Reaper Squad
As he sat in the cockpit of the C21 Apex Predator, Connor could feel his blood boiling. The steady hum of the engines vibrating through his seat and the staccato bursts of comms traffic in his ears from the controllers did nothing to soothe his fury. The reports running over his HUD stoked his fires.
A squadron of Jedaji had somehow gotten past the front line patrols and were attacking non-military targets on the African East Coast. Civilian shopping centres, sporting events, administrative buildings were all being attacked, and here he was with his squadron, sitting and waiting for permission to launch a counter offensive. He ran his eyes over his panels again, and sat back and fumed at the delay. He reached out and slapped the comms switch;
“Control, this is Reaper One. What's the holdup?” He crossed his arms as he waited for a response.
“Reaper One, this is Control. 5 mikes to launch, please transmit squad status now.” Connor acknowledged and opened a channel to the squad. “Attention Reaper squadron, 5 mikes to launch, transmit status reports to control and ready up.” He settled himself back into his seat, and ran an eye over his instrument panel again. Everything was ready, he just needed to be let off the leash. His headset crackled.
“Control to Reaper squadron, prepare to launch.”
A wolfish grin spread over Connors face. “Reaper squad ready to launch on your mark, Control.” His hands flew over the control panel, bringing his fighter up to full readiness. The engines, previously quietly humming in the background, had now picked up to a solid roar. He gripped the stick and throttle and waited, hearing the roar echoed from the rest of his squad’s fighters.
The platform they were standing on shuddered, then began to slowly rise, the grinding of metal adding to the roar of the engines, music to his ears and honing his fury at the insult of being attacked on his wedding day to a sharp point. Above him, the hangar roof split open, revealing a black sky with the Earth far above his current position. Upwards they rose, until the platform locked in place with a solid thunk.
The squadron’s thirteen fighters were already lined up with the lunar runway. Connor punched in his command code into his console, and the runway lights turned blood red, from the vaporish white they were before. He rolled the stick twice, clockwise and then counterclockwise, his preflight ritual, and barked into his headset:
“This is Reaper One, launching!”
With that he rammed the throttle forward and was crushed back into his flight chair as the C21 streaked down the runway. Connor pulled back on the stick hard, the nose of the angular fighter tipped up, and then he was free from the moon’s weak gravity and amongst the stars. He felt the thunk as his landing gear was locked into the body of the fighter and sealed. His headset and HUD, now flashing information through his helmet's visor, confirmed the successful launch of the rest of the squadron.
“Reaper Seven, launching.”
“Reaper Ten, launching”
“Reaper Four, launching”
A message from Control flashed over his HUD. All Reaper squadron fighters are airborne and in formation. Connor’s wolfish grin settled into stone-faced focus as he opened a comms channel to Control and the squad.
“Control, confirmed all Reaper squad fighters are airborne. Reaper squad, hold current course for the African continent, East coast, flight ultrasonic. Time on target, 45 minutes. Stand by for an intel briefing.” He shut off the comms, settling back into his seat as his radar pinged that they were coming up on the ISS. The ancient station was a relic from the past, and has been converted into a museum documenting humanity’s early escapades into space.
His comm pinged an incoming message, and he switched over to the tactical channel. The voice on the channel was tinny and robotic. “Attention Reaper squad. Deployment intel briefing commencing. Control handed over to Adjudicator Marion for action.”
The line clicked, and a female voice replaced the AI. “Attention Reaper squad, this is Adjudicator Marion. Situation as follows: Approximately 2 hours ago, a group of Jedaji Raiders had slipped past the patrol cordon, and were attacking civilian targets on the African East Coast, specifically the city of Malindi. Targets danger close, extreme caution is advised. Civilian casualties from reports on the ground number in the thousands and are rising rapidly.”
The Adjudicator paused, and Connor frowned. Africa? There was very little military interest on the African continent. He looped around a satellite as he waited for the briefing to continue. A few more moments of silence overlaid with the slight hiss of an open channel lasted before the Adjudicator continued.
“Apologies for the delay. New intel was just received. Civilians are fleeing the area under the protection of the local militia, and have requested assistance with their retreat. Reaper One, designate three units for cover. Minimal contact on retreat groups has been reported thus far, the Raiders seem intent on focussing their attack against the city of Malindi. Intelligence is unable to determine why the city has been targeted at this time. Intel package is being transmitted to your onboard AI now.” His board pinged receipt of the intel package, and Connor pulled it up on his HUD. Several satellite photos depicting the devastation of the city scrolled past him, including sites marked as being set up as defensive positions by the enemy, and he annotated them on the tactical map shared between the squad. Several notations from the rest of the squad showed up on his as well.
Connor pulled up his squad list. “Adjudicator, Reapers Two, Three and Six will assist with evacuation, the rest of the squad will engage and destroy the attackers.” Connor pulled up his map of the east coast of Africa, and zoomed in on Malindi. There was not much there that could be of interest. It was not as developed as other cities on the coastline, and served no military purpose. The area was mostly used for farming, but was hardly a major food production centre. Were the Jedaji just attacking it on a whim? Connor opened a channel to his second in command, Commander Robert Bryce.
“Bryce, you there?” The line clicked, and Bryce’s gruff voice came back immediately. “Right here, Captain.” Connor transmitted the report on Malindi to him. “Take a look at this, it's a report of Malindi and the surroundings. There’s not really anything of worth there, so why are the Jedaji attacking it?”
Connor checked his radar and ETA on his navigation display as he waited for Bryce to respond. The roar of the engines changed pitch for a moment as he guided the C21 around another satellite. A few moments later, Bryce’s channel clicked and he began speaking.
“Honestly, sir, I have no idea. No major food production sites, no military installations aside from the local militia barracks, the only things I can see that would be worth the attack would be the small R&D station and the administrative buildings, but the report from Intelligence regarding the R&D station says that it’s focussing on marine biology? This is a nonsensical target from a military perspective.”
Connor nodded as he listened. He had come to the same conclusion as his second in command. From all appearances, the Jedaji attack would gain them nothing in the long run. A city can be rebuilt and repopulated in record time with the technology the Central Earth Government had at its disposal. So why attack here?
Fifteen minutes later, his radar pinged twice, indicating that they were close to entering the upper atmosphere. He sent a command to his squad to switch to the tactical channel, and waited until all units had acknowledged. A notification popped up on his visor that the Adjudicator was available on the same channel. He adjusted his course, and cleared his throat and began addressing his squad.
“Reaper squad, this is Reaper One. Time on target, 20 mikes. Our mission is to destroy the attacking Jedaji. This mission will be danger close, so watch your fire. There are still civilians in the area that have not evacuated yet. Reapers Two, Three and Six will assist the local militia with evacuation, while the rest of us do the heavy lifting.” Chuckles came across the channel at the good natured jibe. “Bryce, Jace and Tiny, you will break formation on target. All other Reaper units will fan out, and proceed with search and destroy operations.” He heard multiple pings over the channel as the radars on the fighters indicated imminent atmospheric entry.
“Reaper squad, prepare for atmospheric entry. Time on target, 15 mikes.” Connor gripped the controls, and rolled the C21 over and dove straight down to the planet surface. The C21 shuddered and started shaking as it dove into the upper atmosphere. Connor switched on the heat shield as the friction notification began flashing red on his board. A thin energy shield sprang up over the nose and cockpit, extending to halfway down the C21’s body, deflecting the heat from entry away from the fighter. Atmospheric entry was always fast, and a few moments later the fighters broke free from high altitude clouds into the lower atmosphere.
The blue expanse of the Indian ocean glittered below them as the squad plummeted down to the surface, the sonic booms of their entry reverberating over the water. Connor split his attention between the altitude meter and his radar, and began reducing his speed while simultaneously pulling the fighter up into horizontal flight 2000 metres above the water, noting the positions of the rest of the squad as they pulled into formation around him. The ten minute warning on his timer pinged in his ear as he pushed the throttle forward again.
“Reaper squad, this is Reaper One. Keep this channel clear for intel updates. Everyone, pull up your tactical maps.” He waited until he had received confirmation from the squad that their maps were open. “Ok team. Control AI has marked the Jedaji positions on our maps. Real time updates are running. Reapers Two, Three and Six, your engagement zone is marked in green, for evac assistance. Bryce, you have command.” The three pilots acknowledged the order. “Remaining Reapers will break into two flights. Reapers Four, Five, Seven and Eight, on me. Reapers Nine through Thirteen, you will form the second flight. Havoc, you’re in command.” Reaper Thirteen, piloted by Lieutenant Harry “Havoc” Simmons, acknowledged.
Connor’s timer pinged again. “Reaper squad, time on target, 5 mikes. Evac squad, break formation and head to the evac zone now.” He looked to his left and saw the three fighters peeling off and heading further south towards the demarcated zone. He switched channels, opening a private line to Havoc. “Reaper One Three, this is Reaper One, how copy?”
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“Reaper One, Reaper One Three, loud and clear. What’s the plan, Captain?” Havoc had a light voice, and regularly entertained the troop in the mess halls with his singing. Connor ran an eye over the tactical map with the enemy weapons placements marked. Real time updates showed that more fortifications were being built. “It looks like they are building something on the northern edge of the city. The satellite feed looks fuzzed, so I can't make out what exactly it is. But if it’s being built by the Jedaji, we need to wipe it out. I want you to take your flight, swing north, and clean out that sector. From there, engage targets at will. Remember that there are still civilians in the area, so watch your fire as far as possible. Control AI and the Adjudicator will feed priority targets as Intelligence highlights them.”
“Orders confirmed, Reaper One. Breaking formation now. Good hunting.” The line clicked and Conner saw the five fighters break formation and streak north on his radar. He switched channels again, pulling his four remaining fighters into his channel. “Reaper One to squad. Time on target, 3 mikes. We are weapons free. We will be sweeping in from the beach and heading into the centre of the city. Engage targets at will. Remember, this mission is danger close.”
The proximity alarm flashed across his visor, and he opened a channel to the entire squad. “Reaper One to Reaper squad. Decelerate to combat speed, and activate intel streams now. All units, engage.” He watched confirmations pinging on his intel screen as the rest of the squad brought their weapons online and dropped their speeds.
He pulled back on the throttle, pushing his stick forward to put the C21 into a steep dive. He tapped a button, switching his tactical map to his board, and picked out targets. His selected targets were communicated to the rest of the fighters and theirs were transmitted back to him in turn, to ensure that no-one attacked the same target twice.
The beachfront was a hive of activity, and the Jedaji on the beach had spotted the incoming fighters and had started firing at them. Connor’s HUD highlighted his selected targets, indicating that his weapons were locked on. He flicked a switch on his stick, and pumped the trigger several times. His fighter shuddered as the missiles he just released streaked away towards their programmed targets, and he pulled up, but not before he saw that the entire beachfront had exploded. His tactical map dropped several highlighted targets.
His comms pinged, and he switched channels. “Reaper One, this is Adjudicator Marion, come in please.” Connor flipped the fighter on its side as he blasted between two skyscrapers. “Reaper One to Adjudicator, ready to receive.'' He responded as he unleashed another set of missiles at a group of Jedaji that were running for cover in a building. His HUD flashed red, indicating that someone had locked on to his fighter and he threw the fighter into a tight roll. Windows shattered behind him followed by an explosion as the rocket streaking after him hit an office building.
“Reaper One, Control AI has identified an anomaly five clicks north of your position. The energy signature is unknown and satellite imagery is unavailable. Investigate and engage is required. How copy?”
Connor glanced at the readout being fed across his visor. “Copy, Adjudicator. Reapers One and Four will investigate.” He tapped a switch, opening a comms channel to Reaper Four, piloted by the young rookie Rico “Magic” Rodriquez. “Reaper One to Reaper Four, disengage and form up with me.” With that, Connor pulled up and banked north and a few moments later, Reaper Four rose up out of the city and settled in formation on his left.
“Reaper Four reporting as ordered, Captain. Where’s the fire?” Rico has a deep but smooth voice which belied his slight frame. Connor grinned. He liked the kid, and he was a damn fine pilot. He had mastered the C21 relatively quickly and had proven himself an asset to the squad. “Reaper Four, sending intel now. We have been tasked to check out an anomaly by Control. Should be on target in 20 seconds. How copy?”
Reaper Four acknowledged, and Connor flicked a switch, turning his underside camera’s to train on the city. His camera display fed directly into his visor, and he frowned at the image being transmitted. Several buildings have fallen into a crater, and the crater was heaving, almost like it was breathing. The two fighters roared over the crater as it heaved up again, and the pilots saw a crack splitting the earth below them.
The next moment the ground exploded and a massive bipedal mech reared up out of the ground, shoving aside the buildings that had fallen into the crater. Connors mouth fell open as the size of the thing registered on him. His sensors began feeding readings into his HUD and his amazement grew.
The mech was two hundred metres tall, with arms and legs as long and thick as three train carriages welded together. The body of the mech looked like it was covered in thick metal armour, and was the size of a football field. As the fighters flew by overhead, Connor clearly saw that the head of the machine turned to follow them. One of the arms raised and followed their course.
Alarms went off all over his fighter, and his HUD flashed red again. He yanked back on the throttle, jerking the stick to the right and diving hard, pressing a button on his throttle to launch his first set of flares. “Reaper Four, evasive action!” he shouted into his mic and he heard Magic swear as he complied. A moment later a series of rockets from the mech burned through the space they had just occupied.
Explosions rocked his fighter and he fought to keep control. He pulled the C21 in a steep climb and tapped a button on his throttle to fire a burst from his front thrusters, tipping the nose of the fighter over and bringing the massive mech into his targeting reticule. He flicked the selector on his stick and fired a burst from his rocket pods. The mech raised its other arm and Connor saw an energy shield spring up over it just before the rockets made impact. For a moment, it looked like the mech was knocked off balance, and Connor fired a second burst.
The second burst also struck the shield, rocking the mech again. Connor drove down towards it, pulling up as he passed overhead and released one of his 200 pound bombs. The concussion from the explosion shook his fighter, but he managed to regain control quickly. He scanned the readout from his sensors, and saw on his radar that Reaper Four had followed up with another bomb. “Reaper Four, status report.” He snapped into his mic as he scanned a readout of his own fighter quickly.
Rico’s voice was shaky when he responded. “Reaper One, sustained some damage to engines and port side weapons systems, but I’m ok. What the hell is that thing, sir?” Connor pulled around in a slow turn, and studied the crater in the ground. There was movement down there and his instruments indicated that the mech was still active. “No idea, Reaper Four. Checking with control now.” He was about to switch channels when a priority message pinged in his headset.
“Reaper One, incoming call from local militia commander.” He tapped a button to switch channels. “This is Reaper One, Captain Robert James Connor, to whom am I speaking.” He banked right, with Reaper Four following suit. Connor noticed smoke streaming from Reaper Four’s left side as the channel clicked and a new voice came online.
“Reaper One, this is commander Ayanda, from the Melandi militia. I have taken over command of the evac operation and wanted to let you know that the evacuation of civilians is largely complete. We have an armoured division on their way to support ground operations and will be available to assist in the next 30 minutes.” Connor growled. 30 minutes is a long time in a situation like this. His sensors pinged, and he pulled up a camera feed. The smoke had cleared and the mech was already back on its feet, and turning around to track him and Rico’s movements.
“Commander, while I appreciate the update and am happy that the civilians are for the most part out of the way, I have my hands full with a giant damn robot that just climbed out of a hole in the ground!” Reaper Four broke in, “Captain, second mech confirmed.” Connor glanced at the live feed and saw that a second mech was heaving its way out of the hole. “We have to deal with this now, Commander. Update me again when that armour group has arrived. Reaper One out.”
He pulled the fighter around in a tight turn, with Reaper Four tight on his wing. “Reaper One to squad, report!” he snapped as he lined up his reticule with the first mech. The mech squared up to him and raised both his arms, and Connor noted that panels had popped up on the things forearms and what looked like missiles loaded into the gap. “Reaper Four, target that thing’s arms with missiles, fire then break right high on my mark.” Reaper Four acknowledged, and Connor watched his reticle until it turned red. “Mark!”
He pulled his trigger, watching as four of his missiles were released in pairs of two, all streaking down to the mech, with Reaper Four’s missiles close behind, as he broke left and dove low to the ground. The missiles struck home, knocking the mech over again. Connor pulled up again, barely clearing a fallen building. He and Rico climbed up in a long spiral until they were several hundred metres above the city. His headset pinged, and he switched channels to hear Bryce swearing like his life depended on it.
“What the fuck is that thing! Tiny, break right! Break right, goddammit! Jace! Missiles! Centre mass!” Connor blinked, then pulled up his satellite feed. He could see on the feed that a third mech had come from somewhere and was engaging Bryce’s squad. As he watched, Jace in Reaper Six let a set of missiles off the leash, hitting the mech in the chest area and knocking it over. “Reaper One to Two, report!” Connor snapped.
“Reaper Two to One, I don't know what the hell this thing is but it came out of the ground and started pounding us. All three of us have sustained serious damage. We knock it down and it just keeps getting back up! Shit! Jace, break left, I’m on your tail and locked on!” Connor watched as Reaper Six pulled left, and Bryce fired two more missiles, both striking the mech. The mech staggered, but kept its feet under it and fired back at Bryce. He barely evaded the missile that streaked past him.
Connor’s board pinged, and he switched to Havoc’s channel. “Reaper One Three to Reaper One, come in over!” Havoc’s voice showed heavy strain, and Connor heard an explosion in the background. “Reaper One Three, Reaper One, copy. What’s happening!” His feed indicated that both mechs were on their feet below him, and were trying to get a lock.
“Connor, we swept the north of the city and it's clear with one really big exception.” Connor gritted his teeth. “Let me guess, a giant mech came out of the ground and you can throw whatever you want at it, it's not going down. Cause Rico and I are engaged with two of the damn things.” He heard Havoc groan. “Confirm One, I have the squad on rotation knocking it down but we’ve sustained heavy damage.” There was a pause. “Connor, we also lost Reaper Nine. Raven’s gone.”
Connor clenched his jaw. The entire squad was a tight knit group, and this was a loss that will be felt by all. “Copy, One Three, I’ll review later. Keep trying to put that thing down as long as possible and as safely as possible. Stand by.” He glanced out his cockpit at the mechs far below him. They were not engaging, which indicated a limit on their weapon ranges. He was about to open a channel to control when a priority message appeared on his visor. He switched channels, and a new voice came through on his headset.
“Reaper One, this is Admiral Wickham. Do you copy.” The admiral's voice carried the expectation of being obeyed, and quickly. Connor cleared his throat before responding. “Reaper One to Admiral Wickham, loud and clear sir. Are you aware of the current situation?” Connor tapped a key on his board, training the underbelly cameras and sensors on the mechs far below him, zooming in as far as possible. It looked like they were taking potshots at him and Rico, but the limited range of their weapons made it a wasted effort. The missiles and rockets streamed past their positions by hundreds of metres. He checked to make sure the feed was transmitting properly to Control.
The Admiral responded: “Yes, Captain, Command is aware of the current situation. As of now, you and your squad are ordered to return to base. We have an orbital strike satellite in position and will be bombarding the area in a few minutes. I have already issued orders to the local militia to clear the area. How copy, Captain?” Connor tried hard to keep the bitterness out of his voice as he confirmed the orders, already pulling his fighter out of the holding pattern over the centre of the city and heading out to sea.
He tapped a key to switch to the squad’s channel. “Reaper One to Reaper Squad. Disengage and form up with me. We have been ordered back to base. Command has opted to wipe out the entire city and those mechs with it from orbit.” Confirmations came streaming in from the squad, and on his tactical map Connor saw the fighters leaving the city and settling into formation behind him. Most of the fighters were trailing smoke. His rear mounted camera was still trained on the city and he could see the orbital bombardment beginning. Massive bolts of energy stabbed into the skyline, vaporising the few skyscrapers still standing.
He sighed. “Reaper squad, accelerate to escape velocity. Control, Reaper Squad is R.T.B.” He pulled back on the stick, pointing the C21 at the moon, and slid the throttle forward, the familiar sensation of being pushed back into his seat soothing his disappointment. As they broke out of the atmosphere, he had already begun composing the letter to Raven’s family.