Chapter 3: In Repentance
Our journey resumed for the next four days uninterrupted.
In that time, much effort was taken into familiarising myself with my duties, along with that what was expected of others around me. Rain had been of great help in that regard as she guided me in familiarising myself with the general idea of leadership and its practices.
Reasonably, one may think that it all boils down to managing the big picture and giving out the orders. However, I find that concept too simplistic and also not accountable of the finer scopes of my duties. Such mindset was what led to the dune incident, and I refused to repeat a mistake so blatant and on a greater level in the future.
Hence, as I awaited our arrival at the destination, I spent much of my time reading through the files in the black box. Again, an exercise in familiarisation, and one more important if I intend to establish Nod as a prominent force and entity on whatever planet we were currently on.
Worse comes to worse, we'd have to expect a full-blown conflict upon first contact.
At my most optimistic, we're already under close monitoring and can expect judgement from above raining down on us at any time.
Alas, it was all senseless worry until we could find more info on our situation. In accordance with that, I'd given Rain her first task, which was to manage the alert level as she saw fit until we reach the destination. I elaborated on that task further by telling her to inform me first of any developing situation before the men, in case of a false alarm.
So, here I was, having woken up and washed myself before putting on a new set of clothes. This being a proper Nod BDU but without the ranks, leaving only the Scorpion Tail on both sides of the collar and the upper portion of the sleeves. My hair was combed, and shoes fastened with immense hope they wouldn't come undone by themselves.
That would be a very bad sign.
An electronic blare alerted me to the resident intelligence.
"Commander," EVA called.
"EVA," I replied, not bothering to look at my desk as I finished the fine-tuning of my own appearance. "How was last night? Anything to report?"
"Negative," it informed. "Our seismic sensors have not detected any disturbance within a fifty-kilometre radius around the MCV. Electronic and radar sensors also have yielded no new results in the last six hours."
"What about the droppings?"
"Disposal sensor pods have also returned negative."
I grunted in confirmation.
Travelling this desert must be playing tricks on me. For the past two days, I'd been having EVA drop disposable sensor pods every twenty kilometres we covered. These pods were roughly three meters wide and lasted about four hours each. We'd usually lose connection with a pod within three hours due to distance and how deliberately poor the construction was. In addition to its shape and name, I'd intended for them to be buried and forgotten altogether with future finders being none the wiser.
Stretching my fingers until I heard a satisfying pop, I turned on my heel and approached the desk. I grabbed the Wrist Tool which sat vertical on its charging base on the table, before clasping it to my arm. Unlike before, I'd managed to fiddle with the straps so that I could have screen positioned on the side of my arm parallel with my thumb. A more comfortable position as opposed to the standard position directly on the forearm.
I walked out of my quarters. Immediately, I was greeted with the familiar hallway that made up the length of the officer's level on the MCV. I turned left to head to the elevator, but stopped in my tracks and turned my head to look the other way.
Beyond the corridor of my room was Rain's. Like mine, the edges of the corridor extruded outwards just ever so slightly within the honeycomb shaped hallways of the crawler. I tried peaking to see if it was locked but soon decided against it.
'Knowing her, she'd already be in the control centre after getting who knows how little hours of sleep,' I grumbled in my head.
She was dedicated, but it bothered on being insensible. She was a walking trope and I was sure just about anyone could see that. I had a lot to work for if I wanted to keep her.
More than a sweet for the eye.
I approached the lift and proceeded to enter the moment the doors opened. As I looked at the panel for available floors, a thought occurred to me.
Should I go see how the other floors were faring?
It wasn't an unsound thought. I'd spent much of my time holed up in the upper levels, between planning out what we would do upon reaching the Tiberium source, along with designing schemes to integrate ourselves into the world, the most I'd gotten was the usual reports from EVA on how the rest of the crawlers' sub-modules were operating. Why, outside of the control room staff, I don't think I got to meet any of the other staffs.
That felt really concerning. Hence, I resolved to descend and approach each floor.
"EVA," I addressed. "Tell Rain I'm going to see how the staff are faring. I'll join her in the control room later."
"Confirmed."
My first stop was the level below me which housed the medical bay and engineering bay. The latter was empty for the most part and didn't really serve any real purpose as of now. The former was occupied by our only two medical staff.
Stepping into the room, I noticed a certain change in the air. Before, it was dry and warm due to the A/C not being properly fixed. Now, I could sniff the distinctive sterile air more associated with places where the art of medicine was practiced.
"Ah, commander," a voice, slightly rough, and full of awareness. "Come to visit me at such an opportune time, as is."
I turned my head to see the man standing at the left end of the room. His pristine white outfit, which was a cross between an overall and a doctor's coat, was contrasted by the dark shadow below him courtesy of overhead lights. The man was leaned over, inspecting the internal circuitry of a cylindrical machine, with his back to me.
"White," I greeted. "Seems you've been keeping yourself busy."
"Only because this is the most featureless job on this oversized bug at the moment."
He continued his work, uncaring of my presence. Placing the cover panel back in place and securing it, he then got to work in opening the vertical below. Gloved hands making short work of finding the screws he'd need to remove.
At the same time, I took a look around the medical bay. Immediately, I noticed the other staff member missing. I presumed he must be elsewhere before turning back to him.
"So, what does the senior med-tech have to say about the place."
"It's an utter clutter of poorly arranged equipment and materials. There are field hospitals that probably do better, and early-stage drug rings that come with better secured stations and production lines."
As if to emphasise, the space around us suddenly shifts into that of an incline. It almost went past me as I instinctively widened my stance and lowered my posture in accordance with the change; a habit developed over the long voyage.
The same couldn't be said of the wares within the room. That everything seemed to be on the verge of calamity was borderline nerve-wracking. I felt my heartbeat quickened at each clink of glass on glass, along with the subtle sounds of wheels rolling in place. My head visibly twitched at the cacophony of noises, akin to unseen insects migrating all at once over a short distance.
Eventually, space seemed to right itself and we were back on even ground, but not before every item and equipment in the room seemed to follow suit with the shift in centre of gravity, earning another eye twitch from me.
White merely huffed at the spectacle.
"Please tell me we haven't already loss supplies due to this," I grumbled.
"Surprisingly no," came the man's answer as he got to work repacking his tools. "Some luck we must have, considering that screw up you had before the rest of us were conceived."
I winced. "So, you heard of that one."
"So, I did," he stood up. "More than half of the men you have here are nothing more than half-brained orcs with guns. Only few of them are at least smart enough to keep their rifle barrels away from their toes."
He stood and turned; his dark, apathetic eyes stared at me.
"Then, there's you," he approached me. "Quite the speech, I heard you gave the men."
His steps were…., planned, for lack of better term.
Each click of his boots was an attempt on my nerves. I could feel it.
Beneath the light of the medical bay, his clean-shaven scalp served to somehow reflect light away from his eyes. Yet, I could never miss his gaze.
It was ambitious. Ravenous.
I willed every bit of self to not shift one centimetre back, matching him as best I can with my own gaze.
"A necessary act to encourage improved performance from the men," I replied coolly.
"I'm sure they could follow just as well if you never showed my face." White retorted. "However, I like to imagine it must be gratifying to see them scream your name than Kane's. Isn't that it?"
"Fanatics have very little place in my army."
"An out of season April Fool's joke, commander?" the med-tech scoffed. "Gonna have to do better than that."
"….,"
"What? No retort?"
I turned heel and started walking. Counting, I took several steps forward as my eyes seem to drift from sight to sight. A gentle rumble was the only reminder of our current mobile state. Almost idly, I placed my hands on my hips. The left index flipping the holster next to it.
Tempting, tempting.
I wasn't a good shot, but I didn't need to be give how close the target was. It wouldn't have done me any good, sadly. Hence, I resorted to a different tactic.
"…. Tell me. Are the men in good shape?"
"…. Pardon?"
"I'm asking a question, Fifty-Three. Are my men fit for service?"
"….. The soldiers are in top shape if that's what you're asking. Don't see a reason why they should be anything else given their physiology."
"They're still based on living people from one point. If any of them have any circumstance that debilitates then I need to know early."
"That's not how we homunculi work."
This time I turned around. "That's how I work, but unlike them I'd suggest you don't get too in-character, White."
I allowed myself to be brought up close to him by my own two legs. My jaw sliding back and forth, before letting out a steady breath.
"Afterall, last thing I think you'd want is another Felina, don't you think?"
"….,"
"You should be right by all accounts, Fifty-three," a wide empty smile emerges on my face. "It's not how homunculi work. "Backstories are just excuses for the difference in emotional range for each new unit. Flavour text if you will."
"Still," I said as I circled him. "You're just a character on the stage. Same as the rest of them. Like them, you have your part, and I have mind."
My smile never faded as I stood next to him and whispered.
"So, don't overdo yourself, understand?"
The med-tech's face was set into a neutral expression. I wasn't sure if I'd broke him, forced the geass to take action, or made an enemy of my own man at worst. Perhaps, a mix of the three was plausible.
When mentioning the nature of the geass, EVA knew next to nothing of it and only had the same word found repeatedly within the black box's contents for reference. Rain had only a basic understanding of it as well that was roughly on the same level as me. What was understood, however, was that we wouldn't have to worry of a possible rebellion within Nod.
A very convenient tool, but one where the elaboration would have to come from experiments in the field. Dangerous experiments. Such was the case with White; a man who was based on a drug kingpin now serving as my senior medical staff. Admittedly, I was tempted to grow his assistant, but soon decided against it. For even if these men were made to be submissive to me, the same couldn't be said for others.
This was yet a strong reminder to never let my guard down. Lest I find out that my subordinates got too eager in shaping Nod and later having to clean up after their messes.
I took several steps forward before turning to look at the man behind me once more.
"I want to do a medical exam. Can you do that at least?"
He wordlessly nodded and got to work.
An hour later, I stepped out of the medical bay. I couldn't hold back the tired sigh that escaped my lips. Playing the part of a callous, calculated leader to different subordinates can be tiring, even more so when their made from less than morally good characteristics.
What an irony I must say, given my own words previously.
White was a man who surprised me as I was going through the list of personnel assigned to the MCV. Upon questioning EVA, it mentioned that the character given to each homunculus was randomised based on a large pool that the cloning program had access to.
A lesser man could say it was coincidence. I say it was fate.
I concluded that I had to be on my toes around him, even if there was a failsafe in case of defiance. That meant having to be 'nice' as much as I can.
Gathering my wits, I set out to find the others within the crawler. I approached the corner leading to the lift just in time to meet the other man that was also in charge of the medical room.
His bright uniform bumped into mine. Our shoulders pushed away from each other like two magnets colliding.
"Oh!" the man then gasped. "I'm sorry sir! I didn't see where I was going."
"At ease, Benedict," I raised a hand. "It's no concern."
I took a good look at the man before me. He was different from White in all respects. His long brown hair done into a simple ponytail, and his features appeared less hardened. Nervous green eyes looked in my direction whilst at the same time trying every bit to avoid my own.
At least I'll know something went wrong if I ever find his body, at least.
"I didn't see you in the med bay earlier. Care to explain?"
"Well, you see," he shifted in place. "I, uhm, sort of got hungry and went down into the main bay for a snack."
"Didn't think of your partner?"
"Oh, I did actually," he then held up a paper bag he'd been carrying. "Didn't know what he'd like. So, I packed a bunch of stuff that I hope he'll like."
"Hm," I pondered a bit on his words. Then asked, "So how do you find your partner anyways?"
"Oh, you mean White?" he blinked. "He's kinda moody, but I don't find all that troublesome. He keeps to himself a lot, even during medical procedures. He's really good at that, though. Just wondering how he'd gotten this job compared to anyone else."
'How indeed,' I mentally agreed.
"Well," I patted him. "Send a report if you run into in the future. As a matter of fact, don't be hesitant to inform me if there's anything you feel that's wrong in your department. See you then."
Benedict nodded and wished me goodbye as well as we went our separate ways. Boarding the elevator, I made for my next destination.
The main fabricator bay was a breath of fresh air went compared to the sterile, gloomy atmosphere of medical. It was also rather lively considering how many people were in here.
The main floor reminded me of the assembly areas back in college. Everyone here was essentially on idle until we reached our destination. With a severe lack of vehicles to work with, the Militia had to make do sharing space with the engineers and technicians. The men tried their best to get out of each other's way, but like me, they were eager to reach our destination and settle down for real.
"Ey, Boss," a familiar voice called out. "What brings you here?"
I turned to greet. "Hassan, good to see you this morning. So, how are things this morning?"
He shrugged. "Same old. Some of the hardhats got mad when the guys started doing their business. You think we could get some fresh air soon?"
"All in due time, my man," my lips curved. "All in due time."
"Hear, hear."
An angry blare filled the air.
Both our heads turned up at the source of the sound. A second later, realisation kicked in.
An alarm.
With it, urgency filled the space around us as men scrambled to their stations. Militia leaders barked orders and got their men into gear. Engineers and technicians coordinated their own preparations against the oncoming storm.
I turned to look at Hassan once more.
"Your unit, now," I ordered.
The man didn't bother to wait as he ran. I followed his movements for a bit before brisk walking towards the elevator myself. A thousand thoughts running through my head at once.
An attack? Possible, but how did they get past the sensors?
Stealth? Then we're already screwed.
Maybe something else. A settlement perhaps? However, that raises the question why we didn't encounter any early signs of one, such as caravans or smoke pillars. Even then, Rain wouldn't go so far as to raise an alarm, which led back to the first possibility.
I could feel my hands getting sweaty with every possibility that went through my mind. With each step, my heart seemed to pulse even harder than before. I ended taking a deep breath as I entered the elevator and the doors closed behind me.
The wait to the top felt like an eternity.
"EVA," I summoned the intelligence through the WMT. "Give me a breakdown what's going on."
"Commander, our scans have detected an energy anomaly approximately 120km and closing in from the northeast."
'That would be our left,' I conjectured. 'It'll probably be visible if we'd already cleared the dunes.'
Before I slept last night, the intelligence had informed we were taking a minor course correction to avoid a rather large dune that served as a natural impasse in our path. Considering our last debacle, I simply thanked it for informing me before dozing off. What I did remember though, was that the crawler had turned east in hopes of going around it.
When the elevator reached the top, I didn't bother waiting for the doors to fully open and simply slipped through the crack the moment it was wide enough for me to go through it.
In front of me, I was met with a tense silence. The control room was manned by a total of six operators manning a station each, forming a full staff. Rain was hunched over one of the tables observing the pixels as they moved about the screen. Occasionally, she'd manipulate the image to better suit her view.
"Rain," I addressed. "What are we looking."
"Dust cloud, approaching in front of us. Not a natural weather phenomenon."
"Radar? IFF?"
"Negative."
"Then what are we facing then."
By this point, I'd approached the table she loomed over and was looking at the expanded digital map she had been fiddling with. I could see our current projected path drawn in a crooked line with a still image of the crawler, along with dotted lines running parallel on the same path, but most notably away from the oncoming unknown marked as an arrow with a circle around it and topped off with question mark at its centre.
"I'm not sure, but I'm not taking any chances either," she straightened herself then indicated to the alternate paths. "I'm working with EVA to try and generate an alternate path for us to travel around the anomaly. Climbing the dunes just won't work in our current situation, we're likely to slip and render ourselves immobile."
I nodded at her assessment. Licking my lips, I left her side to continue planning our manoeuvre and moved to the front next to the pilot.
From behind the wide viewport, I could only make out the dune to our left that steadily decreased in height the further it went out into the far distance. The scenery I envisioned was the unknown coming down the left, armed to the teeth and packing weapons that'd blow us sky high. I could chalk it up to how vulnerable we are as a force by our lonesome. With no friendly force to screen us, all it took was a bad encounter and we'd be done for.
The current situation was one such example.
"Hell of a way to break the monotone, eh commander."
I looked at the pilot. The man was still seated, with his hands on the yokes of the steel beast. I stared at him for a bit before turning to the front.
"Got any experience you could share with us, my good man?"
He shrugged. "I only served in two instances back in TibWar 3. Got blown sky high on my second run by a Scrin bomber."
That caught my attention, and I looked back at him with a raised eyebrow.
"How the hell did that happen? I thought crawlers were protected most of the time."
"They are sir. However, my commander was in a tight fix when we were engaging the Scrin. He sent me off with a light escort in hopes we'd either provide a tasteful distraction or somehow sneaked past them."
"I'm guessing the enemy's eyes were a tad better than he was expecting."
"HA!" the man barked. "The only good thing about that day was watching his base burn down from the distance. Had a nice seat even from atop a Tiberium glacier whilst bleeding out."
The man's jovial tone was concerning, but I could tell that he was just being realistic of his own expectations as of now. For that, I couldn't blame him.
"Well, keep driving until then, Mr. Pilot," I patted his headrest. "We'll talk more later."
"Aye, commander."
With our little conversation done, I turned to regard the other occupants in the room. Rain was still discussing something with what assumed was EVA, given the hushed whispers. Most of the other occupants in the room were engaged in their own tasks.
Still, I suppose a quick chat with just one other person shouldn't bother the whole lot too much.
My eyes were fixed on one operator on the far left, facing away from the viewport. They were stationed behind a large hemisphere display which I assumed to be the radar station. Unsurprisingly, the whole setup was a lighter shade of red with white lines along its surface dictating units and measurements.
I approached the person with intent. Nodding in acknowledgement to the co-pilot who took notice of my presence. As I neared, I noticed the immediate differences between this person and the rest of the staff.
Her beret was one that matched Rain's. If that wasn't enough, then the obvious feminine face was a dead giveaway. She had her eyes trained on the readouts on her station, despite the fact it currently was about as good as a car's radio in the middle of nowhere.
Noticing me, she turned her head just enough to address me.
"Commander."
"At ease," I addressed. "Hope I'm not interrupting you."
"Not at all, sir. Just… fine tuning yet again."
My lips twitched. "Not much to do now, yeah?"
"Truthfully sir, it's a better job than my last one."
"I see. So, which war?"
"TibWar 2. I served as liaison for a base in Southern Europe. GDI overwhelmed us one day, and I found my end whilst trying to coordinate the evacuation."
"Got any advice for our current predicament?"
She pondered for a bit. Her eyes seemed distant before she turned to me and spoke.
"It may be in our best interest to lay low and observe the unknown's movements. Some of Nod's most devastating losses were from GDI being able to track us back to our own bases. Let it be known that carelessness led to many crushing defeats on both sides of the war."
I nodded at her advice and motioned her to return to her own work. Turning on my heel, I walked a distance away to give space between us. I sucked on my lips whilst pondering on the things I heard up until now.
We were still moving forward despite the danger, and something told me that conflict was inevitable anyways. However, resources dedicated to this engagement could be costly, and I highly doubt we could recycle them like we do our own structures.
Yet, the thought of potential violence continued was starting to get a rise out of me. It was actually disturbing to a certain degree. I never saw myself as one quick to inflict harm, and the most I'd ever acted on such impulse was through games along with the occasional bouts of frustration.
"Damn it," Rain muttered.
Speaking of frustration, I noted that my aide was at her wits end. Which given our circumstances, I figured that she would've reached it much sooner. Truly, I praise her a lot for her diligence.
"I suppose we don't have any other choice, do we?"
She turned to look at me standing at the opposite end of the table. I could feel the smile on my face that wasn't fullhearted, and saw how it affected her greatly, it seemed.
"I'm sorry."
"No," I shook my head. "Don't be. You've done well, but fate has forced our hands. If there must be blood, then let it be our enemies that stain these sands."
My focus then shifted to the pilots.
"Unpack the crawler," I ordered. "Have the entrance facing in the direction of the unknowns."
A duet of acknowledgments came from the men. Rain gave me a look and I met her gaze once more.
"Commander are we really doing this?" she asked.
"No other choice the way I see it." I sighed.
Her lips thinned. "This will drain resources that we can't get back."
"I'm aware."
She nodded at this. Her gaze fell for a moment before she turned to look at me once more.
"May I advise at the very least producing Dawn era attack buggies for this engagement. I'd suggest attack bikes as well, but those require trained crew to operate."
"Noted, but sadly denied," I replied. "Stick to our pre-Dawn assets. However, I want both a Hand and Vehicle Assembly, and I want them deployed now."
She nodded and got to work. In the meantime, I worked my WMT and queued the units I wanted for this fight. It was certainly a far cry from a real Nod force, but as a certain messiah once put it, Nod being a shadow of itself is exactly how it should be.
Yet, as I figured, there's a reason for why even grown men feared shadows in the dark.
Within the space of an hour, I'd say that we had done pretty well in building a reasonable force.
By an all accounts, it was small as far as raiding parties go, but if it could at the very least divert the course of whatever was generating the sandstorm, then perhaps we may have a chance of slipping past and continuing on our way. Otherwise, we may buy ourselves some time.
Thinking on the matter, it was clear as day that I was sending these men to their deaths. Apart of me was admittedly horrified at the thought, and perhaps that was really why I discretely skipped on giving any speeches before their departure. Not that I thought it would be appropriate given the time we had.
The Vehicle Assembly Facility was the first to be built. As its name suggested, it forged reliable machines of war from its cramped rooms that covered an area of some twenty square metres of land. Of which, all manner of machinery was crammed together with barely the space to work. Obviously, this also meant we had an upper limit of what we could produce, but considering it was only expected to spit out repurposed frames with weapons attached, I'd say it was doing an amazing job.
From the moment it was built, vehicle after vehicle was being produced, mainly the aforementioned repurposed semi-trucks and armed all-terrain bikes. Both shared similarities in the form of all-terrain wheels that looked oversized for the vehicles they were attached to. Where the similarities ended, however, were the armaments.
The larger vehicles sported Heavy Machine Guns mounted on stands and bolted onto the flatbed, whereas the bike had rocket pods mounted on the sides of the chassis.
Together, these vehicles were the very incarnation of the Nod war doctrine. That being, to hit hard and fast then scurry into hiding, waiting to strike again.
The reactions from the men had been varied at first, but, overall, there was widespread eagerness for the mere possibility that this could end in a fight. Then, when they had gotten a chance to try the vehicles in full earnest, excitement practically saturated the air, and the squad leaders had to double down extra to get the men back to being an organised bunch.
I was outside on the extended platform of the ConYard watching as the assembled interception force rode off to meet the anomaly. My very being was a swirl with emotions as the dust left in their wake; fear, anxiety and sense of eagerness that refused to be carried off into the wind. The chorus of cheers and whoops did little to dissuade my worries.
Not all were sent of course. We'd only had time to make so many vehicles at once, and it was better anyways to leave some fighters within the ConYard in case anything went wrong. Those left behind were preparing what meagre defences we could muster. Namely, barricades and makeshift fighting positions with aid of the ConYard staff whom all were armed with mainly pistols and whatever else that could be in any way lethal.
"Master, we should head inside."
I turned to see Rain approach. She wore a combat vest over her shirt, but still chose to keep the long coat on her person. Her face was set in a neutral expression devoid of emotion.
I nodded. "Yes, we should."
Our journey back inside was a quiet affair amidst the storm of activity around the bay. The men were doing their best to keep themselves busy in the wake of potential combat. Admittedly, a small part of me wondered how many among them were more experienced than others.
I shook my head to clear these stray thoughts. Now was not the time.
"Master?"
"Nothing Rain. I'm just giddy."
I figured the matter was dropped there. I didn't expect her to actually press it.
"If it's about the current situation, I can assure you that we're all doing the best we can. Should anything happen, my life will be laid down first before any of them could get to you."
"Very encouraging, Rain," I sighed. "Very encouraging."
We boarded the elevator and pressed the button to ascend.
I took a deep breath to try and steady my nerves. My breath hitched when I felt something brush against my left hand. On reflex, my head snapped to the source to find my aide standing behind me, her hand pulled back. I caught her worried look, but something about it made me feel all but disgruntled.
I could feel my brows furrow. My nose twitched at a non-existent itch.
"Don't. Touch. Suddenly," was what I said.
The doors opened and I immediately exited the moment I could fit through the gap. Consciously, I worked to breath in and out as much as I could to keep the storm in me calm. A familiar pressure on the sides of my head was a sign of my rising tension.
My attention drew to the table on the right which was still projecting real time footage of the outside. Some part of me wondered how much time had really passed since we'd deployed and finished production of our new units, and a flashed of panic flooded me that I'd just sent my men into an awaiting trap. One good appraisal of the screen informed otherwise, and I felt a rush of calmness flood my being upon seeing a timer for the intercept. Using both hands, I manipulated the image on the table so that it now showed only our forces and that of the unknown.
The clicking of boots alerted me to Rain's presence. She took her place by my side at the shorter end of the table to my right. Her face set once more in a neutral façade.
A stab in the heart, and a tugging in the soul.
"Commander, unknown unit sighted." EVA reported.
"On screen," I said as I turned to face the wall in the opposite direction of the viewport. As we lack any real intelligence gathering assets, the best we could do was use special cameras mounted on the vehicles, namely the ones mounted on each gun of every technical, and the helmets of the attack bikes.
Upon seeing the first images that appeared on screen, only one sentence entered my mind.
"What the hell?"
When Hassan was reborn into this life, he didn't ask for much.
Not money. Not food, or shelter.
What he wanted most was a chance to do away with his life a little bit fuller than before.
It was the same wish he had back when he was alive.
This body, he knew, was a mere fancy imitation of a human function. Food was welcomed, but he knew that it was not necessary. Water was gladly accepted, although he could probably last for a long while without it just as fine. That left only stamina, and even then, it was more of a force of habit then anything.
All these things were general knowledge to the homunculus. Albeit, he had been told that it was better not to think too hard on just who had given him this knowledge, or the knowledge itself for that matter.
The request was mindboggling, but Hassan didn't see fit to question. It wasn't his place to do so.
Besides, his new leader was nice. Perhaps, a bit too nice when compared to the one he served with back in the Old World. Yet, he and his brethren welcomed it all the same.
Now, they get to repay their leader's kindness by seeking out this possible threat. Who knows? Maybe they'll even get a chance to destroy it if the need arises. Which, given the tense atmosphere throughout the ConYard, seemed possible.
As his Technical jumped over yet another low-lying mound, the strange dust cloud in the distance grew increasingly larger. From where he stood on the flatbed mounting the gun, he had a clear view of the small force assembled to meet the unknown.
It wasn't much, but it was better than nothing to say the least. It consisted of six technicals with twice that many bikes. Had these vehicles been up to Nod standards, any opposition commander could certainly kiss their harvesting operation goodbye. Now, however, it would be a miracle if even one of them got back in one piece.
"Approaching target, lock and load, everyone!"
Hearing the order coming through the earpiece, the militiaman pulled the charging handle of his weapon. A jolt raced up his hands as the moment of truth arrived. His stance became increasingly erratic as adrenaline bled from his legs in the form of repeatedly repositioning his footing to match the uneven terrain the technical was traversing.
That was when it happened.
The cloud of dust that had spooked his superiors back on the MCV had started dissipating. Exiting the clouds was what could only be described as a large, curved surface, with the bottom half being wider than the top and at an incline. This was followed by a long body that ended in a flat end at the back. Two extensions could be seen jutting out just near the rear of the vessel, akin to wings.
"What is that?!"
"How should I know?"
"It's gotta be like thirty metres long."
"Geez, look at the size of that thing."
The thing that appeared could only be best described as a floating isle. The hull -assuming his eyes weren't deceiving him- was what he assumed to be wood, with sponsons jutting out of the lower half of the hull. The sand being blown away from the hull at these sponsons was what he assumed to be a result of the ships propulsion system.
"Command to all units," the Mistress voice appeared over the radio. "Confirm exactly just what are we facing."
"Command, Leader Four," Sergiu responded. "The unknown appears to be some sort of landship. Cameras should be giving a clean broadcast."
Another voice, this time the Commander's.
"Confirm, Four. Does anyone see any occupants?"
Silence filled the comms, and Hassan took this opportunity to appraise the strange craft. Sadly, he could hardly see if there was any life within the craft due to how high it floated off the ground. The dust displaced by the thing's engines wasn't helping either.
"Negative," someone replied. "Can't see shit."
"….. Circle the craft for now," Mistress spoke back once more. "Try and get the crews attention."
"Roger," Sergiu replied.
Things became quite for a bit after that. Outside of the roar of numerous engines and the ships giant engines, the ship and its newly gained escorts continued to traverse the sands peacefully. The only major event worth noting was when half the force spilt away to cover the ships other flank, effectively pinning it on two fronts.
At the ten-minute mark, the silence was broken.
"Commander, there's no sign this thing is going to stop," First Squad's leader spoke. "Request permission to engage."
Another minute of silence.
"Confirmed, Squad One," their leader replied. "Last chance, shoot the bow and get their attention for real."
They were close to the dune that was keeping the Crawler hidden from plain sight. Not wasting anymore time, the gunner on the lead technical swerved his armament to point at the front of the ship.
A brief stream of lead filled the air between the two vehicles, drawing a jagged diagonal line on this ships surface. Despite its initially smooth texture, the wood that made up the craft must've been far more fragile than was thought as holes larger than Hassan's own fist were formed with every successful hit.
The effect was immediate. The floating craft began to slow and visibly turn on its axis. Every vehicle that had been following it up until that time immediately swerved to avoid the wake cause by its sudden movements.
Eventually, the craft came to a stop above the sand over the edge of the dune. The milita was quick to form a semi-circle around it, trapping it between a steep drop and the armed group.
Save for the idle humming of engines, there followed another tense silence. Only, it was shorter than before.
From previously hidden ports, one too many cannons appeared. Hassan was no fast counter, but there was no way he could mistake what three lines worth of guns stacked on top of one another would look like.
He also seemed to not be the only one to have reached the same conclusion.
"Gun!" someone shouted.
That was when all hell broke loose.
Rockets and bullets flew through the air tore the side of the craft facing them. Hassan didn't care too much where he shot so long as it was in the general direction of the craft and was actually hitting something. However, he did make a point to aim at places that weren't already gaping holes courtesy of the rockets from the attack bikes.
The sheer amount of firepower they were throwing down range eventually hit something important. A huge ball of fire erupted from the midsection of the craft above the base, followed by a shockwave that forced everyone to cease fire and stiffen themselves lest they get carried off their feet. When they turned to look once more, they were met with a breath-taking site.
The craft was still miraculously floating. Albeit in flames and was clearly listing to one side. Groans exited from the strained frame of the large vessel like those from a dying animal.
Groans that were accompanied by screams. Human screams.
Hassan's blood ran cold.
Alas, there was too late to ponder on the matter. The massive craft finally listed and fell down the steep side of the dune and into the path of the Crawler. A final explosion sent both sand and debris into the air, forcing some of the militia to reflexively raise their hands to shield themselves.
A pressure in his head was the only thing the militiaman felt in the quiet atmosphere that followed. For a moment, he refused to believe that his body could positively shiver underneath the heat of the desert. Yet, as he looked down at his shaking knuckles that held a death grip on the spade handles of the gun, he was proven wrong.
"All units," the radio crackled to life; it was Mistress. "Status."
"Leader One here. Unknown has been destroyed. No casualties."
There was a pause before a new line.
"Understood. Get down and encircle the wreckage site. We have a detachment from security on route along with the Commander."
It took a certain amount of will to make himself release the death grip he had on the handles. He stood with legs braced and hands on his knees, allowing himself a deep intake of air followed by the pressure in his head finally lessening. Around him, he looked to see that the other gunners had also entered a laxed state or mimicked him in some ways, the same with the attack bike riders.
Together, they took their time admiring the large pillar of smoke created from the destruction they'd wrought.
I looked on amazed at the wreckage in front of us.
The fire was still going strong when we arrived. Looking at its intensity, and then to the extinguisher in my hand, I was quick to feel inadequate for the task at hand.
That was the moment the others made their presences more prominent. Obviously, we'd packed more than one fire extinguisher for the job, seeing as how a second explosion had occurred right before we arrived at the site in earnest. Now, all those extra canisters were being put to good use as the men present fought to snuff the inferno as much as possible before it could reach deeper into the ship and damage something that may be of use to us.
I aided as much as I could, but we eventually settled for just keeping the flames contained long enough for the fire to die out on its own. As the ship had fallen on its side, some braver individuals had decided to go ahead and climb over the gunwale to reach the deeper parts of the ship. A part of me worried for another explosion, but, as the fire finally died down, that worry faded along with it.
That left us with the remains of the 30-metre vessel. Utterly lifeless and charred from the inside out.
It was also around this time when the interception force returned and surrounded the wreckage. The MCV lumbered behind us and plopped down. Not even bothering to unpack.
I and many others continued to look on, amazed as we were beholding the strange ship. I had my assumptions as to what it could be, but at the same time, I noticed key features on what remained of the bow and aft section that didn't line up with the features of a certain luxury ship in a galaxy far, far away.
Rain at some point appeared at my side. Her features calm and sharp as a blade. In contrast, mine softened despite the desert heat bearing down on me at the sight of her.
"Hey Rain," I called out.
"Master," she greeted back.
"Quite a catch we'd gotten, eh?" I motioned towards the downed vessel. "Wonder what we'll find inside."
"We should be quick if we wish to search the wreckage," was her blunt assessment. "There's no telling if this ship is an independent, or whether it belongs to an entity we're not aware of."
"Do our sensors detect anything at the moment?"
"No," she shook her head. "When the ship made itself known, the dust storm seemingly disappeared along with it. So far, me and EVA can't exactly point out just why a ship of this size would be travelling in the desert by its lonesome."
"Well then," I turned to look at the smoking remains. "Guess we better find out quickly then."
It would be another hour before EVA deemed it was safe enough for us to try entering the vessel. Still, we'd taken preparations in the form of environmental suits and climbing gear to better traverse the inside of the ship.
In the meantime, the technical and attack bikes were given the task of keeping overwatch of our surroundings. Of the twenty-six remaining men present, ten of those consisting of Squads Two and Five were ordered to help in exploring the vessel, along with technicians from the ConYard.
Despite Rain's vehement disapproval, I went ahead and joined the expeditionary group. I was clad in the same suit as the rest of the men, trying my best to ignore the discomfort caused by the early evening rays as we made our way inside.
My heartbeat paced with every effort made to get into the vessel. The flames had eaten up more than half of the ship's entirety from one end to another, leaving the front and back connected by what amounts to a thin strip of wood that had no hope of maintaining the shape of the vessel if it were upright.
Inside, we were greeted with an almost otherworldly sight. The sun's rays didn't really reach the 'floor' of the interior since the smoke from the fire had yet to fully dissipate. What little was seen, though, was burnt to a crisp, including the metal bits of what I'd assumed remained of the ship's cannons. Large columns of wood that laid in pieces were all that remained of the ship's superstructure, along with planks that had once been the ship's lower decks.
The men began to spread around to inspect the deeper part. I made to follow, but ended getting a fright as I lost my footing.
CRACK!
The ground below me gave way. Narrowly catching myself on one of the black surfaces, I turned my gaze down to see just I'd stepped on.
Agony was what I saw.
Black bone. A crushed black skull more appropriately. The owner laid on its side shrivelled up in an almost perfect foetal position.
He wasn't alone.
Were my eyes just opening, or was it just had been my own awareness not clicking sooner? I couldn't tell. What I did know, however, was that I wasn't just standing in a ship.
I was standing in a ship that had been full of people.
People I didn't know, but people all the same. People that had died under the barest implication that they'd threaten my subordinates. My heart seemed to sink into my chest as more and more it dawned on me of the wrong, I'd just committed.
Something pulled on my shoulder, pulling me away from my growing apprehension. My head turned to look at the man behind me. From how close he was, I could see his eyes through the gas mask he wore. They were filled with a degree of understanding. Yet, I could tell he was mildly impatient.
Looking at the body once more, I inhaled deeply and steeled my nerves. There was no time to stay rooted in fear, was what I told myself. I could reflect on this later.
CRASH!
Smoke filled my vision. A hundred curses soon followed.
I used a hand to wipe the soot off my visor. Against my better judgement, I willed myself forward and began climbing over beams and board, moving further into the vessel.
I nearly bumped into another man as I did so, holding both arms outstretched and grasping him for support in the dark. I must've given him a fright, he turned out to be quick to calm down and turned to face me. It was then I noticed that he was the leader of Squad Two. That alone was good enough to give me an idea of where I was, since the squad in question was tasked with the midsection of the ship.
"What happened!" I called out, but no immediate answer was given.
"Hey, report!" the squad leader barked out.
"The damn wall collapsed!" someone called out from deep within the ship. "Bloody hell, you are sure we should be in here?"
"Do your job, mutt!" the leader snapped. He then turned to me, expectation in his eyes.
I looked over his shoulder at the rest of the men under his charge. Most had already gotten over the recent surprise and were back to scrounging around the ship. I motioned with a nod for him to continue whatever he was doing.
By now, just about everyone involved in searching the ship was already inside. Save for two men who were tasked with keeping watch from our point of entry. The dust had settled again, and I could see more than a dozen man making their way to the back of the vessel.
Inhaling once, I turned to make my way to my own destination. That being, the rearend of the vessel where Squad Five should be trying to get find what we hoped to be the captain's quarters.
As I stepped forward, I heard another sickening crack beneath me. I winced, but didn't bother to look down, knowing I'd be trapping myself in another downward spiral of gloom.
Sunlight disappeared altogether as we ventured further into the depths. Our earlier efforts to stop the flames from gorging the interior had some success, seeing as how the space within these parts was completely intact, save for the obvious soot and grime that covered the surfaces.
At present, we'd already cleared most of the aft section, collecting anything worth of note such as books, documents and maps. Brief inspection of the language used proved futile and it certainly surprised me considering just how diverse the members of the Brotherhood were supposed to be.
That left with only the giant door at the far end, which reminded me eerily of the kind of door you'd find in a prison, mixed with that used by banks. The two men in charge of breaking through had just finished blowing it wide open with explosives and were peaking inside.
"Oh, gosh," someone muttered.
Ice filled my veins when I heard those words. Try as I might, I couldn't stop the tremors in my fingers as I climbed over what used to be an inner corner of the deck. Another sharp intake of breath was taken as I made my way over to the top, where two men peaked into a dark space.
That was when I saw it.
Piles. Piles upon piles upon piles. A crude mockery of a landfill covered by a blanket of ash.
Piles upon piles upon piles of bodies.
If there had been any courage left in me, there was none to be found now. All the strength left me as my knees buckled and I fell on all fours onto the wooden surface below me.
Only to be met with another face of agony.
I couldn't take it. I couldn't take it. I couldn't take it. I couldn't take it.
Rain watched as the last of those sent to search the wreckage finally came out. Aside from pale, wide-eyed complexions, the men were all safe and secured.
The same couldn't be said for their mental health.
While many were aware that war was a cruel thing that led to many heinous acts, it was another to entirely to be confronted with ones own victims. For the militiamen who only knew how to vent their anger and get away scot-free of the circumstances, it was certainly an eyeopener to see the results of their handiwork first hand.
She'd spoken with the squad leaders on the matter. The two men were grim-faced, but were taking it better than the rest. An agreement was made to give the men the closest thing they had to a 'day-off' by handing them better rations and some light alcohol. The leaders also agreed on sitting down with the men and talking to them about the recent experiences.
That left only with the other problem.
He'd been the first to return, and had spent the better part of the evening sitting down as far away from the vessel as reasonably possible. With his feet tucked under him, he almost appeared like a child that'd been caught breaking something extremely valuable.
She approached him slowly. Her knee-high boots left the barest of imprints in the sand. When she was next to him, she sat down with her knees bent close to her chest, and arms wrapped around them for better support.
Together, they enjoyed the darkening sky.
"I killed them," he croaked.
"You did," she nodded.
"All of them," he let out, voice falling to a harsh whisper. "There were even women and children in there."
She gently inclined her head towards him. "How could we have known? The men acted to the best they could, given the situation."
"DON'T PLAY DUMB WITH ME!" he screeched. "DON'T YOU DARE TO PITY ME WOMAN!"
Her reflex was to switch to a long sitting position. With her arms free, she punched him and in quick motion, pulled him back upright. The same arm was then used to hold him by the back of his neck.
Applying pressure, she could feel his breath hitch.
"That is not. My intention," her voice was austere.
She increased the pressure just a bit. Not to harm, but to ensure his attention was on her. With her other hand, she cupped his chin and turned him to face her.
The eyes swollen with bottled-up grief. A face contorted in pain.
In agony.
"My intention," she breathed. "Is not to pity you, but to put things into perspective."
She released the grip on his neck and chin, switching instead to grip both his shoulders and turn his upper body to face her.
"You're a commander of Nod," she began. "Yours is a role that is coveted and at the same time abstained by those who know and don't know of its implications. Remember that; remember always more what that entails."
She let her words hang in the air. Alas, it only made him downtrodden.
"I'm not a monster," he cast his gaze down. "I don't want to be one."
A sigh escaped her. Her own head hung low.
Gently, she nudged her temple against his.
"Then, be a man," she whispered. "Just be yourself. This is only the beginning. You're journey here, will shape you."
"Into what, Rain," he asked.
She retracted her head and placed both her hands under his head. She raised his head to face her once more.
"Isn't that what we're supposed to find out?"
Her Master stared at her with dull eyes. He blinked, before gently seemed to nestle his head into her palms. Acting on instinct, she brought him into a gentle embrace.
For a time, they embraced this peace, until he asked. "Just who are you exactly Rain?"
"I am your aide, Jared," she breathed. "I am meant to aid you in your quest for as long as I'm able."
"… I don't trust you."
"Then don't. Just rely on me as much as you need to."
The sun had disappeared over the horizon when they returned to the site. The moon was visible this time, and it castled an ethereal white glow on the lands.
The men happened to be lounging about. At some point, they had torn down more of the ship to enable easier access to the interior.
Squad Leader Three was the first to notice their approach.
"Commander, Mistress!" he exclaimed, prompting the others to rise up and stand at attention.
From where she stood behind him, she watched his head slowly turn from left to right, observing each man.
"What are you doing?"
Leader Three blinked. "We're… waiting on you, sir. You kinda took off on your own for a bit there. We already cleared out as much as we could from the ship. Sadly, there weren't any survivors sir. Look like the fire got them all."
A long sigh escaped her. She continued to observe her leader, noting just how awfully stiff he was.
"… Get them out."
"Excuse me?"
"You heard me," he clarified. "Get them out. We're gonna bury them."
Zero-Three spared a glance at her. She responded with a stare.
"…Well, if you say so," the militant then turned around to gather his brethren. The two of them stood there for a while as they watched the camp getting roused into action.
"Rain, I need you back in the control room. Keep watch just in case there's trouble," he suddenly spoke.
"But what about you?" she queried.
"Somebody has to see to it that that these guys do their job right," he said whilst adjusting the sleeves of his BDU. He then began walking to join the other men.
Midstride, he stopped and turned just enough to speak over his shoulder.
"I'll be fine now. Do as I ask of you. We can talk more at a later date."
With that he was gone.
Rain watched him as his continued his path towards the ship before breathing out a sigh. Her lips thinned as she watched him waver whilst trying to pass the makeshift entrance into the vessel.
It was only when he finally disappeared inside did she made her own way towards the ConYard. All the while, her brows were furrowed.
This master of hers was a troublesome one.
Still, she will continue trying her best to serve him, as it was her lot in this life.
A/U: That's a wrap!
Oh gee, it seems I really like to push the rating whenever I can.
So, first blood. Yeah, that kinda happened, but what did you expect? This is the bad guy faction's story afterall. Tragedy is an abundance, and we haven't even reached the main plot yet.
I hope ya'll can bear with me as we go about this. Only a couple of chapters till we reach the main points.
Now, here's one review I wish to answer.
To Rathmore, Rain is a character whose name I took from an old visual novel I acquired recently.
Also, to all you readers, you'll see names from different media appear here in the story and it's all in good fun! Disclaimer, these characters in no way corroborate with their original counterparts and can be considered their own characters. Their cameos in name and appearance, but I will admit their naming will be a discreet way of telling you how their story may or may not go down.
Again, I'm not trying to be lazy or anything like that. I just want to have fun writing, and I hope you all can join in too!
And thanks for following! I tend to forget how larger communities attract attention faster. I hope we can both enjoy as writer and reader.
See you next chapter!