Chapter 31
There wasn't enough time for a warm get-together, so the members of Fang, Demon, Lightning and Bulldog Squadrons simply exchanged greetings and handshakes with the trio before the group turned back the way they came.
They walked quietly and uneventfully for several minutes, until Perry activated his comm. "Get yourself up, Lightning Four. We're coming out."
"Be advised Husky Two, from my hiding place I can see a squad of six enemy troops at the cave entrance and an additional eight seeking cover in the forest nearby." Lightning Four crackled back.
"Acknowledged, stand by for further orders."
Perry stopped at the next corner, the last one before they were back at the mine entrance. He fished through his pockets and pulled out a small camera, which he plugged into his goggles and aimed around the corner.
Yep, they're there all right. Perry fingered his comm. "Bill, we need another dispersal raid on the entrance of the mine."
"No problem, Perry, we were getting bored up here." Bill replied.
A mere instant later, Perry heard the whine of engines again, and several of the troops outside ducked into the mine for cover. As laser bolts rained from the sky again, one of the transports hovered visibly outside the mine, pouring sustained fire into enemy emplacements.
"Lightning Four, where are you?"
"Niche above your position, Husky Two. What are your orders?"
"Drop a grenade into the body of troops you see from there. We'll come out and kill any survivors, and you drop down and link up with us again. We're making a dash out of here. Bill, are you reading this?"
"I copy, Perry, We'll cease fire in five seconds."
Perry stuffed away the camera and backed a bit further down the mine shaft. A metallic clink sounded just outside, and everyone covered their ears.
The grenade's explosion shook the mine shaft, and dislodged a lot of pebbles and dust. Perry charged out, followed by his whole team. With his goggles, he could make out surviving enemy troops despite the smoke and dust. The enemy troops could hardly do the same, and all were killed or incapacitated as the group of pilots sprinted out of the mine.
Very little fire greeted them as the made a dash for the thicker forest. Most of the enemy troops were still watching the sky, and they were numerous enough that Perry was happy to just slip by them rather than take them down.
"Bill, we're out of the mine and heading for the LZ. ETA…"
Perry was cut short by a rifle blast that very literally came within a whisker of him. It passed through the night-vision goggles that were now dangling from his belt, and went into Demon Two's thigh.
The rest of the team dropped and took cover as more enemy rifles were brought to bear. Perry dragged Demon Two behind a large rock. The wounded pilot was gritting his teeth, trying to keep from making too much noise.
Perry leaned out from behind the rock ever so slightly and fired three shots, but he couldn't tell if he had hit anything.
"Leader, Demon Two is hit, he's not going to be able to walk. We're pinned down around fifty meters from the mine, we'll need some cover fire."
"Not a problem, Perry. We'll have the boys on the transports with medipacks ready." Bill replied.
Perry nodded and turned to his counterpart from Demon Squadron. "Justin, sit tight, we're gonna have someone carry you."
"All right. There… SHIT!" The panther shrunk away from where a rifle blast struck pieces off the rock they had hidden behind. "There's gotta be at least twenty of 'em out there."
One of the transports suddenly flew overhead, momentarily eclipsing Lylat's sun. Its guns shot again and again into the source of the enemy fire. Bill's fighter soon joined it, and Perry had just set about dragging Justin when Blaze dropped in beside him.
"I got 'im, Perry. I'm the strongest one here." And with that, Blaze easily lifted Justin as if he weighed little more than a feather. "C'mon, let's move!"
Perry bit back his amazement. "Fair enough. All troops, follow me!"
The band of fighters joined Perry and Blaze as they charged through the undergrowth, unseen except by the odd isolated insectile trooper, and they were dispatched easily enough.
The group was now roughly half-way to the LZ. Perry's comm came to life again, but this time it was Captain Burke's voice that filled his headset.
"Guys, we got a big problem. I powered up just a few seconds ago- the radar array at the base here must have spotted one of you rising off the deck. I knocked out six fighters as the came out of the launch tube with a Nova bomb, but now they're belching out of the side ports. I can't hold'em here, I'm gonna make a firing retreat. If I hassle'em properly they might take fifteen minutes to reach you guys."
"Thanks Gus, stay alive over there." Bill replied. "Perry, What's your status?"
"We're sprinting out here, Bill, but we won't be there for ten minutes in this terrain."
"Piece of cake, five minutes to get clear and get out." Bill said, though to everyone else it seemed optimistic.
Perry kept them running full tilt, and though many of them were beginning to feel their lungs heave, they all kept pace with him, engaged in the deadliest race of their lives.
Finally, after what seemed an eternity, Perry sighted the clearing. "Husky Leader, we're coming to the clearing.
Blaze suddenly slung Demon Two onto one arm and fired his pistol with his free hand. The bolt struck a shadowy shape crouched near a tree, which promptly slumped to the ground.
Enemy fire leapt out from the prematurely sprung trap, and Perry's team was forced to once again seek shelter and hide from the enemy onslaught.
"Bill, they've moved back around the clearing. They're directly in our way."
Suddenly fire started coming in at them from their rear quarter, and Perry realized too late that the strike team had fallen into a hastily laid encirclement.
"News just got worse, Bill. We're surrounded."
"I see the troops near the clearing, but if I go for anyone else I might hit you Perry." Bill's fighter screeched by, once again pounding the enemy troops concealed in the treeline.
Perry pulled out a smoke flare from his side pouch, and visually checked the location of all his people. Then he transmitted Bill his reply.
"I'll put up a smoke flare- don't hit anything within twenty meters of it." Then Perry activated the flare and threw it into the middle of his formation.
Once again their air support came to the rescue, firing lasers and now dropping bombs; since the mission's secrecy had already been blown, they could be as liberal as they pleased with their weaponry.
Blue fire and green shafts of light sent pieces of the enemy troopers sailing high into the air. The spectacle was both terrible and spectacular to those on the ground- especially terrible to the enemy troops that had surrounded Perry. His own troops, for their part, stayed low to the ground and fired numerous accurate shots at the enemy, completely unmolested by the fire raining down from the sky. Even Damon emptied his pistol's battery, the close combat having driven him into a frenzy.
Within moments the fighters and the transports had created a ring of fire around the strike team, decimating the ranks of the enemy and giving Perry the opportunity he needed.
"Bill, pour all your firepower into the treeline! We'll charge it in thirty seconds. Get the transports down here!"
"I copy Perry. Stay cool, We've got it."
And so, for twenty-five seconds, the enemy force standing between Perry and the LZ was utterly decimated by a concentration of bombs and laser fire. Perry finished his countdown, plucked two rifles from his teammates, and then ordered his team to run for it.
As they leapt up and sprinted for the clearing, he took up the two automatic rifles, one in each hand, and laid down a web of fire at the enemy troopers behind them. It was inaccurate, but it did provide his retreating men with some suppression fire. When the batteries were emptied, he dropped the rifles, drew his pistol and himself ran, firing into the enemy as he went.
Ahead of him, the strike team (and the ones they rescued) quickly overran an enemy position which was heavily damaged by the air assault. They turned, and fired back at Perry's pursuers, providing Perry with precious cover fire. Soon, all of them were congregated at the edge of the clearing, fending off at least two platoons of enemy troopers. Then, finally, the two transports swept into the clearing, shooting off lasers at every source of enemy fire, storming the forest with their blasts. One of them touched down.
"All right, Blaze, take Justin, Matt and the kid to the transport. We'll cover." Perry shouted over the roar of the transport's engines.
Blaze nodded and ran to the waiting transport, carrying the wounded Demon Two and with Matt and Damon trailing behind. A little enemy fire came at them from various points in the forest around the clearing, but the lasers of the transports soon dealt with this. Perry and the remaining members of the strike team kept firing back into the jungle, keeping the enemy troops at bay. Once Blaze offloaded Justin, he took up his rifle and began adding its firepower to that of the transport, firing into the forest behind Perry and his team. A couple of shots actually hit him, but he didn't seem to notice them, let alone feel any pain.
"All right boys, let's go!"
The pilots remaining with Perry leapt into the clearing at his order. Perry remained behind once again, snapping off shots into the enemy forces that were now beginning to charge suicidally.
Perry figured that the enemy troops realized they were about to lose their quarry, and were now desperately trying to halt an escape. Perry didn't wait any longer. He dashed out into the clearing, ignoring the red bolts that passed by him, shots fired in haste and desperation.
Blaze was shouting to Perry and the other troops running to the transport; "GO! GO! GO!" and he was still firing into the forest, knocking out as many enemy troops as he could. Perry followed the team into the transport, and once hidden by its relative safety, he started ducking out again to continue firing into the body of enemy troops now charging the clearing. Blaze emptied his battery into them then also jumped into the transport.
Though the streams of laser fire coming from the transports never ceased, the enemy had gotten progressively closer, fanatically trying to destroy the transport that had landed, regardless of the cost to their own ranks. Less than a second after Fuzzy hauled the transport into the sky, a rocket stabbed through the air just beneath it- too close for comfort.
But both transports were now pulling away to safety, the small-arms fire coming from the clearing bouncing futilely off their shields. The gunners continued to pour their firepower into the enemy ranks, but they were of no threat anymore.