Attack on Safe Zone 1

Military: Battle

Safe Zone 1 is now all that is left of humanity. The Archangels' force is now even more limited than ever. The Archangels Michael Ward, and commander Mason Lewis must fortify this last city, and hope that they can push the mechanon back.

Immediately after lances Sierra and Theta had returned from their mission to assess Safe Zone 2's situation, it was made very clear, the city was no more. Survivors were few, and many of them were shaken. Most of the surviving Archangels were too shaken to step back into their titans any time soon. Many, including Michael believed that Safe Zone 1 would soon follow. He brought this to Commander Mason Lewis, who had a similar view. He gave the order to all remaining Archangels to armor up, and prepare Safe Zone 1 for an attack. Engineers, maintenance crews, and R&D officers would make a complete over hall of the Safe Zone's outdated early warning system, point-defense, and ranged defense systems. The law enforcement divisions of the Archangels would have to join the others in the coming battle. The preparation took a stressful fifteen days.   on the fourteenth day, Sierra Lance would oversee the civilians being guided into the invasion bunkers. Though, several were drafted to help operate the wall-mounted cannons, and point-defense systems. Theta Lance posted up at the base of the walls just inside the city. Just as everyone got into position, the new early warning system blared its siren.   The Archangels Air division was released from their hangars. Just beyond the walls, the sky was lit with weapon's fire, and the air was filled with sounds of engines roaring, and guns, both human, and alien unleashing their fury. Even when paired with the wall-mounted cannons, the Archangels' Air division was unable to stop the approaching ships, though they made a significant dent. Michael ordered the survivors of the initial air encounter to deploy their countermeasures, and retreat.   The dropships came overhead, and unleashed countless mechrion battlesuits. The Archangels went to work. They fought the invading force. The rest of the remaining twenty-four hundred joined in. Losses were steep from the beginning. Miraculously, so were the losses on the mechrion side. The entire city was engulfed in conflict. Buildings collapsed, and bunkers were breached. The aliens were winning. Off in the distance, from the top of Archangel tower, the Archangel pilot Jamey Vega spotted a massive ground craft just beyond the wall. She used open comms to contact Michael, and told him what she saw.   Michael instructed her to gather her crew, and another dropship to carry him lances Sierra, and Theta to this ground craft. If this thing was what he thought it was, destroying it could win them the battle. While waiting, Michael and Anthony ordered their lance mates to regroup, and meet up just outside the conflict zone, and prepare for pickup. They did so, and were picked up by Jamey, and her crew.   They were carried over the wall, and dropped right next to this ground craft. Michael's suspicions were proven correct. This was a Mechrion Command crawler. He's seen one before, in one of his previous engagements, before he was assigned to this lance. Taking it down would not be easy. The last time he did so, it cost his unit three high ranking Archangels. He only called upon his lance because the Safe Zone needs every Archangel they can spare. Despite this, Michael had a plan. He knew how these machines operate, and that they can be taken down from the outside. This Command Crawler seemed to be unguarded.   The two lances would search the exterior of the craft for the external fuel line. Archangel Bethany Khanna found the line. Michael ordered Charles to plant a remote detonator on the line. Before the lance leaders could call in an evac, ten Mechrion Battlesuits stepped out from the side of the Command Crawler. A full weapons strike from Michael, Charles, Christopher, and Bethany allowed them to drop four of the combatants in short order. The aliens had yet to activate their energy shielding, making them vulnerable for that crucial first moment. The Titans that made the full attack overheated in the process, forcing them to shut down in the process. Johnathan, and Anthony were the only two functioning titans for the next several seconds. Charles and Christopher were both inside heavy titans, and as such had the thickest armor of the two lances. They told the remaining Archangels to take cover behind them.   From behind Charles, Anthony would open fire with his medium cannons, weakening the shields on the closest battlesuit. Johnathan was too far to be of any effective use. The best he could do was mildly suppress the other three, and slow their approach. Meanwhile, Michael and Bethany's titans were taking heavy damage. Command titans such as Michael's NA-T27 don't have nearly as much armor as the Heavy Titans such as Charles and Christopher's titans. Sniper titans had even less, and had less heat sinking ability than other titans. Her titan was starting to take critical damage.   Heavy titans had slightly better heat sinking, allowing Christopher's titan to recover before Bethany's did. HE saw the damage Bethany's titan was taking, and knew she wouldn't last much longer. Right as his titan came back online, he stepped between Bethany, and the incoming alien weapons fire, and fired two of his eight medium beam cannons. This allowed Bethany to reactivate her titan, and rejoin the fight. She fired a single shot at the one who's shields had been weakened. The shot pierced the shields, and sailed through the cockpit of the machine. Michael was the last one to return to battle.   His titan was heavily damaged, with next to no armor remaining. Still, he made know his presence, and heavily weakened the shields on another battlesuit. Charles finished off the machine, still providing cover to Johnathan, who was waiting until he could act without himself getting destroyed. Still, he suppressed the last four with relative effectiveness, though his flack cannon was running out of ammo. Anthony, and the two heavy titan pilots would flank the last three battlesuits, and hopefully destroy them. Michael and Johnathan prepared the explosives charge on the external fuel line.   As Anthony, Christopher, and Charles rounded the corner, they were met with substantial weapons fire. Anthony's cockpit was hit, and he took a plasma round to the chest. His titanmaster armor took the initial blast, and the burning was minimal, but the sheer force of the hit fragmented his armor, and filled his chest with shrapnel. Remarkably, he was not instantly killed by this. But he knew his time was short, and had an Idea of how to use that little time wisely. Once they dispatched the last few battlesuits, he ordered his lance to regroup next to the external fuel line.   He told both lances how he was not long for this world, but had an idea. He would guard the charge until it detonates, thus ensuring that the aliens don't disable the explosive. Bethany contested, demanding that her father retreat to the Safe Zone. He refused, saying, "I'm dead anyway. Do you want me to die slowly, and cowardly on a hospital bed, or die as I should, in protecting my race?" Bethany finally realized, her father was right. Anthony turned his titan to face Christopher's "You'd damn well take good care of my daughter Archangel. That's an order." "I promise sir."   Michael called in Jamey Vega's dropship to evac the surviving Archangels. As they sailed away, they all saw at the corner of their titans' view, as the charge went off. The blast caused feedback through the Element Zero fuel line, and flash converted it, causing an explosive reaction, vaporizing the command crawler, and everything around it, including Anthony and his titan.   Just as Michael suspected, as the Command Crawler was destroyed, the Mechrion retreated. The day had been won. Though, this was not without cost. Of the ten thousand Archangels that were able to defend Safe Zone 1, only a thousand remained. Everyone knew, this would not be the end. The Mechrion would return, and would finish the job sooner rather than later.