Asteroid Blues

Pretty much the only reason the Ariadna raid didn't catch Lt. Max Delgado with his pants down was that he was already suited up in his ORC armour, that didn't have pants that went down. The Task Force had been rotated to patrol after the attack to the Main Strip, but the Ariadna attack had come from nowhere. First rumour were that they had used their status as O-12 liaison troops as a cover to get in, and had infiltrated the compound beforehand to take maximum advantage from the confusion. Max was shouting in his comms to get the troops roused and ready, and turned to the Intel channel to get some insight on the attacker's position. "Wow, looks like I came here at an interesting time," remarked the Warcor that had been interviewing him as the attack hit. Max thought to send her packing, but then realized she would stick around in the confusion regardless. "Whatever, just keep your head down and keep out of the way!"

"Contact!" came Sgt. Mitchell's voice over the comms, followed by a rolling clap of the sniper rifle. This was followed by another sniper, then Mitchell's again. The shots went back and forth, with neither seeming to hit the other. "Hell, they've got pros here it seems," Mitchell fumed over the comms. Sgt. Miller, the Zulu Cobra that was also at sentry duty, joined the fray with his Spitfire, but even the pair of them failed to dislodge the sniper.

"Hold on, boys!" Patsy exclaimed as she sprinted to the front. "Keep him busy, I'll go around and flush him out!" She kept in cover of a large storage building, keeping one eye on the hostile sniper's position, as she heard a sound behind her. She started to turn, but repeated shotgun blasts nailed her to the wall. There was a curse in German in the comms, and the team's Hospitaller Knight charged to her rescue. "Hold on, Ms. Garnett! I'm coming!" He sprinted across the street, trusting his armour to hold against the sniper's bullets, but unknowns to the team an enemy infantry squad had managed to penetrate the lines in the cover of the shootout, and he was mowed down with a rifle fusillade before he could reach Patsy. He had his Medikit in hand as he went down, and managed a quick shot as he realized he wasn't going to make it all the way. It hit, and Patsy stirred, but the Ariadna commando was still there, and his gun was ready.

"Damnit, this can't be happening!" Max was shouting. "Father, can you help? I need you to go around the other side, see if you can get behind the main force!" Father-Knight Colloredo saluted him, and motioned his side of the Task Force to follow. They were mostly light infantry, but the Knight could turn this fight by himself in the right position. The Fusiliers cleared the way, springing another ambush from the commandos, but this time the ambusher was in for a surprise. The Ariadnan thought he was facing only line troops, but as his shotgun round hit one with a loud clang, he realized his mistake. Brother Klaus Tripp let his holoprojector drop as it was disrupted anyway, and ran the amazed commando through with his sword. "By God, right flank secure!" he reported, and Father Colloredo was free to advance.

"Lieutenant, be advised - they have a hacker!" Colloredo reported suddenly and halted his advance. They hadn't prepared for this as the Ariadnans are not known for their infowar capabilities, but it seemed that they had rented a Nomad specialist for just this raid. The hacker posed little threat to him, but the ORC:s had notoriously poor firewalls, and they had to advance cautiously if they didn't want the attackers to penetrate their command net via Lt. Delgado's link. This caution cost them much as the Sepulcher Knight Tripp hesitated on his flank attack, and was caught by the hacker's rifle fire. Colloredo was in a good position, but was unwilling to advance alone as Delgado might get compromised. Meanwhile, the left flank was folding, and the enemy were about to overwhelm them. "Lieutenant, I advise a withdrawal. Better give ground than risk them gaining access to you," Colloredo said to Delgado. "Understood," the Lieutenant responded, but his further response was cut down by fierce gunfire. As his icon on the tacnet turned yellow and started to flash, Colloredo understood he was alone in the field.