TSFiA: Grey Knights on Fiery Steeds
Northern Italy, 1985
The call to evacuate came without warning, with little time for anyone to gather their precious belongings and escape. The front lines took a strange turn as the BETA horde began their push towards direction of the sleepy Italian town, rather than the expected path further inland. Some stubbornly held to their homes, while others fled with little more than the clothing on their backs. UN forces watched the horizon as the people scrambled to get things organized.
In the midst of the chaos, a bone-chilling message came through: the defense lines had fallen, and UN and European forces were on the retreat. Though kept from the population at first, the message was leaked and the message spread, and almost immediately the evacuation exploded into a frenzy of panicked civilians and overwhelmed soldiers. Friends turned on each other, madness becoming as great an enemy as BETA. The UN lost control of the situation.
Then, their worst fears came over the mountain. Like an avalanche of grotesque flesh, BETA swarmed over the mountain line. Though filled with terror, those still in the town could only watch helplessly as their deaths charged towards them.
“Almighty God, I am coming to your side,” they prayed, accepting their inevitable ends.
The roar of engines soared overhead, the growl of heavy trucks rumbled down the streets, and the thunder of boots marching towards the enemy roused the people from their fears. As citizens and soldiers alike looked on in wonder, a tide of grey rushed to meet the enemy head on.
As dozens of fresh men poured from these newly arrived trucks to assist, hope swelled with the people’s chests as these newcomers joined the battle. United Nation soldiers would find new comrades in grey battle fatigues, their firepower joining theirs. As the vanguard of these unknown reinforcements, grey-painted F-4 Phantoms and F-5E Tornadoes lined up at the town’s border to create a new defense line.
“We will hold this scum,” a pilot growled through external speakers. “Leave no woman or man behind!”
He pointed a melee halberd at the BETA horde. “Grey Knights! Strike them down with all your might!”
The Tornados blazed forward, pilots bellowing a warcry as they threw themselves into the fray. Behind them, Phantoms formed a wall of fire with their assault cannons, followed by the crack-booms of artillery and tank cannons adding their support. The first fighters smashed into the bullet-riddled BETA line, carving a fresh wound into the horde.
“Ritter Two, deploying Guided Rounds.”
“Ritter Three, deploying Guided Rounds.”
Those without melee halberds and supplemental armor charged in with fixed armaments, missile containers, and guns; the barrage of high explosives bathing BETA in fire and shrapnel. Be with blade or cannon, the TSFs would make sure the BETA could go no further on. And indeed, while they could not push the BETA back, the enemy could not approach the town.
Emboldened by their newfound allies, the UN rejoined the battle. They shook off the cold grip of fear and joined these strangers at the line. Infantry found new fire, and pilots took to the skies again.
A flight of blue F-15 Eagles leapt into the fray alongside a grey Tornado, a burst of cannon fire killing a Grappler-type before it could swipe at the fighting machine. “This is Silber One of the , United Nations One-Twenty-Sixth Tactical Fighter Squadron. My apologies for the delay in deploying. Hope you don’t mind us joining you.”
The Tornado turned to face them, revealing both a bloodied front and glistening halberd, “This is Crusader Two of the Grey Knights Third Company. I thank you for your support. Any man who wishes to fight beside us, we will gladly call brother. Now come! There are plenty of these monsters to slaughter!”
To punctuate his words, the knight impaled a Grappler’s “head” before cutting into its body. The Tornado’s engines howled as it propelled Crusader Two forward. “Drive them back!”
Grey and blue fighters held the first and final line with furious sword and fire. Their skills and machines were pushed to the limit, the weight of their responsibility dispelling any sense of fatigue. Yet, for every creature killed, dozens more replaced it. They fought an unending tide of flesh and teeth. While the line held, it also buckled under the sheer numbers.
A grey TSF went down with a burst of cannon fire, the machine overwhelmed as a Grappler BETA got in a blow to its torso. Though it moved in to help, a second TSF was overtaken by a swarm of Tanks climbing over it, its armor quickly chewed through and its pilot torn apart.
“Sir! Crusader Four and Five are down!” Crusader Three called in. This would cut their squadron numbers to four, leaving a hole in the defense. This gap was enough for a Grappler to slip through, nearly bowling over Crusader Two as it charged through. Before it could, however, Crusader Two’s shield-bearing arm snapped out like a whip, smashing the heavy shield into the alien’s flesh. The shield’s reactive plates exploded, shattering the BETA’s body and leaving only a mass of pulped gore.
“Crusaders, liftoff and fall back!” Two barked the order then switched radio frequencies. “Crusader Two to Ballista unit. Suppressive fire requested at sector charlie-hotel-two-two-one, danger close.”
His radio crackled briefly before a clear reply came through. “Roger, Crusader two. Shifting field of fire. Might want to get out of the way.”
The void left as Crusader squadron retreated was filled with a rain of artillery and heavy cannon fire, butchering the BETA before they could take advantage. Moments later, Crusaders returned to the fray, having reorganized. Before returning to the fight, however, Crusader Two turned to address his new friends.
“Silber One, I would ask you and your men to assist us in holding this sector. A single weak point is enough to collapse the entire line, which would surely doom that town.”
In response, the lead F-15 raised a single fist into the air, signalling for the squadron to regroup on him. Four fighters answered the call. “After seeing all that? You got it, Crusader Two. The One-Twenty-Sixth is with you.”
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A safe distance away, refugees marched with heavy loads but hopeful hearts, climbing into waiting trucks with reluctance. On top of a hill with a lone tree, a young woman gazed into the distance. She could see the town from here, the plumes of black smoke reminiscent of a cruel cremation.
“Ma’am?” a soldier spoke behind her. His helmet reminded her of the barbute helms she saw in museums. ”We need to go.”
The young woman gave one last look at her home, once a quaint and peaceful place, now both a battlefield and a lost cause. The home of her father, her grandfather, and those before them, stood no longer. Only herself and her brother would remember.
“Ma’am.” the soldier’s voice was quiet but resolute. “We are leaving now.”
“Si,” she nodded, sealing away the memory of home into her very soul. “Andiamo.”
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Organization Profile - Grey Knights
Affiliation - United Nations / Private Company
Area of Operation - Europe
UN Designation - 6th Special Activities Division, 2nd Tactical Operations Group
The Grey Knights is a Private Military Company that rose to prominence during the fall of the European continent. Deploying not only TSFs, but also infantry, engineers, and other support units, they quickly became a favored supplement or even replacement to full-scale military operations. In particular, it is believed that there would have been a greater loss of life in the 1980s evacuations of European nations had the Grey Knights not been contracted to operate with UN forces. They offer scalable resources and services for both military and civilian contracts, providing the muscles, brains, and logistics necessary for operations of any length.
Despite their European origins, the Grey Knights bear no particular national allegiance. Instead, they find pride in fighting for those that need their strength. To help differentiate themselves, units utilize unique heraldry emblazoned upon shield-like plates, especially on their tactical fighters. Also interesting to note are the purely cosmetic modifications to their TSFs’ heads, remodeling them to have the armored visor helms of the knights of old. Early on, the company utilized F-4 Phantoms and F-5 variants, but as newer technologies were revealed, the Grey Knights adopted the EF-2000 Typhoons and the French Rafale as their official mounts. While highly capable marksmen, pilots’ combat doctrine leans more towards close combat, with the higher ranking pilots wielding BWS-3 Great Swords. It is a thrilling sight to see a Grey Knight TSF charge its enemy with melee halberd in hand.