The Recruitment: Rise of the Free Fleet

by Michael Chatfield

  “Right side point here. Cleared our section of the building, seven beings all stunned.”

  “Has any got a suitable collection point for the beings?” I asked.

  “Yes sir we’ve got a storage closet on the straight path in to the command centre.” The team leader for left side said.

  “Good work.” My HUD showed I had an incoming communication from the support weapons Commander I quickly changed over as I noticed the firing had stopped.

  Vehicles are disabled and we launched a comm. unit to them as close as possible. It’s amongst the disabled vehicles but the remaining vehicles have pulled back.”

  “Understood, start moving your people to the roof of the plant to cover the entire area.”

  “Sir.”

  “This is left side, we are clear, entire power plant is cleared and secured.”

  “Good, get in defensive positions Squad Commanders over watch it.”

  I connected to the comm. unit that the support group had launched via special launcher to the convoy.

  “Hello I want to talk about the release of the operators of this power plant.” I said my translator still set on translating the language I found on the machines; hopefully it was the same as these reaction forces spoke.

  “This is Major Luret, what are your demands and what is your name?” He said gruffly, it was a fifty/fifty if someone was going to pick up the comm. unit.

  “My name is Commander Salchar,” Well I had to look somewhat official feeling a little guilty at using not only my gamer name but the given ‘rank’ by the others I knew. Though it had nothing behind it but bluster I doubted he could figure that out on the other end of a comm. unit.

  “I wish to discuss the release of the power plant personnel into your care.”

  “What do you want in return pirate?” He said in a disgusted tone.

  “Information.”

  “What kind of information.”

  I needed to go out on a limb and if he reported higher I could have the support squad in over watch kill him before he did anything.

  I pulled up the sensors on the shuttle and the Mechas making an image of the Major. He looked humanoid like every alien I’d seen but with scaly skin like that of the shuttle pilot but with a larger snouted head. These aliens looked similar to standing crocodiles without tails and much smaller heads.

  “Sensor reports on the ships in orbit as well as shuttle ones. I will also need a complete training cycle for all positions. Also any news articles pertaining to us.”

  “Want to show off the slaughtering scum you are.” He spat.

  “Good, then you can send it to us, you have five minutes. I have a short period here between where they’re alive and they might be dead.” I didn’t expand why this might happen as I changed channels to one called holding team.

  “Have you got the personnel?”

  “Yes Commander.”

  “Alright get them to the door closest to the disabled vehicles.”

  “We don’t have gravity carts to move them and they’re heavy bastards.”

  “Well wake them up but keep a guard on them so they don’t get any ideas.”

  “We can do that sir, could I get some more people to assist.”

  “I’ll send what I can.” I switched channels.

  “Organize a party to assist the right raiding squad in moving the prisoners.”

  “Sir.” I changed back to the channel with the Major on it.

  “Once I give you back your people there will be a perimetre of fifty kilometres around this power plant. Anyone coming inside will be killed. Air traffic is to be kept back two hundred kilometres and not above us. If you bring in artillery we will destroy it. Understood?”

  “Yes.”

  “Do you have my data?”

  “Transmitting.”

  “Holding team, point them in the direction of the disable vehicles and let them go.”

  “Prisoners will be released momentarily.” I said as I confirmed them transmitting data I collected.

  The flow suddenly stopped as I received all of the information. At the same time I saw the still bound group of fifteen aliens running for the vehicles for all they were worth.

  “Alright team leaders work out shifts.” I said on the general push as I accessed the command chat.

  “So anyone new in here?” Rick answered as I felt a little bit of stress come off my shoulders.

  “We’ve got into contact with eighty percent of the human battalion and gaining more connections. Though some people are isolated like you in power stations with no interaction with other Commandos. We’ll gain contact with them when we get back on our ships. Though we’ve been able to make a better roster for all of the people we have.” Min Hae supplied leaving out the assumption that we were leaving Chaleel.

  “Good, and it’s good to hear you two again, the straight text messages just aren’t the same. I have a personal favor; have we found the members of MT?” I asked nervously, knowing that I was putting my people ahead of the others as I promised to myself that I wouldn’t.

  “Yes we have.”

  Bok Sook spoke up. “We also found that all of SR is here too. As we’ve found with our own crews everyone is between ten and twenty in decent shape, mostly MAT players, military, or physically inclined in some fashion. We were mostly taken from Korea, Japan and the coast of Canada and America. It also seems we have a smattering of Australians. Loud bastards though.” Bok Sook said with feeling.

  “Do we know whose individual ship leaders, commanders and the like are?”

  “Not yet. There are a lot of competitive groups among the ships humans vying for power.” Rick said.

  “Great.” I knew that they were going to pick the biggest and baddest groups to lead their ships. Though it made my position more insecure as they’d have their eyes on my position, wanting to gain more power. When I could I needed to set up a real chain of command in the other ships. Though without physically being there, it was going to be problematic.

  “What’s the status of our disablers?” Bok Sook asked.

  “There’s heavy fighting in the city and not all of the other ships got stun rounds. There’s been bloodshed but there’s nothing we can do about that now.” Rick answered, he was jacked into what was going on way more than me and Bok Sook were.

  I felt guilt sweep through me, I quelled it there would be time for that later, now I had to keep my people alive. I’d find out later how bad it had been.

  “Alright just tell him to get what we need as fast as possible and then bug out. I’ve gotten the information I requested from the natives of the planet. I’m transmitting it to you, spread it out, we’ll want copies. Also seeing how long we’re here we’ll begin training.” I saw another channel was open.

  “Have to go, Officer’s calling.” I cut their channel opening the requesting channel.

  “Yes officer Turek?”

  “I see on sensors that the personnel of the facility have been released.”

  “Yes sir the major was adamant when I requested that we get a perimetre fifty kilometres wide in all directions and clear airspace.”

  “You should have sent a few to show good faith, not all of them!”

  “I’m sorry sir I didn’t think of that.” He sighed annoyed but expectantly.

  “You’ve just come out of basic its expected you’ll be nothing more than a moron.”

  “Yes sir. The men are wondering how long we’ll be staying here.”

  “It was dependent on how long it would take us to hold these power plants. Now with them in our hands we’ll just have to wait for a smaller fleet to arrive and take custody of the planet. They’ll be able to eradicate any terrorist activity and help the authorities turn this planet back into a contributing free planet.” He said proudly as I winced inside. While I knew it wasn’t the Sarenmenti’s fault for their current position. I didn’t want to include them in my plan, due to their devotion to the PDF. If I added them, then there was that many
more people who could potential tell the ship’s crew, stopping us before we’d begun.

  I just hoped that if we did get ourselves free that the Sarenmenti would see the truth, and listen, instead of becoming closer to the Syndicate even more. I needed every soul I could get behind me, if it was human, Sarenmenti, Kuruvian or otherwise.

  “Yes sir. I will let them know, should we set up shifts. My species require frequent feeding and regular sleep periods as well as periods of activity.”

  “Alright you know your own species better than I do—continue on. I’ll be around to keep an eye on you and drop in at random times to make sure people aren’t slacking that should be working.”

  “Yes sir.” I changed to a general channel to every human connected to the network we’d created.

  “Alright listen up, we don’t know how long we’ll be on planet, we’ll be waiting for another fleet of ships to arrive and take over from us. In the meantime everyone will be doing sleep lessons and lessons in the field. Squads without a leader are to designate one by fair vote, or one will be picked for you. Leaders and Commanders—create shifts as well as training schedules based upon what you have. Salchar out.”

  Reports filed in slowly from the groups around the planet on their readiness. I felt myself grin as I sat in my room. Finally we were getting somewhere it seemed. Someone kept on checking on me at irregular intervals no doubt checking to make sure I hadn’t gone and disappeared.

  After being away from everyone for a few hours as the flood of reports slowed I picked myself up moving to the area around the shuttle where everyone was training in the time we had. We only worked on our hand to hand combat and weapons drills. No one was to train at the new station simulations such as sensors tactical or any of that. I didn’t need the Sarenmenti’s finding out we knew how to work something other than a Mecha.

  Yasu saw me as I walked out into the open area.

  “Here I’ll show you how to do an arm bar.” She said her eyes alight as she caught me.

  I didn’t like the sound of that as I turned beating a hasty retreat for the firearms training area.

  “Salchar could you help me demonstrate?” She said, he voice like honey. While her eyes flashing in malice.

  Crap. This is going to hurt. I said a smile on my face as I cringed inside.

  “Yes baby.” Her eyes told me she was going to get me back for my words.

  You just had to provoke her.

  I removed my sword and the rest of the battle rattle I had as I walked into a drawn in the sand corridor. The other Commandos spread around to get a better view of the fight—all of them grinning. Sadistic bastards.

  “Advance.” Yasu said, breaking of my line of thinking as I forget everything else letting my body relax as I stepped inside the ‘corridor’.

  I bowed Yasu a little shocked as she mirrored me. Yes I know how to fight honourably in Japan as well as every other damned country. I raised my fists as I studied her.

  She stood facing me with her hands at her side a look of confidence and gloating. She thought she was better than me in hand to hand, and I was going to have to take her down. Though it meant I would have to actually fight, and not let her get the arm bar as she wanted. I wouldn’t get her respect by going down like a twerp.

  I advanced.

  She responded with a flurry of fists I blocked as she pounded on. She still wasn’t used to her Mecha I could tell as her hits were coming lighter than what the Mecha could put out. I rocked with the blows and the kicks which made me stagger instead of falling on my ass. What she lacked in the Mechas power she made up for in speed and number of blows she landed—she was pissed.

  She jumped backwards as I brought my leg up in a kick aimed at her groin. But my practice spent using my nerve ports to change my power output over the manual controls paid off. Her grin disappeared as just my toe made contact with her Mecha—but with all of the Mechas servos behind it.

  She was thrown into the air as I jumped forward. I went to land a punch on her shoulder but she turned, grabbing my arm and planting her feet in my shoulder.

  The change of weight made me stumble as I used the clamps on my boots thankfully staying upright. I tried to curl the arm she was on but her legs fought me. Well she got me into an arm bar. I granted as my Mechas joints screeched at the pressure of being pulled apart and my arm felt as if it was going to snap from the pressure.

  I jumped landing on her, using my free right hand to pound on her shoulders. Still she held on like the hellcat she was. I could feel the muscles and bones in my arm straining as well as the actual armour of my Mecha and the exoskeleton underneath.

  I felt something twist awkwardly and release as my world became blinding pain in my arm. I thought about tapping—for a second, and then pain infused rage rook over. I looked at Yasu I could see that she’d felt my arm come out of its socket.

  “You can stop.” She said over suit to suit comms.

  “No.” I growled as I controlled my arm through my nerve ports, the exoskeleton acting like my own bone and muscle as I threw myself on my right. She still held on as I picked myself up. She applied more pressure. I tasted blood as I bit into my lip rising to my feet. I squatted as I got low she released her legs from around my arm and her hands off of my own.

  You’re not getting away that easily. I grabbed her collar as I Jumped, wrenching her around as my shoulder was on fire. Only Taleels constant use of the pain implants making me able to bear the pain. I flipped her, my fully weight falling on her.

  I took a few breaths. Idiot. Pulling her apart in hand to hands stupid. You need her to train the others. I said selfishly as I rolled off of her before taking a knee and tapping the ground. I bowed to her, as she did too, getting out of her fighting stance. I didn’t see if she’d completed it as I opened my visor.

  “And that is how you get out of an arm bar. Arm bars are good for any race as enough pressure and that arm is useless unless they can use their nerve ports properly. Something all of you should focus on.” I looked around getting some nods back as I grinned.

  “Well then, I need to go and check on the weapons training.”

  Slowly I grabbed the battle rattle I’d put on the ground thankful for the exoskeleton and nerve ports. Without them then the others would see the extent of my injuries. I moved my arm trying to get a feel for how bad it was. YEAH! Definitely dislocated. I winced as I jarred it.

  I did as I said and looked in on the troops working with the weapons team, I was thankful I’d put two teams of them in each squad not only giving us shooters we could rely on but also the ability to train at any point in time. They were worth their weight in gold; I watched as they went through FISEH. It was pronounced fish but stood for; fighting in someone else’s house, when I first heard the term explained more than one person had broken out grinning.

  “Are you interested in having a go commander?” One of the trainers asked as I watched.

  I wanted to say no and that I was in need of relocating my damned shoulder instead my mouth worked before I could think.

  “If you’ve got room for me.” A grin on my face. Cocky asshole, this trying to look like a leader thing is for the dogs. I groaned, inwardly hoping that the trainer would say they didn’t.

  “Always commander, the stack going in could use another man.” He said pointing to them.

  I nodded to him as I slapped my rifle into the dislocated arms hand jarring pain travelling up my arm. I hid my wince as I thought about the stupid situations my big mouth had gotten me into. Dreading how much work would pile up as I was working on my fighting skills.

  I wanted to be a damnde good solider, but a leader had to learn how to look at the overall strategy, not just develop their personal skills. I was good with my soldiering, but I was only use to commanding three others, not twenty thousand others.

  I tagged onto the back of a stack; with nothing much else to do until someone had an urgent emergency.

  I found a quiet corner that I slumped in
after I’d been training for three hours of FISEH no sooner had my ass hit ground than Yasu walked in. I made to stand up as she put a finger to my chest, stopping me.

  “Out of your Mecha—now.”

  “I don’t think now is the time…”

  “armour off, now.” Her brooking no argument.

  I grunted as I pulled my helmet off. My grunts quickly turned to gasps as I tried to undo the straps that connected my shoulders to the Mecha.

  “You dislocated your arm didn’t you?” I didn’t reply lying there trying to ease the pain.