Ravens of Eternity

83 Massacre at Dendrus, Pt The dust had barely enough time to settle before the colonel and her units blasted back down towards the ground. They slung their hammers back, and slammed down on the hill right when they reached it.

THOOM!

The combined force of nearly four hundred Resonance Hammers pounded the soil, and the sound of their impact reverberated throughout the bunker. Everyone inside felt it deep in their bones.

The Hussars had set their microvibrations to a specific frequency – the kind that caused reinforced structures to fall apart on a molecular level. Waves of energy shook the ceiling and walls as they traveled through the bunker.

Though the impact was nowhere near as powerful as the artillery strike or the rockets, the vibrations were enough to cause the whole bunker to shake and shudder. Everywhere that was damaged was susceptible – gaps widened further and cracks spidered out.

Many sections gave way even more, and their ceilings bulged inward. Peeking between the cracks were tons of soil and rocks and death. The only thing that kept them from falling were the threaded titanium cords that wove throughout the structure itself.

Dirt fell in handfuls from the ceiling, in between all the gaps. People scattered away in fear that they would grow wider and collapse further.

As the wave swept through, another section of the ceiling caved in – this time at one of the dormitories on the eastern edge under the hill. The whole room was filled up by a rush of soil, and completely smothered everything inside, from beds to equipment to people.

There was no chance to escape – the ceiling caved and the ground fell through in the space of a few seconds. Dirt and stones poured through the open dorm doorway and even spilled out into the hallway.

.....

Someone was just outside when it struck, and was slammed down to the ground. A couple of others ran over and dragged them out of the growing pile before they could be swallowed up completely.

There was nothing else they could do for the others, except hope that they died quickly and painlessly. All who were underneath were crushed to death by the sheer weight of it all.

The colonel and her Hussars recovered their footing, swung back their hammers, and slammed down once again. This strike carried far less force, but another powerful vibration spread throughout. Large cracks widened, and any of the structural cords that were greatly strained snapped outright.

Many gaps opened up and allowed dirt to pour through in streams.

And this time a hallway on the western side of the bunker had collapsed inwards, and a torrent of soil came tumbling in. However, a couple of large rocks ended up blocking the hole and prevented a complete cave-in.

Still, enough dirt had spilled through that half of the hallway was blocked up by dirt. People scrambled to get away before things worsened.

“Keep going!” ordered the colonel. “Let’s see what happens when this whole thing collapses!”

She and her unit reared back their hammers once again, and prepared to pound the bunker into oblivion. But just as they began to swing, streams of rifle fire slammed into them.

Now that they weren’t on the move, they were easy targets. After all, the Hussar’s greatest defense was their evasiveness. Their polyceramic armor was little more than paper, and could only handle lower-energy ballistic weapons. Their relatively weak armor was easily punctured by the Federation’s hardened ammunition.

The Hussars were torn apart from the constant barrage of gunfire. Dozens of them were shredded to the core, their surprised pilots frozen in shock moments before they were turned to paste.

While the colonel was busy slamming down on the base, the captain and his squadrons had formed a firing line along half of the hill. They had planted their shields into the ground and leaned out to fire their rifles.

Though they were spread thin, they had multiple angles into the swarm of Hussars. They could have fired blindly into the crowd and still caused great damage. Instead, they focused fire on one Hussar mecha after another and sliced into their formation like clay.

One after another, enemy mecha fell to the Federation’s counterattack. But it wasn’t nearly enough to neutralize them. There were far too many targets, and they only had so many guns.

“Federation rats!” the colonel screamed. “Crush them all!”

The Hussars under her command immediately charged at the Federation mecha. Although a number of them were shot to pieces during their assault, plenty enough reached melee range with minimal damage.

Some smashed into the shields and wrenched them from the ground. The others went straight for the Federation mecha, and swung at them with their hammers.

Some were struck outright, and their armor shattered from the impact. The mecha themselves were thrown back by the force, and their pilots dazed within their cores. Even those that were merely grazed had difficulties.

The vibrations had transferred into their mecha briefly, and it caused their controls to malfunction in those few moments. Their inner mechanical parts rattled and shook uncontrollably, and the pilots struggled to maintain control.

Many others evaded or fell back, and counter-attacked with a burst of their rifles. Some of the attacking Hussars were shredded after their failed charge. But right behind them was another enemy mecha, and their numbers seemed insurmountable.

The captain fired point-blank at a Hussar and tore it piece by piece until it fell to the ground in a useless heap. He reloaded his rifle with a fresh magazine as he scanned the battle in front of him.

Mecha on both sides fell like flies, and they certainly did more than their fair share of damage. But the truth was that the enemies they faced outnumbered, outgunned, and outmaneuvered them greatly.

He watched as two Hussars slammed their hammers into a Federation mecha. One took off their leg while the other smashed in their shoulder. They dismantled it with brute efficiency and knocked it around like it was merely a doll. The captain quickly shredded the two of them with his rifle, and saved his comrade.

But before he could turn his gun towards another Hussar, one of them charged right towards him! It immediately began swinging its hammer – and it came close enough for the captain to hear and feel its vibrations.

He did his absolute best to keep out their path. One hammer wooshed by, and just barely missed. He quickly slammed his shield into the Hussar, which pushed it back a few meters. At the same time, he engaged his reverse thrusters and fell back from his enemy.

The colonel appeared on the captain’s comms display. A wicked grin was plastered on her face.

“So you’re in charge of this little mess?” she said. “I suppose you did well, for a rat anyway. Not like it’s gonna change your fate!”

He fired a burst at her as she charged in with her hammer reared back.

“I think we all know what our fates are, this cycle,” he countered. “Whether you’re a rat or a dog, we’re gonna end up the same.”

She didn’t seem to care that a few of his bullets struck her, and made a bee-line straight for him. With a powerful overhand swing, she brought down her hammer on top of him.

The captain quickly dashed to the side, and her hammer impacted the ground where he just stood.

“Oh? Then you oughta be honored! Dying on Hegemony soil is the best thing you’ve done your entire life!”

She swung at him just as he recovered his footing, but he was fast enough to evade her blows.

He fired at her again at close to point-blank range, and tore apart some parts of an arm and a leg. But she completely ignored that as well, and swept at him again.

This time, she connected with his shield from the side, and massively dented it. Almost as though it was made of tin. And the force of her blow wrenched off the shield. It was strong enough to tear his arm off from the elbow as well.

His structure shook from the vibration of the strike.

The captain maxed out his thrusters and blasted away from her as quickly as possible. No way would he last while in melee with her. He covered his retreat with a burst of fire to deter her from following.

“Hegemony soil?” he retorted. “What a joke! You’re all traitors and secessionists! All of this belongs to the Federation – you’re the ones who’ve illegally claimed these systems!”

Angered by his words, she completely ignored his suppressing fire and charged him yet again. Bullets tore off more of her armor and embedded into her structure. But she didn’t care how much damage she took – she needed to eliminate him!

“We stole from you? What the actual fuck?! This is my homeworld, and my father’s homeworld. We’ve been here generations, not you! Not a single Federation rat was born here, but now you’re all over the damned place! Since none of you are keen to leave, then I’m forced to exterminate every single one of you!!”

She performed an overdrive charge and slammed right into the captain with a shoulder. As he regained his balance, she swung at him with her hammer with sweeping flourishes.

Every attack caused him to stumble further as he clumsily evaded. One of her swings smashed his rifle and threw it off to the side. The strike after that clipped his leg and caused him to stumble. As he braced his mecha to prevent from falling, she put extra power into the next strike, which caught him right on the shoulder.

The impact shattered his arm’s armor, and threw him down on the ground.

The captain was shaken badly in his core, and was slightly dazed by the constant impacts. His displays flashed red all over, damage reports popped up one after another. A few were critical.

Before he could react and recover, she kicked him over onto his back.

“You know what I think about your Federal colonialism? I think it’s a plague, and stomping you out is what the galaxy needs.”

She swung her hammer up above her with both hands, ready to drive it down onto him. But at the height of her swing, she suddenly stopped and froze.

On her displays were multiple red warnings, which made her eyes go wide with surprise.

She stepped back, looked up into the sky, and scanned it with her wide-angle sensors.

Out there, little over a thousand meters above them, a couple thousand Federation Heavy Phalanx rained down from the sky. These elites were protected by thick plate armor and heavy round shields. But they were more than just tough – they also packed a serious punch. On their shoulders were Shock Cannons, and in their hands were Barracuda SMGs.

Every part of their kit was A-ranked and top-of-the-line in military technology.

They were what the Federation sent when all else had failed and no options were left. When the use of extreme force became necessary. Heavy Phalanx were the terrors that helped solidify the Federation’s military might. Almost nothing stood in their way.

Most of the time, the enemy was too fearful to even face them on the field of battle.

“You might be half right,” said the captain. “Though I’m certain you’re the one that’s gonna get stomped into dust.”

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