Ethan
Initially, my plan was simple: create a small disturbance to free Vexx.
Soon, a more chaotic plan emerged: use the battle between two forces as cover to free Vexx and the drone.
Neither plan sat well with me.
More than anything, I longed to reunite with my people and understand the situation.
I knew very well that any force holding a prisoner for interrogation wouldn’t be pleased if that prisoner was stolen from them.
I had taken Xyra from life, and I had taken her from Vexx. I owed her that much, didn’t I?
My team and I had maneuvered as close to the signal as possible while staying underground.
Navigating the labyrinth beneath City 29 was no easy feat, but thanks to Virgil’s meticulous mapping, we had a reliable guide.
The tunnels where we were moving were a relic of a bygone era, filled with rusting pipes and flickering lights.
The air was thick with the smell of damp metal and the hum of some powerful energy generator going full force. Virgil’s artificial voice resounded in my mind.
"We have not yet integrated the ancient machine into the community. Some units are heavily damaged."
-I know.-
"Our force is limited."
-I know. I chose only warrior drones for a reason.-
"You will be putting us in danger."
-Is Xyra all right?-
“Drone Xyra sustained minimal damage. After reattaching her head and reconnecting the servo motors, she’s back in service. She will join us with the less-damaged drones from the climate control room. ETA 15 minutes, local time.”
-What about Lemela?-
"Lemela and her unit are already en route to the surface. ETA 10 minutes, local time."
-Are we prepared to maximize our advantage?-
"Inter-drone sensor sharing is ready. Predictive logic modules, loaded. Reanimation protocols prompted. Enduring life functions: activated."
I tried not to frown at the technical jargon nor smirk at the concept that having your head looped clean off could be called minimal damage and focused on the mission.
-Then we move. Total operation time: 30 minutes. In and out. The only easy day was yesterday, Virgil.-
I expected my mechanical arm to malfunction, but it allowed me to grasp the energy rifle, albeit reluctantly.
"You are being illogical. There’s no guarantee that Claye’s faction won’t be hostile."
-I know. Strike hard, strike fast, and create as much confusion as possible. Coordinate our force in teams of two. We won’t fire back on Claye’s forces. No matter what.-
The rifle I held was sleek and rugged, with cooling vents emitting a pulsating blue light that hinted at the energy coursing through it.
Its weight and construction spoke of precision engineering, the sleek, ridged barrel was made of dark, nearly black metal.
I was thankful that most aliens I saw had fingers or big scary claws.
The stock was reinforced with armored plates, and intricate cabling connected to the firing mechanism, encased in a cage with a big standard trigger.
The design of the weapon's trigger guard was not tailored for a human; rather, it seemed spacious enough to accommodate my entire hand, making the guard itself feel redundant.
I glanced around the dimly lit tunnel, the familiar green tinge of night vision mode, the reality of our situation sinking in.
We stood in a maintenance corridor, sheltered from the chaos above.
The floor was damp, and small puddles of stagnant and putrid water reflected the weak, flickering lights overhead. The weight of the rifle in my hands brought back memories of battles fought and won.
"Our drones are in position," Virgil announced, voice unemotional. "T-28. Awaiting your command."
I took a deep breath, steeling myself for what was to come.
“We received an urgent request from Within Claye’s faction.” Virgil interrupts sharing with me the footage of the request and I chuckle.
-Tell them we’re coming. Never Out Of The Fight, Semper Fi!-
The mission ahead had just become more dangerous, but the stakes were too high to back down now. This was it—the culmination of our efforts, the moment where we would either succeed gloriously or fail disastrously.
"All systems green. Drones are synchronized and awaiting deployment. Xyra and Lemela are en route and will rendezvous with us shortly."
I grin, the machine has dug far in my memory to drag up this color, but this I understand; gripping the rifle tighter I start first what I command.
-Then we move.-
The only easy day was yesterday, and today, today we would carve our path to victory.
The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
Claye Eligah
Claye knew that if Dexton’s goons ever got serious, given the overwhelming number difference he would be in trouble, but he never expected it to be this bad.
His men were ready to sacrifice themselves, but he wasn’t prepared to lose them.
He had already lost too many throughout his long career, often putting them through impossible situations like this one.
He saw his daughter entering the cell and closing comms, understanding that she was about to do what he was too conflicted to do.
Claye decided that if it went well, she would take the credit. If it went badly, he would take the blame and scold her privately.
He would do this for any of his soldiers, as their safety and well-being were always his priority, but this time it was his daughter taking the risk.
Frustrated that she didn’t consult him, he sighed and refocused on the security screens. It didn’t take long for the results of his daughter’s actions to show themselves and what he saw shocked him.
They emerged from the depths with precision and overwhelming force, moving in pairs with tactics he had only seen in special ops.
Armed with energy weapons, they unleashed laser rays and blue plasma bolts with lethal accuracy. Each shot found its mark, every movement a display of coordinated perfection, sowing chaos among Dexton’s forces.
The tactical pattern was distinctly human, old but effective. The things that emerged could only be defined as horrors from beneath, a nightmarish fusion of biology and technology.
Granfi, Li’thirwiszs, Krynnaks, or Zekarn, all cybernetically augmented to the point one could barely tell the base creature in species as similar as Krynnaks and Zekarns in build.
Their forms were all streamlined for battle, with visible mechanical joints and enhancements designed for combat efficiency. Leading the charge was a larger, bulkier figure.
It seemed a partial fusion between the form of a human and that of a Granfi.
Granfi were shunned for genetic engineering themselves, so it wasn’t something out of the ordinary to see some Granfi differing in size and shape.
Squinting just right, however, it seemed this one was not a modification of a Granfi.
All the parts that would make it one were mechanical, disproportionate as if they were made to cover something.
Claye wondered for a split second what the scavengers were up to, they weren’t among the species that dared to mess with humans, but it wasn’t the time for idle speculation.
That thing, despite its size, moved with the grace of a master warrior, every movement calculated to maximize confusion and minimize risk to its team.
Since Claye could observe from outside the chaotic pattern of battle and from the view of multiple cameras, he could realize that those abominations seemed to anticipate attacks before they happened, their coordination uncanny.
The few attacks that landed left them unfazed, even when losing limbs and even heads they continued moving, only stopped upon complete annihilation. The eeriest of things was how, even without a head, they could continue moving and shooting with precision as if they still could see and perceive their companions.
The chaos and fear they created was immense. The pirates panicked, their haphazard formation breaking quickly.
Claye couldn’t fault them, they were facing a third contender, one that moved about what most species including his own would describe as abominations. Claye recognized Lemela emerging with four more horrors from a perfect flanking position, their entry timed flawlessly with the lead’s actions. They created a devastating pincer maneuver that left the enemy reeling. Speed, surprise, and violence of action manifested in her and her group’s actions.
Lemela moved with fluidity, her synchronization with her unit perfect as they tore through the opposition. It was clear they knew the passages below well; Claye suspected they had even created some of their own. Their movement converged toward the building he was in, so after all they might be trying to recover the prisoner. The questions were many, too many, and he didn't have the time to weigh them all. His gut was telling him that those abominations had to be destroyed. His experience, however, told him otherwise: this was a manual rescue operation executed to a t. Old as it was, the strategy was clearly of human make and only someone with experience could have pulled it off.
Unexpectedly, and lastly, Xyra joined the fray. She looked... wrong like she was a machine, seamlessly coordinating with two mechanical monstrosities. Her movements were precise, and her coordination with the mechanical horrors was seamless. Claye watched the security screens, the precision and ferocity of the attack left him both awed and deeply unsettled.
26 in the first wave, 6 in the second wave, and 3 in the third. Each individual performed as it was in sync with the others, a unit acting as an extension of one single will. Swapping weapons mid-fight or using energy blades when all else failed and when enemies closed in.
-Do not engage first. If they attack, weapons free.-
Claye commanded over the comm channel, as the things came into weapons range.
The improbable rescuers pressed the advantage, tactics he could tell honed from countless missions now playing out in real-time and with machine-like precision for him to see and ponder.
Ethan
Killing should never come easy, yet I can grimly confirm that Virgil makes this look almost inconsequential, no regret, no sympathy, no nothing. Each fallen enemy is a step closer to the objective, a life unknown reduced to pure simple math. I was already aware of this, but still, having to face it again on the frontline is a stark reminder of the supposed purpose of Virgil.
Holding weapons that can scar the ground and can reduce the enemy to dust should also be a huge shock for me but, mainly, I don’t feel it.
-Status update-
“Access secure. Enemy routing. Pattern 76% likely to lead to re-organization of enemy forces. Our losses < 10%. Warning! statistical anomaly in our losses. We may have overestimated the approach T-15”
-Understood. Next time simply say the plan is working. Keep up the pressure, don’t let them reorganize. Begin body and damaged drone recovery. Rotate forces where needed. Lemela, Xyra, with me on point.-
Dexton’s forces were in disarray, their coordination crumbling, under fire by my troops and the position held by Claye’s group they seemed to be running for their life.
The chaos gave me the edge I needed. I left the bulk of my force behind and entered the building, despite the protest of Virgil who insisted I send first Lemela and Xyra. As if I would ever make a couple of civilians lead the entry into a building, and Xyra has already lost her head once for one of my orders!
Ignoring Virgil’s reminder that they are now part of the collective I quickly look around, weapon trained and ready to shoot. The buildings on the surface display the same wear and tear as those below and seem built of the same material too. If anything they seemed to be more refined, whereas by refined I mean they at least tried to coat or hide the metal behind something. This building has been kept operative, and there are clear signs of patches here and there with newer components installed in the utility sockets.
I don’t need the stream of information right now Virgil, I might be curious, but tell me later what’s what. I was pointing my weapon even before I realized it, Lemela’s eye caught the shape of that suit, the one that showed up to meet her in Vexx’s shop. I frown, not like we can see each other’s expressions right now.
-Hold your fire, Chief Thorne. We will engage if fired upon. I repeat: we will engage if fired upon.-
I try blindly, hoping beyond hope that behind the frame gleaming in the flickering artificial light, within the monstrous machinery is the human I called upon.
-Xyra- The voice I expected to hear comes out of the bulky machine -I never expected to see you come here, holding a weapon no less.-
-I know you only hunt those who threaten others, Chief Garrett Thorne. I feared you'd associate Vexx with those. This is … - I can feel her doubt, and I end the presentation myself.
-Uncle Sam.- I say keeping my weapon trained upon the frame and ready to fire, slowly adjusting my stance; if this thing is anything like the other I may not have the luxury to let it take a swing or two at me.
-Master Chief Ethan Scott, SEAL, DEVGRU Team HEART. I will be taking those I left in your custody.-