Short Story Project - Halloween

"Where the hell are the ground troops? They were supposed to be here to take the ORDER from the inside!" Elijah yelled into his comm. He studied the battlefield before him, littered with FRAME carcasses, burning tanks and the stationary defences which he had earlier brought down with his Scorpion cannon.

"The hovercraft the Commandoes were in was shot down in transit. They're attempting to make their way here on foot." Amy reported after a slight pause. She landed her Enforcer, then placed it in a kneeling position. After another pause, she came back with more information, "We'll still need to take the ORDER from the inside. The Chuabes will probably want to initiate a self-destruct sequence to make sure we can't use it in the defence of Chalcedony."

"So what do we do? They don't expect us to go in there, right? We're pilots, not Commandoes. The most we could do is defend the ORDER against counter-attacks from the outside!"

Elijah sighed. Trust Sam to sound perpetually worried. We need solutions, not more problems. "The problem now is that they might not send counter-attacks. They just might destroy it from the inside. Our effort would all be in vain." Switching to Col Chua's channel, Elijah asked, "Sir, we can't waste precious time waiting here. Is there any way we could stop the Chuabes from destroying ORDER from the inside?"

Col Chua's reply came in measured tones, "Each one of your Enforcers is equipped with a survival kit in case you need to bail out over enemy territory. Within the survival kit is a personal protection weapon."
Even the radio failed to hide Col Chua's disturbed voice. But Elijah was too focused on his job to care. "What exactly are these weapons like? Can I raid the installation on foot with the weapon?"
"Sir, I think it's a bad idea. We weren't trained as soldiers. Within our Enforcers, we're almost invincible. Outside..."
"Shut up, Sam! I know the risks! I can take care of myself!" Elijah took a few deep breaths. We need solutions, dammit!
"The survival kit is behind the command couch and can only be access after the ejection pod is clear of the Enforcer." A sense of conviction re-entered Col Chua's voice, "However, given the circumstances, the override code is two-twenty-seven, three-seventeen. You'll find a small sub-machine gun and three fully loaded magazines. Get in there and see what you can do to buy the Commandoes more time."

Elijah landed his Enforcer, whipped his five point seat harness off and then clambered behind the command couch. His fingers danced over the keypad and he fished out the PPW and also the magazine pouch belt. He then lowered himself onto the battlefield. The dust was the first thing that hit him. Then came the smell of burning plastic and fuel. Detached from the controlled environment of the Enforcer cockpit, he suddenly felt vulnurable. Maybe this wasn't a good idea after all. -Jimmy