Retreat? We're Advancing In Another Direction!

[benbarrow]

With the last ounce of strength he had, the wounded Alliance soldier grabbed the microphone from the back of one of his fallen comrades. The situation was desperate for him, and his life was coming to an end fast.

"Please! Send help! It's Ben Barrow! He...!"

But before the man could finish his sentence nine bullets coming from Ben's submachinegun tore their way into the man's back, going from the middle of his back, upwards to his neck. The bloodspatters found their way on Ben's browncoat, like many.

Ben stood over the man with an apathetic look on his face, his submachinegun still smoking from spewing out the bullets that killed this last of the Alliance anti-airgun crew.

"Shut up."

Ben knew that the crew of the first anti-airgun he destroyed already got through, so the Alliance knew he was in the vicinity. Ben was all alone, but he didn't care. If his dead would mean saving the lives of many, then so be it. So far he had been able to destroy two anti-airguns, and kill the crews operating it on his own. Now all that remained to do was plant a satchel charge on this gun, and then he could finally link up with the rest of his unit south of his position, who were hopefully still holding the line.

Ben planted the satchel charge on the anti-airgun, ignited the fuse and then ran toward a ditch. He jumped in and shielded his head and face from the blast that was going to ensue.
The anti-airgun exploded with a loud bang, and a fiery blast. Ben could feel the heat of the blast even from down in the ditch.

Ben stood up and took out his map along with his compass to get a bearing on his position. He knew that his men needed him, and he he knew that he needed to make haste.
Ben looked in the direction the compass pointed out, where his men were holding the line, and saw that the skies in that direction were lit up. It was night, but the sky in the south made it look like the sun was already rising. He could also hear heavy gunfire coming from that direction.

Ben started running in the direction of the gunfight, where his men were, hoping it wasn't too late yet. He kept his eyes open for Alliance soldiers, because he knew he was far behind the enemy lines. The closer he came toward the fighting, the more smoke he encountered. It was now that Ben could also hear the screams of men, and it was very unsettling.

As he ran up a hill, Ben slowed down his pace because he didn't know whether or not there were Alliance soldiers on the other side of it. When he reached the top, he didn't see any enemy soldiers, but now he could see the gunfire that was being exchanged below him. The Independents were already in full retreat, and Ben knew that without proper leadership, a lot of them could die.

But standing on top of the hill, worrying about his men fighting on the grounds below him, made Ben oblivious to the Alliance fighterjet, whose pilot had picked up his heat signature, and identified him as an Independent soldier. The pilot of the jet had also picked up the transmissions of the anti-aircrews pleads for help, and by deduction the pilot of the jet determined that the Independent soldier below him was Ben Barrow.

The jet commenced a strafing run, and it was only now that Ben heard it approaching. The jet opened fire, firing .50 caliber bullets in Ben's direction. Instinctively, Ben dropped down and skidded down the hill. When he came to a stop, the jet flew over Ben and Ben opened fire, as if it would matter.

"Tah mah duh hwoon dahn!" Ben yelled. "Is that all you got, you gorram motherhumper!"

Ben started making a run for it again as the jet turned around to make another pass. Being shot at like that caused Ben to have an adrenalinerush, something that always made him reckless, with little consideration for his own life.

The jet now came at Ben again and once again opened fire. This time, Ben kept running, with the bullets missing him only by sheer inches. When the jet passed Ben strafed and started shooting at it again.

"Aaaaaah! Come on! Test me! Test me!" Ben yelled while firing at the jet. Ben stopped firing and while running he changed ammo clips. The pilot of the jet, who decided to use more drastic measures, armed one of his missiles.

Ben picked up the pace but soon found himself facing another obstacle. In order to get to his men and to escape the jet, he had to climb a steep ridge. Ben looked up to see where the jet was, and then started climbing, grabbing the roots of trees and big rocks that were sticking out.

The jet flew by, but this time it didn't fire. When the pilot saw that Ben was climbing the ridge, he knew he had some time and decided to take it. As Ben kept grabbing branches and rocks alike to get further up the ridge, the pilot of the jet lined his aircraft up and targeted the ridge, with his hand on the fire button.

Ben heaved himself up, and the jet closed in to the critical point. The pilot fired the missile as Ben stood up straight. It left from under the wing of the aircraft, and mercilessly set a course for Ben, who now looked behind him.

Ben's eyes widened as he saw the missile approach him. His mind was now filled with fear and in a futile attempt to get away, Ben started running.

The missile impacted only yards away and Ben was caught in the blast. It lifted him up, and it seemed that time went slower all of a sudden.

Ben couldn't hear anything but the ringing in his ears. The rest was silent. He knew he was in trouble, yet he couldn't help but feel a certain sensation of bliss surrounding him. His eyesight no longer distinguished color anymore, and he only saw in black and white now. Ben couldn't feel his limbs anymore. The numbness was almost pleasant. As his body spinned through the air, the only things Ben saw were his legs, then his boot, and then even his left hand. As he kept spinning, he saw a rock coming closer and closer, but couldn't bring himself to care about it.

And then, a brief moment of pain, followed by darkness. Ben had hit the back of his head with the rock, and was knocked unconscious. His unconscious body now tumbled like a ragdoll down the ridge, and it finally came to a stop when it was all the way down.

Ben now lay on his back, alive and still breathing. Yet, without someone finding him, and the proper medical care, it would become his final resting place.

[georgewest]

George West, or just West as most people referred to him, heard some yelling in the distance followed by a loud explosion. He immediately began to run toward the explosion. This had to be the hundredth time he had run toward an explosion. He took off his helmet and brushed some dust off of it so the medic insignia was clear. He replaced it onto his head when he saw the aircraft flying away and the nearby remnants of an anti-air gun. He ran toward a hill hat was still smoking when he saw an unconscious man on the ground.

He got to him quickly and saw that he was in bad shape. It took West a few more minutes to recognize the soldier.

Oh my god, it's Bulletproof west thought as he assessed the damage. Barrow was badly burned but was still breathing. West pulled out an oxygen mask an a small bottle of oxygen and put the mask over Barrow's face. I need to get him out of here, but I can't pull him myself.

"I need some help over here, this is Medic West. We have an injured man" he called out on the radio. He didn't risk saying who the man was just in case the alliance was listening.

[Ari Deschain]

It was not yet Ari's time to go from the fight. She had not been hit by shrapnel yet, she still had the use of both her eyes, and she was fighting strong. Her unit had been pushed back by the Alliance, but her commander had not issued a retreat order yet. They were all still shooting, all still holding strong, when an explosion rocked the ground around them. Pieces of earth and other things Ari didn't want to think about shot into the air, raining down around her and the few that had been spared the initial blast. Their commander was down, the Alliance was spraying them with fire, and they had had enough. They were severely outnumbered now; it would be suicide to remain here. Ari and the others shielded their heads as they ran, leaving the fire behind. Ari soon realized the rest of the people in her unit were retreating. Without a commander, running low on ammunition, and outnumbered as they were, they had decided to high-tail it back to safety.

"You gorram cowards!" Ari shrieked after them in anger as she stopped behind a rocky outcrop. It was futile; they could not hear her through the explosions and the rapid firing coming from behind them. Ari turned this way and that in an attempt to find a unit to join up with and assist when she noticed a lone medic hovering over the prone body of a fellow independent. Ducking low, she ran from the meager cover she had found and made her way to the pair. To her surprise, she recognized the man on the ground. "Barrow?" Ben had achieved a sort of renegade hero status among her fellows, though she herself had never really given into the hero worship bit. She'd heard he was a good fighter, though, and respected him greatly for that.

Kneeling beside the two, she glanced at West. "Need anythin'?" There wasn't much she could do; she wasn't anything close to a medic, but she wasn't sure if this man planned to move Ben or what. At least while he was working on Barrow, she could provide some cover fire if need be. She took the chance to reload her weapon. Though the action all seemed to be on the other side of a nearby rise, where she had come from, the pair were sitting ducks out here should anyone come by.

[georgewest]

He was examining the unconscious war hero when he heard someone coming. He recognized her uniform as making her a fellow independent. The explosions and the fading light made the examination difficult but West quickly realized he didn't have the equipment to help properly.

He looked to the East, Sgt. Reynolds is that way, but with that skiff in the air we'd be shredded There were some civilian transports to West that were taking people off the planet, for a price.

"We have to get him off planet, one of the civilian ships to the West may have an infirmary good enough to take care of him" The medic looked at Barrow and and grabbed a long piece of metal from the anti air gun. He slowly pulled Ben on to the makeshift gurney and called above the noise, "I need some help pulling him.