Silath, Chapter 2

The ship rumbled as it broke atmosphere, shaking the soldiers around me in their restraints. I gripped the bar above me tighter, spreading my legs wider as I looked at the face of each Decale unit. They looked confident and ready, pointed ears perked in alertness. The third officer (I believe his name was Kaln) was speaking with his Charge. I couldn't hear them over the roar.
There are not many ranks within the Nith forces. In the case of a ground assualt, a third officer commands nine other soldiers, three of them being Decale Charge, a sort of second-in-command and specialist. The other six are simply Decale; basic combat units. A second officer is in charge of several of these ten-man squads, usually five, and a first officer oversees a band of second officers. Servas operate similarly, but their area of expertise is on equipment operation; not combat.
I relaxed as we broke atmosphere, the ride smoothing considerably. I gazed out the windshield of the ship, the Grassling world below us. We would be among the first to land, hundreds of other ships launched from the fleet right behind us.
The Decale were all clad in ceramic armor, painted a dark green, a backpack held between their knees. Magazine pouches, radio, and a long bayonette dangled from belts around their waists, five of them holding a short automatic rifle in their laps. On their right thigh was an automatic pistol, with magazines for it on their left thigh. Covered in armor and weapons, each was a fearsome sight. The other three were the Decale Charge; one carrying a scoped, long range rifle, the other two lugging light machine-guns.
I was clad in similar armor, although mine was a dark red, the same color as that of the Farin's Claw armor. I carried the same pistol and rifle as the other soldiers. Both were accurate, reliable, and relativly lightweight, using polymer and aluminum parts where possible.
The pilot turned from his seat and shouted, informing us that landfall outside the city would occur in just under three minutes. I nodded in reply, turning to peer out the windscreen. We had slowed to about five-hundred miles an hour, slowly dropping in speed. I gazed at the land speeding beneath us; flat plains, occupied by high grasses and trees along rivers and streams. Off in the distance rose mountains; nothing spectacilur.
The Grasslings had earned their name due to their tendancy to inhabit these vast plains. The grass that covered them was prickly and tough, which was probably why the Grasslings themselves were covered in a thick, scaly hide. It would be hell to walk through with fur, but vehicles would be dropped shortly after we arrived on the ground.
The meta-plan for occupation of the Grassling world was simple; the first task was to take command of the major cities dotted across the plains. Once this domination of the major urban areas was complete, trade and barter would largely be under our control. The second task would be to send expidiotanary forces from the cities into the surrounding farmlands, securing food and other neccesary resources. Third, we would tackle the smaller towns in the higher elevations, nestled withing the coniferous forests their.
It seemed the Grasslings had not thought the large rainforests encompassing vast portions of the souther continents worth inhabiting, likely due to the difficulties of comabating the environment there. We, however, would waist no time in setting the Grasslings to work harvesting resources across their world.

The ship slowed as a city came into view, sprawled across the side of one of the many small lakes dotting the plains. Calling it a city hardly seemed fair, now that I was able to see it in person. In Nith standards, it would hardly qualify as a backwoods town; estimates placed the population at roughly thirty-thousand. The buildings were mostly earthen, consisting of sod with wooden reinforcement. Here and there larger buildings arose, two, three, or even four stories tall and made of sun-baked clay bricks. A large earthen berm and ditch surrounded the city, offering a basic sort of defence.
Twenty-nine other ships would be landing with us on this city, circling and trapping it's inhabitants against the shores of the lake. One hundred-to-One odds were not favourable, but we were certain that once we showed our superior tactical strength, fear would even the odds.
We had discovered thirty-nine of these major cities, with three hundred Decale being sent to each. The initial assualt wave would be a little under twelve-thousand troops. Eight-thousand more sat in reserve aboard the fleet's four personnel carriers (Each holding five-thousand Decale)
The dropship hovered and began to descend as the third officer ordered the other men to sling on their packs, double check their weapons, and attach bayonets. A jolt ran through the ship as it touched the ground, the large door lowering and offering a ramp to exit. The officer headed to the ramp, the other Decale getting to their feet to follow. I watched in interest. A few hours earlier I had told the officer I would allow him to be completely autonomous of my commands; I wanted him to behave as if I weren't there.
Calling over his back as his feet touched the Grassling soil for the first time, the officer called out to his men.
"Remember! If they're too close, stab, then shoot. Don't waste your time targeting something charging at you from feet away! Stab em, shoot em, then on to the next!"
A chorus of "Yes, third officer!" rang out and the Decale descended, spreading into a semi-circle on the ground. I followed, and as we moved out of range of the blast of the dropship's thrusters it took off once more into the sky. Within an hour it would be back, this time toting a Scythe; a six-wheeled armored vehicle for the squads use.

We had landed about a mile from the outskirts of the city. I suspected that soon Grasslings would begin to appear; curiosity often overwhelmed fear, at least in the beggining. The third officer began giving orders to clear an area of the two foot tall grass to wait in until the Scythe arrived. The Decale began to trample and cut the weeds with their bayonettes.
After a few minutes, the Third-Officer's radio crackled, the planet's atmosphere messing with the transmission slightly. It would be the Second-Officer in command of this squad and four others checking in.
"All squads city one, segment one, this is command. Report landfall status, recieved?"
The Third-Officer, Kaln, slid his radio from it's pouch and spoke.
"Command, recieved, this is sqaud one. Landfall succesful, awaiting Sycthe delivery, end."
A moment passed while the transmission travelled through to the command ship.
"Squad one, recieved. Advisor Silath is with you, correct?"
I rolled my eyes as the Third-Officer looked to me and shrugged. I nodded to him.
"Command, that is correct." he paused for a moment, then continued. "I've been told by the Advisor that she and squad one are 'independant entities'. All appropriate radio traffic should be relayed to her, recieve?"
"Squad one, recieved. Await orders . End transmission."
I could have sworn I heard a chuckle in the Second-Officers voice. I looked down at my own radio and debated turning it off.
Over the next minute the other four squads all reported in succesful landfalls. As we awaited delivery of the Scythe, a few Grasslings appeared in the distance, peering at us. The crowd slowly grew, and radio chatter confirmed that similar circumstances were happening at nearly every landfall site. The creatures had finally begun to creep closer, althout still a good quarter-mile away, when the dropship arrived carrying the Scythe, sending the Grasslings scrambling.
"Alright, everyone climb aboard." Third-Officer Kaln called out, heading for the passenger gunner seat. "Time to enjoy ourselves."
The Scythe bristled with weapons; a light machine-gun in front of the passengers seat, a medium machine-gun on each side of the squad compartment, and an automatic grenade launcher in a turret on top. Plated in a thicker, heavier version of the dark-green ceramic armor Decale troops wore, it would be impossible for Grasslings to take down.
As one of the Decale began to climb into the top turret, I snatched his tail and dragged him back down.
"I was thinking I might have a little fun first, if you don't mind terribly?"
The Decale shook his head, averting his eyes.
"Of course not, Advisor. It would be our honor."
I smiled and shook his armored shoulder before climbing up into the turret. Loading the weapon, I rotated the turret in the direction of the Grasslings, who had regathered into a group about half a mile away. Tilting the barrel upwards, I let off a string of five rounds, the thumping sound pleasant to my ears. A second later, the rounds hit, exploding at their feet, and subsequently blowing them off, along with various other body parts. It would be an interesting day.