control centre needed, they were now only moments away from retaking the planet.

Watching Jason fend off attack after attack, anger rushed through Donnelly's veins, and before she realised what she was doing, she had launched herself at the hostile, grabbing it around the waist and crashing it to the floor.

Despite the surprising nature of the assault, Jason quickly took advantage and lowered his blade into the shocked adversary.

"Are you ok?" Jason asked as he lowered his hand towards Donnelly.

Astonished by her action, she didn't initially respond, but as Jason pulled her to her feet, her smile returned. "Yes... Yes," she stuttered "I'm sorry Jason, I'm sorry that I haven't been myself, and I'm sorry that I pushed you away."

Jason returned the smile, "It's ok, I understand," he replied, his body felt light and fleeting as he knew she had returned, briefly, from the abyss of her thoughts. "Let us end this battle, and then we will have time to discuss this more."

"Agreed," Donnelly said, exasperated as the pain in her arms returned viciously.

With Jason's assistance, the final two Cetis were dispatched with ease and the four Ravens had entered the command centre.

All of them stood in awe as they looked over both sides of the battlefield. On one side, fighting was intense, the Ceti's were dug in tight, with USM infantry desperately trying to surround their enemy. Hundreds from both sides lay lifeless, littering the battlefield and making the ability to traverse extremely difficult for the living. Without the gate being open, the loss of life would be devastating.