Thing’s outside aren’t any better than inside. At least they’re more straightforward.

Mills has everyone arrayed in a semicircle facing outward. around forty people holding a firing line behind vehicle cover.

There is an assault against us in progress from what look like goblins. Interspersed within them are orcs giving orders, they’ve got small arms. I thought the ones I fought in the forest with melee weapons were scary, these are twice as bad. Most of the goblins only have hand weapons but every once in a while, I see one with a pistol, or short rifle.

It’s not looking good. I pull my rifle up and fire into the horde, dumping a mag as I maneuver towards Millers vehicle.

“What’s the plan?” I spit out as I load a new mag and take up position against his hood.

“They’ve got us locked in, took most of the force by surprise after the dust settled. Most of them appeared from around the side of the building over there. I swear a few of them just kind of appeared out of thin air.” He’s much more in charge of himself now then we were inside of the building.

“You’re doing fine captain. the horde is only going to get worse here, the sound of gunfire is going to draw them. Here’s what we need to do: Next time the horde backs up to reset we start getting these people in trucks and pushing them out. The HUMVEEs will drive right over the horde, have them head towards emerald city. We’ll sit here until their out, then regress once they’re out of the area. What do you think?” It’s half-assed at best, but it’s better than getting everyone killed.

“I think that’s doable. Poss says he can’t get anyone to us, but their virtually untouched over there. Small assaults, but nothing serious enough to warrant a retreat. I’ll start getting them into trucks now though, there’s no telling if these…things, are going to slow down.” He jogs away shouting orders, getting the people that aren’t actively fighting, or were doing more harm than good out of the way.

The radio transmission comes through clear. most of the people have moved into trucks.st the SF team, Lena, me, and a few other stragglers who were doing damage.

I should have mentioned to him that I’m carrying a fuck-ton of grenades, well, twelve. Still more than enough, I’ll give him a quarter on the count. If I don’t make it out I’ve got to do this whole thing over again, so I shouldn’t be too scroogish with them.

Letting my M4 fall to my chest I start pulling my grenades out and lobbing them. I only throw them far enough to damage a few ranks back before I pull my gun back up and dump the last of my mag into the ones that are almost on top of me. Clearing the immediate area.

His transmission is almost lost for the gunfire coming through it, but I get the idea. I step around the truck I was leaning on and start firing off single rounds every second or so. Picking off any target that looks like it might get brave.

I had planned to save them, but the horde is dumb enough that they are already trying to push.

From where I was standing watching the SF’s work was art, the machine precision of a fine Swiss watch. Nothing they did was wasted, peeling back to the quads took them all of ten seconds, I was happy to see Lena managed to get on the rear-facing seat of one. From her driving earlier she’s not quite comfortable with it, but has the basic idea.

I pull out the four grenades and prime them. Tossing them in an arc without even looking and sprinting towards the last quad in line, with Mills sitting at the driver seat.

The wheelers move out in a staggered pattern, giving everyone almost uninterrupted fields of fire as we go. An orc sprints through the smoke of one of the first grenades, headed straight towards the bikes.

I twist my rifle over and fire off a round, sinking it into his chest. The erupting blood, and resulting hole don’t do anything to slow him down, so I pull the trigger three more times managing to hit him twice. He’s slowed down enough that he’s not able to catch us as we turn the corner out of lot and onto the main road.

We’re roaring down the street, and ahead we can see the convoy is lost. There are goblins and orcs all over it, firing their guns and stabbing spears into canopy and cabin hundreds of them. Anyone there is dead now. Mills shakes his head.

The foot trail is the dirt running path that goes almost everywhere on base. I don’t think it’s the best decision, but I don’t have any better ones.

The path manages to be miraculously clear all the way to emerald city, and we pull down Bad Toelz and up to the command center without any resistance. Killing the quad Mills hops off and heads into the TOC.

Looking around I can see that they are gearing up to move out. There are HUMVEE’s, technical trucks with guns mounted on them, and other various vehicles all over the place. It looks like we’re leaving.

“Gnome, SMADGE wants you.” I was hoping to avoid this, I don’t know how this guy is going to take what I did.

With one hand on the pistol grip of my M4 I step into the TOC and up to Poss, “you wanted me.”

He stops and looks me up and down, “I’m not going to fight you, you did what needed to be done. It’s what I would have done and I don’t fault you for it. I needed you to get you informed.”

I can’t stop the breath that escapes. If I’d have had to draw on him I wouldn’t have walked out of here.

“Your unit was the last to come in, everyone else is loaded up. We’re putting miller and his quads in the middle of the convoy and heading out to Cheyanne. The rest of the units on base have already evacuated what they can. Now’s the part you’re not going to like. The national guard base went dark half an hour ago, I can’t spare men to get there, but I can give you and your friend ammo and the quads you were riding. You can even take the radios, that model should be able to get us up at Cheyanne from anywhere on base. Can you do it?”

Fuck, I thought I was going to get out of this easy. “I can check. If they are overrun there isn’t anything we can do to help them, if I do this we’re going to have to be hands off.” I’m not confident in what we’re about to do, but it’s a side mission request at this point.

“That’s what I was hoping to hear. We’re going to push out through west gate past the gold course. And head up our backway to NORAD. If you can keep in contact with me at least once an hour.” Absentmindedly signs a paper someone hands him, “If you can do it get back up to us. General Baker was a good man, and I can count the number of people he’s explicitly told me to trust on two fingers. I didn’t want to at first, but Miller has talked you up as well. If you can get to us we’d be glad to have you.” Honest, positive reviews are always appreciated. I guess.

“I might do that, but you should know now, NORAD isn’t a long-term solution. The city is going to breed monsters. And those it doesn’t breed it will attract, bigger and meaner things. The world is only going to get worse. I don’t want to suggest writing off civilians, but taking that town back isn’t worth it.” Saying it aloud stings worse than I thought it would, but it doesn’t change the fact. “I’ll meet you up there, but I’m not staying. I’ve got a friend making a base back to the east. I think, I don’t know the exact location. South? I honestly don’t know, I jumped in and was transported out.” I didn’t even think of that, I wonder if there’s a way to figure that out. Shit. Guess that would have been good information to have.

Poss is giving me a weird look, “Alright. I’ll pass that along to higher up once I get there. Good luck gnome, don’t do anything unnecessary to get the intel. If it’s an impossible situation, then report and back out.” It’s a nice sentiment, but Lena is shaking her head next to me.

“We’re not in the sane decision business boss.” I crack a smile, it’s nice to get a joke in.

“You’re not in the business of sane decisions, I’m just an employee. A very hardworking employee, my bonus better be stellar.” Lena cracking jokes too makes me feel better about the whole thing, she hadn’t said much. I guess I told her not to, but I didn’t figure she’d listen quite so well.

“What do you even know about bonuses, did your world even have them?” I’m half joking, but Xenoarchaeology has always interested me, it’s one of the thing’s I’d spent my free time back in Valhalla studying. Different races, and their actual habitats and habits. It’s fascinating.

“The world I came from was about where yours is technologically. From what I’ve studied it’s because we had so many different species that skin color never became a factor in our advancement. We had to deal with each other as we were, so we learned to coexist.” It’s a fair point.

mPHmm, Poss coughs, “this is fascinating, truly, but my men are waiting on me. We’re moving in five, your quads are outside. I have a few things to take care of. Again, good luck.” He reaches out and shakes mine and Lena’s hands before walking off to his prep.

With nothing else to do me and Lena chatter as we walk outside to the quads. Jack is sitting next to the quads along with a few of the others we’d gone on the run to base command with.

“We swapped out the one’s you guys used with a couple fresh from the motor pool. If we come back it’s going to be awhile, so they’d sit anyways.” Didn’t think Jack was the thoughtful type. Looking at Lena he twitches his head off to the side. Ahh, that makes more sense.

“Go on, I’ve got to talk to Mills.” Not sure if she’s into him, but I do need to hit Mills up.

“Good to see you again Captain, once she’s done with jacks we’re going to roll on over to the National Guard building and check things out.” Pulling out his notepad he points at some notes for me.

“The UAV’s are up. If you hang a left out of the lot here,” he points at his map, “and then hang a left at the tank trail at the end it’ll be your fourth right. As of a few minutes ago, there aren’t any creatures on the route. The UAV is showing fires in and around the building though, the front barricade looks abandoned. You can go at it anyway you want, but that’s how I would do it. Hit it hard, get what you need, and get out.” I’ll take that to heart.

“Thanks Mills, I hope to see you at NORAD. Make sure they know I’m coming.” As Lena pats Jack on the shoulder and walks back I shake mills hand and meet her at the quads.

“He seems like a sweet one, did you win him over with violence?” I’m not going to let this one go.

“It seems that way, from all my research it had seemed most of your males dislike a female who can overpower, or outthink them.” The statement came out more as a question.

“If you look at the media side, yes. Most of the people you’re going to run into, warrior types, aren’t going to be like that. Some will, don’t get me wrong, but most won’t. We tend to be a realistic caste.”

Mounting my quad I push the start button and have Lena pull up next to me. The rear seats on the quads have tac bags attached to them now, looks like they gave us party favors. Going to try and keep those.

“we’re going to blast right in. left out of here, then a right onto the dirt road at the end. Once on the dirt road the fourth right hand turn is where we’re headed. I’d like to pull straight up to the front door, but we’ll adjust when we get there, got it.” Short and sweet, if the plans not complicated it’s harder for me to jack up.

“Easy enough, ready when you are.”

By the time, we were done planning the SF force had started its convoy heading the opposite direction, so we pulled out and gunned it. The convoy was running full light, but with the dust gone me and Lena can see like normal. Thank Odin for the moon today.

We turn onto Bad Toelz and pull the throttles wide open. Tearing down the road at a speed that would be reckless midday. There are more tactical ways to do this, but I’m more of a hammer solution kind of guy.

At the cross where we’re supposed to turn right I can see there are a couple of wolf creatures, they’ve spotted us and start sprinting in our direction.

Lena comes over our personal chat, “Just ram them, they’re a lower sub-species of Canis.”

It’s not like I have much choice anyways, by the time I have decided to do it they’d already charged into the front of my quad. Slamming into the bull-bar and exploding like brown bags of disgusting black paint. Both manage to get in front of me and get mowed down. The second my right wheel bounces over, it’s dead, but it didn’t explode in the same fantastic way as the other did.

The shock of hitting the first dog slows me down enough that I almost go over the handlebars. Barely managing to keep hold I skid to a stop at the far side of the dirt road. Lena pulling to a stop in the center faced in the direction we’re supposed to be going.

“The one we’re supposed to be going to appears to be burning brighter than before. It doesn’t appear as if anyone is attempting to fight the flames.” I don’t know who’d fight them, but she’s right. It’s catching much faster than a concrete building should.

“You’re right. We stick to the original plan though, the faster we’re in the faster we’re out.” I pop backwards a few feet then gun it back up to top speed. We got to the turn off quickly, within a minute.

As we get closer to the building I see shadows moving inside the building, but they’re too far to make out what they are. I’m going to have to catch a break at some point.

HOOOOOOWWWWWLLLLL

Not now, apparently.

A large group of bipedal wolves sprint out of the front door.

“WEREWOLVES!!! Back up, back up, back up!!!,” screaming into the net I lock the brakes and power slide, ending most of the way back around. Lena isn’t quite as versed so she has to make a slow, wide turn. Shit, the best option is to ditch one of these and ride the same as we did with the SFs earlier.

“FUCK.” Lamenting the loss of the extra vehicle and gear I jump off and sprint to Lena’s quad, pushing her back mid turn.

“Spin around I’m driving. Shoot them down if you can, I’m not sure what we’re packing can even kill a werewolf.”

“I do not, without silver our only option is to cut off the head.”, I don’t have much time as I jump on, “grab on, we need distance.”

I feel her hand snake over her shoulder and grab on the drag handle on my vest. It can’t be comfortable, but it leaves her one hand to fire with.

Pushing the throttle lever as far in as it will go the back-wheel’s spin and we shoot off back the way we came. I’m hesitant to drag these things to the convoy, so when we hit the T of the road I slow down and crank it left. Wolves are persistence predators when they can be. It they can’t kill something they will chase it until it drops from exhaustion. I’m counting on that for now, if I can drag them out to the fields then double back later.

Then a thought hits me, Butts Air Force Base is down this way. If we can get a good enough lead I’d bet good money I can get a little bird off the ground.

All I’ve flown are ultralights up till now, but I used to be huge into simulation gaming. One of my favorite things to do was fly the MH-6 little bird. I know they have them there. If there aren’t any we can go back to option one, driving the long way around to NORAD.

franticly trying to piece my helicopter dream together I call the only asset I have.

good, I can still get them.

fingers crossed

so much skepticism.

There was a silence on the other end. By the time I got a response I could see the flood lights that had been set up before they rolled out.

That’s a little disappointing, half considering dumping that Idea.

A different voice comes over the radio this time, the line drops for a second,

Damn. I guess those are my options then: keep the bird and don’t go to NORAD, or give them the bird and I’ll gain trust and a side mission reward.

Probably a substantial one, considering the odds of me getting a helicopter into the air and too NORAD are low.

Sighing, I key up the mic

I spend the thirty seconds pulling around the open gate and up to the tarmac cursing myself for an idiot. I could own a military grade helicopter. It would be mine. Who’d stop me? I guess NATO could. Eventually.

I can see a little bird at the end of the runway, a flight of three in line. Probably set up for the SF training lift. The whole ride down the runway there’s evidence of helicopters being prepped and put into the air in a hurry. Unstowed straps, gas trucks left sitting off to the side. There are a few birds that are on fire with craters near them. I don’t see any dead bodies though, I’m guessing the population out here is so low that nothing too bad spawned.

Pulling up behind the flight I do the mental math, “Lena, I’m guessing we have about four minutes before those were’s catch us. We’ve got to get one of these birds in the air.”

Looking at the helicopter she squints her eyes, “this does not look like the birds from my research.”

“It’s what we call helicopters sometimes, walk around the outside and undo the latches tying us down, if their too much trouble cut them.” I sprint up to the left side of the bird and clear them all with the rifle before I hop in and turn on the controls.

I flip the battery switch to on and yell back to Lena, “keep an eye out, we’re going to get one shot at this. If you see those were you tell me right away, I’d rather abandon this than have to fight them.” As I run through my quick start ups: moving the stick around, checking the rotation of the throttle and the collective smoothness.

“Lena, one more thing, pull the bag off the quad and put it in the seat next to me. If we lift off you can leave it in your lap, if not I’ll grab it on my way to the quad.”

I open a private channel between the two of us, hoping the mental link comes through regardless of the rotor-wash.

Been a while, the cockpit is simple though. Most of the buttons and switches are unneeded, it’s more about knowing what needs to be turned on when, and what should be left on.

Normally, with my little private bird, I’d take about 10 minutes to check everything. I’ve got to assume right now that the pilots have done most of the initial checks.

Falling back on an old habit I talk as I work. “Battery…on, fuel…off, start timer…2 3 4 5, starter…TOT safe, fuel on”. The rotors start moving, so I know I’m going in the right direction. “N1 at 30…40…50… self-sustaining. Let go of starter, generator on…accessories on…”. Electronics in the dash come alive, the sudden light almost blinding me. The radio screen grabs my attention, but I don’t have the right for it, so I leave it alone.

“are you talking to me?” Lena comes through the link almost perfectly, I can’t hear her, but understand her words.

“No, I do this as a check list, old habit. Let me work.” I’d love to explain the process to her, but I’ve got to make sure everything is coming up as it’s supposed to. “Rotor RPM’s matched…

“I can see them, looks like they came cross country when they heard the sound, we have a roughly minute before they get here. That’s not counting if there is anything else closer.”

Shit, it’s going to be close, I don’t want to raise the rotor RPM too fast. It’s military spec though, so I guess some abuse is expected.

“Lena, get it, we’re out of here.” From the mirror in the skid I see the werewolves are within a hundred meters, they made much better time than us.

Lena grabs the bag off the seat and hops in

“Put on your seatbelt, don’t yell, and don’t touch any of the controls, you might kill us.” She manages to look sufficiently frightened by my last comment.

I turn the throttle until I feel us buoy up a bit, looking at the mirror I see the wolves are far too close for comfort.

I rip the throttle and we shoot up into the sky, spinning because the rear rotor can’t keep up with the anti-torque. Out of the bottom of my view I see a were’s hand miss the skid by a fraction of an inch.

I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding. We’re free and clear.

All I need to do now is navigate to NORAD while flying a helicopter I’ve never flown before, then land in whatever LZ they have made up for me.

Should be a cakewalk.