Part Two
Silence. Nothing can be heard except their breathing. Weihan, Nisha and Frizz have seen their only way of escape cruelly shut. They do not know what to do – One Commander, one pilot and the Supreme Commander. They know that even if they do get out of the base, it will be suicide trying to blast their way through the enemy forces.
Slowly, Wei scans his surroundings. Nothing but sheet metal, ABS and wood. He knows that the oxygen in the base is running out slowly. They have to move – or they will die.
Weak lights flicker overhead as they make their way down an empty corridor. The emergency power is still working, but most of it is being sucked up by the Laser turrets outside. Frizz is leaning heavily on Wei, limping on a shattered ankle. He grits his teeth against the constant barrage of pain and prays for this to be over soon.
He is not a coward – he will go down fighting if he must – but for the time being, his life rests squarely on the shoulders of two people. It hurts him deeply to see his people dead, to see valuable equipment destroyed and to see expensive units crushed. Frizz blinks back tears as he thinks of the last transmission from the dropship. No one is coming. He is sure of it…and it fills him with despair.
Turning left at a T intersection, they stand in front of two massive blast doors. This is the entrance to the Underground Hanger – where LordRex's Cobra is waiting. Hey looks at the entrance keypad and groans. While they could not get through the ProMax doors, the Sha'Kahr have ripped the keypad apart – determined to not let anyone in. Wei slams a fist in the still sparking remains, hoping to get a reaction from the unyielding metal doors. A few minor shocks later…nothing had happened.
Shit, I knew this wasn't like the holovids, Wei thinks. He weighs his options over and over. One – he was in a powered down base with unreliable emergency power. Two – he had the Supreme Commander with a shattered ankle. Three – the Sha'Kahr were inside the base and were tearing it apart. Four – He had a way out of the base and had a plan. Five – The bloody doors were dead. Six – there was no dropship coming in the near future. They are toast unless a miracle happens.
A loud crash, the sound of rending metal and two loud crumps sound from the Hangar, causing them to look at each other in shock. It is the sound of a dropship touching down. They hear the screech of metal as the landing door opens and the sound of many feet running out.
Then the shooting begins. Blasts of guns send the three of them into overdrive. Weihan pushes a heavy piece of debris near the front of the blast doors - creating a makeshift shield. A scream from behind the doors makes them jump. The scream is inhuman - a sound of pure rage and anger.
More gunfire rings out from the Underground Hangar, more alien screams. The horrific sound of ripping flesh. A human scream, punctuated by the gruesome popping of bone. Nisha and Wei share a quick kiss and prepare themselves for the worst.
A lengthy pause in the battle sends them into extreme terror.
Then, the firing beings again – this time heavier than before. Battle sounds come from all around them - the metallic shell of the base causing the explosions to echo and reverberate around them. The simultaneous crack of ballistics threatens to shred their eardrums in an instant.
Even more explosions rock the base, sending the three of them tumbling hard to the floor again. Frizz bites back a cry of pain as his other ankle shatters from the impact. After a few more roars of cannons, it is silent again.
Suddenly, the lights overhead shine brightly and the blast doors begin to open. The three of them ready themselves as best as they can – prepared for anything. What they are not prepared for, however, is the sight that greets them.
A dropship - with its crew loading up all the vehicles they can fit. All around them lie the shredded bodies of more than two hundred Sha'Kahr warriors. They also spot thirty charred bodies - the effect of laser fire on unprotected flesh. It is the image that will stay with Wei forever. Though there is mass carnage, destruction and death around them, they are grateful of one simple fact -
They are saved.
It will go down on record as one of the bloodiest battles so far - almost all five thousand personnel dead, fifty commanders and their squads killed, billions of credits worth of damage and priceless information lost.
That was when the War started for real.
TBC…