by Trey Deibel
I continued to sit there for a few more minutes, thinking over what he'd said. After much thought, I whispered to myself, “I know what I have to do,” then walked out.
⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕
Days later, the Tempest of Titans was dispatched to Gorak after a distress call was made from one of the ARW’s supporters - the o’garks. According to Sizar, the Wersillian Legion was preparing to mount a full-scale invasion on Gorak. After their last victory in Juster, the Wersillian Legion had their eyes set on another plant from the Ju-Sana System. They'd set up a massive base camp surrounded on three sides in the valley of a mountain. Their shielding was too strong to penetrate from orbit, so Sizar had ordered a ground assault. The 00810 through 00844 Rangers had been ordered to distract the enemy as my unit drove through a tunnel under the mountain. That tunnel would lead us to the back of the base, where we must destroy the shield tower. This was just another mission to every other soldier involved, but to me it was far more. To me, the mission was just the beginning of a grander plan. It was the first step on my path to finish my mission and cure my guilt.
I sat passenger in a Raptor V12; a human-made, four-wheel drive, all-terrain utility Jeep capable of traversing many obstacles without difficulty.
“James, how do you get the pedals up?”
Shadow-Walker searched the Raptor V12. Due to Gorak’s uncharted terrain, the navigation computer system inside would be useless, and the Raptor must be manually driven.
Reaching through the window opening into the cockpit, I pointed at the switch. “Pull it down to the dor’o setting.” When he pulled it down, the pedals adjusted themselves up and the seat slid forward to compensate for the dor’o species’s smaller size.
“Why are human vehicles so complicated? The qwayks have advanced figure analysis tech. I don’t even have to move to control their vehicles,” he complained.
“Sure, as long as you don’t mind the clunky helmets used to control them.”
“You have a point there. That tin can gives me headaches.” Shadow-Walker positioned his stasis scout rifle upright, at his left side.
From inside the hangar of the Tempest of Titans, the drop platforms started lowering. Hundreds of Raptor V12s, Raptor V14s, J7 Brutes, and Type-8 Cruisers awaited in standby mode, ready to drive off the drop platforms once it reached the ground.
“All I can say is, today is going to be one hell of a day. One for the history books,” Shadow-Walker commented. He stuck his head out of the window opening and looked back. “Hey soldier, what’s your name?” he asked the soldier manning the rotating machine gun turret on the back right side of our vehicle. Interestingly, the soldier had very a unique helmet and armor set, shaded in black and red roses instead of standard camo schemes.
“Alexander, sir.” He looked down from the gun.
“It’s Shadow-Walker, not sir. We're brothers in arms out here. And when I ask for your name, I want your full name.”
“Darcrose, Alexander Darcrose.”
“No way. Are you kidding?” Shadow-Walker cheered. Alexander nodded in response.
I jumped in. “What?”
“He’s a Darcrose, James. His mother and father are founding members of the current structure of the ARW’s military. Hah, his mother is a chief admiral for crying out loud!”
“Holy damned!”
“Ah, come on. It’s not that big of a deal.” Alexander shrugged.
“Hah... you gotta have some grand war stories,” Shadow-Walker said.
“Whew, I wish! Today is actually my first mission. Like… look at my arm, it’s shaking.”
“Damn, Darcrose, are ready to ride with the big boys?” Shadow-Walker laughed.
Alexander wasn’t so sure. But regardless, he answered, “I'll give it my all!”
Next to our Raptor V12, the rest of the 1070 Legionnaires operated in a maelkii favorite, a Type-8 Cruiser. Using reverse gravity technology, this ground vehicle hovered a meter off the ground. One of the benefits of the reverse gravity technology was its unique ability to move at the same speed in all directions. Its sharp edges and purple glow matched the preferred design of maelkii crafts. Uslar resembled a child in the maelkii-sized driver’s seat. A qwayk ranger sat in the passenger’s seat, with his designated laser rifle ready. Narrisa and Valiic stood up at the rear. The bottoms of their shields were embedded in the floor, giving them something to use as cover. Most of the vehicle was open-aired, a design choice unique to the maelkii. Their species believes in using themselves as weapons, and that’s why there's no weapon system attached to the Cruiser.
Unlike the Type-8 Cruiser, our Raptor V12 had much more cover. Most of that cover was catered to the driver and turret operator. Every Raptor had a heavily armored cockpit for the driver, an open passenger’s seat with a mounted gun, a fully rotatable heavy-mounted gun on the back right with armor plates to cover the operator’s body, and an armored storage area on the back left. As with all human ballistic weaponry, our turrets used airjen fuel to propel the projectors faster than any other weaponry known in the galaxy.
The drop platform touched the dusty ground of Gorak. “It’s finally time to feel the wind in our face,” Shadow-Walker hoorayed as he pressed down on the gas.
“Remember, watch for bugs.” Alexander laughed as we drove.
Unit two, my unit, rounded out the far right side of the fleet of vehicles driving down the dirt and rock terrain. The 01120 and 01121 Eagles covered the skies with dor’o Buzzard-23 attack choppers and human V-Hawk harrier jets above us. Unit three, the unit of I7 Brute tanks, trailed behind because of the vehicle’s lackluster speed. When they inevitably catch up, the battle should tip in our favor.
Dirt flew up in our faces as we tailed other vehicles. Dusty, dry air sucked away any moisture in my mouth, causing me to grow thirsty. Peeking back, I saw Darcrose’s elbows trembling.
“Darcrose, I’ve been in your situation before. Unleash your fear at the enemy. Listen to me. We will get through the day, do you hear?”
I saw him take a few breaths. “It’s funny… I used to have nightmares about those creatures.”
Through the noise, Shadow-Walker howled “Incoming!” In the distance, enemy Pursuers flew in while Destroyers revved across the dirt. Dytirc vehicles are often decked out with the most retro shivf that can be found; cloth flapped in the wind, the skulls of their enemies were mounted around the vehicles, and rusted spikes protruded all over.
We were still at least ten kilometers away from the separation point.
“Darcrose, cover the skies. I'll handle the ground,” I shouted over my shoulder.
Like two massive waves, our fleet of vehicles crashed into our foes. Pillars of fiery smoke and dust lifted into the air almost immediately. A series of new flashes broke out, lifting and spreading more toxic smoke, and great rivers of oil-fueled flame covered the terrain. Rushes of winds and smoke were created by more and more explosions; great rags of fire, changing from red to violet and back through the spectrum to red again, went soaring away to dissipate in the upper atmosphere. Then soldiers on our side and theirs quickly spread the terrain with their blood-soaked, dismembered bodies as the stink of burning flesh mixed in with the smoke. It was war.
Drivers broke off. The enemy force matched us vehicle to vehicle. It was utter chaos in its finest form.
“Destroyers headed our way!” Shadow-Walker shouted.
“They’re mine!” I shouted.
Instead of using my mounted turret in front of me, I pulled out a W4G5 grenade launcher I'd brought along. Each grenade was armed with explosives, which contained an EMP blast for extra oomph. I shot one of the Destroyers - blowing it up and disabling another one for a short time with the EMP. My next shot hit in the middle of three Destroyers, disabling each of them for a few seconds, enough time for tens of Raptors to destroy them with gunfire.
Near us, Valiic and Narrisa shot waves of plasma bursts in the air at the Pursuers while the ranger in the passenger seat focused his laser rifle’s bl
ue laser at the dytirc driving a Destroyer.
“James. We have a Pursuer on our six,” Alexander called as plasma shots rained from the skies.
Moving myself out of a shooter's position, I positioned my knee against the padding of the seat. Four or five enemies were shooting at us from the platform on top of the Pursuer. Aiming, I held up my grenade launcher and shot at the Pursuer. It pulled right, causing the grenade to miss. But I wasn’t done; I pressed the secondary trigger, which detonated the grenade early. Its blast had no effect, but the EMP disabled it, and it came crashing down.
Opportunity arrived, I had a moment where I could reload the grenade launcher. Spinning out the rotating cylinder, I pushed my last three grenades into each empty chamber. Now I had a full six grenades in the launcher.
More Destroyers drove toward us. One weaved its way through the crowd of vehicles. Others headed around us. Turning my attention to a Destroyer riding at our side, I was jerked as our Raptor swerved left to dodge a plasma mortar from one of the Destroyer’s back cannons. The Destroyer riding our side whipped left and rammed into us, bumping us to the side. The dytirc driver pulled out a plasma handgun and attempted to fire at me, while the lycargan in the passenger seat shot at Darcrose. After ducking under the first shots from the plasma handgun, I hopped out of the passenger seat. Flying backward, I almost missed my chance to grab the cloth armor from the dytirc driver. The whiplash almost pulled the dytirc from his seat. He struggled to drive and aimlessly fired his weapon backwards in hopes of hitting me. Using his clothes, I pulled myself to the front and punched the passenger out of the Destroyer before he could shoot me. Next, I grabbed the cyclic stick that controlled the Destroyer's direction and pulled left. As we hit the Raptor I'd just jumped out of, I climbed over the dytirc driver and back into my seat. That sent their vehicle out of control, making it an easy target for another Raptor to pick off.
“Something is seriously wrong with your brain.” Shadow-Walker smacked the back of my head as I got back in.
“I appreciate the two cents.” I grabbed the grenade launcher again.
“Heads up!”
We swerved right to dodge another plasma mortar. Our Raptor crashed into another group’s, flipping both vehicles. The ranger manning the anti-air gun on their Raptor V14 was thrown off the back as their Raptor flipped over ours. Our Raptor was forced to its side, where we rolled and flipped against the dirt and rock. After what seemed like an eternity, we stopped rolling, and I was the first out.
Darcrose, who was a few meters back, got to his feet. I headed around the vehicle for Shadow-Walker. The Raptor was on its side, so I knew Shadow-Walker would be trapped in the cockpit.
I bent down and peeked through the opening. “Are you hurt?”
“Just flip this damn thing up so we can get back into the action.”
From the side, I pushed over the Raptor. Since it was less than two tons, I was able to lift it. The wheels bounced as the Raptor landed. As Darcrose walked back to the Raptor, I asked, “Are you hurt?”
“A few road burns, but I can still fight!” He climbed back into the machine gun turret.
After I was in the passenger seat, we drove on. We passed the Raptor we'd hit. Fire engulfed the vehicle, and the lifeless corpses surrounding it showed us they hadn’t made it. Holding the cross my mother had given me, I took a second to honor them.
We managed to rejoin the invasion a kilometer out from the separation point. The mountain edge was already within eyesight. At the tip of the mountain, the dirt and rock terrain split in two. Once we hit that point, unit two, with my legionnaire squad, was going to split off to the right side leading to a tunnel. Unit one would head left to distract the majority of the enemy force until unit three arrived to help.
As we approached, Commander Sizar said over the intercom, “Now, Unit two, split off.” Shadow-Walker turned our Raptor to the right. Uslar drove his Cruiser by our side, and two other Raptors manned by rangers tailed us.
“Hey James, looks like we got some fans,” Shadow-Walker signaled at the Destroyers splitting off to trail us.
Turning around, I joined the rest of our unit in shooting the Destroyers. I nailed one with a grenade, and it was gone with a bang. Three of the four remaining Destroyers focused fire on the squad to the back left. The plasma mortars proved too great for the armor to handle, and that squad was obliterated. Uslar’s Cruiser fell back to the side of one of the Destroyers. Meanwhile, we kept firing. Another Destroyer exploded in red and purple fury. Two of the remaining three Destroyers sped up to each side of the squad at our rear. The Destroyers were too close to our allies for me to use the grenade launcher. Instead, I swapped it for my assault rifle and shot one driver in the head, sending the Destroyer into the mountainside. Milliseconds later, Valiic and Narrisa out battled another Destroyer and sent it down in flames.
“One left!” I shouted into the air just as we entered the opening of the tunnel, cutting out the natural light. Brightstone-powered headlights switched on and became our one source of light. I could see the last Destroyer was on fire. It was almost down.
I pulled out my grenade launcher and shot, missing twice. In a last ditch effort, the Destroyer shot a plasm mortar directly at us. “Darcrose, get out of the way!” I leapt out of my seat toward him.
“I’m stuck!”
As he struggled to get out of the mounted turret, I grabbed his hand to help.
Bang!
The mortar hit the rear of our vehicle, exploding Darcrose and the turret. I was sent back into the passenger seat.
“DAMNIT!”
I slammed my fist against the seat repeatedly. The Destroyer suddenly sped up and rammed into another Raptor. Instantaneously, the Destroyer exploded, followed by the Raptor. Now only the legionnaires remained.
I gripped my cross as the memory of his death replayed in my head. I looked at Shadow-Walker and said, “Damnit, I told him he would make it through this.”
“Not everyone will survive this war, James.” The vehicle began to tilt upward. “Shivf, hang on to something,” Shadow-Walker called.
I gripped the handle in front of the passenger seat in time for the ramp-like hill. Our Raptor jumped a few meters in the air and landed with a smooth bump, with the hydraulics’ assistance. Next to us, the Cruiser that Uslar drove wavered up and down as the reverse gravity tech readjusted for their landing.
“How long is this tunnel?” Shadow-Walker asked me.
“Sizar said around five to six kilometers,” I answered.
“James, we lost two Raptors already. We may need reinforcements.”
I looked over to the Cruiser. Their passenger was missing - probably died at some point in the battle. “Let’s see what the base has waiting for our asses first.”
The drive time flew by. Before I knew it, we could see the end of the tunnel. “Guards!” I yelled out. “Let’s give them something to remember us by. Keep the vehicles full throttle and jump out.”
I walked out on the back of the Raptor, using the bars to assist me. I dropped around to the door of the cockpit Shadow-Walker was in. Carefully balancing myself, I opened his door.
“You ready?” I asked.
“Be gentle.”
He wrapped his arms around my neck and right shoulder. In that moment, I popped on my stasis shield and dove away from the Raptor. The stasis shield absorbed the impact as we skidded to a stop. Seconds later, Narrisa and Valiic landed feet first off the back of the Cruiser. Uslar was on Valiic’s back.
Our vehicles took out many guards, sending vehicles and guards over the edge past the end of the tunnel. The remaining guards engaged us in a firefight, but they had no luck. They were outnumbered and outmatched. We wiped them out in mere seconds and kept moving until we made it to the edge of the tunnel.
I gazed down the hill of loose rocks. A few hundred meters past the bottom of the hill, the edge of the shield covering the enemy base met the dirt. The shield tower was stationed to the far right of us, deep in the
enemy base. Luckily, our position was concealed from our enemies’ view by a two hundred meter long star cruiser stationed at the edge of the shield. Platoons of vehicles lay dormant against the rocky ground near the back of the star cruiser, waiting to be used. This base was clearly for an opening attack on Gorak.
“We're going to need at least fifty rangers to make it to that shield tower,” Shadow-Walker said, frustrated.
“Or six achilles,” Valiic pointed out.
“There's no way Sizar will send them,” Shadow countered.
“Let’s see,” I said. I called over the intercom, “Sizar, come in.”
“Sizar speaking.”
“Do you have the Tempest of Titans above the enemy base yet?”
“Affirmative. We're orbiting above it in space, waiting for the shield to drop.”
“Would you happen to have an achilles squad available on board the Tempest of Titans?”
“What could you possibly require achilles for?”
“Our vehicles are toast. We're down to five soldiers, and I spot over a hundred enemies between us and the shield tower.”
“Achilles are a last resort. Are you at that point?”
“I wouldn’t request achilles if we weren’t, sir.”
“Very well. Activate your beacon and hold tight. I’m sending the 118. Sizar out.” As he finished, I turned on my beacon.
“Did he say the 118?” Uslar asked. “That’s the second best achilles squad!”
A minute later, balls of fire entered the atmosphere, dropping down to my position.
“Step back, guys.” I motioned with my hands.
Valiic stepped back, and the rest of us followed. As fast as an asteroid, the drop pods fell to the surface. Fire surrounded the pods like a meteor and ceased the moment the thrusters lit up. From an insane incoming speed, the pods decelerated rapidly until they were going just fast enough to embed themselves in the surface, splashing rocks and dust away likes waves.
Once the pods cooled down, the doors blew open, hurling themselves meters away from the pods. Then the achilles hopped out. One maelkii, two dor’o, two qwayk, and a human walked toward us. For a split second, their signature chrome achilles armor reflected the rays of sunlight back in our eyes. The armor was made using the lightweight, bullet resistant metal, veridium. This metal was second in value only to the metal a maelkii’s shield is made from, forcidion - known as the most indestructible material in the universe. After they'd put a few meters between them and the pods, the pods exploded, destroying any chance the enemy had at using that tech.