I swear I could hear my teeth creaking or something as I gritted them together. The ground was rushing up as I tried to manoeuvre the drop-ship away from whatever was flying up at us at an alarming speed. I barely had time to register that It had been fired before it was already hurtling past us.
“Shit, shit, shit!” I screamed the last word as I smashed the button for the ramp and pulled back on the yoke. My hand shifted quickly to add more power to the thrusters, then to the landing gear. The engines screamed to slow my speed down, barely getting it slow enough in time for the landing pads to hit the ground with a rough landing. I turned my head as I cut the power to the engines and looked out the door at the Marines and screamed.
“You have twenty seconds to get the hell out of my ship!”
I quickly shifted my attention back to the controls and began shifting power back into the thrusters for take-off. I shifted the yoke at the last second to fly a few feet off the ground, giving the marines a bit longer to jump out. The sensors were going ballistic at me, screaming all sorts of warnings.
“Aah, what the hell are they shooting at me?” I complained as I glanced at the rear camera to see four marines still inside. I shifted the ship hard to the right to avoid whatever my sensors told me was about to occupy the position I was in. I let out a hiss as I yanked the yoke back hard and pushed all the power into the engines climbing into the sky. A few seconds later I smacked the ramp button to close it only to hear someone yell.
“What the hell, I'm still in here, ya know!”
I glanced at the camera feed for the cargo hold and frowned as I saw only one marine still standing by the ramp door. I couldn't help but let out a sigh, but then I didn't have time to pay attention to his problems. I was trying to get the ship high enough to vanish into the clouds in hope they could provide me with some cover.
“Hey, open this door and get me back down there right now!”
I ignored the fool, he didn't jump in time, and I wasn't going back down for one slow marine. I climbed above the clouds and turned slowly, circling back around as my sensors started letting up on their screaming. I had lost track of the other drop-ships. I was about to hail one of them to find out where they were. When a chill ran up my spine and my left hand moved quickly, pushing the lockdown button, closing the door to the cockpit and sealing it shut. Moments later, I could hear the marine pounding on the door as he screamed to be let in. I was going to just ignore him until I heard a bang and spun around to see a dent in the glass of the door where his sidearm was pointed.
“You…”
I growled in anger as I turned to the contact holo screen and pushed ‘contact Sergeant Sanchez’ The screen changed to a private chat.
[SGT. Sanchez: not a good time, pilot. We have the cargo but getting him out is proving difficult, not to mention we are not at the extraction zone yet.]
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“That's nice, first what the hell are these ass hats shooting at me? And second, tell your dumb ass slow marine that couldn't even jump out of a drop-ship to stop trying to break into the cockpit before I space his dumb ass." I screamed over the banging of the marine’s sidearm as he shot the glass a few more times.
[SGT. Sanchez: what?... uh… hold that thought.]
The banging suddenly stopped, and I could see on the screen that the marine had stood still for a few seconds before he stomped over to a seat and sat down, but he kept shooting the camera a glare.
[SGT. Sanchez: I apologise for PFC Juttins’ behaviour. He will be reprimanded severely. As for what's being shot at you, I am not entirely sure. The Hocto are advanced enough to shoot laser beams into space and destroy ships in orbit. However, this is boot camp, and you are meant to be experiencing basic training mode, not realistic. But, your training being set to realistic would explain their level of technology even down here. I mean, I'm supposed to be up against darts and bows, not auto turrets and plasma rifles.]
“Basic? Realistic? What are you talking about?”
[SGT. Sanchez: uh… well boot camp is referred to as basic training, once complete you have the option for advanced training ya know if you want to actually go into real world missions. It is also referred to as realistic training. Uh, by the way, do I still need to fire this flare now that we are at the extraction zone or can you just come pick us up?]
“Uh, well the flare is meant for a location reference, so I know where you are. Wait, if this is a realistic training mode, does that mean I don't have to do the advanced training anymore?”
A light on my radar suddenly appeared and started blinking.
[SGT. Sanchez: How's a locator beacon working for you? Ya know, since we are playing on realistic mode. As for your query about the advanced training, the answer would have to be… dunno, but I will find out for you.
I tapped the blinking dot as I shifted the yoke. It spun the ship around to point in the direction of the sergeants’ beacon. I took a deep breath and then checked my sensors.
“Okay, here I go Back into hell, apparently a realistic version of it.”
I pushed the yoke forward and dropped through the clouds like a stone, and thirty seconds later I was back in hell, dodging what were apparently laser beams.
*******
“Sir, what the hell is going on? I would swear this was one of our training programs, not the boot camp walk in the park it’s meant to be.”
“I don't know, corporal. But I will find out. However, I am tempted to not touch it, once I do, considering the results it is producing with these drop pilots.”
I saw the corporal nodding out of the corner of my eye before focusing on the sky. The star hawks’ drop-ships were dropping faster than I had ever seen one fall, at the last possible second their engines flared at max shooting the ships forward across the landscape only to lift their noses and land in front of the marines the drop doors already open. I waved my hand quickly and ran onto the ramp, aiming my rifle across the field to cover my squad as they all ran onto the ship with the cargo. I turned, walking up the ramp slowly as it began to close. My eyes slid over the captive, making sure the Hocto king had his mask on securely and was secured tightly in his seat. They then moved and locked onto the little shit that failed to get out in time and then had the balls to attack the pilot. A glare settled onto my face as I marched across the deck to stand in front of him. I stood there staring down at him, unable to decide what punishment I wanted to dish out to the man who nearly cost us our only way off this cursed planet and out of the simulation. He turned away from the camera and looked up at me about to open his mouth and spout some excuse that I no longer cared to hear, and at that moment I decided the ultimate punishment for attempted sabotage of the extraction vehicle would be appropriate.
“There is a rule, it is a very simple rule. An unspoken rule among the commanding officers of the marines. It is a rule that no NCO or higher will ever break. It is the one rule that is absolute no matter what happens. Don’t ever fuck with the drop pilot!”
“But Sir-”
“Shut the fuck up! You are hereby banished from my clan and off my squad effective immediately”