The plan was to hammer the enemy hard, and let cover take the brunt force of the return fire. Juno and her squad couldn’t hold the position forever, but if they showed enough fight in them, the enemy would hesitate to fully engage their forces. Juno’s plan was to stall for as long as possible. Maybe, given enough time, the sergeant major would arrive with a rescue team.

If not… then it was only a matter of time before the enemy grew bold enough to over take them.

The squad prepped their gear. Extra ammunition was handed out between the remaining fighters. Positions were covered. Wex prepared the remaining explosives for timed detonation.

Juno weighed what set of cover she should destroy. The standing slab was a good place for the enemy to suppress Jessly on the second floor, now that it was to their advantage, but the assault position they’d used earlier was too vital a point to ignore. Maybe if she placed someone there to defend it, they could keep the enemy from using it like they had. However, that would mean sacrificing one of her well needed guards for the flank.

She opted for the assault position.

“Wex, come with me. Let’s see what you can do with this column.”

Wex’s bombs shook the foundations of the structure when they went off. The pillar was eradicated, the assault position destroyed. Now, it was easy to cover from the building. Everything was as good as it was going to get.

Enemies followed soon after the explosion. Scouts. A few were picked off before they could escape, but not all of them.

Afterward, the main force pushed in. Little skirmishes occurred around the building. No casualties ensued for either side. The enemy was just prodding the squad’s positioning, testing their strength.

Skirmish after skirmish tested their limits. Eventually, the small attack parties grew into larger fireteams. The enemy started applying real pressure. Extended firefights took place between Wex and Jessly, and enemy teams Juno couldn’t see from the ground floor. Harlow started lighting up unknown threats at his position, too, his rifle echoing across the desolate landscape. A few enemies even prodded the flanks, but Grensly and Maxwell fended them off easily enough.

The enemy understood where they were, now. They didn’t know how strong the squad’s force was, but they knew Juno and her squad had chosen to hole up in the building. Now, the real force attacked.

The building was riddled with bullets. Rifle fire, small explosives, smoke; the attack became relentless. Juno and her squad fight viciously.

Harlowe did his best to keep the crater on his own. His shots registered loud and clear from outside the structure. She could tell by the manic gunfire, his position was on constant verge of being overrun.

Juno felt bad about her decision to send him alone. He was the only squadmate on his own, and he was out there behind enemy lines. But, Harlow was the only one she could trust to hold the crater. He’d die defending it, if he had to.

If Harlow’s point fell into enemy hands, they’d gain a heavy foothold in the battle. From there, the enemy would have a good sight on the building, cover, and a staging area to assault from. The entire squad depended on Harlow to hold his own.

Wex and Jessly gave em hell from up top, too. Maxwell and Grensly defended the flanks. They were surrounded now, but the plan was working. The enemy was hesitating, stalling.

This was, in part, due to Sergeant Juno’s job. She plugged up exposed parts of their defense. A harrowing few moments were spent darting out from the building to ambush enemy forces and push them back from potential ambush points. She also hit flanking enemies with surprise attacks, cutting them down in moments of sheer tension. Afterwards, Juno would rush back into the building, shields usually worn out, lungs burning, adrenaline pumping, armor scratched with an extra bullet or two in it.

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Her efforts had the double benefit of clearing out enemies and confusing them. Every time she hit, it was with menacing savagery. She’d appear from the smoke, or attack from overhead, leaving no survivors in her wake. The enemy didn’t know if she was one soldier, or ten. But, it wouldn’t work forever. Juno was growing exhausted.

They fought like this for a while, still with no word.

Juno slid into the lobby of the building after a partially successful counterattack. Winded she sucked down recycled air from her suit respirator. They couldn’t keep this up forever. Where was Sergeant Major Alloy?

Juno was counting down the clock. They’d managed so far, but eventually someone would get hit, the lines would falter. One by one, rapidly, they’d all go down until there was just one of them left.

Harlowe was still in the crater by himself. For the moment, she could still make out his gunfire amongst the chaos.

He was holding his own. He was one tough bastard, but he wasn’t invincible. They’d get him sooner or later.

Should she pull him back? If they lost the crater, the fight was potentially over. The enemy would take it, gather up their forces and eventually charge the building. No, he had to stay up there. Survive Harlow. Fight.

The battle still raged on. Shields were on constant recharge and soon the batteries would wear out entirely. The squad was running low on ammo, too. A decision would have to be made soon. Give the remaining ammo to defend the flanks, or keep the defense up on the front. Either decision had bad consequences.

Maxwell’s rifle lit up on the flank. He expended an entire magazine. The enemy forces were growing thicker behind them. Escape was slipping away if it was ever a possibility.

They couldn’t run with the corporal wounded anyways, so it wasn’t an option. They’d fight here. They’d die here.

Sergeant Juno. Can you hear me? Her radio chimed up.

“Thank god,” Juno muttered, relieved. She clicked it on, “I hear you Major. You took your time. Tell us some good news.”

…

Suddenly, her comm gear picked up a new signal. Without a proper response from Major Alloy, she answered the other frequency.

Sergeant Juno. This is Admiral Hall. Can you hear me? A sick feeling rose in Juno’s stomach.

“I hear you.”

There’s a reason I’ve chosen to contact you myself… I’m sorry to be the one to tell you this, Sergeant, but reinforcements can not get to your location. We were hit too hard. The enemy’s pressured us back and we’re under threat of complete annihilation. I’ve issued a full retreat. We’re leaving this battlefield. Do you understand what I’m saying?

Juno felt like she was going to throw up.

“I understand.” They were dead. After all this…

It’s a bad situation. I’m sorry. No one’s coming. Those words were like daggers in her chest. Juno. You still there?

“Yes, admiral.”

You still have a chance if you evacuate now. There’s a fuel station half a sector away from your position. I understand that you have transport waiting to get you back to a ship. Make it get there. And get there fast. Don’t die on us, soldier.

“Yes sir.”

It’s not a rescue party… The admiral’s voice was heavy, … But I’ll hit your location with a barrage. It should give you some wiggle room to maneuver. It’s the best I can do. Good luck, marine.

“Thank you, sir.” Juno choked the words out. She’d never felt so hopeless in her life. She’d never felt so betrayed, either. The comms were cut.

After all this effort, after all she’d and her squad had done today. The odds they survived until now… No time for that. She had her squad to think about. She had to get them out.

Gunfire blasted around them. Her marines struggled and fought, for her, for survival. The information fully sunk in as she watched. Calculations and strategies ran in the back of her mind, but she wasn’t focused on any of them. There was a problem that had been nagging her since the battle started, and now the worst had come to pass. She couldn’t ignore it anymore.

A hard decision had to be made…

…about Corporal Danniger…