Operation Log // Super Earth // Sol // 2185.03.22
Observer: PR-DX/RVN-001
Subject: First Invasion Drop
Riders involved: Pale Warden
An unregistered Super Destroyer blinked into existence over Super Earth, not tracked or annotated on any roster, emitting no signal. It just hung in orbit as if suspended from invisible chains.
Aboard this ghost ship from nowhere was a Helldiver who would unleash absolute hellish destruction on the beings that dared desecrate the sanctity of humanity's most cherished home.
As he prepared his loadout, he recited the same thing over and over, "Unto the END."
The Democracy Officer on board looked him in the face and said, "We destroyed the Illuminate once. Now, we will do it again," before approving the deployment.
The mysterious diver simply nodded and walked to the Hellpod, locked in, and descended into the pod where he read the inscription he carved on the inside — Not for Glory, Not for Victory, but for the Dead and Dying — something he believed in more than any other to ever don the uniform.
He heard the locks release and felt the pod rocket toward the surface of the planet; this would be his first visit to Super Earth, but would not be the last. The descent seemed to take a long time and he was eager to distribute managed democracy to the vile enemies that dared to invade this sacred planet, but the vital monitors inside the pod never spiked, showing he was just as calm now as if he were sitting cleaning his weapon.
The pod slammed into the ground, directly in the middle of what would normally be a busy road in the capital, only to rise up and see the utter destruction and emptiness of the now-invaded Mega City. There were groups of Voteless numbering in the dozens roamed close, accompanied by massive grotesque "monsters" with multiple arms flailing wildly and faces in its body.
He let loose with his Liberator, the trusty weapon that had served him through many deployments and never let him down; he had unshakable faith it would save him again. He threw a high-explosive grenade to accompany the gunfire, but the fleshmob continued to charge. As it came his way, he dove out of the way like dodging any Charger... simple. While it passed him by, he stuck a support weapon stratagem to its disgusting mass, blue light shining straight to the sky. Another pod came thundering down seconds later, plummeting directly through the fleshmob, splitting it in half, before raising his summoned Recoilless Rifle from the ground. He collected it and carried it to his first objective, to retrieve access codes.
He shredded multiple roaming groups of Voteless and found efficient ways to deal with the fleshmobs that used far less ammo and grenades than he originally used. He also noticed that SEAF was roaming the city in squads, fighting back ferociously for their home. There was a Sgt; he was frantically shouting orders to the other three squadmates, directing fire and maneuvering them like a seasoned veteran. He turned and shot an EAT-17 at an Overseer, shattering it to pieces. The mystery diver simply smiled in his helmet, said, "Follow me," and continued moving. The SEAF squad, without hesitation, fell into formation and began moving.
The access codes were stored in a bunker complex, a gated area with multiple bunkers located inside, although which one was still unknown. He would have to open them all. This area was also a densely enemy-occupied area with an enemy that had proved to be a real pain in the ass... the Harvester. These massive autonomous tripods have an energy shield and a large laser weapon, also using arc weaponry in close quarters, and have few weak points, mainly the eye if you can hit it. He carefully aimed his last rocket and let it fly — perfect shot. The Harvester spasmed as an explosion rippled through the body before it crumbled to the ground. But this also alerted every enemy around, which wasted no time in heading his way.
SEAF were not known for overly heroic actions, but this squad displayed acts of bravery that would make any Helldiver proud. They stood fast on line and fired everything they had at the oncoming mass of enemies. Their rounds tore through countless Voteless, grenades exploding throughout the enemy ranks, sending them flying in pieces. Cpl Smith was then flung wildly by a charging fleshmob, killing him as he impacted the wall of a nearby building. Pvt Rodriguez impaled this thing with an EAT round as it turned in his direction, killing it as its upper half disintegrated in the explosion. Then the firing stopped. Two SEAF soldiers were gone, sacrificing their lives with utter heroism unseen by any but their brethren.
The remaining two, Sgt Smith and Pvt Rodriguez, flanked the unknown diver as they moved into the complex, checking bunker after bunker until the codes were found. Once the codes were safely tucked away, a ping on the Helldiver's HUD illuminated. It showed a park almost directly in the center of the city. Unknowing what he would find there, he moved with a purpose. Reaching the point proved no contest, but it was a children's park — what could possibly be here? He keyed into the terminal and unlocked the mechanisms on both ends of the park, then what happened could never have been predicted. The park started to split apart, revealing a monumental-sized orbital cannon, finally something to shoot down the Overship hovering in orbit.
As the gun was raising into place, the ground lit up with a blue light. The diver looked to the sky, noticing an enemy aircraft lined up for a strafing run! He picked up an EAT from a fallen soldier and sent it toward the enemy craft. Direct hit — its left engine exploded in blue fire. It crashed into a nearby building, bringing it crashing down on top of the craft. Looking around, he noticed that Pvt Rodriguez had been cut down by the strafing run, surrounded by the dozens of enemies he had killed while holding his ground.
Sgt Smith closed distance with the mystery diver, as this was now all that was left. They aimed the massive murder cannon at the Overship and fired. It sent a vehicle-sized round hurtling through the sky, impacting the enemy command ship again and again. Four shots were fired, then the ship started to fall to the ground, creating a nuclear-sized explosion of spectacular blue and orange flames reaching hundreds of meters into the atmosphere.
The journey through the ruined city was far less crowded than any so far. The distant sounds of gunfire from adjacent SEAF squads could be heard echoing through the damaged city, reminding them that this was far from over. One hundred meters from the extraction point, a shadow engulfed the ground around them while moving through the open. They both looked up to see a nightmare. This thing was massive beyond description, armed with multiple laser guns, moving through buildings as if they were paper.
"LEVIATHAN!" screamed Sgt Smith as he sought cover.
The mystery diver dropped to one knee and took aim with his Recoilless Rifle he had managed to resupply during the mission from scavenged supply boxes. He fired; the rocket left a trail of smoke as it traveled into the sky and impacted the wing of this immense target. It did damage but not enough to even slow the thing down. Two more rockets managed to break a wing off, exposing the wiring and circuitry underneath. The two fought mobs and repositioned continuously as the diver continued to shoot. Six rockets later, a full load for the anti-tank weapon, it came crashing to the ground.
As the Pelican landed and the ramp lowered, Sgt Smith exclaimed, "What a rush!"
"Are you ready to leave? You have a place on my ship if you're ready," replied the diver.
"No, this is my place, this is my home. Either the squids will be dead or I will, but I will not abandon my home," Smith said assertively.
"I won't challenge that mindset, but I know those disgusting squid bastards are in for a rude awakening as long as you are here. Good luck, I will return."
As the diver turned to leave, the Sgt asked, "Who do I say you are? Your ship is unmarked and no name was present when you landed."
"Tell everyone that judgment on the enemy has been determined, their execution has begun, the dead want vengeance and it comes in the form of the Pale Warden," he said as the ramp closed and the Pelican ascended back toward the Super Destroyer.
