The Recruitment: Rise of the Free Fleet

by Michael Chatfield

  “I don’t think I’ll have much choice in the matter if I get in this fight or not.” I cut the channel talking on the local channel.

  “What are your names?” I asked the two with me.

  “Dave.”

  “Janice.”

  “Alright well get those swords ready we have ten advancing Sarenmenti.”

  “Yes sir!” They said Janice moved her leg finding decreased mobility but her Mecha’s exoskeleton was damaged. They positioned themselves to jump around the corner between me and the advancing Sarenmenti.

  I pulled back slinging my rail gun and pulling my plasmid sword mentally counting in my head.

  “Go!”

  Dave and Janice ran out with wordless cries as they clashed with the Sarenmenti so close that the leading shooters couldn’t bring their weapons to bear. I jumped up the wall grabbing with a hand before I threw myself into the fray coming alongside Janice, making a half moon with Dave hugging the wall as Sarenmenti finally got their swords free.

  I cut down two before a Sarenmenti had a blade free. I parried it, turning my opponents sword outwards, slashing inwards I brought my blade across their chest as they stumbled, dying. One to my right barrelled into me grabbing me and taking me to the ground as another came at my head with their plasmid sword.

  My longer blade saved my life as my attacker’s blade glanced off of the tip, burying itself in the ground inches away from my face—close enough to hear the humming of the retaining electrostatic field. I flicked my wrist bringing my sword back and across my attacker’s chest leaving a rivet in their armour from the plasma in my blade. Janice finished them off with a backwards blow across their neck dropping them backwards as the Mecha holding me tightened its grip.

  “Mother fucker!” I yelled as they continued to tighten their hold, making my world go darker as I found it harder to breathe.

  I drove the hilt of my sword into the back of his helmet with vicious jerky blows, blunted by his grip on my upper arms. I was having hard time breathing as I finally heard the armour of his helmet crack. Two more hits and my world was going dark and pain swelled from my chest as a pop sounded.

  Pain brought me out of the darkness as new found rage and adrenaline flooded my system. I put my last ounce of power into opening his arms. With monstrous effort I was able to gather a breath and I turned my sword, bringing the blade instead of my hilt across the back of his helmet.

  I didn’t cut through his helmet but the ferocity of the blow made plasma spurt from the interacted electro-static field. He thrashed as plasma burnt through his neck. He clawed at his neck as I got out of under him. I ended his suffering with a blow across the visor as I turned to Janice and Dave.

  I’d been forgotten as I faced the backs of the remaining Sarenmenti attackers. I jumped in again raking one across the back and then opening their neck burying my blade into another’s side with the same blow. Before they could turn I pulled my pistol from its holster and placed it against the seam of their helmet and collar and pulled the trigger. They dropped like dead weight as I pulled my blade free.

  One turned to face me, but was met by my pistol in their visor. I swung under the next’s attack, my plasmid blade and my enhanced strength cutting through their leg. I put a round through their shoulder and into their central mass. I turned to face the attackers between me and my protection detail.

  Dave had lost his sword but his hand to hand was putting him in good stead his moves familiar to those I’d seen what felt like ages ago when I’d been researching Yasu’s fighting styles for our upcoming tournament.

  “Reinforcements coming in!”

  “About damn time.” I muttered to myself, changing to the close-area general channel. “Need maybe three fire teams here to assist. The rest check on Krom.” I said as my newest attacker’s sword went to his side as he dove in front of me his sword flicking out as if to disembowel me. I jumped away as he flicked his wrist making it go low and down instead of higher and across my now out of reach stomach. I stabbed at his falling form as his sword found its mark, coming across my left leg.

  “SOUNVA BITCH!” I said as auto tourniquets went off in my leg signalling it was gone, also the fact I was now falling with my now dead enemy. I grabbed my pistol my HUD linking with it as I drew it snapping off two shots hitting two follow up attackers in the visor killing them. I hit the ground using my upper body’s weight to jerk myself into a position so I could see those attacking Janice and Dave.

  “The Commander’s down!” I heard as I lined up my next target putting two shots into their knee dropping them as Janice took of their head.

  “Goddamn fucking, piece of shit bastard, spawn, shitting saint’s on a stick!” I yelled at the pain as if I could swear it away.

  I kept firing on their remaining attackers weakening them to take them down as I heard a roar and then the sound of a crew serviced rail gun firing nearby the sound approaching and then stopping as I found I had no more targets in front of me or on the HUD anymore as I heard more people approaching.

  Someone was fussing over me looking into my eyes as I tried to comm. them to not, finding out I’d destroyed the built in communicator of the battle suit. I hit the manual release of the hood.

  “Will you please get off of me?” I growled as someone else picked up my leg.

  ”Gimme that.” They quickly obeyed.

  “Thank you.” I aligned it using my battle suits lines thinking it looked good I pressed the stumps of my leg and thigh together which was not the most pleasant feeling in the world.

  “Hold it.” I said as someone did so as I grabbed a hell fire needle from their shoulder kit. With a breath I stabbed it and inch above the leg and pressed the depressing tab on my suit. The hell fire lanced through my thigh and thankfully into my leg as the commando held my leg together the muscles contracted as they connected. Which was more odd than painful, and it was very painful.

  It took a good few seconds as I could nothing but grit my teeth as my body was being wracked by hell fire.

  “Goddamn limbs never want to stay right where they damned well are.” I said lying on the ground gathering my strength as I moved my toes.

  “Seems alright.” Dave helped me to my feet as I tested the leg and then stood on it moving my ankle.

  “Well I’ll be damned it does work.” I said, impressed as I retrieved my sword and reloaded my weapons everyone staring at me.

  “Well don’t stare at me, check on them.” I said iron threading my voice as they sprung back into action. Dave and Janice also rearmed themselves as they tagged along with me.

  “Thank you Commander.” Janice said. “I’d be dead if it wasn’t for you.”

  “Same here,” I said as I rested against a wall feeling drained as I sipped on my suits inner water bladder.

  “Call me James seems only right”

  “Okay, James—thank you.” Janice said. Obviously not comfortable in calling me by my real name.

  “How’s the leg?” Dave asked.

  “It tingles still but I think it’s working, I’ll have someone look at it later.”

  “I would suggest that, it looks like the muscle and tendons are connected, but the blood vessels might be messed up as well as the bone and nerves.”

  “You sound like you know quite a bit about legs Dave.” I said with a grin as he looked up in thought.

  “I was training to be a doctor before I was recruited.”

  “Have you tried the sleep training for medical?” I offered.

  “Yes I’ve completed all of the basic courses and I’m moving along the modification tree, of sleep training. Though because of our manpower issues I can’t leave the armoured marine commandos, don’t get me wrong I like being in the AMC but I like doing other things.”

  “I do agree with that, but right now we’ve got more ships than we can do anything with and the projects and station are taking a huge chunk of skilled workers away. With the Avarians we’ll be able to allow more people to leave the A
MC for skilled positions. Still our numbers are woefully low. If we didn’t have the prisoners serving their terms putting Parnmal back together then we wouldn’t have been able to have two fleets, even now most ships are down to a quarter or less personnel that they need.” I babbled, happy to air the issues and in turn keep my mind off of my leg which was still stinging with left over hell fire.

  “Manpower issues. “Janice surmised.

  “Exactly, that’s why we need to get out into the neighbourhood we have ships and need crew. There are planets that are being attacked by the syndicate or whatever else is out there if we keep them in our good graces they could maybe help us with some of our issues. That’s the plan at least, we’ll see if we’re able to follow through.”

  Shuttles passed overhead, gunner teams visible in the open airlocks and ramps. My implants beeped that I had incoming battle-info as I pulled up my hood .Information scrolled across my implanted HUD showing the battle for the power station had ended and now Henry had the troops moving to another power plant to assist. My details ‘request’ by Henry was to keep us here checking over the supposed dead. It’s going to be a long day.

  “Commander Resilient says that they’re seeing the Chaleel military forces moving in on the power stations.” Janice said, and it seemed that the day was getting even longer.

  “Damn.” I moved to a dead Mecha and pulled out their communicator. I connected to it cleaning it and then putting in my own presets.

  “Tape.” I said holding it to my chest as Dave taped it in place.

  “Resilient this is Commander Salchar, send me your readings for the incoming Chaleel forces to power stations.”

  I studied the map as indeed the Chaleel forces were going out of their main cities and charging the power plants. I’m too thin to defend against them. I realized

  “Get me a channel to Carsickle.” A beep signalled I was connected. I waited a few minutes before he picked up.

  “Who is this?”

  “Commander Salchar, now General could you please tell me why your troops are charging mine?” Hiding the fear I felt in my gut.

  “They’re making the outer defence we want a layered defence to fall back on if you change your mind as to letting us be free.”

  “That was weak and you know it.” I said ignoring the jab.

  “I’ll show you the defence plans. It’s perfectly normal.”

  “It would be if three quarters of your military wasn’t part of your outer defence. Turn them around. Now.” Iron in my ending words.

  “I don’t have the power.” Go big or go home. I opened a direct channel to Resilient keeping Carsickle in the loop.

  “Commander?”

  “Hey, can you get me the head honcho of the planet?”

  “Do you want the figure they made to deal with the syndicate or the actual one?”

  “They made a shadow government, interesting.” I could hear Carsickle sputtering on the other line.

  “Might as well do both at the same time.”

  “Yes sir. You are connected to their personal communicators.” As the comms officer cut their channel two voices said hello at different times.

  “Ah, hello sirs. As you well know my name is Commander Salchar of the Free Fleet. Now I talked with the fronting government about defending your cities and allowing us to clean up the syndicate mess, now it seems that you’ve decided to attack us in the confusion.”

  I noticed that both had tried to disconnect the call. Resilient told me that the shadow leader, with the real power had taken off their comms unit only to find out my comms officer had made it so that if it wasn’t in direct contact with they’re ear it was placed on speaker so now everyone in the room with them could hear me.

  Anything connected could be hacked by Resilient.

  “Right now you stand to make a decision. One that will put your people’s and mine in the balance. If you continue to push your military forces and attack my people then they will be termed as hostile like the syndicate forces and will become targets. If you think I am bluffing then General Carsickle can vouch for me.” C’mon take it, does it! I silently chanted.

  “How do we even know that you won’t kill us when you get your people off of our planet?”

  The shadow leader asked. Yes! He was already talking about the future and not the immediate consequences. Now I just had to keep him on that, and not thinking about what was happening now.

  “Now you’re asking smart questions. Good, the answer is very simple; if I wanted to kill you I would’ve done it already. I could’ve brought any one of my ships and rained hell down on your population centres and evacuated my people at the same time. Leaving your survivors with the Syndicate Mechas for company. Instead I brought more troops onto the ground where you can kill them and I’m working to incapacitate the Syndicate forces on the planet. You have also no doubt picked up the transmissions I have been throwing at the syndicate forces in an attempt to get them to stop fighting. There would be no reason for me to do this if I wanted nothing more than to subjugate your planet. Plus I give you my word that I wish no harm to the people of Chaleel. I will only attack those that attack me first. As Carsickle knows I keep my word as I kept my word that I would return and free this planet of Syndicate control.”

  “How do we not know this is another ploy by the Syndicate to make us slaves?” The leader that dealt with the Syndicate asked. I sighed.

  “The Syndicate is a bunch of thieves and pirates, they’re driven by greed. They would not have destroyed a corvette willingly for nearly anything—destroyer? Definitely not. Or why would they have their Mechas killing one another, again to them this is a loss of resources.”

  “Anything you say could be lies.” This shadow leader guy really didn’t like me.

  “Comms could you pinpoint the location of General Carsickle.”

  “Yes sir I have his location.”

  “Very well. If you can’t take my word then I’m going to have to prove it to you personally. Carsickle I’m betting you’re in some command bunker far away from your leaders as so that if you or the others are killed operations can continue. If this is not the case and you have VIP’s at your location you may want to move them for our upcoming meeting. Comms can you get me a wheeled transport to get there? That way everyone can see me as I’m coming in.”

  “Yes sir, “She put me on hold briefly. “It’s being prepped and should be with you within the hour.”

  “Great.” I cut her from the conference.

  “I will show you the trust you haven’t shown me. I will place myself at Carsickle’s side, that way if anything goes wrong you have a bargaining chip. Though once my people have been rescued if I am not returned then there will be issues.”

  “So what use is there in having you in our care?”

  “It allows us to get a feel for one another and talk to one another about the future. After the planet is cleared we will need to learn to interact with one another. The Free Fleet needs food and we’d be willing to trade training and the fixing of what was destroyed by the syndicate for that food.” It was a few seconds before the shadow leader talked.

  “Very well, we will talk about this later.”

  I cut the channel, Janice and Dave having heard most of the conversation from my side. I could see Krom was already coming towards me obviously one of the two had told him what they were hearing.

  “Commander you can’t go to him.” Krom said as he reached me hoisting his crew serviced rail gun to the side as if it was a normal rifle.

  “I have to now or my word won’t be worth shit. Also this will hopefully create a basis of trust from which we can build from.”

  “They’ll kill you before you get there.” Surety in his voice.

  “If you see anyone trying to kill me, give them a call it’ll rattle them, also pull up their personal information and talk about their family. That should do the trick.”

  “Killing a warrior’s family is dishonourable.” Any more of that dis
honourable stuff and you’ll sound like Yasu.

  “I don’t want you to kill them. Just talk about them casually; they’ll make their own conclusions.” He nodded his head slowly.

  “As you say Commander.”

  “Otherwise plaster them with a laser or something with the least damage for the area.”

  “Yes sir.”

  Chapter Of Maniacs and mad men

  General Carsickle had seen the shuttle that had gone back to the fleet that hang above his planet and carried something down.

  Now he could see what it was as it crested a sand dune at incredible speed becoming airborne coming down on its shocks and continuing on. It was clear it was a tank from the weaponry sprouting over it. It looked as if it was at least two times the size of the tanks under Carsickle’s command but drove like a civilian car. “What is that noise?” He said the audio pickups getting something.