Planet Arkadia Storyline/English/3.9 Chiharo's Gamble

3.9 Chiharo's Gamble

Date: 1 APR 3008 Time: 1402hrs Location: Airborn The ground rushed past beneath Lieutenant Tien, a blurred mass of bushes and trees, so close she felt like she could reach out and touch them. She began to make out faint signs of the enemy ahead just as the pilot nudged the drop ship up to attack speed. Her squad stood by the drop ship’s open hatches, ready to open fire. ‘We’re coming up on the Oratan, prepare to engage,’ Lieutenant Tien ordered her squad as they approached the enemy force. In a matter of seconds they were above the Oratan and Tien smiled grimly as she saw them panicking when they finally caught sight of the drop ship. With the slightest pressure she squeezed her trigger and opened fire, strafing across the milling hordes. A sound like thunder filled the cabin as the ship’s cannon showered hundreds of rounds of death upon the creatures. Moments later the drop ship was beyond the Oratan and banking around for another run. ‘Look at them fall,’ cried one of her troops exuberantly. ‘It’s like shooting fish in a barrel!’ ‘Settle down back there,’ Tien said, unable to keep the grin off her own face. Once again they swept over the Oratan and scores more fell before the onslaught. The swarm was not as large as when the creatures had first attacked weeks ago, but they were packed so tightly together that Tien’s squad didn’t even need to aim. She thought that if the colony had more fuel, they could wipe the Oratan out without any problems; the creatures had no answer to the aerial attacks. A few more passes and surely the enemy would break. Abruptly, the drop ship turned to the east and began climbing away from the Oratan. ‘What the—’ Tien cursed. She changed the frequency on her transmitter to talk to the pilot. ‘What’s going on up there? Why are we breaking off?’ ‘New orders, Lieutenant, direct from Captain Chiharo. We’re to fly to Dauntless Firebase with all possible speed and render assistance.’ ‘But we’ve got the enemy panicked here! If we—’ ‘We have our orders Lieutenant. The garrison at Dauntless is under attack and they don’t think they can repel the assault even though they have been reinforced.’ ‘Roger that,’ Tien said, ashamed of herself for questioning the orders. She knew as well as anyone that Captain Chiharo wouldn’t issue such an order unless the danger to Dauntless was genuine. Yet something still bothered her about the situation. Many had considered it a huge gamble by the Captain to strip the Firebases and hold so many companies in reserve. So far, the colony had relied on air power and the superior manoeuvrability that the teleporters gave them to defend the Firebases. The Fleet was also providing valuable support from orbit by using their sensors to keep track of the Oratan movements and firing limited orbital strikes at critical times. The plan was simple; a small garrison remained at each Firebase and if attacked could receive immediate reinforcement from up to four companies on standby at Celeste Harbour. It meant that nearly half the IFN’s remaining strength could be in reserve at any one time. Risky as it was, the tactic had worked well so far. As they flew on, Tien had time to think about the situation. If Dauntless had already been reinforced and still couldn’t hold… Tien’s stomach tightened as she considered the implications. Her transmitter came to life and she heard the pilot’s voice again. ‘Lieutenant, we’ve been ordered by Dauntless’ Base Commander to use the ship’s cannons to target the larger Oratan, while you and your troops are to concentrate your fire on the smaller creatures.’ Smaller creatures? Tien wondered. What does that mean? ‘Confirm orders to target smaller creatures?’ ‘Confirmed. Those were the Base Commander’s exact words, Lieutenant. Hold on tight back there, we’re going in hot.’ It wasn’t long before Dauntless came into view. Even from a distance it was easy to see that the Oratan force was relatively small compared to other attacks and should have barely troubled a properly defended Firebase. The pilot brought the drop ship in low and fast, trying to maintain some element of surprise. Tien and her squad opened fire and the creatures started to fall. However, some seemed to barely notice the shots raining down upon them. She looked closer and realised with a sinking feeling that some of the creatures were more heavily armoured than their brethren. The pilot brought them around for a second pass. Once again, they came within range and her squad began shooting, but this time the Oratan answered in kind and shots began to rattle against the heavily armoured drop ship. Startled, Tien stepped back from the hatch just before a shot smashed into the space where her head had been. These were not ordinary Oratan; they were bigger and equipped with weapons that seemed to Tien as though they could damage even the thick hull of the drop ship. Tien continued to shoot out of the hatch, though the pilot was flying more cautiously, jinking the ship around to randomly change their speed and heading. Despite her squad’s advantage of being able to attack from the skies, the creatures refused to give in and the larger enemies were proving much harder to take down than those they had fought up until now. If they didn’t kill the Oratan soon they were going to have to disengage and refuel. As the drop ship pulled out of its attack run it was rocked by a heavy blow and shrapnel exploded through the open hatches, slicing through the interior of the cabin. There was a pause before screams pierced through the sound of the rushing air. ‘Medic!’ Tien yelled as several of her squad were cut down before her eyes. ‘We’ve got troops down!’ ‘Lieutenant, we need to reach medical facilities fast; we don’t have enough FAPs to treat them all,’ the medic said, after briefly surveying the injured. Tien didn’t hesitate, unclipping her safety tether and racing forwards to the cockpit. ‘I heard,’ the pilot said before Tien could even open her mouth. ‘Get those hatches closed, we’re going into orbit. We’ve been cleared to rendezvous with Cutlass for emergency medivac.’ Tien passed the order on to her squad to close the outer hatches and strap themselves down. She threw herself into the vacant co-pilot’s seat as the pilot swung the drop ship’s nose into a sharp upwards pitch and began to climb. It only took a few minutes to clear Arkadia’s atmosphere and commence their docking procedures with Cutlass, but to Tien it felt like hours. They were on final approach when alarms suddenly blasted through the cockpit, causing the pilot to swear and change course. ‘What in hell’s that?’ Cried Tien as the drop ship’s display in front of her lit up with hundreds of red dots centred around the system’s outer planets. The pilot looked across at Tien, then back at the display. As they watched, the red dots turned to green one by one as the transponder codes of the new arrivals registered with the drop ship’s computer. ‘Fleet Arkadia,’ the pilot whispered. ‘They’ve arrived in the outer system.’