The smell of burnt electronics assaulted his nose and the
sound of metal saws and plasma cutters filled his ears. His left arm was
trapped against the armrest of his chair from the side of his cockpit that was
caved in from the final staggering blow that brought his mech down in the final
furball of this round of combat. His med computer had a cocktail of pain meds
coursing through his veins so he did not feel much pain but hard one experience
told him the arm was crushed and the Doc would have his skills put to the test
yet again making him whole and ready for the next battle. Blood was seeping
down his forehead from a small gash a piece of exploding equipment caused when
it struck the visor of his combat helmet breaking it into pieces. He slowly
raised his right arm to wipe away the blood from his eyes to not much success.
The movement caused his pain levels to spike in his damaged left side. His Med
Comp increased his dosage and the world swirled to the left and fell over. John
found himself drifting in and out memories of the battle and consciousness.
The dropship was
filled with the electric energy of adrenaline and excitement and the squad finished
the final pre-launch checks on their mechs. Everything was in the Green and a
few rapid-fire puffs later the dropship detached from its docking clamps and
floated out of the air lock on the transport. Planetoid FDW-6312 filled the
dropship pilots view screen as he keyed in the final commands needed to execute
the combat drop to the ground below. Emerald Dragons was facing Renegades {BHG}
in the final round of combat for this year’s Clan War. John Ringo wanted to get
on the ground asap to gain whatever edge the squad could from being first on
the ground so this was going to be a brutal drop right on the edge of the stresses
the ship was designed to withstand. Like a sucker punch to the gut the main
drives fired and propelled the ship the short distance to the atmosphere. The
engines throttled back some but did not cut off to let the ship glide in like a
normal landing. The turbulence was incredible and the ship bucked like a thing
possessed. Alarms started blaring and the world started to spin. One of the
stabilizers had jammed and the ship’s crew frantically fought to free it to
save the ship from a terminal velocity meeting with the ground. The gods of war
blessed their efforts and stabilizer came back online in time for the pilot to
recover enough to avoid a fatal crash but not fast enough to make a normal
landing. The brace for impact alarms sounded and then the ship hit the ground
hard and plowed across the ground. It was some time before the crew could get
the damage repaired on the bay doors to get the mechs out of the ship.
Once free John rallied
his people to break up into smaller squads and scatter. BHG was just coming over
the hill and began to fire on them. The day was filled with shoot and scoot
tactics as each squad tried to gain the upper hand. Both teams kept slowing
earning points evenly through the match and in the last hours of the round only
a few points separated them. With only a few minutes left John lead the charge
right into the enemy’s teeth. The fire from both sides was so intense it was
like the doors of hell swung open and swallowed them all. As the clock ran out
his mech suffered a savage blow crushing the left side of his cockpit. His
vision started to blur from the pain and blood seeping into his eyes but he
could still make out the final score shown on the battle computer. The Dragons were
a few points short of victory. The pain and meds pulled him down into the
darkness.
There was a crack as the front of his damaged cockpit broke
free and fell to the ground. John’s blood crusted eyes could barely make out
the Chief Johnsons face anxiously looking in at him. “He’s alive!” Shouted the
Chief. “Get that stretcher over here and be careful. His left arm is badly
damaged.”
John felt careful hands cutting free his harness and lifting
him onto the stretcher. He was passed down to the ground below and the Doc gave
him a quick inspection while a Med Tech cleaned the blood from his eyes so he
could clearly see the carnage of the last charge. Standing as close by as he
could and not get in the way of the medical staff was Michael Moeykens, leader
of the Renegades. His face showed relief when the Doc announced that John would
survive. The staff allowed him to walk over to John. John raised his right arm
in salute and in a raspy voice spoke. “Your people put up one hell of a fight
Micheal. As soon as I am patched up we will start training for next the next
war. The Doc says I will have to miss the after party but please join in with
my squad and have a good time. Congratulations on your Gold medal and we will
see you again on the battlefield.”
Submitted By John Ringo #899287