The Fall of Arsinon: July 15, 2540 AD.
Iarius watched helplessly as orange, energy bombs rained down on the once proud skyscrapers of Arsinon. He leaned back in his bunker, his bunker-mate, Enlai, slumped beside him, a Sinn javelin protruding out his back. Iarius's heart pounded; all the methods he used to calm himself down during a battle had failed. With the Centaurus Plaza assaulted by Sinn, the garrisons had lost communication with Legate Marov, so the troops had decided to try and cut their way to the Plaza. Most fell to the Rranthi marauders. Iarius, Enlai, and Nessith had been separated from their company, fortunately, they found this abandoned bunker. Iarius emptied Enlai's gun of cells into his. The little guy didn't need them where he was going. With a full rifle, Iarius wiped gore off the scanner, checking for stalkers or wraiths. Nothing. Iarius shoved his helmet over his matted dark hair, the inside of the helmet lit up with small screens, readouts with his heart rate and physical health. The Command Tower at the Plaza must be taken, for the calm voice of the Arsinon command AI, SONYA, didn't greet him. Iarius swallowed hard, then punched open the bunker hatch and leapt out.
Iarius watched helplessly as orange, energy bombs rained down on the once proud skyscrapers of Arsinon. He leaned back in his bunker, his bunker-mate, Enlai, slumped beside him, a Sinn javelin protruding out his back. Iarius's heart pounded; all the methods he used to calm himself down during a battle had failed. With the Centaurus Plaza assaulted by Sinn, the garrisons had lost communication with Legate Marov, so the troops had decided to try and cut their way to the Plaza. Most fell to the Rranthi marauders. Iarius, Enlai, and Nessith had been separated from their company, fortunately, they found this abandoned bunker. Iarius emptied Enlai's gun of cells into his. The little guy didn't need them where he was going. With a full rifle, Iarius wiped gore off the scanner, checking for stalkers or wraiths. Nothing. Iarius shoved his helmet over his matted dark hair, the inside of the helmet lit up with small screens, readouts with his heart rate and physical health. The Command Tower at the Plaza must be taken, for the calm voice of the Arsinon command AI, SONYA, didn't greet him. Iarius swallowed hard, then punched open the bunker hatch and leapt out.
The black, gothic capital ships the Sinn Empire and the patchy, stolen ships of the Rebellion filled the smoldering Arsinian sky bombing the broken city; alien starfighters swarmed over the city, their orange rays tearing through steel and flesh, Sinn warriors stormed through the broken streets, slaughtering any marines who got in their way. It was an extermination of humanity and Iarius was caught in the midst of it. He ran across the roof top the bunker was situated on, a Gauss bolt punctured the steel just behind him. Iarius raised his assault rifle, returning fire. The rebel dived behind a wall, avoiding the stream of photon energy. Suddenly the rebel exploded into flaming limbs. Nessith came striding across the rooftop suited in his Heracles combat suit, a grenade in his giant, mechanical hand.
"Glad to see you in one piece. Where's Enlai?" Nessith's voice crackled out of the speaker of his helmet.
Iarius gestured his head toward the bunker, "Taking a rest."
Nessith nodded; the giant metal helmet of his Heracles suit making a sluggish up and down motion. The two of them ran across the rooftop and scaled down the access ladder. They dodged around the fallen chunks of masonry and buildings strewn about the metal road. The corpses of marines and Sinn, staring blankly at the fiery destruction they had caused, littered the boulevard. An explosion went off near by, rocking the earth and making the skyscrapers shudder.
"Look out!" Nessith yelled, throwing Iarius to the side. A burning Falcon starfighter careened down by them, hurtling over where they had just been. It smashed into an bank, the colonnade and glass front imploding thunderously inward, the structure soon became an inferno. Iarius and Nessith ran down the ruined boulevard to the corner, where it met three other roads. They ducked inside a vacant cafe; the waiter android did not greet them; it lay trampled on the floor with a javelin through it's metal-and-wire head. Iarius took off his helmet, running a gloved hand through his sweaty, matted hair.
"What weapons you got?" he asked as he slumped against a wall.
Nessith tapped the grenades on his belt, "three grenades, two thermals one fission; combat knife," Iarius saw the oversized, sword-like knife strapped to Nessith's armored thigh, "and my rifle, with ammo." Nessith pulled his massive assault rifle off his back.
"I just have my rifle and knife." Iarius said as he put back on his helmet. Just as the helmet closed over his neck, an explosion blew the wall of the cafe down; a Sinn warrior and rebel soldiers charging through the gap. Nessith battered one aside with the butt of his gun; the rebel’s patched marine armor crumpling as he hit the metal wall. He crumpled down on the floor. Iarius opened fire on another, pointed novasteel bullets tearing through the rebel’s flesh. Two rebels down. A rebel, wielding a combat knife slipped beside Iarius and sliced his side. Iarius gasped, the serrated blade tearing through flesh and armor, the wound gushed blood down Iarius’s side and the bone sliced as well. Nessith bellowed and drove his oversized combat knife through the rebel’s armored skull; the Terran’s life spilling out of it. Hefting the corpse, Nessith hurled it at his enemies; the limp carcass flailing into it's comrades, with such force that two went tumbling to the ground. The Sinn, a barrel-chested, fiery eyed warrior, leapt forward and let out a ferocious war cry, lifting his long, glowing-red blade to strike down Nessith. But, a high, piercing shriek sliced through the chaos like a Sinn's blade. Everything froze. The sounds of battle; the destruction; the screams of the wounded, the dying; stopped. The harsh sound of his haggard breathing and the racing beat of his heart filled Iarius's ears.
Suddenly everything began again at a rapid speed. Black shapes burst from the ground and the sewers, great abominations smashed their way out of the rubble. The Sinn and rebels turned and began hacking and cutting their way through the strange new aliens. Three marines ran by, spattered in blood. A black-skinned, slender humanoid leaped on them, it's razor-sharp claws tearing through one and then another marine. The remaining soldier backed up against a wall; sobbing for mercy. The alien said nothing, but inspected it's now crimson claws. Coming out of it's contemplation, the clawed alien jumped on the man, ending his life. A gun shot rang out in the chaos, Nessith stood behind the creature, rifle in hand. It slumped dead against it's last victim.
"What the eff are these things!" Nessith yelled above the screams and gunfire.
"Let's not stay and find out! Our ride's here!" Iarius shouted, pointing up. A dropship descended among the ruined towers. The side wall hatch opened with a pneumatic hiss. A bloody Legate Marov stood inside, smoking laser rifle in hand, along with dozens of other wounded and dying soldiers.
"Get in!" Marov roared over the engines. Iarius leapt in, Nessith scrambled in as quickly as his mech-suit would allow. The Valkyrie dropship took of as soon as they were in, ion engines propelling it above the destroyed skyline. Iarius leaned back, a hand pressing a nano-pack to his wound, eyes on the once majestic Arsinon. Smoke billowed thickly from the buildings, obscuring most of the city. Imperium Valkyries and medivacs swarmed from the smoke, taking with them the remains of the planet's population. The rebel warships let them pass, focusing their fire power at the new threat on the surface. Just as the hatch closed, Iarius saw what looked like a floating city, of beautiful and alien design, firing green beams of energy down on the city. Cleansing it.
