Categories > Original > Sci-Fi > Holy War
-Colonel Marks made his way through the ruined urban terrain until he found an intact building. From the look of the place it had once been a convenience store but all food and supplies had long since been scavenged by people or animals. Despite the decrepit accommodations the place was a perfect for Marks' needs. He entered the building and proceeded to clear it.
-He went down each isle with his rifle slung over his shoulder and his sidearm drawn. It was dark outside and with no power in the building Marks was forced to use his night vision. He flipped down the left eye piece from his helmet and the darkness revealed its secrets to him. He could have used the light on his helmet but Marks had learned that using illumination gave away his presence to any potential enemies. every empty shelf, every discarded can and ever dead rat appeared clear as day to his left eye and anyone without such a device would have no idea he was even there.
-Marks finished clearing the store and determined that the front door was the only viable entrance. The back door was partially covered by rubble and the only windows were next to the front door. Marks closed the front entrance and reached into his pack. He took out a laser trigger mine and placed it on the wall just in front of the door. It was a small, disk shaped explosive with adhesive on the bottom and a laser beam on the top. If anything crossed the beam the mine would explode and throw shrapnel outward.
-Marks set the mine high enough so that it wouldn't be triggered by any animals but low enough to avoid easy detection and then found himself a spot in the back of the store which he could defend should he need to. He placed his rifle bunt down and leaned it against a wall while he set down and opened his pack. The store didn't have any food but luckily Marks had brought his own. He took out a hand sized pouch and yanked out a cord on the top. A few seconds later he opened the steaming ration of soup.
-After his meal the colonel took out his back up weapon and performed maintenance to pass the time. He wasn't due for EVAC for another couple of hours so he had time to kill. His sidearm was a REV-6, a high-tech revolver that used to be standard issue. Instead of a standard barrel the gun had six barrels in a revolving cylinder near the end of the gun. Each barrel housed three spherical rounds that were electromagnetically launched from the weapon when their barrel rotated to the top.
-The actual fixed barrel at the front of the gun was only about an inch long. The top of the gun was an inch and a half wide to house the magnet that propelled the weapon's ammo and top back of the gun were the chamber housing should have been there was a battery pack. Due to the short barrel the weapon wasn't spot on accurate but then again it didn't have to be. The rounds it fired were explosive and packed with shrapnel. Marks didn't actually have to hit someone to kill them thanks to the proximity detonator; as long as he could get the bullet within two feet of someone it would do the job.
-Marks pushed the button behind the cylinder and it came half way out to the side. Marks meticulously unloaded, cleaned and reloaded each barrel individually. The large marbles rolled down into the barrels and rested against the back of the cylinder where they were magnetically held until they were fired. The cylinder fired one round and then rotated with each pull of the trigger to allow the barrel to cool down before being fired again. Although there was no explosive propellant the speed at which the rounds left the barrel and the electronic heat could cause problems. Any dirt in the barrel could cause a round to explode before leaving the weapon. After making sure the weapon was in perfect working order Marks went to holster the weapon but he paused.
-It had been nearly three years ago when he had been issued the weapon upon earning the rank of Sergeant. Back then it had been a common weapon but as the war dragged on fewer and fewer such weapons were available. Construction and even maintenance of many weapons was all but impossible with so much of the industrial complex destroyed due to enemy action. Marks was one of the few people to still have such a weapon and it had saved his life many times. The gun was like a good friend to him and he thought it a shame that there were so few of them left.
-Marks heard a noise and pointed his weapon in the direction it came from. Once posed, Marks remained frozen with his weapon ready and night vision on. He waited, frozen like a statue for something to shoot at. An empty can rolled into view but Marks didn't flinch. Even after a large rat fallowed the can Marks waited a few moments more just to make sure before lowering his weapon. He let out a sigh and settled in; it was going to be a tense wait until his extraction showed up.
-After several hours of listening to every little sound, the sun was coming up and Marks was ready to leave. He slung his sniper rifle over his shoulder, readied his REV-6 and headed for the front of the building. He was heading down the isle when an explosion shook the walls. Marks dropped to a crouch and listened with his gun pointed toward the front of the store. He knew what had happened, the laser mine had been triggered and that meant his position was compromised.
-When Marks didn't hear anyone coming he quickly moved toward the door and found two Christians dead and half buried by rubble. He quickly scanned the area outside but didn't see any more enemies approaching. Marks knew that wasn't going be the case for long. Any Christians in the area would have heard the explosion would investigate. Soon they would all converge on Marks' position so he had to be gone by the time that happened.
-He made his way out of the building and across the street where he took cover and double checked to see if he had been spotted. No one fired at him, no one shouted for help and no soldiers were in sight. Marks quickly moved out and double timed it toward the extraction point. With any luck the Christians would focus on the building and their dead comrades and not pick up on his trail. All he had to do was make it to the ship alive.
-Marks moved from one covered position to the next down the streets and through the building of the city. He stopped every time he heard a noise or got a bad feeling to check for enemy soldiers. He knew where he was going despite never having been in the city before and at long last his destination finally came into sight.
-Marks made it to the park and took cover behind a broken down car on the opposite side of the street. Command had chosen the park as the EVAC point because it was open enough for a Stealth hunter gunship to fly in to extract him. It was also far enough away from the Christians' base to prevent them from bringing anything strong enough to take down an armored vehicle. The gunship would be coming to pick him up any minute; all he had to do was wait for it a little longer.
-Marks spotted the silhouette of the gunship as it dropped straight down from the cloud cover. The ship's main body looked like a helicopter but instead of propeller blades it had two large rectangular protrusions on the top that reminded Marks of dog's ears. They contained the antigravity magnets that propelled the vehicle. Even when it was hovering just a few yards away Marks could barely hear the hum from the generators that powered the super polarized magnets.
-The gunship hovered a few feet off of the ground and Marks was about to make a run for it when something caught his eye. He looked to his left and spotted a Christian soldier walking down the street. The soldier's view of the gunship was blocked by a building and he was too far away to hear it but if Marks made a move for the ship the man would see him for sure.
-Marks didn't see any other soldiers in sight but he knew the man wouldn't be alone. If the Christian continued walking down the street he would hear the hum of the gunship's generators and that would cause a real problem. Marks knew he was going to have to make a move. He readied his REV-6 and bolted from behind the car, heading for the gunship with his weapon aimed at the Christian. The moment Marks stepped into view the Christian soldier saw him and raised his weapon but before he had it aimed, Marks had already fired.
-The REV-6 hummed with power as the magnet in the top of the gun sent one of the spheres flying through the air. The ball itself made a faint whistle as it displaced the air around it and without explosive propellant there was almost no recoil at all. The only real sound that was made was the bullet itself as it exploded next to the Christian's head. The sphere released shrapnel that tore the man's face apart in a bloody mess and he dropped to the ground dead.
-Marks for his part had turned away the moment he saw he had taken down his opponent and was making a run for his means of escape. He heard several soldiers screaming and a second later he heard them open fire. Marks came to a two foot high brick wall and rolled over it just as the first shots landed around him. Marks was pinned down, the building between the gunship's heavy Vulcan and the Christians and the Christian gunfire between Marks and his escape.
-The gunship tried to move closer to Marks' position but there were trees in its way. Marks peeked over the top of the wall and saw six soldiers in a firing line making their way to him. He didn't recognize the weapons they held in their hands. They were elongated and black with a brown stock and a curved ammo clip. Marks had seen such weapons in old pictures but didn't know what they were called. It became a moot point when the Christians opened fire again and Marks was forced to duck back down.
-Marks waited until the Christians stopped firing and had to reload. When they did he sat back up and fired five wide shots and then ducked back down without seeing their effectiveness. He heard the successive explosions and stood up to continue to the ship before the wounded men even had time to scream. Most of the soldiers were laying dead but two were still alive and nearly a dozen more came running into view, weapons firing.
-Marks tried to keep low as he ran past the edge of the building and headed for the gunship. Bullets threw up dirt around his feet and whizzed past his ears but he did not hesitate. Once he was past the building it sheltered him from the enemy fire and they were forced to shift their position. They ran around the building and right into the Vulcan gunner's line of sight.
-Marks dove into the gunship and the heavy Vulcan cannon whirred to life and let loose a hail of fire on the enemy troops. The Christians were torn apart by the torrent of bullets but still they opened fire rather than seek shelter. Even as the gunship rose well out of range of their weapons they continued to shoot defiantly into the air. The gunship rose to a safe altitude and dropped a canister of napalm on the area just to be safe before flying away.
-Marks sat back against to cool black metal and checked himself over for injuries. Before he had finished, another man crouched down in front of him. The insignia he wore identified him as a brigadier general but aside from that he donned the same field gear that Marks had on. The harsh features of his face almost hid the concern in his eyes as he looked over his friend.
-"You ok Marks?" The man asked in a loud voice, a side effect of constant field duty. Marks looked at him and nodded an affirmative and the general slowly nodded, pleased to hear it. "Report."
-"Mission accomplished," Marks said, "Cardinal Reece, eliminated."
-He went down each isle with his rifle slung over his shoulder and his sidearm drawn. It was dark outside and with no power in the building Marks was forced to use his night vision. He flipped down the left eye piece from his helmet and the darkness revealed its secrets to him. He could have used the light on his helmet but Marks had learned that using illumination gave away his presence to any potential enemies. every empty shelf, every discarded can and ever dead rat appeared clear as day to his left eye and anyone without such a device would have no idea he was even there.
-Marks finished clearing the store and determined that the front door was the only viable entrance. The back door was partially covered by rubble and the only windows were next to the front door. Marks closed the front entrance and reached into his pack. He took out a laser trigger mine and placed it on the wall just in front of the door. It was a small, disk shaped explosive with adhesive on the bottom and a laser beam on the top. If anything crossed the beam the mine would explode and throw shrapnel outward.
-Marks set the mine high enough so that it wouldn't be triggered by any animals but low enough to avoid easy detection and then found himself a spot in the back of the store which he could defend should he need to. He placed his rifle bunt down and leaned it against a wall while he set down and opened his pack. The store didn't have any food but luckily Marks had brought his own. He took out a hand sized pouch and yanked out a cord on the top. A few seconds later he opened the steaming ration of soup.
-After his meal the colonel took out his back up weapon and performed maintenance to pass the time. He wasn't due for EVAC for another couple of hours so he had time to kill. His sidearm was a REV-6, a high-tech revolver that used to be standard issue. Instead of a standard barrel the gun had six barrels in a revolving cylinder near the end of the gun. Each barrel housed three spherical rounds that were electromagnetically launched from the weapon when their barrel rotated to the top.
-The actual fixed barrel at the front of the gun was only about an inch long. The top of the gun was an inch and a half wide to house the magnet that propelled the weapon's ammo and top back of the gun were the chamber housing should have been there was a battery pack. Due to the short barrel the weapon wasn't spot on accurate but then again it didn't have to be. The rounds it fired were explosive and packed with shrapnel. Marks didn't actually have to hit someone to kill them thanks to the proximity detonator; as long as he could get the bullet within two feet of someone it would do the job.
-Marks pushed the button behind the cylinder and it came half way out to the side. Marks meticulously unloaded, cleaned and reloaded each barrel individually. The large marbles rolled down into the barrels and rested against the back of the cylinder where they were magnetically held until they were fired. The cylinder fired one round and then rotated with each pull of the trigger to allow the barrel to cool down before being fired again. Although there was no explosive propellant the speed at which the rounds left the barrel and the electronic heat could cause problems. Any dirt in the barrel could cause a round to explode before leaving the weapon. After making sure the weapon was in perfect working order Marks went to holster the weapon but he paused.
-It had been nearly three years ago when he had been issued the weapon upon earning the rank of Sergeant. Back then it had been a common weapon but as the war dragged on fewer and fewer such weapons were available. Construction and even maintenance of many weapons was all but impossible with so much of the industrial complex destroyed due to enemy action. Marks was one of the few people to still have such a weapon and it had saved his life many times. The gun was like a good friend to him and he thought it a shame that there were so few of them left.
-Marks heard a noise and pointed his weapon in the direction it came from. Once posed, Marks remained frozen with his weapon ready and night vision on. He waited, frozen like a statue for something to shoot at. An empty can rolled into view but Marks didn't flinch. Even after a large rat fallowed the can Marks waited a few moments more just to make sure before lowering his weapon. He let out a sigh and settled in; it was going to be a tense wait until his extraction showed up.
-After several hours of listening to every little sound, the sun was coming up and Marks was ready to leave. He slung his sniper rifle over his shoulder, readied his REV-6 and headed for the front of the building. He was heading down the isle when an explosion shook the walls. Marks dropped to a crouch and listened with his gun pointed toward the front of the store. He knew what had happened, the laser mine had been triggered and that meant his position was compromised.
-When Marks didn't hear anyone coming he quickly moved toward the door and found two Christians dead and half buried by rubble. He quickly scanned the area outside but didn't see any more enemies approaching. Marks knew that wasn't going be the case for long. Any Christians in the area would have heard the explosion would investigate. Soon they would all converge on Marks' position so he had to be gone by the time that happened.
-He made his way out of the building and across the street where he took cover and double checked to see if he had been spotted. No one fired at him, no one shouted for help and no soldiers were in sight. Marks quickly moved out and double timed it toward the extraction point. With any luck the Christians would focus on the building and their dead comrades and not pick up on his trail. All he had to do was make it to the ship alive.
-Marks moved from one covered position to the next down the streets and through the building of the city. He stopped every time he heard a noise or got a bad feeling to check for enemy soldiers. He knew where he was going despite never having been in the city before and at long last his destination finally came into sight.
-Marks made it to the park and took cover behind a broken down car on the opposite side of the street. Command had chosen the park as the EVAC point because it was open enough for a Stealth hunter gunship to fly in to extract him. It was also far enough away from the Christians' base to prevent them from bringing anything strong enough to take down an armored vehicle. The gunship would be coming to pick him up any minute; all he had to do was wait for it a little longer.
-Marks spotted the silhouette of the gunship as it dropped straight down from the cloud cover. The ship's main body looked like a helicopter but instead of propeller blades it had two large rectangular protrusions on the top that reminded Marks of dog's ears. They contained the antigravity magnets that propelled the vehicle. Even when it was hovering just a few yards away Marks could barely hear the hum from the generators that powered the super polarized magnets.
-The gunship hovered a few feet off of the ground and Marks was about to make a run for it when something caught his eye. He looked to his left and spotted a Christian soldier walking down the street. The soldier's view of the gunship was blocked by a building and he was too far away to hear it but if Marks made a move for the ship the man would see him for sure.
-Marks didn't see any other soldiers in sight but he knew the man wouldn't be alone. If the Christian continued walking down the street he would hear the hum of the gunship's generators and that would cause a real problem. Marks knew he was going to have to make a move. He readied his REV-6 and bolted from behind the car, heading for the gunship with his weapon aimed at the Christian. The moment Marks stepped into view the Christian soldier saw him and raised his weapon but before he had it aimed, Marks had already fired.
-The REV-6 hummed with power as the magnet in the top of the gun sent one of the spheres flying through the air. The ball itself made a faint whistle as it displaced the air around it and without explosive propellant there was almost no recoil at all. The only real sound that was made was the bullet itself as it exploded next to the Christian's head. The sphere released shrapnel that tore the man's face apart in a bloody mess and he dropped to the ground dead.
-Marks for his part had turned away the moment he saw he had taken down his opponent and was making a run for his means of escape. He heard several soldiers screaming and a second later he heard them open fire. Marks came to a two foot high brick wall and rolled over it just as the first shots landed around him. Marks was pinned down, the building between the gunship's heavy Vulcan and the Christians and the Christian gunfire between Marks and his escape.
-The gunship tried to move closer to Marks' position but there were trees in its way. Marks peeked over the top of the wall and saw six soldiers in a firing line making their way to him. He didn't recognize the weapons they held in their hands. They were elongated and black with a brown stock and a curved ammo clip. Marks had seen such weapons in old pictures but didn't know what they were called. It became a moot point when the Christians opened fire again and Marks was forced to duck back down.
-Marks waited until the Christians stopped firing and had to reload. When they did he sat back up and fired five wide shots and then ducked back down without seeing their effectiveness. He heard the successive explosions and stood up to continue to the ship before the wounded men even had time to scream. Most of the soldiers were laying dead but two were still alive and nearly a dozen more came running into view, weapons firing.
-Marks tried to keep low as he ran past the edge of the building and headed for the gunship. Bullets threw up dirt around his feet and whizzed past his ears but he did not hesitate. Once he was past the building it sheltered him from the enemy fire and they were forced to shift their position. They ran around the building and right into the Vulcan gunner's line of sight.
-Marks dove into the gunship and the heavy Vulcan cannon whirred to life and let loose a hail of fire on the enemy troops. The Christians were torn apart by the torrent of bullets but still they opened fire rather than seek shelter. Even as the gunship rose well out of range of their weapons they continued to shoot defiantly into the air. The gunship rose to a safe altitude and dropped a canister of napalm on the area just to be safe before flying away.
-Marks sat back against to cool black metal and checked himself over for injuries. Before he had finished, another man crouched down in front of him. The insignia he wore identified him as a brigadier general but aside from that he donned the same field gear that Marks had on. The harsh features of his face almost hid the concern in his eyes as he looked over his friend.
-"You ok Marks?" The man asked in a loud voice, a side effect of constant field duty. Marks looked at him and nodded an affirmative and the general slowly nodded, pleased to hear it. "Report."
-"Mission accomplished," Marks said, "Cardinal Reece, eliminated."
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