by Marcus Sloss
“I am going to send you on a mission to the Boarzar’s snow planet if you don’t get to the dam point,” I grumbled.
“The Gribini dropped off a signal stating they are peaceful and willing to trade from the northern portal. They have fruit, seeds, trees, and—”
“Understood, northern portal is peaceful. Thank you, Willis,” I said, closing the connection. My grumble turned into long-suffering sigh.
“That was Sally,” Sammie noted from my side.
“I know,” I smirked, “I figured I should rile them up for bothering me so they know that they really need to have something vital before bothering me.” They were now blocked from all calls, unless Sammie verified what they had was worth my attention.
We watched the portals for another ten minutes in silence. Willow came over and we discussed the small engagement. She was really picking up on the important detail a commander needed to notice. Her motivation and determination to excel were evident. She was always asking strategic questions to improve her knowledge. Mitchell called me, breaking the tense situation.
“The tall fanged people,-”
“Kerbians,” I informed him quickly.
“I am watching their portal and seeing activity. They are amassing to go raid some other planet from their Xgate,” Mitchell said hesitantly. “At least that is what it looks like.”
“What are you seeing,” I replied, only able to see a portion of one side of what was going on in that portal.
“Additional shielding box forts have arrived and it appears they have some form of a mecha that is much taller ... I’d estimate it to be about three quarters the height of a Goliath.” He paused for a long moment. “They are joining the growing force. We are counting a few hundred shield tank fortresses, roughly a thousand infantry … and now a dozen long necked Goliaths—I guess ‘Liaths’ work,” Mitchell said a note of concern in his voice. “Their gate just went blank.”
Time ticked by slowly while we watched the eastern side’s gray empty portal.
Willow walked over next to me and muttered softly, “I don’t like it.”
“And?” I replied.
“We’re a fair ways from the gate, getting further away, too. If, and I’m not saying this is what is going to happen, but if they storm through the Xgate when the gray goes blue, we will be caught flat footed,” Willow said, pointing towards the drifting Xgates retreating location. Just because their side locked down, did not mean ours was. “We’ll have the same problem, if they pick a losing fight and we get another portal hoping army, eager for blood to make the green grass grow.”
I smirked at her comment. “I like having a little time to react, but you have a point. We are falling too far back from the portals,” I said to Willow and turned to Sammie. “Order Aspen brigade to close the distance to Xgate 232, but to maintain at least a three minute TG99 buffer.”
“Done,” Sammie replied, disseminating my orders to the army.
Jevon called me from AH1.
“Did I miss something? Didn’t you want us to stay in position?” Jevon asked.
“Just preparing a potential branch plan. And yes, for now, the plan remains to buy time for our people to build up our defenses. Nancy, Gary, Setaria, and the crews are rushing to get our fortifications in place. If the army stays in the field, we ensure we’re not fighting where they have to work. I need to check on what is happening with Xgate 201,” I said and Sammie perked up her little mouse ears.
A new display populated, depicting a quietly roaming Xgate 201. The construct settled down a hill and into a park over North Denver. A tree creature a few feet tall stepped out, sniffed around, and then returned. I frowned wondering what army the scout represented, if it was simply another species checking out our portal, hunting for loot. My eyes drifted over to Douglas sitting comfortably in his bean bag chair.
“I am not going to stress about 201, for now. If an army starts to come out, they’ll have to come a long way to reach us with a few chokepoints between Denver and here,” I said, continuing to pace in the control tower. I frowned, “We should have looted some furniture for these empty vessels. I want a recliner up here.”
Jevon chuckled with the detent depressed. “I hear Tavers make great rocking chairs. I ordered Bonnet to recover blood samples from the initial engagement.”
“Okay, keep on your toes,” I looked over at the drifting grey portal, “they locked that gate down for something.”
“Are you wanting to raid?” Jevon asked.
“Day one? Probably not, though I saw some huge trees in that dense jungle on the north side portal. Maybe looting some trees would be nice, but there is only so much we can steal in the fifty-something minutes that we can lock the gate down for.” I grunted as I imagined the immense pain it would be to move those trees. “Plus, it didn’t look like any of the ones we purchased had broken roots, as if someone painstakingly dug them out; that, or used some alien tech to clear all debris away from the root ball.” I rubbed my temples, “Guess I’ll need to send a message to the dynamic duo later, asking about it.”
“Aye Cap, DD out.”
The three portals stayed quiet. A drifting image kept boredom at bay with everything hinging on that grey side returning to life. The time ticked by slowly as I paced back and forth.
After ten minutes of watching the gray portal, Longoria set AC1 down next to Marble Heights, with Willow learning the controls while she flew. A few minutes later, a big lazy boy was set down in the command room for me to stew in. I wanted to complain about getting preferential treatment, but AH1 and AH2 were delivering furniture to a number of TG99s. With this lull in activity, I decided to address the army.
“We will continue to monitor the situation, unless an army comes pouring through, expect to—” I paused releasing the detent. “Standby for further orders.”
I just had to open my big mouth. The gray disappeared and the shimmering blue cascaded back to life. The tricky Kerbian forces had locked their gate down to assemble additional forces secretly, not to raid someone else.
They had used the time to prepare for a fight, and prepared they were.
Thirty-foot-tall boxy constructs led the charge through the portal, with their own version of the smaller goliaths—Liaths, Mitchell had named them—behind them. The mini fortresses did not hesitate; the moment they could, they spewed forth onto Earth. Their white shielding told me they had moderately powerful oxygen generators.
“All forces forward,” I grimaced at the command. “Smash them before they can establish a foothold.”
My commanders spurred their formations forward at full speed.
“TG Leader is requesting permission to clear a path,” Sammie said over her shoulder.
“All units, clear obstacles in your way as needed. Gate defense is primary objective,” I ordered over the command channel. When there was a brief moment of quiet before the impending battle kicked off, I walked over to Willow and said, “Good job.” She smiled briefly but stayed glued to her station, keeping a close eye on AC1’s power consumption.
Blue orbs belched forth as companies volley fired, knocking down whole sections of trees that stood in their way. Because the Xgate continued to move, we had to adjust our tracking to close the distance. I groaned to see the destruction we wrought our natural ecosystem. The tanks plodded forward, carrying their octosuited infantry brethren while from the flanks, Bastion’s army sped for the Xgate. It was a sight to behold—the sheer amount of firepower barreling down on the arriving enemy forces.
Our TP63 light tanks arrived first. White beams spit out from the enemy’s turrets into the terrain, sending shrubs and rocks flying. When a beam connected with a TP63’s shield, the tank’s protection strained against the torrent of power. Eventually, the shield cracked before exploding, and the tank imploded in a fiery death. I marked the left most enemy moving fort as the primary target.
Our sporadic fire turned into a condensed torrent of blue orbs splattering against white hexagons. Th
e enemy shields tried to hold, but they soon died under the massive barrage the light tanks unleashed. At this point, I knew we would win. We had superior numbers, the right generators, and we had yet to bring our heavier firepower online.
“Four more TP63s are offline, two completely destroyed,” Sammie reported from the monitor board. “A fifth is crippled. Enemy fortress tanks 1 through four are down. Five’s shield just collapsed. Fortress tank five is down. Marking fortress tan six.”
The sight was amazing. Enemy shields buckled under concentrated fire until they shattered in sparkling displays. The boxy contraptions exploded angrily as they flung their occupants skyward. Precision fire was devastating to watch; the alien constructs became death traps. The savagery of our blue power was on full display as metal melted quickly to slag, revealing inferior construction. White fire mixed with green to ping off our shields.
I marked the seventh fortress tank from the left and our fire split into two streams. We may be new to this, but a giant bullseye on a target was simple enough for our forces to comprehend.
“Light tanks, fall back. We have them hesitant to push more forces through the portal onto Earth. Let the TG99s clean the field with the octosuits,” I ordered. Sammie typed out my commands in case crews were unable to hear my orders. I marked additional targets as the enemy realized they were losing. “Longoria put us against the gate. Our shields can hold. We will take the shifting fire. Higher, I don’t want our shields soaking up friendly fire.”
“Yes, my king,” Longoria replied, and we soared higher and forward.
I watched us fly over the big tanks pounding away at enemy huddled together on the battlefield. The fifty or so Kerbian forts who had made it through the portal suffered from the heavy punishment our TG99s handed out. A single towering Liath construct came through the portal with its weapons blazing.
I selected it as our primary target. The Bastion army shifted aim instantly. Commanders unleashed increasingly larger globes of power. The blue streams cascaded against the Liath’s shield. The shield flicked under the torrent. When the shield cracked, the Liath visibly shook and a hip blasted apart in a torrent of white energy from some internal explosion. Blue orbs smashed holes into the body and half a second later the smaller goliath tottered and then fell onto a fortress box.
Their combined explosion rocked the field of battle with a blinding wave of energy and a strong blast of air. Craters dotted the terrain as a billowing white cloud rose above the massive explosion.
With numerous enemies stunned, our tanks focused their fire on the enemy machines, dropping their shields one at a time. The slugfest was heavily weighted in our favor once the TG99s started dropping off their accompanying octosuited infantry. The enemy shields were no match for our repetitive blue orbs.
The Kerbian commander pulled his forces back into the blue portal, those on Earth tried desperately to flee our barrages.
I dialed into my command channel. “Eddy, Ulanda, do not let them home. Block their escape with your TG99s. Teach these ugly assholes that you do not come and threaten our home,” I barked. “Jevon you have command,” I ordered.
“I have command,” Jevon replied. AH1 was off in the distance, monitoring the fight.
I went down the central tower of AC1. The air controlled my descent until my boots thudded against the deck. Inside the large bay, on its back, I found Goliath 1. My run towards the cranium control section opened an escape hatch at the rear of the command chamber. I ducked into the opening and the hatch sealed behind me.
“Get us out of the air and onto the dirt, Goldie. Now!” I ordered, knowing I would get disoriented as the robot slid out of the hull.
Sure enough, I tumbled as the massive robot flowed out of the hanger with a roll and connected with the rugged terrain in a three-point stance. The knees flexed before they stabilized. I oriented myself to see the battlefield being secured. Our forces were nailing the retreating fortresses at the front, causing those behind them to slow as the leading machines became additional obstacles for them to avoid as they scrambled to return through the portal.
Based on the scene that unfolded before me, I sprinted Goliath 1 towards the Xgate—Goldie immediately translating my mental commands into action. In three quick steps, we reached the shimmering blue portal before our foes could escape. A single Liath was helping damaged fortresses get back home. I stepped through the portal.
A few things happened all at once. Goliath 1 was teleported beside the Liath, a warning alert from the console told me there was lower nitrogen here, and I became a target for the massed enemy infantry and mechs guarding their side of the portal. My reserves depleted quickly as my shield was smacked by numerous rounds. Before too many rounds could pepper my shield, however, I wrapped my Goliath’s arm around the Liath’s long neck and leaped home.
We transitioned the blue and crashed into the terrain of the Rockies. Our huge bodies blocked the escape of the last of the retreating Kerbian forces. I used the other mech’s body as a shield as my tanks picked apart the shields of my opponent. I rolled off the ground to kneel over the wounded machine. A few sharp hammer blows with my Goliath’s massive fists and the Liath’s neck cracked open, shutting the machine down. Circuits sparked and hissed angrily within the badly damaged mech. I spun my Goliath to face the Xgate with all weapon ports open, expecting a challenge.
There was none; the Kerbian commander on their side of the portal ceded us the field. With our overwhelming, swift victory, they did not want to go toe to toe with our forces. The few Kerbians trapped on Earth stubbornly refused to surrender.
“Do not start clearing the fortresses room by room,” I said over the command channel. “AC1 land, we need to load these prizes into the carrier and return them to Point Rubble.”
A few Kerbians fired out of their disabled vehicles. Their defiance was met by blue waves of energy as our tanks fired back. Their stubborn defense and bitter refusal to surrender were useless. The enemy’s small arms could not even penetrate our tanks’ hulls, let alone their shielding. When AC1 landed, bulldozers flooded out onto the field. Battered, busted, and destroyed fortress tanks were pushed into hangar bays.
I used Goliath 1 to speed the process of loading up the destroyed forts. The Goliath’s servos whined when it lifted the heavy prizes that I chucked into the hangar bays without too many power issues.
I even used the Goliath’s massive hands to smash some ornery Kerbians. My inner demon danced and I smirked at his antics when the ugly things went splat. A few shots continued to ring out, but the moment they were loaded into the hanger far away from their home world, their defiance lessoned.
When all the fortress tanks had all been loaded, AC1 lifted off and moved towards Objective Rubble. The next step was talking the remaining Kerbians into surrendering or death. I wondered if I we could simply take AC1 into the upper atmosphere where the Kerbians should pass out just like a human would. Would the Xgate’s blue coating protect them from a drastic change in atmosphere? I knew the right people to ask at least, those frustratingly annoying Sluggero siblings.
CHAPTER 14
“This is Willis, this is Sally,” the two Sluggeros said perfectly in unison from the video screen.
AC1 was on lockdown at the old shopping plaza we now called rubble. The tower lift was disabled and the interior sealed. My army had to pick up the pieces of the battle while also addressing those pesky survivors we’d crammed into AC1’s hold.
From up high in Goliath 1, I cursed at the tally of seventeen dead. One TG99 exploded with all five crew on board killed, five infantry octosuits destroyed with three dead, and fourteen TP63s with nine dead. The wounded were not instantly healed. They were alive and in stable condition, but hurting nonetheless.
Xgate 232 had gone quiet. All four sides remained peaceful, as it appeared the conflict was. Which led me to this conversation I was about to have. My frustration at Willis and Sally could have been nipped in the bud, had I not been sick and tired of shopping.
When Perci went down to Xgate 201 to complete our last-hour shopping, I’d ducked out and played commander during our final training and war games—which is what a good leader should do, in my opinion. Then again, that same commander shouldn’t be charging a hundred-foot-tall robot into battle recklessly. Hey, at least I admitted my faults. My inner thirst for victory had to be sated and as a bonus, we got a Liath medium mech as a prize.
When Perci, Longoria, and Mitchell went down to Xgate 201, they had a fairly simple shopping list. Machines, Sluggeros, and scouting hardware. The problem was we were expecting, to only at most, be able to afford one Sluggero. When a deal is too good to be true … you should run. Well, I wasn’t there to sound the horn.
Mitchell had dialed back his scout-mech dreams to super speedy hover boards in lieu of the Squibbles’ mini platforms. The slim profile was enough for him, and if his scouts lay down flat on the hover boards, would mean they’d be a harder target to hit. This freed up funds for Perci to use on an ever dropping buy-it-now price for a pair of sibling Sluggeros. The older sister and her younger brother were not being scooped up for their price and it seemed the seller was desperate. A non-mated pair meant all sorts of issues for prospective buyers, and they refused to be separated. Perci saw it as a boon, rationalizing that, since we were not in the Sluggero breeding business, who cared if they were siblings.
Everything sounded fine until I read the note that accompanied the sale. Hostile, irrational, sassy, bossy, and the list kept going for pages with adjectives and synonyms for ‘asshole’. Generally speaking, breaking and reshaping assholes is my forte. My officers and NCOs smash assholes into the dirt. Wait … that didn’t sound right. Okay, maybe that was not the best way to express what I meant. I shook the mental image away to focus on the issue at hand.
These Sluggeros weren’t soldiers. When they’d first arrived, Perci had great things to say about them and she’d mentioned they were happy. That glorious positive attitude wilted when they saw Mansion.