Koenig regained consciousness as Helena was pulling him along the jungle floor. She kept herself pressed close to the ground, even as she dragged him along on his back. It was a hard struggle, but Helena soldiered on. She was going to get him to safety.
John raised his head up to see the direction from which he was being rescued. In the hazy of semi-awareness he noticed the blood and damage done to his leg.
"My leg!" he yelled abruptly.
"Oh, shit!" exclaimed Helena. She had not seen John regain consciousness. With that shout she knew it would draw more of the alien creatures (alien to them. Not alien to the planet they were on) in their direction. These creatures had primitive weapons and were definitely pissed off for some reason. This was a bad combination.
The flash and bang of a rudimentary firearm made both of them fairly jump. It surprised Helena that a creature could have been so close. She reached down to her thigh and drew a ray gun from its holster. She fired a crackling high energy shot that exploded as it impacted on something…a tree or alien maybe…she couldn't see. She reholstered her weapon.
"Your leg is fine," she whispered to a wild-eyed John. She wrapped an arm around him to comfort him. "I patched you up. We gotta get out of here."
She resumed dragging him as rapidly as she could along the jungle floor. John helped by thrusting vigorously with his good leg.
As they neared the clearing where Eagle One rested the firing of aliens and Alphans grew louder. Helena reached to her hip for her commlock. She brought it up to her face and clicked the multicast button.
"This is Helena. I've got John. We are at the edge of the forest."
The smallish semi-asian face of Sandra appeared in Helena's commlock screen.
"I see you, Helena. Be careful coming in. They are putting out a lot of shots from your side! Have you seen Paul?"
"Yes," Helena replied. "He is coming from a different direction to draw them off of us. I am going to have to carry John."
"Come quick!" advised Sandra. "I will cover you."
Helena put John's arm around her shoulder and together they propelled themselves into the clearing and the bright sun. They stumbled and ran toward the white form of the Eagle spacecraft that was partially obscured by the high green grass. Sandra lay prone just outside the doors of the eagle firing wishful shots in all directions in the hopes of keeping the creatures' from shooting back at Helena and John.
Helena stumbled halfway back to the ship and unfortunately dropped John and herself to the ground. They lay low for a second as single shots from projectile weapons exploded past them.
"Come on! Come on!" Sandra shouted excitedly. She waved her arm at Helena in a beckoning gesture as she continued to fire in the directions of the incoming shots. Helena was thoroughly exhausted, and just tried to cover up John. Just then a voice rang out through her commlock.
"Doctor? Doctor Russell!" Helena brought the communication device to her face again and this time in the screen appeared the dark africanic face of Kano. "I am on the other side. I am coming to help you. "
Helena looked to the other side of the Eagle. She did not see Kano but she could make out the prone form of Assistant Mission Controller Tanya Alexandra pressed close to the ground. She was shooting out suppressive laser fire into the other end of the forest.
"Come on in, David!" Tanya shouted hurriedly. So, just then, Kano's form came busting out of the jungle path at full speed. He had just reached Tanya's side of the eagle when a shot rang out unexpectedly from the side. Bright red blood shot out from Kano's side as he fell right next to Tanya.
"David!" Tanya screamed in shock and frustration.
Helena had watched Kano from the other side of the craft. Even from there she could see the arterial bleeding spurting from the side of his chest.
"Crap!" she muttered. That was all they needed just now… another Alphan down.