“We have searched most of the area around here, and have not found any other containers with Element 115.”
“There has got to be more. Keep looking,” Snap ordered.
Bob’s voice came over the COM, “We have a large helo landing 200 yards behind my position, looks like a Mi-26 T2.”
“Can you take it out with the EMP rifle?” Snap asked.
“Negative, Major. The weather is pretty bad out here, got less than 50 yards of visibility.”
“Move into a position where you can take out the helo with the EMP rifle. Don’t give away your position until you have a clear shot. We don’t want them communicating to their command that we are here, or that this is the site where they should be looking.”
“Roger that Major; I will hit the chopper with the EMP before they figure out we are here and have an opportunity to radio for backup.”
Bob, the newest member of Lightning Squad, if that is in fact what he was, slung the EMP rifle over his shoulder, while toting the six-barreled machine gun in his right hand. Bob, at nine feet tall, made carrying the modified M134D-H minigun and 4,000 rounds of 7.51 ammo look easy.
Bob said into his COM, “Taylor, you stay here and watch over the squad. I’m going to deal with the helo that just landed behind our position.”
“Roger that Bob”
The snow was blinding. Bob switched his HUD to thermal imaging as he hunched over and sprinted towards the helo. Through the blinding snow, Bob could not see the helo, but his HUD showed the red heat signature of the helo in the distance. The red splotch on his HUD, indicating a heat source, began to spread and widen until it was not one, but dozens, of red spots on his HUD.
“Major Slade, the helo has deployed dozens of men. They are approaching my position. It is unlikely I could eliminate all of them.”
“Have they seen you?”
“No.”
“Then continue with your mission. Take out the helo. We will deal with the Russians,” Snap said.
Snap turned to Lightning Squad, “Alright, we have Russians approaching. One hundred and fifty yards out. Unknown strength. Williams and Johnson, you take positions up here on Deck 12 and cover us. The rest of you, follow me.” Snap and the men headed toward the stairwell.
West hurried along next to Snap, “There are only ten of us, two on Deck 12, two on the ridge and six on the ground, and one of those is operating the PID. How many Russians did Bob say there were?”
“He didn’t. But we know a Russian helo can carry nearly 100 troops; so, I’m guessing.”
“Looks like the Russians are at company strength,” Bob said into the COM, from one hundred yards behind the ridge. “They are fanning out into squads and will be on the ridge in about five minutes. Squads are about 50 yards apart from each other. I don’t see how we could take them out quickly.”
Snap said, “Take out the helo. We can handle the Russians, just don’t let them radio back.”
“The Russian command will know we are here when the helo fails to report,” West observed.
“Yep. Better the Russians suspect we are here, then have it confirmed. Once they receive visual confirmation that we are here, they will hit us with everything they can muster. If they just think a helo went down in a snow storm, they may hesitate,” Snap said, as he and the other men reached ground level.
“Williams, Johnson, make sure you got that ridge covered where Bob and Taylor were. That’s where the Russians are going to appear first. Don’t shoot until we have confirmation that Bob has shut down the helo.”
“Roger that.”
“Lightning Squad, take up defensive positions every 20 yards or so along the trench. Hopefully we can hit them as they attempt to repel down the rock wall. Don’t fire until my mark,” Snap ordered. The five men ran along the bottom of the trench and took up positions amongst the debris with the ship at their backs. Each man was hidden behind rocks or pieces of the ship’s hull, with their DE rifles trained on the ridgeline above them.
“Ten to one odds, Major,” Davis said from behind a jagged piece of debris, 20 yards to Snap’s left.
“I like those odds, Davis. Our FALOS suits and laser rifles should give us a decisive advantage – not to mention the element of surprise,” Snap said from behind a collapsed bulkhead. From his vantage point, Snap could clearly see the crater’s ridge.
“Bob, we are in position. Once you take out that helo, we will ambush the Russians as they descend the ridge. You need to make your way back to the ridge and attack them from the rear. You and Taylor should be able to force any stragglers over the ridge with your miniguns. We will catch these Russians in a cross fire, they won’t even know what hit them,” Snap said.
“I see three men on top of the ridge. Looks like they are preparing to repel down,” Davis said over the COM.
“Where?” Snap asked.
“Your ten o’clock.”
Snap switched to thermal and looked to his left. There they were, and then four more appeared.
“Bob, have you neutralized that helo? We have visual. Russians on the ridge,” Snap said into the COM.
The first Russian began the decent. From the position the Russians chose, the drop was only about seventy feet to the base of the newly carved out trench. It would not take them long to be on the ground. Once on the ground level, they would have more places to hide, and would be more difficult to target. If they made it to the ship, they would have countless places to hide – it would be like searching through a corn maze.
“I’m lining up the shot now,” Bob said over the COM. “Direct hit. Target immobilized. Do want me to finish off the flight crew?” Bob asked.
Snap thought about it for a minute. He needed Bob to set up the crossfire, so the Russians could not simply run away from the ridge. On the other hand, if he left the flight crew alive, they may find some way get in contact with Russian command.
“Eliminate the flight crew, then get back to the ridge ASAP.”
“Helo down. Everyone else, wait until the first Russian hits the ground, then light’em up. Start with the targets on top of the ridge - the ones that have not started down the cliff.”
The first Russian touched the snow-covered ground at the bottom of the trench. All five men on the ground began to fire at the Russians as they repelled down the rocky cliff. Lightning Squad’s DE rifles made very little noise and only emitted a tiny trace of light. At first, the Russians had no idea what was happening. Fifteen Russians fell from the ridge before any of them realized they were under attack.
Twenty-five Russians, wearing cold weather gear, were shot as they clung to the slippery rockface they were attempting to descend.
“Holy shit. This is like shooting fish in a barrel,” Davis yelled.
“Forty down, and they still have not fired a shot,” Williams said from Deck 12 where he was sniping Russians that were hiding just over the ridgeline.
“That means there are about 60 left, and they are digging in behind the ridge – where we can’t see them from down here.”
“I can see them clearly from my vantage point,” Williams said. “I moved up several decks, I’m looking down on these Reds.”
Williams had used his select fire switch to change his DE rifle from assault to sniper mode. In addition to single fire, three-shot burst, and full auto, the laser rifle offered two other firing options. These other options included sniper mode and anti-armor mode. Anti-armor mode used more power and caused a serious delay between shots. Theoretically, anti-armor mode, if used often enough, could diminish the fusion fuel cell, even though no one had ever seen that happen.
“I don’t think they are called ‘Reds’ anymore,” West said.
“Another one down,” Williams called out. “I don’t care what they’re called, as long as they drop.”
Snap and the others had slowed down their rate of fire because the Russians had retreated to behind the ridgeline.