Intelligence

Dawn of War

Operator Velox

The dropship is silent as we approach the landing zone. We all have the same thought in our heads: This is it. This is the real deal. I look around at the other soldiers and another thought enters my head.
Some of these guys aren't coming back.
A beeping breaks the silence. The pilot whips around.
"Incoming! Brace yourselves!" I can't get to a seat before the arc cannon hits us. It fries the engines with a constant stream of electricity, and we begin falling fast. I begin to float up from the floor and close my eyes, waiting for it to be over. Ayala had such high hopes for me, and I'm going to die before I even see combat. Great.
We slam into the ground, and I lose consciousness.

Im not dead.
That much I know. I open my eyes and see twisted metal and fire. I can't feel anything.
That's because of the stims, love!
Oh. Hey, Boost. I guess that would explain it, wouldn't it?
I reach out, and grab for any handholds I can find, trying to drag myself out. As soon as I get close enough, a hand reaches out and takes mine. I look up. It's the new Captain, our brave leader, the man in charge of the invasion. Suddenly the left side of his head blossoms outward, spraying crimson everywhere, and he falls over next to me, a gaping hole through his skull.
Someone yells, "Sniper!"
A new hand grabs mine and drags me out of the wreckage and into the open. I see a bright blue pane, and soldiers, and more fire. My vision clears, and I can make out Riot, protecting us with his shield. The hand that grabbed me belongs to Evo, who sets me in front of a nearby tree.
"Vel! Vel! Talk to me, Velox, talk to me!"
"I'm fine, I'm fine. Get out of my face," I finally get out, shooing him away.
"She's good, she's good!" He shouts as he jumps to his feet. He runs over and begins talking to Riot, and I ease myself up to my feet. I pick up the Captain's sidearm, and join my fireteam.

Evo turns to me,
"Oh, good, you're up and moving."
"They're not gonna get me down that easy," I say with a confident smile.
"Atta girl," he says happily, then holds up my helmet. "Hey, put this on. Don't want to give that sniper any easy targets."
I secure it over my head, and my HUD begins to to synchronize. Evo addresses the fireteams gathered behind Riot's shield.
"Alright, Operators, we're all that's left of the advance invasion force."
Even though everyone is wearing helmets, you can tell which soldiers are nervous by stance. Riot and Evo, the courageous leaders, stand tall, with their shoulders back, chest forward, and feet planted. Shockwave, however, is collapsing into herself: slouched shoulders and folded hands suggest a lack of confidence. Reach approaches her from behind, and rests an arm around her slim shoulders.
Amazing.
Her body language undergoes a complete reversal. She places one arm around his waist and drops her other hand to rest at her side. She straightens up, and confidently plants her feet as she leans into her boyfriend. I save the video feed. The people in charge of Fireteam placement  have to see this.

Evo continues his rallying speech.
"Let's send these bastards a message they won't soon forget. Let's teach them never to fuck with Force Recon!"
Shouts erupt from the crowd, and Reach and Shockwave each raise a fist and yell in unison.
Evo turns to Riot.
"How much longer will the shield hold?"
"Battery's low. I'd give it ten minutes, fifteen if you guys can cut down the volume of fire."
"I can arrange that. What's the biggest threat?"
"Machine guns. Knock 'em both out, and I can handle the rest for a good half-hour."
"Done."
He turns to me.
"What's your status?"
"Good to go. Give me something to fight."
"What about you, Boost? How are you operating?"
"Diagnostic scans show full function!"
"Excellent. You two are taking the left machine gun. Leave the right to me."
"Got a plan?"
"Yeah. I'll distract, you hit the left before he realizes what happened."
"Sounds good."
You ready, Boost?
Always, love!
Good. It's time to kick some ass.