Chapter 8
They had just gotten Sgt. Cook into the van when everyone else started to arrive. Sgt. Gallagher turned to see Sgt. Davis, Cpl. Harris and members of second squad lifting Cpl. Walker's body into the rear of the van. Sgt. Gallagher and Doc grabbed the body and dragged it up next to Sgt. Cook.
There was a large explosion that reverberated from inside the warehouse. “Surprise received,” Cpl. Diaz said with a chuckle.
Sgt. Davis and Cpl. Harris got into the front of the van. Everyone else joined Sgt. Gallagher and Doc in the rear, slamming the door behind them.
“Let's go!!” Sgt. Gallagher yelled as Sgt. Davis put the van into gear.
The van screeched its tires as it sped into the street behind the warehouse.
“You say we're short on fuel? Can we make the primary extraction point?” Sgt. Gallagher asked Sgt. Davis as he expertly navigated the van down the narrow back street.
With his eyes locked on the street Sgt. Davis responded, “Negative, there's no way we can make it that far.”
“Alright, divert to the secondary extraction point,” Sgt. Gallagher ordered.
“Okay, will do,” Sgt. Davis replied.
Although the secondary extraction point was closer, it was inside the warehouse district. This made it a more exposed, higher risk location. In their current situation their options were limited. Sgt. Davis made a couple of quick turns to get them headed in the right direction. He was guiding the van at a moderate rate of speed. They were following a narrow street that ran behind the warehouses. They could see alleyways dividing the warehouses on their left. A large culvert ran parallel to the street on the right.
“ETA to the secondary extraction point?” Sgt. Gallagher asked.
“Approximately ten minutes at our current rate of speed,” Sgt. Davis replied.
“Good, let me contact our ride,” Sgt. Gallagher said.
Sgt. Gallagher activated his long range communication system. “Blue Spartan Alpha! This is Widowmaker! Do you copy? Over!”
“This is Blue Spartan Alpha. I copy, Widowmaker, go ahead, over.”
“Be advised we are diverting to the secondary extraction point! ETA ten minutes! Over!”
“Roger that,Widowmaker. I copy. We’re diverting to secondary extraction point, ETA ten minutes. We'll be there, Blue Spartan Alpha out.”
The secondary extraction point was atop a five story building on the outskirts of the warehouse district. It was exposed and not the ideal location, but it would have to do.
Sgt. Gallagher looked down to see Doc closing the last wound in Sgt. Cook's back.
“Prognosis, Doc?”
“The nanobots are finishing their work. His scapula is almost healed. I will revive Sgt. Cook momentarily,” Doc said.
“Good, well done, Doc.”
Doc gently turned Sgt. Cook over onto his back as he regained consciousness.
“Welcome back, Tom,” Sgt. Gallagher said as Sgt. Cook blinked his eyes and tried to focus.
“Good to be back. Did Doc get me fixed up?”
“Yep, good as new,” Sgt. Gallagher said.
“Not good as new,” Doc said. “You are healed, but there will be some soreness.”
“Thanks, Doc,” Sgt. Cook said.
“You are welcome,” Doc replied.
“We've got company!!” Cpl. Diaz exclaimed from the rear of the van.
Sgt. Gallagher moved to rear of the van and looked out the rear window. He could see a large enemy troop carrier vehicle rapidly approaching them from behind. He turned back to the front and asked, “Sgt. Davis, how close are we to our destination?”
“We have to use that bridge up ahead to cross over the culvert, then we're almost there,” Sgt. Davis responded as he concentrated on the road ahead.
Sgt. Gallagher could just make out the bridge in the distance. “We've got to slow that enemy transport down!!” He exclaimed in frustration.
He quickly moved to the very rear of the van and smashed out the window with the butt of his rifle. He took aim at the approaching vehicle with his grenade launcher and with a loud WHUMP!!! fired a grenade. The grenade exploded just in front of the enemy vehicle, causing it to swerve slightly, but not slowing it down. He gritted his teeth in frustration at the missed shot. He racked the action of his weapon to load another grenade and fired again. This shot scored a direct hit to the cab of the vehicle. It burst into flames and careened off the street into the rear of a nearby warehouse. Enemy troops jumped out of the flaming vehicle to return fire. It was a futile gesture, however. The van was quickly out of range. A roar of approval and congratulations came from everyone.
“Good shot, Sgt. Gallagher!!!” Cpl. Diaz exclaimed as he smacked him on the back.
“Thanks, I..”
“Look Out!!!!” Someone yelled from the front of the van.
Sgt. Gallagher turned just in time to see another enemy vehicle smash into the front of the van. The violent impact knocked the van from the narrow street. It rolled over and over again coming to rest under the bridge at the bottom of the culvert. The van’s occupants lay on the ground dazed and scattered near the overturned van. Enemy troops were firing down at them from the street. Rounds impacted the ground all around them.
“Engage active cloak now!! Return fire!!” Sgt. Gallagher yelled.
Everyone disappeared from view as they began to return fire. Sgt. Gallagher moved to the cover of a bridge support pillar. As he returned fire to the top of the culvert, he noticed an enemy soldier aiming a missile launcher down at their position.
“Take out that launcher!!!” Sgt. Gallagher screamed.
The enemy soldier fell, but it was too late. The missile was on the way. It impacted the rear of the van blowing it in half and scattering debris all around.
“Sound off!!” Sgt. Gallagher ordered. “Is everyone okay?”
One by one everyone began to reply.
“Where's Doc and Sgt. Davis?” Sgt. Gallagher asked.
There was silence. Then Cpl. Diaz finally replied, “They must be in the van.”
Sgt. Gallagher moved from behind the pillar toward the remains of the burning van. He noticed blood and body parts scattered around it on the ground. Then he identified the torso of Cpl. Walker’s body and knew where the gore had come from. He took a couple more steps, and Doc and Sgt. Davis appeared, lying on the ground in front of him. Their cloak drives had shut down to recharge allowing them to be seen again. They both appeared to be unconscious.
“Doc!! Sgt. Davis!! Are you okay?” There was no reply. Sgt. Gallagher knelt down and was about to place a hand on Doc's shoulder when he sat bolt upright.
“Reboot successful,” Doc said. “All systems operational.”
“Doc!! Report!!” Sgt. Gallagher ordered.
“Sgt. Davis was trapped behind the steering wheel. I was attempting to free him as the van exploded. We were blown clear. The concussion of the blast jarred my CPU and rendered Sgt. Davis unconscious. It also appears Sgt. Davis has a broken leg. I will activate his armor's leg splint function and inject him with pain killers.”
“Good, you do that. I've got to get us out of here,” Sgt. Gallagher said.
“Blue Spartan Alpha! This is Widowmaker! Do you copy? Over!”
“Widowmaker, this is Blue Spartan Alpha, go ahead, over.”
“I am activating my tracking beacon! We are pinned down under a bridge just west of the extraction point! We need close air support and immediate extraction! Over!!”
“Copy that, Widowmaker!! We are inbound; ETA two minutes!!”
“Blue Spartan Alpha is inbound to our position!” Sgt. Gallagher said to everyone. “Standby to move to the top of the bridge for pick up!”
Everyone was returning fire to the enemy troops at the top of the culvert. Doc had helped Sgt. Davis to his feet and was supporting him. Sgt. Gallagher was peering around the bridge support pillar and intermittently returning fire. Suddenly the enemy vehicle at the rim of the culvert explode
d.
“That's our cue!! Get to the top of the bridge now!!” Sgt. Gallagher yelled.
Everyone moved up the slope of the culvert back towards the street. The street was littered with enemy dead and the burning remnants of the vehicle. There weren't many enemy soldiers left alive. The ones that were, were quickly dealt with.
Doc and Sgt. Davis came up beside Sgt. Gallagher. “Let's go Doc. I'll help you get him onto the bridge.” Sgt. Davis had slung his weapon over his back and put his arms around Doc's and Sgt. Gallagher's shoulders for support.
As the drop ship sat down on the bridge, Sgt. Gallagher heard in his ear, “Widowmaker!! Get your boys on board!! We've got multiple enemy vehicles inbound!!”
He released Sgt. Davis and turned to urge everyone else on.
“Get on board!! Hurry it up!! We've got hostiles inbound!!”
Everyone ran past him and hurriedly boarded the drop ship. The door gunners opened fire on the enemy vehicles. Sgt. Gallagher turned to run the last couple of meters. As he climbed on board, Doc was helping Sgt. Davis up into the ship. Enemy bullets hit Sgt. Gallagher's armor as he jumped in behind them. The doors closed and the drop ship lifted off.
Afterward
“I've read your report,” Lieutenant Collins said as he looked across his desk at Sgt. Gallagher. “From what I can tell, the medical android performed extraordinarily well. Is that an accurate assessment?”
“Yes it is, sir. I was pleasantly surprised by Doc's performance,” Sgt. Gallagher said.
“Good, I think Colonel Flint will be glad to hear it. I would think with your success in this pilot program, we'll be seeing more medical androids in the fleet very soon.”
Sgt. Gallagher made no reply, but smiled and nodded his head in agreement.
The End
His First Mission
Copyright 2012 by Jason R. Martin
Author's note:
This ebook has been a work of fiction and is an original creation by the author. The author reserves all rights to this publication.
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