by David Nash
Try as they might, neither Provo nor the two eggheads from the Smashers could find any indication of a hatch. Finally, through gritted teeth and obvious pain, Montega said, “The fucker said below, stop looking around and just blast a hole in the damn floor!”
Chin and Donatelly looked at each other, and then they looked down. In the center of the room was a tiled fresco. The image of three interlocking circles in a triangular pattern. Where the three triangles intersected was the number 101010.
“That’s it, Donatelly, you got any explosives?” Chin asked.
“Does a fear shit in the woods?” Donatelly replied.
“Well then, blow the shit out of those numbers” Chin said pointing to the floor.
Sergeant Major Provo asked “Why are you so sure those numbers show where the chamber is?”
“Because 101010 is binary for 42” answered Sergeant Chin.
“What does that have to do with anything” queried Provo.
“Trust me Sergeant Major, 42 is the answer.”
“The answer to what?” Provo asked trying to hide his confusion.
“Everything. 42 is the answer to Everything.” Said Donatelly, “Now step aside, ya’ll might want to take cover, this is going to be loud!” Not waiting for a response, the corporal raised his detonator into the air and yelled “Fire in the Hole!”
When the dust settled a hole was blown into the floor revealing a huge chamber below.
With hand signals, 30 of the Dozers took their places around the hole, the last 10 remaining to cover the door and protect their injured.
The Sergeant Major raised three fingers, waved his hand, signed two, then raised his index finger alone. With that the team all jumped down into the hole.
They landed with flexed knees and the servos of the suit took the strain of the 5 meter drop. They all immediately raised their forearm cannons and faced outboard covering a 360 degree area fo fire.
A faint light showed at the end of a tight corridor to the North. Only two could suited men could pass at a time. Of course Sergeant McGee was one of the first two to walk toward the light.
When they reached the end of the tunnel, it opened into another chamber. In the center was a block of metal some 7 meters square. It was smooth and seamless, but wires snaked from the block to displays and instruments lining the walls in a wild haphazard fashion. On the platform the Block sat on stood a large Kernel Control Spider and in its grasp was the tall muscular cyborg that was the creator of both the Sangren and the Kernel.
When the human team arrived in the room the lights flickered for a second and voices began streaming from thousands of speakers scattered throughout the chamber.
The team heard the same schizophrenic mumbles described by General Davis but a deeper louder voice took the forefront of their attention.
“Step closer humans and see the creator fall.” With that the Kernel raised the cyborg in the air and seemed to flex the appendages holding the creator almost, but not quite, pulling it in part.
Crusher lifted his cannon and tracked the torso of the robot without conscious thought. He said “that piece of meat is the only leverage you got tinker toy. Kill it and die.”
Changing tactics the speaker said “Stupid humans, surely you know you will never escape this chamber alive, as we speak my army is drawing closer. You will soon have the privilege or becoming ridden by the…” The box never finished its sentence as Sergeant Major Provo beat Crusher to the punch as he used his cannon to blast the spider holding the creator being. A fraction of a second after Prov’s round hit the robot square in its torso, Crusher’s energy bolt struck the torso on the opposisite side. The Robot collapsed, dropping the cyborg body to the floor. Chin and Donatelly scooped it up and secured it with leg and arm shackles. As they did this one of the Dozer team operators placed the Anti-matter demolition munition device, affectionally named an AMDaM by Donatelly, against the base of the box. The rest of the team blasted the cables and input devices around the room so as to prevent the master mind from doing anything to effectively stop the detonation.
As soon as the device was set Sergeant Major Provo used the relays to call up to the Washington. “Boss, we exchanged packages and are leaving the party.”
To which General Davis replied “Well, I hope you don’t get stopped on the way home, let me know if I can do something to prevent any speed traps.”
“We might have to take you up on that offer, they changed the code on us once, and we had to start our own pirate radio station. Don’t know how much longer they will stay tuned in. Dozer team out.”
“Alright guys, time to GTFO!” The Smage said, then in a radio transmission to the security team one level up he called “We are coming in fast with the Christmas turkey. Secure the wounded and prepare to un-ass this hell hole!”
Once the team hovered up to recombine with the security detail they had to deal with the welded door.
“Fuck that door - I got enough to make 10 more, let’s just go around the Kernel and sneak out behind them.” Donatelly said excitedly waving a tube of breaching paste.
“Sounds like a plan junior, but remember, we don’t know what is behind that bulkhead, I would hate to blow a door into a robot barracks or some shit!” said the Sergeant major.
“We have the Kernel signal, I have been monitoring it Sergeant Major, I can pick up several Kernel transmissions directly outside that door, but none 10 meters to the left.” Chin said confidently.
“Alright, that’s where we open a new door, hit it hot stuff” Provo said motioning to Donatelly.
The first breech went perfectly, as did the second. They were roughly moving parallel to the corridor the entered in.
The team was starting to feel confident they could get to the shaft outside when they hit a dry hole. The breeching past cut through the wall only to find solid rock.
“Well ladies, Murphy is a Mother, anything to good to be true can’t last. I guess we have to turn right and hit the corridor.” Said the Sergeant Major.
“Shield Up!” Yelled a soldier in the back
“Cannons Out! Replied the rest of the team.
Crusher readied a portable torpedo launcher he appropriated from one of the Dozers that was carrying his wounded teammate. The Young sergeant readied it as Donatelly applied the breeching paste to the wall.
“Crusher, I am not reading anything directly behind this wall, but the repeater down the hall to the right is registering a metric shit ton of signals.” Chin said, not looking up from the display he had rigged to his left forearm.
“Ready to Breach!” Donatelly intones.
“Breech Breech Breech!” Orders Provo.
With a whoosh and a slight boom the bulkhead separating the chamber they are in from the corridor they were trying to reach fell outward.
Crusher and two Dozers jumped out and pivoted to the right. Two torpedoes and a few long bursts from a man portable rail cannon cleared the corridor of movement.
The team began to sprint down the corridor blasting everything that moved, had moved, or looked like it may move.
“Dozer team inbound ETA 5 minutes!” Radioed the Sergeant Major to both the Shuttle pilots and the Washington.
They didn’t stop when the corridor opened into the opening blasted open from orbit. Provo leaped out and with a practiced move tugged his shield free of its bindings and snapped it to his feet. Within a few moments he had righted himself and moved toward the tunnel to grab a wounded legionnaire and rise toward the surface.
In less than 30 seconds the remaining troopers and their wounded were in flight upwards, but by then the Kernel had been able to send in ridden under a new frequency. To send a jamming signal to the new threat meant they had to stop jamming the old threat.
They just decided to shoot them.
The Kernel had Cyborg ridden and Barkun they had captured firing from all sides as they approached the blast hole from a honeycomb of corridors within the base. More Legionnaires fell, but Sergeant Chin an
d Corporal Montega had hands on the creator. They rose in the center of the formation protected from fire by legion bodies.
The seconds seemed like hours as they fought to the surface, the battle raged and with each moment more Kernel arrived to increase the volume of fire. Right when it looked to be hopeless the both shuttled uncloaked directly above the mouth of the manmade cavern and three destroyers flanked them and began pouting fire into the hallways lining the walls of the blasted tunnel.
The team quickly landed in the shuttles and headed for space, a fraction of a second later nearly 40 megatons of explosive power destroyed the master mind ads the force of 39 million tons of TNT created a massive sinkhole in the middle of the Kernel Planet. A second later six Legion Battle Stars and the remaining ships of the fleet began a systematic orbital bombardment designed to ensure no Kernel survived.
The team arrived to a heroes welcome, the last surviving members of the Sangren race greeted them before taking custody of their species salvation.
General Davis stood by to personally shake each member’s hand and thank them before stepping aside to let them have the honors.
That night the fleet was consumed by a massive party. Of course crew still manned watch and repairss were being undertaken, but any Legionnaire not engaged in work celebrated the end of another “big bad” biting the dust.
The Battle Stars would remain in station to ensure the destruction was complete, but the rest of the fleet headed to Earth to begin the rebuilding process.
General Davis was surprised to see the Colony fleet and the Centaurus habitats sitting between Mars and the Moon. That was a happy surprise, the second surprise received as a secure digital message to his personal comm until was not.
It read: War is coming, Eastman.
Part V
Addendum
Rank Structure of the Legion
Prior to the Kernel attack, the term Captain was both a rank and a designation the individual commanded a Kernel. After the Kernel Attack, Captain became a rank alone.
Legion Officer Rank
The Legion takes its officer rank structure from the Naval tradition
•Ensign (ENS, O1) Most are in training, or if serving in the fleet they act as division officers or platoon leaders.
•Lieutenant, Junior Grade (LTJG, O2) Serve the Fleet as division officers or as platoon leaders
•Lieutenant (LT, O3) Serves as a division officer or service head on smaller ships. Senior Lieutenants are normally department heads. In infantry platoons, LT, LTJGs and ENS serve as Platoon Leaders, normally LT are platoon leaders in Special Operations Teams.
• Lieutenant Commander (LCDR, O4) Serve as a department head or as the Executive Officer on a ship. On Special Operation teams LCDR serve as Executive Officers. Some officers serve as the Commanding Officer of a small craft.
• Commander (CDR, O5) May command a ship of the line, a fighter squadron, Special Operations team, or an installation.
• Captain (CAPT, O6) Serves as Commanding Officers of Major Commands, Special Operation Groups and major shore installations.
• Rear Admiral Lower Half (RDML, O7) This rank is the first of the Flag Ranks. Command Strike Groups. Flag Officers also may be assigned as deputies to larger commands.
• Rear Admiral Upper Half (RADM, O8) A this is a two-star rank. RADM command strike groups. Flag Officers also may be assigned as deputies to larger commands.
• Vice Admiral (VADM, O9) A three-star rank. Commands fleets, holds positions as deputies for regional commands.
• Admiral (ADM, O10) This is the most senior Flag Rank. Assignments for Admirals include Commanders of Regional Commands, Joint Commands, Chief of Naval Operations, and Secretary of Defense for the President of the Planetary Republic
•Commandant (ADM, O10) The Commandant is a five-star rank, Serves as the Commander of the Legion. By courtesy and the wishes of the First Commandant, this rank is called General instead of Admiral.
Legion Warrant Officer Rank
Warrant officers are highly trained specialists. Unlike commissioned officers, warrant officers remain in their primary specialties to supply knowledge and instruction to enlisted members and commissioned officers.
The ranks range from Chief Warrant Officer (CWO2) to Chief Warrant Officer 5 (CWO5).
Due to the Legion Tradition, CWO5 are called Gunners, and are weapon and tactical specialists reserved for Infantry and Special Operations Commands.
Legion Enlisted Rank
The Enlisted rank structure comes from the US Marine Corps per General Davis’s preference and to show deference to the idea that wars are won by troops on the ground.
•Private (PVT, E1) The Private's responsibilities are to follow orders and learn how to be contributing members of the Marine Corps. Simply put they are to - Do what they are told, when they are told, and how they are told.
•Private First Class (PFC, E2) The PFC's job is to apply their new technical skills while continuing to learn and develop new skills.
•Lance Corporal (LCpl, E3) Lance Corporals are expected continue to apply their technical training, in addition to learning and developing leadership skills.
Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO) (E-4 and E-5)
•Corporal (Cpl, E4) Corporals must exercise an ever-increasing degree of maturity, leadership, and professionalism. To a substantial extent, accomplishment of the ultimate mission, success in battle, depends on the Cpl's development as a small unit leader and his or her professional abilities.
•Sergeant (Sgt, E5) The major difference between the sergeant and the corporal is that the sergeant is in daily contact with larger numbers of Marines and has more equipment and other property to maintain.
Staff Non-Commissioned Officer (SNCO) (E-6 through E-9)
•Staff Sergeant (SSgt, E6) The rank of Staff Sergeant (SSgt) is the entry point to the Staff NCO ranks. The staff sergeant has a greater level of responsibility and accountability. A staff sergeant is expected to use their greater experience to lead marines and lesser ranked sergeants.
•Gunnery Sergeant (GySgt, E7) The rank of Gunnery Sergeant is considered the backbone of the Marine Corps Staff Noncommissioned Officer (SNCO) ranks. Marine Corps Gunnery Sergeants are expected to bring their years of experience to bear in quick, correct decisions that are in the best interest of the mission and their Marines. GySgt's set the example of leadership and professionalism for their subordinates.
•First Sergeant and Master Sergeant Although they share the same pay grade (E-8), they have separate roles and responsibilities. The First Sergeant has a command advisory responsibility, while the Master Sergeants have more technical responsibilities.
•First Sergeant (1stSgt, E8) is the principal enlisted advisor to the unit commander. The 1stSgt's primary and foremost requisite is outstanding leadership, combined with an exceptionally high degree of professional competence and the ability to act independently as the principal enlisted assistant to the commander in all administrative, technical, and tactical requirements of the organization.
•Master Sergeant (MSgt, E8) is the technical expert in their field. The MSgt's primary prerequisite is an outstanding proficiency in the assigned MOS, combined with an exceptionally high degree of leadership and supervisory ability and the ability to act independently as an enlisted assistant to the commander in all administrative, technical, and tactical requirements of their occupational specialty.
•Master Gunnery Sergeant and Sergeant Major Like the ranks of Master Sergeant and First Sergeant, Master Gunnery Sergeants and Sergeant Majors are paid the same; however, they have significantly dissimilar roles.
•Sergeant Major (MGySgt, E9) is the principal enlisted advisor to Marine Commanders. Like the 1st Sgt, their primary and foremost requisite is leadership, combined with an exceptionally high professional competence and the ability to act as the principal enlisted assistant to the commander in all administrative, technical, and tactical requirements of the organization.
•Master Gunnery Sergeant (SgtMaj, E9) is the technical expert in their MOS. The Master Gunny's primary prerequisite is proficiency in the assigned MOS, combined with an exceptionally high degree of leadership and supervisory ability and the ability to act independently as an enlisted assistant to the commander in all administrative, technical, and tactical requirements of your occupational specialty.
•Sergeant Major of the Legion (Sgt Maj, E9) The Sergeant Major of the Legion acts as the Commandant's eyes and ears when it comes to enlisted affairs and other leadership matters.
Legion Table of Organization & Equipment
Infantry Staffing
Ship Crew and Infantry Detachment
Strike Force
Battle Cruiser
Battle Star
Sedna
Ring Fort
Battle Star Group: Command Structure
Rear Admiral Upper Half (RADM) Reginald Whitemoore Commanding 1st Battle Star Group
Rear Admiral Lower Half (RDML) Kevin Richards RPS George Washington
Fighting First Division
RDML Bret Morse Commanding 1st Cruiser Force
Captain Amadeo Cancio Battle Cruiser RPS Cold Vengeance
RDML Jeff Bradley Commanding 1st Fleet Expeditionary Force (FEF) The Commandant’s Own
Captain James Cook Davis’ Dozers Brigade
Captain James Register Volunteer Brigade
RDML Steven Hunter Commanding 2nd Cruiser Force
Captain Huang Battle Cruiser RPS Quiet Man
