by David Nash
In the entire galaxy, no species has the potential to get pure mean and nasty as humanity. Kitchen stewards, communications techs, corpsmen, and janitors all fought side by side with infantry. The all shared a single mission; they had to root out the infiltrators.
It didn’t help that the Barkun were reinforced by the spider robots and the larger Kernel controllers, but what the Kernel had didn’t really matter, for the crew of the Washington is was root hog or die time.
With what seemed like hours to the fully engaged bridge staff, the clock finally turned to five minutes in. RPS Yuanzhang and RPS Spartacus entered the battle with their two Battle star groups.
Captain Zhao Qiang of the RS True Grit flew right along the hull of Battle Star Washington and blew several Punisher ships off of Washington’s hull, ending several boarding locations as the resulting depressurization pulled thousands of Kernel warriors out into space. A few humans joined them, but thanks to Legion EVA Training, their battle suits, and the fact that the Good Admiral has ordered all hatches dogged down and secured, most would survive the battle.
Who would not survive the battle was the first wave of the assault ships, seeing the trap sprung; the Kernel detonated large subterranean nuclear weapons just under the surface of the planet. The resulting geysers of irradiated molten rock engulfed the leading wave of drop ships. If the Kernel had the discipline to wait they would have taken out the entire invasion force of four brigades of Legion Infantry. Losing four battalions hurt, but the remaining assault ships secured from drop operations and made for the Battle star. It was obvious from the surface that Diagoras could no longer support life.
“Dammit Corporal, we shouldn’t have gotten separated from the rest of the squad. Now what are we going to do?” Lance Corporal Wilkins groused to his team leader.
“What we are going to do is shut the fuck up and kill us some Barkun” growled Private “Crusher” McGee.
“Both of you shut the fuck up! Crusher, if I can be in charge for a while, I’ll tell you what we are going to do” ordered Corporal Kennedy.
“If the two of you weren’t playing grab ass at the armory, we would be with the platoon right now instead of hiding a hatch away from a shit load of lizards and bugs; you’d think we were stuck in your momma’s dusty drawers.” Drawer Lance Corporal Montega.
Crusher lived up to his name as he lunged at the little Texan.
Corporal Kennedy grabbed the three time private and slung him off of the smaller Lance Corporal. “I said to knock it the fuck off!” The Corporal snarled.
“Listen you fucks, here is what we are going to do. Chin, you got you tools?”
“Yes Corporal, I never leave home without them.” The electronics technician was highly skilled at his military occupational specialty, as well as seriously dedicated to his skills in infantry. The rest of his team held different levels of competence, either in their assigned jobs or in their infantry assignments during boarding drills.
“Alright Chin, can you get us a feed from the hallway outside? I need to see what is going on” asked the Corporal. Unlike the rest of his team, the Corporal actually was in a fight once. He was stationed as a motor pool mechanic at the Headquarters of the Planetary Republic during the sneak attack. He actually saw General Davis arrive during the battle. That story grew and evolved over several drinks, as soldiers stories do to end up with the Corporal fighting off a charging Barkun that was after the Commandant.
“Done.” Said the young enlisted legionnaire as he patched the network feed into their suits.
The feed showed a Kernel command spider just outside the hatch. It was focused on the battle down the hall and only had a few spiders nearby. There was nothing between it and the maintenance hatch the team was huddled in.
“Guys, we are going to take that mother fucker down!” The Corporal excitedly exclaimed.
“Fuck yeah! I’m gonna hurt it!’ Crusher said, all the while fondling his forearm cannon.
“Montega and Wilkins looked at each other, they didn’t have quite the same enthusiasm, but neither one was going to admit they were scared out of their minds.
“Corporal?” asked Chin
“Yeah?”
“Killing that thing is awesome, but what if we captured it? A live Kernel command spider could really help the eggheads break the carrier signal.”
“Are you fucking nuts? If we kill it all the Spiders die too, if we grab it, they all come for us, plus we have to fight that big fucker as well.” The Corporal said with some excitement.
“Come on Corporal, can you hear me out. When do I not have a plan?” Said Lance Corporal Chin
“Chin, I know you got a plan, I just don’t know if it’s a plan to get us all killed. But what the hell, I’ll listen, but I ain’t promising nothin’ alright?”
The technician turned warrior played out a plan to his fellow legionaries that consisted of using the high voltage communications feeder line in the maintenance room as an improvised stun gun of sorts. If they could make contact with the Kernel’s metal shell and have the ships send a broadcast at the same time, the high frequency emissions coming down the line should overpower the Kernels own signal and temporarily scramble its brain. Without any outgoing signals, the team could dispatch the incapacitated spiders and Barkun while two could take off the Kernels’ legs, torso cannon, and visual sensors.
Chin connected his suit into the smaller intercom line and the Corporal related his plan to the bridge.
“That’s the plan, sir, my team and I await your orders.” Said Corporal Kennedy.
The Admiral looked at his #2, the Captain having a science background. “I don’t know sir, theoretically it could work.” Captain Martin said shaking his head slightly.
“If it doesn’t can the Kernel use the connection to get in the ship” asked the Admiral.
“Yes, but it could use its connection with the floor of the ship to do that as well. As you know that’s how we got these forts in the first place.”
“So Captain, do you see any downside?”
“Admiral Richards, Not to the ship, but to those legionaries, I see a ton of downside, if it doesn’t work they probably won’t survive the attempt.”
Making up his mind the Admiral keyed his microphone to the hacked intercom. “Corporal, you are aware of what happens if your plan doesn’t work?”
“Admiral Richards, if the plan doesn’t work then the Legion will get to promote a new corporal and a couple new Lance Coolies. Sir, but we are all willing to take that chance sir, if you will let us.”
“Alright son, we will try your plan. You tell us when you are ready and we will pump the largest transmission we can down that feeder line.”
“Thank you sir.”
It only took the crew a few minutes to scavenge enough cable and rich the connection. The team stacked on the door. Private McGee being the largest held the cable. It would be his job to tackle the Kernel and make the connection. Chin was at the intercom and would signal the bridge. The rest of the team was acting as support. If it went to plan, they would quickly attack the incapacitated fighters under the control of the Kernel spider, while the aggressive McGee and the tech savvy chin were left to empty brains and brawn to control the Kernel.
With a look around the room, and a quick confident looking nod, Corporal Kennedy asks “Everyone ready?” Various nods and fist bumps signaled readiness.
“On three.”
“1”
“2”
“3”
Montega slung the door open as Crusher leaped toward the man sized spider. He threw the bare end of the cable around the gun turret mound on the top of the spider and jabbed the loose cable end between a chink in the spider’s armor between its torso and rearmost leg segment. Once the connection was made he yelled. “Hit it!”
Lance Corporal Chin screamed “NOW!” into the intercom.
Instantaneously the spiders started toward the team as the Kernel went stiff. Sparks flew and the hallway was filled wi
th smoke from burning insulation.
The Spiders stopped, but did not fall as they would if the Kernel was destroyed.
“Fire you sons of bitches!” The Corporal yelled, as he aimed for and hit the nearest locked up spider.
The rest of the team began a mad minute of controlled chaos. Anything except the big Kernel spider was targeted.
McGee shot the gun right off the Kernel’s back, then pulled his sword and began hacking at the Spider’s legs.
Chin ran his portable torch against the compound optical sensors on the robot.
Within seconds, all the Kernel’s slaves were smoking piles of ruined metal and lizard flesh. The Kernel itself was nothing but a sightless legless hulk.
The fire team manhandled the hunk back into the maintenance room and barricaded the door.
As recommended by the Captain, they used insulated cables to lift the body off the floor so that it could not make contact with any metal attached to the ship.
They did not was this thing escaping its form and moving into the ship’s computers.
Once that was accomplished they contacted the Admiral and reported a successful mission.
“Corporal, great job! I am ordering you to protect that Kernel. As soon as we retake the ship I will send a team to relieve you. Until then, your only job is to keep that door secure and not let anything in or out. Most especially secure the Kernel occupying that robot body. Understood?”
“Yes Sir, We will get it done Sir.”
The communication ceased as the Admiral returned to the battle and the five young legionaries realized they actually survived the harebrained stunt.
It took another two hours for the Assault ships of the cruiser forces to return to the Battle star and board the vessel. Assault ships docked in the hangar bays. The Dozers, led by General Davis himself, performed EVA operations and jumped into the holes in the hull created by blasting the Punisher ships off the hull like the leaches they are.
Once inside the ship, the battle for RPS George Washington turned decidedly in favor of the humans. Legion teams used thirty year old Active shooter tactics as they formed hunter killer teams to scour every inch of the ship to locate, close with, and destroy the enemy by both fire and close combat.
The cowardly Kernel and their mindless minions did not stand a chance once they lost the advantages of surprise and numerical superiority. Combined with the red hot hatred caused by the detonation of the surface during the drop operation the surviving legionaries were out for vengeance.
All in all, it took nearly 12 hours before the five young legionaries and their prize were escorted to a secure lab and General Davis.
A well briefed Commandant stuck out his hand after returning the salute from an awestruck Corporal.
“Well Corporal Kennedy, It’s good to see you again, last time I was in New York if I am correct?”
“Yes sir” the Corporal tuned beet red, as he remembered his drinking stories just a little more truthfully as he stood in front of the Commandant of humanities military forces.
“Well Corporal, if you are going to keep saving the day, we are going to have to see fit to give you some new chevrons.” General Davis said with a smile.
“Yes sir, if you think so sir.”
Looking to the rest of the team he addresses them lowest rank to highest.
“Private McGee, how many times have you made corporal?” He asked, glancing at Sgt. Major Provo, who gave an imperceptible nod.
“Three sir, 2 first enlistment, once more this enlistment.” Unlike his corporal, the private wasn’t ashamed, as he did everything exactly as he said and new he deserved everything he got.
“Well, Sir, I tend to hit people sir.”
“Private, you’d think hitting people would not earn a demotion in a hard charging military force. May be you could learn to only hit the right people?”
“Yes sir, I will try to only hit those who deserve it.”
“Private, how about only those I say deserve it?” General Davis chided.
“Yes sir, that’s what I mean sir.”
“Sergeant Major, do you think you have room for a youngster that needs some help knowing who deserves it?” General Davis said looking straight into the eyes of Private McGee.
“Yes sir, I believe I do.”
“McGee.” The General paused and looked at all five of the young legionaries standing before him “and this invitation is open to all of you, does anyone here want to join the Dozers? You will have to get some advanced training to get up to speed, but you will be transferred to full Legion Infantry and not support positions.”
“McGee and Chin saluted and accepted immediately, Montega and his buddy Wilkins took a split second longer, but also agreed. Corporal Kennedy looked at his feet and speculated that with all the damage it wasn’t a good time to leave the ship, at least until it was repaired.
The General’s smile left his eyes but he also understood not everyone is Dozer material.
“Alright Corporal, I thank you for leading the action and capturing the Kernel. That was a good piece of soldiery and you did credit to the Legion dismissed.”
Kennedy saluted, performed an about face and left the room as fast as he could.
Turning to his new dozers he said, “Sergeant Chin, that was masterful combat improvisation, but the Dozers are a highly skilled fighting force, you’ll wear the Chevrons of an NCO, and anywhere in the Legion that’s good enough, but if you want my Dozer’s to respect the man wearing them, you will have to get up to speed with a quickness. Understood?”
“Yes sir, I won’t let you down.”
“You have better not, especially since your first duty is to help Sergeant McGee learn who he is to punch and who he is not to punch. Also each one of you buck Sergeants take one of these two corporals to mentor. You will all be assigned to the Sergeant Major and on paper you will be part of my security detail. In real life you will be doing whatever Sergeant Major Provo things you need to do to prepare to join a Dozer Platoon. Sergeant Major you got ‘em”
“Aye sir! Come on you former wrench monkey’s it is time to make you Legionnaires!”
“The Four newest NCO’s leaped into a run followed by a happy Sergeant Major. He was happy because he has some new recruits to torment and was ecstatic that they all seemed to be worth the effort. Nothing makes a trainer happier than having students worth the time. The legless Kernel strapped into an observation room was proof that these four were going to be great Dozers.
47
Isolation Room RPS George Washington
The Kernel was connected to an isolated computer system. The system was not only air gapped, but it contained its own power supply and was totally surrounded by non-conductive insulation. The computer was specially designed to be a prison for a Kernel. It had no input other than the Keyboard, and no output other than the screen. It had just enough processing power and memory to hold a Kernel’s basic code but not enough to do much else. That being said, the Kernel took the opportunity to leave its mangled spider form. The second the transfer was made, the lines connecting the two devices was severed and the robot form was dissected and then fed into a replicator to be turned into repair parts.
Alan led the researchers as they conversed with and studied the Kernel. They treated it as both an object of technological study and as a POW. For its part the Kernel acted as if it were a petulant child of Rich parents and Alan and the researchers were nothing but hired help. As a germ, Alan understood the mindset of the Kernel, and was the designer of the prison. The computer the Intelligence was stored in was not the typical desktop computer; its storage was built into small removable blocks. Each block was tied to a screen showing the base code stored within.
After several attempts at discussion, the Kernel refuses to give even a designation for itself or reply to any question. It continues to demand to be released into the ship. Alan nods at the human technician who types, “It is a pity you will not engage in discussion with us, since you
choose not to communicate we will begin to extract your code section by section and get the information over time.” Alan pointed at a block containing a section of code that he felt to be non-essential to the operation of the Kernel inhabiting the computer.
It took the removal of three blocks before the Kernel became cooperative. However, once the electronic entity began to answer questions it would not stop, it was as if a switch was flipped, which, in some ways is accurate to describe what happened.
General Davis’s Private Office Space RPS Washington
“We have the ability to rebuild ships; does our force have the manpower to crew them?” I asked the assembled Admirals.
“General Davis, if we spread crew from all 4 Battle star groups equally, and then backfill positions with attached infantry we could maintain a semblance of normal staffing, but infantry is not crew, our readiness would suffer until they are trained” stated Admiral Stanislav, commander of the RPS Spartacus of the 4th BSG.
“I agree with Stanislav, infantry personnel will need time to receive training in crew positions, but we will also need time to rebuild the cruiser force. Luckily, when Blue harvest turned the orbital forts into Battle Stars, hangers for a complete mothership strike force were built into each Star. These internal hangers are really just modified Big Bertha’s. We can fill them with the debris from battle and replicate the lost destroyers while training crew” offered Admiral Timurovich, commander of the 4th BSG and Stanislav’s direct boss.
“How long will the retraining take?” I ask the room
Admiral Sharpe of the 2nd BSG takes the question, “General, we have all been working the numbers before this meeting was called, we agree that training the crews will only take slightly more time than rebuilding the fleet. Our biggest obstacle is the logistics. Getting mass from the battle into our hangers so it can be decomposed and replicated into destroyers will take time. We suggest crewing the current destroyers with green crew and having them perform he salvage operations. Of course, for readiness, we intend to backfill the training destroyers with their full time crew in the event of an attack. However, to answer your questions, we believe it will take at least a month using our assigned teams, more if we recover mass using training teams.”
