Up ahead, four new contacts appeared on his map linked to the VidCam network. They came to the corner, and David held up his fist, signaling a stop-and-silence. He considered turning back, but a seemingly endless wave of troops was advancing on their six, and they weren�t too far behind. He had to keep moving. He signaled William to follow him, and told N�tn�see and Hisheena to cover him. Jean would watch their six, neutralizing any followers that got too close. David�s fist went down like a hammer, giving the go signal, and he rolled out into the hallway, coming out on one knee, his rifle leveled at the nearest troop. He fired.
Shots rang out everywhere. Behind him, in front of him, and his own weapon, everyone was shooting. The slide of David�s rifle suddenly locked open; the magazine was empty. He threw the rifle down, and lunged out at the remaining soldier. This man seemed to be exceptionally strong though, perhaps not such a smart move for a hand-to-hand combat session.
David�s fist attempted a lunge at the man�s abdomen, but was intercepted. David blocked a swift blow to his neck, and made a failed try at putting the man into a headlock. He grabbed the man�s arms by the wrists, and, knowing the grip was secure, jumped. His body went parallel to the ground, and his feet landed on the soldier�s chest. David�s legs extended, and he caught the man off guard. He simply didn�t have time to clench his shoulder muscles. The once strong soldier�s arms left his sockets with a sickening snap, and David slammed into the ground.
The man screamed in pain, and dropped to his knees, spilling his blood onto the floor. David did the most humane thing he could do. With one hand he grabbed the soldier�s chin, the other holding the back of his head. He twisted. The lump dropped silently to the ground. He waved his team forward. He picked up his rifle, slammed in a new clip with a satisfying shink!, and they continued running through the halls.
They finally made it to the hangar doors. David�s side hurt like hell, and he took a moment to apply some MediBandage equipment to it where the bullet had barely missed his organs. He fed his rifle his last clip, and he and his team took position on either side of the door. Jean pushed a button on the panel on her side of the door, and the door quietly hissed open. David took point, with William right at his side. N�tn�see swept wide on the right, searching for targets. Jean and Hisheena brought up the rear, protecting Sam. People swarmed off in the distance, fixing planes and going about their business. A few hundred meters in front of them, a Sharkfang fighter sat on its landing pad, lights on. Just begging for them to climb aboard. He signaled his team over to a pile of crates, and they crouched there, hiding from the enemy. The soldiers behind them were catching up, and they would be here in a matter of minutes.
He pointed to the ship, and signaled N�tn�see and Jean to it. They were his fastest runners, and they would get aboard and secure the ship for them when they got there. N�tn�see stood beside Jean, looked at her, and then back at his objective. His mind went cold, and he welcomed the new adrenaline rush. He ran, ran as fast as he possibly could. No one was shooting at them, but they went faster until they felt tendons begin to snap. They cleared the 157 meters in twelve seconds. The rest of the group closely followed them, but Sam was keeping them back from his lack of fitness. He wasn�t �made� for all of this running. He was a negotiator, damn it.
N�tn�see tucked into a roll as he entered the hatch, and his leg swung at one of the technicians. He had no desire to kill the man, but he knew if this unarmed, innocent man were not silenced, he could warn the rest of the hangar about them. N�tn�see tried not to see this as a man with a family, working towards goals, and anticipating his upcoming vacation this summer. No, this was just another �target�. The man dropped to the ground, quickly followed by the squish of N�tn�see�s boot slamming into his skull. He was the only one on the ship, so N�tn�see ran for the Navigation controls. He fired up the engines, and Jean manned the gunner�s console.
As David practically jogged toward the ship, trying to keep Sam protected, loud shots flew over their heads. He felt a wave of what seemed like fear, but he did not stop. He looked at the ship, and saw its guns were firing. He dared to slow down to look behind them, and saw that swarms of unfortunate troops were pouring out of the door they had just come through, dropping to the ground almost as quickly as they came out. To hell with this, thought David. He hoisted Sam over his shoulder, and half-sprinted the last fifty meters to the ship. Hisheena and William entered, and the hatch clunked shut behind them.
�Get us out of here!� Yelled David. The engines roared, growling like a charging bear, and the ship shot forward. They hadn�t even put their restraining harnesses on, and David flew back, slamming into the bulkhead. He struggled forward, forced himself into the captain�s seat, and strapped himself in. Archaic noise originally called �Rock� rang through the speakers. He turned to his right, and saw William grinning at him. He gave the slightest crack of a smile back, as the clouds parted above them.
It was going to be a long ride home.
