by JR Handley
But the hallway stood empty. None of his Marines who entered the conference room made it out. Regaining his feet, he reassessed the situation as the nearest NCO sent a pair of EMP grenades into the room, his body falling to the deck, riddled with sabots as he fell. He’d managed to seal the door, but not in time to save himself. The explosive pop of the EMP followed seconds later, and the buzzing of the turret cut off and wound down.
“Least he didn’t die for nothing,” said his sergeant major as they pried the door open wide enough to send in a small metallic drone.
Scanning the live video feed, Atropia saw that the turret was powered down and out of commission, so he ordered another fire team into the large room to officially clear it. With the room secure, the Marines continued down the passageway. They cleared about three-quarters of the outer level of Jotun City when they began running into Marines from the 274th TAC Regiment. Atropia sent a quick update to their commander, and they used the shared data they collected on the outer ring to begin dividing up tasks and assignments for the middle layer of the city.
“I expect we’ll run into the 6907th in the next octagonal ring of the city, so be cautious. No friendly fire,” Atropia reminded the other colonel, who’d only been promoted the day before.
Rather than rushing into the open courtyard, sight unseen, Atropia called up his regimental engineers.
“I want all of our drones out, searching for mines. When the yard’s clear, we’ll rush across to the inner octagonal ring. Atropia, out.”
The mine-hunting drones found nothing, and the two regiments poured out across the courtyard. Suddenly insurgent snipers materialized on the roofs of the buildings, which had previously been declared secure. The insurgent snipers took well-aimed shots at the Legion forces. Some of the Legion Marines ran for the cover of the wall’s enfilade, while others froze in place, scanning for the targets which only came out of stealth mode long enough to take shots at them. The stealth snipers took shots, killing his Marines before disappearing from his sensors.
“Stealthed snipers on the roofs,” he yelled across the task force LBNet. “Take them out!”
Not wanting to lose their momentum, and frustrated at squandering of so many of his Marines’ lives, Atropia urged his troops to pour on the fire, collateral damage be damned. At the same time, he ordered his AI to search for any abnormal signal that might indicate this new stealth technology. He also started firing all the smoke grenades his regiment had in an attempt to highlight the forms of the snipers.
His AI promptly jumped into the internal conversation, reporting back that the snipers had been pinpointed.
Found them, said his AI, now that you’ve freed me to look!
Atropia took the new targeting data and shared it with the 274th TAC and his own battalion commanders. Atropia and his Marines dashed out to the middle of the courtyard and begin taking out the snipers. Bodies suddenly appeared on the visible spectrum, dropping to the dirt below.
“Nobody touches those bodies!” roared Atropia. “Our generals are going to want to analyze this new tech!”
With the passage cleared, the Marines stacked against the walls of the inner octagon structure. The go signals sounded, and charges blew inward. The concussive blasts hadn’t settled before angry Marines thundered through the breech, ready to avenge their brothers and sisters littering the courtyard. The frustration at the hide-and-seek tactics of the enemy hit an all-time high. They stormed through the city, forewarned about the types of traps to expect, angrily looking for payback.
The aggressive posturing ultimately cost the 273rd as they ran into another auto-turret that was activated when a Marine started a computer terminal to scan for any actionable intelligence. Pulling back, they managed to disarm the device, but at significant cost. Atropia, following directly behind his Marines, got the offices secure, turned down another passageway, and ran smack into a troop of white suits, visors blank and carbines drawn. In the seconds it took to identify them as friend or foe, sabots were exchanged, and Marines on both sides died.
Suddenly, the icon on his visor lit up a brilliant green, and he began screaming into the LBNet.
“Cease fire, cease fire! They’re on our side!”
“Holy Frakk!” roared Colonel Scipio at him. “Get your Marines under control. We’re on your side. We captured the city intact, more or less. We didn’t find anything useful, but the regiment we’ll be leaving behind will continue looking. At least we secured the site and our rear. They’ll also hold the place for future Legion use, and stop the enemy from sneaking up behind us. Now see to your Marines.”
— Chapter 36 —
Mid Evening, Post-Revival Day 211
Outpost Charlie 2, Cardamine Island
Commander, TF Retribution, Human Legion
Field Marshal Marchewka’s task force pushed into the heart of the Human Marine Corps outpost, killing the insurgents Spartika had left behind. They’d been held up for the last several hours, trading sabots with a powerful force that had bottlenecked itself in one passageway to the lower level. Even with the high ground, the winding helical nature of White Knight architecture muted the advantage.
Standing at the epicenter of the conflict, as another Marine dropped with a sabot through her throat, Marchewka planned. Something had to change. Roaring his rage at the stalemate, he opened an LBNet channel with the nearest unit commander.
“We have to push through,” he said in his gravelly voice, eschewing his voice box. “I want a volley of smoke grenades. Then we’ll charge into their lines, so be ready to follow on my command. Marchewka, out.”
The officer didn’t keep him waiting. His Marines sent two volleys of smoke grenades in quick succession, followed by several EMP rounds. Seconds after the last grenade exploded, Marchewka charged the enemy barricade, aided by his combat armor’s thrusters, his claws out. The enemy Marines reacted to the sight of a Jotun warrior in a full battle rage by freezing in sheer terror, giving him the chance to get among them. As the nearest foe tried to bring up their carbine, Marchewka grabbed it with one of his six appendages, while his opposing appendage used its claws to slice the head off.
Whirling, Marchewka slammed the captured carbine into the Marine who had tried to attack him from behind. It hit the enemy’s right arm, causing the insurgent’s weapon to drop and allowing Marchewka to grab the enemy’s head and ripped it off its body. He continued clearing the humans who stood to fight him, while his forces dodged and thrust with their assault cutters. With the close quarters, care had to be taken to avoid killing each other in the process.
Breakthrough finally achieved, Marchewka organized the pursuit of the enemy as he charged towards the retreating forces, but sent his drones on before him. He was wary of running into another trap. With the enemy on the run, Marchewka ordered a full-scale regimental charge from the unit that was already in pursuit. Meanwhile, the remaining two regiments in the task force secured the outpost one level at a time.
The remaining enemy insurgents never recovered from the rout, but when cornered, they fought ferociously. Not once did any surrender, preferring to die fighting. He didn’t know what they were told, and couldn’t fathom what would make these insurgent Marines suicidal. He knew there wasn’t time to worry about that until the planet was secured, so Marchewka pushed it from his mind. A few hours later, the outpost was secure, and Marchewka ordered his task force to search for anything which could be re-used.
“Messer, take a company of Marines and secure the maglev line. I don’t want a repeat of what happened to Task Force Vengeance. Treat everything like a trap,” Marchewka ordered the newly promoted colonel.
Marchewka was reading the newly activated system’s AI when he received a call from Colonel Messer.
“Field Marshal, we’ve secured the maglev. There’s no train.”
“No train?” asked Marchewka, letting his frustration seep through his tonal quality.
“Yes, yes, Field Marshal,” said Colonel Messer. “The train
wasn’t at the station whenever the place was locked down.”
Pausing to think, Marchewka began to hope this meant the train was undamaged. I can work with that fortunate occurrence, he thought. Would these insurgents have traveled into the maglev lines to leave traps? But he knew there was no right answer, not with the lack of intelligence.
“Messer, I want your engineers to spread out in both directions. Have them search for traps. The rest of your regiment will create a defensible position in the main portion of the outpost. I will leave you a battalion. The rest will continue the assault. We have an island to secure,” Marchewka ordered.
With his plans made, Marchewka sent orders to the other two regimental commanders.
“A battalion from the 5th TAC Regiment will remain and secure the outpost. I want the rest of Task Force Retribution to prepare an LZ. We’re waiting to exfil to the next objective. I want to be ready.”
— Chapter 37 —
Late Evening, Post-Revival Day 211
Outpost Charlie 2, Cardamine Island
Commander, TF Retribution, Human Legion
The landing zone stood in the shadow of the stark, slate-colored mountains as Marines scurried out of the outpost into the waiting Stork shuttles. Field Marshal Marchewka stood watching his task force load into the shuttles. They were preparing to hop to the long-abandoned Supply Annex on the easternmost part of the island.
“Pick up the speed, Marines,” Marchewka ordered over the LBNet. “Move with a purpose!”
The 5th TAC Regiment finished loading onto their shuttles under the command of their XO, since their commander was staying to secure the outpost. When those shuttles took off, the next batch of troop transports landed to take on their Marine cargo. Marchewka watched as another one was loaded and took off. As the following bird prepared to land, several enemy insurgents de-stealthed and became visible as they stood silhouetted against the mountain heights. He saw the shape of what appeared to be SA-83 missile launchers in their hands, aimed at his shuttles.
“Target, north of landing zone. Coordinates to follow–”
Marchewka never finished his sentence. Enemy forces fired their anti-aircraft missiles. Streaks of smoke trailed from the launchers towards the vulnerable shuttles that were dirtside, loading Marines. Four ships exploded. Two companies of Marines dead in the blink of an eye.
“Kill them!” Marchewka roared over the task force’s LBNet channel as his AI marked the coordinates on the shared map interface.
All around the landing zone, Marines began spewing sabots at the insurgents, though he knew the range meant few of them would hit the targets. The shuttles flying overhead, however, could use the coordinates to lock on and destroy the enemy insurgents. The snipers had re-activated their stealth modes, but they were unable to run quickly enough to escape the fiery hell storm from above.
“Continue the exfil. We shall mourn once vengeance is ours. Marchewka, out.”
— Chapter 38 —
Early Morning, Post-Revival Day 212
Supply Annex, Cardamine Island
Commander, TF Retribution, Human Legion
The shuttle ride from the outpost was silent and felt longer than it was as the Marines processed the loss of their comrades. Field Marshal Marchewka knew there would be a time to worry about the morale of his Marines. For now, he knew, they needed to survive the conquest of Tranquility. When the shuttles finally landed outside the abandoned Human Marine Corps Supply Annex, the Marines in Task Force Retribution rushed out and secured the landing zone.
Touching down onto the rocky tundra with the first of his Marines, Marchewka stalked out, silhouetted by the pre-dawn moonlight. He watched his Marines perform the combat landing like it was just another training evolution. While his troops hunkered down, using the many large rocks and boulders for cover as doctrine dictated, Marchewka stood tall so his forces could see him. He knew it was dangerous, but until they took fire, he decided to err on the side of keeping his troops inspired. Humans and their juvenile emotions are so easily manipulated.
With the landing site secured, the Storks peeled off and began providing overwatch until Task Force Retribution entered the Supply Annex.
“All Stork elements, be on alert for potential stealthed insurgents. Weapons free the instant you find them. Marchewka, out.”
Watching his Marines, he analyzed the map overlay from the Storks’ sensors. The large boulders on this portion of the island were about waist-high and helped hide the sally port entrances. These sally ports had been designed to blend in with the terrain, and the vast opening used to move cargo was almost invisible, even when you knew it was there. Once he was oriented correctly, Marchewka ordered each regiment to seize one of the three sally ports, and for all three regiments to send a battalion to seize the loading bay’s entryway under his direct command. With his orders given, Marchewka took off at a slow, loping pace, expecting the three battalions peeled off to catch up. While he ran, his AI, Braxton, spoke via the internal helmet speakers.
Marchewka, I’ve designated an LBNet for your temporary command. Regimental commanders have sent you their forces, and they’re now moving out towards you. It’ll be a few moments for them to organize and catch up.
Cursing in his native language, Marchewka acknowledged the soundness of his AI’s advice, and stood waiting for his command to catch up. It only took a few moments, but when they were there, he sent an order to the battalion commanders via the command LBNet from Detachment Retribution.
“I’ve sent you each a temporary designation – Alpha, Bravo, and Charlie battalions. Alpha Battalion, breach this facility while Bravo and Charlie spread out to guard the flanks. We’ll trust our drones to secure our rear, for speed is of the essence. This was a cargo loading area. It’ll be huge. I expect to find usable equipment and personnel, so I want every nook and cranny searched for potential traps and hidden Marines. You’ve got your orders. Now move!”
They pushed into the facility and found no enemies or traps in the initial entrance. Instead, they found only motion-activated, maroon strobe lights. The battalion commanders urged Marchewka to continue the push into the cavernous tunnel.
“We don’t move forward until we’ve secured what we already have. Alpha, I want you to secure the supply pallets found by our drones. Bravo, clear that moving equipment. We’ll need it when we salvage whatever we find. And Charlie, I want those dropships secured and evaluated for potential repurposing by our forces. We don’t have a navy yet, but our brain-heads are working on it, so dropships could be useful. I want our engineers to keep our drones ahead of us on a search-and-report pattern. It’ll give us a real-time floor plan. Do not turn on any electronics in the facility until we’ve secured the building. Marchewka, out.”
This find could be a force multiplier, thought Marchewka. The XS Class Dark Lighter dropships were worth holding onto. They were the stealth variant of the Light dropships and could drop four Marines with equipment, or five without, behind enemy lines. Their stealth features had enormous value, since transporting Marines without being seen by the enemy meant you maintained the element of surprise. They would register as meteor strikes by anyone watching, making them tactically invaluable. Marchewka was already thinking of the hundreds of ways these could be used to secure the future of the Human Legion.
Stop thinking with your belly, said Braxton. The manifests from the drones indicate that the pallets contain spare parts that were supposed to make it to the Aux farming camps. Anything to continually boost our food production should be protected. Armies crawl on their bellies.
Marchewka knew the supply pallets were likely not a threat, so he followed Charlie Battalion towards the abandoned combat vehicles. The dropships were still wrapped in the protective metallic tarp used to create a Faraday cage and protect vehicles while they were in long-term storage. The closer they got, however, the more suspicious he became as he noticed textural irregularities. It appeared that the seal had been sliced and resealed, and only his
long years of void-combat experience alerted him to the fact that the irregular sealing pattern indicated it had been done manually.
“Those dropships have been tampered with,” said Marchewka. “Have the engineers check these.”
While the two engineers were assigned to check each vehicle, Marchewka pulled back Charlie battalion to ensure they weren’t all wiped out by an engineer accidentally triggering a trap. Meanwhile, he watched the progress through their helmet visors as he switched through the various Marine engineers who were checking on each vehicle. While he watched, he received a request for direct communications from the engineer working on the furthest Dark Lighter dropship.
“Field Marshal, I’m aware that this is improper, but I found an odd trap. The explosives are real but easily defeated. If I defeat them, it triggers a string of secondary devices, one of which is giving New Detroit City access to our comms.”
“How is this possible?” Marchewka demanded. Shocked, he asked several follow-on questions.
“Sir, it’s pretty complicated, but I’ll simplify it for you. It uses the engineer’s AI – that would be mine – to get control of the electronics built into my combat suit. That access lets them in. Then they weaponize our system and use it against us. It’s creatively ingenious, sir,” said the nervous corporal.
Cursing to himself in Jotun’s native tongue, Marchewka loosed a string of vulgarities questioning Spartika’s honor and parentage. Once he’d vented his anger and calmed down, he gained a renewed respect for the cunning nature of his adversary. Her willingness to use those innate skills in brutal and unconventional ways forced him to regret the need to kill her. Marchewka was saddened by this realization, as it meant no quarter could be given. Good Marines would die because of her.
“Corporal, is there any way to disarm the trap without giving access to our systems?”