Renegades Book 1: Mavericks

Chapter Ten: Discovery

It has been two days and the day has come.  Novi Órdinis was going to fall and peace will be restored to the country of Vita.

    “You ready, Omega Squad?” General Wong asked as he got into his unit.  His unit was a heavyweight unit equipped with tank-based legs, giant grenade launchers for the arms, and an energy shield generator built into the front of the torso.  His unit was dubbed Siege because of its siege warfare style of construction.

    “We're ready, sir.” Rīdā said as they finished the modifications he requested.  He requested his unit be fitted with an energy shield generator in the arm so he could block attacks from enemy units in the base.

    “Let's roll out.” General Wong said as he moved toward the waiting jet.  Of all the troops that were being deployed, it took a squadron of ten jets to transport the army to the Rockies.

    “How long is it gonna take to get there, you think?” Akira asked.

    “Well, it is practically all the way across the wasteland, so I would have to say it will at least take us fifteen minutes to get there.  We're flying with the rotation of the Earth, after all.” Katashi said.
    “Sounds like I'm going to be sitting here for quite a while.  Think I'll go ahead and run the Virtual Simulator.  I'll train on the way there.” Akira said.

    “Want to link up?” Ryou asked.

    “Don't forget about me.  I want to see how well of pilots you are when not in a mission.” Rīdā chimed in.

    “Mind if I join?” Katashi asked.

    “Sure.  Go ahead.” Akira answered.

    Booting up their sims, they were able to continue training.

    “Simulation activated.  Establishing link with nearby units.” the computer said.

    “Linking.” Ryou said.

    “Linking.” Rīdā said.

    “Linking.” Katashi said.

    “Building arena.  Please wait.” the computer said.  “Arena built.  Commence simulation.”

    “LET'S GO!”  Akira shouted.  Each one of them boosted towards each other inside the virtual arena.  The battle was long and fierce.  Sparks were flying.  Parts were coming apart.  It was brutal.

    “Now I see why you three were chosen.” Rīdā said, huffing.  “You three are very capable pilots.  I see now that we have a strong future ahead of us.”

    “Well, they don't call me Renegade Akira for nothing back home.” Akira said.  “I was battling people left and right on the simulator back home at the local arcade and I always won because of my reckless ways.” Akira gloated.

    “What about you, Ryou?” Rīdā asked.

    “It was because I am a good shot.  Even though I joke around a lot, I do enjoy keeping things light during battle.” Ryou answered.

    “And you?” Rīdā asked.  The question was directed at Katashi.

    “I was chosen for my exceptional skills in close quarter combat.  I always won.” Katashi answered.

    “Well, we're here.” General Wong said.  To the disbelief of Omega Squad, fifteen minutes had passed while they were fighting each other.  They readied themselves for dropoff.

    “Get ready, guys.  This is gonna be the fight of our lives.” Rīdā said.

    “Deploying.” General Wong said as he jumped out of the jet.  Following him was what seemed like a shower of MWAs and Emulators.  It was a fantastic site.  Countless numbers of units were deploying.  It was a site to see.

    “Contact.” General Wong said as he landed at the base of one of the mountains.  “Company, you are to split up into teams and search the mountain range for an entrance.  Get to it.”

    “Come on, squad.  Let's take a look down south.” Rīdā said.

    “Roger.” they said.  They had entered the region near the middle of the range.  The range wasn't was long as it used to be.  During the first Great War, nuclear bombs leveled nearly half of the United States portion of the mountain range.  Now the range spans mostly the desert states of Colorado and the southern part of Idaho.

    “Let's boost our way there.  We can cover more ground in less time.” Katashi said.

    “Good idea.” Rīdā acknowledged.  He saw the reasoning behind boosting down the range.  It took them nearly an hour to get to the most southern point of the mountain range.

    Upon their arrival at the southern tip, they split up and they each took a side.  Two takes one side of the range while the other takes the opposite side.  It takes them thirty minutes until they find the location of the entrance.  Upon the discovery, they message the others up north.

   

    “Come in, battalion.  Do you read?” Rīdā asks.

    “We here 'ya.  Go ahead.” General Wong responded.

    “We have found the entrance.  Lock on to our location.” Rīdā said.

    “On it.” Wong acknowledged.