63 Storm.
The students of the battle class had no idea where they were going and this was also the first time they were inside a military-grade spaceship. This thing was a fortress, with nothing that was remotely luxurious. The students were surprised, Jenkins asked, “Shi Lang, have you been in a military-grade spaceship before?”
His voice captured the attention of everyone, and they focused on the latter to hear his answer. The boy to their surprise nodded calmly. Before anyone could say anything, Shi Lang said, “The details are classified.”
They were all military students, they knew what it meant when someone said, it is classified. So they did not ask him anything more. The instructor of the battle class raised his eyebrow to take a look at the boy sitting in a different row. Suddenly, Shi Lang said, “Take out a paper bag under your seat and hold on to it”
The students were confused and the next moment a monotonous voice sounded, “Please be seated and put on your seat belts. The ship will space jump in five, four, three, two, one…”
The next thing everyone experienced was a strong squeezing force acting all over them. It was as if they were put inside a dye and were being pushed through a pinhole. The sensation lasted only a few seconds. However, as soon as the students gained consciousness, they all grabbed a bag under the seat and flushed their bodies with every piece of food and other things.
Shi Lang was a little dizzy but he was not as strongly moved as they all were. The only person who did not use a bag other than him was the instructor of the battle class, Den. The man undid his safety belts and stood up inside the cabin. The military ships were all equipped with artificial gravity modules.
The man spoke, “This time the group battle is changed to real combat, the reason because the front need capable officers. Officers who are able to get down from the high chair and lead a platoon in the battle. Also, only Federal Star Academy students were given this special preference. In a few minutes, the ship will land on a planet called, Ja-sum.
This place is inhabited by a race called, Burats. The rest of the data is inside the Digi-tabs under your seats, please read it out.”
The students took out the Digi-tabs under their seats and they began to read the various details recorded inside. It said that the Burats were a warrior civilization. They were crude but technologically advanced. Their weaponry was on par with the Federation, which meant, phaser weapons.
They were taller than the Terrans, basically humanoids but they had four eyes on their face. The rest of the data was similar to the Terrans. Burats did not have a special ability. Den waited for five minutes and said, “The planet Ja-sum, was being controlled by the Burats Royalty. Federal forces had a hard fight and they took over the majority of this planet’s control. However, the royalty still stands tall inside their palace. Your task is to get take down the royal forces, and have their royal heir surrender. Any questions?”
Jenkins and Shi Lang raised their hands the quickest and so did a few others. Den nodded to Jenkins and the boy asked, “I would like to ask if Mechs are allowed.”
Den shook his head and said, “Burats have electromagnetic pulse weapons, Mechs will become useless.” then he turned his head to Shi Lang and nodded.
The boy asked, “Sir, why do we need the royal representative?” his voice was calm.
Den nodded and said, “Burats only serve the royals, they are humanoids but their society is more like an ant nest. Without the royals, this place will be a dead land.”
Then the man began to answer the questions of the rest of the people. In the end, Den said, “I will leave the selection of the team leader on you guys. You have five minutes before we touch down, be quick.”
That said, the man walked outside the cabin leaving sixty-one teenagers sitting and looking at each other. They did not know who they should choose as the leader of the group. Shi Lang sighed and said, “We are sixty people, even if we have a person expert in commanding all of us, the communication will lag. How about we form ten teams of six each? We can assign the strongest in the team as the leader, then these team leaders can communicate with the group leader.”
Jenkins nodded and said, “This is the tactic you used in the last group battle against us. Right?”
Shi Lang nodded and he said, “We have to be very cautious and avoid casualties. The target is like a cornered beast, if we pushed too hard, it will backfire, who knows what trumps they are holding up their sleeves?”
The other people nodded. They all agreed upon this and they began to select teams. Amelia has taken the initiative to give up her seat and sit down next to Shi Lang. The boy smiled and patted the back of her palm gently. Jenkins asked, “Who will be the team leader?”
Shi Lang did not comment, he waited for the others, none of them was confident enough to take the lead, so he said, “Can I take this up?”
His words made all the eyes be locked on his visage, he calmly continued, “It was just a suggestion, no need to hate me.”
Jenkins chuckled and so did the rest. A guy suddenly said, “You defeated our class in the last battle so I trust you. You have the capability.”
The boy said, “Thank you for the vote of confidence. However, it will not be as easy as the game. This thing is real. I will deliver a few commands and tactics beforehand. If you guys can still display the same amount of confidence in me then fine, let us take on these guys.”
He stood up from the seat after undoing the belt and said, “First, my commands are to be followed in an instant, without any questions asked. If I say you shoot yourself, then you shoot yourself. Is that clear?”
“CLEAR!” resounded through the cabin.
Shi Lang nodded and said, “We are going to shuffle the teams. Raise your hands if you have an ability that is suited for scouting?”
Nine people raised their hands, and the boy said, “Move your butts, each team gets one scout.”
The students all heard his command and quickly moved. Shi Lang delivered a few more commands, like the formation of the movement, the method of engagement. In the end, he said, “You all remember, do not become a liability. If you are hurt, retreat, do not hinder the team’s performance. I have assigned a medic to each team and a sniper. Snipers will focus on hiding and providing cover for their teams, Medics will play the role of the spotters.
The rest of the teams are assault forces, The location of the palace inside the map is a typical, easy to defend, hard to attack one. We will use kiting wave tactic, but we will not capture the points, our goal is a sure victory. When the enemy is pressured and is calling for reinforcements, we will retreat. Thankfully that gave us a week’s time.”
He has just finished speaking when Den walked inside and said, “Get ready, we are landing, I hope that you all keep calm and follow the training you have received. Even if you are all ambitious, remember to walk out of this alive, and only then you might have a chance to realize your ambitions.”
…
The ship landed and the students walked out of the hatch door. An officer on duty briefed them about a few things to keep in mind and then took the people to the armory to select their gear.
Shi Lang looked around at the whole place and when the group reached the armory he said, “Take a note of a few things, “This planet is dry, like a desert, Snipers take an armor that has better camouflage in the surroundings. Medics do the same. Also, I want everyone to take a pack of plastic explosives and a detonator. Understood?”
“Yes, Sir.” responded the group. Shi Lang picked his gear and said, “Amelia, you do not move solo, try to get as close to the enemy as you can without alerting, since they have ant structure, I think their royals have telepathy or something that enables them to sense the surroundings in a large area.”
The girl heard his low voice and nodded. They all tactically selected hypervisors. These helmets came with a screen covering their face and showed a lot of different data needed. They were given a free rein to select from. Shi Lang had all teams, select one heavy phasor machine gun, and the rest had common high durability assault rifles. The HPMG was to be used in case the enemy troops swarmed over them, and this will give them some time to flee.
After an hour, the group was assembled, in front of them stood five helicopters. Shi Lang faced the people and said, “Ready?” in a loud voice.
The students replied, “READY!”
Shi Lang said, “Let’s Go.” And then everyone boarded the helicopters. The storm was coming.