Chapter 19

2130 Hours

Enemy snipers continued to pin Dorothy Dawn's team. The enemy was patiently waiting, hiding through the darkness of the night. The explosion several kilometers from their location caught their attention.

Dorothy knew it was from the direction where Marrick and the scout were positioned. She could hope that they were safe, but risks and casualties were always a part of conflicts.

The five members of the extraction team and Dorothy gathered inside the abandoned warehouse. They talked of their plans to evade and reach the submarine.

"Doing this on foot is suicide, ma'am!" The captain objected to Dorothy's plans.

"We are several hours late. The submarine will leave us if we stay here!" Dorothy said, protested at the captain.

"What do you suggest, ma'am?" The captain asked.

"There is a SynthMech unit heading our way!" Dorothy said, thinking of Andre, who was piloting the unit.

The captain, hearing what Dorothy had said, was skeptic of what she was saying. Thinking that she may have made things up in order to push the captain to do something. She was testing her first.

"You said we had a SynthMech unit that was going to help us. Where is it? Can you pinpoint its location?" The captain asked Dorothy.

[Marrick's POV]

After exiting the collapsing building, Marrick barely made it out alive. He saw the Mech that was positioned to assist them, and Marrick rushed towards it. He waved his arms to the pilot front.

The pilot signaled Marrick to climb up. Marrick did as what he was told. The cockpit of the mech can accommodate two people.

"Thanks for letting me hop in!" Marrick told the pilot.

The pilot replied, "Call me Sheila, by the way Mister...?"

"Marrick!" Marrick replied to her.

"Good, you have the coordinates where to meet up with the rest?" Sheila asked Marrick.

"About that… I had it here, written!" Marrick handed her the coordinates of the rendezvous point.

"That's pretty old-fashioned…" Sheila commented as she looked at the paper that Marrick handed to her. "Hang on tight, this will be a rough rid! " Sheila said and retreated from their position.

Several Hours Ago...

1700 Hours

[Andre Wilson's POV]

Andre, drenched in his own sweat, finally completed his tests. The technician finally gave him clearance to pilot his SynthMech suit at last. The Vishvanagar Military Technology's ADP-02 Shiva was a bulky and strong-looking unit. In that instant, Andre was filled with awe as he achieved his dream.

"Andre!" the technician called his attention.

"Yes, what is it?" Andre asked.

"Remember, you are not testing this unit. This is your first mission as a SynthMech pilot. I am not expecting much but, don't let us down!" the technician said.

"I won't!" Andre replied.

Andre climbed to the chest cavity of the SynthMech unit with a ladder. As he entered inside, he saw panels and a helmet attached to a wire inside. The technician called his attention through the communicator attached to his ear.

"Can you hear me, Andre?"

"Yes, I can!" Andre replied, sitting inside.

"Good, there is something I want to brief you. That helmet you see is a Neuro Command Apparel. It uses your brainwaves to synchronize with the unit." The technician explained.

"I see, cool looking stuff!" Andre replied.

"Yes, it is. That helmet serves the purpose of being used when you don't have a neurochip attached to your head." The technician continued explaining.

"I see," Andre replied.

Andre wore the helmet and felt dizzy for a moment. The technician, noticing of the Andre's neural activity after wearing the helmet, said, "You don't have to worry about feeling dizzy a bit. It's normal. The dizziness will stop after a moment."

Andre looked around and saw monitors inside activating. The chest cavity of the SynthMech closed, and the head formed. Andre's SynthMech unit stood up and mimicked his thoughts. It began stretching its arms.

"Your synchronization with the neural system is impressive, Andre!" the technician sad.

"Is it?" Andre asked.

"Don't get carried away. Remember, the SynthMech is fueled by Bio-Fuel. The Shiva, having full reserves, can only last for eight hours. Your unit only has at least eighty percent storage. That would last you for six hours!" the technicians said.

"I will keep that in mind!" Andre replied.

"I will connect you now to ma'am Dorothy for your briefing," the technician said to Andre.

Looking at the screen in front of him, Andre saw the face of a blonde woman, different from the red-haired one he saw during the speech.

"Greetings, pilot. My name is Dorothy West. I will take over command from here on." Dorothy West continued, "You may wonder where is my counterpart, Dorothy Dawn. She is being extracted by our Special Retrieval and Escort Team. Currently, they are with the civilians. Your objective will be to protect my counterpart and ensure her successful extraction to the port. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, ma'am!" Andre replied to Dorothy.

Major Adams appeared on his screen and then said to him, "We will deliver their real-time positioning to you via the Global Positioning and Tracking System. This feed is encrypted so only you can see their location."

"Roger, sir!" Andre replied.

"Good! Beware out there and make sure Dorothy Dawn is extracted safely!"