UNSCDF3 Chapter 11- A Near Escape

Arabian Sea, Coast of Karachi, Pakistan

UNSC Perth

May 11, 2001

0900 Local Time

            Frederick ran out of the bridge and stopped to look at Blake. Blake looked at her with a face showing that he had accepted his fate. He saluted and went to the computers.

            “Where’s Hariprasad?” Frederick looked around.

            Dozens of bodies and debris littered the deck gave off a sight that made Frederick worry about her marines.

            “Should be in the medical bay…” Dau replied and watched as two missiles hit the tip of the ship.

            The vibration caused Dau’s marine to fall off the ship and into the unforgiving waters.

            “Ma’am we have to go now!” Dau shouted as a missile exploded in the sky.

            “We’re not leaving without Hariprasad. He’s got valuable information.” Frederick pointed below.

            “Fine, go to the Falcon first and meet up with Daniels.” Dau watched as the UNSC Perth fired a missile into the sky.

            “Alright, thanks!” Frederick thanked and ran towards the Falcon.

            Daniels was already in the cockpit and waving frantically at Frederick. A missile flew towards the Falcon and slammed into the rear of the ship. Frederick hopped inside the Falcon and grabbed one of the handrails.

            “Strap on!” Daniels shouted as he lifted the Falcon upwards.

            “Wait, we’re waiting for Hariprasad!” Frederick looked below.

            “LT, the choppers are heading for us. Get on the turret.” Daniels turned the Falcon sideways.

            One Mi-24 helicopter spun around and fired two missiles at the Falcon. Daniels attempted to dodge when suddenly two missiles shot into the sky from the ship and took out the Russian missiles.

            “Go Frederick. We got our back.” Blake spoke on the RaidComm.

            From the Falcon, Frederick could see the ship was heavily damaged and was slowly submerging into the sea. One autocannon was still functioning and firing at whatever it can while most of the marines were using the mounted M60 turrets and their guns.

            “Frederick, this is Dau. I’ve got Hariprasad on level three. We should be up soon. This whole floor is flooded.” Dau spoke on the RaidComm.

            One of the autocannon rounds struck one Mi-24 choppers and sent it spiraling in a ball of fire. This enraged the other chopper and it fired three missiles at UNSC Perth. Frederick watched helplessly as the three missiles hit the bridge causing a massive explosion severing the ship in half.

            “Blake!” Frederick cried out on the RaidComm.

            “Ma’am we have to go. It’s too late.” Daniels turned the Falcon and began to retreat inland.

            “Dau! Do you read, over?” Frederick watched as the majestic UNSC Perth slowly sank into the water.

            “They’re gone.” Daniels pushed the throttle forward.

            “Blake…the others…” Frederick mumbled as she saw the Mi-24 assault chopper circling the destroyed ship for survivors.

            “We’re not done yet.” Daniels called out as he looked at his radar.

            Frederick sighed as the Russian helicopter flew towards them in hot pursuit. It fired two missiles at the Falcon and Frederick attempted to gun them with her mounted turret.

            “Launching countermeasures.” Daniels pressed a button on his console.

            A couple of flares erupted from the aircraft and countered the missiles. Daniels turned the Falcon to face its threat and fired the twin autocannons mounted at the nose. The sound of the cannons firing echoed in the sky and created mini explosions in the air. The Mi-24 countered the Falcon attack with a hard offensive push by firing its armor piercing rounds.

            “Take cover.” Daniels quickly decreased the altitude to evade the torrent of bullets.

            Frederick rotated her turret and aimed towards the Mi-24 and squeezed the trigger. A steady continued fire from the turret was sufficient cover for Daniels to level the Falcon back into battle. Daniels turned the aircraft and fired its guns. One round struck the tail of the Mi-24 and sent pieces of debris into its armaments. Flames ignited and the Russians jumped out of the chopper as the helicopter exploded. One pilot was engulfed in flames while the other one opened up his parachute. Unfortunately, the chute was peppered with pieced of burning debris and the pilot began to freefall into the ground below.

            “Serves him right.” Daniels looked out his cockpit and saw the pilot splattered on the concrete sidewalk.

            “Turn around and look for survivors.” Frederick waved at the sea.

            “Fuel’s not enough ma’am. We didn’t have a chance to fuel her up. We’ll have to go back to Cobra Squad’s Camp to resupply.” Daniels pointed forward.

            “God damn it!” Frederick hit the seat beside her in frustration.

            From the distance, the UNSC ship was no longer visible and only grey smoke in the sky shrouded the clouds casting a shadow across the sea.

Clifton, Karachi, Pakistan

UNSC Cobra Squad’s Camp

May 11, 2001

1015 Local Time

            Sears rushed to the rooftop with Parker as he heard the sounds of an aircraft landing. As the Falcon landed, Frederick dashed out to greet the marines.

            “What happened?” Sears asked.

            “Shit happened.” Daniels got out of the cockpit.

            “Russians came in with their toys and blew everything up.” Frederick explained.

            “UNSC Perth.” Parker asked.

            “Sunk. Daniels, get the Falcon fuelled up. I want this bird to look for survivors.” Frederick waved.

            “How can we help LT?” Sears offered.

            “You keep us posted of air traffic. If they are coming back for round two, we need to be ready.” Frederick directed.

            “On it.” Sears rushed off.

            “Lieutenant?” Parker awaited her orders.

            “Get on the other turret just in case.” Frederick pointed at the Falcon.

            Parker nodded and quickly assisted Daniels in rolling fuel barrels. Frederick walked up to the M60 turret and looked at the magazine. A majority of the rounds were used in the firefight so Frederick decided to reload the turret with a fresh magazine. In a matter of minutes, the Falcon was all supplied and ready to fly.

            “Start her up.” Frederick jumped into her seat as Parker got into hers.

            Daniels turned on the ignition and activated the rotors. He pulled the Falcon off the roof and turned towards the sea.

            “Start by the docks.” Frederick pointed at some debris washed up on the shores.

            Daniels descended the aircraft and slowly hovered off the beach. Many bodies had washed up, but all of them were lifeless.

            “Circle the area where the ship sank.” Frederick waved her hand in a circular motion.

            “Yes ma’am.” Daniels pushed the throttle forward and continued hovering into the sea.

            A few bodies floated on the surface and some ship parts that weren’t dense. A raft was drifting beside a lifeless body and Frederick squinted her eyes. On the raft were two marines lying on the ground, but Frederick was unable to tell if they were conscious.

            “Get closer Daniels.” Frederick pointed downwards at the small raft.

            As the Falcon got closer to the raft, the wind from the rotors blew the raft away from them.

            “Parker, get the cables. I’m going down.” Frederick pulled a cable from the ceiling and clipped it to her belt.

            “Got it.” Parker got up from her seat and watched Frederick tug on her cable to test the firmness.

            With a quick smile, Frederick jumped out of the Falcon as Daniels lifted the Falcon up slowly and carefully. He looked at Frederick dangling below the aircraft and moved her towards the raft. As soon as Frederick grasped the sides of the raft, she pulled herself onto the raft and went to see the marines.

            “Dau! Hariprasad!” Frederick flipped the bodies over.

            The two marines were unconscious, but seemed to be breathing. For that, Frederick felt a bit of hope come back to her.

            “Parker, pull the cable up when I get a marine.” Frederick spoke on the RaidComm and quickly grabbed Hariprasad.

            “Got it LT.” Parker pressed a button on the ceiling and the cables began to pull.

            Once Frederick brought Hariprasad aboard the Falcon, she quickly descended down the cable to bring Dau up. Dau was a heavier marine than Hariprasad and Frederick was having difficulty. She decided to wake Dau up to make her workload easier.

            “Dau, can you hear me?” Frederick clapped her hands beside Dau’s ears.

            No response was given by Dau so Frederick assessed the environment. Dau had a few bruises and cuts, but nothing severe. She unclipped the cable from her belt and attached it to Dau’s flak jacket.

            “Pull him up.” Frederick ordered on the RaidComm.

            Parker nodded and slowly brought the cables up. Frederick watched as Dau swung back and forth in the air as he ascended.

            “Got him.” Parker grabbed Dau inside.

            Parker detached the cable and threw it back down to Frederick.

            “Come on, grab on.” Parker shouted as she buckled Dau to a seat.

            As soon as Frederick got on, the Falcon flew around the perimeter to look for other survivors.

            “Daniels, this is Sears. Our radar is picking up an anomaly a few kilometers south of your location. I suggest you head back in case it’s the Russians.” Sears spoke on the RaidComm.

            “Roger that.” Daniels replied and turned the Falcon homebound.