Part 2: Regaining Lost Ground

	"Well this looks familiar."

	"Shut up Pfizer." ordered Powers. "Same setup as before?" offered
Fugi. "Negative. Pfizer and Capalski, keep your groups here and distract
them." Powers looked to their newest member. "Vanson, stay close to Pfizer
and try not to die. That goes for the rest of you too."

	"So what am I doing?" asked Fugi.

	"You're with me. We're going to sneak up that mountain and take that
gun emplacement."

	Fugi smiled under his armor. "Sounds like fun."

	Powers and Fugi crawled down the mountain about fifty meters. At that
point, the troops Jessie had left behind began to fire on the gun
emplacement. Fugi and her then proceeded to make a rapid movement to the left
side of the emplacement. Rock formations on that side of the slope would
provide cover to hide behind. The heavy blaster began to open fire on Powers'
unit. "We have to hurry." she said to Fugi.

	"Not too quickly though." His fingers brushed a thin tripwire
connected to a high explosive. He removed a pair wire clippers from his vest
and cut the wire. "Guess now we know why they don't guard this area to
heavily." commented Fugi.

	"Just be careful." warned Powers. She climbed over a large boulder
and nearly tripped on a wire herself. After she cut it, she moved on. It took
fifteen agonizing minutes for Powers and Fugi to navigate what had to be a
Neo mine field. Finally, they reached a position near the edge of the cliff
summit. The cannon was more or less parallel to their position. Though from
the Neos point of view, they were slightly elevated. "Small arms only, I want
that emplacement operational when we take it."

	"Could be tricky." said Fugi.

	"They don't pay us to do the easy stuff, they leave that for the
exotroopers." Fugi gave her a thumbs up. "Scope." She carefully targeted the
Neo that was sitting atop the cannon, the trigger man. Fugi, in the meantime,
took aim at the Neo at its base, the ammo loader. "Do you have him?" asked
Powers.

	"I couldn't ask for a better shot."

	"On three. One, two, three." Two shots were fired at the same time.
Two Neos were killed at the same time, leaving the heavy blaster unmanned.
Powers opened her comm line. "Pfizer, Capalski, get your people up here now!
Fugi, fire at will!" Powers quickly took aim at another Neo and fired. The
shot hit him dead center of the chest, bringing him down.

	Fugi nailed another one in the head. "My, that was pretty." he said.

	"Nothing fancy, just bring them down." ordered Powers. Pfizer's group
was about to reach the cliff summit. Powers hit another Neo just before they
went over the top.

	The Neos, in the meantime, were in a state of panic as their most
powerful weapon was neutralized. Anyone who tried to get near it was soon to
follow. To add to there troubles, Jumptroopers were now on the on the summit,
with another group just arriving . What was once a unit of twenty Neos, had
shrunk quickly in numbers to less than 10. "Retreat!" ordered one them.

	"They're running." said Fugi.

	"Good. Let's get down there." Powers and Fugi carefully made their
way down to the heavy blaster. "Report." demanded Powers.

	"Objective secure, all personnel present and accounted for."
responded Pfizer.

	"Good. Fuji, get me the Captain."

* * *

	"No casualties?" asked Crow.

	"No causalities." repeated Powers, a smile threatening to blossom
across her usually stoic face.

	"Wish I could say the same."

	"Who?" asked Powers.

	"Roberts and Jarenski. Roberts hit a Neo trip wire, Jarenski was near
him when he did it."

	"I'm sorry." said Powers.

	"I'm sure they are too." stated Crow. He gulped down the last of his
juice. "Uh, the food here sucks. I never realized how good we have it on the
Normandy."

	Powers gulped down more of the slop that passed for food at the
encampment. "I've been in places where this would be considered a gourmet
meal."

	Crow shook his head in disbelief. "That is a truly scary thought."

	Powers decided to change the subject. "Any idea what tomorrow's
agenda has in store?"

	"Nothing is confirmed you understand..." started Crow.

	"But?"

	"But, rumor is we try to breach the next level of defense, and its a
doosy."

	"How so?"

	"Two words, Powers: Omega Blasters."

	Powers dropped her fork. "So much for my appetite."

* * *

	As dawn broke over Mount Selene, the assault on the second level of
defense began. The second wave of defensive measures was set up as a ring of
artillery around the entire mountain. It consisted of numerous heavy blaster
sites and worst of all, a few omega blasters. Normally used to target ships
in orbit, these deadly weapons had been positioned on welded platforms that
allowed them to be fired down the mountain. To make things even worse, the
area between the first line of defense and the second was devoid of any cover
- literally a no man's land - and at an inclination that averaged at about 65
degrees. "All units, position check."

	"Powers here, we are in position." The remaining units checked in as
Powers noted the 50 meter distance between her and the Neo position.

	"Old fashioned charge, did I mention I don't like this?" asked Fugi.

	"Yes, you did. And I don't like it either, but orders are orders.
Keep your eye on the target and stay low, that's all I can tell you."

	"Y-yes, Sarge." replied Vanson. He sounded very nervous.

	"Easy kid, remember you're training and you'll do okay." Vanson
nodded. "All units stand ready."

	"Capalski, Pfizer, on the commander's mark." Powers' muscles tensed
in anticipation, it was time to jump from the trench and make the run. "GO!"

	Jumptroopers all along the line activated their jump-jets and sprang
from their positions. The Neos immediately opened fire and the slaughter
began. One of the omega blasters opened fire near their position. The blast
hit 20 meters from Jessie, but none the less knocked her off her feet.
"Sarge!" Vanson rushed to her, helping her up.

	"Keep moving!" ordered Powers.

	"As soon as you get..." Vanson was cut off as a heavy laser blast hit
him in the back, knocking him down the mountain. He was dead long before he
ever reached the bottom. Powers gritted her teeth and continued forward.
Ahead of her, she saw Young, Anderson, and Capalski get caught in an omega
blast. Whether or not there was any part left of them, Jessie could not tell.
She let loose a barbaric yell as she continued forward firing grenades and
laser fire from her rifle.

	The effort managed to cause a few causalities on the Neo's side, but
did little to stop the barrage of laser fire sent to halt them. Powers was 25
meters from the Neo defense line when the order to retreat came in. "Dammit!"
cursed Powers.

	Henderson, Pfizer, and Fugi turned to her for direction. "Hold
position!" she ordered.

	"But we were ordered to retreat Sarge." said Fugi.

	Powers knelt and extended her rocket launcher. "Just cover me long
enough for two shots! I want that Omega blaster!"

	"You got it!" said Fugi.

	Henderson was struck by a blast and went down. Pfizer rushed to him,
"He's still alive!"

	"Get him out of here!" ordered Powers. As Pfizer rushed down the
mountain, Jessie lined up her shot. She targeted the base of the blaster as
it's barrel turned toward her position. She pulled the trigger. The missile
stuck, shredding the hydraulics turning the barrel. It stopped. Jessie
quickly reloaded and targeted the same spot. When the second missile struck
the large cannon, it set off its power cells. The back of the cannon blew out
and the barrel tilted forward and snapped of at the cannon's base, rolling
down the mountain. Jessie quickly retracted her launcher. She looked to Fugi,
"Run! Triple time it!" The cannon tumbled and rolled, finally bouncing into
the air and stabbing into the ground at Power's previous position. She and
Fugi, in the meantime, were setting new speed records as they raced away from
said position. The cannon lazily tiled over on its side, slid a few dozen
feet, and stopped.

* * *

	"Henderson will make it."

	"Good, you're dismissed Pfizer." He turned and walked away. Jessie
surveyed the camp's infirmary. It was as full of activity as the battlefield
had been. She had lost four good men today and another had been hurt. It was
not a good day for Jessie, and looking at the scene laid out before her, it
had not been a good day for anyone else. But at least Henderson, Fugi, and
Pfizer made it. She could take some comfort in that.

	"Hey Sarge!"

	"Hello Dagger." Private Dirk Dagger stood face to face with her, a
large blackened area covering the right shoulder piece of his armor. "Close
call out there today?" asked Powers.

	Dagger brushed the chard section of his armor. "Just a scratch,
Sarge. Hey, I heard it was you that got that omega blaster, true?"

	"Yes."

	Dagger smiled broadly, "Maybe they'll give you a medal, huh?"

	"I'd rather have back the four men I lost."

	Dagger's smile faded. "Wouldn't we all, Sarge? Wouldn't we all?"

	"How did your group do today?" asked Jessie.

	"We lost quite a few, Lt. Mengele wasn't happy."

	"And the real kicker is, we get to do this again tomorrow."

	Dagger shrugged. "At least now we have some cover to hide behind."

	Jessie raised an eyebrow. "Take your victories where you can find
them?"

	Dagger shrugged again. "Basically. What else can we do?" Dagger
walked away to attend to his own business.

	Jessie took one last look at the field of the dying and the dead
which lay before her and mused, "What else indeed?"

To be continued...