Anonymous Hero

Written for the Daily Flash Fiction Challenge with a word limit of 300.

The prompts: This story must contain the words: star, drive and trouble

Anonymous Hero

He checked the dwindling charge of his plasma assault rifle and knew he was in trouble.

His twenty-man platoon had dropped down before first light three days ago. Their objective: Drive the Biotopes back from the neutral zone surrounding the newly founded human colony.

Now he was all that remained.

Twenty families huddled in their habitats as the sounds of the battle crept ever closer. They knew things weren’t going well. But they had no idea how bad it really was. None of them knew there was only one man left; one man out there on the battle field fighting to save people he had never met.

With a flick of his left index finger, he triggered yet another pain-blocker injection. A red light flashed at the edge of his vision indicating there was nothing left to inject. A nearby explosion jolted him and more lights began to flash. His suit hydraulics was leaking badly. Soon he would be trapped in a two-ton coffin that was his battle armor. Life support showed five minutes remaining.

A message flashed across his visor. “Star Cruiser support in ten minutes.”

Too late. He felt the ground beginning to rumble, indicating they were on the move. The Biotopes knew help was coming and only a final assault would enable them to destroy the humans before it was too late.

Twenty families huddled in the habitats as an anonymous hero did for them what so many other anonymous heroes have done before him.

He stood alone and took the battle to the enemy. They were caught completely off guard by the single soldier limping out of the foxhole, firing everything he had. It was several minutes before they could regroup. It was long enough

The cavalry arrived - saving all but one.

Word count 296