Overwatch: Rise of Rose

General POV:

California Omnium, 0413 Hours

The wind reeked of ozone, scorched rubber, and blood. From a cliffside ridge, the California Omnium loomed like a metal god, humming with power. The second-largest in the world, it spat out war machines at a rate no military on Earth could match. Entire cities had fallen trying to contain it.

Since the Global Response Battalion sent everything for this attack. Elite troopers, air units, tanks, and the best medics there were. From many corners of the world, a hundred thousand was gathered. This battle really would determine the fate of humanity. 

In one stratscopter, Shawn and his medical team stood swaying against the turblence as they approached the omnium. Beside him was S3bastian. "It's good to be back home. I do so miss the wildfires and impending doom. If I'm incinerated on this miserable mission, I want a proper funeral. Classical music, roses, people crying for me, and no cheap holograms." 

"Then stay behind cover this time," Shawn muttered, eyes fixed on the Omnium.

Jack Morrison's voice cut out over the radio. ""All teams, this is First Sergeant Jack Morrison. This is it. Tonight, we bleed. But we make them bleed more. We hit them hard, we hit em fast. We shut that factory down and stop the reinforcements. You know what's at stake. Alpha draws their fire. Bravo hits the core. We can do this." 

He turns to me behind him, "You've changed a bit since we've last met. Please tell me your ready for this."

Shawn nodded. "We might bleed tonight, but we'll stop the bleeding. You'll don't need to worry about anything but getting to the core. We'll be right behind you." 

The plan that was drafted with many experts, was a two-prong assault. Alpha Squad would breach the lower exhaust ports, disabling cooling systems. This would cause the omniums core to be exposed, susceptible to attack. Bravo would then infiltrate, shutting down the core. Jack, Shawn and S3bastian, would of course be with Bravo. 

0432 Hours – Deployment

Shawn's team dropped in with the other medics, setting up alongside them. Bravo's attack wouldn't be immediate, allowing them to assist Alpha because they would most definitely need it. While they were deploying, the head medic on duty, a Sergeant approached Shawn. He was an older man, in his fifties, but his gray balding hair made him look ten years older. 

"I've been doing this for years. I can proudly say that I've saved more lives than I've lost. We were given the option to come work alongside you. A man who makes his medics run out on to the battlefield to save the men there. Others wavered, but I jumped at the chance. In all my years, no one, I mean, no one would have come up with an idea like that. It's... absolutely ludicrous. So ludicrous, that it works. Pleasure to meet you Medical Specialist Rose, just tell me what you need."

Shawn smiled. Since it was so common, he was expecting backlash, especially from the veterans. "There's a lot of people that will get hurt in this battle. If you're willing, I can send my entire team out to run and bring back those who are unable. If it gets too overwhelming, some could stay behind to help provide medical assistance if necessary."

"Now, now. You might be impressive boy, but don't think your team is better than mine. We can handle the medical assistance, just do what you guys do best. Let's make sure we return our people home. 

0445 Hours- Engagement

Screams filled the comms.

"This is Alpha 4. Sector Seven! We have six wounded under fire! Losing vitals!"

Shawn didn't hesitate. "Marco, Leslie on me." Without waiting for their response, he rushed out. He surged forward sprinting out into open hell. Omnic Bastions, in recon and assault modes, fired indiscriminately into the field.

Usually he would assist troops by taking a couple of omnics out, but today was different. There were too many for him to make an impact that he decided that unless an enemy it was applying too much pressure. Otherwise, he focused on running support. They reached the downed soldiers in moments.

A private had his leg pinned by rubble. Shawn dropped beside him, hand glowing blue as he pumped bioelectricity through the man's nervous system. The soldier gasped, eyes wide. Both him and Shawn easily moved the rubble together. The private flexed at his new vigor, and he picked up his gun, ready for vengeance. 

"You're not dying today," Shawn whispered. His eyes were locked on his next rescue, barely flinching.

0557 Hours – Progress

40% of Alpha, was either dead, injured, or missing. The rest was at a standstill, not being able to make any progress on the mission. The high command knew that if this continued, the omnics would get wise to their plan and adapt their strategy, then the entire mission would fail. 

Lieutenant Kwan understood this. He decided to make a judgment call, ignoring thoughts of glory, and thought of only the future of humanity. Kneeling behind the rubble he was using as cover, he pulled out his keepsake, a picture of a child's drawing. He traced the misshapen man and placed his fingers on the terribly spelled dad, bringing a smile to his face. 

"Unit Six, follow me." His unit looked at him and saw the resolve on his face. They understood immediately what he was planning. They looked at each other, then made their amends. They were the closest unit to the exhaust ports. They were also the unit that suffered the most losses so far. 

From behind their barricade, smoke grenades were thrown. The Bastion units stationed above, didn't care about the low visibility and continued firing into the smoke anyway. Nor did they care when figures emerged from that smoke, shouting and firing back at them as they did. 

Kwan led the charge, sprinting through the smoke facing the bullets coming at them. Beside him, a support trooper just explodes. Bits of blood and white stain his clothes, but he ignored it. His focus was only on the opening in the exhaust port before him. Despite the odds against them, their feet splattered with water as they neared it. 

He pushed against the current of the water, ducking under the passageway as he waddled through the water. It didn't take long, till he heard the clanging of machinery. Pulling himself up, he found the maintenance area for the control panel to the cooling systems. He turned around, "We made...." There was no one there. His eyes grew sad but he knew he had to continue. 

He inspected the control board before him, but couldn't find the emergency off switch. Metal scraping alerted him that he was no longer alone, however it wasn't human company. Sighing, he pulled out a grenade, and his picture once more as he sat on the ground next to the control panel. Pulling the pin on the grenade, he held it close. But he held the picture closer. That's how the Bastion units found him moments before the entire room was incinerated. 

0600 Hours- Core Infiltration

The call that Alpha team successfully stalled cooling came over the radio. Not a moment too soon, as Bravo begin their assault. 

As they moved out, drones zipped past like fireflies gone mad. Explosions rumbled from the south, a sign that Alpha was still in their hell. Morrison led his unit through a forest of melted vehicles and burnt trees, suppressing fire cracking overhead.

A rookie tripped. His rifle clattered. Jack grabbed him by the collar. "Eyes up. You're still breathing. That means you're still in the fight."

They reached the wall and launched. As they climbed, omnics swarmed from ports hidden behind shifting panels. One exploded midair, sending a pair of soldiers down in screaming arcs. Jack's grappling hook locked into a vent grille just as a railgun burst missed him by inches.

"Fall back, we're not going to make it!" Someone yelled.

"No!" Morrison barked, swinging onto the ledge. He turned, grabbed two soldiers scrambling behind him. "We don't fall. We push. Keep moving!"

He wasted no time, climbing the side of the omnium with inhuman capabilities. His fellow soldiers watched in awe. Only Shawn and S3bastian knew that he was super human, but to the rest, he was just like them but just peak.

They reached a maintenance duct, which Jack kicked open, allowing them to file in. Only 60% of them had made the climb. Inside, they found that temperature was rapidly climbing. They could hear a distinct hum reverb throughout the omnium, signaling that the omnium was rerouting power. A sure sign the core was exposed as it attempted to cool itself down. 

They traveled together as a group, following the blueprints of the building, quickly dispatching any Bastions they came across. They entered a corridor, with flashing red lights along with a loud beeping, telling them they were in the right place. 

The group filled in, seeing a metal ball however, something was wrong. Even though it was overheating, it should be leaking reactant. At this rate, it was certain to blow. As the group was figuring this out, omnics appeared behind them.

"AMBUSH!" A soldier called out. Shawn heard the whistle of a missile before he saw it. Without hesitation, he jumped in front of the soldiers. Using his new metal arm he tanked the rocket meant for his team. However, the blast still got them, the guy next to him taking almost the brunt of the damage as well. S3bastian rushed to the frontline, drawing the enemy attention, while Shawn went to the fallen soldier's side. He was a child-faced rookie, couldn't have been older than eighteen. 

"No pulse," Shawn thought out loud to particularly no one. "Then I'll give him one."

Electricity roared into the boy's heart. Again. Again. Nothing.

Another jolt and the boy coughs blood, and Shawn breathes a sigh of relief that he's alive. Before he left him, Shawn gives him a boost of bioelectricity, invigorating the boy.

Shawn looks to the reactor that should be in a cool down state. Then he understood Anubis' plan. This was an allied force, which consisted of soldiers from all nations. The most logical objective wouldn't be to successfully hold this area. This omnium much like everything else, could be rebuilt over time. Therefore, much like S3bastians idea a couple of days ago, blowing everything up would be the best option. 

Much like many others this entire battle, Shawn made a choice. He stood, leaning the rookie down against the wall. S3bastian notices and looks at him, somehow knowing what he was planning. 

"Don't do it, just give me a second to calculate another way." S3bastian warns. 

"We don't really have a second do we?" Shawn asks, walking towards the core. Wrapping his arms around it, he ignores the pain of molten reactant spills onto his skin. 

Jack pauses as he looks to Shawn. He, too, was about to voice his protest at Shawn's actions then stopped himself. He understood Shawn's decision and realized the real choice here. 

"Everyone, support Shawn. Help him get that thing out of here." He orders. 

Bioelectricity pumps through him as he begins to lift the core from it's pedestal. Metal hands wrap themselves around the core.

"At least let me be the one." S3bastian says.

"You know it can't be you. Two explosions are worse than one."

S3bastian says nothing in return, opting to focus on helping him lift instead. With a loud creak, the core rises, which Shawn then places on his shoulders with great effort. He struggles to take a step, then another one, before he begins to adjust to its weight. 

Jack and the rest of the squad push the omnic forces in front of them, giving Shawn all the space he needs. Shawn takes his mind off of what's going on around him, focusing on things within instead, putting himself in a mediative state. 

With his body acting on its own, blue lightning sparks from various parts of his body, and the core becomes lighter and his steps quicker until he starts sprinting. Making it outside, both sides pause as they see a hulking beacon of red and orange pass them. The omnics begin to open fire on the nuke, hoping to detonate it at any cost, but the humans push back, applying pressure on them. 

Instinctively, Shawn knows that no matter how far he runs, the core will still deal a great deal of damage to them, as it was highly likely to leave radiation after the impact. Therefore, he directed all power into his legs and pushed off the ground. People watched in awe as they saw him "fly" into the sky with his dangerous payload. 

Their awe turns into horror as seconds later, and explosion rocketed the sky, and the aftershock knocks them to the ground. Looking back up, shades of green and blue decorate the sky that once held massive clouds. Jack looked with sadness at the sky above him. With that explosion, their mission was now a success, but with a cost like this, was it really worth it?