Lost in Magadan: Extraterrestrials on Earth

“The laser canon has a range of about 1,200 meters, but the mini photon gun has range of two miles.”

“Photon gun? Holy crap, we are going to vaporize some Ruskies today!” Neal said, slapping his armor-clad hands together.

“Unfortunately, I think this is all going to be close quarters combat. We probably will not be able to capitalize on the two-mile range,” Snap said with a sigh.

“I’ll take the photon gun, anyway,” Neal said as he climbed into the main turret.

“I got the laser cannon,” Snap said, as he climbed to the top of the tank into the semi-protected turret. The laser cannon was similar in size to a large machine gun and was mounted on a turret that allowed for nearly 180-degree maneuverability.

After a few minutes of Catrix explaining the controls, Snap and West felt they were ready for combat. Catrix and Fabris settled into the bowels of the tank from where they would navigate, and the four began to make their way through the wreckage of the once great interstellar craft.

While Snap and West had been familiarizing themselves with the new tank, the rest of Lightning Squad had been setting up perimeters, booby traps, and digging into fortified positions. As the tank was slowly climbing over the last mound of rubble before it reached the frozen tundra three loud explosions were heard.

“What was that?” Fabris asked over the tank’s communication system.

Snap, who had been listening to his team the whole time, said, “That was the first wave of Russian paratroopers making their way down from the top decks.”

Catrix asked, “Any idea of how many?”

“They started out with about 300, minus however many just triggered that explosion,” Snap said with a brief chuckle.

Three more explosions were heard, this time closer.

“Another dozen gone,” West surmised.

For the last several minutes, there had been radio silence from the team. Snap knew this was because they were bracing for the paratroopers to make their way into the kill box.

Johnson and Taylor who were two levels up from the rest of the group, would be the first to see the paratroopers descending the stairwell. In a perfect world, the booby traps would have thinned out the Russian ranks before engaging the two men.

Two more explosions.

“They are one deck above us. Cam three is showing their approach,” Ryan Taylor calmly stated into his COMM so the entire team could hear him.

“Good job on not setting the cameras too close to the explosives this time,” Williams added.

“Looks like about 30 of them have made it this far,” Johnson said.

“Anybody got eyes on the rest of them?” Snap asked.

“Not yet, Sir,” Josh Miller responded from the main deck with the rest of the team.

The last of the stairwell booby traps exploded, only one deck above Johnson and Taylor.

“Three more down,” Johnson reported.

“Twenty-Seven Ruskies, I like my odds,” Ryan Taylor said, as he fired his DE rifle at the first soldier appearing from the stairwell.

The first couple of Russians fell in the stairwell, but the rest of them were able to fan out into the open hangar bay and find cover behind broken equipment and bulkheads. Johnson and Taylor had chosen their positions well and enjoyed the high-ground advantage, but now they did not have clear shots at the Russians. Most of Lightning Squad were two decks down and counting on Johnson and Taylor to cover this entry point so they could focus on the rest of the paratroopers that presumably would attack from ground level.

The tank climbed over the last pile of rubble and broke free of the Impegi’s broken outer bulkhead. A twinge of fear washed over Snap as the tank fell to the hard tundra below, but the tank was undamaged.

“Hell, yes, free at last!” West exclaimed, with a little too much excitement.

“Maybe so, but now we are a sitting duck for that Russian AG Fighter,” Snap reminded him.

Catrix interjected, “Did I forget to mention we have limited stealth?”

“What does that mean?” Snap asked.

“The tank is invisible beyond 100 yards when we are not engaging the enemy.”

“So, we can sneak up on the bastards?” Neal asked, as he rotated the turret toward the unseen enemy.

“Yes Sir,” Catrix replied.

“Visual contact,” Williams exclaimed through the COMM, as shots were heard.

“Enemy combatants advancing on our position,” Josh Miller said from the makeshift fortification. “Looks like about a one hundred.”

“Should be more than that; where are the rest of them?” Snap muttered mostly to himself.

The tank was several hundred yards away from the fighting, on the other side of the Impegi’s debris field. A rocket whizzed by and exploded several yards to Snap’s left.

“Shit. Well, there they are,” Snap answered his own question; again, mostly to himself. “Ruskies, about hundred strong, advancing from the south,” Snap said into his COMM.

“Everyone hold your positions. West and I can handle these guys,” Snap ordered, as he sighted in on the Russian that had fired the RPG from nearly 100 yards out.