Several Years Ago, Northrend
Wintergarde
4 Hours Post Naxxramas Initial Assault
The steam tank rolled into the side of the pile of debris blocking the road, the weight bashing the obstruction aside and allowing the team to continue moving forward. Behind it, Belleri's squad-mates trotted along, dismounted from the vehicle in order to protect the line of civilian refugees trailing out behind them. The Argent Crusade 4th Company assault team had left a significant gap between themselves and the unarmed civilians; the undead in the ruins of the town of Wintergarde were mindless and would go for the first things they saw which would hopefully be the armed soldiers.
Their unit had been stationed in Wintergarde for several weeks after joining in the Alliance campaign in Dragonblight. Positioned on the outskirts of town, they had been taken by surprise when Naxxramas appeared over the town, disgorging endless tides of the dead upon the hapless civilian population. Cut off from Wintergarde Keep, Belleri's unit had moved out on foot, rounding up civilians on the way in order to escort them to the questionable safety of the keep's walls.
The town around them was devastated. Fires burned openly here and there, and in other places clouds of foul green plague-mist drifted from the vile weapons deployed by the Cult of the Damned. Survivors amongst the ruins were few and far between, and often the Argent Crusaders had encountered the walking dead rather than civilians in need of rescue. Now the keep was in sight, just up a rise about a mile away, and they had to push through the Scourge front in order to reach it.
Belleri's keen eyes were the first to spot the trouble ahead. Always on alert and assigned to the unit as a scout, she had been scanning the burned out ruins around them as the steam tank rolled cautiously forward. She detected movement amongst the debris, instantly bringing her rifle up, "Hostiles! West-Northwest!"
Her warning cry was followed by the roar of her rifle as she blew two shambling corpses away. The rest of the Crusaders quickly drew their weapons, forming a battleline even as the civilians behind them began to wail with fear. Ahead of the squad, dark magic began to swirl in the air, suddenly lashing out and striking the front of the steam tank. The tank's metal caved in, its steam chambers ruptured and causing it to detonate in a spectacular manner as the pent up pressure was released all at once. The ammo and supplies within it began to burn, cooking off in the fires of its destruction.
Belleri fired again and again, pausing to reload as necessary. The men in her squad, lead by a paladin, clashed with the dead as an endless tide of them surged from the destroyed homes around them. Weapons flashed in the air and men cried out in victory or defeat as casualties began to mount. Just as Belleri had reloaded her weapon, more magic flashed from the ruins and lashed out at the paladin leading the party. Dark magic plunged through his armor, leaving gaping and quite fatal wounds on the man. He was hurled backwards, his armored body colliding with Belleri and knocking her to the ground with his heavy weight on top of her. Her rifle landed in the dirt near her head and she felt something cold and metal land in the palm of her hand; it was the paladin's sacred symbol, which had slipped from his neck from the force of the blast.
Dazed, Belleri could only look up at the sky as chanting shouts rose up from the ruins. More magic flared and then washed over the beleaguered Crusaders. Around her, Belleri could hear men and women screaming as the foul power struck them, withering their bodies and chaining their spirits to the spell. In a heartbeat the cries turned to soulless moans as her comrades were converted to disgusting undead creatures. Belleri herself felt nothing but a slight warmth in her hand, and she turned her head, staring at her open palm where the holy symbol glowed with Light. By pure luck she had been spared the ravages of the spell, protected by the fallen paladins blessings.
Her heart sank as she heard shuffling around her, her limited vision showing her former companions moving as withered corpses. Dead eyes fixed on the civilians some distance back and Belleri knew a massacre was about to occur. They were all going to die. They were all going to become scourge. Despair fought with rising anger within her.
"No," she murmured, her voice gaining strength as she denied the situation. "Get up Bell. Get. Up."
She heaved with all her might, rolling the dead paladin off of her, her hand reaching out to snatch up her rifle. She rose from amongst the dead, not as a corpse but like an avenging spirit. Her hand went to her belt and she pulled her pistol, aiming and shooting one of her former, now undead companions in the back of the head. She cast the now spent weapon aside and brought her rifle up, the weapon roaring as another shambling horror fell, and then another.
All of the dead turned and began walking towards her, their will commanded by an external source. Belleri grimaced, putting two more of the creatures down, her eyes scanning her surroundings until they saw...
There. In the ruins to the north she saw magic glowing in the hands of the necromancers that had cast the spell and were still animating the dead crusaders. Instinctually Belleri began to move, her rifle barrel coming up to block the downward arc of a sword held by dead hands. The weapon deflected most of the force of the blow, but the tip bit into her shoulder, blood running freely down her armor. It excited the undead, and they lurched towards her more quickly.
Her rifle roared again, putting the sword wielder to rest as she dashed past clawing hands. She had only one chance and she knew it; she had to reach higher ground. Evading the less agile undead, she darted up the side of the burning steam tank, the heat almost driving her off. She looked out over the ruins and saw what she was looking for. Her rifle came up.
The first necromancer died as the weapon roared, the shot piercing his heart. As he crumpled, the dead around her moved more slowly. The second necromancer, a woman, saw what Belleri was doing and turned to run. Her weapon tracked the fleeing enemy and the rifle spat out another round. The woman crumpled as she was hit in the base of the neck, dead before she struck the ground. The dead began to come to a standstill, unable to hear the commands of their controllers with two of them dead.
The final necromancer stood upon the porch of a burned house, his hands raised above him and foul magics coursing from him. Belleri sighted down the length of her rifle, her eyes meeting his across the distance. Without mercy she squeezed the trigger and the round struck him in the eye. As he crumpled, the dead around Belleri crumpled as well, the spell's power ended. A mournful sigh passed over them as their spirits were freed and then only the sound of the crackling flames could be heard issuing from the destroyed steam tank.
Belleri hopped down from the wreck, careful to step over the fallen Argent Crusaders. There was little she could do to bury them; she had a more important task to accomplish. She looked at the cowering civilians, her face emotionless as she spoke, "Let's move people."
*************************
Several hours later, a group of tattered and disheveled civilians made their way into the entrance to a 7th Legion forward base in the ruins of Wintergarde. Although frightened and in some cases wounded, none of the civilians had been bitten or infected by the plague of undeath. Leading them was a young woman with raven black hair and a rifle slung over one shoulder. Her other shoulder was a mess of dried blood.
The camp commander stepped forward, returning a salute as the woman stepped before him, "Report."
Belleri stood at attention as if on the parade grounds of a boot camp, "Sir. Private Belleri Giano, Argent Crusade 4th Company reporting in. My unit was assigned to rescue civilians from the ruins and return them to Wintergarde."
The commander nodded, looking the woman over carefully, "And your unit Private?"
"Sir, we have suffered 100% casualties sir." she responded, no hint of emotion on her face.
"Light blast it," the commander muttered. He nodded at Belleri and sighed, "Well, go get yourself cleaned up Private. We'll try to get you reunited with your company as soon as we've established clear battle lines here."
"Sir, with all due respect," Belleri began. "There are still civilians in the ruins sir."
The commander's eyes widened for a moment, studying her wounded shoulder, "You're wounded private. You need to get that looked after."
Belleri responded instantly, "Sir, I am still ninety percent combat effective. Request permission to complete my mission sir."
The man paused in surprise, looking Belleri in the eyes, "You realize that if you go back out there, you're likely going to die right? That's Naxxramas above the town soldier."
Belleri repeated her earlier request, "Sir. Request permission to complete my mission sir."
The commander smiled slightly, nodding once, "Private Giano, in five minutes a 7th Legion special operations team is going to go out to reunite with the steam tank company caught on the outskirts of the town. If you can patch your wound and re-supply yourself in that time I will grant you permission to accompany my squad. You can pick up civvies and assist them in getting to the tank depot."
Belleri's shoulders slumped a bit in relief as she was granted permission, she looked at the commander and snapped off a salute, "Sir, thank you sir. I will proceed with the 7th Legion spec ops force."
The commander returned the salute, watching as the woman walked away to go reequip herself. He smiled as he watched the young private preparing herself to go back out into horrors the likes of which most people would not ever willingly face more than once, for the sake of civilians she didn't even know. It was not often he encountered personnel that were so dedicated and motivated.
Less than ten minutes later, a small group of 7th Legion special operations rangers trotted from the camp, rifles slung over their shoulders. Amongst them was Private Belleri Giano of the Argent Crusade 4th Company.
Two weeks later, Knight-Captain Adyta Davette would receive a letter from the 7th Legion joint command group, requesting that one Private Belleri Giano be transferred to the 7th Legion Special Operations group for advanced sniper and warfare training. A request that would be granted.
Wintergarde
4 Hours Post Naxxramas Initial Assault
The steam tank rolled into the side of the pile of debris blocking the road, the weight bashing the obstruction aside and allowing the team to continue moving forward. Behind it, Belleri's squad-mates trotted along, dismounted from the vehicle in order to protect the line of civilian refugees trailing out behind them. The Argent Crusade 4th Company assault team had left a significant gap between themselves and the unarmed civilians; the undead in the ruins of the town of Wintergarde were mindless and would go for the first things they saw which would hopefully be the armed soldiers.
Their unit had been stationed in Wintergarde for several weeks after joining in the Alliance campaign in Dragonblight. Positioned on the outskirts of town, they had been taken by surprise when Naxxramas appeared over the town, disgorging endless tides of the dead upon the hapless civilian population. Cut off from Wintergarde Keep, Belleri's unit had moved out on foot, rounding up civilians on the way in order to escort them to the questionable safety of the keep's walls.
The town around them was devastated. Fires burned openly here and there, and in other places clouds of foul green plague-mist drifted from the vile weapons deployed by the Cult of the Damned. Survivors amongst the ruins were few and far between, and often the Argent Crusaders had encountered the walking dead rather than civilians in need of rescue. Now the keep was in sight, just up a rise about a mile away, and they had to push through the Scourge front in order to reach it.
Belleri's keen eyes were the first to spot the trouble ahead. Always on alert and assigned to the unit as a scout, she had been scanning the burned out ruins around them as the steam tank rolled cautiously forward. She detected movement amongst the debris, instantly bringing her rifle up, "Hostiles! West-Northwest!"
Her warning cry was followed by the roar of her rifle as she blew two shambling corpses away. The rest of the Crusaders quickly drew their weapons, forming a battleline even as the civilians behind them began to wail with fear. Ahead of the squad, dark magic began to swirl in the air, suddenly lashing out and striking the front of the steam tank. The tank's metal caved in, its steam chambers ruptured and causing it to detonate in a spectacular manner as the pent up pressure was released all at once. The ammo and supplies within it began to burn, cooking off in the fires of its destruction.
Belleri fired again and again, pausing to reload as necessary. The men in her squad, lead by a paladin, clashed with the dead as an endless tide of them surged from the destroyed homes around them. Weapons flashed in the air and men cried out in victory or defeat as casualties began to mount. Just as Belleri had reloaded her weapon, more magic flashed from the ruins and lashed out at the paladin leading the party. Dark magic plunged through his armor, leaving gaping and quite fatal wounds on the man. He was hurled backwards, his armored body colliding with Belleri and knocking her to the ground with his heavy weight on top of her. Her rifle landed in the dirt near her head and she felt something cold and metal land in the palm of her hand; it was the paladin's sacred symbol, which had slipped from his neck from the force of the blast.
Dazed, Belleri could only look up at the sky as chanting shouts rose up from the ruins. More magic flared and then washed over the beleaguered Crusaders. Around her, Belleri could hear men and women screaming as the foul power struck them, withering their bodies and chaining their spirits to the spell. In a heartbeat the cries turned to soulless moans as her comrades were converted to disgusting undead creatures. Belleri herself felt nothing but a slight warmth in her hand, and she turned her head, staring at her open palm where the holy symbol glowed with Light. By pure luck she had been spared the ravages of the spell, protected by the fallen paladins blessings.
Her heart sank as she heard shuffling around her, her limited vision showing her former companions moving as withered corpses. Dead eyes fixed on the civilians some distance back and Belleri knew a massacre was about to occur. They were all going to die. They were all going to become scourge. Despair fought with rising anger within her.
"No," she murmured, her voice gaining strength as she denied the situation. "Get up Bell. Get. Up."
She heaved with all her might, rolling the dead paladin off of her, her hand reaching out to snatch up her rifle. She rose from amongst the dead, not as a corpse but like an avenging spirit. Her hand went to her belt and she pulled her pistol, aiming and shooting one of her former, now undead companions in the back of the head. She cast the now spent weapon aside and brought her rifle up, the weapon roaring as another shambling horror fell, and then another.
All of the dead turned and began walking towards her, their will commanded by an external source. Belleri grimaced, putting two more of the creatures down, her eyes scanning her surroundings until they saw...
There. In the ruins to the north she saw magic glowing in the hands of the necromancers that had cast the spell and were still animating the dead crusaders. Instinctually Belleri began to move, her rifle barrel coming up to block the downward arc of a sword held by dead hands. The weapon deflected most of the force of the blow, but the tip bit into her shoulder, blood running freely down her armor. It excited the undead, and they lurched towards her more quickly.
Her rifle roared again, putting the sword wielder to rest as she dashed past clawing hands. She had only one chance and she knew it; she had to reach higher ground. Evading the less agile undead, she darted up the side of the burning steam tank, the heat almost driving her off. She looked out over the ruins and saw what she was looking for. Her rifle came up.
The first necromancer died as the weapon roared, the shot piercing his heart. As he crumpled, the dead around her moved more slowly. The second necromancer, a woman, saw what Belleri was doing and turned to run. Her weapon tracked the fleeing enemy and the rifle spat out another round. The woman crumpled as she was hit in the base of the neck, dead before she struck the ground. The dead began to come to a standstill, unable to hear the commands of their controllers with two of them dead.
The final necromancer stood upon the porch of a burned house, his hands raised above him and foul magics coursing from him. Belleri sighted down the length of her rifle, her eyes meeting his across the distance. Without mercy she squeezed the trigger and the round struck him in the eye. As he crumpled, the dead around Belleri crumpled as well, the spell's power ended. A mournful sigh passed over them as their spirits were freed and then only the sound of the crackling flames could be heard issuing from the destroyed steam tank.
Belleri hopped down from the wreck, careful to step over the fallen Argent Crusaders. There was little she could do to bury them; she had a more important task to accomplish. She looked at the cowering civilians, her face emotionless as she spoke, "Let's move people."
*************************
Several hours later, a group of tattered and disheveled civilians made their way into the entrance to a 7th Legion forward base in the ruins of Wintergarde. Although frightened and in some cases wounded, none of the civilians had been bitten or infected by the plague of undeath. Leading them was a young woman with raven black hair and a rifle slung over one shoulder. Her other shoulder was a mess of dried blood.
The camp commander stepped forward, returning a salute as the woman stepped before him, "Report."
Belleri stood at attention as if on the parade grounds of a boot camp, "Sir. Private Belleri Giano, Argent Crusade 4th Company reporting in. My unit was assigned to rescue civilians from the ruins and return them to Wintergarde."
The commander nodded, looking the woman over carefully, "And your unit Private?"
"Sir, we have suffered 100% casualties sir." she responded, no hint of emotion on her face.
"Light blast it," the commander muttered. He nodded at Belleri and sighed, "Well, go get yourself cleaned up Private. We'll try to get you reunited with your company as soon as we've established clear battle lines here."
"Sir, with all due respect," Belleri began. "There are still civilians in the ruins sir."
The commander's eyes widened for a moment, studying her wounded shoulder, "You're wounded private. You need to get that looked after."
Belleri responded instantly, "Sir, I am still ninety percent combat effective. Request permission to complete my mission sir."
The man paused in surprise, looking Belleri in the eyes, "You realize that if you go back out there, you're likely going to die right? That's Naxxramas above the town soldier."
Belleri repeated her earlier request, "Sir. Request permission to complete my mission sir."
The commander smiled slightly, nodding once, "Private Giano, in five minutes a 7th Legion special operations team is going to go out to reunite with the steam tank company caught on the outskirts of the town. If you can patch your wound and re-supply yourself in that time I will grant you permission to accompany my squad. You can pick up civvies and assist them in getting to the tank depot."
Belleri's shoulders slumped a bit in relief as she was granted permission, she looked at the commander and snapped off a salute, "Sir, thank you sir. I will proceed with the 7th Legion spec ops force."
The commander returned the salute, watching as the woman walked away to go reequip herself. He smiled as he watched the young private preparing herself to go back out into horrors the likes of which most people would not ever willingly face more than once, for the sake of civilians she didn't even know. It was not often he encountered personnel that were so dedicated and motivated.
Less than ten minutes later, a small group of 7th Legion special operations rangers trotted from the camp, rifles slung over their shoulders. Amongst them was Private Belleri Giano of the Argent Crusade 4th Company.
Two weeks later, Knight-Captain Adyta Davette would receive a letter from the 7th Legion joint command group, requesting that one Private Belleri Giano be transferred to the 7th Legion Special Operations group for advanced sniper and warfare training. A request that would be granted.
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