A Tail for Tales

[Wolfie]

   Genesis roared across the wastes, his Metal Heads still fight, but some immediately fell back to his position and surrounded their leader. Genesis needed time to catch some of his breath, but still had enough to bellow something. While the ore went to work slowly on his current wounds. How long had he been like this? Hour? Half-hour? It felt like forever.

"Zrion!" Genesis boomed across the battlefield. "We need to talk after this!"

Genesis wanted to make sure that guard heard him, even after the long line of silence.

[Darkjak87]

"Sounds like you have a fan, Commander," Braeburn commented.

Zrion scowled. "Yeah, I'm really feeling the admiration."

Over the past few minutes, the situation had gotten worse and worse. The Metal Heads continued to hammer away at them, firing at any Guards who poked their heads up while the surviving Grunts continuously charged their lines. It was a devious strategy, despite the high cost in lives, and it was beginning to bear fruit.

Just over half the Guards were now wounded or dead. Thompson and the other medics had done their best, but the wounded wouldn't be doing any more fighting without proper medical care. The remaining Guards were running very short on ammo, picking their shots carefully when they could.

Needless to say, things were looking bad. But it was then that Zrion's foresight finally paid off.

Krimzon Guard dropships made little noise, and with the Guards as distracted as they were, no one noticed four of them cresting the horizon as they made their approach.

Mendoza was the first to notice, and he tapped Zrion on the shoulder to point them out. Looking north, toward the city, he saw the dropships as they approached, flying low above the desert sand. He grinned broadly. "Cavalry's here, gentlemen!" Zrion yelled. There was no cheering, the men were too tired for that, but it boosted their morale, revitalizing their efforts.

Three of the dropships broke off, heading toward the camp. The last began to rise higher, slowing down and circling high overhead. As Zrion watched, the rear door of the dropship slid open, revealing a Special Operations soldier wearing the unique Hellfire Armor of the First Echelon, and best of all, wielding a rocket launcher.

With a bright flare of light and a loud 'whoosh', the soldier fired at the encroaching mass of Metal Heads. The rocket slammed into the ground in the exact center of the army, the resulting explosion sending half a dozen of the beasts flying. The commando quickly shuffled back to reload, and a second man appeared, this one wielding a six-shot grenade launcher.

Taking aim, the soldier fired all six shots in rapid succession, the grenades landing among the Metal Heads, exploding on contact, killing another dozen.

Like the first, the second soldier slipped back out of sight, and a third man appeared, this one wielding a squad automatic weapon.

The soldier took aim, and began to fire, shredding Metal Heads in large numbers as he bombarded them from the air. The Metal Heads, finally realizing their dilemma, began to return fire, aiming at the dropship, but it was moving too fast for the slow-moving bolts of eco to have any decent chance of hitting it.

Down on the ground, the remaining three dropships landed just behind the Krimzon Guard line. The rear doors on the dropships sprang open, and a dozen soldiers charged down the ramp.

The grenadiers opened fire immediately, bombarding the front of the Metal Head lines with their explosive munitions, slaughtering huge numbers of the tightly packed creatures. Those with rocket launchers were more cautious, picking their targets carefully and firing at the most tempting targets.

The machine gunners simply held their triggers down, their combined efforts spraying the Metal Heads with hundreds of bullets in seconds.

However, a quarter of the men did not do anything right away, instead, they advanced, covered by their comrades. They didn't stop at the trench, but stepped over it, fearlessly marching toward the approaching army. Upon closer inspection, one would notice that they were wearing what looked to be metal backpacks, equipment that the other soldiers lacked, and they held their weapons low, from the hip, as they walked.

The Metal Heads, seeing what they thought to be easy prey, roared hungrily and charged the soldiers. Seconds passed, and when the Metal Heads reached an unspoken point, all four of the men opened fire...literally.

Massive gouts of fire erupted from the weapons, now revealed to be flamethrowers. Metal Heads shrieked in pain and terror, the flames incinerating many in seconds, and lighting further still on fire, denying them the mercy of a quick death. While Metal Heads were generally fearless, the fear of fire was one of the most basic of instincts, standing side-by-side with the need to eat and drink. Thus, even Metal Heads were afraid of flamethrowers, a weakness that the First Echelon was more than happy to exploit.

The Burner Boys swept their weapons from side to side, covering the entire front and obscuring their enemies' vision, on top of everything else. At the same time, the rest of the First Echelon moved up in support, crossing the trench line as their brethren had before. Joined by the rest of their unit, all twelve of the soldiers pressed ahead, utterly decimating the Metal Heads with the combined might of their heavy weapons.

From the air, the bombardment continued, the soldiers rotating out as needed so that they could reload their cumbersome weapons while others took over. As the rest of the men had the situation near the front well in hand, those that were still airborne concentrated their effort on the rear ranks of the Metal Heads, aiming for the few elites that had survived the Third Echelon's efforts so far.

Zrion was not one to miss an opportunity, and certainly wasn't about to let the Fourth Echelon's fiercest rivals take all the glory.

"This is it everyone! It's time for our counterattack! Move up, support the Burner Boys, break their line!" Zrion bellowed.

With a loud war cry, all of the remaining soldiers, a dozen in all, climbed out of the trench, charging toward the collapsing Metal Heads. Sensing the counterattack, the First Echelon soldiers joined in, stepping up their pace and charging ahead as well, blasting and burning a path through the enemy army for the infantry.

Needless to say, what had previously been a desperate fight turned into a shooting gallery. Those Metal Heads that survived the flamethrowers were scrambling over one another to escape, only to be blown up by grenades or rockets. Any that survived that were mopped up by the machine gunners, the regulars, or Zrion's own squad.

"They're gonna rout!" Zrion yelled to everyone within listening distance. "Keep the pressure up! We can win this now!"

[Wolfie]

   Genesis let loose a loud whistle that could be hear for miles and continued the noise for a few minutes, making sure he was everyone's attention. The whistle was his signal for his army to stop fight, but they still looked at the advancing KG while parting down the middle to let their leader and his escort approach the enemy line.

   Genesis didn't plan on walking too fast, his gun wound was still hurting and causing him to limp while he was on all fours. Of course, his army stood like statues now, no moving, no noise as Genesis slowly made his way down the aisle, but spoke in a low, tiresome tone.

"Zrion. I want this to stop, I only came here for you and I can send these creatures home just as I gathered them. I'm not going to watch anymore of them die tonight. I will give myself over to you in exchange for their lives. That is my deal and it is final."

Some of the Metal Heads started growl and chitter amongst themselves, thinking that Genesis must be insane to do such a thing.

"You have no idea how much death and destruction I've seen over my long lifespan. I never had a goal to stop it for long, only stop it when I can. Right now, I offering this chance to stop this fighting right here... right now." Genesis slammed his fist to the ground, causing purple lightning to shoot out. "well, that's new.."

[Darkjak87]

Zrion walked briskly through the split in the Metal Head army, his squad trailing behind, while the shock troops from the First Echelon formed a wide perimeter around them, facing the Metal Heads and brandishing their flamethrowers threateningly. While Zrion had little respect for Metal Heads, he had to admit that he found the level of Genesis' control over his army impressive. Even though the KG were well trained and disciplined, Zrion privately had to admit that, had he been the one to order the ceasefire, it was quite possible that only his Special Operations troopers would have listened at all.

The black-armored soldiers halted several meters in front of Genesis. The First Echelon Shock Troopers spread out, keeping their weapons down, but watching the Metal Heads intently, as despite their massive losses, they still significantly outnumbered the Guardsmen.

Zrion stared at Genesis for a few moments, considering his words. On one hand, the Guards had unquestionably seized the initiative, despite the loss of a significant portion of their force. If Zrion were truly determined, they could probably keep pressing forward and wipe them out entirely. In addition, Genesis was sporting several wounds as-yet unhealed, likely from his skirmish with the speeder bikes. If Zrion engaged him now, especially with the First Echelon so close, he could potentially kill one of the most dangerous Metal Heads the KG had ever encountered.

But he frowned to himself as he considered the other side of the situation. The Krimzon Regulars had taken heavy casualties, with more than half dead or wounded. If Genesis wasn't lying, then that meant that their deaths were partly Zrion's fault, since at the time Genesis had first offered a ceasefire, most or all of them had still been unharmed. It was typical in fights with Metal Heads - it always started out as a shooting gallery, the KG cutting down hundreds or thousands of the beasts while taking few casualties. But then ammo began to run short, Metal Heads began to close in, and the options then would be either to fall back, await reinforcements, or die where they stood.

If Zrion continued this battle now, it could potentially stand to be a victory for the KG. But a leader always had to consider if a victory was worth the cost. Certainly, his forces had killed quite a few Metal Heads - probably around two hundred of them by now - but for Metal Heads, that was barely a light scouting force. Training a Krimzon Guard took half a year - a Metal Head hatchery could produce three hundred soldiers in less than a day.

On the other hand, Genesis was offering a valuable opportunity, not only to prevent more human deaths, but giving himself up. He, the most dangerous creature this side of a Metal-Saur, was willing to give himself up into KG custody. The chance to study and question an intelligent Metal Head, whereas previously it was thought that only their mysterious overmind was actually sentient, was too good to pass up.

"Very well," Zrion said at last. "Order your...men...To go. We will not pursue them. Their deaths would be irrelevant. I have no delusions - even a victory here would be hollow. Our losses are more crippling than yours, even if they are fewer in number. And all of them could arguably be attributed to you, anyway, since you brought them here."

Zrion could feel the surprised stares on his back, but he ignored them. His men would follow his orders - Zrion had fought Metal Heads longer than most. If he was willing to negotiate with them, then they would follow his lead.

"Mendoza, Braeburn," he ordered. Both of the men materialized next to him, on either side. "Take him into custody. Tie his legs and arms together, and escort him back to the camp."

Then, Zrion activated his radio. "Overwatch, do you copy?"

"Yes, Commander," Swain confirmed.

"We're about to take that sentient Metal Head into custody. He's surrendering himself in exchange for his soldiers' lives. Keep a bead on him. When he tries to escape, I want you to shoot him dead."

"Affirmative, Commander," he acknowledged.

Zrion allowed himself a small chuckle. Only a Special Operations soldier would follow an order like that without question.

[Wolfie]

"There's no need to bound me, Commander, I'm very well capable of following your orders. Although, I won't hesitate to put on of your men on the ground if they try to hurt me." Genesis spoke with no confidence, only assurance.

   With a slight look to both sides of his army, Genesis chirped twice, causing the surviving mass to return from the way they came. Of course, some of them became unruly, growling at their leader, looking as if they were ready to attack. That was quickly put to rest as soon as Genesis tackled the ringleader to the ground and used his hind claw to make it eat dirt, sending the others scampering off with the rest of the mass.

"Shall we, Zrion?" Genesis asked, walking past the Commander's men and towards the camp. "I do believe there may be some questions I could answer in return for you answering mine."

[Darkjak87]

Zrion frowned. He wasn't comfortable with the Metal Head wandering around the camp unchecked, but he had to admit it probably wouldn't do a whole lot of good to tie him up. Not as much as the snipers, anyway.

"Fine, you can remain unbound, but under guard. And my snipers are going to be staring at you the whole time too, so don't get any ideas. You may have noticed the purple streaks of eco earlier? That was them. They don't miss."

His piece said, Zrion gestured to the Metal Head and set off, his squad staying with him. As he moved, Zrion began giving orders, telling the men to gather the bodies and make the wounded comfortable. Despite their mission taking priority, the convoy would have to stay put for at least another twelve hours, until the wounded could be evacuated and their losses replaced. After all, despite the uneasy truce with Genesis, he was only one Metal Head, and the Wasteland was definitely not short of relatively independent cells of the creatures.

As they approached the camp, the fourth dropship was touching down, next to the others. The remaining four men of the First Echelon calmly walked down the ramp, one man taking the lead while the rest followed behind. Zrion met them halfway, and the man gave a crisp salute.

"Captain Romulus Knight, reporting," he intoned.

Zrion returned the salute, then dropped it, the leader of the First Echelon doing so as well.

"Couldn't have cut it any closer if it was your intention, Captain," Zrion commented. "Still, good work. You guys pretty much bailed us out, we owe you one."

"More than one, sir," Knight grinned. "But we enjoyed the fight, so no hard feelings."

"Good to know," Zrion said dryly.

"So, what's this all about?" Knight asked curiously, gesturing toward Genesis.

"Funny story, that," Zrion said, as if discussing the weather. "You see, yesterday, it snuck into our camp, opened Topaz One to look inside, then escaped. With us shooting at him. Then it shows up twelve hours later with about three hundred Metal Heads. And then he gave himself up in exchange for their lives, and ordered their retreat."

The Captain stared.

"Oh, and apparently it has a sense of humor."

"Well then, at least someone around here does," Knight commented.

"You're a riot, Captain," Zrion deadpanned. "By the way, you guys get babysitting duty. If he tries to run or attack anyone, shoot him. Well, if you can. You guys aren't known for accuracy."

"Don't need it. We have grenades," Knight retorted.

Zrion rolled his eyes. "Without destroying half the camp, Captain."

"Ah...That might be a bit more difficult."

"You'll manage. If not, we still have Swain's snipers keeping an eye on things. In any case, you and your men take a few minutes and rest up. I know you got sent out here right after your last mission, so I know you're tired," Zrion told him.

"As you say, Commander," Knight said respectfully. Despite a little friendly ribbing, Zrion was well respected among his men, and his relatively casual demeanor in no way lessened the weight of his orders.

The Captain and his squad went about their business, the rest of the First Echelon following after them, having also heard Zrion's orders. That left Zrion, his squad, and Genesis to themselves.

Sighing, Zrion turned toward Genesis. "Alright, come with us I suppose. We'll find somewhere in the camp to talk." His tone was in no way friendly, but at least he wasn't outright insulting the Metal Head, which was an improvement in itself.

[Wolfie]

"I'm probably the most dangerous thin gin this camp right now, though, wouldn't surprise me if your snipers couldn't land a hit on me." Genesis was intent on follow Zrion either way.

   Although Genesis might feel like a puppy following this human, he was just glad he could save his followers, or what were left of them, and maybe get some questions answered.

"That grenade was a nice tactic, would've worked if the sand didn't shift beneath me. Your explosive on the other hand, held more of a punch. I'm quite surprised that you would allow me to walk around despite the damage I could cause. Even though, as tempting as it may be, we both know I'll never cause that much damage."


Genesis kept walking on with Zrion, expecting some sort of question to pop up, or he would ask one himself.

[Darkjak87]

"The only reason I'm bothering is because you ripped a bike out of the air. I doubt that tying you up would be anything more than a formality," Zrion replied, matter-of-factly. "Frankly, all of my commandos are better insurance than that anyway."

The odd group continued walking through the camp, Zrion ignoring the stares of the survivors of the battle. He could hardly blame him - the situation was certainly highly unusual (read: unheard of), so he wasn't too annoyed by the stares and whispers.

Eventually, they came to a stop, near the opposite edge of the camp from where the KG defenses had been constructed. Feeling very tired, Zrion turned to face Genesis. "Alright. You went through a hell of a lot of trouble to talk to me, so I'll keep it simple. Why?"

[Wolfie]

"All right, I'm not going to play mind games here and cut to it since you seem a bit irritated." Genesis stood once more, towering over some of the transports and pointed towards Topaz One.

"Just what in the hell is in that cargo ship?"

   Genesis stared down at the commander, feeling the scopes of the snipers as he pointed. He was going to damned if they knew, but even then, he wouldn't feel like this adventure would come to a close so easily.

"There is something dangerous in that ship that threw me off as soon as I saw it! So, just tell me exactly what it is, and we'll call it a day." Genesis didn't sound to happy, but his feeling stood true, there was something dangerous there, he found, but still didn't know what it was.

[Darkjak87]

Zrion frowned upon hearing Genesis' question. "I knew that damn thing was trouble..." he muttered. Deciding he didn't have anything to gain by lying, he simply told Genesis the truth.

"I don't actually know what's in there. It's classified. Me and my guys are here because it's important, apparently too important to even know what it is. The only people here know what it is are the transport's crewmen."

"Actually, those guys are all dead now," Thompson interjected.

Zrion sighed. "Okay. So no one here knows what it is now. Except you, apparently."

But then, his curiosity finally got the better of him. "You seem quite concerned with it though. What, exactly, did you see?"