War in Virginia

[Ron Caliburn]

I guess it was sort of ironic that we were going to war on a day set aside to remember the end of the war to end all wars - but we didn't have much other choice.

Ted's bug on Pyopas' computer had kept working after I'd left. Apparently she'd been rather displeased with my actions and the results of the election. She was apparently preparing for "active measures" to force her agenda on the coming government.

Willie's escape from Pyopas' clutches had given us some valuable intell about where Pyopas was and that she still had a couple dozen loyal troops at her disposal. Shadow's intell from his team's escape let us know that Pyopas' key henchmen weren't human, and we can assume the same about her.

So all we had to do was figure out a way to assault a position defended by a force of highly trained SWAT officers to deal with four demons of some such or another. To complicate matters, the human troops were probably dupes so we didn't want to kill them either - but being in full body armour and armed with quite lethal weapons made subduing them a rather prickly proposition.

On the plus side we had myself, Willie, Shadow, all of Shadow's folks and my store. Shadow's group had plenty of equipment to be sure, but we decided my business would have a "mysterious break-in" which would result in a number of items being taken along with the inventory lists making it rather impossible to know exactly what was missing. When I talked to the police about it the following day I explained that my internal security cameras and alarms were damaged in the raid by the feds earlier in the year and I hadn't done enough business since to afford to replace them.

We also had another thing going for us.

Gabrielle.

[Huntress]

Excellent work boys!

[Ron Caliburn]

Was a far closer run thing than I'd like actually.

Gabrielle more or less showed up on my doorstep on the 10th - which was rather surprising seeing as she was supposed to be in an institution on the other side of a couple of state lines from us.

It was a really rare thing for her to speak directly to me, or anybody. She tended to talk about people instead. But her first words were brisk, business-like and aimed directly at me.

"It's time."

With that I was suddenly transported into the nightmares I'd had ever since she first spoke to me. I watch the world ending before my eyes.

But it wasn't a dream, I was there watching it happen and Gabrielle was there beside me. I felt the heat of the fires on my face. I heard the moans of the dying and screams of those who were next. I choked on the scent of sulphur and charred flesh . . .

"This nightmare is your adversary's dream. If you stop them now, they will not have another chance for nine decades."

We were back in my house again as if nothing happened. "Musta Won is gonna need ta call his fwiends."

[Willie Long]

Man, were we glad to see Ron and Shadow when they arrived! I swept them into a hug as Mr. Fluffers rubbed against their legs.

*****
I'd healed up in a few days after my escape, but I still couldn't reach Ron by phone. We got bored sitting around, so we went hunting. I knew Pyopas had a few of her goons scouring the town for me, so I decided to add some excitement and medical bills to their lives.

[Willie Long]

As Ron and Shadow brought in goody bags I changed out of the "Let's Hug it Out" T-shirt Bert the Turtle had sent me into a more subdued gray jumpsuit. Over it I started strapping on armor and weapons as we went over the plan. Shadow's crew would draw off Pyopas' guards while Ron and I snuck in to give her a proper send-off.

Shame it didn't work out that way.

[Ron Caliburn]

For all my preferring to operate alone, it was nice to be a part of a group of well trained, well equipped and well organized individuals.

It was also nice to know I was going into an environment where I'd know who was hostile and who wasn't. We of course wanted to avoid long term injury to any of the dupes Pyopas still had working for her, but other than that, we were ready to bring everything we could on this place.

I even brought a duffel bag that I'm sure would have made Bert proud.

Anyway, Willie and I approached the ruined asylum quietly from the west side and waited for Shadow's team to start their assault from the south.

[Shadowstalker]

My team and I were in position to draw out, and deal with the the agents Pyopas had duped into working for her.

We started out by launching Tear Gas into their midst. We were working with the idea that while they may have Gasmasks, and the like. That equally good chance they wouldn't have them on, or at that they would have them that ready to put on. We were right. thou a few of them still had the chance to put on their masks before the gas had to much time to effect them.

As the Agents started to move in reaction, we moved to keep them off balance. We launched high powered strobe paks, and sound generators. They were not expecting to be hit with tactics out of their own playbook.

This of course caused enough chaos to cover Ron's,and Willie's entrance.

My team and I moved in to subdue the agents. We were useing Tasers, beanbag loads, and even Foam canisters. We were able to take down most of the agents without doing or taking to much damage. At least nothing that couldn't be recovered from.

But as we had expected Pyopas had sent two of her henchmen to look into the the ruckus. The Hatchet Man, and Mr Tomato.

[Willie Long]

Through Shadowstalker's barrage, Ron and I huddled behind cover with our eyes closed and our ears covered as we counted off the seconds. We'd arranged to give his team one minute to play their sound and light show after launching the gas, then we'd move.

The firefight was moving down the drive, and we prowled into the ruins. Luckily the tear gas had dispersed by then. Ron took the lead, looking for clues through his advanced goggles. We found Pyopas, but she still had the giant with her.

Originally we'd been hoping to catch each of them alone, because we couldn't be sure how dangerous they were, but that's not how the cookie crumbled. We were really annoyed at these things, so Ron and I decided to engage them anyway.

He crept forward to snipe Pyopas, but she must have noticed him somehow, because she dodged his shot and retreated around a corner as she ordered the giant after us.

One of the best things about working with him is we hardly need words to communicate. We came up with a new plan in about a second and shared it with an eyebrow raise, a jerk of the head, and a nod. We'd decided that he'd chase her down while I held off the giant, and we'd both try not to die before Shadowstalker got back.

I stepped into the room and the giant started to swell up and flex his machismo. He realized that making himself a larger target was a poor tactical decision after I emptied a drum of 12 gauge slugs from my automatic Saiga into his chest and face.

The giant staggered back, apparently in pain, and Ron slipped by while he was distracted.

[Ron Caliburn]

With the giant's attention focused on Willie it was pretty easy to follow Payopas to the same rickety stairwell I had descended the first time I went into the caves below. That suited me fine. I'd brought a Bert bag with me to make sure nobody could use those caverns ever again.

I reached the bottom of the stairs and stepped into the trenches.

I heard a high-pitched whine and a number of voices shouting. A moment later, there was a thunderous WHOOMP!!! and dirt and pebbles rained down upon my helmet.

I clutched at my BAR. It was almost time. I could feel the muscles tensing in the other men huddled for protection from the barrage. The Huns' fire was mostly harassing; our big guns were raining it down like heaven's wrath on the opposing trenches though, so the Germans knew what was coming next.

As if on queue, the whistles sounded. I heard Sarge yelling at us. "Okay you sons of bitches, let’s get over the top. Move it Grant, what do you want, an engraved invitation?"

Me and the men around me rose as one, climbing our ladders and stepping out into the blasted waste that was No Man's Land. We formed up behind the tanks.

The tanks were giant, howling tortoises, inching their way across the ground. They lurched down into shell craters and churned their way up the far side.

We had gotten about halfway to the German trenches when the Maxims opened up, shredding anybody in the open. I heard ricochets of the tank and the wet thunk of bullets into the men around me. The tanks returned fire, machine-guns raking the trenches and their howitzers blasting at the enemy machine-gun nests. The German mortars replied, dropping their bombs around the tanks, turning anyone unfortunate enough to be too close into twisted wreckage. The screams of the wounded and dying just added to the cacophony.

It was an agonizing 10 minutes advancing slowly into the face of enemy fire - the tanks could move no faster, and any man who broke and tried to charge forward immediately dropped to the ground, clutching at wounds or staring at missing limbs.

A dozen yards away, a tank took a direct hit from a 37 mm and blew apart in a shower of shrapnel, killing those clustered behind it and showering us with bits of metal and flesh.

This was meat-grinder warfare at it's worst, and we still hadn't had a chance to fire a shot.

But that drought was almost over; we were at the German trench lines now. The tank suddenly hooked to the right, cruising along the edge of the trench, its machine-guns raking the trench-line as me and the other survivors dropped into the narrow, zigzagging trench to clear it out.

We moved in turns, covering each other as we moved corner to corner. I used my BAR to force the Germans back into cover until the others could finish them off with bullet, bayonet or grenade.

Just as we turned a corner, a German holding a Bergman opened up on us. Kowalski took four in the chest and the Sarge went down clutching his throat before my burst cut the German from crotch to sternum.

Just like my Great-grandfather had . . .

I shook my head, I wasn't holding a BAR, I had an assault rifle. This was 2008, not 1918.

A leather-wrapped female demon sprung from the shadows at me, her long, razor like fingernails barely stopped by the trauma plates in my chest armour. I swing my rifle around, catching her under the jaw with the butt; she back flipped away and landed in a low, spider like crouch.

"Your mind is strong Mr. Grant. You've shaken me off several times already. But that's fine, I like strong opponents. I shall gain your strength when I feast on your heart."

"If you're hungry, eat this." I opened up with my Para Tactical assault rifle. She bobbed and weaved around the bullets, running up the wall and skittering across the ceiling before launching herself at me again, bearing me to the floor.

"Foolish human. You are only delaying the inevitable. We almost ended your world 90 years ago. Even without our influence, you spent the remainder of the century on the brink of self-destruction. If we don't finish you now, we shall be back again."

"Pardon me if I don't hold my breath." I kicked her off me, but she managed to pry my rifle away in the process.

I scrambled to my feet and quickly turned to face . . .


Hell.

[Willie Long]

Hell.

It recovered faster than I'd hoped, and attempted to ram me into the wall while I was fumbling with the magazine. I dropped the shotgun and drew my machine pistol, stepping to the side as the giant blew past me and shattered the concrete.

Not good.

I emptied the magazine into its side and recoiled from the backhand it launched in return. I hopped back and reloaded. The giant approached again, and this time I used a dragon sweep to put it on its back and empty another magazine into it.

The giant grabbed a hunk of concrete and threw it at me, catching me square in the chest. I went stumbling backwards, the Glock flying out of my hands. I rolled away and realized my vest's armor plate was cracked.

We had both regained our feet and were reassessing each other.

"I will pull you apart, mortal," the giant promised, bleeding from dozens of bullet wounds.

"Come try," I told it, beckoning with one hand.

[A. Pendragon]

Interesting!

[Deacon Ash-Shaytan]

That's one word for it. I can think of others.

Disturbing, for one of them.

[The Councilor]

Fascinating.

[Willie Long]

I agree with Deacon -- it was not a good night.

[Lord Shakar]

I agree with Deacon -- it was not a good night.

War with that which does not belong on this Realm never is pleasant.

[A. Pendragon]

What was the outcome? How did this turn out?

[Ron Caliburn]

Hell.

The same hell I had seen when Gabrielle had given me purpose.

The same hell that appeared in my dreams for years.

This time I wasn’t an observer. Instead, I was manoeuvring my G-10 through the wreckage of a city. A shattered road sign indicated I was somewhere in Illinois, but I didn’t recognize the shattered skyline. It was dark, the only illumination a strange blue line on the far side of the shattered skyscrapers. Still, the night vision systems in my Guardsman made it bright as day.

Not that it helped any; the air was filled with whirling dust and ash. I could barely see past the end of my RG-14. The FLIR was blind too, the ash’s heat drowning out all the readings from around me.

Still, the TACNET was letting me know where the friendlies were. Me and Sanchez were moving through the ash to support a platoon of infantry. They’d made contact with some of what we called “newcomers” and apparently, it wasn’t going well.

“Move it Grant, we’re getting overrun here!!”

“We’re only 1500 meters out, Sarge. ETA 1 minute.” I moved my Guardsman from a walk into a jog. “Pick up the pace Sanchez, I don’t want to have to escort another body reclamation op.”

I heard the rhythmic thudding of 2500 lb exoskeleton following behind me. “You got it.”

The newcomers were strange things in many different shapes and sizes. Many of them were masses of fangs and claws and scales and tentacles torn from nightmares. Others were a lot like us, too much like us if you asked me. Some were even so beautiful that words could not describe. Some were deadly, others were harmless, and some seemed harmless but actually were deadly.

They all had one thing in common; they had come to Earth uninvited, on the heels of the cataclysm. We didn’t want them here and we were determined to drive them back through the strange holes in space-time that appeared along those damned blue lines.

Me and Sanchez brought ourselves up short just in front of a toppled skyscraper. It’s crumpled form a barrier stretching across our path. We were really close to our people; I could hear the plasma rifles crackling up ahead.

“I guess we gotta go around.” Sanchez radioed.

“Negative, no time. We’re going over.” I hit the thrusters and launched myself upwards.

“This is why I love working with you Grant.” Sanchez’s thrusters roared into life behind me.

It took us only seconds to get on top of the rubble and work our way across. Plasma flashes were now clearly illuminating the ash cloud ahead of us.

Reaching the edge of the rubble pile, I looked down and across – though I couldn’t really see anything, my Guardsman’s sensors did. Immediately the outlines of the NEMA Peacekeeper squad appeared on my HUD in blue, and the outlines of dozens of other moving objects appeared in grey.

“Hey Sarge, I have your unit in sight, I am showing multiple unknown signatures to your north and to your east, are these the Tangos?”

“Damnit, it’s about time Grant. Of course those are the Tangos, now are you just gonna sit there pretty or are you going to help us out?” I could clearly hear the static in the radio caused by the discharge of his plasma rifle.

“Just making sure I’m pointing in the right direction.” I updated my targeting computer and the grey outlines turned red. “Sanchez, targets should be on your HUD now, watch safety zones around the PeeKays, sink your pylons and fire at will.”

My Guardsman shook as the laser pylons drove themselves down into the rubble, anchoring me in place. At the same time, the RG-14 rotated over my shoulder into the Guardsman’s hand. I placed the targeting laser on the biggest red outline in my HUD’s field of view and depressed the firing stud.

BOOOOOOMM!!!!!!

Even inside the Guardsman’s heavily insulated shell the sonic boom created when the RG-14 accelerated a bundle of flechettes through the speed of sound was almost deafening. Unshielded individuals outside had been known to die as the shock-wave smashed their brain against the interior of the skull.

The passage of the flechette bundle through the ash cloud left a momentarily clear channel to see through. A truck-sized creature with scales and wings was splattered apart by the hypersonic impact of my weapon. “On target, destroyed.”

Sanchez fired a second later, my audio system filtering out the boom of his weapon, but letting me clearly hear the whoosh of his anti-recoil thrusters. “On target, destroyed.”

Sarge keyed in to the radio “Keep it up, boys. These guys are too close for comfort”

She didn’t have to tell us, the separation between the squad and the mass of creatures was clearly on our screens. “Roger that, keep your head down Miranda, we’ll be hitting the ones closest to you next.”

“Thanks Grant, when we get back to the barn tonight I owe you dinner.”

Trying not to think of a romantic dinner of MREs I adjusted my aim point and programmed my targeting computer for suppression mode. This time when I pressed the firing stud the Guardsman’s arm moved slightly, forcing the flechette bundle to come out in a loose oval instead of a dense circle. In the target zone, a handful of creatures screeched and squealed in pain before going silent.

Sanchez followed suit and we began ringing the Peacekeeper’s perimeter with clouds of hypersonic tungsten alloy flechettes, forcing the monsters back.

Of course, that’s when things went from bad to worse.

“All units this is Watchtower, be advised we have detected a large arrival event in Bravo Zulu 35. Repeat a large arrival event in Brazo Zulu 35. We are tracking a large mass of airborne signatures moving South West.” I didn’t have to look at the map that appeared on my HUD with the message to know that they were coming straight for us.

“Miranda, you and your team need to disengage and pull back. Sanchez and me will cover your retreat.” I set my radar to Air Search mode and immediately dozens, no hundreds of dots appeared on my HUD.

“Jon, I . . .” I cut Miranda off. “I know Miranda, but we’ll talk about it when I get back.”

Both of us knew that conversation wouldn’t get a chance to happen.

“Sanchez, you hit the Tangos on the ground, I’ll focus on the airborne ones.”

Sanchez and Me banged way with out RG-14s as fast as we could, but in a couple of minutes, the swarm descended on us. Our Guardsmen were incredibly tough and had great long-range firepower, but once the things got close enough, they just dog piled us. Their super sharp claws took several minutes to carve through the tough chromium armour, but at the end, I had time for just one last glance at the two pictures in my helmet, before they ripped the armour open and yanked me out.

I snapped back to reality just as she launched a kick into my chest that sent me sprawling across the cavern floor. In a blink, she was on top of me, her taloned fingers around my throat. “Pathetic worm, see how we will guarantee the end of your world. Your pathetic struggles today will mean nothing.” She tightened her grip.

I coughed and sputtered. “You’re wrong, they mean everything. You showed me that.”

“Ape-creature, all I showed you was doom and death.” Her needle like teeth snapped inches from my nose, her thick saliva dribbled down onto my cheek.

That’s it, I thought; watch me, not my hands. “You showed me more than you thought. You showed me a picture …”

“You make no sense manling . . . your brain is shutting down from lack of blood.” She squeezed some more.

My fingers silently pushed into the holster. “You showed me a picture of a family. The family of the man I was in your illusion.” I edged my leg up a bit, angling the holster. “That man’s grandmother was in the picture . . . her name was Hannah.”

I fired my Piece point-blank into her intestines, her blood spraying out her back and onto the far wall. She rolled off me, clutching her mid section.

I rose and cleared my Piece from the holster, pointing it at her head. “You showed me that my daughter would live to raise a family, you showed me that I would win today.”

My shots blew her skull open and sprayed it's contents across the chamber.

“Thank you.”

[Ron Caliburn]

With the Bert Bag ready to go I headed up the stairs as fast as I could. I knew Willie would be in tough against the giant and even with the witch down, if just one of the bad guys escaped, we'd have to fight the whole bunch over again.

[Cybermancer]

Mr. Caliburn,

I can offer you an opportunity to perhaps see the reality of your visions and dreams.

In any case, know that the future is always mallable.

[Ron Caliburn]

I'll be just as glad not to see the end of the world come to reality, thanks.


Anyway, I needn't have worried about Willie. I got there just as the giant toppled backwards, crashing threw masonry from Willie's last devastating blow. Looking around, it seemed like Godzilla and King Kong had done ten rounds in the room - walls smashed though, furniture crushed and anything smaller than a Volkswagen had apparently been used as some sort of weapon at some point.


"You okay?"


"No, but I'll live" Willie panted.

"Alright, let's book."

We headed upwards, following the sounds of gunfire.

[Cybermancer]

As you wish, Mr. Caliburn.

But I will leave you with this. What you've seen is not the end of the world nor of humanity. It is merely the end of civilization. Which has happened before.