by Isaac Hooke
“It’s never too late,” Tahoe said. “I still believe, firmly in my heart, that one man, or a group of men, can make a difference in any war.”
“I used to think so, too,” Rade said. “Until the Second Alien War.”
Tahoe nodded. “All we did in that war was survive. We didn’t really make much difference at all, did we? We were victims of circumstance, tossed about the seas of fate at the universe’s whim. But wait a second, if you don’t think we can make a difference, then what are we doing out here?”
“Obviously I believe we can,” Rade said. “Especially if Surus can find a way to even the odds.”
“What exactly is she planning to do, anyway?” Tahoe asked. “She has armor upgrades for us?”
“I’m not sure yet, as I haven’t heard back from her,” Rade said. “I’ve tried tapping in, but she hasn’t answered.”
“What if she’s been captured, or otherwise disabled?” Tahoe asked.
“That’s certainly a possibility,” Rade said.
“But what does that mean for us?” Tahoe pressed.
“I don’t know,” Rade said. “We have to focus on the obtainable goals at the moment. If we don’t, we’ll feel overwhelmed and helpless. We can obtain mechs. So we will.”
When the convoy was within a kilometer of the installation, Rade gave the order to halt.
The three vehicles stopped on the shoulder of the road.
“We continue on foot,” Rade said. “Into the shrubs.”
Rade lowered the laser rifle from his shoulder and held it in hand, muzzle pointed at the ground. He kept the particle beam weapon slung to his opposite shoulder.
He stepped into the greenery that composed the French countryside there, which included oak, beech, and plane trees, as well as several species of bushes.
“Shouldn’t we be trying to find a way off this planet?” Fret said. “If Earth is truly lost?”
“Who says Earth is lost?” Manic said.
“Haven’t you been watching the news networks?” Fret said.
“Ah,” Manic said. “You mean of course the opinion networks? Because that crap ain’t news.”
“No, it’s news,” Lui said. “Because the fact is, most of the world has fallen. The thing is, if we get these mechs, and the booster rockets, it’s not for nothing. Because even if the world falls, we’ll have a way off the planet.”
“Yeah but, shouldn’t we be looking for something that has a bit more range, and can hold more people, like a shuttle or something?” Fret said. “Unless you plan to carry Shaw’s parents and Tahoe’s family into orbit while they’re strapped into the passenger seats of mechs? Then they’ll need jumpsuits, too, of course.”
“I heard that the Mahasattva were shooting evacuation craft out of the sky,” Manic said.
“I never heard that,” TJ said.
“It’s true,” Manic said. “At least for those ships that attempt to orbit in the same hemisphere as the mothership.”
“So basically,” Fret chimed in. “You’re saying that if we get these booster rockets and want to approach the mothership for any sort of boarding operation, like the boss is probably planning, then we’ll be shot out of the sky?”
“That’s what I’m saying,” Manic said.
“Why does fetching the mechs seem like less and less of an urgency with each passing moment?” Fret said.
“Tell me something,” Bender said. “Do you want to face these invaders as you are? Or inside a battle suit capable of razing a small city?”
“Well, of course inside a battle suit,” Fret said.
“Then shut the hell up,” Bender said.
The party proceeded through the undergrowth in silence for a few minutes.
“So TJ, bro,” Manic said. “You mentioned this installation harbors outdated models of mechs. What sort of models are we talking about?”
TJ had already told Rade, of course, but apparently hadn’t shared the knowledge with the rest of the team yet.
“They’ve been out of service for about fifteen years,” TJ said. “But I think you’ll love them. ATLAS units.”
“ATLAS?” Manic said. “I hate those. Sure, they’re retro and all that, but come on, you mean we have to go back to projectile weapons? I can’t see myself giving up lasers for Gats.”
“These are ATLAS 5 CF’s,” TJ said. “Retrofitted with lasers, so there are no projectiles. The Iron Triangle of Combat Vehicle Development ruled out most projectile weapons years ago.”
“What’s this iron triangle?” Fret asked.
“The balancing act of lethality, mobility, and protection,” TJ said. “Engineer speak. Basically, lugging around tons of ammo reduced the mobility of the mechs, and required the hulls to be protected by less armor. By switching to lasers, we get to keep our lethality, while improving the other two factors. Of course, lasers have other problems, in terms of cooling and power, but I won’t get into that.”
“Ah,” Fret said. “I keep forgetting, you’re the nerd with the muscles and tattoos.”
“And all the women,” TJ said.
“No one’s got more women than me,” Bender said.
“Look at these guys,” Lui said. “Bragging about their harem size.”
“Well at least it’s better than the bragging you do,” Bender said. “When we go to the buffet, you’re always talking about your plate. ‘Look at how much bigger my plate is than yours! Ooo, I can stuff my stomach with the most food. I win! I’m a hippopotamus!’ With the emphasis on the hippo!”
“At least I get my money’s worth at the buffet,” Lui said.
“Oh I get my money’s worth, too, don’t you worry,” Bender said.
“Did you just call yourself a hippo?” Manic said.
“Try listening sometime,” Bender said. “I know, it’s an acquired skill, but if you concentrate you can do it. I know you can. Because I was referring to Lui.”
“Pussy buffet?” Harlequin asked.
“What the hell, AI!” Bender said. “Keep your senseless comments to yourself. What do you know about pussy and buffets anyway? You can’t partake in either of them.”
“Actually, I can,” Harlequin said.
“Yes yes, you’re fully anatomically functional, I know,” Bender said.
“Just before the invasion, we went to the strip club, do you remember?” Harlequin said. “I joined you. You pushed me to sit in the front row, and then made a comment to TJ about how the joint was such a pussy buffet, even I could get some.”
“Ah, damn it, Harley boy, that has nothing to do with what we were just talking about,” Bender said. “I specifically said food, just now. A food buffet. Not pussy.”
“Oh,” Harlequin said. “I suppose I was trying to break the tension with what you humans call a ‘little nonsensical humor.’”
“Well stop trying,” Bender said. “AIs aren’t capable of humor. They might believe they are, but they’re really not. Especially you. The only time you’re funny is when your punching bag of a face is on the receiving end of my manly fist.”
“His manly fist,” Manic said. “Ooo, you’re so manly, Bender.”
“I meant manly as in human,” Bender said. “You know, human versus machine. Ah, never mind!”
“We’re almost at the end of the tree coverage,” Rade said. “Let’s get some quiet, please.”
The tree line ended about three hundred meters from the southern outskirts of the installation, and a well-maintained lawn covered the grounds the rest of the way to the chain-link fence that enclosed the low-slung buildings. That was typical of installation design, with clear approaches desired on all sides. Though usually the clearance should have been at least a kilometer. He supposed the Franco-Italians simply did things differently. Then again, given the accuracy and range of laser weapons these days, one kilometer clearance wasn’t all that much better than three hundred meters. Plus there were likely advance sensors and cameras hidden along the approach from the main road, and in the surroundin
g foliage.
As such, the installation most likely knew they were coming already. Though as of yet, it didn’t know their intention. Rade was sure the base AI had guessed, given how his team was outfitted, but the AI likely wouldn’t attack until Rade made the first aggressive move.
Rade gazed at the chain link fence. It was electrified, according to the documents TJ had obtained. Topped by razor wire. Motion-sensing laser turrets lining the rooftops just inside would track any objects that passed over or through the fence, and take them down. Those turrets were equipped with a modicum of artificial intelligence, enough to visually distinguish a non-threat such as a bird from an actual threat such as an individual in a jetpack thrusting over.
“I count five tracking turrets on this side,” Tahoe said.
Those turrets could detect the source of any laser attacks, so the team would have to bring them down at nearly the same time, at least those in the line of sight on this side of the installation. If they missed even one of them, the lasers would home in on their positions in the foliage and fire.
“I can confirm that number,” Harlequin said. “Each turret contains four cobras.”
At eight humans and eight Centurions, that left four cobras unaccounted for in the first volley.
“TJ, allocate the targets,” Rade ordered. “I want one cobra per human rifle, and two cobras per Centurion.” That meant four of the Centurions would target the same cobra twice. That was fine, as it never hurt to fire a second shot at the same target. He decided to build upon that idea: “In fact, lets assign two cobras per rifle across the board.”
Rade received his targeting vectors from TJ a moment later. On his vision, highlights appeared over the two rightmost cobras located in a turret near the center rooftop. He peered into his scope, and zoomed in on the first cobra, centering it between his crosshairs.
“Target acquired,” Rade said.
The names of the platoon members were stacked in a row on the left side of the HUD overlaying his vision, and he watched as green highlights appeared upon each of those names in turn as they acquired their own targets.
When there were greens across the board, Rade said: “Initiating countdown. Fire on green, and switch cover after the second shot.” The latter order was in case one of the cobras didn’t go down, or someone missed one. If that happened, they would have to reposition behind new hides as quickly as possible.
On his HUD, a timer appeared in the lower right, counting down from three thousand milliseconds. When it reached zero, a green circle appeared in the lower right of his vision.
He squeezed the trigger. Instantly the turret swiveled, obviously tracking the source of the lasers. He slid his aim down and to the right, over the updated position of the second cobra, and squeezed again.
Then he crawled away rapidly through the undergrowth.
“Missed one!” TJ said. “We’re taking incoming fire!”
Branches began to fall around Rade as the laser cut through the foliage. He dove behind a thick bole.
“Launch the decoy!” Rade shouted.
Harlequin threw a fist-sized rock toward the installation. Harlequin had borrowed Rade’s X72 to carve the rock into the shape of a grenade.
As the decoy arced high, on a course to easily skim over the fence and the rooftops within, Rade leaned past the tree trunk and targeted those turrets he could see through the foliage.
The turrets had immediately spun to track it. The AIs were momentarily fooled, but would revert their aim when they realized the rock wasn’t a threat. But in the meantime, Rade and the others had their opening.
It was impossible to tell which of the individual cobras on the turrets remained intact, so they would have to shoot them all again.
“Fire at the same targets!” Rade said.
He zoomed in on the first of his assigned cobras, which remained highlighted, and shot.
The turrets swiveled back toward the party, and Rade had to quickly recenter his reticle over the second cobra allocated to him.
“All right, that did it,” TJ said. “All defensive turrets on this side of the installation are down.”
“Take down any camera domes you see,” Rade said.
He swung his aim over the installation, taking down the cameras along with the rest of the Argonauts.
When the team finished, Rade heard a heavy thudding sound in the distance.
“Got two walkers approaching the fence,” Tahoe said.
“Reposition!” Rade said.
He dove away from the tree, and low crawled as rapid laser fire cut through trees and branches behind him. He moved into a hollow in the ground, and waited.
The attack ceased.
“I’ve got one of the walkers in my sights,” Harlequin said. “I can hit its AI core.”
“Brat and I have the other,” Algorithm said. “Requesting permission to fire.”
“Take them out,” Rade said.
“Walker A down,” Harlequin said.
“Walker B down,” Algorithm added.
Rade heard the thudding again.
“More walkers are coming in,” Harlequin said. “Four in total. These ones are equipped with ballistic shields.”
“All right,” Rade said. “That’s our cue to retrograde. Move on to the next assault position.”
twenty-two
The Argonauts retreated into the foliage.
The walkers remained in place behind the fence, as expected. They fired into the foliage, targeting the last known positions of the Argonauts, and then simply stood there.
Rade was exploiting a flaw in their programming, or what he perceived as a flaw anyway: the walkers had strict orders to remain within the confines of the installation at all times. Otherwise, they would have readily vaulted over the chain-link fence and rushed the Argonauts.
The team began moving around to the eastern side of the installation.
“Got two drones,” Harlequin said.
Apparently not all units were programmed to stay inside the base after all.
“Grumpy and Humpty, track and eliminate,” Rade ordered.
The two Centurions stood up and aimed into the sky. A moment later Rade spotted two small objects spiraling downward, leaving a trail of smoke behind them.
“Drones terminated,” Grumpy said.
“Surprised they only had two of them,” Fret said. “Though I suppose the installation personnel probably took most of them when they left.”
“Or maybe not,” Bender said. “Those bitches are expensive.”
“What, two small drones like that?” Fret said. “I could buy some blueprints and get one 3D-printed for half what the boss pays us per month.”
“After all these years you still don’t understand how the military procurement process works,” Bender said. “The drone companies tack on a gun to a civilian drone, call it a military drone, and then charge ten times the original price. You’re paying for the word military. Hell, the company could leave off the gun, call it a military surveillance drone, and charge the same.”
“We should start a military drone company sometime,” Fret said.
“That’s boring,” Bender said. “How about I go kill bugs, and you stay here starting a drone company.”
“I just might do that,” Fret said. “Someday.”
“Someday,” Bender said. “Hmph.”
As the team moved through the shrubs, the walkers occasionally relocated within the installation, following the position of the party members as reported by whatever sensing devices were hidden in the foliage.
When the Argonauts reached the eastern flank, the team took out the cobras of the turrets exposed on that side in the same manner, as well as the camera domes. The platoon retreated as the walkers targeted them, and then Rade had the Argonauts relocate to the northern side. They repeated the process there, and again at the western flank of the installation, until all the rooftop tracking turrets and visible camera domes were offline.
The ballistica
lly shielded walker units had gathered to the western side of course, and were waiting for Rade and the others to reveal their latest positions.
“All right, time to cut ourselves a route through the fence,” Rade said. “Tahoe, assign targets.”
Rade received several vertical highlight points located in a row along the chain link fence.
“Fire at will,” Rade said.
He aimed at the first of his highlight points, which targeted the lower portion of the diamond-shaped steel mesh in that area. He employed the help of the scope’s AI to provide aiming assistance, and then fired, shifting his aim in a slight sawing motion as he did so.
“Walkers are opening fire,” TJ said.
Those walkers would be firing randomly, since there were no impact sensors on the chain link fences, and there weren’t enough foliage sensors to determine their latest positions—otherwise the walkers would have fired at them before. Rade did his best to remain calm as branches fell around him, and he moved his aim on to the next highlight point, and the next, firing at each of them until he had pierced clean through all of his targets.
He decided to reposition, and when he was hidden behind a log, he aimed his scope at the electric fence and watched as a wide portion fell inward entirely, dragging down the razor wire with it. The team had carved two vertical lines, separated by two meters, through the individual mesh segments composing that portion of the fence and the razor wire above it. Since it wasn’t connected to the ground, the severed portion of the fence couldn’t support its own weight, and had toppled.
As expected, the walkers ignored the opening in the fence, once again proving that their programming prevented them from leaving the base. The units continued to fire for several moments, however. Like him, other team members had relocated, probably feeling just as uncomfortable as Rade about being on the receiving end of random, rapid-fire lasers.
“Are we detecting any hidden fencing fields?” Rade asked. Those were lasers that formed a secondary “fence” just inside such installations, and would cut down anyone who made it past the physical fence.
“No,” Lui said. “It looks like we have the electric fence, and that’s it.”