E-Day

by Nicholas Sansbury Smith

  Ghost suddenly halted and brought up his fist.

  They had reached a commercial area with hotels and apartment buildings towering over an old entertainment district. It was now a perfect location for snipers and ambushes. Akira took cover behind a four-car trolley when he saw movement a half block away.

  Frost zoomed in and transmitted her view to their HUDs.

  As Akira suspected, snipers waited behind two windows on the top floor. One moved slightly, and a poof of heat showed up in his scan. The bullet hit Frost in the center of her faceplate before Akira could react. She fell backward, her legs folding underneath her back.

  “Frost,” Akira whispered. He scrambled over to her and leaned over her body. A crack spiderwebbed across her helmet.

  Frost slowly reached up to it. “Holy shit, that guy is good.”

  “You’re one lucky lady…” Tadhg said. He bent down and put a hand on her shoulder plate.

  “Shut up, ya dumb ox,” Frost said. “And don’t touch me.”

  Jackson and Ghost took out the snipers with single shots, and the team moved again after Frost had taken a few minutes to recover.

  It was four thirty-five in the morning, and Akira knew the Coalition would attack before the sun rose. Without the Canebrakes, it would be a slaughter.

  “We have to move faster,” Akira said.

  Rubble blocked most of the road ahead and they skirted around it to a building.

  On the next street, at least a hundred civilians huddled together. Twenty Coalition soldiers stood guard, watching them, but also watching the darkness.

  They knew the Engines were out there.

  Akira flashed hand signals. Keeping low, the squads slowly closed in around the group, taking down the guards on the perimeter first. Sneaking behind a woman with a horned helmet, Akira reached out and snapped her neck.

  Frost fired suppressed shots from the rooftop, dropping the other guards on the street.

  Panicked cries rang out from the frightened civilians.

  “Quiet,” Akira said. “We’re here to help.”

  “Captain, we got a problem,” Frost said over the channel.

  She brought up the feed, and Akira saw the next block and the block after that were a flurry of movement. Thousands of civilians were being moved out into the streets.

  The Coalition thought hostages would keep the Nova Alliance from storming the walls.

  But Akira knew it wouldn’t. The Canebrakes were coming, and the attack wasn’t going to be called off. Neither side knew what awaited when the sun rose.

  “Jackson, you want to liberate some civvies?” Akira asked.

  “For sure, Captain,” Jackson replied.

  “Perez, Tadhg, you guys stay here and help the Fires Snakes take out these Coalition forces,” Akira said. “Frost, you and Ghost are with me. We’re going to haul ass to the wall to warn Command what’s advancing under the streets.”

  Nods all around.

  “Death from the Shadows,” Akira said.

  “Strike fast, Fire Snakes,” Jackson replied.

  The squads split up with Akira, Ghost, and Frost making a run for the smokescreen around a burning building. As they crossed through the smoke, Akira picked up heartbeats about one hundred yards away. Ten. Then twenty.

  Slowing, he brought up his rifle and zoomed in at figures standing on the rooftop of a two-story building. These weren’t soldiers, they were more civilian human shields.

  Coalition forces patrolled on the ground and the rooftop.

  “I’ll handle this,” Ghost said.

  “No, we’re not splitting up,” Akira replied.

  Ghost lifted his visor, exposing his reconstructed nose and blue INVS eyes.

  “Apeiron rebuilt me, but she added some new parts.” He held up an arm and gestured to his legs. Then he tapped his helmet. “But this is still all me, and I want some payback.”

  “Ghost…” Frost said.

  “I’ll be fine, trust me.” He reached out to Akira. “Go save Kai. I don’t want you to lose any more of your family to this war.”

  “And I don’t want to lose you again, brother.”

  “I can handle a few Coalition pricks,” Ghost said. “Soon, I’ll be singing the hymn of the Nova Alliance in victory. You’ll see.”

  “I hope so, I… we missed your voice,” Frost said.

  Akira finally nodded and took off for the wall with Frost. A mile away, their HUDs flickered, reconnecting to INN. An itch came to the back of his skull as Apeiron came online.

  “I underestimated you, Captain,” she said. “I did not think you would make it this far, even with the assistance of Lieutenant Rossi.”

  Akira and Frost stopped at the distant sound of gunfire and explosions.

  The battle had started.

  “Frost, we’re out of time,” Akira said. “We need to use our packs.”

  “I was afraid you were going to say that.”

  They blasted into the wind that whistled over their power armor. Akira tucked his arms against his waist and arrowed his body as tracer rounds ripped past them.

  Explosions bloomed across the sky, some close enough they knocked him off course.

  Akira swooped low, following Frost toward the wall. A shell burst in front of him, and for a moment he lost sight of her until the smoke cleared. He spotted her sailing over the wall and dropping something.

  Coalition soldiers on the parapets fired small arms that whizzed past him harmlessly. Explosions suddenly rocked over their position from the grenades that Frost had lobbed.

  Akira shot over the gory remains, getting his first view of the battle that stretched across miles of a former industrial zone. Hundreds of brilliant blue plasma-bolt flashes arced across the terrain. Energy swords and axes glowed. MOTHs circled like hawks, firing missiles and their wing-mounted cannons.

  “Apeiron, do you have a location on my brother?” Akira asked.

  “Uploading to your HUD now.”

  He landed in front of a three-person squad of Pistons pinned down behind a damaged APC by a squad of Breakers. Frost had her rifle unslotted before her boots hit the dirt. Her first round hit a Breaker in the back of the helmet.

  She fired off three more shots, clearing the area of all but a single Breaker. Akira landed behind the soldier and swung his swords into the unsuspecting beast, hacking through metal, flesh, and bones.

  The massive Breaker fell without even knowing what had happened.

  “Go, get out of here!” Akira shouted at the Pistons.

  The men took off running toward the front lines.

  Akira took a moment to get his bearings. His brother was fighting in the heart of the battle on the other side of the railroad tracks. Long, idle trains blocked the view, but he could hear the explosions, gunfire, clash of blades, crunch of armor, and screams.

  “On me,” Akira said.

  Frost followed him through a dirt field littered with corpses from the 12th Division that had been crushed in the surprise wave. The soil, soggy with blood, slurped under the weight of their boots. Moans and screams came from all directions of the injured pleading for help. Combat medics worked to save those they could, but most of the Pistons would bleed out from devastating injuries.

  A MOTH suddenly burst over the northern edge of the field and crashed into a group of Coalition and Nova Alliance soldiers.

  Akira leapt to the top of a train car for a horrifying view of the carnage.

  Thousands of soldiers fought across the industrial area, and more Coalition forces were streaming out of the tunnels.

  “I have another gift for you, Captain,” Apeiron said.

  A new location emerged on his HUD. He instantly saw the four APCs about a half mile from his location. But they weren’t the gift. They were guarding the gift.

  Akira hopped down and ran toward Kichiro, dressed in full battle armor, waiting for him with a platoon of Pistons. Okami was there too, shelterin
g between the front two legs of the stallion.

  Frost darted after Akira, moving in zig-zags as snipers took pot shots at them.

  Okami let out a growl as they approached, and Kichiro hoofed the ground with his right leg. Akira whistled at the wolfdog as he grabbed the reins and climbed up on his stallion, patting the armored neck.

  “Want to ride?” Akira asked Frost.

  “I’ll stick to the ground,” she replied.

  “Suit yourself.”

  Akira whistled and the horse bolted toward the edge of the battle. Keeping low, Akira braced himself as Kichiro galloped toward a line of Coalition soldiers with their backs turned.

  The stallion slammed into them, knocking three to the dirt with thuds.

  Using his swords, Akira slashed and thrust his swords into the enemy from his mounted position. Energy blades rose up to meet him, but each time Akira struck first.

  Bullets pounded his armor, denting the heavy plates. A plasma bolt hit his back and burrowed through his armor with a jolt of pain. A prick burned his skin as Apeiron activated an adrenaline shot.

  A rush of heat flooded Akira, and like a Canebrake, he became a machine.

  He struck with precise calculation, removing Coalition souls with each thrust. Screams and shouts formed an unholy chorus under the moonlight around him. The field was a blur of armor, like a battle from the Warrior Codex.

  Warning sensors chirped in his helmet. Bullets and plasma bolts seared through the titanium plates covering his vital areas. But he kept fighting through the pain, his eyes roving and arms swinging as fast as he could identify targets on the ground.

  Kichiro charged across the field, kicking and stomping soldiers under his metal hooves.

  Tadhg, Perez, Ghost, and the Fire Snakes regathered with Akira and Frost just before sunrise. As the horizon lightened, the ten Engines formed a phalanx with Kichiro in the center.

  By the time the sun rose over the city walls, Akira saw his brother’s unit was completely surrounded by enemy forces.

  “Kai,” he whispered. He sheathed his swords and whistled. “Go, go!”

  “Captain!” Tadhg yelled.

  “Akira, what are you doing?!” Frost shouted.

  Okami howled as the horse exploded out of the phalanx. Ahead, a wall of Coalition armor had formed around the 5th Division, and in the middle, Akira could see the remaining Pistons.

  The Coalition soldiers on the perimeter turned as Akira rode toward them at full speed. He fired his rifle, opening up a path, and his horse trampled the fallen soldiers. Switching to his swords, Akira lopped off heads as he plowed through the enemy. He finally broke through, and the Pistons surged around them.

  “It’s Akira the Brave!” one yelled.

  Akira dismounted the horse. “Kai!” he screamed. He searched the fallen Pistons, turning over those lying face down. Okami suddenly came bursting up, sniffing the ground. He picked up a trail and stopped at a Breaker lying over a fallen Piston. Rushing over, Akira yanked the dead Breaker off. Beneath it was Kai, his helmet crushed.

  With the utmost care, Akira slowly removed it.

  Kai opened one swollen eye.

  “Kai, it’s me… Akira.”

  “Captain…”

  “I’m here, and you’re going to be fine.”

  “I killed that thing,” Kai said with a pained grin.

  “You did good, brother.”

  A horn blared in the distance, but it didn’t signal impending Coalition hordes. It was the horn of retreat.

  Three black armored trains with AAS logos had arrived and launched the Canebrakes. They stormed the enemy, chasing them back into the tunnels and out of the city walls.

  Then, over the screams and sounds of war, came a beautiful voice.

  Akira zoomed in on the black armor of Ghost. He stood on a megacity tower overlooking the battlefield. And just like he had promised, he sang the hymn of the Nova Alliance while Canebrakes tore through the Coalition.

  “Are we winning?” Kai asked.

  “Yes,” Akira said, leaning down to his brother. “The war is finally over.”

  — 20 —

  A week and a half after unleashing the Canebrakes, Megacity Moscow was back under the full control of the Nova Alliance.

  But the victory had come at a cost.

  Over one million civilians were estimated to have perished in the bloodshed, with tens of thousands of Nova Alliance soldiers also losing their lives. Thousands more were injured, including Ronin’s father, Kai.

  The Hayashi family had traveled to Megacity Tokyo to visit him, thanks to a bonus Zachary had earned in his first official Droid Raider match and the extra money Akira had given them in his last letter.

  They were now enjoying the sights while waiting for his discharge from the hospital. The city had changed in the years since Ronin had last been here. He walked down a historical street with his mother Lise, twin brother Elan, and older brother Zachary.

  The scenery was a welcome distraction for Ronin. Silo-shaped buildings rose into the clear sky, their tiered open levels green with lush crops. Outside their hotel, traditional Japanese architecture was intermixed with technological wonders from the Nova Alliance: holo-screens, drones, and holographic flowerbeds that changed colors. Waterfalls and koi ponds seemed to be on every block, and the air was clean here, not dusty and dry like in Phoenix. Not a single holo-screen flashed warnings about air-pollution or impending dust storms.

  Slender armed Hummer Droid service models stood at street corners, watching for trash and running out to pick up anything blowing in the wind. Drones sprayed disinfectant to eliminate toxins and germs. Giant avatars walked in the distance, but these weren’t celebrities like those that combed the downtown districts of Megacity New York or Megacity Los Angeles. These avatars depicted heroes of the Nova Alliance Strike Forces, Engines like his Uncle Akira.

  In a few hours, Ronin was going to see his uncle for the first time in three years in a ceremony celebrating the end of the war and those who had helped win it. Hopefully not long after, they would be able to spend some time with Akira, and maybe even see Edo Castle, where he had promised to take them in his last letter.

  “Sure is beautiful here, isn’t it?” Lise asked.

  “Yeah,” Zachary said without looking up from his Commpad.

  The fact he was here impressed Ronin. Now that he was a Droid Raider star, he was practically a celebrity in Megacity Phoenix. The video of his leap over Goliath in his debut match had netted over twenty million views, making him a star overnight.

  “This is a traditional farmer’s market,” Zachary said, holding up his Commpad to show his fans. “We’re about to try some sushi.”

  Lise led them to a hut with a blue roof called the Angry Tuna.

  “What do you guys want?” she asked.

  Elan looked at the menu on the holo-screen and signed his choice. Behind the glass window of the booth, a chef used a thin energy blade to slice through a hunk of tuna, searing the sides as he cut them. They took seats at the bar to watch.

  “So, how’s fame feel?” Lise asked Zachary.

  “I’m not famous,” Zachary said.

  “You’re well on your way,” Ronin said.

  “Jealous?” Zachary said with a shit-eating grin. He nudged Ronin in the shoulder playfully. “I’m just kidding. Someday you’ll be a pro, too.”

  They finished their sushi and headed back to the train station.

  Ronin put on a mandatory mask as he boarded the cramped train car with standing room only. He held a grip and looked out the window as the train rose up on a bridge overlooking the heart of the city. On the horizon, the golden glass Three Swords buildings rose into the clouds.

  Ten minutes later they reached their stop, which opened to a view of Gold Base, the home of the Nova Alliance Strike Force 1st Division. Silver Crane flags whipped in the breeze at the top of the domes.

  Two white troop carriers were p
arked in the lot behind the hospital complex. As Lise walked down the sidewalk on the other side of a fence, Ronin saw capsules being unloaded, each draped with white NASF flags. Lise stopped to observe the metal boxes holding the troops’ remains.

  An hour later, they were waiting in a courtyard garden. Even the hospital had a waterfall and koi pond. Lise had gone inside to do the paperwork, and Zachary was back on his Commpad, laughing and joking with his fans. Elan sat next to Ronin, watching the butterflies and bees.

  Dad’s going to be fine, Ronin signed to Elan.

  I know, but…

  They were both worried about the same thing—that their dad wasn’t going to make a full recovery. But at least they didn’t have to worry about him going back to war.

  Under a trellis with hanging flowers, Lise walked by the side of a man Ronin hardly recognized. A bandage was wrapped around his father’s skull, and his eyes were bruised around the sides. Lise carried a cane that Ronin suspected his father had refused to use. He was proud and strong, just like Ronin’s mom, and they loved each other fiercely. Ronin knew they would get through this.

  “Boys, come here,” she said.

  They walked over to their father. Reaching out, Kai hugged them each in turn. Ronin went last, embracing his dad gently.

  “Come on, let’s get out of here,” Kai said.

  Their father limped away, his sons on his side and Lise holding his hand. Ronin could tell that each step was agonizing for his father, not from pain, but because his father’s pride was injured. It was obvious in his bowed head, normally held high.

  A truck driven by a Hummer Droid waited outside to take them into the city. Ronin sat in the back between his brothers as Lise talked quietly with Kai in the middle row.

  “Where to?” came the kind voice of Apeiron.

  “The ceremony…” Kai said.

  “Please fasten your safety harnesses,” Apeiron said.

  The truck entered the heavy traffic of new-model electric cars and hover models. Normally Zachary would be pointing them out, specifically the models he wanted, but today he was quiet. Ronin tried not to stare at the bandage on the back of his dad’s shaved head.