by Jake Bible
“Tiny,” Wall said.
A small snout that was covered in wriggling tentacles pushed two fern-like plants aside. Huge, wide set eyes regarded the clearing. The creature let out a startled squeak and was gone.
“Pursue?” wall asked.
“No, stay put,” Chomps said. “We’re gonna hang for fifteen then send the MPT back up to Stony.”
“I’m not sold on that plan,” Gore said. “Seriously, Chomps. The idea of being stranded down here makes my insides get all squishy.”
“That’s just your shit for brains,” Giga said.
“Nice one,” Shock said.
“Funny,” Gore responded. “No, I mean it.”
“Noted,” Chomps said. “We all saw what the xenos can do to a drop ship. I don’t think having the MPT will make much difference. It will make a difference to Stony so he can haul parts to the Jethro. I’d rather he hurried that along so the whole crew can ditch this system if we need to rather than keeping the MPT down here in case one of you gets spooked.”
“Don’t bring us into this,” Wall said. “Gore’s the one whining.”
“Gore’s always the one whining,” Shock said.
“Son of a butch,” Giga said.
“What the hell, people?” Gore responded. “What’s with the ganging up on Gore shtick?”
“Movement on me,” Roar said. “Big.”
“How big?” Chomps asked.
“Big,” Roar said.
“I’m coming to you,” Chomps said and moved quickly up behind Roar. She swung her rifle in a left-right sweep then took a knee next to Roar. “I see it. It is big.”
“You all feeling that?” Shock asked.
“I do,” Wall said. “Big enough to shake the ground.”
“It’s moving fast,” Roar said. She did bring her rifle up to her shoulder, but that was her style. “Gonna hit us in twenty seconds. Chomps?”
“Hold,” Chomps said. “We aren’t gonna start killing the local fauna just because. We need a reason.”
“Self-preservation?” Roar said.
“We can handle whatever it is,” Chomps said.
“Xeno?” Giga asked.
“Doesn’t match,” Roar said. “Something else. Putting off a huge amount of heat. I mean huge. Take a look.”
The scan was sent instantly to the other mechs.
“It could be angry,” Wall said.
“Or scared,” Shock said.
“I don’t like either of those options,” Roar said.
“Hold,” Chomps ordered.
“I am, don’t you worry,” Roar said.
The thing burst from the tree line and headed straight for Roar and Chomps. It skidded then reared up, a dozen multi-jointed limbs whipping about in the air as its chitinous body clicked and clacked, segments of insectoid armor flexing in on each other. While a dozen limbs were whipping about, another dozen were firmly planted in the dirt and greenery, giving the thing a distinct millipede look. Except for the massive sets of double pinchers that extended from what could only be assumed, because of position, was its head.
“Hold,” Chomps said
“I’m holding,” Roar replied, her voice calm as steel.
The thing twisted, each segment moving with a fluidity that contradicted the creature’s size. Then all legs fell to the ground and it ran to the left, destroying the foliage in its way as it disappeared back into the jungle.
“Chomps,” Roar said.
“I see it,” Chomps replied.
The xeno came from the same direction as the massive insectoid. It was easily four times the size of the ones that had been on the Dorso. Easily.
Roar and Chomps opened fire, the KYAG lasers slicing and dicing the xeno into smaller chunks. The two mechs kept firing until those smaller chunks became even smaller and stopped wiggling about. They stopped firing at the same time and watched as some of the smaller chunks turned to gunk then dissolved into the ground while others dissipated into the air, there then gone.
“Talk to me!” Chomps called.
“Clear!” Wall said.
“Clear!” Shock said.
“Clear!” Giga said.
“I’m not seeing anything, Chomps,” Gore said. “I’m sending deep scans into the jungle and there is no more motion and nothing hotter than a banana tree.”
“They have bananas here?” Shock asked.
“No, Shock, they do not have bananas here,” Gore said. “I was using that for a size comparison.”
“I wouldn’t use a banana when comparing size,” Giga said. “You’ll lose, Gore.”
“I hate both of you,” Gore said.
“It had that bug scared,” Roar said.
“I know,” Chomps said.
“That was a big bug,” Roar said.
“I know,” Chomps said.
The pilots were quiet for a while as they waited and watched.
“Alright,” Chomps said. “Sending the MPT back.”
She activated the autopilot and the vehicle began its liftoff procedure. The mechs didn’t move from their positions. They simply hunkered down as the MPT’s engines sent flames shooting out from underneath then shot up into the sky in one fast launch.
“What’s the call, Chomps?” Gore asked. “We bringing SpecCom down yet?”
“Not yet,” Chomps said. “Let’s get through a night first.”
“Recon?” Roar asked.
“We keep our position,” Chomps said. “Stick to the LZ. If we can hold our position through the night, then we’ll call down SpecCom and start recon.”
“Copy that,” Roar said.
5.
Night came and went, hurried away by a dawn that was glaringly bright. Hrouska’s night sky was not filled with an abundance of stars nor any moons, so when its sun rose in the morning, it was a bit of an ocular affront.
“I’d hate to have a hangover on this planet,” Roar said and yawned as she dimmed her display.
“Burn your eyes right out of their sockets,” Giga said.
“Great,” Gore said. “Right when I’m off watch and can grab some shut eye.”
“You grabbed shut eye earlier in the night,” Chomps said. “Suck it up, buttercup.”
“Is that one of your pet names for him?” Giga asked.
“I’d think it would be butterfly,” Shock said. “Because he’s so fragile.”
“Buttercups are flowers,” Giga said. “Those are fragile too.”
“And both are extinct, so who cares?” Gore replied.
“Extinct? Well, I’ll be a son of a butch,” Giga said. “I didn’t know that. Did you, Shock?”
“Plants and animals extinct? On Earth? What a tragedy!” Shock said. “Someone should do something about it. Like a few hundred years ago.”
“Permission to piss in the wild,” Roar said.
“You sure?” Chomps replied.
“If you all cover me,” Roar said. “I don’t want to piss in the cradle. Mine isn’t filtering the smell out like it used to. It keeps my jumpsuit clean, but the smell won’t go away.”
“Have Hawker take a look when you’re back up on the Jethro,” Chomps said. “Probably a simple air filter switch out.”
“She says she has better things to do than worry about my delicate sniffer,” Roar replied. “Her words.”
“I’ll talk to her,” Chomps said. “And permission granted. You want to hop out and pop a squat, be my guest.”
“Excellent,” Roar said.
She crouched her mech low and the cockpit hatch raised up with a hiss of hydraulics. Roar carefully climbed out of the cradle, stretched, then swung her legs over the edge of the cockpit and climbed onto a bent leg then clambered down into the dirt. She pulled her sidearm and studied the jungle for a minute before she holstered the pistol and unzipped her jumpsuit. She stepped out and squatted, sighing with relief as she pissed.
“That looks like it feels good,” Shock said. “Chomps?”
“One at a time, people,” Chom
ps said.
It took them a good half hour before everyone got some relief and they were back in their mechs.
“Good morning, Jethro,” Chomps called to the bridge. “How you doing up there?”
“We are bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, Chomps,” Wan replied over the comms. “Good to hear your voice. What’s the sitrep?”
“We held the LZ through the night,” Chomps said. “All mechs accounted for. Only that one xeno so far.”
“I’ll inform the Boss,” Wan said. “Are you giving the all clear for SpecCom deployment?”
“I’d say send one drop ship down first,” Chomps said. “Let’s see what that does. I don’t trust these xenos. They could be waiting for soldiers in armor to munch on. The mechs may be too much trouble.”
“I will let Schroeder know,” Wan said. “I’m sure she’ll volunteer her team for first landing.”
“I’m sure she will,” Chomps said. “We’ll be waiting.”
Chomps cut the comms and slowly turned her mech in a circle, scanning the jungle around the LZ.
“I don’t feel lucky,” Chomps stated.
“Agreed,” Roar said. “Only one of those things comes at us? Smells fishy.”
“Especially when they tore the Dorso’s infantry to shreds within seconds,” Gore said.
“You think they know what our mechs are?” Giga asked.
“Not specifically, no,” Chomps answered. “But I’m guessing they know heavy firepower when they see it. We aren’t soldiers in battle armor. We’re a lot bigger.”
“Should we go for a hunt?” Shock asked.
“Recon?” Roar asked.
“You people just can’t wait to get into another fight,” Chomps said and laughed. “Yeah, let’s do some recon.”
She brought up her display and studied the map of Hrouska that hovered in the vid. Four points of interest flashed red.
“The closest drop zone that was taken out is about thirty kilometers to the north,” Chomps said. “Roar, you and Shock can go have your look. I want regular check-ins over comms.”
“Every five?” Roar asked.
“Every ten is fine,” Chomps said. “Then report when you hit the drop zone. I want vid feed and personal impressions. Don’t leave anything out, no matter how small you think it is. We are down here to be thorough so our little SpecCom friends don’t bite it.”
“If we’re engaged?” Roar asked.
“Then we kick some xeno ass,” Shock said.
“Hooyah,” Giga said.
“Hooyah,” Shock replied.
“Defend, but do not pursue,” Chomps said. “I want that clear. These things are smart. If they come at you, then do a fast retreat; it’s most likely a trap.”
“Copy that,” Roar said. “Shock?”
“Set and ready,” Shock said. “Lead the way.”
The two mechs lifted their KYAGs up and proceeded to shove into the jungle’s ample foliage. It was a good few minutes before the noise they made was lost to the others.
“You want us to go take a look at one of the other drop zones or the escape pod, Chomps?” Gore asked.
“No,” Chomps said. “One at a time. We spread ourselves thin and those things will hit us. It’s what I’d do.”
“Roger,” Gore said. “Can I set some defensive mines while we wait?”
“Good call,” Chomps said. “Give us a one-hundred-meter depth. That’s enough room for SpecCom to maneuver when they get here and take over the LZ.”
“How many of us are going to scout the drop zones and how many are going to stay with Schroeder?” Giga asked.
“We have the LZ and four drop zones to cover,” Chomps said. “That’s too thin for my liking. We’ll base here and run recon in two mech teams.”
“That’s gonna take a lot of time,” Giga said, “sending us out and back, out and back.”
“No choice,” Chomp said. “We string out and we’ll get cut up fast. Strength in numbers is how I see it.”
“You’re in charge,” Giga said and shrugged. She actually shrugged her mech’s shoulders which was not easy to do.
“Yes, I am,” Chomps said. “Wall?”
“Yeah?” Wall replied.
“See if you can clear us some more space,” Chomps said. “Add another fifty meters to the LZ’s radius, will ya?”
“Gladly,” Wall said. “I could use some rip-and-break time.”
As Wall stomped off to prune the jungle back, Gore’s mech crouched low and the cockpit opened. Gore hopped out and walked around to the back of his mech and pulled his tablet from his belt. He tapped in a couple of codes and a hatch opened on the lower back of his mech, revealing a stack of small crates.
Gore hummed to himself as he pulled out one of the crates and set it down. He opened it and grabbed out eight small orbs, each of which he pressed to his belt where they secured themselves instantly. Gore’s head bobbed up and down as he then pulled a matte-black rectangle from the hatch and let it fall to the ground. But instead of hitting the trampled grass and dirt, it stopped itself and floated about a half meter off the ground.
Gore picked up the crate and set it on there then gave it a gentle kick. The rectangle began to move and Gore followed it, tapping at his tablet as he went.
“Gore,” Chomps said. “Gore!”
“Huh? Hold on,” Gore said and tapped at his tablet again. “Sorry. Had tunes playing. What’s up?”
“Concentrate the blasts,” Chomps said. “I want this LZ as defended as it can be without risk of human error.”
Gore nodded then turned to look down at the crate. He cocked his head one way then cocked his head the other way.
“This should be enough,” he said.
“You sure you don’t want to take another crate with you?” Chomps asked.
“Nah,” Gore replied. “Eight on my belt and sixteen still in the crate. With a two-hundred-meter diameter that’s about a six-hundred and thirty-meter circumference. Divide that by thirty-four and you have, what? Eighteen or nineteen meters between charges? Each charge has a blast radius of ten meters. There’ll be overlap. I go too much closer together and we run the risk of a chain reaction. We don’t want that. We want single trigger detonation or this LZ turns into a SpecCom barbecue fast.”
“How is it that you can’t say son of a bitch correctly but you can run numbers in your head like a goddamn savant?” Giga asked.
“He’s not a savant,” Wall interrupted. “That’s sixth-level math. Anyone can do that.”
“Yeah, but it’s Gore,” Giga said.
“One day I’m going to get you back for riding my ass so hard, Giga,” Gore said, but with a chuckle. “I just have to figure out the perfect revenge.”
“If it involves math, then I may be in trouble,” Giga said. “Not that I’m a math slouch myself. You don’t get to be the best sniper in the galaxy without crunching the digits.”
“You let the targeting computer do the heavy lifting,” Wall said.
“Hey, Wall?”
“Yeah, Giga?”
“Go play groundskeeper and stay out of this, will ya?”
“Whatever,” Wall replied and got back to his brush-clearing duties.
“Chatter off,” Chomps said. “Giga, eyes on the perimeter. Let’s run circles, counter paths.”
“Sounds good,” Giga said and started walking her mech towards the edge of the jungle.
***
“Nope, still clear,” Roar said. “I’ll report in in ten.”
“Good,” Chomps replied over the comms. “Talk to you in ten.”
“Hey, Roar, you listening?” Shock asked over the comms.
“Yes, Shock, I’m listening,” Roar replied. “Why wouldn’t I be listening?”
“I didn’t know if you switched back to mech-to-mech comms or not.”
“We’re on mech-to-mech comms.”
“Cool,” Shock said. “So, what’s your take on these xenos?”
“My take? What do you mean? They’re
xenos.”
“Come on. They’re more than xenos.”
“No, they’re exactly just xenos.”
“You know what I mean. Why are you breaking my gonads?”
“Shock, I’m not a xenobiologist. I don’t have a take on these things. I don’t care what they’re made of, how they breathe, eat, shit, or what. I don’t care if they have genders or reproduce asexually.”
“You think they do that? Like bud off and shit?”
“I don’t know. That’s what I’m trying to tell you. I do not know. Most of all, I do not care.”
“Huh,” Shock responded. “Okay.”
The two mechs continued through the jungle, the huge machines shoving thick tree trunks aside or snapping them if the trees don’t budge enough to make room. Roar shouldered through an especially thick set of what looked like massive palms, but had thick bark like fir trees with sap that weeped from tiny holes all up and down. She stopped on the other side and held up a mech fist.
Shock was instantly at the ready. He spun about to cover their six, his rifle up and scanners at full.
“What ya got?” he asked over the comms.
“Not sure,” Roar replied. She studied the lack of readings on her scanners. “Absolutely nothing.”
“That’s not good,” Shock said. “We had been picking up a lot of critters fleeing ahead of us. Now there’s nothing?”
“Nothing,” Roar said. “The second I got past those drippy trees the scanners went blank.”
“Hold on,” Shock said and spun about. He was still on the opposite side of the set of alien palms. “No, no, I have some movement. Small things. Lots of them. Look down.”
“I have scanners covering toe to tip, Shock,” Roar said. “Nothing.”
“Use your eyes,” Shock said. “Check the ground. There’re like hundreds of things moving.”
Roar angled her mech and stared out of the cockpit. Shock was right. Hundreds of creatures were scurrying about on the jungle floor. About the size of rats, they were armored like the bizarre millipede thing had been, but each only had six limbs. Each having at least four joints, the limbs moved independently of each other, making Roar almost nauseous watching them as they scurried about.
