by Isaac Hooke
“That’s fine,” Rade said. “Thank you, Lieutenant Colonel.”
“No problem,” Harlan said. “Wish I could feel good about it. I’m basically kissing those units good-bye.”
“Like you’re kissing us good-bye?” Rade said.
“There are no kisses for you,” Harlan said. “I gave you the chance to stay, but you refused. There’s no blood on my hands.”
Yep, he definitely feels the guilt.
Rade wondered if the inquiry would call for his court-martial when this was all over, because refusing to participate further was basically an act of cowardice. On second thought, Rade doubted Harlan would be court-martialed, given that so far he had held his position, despite the relentless waves of enemy units that had assailed his battalion from the tunnel. Still, the man had to be worried: in times of war, the sentence for cowardice was death.
“TJ,” Rade said. “Interface with the Praetor unit in charge of the Centurions.”
“Done,” TJ returned. “They’re ready to take our orders.”
“Have the robots fan out in front of us,” Rade said. “I want them fifty meters ahead of Bender.”
“Got it,” TJ said.
The robots jetted forward and took the lead, marching fifty meters ahead as Rade had ordered.
“Do they have names?” Rade said.
“Yep, transmitting now,” TJ replied.
The names of the robots appeared on the overhead map next to the associated dots. Molly. Holly. Griswald. Bacon. Shenanigans. Or Units M, H, G, B, and S.
The Titans had enough room to walk three abreast in that tunnel, but Rade ordered them to proceed in single file. He had them maintain a zigzag formation, however.
As the two groups advanced, the bodies of the bioengineered beasts began to thin out until there was only the empty tunnel before the party, descending ever into the dark bowels of the alien homeworld. It was a good change to walk on bare rock, rather than wading through waist-deep snow or bodies. Though what he didn’t like was the rather loud resound each footfall made on the lonely stone.
On the overhead map, the ping times associated with the blue indicators of the Marines from the battalion above began to reach infinity, one by one.
“We just left signal range with the battalion,” Snakeoil said.
“TJ, do you still have our robots?” Rade said.
“I do,” TJ replied. “Though the signal degradation is fairly bad. Probably shouldn’t let them wander too far ahead.”
“Ensure that you don’t,” Rade said.
“Hey, should we turn off our Implants?” Trace asked.
“What’s the point?” Luxe said. “Even in full stealth mode, you’ll give yourselves away by the vibrations from your footsteps. If not the noise itself. A Titan doesn’t walk softly.”
“But it carries a big stick,” Bomb joked.
“MOTH humor, I’ll never understand it,” Luxe said. “Anyway, it’s better to maintain our tactical advantage, than to give it up for the false hope of stealth.”
“She’s right,” Tahoe said.
“That’s Cyclone for you, always taking the side of the woman,” Manic teased. “Like it’ll ever get you anywhere with her, bro.”
“I’m a married man,” Tahoe said.
“You only tell them that to make them want you even more,” Manic said.
“Do I have to kick your ass?” Tahoe halted. “Because I will.”
“Easy, Cyclone,” Rade said. “Keep marching. And Manic? Shut it.”
“Sorry, boss,” Manic said.
“I’m going to have to disagree,” Trace said when the pace resumed. “The chief thought it prudent to deactivate our Implants in the alien city. We should probably do the same here.”
“But that’s the key word,” Luxe argued. “City. We had multiple places to hide, then. And the snow-covered ground absorbed much of the sound and vibrations your mechs made when they walked, while the buildings reflected any noises we did actually produce, making it harder to track us. Not like this bare rock. Check the seismic sensors of your advance robots and tell me I’m wrong.”
A moment later TJ said: “She’s not wrong. This rock is highly conducive to vibration transmission. Not to mention that the way sound echoes in here, any enemies will know we’re coming a kilometer away. Stealth mode isn’t going to cut it. Besides, Trace is forgetting: how am I supposed to communicate with the robots if I turn off my Implant, and my Titan’s comm node?”
“There you go,” Rade said. “We keep our Implants active.”
The party proceeded downward for fifteen minutes.
Then TJ announced: “The tunnel just opened up. We got a vast cavern ahead of us.”
Rade switched to the point of view of Molly, the lead robot in the Centurion group. He saw stalactites and stalagmites that had joined together to form long, colorful columns, thinner at the centers than the bases and tops. Those columns were randomly spaced throughout the area, and gave the place an almost imperial feel, like he was observing a royal court or something. The sparkling colors from the many crystals that jutted from the walls and ceiling added to the atmosphere.
“Have the Centurions continue the advance,” Rade said. “But spread them out to cover the width of the cavern.”
“Roger that.”
“We continue forward,” Rade said.
Soon his Titan stood inside the natural-seeming cavern. Rade took a moment to study the sparkling hues on the rock face beside him. Each a different color, crystals shaped like dodecahedrons thrust from the stone of the main wall; he was reminded of the crystalline structures he had seen in the nuked alien city, with each dodecahedron standing in for a building in his mind. But unlike in the city, these crystals did not glow. Perhaps that quality had something to do with the radiation levels. Speaking of which...
“How are we doing on the radiation, Jerry?” Rade asked the AI.
“It’s relatively low at the moment,” Jerry replied. “Even with the reduced number of subdermals you carry, you could survive for a long time outside the mech. Though I would advise against it, of course.”
“As would I,” Rade said.
Because of the way the light dispersed in that cave, no doubt in part to all the crystals, it seemed brighter than in the previous tunnel. He could clearly discern the Centurions fifty meters ahead, spread out along an imaginary line amid the columns.
“Have the Centurions spotted anything yet?” Rade said.
“No,” TJ replied. “Maybe the battalion cleaned out all the tangos for us already.”
“I hope not,” Bender said.
“I second that,” Skullcracker added.
“I’m sure the two of you will get your chance to crack some skulls soon enough,” Rade said. “If there’s really a command and control center down here, the enemy wouldn’t have dispatched all of their defensive units to the surface. Not by far. Sure, they would have sent some, hoping to drive away the interlopers. But the majority would have been held back in reserve.”
“Why haven’t they attacked us yet, then?” Manic said.
“Manic, if I knew how these aliens think,” Rade said. “Then I’d be alien, too, wouldn’t I?”
“Molly’s got something,” TJ said.
Rade switched to the robot’s viewpoint. Directly in front of Molly, near the center of the cavern, resided the wreckages of a complete armored platoon. Dead hornheads and gaterpedes were scattered around the battered troop carriers, along with the corpses of Marines, their jumpsuits torn open, their mangled bodies contorted in various poses of death.
“Have the Centurions secure the area,” Rade said.
A moment later: “Area secured.”
“Proceed.”
The platoon reached the battleground. Rade walked his mech fastidiously through the carnage, not wanting to crush any of the dead Marines. He had no qualms about grounding a bioengineered creature underneath his large metal feet, however. Doing so was in fact highly satisfying.
“Maybe on the way back,” Luxe said. “Because until we’re sure we’re getting out of here ourselves, there’s no point.”
“Someone’s a morale leech,” Manic said. “And it’s not Fret for once.”
“I’m only stating the obvious, PO1,” Luxe said.
“Yes, Sergeant,” Manic replied.
“I think they gots the hots for each other,” Bomb said.
“Please, no unnecessary chatter on the comms,” Rade said.
He knew that humor was a coping mechanism. These were seasoned troops, men and women who had fought battles, faced death, many times before. Not a one of them felt excitement at the current moment, like a troop green to battle might feel. Sure, Skullcracker and Bender might affect eagerness, but Rade knew it was a facade. They were all afraid. So the humor was actually good for them. The only problem was, well first of all, it wasn’t very respectful to the dead. But second of all, he needed his men to remain absolutely vigilant. An attack could come at any time. They weren’t on a camping trip.
The Centurions discovered a tunnel opening off to the right halfway through the cavern. Rade ordered them to ignore it and continue forward. At the far side the robots discovered a second passageway leading away into darkness.
“So this is the point where we get outflanked,” Mauler said. “No matter what choice we make.”
“I’m going to go with the forward passageway,” Rade said. “TJ, leave two of the robots here. If trouble comes, I want one of them to dash down this passageway and alert us as soon as it’s in signal range, while the other one holds off the enemy as long as it can.”
“Understood,” TJ said. He chose Units M and H to remain behind. Molly and Holly.
The new tunnel proved slightly tighter, so that only two mechs could walk abreast if they wanted. Rade kept the zigzag, single-file formation, and had the combat robots continue to lead the way far ahead of the Titans.
After a few minutes Snakeoil said: “It’s getting warmer. The fleet was right about the anomalous thermal readings.”
“Exactly how warm are we talking?” Rade said.
“A balmy minus thirty-two degrees Celsius.”
After a few minutes, TJ said: “Boss, the Centurions found something new.”
twenty-three
Rade glanced at his overhead map. The Centurions had halted. He switched to the viewpoint of Griswald.
The combat robot stood at the edge of a small cavern. Inside, the bodies of dead Marines and the wreckage of battered mechs fanned outward from an arched opening on the far side, as if something had spat them out. There were destroyed combat robots and HS3s thrown into the mix, too. The cave floor was covered in frozen, crimson blood all the way from the opening to the outer perimeter of bodies. A sort of macabre welcome mat.
That dark arch was only big enough to fit one Titan at a time. Beyond resided blackness, pure and utter.
“Local-beam LIDAR from the robots indicates that the cavern widens beyond that opening,” TJ said. “I’m not detecting anything out of the ordinary in the cavern beyond. Just normal rock.”
“But there’s obviously something out of the ordinary inside,” Fret said, his voice cracking. “Or we wouldn’t be looking at the dead bodies of our predecessors.”
“What do you think caused this?” Manic said. “Some kind of laser? Maybe fired when a pressure plate is stepped on inside?”
“It’s fairly obvious there’s some sort of booby trap within,” Harlequin said. “Though without dispatching a scout, it’s impossible to ascertain the nature of the aforementioned trap.”
“Not sure a scout would help,” Tahoe said. “Look at all the HS3s littering the floor. Obviously didn’t make much of a difference.”
“This is the perfect spot to set a trap, too,” Mauler said. “Right after a choke point.”
“I’d guess it’s something like pulse platforms,” Bomb said. “Probably a hundred of them arranged in a semicircle in the chamber beyond, all aimed at the entrance, triggered when something steps inside.”
“But look at the wreckages of the mechs,” TJ said. “And the dead bodies. Those are physical wounds. It’s like they were torn apart, rather than riddled with lasers.”
“Maybe it’s one of those giant robots we encountered on the plains above,” Manic said.
“Don’t think a robot like that would fit in here, bro,” Lui said.
“Hey, we don’t know how big the cavern beyond is,” Manic said.
“Okay, that’s enough,” Rade said. “We can speculate until we’re blue in the face, but it’s not going to help.”
“We should go back,” Fret said.
“No,” Luxe said. “Think about what the lieutenant colonel said. No one sent inside ever returned. If we turn around now, I guarantee you we’ll be attacked. You saw the wreckages of the armored carriers back there. That’s what happens when you run. They haven’t attacked yet. That tells me they want us to continue. They want to test us. See if we’re worthy.”
“Maybe you should tell her to stop speculating,” Bomb said.
“I would,” Rade said. “But I don’t think she’d listen.”
“Fret’s right,” TJ said. “If we go back, we have the second passageway we can try.”
“Didn’t you hear what I just said?” Luxe told him. “We’ll be attacked.”
A loud, stone-on-stone rasping filled the air. It reminded Rade of the closing lid of a sarcophagus.
“Behind us!” Manic said.
Rade spun in time to watch the two side walls of the tunnel behind the party seal with a loud thud, blocking all retreat. The barrier was pocked with laser marks.
Mauler fired his cobra into the seal, adding his own small bore.
“It’s not rock,” Mauler said. “But some sort of armor. I only penetrated ten centimeters.”
“At that rate, it will take a few days to bore through,” Tahoe said.
“So.” Rade turned back toward the front. “Looks like forward it is. On the bright side, at least we don’t have to worry about a rear flanking attack. TJ, send in Griswold.”
“Griswald,” TJ said.
“Yes, send it in please,” Rade said.
Since the Centurions were still located fifty meters ahead, Rade pulled up the viewpoint of the designated robot in the forward party and situated it on the upper left of his HUD. He added the feed of another Centurion, placing it in the upper right so that he could observe both viewpoints at once. The two feeds rippled with interference, the displays pixelating and freezing every few seconds.
Laser rifle in hand, Griswald advanced toward the opening. The Centurion picked its way fastidiously forward, taking care not to tromp upon either the ruined human bodies or the mangled combat robots and mechs scattered about the entrance.
It passed underneath the arch with two meters of clearance above its steel head. The darkness beyond almost seemed to reach out and embrace the robot, despite its headlamp that shone weakly into the gloom.
“Bye bye Griswald,” Fret said.
The robot stepped into the chamber beyond.
The upper left video feed winked out.
Rade focused on the secondary viewpoint from the forward party, but saw only blackness inside the opening where Griswald had stood. “What the hell happened?”
“I don’t know,” TJ said. “We lost connection.”
“Shouldn’t we at least see the headlamp?” Rade thought he heard something, so he turned up the volume on his remaining video feed. A crunching, ripping sounded reached his ears. Tearing metal.
Rade tried the local-beam LIDAR of the remaining robots. Nothing appeared but the empty cave floor beyond that arch. Whatever was taking place in there, it was happening out of view.
“Shenanigans detected a surge of electrons from the entrance shortly before Griswald disappeared,” TJ reported.
“Electrons? As in: from
an EMP?” Rade asked.
“Similar.”
“I thought all our equipment has built in tolerances against battlefield EMPs?” Rade said. “Griswald should still be standing.”
“Certamente,” TJ replied. “But the detected surge was near the upper limit of those tolerances. And remember, our surviving robots were only at the fringes of the pulse. I can only imagine what the directed-energy levels would have been like inside there. I’d estimate seven megawatts per square meter, at least. Definitely enough to take down a robot, if not a mech.”
“Can we improve our EMP tolerances somehow?”
“Not with our current gear,” TJ said. “All our sensitive ICs use solid state glass switches to open a path to ground in case of overvoltage. A starship can easily take something like seven megawatts per meter because it uses the entire hull as a ground. Unfortunately, the substrates available to robots and mechs are much smaller, and can handle only so much current and heat dissipation.”
“But the stone under our feet is a ground,” Mauler said.
“It is,” TJ agreed. “And the electrons will blow through our solid state switches and short out our electronics on the way into the rock. There are overvoltage protection devices available to infantry troops, of course... you remember the long wires trailing some of the robots and jumpsuits during the Mongolia War, connected to the interlinked troop carriers? Unfortunately, we don’t have anything near that sort of a sink available to us at the moment.”
The crunching noises ceased and Rade spotted a blur of motion on the video feed.
“What was that?” Rade said. He thought he saw fresh pieces of metal sprinkling the floor before the opening.
“Those are all that remains of Griswald,” TJ said. “Looks like an arm, and part of its torso.”
“Did the robots detect anything inside the cave when those remains were ejected?”
“Negative,” TJ said.
Rade considered his options. “I want the two surviving robots to get as close to the opening as they can, and then to fire repeatedly into the cavern beyond. Target the floor, the ceiling, and shoot into the center of the darkness. Basically, have them try to take out whatever is causing those EMPs.”
