- "They're getting deeper every day."
- —Lt. Anya Stroud addressing the Locust advance in Jacinto.
The Siege of Jacinto City was a turning point in the Locust War. With the Locust Horde suffering from massive losses and a damaged infrastructure from the Lightmass Offensive, the Horde decided that the only way to defeat the humans was to attack their last bastion of hope: Jacinto City. With Ketor Skorge using the Riftworm to destroy cities and military installations around Jacinto, the Horde was able to attack the North Gate Agricultural Depot, the Tollen Dam, and the Jilane Birthing Creche, depriving Jacinto of resources and power. Immediately following the Siege of Jacinto, the COG High Command began the massive counterattack known as Operation: Hollow Storm.
Prelude[]
After the Lightmass Offensive, the Coalition forces began to drop their guard. Seizing the opportunity, they began much needed repairs on their dwindling resources and half of the Raven fleet was put in hangars for repair. However, the hopes of a victory proved premature. The Locust Horde gained the power of the Riftworm due to the Lightmass Bomb awakening it. Within the next six months, the Locust Horde sunk the cities of Tollen and Montevado and began to deprive the COG of resources they outsourced in other cities. The siege on the North Gate Agricultural Depot deprived Jacinto City of their food and water. The occupation of the Tollen Dam shut down electricity in the industrial cities of Fort Reval and Speyer, depriving Jacinto of weapons, supplies, and vehicles for the military. Jacinto was then also deprived of newborn children as the Birthing Creche in Jilane was also destroyed.
The COG forces began to pull back toward Jacinto to prepare for an imminent siege. When the cities of Tollen and Montevado sunk, the damaged caused fissures and instability within the Jacinto Plateau, as once thought invulnerable due to the thick, impenetrable granite rock being too hard for the Locust Horde to breach. With the Locust slowly chipping away at the city's foundation, Jacinto itself was now threatened with the same fate as Tollen and Montevado, leaving Coalition High Command no other choice but to organize a counteroffensive into the heart of the Hollow: The Hollow. During this time, the Locust continued to push deeper into Jacinto City with numerous battles making progress for the Locust. By Bounty, 14 A.E., the Locust finally managed to breach Jacinto City, by land, in a desperate raid for supplies and to possibly maintain access to the city in order to occupy and sink Jacinto.
Order of Battle[]
Raid on Pomeroy Depot[]
- "They're getting bolder. Those Gears were guarding Pomeroy Depot."
- —Lt. Anya Stroud, pointing out several wounded Gears from the raid to Sgt. Marcus Fenix.
The Siege of Jacinto City began with the raid on Pomeroy Depot for supplies and weapons, led by Ketor Skorge. The Locust Horde was successful in infiltrating Jacinto City and raiding Pomeroy Depot for weapons. Many of the Gears stationed at Pomeroy were wounded and taken down the road to Jacinto Medical Center. With the raid on Pomeroy Depot successful, the Locust followed the wounded to the nearby hospital for medical supplies and to also finish off the wounded from Pomeroy.
Raid on Jacinto Med[]
Sgt. Marcus Fenix and Cpl. Dominic Santiago of Delta-One and Lt. Anya Stroud were called in for reinforcements at Jacinto Medical Center. While on duty, Lt. Stroud learned of a Jane Doe located at Jacinto Med fitting the description of of Cpl. Santiago's missing wife, Maria Santiago, and was going to look into the search as well. Pvt. Benjamin Carmine also arrived on the scene, assigned to Delta-One for training. Sgt. Fenix and Cpl. Santiago gave Pvt. Carmine a brief training session in the alleyways and parking garage of the hospital, but during which found a pack of Wretches in the area. Sgt. Fenix used a grenade to kill a pack in the parking garage near the hospital. However, Pvt. Carmine dropped his grenade nearby and wounded himself and Cpl. Santiago. After their training session, the Locust Horde began their attack on Jacinto Med. Sgt. Fenix ordered Pvt. Carmine to go back to the convoy drop-off while he and Cpl. Santiago entered the emergency room of Jacinto Med.
Sgt. Marcus Fenix defending Jacinto Med.
Lt. Anya Stroud informed Sgt. Fenix that the Locust were outside the hospital and that she had to evacuate back to Wrightman Base. Sgt. Fenix and Cpl. Santiago then met with Cpl. Tai Kaliso and led them to the nearby courtyard for defense. Cpl. Kaliso ordered Sgt. Fenix and Cpl. Santiago to take the front windows overlooking the atrium while he took the far-side. Lt. Stroud then informed Delta that the Locust had entered the hospital right as a power outage occurred. Lt. Stroud began to fix the power while Sgt. Fenix prepared the Gears for incoming Locust and ordered to wait until they were right below them in order to get as many in the courtyard as they could. Cpl. Kaliso advised Delta-One to fire at the fuel tanks in the courtyard during the ambush. As the Locust patrol entered the courtyard and surrounded the fuel tanks, Sgt. Fenix ordered to open fire on the tanks. The fire then caused a large explosion in the courtyard, killing all the Locust. Soon after, Lt. Stroud then reactivated the power to the hospital. Outside the hospital, KR Seven-Five flew CAP over Sector 4 along with several other King Ravens and reported that the Reavers are inbound from the north.
Defense and Locust Retreat[]
Centaur Zero-Nine defended a blockade near the hospital and reported that they were having trouble holding the Locust off. A squad of Gears also worked with a King Raven to hold an intersection near the hospital that was being rushed by dozens of Locust, cutting them down before they reached the building. The primary blockade near the hospital was soon overrun and the Locust took over the streets near the hospital and entered in greater numbers. Delta Squad and the other two Gears forced a group of Locust back from a courtyard, but came under attack by a Reaver. A King Raven arrived and chased it off, allowing Delta to reenter the hospital while the other two Gears secured the courtyard. After they eliminated a squad of Drones, Delta was contacted by Lt. Stroud and requested to assist in the fighting outside the hospital. Centaur Two-Three arrived outside the hospital as well, setting a position up to fire on the Locust.[3]
As the fighting intensified, KR Five-Nine engaged in a dogfight with a Reaver, but was shot down and crashed into Jacinto Med. Delta Squad continued to clear the Locust forces out in the hospital until they reached the front entrance where they found Pvt. Carmine, who explained to Sgt. Fenix that the area that he was defending got too hot and another squad of Gears rounded him up to fight. Delta went outside and joined the other squad who took casualties, losing one member to a sniper. Delta killed the Locust near the entrance and entered the street. A King Raven gunship arrived and provided air support, taking a Reaver and several Drones out. Delta flanked the Locust through a bookstore and got the drop on the remaining Drones, killing several Locust. The rest of the Locust began a fighting retreat from the hospital, killing another Gear, but giving up on the attack and leaving the hospital in COG hands.[3]
Aftermath[]
The hospital and city of Jacinto was properly defended as the Locust retreated out of desperation. On a more personal, emotional note - Cpl. Santiago learned from Lt. Stroud that the Jane Doe that checked into the hospital was released days prior. Later it was revealed that this was not, in fact, Maria Santiago as she was already a prisoner in a Locust labor camp. The following day, Chairman Richard Prescott delivered a rallying speech to prepare the Gears to end the war once and for all in Operation: Hollow Storm.
References[]
- ↑ Gears of War: Jacinto's Remnant pg 3
- ↑ Gears of War 2: Act 1: Tip of the Spear
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Gears of War 2: Act 1: Tip of the Spear: Desperation