Page 2 of Searching the Skies
Leading by example, she didn’t wait for the bloodthirsty Opharians to notice her first. Slipping across the dusty field, she snuck up behind a rebel preparing to swing his heavy mace at a fallen soldier and slit his throat. The next one who rushed at her received a blade in his abdomen for his troubles, and as she thrust it in and twisted, she ducked another attack. Staying low to the ground, she withdrew her knife, letting his body fall in front of her before sweeping her leg around to trip up the next enemy in line.
As he went down, she sensed movement to her right. Remaining in a crouched position, she stepped to the side and watched the sharpened blade of Ash’s weapon come down on his neck. It sliced off the head in one clean blow, and Geneva delivered a quick nod of approval before spinning around to dodge and deliver further strikes.
While stabbing, kicking, and elbowing her way through the crowd, she tried to do a quick tally of the members of her team. There were too many people outside the base for her to get an accurate count. An explosion roared behind her, and she ducked down again but was back on her way in a matter of seconds when she noted the lack of fire or falling debris. “Grenade down the main hallway,” a voice called out to her. “Team Four’s going to follow once the smoke clears.”
Geneva glanced over to see another one of her fellow commanders standing in the middle of a circle of bleeding corpses. “Someone else should go in there and back them up,” she yelled as she made her way toward him.
“I’ll grab some of my team and head down after them. The switch is most likely underground.” His brows knit together in determination. “Stay near the entrance. Kill any one of them who tries to go in or out.”
“Will do,” came Ash’s voice from behind her.
They slashed and slaughtered their way to the door and took their posts. Upon realizing the Terran military had made their way inside the base, some of the Opharian rebels tried to reenter to remove the intruders, but they were met with razor-sharp blades and an angry word or several. “Are we even making a dent in their numbers?” Ash grumbled as he withdrew his knife from the chest of an enemy.
One of Geneva’s daggers was buried in the eye of a screaming Opharian as the other one struck a second foe in the neck. “I hope so,” she answered, pulling her weapons back. It seemed for every rebel they killed, two more materialized in their place, and she wondered if they had overestimated their chances for victory. She believed they would win, but it wasn’t the straightforward mission she’d expected or hoped for.
A low-pitched buzz echoed across the field and everyone, human and Opharian alike, froze in place as the sky filled with a bright yellow light. Geneva shielded her eyes for a brief moment before springing back into action and taking advantage of the stunned enemies. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a pleased grin had crept across Ash’s face.
“So much for their force field. Now it’s time for our fireworks show!” He raised his blade again and joined her in eviscerating another Opharian.
The members of Team Four sprinted out of the illuminated building. “Our regular comm devices work again,” one said, breathing heavily. “Get out of here, the air team’s coming in.”
Geneva pushed a button on the small square on her left wrist and repeated the orders as she broke into a run. She didn’t get very far before the low hum of one of the giant airships approaching the base droned above her. Ash followed a few paces behind her, and they continued in the direction of the forest they’d navigated hours ago. The missile left the ship, but she didn’t have time to do anything but stay on her intended course as it hit the rebel base.
The ground rumbled beneath her feet and something hit her from behind, knocking her down and pinning her to the dirt. It took her a second or two to realize it was Ash on top of her, and no one was trying to bludgeon her to death. “Stay down!” he advised near her ear, the words muffled by her helmet.
They lay prostrate on the ground, his body partially covering hers, and protected their faces as bits of rock, wood, and other assorted detritus rained down from above, bouncing off their armor. When the onslaught of falling remains slowed, Geneva wrestled her left arm free and spoke into her communicator again. “Get away from the base and to a secure location. If one of them is following you, by all means, kill them, but get out of there! Once you’re safe, set your coordinates for teleportation,” she instructed, still lying on her stomach.
Ash rolled off her as a grotesque figure leapt at them, his skin blackened and his clothing singed. Before he could retrieve his weapon, she leapt to her feet and plunged one of her daggers into the burning Opharian’s heart. “Come on,” she said. “Those trees don’t look too bad now.”
They reached the forest and watched as spherical pods descended from the airship, each piloted by an excellent marksman and equipped with a variety of firearms, from machine guns to sniper rifles. The remaining Opharians surrounding the base were easily gunned down as the Terran soldiers made their way to safety. Geneva waited until the battlefield showed no signs of life before raising her communicator to her face, checking to see it was set to reach all members of her team.
“This is Commander Greyson; please report in.” She mentally ticked off each name and number on her roster as they responded, thrilled to learn they had all come out of the battle unscathed. They were good soldiers, and she’d have nothing but positive things to say to and about them at the countless debriefings she expected would be conducted following their return from the mission.
Ash had taken several steps into the woods and spoke into his own wristband. Once he finished, he turned to face her. “What’s the report?” she asked.
“One bad shoulder wound and one possible concussion, nothing that can’t be fixed. But everyone’s alive,” he said, breathing a sigh of relief.
Some of the tension eased out of her shoulders. “We’ll give them a few more minutes to sweep the field and then set our coordinates?”
His cheery smile made its appearance again. “Sounds like a good plan to me.”
One by one, their subordinates vanished into thin air as they teleported back to the main ship. Ash leaned against a nearby boulder and flipped up the visor of his helmet. “So,” he said, one side of his mouth curling up into a half smile, “come here often?”
“No. I hate this planet and everything on it.” Geneva shrugged. “At least the destruction of the base and resulting explosion was somewhat satisfying.”
He chuckled. “Tell me how you really feel.”
“In my earlier days, I would have been tempted to suggest blowing up the whole place.” She kicked at the dirt with the toe of her boot. “I, uh, may have had some issues with my temper as a kid, but the Academy trained them right out of me in no time at all.”
“I never would have guessed.” The sly smile played upon his lips. “Maybe I should try to stay out of your way.”
“As I said, I’ve got a better handle on it now. Or so I hope.” She raised her visor to better meet his gaze. “Besides, everyone says you’re one of the nicest guys on the ship.”
“Do they, now? I should start doling out more punishments before I get a bad reputation.”
“Your team appears to respect you, so you must be doing something right.” Averting her eyes, she resumed scuffing her boot along the clumps of soil. “Plus, I should thank you for shielding me from the blast.”
“Eh, you would have survived regardless.” He waved her off with one hand. “But not a single one of us would hesitate to help a fellow soldier whenever the need arises. You would have done the same…assuming you could get me to the ground.”