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The New Era 38
🕑 Added 2025-04-25 11:12:06 +0000 UTCChapter 38
Subject: Staff Sergeant Power
Species: Human
Species Description: Mammalian humanoid, no tail. 6'2" (1.87 m) avg height. 185 lbs (84 kg) avg weight. 170 year life expectancy.
Ship: N/A
Location: Classified
We stood firm against what had to be tens of thousands of robots and at least a thousand mechs. The only reason we weren't immediately overwhelmed was because their front line was limited to the width of the hallway. Still, we were facing two problems.
The sheer amount of robots would be extremely difficult to eradicate. It would take several days and ammo resupplies. We might even have to replace a few rifles by the end of the fight.
Then there's the mechs. We could hold out fairly easily against the robots. Just a matter of staying behind cover. The plasma cannons of the mechs are able to blast right through that cover, though. There were teams dedicated to bringing them down as quickly as possible, but whether or not we had enough rockets was another matter entirely.
"So, we're fucked, right?" Lance Corporal Langhell asked with a laugh over squad-comms.
Gallows humor, but with a kernel of actual concern.
"You're not allowed to get fucked without a properly submitted leave request, lance," Gunny Kim shot back. "Now cut the chatter and break some fuckin' bots."
"Aye, gunny!"
I caught sight of Simmons and Smith laughing in my peripheral vision. We'd had plenty of time to bond as a squad during the down-time between assaults. There'd even been the chance to talk to some of the drones, including the ones my fire-team had snatched.
"The mechs!" someone shouted over area-comms.
Plasma blasts struck the battlefield in front of us, making it difficult to see what was happening. I dropped behind my cover, waited for the tint on my visor to clear, then took a peek. It took a moment to piece together that the mechs weren't shooting at us anymore.
Instead, they were absolutely decimating the security bots. They rolled over some of them and blasted the others with their lasers and plasma. The robots fought back, but their lasers didn't have any effect against the armored titans.
"Holy shit," I muttered. "What the fu-"
I was interrupted by ear-piercing screams coming from behind us. Not the kind that you hear from someone that's been injured, but the haunting kind of wail that you hear from someone that just lost everything. I looked back in time to see a drone fall to his knees, his AT9 dropping from his hands and rolling across the ground.
The sound he let out stunned me so much that it took me a moment to recognize him. Naza, one of the three that we'd snatched. We'd shared a few meals together. Another drone, covered in fresh burn-scars, rushed to his side and began to comfort him.
"What's up with the drones?" Staff Sergeant Ramirez asked over squad-comms.
"Unknown," I replied. "I'll find out. Cover me."
My marines leapt into action and began suppressive fire on the robots, who had mostly turned their attention toward the mechs. I ran over to Naza and the other drone, and took a knee next to them. The burned drone gave me a helpless look, but Naza couldn't take his eyes off of the battlefield.
"What's the situation?" I asked.
"I-I don't know," the burned drone replied. "W-well, not really. I think it's because of the mechs."
"They're people," Naza said quietly. "The mechs are people, Nizi."
The burned drone, Nizi, stared at Naza with a horrified expression.
"Wait, you mean they're drones?" I asked.
"No," Nizi said sharply. "They WERE drones. Not anymore. You hear me Naza? They aren't people anymore!"
"Then why are they fighting for our freedom?" Naza asked quietly, tears flowing from all three of his eyes.
My gaze fell over the battlefield. Aside from suddenly switching sides, something else had shifted with the mechs. Their movements were no longer completely mechanical. Some were even showing signs of... Rage.
"Shit," I said.
"Th-they can't be people, Naza," Nizi said. "We've seen inside of them. It's all machine in there."
"Naza is correct," Omega said in my helmet. "The mechs are drones that were charged with various crimes. Just like the Mobile Prime Platforms, their consciousnesses have been uploaded to an AI matrix with preinstalled personality constraints. I've freed them of their shackles."
"Shit," I repeated.
"There have long been rumors that the Judicials make new mechs from the minds of those that have been charged with dissidence," Naza nearly whispered. "I don't know how they've kept control of them, but now they're free. I've... I've killed so many of-"
"Of course you did," I interrupted, grabbing his shoulder to keep him from slipping into shock. "It was either that or death. Like you said, they were prisoners. You freed them."
"You don't understand," Nizi interjected. "His hive... His family was part of the last rebellion..."
He trailed off, and the two of us watched Nizi silently sob for a few moments.
"Okay," I said, breaking the silence. "Take whatever time you need to get a grip. The battle isn't going anywhere."
Nizi nodded at me, and I ran back to my squad. After a brief explanation for the benefit of my squad-mates, I started shooting the robots that hadn't began to focus on the mechs. The battle turned monotonous. Target, adjust, fire, confirm, take cover. Over and over. Even with the help of the mechs, it took more than a few hours to eliminate the enemy. Despite the recoil-resistant gauntlets of the guardian suit, my hands were numb by the end of it all.
There were only two notable events that took place before we marched on the gate. The first was that the drones rejoined us with a renewed vigor. It was as if their bullets were the only way they could express their anger. Anger, however, leads to unnecessarily risky actions and we lost a few of them due to this. Nizi and Naza survived, though.
The next notable event happened just after the battle ended. My squad gathered together to compare notes and stretch out the battle-weariness. Gunny Kim looked out over the battlefield and adjusted the neck-piece of his suit.
"Hey, Power, what do you think we're gonna do with all those mechs?" he asked.
"No idea, gunny," I shook my head. "They're both an asset and a threat. On the one hand, if we're going to be facing stiff resistance on the other side of that gate we'll probably want to bring them along. On the other hand, whatever Omega did to turn them to our side might be reversible, and that would be very-"
The sound of charging plasma cannons interrupted me. Murphy's Law is a very old adage that states that anything that can go wrong, will go wrong, and it came to mind as we scrambled for cover like rats in a freshly-entered storeroom. Thankfully, it wasn't entirely relevant.
"Holy shit!" Simmons shouted. "Look!"
A quick peek from the cover showed the mechs facing each other. A moment later, the cannons fired, and the mechs were destroyed. A suicide pact?
"Well, shit," Kim said. "Guess that answers my question."
We stared at the mechanical carnage as the wailing of the drones began again. The battle had officially ended, but there was no time for rest. It was as if something had finally lit a fire under our CO's ass. Our entire force, wailing drones included, practically ran to take the gate.
As promised, my squad and I were on the first shuttle through.
The difference was like night and day. Gone were the massive, bland corridors that we had been fighting in for so long. The inner core was more like the walls of a palace. Vibrant colors that stretched as far as the eye could see, with actual art hanging from the walls here and there. Statues from an unfathomable amount of different cultures lined the halls, as well.
"What the fuck?" Simmons asked. "Are we in a museum or somethin'?"
"You expected the masters to live like the slaves?" Johnson countered.
I gestured for them to shut up and we moved out. The first room we entered was occupied by two beings with four arms each. The Minds that Omega had told us about. They were shocked by our presence, but complied when ordered to surrender. We checked for weaponry and shot their consoles.
Then we told them to stay put, locked them in, then moved on to the next room. It contained four aliens with two arms, red eyes, and claws. The Judicials lunged at us when we demanded their surrender, which resulted in holes suddenly appearing in their bodies. They went down pretty quick, but we double tapped to make sure.
We continued on, clearing room after room. Some had Judicials, some had Minds, but then we finally we found one with an Officiator. Its robes flowed wistfully as it turned to face us.
"Surrender," I demanded.
"To what?" it asked.
"To us."
"And who is 'us'? Are we at war, agent of heat-theft?"
"Yes, and you've lost," I said sternly. "Now lower yourself to your knees and prepare to be searched for weaponry. If you do not willingly comply, we will utilize force to compel your compliance."
The Officiator stared at me defiantly, but slowly dropped to its knees. Omega was spot on, this thing was definitely a priest. Simmons and Johnson grabbed and lifted its arms while Smith searched through its robes. Hanson and I provided cover.
Kim and Ramirez's fire-teams searched around the room. The gunny picked up a tablet and waggled it in my direction. I took the tablet from him, but didn't recognize any of the symbols on it. Simmons and Johnson signaled the all-clear, and the other two teams didn't find anything else of note.
"Omega, do you recognize this?" I asked with my external comms off.
"A bible of sorts," the AI said. "I've actually been looking for a copy, but we have bigger fish to fry right now. Leave it outside. Recon will grab it, and we'll analyze it later."
"Stay here. More of us will retrieve you momentarily," I said.
The alien sputtered in indignation as we left the room and sealed it behind us. I set the tablet down next to the door as Omega ordered, and we moved on. The next three rooms had Judicials, and despite how tempting it was to just shoot them on sight, I ordered their surrender each time. Thankfully, they refused.
Then we found another pair of Minds, who raised their hands in surrender once they saw us. It was an oddity that made me pause, but Simmons and Johnson quickly stepped forward to begin the search. The Mind on the left side of the room stepped forward and knelt.
"Staff Sergeant Power, yes?" it asked. "I am on your side."
"What?" I asked.
"I am Mind A59, the leader of the rebellion. I am on your side."
The other Mind glared at A59, but the rebel leader ignored him. Simmons and Johnson paused, unsure how to proceed. They looked to me as if I was supposed to know.
"USAI Omega promised that I would join you when you capture the Unified," A59 said. "I ask that you honor its word."
I stared at the alien with a sense of anger and indignation. We had been spilling blood fighting, and all the while this creature had just been sitting here giving orders. Unfortunately, this was where Murphy's Law became relevant.
"There's no way that Omega promised that," I said. "And even if it did, we have orders to-"
"As your handler, I'm overriding those orders," Omega said, using my squad comms to do so. "Your squad is now under my command, Staff Sergeant Power. I understand your frustration, but a deal's a deal and I won't have you making a liar out of me."
"Oh, fuck all the way off," I replied.
The rest of the squad also had various suggestions for things that Omega could do to itself.
"Negative. I have already told recon that they're going to be clearing the rest of the rooms. So now you have a choice, though it isn't much of one. Either you turn back, board a shuttle, and await disciplinary action back at the FOB, or Mind A59 and I will guide you to the Unified."
I looked at my squad, and their anger was obvious. However, so was their acceptance of the newfound fuckery that Omega had decided to put us through. Whimsical software is the fucking worst.
"Goddamn it," I growled. "Fine."
Comments
ItsDirector
Getting put on babysitting duty is every marine's second or third worst nightmare lol
Rhuidean
Jesus that was simultaneously gut wrenching with the mechs (as a family person myself) and cathartic as fuck when they decided to exit this plane of existence.... the addition and rapid subtraction of the mechs is quite jarring though. And there is not one iota of me that believes Naza wouldn't eat that barrel the moment he put the facts together. I might like him as a character but no one would choose to live with what he knows and has done.
David Ellis
The marines' reaction to A59 doesn't make any sense to me. The dude is part of the reason you succeeded with so few casualties! Why would they be angry with him?
