In Silent Dreams

Chapter 23 - Storm Brewing

E: "How long until the storm?"

Eva: Ten minutes.

E: "All set?"

Eva: Always.

** **

Man: "Remember, firm grip, squeeze."

Elizabeth: "Yeah, I know."

Man: "Look at your stance young woman!"

The man placed his hand on her back and gestured her down into a stance.

Man: "Keep this stance. You need to balance the weight and recoil action of the gun when you fire."

E: "Aw! Really!? This is a BB!"

Man: "This isn't just a BB gun dear, this is your initiation."

** **

Eva: Targets are going to approach five minutes before the storm hits. We need a way to delay them.

E: "Get the beacon underground. Scanners will take a longer time to precisely locate it."

Eva: Noted.

The ship purred as its engines came back to life, as it boosted the ship forward into an opening in the cliff face ahead. The cave stretched far down into a dead end, which was the final resting point of the decoy beacon. 

Eva: I am taking us back out, we will hide by the Northern face under low emission.

E: "Great, if all goes according to plan, we should have this wrapped up in minutes."

Eva: One minute to approach. Six minutes to storm.

Four gunships heavily armed to the teeth with missile payloads and ballistic cannons approached, darkening the ground below in their shadows. The heavy hums and spurring of the ships were loud and intimidating, an acute representation of their crew.

The gunships spread out around the area, searching for the beacon's signal. Elizabeth used her rifle scope to survey the ships. The ships scoured the surface rigorously, scanning for any sign of the beacon.

The storm approached fast, an impending tsunami of dust clouds gushing over the terrain. The storm reduced all visibility down to a few meters, which turned the arena into a game of guess. As the storm reached its peak thickness, a bright trail lit up a part of the storm cloud, and the hunt begins.