by Isaac Hooke
“Frickin’ aliens,” Bender said. “Always interfering in the affairs of other races. Oh, I can’t wait to nuke that mofo. Can’t friggin’ wait!”
Scotts cocked his head and raised a finger to one ear as if listening to some communication. After a moment he returned his attention to the others: “Intel reports indicate alien shuttles have landed near our mountain target as well. So. In addition to Sino Korean forces, we’ll likely face Nemesis defenders inside the cave system as well.”
“That means armor piercing gamma rays…” Tahoe said.
Scotts nodded. “No one ever said this was going to be easy.”
The gamma rays employed by the Nemesis were capable of penetrating through to the cockpits of the mechs, killing the pilots. However, the AI cores of the actual Jupiters would remain intact, and they’d still be able to complete the mission.
“Yeah well, at least before there was a chance most of us would be going home,” Fret muttered. “But now? Shit. Maybe one or two of us will survive.”
“Everyone’s going to survive,” Rade said. “If I can help it.”
Scotts smiled, though it seemed forced. “That’s the men I know.” He paused. “We just crossed the border and switched to external radio silence… looks like the power grid went down as planned, and the Trojan disabled the detectors, because the pilot reports no intercept craft, or incoming flak. We’re good. The mission is a go.”
The lieutenant commander closed the connection and his hologram vanished.
Tahoe switched to a private, mental channel. “Everyone is going to survive? You’ve gotten yourself in trouble in the past, saying things like that. If only because of the guilt that comes after.”
“The men need hope, my friend,” Rade said. “Even if I’m wrong, who am I to deny them? A little guilt is worth that.”
Scotts reconnected a few minutes later.
“Exo up, Platoon,” the lieutenant commander said. “We’re landing in an hour.”
13
Rade stood on the open aft ramp of the troop carrier. He was wearing a jumpsuit inside the cockpit of his Jupiter mech. Though biological attacks weren’t expected on enemy territory, it wasn’t known what oxygen levels would be like in the cave system, so Scotts had authorized usage of the pressurized environments. The jumpsuits had exoskeletons lining the frames, so Rade was strength and speed enhanced as well. Exo'd up, as the slang went. He also wore a jetpack attachment on his suit, as did all the other members of Alpha. The cocooning actuators inside the cockpits of the mechs would adjust to the added bulk.
Below, the treetops skimmed past as the carrier continued its flight. The noise produced by the engines was surprisingly soft; in fact, the loudest sounds came from breaking branches, caused by trees whose tops were slightly taller than the rest, clipped by the carrier as it passed. The jungle extended as far as the eye could see, at least from his current angle of view with the ramp facing north. If it had faced the opposite direction, the tall mountain that was his target would have eaten up a good portion of the view.
The red light on his HUD turned green, and Rade jumped.
The thick boughs below partially broke his fall, but he still fired his aerospike thrusters to lessen the final impact. When he landed, he proceeded to the rendezvous point marked on his map.
He was the fifth to jump, and Lui, Bender, Manic and Tahoe were already waiting at the waypoint. Manic had the nuke firmly strapped to the passenger seat area of his mech; the shape of the seat offered a snug, holster-like fit for the cylindrical warhead.
On the ground beside Tahoe was the mobile drill, squatting on its treads. Like the mechs, it was outlined in blue, courtesy of his augmented reality display, so that he could see it—equipped with the same environment-matching skin as the mechs, the drill blended in to the point of invisibility. The only thing that gave it away were those metallic treads, but they were partially obscured by the surrounding undergrowth anyway. LIDAR would also reveal the drill, of course, but the Jupiters were equally vulnerable to it.
“I remember a time when nukes had to be carried by two mechs.” Bender said, his gaze firmly upon Manic. Like the drill, the warhead’s cylindrical shell had been retrofitted with camouflage skin, but remained outlined on their HUDs.
“Those nukes had a larger yield, if I recall,” Lui said.
“True enough,” Bender said.
Overhead, the fourteen HS3s nestled in the branches of the trees, waiting for orders.
The rest of the platoon arrived in their Jupiters shortly. The lieutenant commander remained aboard the carrier, which would act as the command and control while it clandestinely circled the area.
Bravo platoon was already out there, making their way to the mountain. Rade checked his clock. He had about five minutes to move into position.
“Forward!” Rade said. “Cyclone, assign marching orders.”
TJ and Bender spread out the HS3s in a circle around the platoon, to serve as an early warning system against any attacks. Meanwhile, the Jupiters moved out, organizing into the marching order Tahoe specified, zig-zag formation, ten meters separation.
Rade was located close to the middle of the formation, and he moved slowly through those trees. The goal was to avoid making too much of a racket while navigating that forest, which was difficult, given the profusion of tree branches and other undergrowth. Common here was the flying spider-monkey tree fern, whose branches fanned outward like the long legs of a spider monkey.
The drill maneuvered alongside him, lumbering over the undergrowth, those treads crushing fallen trees and bushes in its path. That drill was essentially traveling at its maximum speed, which meant if they wanted to pick up the pace, it would have to be ported.
Rade continued like that for at least the next minute. But then he heard plasma fire and explosions coming from beyond the trees ahead.
“Bravo’s early!” Kicker said.
“Probably because they were discovered,” Manic commented.
“Pick up the pace!” Rade ordered. “Snakeoil, Bomb, port the drill.”
The two moved their mechs into place and hoisted the drill between them.
The platoon increased their speed to a jog, the individual mechs doing their best to maintain the zig-zag formation as they wended through the trees. They still tried to keep noise to a minimum, but it was difficult: undergrowth rustled beneath their footfalls, and breaking branches cracked loudly.
“Lead HS3s have found a path trampled through the foliage,” TJ announced. “Looks like Bravo’s route.”
“Take it,” Rade said, hoping it wouldn’t be as noisy.
Lui led the way onto the path, following some distance behind the lead HS3.
The advance definitely wasn’t as loud, because most of the tree branches had already been snapped away along the route. However, the undergrowth still rustled, and their footfalls thudded away.
Shortly after joining that path, TJ announced: “HS3s have spotted a group of shot-up combat robots scattered across the jungle floor.”
Rade switched to the viewpoint of the lead HS3 and saw the robots: they looked like Centurions, except in addition to carrying rifles, they also possessed small laser turrets on either side of their heads.
“Sino Korean Datou models,” Snakeoil said.
“Continue on the path,” Rade said
A minute later, TJ reported: “We’ve got a turret. It’s offline.”
Rade switched to the HS3’s viewpoint, and saw a smoldering defense turret protruding from the foliage.
“Looks like Bravo is having a field day,” Bomb commented.
“They’re not leaving any for us!” Bender said.
“We’ll have our fair share, don’t you worry,” Rade said.
In another thirty seconds, TJ announced: “The lead HS3 has spotted the edge of the treeline.”
“Switch to stealth speed,” Rade said. “Lui, take us off the trail. Follow a beeline to our target. TJ, Bender, update the HS3s accordingly.
I want them to stay with us.”
Lui entered the trees, and the others followed, being careful where they placed their feet, and trying to avoid breaking away the branches of nearby trees. They made their way diagonally away from the route Bravo had taken. According to the map, the HS3s remained in circular formation around the platoon, matching their pace.
As the platoon neared the treeline, the sounds of battle grew somewhat louder. The noises seemed to emanate from the southwest: Bravo’s location.
Bravo was also represented on the overhead map, but Bravo wouldn’t see Alpha’s position in return, as Rade had purposely ordered his men to keep their broadcast strength low for the moment. Scotts also wasn’t on the map, nor was the second transport carrier or other support craft, as they were all operating under radio silence for the time being. Eventually they would break that silence, especially if they were discovered, but by then Rade and the others would be well inside the cave, and unable to communicate anyway.
Lui paused near the eaves of the forest; TJ sent the lead HS3 forward to peer past the edges and into the clearing beyond. Rade switched to the scout’s viewpoint:
All along the shoulder of the mountain, a clearing, five hundred meters wide separated the jungle from the sheer rock face towering before it. To the southwest, Bravo was retreating along the treeline, drawing fire from the laser turrets embedded in the rock across from them. Cloaked armored units—tanks, mechs and combat robots equipped with SK LIDAR blurring, thermal masking and environment blending hulls—pursued them, drawn away from the immediate area, as planned.
The enemy units were outlined on Rade’s HUD, their positions revealed by the constant echolocation bursts Bravo emitted. The hell those SK units were unleashing into the trees also helped reveal their positions. Around Bravo, the consequences of that steady attack were readily apparent: branches fell away, and the smaller tree trunks cracked, toppling.
The individual members of Bravo had their ballistic shields deployed between themselves and the enemy, with the stingrays nestled in the notches at the top, allowing them to return fire.
Rade didn’t spot any signs of alien presence, not yet, but he had no doubt the Nemesis were out there somewhere. Probably incoming.
“Lui, TJ, take out the turrets,” Rade said.
Lui and TJ stepped toward the jungle edge to target the swivel-capable turrets embedded in the rock face beyond. Those turrets had a known range of motion, and Lui and TJ would only be aiming for those that could strike Alpha Platoon when it emerged from the trees. All of the involved turrets were busy firing at Bravo platoon at the moment, so there was a good chance Lui and TJ would take them out before they returned fire.
Using the Intel the United Systems had on those particular turret types, Lui and TJ calculated their targets and fired the stingrays in rapid succession. In less than five seconds, they had terminated six targets scattered across the rock face.
“Threats eliminated,” TJ said.
There were about thirty other turrets that Rade could see at the moment, many of which were busy harassing Bravo. A few of the closer lasers swiveled toward the jungle in an effort to track Alpha, but they reached the maximum extents of their rotations and were unable to target Rade and the others.
“There are probably a few cameras out there we can’t see,” Tahoe said.
“Probably,” Rade agreed. “TJ, send six of the HS3s forward. If the scouts spot any cameras, highlight them for the rest of us to shoot down. Meanwhile, everyone else, take out as many of the neighboring turrets as you can. While they’re not targeting us now, that will change if we have to flee along the shoulder of the mountain.”
The six requested HS3s advanced toward the rock face while the Jupiters opened fire at other nearby turrets embedded in the cliff.
Courtesy of the HS3s, a few more augmented reality highlights appeared along the rock—cameras. Rade and the others quickly engaged, eliminating them.
The HS3s assumed a half circle formation around the wall.
“Scouts in place,” TJ said.
“All right, I want two teams,” Rade said. “Cyclone, assign marching orders. I want T2 to contain Snakeoil and Bomb.”
A moment later T2, composed of Tahoe, Snakeoil, Bomb, Kicker, Pyro and Praxter, raced out into the open. Snakeoil and Bomb continued to port the laser drill between them. Rade and the others kept an eye on both flanks, ready to open fire if any enemies arrived. None of the defenders to the southwest turned away from Bravo platoon, whose members were doing a good job of keeping them engaged.
T2 reached the rock face; Snakeoil and Bomb placed the laser drill next to the exterior, while the remaining Jupiters took up defensive positions, forming a defensive half circle with their ballistic shields around the drill and the rock. The circular frame at the front of the drill began to rotate until it became a blur, then the treads slowly turned, driving the spinning tip into the rock. The individual lasers on the frame would have activated by then, eating into the solid surface.
“All right, T1, move out,” Rade ordered.
The remaining members of the platoon advanced, covered by T2 ahead. Their mechs did not come under fire, but Rade knew that wouldn’t last long. By shooting down the turrets, they had alerted whatever AI ran the base that an additional attack was taking place. Reinforcements would be coming. He was still surprised that none of the enemy ground troops had turned away from Bravo; then again, he suspected a few had tried, but Bravo was making a point of mowing down any such units.
T1 reached T2, and their ranks merged, forming a larger defensive half circle around the drill and rock. Rade aligned his ballistic shield with the neighbors on either side of him, as did the others, so that their shields created an uninterrupted fence of metal.
“Manic, inside the circle,” Rade ordered.
Manic obediently moved his Jupiter inside. He carried the nuclear payload, after all, which was just as valuable as the drill at the moment.
Rade slid his stingray over the notch in the top of his shield, and scanned the jungle from the viewpoint of the scope. The foliage seemed relatively dead out there, stirred only by the breeze.
“Incoming, east,” Praxter said.
“Well, well, well,” Bender said. “That looks suspiciously like Nemesis tech.”
Rade swiveled his scope east and saw several spheres rounding a bend formed by the curvature of the rock; they floated across the shoulder of the mountain and flew directly toward his platoon’s position.
Beneath those spheres, robotic tentacles dangled, almost dragging on the ground.
“Activate echolocation,” Rade ordered, since it was obvious the platoon’s position was now known. Regular chirps emitted from their speaker systems, courtesy of the echolocation algorithm TJ and Bender had come up with, but no SK targets were detected nearby.
“Fire at will,” Rade said.
He aimed his crosshairs over one of the turrets and squeezed the trigger. His plasma canon erupted, sending threads of purple light tearing into the target.
The sphere in question immediately slammed its robotic tentacles into the ground; when the plasma bolt struck, it didn’t penetrate the target, but instead was directed downward, traveling along those tentacles until it struck the ground, similar to a lightning rod.
No, it was worse than a mere lightning rod… because the plasma beam traveled just above the soil, on a path that was taking it directly back to Rade.
All of the plasma bolts the team had fired were returning like that, ripping across the ground. Rade’s first instinct was to leap out of the way, but that would mean exposing the drill, so he remained in place.
“Hold!” Rade said. “Take the hit!”
The lower edge of his shield turned a molten white upon impact, absorbing the plasma. A quick glance at the damage profile told him that portion of the shield was essentially ruined—any laser or other attacks there would penetrate through to his armor underneath. The other Jupiters defending this side of the la
ser drill fared little better.
Dish-like apparatuses deployed on either side of the spheres, looking a little like the big, flappy ears of elephants.
“Uh, I think those are gamma ray generators…” Lui said.
14
“Fire jumpjets,” Rade said. “Disperse!”
In previous battles with the Nemesis, their gamma ray attacks had been directional—concentrated along one particular vector. Rade assumed the same was true this time around. If he was wrong, well, he’d know soon enough, he supposed.
The laser drill would be safe without them, at least against this particular attack—its grounded microprocessors weren’t affected by gamma rays, nor were the AI cores of the mechs of course.
He fired his jets and latched onto a random point fifteen meters up the rock face. The surface was jagged enough for him to find handholds and footholds for his right side without having to bash his fists into the stone. He kept his shield deployed in his left arm, though of course had no weapon equipped in his right hand, otherwise he wouldn’t have been able to grab onto the rock.
He checked his overhead map and confirmed the other members of the platoon on both sides of the drill had dispersed. Some gripped the rock face like he did, at different heights, others had spread out along the ground in front of the drill, midway to the jungle. Manic was among the latter group, as the added weight from the nuclear payload prevented him from jumping very high, at least not without wasting a lot of fuel.
“I’m detecting gamma ray scatter,” Nicolas said. “Emanating from the drill. It is within human tolerance levels.”
“Yeah,” Snakeoil said. “But next to the drill, it’s definitely not within human tolerance levels.”
The incoming Nemesis spheres tilted their metallic elephant ears upward, as if targeting different mechs.
“Reposition!” Rade said. “And switch to cobras… target those ears!”
Rade released his hold on the wall and dropped down. He folded away his ballistic shield, since it was useless anyway, and replaced it with his grappler. He applied random lateral thrust so that he was swerving left and right, and hopefully making it difficult for the alien craft to target him. At the same time, he folded his cobra into his right hand.