A Mutated Ant charged into an Airborne Trooper, knocking him over to the ground. Sensing his inevitable fate as he stared at the encroaching Ant, the trooper reached into his combat belt and pulled out a high explosive grenade.
"For Earth!"
The explosion blew up two nearby Mutated Ants nearby, as well as the trooper himself.
As Ford finally gave the order, the survivors in Rebirth were being directed into the Chinook transport choppers. Each of those transport choppers could hold 50 people. 5 of them could hold 250 in total. This forced the Phasewalkers to do multiple trips.
The first wave to leave was the non-combatants. Some women. Younger children. The elderly. As the loading continued, the sad truth was that there were so few people from those groups that survived the gruesome battle that they couldn't even fill one wave. When that became obvious, the Phasewalkers just grabbed onto random survivors closeby and threw them onto the lifeboats.
Their actions were abrupt and a bit rude, not that anyone was complaining about being saved.
A few survivors tried to make it onto the choppers by force, but the Airborne Troopers in charge of the task made sure to stop them with lethal force. In a situation like this, if people saw a chance to escape, they wouldn't stand their ground and fight. The Phasewalkers had to keep this from turning into a rout via any means necessary.
Thankfully, the slight chaos among the survivors was relieved by the Airborne Troopers, who bravely held their ground. Explosions kept the Mutated Ants from really pushing the defenses, and a well-coordinated web of fire made sure the limited firepower was distributed across all the flanks.
"Mortar team, dedicate some attention to the North!" Captain Blyfield gave an order as he stared at the northern flank of the defenses via a set of binoculars. The order was passed down to the mortar team coordinator. Seconds later, a wave of explosions stabilized the situation there.
The Chinook choppers lifted off. They returned in less than twenty minutes. With a top speed of over 300 kmph, the choppers arrived at their destination, which was not actually Fortress Alpha, in less than ten minutes. Disembarking its package added to the overall time.
And then, wave two. Another 250 survivors were brought to safety. The third came after the second.
Every time the transport left Rebirth, it became harder and harder for the defenders to hold the ground.
When it was time for wave four, the lines were already close to crumbling. The fact was that with almost half of the survivors gone, there were simply fewer guns shooting. Only a couple hundred survivors were scattered across the field, and they were about to be overwhelmed.
"We have to go!" Ryan quickly assessed the situation. He and Caity were willing to do this daring mission to get access to Ford and his troops, but there was no way he was going to trade the entire 2nd Battalion for these locals.
Even now, a dozen elite Airborne Troopers laid dead, and that was with the support of the survivors. Without the survivors to share the pressure, if the Airborne Troopers stood their ground without armor or too much artillery support, there would be severe losses.
Ford nodded. "Fall back! Everyone!" He screamed before running toward one of the transport choppers at full speed.
The Airborne Troopers moved swiftly as they returned to their attack choppers. The mortar team literally abandoned the mortars, not even taking the time to collect those artillery units. Getting new mortars was a matter of walking across the Portal. Getting new Phasewalkers was a lot more difficult.
By the time many survivors realized what happened, the Phasewalkers were already back to safety. Many of the smarter or quick reacting survivors acted without thinking, going straight for the transport choppers,
But not all survivors were so lucky. Unlike the 2nd Battalion, which had a whole set of chain of command, the survivors were completely scattered. There was no way Ford could pass the orders down to every man in the field. When the Phasewalkers pulled out, many of the survivors who kept their eyes on the enemies only found themselves outflanked and slaughtered.
For the fourth, and final, time, the fleet of helicopters lifted off into the air. Engines roared as they departed from Rebirth, leaving the camp and the bodies of the thousands who fell to the mercy of the horde of Mutated Ants.
---
At the end of the day, the fleet arrived at the rendezvous location, where they met up with the 1st Armored Battalion, the 4th Motorized Battalion, and hundreds of Rebirth survivors who were lucky enough to find themselves a ticket out early on. Together, the Phasewalker detachment and the Rebirth survivors retreated to Fortress Alpha. They weren't too far from where the horde of Mutated Ants were, and the Phasewalkers were hardly ready to take the Mutated Ants head-on.
Thankfully, the Ants showed no sign of following the transport choppers. They were too busy with their feast.
Finally, after navigating through lines of trenches and fields of landmines, in the safety of Fortress Alpha, the Rebirth survivors finally had time to process what just happened.
Husbands and wives scoured through the crowd, trying to find their lovers. Fathers searched for their sons, with most of them not finding what they were looking for. A few elderly tried to find the familiar figure of their sons and daughters who took part in the defense of Rebirth. Almost all of them were disappointed.
It was a victory, but a costly one. Out of the 2,000 survivors of Rebirth, only around 900 of them would live to see another day. Only 3 Tier 1 Mutants survived. When fully swarmed by thousands of mutant hostiles, Tier 1 Mutants did just a little better than ordinary survivors.
The Phasewalkers had it a little better. Even so, with all their advantages, 30 Airborne Troopers would join the Hall of Martyrs. That casualty would've flipped ten times without the contribution of the Rebirth survivors or the careful coordinations done by the Phasewalker High Command.
And now, Caity was about to make sure they died for a proper price.
"Mr. Ford." Caity Hunter found her way to Ford and Zhao, who were resting with their people. "My name is Colonel Caity Hunter. I am the Commander of this fortress, Fortress Alpha."
"Colonel Hunter," Ford did his best to smile, even after everything that went wrong today. "you saved the lives of me and all my people. For this, you have our thanks."
Caity returned a polite smile. "I am glad to hear that, but I would like to remind you that our help came at a price."
Ford frowned in confusion. "What price?"
Caity felt like something was off as well. She glanced at Zhao, whose expression changed. "You promised that you and your people would pledge your allegiance to anyone that came and rescued you." She reminded, hoping Ford merely forgot about the deal.
Ford frowned before suddenly snapping to Zhao, who leaned over to his ear and whispered something. Caity immediately knew what was going on. Ford never gave the promise. Zhao, in an effort to get Caity to send aid and rescue his people, told a lie.
A well-intended lie, but a lie nonetheless.
Caity understood this, but there was no way she was going to speak up and let Ford off the hook. Yes. Ford had no idea what was happening, but 30 Phasewalkers died. They died to save Ford and his people and their deaths shouldn't be meaningless. She didn't care what Ford might think. She honored her side of the deal. Know it or not, Ford would be smart to honor his side as well.
Ford's expression turned to anger. When he turned back to Caity, he looked conflicted.
"I understand...but there seems to be a misunderstanding." He said slowly, knowing how risky the situation has become. "Can I get some time to think about this?"
"Of course." Caity smiled, but her piercing eyes started into that of Ford. Her message was obvious. There was no way Ford could just settle this with a "thank you" and then leave with his people as if nothing happened.
As Caity and her escorts departed, Ford sighed. He turned to Zhao, furious, but what could he do? Blame Zhao for saving the lives of him and his people?
As the day turned dark, the survivors from Rebirth started getting cold and hungry. All of their food and supply was lost in Rebirth. Even a Tier 2 Mutant like Ford couldn't just make food or shelter appear out of nowhere. This just wasn't how Mutants worked.
Just as the common survivors were getting panicked, several Phasewalkers suddenly walked up to them with stacks of food, drinks, and tents. Within minutes, the survivors found themselves drinking and feasting on things they couldn't even imagine about back in Rebirth.
You want clean water? Here are ten boxes of bottled water! You're hungry? What do you want? Burgers? Pizza? Pork or steaks? Just name it and we can deliver heated food to you in just minutes!
When the survivors were fed, it was time for rest. Here! Enough tents and blankets to make you last through the chilly night!
This was part of Caity's plan. Sometimes, people could be easily convinced. After the Phasewalkers showed the survivors what Fortress Alpha could provide, could Ford still convince them to leave? How many people would follow Ford away from a place that could provide food, shelter, and protection nearly impossible to get elsewhere? A few absolute loyalists, perhaps, but certainly not too many.
It was an obvious plan, but at the same time, it was impossible to deflect. What could Ford do? Tell his people to refuse the Phasewalkers' help and just starve and freeze?
The girl was getting better and better at her job as the Phasewalker Commander.
---
In a larger tent, Ford, Zhao, and a few Mutants and survivors were sitting around, enjoying some food and drinks, courtesy of the Phasewalker Corps.
"Zhao...I...I really don't know what to say." A woman said quietly. Tier 1 Mutant Taylor. If Zhao did what he did in any other circumstance, it would be betrayal, but he only did it to save everyone and Taylor knew it.
Zhao sighed, speechless.
"Sir," A survivor turned to Ford, asking the pressing question. "should we honor the deal?"
"They're not gonna let us leave if we don't honor the deal!" Another survivor spoke up. "Didn't you see all the tanks and helicopters they've got? If we cross them, we're not walking out of here in one piece."
"That doesn't mean we have to be enslaved by them!" The first man argued. "Sir, just give the word! They're not gonna just kill us all!"
Zhao sighed again before giving his input.
"Sir, with all due respect, I don't think we still have the option to choose."
"What do you mean?" The first man snapped.
Zhao quietly raised his diner plate, which had a piece of pork on top.
"In Rebirth, food like this is only available to a few of us. Here, these people are handing them out like they are free. I...I don't think we still have the same control over our people that we did before."
"Of course you want us to think that!" The first man scoffed, unconvinced by Zhao's words. "You're the only reason we're here! You probably made a deal with these people, right? Are they going to make you the new leader of our people to reward your loyalty?"
"Zhao did what he did to save us all! We would be dead without him!" Taylor snapped. "Show some respect!"
Through all the arguing, Ford sat there in silence. He knew the right thing to do would be to agree to the deal and pledge his allegiance to the Phasewalkers. But...but after being the leader of thousands for months, could he just hand over the throne to someone else? Without a fight? Without even standing up for himself?
"Sir," Zhao leaned forward. "we simply don't have the ability to leave these people! We're out of food and ammo! Our people are wounded and broken! We have no choice! Please...do it for our people!"
The Tier 2 Mutant nodded slowly. Even now, he could still remember what his predecessor, the first leader of Camp Rebirth, told him when he joined. At that time, he was just one of the several Tier 2 Mutants in the camp.
"Ford, we are different from all the other Mutants out there. They fight to rape and kill and live another day. We...we have a grander goal. We fight for the survival of humanity. We fight so mankind can live through this apocalypse and find itself reborn in a brand new world. This...this is why we call this camp Rebirth!"
"If you want things as meaningless as survival or pleasure, then leave! Rebirth is not for you! But if you seek to serve a greater cause, then stay here, and we will see humanity reborn or die trying!"
Once upon a time, Ford stayed true to that goal, and he rallied a group of people who shared his ideals. He mocked the Mutants who only served themselves. In Rebirth, Mutants and the common survivors fought and died side by side. The only thing that differentiated them was their weapons. Yes...the Mutants still had some privileges, but nowhere as much as in other settlements.
Rebirth might be gone, but he was still the leader of these people, and as such, he must make a choice that benefited everyone.
Perhaps fighting for Fortress Alpha and that Colonel Hunter would indeed be the best call.
As for himself...he shouldn't worry about himself too much. He was a Tier 2 Mutant. He could tell there wasn't a single Mutant among these people, somehow. If he joined them, these people would no doubt appoint him to a critical position and treat him well! No faction could risk putting a Tier 2 Mutant to the side, right?
But deep down, perhaps even Ford didn't realize that a fracture has already been made in his belief. Not here, but back on the battlefield on Rebirth. The moment he considered leaving his people behind and saving himself, he was no longer the responsible leader who placed his duty before anything else. Instead, he has become one of the Mutants he was taught to despise.
Selfish. Self-preserving. A man without honor.
He never took the action, but sometimes, foul thoughts were enough for damnation.