After touching down, the team wasted no time, their hands flying as they unpacked the supply crates from the helicopter. Landmines were quickly laid, severing all but one route to their temporary base. The remaining path was meticulously transformed into a kill zone, a deadly funnel designed to ensnare any approaching enemy.
Suddenly, a sharp beep cut through the air. Vertin glanced at her arm, where her personalized computer glowed with an incoming transmission.
"Who is this?" Vertin asked, her voice tight with suspicion.
A woman's face materialized on the screen, her features sharp and commanding. "Hello, my name is Cristina, a commander for Griffin. I've been tasked to provide you with support."
Vertin's eyes narrowed. Griffin, a support unit? It was clear they wanted a closer eye on her operation than she'd anticipated.
"If you need any support, contact me," Cristina stated, her tone curt before the transmission abruptly ended.
"Rude much," Vertin muttered, rolling her eyes before jogging towards Dom.
"Dom, have you placed the landmines at the locations I marked?" Vertin asked, catching her subordinate as she returned from her task.
"Yep, I mined all the locations," Dom replied, wiping a bead of sweat from her brow.
"Good. Get to your post," Vertin ordered.
"Copy," Dom acknowledged, already moving towards her designated position.
Vertin then turned her attention to the holographic map projected from her arm-mounted computer. The display showed their location, the positions of her teammates, and the meticulously mined areas. A dense forest surrounded them, bisected by a highway their primary defensive line. Dom and Magella were already in position within the tree line, while Dopp hovered high above, a silent sentinel in the sky.
"Good, good. Now…" she muttered, her fingers dancing across the holographic interface. She selected a magazine for her anti-ship rifle, and with a soft whir, it materialized in her right hand. "This will be fun." She attached the heavy magazine to her hip with a satisfying click.
"All units, check in," Vertin commanded over her radio.
"Magella, armed and ready," Magella's calm voice responded.
"All systems green," Dom chirped, the whir of her heat saber audible in the background.
"I am ready!" Dopp's enthusiastic voice crackled, even from high above.
"Good. You all know what to do… So give them hell," Vertin declared, turning off her radio. She dropped to the ground, blending into a patch of tall grass. With practiced ease, she loaded a round into her weapon, the ammunition appearing from her inventory.
"This will be fun," she whispered, zeroing in her scope on the distant highway.
The wait was agonizing, the air thick with anticipation. Then, Dopp's voice, laced with urgency, broke the silence. "Commander, they are here!"
"Copy. All units, lock in," Vertin ordered, her grip tightening on her rifle.
In the distance, the first signs of the Sangvis attack force emerged: a convoy of trucks and armored vehicles, churning up dust as they advanced. Vertin's gaze immediately locked onto the tank at the head of the column, then shifted to the last vehicle.
Bang!
Her rifle roared, a single, devastating round punching through the tank's armor, halting it in its tracks. Without missing a beat, she re-aimed, firing another shot that detonated the last vehicle's engine, effectively trapping the convoy.
"Dopp, it's your turn," Vertin commanded.
"copy that, dropping Eagle 500kg Bomb!" Dopp announced, a triumphant note in her voice. A moment later, the forest floor trembled as a massive explosion ripped through the convoy, followed by the rapid-fire whoosh of missiles. The attack was swift, decisive, and utterly devastating.
"Dopp, Magella, clean up the trash that survived," Vertin ordered, her voice devoid of emotion.
"Copy that!" Dom's voice crackled. Her thrusters ignited, lifting her off the ground as she rocketed towards the surviving Sangvis units.
"Preparing for artillery support. Loading HE rounds," Magella declared, the distant boom of her cannon signaling the beginning of the mop-up operation.
Within minutes, the entire Sangvis convoy was reduced to a smoldering wreck. Dom and Dopp returned to their makeshift base, quickly resupplying with ammunition. Magella, meanwhile, pulled fresh shells from a nearby crate.
"When you're done, prepare to go back to your posts. We have to wait for a response from HQ," Vertin instructed, walking out of the makeshift base. She raised her arm, attempting to contact Gentiane.
"Hello, Gentiane, do you read me?" Vertin asked, but only static answered her. After several attempts, she sighed, deciding to try again later. She returned to her position, settling in for whatever came next.
Meanwhile, the main base had been completely evacuated. All Griffin personnel had pulled out, retreating from the relentless advance of Sangvis forces. Yet, the respite was short-lived. The Sangvis, a relentless tide, had surrounded the now-empty base, inadvertently trapping the Zeon team within its perimeter.
Griffin Command, reeling from the loss of ground and a devastating intelligence leak, was in shambles. Damage control was their top priority, coupled with desperate attempts to slow the Sangvis advance. Plans for a major counter-offensive were already in motion, alongside covert operations aimed at disrupting enemy lines.
Back at the evacuated base, the Zeon team remained unaware of their predicament. Griffin HQ had been trying to establish contact, but only static filled the communication channels. Cut off and surrounded, the Zeon team was isolated. Only time would tell how long they could hold out against the encroaching enemy.
"Hehehe, how are you going to entertain me?" a voice purred, observing Vertin from a window. And she pulls out a coin and toss it towards the window "i hope you can do something with this so do entertain me
H̴̦͔͎̩͚͓̀̐̄̔̑͛͂̏͋͛̿̃͊́̃̑͠ͅ ȩ̸̢̧̞͇̩̪͙̮͖̻̬̘̮̜͈̰͔͍͂͜ ŗ̴̤͎̹̞̙͔̱̥͙͖̯̩̤̜̺͌ ŗ̴̧̛̻̭̟̤̰̰̬̦̜̹̔̈́̑͐̀͒͐͑̏̋͂̄́̊̉̚̕͝͝ͅ ŝ̵̡̧̬̞̜͖̼̯͔̠̥͕̞̝̦̠̮̻̈́͜ͅc̶̬̮̬͍̦̻͖̠̃̓͂̅͌̿̓͗̆̋̀͆͐͊͗̋̕͝͝ h̵̢̖̺̫̱̻̟̤͖̜͕͓̬̤̔̎̐̆̓͜ͅe̵̢̡̳̬̞̹̼͔̜̖̘͉̙͙̍̈̑͗ͅ r̷̡͈̩̬̮̠͙̣͕̩̈͒̐̎̓̔͋͂̈́́̓̌̇̌̉̚̕͘͝ ̸̫̝̪̞́͋̊̈̃͐̽́̚ơ̴̢̟̌̏̑̇̈́͊̿̉̽̿̃̈́͒̐̅͋̑̊̇͝f̷̢͕̯̰͉̠͎̗͆́́̆́͋̐͝ ̶̡̧̗͖͚̹̤͕̹̜̠̟͛̅̄͒̋̏̑͑͋̌͘̕t̵̳͌̈̾̍̀́̄̐̇͂͑̑̅̚e̵͉̥͈̣̯̥̺̝͔̬̖̩̗̺̥̺̺͛̈́̎̔̈̂̆͝c̶̨̙̲̞̬̘͖͚̙̰͍̩̳̮̣̣̗͎̰̣̓̔͑͊̏̚ͅ h̷̡̧̡͕̳̳̖̤͍͙̲̺͕̫̬͉͎͆̿̏̌̅͛͐͆̾̆́̏̀͘͠ṅ̶̹͓͍̜̠͔̣̤̆̍̀̊́̄̾͊͂̊̒̚͜͠o̶̖̣̜̞̩͔̣͗̑͑̈́̉̇͆̇͆͌̊̓͋̓̏͂͘̚͠͝l̵̺̾͗͊̀̌̄́̾̏͐̈́̿͛͗̅͗͐ơ̷̡̢͎̖͇͎͚̱͖̙̥̲͖͙̘̩͖̼̞̎͋̐̓͌͒͐̈́̉̎̀̈̚̚̕͝͝ģ̴̰̼̺̪̟̳͚͎͙͎̮̟̰͈̳͔̱̀͘ͅͅy̷̧͔̳͎̣̺̲̜̟̹̹͚̙̯͍̯̥̳͔̯̲͐̈͒̔̈̐̆̽͛͋̂̽̚ ̸̢̨̱̰̦̜͇͇̳̫͈̭̗̳̳̟̭͊̅͋͝" the person said looking at vertin
"Acho!" Vertin rubbed her nose, a sudden shiver running down her spine. "Who was talking about me?" She shook her head, forcing the strange sensation away. "Come on, focus. More Sangvis T-Dolls might come." Her gaze sharpened, scanning the horizon once more. But not noticing a notification from her personalized computer
[coin given]