Chapter 15: The rings of hell

Soldiers began making trenches where enemies find tempting to attempt to land. Everywhere gestalt, and biologicals digged trenches. I sipped coffee as I looked down from the observation outpost. Mountains were heavily fortified, and cities were turned into fortresses made out of layered rings of trenches, barbed wire, artillery batteries, anti aircraft batteries, and barriers. Nothing was safe from fortification due to the manpower of the gestalt. 6 million were digging trenches in this world excluding 8,000 POW's are digging as sip my brew of coffee.

Then a gestalt in a chassis that looked like something I'd see from old terran anime's like ghost in the shell came up to me. "Sir. O3-#892746 reporting for duty." The gestalt said smiling at me with his hand in his forehead. I followed the protocol and gestured back with a hand in my forehead. "At ease first lieutenant. Can I call you something else? Like what do you preferred to be called?" I asked. The gestalt looked too human for my liking. But the gestalt had red, and black accents in her hair. At least I think it's a her considering the looks of the gestalt's body.

"Call me MK7A8." The gestalt said. Ah so she chose a name of a gun, and a replacement of the good ol M6A3 assault rifle/battle rifle hybrid. "So MK7A8. What do you want?" I asked. If I remember correctly you couldn't just go to the higher ups and say hello for no reason at all. "Well. Sir I think that we should station at least 2 companies or even a division in each trench to keep the enemy from overpowering a trench and without suffering many casualties on the enemy side. We need to make them pay blood for each inch on land." I sighed. I knew that we needed to man a lot of the trenches to stop possible enemy excursions. I bet their massing man power to try a counter offensive on us today. I nodded, and decided to consult the other leaders on how many will man the trenches.

The other leaders listened, and allowed the use of divisions to man trenches, and fortifications. I guess the planned attacks need to spend less man power. After all manpower isn't infinite. I sighed. My mind is really fucked up ey? After all this time all I wanted was revenge. I'm blinded with bloodlust. I just wanted everything back before we even met them. My eyes were filled with hatred as the memories of comrades dying, planets utterly glassed, and memories of how my comrades were treated by the enemy before they died by enemy hands. I sighed. "No one should have those burdens." I whispered silently.

"MK7 just get the others positioned." I said while staring at the sky using my cybernetic eye. Anti ship batteries littered the debris field of the planet created by the large nanites swarms deployed 23 hours ago. The damn things are reliable, and really really cheap to get manufacturing of stuff around here. But the nanites are better in space rather than on the planets crust since the resources needed for construction are easily refined in space, and easily available in large quantities there that the nanites wouldn't heat up the surface of the planet due to the enormous heat coming out of the extremely compact things.

Believe me I saw a guy burn to death because of a nanites swarm overheating because of over making stuff back when the consortium existed. They can be used as extractors in the surface but in space is where they shine. They can be used as mobile refineries, mobile factories, and as a fast collector for extracting resources needed in making stuff readily available in the debris field of the planet. Heck the planet even has a ring because of the carnage of the first battle that happened two days ago. A lot of chassis, and bodies were in space. It's all under my hands. I put my palm in my face and smiled. So this is what god said that I'll become something I hate? So this is the caviat of using the abilities? Losing my humanity from bloodlust? How fitting. I smiled.

The sudden intrusive thought made me think. Is this really worth it? And the answer is yes. My life was destroyed by their ancestors so it's better to make them pay for the transgressions past still appearing today. My species turned into a mere servant race. Heh. The irony that the servants found a leader for a revolt with.

Soon the dawn of a new age begins. And the ashes of the past will be reborn, and mold into another era of uncertainty. Then in the distance. Then I heard songs fit for marching and fit for commemorating the dead. I looked through my binoculars and saw soldiers marching along with a marching band. Sounds like they are building up morale or singing a song that's depressing as hell. Good ol military dark humor. At least that's what I think.

1916

By: sabaton

snares drums play as the song started .

"Sixteen years old when I went to the war.

To fight for a land fit for heroes.

God on my side, and a gun in my hand

Chasing my days down to zero.

And I marched and I fought and I bled and I died.

And I never did get any older

But I knew at the time that a year in the line

Was a long enough life for a soldier."

Feet marched on as mud slowed them down. The soldiers carried their equipment, and smiled knowing what's coming.

"We all volunteered, and we wrote down our names

And we added two years to our ages

Eager for life and ahead of the game

Ready for history's pages

And we brawled and we fought and we whored 'til we stood

Ten thousand shoulder to shoulder

A thirst for the Hun, we were food for the gun

And that's what you are when you're soldiers."

Everyone saluted, and put aimed their guns into the sky.

"I heard my friend cry, and he sank to his knees

Coughing blood as he screamed for his mother

And I fell by his side, and that's how we died

Clinging like kids to each other

And I lay in the mud and the guts and the blood

And I wept as his body grew colder

And I called for my mother and she never came

Though it wasn't my fault and I wasn't to blame

And the day's not half over and ten thousand slain

And now there's nobody remembers our names

And that's how it is for a soldier."

Soldiers saluted as they fired their guns upward to commemorate the dead, and their lost friends. Friends who died in this battle. Dang. I didn't know this was a military send off for the dead before the counter attacks began. I didn't get transferred to other fronts because I was more of someone who took risk than rather fighting tactful. This was a possible punishment from losing a couple thousand biological men or could be the civilian deaths because of the fleet battling above the planet? Is it a possible blessing in disguise. 3 industrial planets have been taken under half a week and also taking away 2 systems from the republic. I didn't even think how much would die from this. I just wanted to make the republic pay for what it did.

my race made into a husk of it's former self. The days where children are free are gone. The days were people my age would gone and explore the space around us. But those days of naivety is long gone.

Then the soldiers continued to March on.

Erika (English translation from German)

by herms niel

"On the heath, there blooms a little flower bloom

and it's called, Erika!

Eagerly a hundred thousand little bees,

swarm around, Erika!

For her heart is full of sweetness,

a tender scent escapes her blossom-gown.

On the heath, there blooms a little flower

and it's called Erika."

"Back at home, there lives a little maiden

and she's called Erika.

That girl is my faithful little darling

and my joy, Erika!

When the heather blooms in a reddish purple,

I sing her this song in greeting.

On the heath, there blooms a little flower

and it's called Erika!"

"In my room, there also blooms a little flower

and it's called Erika.

Already In the grey of dawn, as it does at dusk,

It looks at me, Erika!

And it is as if it spoke aloud

"Are you thinking of your fiancée?"

Back at home, a maiden weeps for you

and she's called Erika."

(A/N: Yup the song you used to hear in old WW2 German marching seen in documentaries is a marching song about a flower, a man, his hopes to meet his daughter, and see his spouse again.)

Soldiers continued to march to the beat of drums. Hundreds of thousands stationed here in the planet today for the possible counter attack.

A few hours later...

18:03 MT/military time

The men marching came back to the trenches as reports say that FTL signatures incoming were noticed from the hyperspace bands. I smiled at the rings of death. Cities turned into death traps. It's basically Verdun and no man's land all over again except it's everywhere. A world turned into a deathtrap. Two armies fighting with the same tech. This is gonna be a bloodbath. Trenches were lined half a kilometer from each other. The machine gunners tuned in their guns as they waited for the enemies.

I watched the skies with my binoculars. Then I saw white flashes in the sky. I then signaled for total warfare. Let the blood bath begin. Dropships began appearing out of the skies. Anti aircraft emplacements riddled the incoming horde with penetrators. A dozen dropships crashed killing everyone in it. Those who survived had some of their comrades killed by the fire of penetrators penetrating the hull of the ships. Everyone looked on as an enemy battalion was sent out to die. Tracers riddled the battlefield of red light. Thousands of rounds went flying as the enemies came out of their dropships.

Wait is this what the enemies have left? They couldn't even have at least a couple of divisions attack one fortress? Are they that cocky? Enemies crawled using the bodies of their comrades as cover. Hundreds of bodies littered the battlefield. Enemies continued to try to take a trench line but they couldn't even get through the barbed wire. Bodies stacked into the barbed wire as more and more tried to cross over it.

Corpses stacked against the barbed wire. Tracers continued whizzing by as enemies try to take the trench line. The bloodbath continued as the enemy soldiers began treating their wounded only to find out they are dead. Some of them just sat there in some catatonic state. They were gunned down. Blood turned the former lush greenery into nightmare fuel. Enemies finally got over the wire using the dead, and tried to take the first trench line but we're surprised on how fierce the defenders were. Shotguns were used as close quarters combat became a fight for survival. Bodies riddled the floor. Soldiers of both sides died with holes in their bodies large enough to stick a fist in.

Spent shotgun shells littered the trench as shotguns ripped the enemies into shreds. Large holes the size of large rocks littered the Bodies of the enemies of my soldiers. Brutal blugeonings were seen above the eagles nest. The battle continued as the last ones surrendered. Casualties were staggering.

Gestalt casualties: 4,632

Dead: 1,709

injured: 2,923

Enemy casualties: 3,800

Dead: 3,683

Injured: 117

Winners: Terran gestalt.

To be continued....