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Say good day dad...
Terra II
AD 2661
The Colony War nears to an end, with both sides remaining in stalemate. Akan starts losing control and support of the Itani people, making his hatred towards the Serco even greater. He orders the high altitude saturation bombing of the largest Serco cities.
Chapter 1 "Over the Dome"
New Shanghai
Saturday, February 12, 2661
7:17 AM
Vitaly woke up, startled by the alarm clock. Still a bit sleepy, he felt for the clock next to him, and tossed it hard against the wall. This caused his mother to start yelling from downstairs.
At last he remembered. It was his great day. He had turned 16 a week ago. At 14, Serco were deemed old enough to go through the genetic enhancements and technological implants. It was today that he would be taken to the specialized facilities to register for the procedures. Then, he would be considered fit enough to join the military.
He dressed up, and went downstairs to greet his mother. On his way, he stopped by a picture, showing a Serco officer atop a huge armored beast. He gave the picture a military salute, and went on.
"Finally!" yelled his mother "Whats the count now? 4?"
"Good morning to you too mom" He said kissing her on the cheek. "And its 5 actually..." he mumbled, recalling the smashed clock upstairs in his room.
"Your father called" She said, now with a calmer tone."He wanted to congratulate you for your big day"
"Aww, why didnt you wake me up? I really wanted to talk with him"
"I kinda yelled at you, but you never answered" she said reprimanding him. "Anyway, he didnt have much time. You know the operation he was chosen for is very confidential and secret, he's not allowed to communicate outside for too long"
"Oh well....so, at what time are we going?" Vitaly asked, eagerness showing all around his face.
"Oh that" She said smiling "At 7:00 PM"
"Awesome!! Im going out to tell my buds. Jason just returned from the tech facility, I wanna check out his new implants. Cya later" He kissed his mother good bye and went out.
Outside, New Shanghai boasted with activity. Vitaly lived in the urban area, the central part of the dome, where the tallest buildings where. Along the streets where lots of small shops selling all sorts of things, merchants yelling to the top of their lungs to the people passing by. Vitaly moved through the swarm of people, until he got to the public transport stop, just in time to catch the bus before it left.
Sitting by the window, he watched what was going outside. Apart from the increased number of troops patrolling the cities, military convoys moving around the streets, the large screens showing the latest news from the war, and posters showing Serco propaganda reading things such as "Join now","Help us against the Itani war machine", "Join the Military, Enhance Now!!". The city hadnt changed at all. Life still went by normally for the poeple in New Shanghai. For the most part at least...
His older brother had been killed 2 years ago in one of the confrontations with the itani. His father had been away most of the time since the war started, he saw him every now and then. But about one year ago, the high ups of the military chose him for a special assignment, a highly classified mission requiring high levels of secrecy. He had not seen him once since then.
He arrived at his destination, the outskirts of the city, a suburban area. He walked through the neighborhood until he spotted a group of teens between 13 and 12 year olds, gathered around something. He walked towards them until he saw that the "something" they were all gathered around, was his best friend Jason.
"Hey there" Jason greeted him. "Came to check out the new me eh?" he said proudly.
"Came to see how big your ego has grown" Vitaly answered, looking at his friend.
Jason stood 1.88m tall, muscular, metal shining around some parts of his arms, neck, and face. His eyes looked somewhat different. He had small metal plate which covered the part of his forehead atop his left eye.
"Im getting registered for the procedure today" Said Vitaly.
"Ohhhhh" Said the group of teens in unison.
"So...are you any good now?" Said Vitaly, joking.
"Heh, race you all to the end of the street"
"YOU ARE ON!!" exclaimed everyone around.
"Ill give you guys a headstart"
"I think Ill pass on this one" Said Vitaly yawning, he knew there was no chance for any of them to beat Jason.
"Boo you wussy!"
"Ill race ya when I get my implants"
"Heh, alright. Ok everyone, GO!!"
Jason stood there whatching as the whole group of kids ran towards the imaginary finish line. When they were halfway through, Jason got into starting position...
"Show off" Said Vitaly smiling as Jason started to run. He caught up with the group when they were 20ft away from the finish line, and crossed the line with 15ft of advantage.
"Awww, no fair!!" complained everyone.
On the other side of the street, stood Vitaly, smiling, whatching the group of kids trying to hopelessly pile up on Jason. But then he saw something, up in the sky, over the dome.
Vitaly gazed up, trying to wonder what the hell was that doing here. He knew it couldnt be Serco, since he had seen those types of aircrafts before, and it was flying towards the city, into Serco territory.
He kept staring at the aircraft, trying to discern more details through the dome walls. It was pretty large, about 100m long. Painted in a pale white color, it had "DEATH" emblazoned in big black letters, hovering 50m above the top of the dome.
Then he saw as a large oval shaped ball of bright blue light descended from the aircraft. When it got to the dome walls, it didnt brake or shatter them, it just kept descending to the city, leaving a clean, sharp round shaped hole on the wall, as if it had melted its way through.
Finally, the light landed on the city. Then a blinding flash, a sound of thunder, a thousand screams. He felt himself flying through the air, hitting hard against something, losing consciousness.
AD 2661
The Colony War nears to an end, with both sides remaining in stalemate. Akan starts losing control and support of the Itani people, making his hatred towards the Serco even greater. He orders the high altitude saturation bombing of the largest Serco cities.
Chapter 1 "Over the Dome"
New Shanghai
Saturday, February 12, 2661
7:17 AM
Vitaly woke up, startled by the alarm clock. Still a bit sleepy, he felt for the clock next to him, and tossed it hard against the wall. This caused his mother to start yelling from downstairs.
At last he remembered. It was his great day. He had turned 16 a week ago. At 14, Serco were deemed old enough to go through the genetic enhancements and technological implants. It was today that he would be taken to the specialized facilities to register for the procedures. Then, he would be considered fit enough to join the military.
He dressed up, and went downstairs to greet his mother. On his way, he stopped by a picture, showing a Serco officer atop a huge armored beast. He gave the picture a military salute, and went on.
"Finally!" yelled his mother "Whats the count now? 4?"
"Good morning to you too mom" He said kissing her on the cheek. "And its 5 actually..." he mumbled, recalling the smashed clock upstairs in his room.
"Your father called" She said, now with a calmer tone."He wanted to congratulate you for your big day"
"Aww, why didnt you wake me up? I really wanted to talk with him"
"I kinda yelled at you, but you never answered" she said reprimanding him. "Anyway, he didnt have much time. You know the operation he was chosen for is very confidential and secret, he's not allowed to communicate outside for too long"
"Oh well....so, at what time are we going?" Vitaly asked, eagerness showing all around his face.
"Oh that" She said smiling "At 7:00 PM"
"Awesome!! Im going out to tell my buds. Jason just returned from the tech facility, I wanna check out his new implants. Cya later" He kissed his mother good bye and went out.
Outside, New Shanghai boasted with activity. Vitaly lived in the urban area, the central part of the dome, where the tallest buildings where. Along the streets where lots of small shops selling all sorts of things, merchants yelling to the top of their lungs to the people passing by. Vitaly moved through the swarm of people, until he got to the public transport stop, just in time to catch the bus before it left.
Sitting by the window, he watched what was going outside. Apart from the increased number of troops patrolling the cities, military convoys moving around the streets, the large screens showing the latest news from the war, and posters showing Serco propaganda reading things such as "Join now","Help us against the Itani war machine", "Join the Military, Enhance Now!!". The city hadnt changed at all. Life still went by normally for the poeple in New Shanghai. For the most part at least...
His older brother had been killed 2 years ago in one of the confrontations with the itani. His father had been away most of the time since the war started, he saw him every now and then. But about one year ago, the high ups of the military chose him for a special assignment, a highly classified mission requiring high levels of secrecy. He had not seen him once since then.
He arrived at his destination, the outskirts of the city, a suburban area. He walked through the neighborhood until he spotted a group of teens between 13 and 12 year olds, gathered around something. He walked towards them until he saw that the "something" they were all gathered around, was his best friend Jason.
"Hey there" Jason greeted him. "Came to check out the new me eh?" he said proudly.
"Came to see how big your ego has grown" Vitaly answered, looking at his friend.
Jason stood 1.88m tall, muscular, metal shining around some parts of his arms, neck, and face. His eyes looked somewhat different. He had small metal plate which covered the part of his forehead atop his left eye.
"Im getting registered for the procedure today" Said Vitaly.
"Ohhhhh" Said the group of teens in unison.
"So...are you any good now?" Said Vitaly, joking.
"Heh, race you all to the end of the street"
"YOU ARE ON!!" exclaimed everyone around.
"Ill give you guys a headstart"
"I think Ill pass on this one" Said Vitaly yawning, he knew there was no chance for any of them to beat Jason.
"Boo you wussy!"
"Ill race ya when I get my implants"
"Heh, alright. Ok everyone, GO!!"
Jason stood there whatching as the whole group of kids ran towards the imaginary finish line. When they were halfway through, Jason got into starting position...
"Show off" Said Vitaly smiling as Jason started to run. He caught up with the group when they were 20ft away from the finish line, and crossed the line with 15ft of advantage.
"Awww, no fair!!" complained everyone.
On the other side of the street, stood Vitaly, smiling, whatching the group of kids trying to hopelessly pile up on Jason. But then he saw something, up in the sky, over the dome.
Vitaly gazed up, trying to wonder what the hell was that doing here. He knew it couldnt be Serco, since he had seen those types of aircrafts before, and it was flying towards the city, into Serco territory.
He kept staring at the aircraft, trying to discern more details through the dome walls. It was pretty large, about 100m long. Painted in a pale white color, it had "DEATH" emblazoned in big black letters, hovering 50m above the top of the dome.
Then he saw as a large oval shaped ball of bright blue light descended from the aircraft. When it got to the dome walls, it didnt brake or shatter them, it just kept descending to the city, leaving a clean, sharp round shaped hole on the wall, as if it had melted its way through.
Finally, the light landed on the city. Then a blinding flash, a sound of thunder, a thousand screams. He felt himself flying through the air, hitting hard against something, losing consciousness.
Im still learning english, so I do know some parts must be really screwed up. Would appreciate pointers, comments, reviews, whatever...
Good read so far... :)
I like it. Very good read.
indeed. Neato!
-Hort
-Hort
Chapter 2 "And Hell followed with him"
New Shanghai
Saturday, February 12, 2661
8:34 AM
"Urrgh" mumbled Vitaly, regaining consciousness.
He was lying face down on the ground, trapped under a pile of rubble. He tried to get up, but the weight above him was too much.
"HELP!!" he yelled as hard as he could. "IM UNDER HERE!!!","ANYBODY?!?!" He kept screaming, but received no answer. When he got tired of yelling, he tried to get out again, but every effort he made was futile. He was about to give up, when he heard footsteps moving through the rubble. Suddenly, the weight above him seemed to decrease, as whoever was outside lifted the larger fragments. He was able to slip out and stand up again. Then he looked at his savior. It was Jason.
Vitaly stepped back a bit shocked. Jason was severely injured. Half of his face was burned, disfigured. One of his eyes had been completely burned out. His left arm now ended a bit above his elbow in a grotesque mess of burned, ripped flesh with broked twisted metal. He was bleeding profusely.
"Are you...ok?" Jason asked him, breathing heavily.
"Ye..Yeah, Im fine, just some scrapes and bruises"
"heh...glad to hear so.." said Jason, collapsing to the ground.
Vitaly ran up to him, kneeling next to him. "Ha..hang in there, Ill try...try to get some help. Where...where are the others?" Vitaly said, looking around.
"Dead...all of them..." he went on "They dropped more...bombs...smaller ones. One landed...near the group. I only lost my...arm" He finished, starting to bleed from his mouth.
"Dont worry, theyll replace your arm, youll be fine" Said Vitaly, trying to hold back tears.
"Doubt that...bastards...*cough" he said coughing blood. "Why...did...they do this...?"
"Hang in here, Ill..Ill go...go get you some water" Said Vitaly, standing up.
He ran to a nearby river, which crossed through the city. On the way he saw part of the devastation the bombs had caused. Above, the dome walls were cracked, probably by the initial shockwave of the first bomb. Most of the buildings had been reduced to rubble, all around the place he saw dead bodies, some were completely burned. Huge fires spread around the city, large pillars of smoke rose here and there. Then he got the river. It had acquired a reddish color and dozens of bodies floated on the surface. Vitaly grabbed a bucket floating on the river, filled it with water, and ran back to Jason.
"Here, its a bit dirty, but its-" Vitaly stopped midsentence.
There lied Jason, eyes still opened, motionless...dead.
He kneeled beside him and stared for a couple of minutes, as if in a trance. Then he noticed something in the ground, next to Jason's right hand. There, he had scribbled a short message on the dirt.
"Kill them all" it read.
"I promise" Said Vitaly, addressing the motionless body. He stood up, turned around, and walked to the center of the city, ground zero.
(Part 2 coming soon, ran out of time >.>)
New Shanghai
Saturday, February 12, 2661
8:34 AM
"Urrgh" mumbled Vitaly, regaining consciousness.
He was lying face down on the ground, trapped under a pile of rubble. He tried to get up, but the weight above him was too much.
"HELP!!" he yelled as hard as he could. "IM UNDER HERE!!!","ANYBODY?!?!" He kept screaming, but received no answer. When he got tired of yelling, he tried to get out again, but every effort he made was futile. He was about to give up, when he heard footsteps moving through the rubble. Suddenly, the weight above him seemed to decrease, as whoever was outside lifted the larger fragments. He was able to slip out and stand up again. Then he looked at his savior. It was Jason.
Vitaly stepped back a bit shocked. Jason was severely injured. Half of his face was burned, disfigured. One of his eyes had been completely burned out. His left arm now ended a bit above his elbow in a grotesque mess of burned, ripped flesh with broked twisted metal. He was bleeding profusely.
"Are you...ok?" Jason asked him, breathing heavily.
"Ye..Yeah, Im fine, just some scrapes and bruises"
"heh...glad to hear so.." said Jason, collapsing to the ground.
Vitaly ran up to him, kneeling next to him. "Ha..hang in there, Ill try...try to get some help. Where...where are the others?" Vitaly said, looking around.
"Dead...all of them..." he went on "They dropped more...bombs...smaller ones. One landed...near the group. I only lost my...arm" He finished, starting to bleed from his mouth.
"Dont worry, theyll replace your arm, youll be fine" Said Vitaly, trying to hold back tears.
"Doubt that...bastards...*cough" he said coughing blood. "Why...did...they do this...?"
"Hang in here, Ill..Ill go...go get you some water" Said Vitaly, standing up.
He ran to a nearby river, which crossed through the city. On the way he saw part of the devastation the bombs had caused. Above, the dome walls were cracked, probably by the initial shockwave of the first bomb. Most of the buildings had been reduced to rubble, all around the place he saw dead bodies, some were completely burned. Huge fires spread around the city, large pillars of smoke rose here and there. Then he got the river. It had acquired a reddish color and dozens of bodies floated on the surface. Vitaly grabbed a bucket floating on the river, filled it with water, and ran back to Jason.
"Here, its a bit dirty, but its-" Vitaly stopped midsentence.
There lied Jason, eyes still opened, motionless...dead.
He kneeled beside him and stared for a couple of minutes, as if in a trance. Then he noticed something in the ground, next to Jason's right hand. There, he had scribbled a short message on the dirt.
"Kill them all" it read.
"I promise" Said Vitaly, addressing the motionless body. He stood up, turned around, and walked to the center of the city, ground zero.
(Part 2 coming soon, ran out of time >.>)
Awsome read, Shadoen. And, faithful to the back-story.
:-)
:-)
(Managed to squeeze some time to write this. *WARNING* might be disturbing for some people >.> Replies appreciated)
Chapter 2 part 2
He had walked for about two hours until he entered the city. Huge fires erupted everywhere. The whole place was in chaos.
Almost all of the buildings had collapsed. Few remained standing and were partially destroyed. Rubble covered the streets all around. Above, the sun shone brightly, a beam of light descending through the hole on the dome wall above.
Dead bodies were scattered accross the streets, most were completely burned, covered in thick, dry, black necrotic tissue. Some were still burning, like horrible pires, fueled by human flesh, a horrid smell emanating from them.
He saw some people, helping the injured, and looking through the crumbled buildings. Some had nasty wounds and burns. Others just walked by, away from the city. He saw some carrying wounded children and other survivors.
He kept walking through the rubble, looking at the devastation around him, still unable to comprehend the magnitude of what had happened. Why it had happened?
Lost in his thought, he didnt notice a rock on his way, and tripped over it and fell on the ground. Still on the floor, he cursed at the object and turned around to see what it was.
He was shocked when he realized it wasnt a rock. It was the dead, burned out body of a baby, lying there, as if petrefied.
It had cracked when he stepped on it. Then a light breeze of wind hit it, and it crumbled. The fragments disintegrated into small particles and flew away with the wind.
He lied there for a few minutes, unable to stare away from the spot. At last he stood up, shock still visible on his face and moved on. He walked another two blocks, in direction to the center of the city, towards his home, where his mother lived, where the bomb had hit.
Then he stopped walking. The street had ended. Instead, there was a large crater. Covering about 5 blocks in the center of the city. About 400m deep at its lowest point.
A weird sight. The surface of the crater wasnt rubble or dirt. It was smooth, shiny, and reflected everything around, like a huge concave mirror. It was like the bomb had turned everything it had touched into molten glass.
He fell to his knees, right on the edge of the crater. "My mom...my friends...my people..." He thought, staring blankly into space. He couldnt hold back his tears any longer. He felt them streaming down his cheek and saw them falling into the crater, sliding down to the bottom.
He started screaming his lungs out, punching the cold ground with his fists until they bled. "YOU BASTARDS!! WHY??!?"
He heard a vehicle approaching behind him. He turned around to see it was a cargo transport, hovercraft. A soldier stepped out out and looked at him.
"Get the fuck away from there, its dangerous" Ordered the soldier. "Are you ok? Can you walk on your own?" He asked.
"Yes" uttered Vitaly standing up, wiping his face with his arms.
"Great, then get in the back" Said the Soldier pointing at the back. "Wait..." He said, motioning with his had to stop. He looked at a pile of rocks, walked over and removed a few, uncovering an injured man, with many burns all over his body.
"Quick, come here and help me carry him into the back of the hovercraft" He said. Vitaly walked over, and bent down.
"Damn, he's pretty fucked up...fourth degress burns. You grab his legs, Ill grab his arms. Ok? Now, ready 1, 2, and 3. GO!" The soldier lifted the man by his arms. Vitaly grabbed the legs, but when he tried lifting, the part he was grabbing peeled off along with the flesh under it, revealing the bone beneath. The man screamed in pain, and twisted his body, shaking his legs. Vitaly recoiled, scared. "Im sorry, Im sorry, Im sorry" he said, shaking his hands, horrified.
"Aww shit!!" grumbled the soldier "Just get in the ship, Ill carry him myself"
Vitaly walked to the back of the vehicle and jumped in. Inside there were many injured men and women, sitting down, lined up by the sides. There were two other soldiers standing up. Moments later, the soldier outside placed the man carefully in an empty spot, and went back in the front of the vehicles. The engines started and they went off, hovering over the rubble and obstacles.
One of the soldiers approached him holding a PDA. "Your name and age?" he asked addressing Vitaly.
"Vitaly Shvetsov" Answered Vitaly, staring down at the floor "Age 14..."
"Shvetsov?" Asked the soldier, staring at him, a look of interest. "As in son of The Alexei Shvetsov?"
"yes"
"Hmmm, interesting. So, you are 14 and you havent registered yet have you?"
"I was gonna go register today..."
"Congratulations then, I just registered you into the system. You'll be undergoing enhancement procedure tomorrow"
He sat next to him. "Alright, we are full here, returning to camp" Said the other soldier through the comm.
"We'll get them back for this..." the soldier told him after a moment "We...we never thought they were capable of doing this atrocity. But dont worry...they'll regret this. Akan and every last one of them..." he stood up and walked over to one of the injured.
Vitaly just sat there in a corner. His head hurt, and started remembering everything up to that point. Kissing his mother good bye, the colorful streets filled with life, his friends fooling around, the flash of blue light, Jason lying there motionless, the burning corpses, the baby's dead body...
Then finally he remembered his friend's last message: "Kill them all...kill them all...kill them all..."
Chapter 3 coming soon...
Chapter 2 part 2
He had walked for about two hours until he entered the city. Huge fires erupted everywhere. The whole place was in chaos.
Almost all of the buildings had collapsed. Few remained standing and were partially destroyed. Rubble covered the streets all around. Above, the sun shone brightly, a beam of light descending through the hole on the dome wall above.
Dead bodies were scattered accross the streets, most were completely burned, covered in thick, dry, black necrotic tissue. Some were still burning, like horrible pires, fueled by human flesh, a horrid smell emanating from them.
He saw some people, helping the injured, and looking through the crumbled buildings. Some had nasty wounds and burns. Others just walked by, away from the city. He saw some carrying wounded children and other survivors.
He kept walking through the rubble, looking at the devastation around him, still unable to comprehend the magnitude of what had happened. Why it had happened?
Lost in his thought, he didnt notice a rock on his way, and tripped over it and fell on the ground. Still on the floor, he cursed at the object and turned around to see what it was.
He was shocked when he realized it wasnt a rock. It was the dead, burned out body of a baby, lying there, as if petrefied.
It had cracked when he stepped on it. Then a light breeze of wind hit it, and it crumbled. The fragments disintegrated into small particles and flew away with the wind.
He lied there for a few minutes, unable to stare away from the spot. At last he stood up, shock still visible on his face and moved on. He walked another two blocks, in direction to the center of the city, towards his home, where his mother lived, where the bomb had hit.
Then he stopped walking. The street had ended. Instead, there was a large crater. Covering about 5 blocks in the center of the city. About 400m deep at its lowest point.
A weird sight. The surface of the crater wasnt rubble or dirt. It was smooth, shiny, and reflected everything around, like a huge concave mirror. It was like the bomb had turned everything it had touched into molten glass.
He fell to his knees, right on the edge of the crater. "My mom...my friends...my people..." He thought, staring blankly into space. He couldnt hold back his tears any longer. He felt them streaming down his cheek and saw them falling into the crater, sliding down to the bottom.
He started screaming his lungs out, punching the cold ground with his fists until they bled. "YOU BASTARDS!! WHY??!?"
He heard a vehicle approaching behind him. He turned around to see it was a cargo transport, hovercraft. A soldier stepped out out and looked at him.
"Get the fuck away from there, its dangerous" Ordered the soldier. "Are you ok? Can you walk on your own?" He asked.
"Yes" uttered Vitaly standing up, wiping his face with his arms.
"Great, then get in the back" Said the Soldier pointing at the back. "Wait..." He said, motioning with his had to stop. He looked at a pile of rocks, walked over and removed a few, uncovering an injured man, with many burns all over his body.
"Quick, come here and help me carry him into the back of the hovercraft" He said. Vitaly walked over, and bent down.
"Damn, he's pretty fucked up...fourth degress burns. You grab his legs, Ill grab his arms. Ok? Now, ready 1, 2, and 3. GO!" The soldier lifted the man by his arms. Vitaly grabbed the legs, but when he tried lifting, the part he was grabbing peeled off along with the flesh under it, revealing the bone beneath. The man screamed in pain, and twisted his body, shaking his legs. Vitaly recoiled, scared. "Im sorry, Im sorry, Im sorry" he said, shaking his hands, horrified.
"Aww shit!!" grumbled the soldier "Just get in the ship, Ill carry him myself"
Vitaly walked to the back of the vehicle and jumped in. Inside there were many injured men and women, sitting down, lined up by the sides. There were two other soldiers standing up. Moments later, the soldier outside placed the man carefully in an empty spot, and went back in the front of the vehicles. The engines started and they went off, hovering over the rubble and obstacles.
One of the soldiers approached him holding a PDA. "Your name and age?" he asked addressing Vitaly.
"Vitaly Shvetsov" Answered Vitaly, staring down at the floor "Age 14..."
"Shvetsov?" Asked the soldier, staring at him, a look of interest. "As in son of The Alexei Shvetsov?"
"yes"
"Hmmm, interesting. So, you are 14 and you havent registered yet have you?"
"I was gonna go register today..."
"Congratulations then, I just registered you into the system. You'll be undergoing enhancement procedure tomorrow"
He sat next to him. "Alright, we are full here, returning to camp" Said the other soldier through the comm.
"We'll get them back for this..." the soldier told him after a moment "We...we never thought they were capable of doing this atrocity. But dont worry...they'll regret this. Akan and every last one of them..." he stood up and walked over to one of the injured.
Vitaly just sat there in a corner. His head hurt, and started remembering everything up to that point. Kissing his mother good bye, the colorful streets filled with life, his friends fooling around, the flash of blue light, Jason lying there motionless, the burning corpses, the baby's dead body...
Then finally he remembered his friend's last message: "Kill them all...kill them all...kill them all..."
Chapter 3 coming soon...
This is really, really well written, the story and the language. If you hadn't said anything I would have never guessed that english wasn't your first language. It's better than most native speakers. I don't think I've seen anything like this, from the serco perspective during this time period. Good thinking!
Muchas gracias sinior :-)
Excellent! Looking forward to more. :)
Edit: Changed age from 16 to 14.
Still writing next chapter...
Still writing next chapter...
Chapter 3 “Approaching storm”
Asuncion, abandoned Itani occupied, Serco town near the border
Friday, July 18, 2652
11:47 PM
A light, cold breeze blew through the crumbled buildings, producing soft ghostly sounds as it passed through tight spots and cracks. The wind started blowing harder and harder, announcing a coming storm. Then, the first lightning tore through the dark sky above like a shining silver blade, heralding countless raindrops.
“For crying out loud!” exclaimed an Itani soldier, who had just tried to turn on a cigarette.
“As if we needed more reasons…” he continued, throwing away the wet cigar.
“Aww shut up Mike!” another soldier interrupted him “We are all here suffering the same as you and we are not complaining, just keep on patrolling”
“You shut up!” Mike snapped back “I’ve been stationed in this shithole longer than you have. I’m fucking tired of just staying here, doing nothing but patrolling. You haven’t been through the same shit I have Dave, with those goddamn snipers around and their hellhounds coming from time to time” He said while covering another cigar from the rain.
“Now, if we were like those cocky assholes from the mechanized divisions, it would be so much better. They don’t get as much shit as we do. All safely insides those hunks of metals…tch, lucky bastards” He finished, turning on the new cigar.
“Well Ex-cuse me, don’t put yourself like you are the only victim here, I’ve also been attacked before by those beasts, and you don’t see me complaining like a lil’ bitch. Hell! My best friend got ripped to pieces by one of those in front of me.” Dave spoke back.
“What the hell is going on here?!” yelled another soldier, walking up to them “Why are you two ladies chitchatting instead of being patrolling like I ordered?!”
The two soldiers straightened up quickly facing the officer, saluting him “We are sorry sir! We got a bit distracted” they apologized in unison, still saluting him.
The officer hastily lowered both of their hands.
“DON’T DO THAT!” He reprehended them “There are lots of snipers around who would lov-“
Just then a loud lightning roared, slightly illuminating the setting. Suddenly the left side of the officer’s head exploded, splashing blood and encephalic mass on the two soldier’s faces, a slab of skull bone still hanging by a thin piece of skin from the head. The officer collapsed to the ground and blood started gushing out, a thin, shiny, crimson river streaming down the street.
“MAN DOWN!” yelled Mike taking cover inside a crumbled building.
“WHERE DID IT COME FROM!?” yelled Dave taking cover with him, dragging the officer’s body inside.
“He used the lightning to hide the sound of the shot. How is he?” Asked Mike, leaning against the wall, sitting down with his rifle raised.
“He’s dead” Answered Dave after checking for life signs.
“Fuck!” Exclaimed Mike washing the blood and brain mass off his face. “You see what I told you about these goddamn snipers?”
“Yeah yeah. Ill alert the other units for backup.”
About 500m away along the street, there was a room on the second floor of a three-story building, which had the whole wall facing the street destroyed. Inside, at the other end of the room, there was a large pile of rubble. The barrel of a rifle, with smoke still emanating from the end of the muzzle, protruded through the fragments of concrete. Just a bit above, half of a scope could be seen.
“Perfect headshot” the sniper beneath the pile whispered to himself. He could still see the two other soldiers who had taken cover, clueless about the location of the shooter. He took aim at the one who seemed to be radioing for help. Aligned the crosshairs with the man’s forehead, then raised just a little bit to compensate for bullet drop and…waited.
“C’mon…” He whispered. Then another flash of lightning illuminated the place for a second. Seconds later, the sound of the thunder resounded all over.
*BROOOOM*
The thunderous roar disguised the sound of the gunshot perfectly. It hit the soldier who had been calling for backup right between the eyes. The other soldier didn’t noticed his partner had died until after the thunder ended. He quickly ran out of the building to another building across the street.
“Tch…” uttered the sniper, seeing the man going completely out of his sight.
He went up from beneath the pile of rubble, shook away the dirt, and went down to the first floor. He opened a hidden door on the floor, and went inside a tunnel.
Inside another Serco soldier saluted him.
“Good night Lt Alexei. How was it?” Asked the soldier.
“Good night Johnson” Said Alexei looking sleepy. “It was fine…I guess 6 headshots for today aint half-bad”
Part 2 coming soon....
Note: This takes place a year and a half into the war, a few years before the bombings. Again, comments, replies, pointers appreciated.
Edit: Btw, the *BROOOOM* thing is supposed to be an onomatopoeic word for the sound of the thunder.
Asuncion, abandoned Itani occupied, Serco town near the border
Friday, July 18, 2652
11:47 PM
A light, cold breeze blew through the crumbled buildings, producing soft ghostly sounds as it passed through tight spots and cracks. The wind started blowing harder and harder, announcing a coming storm. Then, the first lightning tore through the dark sky above like a shining silver blade, heralding countless raindrops.
“For crying out loud!” exclaimed an Itani soldier, who had just tried to turn on a cigarette.
“As if we needed more reasons…” he continued, throwing away the wet cigar.
“Aww shut up Mike!” another soldier interrupted him “We are all here suffering the same as you and we are not complaining, just keep on patrolling”
“You shut up!” Mike snapped back “I’ve been stationed in this shithole longer than you have. I’m fucking tired of just staying here, doing nothing but patrolling. You haven’t been through the same shit I have Dave, with those goddamn snipers around and their hellhounds coming from time to time” He said while covering another cigar from the rain.
“Now, if we were like those cocky assholes from the mechanized divisions, it would be so much better. They don’t get as much shit as we do. All safely insides those hunks of metals…tch, lucky bastards” He finished, turning on the new cigar.
“Well Ex-cuse me, don’t put yourself like you are the only victim here, I’ve also been attacked before by those beasts, and you don’t see me complaining like a lil’ bitch. Hell! My best friend got ripped to pieces by one of those in front of me.” Dave spoke back.
“What the hell is going on here?!” yelled another soldier, walking up to them “Why are you two ladies chitchatting instead of being patrolling like I ordered?!”
The two soldiers straightened up quickly facing the officer, saluting him “We are sorry sir! We got a bit distracted” they apologized in unison, still saluting him.
The officer hastily lowered both of their hands.
“DON’T DO THAT!” He reprehended them “There are lots of snipers around who would lov-“
Just then a loud lightning roared, slightly illuminating the setting. Suddenly the left side of the officer’s head exploded, splashing blood and encephalic mass on the two soldier’s faces, a slab of skull bone still hanging by a thin piece of skin from the head. The officer collapsed to the ground and blood started gushing out, a thin, shiny, crimson river streaming down the street.
“MAN DOWN!” yelled Mike taking cover inside a crumbled building.
“WHERE DID IT COME FROM!?” yelled Dave taking cover with him, dragging the officer’s body inside.
“He used the lightning to hide the sound of the shot. How is he?” Asked Mike, leaning against the wall, sitting down with his rifle raised.
“He’s dead” Answered Dave after checking for life signs.
“Fuck!” Exclaimed Mike washing the blood and brain mass off his face. “You see what I told you about these goddamn snipers?”
“Yeah yeah. Ill alert the other units for backup.”
About 500m away along the street, there was a room on the second floor of a three-story building, which had the whole wall facing the street destroyed. Inside, at the other end of the room, there was a large pile of rubble. The barrel of a rifle, with smoke still emanating from the end of the muzzle, protruded through the fragments of concrete. Just a bit above, half of a scope could be seen.
“Perfect headshot” the sniper beneath the pile whispered to himself. He could still see the two other soldiers who had taken cover, clueless about the location of the shooter. He took aim at the one who seemed to be radioing for help. Aligned the crosshairs with the man’s forehead, then raised just a little bit to compensate for bullet drop and…waited.
“C’mon…” He whispered. Then another flash of lightning illuminated the place for a second. Seconds later, the sound of the thunder resounded all over.
*BROOOOM*
The thunderous roar disguised the sound of the gunshot perfectly. It hit the soldier who had been calling for backup right between the eyes. The other soldier didn’t noticed his partner had died until after the thunder ended. He quickly ran out of the building to another building across the street.
“Tch…” uttered the sniper, seeing the man going completely out of his sight.
He went up from beneath the pile of rubble, shook away the dirt, and went down to the first floor. He opened a hidden door on the floor, and went inside a tunnel.
Inside another Serco soldier saluted him.
“Good night Lt Alexei. How was it?” Asked the soldier.
“Good night Johnson” Said Alexei looking sleepy. “It was fine…I guess 6 headshots for today aint half-bad”
Part 2 coming soon....
Note: This takes place a year and a half into the war, a few years before the bombings. Again, comments, replies, pointers appreciated.
Edit: Btw, the *BROOOOM* thing is supposed to be an onomatopoeic word for the sound of the thunder.
Sorry if its a bit confusing in some parts, I was falling asleep while writing it >.>
Btw: The part with the hazy room is a dream.
The sounds of voices echoed across a hazy room. Some barely audible and others could be heard clearly. The dark outlines of a group of soldiers could hardly be discerned through the dense mist. On the opposite side of the room were other figures, huddled closely together on the floor, trembling with fear, and whimpering.
“But------” Said one of the soldiers.
“-------------Now!” yelled the one who looked like the leader.
“------w-r--c-im--!” he persisted.
They kept arguing, the sounds were drowned and distorted by the rare mist inside the room. Then one of them stepped out of the group. He turned to face the other group across the room, cocked his rifle and aimed at them. Then, after a brief moment, he opened fire on them. The figures screamed in terror before being hit by the rain of bullets, and then collapsed to the floor on a puddle of blood. Slowly, everything vanished until only a dark void remained with the soldier still standing in the middle. One by one, thousands of eyes opened around him, and a voice inside his head whispered, murderer…
Alexei woke up startled, and then groaned when he remembered where he was. The small, dark cave, about 3 meters beneath the surface with an uncomfortable damp smell floating in the air. It was filled with ammo boxes and rifles, all lined up against the walls. On the center of the cave were three mattresses.
“Morning Al” Spoke someone behind him.
“What the hell are you doing up so early? And what was so important that you had to wake me up?” Said Alexei turning around to face the soldier.
“Meh…wasn’t really tired” Said the soldier walking up to one of the rifles lined up on the wall, picking it up.
“Did some maintenance to the rifles, cleaned them up good” He said with the rifle raised, aiming at some invisible target.
“I hope you didn’t touch the –” Said Alexei standing up, looking somewhat upset.
“Relax! I didn’t even take a peek at it, which I regret now…” the soldier interrupted. “What’s up with that thing anyway? When are you gonna finish it?” He added.
“Calm down ‘Andy’, its not like I’m going to let any of you use it, even after I finish it’’ Said Alexei walking up to a large object covered under a large cloak. He placed his hand gently over the object, caressing it as if it were a child.
“It’s Anderson!! I hate it when you guys call me Andy…” grumbled Anderson, aiming the rifle at Alexei and mimicked shooting at him.
“Anyway, it’s almost finished, just needs a few tweaks, testing, and its all set”
The “thing” covered under the large cloak was Alexei’s project. He had been working on it for about 8 months and carried it everywhere with him, always hidden from everyone’s sight under that cloak. He never let anyone else see or touch it. This, of course, attracted everyone’s attention, and often raised lots of attempts to get even a glimpse of what the hell it was.
“So, you still haven’t answered me. Why did you wake me up?” He asked, turning around to face Andy across the room.
“Oh yeah, that…” Said Andy, as if he had forgotten the question. “Johnson went outside to do some recon, about half an hour ago, thought you should know…”
“What?!” exclaimed Alexei. “I’ve told you guys not to go out without my permission, especially during daylight. What the hell was he thinking? They could find him easily.”
“I told him so, but he really wanted to go. He said he had heard some weird noises outside when we were all sleeping.” Said Andy pointing up with his finger.
“Stupid thick-headed fool.” Murmured Alexei putting his boots on.
Just then the trapdoor leading into the cave opened and Johnson stormed in slamming both doors behind him. He looked pale, worried, and sweaty. When Alexei looked at him, he immediately realized something was wrong.
“Johnson!” Alexei addressed him “What’s wrong?”
“They…the…the iita…itanis, s…sir” He took deep breaths, trying to clear his throat. He was covered in bruises and small cuts over his arms and knees. He looked like he had run a long distance through a lot of obstacles. Finally, he stabilized, recovering his air and composure. “You’ve got to come see this sir, it’s…serious. The Itani are up to something big. They’re massing their forces at the main town square and more troops keep coming in from outside.”
After a short discussion on how safe it was for all three of them to go out top during daylight, they finally decided on checking out what John was talking about. “Don’t worry sir. It’s clear. They are at the town square.” Johnson reassured Alexei when they had just exited their hideout.
“I have my reasons for being worried, John, and so should you…” Said Alexei checking his rifle. “You do know what happens to captured snipers, right?”
“Hmmm, dunno. They get taken away for interrogation?”
“Not quite” Answered Alexei staring back at him. “They get executed right on the spot. No ceremonies, no formalities, no truce, no mercy, nada.” Said Anderson before Alexei could say anything.
“Damn right. So, since I’m not too keen on the idea of getting executed and I’m sure you guys aren’t either, we stay undercover.” Alexei finished, leaning out of a wall to check on the street.
It wasn’t easy being a sniper. One had to stay hidden at all times, just waiting for the right moment, constantly being careful of not being spotted by the enemy. Being captured was the worst that could happen. Soldiers could accept the machine gun fire, mortar, artillery and shell splinters flying around them…but they hated the thought of a sniper taking deliberate aim to kill by singling them out.
Sniping demanded not merely skill and patience, but willingness to kill an enemy who might pose no threat.
It wasn’t particularly comfortable either having to look at a man’s face up close before putting an end to his life. It was different, it was personal. First, lining up the crosshairs with the target’s face, contemplating his last moments. Then that horrible chill running down your spine as the trigger was pressed and watching the man dying from the fatal shot. Time stopped as the man fell to the ground, almost gracefully, as the light left his eyes. And you could see them, and they stared at you…forever.
Alexei hated being a sniper. He hated the idea of hiding the whole time taking pot shots at unsuspecting victims. Then there were those horrible nightmares, countless eyes around him in a void of infinite darkness, always staring, never blinking, and never leaving. The combined strength of their gaze pierced him like thousands of spears, bringing back ghastly memories and flashbacks. A lenient penance for what he had done, he thought.
But there was nothing he could do. He had been ordered, along with Anderson and Johnson, to stay in Asuncion and snipe Itani troops. They were part of dozens of other Serco snipers scattered around Itani occupied towns near the border. They were all part of a psychological campaign whose main goal was to crush the morale of the Itani troops by using guerrilla tactics, sniping, planting IEDs, and the most effective tools so far: Stalkers.
“Stalkers” as they were called, were the genetically engineered beasts used in short hit and run attacks. Fast, stealthy, dreadful and deadly. Fearsome creatures, even Serco had problems controlling the ones gone out of control.
Used during the night, they hunted in small packs, stealthily approaching unsuspecting troops. Most of the times their victims didn’t even know they were there until they were surprised by one of them jumping from the dark, gnawing at their faces with their 10 inch long fangs.
Needless to say, all these tactics had been successful so far. The Itani troops seemed less willing to fight, and as time went by, fewer troops patrolled at night.
They moved through the crumbled buildings at a steady pace, sorting out the obstacles without having to go out to the street. When they were two blocks away from the center, John motioned them to stop. “We shouldn’t go any further. There are patrols around the square that may spot us moving through. Instead, we’ll go up to the roof top of that building. We’ll get a good view of the whole town square from up there.” He instructed, pointing at a tall building on the corner of the street. They climbed up to the top of the building. When they finally got to the rooftop, they stopped for a second to look around at the town below them.
Before the war had started, Asuncion had been a town where mostly miners lived. It was located near the border in a mountainous area. When the war came the townspeople abandoned the town and it became a battle zone. Like many other towns near the border, it had sustained significant damage and ended up under the control of the Itani when the Serco retreated.
After taking a good look at the town, they went prone and crawled to the edge of the roof facing the town square.
“Damn…” whispered Alexei.
Thousands of Itani troops were gathered in the town square. Near the large group of troopers were stationed hundreds of tanks and mechanized mobile suits, their most powerful weapons. Standing over 6 meters tall and heavily armoured, using a large arsenal of powerful weaponry ranging from big calibre gatling guns, to rocket launchers and flamethrowers.
Hovering about 50 meters above them, a large hovercraft, about 100 meters long and 30 meters wide. Heavily armed and armoured, these types of hovercrafts were like mobile command posts. Usually used in attack operations to oversee and control the situation and provide fire support.
“What do you think they are planning to do?” Asked Anderson.
“I don’t know. This doesn’t make any sense. This town is worthless, it wouldn’t make any sense for them to reinforce their position in here to prevent us from reclaiming it. I mean, for all we Serco care, they can have it. It’s not strategically important either. They even brought a MCC with them, so-”
“A what?” John interrupted.
“Mobile Command Center, read the freaking manual for god’s sake. So, since they brought one here, that must mean they will be launching an offensive, but…where?”
Looking through the formations and lines of mechs, he spotted one which looked different from the others, a black one. It stopped moving, bent down, and the cockpit’s glass window opened, upwards. A trooper stepped out from the cockpit and walked towards another officer.
“Shit…that guy’s here too…” whispered Alexei.
“Who?” Asked both John and Anderson.
“Brigadier General Johan E. Rommel”
“Who?” they asked again, looking even more puzzled.
“He’s a great military tactician and high ranking member of the Akanese Nationalist party. He planned and led many successful offensives, pushing the Itani battle front further into our territory. He always fights alongside his troops, in the mechanized divisions. He uses that black mech on the battlefield to demoralize our troops by letting them know he’s there.” He said while aiming at the man with his rifle.
“No! What the hell are you doing?!” John said, lowering Alexei’s rifle with his hand. “You are not thinking about shooting him right now, are ya? They’ll blow the shit out of us.”
“Of course not!” said Alexei irritated, removing John’s hand from his rifle. “I just want to take a closer look at what he’s talking with that other officer. Maybe I can find out what they are up to by reading their lips.” He said, taking aim again.
After ten minutes of observing the two officers talking through his scope, Alexei lowered his rifle and rubbed his eyes.
“Well?” Asked Anderson while Alexei finished.
“We are packing up and leaving this town right now, our mission here is over” he said turning around and crawling back to the stairs.
“Wait, what? Why? Wha, what were they saying?”
“There’s no time. Ill explain when we get to the hideout and start packing”
They returned to their hideout, this time taking fewer precautions, moving much faster.
“Alright, we’ll just take a few rifles, the documents, the keys for the speeder, and my ‘project’.” Said Alexei walking up to the large concealed object, lifting it up over his shoulder.
“Ok, but could you tell us why the hell are we leaving?”
“Tch…alright” He put the object down again and took seat.
“Ok, now listen.” He began “They are going after the Siegfried line, they want to break through”
“What? That’s impossible. They’ll never be able to do so, even with their numbers. Its defences will hold without any difficulty. They should know better.” Exclaimed John.
The Siegfried line was the line of defence constructed by the Serco along the northern frontier of Serco territory, the fortifications extending all across the northern frontier. With heavily fortified bunkers and powerful defensive weaponry, it was virtually impenetrable.
“They do know, and much better than you think. They are going to attack the weakest part, just south of New Anchorage. The fortifications over there are weak and poorly defended because of the irregular terrain and climate. They must’ve gotten that information from their experimental aircrafts.”
“So, why do we have to leave? And where are going?” Asked Anderson, casually looking under the cloaks covering Alexei’s ‘project’, whispering “Ohhhh”.
Alexei punched him on the back of his head and said “We are going to Anchorage. Nobody else but us knows about their plans. We have to warn the garrison over there to hold them for as long as we can until the line is strengthened or reinforcements arrive.”
They gathered their stuff together, went outside and moved south to the outskirts of the town. Once there, they removed a metal plate on the ground which covered a hole where a vehicle had been hidden.
“Are you sure that thing’s going to fit in here?” Johnson asked Alexei, looking at the large object he carried.
“Sure it will. And if it doesn’t, I guess one of you will have to get there walking or running, whatever suits you best.” He said while placing the object on the vehicle.
“Oh hahaha…” grumbled Anderson trying to accommodate himself inside the tight space. “Well…It looks like you’ll have to walk John, no room for more.”
“Shut up and make some room, no way in hell I’m walking all th- Arrrrggh!!”
There was a gunshot and Johnson fell on the ground, crying out in pain.
“Fuck!” shouted Alexei reaching for his rifle. Anderson did the same and jumped behind the vehicle. There were more gunshots, but they missed and just bounced off the vehicle.
“HALT!”
Alexei turned around to face the aggressors, trying to think about what to do. Johnson lay on the ground still alive, but coughing up blood. Anderson had hid behind the vehicle and they probably hadn't seen him since he had been inside before the shooting began.
Two Itani troopers walked up to him with their guns raised, one of them spoke with someone through a comm. Alexei recognized the second one as the one from the night before. They stopped, still aiming at Alexei. Then one looked at John on the floor and the sniper rifle next to him.
“Snipers, hu?” whispered the one closer to him, cocking his rifle and aiming at Alexei's head, smirking, savoring the moment.
Btw: The part with the hazy room is a dream.
The sounds of voices echoed across a hazy room. Some barely audible and others could be heard clearly. The dark outlines of a group of soldiers could hardly be discerned through the dense mist. On the opposite side of the room were other figures, huddled closely together on the floor, trembling with fear, and whimpering.
“But------” Said one of the soldiers.
“-------------Now!” yelled the one who looked like the leader.
“------w-r--c-im--!” he persisted.
They kept arguing, the sounds were drowned and distorted by the rare mist inside the room. Then one of them stepped out of the group. He turned to face the other group across the room, cocked his rifle and aimed at them. Then, after a brief moment, he opened fire on them. The figures screamed in terror before being hit by the rain of bullets, and then collapsed to the floor on a puddle of blood. Slowly, everything vanished until only a dark void remained with the soldier still standing in the middle. One by one, thousands of eyes opened around him, and a voice inside his head whispered, murderer…
Alexei woke up startled, and then groaned when he remembered where he was. The small, dark cave, about 3 meters beneath the surface with an uncomfortable damp smell floating in the air. It was filled with ammo boxes and rifles, all lined up against the walls. On the center of the cave were three mattresses.
“Morning Al” Spoke someone behind him.
“What the hell are you doing up so early? And what was so important that you had to wake me up?” Said Alexei turning around to face the soldier.
“Meh…wasn’t really tired” Said the soldier walking up to one of the rifles lined up on the wall, picking it up.
“Did some maintenance to the rifles, cleaned them up good” He said with the rifle raised, aiming at some invisible target.
“I hope you didn’t touch the –” Said Alexei standing up, looking somewhat upset.
“Relax! I didn’t even take a peek at it, which I regret now…” the soldier interrupted. “What’s up with that thing anyway? When are you gonna finish it?” He added.
“Calm down ‘Andy’, its not like I’m going to let any of you use it, even after I finish it’’ Said Alexei walking up to a large object covered under a large cloak. He placed his hand gently over the object, caressing it as if it were a child.
“It’s Anderson!! I hate it when you guys call me Andy…” grumbled Anderson, aiming the rifle at Alexei and mimicked shooting at him.
“Anyway, it’s almost finished, just needs a few tweaks, testing, and its all set”
The “thing” covered under the large cloak was Alexei’s project. He had been working on it for about 8 months and carried it everywhere with him, always hidden from everyone’s sight under that cloak. He never let anyone else see or touch it. This, of course, attracted everyone’s attention, and often raised lots of attempts to get even a glimpse of what the hell it was.
“So, you still haven’t answered me. Why did you wake me up?” He asked, turning around to face Andy across the room.
“Oh yeah, that…” Said Andy, as if he had forgotten the question. “Johnson went outside to do some recon, about half an hour ago, thought you should know…”
“What?!” exclaimed Alexei. “I’ve told you guys not to go out without my permission, especially during daylight. What the hell was he thinking? They could find him easily.”
“I told him so, but he really wanted to go. He said he had heard some weird noises outside when we were all sleeping.” Said Andy pointing up with his finger.
“Stupid thick-headed fool.” Murmured Alexei putting his boots on.
Just then the trapdoor leading into the cave opened and Johnson stormed in slamming both doors behind him. He looked pale, worried, and sweaty. When Alexei looked at him, he immediately realized something was wrong.
“Johnson!” Alexei addressed him “What’s wrong?”
“They…the…the iita…itanis, s…sir” He took deep breaths, trying to clear his throat. He was covered in bruises and small cuts over his arms and knees. He looked like he had run a long distance through a lot of obstacles. Finally, he stabilized, recovering his air and composure. “You’ve got to come see this sir, it’s…serious. The Itani are up to something big. They’re massing their forces at the main town square and more troops keep coming in from outside.”
After a short discussion on how safe it was for all three of them to go out top during daylight, they finally decided on checking out what John was talking about. “Don’t worry sir. It’s clear. They are at the town square.” Johnson reassured Alexei when they had just exited their hideout.
“I have my reasons for being worried, John, and so should you…” Said Alexei checking his rifle. “You do know what happens to captured snipers, right?”
“Hmmm, dunno. They get taken away for interrogation?”
“Not quite” Answered Alexei staring back at him. “They get executed right on the spot. No ceremonies, no formalities, no truce, no mercy, nada.” Said Anderson before Alexei could say anything.
“Damn right. So, since I’m not too keen on the idea of getting executed and I’m sure you guys aren’t either, we stay undercover.” Alexei finished, leaning out of a wall to check on the street.
It wasn’t easy being a sniper. One had to stay hidden at all times, just waiting for the right moment, constantly being careful of not being spotted by the enemy. Being captured was the worst that could happen. Soldiers could accept the machine gun fire, mortar, artillery and shell splinters flying around them…but they hated the thought of a sniper taking deliberate aim to kill by singling them out.
Sniping demanded not merely skill and patience, but willingness to kill an enemy who might pose no threat.
It wasn’t particularly comfortable either having to look at a man’s face up close before putting an end to his life. It was different, it was personal. First, lining up the crosshairs with the target’s face, contemplating his last moments. Then that horrible chill running down your spine as the trigger was pressed and watching the man dying from the fatal shot. Time stopped as the man fell to the ground, almost gracefully, as the light left his eyes. And you could see them, and they stared at you…forever.
Alexei hated being a sniper. He hated the idea of hiding the whole time taking pot shots at unsuspecting victims. Then there were those horrible nightmares, countless eyes around him in a void of infinite darkness, always staring, never blinking, and never leaving. The combined strength of their gaze pierced him like thousands of spears, bringing back ghastly memories and flashbacks. A lenient penance for what he had done, he thought.
But there was nothing he could do. He had been ordered, along with Anderson and Johnson, to stay in Asuncion and snipe Itani troops. They were part of dozens of other Serco snipers scattered around Itani occupied towns near the border. They were all part of a psychological campaign whose main goal was to crush the morale of the Itani troops by using guerrilla tactics, sniping, planting IEDs, and the most effective tools so far: Stalkers.
“Stalkers” as they were called, were the genetically engineered beasts used in short hit and run attacks. Fast, stealthy, dreadful and deadly. Fearsome creatures, even Serco had problems controlling the ones gone out of control.
Used during the night, they hunted in small packs, stealthily approaching unsuspecting troops. Most of the times their victims didn’t even know they were there until they were surprised by one of them jumping from the dark, gnawing at their faces with their 10 inch long fangs.
Needless to say, all these tactics had been successful so far. The Itani troops seemed less willing to fight, and as time went by, fewer troops patrolled at night.
They moved through the crumbled buildings at a steady pace, sorting out the obstacles without having to go out to the street. When they were two blocks away from the center, John motioned them to stop. “We shouldn’t go any further. There are patrols around the square that may spot us moving through. Instead, we’ll go up to the roof top of that building. We’ll get a good view of the whole town square from up there.” He instructed, pointing at a tall building on the corner of the street. They climbed up to the top of the building. When they finally got to the rooftop, they stopped for a second to look around at the town below them.
Before the war had started, Asuncion had been a town where mostly miners lived. It was located near the border in a mountainous area. When the war came the townspeople abandoned the town and it became a battle zone. Like many other towns near the border, it had sustained significant damage and ended up under the control of the Itani when the Serco retreated.
After taking a good look at the town, they went prone and crawled to the edge of the roof facing the town square.
“Damn…” whispered Alexei.
Thousands of Itani troops were gathered in the town square. Near the large group of troopers were stationed hundreds of tanks and mechanized mobile suits, their most powerful weapons. Standing over 6 meters tall and heavily armoured, using a large arsenal of powerful weaponry ranging from big calibre gatling guns, to rocket launchers and flamethrowers.
Hovering about 50 meters above them, a large hovercraft, about 100 meters long and 30 meters wide. Heavily armed and armoured, these types of hovercrafts were like mobile command posts. Usually used in attack operations to oversee and control the situation and provide fire support.
“What do you think they are planning to do?” Asked Anderson.
“I don’t know. This doesn’t make any sense. This town is worthless, it wouldn’t make any sense for them to reinforce their position in here to prevent us from reclaiming it. I mean, for all we Serco care, they can have it. It’s not strategically important either. They even brought a MCC with them, so-”
“A what?” John interrupted.
“Mobile Command Center, read the freaking manual for god’s sake. So, since they brought one here, that must mean they will be launching an offensive, but…where?”
Looking through the formations and lines of mechs, he spotted one which looked different from the others, a black one. It stopped moving, bent down, and the cockpit’s glass window opened, upwards. A trooper stepped out from the cockpit and walked towards another officer.
“Shit…that guy’s here too…” whispered Alexei.
“Who?” Asked both John and Anderson.
“Brigadier General Johan E. Rommel”
“Who?” they asked again, looking even more puzzled.
“He’s a great military tactician and high ranking member of the Akanese Nationalist party. He planned and led many successful offensives, pushing the Itani battle front further into our territory. He always fights alongside his troops, in the mechanized divisions. He uses that black mech on the battlefield to demoralize our troops by letting them know he’s there.” He said while aiming at the man with his rifle.
“No! What the hell are you doing?!” John said, lowering Alexei’s rifle with his hand. “You are not thinking about shooting him right now, are ya? They’ll blow the shit out of us.”
“Of course not!” said Alexei irritated, removing John’s hand from his rifle. “I just want to take a closer look at what he’s talking with that other officer. Maybe I can find out what they are up to by reading their lips.” He said, taking aim again.
After ten minutes of observing the two officers talking through his scope, Alexei lowered his rifle and rubbed his eyes.
“Well?” Asked Anderson while Alexei finished.
“We are packing up and leaving this town right now, our mission here is over” he said turning around and crawling back to the stairs.
“Wait, what? Why? Wha, what were they saying?”
“There’s no time. Ill explain when we get to the hideout and start packing”
They returned to their hideout, this time taking fewer precautions, moving much faster.
“Alright, we’ll just take a few rifles, the documents, the keys for the speeder, and my ‘project’.” Said Alexei walking up to the large concealed object, lifting it up over his shoulder.
“Ok, but could you tell us why the hell are we leaving?”
“Tch…alright” He put the object down again and took seat.
“Ok, now listen.” He began “They are going after the Siegfried line, they want to break through”
“What? That’s impossible. They’ll never be able to do so, even with their numbers. Its defences will hold without any difficulty. They should know better.” Exclaimed John.
The Siegfried line was the line of defence constructed by the Serco along the northern frontier of Serco territory, the fortifications extending all across the northern frontier. With heavily fortified bunkers and powerful defensive weaponry, it was virtually impenetrable.
“They do know, and much better than you think. They are going to attack the weakest part, just south of New Anchorage. The fortifications over there are weak and poorly defended because of the irregular terrain and climate. They must’ve gotten that information from their experimental aircrafts.”
“So, why do we have to leave? And where are going?” Asked Anderson, casually looking under the cloaks covering Alexei’s ‘project’, whispering “Ohhhh”.
Alexei punched him on the back of his head and said “We are going to Anchorage. Nobody else but us knows about their plans. We have to warn the garrison over there to hold them for as long as we can until the line is strengthened or reinforcements arrive.”
They gathered their stuff together, went outside and moved south to the outskirts of the town. Once there, they removed a metal plate on the ground which covered a hole where a vehicle had been hidden.
“Are you sure that thing’s going to fit in here?” Johnson asked Alexei, looking at the large object he carried.
“Sure it will. And if it doesn’t, I guess one of you will have to get there walking or running, whatever suits you best.” He said while placing the object on the vehicle.
“Oh hahaha…” grumbled Anderson trying to accommodate himself inside the tight space. “Well…It looks like you’ll have to walk John, no room for more.”
“Shut up and make some room, no way in hell I’m walking all th- Arrrrggh!!”
There was a gunshot and Johnson fell on the ground, crying out in pain.
“Fuck!” shouted Alexei reaching for his rifle. Anderson did the same and jumped behind the vehicle. There were more gunshots, but they missed and just bounced off the vehicle.
“HALT!”
Alexei turned around to face the aggressors, trying to think about what to do. Johnson lay on the ground still alive, but coughing up blood. Anderson had hid behind the vehicle and they probably hadn't seen him since he had been inside before the shooting began.
Two Itani troopers walked up to him with their guns raised, one of them spoke with someone through a comm. Alexei recognized the second one as the one from the night before. They stopped, still aiming at Alexei. Then one looked at John on the floor and the sniper rifle next to him.
“Snipers, hu?” whispered the one closer to him, cocking his rifle and aiming at Alexei's head, smirking, savoring the moment.