Sacremon (Harmony War Series Book 1)
Page 12
“I wasn’t the only one. Captain Nerva has extended to us a challenge. We are going to go through our workup testing and we are going to be the best damned section in this entire Company.”
Xiao let out a sigh.
Pullo turned, putting his face inches from Xiao.
“Is something the matter private Xiao? I don't fucking remember asking you to try and taste the fucking air for me. But now you have, how does that air taste Xiao is it nice and recycled?”
“Yes it is Sergeant!” Xiao barked.
“Well that is good fucking news, on the ground everyone! I want to make sure that we fully circulate that air and get a good deep taste for quality recycled air!”
Pullo was on the ground with everyone, calling up and down.
Mark and Tyler were grunting through the push ups, their arms tight from strain.
“Recover,” Pullo said, standing up with everyone. “Now that you are done sampling the air, might I continue with the offer the Captain has so graciously given us instead of pulling this abomination of a Section apart and dispersing us?” Pullo asked, more than one person's face drained of color, having a section disbanded would look bad on everyone no matter what part they had played.
“Yes Sergeant!” Xiao yelled at the bunk bed on the other side of the room.
“Fan-fucking-tastic! If we prove ourselves in training and we get through Sacremon then we will be going to Alpha Company. A nice cherry spot on Special teams with a pay bump and everything. Get out to the PT area and start moving through the tests. Help out anyone that might need the cobwebs knocked out,” Pullo said. “Dolche, a word.”
“You heard the Sergeant, get moving!” Gupta barked, his eyes looking for stragglers as people piled out of the barracks in a rush towards the PT ground.
They formed into two lines with Mark and Tyler beside one another.
First Gupta pushed them through running, Dolche and Sergeant Pullo joined them as they were running, bringing the squad up to its full twelve-person strength.
Pullo and Dolche kept running while the rest of the squad moved to the medical area, sensors and recording devices were attached to their bodies as they did everything from push ups and sit-ups to controlled curls, pullups and more running.
Then it was onto sparring, Mark and Tyler went up against one another, the others gave them a ton of room as they snapped out kicks and attacks on one another.
Pullo had them back in barracks as fast as the testers had their marks.
They ran through their kit, Mark and Tyler looked over the plates and their helmet for racks and such.
“Put it on and over pressurize the suit to look for leaks,” Simmons said, watching their confused looks.
“How?” Tyler asked.
She got them in their full kit, the armored plates fit directly over their smart clothes, straps pulled them tight to their bodies and rough areas adhered to the armored plates.
They strapped around their legs, arms and draped down their chest.
It had a comforting solid feel to it all. Mark jumped and moved just to text out all its flexibility.
“I think you're going to need bigger armor,” she said looking at Tyler and Mark, their nine months had certainly paid off.
“We gained a few pounds.”
“Gupta, these two need to be refitted,” she called out
“We'll go to the stores as a squad, it seems that more than one person’s smart clothes are frayed or their armors got weak points,” Gupta said.
Everyone got their gear and went on another jog to the outfitters.
New gear was issued and the outfitters ran every test possible on the kit to make sure no one came back to them before they dropped onto Sacremon.
Pullo came in holding his helmet. “Alright ten minutes and we're moving out to the proving grounds. Line up outside when you're ready to go.”
The proving grounds was the massive deck that was dedicated to simulating Sacremons’ environment. It was a humid planet covered with grass trees and all manner of plants.
There were open areas which led to a small town with buildings the same type as those that would be found on Sacremon.
Everyone was issued sensor gear and simulation guns.
The simulation gear weighed about forty pounds and seemed to be specifically designed to make the wearer as uncomfortable as possible.
Mark got one half of a repulsor, the unit was heavy but bearable.
This is going to be a pain to use all the time. He thought knowing the weight, though manageable, would turn uncomfortable after some strenuous lifting.
It had two handles, one up front to steady the gun, and one at the rear with a button for a trigger.
The ammunition pack made Mark grunt as it was slapped into place.
Tyler got his E-12 and pulled out a selection of attachments he'd purchased from the armorer. This got a few surprised looks as he slapped higher capacity magazines, a longer barrel and flip up magnifier on his weapon.
Mark was put with Utkin and Gupta. Gupta was there to keep an eye on Mark and make sure he knew how to use his gun. The second gunner was Dolche, being a veteran he knew how to deploy his repulsor to the best effect.
Tyler was matched up with Simmons and Garcia, Garcia was the man Mark had thrown.
“Alright we're going to sim a drop in and we need to clear the city. We're going in with two other sections from second platoon, third platoon have deployed at least a sections worth of people in defence. Questions?” Pullo asked moving to an elevator which took them to the floor above the fake Sacremon.
Gupta put his hand up.
“Gupta?”
“Do they have any known special weapons, artillery support?”
“None that has been identified so far,” Pullo said.
“Well this is sounding more like every drop by the second,” Xiao said.
Pullo gave him a dirty look but didn't say anything, choosing to shake his head instead.
“Buddy check your gear and seal up you helmet,” he said, the elevator reaching the deck above Sacremon.
Mark let the repulsors sling take its weight as he pulled his helmet into place. The visor was shaped like a Y with thick blast proof glass that allowed him to see out. It also had a rebreather clamped over his mouth and nose.
The smart clothes sealed with the helmet. Utkin took the awkward air-lines out of Mark's hand and slotted them into their ports on either side of his neck, faster than Mark reacted.
“Uhh thanks,” Mark said.
“No worries, could you do the same?” Utkin asked turning around.
“Gotcha,” Mark said. The air canisters were underneath a person's back armor to protect them, Mark pulled the lines from their places, putting them into their allotted slots.
Utkin raised his thumb as they made a hard connection.
Mark helped Gupta who was talking over the command channel.
He nodded in thanks, listening intently to others on the channel. Mark pulled one of his clips together that had also come undone. Gupta looked in confusion and smiled a bit sheepishly.
With their armor, weapons, and helmets sealed they looked almost identical except for the personal touches people had put on their gear.
They also looked terrifying in a way that would make most people stare at them and see the destructive force that they represented. They would wonder how they could possibly fail in war.
The section moved out with Xiao's squad in the lead, Pullo behind him, Simmons behind him and Gupta in the rear.
Mark was at the very back of the line, and was able to see the three sections board a mock-combat shuttle.
A Cargo Master got them in, sealing up the doors as troopers secured their weapons and locked their harnesses onto the anchor points on their armor.
The combat shuttle seemed to flare to life as the Cargo Master held onto the ceiling and checked his charges' harness connections.
The combat shuttle's vibrations slowed and it tilted.
It was like the rattling Mark had felt leaving Earth.
The combat shuttle swerved and skewed, bucking with simulated blasts.
“You look confused Mark,” Gupta said, opening a channel to Mark's implants because it was the only way to communicate over the racket.
“Seems like a lot of work for a simulation, not complaining, just kind of impressed,” Mark said.
“This part is as much a simulation for us, as it is for our pilots. They're taking us through a simulated bombardment to get us down on the ground. Once we're dirtside they have to keep themselves going and come up for more, or stay in support. The one thing the corporations learnt early on was that more training meant less deaths, which meant having to pay for less kit,” Gupta said, Mark could hear the sourness to Gupta's words even over the shaking.
“Well it also keeps us alive,” Mark said.
“Yeah, but they can get a few hundred thousand of us in a month. Armor, weapons, visors, smart cloth, all of that has to be paid for and shipped. Once we're done fighting you'll see about the corporations’ priorities. Sure they'll patch us up as good as new, veterans are more useful than newbies, but if someone dies they'll have them stripped and check over their gear before they do a damned thing about the body.” Gupta's voice wasn't just sour now, he was angry.
“Three minutes till drop, prep lines and hatches,” one of the pilots said, sounding harried as the combat shuttle's auto-turrets and decoy systems went into overdrive and the pilots turned their ship into the world’s scariest goddamn rollercoaster.
The harnesses pulled everyone up into standing, troopers checked the person in front of them, making sure the thick cable at the top of their harness was attached and activated.
Seats folded up, Mark slapped Gupta's shoulder to get his attention and flashed him a thumbs up. Gupta made a turning motion and Mark followed his directions, it took Gupta's practised eyes and fingers a few moments to check Mark over.
Mark felt the dull hit through his armor, turning to Gupta's thumbs up.
Mark hefted his repulsor, hooking it to his stomach like everyone did with their weapons so they didn't lose them, accidentally pull the trigger, or get them stuck on the hatch beneath their feet.
“All good on harnesses, raising.” The Cargo Masters' voice overrode all the implants in her bay as the harnesses pulled up on their charges, their feet dangling because the floor that had been beneath their seats retracted, showing the training ground rushing below them.
“In position in twenty.” The noises of auto-turrets fighting against an onslaught of missiles, or picking out anti-air or space vehicles filled the bay as air rushed past.
The combat shuttle tilted, all of its thrusters fought to slow the ship.
“Drop!” The ground came racing up as the lines played out, dropping the troopers as fast as they could without letting them hit so hard that they broke their bodies.
Mark remembered his training, and Gupta’s reminders when they'd got into their armor.
“Be a goddamned fish, limp and useless, you don’t and the trap doors will take your arm, leg or whatever stupid appendage you put in the way. Got it?” Gupta said eyeing them as they yelled their agreement.
Mark had done simulated drops before but it was still terrifying. He let his body go limp, pointing his legs, when he hit he was as limp as a dead fish, the line ejected itself from the ship as soon as he landed, apparently the combat shuttle crew didn't want to wait around.
The last person touched down, their line clearing the combat shuttle's doors and the combat shuttle rose straight up. In the entire seven-minute drop the simulated combat shuttle had only gone down about forty feet and dropped the troopers another thirty.
“Move it troopers!” Pullo barked.
Mark slapped his harness, its explosive bolts separated it from his armor, falling off of him as he grabbed his repulsor, throwing its sling around his shoulders and powering up his belt at the same time to start feeding rounds into the gun's chamber.
He pulled the bolt, ejecting a round but making sure that the weapon was actually working, his feet pumping as Gupta waved for him to hurry the fuck up.
Oxygen pumped through Mark's mouth piece, his battle hormones weren't even needed to keep him alert.
He ran after his section, the others were getting shaken into formation following three section, they were back, to the right and left of three.
The city they were advancing on was the same design as every colony city. The first mega tower stood at the center, the other towers becoming shorter as they spiralled around that central tower. As time passed the swirl would get larger, and the modular towers would grow horizontally and vertically into mega towers.
It was cost efficient and showed the corporations power by putting them directly into center of the city in the largest building. Perfect for corporate Earth and her Colonies.
The towers were metals, glass and grey cermite super structures capable of being kilometers tall.
Weapon fire went off as the group in the towers opened fire.
It was the oddest thing because the glass didn't disintegrate or even have holes appear in it. This simulated area was supposed to be used again and again so it made sense that everything wouldn't be destroyed every-time a new group used it to train.
While the rounds weren't real, and nothing actually flew out of their barrels other than hot gasses, this was the closest someone could get to real-life.
“Get some damned cover,” Pullo yelled, switching to a different channel. Mark jumped for the nearest rise on what looked like grassy plains.
He fell on his back, keeping his weapon safe. He rolled, pulling the bipod out from the handguard, it sprung out and he braced the repulsor’s buttstock.
“Closest tower one o’clock, third floor. Fuck them up,” Gupta yelled.
The others in the section were laying fire into the building, the two following sections were pushing for better cover and trying to advance. Mark didn't think about that as he sighted his repulsor on the building, bracing the weapon as he let a stream of rounds fly.
“Good effect on target, keep those bastards down,” Gupta said.
“Alright we're going to keep them down and report on the enemy as the other sections move up along a ridge to our right.”
Mark had seen the 'ridge', it was little more than a depression in the ground.
Going to need some damned good covering fire. Was Mark's only thought, he was one of the two main people that was going to be able to get them close to the target.
The E-12 was a great gun, but repulsor’s had the firepower and heavier round that would make any sane person duck.
“We're going to move in half section to get closer and make them pay more attention to us,” Pullo said. “My Section, prepare to move, move.”
Xiao and Pullo's six-man half-section moved up a few feet and slammed back down into the ground. Mark and the people with him kept firing in controlled bursts to keep the enemies’ heads down. Not many were risking looking out into the maelstrom of rounds hammering their tower.
Pullo didn't need to say when he was covering, his half's weapons did that job.
“My half, move,” Gupta yelled, waving his half forward. People rose and moved as Gupta fell.
“Man down,” Utkin yelled.
Mark moved to help automatically.
“Get that gun working, I've got him!” Utkin yelled, his voice reproving as Mark continued running forward.
Come on Mark, head in the fucking game.
“Got a sniper somewhere in the second building one row back to the right,” Tyler called out.
“Simmons take over for Gupta,” Pullo yelled.
“Gupta took a round in the neck,” Utkin said.
Whoever hit him is good, I wonder if they did it because he was waving people on. If it was,
that's even more impressive. None of Mark's thoughts made him any happier as he and Xiao were see sawing, one of them shooting a burst then the other.
There hadn't been a need to communicate as Xiao had started doing it to Mark's random bursts. Now with a few moments to understand what was going on, Mark was getting into the unspoken rhythm.
“Utkin, get up here, relaying to higher, Simmons take over.”
“Sarge,” Simmons said, confirming she'd heard him.
“Dolche, Jaol, Garcia, get some fire on that second building, Xiao be ready to add the pressure if needed. Tyler, find me that fucking bastard!” Pullo ordered.
“You got it,” Tyler said, his voice serene and concentrated.
Utkin finally made it next to Mark.
“Ammo?” He asked through his helmet's speakers, so he didn't need to disrupt the main channel.
“Decent, down a box,” Mark said.
“Good stuff. I have Gupta’s and my own ammo, might as well fill up,” Utkin said, chucking a box over to Mark.
“Cross loading ammo,” Mark said, on his section’s channel.
“Understood,” Xiao answered, his gun adding to his words as he picked up his rate of fire.
Mark grabbed the ammo box, it was simple grey with a belt on the top of it like the one snaking from his ammunition reservoir on his back, he hooked the belt into a flap on the reservoir, his ammunition counter rolling upwards on his visor.
“Back in,” Mark said, letting the ammunition can drain itself as he fired his gun. Xiao's fire slackened.
“Two-one and two-two are moving into position for the final stretch of dead ground,” Pullo said, referring to second platoon one and two section that had moved up through the small ditch.
Jaol's suit redlined on the small display in the top left of Mark's HUD.
“Jaol's down, got hit in the head, he's a bit fucked up but I think I can move him if I need to,” Dolche called out.
“Got that sniper. I'm seeing movement on the ground, it looks like forces are pulling back from the first tower into the second row of towers.” Tyler's adapted E-12 could be heard barking as he talked.
“Six made it to the second tower, marking.” A symbol appeared on their HUD, showing where the under-strength section had fled to.