Difference between revisions of "Atlantis: chapter 9"

Revision as of 06:59, 7 May 2008

Chapter 9. Sweet. Hope you enjoy.

Please note this is a work in progress and the authors reserve the right to edit and/or reformat the book. Also note that in this writing we mean no disrespect to any country reading this. A book merely needs protagonists and antagonists.

Chapter IX: "Alright, onto plan... F?"

"Glad to see you guys are alive." Tom said truthfully.

"Yeah. We've been pinned down here at least half an hour." Mitchell responded.

"Well, 50, when pinned down like this and under fire, what's your first tactic if nobody comes to the rescue?" Tom asked him quizzically. When battling a technically superior enemy it was best not to use names.

"Mount an energetic and enthusiastic counter attack." Mitchell replied with a slight smile. His sandy hair somehow seemed darker when coupled with his serious, grimy face. "And we have. But we've been under so much fire we couldn't do very much. P- er, 49 and I have been switching off on branch duty. We got a couple of them. I estimate about six left, with the ones you killed."

"Uh, Sarge, I think there are a few more than six..." One of them called, and Tom looked up to see multiple of the Russians' APCs rolling to stops around their position.

"Quick! Get out while there's time!" Tom screamed. Too late.

The first APC opened and dropped down the first of its men. They opened fire, and along with the APC's built in .45 cal machine gun, it sent a sheet of bullets racing for the opening, effectively trapping Tom and his men.

"Guess we'll stay a while." Mitchell said from his position on the side of a ruined seat.

"We'll be fine as long as they don't bring out explosives." Tom said reassuringly. Just then an explosion rocked the destroyed craft, sending men spilling to the floor. Tom was knocked onto his side. "I thought that only happened in movies."

"Maybe not, but it looks like they only got one launcher." One of the soldiers said, climbing to his feet. "Otherwise we woulda' heard another one right now."

"Alright. One launcher. Simple, we take him out." Mitchell said.

"But how do we get out to shoot?" Another of the soldiers asked.

"We don't need to see them to get them." Mitchell answered, sitting down in a secure position. He mentally accessed his Other and began to search. One advantage of using the Other was that, in addition to being able to control supernatural forces, the Other saw in a different light. The Other's vision was based less on objects than on brainwaves and links. Mainly, it was used for telepathic images and messages, mostly by the newer psi-agents. An experienced psi-agent would know the links between brains are there, and he wouldn't have to see to link up and send a thought. But in the hands of a skilled psi-warrior like Mitchell, it could also be used to detect life and its whereabouts. It could also be used in conjunction with another psi power, like, say, telekenesis.

Mitchell latched onto a rock and threw it at one of the APCs. The gunner must have been warned of their powers, though, because he swiveled the turret around and blasted the rock to pieces using his machine gun.

Next Mitchell latched onto a log, hooking it between the APC's treadwheels. He found a goodly sized rock and placed it as the fulcrum for his lever. Then he called, "Need a little extra force over here. Can anybody lend a brain?", and immediately two minds who had been throwing random stuff at men jumped to and started to help. Just then another explosion rocked the Osprey, disrupting everyone's concentration. Mitchell jumped right back into the Other and said, "I see his vapor trail! Quick! 48, get on him!"

Then the three others went back to their lever. Mitchell stoned a Russian who was trying to dig the rock out, then pushed downwards. With the help of the other two, he managed to flip the APC on its side, and it rolled over onto its top and smashed its own gun. Then Mitchell grabbed a large boulder and dropped it from up high onto the exposed, weak underbelly. It penetrated through and hit a fuel tank, causing the APC to blow up into fragments.

Wild cheering broke out through the Osprey as they saw the APC go down, leaving Tom feeling even more helpless. He couldn't access his psi energy, and so couldn't help with the counterattack. Here he was, coming to save them, and they were saving him!

He decided to mount a counterattack of his own. Calling to one of the soldiers, he said, "Cover me on the way out!" and started climbing to the top. The soldier obediently turned and dredged up two pieces of bulletproof steel and metal from the broken APC to cover Tom as he came out. Tom popped through the door, opening up a few rounds from the opening between the two pieces of metal. He dropped the the jungle floor and dove through a cloud of lead and into the safety of the jungle. The safety of the dark, mysterious, incredibly scary, Dino infested, thick, tangled jungle.

Three Russians spun to shoot at him, and Tom melted back into the darkness. With the lull of fire on the Osprey, two Americans jumped up and sprayed lead around, giving Tom an added distraction. They were forced to duck back down in a moment, though, because the APCs had started up their devastating suppressing fire again. One Angeler poked his head and shoulders up, trying to get his ZEUS-MPGR to lock on. A bullet hit him in the shoulder and he dropped the launcher, his teammates pulling him back inside to safety. That gave Tom an idea.

If he could distract those APC turrets, then one of his men would have a clear line of fire to get the vehicles. To tell his plan to Mitchell, he'd have to use the comm. and the Russians could here him. But he had no choice.

"Mitchell! I'll distract, you take 'em out!" Tom said, as quickly as he could.

Tom just hoped that any Russian translation gear would take another few seconds to process as he ran out without cover into the middle of the clearing. He waved his hands and arms comically, yelling at the top of his lungs. This would have to be the first time he had ever employed this tactic, but it worked. Both of the remaining APCs swiveled to face him. It was rather sad, really, that these were the Russian elites. A first grader could have seen through the deception, especially because they knew that a man in the Osprey had an Anti Armor launcher, and their men didn't have the firepower or height of vantage point to get the same amount of suppressing fire on the bay opening.

Tom's awareness cranked up a few notches as the beating of a helicopter's blades echoed throughout the clearing. He could see every single in the twisted landscape, from the lush, tropical green palms to the damp, chocolate colored earth. The ground was covered in fallen vegetation and smaller shrubs, and there was a small chimney opening in the foliage overhead. Shafts of light entered, casting a dim glow throughout, and Tom saw a glimpse of an aqua blue sky above.

The second most intruding sense was smell. It was funny, but in all the books he'd ever read, in all the after-action reports he'd written, nothing had ever talked about smell. He could smell the fumes of the gasoline-Ethanol mix the Russian's APCs ran on, he could smell the coppery twang of blood and the leaden of bullet casings.

"We need to take out the APCs and get into the jungle!" Tom called out. The APCs were still tracking him, so he ran to the opposite side of the clearing and watched as the stupid, confident gunners took aim at him. Two or three Americans silently dropped down from the Osprey, scattering in all directions as Russians belatedly took aim and opened fire.

Tom dove for cover behind a large tree as the APCs also opened fire on him, spewing their heavy projectiles at a devastating rate of fire. The tree shattered into tiny splinters and threatened to fall. Tom ran out, again drawing their fire as a missile erupted from the Osprey, taking the lead APC and blasting it into fragments. The substantial fire now dropped by half.

The remaining APC driver realized his danger and hit the gas, rumbling onto a new point in the battlefield. The turret swiveled again to suppress the Osprey, pinning the men inside down again.

Tom watched all this from behind the cover of a tree, and just as he was about to jump out, he felt a foreign presence attempt to enter his mind. He didn't recognize the feel of the consciousness, so he rebelled, throwing up mental barriers. The presence easily overwhelmed him and entered.

We'll cover you and take out the men while you go for that last APC. Mitchell's voice jumped out. Tom breathed a sigh of relief, then drew in a shaky breath. He needed to be more careful. That presence could just have easily killed him as helped him.

But sure enough, several seconds later, two rifles opened up in wild fire in every direction, and the final rifle shot out brief puffs of three bullets each, taking one man with each.

The Russians soon forgot about the stationary Tom and turned to face this new threat. The APC continued to hold down the Osprey, so Tom ran over to it to find a weak point.

Tom gave a kick and watched as the metal buckled.