Population Control Ch 5
#5 of Population Control
Imelda Noble is a merc and her latest job is by far the weirdest and darkest she's ever been given: to greatly reduce the population of an entire planet. Insane, right? It would be impossible for a pony to do alone. However, this planet is inhabited by a new alien race called Humans who are way smaller than any sentient species she knows and their tech is primitive at best. She towers over these little creatures and even their most powerful weapons are useless against her.
It just might be possible to wage war against an entire planet by herself under these conditions. But will humanity find a way to fight back or will her conscience crush her first?
Population Control
Chapter 5
By Blobskin
Contains: pony, mercenary, sci-fi, micro humans, rampage
Version: 2
Imelda Noble marched across the desert, two automated mine carts and five human military helicopters trailing behind her. The highway that had partially accompanied her before still was, though now it wavered back and forth to her right. In some ways it was intimidating being followed by her enemies because her exact position and direction was now certainly known. However, there was also something amusing about the current situation. The aircraft were about the size of a pony's head and had assumed an escort formation around her. One helicopter flew ahead of Imelda, two in the back, then the remaining two were split with one to each side. She was also confident that none of them were armed. For herself it wouldn't have been a problem regardless, the shield generator on the unicorn's back would have stopped anything they could have had. But her mine carts were just hunks of metal. Their treads in particular were a weak spot and one good explosive could stop them dead.
Imelda was walking in a straight line to the only oil refinery on this side of the continent. The problem that lurked between her and her objective was the city surrounding it. The mercenary had considered trying to cut a circular path around the metropolis, but the developed area was just too big. No matter what she was going to be knocking some buildings out of her way. So far the destruction had been minor by any measure as Imelda had only broken a train track, a few small sections of road, and a bit of fence. This was mostly thanks to the expansive desert lacking much of anything for her to ruin. The chaos she expected to unleash once she reached the city however would be on an entirely different level.
Imelda had left the Gibson Mine and been walking peacefully for about 15 minutes when the helicopter in front of the mare suddenly stopped and turned around with surprising agility. The mercenary was actually startled and nearly lost her balance trying to stop in time. Then it was another standoff much like had happened back at the mine. Imelda raised a curious brow. What was this about? Why had her escort stopped so suddenly?
The helicopter in front of her drifted closer. Imelda blinked. Then it drifted even closer. Imelda's eyes narrowed. The human aircraft was half the length of her leg away. Its blades were about to clip her and be repelled by her shield. Imelda took a step back. Yet the vehicle ate the distance again. Imelda glared. The humans were up to something and she didn't like it. Imelda felt like she was being challenged. Instead of continuing to backpedal, the mare stomped and snorted. The helicopter pilot seemed to at least partially get the message and stopped advancing. The mercenary scowled through the windshield at the little human inside. She lowered her head, threatening to aim her horn at him. The vehicle didn't budge. The unicorn glanced to either side. She should have realized it sooner, but now she was boxed in. A mine cart behind her, helicopters hovering at neck height to her front and sides.
Imelda's glare deepened. The only way out might require her to get violent. Was it a test? Did they suspect her true intentions? Not like she was making it very hard for them. The mare took a moment to consult her data pad. She still had over 300 kilometers (200 miles) to go. That was three hours if she set a good pace. She didn't have time for this. Imelda had to get moving if she was going to be done before nightfall. She dropped her leg and snorted again. The humans didn't retreat. How much clearer could she be?
The pony widened her stance, pulled back her lips, showed off her teeth, and audibly growled. The standoff continued for a few moments. Finally, after a tense minute, the aircraft backed down. Imelda swallowed, relaxed her posture, and gave her mane a flick. A part of her felt proud. Diplomacy was never her strong suit, but she thought she'd handled that confrontation well. Better than the previous standoff anyway. Yet she wondered what they had been trying to do.
Imelda shrugged and began marching south again.
Once more the mare was crossing the desert with her mine carts and five human military helicopters. The highway to her right twisted with the landscape. Oddities came and went like a random windmill by itself in the middle of a dry lake bed. Or a metallic shed sitting by the side of a dirt road that connected two otherwise isolated points. The vegetation was sparse besides the weeds and bushes, though there were some vaguely tree-like plants crowded around some of the roads and stream channels. After 45 minutes though, a transformation of the terrain itself occurred. Square patches of land fenced in and with the flora arranged in tidy rows. Farms. Imelda was now cutting across farmland. Looking ahead, the cultivated region went on for some distance. It didn't really change anything other than guarantee the ground would be even more level for her and her carts. So she kept going.
For another hour and a half she trudged through field after field. Her steps alone smashed the crops beneath into pulp. She didn't even bother looking back to see what her carts were doing to the farms. She did occasionally peek at her escorts though, but they didn't seem to be doing anything other than following her. Which, counter-intuitively, didn't reassure her. Imelda was clearly destroying one of the most valuable resources any species on any planet had: the food supply. Yet that didn't so much as get an outraged cry from the humans? Had she scared them that much? They weren't even willing to fly next to her ear and yell something?
The lack of even a minor retaliation made the hairs on the back of the mercenary's neck rise. A sense that something was coming bubbled in her veins. Her ears swiveled constantly. Her muscles began to ache with adrenaline. She was ready for action despite the lack of any obvious trigger.
A dirt road slipped between two cultivated fields. A set of train tracks heading north cut across the road. Short trees crowded the intersection. It really was the middle of nowhere.
The human helicopters suddenly got in Imelda's way again. However, their method was a little different this time. Instead of one vehicle hovering in front of her, she now faced three. They floated there in a line roughly at the same height as her head. Their rotor blades spun and their engines hummed. Imelda glared at them. This was a bit more effective than their last attempt. Individually they were small enough that she could have cradled one like a foal and she knew they were unarmed, yet together they formed a wall that gave the mercenary pause.
At a surface level it pissed her off, but it also made her ask why. She tried to look past them, but she didn't see anything other than more farmland. Had they figured out where she was going? Were they trying to dissuade her? She had been walking a straight path so she couldn't imagine they didn't have a clue at least. Maybe they were just hoping to slow her down. Her options hadn't changed though. Fight her way through or try to scare them again. Imelda decided to stall by studying her data pad. She was about 70 kilometers (40 miles) from Perth's outermost suburbs. Another hour of hiking. The mare glanced up at the barrier the helicopters had formed. It seemed a bit early for this in her opinion.
Impatient, Imelda took a single forceful step forward and snorted. The helicopters didn't move. She lowered her head and aimed her horn at the middle one. She growled too for good measure. Then she waited a minute or two, but they still didn't get out of her way. The mercenary was impressed. They had gotten bolder. Now she had no choice left other than to get violent. Imelda huffed. The aircraft blocking her path were about a leg's distance away and she was in a hurry. She stomped forth, putting herself in range. She growled once more as a final warning. They didn't listen.
Then she swatted.
The mare's right foreleg rose into the air faster than the helicopter could respond. There was a sound not unlike two cars colliding. Then the whine of an engine struggling filled the air. The tip of Imelda's hoof had bent the entire chassis and raised the vehicle several meters in a fraction of a second. The helicopter was deformed, but still recognizable. While the pilot might have escaped the kick with only whiplash, the passengers were probably seriously injured. It was definitely a survivable hit despite the middle portion of the aircraft being crumpled upwards. Imelda's foreleg dropped back to the ground and the helicopter followed shortly after. The rotors turned slower and slower and the craft tilted more and more as it fell out of the sky. It bounced on the ground as its blades disintegrated and pieces went flying. Dust was kicked up and the vehicle rocked, unable to settle as chemicals dripped from the broken underbelly.
The incident was over in only a few terrible seconds. The mercenary was equally quick to aim her head towards the next closest aircraft which prompted all the human pilots to give her plenty of space. Imelda snorted and eyed the fallen helicopter once before moving on. She saw movement inside, but she wasn't interested in sticking around. She had someplace to be and, luckily for the crash survivors, their plummet to the ground had also landed them out of her way. So Imelda didn't even have to think about stepping around them. She simply marched right past, hooves stirring up the dust as she went. However, after several steps, she peeked over her shoulder. Of the four aircraft that remained, three were now following her at a respectable distance while one remained behind and landed by the downed helicopter. Imelda hummed and faced forward. An interesting glimpse of human priorities.
With that encounter now behind her, Imelda picked up the pace. She felt weird again. It was a mix of bizarre emotions that was more confusing than anything else she had experienced. The mercenary barely noticed the increasingly green farmlands she was now stomping through. That helicopter must have been a major piece of equipment. On her scale it would have been valuable and formidable. Facing one without proper countermeasures would have been dangerous. Imelda could remember more than once being pinned down by enemy aircraft or armor. Only because backup arrived with the right tool for the job did she survive those battles. Yet here she could take down an enemy vehicle with a single kick. The mare glanced at her hooves as she walked. One touch was all it took. Not a bullet, not a grenade, not a rocket. A flick of her leg and the threat was destroyed.
She felt powerful. If that's all it took to deal with human weaponry then she truly had nothing to fear. On the other hoof however, she knew what it was like to face impossible odds. The drowning despair. The hopelessness. The humans would soon see her as an unstoppable killing machine. The mental image stirred feelings of guilt in Imelda. She never expected to be seen that way. It was usually her facing certain death and escaping only by the skin of her teeth. That was the life of a mercenary. Was she really okay with this? Nearly exterminating an entire species?
Imelda shook her head violently. The lunatic who requested this job had a point. Too many people always led to widespread suffering. A lot of humans were going to die anyway once their population hit the tipping point. What difference did it make if it was her doing the killing versus themselves? Besides, she was going to get rich harvesting Earth's resources while she was at it. After she made all the equipment she needed of course. It was better to get the tragedy over-with now rather than later when it would take much longer and cost far more lives. That was Imelda's reasoning.
She had only been brewing on these troubling thoughts for a few minutes before she encountered the forest. The "Julimar State Forest" according to her data pad. Not that this planet's trees were very impressive, especially this variety. Each specimen was skinnier than even a human and maybe twice as tall. The forest edge was a blatantly unnatural straight line too and had a road running alongside it west towards the coast. This was the turning point where Imelda had decided her travel strategy would change. No longer would she be headed straight for the refinery. Now she would begin following the human highway that ran roughly alongside the forest south until she reached the suburbs of a smaller community called "Midland". From what Imelda could tell, Midland was a dense suburban outlier of the greater city of Perth. It was there Imelda had determined things would have to get violent. As in she would have to start knocking down buildings.
In the meantime, the unicorn turned west and followed the small road towards the highway. The mine carts were still trailing her and the human helicopters were still shadowing her. She soon passed the corner of the forest which had been squared off and turned south-west. The highway was a few kilometers away, but her final destination was more south than it was west from here. So she slowly distanced herself from the forest while roughly angling toward the major roadway that would lead her where she wanted to go.
The highway was just coming into view over the next hill when her helicopter friends tried for the third time to block her way. Like the previous attempt they formed a wall about two or three steps away from her and hovered at around head height.
For a moment Imelda paused to glare at them. This was getting old. The mare had already knocked one of them out of the air, did she have to do it again for them to figure it out? The pony stomped and growled at them. They didn't scatter. Her eye twitched in frustration. Her patience was hanging by a thread at this point. Imelda began stomping forward, not even caring about the dents she was leaving in the ground, as she moved to swat another one of them. But as soon as she started moving the helicopters fled. The mare found herself alone in a field of green grass. She eyed the aircraft that were now hovering well out of reach. For a second she considered shooting them, but figured they wouldn't try that a fourth time.
Imelda returned her attention to the highway and was stepping onto the paved surface a minute later. The highway was a meager thing with only two lanes, one heading south and the other north. Each of her hooves filled an entire lane. Strangely, she didn't see any traffic and it was getting fairly close to midday. No, wait. The explanation for that was obvious. The human military must have already shut down the area in preparation for her arrival. She probably had the whole road to herself. Not that any traffic would have been a real hindrance for her, it still made her feel a little better that she wasn't going to have to bulldoze a hundred cars today.
A cracking sound made Imelda spin around in alarm. However, it was only her mine carts rolling onto the road. The asphalt couldn't quite handle the weight even when they were empty. There was another problem she noticed though. Her mine carts were about twice as wide as she was and their treads were pulverizing the pretty trees that the humans had obviously planted along either side of the highway. The mare grumbled at this development. It was a flaw in her plan but not a disaster. She knew she was going to be obliterating the road when she headed back to her ship with the carts full of oil, but running over everything directly alongside the highway all the way into the city? The day was far from ruined, but this wasn't part of the plan. It hadn't even occurred to her that her carts might be too wide.
It made her feel horribly unprofessional, but she couldn't do anything about it other than turn back now and declare the day a wash. Which she was not about to do. With a sigh of resignation, Imelda continued with the mission while behind her came an endless cacophony of breaking trees and splitting asphalt. The mare's ears pinned. This was so embarrassing. And she had three helicopters full of humans witnessing the entire thing. She must have looked so dumb.
For a few minutes all Imelda did was follow the road while doing her best to ignore the nonsense that was accompanying her. The scenery alternated between grass fields and blocks of trees. The occasional building off the side of the road added some eye candy for the trip too. For the most part the mare simply enjoyed the smell of fresh air. It was a drop of peace before things got ugly. Then she came upon what might have been called a town.
It was really just a consistent line of buildings that hugged either side of the highway for a bit. There also didn't seem to be a larger settlement branching outward. What was this? The sight made her pause with interest long enough for something to happen. A human car that would have neatly fit underneath a hoof pulled out of a parking-lot and attempted to turn toward her, only to suddenly swerve and stop with a screech. Imelda raised a curious brow as a human stumbled out of the vehicle after a few seconds and stared at her legs. Then her barrel. Then her face. She smirked. The little man's jaw dropped. One of the mare's helicopter stalkers suddenly circled around in front of her and hovered close to the man outside his car. A soldier hung out the open door of the aircraft and began yelling. There was a brief exchange Imelda couldn't understand.
The mare took the opportunity to study the miniature community that was in her way, but there wasn't a lot to look at. There was maybe three dozen buildings in total distributed on either side of the highway and not one structure looked taller than her knees. There were a lot of trees though and the design of the buildings varied enough not to be boring. Though almost all of the buildings had pointy metallic roofs, some were red and some were blue and one was green and so on. There were large buildings she suspected were businesses and small buildings she would have thought were homes, but the sheer amount of parking space around them left Imelda uncertain. There were a lot of signs in eye-catching colors too. However the mare was mostly concerned about the width of the road and how close the various structures were to it. Were her mine carts going to fit through this community or would she cause enough destruction here and now to get a proper military response?
Imelda looked up in thought. The refinery was pretty close now. Only 100 kilometers (60 miles) to go. That would take just over an hour to reach even if she was being slowed down by... human civilization. She entertained the thought of getting violent now, but shrugged it off. She had already decided in advance where she was going to do that and she'd already made it this far. Then the unicorn realized the civilian was trying to argue with the soldier in the helicopter. Her brows dropped. She didn't have time for this.
The towering pony stepped forward. Each fall of her hooves didn't fully crack the asphalt, but the black rock did visibly flex beneath her. Immediately the civilian was staring at her and the helicopter began flying higher and away. Imelda was both surprised and further annoyed the lone human hadn't jumped back into his vehicle and sped away. Instead he was just standing in the middle of the road stupidly gawking up at her. She came to a stop looming over him. She could have reached out with a hoof and crushed him or his primitive car. Still he didn't move. Of course, he was frozen with fear. The mare glanced at the vehicle. The unicorn's horn began to glow a baby blue and a faint matching glow encompassed the car. Slowly the vehicle rose into the air while the owner stared in amazement. Then Imelda gave her neck a tiny flick and the car was sent flying. The front smashed into the ground of the parking-lot and for a moment the sedan stood on its nose. Then it tipped forward and collapsed upside down. The windows blew out and the roof crumpled in. The civilian cried out in horror and began backing away from the huge equine. Imelda glared at him. Wrong way moron, she thought.
She stomped forward and the man spun around and tried to sprint. The unicorn stomped forward again, mock chasing the fool. He began blubbering nonsense and screaming as his hands flailed in the air. Imelda snorted with amusement. She purposefully dropped her next hoof just behind him and he dove onto the asphalt. He flipped over and stared up at her. The mare decided then that she had had enough fun. So she ignored him as she stepped over him and continued through the strange puny town.
The helicopters that followed Imelda seemed more frantic as they zoomed this way and that way. Several times they quickly crossed in front of her like buzzing insects. The mare didn't have to break her stride, but it was a bit startling. She could also tell by sound alone that the road was indeed not wide enough. At least the signs and trees were being obliterated beneath the treads of her mine carts. The unicorn blushed and her lips tightened. Fortunately, it didn't sound like she'd bulldozed any buildings by the time she escaped the town.
And that was it. She was back on the road with the scenery switching between blocks of trees and open green fields. Not that either were an obstacle. The tallest trees barely reached her knees and were constantly brushing against her due to how narrow the human highway was. And while two lanes were only barely enough for her, it was nowhere close for her mine carts. Every short stretch of woods her ears were filled with the crashing of trees being destroyed behind her. As for Imelda's helicopter friends, they had calmed down only a little after she had moved on from the town. Instead of matching her pace and keeping their distance, now they periodically circled her or flew ahead and waited for her to catch up. They still maintained a gap between themselves and her, no doubt to avoid getting swatted out of the air, but not as much.
If they intended to do something about her before she struck they'd have to do it soon. Yet they did nothing for the next half hour as she merely continued following the road with its hills and turns.
Then they suddenly weren't with her.
The constant drone of their rotors she had grown so accustomed to was simply gone. Imelda felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise and her ears began swiveling. Something was wrong. The mare slowly came to a stop and took a moment to analyze her surroundings. There was a thin line of trees on either side of the highway here that she could easily see over to the open fields beyond. There was a settlement of some kind ahead as well, though most of it appeared to be to the left of the highway and not along it. She still hadn't encountered any traffic either other than the one car incident back in the previous town. If Imelda wasn't sure the authorities had closed the highway ahead of her she would have begun doubting that this was really a road.
Imelda couldn't think of an obvious reason for her escorts to abandon her so suddenly. So it must have been for reasons that were not obvious. Was the human military about to bomb her and they didn't want to be in the area? Possibly. She was about to pass through another populated area and she hadn't exactly done anything to make herself appear friendly. The mare took a deep breath. Her nerves were getting to her. The unicorn knew the humans had no weapons capable of penetrating her shields and there was only a minuscule chance of the "ghost shot" phenomenon screwing her over. A "ghost shot" being the random one in a billion chance that a shield would simply fail to repel any given projectile. Besides, even if she did become a victim of a ghost shot, she had her healing nanobots to fix her up.
So Imelda mustered her determination and marched forward.
To her left was definitely a town. Tightly packed buildings along winding roads that stretched into the distance. To her right was an airport of some kind. Imelda was not particularly familiar with airports, usually if she had to take a public form of transportation she used a spaceport, but she could identify a runway easily enough. And this airport had at least two runways with other thinner roads connecting various parts of the facility. Her attention, however, was divided between the airport and the other detail that became apparent as she approached. The roads leading into the town had been blocked by large trucks. Well, large for humans anyway.
Imelda strolled past the edge of the airport, but came to a stop by the first roadblock. She eyed the surrounding area, yet she did not see any humans. Her ears perked, however she heard nothing. It was quiet. Then it occurred to the mare that her helicopter escorts probably weren't allowed in this airspace due to a risk of collisions, but the mercenary didn't see any activity on the runways. Or anywhere else. Everything was still. Imelda licked her lips. She glanced at the truck beside her and at the little wooden stands the humans must have put up. Red stripes and flashing yellow lights. The military must have dragged everyone into hiding. The mare nodded once. Good for them. Probably the smartest move the humans could make if they were still unable to decide if she was a threat.
Imelda decided she had wasted enough time and continued on her journey following the highway. She could make basic observations while on the move anyway. For example, the airport's parking-lot could hold maybe 100 vehicles and it looked like it was almost full right now. However, when Imelda glanced at the many buildings again, she still did not see any movement. Why? The place must have been packed. All she could do was mentally shrug.
In the blink of an eye she left the town and its airport behind.
It was then that an ominous aura began to engulf her. Even as her helicopter escorts returned to her sides from wherever they'd been, Imelda felt an emotional weight pressing down on her shoulders more and more with every step. The next pocket of civilization is where it would all begin...
Sergeant Matthews sat in his helicopter seat with the door open. Alongside and a little below them the alien was following the 95 Greater Northern Highway. Cradled in his arms was no longer some science camera meant to document everything. Now he held a rifle. All his men were now armed. Throughout the course of the day the situation just kept getting worse and worse. Yet still the higher-ups waited. Hoped. Prayed. No one was sure what would happen. Well, Matthews was pretty sure at least.
He'd watched the giant down one of his choppers and send five good men to the hospital with serious injuries. Yet, all the brass cared about was fatalities. Which there had yet to be. The Sergeant's grip on his weapon tightened. Did they not see its face? This thing was definitely hostile. It made no attempt to communicate when one of his Privates had insisted on trying. It had knocked a helicopter out of the air without a hint of remorse. It even charged them when they tried to deter its advance a second time. Then there was the incident in the town of Bindoon when the creature threw a car and chased a civilian.
It was extremely dangerous and they should have been given the order to attack it when it marched right by the Air Base in Bullsbrook!
But no. The Prime Minister and all the rest of the fools sitting in cozy offices on the other side of the country were afraid of starting a war. They desperately clung to the belief that this thing was just "misunderstood". Sergeant Matthews swallowed. He wanted so badly to defy his orders. To open fire. Yet he... was afraid.
The alien was clearly armed and the weapon was huge. What kind of damage could this thing do? It took out a helicopter just by kicking it for God's sake! The pitiful rifles he and his team were carrying? They might as well been peashooters against something that huge. They'd need much bigger guns. Until someone higher ranked than himself deployed those bigger guns however, the Sergeant had little hope. He was certain a lot of people were about to die and he did not look forward to saying "I told you so".
The suburb of Midland was next and, from what Sergeant Matthews had heard on the radio and at the base when they were getting their gear switched, the people were not being entirely cooperative. While it wasn't exactly a riot, some were not interested in heeding any more government emergency announcements. While most people had gone home as ordered, a large number had refused. Maybe that was for the best. Some of the homes directly in the alien's path might be empty. Then again, that was assuming it continued to follow the highway as it traveled towards the coast. It was a mixed blessing having seen the map on its wrist. Some nerd at a computer had been able to study the pictures his crew took and figured out roughly where the thing was headed.
Kwinana Beach.
It was an industrial complex on the coast just south of Perth. Which facility the alien was after specifically wasn't clear, but it was a fact that region could only be reached in one of two ways. In a world where God had mercy, the creature would travel much further south then circle back up north again to avoid any populated areas. There was a corridor of sparse development that way the alien could take. More likely, the option Sergeant Matthews knew in his bones was coming, the alien would have to cut across very large and densely populated territory. Just using the highway as it had so far had badly damaged it. What would those mine carts alone do if it tried to slip through the narrow roads of a major city or crowded neighborhoods? They had already gotten a few tastes of it and it wasn't pretty. The Sergeant could easily picture the swath of destruction clearly in his mind. It terrified him and no one in a position of authority seemed interested in preventing it.
He had orders only to follow. He had weapons he knew would barely annoy it. He had a giant alien heading for thousands of helpless civilians. The nightmare was unfolding moment by moment.
They had reached Midland. The highway ran right through and there clearly wasn't enough room.
The alien... stopped?
The Sergeant's helicopters began to slowly circle the giant as it studied the road ahead and the surrounding terrain. It was a wall of homes. Beyond which was a sea of roofs and side streets. The Swan River cut across the landscape in a serpentine path a short distance to the west, closer to Perth. One of the computer lackeys suggested the alien might use the river to get to the ocean, then wade along the shore to its final destination. But that might just have been hopeful thinking. Even ignoring the bridges it would have to smash, it wasn't like they could tell the invader what to do. If they could they would have told it to stay away.
For a minute or two the giant just stood there eyeing the buildings in its way. The tension grew, but so did a tiny seed of hope. The alien lifted its leg and prodded the screen that was strapped to it a few times. It was adjusting its route. It glanced up from its navigator and he even saw it chew on its lip in thought. That little glimmer of hope began to grow into a flame. The creature... wasn't entirely hostile. It wanted something from Kwinana Beach, but it might just take the long route that would avoid hurting anyone.
Sergeant Matthews felt his heart pound in his chest. The alien lowered its leg and gave the helicopters a quick glance before focusing on the suburban sprawl in its way with a very human expression that screamed of something... uncertain. A cheer rose in the Sergeant's soul. God was going to show them mercy. His lips tightened and he might have cried with relief if he wasn't a man on duty at the moment.
An explosion like that of artillery rang out. Followed immediately by at least two more. One of his helicopters plummeted from the sky with gaping holes torn in the fuselage.
The Sergeant didn't understand. What was happening?
Then his brain caught up as the weapon on the alien's shoulder spun around to face a second helicopter. Another series of bangs filled the air and with each one a substantial portion of the aircraft was shredded along with anyone inside who happened to be standing in the wrong place. Matthews jumped to his feet, one hand still holding his rifle, the other grasping the handle on the ceiling so he could hang out the door. "Get us out of here!" he ordered. But it wasn't necessary. The pilot was already turning and trying to gain some altitude. He could hear the rotors above him speeding up.
But the helicopter wasn't nearly fast enough. The attack happened in slow motion for the Sergeant.
He watched as the alien merely peeked over its shoulder and the cannon spun around to aim at them. He looked into the equine monster's eyes and saw... emptiness. Evil. It fired with a deafening explosion. He felt a powerful rush of air go right past him. There was a sound of tearing metal and he suddenly lost his balance and was falling out of the helicopter. He tried to tighten his grip on the handle above him, but as he continued to tumble out the open door he realized why. The bullet the giant had fired tore straight through his elbow. From his wrist to just below his shoulder was simply gone. He'd left his hand back in the helicopter on the handle. And a gaping hole existed where the head of the helicopter pilot was supposed to be.
The alien hadn't been aiming for the Sergeant specifically. It had targeted the pilot, but the angle of the vehicle had put his elbow in the way.
The Sergeant, a man who had never fought a battle in his life and never fired his weapon at another human being, plummeted to the earth below while more shots rang out. He was barely conscious of his men being blown apart above him. Just before he hit the grass his last thoughts were simply, "nice shot..."
Author's Note:
It begins...