The Price We Pay
The Heinkel Class ATT dropship screamed through the thin upper atmosphere of the planet Orengur like a meteor made of shining keensteel. As it dropped to the planet's surface, its hull pinged softly as it slowly cooled in the foggy air of the small, wooded area it had landed in. Upon the shining hull of the vessel a curious emblem was emblazoned, a bird of prey over a half circle of lines and showing an arrangement of starbursts.
A door on the vessel’s side opened and a contingent of soldiers marched out in orderly formation. There were nearly eighty of them in total and their superiors quickly established ranks and platoons. The soldiers were quickly briefed and then they split up to move their own separate ways.
Private first-class Freddy Jidders shivered slightly in the cool air. The humidity was cutting straight through his standard issue Union army fatigues and seemingly to his very bones. It couldn't have been that cold, maybe a bare nine degrees Celsius. He adjusted his combat vest a bit in hopes it would help to take some of the bite out of the air, it did not.
Freddy sighed loudly as they stopped in a thicket and their lieutenant spoke up, “Alright ladies, there has been heightened rebel activity sighted in this entire sector and we have been brought in to deal with it. Break up into squads and move into delta formation, we are going to run a sweep, if you see anything suspicious call it in immediately. These slurge’s have been known to set up ambushes.” The Nerivith woman finished with a wave to her command squad.
Freddy moved off after his platoon leader as they split from the group, heading in a similar direction to the other squads but separated in order to cover more ground. He looked around, they had no heavy weapons and were marching right into an area known to be laden with ambushes. He couldn't help but feel like they were making a terrible mistake, but he was a good soldier and followed orders.
As their small ten man unit made its way through the brush, his platoon leader raised his scaled hand to halt. The man was Slaaveth, the semi aquatic race hailing from the ocean world of Abyss. Freddy had always wanted to visit an ocean world, coming from an arid desert colony himself and having never seen anything bigger than a pond. His parents had laughed at his childish wishes and told him that he would never see an ocean, and so when he had turned eighteen he had enlisted in the Union army in order to escape that barren dust ball and his parents. It had been a good decision at first, till the war had started.
Freddy had suddenly found himself in the middle of a conflict of indescribable proportions, hundreds of planets had seceded from the Union and joined with the rebels and their so-called Hegemony of Independent Systems. The Sapient Congressional Union had been forced to declare a full-scale war when a series of terroristic attacks on major Union military bases had resulted in the deaths of millions of Union citizens and soldiers. The destruction of Sector Eta marked the first of countless atrocities perpetrated by the rebels in their misguided fight for independence. As if the Union was some sort of bogeyman to their existence, Freddy almost snorted out loud at that thought but suppressed it. It really wouldn't do to get reprimanded in the middle of a conflict zone for his errant imagination. As if his thoughts had been broadcast to the world, the silence ended. With a flash that would have been blinding had he not been wearing his visored combat helmet, a flare went off directly overhead.
In that moment all hell broke loose, bright green tracers and the searing red beams of lasers crisscrossed the small, wooded area. Trees and brush were set alight from the incoming munitions causing his HUD to glitch out with false signatures and ghost targets. Freddy dropped to the ground and rolled into the cover of a nearby tree, he looked over just in time to see his platoon leader ripped apart by some manner of heavy weapon. From the whisper-crack of the impact it had probably been a gauss gun, a favorite of the Yeown rebels for its size and power.
The Yeown were the newest race discovered by the Union, they had taken to the galactic community a bit reluctantly, seemingly distastefully in fact. Now he had known many Yeown in his life and most had been amenable enough people, albeit a bit overly prideful. But he would have never expected them to have started such a conflict. And it wasn't just them, just as many vinarfelian and Human worlds had turned to the Hegemony as well as a few Nerivith strongholds and Slaaveth colonies.
Something splashed across the ground in front of him and it took his brain a moment to recognise the purplish liquid as the remains of one of his Slaaveth squadmates. The blood seeped towards him but he didn't move from cover as it began to soak into his uniform. He would rather be coated in the filth than poke his head out and lose it.
After a short while the fire seemed to die down a bit and he peeked from cover, the forest was burning, trees like torches rained burning embers across the destroyed copse. He scrambled to his feet and fully unslung his weapon. As a standard rifleman, he had a choice of platforms to use, the ever efficient MR-12 or NUV series beamer being popular choices. He hadn't liked the characteristics of either however, the MR-12 performed well against unarmoured targets and the beamer worked well up to ranges of about three hundred meters, but they both had drawbacks he couldn't ignore as a soldier. So instead he had decided to field the much less common LMR v.14. The light machine gun was a pain to carry and ate through ammunition like a noppin through drumble, but it was effective against both light and medium armoured units at up to five times the range of a beamer.
Whipping out of cover he sighted on the first bit of movement he saw and opened up with a fully automatic stream of copper jacketed death. He watched as the figure jerked and went down like a sack of flour, he moved his fire over the approach and was rewarded with another two confirmed kills as well as numerous shouts and howls of alarm. He jumped back into full cover as a storm of return fire pelted the tree he was hiding behind. Another whisper-crack announced the gauss rifle again as a hypersonic slug tore completely through the tree right next to him. He dropped immediately to the ground just as another shot tore through the tree directly where he had been standing. With a weapon of that power on the field, all his cover was rendered entirely irrelevant. A full meter of wood had done almost nothing to slow the slug and he knew that if he was struck directly he would be torn to pieces just like his platoon leader. He took a quick look around and swore, his entire platoon was down, it was just dumb luck that he had survived unscathed it seemed. They had walked directly into the ambush like cattle to the slaughter.
He could hear shouts, less this time as he had done some damage, but he knew he was going to die here. He would be damned if he would go out without making an impact though. Looking at the cooling corpse of the man next to him he smiled as he saw the bandoleer of high explosive grenades on their dead chest, that would help a bit. He put his gun down and made a grab for the belt, unhooking a grenade, he primed it and then threw it as hard as he could towards the approaching rebels. After a second of silence, a loud crack and the sound of surprised scream, he threw another to similar effect. Return fire whizzed all around as the incoming soldiers were reminded that he was still alive.
Freddy smiled and unclipped the belt before he slung it over his shoulder and scrambled for a nearby rock. He felt a tug as something passed close enough to hole his pants leg, but he made it to cover otherwise unscathed. He took a second to reload his LMR with a fresh belt of ammo as the previous was nearly expended. The small pings of ricochets and the deeper crack of impacting high velocity ammunition made him wince, his hearing was protected by his helmet however and he unhooked the last two grenades. What he wouldn't give for a Lasbur or a Specter heavy railgun at the moment. But he would have to make do with what he had, the rock he was behind was barely thigh high and he was lying on his back as he prepared to throw the two small balls of death.
With a small prayer to Lady Luck, he threw them overhand in a high lob, making sure they went as far as he could safely make them go. Twin explosions and the wild sound of shrapnel whipping all around was followed by a deathly calm. No return fire assailed his position and no shouts of anger or pain fell on his ears. Had he killed them all? He wanted to look, but that was not the best idea he knew. He pulled out his small radio and tried to raise anyone on it, but all he got was static. Damn it, he was being jammed, of course he was.
Freddy rolled over and very carefully peeked his head out from around the corner before reaching down and pulling out his service pistol. The sidearm felt tiny in his hands compared to the bulk of the LMR, but it was a much easier weapon to wield in close quarters and in these kinds of uncertain situations slow reactions meant death.
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Standing slowly to a low crouch, Freddy moved out of cover, his LMR slung across his back in case of emergency, the weight would slow him, but he would rather have the bulky weapon as a fall back than nothing. He rounded a tree quietly and twitched, his pistol snapping to the rebel soldier in front of him leaned against the tree. It took him only a second to realize the Yeown was no threat, the woman’s eyes were glassy and her clawed hands clutched her ruined throat. She looked to have taken a direct shrapnel hit, and the Yeown were similar to Humans in the fact that this was a mortal wound.
He tore his gaze from the large alien and continued moving, after a few more meters he heard a snap and whirled only to jerk as something smashed his chest. Another two impacts rocked him as he half jumped, half crumpled into the cover of a nearby tree. Coughing from the pain in his chest he looked down.
“Ah, shit…” he grunted as he saw the blood spreading across his fatigues under his chest plate. At least one of the shots had pierced his armour and dug deep, deep enough that it only registered as dull burning ache. As he wheezed he sat up as best he could, he tried to take off his harness but found that his fingers had no strength, they simply slipped off the flaps again and again. He swore again and coughed before hearing a rough chuckle from somewhere behind him.
“Heh, got you good it sounds like. Damn. What a fight.” a mysterious and husky voice said.
He tensed and thought about going for his gun before realizing he was dead anyways. “Yea. I'm a goner, holed a lung I think, not sure, can't really feel anything.” Freddy said. The voice was silent and he asked. “So? What now? Want to come and finish me off?”
The voice chuckled again followed by its own racking wheeze. “Not going to happen bub. I'm not in any position to get to you, that last grenade you threw must have hit my spine, I couldn't move even if I wanted to.” the voice said.
Feeling a bit more confident now that imminent death was avoided he asked “Welp, looks like we are stuck then. What's your name, mine’s Freddy.”
The voice was silent for a moment before it called back “Oh by Frine who cares anymore. My name is Drescol. I'm from Mountain Veil, you?”
Freddy smiled in spite of his situation, he replied “Oh? Isn't that where the Hegemony started?”
Drescol coughed out “Indeed it was, and what a glorious rebellion it was. But I'm afraid it has all gotten a bit sour tasting now.” the man said, trailing off a bit into another rattling wheeze.
Freddy decided that if he was going to die, he might as well try to make it to a pleasant conversation. “Hmm, Where am I from, what's to tell. It was a desert colony world in the ass end of the outer rim to the galactic south. Small towns and dusty fields, the people were pleasant enough but that's all there was. No oceans, no mountains, just never-ending plains of corn and wheat. My parents told me I would never see the galaxy and that I would be stuck there like them and their parents before them. Heh, if only they could see me now.” he chuckled to himself.
Drescol seemed to think about it as he replied softly “It sounds like a peaceful place. Mountain Veil was always a tough place, her people made hard by the cold. They liked to fight, and when push came to shove we couldn't back down. What would you have done if an occupying force tried to change your fundamental way of life?” the rebel asked him with genuine curiosity.
Although he could not see the other man’s face, Freddy knew that he was being sincere. He searched his heart and came to a staggering realization, he didn't actually know why they were fighting. “You know, I don't even know why we are fighting man…” he said.
Drescol was quiet as they seemed to think. After a painful moment the other man’s voice replied “I. I don't really know either. At first I thought it was about Independence, but then I realized that it was less for freedom and more for control. The people at the top of this war are benefiting from the deaths. Likely making millions off this pointless fighting. Hey, Freddy was it? You like rock music?” the Yeown male called to him.
“What?” he asked, taken a bit aback by the sudden question?
Drescol’s voice came back, a bit strained “I was curious if you liked rock music, I love it. The Flaming Meteors are one of my favorites.”
Freddy smiled, he remembered listening to the Flaming Meteors as a kid with his older sister. He frowned as he thought about her, she was probably still stuck on that dry dirtball and living the life he left behind. Luck, he hadn't talked to her in years, was she okay, was she married by now? These questions flooded his fading mind as he called out to the other man “Yeah. Yeah I do.” but he was met with nothing but silence.
“Driscol? Hey, Driscol? You still there?” he called weakly, but got no answer. He swore quietly and leaned his head back against the tree. It seemed that he was alone now, alone among a garden of corpses. The crackling of burning trees was the only sound as he opened his helmet's visor. The smokey air made him cough, but he smiled. It was real, fresh under the soot. This was a planet that was mostly natural, not covered in the massive industrial and agricultural complexes of most Union worlds. He closed his eyes and breathed deep. The smokey smell reminded him of his youth, burning wood in an old cast iron stove because his family couldn't afford the electricity for a powered heater. Maybe things would be better if people could just see each other for who they were, not where they came from. Freddy relaxed his muscles, he was so tired. He smiled as he started to drift off to sleep, maybe he would see the ocean finally in his dreams.
***********
Freddy awoke to blinding light and pain. He coughed and tried to sit up before realizing he was restrained. After a second to let his eyes adjust he discovered he was in a hospital, but not a permanent structure as the walls were cheap steel plates and the lights were hanging from exposed hooks. A field hospital then, he was still on Orengur then.
He tried to speak but found his throat disobeyed him for thirst. He croaked and someone seemed to notice his wakefulness. A Nerivith man, skinny and tall in his white medical garb, glided over to his side and checked his vitals before looking into his eyes. The nerivith’s deep purple eyes seemed to be full of sadness but he asked Freddy in a calm and level voice “Hi. How are you feeling?”
Freddy mustered his strength and managed to rasp, “Water… Please…”
The Nerivith nodded and said “Of course, here allow me to assist you. He touched a control panel on the edge of his bed and it adjusted to a sitting position with a faint mechanical whirr. After a moment the nurse produced a small canister of pure water and a straw before he lifted it to Freddy’s cracked lips.
It was just water, plain and slightly warm, but it was the best tasting thing Freddy could ever remember tasting in his life. He tried to suck down more but groaned in frustration as the container was pulled away. The man chuckled and said “Whoa there friend, not so fast, you will just make yourself sick. You have been unconscious for almost five days, we thought you would be stuck in a coma but here you are. Now, please tell me, how do you feel?”
Freddy took a moment to take stock of himself. He ached all over, but he didn't really hurt anymore. His limbs felt weak, but he was restrained anyways, most likely for his own safety. “I feel okay given the circumstances.” He groaned. “If you could untie me though that would be nice.”
The Nerivith man smiled, his blunt fungivorous teeth flashing briefly. “Certainly Freddy. And I want to be the first to say, your recovery is nothing short of miraculous. To see the Human resilience in action first hand has been enlightening to me on many levels. For example, did you know that when they found you your heart had slowed its rhythm so much they had thought you dead at first. It was another Human that had to convince them you were still living, just comatose.” the man said excitedly.
Freddy couldn't help but smile a bit at the man’s enthusiasm. “So I’m built tough, nothing surprising there huh?” He joked.
The man nodded vigorously, his tail lashing excitedly enough that Freddy was afraid he might lose it. Before the Nerivith could regale him any further he jerked and checked the small device strapped to his wrist. “Oh, I'm terribly sorry, but I am being called to another patient.” the man said, sounding truly remorseful.
Freddy decided that he liked this energetic man and raised a weak hand as he said “Well, better hop to it, I'm Freddy Jidders by the way.”
The nurse bounced slightly and let out an excited noise as he said “A traditional Human greeting! Oh my yes, I am known as Devan Iteeal, a pleasure to meet you!” He jumped again as his assistant beeped audibly at him this time. He gave a sad look and said “I really must go, maybe we can talk later?” He asked Freddy in a hopeful voice.
Freddy smiled and said in a slightly gravelly voice “Sure Devan, anytime.” the man rushed out of the room leaving him alone. The silence was only punctuated by the faint sounds of activity in the background. He sighed and laid back into the covers, he was still sitting but figured it was comfortable enough. He decided that this was it, he was going to try and get a medical discharge. The war had lost all appeal it may have once had, he saw no reason to the bloodshed, when people like Drescol and him were out slaughtering each other for some unfathomable reason. ‘Why?’ he asked himself. He couldn't think of an answer. He frowned and decided that he would try and make his own destiny from this point on, no orders, no war. Just him and the universe, and all the time he had left to see it.
Closing his eyes he smiled. Sinking deep into the covers his breathing became slow and steady as he drifted off into a deep sleep. He knew what he was going to do, he just needed to make it happen now.
End of Story