Click Here for the Era of Darkness: PrologueClick Here for Era of Darkness: Chapter 1Click Here for Era of Darkness: Chapter 2Click Here for Era of Darkness: Chapter 3Click Here for Era of Darkness: Chapter 4Click Here for Era of Darkness: Chapter 5Click Here for Era of Darkness: Chapter 6Click Here for Era of Darkness: Chapter 7
"Fire Team Bravo, move up!" commands Colonel Elliot as the soldiers fire at Able Squad.
"Watch it!" yells Kalin as he engages his fellow Stormtroopers.
"Hold your fire!" yells Kane. "Don't fire!"
"They're gonna kill us!" replies Kalin.
"Press them! We have the advantage!"
Kalin spots the colonel standing among the men and quickly aims his rifle at her.
Elliot sees the soldier lining up his shot, and suddenly pulls one of her Stormtroopers into the line of fire.
"What is going on down there? Sit-rep!" yells Commander Brior as he watches several different feeds. "Tell Colonel Elliot to hold their fire, tell Able Squad to stand fast!"
"I'm trying sir," reports the crewman with hesitation in his voice.
The captain grabs the controls himself in an effort to make the soldiers cease fire.
"Wait, wait!!!" cries Kane as he falls back to the shuttle, taking cover as his men continue to shoot back.
Kalin fires several more shots with his rifle, trying to suppress his crew mates,as he steps backwards towards the shuttle.
"Hold your fire!" bellows Kane over the gunfire as he falls back behind the shuttle's ramp. "Stop shooting!"
"What do we do?" yells Meade over the confusion, laser bolts sizzling in the air next to him.
"Don't shoot back!" replies Kane as he takes cover. "Somebody's gonna get killed!"
"It's gonna be us!" yells Kalin as he continues to fire his rifle.
"We gotta get out of here!" says Meade over the laser blasts. "We're not gonna survive!"
"Lock down the hangar and send a security team down there at once,
make them cease fire!" yells Captain Brior as he tries to save the lives of his men.
"Sir," says a Stormtrooper approaching the captain. "Colonel Elliot is in control now. Please step away from the console."
"Sir, please."
"FRAK!" growls Kane. "Get back on board! Get in the shuttle!" he commands. "We're getting out of here!"
"I'm hit!" yells Meade as a laser blast strikes him. "Ahhh, I'm hit!"
"Wait, Haas! Where's Haas?" says Kane in a panic.
Suddenly the shuttle's weapons come online and begin firing.
"We're covered! Go, get inside, get inside!" says Kalin as the enemy Stormtroopers take cover from the shuttle's laser blasts, the room becoming momentarily quiet of small arms fire.
As the men run up the ramp Colonel Elliot aims her pistol at Kalin's back. She squints as the heat from the shuttle's cannons dissipate from the room.
Sensing this may be his only moment to flee the scene and find cover, the pilot, who has been laying on the cold hangar floor, springs up, hoping to save himself from the onslaught.
The colonel grunts to herself as the shot misses its intended target.
"I got us covered!" says Haas as he hits several switches inside of the cockpit.
"Haas, get us out of here!" yells Kane as he slams into the hull, leaning against it in pain.
"Great, I don't even know how to fly this thing!" says Haas to himself, as several lights blink on the control panel.
The Stormtroopers finally come out of cover as Elliot commands them to engage the shuttle.
The shuttle's ramp closes and the engines begins to hum loudly.
Suddenly a deep noise erupts throughout the room as the shuttle rapidly backs out of the hangar, its thrusters throwing the massive vehicle in reverse.
"Contact the bridge! Engage turbo batteries, and bring that shuttle down!" shouts Elliot to her squad leader.
"Right, this one was that, and so this must be-"
"Haas, make the jump! Anywhere!" commands Kane.
"Uhhh, yeah!" replies the soldier. "Copy that, preparing to make the jump," he whispers, reassuring himself.
"Turbo batteries are online," the crewman reports.
"Wait! No!" yells Brior in a panic. "Hold fire! Hold your-"
"Sir, stand down" says the trooper firmly. "Now!" demands the solider.
The captain sighs as he holds his hands up and backs away from the console.
"All of this for a mistake," whispers Brior.
"Battery, Starboard-3QIN, you are authorized to fire on Shuttle Galena!"
"They've really gotten themselves in a mess this time," says Brior to himself.
"We're in a frakking mess this time," says Kane as he falls against the shuttle's hull.
"Fire!"
"They've jumped away!" says a crew member. "We've lost them on our scanners!"
"Sir," shouts another crew member. "Colonel Elliot wants a status report!"
The captain sighs as he closes his eyes. "Pass the information along," pauses Brior.
"I'll be in my quarters."
