05:15 The National Institute for Technological Advancement – Basement Level 1, Section 49B
John scanned the room in front of him. Dozens of quantum servers lay in front of the platoon. The Marines quickly spread out and scanned the room. John stepped forward and connected his suit to a command terminal next to one of the servers.
“Scan the room, Vanessa, get on a terminal and search for the primary server room,” John said as he commanded Eve to do several things via his HUD.
Erica then stepped forward, “Room is secure. Derrick and I have been monitoring the chat. There’s been heavy resistance encountered in other spots around the base.”
“How bad?”
“A couple of platoons have been eliminated,” Derrick answered, “That is if we’ve heard correctly. The coms were erratic at best.”
“One of those platoons is up a floor and a few intersections away,” Erica said as she shared the way there with John, “I would suggest we review and assist any survivors.”
John nodded, “We need to finish up here first, but I agree. We will go straight there from here.”
“The coms were in the process of being jammed, but the message that was shared was confusing,” Derrick, “It could be a friendly fire incident…”
“Or it could be something much much worse,” John said quietly, “Have Paul shadow Dix, just in case.”
“On it,” Erica said as she walked towards Paul who was on the far side of the room.
Vanessa then spoke up, “These are the servers we have had access to. They don’t store any data on any projects being carried out here at this campus. They seem to be used solely for remote outposts.”
“Good to have that confirmation,” John said, “Keep searching, I want to know where their central core is located. Transfer any information we didn’t already have.”
John began to think about the loss of those platoons and began to feel more worried and looked at his HUD and swore under his breath, “God dammit, I hope I’m wrong about this.”
Arianna then opened a private channel with John, “Sir, I’ve been monitoring communications sent from our suits. Dix’s suit is sending out direct access requests. That’s kind of fucked If I’m being bluntly honest. Started happening at a higher frequency after the other newbie got gobbled up.”
“Expand,” John commanded.
“He’s got fifteen connections open with our suits. The only reason I noticed was my VI picked an unauthorized connection. I closed it, but then three minutes later it was open again.”
“Eve, transfer a copy of yourself in all of our suits sans Dix’s. Kill those connections and prevent them from opening again. If you can’t close them then block any commands from coming through via that new channel.”
There was a beep played and then his VI began to work. Not even a minute later Eve displayed a message that all connections have been neutralized, but they remain open to ensure the Corporal is none the wiser. As much as John wanted to believe they didn’t have a rat in their platoon the behavior the newbie displayed was worryingly reinforcing that notion.
John then spoke to the platoon, “Prepare to move out. We’re heading to a new location. The location is being shared with all of y’all now. Derrick, you have point, Darryl you’ve got the rear.”
Vanessa then messaged John, ‘L3 Section 52F – Possible server room location.’
John skimmed over the room schematics once more and waited for the rest of the platoon to file out. A small door opened at the top of his coffin. The small rocket fired off into the ceiling. Its payload was a remote-controlled explosive. The device lodged itself near a plasma conduit. Detonating that would incinerate the room and annihilate everything within the room.
05:15 The National Institute for Technological Advancement – Ground Level, Section 49C
The platoon cautiously approached the site of the battle. They could see a pair of fallen marines lying motionless on the floor down the corridor. When the platoon reached the intersection, they scanned around the edges and confirmed they were alone.
“Clear,” Vanessa said.
“Clear here as well,” Darryl said.
John stepped forward, “Darryl and Erica, form a perimeter. Derrick, get your squads to help me investigate the bodies.”
He continued to walk to the platoon’s commanding officer’s body and knelt down beside it. John observed the damage. The distinctive ball-shaped damage in the armor told who attacked them. As did the location of the damage.
“They got shot in the back.”
The Marines were busy looking over the scene. Careful respect was paid to the fallen. It didn’t take long for the truth to become known. They looked at one another with confused looks, for the truth was almost impossible to truly believe.
Arianna was the first to speak up, “Sir, reactive mass rounds caused this damage. The Union doesn’t have those do they?”
“From a certain point of view, I am hoping they have discovered how to mass produce those now,” John said.
“Sir, can you log into this suit and review these readings? I skimmed over their sensor readings and I really need another set of eyes,” Vanessa’s voice was trembling.
John connected his suit to the fallen soldier’s and reviewed the sensor data. The attack happened suddenly and was not at all expected. The platoon was not checking their rear, the SpecFor platoon was doing that for them. But then the unexpected happened.
“A general command was sent to shut their suits down. It seems this platoon didn’t get our upgrades…” John let his sentence trail off.
“They were new to the operation. None could vouch for them,” Erica said sheepishly, “It’s my…”
John stood up and faced Erica and raised his large fist, “It’s not your fault. SpecFor killed them.”
He paced back and forth before creating a secure comlink, “Dagger Actual to Command, how copy?”
There was a moment before Jerad responded in a static-filled message, “Dagger Command, good to hear from you.”
“Bonehunter Platoon is confirmed KIA. Can you confirm their partners?”
Jerad looked at his screen, “SpecFor Team Charlie Seven.”
“Can you confirm they were with the Bonehunters when we lost contact with them?” John inquired.
“Wait a moment,” Jerad said as he reviewed the data, “Records confirm that.”
“Location of Charlie Seven now?” John asked.
“Not far from you. Level 2 Section 50B. They are reportedly securing a research laboratory.”
“Roger. We are proceeding to Level 3 Section 52F to investigate a room there. Will feed intel if we find anything of use.”
“Copy, stay safe out there. Hearing reports of more determined defenses the deeper you go into the central base,” Jerad said, “Seems like they are pulling their defenses back. Trying to bleed us badly and force us to pull out.”
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
“Understood, we’ll be smart out there.”
The Marines continued checking each body. Each and every one of them was attacked from the rear. Multiple shots to the back followed by a, at least presumably to John, a killing shot to the back of the head. One or two casualties could be explained away as a friendly fire incident. If he didn’t have the sensor readouts the gunshot evidence alone would be enough to prove something sinister happened.
To add fuel to the fire, John saw Dix behave curiously behind him as he investigated the bodies. Eve then noticed several attempts were made to control his suit. She took much more offense to these electronic attacks than John did, though that was her domain and not his.
“Suit shut down remotely, shot in the back. What in the hell,” John said as he investigated another Marine, “Sorry brother, you didn’t get an honorable death. Perhaps…”
John sighed as he continued to monitor Dix. He pulled up his file and skimmed through it once again. It still remained too clean. The records were fresh, but he couldn’t get any hard details on who he was. He shrugged and tried accessing the NI mainframe, which he surprisingly still had access to. Or at least partial access.
There were two files for Dix in the NI database. The current and active official file and an unofficial one. Usually, but not always, that meant the person was on a cover assignment. The unofficial record John was unable to access. In fact, even if he was still an agent, he wouldn’t have been able to access it. It was locked to an admiral in Fleet Command that he didn’t recognize.
To John, this was yet more circumstantial evidence to prove his case. Not that he needed it, he was already convinced. But if he were to do anything drastic, he wanted to ensure he’d have that evidence in case a senior officer was to attempt to end his career.
John couldn’t wait any longer, the first moment that Dix had his back to him John moved. Dix either didn’t see or didn’t react to John walking over to him. The former seemed to be the correct assumption as Dix flinched mightily when a giant hand was on his pauldron. The hand firmly held him in place, which was scary enough but then a plasma blast gun appeared from within the top of the fist.
“Dix, your communications have been cut to the outside world. Understand that the truth means a hell of a lot to me. I strongly recommend you answer everything I ask truthfully. Do you understand?” John tried to sound serious but came off as very threatening.
“I… do… but why?” Dix stammered out.
The Marines stopped what they were doing and began to watch the scene unfold. None knew precisely what was going on. The platoon collectively began to think at the same time that the lone surviving new member could have something to do with the massacre.
“What is your real name and rank?”
“Corporal Richard Eng,” Dix answered without any confidence in his voice.
The plasma gun crackled with energy, “Try again. You’ve used up your mulligan by the way.”
Erica then stepped forward, “Sir, what is going on?”
“Excellent question, but let’s let Dix here answer my question first.”
The plasma gun had finished charging. A sickening green emanated from it. Thousands of things flashed through Dix’s mind, most were awful. There didn’t seem to be a way out. His HUD then briefly flashed, then its appearance changed noticeably. A new VI was in his suits systems copying and transferring everything to another location. It also copied his access codes.
“My name is correct, but I’m a First Lieutenant in the Special Forces assigned to Charlie Company,” Dix sighed, “I am a recon scout, but I had nothing to do this though.”
“And the answer to Sergeant Nielsen’s question?”
“Same as you. We are here to capture Dr. Norman and end his organization.”
John squeezed his hand, “A half answer won’t cut it. What happens to the rest of us?”
“Why must I answer that question? You’ve already got the answers to your questions.”
John continued squeezing the pauldron which was now being deformed slightly, “I insist that you answer it.”
“Some of the companies received orders to eliminate certain wildcards in the operation. Bodies would be left behind and an orbital bombardment would take place. None would be the wiser.”
“Fucking hell,” Paul said, “They set us up.”
John nodded, “And since I’m a wildcard they were willing to put y’all down because of me.”
“Not just because of you, they developed to be a bit too like you,” Dix said, “Charlie company was simply following orders.”
“Just following orders?” John couldn’t believe his ears, “You had the same orders to end our lives did you not?”
Dix’s body language was clear as day to all that witnessed it.
“The two of you were plants to off me, effectively causing chaos within the platoon thereby making it easier for Cunningham to kill us,” John said observing Dix, “Not too far off, eh?”
“It is as you said.”
John sighed loudly, “Did any of you assholes begin to think that the orders may not be legitimate? You do realize that Fleet Command cannot simply order one platoon to kill another. That’s murder.”
“What?” Dix sounded confused.
“We’re behind enemy lines in a very hostile site. And y’all are fucking killing friendly assets that could help secure the prize. That’s not even short-sighted, it’s so far past idiotic.”
“Fleet Command believed otherwise.”
Erica stepped forward, “Hold the fuck on, Fleet Command was aware of this? This isn’t an NI plan?”
Dix shook his head, “As far as I’m aware NI was very against this plan. No one could be trusted to capture Dr. Norman.”
“They were willing to sacrifice the whole fucking mission to capture that asshole,” John couldn’t hide his disgust, “Capturing a war criminal and enabling his research once he’s brought to friendly territory while we get put down like a rabid animal and left to rot. That’s what Fleet Command signed us up for.”
Vanessa leered at Dix, “Did the fresh blood in Fleet Command sign off on this?”
“That’s above my pay grade.”
“Vanessa, tap into his records and confirm that statement,” John was trying to keep his emotions in check.
John opened a secured channel to Jerad, “Dagger Command, we have been dirtied. Adjusting to beta plan, going dark now.”
“Understood, will alert the other platoons. Happy hunting.”
“Is anyone in SpecFor not ordered to kill any friendly targets?” John asked.
“All of us attacking the central base here had similar orders. Any company in the outer campus didn’t have these orders.”
“Alright folks,” John said, “Adjust IFF to Spec Two. The fuckwits in SpecFor are to be considered hostile now. We will tread carefully around them, except for the platoon that did this. They are getting treated no differently than the enemy. We’re on our own now. If you want out, I’d recommend getting out of this building, I wouldn’t blame any of you for bailing on this shitshow.”
“What do you think you’re going to accomplish?” Dix asked, “Seriously what hope do you have here?”
“I had hoped adults would enter the room and do the right thing.”
“Sounds like that makes us the adults in the room,” Derrick walked towards John, “What’s the plan?”
“We honor our dead by putting down the animals that killed our brothers and sisters here. Then we take out the primary server room. Then I kill Dr. Norman.”
“I’m in,” Erica said as she looked back at her squads, “They are too it seems.”
“We’re good to go,” Derrick answered confidently.
“As are we,” Darryl said, “What are you going to do with that asshole.”
Dix started to laugh, “You make it sound so easy. Do you think the others are just going to let you get away with it?”
“Did you bother to ask yourself why you weren’t able to get to the command node in our suits?” John leaned down menacingly over Dix.
Dix nodded his head slowly.
“The rest of the Marine squads are either separating from their SpecFor ‘allies’ as we speak,” John scoffed at that, “And have ensured their suits can’t be shut down. They also are observing their would-be goalers and will kill them if they so much as flinch.”
Dix visibly trembled.
“Did you really think we weren’t tipped off about this? That we hadn’t prepared for this eventuality?”
Derrick then asked, “What are we going to do with dickhead? We can’t carry him along. Definitely can’t let him have weapons.”
“Good question, Eve can you spoof his vitals readouts?” John asked his VI.
“Yes, that is possible, give me a moment to create the program,” Eve was already working on the program, “Done.”
Just as soon as Dix’s spoofed vitals appeared in place of the actuals John Instantly fired the blast gun. What was once a head was vaporized. The traitor ceased to be; the cancer that was forcibly inserted into the platoon was excised. John stood up and looked at his Marines.
“The other rat has been eliminated,” John deactivated his weapon and sighed, “Fucking hell. Why are they playing such idiotic games?”
John knelt down and plugged himself into Dix’s suit. Files, communication, messages, and orders were copied and transferred, and tucked safely away. In the event John would die or otherwise be permanently detained, the whole hot mess would be released to anyone that called themselves a member of the media in the known galaxy.
“Eve, make sure the other platoons have access to the secure coms SpecFor is using to communicate. I also want you to jam any requests for assistance should a friendly squad attack them.”
“We’ll follow you into hell, sir,” Erica saluted John.
The rest of the platoon stood at attention and saluted him as well.
“I can’t guarantee anyone’s safety. It’s going to get messy. If I tell y’all to bail, I need you to do as I say. I will try and protect you the best I can from the repercussions that will be coming.”
“It’s a fight worth fighting, sir,” Arianna.
“Let’s kill these bastards and get the hell out of here,” Vanessa said.
“Be that as it may, things will get more difficult,” John said.
“Are you trying to dissuade us from joining you, sir?” Erica asked.
“I want to make sure y’all are aware of the risks before wading into the shit,” John said, “I can’t, nor will I, order you to do this. We are violating our orders, and that is going to come back at us. I won’t be able to shield everyone from that.”
Darryl grunted, “Well, we’re already in it because you offed the dickhead over there. SpecFor slaughtered this platoon for no good reason. And we know that Commander Cunningham will do the same to us.”
“If they bounce me from service, then I come up with a new plan,” Vanessa said.
“I’m not sure I want to be part of this if the higher-ups will work us over like they want to,” Paul said.
The Marines that didn’t speak were nodding their heads in agreement. John didn’t have to order them to do anything. They wanted to do this as much as he did. What’s more, he had already earned their trust, he was not only willing but actively fought with them in the trenches.
“Alright, the first step is taking out Charlie Seven with extreme prejudice. Then we rig the main server room, call in SpecFor to secure it, and then blow it up. Speaking of,” John grinned as he set off the explosive device, he set up in the quantum server room.
A loud explosion could be heard from down the hallway.
“Then we cut the head off the snake. If all goes well the cigars and whisky are on me.”
“Oorah,” the Marines roared in agreement.