Now
“You know, this is almost anticlimactic.” Cal took aim with his recoilless rifle, squeezed the trigger and blew the head off a horned chimp. He shook his head. “So weird without recoil. Even a Nerf gun has more of a kick,” he muttered.
It wasn’t just that Caretaker’s progressive upgrades to their predictive algorithm now allowed them to provide linked targeting guidance to up to twenty other people. It filtered through all the battlefield noise and fed targets directly to Cal’s helmet. Told him which targets, where to aim and even when to squeeze the trigger. It did this simultaneously for nineteen others despite the constantly shifting battlefield situation.
It was also the fact that their defensive preparations might’ve been just too good to overcome for the hordes of monsters assaulting them from all sides. Two days of near constant attack and the monsters had yet to reach the inner wall that the defenders were shooting down from.
“Designation: Honor? I do not understand your words.”
“C’mon, Actryarius I told you that you can just go with Honor.”
“Acknowledged.” The Threnosh’s white and gray power armor’s surface resembled fabric in parts with panels that were made out of some kind of synthetic material blend that their scientists could only identify about thirty percent off the components. They squeezed out surprisingly accurate shots from a recoilless rifle, no doubt thanks to assistance from Caretaker’s algorithm. “I will comply, Honor.”
Cal sighed. “I’m not demanding compliance.” It was a phrase he was tired of uttering.
The Threnosh on Cal’s other side laughed. It was a subdued chuckle, but for a Threnosh it was equivalent to a happy drunk laughing out of control at anything and everything around them. “Actryarius. Honor is not like your former leader. Though he commands us, he does not own us. He leads by example and worth. Not by virtue of his creche birth.”
“Uh… thanks, Telatrine,” Cal nodded at one of the weirdest Threnosh he had ever met. Of course this meant that they were essentially like a super polite human being. After such a long time without human interaction Cal was finding them a little off-putting. Not that there was anything wrong with Telatrine, they were a great alien. They reminded Cal of home. Some of the others had taken to slowly emulating Cal’s behavioral example, especially the earliest recruits.
Telatrine was fairly new, one of those that joined in the fifth month of the project and they were roughly at the same level as Caretaker, Kynnro and the like in terms of behaviors skewing more towards human than the normal Threnosh.
One other weird thing about Telatrine was their power armor. Like the majority of the team it was of superior metal alloy construction that Threnosh science only partially understood. What made it truly odd was that it resembled a naked Threnosh body, if it was built more robustly, more like a human. Underneath metallic skin were metallic muscles that functioned just like biological ones. There was an artificial circulatory system that worked very similarly to a biological one.
To cap it all off, Telatrine’s power armor responded to physical activity just like a biological body did. Its muscles grew bigger and stronger with weight training, while running and calisthenics built up its endurance. Cal never expected that he’d have to devise a training program for a Threnosh. It was certainly interesting and their gains were well beyond what Cal had experienced in human terms, at least from the pre-spires days.
Telatrine’s power armor started out with skinny arms and a pudgy belly. A sight that actually rendered Cal speechless for a moment. Now they were looking much stronger. Their arms and legs were noticeably thicker and more defined. The belly was shrinking. More importantly they were exhibiting levels of strength and durability that touched superhuman levels. Who knew where they’d be after another month? Or where their limit actually lay?
When Telatrine was inside their power armor they seamlessly integrated into the system like it was an extension of their normal body. As their power armor changed, it seemed that their normal body changed along with it. Although to a much slower rate and degree.
Cal stood back from the wall and cradled his rifle in the safe position, pointed down and away from anyone else. Strictly speaking, he didn’t need to keep shooting. The others, the newbs, would’ve benefited more from the Universal Points. The monsters were worth a lot more to them than they were to him. “Actryarius, my words were simply reflecting my opinion that facing these hordes has been significantly easier than I expected. I suppose I should chalk that up to the fine job the fabricators and engineers did preparing our defenses.”
“I concur,” Telatrine said. “It feels as if our efforts here are superfluous.”
“Negative. The briefing stated that we are to collect Universal Points through our efforts,” Actryarius said.
“That’s correct,” Cal said. “Every monster kill is valuable since you’re starting out.”
“Caretaker’s briefing said that you had faced a horde mode before. Do you know how much longer this will continue?” Telatrine said.
Cal thought about it for a moment. “Once and that one only had like ten waves,” he thought about it some more, “we’re like on wave forty-seven, so… who knows how much longer this will last. I suspect until the spawn points run out of monsters.”
The whine of anti-gravity engines and the roar of thrusters overhead drowned out Actryarius’ next question.
Interceptor Kymah 43 led the two members of Cal’s interceptor squadron on a bombing run over the attacking monsters. They flew several hundred feet above the battlefield and released miniature cluster bombs as they zipped in a zigzag pattern.
The bombs burst a dozen feet above the ground and showered the mass of monsters with a deadly spray of shrapnel that tore them to pieces.
Cal shielded his eyes from the bright orange bloom that temporarily lit up the dark of night. He gave a silent thanks to the automatic noise blocking features of his helmet for keeping out most of the sounds from the dozens of explosions.
“Well, at least you guys are going to be getting a lot of points out of this.” Cal stood and kept watch. He elected to refrain from using his rifle. Strictly speaking he was only there in the event that a more powerful monster, like a boss-type, were to appear. He was only taking shots out of boredom.
While he watched and waited Cal started to plot out how he was going to convince Prime Custodian 3 that he needed to keep the kaiju core on a permanent basis.
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The wall was about thirty feet tall. Cal didn’t bother using the stairs or the lift platform. He walked off the back and floated down to land lightly on the ground.
“You’re topped off?” Cal was alone in the dim light coming from the top of the wall. Just him and the shadows.
There was a movement, as if the shadows swirled for a moment.
Shira appeared.
“How did you know that I was already here?”
Their face mask wasn’t closed, so Cal saw the inquisitive look plainly on Shira’s face. He tried to ignore the reddish tint to their eyes and the sharp canines visible when they spoke.
“Your helmet’s sensors are unable to detect my presence when I am hidden in darkness. This was confirmed.”
Cal nodded. “I have my ways,” he added cryptically.
Shira stared at him with unblinking eyes.
“Fine. You’re scheduled to take my spot on boss watch and control informed me that you were on your way.” Cal ticked off the reasons with his fingers. The third he left unsaid. He had used a bit of telepathy. A light touch, merely to detect Shira’s presence on the ground. “So, are you all set to take over for me?”
Shira gave a sharp nod. “My trueskin’s blood reserves are full. I will discharge the task to the best of my abilities. I look forward to challenging any boss monsters that appear.” They slid their frightening face mask down into place.
The demon-like visage almost made Cal want to take a step back. Almost.
“Good to hear, but it’s starting to look like we won’t be getting any boss monsters.” Cal didn’t like the rush of something very close to unbridled joy and hunger that emanated from Shira’s mind at the thought of facing a boss monster. “Priority is watching out for the newbs.”
“Acknowledged,” Shira said sharply. “I will protect my weaker teammates.”
“Shhh,” Cal hushed them, “not so loud with the weaker talk. Remember they’re just like you were in your earlier days.”
Shira quirked their head. “That is… debatable.”
“Well, we can’t stand here all night doing that, so I’ll just remind you that no one knows how much their strength will grow with time and experience. Just as it was for you.”
“Understood.” Shira dipped her head.
“Alright,” Cal grinned, “I’ll leave you to it.”
Shira’s black-colored power armor blurred briefly as they jumped halfway up the wall. They gripped into the strong metal with stronger claws on their fingers and toes for a moment before covering the rest of the distance with another jump.
Cal walked briskly back through the three hundred or so yards of open ground between the wall and their base. He waved at the pair of standard infantry soldiers on guard at the doorway into the vehicle hangar as the door slid open in anticipation of his passing. He entered without having to break his stride.
He was met by Interrogator Ethereal Loaming 5623.
The interrogator looked down at their open PID set into the top of their power armor’s left gauntlet. They then pointedly looked at Cal.
“Right,” Cal said as he pulled his PID out of its protective compartment on his own unpowered armor. “What am I supposed to be looking at?” He swiped through the messages until he located the most recent one from the interrogator, turned into an unofficial all around administrator for their operation along with Interrogator Ebbing Tides 2337.
“The latest projections regarding ammunition expenditure versus fabrication.”
Cal spent a few seconds looking at the numbers. If he was being honest he was staring at them blankly, without really trying to comprehend them. He always did better with nice, colored charts and graphs. “Hmmm… interesting,” he said in a way that he hoped conveyed understanding. “Sum it up for me, please.”
Interrogator Ethereal Loaming 5623 stared flatly at Cal for several long seconds.
When they finally spoke there was a clear undercurrent of resignation in their voice. “At the current rate of use we will run out of ammunition in eight days.”
“We’ve got like literal tons of raw materials and we increased our number of fabricators.” Cal couldn’t help but whine a bit.
“The supply of raw materials is not the issue. We do not have enough fabricators even with the additions, nor do we have enough fabrication machinery.”
“Well, can we get more?”
“I have explored that option. Prime Custodian 3 is unable to reallocate any more fabricators. We will be able to requisition the necessary machinery, however the current facility layout is already at maximum efficiency from a production standpoint. The fabricators and engineers can expand, but that presents a different set of concerns.”
Cal tapped the three fingers of his left hand on the side of his thigh. “Of course, any sort of major construction projects will take Threnosh and materials away from current ammunition fabrication and maintenance of the defenses.” He thought for a second. “What about purchasing ammunition directly from the nearest cities and settlements? We’ve got plenty of Universal Points in the general fund. I’ll authorize paying a premium.”
“Negative. Such a thing is impossible.”
“Why?”
“It is not done. Prime Custodian 3 determines military allocation in their region. The leaders and administrators in charge of the largest cities and the smallest settlements will not consider such a thing.”
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
“Great,” Cal didn’t roll his eyes, “I’ll just add that to my list of things I need to discuss with PC3.”
There was a subtle narrowing of Interrogator Ethereal Loaming 5623’s eyes. Cal only noticed because of his better than normal human eyesight. Otherwise the crease to the interrogator’s smooth brow would’ve been unnoticeable.
“Your next scheduled communication with the Prime is not until twenty-three days from now. This matter is urgent.”
Cal smiled. “That’s cause this talk isn’t on the agenda. It’s more like an impromptu chat between colleagues. In other words I’m going to go contact PC3. It’s really about this one other thing, but I can add this ammo shortage problem.” He shrugged. “So, I guess it wasn’t really a list of things. Although, since there are two things now, then I guess it’s a list.” He stepped around the interrogator. “Thanks for the update, Loaming, keep up the good work!”
“Designation: Honor. What about the ammunition issue?” They called after him.
Cal waved a hand. “Don’t worry. We’ve got like a week of ammo left. Hopefully PC3 will help us out. If not then we’ll figure out something else to do.”
He made his way through the facility’s dimly lit corridors at a brisk pace. Aside from brighter lights set at regular intervals the general lighting mimicked the star-lit darkness of the night sky outside. He reached his office without any further delays.
Once the door slid shut behind him, he unlatched his helmet. There was a soft hiss as the sealed internal environment of the armor was exposed to the air. He took a deep breath. The air in his office was the same as in the helmet. Nondescript. It was free of any sort of external pollutants, which would’ve been great for his allergies, if he still had them, but it was also a bit sad with the sterileness of it all.
Cal placed the helmet on the stand next to his plain, metallic desk and sat down. He placed his PID on the desk and it quickly established the wireless connection.
The functions of his PID were displayed through a holographic projection above his desk surface. He swiped and waved his hands until he found what he was looking for.
The icon for attempting to establish direct contact to another flashed for a good minute before Prime Custodian 3’s face finally appeared as a much smaller than life-sized holographic projection.
The prime’s normally calm and composed demeanor was slightly off. Cal had spent enough time studying them catch it immediately. There was a slight crinkling at the outside corner of their right eye that showed that they were tense.
“Hey, PC3. Is this a bad time?” Cal projected a concerned tone. It wasn’t hard because he was genuinely concerned. If the prime was feeling stressed then it must’ve been about something bad.
“Yes.”
“Oh, want to talk about it?”
“There are several emergency situations that have occurred over the last several days.”
“Sounds serious.” Cal had an inkling that turned into dread in the blink of an eye. He shivered involuntarily despite the perfectly comfortable temperature in his office. “Uh… Zalthyss didn’t escape did he? Cause you were supposed to let me know immediately if that happened.”
“That specific Zalthyss is still in custody. It went dormant again shortly after you saw it.”
“When you say that specific one,” Cal narrowed his eyes, “I’m hearing the implication that there are more…”
“Correct. The Collective has forbidden the dissemination of the information I am about to relay, however our agreement in regards to any information related to Zalthyss supersedes their command.”
“Man, that’s good… I guess.” Cal felt his three-fingered left hand start to twitch. He clenched it into a fist to keep it still. “Alright, give me the terrible news. I’m ready.”
“Over the past several days there have been five separate incursions by beings that all claimed to be Zalthyss. They arrived through spires located within settlements. They then proceeded to wipe out the settlements’ entire populations before disappearing back into the spire. Presumably to return to their home world. Recordings from each incident captured the outworld invaders each calling themselves Zalthyss and repeating the same words that the first one had stated.”
“Right, about joining their dominion or something.” Cal nodded. He was very much trying to grab on to the details and facts to keep from freaking out, because he was getting close. “How far apart did these attacks occur? Were any concurrent?”
“None. Each attack was carried out at separate times. The settlements attacked are all spread out in different regions.”
“How confident are you that all of the attackers were Zalthyss? I mean I know one has been in captivity this whole time, while Prime Integral Covenant 7 fought another one. But five separate ones?”
“We have gathered sufficient data to assess the probability that we are dealing with a singular entity at essentially one hundred percent.”
“Right, so Zalthyss attacks five separate settlements then disappears back into the spire,” Cal said.
“It also had an addendum to the end of its statement. It declared that you cannot hide from it.”
“Oh… well that’s good, I’d hate to be forgotten.” Cal wanted to bang his head on his desk and keep it there for awhile, but he didn’t because that wouldn’t have been a good look. “So, what’s its game plan here? Why wipe out a city then leave?”
“Correction. They were not cities. Merely settlements of no more than two thousand Threnosh.”
“Still… that’s kind of cold, PC3. They’re still your people.”
“They were not in my jurisdiction. As such their safety was not my responsibility. They are dead in any case and are no longer relevant to the problem that faces us.”
“Again, cold… but, technically right, I guess,” Cal said. “What’s the Collective doing to respond?”
“Defensive measures are to be increased at all settlements of similar type as the ones assaulted. Additionally the five settlements will be strictly monitored for future incursions.”
Cal was already shaking his head. “That doesn’t sound like a good idea. A couple of reasons. Zalthyss has already shown that it can appear out of any spire. Just because it attacked a specific settlement type this time doesn’t mean it’ll do the same next time. As for the five destroyed settlements. The Collective should probably be placing as many soldiers as possible at their locations.”
“You expect further attack?”
“Probably,” Cal shrugged. “It looks like this is the dominion finally beginning their takeover of your world. Clearing the settlements creates beachheads for their army to start pouring in. Assuming they have an army. I mean, since your Collective refuses to do any scouting missions, we have no idea what they have.”
“Very well, I will relay your concerns,” Prime Custodian 3 said.
“Wait! The reason I called,” Cal said quickly before the prime could terminate the call, “two quick things. We need more ammunition. We’ll be out in eight days if this horde mode base defense continues. It’s a short term need so the finished products will be preferable to more fabricators and machinery.”
“That will not be possible in light of the rising threat level from outworld incursions. I need to make sure that my forces throughout my jurisdiction are adequately supplied.”
“Fair enough.” Cal expected as much as soon as he heard about the recent attacks. “Second issue. The kaiju core.”
“The Collective has demanded that it be taken out of your hands.”
“Figures… but, this is the only safe place to keep it. As evidenced by the literal horde of monsters being drawn to our base. Tell me, do you have any cities that can withstand the same level of attacks that we are currently dealing with?”
“There are several.”
“Ah, but how much would it disrupt the perfectly ordered operation of your region?”
Prime Custodian 3 said nothing.
“Right, so my proposal. It stays here. You send whatever scientists and researchers that you want to poke and prod at the core. Obviously, I get full access to their findings and since it is in my base and I’m protecting it then I get control over how it is handled.”
“The Collective is… uncomfortable with how much control you already have.”
Cal rolled his eyes. “I know, it’s why we’re having a harder time getting special candidates. They see how effective it is and their first reaction is to feel threatened. The Threnosh will need as many of our unique individuals and you’ll need them strong enough to face what’s coming from the dominion.”
“I agree to your terms,” Prime Custodian 3 said.
“Really?” Cal was taken aback by the speed of the answer.
“I have also spoken to the other primes. Some have expressed interest in your training special candidates from their jurisdictions. With the caveat that they be returned to them once they have grown sufficiently powerful. Prime Integral Covenant 7 is gathering a group of seven to send to you within the month.”
Surprised twice in a matter of seconds, Cal blinked. “Uh… wow, that’s great! Send them all to me the more the merrier.” He grinned.
“This briefing is at an end,” Prime Custodian 3 said. “Do not contact me until the scheduled time unless it is an emergency. I have much work to do to prepare for potential incursions in my region.” With that the prime’s holographic projection disappeared.
Cal took a deep breath and exhaled. It was good to think and plan instead of dwelling on the fact that Zalthyss or its clones or whatever was now openly appearing out of random spires. That meant that the angelic alien could appear out of the nearby spire. It was under constant surveillance, but that didn’t ease the growing dread in the pit of his stomach.
Now that he was alone in his office he was going to freak out for just a little bit. Not too long though, he still had a lot of work to get done. Especially now that it appeared that the dominion was finally making their move. He was going to have to figure out how to put an end to the horde mode they were currently facing.
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“It’s day six and it doesn’t look like horde mode is ending any time soon. Counting today we have three more days until we run out of ammunition. That includes mines and bombs. I’ve got two ideas. One is to take out entire waves by myself to buy time for ammo production, but that’s merely a stopgap. I can’t do that forever. It takes away Universal Points from the team and I’ll get tired eventually. The other is to start going after the spawn point secret bosses. Turn them back into encounter challenges like the mantisor area and the turkeysaurus rex area. Those two areas aren’t a problem. They don’t spawn enough monsters to truly threaten the walls and automated defenses encircling them. Of course, since we have no idea what those secret bosses are like, it’s a very risky tactic,” Cal said. “So, you said you’ve got a plan?”
“My plan is essentially your second one,” Caretaker said. “I will lead a portion of our forces into each of the remaining spawn zones and defeat the secret bosses to turn them back into encounter zones. As you stated, this will likely end the near constant monster spawns. Prime Custodian 3’s group can then rebuild the walls and automated defenses around the areas. While we replenish our ammunition stores and improve our own defenses for future monster assaults. I expect there will be more since we are keeping the kaiju core on site.”
“Maybe, maybe not,” Cal shrugged. “It seems to have an effective attracting range of around two hundred miles. There aren’t any other specific monsters areas aside from the ones surrounding us in that radius. Although we can probably expect to draw in any wandering monsters that gets within that range.”
“That is my concern. Particularly if we attract monsters on a similar scale as the one that produced the core. We are not currently prepared to face such a thing.”
Cal nodded. “Yeah, not looking forward to having to fight another kaiju-type monster again. I’ve already got enough terrifying things to deal with.” An image of Zalthyss’ impossibly perfect face flashed through his thoughts. He shook his head. “Your plan then? Give me the details.”
“I expect you do not need tactical specifics?”
“Yeah, I trust you’ve got that covered. Just give me the overhead view.”
“The assault team will consist of between eight and twelve individuals. Seven at any one time to fight the secret boss and the remainder as reserve. The point of maintaining a reserve is to switch out team members depending on the nature of the secret boss. If the boss is like the treant monster then Shira will be switched out with Adjudicator, since the former would be ineffective against a monster that they cannot drain blood from. While the latter’s ability to drain life energy has not demonstrated such restrictions. Since we have already located the boss lair for each area we will simply wait for a horde wave to leave before we use the transport to perform an aerial insertion. First, we defeat the boss and any other monsters. Then we defeat the secret boss. I aim to take on one area a day. This can be accelerated depending on how the first area goes. If we do not suffer too much damage and it does not take too long then I will consider assaulting a second area. In any case projections indicate that clearing an area will immediately limit the monster spawns, which will extend our remaining ammunition stores.”
“Who will you be using?” Cal was concerned about the newbies. Their general approach had been slowly building up each special candidate so that they had a proper boss fight at the end of their first month. The three newest recruits weren’t going to have that opportunity in Caretaker’s plan.
“All team members will have an opportunity to take part in at least one boss fight. At least one of the more inexperienced will be added to the team for the boss fight. Again I will base my decision on the nature of the boss and secret boss. However, I understand the importance of first hand experience against a boss level monster. I will not deprive the newest three. It is critical to their development.”
“Wow.” Cal’s eyes widened. “So, that’s what that feels like.”
“I do not understand.”
“It’s like you read my mind,” Cal grinned. “Do you have a place for me in your plan? Backup? Last minute savior?”
“Negative. We cannot have you always ‘holding our hands’, as you stated,” Caretaker said. “Although to completely discount you as an asset is unsound. I trust that you will be available in the event of an emergency?”
Cal nodded. “Right, that all sounds good. Last question, what about our defenses? While most of the team is fighting the boss and secret boss, what if we experience a surge in the horde?”
“I have calculated that you, the remaining team members, our soldier squads and the automated defense measures will be sufficient. In the event that my assessment is incorrect then I will send the reserves with me back to bolster the base defenses.”
Cal mulled all of it over for a few silent minutes. Throughout it all Caretaker stood impassively in their power armor on the other side of the desk.
Cal doubled checked Caretaker’s numbers, which were being projected above the surface of his desk. Everything looked pretty good to him. There was inherent risk in taking the most powerful members of the team off base defense. However, said defense had proved to be exceptionally effective. Such that their individual efforts amounted to standing on top of the wall and taking pot shots into the various hordes just to pick up some Universal Points. Truth be told the traps, minefields, automated turrets, miniature missiles, bombs and artillery could’ve held the monsters off indefinitely. If only the ammunition supply wasn’t dwindling faster than it was replaced.
“When can you start?”
“In one hour,” Caretaker said.
“Well, good luck and keep me appraised of your progress. I’ll let Commander Green Stretch 28 know that the soldiers will be pulling extra duty on the wall.”
“Thank you. I do not believe that the commander would have taken my words without complaint.”
Cal shook his head ruefully. “They’ll pull their head out of their ass eventually.”
A puzzled look crossed Caretaker’s face.
Cal waved it away. “Figure of speech from my world. I guess it wouldn’t make any sense to you guys.”