The Cairo Saga, Book 2: The Solaris Irregulars
Part 42: Leave no one behind
Io city
Callisto V
Lyran Alliance
Cairo felt his guts wrench as the bullets hit Kerry Slone in the stomach, knocking her over backwards. He lifted his TK Assault-rifle and sent a burst of 1-mm rounds back at the Word of Blake guards, cutting them down.
It had been a simple plan: while the other two companies where off on diversionary raids, his forces would launch a commando raid on a Word of Blake outpost manned only by infantry. In order to get close to the buildings, it had been necessary to leave their Mech's back at the field- base, and proceed by way of ground cars.
Things had gone bad when someone had tripped an alarm, rousing the guards and activating the spotlights. What was meant to have been a meticulously planned raid dissolved into a mad firefight with both sides trying to lay down as much fire as they could in the tight confines. Both side seemed to be winning, and it was quickly becoming a battle of attrition.
Cairo ran across to where Slone lay, and dragged her back behind the cover of a low wall. She was still alive, but from the amount of blood she had lost, it was only a matter of time before she passed the point of no-retune. Cairo quickly grabbed his medi-pack and placed bandages over the entry and exit wounds. He gave her a shot of morphine, and tried to keep her stable.
He poked his head over the wall and saw that things were at a stalemate. He sighed: there was only one thing left to do. He drew a flair-gun from his belt and fired it up into the night sky. The red shell cast strange shadows over the battlefield, and black-dressed figures started to brake-off from the fight and disappear into the darkness beyond. Gently lifting Slone over his shoulder, Cairo began to make his way out of the base, keeping to the shadows, and sprinting across patches of light.
The sound of gunfire slowly died down as Cairo got further and further away from the outpost, until all he could hear was Slone's breathing and the sound of his feet rustling the short grass. He made his way to the rendezvous point, but all of the ground cars were gone. He scanned the surrounding area with his night-vision goggles: there was a farmhouse less than a kilometer away and by the looks of it no one was home.
Re-settling Salon's unconscious body on his shoulder, Cairo began the trek to the promised safety of the farmhouse, the sun beginning to rise in the East.
To Be Continued…