Hi, if you're here from the planetside 2 sub reddit then welcome my dear fellow Auraxian.
To keep this intro short this is basically a short story about the new planetside 2 update, specifically the new black ops units introduced to the game, with that said I hope you enjoy this oneshot.
Upon the early hours of dawn just 2 miles outside Esamir's restriction zone sat one corporal by himself in the grim icy cold that was Esamir's weather, occasionally he would scratch away the layer of frost that would build up on the scope before resuming his watch.
Corporal Weston black sat by his lonesome on top of one of Esamir's many enormous violet crystals overlooking an abandoned town once inhabited by early Terran republic colonizers; nowadays it looked like a shell of its former self as the war reduced it to nothing more than a cold vacant wasteland.
For the last hour or so him and his platoon had been stationed here awaiting the arrival of a rather…important figure as his higher ups would put it, Like many other grunts in the platoon he was left in the dark about the finer details of this mission.
He knew better than to question the motives of his superiors, especially if it was concerning the TR's interests. He once knew somebody who frequently asked those question; once.
His rather boring watch was suddenly interrupted by the sounds of an incoming air vehicle; from the sound alone the corporal deduced it was a galaxy and that was enough for the adrenaline to kick in as he anxiously awaited their landing.
"All elements be advised this is watch tower, November Sierra Charlie is on site. I say again, November Sierra Charlie is on site."
"Thank you watch tower, all personnel what's your current status report?"
"Ground team Alpha, all clear general."
"Ground team Beta, all clear general."
"Sniper team Charlie, No signs of enemy activity general."
"Air team Delta here, skies are clear and our guests are coming in for a swift landing general."
"Good, You boys and girls better show them how a Terran soldier does it, Failure is not acceptable so you best not be screwing this up." The general spoke as he watched the Galaxy land from afar, behind him stood two guards with light machine guns looking as alert as everyone else.
Weston watched silently from on top of his vantage point as the galaxy slowly descended into an open compound, 24 Terran soldiers surrounded it from all sides on full guard.
His eyes darted upwards as he observed three mosquitoes jets and two liberators roam the sky passively even from his position he could tell that the liberator cannons were positioned directly over the recently landed galaxy.
The TR did like to take precautions.
"Galaxy door is opening up, Alpha team leader go ahead and establish contact with the VIP." Watch tower spoke as Alpha team leader complied and approached the VIP's now parked vehicle.
"Everyone stay sharp; we might be all the way up here watching over you but rebels can still worm their way in." The Delta squad liberator pilot spoke as she observed the surrounding area through a monitor inside her cock pit.
"It's not the rebels I'm worried about; it's whatever's in that god damn galaxy." Squad beta's team leader spoke surprising the sniper, Beta team's leader was a man that never worried about anything so to hear him say that brought up some concerns for the corporal.
'Snap out of it.' He mentally scolded himself as he shifted his sights to the galaxy once more.
He tensed when he spotted a number of 'people' exiting from the galaxy in a 2 line formation, Alpha leader moved in for a hand shake but was prevented to do so by one of the robots causing all of them to go into high alert before things slowly cooled down.
"What the hell are those things?" Another sniper of Charlie squad asked on a private squad channel.
"Looks like Nanite systems finally grew a backbone." One of the other snipers responded as they all took note of their NS common pool weaponry.
"I guess they're looking to expand their horizons, As if we don't get enough people shooting at us already." Groaned Weston as he zoomed in on one of the patches of the NS robots.
'Nanite systems combat unit…' He mentally noted to himself.
"And that's why we're here, command's probably worried the NS will break neutrality." Charlie team leader responded as Weston heard a distant cloaking sound nearby that no undoubtedly belonged to the TR.
"You know, if things go south you got one hell of a collateral there Weston." One of his squad mates told him.
Weston brought his hand up to his comm. link. "I'd be surprised if this piece of shit even takes down one of them at this range." He replied inspected his rusted rifle earning him a dry chuckle, He didn't want to admit that he was sent under-equipped due to personal safety concerns.
"All elements, Alpha TL is now escorting the VIP to the main building to conduct the meeting stay sharp." Watch tower spoke briefly.
Weston watched a man clad in a fancy looking white business suit being led by a full squad of TR soldiers into an ex-research and development office building, two NS combatants accompanied them.
"Copy that watch tower, what do we do about the scrap metal at the compound." Beta team leader asked as his team observed the remaining 10 robots that guarded the galaxy silently.
"Let them be but don't let them get out of sight. We'll know what to do depending on how this meeting goes so exercise extreme caution; we don't know what they can do." Watch tower advised.
"Copy that, you all heard her no room for mistakes maggots." Beta team leader spoke on a shared channel to all of the other units.
Before he knew it, Weston found himself falling down off the giant crystal into the hard rocks as his bones shattered from the impact; two bullets drilled his chest before a metallic leg squashed his head brutally.
That was the last thing he ever saw.
Gordon bloom sat in a relaxed manner as he maintained eye contact with a rather irritated Terran republic general, behind the general stood two guards both well-equipped and on stand by watching this current meeting unfold, 4 other Terrans stood behind Gordon effectively surrounding him.
This meeting has been dragging on for a while now with trivial topics he found no interest in.
Of course, as a Nanite systems representative he couldn't risk coming to such a delicate meeting, not to mention a meeting with the TR of all people, two rather interesting looking figures stood silently behind Gordon seemingly unresponsive.
As it would happen to be, those two body guards he brought with him were the topic of today's discussion as both of them were equipped with standard NS weaponry and gear but the most interesting feature about them was the fact they weren't human.
The man came dressed in a rather expensive looking white and grey suit with the NS logo etched just above the breast pocket, He was extremely cautious about his actions going as far to refuse a hand shake and turn down a cold and untouched cup of coffee that was left up on the desk that separated him and the general.
"As I've said General Calhoun, it's not in my superior's interest to interfere with the Republic's goals; we are only selling a product here no different than previous weapons or gadgets provided in the market." Gordon spoke carefully in hopes of assuaging the man's fears, even if those fears were put in the right place though it did not benefit Gordon to admit so.
"No different? Surely you can't be so blind to ignore the fact that your company is providing soldiers for hire! Selling man power to those who oppose the republic! The danger of these 'gadgets' you refer to far exceeds that of a standard issue NS rifle." The general narrowed his eyes as he observed the two legged hunks of metal.
"Make no mistake here Mr. Bloom, the TR has eyes and ears everywhere, we know what these 'gadgets' are capable of, the programming and engineering that went into them is light years ahead of what is currently available." The general spoke fiercely as he brought his fist down on the table that stood between him and the well-dressed NS representative.
Gordon wondered if the general was referring to a certain gadget provided to engineers across Auraxis.
"I know from experience that the NS exercises extreme diligence in their products, after all your open willingness to walk into this room outnumbered three to seven goes to show just how confident you are in the effectiveness of your tools."
If looks could kill then Gordon bloom and his body guards would have long since perished, it was clear that the general was not happy about this new service they're providing especially at such a dire time in the war with all of the empires being tied in terms of power and resources.
Gordon sat in his chair indifferently as he watched the general with a subtly amused look, it served to further irritate the general, admittedly that wasn't the goal here but the TR are quite infamous for their short tempers.
"Let's just say general that besides strong work ethics and equity of treatment, Nanite systems values safety and stability above all else. Admittedly, these new models are quite effective otherwise we would have never released them to the market but like I've said in the past they shall be no different than a… harasser or a lightning." The man paused for a second as his head turned to look over the skies from across the window; two liberators were in sight roaming passively.
"You know? It's strange, I do not see this level of aggression and wariness towards our other products, and after all you surely must agree that a liberator in the right hands is a superior and greater devastating threat than any common soldier, don't you agree?" Gordon reasoned as the general silently cursed under his breath.
"Except these aren't your average common day grunt, we are more than happy to purchase these new models in bulk for our own use but as your contract states, these soldier's loyalties do not fully lie with their contractors and I hope you can understand how problematic that is to my men and I." The general argued as bloom nodded in understanding.
"I understand general; Loyalty is one of the main drives of the Terran republic albeit a touchy subject concerning the past." Gordon said.
The general raised a curious brow. "What are you implying here?" He asked, his temper slowly rising.
"Oh not much general, do not misunderstand! Loyalty is a precious commodity nowadays but the fact remains that the TR's ways of gaining those loyalties is rather questionable to say the least."
The desk was struck one more time.
"I did not bring you here just so I could be insulted by a slimy suit in front of my own men; you better watch your tongue." The general threatened darkly in a fit of rage.
Gordon sighed. "Relax general that was hardly an insult considering the past but with all things considered you should not worry about where our operator's loyalties lie, as contract states they are available throughout your entire campaign all the way until a continent is conquered and their directives fulfilled." Gordon explained, tensions started growing in the room if the shifting of the TR guards was any indication.
"Right, well listen here suit. We recognize a threat when we see one, I will not be saying this again so pay close attention. Nanite systems only has two options, either surrender these units to us or risk breaking neutrality."
"That is…an interesting offer general but let's imagine for a second that I decline your offer?" Gordon asked curiously.
"Then it wouldn't be hard to imagine yourself not leaving this area alive." The general replied firmly.
"Well, I myself wouldn't worry about that prospect but I will humor you, why do you think that you can take on the NS, especially since we provided your men with most of their equipment? Is it some misguided belief that the republic is still the dominant threat on Auraxis? For god's sake your forces struggle to hold ground general! do not think that you can black mail us into submission when your foundation is so fragile and easy to exploit." Gordon spoke as the general's irritation reached its peak.
"As it stands now the republic's forces have stagnated over the course of the war so it's only foolish that you think you can operate without our services."
"That's it.-" A sudden explosion in the distance shifted all of their attention as Gordon and his guards didn't do as much as flinch.
General Calhoun watched with a horrific look as his entire air support fell from the skies and crashed into the snowy fields of Esamir leaving no survivors behind, a firefight began raging in the distance.
"ALL UNITS WE ARE UNDER ATTACK BY THE VANU SOVREIGNTY! I REPEAT THE VANU ARE HERE!" A frantic voice boomed over one of the TR soldier's communicator.
The Terrans didn't need someone to cue them in as six weapons were raised in the air into the middle of the room with their sights set on a certain trio.
A series of gun fire echoed from inside the room as six bodies hit the floor, the two NS combat units reloaded their weapons expertly before shifting their aim at the shocked general, their colors shifted over from gray to a purple palette.
"What is the meaning of this?" Calhoun asked in outrage.
"Oh don't give me that, You and I both know what this is." Gordon spoke as he stood up.
Without any further hesitation the general pulled out his NS-44 Commissioner and shot Gordon between the eyes, the weapon was shot out of his hands before he could take down the robots however.
Calhoun watched in utter shock as the NS representative stood there indifferently suffering no damage from the bullet, he gripped his bleeding hand in pain as the two NS robots riddled him with bullet holes.
"Well general, I can't say I'm surprised at this outcome, hardly any of us are considering your empire's history of sweeping things under the rug." Gordon spoke as he walked around the desk to meet the gaze of the dying man.
One of the NS combat units that accompanied him mirrored his movements as he stood a short distance directly behind Gordon.
"What the hell are you?" Calhoun asked as he watched the NS rep reach over to the cup of coffee, his hands phased right through it.
'A hologram?' Calhoun thought in shock as his eyes darted over to the robot standing behind Bloom.
"As I've said, Caution and stability above all else. As you've noticed your men aren't disappearing and neither will you. We simply can't allow interference with our plans so eliminating you is the only choice you've left us." Gordon explained with a blank expression as the man's face twisted in rage.
"You slimy fucking cock sucker! You will pay for this!" Calhoun yelled at the top of his lungs which rendered him into a coughing mess of blood.
"Perhaps, but not now. Your shortcomings are the direct results of your refractory behavior, you're risking fundamental balance on Auraxis and I simply cannot allow that to continue, as such you're currently being wiped from the records alongside anyone involved in this incident so I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for the rebirth to set in place." The NS rep replied as dread set over the general, this is it, his final death.
"With all of that said and done, I must give you my farewell so for what's it's worth you've been a great asset for the NS prior to this meeting, goodbye."
Gordon bloom vanished from sight as Calhoun noticed a small projector like object retreat back into the black ops unit's head; the robots left the room leaving the dying man behind to yell obscenities until his final breath.
"All units this is watch tower what the hell is going on?" The female asked as she observed the several monitors alongside her co-workers, several soldiers on the screen were being highlighted as deceased as the fight raged on.
"WE ARE BEING ATTACKED BY THE VS, WE HAVE MULTIPLE CASUALTIES AND OUR EQUIPMENT HAS BEEN TAMPERED WITH! THEY'RE EVERYWHERE!"
"Beta six pull out of there, all personnel redeploy back into mother base immediately!"
"WE ARE HEAVILY SURROUNDED! WE CANT TELEPORT! WE… WATCH THE SKY! WATCH THE FUCKING SKY! ENEMY SCYTHE INBOUN-"
The voice cut off as the heart monitor next to beta six's icon flat lined.
"My god." One of the personnel breathed as they all watched the TR soldiers get killed one after the other.
All 8 people sitting behind the communication terminals were suddenly alerted by the sound of weapons being loaded.
Watch tower turned around just in time to be gunned down by a number of individuals and in a short amount of time no survivors were left.
"Is it over?"
"Yes, every last loose end has been taken care of."
"Good, now. Let's talk about the future of Auraxis."
"What do you have in mind?"
"Well Gordon, I'm thinking it's time we got a bit more involved. No doubt you've received news already but the TR wasn't the only concerned about this new development, rest assured our operatives have since taken care of any complaints that may have been raised from the NC and VS counterparts."
"I have, saves me the trouble of having to 'go' there and speak to them I suppose."
"Indeed, I shall await your return."