Intermission 9-10: Rainfall
"Ever been afraid of the lightning, Sara?"
Sara looked over at Jim, half-smiling. "Of course.
Hasn't everyone?"
"I suppose so," Jim replied. As i to accentuate the point, a bright flash of lightning
momentarily blinded the two, causing both to involuntarily flinch. A second later a loud rumble sounded around them.
"And some people don't ever lose that fear, I suppose," Sara said, wrapping her arms around herself.
The
two stood in a clearing just outside the Median IV base, not caring as rain soaked their fatigues and drenched them. It seemed to be a refreshing experience for Jim, and he relished the feeling of cold water running down his body.
"Enough blasted heat on this planet, it's about time we got some rain to cool it down."
Sara laughed. "And here I thought you liked the weather."
"Oh, who could not like temperatures over a hundred and constant humidity?" Jim asked, his voice thick with sarcasm.
Sara shook her hear. You never do stop joking around, do you?"
Jim smiled. "Can't help it. It's just my nature."
Sara reached over and pulled Jim closer to her, wrapping an arm around his waist. "It's good to joke a lot. Cleanses the soul."
Jim didn't respond. He felt lost in thought, or maybe it was emotion; he couldn't tell. He stood silent for a few moments ,mulling over what to say. As he did so, the rain started to pick up heavily.
"Maybe we should go inside,"
Sara said, "it's starting to -"
She was cut off by a loud explosion not twenty feet away.
Jim jumped back reflexively, slipping in the wet mud and falling on his back, pulling Sara down with him. She scrambled to get up, helping him up once she had her footing.
"What was that?" Jim asked. "The Eldar are attacking in the rain?"
Sara shook her head, spraying him with water. "No, it's the
mines!" Another explosion sounded, a little farther from them, followed rapidly by another. "The close proximity mines are going off! The rain is setting off their pressure switches."
"Damn!" Jim yelled, grabbing Sara's hand and running toward the base. The two ran quickly, mud and water slashing up onto their fatigue trousers. More explosions sounded behind them, sounding infinitely worse than the heavy booming of the thunder.
They ran into the bunkroom and slammed the door behind them, causing people to look up. Bill said, "Hey, Jim, you're a bit wet and dirty."
"Never mind that!" Jim snapped. "Tell them to turn off the damn mines!"
"Why?" Mel asked. "What's wrong with the-"
Mel was cut off mid-sentence by a tremendous explosion, the shockwave smashing the bunk room windows and showering the troops inside with glass and rain.
Becker jumped out of his office, looking around. "What the hell was that?"
"The mines!" Sara shouted. "They've got the shut them off!"
More explosions followed, rocking the ground under the troopers' feet.
Becker grabbed a comm, slamming down on the operation button. "Code red!" he cried into it. "We need to turn off the mines! Their pressure switches are being prematurely triggered by the rain. It's causing them to explode, too close to base."
An affirmative came through, and soon after the explosions ceased, leaving just the sound of the driving rain, the wind lashing through the trees, and the loud booms from thunder. Not a word was spoken by the surprised soldiers, until finally Bob spoke up.
"Hell of a rainy day."
Continued in Chapter X: A New Kind of Foe
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