The caverns seemed endless after that skirmish with the miners. It was just Justin and Connely now. He had lost two men in the previous battle; he had failed them. Justin promised that Jamer would return home but the only way he could would to be in a bloody envirosuit. Not much closure for the family after the miners were done with him. It didn't matter now. Justin had to get back to Command and find new recruits. After almost an hour of getting lost and backtracking, the two guards found their way back to the main complex without confrontation from the miners.
Justin found himself standing in the dimly lit room again. The hanging lamp made the session seem even tenser then it already was. Somehow, Justin had to let his superiors know the he had failed gracefully and there was nothing he could do about it.
"Sir-I uh…have some information you should know." Justin stammered with his sentences, trying to keep them clean and professional.
"We know about your lose. We saw it on the monitors." The exec went on. "We are disappointed but we knew it would happen. That is why I have another assignment for you. A tech monitor passed some information to us; the miners are planning to escape Mars via shuttle lift off. They are fighting their way to the shuttle as I speak. ETA for shuttle lift off after the miners finish loading it should be at 0900 hours. Since there is little time we have arranged for you to have a Fighter take you and your men- excuse me, man, to the loading station. Get a clean envirosuit and get out there on the double." The exec finished.
"Sir! Neither me or Connely have had a moments rest in eighteen hours, can't you find someone else for the job?" Justin protested.
"Negative. Your orders are clear. Get to the airlock or I will drag you there myself." Said the exec.
Moments later Justin found himself in the airlock with a clean envirosuit on. It felt better then his hot and stinky sweat drenched one. If it hadn't been for the security guards escorting him the entire way, Justin would have made a break for it. At any rate, Justin walked up the loading ramp and to talk to the tech that was waiting there.
"Hello, Sir! I have already prepped your Fighter. It is fully loaded and I just finished buffering it. This time, try not to get bloodstains all over the windshield. This thing isn't equipped with wipers, ya know?" the tech joked happily. Justin was glad someone was happy in all of this mess. He thanked the tech and shared a laugh. Justin climbed the ladder and settled in. He watched from the view screen that Connely was doing the same. They powered up the Fighters and navigated them out of the hole in the ceiling.
The bright Martian sun blazed into view. The glare across Justin's faceplate made him squint. He should have tinted it or worn sunglasses under his envirosuit. It was against regulations but it would definatly help. He pushed the speed actuator forward and heard the turbine jet engines whine for a few seconds before they pushed him back against his seat at full force. It was only a few minutes flight to the shuttle bay from here. As Justin flew in closer he noticed signs of battle at the front doors of the bay.
" 'Blue Balls Birdie', this is Captain KickUInTheNuts, come in 'Blue Balls Birdie'." Justin spoke into the private comm. line.
"Dude, that's so gay. Why can't I be Captain KickUInTheNuts?" 'Blue Balls Birdies answered back.
"Because, Connely, I am your commanding officer, you bow to me and give me gifts, like better call names." Justin cleared up for him.
"Yeah, Ok."
"Anyway," Justin said with a laugh. "We got some Ground Pounders off our right flank, about 5:30 south at 8:30 east. Do you confirm?"
"Roger that." Connely confirmed. "Request permission to engage."
"It's funny how you request permission now, but even if I said 'No' you would still"—Justin was cut off at the sound of the minigun blaring from the Fighter behind him. Justin chuckled to himself as he brought his Fighter into a spin and started to come across the passage. He surveyed almost thirty miners working together, firing at automated turrets in the forward position. Coming from over the front door, Justin set the reticule for the minigun over a rock where miners had taken cover behind from Connely. Justin squeeze the trigger and the minigun ripped through shells like they were candy canes. The bullets cracked into the rocks, making a terrible crunching noise for the miners hiding behind them. Justin lined up the inverted triangle at the top on his reticule and pushed down the secondary fire. A rocked screamed out of the pack and detonated on the rock, causing it to shatter into a million little pieces. Justin's minigun cut the now in the open miners to ribbons, very bloody red ribbons.
Connely came around for a low pass and use the minigun as a battering ram. He chased miners down, firing the minigun the whole time. He cut a miner down to size by putting a bullet in the back of ones kneecap and separated it from his thigh. The miner screamed as Connely chased him with the Fighter and knocked him over the top of it, killing the miner on impact. Connelly's minigun overheated so he eased off the trigger. He punched the speed actuator to full and the sudden burst of speed impaled a miner onto the six- barreled monstrosity. Blood smeared all over the windshield and the miner screamed helplessly. The oozing blood help cool the minigun and Connely fired it again with the miner still on it. First the barrels spun freely inside the man, scrambling his organs. After a few seconds his rib caught on a twirling barrel and the miner spun head over heels, and 4000 rotations per minute. The high velocity ripped the skeletal structure from inside of its corpse and flung both separated former body parts to the ground.
"Damn, Connely! Your one sick son-of-a-bitch!" Justin commented. He had to admit that these miners were getting what they deserved. Justin had stopped his Fighter on top of the complex, behind the turrets. The rest of the miners who weren't mowed down by the terrible machines had entered the complex. The two comrades entered the door below the Helipad and entered the complex's airlock. The two men raided a weapons locker and collected ammo. Justin didn't like the look of how many miners entered the complex, so he decided to get some technical help.
"Hendrix, come in." Justin voiced over the intercom.
"Oh, sure. Give him a normal call name." Connely commented.
"Shut it. Hendrix, do you read me? How many miners entered the complex?" Justin asked. Hendrix's voice crackled into earshot.
"Yes, sorry. I was uh…caught up with someone else." Hendrix answered.
"Great. Other guards need your help too. Can you direct us to their location with the route of least resistance?" Justin asked. He trusted Hendrix like a brother. He had known him since childhood and if there was a way in without getting spotted, Hendrix would find it for them.
"Hmm, let me take a look. Yes there is a route with the smallest resistance to the shuttle bay controls. That is where the guards that need your help are." Hendrix answered back.
"Roger, upload the map for me." Justin requested. The map appeared in a translucent display on his faceplate. The controls were right in front of them but the route Hendrix said to take was cutting towards the front doors then doubling back. Justin figured that they were going behind the miners that just entered. Sounded logical. The two men set off, both armed with shotguns. As they came to a supposed to be empty room the two guards stumbled upon a ragtag group of four miners strangling a line guard. The guard was indoors and did not need his envirosuit, but it was foolish of him not to wear it anyway. Justin opened up with a conjoined blast of two shells into a miner's lower torso, completely separating him in two. Connely decided it would be more fun to take advantage on the miner's lack of weapons, so he ran of to one and flung the shotgun around like a baseball bat, striking the handle on the side on the miners head, snapping his neck. The other two miners released the guard and ran towards Connely. Justin blew one miner's arm off before he got to Connely. Connely handled the other miner by slamming the barrel against his chest and pulled the trigger sending the miner back five feet. They checked on the guard but they were too late. He had a snapped neck. 'They must have killed him before they turned to fight us.' Justin thought.
The rest of the walk to the control room was unaltered until they got outside the door. The floor began to shake as the gargantuan shuttle bay doors opened. They heard the turbines of the shuttle whine and just as they were about to turn around and run a miner ran out of the control room. Both men simultaneously pumped two shells into the man leaving him a bloody mist.
"Hurry!" Justin yelled. "Activate the missile defense system. Target that shuttle! Earth can't find out about Ultor!" Connely ran to the control panel and pushed a sequence of buttons. As he did, a bouquet of missiles launched from their pods and impacted the shuttle. The shuttle was torn apart and the remainders crashed to the ground. Both men were sure that everyone died in the crash so they didn't bother going to check it out. Instead they headed to the medical room, put white sheets over themselves and got some well-deserved rest.
Review guys! how do i know ur reading it? well did u like it or not? tell me! if u want it to continue
Justin found himself standing in the dimly lit room again. The hanging lamp made the session seem even tenser then it already was. Somehow, Justin had to let his superiors know the he had failed gracefully and there was nothing he could do about it.
"Sir-I uh…have some information you should know." Justin stammered with his sentences, trying to keep them clean and professional.
"We know about your lose. We saw it on the monitors." The exec went on. "We are disappointed but we knew it would happen. That is why I have another assignment for you. A tech monitor passed some information to us; the miners are planning to escape Mars via shuttle lift off. They are fighting their way to the shuttle as I speak. ETA for shuttle lift off after the miners finish loading it should be at 0900 hours. Since there is little time we have arranged for you to have a Fighter take you and your men- excuse me, man, to the loading station. Get a clean envirosuit and get out there on the double." The exec finished.
"Sir! Neither me or Connely have had a moments rest in eighteen hours, can't you find someone else for the job?" Justin protested.
"Negative. Your orders are clear. Get to the airlock or I will drag you there myself." Said the exec.
Moments later Justin found himself in the airlock with a clean envirosuit on. It felt better then his hot and stinky sweat drenched one. If it hadn't been for the security guards escorting him the entire way, Justin would have made a break for it. At any rate, Justin walked up the loading ramp and to talk to the tech that was waiting there.
"Hello, Sir! I have already prepped your Fighter. It is fully loaded and I just finished buffering it. This time, try not to get bloodstains all over the windshield. This thing isn't equipped with wipers, ya know?" the tech joked happily. Justin was glad someone was happy in all of this mess. He thanked the tech and shared a laugh. Justin climbed the ladder and settled in. He watched from the view screen that Connely was doing the same. They powered up the Fighters and navigated them out of the hole in the ceiling.
The bright Martian sun blazed into view. The glare across Justin's faceplate made him squint. He should have tinted it or worn sunglasses under his envirosuit. It was against regulations but it would definatly help. He pushed the speed actuator forward and heard the turbine jet engines whine for a few seconds before they pushed him back against his seat at full force. It was only a few minutes flight to the shuttle bay from here. As Justin flew in closer he noticed signs of battle at the front doors of the bay.
" 'Blue Balls Birdie', this is Captain KickUInTheNuts, come in 'Blue Balls Birdie'." Justin spoke into the private comm. line.
"Dude, that's so gay. Why can't I be Captain KickUInTheNuts?" 'Blue Balls Birdies answered back.
"Because, Connely, I am your commanding officer, you bow to me and give me gifts, like better call names." Justin cleared up for him.
"Yeah, Ok."
"Anyway," Justin said with a laugh. "We got some Ground Pounders off our right flank, about 5:30 south at 8:30 east. Do you confirm?"
"Roger that." Connely confirmed. "Request permission to engage."
"It's funny how you request permission now, but even if I said 'No' you would still"—Justin was cut off at the sound of the minigun blaring from the Fighter behind him. Justin chuckled to himself as he brought his Fighter into a spin and started to come across the passage. He surveyed almost thirty miners working together, firing at automated turrets in the forward position. Coming from over the front door, Justin set the reticule for the minigun over a rock where miners had taken cover behind from Connely. Justin squeeze the trigger and the minigun ripped through shells like they were candy canes. The bullets cracked into the rocks, making a terrible crunching noise for the miners hiding behind them. Justin lined up the inverted triangle at the top on his reticule and pushed down the secondary fire. A rocked screamed out of the pack and detonated on the rock, causing it to shatter into a million little pieces. Justin's minigun cut the now in the open miners to ribbons, very bloody red ribbons.
Connely came around for a low pass and use the minigun as a battering ram. He chased miners down, firing the minigun the whole time. He cut a miner down to size by putting a bullet in the back of ones kneecap and separated it from his thigh. The miner screamed as Connely chased him with the Fighter and knocked him over the top of it, killing the miner on impact. Connelly's minigun overheated so he eased off the trigger. He punched the speed actuator to full and the sudden burst of speed impaled a miner onto the six- barreled monstrosity. Blood smeared all over the windshield and the miner screamed helplessly. The oozing blood help cool the minigun and Connely fired it again with the miner still on it. First the barrels spun freely inside the man, scrambling his organs. After a few seconds his rib caught on a twirling barrel and the miner spun head over heels, and 4000 rotations per minute. The high velocity ripped the skeletal structure from inside of its corpse and flung both separated former body parts to the ground.
"Damn, Connely! Your one sick son-of-a-bitch!" Justin commented. He had to admit that these miners were getting what they deserved. Justin had stopped his Fighter on top of the complex, behind the turrets. The rest of the miners who weren't mowed down by the terrible machines had entered the complex. The two comrades entered the door below the Helipad and entered the complex's airlock. The two men raided a weapons locker and collected ammo. Justin didn't like the look of how many miners entered the complex, so he decided to get some technical help.
"Hendrix, come in." Justin voiced over the intercom.
"Oh, sure. Give him a normal call name." Connely commented.
"Shut it. Hendrix, do you read me? How many miners entered the complex?" Justin asked. Hendrix's voice crackled into earshot.
"Yes, sorry. I was uh…caught up with someone else." Hendrix answered.
"Great. Other guards need your help too. Can you direct us to their location with the route of least resistance?" Justin asked. He trusted Hendrix like a brother. He had known him since childhood and if there was a way in without getting spotted, Hendrix would find it for them.
"Hmm, let me take a look. Yes there is a route with the smallest resistance to the shuttle bay controls. That is where the guards that need your help are." Hendrix answered back.
"Roger, upload the map for me." Justin requested. The map appeared in a translucent display on his faceplate. The controls were right in front of them but the route Hendrix said to take was cutting towards the front doors then doubling back. Justin figured that they were going behind the miners that just entered. Sounded logical. The two men set off, both armed with shotguns. As they came to a supposed to be empty room the two guards stumbled upon a ragtag group of four miners strangling a line guard. The guard was indoors and did not need his envirosuit, but it was foolish of him not to wear it anyway. Justin opened up with a conjoined blast of two shells into a miner's lower torso, completely separating him in two. Connely decided it would be more fun to take advantage on the miner's lack of weapons, so he ran of to one and flung the shotgun around like a baseball bat, striking the handle on the side on the miners head, snapping his neck. The other two miners released the guard and ran towards Connely. Justin blew one miner's arm off before he got to Connely. Connely handled the other miner by slamming the barrel against his chest and pulled the trigger sending the miner back five feet. They checked on the guard but they were too late. He had a snapped neck. 'They must have killed him before they turned to fight us.' Justin thought.
The rest of the walk to the control room was unaltered until they got outside the door. The floor began to shake as the gargantuan shuttle bay doors opened. They heard the turbines of the shuttle whine and just as they were about to turn around and run a miner ran out of the control room. Both men simultaneously pumped two shells into the man leaving him a bloody mist.
"Hurry!" Justin yelled. "Activate the missile defense system. Target that shuttle! Earth can't find out about Ultor!" Connely ran to the control panel and pushed a sequence of buttons. As he did, a bouquet of missiles launched from their pods and impacted the shuttle. The shuttle was torn apart and the remainders crashed to the ground. Both men were sure that everyone died in the crash so they didn't bother going to check it out. Instead they headed to the medical room, put white sheets over themselves and got some well-deserved rest.
Review guys! how do i know ur reading it? well did u like it or not? tell me! if u want it to continue