[quote]It took about an hour to drive to the meeting point. By then, the valley was almost completely dark, and the only source of light was the distant exercise zone. Even as Tony watched, the lights around the zone turned off, and the night had taken over. He turned around and looked at the Dragonfly they were riding in. It was painted jet black for stealth, and was hard to see in the dark. Their pilot was a young low ranking flight officer, and this was the first time she was flying solo for a mission. She was standing with Sarah and chatting about something irrelevant. John and Reece were prepping their weapons for the exercise, taking them apart and cleaning them. Tony went over and got into the cockpit. It was filled with switches, levers, pedals and dials. One thing was for sure, he wasn't going to become a pilot when he graduated. He stepped back into the troop bay. There was enough seating for ten fully equipped soldiers, but it was mostly empty now, with most of the stuff you wouldn't notice contrasting the smooth surface of the interior. At that moment, the Pilot stepped into the bay and into the cockpit. "How long 'til we're off?" Tony asked her. "Another twenty minutes. I'll just be doing the pre-flight warm up and systems check while you guys load her up." Shwoom The jets of the Dragonfly started explosively. Tony jumped, startled, and Sarah would've fallen over laughing if she hadn't been strapped to the seat by a flight harness. "Calm down, kid," John yelled over the jets. "We haven't even started the exercise yet." The Dragonfly started to lift off. Jets flaring, it turned towards the cliff edge, until, with another explosion of fire; they were flying over the valley at over a hundred kilometres an hour. There were flashes of light in the exercise zone, and Tony turned on the intercom and said to The Pilot: "Are we late, or are the instructors just throwing themselves a fireworks show?" "We're right on time. You're meant to be dropped in right in the heat of battle, so they've rigged up some auto turrets to shoot stun rounds at us when we get close. Those lights you see are some explosives the instructors are setting off to give a little atmosphere to the exercise. I know, they're crazy, but it really gives you a good idea of what a real battle is like. As the night goes on, they'll set off explosions all around the exercise zone, as long as there are no trainees nearby." The lights got closer as the Dragonfly started to dive, and some explosions could be heard over the roar of the engines. "Ok guys, this is it. Our ETA is three minutes. Get ready and get pumped! Hooah!" The squad got their weapons out and prepped them for battle. They pulled out the magazines and checked they were full. Then they shoved them into the well and pulled back the bolt, loading a round into the chamber. Then they did the same to their pistols, and slung the rifle slings over their shoulders. Fixing on helmets and attaching the straps, they checked their mics and established a clear frequency to use. Ready to fight, they waited for The Pilot's all clear signal. The explosions were much closer now, and they could feel the thumps of pressure after each noise. "Alright guys, straps off, and get ready to jump. Watch those tracers! They may be stun rounds, but they burn like hell!" As she said this, tracers started to impact around the doors. "Alright, jump!" The trainees jumped, and they landed in a temporary hell. Tracer rounds impacted the Dragonfly as it flew off. The trainees took cover in a nearby crater, while some more stun rounds shot over their heads. "-blam!-!" Yelled John. "When they said this was going to be a big one, I thought they meant a bunch of us trainees shooting at each other in the woods, not the -blam!- Fourth of July!" An explosion blew a crater in the ground nearby, showering the team with dirt and stones. "Hey, look over there!" Exclaimed Sarah. Another team of trainees were turning off the turrets. "Thanks!" Sarah called, before jumping back to the ground as the other team opened fire. "You idiot! Now they know we're here!" "Where do we go now?" Asked Tony. "Anywhere but here!" Yelled John. "They've probably got two guys suppressing us while the other two move up and flush us out. Reece, Sarah, you two pop up and try to nail the suppressors! Tony and I'll sneak out the back of this hole and take out the flankers. On the count of three! One. Two. Three!" Tony and John both leapt out of the hole, while Reece and Sarah started shooting at the suppressors. John crawled around the left and Tony crawled around the right. He looked over a small mound, and spotted another trainee crawling through some nearby bushes. He brought his gun up, took aim and fired. A puff of green gas shot out of the other trainee's helmet. "Headshot!" Tony whooped. "Got mine" John whispered through his helmet mic. "Tony, stop making so much noise and take out those suppressors!" Tony got up and sprinted to another mound. Stun rounds impacted the other side as he took cover. However, they stopped when Sarah popped out of cover and fired a sustained burst at the other team. Tony brought his gun up, aimed down the sight and fired. After three seconds of sustained fire, he let go of the trigger and checked the damage he had done. The other trainees were incapacitated. "Good work," Said John. "Let's get out of here before anyone else shows up." They sprinted through the forest, watching for an ambush behind every tree. They were trying to find a large building that was out of the way of the simulated town, so no one would come knocking, but also close enough so that they could see all the action. It was a long run, but if they made it, it would mean shelter and a safe place to sleep. The gas that the stun rounds made caused you to become unconscious, and the sensors in their armour could tell the difference between being asleep and getting knocked out. The trainees were allowed to sleep during the exercise, but were advised not to, unless they wanted to get bottom marks, miss all the action and be called cowards for the rest of their stay at boot camp. Suddenly, Reece stopped. "Guys wait; I think there's something up ahead." Everyone stopped. "What do you think it is?" John asked. "I don't know," Reece replied, before a puff of green gas burst from his chest. "Ambush!" Sarah yelled, and jumped behind a tree. John and Tony dived behind a rock. "Reece! You okay?" John yelled. "I will be, when I get some cover!" "Tony, Sarah, give him some cover! I'll get him out of there." Tony and Sarah shot at the bushes that the attackers were hiding in, while John jumped out grabbed Reece and ran behind another tree. "Where are you hit?" John asked Reece. "Whoa, -blam!-, that gas smells weird," Reece replied. "Where are you hit, Reece?" "My thigh, can't feel my leg." Reece was passing out. "-blam!-, Reece, stay awake!" "Yeah, sure, it's passing. I'm feeling a bit better." "Good, now stay here. Sarah, Tony, where the hell are those bastards hiding?" "A sniper in the tree up there," Sarah pointed out. "And some more sneaky -blam!-s are hidden in those bushes over there." "You two, keep putting some fire on them, I'll go and try to flush 'em out. They don't stop firing, take Reece and leave." "And he criticised me for being a hero," Tony complained. "On the count of three," John held up three fingers. "One, two, three!" John ran out from cover to another tree, while at the same time, Tony and Sarah started firing. Stun rounds flew back at them, and they dived back down. "Hey Reece, if you're up to it, how about you get up here and help us suppress that other squad?" Reece looked at Tony and held up his dead right leg. It flopped lifelessly. "Okay then, I guess we'll have to find another way to do this." He clicked on his mic. "John, how's your end?" "Not good," his earpiece fizzed. "I got stun rounds flying at me from that guy in the tree, and I'm completely trapped if those other two decide to shoot at me." "Wait, did you say other two? Then if there's three over there, where's the fourth guy?" "Right here," whispered a voice from behind Tony. Tony spun around and hit the man in the head with the butt of his rifle. The other trainee was knocked out cold. "Ignore what I just said, I got him," Tony said to John. Suddenly, a dark shape flew overhead, and several explosions bloomed into existence between the squad and their attackers. "What the hell was that?" Tony screamed. "It seems that the instructors are on our side. The guys over there just got stunned by that explosion, and the tree that sniper was in got knocked over." "I think that's our chance to get out of here," Sarah said through the mic. "We should finish those guys off, and keep on running to that building." "Good idea. Sarah, Tony, get out there and finish them off. Reece, see if you can get that dead leg working, If not, I guess you'll have to ride piggyback." "-blam!- you, John," Came Reece's reply from the mic. "I'm guessing that you're okay to walk."[/quote]