Resist the Red Battlenaut

by Robert T. Jeschonek

  "What if my voice and eyes go out at the same time?"

  "Then we don't need you anymore," said Perseid. "Self-destruct time."

  "Right." Scott experimented with the holos as Perseid had said, and they worked. If he blinked twice and focused on a particular readout, it grew larger. Staring at a control for a few seconds made it change setting. Gazing at a display and sliding his eyes one way or another moved it in the direction he chose.

  "All right, playtime's over," said Perseid. "Let's put that thing through its paces."

  Suddenly, a massive blow struck Scott's Battlenaut. The holo readouts showing the armor's status changed rapidly, spiking across the board.

  "Get moving!" Perseid's voice had a taunting edge. "There's plenty more where that came from."

  Instantly, Scott shifted into battle mode. His senses sharpened, his head cleared, and his thoughts raced, presenting him with options.

  As unfamiliar as the CORE Battlenaut was, he was determined to put it to work for him. "Frontside viewer on." He wasn't sure how to frame voice control commands, so he tried to keep them simple...and it worked. The holo readouts slid away to either side, and a viewer window appeared in front of him, showing a video feed from the frontside cameras.

  The feed came up just in time to show Perseid's Battlenaut unleashing a punch with one ebony fist. Scott's armor shook under the onslaught but stood its ground.

  "Aren't you going to do anything?" Perseid shouted over the comm. "Maybe I was wrong, thinking a Marine like you could handle top-of-the-line equipment like that."

  "Microphone off," said Scott. "Punch enemy's torso with right fist."

  Suddenly, a new voice spoke in the armor...a male voice, smooth and serene. "The command 'Right punch to gut' will be sufficient, along with a requested level of force."

  Scott grinned. Apparently, his new armor came equipped with an onboard artificial intelligence, an A.I. smart enough to suggest a more concise command.

  Might as well put it to use. "Right punch to gut!" said Scott. "Maximum level of force!"

  The armor obeyed instantly. He felt the weight of its right arm swing back, then forward, carrying the rest of the unit's bulk along with it. At the same time, he watched a wireframe holo of his Battlenaut projected in midair to the left of the viewer window, going through the same motions. On the viewer itself, he saw his armor's gleaming right fist plowing into the belly of Perseid's Battlenaut.

  "That's more like it!" said Perseid. "Now let's see what else you can do!"

  "Left punch to head," said Scott.

  "What level of force?" said the armor's A.I., still prompting him.

  "Maximum!" snapped Scott, and his Battlenaut launched a blow as ordered, aimed straight at the head of Perseid's armor. On the viewer, Scott saw his Battlenaut's left arm whip back and lash out--only to be deflected when Perseid lashed up his own right arm to block the strike.

  "Nice try," said Perseid. "Are you sure you've seen action in the war?"

  "Right knee to gut!" said Scott. "Maximum force!"

  He felt the Battlenaut's mass shift suddenly back as its right knee lunged up and forward. Checking the viewer, he saw the top of the knee connect with the belly of Perseid's armor, making it double over from the impact.

  "Lucky shot," said Perseid. "But you'll have to do better than that."

  "Left shoulder to chest! Maximum force!" said Scott.

  His Battlenaut crouched and plowed its left shoulder into the chest of Perseid's unit. A resounding clang rang out at the impact, followed by the clatter of armor plating as Perseid struggled to stay on his feet.

  Scott knew he needed to follow up fast to keep his advantage. "Right uppercut punch to chin." His Battlenaut did as he ordered; on the viewer, he saw his giant black fist swing up and crash into Perseid's chin. "Left hook punch to face." Again, he watched one of his fists blast into Perseid's armor like a runaway wrecking ball.

  Scott got in two more big hits before Perseid spoke again. "Barely satisfactory." Another blow was coming, and Perseid caught it with one armored hand. "You need some training, Marine."

  "Flux that," hissed Scott, and then he gave another order. "Weapons online."

  Just then, Perseid let loose a barrage of rapid-fire blows to Scott's upper body, pounding the hell out of his head and chest. Scott counted five, six, seven blows; each new one knocked his armor back, to the right, or to the left, depending on the angle of impact.

  "Step back," he told his Battlenaut, hoping for some breathing room. But as the armor took a backward step, Perseid caught it in the knee with a stomping kick, making it stumble.

  "Stabilize! Stay on your feet!" said Scott, but he didn't need to say it. Servos whirred as the Battlenaut automatically compensated and regained its balance, planting both feet solidly on the floor.

  Even as the unit kept itself upright, the A.I. piped up again. "Weapons are online."

  Scott grinned. What a machine! It even reminded him, without being asked, that the onboard weapons were ready. Why hadn't Commonwealth Command installed the same system in every Battlenaut in the fleet by now?

  On the other hand, he had no idea what weapons were available. He hadn't seen a single gun, sonic projector, or missile launcher on the unit's exterior.

  Meanwhile, Perseid was taking advantage of his brief hesitation. Lunging forward, he grabbed hold of Scott's Battlenaut, wrapping his arms around its torso. He pitched Scott one way, then another, trying to throw him off his feet.

  "You're going down!" said Perseid. "Shortest armor orientation session of all time!"

  Sweat ran down Scott's back and sides, and his heart hammered like a fighter's fist in his chest. He knew it was only a practice session, and the stakes weren't life and death...but they might as well be. If he made a fool of himself during his first ride in a CORE Battlenaut, he'd never live it down. The Diamondbacks might never fully trust him on the battlefield.

  Again, Perseid wrenched him hard to one side. Servos whined in protest, but Scott's armor stayed on its feet.

  "What weapons are available?" Scott asked the A.I.

  "Projectile guns with dummy rounds. Lasers at one-half power. Sonics limited to close-range." The A.I. paused as Perseid gave the armor an especially strong heave. "Drone pods fully powered."

  With the other weapons in training mode, the words "fully powered" sounded promising. "Deploy drone pods," said Scott. "Target opponent unit."

  "Deploy all drones?" asked the A.I.

  "Yes!" said Scott as the Battlenaut rocked again. "Don't make me tell you again, Frank!" He surprised himself, calling the A.I. by a name like that. He'd done the same with his old Battlenaut, the one that had been blown to pieces on Chelong III. It had helped him, in the thick of a fight, to think of the big, lumbering machine as a person. Not that the reason for the name mattered, as long as New Frank launched those drones...whatever their capabilities were supposed to be.

  As if Frank had anticipated his uncertainty, additional feeds appeared on the viewer, showing topside, rightside, leftside, and backside views along with the frontside feed. In each one, Scott saw sections of the Battlenaut's smooth hull...only it wasn't so smooth anymore. Each section was studded with rounded lumps the size of softballs.

  As Scott watched, the lumps pushed outward and broke free of the armor, then leaped into the air under their own power. They went straight for Perseid's Battlenaut, all thirty or forty of them swarming his head and shoulders at once.

  Perseid only got in one more good heave before the drones made contact with his armor. They slammed into it and bounced off like bowling balls, pounding it again and again with enough force to make him release his hold on Scott.

  "Cool," said Scott as he backed his Battlenaut away from the carnage. "I wonder what else this baby can do."

  "Beanstalk demo is available upon request," Frank said instantly. "Would you like to activate the demo?"

  "Do it," said Scott.

  Suddenly, the cockpit filled with a high-pitch
ed electrical whine mixed with a loud clacking sound. The Battlenaut shuddered; then, its legs started to grow, lifting the armored torso into the air and Scott's couch along with it.

  As Scott's armor grew taller, Perseid's drone-besieged Battlenaut fell away from the frontside camera. The other feeds showed the floor of the Training Deck getting farther away on all sides.

  Then, the armor stopped expanding. "Maximum safe height for current clearance achieved," said Frank. "Beanstalk demo completed."

  Scott grinned. I can't believe how great this armor is. "Right kick to chest," he said. "Maximum force."

  Just as Scott's Battlenaut hauled back its right leg, Perseid's armor started Beanstalking, too. But the kick still landed before Perseid reached maximum height, sending his half-grown Battlenaut toppling backward, hitting the floor with a loud crunch.

  "Yes!" cheered Scott. "He is down!"

  No sooner had the words left his mouth than an alarm klaxon whooped in the cockpit. "Alert!" said Frank. "Catastrophic strike imminent!"

  "What are you talking about?" Scott watched the viewer and saw no sign of danger--just Perseid's Battlenaut lying on its back on the floor of the Training Deck.

  "Incoming!" said Frank.

  "What incoming?" said Scott. "Where are you seeing this?"

  "It has not yet occurred," said Frank. "My prognostication software predicts, based on current conditions, that incoming fire will arrive in 35 seconds...34...33..."

  Prognostication software? "If you know it's coming, neutralize it!" Scott's eyes flashed over the viewer and holo readouts, looking for a clue to the source of the predicted fire--finding nothing.

  Meanwhile, Frank continued the countdown. "Twenty seconds...19...18...17..."

  "Damnit!" said Scott.

  Just then, there was movement on the viewer. The chest and abdomen of Perseid's armor expanded, swelling upward. It looked like a balloon inflating, stretching as air pressure pushed out in all directions from inside it.

  "Ten," said Frank. "Seven...six...five..."

  "Back away!" Whatever Perseid's armor was doing, Scott knew he needed to move fast to escape it. "Best possible speed!"

  "Three," said Frank. "Two...one..."

  Scott's Battlenaut had only taken half a step back when the front of Perseid's Battlenaut exploded. Shrapnel from the blast pounded Scott's armor, blowing it off its feet and punching a multitude of dents in the once-smooth hull.

  "Mother-fluxer!" shouted Scott as his Battlenaut slammed to the floor. The couch protected him from most of the shock of impact, but the fall still jarred him. Going down in defeat while sparring with Perseid was the last thing he'd wanted to do.

  But it was a done deal now. After the crash, Scott's frontside video feed showed only the ceiling of the Training Deck. His Battlenaut was on its back, looking up.

  "End of exercise," Perseid said over the comm. "Consider that the kill shot."

  At the sound of that voice, Scott came to a boil. "Frank! Use the same weapon he just did!"

  Frank didn't answer. After that, the holos disappeared, and Scott's Battlenaut slumped. When the lights in the cockpit went out, Scott was left in darkness again.

  "Don't bother trying to fight back," said Perseid. "I've implemented remote power override. Like I said, the exercise is over."

  With that, the chest and abdomen of Scott's Battlenaut flowed open, and the couch released its grip. For a moment, he lay there, grinding his teeth, wanting only to have another shot at Perseid's Battlenaut to prove what he could do.

  Then, he sighed deeply and climbed up out of the unit.

  Perseid was just hopping out of his own armor at that moment. "What do you think, Corporal?"

  Scott sat on the edge of the chest cavity and glared. "I think I'd like to spar another round, Major. Power me up."

  Perseid laughed. "Some other time. What I want to know is, what did you think of the CORE Battlenaut? Did it measure up to your old Marine model?"

  Scott was in a bad mood but could see no advantage in lying. "It far exceeded it across the board," he said. "It's an amazing piece of equipment."

  "You haven't even maxed the specs yet," said Perseid. "You didn't come close to fully exploiting its capabilities."

  Scott nodded. "We sure could've used these on the front lines. Why doesn't everybody have them?"

  "You'll have to ask Command," said Perseid. "If you survive this mission. And after what I saw here just now, you're going to need lots more training hours to do that."

  "Because you beat me?" said Scott. "Let's go best two out of three and see what happens."

  "I'll have Captain Rexis schedule you for heavy drills for the rest of the trip to Shard," said Perseid. "In between classes and shipboard duties."

  "Classes?" Scott couldn't keep the surprise out of his voice.

  "That's right," said Perseid. "Consider this an intensive training cruise. We need you sharp by the time we see action."

  "Duties?" said Scott.

  Perseid smirked. "For the duration, you're a member of this crew. As such, you will fulfill the shipboard duties of any Diamondback."

  Scott stared at him. "What duties are those?"

  "Report to Captain Rexis," said Perseid. "She'll lay it all out for you." With that, he turned on his heel and headed for the door, leaving Scott behind him wondering what the hell kind of mission he'd signed on for.

  Since when did a seasoned Commonwealth Marine have to go through training and classes while detailed to a CORE unit? Since when did he have to perform shipboard duties? He was helping track down the Red Battlenauts; wasn't that duty enough?

  Swinging his legs up out of the cockpit, he slid down the side of the Battlenaut and landed on the floor. He was sweated from the exercise, irritated with Perseid, and worn down by lack of sleep. His whole life had changed dramatically in just a few hours--not an uncommon thing for a Commonwealth Marine, but uncommonly dramatic this time around. Uncommonly crazy.

  And he had a feeling things were only going to get crazier.

  *****

  Chapter 8

  Captain Rexis cut Scott a break. When he reported to her as ordered, she did indeed lay it all out for him--a busy duty and training schedule that wouldn't leave him much time for anything else. But she also gave him six hours' rack time commencing immediately, which was just what he needed. He could have kept going, he was trained to function under conditions of extreme sleep deprivation, but the rest would work wonders on his alertness and performance.

  Back at his billet, he collapsed on the lower bunk he'd been assigned and finally let himself relax. Memories of the events of the day washed over him like a warm tide, lulling him ever closer to the brink of sleep.

  At some point, he left it all behind and drifted off into a state of unconsciousness. This was part of his training, too--falling asleep quickly, grabbing rest when he got the chance. Often, in the field, he was lucky just to catch a couple winks between engagements.

  As Scott slept, he had a lucid dream that mixed up elements of his life. First, he was back on Chelong III, riding his old gray Battlenaut through the mist. Then, he was in his CORE armor on the Training Deck of the Sun Tzu, looking for the Red Battlenaut. When he heard the sound of giant, stomping footsteps, he looked at the backside video feed--and saw two enormous human legs. Leaning back, he turned his gaze upward, only to see that the figure looming over him wasn't the Red Battlenaut after all, but his grandmother, Bern. He tried to run, but she scooped him off the floor and lifted him up, laughing wickedly.

  Grandma Bern clenched her fist around him, cracking his armor like an eggshell. As Scott wailed and writhed within it, Bern hurled him across the Training Deck, which became the Iridess Chasm on Tack. He was thirteen years old and about to die all over again.

  Suddenly, instead of flying through the air, he was running through the chasm under cover of darkness. Another boy--blond, half his age--ran alongside him, legs scrambling to keep up. The boy's name was Cairn, and he'd been a pr
isoner much longer than Scott, held captive by the man who was chasing them.

  The heaving breath of that man drove Scott and Cairn to run as fast as they could. He was an evil man, a monster who'd haunted Scott's nightmares again and again since that night.

  Scott felt the man's fingertips brush his sleeve, and he ran harder. He had to get away, no matter the cost, no matter what he knew was about to happen.

  Then there was a sound like a roaring beast, like a monster, and something lifted him off the ground. His feet pedaled helplessly in the air, searching for purchase, searching for anything solid...finding nothing. He spun in circles, head over feet, picking up speed as he whipped through the chasm, leaving poor Cairn far behind him.

  That was when he saw it--Penitent Peak, racing toward him with all the speed and purpose of inexorable destiny. He screamed as loud as he could, louder than he'd ever screamed before or since. With that, the towering crag became the Red Battlenaut, towering implacably in the moonlight. Spinning blades emerged from its chest, pushing toward him.

  Which was when he heard the terrible rumbling noise booming across the landscape. It exploded like thunder or a chain of cluster bombs bursting in rapid succession, throwing off blasts that echoed from the walls of the chasm. With each echo, the crashing booms grew louder instead of fading, until they filled his head with an unbearable torrent. Then, the loudest boom of all struck with deafening force, throwing him right out of his sleep.

  Heart hammering, Scott sat up suddenly on his bunk. It was only then he realized the noise had not originated in his dream.

  It was coming from the bunk above him. Someone up there was snoring like a buzz saw blaring through a megaphone on maximum amplification.

  Cursing, Scott swung his legs off the bed and planted his feet on the cold metal deck. Just then, between the trumpeting snores from above, he heard the sound of nearby snickering laughter.

  Looking around the dark room, he saw Trane lying on his belly on an upper bunk, grinning down at him. His white crewcut and teeth stood out in the darkness. "Welcome to your new billet, rookie." He didn't bother lowering his voice. "Looks like you landed the best spot in the place."