Chapter 49: Left in the dust
A construction site on the outskirts of Acapulco, the famous Mexican tourist trap of the 1950s. A gentle breeze swaying the trees in the shaded July evening. The quiet peace is but a fleeting illusion; a façade about to be torn down. Much like what used to stand on the lot before the construction work.
"I see… a thin man. A few seekers farther back. I can't tell the numbers from the shadows." Squint was huddled next to a large freight container filled with soil. She was looking at the interface of the BattleScanner™ Receiver pad as the high-tech surveillance equipment revealed ground past a pair of shipping containers and a construction office. Corporal Volatile was in charge of the operation, the infantrywoman leaning in to listen to the whispered relay of information from Squint.
Looking up to the rest of the squad behind the freight container, Volatile signaled for Kamikaze to get closer. As the gunner knelt next to his leader, Volatile spoke in a low voice, "Take the grenadiers up behind those shipping containers, we'll take them by surprise. Squint, you're with him. I'll hold the ground from here, provide long range support. How copy?"
"Roger that", the man muttered, emphasizing his words with a solemn nod. Gesturing at Prowler and Wootastic, Kamikaze led the specialist and lance corporal across the dark field. A small digger blocked their line of sight to the enemy as the squad made their way over to the shipping containers, Squint holding the rear.
Taking cover behind the alloy of one of the aliens' abduction pods, Volatile scanned towards the enemy position. To her left a massive pit had been dug in the center of the lot, surrounded by fencing. The yellow backhoe of an excavator peeked over the edge as Volatile surveyed her squad's flank. Their position would be extremely difficult to hold if caught in a crossfire; they would need to dispatch of this initial contact ASAP.
Vherid and Pavehawk spread out to cover behind her, readying their long-range weapons. The cover was sparse and not exactly ideal; a lone wooden crate and a concrete mixer. Hunterhr had stayed with the support force, ready to deploy his smoke grenades wherever they were needed.
The assault squad reached the first shipping container, huddling into the shadows against it. Kamikaze turned to look back towards the rest of the squad, and Volatile gave him a thumbs-up. Feeling slightly uneasy, she turned to survey the pit once again.
"Go loud!" Volatile yelled as four freakishly tall and nimble shadows emerged from across the massive pit. Sending a laser fizzing past one of their heads, Volatile gritted her teeth as she braced for contact. The thin men dashed into the pit, disappearing behind a large cement mixer truck and the piles of crates and planks littering the bottom.
At the shipping containers, the assault team sprang into action. Two alien grenades launched over the container, wreaking havoc in the midst of the hapless thin men, exploding two of them into fine acidic mist and shreds of Gucci. Squint missed her mark as of one of the thin men dashed to cover, but Kamikaze didn't. Taking cover behind the small digger, the gunner's autolaser flared red in the night as he hosed high-energy at the alien, laying it down.
"Re-orient! No one's getting flanked in my squad!" Volatile yelled, taking cover against the new enemy at their left. Pavehawk and Vherid cussed as they scrambled with their heavy rocket launcher and sniper rifle, struggling to ready the weapons. The red cloud of Hunterhr's smoke grenade bloomed behind Volatile as it enveloped Vherid and Pavehawk, leaving the squad leader standing guard at the front.
The seekers behind the construction office came to life as they took to the skies above the building. Green plasma fired down on Kamikaze, forcing the gunner to huddle against the small bucket of the digger. A salvo of fire raked across his armored back, drawing a grunt of surprise from the man.
As the aliens prepared to assault, Earth's finest responded in kind. Volatile glanced a laser beam off one of the thin men in the pit as it inexplicably leapt its way over the edge, dashing into the construction office. Turning her attention to the next one, Volatile carved open the alien trying to sneak its way along the edge of the truck.
The combined efforts of Pavehawk, Wootastic and Prowler rattled the construction site as the rocket and two grenades exploded with a deafening roar. The front of the construction office went up in a massive explosion of green and orange, macabre fireworks in the Acapulcan night.
With her laser rifle now empty, Volatile dropped the weapon and drew the heater machine pistol from her hip. In the midst of the settling dust, she saw a tall figure coughing in the ruins of the building. The resemblance to a human being was uncanny, but Volatile didn't hesitate. The machine pistol stuttered in her hands, sending a spray of lasers into the ruins. With a sharp screech, the thin man collapsed into the rubble.
Squint and Hunterhr fired at the seeker looming over Kamikaze's digger, putting an end to the mechanical flier and freeing the man to join the fight. Sending a hail of lasers down towards the last remaining thin man, he pinned the creature down behind a stack of planks on the edge of the pit. The alien returned fire, sending a hail of plasma flying past the gunner. Taking advantage of the dauntless alien, Vherid locked his crosshair over its head. Connecting solidly, the laser from the sniper rifle splayed its alien brains out into the night.
Muffled groans filled the air as a solitary floater flew into the bottom of the construction pit, the voices of its podmates echoing from the darkness beyond. Volatile cussed as there was no time to reload, bringing her heater on target.
"Need help here!" Prowler yelled from behind the shipping containers. A seeker had Wootastic in its grasp at the very back, slowly but surely squeezing the life out of her. Kamikaze left the frontline to help the engineers while Squint dashed up to the fencing, ready to aid Volatile with the floaters.
A barrage of plasma shot up from the edge of the pit, causing Squint to recoil away with a surprised yelp. Firing her scatter laser wildly at the concealed thin man pressed up against the wall of the pit, Squint called for backup. Prowler obliged, his alien grenade tracing an elegant arc into the pit, the explosion engulfing both the thin man and the floater.
Volatile cussed as her heater emptied its energy cell into the floater, the alien still alive. As the half-mechanical beast brought its carbine up, another flurry of red beams punched into its chest, Pavehawk's shatterray finishing the job.
Picking up her laser rifle again, Volatile slammed in a fresh energy cell. Raising her voice, she led the squad in their final stand, "Hold your ground! They're coming!"
And so they did. The three floaters flew in over the pit in their aggressive fashion, carbines sending a hail of plasma at Squint. The scout peeked out from behind the fence, pulling away from the fire. The rest of the squad supported her, laser fire filling the sky as the aliens dropped one by one. Volatile struck one, then another as Pavehawk and Hunterhr cleaned up after their squad leader.
A quiet settled over the battlefield as the operatives waited for more to come. A moment passed, then another. Turning to her squad, Volatile took command of the situation, calm as ever, "Perimeter sweep. Squint, Pavehawk on the left. Kamikaze, you take Prowler on the right. Vherid ready to support across the pit. Hunterhr, make sure Wootastic is alright."
As the operatives acknowledged their orders, Volatile brought her hand up to her earpiece. She was wearing the same beret she'd worn on the day of Frag's last operation, with the sunglasses stashed into a pocket on the front of her flak jacket. Volatile walked up to the edge of the pit, contacting Central on the line. As she waited for the response, the deceased infantryman found his way over to her thoughts.
What would you think of me now? Volatile gazed across the pit, admiring the lights of the city in the distance. The long months spent in the medbay had seen her left in the dust as the rest of the outfit's infantry had gone on multiple operations, earning promotions left and right. Wistfully, Volatile touched a hand over the pocket containing the sunglasses.
I meant to succeed you, Frag. Fill your boots. How selfish of me to be jealous for the success of others. Closing her eyes, Volatile wallowed in the feelings of self-condemnation. The buzzing on her earpiece brought her back to the moment as the commander's voice came through on the line.
Spotting a secluded spot in the bottom of the pit, Volatile started down the wooden ramp. What she didn't notice was Vherid, staring at her from his vantage point at the edge of the pit. The sniper regarded her with contemplative eyes. Letting out a small hmmm the man turned his eyes back to the task at hand, ready to support either recon squad in the unlikely case of additional contact.
