SA-139, Sirius A system
May 22, 2050, 20:36 SST (Sol Standard Time)
A tree toppled over thanks to the powerful gale force winds that blew through the region. Torrential rain drenched the scenery as if a gigantic shower faucet was above, while fractured branches, leaves, and debris hurled past Chevallier. She crawled on the muddy surface below her, splashing it across her shields much like the rain drops from above.
The last of the transports had left the area almost an hour ago, she alone remained as the sole person just outside of the Lyonria hub being battered by the storm as Marduk’s soldiers exited and fanned out. They were right on time. As she predicted they focused on securing the Lyonria hub first before pushing outside and continuing their search-and-destroy operations against their human enemies.
Chevallier peered through the scope of her rifle just slightly so as not to draw any attention to her. It was bad enough the storm and chaos around her caused her shields to periodically flicker as she continued to stay prone and embrace ancient primordial hunting instincts. Her targeting reticule zoomed in toward three overlords standing next to each other while their undead minors patrolled and searched for signs of the Hammerhead team. The three overlords were wide-open she could easily pull off three head shots, dropping them and whatever minions they had under their mind-control. It was a tempting thought, very tempting.
Chevallier took a deep breath and had her rifle’s zoom back away from the three exposed targets, and was reminded about the other seven or more overlords in the area with their respective squads of minions. Blowing her cover to take out the three wasn’t worth the effort, never mind the fact it wasn’t part of the original plan, something she was veering away from. She waited for the group of hostiles to further separate, as they were convinced they were no longer being targeted. An overlord guided four of his minions away from the hub, deep into the jungles with little regard to what might happen to them as the winds chucked whatever it felt like at them.
Chevallier followed the solo group, crawling on the surface, like a wolf stalking its next meal. Rain, howling winds, blowing trees, nobody saw her slip closer along with her flickering shields as they worked hard to prevent her armored body from being blown over. Her suit’s computers informed her that the storm’s interference was hindering its ability to remain in contact with the Hammerheads, base camp, and the transports. She was on her own now and had no idea if their backup would come on time or would have issues flying through the storm. The transports weren’t exactly tested to see if they could handle multiple runs through the storm to start with.
She looked backward and saw her HUD’s projection overlay in regard to the last known location of the Hammerheads that stayed and the Poniga volunteers with their on-the-fly weapons and combat armor training. It was a long run, longer than she had hoped and this was assuming they had still been where she last saw them. With the comms now jammed, there was no way for her to tell if they had moved, and there was no way for them to transmit to tell her they had done so.
If we all stick to the plan, we’ll be good; she thought, and zoomed her sights on the overlord. It was still alone with its four minions. Chevallier’s HUD reported that the closest hostile target after them, was three point five kilometers away. Good enough.
The overlord’s armored head became the dominant image within her scope.
She pulled the trigger.
Then got up and ran like hell.
As she ran, she heard a series of two sounds. One good, one bad. The good? Five bodies hitting the ground amongst the storm. The bad? Laser cannons powering on and acquiring a lock on her as she ran against the force of the winds. If it weren’t for her suit and shields, Chevallier’s body wouldn’t have made much progress in her escape from the fury of red lights blazing toward her.
She kept on running and followed the overlay on her HUD, she looked up and saw the last batch of clear skies had all but vanished. The eye of the storm had officially moved out of the region, winds and rains were only going to get stronger from here on in, and it showed as her shield strength slowly began to drop. Every branch, strong gust, and piece of debris that hit her dropped the percentage more and more, and then there were the lasers from behind.
It was like running an obstacle course, she dodged what she saw blowing toward her, leaped over downed trees, slid in between two trees that grew close to each other, ducked her head from low-hanging branches, and sidestepped around large rocks. Smoke and steam blew up from behind or beside her as missed laser fire hit, and overlord soldiers yelled in frustration that she was still alive, and the chaotic environment was hindering their performance. Just as planned.
She saw Hudson peek out from his cover next to a large tree, and he gave her the thumbs-up. She did the same as she heard the light static of her comm lines clear up due to being in closer proximity to the Hammerheads. Chevallier dove and rolled on the ground amongst the mangled leaves and branches, then spun back up and directed her rifle directly at Marduk’s forces as they struggled to stay on their feet. Every Hammerhead fighter that remained left their cover, whether it was lying prone on the ground, out from behind large rocks, or downed trees. Mavron and Eisila and the Poniga volunteers appeared next, out from the same cover Hudson had used. The deadly alliance of human and Poniga forces along with Mother Nature herself encircled Marduk’s soldiers.
The blood and body parts of Marduk’s soldiers blew away in the hurricane’s wrath in the aftermath of the one-sided ambush.
Chevallier held back on grinning in a satisfied manner. They weren’t in the clear yet. The next leg of their plan was set to start; retaking the hub and hoping that no more additional forces came through the wormhole. If they did, their numbers probably weren’t going to be enough to deal with them until backup arrived from the colony, if it arrived. Transports, after all, did have sub light speed engines it should have taken them seconds to reach the colony, drop off the injured and medical team, and then hurry back with reinforcements. Over an hour had passed.
Chevallier and Hudson lead their team back to the Lyonria hub. A quick perimeter check of the exterior and main halls inside revealed no signs of hostile forces, meaning there were probably a lot more inside waiting for them. They all dashed inside, grateful to be out of the storm while Chevallier took one last look at the looming storm clouds above and hoped to see signs of transports flying in. There weren’t any, they were on their own.
“Well, here goes nothing,” Chevallier said as she approached the teleportation alcove, and mentally prepared herself for indoor combat before she and the rest of her allies stepped through.
40 FOSTER
ESRS Carl Sagan, Captain’s quarters
En route to Sirius A corona, Sirius A system
May 23, 2050, 00:27 SST (Sol Standard Time)
Who needs an alarm when you have a cat . . . Foster’s awakening thoughts murmured.
She sat upright on her bed while her hands consoled her hungry pet cat, Starlet. The nightstand next to her bed showed the current time and a small countdown timer to when she had set her alarm to blare off. There were still three minutes left. She stood up, yawned, and stretched her arms upward, glad she took the nap when she did and hoped the rest of the crew followed her instructions to do the same. Zero hour was close, and past events hadn’t provided a lot of time to rest and recharge one’s brain.