Cyborg Corps Complete Series Boxed Set

by J. N. Chaney

  There was no time for this nonsense. Either the general would assign Sergeant Brinn to him as a guide, or he wouldn’t. Either way, they weren’t getting anywhere with the man acting like he was crazy as he tried to get his way.

  The sound of shuffling feet made Warren aware of how the First Corps cyborgs were feeling. They were getting ready to fight, probably moving a little to make sure each of them still had a clear field of fire. One or two—Rigby, if he had to guess—were likely looking for a shot at the general himself. It would be a shame if this is how it went down. One that might cost every one of them their lives.

  “Once I have the rest of my people, First Corps will stand with Second,” said Warren. “We’ll free this planet, and if you prefer, I’ll leave Governor Kinsley for you to finish off personally.”

  Kaplan stopped scratching the top of the table and relaxed his fingers and spoke loudly enough for everyone to hear. “Take Sergeant Brinn as your guide, General Prescott. He will take you to where we last saw your people. If you can manage to find them, please bring them back to this village so we may enact my plan and destroy our enemy. Is this acceptable to you?”

  “Yes, General Kaplan,” said Warren, using the other cyborg’s honorific as his way of giving thanks. “I’ll return the moment I can.”

  “See that you do,” replied Kaplan.

  Rigby and the others watched Warren carefully after they’d exited the tunnels. Daylight was fading, which wasn’t a problem for cyborgs from either side but would likely provide some decent cover against the Commonwealth’s regular soldiers.

  Sergeant Brinn stared up into the sky as he slowly wandered from the building. He looked like he might be contemplating life, considering the time of day, or even attempting to predict the weather.

  “I’m not sure Kaplan’s a friendly,” muttered Rigby.

  Warren nodded his agreement but motioned for her to remain silent. He wasn’t sure she’d spoken quietly enough to keep the sergeant from hearing her. There was no doubt the cyborg from Second Corps had been sent to guide them to where their last encounter with his cyborgs had occurred. But he was also there to keep an eye on them.

  “You ready?” asked Warren.

  “Yes, sir,” replied Brinn, though he sounded like there was something else on his mind. “I think we need to move quickly, though. There should’ve been a patrol flying overhead while we were down in the command center.”

  “There wasn’t?” asked Rigby.

  “No. If there was, the bell would’ve rung. That’s all the old woman in that house does—ring that bell. It’s how we keep track. No electronic or sound emissions. Nothing for the Commonwealth to notice. It’s how the general has kept us all alive, now that there’s no way to reset us.”

  Warren thought about asking him if they’d performed a backup to Cyborg Data Cubes, but thought better of it. Either way, it didn’t matter. Not until another war computer could be captured, but he couldn’t worry about that now.

  “What about us?” asked Hendrose, glancing at the other civilians released from their cyborg captors.

  “I’ll need you to stay here,” Warren said, holding up a hand to stop Hendrose’s argument before it could start. “I know, these are Commonwealth citizens. They’re our traditional enemy, but if what General Kaplan says is true, they’re friendly. He says they’ve already got places for all of you. In fact, here comes the welcoming committee.”

  Hendrose turned to glance at two young women and an older man who cautiously made their way toward them along a dirt path.

  “I don’t trust them, and I don’t trust our hosts,” said Hendrose under his breath. “They didn’t act like we were friendlies. It’s like they had something to prove in there and were trying to make it clear who was in charge—as if there was anything I could do about it.”

  Warren thought about his friend for a moment, then nodded slowly. He took a small step to his left, unholstered his pistol, and handed it to the tech.

  Hendrose stared wide-eyed at the weapon for a moment before taking it and shoving it behind his belt and under his shirt.

  “That ought to keep you until we get back. Full humans are easy enough to kill, and I’m sure you know a couple of nice, sensitive areas to shoot a cyborg if it should come down to that.”

  “I do,” he admitted, still looking unconvinced. “What’s your plan?”

  “Get the others, bring them back, and see what tricks our hosts have up their sleeves. You might need to stay here for that too. I don’t know yet, but don’t go anywhere if you can help it.”

  Hendrose nodded and turned away from Warren, who listened to the polite conversation he and the welcoming committee had before turning back to his own team. He didn’t like leaving anyone behind, but the cyborgs could move fast, didn’t require sleep, and rarely had to eat. He didn’t bother trying to scrounge up some food. They’d be good until they could find something to forage or capture along the way.

  “Sergeant Brinn,” said Warren. “You’ve got point. Column formation. Let’s head out.”

  25

  Warren kept a close eye on the seventeen others in his small platoon. Sergeant Brinn seemed to be the least concerned of everyone, but whether that was due to his experience or the same kind of reckless bravado his commander displayed, he wasn’t sure. They were moving quickly, hadn’t encountered a single Commonwealth soldier, but had managed to spook dozens of animals.

  The things resembled antelope, or maybe deer. They stood almost two meters high, had short, rounded horns and black stripes running vertically across their khaki hide. Brinn looked every time one bolted from its hiding place through the trees but didn’t otherwise respond. Whatever they were, they didn’t seem dangerous.

  Someone up ahead called a halt. Warren and everyone else took a knee. A moment later, the signal for him to move forward was passed along.

  When he reached the front of the formation, Brinn pointed at a clearing ahead. The sun was almost down, casting long shadows across the tall, dry grass that occupied the ten-meter space. He strained his vision and hearing, searching for any signs of life, whether cyborg or other. Besides a few small birds and rodents, it seemed clear.

  Warren signaled for second and third squads to begin securing the perimeter before moving. Then he and first squad turned outward to provide 360-degree security. By the time it was done, no shots had been fired. There weren’t any enemies nearby.

  “Show me exactly where you last saw them,” Warren whispered to Brinn, who nodded and walked confidently into the clearing. He pointed to a spent rifle ammunition casing lying among tall blades of grass. Once he spotted the first one, the others were easier to spot. There were hundreds of them, and the further he walked, the more he found. Among the debris, he also discovered the remains of a firing mechanism for a grenade, both triggering buttons clearly visible. “What happened here?”

  “I got the report, but I wasn’t here,” replied Brinn. “The report from the others said they heard gunfire. They came out here, tried to secure the area, but they got into a pissing match. Someone calling himself Lukov refused to surrender himself and the others. It’s standard procedure to disarm everyone until we know who they are and what their intentions are.”

  Warren smiled a little. “Sounds like Lukov all right.”

  “The soldiers went back and forth for a while. Then a rocket tank showed up, and all bets were off. My guys fired at the rocket tank, but your guys started shooting back like they were the ones being attacked. From there, it went all to shit. None of my people were hurt, but they’re pretty sure some of yours were.”

  “How accurate do you think the report is?” asked Warren. The sergeant looked confused by the question. “What I mean is, do you think there’s any chance your people tried to capture my people, and when that failed, decided to fight them instead?”

  “No, sir. Of course not.”

  “Then, where are the tank tracks?” asked Warren, gesturing to the far side of the clearing.
“I didn’t see any coming in, did you?”

  Brinn frowned and marched to the other side of the clearing. Once there, he started searching the ground. Warren joined him a moment later and waited patiently. He didn’t expect there would be any tracks. Not with what he’d seen so far.

  “How damaged were my cyborgs?” asked Warren.

  The sergeant stopped looking around, a defeated sag to his shoulders. “One got shot in the leg. Another took a couple of shots to the torso. The fight was over pretty quick, so there wasn’t any time to inspect your guys to see what had happened.”

  “No recordings?” asked Warren.

  “Maybe, but we’ve got no way of retrieving them,” said Brinn with a shrug. “Unless you know a way.”

  Warren might, but he decided to keep that to himself for the moment. He didn’t trust General Kaplan, so he didn’t trust his representative.

  “What do you want to do now, sir?” asked Brinn.

  Warren allowed himself several minutes to walk around the perimeter of the clearing, searching for any sign of where his troops might’ve gone. If they’d left any indication—a sign should he come looking for them—it was too subtle for him to notice. If comms weren’t down, this would be a lot easier. He could send squads out in different directions while he kept a few back as a command element. When one of the teams found his missing soldiers, they could report it in, and if they were at the extreme range of their internal communications systems, he could relay it to the others.

  “Tell me more about these towers,” said Warren.

  Brinn clasped his hands in front of himself and looked anywhere but at Warren. “What do you want to know, sir?”

  “First, did General Kaplan order you to avoid telling me anything about them?”

  “Y-yes, sir, he did. He didn’t order me to lie to you if you asked, though. I’m sorry, sir, but I follow orders.”

  “I see,” said Warren, finger suddenly feeling itchy. “Did he order you to take us here as a trap?”

  “No, sir, this is where the event occurred. This is the last place your soldiers were spotted, so far as I know.”

  “So, the plan was for you to bring us here, not tell us anything else, and lead us back,” said Warren. “Is that right?”

  “That’s correct, sir,” said Brinn, somehow looking even more uncomfortable than before.

  “And how, exactly, did he give you this order when I was standing right next to him?”

  If Brinn could have blushed, Warren was certain his face would have quickly turned the color of a ripe tomato immediately. “I’ve been ordered not to tell you about that, sir.”

  Warren nodded. “I see. Well, I countermand those orders. Tell me now.” He didn’t bother adding a threat at the end. Based on the way the sergeant was still rubbing his hands together—rifle slung over his shoulder—it didn’t look like it would take a lot to get him talking.

  “We have comms, sir,” he admitted. “Short-range, limited to about ten meters from the command table. That’s why he didn’t want anyone else approaching. Some of the gear on the table is Republic, but the rest is Commonwealth. He talks with me all the time when I’m in there. Mostly crazy shit he thinks out loud. I think he does it on purpose to keep me worried. It works. Sir, may I speak freely?”

  “Always,” Warren said, still reeling from the sergeant’s words.

  “No disrespect intended, sir, but I think General Kaplan is nuts. Frankly, I’m worried he’ll try to kill you if it looks like you’re trying to take over. He’ll probably kill me if he finds out I told you any of this stuff.”

  “You think he would do that?” asked Warren. “Commit fratricide just to maintain power?”

  The sergeant nodded vigorously.

  Warren had never been in this kind of situation before. Sure, he’d had platoon commanders who’d been stupid enough to get everyone killed. He also had others who’d realized it and had therefore leaned on their sergeants to keep everyone alive. The act had garnered his and every other sergeant’s respect when it occurred. General Kaplan, it seemed, was of a different variety.

  “Can I count on you to be truthful from here on out?” asked Warren. “I will personally guarantee your safety, no matter what General Kaplan says.”

  “Yes, sir,” he replied quietly. “Whatever you need to know.”

  “Is the general the one blocking comms?”

  Brinn’s face twisted into a confused expression. “No, sir. At least, not so far as I know. He wouldn’t have had time to set any of this up. From what I’ve learned—and not just from him—it’s a huge network. It covers a couple thousand square kilometers, at least. Our ship, the Conquest, came apart pretty high up in the atmosphere. We came down hard, then we had to find each other and we ended up near the village. It was easier back then because comms were still up. Like I said before, it was only recently they went down. It’s been tough ever since, so no, I don’t think he had anything to do with it. He hasn’t even left the command center except for a couple of times, and I’ve been with him.”

  In Warren’s mind, knowing it wasn’t a fellow cyborg made things easier. He’d have to confront the self-appointed general about keeping valuable information from him, but at least he wouldn’t have to try to force him into explaining how the jamming worked and how to shut it off.

  “Guide us to the nearest jamming tower,” ordered Warren, coming up with a plan.

  The sergeant’s eyebrows went way up on his head. “What are you going to do?”

  “I’m going to figure out how it works,” he replied. “Then I’m going to figure out how to make it stop working so I can contact my people. You say it covers about a thousand square kilometers. I assume you’ve tried every frequency available, searched for the signal and all that. Am I correct?”

  “Yes, sir,” said Brinn. “We haven’t found anything. Nothing at all. No energy signatures, no radio waves—nothing to indicate even which direction it’s coming from.”

  “Then how do you know the antennas are the source?”

  “Because we saw them building it, sir,” said the sergeant. “We watched and tried to gain some intel. Once the light on top started blinking, comms went down. Some of us were sent out to scout the area. We found more—every ten kilometers or so. We mapped them, brought the info back, and marked it in the map the general is building. Once all the dots were in place, there was no mistaking what had happened.”

  Warren referenced the image his HUD had captured of the map General Kaplan had shown him. He zoomed in and found the tiny icons Brinn had said would be there. Sure enough, they were set up in an almost perfect grid. Likely their signals extended more than the ten kilometers separating them, which would provide plenty of overlap should one go down. If he took one out, it was likely the others would be put on high alert. The air patrols Brinn had mentioned would show up, and at the moment, First Corps had no way to fight them. It would be a slaughter, but without destroying the source of the jamming, there’d be no way to find the rest of his soldiers.

  “Take us to the nearest tower,” said Warren. “I can’t promise I won’t destroy it, but I need to take a closer look.”

  Brinn nodded, but as he turned to lead them further into the woods, the sound of explosions echoed through the trees, sending dozens of birds to flight.

  26

  “We can’t go,” said Brinn. “We’re supposed to stay invisible. We’ll end up drawing too much attention if they know we’re here. They’ll focus their searches and find us.”

  Warren ignored him. “Rigby, take this cyborg into your squad, then stick him on point. We’re headed to a fight.”

  “But—“ Brinn began, trying to argue.

  “But nothing,” said Rigby. “You’re afraid of the Commonwealth—we get it. But who do you think they’re fighting? Each other?”

  The sergeant’s face went slack. He nodded, checked to make sure his rifle was loaded and hurried to the front of the formation. Warren signaled for them to move out, and
they did.

  The explosions grew louder but less frequent as the platoon approached. Almost ten minutes later, Rigby signaled for everyone to stop, then indicated she needed Warren up front.

  When he arrived, she pointed at the scene before them. Two rocket tanks were standing guard outside a small concrete building next to a tall latticed radio tower that looked brand new. Their opponents had to be at least part of First Corps. Between the opposing forces was about 200 meters of dry grasslands. Several small fires appeared to have started and begun spreading.

  Warren motioned for Brinn to get closer so they could speak. “These rocket tanks look tough. How have you destroyed them before?”

  “We haven’t,” he replied. “We tried once, but we lost two cyborgs. Now we avoid them. They’re slow. If you want to get them away from the others, all we have to do is get their attention. We’re out of their effective range. They’ll roll closer, and whoever they’re fighting can escape.”

  “Can they go through the woods?” asked Rigby. She looked like she was visually measuring the distance between the trees and comparing them with the apparent width of the enemy vehicles.

  “Yeah,” he said, sounding tired. “They knock trees over. Barely slows them down.”

  “Then running isn’t an option,” he said. “Every vehicle has a weakness. If nothing else, it’s got to have a way for the crew to get in and out. We find its weakness, exploit it, and take them out.

  “Where are the ground troops?” asked Rigby.

  She was right, Warren realized. All rockets and nothing up close? That would make it vulnerable to exactly what he was thinking about doing.

  “They must be inside,” said Warren. He tapped on his collar, a signal he wanted all the squad leaders to him. After quickly explaining his plan, they returned to their squad and passed the information on, then they indicated they were ready.