Roughnecks: STC - The longest day part 4

It was actually dusk when they reached Buenos Aires but because of the thick smoke, it looked like it was already dead of night. In the cockpit, Carmen was craning her neck for a view of the city, but was finding that it was just too murky out there. The glows of the larger fires could be seen through the dense haze but not much else. She didn't know if the power in the city was still on, but if it was, the smoke was too thick for her to be able to see any of the city's lights.

At least a dozen other ships were approaching the city with them, all of them closing in on the same coordinates. A few of them were retrieval ships like the Bettie, but most of them were the much smaller, far more maneuverable fighters and bombers. With all this traffic, Carmen was flying with one eye on the radar, trying to avoid any collisions as all these various ships converged on the airport.

They came under fire about four miles from land fall. From out of the smoke came the first of dozens of brilliant blue projectiles. These missiles were composed of intensely hot burning plasma that burned brighter than a welder's torch and was just as painful to look at. The plasma bursts came in a salvo, filling the sky with their blinding light. Long tails of plasma particles trailed out behind the missiles, making them appear like comets. Carmen avoided staring directly at them, knowing that they would burn their image into her retinas and leave a blind spot in her vision.

She took one hand off the yoke long enough to thumb down the intercom button and say, "Here it comes. Brace yourselves. It's gonna get hairy."

Several of the retrieval ship pilots lost their nerve and peeled off, not willing to run through that fiery hell. The rest accelerated, hoping to get through as fast as possible. As Carmen had predicted, it got hairy. The ships danced around each other, bobbing, weaving, zigging and zagging as the deadly plasma fire streaked through their midst. White-knuckled, she ran the gauntlet, grimacing at each near miss. At one point a corkscrewing atmospheric fighter slipped across her path so closely that she could read the pilot's name where it was stenciled beneath the cockpit. Carmen thought the she might have to hunt Clark "Disco Destroyer" Rawls down later and either kill him or buy him a drink. Then he was forgotten as she pulled back on the yoke, taking the ship nearly vertical in order to avoid another retrieval ship that had come barreling along a path perpendicular to her own. Gravity left them a few seconds later when she brought the nose back down hard, avoiding a plasma burst. She slid under it and gravity's pull came back with a vengeance, shoving her against her seat. The strain of these maneuvers sent vibrations through the ship's frame strong enough to make her teeth rattle. The ship groaned in protest, but stayed together.

The bombardment eased up all at once. The last of the plasma bursts came down in the river behind them, reacting violently with the cold water and sending up enormous explosions of steam. Carmen leaned forward and looked skyward, searching for the Bug's next fusillade. When several seconds had passed and none came, she figured that either they had passed out of the Plasma Bug's angle of fire, or the Bug's needed a little while to recharge after the last volley. Which ever it was, she was just glad it was over, even if it was for only a few minutes. With a sigh of relief, she felt herself relax just a little.

She considered herself lucky. Not every ship had made it through the rain of fire untouched. She had seen at least one retrieval ship take a hit, explode and go spinning towards the water in pieces. One of the bombers had been grazed and it's engine was trailing smoke.

The closer she got to the city, the deeper she penetrated into the smoke, and the worse the visibility got. The only thing she could see out of the windshield were large pieces of ash that were floating through the air. These ash flakes almost looked like snow, giving her the impression that she was flying through a blizzard. The poor visibility made her nervous. If any of the other ships tried to cross her path at this point, she probably wouldn't be able to see them in time to dodge them.

Hoping for less traffic and clearer view, Carmen dropped down to just above the water. The air was a little cleaner down here, so she skimmed the surface for the rest of the way into the waterfront. Out of the darkness ahead there appeared a faint glow and from it emerged the buildings and runway lights of the airport. She brought the Bettie's nose up slightly, enough to clear the trees growing on the banks of the river and then she was out over the airfield. She let off on the throttle and started circling, looking for a place to land. The fighters and bombers that had accompanied the transports across the estuary screamed on past, heading into the main part of the city.

Highways ran down the length of the airport on both sides and the inland side had a railroad running next to it. The airport's control tower and terminals were on the side closest to the waterfront and the lights were on in both. There was only a single runway but since all of the inbound craft were going to be of the vertical take off and landing variety, that wasn't going to be an issue. As long as the transports weren't sitting on the ground for that long, there was going to be plenty of room for everybody to land and offload troops.

The lights at the airport all seemed to be on, but that didn't necessarily mean the city's power was still on. The lights could have been powered by emergency back up generators. It may have just been the low visibility, but she still couldn't see any lights outside of the airport.

Carmen spotted several other Retrieval Ships sitting out on the tarmac on the southern end of the runway and she steered the Bettie over to the same area. As she drew closer, she could see forklifts removing supplies from the back of the ships. That came as a relief to her. It meant they would be able to offload quickly and hopefully, she could get out of there before the Plasma Bugs got going again. She found a piece of open ground a short distance from the other Retrieval Ships and set the Bettie down.

When she had the ship shut down, she unbuckled her safety harness and headed aft for the cargo bay. The rear loading ramp was down by the time she got there, and Razak was ordering everybody out.

"I hope nobody was hurt back here. Had to get a little wild on the stick to slip through."

"Nothing to worry about." Razak told her. "We all needed a good shaking to wake us up, anyway. Better than a strong cup of joe."

"I think I'd prefer the coffee." she said as she watched the squad disembark.

Rico and Dizzy's outfits made her do a double-take. As they walked by, the colors were shifting and it played tricks with her eyes, making her feel a little dizzy. Carmen had heard of Spook Suits before, but had never seen them in action. That must be what they were wearing, she decided. She tried to focus on them, but her eyes kept getting left behind, leaving her staring at what the suits had been mimicking a second before. The suits seemed to slide out from under her gaze.

Shaking her head in wonder, she followed the Roughnecks outside.

It was a flurry of activity out there. One of the nearby Retrieval Ships had been unloaded and was lifting off, it's engine's downdraft buffeting them and making their flip-down visors rattle. Ash blew up off of the ground as the ship rotated above their heads and then hovered off toward the water. Scores of forklifts were taking crates off of ships and were loading them on to the backs of flat-bed baggage trucks that had been commandeered from the airport. One of these forklifts set down it's load and then turned to come scooting in their direction. When it got close, they stepped out of the driver's way so he could get up the ramp.

The driver hadn't even known Rico and Dizzy were there and only spotted them when they moved. He stared at the spot where he had seen the movement as he drove up the ramp and was so distracted that he almost drove right off the side of it. He was barely able to shake off his trance and crank the wheel in time to avoid what would have been a nasty crash.

"I wish I always had that effect on men." said Dizzy.

Across the runways and landing pads, M.I. troops were exiting ships and spreading out, establishing a perimeter around the airport. Sand bag emplacements for heavy machine guns were being constructed at seventy-five foot intervals along the inland edge of the airport by shovel wielding troopers. Other troopers were placing anti-Tanker Bug obstacles and stringing out barbed wire between them.

Better fortifications, including walls and towers, would be built when the parts arrived. It was possible that these parts had been on the troop transports that had been turned away because of the plasma fire. If so, they wouldn't be arriving anytime soon. Not until the LZ had cooled down.

A temporary command post was being erected further up the airfield, just this side of the terminals. This was one of SICON's modular huts, an octagon shaped little building made out interchangeable sections that could be arranged and configured in many different ways. Huts of this same variety were spread out across the galaxy, serving as barracks, stockades, latrines, cafeterias, broadcast stations and many other things. They were strong, durable, and they didn't take long to put together. The squad constructing this one was moving quickly and was nearly finished snapping the last of it's armored pieces into place.

When Razak spotted this building, he turned to his squad and said, "I'm going to go find out who the C.O. around here is and report in. Gossard, I want you to talk to this forklift driver and find out where he's stashing our stuff. The rest of you, sit tight. I'll be back as soon as I've found our beacons and transportation."

The squad indicated they understood with a "Yessir." and Razak turned to walk over to the command post. Remembering something, he stopped about twenty feet away and turned back for a moment.

"Ibanez." he called out. "You take care of yourself."

Carmen smiled and nodded in reply and then gave him a little wave good-bye.

While the forklifts continued to unload the Bettie, the rest of the Roughnecks took a moment to echo Razak's sentiments, wishing her luck and telling her that they'd catch her on the bounce. She told them to be careful out there and to watch each other's backs.

As they said their goodbyes, she found herself kind of wishing that she could go with them. She had grown used to traveling with them over the last few weeks, and she thought it was going to be a little strange not to have them with her.

Within ten minutes the forklifts had finished unloading the supplies. Two troopers from Echo Squad came over to pilot the two Marauders off of the ship, apparently at the request of Lieutenant Razak. Gossard and Doc had followed them on board, dispensing all kinds of advice and warnings along the way, despite both men telling them repeatedly that they were quite familiar with these models of Marauders.

The remaining Roughnecks stood by and watched this with amusement.

Rico said, "You'd think those guys were taking Doc and Goss' daughters out on a date."

Once the Marauders were offloaded, Carmen told the squad that she had to get going. They said their final goodbyes and she went up the ramp, hitting the switch that closed it as she went past. She waved at them one last time through the narrowing gap and then headed up front. When she reached the cockpit, she started the engines, and waited with them idling until the next barrage of plasma fire had passed over head. Then she brought the Bettie up off the ground and headed north.

When Razak came to get the squad, he was driving a delivery truck that had been appropriated from one of the nearby dock yards. The truck was a white mid-sized short-cab with an enclosed cargo bay. According to the decals on the side of the cargo box, the truck had been used for delivering spools of wiring before SICON had laid their hands on it. The cargo box was twelve feet long, eight feet high, and eight feet wide, which meant there would be plenty of room for the entire squad.

The lieutenant pulled up to where the squad was waiting and hopped out, leaving the truck idling. As he walked over to join them, they could see that he was bringing a couple of items with him. One was a brown canvas bag, which he handed over to Rico.

"Those are the beacons." he told them. "Fleet has been running numbers and plotting trajectories and they figure that there are only four Plasma Bugs in the battery firing at the airport. There are only four beacons, so don't let anything happen to them."

The other object was a small GPS (Global Positioning System) unit, which he handed over to Gossard, the person most likely to know how to use it. Though Goss had been a little morose over the loss of his Marauder, his face lit up at the sight of this new toy and he immediately started pressing at the icons on the touch screen.

Razak leaned over Goss' shoulder, pointed at the screen of the GPS, and said, "Fleet's mathlete's have calculated where each burst has been coming from and marked them on the map. They're continuing to update it every time another salvo goes out, so we should be able to locate our Bugs pretty quick."

Goss turned slowly, keeping his eyes on the little screen. The map rotated as he turned, it's north always pointing true north. As he came to face south east, he stopped turning and pointed off in that direction, saying, "Looks like they're a couple of miles over that way."

Rico had pulled one of the beacons from the bag and was looking it over. It was a simple black rectangle, no lights, no buttons, no switches. Compared to Goss' toy, it was a thoroughly boring piece of equipment. Rico wasn't even sure of how it worked, and told Razak as much.

Razak took the device from him and turned it over, revealing a thick, foam pad that was covered with a thin piece of non stick plastic.

"It's already transmitting." he said. "Fleet turned them on before they handed them over. All you have to worry about is tagging the Bug. This padding on the back has an adhesive on it, and will stick to just about any solid surface. You just have to pull off this plastic covering and press it firmly against whatever part of the Bug is closest. Then walk away."

"Sounds simple enough." said Rico as he accepted the beacon back from Razak. He put it back in the bag and slung the bag's strap over his shoulder.

"Well, then. Let's go find some Bugs to decorate with them." said Razak. "Mount up."

He climbed back behind the wheel, and Gossard took the passenger seat so he could navigate. The rest of the Roughnecks went around behind the truck and pulled themselves up into the cargo box. They were still finding themselves comfortable spots on the floor where they could sit when Razak dropped the truck into drive and set off for the airport's entrance. Nearly everyone was thrown off of their feet and it was only T'Phai's quick grab that saved Higgins from tumbling out the back. Grumbling about Razak's driving, they settled in and braced their backs against the walls of the cargo box.

Dizzy and Rico found some spots near the front to sit, and scooted close so they could talk over the roar of the truck's engine. Rico leaned in close to her ear and said, "How are you feeling?"

"Like I'm trapped in a sauna." said Dizzy. "And queasy. Every time I take a step it feel like I'm walking barefoot on slugs."

He nodded, knowing exactly what she meant. "I think we just need to look on the bright side of things. Just think of the pounds you're sweating off."

She turned to look at him, her head tilted quizzically. "I wasn't aware that I needed to drop any pounds." she said flatly. "Are you trying to tell me something?"

He laughed when he realized that what he had said could be taken that way. "Um . . . no, that's not what I . . . " he said, trying to get the taste of foot out of his mouth. "Ok, forget that. Just think about this way. These suits are sucking all the oils and moisture off of our skin. Your pores are going to be flawless when we get done."

"So not only am I fat, I've got bad skin, too?" She looked away from him, shaking her head in wonder. "You sure know all the right things to say to a girl. Next you'll be telling me it will cure my horrendous B.O., my crossed eyes and buck teeth. Maybe you should quit while you're ahead."

"Yeah, you're probably right. But mark my words, Dizzy. A few years from now these suits are going to be declassified and then they'll be selling like hot cakes. They'll market them as some kind of spa in a bag. People are going to be laying down big bucks for the privilege to wear these things, and we're getting to do it for free."

"Rico, do you actually believe any of that malarkey?"

"Not really." he said with a sigh. "Just trying to make us feel better about the situation."

They sat in silence for a few moments and then Dizzy said, "I could sure go for a nice tall glass of iced lemonade."

Rico nodded and beneath his respirator, licked his parched lips.

They had left the truck's door up so they could see outside as they traveled. Their route took them across a railroad track and then a highway that had a steady flow of traffic that was headed northwest, out of the city. Razak got the truck to the other side of the road, crossed a grassy median and pulled up onto one of the city's streets.

From here, he headed southeast, and the squad saw fewer and fewer people as they moved further into the city. Either the residents of this area had fled, or they were hiding. With the smoke as thick as it was the air must have been unbreathable out there and who knew what kind of toxic gases might be floating around in it. It was no wonder the people were leaving the city in droves.

Visibility was getting steadily worse. The power was out, at least in this part of the city, and they could only see with the use of their helmet's night vision. Through their light amplifying visors, they could see ash piling up on cars, and it made the city look like a winter wonderland. This unearthly landscape and the deserted streets disturbed them, leaving them feeling very alone.

The going was slow. Abandoned cars lined the streets, and Razak had to negotiate around them. In a couple of spots, he was forced to shove a few of them out of the way using the grill and bumper of the truck. Even on clear stretches of road, he had to drive slow. The truck's headlights could only cut through about twenty feet of the ash and smoke, so going any faster would have been foolhardy. This proved to be a good strategy when their route brought them right to the edge of a fifteen foot deep bomb crater. At this point, Razak shut off the truck and ordered everybody out.

"We're on foot from here on in." he said.

Gossard was fiddling with the GPS and said, "The last plasma fire launched about six blocks from here, that way." He pointed east.

"Then that's where we're headed." said Razak. "Everyone remember where we are, this is the rendevous point if we get seperated. Looks like we're on . . ." He used his visor to scan the nearest street signs and said, "Viamonte, near the intersection with Sarandi."

The Bugs made it even easier for the Roughnecks to find them. As the squad started in the direction Goss had indicated, they fired off another round of Plasma, giving away their location. At the moment, they were a couple of blocks east and four blocks south of where they had fired from before. Alpha Squad circumvented the bomb crater and moved quickly but cautiously in the Bug's direction.

By the time the Roughnecks reached the nearest of the Plasma Bugs, they were on the move again, moving west. They caught only a glimpse of the ghostly blue glow of the plasma in a Bug's belly disappearing into the smoke further up the street. Though it had moved out of sight, the sound of the Bug's passage drifted back to them. City streets weren't really compatible with something the size of a Plasma Bug. They could hear street lights being knocked over, masonry crumbling, and cars being crushed.

Razak brought the squad to a halt and had them hunker down behind a dumpster while he laid out the plan. "Rico and Flores. Head due south one block over, then move west until you can get ahead of the last bug. The rest of us will move back north one block and then do the same thing. When we're in position, we'll starting popping off shots at the Bugs, keeping their attention on us. The two of you take turns tagging the Bugs, starting with the one in the rear and working your way to the front. Everyone else, be very careful what you shoot at and try to keep track of where our taggers are at all times. You got me people?"

"We get you, sir." they responded with a single voice.

"Alright then. Move out, Apes."

The squad split, moving in their designated directions. As Rico and Dizzy crossed the street, they found that the blacktop was cracked and cratered where the enormous Bugs had stepped. While most of the smaller holes could be easily jumped over, there were a few so large and deep that they had to skirt around them. The destruction left in the wake of the Bug's passage served to drive home just how much danger they were placing themselves in.

They moved down the next block and then turned west, moving parallel with the Bugs now. Rico took the bag of beacons off of his shoulder and pulled out one before handing the bag over to Dizzy.

"I'll take the first one." he said. "You know how I hate waiting."

Her stifled laugh came out as a snort. He hadn't said anything that funny, but her nervousness had her feeling a little giddy and laughing at anything. "No weapons, no armor. You know, this has got to be the craziest thing we've ever done."

"I know. I feel like I did on my first drop back in boot."

"I wonder if this is one of Razak's plans, and or if it was concocted by some Fleet doofus." said Dizzy.

"I couldn't tell you for sure." said Rico. "He didn't say anything to me." He knew what she meant, though. Razak's plans might sound crazy sometimes, but they usually worked. But if the plan came from someone else, it was probably just as crazy and dangerous as it sounded.

As Plasma Bugs were notoriously slow, it didn't take them long to get ahead of the rear bug in the column. They turned north on the next side street and snuck up to the corner where the Plasma Bug would be passing. As they got closer, they began to hear the din of the Plasma Bug's escort. It was the unmistakable screeches and hissing of Warrior Bugs. This wasn't exactly welcome news, but it had been expected.

There was no more unnecessary talk between them from this point on. Even the slightest sound might be heard by the Warrior Bugs and give them away. As they came up to the corner of the building, Johnny indicated with a hand signal for Dizzy to halt and drop stance. He crouched a few feet ahead of her and waited for the big Bug to pass.

The forward guard for the rear Plasma Bug passed in front of them, and it was comprised of four wary Warrior Bugs. These arachnids were swiveling their beaked heads to the left and the right, searching for any threats to their charge. Rico held his breath as he saw one of the Warriors turn it's gaze in his direction. As it scanned the side street, it's eyes paused on him for a second and every muscle in his body tensed. What had it seen? His goggles? His respirator? Had Dizzy moved? He remained absolutely still for several seconds while the Bug stared either at him, or at something near him. After what seemed like an eternity, it finally looked away and moved on up the street. Whatever had attracted it's attention, the creature must have decided it wasn't a threat. He quietly released a shuddering sigh. He'd had this nagging fear ever since he'd found out about the mission that the suits wouldn't work and he'd be left to face an angry swarm of Bugs with no defenses and no weapons. To find that his fear had been baseless came as a great relief.

The intersection began to light up with the glow of plasma. The sound of the juggernaut moving up the street got closer, and Johnny could feel the vibrations from it's steps in the sidewalk beneath his feet and in the wall that he was leaning against. A bus stop bench came skipping past him, falling to pieces as it tumbled over and over. A street light was knocked over and it fell out into the intersection, taking power lines and stop lights with it. The Bug was getting very close. Rico's mouth felt very dry but he couldn't be sure if it was from fear, or if it was just a symptom of the Spook Suit dehydrating him.

He turned over the beacon he held in his hand and removed the non-stick backing that covered the adhesive. When he looked back up, he could see the rest of his squad moving into the street directly across from him. He reached up with his free hand and pressed the talk button on his respirator.

"Lieutenant." he whispered. "This is Rico. We are directly across the street from you, next to the building on your left." He waved the beacon back and forth a couple of times so he could be spotted.

"We see you." came Razak's reply over the ear-piece. "Hold your position until we open fire."

"Roger that."

As Alpha Squad took up their positions and prepared to open up on the Bugs, the Plasma Bug's head came into view. In Rico's experience, this one wasn't that large, at least by Plasma Bug standards. Some Plasma Bugs could grow to have heads the size of a compact cars; this one was about the size of a household washing machine. The Bug's must have picked the smaller ones so that they would be better able to negotiate the city's streets. This Bug was still plenty big, though, and Johnny sure wasn't complaining.

More Warrior Bugs appeared, three on each side of the Plasma Bug. Those on the far side shrieked in surprise when they noticed the Roughnecks. The Warriors on Rico's side reacted by turning in that direction and crouching low, trying to look under the Plasma Bug and see what had spooked their comrades.

Rico heard Razak's voice bellow out over his helmet's loud speaker from across the street, "Open fire! Be sure of what you're shooting at, Apes!"

Gunshots rang out from across the street, and the Warrior's attentions were now completely focused in that direction. Gnashing their mandibles, they rushed around the Plasma Bug and towards the attacking troopers. More Warriors from the front and rear guards joined the charge, leaving the Plasma Bug's left side completely exposed. The Plasma Bug didn't seem to notice any off this; it just kept lumbering forward at the same slow, deliberate pace.

Now that the Warriors were distracted, Rico stood up and walked straight out into the street. He stepped carefully over the wreckage of the street lights and stopped about three feet from the Plasma Bug's side. Johnny felt very, very small. Heart thundering in his chest, he stood absolutely still and waited for the back end of the Bug to pass. As the Bug's rear leg went swinging past him, he stepped around it and moved up under the immense, glowing belly.

As he moved beneath the Bug, he had the unsettling mental picture of it tripping on a fallen streetlight and falling on top of him. That would be all she wrote, he thought. His squad would have to peel his remains up off of the ground with a spatula. Knowing he needed to stay focused, he pushed those thoughts aside, and brought his mind back to the task at hand.

Plasma Bugs were lowest to the ground at the front end and went progressively higher the further back on the Bug you went. At the point between the two back legs, it was about twelve feet to the underside of the belly. This was well out of jumping range for Rico, so he had to move farther forward before he could find a spot that he could reach. Closer to the thorax of the Bug it was a much more reasonable seven feet. Keeping pace with the Bug, he raised the beacon up and shoved it's adhesive padding hard against the hard shell of the belly. When he took his hand away, the beacon remained in place.

Oblivious, the Bug continued on it's way while Rico stopped and waited for it to move on past him. Once he was clear of it, he ran back across the street and joined up with Dizzy. The rush of adrenaline was making him feel a little faint, so he stopped for a few seconds to lean against the wall of the building and let his pulse return to normal. Dizzy reached over and gave him a congratulatory slap on the shoulder.

When his heart had slowed a little, he turned on his com-link and said, "One down."

"Copy that." Razak replied. "We're moving up to the next Bug."

Rico and Dizzy looked across the intersection and saw the rest of their squad withdraw, retreating up the street away from them. The Warrior Bugs who had survived the encounter watched them go and then turned back to surround their Plasma Bug once again.

Dizzy took out a beacon and handed the bag to Rico. She took the lead as they moved south one block and then west again, running to catch up with the second Bug in the convoy. As he followed in her tracks, Rico found it hard to discern just how far ahead of him Dizzy was. Her Spook Suit was playing tricks on his depth perception, and he kept almost running over her when she slowed down. She kept turning around to look at him every time he did it, and he could well imagine the dirty looks she was firing away beneath that mask.

They had to run west for four blocks to get ahead of the next Bug. The Bugs were spacing themselves out pretty well, most likely to make themselves harder targets for the Fleet bombers. On the one hand, this meant that they would only have to deal with the escort for one Plasma Bug at a time. But on the other hand, it meant a lot of running, which meant a lot of sweating. Sweating that was draining them of body fluids they couldn't afford to lose. Johnny didn't think it was a good sign that despite the fact that he had managed to drink four liters of water before putting on the suit, nature wasn't calling.

Dizzy was able to plant her beacon on the next Bug without any problems, and there was only a slight hiccup when it was Rico's turn again. The thick, squishy material of the Spook Suits made gripping things in his hands a little tricky, and when he went to stick the beacon on the Bug, he fumbled it. It had just popped right out of his hand, and went spinning off through the air. By reacting quickly, Johnny was able to get his hand under it as it fell and caught it before it hit the ground. Unfortunately, it fell into his palm adhesive side down. He stared at the beacon that was now glued to his palm, and visions of fleet bombers zeroing in on it flashed through his head. For a second there, hysterical panic seemed like a perfectly natural response. But then he stopped himself, took a deep breath and tried to peel the beacon back off of his hand. Much to his relief, it turns out that adhesives didn't stick to Spook Suits all that well. It must have been the suit's thin glaze of natural oils that did it, but the beacon came off of his hand easily. Once he had it free, he attached it to the Bug and made his getaway.

When he reached where Dizzy was waiting for him, she asked what the hold up had been.

"The beacon slipped out of my hand." he told her. "I almost dropped it. Feel free to start with the ridicule any time."

Happy to oblige, she replied, "Nice one, Fumblina."

Rico hit his talk button and said, "Bug number 3 is on the air."
In a narrow alleyway across the street, Razak lowered his smoking Morita and confirmed to Rico that he had received the transmission. Then he turned to his team and said, "All right, we're pulling back and moving on to the next Bug. Gossard, T'Phai, Higgins, you're taking point. Doc and I will bring up the rear."

Razak and Doc held their positions, holding back the Bugs with intermittent fire while the rest of the team fell into place. Even though the number of shooters had dropped by three-fifths, the Bug's luck didn't improve. The alley was only about eight feet wide and this was preventing the Bugs from rushing in more than one at a time. All the same, they were still trying. Every few seconds one of them would make an attempt to get at the troopers. The Warrior would make a mad dash around the corner, frantically trying to close the distance before one of the troopers got a lucky kill-shot or the agony of the concentrated fire forced the Bug to retreat back to the street.. There were two dead Bugs lying in a tangled heap about twelve feet into the alley, and these were helping to hamper the attacks of their comrades. All those sprawled limbs were difficult to climb over when you were in a hurry.

"In place and moving." Gossard called back to them.

Razak turned to Doc and said, "Go."

Doc turned and ran twenty feet up the alley before stopping, making an about face, and resuming his fire on the Bugs. Now that Razak could lower his gun for a few seconds without worrying about one of the Bugs skewering him, he moved up the alley himself, taking the opportunity to change out the clip on his rifle as he ran. Shrieks of frustration and pain trailed him as one of the Bugs mistook Razak's falling back as an opportunity to attack. Even over the roar of the gunfire, the impacts of Doc's bullets tearing into the Bug's exoskeleton could be clearly heard. He moved another twenty feet past Doc and then took his turn providing cover fire.

Despite Doc's blistering assault, the Bug was still coming. It was holding it's head low and it's tail high, only exposing the much thicker armor plate of it's back and upper beak. It was hurting, but it was pushing through the pain, intent on getting at the troopers. It tripped and fell it's way over the dead Bugs and then was up and running towards them. At the mouth of the alley, others Bugs were seeing this and were becoming emboldened by it. They pushed into the alley, so eager to join the fray that they were tripping over each other.

Doc and Razak backed away from the charging Warrior, both of them squeezing off burst after burst. The Bug was taking dozens of hits, but the vast majority of them weren't striking anything vulnerable. By pure happenstance, one stray round shattered one of it's leg joints and it's relentless charge was finally checked. The arachnid faltered, the wounded leg collapsing out from under it. It's momentum continued to carry it forward, and it twisted, trying to find it's balance. It's more thinly armored underside was exposed as it careened towards them, and both men focused their fire on it. The Bug was dropping stone dead only a few seconds later.

One of the Bugs discovered that the narrowness of the alley actually provided it with a chance to move vertically. By spreading it's legs wide, bracing the tips of it's claws against the walls of the opposing buildings, it could climb up between them. By keeping at least two legs braced at any given time, it could move up the alley with surprising speed and nimbleness. Other Bugs saw this, realized that they could move faster and in greater numbers than on the ground and they followed suit. Within seconds, half a dozen Warriors were straddling the space between the buildings and advancing on the troopers.

Razak felt like swearing. The Warrior escorts with the two previous Plasma Bugs had turned back when his squad had retreated. Once the immediate threat to their charge had disappeared, they had called off their attack. These Warriors, on the other hand, seemed to be much more persistent, much more intent on getting at the troopers and killing them. They didn't seem to be worried at all about the fact that they were leaving the Plasma Bug exposed and unprotected.

"Stubborn buggers, aren't they?" Razak shouted between bursts from his rifle. He peppered the wall around the feet of a Bug that was almost directly over head. It's reflex action was to yank it's foot away, and it lost it's footing. Razak quickly backed out of the way as the Bug came tumbling down, pulling down one of it's companions with it. They hit the ground in a tangled, thrashing mess, an obstacle to the Bugs advancing up the alley on the ground.

"I think they're starting to get suspicious of our little hit and runs." said Doc.

Gossard spoke up over com-link. "Looks like you've got some trouble, sir. Should we come back?"

Razak could hear the worry in his voice. "Negative." he said. "We need to keep moving. Can't let them get us bogged down."

"Copy that." said Goss, although he didn't sound entirely convinced. "We're nearly to the street. We'll wait for you there."

A few moments later, Razak jerked in surprise at the sound of gun fire erupting from that end of the alley. He flipped down his visor as he turned in it's direction. His thermal vision showed T'Phai, Gossard and Higgins firing their Moritas at something out in the street, but because of the angle, he couldn't see what they were shooting at.

"Gossard! Report!"

"Bugs, sir. And lots of them. They're trying to cut us off and keep us from getting to the street!"

Where had these Warriors come from? Could they be from the escorts of the Bugs they had already tagged? He didn't have time to ponder this. Any second now, and the Warriors would have cut off their escape. Razak quickly evaluated his options and then wasted no time deciding on his course of action.

"Get clear." he ordered as he flipped his visor back up. "Don't wait for us."

Doc's eyes had left the Bugs he was shooting at and were on his lieutenant now. There was barely contained panic in them.

"I repeat. Do not wait for us. Doc and I will go out a different way." As he said this he used his index finger to direct Doc's attention upward. Doc looked up, saw the fire escape, and exhaled with relief.

"We'll use our jump jets to get to higher ground." Razak told him. "You first."

"Higher ground sounds nice right about now." said Doc as he looked with growing concern at the Arachnids that were now coming at them from both ends of the alley. He hung up his gun, then reached back and pulled out the controls for his jump jets. With a press of the button he was launched two stories skyward, his arms flailing wildly before grabbing onto the metal railing of the fire escape. Razak was right behind him, coming up the opposite side of the staircase.

"Go, Doc! Go!" Razak was shouting. "You've got a bug coming up right behind you!"

Doc didn't waste any time looking. He pulled his torso up onto the railing, got his feet planted firmly on the fire escape landing and then launched upward again. One of the wall climbing Arachnids leapt at the spot he had been only an instant before, it's mandibles tearing into the thin metal frame of the stairs. Some of the bolts that secured the stairs to the wall of the building tore out and the whole structure twisted, threatening to fall. The body of the Warrior Bug dropped, it's legs scrambling for purchase. It managed to hang on with it's beak and the staircase groaned under the strain of it's considerable weight.

Razak launched again. The wall of the building went past in a blur and then he was up two more flights of the stairs. The shoulder armor of his power suit impacted hard on the railing, almost bouncing him back out into open space, but he was able to hook one arm over it before he fell. As he pulled himself to his feet, a safety bolt popped out of the wall and went spinning past his head. His eyes followed it as it fell towards the ground and it disappeared into the mass of Warrior Bugs that now clogged the alley. They were crawling on top of each other, trying to get onto the fire escape. Razak looked back up, gauging how far he had to go. Only two more stories. One more jump and he'd be on the roof.

Doc's jump jets flared and he disappeared up and over the edge of the top of the building. As he braced to follow, Razak felt the fire escape start to go. It swayed, tilting back and forth like a drunk who'd had one too many. He figured being anywhere near it was a bad idea, so he jumped out into open space, and tried not to look down at all those snapping beaks below him. Once clear of the falling metal structure, he hit the launch button and shot upward. As soon as he cleared the roof he was clutching at the packs on his belt and he had a grenade in each hand before he touched down on it's tar covered surface. With a press of his thumbs, both grenades were armed and he tossed them over into the alley below. As he reached for more, he told Doc to do the same.

"We've got to take out as many as we can while they're bottlenecked in that alley."

He only had two more frag grenades, and Doc only had four on him. After those had gone off, they stepped to the edge of the roof and took turns firing their Morita's RPGs (Rocket Propelled Grenades) down into the churning mass of Bugs. By the time they were finished, Razak was satisfied that between the eight frag grenades and the four RPGs, anything alive down there wasn't going to be in any condition to come chasing after them.

With that threat eliminated, they turned their attention to reuniting with the rest of their squad and finishing the mission. Razak took a moment to get his bearings and recognized the sounds of sporadic gunfire coming from a couple of blocks away. From the sound of things, it would seem that not all the Bugs had gone into the alley. They got a fix on where the sounds of combat were coming from and took off across the rooftop in that direction at a fast lope. As they ran, Razak called out to Gossard on his com-link.

"Goss, what's your status?"

"Getting better by the second." came the reply a few seconds later. "We moved west two blocks, but some of the Bugs were still trailing us. We stopped to deal with them. It looks like we've got them on their last legs."

Razak knew there was a good chance that Gossard had meant that last part literally. He and Doc approached the edge of the roof and despite the haze, had a pretty good view of the street below. Gossard, T'Phai, and Higgins had done him proud. The street was littered with dead and dying Bugs.

"Nicely done, Apes. Hold your position. We're coming to you."