Chapter 772: Medical Station
Just then, an emergency erupted on the eastern defensive line.
A large horde of infected, having found metal plates and corpses from somewhere to use as shields, advanced toward the parapet, pushing through the gunfire.
Several infected leaped simultaneously, vaulting over the barrier.
"Fire at will! Hold them back!" Sergeant Devin yelled.
Valerie watched the battle calmly.
The heavy bolters of two security consultants shredded the leaping infected in mid-air, but there were too many; two landed inside the perimeter.
The Raiders immediately engaged them in close quarters.
"A3, A5, clear the internal targets. A2, A4, suppress follow-up breachers," Valerie ordered.
Two security consultants turned, using their rifle butts and the sheer power of their armor to crush the landed infected. Their movements were highly efficient and ruthless.
The Raiders provided supporting fire.
Valerie noted that while these infected moved quickly in close combat, their attacks lacked any technique; they relied entirely on instinct.
The problem lay in their numbers and that lethal contagiousness.
"Breach in the line!" Devin shouted.
A section of the parapet, battered simultaneously by multiple infected, finally collapsed. Through the gap, even more infected poured in.
Valerie assessed the situation rapidly. "Abandon the five-meter zone in front of the breach. Fall back and establish an arced firing line. A1, use stun grenades."
A security consultant pulled a non-lethal device from his belt and tossed it at the breach. The intense flash and deafening boom caused the surging infected to stall momentarily in confusion.
"Fire!"
Concentrated fire mowed down the infected at the breach in swaths. The infected behind them stepped on the corpses of their kin to press forward, but their speed was hindered by the bodies.
"Use incendiaries!" Valerie commanded.
A Raider threw their last Molotov cocktail onto the pile of corpses. Flames erupted, temporarily sealing the breach.
The eastern defensive line held, but at the cost of massive ammunition expenditure. Furthermore, one Raider had been scratched by an infected's claws and had to be immediately quarantined.
The darkness before dawn is always the deepest. The dropship's effectiveness as bait gradually waned, and the infected began to return. Finally, the engineering unit's first UV defense tower flared to life, emitting a blinding purple light.
In the area illuminated by that light, the infected let out agonized shrieks. Their skin smoked, and their movements became sluggish.
"It works!" Dr. Hanson said excitedly. "Increase the UV intensity! Expand the irradiation radius!"
But a single tower's coverage was limited. More infected surged in from other directions.
There were still three hours until dawn.
The light from the UV defense tower acted like a beacon in the night. While it illuminated a small area, it also drew even more infected from the surrounding darkness toward the medical station. They seemed to both fear and loathe the light, madly attempting to destroy the source.
"The tower's defense force reports extreme pressure!" Matt's voice came over the comms. "They need support!"
"We can barely save ourselves!" Tychus roared, using the iron boot of his power armor to crush an infected that had climbed onto the roof. His armor was already coated in dark green slime and gore.
Raynor looked at the ever-growing number of infected surrounding them and realized that the tactic of holding the roof had reached its limit. The infected were climbing up from all directions simultaneously; the roof's parapet was broken in multiple places, and their defensive perimeter was being compressed tighter and tighter.
"We have to change tactics," Raynor said over the comms. "Matt, how many dropships do we have available?"
"Four, but two of them need repairs."
"Get all flight-capable dropships ready. We need to evacuate the roof. But not everyone can go at once—the infected are drawn by sound and movement. We need to evacuate in batches while using a dropship as a decoy to distract them."
He quickly assigned the tasks: "First batch: the wounded, Dr. Hanson and her assistants, and non-combatants. Escorted by one dropship directly to the spaceport quarantine zone."
"Second batch: Miss Valerie and her team, plus half the Marines. Fast-rope down the east side, establish a temporary position on the ground, and cover the third batch."
"Third batch: Tychus, myself, and the remaining personnel. Last to evacuate."
"During each evacuation, use another dropship to create noise and lights in the opposite direction to draw their attention."
"Understood!" Matt immediately began coordinating.
"Miss Valerie," Raynor turned to her. "The ground reception mission is very dangerous. I need your people to establish a solid foothold on the ground and hold it until we get down. Can you do it?"
Valerie nodded calmly. "Yes. But I need at least two automated turrets and sufficient ammunition."
"You got it," Raynor agreed without hesitation. "Sergeant Devin, you and your squad will move with Miss Valerie. Follow her orders."
"Yes, Commander."
The first evacuation began. A dropship landed on the roof, and the wounded and non-combatants boarded swiftly. Simultaneously, another dropship hovered low on the western side of the refugee camp, blasting jarring music and flashing lights, successfully drawing away a large horde of infected.
The first batch lifted off smoothly, heading toward the spaceport.
"Second batch, prepare!" Raynor yelled.
Valerie and her five security consultants were the first to fast-rope to the ground. Sergeant Devin and his eight-man Raider squad followed closely behind.
They landed in a relatively open unloading zone on the east side of the medical station. The ground was littered with the corpses of the infected, the air thick with the smell of scorched flesh and blood.
"Establish a circular perimeter! A1, A2, take the high ground on the building to the left. A3, A4, the right. A5, center with me. Raiders, fill the gaps and establish interlocking fire," Valerie ordered rapidly.
The team acted immediately. The power armor of the security consultants emitted low hums as they moved, quickly securing the vantage points. The Raiders used sandbags and abandoned vehicles to construct makeshift cover.
On the roof, the third batch was preparing to drop. Just then, an emergency transmission came from the decoy dropship on the west side: "Taking multiple impacts from flying objects! Might be rocks thrown by the infected or... they're jumping onto the hull! Engines damaged, must gain altitude!"
The decoy had failed. Having lost their target, a massive number of infected began returning toward the medical station. Worse, some of the infected seemed to have learned simple throwing mechanics, hurling rocks and scrap metal at the roof and the ground position.
"Second batch, cover us!" Raynor yelled over the comms, as he, Tychus, and the others began fast-roping down.
Valerie calmly watched the tide of infected surging toward them. "All units, fire at will. Suppress the front. A3, use stun grenades to delay the cluster on the left. A4, right side."
The security consultants executed the orders with precision. Stun grenades detonated among the infected, the brief confusion buying the personnel dropping from the roof a few precious seconds.
Raynor, Tychus, and the last eight Raiders successfully landed in the ground perimeter. But as their boots hit the ground, the infected were already upon them.