The Recruitment: Rise of the Free Fleet (32 page)

“No, you entered our pre-determined cordon.”

“In an attempt to take back our power plant!” I sighed trying to take another path.

“The people that we’ve shot what happened to them? Did they all die?”

“No, most where unconscious for a day your weapons are weak against us.” He boasted.

“As you should’ve seen with this transport we can kill you easily. We don’t want to. This fucking dick measuring contest isn’t doing anything. We will leave you the transport we’ll even show you that they’re alive. If your people shoot they will be stopped, using deadly force if necessary. If you want your people back come to a hundred metres past your destroyed trucks.”

“Alright, damn it; you have ten minutes of cease fire.” He growled unhappy with the situation as I was. Though I needed to make trust between us and the Chaleelians. I didn’t know how long we’d be on planet and in the future I might need their help.

The fire slowed and then stopped as I heard the tell-tale loud voices of people passing orders. “Alright second team your with me.”

I turned onto a side channel with Yasu. “Keep them alive if I die.”

“How do you expect them to follow me?”

“Look like you know what the hell you’re doing, don’t show fear and once you make a decision don’t waver.”

“It’s easy for you seeing as you’ve got actual authority and know what you’re doing unlike me!” She said pointedly.

“I have no clue half the time what’s going on and the only authority I have is that I look like have a plan.”

“Do you?”

“I always do.” I said with a grin I saw her face relax even after what I’d said and the fact it was a complete lie. All I knew was that I didn’t want these aliens going back to Earth and bombing it. Personally I didn’t care all that much for Earth but as MT had become my family their actual families, brothers, sisters, mothers and fathers had also become part of my family. I didn’t want them to die or the friends and family of the people that called me Commander.

Leadership meant that I had to make the decisions which would keep us alive and on mission no matter the sacrifices, I had to make the hard decisions. Hopefully this one would bring mine and this planets people together in some kind of trust. If not well as my new saying went,
 
I wouldn’t be around to care.

“Coming past seventh, both you and eighth keep your eyes out. The rest of you be ready to pull back. Listen to your Leader, Yasu’s taking over for me.” I drew my plasma sword cutting open the transport.

“Those coming with me put the critically wounded on your backs.”

We did so rapidly our magnetic weapon clamps holding onto the enemy soldier’s armour as our servo’s noise became more pronounced as we moved.

“Everyone good?” They greened up on my HUD as I tapped the seventh teammates, they lowered their weapons to let us pass. I took the top of the arrowhead formation with the other two separating to other side of me facing outwards. I saw a corresponding team come out behind the grouping of mostly disabled armoured vehicles. Two of them had gravity carts the other six eyed us warily. The people with gravity carts helped us load up the wounded as they began talking into communicators and rushing the carts to the rear to get aid.

“Alright, there’s more in the vehicle. I hope me and mine can create a trust between our people.” I said as half of us that had brought the casualties continued to face them as the others connected tethers to us so we were never fully turned away from the enemy force. We kept our arms low, but close to our weapons as we slowly walked backwards. I grinned appreciating the teamwork my people showed.

“Die you cur!” One said wielding a blade that glinted in the planets harsh sunlight as they drove it into the team member beside me with incredible force; the other five all brandished similar weapons.

A mask of rage fell across my face as without thinking my fist went through the first attackers head. With a press of a button in my Mecha I cut the tether to me and the guider.

Rage filled me as I saw the maniacal smiles as the attacking natives laughed as they attacked another one of the people that had unquestioningly followed my order. One of tens of thousands that had been abducted from their family and all that they knew and here this creature was going to kill them.

Something primal in me let go as I put my Mecha to full power, it hummed with god like strength.

I roared in incoherent rage my Mecha amplifying it and adding in terrifying subsonics. It made the attackers pause. I charged towards them. My fist impaling one I threw them off shaking my fist. A kick launched another fifteen feet into an armoured car crumpling the windscreen. Then my blade was in my hand as the attackers came at me with a cross cut I killed two, the last putting something into my Mecha’s forearm. It registered limited movement on my HUD as I grabbed his fist crushing his hand as I drew him in. Pain and fear over powering everything else as he looked up to me as I qued my visor to shut.

“Tell General Carsickle this.” I said my voice a deadly whisper.

He nodded gulping his eyes wide with pain.

“The perimetre is doubled; anyone that crosses it without my permission will be killed. No more stun rounds. He has to earn my trust, or I will wipe this planet clean.”

It was at that point I found out they had similar waste expending systems as humans as a stain appeared on his pants.

With that I threw him five or ten feet. Turning away towards my people who were scanning the armoured vehicles that had come to meet us nervous weapons aimed at us.

I used my plasmid sword to cut off the end of what was little more than a shiv stuck in my arm. I sheathed my plasmid sword grabbing my rifle without looking at the natives, as if I didn’t have a care in the world of their weapons.

“You have ten minutes, you better get running.” I growled as I unloaded my stun rounds whipping them through an armoured windshield and loading my other magazine as I joined the rest of the force which had gone with me behind the transport.

“Sitrep.”

“One critical, needs immediate medical chair, the hell fire is only just keeping him alive. Three light wounded.” Yasu said coming near me. “Make that four.” I flinched my damaged arm seeing the glinting sword still in it.

“Okay, everyone we’re withdrawing. Third squad helps second squad back to the power plant. Run, full power.” Without a word third grabbed the injured man a bloody gash in his Mecha running for all they had as his partner followed behind. A Mecha being used at full power was a frightening sight, they didn’t move faster as much as they blurred.

“Fire support full covering fire. One critical, four light. Get those Chaleelians off of my front porch.”

“Understood, we’ll bring the pain.” The slight background noise of gunfire turned into a storm as rounds flew around the truck.

“That’s our queue people, zig zag.”

We ran full out it was exhilarating to finally open up the Mecha but my mind was other places.

“First aid responders, prepare the med bay in the shuttle one critically wounded. Third team report on status.”

“This is third, wound to the main body cavity, stab wound and slash through Mecha armour. Weapon unknown at this point. Heavy bleeding, I don’t know what else to say.” They said desperately.

“Weapon was a mono-blade.” I supplied remembering the glinting blade from one of the slideshows Taleel had shown us back on the training sphere, it felt as if it had been months ago and I’d only been in two actions.

“Alright this is the med team, are they breathing, conscious?”

“I can’t tell and no I don’t think so.”

“Male, female?”

“Male.”

“Alright bring them straight to the shuttle, get someone to quick release their front so we can get him in faster and put pressure on the wound.”

The Mecha had automated tourniquets but with an open bleeding wound in the persons centre mass there wasn’t anywhere to stop the blood coming from, also because every wound was different it meant that if the centre piece of the chesty applied pressure it could be too much or too little for the wound.

The other second team member was ripping off the armour as fast as the catches would allow, sometimes breaking them in their frustration, tossing them away and their own gauntlets as they pressed the wounds together. The first aiders descended on the wounded man as he was hauled to the shuttle.

The reserve squad and I reached the power plant as they were already halfway into the shuttle. I could see them doing CPR outside, before hurriedly taking them into the shuttle and the medical chair that was built into it.

I didn’t stop moving as I jumped onto the wall of the power plant running up it to the roof where Turek and the Support Leader were.

“Good work James, I’m impressed.” Turek said studying me as the gunner commander looked a little green I looked at myself still covered in the blood and parts of the natives. I must’ve made an intimidating image covered in blood and gore in my Mecha a broken sword sticking out of my arm and a grim expression on my face. I didn’t reply as I saw a plume of dust from vehicles moving away towing the transport filled with wounded.

“You should get that looked at.” Turek pointed to the hilt still in my arm.

“Yes Officer Turek.” I said still scanning the plumes I wanted to see the natives gone first.

A medic that had been doing CPR climbed onto the roof. I looked at her questioningly—she simply shook her head. I’d hoped the near magical medical machines could put the man back together but even miracle machines don’t work how we want them to all the time.

I felt myself slump in my armour feeling guilty and dejecting my anger towards the natives turned towards me. Why did I need to go out there and return their wounded, screw them. Their trust wasn’t worth one of my men, nothing. I felt myself shaking.

“Alright, get your assault team rested and fed. Rotate people around. I’ll be in the command centre if you need any help.” Turek said, patted me before going as I issued orders.

“Perimetre and sharpshooters twenty five percent. Gun crews rotate off, reserve units up top at fifty percent. I want a squad ready at all times suited and ready to go within seconds. Another two at least awake but can take off some of their Mecha, the rest you’re on free time. Every four hours we’ll rotate the ready squad into the perimetre defences and gun crews. One of the half armoured squads taking their place and another squad roused from sleep or their activities a partially armoured up.”

“Fourth squad on reaction duty ninth and tenth half armoured, squad heads form up on me in main entrance to sort through rotation.” My voice was as numb and dead as I felt inside. Once I’d covered my bases I walked off the edge of the building people’s voices of alarm dull against my ears. I hit the ground rolling and walked into the power station finding a secluded room.

As I sat I felt reality hit me like a wave, I’d known on a level that this was real, but it hadn’t sunk in that this wasn’t a tournament, people didn’t come back, they died. I pulled off my helmet throwing it in the corner of the room angrily. Yasu walked in as I looked at her I didn’t care at this point as I looked at my hands as I sat down.

I kept going back to the point where I had told the Chaleelians how I would clear the entire planet for my people. It wasn’t until I said the words that I realized it were true.
 
Why did I want to save them all? Was I an idiot? I should’ve just kept to saving MT and running away.
 
Yet I couldn’t the faces of the Commandos around me filled my mind, the faces of George, Hoi, Rick, Abella, Marleen, as soon as I had started calling myself Salchar and acting like I knew something I had accepted the responsibility of getting them home. Yet it was one thing saying it, and another realizing the truth behind it.

I heard the door shut as I continued looking at my hands, lost in my crushing world of responsibilities.
 
I was twenty! Couldn’t they just leave me alone!