The horde crosses the threshold of the gate, and bellow an unholy amalgamation of a war cry as arrows begin flying out towards the Overwatch Transhuman Soldiers. One strikes a nearby Grunt in the throat, piercing through the thin biohazard coverage of their uniform into their throat.
The Grunt, knocked down but alive due to the extensive augmentations, stands back up and returns fire blindly into the horde, hitting a short green humanoid wielding a club. The short green humanoid, however, did not get back up.
The Ordinal fires pulse rounds from their AR1, before crouching behind cover as more arrows fly overhead.
[<: Overwatch, we have active hostiles. Advise preparations. :>]
A brief pause as the crackle of the radio is heard from within the Ordinal's helmet, as the Overwatch A.I. directly instructs the Ordinal.
[<: Copy that. Contain and control is underway... Forming tactical advantage. :>]
With the orders received, the Ordinal stands up from behind cover, and fires their AR1 at more of the oncoming horde, various non-humans fall from the impact of the pulse rounds as they pierce and cauterize through the various plate and chainmail armour.
The nearby Grunts and Suppressor notice the Ordinal pushing towards the gate, with the Grunts moving up with the Ordinal, firing their pulse SMGs at any nearby hostile that goes near them, whilst the Suppressor continues to fire their Pulse Minigun straight into the gate, shredding apart the limbs of a warhorse as it tumbles over and crushes its rider and nearby soldiers.
As the battle continues, alarms blare through the sky once more, a message for all the Combine assets on the ground.
<:: Reminder, ground teams: Mission Failure Will Result In Permanent Off-World Relocation. Response Code: Cauterize, Coagulate, Sterilize. ::>
The sudden alarm staggers and confuses groups of the non-humans, who are picked off one-by-one by the Transhuman Soldiers and Containment Corp, their leather and chainmail armour shredded apart by a combination of pulse and metallic rounds at close range.
Motivated by the Transhuman Forces, and under threat of off-world relocation, the Civil Protection begin to assist in pushing back through the gate and out of the plaza, the radio beginning to fill up with communications between the Protection Teams.
"<: PT-3 is moving in! :>"
One Civil Protection calls out over radio and vocoder, as a group of four civil protection move closer to the gate, using their USP-45 handguns to support the Transhuman Soldiers, focusing as a group on firing at the smaller green humanoids, whilst the Transhuman Soldiers begin to focus their attention on the soldiers on horseback, and the larger brutish humanoids.
"<: ARGH- :>"
One of the Civil Protection officer cries out, as a soldier on horseback charges past the Transhuman Soldiers and skewers them on a pike, the kevlar of the Civil Protection only blocking the pike from exiting out the back.
"<: All units be advised: Suspect is now high-speed. :>"
One of the remaining three Civil Protection reports over radio, as the rest of the Protection Team focuses on firing on the war horse, leading it to collapse.
The rider in an adrenaline-enhanced fury, quickly picks themselves up from the ground, and rushes the closest Civil Protection officer with a dagger from their waist, thrusting it through an unarmored joint in the abdomen.
The Civil Protection officer unloads their USP-45 in a flurry of panic, only for both to perish to the wounds of the dagger and various bullet wounds as they hit the ground.
The remaining two Civil Protection glance back at their two deceased team members, before moving closer to the Transhuman Soldiers to provide support- and receive greater protection from their superior equipment.
The Transhuman Soldiers continue to push the horde back, as the various Civil Protection Teams sterilize any stragglers who got past the frontline; the horde is noticeably smaller, as the war horses in the rear create a barrier for them to retreat, or for the supposed human officers to strike any of the invaders as they try to retreat.
Less than ten minutes has passed since the gate formed and the horde passed through, yet close to a hundred human invaders and countless other non-humans lay flatlined on the ground, kicked aside by the Transhuman forces and Civil Protection alike.
The remaining Protection Teams surrounding the plaza move in to assist, firing blindly into the horde, or focusing on stragglers that were missed by the Transhuman soldiers in the confusion of combat. In a final desperate attempt at victory- or in insanity- the remainder of the horde rushes towards the Transhuman forces and Civil Protection.
A brutish humanoid swings a large club towards a nearby Civil Protection officer who extended too far into the Gate, being struck and flung a meter away with a wet crunch. The Transhuman forces focus fire on the large brutish humanoid, leading to its collapse as a scent of burnt flesh that bypasses the filtration on their integrated gas masks.
The last group of stragglers are shot by the Transhuman Forces and Civil Protection, while a Civil Protection officer relays a message over radio to the Overwatch A.I.
<: Final verdict administered. Get that 11-44 inbound, we're cleaning up now. :>
With the sector contained, the Civil Protection begin to exit the Gate, and Transhuman Forces post up around it, remaining vigilant for any remaining or incoming hostiles.
The citizens who had been previously hiding inside the nearby complex peak through the windows at the bloody and scorched ground of the plaza, whilst scanners float by, taking images and reviewing the scenery.
During the cleanup, the Civil Protection Teams stop moving as they receive a new objective from the Overwatch A.I.
<:: All units, verdict code is immediate amputation. All units begin witness sterilization. ::>
The order is given, and the Protection Teams begin to enter the complexes. After a few moments of silence, the gunfire begins. The crash of doors being shut and kicked open, screams of citizens, and the crackle of stun-batons being activated.
As quick as it began, the witness sterilization had ended. Civil Protection begin to exit the complexes around the plaza, some with small shards of glass stuck in the kevlar of their suits- citizens trying to fight back.
As scanners pear through the windows of the complexes, a new announcement rings across the radios of the Civil Protection Teams.
<:: All units, return to code 12. ::>
Without more than a flicker of a thought, the Civil Protection obey, and begin to return to their previous duties. Groups exit the plaza and continue their patrols, while others return to the Civic Intake to man the checkpoints.
The Transhuman Soldiers remain, as they wait for further orders.
\\\
[ Earth - Collaborating World 314-B ]
[ Urban Centre 0017 ]
[ Sector 1 ]
[ High Priority Region ]
"I know, I know... But WE can't do anything, this was beyond us... Beyond you!"
A voice calls out in a large office, a man in a brown suit is pacing as he speaks towards a large monitor, the entity on the screen similar to that of a large slug with metallic components connected to its tissue: A metal mask covering the tip of its 'face', and a cybernetic eye swaying back and forth as it glances around at the features of the man.
"Brief analysis has the structure identified as a portal... It remains tenable, we can maintain the relay for the portal-,"
The man pauses as electronic interference comes through the monitor, the entity 'speaking'.
"- An invasion force? You must be joking, I can't possibly-"
The man sighs as the entity 'speaks' once more.
"- Oh all right! Damn it, if that's what it takes. But I will need your help, we simply don't have the forces to do so, even with their primitive weapons.... Besides, they might make a good world for collaboration!"
The entity begins to 'speak' through the monitor, the interference growing at the seeming displeasure at the suggestion.
"Yes, yes... Not all worlds can be used for collaboration, but just imagine! We saw more than two sentient species working together... If we can show them our might... Well, that'd be bravery on their end... There's bravery in facing extinction, after all."
As the man finishes speaking the monitor flickers and deactivates. Sighing, he steps away and enters his office. Pacing towards a nearby window, he looks over the vast city of Urban Centre 0017.
"Surrendering Earth twenty years ago will not go to waste now... Our species can still ascend."
He mumbles to himself, clenching his fists as he stares at the distant movement of crowds, helicopters, and towering striders.
"Ascension... Through unity..."