Fragments Gallery
Reavers: The Drop
The passage to the drop always seemed so peaceful to Sellsword. Even with the clanking of the drop mechanism, the yelling of the other students from the nearby Reavers and from down below there still remained a sense of tranquility. Part of it was probably the height he mused. Up here, so close to the ceiling of Arena 6, only the simulated flight seemed important, everything else felt irrelevant.
Sellsword was sitting alone in the cockpit of a Reaver as it slid along rails set in the roof of the arena. The Reaver moved steadily towards the section of the arena which had been chosen for the drop this practice session. Sellsword yawned, for the few short minutes he was up here he felt… detached from the rest of the facility.
Glancing around his Reaver he did a quick count of the Reavers he had with him on this mission. Four. There were only four others. There were supposed to be five others. Something must have changed after his squads briefing earlier on in the morning. But still it should be enough he thought as he considered the orders he had received in the briefing before their program began.
Before long the Reavers around him all ground to a halt as the clanking from the rails above began to lessen.
"Get ready," crackled a voice in his ear, "If you haven't already noticed they pulled Spider from us last minute. The plan will still work but Renegade's going to have to take the first half of Spider's sectors and Sellsword's going to have to take the second half. Understood?"
"Understood Vengeance," replied Renegade, his voice once more coming through the short range communicator, or comm as they liked to call it, on the Reaver's control panel.
"Yes Sir, understood," said Sellsword a moment later.
Around them the lights began to dim, within moments the lighting had changed from that of midday to that of evening. The program had begun.
"Requesting immediate drop," said Vengeance on the comm.
"Understood. Best of luck to you," responded another student from the room which served as the headquarters for the practice programs.
Sellsword's heart began to pound as more clanking from above signalled the impending release of the Reavers.
This was it, he thought, this time they would win.
The clamps suspending the Reavers from the rail released and the Reavers plummeted to the ground. Just before they touched the forest canopy the pilots flicked on and off the maneuvering thrusters on the mechs to lessen the impact and align the Reavers in their landing formation. The Reavers landed kneeling, after impact Sellsword adjusted the controls to cause the Reaver to stand as the computer analyzed the data from the aerial survey it had performed on the arena during the drop. Around him the other Reavers stood, dirt showering off of their towering metal forms.
"Let's get to work," said Vengeance on the comm.
Gladly, thought Sellsword as dots marking enemy forces began to appear on his radar, this time we'll beat Freya.