Echo Marines

by Dora Esquivel

  The history of humanoids and humans as he’d been told was the humanoids had revolted against humans, killing millions in the city of Alexandria on Earth II several thousand years ago. All he'd ever known was war. Fighting an enemy, he'd never seen. No one knew why the humanoids attacked the peaceful city of Alexandria. He could never get any answers, well, no good answers. Most were, "Well, they kill us, and we kill them, what else do you want?"

  For a long time in his career, that reason had been good enough for him, but now, after one endless cycle of combat missions, lost friends and marines, the countless injuries, and the loss of family, it was becoming too big to bear. The videos he saw of his parents were his only source to the outside world. He’d wanted to be an Echo for as long as he could remember, ever since he saw his older cousin decked out in Echo wartime gear. He promised himself he would be an Echo Marine, fighters of time, but none of it mattered anymore if he had truly lost Gideon.

  The strange things you miss when they are gone, he could always reach out to Gideon and just touch him with his mind, a comfort whenever he felt alone or distraught about failed missions or lost crew members. The worst part was when he’d have to send out personal videos to loved ones who had lost their son, daughter, sister, mother, husband, or brother under his command and in this endless war. It was Gideon who helped him get dressed in his Class A’s and guided him through each video call. After sending out several of those vids, he needed to decompress, and Gideon helped with that also.

  He should be dead, but with the new replicating Nanos, he could survive the most horrid injuries. Sometimes pulling through those injuries was traumatic enough. Axel still remembered the time he had gotten shot in the head by an armed assailant at one of those crummy space bars. The shattering sound of his skull, the hotness of the bullet as it entered his mind, the loss of sensation throughout his body, and the rush of adrenaline, too late to help, were nightmares he still relived at night; a constant reminder of his mortality.

  When he woke up at one of space commands medical centers, he was more than surprised. He should have been dead, but the new Nanos had replicated parts of his brain the bullet had destroyed. If he would have had the older ones in place, he wouldn't be alive. It still took him over a year to get back to a hundred percent; that was a bleak year. Gideon had stayed back to help him with all types of therapy. Command had given him all his owed vacation, and Gideon spent his vacation helping him. That was one depressing year, and now Gideon, his crew, and everything thing he knew was gone.

  He struggled against the restraints again, hoping he would be able to break them, but the cuffs wouldn't bend. Axel needed get out of here and find out what was happening to his crew and who had him.

  Lost in thought he didn't hear the quiet whisper of the doors open and close. A sleek, black android startled him as the robot ignored him and kept adjusting the machines he was hooked too. The damn thing wasn't even human, just another machine programmed to take care of patients. Shit! He’d had no luck today.

  The automated nurse came by and started adjusting his leads. The machine had cold hands, and Axel started shivering again. "Can someone bring me a damn blanket? I'm freezing," he shouted in frustration.

  The machine stopped probing, turned around with a small white towel, and placed it on top of his chest.

  "Can't you get anything else? Like a real blanket," he gritted out.

  "Commander Clah, I have been instructed to offer no comforts. This is the most I can do," the robot stated.

  "Who instructed you? Why am I tied down? Where am I?" Before he could ask another question, he got shocked. His whole body spasmed; the pain was unbelievable. This was no ordinary shock, the electricity seemed to course throughout all the nerve endings of his body. He felt like he was on fire. Unable to do anything else, he endured the pain as best he could.

  "You need to listen Major Clah, I have told you I cannot offer any more comforts. If you interfere with my duties again, I will render you paralyzed until the commander releases you from that painful experience. Believe me, you will be able to feel, see, and hear, but not move. Not until the commander comes by to release you. It can take up to three days."

  His eyes were watering, and his muscles slowly disengaged from their paralyzed state. That was one sadistic robot. Axel had definitely not landed on a friendly planet. He hated to think about being paralyzed. Did it say three days before this commander came here to talk to me?

  "Now that we understand each other, I need you to answer these questions for me. Answer only the questions I am asking you. I need to file a report to the commander about his prisoner. First off, how are you feeling Major Clah?"

  Axel couldn't believe his ears; the damn thing had just electrified him with high voltage electricity, and he was expected to answer questions calmly.

  Gritting his teeth, he answered back, "I was doing just fine until you started shocking me...ahhhhhh."

  His back felt like it was snapping in two from the streams of electrical shocks coursing throughout his body, and this time the damn android didn't turn it off. The thing left it on for a few a seconds longer than the first time. He wanted to scream for it to stop, but he couldn't form any type of speech. All he could hear was the electrical current as it whizzed throughout his whole body.

  "Are you ready to answer my questions, Major Clah? I've been instructed to keep shocking you if don't answer my questions truthfully and to the best of your abilities. If you still refuse, I am then authorized to leave you in that paralyzed state I explained earlier to you. So, let’s begin again. First off, how are you feeling Major Clah?"

  Axel tried vainly to get his body to respond to him, painfully he answered the machine, "I am fine."

  "Who else is with you Major Clah?"

  This question he didn't want to answer, but he also didn't want to get zapped again, so he answered truthfully, "I don't know!" Axel really didn’t know where his crew was or who was alive or dead.

  Once again, electricity zapped throughout his body and the intensity felt stronger. He could hear himself screaming in his mind but knew he couldn't do anything to stop the radiating pain, not until the android thought it had tortured him long enough. The shocks continued for what seemed like an eternity.

  "Once again, Major Clah, answer my questions truthfully or the next shock will be for thirty seconds and at level three."

  He had only been shocked for twenty seconds and he didn't think he could live for another ten seconds. He didn't even want to imagine the pain level at level three and thirty seconds of it. "We were a squad of twenty when we entered crashed. I do not know how many of my crew survived the explosion of our ship. I do not know where any survivors are at. The last thing I remember is waking up naked and tied down to this medical unit."

  Axel could see the machine typing away at a small pad. He couldn't tell if the slab of black metal was looking at him or looking at the pad. It had no human features, nothing for him to bargain or argue with. Another machine programmed to do its job with great efficiency, speed, and accuracy. He knew it wasn't the machines fault, someone had programmed it to torture him, but he still didn't have to like it.

  "What was your mission?"

  He knew the answer, but he couldn't bring himself to betray Echo’s mission. "Fuck you," was all he said, knowing he was going to hurt again.

  Once again, searing agony coursed through his entire body, this time he did scream and convulsed so strongly he broke his wrist clutching the stainless steel of his bed. Tears and snot streamed down his face. He couldn't take the pain anymore. The cuffs felt heated under his skin, and he knew he was boiling inside. Suddenly, the shocks stopped, but he swore he could still feel them inside his body.

  "Major Clah, I will give you ten seconds to compose yourself, and we will begin again with my earlier question. What was your mission?

  There was no use in defying this android. It didn't care if he screamed bloody murder or if he broke every bone in his body. The damn th
ing would continue torturing him until he answered its questions.

  "Our mission was to destroy one of the Humanoids communication bases. We travelled through one of the wormholes near our space. One of our Echo teams had done a reconnaissance mission and discovered this particular Humanoid base. This would have been the first time we would be able to hit one of their communication bases. Another team before mine had been assigned to destroy this Humanoid base, but the wormhole they entered collapsed and we lost two hundred Echo Marines.

  “This time around our time scientists had discovered another wormhole that would bring another team of Echo's closer to the humanoid base. We were this team, but something happened to the wormhole, and now I am here. I do not know which one of my team members is alive or dead," Axel answered honestly, waiting for next buzz of electricity, but nothing happened. The machine was once again busy typing and obviously recording the whole conversation. For all he knew, the person programming the bot was watching the whole interrogation.

  "Major Clah, we only sense ten other life forms including yourself, these must be the rest of the surviving members of your team. We took out many of your implants, remarkable hardware and software. The only thing we couldn't get rid of was your Nanos. Each time we tried to flush them, new ones would reappear inside your body. Exceptionally useful little things. We are very interested in your Nano technology. Do your other team members have this technology inside their bodies?”

  “Yes,” Axel answered. His wrist was still throbbing, his body still spasmed from the previous shocks.

  “We were able to get one of your Nanos outside of your body to study, but it disintegrated. It seems like they can only survive inside their unique environment, which is you. All of you will make great study subjects. "

  The last thing he expected was to become a medical curiosity. Axel’s future seemed sealed to this medical bay and android. Axel shuddered at the thought of how they had tried to flush his Nanos out. He really didn’t want to know how many times they had tried flushing his Nanos.

  "The commander has instructed me to clean you up, feed you, and give you some anti-biotic shots. The shackles stay on. Do not test me, or I will zap you with level four and leave you a blubbering mess for a full minute. Do we understand each other, Commander Clah?" the machine demanded.

  Axel didn't want a machine touching him, but he had no choice in the matter. He had so many questions he wanted to ask but dared not. Level four sounded bad enough and he didn't want to experience it.

  The cuffs all got lose at the same time, and for a brief second, he could stretch out his arms and legs, but the enjoyment didn't last long as the android turned him around, shackling his hands behind his back and hobbling his steps. This was ridiculous, there was no way he could fight an android. Obviously, whoever his captives were, they were highly paranoid and somewhat advanced. Even with the advances he saw, the android seemed excited about the Nanos or as excited as a machine could get.

  The android loosened up all the leads from his body and now patiently walked him to the bathroom. This was highly embarrassing because he could handle his own business. He wasn't comfortable with having someone watch him, but what choice did he have? So, he sat and went. After taking care of himself, the android walked him over to a small grey room just big enough for him. The machine situated him below several shower heads and then he felt the warm water fall on his head and tight shoulders. Axel wasn't sure what was going to happen to him or his team, but he knew one thing for sure, he would never see his parents again.

  Chapter 4

  Regrets, Regrets, Regrets

  Gideon once again found himself back on the orange unforgiving dirt. The red haze that had surrounded the sky earlier seemed darker, but he had no idea how long he had been out or if this was night or morning. His mind still felt foggy, but he knew he had a team. Time to get going. He tried to move but couldn't. He wasn't tied down, but he still couldn't move. What in the hell?

  "You are finally awake, sir, " he heard Argus respond in his mind. He’d always hated the intrusive brain implant, but now that weird robotic voice was a comfort.

  "What’s going on Argus? Why can't I move?"

  "Sir, do you remember when I explained to you about the several brain hemorrhages you were suffering from?" Argus asked cautiously.

  Gideon tried recalling what Argus had told him, and he remembered some of it before he had lost consciousness. "Yes, Argus I remember some of it. Why can't I move?"

  "Sir, you not only had severe brain hemorrhaging, but you also suffered a deadly stroke. It was catastrophic. I couldn't let you die, so I merged with you."

  Gideon stared back up the reddish hue which he thought made the sky a deep blood coloring. He was still trying process what Argus had just told him. The words catastrophic, stroke, and merge sounded like they didn't belong together.

  "Sir, are you all right? Did you understand what I said?"

  "Argus, are you saying you merged with me as in you are part of me?"

  "Yes sir, I had too. That part of your brain was dead no matter what the Nanos tried to do. Every time they regenerated that part of your brain, it would quickly die off. This cycle of regeneration lasted for forty-eight hours. If I had not merged with you, you would have died or remained in a state of continual regeneration and death..."

  "Shut up, Argus, you were supposed to be an implant, not part of my DNA!" he shouted, "What do you mean forty-eight hours? I’ve been lying on this ground for the past two days?''

  "Yes, Sir, you have been unconscious for forty-eight hours."

  "Stop calling me, sir, just Gideon."

  "Yes, Gideon, it has been forty-eight hours, and you still have another twelve hours of needed rest before you can get up and find the rest of your team."

  "Argus, I cannot rest for another twelve hours, I need to reach my crew," he tried explaining to Argus, and I need to find Axel.

  "Si...I mean Gideon, you mean, you need to find Axel, that is your motivation?"

  Gideon's heart ached, thinking of Axel and what could have happened to him was too much to bear. He needed to find the rest of his crew and figure out how they were going to get out of this mess. So far, the red planet’s temperature was neither super-hot or cold. He had no idea how he had lain here for two days and nothing harmful had happened to him, other than having a super dry mouth and needing to use the facilities.

  Argus was now part of him. He had already hating sharing his mind and body with Argus as an implant, now the damn thing was an extension of himself. If his situation wasn't so dire, he might laugh at the notion of Argus merging with him, but now Argus could control him whenever the he thought Gideon needed to be controlled. He was undeniably and royally screwed. He should have never let command implant the damn thing in his head. Its only for a year they said. The extra pay had been good for volunteering to be a commands guinea pig. He shouldn't have been so greedy.

  "Are you controlling my body, Argus," Gideon asked tentatively, since he already knew the answer.

  "Yes, Gideon I am controlling you right now. After the twelve hours of rest, I will give you back control. For now, you will get those twelve hours your body and brain need for a full recovery."

  If he could move, he would have pulled out his hair, "Argus, I feel fine. I don’t have the luxury to lie here and get some beauty rest. I need to find the rest of my crew, they need me."

  "Gideon, I understand what you are saying, but since we are now combined, your health is the utmost importance to me. If you die, I die too, and I will not let that happen."

  Gideon wanted to hit something. He was basically arguing with himself. This was not going to work, he needed full control of his body and brain. He needed to make fast paced decisions without having a meeting with his damn implant. He was an Echo Marine, a twenty-two-year veteran. So far, he had managed to survive forty-two missions without the assistance of some microchip.

  "Argus, this is not going to work, you need to give me full contro
l back now. I am trained to withstand all types of pain and discomfort. I do not need a babysitter, you can see by my memories I have survived many battles. Too many for some snotty ass chip to tell me how to fight or when I need rest. I will get all the sleep I need when I die," Gideon responded.

  "Everything you have said is true, but we are one, and I do not want my new life to end so soon. Without me, you will not survive; I am what is keeping your brain from dying. I can control different aspects of your brain at once or not. After the twelve hours, Gideon, you will have complete control of your body, but until then, I will not let you runoff and get hurt."

  "For shit’s sake, do you understand I'm a combat veteran, getting injured is part of the job description. Axel got a bullet through the brain, and he recovered. You are telling me my Nanos couldn't put my brain back together after my stroke? I say that’s bullshit! My team needs me; I am the second highest ranking member after Axel, so you need to let me go."

  "Gideon, your crew is fine, one of the pilots survived the crash, and he is the second highest ranked member. They landed on a small island and are trying to figure out how to get off the island and make it to shore. They had some serious injuries with some of the crew and some are still unconscious as their own Nanos try to fix their broken bodies. Your team does not need you at this time."