Starsiege: Tharsis City, Mars, 2829.

[Fleet Adm. John Ambrose]

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Starsiege, Earth Siege or Earth Siege 2, and I never will. I can only dream...

Chapter 1

For once, the surface of Mars was calm. No sand storms swept through the city. No one was taking a stroll about the city. Everyone was to afraid to even walk outside, because of the d**ned Imperial Knights. It was all because they had beaten the Imperial Police. The Emperor had sent his elite forces to Mars to vanquish the rebellion, all because they didn't want to be ruled under the Empire.
But once the Knights had landed, the rebellion was at war. They were willing to die for their cause. That cause was to be free.
But the war did not go well for them. Already, the rebellion had lost half of it's newly captured territories. Their main base of Operations was now staged at Tharsis- for now, anyway. The Rebels had gotten hold of some intelligence that the Knights were on their way, with their leader: Caanon Weathers. The brother of Harabec Weathers; former knight, but now leader of the Free Martian Alliance.
The Tharsis Rebels were now on full alert. Their smallest Herc's were patrolling the outskirts of the city, while the big daddy's rested inside the city, just waiting for the time to strike. That time was to come in a few minutes. A Rebel patrolling the city immediately contacted headquarters.
"Sir, my scanners are picking up multiple contacts heading this way in wedge formation. They're coming south south east, just a click away from my position."
Harabec came on the comm.
"Order all units to retreat into the city. Put all artillery units on stand by. We're bugging out."
The Emancipators patrolling the city immediately began to return to the city. The joined with the rest of their defense squads for the coming strike, and waited in silence. The battle was about to begin.

~~~

The Knights had planned this day for so many weeks. They were about to attack Tharsis, and destroy Rebel headquarters. And unless Harabec really was as smart as they thought, it was going to be an easy battle. And the leader of the large battalion leading this assault, was of course, Grandmaster Caanon, aka Icehawk. He wanted to take Harabec by the head and slit his throat, and then present it to the Emperor as his victory token... that is just how much he hated his brother for betraying the Empire.
"I know you're out there, brother," Caanon kept muttering over the comm. This was really starting to piss Jaguar, the second in command, off- big time.
Then, Caanon was surprised to see multiple contacts on his scanners coming in bound on both sides.
"We got incoming boogies! Break formation and engage!" ordered Caanon. It was the BDU, the Black Death Union. One of the many mercenary groups the Rebels paid to fight for them.
This Black Death Union fought with stolen Herc's, mainly from the Imps. Then they painted them black and outfitted them with their best stolen tech. So this, just maybe, might be a good battle. One Caanon and Jaguar have both been waiting for for a very long time.
"They're all over us!" screamed an Imperial officer.
"There are way to many of 'em!" said Jaguar, quaking in fear. He hated the thought of dying.
"Just pick some targets and fire at will!" ordered Caanon angrily.
You could see the Herc's engaging each other now, there lasers, auto-cannons, flux whips and alien cash hitting each other shields and Armour.
Caanon maneuvered his Basilisk into the fray with ease and targeted a near by enemy Apocalypse. He shot right straight at the pilot's control pit and killed the pilot. The Herc just stopped dead in its tracks and fell forward, onto the ground.
Caanon's war paint glistened in the sun as he and his squad began to slowly pick off the enemy squadron. But to their dismay, another wave appeared on their scanners. They weren't even finished with the first two yet!
"I can't shake 'em!" said a young woman over the Imp comm. Then you heard a scream an an explosion coming from a small Talon near by.
Caanon stared wide eyed at that, and then he looked to the BDU Herc's with anger.
"All units, pull back to Wolf Perimeter! I can handle them here..." he said in an ice cold voice.
Then, he sped his HERC into the onslaught and began wreaking havoc on BDU forces. Hopefully, he could buy his squad some time to pull back.
I'll get you for this, brother, thought Caanon in rage as he destroyed yet another enemy HERC.

That's all I have time for for now. I might post some more in a few minutes... but then again, maybe not. Review!

[Fleet Adm. John Ambrose]

~~~

"Sir, the Knight squadron seems to be pulling back- wait, there is still one contact, and he's making bits and pieces of the BDU..." said a young communications officer, looking at the scanners.
Harabec looked at the scanners, grinning. He knew who it was that stayed behind- it was Caanon, of course. The only one who could match Harabec in a HERC battle.
"Order Convoy 2 to pull back to the tunnels, and have a light escort supporting them. Give the artillery a go to fire, and tell the BDU to get their asses out of there!" said Harabec as he left the headquarters room.
He put on his oxygen mask and his Martian clothes and then walked into the hangers. He looked around.
Of course, it didn't take him long to find his Apocalypse. His yellow and red war paint stood out between all the others, and the marking of the Phoenix on the thingypit, and two side launchers was unique from all the rest of the HERCS. Yes, Harabec's call sign was Phoenix.
He ran over, climbed up the ladder and jumped in. He turned on all systems, and even did a back-up check on the alien cache weaponry, but then he was gone in a flash.
He sped his HERC out of the hangers and in a few moments he would meet up with the attack squadron which was to hold the line for the Convoy and BDU to retreat.
At last, he met up with the five HERC, two Tank squadron, and he stopped in front of them. He could see each specially picked pilot inside their vehicles, just longing for some action.
"You have all been chosen to hold the line with me. That means, you're the best. Because I only choose the best. Now you do YOUR best to hold the line, and make sure those d**ned Knights don't get a clear shot of the convoy. Understood?"
"Yes sir," they all said in unison.
"Good." Now Harabec began to speak with the artillery pilots.
"Bulldog 1, this is Phoenix. Are you and your boys ready to give those Knights a poundin'?"
"Yes sir! Me and my boy-o's here have been waiting all day for this," said Bulldog 1 with glee.
"Good. Give those Knights all you got, and then pull out as fast as you can, you roj'?"
"Gotcha, sir!" said Bulldog 1. And then, communications were cut.
Then, Harabec got a hold of the BDU commander.
"Hey boys and girls. It's time to bug out before you're all blown to bits and pieces!" said Harabec.
"Roj' that, Phoenix." That's all he got out of 'em.
Just to make sure they weren't lying, Harabec checked his scanners. He could see the BDU pulling out, and Caanon and his squad reforming. Everything is going as planned so far... thought Harabec.
And then he heard it. The un-mistakable sound of artillery fire.

~~~

Just as Caanon ordered he and his squad to regroup, the artillery bombardment began. It came from both sides, too.
"Break! All units, break!"
Too late. The artillery pilots were good. They got two more of Caanon's squadmen blown to bits. It was another Basilisk and a Myrmidon.
"d**n! All units, began zig zag pattern!" said Caanon.
The remainder of the squadron started to maneuver their HERC's forward, but they were doing crazy zig zags, making there HERC's do sharp turns this way and that, like a snake's body in the water.
"We're almost there! Just keep zig zagging and keep heading in the general direction of Tharsis!" ordered Caanon.
You're good, brother. Very good, thought Caanon, grinning. He always liked a good challenge.
Suddenly, the artillery stopped. Caanon got his squad to reform again. But that's when he saw it. Multiple contacts were in bound toward his squad. They were at least out numbered 3 to 1 if they were to fight.
And that's when Caanon realized what he had to do.
"All units, retreat to Nav Zulu for extraction. We'll be back another day."
Then, Caanon and his squad slowed, turned around, and retreated toward the extraction point.
"TAC-COM, this is Icehawk. Requesting immediate extraction."
"This is TAC-COM. Dropship 1 has just been dispatched to your location. Nice try, Icehawk," said a young male voice.
I'll be back, brother, thought Caanon with rage. And he would be. He always kept promises.

~~~

As Harabec realized what was happening, he smiled. Caanon had lost, this time. He was retreating.
But his fellow squad mates were angry, of course. They had wanted some action. But they weren't going to get any. Not yet, anyway.
"Well, pull back to the city boys and girls. We have won this time. But he'll be back."
Harabec and his squad turned their HERC's around and pulled back to Tharsis City.
You'll be back, brother. And I'll be waiting, thought Harabec as he parked his HERC back in the hanger, got out, and walked toward headquarters.

[Fleet Adm. John Ambrose]

Anyone mind reviewing?

[Fleet Adm. John Ambrose]

Guess not

~~~

It had been two days since the first attempt to attack Tharsis City. The battle for control of Mars does not go well for the rebels. They have now lost three more cities to the Imperial Knights, and they now control half of what the Imperial Police did before, and they are slowly gaining more.
But at Tharsis, everything was going as planned. Harabec had now got all the convoys full of supplies and people out of there, and they're en route to Robinson. The convoy would then fuel up, and head for the mining tunnels just south of there, where no one would find them.
Another convoy split up with the main group at Robinson and headed towards a group of hidden mining tunnels just outside of Cimmeria.
Harabec was now on patrol with his squad: Verity, Delta 6, Sax and Riana. They were all good people, considering where they came from and what kind of back grounds they had, and they all fought for the freedom of Mars.
Harabec kept his Apocalypse going at a slow pace, along with the rest of the squad. He wanted to get clear scanner images; if you went to fast, you could see something, but then it would be gone in a flash.
"d**n, this sucks!" said Riana over the comm.
"Shut it, Riana. We're on a silent run. That means you got to be silent. So be silent," whispered Harabec fiercely.
He saw Riana nod through the hud of her Olympian, and then they kept on going.
Then, Harabec spotted something on his scanner. He motioned for the squad to speed up and head for the blip. But then came another- and another.
"Ooh no... squad, pull back to Tharsis! We're bugging out!
"This is Phoenix! BDU Squadron 3, where are you?"
"Right in front of you, Bek," said an older, veteran mercanary pilot. A squad of about seven HERC's un-cloaked in front of their eyes and passed Harabec's squad. Then, once they passed over the ridge, fire could be heard and seen being passed between them.
"We'll hold them off for as long as we can, Phoenix. Gods speed."
"Roj that! Out."
The Apocalypse, Avenger, Emancipator, Olympian and Dreadlock sped off, past the city, over a few more ridges, and out of sight. They had finally given up Tharsis City, with minimal casualties.
~~~

[Fleet Adm. John Ambrose]

They had made it safely past the Tharsis border, doing the best they could to avoid the few Imperial patrols and outposts in the area.
The squad had been traveling for about an hour with no resistance what so ever from Imperial Knights. It seemed they had forgot about Harabec. For now, anyway.
While Harabec and his squad headed for Capri Station, a rebel base deep inside the front-lines, he took out his small compact computer-like device and he checked News-Net on the Omni-Web for what was up with the Imperials.
There was a blurb about the Orbital Guard losing a probe to solar flares, and others about losing contact with Mercury. It didn't look to good- it looked like something was up.
There was nothing on Imperial Knight Victories or defeats; it seemed that his brother had finally got the Media to shut up for once.
But Harabec was caught off guard by a shining, beeping blip appearing on his scanners. He immediately went to full alertness.
"Cloak, people," Harabec whispered. They all immediately stopped in their tracks and cloaked.
It was an Imperial Knight patrol- a big one at that. There was a Gorgon leading the way, along with two Minotaur's, a Basilisk and a Paladin following behind. The perfect time to strike-
"Fire at will!" said Harabec as he uncloaked and immediately went guns-a-blazing towards the patrol.
They turned on the squad, and the battle began.
Harabec took the Gorgon. He maneuvered his Apocalypse swiftly and sharply through the fray, his autocannons, M-FAC and Blaster running hot. They were hitting the Gorgon's shields.
Harabec, being the pilot he was kept dodging the weapons of the Gorgon. And then, once he was close enough, he shot his M-FAC right at the hud of the Gorgon as his Apocalypse sped by at lightning speeds. The Gorgon, right after that, fell to bits into the dust.
The others of Harabec's squad easily picked off the rest of the Knight's, and then made sure they all were truly destroyed in the end.
In the end, there was no damage or causalities taken to Harabec's squad- because they were the best.
"Wohoo! We need some more of that goin' on, Bek," said Riana.
"d**n right. I found my thrill, on Blueberry hill that's for sure!" roared Sax.
"Shut it. We're still in a battle zone. I'd rather my squad mates stay focused then be partying in their huds- though, that was good fun..." said Harabec, grinning, as he and his squad sped off towards their destination, which was just about to be in sight just over the ridge ahead.

[Commander Wolf]

I like these, there very well done! =)

[Fleet Adm. John Ambrose]

Caanon slammed his fist down on the desk before him, slightly denting it.
"How could this happen! The Knights lost the chance to take Capri, Tharsis and Victoria! How could this happen!" said Caanon in rage, his head and heart pounding with rage.
"We tried the best we could, but the Dust Rats seem to have the support of a major mercenary group on Mars," said a younger Rookie officer.
"They're just a bunch of mercs! We should be able to beat them!" said Caanon. He sneered at the officer.
"Sir, why don't we just play their game? Next time we fight give them a free way out- let them have their own way of things. Maybe they just might agree to a cease-fire..." whispered the young officer, afraid if he raised his voice he might just be killed.
Caanon turned around and looked out the window out onto the city below. He rubbed his chin in thought. It just might work, he thought, one side of his mouth slightly tilted up-wards as an early form of a grin.
"You're right, Knight Slovinsky. Do what has to be done. I am going to be leading an attack against Capri and Ophir Stations," said Caanon in a low voice. Then, he walked out the small office he occupied at Carter Flats for the moment, and he headed towards the Hangers.
Brother, I'm coming for you... thought Caanon, enraged that his brother had gotten away from him and a Knight Patrol.
Once he reached the Hangers, he got into his pilot gear and climbed into his HERC. Once he was in their he tapped the Knight Communication systems and ordered his squad, and Hunter-Killer Squad 3, aka the "Harbringers" to meet him at the East End of Carter Flats for a before mission briefing.
Caanon made sure his main systems were operational, and then he sped his Basilisk out of the Hanger. He sped it towards his Nav Point, and then waited for the rest of the attack group.
The first to arrive was Knight-Captain 'Jaguar', in his Knight's Apocalypse outfitted with high tech missiles, heavy lasers and Electro Magnetic Pulse Cannons.
Then, slowly, the rest of the attack squad began to show up. In total there was nine HERC's and four tanks.
Once Caanon briefed them of their attack mission on Capri Station, he also told them that, if they break through the Rebel lines, they might be able to reinforce the Knight attack squadron currently attacking Ophir Station.
"OK! Let's move out!" said Caanon. Then, he turned his Basilisk around, and began to pilot it in the general direction of Capri Station.
~~~

[Fleet Adm. John Ambrose]

Anyone care to review my story? Please? I'm working really hard on this...

[spartan229]

I dont review stories until they are finished to tell the truth but I like what you have so far. Oce you finish it I will post a proper review but dont give up on it.

[Fleet Adm. John Ambrose]

Aah, I see. Well, in that case I better get to it! (It won't be done for a long time yet).

[Fleet Adm. John Ambrose]

~~~

Harabec had finally made it to Capri Station, with the rest of his squad in tow. As did the convoy which was sent there to re-supply the Rebel forces. A defense perimeter had now been established around the Station, and a defense grid as well. This was, of course, al Harabec's idea.
He, though he was one of the leaders of the Rebel's, was patrolling the defense perimeter along with his most trusted squad member: Verity Vargas. She had been under Harabec's leadership and tutolage for over four years now. She had learned much, and she had become a very skilled pilot.
"So," Verity began slowly, "do you think we'll see any action today?"
"No doubt about it," replied Harabec flatly, as if it was another day of a simple job-- well, to him it was.
"If we do, I think the sky will rain blood..." muttered Verity, and then she turned off her communicator.
She can be-- different, sometimes, thought Harabec, shrugging. And that's when he put his HERC on auto-pilot and he took out his "personnal Omni-Web computer" again. He entered the code to tap into Imperial Navy transmissions and confidental News Net transmissions, and he began to read it all.
It seemed as if the Empire had lost contact with Mercury. They think it was because of the massive solar flare that had also destroyed the Orbital Guard drone. But still, the Navy was putting itself on Amber 9, just to be on the safe side, and they had dispatched a small group of ships to investigate the area.
Other nnews was that the Knight's had taken Victoria, the capital of Mars, Haldane Station and Rio de Luz (due to the fact that the BDU excepted to pull all it's forces out and remain neutral in the rest of the "MarsSiege". It wouldn't be to much longer until the Knights had taken control of almost every major city and Station on Mars, and the Navy would come and destory the rest of them.
Harabec was shaken out of reading when a small green blip appeared on his screen (other then Verity who was yellow). He threw his small compact device in the back of his hud, and he took full control of his HERC.
"Go to full alert, Verity. We're going to intercept this bugger on our screens."
Harabec maneuvered his HERC, Verity following suit, to head towards the green blip-- which just didn't want to stop. The climbed and climbed the hill for what seemed like an eternity before they finally saw what it was heading towards them.
It wasn't an Imperial Knight, but it was an Emancipator. What would an mancipator be doing heading towards Capri Station, and not coming from it?