A Dash of Scarlet In Paradise

PROLOGUE

             The red flashing light caught Sergeant Marcus Ranger's attention. The man who was strapped securely in a metal seat and had a bulletproof vest on raised his arm to press on a square button, placed next to the 'warning' light.

            "We're ready for deployment, pilot. Get us as low as you can."

         There was a crackling sound, followed by a beep.

         "Acknowledged sir, we're going lower."

         Marcus eyed the trooper seated beside him, unlike himself; the other trooper was shaking, hands tightly squeezing the seat belt.

         "Hey rookie, you alright?"

         The younger and skinnier soldier could only nod. Marcus then tilted his head the opposite way to look outside; he admired the beauty of Nirvana, lush forests and still lakes that reflected sunlight from Star 84. Sadly, the scenery zoomed by very quickly; Marcus could only catch a short glimpse of it.

         A sleek-looking helicopter soon blocked his vision. It was gunmetal grey and had bright neon yellow markings on the edges. It wasn't too long before an armada of helicopters surrounded the one Marcus was on.

         "400 meters to drop zone."

         The new recruit was panting even before danger had struck him. Marcus tried to remember what he felt like during his first days as a soldier, he closed his eyes and brought himself back to his memories of his time on Earth.

         It all began in the early 25thCentury, when space exploration went further into other galaxies. In the year 2423, planet Nirvana was discovered. It was a great milestone for the human race, as Nirvana was the only other planet in the known universe with suitable living conditions, besides Earth.

         The air was extremely pure and unpolluted, newly discovered wildlife roamed the lands, there were even several types of new minerals underground. Everything belonged to mother nature on Nirvana.

         Unfortunately, investors and governments saw this as a great opportunity for themselves and instantly got blinded by their desire for wealth.  Those who first decided to take the resources on Nirvana formed the Planetary Authorisation Unit and constructed many laboratories and military outposts on the planet surface.

         Those who were strongly against the PAU formed an alliance known as the United Defence Corporate Faction. Their intentions were to share Nirvana with the rest of the world, instead of using it to their personal benefits.

         It was agreed that both sides had their negotiators and diplomats reason with each other and share the planet's resources. The PAU informed the UDCF that the conference would be held at a PAU center. Though the UDCF acknowledged that this was a potential risk to every personnel involved, it was a risk that had to be taken, for the sake of avoiding bloodshed.

         But when all have failed, when diplomacy only made matters worse, there was only one option left, and everybody had to embrace it. War was inevitable.

         Marcus Ranger was a part of the US army. Shortly after his promotion to sergeant, the war began. A more bulky and armored man sat opposite to him. Commander Bridge had more hands-on experience than all of the men in the chopper.

         "Feeling alright everybody? Ranger? Spears?"

         "Yeah...so far so good sir..."

         "I'm good, all's well"

         Every UDCF helicopter could hold a maximum of four ground force troopers in the main section, Bridge and his team was split up into a number of them.

         "After the chopper drops us off, follow my lead. Understand that none of us have faced any situation quite like this before. It may seem like a regular jungle, but we are still uncertain of what other secrets Nirvana may hold..."

         Sweat trickled down Marcus' neck. He clutched his chest and felt his heavy heartbeat. For once, he was really afraid of battle.

         The helicopter made a slow turn around a tall tree and followed the armada deep into the jungle.

         "50 meters to drop-off zone."

         The huge leaves that covered the canopy blocked the sunlight out. It became tougher and tougher for anyone to see clearly.

         Suddenly, Marcus heard a voice from the chopper beside him.

         "Incoming!"

         It was less than a second before a missile drilled its way through the chopper next to him. All Marcus could do was to stare at the horrifying explosion. The flames engulfed the entire helicopter, along with all the people within.

         "Dammit!"

         More arrays of heat-seeking missiles whizzed between the trees and demolished UDCF choppers one by one. The surrounding environment didn't need the powerful spotlights to be lit up. The jungle began to burn down. It was a complete disaster.

         A single missile directed itself towards a tree not far in front of the helicopter. By the moment the pilot could take a glimpse of the incoming rocket, it had already impacted with the tree.

         A loud boom came after the explosion, the tree just snapped halfway as if a splinted blade went smoothly across. There was no time for any reaction. The pilot could only cover his head and go over his last thoughts.

         "Brace yourselves!"

         Commander Bridge ducked as the timbering tree smashed the cockpit into shards of debris. All the glass in front shattered. The rotor blades on the top had also became bent and broken. Assuming the pilot was dead, Private Spears took off his seatbelt hastily and tried to make it off the spinning chopper.

         "Spears! Get..."

         Before Bridge could finish his sentence, a half-destroyed helicopter collided with theirs. Spears lost his balance and screamed in terror as he got flung off into an exploding troop carrier.

         Just as Marcus wanted to take off his safety belt, he realized that he didn't need to; it had already been cut apart by a sharp piece of flying metal.  He couldn't stand properly and slipped down, his helmet got knocked off at the same time. Marcus' face was full of perspiration and he glanced at the commanding officer. Bridge looked like he was unconscious, his eyelids closed and his head swaying in a random fashion.

         Marcus knew it was too late for him to attempt to save his commander. There was a better chance of getting to safety than to try and rescue the commander as well as himself.

         He recalled something he had learnt in 8th grade about centrifugal force, he needed precisely that to swing himself a safe distance away from the chopper, which was going to explode very soon.

         It was difficult for him to focus and find a spot for him to exit the burning helicopter, but it was in times of danger when soldiers react best. Their instincts as warriors gave them a clear mind and concentration.

         Marcus found his way out, it was a solitary metal pole, hooked vertically onto the side of the mid-segment, he carefully shuffled to the edge of the platform and grabbed hold of the pole, he soon found himself being swung about in mid-air.

         This is it, there's no time left. Marcus thought to himself very nervously. He held his breath for five intense seconds, to him though, it was more like a couple of dreadful minutes.

         He let go. The force tossed him into a bush a safe distance away from the twirling helicopter. His vision blurred slowly as he glimpsed at the other drop ships hover past.

         The chopper crashed hardly into the soil.