They stood strong against invasion, every calibre of round, and even the power of the sun. 

Triumphant, they stand on the west coast. Warden forces hold firm at the Bone Haft bridge through many desperate and pyrrhic victories. There were many times when the Wardens almost lost everything. On Day 500, tanks rolled across the small isles of Farranac Coast with such surgical expediency that no defence could hold them back for long. I cannot tell you how many times I watched the Wardens fruitlessly throw themselves at the bunker walls of Westgate. I can't say how many times the Wardens were thrown out of Victa and Jade Cove, because I lost count after five. The Colonials of the west coast stand tall, knowing the hell they fought through. Through small arms fire, artillery barrages ranging from 120mm to 300mm, and one very angry Starbreaker, the Colonial Legion shattered most of Farranac Coast. 

Most of it, but not all. 

On Day 724, the Colonials launched a nuke at The Bone Haft. This uppercut to the Warden faction destroyed the town hall, the storage depot, most of the town’s once-civilian homes, and a whole lot of concrete. What it didn’t kill, however, was the spirit of war. A few charred skeletons lay about the landscape. People who weren’t supposed to be there. Foolhardy soldiers and stubborn civilians. Radiation sickness was a common sight in the region for days after. Several hours after the detonation, thousands of Colonials and Wardens alike fought and died for the cause. Despite the nuke, infantry from both sides continued to battle for The Bone Haft’s southerly bridges. A tank group, dubbed ‘The Riders of Tomb Father’, rushed in to hold the line. The early fighting would be concentrated here. To the west, a stalemate formed as Warden artillery kept the bridge connecting Scarp of Ambrose to The Bone Haft broken in half. The beach saw a few isolated landings, nothing that did any real damage, unless you count stepping on a landmine as disarming it. On the dock to the east, there was a small landing of Colonial infantry. The rail bridge was built, but swiftly counterattacked. Meanwhile, on the eastern rail bridge, a more relaxed stalemate unfolded. A tank would roll up on one side; a QRF tank would respond on the other. They’d fight until one crew backed off or died. Warden high ground, a cliff overlooking the rail bridge, prevented any Colonial infantry advance, sandbagging activity on that front for most of the battle. As for the road bridge, artillery guns kept the fighting in check. A Warden SPG was even seen firing from atop the northern hill. The sun rose over Bone Haft, and gunfire still spattered from the same places.

The estuary waters of The Bone Haft were dyed red by the lost souls blown to gore on the bridge. The corpses fill the river causing the whole region to stink, an acrid miasma unlike anything you could have imagined before the battle. Equipment from each side sank to the bottom where rifles waited like rocks on the river bed, or flowed out to sea to do the same far off somewhere else. 13,500 Colonial soldiers will die in this battle. 11,000 Warden soldiers will die in this battle. A hellish price is demanded of both sides. Burnt bodies lay still in the fields as logisticians drive by to feed more supplies into the meat grinder of the stalemate. One full daily ritual into the battle, both Wardens and Colonials were fighting hard for control of the region. The western hill shook to the tune of 150mm cannonfire. Colonial SPGs pushed up to break the stalemate and batter down the defenses. Warden 120mm opened up with counter fire. This did little to stop the SPGs, who had dug in well.

A Colonial battleship, escorted by a destroyer, arrived hoping to turn the tide. It was a tough fight: its shelling from the coast helped the Colonials gain ground at the bridge. Warden fire support found themselves dealing with everything at once, but quickly opened up on the battleship once its shells rocked the waves. Through grit, will, and tenacity, the bridge was rebuilt by the Colonials. Colonial armor could roll northward for the first time in the battle. Rushing tanks temporarily overwhelmed the Wardens, destroying fixed defenses while minimal Warden armor held the line, a single Warden Chieftain bravely stood against the oncoming jade tide.

 Eventually, the Colonial ships were repelled by dug-in 120mm guns stationed beyond the blast radius of the nuke. You might have still tasted the carcinogenic fumes in the air if you were loading the gun that day, despite the distance from the blast. Many more Warden and Colonial foot soldiers died trying to take the bridge, but whenever the Colonials pushed up, artillery shelled it. The Wardens that day mounted a combined effort to keep the 120mm guns firing. Trucks upon trucks rolled in and out of the region, just to supply the Wardens with boots and ammo. Massive amounts of ammunition were hauled down from the north to supply artillery batteries that kept up their barrage for nearly five days. This is a good time to remind the reader that neither army covers hearing loss in their healthcare plans.

Days into the battle, with the week dragging on, something changed. The Colonials began pushing up the hill. The sun was setting on what [CHEEZ] had now titled ‘Minas Cheezith’, Warden troops were dropping in number. Warden guns fell silent, and their armor pulled back with the tide of Colonial troops. Colonial SPGs had done serious damage over the past week, shelling everything built up on the west side of The Bone Haft. The bunkers left untouched by the nuke were destroyed by 150mm SPG fire. Wardens began taking fire at the top of the hill. The very bunker base that had offered refuge to so many Wardens came under siege, and their guns couldn’t silence the barrage—though it wasn’t for lack of trying. With Colonial infantry pushing up the slope, the end of the battle could finally be seen on the horizon. After a week of fighting—and many salty tears on both sides—the writing was on the wall. Now that Colonial troops had made it over the bridge and up the hill the hard part was over. That didn’t mean it would be easy from there on out. 

The Wardens had been building defenses to the north: a new line for the Colonials to break. It would be two more days before The Bone Haft region was finally cleared. Colonial armoured lines crossed the bridge only when the last Warden artillery piece fell silent. Colonial infantry took control of the crossroads at The Bone Haft town hall, cutting logistics to the top of the hill, sealing the Wardens’ fate despite repeated breakthroughs by their logistics teams. Colonial armour eventually broke through the northern defenses. Wet concrete was no match for steel. On the day Minas Cheezith fell, the Wardens, expecting the worst, held the line at places like Transient Valley and Tomb Father with almost no Colonial advance. Minimal fighting was seen on the west coast when the sun rose over the smoldering ruins of Minas Cheezith. The Colonial Legion seemingly didn’t have it in them to continue the fight.

Writer: [PRESS] Diana Keys

Editor: [PRESS] Teddi Rococo

Date of Publication: 27/05/2025

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