Gabatrix: The Cipra Campaign

With the center of the city straight-ahead, Yuchen's finger grip on the controls relaxed a little bit while the IFV sped forward at a faster and faster rate. One side of the traffic was almost at a dead stop, but the other side was almost completely clear of obstruction. Ahead, Yuchen's heart was beginning to pound. He briefly could see the overhead camera display that showed what was going on in orbit. The last UHN battleship was nearing the wormhole. In less than a few seconds, it went straight through it. Yuchen looked away as he could see the city's damage. It was everywhere. The carnage by the bombardment had reduced most of the tall structures into fragmented remains. In reality, much of the traffic had a hard time driving forward because of the debris that was strewn about. A block ahead was almost unpassable on the right side of the road. Yet, there was a strong calm of the moment. The bombardment had almost completely ceased. The flak field was gone, and the enemy was coming......

"Come on, come on!" Yuchen said to himself as he had to jolt the joystick controls. The IFV lurched to the left to avoid a boulder-sized piece of building. He would hit the pavement and dirt portion of the road while maintaining his forward momentum. A series of IFVs and other military vehicles were coming forward along with the line of cars.

"This is Detachment 5, hailing the lone IFV," a female voice came through the intercom. "Please respond."

Yuchen tapped the button as the speakers activated, causing an audio-only communication line to be established. "Detachment squad 5, this is the detachment squad unit 3. I see you on the scopes. Proceed to the passageway before the Itreans bomb the tunnel. I'm en route to the central computer station facility. Don't worry about me. Go and provide escort to the civilians that are trying to escape."

"Understood. Good luck," the driver responded back.

It didn't take long before Yuchen drove past the squad of military vehicles. The moment that he drove past them, they disengaged from the crowded-up lanes and took up the other one. They were easily able to pound through the divider line barricades and speed up ahead in the direction of the tunnel. The computer's display was showing the approximate location of his vehicle. The countless buildings were becoming a blur. While large portions of the city were still standing, the damaged sections proved to be difficult to get around. One of the large pagoda-like towers had been leveled to the ground. It was in the direction of the computer core facility.

There was a bright light that erupted from one of the displays. Yuchen could see where it was coming from. The direction was from orbit. The gate array had suddenly exploded in bright light. It was most likely set to overload itself to ensure that the Itreans couldn't utilize it against humanity, but it was the final death stroke. Cipra was trapped. There was nowhere to go, and the method of intergalactic travel was mostly shut out. For any person that would see this, it was the most demoralizing event ever to occur. Those that weren't running for their lives had noticed the stop in the bombardment. They simply stared up to see the flash and shatter of the array station. Yuchen had been focused on the driving, but even he could feel it burning his soul. The loss of his wife and son.....a part of it, was simply too much.

"After this....I'll see you two soon," Yuchen simply said as he guided the joystick.

*******

Yuchen had jumped out of the M30 with a hard thud on the pavement. It was parked at its destination point. The computer core facility wasn't that far from him. Its location was placed not that far from the ruined remains of one of the most significant administration buildings of Cipra. The large-scale evacuation alarms were still present. People and vehicles had mostly vacated this location, with a few emergency responders trying to help the wounded. The tower's destruction had created a level of carnage that Yuchen tried to block out of his head. People were crushed under the rubble, with the few responders using special equipment to find and pull out any potential survivors. There was a small amount of praise that Yuchen had for these brave individuals. Despite the fact that an alien invasion was going to happen at any minute, these rescuers were still there, no matter the consequences.

The sergeant only had a few seconds to reminisce about the scene as he turned his attention briefly to the sky. He could hear something or some things that were coming. As he looked up, he could see the brief outlines of several approaching ships. There was a series of glowing dots in orbit. The Itreans had surrounded the planet. They were in a perfect orbital pattern if they wanted to continue their bombardment with a better position.

"Damn...," Yuchen said to himself as he tapped the sentry drone turret that was on his side. He made sure to grab several essential items with him while he began his move towards the building. He tapped a few buttons to access control of the M30 vehicle. It was now set to drone controls so that he could operate manually from a distance if need be. He readjusted his M18 machine gun and continued his approach.

The computer core facility looked pretty much like many of the buildings consisting of a curved rectangular structure. It was about three stories tall and had numerous windows on each floor. It had blue and gray colors with the words "Genisen Cipran Networks," written in both English and Chinese. Yuchen noted that this building was one of the surviving taller structures of the city. It might prove as an advantageous point assuming that the Itreans didn't blow it up with him in it. Of course, at this time, it simply didn't matter to him.

When he reached the cracked transparent glass doors, they refused to open up. Finally, a lone woman saw the armored marine and tapped the button to open it up. Yuchen marched into the door and into the reception area. The former Chinese-looking woman seemed nervous but steady when she approached Yuchen.

"Hello?" she asked him.

"I'm Sergeant Yuchen of UHN marine Detachment 3," he told her. "I'm here to speak to whoever is here in scuttling the computer core."

"Of course, this way!" she replied.

She led him to an elevator that wasn't that far from the reception location. Yuchen noted that the woman was the only person that was present.

"How many of you stayed?" he asked her.

"Just me and the supervisor," she calmly replied.

"That was brave of you. I'm assuming that everyone else has safely evacuated?"

"I don't know. I heard some are heading north, some south,....others.....I...."

"It's alright," he said as the elevator door opened up. They stepped inside, but the elevator was barely able to hold the immense weight and size of the armored marine. These were designed to handle small amounts of civilian traffic. The woman's fingers gripped her dress uniform somewhat hard, showing the tension that she had.

"Are......are you going to stop them?" she asked him.

He almost debated about telling her the truth. Finally, after a brief pause, he relented. "I don't think so. Their forces are too strong, but....I think that people like you are going to make a difference."

It was the only way that he could at least comfort her. The elevator ride conversation was brief, but she seemed to acknowledge everything that was happening. Then, as the elevator door opened up, the woman finally said something.

"My name is Qingge.....," she said. "Just.....in case you outlive me."

"Xièxiè, Qingge," he replied.

Below the ground level of the building was a massive matrix system covered in a heavy-duty transparent armored pane of plastic or glass. It consisted of most of the bottom section of the entire building and had numerous maintenance offices and conduits that went into it. There was a single male individual that was present. He seemed remorseful but ready for the inevitable. His white office lab coat and sturdy brown hair reflected the pale face that he had. He had a small pistol in his hand as if he was ready to defend the place against the horde of aliens that may come.

"Secretary Qingge. Who is this individual?" the man asked. His accent hinted at the fact that he might have come from a different UWA planet.

"My name is Sergeant Yuchen. I have come to help you scuttle the computer system."

The man's eyes showed a sense of relief. "Good. My name is Doctor Laurie. I'm the head supervisor of the facility here at Genisen Computer Networks." He turned his attention towards the massive device in the center of the room. "This is the main computer hub that powers New Hong Kong. I'll show you what needs to be done to destroy it."

"It was said that the conduit or something was damaged?"

"Yes, the main admin building next to us was destroyed. I tried to activate the self-destruct unit, but the power conduits were fused. The building is running on emergency batteries as it is, but this can be solved rather quickly. Inside this is the central processing unit. Because of the attack, the emergency protocols are active, preventing me from getting in, but that wall that is protecting it is made of a quarter-meter bulletproof transparent polymer. My pistol can't punch through, but.....it wasn't rated for something more powerful than that." He eyed the marine's M18 light assault machine gun.

"Alright, then," Yuchen said. He waved his hand towards the two. "Step back and cover your ears."

"Fire a circular pattern around a section of the wall. It doesn't need to be big. Keep in mind that the bullets won't destroy the network, but it can be a start."

Yuchen took a deep breath as he gripped the underslung weapon. He could see where the gun was pointed at as he fired. Set in semi-automatic, he was using the gun as a cutting tool. Despite the quieter sounds of the gunfire of the 24^th century, both the civilians had their ears covered. The 50 caliber rounds were more than a match for the wall. The bullet holes could be clearly seen as it was fracturing a small portion of it. Yuchen continued firing for less than ten seconds until a small basketball-sized hole broke apart. Laurie looked at the damage and nodded his head.

"Good," the supervisor said. "I noticed that you have grenades.....are they grenades?"

"Yes," Yuchen replied.

"Alright, does the grenade have the ability to emit an EMP discharge?"

"Yes, although, it needs to be usually connected to the target device to have a full effect."

The supervisor pointed his hand and walked towards the hole. "Arm it and throw it on the conduit section that leads to the central box structure."

Yuchen used his free hand to disconnect one of the two magnetized disk grenades from his hip. He tapped a few buttons and walked towards the hole that he had made. It was just large enough for him to throw the small device if need be.

"Stand back," he told him as he held his arm back and flung the grenade through the opening. It didn't travel far before it clamped on the area that the supervisor pointed at. Within a second of its landing, the disk grenade began to emit a powerful charge that radiated outward. The energy output was immense as the central black box started to fluctuate wildly for a few seconds.

"There....," the supervisor said. "That will fry everything. All the top classified files of the military.... everything that Cipra has established is gone. It will be hard for them to recover anything from that. Thank you for your help, marine."

"Then I will have to ask for you two to vacate this city immediately," Yuchen said as he proceeded to walk back to the elevator. He gripped his machine tightly as the two civilians followed him towards it.

"We don't know where to go," Qingge replied.

"Try to head towards the Lantau passageway. If the Itreans blow it up, then.....I don't know."

"I think that it might be best to surrender to them," Laurie commented. They stepped into the elevator as he pressed the first-floor button. There was a slow lurch as the elevator moved upward.

"I don't think the Itreans are taking our surrender," Yuchen told them. "We don't know what happened to the people of Eutera when they were taken. They might be doing the same thing here but at a larger scale.....now that they know that they can beat us. Escape, survive, fight. That's all I can suggest to you two."

The elevator door opened up as both Laurie and Qingge stepped out. Yuchen, however, refused to get out.

"Aren't you coming?" Qingge asked.

"No. Don't worry about me," Yuchen said. "Save yourselves. I'm heading to the roof."

The two weren't going to argue as Laurie nodded his head towards him. "Good luck....thank you."

With that, Yuchen tapped the button on the elevator and pressed the button for the roof access. The doors closed, and the elevator began to rise. The marine's thoughts went to himself. He had done his part and was sure that not much else could be done. Nothing else really mattered at this point for him as he thought back to his family and everyone else. His hands gripped onto the underslung machine gun hard as he almost shook in place. For an elevator ride that was only seconds, it felt like minutes.

The door opened up as the elevator reached the top floor. A notification was there that limited it to employees only. He overrode the controls and stepped out into the opening of the roof. The top section of the building only consisted of maintenance terminals and the alcove compartment for the elevator to reach. It was here that Yuchen had a firm view of the entire city. He continued to step forward in the direction of the destroyed admin tower. He then tapped the wrist computer of his armor to open up an audio-only communications link with whatever was out there.

"This is Sergeant Yuchen from Detachment 3," Yuchen said. "I have destroyed the main computer network of Cipra as per orders from the Vice President."

A male voice responded on his end, but it wasn't any of the people that he knew. "This is UHN Cipran task force commander, Wellington. Acknowledged Sergeant Yuchen. We have confirmation of its destruction."

Yuchen was looking at the scene from the rooftop. He had a better view than most locations on Cipra. He approached near the edge of the building, where there was a small fenced area to prevent any careless onlooker from falling over. Directly south was the destroyed tower of the admin building. From his height, the destruction looked even worse. Small craters dotted the landscape of the city. Fires, screams, and smoke were billowing out of random spots where the bombardment persisted. West of the city, he could barely see the tunnel where traffic was trying to go towards, but it was pointless. The tunnel had finally become a bottleneck. Both north and south near the edges of New Hong Kong, there was a series of small craters where vehicles had been targeted and destroyed. From near the buildings was a series of military vehicles that could be spotted. Yuchen knew immediately what was going to happen.

"Wellington, if you are leading the attack, I advise you to vacate immediately and spread out as much as possible," Yuchen explained.

"While I can commemorate your efforts, Sergeant, I'm ordered by the Vice President to stay and fight."

"Of course," Yuchen said as he simply sighed. "No point in trying to help the defiant ones....."

"What is that supposed to?....." the communications line was cut as Yuchen knew that it was pointless. He closed out the communications link. He felt that he had done his part. It was time for the enemy to bring the rain. His eyes went towards the sky and towards the canyon. He tried to keep his mind focused, but then, he saw it.

A series of six large vessels were slowly approaching the city of New Hong Kong from the north. They were more or less flying and maintaining a low altitude. Five of these vessels had a pair of trapezoid wings to them that protruded from their rear section. The front bow was almost shaped like a vertical hammerhead, although the bottom front was more filed down. A series of weapon emplacements were on the sides and front, including a small cannon and CIWS guns. The top front carried a slight humpback that looked like some sort of landing port, including some kind of top turreted howitzer or mortar, but it was difficult to make out much more than that. A series of engine thrusters mounted on the vessels kept them from crashing towards the ground. Their hulls had a red color to them.

The other vessel followed a somewhat similar design gimmick, but it was a little bit larger. Instead of having the hammerhead look, the front bow had a series of protruding pincers. The top front bow consisted of some sort of hangar bay. The wings had a much larger profile to them and carried far more weapons. Near the pincers were protruding cannons, most likely railgun batteries. This distinct type of vessel almost had the appearance of a scorpion but lacked the large rear stinger. These red ships were casting a large shadow that flowed through the canyon.

"Red ships....just like JJ-78...yet the ones that took Eutera were green," Yuchen noted to himself. "Come....you won't take this city without a fight."

Yuchen could hear the sounds of these vessels as they were closing in. They produced a quick reverberating rhythm of deep pulses, most likely from the engines that were working to keep them hovering. However, there was at least one surprise that might delay the Itrean assault. The military base located on the Lantau Canyon hadn't been targeted from the bombardment yet. It could be barely seen from Yuchen's location, but it was located from the northern section of New Hong Kong. The base was buried and built into the rocky wall. It was here that the UHN Cipran headquarters was located, but despite its construction, it didn't carry any weapons. However, it did have one thing, and it waited till now to deploy them.

The military base had a large rectangular door that quickly rose up. It was the final act of defense, but one that had little hope in winning. Planetary UHN F-167 hawks and the newer F-175 eagle fighter craft were flying out of the open hatch. Ten, twenty, thirty, then fifty of them came rushing out. These aircraft took up quick but separate formations before heading straight towards the incoming Itrean vessels.

The Itreans, on the other hand, responded quickly. The leader pincer-looking ship's railgun turret took quick aim at the opening. Some of the other Itrean hammerhead-looking ships fired a series of smaller missiles. They flew out and began to home in on the military base as well. The railgun round struck first, smashing into the wall like a hammer. As the Itrean vessels kept moving forward, the railgun turret continued to fire upon the base. There was nothing that the UHN base had to protect itself as the missiles struck the sides. A series of explosions followed out as the remains of the hidden base crumbled down the long rocky walls to the ground below.

This left the UHN fighter craft that was closing in on the Itrean vessels. It seemed hopeful. Dozens upon dozens of tiny little fighters were able to intercept the incoming attack fleet. Maybe, they stood a chance, but it was all for nothing. Yuchen was indifferent as he watched a series of small aircraft being deployed from the Itrean vessels. They were launched from a series of tubes on the tops of the vessels. It was like watching a bunch of tiny flies that swarmed a giant bird. Some of the Itrean fighter craft had pincers on the front. Others carried a large protruding nose to them, almost as if it was a minigun or possible railgun. It was difficult to make anything else from it due to the extreme range that Yuchen had to see from.