7/1/2114
With the threat of a Civil War budding in China, Japan, Russia, and Italy, developments on the war were certainly overlooked by the vast majority of civilians. Not many of those would care about the war at this point, as it had been running for nearly three decades. Even less of those people who cared would think about the rise of a new threat, a new, more powerful threat. A threat that could also be the window to peace. Hasley and her brother, the ICG director, knew of this, their soldiers knew of this, and they tried to bring it up to world leaders but they ignored it. Everyone should have known of it, but again, the public doesn't care anymore.
Of the few people who cared, they were blinded in ignorance and false power. The soldiers and the officers trained and fought harder, returning from and to the battlefield jwith missing limbs. A few soldiers who would come home in a box, or an urn, or alive with missing body parts were the soldiers of the Unit 1317, their reinforcements, and their twin unit, 1302.
Unit 1302 was another perfect set. They held down Detroit, where the last Bullet Drop Transport in Allied Intelligence territory was stationed, and flew it. They were flying to their twin unit to bring them to Los Angeles, but an electrical error released a ping, showing everyone their location. Which would have been fine, if it was directed to the humans. Within minutes, fighters were pelting their armor with forearm sized bullets, destroying the bullet drop, and before the ship crashed, bombing their twin unit with a miniature atomic bomb.
Sergeant Garrison, the man commanding both Units, watched as several bodies and parts flew into the air, mixed into the debris. The ship touched down, destroying several watch towers as the ship skidded sideways. It churned up the grass and gravel, building a small hill. When the hill was big enough, it stopped the downed ship from sliding, but allowed it to roll across the large lawn, twisting and turning, throwing up chunks of armor as it went. The huge mass, now unrecognizable, slowed to a stop as it slammed into the dense treeline, impaling itself as it crashed back down to the earth.
"Central, we've destroyed the ship. Few survivors, informant and Princess alive. Send in Adelites to asses condition. Orbital on the transport requested. ME rounds." A pilot said into his communications link, which, at the moment, was unencrypted.
One survivor jumped from the rubble, aching and bleeding. He was up, the midnight blue armor flawed as he made his way to the top of the debris. He stood up straight, gathering his mind, only to be launched backwards by someone, as Mass Explosive rounds detonated on impact against the transport. Nathan, now on the floor, gathered himself again, trying to stand. He found pressure on is chest, which was held down by a grey-ish green gauntlet.
"Stay down soldier. We might get spotted." A rough, hacking voice said to him. Sure enough, the small squad of jets flew over them, heading to the western sky.
The man stood, pistol out, and surveyed the area.
"We're clear. Get up." The man said, turning on his heel and digging through the rubble.
"Thank you, Sergeant... Garrison." Nathan said, in pain, as he stood. Garrison's name was written on his pack. Not to mention that they met before.
"Help me dig this one up. She's alive." Garrison commanded, showing Nathan a light blue arm. And so the two pulled away chunks of metal and wood. After holding up a huge chunk of the transport's armor, Alia was pulled out, unconscious and armor damaged beyond repair. Garrison crouched beside her, removing her helmet and tapping her awake. Her contacts, lucky for her, were on her eyes this time.
"Good God. What happened?" She asked, sitting up.
"Bombed and attacked by AI. We need to find more survivors. Take that armor off, it's nothing now."
"Garrison?" Alia asked.
"Yes, it's me. None of my crew survived, I'm sure of that." Garrison said, waving to the burning hunk of scrap metal that was once a transport ship.
Alia turned to the ship, and gasped.
"I'm… Sorry." She said.
"Don't be. Take this, cover us in case any scavengers come by." Garrison said, handing her his pistol.
Alia stood, shaking slightly as pain racked her body. Nathan and Garrison split off, digging up bodies. She stood up to her feet, leaving the pistol on the ground as she removed the metal parts of her chest plate and back. She let those drop with a ring on the gravel, not caring about it now. She reached up to her left shoulder, but recoiled in pain. Trying again, she reached slowly, making pained faces as the shoulder of her suit came loose, and fell off. She reached down and unlocked a few latches around her waist, and removed the armor around her hips and thighs. Those, again, fell to the ground.
Now bending down and taking the pistol, she walked over the hill of debris, with her boots, gauntlets and her right shoulder piece.
"Garrison, I found two alive!" Nathan yelled out, helping Diane and Jacob out of a landslide. Jacob had wrapped Diane's unarmored parts with his arms, protecting her. Diane stepped out, turning around and helping Jacob out as Nathan held up the chunk of metal that covered them.
Jacob's suit was sparking, and he was having a harder time climbing out of a hole he would normally have ran out of. There was no questioning his strength. He was a Tanker, one of the few people who can carry a maximum of sixteen tons alone.
With no suit, it was nearly three hundred pounds of pure muscle. That alone could carry two thousand pounds. With it, it was a four hundred pound mass of armor, hydraulics, motors, and two, three pound computers.
So, as he tried to remove himself from the hole, Garrison took over holding the metal as Nathan took Jacob's hand, and both hauled upwards. Jacob reached the top, where he stood carefully balanced. Garrison dropped the metal, and returned to searching for survivors.
Jacob removed his armor, and resembled Alia with the remaining armor he wore. Both boots remained, both gauntlets, and the right shoulder guard. That piece dwarfed his head, as most ammunition was stored there, and it could be used as a battering ram. Diane checked her partner, her suit still functioning, then stood to full height. Even with most of his armor gone, Diane was shorter than Jacob. In one hand was a long white rifle, in the other was an disabled javelin, violet in color.
"Alia!" She called, waving the javelin. The other woman, nodded, walking over.
"Y'know, you're lucky it didn't activate." Alia said, taking the javelin.
"Yeah, whatever. You should probably take this." Diane said, giving Alia the rifle that was longer than both women's arms.
Jacob stood, put a hand on Diane's shoulder and asked, "Any other survivors?"
"We're looking." Alia said.
"Nathan, I found your brother. Not in good condition. We need to set up camp somewhere safe. Daric's fine. No other survivors, he has their tags and fusion cells." Garrison reported, standing straight from his spot some distance away.
The group of four looked to each other, nodded, and walked over to Garrison.
In the open space Garrison looked down at a shorter human, bearing crimson armor, now partially destroyed. The helmet was removed, which revealed a nasty slice across the forehead. Matt was unconscious, breathing and slowly bleeding. His left arm, the unarmored arm, was mangled, the forearm's lower half hanging loosely, the elbow bending in the wrong direction, and the shoulder dislocated. The suit's computer was exposed, several wires torn, and some storage ports gone.
"This isn't the work of a bomb." Garrison said, saying what all thought.
Without a command, Jacob bent down, scooped the smaller man up into his arms and carried him.
"Find a place to set camp quickly. Carrier ETA twenty minutes. Salvage what you can. Ammo, fusion cells, cloaking devices, guns, anything we can repair and use." Daric's command came roughly.
The assessment was less than bad. Each man had a minor wound at the very least, with Matt receiving the worst of it all. His arm was amputated at the shoulder by Daric, Diane, and Garrison, and some skin stitched to close the wound and seal it to heal by Garrison. Jacob and Alia took some plates of metal under the cover of night, made a makeshift tent from the pieces, and laid the patient in it. It was a cool night, and the survivors had set into their camp, within a clearing, hours earlier.
When Matt was laid the tent, Nathan sat at the lip of the tent, sitting silently, watching his brother. Alia was out scouting, Garrison and Jacob cooking what little food could be salvaged over the fire, in the center of the camp. Diane and Daric sat off to the side, with the pile of salvaged computers and gadgets. They both sliced the electronics, connected wires and created programs.
When Alia returned, Daric called her over, and took her shoulder piece. The woman wordlessly removed the chunk of armor, spotted Nathan moping beside the tent, and took a seat beside him, hugging her knees.
"Hey," She said.
"Hey." Nathan replied.
"You feeling alright?"
"I guess you can say that."
"Well, none of us are feeling too good. I meant to say inside."
There was silence from Nathan.
"I've known her for nearly ten years, we were dating for almost six, then engaged for five months. At the end of those five months, hell." Nathan said, dropping his elbows to his knees, head to his hands.
Alia put an arm around Nathan's shoulders, leaned into him, and said, "You know, the least likely might be the most dangerous."
"What does that even mean?"
"You still love her. That's why you can't get over the fact that she's mothering a child that isn't yours."
"So?"
"This part won't really help, but the next will. Her cheating on you and having a child isn't the worst that could have happened."
"Okay…"
"You're standing here, fighting a war. She's at home, caring for a child that she probably didn't want. You get honors, even if you die, while she has to live with the fact that she has to raise something she never wanted. Plus, abortion is illegal."
"Hell… Never thought of that."
"If anyone wants to eat, I'll leave it here by the fire." Garrison called out, dropping a few cups, and stood. He locked eyes with Daric, and nodded.
Daric put down what he was working on, and followed Garrison a short distance away from the camp, outside of hearing distance yet within sight.
"To hell with you, Daric." Garrison said in a low voice.
"It wasn't my plan! It isn't my fault that they pulled an attack on us."
"Not what I meant, damnit. We can't contact EP, we can't join the AI. We go back to the EP we kill more than we need to, we go to the other way, and we blow every single plan that was put in place!" Garrison returned with a whisper.
"Then we wait it out. We have no other choice that will give us an advantage."
"How in the goddamned hell are we going to pull that off? Alia over there is smart enough to figure it out, Nathan is as suspicious as hell!"
"I don't see how Alia can be much of a threat. She hates the daylights out of her parents, but she's willing to serve her people. Just not now."
"My point exactly!"
"If we can convince her that both the humans and the Sentients are her people we may have gotten ourselves a face."
"You can't play puppets, Daric. Even if you convince her, what about Nathan? What about his family?"
"How hard will it be to have the Navarro brothers captured or put under?"
"There you go again. We can't just do that."
"Okay, how about this: We capture his fiancée, use her in the classical hostage way, bring him to the dark side?" Daric replied, with a heavily sarcastic tone.
"Seriously now."
"I was serious about the hostage thing. He still loves her."
"That is one attached man."
There was a moment of silence between the two, in which Garrison put a hand on Daric's shoulder. Both were thinking carefully of the next move. The smoke from the downed transport was raging. It would be hard to move at this point. They had no working long range communications, and knowing that Garrison was stationed further up north than 1317, and had to defend the transport, meant that the Allied Intelligence had pushed them over from the west. And coming from what information they gathered, reinforcements for the area had to be stopped halfway down from the Du Varden encampments. To disappear meant that the EP would look for them, and by the looks of this group they would be found. Then branded deserters. To go back to them meant killing more that what they need to kill. And that meant guilt. Not because they were fighting them but because The two had made a deal. Isn't it obvious already?
It should be. Who else could have helped set up the attack nearly a year ago? Who would have known about that? Not any soldier. Any amount of reconnaissance would not have been enough. The events get planned just hours before it happens, and it happens in different locations. Plus, he and his brother both wear the insignia. Any could put together the pieces. They were just lucky they were occupied about something else.
As for Garrison, he never told his story.
"You know, I just realized something." Garrison said, rubbing his chin.
"What?"
"Diane might be willing to help."
"I knew her since a while back, but how did you come up with that?"
"Look at her."
"What about her?"
"Yeah, what about me?" Diane piped up, hands on the shoulder of both Garrison and Daric.
"OHFU-" Garrison jumped in surprise before having his mouth clamped shut by Daric.
"Shutyourmouth!" He whispered quickly.
"They say the guilty get surprised easily." Diane said, tilting her head. Both men locked eyes for a moment before one nodded so slightly, that even an owl wouldn't catch it.
Daric reached out to her helmet as Garrison motioned for her to be quiet. Within her helmet her eyes squinted in confusion as Daric removed it carefully with both hands, and the light colored hair fell from it's place within the helmet. The moon was high now, barely visible through the smoke. The effect of both gave a red tint to the light, giving Diane's platinum hair a pink-ish color while her suit turned orange.
"Can I trust you?" Daric asked, holding her helmet while staring at her. It was intense stare, one that seemed to be staring through the eyes and into the brain. Diane opened her mouth slightly to answer, but a finger was placed on her lips, stopping any words.
And with it came the real intensity of the stare. Diane noticed that his right gauntlet and wrist piece was removed, his warm thumb on her lips while his index was positioned under her chin. What did this mean? Well, it meant that he was dead serious. Daric rarely removed his armor when he was around others, so that meant he was prepared to get his hands dirty. She knew he meant to ask whether he can trust her with the secret of the conversation, which must be a big secret if helmets had to be removed.
"Once you know will you tell any one the secret or will you be with us to the end of this?" Garrison added, crossing his arms, and staring into her eyes just as his partner did. Diane turned her eyes to him, and received the same intensity.
At once did the female think of the responsibility. It must be a big one, then. She had nothing to lose.
"You won't see things the way you did before. You might see the truth, you might turn away from it. But we can't afford to have this secret known, yet." Daric said, removing his hand.
"Anyone who betrays the secret has to be eliminated. Even one of us. So we have to trust you."
Diane took a breath. This could be anything. She had to be ready to be charged with treason.
Slowly, yet surely, the nod came.
When the remnants of the units came together at the fire to eat, all six who could, a question came up: "What now?"
"We're on a territorial peninsula. So we only have one way to move." Garrison answered.
"And that's the problem. We move up, we leave the next unit open on four sides." Daric added on, seated between Diane and Garrison while clamping on the outer cover of Alia's shoulder piece. He connected it to the computer on his wrist and hit a few buttons before the shoulder piece turned into a mirage, then disappearing, followed by Daric himself. He flashed back into place, disconnecting the wire.
"So we sit here and wait for reinforcements?" Nathan asked bitterly.
"Not an option." Garrison shook his head.
"Then what is?!" Nathan returned.
"It's one hell of a plan, but if it works, we can intercept the delivery of a Guardian Exxo, use it as our own and get some territory back so reinforcements can move in."
"What the hell are you thinking?! We can't capture that!" Alia was surprised. There were many ideas in the past that were a little intense on difficulty. But this has to be the hardest so far.
"They expect exactly that. A well placed plan and a little jamming could give us a chance."
"How big of a chance?" Jacob asked.
"Not a big one, I can tell you that." Garrison replied.
"Let me get this straight. You're asking us to go on a suicide mission, with only six people, and four with fully functioning suits? We don't even have enough weapons." Nathan's skeptical tone escaped.
"Would it make a difference if I told you that the AI are on the eastern beaches of Australia, Indonesia, Philippines, China, Japan, and Korea, and are slowly capturing cities?" Daric said, not looking up.
"You're messing with me."
"No, I am not. It's real. The ICG and EP aren't holding the line hard enough. If we catch their attention with these efforts, the AI would push everyone here as hard as they can. By then, we'd be gone. We'd slow the invasion, and we can send fleets to the coasts. We might escape, we might die. But we sure as hell are not going to sit here and watch as our efforts gets wiped off Asia, then Europe."
"I'd rather escape."
"Deserting is punishable as treason." Diane said, putting down the rifle she was working on. It was a weapon that resembled a long range weapon, but without the matching paint or sanded down welds. The Ion Disc was beside her on stone she sat on, doing its work putting items together.
"I'd rather die with my family than on an impossible mission."
"So you prove to us and yourself that all of your family's efforts are in vain." Daric said, tossing the shoulder piece to its owner.
"We had no choice! I would go back and get an explanation!" Nathan yelled, standing. It was a real yell this time; a loud one you would hear some distance away. Nathan realized now that he may have yelled out of pain, and that yell could attract the Sentients. To rub it in his face, the yell echoed. And echoed twice. Then there were four synchronized beeps. All from the active radars connected to Garrison, whose suit carried the actual radar. Diane put her helmet on, stood quickly and grabbed her rifle. Jacob and Alia grabbed theirs, while Garrison continued eating from his can. Nathan, who was still standing, stared down at Daric, while Daric stood slowly, Hurricane in hand.
Garrison now stood, throwing the empty can into the fire.
"They know we're here. We have two choices. Stay and fight, or run to the next unit almost a kilometer away. We fight, we put everyone on the line. We run, only three of us can fight. Choose." Daric said, giving Nathan this choice of command.
Again, there was silence. Nathan knew all looked to him for this command. And hell, was it torture. Either way, if he didn't give the right command, he'd lose some of the team. He turned to Jacob, making eye contact.
"I can take your brother. Just cover me." Jacob said, nodding.
Nathan had no weapons. Alia had a pistol and her cloaking device, Daric had the Hurricane, his suit and turbines. Garrison had the rifle Diane made, and the said woman had her blades.
"How much of the scrap do we need?" Diane asked Daric.
"Just the valuables."
"I can take some, Jacob still has the shoulder storage." Garrison said, looking to Jacob for confirmation.
Nathan looked to Diane and Daric, "Then we run. There should be some vehicles in the city, we can take some and escape to Detroit. It isn't much better than stealing a Guardian, but we don't have much choice."
Daric took the decision, knowing either way the chances were slim. They'd get slaughtered if they stayed, yet if they left they opened the next unit. It was a chance they would have to take.
"Diane, Alia, take rear and forward positions. Lead us to a vehicle depot. Check your fusion cells. Put power in them, wireless connections to comms. Constant contact." Daric told all.
The group set to it, Garrison and Jacob loading salvageable electronics into their storages. Diane checked her ammunition as Alia wired her cloaking device to the internal suit, allowing her whole body to cloak.
"Nathan!" Diane called. The man looked over. Diane, standing by the rock she sat on, gestured to an all too familiar blade beside it. It was his brother's blade, and putting the pieces together, realized that she meant for him to use it. Nathan walked around the fire, picking up the heavy, glass plated blade.
"Don't forget this. Connect it to your shield emitter, it should be large enough to cover you." The woman added, giving him a small disc, which he attached to his left forearm.
"Nathan, you and I on defensive. If we get caught, do what you can. Garrison, shoot what we don't." Daric said, kicking out the fire.
"My job should be easy then." Garrison joked, picking up the fully custom rifle.
"Diamond formation, CC." Daric commanded. Alia ran out forward, taking the lead. The woman disappeared into her cloak.
Jacob followed, Matt slung onto his left shoulder. Garrison followed closely, not farther than an arm's reach. On either side were Daric and Nathan. Nathan took the left, reverse gripping the broadsword in his right hand. Diane followed some distance away, wakizashi and Ion Disc in hand as she ran. When the group cleared the trees, two shots went off some distance away.
"Hard left. Took out two infantries, one brute searching." Alia reported.
They approached a few, smaller buildings, the road hidden behind a wooden fence. Sure enough, there were two Sentients on the ground, but the brute was unseen. Nathan took the lead of the group of four, turning on the shield, which now was a large circle. He charged through the fence, tearing it down. The wood splintered outward, taking with it two meters of fence on either side. Nathan pushed through, and collided with something a whole lot more solid than the fence.
There was a deep grunt and moan of pain, which followed a great big slap. Nathan collided with the brute, the newly modified shield shooting the brute backwards and onto the floor, sending the gun of said enemy flying, the barrels bent. Nathan raised the shield, the broadsword now pointing forward. The brute stood, removing a war hammer from its slot on his back. Both charged each other, Nathan faster than his opponent, who brought the hammer down on the shield with enough force to make the air vibrate visibly. The shield was raised, and less than a second after the hammer smashed into the shield, the blade swung outward, piercing the knees of the brute, cutting them clean off of their owner.
The brute came down into the asphalt, the hydraulics and oils forming a puddle. Looking into each other's eyes, Nathan brought the sword through the brute's head, killing him instantly.
"Hurry up!" Jacob said as he rumbled past.
"Right into an alley before the main roads. Be aware of a pod of hunters. I saw three sleeping at the corner of the main roads. One might be loose." Alia reported.
"Noted." Daric said.
"Oh hell no! I have a tracker leading some flyers back here! Assistance required!" Diane reported in, the distinct sound of the wakizashi leaving the body of a sentient could be heard. Over communications again, an explosion rang.
"Damn you and your rockets!" Diane yelled, before the dying scream of a Sentient came through.
"Need to take a detour! Watch your six, the tracker broke formation and is following you." Diane reported again, leaping up onto an upper walkway.
"I hope this works." She whispered to herself, the gloves of her suit vibrating slightly as they magnetized. Her blades were sheathed, and as the walkway came to an edge, Diane prepared to leap. A flyer, essentially a Sentient with a jet pack, shot a rocket, which made contact with the wall ahead of Diane.
The woman's boot came up to the hand rail on her right, and she launched herself upwards to the wall, where her gloves stuck onto the wall. Diane jumped off, achieving a distance a normal, unsuited human could never do. The magnets switched polarity, shooting her off the wall and into the small squad of flyers.
She caught one with a magnetized boot, attaching to his jet pack. Because of the sudden imbalance, the flyer flipped over, but maintained flight.
"Ha!" Diane cheered, pointing a finger at the Sentient who looked upwards at her. The group swerved right, swinging Diane outward to the left, who then realized that she was about to smash into the wall.
An old, brick wall. Diane panicked, but then saw a pipe on the side of the structure. Reversing the polarity again, Diane pointed her hands at the pipe, swinging her to the inside of the turn. The momentum increased, and the flyer was flipped back upright, Diane now "surfing."
The flyer she rode on turned to her, pointing a gun at her leg.
"No ya don't!" Diane yelled, launching off the flyer, who then lost control and smashed into the ground. Diane, descending slowly, pointed both hands at two flyers, who now was under the control of Diane. Before either looked at each other, they collided, bounced from each other, then hit the walls of the alley. There were two flyers left, both of who Diane targeted as her descent accelerated.
"Oh no. Oh nope nope nope nope." Diane complained.
"Don't malfunction. Please don't!" She said as she hit the ground, rolling to decrease the impact.
She brought her body to a standing position, ready to run after the group.
"Two flyers inbound. I'm closer than earlier." Diane reported to the group of four, who ran across a street and into another alley.
"Understood. Watch for debris." Nathan replied.
"Will do."
Nathan led the group, followed by Jacob, Garrison, and Daric. He smashed through some dumpsters, any hitting the shield flying away. It cleared the way from solid items, but spread the smaller bags of trash that were left to rot. Behind him he saw Daric take off with his turbines, and flipped to face the rear, where the two flyers approached. The Hurricane charged with a whine, and realizing this, the flyers shot in different directions. One went up, the other went down. Slowly catching up he saw Diane, running as fast as the suit would take her.
And boy, was it fast. She grabbed the leg of the flyer, now fast enough to push it.
Daric pointed up, the first of the Hurricane's bullets missing, the bulk of them perforating the Sentient, who then fell to the ground, lifeless. Diane was still below, the wakizashi inserted to the Sentient's thigh. Diane removed the blade and grabbed the jet pack, removing it quickly enough to let the Sentient fall face first. The pack was now in her hands.
"Found the depot. Be careful of cameras and sentries. We can take them out." Alia suggested.
"Clear a location for the carriers. Diane, catch up and mark what you can." Daric commanded, slowing down to a light jog. The others followed suit.
When the group slowed, their surroundings really set in. It being July, the fog would be rare, and this was one of those cases. They were lucky for this, as spotting them would be harder for most. Yet they were unfortunate for the fact that this used to be a civilian refuge.
The asphalt below their feet was nearly just gravel, and pipes had collapsed, giving the impression of a long, abandoned war zone. Vines and other plants overtook the buildings, once used as a refuge during the removal of humans from the area. A refuge for each innocent person in the surrounding cities.
Back at the start of the war, cities like these would take in the civilians and use other cities as defense. It all worked well, until the Hunters. By then it was a massacre. An unstoppable creature, which worked with so much efficiency, that even the non-sentient robots seemed like children.
They were deployed after the majority of the attack force, giving them room to attack the humans. They'd go and run, slashing but not killing the soldiers, who lived just long enough to hear the screams of those they failed to protect. And so the defenses would fall, they would advance, waiting at the outskirts of the refuge, letting all of the people know they were there.
No other Sentient or robot would come farther than this, they were no longer needed. The Hunters would enjoy the screams of fear, singing in the high pitched voice they were known for. The attackers would cheer as buildings went up in flames, but their voices would be lost with the dying screams of men, women, and children.
We, the humans, had no suits then. All that was protecting us were thick layers of cloth or plastic armor. We weren't made for the old fashioned warfare our ancestors enjoyed. We lived in the age of tactical warfare, using technology to eliminate the opponent. Yet this… This was a loosely planned rush, and the varying attacks couldn't be matched by synchronized and practiced maneuvers.
Our greatest trained fighters worked with our greatest tacticians day and night, and nothing could hold them down. We were forced to use a weapon that never should have been used. An atomizer bomb. This is different from an atomic bomb. This was a weapon capable of tearing apart the links between atoms, reducing anything in its path into a fine dust, if not gas.
It was done, and everyone knew it was a suicide mission. We bombed Seattle, San Francisco, Mexico City, New York, Boston, and Miami.
It is something that we regret. Not because they fought harder with the introduction of Guardians and Sentinels, but because it was a desperate move.
Daric snapped back to complete attention when Nathan stopped, up against the brick wall on their left. He peeked around, and to his eyes came the sight of an old shopping mall, repurposed to become a forwarding base. It was filled with more quantity intel than quality. These were the basic moves that almost everyone can understand.
Yet otherwise, many weapons, vehicles, aircraft, and exo-suits were stored here. A command center was also present, so was an med-bay. This place was defended, more than most bases, yet not as much as others.
"Quadrant system. Independent systems, reinforcements come from within the base. We have three vehicles marked; seven turrets, spread; four snipers, symmetrically; a guardian, on center; and a few Sentinels, walking around on rotation." Diane reported for her and Alia.
"Recieved. Minimize radio chatter and meet at our location. We form a plan, rest if we can." Daric said, before tapping Garrison and pointing to a door.
"Nathan, keep a look out on the ground. Cover the two from below, find a base." Daric whispered. The blue suited soldier nodded, raising his shield and sword, moving to the center of the alley.
Daric shot upward silently using the gravity hook, climbing up onto the roof. The Gravity Hook was replaced, and the SC quietly rolled onto the floor, kneeling behind an air conditioner. He looked around, and crept over to the second air conditioner, closer to the corner of the building. It was a better vantage point, allowing Daric to see the ground, the lower airspace, and anything in the near region, not behind a building. Of course, it was still night time, and there still was fog, but even the infrared and UV vision had trouble with the dense mist. It wasn't likely that the Sentients would see them, yet precautions were still being used.
Daric's sensors, the echo locator, movement trackers, IR feeds, EMF detectors, the whole array, were on and working. Garrison and Nathan's were on too, all of them keeping an eye on the surrounding area. Especially since the pod of Hunters were seen earlier.
"Daric, I'm on your eight, two hundred meters and closing." Alia said, and sure enough, her location was soon found on Daric's displays.
He could faintly see a feminine figure in the distance, yet it wasn't Alia and it wasn't on the scans. Likely that was Diane, yet you can't be too sure. Daric stood to a slight bend, preparing to jump over the street and onto the next building, with an intent to intercept the figure.
Over the months reports of humans working alongside the AI came in, some declaring to be terrorists, others… Killed those who asked. While it being a human on the other side is a possibility, it could also be a Duplicator, one of the absolute rarest Sentients. It should be easy to figure out why they were called such.
THose thoughts came to a halt when Daric realised that he missed the jump, too close for the turbines, too late for the Gravity Hook. His toe hit the brick wall, yet it slipped of, pushing his shin back, making him land on the hard, still solid edge with his knee, making a very loud, very painful, and very cringe-worthy impact. Garrison grit his teeth when he heard the impact, flinching when he heard Daric slap the concrete roof.
Daric, for his luck, was able to land the other leg, leap up and roll, bringing him to a stop behind a roof access shed.
"With all that's wrong with this place…" He cursed, still as he lay on his back.
"You alright buddy?" Diane asked.
"I think I shook my bladder hard enough in that impact." He replied, and it might be obvious to the team what exactly he meant. "Lucky that the suit releases liquids…" Daric said, sitting up, rubbing his leg, which at the moment, was numb enough that he couldn't move it.
"I think the Sentients heard that impact…" Daric wasn't sure how, but Diane was beside him, probably getting there when he rolled.
"What makes you say that?"
"Two of the Hunter pods are empty. Keep an eye out."
"Get down! Forget the Hunters! Snipers with cross hairs!" There was a split second of silence where Diane and Daric looked at each other, having received Alia's message. But too late is too late…
Garrison pushed a door open, then a loud Bang! rang in his ears. Nathan immediately was on the move, shield up and ready to defend the others.
"Diane?!" They heard Daric call. Another shot rang, and Nathan's unprotected leg was grazed by a hand-sized bullet, the armor tearing off, followed by a chunk of flesh that once was part of his right leg. He fell forwards, rolling so his back was to the ground.
He looked up to a drooling Hunter, smiling as the teeth shone, contrasting the shiny, bald head. It backed up, letting Nathan stand, supported by the blade. He won't be using that too much.
"Mary had a little lamb." The Hunter sang, tilting the eyeless head to the right. The indents where they should be was the focus of Nathan's eyes, who grunted with each shift.
Up above Daric pulled an injured Diane beside him, rolling over her to pay her with medical attention. Her eyes were closed from pain as she lay on the ground between Daric's legs, who was looking for the source of blood. The male ripped off her helmet and both his gauntlets, slapping her lightly to keep her awake.
"Give me a point!" He lightly commanded, hand over the right side of her abdomen, where the grey internal suit was turning crimson faster than anywhere else. Daric's hands were going up and down the region, trying to find the point of entry. With her type of skin it wasn't too hard. She was smooth up and down her sides, along her face, and finding wounds should be as simple as finding a mountain in the plains.
When he did find the point, Diane bit into her lip, eyes closed harder as her hands enclosed Daric's arm, which held pressure against the wound.
"I can't hold this wound forever. I need you to fight with me, stay alive. We need to get down into this apartment- there may still be supplies." Daric said, taking her right hand in his and sitting her up.
"I'll walk." Diane argued, trying to stand. She fell over in pain, leaning into Daric.
"That's not happening. It's a 0.72 caliber round. It's still in there, and you'll lose too much blood if you walk, Princess."
"How do you expect to get down?!" Diane asked as she looked up, eyes widening as a flier found its way up onto the roof.
Instinctively, she pulled Daric's Hurricane from his back, flipped it then unloaded a handful of bullets into the fliers engines. While it happened, she released her grip on Daric, who caught her, exchanging his standing position for the safety of Diane's.
Diane had a clear view over the edge of the building, where Nathan struggled to fight off two Hunters, who were attacking in a slow demeanor. She could see his limp, and the bleeding leg. He was backing up, obviously relying on the shield as the wall grew closer.
But when he touched the wall, an arm burst through, thicker than any part of the slender Hunters. You could easily tell as the hand of that arm encased a Hunter's neck, holding, but not choking. Jacob burst through the wall, head tilted forward, giving a threatening aura.
The second Hunter switched his attention to Jacob, moving forward in a more… Panicky way. Nathan swung his shield arm outward, hitting the second Hunter away as Jacob raised the first… Then slamming it hard enough into the ground to instantly kill the creature. The second Hunter backed slowly into the street, then Jacob and Nathan stopped. It was more fear than hesitation, because two Brutes walked abreast, a wicked smile on their faces as their chainguns whined.
"Oh." Nathan started.
"My." Jacob continued, slowly backing up.
"God. You guys suck." Alia said, leaping from a building, decloaking halfway down from the roof. The Anti-Matter javelin glowed devilishly in her hands, sucking in the light around it as she stood behind the three AI. Alia gave a light purr as she started her light show, which the two on the roof didn't witness.
Instead Daric kicked down the metal door, his boot punching a hole into the door while tearing it from the hinges. He rushed down the steps carrying Diane as she protested mildly.
"I can walk!" She said. Daric rounded a corner.
"You'll lose too much blood."
"I'm faster than you are!"
"I won't take the chances, Princess." Daric looked down at her, platinum blonde hair astray and flowing down, creating a silky curtain.
"So you have something for me?"
"I have a sense of responsibility and trust with you." Daric said, kicking down another door.
It was an apartment, and they faced an empty hallway. Daric turned to the nearest door, and kicked it open.
The room they entered, a wide living room with mismatching couches and decorations, was obviously from a family of five, three young males and their parents. The mass of shoes near the front door was stepped on as Daric laid Diane down on the black couch, which was parallel to the wall behind it, yet saved space for a small computer desk in the corner.
Diane grunted as she was set down, the change in position obviously the culprit. Daric rushed into the small hallway, peeking into a bathroom on the left. There were two mirrors, one shattered and covered in blood while the other was scratched. A cabinet hid behind one mirror, which Daric tore clean off the wall.
there were toothpastes which expired long ago, shaving razors, all but the bandages he needed. Turning around and into a closet, Daric ripped long towels in half to create what he needed. Dust littered the air, and Daric shook off the dust from the towels. He came back outside, jogging, before skidding to a halt beside Diane. He began his work.
"Seriously, do you have something for me?" Diane asked as Daric ripped off a portion of her internal suit, showing a fresh, yet clotting wound. Daric took a knife from the kitchen, and widened the wound enough to fit his index finger and middle finger into.
"Take this, and bite." Daric said, taking her tags and placing it into her mouth. "Hold the towel around the wound to suck up blood, I'll cover it."
Usually a process like this is reserved for medics, but everyone gets basic training for this type of situation. And in the suit, or a suit with gauntlets, you don't have to worry about washing your hands- the organic boosting systems in the suit will eliminate anything that doesn't belong to the human wielder, and it's just something we stole from the Allied Intelligence. It was a miracle for us, and if it's just a regular thing for them, what's really going on at this point?
Are we evenly fighting a war or are we just hovering around a giant's ear like a common pest?
And hell, if we were hovering around a giant's ear, it became even more obvious to Diane. A small portion of the wall burst open, yet it was only after Daric rolled backwards that she noticed. It was a quick, reflexive roll, done to dodge an incoming strike. And that's exactly what happened. Diane's reflexes were slugged by the pain, and she raised her head up to find two Hunters. Two, snarling Hunters, both fighting Daric, who held a meat cleaver. And the nearest weapon was over the couch. Over the couch, in a position difficult for Diane to reach, even less Daric. And when he rolled backwards again, Diane made her choice. Daric couldn't handle those two without back-up or a weapon he's trained with extensively.
And so a slugged Diane sat up, groaning as the crimson leaked slowly from the wound. There were a few windows, all of which the others of the team were visible. And they could see her if they looked up into the apartment.
"All available units, report to deployment bay III-IX, I repeat, all available units report to bay III-IX. This is not a drill." The sirens went on. And they were loud when there were two in a large, yet relatively small dormitory. In one corner was a bunk bed, in the opposite corner was another. At the center of the floor was an insignia, one of a hexagon, divided to six to represent the six members of this pod. In this army, people are divided differently. Instead of twelve per group, there were four or six, known as pods yet equivalent to a unit. And in every way, it was an unfair fight. But it depended on the people in the unit or pod.
Yet either way, two of the four "operatives" of the pod woke instantly, those on the top bunks rolling off and landing on their feet, beside their comrades. All four worked sluggishly, wiping away morning tears and stretching as they woke from four hours of sleep.
"This better be hella important if they need to wake us up." Kyle complained, cracking his knuckles. Adam sat on the bed behind his older comrade, grabbing his shoulder and pulling himself up with it. Sixteen square feet away, the two females of the crew were sleeping soundly, both covered with thick comforters they found in a warehouse.
"I will have to agree with you in the fact it is important. Major General Shannie Beau'rice and Lance Corporal Hans Elberith are enroute to the door." Mirror "laughed." Between the two electronic partners, Mirror seemed to be the "male" of the two, yet there technically was no "male" or "female" when the two had no distinct bodies.
"Should we wake the two females?" Ghost asked, and being one herself, was disappointed.
"No, let them get woken by the Gen. After last night I think they deserve it." Adam said, smiling at the central computer.
The door hissed quietly, and slid open. Adam and Kyle's chatter died almost instantly.
Ad two commanding officers stepped in, both wearing the "office" uniforms. Or maybe I should say, the formal uniforms. Shannie tilted her head over to the two sleeping forms, and Hans nodded and smiled at the two males, who he'd grown close to over the years. He could have been part of their pod if he weren't a Lance Corporal.
If anything all the humans in Alpha were like a family. Everyone knew everyone, and it made teamwork efficient, yet deaths that much harder.
"Can y'all remind me, why in the sane logic did you throw a party for my promotion?" Shannie asked, sounding much like the typical woman from the last century.
"We're all family here, Sha' and we are all still young. The young'uns don't need to be so tense." Adam replied, his thick, English accent slipping for a moment.
"Go getcha self a shirt, Adam. None of ya' mus-cles impress me." Shannie acted like a bratty child with an attitude problem, and all those awake got the joke. There was slight laughter, before Hans removed a bottle of ice from his belt clip.
"This may come in handy." He said, passing it to Kyle. The recipient gave a mischievous smile.
Calmly he opened the bottle, took out a chunk of ice and handed it to Adam.
"Drop into Yannelle's mouth when I give the signal."
And so they crept over silently, the two officers observing quietly. Both were snoring, yet the blonde on the lower bunk was louder than any of those in the room. And even when she was awake she was the loudest. Adam pinched the chunk and held it over her open mouth.
Kyle scaled the ladder, and crept beside his sister, bottle in hand.
He whispered, "Three…" He tipped the bottle slightly. "Two…" The water moved slowly to the edge of the bottle. "One…" And the base shook.
Shook hard enough for Adam to drop the ice chunk, melting the cold water into a sensitive mouth. But up above it was more of a catastrophe. The bed shook, and the water spilled all over the sleeping sister. And by all over… I mean on her face, neck, chest, and stomach. And that water was cold. Stored in negative degrees cold.
Flinching ensued when Kyle shot off the bed like a cat, getting away just in time to evade a wild punch thrown by Ava. But he didn't land so well.
"Suits up and ready. Objective recap- Find and shut down the rebellion. Retake the depot, and eliminate any threats. Reinforcement recap- Sentinel double exo, one pod. One Guardian, and a pod of Adelites. Limited numbers, limited access to location. Lock, load, and good luck." Mirror said.
"Kid." Kyle said, turning to the newly recruited EOD Technician, who, along with his pod, took their first mission with Elites. The technician gave no response.
Kyle and Ava flew with the recruits in the transport, and below them, suspended magnetically, was the Guardian. Their allies flew with the larger transport, along with the rest of their crew.
"Kid!" Kyle half yelled. No response. He turned to Ava, who noticed the same flaw. Kyle lifted his wrist, which held a computer, and pressed a sequence of buttons that released his safety harness. His suit flashed to life, the light green displays stabilizing his magnets and audio. He walked over to the technician, three slots away and beside the door. He was lined with Ava, so e saw him almost immediately.
"Kid if you don't get that wire in correctly you're going to suffocate in that suit." Kyle said, releasing the harness.
"Sir, thank you, Sir!" The recruit said, giving the respect he'd give anyone.
"From what they told me you grew up homeless in Chicago. Not a good place to be but you just beat the stereotype. You have my respect for that." Kyle said, patting his head, and locking in his harness again.
"Sir, if anyone has respect for anyone it's me to you. You're leading us into battle, and we have to trust our lives won't go to waste. Knowing that's on your shoulders and having the power to move on- that deserves respect more than growing up with manners."
"You're a good kid. Follow orders that are right, look out for those you trust. Know that I'll have an eye on you." Kyle said, before turning away.
Words like those rarely get spoken to recruits. And maybe it's to help them fight, but telling them that there's trust between the commander and himself… What could motivate a person more?
Kyle's magnetized steps thudded heavily on the floor, and he walked into the cockpit.
"Two minutes before drop. Be ready for heavy fire." The AI's pressurized statement reached Kyle's ears. He stood there for a minute.
"Pilot, link a connection to all units." Kyle said, returning to the carrier portion. The displays gave a visual of each room, with the Guardian outside listening.
"Alright, Elites. This raid is just outside of textbook. We have objectives, completable in any way. Minimize casualties, maximize efficiency. As you know, we have recruits on board. You all know what it's like to be around Elites. We've been there. So, I'm giving you another objective. Protect these people, to the end of the mission. Deaths are deaths, but they are part of our families now. Treat them like they are, act like they are. Adam, if you'd like to lead our team here in a little ritual?" Kyle said, grabbing a support pole right beside the main door.
Adam, in the same position as Kyle, but on the other plane,loaded his chaingun.
"If I die tonight, then I will be at rest, knowing my family will avenge me. THere is no peace but death. This is our passion, and through here we gain strength. Then we gain power. Then we gain peace. We do our job, we lock and load, and we avenge our family." The door opened, and the Adelites rushed out, followed by everyone else.
It was a blur to see, and when the ships were clear, Kyle jumped out. This was a new suit, a shiny, new, deep water blue suit. And in the sky it looked like a bomb. But this new suit, shouldn't be revealed just yet.
The air rushed around the new suit, cloaked in a long, black gown, looking like a god descending from the sky.
Diane stood, and in the corner of her eye notice Daric turn to her, wide eyed. Those Hunters were pushing him into a corner, and that's exactly where those Hunters should be. In the corner about to get pelted by sharp ice. But only the Hurricane can do that, right? Yep. The Hurricane did do that.
Daric, covering his face, lowered his guard. He closed his eyes hard enough that there were stars when he opened them again. For once, he truly showed his fear. His eyes were wide, there was a vibration to his body. A hard, noticeable vibration. And it was so bvious why when he lowered his arms. There was a gash on his neck, bleeding profusely. Diane lowered the gun, locking eyes with Daric. In those seconds, her eyes dreamt of peace, for a balance that needed to be justified. Daric took a step forward, and wrapped Diane in his arms.
"I did have something, Diane." He said, pulling back.
It was in both of their eyes as they shared a kiss. It was an honest kiss, yet it may have been birthed from the tension. But they broke it, and looked in the eyes of the other. And in both their eyes, there was fear.
Alia wiped her bleeding forehead. Those new Sentients were talented. She'd dropped the antimatter javelin twice, both times lead to the injuring of herself and Garrison. Both she and the commander were bleeding in several places, both tired, hurt, and sick of the taste of blood in their mouths. And yet the fight was won, at the cost of health. Nathan's barely hanging onto consciousness, because of a single bullet.
Alia bent over, hands on her knees, spitting out blood. Her hot breaths created a pocket of warmth around her, and the same with Garrison. They were both tired out, but if any one had the right to complain, it should be Jacob. He carried so many things, fought and ran so much, and he didn't show it. His armor's paint was nearly non-existent, and there were no more smooth portions left. He carried Nathan when he collapsed in the middle of a battle, carried a brute for Alia to slice open…
"Jacob, right now you are the MVP." Alia joked, standing straight and patting the much bigger man's shoulder.
Jacob was quiet, and pale. Instantly you could tell it wasn't fatigue. It wasn't anything obvious. And in his head, he felt cold. He felt like going back to before he joined the war. To his family, who no doubt were missing their oldest son. To his siblings, who were in school and never knew anything. How would they react when the news came? The news that their oldest son, their only son, was missing out in the field, whose body might never be found, and if found, never recognizable? How would they take the news, for any one's family?
And at this point, how would Nathan take the news that Jacob, and only Jacob, knew at this moment? So he asked himself, "If I were in that position, how would I react?"
And his honest answer was, "I don't know." Because he really didn't know how to tell Nathan other than show him.
With Alia at his side, it might work out okay. And so they took a few steps, tired and aching, towards their comrade, who sat on the floor, with a red bandage around his leg. He looked up, helmet off, with tired, sad eyes.
"How's Matt?" He asked, tilting his head. And Jacob's brain restarted the cycle. Alia turned up to look up at Jacob, with the same confused expression.
"Jacob, how is my brother?" Nathan asked again, slowly this time, and with a darker tone. There was a longer pause. A longer pause, that held more emotions than six seasons of a common soap opera. Jacob's eyes shifted out of focus, and a single tear rolled off his cheek.
Nathan knew already. And he didn't believe it, but he knew. He knew what wasn't said, what anyone could have guessed.
"No… No, please tell me this is a joke!" He yelled, the tears now rolling- excuse me- flooding down his face. It was a raw emotion, one filled with so much anger and grief, and truth be told, no one could compare it. He kicked and screamed, he did what he could to resist being picked up. All he wanted now… all he wanted now was to stay where he sat against the rustig pole, to sit there and cry until death came by and gave him a hand. To sit there, and just let his body decompose, to become something that was everything. So he could have kept his brothers away from this, to have kept everything away from how it currently is. To have changed what he could have changed- anything but now.
Garrison approached the group. A cloaked someone was beside him, the light from his helmet the only thing visible of him.
"We have to go. One day, then nothing is promised." Garrison said, looking the last of the troops in their eyes as he turned back to the cloaked figure.
"Thank you, for this bypass. I won't forget it. We won't." Garrison looked Kyle in the eyes through the helmet.