“You will still pay the quota.”
“We won’t be even able to feed ourselves!”
“Yes, as an incentive to work harder to fill the quota.” The captain sneered as one of the smaller creatures fed him a decorative and tiny piece of food.
“If you do not meet the quota, then we will have to have certain demonstrations that might lessen the overall population, shall we say?”
I just reeled in disgust. It showed how little they cared for the planets they ruled over. Killing them wouldn’t help them but only make the situation worse. It was an unsustainable system and made the planet in constant debt to them.
“We will do as you ask, most generous captain of the Golden Refuge,” the leader groveled.
“Yes, you will. Any defiance will be the last act your race makes.” The captain shut the channel with a weak wave of its hand-fin, as if turning a planet’s population into slaves was a boring and mundane task.
“We’re working for fucking pirates!” the outraged leader of one of the second line ships yelled through the command channels.
I signaled the communications operator to cut the channel with Carsickle. He did so, the screen going blank before I spoke.
“It looks so. Min Hae, have you checked it out?”
“I have my people working on it further but it does indeed look like the information matches up. This confirms both the information we got from the ships we raided and in the documentary that the Kuruvians supplied.”
Now just to push them over the edge.
“It seems that the Planetary Defense Force is indeed the cover of the criminal organization called the Syndicate,” I said sedately.
“Fuck,” Iron Bok Soo said with feeling.
“I believe we will have to teach our masters what happens when you kidnap people to fight your wars for them,” Mad Monk said.
I wanted to talk to him; he’d only recently been added to the command channel. But this moment would either save us from slavery, or get us, and possibly our planet, destroyed. My priorities had changed.
“I will not let one more Armored Marine Commando or another person who was enslaved become a tool for the Syndicate. We will bide our time, people. Though, when we are ready, we will strike and create a fleet. A fleet of the free people of this universe.”
They all greened up on my HUD, the vote unanimous.
“First, no one does a damned fucking thing. Any action will put us in their clutches and they’ll be able to do whatever. This means no killing Sarenmenti or anyone from the Syndicate. Yet.”
“Why? The Sarenmenti are as bad as the Syndicate,” one of the commanders asked.
“They were abducted from their planet just like we were; they’re no different from us. We just found out, they didn’t.
“I know most people don’t like them because we were trained by them. If they weren’t hard on us, then we wouldn’t have survived this long. They didn’t teach us how we would expect to be taught; they taught how Sarenmenti teach. They still have kill switches like us. Anyone kills a Sarenmenti—they will be tried by tribunal.” My voice was like wrought-iron as they grumbled their assent.
“For now, we wait. We can’t do anything to them as we’re on the ground and they’re in space. If we were to rebel now, then they’d just have to drop a rock on our heads to kill us. We need to wait till we’re aboard again and trained. Every day we wait, we’ll be better placed to win; we’ll have more training and get the equipment we need.”
“The commander is right,” Rick said. The rest agreed, except for two blank-looking girls.
“We agree with you but will not take command under any but our mistress.” The voice was cold and emotionless as a shiver went down my spine. It was the Sato sisters. They were identical in every way; I couldn’t identify which one of them spoke. Both were completely loyal to Yasu.
“You will heed his command, Tamiko.” Command rang through Yasu’s voice. I wondered how Yasu had got on the command channel. She’d probably wheedled Min Hae into it.
“Yes, mistress, we will. Please tell us when it is time to fight.”
I couldn’t help but notice the joyful tone Tamiko had before she became silent again. She and her sister were completely loyal to Yasu but acted like five-year-olds other than when they were fighting. They either giggled or their faces looked as though they were cut from marble.
“For now, train. Don’t overdo it; we’re in a hostile area. When the time comes, we’ll destroy this Syndicate; we’ll show them and the universe what happens when you take away our freedom.”
Angry growls of agreement rang through the channel.
“The name of the game is patience, people. Wait. We will win or fail based on patience.” People greened up on my HUD, signaling that they understood.
That sorted, I re-opened the channel to the general.
“We have studied your information and are most displeased. Comply with the perimeter and all will be fine. Salchar out.”
I terminated the channel. The general was still looking at the pickup in confusion as it went dark.
I opened the command channel once again. “Back to your posts, people, and every second you have free, train. The more sweat here, the less blood later on,” I said gravely. Those in the room nodded as they heard me. A chorus of agreements followed from the channel.
I looked to the others in the command center. They nodded to me as I did the same before making my way back outside, finding Yasu and Hitomi.
“Let’s get her into a cot,” I said softly as I lifted Hitomi, still asleep. I looked at her face. She was young, maybe sixteen, and she’d been abducted into space, trained to be a soldier and married to a man she knew for barely a few months. She’d fought aliens and watched the man she’d been thrown together with—who she’d grown to trust and care for—die, and I’d just asked twenty thousand others just like her to start a war with a group that could annihilate everything. Those thoughts disappeared from my mind as she held on tightly to my Mecha while I gently carried her to her cot.
I laid her down, looking over her before putting a blanket we’d found over her. Then, with a sigh, I turned to Yasu as we both walked out.
I looked at her, my biggest enemy on Earth and quite possibly planning to kill me up here because of that hatred. I had hated and despised her, yet here I was married to her and I knew I didn’t want her to die. It was unexplainable: she hated me as I tried to ignore her, yet marriage had made it that I relied on her in some way. I knew she would be cold and hateful; yet, those rare moments she wasn’t, I cherished. Her actions didn’t scare me but rather gave me something I could expect in this universe.
“Strange that the only thing I know with surety is that you’ll be the one to kill me,” I said without thinking. That got me a stare.
“Do you ever keep your own thoughts to yourself?”
“Proceeding to shut up.”
“Better,” she growled, stalking away.
I thought I caught a hint of her lips moving into a grin.
“Well, even if she will be the death of me, she is one hell of a looker,” I said to myself, appreciating the form-hugging battle suit. Left with that thought, I switched my auto-injector from Hellfire to Wake-Up. I felt a prick on my neck and a surge of energy as everything came out in crystal-clear clarity.
I found a group working on computer systems lessons and quickly jumped in. I still had another six days before the Wake-Up wore off and then I would be as useless as a wet rag.
The Ships Are Coming! The Ships Are Coming!
“Sir, the ships are coming,” a runner said as he entered the room.
“Thank you. I didn’t hear that over my headset.” I picked myself up off the floor. My headset was a mangled mess on the wall.
“I don’t know how you can sleep in your Mecha every night, sir,” he said with a twinge as I cycled my shoulders.
“With a crick in my neck and a twinge in my back,” I said, trying to get the kinks out as
I went to find out whether Officer Turek was awake.
“Officer Turek, I have received word that more ships have entered the system.”
“Good work, Salchar.” He threw some of the tough, green-looking meat Sarenmentis ate into the air. He caught it in his four jaws, topped with razor-sharp teeth, easily cutting through the meat before he swallowed it. The noises he made in the process made me happy I hadn’t eaten in a few hours. A few other commandos in the room looked rather like their green meals.
“It’s going to take them less than a day to reach us because they don’t have the slower troop carriers with them. Hopefully they’ll tell us we’re bugging off this boring rock. I want some real damned action,” Turek grumbled. All of the Sarenmenti used to love fighting. They had made challenges to one another, which usually resulted in a trip to the medical bay for some poor sap.
Now, however, they had become numbed to their natural urges of fighting. They’d murdered and oppressed people with no praise or prize. It had dulled their desires to win. Turek was one of the few who still desired to win and looked to improve himself. Thankfully, there weren’t any like-minded Sarenmenti around for him to duel with.
“Will you look at that; I’m getting a message already.” Turek listened to his internal communicator, an implant only given to Sarenmenti officers.
“Looks like we have the luck of the draw, boys and girls! We’re out of here on the shuttle as soon as we have the other troops moved around. It seems that you new human troops have shown your effectiveness, so we’re going to be leaving half of the force here. Those in the transports and the rest can go. We’ll be underway in a few hours!” Turek said excitedly as I felt my stomach drop.
“That’s great, sir!” I said, forcing an excited smile I didn’t feel. “I have to go and tell my wife!”
“Of course, go, go.” He waved me away as he grabbed another piece of meat in his jaws, tossing his head and turning it into slivers as others in the mess quickly disappeared as well.
I opened the command channel. “Looks like the troop transports are staying here. The rest of us are moving out to a new location.”
“What! That only gives us half of our force then!” one of the corvette’s commanders yelped.
“You’re going to leave them behind as we escape?” the commander of the battle cruiser said.
“We don’t ever leave a damned person behind,” I said through gritted teeth, stopping any further outbursts.
“I’m leaving behind Iron Bok Soo, my brother. Yasu is leaving behind Commander Takahashi, her father’s friend and her mentor. I trust that they believe in me enough to know that I am coming back for their forces even if all I have is a damned broken corvette!”
“You’re so worried about losing us but it actually makes it easier,” Iron Bok Soo said, coming to my rescue. “The carriers have minimal weaponry other than PD and aren’t as well armored as the warships. With us, we couldn’t help much in a battle but might easily get blown away if one ship fires on us, killing a quarter or half of our force instantly. I believe in him. One rule Salchar has is he will never, no matter who the person is, leave them behind. Once he’s commanded a group, he will do all in his power to keep them safe. I trust that if he had nothing but a Mecha and a damned rail gun, he’d still walk all the way from Earth if he had to.”
“I feel the same sentiment for Yasu,” Ken Takahashi, Stone Warrior, Yasu’s second-in-command and teacher said.
“Thank you,” I said. “Now you will board your shuttles. Let others know about the forum chat room, and train. Then when the time comes, we can take these ships and return for our fellow commandos. That’s all there is to it.”
Noises of agreement rang back.
“Good. Iron and Stone, do you have enough disablers?”
“Good here,” Iron said.
“We have enough, Salchar.” Ken Takahashi’s voice was calm and deadly.
“Good. Any other questions?”
There were none so I shut down the channel, opening the private one I had with Monk and Iron. Cheerleader was one of the few who was in an isolated company without communications with the rest of us, but that would change now once she was on her ship.
“Thanks, Iron, for that.”
“No problem, Salchar. I know you aren’t going to leave anyone behind.”
“We will be back for you, brother,” Monk said, his voice calm and sure as always.
I closed my fists, the servos in my arms whining at the pressure. “You’re damned right. Get your people trained. This is going to be a fight for our lives.”
“For Mecha Tail,” they said together.
“For victory!” I roared back, grinning. “All right, brothers, until next time. Hopefully then we’ll be face-to-face and Cheerleader will be with us as well.”
“It is but a matter of time till we are reunited,” Monk said.
“Hear, hear,” Bok Soo added. “Should be interesting what she thinks of you and Yasu’s marriage.”
“Thanks for reminding me,” I said to their laughs before I became serious. “Till then, look after yourselves.” I cut the channel.
Information was passed constantly around as we waited for our relieving company to land.
The humans were being rotated around to cover all of the bases so that the fleet could leave immediately. Two squads that were to relieve my company rushed out of the shuttle as my own people got ready to board it. I nodded to the squad leaders of our replacements as they studied me and the platoon.
One of the squad leaders came up to me, taking his helmet off. I did the same, so we were able to speak face-to-face.
“Salchar?”
“The one and only. Your name?”
“Kim, sir.”
“You in charge of this squad, Kim?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Okay, gun crews on the roof as overwatch, keep a roaming patrol going and—”
Yasu tapped my arm. “I think he knows what he’s doing.”
“Ah, yes,” I said awkwardly as Kim smiled confidently. “Quarters and mess are set up. You’ll find it all in there.”
“Thank you, sir.” He looked around, coming closer as he lowered his voice. “Uh, are we really going to be able to take them?” he asked, nervously looking upward before he turned his eyes back to me, searching.
When asked a question that you aren’t sure of yourself and you don’t want to show it, reply immediately.
“Of course, Kim—this is the AMC. We crush our enemies, no matter who.” My voice turned cold as we shared a knowing look. His face brightened with a grin faster than I could click my fingers.
“Yes, sir!” he said. Before I knew it, he was barking orders into his communicator as people fanned out to take my company’s positions.
“We’re out of this joint. Those not on duty, get on the shuttle. Those on, wait till you are relieved and then board the shuttle!” I said to my own company.
The power plant became a mass of movement as troops filed out of one shuttle, taking up positions, and others ran into another one, its engines already humming.
I slapped the last troop on the back, climbing in after them as the air lock behind me sealed, the second door doing so once I was inside.
“They’re eager, aren’t they?” I grumbled as the shuttle’s pilots fired the engines as soon as the last commando was on board. People went flying from the acceleration. I think I learned a few new words and phrases that day as we got everyone sorted.
I got in my own seat, clipping the harness around myself as the rough shaking of going up in atmosphere smoothed out, signaling our departure from Chaleel.
I watched the view screens connected to the shuttle’s sensors, being able to see through the walls once again. I watched as the Imperial Dreadnought Golden Refuge, swelled in my vision. I thought of her real name as the Resilient and the might that the true PDF must have wielded.
I felt the shuttle jerk suddenly. I whipped my head in the direction we’d j
erked away from, being able to see another shuttle. Now that was something, and spoke in spades for the pilot’s proficiency and how lacking their skills were. Space is big, bigger than a human can ever imagine, and shuttles have sensors that could pick up an ant farting in space in a five-kilometer radius. A shuttle a few hundred meters away was as close as clothes to skin in space distances.
Both pilots must have disregarded these sensor readings in a rush to get to the docking bay. At the speeds we were traveling, if they had hit, then both shuttles would’ve become nothing but an expanding ball of plasma and debris.
Feeling more than a little shocked, I turned my attention back to the Golden Refuge. My eyes searched the hull. I looked over the pitting and damage across the hull of the ship. There were large rents in the armor, hammered back into place and crudely welded together. Some of the closest batteries looked inoperable missing their barrels. No wonder Eddie was always annoyed with maintenance; I could see holes that would allow someone access to exposed corridors that had been sealed off instead of dealing with the breach.
The pilots used their maneuvering thrusters as they landed in the shuttle bay. The shuttle we’d almost hit came in bare seconds after us, also landing and powering down as fast as possible.
There seemed to be no procedure for docking, except on a first come, first docked basis. Before the engines were even fully cooled, the pilots had jumped out of their seats and departed through a separate air lock in the cockpit.
I hit my harness. It pulled away from the locking points in my Mecha, leaving me free to move as Turek stood before us.
“Good work, Mechas. I know we lost a man but compared to a Sarenmenti fighting force, you did much better.”
I looked at Turek skeptically; he was an officer and a Sarenmenti. As much as I knew they weren’t to blame for their circumstance, it was more ingrained to be met with angry words of complaints over the small details than, well, compliments. Not all of them are bad; it’s just the situation they’ve been put in. They’re what we would’ve become. I felt sympathy for the red lizards. Who knew, we might be able to work together in the future.
Free Fleet Box Set 1 Page 27