by JR Handley
After both first sergeants declined, Lance sent Hayley out for his coffee and prepared to begin his briefing. Rather than fetching it herself, she stepped out of Lance’s quarters and shouted at the nearest Marine to bring his company commander two coffees. Finished issuing the order, she returned to the small desk in the corner of Lance’s office and primly took her seat. Thorn started laughing and began a soft and solitary slow clap as he nodded his approval in her direction. Hayley’s face began to redden at the sudden attention, and this caused Thorn to laugh even harder.
“Are we here to play grab arse with your aide, or do you have something else in mind, sir?” said Mayer.
“Roger that, First Sergeant. I’ve had Xena send you the details for a mission we’ve been assigned to secure all passageways between Level 4 and Level 5 as part of this drainage project. I want to discuss how best to accomplish this mission, but also bolster our new TO&E. As you’re aware, there is an affirmative delineation between the roles of officers and NCOs. This distinction was quietly ignored when it was convenient, leaving senior sergeants performing the duties of absent Jotun officers. Now that we–”
Lance was cut off by a young Marine banging on the door with his boot and announcing his presence. A cup of coffee steamed away in each hand. Lance walked over to him, thanked him, and took both cups. As he walked over to set one cup down on Haley’s desk, Thorn interjected.
“Changed my mind on that coffee, Captain. You mind?”
Smiling, he sat the cup down on Haley’s desk and gave Thorn the one he knew he was going to ask for in the first place.
“Figured you would change your mind,” Lance said as he handed the first sergeant his brew. “Basically, we are so short on officers that we’re promoting human NCOs. As one of these human officers, it feels odd for me to sit-out missions and play the delegation game, but this is the new Human Marine Corps, and I will adapt. With all these new changes, we need organizational structure and stability now more than ever. In keeping with the delineation we’re trying to reinforce, I will oversee the mission from the command center, but direct oversight of this mission will go to the senior NCO, First Sergeant Thorn. First Sergeant Mayer will act as your second, while maintaining operational control of Yankee Company.”
Letting their roles sink in, Lance walked over to his desk, sat down, and typed a command into the tablet interface on its surface. A holo-display projected above his desk showing Beta City schematics in red and green.
“As you can see, I’ve assigned you both a section of Beta City to oversee. I want every access point sealed, so when we drain the city Level 4 stays flooded. But remember, we’ll need to undo it down the line. To ensure success, I want every seal personally signed off on by a squad leader or higher. As each City Phase Unit is sealed off, I want it reported to me verbally, but I also want coordinated updates from each company routed through both of you. Send those reports to Xena. My aide will keep me updated while I interface with regimental staff. We need this done today. Dismissed.”
“Understood, sir,” they both said in unison.
Watching the two first sergeants leave his office, Lance hoped he’d allowed them enough leeway to complete the mission in the way they thought was most effective. He also wished he didn’t feel so useless. Looking up at the Digi-Pic on his desk, he thought of Basil being deep under Dual Plague tainted waters. I hope his part of the mission is going smoothly.
— Chapter 20 —
Early Afternoon, Post-Revival Day 2
FCB-316, City Phase Unit 2, Beta City, Serendine
Beta City Integrated Command
Basil clutched his Flenser pistol and squatted down as Senior Sergeant Bella Whitfield, and her 1st Section, 4th Squad Marines, set up a defensive position around him. Despite Whitfield ordering her Marines to secure all light and go dark, the unknown group in front of them were now aware of their presence. Their helmet lights cut into the blackness toward where Basil and 4th Squad now slowly moved. As the two units cautiously converged on each other, weapons at the ready, Basil had Dante confirm their Human Marine Corps affiliation to Colonel Gaarjar.
“Sergeant Whitfield, tell your Marines to relax. These are surely the 428th MER in front of us. They just beat us here because of our detour,” said Basil.
“Sir, I’m not about to lead you into a potential ambush. Until we confirm, we will remain in a state of readiness.”
In the several seconds it took for the AIs to interface with each other, the weight of the water around them seemed to press in. Trigger fingers started to get twitchy. No sooner had the engineers began posturing in a hostile manner, indicating the immediate start to violent pleasantries, did Colonel Gaarjar confirm Dante’s affiliation request and order her Marines to stand down.
The moment the Marines from the 428th MER lowered their weapons, Whitfield had hers do the same. Once weapons were at the low ready, she sent Basil a ping to let him know that he should’ve given the stand down order himself. Basil pinged back that she had told him to not tell her how to sergeant her Marines earlier in the mission. Receiving no response, Basil let it go and instructed the Marines to take a moment to relax after the tense situation.
While Marines from both sides started joking about how one side would have wiped the other out if it had come to that, Basil moved over to massive FCB-316 and marveled at the beauty of its design. These fortified city builders were the heart of the White Knights’ expansionist imperial desires, and yet were essentially machines of peace that were intended to build safe shelters for their inhabitants.
While Basil stood there gawking at the skyscraper of a machine in front of him, Colonel Gaarjar calmly clamped her boots to the deck beside him.
“Things of elegance, are they not crèche-major?” she inquired in the soft, computer generated human voice she preferred. While most Jotuns were content to utilize the computer-sounding voice, she had used a human female to model the sounds, with the intention of creating a more soothing effect on her human charges. To some, it was simply another alien oddity, but the effort she took wasn’t lost on her own Marines.
After staring for a moment, standing next to the colonel in silence, Basil finally spoke. “Colonel Gaarjar, I was kicked out of the Marines in my first week of cadet training because they said I lacked the ‘killer instinct’ needed for war. They were right. I’d rather build and move science forward than end life on the far-flung edges of the universe. But these machines, they give me hope for the universe. Such ingenious design, with a simple, peaceful purpose of supporting life in the galaxy. That’s what I want to do, create things that enhance life for humanity and for our allies. But I know that to have peace, we must fight this war. So, rest easy, my full attention will be on making weapons of war and improving our existing tech.”
Gaarjar, one of the more understanding Jotun officers regarding human disparities, simply looked down at Basil and nodded. While not a natural mannerism for the Jotun, Gaarjar appeared more in touch with human behavior than most of her kind.
“Please, call me GG. That’s all we ask, young crèche-major, build us the weapons with which we will crush our foes beneath our boots that we might live free and die well – regardless of whom we affiliate with. Besides, this General McEwan, or whatever rank he’s promoted himself to this day cycle, has one thing right. Freedom is always available to be won, but it costs fighting Marines buckets of blood. Blood will flow, and Marines will mourn their friends and lovers. If you are prepared to contribute, then we have no issue.”
Shocked by her open acceptance, Basil started to stutter a reply.
“Y-y-yes, I plan to multiply the lethality of our forces with better technology. Captain Scipio has given me some inkling of the lost tech out there, and I should be able to improve upon it. Mobile cannons, fighter craft, submersible craft… technological wonders I’ve dreamed of since he first told me of them.”
Basil glanced over at Colonel GG and was shocked by how frightening she looked. The cone of dim l
ight his helmet provided made her look even taller and more ominous in the underwater space they were in. Realizing he was staring, but also that time was essential, he switched into work-mode.
“Colonel GG, we need to start exploring this mammoth so we can drain the city. We need to locate a hanger bay, or something else suitable to house the Micro-FCB.”
After a brief pause to pass along orders to the Marines to secure the perimeter, Basil and GG circled the giant FCB in the center of cavernous Level 11. Locating an exterior hatch, they accessed the manual override. Climbing in, GG noted aloud that this hatch, situated underneath one of the overhangs created by the stabilizing skids, likely functioned as some sort of emergency escape. Once inside, a series of emergency lights re-activated, and they followed them to a computer wall terminal.
GG’s many fingers pounded away on the computer terminal as she began entering security codes. It didn’t take long until one of the older protocols granted them access. With the FCB’s mainframe at their disposal, they unloaded the full schematics to their AIs and determined the most direct route to the hanger bay.
With the route highlighted in their helmet reticules, they scurried up a ladder to the deck above them and down the passageway that opened into the vehicle storage bay. Basil noted how much easier it was for GG to scale a ladder with the extra arms assisting her.
Rather than climb into the first machine he found, like GG did, Basil looked for the exit ramp. Finding it, thanks to the arrows which lit the way, he had Dante drop the ramp before climbing into the Micro-FCB closest to the exit. Using an attached metal ladder to scale the side of the tracked drilling apparatus, Basil stood on top of it. He squatted down and pulled on the square hatch built into the roof of the machine. When it opened, he dropped into the operator’s console. With the schematics and manuals uploaded into Dante, the complex controls and mechanisms became much simpler.
His helmet highlighted which buttons to press, and Dante gave him blow-by-blow instructions to start the machine. Pushing the final button to start the machine, nothing happened. Dante recommended mechanical agitation, and Basil smashed a fist into the control panel before trying to start the machine again. After a brief stutter-start, the machine roared to life.
GG abandoned her machine and climbed into the co-operator chair next to Basil. Looking over at GG stuff herself into the chair, Basil couldn’t help but chuckle. The Jotun looked ridiculous with her arms and legs all pinned up by her sides. The machine obviously wasn’t designed for lifeforms as large as a Jotun. His chuckling was cut short when GG’s large helmet turned toward him to see what he was doing, and why he was staring at her.
Looking at the Micro-FCB’s schematics in his helmet reticle, Basil determined that a vessel designed for a sentient crew of six wouldn’t easily carry the seventeen Marines in their detachment. When he pointed that out to GG, she suggested that those who didn’t fit inside could clamp onto the stabilizing fins using their magnetic boots.
Taking initiative, Basil pinged Whitfield. He sent her their location, and ordered her to get the four most senior Marines into the machine and have the rest clamp on for the ride to Level 4 of the City Phase Unit 4. They would be in for a bumpy trip.
— Chapter 21 —
Early Afternoon, Post-Revival Day 2
Whiskey Co. First Sergeant Quarters, Beta City, Serendine
Whiskey & Yankee Co., 8th BN, 6907th TAC RGT
First Sergeant Caelius Thorn finished his cup of coffee and put it back down on his desk. Never one to sit around and over-analyze, a finished cup of coffee meant he was done planning and ready to take charge. The old sergeant had generated a multi-faceted plan, called a meeting of all the squad leaders from the two companies, and personally sent the information to his second in command for the mission, First Sergeant Isabella Mayer. After the meeting request was sent, Thorn headed out to refill his cup.
With Thorn’s fearsome reputation, none of the attendees waited long to arrive in his quarters for the briefing. By the time Thorn had returned with a new cup of coffee, his office was packed. Not one for frilly pleasantries, Thorn started the briefing immediately upon reentering.
“We’ve been tasked by our Skipper to seal off the connecting passageways linking Level 4 to Level 5, as part of the Beta City drainage project. Yankee Company has been detailed to us to facilitate an expeditious completion of this project. While I have control of this operation, First Sergeant Mayer will remain in charge of Yankee Company so we don’t muddle up the chain of command.”
He stopped his briefing to take a large drink from his mug and type commands into his desk interface. The holo-display of the city floating above his desk split into six smaller pieces, each one a different color. Satisfied with his technological prowess, he continued speaking.
“I’ll be splitting up the city into two sectors, labeled Yankee and Whiskey sector. Whiskey Company will secure the City Phase Units for the 6907th TAC Regiment, the 781st TAC Regiment, and the Multi-Use Facility. Yankee Company will secure the 428th MER Regiment, the 828th TAC Regiment, and the Naval Planetary Unit. I want fire teams sealing passageways, and I want squad leaders to physically put their eyes and hands on the seals to inspect. Sending updates up your chain isn’t optional, it’s mandatory – make sure you pass this information as the Skipper will be watching us. When we break from this meeting, each squad will be given their individual assignments.”
Thorn raised his cup and took another long swig. Looking over at Mayer he gave her a moment to say her piece.
“Bolster the morale of your Marines, they might be spooked by the floating bodies left to rot in the city. Despite it being water, the conditions will be much like they are when we’re in the void. I know the new Marines are light on void training, but they’re not crèchelings either. It’s time to prove Field Marshal Marchewka didn’t advance them prematurely. That’s all I have, First Sergeant Thorn.”
“Roger that, hop to it Marines! We’ve a human Skipper for the first time, don’t frakk this up for him, or us,” Thorn said as they filed out of his office.
When the room was empty and silent, Thorn sent a brief message to his Skipper about the mission plan and their progress. The grizzled sergeant knew that this mission was more than just a repair job, it was a proof of concept with regards to the new TO&E with human officers. Thorn decided he would play this mission by the book as he began strapping on his combat armor.
— Chapter 22 —
Early Afternoon, Post-Revival Day 2
Level 4, City Phase Unit 4, Beta City, Serendine
Beta City Integrated Command
When the rumbling engine of the Micro-FCB went into idle, Basil ordered the Marines to disembark. He climbed out of the machine and connected Dante to the gate that led into City Phase Unit 4, Level 4. After multiple failed attempts at manually overriding the door, Basil realized the Hardits had corrupted the city’s computer core.
“Dante, please ping Wires to give me a hand with this gate,” said Basil.
Not to overstep, Basil, crèche-major, but why do you need Lieutenant Charlotte Rochambeau? Is this human superior to me? I can easily hack this door, you just never asked me to. But since you don’t think I can, now you’ve gotta beg for it! said a surprisingly hoity Dante.
Apparently, Dante spent too long with a youthful Lance, Basil thought. He didn’t get the benefit of the maturing Lance had apparently experienced.
“I’ve heard reformat protocols are very useful for bringing AIs and their users closer together,” Basil said half-jokingly.
Dante didn’t reply, but the double doors to Level 4 began to part. Once the door was out of the way, Whitfield ordered the Marines to secure the other side against the unlikely event that the Hardits had divers in the water.
Upon receiving an all clear signal from Whitfield, Basil climbed back into the Micro-FCB and drove it through the door. Using the ground-penetrating radar technology, which was streaming imagery into his helmet, he found the location
of the breach.
“Look at that, Colonel GG. It looks like the outer wall suffered a direct hit from some sort of kinetic strike,” Basil said as he observed the damage.
“Indeed, let us proceed with caution, crèche-major,” GG replied.
Basil slowed the throttle and moved toward the gaping breach at a measured pace. When they stopped at the hole, the Marines took up a defensive perimeter while Basil and GG activated the boring teeth, which would crush the minerals and rocks. Once obliterated, the machine’s ultrasonic welder would liquefy them, and the lake’s icy water would harden the molten rock. Per Basil’s calculations, this process would allow them to fill in old tunnels, fortify weakened walls, and save tunnels in danger of collapse. As the boring drill on the front of the Micro-FCB began to spin up, Basil pinged Whitfield.
“Sergeant, I’m not trying to tell you how to conduct business, but I recommend pushing your perimeter out. I’m not 100 percent certain what will happen when we start drilling.”
“Roger that, Tech-Major,” Whitfield replied.
Feeling more confident, Basil began to bore into the hole. Deafening metallic screeches and crunching noises filled his earpiece before Dante filtered the sound out. As Basil bored, GG directed the machine’s welders to liquefy the surrounding rocks. Basil’s heart raced at first, worried they might make the hole worse, but he soon found his rhythm and confidence.
After two hours of painstaking work, the hole which had caused so much angst among Field Marshal Marchewka’s Integrated Command, was finally sealed. While Beta City was beyond saving, having suffered extensive damage to the surrounding bedrock and infrastructure, it was safe for the moment. However, the city would never again stand as a fortified sentinel against the enemies of the White Knight Empire.