Battleframe (The Mindwars Book 1)

by Michael Gilmour

  “I’ll agree that she’s a bit different from the sergeant.”

  “Pilots, you do realise that since I helped build the battleframes I can hear everything you are saying?”

  Now it was time for both of them to blush. Finally Whizzbang managed to stutter, “Uhhh, Mam, umm, you were talking about systems?”

  Altavia laughed at their embarrassment and then all researcher she instructed, “I want you to run as fast as you can out the main gateway to the outside area.”

  Bosk said, “We live to obey.”

  Both pilot’s spun on their boots and ran between the rows of machinery faster than they could ever have done previously. It was not long until they had reached the gateway to the outside.

  “Good timing pilots. You both seem to have a natural gift for this. I was right in choosing young men that were both adaptable physically and able to learn quickly how to handle a battleframe.”

  Whizzbang and Bosk stood a little taller at her encouragement as they looked out the huge force field that separated the research centre from the outside. The field kept out the elements and any light weapons fire but allowed the free passage of personnel.

  The fast frigate in which they had arrived was still in a docking cradle across the other side of the facility. Whizzbang could see maintenance crews servicing the various systems in the interstellar ship.

  Even in his battleframe, Whizzbang felt a tingle on his skin as he stepped through the force field and onto the enormous landing balcony constructed in the side of the crater. “Look at all those stars Bosk. Do you ever get sick of looking at them?”

  The central galactic core of stars shone brightly above and illuminated the grey dusty crater floor far below. “Not a chance Whizz. Have you noticed we’re a long way up the side of the crater?”

  “Yes we are.”

  Altavia’s voice sound in their earpieces. “Pilot’s you are now in a perfect position to test out another of your battleframe systems. You will find that within various pouches there are packets of nanites that can provide a variety of additional functions. These systems will typically disintegrate within a few minutes as the tellurite energy is consumed. Once a packet is used they will take several minutes for the nanites to replenish them.”

  “That’s sounds interesting,” Whizzbang replied. “So which one are we after?”

  “Whizzbang, pull the packet out from your left thigh pocket and then drop it on the floor.”

  Whizzbang did as Altavia ordered and took a step back as the miniature nanite machines went feverishly to work building what appeared to be swirling energy platform.

  “This is a glider platform. It will launch you into the air and trigger winglets built into your battleframe so that you can fly quickly from one destination to another.”

  “So what do we do now?”

  “Step onto the platform and then quickly learn how to glide.”

  Whizzbang looked across at Bosk dubiously. Bosk shrugged his shoulders and said, “Here goes nothing.” He jumped onto the glider pad and found himself instantly propelled one hundred metres into the air. “Yeeeehaaaa!” he screamed.

  Whizzbang watched as his friend reach the top of the launch and wings suddenly energized out the back of his battleframe. After struggling for a second Bosk seemed to manage to get the gliding under some control.

  Whizzbang stepped onto the launcher and felt the same adrenalin rush that Bosk must have. The sides of the crater raced past him as he shot upwards towards the stars. Just as he reached the top of his arch, winglets energized out the back of his battleframe. Like Bosk, it took him a few minutes to get the act of gliding under control. The exhilaration of his first experience of actually flying would stay with him forever.

  “Oh frap I love this,” Whizzbang said over the comnet.

  “You and me both Whizz.”

  Back in the research centre, Altavia watched from a monitor as her pilots glided back and forth around the crater. They landed, dropped down another packet of nanites and repeated the procedure time and time again. Smiling to herself, she sighed deeply and just enjoyed the moment.

  For the next month, with the help of Professor Steinberg and Altavia, Whizzbang and Bosk learned the many systems that made up the state-of-the-art battleframe. One of the tests they conducted included Whizzbang purposefully cutting his arm with a knife. As soon as the knife scored his skin, the Evkon 316 immediately dulled the pain and he then watched as the wound was healed by the nanomeds. There was not even a scar to indicate that he had been hurt.

  They tested and retested each system as the two researchers gathered data and their two young pilots learned what it meant to be the next generation of Concord battleframe pilot.

  Colonel Greerson looked out his office window down to the hanger deck below. He had his back to Captain Eldrich and Altavia when he asked, “How are they going?”

  Altavia answered in a matter of fact tone of voice, “They’re progressing better than can be expected. Their young physiology is providing us with invaluable data on how to best program the nanomeds for a wider range of pilots.”

  “And what of the development of the other frames types?”

  “The professor is leading a team on that task and they are making good progress.”

  Captain Eldrich leaned forward in his chair, “Colonel, how long do we have?”

  “I’m unsure but the news isn’t good. We lost another two colonies last month.” Colonel Greerson leaned against the glass as if to brace himself for what he was about to say. “If we don’t get these new battleframes operational within the next few weeks then there’s not going to be much of a Concord left to defend.”

  Altavia stood up and walked over to the Colonel. He turned his red-rimmed eyes to look into her vivid blue. “They will be ready Colonel. I give you my word.”

  “That means a lot coming from you Altavia. Thank you.”

  Almost as an afterthought Greerson added, “There’s one more thing. Intelligence has intercepted a Scourge communications suggesting that they are somehow aware of our developments and are hunting us down.”

  Captain Eldrich joined the other two by the window, “How could they know?”

  “We have no idea. Maybe a leaking coms channel?”

  “Unlikely, I’ve personally ensured that all outbound communications are routed through my office.”

  “Any thoughts Altavia?”

  “Could there be a traitor?”

  The Colonel let out a sigh. “I’m sure that we’ll find out soon enough. Captain, immediately arrange the transport of any non-essential personnel off the base.”

  “Yes sir.”

  “Altavia, push those boys hard.”

  “We are sir.”

  Chapter 10

  Teamwork

  Arkona, Alpha Three’s second moon, set below the horizon and darkness once again enveloped Research Ravine. Three sets of jump jets flared and rose up towards the scattered ruined buildings at the top of the cliff. After taking Whizzbang’s advice of tapping directly into the Freehold scanning tower Colonel O’Brien had indeed seen the change in data at the research facility. He immediately sent twenty militia to dig in to defend the sector from a Scourge counter attack. Although often outclassed, the militia fought valiantly as they defended sectors as wearers of the more advanced Concord battleframes struggled elsewhere. Many brave militia men and women had died fighting impossible odds to protect loved ones from the Scourge.

  “Perimeter established”, crackled the militia Captain’s voice over the local comnet. The extended communication network or comnet was still blanketed by Scourge electronic counter measures.

  “Captain, any news from Freehold?” Whizzbang asked as he soared through the air on his jump jets.

  “Thanks to your warning, Freehold is dug in and any stray squads and thumping crews have been recalled.”

  “That’s good to hear. How about Central?”

  “No news there I’m afraid. Scans indicated that the secto
r is still under attack so it must be one heck of a battle raging. We’d send a relieving force but we’re expecting to be hammered ourselves any time now.”

  “CT Captain. Dig in good and tight in the ravine.” Whizzbang replied as he, Selfia and Acheron touched the top of the south ridge surrounding research facility.

  “Will do Squad Leader. Over and out.”

  Whizzbang and Selfia quickly ducked behind the safety of a pile of rocky rubble. Raising their sniper scopes, they scanned the area ahead for any sign of Scourge activity. In the meantime, Acheron hid behind the ruined wall of an abandoned house, stretched his muscles and checked that nothing had jammed his mini-gun after the previous battle.

  “I see two Slayers on the right side and an Engy just coming around the back. No sign of any Jugs or Shocks”, whispered Selfia.

  Whizzbang replied in a hushed voice, “Check out the top ramp. Looks like one, no two Jugs and a couple of Snipes.”

  “Enemy sighted. Oh frap Whizz! The lower ramp has a couple of Shocks coming down it right now and I caught a glimpse of a few Engies inside. The place is crawling with Scourge and that’s just what we can see!”

  Whizzbang lowered his Charge rifle from his eye. “We need a plan. With so many Scourge, muscle alone is not going to be good enough. Sorry Acheron.”

  “No offence taken Whizz.”

  “Self, do you think that your jets will burn long enough for you to get up on that ledge overlooking the outpost. It would be a great spot to pick off a few of them.”

  Lowering the scope from her eyes Selfia’s visor flicked to completely transparent mode as she blinked a few times to help them adjust from looking through the image enhancer. “I think I can make that. It’ll be tricky but I’m pretty sure I’ll be fine.”

  “Good. While you’re getting into position I’ll head across to the top of that big rock over on the left. We’ll both have a maximum firing angle to do as much damage as possible.”

  Acheron looked up from inspecting his gun. “So what do you want me to do?”

  Selfia looked across at her husband and smiled. “We need you to go straight up the guts. Right Whizz?”

  “Exactly Self.”

  Now that got Acheron’s attention. The words “straight” and “guts” in the same sentence was the way he liked it. “Gotcha Self but you two snipes better have my back because once I start unloading all hell’s going to break loose.”

  “Agreed. Self, you and I have to cover Acheron but Acheron don’t start firing until I give you the all clear. Self and I will try and take out as many of the Scourge as we can before you even get there.”

  “No problem. I’ll wait but don’t take too long. I want to have some fun too!”

  “They’ll be plenty of fun for everyone Ach.” Whizzbang smiled, amused with his two new friends. It was as if they had known each other for years. “Selfia, when you see me start firing you open up as well. Got it?”

  Selfia was more used to giving orders than taking them, especially from a pilot that she had only just met. The General had stressed her mission to look after Whizzbang so she smiled and replied, “Sure thing Whizz.” Besides, the plan that he outlined made sense.

  Whizzbang watched as Selfia and Acheron moved towards their assigned positions. Once satisfied they were in place he moved like a shadow and slipped through the undergrowth, kicked in his jump jets with a short muffled burn and quietly landed atop the boulder overlooking the outpost.

  From experience, Whizzbang knew that battles are often won or lost by the side the exhibits the most patience. In numerous previous skirmishes, he had delayed the actual fighting to first assess the Scourge’s strengths and weaknesses. This allowed him to calculate the most effective method of assault and help protect his own squad from any unnecessary injuries.

  The number one skill that Gasp taught him as a Cadet recon was not shooting but patience. He could still recall his adopted father saying, “Wait for the shot not just any shot.”

  Gasp had an incredible reputation as a battleframe pilot. Prior to becoming the Concord’s chief recon instructor, he had served in numerous campaigns. His call-sign of “Gasp”, was the last sound an enemy would make if they were his target. He had drummed into his adopted son’s heads “Wait for the best shot and don’t ever rely on being lucky. Luck is for those who are impatient.” Therefore, Whizzbang learned to become patient.

  The outpost had three levels, a top, middle and ground. From their earlier reconnaissance, the Scourge infested all three tiers. Slowly and methodically breathing in and out Whizzbang began the process of slowing his heart rate down and entering the calmness of his zone. He could almost feel Selfia going through the same discipline perched on the ledge directly across from him. Likewise, down below hidden by the undergrowth he knew that Acheron would be doing the exact opposite.

  Whizzbang flexed his hand a number of times to ease the tension just as his father had taught him all those years ago while shooting targets. Peering through his telescopic sights, he lined the cross hairs on the forehead of a Scourge sniper and pressed the firing trigger. The high energy beam streaked from the gun’s muzzle and struck true. The sniper’s head disintegrating in a mass of boiling blood and bone fragments.

  Within an instant Whizzbang heard the crack of Selfia’s sniper rifle and in the top right corner of his scope he witnessed the aftermath of a Juggernaut’s head violently lifted from its shoulders.

  “Good shot Self,” Whizzbang acknowledged over the local comnet.

  “Thanks Whizz, glad to oblige.”

  Swinging onto his next target Whizzbang waited the second it took the Charge rifle to spin up to maximum power and again pressed the trigger. This time a Scourge Engineer met the same fate as the Sniper.

  Zing! A bolt of red energy lanced through the rock just next to his head. Rock and dirt exploded harmlessly around his frame. Whizzbang yelled into his comnet “Oh frap! Self, did you get a bead on the Snipe that nearly took my head off? He’s somewhere at my twelve o’clock on the top level and has just ducked out of my sight.”

  There was a loud crack followed by a spent cartridge ejected from the chamber over the local comnet, “Got ‘em Whizz. I don’t think that they’ve noticed me as yet.”

  “Just keep on firing Self!” Whizzbang urgently replied as he lined up a Jug and plugged its eye with a thousand degrees of raw energy. He then quickly swung around to take out a Slayer with a tap to the chest.

  Two Shocks fell almost in unison and even their mighty suits of armour were not able to withstand the onslaught of both the snipers. Less than a minute had passed and the outpost’s top tier was littered with Scourge bodies.

  Whizzbang thought, “She is good, very, very good. I’m glad to have her at my back.”

  Whizzbang watched helplessly as the red beam of a Scourge Sniper round reach out from the first level ramp and upwards to Selfia’s position. Selfia screamed through the localnet as pain blossomed in her shoulder. Red hot metal cauterized her skin as the thumb-sized beam flamed its way through her battleframe armour and then out through her back.

  Prior to heading to their positions, the three Concord pilots agreed that both the snipers should apply their talents to the top of the outpost and then work their way down. The goal was to destroy the Scourge TransWarp on the top level as quickly as possible and prevent reinforcements from warping in.

  A TransWarp is almost identical to a battle-pod in that it allows the near instantaneous transportation of Scourge warriors to its location every few minutes. Unlike a battle-pod a TransWarp can bring in up to twenty Scourge warriors at a time. After exhaustive analysis, the Concord research division had deemed that TransWarps functioned in much the same manner as eporting. Warping in reinforcements would not be good for Whizzbang’s squad and especially considering there are only three of them. This meant that shutting down the TransWarp was the number one priority. However, this left a problem.

  If both Whizzbang and Selfia were taking out targets on t
he roof then that left the ground and the first level solely to Acheron. Even though he was wearing an Anvil battleframe, how much punishment could he really take? Acheron had to keep out of the fight for as long as possible while the snipers thinned out the enemy. Trying to explain to an Anvil that they should stay out of the fight for as long as possible was educational to say the least but so far, it appeared that Acheron was listening to sound advice.

  When Whizzbang saw and heard Selfia, hit by the Scourge Sniper three things happened almost instantaneously. The Sniper met a grizzly death on the receiving end of Whizzbang’s energy beam, Selfia murmured that she was “OK and needed a few minutes regenerate” and Acheron began unleashing hell.

  It is hard for words to describe what an enraged Anvil with Acheron’s experience and audacity can inflict on an enemy. Needless to say that when a hundred rounds per minute of depleted tellurite erupted from the muzzle of his light mini-gun the Scourge had no choice but to melt before him. Armour was sliced like a hot knife through butter but unlike the surgical precision of a scalpel the mini-gun tore, wrenched and ripped. Arms, armour and unrecognisable Scourge anatomy sprayed in all directions as a bellowing, enraged Acheron became the irresistible force against a very movable object.

  Acheron screamed in his berserker’s battle voice, “You frapping scum! Take this and this! Do you want some more? How about a nice tellurite sandwich? Not enjoying the flavour? See if I care you frapping Scourge cowards!”

  True to his word, Whizzbang protected his squad mate’s back. With one carefully aimed charged shot after another he picked off Scourge soldiers that would have ravaged Acheron flanks and rear. Blood flowed down the outpost’s outer ramp in a steady stream of purple as the two Concord pilots went about their profession.

  Crack! Thanks to the Eagle-Claw’s nanites and nanomeds, Selfia re-joined her friends in picking off targets. “You G2G Self?” Whizzbang said into the localnet over the sound of Acheron’s rants.