The Rookie

[shatter]

Young, devoid of experience and about to lose his breakfast, Trent dropped like a stone his eyes screwed closed against the reality around him. Outside his capsule the roar of heated air rushing past was deafening, the rockets adding to the din but barely slowing the nightmarish decent. He tried not to think about the noise, the drop or the metal floor which had began to get hot enough to feel through his thick combat boots. That wasn't supposed to happen.

But then in the middle of a war a lot of things weren�t supposed to happen.

The recruit checked his weapon for the hundredth time. There had been precious little training, just enough to make sure he didn�t shoot himself. Yeah sure, he�d played some in the simulator - firing a few guns and even flying a Reaver around without managing to crash it. But all of that superior firepower had been denied him for his first mission.

Too young, the commander had said. Not experienced enough to handle the serious weaponry. That left him with a Punisher, an over and under gun that looked impressive but was anything but. The older, more experienced soldiers had laughed at it. The phrase Peashooter had been bandied about.

"Just don't mix with a Max." Someone had said as he left for the drop ship.

Right! Like he needed to be told that.

His capsule hit the solid earth without warning, knocking the wind from his lungs. He staggered forward and practically fell out onto the long grass as the sides flapped open leaving him vulnerable to anyone who happened to see him touch down. Momentarily disorientated he scrambled off the ramp towards a tree standing as though on three legs, water flowing between the outstretched roots. It gave him the precious cover he was looking for and he ducked beneath it while scanning around for the enemy. Scattered firing came from every direction, but the fighting was hidden from sight. Not to far away he heard the sounds of soldiers screaming in pain and dying under the constant boom and crack of terrible fire power. Trent had no idea if it was the enemy screaming or his own friends. Right at that moment he knew that it didn�t matter.

Remaining crouched he drew his weapon and crept deeper into the shallow water surrounding the forest he had been fortunate to touch down in. He checked the guns load, glanced down at his tactical map, then...

He froze�

He wasn�t alone. Something had moved. Something was in the forest with him.

His stomach tightened.

Trent focused on a spot in front of him � a place where just the glimmer of movement had caught his eye. Like the illusion of something not quite there; a ghost of nothingness. He brought the rifle up to his shoulder and took aim at nothing. Was he seeing things? Spooked and afraid? Or was there an Infiltrator standing right there in front of him, just waiting for the chance to draw his weapon and gun him down. If he was wrong the noise from his gun was sure to attract attention, something he could ill afford. If he was right then perhaps he had only seconds to live. Maybe less before a bullet lanced out of nowhere splitting his head in two...

His finger jerked on the trigger, pulling it with an unconscious movement driven by fear. The muzzle leaping skywards as 30 rounds pumped out of the gun filling the air with splinters, the tree in front of him flying apart. But the air was full of something else too... Blood! Blood and screams. In front of him a man no older than Trent dropped to the watery floor, his body cut in two by the ruthless hail of death. Trent watched him fall, his own gun now coughing on empty. He took his finger of the trigger and realising he had stopped breathing sucked in air, tears of relief beginning to flood his eyes�

Beside him two infiltrators buzzed into reality, their weapons drawn and held to his head. He barely had time to hear the shot before the bullets pounded into Trent, spinning him through the air and landing him face down in the water....

The sounds of liquid draining away replaced the sounds of his own screams. A harsh light stabbed at his blinking eyes and two professionally thorough hands grabbed him and pulled him clear.
"Get some more weapons and report to the drop ship," the officer commanded and shoved him out of the way to reach the next body appearing in the respawn tube.

Trent staggered clear walking in daze to the equipment station and on to the HART terminal. His first mission into enemy territory had lasted but a few short seconds. He hopped that it wouldn�t get much worse than that. As he stepped aboard the shuttle he had the sinking feeling that it just might.


An Original Story by: Shatter.