Legion of Steel

by Lucian Knight

  "How good are we armed against other spaceships," I asked as the drop ship lurched violently, throwing us around the small lander. I slammed my head back against the railing and cursed.

  "Somewhere in the middle. Doomsday can destroy any other ship, but we need to be pointing our nose right at them. The other weapons are mainly used for smaller spaceships like fighters, and even flight-capable Armament users."

  "That’s quite handy to know. How much steel do you need to outfit all three ships?" Gremory asked curiously. "If there’s enough of it down there, why not upgrade them to their fullest? If we arrive on Earth with three fully-equipped mother ships, they would think twice about attacking us, even if—"

  "My scanners show an incredibly rich vein just east of our landing point. There’s an alien base nearby which Devil could eat," I proposed.

  "Do you think I can process just any crap you serve me?" Devil snapped. "How about you eat Gebradim shit down there and talk to me again."

  "Fuck you, para—"

  A strange sensation washed over me, as if I got dipped into water and was drowning slowly. Bright light assailed my eyes through the tinted windows, along with a strange, spicy smell that somehow found its way into the ship.

  "Hold on," Devil said, just before the ship lurched and came to a halt.

  "We’re down already?" Gremory asked as she unbuckled her seat belt. The scent of burnt fuel mixed with the spice was god awful. At least Devil had the decency to open the ramp and ventilate the smell out of the ship the moment we touched down.

  "Yes, we’ve landed. The radar shows the base to the east, but there’s quite an enemy presence there, and from what I can see, the lander which you set free some days ago is located near the queen’s projected nest up north," Devil said, marking the destinations on our tappers.

  "Yeah, I don’t quite trust much in their hospitality after what we did to them," Levi said. "Anyway, you want me in scout mode?"

  I nodded.

  "Use the skill and scout ahead. We’ll be right up behind you. And you marines, bring up the rear. Don’t attack the compound head-on, I’ll need you for when we take over."

  "Yes, sir!" they snapped and hunkered down behind the ship.

  "What are your full capabilities?" I asked, turning to Gremory. "This isn’t a game anymore."

  "You seriously need to tell me that? I was supposed to be the main attacker down here during the mission, remember?"

  I squinted and scratched my nose.

  "I’m sorry, but you know how hard-pressed you were in the training bay. You can’t take everything up on yourself, not anymore."

  "I know, but neither can you."

  I nodded.

  "You’re right. I guess I’ll have to start using what assets we have to the best of our capabilities. You go do your thing, and I’ll do mine," I replied.

  Gremory nodded and stepped back as she started changing. A white and red layer of metallic armor covered her arms, legs, and torso. Wings sprouted from her back along with a badass rifle. She plucked it seemingly from nowhere and flew off into the sky, disappearing from sight in mere seconds.

  "How do you want us?" Khepri asked after I remained silent.

  "Is there a way we can rearrange my left arm in some sort of launcher? Throwing javelins around are pretty handy, but very limited. And besides, I think we forgot to bring the good rifles with us."

  "And you want to be the Admiral of our fleet?" Devil asked.

  "Shush, you nasty evil creature," I replied, focusing on Khepri. "What do you think?"

  "We can. You’ll be able to shoot about one round every ten to fifteen seconds. It will be a modified javelin like the ones you used up there, but with an added punch. We’ll have to combine our bodies in order to create it though, as we’ll be using his javelin and my energy core to add destructive power."

  "Sure. And how many rounds can I fire before I’m done?"

  "Indefinite as long as there’s something around that we can use, be it either rock, metal dust, sand, or other things. But depending on what we shoot, the effect will be different. Still, there’s the factor of speed that’s also involved. You can even shoot a ceramic bullet, and it will fuck someone up royally."

  "And how does it work exactly?"

  "We’ll be extracting whatever substance can be squeezed into a javelin-like bullet. The tip will have the explosive power, but the rest of the body will add to the overall power. It isn't the same shooting a kernel of sand or a slug at someone, even at high speeds."

  "See, that’s what you get for bonding with an idiot, Khepri. You’ll turn dumb too if you stick around long enough and have to explain every single thing we do. Oh, and one last thing, don’t mention this to anyone. It’s degrading having to couple with a lower life-form," Devil sneered.

  "Shut it, or I’ll rip you out once we’re back up on the ship."

  "Hah, you wish!"

  I sighed, shaking my head. He really had an ego the size of Earth.

  "Sir, I’m close to the compound. Sand and rock for as far as you can see, except at their camp. There are water and trees there. It’s like an oasis."

  "Sounds good. Can I have the first swim?" Gremory asked.

  "Sure thing if you still feel like it once we’ve finished. Don’t forget, we need the ore," I replied as I started running after Levi.

  "How the hell are we going to get it up to the ship?"

  "Oh, that’s a good question. I thought he could fly down here, or we’d have personnel load the ore and metal on freighters."

  "We might as well clear the camp and let the marines secure it, then we can fly down more troops and personal to start the operations," Gremory replied. "Commencing attack run now."

  "Go ahead," I replied as I lunged over the dune. Explosions resounded from up ahead beyond the second rise.

  "What the hell is going on?" I asked.

  "They noticed me and started firing missiles. I had to take out two batteries, and im now proceeding with taking out all the bigger guns. Stay hidden until I’m done," Gremory replied. She didn’t sound too out of breath, even though I could see her flying circles and evading anti-air rounds. Her voice was as chill and cold as usual.

  "Don’t get tired now," Levi joked.

  "Shush, little girl. I’m not that old. You still have a lot to do before you can catch up with me," Gremory laughed. I shut the two out and focused on my own problems.

  "Alright, here’s the deal. If I need to get up close and personal, Khepri takes over the whole body except for the legs and arms. I want them as claws. For Medium range fighting, I need a shield and the launcher, same body layout. Oh, and when I’m fighting a single enemy, turn the left arm to a launcher, and the right to a claw."

  The parasites obeyed without question and did their part, letting me concentrate on a full body takeover. A slightly familiar rush swept over me as my body started turning, skin tearing and bone breaking. I shut out the pain and concentrated on the ecstatic feeling accompanying the hurt.

  "Master, don’t get lost in the bliss, or you won’t be able to turn back," Khepri warned. I growled low and shook my body, tearing off the excess skin and dangling bone.

  "Master this, master that! You’re such a weakling, Goddess of Beetles!" Devil hissed.

  "Shut up! Enough of the chatter. Do your job and let me do mine!" I snapped. I was sure that anyone in a one-mile radius heard me, so there was no use in hiding anymore. Instead, I leaped over the dunes and ran right at the camp. Gunfire erupted all along the walls strafing my armor and the rocky formations all around me. A massive turret appeared from the ground and swiveled its turret my way.

  "Gremory?" I asked. "How about you take care of this—"

  An ear-splitting boom resounded just ahead of me. Time stood still as something struck my body, took me off my feet, and launched me into the cliff behind me. A secondary explosion buried me deeper into the rock and shredded the outer layer of my armor.

  "Your chest is down by 310 percent. Tha
t round can easily penetrate heavy landers," Devil groaned. "The rest has only sustained some explosive damage."

  "Fucking hell! This hurts like a bitch!" I cursed, pulling myself from the crater my body had just created. I rolled to the side and hid behind a formation of rock, trying to calm my breathing.

  "HE shells. They sure pack a punch," Levi whispered, startling me as she appeared beside me. Her body was covered by a yellow-brownish layer of metal that bent and shaped around her as she moved.

  "What The hell, woman? You trying to give me a heart attack?"

  "Sorry, sir! Thought you’d like to know what just hit you!"

  I raised my right eyebrow and opened my mouth to reply.

  "It doesn’t really matter what hit me, but how we’ll take it out, so get your rail-thin ass up there and cover me! Gremory, take that fucking turret out, please!"

  Before I even rounded the corner, more gunfire erupted from overhead followed by a massive explosion. The turret flew off into the barracks as the ammunition inside exploded. It sure felt good to pay someone back, even if it was Gremory doing the payback.

  I burst out in a full sprint as small-arms fire peppered my body, but all the projectiles reflected off my steely body with ease and struck my near surroundings.

  "Feels good, huh?" Khepri asked almost seductively.

  "Shut it! Where’s the launcher you promised? I’m still waiting for it!"

  "Oh, here it is," Khepri replied. Finally, my left arm started changing into its final form, taking on the look of a slug thrower with a two-foot barrel. Itching to try it out, I released my first shot. The recoil caught me off guard, swinging my arm to the side. The wall beneath the Gebradim troopers shattered along with three of the defenders who were blown to pieces.

  Gremory swept down on the remaining few troopers, riddling them with holes as she passed. She circled once more and found the last hidden Gebradim. Needless to say, his death was quick and brutal.

  "Clear. All that remains is a group of Human workers down west. What do you want to do with them?" Gremory asked.

  "I’m not killing them if that’s what you’re proposing. Now, get troops down here to secure this camp and provide protection to these people."

  "Relaying the orders," Gremory replied.

  "Good, tell them to hurry it up, I don’t want to be caught off guard. For now, we need to talk to the workers." I said as I strafed past the complex and ran after my scout.

  "Be right there, let me do one more overhead run," Gremory added.

  "Sure. How many are there, Levi?" I asked.

  "Hmm, about forty or so from what I can see, but there’s a cave and many more of them inside. Why?"

  "We could always use extra people, especially miners or gatherers of all sorts."

  "I know," she replied. "Not many want to get their hands dirty, but these people have done so for most of their lives, I guess."

  "Shit, what a life that must have been. Cut off from everything Humanity had to offer back on Earth," I said as we made our way toward them.

  The dunes and rocky slopes felt like they went on for ages when it was only a few minutes. It was damn hard running in a full take-over form, and the scorching heat didn’t make it any easier. A wide maw-like opening appeared before me. I approached wearily, knowing there could be all kinds of dangers lurking below the surface.

  One by one, the Human workers who fled earlier, appeared from the opening. They looked battered and bruised, mistreated and malnourished. Fear was written all over their faces, but they didn’t run and approach us either. It could have been my full take-over form, but I wasn’t going back Human in a hostile environment. That would be dangerous and asking for trouble.

  "Levi? Where are—" Something tapped on my shoulder. I turned around, only to see her standing behind me. "Go talk to them. Tell them who we are and what we’ve planned here. Oh, and ask who their leader is."

  "Yes, sir!" she snapped a salute and ran up to the group of men and women who stood some fifty feet away, observing us. Levi approached them as Gremory landed beside me, kicking up a dust storm.

  "What do you think?" I asked. "About the operation here."

  She shrugged.

  "It’s not totally primitive, but they can barely stand. These people need food and rest."

  "I know, but we need the materials, and to fly back to Earth as soon as possible, don’t forget that."

  Levi turned around, pointing at us. A man and woman appeared from the opening, looking rather well-dressed in comparison to the others. They exchanged glances before the man took something from his pocket and handed it to Levi. She bowed slightly and turned to us, giving me a thumbs up.

  "At least she’s not as hopeless as you are," Gremory huffed. I shrugged. She wasn’t that far off with the statement, but not for long. Everything happened too quickly for me to even get a real feel of this life and the situation.

  Levi turned her back on the group and ran up to us wearing a big smile on her face as if she’d just won us the war.

  "There’s an entrance to the hive colony from here," she said. "It leads all the way to the central complex. They gave me a key of sorts that lets us pass certain checkpoints."

  Impressed, I put my hand on her shoulder.

  "You’ve done well, Levi. But didn’t they want to speak to us?"

  She shook her head, looking down.

  "The man in charge said that unless the Queen is dead, they won’t join us. There are things we don’t know about the planet. He wouldn’t say what, except that she must die if we ever plan to get off here."

  "Figures. What about the camp? Shouldn’t there be more defenders?"

  Levi shrugged, scratching her head.

  "No, this was an outcast penal colony, so to say. It’s far enough from the queen for her not to feel them through all of the thick rock layers and mostly self-sufficient. No one has ever attacked this planet, so they saw no need for stronger defenses."

  "She sure knows her job, Cain," Gremory said. "I don’t think you’d ask half of the questions if you’d gone in her stead."

  "Whatever, woman. Get off my back. How about you show just how useful you are, Levi, and scout ahead. Check that map you got against the current situation. And please, upload it to our tapper."

  "Yes, sir!" she replied and turned to run off.

  "We’ll be somewhere behind you."

  She nodded, turning invisible, then ran off like a hare.

  "This is going to be so much fun," Gremory hissed. "I fucking hate enclosed spaces."

  "And you don’t hate the ship?"

  "Not the same! I can breathe in space, so to me, it doesn’t matter. But being buried under thousands of tons of rock? No, thanks."

  "Hey, if we die, at least we’ll die together, right? Now come on, Levi is alone."

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  The cavernous area was bustling with life. Shacks and small huts were erected all over the place, but not too crowded. Everyone still had some privacy from their neighbors, even though I doubted it meant anything to them.

  Strange white beams were placed all along the walls and in what looked like the center of the street. They radiated enough light for us to see everything comfortably without blinding us if we looked up at them directly.

  "Won’t they be afraid of you?" Gremory asked, taking the lead as we walked down the street. "Just look at those kids, they look like they want to piss themselves."

  "You don’t look anything less intimidating with the huge rifle, armor, and wings."

  Humans, yet far from Humanity. They lived in truly inhumane conditions. Rail thin, dirty, bruised and beaten. How the hell did I expect them to excavate the stuff? No, first we needed to show them they could trust us and that we had the means to help, then we would see how to proceed, anything less was already too harsh.

  "Levi, how far along are you?" I asked, trying to steer free from the people, they didn’t seem to want to avoid the two of us. As big and ugly I was when transformed, I
t seemed we were quite the attraction.

  "I’m at the edge of this settlement. There’s nothing for a long while ahead. It’s just cleared tunnel."

  "Devil, where is the ore vein?"

  "Somewhere around here. Why?"

  "So I know where to bring the roof down. Can you give me a precise reading?"

  "Wait," he replied and went silent as we moved along. Ahead of us, I noticed the two who looked to be in charge earlier and veered off course to speak to them.

  "Gremory, follow me," I ordered. She did so without question.

  "What?" she asked, noticing my thoughts.

  "Huh?"

  "What’s wrong? You’re brooding over something. Spit it out."

  "How the hell did you come to that conclusion?" I growled. Nearby onlookers scurried away, afraid of the sound leaving my throat. She remained silent, but gave me a funny look as if saying there you go, need anything else? "Whatever. At least I should be able to talk to you about it."

  "You can, and you always will be able to, but hurry up. I feel vulnerable here."

  I sighed, cracking my shoulders and neck before I spoke.

  "I don’t feel very comfortable giving out orders to you or our core group."

  "And that’s it?"

  I shrugged.

  "More or less."

  "You do know you’re the Steel Legion’s leader," she said. "You need to be able to hand out orders, and they need to be able to follow them. We all need to follow them. If you think you’re the wrong person for that, then go back to Earth and hope Mikhail doesn’t come knocking."

  "Don’t even go there," I growled, but this time because of her taunt.

  I turned back to the two leaders and started moving in their direction again. They stood there, half afraid and half interested in what was about to transpire, or so I thought.

  "You’re the boss, yes?" the man said hurriedly offering me his hand. It was rather small in comparison to my claws, so I changed my right hand back and shook it.

  "Yes I am. My name is Cain, I’m the leader of our legion. You are?"

  "Oh, yes! Admiral Cain, lady Levi said you are in charge. What can Hamush do for you?"