After a long trek through the mountains they finally came upon the front line. It was a scene of devastation. On one side there was only rock and barren ground left. And on the other were destroyed trees, trampled meadows, and impact craters. Everywhere was littered with the black remains and blue ichor of beetles and millipedes.
“This scene is getting my philosophical itch going. It’s as if we are on the cusp of the change in eras. One where the edge of the Goliath’s vision for the world is clashing with the old world that we lived in,” Jamieson said. “And even if we successfully defend, at what cost will it come?”
“It’s so sad,” Monroe said. “And it will probably take countless years to repair the damage that they have done.”
“Indeed. We need to cut out this cancer as soon as possible.”
“Do you still have your cap on buddy?” Conners asked.
“Yes. Never leave home without it.”
“Good. Good. Cause I was wondering, you know?”
There was a beep that came through the comms then before it was followed by a voice, “This is Commander Gale. As we are moving into the combat zone please keep all communications to necessary ones only.
“We will push on until the object is in sight and will stop at the very edge of the enemy's range. There we will try to draw out and terminate as many of the type 1 and type 2’s as possible before sending in the apcs and starting bombardment.”
Barten had a laugh as it seemed like her words targeted squad 5. The rest of their trip was done in silence. And as much as he would have liked to hear the others, not even Conners was the type to go against a Commander. It wasn’t long until the g object, or Goliath as Jamieson wanted to call it, appeared on the horizon. Just as large and menacing as Barten remembered it to be.
Lines of black crawled across the land, winding away from the base of the object. “Looks like we won’t have to knock in order to be greeted,” Commander Gale said over the comms. “All davs forward. Protect the apcs and be aware of the enemy range. We’ll add it to your davs hud. No matter what, don't go over that line.”
Barten suddenly felt his heart beating in his chest. He had calmed down after they had left. But now it was beating faster than ever. With the call to combat he moved his dav forward along with the others. Facing off against a line of davs would have terrified Barten if he encountered it before. But now that he was piloting one, he wondered what the object and its minions thought of them? Could it even feel fear?
The millipedes were faster than the beetles on the open field. And were the first ones to come into the davs range. All at once they stopped moving forward and opened fire. The combined womp of the plasma cannons going off at once rattled his dav. It would have been defending if not for the protection of the cockpits.
Barten watched as the shots arced upwards, before raining down on the van sized foes. There was a cacophony of explosions and screeching as they died. Only right behind the first waves was another wave. And another right after that. Crawling over the destroyed, looking to do the same to the humans and their davs. Barten lost himself in aiming, firing, and searching for the next enemy to shoot.
“Those of you with less than 30% of ammo fall back and swap out for a fresh cell,” Commander Gale’s voice sounded out. Barten checked and noticed that he was already down to 18%. With one one last volley he broke away from the front line and moved his dav suit back towards supply.
There was a long line of vehicles that traced back through the forests and mountains towards Alpha Base. Both like and unlike the lines of beetles coming from the object. One existing in fragile harmony with nature. While the other was taking everything that it can lay its mandibles on.
Barten dropped his dav into a kneeling position and hit the controls for handing off the weapon. Techs swarmed over his dav along with the others and started switching out the huge fuel cells they used to power the plasma cannons.
His gaze fell onto the apcs and Barten had to take a second look. They had looted what they could from the battlefield and were doctoring their transports up with the remains of the beetles and millipedes. It was a good enough ruse that he might have mistaken them as enemies with only a glance.
A moment later and they were racing off, towards the object, towards their separate mission goal. Barten wished them luck in his mind. Being on the ground, outside of a dav, would be dangerous for them. Once his cannon was refueled he returned to the frontline and started shooting all over again.
While the beetles seemed endless they stopped seeing the millipedes after a time. In between the waves Barten noticed flashes of plasma near the object. As well as scrambling behind the lines as the enemy reacted. One of the davs moved forward at the sight and a moment later was laying on the ground in two pieces. While the dav that stood behind was missing its legs. A deep gouge was left in the earth from whatever the attack was.
“Damnit people!” Commander Gale sent. “Pull back a little more and stay the hell away from the line on your hud. Those that are closest get the legless dav and drag it to the supply. Leave the other one for now.” As the orders were coming in a a group of beetle had split off from the others. It was obvious that they were aiming for the downed davs.
Her orders didn’t sit well with Barten. Leaving the potentially still alive wounded like that. But if anyone else stepped forward it was fully possible that they would end up in the same position. The beetle squad was annihilated before it could get close enough for even a bite. And Barten found that the others must have felt the same as him. As any group of type 1s that broke off were quickly focused down and destroyed by cannon fire.
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Finally there was a series of explosions in the distance. Several of the thorns of the urchin-like structure of the g object tilted. Before they broke and toppled over. All at once the waves of beetles that were surging forward stopped in place and turned backwards. A moment later they retreated from the davs and were returning towards the object. Towards the fragile troops on the ground who had just blown up their home.
“Davs hold your position!” Command Gale sent. “Artillery inbound!”
Moments passed. The beetles continued to retreat and it looked like the ground troops were having issues falling back. Barten wanted to step forward to help. But the dav that had been cut in half was a constant reminder on what happened if you tried to be a hero too early.
After what felt like an eternity something rocketed through the air. It smashed into the g object and knocked down several thorns at once. And then another impacted on the far side and another thorn collapsed. There was a shrill keening sound that came from the g object after the thorns broke and fell away.
“Psychic attack detected. The davs have been reinforced with shielding and the ground troops are wearing protective headgear. Reports state that the auto defense should be severely weakened, if not downed entirely. Squad 1. Would you please,” Commander Gale sent through the comms.
Several davs stepped forward all at once. Their suits were older looking models than the ones that Barten and the others were piloting. Battle scarred and battle hardened. They were the first to brave the range on enemy's beam weapon. With no hesitation they all started running once over the line.
A moment passed. And then another. Squad 1 didn’t bother to deal with the beetles underfoot. And instead stomped through them aiming for the beleaguered ground troops and apcs. Explosions sounded out as their shots peeled away the attackers and Squad 1 took up a defensive position between the ground troops and the retreating beetle horde.
“That’s as good as we can ask for. All davs move forward with an eye on the sky. But your cannons kept on the enemy,” Commander Gale sent.
It was hard to tell, but on some level Barten hoped that he wasn’t the only one who cheered then. His feet hit the pedals of his dav and he leaped into a sprint. Stomping on the rare beetle while choosing his shots to inflict the most splash damage. The beetles had bunched up between Squad 1 and with all of the davs charging it was easy to finish them off.
“Good work everyone.” Commander Gale sent. “We’ve dealt with the exterior enemies for now. Please stand by as we look for entrances as well as mop up any stragglers.”
“Delta Squad 5. Please circle to the north around the g object. Destroy any hostiles while keeping an eye out for any movement in or on the object itself.” New orders came over the comms.
“Roger,” Barten said and looked for the others. It took a moment to find them amongst all of the other davs. But when the 5 of them all started moving in the same direction it was clear who his squad was.
Having only seen the g object from afar and through pictures Barten didn't realize just how large it was. Was it as big as a city? Larger? It could have held a countless number of the beetles and millipedes. And yet they’ve already dealt with the ones that had been sent out. Was there something else still in reserve?
“Man, that was awesome,” Conners said over comms. “Did you see how I shot like 3 of them at once?”
“I doubt that anyone would have been able to see. Given how much plasma was being tossed around,” Monroe said.
“Let's keep it serious for now,” Smith said. “This almost seems too easy. We waited all of that time to attack, and then only lost 2 davs?”
“It does seem like the amount of caution wasn’t warranted,” Jamison said.
They moved slowly around the north side of the object. Shooting any beetles or millipedes that popped out. “It’s so much easier with the cannons than the rifles,” Conners said. From time to time they could hear combat to their backs and from the other side of the object.
One of the thorns on the object trembled. But before Barten could call it out it snapped in half. He reached forward and grabbed Jamieson’s dav that was in front of him. And pulled him out of the way. “Falling thorn 9 o'clock!” Barten said into the comms. Conners was in the middle and he turned to look while Smith grabbed Conners and pulled his dav away. Monroe moved forward in time and didn’t stop to gawk like someone else.
The thorn was massive. And if it had hit one of them it wouldn’t have been a pretty sight. To make matters worse the barren land was little more than a dust bowl. And the impact caused all sorts of material to be scattered around. Which made it all but impossible to see anything beyond a few meters.
Barten saw a shadow in the dust. “Who else is on this side of the thorn? I thought that the 3 of you made it onto the other side.”
“What? Didn’t you and Jamison follow us through?” Smith asked. “I’m counting 5, no 6 on our side.”
“It’s them,” Jamieson and pushed Barten’s dav away. A black spear flicked between the two of them. It was so fast that the dust was pushed away enough that they were able to get a better look at what the dust hid.
It was a black 4 legged creature, with spines along its back and thorns at the knees of its legs. A maw filled with teeth was present on the oval body. And it turned toward the two of them and screamed.
“We got daddy long legs over here!” Conners said. “Let's give them some plasma!”
Barten was still trying to get a hold on his surroundings after Jamieson had moved his dav. While Jamieson was in a better position and had already leveled his cannon at the four legged new type. Only as soon as he fired a shot it was gone. All that remained was a column of air, clear of dust, where it once was standing. The plasma lobbed through empty space and impacted with the fallen thorn.
“They are fast, faster than any of us,” Smith said. “Try to fall back, fight defensively. And focus on a long battle.” His words were fast and came out rapid fire.
Without line of sight on the enemy Barten moved his dav. Standing still in any battle was always a death sentence. As was fighting against an unknown enemy. A quick check on Jamieson showed that he was doing the same. They went back to back as they slowly walked through the dust.
There were sounds of plasma on the other side of the thorn. Only the thorn was large enough that any combat might be over by the time they moved around it. They could try to climb the thorn, but there was the fact that the davs were heavy enough that they might be damaged from a fall. No matter how perfect or controlled it was. Meeks had drilled that into them. An elephant was one of the kings of the earth. But drop it a few meters and they’d become a pauper fast.
“It went above I think,” Jamieson said. “Jumped onto the thorn. Did it join the other side? Should we help?” His dav moved away from the object and looked down the length of the thorn. “It would take too long to get around it. Uggh. Barten. Should we fall back?”
Barten shook his head at first. And then realized that Jamieson wasn’t able to see him. “I don’t know,” he said and looked for a way to help his squad trapped on the other side.