Irene pulled on a helmet with the word “Rally” stenciled across the top. Various other stickers littered the top of the thing but it was mostly black and well worn. She let out loud yawn and picked up her side arm and survival kit. She staggered of the locker room and pulling the equipment into place. Her eyes narrowed and she walked towards a small table on the side of the hanger holding rations but more importantly hot coffee or something like it.
As she moved towards the table a voice bellowed out, “Vincent get the lead out.”
Her head turned and she glared at him and continued moving towards the caffeinated water. She raised her finger to him as she poured her self a of the flavored caffeine. Cho stomped over, “If it was anybody else I would have broken that finger off. However, I need you in the air.”
Bleery eyes looked back at him, “I see six other ships grounded and their crews sitting around. Why the fuck did you drag me out of bed?”
“Look, things aren't adding up. We got a loose droid, a merc team wandering around and now a distress beacon going off.” He pulled her head away from the coffee spilling some of it on her, “I don't want anybody getting shot if they don't have to.”
She looked at the spill on her flight suit then at the half empty coffee, “Getting paranoid old man?”
He let go of her and frowned, “Look, something is up. I'll make sure you get hazard pay for the day. Do fly over then you can go back to bed.”
She perked up slightly at the thought of a the bonus and shrugged. She places the empty cup of coffee on the table. She turned around and poked him in the chest, “You still haven't come through on that paper work.”
A small nod came from him, “You'll have it by the end of the week.”
Sharply turning she marched off towards her bird. The military air field was small for this sector most of the heavier gun ships were stored at the central hub away from the space port air space. She pulled the intake covers off and threw them to the ground. Grumpily she walked over to the weapons pod and looked at the safeties with a grin she saw the pin already littering the ground. She crawled up into the two seat cockpit and laughed. May was already sitting there in her pajamas helmet strapped on. Her head slumped against the glass indicating she was clearly asleep.
“At least one of us is getting some shut eye.” She pulled the canopy closed and started the flight sequence, “Tower this is cobra five, I'm taking off.”
A panicked voice came back, “Damn it Rally, we have a heavy inbound.”
“Yea, yea, not going that way.” She pulled up sharply on the stick, “See you in forty five control.”
The cobra lifted off and made a beeline for farm country. She pulled up the I.D. for the rookies she was supposed to be looking for setting the coordinates into the navigation screen. She looked down at the clock as they approached the farm. Five minute response time to a distress beacon. She grumbled to her self and thought, “Either this is a heist or the chief isn't going to be the chief very long.”
She keyed her radio, “Cheif you there?”
The chief didn't answer. Hawkeye's voice came over the signal, “How is the goose chase going?”
As they came in range she shouted, “May wake up, get the thermal cams online. I see the truck but I don't see them.”
An irritated grumble came from the front seat. Rally banked the chopper sharply jarring May awake as her head hit the other side of the canopy. The smaller girl let out a complaint, “Owie! What was that for.”
“Find the newbies so we can go back to sleep.” Rally circled around looking at the field and the abandoned truck. The cobra darted across the front lawn then quickly to the back fields.
Rally keyed her radio signaling Hawkeye, “We're making our first pass now. I see the truck but I don't see them.”
May complained over the head set, “Stupid junk isn't working. I'm not seeing anybody in the house or the barn.”
Another sharp bank and they edged around the property. Rally checked the parallel feed on her screen, “May, look at the truck. Its only been five it should still be warm.”
The camera panned around and revealed a dull orange glow indicating a cooling engine.
Hawkeye rolled her eyes, “Double check the house then head back. They probably took a speeder and are off smoking some where.”
May swiveled the camera around again, “I still see nothing.”
Rally added more power to engines causing them to rise, “Well, the drive is blocked doubt they could get a speeder around that ditch on either side.. We're still on top of the beacon. Try the radar.”
The cobra made a low pass of the ranch. Rally made a point of watching the ground rather than her instruments this time. May let out a gasp, “Rally, check the scopes.”
Rallly shuffled the menus on her heads up display to the active radar, “Ah shit, that isn't good.”
Hawkeye shouted over the channel, “What isn't good.”
“Telegraph. We got a lot of telegraph wires here.” Rally numbly recited the code word as she adjusted the pitch of the rotors causing the helicopter to rise.
A computerized voice announced, “Collision danger. Collision danger.”
Hawkeye quickly responded, “Can you confirm?”
May cried out as a black blur flew through the air at the rising cobra attack ship. She swiveled the rotary gun to the target and let loose several hundred incendiary rounds.
The helicopter banked sharply. May's shots were just too slow. Xenomorph blood splattered across the canopy but more importantly the delicately balanced rotary wings. The gunship bucked and shook violently as Rally shouted out, “Contact confirmed, we've been engaged.”
Rally eased the damaged craft back but struggled to gain lift. Several alarms sounded in the cockpit. Hawkeye shouted though the mic, “Damn it get out of there.”
Two more xenomorphs lept from the roof of the barn at the damaged helicopter. May cut them down with ease before they were a danger to the gunship. Rally angled the helicopter towards the road, “May when we land make a break for the truck.”
“Rodger.” May squeaked out. She targeted the barn and the house with a spread of missiles. The civilian buildings went up in large fiery blasts. Another salvo from the main gun blasted a fleeing monstrosity.
The damaged gunship hit the ground hard. For a moment the helicopter rested on firm ground. Rally felt a shift as the rotors slowed. The entire weight of the damaged craft rested on three points pushing into the ground. The soft soil opened up to a xenomoprh tunnel. The rotors disintegrated into a spray of shrapnel as they fell in. Rally's head slammed into the console while May's hit the plexiglass.
Read the comments on this episode
See other episodes by Amaretto
(Posted Fri, 26 Feb 2010 23:57)
Questions? Problems? Suggestions?
Send a mail to addventure@bast-enterprises.de
or use the contact form.
らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
All other series and their characters are © by their respective creators or owners. No claims of ownership of these characters are implied by the authors of this Addventure, or should be inferred.
The Anime Addventure is a non-profit site.