The Tarlaki stormed forward in a wave. They were not ready. Seven guns from squad one rang out in a rapid automatic fire, and plasma sprayed across the bodies in the hall.

Many went down. The front five that stepped out of the breach died immediately, never making it more than a step or two. However, there were about fifteen behind the first wave. Maybe half were down by the time that all made it out, but the rest had managed to take up firing positions, almost mirroring Sev's.

There were only so many tactics to this initial fight. The defenders just unloaded into the squad. And the attackers try to rush into a position where they would get some cover. The setup had worked reasonably well. At first, the person lying on the ground had a pretty good angle to the target. However, once some of the invaders fell, they had decent cover. Though they were unable to move from the position. So all they could do was spray as fast as possible and pray that they hit anything vital.

Each side had similar weapons, light plasma rifles, and that was pretty much it. The guns had to be made so they wouldn't damage the ship too much. They were all toast if you punctured a hole through an outer hull. That didn't necessarily mean that the armor was impenetrable, but it didn't mean that it had some effect.

Sevs took a hit to the breastplate, and it got hot, but not to the point where it was uncomfortable. So he figured he could take two or three more before he would have to take it off to avoid severe burns. Luckily there was a quick release. But once that happened, if he took another hit, he would probably be toast.

Sevs wished that he could do some sort of tactics or order them to fall back or advance, but there was nothing left for his squad to do. All they could do was just return fire. The first to fall was Jason. He had taken out five of the 20 on his side himself. Able to place a shot perfectly in the joints of armor near the neck and disable weapons based on hitting the barrel, so they were misformed. But because of all his prowess, they targeted him first.

Once the space elves quickly managed to get a toe hold, they proved they were just as disciplined. They also had a much better shot on average when compared to the recruits. So while they had sacrificed almost 70% of their numbers to land, they now face an even battle against recruits. It was not going to go well for him, Sevs thought. Still keeping his hand on the trigger, he quickly risked a glance over his shoulder.

The other side had not fared nearly as well. Sevs's team still hadn't lost anyone yet, but Zim's team had maybe let 12 in. And since Sevs could see that almost every one of the ones that fell was from Zim. This is not looking good. Zim had put the better shots watching the other direction while he took his own side. Not having accounted for Sevs, Jason and Robert, It was clear that Zim had over-compensated when setting up the position. It might have worked if only one group had landed, but two were more than they could handle.

Turning back to his own battle, Sevs realized it was evenly matched. The Tarlaki were quicker and more agile but couldn't take as many hits. So despite not having Jason's aim, everyone was able to do some damage. And they were able to soak up more. However, it balanced out as they didn't hit nearly as often.

What took less than a handful of seconds seemed to stretch on forever. And all their training either fled their minds or came to bear, depending on the person. Some people just fired blindly and were able to be somewhat effective, but others started to take into heart the stance they were taught. The way to aim, the way to breathe.

For example, Sevs found out why the shoulder was placed in a slightly non-optimal position for aiming. It was to cover a gap in the armor around the neck. He found that out as by habit, he dropped it to take better aim. Unfortunately, they must have been waiting for it as he received a painful blast right to the neck. If he took one like that again, he would be dead.

It was clear that this would be close, down to a man or two. And that wasn't something that the tarlaki could accept. Well, Sevs's team could. All would respawn. As for the tarlaki, Sevs didn't know what happened. They were some AI opponents, but the system usually liked to make things internally consistent. So either they would respawn or they wouldn't, but they would definitely not respawn on this ship.

They couldn't afford to be completely wiped out in trades as Sevs' team could. So this is how Sevs first thought they might be able to repel these invaders. So he had just decided he was satisfied to trade member for the member until they were all dead, and then he heard the calls of despair and alarm from Zim's squad.

Risking another glance over his shoulder, he saw that it was down to two members who were severely injured; they'd only managed to whittle down the tarlaki to seven. And likely wouldn't get another. This was not looking good; they were outnumbered and no longer had the advantage of surprise or better cover. They are also flanked from both sides. This allowed them to shoot freely. Of course, the enemy had to be careful not to hit their own, but it was hard to miss the recruits when they were basically fish in a barrel.

Another of Sev's men went down. He didn't immediately go for respawning but instead lay there sizzling. Screaming something that would haunt them all for days to come. Sevs was not necessarily a hard man, but he had played countless repetitions in games where death was mercy. Quickly he dropped the barrel of his gun and sent his soldier to respawn.

Sevs felt he knew what would happen in just a handful of moments. And this was not going to be good. Well, it was fourteen against forty. They had managed to whittle it down to maybe seven Tarlaki surviving the conflict. However, this was not enough. Better than letting the entire squad through unchecked, but seven running around and potentially coordinating with ones on the outside could pin a unit quickly and let an entire team into the ship. Sevs thought I have to change tactics.