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Operation Sun Burn The desert sands were giving off their last heat. I had been flying for 6 hours straight now. The sun began to set on the horizon as I neared the recreational facilities of the Bahamas. The last couple of weeks had been devastating for my body and spirit, the constant stress and danger had demanded their toll, and now it was time to recharge my batteries. The skyline of the Bahamas was slowly becoming visible on the horizon. Large domes and immense skyscrapers grew bigger every minute. As was my anxiousness to hit the sandy beaches and cocktail bars. My mind wandered off at the thought of pretty waitresses serving me some cool fluids in a coconut with multicolored straws. ‘You are entering the recreational resort of the Bahamas, use of weaponry is prohibited. Please power down all weapon systems and proceed to hangar bay 29. Enjoy your stay!” The tower had a pleasant voice that slowly pulled me out of my daydream. I switched controls to manual and followed the given coordinates to the hangar bay. The docking went smoothly and moments later I stepped out of my blackwing, giving it a last inspection before proceeding to the check-in office. The air was cool and humid inside the dome. White walls and pillars reflected the evening sun falling through the glass roof and filled the room with a reddish glow. As I walked up to the check-in booth I was greeted by a lovely girl who greeted me with a warm smile. ‘Welcome to the Bahamas sir, can I see your papers please.’ Her voice matched her smile in warmth and pleasantness. I smiled back and put my papers on the desk. ‘Nice to see you mister Caruma, your suite has been reserved in the Harlington building and I have arranged for your bags to be transported there. Enjoy your stay!’ ‘Thank you, I’m sure I will’ I said while she handed me back my papers. A gentle breeze caressed my face as I exited the check-in dome. I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply and filled my lungs with the unspoiled air. The salty scent made my nostrils tremble. I had arrived in paradise. Resuming my walk to the hotel I was amazed with the beauty of the scenery, clean roads, nice shops bordering the pavement and lots of beautiful people strolling over the sidewalk. This was one the few places left on earth where you could forget the desolate looks of the outside world. The senate had put millions of credits into the construction of this facility and eventhough all senate facilities were constantly under attack by the corporations, this one had been spared, as it served as one of the few pieces of neutral territory left on the planet. Here the leaders of the corps could gather in peace, discussing important treaties between their organizations without fear of being killed by assassins or senate bounty hunters. There hadn’t been a serious incident, apart from the occasional barfight and narcotic overdose case, in years. This was well visible all around. People were happy and unworried in this adequately dubbed ‘Utopia’. The walk had revived my sore legs, seven hours of flying in a cramped blackwing was pure torture for a man my size. The entrance of the Harlington Hotel was large and bright. Black tiles contrasted beautifully with the illuminated white walls. The warm wooden color of the furniture inside the hall gave it a soothing atmosphere. After a brief introduction at the reception desk I was handed the keycard to my suite and escorted by a bell boy to my room. The room was very spacious and decorated in the a similar way as the entrance hall. Black tiles, white walls and soft wooden furniture with red pillows. As soon as I had tipped the bellboy 10 credits I darted towards the king size bed and dove into its soft sheets. Staring mindlessly at the ceiling I felt my whole body tingle with joy. Slowly I closed my eyes and let the exhaustion of my long trip here take over as I dozed off. The cool breeze coming through an open window brought me out of my revitalizing nap. Stretching my arms in an attempt to shake the last sleep from my body I stepped up on the balcony. The night had fallen and the moonshine covered the city in a dim yellowish light, contrasted with the colorful lights of the chain of clubs down the street. The nightlife had picked up and the streets were teeming with life, groups of tourists headed towards one of the clubs or casinos while shouting and singing with joy. I decided to have a taste of the local nightlife as well and hopped into the shower. The club was crowded and techno music was pumping from the speakers. Everywhere I looked there were people dancing and having fun. After squeezing through the throng of ecstatic party-goers I managed to secure myself a stool at the bar. The bartender had sweat dripping from his forehead as he came up to me and asked me what I wanted. ‘Whiskey, straight up, no ice’ I yelled over the counter. The bartender nodded, turned around an took of to fetch my drink. While waiting for my drink I turned around on my stool as to observe my surroundings. Lots of pretty ladies here tonight I thought as I let my eyes enjoy the feast. ‘Here you go, sir. That’ll be 25 credits’ the bartender shouted as he set down the glass with a thump. ‘Is it always this crowded in here?’ I yelled out while pressing my thumb on the pay-pad he was holding out in front of me. ‘Tonight is rather slow, still early I reckon.’ He replied, tucking the pay-pad back into his pouch and rushing off to serve another customer. While taking a sip of my drink my eye was caught by a dazzling beauty at the end of the bar. She was sitting there alone, running her finger over the rim of her glass. Our eyes met as she looked up from the bar, her blonde hair waved down upon her shoulders. For a moment we exchanged looks as I peered into her deep blue eyes. Then the moment got interrupted by some guy bumping into from behind. I turned around and saw the guy raising his hand and mumbling some kind of excuse. The booze had diminished his sense of balance up to the point that he had to be supported by a couple of friends. I smiled and looked the other way again, but she was gone, vanished in a split second and lost in the crowd. A little sad I grabbed my drink and poured its contents into my mouth. The alcohol caused a burning feeling in my throat as I swallowed. I shook my head and put up my hand to call the waiter again. ‘Whiskey, straight up, no ice’ I said as he pulled up in front of me. ‘I’ll have what he’s having’ a voice from behind me said. I turned around to see who had spoken and there she was, standing in front of me, wearing a short white dress with deep cleavage. The fabric accentuated her figure by tightly wrapping around her body. My mouth fell open in amazement as I had seldom seen such beauty. Seeing me stare she smiled and said : ‘Hi, my name is Delana, mind if I sit here ?’ ‘Not at all, please have a seat’ I said as I pulled up a stool for her. ‘Mines Caruma and I apologize for staring like that, its just that my eyes are not used to observing so much beauty.’ She gave me a warm smile in reply of my excuse and sat down. ‘So Caruma, what brings you to the Bahamas?’ ‘Same thing as most people I think, a getaway from the stressed out life I have.’ Her smile told me she knew all too well what I was talking about. ‘So, you’re here to have fun. Good! So am I’ she said as she grabbed my hand and pulled me to the dancefloor. The vibe of the music caught up with me as I started moving to the beats. Delana was dancing like there was no tomorrow and people around her stopped dancing to watch her moves. Loving the attention, I tried to keep up with her, mimicking her steps. Suddenly, a guy stepped up to her and grabbed her by the waist in an effort to dance really close to her. She pushed him away but he wouldn’t let up and tried again. After a few attempts I noticed by the look on her face that she wanted me to help her out, so I moved in on the guy and asked him to stop. Alcohol had made the guy very bold in his efforts and instead of backing of, he tried again. I stepped up to him again and grabbed his collar to pull him away. Quick as a fox he turned around and swung out to me. His fist landed right under my left eye making me lose balance and flying into the crowd. I quickly regained awareness of my surroundings and faced my opponent again. He punched again, only this time I was prepared and easily blocked his incoming fist. In one smooth move I pushed away his arm and returned the favor he had just done me. He tried to block my blow with his other arm, but my fist hit his nose dead center and I felt the fragile bone snap. He stumbled backwards and fell down after a couple of paces. Before I realized what was going on I got dogpiled by a couple of men and ended up on the floor. His friends had come to his rescue and were scoring free hits on my body while I was down. I struggled to block incoming blows but given my uneasy position and the number of assailants coming down on me, I was getting my butt kicked. Then, all of a sudden, the kicking ceased. I looked up and saw a huge guy pounding a massive fist on the head of one of my attackers. A loud roar was coming from the crowd as they were enjoying the fight. Adrenalin rushed through my veins as I struggled back on my feet. The odds had were changing in my favor now. I picked my target and started dealing blows, standing alongside my unknown ally we mopped up the remaining attackers in mere seconds, sending them running towards the exit. As I noticed the last one leaving the circle, I turned to my ally. ‘I don’t know who you are, but thank you for coming to my aid. I’m Caruma’ ‘Oi mate, twas my pleasure. Potters the name, Harry Potter’ he spoke with a definite Australian accent. ‘Well Harry, I don’t know about you, but I need a drink’ I said while I put my hand on his shoulder to guide him to the bar. ‘BARKEEP, Two beers!!’ A bright light woke me abruptly from my sleep. My head was pounding and my entire body felt sore, especially my face. Fragments of the events last night floated through my head, slowly falling together like pieces to a puzzle. The bar, Delana, the fight, harry, the booze… Somehow I could not make myself remember how I got back to the hotel. I got up and stumbled towards the bathroom. Seeing the purple bruise in the mirror woke me right up. Then I noticed I was still wearing my clothes from last night, I probably was too drunk when I came in this morning. Pondering to fit the rest of the puzzle together I took off my clothes and stepped into the shower but just as I wanted to turn on the cold water the phone rang. Cursing the pain in my head the ringing caused I walked over to the video phone. ‘YES ?’ ‘Ellow mate, damn !! that eye don’t look too good mate, you should get that checked. Anyways I wanted to check up on you. When we dragged you into your room last night you were barely conscious, but I see you are still alive, hehehe’ ‘Hello Harry, thanks for getting me home last night.’ I replied in a raspy voice. ‘So you want to get some brekky ?’ ‘Hmm, I doubt my stomach will hold anything solid right now, but I could use some coffee. Let me take a shower and freshen up a little, and meet me in half an hour at the restaurant of my hotel’ ‘You got it mate, see you soon!’ Harry smiled and ended the call. Grabbing my head while walking back to the much needed shower I recalled his first sentence, he had said WE… Not giving it any further thought I stepped into the shower and yelled my lungs out as the cold water hit my skin. *DING* The elevator doors opened slowly. I stepped out into the reception hall and headed towards a group of seats located in the corner. Observing my reflection in the shiny white pillars I adjusted my sunglasses to cover most of the bruise on my face. As I approached the sitting corner I saw two people standing up, Delana was here too. Her blonde hair, reflecting the sunlight, waved gently as she turned her head to look at me. The angelic vision made the throbbing pain in my head vanish instantly. She wore a colorful semi-transparent scarf around her waist revealing a glimpse of her tanned legs. The white sleeveless top nicely contrasted the color of her arms and belly. I caught myself staring again and quickly shook my head to banish the daydream from my head. The throbbing returned the second I heard Harry’s loud voice. ‘Oi mate, nice glasses, hehehe!’ ‘Hi Caruma’ her gentle voice sounded a bit remorseful. ‘I’m sorry you got beaten up because of me…’ ‘Ah, that, don’t worry about it, it looks worse than it feels’ I said as I softly touched the bruise, suppressing the sudden pain rushing through my face. ‘I’d take a beating for you anytime’ ‘How sweet’ she blushed and smiled. ‘I hate to interrupt you two lovebirds, but my tummy is begging to be filled’ Harry said jokingly as he grabbed my arm and pulled me towards the restaurant. Harry was just having a third pass at the breakfast buffet when my cellphone went off. Surprised to find the little buzzing thing in my pocket I opened up the lid and saw the red flashing words :HIGH PRIORITY. Thinking as fast as my mind allowed me in this condition I excused myself from the table and ran off to a quiet corner just outside the restaurant. ‘What’s up?’ I said into the speaker. A garbled picture appeared in the little screen. ‘Captain Caruma, This is Chukie. We have lost all contact with our away team and require your assistance to find them, report back to base ASAP!’ Chukie sounded worried so I figured he wasn’t joking around. ‘Understood, I’ll call you back en route. Caruma out’ Puzzled I closed the lid of the phone and slowly walked back into the restaurant where I saw Harry sitting at the table with a plate stacked with food, this guy had the appetite of a horse it seemed. As he saw my worried face while I got seated he inquired :’Everything allright mate, you look like someone just died on you.’ ‘I just got a call from work, it seems there is a crisis, and they need my assistance’ ‘Anything I can do to help?’ ‘Not unless you are good at finding lost people’ ‘That sounds right up my alley, hehehe, tracking is what I do best’ ‘Hmm, well in that case I could use your assistance Harry, but we need to leave immediately’ ‘Hey, I’m coming too, no way am I going to let you guys have all the fun. Besides if you want to find someone, you can use all the eyes you can get’ Delana interrupted. ‘You’re probably right, but let’s not waste anymore time here shall ok, we have a long trip ahead of us.’ While exiting the restaurant I told Harry and Delana to meet me at the docking bays in 30 minutes. They both nodded in agreement and we split up to get our things. Three Blackwings took to the skies under the noon sun. Their black hulls contrasted the bleached sands of the dessert. Harry and Delana formed on my wing as we hastened towards the borders of the Bahamas secure zone. Upon clearing the zone markers I switched on weapon systems and sighed. This bird was only packing low level lasers, if we were to be confronted with enemy droids, all I would be able to do was scratch their hulls and run like hell. The thought of having two wingmen on this mission only reassured me a little since I hadn’t seen any of them in real droid combat. I knew Harry was good with his fists, but his skills in handling a Blackwing were unknown to me. All I could hope for was that wouldn’t run into any trouble too soon. My mind wandered over the dessert sands to the horizon, wondering what had happened to harvester out there my hand slowly slid over to the comms-system. ‘Chukie, this is Caruma, come in chukie’ there was some crackling over the comms and pretty soon I got a response. ‘Good to hear you Caruma, the situation is looking quite grim. Currently we are the only two people alive for sure in VTS.’ A cold shiver ran over my back as I heard the words over the comms. ‘I brought a couple of friends to help me looking, I’m sure we’ll find them soon enough. Can you transmit the last known coordinates?’ ‘Sending them as we speak. Harvester and his party were the first to go, not soon afterwards Viper vanished from the skies. Beta was the last one to go, he attempted a final transmission but he got cut of before he could tell me what was going on. At first I thought it was just some interference caused by the dessert, but when communication stopped for more than 2 hours I got worried’ ‘Is there anything you can send me as backup, I’m only lightly armed in this blackwing and I doubt I can hold off whatever harvester encountered in this thing.’ ‘Harvester took most of the Foederati along with him, there are hardly any left to protect the bases at the moment, but I’ll see what I can do.’ ‘Ok, I’ll keep you updated. Caruma out!’ As I flicked the switch on the comms-panel a sigh of despair left my body. This was going to be one hell of though mission. If I failed this one, VTS would collapse not soon afterwards. Again a shiver ran down my spine. Realizing what had to be done I punched in the coordinates Chukie had just sent me and felt the Blackwing alter course slightly. Reviewing the territory around coordinates on screen I found that no accurate maps were present in my ships database. The Pako dessert had been avoided by all sensible pilots for years, so the only views available came from orbiting satellites, and even those were thin spread. Specially since the senate, who owned the satellites, had set up their own secret facilities in that sector. ‘Ok guys, we are nearing the Pako dessert, keep a close eye out for any activity. We are looking for a large convoy somewhere around these coordinates. Also watch out for hostile activity, cause I’ll need your cover if we encounter any.’ ‘Sure thing mate’ Harry replied in his ever pleasant voice ‘Setting scanners to maximum speed’ Delana said as I saw swoop down next to me. ‘We have a better chance of detecting anything if we fly low. This dessert is known to interfere with scanners’ ‘You know of this dessert?’ I asked rather perplexed. ‘Sure I do, I grew up here’ she replied sheepishly. A frown spread appeared on my forehead ‘Why didn’t you tell me this before?’ ‘You never asked’ was her simple reply. Knowing she was right I saw no point in starting an argument over it, after al we had to work together on this one, and her knowledge of the sector could prove very useful after all. Plotting a search pattern through the sector I maneuvered my Blackwing next to hers. A single blib appeared on the scanner. I waited for a few seconds for it to be identified and then it disappeared again. Puzzled I rubbed my eyes, was the heat getting to me? We had been flying close to ground for at least 2 hours now and found nothing, The entire dessert looked the same to me and I got the impression we were flying in circles. The blib reappeared and vanished again a couple of seconds later. ‘Do you guys see that?’ I asked over the comms. ‘Yes mate, I noticed it too, I thought it was just a malfunction in my scanner systems’ Harry’s voice reassured me a little, at least I wasn’t imagining things. ‘There it is again, but my scanners can’t identify it.’ ‘We seem to be getting closer to it, I guess it isn’t moving’ As we drew closer, the blib started appearing and disappearing more rapidly until it finally stayed on the screen. I quickly ran some scans trying to identify the mysterious object. All scans failed and the blib got labeled ‘unknown’ on the scanner window. As I looked out into the dessert I suddenly noticed a disturbance on the horizon, as if there was a screen there with a glitch in it. I blinked and stared at the horizon again but failed to spot the glitch again. Then, out of the blue, the sky was filled with black dots, The scanner went berserk trying to identify the contacts. ‘What the hell!!’ I shouted over the comms ‘Where did all those… THINGS come from?’ ‘Dunno mate, but I reckon we got company. The new blips are moving… moving damn fast too’ Harry sounded a bit distressed as he spoke those last words. Mere seconds later the dots transformed into faintly identifiable blobs. I peered through the slits of my eyelids and blinked a couple of times, then I looked again, trying to focus on one of the blobs. There was no doubt possible, these things had wings…. Flapping wings… Written by Bart