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Rika Coronated

Page 17

by M. D. Cooper


 

 

  Barne sounded nervous.

  Rika couldn’t help but be terse with the general. She knew he was worried about her, but it was the only way to buy time.

  “I wish you hadn’t come down here to get me,” Kelly whispered. “I would have been fine.”

  “Like hell you would’ve,” Rika whispered back. “You’re my sister. I’ll never leave you behind.”

  With those words, a stillness came over the woods, the distant echo of weapons fire faded, and the skies cleared, stars and ship engines shining through. Rachella took another step back, the movement slow and languid, as though the woman were moving underwater. At the same time, the rebels eased out from behind their cover, weapons sighting on Rika, faces grim in the dim light.

 

  Weapons barked, projectiles and beams streaking toward Rika, only to stop centimeters from her, halted by the skyscream’s shield.

 

  Rika didn’t have to be told twice. She jumped back, sliding down the embankment to where the skyscream lay. She looked up again and saw new lights sparkling in the night sky, long streaks heralding imminent doom for the rebel forces on the mountain.

  the AI swore.

  Rika didn’t have to ask why she’d cursed. The grav shield had failed.

  Niki said, her voice a desperate whisper.

  Rika didn’t bother asking if there was time to fix it. There wouldn’t be. What she did think about were the stories Silva had told her, of how Tangel and Cary could manipulate energy fields, how Cary had formed her own grav shield to protect herself from Myrrdan.

  How did they do it? she wondered, sharing her thought with Niki via the channel the AI used to listen to her mind.

  They think small? I don’t know….

  Rika thought about atoms, about the particles that made up neutrons, protons, and electrons, about the spinning donuts of energy deeper down, the base energy that created mass. It all seemed more real than ever before, not just a concept, but a base reality she could touch.

  The way gravitons sped off the collections of energy-mass suddenly made sense to her, and she released a swath of them, watching the dirt on the embankment jump.

  “Shit,” she whispered, looking up at the incoming rods from heaven that would surely kill her as well as the rebels.

  Beneath her feet lay the skyscream and a few uranium rods that Kelly hadn’t fired.

  “It’s been nice knowing you,” the other mech now whispered in her ear.

  “Hush, you. I’m concentrating.”

  A moment later, she’d tapped into the uranium, a dense wealth of protons and neutrons filled with mass. She twisted it, causing anti-gravitons to spray out. She held those in a field, trapped in place by creating an opposing force, the effect forming a shield over the gouge in the mountainside.

  A second later, the fire from above struck.

  Mounds of dirt, rock, and trees flew into the air as the rebel force that had surrounded Rika ceased to exist. The ground shuddered and groaned for what seemed like hours, but Rika knew to only be a few seconds. Then the aftershocks diminished, and she heaved the field outward, flinging away the debris that had fallen on her shield.

  She sagged for a moment as the energy that had flowed around her dissipated.

  “OK…how did you fix the shield so fast?” Kelly asked.

  Niki’s voice was mixed with jubilation and awe.

  “That? What that? You made the shield, Rika?”

  After sucking in a deep breath and letting it out slowly, Rika nodded. “I did.”

  “Stars, woman, you can do shit like that? I think you’ve been holding out on me!”

  REUNION

  STELLAR DATE: 06.10.8950 (Adjusted Years)

  LOCATION: Mount Genevia, Belgium

  REGION: Genevia System, New Genevian Alliance

  Rika stood on the balcony where Becky had tried to kill her only ten hours prior, watching the shadows in the valley shrink as the sun rose behind the palace.

  Tremon had just left, informing her that the last of the VIPs had departed from the palace, its halls now empty of their complaining voices.

  “No,” she whispered. “That’s not fair, many of them were thankful.”

  Niki said.

  “Well, with any luck, they can go back to their idyllic lifestyles,” Rika muttered, trying not to resent the fact that she seemed to suffer more problems at the hands of her own people than the Niets.

  “Lives of rest and relaxation for everyone but us?” Chase asked as he walked onto the balcony and leant against the railing next to Rika. “Not that I’m complaining. I like kicking ass. Sleep when we’re dead, and all that.”

  Rika glanced at Chase to see a sardonic smirk on his lips.

  “You’re not as funny as you think you are when you’re tired,” she said.

  “Me?” He placed a hand on his chest. “I’m always funny. It’s a part of my charm.”

  “No.” Rika shook her head. “You’re funny, and compassionate, and smart, and lots of other stuff, but not all of them all the time.”

  “Well, I’m understanding. That one I know for sure.”

  Their eyes met and held, gazes unblinking for almost a minute.

  “I suppose you are,” Rika finally said. “Granted, I am your queen, so you don’t have much choice.”

  He coughed softly. “Kelly told me what you did down there, how you made your own shield.”

  There it is, she thought. He’s going to think I’m a freak.

  Rika hadn’t worried about what Chase would think of what she’d done—not that she wasn’t concerned, she’d just been too busy. But now, in the still morning with no one around, there was no running from it. She’d done something only an ascending person could do: matter manipulation.

  “I don’t exactly know how I did it—” Rika stopped herself. She did know exactly how she’d done it, she just couldn’t explain it. “Not exactly…ish.”

  “Well, I imagine I wouldn’t understand even if you were less -ish about your exactly.” Chase smiled, his eyes filled with understanding, though a question lingered.

  “I can see what you’re thinking,” Rika said. “You’re worried I’m going to turn into a ball of light and float away.”

  “Will you be a ball? I’ve heard stories about how Tangel and Cary get all tentacle-y. Like a big, white octopus.”

  “Are you making fun of me?”

  He chuckled. “A bit. Maybe just trying to add some levity…for my sake as much as yours.”

  Rika placed an arm around Chase’s shoulders and pulled him close. “Don’t worry. I’m not going anywhere, and no matter what comes, we’ll figure it out together.”

  “So, what is coming?” he asked.

  Rika’s gaze retuned to the vista before her, and she drew in a slow breath, a resolute look settling on her features. “I’m glad you asked. I want to accelerate our plans.”

  FORMING UP

  STELLAR DATE: 06.05.8950 (Adjusted Years)

  LOCATION: GMS Pinnacle, Chad

  REGION: Burroughs System, New Genevian Alliance

  “Shit,” Heather muttered. “I’m from here, and even I don’t know why the Niets fought so hard over Chad.”

  “Probably because what was left of their raggedy-ass fleet had already hightailed it out of Burroughs.” Crunch grinned as he spoke, leaning up against Ona’s console, earning himself a narrow-eyed glare from the woman. He ignored her. “Either way, I like it when they put up a fight. Then I don’t feel so b
ad for kicking their asses.”

  “Would that stop you?” Captain Karen asked from where she stood staring at the holotank.

  “No, probably not. I just like to feel good when I’m killing Niets. Well…more good.”

  “Comm drone just jumped in,” Chief Garth announced. “Tokens check out, it’s from Rika.”

  “Put it up, Chief,” Heather said, rising from her command chair.

  The Genevian Queen appeared in the holotank.

  “Colonel Heather.”

  Rika looked tired, but there was a light in her eyes, something new, something hungry. Heather liked it.

  “The Niets hit our outer system like we expected. Vargo and the others held them off, and Travis has squared things away in Gerra. We had a small insurrection here, but that’s squared away now—just a last gasp from Oda and Arla’s people. But their little attempted coup has solidified something in my mind. We’re not going to waste time in Genevia any longer. We’re jumping to Pruzia. It’s time to finish this fight.”

  Rika’s words elicited a round of muted cheers on the bridge, and Heather shared a look with Karen, both women wondering what was to come next.

  “To that end, I want you to jump to Pruzia ahead of the main force. I’m sending you a series of targets in their outer system. You’re to destroy them. Utterly.”

  “Shit,” Heather whispered, knowing that Rika meant for them to use the Marauders’ Lance’s main weapon to completely obliterate whatever they were sent after.

  “We’re going to show the Niets that it’s over. They can pull their bullshit tactics all they want, but whatever they wreak in Genevia, we’ll bring on them tenfold in their own star systems.” Rika paused, her expression softening. “No need to be brutal. Give them fair warning, but make it clear. Good luck, Colonel. Good luck to you all.”

  For a moment, Heather was silent, considering Rika’s words. Then she turned to Ona. “You heard the queen, Chief. Deploy the gate. Pruzia won’t fall on its own.”

  * * * * *

  THE END

  Rika’s dalliance in the Genevia System has come to a close. Rather than wait on rebels, politics, and the Nietzscheans to pick away at what she’s built, the Genevian Queen is going to finish the fight in the heart of Nietzschea.

  Click here to get the next book in the Genevian Queen series, Rika Destroyer

  MECH TYPES & ARMAMENTS

  While these are the standard builds and configurations documented by the Genevian Armed Forces (GAF), many mechs reached the field in mismatched configuration, or were altered after deployment.

  Sometimes these alterations were upgrades, sometimes downgrades, as repairs were often made with whatever spare components were available at the time.

  The mechs in the Marauders generally align with the stated configurations, though many have altered themselves over the years.

  NOTE: The K2R and all 4th generation models were made by Finaeus Tomlinson, in concert with Rika’s Repair and Maintenance team, specifically Lieutenant Carson and Corporal Stripes.

  K1R (Kill Ranger – Generation 1)

  This mech is more of a two-legged tank than a mech. The K1R sports a central ‘pod’ where the human is situated. None of the limbs utilize human material.

  K1Rs often had mental issues due to feeling as though they had lost all sense of humanity. When the Nietzscheans won the war, they did not release any K1Rs from their internment camps. It is not known if they kept them, or killed them all.

  Until the discovery of the mechs in the Politica, there was only a single K1R in the Marauders (who had been under General Mill’s command at the end of the war). That mech has joined Rika’s company to assist the four K1Rs Rika freed from the Politica in re-integration.

  K1R mechs have a variety of heavy armament, including massive chainguns, railguns, missiles (with and without tactical nuke warheads), electron beams, and proton beams. They also sport a variety of suppression devices, from pulse, to sonic, to portable grav shields.

  K1R mechs were not made later in the war, due to their cost and mental instability.

  There were rumors that a limited run of K2R mechs were made, but no credible reports exist.

  Sub-Models:

  All K1R models could be outfitted with interchangeable armament, excepting the base model, which could not carry the tactical nukes.

  K1R – The base K1R model was made in the early years of the war, and lacked the coordination and reactive armor of the later models.

  K1R-M – The ‘M’ K1R added in the reactive armor, and included upgraded railguns with more advanced scan and target tracking systems. These mechs carried two missiles in launcher pods in their backs. They could be (and often were) upgraded to support the tactical nuke warheads on the missiles.

  K1R-T – The ‘T’ model was a similar configuration to the ‘M’, but came standard with tactical nuclear warheads. Instead of the pair of launchers the K1R-M sported, the ‘T’ model carried as many as twelve missiles.

  K1R-X-4 – ‘M’ and ‘T’ models both saw upgrades from Finaeus and the ISF engineers, which made them capable of functioning as AM or K1R models. None of the K1Rs opted to operate as AMs, but their 4th generation frames had considerable upgrades to power and armor. X-4 models have the ability to swap armament with AM models as well.

  K2R-MBM – Based on designs Corporal Stripes stole at the end of the war, the K2R-MBM took the idea of a tank mech and raised the bar.

  The Genevian military never had the energy to power their plans for the K2R mechs, but with miniaturized critical energy modules and ISF-grade SC batteries, the dreams of the GAF came into being under Finaeus’s guidance.

  The K2R-MBM is piloted by two AM-4 mechs (leveraging a part of the AM-T spec); one who manages movement and main-arm weapons, and another who controls the secondary arms, defensive systems, and secondary weapons systems.

  On top of existing armament, the K2R-MBM brings to bear variable density proton beams, nanonet missiles, electron lashes, mortars (both thermite and HE), rapid-fire DPU cannons, as well as ground-hugger missiles.

  The mech also functions as a re-armament center for its squad, and an attack drone deployment system.

  AM (Assault Mech)

  The AM mechs represented the bulk of the GAF’s mechanized infantry program. It is estimated that over ten million AMs were created during the war, and over one hundred thousand are known to have survived. Many joined mercenary outfits or militaries of other nations.

  AM model mechs were a ‘torso-only’ design, where none of the human’s arms and legs were retained. The original idea was to make their cores swappable with K1R models, but it turned out that the mechanized infantry design of the AM models was generally more effective than the ‘walking tank’ design of the K1R models.

  AM models were versatile mechs that had swappable loadouts. The improvements over time were mostly centered around human-mech integration, armor, and power systems.

  AM mechs were often outfitted with chainguns, shoulder-mounted railguns, and electron beams.

  Without known exception, AM mechs were always male.

  Sub-Models

  AM-1 – The original model of AM. Fewer than 100,000 AM-1 mechs were made, and none were known to have survived the war.

  AM-2 – The AM-2 mechs quickly superseded the AM-1s, with better armor, more efficient power systems, and superior human-mech integrations.

  AM-3 – The third generation of AM mech had upgraded power supply systems, and an artificial epidermis to remove the need for periodic removal and cleaning. Some AM-3s were also AI-capable.

  AM-T – Design specs for AM-T mechs exist, but it is not known if any were made by the Genevians. The AM-T design utilized two AM-3 mechs working together in one larger body, controlling more limbs and separating motion and combat functions.

  AM-4 – Designed by Finaeus Tomlinson, the AM-4 mechs are a step closer to humanity for the mechanized warriors. With stub limbs (like RR-3 and SMI models), the AM-4 mechs also utilize
the MK99 chameleon armor epidermis.

  AM-4s now support fully-swappable limbs with all other models, though they still possess the heaviest frames, and are capable of carrying heavier weapons, more ammunition, and heavier armor than any other mech type.

  The 4th generation model now possesses internal, torso-mounted a-grav units for added mobility and stabilization.

  RR (Recon/Ranger)

  The RR model of mech was the precursor to the SMI model. RRs were based on both male and female humans, though smaller humans were used for RR models than AM and FR mechs.

  These mechs were similar to AM models, except they were physically smaller and lighter. This allowed RRs to handle light aircraft/drop deployments.

  As a compromise, they had smaller power sources, and could only operate for 2-3 days in the field.

  Their loadouts were swappable with AM models, but they rarely utilized the chainguns.

  Sub-Models

  RR-1 – This model of mech began to appear on the battlefield around the same time as the AM-2 mechs. They utilized the power upgrade of the AM-2 mechs to have smaller power systems, but they also had a smaller power capacity. In theory, the new batteries of the AM-2 line should have worked, but they had overheating issues in the field, and more than one RR-1 had battery detonation when utilizing multiple firing systems.

  RR-2 – The RR-2 mechs were rolled out around the same time as the AM-3s, and had few significant changes other than improved armor, and marginally longer-lasting power that no longer suffered from overload issues.

  Second gen RR-2 mechs were also skinless, like AM-3 and SMI mechs.

  RR-3 – The RR-3 mechs reached the field shortly before the end of the war, and were different in that they had partial legs, like SMI mechs. This was done as a cost/component-saving measure.

  RR-4 – These mechs moved a step closer to the SMI spec, gaining the MK99 chameleon armor epidermis, and becoming lighter—even with their new stub limbs—thanks to advanced materials provided by the ISF.

 

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