It was a disaster.
The frontline was shattered and everyone was in full retreat. Their forward trenches did little to stop the Brotherhood’s advance, whose power armor units simply walked over them and killed anyone unlucky enough to be standing inside. It made Sylvia wonder why they were dug in the first place, considering their enemy’s disregard for small arms fire.
Worse yet, were the attacks on the flanks. Nobody among the Wardens, not even Sylvia, had expected the mass desertion of their allies. The Skulltakers took Elliott’s company by surprise and were overrunning their positions. The raiders lacked the arms and armor of the Wardens, but they made up for it with their sheer ferocity. There was nobody in Seattle who could match their bloodlust, except the Brotherhood. Who were currently advancing on Sylvia’s Fox Company.
At the first sign of trouble in the South, Landon and his Hounds had betrayed the compact and opened the coalition’s encirclement around the pocket of the Brotherhood forces. This allowed the Brotherhood to march reinforcements to their location and cover their retreat. However, instead of retreating south with the survivors of the pocket, their reinforcements struck north.
Like the Castellans, the Brotherhood’s PA units were equipped with machine guns and were supported by infantry. Unlike the Castellans, the Brotherhood’s machine guns were miniguns while their infantry were equipped with laser rifles. Both of which provided the Brotherhood more firepower than anyone else in the city. Sylvia ordered her company to retreat and avoid any and all fighting if possible, with members of her company HQ section organizing the retreat.
They no longer had the means to challenge their enemy directly, having lost the last of their grenade rifles in the Brotherhood’s counterattack. A monster of thick steel led the Brotherhood’s advance, killing anything and everything that moved. It was the first time she’d seen a gatling laser and loathed that she and her company were on the receiving end. A squad of wardens moved from one house to another and a torrent of laser fire tore them to shreds, leaving only a single survivor intact. There were others who were not instantly killed, but they wouldn’t survive for long.
The survivor crawled through the carnage, pushing through the bits and pieces that had once been comrades, but he turned back and froze with shock. Sylvia herself, in her years of service to the Wardens, had never seen so much wet gore in one place. Not even from the Skulltakers. However, she forced herself to deaden her nerves and ran to the man, ignoring the viscera that clung to her boots. She barely avoided getting tagged by enemy fire as she pulled him to safety through a side door leading into a kitchen.
The man’s eyes were wide open and he was hyperventilating. Any attempts he made to speak came out as choked gasps. Sylvia removed her helmet, with her gas mask and hood, and dropped it onto the ground. Leaning over the man, she cradled his head between her hands and looked into his eyes.
“Look at me and take deep breaths. Breathe in. Breathe out.” Sylvia said and the man held his breath as she did. He exhaled with her and they repeated the exercise until the man’s breathing calmed. “Can you stand?”
“Y-Yes, c-captain.” The man climbed onto shaky knees, but held himself up.
“What’s your name?” Sylvia said as she fastened her helmet back onto her head.
“P-Private N-Noah.” The man took a deep, steadying breath, and blinked in a dazed way. One eye, then the other, but it matched the nametag on his chest and the single inverted chevron sewn onto his shoulder sleeve. “Private Noah. Second Squad, Third Platoon.”
“Good, good, you’ve still got some sense in you. Listen to me, Noah, we can’t stay here. Follow me and I’ll lead you to safety. Understood?”
Noah nodded in affirmation and Sylvia led him through the neighborhood, from house to house, as the Brotherhood’s miniguns resounded in short bursts. Shards of wood blew into the air as they ran around the corner of a house, but Sylvia and Noah were hidden away. The miniguns continued firing and Sylvia hoped it was directed at anything else other than her wardens, but there was nobody else around for the Brotherhood to kill. Minigun rounds resounded against metal, glanced off concrete, and its thunder was followed by screaming.
Sylvia crossed through several backyards and pushed her way through a dead hedge to peek around a fence. Several wardens were pinned down behind several vehicles while those who were unable to reach cover were left where they fell. Elements of the Brotherhood forces closed in on their position, a single PA unit accompanied by four infantry.
The group seemed small, but they were Brotherhood soldiers. They’d slaughter her wardens unless something was done, but what? Sylvia clutched her rifle. It had been with her since she first enlisted into the ranks of the wardens, but it wasn’t nearly enough to pierce through the Brotherhood’s power armor.
The enemy PA unit edged closer to her wardens, one of whom fled from cover and was torn apart into a bloody mess. Sylvia cursed the Brotherhood for ever stepping foot in Seattle. What did her dying city have that warranted all this killing? Sylvia thought of Julius, then. Maybe the Brotherhood had an old tyrant of their own, grasping at power for the sake of it.
In the distance, a group of white-masked Skulltakers moved between houses and hopped fences to avoid the advancing Brotherhood forces. Sylvia caught sight of more behind them and she began to scheme.
“Noah, I want you to deliver a message to those wardens.”
“With all due respect, captain, but I’ll be shot to pieces as soon as the metal men see me.”
“Not this instant, I’ll give you a signal. Just wait here. When I give the signal, I want you to tell everyone to run as fast as they can.”
Sylvia left Noah and approached the raiders. She called out to them and fired a shot that would’ve opened one of their skulls if she didn’t intentionally miss. The raiders pointed at Sylvia, all by her lonesome, and shouted amongst themselves. They called for her to be captured, to be dragged to their overboss for a reward. A few dozen raiders appeared in the distance, from between houses or climbing over fences.
There were more than Sylvia, but that was better for her plan. Though, not necessarily for her own well-being. She weaved between cover as she ran, careful not to get shot, but getting herself shot anyway. Something small struck her shoulder, between the hardpoints of her armor. Shrapnel or a small caliber round, but she was tougher than most. Her injuries barely hindered her movement as a rush of adrenaline pushed her towards a house near the Brotherhood’s advancing forces, keeping out of sight until the raiders entered the house.
Climbing the stairs to the second floor and aiming her rifle out a window facing the street, she fired on the Brotherhood. Rifle rounds bounced uselessly off their armor, but their PA unit stopped their advance and directed their attention to Sylvia’s position on the second floor. And the raiders on the first. Bullets sprayed into every window and Sylvia ducked away.
The Brotherhood’s infantry approached the house as the sounds of their laser rifles did. Their advance was supported by their PA unit from the road. Wood splintered from window frames, as well as glass, and Sylvia crawled to a side room. Fighting intensified on the first floor as more raiders reinforced the position, but more stomped up the stairs and called out to her. One of whom threatened to rip her skull from her corpse, like it was something particularly shocking for a Skulltaker to say.
Sylvia fired a few rounds down the hallway and forced the raiders to find cover, before jumping out a window and dropping onto the ground below. She went prone to avoid a burst of minigun fire and crawled her way to the next house over. Raiders had spotted her, but only after she crawled into safety.
The PA unit on the street prevented the raiders from pursuing her, firing their minigun between the two houses. Raiders and Brotherhood infantry fought for the house, gun fire and laser fire thundering out. The PA unit on the road turned its full attention to the house and fired into it, providing fire support to its accompanying infantry.
—
Sylvia made her way to Noah and cried out. “Noah! It’s time to leave!” The Brotherhood was preoccupied with the raiders and she hoped it would give her wardens a chance to run.
Noah ran to the wardens, yelling as they left their cover and ran for their lives, Sylvia following close behind. Most fled into the closest houses along the road before a hail of bullets peppered the area around them, but everyone made their way past fences or through adjacent houses to safety. Obscured from the Brotherhood’s line of sight.
The Brotherhood had ended their advance on the Wardens, still distracted by the bait Sylvia set for them, which gave her and her wardens an opportunity to rest. They regrouped in the ruins of a house with a second story that gave them a view over the neighborhood, away from the street they had fled in case the Brotherhood continued advancing up its length. They were all exhausted from the day’s fighting and their resulting retreat, but Sylvia walked around to check on her wardens. Many had been wounded, but none of their injuries were life threatening. A small miracle, given everything they had been through.
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A warden, whom Sylvia recognized as the First Squad leader for Second Platoon, approached her as she sat on the hood of a wrecked SUV. “Sergeant Vogel.” Sylvia said. “Is this all of your squad?”
“Some of them. There’s a bit of Fourth Platoon mixed in. Lost a few others in the retreat when Skulltakers wandered over to our positions. They’re not dead, that I know of.” Vogel gestured to Noah. “He’s Third Platoon isn’t he? Where’s the rest of his squad?”
“No other survivors, saw it myself. Gatling laser.” Sylvia said and shook her head.
“Those still exist?”
“Unfortunately.”
After everyone rested, Sylvia led her survivors to the Warden’s fallback position. To her relief, many wardens had made it to safety, over a hundred were simply wandering through the streets trying to reorganize themselves. Vogel took anyone who needed medical attention to the field hospital for treatment, while the others filtered towards the temporary shelters their units were assigned to.
Sylvia herself returned where she began her long, drawn out day and walked into the cafe that had been repurposed into a supply depot. She was greeted by the Warden general and his other captains, minus Elliott, who were lounging around the cafe. The company sergeants, aides of their respective captains, sat amongst themselves nearby, but Sylvia’s own had yet to arrive.
“Straight into it.” Sylvia muttered to herself, before approaching the group and saluting Julius. “Glad to see everyone survived.”
Kenneth stood with Julius, both showing nothing but indifference, as if the disaster currently falling upon the Wardens was just another day on the job. Trusky was Trusky, as disinterested as the old ghouls, but somehow less human. William stood off to the side, leaning on a table. He was a little worse for wear, dried blood that wasn’t his splattered across his face, but he stood tall. A dull pain reverberated through Sylvia’s shoulder. She should’ve gone to the hospital before anything.
“Elliott’s missing.” Trusky said plainly.
“Is he?” Sylvia asked.
“That’s why it’s been quiet.” William said with a wide grin and a smile pulled at the corner of Sylvia’s own mouth.
Someone called out to the supply depot’s quartermaster from the rear entrance of the cafe, asking for med-x and stimpaks, but there was nothing left for the field hospital. Sylvia’s smile died before it took form. “How many wardens did we lose today?”
“Nearly a hundred.” Trusky said.
“And many more wounded.” Kenneth added. “Once Elliott and Dog Company arrive, we can take full accounting. Did all of Fox Company return with you?”
“I just arrived. Still haven’t made the rounds.” Sylvia said and Kenneth nodded.
A hundred dead wardens, more than likely over that number, out of the nearly four hundred wardens that marched south. It was a devastating loss of life for the Wardens, but what did their lives purchase in the end? A few dead Brotherhood paladins would slow down their advance into Seattle, but what was the point of destroying their enemy if they were destroyed along with them?
“So, what did this get us?” Sylvia asked, directing her pointed attention to Julius.
“Their lives were spent for a costly victory, but a victory nonetheless.” Julius said. “The Brotherhood suffered dearly.”
“You call a few dead Brotherhood soldiers a victory?” Sylvia began to say, ignoring William’s warning gaze. “A hundred dead wardens and the collapse of our coalition, and you consider this a victory? Our allies abandoned us out there.”
Julius waved a dismissive hand. “The Skulltakers have also suffered dearly, as have the rest of the coalition. As long as they’ve taken more casualties than us, we’ll come out ahead.”
“And if they haven’t?”
“Then we’ll call up our reserves and make sure they do.” Sylvia knew that calling up reserves meant expanding conscription throughout Seattle. And to kill more of Seattle’s population at that, as if the Brotherhood wasn’t killing enough of their people. “With that being said, the Skulltakers must be punished for their attacks on our positions. The Hounds and Mercers must also pay for killing their Warden attaches. The Mariners and Castellans could be forgiven for their desertion if they provide another tribute.”
“I don’t understand. Didn’t the wardens we sent to the Mariners and Castellans return alive?”
“They abandoned their positions, Captain Sylvia.” Julius drawled. “Just because they didn’t murder wardens, doesn’t mean they aren’t partly to blame for this situation we’ve found ourselves in.”
The Hounds and Mercers were one thing, they had spilled warden blood, but the Mariners and Castellans had no choice but to retreat or be annihilated. Nobody could withstand the Brotherhood’s advance. The Wardens themselves were in the middle of retreating from their failed attack on the Brotherhood. Sylvia almost couldn’t believe what she was hearing, but it was Julius speaking. It’s just how he was.
“Well, if we’re just waiting on Elliott, may I suggest we all get some sleep? It’s been a long day. If the Brotherhood continues advancing, we might have to fight well into the night.”
“Very well.” Julius said and dismissed them all with a wave.
Sylvia wasn’t tired, but she didn’t want to stand around chatting with Julius. It was becoming more painful than the dull ache in her shoulder, from the bullet lodged inside, and there wasn’t any sense compounding one pain with another. She saluted and left the cafe to visit the field hospital to get her wounds tended to by the medics, but a man called out as he ran to her.
William grabbed her hand and pulled her into an alleyway, leading her to a side entrance that dipped into the side of the building, before he pulled her helmet off her head and kissed her. Sylvia pulled away and her eyes darted to either end of the alley to see if they’d been caught, but the walls obscured their position. “Nobody can see. I checked.” William said, grabbing Sylvia by the waist and pulling her close.
A rush of warmth shot through her and she felt her cheeks blush as William smiled, but she grabbed her helmet and pushed him away. She kept her helmet at her side, however, and allowed William to look at her face as she spoke. “It’s not safe. Also, I’ve been shot. Need to get to the field hospital.”
“I’ve missed you, Syl.” William’s voice was choked with want, but there were wardens running about. Any of whom could spread more rumors of what they saw between the two. He kept his distance and handed her a stimpak.
“How are your injuries?” Sylvia said and injected the stimpak into her shoulder. Her wounds stung, but the pain fizzled away quickly, and thought to herself, I’ve missed you too.
“My injuries are nothing, but a medic gave me that stimpak anyway. Something about keeping the officers in good health. Trusky got one, I think, but he stayed well away from the fighting.” William scratched at the stubble on his jaw. “I made it out unscathed compared to some of the others. We lost a lot of good people today.”
“We lost far too many, just to inflict some losses on the enemy. One of my squads was nearly wiped out within a second. Only one survivor. That monster from the reports had a gatling laser.”
“Their Steel Enforcer. So they’ve come back to rescue their friends? How nice.”
“Their friends went home, but they stayed behind to keep killing. They can’t be that nice.”
“It never gets easier, does it? First raider, now the Brotherhood.” It was more of a statement from William, rather than a question. Losses were never easy, but the Brotherhood showed them how much worse it could get.
“We’re just so helpless out there. Compared to power armor and laser weapons, the Wardens might as well be tribal savages.”
“I don’t know, the Yakama’s hunters could be useful for raiding the Brotherhood’s supply lines. Sneak south of White Sprawls and hit the settlements they’ve subjugated.”
“And rob farmers as Winter approaches? Maybe not. What we really need are more grenade rifles. I can’t believe he gave them all to Elliott. There must be only a handful left between the hundreds of wardens here.”
“Maybe we’ve bought ourselves some time for the gunsmiths to replace what we’ve lost.”
“They’ve got vertibirds, y’know?”
“Those things fly, right?”
“Nobody is supposed to know, but the Brotherhood uses them to bring in reinforcements from further south. At least, that’s what Kenneth’s scouts say.”
“There’s more of them than the ones at White Sprawl?”
William’s shock was more demoralizing than it should have been, but he was always too brave for his own good. If the news shocked him as much as it did, it should’ve shocked her too, but Sylvia had avoided fully considering the implications of that information. She seated herself onto the ground, wrapping her arms around her knees. If the Brotherhood could muster their full strength against Seattle then it would no longer be a matter of winning or losing, but how long the Wardens could last.
Kenneth’s wardens had spent a great deal of time skirmishing with any vertibirds that landed outside of White Sprawls, limiting their throughput for reinforcements. Perhaps the Wardens lost too many of their number in the recent fighting, but they stopped the Brotherhood’s northward advance. Maybe it bought the Wardens enough time to bring the coalition back under control.
Hurried movement resounded from either end of the alleyway as boots struck concrete. Calls to standby at designated quarters resounded, as well as calls for Sylvia and William and. Sylvia jumped from her seat and ran out of the alley as she placed her helmet on her head, with William following behind. She approached the warden who had been calling for her, who informed her that she and William were needed back at the depot to meet with Warden Command.
Elliott had returned and Sylvia could almost sympathize with the man, beaten and bruised as he was. “Took you long enough.” He said, standing with Kenneth and Julius as if they were equals. The company sergeants were also present for the meeting, including Sylvia’s own aide, Feris, whose mere presence was a great relief in the face of all the casualties everyone had taken.
“Now that everyone is here, we can begin.” Julius said. “Brotherhood forces have regrouped and are advancing. Slowly, but surely. They have chosen to ignore the other members of our former coalition and are focusing their attention on us. Therefore, we must retreat at once. Captain Sylvia, your company has taken the least casualties. Reorganize them quickly and slow the Brotherhood’s advance. You will buy time for our retreat.”
“Sir, yes, sir.” Sylvia said. “How many grenade rifles can Dog Company spare?”
“None.” Elliott said. “The Skulltakers absconded with the last ones we had when they attacked. It was the first thing they did.”
“How can I possibly slow the Brotherhood’s advance if I have nothing to fight their power armor?”
“They’re not all wearing power armor.” Trusky said, as if it made a difference in the face of advancing paladins.
“You have your orders, Captain.” Julius said. “The rest of you, round up your companies. We are leaving this place.”