Under the Attacking Sky

Chapter 1

"Anika, get down!" my brother Aaron shouted as an ascending whistling noise reached our ears.

Both Aaron and I hit the ground and rolled into a ditch as an Electorn bomb exploded nearby. The ground shook underneath me and I gritted my teeth as dirt and metal landed on my back. I slowly opened my eyes to see Aaron already beside me, trying to help me up. I was half buried under the red earth of what was once called Mars, but quickly escaped. Aaron stood up and helped me to my feet.

My helmet was smeared with dirt and I tried uselessly to clean it off with my metal glove. With all my armor on, I was about six feet tall compared to my slight build of 5'4". It was made specifically for combat in this type of situation with less gravity and no oxygen. The toxic fumes of Mars would kill me immediately if my full body suite somehow failed.

Another whistling noise filled the air and I dived for a nearby bunker. Aaron was right behind me. We pressed our back against the dirt wall and waited until the ground stopped shaking. It was silent for a moment before footsteps reached my ears.

Electorn Soldiers.

I took a deep breath and nodded to Aaron before cocking my triple laser gun and jumping out of the bunker. I spun around and pointed my gun at the nearest body of armor, ready to pull the trigger.

The soldiers quickly jumped back and raised their arms in surrender. I sighed as I recognized their Rebel armor and squinted to see their familiar faces through the dirty helmets. I lowered my gun and held up three of my fingers to show that I was on channel three.

"Whoa, Annie, watch where you point that thing," the familiar voice of Brett Trooper filled my ears and I rolled my eyes.

"Brett, you shouldn't sneak up on people like that! I could've shot you. And I told you not to call me that," I spoke into my headset.

"Calm down, Storm. You'll wake the whole Electorn army," Kade Hawkins deep voice also entered my helmet and I glared at him. He smiled at me and I looked away.

My attention switched back to Brett as he shrugged and then rested his gun on his shoulder. His nonchalant attitude often got on my nerves, but he was one of the few people who was with me that day we left earth and was still alive. That alone created a natural bond between us that wasn't easily broken.

I was pulled back to reality as a bomb exploded nearby. I braced myself, but I was still almost knocked off my feet once again. Another bomb exploded to my right and I ducked down, covering my helmet with my armored hand. A light mist of red dust coated my armor and I tried in vain to clear my helmet again.

Everything was quiet for a moment- a rare thing on the battlefield. Aaron caught my gaze and we looked at each other, confused as to why there was no gunfire or bombs going off.

Suddenly, shots were fired from behind us. We broke into a run and jumped into one of the nearby ditches. I heard a loud screech that sounded like a mix between a cat's hiss and a woman's scream. I noticed Aaron's head drop out of the corner of my eye and saw his own eyes close in worry. My gaze shifted to Brett and, even if he would never admit it, he looked just as scared. He nodded slightly at me and my suspicions were confirmed. What we had heard was a tyron.

A deadly mix between a raptor and saltwater crocodile, this mutant reptile was large and quick, crawling on all fours but able to rear up on its back legs to attack and slash its deadly claws. The Elector started breeding them when the war started and his highly trained soldiers would ride them in battle. He had enhanced them to the point of near invisibility and they could survive in almost any atmosphere. Tyrons were one of the most feared creatures in the five galaxies.

I listened closely to find out how many we were up against and it only appeared to be one, but that was still an admirable force. Aaron looked up and set his gun to full power. Brett and Kade followed suit, as did I. We all nodded to each other and prepared to jump out of the ditch. I held up five fingers, dropping one every second until I was down to one. It dropped slowly and we lunged out of the bunker.

The tyron was closer than I had thought. At a mere twenty feet away, it looked extremely menacing. It had been facing the other way, but when we jumped out, its long face had turned towards me. The bright yellow eyes seemed to harden as the pupils narrowed into vertical slits focused on my figure. The rider on its back was slim and covered from head to toe in white armor. It was not the best camouflage, but it was the official color of the Elector.

The rider turned the tyron toward us and started to charge. Brett, Kade, and Aaron spread out away from me, circling around the tyron slowly. The beast remained focused on me as it grew closer. I fired my gun at its face, aiming for its eyes, nose and mouth, some of its few vulnerable body parts. Brett and Aaron both aimed for the Electorn fighter, and he soon fell from the beast.

The tyron, now without a rider, started lashing out at random. Its body nearly reached thirty-five feet and its large tail was powerful and long. I jumped back as it lashed out, rearing up on its back legs and attempting to kill me with its claws that held deadly poison if they were to penetrate my armor. I shot at its unprotected underbelly. My laser-like bullets scorched the scaly skin but didn't leave any permanent damage. In fact, I do believe it just made it angry.

Another screech behind me made me groan and I ran to get out of the way of another approaching tyron. Brett and Aaron had managed to distract the first beast and they almost had it pinned against a large rock. Kade and I turned to face the new threat.

This tyron was even larger than the first and its rider carried a gun. I ducked and rolled to get out of the line of fire and came back up firing my gun. A weak screech behind me proved that Aaron and Brett were nearly finished with the tyron, and I prayed that they would arrive in time to help me with this one.

The larger tyron charged me as Brett fired the last shot upon the first beast. I shot at the new one's face while trying to dodge shots fired at me. Kade aimed for the rider, but he had yet to hit him. I saw Aaron and Brett running towards me out of the corner of my eye as I tried to dodge the rather large tail swinging in my direction.

I jumped to avoid it, but not far enough. It felt as if a tree slammed into my back as the tail passed by me. I flew several feet before skidding across the ground, losing my gun in the process. My vision started to blur and I could barely make out Brett shooting down the tyron rider and Aaron shouting my name. I tried to keep my eyes open, but my head was throbbing and the corners of my eyes began to darken. The last thing I saw was Aaron running towards me as one of our spaceships landed in the distance. Soon enough, darkness overtook me.