Chapter 7: Skilled Drivers Wanted
Fusion Reactor Entrance
Mogran scowled as a grenade pulped three of his men in an instant. Mogran knew that there were only five men holed up inside the reactor, but they were incredibly well trained. Mogran's men were pinned down and were unable or unwilling to try and press forward. Angered with his men's incompetence, Mogran broke cover and charged the reactor, gun blazing. However, before he could get anywhere, the mighty blast doors that sealed off the reactor suddenly shut before his very eyes.
This was not good. Evidently, the intruders had some sort of alternate way out of the facility, since they wouldn't be stupid or desperate enough to seal themselves off in a dead end.
"I want this facility secured to the very last room! Nothing gets in or out! Got that?" He yelled to his troops.
"Yes sir!" The troops shouted. They immediately split up and started forming groups to clear the base.
"I want two platoons of troops ready and waiting in the vehicle bay." Mogran continued. "Do it now!"
The base's vehicle bay was the only real way of getting out of the subterranean facility. If an intruder needed to make a speedy escape, that was the only the place they could go to. Mogran intended to cut them off while he still could.
Coolant Pipe
"You really could have chosen a better way to get us out." Maya grumbled as she crawled through the dark and damp pipe.
"We're not getting shot at, so I'm not complaining." Cutter sighed. "Besides getting to stare at your ass makes it all worthwhile."
There was a sudden yelp of pain as Maya's foot suddenly impacted against Cutter's face.
"Oops, did I do that?" Maya asked venomously.
"Shut up." Wolfman hissed. "Is this really safe, Wonderboy?"
"Well, if we were planning to keep the reactor intact, no." Wonderboy said casually as he crawled. "But since it's being rigged to blow anyways, what's the harm if we don't let it cool down for a few minutes?"
"I suppose you're right." Wolfman agreed. "Are we over the vehicle bay yet?"
"According to the base schematics, yes."
"Okay. May, you still have the Artifact?"
"Yes sir."
"Hand it over to me really quick."
It was slightly difficult in such a cramped space, but Maya managed to wriggle the small lead box out of her pocket and hand it over to Wolfman, who promptly took the item and began molding C7 plastic explosive around the box.
"What the hell are you doing?" Maya gasped.
"It's insurance, in the event of a worst-case scenario." Wolfman said calmly and handed it back to Maya. "You're in charge of it. I'm notoriously bad at keeping things in my possession."
Maya nervously repocketed the miniature bomb. Hopefully things wouldn't get as bad as being forced to use it.
"Okay, let's do this." Wolfman continued. "Cutter, set some charges down here and get ready to blow this section of pipe and anything below it. We're going down fast and hard and taking whatever can get us off this rock."
Vehicle Bay
Mogran couldn't believe it. Even the vehicle bay was compromised by the mysterious intruders. The moment he and his men had entered, the front ranks of his squad were immediately shot down as roughly fifty black-clad commandoes simultaneously fired. Mogran cursed as he ducked for cover and let his troops move forward.
Mogran knew this had everything to do with that accursed Artifact. He knew that no good would from such an accursed object. His mind snapped back into focus when a stray round ricocheted and struck the wall inches from his head.
Suddenly, the entire ceiling blew in, collapsing concrete and debris on top of the vehicle bay. Commandoes and Scarlet Soldiers alike dove for cover in an attempt to escape the rain of debris. Through the dust, Mogran could see several dark shapes descend to the ground.
"Cutter!" Wolfman yelled as he leapt into the driver's seat of the nearest Warthog. "Make sure we don't get any pursuit!"
"On it!" Cutter yelled. He pulled out a small, timed C7 charge from his pack and threw it at a line of parked Warthogs. The small explosive device slid across the floor and under the nearest parked vehicle.
The explosion shattered the Warthog like glass, hurling its burning remains into the air for several seconds before crashing back into the ground. Secondary explosions rippled across the vehicle bay as more Warthogs exploded. Men were thrown into the air or torn to pieces by the force.
Unfortunately, the explosions didn't stop the soldiers from the three sides from firing upon each other. Wolfman cursed as a bullet grazed his arm, cutting a shallow gouge across his bicep. Maya felt a trio of rounds impact her chest. Fortunately, her Kevlar vest and imbedded ceramic armor plate managed to stop the bullets, but did little to ablate the sheer force of being struck by them. She stumbled backwards and was about to fall when Wonderboy caught her.
"You okay?" He asked.
Maya quickly patted her vest and nodded. She then felt a sudden weight fall onto her shoulders. Maya turned, thinking it was an assailant and gasped when she realized it was Wonderboy's dead body. He had been hit with a three-round rifle burst. Two of the rounds penetrated his unarmored neck, while the third had punched through his helmet, instantly killing him. With no time to mourn his death, yet unwilling to just leave his body behind, Maya armed one of the C7 charges on his belt and set it to detonate in thirty seconds.
"May!" Jonesin yelled from the commandeered Warthog. "Let's go!"
Maya charged through the storm of confused gunfire and leapt into the rear of the vehicle. Cutter, manning the mounted chaingun, let loose with a storm of automatic fire. Scarlet Soldier and commando alike ducked, unsure whether the fire was coming from their side or not. Wolfman then gunned the engine to full power, racing for the exit. The Warthog was rocked several times as it rammed and ran down unfortunate soldiers caught in its path.
"Hold on!" Wolfman yelled as the Warthog sped towards the bay doors.
As if on cue, Jonesin emerged from the passenger seat hefting a Jackhammer rocket launcher. There was a loud roar as two rockets freed themselves from their launch tubes and sped toward the massive doors. The high explosive rockets impacted against the steel bay doors and cracked open a tear. Though the hole wasn't large enough for the Warthog to fit through, it weakened the bay doors enough to the point where the vehicle could ram straight through it without suffering significant damage.
"Alright, once we hit the city, we'll go to ground, and we'll be home free." Wolfman said as the Warthog sped down the treacherous mountain road. "We'll get rid of that crystal and disappear. Just like we planned if something like this happened."
"Shit, I hear something." Jonesin cocked his head. "Behind us!"
Suddenly, two dark shapes shot over the mountain behind them and started closing in at an amazing speed. Maya squinted at the shapes. She had much sharper vision than her squadmates and immediately discerned what the objects were.
"Harpies!" She screamed.
Harpies were basically the leaner, meaner gunship variants of the Pelican dropship. There was no passenger compartment to save weight. Where the cargo claw was supposed to be was a belly-mounted turret sporting a 50mm Gatling cannon capable of firing up to 4,000 armor piercing rounds a minute. All other free space was devoted to missile racks, rocket pods, and a nose mounted 20mm anti-personnel cannon. They basically specialized in hunting down and destroying enemy vehicles, such as runaway Warthogs.
"Fuck." Wolfman muttered as he realized that.
The twin Harpies' cannons lit up like candles as they spat hundreds of armor piercing rounds. Wolfman swerved and weaved along the road as bullets shattered the pavement around him. Cutter returned fire, but the Warthog's 30mm autocannon seemed paltry compared to the thunderous amount of firepower the Harpies could throw.
"Why don't they fire their missiles?" Jonesin wondered. "They can take us out with just one shot!"
"They still want this!" Maya patted the small box in her vest pocket. "They're not going to risk blowing it up!"
"Well, that's one point for us, I guess." Cutter remarked as he kept a stream of bullets flying at the Harpies.
One of the tailing Harpies shot a laser guided missile. The projectile shot over their heads and slammed into the base of a tree down the road. The tree's base splintered into flaming wood chips and the once proud tree began to teeter as it began to fall across the road.
"Step on it!" Jonesin yelled.
Wolfman gritted his teeth as he put the engine to full power. Unfortunately, the Warthog was not designed for acceleration or top speed in mind. To the remnants of the black ops squad, it felt as if the Warthog was crawling its way down the street.
Meanwhile, the Harpies tried to slow the Warthog down by firing across its path. However, Wolfman ignored the fire and kept driving straight. The Warthog managed to just barely clear the obstacle, the tree falling just inches from the vehicle's tail lights.
"We need to get those things off our backs!" Wolfman yelled. "Jonesin! How many rockets you got left?"
"Enough!"
Jonesin stood up, hefting his rocket launcher and fired. The twin rockets spiraled towards the oncoming Harpies. Both gunships swerved out of the way, but only one managed to evade the missile aimed at it. The second tried to veer out of the way but the rocket slammed into its tail section, snapping it off like a twig. Though not destroyed, the Harpy lost its maneuverability for a few seconds, which was long enough for Cutter to draw a bead on it with his 30mm cannon. Bullets riddled the Harpy's cockpit, instantly killing the crew within. With no intelligence at the controls, the second Harpy veered to the side and slammed into the mountain below it.
Jonesin tossed the rocket launcher over the side and said, "Now I'm out."
"That still leaves the other one." Wolfman said.
Suddenly, the sound everybody dreaded the most reached their ears. It was the clicking of a weapon that had just run out of ammo. Cutter looked down at the 30mm cannon, horrified to see that the ammo belt had run out and that the gun was no longer firing any bullets. Now there was nothing left to keep the Harpy at bay.
The Harpy, emboldened by the death of its partner and the lack of fire coming from the Warthog, began to close in.
"Do we have anything left?" Wolfman asked.
"No!" Jonesin replied as he dug through the Warthog's cargo compartments.
"We've got assault rifles, don't we?"
"If you want to annoy them, then yes!"
"We still have one thing that can take it down." Maya said.
"What are you talking about?" Cutter asked.
Maya unslung her sniper rifle and sighted it on the Harpy.
"S2AM rounds are rated to pierce spacecraft windows and armor, which is why their use is prohibited on spacecraft and stations. If I can hit the right spot…"
Maya switched on her scope's nightvision function and tried to aim it at the magic spot over the Harpy's cockpit. Fortunately for her, the Harpy pilot was cocky and didn't bother trying to maneuver, which made aiming far easier than it should have been. She tried to tune out the thunderous roar and the flash of the Harpy's cannons as she zeroed on the target. Finally, everything in body, even her heart, paused for a brief second, telling her to take the shot.
Maya pulled the trigger.
Through her scope, she could see the Harpy's windshield crack and spatter as it vainly attempted to stop the armor-piercing sabot round. Something exploded from within, covering the interior of the cockpit with blood. The Harpy shuddered and swung off course, clipping a tree and then nosediving into the road behind the Warthog. However, it managed to fire a single missile before crashing, and it was headed straight for the Warthog.
Wolfman caught side of the incoming missile and swerved to avoid it. Unfortunately, he was only half successful. The missile hit just feet from the Warthog's rear left tire. The blast sent the Warthog spinning and it flipped over the edge of the road.
Maya, who was not strapped onto the Warthog, suddenly found herself in the air, as if she were floating. The feeling lasted for several seconds until she what she assumed was the ground. Then she didn't feel anything else.