Traditionalists had no monetary system, only an honor one, the weak and women gathered food, the leaders and strong hunted. People were given food based on their merit not their monetary resources.
The Independents functioned much like a communist system, everyone shared food, did work that they were the best at and worked to free themselves. The capitalist system that the Free Fleet and Union would introduce to the Kalu would throw that system into chaos for a time.
Thankfully they weren’t ingrained to the system and there had already been friction about Kalu not wanting to do the jobs that they were given. While it wasn’t a perfect system it was a tried system with set rules that allowed anyone to make a profit.
“Yes, that is rather an interesting debate going on within the independents,” Ashota granted, sounding tired.
“I might suggest that you look into possible ways for the Kalu to make a living. I would suggest having a look into raw materials. When we survive the Traditionalists the Union will go through a phase of rapid growth. They’re going to need materials. AIH and Chaleel supply the largest amounts of rare ores and food, but they’re just two systems and there is still a large demand for low grade ores and people will always need to eat. Also you have a number of gas planets and ice planets heavy in Helium three, perfect for mining and shipping out as power-plant fuel,” Min Hae said, seeing the cogs working in Ashota’s mind, his eyes glazing over in thought.
“Those are some interesting ideas, I think I’ll have to look into that further,” Ashota said.
“As long as you don’t try to take over the medical market then I’ll give you a hand!” Gogs said, Ershue produced both hellfire and wake-up as well as anti-aging medicines and anything from pain medication to skin formula.
“Deal,” Ashota said.
Min Hae smiled catching Baldabuh’s smirk out of the corner of his eye.
Just got to plant seeds and see what happens. Min Hae thought, this was what he enjoyed, seeing things grow. His skills were put to use looking at their enemies for now. Though soon he could use those talents to strengthen alliances, create trade agreements and build the foundation that would see the Free Fleet last throughout the ages.
Chapter A War of Attrition
Bok Soo looked at the floating hologram and it made his guts clench watching his home world and the various symbols that scoured across it, showing the Kalu landing areas.
Fuckers, he thought looking at the spread out landing areas and their locations. Many of the Kalu had parked their asses right next to major cities, making orbital bombardment impossible.
Also with their numbers spread across the globe it meant they were on every damned continent and wrecking havoc.
Looks like Australia got lucky, he thought as the maps updated with the latest reports. Asia was getting mauled, the Kalu had picked up the signals of so many people and had jumped on it. For once Bok Soo was happy that tensions were so high in the area. Militaries that had been built up over generations were now out and fighting. Every nation had been working on weapon systems that either combined their technology and that of the Free Fleets, or just upgraded their own.
It was the only way that they were killing the Kalu. A fifty calibre round of old would have given a Kalu pause, but other than pissing them off it would have just left a smear on their armor.
New casings, rounds, guns and gunpowder actually dented and in rare cases, pierced the Kalu armor.
It hadn’t done much for the four hundred million believed casualties, that number only growing as the time moved forward.
“We have missile launch from North Korea!” Someone said in alarm.
“Shoot it down,” Bok Soo said, not looking away from the map. Nukes would do more damage than they would help. He was going to need humans reinforcing his Commandos, irradiating the planet wouldn’t help.
“Draco,” Foshunti said.
“Anz has optimum firing solution, routing to them,” Darshoo replied
“Good, they are free to fire,” Foshunti said, “Delphine, transmit to all the nations that nuking their own planet is not going to happen if they can’t even fight in it.”
“Yes Commander,” Delphine said.
Our nukes are a different situation all together, Bok Soo thought a dark smile touching his face as he continued to look at reports and studied the rotating globe.
Europe was getting thrashed as well, but they had endured a number of wars on their own soil, they had plans to dig in and defend and they were pulling them out today.
The European Union was for once working well together and drawing new lines across the map, they weren’t stopping the Kalu but it was giving them pause.
America was a mass of fighting; Canada was getting mauled because they were so spread out they were only putting blockades in the Kalu’s way. They were massing their strength, sacrificing their lead units to dig in and make lines that might give the Kalu pause.
America itself was pretty similar. Orders had been passed to defend the major cities, the military was digging in for Florida and Oklahoma, the two regions with the most Kalu landings.
Brazil was the epicenter of the Southern American landings just because of it’s large land mass. Most of the Kalu were moving out of Brazil, attacking the neighboring nations. The borders were helping out to a large degree, with at least slowing the Kalu.
That’s all that the forces of Earth were doing right now, slowing the Kalu. It took heavy weaponry to even punch through the Kalu’s armor while the Kalu’s lasers, teeth and claws cut through anything their opposition were wearing. They were practically naked in comparision.
Hopefully we can change that, Bok Soo thought, pressing his finger to different locations on the slowly rotating globe.
His jaw tightened with those simple touches, he was possibly deciding the fate of millions, perhaps billions of people.
“Landing areas for the Commandos,” Bregend said, pushing the holographic sphere at Foshunti.
“Thank you Commander,” Foshunti replied, they shared a look. The weight of command and a planet was fully looming over them.
“If you don’t need me, I’ll be jumping on a shuttle,” Bok Soo said.
“Good hunting Bok Soo,” Foshunti said, tapping two armored fingers against his forehead.
Bok Soo felt a well of emotion inside of him, but he clamped it down, touching his own fingers to his face before heading towards the bridge’s blast doors. He pulled his helmet on, locking it to his armor and closing its visor.
He felt like there was a rock in his stomach and that he was going to throw up at any minute. Instead of giving into the fear and anxiety he checked his weapons, gear and status of Commandos across the fleet. They were just an hour away from dropping onto Earth.
Another day in the Free Fleet, he thought, getting a laugh out of himself as he marched into the shuttle bay and onto his shuttle. Commandos were quiet, an odd thing. Usually he would have been greeted with a cacophony of noise and have to yell at them to shut up.
“I know I’m not that much to look at but I didn’t think I was that bad looking,” Min Hae said, getting a few laughs from people.
“McGuiness you still got that god-awful ‘ride of the Valkyries?’” Bok Soo asked, slapping himself into a harness.
“You bet commander!” The man said, sounding proud.
“Good, get that godawful clichéd to hell song up to the pilots. Might as well piss the Kalu off with it as well!” Bok Soo said, getting more than one forced groan and quite a number of chuckles.
People got to talking, breaking the tension and silence. The pilot confirmed his song choice and Bok Soo started sending messages off to Earth commanders telling them where they would be landing. Politicians quickly got a hold of his channel and started ordering him to land in their designated positions.
He pre-set a recording to get fucked and get off of his channel. After everything they had done to the Free Fleet, bullying them through force and words, they still hadn�
��t learned their lesson.
A part of Bok Soo just wanted to leave them to get fucked, but he knew that judging nations or humanity by the actions of a few was idiotic. Instead he started recording whoever tried to order him different places. Getting to the real work of planning a defense.
Not gonna be very pretty, he thought, bringing his other Commanders into his changes. They’d figured out a basic strategy while they followed the Kalu fleet, yet as with all combat plans it had to be altered and changed to the current situation instead of the one they’d gamed out.
It didn’t take long, and by the time he was done the shuttle was pushing off of Talhalla’s deck, heading for Earth. Using his HUD, he could see the MEF’s that sprouted from their respective carriers. The HCD’s that had chased Orshpa were still in orbit, relaying real-time data about the ongoing conflicts. Their fighters were already deployed in Earth’s atmosphere and raising as much havoc as possible.
Now it was time for the Commandos to put their feet into it as well.
It wasn’t long until they were being shaken and buffeted by Earth’s atmosphere, fighting their progress. The shuttle broke through and tilted, it’s inner-atmospheric engines pushing them towards their landing point in Poland. The Kalu were cutting through Finland, Sweden and Finland’s northern regions. The military like any in the area was powerful, but they had been focused on sea-borne threats, not one’s by land. If the Russians had been coming that way they could move troops from other locations.
That said, Sweden, Finland and Norway by proximity had learned to live with one another. Now they were threatened as a whole so they worked together, calling in all of their large reserves from mandatory service programs. War waged across their countries, the Kalu didn’t care for borders.
Russia's massive military was no longer seen as the threat it posed before the arrival of the Syndicate. Now they showed a mobile armored and heavily armed force racing right towards the Kalu at their best speed.
No one built armed transports like the Russians and they knew the region almost as well as the native residents, they’d trained to take it for generations.
Now they were seen as allied and hope. Some officials ordered the Russians to be fired upon, most commanders upon hearing those words slammed the phone right back down. No one was going to deny aid against the Kalu.
Even the commanders that did acknowledge their orders and tried to carry them out, were essentially told to ‘fuck off’ if the people actually in combat were feeling kind.
Other nations still stuck in their ways of borders were refusing to support their neighbors, not only were their neighbors getting mauled, but they were as well.
Stand together or fall apart, Bok Soo thought, remembering Salchar’s words. If people weren’t able to get past their prejudices then there might not be an Earth left, at least not one that had any humans on it.
The starting bars of ride of the Valkyrie’s started across the shuttle, speakers actually getting through the HAPA and powered armor’s noise cancelling abilities.
Bok Soo could imagine McGuiness stupid smile as it started to get good.
They were down low, just a few kilometers above the ground, racing over the Atlantic, shuttles in arrow formations, fighters flanking them.
It made a Commander of the Armored Marine Commandos proud, even with the bloody stupid song!
“Touchdown in five, four, some arsehole is fuckin’ shooting, bob, get that fuck!” The pilot said, the shuttle flaring out with the brit’s thick accent coloring his outrage.
The ramps opened, Commandos thumped out into the mud of Mother Earth.
“Fuck, mud,” Bok Soo said, looking up at the rain.
He continued walking, his computer finding where all the communications were coming from, passing the idiot that had been shooting his shuttle. His gun was broken in half over Commando’s knee and a HAPA standing over him started barking at him in polish.
People looked at him and his moving entourage with confusion, fear, a few of them had hope in their eyes, but many more had the shadows of terror.
Bok Soo wandered into the bunker that was the regional command center. Someone struggled for their gun as he appeared.
“Fuck off son, we’re the reinforcements,” Bok Soo said, translated into polish as he pushed through an armored door, taking it right out of the concrete.
“Fucking cold war garbage,” he muttered placing it next to the wall, looking up at stunned faces.
“Show me to the commander and be quick about it. I don’t want to be standing here when the Kalu show up!” He said, someone turned and started walking deeper, Bok Soo followed.
He got more than a few glances. Three other Commandos caught up with him. Seems his minders noticed he’d slipped their tether once again.
They stepped into what looked like a large conference room with tube televisions, wires, people and crap everywhere.
Bok Soo forgot how much of that crap was handled by his powered armor and the various people on the warships above.
The person tapped on the shoulder of a burly looking man. They spoke quickly, the burly man turning with a hard look.
“What are you doing here, go wait until I can find something useful for your shiny suits.” The man half turned, dismissing them.
Bok Soo was done with the itsy bitsy bullshit, he stepped past his guards grabbing the man with one armored hand and pulling him off the floor.
“Listen to me you little fuck.” The man was trying to hit him now, “I am not here for you, I’m not even here for your fucking government. I’m here because Earth requested our help. So you stow this baby back fucking bullshit or I will find someone that is capable of running this fucking campaign. My people have fought the Kalu, we have beaten them, hell we fucking wiped your asses all the way back here from Nancy’s fucking orbit.” Bok Soo threw the man, not hard but enough to make him slide.
“So unless you want me to give you a display of making you leave Earth’s atmosphere with my fucking boot planted so far up your fucking ass you can taste Heija’s dirt on the other fucking end of it, get your fucking shit together and tell me your situation. I am here to help you, not be your fucking punching bag. You don’t want it, I’ll go to Germany, maybe they’ll want my help,” Bok Soo finished.
“You are nothing but simple child with big armor,” The large man on the ground said.
Bok Soo opened his visor, grabbed one of his two shotguns by his side and shot the roof. It travelled through the concrete metal and dirt that covered the bunker. Rain started pouring in.
The big man looked at the hole with wide eyes, only heavy artillery would be able to pierce the bunkers roof.
Bok Soo’s eyes traced through the crowd seeing someone bent over a screen and issuing orders still. Not caring about the theatrics but trying to help people.
Bok Soo leveled his gun with the woman.
“You are now in charge of this base and border,” Bok Soo said.
“Mind pointing that shit somewhere else?” She said casting him a glance before turning to maps.
“Oops, sorry my bad,” Bok Soo said, wincing at his mistake that would have got him a good slap upside the head if he wasn’t CAMC.
“Seriously boss, that’s some trainee shit,” Doz said over a private channel, the verbal equivalent of said smack.
Bok Soo turned to him shaking and pressing his lips together.
“You have no authority here,” The big man said on his feet.
“Well seeing as you fuckers like backstabbing us so much and hate having anyone fuck with your shit, we got some stipulations made. The Free Fleet is effectively Earth’s military, if any Commando gives an order it’s to be taken like an order from your highest military commander until hostilities have concluded,” Bok Soo said, using a holographic projector on his arm and broadcasting the mandate onto a wall.
“So basically, I’m your Chief of Staff, hell any of these three are. So now that’s out of the way, let’s see if we can�
��t save some lives. What’s your name Ma’am?” Bok Soo asked the lady who was still working.
“Major Adrianna Gajos,” she replied.
“You now command this border and all of Poland’s military forces on it. First…” Bok Soo clamped his helmet shut, looking on the HUD. Behind him a big black rectangle was being pushed into the room by two Commandos.
“Perfect, this will help out a lot,” Bok Soo said, the table was pushed into an open space to the rear of the computers cords and stations.
Legs were unfolded from under the table and it stood, the surface folded out and a map of the ground appeared, with the military designations that the Polish military of the area were accustomed to.
“Welcome to Free Fleet warfare, with this you can coordinate with any unit in the field. The Free Fleet is already listening in to communications and will update the table, bring up alerts and all that. Let’s see if we can’t start pulling this thing out of the shitter?” Bok Soo asked.
Major Gajos moved to the table and started moving the map around and clicked on various units, noises came from the table.
“Headset on your personal work surface by your knee,” Bok Soo said. Gajos grabbed the headset and started speaking into it in quick tones.
She punched the table, it didn’t even move, it was made to take a powered armor whaling on it.
“I need you to deploy across the border with your forces, the Kalu are racing ahead of military forces and getting into the civilians,” Gajos said, the spell seemed to breaking across the room. People started getting back into the flow of things, there was a war to be fought still.
Bok Soo moved to the table, using a section off the main table, bringing up the units outside and holding, he gave them a new way point and started looking at the map.
Gajos barked at those still milling around, getting them into motion.
“These orders can’t be real!” The big man complained.
“Doz, could you escort him to a unit where he might be useful?” Bok Soo said.
War's Reward (Free Fleet Book 6) Page 11
