Hello to my supporters I am sorry for the wait. Covid 19 has made it difficult for many of us. Some have lost friends, family and so much more during the quarantine and for whatever reason it may be we should all keep each other in prayers. There is no division in the mobile infantry, we are all troopers who follow orders.
Chapter 3: Planet P
"Who's ready for some payback?!" Alex Wong yelled. He was one of the troopers with the highest kill counts of the platoon.
"Fuck yea Wong!" Michelle yelled. It's the name he felt more comfortable with for reasons unknown. But he kept his MK SAW clutched in his lap as he polished the monstrosity of a weapon.
"Aye Moore," Waltkins said as he grabbed my shoulder. "I hear the guy we pulled out of the grinder and two more members of his formed squad are being moved to us."
"Gotta fill in the spots we lost I guess," I said. "If he fights like he did on Klendathu, he's gonna make one hell of a Roughneck."
"We will see," Waltkins said just as the three greenies walked in. In the middle stood Rico, the pretty boy with the brawn to back up his looks. To his left stood the hottie with more bug bodies than Alex Wong. Dizzy Florez. His curly brunette hair dances around her face as she stepped into the mess Rico's right was the taller, blonde and spikey haired Ace Leavy. I heard stories about him giving up his position of power in the first drop. To think someone would lose their nerve that strongly. I guess not everyone is meant to be a leader.
"Who's top kick?" Rico asked.
"Why, you want the job?" Waltkins replied instantly. I could see his brow wrinkled with anger and disrespect.
"If it suits me." Rico replied with a snide remark.
"Gotta stay alive to earn the job," Waltkins snapped back before returning to his rifle.
"Orders," Corporal Jones asked. Her chocolate skin seemed to gleam in the light. Dizzy looked at her with the desire to challenge her authority in her eyes but she quelled the feeling. SHe instead handed the corporal her paperwork as did Rico and Ace. "Where have you been besides Klendathu?"
"Zeugma Beach," Rico said but was cut off.
"I always wanted to go there," Waltkins said.
"Well take a look, it ain't there no more," Rico snapped. The silence lasted only seconds. "Where are you guys from?
"China, Hong Kong to be exact." Wong replied proudly.
"London," Walktins said.
"America, New Jersey," I said.
"Jersey? Heard that place was like a jungle." Rico said.
"It was a war zone before the first Bug War and is still a war zone today. My only way out was jail or to serve so here I am.
"So I hear your CO is a real nutbuster," Ace said with a smirk. The smirk evaporated as Jones slammed his fist into his jaw.
"No one talks about the lieutenant like that," Jones spat, "he saved my life."
"Mine too," Waltkins added. Two more stood up in agreement, myself included.
"Officer on deck!" Corporal Jones yelled. We each snapped to attention as our fearless leader walked into the room. We each stood, backs straight and chests poked out. Our chins to the sky and hands at our sides. He walked down the long ail, observing each of us. He stopped in front of his new recruits.
"This is for all you new people, everyone fights, no one quits. You don't do your job, I'll shoot you myself you get me?
"We get you sir," We chanted in unison.
"Now we hit the deserts of Planet P. It's the eighth planet in the Arachnid Quarantine zone." Ratzack explained. His brows seemed to always bend inward into an everlasting scowl. "As per orders, we will be accompanied by some unusual characters."
"Unusual characters sir?" I asked. His eyes snapped to me before sighing.
"Now that Psy-Ops have found a way to liberate the Skinnies from their bug control, they will be joining us in the fight," Ratzack's words hit like slugs to our chests. The skinnies were tall humanoid creatures. Thiers bodies were thin and stood eight feet tall with long narrow necks. On their home world, their heads were the shape of an egg with massive black eyes that looked as empty as the voids of space. From the corners if their mouths were tusks. A warrior of their species often had jagged tusks from battles. Their arms hung down past their waists, lower than any human ever would. Their wrists and ankles also had tusks protruding from their thick and leathery skin. Their language to humans sounded like clicks of the tongue. The skinny walked into the light, his body covered by a modified power suit. His visor was much wider than ours, displaying his entire face if it even was a he.
"Sir," Bruno spoke up, "I think I speak for all of us when I say this is unfair." My eyes bore into the darkness of the Skinny. "That's the same Skinny," he paused for a while as if remembering something painful. I could hear it in his voice. "That's the same damn Skinny that killed half our platoon with his forces!" Bruno snapped, "if you think for one second I will walk into a damn bug hole with this bastard you,"
"Enough," Ratzack shouted. It was the first time I heard venom in his voice. "I know this is going to be hard for many of you, it's hard for me as well especially given our shared history with this particular Skinny but he is now a Roughneck and until he's dead or we find someone better, he stays." He breathed in deeply, calming himself, "Tyfy is no longer under bug control and since his people want to get some pay back on the bugs, I say we see how many bugs he can take down." The barracks light went black for a brief moment but began to flash red.
"That's our call boys," Bruno said as he gave Tyfy one last look.
"Saddle up!" Ratzack ordered. The chaos of outfitting ourselves with our power suits began. Tyfy sat silently in a corner of his own. I found myself looking in his direction while the others tried their hardest to avoid his direction.
"Aye, Moore don't get too close. Skinny will frag your ass." Doc said before slapping my shoulder. Just as Doc disappeared into the sea of troopers, I felt the presence of a tall figure. I could tell it was Tyfy yet I couldn't figure out how he cleared thiry meters of an armory without even being heard. My combat knife shifted into a release position on my belt. I grabbed it in a reverse grip, thrusting the blade towards the being standing over me. He grabbed my arm with a surprising amount of force, stopping the advancement of the blade. With his forearm, he smashed down hard on the blade, shattering it. I took a step back, eyes wide in disbelief.
"I'm sorry," Tyfy said in a robotic tone. "I did not mean to startle you." The entire armory fell silent as every trooper now locked eyes on us. I looked to the hilt of my knife and looked back to Tyfy to see him holding a blade extended to me. He gripped the smooth metal, his black eyes seeing through me as I took the hilt.
"All troopers to your dropships, I repeat, all troopers to your dropships." The voice was like a saving grace as the troopers rushed for the dropships. I stood before Tyfy, eyes still locked.
"We must go," his robotic tone shook me to my core as he walked past me. I turned, still lost before sliding the blade into its position on my belt.
"Watch your ass Moore," Bruno started, "those things will frag your ass im a heartbeat. If it comes down to you or him, I would much rather that Skinny bastard buys it. Get me?" His face twisted with anger as his eyes never left Tyfy as if his pupils were Maritas and he was emptying the entire magazine into Tyfy's back. The loud sound of the hangar buzzers sounded.
"Move it apes!" Ratzack's words blew through the coms. We rushed to our designated dropship. "Alright, this time we will be landing instead of dropping in. Fleet will blow the bugs to hell and it's our job to mop up." The words gained a roar of excitement in response. I felt at ease knowing Fleet would be going in first for once. A simple mop up job sounded like the perfect second mission. I took my seat next to the new recruit, Johnny Rico. I secured my rifle before sitting back. Across from Rico sat Tyfy who sat calmly. His eyes gave no warning as to who they were fixed on. It was still like looking into the vast unknown. My helmet shifted into position and seconds later, my mask and visor fixed into position as well. The filters opened first before the HUD shined to life. Targeting systems, munitions supply, objective updates and communications information each booted into my Power Suit's system within the momentary flash. In the beginning that flash could disorient a rookie trooper but after a few million times wearing the suit during simulations and having psychotic preparations, it becomes as common as opening your eyes in the morning. "Eyes on your HUDs apes, upon landing we will split into fire teams. Waltkins you will take Rico, Dizzy, Moore, Wong and Tyfy." His face may have been covered but I could feel the look he shot Waltkins, causing him to rethink any protest he may have formulated. "Bruno you take Doc, Gossard, Ace, Rodgers and Connors." His explanation of the teams continued as my mind drifted off. I took a quick look at Tyfy who now had his eyes closed. His HUD was slightly visible if you looked at it long enough which I found myself doing. The lights must have been too much for him. I tooned back in after Ratzack paused.
"Five minutes till touch down boys," the pilot called back.
"Clear the entire area and nuke any bug holes. All heavy munitions troopers will be equipped with enough nukes to level a city so if you feel the need to be sparse with your munitions," he paused slightly, "don't. Any questions?" The cabin fell silent. "Give em' hell apes." The few minutes of silence before the dropship made its final approach were agonizing. The hum of the engines were soothing but it was the wait. Being in the grinder paled in comparison to the agony of waiting.
"Alright boys and girls, happy hunting!" The pilot cheered as the ship came to a stop, hovering I assumed due to the engines still being fired up and the lack of the thud a dropship makes as it lands. The hatch opened and although our masks were secured, the stench of burning exoskeleton invaded my nostrils. The wind blew violently as the hatch opened. The smell intensified, causing me to cover my mask with my hand. Wong was the first one of us to jump into the swirling sands followed by Dizzy. We made our way out of the dropship and onto the sands of Planet P. It resembled Klendathu, hot and dry in the day but cool at night. The planet was void of water and rain didn't exist. We each started for a small hill and the map said it overlooked a clearing. Faint traces of smoke danced in the winds as we climbed to the top of the hill and overlooked the sea of the dead. Their bodies were once copper colored or bright yellow striped with black almost like tigers back on Terra. Well if a tiger had pincers for a mouth. There had to be thousands of them out there and we hadn't even made a dint in their numbers. By my guess, they would be pissed but closing bug holes makes it that much more of an annoyance for them to reach the surface. I peeled off from the main group followed closely by Rico.
"Head on a swivel apes," Waltkins warned. "Wouldn't want it being sliced off by a bug you didn't see coming." I could hear the slight smirk that crept across his face. Dizzy and Tyfy swept left. Wong and Waltkins took the middle while myself and Rico took to the right. We kept a good distance between our two man teams in case a bug came charging between the bodies. My muscles tensed as we weaved through the dead. I turned at a dead Arachnid, my training kicking in. It was as if I were checking corners in a small corridor. Rico was a step behind me, watching the opposite side.
"You getting this?" Rico asked, causing me to check my HUD.
"Yea, bug movement underground." I replied.
"You boys find something? Waltkins came in on the coms.
"We got movement just below us," I explained. "Movement usually leads to a bug hole."
"Good call, we will regroup on your position, hold tight." Waltkins suit signature popped up on the HUD as he got closer. Rico took a knee, keeping his rifle fixed between two possible attack routes between the bodies. Our four squadmates reached us in a matter of minutes. "Alright gentlemen, lead the way."
"I'll take point," Rico said. I looked at him in confusion. Seemed like a bold move for a trooper fresh out of a bacta tube I thought. We followed Rico's lead as his eyes scanned from the ground to just in front of him. We moved at a steady pace before signaling to stop. The bug hole was in the crevast of two rock fixtures.
"Heat em up," Waltkins said. Just as the words escaped his lips, as if they could hear him, four warrior bugs rushed from the hole. Their howl would signal any bug in the area that they found a threat and in that moment I could tell we were fucked.
"Shit, here comes the welcoming party," Dizzy said. I stood in front of the group, blinking to activate my nukes and took a deep breath to give the fire command as my targeting systems locked on to the hole. The nuke rushed from its canister, zipping past the bugs and down the hole.
"Brace!" I yelled as the explosion followed seconds later. It blew the bugs to hell and threw sand and rocks in our direction with the force of the blast. I felt a rip at my shoulder, pulling me to my right. Before I could shoot a retort to the action I watched a severed claw swing by my head.
"You good?" Rico asked.
"Yea, thanks Rico." I replied.
"One hole closed is a trooper saved," Wong joke
"Let's get moving," Waltkins said as he stared off into the distance. "Staying here could make us a target." We marched on, keeping our eyes to the ground. Tyfy covered the rear and I couldn't help but take a look back each free second I felt I could spare. He was keeping pace but with his frame, it almost seemed as if he moved in slow motion. He also ignored checking around the dead bodies of the bugs. His eyes were much larger and positioned more towards the sides of his head. Without an iris I can never tell what he could and couldn't see. I shifted my focus back to the mission.
"Movement," Rico called out, raising his fist to warn us to stop. I dropped to a knee scanning the area. Dizzy inched up to my position from behind. Waltkins and Tyfy took up position at a dead bug to my left.
"Moore, get up there." Waltkins ordered. I nodded before jumping into a light trot to Rico's position. As I took a knee I could see the activity. Three bug holes and multiple bugs entering and exiting the holes.
"We got bugs," I radioed in. "Three holes, multiple hostiles."
"Flores, get up there and help them nuke those holes. Wong and Tyfy cover their asses." Waltkins ordered.
"Rockets up," I found myself saying. Targeting systems began to chart the best route for our nukes to take. "Fire," within seconds the nukes launched from their canisters and rocketed through the open bug holes. The bombs kicked up dirt and bug parts as we took cover. My canister slid back into position and I spared a second to get a look at my munitions.
"Good shooting boys," Waltkins called out over the radio.
"Regroup, all section leaders get your asses over here," A voice called over the radio. She sounded frantic but I could still tell who it was. Corporal Davis was a hard ass and for her to sound like she's deep in the shit gave me an uneasy feeling.
"Move!" Waltkins called. He and Tyfy lead the charge, Tyfy easily keeping pace. We moved east. Jumping at the first chance we saw. I got a barring on the platoon as a whole. Ratzack spearheaded a V formation. Sahara and Davis at the legs. Our squad met up with Corporal Davis.
"Got a bug problem ma'am?" Rico asked as he stood beside her.
"Ah stow it trooper!" Davis replied as the two mowed down the Arachnid. I took up position alongside Tyfy and Wong. Our formation began to close the legs, creating a circle around the pile of dead bugs. I felt a shake in the ground. Rico must've felt the same because he stopped firing to turn. His arms lowered as he watched a black leg stomp out of the sands.
"Holy shit," I said just as a beatle shaped head with a tuning fork rose from the ground.
"The hell is that?" Davis asked.
"Tanker!" Ratzack asked as he yanked Davis to the side.
"Get to cover apes!" Bruno shouted as we scattered. I slammed my back into the sandy rocks of a small mound. Just as I looked peaked my head around the mound I could see the tuning fork spark and a ball of flames. I watched as the flames reduced Davis's arm to ash instantly with wide eyes.
"Holy shit," I couldn't stop the words from escaping my lips. Her screams echoed through the communications system as Ratzack pulled her into cover. I pulled myself together. I would honestly say it was more training taking over than any form of courage. I took a few shots at the bug. My bullets bounced clean off it's shell. The damn thing looked directly in my direction almost as if it were looking for me specifically. "Shit," I shouted before jumping from my position just as the flames rushed my way. As I reached the peak of my jump I caught a glimpse of Rico running along a ledge just behind the bug. I watched as he jumped onto its back and unloaded an entire clip into the back of what I could only call its ass. The bug shook violently trying to throw Rico from its body. I could see its orange blood begin to spew from the forming wound. Rico latched on before ripped a grenade from his belt and pressing the detonator before lobbing it into the hole he created. He released his hold and was thrown from the bug, bumping into dead bugs before landing with a thud. He took cover near the body of a dead Arachnid as he watched. The Tanker stopped as if it realized something and the next second its ass blew to hell. Bug guts and blood spewed out for meters, coating the field in orange. I was amazed to see Rico walk towards us, his Power Suit cascaded in the bug's life force.
"Medic," Ratzack called. The Med Trooper rushed to his side and took Davis to check her vitals. I met up with Wong, Houston and Doc.
"Ya'll see that shit?" I asked.
"Yea who the hell did that?" Doc asked.
"That kid Rico," I replied. "Told you he would make a hell of a Roughneck." Just as I finished the best sound in all of the galaxy played. The trumpets of our glorious Sunday horns that sounded the sweet saving grace of recall. Each boat would send a probe down a few thousand meters ahead of where it would land to give a platoon time to make pickup.
"You hear the call, fall in," Ratzack ordered. "On the bounce and by the numbers."