Gabatrix: The Cipra Campaign

Chapter 13: The Battle of New Hong Kong Part 1

Gunfire erupted from the end of Dean's barrel when a small red metal insect got struck. The rounds easily pierced the side of the tiny object that was no bigger than the size of Dean's hand. It toppled over and powered down in the sand.

It had been thirty minutes. Most of the vehicles had made single-round shots at the crawling mines, but the gunfire had become increasingly rare by now. Iz'tre was a little bit ahead of Dean. She had found another crawling mine that was on top of the sand dune. She pointed her scaly finger at it. Dean came charging forward to stop, aim, and destroy it as well.

"I got that one.......and....," Dean said as he saw another one towards what Iz'tre was pointing. He fired a three-round burst smashing the mine to pieces.

"Good...." Iz'tre tried to say. "No kouhh!"

The way that she said the last word was supposed to reminisce the sound of an exploding bomb using her vocal cords. She even held her hands up, almost as if she was trying to mimic the idea of something exploding.

Dean turned to see that the column of vehicles was also moving along. From the ground, the MMACC was far more extensive than it appeared. The Cipran sun was moving further and further down the horizon as the day was going by. It was also slightly larger as the dust storm was getting less and less extensive. The heat was still present, but it started to die down some. The thick haze of sand in the air was also less current but still made things hard to see. There was a large set of sand dunes to the west and south. The wind naturally shifted these sands as time progressed. The canyon wall still remained to the right, but it was getting harder to see it.

Even at the current speed, Dean, Iz'tre, Bekra, and the other marines were having to press into a jog to keep ahead of the vehicles. The constant running through the thick sands was exhausting. Even Dean was huffing and puffing hard. Thankfully, the gear was perfect at circulating and keeping him cool. Even then, he was still sweating hard. Iz'tre never seemed to be affected, even with her helmet off. The Itrean physiology, or the simple fact that she was used to operating in desert environments, played a crucial role in allowing her to handle the hot weather with ease. Occasionally, she would snort a little bit to prevent excess dust from collecting up in her snout.

Bekra was not far behind them. For the first time, however, Dean had a chance to see one of the other Itrean mechs that were like Bekra. He hadn't had the chance to talk with her, but she had been in the rear compartments of the MMACC. Right now, this other was also a part of the column in the distance. Bekra had been on the lookout as every other person was doing. Her systems scanned the environment ahead of Dean and Iz'tre to ensure that they were alright.

"I'm not detecting any more mines," Bekra stated on the primary comms. "Dean and Iz'tre had destroyed the last set within our distance."

"Confirmed," Patricia stated. "Anything else we left behind us, sir."

"Then we are clear of the minefield," Kosai responded on everyone's comms. "Attention all marines, report back to the MMACC immediately, so we can make way to New Hong Kong. All personnel not wearing power armor will undergo proper quarantine procedures before entry.

"Ah.....bummer," Dean remarked as he looked upon himself. He wasn't the only individual, as five others were not wearing their respected power armor suits.

"All stations come to a halt so that we can pick everyone up. Those that are behind us will assume proper formation before we set a course due north."

All the vehicles slowed down to a stop except for the few stragglers. Dean and Iz'tre had the furthest to travel as they crashed through the sand. It would take a couple of minutes to reach the great vehicle.