My boots clack loudly against the metal floor of the Dropship hangar aboard the USS Bullfrog. Before me, the dozen marines to be utilized in the mission stand in attention. Behind me walks the chaplain from the Catfish and the one for the Marines aboard the Bullfrog. It is 0500 hours but the Marines need this, especially since this is most likely the start of a hot conflict. I don't mind, this is proper, all their gear is ready and they are awake, so it's the least I can do.

  I stop in front of them and they all salute with their right hands as their helmets are gripped in their left. Their augmented nearly inhuman gazes all lock onto me and I return the salute under my trifold hat. I drop my hand and they do the same. The chaplains walk forward, the non-augmented one holding a tall pole with a crucified carpenter on the top. All the marines genuflect and remain there as their chaplain walks forward with a bowl in hand. He approaches a marine and digs his thumb into the bowl. He removes it and crosses the face of the marine with the coal black ash. From the top of their forehead to their chin, and just above their eyebrows to their temples. Two lines of black. The Chaplain speaks the same thing to each marine as he does his task,

  "Go forth with a heavy heart and heavy hand. Serve in hell to bring others to paradise. Be the sword and shield for those who cannot fight, may your burning fury chase away the night."

  The United States Navy and all military branches are secular and follow strict freedom of religion, much like the US government. The Marines are different. While they have full freedom of religion they are also the marines and near ritualistic traditions are a major part of their identity. Not all of these marines here are Christian, not that I know, but it's simple statistics, not everyone follows the same faith. This ritual is old and from the original war against the UNCA when religious identity was rather important when fighting against the Anti-Theist UNCA.

  All marines are spiritual though and this is due to their creation. The biological and mechanical modifications done to their bodies are a long process and quite agonizing, and it leaves them barely human anymore and it will leave permanent changes to their bodies for the rest of their lives. It is a sacrifice and only the special few who are willing to not only lay down their lives for their country to become marines, but those who are willing to sacrifice their very humanity at times. This ritual, despite its religious roots, is really just a reaffirmation of their vow and sacrifice to their country and the people within. The ritual is not common, it is only done prior to large operations or at the beginning of conflicts, it is not done at any other point. I've been told the Marines enjoy it as it helps calm their nerves, and the ash and words remind them of their resolve.

  With the ritual out of the way, the marines stand as the Chaplains move behind me. I fold my hands behind my back and stare down the now-crossed marines. I shout,

  "What are you?"

  They respond in thunderous response,

  "Marines!"

  "What do you do?"

  "Kill!"

  "What is your skin?"

  "Steel!"

  "What is your breath?"

  "Fire!"

  "Where do you serve?"

  "Hell!"

  "In your eyes what do your enemies see?"

  "Death!"

  "And what is your motto?"

  "KILL! FIGHT! DIE! OORAH!"

  I smile at the monsters clad in powered armor before me and speak while pacing in front of them,

  "My God, you lot are the most savage pack of rabid animals I've ever seen. Big, ugly, and crazed beyond belief. I wouldn't have it any other way. I am beyond proud to call you lot of shit sacks my marines. Now I want you to go down there and show those magical fairytale fucks what the United States Marine Corps is all about!

  You are the worst equipped, barely trained, and most blindly savage men and women humanity has ever produced, and you have fought, won, and slaughtered time and time again. You all are nothing more than death row inmates that we chopped up and put back together, and if you weren't on death row well that means the judge missed ya during sentencing. Now you are going to go down there, grab some fancy science boys, and get back here for grub. That is all you are worth to me...

  Now go my Devil Dogs, your leash has been cut."

  I turn on my heel to walk away as the Marine Captain gets in front of his men. I see the look on their faces as I turn away, wide toothy grins and eyes burning with insatiable lust and hunger. What a proper Marine should look like. The Captain bellows orders in the way only a Marine can and all of them put their helmets on their heads, each one hissing as they are sealed from the outside world. The Pigface Bascinet-styled helmets show no emotion, the only feature on them being the thin slits of dull red that make up the eternal optics of their helmets where eyeholes would be in the medieval helm they are modeled after.

  I board my shuttle and head back to the Catfish as I prepare to oversee the operation...

  I sit in my command seat and pull off my dress uniform coat. Underneath I am wearing the naval officer jumpsuit. all I need is my torso and neck exposed like this. I lean in the chair and the sockets lining my back and neck connect to internal cables that push into me and connect to my nervous system and all my implants. With a single thought, my vision disappears before I find myself in a state known as the battlespace. It's a 3D environment created through every camera and sensor in the fleet. This basically allows me to have a birds-eye view of all aspects of the battle. Its like an RTS game, but with real people and major stakes. In this state, I don't have to mentally observe information I just know it as it happens. My senses are all the sensors and cameras of the fleet, from the smallest camera drone to the biggest warship. I can send commands with just a thought. The only downside is the migraine I will have afterward, but I can deal with it...

  At 0600 hours the USS Terrapin, Bullfrog, 4 Teach-Class Destroyers, and 8 Attack drones equipped for anti-infantry all pull away from the main body of their fleet. They perform short burns just to increase their orbital position around the local lunar body by another KM. All ships then do a synchronized acceleration burn until their trajectory flings them from the orbit of the dead, white orb for a direct impact course with the planet being targeted, designated for this mission as "Alpha-1".

  At 0623 all ships have passed the horizon of the lunar body and have a direct line of sight with Alpha-1. All ships begin accelerating for 10 minutes before all propulsion is cut and they begin silently speeding toward the planet. All manned ships begin combat procedures at this time. All crew equip EVA suits and the atmosphere is drained from all internal compartments as a fire prevention action. Then the Artificial gravity is shut off, reducing the displacement profile of the ships both for reasons of detection and boarding deterrence.

  At 0920 all ships begin a retro burn, rotating 180 degrees and reducing their velocity rapidly, eventually reaching low enough velocity that Alpha-1 is able to capture them in its orbit.

  At 0930 all ships finish their burns and begin orbital corrections to reach a geostationary orbit over the target city designated "Alpha-2". Once geostationary orbit is achieved USS Bullfrog deploys its dropship which holds with the fleet. The USS Terrapin fires its designated orbital attack missiles which begin burning in retrograde until they are able to enter the atmosphere before slowing down utilizing drag. Once within the atmosphere and slow enough all missiles orient towards targets and begin atmospheric burns reaching Mach 3.

  At 0931 USS Bullfrog fires a drop pod, it is magnetically accelerated so it requires no retrograde burn. It begins entering the atmosphere preforming minor course corrections. The dropship alongside attack drones begins their retrograde burns.

  At 0935 all missiles strike their targets. A hardened tip allows all missiles to easily penetrate the masonry of the targets, dropping inside until a more sturdy structure is hit. Once the harder structure is struck, believed to be the foundation of targeted buildings the 3000lbs TNT equivalent warheads detonate. Pillars of dust climb into the sky in miniature mushroom clouds as the entirety of each targeted building is devastated. Chunks of masonry go flying everywhere destroying buildings and all windows for hundreds of meters are destroyed and there are confirmed dozens if not hundreds of fatalities, no system can tell if they are civilian or military in nature due to all bodies being mangled beyond belief.

  Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

  At 0940 USS Terrapin fires an anti-fortification round from one of its secondary 5-inch batteries. The gunnery officer, Ensign Brown, is logged stating,

  "Knock Knock"

  Upon firing the round. In less than 45 seconds the shell makes contact with the roof of the target building designated "Beta-1". The shell penetrates the roof and after traveling 1 meter inside it detonates creating a 15 meter across hole in the roof, larger than projections but greatly appreciated by the marines in the drop pod.

  At 0942 the drop pod sails through the hole in the ceiling and crashes through 2 floors before reaching ground level of Beta-1. All marines disembark...

  Master Sargeant Ezekiel Marrion leaps from the drop pod as the doors are explosively ejected. He and the 3 other members of his fire team disembark with dancers' grace despite their extreme weight. He had expected a hot drop but found only the broken bodies of those crushed by falling debris when the pod came through the ceiling. He notes for his future report that none are armed and appear to be servants or something.

  Out of habit, he checks the chamber of what at one point was an M2 Heavy Machine gun but now has been reborn as a heavy auto-rifle for the Marines. He had already chambered a round, but habits like this keep marines alive. Satisfied with his status he barks orders inside his helmet for the squad to move to the LZ as the dropship is coming. Distantly bells can be heard clanging, possibly warning bells, meaning the mission must continue quickly before this becomes an unsalvageable slaughter... for the enemy.

  Heavy armored footsteps can be heard thundering through the halls as the local forces start attempting to muster around the falling object. Master Sargeant Marrion waits around a corner as three enemies come rushing toward the drop pod with swords drawn. When they cross the threshold he and another marine send giant armored fists into the skulls of the soldiers. Their metal helmets crumple like paper and gore goes flying as their gray matter is splattered against the wall. The remaining soldier attempts to mount some form of counter but a PFC leaps onto them smashing in their chest and killing them instantly. With the first wave taken care of they follow the map in their helmets to the LZ.

  They meet no more enemies as they seem more occupied with guarding specific locations and the small courtyard is not one of those locations. There is a noble-looking alien there who isn't paying attention, a quick chop from the side of a marines hand severs their spine with little pain. Distantly the great roar of the dropships engines can be heard. Behind them, there are wet smacking noises followed by distant thunder as the ground attack drones begin sniping enemies guarding the exterior of Beta-1, the 25mm rounds practically exploding those they hit. Marrion then communicates to the dropship,

  "LZ secure, proceed as you wish."

  The large armored bulk of the craft roars overhead as it lowers close to the ground. To deploy the marines it has no need to land all the way, and it is quicker. The eight marines leap down, cracking the stone underneath them. The fireteam and new squadron share silent nods as they begin their respective tasks as the dropship pulls up to the clouds in order to provide some heavy overwatch. Master Sargeant Marrion and his fire team remain at the LZ. Two of his marines climb onto the nearby walls and the two on the ground find positions to fortify...

  "I want a big fucking hole in this wall!"

  Chief Warrant Officer Amanda Littoro shouts at her demo marines who immediately begin the process of blasting a hole. It was decided by her superiors it will be easier to create a straight line to the captured civilians rather than expecting non-augmented people to keep up with the marines through the winding halls. Unfortunately, there are too many for the Marines to just carry.

  The wall blows in with a thunderous bang and a cloud of dust is kicked up. The other side is a large corridor the size of some aircraft hangars. Moaning of those caught in the blast can be heard. The remaining armored soldiers on the other side are less fortunate, in the time it takes for them to realize that there are enemies in front of them the Marines have already picked targets and sent a 50 caliber round through their chosen. The integral muffler reduces the thunder but does not do too much overall within the walls of Beta-1.

  The marines enter the large room and breachers seal the other two entrances at either end explosively. Then they continue the work of blasting through walls, easily dispatching any who just so happen to be on the other side.

  They make it to the dungeon entrance of Beta-1 but they find 20 guards stationed around it, and some of them have fancy armor. The combat AI within their helmets reminds them that fancy armor usually means danger based on reports, but there is a large 2 story window looking into the room. CWO Littorro speaks into her comms,

  "We have 20 hostiles and a big window, I am requesting a janitor to sweep them up."

  The dropships pilot responds,

  "Aye Ma'am, moving into position, keep your heads down..."

  The roar of atmospheric engines is barely muffled by the walls of the building and a shadow looms over the huge window. The guards face the window confused before the glass shatters inward as the armored front of the dropship shatters the window. The chin mounted 25mm rotary cannon buzzes to life as hundreds of rounds are spewed out in a matter of seconds. Hunks of meat and metal go flying as the weapon shreds all those below, one of the mages manages to cause the stone floor to expand up as a sheild as those in front of him are turned into salsa. The 50mm cannon barks a single time from its location in the center of the 6 barrels of the 25mm cannon and the anti-concrete punches through the stone before exploding violently on the other side shattering the armor and liquefying the being inside. With all targets eliminated the dropship pulls back and returns to a higher altitude to continue its overwatch.

  With the guards gone the marines push forward and rip the dungeon entrance door off of its hinges with a single mighty hand. Half of the marines remain behind as the corridor they are in is not capable of being collapsed to block enemy reinforcements. The ones left behind break down the remminants of he magically created wall to create defensive barricades and set up defensive positions. As an afterthought an attack drone positions itself in a way so that it can see through the broken window providing extra overwatch.

  The remaining led by CWO Littoro descend the stairs into the dimly lit dungeon below...

  The interior is best described as a cave with cells carved into it. The halls are winding and have all kinds of switchbacks and akward bends. The marines follow their training, peeking corners, using drones and cameras to get a feel for a situation before any corner is turned. Only one contact is made with a sleeping guard who somehow slept through all of the sound upstairs, they will never wake up thanks to a mighty hand crushing their neck.

  All civilians are located in individual cells, their air reserves are quite low so the marines top them off. Everyone is accounted for and they follow all orders given by the marines. Diplo-Colonel Jamestown attempts to take operational command only to be silenced by Commodore Hollander who announces in this situation she is a civilian and the CWO is the one in command on the field. The Diplo-Colonel does not respond.

  On the surface enemy reinforcements attempt a seige on the dungeon entrance. The marines held there take the heads off of anything that peers around the corner. The attack drone did have to utilize and anti-tank missile due to the approach of a strange humanoid made entire of stone described as a "Golem" by the marine that first spotted it. After a few minutes of holding position the figure designated at the Inquisitor appears. While orders do state nothing should stand in the way of the rescue, Commodore Hollander did designate this figure to not be killed if possible. 50 caliber rounds were seemingly useless against an invisible sheild of some unknown manner surrounding the golden figure who began winding up some manner of attack.

  A 50mm grenade is fired from an underbarrel launcher, the specific ordinance being a flash or stun grenade. This staggered the Inquisitor as the grenade detonated on impact, this cause the attack to follow through and shoot wide, this reached the threshold for the combat AI on the attack drone to declare the target as too dangerous and began firing its main cannon rapidly at the Inquisitor. All rounds splash or shatter on the shield, so the drone fired a 75mm light anti-tank missile. The HEAT shell was largely absorbed by the shield, but a 2mm wide jet of the chemically formed penetrator does go through and strikes the Inquisitor in the lower abdomen. This causes the figure to fall over. The Marines allow other soldiers to drag the Inquisitor away as he screams in agony due to being nearly disemboweled by the HEAT stream.

  The dungeon group emerges from the dark and smoke is popped covering the civilians as the marines lay down suppressive fire. This continues until all civilians have made it across the corridor and then all marines pull down their explosively formed path to the LZ. The dropship begins landing after sweeping multiple battlements of enemies and destroying multiple exits.

  All board the dropship without incident or coming across another enemy. Once loaded the dropship takes off immediately only to come under fire from the injured Inquisitor who exited onto the exterior defensive structure. This is ignored as the dropship accelerates away much faster than the streams of flame the inquisitor produced....

  At 1020 the dropship has evacuated to a safe distance from Alpha-2 and Beta-1 for the rest of the operation to commence...

  Multiple soldiers attempt to restrain the Inquisitor as he howls in a mix of agony and rage at the insolent humans. A healer attempts to heal his still-leaking gut wound while he continues to scream at the sky. He eventually gets tired and slumps into a chair a servant had brought over so the healer can do their work. In the distance, a grand fortress can be seen, the grandest fortification of the frontier and a testament to the Eternal Kingdom's glory and authority over the nobles and commoners of the city. Inside of it is a single contingent of royal knights, only to be utilized as enforcers for the king, or at the whims of the Inquisitor.

  Then there is a flash. Just before the flash, through the divine eyes of the Inquisitor, he saw a pillar of flame, unbeknownst to him it was a 12-inch kinetic slug accelerated to just shy of relativistic speeds fired directly at the center of the fortress. The pillar of flame is the immediate interaction of the shell igniting the oxygen-rich air it touched as it practically appeared within the fortress, then there is a flash as a horrifying impact happens. Later this explosion would be rated at 1.85 MT.

  The flash is over in an instant and reveals what appears to be a volcanic explosion as a dust cloud races into the air and the fortress is reduced to rubble in a mere instant. A wave of invisible sound crashes over the city a few moments later, shattering the last of the glass and rupturing the ears of those closest to the fortress. The Inquisitor stands to stare in horror until there is another flash, identical but more distant as the top of a mountain is removed, this explosion was later rated at 2.012 MT.

  (my math for the explosion in after chapter comment)

  There are no words shared among those watching the apocalyptic strikes as there are none to say, but the message is clear,

  "Don't fuck with us again..."

  Thinking it is over the Inquisitor begins thinking of ways to move forward from this situation when a flaming object streaks over the city and toward the forest. The object flashes for a moment, the explosion is very quiet compared to the others, but when the initial flash is over a cascade of white-hot embers come raining over the forest, each one hot enough to melt through steel if they landed on it, this causes the green forest to catch fire.... and with that the humans are done for now.... and what's next... who knows?