An Exceedingly Friendly Visit To The Mogahol Tropics

[StaolDerg]

Qasvi nervously fidgeted with the intelligence documents before her on the table. She'd been an intelligence officer for centuries, but the thought of the Kumo still gave her shivers, even if she was older and experienced. After all, it didn't feel all too long ago that they'd just shown up on Elenria's shores...

Waiting for the Kumosenkan officers to arrive, she pushed at her crown out of habit, hoping that she didn't look out of dress. It'd painfully humid where they'd be going and the last thing she wanted was to put them in a bad mood. With any luck, they'd be more occupied with the mission itself to care.

The documents before her in question were floor plans of the Northeastern Royalist cell's headquarters, painstakingly drawn by a single agent within their ranks, transferred from the Elenria Elder cell. They'd made their surveillance mission a priority while there, going great lengths to document the base's details from the outside as a sentry posted there for the brief month they stayed. It by no means had cost a shortage of blood to make its way to her claws, but the greatest issue she'd have now was actually presenting the mission to the Kumosenkan soldiers coming to see her.

High Command believed that the new arms of the enemy were stored there along with valuable information, but with no way to actually find out with all units occupied with holding existing territory from bandits and insurgents, they'd held off until Kumosenkan had expressed interest via telegram following a general report only a few days ago.

So here she was now, in a bunker to meet her superiors. Getting a grip and steeling herself, she straightened and focused her vision on the door to the other side of the room, kicking herself into a practiced stupor of protocol while she braced mentally for the arrival of the officers.

[Sophie]

Captain Yuri Enomoto and First Lieutenant Ozaki Aoi were walking through the halls of territorial high command flanked by a full dozen of Kumo marines. They all entered the bunker and filled the room Qasvi was waiting in. They all kept stern expressions, but First Lieutenant Aoi was grimacing. The Captain was the first of the group to speak up. "Very well officer Qasvi we're here. It is our understanding that you have an urgent mission for my marines. Please, show us everything you have on the Royalist cell."

[StaolDerg]

The Inselni officer bowed before her Kumo superiors as they entered, straightening to salute Aoi as she spoke to her. Keeping up her professional demeanor, she moved a schematic to the center of the table for all the marines to see, in addition to illustrations of extra details she’d highlight for the Kumos’ reference.

“At once, Aoi-kama. The cell in question is reported by our intelligence service to be that of the regional cell’s central leadership in the northeastern coastal Mogahol Tropics- a small, but incredibly well-defended base that may contain a weapon cache full of the advanced equipment that until recent months was entirely unknown to Elenria. In addition, we believe that other important documents may be stashed there- membership logs, cell locations, communication ciphers, and the like.”

She motioned to the map with a weathered claw, drawing a circle about the annotations.

“Thanks to the efforts of an agent who made it on site, we have locations of multiple sentry points, no doubt hardened and reinforced structures concealed into the area. The base is a bunker dug into the basement of a ruined pre-TAKPOE tower- expect an elevated sniper position from the ruins, and a concealed entrance. Our agent has provided this-“ Qasvi gestured at a drawing of lumpy block of slate- “-as a landmark of where the base entrance is located. Explosives will serve well in breaching your way inside, as the distance down is supposedly an improvised ramp, so you’ll have room to maneuver upon your descent. However, into the entrance room our intelligence is less clear- likely multiple sentries at least.”

The Inselni turned to a few aged photographs from a manila folder, presenting tables on rudimentary with a layer of ceramic layered underneath in primitively fashioned armor. A drawing of a stone bookshelf accompanied it.

“This is probably a preparation and bottleneck room based on past experiences, which means barricades will be erected at the front door in anticipation of an attack. Grenades will be vital to prevent casualties. We do know the entrance to the next room is hidden behind a bookshelf, but we’re not quite sure what will unlock the door. It’s better you blast your way in anyway- the next room is a living quarters with access to the armory to the left from entry. However, the entrance is designed to be a kill-zone, as there’s a wall that funnels any entering persons to go in front of a couple of embrasures. Intelligence from past experiences advises using long-fused grenades or sticks of dynamite to break through quickly.”

Qasvi allowed the officers to do what they liked with the photos as she pulled out yet more drawings.

“We have no more solid intelligence from this point. However, previous combat experience can give us inference that you can expect much less defense from the other points of the compound. There are a number of stashes hidden about that can be accessed post-action to recover anything the Royalists may have attempted to save for recovery later by their own forces, many of which are located near the escape tunnels. The tunnels are one-use and lead out of the compound to where they can escape, collapsing the routes behind them. They are susceptible to heavy explosive though- we know that they consistently collapse due to their rudimentary nature.”

Finally pulling out the last documents from the folder, she presented the marines with regional data: weather, terrain, and climate.

“You can expect poor weather conditions from the monsoon season, but that shouldn’t stop naval support from being able to fire over the horizon in your support if needed. Drybags are advised to keep the explosives from spoiling, as is ample netting- mosquitos are in no short supply and may give away your position. And lastly, we know the abilities of at least a few personnel- at least two to five are combat veterans from the Fifth Staol War. As always, if you require, the Territorial armory is open to your needs as needed.”

Concluding her report, she fell silent, straightening once more to allow the Kumofree reign over the intel, adopting a stiff pose as she waited for their response.

[Sophie]

The captain nodded smiling and turned to Aoi. "Well First Lieutenant, this looks like a perfect mission for your first at-bat as an officer. I'll stay on hand as an advising officer, but this is your show. Time to step up to the plate and earn your promotion."

Aoi was about a foot shorter than the captain, so she looked up to her and nodded. "Thank you Enomoto-kama. I won't let you down." Aoi started diligently looking over everything the intelligence officer had presented to them and a plan began forming in Aoi's head. She placed a finger on the entrance choke point. "This entrance spot here looks like a complete deathtrap if we are trying to breach out that way. I think we can use that against them. We could scout out the area for a day or two to ensure we know all the locations of guards on the outside. Once we're certain of their positioning at any given time we can take them out with ease. Then we can break into the tower here and clear out anyone in this entrance area with grenades, submachine guns, and shotguns. We can take up positions at this chokepoint and have the RBS Hokori start shelling the area with 18 inch high explosive shells. Enough to scare them that we're going to bring the entire place down on them. Once they start fleeing we can use this chokepoint to kill every last one of them as they run for the exit."

The captain nodded and patted Aoi's back. Aoi flinched and instinctively glared at her superior. "That's a good plan for your first attempt kiddo but you're missing something rather important. Think about why we're doing this. Why we're assaulting this compound in particular. What do you think should be the main objective of this mission be? I'll give you a hint, it's not to wipe out the cell."

Aoi held her glare for a minute before looking back at the documents trying to piece together what the objective was. After about a minute she pulled up the documentation that discussed the equipment of the royalist cell. "Their gear. It's outstanding equipment. At least compared to other royalist cells we've taken down. They have a supplier from the outside. Either that or they've captured an Elenrian military factory. We need to figure out how they're getting equipped." Aoi looked to her superior for confirmation. The captain nodded but rolled her hand in a circular motion prompting Aoi to continue. "Aaaand my current plan gives them time to destroy their equipment and records."

Enomoto smiled again and patted Aoi's back once more. "There you go kiddo. So if we need to capture their gear and documents how do we get to them before they destroy everything?"

Aoi frowned and turned back to the stack of documents. "Shock and Awe. The first part of the plan stays the same: we kill everyone on the outside remaining as undetected as possible. We signal the Hokori to start firing exactly thirty seconds after we breach the tower. That should knock out their lights and if they have any secondary escape tunnels it'd be likely to collapse them. On top of that, it should do well to disorient them putting us at a major combat advantage. We use short-fuse grenades, shotguns, and submachine guns to obliterate any resistance and move as quickly as we can through the base being careful to not use any explosives in the armory. They could still have time to destroy some things but not enough to completely cover their tracks."

"That is a much better plan." The captain nodded thinking to herself for a moment. "But how do we ensure that none of the documents are faked? Or better yet what if they do destroy all the important documentation how will we get the intel we need if we kill everyone there?"

"We capture some of them," Aoi answered decisively. "We equip some of our troops with low-velocity slugs. Hitting someone in the right spot with those should be enough to take them out of the fight but not kill them. Unfortunately, that's not a guarantee. We don't have much in the way of non-lethal weaponry that doesn't put us in danger."

"Actually," One of the marines in the back stepped forward, "Last month while you were recovering from our last mission together Field Marshal Eruza-kama took me and a few others to oversee Elenrian weapons development and they accidentally developed a stun grenade. To be more specific, they developed a faulty lethal grenade and Eruza-kama ordered that they begin developing the grenade further into the non-lethal variant. By now they should have a decent amount stockpiled by now that we could use."

Aoi was taken aback but her face betrayed relief. "Thank you, Sergeant Kyo. Depending on the effectiveness of these stun grenades we could toss them through the chokepoint and disable anyone hoping to take us out there. We kill anyone who's still standing in the next room and break off however many marines we need to ensure the disabled royalists are captured. We then rush the armory with the stun grenades if their explosive yield is low enough and do the same thing we did in the previous room."

"That's an outstanding plan kiddo." The captain smiled and put her arm around Aoi. Aoi shivered and tensed up while gritting her teeth. "You have my full confidence to pull this off. I'll put in the request to break off the Hokori from her battle group to get her in position, you handle the rest of the setup. You'll probably get a commendation from the Empress if you pull this off." She let go of Aoi and slapped her back before leaving the room.

Aoi's heart began to race. She thought to herself 'The Empress..? She'd acknowledge me, she'd praise me, she'd know who I am.' A massive grin overtook Aoi's face as she thought about meeting the Empress under such conditions.

[StaolDerg]

Hearing of the grenades, Qasvi raised a hand to catch their attention. "Excuse me for my interruption, but I'd like to warn that the stun grenades are still very much prototypes. They are prone to faulty fuses and may either fail to go off entirely, or light the pyrotechnic charge prematurely and start burning up in your hand. The Munitions Department has implemented a secondary match fuse as a stopgap, but its still prone to being spoiled by the weather."

She led them out afterwards, bringing them to the base motor pool where they would take a ride on a few borrowed trucks of the motorized divisions, deploying them only a short distance to the rally point, where they'd meet with the local garrison's reconnaissance units. Qasvi took the non-Kumo designed passenger seat at the lead vehicle, tentaviely waiting for the marines to board before the convoy drove off, the canvas tops shielding the Kumo from most of the humidity outside. 

Light rain tapped against the canvas roofs as they entered they wove through dirt jungle roads towards their destination, the trucks rumbling through a steadily worsening road. Qasvi was quick to apologize to the soldiers for the inbound bad terrain. "Expect to be shaken a deal ahead. We haven't driven vehicles about this terrain since last year because of landslides from the monsoons."

Mercifully nothing happened along the route as the trucks finally pulled up to a small outpost, its dozen-Territorial contingent presenting themselves outside to receive the marines. Qasvi led the Kumo before the commanding lieutenant, a Crown whose circlet had been clasped about their worn forage cap. He held himself with dignity despite the worn condition of his equipment and troops, maintaining a respectful salute before the Kumo.

[Sophie]

First Lieutenant Ozaki Aoi walked up to the commanding territorial and returned the salute before speaking. "You're the field officer in command? Give me a full sitrep. How far are we from the royalist base? Give me all the intel you have on it. Most importantly I need to know about their outside sentries. I also need to know good places to set up camp for me and my marines. We're going to watch the base for a day before we begin the assault."

[StaolDerg]

The officer nodded, returning to parade rest as they began to brief the Kumo. "We are about 30 kilometers away from the enemy base. They have regular patrols that operate from a small number of hidden outposts that surround the main base, acting as an early warning system. A network of tunnels from nearby feeds these outposts to what are believed to be other bases in order to reinforce their numbers in case of an attack. We believe about six to twenty personnel may man the outposts at any given time, with booby traps and mines looted from government stockpiles scattered throughout. My scouts have compiled a comprehensive map of several potential routes and their dangers."

He reached into a messenger bag and presented the lieutenant with a folder, containing a couple of hand drawn maps with coordinates annotated to designate traps and patrol routes.

"The inner sentries that man the base itself are difficult to verify, but we know of at least four sniper positions, two of which are located on a nearby cliffside, the others either on a fashioned watchtower upon the ruins itself or sometimes on a nearby bluff, the location of which is located on your map. A safe camping location that should suit your needs is enclosed- a couple of shallow caves near the base of a nearby shallow canyon that is shielded from patrols by the dense shrubbery. The temperature there should be at a stable low comfortable for Kumo to camp. It is located only six kilometers away from the enemy base, with an elevated position for you to scout from."

[Sophie]

Aoi sneered at the officer. "This intel had better be good. We'll start making way for the camp immediately so we can get everything set up. We'll begin scouting as soon as we're comfortable with our position in the cave. We'll keep a minimum of a two-kilometer radius from the royalist base during the scouting mission. We'll confirm the locations of the snipers and all outside patrol positions. We'll only scout for a day, the less time we spend skulking around the less time they have to figure out we're here. Keep your radios on, we'll send out a message if we need support from the territorial army." Aoi nodded taking the maps and other intel that was provided to her and stuffing them in her already massive rucksack.

Aoi walked out to where the rest of her team was waiting. Each of them was wearing similar large rucksacks and uniforms that camouflaged well into the marsh. They all began their long trudge towards the marked area their campsite was set to be in. It took them a solid eight hours of dedicated hiking before Aoi noticed the exact layout of shrubbery that was indicated on their intel documents. The team pulled back the shrubs to reveal a cave that was the perfect size to hold all thirteen of them. They took a few hours to rest but when night fell they left most of their gear hidden in their camp and began to scout the area.

[StaolDerg]

The officer bowed again respectfully, quietly setting his jaw at the sneer. "Of course, Lieutenant-kama. We will be on stand-by in the area listening for your signal. A battalion from the 17th Standard Territorials have been detached from their duties and await dispatch should you need reinforcements at any time." He'd keep in formation up until Aoi left to her troops, joining Qasvi in overseeing the Kumo marines enter the jungle in silence.

Night would bring both the screaming of cicadas and chitters of bats in the darkened foliage, the moon concealed well by a dense roof of leaves. Their scouting would bring them into contact with observation posts marked on the map- easily overlooked wood panels or planks surrounded by turned foliage to conceal their occupants. Their sentries seemed mostly unarmed, unmoving on the panels while peeking through holes in the foliage for movement. Light was slmost completely absent, but the moon pierced through unnatural holes cut through the leaves above, illuminating thin spotlights where the paths were more easily traversable. Any movement would have to be taken carefully around their watch. The traps themselves were hidden with blankets of grass to hide them, containing anything from punji sticks coated with a dried oil to a four-meter drop into what turned out to be a nest of fire ants. Mosquitos infested the humid air they walked, buzzing about noisily- not even the patrols the marines would encounter were immune, three-person groups hiding netting-protected foxholes, quietly pinching those that managed to get in.

[Sophie]

The marines quietly scouted the area. They were sure to move slowly and deliberately. Anything that they thought even might be a trap they avoided and marked on their map. They all wore fake foliage over themselves so that when they were still and laying down they looked no different than a bush unless someone took a very good look. They were very careful to stay out of any light and kept an eye out for bugs swarming any specific position. They were easily able to discover several lookout and sentry positions and marked them on their map for destruction during the raid. Being Kumo, bugs were naturally averse to the marines, though any that did get curious or hungry and approached them were easily ensnared in the webbing that they used to cover their body. The webbing latched from different parts of the fake foliage that stuck out from their bodies.

After several hours of scouting and map marking the sun begins to crest. The marines very rapidly retreat into their previously set up camp to rest. Before resting they inspect their gear and triple check to make sure every piece of equipment is up to the high standards of the Kumo military. Just before they fall asleep, Aoi receives a message on her radio from the RBS Hokori assuring her that the battleship would be in position for the assault.

[StaolDerg]

Morning would bring the quiet rotation of shifts as the Royalists exchanged spots with one another- their patrols continued uninterrupted by the late actions of the Kumo forces. The marines' eight legs were undetectable in the spread foliage- and to most of the soldiers, that Kumosenkan would care enough about their presence to send more than regular territorials was at most laughable. They continued their unbroken watch however, emerging from foxhole shelters to exchange places in the humid air. Clay made of dried mud with thatched reeds held up their shelter roofs as they held their position, all staying out of view of the sun for more than the blinging rays that pierced the dark green heaven above their heads.

At noon a gentle rain came, drenching the fertile soil into sticky mud, the royalists simply huddling down into their pot-like shelters, some enjoying a small meal of fruit as they continued to stare out into the humid shower. The camp of the marines was only barely exposed to the heat, a slight crevasse directing the rain into a small downpour just to their side, exposing previously dirt-covered water caverns that flowed out to somewhere underground. The waterfall was an effective heat sink, leaving the cranny where the marines rested cool. If it weren't for the situation they were in, it would've been easy to imagine a fine vacation there.

The Territorials at the outpost were well nervous, manning their stations with tired but alert eyes. The intelligence officer had a map of the region unfurled before her in the earthenwork bunker, painstakingly marking the course of the Kumo battleship as well as the marines' positions. If they needed help, she didn't want to be found lacking in preparation. The radioman sat next to her, patiently listening to Kumo military channels for the expected orders. They met eyes only once, both anxious for what condition the marines were in the deafening radio silence.

[Sophie]

As the marines awoke from their short rest under the rocks, the rain continued to batter the outside. The sun was still up so the marines took their time getting prepared for the mission. They each ate a breakfast MRE and collapsed their tents, stuffing them in the back of the cave. As the sun began to set Aoi set up her radio and called out to the Territorial soldiers. She first rattled off the confirmation code "Sigma, Gamma, Alpha, Alpha, Sigma, Delta, Theta." She then began relaying information. "Scouting mission successful. 85% confidence in enemy positions. Remain on standby, ready to deploy for the next 16 hours. If you must rest, rest now. Ready stations in maximum four hours."

Shortly after Aoi received word that the RBS Hokori was in position. The sun set and the marines quickly geared up and were on the move. They were easily able to avoid every single trap they had scouted out the previous night but were careful not to move hastily and risk discovering another by way of walking into it. Slowly, one by one, the marines began executing everyone inside of the foxholes and outposts. They took every single one by complete surprise and were able to kill all of the soldiers with knives only.

After clearing out every last one of the marked outposts they began circling the compound itself. Aoi felt her bloodlust rising. She was only able to get one kill during the process of outpost clearing. She wanted more. Her eyes fixated on the dilapidated tower that poked out of the ground like a sore thumb. She was practically drooling, knowing her quarry was so close to her. She called over the radiowoman and called out to the Hokori. "RBS Hokori, this is First Lieutenant Ozaki Aoi. Begin predetermined fire mission in exactly ten mikes. Load high explosive shells. I repeat high explosive shells. Will correspond if change in shell type is needed."

The radio began speaking back with heavy static. "-opy Lieutenant. Fire mission -gins in ten minutes. Please be aware of thirty-second trav- time for the sh-ls. -rning shells will be danger close. Be inside before they arrive."

The marines began to move. Two of whom were snipers and took up positions on opposite ends of the tower, ready to kill anything that had less than eight legs. The other eleven began their approach to the tower. Three shots rang out from the snipers' positions eliminating the remaining Royalists on the outside of the compound. The marines were now at the door, and ready to breach.

[StaolDerg]

It would be an understatement to say that the Royalists were prepared for the marines. They had expected at worst maybe a squad of Territorial Rangers with demolition charges- certainly not the Kumo marines knives as they were slaughtered in their foxholes with hardly a sound. A few managed to grab their weapons, only to be knifed in the back as they turned to level their weapons, dropping the aged firearms to the soft soil as drops of blood painted the foliage a dark crimson still warm with departing life. The pots they'd used for cover turned into graves as their bodies were shoved down and back under the netting they'd emerged from hardly a few hours ago, concealing the struggle to any missed forces.

The remaining soldiers at the compound only noticed the attack a few seconds too late, a single Royalist left alive from the initial barrage of sniper fire. The Crown touched their shattered jaw with a shaking hand, lifting it to his face to see the blood covering it like he'd dipped his whole hand in warm paint. He blinked down the barrel of the Kumo officer's pistol leveled before his face like another infernal eye. Head spinning from the pain and shock, his last thoughts was comparing the red of his blood to the molten wax that sealed liquor bottles at home, where he should've been rather than this lonely ruin by the sea.

He blinked again, and was no more.

---

In the steel belly of the Hokori, the shouts of the fire order echoed down the brass tubes to the levels of the guns, ushering the beast's crew to life in a flurry of shouts and motion. Gears ground and motors trembled as the elevators brought the 18-inch high-explosive rounds to the breeches of the cannons, followed by the dirty-white bags of propellant behind it in a column of grunting loaders as they ran the rounds into the guns themselves in pairs of coarse hands. The breeches sealed with the slams of the doors, their payloads secured by the clockwork seals of the door locks. With the deck alarm rising and falling in a steady beat, the crew ducked within the arteries of the battleship as the turrets rotated towards the shore in unison, raising in a series of resounding echos as they set their range and targets from the mechanical brain whirring within.

For a brief moment, the air was still as the metal giant watched the shore with piercing glass eyes, shattered by the heaving-shaking chorus of the guns as they fired in a thunder of billowing smoke and fire, parting the waves themselves with their report. The skies themselves were deafened by the sharp whistles of the nine thunderbolts as the Empress sent her telegram to the Royalists of Elenria, addressed "To whom it may concern!"

[Sophie]

As soon as the ten minutes were up Aoi and her team immediately breached the door. There wasn't anyone immediately inside the door. There was a long ramp going downwards and voices could be heard coming from deeper below. The marines began moving quick as possible down the stairs. As soon as they saw a landing they stopped moving. Aoi pointed at two of her shotgunners and motioned them to move up. Specialist Ayumi and Kimiko both began moving forward and pulled out two of the newly developed stun grenades. Ayumi opened the door and they both tossed their grenades in. The grenades clanked against the concrete floor and the conversation in the room immediately died off. The silence hung in the air like a spider from a web. It was broken by a loud BANG followed by a FWOOM. One of the grenades detonated perfectly as intended, while the other burst into flames.

Ayumi kicked open the door. Revealing six Royalists some on the ground, others were stumbling for their weapons that were left against the wall. They were all dazed, blind, and confused. Ayumi was the first to fire. She drew her shotgun, pointed it at the closest Royalist, and pulled the trigger. A loud BANG and the royalist was filled with metal pellets all throughout his torso. He immediately collapsed. Several of the pellets had entered his heart killing him instantly. Kimiko quickly followed suit and fired upon another Royalist. She fired on another Royalist. Her shot was high and nailed the Royalist in the upper shoulder and neck. The pellets tore out the entire left section of his neck. He wasn't killed instantly, instead, he collapsed to the ground, choking on his own blood and sinew.

Ayumi and Kimiko held their positions by the door while the rest of the marines barged into the room. Finally, thirty seconds had passed and the ground itself began to shake as 18-inch high explosive shells began detonating on the surface. One could mistake it for an earthquake if it weren't repeated eight times. Nine shells impacted on the surface shaking the earth to its core and hopefully disorienting anyone who was not prepared for it. Even the marines had to reorient themselves after the detonations. They managed to capture one of the six Royalists in the room after killing the other five. The captured royalist was wounded however. He had taken an eight-millimeter Nambu round into his left thigh. Aoi pointed at Ayumi and began barking orders. "Specialist Ayumi! Secure the prisoner immediately. Try not to fuck it up this time." Ayumi flinched at the attack but quickly jumped on the surviving Royalist. She forced his arms into handcuffs and aggressively smashed his head into the concrete. The Royalist was out cold but Ayumi stayed on top of him.

"Come on ladies we don't have time to sit around let's move! Get four grenades down that hallway now!" Aoi pointed down the only other exit out of the room. A wide hallway that led to what they were told was living quarters. Two of the submachine gunners, a riflewoman, and Kimiko all drew stun grenades. They pulled the pin and threw them as deep as they could into the next room. As all four grenades detonated successfully the hallway erupted in a mess of gunfire. The marines were prepared to run in as soon as the grenades exploded and most were not in cover. Three of the marines were hit. One in the stomach, one in her right foreleg, and right-center foreleg, and one in the neck.

The marines fell back behind cover as the gunfire continued to ring out. "Kyo!" Aoi shouted over the shots. "Stay back and tend to the wounded!" Kyo turned to Aoi, clutching her gut her hands were already red. "On it... ma'am." She coughed and collapsed on the ground. "Shit." Aoi froze for a second before pointing to another one of the marines. "You stay back and tend to the wounded! Everyone else, return fire and move up! Now!" As she gave out the order the next round of high explosive shells from the RBS Hokori landed outside, shaking the earth with its massive explosions. Some of the Kumo fell to the ground, but were quickly able to steady themselves. The marines used the cover of the explosions to litter the hallway with gunfire. They pushed forward into the room. They killed the set of Royalists that had fired into the hallway with ease. They quickly finished off the rest of the Royalists in the room as they were still disoriented from the explosions on the surface and the grenades. At one point Aoi had run out of ammunition in her submachinegun's magazine and tackled a Royalist. The Royalist stabbed a knife into Aoi's abdomen while Aoi strangled the Royalist until he passed out.

Leaving the knife in her abdomen Aoi stood and flipped the Royalist around and placed him in handcuffs. She ordered another marine to keep him in check before moving to the next hallway. She grunted out orders to the remaining marines. "As soon as the next round of high explosives hit we rush the armory. There can't be that many more of them left. We can't risk another one of the grenades catching fire and burning all of the evidence in there." One of the marines asked with a very concerned tone, "Aoi-kama. Shouldn't you sit out?" Aoi glared at the marine and shook her head. As if to punctuate her point the next round of high explosive shells landed. Steadying themselves against the walls, the marines sprinted into the hallway. Sporadic gunfire was thrown their way, but none of it landed. They fired on the Royalists on sight killing every last one of them that had their hands on a weapon.

Finally, the compound was secure, Aoi snatched the radio off the radiowoman and called out to the Hokori. "Hokori this is Aoi. Immediately cease fire mission. The mission is successful. Return to previous operations. Thank you for your assistance and service. With Honor to the Empress." The Hokori answered back quickly, "Confirmed, good work lieutenant. Be aware current salvo is already en route. RBS Hokori returning to previous operations." The armory itself was paneled with ceramic tiles. Many of which had shattered or splintered from that assault from the battleship. There were wooden racks of guns racked up against the wall and several dozen wooden cases stacked on a table. Several of the guns and cases now lay scattered on the floor. The weapons mostly consisted of rifles but there were a handful of automatic weapons. There were Galran fifth war uniforms stocked in crates. Loose cans of ammunition were stacked on shelves were now knocked onto the floor. Loose rounds covered the floor. "Spirits above. We really made a mess of this place." One of the marines spoke out.

Corporal Yuko was taking particular interest in the uniforms. She pulled one of them out of the crate and looked over it. "Galra..? In the name of the spirits, why would Galra be supplying the royalists?" Aoi had collapsed onto the ground trying not to clutch the knife that was embedded in her abdomen. "It's not our job to figure that out." She snapped. "Someone get this spirit damn knife out of my body." Yuko quickly dropped the uniform back into the crate and ran over to Aoi. She waved over specialist Chiyo. "Alright, Chiyo-kas. You pull out the knife and I'll apply the bandage." Chiyo nodded and put her hands on the knife which caused Aoi to flinch. Chiyo pulled out the blade carefully, as to not further cut up her commanding officer. Once the knife was fully out Yuko quickly applied a large adhesive bandage to the wound.

Now, with her wound patched up, Aoi stood and began to inspect the room further. It was then that she heard the sounds of someone struggling. She walked over to an arch in the wall. The arch held a now very short hallway that ended in a significant amount of rubble. Beneath the rubble was another Royalist wearing a Galran colonel uniform with the appropriate ranking stitched on and a traditional chest plate from the pre-Kumo era. Aoi whistled at the trapped officer which quickly got his attention. "I take it you're the officer in charge here? Well if you're not I guess you are now. You'll be coming with us. Don't do anything stupid." Aoi took the butt of her weapon and slammed it into the officer's forehead. It didn't instantly knock him out so she hit him again and he was out cold.

[StaolDerg]

The Ouhiri-shattering impacts of the battleship had done something of a number to even the hardened members who'd fought in the Fifth Staol War- they were nowhere prepared for the fast strike of the marines, nor the disorienting effects of the stun grenades. Even as they moved about in attempt to mobilize, the sounds of skittering and gunfire were distant as the Kumo marines blitzed in, overwhelming their defenses even as they desperately scrambled to mount a defense. The officers were well knocked out- some were buried alive in the collapsed tunnels, others nailed to the wall by blazing streaks of gunfire. The few who had survived to be taken prisoner from the initial fight were the few among them to leave the bunker at all, the remaining survivors immediately executed by the Kumo.

The Territorials streamed in only a short while later, called in to extract the marines. For the Kumo wounded, they brought stretchers- or in this case, four-person teams to carry the wounded Kumo on a single pair of poles with a tarp between to suspend them. The other Territorials busied themselves with the bodies of the Royalists, throwing blankets over them and wrapping them away.

Qasvi and the lieutenant made themselves present before Aoi, saluting to her as the majority of the Territorial battalion swarmed the area to deal with the leftovers. Both noticed her wounds, but reluctant to draw ire, did not comment on the bandage as they bowed.

“Lieutenant Aoi-kama, we’re bringing you back to the base for debrief. Is there anything we should know for post-battle operations? ”