The Tales of the Leeds Resistance Volunteers

[oZoneRanger]

The X11 Deep Space/Atmospheric Civilian Freighter was not in any way designed to do the things it was currently doing. The steep angle of reentry was making it hard to keep the ship on a smooth and steady glide path. It was not helping that the many modifications done to the ship had weakened its superstructure. Every third bulkhead beam had been removed to allow for more cargo and personnel. With every pitch, yaw and roll the ship made sounds that would give its occupants reason to fear, if they had had any fear left to give that is.

Kelly Beck looked through the armored Plexiglas of her combat helmet at the cargo monitors screen. The ship was fully pressurized, but she and her copilot were suited up just in case they took a round and the ships hull decompressed. She scanned the faces of the brave men and women and even though the ship sounded like a psychotic symphony tuning up for a delusional performance, she saw no fear in them. Fear for them, she knew would come later. Once they landed, if they landed.

".....Aerobraking maneuvers complete, shutting off artificial gravity field.....bow shock wave pressure nominal, heat shielding green lit.....dropping past 8k.... Left 30 to vector 266, declination 20, squeal 25." The voice of her copilot sounded like it was in her own head. Her hands automatically adjusting to the directions he was passing out. "Picking up the LZ transponder out 120km ..correct left 17, vector 256 up 12 squeal -2....time to scrape the rooftops."

"Copy that" A small red light turned green above her head indicating they had good pressure equalization with the planet atmosphere. She corrected her course and put the ship into a less shallow dive. "Your stick." She let go of the controls once she sensed her copilot had taken hold of his set. She quickly in one swift move, released the locks between her helmet and pressure suit and lifted the helmet up over her head and locked it into place along the bulkhead directly behind her. "My stick." She returned her hands to the controls and saw her copilot repeat the sequence she had just finished.

"Passing 6000 meters dropping at 120 per second." Any other copilot would probably be crapping his flight suit right about now, but they both had long ago gotten comfortable with flying this freighter like a VHF. "You ready Beck?"

"Let the show begin" she said and smiled, and the hit button opening the hatch that separated the cockpit from the rest of ship. She hit another button and put a feed from the cockpit to the monitors in the cargo bay for her passengers to see. It was her favorite part of the run. Her copilots imitation of a flight attendant was priceless.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, on behalf of my self and pilot Kelly Beck, we thank you for flying Resistance Space Lines, we hope you have enjoyed your flight with us and that you book our company for all your clandestine incursion needs." They both smiled at the camera and laughter could be heard throughout the ship, breaking the tense moment. "We are coming up on the thrill ride portion of our flight and ask that all passengers secure any loose items and those with weak stomachs grab hold the vomit bags provided to you at the beginning of your flight with us." His tone changed and the seriousness returned to his voice. "Commencing combat decent in 5 seconds...touch down in 30, all passengers HOLD FAST".

She angled the ship into a 90 degree dive rolling over to the left, corkscrewing the ship all the way down to the deck, launching counter flares along the way. The scanners where clean, but there could be an automated missile battery about. "500...350...275...Artificial gravity field inversion activated....". She pulled up hard on the controls and pushed the engines for every bit of power they could produce. The Ship leveled itself out. "..Artificial gravity field disengaged....75....50...easy on the speed" She backed off the throttle and transfed power from forward thrust to the vertical thrust chambers, and concentrated on keeping the ship between the buildings. The LZ was deep inside an abandoned industrial complex in Sector 12 of the southern hemisphere of planet Leeds.

Her copilot deployed the low-gain antenna, tuned in the K-band communicator and hit the transmit button. "Alpha 12 ...Alpha 12...LRV-z21 authentication Charlie Bravo Niner Niner Deuce.....we are on approach..."

"LRV -z21 we copy and confirm Charlie Bravo Niner Niner Deuce...Opening the doors..you are cleared to land." A voice came over the communication speakers.

Up ahead of her, she could see the large doors of an old textile warehouse open up in the center. It was always a tight squeeze, more like parking a garbage truck in a china shop, than flying a ship. She brought the ship gently up to the doors just as they opened all the way, and eased the ship past them. Almost before they were past the entrance, the ground crew was already closing them behind her. She spun the ship around gently between the blast plates set up to keep the ships thrust exhaust from causing to much havoc inside the makeshift hanger, and set the ship pointing back towards the now closed doors.


"Gear down...cutting power to vertical..." her copilot Langston Bishop was now reaching for the lock on his harness and releasing himself from his seat. The ship gently touched down inside the large warehouse.

"Touchdown....opening rear hatches...." He got up out of his seat and exited the cockpit to supervise the offload off troops and ammo and the loading of the wounded. She spent the next few seconds turning off dials and buttons. "Lets go Ladies and Gents..you know the drill....off load to the left, they will be loading wounded from the right..good luck and good hunting boys and girls.


"Talk to me Bishop." She was needing to know whether to spool the engines all the way down or keep them warmed up for a quick exit.

"Dunno nothin yet Beck...good bit of wounded to load up and we are evacuating some medical personnel as well...Keep them warm I would say. People seem to be in a hurry around here for some reason and I rather burn fuel that be five minutes to late in getting out of here."

Out the left side cockpit window she could see Langston checking over the ship and stopping to talk to group of fighters who had lined up to unload ammo and supplies from the ship by fire bucket brigade. "Yea...copy that, Ill keep them warmed up." She looked at the monitors and could see the right side cargo hold filling up with wounded fighters and medical personnel. The disparaging scenes of blood and broken bodies, had no effect on her anymore. This was her 18th incursion and it never got any easier to deal with. The worst part was washing out the ships hold at the end of the run. At some point she had decided that it was just better not to feel anything. Not to get emotional about the suffering and loss of life she was a witness and unwilling participant to. The only sensation she did feel was hard for her to describe. She disliked it and at the same time it was the only thing keeping her going, keeping her warm on the inside. It was a hatred dipped in evil wrapped in a nice package of seething vengeance against anything Gallic.