-Advance Wars 2
--Lash Factor
---Chapter 3: Lasting Impressions
I remember fighting back a terrible urge to make Rick Swiss cheese. It's like a sickness. You don't know how long you can fight it off before you toss your cookies or however you say that. However, there was so much I wanted to say...
"Rick... Please... Take me out now..." I pleaded.
"Heckler? God... What did they do to you?" He was visibly shaken even though under Sami's command we had seen a lot.
"How long have I been gone?"
"Five months..." Rick answered slowly, then swallowed hard. "Five months... We gave you a funeral and everything... We didn't think they'd let you live..."
I began to laugh and caused Rick to jump. Maybe he thought I was going on insane? Maybe he was right.
"I'm about to shoot you, and we're talking about how we've been." I laughed.
He laughed too.
"Yeah... War can make people do crazy things..." He admitted silently.
"So... How's everyone?"
"Kind of broken when you got caught... We've never been the same..." Rick explained shamefully.
"Aren't you supposed to be cocky?" I asked. "What happened to you anyway?"
He put on this shocked face and I spun around arming my gun to see a couple Black Hole soldiers closing in on us. They waved to me to take Rick out, but instead I fired on them, watching as they fell to the ground.
"I'm talking to him here!" I shouted out. "I'm talking and I don't want to go back! I don't want to go back! Rick you gotta get me out of here! Don't let me go back to Black Hole!"
I think at that moment I had completely lost it. Those five odd months in Black Hole's TLC just snapped at that moment. Seeing Rick and getting to talk to him and touching back upon a life I once knew. I just couldn't take anymore. I began to shake and I dropped to my knees.
No more. It's gotta stop. Lash just turned me into a science project. I was actually taking orders from Flak... It's craziness. Rick ran over and picked me up, making me move. Suddenly we were running away from the artillery as the undamaged ones fired off into the blue yonder.
We were moving so fast the forest just kind of blurred past us. Before I knew it, we had met up with the others. All of em'. Once they spotted me they had all raised their guns and were about ready to fire when Rick just dropped me and held his hands up.
"Wait! It's Heckler! You guys! It's Heckler!" Rick tried to explain frantically.
"What?" Palmer shouted out. "Rick have you gone nuts? Heckler's dead! Black Hole got him!"
"No! It's him! They turned him... They forced him to their side!" His voice was racing.
Both of us knew that if he didn't make an explanation that they could understand, I was going to be shot to death real soon. I didn't bother getting up until I heard one of them cuss or shout my name out in joy or something. I didn't hear anything of the sort and decided to stand up. No gunshots, that's always nice.
"Palmer... You're still bald. Thank god something is still ok in this world." I joked with a weak tone.
All of them looked like they've been stabbed or something. The amount of surprise on their face couldn't have been explained. Victor took a step forward and put his head up against my visor. It was near impossible to see me unless you were that close. He eventually nodded solemnly and turned back toward the others.
"It's Heckler." He said simply.
"Well... uh... We need to discuss this sometime later!" Ruby finally regained her senses. "Let's get out of here!"
With that we were off and finally I could move on my own without fear of getting the crap shot out of me. It was kind of funny. I was the only guy in a big black suit while the others were in their Orange uniforms. I must have stuck out like a sore thumb. We made our way across a field heading toward a helicopter that was circling the area. It came down and when the door slid open, I was greeted with a pistol.
"Easy! He's with us!" Ruby explained and we all piled in. "Radio to HQ and tell them we've rescued a POW."
I thought I might need an extra push or something, but the suit had put a spring in my step and I leapt up into it easily. Strangely enough, I took my own spot where we usually sat down and everyone just kind of stared at me uneasily. It was a pretty awkward bit of silence. At that time, I knew what they were thinking. What they were going to say, or ask me. All this time they'd thought Black Hole shot me up into a bloody heap. But here I was... In their uniform... alive.
"What... what did they do to you?" Palmer asked finally.
"It's hard to remember... All these needles... And Lash was there... Flak, Adder..."
"Adder?" Ruby asked after a time. "Who is Adder?"
"Another Black Hole CO. Real tall and has the palest white skin you've ever seen, and purple hair. A cruel psycho."
My mind was working in fragments. I didn't know at the time, but it was my two lifestyles ramming into each other to form one again. The one lifestyle where I served Orange Star, the country I was born in. And then there was Lash's injected lifestyle, forcing me to work for Black Hole like a mindless zombie.
"It's been so long Heckler... Can you take off that helmet?" Ruby told me. "We've never really been the same after you got caught. We couldn't even bear to replace you after you left, we just went on. One man down."
I had moved to take off my helmet. But paused remembering that moment in Lash's laboratory. She handed me that mirror and held it in front of me. My face... my brand new face... Those injections had done more than simply warp my subconscious, they had... Needless to say I soon stopped and let my hands fall down to my sides. They all stared at me for a time.
"What's wrong?" Rick asked. "Why don't you take it off all ready?"
"I can't... I mean... I can't show you guys what I look like now. You wouldn't..."
"Did they torture you? Some scarring on your face?" Rick interrupted. "Hell, Heckler. We won't mind if you're ugly now. You'd just be like the rest of us."
It was a joke and they all kind of laughed uncomfortably. But I didn't. He was joking around with something he could possibly understand. But they let it drop for now. Soon enough the copter was returning to HQ. Looking out the side it seemed so familiar, all the Orange copters and tanks sitting around. Plenty of infantry divisions. Rick had reached over while I gazed out the window and took my machine gun.
"Can I hold onto this? We wouldn't want anyone shooting you..."
The Copter set down and immediately I could see Sami and Nell standing there on the helipad. Seems like this was going to be a big occasion after all. Course, Ruby didn't say who the POW was when she explained to the helicopter pilot why I got in. But then my stomach dropped when the copter's doors slid open. How could I explain to my CO and Supreme Commander that I couldn't take my helmet off... Maybe I could sign up for the Orange Star space program...
We all piled out and the copter took off again to head for refueling. Standard procedure as I knew it. Nell and Sami were both pretty surprised to see a Black Hole soldier pile out of the copter and the soldiers around them raised their guns, just waiting for the order to fire. Ruby held her hands out and ran up to Sami.
"No! Wait! Commanders, this is James Heckler. He was caught during Operation: Black Cannon. He's the soldier we thought was dead..."
Well, Ruby still didn't explain why I was wearing a Black Hole uniform. Rick, who was taking my place as second in command moved up and saluted.
"He was in some kind of Black Hole experiment ma'am. We managed to refresh his memory..."
"How do you know this for sure?" Sami asked unconvinced. "It could be a Black Hole ploy, and your unit has never been the same..."
Hell, this was never going to work. There was too many "what ifs" they could throw. If anything I should have been in shackles all ready. Nell had kept silent the whole time simply staring at me carefully. With the little instructors stick at her side, it seemed the whole time she was trying to decide whether it was worth it to take me back in.
"Sami... If you don't mind. I'd like to take this into a more secure setting." Nell advised suddenly.
"Of course ma'am." She saluted. "All right, all of you come with me. We're going to straighten this out."
Under an escort, we headed into the base moving down a couple hallways and getting strange looks from soldiers we passed. Normally I couldn't stand getting treated like a freak... But after Lash's sessions... I couldn't help but to agree. It didn't take long before we had gotten to a debriefing room complete with the Orange Star flag, a long wooden table, and a huge monitor used for displaying information and troop movements.
My old team took seats as Sami took one at the head of the table. Nell stood to Sami's right and kept a firm eye on me. Thinking back on it, I had never seen much of Nell before. She was a legend of course, the mastermind behind Orange Star and a valuable instructor to new COs. There was a seat for me, but part of my Black Hole training was never take a seat unless your ordered too, so I stood near the door.
"You can take a seat soldier." Sami instructed me.
For awhile I didn't quite pick up on it. Until I shook my head.
"Sorry ma'am... I wasn't allowed too.... Black Hole told me..."
"Well you aren't in Black Hole anymore. So you can sit down."
You should have seen their faces when I addressed Sami as ma'am. This had to have proven it to them on several levels that it was me. Nell and Sami were pretty disturbed hearing me tell them about what I could and couldn't do when in Black Hole's service. I took a seat and turned the chair so they knew I was looking at them since my helmet masked my face so well.
"So... What happened?"
"Well ma'am." Ruby began with a deep breath. "We went to gain intel on Flak's artillery position for Commander Andy as instructed. We were quickly found out by a mechanized Black Hole unit. We engaged them, took them down, and that's when Private Rick regrouped helping along a Black Hole soldier. He identified this soldier as our missing vehicle specialist, James Heckler."
It went on like that for awhile. They all gave their reports about the situation. Sami was still trying to figure out if I was really James Heckler. Then, the question I had been waiting for came.
"Remove your helmet." Sami ordered.
I just froze at that moment. Remove my helmet... seemed simple enough... But no. I just couldn't. To do so would jeopardize everything I wanted to be. I wanted to be a part of Orange Star again, I wanted to get back at Adder and Lash for treating me like a petri dish.
"No." I answered.
"Heckler, you have to do this. If you don't remove it, we'll never know it's really you." Rick encouraged me.
Nell had begun to tap her stick on the table getting everyone's attention.
"Will you all please clear the room?" She commanded keeping an eye on me.
"Are you sure that's wise ma'am?" Sami asked slowly.
She nodded her head and they all began to leave as I sat there looking at Nell. She moved forward and set her stick under her arm. While pushing a seat to get next to me. There was so much calm in her face, you could know that any battle under her supervision was going to go great as long as she was there.
"Private Heckler... remove your helmet." She told me.
There was nothing I could say to refuse. An order like that? Direct from your supreme commander? I unlatched the helmet and lifted it off of my head slowly. Along with Adder's laugh, I'll never forget Nell's face when she saw mine unobstructed by the helmet. She seemed so deeply sad seeing me and didn't once turn away. Just kept looking at me, like it hurt her more than it did me... Maybe that was true...
"I'm so sorry..." She said after a time in a low voice.
"Please don't be." I choked out. "I wanted to serve my country... Sometimes, you have to make some sacrifices..."
"Do you really believe that... Personally?"
I slammed the helmet back on my head and began to breathe deeply. No, I didn't believe that. I knew maybe I would be tortured or some crap, but what actually happened to me? No. I don't think anyone would give up as much as I lost in that dark room with Lash and her gallery of needles and chemicals. I stood up angrily and so did Nell resuming her commanding composure.
"What do you think you are doing soldier?"
"I'm gonna kill... I'm gonna kill them all!" I yelled. "I'm gonna wipe the floor with Flak and Lash! Flak for catching me... and Lash for changing me..."
This little fantasy of me killing both of them began to unfold in my mind.
"No. You don't want to do that. Not the way you're thinking. We need to punish them that much is true... But here we can help you..."
"What? You want to stick even more needles in me! I'm not a science project anymore! I want revenge for this!"
Nell obviously thought that the chemicals were doing a number in my head. But it was just me. I was so angry now... I knew that I could never go back to Orange Star like this. I was on my own. I was going to get Flak and Lash, maybe the entire Black Hole army... It didn't matter what was going to happen to me now. I wanted to get them... I wanted to get them so badly, my body hurt.
I spun around as the door opened and my suit kicked into overdrive. I charged Rick who was at the door and gave him a gut check while taking back my machine gun. He went flying back into the hallway and took down the rest of my unit and almost toppled Sami over at the same time. I had never moved so fast in my life. It was like Sami's CO ability, Double Time, only this suit enabled me to do it on my own.
The soldiers in the hallway raised their weapons but someone had shouted out, "Don't shoot!". That didn't stop a couple bullets from escaping their guns and nailing me in my metal backpack which deflected the bullets. Soon I found myself outside, with soldiers scrambling all over the place trying to get me before I got away. There was a recon jeep nearby and I raised my weapon causing the driver to freeze in his tracks.
"Get the hell out!" I yelled angrily.
He leapt out of the vehicle and I jumped in stomping the gas and rocketing away. Someone was aiming for my wheels, and managed to nail my right front tire. It was hard to steer but I didn't once let up on the gas. Soon I could see the security gate, the soldiers were standing in front with their weapons raised. There was a possibility at that point, that I wanted to die just as much as getting away, so it was no surprise when I didn't duck for cover when they began to shoot.
None of the bullets came close to me though and hit the metal frame of the jeep. Before you knew it, I had smashed through the gate and was rocketing down a forested road towards the Black Hole lines. I knew where I was going. My Black Hole training told me where all the major facilities were in Orange Star, and where Flak and Lash would be if something seriously important occurred. I could do it, I told myself, I could take these two out.
But my dreams were quickly put on hold when the tire finally gave out and caused me to swerve into a nearby tree. I tumbled out as the recon jeep slammed into the tree and blew up throwing ammo belts and machine gun parts clear into the air. I didn't need a weapon, I all ready had one on my suit. This little crash didn't stop me as I kept going, standing up and running for it. The majority of the suit's systems were at full tilt so I made tracks down the road never looking back once.
-To be continued...
--Concluded in Chapter 4: Tactical Tank Action
--Lash Factor
---Chapter 3: Lasting Impressions
I remember fighting back a terrible urge to make Rick Swiss cheese. It's like a sickness. You don't know how long you can fight it off before you toss your cookies or however you say that. However, there was so much I wanted to say...
"Rick... Please... Take me out now..." I pleaded.
"Heckler? God... What did they do to you?" He was visibly shaken even though under Sami's command we had seen a lot.
"How long have I been gone?"
"Five months..." Rick answered slowly, then swallowed hard. "Five months... We gave you a funeral and everything... We didn't think they'd let you live..."
I began to laugh and caused Rick to jump. Maybe he thought I was going on insane? Maybe he was right.
"I'm about to shoot you, and we're talking about how we've been." I laughed.
He laughed too.
"Yeah... War can make people do crazy things..." He admitted silently.
"So... How's everyone?"
"Kind of broken when you got caught... We've never been the same..." Rick explained shamefully.
"Aren't you supposed to be cocky?" I asked. "What happened to you anyway?"
He put on this shocked face and I spun around arming my gun to see a couple Black Hole soldiers closing in on us. They waved to me to take Rick out, but instead I fired on them, watching as they fell to the ground.
"I'm talking to him here!" I shouted out. "I'm talking and I don't want to go back! I don't want to go back! Rick you gotta get me out of here! Don't let me go back to Black Hole!"
I think at that moment I had completely lost it. Those five odd months in Black Hole's TLC just snapped at that moment. Seeing Rick and getting to talk to him and touching back upon a life I once knew. I just couldn't take anymore. I began to shake and I dropped to my knees.
No more. It's gotta stop. Lash just turned me into a science project. I was actually taking orders from Flak... It's craziness. Rick ran over and picked me up, making me move. Suddenly we were running away from the artillery as the undamaged ones fired off into the blue yonder.
We were moving so fast the forest just kind of blurred past us. Before I knew it, we had met up with the others. All of em'. Once they spotted me they had all raised their guns and were about ready to fire when Rick just dropped me and held his hands up.
"Wait! It's Heckler! You guys! It's Heckler!" Rick tried to explain frantically.
"What?" Palmer shouted out. "Rick have you gone nuts? Heckler's dead! Black Hole got him!"
"No! It's him! They turned him... They forced him to their side!" His voice was racing.
Both of us knew that if he didn't make an explanation that they could understand, I was going to be shot to death real soon. I didn't bother getting up until I heard one of them cuss or shout my name out in joy or something. I didn't hear anything of the sort and decided to stand up. No gunshots, that's always nice.
"Palmer... You're still bald. Thank god something is still ok in this world." I joked with a weak tone.
All of them looked like they've been stabbed or something. The amount of surprise on their face couldn't have been explained. Victor took a step forward and put his head up against my visor. It was near impossible to see me unless you were that close. He eventually nodded solemnly and turned back toward the others.
"It's Heckler." He said simply.
"Well... uh... We need to discuss this sometime later!" Ruby finally regained her senses. "Let's get out of here!"
With that we were off and finally I could move on my own without fear of getting the crap shot out of me. It was kind of funny. I was the only guy in a big black suit while the others were in their Orange uniforms. I must have stuck out like a sore thumb. We made our way across a field heading toward a helicopter that was circling the area. It came down and when the door slid open, I was greeted with a pistol.
"Easy! He's with us!" Ruby explained and we all piled in. "Radio to HQ and tell them we've rescued a POW."
I thought I might need an extra push or something, but the suit had put a spring in my step and I leapt up into it easily. Strangely enough, I took my own spot where we usually sat down and everyone just kind of stared at me uneasily. It was a pretty awkward bit of silence. At that time, I knew what they were thinking. What they were going to say, or ask me. All this time they'd thought Black Hole shot me up into a bloody heap. But here I was... In their uniform... alive.
"What... what did they do to you?" Palmer asked finally.
"It's hard to remember... All these needles... And Lash was there... Flak, Adder..."
"Adder?" Ruby asked after a time. "Who is Adder?"
"Another Black Hole CO. Real tall and has the palest white skin you've ever seen, and purple hair. A cruel psycho."
My mind was working in fragments. I didn't know at the time, but it was my two lifestyles ramming into each other to form one again. The one lifestyle where I served Orange Star, the country I was born in. And then there was Lash's injected lifestyle, forcing me to work for Black Hole like a mindless zombie.
"It's been so long Heckler... Can you take off that helmet?" Ruby told me. "We've never really been the same after you got caught. We couldn't even bear to replace you after you left, we just went on. One man down."
I had moved to take off my helmet. But paused remembering that moment in Lash's laboratory. She handed me that mirror and held it in front of me. My face... my brand new face... Those injections had done more than simply warp my subconscious, they had... Needless to say I soon stopped and let my hands fall down to my sides. They all stared at me for a time.
"What's wrong?" Rick asked. "Why don't you take it off all ready?"
"I can't... I mean... I can't show you guys what I look like now. You wouldn't..."
"Did they torture you? Some scarring on your face?" Rick interrupted. "Hell, Heckler. We won't mind if you're ugly now. You'd just be like the rest of us."
It was a joke and they all kind of laughed uncomfortably. But I didn't. He was joking around with something he could possibly understand. But they let it drop for now. Soon enough the copter was returning to HQ. Looking out the side it seemed so familiar, all the Orange copters and tanks sitting around. Plenty of infantry divisions. Rick had reached over while I gazed out the window and took my machine gun.
"Can I hold onto this? We wouldn't want anyone shooting you..."
The Copter set down and immediately I could see Sami and Nell standing there on the helipad. Seems like this was going to be a big occasion after all. Course, Ruby didn't say who the POW was when she explained to the helicopter pilot why I got in. But then my stomach dropped when the copter's doors slid open. How could I explain to my CO and Supreme Commander that I couldn't take my helmet off... Maybe I could sign up for the Orange Star space program...
We all piled out and the copter took off again to head for refueling. Standard procedure as I knew it. Nell and Sami were both pretty surprised to see a Black Hole soldier pile out of the copter and the soldiers around them raised their guns, just waiting for the order to fire. Ruby held her hands out and ran up to Sami.
"No! Wait! Commanders, this is James Heckler. He was caught during Operation: Black Cannon. He's the soldier we thought was dead..."
Well, Ruby still didn't explain why I was wearing a Black Hole uniform. Rick, who was taking my place as second in command moved up and saluted.
"He was in some kind of Black Hole experiment ma'am. We managed to refresh his memory..."
"How do you know this for sure?" Sami asked unconvinced. "It could be a Black Hole ploy, and your unit has never been the same..."
Hell, this was never going to work. There was too many "what ifs" they could throw. If anything I should have been in shackles all ready. Nell had kept silent the whole time simply staring at me carefully. With the little instructors stick at her side, it seemed the whole time she was trying to decide whether it was worth it to take me back in.
"Sami... If you don't mind. I'd like to take this into a more secure setting." Nell advised suddenly.
"Of course ma'am." She saluted. "All right, all of you come with me. We're going to straighten this out."
Under an escort, we headed into the base moving down a couple hallways and getting strange looks from soldiers we passed. Normally I couldn't stand getting treated like a freak... But after Lash's sessions... I couldn't help but to agree. It didn't take long before we had gotten to a debriefing room complete with the Orange Star flag, a long wooden table, and a huge monitor used for displaying information and troop movements.
My old team took seats as Sami took one at the head of the table. Nell stood to Sami's right and kept a firm eye on me. Thinking back on it, I had never seen much of Nell before. She was a legend of course, the mastermind behind Orange Star and a valuable instructor to new COs. There was a seat for me, but part of my Black Hole training was never take a seat unless your ordered too, so I stood near the door.
"You can take a seat soldier." Sami instructed me.
For awhile I didn't quite pick up on it. Until I shook my head.
"Sorry ma'am... I wasn't allowed too.... Black Hole told me..."
"Well you aren't in Black Hole anymore. So you can sit down."
You should have seen their faces when I addressed Sami as ma'am. This had to have proven it to them on several levels that it was me. Nell and Sami were pretty disturbed hearing me tell them about what I could and couldn't do when in Black Hole's service. I took a seat and turned the chair so they knew I was looking at them since my helmet masked my face so well.
"So... What happened?"
"Well ma'am." Ruby began with a deep breath. "We went to gain intel on Flak's artillery position for Commander Andy as instructed. We were quickly found out by a mechanized Black Hole unit. We engaged them, took them down, and that's when Private Rick regrouped helping along a Black Hole soldier. He identified this soldier as our missing vehicle specialist, James Heckler."
It went on like that for awhile. They all gave their reports about the situation. Sami was still trying to figure out if I was really James Heckler. Then, the question I had been waiting for came.
"Remove your helmet." Sami ordered.
I just froze at that moment. Remove my helmet... seemed simple enough... But no. I just couldn't. To do so would jeopardize everything I wanted to be. I wanted to be a part of Orange Star again, I wanted to get back at Adder and Lash for treating me like a petri dish.
"No." I answered.
"Heckler, you have to do this. If you don't remove it, we'll never know it's really you." Rick encouraged me.
Nell had begun to tap her stick on the table getting everyone's attention.
"Will you all please clear the room?" She commanded keeping an eye on me.
"Are you sure that's wise ma'am?" Sami asked slowly.
She nodded her head and they all began to leave as I sat there looking at Nell. She moved forward and set her stick under her arm. While pushing a seat to get next to me. There was so much calm in her face, you could know that any battle under her supervision was going to go great as long as she was there.
"Private Heckler... remove your helmet." She told me.
There was nothing I could say to refuse. An order like that? Direct from your supreme commander? I unlatched the helmet and lifted it off of my head slowly. Along with Adder's laugh, I'll never forget Nell's face when she saw mine unobstructed by the helmet. She seemed so deeply sad seeing me and didn't once turn away. Just kept looking at me, like it hurt her more than it did me... Maybe that was true...
"I'm so sorry..." She said after a time in a low voice.
"Please don't be." I choked out. "I wanted to serve my country... Sometimes, you have to make some sacrifices..."
"Do you really believe that... Personally?"
I slammed the helmet back on my head and began to breathe deeply. No, I didn't believe that. I knew maybe I would be tortured or some crap, but what actually happened to me? No. I don't think anyone would give up as much as I lost in that dark room with Lash and her gallery of needles and chemicals. I stood up angrily and so did Nell resuming her commanding composure.
"What do you think you are doing soldier?"
"I'm gonna kill... I'm gonna kill them all!" I yelled. "I'm gonna wipe the floor with Flak and Lash! Flak for catching me... and Lash for changing me..."
This little fantasy of me killing both of them began to unfold in my mind.
"No. You don't want to do that. Not the way you're thinking. We need to punish them that much is true... But here we can help you..."
"What? You want to stick even more needles in me! I'm not a science project anymore! I want revenge for this!"
Nell obviously thought that the chemicals were doing a number in my head. But it was just me. I was so angry now... I knew that I could never go back to Orange Star like this. I was on my own. I was going to get Flak and Lash, maybe the entire Black Hole army... It didn't matter what was going to happen to me now. I wanted to get them... I wanted to get them so badly, my body hurt.
I spun around as the door opened and my suit kicked into overdrive. I charged Rick who was at the door and gave him a gut check while taking back my machine gun. He went flying back into the hallway and took down the rest of my unit and almost toppled Sami over at the same time. I had never moved so fast in my life. It was like Sami's CO ability, Double Time, only this suit enabled me to do it on my own.
The soldiers in the hallway raised their weapons but someone had shouted out, "Don't shoot!". That didn't stop a couple bullets from escaping their guns and nailing me in my metal backpack which deflected the bullets. Soon I found myself outside, with soldiers scrambling all over the place trying to get me before I got away. There was a recon jeep nearby and I raised my weapon causing the driver to freeze in his tracks.
"Get the hell out!" I yelled angrily.
He leapt out of the vehicle and I jumped in stomping the gas and rocketing away. Someone was aiming for my wheels, and managed to nail my right front tire. It was hard to steer but I didn't once let up on the gas. Soon I could see the security gate, the soldiers were standing in front with their weapons raised. There was a possibility at that point, that I wanted to die just as much as getting away, so it was no surprise when I didn't duck for cover when they began to shoot.
None of the bullets came close to me though and hit the metal frame of the jeep. Before you knew it, I had smashed through the gate and was rocketing down a forested road towards the Black Hole lines. I knew where I was going. My Black Hole training told me where all the major facilities were in Orange Star, and where Flak and Lash would be if something seriously important occurred. I could do it, I told myself, I could take these two out.
But my dreams were quickly put on hold when the tire finally gave out and caused me to swerve into a nearby tree. I tumbled out as the recon jeep slammed into the tree and blew up throwing ammo belts and machine gun parts clear into the air. I didn't need a weapon, I all ready had one on my suit. This little crash didn't stop me as I kept going, standing up and running for it. The majority of the suit's systems were at full tilt so I made tracks down the road never looking back once.
-To be continued...
--Concluded in Chapter 4: Tactical Tank Action
