Penguins of Anarchy

Eighteen

Sam kept his footsteps as quiet as possible as he scanned the surrounding forest with his infra-red goggles.  Riker and Marcosis followed close behind, sporting their own goggles.  The three of them had already killed four hidden soldiers with their assault rifles, spotting them with the familiar red heat signature that appeared through the goggles whenever warm bodies were near.

"Gotta say, this has got me on edge," Riker remarked.

"Keep your voice down," Sam hissed.  After a moment, he added, "Found one.  Marcosis, do the honors."

Marcosis saw the enemy lying in wait on the ground, highlighted in red through his goggles.  He aimed his suppressed rifle and quietly eliminated the threat.  "That's a confirmed kill," he said.

"Like a whisper in the night," Riker said.  "I call next shot."

A rustling noise startled the three soldiers.  They looked up the tree they stood by and immediately saw flashes of red through the branches.  "Mine," Riker announced, and took down the enemy in an instant.  As the body fell to the ground, the red aura around it slowly vanished.

"Silent but deadly," Sam remarked.  "Let's move on."

The sound of guns blazing and armored vehicles grinding the ground filled Dreemo's ears with noise.  The main body of the army had been trying to go around the edge of the forest, since visibility inside would be limited.  Suddenly, armored trucks had appeared through the trees and were now ambushing them.

"Patriot!  Toss me an EMP, huh?"

Dreemo tossed Fragnile one of his EMP grenades.  The colonel chucked it at one of the trucks, immobilizing it.  "Nice throw!" Felly said.

The automated turrets mounted on the trucks were cutting penguins down rapidly.  Fragnile ordered the troops to concentrate their fire on the turrets so that the Martial Alliance soldiers would either have to exit their vehicles or try to ram into every Antarctican soldier in sight.

Most of the turrets were destroyed, and the Martial Alliance troops were forced to leave their vehicles, many of them getting shot the moment they emerged from their trucks.  It seemed to Dreemo that the battle was turning in his favor.

Then he heard the sound of helicopters thumping overhead.  Lots of helicopters.

Dreemo gazed up into the sky, which was now mostly blocked by the silhouettes of hundreds of helicopters.  Gray helicopters.  Their shadows darkened the ground so much that it was hard to see.

"Bloody icicle," Fragnile growled.  "This might be it."

Seeing that the colonel was just gawking at the helis, Dreemo decided to do something rash.  "Alright guys, they've got reinforcements," he said over his radio, which was on the frequency of every rebel soldier on the island.  "Get your anti-air weapons out now--that means rocket launchers and laser rifles!  Move it!"  To his surprise, the army immediately obeyed, shooting guided missiles and powerful charged lasers at the enemy helicopters.  Many helis dropped.

Drake couldn't help but grin at his nephew's order as he circled the clump of helicopters that were raining fire on the rebels below.  Klondike and Ursynz were trying to take down as many vehicles on the perimeter as they could.  "Did your nephew just give orders to a hundred and fifty people with a lot more combat experience than him?" Klondike demanded in disbelief.

"He sure did," Drake replied proudly.

"He's got guts," Ursynz put in.  "But enough sentiment; let's get this done."  He shot down another helicopter.