by Will Crudge
Letting her die, will only hinder us from rescuing one of the only humans I give a damn about! One of the few that gave me purpose, and allow me to live freely. Trixie decided that once the mission was complete, then this human would die. FISTER’s were too dangerous to be left in play… No matter how many chains were strapped to them.
“I do owe you my gratitude, though.” Trixie let out a fake sigh. AI’s didn’t have lungs, so when they did sigh, it was merely to accentuate something.
“Oh, yeah?” Gail asked. “What for?”
“You killed off the remaining battalion of troops we still had on this ship! Now, the only humans left are the ones we can trust!” Trixie said gleefully.
Gail said nothing. Trixie would let her stew on that little nugget for a while. Perhaps she might live long enough to realize I’m being dead serious!
Game Changer
Location: UAHC Battleship, Hailstorm, Titan orbital Shipyard
Date Time: Post Interstellar 10/01/4201 1115HRS UAHC Standard Zulu
System: Sol, Mid Region
Darius and Zeff walked into the situation room aboard the battleship. Val, Jep, and Growl were already there. Consul Gerhardt stood among them, and it appeared to Darius that they’d been exchanging jokes. Their faces were all flushed, and their smiles were infectious. They all paused to greet the two men, followed by the pair of gigantic panthers in tow.
Darius happened to notice something in the corner of his eye while he shook the Consul’s hand in greeting. A massive K-9 Zodiac was tucked away in the corner. So huge, that Darius was caught off guard. How the Hell did I miss THAT?!
The beast was certainly wolf-like, but not entirely. His fur resembled Growl’s at length, but the undercoat was noticeably lighter in color. The Zodiac had to have been at least a hundred or so kilograms heavier than Growl, and matched Shadow’s height at the shoulder blades. Darius knew Shadow was the largest Zodiac alive, but this one looked dangerously close to matching the panther’s mass.
“This must be Grinder!” Darius said as a form of greeting. He didn’t think it could be anyone else. It was a major topic of conversation of recent. They half grey wolf – half wolfhound had just completed his training, and was now going to be pared with Jimma. Where is Jimma? He asked himself. But he shrugged it off for now. The presence of this new Zodiac was too intriguing.
“Yes, Fleet Marshal!” Grinder said. His mouth made the typical efforts to replicate human speech while the voice module made the speech discernable. His voice was slightly deeper than Growl’s, but with a noticeable tinge of youthfulness that his father’s voice lacked.
“You may call me Darius when among ourselves and others of our kind, Grinder.” Darius winked, and then pet the huge beasts head. Grinder let out a K-9-like smile, and nodded.
Darius turned to Jep. “Where’s Jimma?”
“Sasha is about to leave.” Jep said empathetically. “Separating from a Zodiac that has served with you, is a very emotional… a very private moment for a War Master and Zodiac, alike. They may have not been paired officially, but their bond they forged in combat is very deep. Jimma will need time to collect herself before establishing her bond with Grinder.”
Darius just nodded. He reached out with his awareness and could feel the flood of emotions that Jimma was experiencing. He almost winced at the sheer intensity of it, and instantly understood where Jep was coming from.
“Which is exactly why Jimma will have to remain with us a while longer.” Val added as the ancient monk came up and put a comforting hand on Jep’s shoulder. Darius could feel that the natural father – daughter bond that Jep and Jimma shared was causing Jep’s own emotions to respond to the tearful separation. But Darius also noticed that Jep was handling it better than most.
“Why would Jimma go anywhere?” Darius asked. “I mean, she’s not under my command. Her assignments come from the Guild, don’t they?”
Val nodded. “They do, normally. But I’ve authorized her to be assigned to Kara’s Wrecking Crew.”
Darius didn’t know what that had to do with anything. The aptly named, Wrecking Crew answered directly to him, and he had yet to assign them their first mission. Unless Gerhardt has a mission for them already. Darius thought. He could sense the man’s intensions, after all. He had no clue what the Consul was here for, but he could see into his mind clearly enough to see that Gerhardt was planning something.
“Consul.” Darius nodded. “So, for what do I owe the pleasure of your arrival?”
Gerhardt smiled at first, but then his face tensed up a moment later. He then closed his eyes. Darius knew what that meant. The Consul was deploying a cloud of nano-bots to secure the space from any sensors or audio devices. A moment later Gerhardt opened his eyes.
“There!” The Consul said. “The room is secured.”
“Yes, Sir.” Darius nodded. “My sensor array’s effective range just dropped to less than one meter.”
Gerhardt nodded. “We have a few things to cover, so I would advise everyone to take a seat.” Gerhardt gestured to the small conference room table that was parallel to the bulkhead. All parties took their seats. Gerhardt sat at the head of the table, and he lumbered slightly. His ancient power armor may have boasted smoother curved lines than the modern spec, but it was noticeably more cumbersome. By the time the Consul was seated, everyone else had already settled in.
“Excuse my clumsiness!” Gerhardt chuckled. “This ceremonial battle armor is aggravating at times!”
Val chimed in with his hand raised. “Aside from Fleet Admiral Zeff here, you all know I’m thousands of years old.”
“Huh?” Zeff grimaced, and looked back and forth at the other attendees. Darius just gave him a quick nod of confirmation, and then all eyes turned back to Val.
“And in my several millennia of life, I’ve rarely come across anything that I’m not already aware of.” Val continued.
“That being… what, old friend?” Gerhardt asked. Zeff seemed to tilt his head when the words – old friend – were spoken.
“Why do you and the Military Quorum members wear those three hundred year old battle suits? And WHERE do you even find parts for them?” Val asked. Jep seemed taken back now. Darius could see the War Master’s eyebrows furrow. It was apparently unheard of for Val to not know something. He could even sense the astonishment from all three Zodiacs in attendance.
“It’s a tradition, mostly.” Gerhardt said casually. “It’s supposed to project an image of the UAHC Fleet during the first War of Humanity. The same war, whereby the Crimson Alliance was an ally, and the mighty Kaylen sacrificed himself to preserve peace. Back then the UAHC battle armor epitomized the best example of heroism and valor.”
“So, what you meant to say…” Zeff chimed in. “It’s far more politically effective to portray the heroic image of a Soldier around the civilian body of government… The same government that has an institutionalized fear of their own military forces. It’s like a – disarming mechanism – per say?”
Gerhardt smiled. “I see signing off on your promotion to Fleet Admiral was a wise move!”
Zeff blushed slightly. “Not that I’m not grateful, Consul… But the Ghost Fleet is so ridiculously overpowered in capability, that a monkey could command it, and win any battle it may encounter!”
“Well, Admiral Zeff…” Gerhardt gestured to Darius. “If the Fleet Marshal hadn’t made the recommendation, then I probably would have put a less perceptive monkey in command!”
Darius was blushing now. He could see Zeff glaring at him out of the corner of his eye. He’d never told Zeff that it was his recommendation to promote him. Once Darius had poured through the roster of over a quarter million Soldiers in stasis and found Zeff’s name, he would accept no other in his place. But Darius knew Zeff was a humble Soldier, and would have refused the promotion… or at least tried. The UAHC never allowed the option for refusal of rank, so Zeff would have to chastise his former subordinate later.
“But the parts?
” Val cut in. He seemed very adamant about knowing something he didn’t already know. Gerhardt snapped back into the present and looked back to Val.
“From you.” The Consul said. Val seemed perplexed for once. It was an expression that was totally alien on the man’s face. Darius supposed it was a monumental sight to see. Most of the people that had ever seen Val confused must have been dead for thousands of years by now.
“We don’t make parts for those anymore.” Val shook his head. “Any parts stockpiles we did have were melted down during the last war…. Those things were relics even then!”
Gerhardt laughed. “You’re right about that! But watch this.” He reached behind his head with his right arm, and pulled an AI node out of his shoulder plate.
Val’s eyes got huge. “Those suits never had AI embedding! They barely had the processing power to link to a neural interface, let alone an AI node!”
“That’s because the suit is ancient, but the guts are the latest spec!” Gerhard laughed. “At least most of it… The hydraulic actuators and powered motors are original. But those parts can be fabricated easily enough, if repairs are required.”
“I’ll be…” Val smiled and shook his head. He scanned the room while locking eyes with everyone, human and Zodiac alike, and then shook his head. “Take it all in people! The man who catches bullets with his bare hands, and transported trillions of tons of warships through space time using his mind, just – got – schooled!”
They all laughed… all except Zeff. He was completely confused by everything Val had just said. The Juggernauts’ FTL jump method was not common knowledge… even to the Admiralty.
“But we have a few things we need to cover…” Gerhardt broke into the dissipating laughter. But before he could finish, the door opened.
Kara walked into the room, and she looked like she’d been in a hurry. She was directly followed in by Brigadier General Cooper, commander of the Air Force Battle Carrier, Star Fury. They both moved towards the conference table and doled out curt nods to all in attendance.
“General Cooper… Colonel Elders, I’m glad you made it!” Gerhardt said with enthusiasm. Darius just did a double take between the two, and then shot a glance at Gerhardt.
“I’m sorry, Sir.” Darius frowned. “Had I known you needed these two here…”
Gerhardt just put up a dismissive hand gesture and smiled. “I should be the one who’s sorry, Darius. I should have requested their presence straight away. You and Admiral Zeff were almost here before I realized I left out that part of the request.”
Darius nodded, then shot a smile at Kara. He then glanced at BG Cooper, and nodded. “Very well, Sir. Looks like we’re all ready to be briefed.”
Gerhardt didn’t waste a breath before speaking. “First order of business… Crimson Alliance’s Fourth fleet.”
“Has it been confirmed?” Zeff asked. The existence of the mystery fleet had been mere conjecture up until now. It was proposed that the fourth fleet was massive, more so than the first and second fleet put together…
“The fourth fleet isn’t just real, it’s really big.” Gerhardt frowned. “Bigger than we thought, at least.”
“Location?” Darius asked.
“Deep in Crimson controlled space… Too deep.” Gerhardt shook his head.
“Then that just means they’re not poised to attack, right?” Zeff asked.
“They are… Just not us.” Gerhardt said gravely. “Something has changed. Even now the second fleet has moved further into the outer reaches of UAHC controlled space, and we’ve not heard a single report of any raids stemming from it. Not one. In fact, the raiding has seemed to have stopped entirely.”
All eyes at the table listened to the Consul speak. They all took stock in every word. Darius felt something stir deep inside of himself. A darkness that seemed to creep up from his core to the forefront of his awareness. He looked up at Jep to find the War Master’s eyes were already locked onto his. They both felt it. Val must have as well, Darius supposed.
“Mwargoths.” Darius said with a somber tone. “Have the Crimson made any attempt to contact the UAHC government?”
Gerhardt shook his head. “They lack QET capability. They couldn’t if they wanted to.”
“Well, if the Crimson’s second fleet is so far away from their power base, then how did they catch word?” Jep chimed in.
“Excellent question, War Master.” Gerhardt said. “But we don’t know… But… I know somebody that might.”
Darius could sense what was going on in Gerhardt’s mind. It was the very reason why the Wrecking Crew would be so prematurely called into action.
“I agree.” Val nodded. “It’s time for our old friend to come and advise us further.”
“What?” Darius shot them both an anxious look. “Who?”
“That’s the second order of business.” Gerhardt said plainly. “We need to go pick him up, and rendezvous with our main body as we head towards Crimson space.”
Darius could feel the final piece of the puzzle fall into place. The war between the two largest multi-system nations in the human sphere was now on hold. Somehow, the UAHC would need to muster every ship they could, and join with the Crimson… Or fall into the most eloquently developed trap ever devised.
“Are we sure this isn’t an elaborate attempt to lure our forces into Crimson space?” Zeff spoke up before Darius could bring it up.
“It very well could be, Admiral.” Gerhardt said. “But what do we do if we’re wrong?”
“Exactly!” Darius nodded. He was relieved to see Jep and Val nod along with him. “Trap or not, we can’t afford to hesitate. If the Crimson have been betrayed by the Mwargoths, then we can’t afford to wait weeks to confirm it before we take action. If it is a trap, then we still have superior firepower to offset their numbers.”
“You bring up a good point, Sir.” Zeff nodded at Darius, then turned to Gerhardt. “Do we have a good ship-count on the fourth fleet?”
The Consul nodded. “Forty thousand hulls.”
Zeff let out a long whistle as he slid back into his seat. “They’d have us outnumbered by eight to one, at least. Even if we could have the rest of the scattered battlegroups converged with our main body by then it would still be five or six to one!”
Val raised a dismissive hand. “Admiral, the Crimson are the least of our concern.”
“Agreed.” Gerhardt nodded.
“So, Sir…” Kara spoke up for the first time. “What do you need the Wrecking Crew to do for you?”
Gerhardt locked eyes on her, and leaned forward slightly. “Lieutenant Colonel Kara Elders, I’ll need you and your crew to travel to a highly classified location, pick up a highly classified entity, and bring said entity to us.”
Entity? Darius asked himself. That’s an odd choice of words. He thought to himself.
Coming to Grips
Location: UAHC Battleship, Hailstorm, Titan orbital Shipyard
Date Time: Post Interstellar 10/01/4201 1146HRS UAHC Standard Zulu
System: Sol, Mid Region
The Consul wouldn’t give the group much to go on, as far as details. The meeting essentially ended with an order for Kara to have the Foehammer fully loaded out, and her crew assembled within forty eight hours. The Consul also directed Brigadier General Cooper to provide a fighter escort for a significant portion of the journey. A journey with no disclosed location, nor designated route.
The room was cleared, apart from Darius and Val. Everyone else had trickled out for one reason or another. Even Gerhardt had gone with Jep to take a tour of a Juggernaut ship docked in a nearby berth. Both of them just peered out into space from the observation port. The blackness of space stretched out before them.
The view of ships coming and going through the STC’s invisible shipping lanes. Most of the UAHC Fleet within twenty light years were converging on the shipyards, and the periodic sight of a cruiser, destroyer, or even the occasional dreadnaught would come in to an assigned berthing.
“Tell me my story.” Darius said calmly. The thought had no sooner entered his mind, then had converted itself to spoken words. He was confident that he had digested enough of an abrupt change in his life to make room for something that may be potentially troubling. It had been an unspoken promise between Darius and Val. A promise to not talk about Darius’ parents. They both seemed to understand the gravity of the situation.
It had been less than three months since Darius was a UAHC Soldier in inactive status. He’d been trying to feed and house himself on a meager stipend from Fleet Forces, but was barely getting by. His thoughts now drifted to Samantha. The AI had been his best friend for years. The crudely installed AI port within his vintage LRF was the only place he could provide for her. He missed her terribly, but knew that she was the best option to manage the Fleet HQ facility back on Earth.
Since then, he’d learned of his unique genetic heritage. His common blood with the legendary War Master Guild, and his own unique place among them. He was the only one of his kind that could tolerate a neural interface while also making full use of nano tech. He still didn’t fully comprehend the significance of that part, but he was under the impression that it was some kind of game-changer. Not to mention that his genetic gifts were as advanced as Val’s were, but with one key difference. War Masters, Zodiacs, and even Val himself, all had to have some kind of artificial manipulation to unlock their full potentials. Darius was the only one, whose abilities had become fully matured without any intervention.
It had taken only a week for Darius to find out he was a genetic messiah, of sorts before being promoted to Fleet Marshal. He would then be thrusted into battle while using his unproven abilities to save the UAHC from defeat, enslavement, or worse.