The Chaos Saga

by Samuel JT Pratley

  "Oh please, Sam, since when do you acknowledge my presence with a pose," the Commander said as he and Doc walked passed Sam.

  The Commander sat in his throne and Doc stood beside him.

  "Well, come on then. Let's see it," the Commander said, leaning forward.

  Sam realised the Commander hadn't actually seen the gauntlet or the armour. He pulled his sleeve up to reveal the gauntlet. The Commander stood up and walked over to see the gauntlet up close, with Doc behind him.

  "I've never seen anything like this before. It must be very sophisticated. Doc, how's the replication of it going?"

  "It's not going at all. I have no idea where to start. I have no idea about it at all."

  "Hmm, I think I may know of someone who will know about this thing, but first, let's see this new armour."

  Sam activated the new armour and the Commander took a few minutes to study it.

  "Yes, that is very impressive indeed. Come now. I have someone I'd like both of you to meet."

  The three of them travelled to an arctic planet, landing on a frozen wasteland that used to be the largest body of water on the planet. They all activated their armours to provide internal heating and cooling vents that kept them warm in the deep freeze. There were large sheer cliffs of ice all around them, forming a frozen corridor that they walked down. The temperature was -59°C, which was the highest the temperature had ever gotten.

  They found an ice cavern and the Commander led them inside. They followed him through winding ice hallways and up and down frozen floors until they stumbled upon a large cavern. It had multiple large openings that led in all different directions. The Commander led them through the smallest, which required the two adults to slouch over to get through.

  The small tunnel of ice led them to a natural stone cave. There were fire pits scattered around the cave. A faint sound of a hammer banging against metal could be heard. They followed the sound. The temperature began to increase, and they found a forge of some kind. It looked like an old day blacksmith forges. They saw a large man banging his hammer against a piece of metal, trying to shape it.

  "Hey, Malcolm," the Commander said to the large man.

  "Well, well, if it isn't old Blakey. What brings you here to my desolate planet?"

  "This," the Commander said as he held up Sam's gauntlet. "Have you seen anything like it?"

  "Can't say I have - no. Is that all you came here for, or is there another reason?"

  "Okay, you got me. We came here to ask if you'd come back to our base and work to try and replicate Sam's gauntlet with Doc here."

  "Okay, sure. It'd give me a chance to go home and see the family too."

  7: The Beast Mode

  As the next few weeks passed, Malcolm and Doc worked on replicating the gauntlet while Sam and his team continued the fight against the Xanthos.

  One day Sam and his team were in Rome fighting the Xanthos with a local team. They were up against the larger kind of Xanthos. The largest ones were called Devastators. They had four large limbs that either had acid cannons or scythes on them, and then two smaller arms that ended in clawed hands. Devastators resembled a white T-Rex with cannons on its back. The next kind down were called Slashers and these ones had scales all over their backs, forming a turtle shell. They had four limbs, all with scythes. There were six of each kind and they surrounded the twelve marines. Everyone was in their armours, including Sam in his new armour.

  Sam was the first to make a move. He flew above them all and started to rain 'nails' down upon the crowd, dispersing them and beginning a fierce battle. Some of the Xanthos had wings and flew after Sam. He had three on his tail as he flew over the streets of Rome. He flew horizontally until he became vertical with his wings fully extended. He slowed down to a stop. As one of the Xanthos flew past him he swung his sword and sliced it in half. Another one flew past him and he fired a nail at it. The Xantho fell to the streets below and an explosion could be heard.

  The last Xantho was a Devastator. This one had three of its four limbs as scythes and the last one was an acid cannon. It rammed into Sam, sending both of them down onto the ground. The Xantho pinned Sam to the dirt of the field that they had crashed into. It pointed its acid cannon right at Sam's face.

  Sam frantically tried to activate an armour just to get the beast off. He managed to select one and activate it. The Xantho was thrown off by force. Sam opened his eyes and the first thing that he noticed was that he had become smaller with the armour. It wasn't the one he thought he'd selected. He felt something swing behind him and he turned to see that he had a tail. His armour had become a beast - he had activated a beast mode.

  His beast mode was in the form of a Liger, with sharp gold fangs and claws. The armour had wings just like his other new armour. He quickly realised that this armour was the beast mode of his new armour but without the weapons. He sprinted toward the downed Xantho, grabbed its neck with his jaw and crunched, severing the neck. He could feel the warmth of blood in his mouth.

  "Hey, Sam! We've got another mission!" Jareth said as the S1 marines ran towards Sam. He turned to face them, still with the neck in his mouth. Blood spilled from the wound. He spat out the dead Xantho.

  "Oh, great. Now you've got another armour," Matt joked.

  "I actually think it's just another form of my new nail armour. Hold on," Sam said. He began to concentrate. As he did so, his armour began to stand up on two legs and shape itself into Sam's nail armour.

  The S1 team teleported up to base and had begun to stand on the teleporter to head to their next location when Doc ran into the room and threw Jareth his own gauntlet. They arrived in a dense forest.

  "So what are we doing way out here?" Sam asked.

  "Doc said there are a few Xanthos around here," Cheyenne answered.

  "C'mon bro, show us the armour."

  As they walked through the forest, Jareth tinkered with his gauntlet. He had a new armour but he decided not to use it yet.

  They arrived in a clearing. A large waterfall and pool was in the centre of the clearing and a large boulder clearly marked where a cave was.

  "Me and J will enter the cave. You lot stay out here and keep watch."

  Sam and Jareth entered the cave and walked down a dark damp slope, walking in silence until Sam said, "So how are the parents?"

  "Oh … uhh … they're fine, I guess. Is that the only reason you bought me down here with you?"

  "No. Well, kinda. The main reason would be to see that new armour that Doc gave you."

  They were stunned into silence as the dark damp cave opened up into a large open forested area. Plants that neither of the marines had seen were scattered throughout. They looked up to see a large hole in the roof of the cavern that was streaming light into the area. In awe, they continued to walk through the forest.

  They came to another cave and heard the distinctive growling of Xanthos communicating with each other. Sam gestured for Jareth to be silent. They both activated their armours but it was dark and Sam couldn't see Jareth's new armour. They rounded a bend to see four mid-sized Xanthos.

  Now that there was light shining upon the marines, Sam could finally see Jareth's new armour. Sleek, black and brown, it had fierce reptilian wings that were the opposite of Sam's metallic feather wings. On Jareth's left arm was a shield that looked like a lion's head and mane. In his right hand was a sword that had a cobra coiled around it.

  "Wow, would you look at that," Sam marvelled at his brother's armour.

  "Pretty cool, aye."

  "Humans," a deep voice said, coming from the lead Xantho.

  "You're capable of speaking English?" Sam asked, poised to attack.

  "Yes. Please don't kill us. We're not part of the Hive," one of them pleaded.

  "The Hive?" Jareth asked, tilting his head inquisitively.

  "It is what the Xantho military is called. Xanthos are bred to fight and are initiated into the Hive at a very young age. We may have the weapons of the Hive but we have no inten
tion of killing humans. We just need a refuge away from our home planet to live in peace," the Xantho pleaded.

  "We're in the middle of a war with your kind. Why should we trust you and allow you to live here?" asked Sam, who wasn't entirely convinced.

  "If we were sent here to kill you then we would have already done it. We haven't killed you because we have no intention of doing so. We just want peace," the lead Xantho pleaded.

  "Are you connected to the Hive in any way?" Jareth asked.

  "Yes, we are still psychically linked with the Hive but they do not know that we are here or that we have no reason to kill you. We are offering our services as recon. We can hear whatever the King orders and we could relay it up you. We have the potential to help you win this war," one of the Devastator Xanthos offered.

  Sam had to think about it for a few minutes before he replied.

  "Okay, I think that it would be beneficial for us to have inside Xanthos that can tell us how and when the Xanthos are going to attack. So I'll let you stay on our planet as long as you help us win this war. We'll keep your existence a secret from most people but we need to inform our commander. I suggest that the four of you stay here until we can find you a safer place to live."

  Sam and Jareth were starting to leave the cave when Jareth said, "Are we seriously going to let these Xanthos stay here?"

  "Yes, Jareth, we are. They could've killed us and they didn't. Let's just see if they are telling the truth when they say that they can relay Xantho info to us."

  "Well, I don't like it."

  "You don't have to. If it helps us win this war then it's worth it," Sam said as they exited the cave. "Team, we're heading back up to base."

  "So, what? There was nothing down there?" Matt asked as they teleported back up to the base. Sam didn't answer.

  Sam rushed up to the Base Commander, rudely interrupting his conversation with another Marine.

  "Sir, I need to talk to you now." He faced the other Marine and said, "I'm Sam, leader of the S1 team. Please excuse us."

  The Marine rushed off.

  "Sam, that was very rude."

  "I don't care, Sir. On the last mission that you sent my team on, Jareth and I found a cave with some Xanthos in it."

  "I trust that you handled the problem."

  "Well, no. They said that they weren't part of the Hive. They came here in peace and are willing to help us win the war."

  "Okay. I eagerly await to see how they're going to do that."

  8: The Lords

  It was a few months of constant Xantho attacks before Sam and his team received their first intel from the non-Hive Xanthos.

  "Sam, there's someone who wants to talk to you about the war."

  Doc's face appeared on Sam's bed screen before another face appeared. It was the face of the lead Xantho.

  "Samuel, we've heard from the Hive that they're sending large battleships into Earth's orbit. They plan to rain down acid while sending troop ships down to attack the main cities. I don't know how you're going to combat an attack of that size but I wish you the best."

  "How many battleships?" Matt asked.

  "At least two. At most a hundred," the Xantho replied.

  "When will they get here?"

  "Maybe in a week, maybe sooner, but be warned that each battleship is commanded by a Lord."

  "Matt, please come here for a sec," Doc's voice said from the screen.

  Instantly Matt left the room. He came back with two armour gauntlets - one for him and one for Cheyenne. There was still no gauntlet for Peter.

  "Doc said to not activate them until we are in the thick of battle," Matt said.

  Sam and his team were on edge for the next few days. Small attacks helped them to forget about the impending attack until one day they received the report of giant biomechanical warships in Earth's lower atmosphere. The ships were large sprawling masses of flesh and metal. Each ship was larger than a mid-sized town, taller than a 100-storey building, and commanded by a Lord type Xantho. The Lord type was the second highest ranked type - first was the Hive King. Each Lord had twelve large white stilt-like legs that extended from an almost spider-like body. Each leg had piercing jagged claws at the end. Each Lord had multiple acid cannons on its back and its underside, and they had a multiple segmented body with the front one housing the head and two smaller arms. The Lords were individually DNA-encoded to a ship so only it could control its ship and command its troops. The ships were scattered in pairs throughout Earth. They were so far apart that no one person could count them all.

  Sam, his team and all of the S ranked marines were in the Commander's throne room, getting briefed for their enormous task. They all knew the consequence for failure. S1 and S2 were tasked with taking down the first and largest ships to arrive. They were stationed over Los Angeles. S1 and S2 were teleported down into the streets of the city and were immediately aware of the unending black shadow cast by the colossus of a ship.

  "Alright, everyone activate your armours," Sam commanded.

  This was the first time S2 had seen the new armours. Sam and Jareth activated their armours as per normal, and then it was Matt's turn. It was the first time he'd used it. When he activated it he became engulfed with Ultra Marine blue armour. He opened his eyes and could see two Gatling guns mounted on his shoulders and two more in his hands.

  It was Cheyenne's turn to activate her new armour. It looked just like her old one apart from the fact that it carried ten large swords on its back.

  "Oh, yay - more swords," she said sarcastically.

  "This new armour gives you some psychic power, in that it allows you to individually control each and every sword at the same time. Try it out," Doc said to her over the comms.

  Cheyenne concentrated and one by one she could feel the swords on her back lift away and come under her control. She opened her eyes to see ten floating swords in front of her. She moved her hands around and the swords followed her every move. The boys were amazed at the new armour.

  "Chris, you and S2 stay here on the ground with Matt, Cheyenne and Peter. Try to take down as many Xanthos as you can with the least amount of casualties. Jareth and I will fly up there and try to take down a ship each," Sam suggested.

  "But my armour allows me to turn my two shoulder Gatlers into jets. I can fly too, Sam," Matt pleaded.

  "Alright, fine, but you and Jareth can take down one together."

  "Sam, good luck," Chris said as the three marines flew up to face the giant ships.

  Sam, Matt and Jareth flew above the ships and landed on top of the closest one. The air was thin and the wind was howling. Each of them kept their helmets on and talked through their comms.

  "I'll take down the other one. You two take down this one," Sam said before he flew off to attack the second ship.

  Matt and Jareth tried to find an entrance in the unending mass of writhing flesh and metal. They heard a large explosion come from the other ship and guessed it was Sam. Jareth and Matt couldn't find any entrance point on the roof of the ship so they flew around the side until they found the hangar bay. It was empty. All the fighters and bombers had been sent out as soon as the ship had entered orbit. They could hear footsteps coming towards them.

  A fleshy door opened at one end of the hangar bay and three Devastators walked into the hangar. They spotted the marines and let out a piercing cry that alerted the whole ship to the marines' presence. Matt quickly shot one of them up by firing all four Gatlers at it, completely shredding the flesh and scales. Jareth activated his beast mode, which was in the form of a Chimera. His cobra sword had turned into a snake tail and his shield became the lion's head of the beast. He pounced on another Devastator and tore it to shreds with his claws. The last Devastator had four acid cannons in its back - two aimed at Jareth and two at Matt. It had looked as if it would attack, but then it decided to run back through the door it came.

  "Why did it run away?" Matt asked.

  "Probably to get reinforcements," Jareth replied.
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  Just then Sam came flying through the hangar door that the fighters would have left through. He skidded along the floor and faced the door, before getting up and readying his sword.

  "Get ready for a fight," he said to his marines, who each looked puzzled.

  The ship shook. The marines looked out the hangar door and saw the Lord from the other ship holding on to the ship. It clawed its way along until it reached the hangar door, then stopped.

  The marines readied their weapons but the Lord didn't enter the hangar. Instead it said in its deep voice, "Why don't you come out here and fight me, little worm!"

  "Why don't you come in here and fight me, you overgrown parasite," Sam replied.

  The Xantho looked around the hangar before entering. The moment it stepped in, six Devastators entered through the door. Three of them sprinted between the marines and the Lord and separated them, but they were more interested in the Lord than the marines. The Xanthos growled at the Lord. Thanks to the Marines' helmets which could translate incoherent languages, they could understand what the Xanthos were saying.

  "Don't even think about it. You know what'll happen if you step foot in here. Even if you are a Lord, we do have the authority to kill you if you step onto our ship," said the lead Xantho.

  "Can't you just let me kill the one that trespassed on my ship?" asked the Lord but it was only met with loud growls.

  "Off ... our ... ship," the lead Devastator threatened. The Lord jumped off the ship and flew back to his own one.

  "Well, thanks for that. Is it okay if we destroy your ship?" Sam asked hopefully. The Xanthos just surrounded the marines and growled and barred their teeth.

  "Okay then. Team, deactivate your armours. We're surrendering."

  The marines deactivated their armours and put their hands on their heads. They were led through the ship by two of the Devastators to the hold. There they were put into individual cells.

  Hours passed before anyone spoke.

  "Was this part of your plan, bro?"

  "Oh, yeah totally. Don't you think I've had this all planned out since I flew into this ship?" Sam replied.