Gabriel Landowski

CHAPTER IX

Kyle was actually relieved that his rangers would not be on the raid. He had lost too many of them already, and their lack of armor and weaponry troubled him deeply.

How can you lead a bunch of men and not share in the same risks that they are willing to take?

Back in the assembly area, it felt odd to be with a team composed entirely of troopers again. The last six months had been a growing experience. How many times had he and his rangers prowled the mountains armed literally with only cloak and dagger? Now he sat in his body armor with a full combat load, preparing to board a thirty ton drop ship.

Most of the ranger cadre had been tapped for the mission, with the exception of Rogers . Doc Roberts was concerned that one of the trooper's arteries, nicked by the removed arrow, might be subject to hemorrhage with any additional insult placed upon it. He did not want to risk it bursting. The wounded Rogers instead found himself as the acting platoon leader for the rangers left to guard the village and he welcomed the challenge.

Kyle fell in with the others assigned to his chalk and together they conducted pre-combat inspections on each other. He thought of Teek running into the sharpened blades of the raider line and shuddered involuntarily.

That's not going to happen to me.

Once their equipment was checked the troopers lined up to board their ride. It was only a few minutes before Kyle picked out the second craft as it materialized in the early morning light.

The ship came in over the steppe which was now littered with the bodies of the dead and dying. Dogs howled in pain and whimpered until they were put out of their misery. The death and destruction was horrible for most any man to witness, but there was something about the cries of the dogs that really got to him - it did not matter that they were the size of bulls.

The Joker came in and slowly spun sideways and offered an open waist door to the waiting troopers. The pilot balanced the craft so that only one side touched the steep slope while expertly floating the other.

The crew chief waved them on, and Kyle followed the others into the troop bay. They quickly and quietly strapped themselves in, stalwartly quelling their trepidations over the task at hand. Kyle placed his carbine in the holder and squeezed into the seat. He suddenly felt caught in two time frames: the present and the past, when they had made their initial landing. It was an unnerving deja vu.

No matter when you go, there you are.

The entire assault element loaded and moved out in less than two minutes. The acting squad leaders checked their troopers before strapping themselves in. Once completed, Holly got the okay; using his microphone he communicated with the pilot. A moment later the drop ship lurched upward and the engines whined to full power as it clawed for altitude.

Holly's voice came in over their helmet headphones.

"All right! Listen up!"

All heads turned toward the front where the senior man sat.

"We've had a little taste of what these supposed bad boys can do. They showed up uninvited to our barbeque and we kicked their asses."

A couple troopers hooted and hollered. Kyle recognized that too many had just lost buddies and most only hoped to see the sun rise again. Death had a way of quelling bravado.

"Here's the deal:"

"Situation: There is a large enemy force approximately four hundred and thirty klicks east of us. They appear to be a mix of fifty thousand infantry and twenty thousand cavalry."

Kyle thought back to the violent brush with the cavalry patrol in the mountains. He briefly wondered what would have happened if Percy had lead the rangers back at the Pass.

Had he been in charge I know the mortars would have been lost along with the barricade. The whole flank of the task force would have crumbled and the rest of the positions would have been rolled up.

"Reconnaissance has identified what it believes is the headquarters element of the Horde army."

" Mission :"

Kyle and the troopers automatically echoed with a loud, unified voice.

" MISSION !"

It was a technique used to force troopers to pay attention to the most essential part of the orders process.

"The platoon shall conduct an air assault raid, no later than ten hundred hours Zulu, at grid Foxtrot Tango tree, tree, six, fower, fife, sero, in order to find the son of a bitch responsible for all of this and capture him."

Holly reiterated the Mission statement a second time.

Kyle was surprised to be part of the main effort to capture the commander of the enemy force. Never one to think of himself as a Special Forces type, it humbled him to feel the weight of responsibility now placed upon them. He wondered what the man would be like or if it might possibly be The One himself.

Whoever he is, the guy hasn't won any popularity contests.

Holly then explained the concept of the operation as he saw it. The troopers were broken down into the different chalks to be loaded into the separate drop ships. The air assault would utilize speed in the descent on the enemy headquarters encampment. The drop ships would break at maximum flare, their engines stirring the opposition into a panic and clearing the landing zone for the assault.

Once on the ground, four designated machinegun teams would occupy the corners of the landing zone and drive back any organized enemy response that might be moving to counter the insertion. An assault element would then enter the headquarters compound and grab the target and any intelligence items of value. All other enemy personnel were to be eliminated and any remaining materials destroyed in place, where possible. The raid would conclude in less than five minutes.

Joker and Ace flew to the designated link up location just under an hour away. Kyle thought about the crews, of which the average trooper saw very little. Most of the time the drop ships either conducted orbital recon or hid deep within the mountain cavern to await their next mission.

How much harder would our lives be if we didn't have these guys and the ships to support us?

Holly gave the alert as they approached the remaining drop ship for a mid air rendezvous near the release point. The crew of the King had made the initial reconnaissance flight which located the extent of the Horde and identified the critical command and control encampment. Kyle and his chalk were assigned to the King as part of the assault element. They grabbed whatever equipment they deemed necessary for the mission ahead and got to their feet.

The two drop ships linked up in flight and a secure connection was established. Once the chalk was seated aboard the King, Holly spoke a few words into his microphone before sliding the headset down to his neck.

"Alright assault element - listen up!"

Holly placed a large digital pad on the seat in front of him where everyone could see it. The display showed an aerial view of a series of tents surrounded by a high sod wall. It resembled a sports stadium and looked as if it could house around a hundred enemy.

"This is the target area."

Holly passed his hand over the mass of tents in the rectangle.

"Every night the raiders stop to make camp and the leadership has them throw up a sod fort cut from the steppe. The bosses spend the night inside, in relative safety, until the morning at which time the whole operation is broken down and the Horde moves on. This is what we're going to do."

Holly picked up the tablet, sat in the seat, and placed the display back onto his lap.

"Since we have no idea where the leadership is during the day, we have to wait for them to stop for the night. They'll congregate and make it easier for us to grab the target. Since they are on full alert at sun up and sun down we're going to hit them in the middle of the night."

Holly stabbed his finger at a tent roughly centered in the compound.

"This is where the head man should be. Most of his cronies will be spread out in a circle around his tent with the boot lickers gathered near the walls on the outside. Each sub boss will probably have some sort of personal security detail of thugs, so expect fanatical responses once we set foot in the compound. Don't play games with them. Just shoot the bastards until they stay down."

Holly then pointed to a specific point on the wall halfway along the shorter edge of the rectangle.

"The drop ship will offload us out of the waist door and we will occupy the tops of the walls. Any enemy personnel are to be cleared to make way for the machinegun teams so they can get into position. These teams will face outward and blast everything they can see. Our job is to focus on the interior of the fort and grab the head guy. Remember, if it isn't the man we're looking for, or an intelligence asset, then you shoot or burn it until it is destroyed. Clear?"

Kyle and the other troopers all nodded an affirmative and gave a small grunt of compliance. He briefly thought back to the previous fighting and how the raiders rode straight into the machineguns. He wondered if the big wigs were as rabid as their foot troops.

"The drop ships will then circle in a low wagon wheel around the fort perimeter using the down blast of their thrusters to scare off the cavalry. Waist gunners will provide additional fires to help eliminate counter attacks that might endanger the mission."

Holly glanced up from the data display and briefly scanned the eyes of the troopers gathered before him.

"Get your heads straight boys. Some of you just survived the first real fight of your lives. Now I need you to get ready for your second."

Holly continued to speak and added new emphasis.

"We are the assault element. We will disembark and immediately move to take the central tents. Wilson, Hicks, and Brando will go with Sergeant Higgins. Miller and Regis will handle prisoners. Quinn and Lansing are aid men; Torres and Logan will place demo on order. Richards, Evans, and Chen are with me as the grab team and need to draw assault pistols. We do nothing but look for the head honcho. Everyone needs to remember that carbine fire will penetrate the target and pass on through. Make sure your field of fire is clear before pulling the trigger."

Kyle was surprised to be selected for the grab team. It was the group charged with greatest responsibility. The Master Sergeant had probably selected him because of all the hand to hand training they had done together.

That's what I get for becoming so familiar to the senior sergeant.

Holly looked at him.

"Questions?"

Kyle shook his head no but several others raised a hand. Kyle half listened as he thought back to the endless hours of instruction from Holly. The beatings he had taken, the endless pointers, and all of the coaching were now ingrained in his head. Kyle recalled the nameless man who had almost strangled him to death. Surely that man was more of a warrior than Kyle ever was. The assault element was about to take on thousands more just like him.

The questions ran out and Holly assembled his team to rehearse entry and movement techniques. He made several spot corrections on the proper handling of the pistols each had received. Kyle was responsible for refreshing the team on several hand-to-hand quick-kill techniques. He unsheathed Neel's dagger and demonstrated some knife strike tactics as well. Something about holding the blade gave him a little more confidence.

Once Holly was convinced that the grab team would not shoot each other he left to inspect the others. Kyle and the troopers tightened their armor and adjusted their equipment for the hundredth time before finally dropping into their chairs and strapping in. Richards talked about nothing in particular as he practiced fast-drawing his pistol.

Holly then personally scrutinized the troopers and their restraint system. He ensured they could free themselves with a single pull of the release strap. Satisfied, he made his way back to his seat at the head of the bay and put on his head set. He called out to them in a bellow loud enough for all to hear.

"Lock and load!"

Each of the troopers slapped an ammo brick into his carbine and chambered the first projectile. Since this would be a hot landing zone, Kyle and the others would not lock down their weapons, as with a reentry. Instead they would keep the muzzle to the floor where an accidental discharge would not take out any critical systems on the drop ship. Kyle contemplated a projectile ricochet in the bay and cringed at the thought. Such were the risks run going into combat.

Holly held a thumb up to the members of the assault element. Kyle and the other troopers returned the sign and the senior man reached up to his helmet and slipped it on. He secured the chin strap and gave the crew chief the go sign.

Kyle waited, anticipating the exact moment the raid would start. He glanced up inside his helmet and noted the time was zero two one eight hours Zulu. It was just a little over two hours since the fight of their lives had taken place back at the pass. He saw the faces of Teek and Neel as he spoke to them.

Help get me through this!

Kyle noticed the others all sitting with their fingers nowhere near the triggers of their weapons. Richards had stopped fiddling with his pistol and was in quiet meditation. Underneath his chest armor, Kyle could feel the novel remaining protectively in place over his heart. He flipped through the pierced pages every so often and thought about the arrow Wilcox took to the throat.

My journey could have ended so long ago.

The drop ship engines continued their endless high pitched wail, and the frame vibrated from the sheer power necessary to keep the craft in flight. The occasional dip or sway was countered by the onboard stabilization system, and as a whole the journey was relatively smooth.

Holly called out from the front.

"Here we go!"

The entire troop bay was bathed in red light. Their stomachs floated as the descent began, before any of them were ready for it.

Kyle felt sick for a moment but the restraint straps held him in place. The firm feel of the seat reassured him during the plummet, which was several times faster than a free fall. Richards almost lost control of his carbine and Kyle held more firmly to his own. The over head speakers popped, and a strained voice gave a count down.

"...five..."

Be cool.

"...four..."

Keep focused.

"...three..."

Just follow Richards.

"...two..."

Don't do anything stupid.

"...one..."

Like get yourself killed.

"... mark!"

The drop ship leveled out as the engines screamed, bringing the craft to a sudden stop. The force of the deceleration crushed Kyle into his seat and he strained to hold the carbine between his knees. His stomach tried to flatten his intestines and the blood rushed from his head, which caused a slight gray out. Someone cursed audibly as he lost hold of a carbine. It cascaded on the floor down the row toward Holly who trapped it with a stomp of his foot.

The lights turned a faint green and were subsequently accompanied by a chime. Holly roared into their ears over the helmet radio as he secured the loose weapon.

"GO! GO! GO!"

The troopers pulled their release cords and barreled down the aisles. Kyle was in the middle of his team and followed Richards. In an instant they were outside under the vast open night sky which loomed overhead. The lead troopers began to fire at raiders on the wall as the assault elements advanced. Enemy, dressed in black with flowing robes, were blown from the parapets by the rapid shots of the attack.

The blast of the engines became impossibly loud. The drop ships maintained a steady perch at the top of the walls. Kyle followed Richards as closely as possible with Chen in tow. The group closed in on the stairs as the machineguns positioned at the opposite corners began to fire at the enemy camped outside. Kyle concentrated on sticking to Richards and did not risk looking out over the wall.

With an increased roar, the drop ships gained slight elevation with a flare of their maneuver thrusters which were operating at full burn. The wash from the downdraft, and the fire of the machineguns, were too much for those outside. The enemy routed off into the darkness filled with terror. Their tents were blown into the fires which had been whipped up by the down draft of the drop ships.

As they reached the top of the stairs, Richards shot an armored man off a lower platform nearby. Holly was already at the bottom of the stairs and moved with the speed of a panther. The grab team followed, firing to the left and to the right, cutting down men as they appeared. Kyle shot a large raider dressed only in a loin cloth.

Sorry dude. 'War is hell - but combat's a motherfucker'!

Kyle aimed his carbine to cover the right flank of the team as they ran. Holly continued down a main walkway and fired at anything that moved. The area was a target-rich environment, and the carbines cracked in rapid succession as the troopers advanced through the tent city. The machinegun teams were safely above the line of fire so the assault element ran no risk of hitting them. Kyle was so keyed up that he accidentally shot a stack of clay jugs which exploded in a shower of water.

Calm down! Calm the fuck down!

The group rounded the corner and Kyle could see the large tent that Holly had identified in the briefing. He swung the carbine over his back and pulled the combat pistol from its holster. He took up his assigned position to the right of the entrance and looked to Holly for the signal. As Chen stepped into place, Holly pointed to Kyle who plunged through the door and adjusted his eyes with the help of his low light visor.

Holly moved ahead on the left, stalked low, and covered his zone of fire as he traveled. Kyle mimicked the action on the right; both proceed down a short hallway with Chen and Richards in tow. Ahead, two large armored men who wielded shiny blades burst through a tall curtain. The high caliber pistols leveled themselves on the targets at point blank range, and fired.

Crying out the enemy pitched backward, and landed in disjointed heaps on the ground. Due to the soft texture of the pistol projectiles, the effect was exit wounds nearly the size of a fist and instantaneous death. Kyle kept moving alongside Holly. The two stepped over the bodies in order to reach and tear down the curtain which led to the main chamber of the tent.

Across from them and a few meters away, a single curtain hung down to the floor from the five meter ceiling overhead. Several men, wielding spears, positioned themselves on a large carpet which covered the ground. The grab team went on line and gunned them down without remorse.

Holly moved up to the left of the curtain. Kyle noticed Miller and Regis entering the tent behind them. From the right a man roared out of hiding and Kyle hesitated, unsure if the warrior was the grab target. The sight of the wicked blade heading toward him compelled Kyle to act. The pistol jumped in his hands and the attacker went down like a rag doll. Kyle side stepped over to the curtain opposite Holly, ensuring that Chen and Richards were behind them.

Holly signaled for all to take a knee. With one smooth motion he ripped the curtain down from the ceiling rail that held it in place. As the fabric fell in a rippling motion to the floor, Kyle saw a large raised platform lashed out of timbers and rope. On top was stretched a taut series of hides which held varying types of large pillows and bedding. In the center a thick bodied man along with his attendants froze. He had been trying to fasten on a shirt of scaled mail when the grab team burst in on them.

Without hesitation Holly fired several quick shots. The assistants staggered and fell dead among the bedding in a shower of bone and blood. Kyle was stunned to witness the brutal efficiency with which the man executed his mission. Slowly standing up from his crouch he and numbly stepped toward the edge of the platform.

"Evans! Five o'clock!"

A tremendous blow slammed him from behind and Kyle careened into a platform leg. The smashing force would have knocked him unconscious had he not twisted to take the glancing blow off his helmet. The two hit the ground with a jarring thud and Kyle's pistol flew off into the darkness. Hours of training kicked in as a bellowing command from Holly came through the helmet headphones.

"Fight, Evans, FIGHT!"

Kyle roared and pulled strong, thick fingers from his throat and mouth. He could not lift the man off his back so he began to strike into the darkness with his elbows and swung his head backwards. The elbow blows did not make solid contact but his helmet forcibly struck something causing a satisfying crunch. Now at the advantage, Kyle pulled Neel's blade out from under his arm and sunk it into the upper thigh of the man on his back.

The assailant clamored in pain and shifted his weight. Kyle struggled to maneuver but could not slide out from underneath. As anticipated, the blows began to land against his back. Although his attacker had good position, Kyle's armor effectively absorbed the brunt of the strikes. This contest was nothing like his first encounter in the woods.

Someone crackled in over the head phones.

"Evans, go limp and stay flat!"

Kyle obeyed. Several shots slew his assailant, landing the man across Kyle's lower legs. Scrambling out from under the weight, he recovered his pistol from where it had fallen. Kyle wiped off Neel's blade before sheathing it, and climbed onto the platform. He stepped over the bloody body of one of the attendants to where Holly and Richards had taken hold of the target. Kyle could clearly see the look of shock and indignation on the man's face. To all of their surprise, he lashed out in a rough Universal.

"What hell think you doing?!"

Holly stepped up and struck a blow across the man's jaw that nearly knocked the target unconscious. Richards clasped the hands of the man together while Chen slid on a pair of speed restraints. Kyle stepped past them and cleared the rear of the platform. From there he observed several women who screamed and cowered on the floor. He hesitated, unwilling to murder them in cold blood.

With the help of Miller and Regis, Holly and Richards lifted the target off of the platform. The man staggered slightly on his feet but was easily led out of the tent. Chen took point with Kyle in drag, keeping his attention focused to the rear.

As they emerged into the starlight Kyle switched off the low-light visor to reduce the visual overload. Flames from burning tents and streaking arrows made it difficult to see into the shadows. All around, shouts and firing were heard from the machinegun teams on the wall. Chen was at the bottom of the stairs with his carbine at the ready. Kyle holstered his pistol and swung around his own weapon, keying his helmet microphone.

"This is GRAB 4 to all assault teams, clear the target zone, OVER!"

The demo guys sprinted past as the others responded with an affirmative. Remembering the terrified women behind the platform, Kyle tried to keep his weapon aimed waist high.

It's time to get the hell out of Dodge!

"Let's go people! Let's go!"

He was joined by Chen, and the two fired their carbines on full automatic into the surrounding tents. Several figures spun to the ground as they stepped into the field of fire. Once their weapons emptied Chen led the way up while Richards covered them from above.

While on the wall, a large number of flaming arrows whipped through the air past them with a deadly hiss. Kyle had no idea who the actual target was. It became clear as he witnessed several bounce off the drop ships which made slow circles around the perimeter of the sod wall.

One shaft flashed dangerously close, reminding Kyle of Wilcox's death at the mortars. Angrily he crouched lower and fired a burst in the general direction from which the arrow had come. He was damned if he was going to make it this far only to be felled by some random shot.

From the corners of the sod walls the machineguns tore into the enraged hordes of enemy that had begun to press forward. It was clear that the commanders had regained their wits and were coming to rescue their master. At that very moment the drop ships swung down to the tops of the walls and presented their open waist doors to the waiting troopers.

Kyle made his way past the evil grin on the King and briefly regarded the emotionless face of the crew chief. The dark visor of the flight helmet hid most of his features except for the thin line of his mouth. Had he not known better, Kyle would have easily thought him to be a solid stone sculpture.

The assault teams piled into the troop bay and moved down the various rows to find seats. The crew chief was yelling for the machinegun teams and Holly ordered them in from the perimeter. From somewhere outside a flaming arrow had imbedded itself in the inner compartment wall. The waist gunner, who had just been missed, remained focused on the task at hand and blazed away at the dark shapes beyond.

There was a lot of cross chatter on the helmet frequencies along with the constant whine of the engines which could be heard over the rapid cracking of machineguns. The pilots accomplished the impossible and kept the flying behemoths steady and level just off the deck. The machinegun teams appeared at the waist doors, some still firing at the enemy pressing toward them. One was so intent that he had to be pulled bodily inside in order for the doors to close.

Holly strapped in next to the waist gunner and extinguished the burning arrow as the King spun out from the extraction point. Kyle and the others grunted and grabbed hold as the drop ship rocketed up and away. The acceleration of the escape crushed the troopers to their respective floor and seat positions while lose captured materials tumbled to the back of the bay.

As the seconds ticked by Kyle had began to gray out from the strain. The pressure finally eased as the King made altitude and leveled out to normal flight. The regular lights came on in the bay, and the co-pilot announced that it was safe to move about.

The troopers disentangled themselves as shaky grins appeared. A general banter of relief filled the troop bay. The injured were assessed while others checked and secured their equipment. A small celebration began and even Holly smiled as he slapped troopers on the shoulder in congratulations.

On a more serious note a gunner had taken an arrow to his upper thigh, but a medic was already looking at it with a quiet intensity. Another gave a once-over to the bloody cut on Kyle's jaw, but it proved to be minor in nature. Bleeding head wounds traditionally appeared ten times worse than they really were and Kyle had not even realized he had been cut.

The target was dragged from the floor where he had been tossed and lifted into a chair to which he was bound tightly. He had managed to not utter a sound during the entire ascent and looked around as if trying to make sense of his surroundings. Holly ordered him blindfolded and assigned the prisoner team to keep an eye on him.

The rest of the trip back was uneventful. Troopers talked for a long time and some even showed off their souvenirs to others who had gathered around. Chen displayed a two handed sword still in its ceremonial sheath. Holly picked his way through the crowd, checking on everyone as he passed. He came to sit opposite Kyle and watched the others as they unwound. With a full grin, and without turning, he spoke to Kyle.

"You'll never see anything more truthful than a man happy to be alive after surviving close combat."

Kyle half smiled and nodded his head absently.

"So...I guess we still need to work on your grappling skills."

Kyle instantly felt guilty.

"Yes, Master Sergeant."

Having been taken by complete surprise a second time, Kyle knew he had fought to the best of his ability. The problem was that the raider had him good, and there was nothing Kyle could have done to free himself. If it had not been for the help from Chen, in all likelihood he would have been beaten or even killed. Kyle felt compelled to apologize but kept his mouth shut. Soldiers learned from their mistakes and made every effort to never repeat them.

Holly laughed at him.

"Take it easy Evans. We try to make you guys the best we can in order to keep you and the unit alive. You managed to do that, but there is more that we could be doing to bring you up to speed. The bad guys in this neck of the woods like to stroll up to a soldier and bang on him with a sharp weapon. That's not something you troopers were trained for. We'll just have to start training up to help compensate for the disparity. We just need to hold on until pick-up arrives."

Kyle nodded his head then looked down.

"When do you think they'll come, Master Sergeant?"

Holly thought for a moment.

"Hell if I know. If the Rosalie made it back in one piece then it is only a matter of time for them to come looking for us. Regardless, our mission is to hold out and hold on."

Kyle nodded his head as this sunk in.

We may be here for another week or forever.

"The rangers have been performing very well and the commander is more pleased than pissed with what you have accomplished with the natives."

Kyle warmed at this acknowledgement. Holly watched the troopers nearby as they continued to razz each other over who had been scared the most. They had that timeless quality of young men glad to be alive.

"When we get back we're going to have to secure the battlefield around the pass. Once that is done there are going to be some changes in the unit organization. Lieutenant thinks we may be here for a while until someone comes for us. In the meantime we are to disperse and establish as strong a presence as we can. This will help us connect with the locals for manpower and support, and make it harder for someone to kill us all from orbit."

Holly looked over to Kyle, who thought about dying from an orbital bombardment.

"That means we have to get you polished up and perfect some of your war fighting skills. We want to assign you and some of the others as platoon leaders for additional auxiliary units."

Kyle looked at him in surprise as Holly continued.

"We are going to establish strongholds in the various regions surrounding the central mountain compound. Each area will have a unit led by troopers that will occupy key terrain and provide local security. This will allow us a safe zone in which to rest, train, and prepare for future operations. The current plan is to get the force up to regimental strength."

Kyle contemplated the size of a regiment - which meant three platoons to a company, three companies to a battalion, and three battalions to make up the whole. It would be quite an undertaking. Kyle thought about Taulk and the rest of his squad.

"What about my rangers, Master Sergeant?"

Holly shrugged his shoulders.

"There is still a need for local security so the natives will be deployed to protect our current ground assets. Based on the recommendations of the squad leaders, individual natives will be tapped to step into leadership roles and assume command of their units."

If I had to put my life in the hands of a ranger it would be Taulk.

Kyle took all of this in.

"Roger that, Master Sergeant. It seems we'll have our hands full for a while."

Holly nodded his head as if only to himself. Kyle looked over to where the target sat blindfolded and asked,

"What's going to happen to him?"

Holly turned and looked at the man. The target was in his mid forties and a little under average height. His head was already balding and his stomach showed the effects of too much eating without enough exercise. Regardless of how he had earned his position he was, nonetheless, a sad looking specimen.

"Him we're going to toss into an underground holding cell for a few days. Since we know he speaks Universal we should be able to get through to him with little 'encouragement'. We need to see if that army of his will disperse after it lost its head - along with experiencing the sheer shock of being attacked in two different places by dragons and the baddest mothers to come out of the sky."

Kyle grinned at this.

"Do you think he is The One?"

Holly stared at the man for a while and then shook his head.

"I don't think so. Even though he can speak it, his Universal is clearly a second language. I think this One is hidden away in some stronghold that will be a hell of a lot harder to crack than that circus tent we just raided. I'm sure this fellow will have some interesting stories to tell us though."

With that, the senior man got up and moved toward the front of the bay. Kyle sat and listened to the dull roar of the engines as most of the others drifted off to sleep. As his own eyes closed, visions of screaming men with blades and fire waged fierce battle in his exhausted mind. They tore at each other, and sometimes lashed out at him, to which his body could only flinch in reply.

Kyle watched the flamethrower blasting the mass of enemy pressing up the slope at the pass. Teek was stretched out on the ground in front of the village barricade with his eyes staring. Kyle tried to straighten the tunic of the dead man but the corpse grabbed him by the throat and began to choke him. The maggot covered face that looked at him now was that of the slain hunter in the woods.

Kyle awoke with a start and finding himself still strapped to the troop seat. He released the upper most clip of his body armor to help rid himself of the death grip sensation to his throat. Looking around, he saw the other sleeping troopers passed out in various contorted poses. The drop ship began to descend and a moment later the engines flared landing with a gentle bump. Sergeants prodded the weary troopers into action; the mass of spent men finding the energy to move. As they offloaded the drop ship Kyle watched the sun rise in the eastern sky and found himself too exhausted to care much about anything.

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