Mark of Man
Chapter 4
A Man Chooses; a Slave Obeys
The next few months passed in relative calm, Irregular activity usually happened in random bursts, and rarely were the 'suicidal shock troopers' needed, save for when Irregulars became a serious threat. As such, Rokko found herself with plenty of free time. Free time that left her bored, and wishing for anything to do.
As such, she found herself in the training simulators most of the time, breaking several records along the way. Unfortunately, going to the training room meant heading into Irregular HQ. Reploids unfortunately were rarely designed to be 'attractive', but more functional. Because of that, the handful of female navigators and Rokko shared one very similar trait.
Most of the men tended to hit on them at least once. When it came to beauty it seemed that even some of the humans were willing to overlook her race because of her looks. The first time she'd been hit on by a human hunter had been eye opening, terrifying, and enraging all at the same time. Eye opening because she'd never imagined it possible, terrifying because of the memories of the human commander, and enraging because not only was she a tool to them, but apparently 'eye candy' as well.
Sadly, a B ranked hunter had little power and authority, so all she really could do when a human hit on her was request that they stop. But unfortunately, not every human would listen, further driving her to spend her time alone.
At least with other reploids she could either order them to stand down. (C and D rank hunters most notably.) or wipe the walls with them in training simulations. Other reploids quickly learned that Rokko X was not interested.
Of course, there weren't many reploids interested in love or romance anyway. They were soldiers. They had been enlisted to fight, kill, and die in battle. Some argued that it was because their lives were so violent and bloody that they needed to live every moment as if it was the last.
Rokko X could understand that, but her hatred for those that had done all these terrible things had long since consumed her. Now, nothing remained in her heart for compassion or kindness. There was no place for mercy when hesitation would mean the end of her, and in this world, the only person she could rely on or depend on was herself. There was no other.
Shaking her head slightly, the huntress turned her focus to the control panel where she punched in a series of commands.
Scenario: Battle of Castle Mad
Role: Lead a small infiltration unit into the castle and attempt to secure Doctor Mad to try him in court.
Historical Details:
In 20XX, Eurasian forces attempted to first infiltrate his fortress and capture the maniacal scientist. However, this attempt failed and the subsequent attack by the UN led 'End Doctor Mad' Task force saw the scientist drop a biological agent into the atmosphere before his forces were overwhelmed. Doctor Mad himself died when he detonated the fortress to kill as many of his attackers as he could. EDM casualties were in the hundreds of millions because of the biological agent and the subsequent detonation of Mad Castle.
Team details: Rokko X, Cobalt Wolf
Rokko blinked in confusion before glancing over to the other control panel to her left on the pale blue wall. A large wolf like reploid was across from her, paw-like hands resting on the console, one eye watching the huntress the entire time.
Somehow Cobalt Wolf had slipped into the simulation room and added himself to her training mission while she was reading. Realizing that Rokko was staring at him, Wolf gave her a thumbs up and a half nod before he punched the start command.
"Bad situational awareness Rokko X. That'll get you killed." He warned with a grin as the simulation began to boot up.
The huntress waved him off as she readied for the mission. Nevertheless a faint smile managed to make its way to her lips.
"I seriously doubt something will happen to us while we're in the training simulator." She observed as the castle began to take shape.
Skulls… Why did Doctor Mad have such an absurd obsession with skulls of all things?
Wolf frowned at her, rapping her helmet crystal with his multi hued claw.
"Don't be ridiculous X. Anyone can go irregular at any time. Someone gets tired of obeying the higher ups and decides 'screw it, I'll take as many as I can with me' will mean you'd be taken totally unaware." Wolf chided.
Rokko grumbled slightly before she nodded.
He had a point.
Wolf's ragged voice chuckled as he laid down on the rocky terrain so he could observe the castle ahead of them.
"Good girl. You've got the makings of an incredible huntress X."
Out of all the things that could have been said, that was the one that she hadn't expected. Praise. Genuine Praise and recognition for what she'd done. A strange warmth filled her, one that she had not yet experienced made her feel… Much lighter, as if… The world had brightened a little.
She ducked down beside Wolf, knowing that now the simulation had started she'd need to be more cautious. However, Wolf chuckled faintly, grinning over his shoulder at Rokko once again.
"You'll figure it out eventually." Wolf said cryptically before focusing on the task at hand.
"Right then. Unfortunately we don't know a damn thing about Mad's castle so we'll be going in blind. Our best bets are to try slipping through any structural weaknesses such as ventilation shafts or splitting up. I could distract the main force while you slip in and nab Mad."
Rokko frowned thoughtfully as Wolf waited for her response. It was as if he was testing her. Shock Hunters like herself were trained for suicide runs like that. However, the decoy would be threatened by heavy fire and could likely be destroyed before she could return.
She looked up at Wolf hesitating for a moment.
BOOM.
The ground shook and then, before she knew it the words SIMULATION END flashed in front of her.
Wolf sighed before shaking his head.
"X, you can't hesitate. It's unlike you and will just end up costing more lives."
Tilting her head so she could look up at the scarred mug of the 10th unit commander she asked him a question.
"What would you have done?"
"What I'd do doesn't matter X. What matters is what you're going to do. It was your mission after all."
With that, Rokko looked away. She was troubled. Never before had she hesitated, nor had she been conflicted on what to do. That one moment of weakness had cost her the battle, and she was determined to never let that happen again.
Cobalt sighed.
"Look Rokko, we all make mistakes, and it's only natural to hesitate from time to time, especially when so much is on the line. But, we Irregular Hunters aren't given the luxury of getting what we want. Our mission has to come first. The only question remaining is, how many of our friends we can bring back in one piece."
Rokko nodded slowly, accepting the input from the commander. Cobalt was about to continue speaking when he was interrupted by the intercom system.
"Attention, All Reploid Irregular Hunters, report to the Command Center immediately, repeat, all Reploid Irregular Hunters report to the command center."
Wolf glanced up at the smooth pale blue ceiling before shaking his scarred head.
"Well, guess something big's happened. Better get ready for another fight X."
"I'm always ready Cobalt, you know that."
Wolf laughed, his tone as grizzled as always.
"That I do." As they quickly headed for Command, the two continued to speak.
"Vile's been pretty docile since you brought him in X. Funny since he's basically a walking tank."
She couldn't help but smirk at his observation.
"If we hunters were allowed to visit, I'd probably be able to 'encourage' him to play even nicer."
Wolf shuddered slightly.
"Remind me never to get on your bad side. I'd rather face an army of military-grade mechaniloids."
Another first, the desire to laugh, and so, laugh she did. Like her normal speaking voice, her laughter was clear and rich. The only thing lacking was the steeled tone that had quickly taught others to not cross her. However, she quickly fell silent and the two entered the command center once again.
Meeting the 'commander' was always a source of rage for Rokko. Thankfully though, she'd been able to contain her hatred thus far, and had to resort to simply glaring at him whenever she knew that she'd be able to get away with it. Sadly, it was far too rare an occasion in her opinion.
Standing on the giant podium in the center of the assembly hall, the steel-gray haired man spoke in usual fashion. Immediately, any and all communication from the reploids ceased. After all, they were all too well aware of what would happen otherwise.
"You've been given a new commanding officer. He'll participate in field operations and you'll obey him without question. Got it?"
"Yes sir!" The assembled hunters replied quickly.
Rokko continued to glare.
Gesturing with one hand, the commander beckoned a giant of a reploid. While he wasn't as large as Cobalt Wolf, the seven foot two inch titan towered over the majority of the assembled reploids. However, even from here his most apparent feature was quite striking.
Unlike many other reploids designed with simple monochromatic color schemes, this new 'commander' did not. Glowing silvery pupils would take anyone by surprise, but his scleras further drew attention to his face as they were a pitch black, causing his eyes to become… Daunting to stare down.
"This is Commander Sigma, formerly leader of the 92nd division in southern Europe. High Command felt that he'd do an adequate job in handling the day to day operations." With that, Sigma took to the center of the podium as the human departed.
"My fellow Irregular Hunters, I realize that it's always difficult to fully trust a new commander when they're not of your ranks. Therefore, I'll let my actions speak for me. We've all been called to this role for various reasons, some of us willingly, some of us out of necessity. However, even though this is the case, we all have a vested interest to preserve the lives of innocents, and our brethren alike."
Pausing his eyes scanned the crowd, his blocky face impassive as he explored his new ranks.
"While I led the 92nd we were known as the finest team in southern Europe. This was because I demanded excellence of both myself and those under me. I will continue to do so. Unit leaders, if you want to retain your positions you will have to prove that you've earned those roles. On a more administrative note I'm also disbanding the current 17th unit and having the current hunters in that unit move to new assignments. The new 17th unit will become an elite first response team that I will manage directly. These Hunters will have to be able to fight both as a unit, and as individuals. However, you cannot apply for this group as I will personally invite you to join instead."
At this Sigma paused, taking the time to observe each section of his audience. Rokko felt that if he had been human he likely would have been able to make his way to any position of authority he so desired due to his ability to make even the dullest statement seem interesting.
Normally, most of them wouldn't have cared less about the administrative change, yet when Sigma said it, even something as mundane as that became worth listening to. His timing, execution, and cadence was perfect.
The bald reploid nodded once to himself before he prepared to speak further. However, just like training sessions could be, meetings could also be interrupted.
"Commander! We've got a massive spike of irregular activity in Neo Ölgii!"
Ölgii? Rokko racked her mind trying to recall where that was.
"I've never heard of Mongolia being hit by irregulars. It's still mostly tiny villages after the Day of Ash." Wolf muttered, under his breath.
The Day of Ash… It was a great nuclear holocaust that had taken billions of lives, all perpetrated by Doctor Mad all those years ago… And his reasoning behind mass genocide? Just so he'd be released from jail. Mongolia, China, India… So many former nations burned because of him. Not to mention the nuclear winter that had set in, instantly dropping the world's temperature by a full 20 degrees fahrenheit overnight.
However, Rokko was distracted as Sigma began to bark orders.
"First Strike Hunters, prepare to mobilize immediately and head to ground zero via teleportation. I will be accompanying you. All other hunters are to prepare for mobilization and be ready to be on the scene in twenty minutes. You'll teleport five klicks from ground zero. Navigators, what is the weather like in Neo Ölgii right now?" Sigma began barking orders, quickly mobilizing their forces.
"Neo Ölgii is currently dealing with a blizzard, and visibility is extremely low. Furthermore the wind is nearly fifty miles per hour headed south, southwest. Worse yet, temperatures have dropped to nearly -27 degrees fahrenheit."
Rokko frowned at the analysis. It'd be hard for several of the hunters to deal with the vicious weather. She wasn't the only one.
"Hm, that's a problem." Sigma observed before turning back to the assembled hunters.
"I require five hunters and huntresses that don't mind getting a bit cold. We'll try to deal with the situation before it gets out of hand."
Wolf raising a clawed hand surprised no one that knew him, but Rokko's offer was.
Normally, she'd have just let the others deal with it since she disliked being on a team, but she was curious about this new commander, and if he was actually able to manage the Irregular Hunters properly.
Quickly Sigma gathered his five warriors. Chill Penguin, a reploid originally designed for exploration in Eurasia's arctic circle, herself, Cobalt Wolf, a slightly familiar gangly male reploid, and a generic female reploid.
Generic Female Irregular Hunters were exceptionally rare as most were relegated to support roles; such as the navigator units that handled most of the base's operations, and that alone caused Rokko's eyebrows to raise. She'd possibly ticked off the wrong human, or possibly managed to take down an irregular on her own. At any rate, Rokko only hoped that the pink haired reploid wouldn't slow them down. Generic females hadn't been built with much in the way of combat ability, weaponry, or armor after all.
Sigma nodded to his five volunteers, leading them to the server room. Rokko quickly fell in beside Cobalt who trailed behind their new commander by a good five or so feet.
"I'm surprised you of all people volunteered." Cobalt observed.
Rokko glanced up at the Wolf based reploid.
"I had my reasons."
Wolf merely nodded, accepting the answer. However, before they arrived, the annoyingly familiar gangly reploid moved to Rokko's left side, and began speaking to her.
"I remember you. You were the girl sent on the suicide mission against that mechaniloid aren't you?"
Oh yes, now she remembered. The annoying reploid that had foot in mouth syndrome. Unfortunately, she couldn't use her height to intimidate the kid, but she didn't need it. Instead, she glanced at him sharply, her expression promising a world of pain if he didn't shut up. Yet, the gangly reploid with the bright pink shoulder pieces kept talking oblivious to the obvious threat.
"I'm sure it was you. After all, you're that sexy girl that everyone keeps talking about. 'Cold as ice', they say."
Did he really have the audacity to tell her that? Or perhaps he didn't understand what 'restraint' meant. Rokko wondered in bemusement as he kept babbling all the way to the server room.
"Do us both a favor." Rokko X snapped after learning that his name was 'Donathan' and that he liked her a lot.
"What's that?" Donathan asked cheerfully.
"Shut up before I'm forced to do it for you." X snapped, annoyed by his constant chatter.
The gangly reploid flinched but thankfully fell silent. Good, the last thing any of them needed was to send a volunteer to the medical center because of his incessant ramblings.
"Huntress Rokko X, keep your threats to the enemy forces only. If we cannot trust each other, then there is little hope for us to get out of a combat situation alive." Sigma chided.
"How did…" Rokko started, but cut herself off before responding with the only thing she shouldwhen speaking toa commanding officer.
"Yes Sir." How she hated this role.
"Before I arrived I checked the dossiers on all the Hunters and Huntresses in HQ. I wanted to know their skillsets and abilities as well as their names. Intel can save save lives after all." Sigma explained, answering the unasked question.
Apparently Sigma truly wasn't cut from the same cloth as the human commander. Would surprises never cease? The rest of their trip passed in relative silence before they managed to walk into the server room.
"Navigators, transport us to the conflict zone." Sigma ordered briskly.
"Understood sir. Transfer in three… Two… One. Transferring!" The strange sensation of teleportation overtook Rokko once again and the next thing she saw was a white-out, similar to the one that she awoke to see several months ago.
Her hair whipped about her, and the end of it found itself smacking X in the face time and again. Rokko wasn't fond of wind, and when this happened, she found herself disliking it even more.
"Cobalt Wolf, you and I will attack the southern flank. Rokko X, you and the other three will move to the northern corner of the city. Take out any hostile Irregular units you encounter. Remember to keep in contact, and if you don't hear from the other party at least once an hour, it's safe to assume that they've perished. All Irregular Hunters, move out."
Cobalt nodded before following the commander and heading to the south.
Glancing at her new 'team' Rokko grumbled to herself.
"Look, you two can do what you want. If you get yourselves into a mess, don't come crying to me." She warned.
"What if you have a problem arise?" The pink haired reploid asked, raising an eyebrow beneath her bangs.
"I won't, and even if I do, I'll deal with it on my own." Rokko replied before running on ahead.
Donathan tried to protest, but X had already long since charged ahead, ending an irregular with a short burst of plasma.
Dash, Duck, kick, slide, shoot, slide under irregular, shoot…. She moved gracefully, almost as if she was not bound by the land, but had become a valkyrie of yore.
She was relentless, and if an irregular tried to flee or surrender she didn't hesitate, ending them one, by one. It was here, on a battlefield that she felt truly alive. Each time she came close to death, it reminded her that she really was still alive.
The 'battle' for Neo Ölgii was more of a slaughter than a fight. The irregulars weren't well equipped, and had to rely on primitive weapons for the most part, easy for a well armed Irregular Hunter to deal with.
Firing her buster at a fleeing Irregular, Rokko destroyed the thin generic office reploid in a single shot. After she'd done so, Rokko began a scan, trying to track any other Irregulars. As she did so, the winds started to die down, leaving the town unnaturally quiet.
A thick blanket of snow had covered the ground, making Rokko's earlier footprints fade. The roofs of each of the buildings too had at least a foot or so of snow built up. The humans here wouldn't be leaving the comfort of their homes for a while due to the sheer build up. Rokko found herself grateful that her training had taken place in northern russia where deep snowdrifts were a common phenomena. During the fight, she hadn't been slowed down by the snow thanks to all of that trudging during training.
"X here, I'm not picking up any other Irregular activity." Rokko contacted Sigma, her left hand covering her earpiece just in case another blast of northern winds decided to start up again.
"Good work. I'm not detecting anything else either."
Over the next fifteen minutes all five had reported in, notifying that the area was clean.
"This is Commander Sigma to HQ. Once we're certain that the storm has let up, I want a garrison of seven Hunters stationed in Neo Ölgii for a time." Sigma was saying into his comm device as he approached Rokko with Cobalt Wolf at his side.
"That wasn't too rough." Wolf observed after the commander had finished the call.
"You'd think the humans here could have dealt with such a petty insurrection. They didn't even have weapons." She observed.
Donathan shook his head slightly, unnerved by the huntress and how relentless she'd been.
"It didn't stop you from killing them even when they ran away." He complained.
"I did my job. They were irregulars and if I didn't kill them, they'd have just been on borrowed time anyway." Rokko replied coldly, turning her back to the gangly reploid.
Sigma nodded reluctantly, his glowing eyes slightly troubled.
"Donathan, X, is correct. Eurasia has a very strict set of guidelines when it comes to irregulars. Once dubbed an irregular reploid, the only fate you have is retirement. As irregular hunters, we are not to question our orders, but to hope that what we're doing is acting as sword and shield to those who are unable to defend themselves."
Donathan attempted to say something as a response several times, falling short as soon as he started.
"I don't know about the sword and shield bit, but if you think that there are innocents in this world then, with all due respect sir, you're delusional." Rokko interrupted Donathan's babbling, then she continued without allowing the commander to reply.
"At any rate, there's no point in us staying here moping in the snow. If it's alright, I'd like to RTB sir."
"Very well. Mission accomplished hunters, return to base."
And her heart hardened a little more.
Sorry about the long wait, I fell under the weather if you will, and to be honest, I feel that the ending of the chapter was weak. But, I have to rebuild steam somehow.
Anyway, hope you enjoyed this next installment of Rokko's tale. I ended up cutting out a bit due to the medical issues I was facing, so don't be too surprised if I edit this later. Just getting this out was a bit of a challenge thanks to those problems.