The Last War

Chapter 1: Deployment

1335 hours, 17th July 2020 (Military Calender) /
Fort Shire, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

“You and your team are being deployed to the United States. More specifically Ohio to a city called Fairview.” Lieutenant Colonel Fitzgerald briefed the team of Special Air Service operators as various members lounged about inside the briefing room.

Private Sam (Wizard) Andrews was balancing the tip of his Bowie Knife on his finger, and he was doing a good job at it as the over sized knife hadn’t moved an inch in the last minute. He had a strange obsession with sharp objects.

Corporal Jason (Hot Rod) Swartz had a thing for explosives, and would get a hard on whenever the word ‘explosion’ was mentioned. He was currently inspecting his Xm25 airburst grenade launcher whilst simultaneously listening to the mission briefing.

Corporal Sarah (Prytor) Parks was propped up on a crate, cleaning her sniper rifle with a cloth. Her helmet was off, revealing her dirty blonde hair, longer than regulations would allow, but her superiors ignore this, her pale skin, along with her steady unwavering hazel brown eyes made her look like an angel until she got her hands onto a rifle. She had remarkable abilities with her sniper rifle. She makes it look like an art. Once she gets her hands onto a sniper rifle, the sweet, innocent looking girl is replaced by a cold, ruthless killer.

Lieutenant Joshua (Boss) Shepherd was the only one standing facing the Lieutenant Colonel with his piercing blue eyes, intelligence and courage. There was a large, barely visible, horizontal scar running down his cheek from his right eye to the corner of his lips and stood at a height of 1.86m. He was leaning on his weapon of choice, a Sig Sg 550.

“The brass wants extra security on the Secronom building. The building however, is the Secronom International Headquarters, so there’s a low risk of the Grenoble Incident happening. We want you to extract Dr. Adler, he’s Nerotonin Project’s supervisor if anyone can help us combat this menace it’s him. You are to evacuate as many other scientists as you can, but Adler is your main priority. You will be dropped off at the local Army depot. There are two companies of Army troopers stationed there. High command is also sending in a battalion of Marines under the command of a Lieutenant Colonel to hold the city.” He continued on.
“I would send more with you, but all of our forces are tied up fighting in Europe, France the surrounded countries have already fallen to this..... Foe” Fitzgerald spoke with a solemn tone. This shocked the entire team assembled in the briefing room.
“It’s only been a few weeks, how could anything overrun such a large area of space, not to mention the heavy amounts of Army units stationed in Europe.” Lieutenant Shepherd said incredulously

“Conventional military tactics don’t work on them, shooting to wound and demoralise isn’t effective, disable the legs they crawl to you, they don’t care about casualties, they just keep coming like a horde of mindless animals. Reports of cannibalism are flooding in, it appears that these creatures are hell bent on eating our flesh, sounds familiar doesn’t it? Zombies, that’s what they are. It is now shooting to kill.” The colonel explained. “You leave for the States in a week, I would say goodbye to any loved ones, and you might be staying over there for a while” he added as the team slowly filed out of the briefing room. No one knew how right he was, no one knew that many of them wouldn’t be seeing their homeland again.

OOO

1525 hours, 17th July 2020 (Military Calender) /
Marine Corps Base Quantico, Prince William County, Virginia, United States

Deep in Southern Prince William County Virginia, covering 260 kilometres squared, stood the Marine Corps Base Quantico, the ‘headquarters’ of the UNSC Marine Corps. The top brass of the UNSC Marine Corps were normal occupants along with a division of veteran, battle hardened marines. Within the confines of the Marine Corps Base, in a briefing room, two male figures sat.

One of the men was wearing military fatigues, Marine combat fatigues to be precise. On one of the men, on his left breast it said CHU while his right breast had the words MARINES stencilled proudly. His left arm had an insignia of a silver oak leaf, identifying himself as a Lieutenant Colonel.
The other older man was wearing the UNSC Marine Corps Dress uniform. The uniform consists of a black jacket and trousers and a pair of white gloves. With a large number of medal ribbons are worn on the left breast. Further observation shows four silver stars on the epaulettes with the UNSC Eagle is displayed on metal discs worn on the collar. The older man was sitting behind a desk, with several sheets of paper sprawled about on it. His name plate red GEN. CALHOUN.

“The 701st Infantry Battalion will be deploying to Fairview, Ohio, to defend the city from any attacks. Ever since the Grenoble Raid, HIGHCOM has been getting many intelligence reports on this new enemy. The UNSC is now in a state of war. UNSC Army units are being scrambled to Europe on what’s being called the Dead Frontier. France and its surrounded countries have already fallen. Last reports that came in suggested that mainland Britain is now under siege, with reports of this new infection popping up everywhere.” Lieutenant Colonel Chu was shocked; no enemy in human history had managed to conquer so much in a few weeks. “What’s more, our battle tactics and plans are useless. Guerrilla tactics aren’t as effective. There are no supply lines for us to hit, no base, shooting to wound is ineffective, we can’t bomb their cities or else we’ll just be bombing what’s left of ours. I’ll be honest with you Chu, it looks real bleak from where I’m standing” General Calhoun admitted. “You’re battalion will be supplemented by a squadron of Sparrowhawks; Talon Swarm, a flight of Pelicans, a Vulture Gunship and an F-99 Wombat. It turns out that air superiority is the most effective way to deal with these... zombies. Alert your men, you will be departing for Fairview in three weeks. Good luck” the General concluded. As they both stood up, Colonel Zyrok saluted to General Calhoun, who returned the salute.

OOO

1930 hours, 17th July 2020 (Military Calender) /
North Strathfield, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Sarah trudged towards her parent’s house through the cold bitter wind, her hands in the pockets of her jacket. She exhaled a mist of warm air, moving in order to stay warm, even though her coat gave her ample protection against the elements. She thought she was alone, walking home in the darkness in civilian clothing, but still armed with her bowie knife tucked under her coat. It wasn’t until a hand clasped over her mouth, and an arm clasped over her throat, cutting off her oxygen supply, effectively choking her that she realised that she wasn’t alone. Years of training and drills still couldn’t suppress her surprise as she tried to scream, before the training kicked in. Before she could retaliate however, the person relinquished their hold on her, saying
“My, My, Sarah, you are getting sloppy” the voice said. Pivoting on her heel, unsheathing her bowie knife and adopting a fight stance, she finally got a good look on her assailant. “If I had chloroform, you would’ve been out cold by now” the figure spoke before stepping into the light. She was greeted by a rather large individual with a clean shaven head, tanned skin spoke up. He was dressed in a uniform normally worn by a general in the UNSC Army. Sarah reckoned the figure immediately, Brigadier General Daniel Parks of the UNSC Army, commandant of the 22nd Infantry Brigade.
“Daddy, don’t scare me like that” Sarah pouted, sheathing her knife before hugging her father, burying her face into his chest.
“Sorry honey, just keeping you on your toes” he replied before hugging her back. When the two finally finished their embrace, the father and daughter couple walked home together conversing as they did so.
“So I got my deployment orders, straight down from the brass. Orders say that I’m to move my army brigade to the US and support the North America CENTCOM in Georgia. A gross misallocation of valuable military hardware and well trained men in my book.”

OOO

2230 hours, 24th July 2020 (Military Calender) /
Outpost Vigilant, Cape Fear, North Carolina, United States

Standing guard on the coast of America, Outpost Vigilant was just one of the many strong points that the UNSC set up as defensive forts. Each Fort had an extensive series of RIM-66 Standard Surface to Air missiles. These missiles could destroy aircraft and naval vessels in one hit. As per the Hammer Down Protocol, these forts will fire upon any ship or aircraft which fails to identify themself, and or commit what is deemed to be hostile acts. Within the command centre of one of these outposts a dilemma was taking place.
“Sir I have an unidentified aircraft approaching our airspace” reported a young radar operator.
“Have them identify themselves and comply with the Hammer Down Protocol” the senior officer ordered.
“Unidentified aircraft, identify yourself immediately. You have one minute to comply or you will be shot down.” The comms Officer stood with a steady, unwavering voice. “Sir they are not responding to any of our hails” he reported back.
“Then shoot them down, as per the Hammer Down protocol” as he nodded to the weapon ops. The weapons operator nodded as he went along with targeting the aircraft, before letting loose a deadly rocket going at Mach 3. The missile hit its target and exploded in a glorious fireball as the stricken plane crashed towards the ground.
“Sir the crash site of the aircraft is scatter at Grid 04-95-26. Shall I dispatch the 1st Quick Reaction Force to quarantine the area?” questioned the radar officer to which the commanding officer nodded.

OOO

2250 hours, 24th July 2020 (Military Calender) /
Grid 04-05-26, Cape Fear, North Carolina, United States

As the small convoy of four humvees arrived at the scene, they got a good look at the crash site. The mangled body of the aircraft laid still, the fire still raging about. As the UNSC Army troopers exited their vehicles a moan sounded from the burning remains of the plane, followed by several more moans as bodies within and around the crash site stirred. Some of the soldiers had visible shock written on their faces as did the Lieutenant in charge. The Lieutenant’ face hardens up as he remembers he had a job to do and an example to set for his men. For all of the UNSC personnel assembled this was their first fight with the undead, and for most it was also their last fight against the undead.
“Get into formation go, go, go” a he barked as he shouldered his M16A3. The platoon of Army troopers got into their various shooting positions. Some were crouched behind their humvees, propping their weapons on the hood, others where fidgeting with their weapons, making last minute checks. The defensive line of humvees and army soldiers had a semi circle shaped formation around the still burning crash site. The Humvee gunners were scanning the area with their mounted Fm Mags.

“We got a job to do, and it is to wipe the floor with these... zombies. We will give them a belly fulla’ lead and a pool of their own blood to drown on. HOOARH” he shouted, giving inspiration to his men. Noticing that some of the corpses had been getting themselves off the ground, he shouldered his M16 and fired off a burst of machinegun fire at one of the infected stumbling to the soldier’s defensive line. Before a hail of bullets erupted from the defensive line as muzzle flashes lit up the night.

What the soldiers did notice was that all of these zombies that they were fighting had charred or burnt off skin or the fact that they were on fire. Many of them couldn’t believe what was more absurd the fact that it was on fire, and still fighting or the fact that the dead had come to life. A trooper aimed his M16 and fired off two three-shot bursts at one of the charred zombies stumbling towards him, and to his shock and horror, it keep on walking despite six of the 5.56mm NATO rounds piercing through its body. He raised his assault rifle and fired another burst, which did finally put the creature down. The gunner of a humvee spray his machinegun across the field, as another charred zombie went down in a hail of gunfire. To his left a burning zombie was downed in a flurry of bullets; a product of concentrated fire from a humvee’s FM Mag and a squad of troopers.
These troopers were inexperienced in dealing with the undead. Another Charred zombie took a point blank shot from a Washington 1100 as it fell to the ground bleeding from multiple wounds in its chest, before getting up again, much to the dismay of the shot gunner.

“Watch the left, watch the left” a frantic soldier cried out.
“These things just don’t die” another voice cried out.
“Bryce is down. OH GOD, they’re eating him, they’re eating him alive” a soldier said disgustedly.
A blood curling scream erupted from the east side of the defensive line. The lieutenant looked over, before noticing that it was already swarming with the infected. One of the soldiers was screaming his head off as four zombies; a burning one and three charred ones, gnawed away at his body, they seemed to have trouble with the armoured vest however. The flames from the burning zombie were blistering his skin, and wherever there was contact, his fatigues would melt into his skin. It was a gruesome sight; watching his own men devoured before his eyes. Several other of his men suffered from the same fate, overwhelmed by sheer numbers.

“We are being overwhelmed, we need to retreat now. We cannot hold our current position.” An NCO shouted.
“Pull back, all forces, disengage and get the hell out of here” the Lieutenant commanded as he and the remaining soldiers jumped into the last humvee and sped away leaving behind three quarters of its original task force. The zombies howled and screeched at the fleeing vehicle, before turning back to feast on the corpse of the human soldiers. The infestation has spread to the United States.


UNSCDF: The United Nations Security Council Defence Force was formed in the wake of the War on Terror; the United Nations needed a peace-keeping army, capable of protecting humanity from any threats that could potential hamper the advancement of mankind. Formed in 2013 at the UN security Committee in Los Angeles, all UN countries agreed to form a single body, the UNSCDF would merge all the militaries of the world together into one military entity, thus the UNSC Armed Forces comprise of all nationalities. The UNSCDF is split into four main branches; UNSC Navy, UNSC Air Force, UNSC Marine Corps, and UNSC army.

UNSC Navy: The UNSC Navy is responsible for all naval actions and is in charge of ALL naval assets. The UNSC Navy has a large number of naval vessels; its roles include refit and refuel stations for Air Force vehicles, costal bombardment, and the delivery of UNSC Marines.

UNSC Air Force: The UNSC Air Force is the aerial division of the UNSCDF. The UNSC Air Force acts as Aerial defence and support force, primarily deploying from UNSC navy vessels or from pre-established air bases. The UNSC Air Force works in close conjunction with the UNSC Army and the UNSC Marine Corps. The UNSC Air Force utilizes aircraft such as the Falcon troop transport, the Sparrowhawk, the Vulture gunship, the Short Sword bomber, and Pelican heavy troop carrier. In the outbreak of the N4 virus, the Air Force seen as the most effective way of dealing with the hordes of infected with minimal loss of life, had their funding boosted to 400% of its original funding.

UNSC Marine Corps: The UNSC Marine Corps is responsible for land-based military operations, primarily land invasions, as well as the protection of naval vessels and installations from attack. Well funded and well trained the men and women of the Marine Corps was the first military organisation deployed to stop, quarantine and eradicate the N4 outbreak.

UNSC Army: The UNSC Army is a land based fighting force; they primarily deploy from pre established bases, and thus do not operate alongside the UNSC Navy. The UNSC Army’s primary role is garrison and defence, and is therefore much larger than the UNSC Marine Corps. The UNSC Army uses different equipment and weaponry, than the UNSC Marine Corps, As the Marine Corps gets more funding and more advanced equipment. The UNSC Army took the brunt of the N4 Infected Assaults as they were caught with their literal pants down, many of the UNSC Army bases were overrun within the first few months of the outbreak.

HIGHCOM: UNSC High Command, often abbreviated as HIGHCOM, is the highest operational command of the United Nations Security Council and is ultimately in charge of all personnel, equipment, and facilities used by the UNSCDF. HIGHCOM has been the source of all strategy and information about war from combating African Warlords to the N4 virus. Its headquarters is located in Sydney, Australia in the HIGHCOM Facility Bravo-6

Ahhh, yes! A new start to an amazing story. Keep up the great work like always Pry. =D

Sorry, I think your writing has backslidden a fair bit.
I understand inspiration coming from DF, but blatantly ripping off locations?
Not like there aren't random name generators on the net.

And a missile going 1032 meters/second or 2,035 miles an hour?
Y U BREAK LAWS OF PHYSICS?
Use a wee bit of skill next time, please.

ben, there's no really the need to get so technical in this piece of fiction. It's not like that you could sit down and write something for a period of time. This type of criticism is easy to say and judge. But when you're the one doing it, trust me, it takes effort and skill. If you were planning on giving constructive feedback, that approach was incorrect because you were stating all the wrongs and not how one can improve. Anyone can say "use skill", but can they detail what "skill" is or define it?

When she asks how to improve her writing style, then I'll elaborate, but it is up to her to swallow her pride and admit she needs help.
I don't give constructive feedback unless it is asked for, or explicitly desired by the writer/author in question. Also, that was not a review, nor constructive feedback, that was an opinion. Even if did sit down and write something in a certain period of time for an excercise in writing( if that's what you are referring to) it would never end up here. I could point you to a dozen different definitions of skill in a dozen different encyclopaedias, does that mean I or even you know what skill is, other than what is said in a book? You don't mention the perfections when you want someone to improve, you mention the faults. Part of the satisfaction of being an author is discovering how to circumvent those faults, if they are not detailed in a 'critcal review'.

Spoiler:

Ben. The locations are all real locations in real life, for historical accuracy. Also where does it state a missile going at 1032m/s or 2035 miles an hour. The only missle speed in the chapter is the RIM-66 Standard Surface to Air missiles going at Mach 3, which is slower than in real life hwich goes at Mach 3.5. Also ben, don't try and bring up physics. You don't even physics

Chapter 2: Doctors and Battle Plans

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Dead Frontier and Halo belong to Neil Yates and 343 Studios respectively.

1030 hours, 29th July 2020 (Military Calender) /
Fort Pastor, Fairview, Ohio, United States

As the Pelican touched down on one of the landing pads of Fort Pastor, military personnel were scrambling about inside the small base. Fort Pastor is the only UNSC Army base in Fairview. Located deep within the city, it is a relatively small base, only enough room to comfortable house 2 companies of Army soldiers. Boss and the rest of his team got off the Pelican after waving their goodbyes to the pilot. The team had already gone over and reviewed every aspect of the briefing during the flight to the US. Army personnel were scrambling about, reinforcing the outer perimeter of the base. News that the infection had spread to the United States circulated around the troops, to which High Command has confirmed had everyone worried. All of the military personnel knew how fast the infection overwhelmed the European garrisons.

Fort pastor had two entrances, the South Entrance and the Eastern Entrance each had a chain link gate, with a 2.5 metre high brick wall serving as the outer wall. She suspected that when the infection hits, the meek defences will be woefully inadequate. There was however, a single M1 Abram tank sitting by the Southern Entrance. The firepower the tank could provide would be extremely useful. The base personnel were stacking crates, welding metal sheets together to be used to reinforce the wall. The Southern Gate was being barricaded off; the gate was shut with empty crates stacked in a uniform manner behind it. Behind the crates, which was behind the gate, parked an APC, Armoured Personnel Carrier.

Prytor observed a young looking soldier approach them; his rank slide indicates that he was a Private.
“Delta squad?” he asked raising an eyebrow.
“Well what other four man squad are you looking for in this exact location at this exact time?” Wizard said sarcastically.
“I’ll take that as a yes. Commander Lancer has been briefed about your mission. If you follow me, I’ll show you your quarters” the private rattled on, as he started to make his way to one of the buildings. Boss nodded at his team and jerked his head in the direction that the private was heading to as the fire team wordlessly picked up their bags and followed the private.

OOO

1040 hours, 29th July 2020 (Military Calender) /
Fort Pastor, Fairview, Ohio, United States

“What is this?!” Prytor thundered. “There’s three beds, and there is four people here.” She said in disbelief as she stared at the three men, laying in various states of comfort on their ‘claimed’ beds.
“This is the only spare suite. Guess you’re gonna’ have to share” the private explained, smirking a bit at the end comment as he exited the room.
“Don’t you worry Sarah, You can share a bed with me and my BOOMSTICK” Hot Rod said smugly as he grabbed his crotch to emphasize the last word.
Prytor’s face made a look of disgust and shock.
“Yep I’m taking the couch” she said quickly before shaking her head in disgust. The moment she was out of the room, the three men burst into fits of laughter.
“Man, did you see the look on her face?” Boss gasped out in-between his fit of laughs.
“She was so disgusted” added Hot Rod.
“She was super disgusted” squealed Wizard.
“I can still hear you.... cunts” Prytor shouted in from the other room. This however only served to fuel the men’s laughter.

OOO

1300 hours, 29th July 2020 (Military Calender) /
Grid 19-18-37, Fairview, Ohio, United States

“Aw c’mon Prytor, don’t be such a sook” Wizard playfully jabbed her arm. “It was all just fun and games” he tried again. The other two people in the car ruefully shock their heads. Prytor however, sat with her arms crossed, with her customized M21 Sniper rifle [A/N: Also, who wants customised weapons? PM me. CONDITION: MUST EXIST IN DF, CAN NOT BE A 120/DUSK/CORPSE/MINIGUN. Thanks.], in between her legs as she sat in the humvee. The entire fire team was covered from head to toe in full body armour, and decently armed; they left all their heavy weapons back in base, and only carried their primaries and sidearms. They were on their way to evacuate Dr. Adler in the Secronom International Headquarters.

“There it is boys and girl. Secronom International Headquarters, and a whole lot of protestors.” Boss said, disgustedly. He had every reason to do so; he had lost friends in the recent weeks due to the infection. The skyscraper stood out from amongst its brethren. Taller than most, bigger than most, the words SECRONOM CORP. Stood proudly on top of the skyline surrounded by high fences with various warnings. In the main entrance, in front of the first checkpoint, a few dozen angry protestors stood, demanding that Secronom shut down for its crimes against humanity.

As the humvee drove up to a checkpoint, the security guard waved them in, ignoring standard procedures before going back to calming down the crowd. Driving the large armoured vehicle up to the front, the heavily armed and armoured soldiers stepped out of the military vehicle, weapons holstered. Several civilian onlookers looked on in fear and quickly quietened down, afraid that Secronom hired these soldiers to disperse them. Their fears were quickly alleviated as the armoured soldiers moved into the building and the noise level rapidly increased to its former level.

OOO

1310 hours, 29th July 2020 (Military Calender) /
Secronom International Headquarters, Fairview, Ohio, United States

“Fucking protestors” Wizard complained. He was never good around crowds; he had the most trouble interacting with civilians.
“We’re here for Dr. Alder.” Boss said to a secretary, ignoring the constant bickering of Wizard. The secretary was clearly worried on why four armed Special Forces operators was asking for Dr. Adler, like every other human being on the planet had heard of the Grenoble Raid, and wondered if the soldiers were here in response to the Incident.
“Um, yeah, sure he’s on the nineteenth level, in his office.” The professionalism kicked in over fear in the secretary.
“Thanks” Boss smiled back at the secretary before silently ordering the fire team off into the elevators with a hand gesture.

“Can this elevator go any slower?” Wizard complained.
“Well if you lay off on the pudding, it might just go a little faster” Prytor added.
“But I like my pudding” he whined back. The elevator chimed, signifying that it has reached the nineteenth floor, as the soldiers filed out; Prytor’s keen eyes were able to spot a sign pointing towards Dr. Adler’s office. Moving up to the door, Boss moved up to knock on the door, while the other three operatives took up positions around the door due to the training ingrained in every one of them. Boss knocked on the door several times before a soft voice of Scottish descent answered him.
“Come in” the voice said. Turning the doorknob, Boss led the team into the room. The room was a rectangle ‘box’, but a large, box. Several expensive looking leather couches surrounded a coffee table; one side of the room was a massive glass window giving a panoramic view of the cityscape below. Their attention however was on the man in his early sixties, in business attire, sitting behind a desk, furiously typing away at his computer.
“Dr. Adler, Lieutenant Shepherd, 105th Special Air Service Regiment, 2nd Squadron, Free-Fall Troop, Delta Squad. I’m under orders to bring you to a secure facility where you will be able to continue your research on the Nerotonin-4 Virus.” Boss announced to the frail looking scientist.
“Yes that’s all well and good, but I am not going anywhere without my family, AND I have to copy the research files that I have which would take a few hours at the least due to the nature and size of the files. So until you promise a passage for my family, I am not going anywhere” Dr Adler replied fiercely. Boss sighed, ‘This is gonna’ complicate things’ he thought to himself.
“Fine, I’ll contact my superiors and see what I can do” Boss exasperated. “But I suggest you start copying your files now” he added in a foreboding tone.

OOO

1330 hours, 29th July 2020 (Military Calender) /
Secronom International Headquarters, Fairview, Ohio, United States

“I’ve just contacted my superiors, our destination; the CDC headquarters in Georgia just got overrun, by the infected.” Boss spoke calmly, ignoring the fact that the infection had just overrun an entire state. “Our orders now are to aid the Secronom Inc security guards to defend this location, so I am happy to announce that you will not have to be evacuated.” He spoke autonomously before turning and exiting the room, leaving Dr. Adler in his thoughts.
“Alright Delta squad, we now have to defend this location. We are to link up with Lieutenant Colonel Chu and his Marine Infantry Battalion and defend the city. We are also now under his command. Even though we are a Black Ops squad, we will still do our duty as soldiers. Prytor get schematics or blue prints of the Secronom compound, Wizard, see if you can get any info on the Secronom guards; background, equipment, firepower, anything. I have a feeling that we are going to need them. I will be getting on the horn with Commander Lancer and let him know of the recent developments.” Boss explained, planning out the course of action over the next few days. “When we get back to Fort Pastor, I’ll start planning everything out”

OOO

1430 hours, 29th July 2020 (Military Calender) /
Fort Pastor, Fairview, Ohio, United States

“Sir, I’ve gotten a blueprint of the entire building and the land around it” Prytor said, handing to Boss the blueprints. “I managed to sneak a glance at it, suffice to say, the place isn’t a fortress. We’re gonna’ have a tough time defending it from a full scale siege” she added concernedly.
“Yeah, but the security guards are surprising packing a lot of heat for security guards. Each of the security guards are armed with P90s, and Glock 17s, with Kevlar body armour. With most of them ex-military or ex-law enforcement, so they have a fair bit of training. There is also forty security guards in the Secronom compound during the day, but only fifteen at night.” Wizard countered, impressed by the security guards.
“The Secronom building is surrounded by a high fence, with three entrances in total; the main entrance, the docking bay, and a secondary entrance. There is a balcony on the third floor, overlooking the main entrance, which will be an excellent vantage point for you Prytor. The loading bay might be a problem with such a large entrance, but we could just close the gate. The secondary entrance however, doesn’t have a gate, but is large enough for a car to pass through. Should, or when the infection hits Fairview, I want the Secondary entrance plugged up and barricaded ASAP along with the main entrance.”

OOO

1500 hours, 9th August 2020 (Military Calender) /
Alpha Base, Fairview, Ohio, United States

Situated on the vast farmlands that surrounded the city of Fairview, the base could be seen for kilometres. Fixed gun emplacements, rows of razor wire, armed checkpoints and pre-fab structures surrounded by a ring of sensors, crewed by four hundred battle ready marines. This was Alpha Base. The main highway ran directly beside the base, about ten metres from the edge of the base. Two platoons were also setting up a secondary base. Outpost Sierra, designed to be a self sufficient base of operations just on the very edge of the city. In the Command Centre of the fortress, several officers were standing around a widescreen conversing.

“Our F-99 Wombat has detected a mass of foot mobiles heading our way from several directions. There is too many to count.” A man said. He had a tanned complexion with a strong brow, his name tag on his left breast read GREENE whilst his rank slide had two silver bars, indicating the rank of CAPTAIN. He was known to the men as the man, who displayed no nonsense and would always get the job done, his nickname was NOVABLADE.
“Zoom in on the picture” another man spoke up. His breast read CHU, and had the bearings of a Lieutenant Colonel. A decorated, and illustrious leader, despite his young age. He always looked after his men, and made sure that each of them made it home, one way or another. The Lieutenant Colonel had adopted the name of ZYROK. “Yes, just as I thought” he said deep in thought. “The N4 infection is coming. Where are they concentrated at?”
“They are massing on the highway, east of us, slowly moving forward. There is another group, smaller but still formidable enough to be a threat, heading in from the South. We don’t have the firepower and man power to fight them on two fronts. At the rate they are moving at. The Eastern horde will be on us in about ten days, and the Southern horde on us within six. There is however, a place where we can hold off them main zombie force on the highway.”
The image of the wide screen changed to that of the highway, spanning over a creek.

“If we blow the bridge, they will be forced into the creek and depression, the downside is that the depression can be scaled and the creek isn’t even that deep, given enough time, even the creatures as dumb as the zombies can climb the slopes and paddle across the creek.” The tactics analyst explained. The analyst had STEVENS stencilled onto his BDU, and a rank slide of a silver bar, indicating that he was a First Lieutenant. To the marines the tactics analyst was RABBIT, due to his speed in completing the obstacle course.
“Find, that’ll do” Zyrok sighed. “I want a carpet bombing run on the main horde on the highway and 1st and 2nd Platoon on that bridge to hold out for as long as possible and give them a bloody nose. When they retreat, they should blow the bridge. Have the Sparrowhawks run some strafe runs on the smaller horde coming in from the South.” Zyrok ordered as the men scrambled to issue the orders. “Also, alert the local Army garrison. Let them mop up the remains of the smaller horde after our Sparrowhawks are done with it.” He added with a slight grin.

A/N:Yes i know its boring, not worth the wait, bla bla bla. Took a while longer than I had hoped. Doing the Codex was actually quite hard and a long work. Also blame school for the delays in updating. It is quite short, I know, but how did you like it? Building up the tension. Don’t worry, next chapter will be explosions and bullets and it will be longer than most.


M4A1: The M4A1 is a gas operated, magazine fed, selective fire, shoulder fired weapon with a telescopic stock. It is the shorter, lighter and better variant of the M16, allowing its user to better operation in Close-quarters combat. The Marine Corps had the M4 to include a flat-top receiver unit for mounting optical sights and night vision devices, and a rail adapter system for attaching flashlights and laser targeting systems. The specifications for the M4A1 are that it uses the 5.56x45mm NATO round in a 30-round STANAG magazine, weighs in at 3.4 kg, has an effective range of 550 metres with and has a muzzle velocity of 910m/s. Every Marine mounts the ACOG x 4 sights on top of their M4s for more accurate firing, and a vertical forward grip. This is the service rifle of the UNSC Marine Corps.

SG 550 (SIC 550): The SG 550 was originally an assault rifle manufactured by Swiss Arms, capable of fully automatic fire. However, in the advent of the N4 Outbreak, the UNSC Marine Corps had modified the weapons into a single fire rifle. With a light weight of 4.1kg, it utilizes the 5.56x45mm NATO rounds, capable of sending a bullet down range at 911m/s. It uses the standard 30 round STANAG magazines. It has been modified by the USNC Marine Corps to be its Designated Marksmen Rifle (DMR).

MP5A2: Chambered to use the 9mm pistol rounds, made by the Heckler and Koch weapons manufacturing company, the MP5 is capable of sending 800 9mm rounds per minute absolutely demolishing its target. Thousands of these weapons were already manufactured by the time of the Infection outbreak; the UNSC Marines has adopted the Mp5 as its standard Sub machinegun, using 30 round clips and weighs in at a light 2.5 kg.

USP: The USP is a semi-automatic pistol developed and manufactured by Heckler and Koch Weapons Company. Weighing in at about 860 grams, it is the ideal sidearm, utilizing the .45 ACP rounds in a 12 bullet magazine; it has an effective range of about 50 metres. There was no reason not to make the USP the standard sidearm of all UNSC forces.

Machete: Recently introduced as the standard issue close quarters weapon for the UNSC Marine Corps. In the face of the new and terrifying N4 infection, it was noticed that combat knives were almost useless against the hardened carapace of some of the deadlier but common strains of N4. Thus a large, sharper blade was required. Its blade is made of high carbon steel, an anti-flash, non reflective titanium carbide coating, edge coated for corrosion and rust resistance.

Mossberg 500 (Mannberg): The Mossberg 500 is a pump action; magazine fed, weapon. The Mossberg is deployed in urban situations where the tight spaces are conducive to the shotgun’s wide spray. In the face of the N4 virus, shotguns were one of the most effective tools in cleansing the undead. It has become a favourite in frontline troops for its immense stopping power and user friendliness. It utilizes the 12 gauge shotgun shell and can hold 8 rounds. It has a range of 40 metres, a muzzle velocity of 403 m/s and weighs in at a light 3.4 kg.

M249 SAW (FM Minimi): An American version of the Belgian made FN Minim, a light machinegun manufactured by a Belgian company. The M249 provides infantry units with the heavy volume of fire of a machinegun, combined with the accuracy and portability of a rifle. Its cartridge is the 5.56x45mm NATO round, in a 100-round box drum but it can also accept the 30-round STANAGs, with a fire rate of 775 rounds per minute. It has a muzzle velocity of 915 m/s, a maximum effective range of 1000 metres and a maximum range of 3.6 km. It also has a built in bipod.

MSG-90: The MSG-90 is a German made semi-automatic sniper rifle, designed by Heckler and Koch; it chambers the 7.62x51mm NATO Armour piercing rounds, in a 20 box magazine. Weighing in at a hefty 7.2kg, the Msg-90 has a muzzle velocity of 868 m/s, and an effective range of 800 metres. It has been adopted as the UNSC Marine Corp’s main precision shooting sniper rifle.

M82: The M82 is recoil operated, semi automatic anti materiel rifle, it chambers the .50 BMG (12.7x99mm NATO). This rifle could penetrate and destroy a military truck in two hits, and with a ten round magazine, in the hands of a professional the M82 can wreck untold amounts of havoc on an enemy target. Having an effective range of almost two km, and a muzzle velocity of 853 m/s it is almost the perfect tool for assassinations, there is however a drawback, the M82 weighs about 14 kg, limiting manoeuvrability. The M82 is the chosen anti-materiel rifle of the UNSC Marine Corps.

XM25: The XM25 used the 25mm x 40 grenade, and has a wide range of calibres from thermo baric grenades to armour piercing grenades. Its grenades are designed to explode in mid air or near the target, showering the area in shrapnel. It weighs in at 6.4 kg, with several different firing modes, with a 4x Thermal sight zoom, and a 2x optical sight zoom. It also has a laser rangefinder, a digital compass, and other sensors. It has a muzzle velocity of 210 m/s, with an effective range of 500 metres. It uses the 4-round box magazine, for quick reloading capabilities. Due to its advanced nature, the XM25 has extremely costly, coming in at $15,000 for each unit. As a result of its expense, there are very few XM25s in service in the Marine Corps.

Another awesome chapter that was detailed and hilarious at some parts. Keep up the great work and can't wait to see the next chapter for explosions and more.