by JR Handley
The rocky valley was gray, and as bleak as the life expectancy of the engineers who would soon be called to lead the way into danger. The valley sat nestled in an unnamed mountain range on one of the minor islands that surrounded the larger Cardamine Island, one Lieutenant Gilmar Hyat knew hid something that had set off alarm bells for the Recon Marines. Hopefully, it would be worth the dangerous work required to clear the mines. The inside of his armor grew slick with sweat.
He never expected to be promoted, but the ebb and flow of combat had seen him rise from a standard Marine engineer up through the NCO ranks. When the need for engineers to lead detachments for this mission arose, Gilmar’s had been part of the select group of names listed. He was surprised when he found out that he was chosen and that it came with a promotion to lieutenant. Although he never wanted the rank or responsibility, Gilmar took it seriously. He wouldn’t ask his Marines to do anything he wouldn’t do, so when they were told they’d be dropped off into the middle of a minefield, he knew his duty. He made the decision to be the first one to step on rocky soil, mines be damned. If he’d learned anything from the Jotun, it was that you had to lead from the front.
The minute he touched down, he quickly began expanding his perimeter, clearing lines as he went. It was tedious, but under just a half-hour, he’d cleared a large enough area for his entire detachment to land. With help, the speed with which they removed the mines increased exponentially. Our fancy tools make the process easier, so why can’t they make the crouched position more comfortable? he thought. Snorting at his idle musings, Gilmar began matching up the land they cleared with the map for the terrain on his helmet, overlaying the two. From there he had his AI create the route he needed to allow the second team of engineers to have a landing area.
Satisfied that the new route eliminated the outer third of the minefield, Gilmar began issuing orders to his Marines. After running some calculations, he sent up his ETA to the Storks overhead before returning to deactivating the mines. He knew this minefield would delay their landing by several hours, so when Gilmar saw his engineers flagging, he ordered a five-minute tactical rest. Taking the opportunity to stand and stretch, he eyed the stern mountains looming around him, searching for whatever the Recon Marines had seen before.
Then he saw it. The mountains seemed to house the entrance to a strange structure. It reminded him of the training grounds outside of the defunct Beta City. After scanning the area, he took a moment to admire just how different the structure was from the austerity he’d grown up with. The grand entryway consisted of two large, wooden doors, though their lack of weathering told Gilmar that the “wood” was synthetic. The doors were flanked by massive columns etched with strange symbols, ones far different from those on the Makoni structures he’d seen on Serendine. Though the structure was enormous and appeared close, he knew it was far away. The closeness was a trick of the eye.
The stillness of the morning was broken by the pinging of sabots punching through combat armor and the squishing of flesh forced through a crushed helmet. Eyes wide, he dropped to a crouch. In front of him, one of his corporals lay shot in the head. With great difficulty, he fought to keep his mind clear. It took every ounce of discipline to maintain situational awareness while the Marine’s brains littered the hard-packed ground.
Hands shaking, he called the Storks providing fire support and reported in.
“Vengeance Overwatch, this is Vengeance Engineer. Sniper fire from an unknown location. I repeat, sniper fire from an unknown location. Suspected location–”
Splat.
Gilmar’s attempted fire-support request was briefly overshadowed by the sound of another round slamming into one of his Marines. He swallowed the urge to charge towards the sniper, knowing a mad dash through a minefield wouldn’t end well.
“Belay my last. The sniper fire is coming from the mountain range at cardinal direction north by northwest. Request fire support to bracket that location. Targeting packet transmitted through AI interface. Vengeance Engineer, out.”
While Gilmar called in his fire mission, a third round drilled through the helmet of one of his Marines. The thwack was lost in the reverberating whoosh of the Stork discharging some of her missiles towards the snipers’ nest.
Standing, Gilmar roared over the LBNet, “All right, Marines, we can’t help our dead by lying about in this mother-frakking minefield. Back to work!”
— Chapter 15 —
Late Morning, Post-Revival Day 210
Outside Outpost Charlie 2, Cardamine Island
Commander, TF Retribution, Human Legion
With the assistance of their gravtanks, the task force commanded by Colonel Petra was making good time. They’d had to stop several times when they began taking fire from one of several automated turrets that had been left to harass anyone trying to capture the island. Their air support had quickly targeted the threat and taken them out. Nevertheless, destroying automations didn’t provide the sense of retribution that you got from returning fire on a living being who was attacking you. Instead, the Marines were left feeling impotent and frustrated.
In the end, the assault had cost Petra over a company’s worth of her forces, but they’d been able to cover a lot of ground and reached the outskirts of their target outpost. Once they were in position ringing the western side of the outpost, the task force stopped to regroup. Not wanting to waste time, the combat engineers sent out drones to look for any landmines. After consulting the reports, it was determined that the field had been mined with anti-personnel and anti-gravtank mines.
Scanning the field using her helmet’s magnification feature, Petra grunted. These mines were expertly hidden from the naked eye. Accessing the LBNet, she spoke directly to the engineer’s commander.
“What is your plan for clearing these mines?” she asked impatiently.
“Colonel Petra, we don’t have the necessary equipment to clear them properly. We’ll have to send out engineers to manually clear them. You’ll provide overwatch and cover our advance as we–”
“Can we just target the mines, let our gravtanks and marksmen blow them in place?”
There was a moment of silence.
“Ma’am, we could do that, but there would be no guarantee that we get them all. There is a reason we have these procedures.”
With an aggressive plan formulated, Petra ordered her Marines to make it happen. Up and down the line, gravtank gunners and carbine-wielding marksmen began firing at the mines identified by the engineering drones. It had the desired effect, as explosions were met with counterblasts from the detonated mines. Soon a cascade rolled across the field, creating a cloud of dust that briefly held in the momentarily still air. The temporary beauty of the moment was marred by the gaping maw that the mines opened in the field.
Seeing a chance to repeat a tactic that had worked successfully in the past, Petra prepared her troops to rush into the newly opened tunnel to getting around the defensive works at the sally ports.
— Chapter 16 —
Late Morning, Post-Revival Day 210
Enemy Sniper Nest, Near LZ Justice, Cardamine Island
King Co., 61st TAC RGT, TF Justice, Human Legion
“Vengeance Engineer, missiles en route. Dropping a squad to secure sniper location. Vengeance Actual, out.”
With the order from his task force commander, Captain Alexander Strachan clutched his carbine tighter in his armored hands. Taking a deep breath, he stepped off the Stork shuttle into the open air. He knew that the shuttle was hovering only a few feet off the ground, but the experience was still unnerving. He landed a bit heavily on the rocky gray mountain. As one of the newest company commanders in the Akoni City Regional Army, he knew he had the most to prove. Courage under fire had gotten him this new position, but he knew tactical skill and charisma were the only things that would let him keep it.
An ambitious sort, he had no desire to go back to the days of mindless grunt work after tasting what command felt like. Determined to p
rove himself, he chose to lead one of his squads for this mission. It was their first combat deployment since he’d resumed command, and he didn’t want to place his fate entirely in the hands of his squad leaders. He knew that the NCO was older and more competent, giving Alexander the chance to lead with a safety net, but he still trusted his own judgment more.
Scanning the area to ensure it was free of mines, he signaled for the rest of the squad to disembark from the shuttles hovering overhead. There was a pause, and then the thuds of his 1st Squad’s armored boots hitting the rocky outcropping.
“All right, you know the drill. Spread out. I want at least five meters between you. Stay alert, stay alive! Let’s see if there are more frakking snipers to kill.”
His encouragement was unnecessary; his Marines knew their jobs. They’d already spread out in their tactical search pattern as they looked for survivors from the sniper’s nest. The pilots had destroyed it, leaving little chance of enemy contact. Using the map overlay on his helmet reticle, Alexander could cover every potential grid coordinate, allowing the squad to search for any other hidden nests. Their efforts were fruitless. In the end, they determined that the only fortified assault position had been the one they’d just watched get eviscerated.
“Nothing to see here. Let’s go take a closer look inside the sniper’s nest.”
Upon closer inspection, Alexander noticed that there were no bodies. He walked into the middle of the wreckage, joining his Marines in sifting through the rubble. He ignored the flames, trusting his suit to protect him from the heat and the molten metals. Even after looking everywhere, they couldn’t find any bodies. The turret had been automated, controlled remotely from some unknown vantage point.
Kicking one of the pieces of wreckage, Alexander knew that it was time to radio in to his commanders. He’d have to sit tight and await further instructions.
— Chapter 17 —
Late Morning, Post-Revival Day 210
Outpost Charlie 2, Cardamine Island
Commander, TF Retribution, Human Legion
With the initial attack launched, Colonel Petra quickly set to organizing her regiments. She didn’t fully trust the humans and made the decision to keep them in the rear. They could be my support element, but they won’t have a spot on the line with real warriors, she thought derisively. If things got dire enough that she needed the humans’ assistance, she’d already be dining with her ancestors. Not wanting to waste any more time with planning, she finally utilized her AI to get the plan into action.
“All right, brethren, we are preparing to make a quick assault into the tunnels. They’re gifts that the ancestors opened up for us. Let us not squander them. Move quickly, before they know what is afoot. Blood for the ancestors!”
With the command given, Petra abandoned all caution and led the rush into the newly opened tunnel. She took a small comfort in knowing her regiment, the 2298th Sangurian, and the 2405th Sangurian followed in her wake. While she rushed ahead, her AI pinged her helmet speaker.
The last of the Sangurian Horde are in the tunnel, her AI said. Push ahead. We are ready to take the outpost.
Taking a moment to admire the beauty of the charging Horde in motion, Petra thanked the gods that she lived to experience it again before she rejoined her ancestors. The Horde pushed past the rough-hewn opening until they burst into one of the outer tunnels for the abandoned outpost. Seconds later, her threat icon lit up the reticle on her helmet, and her entire focus was on the fight in front of them. Petra grabbed her ceremonial blade and began pumping her legs as she strove to shorten the distance to the enemy. She ran until she reached a sharp turn in the tunnel she was charging through.
Turning the corner, she saw a line of armored humanoids standing behind an improvised barricade. Petra noticed that they had their visors darkened, likely an effort to intimidate their opponents. It didn’t work on the Sangurians, though she appreciated her opponents’ efforts. Sabot fire poured down on them, winnowing down her front line, but they lowered their shoulders and continued charging forward. Leaning into the storm of incoming fire was the way of the Horde, and she was thrilled. Pushing forward, Petra felt a round ricochet off her faceplate, cracking it. She performed a verbal command to test its functionality before putting all her focus back on the enemy who was right in front of her.
With a leap, Petra bounded over the barricade, pummeling the armored Marine in front of her. Her opponent had fallen over, tripping on its own feet, when suddenly the world around them shook, and Tranquility tried to swallow them whole. As she was trying to stand, a large chunk of the ceiling collapsed on top of her, dropping her back to the ground. Petra couldn’t move from the waist down and was beginning to lose sensation. It took her a moment to process what had happened. A series of bombs had gone off, collapsing the tunnel. Dust, small bits of rock, and Sangurian flesh were thrown in every direction, showering her own prostrate form.
Rolling over, she managed to dislodge the rock just enough to slip an arm down to her side and retrieve her familial blade. Finding the hilt, Petra brought her combat blade to bear like she’d spent a lifetime doing. Every movement brought to her attention wounds that her combat adrenaline had previously hidden. Groaning, she tuned out the sounds coming from the Horde. Looking around, she saw Sangurian dead and dying everywhere. But the warriors who had followed her charged into the passageways.
With a secure grip born from hours of repetitive practice, Petra twisted her body and brought the knife blade into the human Marine’s abdomen. She knew the enemy would take a while to bleed out and was still a threat. She kept stabbing. She didn’t know where the vital organs were, but she just kept stabbing, hoping for the best. Petra kept thrusting, seeking what vengeance she could gain for all the lives lost in the explosion. She was unaware of anything save the human in front of her, while the piece of the tunnel was doing its best to kill her. The muscles in her arm burned from the repetitive movement, but she ignored it. Petra wondered how much longer she could last, even as movement stopped from the human whose leg she’d kept a hold on. Still, she kept stabbing until her strength faded, and she gave in to her body’s need to sleep.
— Chapter 18 —
Late Morning, Post-Revival Day 210
LZ Justice, Cardamine Island
Commander, TF Justice, Human Legion
With the revelation that the sniper’s nest was automated, Field Marshal Nhlappo ordered her pilots to continue scanning for everything. She wanted to know about anything that matched the signals from the destroyed gunner’s platform. Once the new targeting data had been distributed, several more automated platforms were pinpointed and destroyed. Massive fireballs blossomed from various heights around the minefield, while the engineers continued clearing a route for the main assault force.
When the landing zone was secured and the enemy weapons platforms destroyed, Nhlappo was finally convinced that it was safe to land. The Marines of Task Force Justice touched down on LZ Justice and began scanning the area. They needed to determine what the Recon Marines had thought was significant enough to flag on their initial scouting mission. The first Marines in her task force to touch down began building hasty firing positions to protect the LZ, while three regiments’ worth of Legion Marines poured out of Stork shuttles. With the beachhead secured and the task force fully disembarked, they sent out drones to scout the area.
“Engineers, now that we’ve cleared the mines, I need you to scout ahead. Pay attention to whatever’s built into the mountains. And I wanna know who left those mines.”
“Already on it,” replied the engineering officer. “The markings on the door match what we found on the buildings at Old Akoni City. They were built by the same race, but my AI can’t seem to lock it down. It can’t see what’s right in front of it. The only way to know more is to go inside.”
“Listen up, Marines,” Nhlappo ordered into the task-force-wide LBNet. “We assault the facility in five mikes. Last-minute checks. Remember, stay alert and sta
y alive. Quick scout mission before we secure our next objective!”
— Chapter 19 —
Early Afternoon, Post-Revival Day 210
Unknown Facility, Cardamine Island
Commander, TF Justice, Human Legion
The initial push into the abandoned facility had been anticlimactic after those sniper attacks on her Marines, mused Field Marshal Nhlappo. The door had a standard White Knight security door cut into the larger synth-wooden ones. Those doors had been left unsecured, and Nhlappo’s forces cautiously entered. Scanning the cavernous room, she saw that the exploration had just gotten more difficult. The central areas were surrounded by rows of shelves holding large quantities of strange tablets. Each row of shelves was as intricately carved as the outer door, and with the same markings.
“Tizer is gonna have a field day in here,” she muttered.
The task force pushed deeper into the first several levels, all devoid of enemy activity. It was starting to look like the facility had been abandoned long ago, allowing her to stay back long enough to take in the ambiance of the strange facility. Her Marines pushed through to the next level, and she followed behind while her AI, Brinx, recorded everything. Normally Nhlappo would be out front, but in this eerie place, she knew she would need to be more flexible. Being out front was great for straight-up battles, but missions like this demanded that she stay back with her head on a swivel. While her AI made sure everything was documented, she observed the structure itself.
“Wonder where the Makoni went,” she said to the closest Marine in her security detachment.
He didn’t answer, frustrating Nhlappo. He likely assumed it was rhetorical, so she let it drop.
On the fourth level, they found rows upon rows of shelves with bigger tablets than they’d found earlier, and computer terminals sitting on intricately carved synth-wood desks. Everywhere she looked, there were strange carvings in a language her AI couldn’t reliably see or decipher. Visually, it was similar to what they’d found on the Makoni structures on Serendine but with enough differences that she assumed it must be a different Makoni language or dialect.
