The Recruitment: Rise of the Free Fleet (26 page)

“OH GOD! TURN THEM OFF!” I yelled as the lights quickly turned off.

“Damn!” I felt my head pounding from the assault on my eyes. I laid down finding my pillow missing.

“You got a pillow?” One sailed out of the darkness with an oompf.

“Thanks Yasu.” I muttered as I lay down comfortably as the wake up wore off. As I quickly passed out.

I woke up pulling my data pad from its pouch on my back seeing the time I jumped up with a start pulling down reports and scanning through them. The door opened and I found a team outside my door in their Mechas which gave me a start as they saluted me. I returned it quickly my face becoming a mask making it appeared like I expected two Mechas standing guard outside my door. I made my way to the mess grabbing a few tubes. It was the same as thegoop we ate in training, but in squeezable packets.

Many agreed it was an improvement just because it made eating them faster.

Had quickly become our command centre and where I practically lived. The other armouries were being used to refit the Mechas with the kill switch disabler. It was a terrible name I know.

I moved on out to the hangar where groups of Mechas were in their suits using weaponry from pistols to heavy crew serviced plasma and bead cannons. Others were going through a series of movements that depicted wielding a sword and fighting hand to hand.

I walked around talking to people here and there looking as if I knew what they meant about plasma blow off, heat relay replacers.

“You’re wife’s training has helped immensely, people’s co-ordination’s improved and we’re now nearly as good as you and your squad were.” One woman said as I saw a gleam of worship in her eyes.

I smiled making a comment about how she was great at training people before moving off.

Great, now the Mechas like her.
 
I thought to myself as they complimented her more and I moved on to the melee weapons and hand to hand teachers.

Again I saw the glow of worship in these people’s eyes.

“Oh yes your wife said that you’d be able to help with the more advanced fighters. She did tell us to make sure you keep to one fighting style.” I scratched my head awkwardly.

“Aish. Alright which style was she using?”

“Ninjitsu with the revolutionary moves. As well as Mecha adapted ones.”

“She would go with the ones she came up with.” I said sighing. “Alright I’ll grab my Mecha.”

I quickly did so having them go through what they’d already learnt I was surprised to see how much they’d improved in such a short time. They also had healthy determination to learn more, which is what I needed more than anything.

In most games and even the military on Earth fighting with melee weapons and hand to hand was seen as wasteful when people could be training with weapon systems and adapting to the hardware. Now in close quarters and possibly on a ship we didn’t want a rogue round going through a hull or a fusion core so hand to hand had again become a much desired skill.

“Alright, stop, this is as painful to watch as I would expect stabbing myself in the eyes with a pair of blunt knives would be! Yes you’re following the moves, but that’s it. You aren’t using the Mecha’s power to make those hits hit like a freight train, or spinning and flipping so fast you can hit an enemy before they’ve completed their attack.

Today I want you to fight by landing the most damage on a target, hammer them down, don’t piss on them! Again!” I had them run through it stopping them again shortly afterwards.

“Alright watch this.” I threw a flurry of slashes combination of attacking and parrying or blocking moves as fast as my Mecha could move my arms blurring at the incredible speed the Mecha moving as fast as my brain could think. I followed up a stabbing motion with a low kick, then a skip and a high kick my leg snapping out as the servos screeched I came back rolling turning the momentum into a spinning kick then flipping myself to my feet again going through blocks and attacks.

I finished my breathing a little hard as my Mecha and battle suit cooled me off and kept me oxygenated taking off my helmet as I got close to them.

“Fighting is about killing or incapacitating the other bastard, uses everything at your disposal, your Mecha’s power, their own momentum and your training. Your blade is an extension of yourself, you shouldn’t need to look where it is, you should
 
know.
 
We’ll continue with more advanced moves and into holds later. First I want to see you able to do what you know with your mecha at one hundred percent.” I said with finality my eyes like turrets as I scanned the group in front of me who said resoundingly.

“Yes Sensei.”
 
Great she even had them using Japanese
 
terms
. I growled internally.
 
I have to work with what I’ve got.

“I’m sorry I must be FUCKING DEAF. I CAN’T HEAR YOU!” I said putting a gauntleted hand next my ear turning it in a show to clear it.

“Yes Sensei!”

“What is the purpose of an armoured Marine Commandos?”

“What?” One of the teachers asked as I mentally kicked myself. I’d been thinking of a name for the Mechas than other, well Mechas. I’d landed on armoured Marine Commandos. I was going to announce it later but a combination of lack of sleep and adrenaline had worked it out of me.

I came to my full height as I saw the majority of people looking at me after my outburst.

“On Earth as some of you might know there is a famous group that fights on water and land, they began when ships made out of wood and cloth sailed our oceans. They were called Marines. More of a brotherhood than a unit, formed from people all over the world fighting to protect their own countries rights and freedoms. They are the tip of the spear, in the countries called Australia and the United Kingdom these Marines are called Royal Marine Commandos in the United States they’re called Marines. They’re best of the best able to fight in any conditions and train to fight with their entirety.Emotion is fuel to their fire, anger is made to focus instead of let it turn into a barrier, pain is to clear the mind. Sorrow is to carry the burdens we have and continue. That is what we need you Mechas to be. armoured Marine Commandos,” I rolled on over their confused faces as I paced, the entire hangar listening to my every word.

“Marines are men and women that embrace the odds whatever they might be and dive into danger. They are hard people that will never expect to be thanked or praised. They will take on the jobs which look suicidal and snatch victory when all else seems lost.” I stood fast, looking out over them. “
You
 
will be the warrior soldiers of the human race that will make the enemy piss themselves when they hear of the armoured Marine Commandos!” I yelled, my eyes becoming hooded.

“So when I ask what the purpose of the armoured Marine Commandos is, you will answer; to close with and destroy the enemy, no matter the odds, terrain or environment.” I growled.

“What is the purpose of the armoured Marine Commandos?” I demanded, looking around the hangar which had filled up with more humans coming from the living quarters.

“To close with and destroy the enemy, no matter the odds, terrain or environment.” They stumbled through it.

“
LOUDER MARINES!”
 
I said through my speakers as they all seemed to stand straighter, determination carved on their faces.

“To close with and destroy the enemy, no matter the odds, terrain or environment!”

“I will say this once more. WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THE armourED MARINE COMMANDOS?”

“TO CLOSE WITH AND DESTROY THE ENEMY NO MATTER THE ODDS, TERRAIN OR ENVIROMENT!”

“DAMN FUCKING RIGHT!” I growled. “Make sure you never forget it.” I said as I scanned the room.

“Trainers, back on your troops!” I turned back to my own group.

“Show me half of the drive you just showed me there and you might be able to do some more advanced moves.” I pointed to one of the better fighters.

“You come here, you’ve been elected human dummy!” I said in a voice that made my volun-told dummy and any others seriously doubt they wanted to be my practice partner.

“Sir are you sure you don’t want to put your helmet on?” My dummy asked.

Truth be told I was going too, but when a student asks a question like that it’s time to show him balls of platinum. So I tossed it to the side.

It thumped down some distance away, as my brain finally engaged.
 
Damn. That was a stupid Idea.
 
I saw him swallow as sweat ran down his face as I felt beads of sweat on my neck.

“Alright everyone we’re going to work on combining your hand to hand with sword fighting.” I clenched my hand around an invisible hilt unable to see my simulated sword as I wasn’t wearing my helmet.
 
Stupid, stupid, stupid! Where the hell do I come up with these ideas?

“Alright let’s begin.” It started slowly and after a few bouts I released the dummy. A look of relief coming over his face. I grabbed my helmet, quickly tucking it under my arm and telling him to spar with others. I wandered around giving advice between bouts.

I was going to need some kind of matting to stop the Mechas getting beaten up so much mentally wincing at how Shrift was going to react to the half beaten suits.

After I saw a few still not putting their full effort in I pointed at the first offender.

“You’re my new dummy.” The new dummy walked with a cocky swagger of a person more sure of their importance and size and street fighting skill.

“Come at me.” I said activating my sim sword, going to put my helmet on when he blindsided me.

He made it look like he was going to use his sim sword, waiting for me to become distracted with my helmet. Before I had it on he came at me with fists. I had to throw my helmet and use the sim sword which was still invisible to me and working. My attacker hadn’t turned off his mecha simulation.

I didn’t have much time to think on this as all of his blows were aimed at my head. I forgot the sword as I brought my fists to bear. Fighting with something I couldn’t see would only make it harder. I ducked and weaved from his fists seeing him getting tired.

I could see by his movements he wasn’t here to fight he wanted to kill me and the blows aimed at my unhelmeted head drove that point home. I dropped, grabbing his lower thigh and under his arm and tossed him across the room. A second sooner and he would’ve closed his arm on my head and popped it like a grape.

I flung myself after him stopping myself against the bulkhead that had stopped him.

He was picking himself up grabbing a wrench he tossed at my head. It glanced off of my arm I used to deflect it. I dropped on him my hands and legs wrapping around him making him unable to move as I tightened my grip as his servos popped into uselessness.

The room was quiet as training stopped. I rolled off of him ripping his helmet off. It was the leader of a squad that instead of accepting my rules which had now become known as Salchar’s code had tried to use the handshake as a pull to knock me out.

“This is sword training, not melee training. You will learn to follow orders.” Iron filling my voice.

“Fuck your orders; I didn’t sign up for this.”

“You think any of us did? We’re making the best of a shitty situation without you trying to kill people.”

“Isn’t that what we’re doing here?”

“We’re training to kill the enemy, not one another.”

“Fuck you Salchar, fuck you, fuck your goddamn code and the way you think we should scrap the shit off of your boots.”