Chapter One
"We'll be experiencing some more turbulence, people, so keep
those barf bags handy. I don't want to clean up the floor again,"
the voice over the speaker crackled again. The Dropship began to
tumble around more violently now, and people would have flown out
of their seats if it wasn't for the seat belts. Anything not bolted
down was being tossed about, and it was a wonder that the Dropship
could keep itself together, much less enter a planet's atmosphere and
not burn up instantly.
"We'll be over the LZ in 10," the pilot said over the speaker,
though with all the noise, hardly anybody could hear her. Five minuets
later, the Dropship was out of the turbulence and began firing retro
burners to slow down. Things began quieting down, until the only thing
heard was the roar of the engines.
Shawn had sat there, his eyes meeting with those of his lover,
Maria. They had grown up together in the same small town on Tarsonis,
had gone through school together, and had joined the Marine Corps together.
Thanks to the coming mission, they planned to spend more quality time
together, in less populated settings then the Barracks.
Sitting near the far end of the ship was Paco. Paco had joined the
Corps the same time as Shawn and Maria. All three of them had been childhood
friends, but Paco was getting jealous of Shawn, particularly for going out
with the one person he really loved, Maria. Usually talkative, he had a lot
of things on his mind, and decided to keep them locked up there.
Sitting next to Paco was Nick, known as the eccentric one of the
squad. He was always quiet, never did much socializing with anyone, and
loved to read. His deep blue eyes seemed to pierce right through you, but
after a while, you got used to it, and him.
Sitting between Nick and Maria was Big Joe. Big Joe was, well, big.
He could lift twice his weight and spent most of his time working out.
Like any good sergeant, he could be a hard ass when wanted too, but on leave
he was a jovial guy who saved a couple of the team's collective butts on more
than one mission.
On Shawn's side, two seats down, was Mitchell, or Mitch. This guy was
nuts. He loved to blow things up, and often volunteered to carry the big guns.
He had requested several times to wear a Firebat suit, and our superiors finally
gave him one. He's been happy ever since.
Next to Shawn was Alex, the jokester. It's been said that Judgment Day
would come, and Alex would still be cracking jokes and making a mockery out of the
whole thing. He loved playing pranks, and used to be a corporal, until he went
a little too far at a dinner that was hosting several important generals.
Though he wont be promoted again for a long time, he still wears a smile everywhere
he goes.
On the other side of Shawn sat Elizabeth. She and Maria were best friends
since the first day of boot camp, and acted like sisters. Although she was very nice,
rumors would spread around the Barracks about drug and alcohol problem. Whenever
she heard one, she just brushed it off and walked away. Then the person who started
the rumor would end up in the infirmary an hour later.
Finally, across from Elizabeth, was Lieutenant Mason. He was earning medals
in countless battles while everyone else was still in elementary school. He was a
man of quick thinking and good judgment, but still lived with the horror of losing
his entire squad in the last war. As a result, he sworn never to become too close
to anyone, and spent most of his nights playing pool by himself at the local pub.
"We're almost at the LZ, people, so gear up. I don't know about you, but
I sure as hell don't want to stay here any longer than I have to." The pilot began
cutting back on the engines, and start going through the checklist before making
her landing in a large clearing. When the Dropship set down, the rear door dropped
open, and everyone jumped off. Each person was carrying an arm load of supplies
that would last for the next couple of weeks, and the heavy equipment was slid out
the door behind them. When everyone was off, the rear door shut with a great force,
and the Dropship took to the sky, as if trying to escape from some unseen phantom.
Watching the Dropship disappear, the troopers all turned their attention
to the surrounding area. The clearing was surrounded on all sides by jungle and
marshlands. The foliage was so alien to what they were use to seeing, and a
biologist could take his whole life just studying the bugs. Even in their air
conditioned power suits, it felt hot and humid. Shawn leaned over to Alex and
said "It's hot enough to cook bacon and eggs." "Damn," replied Alex. "I left my
skillet back at HQ." "Knock it off, you two," ordered Mason, setting down a large
box full of machinery parts. "We've got a camp to set up."
Chapter Two
"Let's hope this works," said Big Joe, just about finished with connecting
all the wires of the generator. The rest of the team stood in silence in a
semi-circle around Big Joe, hot and sweaty from working in the heat. Big Joe was on
the last connection, and said a prayer in his mind as he brought the last two wires
together. The lights came on instantly, and a cheer came from the team. It had taken
them all day and into the night, but finally, they got their new home up and running.
It was one of those prefabricated bases with "some assembly required" stamped
on all the boxes it came in. Of course, it usually required a lot of luck, faith, and
ingenuity to actually get up and running. It was made up of a large dome structure
surrounded by four smaller domes. And it had air conditioning, too.
Paco was the first to get his power suit off, and voiced his joy. "Man, it feels
great getting that stuffy thing off. Lieutenant, do you think we can hit the showers?"
"Sorry, private. We need to do a system's check. Shawn, get on the horn, make sure we can
contact HQ. Everyone else, get to your stations."
It was an hour later, while Shawn was taking a nap at the communication station,
when Mason walked in. "Private!" Shawn was instantly awaken, and began acting busy.
"Um, yes, sir, what are your orders, sir?" "How's our communications, private?"
"Well, sir, um, let me check." Shawn pressed some buttons, turned a dial and watched
the screen in front of him begin flashing more information then he could handle in
his tired state. "Everything seems fine, sir. Except..." he peered harder at a line
that seemed blurry. "We're experiencing some problems with our long range transmitter.
There's some interference from solar flare activity or something..." Shawn could feel it,
the sleepiness creeping back on him, and almost didn't hear Mason say "That's all for
tonight, trooper. Get some sleep."
It was the next day, and Shawn had perimeter patrol duty with Nick. For most of
the day there was an uncomfortable silence between the two troopers. Nick just had that
intense look upon his face, as if he was hunting a wild animal. Feeling bored, Shawn tried
striking up a conversation, learn more about this man.
"
So, Nick, why'd you decided to join the Corps?" Not even looking in Shawn's
direction, Nick said in a cold, hard voice, "I didn't." Stopping, he turned to face Shawn,
those emotionless eyes looking right through him like x-rays. "I was part of the Korhal
rebellion a couple of weeks back. Like everyone else in my unit, I had ideals for a better,
independent Korhal, one free of the corruption common with the Confederacy and its damn bureaucracy.
We conducted raids every night, caused a lot of damage for those bastards. Until one night..."
He turned his gaze out onto the horizon, continuing his story. "It was simple hit-and-run
operation on a supply depot. Get it, get anything out you can carry, place the bomb, boom! We'd
done it hundreds of times before, but we were careless, tripped the alarms by accident. Lost a few
good men that night, but I took a lot of those sons of bitches down before they captured me. They
tried to interrogate me, but I was trained to resist, and that's when..."
Nick looked down at the ground, watching a patch of ground as if it were interesting. "They
say, when you go through Neural Resocialization, your mind is wiped clean, and filled with patriotic
Confed crap, to make you more willing to die for the bastards. They must have screwed up with me,
because...I can still remember..."
Nick spun around faster then Shawn could blink, dropping his gun and grabbing Shawn with both hands.
"Do you know what it's like to kill your own friends!?! To kill the people you once called family!?! To
kill people who loved you..." At that moment, Shawn witnessed the most incredible thing in his life:
Nick was crying. Nick simply let his head fall to Shawn's shoulder, Shawn all the while too dumbfounded to
do anything but stand there. The scene lasted several minuets before Nick gathered himself up, grabbing his
rifle and continued on with the mission. Shawn stood there in a daze before coming back to reality, and began
running to catch up with Nick. As Shawn left the area, the shadows began to move. A mysterious force had
been watching the pair, and continued to fallow them, keep their clear and observing with hungry stomachs...
"We'll be experiencing some more turbulence, people, so keep
those barf bags handy. I don't want to clean up the floor again,"
the voice over the speaker crackled again. The Dropship began to
tumble around more violently now, and people would have flown out
of their seats if it wasn't for the seat belts. Anything not bolted
down was being tossed about, and it was a wonder that the Dropship
could keep itself together, much less enter a planet's atmosphere and
not burn up instantly.
"We'll be over the LZ in 10," the pilot said over the speaker,
though with all the noise, hardly anybody could hear her. Five minuets
later, the Dropship was out of the turbulence and began firing retro
burners to slow down. Things began quieting down, until the only thing
heard was the roar of the engines.
Shawn had sat there, his eyes meeting with those of his lover,
Maria. They had grown up together in the same small town on Tarsonis,
had gone through school together, and had joined the Marine Corps together.
Thanks to the coming mission, they planned to spend more quality time
together, in less populated settings then the Barracks.
Sitting near the far end of the ship was Paco. Paco had joined the
Corps the same time as Shawn and Maria. All three of them had been childhood
friends, but Paco was getting jealous of Shawn, particularly for going out
with the one person he really loved, Maria. Usually talkative, he had a lot
of things on his mind, and decided to keep them locked up there.
Sitting next to Paco was Nick, known as the eccentric one of the
squad. He was always quiet, never did much socializing with anyone, and
loved to read. His deep blue eyes seemed to pierce right through you, but
after a while, you got used to it, and him.
Sitting between Nick and Maria was Big Joe. Big Joe was, well, big.
He could lift twice his weight and spent most of his time working out.
Like any good sergeant, he could be a hard ass when wanted too, but on leave
he was a jovial guy who saved a couple of the team's collective butts on more
than one mission.
On Shawn's side, two seats down, was Mitchell, or Mitch. This guy was
nuts. He loved to blow things up, and often volunteered to carry the big guns.
He had requested several times to wear a Firebat suit, and our superiors finally
gave him one. He's been happy ever since.
Next to Shawn was Alex, the jokester. It's been said that Judgment Day
would come, and Alex would still be cracking jokes and making a mockery out of the
whole thing. He loved playing pranks, and used to be a corporal, until he went
a little too far at a dinner that was hosting several important generals.
Though he wont be promoted again for a long time, he still wears a smile everywhere
he goes.
On the other side of Shawn sat Elizabeth. She and Maria were best friends
since the first day of boot camp, and acted like sisters. Although she was very nice,
rumors would spread around the Barracks about drug and alcohol problem. Whenever
she heard one, she just brushed it off and walked away. Then the person who started
the rumor would end up in the infirmary an hour later.
Finally, across from Elizabeth, was Lieutenant Mason. He was earning medals
in countless battles while everyone else was still in elementary school. He was a
man of quick thinking and good judgment, but still lived with the horror of losing
his entire squad in the last war. As a result, he sworn never to become too close
to anyone, and spent most of his nights playing pool by himself at the local pub.
"We're almost at the LZ, people, so gear up. I don't know about you, but
I sure as hell don't want to stay here any longer than I have to." The pilot began
cutting back on the engines, and start going through the checklist before making
her landing in a large clearing. When the Dropship set down, the rear door dropped
open, and everyone jumped off. Each person was carrying an arm load of supplies
that would last for the next couple of weeks, and the heavy equipment was slid out
the door behind them. When everyone was off, the rear door shut with a great force,
and the Dropship took to the sky, as if trying to escape from some unseen phantom.
Watching the Dropship disappear, the troopers all turned their attention
to the surrounding area. The clearing was surrounded on all sides by jungle and
marshlands. The foliage was so alien to what they were use to seeing, and a
biologist could take his whole life just studying the bugs. Even in their air
conditioned power suits, it felt hot and humid. Shawn leaned over to Alex and
said "It's hot enough to cook bacon and eggs." "Damn," replied Alex. "I left my
skillet back at HQ." "Knock it off, you two," ordered Mason, setting down a large
box full of machinery parts. "We've got a camp to set up."
Chapter Two
"Let's hope this works," said Big Joe, just about finished with connecting
all the wires of the generator. The rest of the team stood in silence in a
semi-circle around Big Joe, hot and sweaty from working in the heat. Big Joe was on
the last connection, and said a prayer in his mind as he brought the last two wires
together. The lights came on instantly, and a cheer came from the team. It had taken
them all day and into the night, but finally, they got their new home up and running.
It was one of those prefabricated bases with "some assembly required" stamped
on all the boxes it came in. Of course, it usually required a lot of luck, faith, and
ingenuity to actually get up and running. It was made up of a large dome structure
surrounded by four smaller domes. And it had air conditioning, too.
Paco was the first to get his power suit off, and voiced his joy. "Man, it feels
great getting that stuffy thing off. Lieutenant, do you think we can hit the showers?"
"Sorry, private. We need to do a system's check. Shawn, get on the horn, make sure we can
contact HQ. Everyone else, get to your stations."
It was an hour later, while Shawn was taking a nap at the communication station,
when Mason walked in. "Private!" Shawn was instantly awaken, and began acting busy.
"Um, yes, sir, what are your orders, sir?" "How's our communications, private?"
"Well, sir, um, let me check." Shawn pressed some buttons, turned a dial and watched
the screen in front of him begin flashing more information then he could handle in
his tired state. "Everything seems fine, sir. Except..." he peered harder at a line
that seemed blurry. "We're experiencing some problems with our long range transmitter.
There's some interference from solar flare activity or something..." Shawn could feel it,
the sleepiness creeping back on him, and almost didn't hear Mason say "That's all for
tonight, trooper. Get some sleep."
It was the next day, and Shawn had perimeter patrol duty with Nick. For most of
the day there was an uncomfortable silence between the two troopers. Nick just had that
intense look upon his face, as if he was hunting a wild animal. Feeling bored, Shawn tried
striking up a conversation, learn more about this man.
"
So, Nick, why'd you decided to join the Corps?" Not even looking in Shawn's
direction, Nick said in a cold, hard voice, "I didn't." Stopping, he turned to face Shawn,
those emotionless eyes looking right through him like x-rays. "I was part of the Korhal
rebellion a couple of weeks back. Like everyone else in my unit, I had ideals for a better,
independent Korhal, one free of the corruption common with the Confederacy and its damn bureaucracy.
We conducted raids every night, caused a lot of damage for those bastards. Until one night..."
He turned his gaze out onto the horizon, continuing his story. "It was simple hit-and-run
operation on a supply depot. Get it, get anything out you can carry, place the bomb, boom! We'd
done it hundreds of times before, but we were careless, tripped the alarms by accident. Lost a few
good men that night, but I took a lot of those sons of bitches down before they captured me. They
tried to interrogate me, but I was trained to resist, and that's when..."
Nick looked down at the ground, watching a patch of ground as if it were interesting. "They
say, when you go through Neural Resocialization, your mind is wiped clean, and filled with patriotic
Confed crap, to make you more willing to die for the bastards. They must have screwed up with me,
because...I can still remember..."
Nick spun around faster then Shawn could blink, dropping his gun and grabbing Shawn with both hands.
"Do you know what it's like to kill your own friends!?! To kill the people you once called family!?! To
kill people who loved you..." At that moment, Shawn witnessed the most incredible thing in his life:
Nick was crying. Nick simply let his head fall to Shawn's shoulder, Shawn all the while too dumbfounded to
do anything but stand there. The scene lasted several minuets before Nick gathered himself up, grabbing his
rifle and continued on with the mission. Shawn stood there in a daze before coming back to reality, and began
running to catch up with Nick. As Shawn left the area, the shadows began to move. A mysterious force had
been watching the pair, and continued to fallow them, keep their clear and observing with hungry stomachs...
