"Take... the... damned... hint!" Russell gritted as he sent several short bursts from the M-249 downrange, cutting down a pair of sword-wielding orcs barely thirty feet away. The Americans were putting out intense fire cutting down orcs by the dozen but the survivors just kept coming. The Marine felt a surge of fear wash through him as he recalled the damage he had seen orc warriors do when they got into close combat in the battle of San Francisco, but wrested it under control. He recalled the lesson he had learned in basic training at Parris Island and had been demonstrated in Iraq and San Francisco - the best way to prevent the enemy from killing you in close combat was to kill them before they got in close. With that thought in mind the young machinegunner went back to his grim work, tracking yet another orc warrior through his weapon's iron sights and emptying the belt's last dozen rounds into the hulking humanoid's upper torso. "Oh, you have<strong>got</strong>to be kidding!" Russell exclaimed as the huge orc staggered but refused to fall, and began lurching towards the Marine's foxhole like something out of a zombie movie.<br/><br/>Popping the SAW's feed cover open Russell reached for another drum of 5.56mm ammunition.<em>Last one,</em>he reflected as he picked it up. There was plenty more ammunition for the M-249 back in the Humvees, but if leaving his position to run back to the vehicles and collect it would open a gap in the defensive line which the orcs could break through.<em>Not like they need the help,</em>the Marine thought harshly as he slipped the belted rounds into the M-249's firing chamber, heat from the metal barrel searing his fingers. The wounded orc was twenty feet away, torso covered in blood, but his eyes were focused on the man who had shot him.<br/><br/>And then he vanished in a column of light. An instant later the column of light moved on, plowing towards the woods before swinging to the left and paralleling the treeline. A ripping rattling sound like the tearing of cloth but a hundred times louder reached Russell's ears as a pair of explosions suddenly erupted, tossing the bodies of orcs into the air. The roar of engines and clatter of rotors sounded overhead, and a quick glance upwards confirmed the source of the fire.<br/><br/>The M-134 Minigun is a six-barrelled 7.62mm electric-powered Gatling gun with a rate of fire of 6000 rounds per minute. With every twelfth round a tracer and the weapon firing a hundred rounds per second, the weapon looked like it was firing a glowing death ray from a sci-fi novel rather than a barrage of bullets, and each of the MH-6 Little Birds mounted a pair of them. A seven-shot rocket pod on each stub wing completed each helicopter's armament, and they were making liberal use of them. 70mm rockets tore into the forest, sending shrapnel scything through orcish flesh as the miniguns ripped and roared again.<br/><br/>The barrage of death from the air support did what the guns of the Marines and soldiers of the 13th Recon had failed to accomplish. With no way of fighting back against the Little Birds the orcs turned and ran, some throwing away their weapons in their haste to flee. The orcs were fast and enduring by the standards of humans, but against a pair of aircraft that could fly at nearly two hundred miles per hour and could hover in mid-air any attempt to run was useless. With the MH-6s hovering between the treeline and the remaining orcs the bestial humanoids dropped what weapons they had and huddled together. Lt Black called on the troops of the 13th Recon to cease fire and begin taking prisoners, and Russell let out a sigh of relief, slumping forward and closing his eyes. The battle was over.<br/><br/>But the attack helo drivers didn't seem to think so.<br/><br/>Russell's head snapped up as the tearing sound of miniguns firing filled the air. His blue eyes darted around, looking for signs of combat and wondering why none of his teammates were opening fire if the orcs had decided to make a last stand. But a single look made it clear that they hadn't tried to fight back or even flee. The Little Birds' miniguns poured hundreds of rounds into the huddled group of orcs, sending blood into the air like pink mist. A few of those who survived broke and ran, not heading in any particular direction but just trying to flee the merciless death machines that had so brutally cut down their friends. None of them made it more than half a dozen paces.<br/><br/><em>This wasn't combat,</em>Russell thought numbly.<em>This was a massacre.</em>He had seen far too many innocent civilians killed, wounded or worse in the battle of San Francisco to feel sympathy for orcs, but what had happened had shaken him. And it looked like Russell wasn't the only one - Lt Black looked ready to chew through a steel bulkhead to get hold of the pilots who had gunned down the surrendering orcs, but kept his head enough to order Russell to take custody of the sole surviving orc. "Aye sir," the Marine acknowledged obediently, looking around for the survivor.<br/><br/>He caught sight of the orc near the 13th Recon's vehicles, looking dazed and stunned as he gazed at the field where his allies had been killed. "Delaney, Tanner, with me," Russell called as he strode over to the orc. Once he stood beside the prisoner he addressed him in Gatespeak.<em>"Stay on your knees and put your hands behind your head,"</em>he ordered brusquely.<em>"Do this and you live. I promise you that."</em>Raising his voice he spoke to the two Army soldiers in English. "Delaney, keep an eye on the prisoner. He moves or talks, call me. He makes a move towards you or tries to run, don't take any chances. Tanner, check out Franco and see how he's doing." Before Russell had finished speaking he was walking away from them - he had something more important to see to.<br/><br/>Near one of the Humvees he had caught sight of Jessie and Niko, and Russell's first thought was relief that neither of the women appeared to be injured. Jessie appeared to be patting the elven woman reassuringly on the back, while Niko appeared to be praying desperately, oblivious to the world around her<em>Guess she's panicked by the carnage the CAS pulled,</em>the Marine reflected as he walked over to the two women.<em>I guess we should be glad they didn't send a Spooky gunship.</em>"Mitchells, you okay?" he asked Jessie as he unslung his M-249 and set it to the side. Once the female soldier had indicated she was unhurt Russell turned his attention to Niko. He was the only true speaker of Gatespeak in the recon team, which meant that if anybody had a chance of breaking Niko out of her panic it was him.<br/><br/>Kneeling in front of the elven woman Russell took her clasped hands in his own.<em>"Niko,"</em>he said softly.<em>"Niko, you're safe. It's all right. It's all over,"</em>he told her in a gentle reassuring voice.<em>"There's no need to be afraid. We stopped the orcs. Everything's okay."</em>Reaching out with one hand Russell stroked Niko's hair soothingly.<em>"You're safe. It's all over. There's nothing to be scared of anymore."</em><br/><br/>