Lander sneaked over to the entrance and went inside, crouching down closely to a stack of boxes immediately to his left in front of him. Captain Ho-Wan and Captain Fischer were talking in front of Ho-Wan’s desk as Lander peeked up.
He was now, trying to get the courage to confront Fischer, he had already made it this far, but decided to listen-in to see what he had to say.
“I’ll definitely pass these on to him, Captain Fischer,” said Ho-Wan, who then took something from Captain Fischer’s hand.
“I appreciate it, Captain, and I’m sorry for what happened out there. I wish there was more that I could have done, sorry,” Fischer said, but to Lander it sounded as though the words came out with no remorse and were just said for the sake of saying them.
Lander popped up from behind the boxes, but Ho-Wan and Fischer didn’t notice.
“Are you sorry?” Lander asked, causing Ho-Wan and Fischer to look over at him with surprise.
“Sergeant Lander?” Fischer said as he turned around to face Lander. “I thought you were dead.”
“No, but Ellerby is,” Lander said as he tossed Ellerby’s blood-stained dog-tags to Captain Fischer.
“How did you survive? That area was saturated with mortar strikes,” Fischer said as he glanced at the dog-tags.
“I don’t know. I woke-up and found that you all had left us behind. Ellerby was still alive when I found him and you -- you could’ve – no -- should’ve saved us!” Lander said as he pointed at Fischer. “And now my wife and my daughter are missing because you didn’t report Thompson in!”
“What? What are you talking about?” Fischer asked as he set the dog tags on the desk behind him.
“Thompson stole the bus and he grabbed my family, but all you had to do was report it in as stolen and now he’s taken off with them!” Lander exclaimed, but Fischer smirked. “What’s so funny?”
“You’re blaming me for your mistakes, Sergeant Lander?” Fischer said as he crossed his arms.
“What are you talking about?” Lander asked as he was taken back.
“I saw it in your eyes, when we were down in the bunker – you let him get away, didn’t you? I knew you two had to be good friends by the way you acted around each other and both of you were down at the supply drop area at the same time. You probably saw him get away, but you didn’t have the guts to tell me or deal with it yourself, isn’t that right?”
“I-I …”
“Face it, Sergeant Lander, the reason Ellerby died, and the reason your wife and daughter are missing, is because you – let Thompson get away. I bet you even told him to get your family, am I right?”
Lander heard some soldiers coming through the flap behind him; he glanced back and noticed they were MPs, their stun batons at the ready.
“I-I couldn’t pull the trigger, Captain Fischer -- I couldn’t kill my friend,” Lander bowed his head as Captain Ho-Wan signaled to the MPs to take Lander away.
Fischer turned away from Lander as to say he was done with him as they dragged him out of the tent and into the back of an awaiting JLTV.
Before they closed the door on Lander he looked out toward the burning city of Grantsburg; the fires had dimmed somewhat. He also noticed the electric hum was finally gone.
Epilogue
Snow hurried as fast as she could down the long, beige marble hallways of the Unified Nations Defense Ministry Building. She was already late for her meeting with the Defense Minister and the Strategic Defense Council. She had no idea what the meeting was about, but she had a few folders slung under her left arm, containing papers for any situation that may arise.
Turning a right corner, she came to another long and crowded hallway. Snow let out a sigh, and continued down to the elevators that would take her to the third floor. This building wasn’t built for people like me in mind, Snow thought as she brushed past crowds of other officers on her way to where the elevators were.
Getting closer to the elevators she could hear others complaining. A small crowd had gathered around the three elevators.
“What’s going on?” Snow asked the officer in front of her.
“The elevators are broken,” the officer said with a slight German accent; he turned around just as Snow looked toward the stairs behind her and sighed again. “General Olivia Snow? You must be late for the same meeting as I.”
Snow looked at the gray-haired officer smiling in front of her; it was General Felix Graupel, commander of the 16th Phaeton Special Forces Group stationed in Europe. Snow and Graupel’s history went way back to the early days of the robot invasions, when he was a member of the German Special Forces Command. He eventually became a commander of one of Snow’s squads in the First Global Special Forces Battalion that was formed after the signing of the Global Military Unification Treaty.
“Felix, how have you been? I haven’t seen you in a while,” Snow said as the two walked toward the crowded marble stairs.
“I’m doing well, though, anymore of this walking up and down these hallways, then I probably won’t be for too much longer,” Graupel said with a light chuckle as the two started up the stairs. “It must’ve been five years since we last saw each other, Olivia.”
“Five years, already? It seems like nowadays you blink and five years have gone by,” Snow said as the two got closer to the second floor.
“That’s fine by me, because in another five years I’m finally going to retire; I’ve already found a nice little farm outside of Erfurt, from which to whittle away my remaining years,” Graupel said with a smile as the two rounded the second floor toward the third.
“A farm? I never thought you to be the rural type, Felix,” Snow said.
“Ahh… not in my younger days, but the older I get -- the more the fast-paced life of a city just doesn’t suit me like it used too,” Graupel said.
“I see. So, do you know what this meeting’s all about? I was only given the time and the place,” Snow said as they rounded the corner halfway to the third floor.
“I think it has something to do with the joint UMI and COTAX Systems, FDS Project. I think,” Felix said; he didn’t look too sure to her.
“The FDS Project? I don’t believe I’ve heard of it,” Snow said.
“I’m not sure what the acronym really means, but I’ve heard rumors that the scientists who work on the project jokingly gave it the name the Futuristic Drunken Soldier Project; I guess referring to how they’ve been having such a hard time with it, I guess,” Graupel said as the two made it to the third floor, finally.
“Hmm… hopefully we’ll figure out what it really means,” Snow said as the two got closer to the conference room.
Graupel walked slightly ahead of Snow and then opened the door to the conference room for her.
“After you, General,” Graupel said with a dumb smile.
Snow glanced in and saw the conference room filled with a group of unhappy officers.
“Gee… thanks,” Snow said under her breath to Graupel.
Snow and Graupel walked in as everyone in the room stared at them as they sat down to the closest available seats.
“Nice of you to join us, General Snow - General Graupel,” the Defense Minister said as she gave them an impatient look.
“My apologizes, Defense Minister Meyer,” Snow and Graupel said closely together.
Defense Minister Meyer opened a large blue binder in front of her and then looked over to the other side of the table from Snow to the representatives from COTAX, UMI, and GNN, which surprised Snow, since she had never seen GNN at one of these types of meetings before.
“I think it’s time to start this meeting. Would the COTAX Systems representative like to start off for us?” Meyer said as she pointed to the awkward looking guy who seemed to be out of his element.
“Umm… I think I want to get you all up to speed on the Frontline Defense -- excuse me I forgot we had changed the name -- the Futuristic Defense Soldier Project,” the COTAX rep said as he handed out papers to everyone at the table
. “As you can see on these reports that I’m handing out to you, there was an incident ten years ago at one of our newly built Holo Sim Facilities on Orion Airbase. General Snow, I’m sure you’re familiar with this incident?”
“Yes, I am,” Snow said as she flipped through the pages of the report she was handed; most of it was graphs and numbers, for which she had no context for.
“Well anyway, the full details are in the report, but suffice to say that for some rare individuals the brain wave influencers that the holo-sim programs use, can cause violent, psychotic episodes in which the individual acquires almost super-human physical strength and tolerance to pain; it’s quite remarkable actually …” the COTAX rep said.
“Get to the point, please,” Meyer said, causing the nervous COTAX rep to pause and then dig through his report.
“Oh, yes, well, for the last ten years we’ve been trying to replicate that first incident without much success. It seems only a very small percentage of the population can even be affected by it, and out of those, none have been able to survive for very long without committing -- self-termination,” the COTAX Rep said, and then adjusted his glasses. “But with the help of the UMI Service, we think we might have narrowed down a list of suitable candidates for major testing, these candidates being mostly drawn from our civilian and military prison systems, of course.”
“Do you have a list of potential candidates?” Meyer asked the UMI rep as she nodded in reply, then pulled out a single piece of paper from her folder, and then handed it to Meyer.
“I only see twenty candidates on this list. Will that be enough for this project to succeed?” Meyer asked.
“They were the only ones out of the over two-million prisoners we preliminarily tested, who were even close to being suitable candidates for the FDS Project,” the UMI Rep explained.
“Yes, unfortunately this is all we have to work with for right now. Ehh… we’ll begin testing for another batch right after Christmas. We should know by the end of January if our current batch will be able to produce a viable candidate out of all this; that’s assuming any survive the brain wave treatments, of course. We may have to expand our candidacy to the civilian populace at-large,” the COTAX rep said. What he said caught Snow’s attention and didn’t sit too well with her.
“I see. Hopefully, it won’t have to come to that, but the FDS Project must succeed at all cost; victory in this war is riding on it,” Meyer said as the COTAX and UMI reps nodded.
“I’ve also brought in the GNN representative here to help us to sell the FDS Project to the public, once it’s up and running, and we have a futuristic defense soldier to show off to them,” Meyer said as she looked over to the GNN rep.
“Yes, that’s correct! GNN is prepared to throw their full weight behind the FDS once the positive results come in. The public has been waiting, no -- craving for a new war hero. Captain Fischer -- no offense, General Snow -- is just a thing of the past. We plan on devoting a full four-hour a day programming block to the FDS. In no time we’ll have the public chanting, F-D-S, F-D-S!” the GNN rep said, with an energetic enthusiasm that could only come from a coked-out TV executive.
“Excellent, I might actually have to start watching GNN again,” Meyer said, and then she looked over at Snow and Graupel.
“If everything goes according to plan, we should have a super soldier ready to go in six months time. The FDS will accompany your 2nd Battalion, General Snow, as they take out the major robot factory complex near, once was once Columbus, Georgia,” Meyer said as Snow nodded. “General Graupel, your 1st Battalion will attack another large factory complex east of Naples. Knocking-out that factory is paramount to the security of the rest of the Italian peninsula.”
“Yes, I agree Defense Minister,” Graupel said as he nodded.
“Very well, your two operations will be a part of a larger operation we’re calling, Operation Red Phoenix. Your operations are only its first phase. Red Phoenix will completely turn the tide of this war in our favor. Forty-plus years of this have been quite enough, agreed?” Meyer said as everyone nodded in agreement. “Good. Now, if you can all excuse me; I have an important meeting with Lieutenant General Mullin five minutes ago. This meeting is adjourned.”
*****
Snow walked with Graupel out to the taxi that he had called for earlier.
“So what do you think, Olivia?” Graupel asked.
“I don’t know; super soldiers, secret military projects, and a lot of questions; I guess that’s not unusual for us, right?” Snow said as she opened the taxi door for Graupel.
“Heh… just like old times. I just hope they know what they’re doing. I remember the stories you told me of that private ten years ago; they were chilling. The last thing we both need is a blood-crazed super soldier running amok,” Graupel said, and then got in the cab.
“Tell me about it, Felix. You take care of yourself now, and keep in touch this time, damn-it,” Snow said.
“I’ll get better at it; I promise!” Graupel said with a smile, then shut the door, and then waved goodbye as the taxi drove away.
Snow waved until the cab quickly disappeared into the throngs of the other taxis. She looked back at the impressive Defense Ministry building in the heart of downtown New Omaha. Crap, now I need a cab too, Snow thought as she tried to hail for one.
The story continues with...
Robot Wars:
A Desperate Need
Bonus Content
I would like to thank you for reading “Robot Wars: Thrown into the Fray” and as a treat I have included some bonus content here that I hope you will enjoy. The Bonus Content includes the original prologue for the first book and part of the script from one of Staff Sergeant Anna Hartford’s favorite movies: “Max Daring 2: The Daring Continues.”
The Original Prologue: My first idea for the prologue was cut after I decided to focus more on General Olivia Snow’s character and story, since she is an important supporting character in the series.
She was originally supposed to have her own book, which would’ve been a prequel for the series, but I took the core of what would’ve been her book and condense it into three prologue chapters at the beginning of each of the three books. The three prologue chapters focus mainly on the genesis of the robot attacks, and how then Lieutenant Snow and her recon team try to survive them.
The original prologue -- as you will read -- focuses on Corporal Matt Evans, a grunt in the regular army. Evans is on the frontlines of the Brandy Station Front in close proximity to the Dark Horses’ sector, during a pivotal part of the battle. He sees firsthand the devastation the robots can bring, and how the Dark Horses and Captain Fischer handle them; it begins right in the heat of the action.
“Max Daring 2: The Daring Continues” script (Print Version Only): This 2035 summer movie blockbuster was number one at the box office worldwide for seven straight weeks. It shattered the previous box office records set by “Max Daring” (released in 2033) by over a billion credits. The movie stars acclaimed Australian actor Thomas Roland in the titular role, as he battles robots and saves those captured by them (robots capturing people was a common misconception at the time).
Filmed during a time when the robots were conquering huge swaths of territory and seemed unstoppable, the Max Daring movies helped people feel that they could beat them and overcome them. The success of the first and second movies prompted six more sequels and an animated prequel (voiced by Roland himself), before he retired from the Max Daring role in 2058.
The Max Daring series is now expecting a reboot to be released for early July 2061. It will star up-in-coming British actor Peter Reed.
Original Prologue
“Incoming!” yelled someone down the trench-line as Evans hit the deck.
Evans clutched his AR launcher as he heard the whistling noise of an incoming plasma mortar round. The blast and shockwave were intense as the enemy round impacted not too far behind him.
“Fucking hell that was close! You
okay, Matt?” Private Garner asked as she helped Evans up.
“Yeah, I’m good! Thanks, Helen,” Evans said as he crouched just below the brim of the trench.
Garner nodded and then went back to firing. The HRUOs are making their strongest attack yet, Evans thought as he grabbed his AR Launcher and put it up on top of the trench.
The bulky Mark Ones were now in the magnetic snag wire a hundred meters away; they were flailing their arms in attempts to free themselves. They were easy targets, but they weren’t the primary targets. The Mark Twos were behind them and were sending volleys of laser and missile fire into his platoon’s portion of the line.
“Corporal, get that fucking missile launcher ready! We’ve got two Threes heading for the wire!” Lieutenant Wayne shouted as he ran over to Evans and pointed at one of the Threes.
“Yes, sir!” Evans responded as he looked through his launcher’s scope.
Evans could barely make out the Three. There were too many robots between him and it, blocking his line of sight. He tried positioning the scope’s red targeting reticule over the Three, but it wouldn’t lock -- there was too much interference from all of the other robots.
“Sir! I can’t get a lock on it, sir!” Evans yelled as he looked to his left at the Lieutenant who had just ducked to avoid incoming laser fire.
“Fuck!” Wayne exclaimed as he threw off his goggles and rubbed his eyes. “Fucking shit, my eyes!”
“Lieutenant!” Garner yelled with concern, as she ran over to Wayne. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. Get back to firing, some shit just got through my goggles,” Wayne said as he waved Garner away.
Evans went back to his targeting scope and tried to lock onto the Three again; it still wasn’t locking.
Robot Wars: Thrown Into the Fray Page 30