Chapter Eight

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Nero, launchpad 72, en route to Skia landing site


After another half hour, Falcon Squad made their way to the launchpad for the meet up with their division, the 294th. A group of soldiers in blue lined armor waited on the launchpad. Their markings were the same as the ones that Trickshot had on his new armor. They made their way to the group, noting General Risa and General Isle were there.

Risa simply nodded at their arrival, and the 294th boarded the gunships. They took off, the gunship shuddering as it lifted into the air.

~~

After a long while standing in the ship's main body, hanging onto the rails, the ground tilted, a telltale sign that they were landing soon.

The gunship swerved suddenly, the whiz of blaster fire and a cannon round narrowly missing their hull.

The darkness inside the ship made it hard for Trickshot to see his brothers, the only light source being the red emergency exit sign.

The side doors suddenly opened, to prepare for landing. General Risa looked out, and drew her head back after a glance.

"There's a lot of surface fire, ma'am." Rush noted. As if on cue, the gunship flying next to them was shot out of the air, flames whipping in the fog. The soldiers next to the door stood back, nearly being hit by the fire.

Rush looked over at Trickshot. "Hanging in there?"

"So far so good, Sarge."

They both glanced at the fog outside, occasionally lit up by enemy fire.

The General's wrist comm clicked, and the voice of the pilot, Rogue, came through.

"General! I've turned out the lights, but our night vision is having a tough time in this fog. I hope we don't overshoot the landing site!"

"Just get us as close as you can," she said. The Walker pilots took the cue and climbed into their seats, getting ready to jump out the back.

As they neared the ground, the back panels opened, and the Walkers jumped out, hitting the ground running.

Cannon rounds immediately lit up the battlefield, sending Walkers and pilots flying. They began to return fire, and the lucky few dodged and made it close enough to shoot down the cannons. They trampled Skians underfoot, and fired repeatedly at the cannons until they exploded.

Soon, the ground became visible, and the gunships hovered above it. Soldiers jumped off, shooting into the chaos. Trickshot ducked just in time, Skian blaster fire shooting over his head.

"Go, go, go!" Yelled a soldier. He threw the forward signal, and they all obeyed it. The gunships closed and returned to the air as they disembarked.

Walkers and soldiers ran past Trickshot and his squad, but he made sure to follow General Risa's purple blaster fire, keeping together.

A cannon round shook the earth, sending up debris into their view. The Skains turned and retreated as they came closer, shooting cover fire.

"There's a ridge 27 degrees south." Rush ran beside the General, ducking occasionally.

"Good. We can use it as cover." She called over the noise.

Rush turned back to his division. "We got to clear that ridge! The other divisions are counting on us!" Trickshot, Six, and Blaze stuck close to him, Odyssey and Hayclon coming up behind.

Cannons and snipers fired at them from the ridge, falling more of their men. They shot back, doing their best to take out the snipers.

"Don't stray too far! The enemy could have rigged the whole pace with traps!" Risa called back at them.

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