Chapter
10 - The Wing Riders rescue
Watching
the high definition screens, James and Alanov saw anomalies on the far
corner of the dune ridges.
Peering
at then as they appeared to close on the stranded bikers, James said
“What do you make of them, Alanov?”
Trying
to get a definite impression Alanov said “I can't be sure from
here, but it's either four Wing Riders or four Sky Hawkers. We'll know
soon enough, James.”
Down
at ground level, with the dust of the dunes clogging their noses and
the smell of the Caradone still hanging in the stillness of the air,
the biker squad were trapped with no ammo and no escape. It was
looking as if the rescue of 501 was going to be their end...
Aria
stood up and called to Jeff and Frankie “This is it guys, the end
wont be long now. We did our best, but it wasn't good enough.”
Jeff
replied “Yer, guess we'll never know who 501 was or even if it was
for real.”
Walking
over to the others Frankie said, “I know we all trusted James, but
I think he got this one wrong. Since we left the base, I've had the
feeling that somebody is watching us and trying to pick us off.”
Looking
around Jeff said to his friends “Do you mean in the dunes? I've
been noticing strange movements too.”
“I
can't pin it down, Jeff, but I feel somebody is following us.”
“Okay,
we now you are out there! Come and get us, we wont go without a fight
though, ammo or no ammo.” Adria yelled at what appeared to be the
empty dunes.
Laughing,
Jeff said “You tell em, Adria.”
The
air was filled with rifle and Melta gun fire, as balls of flame tore
through the air. The balls from the Melta guns could burn a whole in
all but the thickest iron. Fortunately, they were used for short
range fire and just heated the air. The Boltrun guns were a different
matter as the shells ripped through the air and bounced off the
bikes.
Jeff
yelled out “Make for the gates,we can't hope for more than a few
minutes now but that is something. It's been great knowing you.”
Looking
for a quick route Adria yelled “Nice knowing you guys, hope to see
you on the other side.”
Nobody
said any more as the ran for the gates, bolter shells whistling
passed them. Adria was felled by a short burst from the left and fell
to the ground. Her knee ripped apart and bleeding on the hot sand she
crawled through the sand, her trail clear to follow. Hearing her yell
in agony, Jeff turned to try and help, but was driven back by the
volume of shells that the Demons were pouring on them.
Fading
in and out of consciousness, she called to Jeff “Am I seeing
things? Look to the skies!”
Jeff,
curious as to the comment took out his magni-glasses and focussed them
to the area of sky that Adria had pointed to, “I can't be sure as
we never can tell about them, but it looks like Wing Riders on the
way. Hang in there, Adria.”
Frankie
took out his goggles and had a look “I have to say, I think it is
them now. I can see them.”
At
this moment, the air was shattered by the tumultuous sounds of ten
auto-cannonades firing at full volume and tearing the Demons to
shreds. Caught in the open, the Sand Demons tried to turn back to
their tunnels, only to be met by a fast approaching vehicle firing
Promethium blasts their way.
“It
can't be!” yelled Frankie.
“Yes
it can and it is!” called Jeff, “good old Padraig to the
rescue!”
“What
is he up to now? He can't possibly drive so soon after that crash. I
saw his wounds, there was hardly and flesh left.” Frankie replied.
With
a quick fiery blast, Padraig hit the gates. Jeff and Frankie turned
to see the smoudering remains swinging on burned hinges.
“You
go and get 501, I've one thing left to do,” Padraig called to the
bikers.
Turning
the vehicle, Padraig fired a shell at one of the dunes. On cue the
Wing Riders circled and swooped in, blasting the area with
auto-cannonade shells and ripping the sand to pieces. Underneath lay
the lair of this Sand Demon squadron. Without hesitation Padraig
revved the engine and drove through the burning hole created by the
shells, Promethium ablaze as he raced through the tunnels. Demons
screaming everywhere as the air exploded around the stockpiled
shells, there was a series of explosions then …
Jeff
and Frankie heard the explosions, shock waves knocking them off their
feet. Turning to see what had happened, Jeff said “He wouldn't have
wanted it any other way, Frankie.”
With
tears running down his smoke covered face, Frankie replied “I know,
hero to us even at the end. He knew there was nothing he could do and
wanted to leave a final message for anybody to
remember
him by.”
“Well
that he did, Frankie. We wont forget him, always willing to sacrifice
himself for anybody and now he has given us a last hope. All we can
do, is make sure his effort wasn't in vain and get to 501.”
“That
is if they exist, or if this fire fight hasn't drawn attention to the
gate.”
“James
has been watching this area for weeks, for some reason patrols don't
cover it.”
Frankie
replied “Do you think because the Demons patrolled outside ? And
they thought nobody could get in or out.”
“You
may have a point there. Anyway, we need to get to 501,” Jeff
commented.
Outside
the gated area, the Wing Riders circled in honour of a brave fighter.
With the Promethium still burning the air, it was hard to find a safe
landing spot. One rider saw a small area of sand slowly moving over
the previously burning area and swooped down. On landing he
dismounted his raydrian and ran to Adria. By this time, she was
unconscious and delirious with pain. Gently taking her in his strong
arms, he put her on his mount and took to the skies, heading back to
the base.
Inside
the citydrome, things were about to turn nasty for Jeff and Frankie
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