Chapter 8- Lucifer Installation 2

"Oh shit." muttered Lorenz peeking around the corner.
"What?" whispered Hanz. A clone dropship flew overhead and Lorenz watched as it let off even more clones.
"There's at least sixty guys guarding the street." said Lorenz. How are we going to get into the palace then?" asked Adrian.
"Two options." said Lorenz. "We can be kamikaze morons and rush them,"
"Kel, don't be a smart ass." said Hanz.
"Or, we can jack a dropship and hope we survive crashing it into the palace."
"Lorenz!"
"No, that might work." said Adrian thoughtfully.
"Are you crazy?" asked Hanz turning to him.
"No, stealing a dropship-" he was cut off by a squeaking sound. Hanz and Lorenz turned and saw a pack of green and tan creatures. They had a large red eye in the front and three legs. The creatures were simply staring at them as a dog would. Adrian raised his P90 and aimed. Hanz, who was standing much closer to them, put his hand up signaling him not to shoot.
The creatures kept staring at them as if wanting food. A clone came around the corner and spotted the soldiers. Hanz grabbed him and snapped his neck. The violence seemed to scare the creatures and they started humming. Adrian opened fire at the animals The first one died but the second one let off a weird energy blast that knocked Adrian and Hanz off their feet. Lorenz killed the other two before they could let it go again. Adrian got up and grabbed Hanz. John helped him and they dragged Hanz into an alley just as a squad of clones came around the corner and saw the bodies. Their guns swept the area and into the alley. John dragged Hanz around another corner and Adrian froze as the clones looked in. They saw him.
"Drop your weapon and get on the ground." said one of them. The two clones were joined by the other four. The first one moved closer. "Drop your weapon and get on the ground." he repeated. An alien dropship flew over head and gunfire erupted in the street. The clones turned their heads in the direction of the noise and Adrian took the distraction to bring up his weapon. He fired into the first clone and the second and third followed suit. The fourth one tried to fire back but was too slow and the P90 bullets tore through him and into his partner. The last one tried to move but the alley was too tight and he caught a bullet in his head.
Hanz tried to get up but couldn't.
"My legs. Little bastards broke my legs." he said, grimacing from the pain. "I can't walk." Two more clones entered the alley and Hanz shot them with his Desert Eagle. "Go. I'll keep them off your ass." Another clone appeared but didn't enter the alley. They fired at some unseen enemy. "GO!" he yelled. Adrian looked at Hanz and saluted.
"I'll miss you sir."
"Adrian,-" he shot the clone as he tried to turn and enter the alley. "You need to go." he said calmly and ripped his tags off and handed them to Shephard. "Do what you need to. You live through this, that's an order." He pushed Adrian away and fired again down the alley. Adrian took one last look and turned away knowing it would be the last time he would see his commander and friend. John and Lorenz were waiting for him at the end.
The ground shook and Hanz wondered what it was. Three clones stopped at the entrance and started shooting at something. A large foot came down on one of them and the other two were vaporized by a large flame.
A giant in bluish armor and a red eye looked into the alley and spotted Hanz. It smashed through the brick and came toward him. He fired at it and pulled the pins on two of his grenades. He doubted two grenades would kill the thing but at least it had a chance.
"See ya, you bastard." The alien came closer and the grenades exploded and caught the alien's underside. It stopped dead in it's tracks and self-destructed taking half of the two buildings that made up the alley with it.

Adrian heard the explosion and knew Hanz had taken more than a few things with him. He led Lorenz and John thought the back alley away from the perusing clones. A weird looking creature teleported just in front of them. It looked like a dinosaur with red tentacles on his mouth. It screeched and Adrian fired right into its mouth, not taking any chance.
They stepped over it and kept on their course through the complex turns of the area between the buildings. A clone dropship rose over the buildings and followed the alley until it saw them. It's chain guns roared and a steady stream of bullets followed them until they disappeared under a bridge. The dropship stopped firing and flew around to the other side and waited for them.
"John, tell me how to start the transporter." said Adrian calmly. "We can't take the chance that you'll be killed and we'll be stranded here." John looked at him.
"It's very simple, all you have to do is get to the control room and charge it up. Hit the red button and you'll have about thirty seconds before it becomes unstable."
"How do you charge it?"
"There is a lever, you just pump it three times until it clicks."
"Okay, let's just hope you can be the one to do it." John nodded. The dropship opened fire, trying to scare them out. Adrian knew they were safe until the ground troops arrived. Lorenz saw a crack in the wall behind him and smashed it in.
"It's a tunnel." he said. Adrian went in first and Lorenz and John followed. They followed the tunnel for about fifteen minutes until it finally came to a dead end. Explosions from above were making dirt fall from the ceiling.
"Great." said Lorenz in the darkness. Adrian switched on his flashlight and swept the beam around. Roots were hanging from the ceiling and mud made up the dead end in front of them.
"I know where we are." said John. He walked to the wall and started pulling chunks of mud from it revealing a thick metal door beyond. "Welcome to the Lucifer Installation 2." said John stepping back. He turned and started brushing off a red handle and turned it. The door slid open with a hiss and the three stepped in. The door slid shut and a second one opened.
They walked through it and found themselves standing on a catwalk that extended around the room. It was at least a ten foot drop to the floor. Many of the dinosaur creatures and even more of the green shocker creatures entered the room through a door and ran across the floor. They stopped at a door and three blue armored aliens with weird looking guns on their arms marched into the room.
The soldiers crouched down to avoid being seen. The door opened and nine clones opened fire. Lightning bolts, small bugs, and bullets crossed paths. Troops on each side fell to the ground and finally the bullets stopped. The last two aliens alive, the big blue armored ones, marched through the door.
"Which way to the transport room?" asked Adrian.
"We're going to need to get to level ten."