Lost in Transit

Lost in Transit is a short story involving Archangel Kodey Abel and Guardian Angel Elizabeth "Ella" Torres as they attack a UNSC transport flatbed on the glassed colony of Crest.

"I see it," came the female voice over Abel's radio. "A twin-cab trailer, flatbed. Two enclosed hogs, both in front."

"Armament?"

"Can't tell. Too far away."

"But you're sure it's it?"

"Definitely."

"Well then, Ella, get back down here."

The black and red suit of armor quickly descended down to the surface, catching herself half a meter off the ground with her jump jet. Abel was impressed by how much Ella had learned in the last few months, being almost as skilled with the jetpack as he and the rest of the Archangels.

"If all goes to plan," Abel began, "that drive should be right here in two minutes." The Archangel pointed at the ground below him, a crudely cut-away path in the crystal-clear glass. The path was barely two lanes wide, just wide enough for the transport and its convoy.

"If we wait for it to pass, the hogs will be in front of the transport and wouldn't be able to hit us."

"Exactly. Now, hide. Don't let those hogs spot you or this mission might as well be a failure." The two Angels crouched behind large mounds of glass on either side of the road. Abel checked his fuel level.

''Yellow, almost in the red. I can make that work.''

"Ella, hold until I give the word," the Archangel spoke into his radio.

Before the Guardian Angel could respond, the two crimson warthogs passed between them in a rush. Both were armed with chainguns, but neither spotted the Angels.

Within two seconds, the trailer had also passed by. Due to the shear size of the slipspace drive, the trailer was a double wide, being pulled by two adjacent cabs to get the horsepower necessary to move. Although it was a risky process, having two separate drivers in charge of the safety of a catastrophically dangerous piece of cargo, the drivers were used to driving in parallel.

The cargo's soon-to-be hijackers weren't.

"Go."

The two jetpackers shot up into the air, clearly visible in the the drivers' rear view mirrors. The twin-cab took less than a second to accelerate rapidly, almost ramming into the back of their armed escorts. The two Angels thrusted forward in unison, gaining lost ground on the trailer.

"That drive is too heavy for them," Ella spoke over the radio. "Perhaps we should lighten their load? Do them a favor?"

"We need a means to transport the drive as well. I'll take the left cab. You get the right."

The path started to widen, and Abel could see the hogs starting to shift over to get a shot on the Angels. He fired two bursts of his battle rifle at the rear tire of the hog, only to find out that they were bulletproof.

"Ella, the hogs!"

"I see 'em."

"Get on the trailer, use the drive as cover. They wouldn't risk firing at it and creating a brand new crater." Abel rocketed forward at full blast, draining the hydrogen at an alarming rate. Ella got to the trailer before him, setting foot on the metal bed with a perfect textbook landing.

Abel attempted to do the same, but the trucks accelerated just as he cut the burn. He managed to catch himself before he face-planted into the glass. He checked his fuel again, which was nearly depleted.

"Running low on 'H!'" Abel announced over the short-range.

"You never were good with conserving gas." Ella replied as she opened fire on one of the hogs. The other hog proceeded to fire in Abel's general direction, but failed to get remotely close to hitting him.

"Who trained these gunners?"

"No one really. They're private security, not armed forces. Makes our job easier."

Abel attempted to land on the trailer one last time, but his fuel cut out just before his feet were over the bed. The man fell, but managed to grab hold of a anchor point on the bed. He pulled himself up and onto the trailer, where Ella was still hard at work taking out the gunner of the first hog.