The Outpost
The Nikkes within the outpost awoke in the morning to the rhythmic thump of marching feet. Descending from the elevator area, a Company of soldiers clad in dark-green uniforms marched out, weapons held close to their chests. It wasn't a proper formation, though, with the sight of stretcher bearers hauling their wounded from the Surface becoming more and more of a common sight.
Various Mass Production Nikkes stood guard over the procession, eyes wide behind their helmets and goggles as they watched the troops march in. Despite the wounds sustained, the bandages on many of them, the chipped armor and the surface damage on their boxy-looking weapons, there was a certain dignity with which these soldiers marched.
Faces shielded by rebreathers and goggles, many had their gazes forward, some looking at the backs of their brother's heads as the procession moved forward. Not one limped, even with a leg injury. They remained almost perfectly ramrod straight, as if drilled from their youth to be so. Still, they had personalities and traits that told them apart. Some were taller than others, their hair colors were different…
The force hummed in a chorus an old tune, a weary song of battle as they marched. None opened their mouths to sing a lyric, but they maintained that same stoic gaze, eyes forward, rifle held up, as they stepped onto the wider areas. Behind them, bipedal walker vehicles and tracked infantry fighting vehicles followed, carrying more wounded on stretchers.
Even they, who were bandaged down to the leg or with arms in slings and splinted legs, remained stoic. What stunned the forces of the Outpost, however, were the soldiers without face coverings. Purple-eyed youths, children even, holding onto the sides of their vehicles, rifles held in one hand as they either sat on top of said vehicles, or carried stretchers beside the transports.
"Jesus Christ," Mumbled one of the Product 08s, shotgun slung over her shoulder, "Kids… Must be a whole Company…"
An iDoll Sun asked rhetorically, "Wonder what the hell drove them to recruit an entire force like this…" as her gaze locked onto a pair of twins, holding each-other up as they marched. One of them stifled tears as they walked, though, face morphed into the slightest showing of pain, while her brother held her up, himself missing his left arm.
They paused as they saw the Officers. Without helmets, clad in the same green flak jackets, just bearing pistols and swords instead of base rifles. A few were wounded, with a female having half her face bandaged, burns visibly poking out from beneath the blood-stained gauze. Still, she held firm, standing taller than most.
"How the fuck are kids like these here…? Wasn't the Surface empty?" Mumbled the 08, shifting the strap of her shotgun slightly farther up her right shoulder. The vehicles pulled up into the parking lot in front of the Command Center, a bowtie-shaped building of glass and steel. The Outpost itself looked like it was still under construction, too.
There, the troops started triage. Soldiers with red symbols on their shoulder plates shifted the wounded into the center of the Lot right under the watchful eyes of several Special Purpose Nikkes and more MPs. There, they selected severe casualties which needed immediate tending while their comrades set up tents.
Mary, a brown-haired Nikke and one of the two medical officers of the Outpost, stared with somewhat wide eyes, her own purple irises poking out through narrowed eyelids, mouth slightly agape. She closed said eyes, gaining a firm expression, before calling out, "Pepper. Prep several hospital beds, then come out and help me," and stepping into the courtyard from the Hospital. She yelled, "I need several Mass Production Nikkes to come help me! We're carrying the wounded to the Hospital!"
She then marched up to one of the medics and said to him, "Prep your worst for whatever surgeries they need. We've got the facilities to help them, but we have to move fast!" and watched as the young man stared at her, wide-eyed and surprised. He shook his head, nodded, then barked at his boys to start carrying the worst of the wounded.
Pepper, a pink-haired girl in a leotard sweater approached next, taking her jacket off and moving to the worst of the worst. She'd brought a carrier drone to help her haul stuff and she saw one of the soldiers visibly tense. She raised a hand with a smile and said, "Relax. It's just a drone! I'm in control of it!" before showing the young man that it had IV drips and other various medical items in the box it was hauling.
The young man had his hand on his pistol's grip, wearing the finest poker face she'd ever seen as he stared down the machine with an LED face, which fearfully hid behind the Nikke. He breathed a sigh, nodded, then lowered his hand, before moving up to help her tend to the wounded. He knelt by the stretcher, right next to the heavily bandaged youngin and said to her, "You're going to be okay, sister. The Emperor has blessed us with a functional medical team…"
The girl let out what sounded like a strained laugh, despite being a mummy. Pepper looked up at the boy and whispered, "What happened to her?" as she saw the burned flesh beneath her uniform. She whined, her vocal chords presumably burned by whatever had hit her. Even her teeth looked charred beneath the bandages that covered her face, but she could still blink and one tuft of black hair poked out from among the white and rusted red.
He replied, "One of those Daemon Machines you call Raptures fired a beam weapon at her while we were moving from our old Command Post to here," with a low growl behind each word. He watched the doctor slide a needle into her arm and push in some sort of colorless medicine, then asked, "Will that alleviate the pain?" as he pulled out several of his own items from his personal medical kit. He heard his sister gasp, her lungs filling with air as the tension in her form left. Though her breaths were raspy, she lived.
"And help cell regeneration," The woman answered, smiling, "We've dealt with more than a few human burn victims…"
"One of'em Nikkes, then," The boy replied quietly, "Keep her safe. Emperor bless you…"
"We'll do our best," Pepper replied, then waved the stretcher bearers over and pointed to her patient. Two stronger young men hefted the stretcher and ran toward the hospital. Her brother followed them, holding a bottle of plasma that Pepper had given to him. She moved onto the next patient and looked him over, noticing blood pouring from his chest, where a high-caliber bullet had pierced. She whispered, "Sucking chest wound. Gotta remove the armor," before unclasping the item and tossing it aside. She delved in with medical tools, gloved hands soon staining with blood as she dug through to find the bullet.
One of the Officers watched from the sidelines, hands behind her back. She had a longer overcoat that was stained with mud and blood and had her own injuries wrapped in white gauze. A small neck wound that had been compressed hurt, making her scratch at the bandage before sighing. She watched the Nikkes struggle, then mumbled to herself, "Kindness does still exist, doesn't it?"
Someone cleared their throat behind her. She turned toward them and saw a hooded figure, who suddenly went wide-eyed as she saw her. Clad in equipment more befitting an assassin than a soldier, the woman that stood before the Cadian officer stared in stunned silence, while the Officer herself asked, "Can I help you?"
"... You're a child," Murmured the woman before her. The Nikke. She was taller by about a head, considering the fact she was similar to their Servitors, if save for the fact she and all of her fellow Nikkes retained the capability to think. The Colonel had sent up a small data packet in regards to the Nikkes, through a Servo Skull, so they knew what they were looking at.
"I am First Lieutenant Elaine Maraan, Cadian First Youth, First Scout Company. Callsign Phoenix. You are?" The Lieutenant looked up at D with little regard, half her face covered by bandages while locks of blonde hair still poked out from beneath. The sole purple eye visible stared at D with a mix of concern and relief.
"... D," D replied awkwardly, mind still racing to figure out what she was looking at as other wounded were being hauled away and yet more of the young set up tents and sandbags. The vehicles were parked, walkers crouching and folding up to allow the crews to dismount while the IFVs that had transported the infantry were being washed of blood with water from the canteens.
"Just D?" The Phoenix inquired. D only realized how fitting her name was when she realized the wounds the girl had suffered were burns. And not from Rapture weapons, but whatever else was out there. If there was even anything out there that could do this kind of damage. The others were wounded by Raptures, that much was clear, but her? Her injuries were older…
"Just D. I wasn't exactly trying to stick out with a longer name," The assassin clarified, crossing her arms to her chest. She figured simplicity was the name of the game, especially for someone like her. K probably didn't like being restricted to a single letter for her name, however. She was far less steady, more boisterous. The kind of assassin one would drop in when-
"Hm. Going by your equipment, you seem to be an assassin of some kind… Concerning that you'd come talk to me of all people," Lieutenant Maraan joked, surprising the Nikke before her. She watched the woman go through a series of emotions that could only be described as concern, fear, astonishment and then calm, or, at least, a false attempt to show her at ease.
"... Right. Yes, I'm an assassin. You're very deductive. I and my comrade, who is currently tending to the Hotel back that way," D pointed to the rising structure bearing the Hotel markings, before completing with, "Are both peacekeepers for the Ark… But that was not the reason I was coming here. The Commander of this Outpost requested that we provide housing for as many of your troops as possible," then she sighed, lowering her arms by her side.
The Lieutenant furrowed her brows for a moment at the 'Hotel' part, but asked, "How many rooms does your 'hotel' have and how many people could they fit?" as she visibly started making calculations in regards to how to best fit as many people as possible in there. Military born and raised, D thought, through and through.
"Approximately five-hundred seventy-two rooms. Each can fit up to four people if required," The Assassin answered, looking back at the Hotel proudly. Though she wondered how those kids were gonna sleep on proper beds. Ninety percent of them looked like they slept on steel slabs and chewed nails for a living. Most looked tougher than Chief Deputy Doban and that man was nothing to scoff at.
"... Then we'll take that offer kindly. I have still-standing men that will need a place to lay their heads," The Lieutenant bowed her head, seemingly thankful. She paused, however, when she heard one of her Medicae call out for another. D watched a young girl choke on her own blood on the ground, twitching as she and her comrades fought to keep her alive. They were fighting like hell, too.
Averting her gaze from the sight of pleading soldiers and what she could only assume was one of their combat chaplains kneeling to pray beside the girl, she spoke, but her voice cracked, "Good…" then she tugged at her collar, cleared her throat and stared, mildly surprised at the lack of reaction from the Lieutenant. She asked, "Where's the rest of your Regiment?" then felt whatever passed for her heart skip a beat.
The Medic's voice carried over to them, "... Call it. Ten to twelve local time. She's with the Emperor now, Talin," his voice doleful. He removed her dog tags, pocketing them, then started retrieving her armor and equipment before he put a tarp over her corpse. Maraan, whether too used to this or not at all, simply looked at the Nikke ahead of her.
She then answered her, "On the Surface, forming a forward operating base around the Elevator," only to raise a brow as she saw yet more questions seemingly form in the girl's head. She told her, "This Outpost isn't large enough to fit the entire Regiment. We'll be rotating Companies in and out and delivering the wounded from the Surface as needed. First ones in are the Scouts… We got hit first and got hit the hardest by the Daemon Machines both when we landed and when we were moving here per the Colonel's orders, not to mention the losses we incurred back home…" then she sighed and added, "The Colonel and her staff, however, should be arriving from your City soon."
"I understand. Well… Welcome to the Outpost," The woman offered, extending her hand,
"Thank you. Keep us apprised of any dissidents if you don't mind. The Commissariat's probably gonna be more than glad to deal with them, Emperor willing," The Lieutenant offered a curt, but dangerous smile as she shook the girl's hand. She then walked over to assist her comrades while D was left with ever more questions. Mouth slightly agape, the Assassin took a deep breath, swiveled about on her feet and marched back to the Hotel to prepare it.
… Meanwhile, on the Elevator from the Ark, the Commander, Rapi, Anis, Neon, the Colonel and her escorting force sat, waiting to arrive at the Outpost. The Commander had folded the helmet back, revealing his face. The Colonel had taken her own hat off, keeping it under her right arm, her left hand resting on the hilt of her blade as always.
She looked at him and said, "Is something bothering you, Commander?"
"Your ages are still a sore spot for me," Alyosha admitted as the Elevator began to slow on approach to the Outpost. She wrinkled her nose and furrowed her brows, then sighed and shook her head. These people had lived in relative calm and normalcy, even underground. And their wars were being fought by weapons very similar to the Automata of the Mechanicus. She couldn't blame him for being so distraught. Still, that frown…
Matias spoke, "We're approaching the Outpost," as he saw the elevator's counter tick up to their intended 'floor'. The Canoness and Inquisitor held firm, feeling the elevator slow, then stop. The door to the Outpost itself opened, revealing an oasis, a massive, floating island at the precipice between the Surface and the Ark itself.
Descending from it, the group was immediately greeted by the sight of the Sisters Hospitaller continuing their work. The Marines had also just arrived, providing guard for the young that were being moved to the place's hospital. All the while, Colonel Telos scanned the area around them, mumbling, "By the Emperor, does this bring back memories…"
The Outpost was a marvel of engineering in how it hovered above the Ark, but its 'surface'? It was surprisingly barren, save for new constructions springing up from the ground, slowly being dealt with and built by what Alyosha had called 'The Mighty Tools Squad', a team of elite Builder Nikkes. The Techpriestess, having just arrived on-site herself, seemed quite interested to meet the girls.
Rapi and Alyosha watched what they'd seen on the Surface move down here. Kids being triaged, survivors, ushered into new formations and squads, officers guiding their young troops despite them only being teenagers at the bloom of their youth. Commander Harris was by no means an old man, but he felt like it, watching kids running around and administering each-other medical care.
The Techpriestess bowed her head in greeting to the Commander and his squad of Nikkes, while the Inquisitor stopped among the Wolves. He told them, "I understand the enemy attacked the Regiment mid-transfer to here?" and got a nod out of one of them. He couldn't really tell at the moment who it was, his mind more focused on learning what there was to learn of this place.
Alyosha looked at the wounded and said, "Let's get helping, girls. They need to haul these kids to Mary and Pepper's hospital ASAP," before leading the way toward one of the areas where the wounded were being taken care of. He pointed at a Stretcher and one of the Sisters Hospitaller confirmed with a nod that he could take the kid, one with a missing leg, pale as bone and bleeding from the stump.
He felt his stomach churn at the sight, at the groans and wails of pain and at the smell. This was the kind of thing he and his Nikkes were fighting to avoid and here they were, children on the Front Lines by… Choice? Necessity? He didn't know. If their Homeworld had cracked, but was training them beforehand, was it free will anymore? Or was it duty based on ancestry?
He felt something bump his arm and looked to his left. He saw Rapi there, staring at him with concern. He smiled a little at her, mildly sad, before he continued forward to the Hospital, moving past the parking lot where several allied vehicles had set up, now covered by tarps and tents. He blinked as he saw one of the dead being zipped up in a body bag, then heard a spine-chilling remark from one of the Medicae, "... We're running out of Body Bags. Emperor above, how many did we lose up there just by travelling…?"
"Enough," Replied an officer as he knelt beside the body and the Medicae. He pat the fellow soldier on the shoulder, then said, "Pack them with the rest. We'll process them and their gear later for survivors."
Normally, the Commander would have thought that kind of blunt and direct assessment, that kind of disregard, a calculate cold to separate oneself from the dead. That Officer, however, sounded like that person who was now in a bag, that kid, was someone he knew. And indeed, if for a moment, before the corpse was fully zipped-up, Alyosha could see the face. His twin brother.
He sighed, then walked to the final triage area with the kid he as carrying, turning his head and saying to them, "Stay calm. Mary and Pepper are the finest doctors this side of the world. They'll get you back in top shape," before a Cadian Stretcher-bearer ran forward and grabbed it from him and Anis. One of his buddies moved over to help, too.
The Colonel, who'd followed them over, said, "The Ambush came out of nowhere. Thankfully, the Adeptus Mechanicus and the Lords Astartes were there," then she stepped up beside him, looking at another of her soldiers being zipped up in a bag. She whispered, "The Casualties were relatively light for what could have been."
"One casualty is too many," Alyosha whispered, clenching his fists.
She snorted and said, "Idealism like that will get you killed. We don't leave ours behind, as you can see, but Death is as common a part of War as a firefight," before motioning to the bags. He turned toward her with a glare that could pierce tank armor. She stared back impassively, a tired smile on her face, "I appreciate someone who can still hope against all odds, Commander. Just don't let that get you killed."
"I've got one hell of a team with me," The man replied, "We'll live just fine. You need to get yourselves off the Front Line, though…"
"If you say so," She replied with a shrug, then sighed and watched the two Doctors of the place run outside to pick up more Stretchers the moment ORs were open. "Your Doctors seem overworked. Only two of them live in this whole Outpost?" which caused Alyosha to blank. Yes, she was actively avoiding the issue of CHILD SOLDIERS. A mild annoyance, really.
Sighing as she noticed he was still staring at her, she told him, "We're Cadians, Commander… War is our home, combat is in our blood and the last thing you'll do to twenty-five thousand young men and women who've just lost everything they've known for the entirety of their lives to an enemy so vile and corrupt, your Raptures would seem paltry in comparison, is take them off the field of battle."
"What about-" Anis started.
The woman cut her off, "No. We are what we are. We were born as we were. And the truth remains that we will remain Cadians even to our dying breaths… We shall not grow old lest the Emperor deems us Worthy of it," and waited to see what the reply would be. Moments later, the Commander unclenched his fists, looking defeated. Rapi put a hand on his shoulder while the Colonel said to him, "Your concern for the lives of fellow soldiers… Children… Like us, is commendable. But we can handle ourselves."
"I'm more concerned over what kind of horrible universe you guys come from that this is normal," He sighed deeply, pinching the bow of his nose, "I know you explained parts of it to me, but there's still a lot I guess I'm gonna have to wrap my head around. Like Child Soldiers being so common they're part of your Imperium's main armies."
"War is a constant and death is much the same," She replied, then nodded, "Go… I must get our Priests here to give those too wounded to go on their Final Rites. You must rest," before turning. She spoke, "Emperor bless you and your team for finding us. Take care," then put her hat on and walked toward the largest gathering of troops, where the rest of her Command Staff was.
Anis whispered, "Man, I know I joke about 'rays of sunshine' a lot, but…" then looked at the Commander, Neon and Rapi. Neon was obviously still salivating over their allies' equipment, though even she seemed a bit disturbed by the patchwork of young kids, ancient Technological Priests, massive Transhuman Supersoldiers with rocket launcher machine guns and the rest of the mess of ancient-looking, but highly-advanced tech. She requested, "Let's just get inside the Command Post. I wanna take a shower…"
"Alright," Alyosha nodded, then sighed, leading the way. He wanted to get out of his armor, too, considering how prolonged this mission had gotten. Some time later, as the team settled in inside the habitation section of the Command Post, the Commander had finally gotten to remove his armor and was simply sitting on the couch, relaxing and staring up at the ceiling. He was actively trying to process every shred of new everything that'd been thrown in his face just the last day alone.
The Kids, he'd ragged on enough, mentally or otherwise. The Space Marines? Terrifying. He was glad they were on their side. The Army having a Commissar Corps? Even scarier, but they seemed more like officers with fancy titles than people who'd put a bolt through someone at the drop of a hat. The Sisters of Battle and their constituent groups? Scary. Plain and simple. The Techpriests were alright, save for the extensive machine modifications applied to their bodies.
And the Inquisitor?
That word never bore any good connotation, even in history. That he was so at ease learning everything about the Ark made his stomach somewhat churn. He hoped he was wrong about the man, but he felt tense even being around him for some reason. Like he was a wolf in sheep's clothing, so to speak. He heard the doorbell ring and looked up, calling out to the person, "Come in!"
And in walked Rapi. She asked sheepishly, "Do you have some time to talk, Commander?"
"Of course… Any time," He smiled. It was Rapi. He never said no to her…