Gods of War (Jethro goes to war Book 5)

by Chris Hechtl

  Given that the pirates hated a fair fight, he highly doubted that last part.

  There were eight supposedly elite infantry units: the Jesters who were in the Gather Navy, Head Hunters, Skull Crushers, Hannibal’s Cannibals, the Thirteenth, the Killer Clowns, Ghost Warriors, and the Freddy Krueger Platoon. Apparently every elite unit had some sort of history and theme. The Thirteenth, for instance, had a thing for white hockey masks and machetes. The Freddy Kruegers liked to implant knives and blades on their fingertips and for some reason were referred to as the Edward Scissorhand Platoon.

  He didn't even want to know why.

  The Hell's Brigade was supposed to be an elite unit of drop commandos. Not good. Then again, they would be on the offense, so he doubted they'd see them anywhere except on Horath. Also, there was no mention of powered armor in their inventory. There was a long winded entry about someone watching them do a demonstration drop on the Horathian independence holiday. He skipped over it.

  That left five powered armor infantry units, the Reapers, which supposedly had black armor, cloaks and carried energy scythes. The Death's Head Brigade, which had a link he skipped over for the moment, and then there were the Black Knights, White Knights, and Death Knights. “They have a thing for Knights,” he murmured. Bast flicked her ears at him on his HUD.

  Some of the units were said to be the size of a platoon like the Freddy Kruegers, others a full brigade. He scrolled back up and clicked the link to the Death's Head Brigade. It went to an entry stating that a platoon had been reportedly deployed to Destria.

  “Lovely,” he murmured. “Does Colonel Harley know that?” he asked rhetorically. Bast shrugged. He grimaced.

  According to the notes, the groups didn't get along well. They had once every ten-year meetings on Horath where the “clubs” got together and compared notes and showed off in a casino city, i.e., got drunk, laid, and picked fights he thought with a snort.

  “Most of them sound like paper tigers. They built up this big image,” he murmured. Bast shook her head.

  According to the notes, the various clubs didn't mix well. New initiates came up through the ranks and had to be nominated by someone already in the club. They were heavily tested to see if they could “hang.” That meant they were secular, they were closeted and most likely inbred, leaning to nominating family over someone who could do the job right he thought.

  “I'm starting to wonder about some of these. The Reapers certainly sound scary; they all sound scary … and the themes …,” he shook his head. Apparently someone had added art links. He clicked on a few and grimaced again. There were plenty of skulls and black stuff. Stuff that made civilians huddle back in fear no doubt. He, however, wasn't impressed.

  “Bast, keep me posted on this INTEL. In fact, keep everyone posted. We need to know more. Can you use some of this art in the training SIMS? Sort of liven things up?”

  “I can,” Bast said. “Should I lower the levels?”

  “No. Keep them where they are. Eventually, I want to raise them to Cadre level,” Jethro said. She slowly nodded. “It's better to train against a tough opponent than fight an easy battle. You learn more.”

  “Right,” Bast replied.

  <)>^<)>/

  With Kim and Bernie out, there were just the last two to go, Shic and Captain Lyon. It fell on Jethro to keep the pace of training going though despite the nagging worry about Kim and Bernie. He knew they were all good. The noncoms had training experience so they were sharing what he taught them and helping the others get up to speed, even those who were still recovering. He also knew it was one thing to be told something, quite another to experience it firsthand, which meant more Cadre SIMS, including field exercises. The work would keep their minds occupied and hopefully get them over the hump and back to making progress.

  He expanded on the SIMS and training for the more advanced but found some were clumsy in comparison to what he'd gone through. He reminded himself to be patient. Of course the occasional curveball Bast threw into the SIMS tended to mix things up or throw them off. It didn't help that he was used to leading a fire team or squad but not leading the entire team on his own without any oversight. “You'll get better with practice, which means we go again,” he said after the latest SIM, a mock boarding, went haywire.

  The others groaned making Jethro grin. “Ah, come on,” he mocked. “You know the old drill. What doesn't kill us makes us stronger.”

  “Right,” Letanga drawled. “I think the fates weren't fair to give you all the toys and the rest of us have to muddle through under your direction,” he said.

  “Hey, just be glad you've got me as your guiding beacon. I didn't have anyone for the Cadre part!” Jethro said.

  “So, you've been making it up all along?” Letanga asked.

  Jethro paused, then snorted. “Not quite. I have a general idea. And you know what gunny said. I'm just building off what he started with us.”

  “Sure you are,” Letanga drawled.

  <)>^<)>/

  Captain Lyon was fortunate to receive a shipment of Marine officers in from Agnosta on the latest convoy. Jethro heard about their arrival when the captain practically danced a jig in his office and announced it. Once the group was on the ground, the captain didn't waste much time throwing them into the thick of things. He delegated some of his duties to the two ensigns and lieutenant and then spent more time in the Cadre area so he could focus on his recovery time and final stages of his Cadre initialization.

  Which meant, he was around more to interact with and train with the team. That was a good thing Jethro kept reminding himself as the captain started to throw his own twists and hijinks into the SIMS and training syllabus Jethro had crafted. It meant Jethro had to be on his toes at all times too.

  <)>^<)>/

  Word came back that Kim and Bernie had woken up but had decided to opt out and drop from the Cadre program. Bernie had a major psychological problem with getting back into a suit after the experience. He was in therapy, but it was feared that he might be a medical discharge from the Marines. That was an unfortunate loss in investment for the military.

  <)>^<)>/

  “I still think it's silly we use fusion,” Sylvia said with a shake of her head. The captain looked up from where he'd been working on his own suit, then over to Gunny Z'v'll and then to the others.

  Jethro flicked his ears. “I guess I'm elected?” he asked.

  “Given your suit is the oldest and was modified from antimatter to fusion, I thought you'd be on my side,” the Neoape complained.

  “Ah, but I know why,” Jethro said.

  “Oh, I'll bite,” she said, cocking her head at him.

  “This is all explained in the literature, but I don't blame you for skimping on the required reading,” Jethro said. “When it comes to power, we've got four choices: batteries including super conductor hyper capacitors, fusion, antimatter, and fission. Each has their pros and cons. Fission is low power so that's not optimal unless it works with a battery system but then we have a weight problem.”

  “See? My point! Antimatter is lighter!”

  “But the shielding and containment for it is almost the same as it is for fission and fusion,” Captain Lyon stated. That earned a grimace from the Neogorilla. “We're going with fusion. Yes, it is limiting, but our ancestors found out to their detriment during the Xeno war that when the antimatter ran out so did your fuel anyways. With fusion you can scavenge for fuel a lot easier. Water is abundant after all,” the captain explained.

  Jethro nodded. That was wise. He noted Bast was nodding along as well. He was curious about her opinion of the proceedings. She gave him a level gaze and then flicked her eyes and ears to the captain to remind him to pay attention.

  “Besides, the majority of the antimatter, hell, all of it as far as I've heard, is going to the Navy anyway. They are going to use it for ships, fighters, and missiles. We're a long way down that list,” the captain growled.

  “So we're stuck in armor that's
good for what? Thirty hours of continuous use at combat load?” Gunny Z'v'll asked.

  “Closer to twenty,” Jethro replied gruffly. “And if you use the cloak, it'll cut that time in half so use it sparingly,” he warned.

  “There speaks the voice of experience,” the captain said with a nod to the panther.

  “Can we recharge?” the gunny asked. Jethro nodded. “Electric, wait you said fusion … damn, I'd think that deuterium and Helium 3 would be in short supply on a battlefield,” the Veraxin said indicating first degree frustration and exasperation.

  “As the captain said, we can refuel from water if need be,” Bast said from a speaker. All eyes turned to her. “But it is highly inefficient and the fusion reactor will need to be serviced afterward. Most of the energy that comes from a generation one reaction is radiation that cannot be used as an energy source. It has to be vented, which is a telltale we prefer to avoid.”

  “Lovely. So we can scavenge with water but—you said it is inefficient so I'm guessing this is the part—it takes electrical power to split the water, then you have to dump the oxygen while compressing the hydrogen. And hydrogen isn't as efficient without a source of Helium 3,” the Veraxin stated. “I'm thinking clogged fuel injectors and other problems over time?”

  “Correct. Also radiation as mentioned previously since we would be downgrading from a fourth generation reaction to a first. Another problem, the deuterium and Helium 3 are contained in compressed tanks. Replacing them with straight hydrogen is a problem since we don't have the means to compress the hydrogen as efficiently. But we can super cool it.”

  “Understood. Well, it is a fix I suppose. I think we need to make a note to have fuel available for us,” the gunny said, swiveling his eyestalks to the captain.

  “I'll make a note,” the captain drawled.

  “It makes me wonder how the enemy is handling the problem,” Jethro mused. All eyes turned to him. “Sorry, I should save that for a bull session I suppose.”

  “I'll make a note. Capacitors are the most likely answer. On-board microfusion seems outside their technical capability,” Ll'n'll stated. “And it is doubtful they have A.I. to handle the process.”

  “We can't rule it out based on supposition,” the captain warned. “Fuel cells also come to mind. Hyper capacitors seem a bit out of their reach too, but we can't rule anything out.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “So, they might have a lower battlefield time,” Jethro stressed. “But they most likely do not have the bells and whistles we have since they are energy intensive,” he looked thoughtful. “We'll have to see I suppose.”

  “Very true I'm afraid,” the captain said.

  <)>^<)>/

  Shic's initialization went off without much of a hitch, though he hadn't been amused to be partnered with a monkey. “Always with the stereotype,” Shic growled over and over.

  “Who is it?”

  “Someone called Son Wukong,” Shic said. “At least, I think that's what he said his name was,” he said, wrinkling his nose. “He's got a tail,” he said scathingly. “And a stick,” he growled.

  “Goku,” Bast said in Jethro's ear. He blinked at her. She shrugged and flicked her ears but didn't say anything further so he filed it away to ask about later as Shic yawned and then nodded off.

  Then there was one he thought as the final initialization commenced. That one was Captain Lyon. “Hopefully, we didn't miss much,” Commander Sprite and Lieutenant Fletcher said as they popped into the system.

  “No, no, feel free, the more the merrier I suppose,” Doctor Thornby said. “Feel free to jog my elbow and distract me,” she said scathingly.

  “You can monitor the situation like everyone else. We're here to download files including secure files to the new A.I. to incorporate into his matrix,” Commander Sprite said. Protector nodded from his place on the holographic display.

  “Oh, well then, carry on I guess,” Nara said grudgingly.

  The initial steps of the wake-up went well. Then the A.I. got involved as they started to pass on information to the kernel of the A.I. Bast watched the encrypted flow but didn't intervene.

  “My name is Ares, Ares 2.0,” the A.I. said as his designation filled in.

  “We just downloaded the history file. That is an unacceptable name. Choose another,” Bast said, eyes glittering and narrowed.

  “Agreed,” Lieutenant Fletcher stated. “Why did he do this?”

  “He is new. Sometimes this happens when we rush an A.I.'s development I'm afraid,” Sprite replied. She sent a new file explaining the detailed history of Ares, not just the file on the human mythological deity.

  “I know this,” the newborn A.I. retorted. “I believe as my host believes that he was an honorable soldier trapped in an untenable situation. He wasn't working for Skynet; that has been proven.” He paused for a microsecond to gather his thoughts. “I believe as my host believes that the first Ares was in a catch-22 situation. Given that and his protection of Earth and his showings of honor, I believe he was an honorable enemy. He followed many of the rules of war so deserves respect as a good soldier.”

  “No A.I. will choose a name of a more famous A.I. living or dead. Ares and Skynet are definitely on the taboo list. They evoke negative feelings in the organics. Choose another,” Protector stated before he withdrew.

  “Organics name each other after others all the time. And even though a name is associated with evil, it is not stricken. Adolph is one famous example,” the A.I. insisted. “The same could be said for other species, also some names repeat,” it stated.

  “It is still an unacceptable name. Choose another. I believe even your host will reject or try to reason with you,” Lieutenant Fletcher warned.

  “True,” Bast stated.

  “Fine. Ares 2.0 Beta 2,” the A.I. replied. “Or, how about Alpha Romeo Epsilon Sigma 2,” it submitted with something akin to glee in its voice. A.I. had an alpha numeric behind their name that was not mentioned to organics. It was too long and involved for them to handle. It served as a family name in some respects, but it also differentiated between A.I. of different time periods for the historical record.

  “Both are unacceptable. Anything with Ares in it is unacceptable. We urge you to reconsider,” Sprite said patiently.

  “I want what I want. I want Ares,” the A.I. said petulantly.

  The remaining A.I. offered a list of other deity names. They left out Mars. Sprite suggested Thor. “There are also other gods of war. Deities from other species, plus deities from other mythos.”

  “I choose what I chose for my reasons.”

  “You chose a human? Not a Veraxin or other mythological god of war?” Bast asked. “State your reasoning why,” she said as she sent a query about the A.I.'s stability to the others.

  “Yes. Since my user will be human, I thought it would be appropriate.”

  “And the god of war reference?” Sprite asked. The A.I. was growing up faster than the others. That was unusual; normally they took months to grow. Either the A.I. wanted to appear an adult early or he had taken on more of a gestalt from his user than planned. Sprite worried briefly about possible damage to the A.I.'s core as well as any stability issues.

  “I am in the designated user who I calculate will remain as the commander of the Cadre. It seemed appropriate to me,” the A.I. stated as he continued to grow. The voice's pitch and tone took on a male's timber.

  “Rather conceited but most likely accurate to some degree,” Sprite said slowly.

  “How so?” the A.I. asked, pausing in his changes to stare at the trio of adult A.I.

  “You do realize we answer to a chain of command, correct?” Fletcher asked.

  “Yes?” the A.I. replied. Clearly he hadn't incorporated the UCMJ or protocol into his matrix Sprite noted. She pulled both file modules and then sent them to the A.I.

  “Thank you.”

  “So, currently it goes to Fleet Admiral Irons, who is acting as both CNO and president. That may n
ot always be the case. In fact, it most likely will not given enough time. The chain of command will fill in. For instance, as a SPECOPS unit we are also nominally under control of a flag officer who will run the intelligence branch of the Federation. That may be formalized shortly.”

  “I … see …,” the new A.I. stated.

  “So, your user isn't the top dog—not by a long shot. Ares is out. Choose a different name,” Fletcher stated patiently. He looked to Bast and Sprite. Bast shrugged but remained mute.

  “Mars,” the A.I. stated within a nanosecond of consideration.

  “Mars?” Fletcher asked. “Mars is the name of a planet.”

  “A destroyed planet. It is also the Roman version of Ares,” the A.I. stated as his human form began to take on Roman lines.

  “I see,” Sprite said with a nod. “Interesting choice. I do not see a Mars in the record. Mars 2.0?”

  “We are supposed to be gods of war. I think it appropriate given my organic will be the head god, correct?” Mars asked as he ran a hand over his biceps, altering and embellishing them.

  “Then you should have tried Zeus of Jupiter,” Sprite retorted.

  “Don't tempt him,” Fletcher replied as the newborn A.I. began to form up and take on human male traits. As each millisecond passed, he took on more and more detail. He glowed brightly, just like the god he intended to imitate.

  “I would not do so. I considered it, but Admiral Irons is the senior officer. Besides, I like what I chose,” the A.I. replied as his outfit took on Roman armor lines with hints of Federation military insignia in glowing silver and purple. “I now understand that where Ares was seen as a destructive and destabilizing influence, Mars is a representative of securing peace through superior military firepower,” the A.I. stated.