//3049 ‘COMMAND SITE ALPHA’ MAGELLAN’s NEST, NEW PERSIA\\
The footage paled once again, it flashed on screen, double stacked arrows flashed and reverted it, on a blocky rectangular screen displayed the beginning, distant footage of the expanse. A blackened abyss with only a few lights cutting in.
In the Second Heaven, Space.
“I can’t believe it didn’t work, are you telling me they can disengage that kind of kill vehicle? It was moving at a fraction of the speed of light.” Krul Tersely ranted, Delara rose her fist and slammed it into the table beside him.
Magellan just watched, it recorded and replayed the footage to them, the recon vessel enough distance to maintain past engagement range recon and cool observation recorded the light.
It burrowed in from Terrorspace, it cast a shadow into the galaxy a point so dark it was seen even from the 746 Million miles of the powerful periscopes mounted on this recon vessel.
It warped in it was a Kill vehicle, V-19 Destiny with enough payload to kill a star.
Yet it curved and arced in, with tremendous velocity, it was over Fracturia. And quickly killed all velocity it broke apart into millions of tiny shards in an instant, a vessel with enough mass to kill a continent on its own shattered as soon as It warped into real space slipping in like a mirror was turned to reveal a new figure.
-
“They’re better, that wasn’t an autonomous machine, they remotely disabled the vehicle from within its own core the moment their eyes were on it.” Magellan coldly stated.
Krul shook his head “And what of the Shocktroopers that got abandoned there, what we don’t have anything else!?” He raved throwing his hands up.
“We were expecting them to secure this planet in.” He sighed out as if realizing it was stupid “An hour after landing!”
“We saw what remained of your vessels before the recon cameras went off on those too, it’s just as I suspected, my proposal….”
“Proposal?” Krul questioned and Magellan nodded “Not just what I have proposed in the past, but what I have proposed currently, they’re adapting to out non-reliance on externally controlled autonomous weapons, they are learning to bend terrorspace to violate machines isolated and without mechanic of any wireless control capability..
Krul shook his head and leaned over the holographic table as Delara just watched between them.
“They’ve been tought to fight in this recent five years but are you really suggesting?”
“Any advancements we are encountering now as powerful as they are, are outdated. As my proposal suggests, traveling between Galaxies is too taxing.
”.Any Mechra incursions first wave in Apostle or Triangulum Galaxy are likely ten or twelve years outdated. Then any second wave is present advancements” She stated briefly, her voice wavering in confidence.
“Like we face now.” She swiped her hand across the Holographic table, slightly giving them all view of the hostile vessels they faced, shark-like but more than that shaped like darkened hands each with moving fingers with hundreds of guns, larger than any vessel they have
“With that as the case, I encountered some significant Mechra two years ago before I was taken off the front to train the Shocktroopers.”
“According to your final decision to reveal to me such to me so late.” He complained rolling his eyes and Magellan just shrugged as the ticking of the mechanical computers running data and analysis continued to run around them, a few of strangely flickering pink a bright pink…
you are suggesting they made a year's travel of up-to-date units in a year, they’re faster and upgraded far quicker…” He said on slow realization that caused his voice to tremble.
“Their utilization of terror space is getting faster too, on par with ours now..” Krul finished.
“Better.” Magellan spoke. Her expression sour a she brushed her lengthy hair out of her face.
The rest of the room was silent for minutes upon minutes and just silently glanced around strained.
Magellan was first to propose something “We need another fleet, they’ll be likely to deploy as much as they can, we need to buy Aleph time.”
“Aleph!?.., most of those shocktroopers that I was forced to train Are likely dead!” He spoke in a burst that had Delara flinch at the mere idea she had to think of that possibility“
”We took too many losses fleet wise! They damn near wiped out my entire First-Escort fleet that deployed those usless bastards there! We wouldn’t make a difference even if I had five warfleets handed to me from what I’ve seen!” He exaggerated throwing his hands up.
“It’d be a waste to all of my men if I sent them there like that! For them of all things!” Krul spoke sharply pointing at Magellan.
Magellan thought sharply ‘You don’t understand I’m asking for sacrifices to distract them nothing to put up a fight!’,
Magellan was pragmatic and cold and almost alienated him that nearly in attempt to scold Krul for thinking so highly of himself and his caste.
She just was silent and watched him, his chest rising as he was taking in deep breaths, controlling his ‘breathing’ like a human. But that’s how they all feel.
Being so Hopeless they feel so human unaware of the unknown danger on Fracturia they are only assured with all the Mechra have poured into that single system, that one planet amongst an entire galaxy to strike that there is something that can doom them all or worse…
Krul continued taking deep breath, looking at a display, thousands of dots like grains of sand showing shape and form of orbit around Fracturia, a ship that dwarfed the local natural satellite and bits of wreckage so misshapen the only recreation the holographic display could make was red blips indicating errors in generating display.
Krul went swiping his hands at the display causing them to disperse and fade.
Delara cut the silence with a physical swipe of her hand flat like a knife.
“I can assure you.” Delara looked at a diagnostics display that was archaic and analog built into the table that projected the three-dimensional display, sighing at their concessions to weave around perpetual and relentless nano-second interval electronic warfare
“We….may have only lost three or four Shocktroopers.” Delara tried to say but her fists twitched, And Magellan seemed to reach for the displays off switch and screen protector switch.
“. And I blame that to helmet loss.” Delara worked out, her teeth grinding. She was looking toward diagnostics.
A rectangular blip with ‘ACTIVE HIGH-SERGEANT’ Written in Persian above, it was Aleph’s military photo.
She clenched the table tightly.
Krul sighed “I’m going. I’m taking everything I got, it’s clear to me they aren’t making any significant gains, it’s only a matter of time before they get burned from orbit!”
Magellan corrected “They wont.” She spoke and the rest of them in the Command room paused.
The sound of ventilation, the hum of electronics and others performing analysis of this wide-scale war within the entirety of the system surrounding Fracturia, data scrolling by.
Each time Magellan saw the results of their efforts in the peripherals of the war computers her eyes grew wet. “I have reason to believe they’re attempting something significant and can’t risk an orbital strike.” She gave a nod “It explains why we haven’t seen any atmospheric bombardment either.”
Krul gave a nod “All the more reason, I could take an entire unit of Vallschrimjager, link up with the Shocktroopers and then we burn that world if it’s so important to them!” Krul spat sharply in retort.
“You’d take them to their death and you know it.” Delara chastises and Krul is quick to respond, making swift hand-motion to emphasize anger.
She cuts him off. “You want to link up with them, the Shocktroopers to monitor but most of all confirm what you are hoping, that there has been zero-casualties.”
Krul grumbles he places his hand into his face palm resting over his features, Delara gave a nod.
“Are you so prideful and full of hate for us you wont admit you’re hoping the Shocktroopers succeed, you helped train them.”
“I did the inferior training.” Krul emphasized, he took it to heart and with Yervandal and Eternia not present he felt emboldened to admit that. “I question why I was assigned Delara.”
“I hate you all for what you’d done, for your betrayal your forefathers insistence on your betrayal, but I’m not stupid. I know what you’ve all done the moment you landed, and how you’ve all but held them from taking significant ground in this Empire.” He suddenly burst out his voice went dim.
“How human of you to humble yourself as best you could.” Delara spoke thinking of Aleph.
‘I’m Sorry.’ A phrase he had beaten out of him due to how excessively he used it, the weakness of humans their inherent limitations he thought were his own had him reluctant in sparring.
She beat it out of him..pushed him to the brink of death even for a Shocktrooper to cure that.
She widened her eyes and settled a gaze on Krul, inhaling deeply, Magellan and Krul expectantly waiting for her words as she went to lay out her strategy.
“But I am holding you to your command, we are going with your plan to forward the push.” Delara started then stopped folding both arms
“Your training has helped Aleph, but it is effective, if he had only Yervandals prime efficiency and rationalization as a Shocktroopers they wouldn’t be moving as far as they are.” The tall woman continued shadowing over both with examination
She gazed upon the holographic display of what was likely Aleph and the 144,000.
Pthe holographic clouds, she saw them moving further from the scans, distorted vague figures moving toward a massive, fortified city.
“We will move forwards, I want you to deploy the Vallschrimjager Krul.”
Vallschrim, a caste meant to replace the Shocktroopers meant to just barely imitiate maybe a fraction of their actual capability, instead this artificially born caste created by the Vis-Stasi caste were utilized in suicidal attacks as stock weapons, barely owning homes or having families, nearing extinction. Initially discovered through offspring of Vis-Stasi and Shocktroopers couples.
This was utilized in more efficient methods but without the Shocktroopers inclusion for fear of retaliation, with request for help to Eternia and Magellan they gained enough material to change Vis-stasi at birth, cultivating populations on frontier worlds before recruiting them, grooming them young into the military
Krul seemed reluctant at the request of having him not only get them in such high-demand but– “The hoops I’d have to go through.” He muttered aloud to Delara making her perk her helmeted head up communicating difficulty in attaining them
but truly thought on it, with reluctant consideration he affirmed her request “I will.” Giving a nod as he spoke grimly.
Magellan rose an eyebrow looking between the two
“What? You both emphasized they’d barely have benefit.”
“Exactly, I’m pushing Aleph forwards with their unreliability, we are strained for time we don’t even know we have or not, we can likely squeeze out efficiency…. I know Aleph’s weakness.” She crossed arms behind her back.
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“Aleph recognizes it, it’s obvious, to other vampires and even amongst each other we could be invincible, it’s why I sharply believe we have zero-casualties, but that is issue. Aleph can move at a pace that ensures it remains that way.”
“No matter how strong he is, with an additional retinue as vulnerable as the average vallschrim is, he can’t afford to be slow he’ll need to be quick.” She paused and truly thought on it, her helmet was on her head.
She shut her eyes under, “To keep them alive.” She finished
Krul seemed to nod knowing what she was getting at, emboldened to argue against risking the creation of the vis-stasi caste he realized the strategy here may be effective. It was less costly than losing another fleet of ships.
“Humans are empathetic, weak to the plight of others even for the Shocktroopers its disturbing for you all to exploit that.” Krul seemed to smile at this plan.
Magellan seemed to emphasize her trust in this plan “I think this could work, but might you detail?”
“Aleph’s humanity will be our asset, he’s in no rush with an invincible force, throw vulnerable assets under his command and we will squeeze him until he pushes out efficiency to save as much as he can.”
“We’re going to teeter close on breaking him. ” Delara spoke her voice cracking, feeling pained at suggesting this.
Delara thought back to how he was when she found him, being raised by humans had muted his vampiric qualities, nearly starved for blood.. She didn’t resent their teachings only ignorance they thought him pretending to be something he wasn’t, was what was best. “You’re not human.” She scolded him sharply, when she realized what he was doing.
Breaking out from the training facility to meet some unknown human, only returning to receive painful lashing, tough to regenerate from even for a Vampire…
She never told them who she was meeting that she would be executed in front of, Aleph.
She never knew why, maybe she did take to being his mother for the time she took him in…
“I let you go Aleph, but I couldn’t protect you forever. You have to make it. Live!”
[Introduction of Vallschrim]
They came in quick and swift, the dropship they came on had thrusters, large sharp fixed-wings at its left and right and it sauntered it gracefully, gliding down toward the surface, the interior buckled and shook it had open doors.
It had been merely two hours.
An entire Fleet had been reassigned to Krul, and to his surprise it was without measure, much larger than he requested, things were far too approving letting Krul know the wider Empire was becoming more aware, communication heightened even at such a time things like this would be sensitive.
Krul stood and his eyes glanced up around the walls that enclosed this portion of the facility, behind the bulkhead armored entrance that lead to this wide walkway large enough to fit a tank surrounded by water around him. The wet smell of mud filling his nose at how decrepit the surface was.
A testament to how much the teams inside were working, they hadn’t even commanded clean up because they had no longer found time to leave anymore and go to the surface.
He was glancing at as distant ships flickered in, their shadows dawning over the sky that was far from blue but was hardly dark, it was day, and flickering in like streaks of light came ships.
He could see dots tossing themselves off the sides of these transports..much earlier than they should be as if they had dangerously warped in beside the ship, piggybacking off its terrorspace jump.
Soon enough one of the more obvious dots was becoming a large vaguer figure in his vision, and he focused in.
A purplish Transport swung by the massive greyish structure’s contrails behind it,
An Omni-VTOL, “Shifter” it was often called when he served in the frontline.
it was a strange vessel, amongst the organization of transports that littered the sky moving to and fro of the distant skyscrapers that were still considerably close.
Hanging above the sky was the heavy lingering ships they likely departed from, having made a marathon charge and organization here, faster than he could’ve imagined.
Two hours, either Eternia herself somehow heard the plan and commanded this
it had sockets above the two gimbal engines attached at the end of each of the large cyndrical thrusters attached to its wings, the darkish tertiary of the rotor craft as out of the sockets came rotors as the engines cut to low burn came out.
It came down.
It was a single-stage-to-orbit, with high capability, making it one of the most expensive vehicles in the entire Empire due to the sheer complexity rather than any vast effectiveness, albeit decently armored.
It was angular and boxy and provided limited places to put guns to provide support to any troops landing from it.
The Perfect tool for the Vallschrimjagers who were already stretching onto the metallic armored plate of the military facility smacked into the center of New Persia.
Aleph’s home, precisely ‘Cyrus’ a significant city holding a decent human population, it appeared royal with a heavily industrialized, smoggy center full of skyscrapers, all military industries and structures, a site where humans were dedicated to producing weapons.
None of them ever go to anyone on the front, it’s to keep them busy.
“They’d likely rebel.” Comes to Krul’s mind as he is looking it over from the landing pad, hardly paying attention to the tall men and woman who step off the craft.
“KOMMANDANT!” Shouted the Woman, she threw her arm fast, fingers crashing into her plate helmet akin to a sallet with a heavy
Thwack-Crak!
two beady glowing red eyes vaguely seen within the dark expanse of her knightly visor
Krul was looking at them as he didn’t see the other transports coming down just the ships.
“Seems they realized the seriousness of this operation, I’m offered more than I need.”
The other Vallschrimjagers caught up to her, forced into a jog, they towered over Krul who was by no means short, 6’2, but even Vallschrimjagers reached tall heights [6’9’7’0] The woman was most egregious the full seven-foot over the others who were at lower end.
They were ready and equipped, they wouldn’t need to prepare they were most likely command group, high ranking amongst vallschrimjagers.
“At-ease.” He waved his hand toward them, as he smiled at them. He loved to see them.
The Vallschrimjagers here hadn’t met him, but if they had they’d have loved to see him, Krul often made strict use of Vallschrimjagers as his premier escort, he didn’t just use them as tools they were his weapon, he was devoted to them as often as they would be devoted to him and still were after serving with him on rotation of command. Discouraging consolidating power from loyal retinues.
She spoke first “I’m XO on our vessel.” She spoke clearly.
Krul’s face twitched. “That many have vis-stasi died in your sector?” He spoke in abject disbelief.
Someone else confirmed as someone walked forwards “I’m acting Captain and sadly confirm to you sir, we are utilizing command authority of our own carriers. We are still waiting on new cycles of future naval crewman in twenty-years to replenish fleets in our sector.”
He half worriedly grumbled “But an army can’t be birthed and raised to sixteen in a day.” He spoke as if saddened such a thing wasn’t just possible.
Krul was about to jump as he waited for a salute that never came, not immediately recognizing who this was until he really focused on the voice.
He thanked himself upon realizing it, thanked himself he didn’t immediately get down to rearranging the jaw of this Vallschrimjager for daring not to salute like the others were, because he knew him.
His hand extended and shook, John’s.
He can remember the flames, the raw excitement of combat as John whittled through brigades of mechanical menaces, how he pummeled anything in his path. He had Krul saying ‘Shocktroopers will weep.’ Krul wasn’t just a fan of the Vallschrim he was still trying to get them Not thrown in suicidally. ‘You’re our future.’ He remembers saying often.
“I see you are leading a new unit, John.” He gave a nod, “More than a unit you are fielding control of what looks like a few invasion fleets worth of your men and women alongside you.” He gave a nod.
John motioned for the others to step behind, they parted as he stepped forwards, a full 7’4, he was different than other Vallschrims His mother was indeed a Shocktrooper.
He had scratches on his armor, a marking, with an etched sketch of a Mechra lower caste’s skull dotting,
Krul looked him over noting advancement since the last time he’d seen a Vallschrimjager
his armor with V-Neck collar and chestpiece plated together, in a unique shade of purple that made them stand out. His armor emanated a light within and there was a striking hum.
‘It’s even powered we are desperate.’ He thought, whilst Vallschrim having such wasn’t total totally unbelievable, they were as close as they would get to natural Shocktroopers, they didn’t have powered armor up until–…well now he just discovered.
It seems only Shocktroopers have the armor of not even having powered armor because they’re so good now… Krul grumbled.
“Alright.” He spoke, Krul giving a nod and fumbling his words still feeling like he was getting revelations things weren’t just bad on Fracturia, being in that facility hid him from what may have been going on, but outside no time had passed he maybe just forgot it was always this bad.
Forget!? Too Human maybe this Aleph curse is rubbing off on me! He sights to himself before straightening out.
“Sir!” John broke him from his thoughts. It was unusual to see Krul lost in them.
Krul answered, “You’re going to be using not even a quarter of this force, you are deploying orbitally from a great distance.”
“Great distance?”
“From the next world over, I’ll detail and debrief on your vessel, I do not need to chat with you again, John but it’s good to see you.” He extended his hand.
John shook it, and as they both withdrew hands John saluted “Come with me sir!”
-
He was quick to climb aboard that transport, sitting aboard.
He could hear its engines spin up, Krul felt small and sat between two of the Vallschrimjagers, nearly crushed but they had taken a stance they often did protecting people, he wasn’t going to chastise them for good instinct.
But he was going to try his best to avoid answering any of John’s questions.
John was glancing out the open side door as it began to raise from the clearing, giving him view over the walls, seeing humans staring and watching.
“A lot of humans here, sir permission to question?”
Krul gave a nod.
John answered either going to ask anyway before he could answer or just sensed his head moving as he faced the outside.
“What’s with all these normal humans?”
“Shocktroopers, a ton of them live here, nearly turning it into an enclave, they took a fairly large number of refugees with them from a conquest, .
”The incident.” Krul elusively remarked as the transport thundered and rotorblades spun, It nearly got defeaning but their hearing was greater than any human.
“Your mother should’ve told you about it.” Krul accused additionally
John gave a nod looking to them as he hung on a side-door, bringing it shut to a close “I heard this was an advanced facility they put here to train any children from the shocktrooper-caste who settled here…”
“It’s unapproved even by other shocktroopers Eternia herself had it set up, I didn’t know it existed until she put me here.” Krul recognized and quoted to John.
“Really Eternia herself?” A Vallschrimjager spoke out of turn, “Yo-you’ve.” The woman, the XO got a sharp glare from her Captain and quickly shut up.
Krul responded to this “Forgiven, you also have permission to question as much as John there is no exceptions under my order or authority, I’ve seen her.” He predicted next question and answered.
The XO straightened up, And John regarded Krul nodding. “My XO, is Ada.”
Ada seemed to turn her head to Krul, Krul almost shuddered, she almost had that same lifeless gaze Shocktroopers had, he was lifeless, but it was beyond lifeless like a predator that preyed on Vampires as well as humans if not better.
“I realized I sensed it A stabilization anchor, not just ones on the ships…” he questioned immediately.
Krul Marveled John’s senses were so heightened he sensed it.
Whilst John was now staring at the closed door of the transport he glanced outwards, and it was in the direction of that twisted facility where indoctrination failed.
Krul answered “We aren’t using it, it got jammed as soon as the Mechra caught wind of the shocktroopers deployed to Fracturia, they searched for its signature cut it out of terrorspace, it’s why briefing wasn’t prepared for surface.” Krul announced.
John had the senses his mother gave him to inherit. “….” They were all silent.
-
\\ FRACTURIA TWO DAYS LATER AUGUST 15TH //
Aleph felt himself he was here but not really, his hands gripped and he had too much sensation in his hands, far more than the sensation due to his heightened pain tolerance.
He was sensing it as if he felt like he was a machine calculating it after the singularity of becoming conscious.
The streams of data he saw were now visible, he could avoid any ambush and they did.
It’s been two days so far and they’ve smashed enough enemies to make a dent in the carrier operations of what he assumed to be that massive ship in orbit.
‘Not a carrier’ Aleph has assessed already If it was we would’ve been drowned.
It’s supporting carriers, now those were indeed actually ships meant to tow units.
Aleph had been fighting new and newer enemies as it dragged on.
-Saturn Castes-
They were becoming more numerous it was some sort of new unit he knew it because he couldn’t just see the streams of data he could read them instantly, it was about twenty-five klicks or kilometers away which was low-balling the distance he seemed to be able to read.
I gave away something is up.
The machines adapted; they knew he was unnaturally predicting. And it almost made him laugh, they acted Terrified!
They’d have to be even more terrified; he’d carefully lead 144,000 entrenched around a massive city, depleted carriers of their deploying units.
Aleph had encircled and smashed hostile units in Guerilla warfare for about the two days that have passed.
They are low on ammo, they are stocked up on whatever he scrounged up from the machines, he was in tune with machines now, he grossly learned to disturbingly cannibalize their parts he tweaked around.
He was scared of himself now, he was smarter than he should be, gleaming information from the machines data transfers he was using against them.
‘Directive, prolong assault, lead targets.’ He heard once when they were engaged in a tight engagement, he immediately let another group go and counter the unprepared machines who were prepped and stocked to ambush them as soon as they were pushed into a tight position.
Killing their plan.
After that battle, he cannibalized their arm-cannons, directly stowed on their arms, massive energy weapons with no barrels due to being slotted onto their limbs as arms but also additionally could be slotted around an arm.
He learned how to teach the others to trick the mechanism into thinking it was being attached tightly to the Mechra, he got angry looks when the mechanical parts bolted into their flesh, a side-effect of not being compatible machine chassis.
But they forgave him when they ran out of ammo and relied on energy weapons with incredible energy expenditure, likely only going to deplete after a month of constant usage.
They Adapted quickly to him and his kooky experimental tactics,
He quickly adapted to them constantly questioning him,he used the heat of energy weapons stolen to melt together plates of the machines for makeshift armor filling in gaps for Saiyah, Asaph, Anna and anyone else who needed it.
Now they were all around.
They had a plan.
They were circled around, they could sense the tower as it gained more power and with it they were going to levy all they had in one singular vicious assault, Aleph was confident in his ability now how he tangled with machines.
He felt the hum of the shield before he even touched it, the electromagnetic barrier, repulsing any projectile until it harmlessly pinged off it would do the same to them, but Aleph was different, there was a dense layer of plasma shielding it further and he knew he could disperse it.
He learned it.
Even now from above, he was not making full utilization of everything they’d deployed with.
‘Mobility packs’ it was a desperate item, all 144,000 of them were scared to use it they knew if they had to, they clearly were being outmatched agility wise in any tactical engagement, but here it was used for a new plan.
The alertness of the machines was going to spark off as a unit of Shocktroopers went above, 14,000 splitting off from the main pack.
They would dive down as the shield opened, and rain hell from any high position hostiles could defend from.
It’d be a hellish urban battle.
But Aleph was confident, not because he had settled that he was far from human but he hardly recognized whatever the hell he was anymore.
His hand rose as sounds of alarm came and as tensions brewed.
Amidst the rising sound of electronic arcs coming off the shield attempting to strike the Shocktroopers literally flying over its dome curvature he clenched his fist.
“STRIKE!”