Reveal the truth

Barrin and I run as fast as we can, bolting down the halls and entering the main room where we began. As we turn the corner, Barrin pulls out his radio and calls out to the rest of his team.

"Everyone, we are clearing out of here. Rendezvous back at the cargo bay for extraction!"

We pass through the tram area and arrive back at the cargo bay, where the rest of the team is already waiting for us.

"Guys. How did you get here?"

"We were already here, sir. The Ariel discovered Starfire is booting up and gave the evac order. Suddenly our comms got jammed.

"That confirms the ambush theory." I said.

"I was right!" yells the soldier.

"Celebrate your win later, we need to leave, now!"

"Sir!" everyone yells.

We return back to formation and sprint out of the cargo hold and back across the bridge. Starfire's roar grows even louder out here, so much so that I could no longer hear my inner thoughts. I turn to get a look at it. The ground shakes with its every breath as the nozzle expands and contacts every second. The vents below start to open. A burst of air fires out in that exact moment sending dust into the air to be pushed along with it. The air crashes into us and sends us into the ground. Heat starts to build up around the area, short circuiting our equipment. Nothing but our guns work now, but neither does our enemy's.

The ruse makes itself clear. The ship we exited out of starts to shift and warp. Out comes something else entirely. Another ship forms, one I have never seen before. It is rotten, old, and falling apart at the seams. It is not the Gridlock. It didn't even have the same name. At the same moment another ship appears out of the sky. It was cloaked, only revealed by the short circuiting caused by Starfire. The real Gridlock and its guns are pointed right at us. 

Darrin calls it out and everyone breaks formation, running in all directions. The ship began to fire. The first shot hit the ship, blowing it all up in one go. Had we not moved we would all be dead. The blast sends plumes of dust and smoke into the air. We get into cover behind a rock. I unload the magazine to make sure it still has ammo, then reload the clip. Darrin gets on the radio again.

"Stellar, Stellar, this is Ariel 2-1, we are taking heavy fire. We need support!"

Static plays on the other end.

"Stellar, do you copy?"

Nothing.

"What do we do?" I ask.

"We need to find a way to link with the other teams, if they are not dead already."

"Makes sense. Cadence may have a way to contact the fleet."

"Cadence? She's here?"

"You didn't know?"

The ship fires again. The explosion nearly misses us, sending a wall of dirt at us only to be blocked by the rock we hid behind. Suddenly a light fires into the sky. A red flare.

"Is that us?" I ask.

"That 2-2's flare. Good, they made it out."

Barrin calls out to his team.

"Everyone, sound off!"

"Here sir!" says one.

"We're good over here." calls another.

He turns back to me. The rest of the troops find us and gather around Darrin. The dirt and smoke is still in the air.

"Ok, here's what we will do, we'll use the dust cloud for cover and head for 2-2's position."

"You think that's going to help?"

"It will give us a fighting chance."

"But that's a starship up there."

"I know."

"When do we go, sir?" one asked

Starfire roars again. Another shockwave is released through the exhaust port, dispersing the dust away from us and revealing our position. The ship takes notice and rotates its guns to firing position.

"Shit! Run!" Yells Darrin.

Everyone bolts as fast as they can, running toward the flare. The ship fires again, but it misses. I keep running using all of my might to keep away from the next blast. The dust is giving us cover again but not before Starfire exhales again, forcing the dust to retreat once more. The ship fires again. This time it doesn't miss. The explosion sends me into the air, and I hit the ground hard, losing all consciousness.