by JR Handley
Smiling at the irony, GG began stalking the maglev rail line again. Her eyes studied the rails, while her Auxies worked harder and faster to impress her.
— Chapter 47 —
Early Morning, Post-Revival Day 7
Topside on Scrofa Island, Beta City, Serendine
Commander, Task Force City Builder, Human Legion
A long day of work, after so many years on ice, wore on everyone differently. For Colonel GG, the main symptom was exhaustion. Pain hummed from her many joints as she stretched her four arms out from beneath the cool, thin sheets of her bed. She was more tired than she could ever remember being, having worked into the night to keep the building project moving.
She rose with grim determination. Looking at her desktop display as she pulled on her uniform, GG saw that today was going to be another long excursion into the pain zone. Like all good Marines, especially Marine officers, she knew she could not afford to relax until their most valuable asset, the orbital elevator, was secure. Ensuring the jeweled piercings in her ears were perfect, as well as her combat armor and fur, she tuned up her nanites to dull the pain and doggedly trudged out of her office.
When GG reached topside, she was surprised to see that her XO, Lieutenant Colonel Blake Escombia, was up before her and directing their Marine Engineers. Seeing his commander, Escombia ran up to GG.
“My AI assisted in sketching the blueprints for the fortress, Colonel GG. Any suggestions?”
Looking past him, GG scanned the surrounding area. After a moment, she adjusted the layout he’d drawn into the soil with his boot then gave authorization to begin digging the foundation. After receiving the modifications, Escombia began shouting orders.
I suppose I could trust his AI, but it won’t die if it’s wrong. The old ways were good enough for my ancestors, by Tyndall! GG thought to herself.
GG knew that the hardest part, and where her XO made his error in judgement, was accounting for the new growth, which was eking an existence out of the ashes left by the earlier kinetic strike. Her subordinate hadn’t made allowances for the growth of the giant trees over the years, thus limiting the shelf life of some of his plans.
While surveying the scene, as if with new eyes, GG saw the destruction that the previous mutiny had inflicted on Scrofa Island. The gamma bombs and kinetic strikes had devastated the landscape. The most startling effect was the absolute silence. There was an eerie stillness caused by a lack of life.
There wasn’t a chirping avian creature to be heard or seen, even with their enhanced eyes augmented with modern armor and AIs. Lake Sarpedona had changed colors too, no longer the crystal-clear mountain lake GG had once loved. It was now a turquoise colored, acidic cesspool. Though she hadn’t confirmed it, she suspected that the high levels of acidity in the water meant that the fish had died, so even if the birds returned they’d have nothing to eat.
Even more startling than the loss of trees and animal life, were the skeletal remains that littered the surface. While the corpses had long ago decomposed, their bones were still shrouded in their combat armor as if they might still rejoin the fight in some ghostly regiment.
GG understood that beautification was one of the final stages of rebuilding a base, but honoring the dead was a priority. The water, roads, landscaping, and amenities would have to wait to be brought back to their original glory, but her honorable Jotun heritage demanded the removal of the bodies.
GG ordered a burial party to strip any of the useful equipment off the honored dead and then to bury their fallen brothers and sisters. The gear that was repairable could help outfit the new Aux regiments, boosting their combat effectiveness. Sentimentality wouldn’t save your life once sabot rounds started flying.
Making some notes for future beautification projects once the planet was theirs, GG went back to work laying out her plans to defend the crucially important orbital elevator. After digitally diagraming the fortifications that would surround the elevator, GG drafted the interconnecting underground pathways to allow troops to be moved to where they were most needed.
Once that was finished, she factored in the ability to receive reinforcements from the nearby Akoni City via the maglev. Tapping the screen of her Digi-Sheet with a long finger she began the process of uploading her diagrams. The digital trail would update the mainframe and push the information out to the rest of the engineers.
Growing bored of waiting for the update, she slid the Digi-Sheet into the leg compartment of her armor. It struck her that while she planned, the special forces Marines were embarking on a dangerous mission to fight against Spartika’s army. She said a prayer to Tyndall to protect them. Looking at the ground beneath her, the irony of the moment hit true. Beneath the barren soil she stood above, her beloved uncle had died fighting another civil war. To her, it was just days ago in relative time.
How long will it be before we stop killing each other? GG thought. By Tyndall, I pray this new Human Legion manages to unite us all as we face the future together.
— Chapter 48 —
EARLY MORNING, POST-REVIVAL DAY 7
TROLLSTIGEN PASS, GJENDE MOUNTAINS, BAYLSHORE
5TH BN, 2ND RGT, SPARTIKA’S MARINE CORPS
The sun was still hiding beneath the Tranquility horizon. Amongst the craggy rocks of the Gjende Mountains, Marines also hunkered down, using the dark shadows to mask their movement. Despite the stealth provided and obvious tactical advantage, Spartika’s Marines grumbled and moaned as they got into position.
The early morning hour, paired with scaling difficult terrain, wasn’t doing anything for morale. Spartika didn’t care. No hunter ever successfully bagged their prey by rushing the shot, or by waiting to get into the hunting blind until the last minute. As she was about to open comms to shut them up, her NCOs restored order.
Satisfied with their elevated position, Spartika snaked herself into a firing hole and took the weight off her tired legs. Her stolen AI checked that every unit’s fields of fire overlapped. Viewing the mountain from above in her helmet reticle, she studied the terrain. Their current position would offer the most advantage.
Surveying the field, Spartika saw her troops had taken positions covering both sides of Trollstigen Pass. If her intelligence was right, and she had a very reliable source, the Human Legion upstarts would walk right into their converging fields of fire. She was about to finalize their current location when Major Joel Deacon jumped into the firing hole next to her.
“Field Marshal, I recommend we have another team on stand-by to sweep into the pass, closing the box so the enemy can’t escape. We want them alive, so we can find out what they know.”
Spartika angrily growled at her long-time companion. He was the last surviving human to have served with her in the Aux Pits and fought with her in the Human Resistance.
“I was just about to do that, no need to try to show me up. Your position within my Marine Corps is secure, Joel. Now order the men to dig in and cover their holes, we do not want to be visible from the air when they try to sneak in with their Stork. My source didn’t give an exact time of arrival, only a generic ‘early morning,’ so we need to be ready and waiting. Make it happen.”
It only took Spartika’s Marines two hours to properly conceal their positions against the incoming Human Legion assets. Satisfied that all was in accordance with her orders, Spartika ordered half of her Marines to rest and the other half to stand watch. They would rotate every hour and maintain complete radio silence. With that, she told her AI to wake her when the enemy was detected. She smiled as she closed her eyes to sleep.
Spartika’s AI vibrated her body armor as the sound of a Stork bounced up the wall of the mountain. Blinking the sleepiness away, she watched the Stork land gently on the outer edge of Trollstigen Pass – as expected. She sent a quick message blast reminding her Marines of the plan before going silent again.
Spartika could see the Human Legion Marines had set a defensive perimeter and dropped to a knee as the Stork lifted off. With her
helmet reticle zooming in to give her all the details she could want, she smiled as the Legion Marines took off at a clipped pace. Each step bringing them closer to her perfectly laid trap.
Fifteen minutes after the Legion Marines had started into the pass, Spartika’s AI indicated they had entered the kill zone. On cue, she sent the go signal and the two ends of the box closed around the Legion troops. The fools were surrounded, they just didn’t know it yet. Standing, Spartika amplified her voice and taunted the Marine Legionnaires.
“You are surrounded. Put down your arms and live. Resist, and you die. Your own Human Legion has betrayed you to me, I knew–”
The Marine captain leading the reconnaissance mission turned to the sound of her voice and smacked his trigger. His action was quick and accurate. Spartika heard the crack of a sabot hit the rocks in front of her. Gunfire rained down on the captain and his team from all directions. The captain crumbled into a pile of destroyed armor, bone, and meat. Several of his Marines also joined him in the afterlife.
Calling a ceasefire to her forces, Spartika waited for things to quiet down.
“We’ve been waiting for you, and here you are wrapped in the neat bow the Legion promised us. Your paltry force is a tribute to me from your commanders. A negotiation offer so we would accept the terms of their surrender. You have two choices: die, or surrender yourselves to us as your leaders intended.”
Feelings of elation sprung up in Spartika as she watched the Marines drop their rifles and raise their hands to surrender. She was convinced, now more than ever, that she would be victorious. Especially, if all the Legion Marines were this trusting.
With a nod to Major Deacon, who stood beside her, a signal was sent to her Marines. The pass echoed with gunfire. Nuerogel rounds splashed the unarmed Legion Marines. The foolish Legionnaires would soon see why there is no honor in surrendering.
— Chapter 49 —
Early Morning, Post-Revival Day 7
Maglev Train Depot, Beta City, Serendine
Command Staff, Task Force Keita, Human Legion
The sun had barely risen as the Legion Marines of Task Force Keita lined up at the Maglev Train Depot. The newly promoted lieutenant, Sashala Kraevoi, was an island of calm in a sea of confusion. She sat, serenely sharpening her knives, while the chain of command stressed and planned for every contingency. As she honed her preferred tools of war, her AI, Jade, was fast at work linking up with Xena to coordinate Sashala’s protection detail.
Being paired with Colonel Scipio would likely ensure her rise in rank. Sashala wondered what the cost would be. This Scipio seemed to be a bit of a shite magnet. Spitting onto her whetstone, her eyes lingered on Scipio’s sword. She’d heard stories of his battlefield antics. There was little doubt he was capable, but she doubted he could wield that sword as efficiently as her. Perhaps she would “persuade” him to allow her to use the blade.
Always observant, Sashala absorbed the scene around her as her stiletto dagger glided across the whetstone. Scipio was pointing and ordering people about while NCOs and officers hounded junior Marines about their gear. Marines with ranks beyond their ability proudly painted new insignias onto the helmets of their combat armor.
Sashala tucked the silver and black stiletto into a leg sheath she’d added to her combat armor, when Jade pinged her.
Marines have started boarding. I would advise you to hurry to Level 29. Colonel Scipio will be on the first railcar, said Jade.
Slinking through the mob, Sashala made her way to the train. The idea that one Marine, this Colonel Scipio, should be so important bothered her. To this point, Scipio appeared to be ambivalent toward her, barring the occasional glance. He spent more time arguing with his AI than anything else.
The ride on the maglev was nauseating. The railcars were designed to be efficient, not comfortable. Sashala figured this was likely a Jotun design. She kept her breakfast down, barely, but still managed to smirk at today’s Marines puking like yesterday’s cadets. After a few hours, the train reached its destination at the long abandoned Human Marine Corps Outpost they’d designated as Sierra 4.
While the officers oversaw the disembarking and re-organization, one of the sergeants from the 828th sent a fire team up the tunnel toward the outpost to secure the exit. Moments after they disappeared, gunfire erupted. The shuffle and chatter of the Marines silenced while the echoes of rifles and grenades reverberated off the walls around them.
There wasn’t any planning or forethought. Instead, the junior Marines sprinted up the ramp toward the unknown. Sashala figured some officer would likely divert the charge and organize the group. When she saw Colonel Scipio was sprinting along with them, she groaned.
Sashala’s tiny frame exploded into motion. Sprinting, she tapped her thrusters and vaulted herself toward Scipio with an assisted leap. Hitting her feet and rolling, she had closed the distance and rushed past him.
Sliding to her hip and using her thrusters to glide across the polycrete floor she glimpsed a strange robot as she exited the tunnel and skidded into a small entry alcove. In that moment, Jade scanned the machine and cross referenced it against known automatons. Returning no results, Sashala had to rely on her best senses, sight and sound.
Three treaded feet churned the hunk of robotic death toward her. The six-foot tall, cone-shaped dome sitting on top of the treads contained several gun barrels. Pivoting with a mechanical hum, the barrels attempted to track her rapid movement. Hitting the wall with her feet, Sashala changed directions in a blur of acceleration and rocket thrusted toward the opposite corner. The robots barrel array blasted away at the wall where she kicked off.
Grabbing a dead Marine’s body as she skidded past it, she came to stop in the corner of the room. Tucking herself behind a computer terminal, that she assumed accessed the door controls, she waited and listened. Pulling the Marine’s helmet off and linking into his video feed she pushed his body out of her concealed position. Peeking the helmet around the corner of the terminal, she watched and waited. Silently, she counted.
One foolhardy Scipio, two foolhardy Scipio, three–
The sound of no less than four barrels blasting the dead Marine’s body stopped her count. After a moment, the turrets pivoted around, and the robot glided toward the entry to the Maglev Depot. She could see the spoons of some electromagnetic pulse grenades littering the floor and minor blast marks on the robots black armored frame.
Frakking Hardits must have up-armored the drenting thing against EMP grenades, Sashala lamented.
Weighing her options, she groaned again. She could see the helmet of a Marine peeking around the corner the robot was heading toward.
Are those two dots on that helmet? Don’t do it…
Colonel Scipio rounded the corner and tossed an EMP grenade. Rolling, he fired at the machine. His rounds were direct hits, but had no effect. Sashala’s video feed cut when the grenade exploded in a blast of blue electrical light. Exposing herself to see, she almost choked as Scipio ripped his sword free from his back.
Seriously? He’s going to try to cut the robot down?
An unfamiliar female voice rang in her ear.
Lieutenant, my human is about to kill himself in another foolhardy display of male bravado. I believe your EMP grenades are of an older and different build. Please use them to disable the robot before he is slaughtered. Men… right?
Grinning at Scipio’s AI, and hoping it was correct, Sashala pulled an EMP grenade from her waist and popped the spoon. Moving from a crawl to a sprint in just a few steps, she jumped toward the robot. Doing a front handspring over the top of it, and dropping the grenade on its head, she tackled Scipio as she landed on the other side. Ignoring the pain of his sword slicing through her armor and nicking her arm, she wrapped him tight and smacked her thrusters. They impacted the corner of the room with a thud as the grenade exploded.
Pushing Scipio away, she lifted her head to see the robot was smoking and shooting sparks from its chassis. It continued rolling and
impacted the wall. Looking at Scipio, who stood and sheathed his sword, she let her head drop to the floor as she let out a heavy sigh.
“Excellent use of a void training in an urban environment, Lieutenant! I see my diversion gave you the opening you needed. Glad Xena was right about your EMP grenades.”
Scipio reached down to inspect the cut in her combat armor. Sashala pushed his hand away.
“Please, sir, don’t worry about me. If you want to help, don’t rush into every ridiculous situation you find. I bet Field Marshal Marchewka would have your arse if I shared the video from this event.”
She couldn’t see his face because of his helmet, but Xena chimed a slow-clap into her ears.
“Roger that, Lieutenant, roger that,” said Scipio as he offered her a hand.
Grabbing it and gaining her feet, Jade sounded in her ear.
Sashala, your injury is superficial. You won’t even require clotting agents. I recommend having Xena link into the terminal and hack any remaining robots. There might be more robots than you have grenades. Xena does have a way with machines…
Relaying this to Scipio, he jumped to the task. Xena had the security system locate the remaining machines, which turned out to be sentry robots, and reprogramed them to only attack Hardits. Scipio sent a brief report to the field marshals about what they had encountered. While Scipio played politics, Sashala grabbed the first Marine she found and ordered him to get a group together to drag the disabled death machine to the maglev. She wanted it sent back to the engineers to tinker with.
Orders came back to bunk down in the outpost. At daybreak, they would start the trek toward the Hardit Incubation Station. The evening watch was given a critically important task: exploration and investigation. Sashala figured the task force leadership was hoping to acquire some long-abandoned machinery to give them a more firepower.
