"Welcome to Dita boys... and lady." He was a conscript, rugged faced with a mangy straw hat and scraggy looking, black beard. He spat on the dirt beneath his booted feet, bare arms folded over his slimmed down version of a COG armoured cuirass. Upon seeing the only woman in the squad he tilted his hat forward, a brief nod only. "My friends call me Racket." He grinned with yellowed teeth, his lips worked like he was chewing something but his mouth was empty.
Racket stuck his big farmers hand out but still found it engulfed by Sergeant Blander's. A hint of discomfort passed over the conscripts face as he experienced the bear like grip of Blander's handshake.
"I'm Blander, this is Able squad." He jabbed a thumb over his shoulder.
Seven Gears glared back at Racket, one woman, six men, only three of which wore helmets, hiding expressions behind glowing blue visors. Racket was somewhat taken aback, women were rare on the front line these days. She was a narrow thing, a southern islander he guessed, going by her tan skin and the black tribal tattoo's around her left eye that trailed away down her neck. Where her arms were bare he could see the tattoos continued down her body, probably right to her toes. She was gaunt faced but still strikingly good looking; but there was a look in her eye that told him she'd obviously seen a lot of shit Racket couldn't begin to imagine. He still decided they were the loveliest eyes he'd seen in a long while even if they were haunted and sullen. A shame really, she was such a pretty little thing, high cheek bones and subtle sweeping jaw like the models that used to be on TV. If his son were still alive Racket reckoned she'd have made a decent wife and daughter in law. He paused in his thinking, she was a Gear... that meant she couldn't have kids, otherwise she wouldn't be here.
Realising he'd become distracted, Racket looked at his watch. "We leave in five, better get on board!" he exclaimed.
At the back of Able squad Erika Sharpe sighed, light brown eyes searching the landscape behind the assault Derrick. She'd missed the approving stare from Racket, so focussed as she was on the scenery. Snow capped mountains dominated the skyline as far as she could see, knifing into the cold grey sky like the teeth of some gigantic predator. Nestled somewhere amongst the trees and ice was Landown, a town long since occupied by the Locust. Erika had never been there, she'd never been out of Jacinto before she signed up. It didn't matter really because Landown would look like everywhere else, run down, burnt and crumbling. Chairman Prescott said this assault would be the tipping point in the war, the final battle that would decide the fate of humanity. Erika doubted it but kept her opinions to herself. As usual. Sergeant Blander mounted the ladder behind Racket, his bald head already glistening with sweat. Erika ran a hand through her black hair, making sure her messy fauxhawk was still standing. It was an old habit, a dumb one really. Who the hell cared if her hair looked good or not? In an hour or less she'd be caked in sweat and dirt and worse yet anyway.
"Ready?" Archer slowed his pace as the rest of Able ascended the ladder. His blue eyes hinted at fear but his mouth was smiling within the blonde goatee that circled it and his tone was confident. "This could be it." He patted his lancer.
Erika pulled a self rolled cigarette from a tin she kept in her combat webbing. Her tobacco supply was running thin. Another trip to the stranded was in order. She didn't have a clue where Jerome got the stuff from, she didn't care either. All that mattered was how it tasted and it tasted good.
"I'll believe it when I see it mate." She replied drawing a match across textured grip of her Longshot rifle. It sparked to life and she lit her cigarette.
"You should quit that. It ain't good for your lungs." Archer pointed out, as he always did. Amusement passed over his hard features.
Erika didn't give him the satisfaction of a reply.
Archer looked like he'd been carved from a cliff face. All sharp angels and a heavy square jaw. He wasn't an ugly man, but he wasn't particularly handsome either. When they were younger Erika described him as looking seasoned. Archer had taken it as a compliment. As he steadily got bigger she began saying he looked like a bear carrying carpets. He hadn't been overly fond of that remark but it had stuck anyway.
Erika inhaled deeply, blowing blue smoke out of her nostrils before replying. "We're banjaxed one way or the other, this is my coping mechanism, let me die happy." She limbered her Longshot and hoisted herself up the ladder.
Archer shook his head and followed.
The Derrick had been refitted with launching rails and the assault pods the Gears would be using to enter the hollow. Above the cockpit was a mounted chain gun. As Erika popped her head through the floor hatch and stepped out onto the rigs deck she saw the monstrous Corperal McNair taking position behind the heavy weapon. If Archer was bear then McNair was built more like a Locust Boomer. His grey hair was pulled back into long ponytail and his beard was braided like an ancient Norseman. His arms were bare and beneath his scarred flesh, muscles and sinew rippled like steel cables.
Racket's voice filled her ear piece. "Now you best look after my Dita, she's as dear to me as my wife, maybe a little more since she don't complain as much." Racket chuckled at his own joke.
Erika could see him in the cockpit his hands danced over the controls and she felt the rigs huge engine roar into motion and beneath her feet the deck began to vibrate. Centaur tanks chugged into life with the rest of the rigs and the air was filled with the bark and grumble of engines. Erika leaned on the deck rail and dragged from her cigarette. The stink of exhaust hit her a second later but she barely noticed. Hundreds of Gears swarmed below, mounting vehicles, moving ammo boxes, or setting up mobile command posts and medical tents. It was a massive undertaking, an assault on a scale that hadn't been seen since the Pendulum Wars and Erika wasn't old enough to really remember that. She was impressed but she still wasn't convinced it would be enough. The lightmass bomb hadn't done much good, why would this be any different?
Several King Ravens swooped in overhead, the repeating thud of rotors was deafening, Erika raised her arm to shield her face from the down draft as one turned and looped back over Racket's rig.
"KR-zero-seven to Rig 322 do you read me?" a new voice filled the comm channel. Erika only half listened.
"I read you KR-zero-seven." Racket replied.
"We'll be your escort this afternoon 322." The Raven pilot explained as the chopper hovered above them.
"Dita thanks you for your protection, KR-zero-seven and so do I."
"Uh huh, Rodger that 322. KR-zero-seven out." the intercom clicked silent.
"Alright lady and gents, we are underway!" Racket whooped as the rig lurched forward.
Erika held onto the railing tightly. Ahead of them the mountains loomed. At the back of her skull she felt a familiar ache. She gritted her teeth, forcing the images attempting to invade her thoughts, back into the darkness. She leaned heavily on the railing as a wave of nausea passed over her; Erika swallowed a retch, tasting bile at the back of her throat. A dull throb brought black spots to the corners of her vision but she blinked them away and took another drag of her dwindling cigarette. Things began to clear and the ache subsided but the niggle lurked still, its tendrils caressing the edges of her subconscious. This day was not going to end well.
"Erika, you look like your gonna puke." Privet Pendax was looking at her from the other side of the rig when she turned. He sniffed and rubbed the bottom of his pointed nose.
"You don't look much better either Penny." She sneered, knowing full well how much he hated that nickname.
Pendax snorted, it was a fact of life that you would never get on with everyone you met. It didn't matter where you worked or socialised, there would always be one person that would rub you up the wrong way. Allan Pendax, Penny, was one of those people. Slicked back black hair and face that reminded Erika of a rat, and not the cute kind either. His eyes were underlined by dark bags, his skin shallow enough that veins showed underneath. He looked deathly ill despite his cocky demeanour. His lip curled, beady eyes narrowing, giving her that look he always did, the one that always seemed to end up focussed on her arse.
"I'm fine sweet heart." Pendax replied with a deeper inhale through his nose like he was hawking back mucus.
"Yeah well I'm good enough for you to leave me alone."
Pendax shrugged and looked the other way. Erika leaned back on the railing. She took in the last of her cigarette and threw the butt off the rig. It would be an hour or so before they'd be in sight of Landown and the Locust. Erika knew, just as everyone else did, that they would be facing some serious opposition from the Locust already dug in there. So many lives would be lost and Erika had decided long ago it wasn't going to be worth it. Enough Gears had died for that prick Prescott and his stupid ideas. It had been that fucker's idea to turn the Hammer on too. What had that achieved? Millions of innocent people flash fried and the Locust just kept on coming.
"Hey." Privet Draper, the rookie, came to stand beside Erika; his hands were clasped in front of him as he rested his elbows on the railing. Erika knew that was to stop them shaking.
"You okay kiddo?" she gave him a sideways glance.
Behind his helmet Draper was the blonde nerdy kid who only made it as a Gear because he was an excellent engineer. His theatre of war used to be behind the scenes, keeping the Ravens flying and systems running smoothly. But like so many others he'd been given a Lancer and drafted into the frontline. This wasn't his first fire fight but Erika knew he'd be shitting his pants. His green eyes wide and watery. He was younger than she was, about nineteen? The kid had never said. Erika had maybe four years on him tops but she felt like it was a hundred or more.
When he replied his voice was shaky, he did a pretty decent job of hiding it but Erika could read him like a book even without seeing his face, "I'm fine. I was checkin' on you. I know Penny's a dick but he's right, you do look kinda… ill."
"Thanks." Erika snorted.
Draper fancied Erika, if that wasn't too childish a way to put it, behind his mask she knew his cheeks would be flushed and if it wasn't for the visor between her gaze and his, he'd be looking everywhere but directly at her. Sometimes she caught him staring in the mess hall and he'd turn bright red and look the opposite way.
Erika forced a smile, "Don't worry 'bout it Kiddo. I'll be okay."
"Rook!" Blander called out from the back of the rig, "Ride up front with Racket, if this shit heap breaks down you'll be the best bet to get it moving again."
"Yes sir, Sarge!" Draper replied smartly. He paused before moving off to tilt his head at Erika. She responded with a lazy salute.
"Hey, my Dita ain't no shit heap Sergeant. But she is a dirty bitch." Racket chuckled again. "You want her to give you a golden shower?"
Blander shook his head, a smile parting his lips. Erika just kept staring on ahead.
The first forty minutes ride from base camp into the mountains was surprisingly uneventful. A clear blue sky brought a welcome relief from rain heavy clouds that had settled on Jacinto but a brisk breeze caressed Erika's shoulders and she shuddered. On a normal day the scenery would have been enough to distract her from the cold, but a deep sense of foreboding had brought her senses to the brink of overload. Everything seemed heightened, the clatter of engines and thunder of rotors above felt louder than they should. Her eyesight was already better than average but now she found herself picking out the detail of the Gears armour across the valley. Everywhere she looked she expected to see the beginnings of an ambush; she was waiting for the first yell of warning and the sputter of gunfire. Her nerves were shredded and although outwardly she was composed and calm, her insides were churning with barely restrained panic. Once the shit hit the fan it would all change, her body would shut down all emotion, instinct would take over and the will to survive would overcome all else. It had happened before, many times and it had saved her life each and every time. She acted without thinking, killing became second nature. It was the wait that was the worst part. Knowing the battle was coming but not when. It drove her mad. She imagined all kinds of hell coming to drag to her into deaths embrace.
The first sign of an attack was altogether worse than she feared.
It began with a distant shriek, trails of greenish ink rising up on the horizon. Erika could see the tentacled blobs arching high into the sky and her eyes widened.
"Nemecysts!" she cried then the radio went berserk.
"KR-two-two on all channels, we have incoming Nemecysts, move to defend the rigs."
"Rodger that KR-..."
"KR-four-six down, I repeat, KR-four-six is down!"
"Incoming KR-one-eight!"
"I see em!"
"This is KR-zero-zero, we are going down! I can't hold her!"
"One of the rigs is gone!"
Shrieks and explosions blossomed along the valley. Rackets rig was in the middle of the convoy, to the right a sheer cliff face stretched high above and on the left of the narrow road another cliff plunged down into the tree filled valley. Chain guns blazed into life and Nemecysts began to burst in mid air, reeking ink rained down on the convoy. Above them KR-zero-seven opened fire as well. Shell casings began to fall like hail stones', striking loudly off the rigs decking. Able squad covered their heads.
"Hang on!" Racket declared. "This could get rough real quick!"
"Just keep us on the damn road!" Pendax snapped his hand pressed to his ear piece.
"My Dita can handle it, can't you darlin'?" Erika heard Racket release confident snarl as he steered the huge rig forwards.
The rig in front of Dita veered into the cliff face throwing its Gears squad to the floor, a Nemecyst slammed into the road where it had been moments before, tossing up clumps of dirt and stones. Split second thinking on the drivers part and fast reactions had just saved the rig from being blown apart. Racket avoided the crater but the Nemecysts were coming thick and fast now, the sound was like nothing Erika had experienced before. McNair swung the chain gun round and with a whine it spun into life. A barrage of bullets filled the sky knocking out some of the Nemecysts that were getting to close. Privets Bassky and Larrons, Able's last two members added lancer fire to the defence. Archer and Pendax joined moments later. Blander was yelling into his earpiece but Erika couldn't hear a thing over the clattering gun fire and explosions. With only a Longshot and pistol there was little she could do against the Nemecysts. She felt utterly fucking useless. It wasn't a pleasant realisation.
Dirt and stone chips bounced against her shoulders as a Nemecysts crashed into the cliff above. She turned as a mini landslide crashed into the side of the rig. Blinded by dirt and dust Erika was thrown backwards against the cabin wall. "Racket..!" she managed before the wind was knocked from her lungs. Everyone lost their footing except McNair, who carried on firing and venting the chain gun with expert ease. Through the cabin window Erika saw Racket struggling with the controls. The rig lurched to the left, its wheels perilously close to the edge of the road.
"Come on Dita baby!" Racket had left his comm channel open. Draper rushed to assist him and the rig swung back on the straight and narrow, tires squealing against the effort.
"We almost thought we lost you there 322!" that was the voice of KR-zero-seven's pilot speaking now. "That was some driving!"
Erika picked herself up, spitting grit. She looked ahead; a gap had formed between the rig in front and Racket's. Spread across the road was the burning remains of a centaur. Racket's rig rolled right over the debris, its huge wheels were pretty much bullet proof so a few pieces of metal wouldn't bother them. Erika barely felt a bump as Dita crushed the wreck flat and carried on. Another Nemecyst arched over head. Erika watched in horror as it slammed into KR-zero-eight, the Raven defending the rig up front. The chopper began to spin, smoke pouring from her engines. With a screech of rending metal she slammed into the cliff, her rotor blades tearing free. Erika saw what was coming and time seemed to slow down to a crawl. Her life saving instincts kicked in just as she expected them to and adrenaline flooded her system. She threw herself away from the railing as the rotor spiralled towards Racket's rig. She twisted in mid air to land hard on her stomach as the rotor roared over head, the edges scarring the cabin wall and unleashing a torrent of sparks. Erika felt the displaced air press on her shoulders for a second as it whipped across her prone form. She saw it miss cutting Bassky in half by less than an inch as he lunged backwards out of its path. But Larrons wasn't as lucky.
The rotors split his body apart from shoulder to groin with a horrid squelch, it bounced off the rigs deck and spiralled away into the valley below. Larrons was killed instantly, blood and organs spilled out, steaming, onto the metal floor and the hot coppery tang of blood and reek of open bowels hit Erika's nostrils a few seconds later.
"Hang on!" Racket declared, oblivious for the moment to Larrons fate, "Dita's gonna have to shove that Raven outta the way! It's a bit bigger than that Centaur. Come on baby!"
The whole rig bucked and bounced, the screech of metal on metal filling the air as she shunted the Raven wreck. One half of Larrons rolled off the side and was gone forever. His innards slid towards Erika as the rig lurched forwards on its suspension. With a grimace she rolled out of the way and scrabbled to her feet. Trails of crimson wove a gross pattern on the gun metal deck beneath her boots. She looked away. A cloud of greasy black smoke washed over them as the Derrick pushed the burning Raven aside. Erika's eyes watered.
"We're past!" Racket sounded relived.
"Aw fuck!" Archer exclaimed seeing Larrons remains for the first time.
Erika realised the gun fire had ceased. She looked up and the sky line was lined by inky trails but there were no live Nemecysts that she could see.
"KR-zero-seven to Rig 322, you guys okay down there?"
"KR-zero-seven, Sergeant Blander here, we're a man down, no other casualties. Thanks for the cover."
"Not a problem, looks like we're in the clear for now. KR-zero-seven out." there was a pause, "Sorry for your loss sergeant."
"I'm gonna have to tell his family." Blander muttered more to himself than anyone else.
There was a moment of silence. Only Pendax seemed uninterested, his back turned to the rest of the squad. Erika's hand rested on her handgun's grip. She shot Pendax a hard look but suddenly Archer was by her side. He pushed her fingers away from the weapon. Erika turned and wiped the dirt from her face with the back of her hand. Things were far from over, if anything she knew it would only get worse. She resisted the urge to vomit and instead focused on picking grit from her Longshot scope.