Title: Rescue Run

Author: Lady Rheena

Genres: Alternate Universe, Action/Adventure, Romance

Rating: R

Disclaimer: If you recognise it from a fandom, I probably don't own it. That includes the world of The Matrix, all its characters and the concepts it entails. The idea of the Fleet and the Planetary Coalition are technically my own, but you'll probably recognise bits and pieces from various sci-fi media.

Chapter notes: Tissues ready, people.

Part 27- Goodbye Zion

'Commander! The squids have broken into the tunnels!'

'That's damn fine timing,' Lock muttered, glancing about him. The operations centre was now all but empty of people- himself, Captain Mifune, six of the operating staff. Eight men still sat in the APUs facing the open gate, but that was it. They were all that was left of the Zion ground staff. 'Where's that goddamn shuttle?'

'We have the Churchill on approach, sir,' Mattis said. 'They're taking fire. Two fighters are escorting.'

'Good.' Lock glanced sideways. 'Mifune, get your men out of those APUs and over to the nearest landing bay.'

'What about the units, sir?' asked one of the operators.

'Leave 'em where they stand.'

Mifune nodded and grabbed a comset to issue his orders, which met with some resistance.

'We can't just leave them sitting here, sir!' Lock heard one man shout down his line.

'You'll do as your goddamn told, soldier,' Mifune barked. 'They're no good to us now. Now unstrap yourselves and walk away! That's an order!' Evidently there was no further protest as he lowered the mouthpiece with a nod to Lock. 'APU troops are recalled, sir. Heading for bay two.'

'Then that's where we're going. Mattis, tell the Churchill we'll be waiting for her in bay two.'

'Yes sir.' Mattis relayed the message. 'They acknowledge, sir.'

'All right.' Lock took a deep breath and glanced at the officers surrounding him. 'This is it, people. Drop your posts. We're lifting from bay two. Move.'

They obeyed instantly. Lock lingered for a moment and then followed, flanked by Mifune. The remainder of the APU corps were lined up neatly on the pad since the last of the cargo had gone up a good few hours beforehand. Lock heard Mifune's sigh and looked at him.

'Never thought I'd see the day when we abandoned this dock- at least not when we were still able to stand,' the captain said to him.

'Neither did I,' Lock agreed. He had to admit that there was something of the soldier in him that still rebelled at the thought of what was, essentially, the ultimate retreat, surrendering the last human territory on the planet to the machines. But he tempered that by remembering his promise to the Council upon his appointment as commanding officer that his sole concern and aim was to ensure the continued survival of the people of Zion. As he saw it now, there was no better way to do just that.

'Here she comes!' someone shouted as the Churchill swooped in to land, the hatch popping open. However it was a rather young-looking pilot and a man whom Lock recognised as a gunner who stepped out. The others went in immediately and sat but Lock himself addressed the young man.

'Are you the pilot?'

'I am now, sir. Ensign Galaway.' He tossed off a quick salute. 'Captain Reese is providing escort in the Riot along with Lieutenant Osborn in the Whirlwind. I was copilot for Lieutenant Cassan, but we've been taking heavy fire and she's out, sir, injured when a screen blew up in her face.'

Lock grimaced. He'd seen plasma burns before and they were never pretty.

'You sure you can handle this heap, Ensign?'

'Sir, I was a rookie with Captain Reese on my training run.'

'Then I'll take that as a yes.' Without further comment Lock stepped into the ship and found the seat next to Mifune which had a good view out of the cockpit window. One of the gunners yanked the restraint down over him as Galaway came in and closed the hatchway, strapping himself into the pilot's chair and addressing the mouthpiece of his headset.

'Desperadoes, this is the Churchill preparing to depart.'

The view outside the cockpit began to move as the ship lifted, then without a moment's warning the dock vanished and they were in the tunnels. Lock glanced back at his officers and was unsurprised to notice that he was not the only one with tears coursing down his cheeks.

'Holy shit,' Dena heard Lu say. 'How many of these bastards are there? I swear we've already blown up enough of 'em to repopulate Mars twice over!'

'They just keep on coming,' Dena said through gritted teeth. 'Where the hell is Galaway?'

'Got 'em, Captain. Coming up hard behind us.'

Dena nodded, half to herself, and took a deep breath. Since her last four-hour recoup period up on the Gormenghast she'd been flying for nineteen hours, kept awake on a mixture of adrenalin and the occasional stimulant tablet. But this was the last run. Just one last run.

'Ramesses, this is Reese. How're you guys holding up? Over.'

'Not so good, Captain. Those squids are just throwing themselves at our guns. There are so ma- shit! They're going for the scuttlebugs!'

'Ramesses, report!' Dena barked.

'Sorry, ma'am. We just lost our line with the Gormenghast. The bastards have ripped the scuttlebugs to shreds.'

Dena made one of her snap decisions.

'Ramesses, lift. Get your ass up to the Gormenghast.'

'We're awaiting the Churchill, Captain-'

'Bullshit! I told you to lift, Lieutenant! The Churchill can get herself up there, she's the last load. Over.'

'Affirmative, Captain. We're lifting now. Over.'

'Tell the marines to get themselves out of there too. Reese out.'

'We lost the Gormenghast too, Captain,' Lu put in. 'Scuttlebugs are out.'

'Blast.' But Dena kept herself focused as the Churchill arrived. 'Ozzy, flank their starboard side. We'll cut a path through the squids for them.'

'Got that, Dizzi. The Ramesses is gone. Me for a quick finish and a cup of coffee later.'

'Ozzy, if I'm being honest I've almost forgotten the taste of coffee. All right, Lu, here we go.'

'Got my display on the forward guns. Holy shit, they're coming in at all angles. Okay, Diz, hit it!'

Dena punched the accelerator and then they were in. By now the sentinels really were coming from all directions, having broken through the tunnel defences by sheer force of numbers, and quite literally hurling themselves at the unfortunate Churchill. The Riot and the Whirlwind lived up to their names as they twisted and dove around the shuttle, trying to keep up an almost continuous rain of covering fire. Then there was a shout over the com and the Flint roared in overhead with the Unholy backing her up. As the rest of the squadron homed in on them Dena switched her com channel.

'Galaway, are you reading me? Over!'

'Just about, Captain,' came the ensign's reply. 'Over.'

'Listen, Galaway, the Ramesses is gone. You take her up out of this mess yourself ASAP, get me? Aim high!'

'Understood, Captain. Out.'

'Dizzi, we've got incoming!' Becky Thomas yelled from the Peewee.

'We got a planet full of incoming!' Dena shouted back.

'I mean serious incoming, Captain! Not squids!'

'She's right, Diz, I got heavy-duty energy signatures coming our way fast,' Lu confirmed. 'Looks like little baby ones packed to the teeth with high-detonation shit. Nasty little buggers. And too damn fast to get a clear shot at.'

As she spoke several bone-jarring explosions rocked the Riot.

'Damn it all, they're taking out half their own in the way!'

'I don't think that bothers them too much,' Dena snapped. 'Squad, umbrella formation around the Churchill. Get 'em up and out! Ozzy, take charge!'

'What about you?'

'Lu and I are going to do a little distraction work. Get going!'

'Yes ma'am, are you sure you don't want one of us for supporting fire?'

'Damn positive! Now scat!'

'Captain Reese, this is Ensign Galaway. With all due respect, ma'am, what the hell are you doing?'

'Shut your mouth and get those people to the Gormenghast, mister.'

'Captain, I-'

'That's an order, Ensign!'

'Shit!' The channel went off. Dena plunged the Riot back down through the mass of sentinels and then pulled her back up to skim at almost hovercraft level along the ground.

'Lu, we got nukes equipped?'

'Yeah, sure. We were told to prep for hostiles. You got two one megaton missiles and one fifteen megaton dropper. Why d'you ask?' Only Lu Davis could possibly sound so casual while still firing frantically at a surrounding swarm of nasty beasties, Dena thought with grim humour.

'You see that big-ass energy reading off to port, about fifty klicks?'

'Yeah.'

'That's the power plant for the machines. Where all the battery animals are plugged in.' Dena could feel bile rising in her throat at the mere thought of doing what she was about to do. 'Send one of the missiles that way and stand by to launch the second.'

'She won't hit, Diz, it's too far in atmosphere for these babies.'

'Just do it. I need the machines to guess what we're up to so they follow us rather than the Churchill.'

'Gotcha. Firing one.' Lu hit the control and then fired out on the fore cannons to clear a path for the missile. It sped away over the landscape into the distance, although Dena knew it stood no chance of reaching its target- the offensive missiles, designed for use in a vacuum, didn't carry enough fuel to make such a distant target when working with such factors as air resistance.

'Fire two,' she ordered.

'Firing two. And the Churchill is clear, Captain,' Lu said. 'But there's no way we can pull up through that- shit, they're following us. They're all following us!'

'I know,' Dena said through gritted teeth. 'That's just what I want 'em to do. Stand by to release the dropper on my mark.'