Nemesis (The MechaVerse Trilogy Book 2)

by Jeremy Cunkle

  “I’m sorry, but no, your conclusion is wrong. There are already twice as many humans in Mount Olympus as Drogdyn provided, which is why the current reserves are being strained. On top of that, they now want to double again their nutrient and oxygen supplies, I understood his request perfectly well. There is only one conclusion: parts of the data have intentionally been falsified.”

  Now that got Kurtis’s attention. “What do you mean?”

  “The data provided does not state where all of the humans in the mountain are located, instead simply stating that the needs for three thousand people must be met. The current known strength of the entire StormCrow faction is roughly three thousand humans. Yet the data Drogdyn provided, shows that currently the needs of six thousand people living in the mountain are being met. The goal of this project is to provide enough food and oxygen for twelve thousand people, not six thousand as we were led to believe,” Argos explained patiently, using the same patronizing voice as a teacher who had explained the lesson plan to a particular dimwitted student multiple times.

  “I’m sure there is an easy explanation for the discrepancy. The StormCrows probably sent off a large amount of supplies to Kerrak for the impending siege, draining their reserves. I know our squad has contributed quite substantially as well,” said Kurtis, defending his friend.

  Argos ignored the rebuttal, continuing his case as if Kurtis had never spoken. “Did you know that the area around the research division is cordoned off for miles in every direction, including the use of drilling and sensors required in order to find the best places to drill, and yet there is ample evidence that drilling is occurring nearly continuously in that cordoned off area?”

  “Again, Argos,” Kurtis snapped harshly, this time the irritation at the constant interruptions was clearly present in his tone. “Would you please just crunch the damn numbers? It’s their R&D division, and I’m sure there is an entirely legitimate reason for their decisions. Back on Earth, there was a famous location named Area 51 that did all kinds of secret stuff, and people were always making up rumors about what was happening. In the end, they were almost all wrong. There is an explanation for what is happening in the research division and one that does not concern us.…”

  “Yes, there is an explanation.” Argos interrupted him, acting entirely nonplussed by the continual rebuttals. “More than three thousand people live down in the R&D division. Their oxygen needs cannot be masked, because to do so would lead to them eventually suffocating. I am providing the chart showing their environmental requirements, now. Based off their oxygen needs, the number of habitants in said division has rapidly increased month after month during the last year since Mikkhael’s arrival. The explanation is simple. The StormCrows have a secret.”

  “One which Drogdyn wanted me to see,” Kurtis said, his voice trailing off as he examined the data Argos displayed on his main monitor for him. “I would have missed this if you hadn’t brought it to my attention. Thank you, Argos.”

  “Your gratitude is unnecessary master, but appreciated none-the-less, I think. I believe the question is why Drogdyn wanted you discover that something is happening down in the R&D division.” Argos said.

  “Hack your way in. Let me know when you have the results of why they need so many people.” Kurtis commanded.

  “That was the first thing I tried to do, unsuccessfully I might add. The R&D division is entirely sealed off. All of the data about what goes on inside that location is non-existent, and nowhere in the StormCrow databases is listed any supply or material manifests other than the oxygen needed for their environmental needs,” Argos said.

  “What the hell? Argos, schedule a meeting with the Omnos squad members.” Kurtis commanded, pondering the implications of the new development as he did so.

  * * * * *

  The Omnos squad members met in the hangar, and then filed into the airship they used to fly them and their Mech armor from Earth. The airship was the one place in all Mount Olympus where they could be sure that the StormCrows would have absolutely no way of knowing what they discussed. There were no accusations, no baiting of one another that would normally occur directly before a high-stress meeting like the one they were all anticipating. They trusted each other implicitly, and had been through far too much together to let the stress of an URGENT classified meeting get to them; on top of that, they trusted Kurtis to have a real reason for all the secrecy.

  The small, white, utilitarian room in the airship where they gathered was sparsely furnished, with only a pair of crash crouches and a small table inset into the floor, located in the center of the room. During the trip from Earth, Kurtis and Vera had laid down on each of the couches, strapped into position while the airship broke Earth’s atmosphere. There was just enough room for the four of them to sit down on the pair of narrow, uncomfortable couches, however; Kurtis was so nervous he remained standing.

  Once they were ready, Alyona looked askingly at him, letting him know he could begin at any time, but otherwise the other three Omnos squad members let him take however long he needed to begin speaking. Unable to come up with a better plan, Kurtis began rambling…. “Drogdyn approached me, and asked if our computers had spare processing power to crunch some data for the StormCrows, not an uncommon request, and it seemed perfectly benign. However, in the process of doing so, Argos found something I believe Drogdyn wanted me to find, something that the StormCrows have gone to great lengths to conceal.” As he spoke, Kurtis turned and pointed to the empty far wall across from his friends sitting on the crash crouch. He set a data slate down on the table, which immediately began projecting an image onto the blank wall. “Argos generated this image as a representation of the Mount Olympus layout after we discovered an anomaly in the data Drogdyn provided. The conclusion is clear, there are as many people living down in the R&D division as there are in the entire rest of the mountain, and I have no idea why, or why the StormCrows are going to such lengths to hide their existence. All I know is that Drogdyn wanted me to find this.”

  Alyona and Vera began talking aloud about what it could mean, when Kiryl coughed loudly, turning red as he did so. Immediately, the other three went silent as they stared at him. “You know what’s going on, don’t you?” Vera asked.

  “I have been debating telling you, honestly. Thorsten asked me to keep it a secret, and after some consideration I believe he was right, or else you would have not agreed with the plan which increasingly appears to have been the right course.” Kiryl said, coughing as he nervously cleared his throat again. The vague explanation and attempted deflection of guilt made him no allies in the small room.

  He was about to continue when Vera leveled a bone chilling stare at him, “Well that was ominous,” she stated, letting him know in no uncertain terms that she already had planned where to bury his body, and that no one would ever find it.

  Kiryl paled slightly, and then tried again, “Before I start, the reason I was waiting to tell you was that I needed to confirm something, and I only just received that confirmation. Believe me, I wanted to tell you guys, but it was important to know whether or not my suspicions were correct.” He said, not meeting any of their eyes. “The StormCrows are building a new type of MARS unit down in the R&D division, one that is far more advanced than their Furies or Justices. Not only does it have much more powerful weapons and armor, but the reactor output is more in line with ours than their previous models. The new reactor is still fuel cell based, but the output is almost five times as powerful. You have to understand, that reactor output has been the single greatest limitation of Mech armor from the beginning. By vastly increasing that output, the StormCrows will have numerous paths open up that were once denied them, such as using energy based shielding for their units.”

  After turning the matter over in her head for a moment, Alyona turned to Kurtis. “It makes sense if you think about it. Ultor appears to have always been focused on the end game, taking the fight to the domes and overthrowing the government itself; not just
civil war for the sake of civil war. With the current two models of MARS units the StormCrows use, they lack the ability to finish this fight regardless of how weak the PDF become. It was only natural that they work on developing a solution.”

  “There’s more though,” Kiryl said, bringing the attention back to him. Now that it was time to confess, he did not intend to hold back. “The StormCrow’s didn’t develop the new MARS unit schematic, or the new reactor. Titan did, or rather Titan provided the basis for each of them. I wasn’t able to see many of the details, but after doing some research, I found far too many similarities between our units and the new model that the StormCrows are building. I asked Athena to investigate the matter, discreetly. Yesterday, I received confirmation from her,” he said, pausing a moment to take a breath and collect his thoughts before continuing. “When she reported back, it came as no surprise that Titan’s newest Mech armor model is similar in many ways to the one the StormCrows are building. What’s more, Thorsten claimed there is a city here on Mars named Soteria. He said that it serves as some kind of guiding council for the rebellion. He claims they are the ones that released the designs for the Furies, Justices, and the new MARS model named Salvatore.”

  “So, either Titan has been giving this council more help than anyone thought, from before this whole rebellion started, or …” Alyona said, her voice trailing off as she reached for the next link.

  “Or Titan is behind the entire rebellion here on Mars, and that means our coming here was no accident either,” Vera stated softly.

  “Wait a minute, before we go all out on conspiracy theory tangents,” Kurtis said, turning back to Kiryl. “How many of the new models did you see? When did you see them? Where are they?”

  “Thorsten took me on a brief, guided tour of the R&D division a month ago. It’s huge, there is no other description I can think of. We were not there for long, but during the time, I saw nearly two dozen units in various stages of construction. The tour was short and focused; I only saw a small portion of what is down there. I can’t begin to say how many they are building overall, but I can say with certainty that it will be enough to change the face of this war.” Kiryl explained.

  “Why though did he take you?” Vera asked, not hiding the accusation from her voice that he was singled out.

  “Thorsten needed our fabricators to help the R&D division build parts for the new units. They have a ton of people down there, and all the materials they could ever want after their attack on the mining outpost of Abadon. Thorsten told me their current timeline to complete the new models was in the next two years, but with our fabricators they could shorten that to two months from now.” Kiryl said, pausing to take another breath before continuing, reaching for an explanation that they would understand. “Listen, I know how it looks, but he’s not wrong. None of them are wrong. The Furies and Justices can’t fight against any of the newer PDF generations, let alone the mercenaries, you heard what Drogdyn said in the Officer’s meeting. On top of that, there is ample evidence that the PDF are building not just newly updated Mech armor, but there are plenty of rumors of another new model. It’s time we finally admit what everyone here has always known. The PDF and the rebels are in an arms race, and have been long before we arrived. Both sides are trying their damnedest to get their newest models into the field as rapidly as possible, which will pretty much decide who wins this war.”

  “That’s it!” Alyona practically yelled, scaring the rest of them with the sudden interjection. She looked around at each of them, her eyes blazing brightly with intensity, “The PDF are attacking Kerrak with all of the older model units because of the Titan treaty! The treaty limits the overall numbers of Mech armor the PDF are allowed to have. So before they can produce upgraded models, the PDF need to get rid of the old models or be in breach of the treaty! Titan enforces the treaty by monitoring the overall size of the PDF military, holding the PDF in check by threatening to arm the rebels with their advanced designs and weapons. That leaves only two options for the PDF to rid themselves of the older models: they can chop ‘em up, or put ‘em to use. It’s no surprise General Akari realized that and decided to send all of the older models against Kerrak and the Lazarus faction specifically. It’s a war of attrition, and one the PDF can win.”

  “… and there’s not a damned thing we can do about it,” said Vera. “If we evacuate Kerrak, he’ll just have them attack Mount Olympus. But we can’t just let Kerrak fall undefended. Either way, we have to destroy all of the older Mech armor, which only plays into Akari’s hands.”

  Astonished by the revelations, no one replied. Vera changed tactics, following her statement with a more direct question. “Why are the StormCrows placing so much emphasis on building a new type of MARS unit then if they are fighting against all of these older models still, and why go to all that effort to make it a secret? It seems rather normal to want upgraded military equipment,” Vera asked no one in particular.

  When phrased like that, the matter did seem a little silly to the rest of them, until Alyona answered her, “Because the rebels are going to lose the upcoming battle for Kerrak. Commander Ultor has known that for some time I would wager, based off some of the decisions he has made.” None of them were surprised by her declaration that they would lose; they all recognized how long the odds were. It was not a defeatist outlook, but rather a realistic one. In the fight to come, they were outnumbered over thirty-to-one. Instead, they were all preparing for what would happen after the battle of Kerrak, knowing that what happened next would decide their fate.

  Alyona continued, “Based off what Kiryl said as well as the projected timeline for the battle, the new Salvatore units will not be ready in time to help with defending Kerrak, although they would be powerful additions to that fight. So instead, Ultor will use them as for their PR value after the fight, when they are needed most. Whatever is left of the PDF force attacking Kerrak will almost certainly come here against Mount Olympus. Commander Ultor knows he will need the Salvatore model then more than ever, and he plans on revealing it during that battle.”

  “Just as we will need Mikkhael and the new Starkindler,” Vera said softly.

  “Starkindler will be finished about the same time as the Salvatore model. Most of the fabricating is done. Right now, we need all the help we can get directing the assembly,” Kiryl stated a little too happily now that no one was staring at him accusingly anymore.

  “We’ll continue to split into shifts, making sure that one of us is around Starkindler at all times to help the engineers and technicians piecing it together. Athena has already been watching over them for some time, but it’s past time we became more directly involved. Let’s get it done people. In the meantime, stay frosty, the attack on Kerrak can happen at any time, and I plan on making the PDF pay as high a price as we can when that goes down.” Alyona stood as she issued their orders, naturally bringing the meeting to a close.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN – COUP DE GRACE

  “Hell is empty and all the devils are here” – William Shakespeare

  War. Their new world burned.

  Below them, stretching from one horizon to the other were flames, devils of fire that danced passionately with the knowledge that their lives were short and inconsequential and therefore doing their utmost to make the most of their short lives. After one of the fires died out, great pillars of pitch-black smoke climbed into the stark black sky, the ink colored darkness rolling forth in waves as the columns of smoke swirled ever higher.

  The steady thump of concussions could be heard even through the thick, sound deadening armor of their units. In every direction, a myriad of too-perfect beams of focused laser light fountained forth at random, blossoming into existence with a life span even shorter than the flames of destruction, before snuffing out of existence, their purpose fulfilled. Barely visible vapor trails crossed the sky above it all, aimless clouds floating above the intensifying pandemonium below, drifting on the light wind blowing across that plain of death, uncon
cerned, as they waited for the lack of atmosphere to leech the life from them. Below them, in the midst of the chaos and destruction, little black figures skittered across the ground in every direction, avoiding the flames lest they too erupt amidst the growing conflagration.

  Through it all, the dust permeated everything, rising from the ground with every mechanical footfall, every explosion, and each new death, claiming for its own those who fell and did not rise again. As the battle raged, the dust swirled and pulsed, convulsing with each step across its formless body. Every new explosion lent it substance, helping it take form as the fighting kicked up ever more of the all-pervasive grime and dirt into the air.

  As soon as they landed at the outskirts of the battle, the ground under their feet shook and heaved from the impacts of heavy weapons exploding around them without any sense of logic or pattern. Both contenders in this game of life and conquest used their heavy weapons with complete abandon, doing their utmost to slaughter the other. Neither side flinched or hesitated as the toll of their actions continued to rise. They were as two beasts, horns locked against one another, struggling for dominance.

  Around them, the dust swirled and shook as though the ethereal spirit of the planet writhed with the pain of war and wanton slaughter. Reckless hatred settled upon that place, taking form, becoming spirits that rode upon the backs of the mighty war-machines, driving them forward to continue the orgy of apocalyptic bloodletting, consuming them as they descended further into madness.

  “We’ll never make it to the outpost!” Vera screamed into her mic, nearly panicking at the level of chaos surrounding them.

  “There’s no point in even trying!” Kiryl acknowledged, grunting as he gunned down a pair of Stalkers that suddenly pierced through the dust, their metal forms screaming in madness as they attacked. They ceased to exist in a brilliant wash of explosions that echoed over the plain, joining hundreds of others as they lost their identity amidst the growing sea of dead.