SSV Jerusalem, Above Shanxi, November 29, 2192
Jack Harper finally finished his last bit of paperwork for the week. Jack was still amazed that the Alliance higher ups still insisted on using actual paper for reports. Something about the old guard not exactly trusting an all digital system. Frankly, Jack was sure that paper files are never going away. For one, the conservatives in high places were right that paperwork isn't as susceptible to cyber-attacks. The files he had just signed was to be scanned and uploaded to the intelligence and bureaucratic database, and the paper itself sent to various vaults in Mars and Earth. Just as he tidied up his things, he received a call on his personal line. Not a lot of people knew his personal number, so Jack could already narrow down who was calling him. Checking his phone, he saw his father's name on the caller ID. Jack took a deep breath, then answered the call.
"Hey Dad." He greeted.
"Hey son. Is this a bad time? What time is it over there anyways?" The elder Harper fired away almost immediately.
"Ah... no it's not, and it's around 1850 hours right now." Jack answered.
"I see. Well, anyways, remember when we talked about me ah... letting you loose?" Donald asked. Jack didn't answer but merely nodded, not that his father could see it. Donald took it as a sign to keep talking. "I've made up my mind about it, made a few calls, talked to some folks and all that. I can pull some strings and get you transferred from Domestic Intelligence to Foreign Operations." He said.
This was beyond good news for Jack. For one, his father now finally trusted him enough to let him loose, and the other is that he can now propose his plans to expedite ending the war.
"That's... that's great news Dad." Jack replied, but then he remembered that his father was a business man, and he rarely ever did anything without asking for something in return. "What's the catch?"
"You were always too smart for your own good. You catch on too quickly" Donald said, laughing lightly. "I only have one condition: since you're getting transferred next year, I want you back on Earth for New Year's celebrations, and bring Eva with you."
"Dad, that's two conditions." Jack replied.
"Conditions 1-A and 1-B then." Donald defended. "Look, it's an easy deal. Just you and your girlfriend home for New Years. Hell, I'll bring Ben along as third wheel if you need me to."
"I don't think that'll be necessary, Dad." Jack shook his head. "I'll put in a request for leave."
"That's all I ask, son."
-000-
Marathon Military Base, Mars, December 18, 2192.
Jack walked down the hallways of the Mars's biggest military base. The base was designed and built by the first colonists that arrived. As such, it bears much resemblance to US military bases on Earth. He entered a lift which took him down from the rooftop landing pad towards the rest of the massive, sprawling base. The lift had windows which allowed it's occupants to look around and survey the surroundings. Peeking outside, the ACI agent saw a column of soldiers marching drilling in their new equipment.
Powered Armor.
The hulking suits looked even more impressive in person than it did in video. Jack was certain it would look even better up close and personal.
The lift opened up and exited the enclosed building towards the open field outside. Open compared to the rest of the base as the entire complex at least, as it was built under a massive dome which protected them from the elements. Out on the field, evaluating the armored soldiers was a certain scientist in a lab coat. Jack approached her, his steps were silent and without noise. The scientist was busy looking at the notes in her datapad and did not at all notice Jack walking up beside her. Jack let her continue like this for almost a whole minute before speaking up.
"Good afternoon, Eva." Jack simply said.
Eva nearly jumped at the greeting.
"Ah, oh. How long have you been standing there?" She said, composing herself.
"A minute or so." Jack replied, smirking. "So are these the our new toys?"
"Yes, they are." She answered. "Magnificent, aren't they?" she continued as the two watched the column of Power Armored soldiers practiced marching in formation. The column moved in almost perfect synchronization. From a distance, it might look like one was simply seeing after-images of only a handful of soldiers. Such discipline and dedication was to be expected for a Martian born, especially those from Marathon.
The column passed by close to them and as they continued marching they saluted Eva, which they all recognized as the head of the 'Tank-Man' project. The continued on, each step on their march accentuated with a resounding metallic clang sound. This sound was multiplied by the hundreds as the column marched by.
Being this close, Jack could appreciate the armor in much better detail. He had seen the simulation videos in his office back in the Jerusalem, but seeing it in action was a whole other kind of show. The almost comically sized shoulder pauldrons moved with weight that wasn't simulated in the proposal videos he saw online, the each step exuded power, raw power. Each step had the entire armor piece move with a dangerously beautiful kind of grace, the separate armor pieces shifting and jiggling slightly with every motion. The helmet simply screamed menacing as the single, reflective slit was angled to make it seem like the wearer was focused and hell bent on killing whatever was in front of himA single ventilation filter was where the mouth would be, looking similar to a scowl or a beast bearing it's fangs. The Martian high noon reflected on the still shiny armor, making it glisten like a knight in shining armor. On the left pauldron was the Martian flag, a large blue semicircle on the left side and 13 stripes of red and white. On the right pauldron was their divisional insignia. A bald eagle, facing to the right, clutching a rifle and a saber. Under the eagle was text denoting the soldier's division:
501st Division, Sons of Mars.
"They really are something else." Jack said as he finished appreciating the armor pieces in display.
"They sure are." Eva replied, beaming with pride. She looked just like a mother watching her children graduate college and getting their first degree. She turned to Jack now that the drilling soldiers have marched on far enough. "Now, you're not just here to sample the merchandise, are you?"
"No, not at all." He answered. "Has Donald sent the invitation to you yet?"
"Invitation to what?" She answered with a question of her own.
"That sonuva..." Jack nearly cursed. "Dad's supposed to be inviting you to the New Years party he's hosting. Told me to be there, and bring you along."
"Oh, come on Jack, you know I don't to parties." She told him now.
"Neither do I, Eva." He replied. "But I'm getting transferred to Field Operations next year. Considering that I'll probably gone for months at a time with the war and all that, I think it's high time we spent some time together."
"Aww Jack, I didn't take you as a romantic." She teased.
"I'm not. It was Dad's idea."
Eva laughed and shook her head.
"So, will that be all Jack?" She asked as she turned her datapad off. She had finished whatever she was doing here, and was wrapping things up.
"Well, there is one thing... What's the minimum order quantity for the suits?"
-000-
Thargora Thoraga, Tylkis Frontline Sector, December 20, 2192.
"The Turians are up to something." Okeer told his Asari colleague.
"You said that last week." She replied. "And the week before that. And the week previous that."
"Your point being?" Okeer questioned, obviously annoyed by his colleague.
"Maybe you're just paranoid." She suggested. " Nothing's happened, what of it? There's nothing the Turians have right now that our defenses can't handle."
"You know the Volcano rule: the longer it stays dormant, the greater the eruption." Okeer told her now.
"Whatever it is, we'll handle it. No need to get your quads tangled in a knot." She dismissed. The Asari officer left the observation platform they were on, leaving him alone with his thoughts.
Okeer was far from doubtful that the Turians were planning something big. He just couldn't figure out what. His intel told him a lot of transports are moving to and fro their forward lines. Okeer assumed that this would be for another offensive, but some things just didn't add up. First of all, while the now regularly occurring trench raid by Hierarchy forces are generally assumed to be attacks designed to probe out their weak points, the attacks seem to be calculated in the other way around. The attacks aren't going after the weakest links in their lines, but seem to be going after the tougher sections, as if they were trying to keep them preoccupied. The second link that doesn't seem to add up is that a lot of troops are observed to be transported away from the forward trenches. They were being transported at night when the Council forces had their observation sensors under cyber assault. It was quite clear to Okeer that the two are not mere coincidences, but are instead organized to be executed simultaneously.
All the arrows seem to point out that the Turians aren't preparing for an offensive, but are instead relocating.
"But why?" Okeer asks himself as he struggled to answer said question.
If the Turians are trying to keep the bulk of their forces occupied, what were they trying to hide? Was it the troop movements? Night time aerial recon could easily see their trenches slowly being emptied out. So it wasn't to hide the fact that they were moving, then they must be hiding where they were moving.
Yes, that made sense to him.
Where were the Turians going? These movements wouldn't happen for no reason. They must be planning something that they are willing to relocate so much of their forces away.
Okeer spent the next few minutes thinking and strategizing possible plans and responses. As he thought, he reviews the intel he had on some of the other frontline sectors. Both Council and Hierarchy forces are hemorrhaging badly in the city of Falaena. Fighting there had only taken a turn for the worst since the last few months. Fighting had turned into a seemingly eternal slog for every single block and corner. Relocating troops and leaving a basic defense force in Tykis and a few other sectors would allow the Hierarchy to scrounge up enough men to at least outnumber the defenders on Falaena by 4 to 1. In that city, numerical superiority and the ability to replenish losses are what will decide victory. The extra forces from Tykis and other sectors would arrive in the city relatively rested and better prepared to fight the already exhausted and nearly exsanguinated Council forces.
This was the conclusion Okeer came to.
With a sense of urgency, Okeer left the observation deck and rushed towards the command bunker where he would spend the next few days communicating with other sectors and observing Turian troop movements. The intelligence and information he collected would seemingly point the way that Okeer and his staff are looking. Unbeknownst to him, his actions may cost the Council this whole campaign.
-000-
Archive Update:
Cydonia Mechanics M142 Powered Infantry Exoskeleton: A project originally started by for the Sol Union during the Brother's War, Project Wunderwaffe was a competition started by the Union government to design a game changer in space age warfare. While the project wouldn't be completed in time, the research and files that the various companies and corporations had still remained. When Project Wunderwaffe was revived by the Systems Alliance government, only 2 of the original 8 participants returned to continue their work. Cydonia Mechanics, a Marathon based manufacturing and defense corporation, and Lawson Bio-Engineering, a medical and biotech research company based in Canberra, went head to head with their radically different interpretations of the future miracle weapon.
As fate would have it, CM would win the bid. In the eyes of the jurors, LBE's genetic technologies were simply too radical and untested to be used en masse. While both CM's Power Armor and LBE's Meta-Soldiers would have worked somewhat similar changes (enhance individual soldier's physical abilities, allow greater suitability, provide a modular platform for new additions) it was decided that Power Armor was a more dependable long term solution.
As such the XM1 Powered Infantry Exoskeleton was the Alliance's blazing new super-weapon. The armor would make its users 10 times more powerful, 3 times as fast, and 8 times more effective than the average soldier. The thick armor that covered the exoskeleton was able to shrug off the vast majority of small arms fire. The thick plating allowed it to withstand directed energy attacks far longer than the average armor set that an Alliance Marine had, and kinetic energy was absorbed thy materials inside the massive plates. The armor's helmet is not only connected to the suit's systems, but also to other Alliance combat units allowing it to become a mobile command unit if necessary.
With all these features and abilities, the M142 Powered Infantry Exoskeleton is considered a must have piece of hardware. The only thing keeping it from being standard issue, is the pricetag. For the ability to turn a soldier into a tank, one must be willing to pay the half price of a low end tank (or at least a third, once production enters full capacity). At 40 million credits individually, the M142 has the same price of the outdated Kaiser II class MBT. The problem here is that one might arguably receive more value-per-credit by purchasing a Kaiser II and modernizing it with the latest equipment. This piece of controversy has stuck with the M142 ever since it was originally unveiled during the Brother's War.
Nonetheless, the M142 served it's role during the Great Galactic War with distinction. While far from perfect, the armor did its intended duties with few failures.
-000-
A/N:
Yesterday (or today, depending on your timezone) marks this story as two years old. Crazy how time flies. It seemed almost a lifetime ago that I was a highschool student with a craving to write. Thank you to everyone who has supported me thus far. I really couldn't have done any of this without the positivity you all have given me when I write.
So, this chapter is Me trying to move the story along faster. I told myself that I would have the Humans meet the council next week, half a year ago. Really, this is a problem on my part. As such, I'm going to do a fair amount of timeskips following this chapter. I would promise to update regularly, but my pastor told me that promising things I'm unlikely to keep is just setting myself up for more failures.
Anyways, review or PM me what you thought about the story thus far, suggest some improvements or something, idk.
As always, thanks for reading, and enjoy the rest of your day.