flew several metres high either side of them until they finally rocked to a sudden halt.
They looked around at each other in astonishment, not one of them had been injured. They could do nothing for a moment but remain in their seats in shock and disbelief. Eddie leapt into the cabin with a smile on his face.
“Well, holy shit, that ain’t the most graceful manoeuvre of my career.”
Taylor and Parker began to laugh reservedly until the rest joined them. The Major got to his feet and reached forward to shake Eddie’s hand.
“Damn fine flying, Lieutenant.”
“Really? Where’d you learnt to fly?”
“Joking aside, you just saved our asses.”
“I’ll remind you of that.”
“I’m sure.”
Taylor strode to the door and hit the release button, but it didn’t respond. He lifted his leg and kicked with the force of his exo-suit, and the door burst from its mechanism and slid out across the concrete floor outside. He coughed for a minute as thick dust filled his mouth. As it cleared, he looked out across the plant floor and could see the body shells of hundreds of cars and the wake of many more that they had trashed.
“Eddie, the insurance companies will love you.”
The Lieutenant reached the door and jumped out with the Major to walk among the wreckage. He spun around, marvelling at his work until a broad smile appeared on his face once again.
“It’s okay. They’re French cars, so they were scrap to begin with!”
Taylor chuckled as he leapt from the door and landed with a heavy thud on the hard floor.
“As for my baby, look at her!” shouted Eddie.
“Any chance of salvaging the work you have done?” he replied.
“Salvaging? Fuck yeah, you think I’m gonna leave this marvel of technology for the locals?”
Taylor tapped his intercom.
“Major Chandra, please come in.”
There was no reply for a moment, and he quickly repeated his request as the troops flooded out of the crash site.
“This is Chandra. We thought you were goners, Major.”
“Close to it, but we’re still standing.”
“Any casualties?” she asked.
Taylor shook his head in surprise. “Amazingly, no. We’re ready to continue on mission.”
“Got it. The other bird went down hard. We’re at the crash site now. Two dead, eight wounded.”
“Fuck,” Taylor whispered to himself.
There was silence for a moment as Chandra stepped out of earshot of the troops, so she could talk more privately.
“Mitch, this mission must go on. With defences like this, there must be something damn important down there. We’ll be a little while here attending to the wounded. You’ll have to get yourselves to Dijon. We’ll be with you ASAP.”
“Got it.”
“And, Mitch, watch your arse. This is not the Troyes mission. Maybe that drew us into a false sense of security. We’ve already lost people over this, so let’s not loose anymore, hey?”
“I hear you.”
“Good luck, Major, we’ll see you shortly, over and out.”
He turned and looked up to see that Eli had been stood behind him listening.
“In the shit as usual, then?”
He nodded as he lifted his Mappad and identified their location in relation to the city.
“Alright, everyone listen up!”
Taylor looked out to see they were already awaiting his orders as they marvelled at the wreckage of the copter they had crash-landed in. The fuselage had been ripped apart when it crashed through the car production lines and machinery. He looked at the twisted wreckage for a moment and turned back to them.
“Major Chandra is assisting at the other crash site. We’ve got two dead already, and this fight hasn’t even started yet. For now, we’re on our own. We’re about forty kilometres out from our destination and without transport. This mission does not stop because we hit a complication.”
None of them showed any sign of surprise by his orders. He could see in their faces that more than anything they wanted their pound of flesh for the losses they had already
They looked around at each other in astonishment, not one of them had been injured. They could do nothing for a moment but remain in their seats in shock and disbelief. Eddie leapt into the cabin with a smile on his face.
“Well, holy shit, that ain’t the most graceful manoeuvre of my career.”
Taylor and Parker began to laugh reservedly until the rest joined them. The Major got to his feet and reached forward to shake Eddie’s hand.
“Damn fine flying, Lieutenant.”
“Really? Where’d you learnt to fly?”
“Joking aside, you just saved our asses.”
“I’ll remind you of that.”
“I’m sure.”
Taylor strode to the door and hit the release button, but it didn’t respond. He lifted his leg and kicked with the force of his exo-suit, and the door burst from its mechanism and slid out across the concrete floor outside. He coughed for a minute as thick dust filled his mouth. As it cleared, he looked out across the plant floor and could see the body shells of hundreds of cars and the wake of many more that they had trashed.
“Eddie, the insurance companies will love you.”
The Lieutenant reached the door and jumped out with the Major to walk among the wreckage. He spun around, marvelling at his work until a broad smile appeared on his face once again.
“It’s okay. They’re French cars, so they were scrap to begin with!”
Taylor chuckled as he leapt from the door and landed with a heavy thud on the hard floor.
“As for my baby, look at her!” shouted Eddie.
“Any chance of salvaging the work you have done?” he replied.
“Salvaging? Fuck yeah, you think I’m gonna leave this marvel of technology for the locals?”
Taylor tapped his intercom.
“Major Chandra, please come in.”
There was no reply for a moment, and he quickly repeated his request as the troops flooded out of the crash site.
“This is Chandra. We thought you were goners, Major.”
“Close to it, but we’re still standing.”
“Any casualties?” she asked.
Taylor shook his head in surprise. “Amazingly, no. We’re ready to continue on mission.”
“Got it. The other bird went down hard. We’re at the crash site now. Two dead, eight wounded.”
“Fuck,” Taylor whispered to himself.
There was silence for a moment as Chandra stepped out of earshot of the troops, so she could talk more privately.
“Mitch, this mission must go on. With defences like this, there must be something damn important down there. We’ll be a little while here attending to the wounded. You’ll have to get yourselves to Dijon. We’ll be with you ASAP.”
“Got it.”
“And, Mitch, watch your arse. This is not the Troyes mission. Maybe that drew us into a false sense of security. We’ve already lost people over this, so let’s not loose anymore, hey?”
“I hear you.”
“Good luck, Major, we’ll see you shortly, over and out.”
He turned and looked up to see that Eli had been stood behind him listening.
“In the shit as usual, then?”
He nodded as he lifted his Mappad and identified their location in relation to the city.
“Alright, everyone listen up!”
Taylor looked out to see they were already awaiting his orders as they marvelled at the wreckage of the copter they had crash-landed in. The fuselage had been ripped apart when it crashed through the car production lines and machinery. He looked at the twisted wreckage for a moment and turned back to them.
“Major Chandra is assisting at the other crash site. We’ve got two dead already, and this fight hasn’t even started yet. For now, we’re on our own. We’re about forty kilometres out from our destination and without transport. This mission does not stop because we hit a complication.”
None of them showed any sign of surprise by his orders. He could see in their faces that more than anything they wanted their pound of flesh for the losses they had already
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