*****
Hank did as much as he could to get his forces into a defensible position, within the Mother Ship. With a lot of luck, they had managed to creep their way deeper into the ship and were now two doors away from the Command Centre. They had built a barricade of sorts, a mixture of bodies and supplies all around themselves. Only five remained of the Alpha Team and they were strategically positioned around the wide foyer, with many doorways. Most of Beta Team had survived and they were kept safe within the core of Hank’s forces, treating the injured soldiers. The Freedom Army's Standard Infantry (S.I.), had taken the brunt of the action and only half of their initial number remained. However, Hank thought that their mission was going much better than his worst fears, but that was before the Sentinels arrived.
Before they emerged, Hank had managed to keep the foyer secure and the enemy forces were easier to shoot down, as they tried to attack through the passageways on the other side of the doorways. Suddenly, five Sentinels emerged simultaneously from the doorways around the foyer; and they resisted the attack of the Freedom Army, slowly pressing their advantage, while allowing more defenders to join the battle.
“Hurry up with that door!” Hank screamed out to the team trying to unlock the security door leading to the Command Centre behind them. “Alpha Team see what you can do about the Sentinel to the East, we’re losing a lot of ground there!” Hank screamed down his communicator. “S.I., break up into five teams and focus your attacks on the Sentinels closest to you, hit them with everything you’ve got!”
“Sir, what do we do? We’re losing ground everywhere,” informed Hank's lieutenant, but it wasn’t information the Commander didn’t already know.
“We keep on fighting soldier,” Hank said, as he put a large plasma cannon on his shoulder; he aimed at a Sentinel and fired three successive shots, while silently wishing he had a rail gun.