Battalion of Harmony

by mcb893

5. Perimeter Compromised

4 Hours Later

Moore sat in the carrier, not daring to look up. Guards and SRTF members alike had been called to form the perimeter for Hoofington's border, but the reason why was not revealed to their families. Come to think of it, Moore couldn't recall anyone outside of military personnel or those in Celestia and Luna's cabinet that were informed of the alien presence. Or of their attack on Hoofington. But it didn't matter now. It was done. Hoofington was most likely a smoldering remain of a city, and there was nothing that Moore could do about it other than avenge it. Still, that was the one thing he hated when it came to fighting. Avenging. Even if the violator was defeated, it doesn't mean that the event didn't happen.

"Maybe we'll catch them off guard this time. Unlike New York." He heard Jacob say from the left. Looking over to him, he could see him observing his tags, though he wasn't entirely sure why. All soldiers had something that could occupy them on the way to a mission. For some, it was talking. Others, observing things, like Jacob with his tags. Some had other ones. For Moore, it was usually keeping his team calm. But he had nothing to say for this mission. He wasn't at ease, so how could he keep others calm if he couldn't do it for himself? No, now all he could think about was the Earth. And what the aliens had done to it. Boston attacked and decimated, sending troops to New York to defend it, only to be ambushed and pinned down. Moore had been in Mexico, assisting them when he got the news. The Rangers had been sent in to provide relief to the trapped soldiers, but when they got there, what they found was a devastated city with so many dead bodies, Moore had to keep his eyes shut to prevent an incident with his PTSD. They always said that gray skies were things you only saw in war movies. But with all the dust, ash, and smoke in the air... It had become reality.

"I hope so." Moore said, fumbling with his gun as Jacob placed his dog tags back to where they had originally been. Just then, Rainbow Dash's voice comes unto Moore's radio.

"All units be advised, radio contact with the Local Protection Teams has been established. We have arrived in the city limits of Detrot. Hoofington isn't that far from here, so be on alert. Out." Moore sighed and looked to his right, seeing Predator resting his arm on his gun.

"Thanks again for coming. We need all the help we can get." He said. Predator looked over to him, although wasn't able to read his face thanks to the mask. He shook his head and made a short motion with his hand as he spoke.

"Don't mention it. Humans or not, they're still civilians right?" Moore nodded, looking back to his front.

"Yeah. They are. Glad to know some of you think that way." He said as he observed two SRTF members conversing about something.

"Don't worry about Apex. He's just had a long day. Heck we all have really, but what can I say, he's young." Predator said. Moore turned his head back over to the SAS operative, seeing him continuing to balance his arm. He couldn't help but remember Hank, the youngest of their company. For the first time in a while, he thought that the young Private was lucky for something. He died before he could see another world he cared about attacked by the aliens. Moore was about to speak again, but was interrupted by the radio.

"Something's coming up in front of us. Doesn't look like anything we've made. Should we stop it?" A male voice said. Moore looked up slightly, wondering what he could have meant.

"This is Alpha-1 Actual, what does this thing look like? Over?" He asked.

"Looks like some kind of... CRAP! IT'S SHOO-" A deep boom sounded from outside the carrier, followed by the carrier rocking wildly in it's tracks. Thrown off balance, Moore threw his hand against the walls of the vehicle. Around him, soldiers gave each other panicked glances, while some grabbed their weapons out of instinct. Moore was wide eyed as the carrier continued to rock, the familiar sound of gunfire and explosions ringing in his ears.

"What the heck is going on?" He heard Rainbow Dash shout from the radio. Looking to the back of the carrier, Moore quickly grabbed his rifle, and gave his squad the order to evacuate.

"Lower the doors! Everyone get out of this thing!" He shouted as loudly as he could, another explosion sending the carrier into yet another uncontrollable tremor. Moore tripped, but caught himself at his hands as the sound of gears working and turning came into his ears. Looking up, he could see the door beginning to open, and through the cracks, saw fire and a destroyed carrier behind him. Moore shook his head. This couldn't be happening... Could it? The doors whined as the carrier came to an abrupt halt. Moore was almost thrown forward, but managed to keep himself rooted where he was. The door fell open, making a loud thud as it hit the ground. Moore sprinted out, as soldiers followed his lead.

"AMBUSH!" He heard Frank shout, followed by the sound of a grenade going off. A scream of pain came from Moore's right, forcing him to look that direction. Stepping back, he gasped at the sight he was witnessing. A royal guard, blown completely in two, with intestines trailing out of his body. He screamed in agony as another soldier rushed over to him, only to be gunned down. Looking up, Moore could see the cause of the attack, a large, four rotor powered aircraft. A ball of blue shot out of it, aimed right at the carrier Moore had been in. There were still troops inside when it exploded. The carrier burst into flames as Moore covered his eyes, closing them to block out the light from the blast. Moving his hand away, he saw Jacob raise his rifle and fire at the aircraft, which began to shift around to it's side.

"All units! This is Alpha-1 Actual! It was a trap! Get out of your vehicles and engage the enemy!" Moore shouted as he quickly sprinted over to his now destroyed carrier, throwing a dead, horribly burned body out of his way as he slid to a halt behind it. The dirt of the ground flung onto his face, making Moore sweat. Looking over the vehicle, Moore saw the sides of the Alien vessel open, revealing several Alien soldiers standing with their weapons in front of them. Flames emitted from devices on their backs, which he quickly realized were jet packs. He scowled as he ducked back behind the carrier. He had forgotten all about their use of jet packs in war. Looking to his right, he saw Frank rushing over to him, along with Jacob.

"How the heck did they know we were coming?" Frank shouted as he came to a halt in front of the carrier, opening fire once he did. Moore shook his head, popping up to fire at the hostiles in the air. Jacob prepared a grenade, throwing it once he had pulled the pin.

"Just shut up and start shooting!" He shouted as he tried in vain to hit a maneuvering Alien with a jet pack. Without any success, his weapon gave a clicking noise as he continued to hold down the trigger. Ducking down, he dropped his mag to the ground, reaching back to grab a new one. As he slammed his mag into his weapon, an explosion sounded to his right. Looking to is right, he saw another carrier engulfed in flames, with another alien aircraft hovering above it. Moore growled in anger as he positioned himself at the hostile vehicle, firing on it as it began to turn to the side.

"Right side! We got another one!" He shouted. Slowly, the side of the aircraft opened, slightly above a carrier that had not yet been destroyed. The door came crashing down as SRTF troops poured out of it, with Rainbow leading the way. With haste, Moore redirected his fire, now aiming at the slowly opening carrier doors, revealing even more aliens with jet packs. Rainbow and her squad launched themselves at the aliens, pulling them off of the aircraft and stabbing the ones they could. Moore provided as much fire as he could before moving up to gain some ground.

"Move up! We have to gain as much area as we can! Form a perimeter around the buildings and use them for cover!" Moore shouted as he sprinted to a small, two story building. With a slide, he came to a halt as gunfire rushed past him, sending dirt flying onto his face. The town wasn't abandoned, as evident by the mobs of ponies running around in panic, and local protection teams running forward in an attempt to fight back. Farther north in the city, Moore could see yet another aircraft with guns blazing at them, mowing down any resistance in their path. Moore turned to fire at the warship, although an explosion prevented him from staying where he was long.

"Hostile infantry units are on the ground! All units advise!" He heard a male voice shout into the radio. Pinned behind the building by infantry, Moore readied a grenade as a group of LPTs were backing up, all while trying to use bombs to take out as many as hostiles as they could. After waiting a few seconds, Moore threw his grenade at the advancing enemy, who were now beginning to take cover behind the wreckage they had created. Jack, Predator, Apex, and Swift soon joined Moore at the front lines, with Jack aiming his Javelin at a warship. SRTF runners rushed forward to meet the enemy, with the pegasi flying above the enemy gunfire and slamming down on them from where they were. Moore reloaded his weapon as Jack fired off his missile and quickly adjusted back behind the wall of the building.

"Mother Bird this is Alpha unit! An enemy ambush has us pinned down in the outskirts of Detrot! Requesting air support and additional ground forces, over!" Moore shouted as he popped out from his cover, firing rounds nearest to where the aliens were taking refuge. The bricks making up the cover chipped and sent shrapnel flying everywhere, but still maintained it's integrity. An alien popped up from it's hiding spot and fired rounds right at Moore, barely missing him. As the bullets from the weapon pounded into the wall next to Moore's head, he ducked back behind cover as a Guard flew onto the rooftops along with LPTs and an SRTF member.

"Alpha unit be advised, all available ground support is already en route, but they are encountering HEAVY opposition. Jessica is on her way to provide aerial assistance but she will take some time, try to hold out until then!" The Princess said in response to Moore's call for back up. Looking to the right, Moore could see Jacob and Frank leading several ponies into battle through the gaps between the buildings in front of them. Another explosion caused by an alien warship caused the entire tip of a building to be obliterated, sending a team of SRTF operators falling to their doom as they were crushed by the debris. Slightly ahead, Moore could see LPTs getting the jump on hostiles, forcing some of them to retreat farther back into the city, but others managed to hold their ground.

"The LPTs are getting hit hard, try to buy them some time!" Moore shouted as he ran into an alley between the buildings. Civilians were running through them as well, screaming and panicking as they searched for refuge in the attack. Behind him, Jack and several other soldiers were following behind him. He skid to a halt as he came to a turn in the buildings, sprinting as fast as he could as another alien aircraft made itself known.

"All LPTs! This is Alpha-1 Actual! What is your status? Over?" He shouted as he came to yet another turn, finding aliens landing on the rooftops of the buildings. He took aim at them, and fired, the recoil of his rifle beating his shoulder with every shot. The aliens dropped dead as Jack opened fire as well, and pegasi swarmed them. As Moore dropped his empty magazine, a response to his question came over the radio.

"Staff Sergeant! Thank Celestia you have arrived! The aliens have attacked every area of the city! We're being overrun! We're down to street fights in the crowded areas of town!" His radio blasted as shrapnel flew at Moore from afar. Moving behind a building, he quickly looked out from his cover, seeing several aliens opening fire on him and his team. He moved his head away from the edge of the building before the aliens could open fire on it. Readying another grenade, he heard a long whining in the air, and looked up. His eyes went wide, making him freeze in place as Jack and the other soldiers began to take cover. An alien Warship was right overhead, it's gun pointed right at Moore.

"John! What are you doing? Get out of there!" He heard Jack shout. Snapping out of his trance, Moore dived out of the way of the aircraft, quickly taking refuge behind a building that obscured it's sight. An explosion blew parts of the previous building at him, which he blocked with his arm. Running onto a narrow street with buildings lining it's sides, he came across a group of LPTs, some throwing bombs at the rooftops where aliens fired down at them. The rest were escorting civilians into buildings, trying to get them away from the slaughter. Moore slid to a halt as another explosion caused the top half of the building to his right to be reduced to rubble and shrapnel, burying itself into his gear. Moore could already feel the cuts along his arms sting as opened fire on the cockpit of the aircraft. As soon as he fired five rounds, the air craft burst into a spark of fire and destroyed parts. The heat from the blast forced Moore to throw his hand up to block his face as pieces of the aircraft crashed into buildings around it. When Moore removed his arm, he saw a jet rip through the flames, afterwards making a sharp turn to the left.

"All units, Sky Watcher is in the airspace. Over." He heard Jessica's voice say into the radio. Moore smiled and shook his head. He figured that it hadn't been M4 rounds that took that thing down.

"Bout' time you got here Newel! I was starting to think you didn't care!" Moore shouted as he turned around and sprinted off to the LPT teams. The teams had managed to fend off the aliens in their immediate front, allowing them to move on to other areas of the city. To his right, he could see Jacob and Frank attacking ground units as a group of Unicorns and Pegasi worked to take out flying enemies.

"Stop whining A-1 Actual. Where do you need me to go?" He heard from his radio as he made another turn, finding even more aliens firing at a squad of SRTF soldiers making their way up to them. Moore opened fire on them from the side, dropping three aliens before he was forced to reload. The LPTs and other Rangers moved up, allowing Moore to reload as he jogged alongside them.

"Bravo Team is held up at the front of the city! Get over there and help them advance!" Moore shouted as he kicked open the door to one of the buildings, ducking under in order to get in. A group of panicked civilians met him when he entered, one of them screaming in terror. The building has several overturned tables, most of them piled in front of one another. Each group of tables had four of them. No doubt they were meant to serve as makeshift barriers. Jacob followed him inside, placing his back against the wall once he was inside.

"There's too many of them! We can't hold the city!" He shouted as part of the doorway burst open from an explosion. Moore covered his eyes from the dust being blown into the air, while the civilians were now screaming uncontrollably. Uncovering his eyes, he saw a cloud of dust forming at a large hole in the wall, where a group of three aliens quickly entered inside. Jack grabbed one and threw it onto the wall, stabbing it with his knife. Moore dived behind one of the groupings of tables, as guns pounded them. The first three tables shattered completely, sending small wooden shards all over the room. Using what little time he had, Moore ran up and fired two rounds, each one hitting one of the alien. The hostiles screamed in pain, covering their wounded areas as they screeched an almost wraith like scream. Moore took this time to eliminate them, their blood splattering against the walls. This provided no relief, however, as another explosion blew the front of the building in, a large piece of it smacking right into Moore. Pain erupted into his entire body as he felt himself get thrown across the room, coming to an abrupt stop at the back of the room. He kept his mouth shut as he let loose a howl of agony, trying to keep himself collected. Looking down, he could see a large portion of the building completely on top of him, making him unable to move.

"Son of a... GAH!" He shouted as he let loose with a growl of pain. His entire body burned, and he could hardly breathe. Jack quickly rushed over to him, grabbing the debris with both of his hands, and grunting as he pulled with all of his might. Moore grit his teeth and closed his eyes as he pushed the debris away from him with Jack's help.

"I got you John! Hang on!"

...

Predator covered his head as another explosion blew debris and dust all over the area, making it difficult to see anything. The American pilot's support was helping, but it just wasn't enough. Shaking his head, he looked over to Apex, who was still firing away with his weapon. While they had been able to get farther into the city, the aliens just had too many tricks up their sleeves, and Predator couldn't call out every single position. Hostile units on the roof were getting the best of them, and with the Warships destroying the buildings that the ponies were using, there was no way for them to stop them. Predator popped up and fired a few rounds down the street, hitting another alien. Ducking back down, he dropped his empty magazine as Swift popped up and fired a shot. Right when he did, however, he got shot in his shoulder, sending him crashing to the ground.

"Swift!" Predator shouted, worried for his ally. Swift gave a groan of pain, but pushed himself up with his gun.

"All units! This is Alpha-1 Actual! Fall back from the city! If we keep up like this, we're all dead! Over!" Predator heard from his radio. Ducking back behind the building, Predator attempted to ready a grenade, but an explosion from the side forced him to cover his face. Looking in that direction, he could see a Warship firing away at approaching ponies with it's automatic turret as it fired it's rockets at the American Pilot. The tracking capabilities forced her to cease fire and try to shake them, preventing any assistance from her.

"I REPEAT! ALL UNITS FALL BACK! GRAB AS MANY CIVILIANS AS YOU CAN AND GET THE HECK OUT!" Predator's radio blared. The SAS operator finished cooking his grenade, and threw it at the alien aircraft. The explosion threw off it's pilot, causing it to strafe unwillingly. Using this, Predator readied an EMP grenade, throwing it once he got the chance. The Warship became engulfed in a blue ring for half a second, before there was a powering down noise as it nose dived right into the ground. The ground flung dirt and dust into the air as the air craft slid across the ground, it's blades still spinning in an attempt to get it back into the air. Because the alien vehicles were powered almost completely by electricity, and not fuel, an EMP was devastating to them, even in a small size like an EMP grenade.

"No! We can take them! Reinforcements just showed up!" He heard a female voice shout from the radio. With haste, he leaped over the destroyed carrier and kicked the glass creating the cock pit, shattering it. The alien in the seat looked up to face Predator, the holes that were supposed to be it's eyes not giving any indication of it's emotion. It began reaching for a weapon, but Predator fired a round too quickly for it to attack.

"THAT IS NOT A SUGGESTION RAINBOW! GET THE CIVILIANS ONTO WHATEVER TRANSPORT IS AVAILABLE AND GO!" He heard Moore shout from his radio. Looking to his front, he could see the aliens beating down several soldiers, as others advanced towards them with bullets flying. The pilot had managed to shake the missiles by this point, and had fired a missile onto the oncoming hostiles. The fighter whined over head as it made another sharp turn, possibly coming back for another pass. Predator knew this would only slow them though. An AC-130 was barely enough firepower to give the humans a fighting chance, there was no way a single fighter jet would get them a victory. As much as he hated it, he had to retreat.

"You heard him! Get out of here! Grab the civilians and let's go!" He shouted as he hopped down from the carrier. It was able to provide him a wall as he busted down a door, raising his rifle. Several unarmed ponies cringed in terror at the sight of him, though they were overcome with relief when they saw that he was a human. Predator shouted for them to move, using his arms to motion to them. He made sure each one made it out of the room before he fell back. Running as fast as he could, he saw various ponies and humans prying open doors, with each one either motioning for civilians to get going, or some of them even carrying them on their shoulders, or cradling them if they were small enough. Predator stopped for a moment to look behind him, seeing the aliens begin to climb over the downed Warship...

...

Adams carried John on his side, grunting as he worked to keep up with the civilians. John had groaned in agony the moment that he had picked him up, meaning that several of his bones had to have been broken, if not worse. The Staff Sergeant was doing his best to run with Adams, so that they could move faster, but it was to no avail. Ahead, he could see a group of soldiers meeting the civilians as a Warship began to attack, but an attack from Jessica managed to keep them from harming the soldiers. Just in front of them, Frank motioned with his arms for the civilians to move, with Jacob carrying an unconscious Guard on his shoulders. Frank turned and saw his allies, growing wide eyed when he saw the blood covered John.

"What the heck happened?" He shouted.

"Just help me get him to safety!" Adams shouted back. Frank seemed dumbfounded, but shook his head and rushed over to help. Another group of aliens began to come from their right, but John raised his pistol to fire at them.

"There's more on the streets!" He shouted as he fired shot after shot, as Frank took his right arm and placed it around his neck. Adams shook his head and ran as fast as he could, trying to keep in sync with Frank as they lifted John off of the ground. Bullets slammed into the walls behind them, forcing them to fall behind the buildings. As Adams tried to shift, someone made a wrong step, causing all three of the Rangers to stumble and fall. Adams managed to land on his knee, as did Frank, but John groaned in pain again. Growling, Adams pushed himself up.

"Come on! We can make it!" He shouted. As he pushed himself forward, he could see gunfire coming from in front of them. A carrier. Adams pressed forward as Frank released John and raised his weapon to fire back, trying to keep the heat off of his teammates. An open carrier door showed Derek firing away with his rifle, it's scope missing from it's normal place. Civilians piled inside, each running as far back into the carrier as they could, not bothering to take a seat. Adams groaned as John fired with his pistol again, accompanied by Frank.

"Get in! Jessica's keeping them occupied!" Derek shouted as he dropped an empty magazine, reaching for a new one. Adams pushed a little farther, groaning as he stumbled into the carrier, collapsing onto the ground. John crashed into the side of the carrier, causing him to scream in pain. Civilians continued to rush inside, with Frank holding off what few aliens had not gone after Jessica. He stopped firing as he turned and made his way inside, just as the last civilian made it's way in. John grit his teeth and held his rib cage, panting heavily as tears came out of his eyes, despite his efforts.

"Shut the door, we're out of here!" Derek shouted as he fired one last shot, hitting the final alien in it's head. The door to the carrier steadily closed as Frank leaned on the wall, exhaling as he tried to catch his breath. Adams pushed himself to one of the benches, though he didn't bother standing up to sit on it. Across from him, John continued with his ordeal, as the carrier door finished shutting.

"What is the plan from here?" He asked as he opened his eyes and looked over to Derek. The Sergeant looked down at him, asking what had happened. John angrily shouted at him to answer the question, causing Derek and a couple of the civilians to jump. Stammering, Derek gave his response.

"Jessica's gonna keep em occupied while we get away. Once we're at a safe distance, she'll make her way out." He said. John nodded and rested his head against the bench, where Jacob had set the unconscious soldier. Looking down the carrier, Adams saw him kneeling down, observing a wound on small child, who was crying in his mother's forelegs. Adams shook his head and panted heavily. What had they gotten themselves into?

Comments

[ScarletMarineCorps]

1705822 Terrorist Aliens! Spooooooky..........

[Tklor]

I'm scared that this might be the end of Equestria.....