Miakei
2003-04-24, 04:33 PM
The sun cast shimmering diamonds across the waves. A warm breeze carried the clean smell of the ocean to him. As Johannan stood on the pale shore, the gentle sounds of the waves soothed his soul as the warm waters caressed his feet. Joseph, his son, splashed about happily in the water, cajoling him to join in the frolicking. He laughed at his sons’ enthusiasm. If only he could remain so innocent, stay that way forever…
A violent jolt knocked him to the floor. The sun went out suddenly, and the smell of ozone filled the air. His eyes shot open as his brain tried to grasp the recent happenings. Panicking, his head snapped to the left, then right, searching for Joseph. Nothing but darkness filled his vision. Realization quickly set in…as did the reality of the situation. He had been dreaming again, of a better time. Of a time when everything made sense, of a time when he still had his only joy…Joseph. A lone tear fell from his eye.
With a feeling of quiet despair he toggled on his comm-link. “This is Delta Lead, we hit dirt in 5, final weapons check.” He had said that so many times, it had become routine. There was no conviction behind it anymore, he was no longer filled with the sense of hate that had driven him for so long. The thirst for vengeance had washed away, and in it’s place…nothing. Responses of “Affirmative”, came back over the static.
“This is Delt 2, locked and loaded.”
“Delt 3, good to go.”
“Delt 4, weapon hot”
“Delt 5, ready…”
The voices faded off into the distance. He had personally been through hundreds of drops. Recently they had put him in charge of his own squad, and already they had been through dozens of drops in the last few weeks. He vaguely noted the last member of the squad check in…
“Um, sir?” the young voice of Delt 7, asked nervously over the comm., “What’s the objective?” Johannan sighed quietly, “Alright Delta Group, bring up your maps.”
He watched patiently as the indicators winked to life, confirming everyone had locked on to the command signal to receive the data stream. He quickly scanned the briefing, as his system scanned and plotted the maps terrain.
“Ok, here’s the deal. Yesterday, at approximately 1400 hours, we received a message from the Dropship Center in Amerish. It seems they were coming under assault by hostile units. Messages were dispatched to surrounding friendly bases, and re-enforcements sent to bolster the defenses. At 1600 hours, the gates to Amerish shut down. It seems as though some people have been very busy in the last 24 hours. Needless to say, high command is not happy about us losing our foothold on the continent. Delta Group has been ordered to join up with Dark Lament Armor Brigade, and Karma Air Assault to get those bases back. We have the honor of being the insertion force. It is our duty to retake one of the bases, so we can open up the gates.”
Delt 7 piped up, “Sounds like a cake walk Sir, which one are we going after?”
Johannan lips curled into a feral grin, “We’re going after their Interlink Facility.”
Delt 7s voice came back over the channel, “Why? Why don’t we just go…”
“Listen 7, why don't you shut your mouth and think for a minute...I've been doing this a good bit longer than you so it would really be in your best interests, if you want to survive this, to defer to my judgement. Are we clear on this? Good.” Johannan spat back. A meek, “Yes sir” was the only reply. Johannan continued, “We are soldiers, we are trained to fight, kill and blow shit up! It all boils down to training, and so far, we’re one of the best. The 5th Infantry did an insertion like this 4 months ago, and accomplished their objective in 20 minutes…I expect us to do better! DO YOU GET ME?”
“SIR, YES SIR!” came the unanimous reply.
“Good. Now, I’m plotting waypoints on the route we are taking. I want Delt 8 at point, and Delt 7 at rear. Staggered line formation. We’re going to Approach from the NE, following the hill side. Delt 4, I want you to run ahead on that Basilisk of yours and take up a position on the NW side. I want you to assess the current situation and report back to us. Delt 5, I want you cloaked up and scouting ahead of us…I don’t care if the hostile is sound asleep, dreaming of sugar plums, you radio in so we can send him off to the tubes. The rest of you, it’s a standard insertion op, you know your roles. Once we hit dirt, weapons free.”
A strobing light came on in the bay. Dimly illuminating the surroundings. He could make out the rest of the squad. They were checking their helmets, straps and equipment. A loud boom rocked the Galaxy forward. “What the hell is going on here?,” Johannan called out to the pilots. “We’ve run into a squad of MAX on patrol, they’re lighting us up!” Johannan glanced back at his team, “Ok, change of plans. They know we’re here. Chances are they’ve already alerted their bases. Everyone get ready to Hot Drop!” The Galaxy lurched to the right in a slow bank turn, the Chain cannons firing off lead rain down on the enemy position. The pilots voice cam back over the comm., “On my mark, everyone bail. They’re getting the bird, but she’s gonna take a few with her.”
Johannan sat back down in his chair, and prepped himself for the worst. The pilot announced, “On my mark. 3, 2, 1, mark!” Johannan yelled to his team, “Go! Go! Go!” Everyone punched the eject buttons, and began their harrowing descent to terra firma.
The now pilot-less transport went careening off in the distance, chaff fire exploding around it in a fury of destruction. Delta Group and the pilots hit dirt just in time to watch it impact with the ground, in a spectacular fireball.
The pilot managed a low chuckle…”MAX pilots, all guns, no brains…” Delt 7 and Delt 8 pivoted towards him. “Umm...never mind. We’d better get moving.”
Johannan called back to his squad, “Ok Delta, looks like we’re on baby sitting duty as well…load up, and head out!”
To be continued…
A violent jolt knocked him to the floor. The sun went out suddenly, and the smell of ozone filled the air. His eyes shot open as his brain tried to grasp the recent happenings. Panicking, his head snapped to the left, then right, searching for Joseph. Nothing but darkness filled his vision. Realization quickly set in…as did the reality of the situation. He had been dreaming again, of a better time. Of a time when everything made sense, of a time when he still had his only joy…Joseph. A lone tear fell from his eye.
With a feeling of quiet despair he toggled on his comm-link. “This is Delta Lead, we hit dirt in 5, final weapons check.” He had said that so many times, it had become routine. There was no conviction behind it anymore, he was no longer filled with the sense of hate that had driven him for so long. The thirst for vengeance had washed away, and in it’s place…nothing. Responses of “Affirmative”, came back over the static.
“This is Delt 2, locked and loaded.”
“Delt 3, good to go.”
“Delt 4, weapon hot”
“Delt 5, ready…”
The voices faded off into the distance. He had personally been through hundreds of drops. Recently they had put him in charge of his own squad, and already they had been through dozens of drops in the last few weeks. He vaguely noted the last member of the squad check in…
“Um, sir?” the young voice of Delt 7, asked nervously over the comm., “What’s the objective?” Johannan sighed quietly, “Alright Delta Group, bring up your maps.”
He watched patiently as the indicators winked to life, confirming everyone had locked on to the command signal to receive the data stream. He quickly scanned the briefing, as his system scanned and plotted the maps terrain.
“Ok, here’s the deal. Yesterday, at approximately 1400 hours, we received a message from the Dropship Center in Amerish. It seems they were coming under assault by hostile units. Messages were dispatched to surrounding friendly bases, and re-enforcements sent to bolster the defenses. At 1600 hours, the gates to Amerish shut down. It seems as though some people have been very busy in the last 24 hours. Needless to say, high command is not happy about us losing our foothold on the continent. Delta Group has been ordered to join up with Dark Lament Armor Brigade, and Karma Air Assault to get those bases back. We have the honor of being the insertion force. It is our duty to retake one of the bases, so we can open up the gates.”
Delt 7 piped up, “Sounds like a cake walk Sir, which one are we going after?”
Johannan lips curled into a feral grin, “We’re going after their Interlink Facility.”
Delt 7s voice came back over the channel, “Why? Why don’t we just go…”
“Listen 7, why don't you shut your mouth and think for a minute...I've been doing this a good bit longer than you so it would really be in your best interests, if you want to survive this, to defer to my judgement. Are we clear on this? Good.” Johannan spat back. A meek, “Yes sir” was the only reply. Johannan continued, “We are soldiers, we are trained to fight, kill and blow shit up! It all boils down to training, and so far, we’re one of the best. The 5th Infantry did an insertion like this 4 months ago, and accomplished their objective in 20 minutes…I expect us to do better! DO YOU GET ME?”
“SIR, YES SIR!” came the unanimous reply.
“Good. Now, I’m plotting waypoints on the route we are taking. I want Delt 8 at point, and Delt 7 at rear. Staggered line formation. We’re going to Approach from the NE, following the hill side. Delt 4, I want you to run ahead on that Basilisk of yours and take up a position on the NW side. I want you to assess the current situation and report back to us. Delt 5, I want you cloaked up and scouting ahead of us…I don’t care if the hostile is sound asleep, dreaming of sugar plums, you radio in so we can send him off to the tubes. The rest of you, it’s a standard insertion op, you know your roles. Once we hit dirt, weapons free.”
A strobing light came on in the bay. Dimly illuminating the surroundings. He could make out the rest of the squad. They were checking their helmets, straps and equipment. A loud boom rocked the Galaxy forward. “What the hell is going on here?,” Johannan called out to the pilots. “We’ve run into a squad of MAX on patrol, they’re lighting us up!” Johannan glanced back at his team, “Ok, change of plans. They know we’re here. Chances are they’ve already alerted their bases. Everyone get ready to Hot Drop!” The Galaxy lurched to the right in a slow bank turn, the Chain cannons firing off lead rain down on the enemy position. The pilots voice cam back over the comm., “On my mark, everyone bail. They’re getting the bird, but she’s gonna take a few with her.”
Johannan sat back down in his chair, and prepped himself for the worst. The pilot announced, “On my mark. 3, 2, 1, mark!” Johannan yelled to his team, “Go! Go! Go!” Everyone punched the eject buttons, and began their harrowing descent to terra firma.
The now pilot-less transport went careening off in the distance, chaff fire exploding around it in a fury of destruction. Delta Group and the pilots hit dirt just in time to watch it impact with the ground, in a spectacular fireball.
The pilot managed a low chuckle…”MAX pilots, all guns, no brains…” Delt 7 and Delt 8 pivoted towards him. “Umm...never mind. We’d better get moving.”
Johannan called back to his squad, “Ok Delta, looks like we’re on baby sitting duty as well…load up, and head out!”
To be continued…