Colonel Haven was most surprised when he suddenly came under fire. The shell streaked over the top of his vehicle and exploded in mid air.
Was it a misfire? A poorly aimed shot? A technical malfunction with one of the vehicles? He switched on his radio to try and get an answer. "All units, all units, this is Anvil Actual. Report misfire or technical fault, over?"
There was no reply.
"I repeat, all units, all units, this is Anvil Actual. Report misfire or technical fault, over?"
He did ultimately get a reply- albeit not in the way he had hoped. An explosion suddenly lit up one of the vehicles next to his, and he looked in shock as it exploded, the vehicle being blown apart by a series of explosions.
The Colonel was most surprised? Were they under attack? The Radar didn't show any threats on screen, so where they could be was a mystery to him. He scanned about as more fire came their way. "Reverse, reverse!"
The driver acknowledged, and the heavy vehicle began to reverse as shells began to fly about the battlefield. Armour was turned towards the threats that were advancing on allied lines- all of them vehicles that had been allies moments before.
As the area started to descend into pandemonium, Colonel Haven grabbed his radio. "Anvil Formation, sound off, over?"
"Anvil 2, good to go, over."
"Anvil 4, ready for battle, over."
"Anvil 5, taking heavy fire, over!"
No response from Anvil 3. Colonel Haven suddenly saw the vehicle that housed Anvil 3 moving towards him.
"Anvil 3, please respond, over."
Only one message came back as a response, one that chilled the Colonel to the bone when he heard it.
"Death to the defenders of the false King! Glory to Opaline!"
Seconds later the hull was lit up with machine gun fire, and a shell flew past and exploded on another tank, cratering the hull with a large explosion.
"Load AP Shell, target vehicle ahead, over!"
"Copy sir, AP in the loader now," the gunner said.
"Track turret to right, 20 degrees!"
The turret swung as the driver moved forward, trying to move the lumbering vehicle faster than the other vehicle's turret could track. The two machines danced about as the turrets continued to follow and a battle raged around them.
"FIRE!"
"ON THE WAY!"
The turret kicked back as the main gun fired, and a shell flew out of the barrel accompanied by a lot of smoke. The shell slammed into the tank that had once been Anvil 3, tearing open the turret and detonating the ammunition store onboard. Within seconds the land was occupied by a smoking wreck.
The Colonel glanced down to his display to see what was happening. All across the region were confused and distorted reports of soldiers firing on one another, and complete chaos seemed to be the norm.
As he looked up and saw two fighter jets engaging one another, both aircraft in the colours of the RAF, the truth became clear to him.
"This is a full blown insurrection! It's obvious that key units are no longer acting as part of the British military."
"Anvil 2 to Anvil Actual, requesting situation update, over?"
Colonel Haven sighed, and nodded. "Anvil Actual to Anvil 2, threats are unclear. Enemy forces appear to be embedded within our own forces. Unless told otherwise all forces are to be considered hostile, over."
"Those were our men-"
"They ceased to be our fellow soldiers when they fired on us!" Colonel Haven replied. "Form up and prepare to move, over."
Just as he gave the order, some very battered light vehicles rolled into position, as well as a pair of Challenger 2s that looked barely operational from the amount of damage they had sustained. "Royal Lancers, reporting for duty, sir."
"I take it you gentlemen came under attack?" Colonel Haven asked.
"Yes, sir. Heavy fire from the enemy. We're all that's left, sir."
The Colonel was about to reply, when suddenly a message began to play over the radio.
"-e Are under heavy fire, over! Reinforcements required urgently, or we will not hold!"
Colonel Haven recognised the voice immediately. "Elizabeth's mixed up in this?" he asked himself. He picked up the microphone once more. "All units, form up on me. We follow the distress call."
The tanks formed up into a column behind the lead vehicle, and then moved off, the mixture of liveries and vehicles showing just how much of a beating they had taken.
Sunny's wings dramatically flared into being as she leaped over a formation of enemy soldiers. She slashed her way through a bunker and charged through a wall to reach her destination.
She spotted her parents fighting back against Boomer, who was wearing some sort of powered armour. Even so, he seemed to lack any real ability to control it properly.
"Take this!"
Argyle ducked before knocking him back. "Missed me!" He then grabbed a discarded rifle and levelled it. "Never bring a knife to a gun fight- especially if said gun user was in the ATC."
Boomer roared before lumbering towards Goldie. "Why won't you take a hint? You're beaten!"
Goldie shook her head as she pulled a baseball bat back. "Do you ever hear the shit that comes out of your mouth?"
"No matter!" Boomer growled, a blade shifting into place on the armour. "I will have you or nobody will!"
He swung- only for Sunny to land in the way and block the blow with an energy gauntlet. Her face was cold, devoid of its usual cheerfulness. "Leave. My. Parents. Alone."
Boomer lunged with the other hand, but Sunny quickly blocked it and knocked him back, firing off an energy blast to send him into a pile of rubble.
Sunny charged to where her parents were. "Come on! Let's go! He won't be stopped forever!"
Goldie nodded. "The less I have to deal with that moron the better."
The team then heard a series of explosions on the other side of the field, and what they saw shocked them.
The ocean was on fire. The seas were aflame, and smoke drifted high into the sky.
Wrecked ships floated lifeless on the waves, damaged, listing. Many were flooding and taking on water, whilst other vessels were struggling to turn or move.
Bodies floated on the waves, and lifeboats drifted about. Explosions echoed in the distance as more combat seemingly continued in the distance.
Purbeck 1 flew above it all, with Purbeck 2 flying by its side. "What happened here?" Thunder asked over the radio.
"Looks like the military turned on itself," Zoom replied, pointing to the scenes in the distance. "There are ships still firing on one another in the distance."
Vessels were indeed continuing to fire on one another on the confusion, clearly caught by surprise by the assault upon them. The fire of the weapons was incredibly intense, preventing anybody from getting a real sense of the ongoing carnage.
"Drop lower and try to avoid being spotted," Thunder continued. "We have no way of knowing who is on what side."
Her concern was confirmed when a ship exploded in the distance, followed by a submarine surfacing a few moments later.
Suddenly, the radio on Purbeck 1 buzzed, and Zoom tuned it. "Message broadcasting on all stations."
"Listen in, all subjects of Britain! Your tyrannical King, the false ruler, has been removed from power. The House of Windsor is no more, and the world is now back under the control of the House of Stuart!
"I, Queen Opaline, am your new ruler now. Anybody who is a loyal subject will cease fighting, and bow down before me. This country went downhill ever since they threw their lot in with some Germans, so I shall restore Great Britain to her rightful place in history!
"Long live the Queen!"
Lord Haven glanced at several of the soldiers. "This is bad."
"Agreed, sir," said one of them. "We'll need to be careful if we're gonna navigate this one."
"I have another reason to be concerned," Lord Haven admitted. "Opaline knows who we are, and not only that we're known to be opposed to her. If she sees us as traitors, we'll be executed. Which is especially concerning as we supported the very revolution that removed Opaline's ancestors from the throne."
Suddenly, the radio buzzed, and they heard a familiar voice.
"We can't hold them! We need reinforcements!"
"Zipp?" Zoom said. "That was Zipp, right?"
"Lock in on the transmission," Lord Haven said. "We have to find them, and fast, or else all hope may be lost."
Zoom turned some dials and switches to focus the equipment, and within a few minutes had found what she thought was the location. "Position locked. Enemy forces on Sodor, near Arlesburgh. Setting course. Thunder, be ready to engage."
"Purbeck 2, copy."
Both choppers flew away over the burning sea, approaching the island of Sodor at speed. They hoped they would get there on time.
Pipp and Zipp never saw what hit them.
One moment they had been helping with manning the defences. A machine gun crew had gone down, so they had manned the gun to assist with the defences. The improvised trench lines were slowly falling from the volume of fire being faced by the enemy, and the two diesels had helped to shunt artillery into position to help.
Unfortunately, it was soon to be for nothing,
"Look!" Pipp shouted. "There's an armoured figure approaching!"
Zipp recognised them. "It's Opaline! Fire on my target!"
A fresh wave of bullets flew forth, but Opaline seemingly was surrounded by some sort of shield. She bounded over the terrain and landed on top of the trench line, ripping the machine gun from its socket and throwing it aside as if it were a children's toy.
"Not so tough now, are you Zara?" she said, before firing off a blast of energy. Both sisters were knocked back to the back of the trench, and lay dazed as Opaline closed in.
Pipp was the first to return to sense. "No! Don't hurt me!"
Opaline smiled. "I'm not interested in a vapid pig like yourself. You really need to lay off on the cookies. No, your entire bloodline stood against me and my ancestors, and now you will di-"
Her speech was suddenly interrupted by something ricocheting off her helmet. "What?"
Another volley of rounds followed- the source being a revolver carried by Lady Haven. "You will not hurt them!"
"Bold words for a woman about to be reminded of her own inadequacy," Opaline said, her hands filling with energy.
Suddenly, a blast of fire knocked her down, and Purbeck 2 roared overhead, firing off rockets into approaching armoured vehicles.
Purbeck 1 levitated into position in front of the defenders, Zoom and her soldiers having grabbed their arms and begun to fire on the approaching threat.
"We're the evac!" Zoom shouted. "Get the Duchess to safety!"
She jumped out to rescue Pipp and Zipp, both of whom were making their way to the chopper, whilst two others helped Lady Haven onto the chopper. Purbeck 2 did another pass to clear the airspace, before a loud bang alerted them.
"Damn! Stray gunfire disabled the gun camera. I'll be firing LOS from now on!"
Once everybody was safely onboard, the engines of Purbeck 1 were pushed to maximum power, and the family were flown away.
"What about Charles and Sophie?" Pipp asked. "We can't leave them behind!"
"We don't have a choice!" Zoom replied.
Opaline was now back on her feet, and made her way over to the two engines. "You two have caused me more trouble than I care to mention," she said. "I may not be able to get the Havens... but I can take both of you as compensation."
Her gauntlets glowed, and energy began to flow into them. Charles and Sophie tried to protest, but the life seemed to be being pulled out of them.
Within moments, only two shells remained, sitting on the side of a battlefield.