“He hasn’t slept since he got here.”
“Give him a shot of this.” Eddie produced a bag of wake-up vials.
“But…”
“Do it Shrift he has work to do, don’t want a slacker leading us.” With that he stood hefting his belt as he went to sort out some problem as Shrift stood and walked back to his armouries.
***
I woke with a start as a data pad hit me in the stomach. Cursing and leaning to one side from the pain that curled my toes I eyed Yasu’s face. Anger evident on my distorted face. Any emotion on her face turning to stone before I could understand it. With a breath my posture returned as I couldn’t do anything but pick myself up and slowly go to the head, every movement making me call out in pain.
I pressed the tab of the battle suit finding that my stomach’s scar had opened. I breathed rapidly feeling shock coming on. In my haze I saw Shrift had sent the message.
I splashed water on my face in an attempt to cool myself, seeing my white clammy face in the mirror. I pressed the tab on my battle suit again, moaning in pain. After a few seconds I started moving. Yasu watched me sitting bolt upright as I swayed through the doorway and used the walls to hold myself up as I got to the armoury, thankfully no one saw me as I found Shrift inside.
“I’m sorry I woke you, I…”
I fell to my knees rolling on my back.
“James!”
“Get me a hell fire!” I yelled as I pressed the tab on my battle suit. Yeah it’s open and bleeding and I don’t even want to know what that is.
Shrift pushed it to me, his hands shaking.
“You’re going to have to stick me I can’t do it. Just put it as close to the wound as possible.” I said as I lay there looking at the ceiling as Shrift looked at my stomach.
“Do it!” Startled he stabbed my stomach the injector pushing its contents out as the hell fire took control of my muscles. I went as stiff as a board unable to cry out, tears in my eyes as my veins and body felt as if it was on fire.
“Hold the sides together.” I was able to grunt out as the pain was focusing around it. My body was slowly unclenching other than the wounded area. I felt even more tired than when I had gone to sleep.
Shrift did so as the skin came back together like it was two sides of a zipper.
I laid there looking at the ceiling for a few minutes.
“Thanks Shrift.”
“N…no problem.” He sat back, leaning against a Mecha rack, looking at my stomach. I breathed a few times, feeling good enough to stand as I pressed the battle suits tabs, sealing me up.
I stayed on the floor as I talked.
“So what did you want to tell me?”
“In eight Earth days we will make planet fall, a full planetary invasion. Your people need to be ready.”
“Shit. Can I have my data pad with a calendar and a clock on it, Earth style?”
My data pad beeped, Resilient had heard me.
“Why haven’t you done something before now?” I asked looking at Shrift, who finally looked back at me instead of my stomach.
“The Sarenmenti have been doing this for so long that they’re mostly born into the service, they live to serve and fight. They’ve been accustomed to this life. We aren’t fighters by any stretch of the imagination, we can fire weapon systems and the like but we don’t have the build or the inclination to fight in hand to hand. No matter what information the Sarenmenti are given they will fight for the defence force no matter what.
“Humans can fight and can fight well, plus in this force there are more of you than there are Sarenmenti which puts things to our advantage.”
“What are your plans afterwards if this is true and we win?”
“Well then I’m not sure.” He said looking rather stumped.
“I think I can help with that.”
“What are you thinking of?”
“Making them pay.” I said coldly as Shrift shivered at my tone.
“Indeed.”
***
She didn’t know what Salchar had been up to the past few days which kept him away from her so often. Training had started again and in a big way. There was weapons training, boarding and disembarking shuttles and anything else we could think of, or learn through sleep training. People were wearing Mechas all the time, there was now a clock on the data pads and people could communicate to one another through a forum chat room which was filled with information about training and allowed people to ask questions, or talk to people on the ship, or even on the Carrier War Drop and the Battleship Sun blazer. She knew that Salchar was behind it somehow, and the others talked about him in revered tones.
No one bitched about the training, everyone knew it would keep them alive. It also helped that it didn’t pit us against one another, but force us to help one another to become better. Friendships and relationships were quickly made, as everyone started coming together.
Yasu participated, but it was half-hearted. She knew most of the things she was being taught. All the training did was give her awkward moments when there was something partners should do together and Yasu didn’t have a partner. Then there were the times she went to the mess she felt an odd feeling of, awkwardness as she looked at the couples that went everywhere with one another as she was alone.
All she had gotten in the days since he’d disappeared was a text message asking her if she could run a hand to hand tutorial. She hadn’t replied but a few days later one of the younger Mechas asked her to teach her to defend herself. She had no doubt that Salchar had told the little girl to say that, but Yasu couldn’t call herself a warrior if she didn’t abide by her code.
So she started teaching hand to hand for half of the day. Wandering around to see if there was anything that looked interesting which she could join in on, or something she didn’t know.
These were just distractions until she got back to her empty room. Left to ponder, with most of the other couples after the action aboard the ship they’d relieved their pent up stress of battle with one another.
When they’d finished the assault her husband had ignored her yet again. He slighted her by sleeping on the floor, as if he was disgusted to share a bed with her.
She’d been woken up by his data pad beeping. Annoyed she’d thrown it at him her face had registered shock as it hit him in the stomach and the battle suit crimped as if trying to stop a wound bleeding. His face showing pure rage as her mask had descended.
She could see the signs of blood loss as he practically crawled into the head in so much pain. She’d been in shock as he came out, his face deathly white as he stayed out of the doorway. She’d rushed to the door seeing him go into the armouries; falling to his knees she felt her heart quiver. Shrift rushed over with a needle as the armouries doors closed.
She stayed awake waiting even as the lights turned off to signal the night cycle and then back on to recognize the day. She wanted to say sorry, that she hadn’t meant to. She didn’t want to track him down in public and announce his wound to the world. She’d asked Shrift later how he was; he looked mortified as he said Salchar was fine before he went to do something else.
She wanted to tell him how he was enough of a warrior to not warrant that shame. Just as she was thinking he might warrant it for making her wait so long her implants and the speakers of the Mecha living quarters came to life.
“All Mecha units are to assemble in the hangar.”
She picked herself up tiredly checking her clothes were in order as she came out of her quarters blending in with the other battle suit wearing humans as they were greeted by a group of Sarenmenti with one standing on a pedestal and less than twenty standing around it, waiting for them to all file in.
She looked around the room seeing Shrift before she saw James beside him. Salchar she reminded herself with a cold voice her eyes becoming hard as he felt her stare turning and locking stares with her. Anger pain and annoyance filled his eyes before he quickly looked away as if he hadn’t seen her.
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Anger filled her with his flippant ways. Did she want to be his wife! No! Yet they were married she vowed to make him understand his duties to her as his wife. Any thought of apologies for opening his wound lost.
“My name is officer Drask. I will be in charge of the two Mecha platoons on this ship.” He said as the last of the four thousand Mechas walked in.
“These will be your platoon officers in charge of you.” He signalled to the Sarenmenti around him with a wave. Then the room darkened as a holographic projector behind him fired up and a dust bowl of a world appeared in mid-air eliciting a few gasps as most humans hadn’t seen more than a few holographic image and none this big or detailed.
“In two days’ time we’ll be dropping onto Planet 3247. We’ve been tasked with taking the power stations on the planet. Our forces will be compromised of the battalion of humans currently in service, with support from the shuttle craft and the fleet” The planet expanded showing power stations highlighted on the planet as well as population centres usually hundreds of kilometres away.
***
He had my full attention, my annoyance at Yasu’s cold stare forgotten as my mind was working.
Twenty thousand humans are in the Mecha corps. We need to ramp up training with rifles and swords then. Squad, Platoon and even Company drills and methods to attack the enemy on flat terrain. I thought as he continued to talk.
“You will be armed, but remember your commanders will have a kill switch on them, any attempt on their life will mean you and your mate will die.” Drask said in a bored tone.
Great if I died the ice mistress was going to follow me into hell. Putting that chilling thought to the back of my head pulled out a data pad sending messages to a few of the names on my data pad as a rough group of four hundred got messages and stayed behind as the rest of the Mechas left. The Sarenmenti stared at us for a few minutes before shaking their heads, probably putting it down to a human quirk, even if a Kuruvian was beside me facing the u-shape that the others had taken.
Waiting till they left I started talking.
“We need to ramp up training, as you can see we have minimal time to get our people ready.”
“What made you boss?” One man asked.
“He’s Salchar you idiot.” Another barked, the other man chastised as he looked at me with wide eyes.
“Well because needs must, if any of you think you can do a better job, please take over.” I said opening my arms open.
Oddly no one put their hands up.
“No one could.” Henry said, nods coming from around the U.
“Well you’re all smarter than me, that’s for sure.” I said glumly as they chuckled good naturedly.
“Anyone with something that will help us in this specific task bring it to your commanders. Also anyone that has been involved with intelligence gathering, hacking, and computer systems or had good technical, engineering or trade skills is to meet me in armoury four.”
“Henry is the organization table satisfactory?”
“Yes sir. Wish we had more than just our ship and that of Bok Soo and Rick.”
“We’ll just have to manage.” I shrugged as he nodded.
“That table is how things will remain until later. Make sure that there are clear lines of authority if someone goes down.” Henry nodded soberly.
“Yes commander.”
“Also I’m going to have a video setup in one of the maintenance hubs, all squads are to see it. It makes a few things make more sense.” I gave them a look that I hoped instilled the importance of the documentary they were about to see that Eddie had scrambled together. When are we going to show them the video?” Instead of first aid I’m going to have you run your squads into the maintenance hubs I showed you and watch it. Answer any questions they have and direct them to the locked forums for question. Make sure they don’t discuss what they saw with others, as they might not have watched it already. Anything else?”
They nodded that there wasn’t.
“Alright then see to your squads.” I gave them the two finger lazy salute. I don’t know how it had come to be, but that and head bowing were how respect was shown, instead of the rigid salutes of the military back on Earth.
I guessed it made us look as if we were playing soldiers, I didn’t care.
Chapter Vacations over
“Well that was interesting.” Shrift said as I entered the armoury.
“Yes and it also means you’re going to have a lot of people using Mecha’s to run through weapons drills.”
He sighed in annoyance, “I wish we had those simulation units but only spec ops get those.” He groaned as he unlocked the racks of Mechas.
I pulled the universal jack from the data pad connecting it to my internal port on my neck. I downloaded all of the video and audio from myself I’d got in the meeting and with my own people before sending it through the chat room to Bok Soo and Rick.
The forum and chat room piggybacked the signals of the dreadnought out to the other nine ships updating on every connected human owned data pad. Resilient had flashed a message the first time she made contact with the data pads once I’d come back from the boarding action. A few had signed in with their name, ship and armoury. A few had ignored it, but more and more were joining the network, solving our communication issues.
Shrift had told me that the Kuruvians used similar systems to transmit information and talk to their family members on other ships as such all of them were in the loop.
I looked up as a small group entered the armoury, heading towards me.
“Uhh excuse me but what are we here for?” A man asked as I sat there sending a message to Henry’s data pad.
“Well you’re here to organize them, good initiative.” I said with a smile looking up from my data pad, the man obviously wishing he didn’t speak now as he looked at the others in the room now looking at him expectantly.
“What do you need us to do Commander?” He asked after a few moments of collecting himself.
“What’s your name?”
“Felix.” I pulled the data pads cord out of my neck, a few looking away as the cable retracted into the data pad.
“Felix I need the engineering associated people and those who know computers and intelligence gathering in two separate groups, in say five minutes. If you don’t get this done in five minutes I’ll have someone replace you.” I said with a happy smile as I went back to my data pad.
With a lot of shouting and moving Felix had the group broken into two in three minutes.
“Good now there are four squads that will be coming through here in,” I consulted my data pad which contained the training schedule of the ship. “Four minutes. Felix who are your leaders?”
“Min Hae will be in charge of the intelligence group. I will be in charge of the engineering group.”
Most of the people that had been taken from the Earth had been from Korea, Japan, China, and the west coast of America and Canada. It was where the training station had been when their collectors had dropped down, recruiting, us.
They needed people, they didn’t care where they came from.
Thankfully with the implanted translators the language barrier had been negated and most things had been hammered out with what I thought to be the best of all the cultures coming together.
Anything like problems like being annoyed someone that wasn’t from your area in the world was in charge of you had disappeared, there was no time to worry about things like that when we were all just trying to survive. Prejudice would usually result with a boot to the head and someone telling you to pull your head out of your ass. It was work together, or die.
“Alright, Shrift.” I wrote a message on my data pad holding it to him as he shook his head in the negative and I continued.
“First we’re going to watch a little movie, follow me.”
I took them through to the maintenance hub. I hooked in my data pad and began playing the video documentary as I secured the hatches and doo
rs. The people in the room looked at me in question as I took a seat and watched the movie with them. At first a younger Eddie appeared.
“Hello there, I am the chief Engineer of the Resilient, known to you possibly as the Golden Refuge. Now hold onto your manipulators less they fly off.” He said as he began with the history that we had all been taught, then he continued with videos, files he’d scrounged up that depicted the battles as the Syndicate attacked the PDF. Eventually leading to the rise of the Syndicate as well as the destruction of so much technology and information, which seemed to be the largest thing Eddie focuses on. He was only Kuruvian after all.
Then he continued on with how the PDF started to expand to fill its menial roles. How it took the barely cave dwelling Sarenmenti and forced them into the warriors that they were. How they’d done the same with the Kuruvians, all of them told the same lie. Making all of the ‘recruits’ all but slaves in name. He talked on how the races were matched together in an attempt for them to mate, then they would have their children taken away only to be trained from birth to be a member of the PDF, making the later generations of recruits fanatics for the group that had given them a home and filled their minds with propaganda.
The Recruitment: Rise of the Free Fleet Page 20
