Mission 14: Victory

Firefiek.

 

I winced as I limped down the corridor.

 

"How much time did you say I had again?"

|Sabre:| "2 minutes, 37 seconds, counting."

 

Pain slowly crept it's way up my leg- blood was slowly trickling from the jagged gash the virbo-blade had indented into my armor and skin.

 

The duel had cost me time.

Time I don't have.

 

The familiar blueprint of the factory materialized in my HUD, marking the closest route to the rendezvous point.

 

|Sabre:| "Sir, you have less than 2 minutes."

 

I heard the apprehension in his voice.

 

"What are my chances of making it Sabre?"

 

|Sabre:| "32%, dropping every second."

 

"Perfect."

 

Straining, I forced myself to run, to outrun the pain- it caught up with me.

I clenched my jaw- rounding the corner I felt the blast of laser bolts pepper the durasteel wall.

 

Almost there.

The green timer morphed into blood-red.

 

13 seconds.

 

More blasts.

 

9 seconds.

 

The doors swooshed open, revealing the entry ladder.

 

6 seconds.

 

I scrambled up, as the white opening grew larger and larger.

 

2 seconds.

 

Blue arms heaved me up as the flames surged and poured out the hatch.

 

 

|Sabre:| "Knew you'd make it Sir."

 

I took a deep breath.

"Next time, I set the timers."

 

______________________________________

 

Back at the command post, we were informed the city had been won, and were handed over prisoners to escort to the cruiser.

 

Due to unfortunate circumstances, the route there would take a slight detour into a part of the city, where the fighting had been thickest.

 

The silence there was interrputed only by quiet flickering of flames, as the city seemed to decay and crumble in our very sight.

 

Part of the exterior wall of the city still remained, even after all the artillery bombardment.

 

I heard shuffling and a grunt behind me- before I could look, the ground in front of me blazed red with blaster fire.

 

I tripped over a droids head as I dove for cover.

 

HQ buzzed over the comm.

"Captain Havoc, please report status on prisoner escort."

 

"We've had a minor inconvenience."

"ETA?"

 

"I'll get back to you on that."

Done