You issue a series of orders and your troopers creep forward through the trees, spreading out across the corner of the forest leading up to the crossroads. You're in the center and you crawl the last stretch of covered ground to take position behind a tree. You pick your target, waiting another thirty seconds to ensure that all five of your troopers are in place.
You pull the trigger, and your target's torso explodes as your round smashes into him. Shots ring out on both sides and you hear the impacts as other rebels go down. You search for another target.
Suddenly, rebel soldiers pour out of the backs of both trucks, running for cover behind the barricades and shooting wildly. You return fire, but as bullets smack into the trees around you, you have to rush your shots. Retreating behind the thick trunk for a moment, you gather yourself, then swing back into action.
You switch to automatic and lay down a spread of explosive rounds, then revert to semi-auto and start firing at individual targets again. Many of the rebels are wearing armor, you realize, and not all your shots are getting through. They're also steadily advancing toward you, half their force moving while the other provides cover. You can see the pattern and you work with it to continue finding targets, but the rebels are closing fast.
The lead elements are at the nearest barricade, but they have to cross open ground to reach you. You stay under cover as the next barrage hails down around you, then duck out and spray on automatic again. The charging rebels are cut down as they run, but the defense empties your magazine. You get behind the tree again and quickly swap out for another mag. A grenade explodes at the tree line to your right and you see one of your troopers collapse back. You loose another spray of rounds, but then the first rebel reaches you.
She tries to point her rifle at you, but you knock it clear, swinging back with a butt-stroke to her head. As she crumples you snap out your bayonet and slash the next rebel coming into view. Blood pours from his neck and he staggers back. You keep your weapon up, firing single rounds into any rebel moving near you. The sounds of pitched battle assail you on all sides, but you're fighting for your life and right now it's every trooper for themselves.
Finally, gasping, you realize that there is no-one attacking you. You're surrounded by bodies and the wreckage of the forest. One of the two rebel trucks is roaring off down the road. As it fades, silence falls over the battlefield. You lean against the tree, checking your ammo and catching your breath.
You see Amori emerging carefully from the trees, his rifle up and ready. Beyond him, another trooper is shuffling forward.
"Friendly here," you call, waving your arm.
Amori grins at you, then sweeps his weapon over the crossroads. You step out as well, noting a single trooper advancing on your right. That's four of you—where are the others?
It takes a few minutes to conduct your sweep, but eventually you confirm that there are no remaining live hostiles. You also learn that two of your troopers are dead. You frown, chastising yourself for not observing longer and figuring out before the attack just how many rebel soldiers there were. This is a clear victory, but you don't appreciate the butcher's bill.
You search the remaining truck, and your eyes widen as you discover a map. It has rebel locations on it, but of greatest interest is an exact location for the main rebel base. It's down the road where the rebels fled, barely three kilometers away.
You gather your three remaining troopers and show them the map.
"We've come this far," you say. "We're going to recon this base before we head back."
Amori and the other two troopers nod, their expressions grim and hungry.
Using rebel grenades to wreck the remaining truck, you set off under the cover of the forest once again.
Next Chapter