Old wounds

[The Union of Tinis]

One of the soldiers was already messing with the computers present and the other electronics in the control room, pulling hard drives and disabling potentially useful equipment should the enemy return. The feline repeated the statements of the ferret to those present and over the radio in Tinisian. Kad barked back orders. So a couple soldiers grabbed the ferret and bound his paws while the rest finished searching the room. Finding nothing else of extreme interest, they then proceeded to escort him back to the octagon and place him in the troop section along with the rest of the returning menagerie.

A few moments later the Octagon was rolling its way over the barriers and bodies of the enemy towards the nearest exit that would take them north.

While they were on the move again, the feline introduced himself to the captive only as Wome, which wasn't his real name.

"We're taking you with us as you are now a prisoner of war. You were without weapons when we were to leave so could not shoot you. Do you understand?"

The captive nodded, getting the basic idea of what they were saying, though not entirely believing it.

"We also need you to start a new Morskoj. Using super death bombs on your own soil is a bad idea. I hope you will agree with me."

-----

The octagon armors spun around to point their main guns at the surrounding city. Then at roughly the same time, helicopter modules detached from the formation around the power plant, and the doors to the troops holds opened up.

Dozens of troops poured out of the tanks as 'Ground Pound' commenced. The chain link fence that surrounded part of the complex had already been flattened by the tanks, so access to the buildings was not going to be a major issue. The helicopters took shape after their detachment procedure and took flight, forming a second perimeter around the power plant in the sky.

Gun fire erupted from several points. Some of it came from some of the buildings of the power plant, while other shots arced towards the helicopters from the surrounding city. The dozens of Tinisian soldiers moved on the buildings while the helicopters returned fire.

Two RPGs sprung from a roof top three blocks away. One missed its mark and slammed into the ground in a street on the far side of the power plant. The second struck one of the helicopters, forcing a quick and jarring landing. Three of the other helicopters near the source of the attack swung around quickly and began pelting the roof tops in that area with machine gun bullets.

Back at the power plant, soldiers reached the doors, but not without a few casualties. With excellent coordination, doors were kicked up open all over the property at once and the near fifty remaining troops poured into the buildings that housed the main power plant and the control rooms.

[sorry for the delay, life's been hell]

[Erenmor]

"If I didn't agree I wouldn't have shot my direct superior back there," the Morskoj ferret said bitterly. "But starting a new... new order? I'm a junior officer, not a politician - and I doubt the people would accept a puppet government," he went on. "Maybe you could try to persuade commander Inaj..."

"What makes you think this commander would be so suitable for our work, then?" asked the feline who identified himself as Wome.

"Well... he's always looked out for the people. He's defended against several attacks from the machines from the south, and led the recovery efforts for the civilian population in the region afterwards. He... well, he just looks out for us, you'll get pretty much the same sentiment from anyone else you ask."

"And where's this commander Inaj now?" Wome pressed.

The ferret glanced briefly out of a viewport. "On the southern border. He's fighting off the most recent machine attack that's happened there," he said quietly, shaking his head.

***

As the Tinisian troops stormed the powerplant complex, they found they had another fighter backing them up - a humanoid with unusually long limbs, coated head to toe in mirror-like silver plating bounded above the heads of the attacking soldiers. Just past the doors, it leapt up onto one of the walls and began to climb, moving unnaturally fast along the smooth surface. Obviously, this attracted some attention from the powerplant garrison, part of whom turned their fire on this very peculiar attacker - though the bullets didn't seem to leave much of a mark on the mirror plate. At the same time, that meant less fire coming at the Tinisians from behind the improvised barricades.

Of course, the entrance halls were still an easy matter - beyond, in the control complex that extended underground as well as aboveground, the various catwalks surrounding the reactor tower and crossing the main pit would make for a more challenging fighting ground. According to the schematics provided by the Erenmor recon, the control room was situated near the top of the reactor tower, ringing along the entire circumference of the pit.

[The Union of Tinis]

Sergeant Elit Givtela at around this point realized that he was the most forward of the on the ground positions. Orders from his Lt. were coming in through his helmet but he didn't really care what the half rabid wolf yelled or screamed. He knew the objectives and the mission.

Elit waved some of her squad forward and around a corner. Before them was some of the locals firing wildly at the strange mechanical apparition, their backs to the Tinisians. A hand signal later and the seven where being smacked around with rifle butts and boots. No need to waste ammo at this stage. Some of the other barricades in the main hall were still offering resistance, so Elit radio over that they had secured one point and was moving on.

Her squad quickly zip tied to Morskoj and tossed their weapons beyond reach on the far side the barricade. They then slipped back down the side corridor in which they had snuck in. Elit paused for a moment to eye the mirrored creature. She decided it was time to leave when she saw it leap behind one of the barricades and heard the screams of the enemy there.

-----

"For what it's worth," replied Wome. "I hope Inaj makes it through. I know the appreciations a good commander can give to the soldiers they lead and how they can be returned. But don't get your self down. A single person with a good heart can move the world. A nation is much easier than the world. But if this Inaj were to lead a Morskoj away from this path to chaos, I think all, my people, Morskoj, and Erenmorians, would celebrate."

Some of the soldiers exchanged comments in Tinisian.

"What are they saying?" asked the ferret.

"They are accusing me of trying to ask you for a date. They are jokers. I am happily mated."

-----

"Off Off Ray Noot." said Elit quietly. The sound of gun fire echoed throughout the complex as the squad slowly crept through a shadow filled chamber. Below the catwalk of which they walked was another catwalk some twenty meters down. Morskoj soldiers were rushing along it, busy moving and not noticing their enemy above them.

The soldiers understood what their sergeant had said. To one trained in both Modern Tinisian and Tinisian special forces tactics it roughly translated to: If you make a noise I'll shoot you myself.

The point fur reached the end of the catwalk which ended in a t-intersection that lead down and around curved halls like the one they had been traveling. But the thing of interest was the ladder.

"Oi!" yelled someone from above.

Corporal Henya silenced that voice forever instinctually. If they survived this, Henya would have to endure an ear full from Elit.

"Tils, Agi Ivne Axmi, Lak Ist Ume!" yelled Elit.

The squad fanned out. Some covering the way they came, others pointing their weapons down the ladder, and others up. It wasn't long before gun fire was being exchanged on three sides. The curves and machinery giving both sides some cover but not enough to have an advantage.

"Sla!" yelled Elit. Which means literally 'up'.