We arrived just after sun-down, and immediately came under contact. The squad poured out of the transport and took what cover they could as high velocity rounds came hailing in from some unseen source. The ear shattering cracks of bullets whizzing through the air and the heart retching thuds as bodies hit the ground, never to be getting up again, saturatedthe twilight air. We had definitely been dropped in the deep end. Luckily enough I was one of the last to exit the transport so I didn't take the brunt of the fire; stepping over dead bodies, dead friends, as I pelted for the nearest piece of solid matter. Anything that would keep me from being the next corpse for someone else to step over.
The mission was simple, the enemy had launched an invasion on a distant mining planet a few days ago, securing key civilian and military locations within the first day. One of these locations was a large space port that played a major role in exporting the minerals that came from the planets iron rich surface. Alpha had been tasked to retake these key locations, the spaceport included. Specifically my squads job was to secure the bases defence control tower and shut it down. Our intelligence suggested that this tower was being used to co-ordinate the enemy's defensive emplacements that had been scattered throughout the area. Neutralising the tower would cause these emplacements to shut down; allowing friendly air and low orbit support to be called in to strengthen the counter offensive, giving us the upper hand and forcing the enemy off world.
Simple enough, but simple plans were always the bloodiest. Having made a frontal assault on the base's west side, there had been an unacceptable amount of loss. Being crammed into a packed troop-transport as the driver aimed us straight at the enemy line. All myself and anyone else could do was wait and listen to the cracks of bullets pinging against the transport walls. Surrounding minefields meant that many of the transports hadn't even made it this far; exploding with everyone still inside. I counted it a miracle that my transport wasn't a burning pile of metal by the time we past the perimeter fence.
Once the enemy line was broken, we were let out of the hot and humid transport bay as the heavy frontal doors slammed opened with a cumbersome thud. Everyone was relived to finally be free from the metal confines, I was particularly happy to feel the cold night air filling my lungs; anything was better than that stale air inside. Of course the happiness I felt was relative, as I was now head down in the dirt with bullets whizzing past above me, in fact I was in more danger now then I had been in the transport but I guess it just felt good to be, at the very least, in more control over what happens. Inside the transport all you could do was wait to die, while being outside amongst it all, you could at the very least fight and die.
"Ricky! Do you see them? Where are they?!" Came a voice drifting across the sounds of gunfire and explosions like a refreshing breeze. It was Maxine, a fresh off the training yard recruit just like myself. Being the star recruit of the intake, she had taken quickly to the regimented training lifestyle of the army and showed a great proficiency for almost every exercise. I was glad she was with me. She had been my beacon of light in an otherwise dark world. I had formed many strong relationships through the training, but I felt the most connected to Maxine, and if anyone asked me to fight alongside her, the answer would without a doubt be yes.
The answer to her question however, was no. I had no idea; all I could see was the dirt covered mound just in front of me. I didn't even know where I was in relation to the space port, let alone where the shots were coming from.
"Not a clue!" I told her, hoping that I didn't sound as terrified as I felt.
"Well I'm coming in!" She replied as she slammed down onto her side next to me. Her already dirt covered body armour hugging the rough ground as close as possible. Moving over as requested my eyes locked with hers and I could see even our star recruit was bricking it.
"Injured?" I asked nervously.
"A few cuts and grazes; nothing serious. You?"
"Nothing."
"Ok good! Back to business, where are those shots coming from!?" She queried once again over the loud gunfire.
Without saying anything, I suddenly had my head poking out from our little safety hole to get an answer. Along my entire right hand side was a runway, one of many that made up the collection that formed the spaceport as a whole. Stretching out into the distance, it looked like a murky mirror under the moonlight. To the left was the edge of the base itself, the large perimeter fence boxing us in. So that just left up ahead. In the distance there was a complex of buildings, standing strong in the chaos. All around me there were signs of war; explosions and small fires spreading as far as the my eyes could see. Even the tops of the mountains that lined this valley seemed to have something going on with small flashes calling out in the distance.
Much closer however was what looked like a flashing hedge, but upon closer inspection I realised it was a bunker that had been camouflaged to look like an overgrown shrub, with the unmistakable yellow flashes of gunfire coming from its pillbox slit. The camouflage was very impressive, no wonder nobody had any idea where the bad guys were.
"I've got a visual, bunker, 100 metres east, patching it through now." I confirmed as I sent the visual information to everyone in the squad, the bunker now becoming a highlighted structure for anyone who looked at it. In response to this, a volley of fire came thundering past from multiple unseen locations towards the square structure. The tracer rounds peppering its surface and pillbox opening. Maxine and I joined in, aiming our rifles just over the crest of our mound.
"Nice one Ricky!" Echoed another voice amongst the hellfire. It was the squad leader, Colter, or Cole as some called him. A man of some experience, having been part of Alpha Division for close to a year now. "Eyes like a hawk! Keep it up and we might just make it through this with our limbs still attached!" He added.
Looking to my left I could see my squad, spread out amongst the terrain in similar positions to me and Maxine. Their I.D symbols being highlighted against the moonlit soil. Colter's slightly larger squad leader symbol was more or less in the middle of the rough formation.
"I intend to sir." I replied, starting to get a control over my fear.
"Good man! Right, let's get our arses moving! Or else they will be left behind! Everybody push up! Take that bunker!"
YOU ARE READING
The Invisible Universe
Science FictionWhat lies beyond the senses? What secrets have been hidden from you due to your physical limitations? Is the universe as empty as it seems? Are we alone? Dr Thomas Clark has just made a discovery that will answer all of those questions... Hope yo...
