commando to the door hit
the release and they began filing out, ten commandos strong, and dropping back into a well-practiced mobile formation designed for hunting
rather than running. With no hope of a clear route ahead, they were going to
have to fight their way through, and to do that they were going to have to play
offense rather than defense.
Which was fine for Rio. He’d
had enough falling back. Now they had an objective and a way out clearly marked
on his battlemap. It was like thousands of challenges before, only this one was
a single try, do or die. All the others, with so many opportunities to repeat,
had taught him well how to handle the moment and the nerves, and he was
pleasantly surprised that now, in the moment when it mattered most, his mind
was completely calm. He knew what he had to do and that he could do it…with a
resolution that if he failed it wouldn’t matter.
The path ahead was the only way to survive, so he
committed himself to each step he took forward, not looking or thinking back,
and focused on shooting every flat headed little Skarron minion he came across
before they could kill him.
9
Rio ducked down behind a potted tree, with the bark on
the trunk exploding above his head with plasma hits. He and the others were
stuck in an interior park that was only a few sections away from their LZ, but
it was their only way through and the Skarrons had turned it into a temporary
base of operations…with three of them and a horde of Hobbits in play. The
bigger Skarron plasma rifles/cannons had already killed one of the commandos
when he got ambushed by a group of Hobbits and forced out of his cover. Rio
thought the hit was more blind luck than skill on the Skarron’s part, but the
plasma orb hit him square in the helmet.
He fell to the ground, the plasma burning through an
already damaged section and penetrating his skull. After that the fighting had
grown into more or less of a standstill, with every Hobbit the commandos took
down being replaced by others coming in, getting them nowhere and the clock
still ticking. They all knew it, and knew if they played by the usual rules the
enemy would win by default.
That meant it was time to get reckless…but in a smart
way. The 9 of them had a lengthy, yet choppy conversation as they continued to
fight in and around cover, then Rio finally got the signal and popped up,
taking a few hits to his shields immediately as he sprayed suppression fire in
a particular area.
His armor took several more hits then he ducked back
down, glad that none had gotten through as two more commandos popped up and
continued to bathe that particular area with blue streaks…then another came
around a blind in the park, essentially a small booth with a V-shaped wall, and
jumped into the mess of the now ducking Hobbits, firing as he landed amongst
them.
A second tone signaled throughout all their helmets
and Rio popped back up, his shields not having enough time to reform, and fired
at whatever Hobbits were shooting back at the others as four of them converged
on the same point and slaughtered the enemy there. The incoming plasma hit them
hard, and Rio did his best to down their shooters or make them duck for
cover…then he was on the move, transitioning to another preplanned spot as he
saw one of his fellow soldiers go down.
Soon he was behind a bench and doing his best not to
get mauled by the Skarron closest to him. His barricade didn’t last long, being
blasted apart by the plasma, but it did draw off those shots from the others
before Rio leapt up and targeted the unarmored Skarron, trying to be as evasive
as possible in his movements. It worked at first, allowing him to land several
hits to its midsection as the enemy’s shots missed to the sides…then one of the
other commandos got the jump on it and literally stepped up onto its back and
fired down into the top of the creature.
Rio added a few more shots until the thing went down,
then both of
the release and they began filing out, ten commandos strong, and dropping back into a well-practiced mobile formation designed for hunting
rather than running. With no hope of a clear route ahead, they were going to
have to fight their way through, and to do that they were going to have to play
offense rather than defense.
Which was fine for Rio. He’d
had enough falling back. Now they had an objective and a way out clearly marked
on his battlemap. It was like thousands of challenges before, only this one was
a single try, do or die. All the others, with so many opportunities to repeat,
had taught him well how to handle the moment and the nerves, and he was
pleasantly surprised that now, in the moment when it mattered most, his mind
was completely calm. He knew what he had to do and that he could do it…with a
resolution that if he failed it wouldn’t matter.
The path ahead was the only way to survive, so he
committed himself to each step he took forward, not looking or thinking back,
and focused on shooting every flat headed little Skarron minion he came across
before they could kill him.
9
Rio ducked down behind a potted tree, with the bark on
the trunk exploding above his head with plasma hits. He and the others were
stuck in an interior park that was only a few sections away from their LZ, but
it was their only way through and the Skarrons had turned it into a temporary
base of operations…with three of them and a horde of Hobbits in play. The
bigger Skarron plasma rifles/cannons had already killed one of the commandos
when he got ambushed by a group of Hobbits and forced out of his cover. Rio
thought the hit was more blind luck than skill on the Skarron’s part, but the
plasma orb hit him square in the helmet.
He fell to the ground, the plasma burning through an
already damaged section and penetrating his skull. After that the fighting had
grown into more or less of a standstill, with every Hobbit the commandos took
down being replaced by others coming in, getting them nowhere and the clock
still ticking. They all knew it, and knew if they played by the usual rules the
enemy would win by default.
That meant it was time to get reckless…but in a smart
way. The 9 of them had a lengthy, yet choppy conversation as they continued to
fight in and around cover, then Rio finally got the signal and popped up,
taking a few hits to his shields immediately as he sprayed suppression fire in
a particular area.
His armor took several more hits then he ducked back
down, glad that none had gotten through as two more commandos popped up and
continued to bathe that particular area with blue streaks…then another came
around a blind in the park, essentially a small booth with a V-shaped wall, and
jumped into the mess of the now ducking Hobbits, firing as he landed amongst
them.
A second tone signaled throughout all their helmets
and Rio popped back up, his shields not having enough time to reform, and fired
at whatever Hobbits were shooting back at the others as four of them converged
on the same point and slaughtered the enemy there. The incoming plasma hit them
hard, and Rio did his best to down their shooters or make them duck for
cover…then he was on the move, transitioning to another preplanned spot as he
saw one of his fellow soldiers go down.
Soon he was behind a bench and doing his best not to
get mauled by the Skarron closest to him. His barricade didn’t last long, being
blasted apart by the plasma, but it did draw off those shots from the others
before Rio leapt up and targeted the unarmored Skarron, trying to be as evasive
as possible in his movements. It worked at first, allowing him to land several
hits to its midsection as the enemy’s shots missed to the sides…then one of the
other commandos got the jump on it and literally stepped up onto its back and
fired down into the top of the creature.
Rio added a few more shots until the thing went down,
then both of
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