《Life Insignia - A Lit!TacticsRPG.》 Prologue. A star fell from the sky. MAIN STREET-1800 - EARLY SUNSET. The light from the descending meteor gradually lit up Hal''s HUD with shades of pink and scarlet, until he could no longer see the fine details of the exhaust nozzlebarrel he was trying to poke the carbon out of with his cleaning brush. Rolling his shoulders back and feeling his joints and muscles crack, he blinked instead and lethis visor tint itself darker. He shone a torch down the barrel again, trying to ignore how the colony street itself was lit up brighter and brighter, what with the secondary explosions from the meteor. "Oh, for Kristos'' sake, Hal," his short-haired, and also very short, assistant said. "Stop trying to evade your responsibilities and call your partner already!" Hal sighed, and laid the nozzle down with a clank on his workbench. It rolled off before he could make more than a fleeting grab at it. His assistantcaught the part instantly, holding it hostage against her chest, a full two meters below where Hal was sat. Hal glared at her, then tapped the side of his head to let the visorslide up so that his assistant could actually see his glare. "Don''t blame me for what I''m doing," his assistant said. "After what Anda did to us the last time you ignored your responsibilities..." She trailed off into a shudder. "Septic duty isn''t so bad, Melinde," Hal rumbled. "Yeah, not for you maybe," Melinde said, "Given how many times Anda''s made you do it. But me and ''Lissa, weboth hate it, thank you very much. We had to shower for hours - hours! - to get it off, and then Anda made us do extra septic duty to make up for the water we used!" "Hardening up is good for you," Hal rumbled, then sighed, vaultingoff the side of his elevated bench. He bent his knees as he landed with a mild thump, the circuits on his bulky legs flashing a dim gold under his suit pants. "Says ''The Turtle''," Melinde said, then rolled her eyes as Hal advanced on her with his hand held out. "Not giving this back until you call Anda. Nuh-uh. Nuh-uh. No way, Hal!" Hal swiped at her, trying to get the part off her. Melinde stuck her tongue out at him, craning her neck - she wasstill shorter than him by more than two heads and a half -and stuck the nozzle inside her coveralls. "Melinde. Are you nineteen, or nine?" "I''m doing nein-thing until you call Anda!" Hal brought his hand up to cover his face. His comm buzzed, insistently, inside his vest pocket. "...Ortheycould call you first, maybe!" Hal fixed alookat his assistant, who was still keeping more than an arms-length away from him. He sighed. "Promise you''ll give back my nozzle if I answer this call?" "And talk for more than five minutes. I''ll be timing it!" Melinde fished her multitool out of her coveralls, setting up an overt, and very visible, stopwatch app that started at 00:00:00. Hal rolled his eyes and pulled out his comm, clearing his throat before engaging the call. "Hey, gorgeous -" "Don''t you ''hey, gorgeous'' me," his partner said, clad as always in only a lab coat and silvery, form-clinging pants. "You''re outside, so you''re definitely aware of the falling pod." "Pod?" "Meteors don''t have secondary explosions!" Melinde chimed in. "Oh, good, you''re there too, and where you are, your twin usually is,"Anda said,hertone over the comms softening to something only slightly less than icy. "So you have absolutely no excuse not to go out on a scouting expedition, ScoutmasterHal."Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. "But, Anda -" "No buts! Get out there and get me some readings!" Melinde stifled a giggle behind her hand. Hal threw her a look that promisedpain in simulation training. Melinde stiffened and took on a blank expression. "And when you''re done, maybe I can finally call it a night for once -" "I''ll be fast," Hal interrupted his partner, smiling into the comm. "See that you do." Despite the dismissive words, the tone that carried over the comm was almost shy. "Love you, babe," Hal said. "Love you, Hal," Anda said. The call cut. "See, Melinde? Actual communication," Hal said. The numbers on Melinde''s app flashed once, brightly, then vanished. "Get your sister, we''re going to take our skimmers out in twenty minutes," Hal said, looking up at the pod in the sky. It was still falling, but angled such that it would fall over ten kilometers away from where the colony''s furthest outposts lay. "And tune your disruptors. We might be going out into infested territoryand I''d like to minimize the number of surprises that we get. Vibroblades, too." "You''re the boss!" Melinde said, turning to skip away. Hal growledfrom behind her, freezing her in place on one foot. "Nozzle."
COLONY OUTER GATES - 1832 - EVENING. The skimmers were silent except for a few coughs from Hal''s still malfunctioning exhaust. He twisted around in his seat and banged heavily on the rear engine block until itcoughed slightly more quietly. As the gates whirred and hummed into life, having been given permission to open this late at night by Anda, Hal exchanged glances with both his assistants. They were really more his second-in-commands - members of his personal scout team and tasked with both administrative duties for the militia patrol system as well as command staff. For such a routine expedition Hal didn''t think he''d need a full backup team, especially given that the skimmers they had were more than capable of outrunning any of the known infested so far. Even if his skimmer was still slightly dodgy - he eyed the exhaust again, his right eye starting to twitch - Melinde and Melissa''s skimmers were both fully functional, Melinde was a great in-the-field mechanic, and he could always ride double with one of them if everything went to hell in a handbasket. Even if Anda would get on his case again about wasting metal. Hal closed his eyes, listening for the light hums of the disruptors. Both seemed to be set at the correct frequencies for infested, and would serve to get the scout group past a small pack ofchasers- maybe even a medium pack. He checked his grav-lance again, a small gesture of security, even though he knew it was firmly magnetically lockedin place. The readout read at 15 charges, and would only keep increasing as the skimmers covered the distance between the colony and their expedition target. "Boss," Melissa greeted him, sliding her skimmer up next to his. Compared to her twin, Melissa was taller, skinnier, andblonder. She also had her hair tied back in a serviceable updo, preventing any blockage of the readings scrolling across her visor. At that reminder, Hal lowered his, waiting a moment until it adjusted to the glare to present his skimmer metrics across his vision at 30% opacity. "Melissa," he responded. "Anda sent me the rough coordinates of where he figured the pod might have landed, so I''ve calculated our most efficient route based on our last infested territories, our fuel gauge, and the charges on our weapons." "She." "Pardon, Boss?" "Anda said she felt like being a ''she'' today." "Oh. Understood, Boss." The colony gates slowly rose open, revealing a rolling green landscape not unlike Mother Earth - a deceptively idyllic landscape. Hal tensed as his eyes tracked the horizon, checking both his skimmer''s sensors as well as his own in a well-practiced search pattern. Nothing jumped out at him immediately. "Lock in the data with our skimmers - we''ll slave them to the route you''ve plotted. But leave the speed control up to me, and give me temporary override. Usual protocol." "Roger, Boss." Melissa subvocalized a series of commands, and the skimmers slid forward together, the gateshumming andcreating ashimmering forcefield behind them. Overhead, the lightshow had finally faded, leaving behind a series of wispy clouds and thesearinglight of the single moon orbiting their planet. Given the lack of a pressure wave, Hal estimated that it''d be a relatively long ride... so, 95% boring, 3% tension as they crossed infested territory, and 2% sheer terror in case they actually ran into a pack of infested. In other words, a totally standard scouting expedition. Hal leaned over his controls, gripping the handles of his skimmer tightly and revving the engines. He gauged their readiness by the vibrations under his hands and his body, eyeing his assistants as they did the same. Their disruptors cancelled out the noise of the skimmers, what little they made, and they were in the appropriate formation such that their disruptors cancelled his skimmer''s noise as well. As he focused on the far distance, the circuits on his bodytracedbright gold along his veins. Melinde and Melissa barely casthim a single look, which he appreciated - some of the newer militia members acted just as civilians in the colony did - with great distrust. "Let''s go." The three skimmers took off into the plains, moving almost silently, disturbing the grass-equivalents with about as much force as a summer breeze. Tutorial 0.1 MIDDLE OF PLAINS ¨C 2004 ¨C EVENING. ¡°I don¡¯t like this, Hal,¡± Melinde said, pressing herself into her dashboard to talk into her skimmer-mounted comms. ¡°Don¡¯t like what?¡± Hal rumbled. ¡°It¡¯s quiet ¨C it¡¯s too quiet,¡± Melissa said. ¡°Uh, don¡¯t go spouting horror movie quotes on me, Sis,¡± Melinde said. ¡°It¡¯s creepy quiet enough as it is.¡± ¡°According to last known patrol data, we should be passing straight through infested territory right now. Not a hide nor hair of them, or even a sensor pickup of their frequencies.¡± ¡°¡­Strange,¡± Hal said. ¡°It¡¯s not time for their migrations, is it?¡± ¡°Not according to the last five years¡¯ patrol data, it¡¯s not.¡± ¡°Still, keep our frequencies down as much as you can. I¡¯d rather not run into any ambushes. Especially any from below.¡± ¡°Roger, Boss.¡± MIDDLE OF PLAINS ¨C 2025 ¨C EVENING. The skimmers moved on, still in silence. A shape flashed by, moving dark and bulky against the slowly dimming twilight. ¡°Contact,¡± Melissa hissed into her comms, and broke off the calculated plot on her skimmer. ¡°I¡¯m assuming command,¡± Hal said, squinting into the night despite his visor shifting into low-light mode. ¡°Roger,¡± Melissa and Melinde said, a hand shifting to their disruptors mounted at the sides of their skimmers. ¡°Nanite packages armed?¡± Hal said. ¡°Three each,¡± Melinde said, all levity gone from her voice. ¡°Good, let¡¯s keep it at that number.¡± Hal let his skimmer fall behind the other two, who revved their engines to skim in front of him in a reverse-V formation. ¡°Number of signatures?¡± ¡°Just the one ¨C no, two, no, three ¨C all travelling in the same direction. They¡¯re directly north in front of us ¨C bearing 025 degrees.¡± ¡°Frequency disruptors up. Ammunition?¡± ¡°35 effective charges each,¡± Melissa read off her display. ¡°At max.¡± Hal¡¯s HUD highlighted the infested shapes in the purple-and-olive twilight, their outlines glowing a faint red. In front of him, Melissa and Melinde¡¯s skimmers and shapes glowed a faint blue. ¡°Vibroblade charges?¡± ¡°45 each,¡± Melissa said. ¡°Maxed.¡± ¡°Increase relative speed to close into effective frequency disruptor range.¡± ¡°Roger,¡± Melinde said, and both twins¡¯ skimmers sped up. Hal followed, one foot pressing gently on his brakes to give himself slightly more thinking time. Hal eyed the positions of the loping infested. One was up on a slight incline ¨C harder to attack and easier to defend. The other two were within linking distance of each other, but would take some time to sync up their roars, especially if one of them was in between the two infested. In close combat and un-disrupted, the infested had a significant advantage over typical militia members¡­but then, he wasn¡¯t a typical militia member. Also, if he could get some biomass and samples back from these infested, Anda might even forgive him for ¡®ignoring¡¯ his responsibilities. Which would be nice. He mulled the approach over for a split second, then decided. ¡°Melissa, Melinde, stay at maximum effective disruptor range, and hold it on the two down on the lower altitude. If you can sync up for greater effective area coverage, do so, if not, don¡¯t worry.¡± ¡°Roger, Boss,¡± Melinde said. They veered off to opposite sides for greater coverage, keeping their angles calculated to prevent frequency cancellation. The skimmers¡¯ high-pitched engine shriek abruptly became audible, making Hal wince as it overwhelmed his hearing for a moment before his visor dimmed the reception of those particular frequencies. Hal tensed as he waited for the infested to turn on his assistants and himself. The circuits on his body began to glow a dim gold. Nothing happened. The infested on the higher incline disappeared over it and loped into the distance. Well, Hal wasn¡¯t going to look a neutralized infested in the maw. ¡°When their frequency is jammed, hold them still. I¡¯ll be increasing gravity on them both.¡± ¡°Roger, Boss.¡± Locking their skimmers in place, twins held their disruptor up and fired, clenching their jaws as the back-end vibrations from the disruptor expelled themselves through their bodies and skimmers. All at once, the infested stumbled to a stop, turned and growled, opening their maws and exposing rows of teeth within. Horn-like protrusions snapped up on their hides, angling toward the source of the frequencies. Hal surged his skimmer into the dead middle of the two girls, letting his circuits glow a full, brilliant gold. He plucked the metallic grav-lance from its bed at the side of his skimmer and couched it under his arm, pointing the tip at the two infested. The gold light from his circuits traced little patterns over the shaft of the grav-lance. The infested shifted attention onto him immediately, and pods exploded from their hides, opening like umbrellas in mid-air and filling the air with sharp, miniature darts. Hal let the instinctive calculations settle over his visor before triggering the grav-lance. All at once, the miniature darts plummeted to the ground, as did the infested beyond them. Their maws crashed to the ground, flattening the grass-equivalents below. ¡°Close in, Melinde! Melissa, provide backup!¡± ¡°Roger, Boss!¡± Melinde shot toward the infested from Hal¡¯s right, putting her disruptor back in the socket and drawing a vibroblade out from her hip holster. Melissa kept her disruptor trained on the two infested, despite them being unable to move in any respect, while Hal kept one eye on the gravity calculations and one eye on Melinde.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. Melinde leaped from the side of her moving skimmer, using the momentum provided to slam her vibroblade home into the weak spot of the twitching infested. It twitched once, and fell still. Melinde pulled the vibroblade out from the infested, vibrating it to make it easier to pull out. She plodded over to the other infested, each foot almost dragging on the ground, and Hal switched the gravity influence to increase more on the infested Melinde was approaching. He caught Melissa¡¯s eye. Melissa nodded, and aimed her disruptor wholly at the infested Melinde had already stabbed. With one hand, Melissa rooted around in her skimmer¡¯s storage compartment for biomass collecting nanites, and tossed a small box at the stabbed infested. The nanites poured out of the box in a silver swarm, and began to slowly cover the infested flesh with an iridescent film. Eyeing the infested which was twitching on the ground, Melinde stepped over one of its limbs and drove her vibroblade into its unarmoured spot, then again, and again. The infested twitched, and went limp. Melinde¡¯s skimmer eased up by her. Blank-faced, Melinde stabbed the infested again. And again. ¡°Melinde,¡± Hal said. ¡°Melinde! Stop.¡± Melinde kept stabbing the infested. Gritting his teeth, Hal eased his skimmer closer to the infested. Melinde, the vibroblade still sunk into the infested on one of her stabs, sank closer and closer to the ground as the effective gravity field around her increased. ¡°Melinde. You¡¯re wasting vibroblade charges.¡± Melinde looked up at him, her body twisting with an effort. ¡°Roger, Boss.¡± ¡°And I think it¡¯s dead.¡± Hal fished his own biomass-gathering nanites from his storage compartment and tossed it on the multiply-stabbed infested. Melinde drew away from the nanites sharply, and climbed back onto her skimmer. ¡°Just¡­give it to Anda,¡± Melinde said, her voice carrying doubly through the air and over the comm on her skimmer. Hal released the gravity field and placed his lance back into its bed, waiting for the tell-tale click before releasing the grav-lance entirely. ¡°Of course, Melinde.¡± Melinde looked at him for a moment. Melissa moved her skimmer closer to her sister¡¯s, vacuuming the biomass-nanites from the ground as she did. ¡°Good haul today, Melinde,¡± Melissa said. ¡°Yeah,¡± Melissa whispered, her voice carrying more through the comm. ¡°A good haul.¡± Hal kept his eyes on the far horizon as he let his circuits dim. Melissa¡¯s eyes flicked down to her skimmer¡¯s readouts for a split second before she cursed. ¡°Contact 180!¡± Hal whipped his skimmer to the left, catching a glimpse of an infested as it barrelled all the way by, ignoring them as it ran up an incline and disappeared over the hill. ¡°What the hell?¡± Hal asked, as three more infested appeared within his sight, passed them entirely, and kept loping into the far distance. ¡°I don¡¯t know ¨C I¡¯m getting some strange frequencies ¨C I¡¯m analysing¡­¡± Another four infested passed them, moving in a pack, shoulder to shoulder. ¡°Fuck, that¡¯s a small pack already ¨C ¡° ¡°Boss,¡± Melissa said, sending a burst of data into his visor. ¡°I think you¡¯d better make an executive decision. It¡¯s a distress signal.¡± (-37.68964, 147.820953) ¨C ????? ¨C EVENING. What¡­where¡­? PLEASE REMAIN STILL, USER OPHIUCHUS. LANDING WAS¡­A TOUAS;GK;LJ¡­ AND GO, FOR A WHILE. CALCULATING. CALCULATING. CALCULATING. Ophiuchus shook her head gingerly, letting her brains resettle into her skull. She unbuckled the clip on her harness. And then the second clip. And the third. By the fourth, she was alternately praising and cursing the designers of the vehicle ¨C praising them, for letting her land relatively safely in what was basically a barebones spacecraft, and cursing them, for being so ungodly redundant in their design. AIR CLOSE TO TERRA NORMKGYLYDKD, BUT THERE ARE SMOKE PARTICLES. PLEASE REMAIN WITHIN THE SUIT AND THE VEHICFKKYKUJYT. ¡°Recognized.¡± But not complied. She unclipped the seventeenth clip. Well, the suit reminder was probably for the best, but remaining within the vehicle? Hell no ¨C Ophiuchus was darned sick of a) running simulations, b) playing card games, and c) playing card game simulations. She held on to an overhead bar and climbed out of the massive gaping hole in the side of the pod. USER OPHIUCHUS. THIS IS NOT ADVISEADRRAJEM. PROBABILITY ¨C ¡°Enough, Resolve.¡± Ophiuchus looked out into the distance, her mask brightening slightly to counteract the darkness of the local night. ¡°Pretty world, this one.¡± SHOULD I BEGHGFKG BROADCASTING ¡®MAYDAY¡¯ TRANSMISSIONS OR EQUIVALENT? SIGNS ON ATMOSPHERIC ENTRTE7LT;TTSRYR JMMTMARKDICATE COLONIZED TERRITORY. Ophiuchus thought for a moment. ¡°Did you record the local frequencies that the colony was broadcasting on before atmospheric entry?¡± YES, USER. ¡°Broadcast the rescue transmissions on those frequencies alone. And conceal my identity and IFF. Let¡¯s not give the Federation any more ammunition than absolutely necessary, yes?¡± USER, FLEEBFJ; FROM THE FEDERATION IS ILL-AD¡ª ¡°Yes, yes, I know. Well, it¡¯s been light-years since I left, so ¨C¡° MEASURE OF DISTANCE AND MEASURE OF SUBJECTIVE TIME IS NOT EQUIVALENT, USER. ¡°I said, it¡¯s been light-years since I left, and I¡¯ll go back when I¡¯m ready. Begin broadcasting.¡± BEGINNING BROADCAST. ¡°While that¡¯s going on ¨C what¡¯s the state of our supplies and your charge, Resolve?¡± SUPPLIES: MINIMAL ¨C ENOUGH TO LAST TWO TERRAN DAYS OF OPTIMAL NUTRITION, FIVE DAYS ON RATIONS, TWO YEARS ON HIBERNATION. WOULD YOU PREFER TO RE-ENTER HIBERNATION? ¡°Yeah. No.¡± OWN CHARGE: NEARING 5% WITHOUT AVAILABLE ENERGY SOURCE. CONVERSION TO BIOMASS REQUIRES MORE POWER THAN I HAVE. CORRUPTION LEVEL: B-GRADE. ¡°B-grade? Approximate to percentage, please.¡± CORRUPTION LEVEL ¨C MANAGEAWA;GJLK. CALCULATING. CORRUPTION LEVEL: 25%. ¡°¡­That¡¯s mildly concerning.¡± Shapes emerged on the horizon. ¡°Increase magnification.¡± The shapes resolved into lumbering, hulking monsters. ¡°Okay, that¡¯s more concerning.¡± One of them opened a gaping maw ¨C Ophiuchus watched with extreme discomfort as the magnification on her mask emphasized the thick ooze dripping down its stained fangs. The image vibrated subtly. Ophiuchus hastily decreased the magnification, and checked the horizon again. Against the dim twilight, dark shapes emerged across the horizon, and were moving toward her position, moving rather rapidly. More shapes emerged on the horizon ¨C more than twenty. WARNING: INFRARED DETECTED. HIGHER THAN NORMAL ACTIVITY. ¡°Individual signatures, Resolve.¡± CALCULATING. ¡­ ¡­ ¡­. SIXTY. AND INCREASING. SIGNATURES CONVERGING ON CURRENT LOCATION. ¡°Welp.¡± Ophiuchus took a deep breath. ¡°Guess it¡¯s the first time I¡¯m seeing action as a Knight of Constellation, then.¡± A rumble on the ground. In the distance, the ¡­ beasts? Monsters? Lifted their heads up as one and roared, the higher frequencies of their roar carrying faster toward Ophiuchus. The lower frequencies hit a moment later, vibrating Ophiuchus¡¯ suit and making her wince. The lowest frequencies hit a moment later, knocking her physically backwards a step or two. ¡°Hale,¡± Ophiuchus muttered. ¡°Resolve? What¡¯s the deal with those frequencies?¡± FREQUENCIES APPEAR TO BE JAMMING BROADCASTS ON ALL FREQUENCIES BUT LOCAL COLONY PATTERNS. INDICATES THAT COLONY IS USED TO DEALING WITH CREATURES. INITIAL HYPOTHESIS: INDIGENOUS FAUNA OF PLANET. The beasts roared again, forming up into clumps. Ophiuchus braced herself, a hand on her vehicle. The higher frequencies ¨C the lower ¨C she could feel her suit buzzing against her stomach ¨C the lowest. This time the hit was physical, and despite bracing herself she slid a few centimeters back. A loosely hanging panel on the torn-open side of her vehicle shook itself off entirely, clanging to a halt on the ground and buzzing. USER, WOULD YOU LIKE TO ENGAGE WEAPONS SYSTEMS? Eyeing the rapidly increasing dark shapes on the horizon, Ophiuchus nodded. ¡°I think that¡¯d be best, Resolve.¡± DEPLOYING FLECHETTE TURRETS. CANNIBALIZING NONESSENTIAL INTERNAL VEHICLE PARTS FOR AMMUNITION. DEPLOYED. TURRETS READASGRRRRRRRH TO FIRE. AMMUNITION CONVERTING. ¡°Ammunition count at maximum?¡± WITH AVAILABLE NONESSENTIAL PARTS FOR SURVIVAL ¨C THREE TURRETS DEPLOYED COVERING HEMISPHERIC FIRE. TOTAL TWELVE BURSTS AMONG ALL TURRETS. CANNIBALIZING NON-ESSENTIAL EXTERNAL PARTS. AWAITING COMMAND. ¡°Recognized. Resolve, is there a sufficiently heavy piece of external metal somewhere?¡± WHY? ¡°I¡¯d like to have something big and heavy on hand in case they get past the turret line.¡± ¡­ HIGHLIGHTING ON YOUR HUD. ¡°Thanks, Resolve.¡± Ophiuchus picked her way through the wreckage, and managed to grab hold of a piece of torn plate from the hull. Hefting it up to her shoulder, she maneuvered back to her original position. FIRING ON YOUR MARK. ¡°Recognized.¡± The beasts, so numerous now that they formed an amorphous black blob on the edge of her vision, grew vertically, and roared again. ¡°MARK!¡± BRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA ¨C ELEVEN BURSTS REMAINING. SIGNATURES, SIXTY-FIVE. SIGNATURES INCREASING. Tutorial 0.2 (-37.68964, 147.820953) ¨C ????? ¨C NIGHT. ¡°Another day, another set of monsters¡­¡± TURRETS LOW ON AMMUNITION. VISIBILITY OF USER IS LOW. EXPENDING CHARGE TO FLOODLIGHTS. CHARGE NOW AT 2%. The spotlights on her pod clunked on, flooding the area with blue-white light. Ophiuchus blinked automatically, even as her mask adjusted to the sudden change in light. The landscape in front of her was strewn with fallen monstrous bodies. But more still clambered over their dead, moving in nauseating ways, with limbs that should not move in the way their joints appeared to be laid out. And more. And more. Shapes emerged over the horizon, blacker than the local night around her. ¡°Resolve, can you¡­try to highlight individual signatures?¡± HIGHLIGHTING. On her mask, individual shapes were outlined in a flash of grey, darker than the flood-lit area, brighter than the pitch-black outside where the light fell. Even as the outlines shifted, more still were blinking into existence. They stretched further than Ophiuchus could see. And there were many, many more of them. ¡°Oh. That¡¯s¡­not good.¡± The shapes in the far distance roared. As had happened more times than Ophiuchus could count, Ophiuchus braced herself. The highest frequencies ¨C the lower ¨C the lowest. Ophiuchus turned around, using her hunk of pod plate as a pivot. All around, all she could see was grey on night. Grey, grey, and more grey. Dust swept from the grass-equivalents in front of her, clouding her vision. Through it, the grey shapes moved closer and closer, a flood of them, more than her eye could pick out. Ophiuchus braced herself further, lifting the hunk of metal so that the furthest tip of her lifted off the ground. ¡°Are we in desperate straits yet, Resolve?¡± TURRET 2 FIRING. BRAAAAAAAAAAAA --! The turret spat a burst of flechette rounds at the oncoming monsters, puncturing a myriad of holes in their biological armor, until they leaked ichor and toppled. Other monsters leapt the body and slipped ¨C fell ¨C got up ¨C kept coming ¨C less than fifty meters ¨C less than twenty meters. TURRET 1 FIRING. BRAAAAAAA -- ! With the turret moving its spray of fire back and forth, the flechettes took out three monsters, forming a small bulwark that other monsters had to climb to overcome. Five clambered over the barrier. Ophiuchus breathed deeply, and turned around. All around her, monsters clambered over the makeshift barriers formed of their dead brethren. BRAAAAAAA-- ! With a whirling clunk, Turret 1 ran out of ammunition. NOW WE ARE IN DESPERATE STRAITS, USER. Ophiuchus tried to run her hand through her hair, and promptly felt very stupid as her gloved hand met helmet. ¡°Right, then. Let¡¯s¡­do something.¡± She pressed an open palm to her chestplate, feeling for the pulse of biotech within. Her glove interfaced with the tech under her chestplate, which whirred into a glow and a high-pitched hum. ¡°By the authority of a Knight of Constellation¡­¡± A monster leapt over Turret 1. Resolve adjusted one of the floodlights to shine directly in its ocular organs, making it stagger slightly and shake its head. SPEED UP THE PASSCODE IF YOU COULD, USER. ¡°Ophiuchus, User Thirteen, J-X-Z-3-2, commands the Life Insignia to render aid to ¨C ¡° TURRET 2, ZERO AMMUNITION. TURRET 3, ONE ROUND. ¡°Unforeseencircumstancesbeyondimaginingsousethe power of TACTICIAN would you stop nagging me?!¡± THIS IS NOT A SIMULATION. YOU WILL DIE. YOU WILL BE IN GENUINE PAIN. YOU WILL DIE ALONE ON A BACKWATER WORLD. ¡°There are so many things wrong with that -¡± On her mask, a square bounded by iridescent lines, four by four meters, formed around her. Lines extended off into the distance in all directions, tracing grid-lines with shifting, rainbow-coloured light. Ophiuchus cut herself off, watching as the grid lines extended forty meters out in all directions, forming a 10 x 10 grid of squares. A lunging monster, less than eight meters away ¨C or two grid squares away ¨C dug its talons into the ground, then lunged. An iridescent wall of light formed in front of its head, and it went headfirst into the barrier with a loud thunk. It slid down the iridescent wall in a gesture deeply similar to the entertainment genre known as slapstick. ¡°Ophiuchus, User Thirteen, J-X-Z-3-2, assuming command.¡± FIRST ACTIVE LIVE USAGE OF TACTICIAN COMMAND. DEFINE LAWS OF TACTICS. Ophiuchus turned a full circle, looking at her available assets, the tide of monsters beyond her grid, the tide of monsters smashing their heads into the iridescent walls at the boundaries of the grid. USER, DETECTING THREE TECHNOLOGICAL SIGNATURES. DETECTING INFRARED SIGNATURES COMPARABLE TO TERRAN NORMAL. Ophiuchus chewed the inside of her lips. ¡°Define laws: Entry One. In all battles, three maximum parties, defined as ¡°Sides¡±. Designate self and allies as ¡°Allies¡±. Designate all opposed parties as ¡°Enemies¡±. Designate neutral parties as ¡°Others¡±.¡± No advantage gained to any side. Acknowledged. ¡°Define laws: Entry Two. Each grid square can only contain one party. Each individual party is allowed to make one movement and one action command. When an action command has been committed to, that is defined as a ¡°Turn¡±. After their turn, individual party is no longer allowed to move beyond their grid square but may move freely within it. Talking or communicating may be done freely and has no range restriction.¡± No advantage gained to any side. Acknowledged. The iridescent light faltered and the monster eight meters away lunged through, only to slam head-first into the grid field directly next to Ophiuchus¡¯. She flinched, and began to talk faster. User Thirteen is defining laws. She is not to be disturbed. BE STILL. ¡°Define laws: Entry Three. All parties within a Side take their turns one after the other. No party may move simultaneously with another. When all parties within a Side have completed their turns, a party designated as ¡°Commander¡± may end their Side¡¯s turn. If there is no recognized Commander the turn ends automatically. All Sides must take a turn before the turn order repeats.¡± Ophiuchus swallowed, her throat getting a little dry.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. No advantage gained to any side. Acknowledged. ¡°Define laws: Entry Four. Ranged weapons have a limited range of up to two grid squares. Melee weapons have a limited range of up to one grid square. Exceptions may be¡­ appealed for if all present sides agree.¡± No advantage gained to any side. Acknowledged. ¡°Define laws: Entry Five. If there is no recognized Commander on one side, approval is automatically granted.¡± Advantage given to one side. Entry denied. Ophiuchus closed her eyes and thought furiously. Period closing in 3¡­2¡­1¡­ ¡°Define laws: Entry Six! When attacking, an individual party may only make one attack. The other party is allowed to defend and to attack back but may not move from their grid square!¡± No advantage gained by any side. Acknowledged. ¡°Lock entries one to four and six, close laws of tactics, I assume command of Allies!¡± Entries locked. Laws of Tactics defined. TACTICIAN: OPHIUCHUS defined. Command of Allies given. Scanning for Commander of Enemies Side. Scanning for Commander of Others Side. No Commanders found for either. Overlay granted. As privilege of Commander, Allies side begins first. The presence of the Life Insignia fell away, and Ophiuchus breathed a deep sigh of relief. She hefted the hunk of plate metal and stared down the monster prowling around inside its grid square. ¡°Targeting adjacent grid square!¡± Grid square targeted. Releasing boundaries. The iridescent wall fell away, and Ophiuchus stepped over the grid line, already swinging. The momentum of the hunk of plate metal swung Ophiuchus more than she swung it, but she contacted firmly with the monster, which was sent skidding half a meter back. The monster lunged forward, and Ophiuchus backpedalled into her own grid square. She raised the plate metal up to block, and the monster¡¯s talon smashed into the metal, tearing it loose from Ophiuchus¡¯ grip and sending it flying. The monster lunged again and Ophiuchus leapt to the side, stumbling over a loose rock and sprawling on the ground. The monster opened its maw - Speed estimation complete. An iridescent cage formed around the monster, and dragged it backward into its original grid square. Heart pounding fiercely, Ophiuchus crawled toward where her hunk of metal had contacted an iridescent wall ninety degrees away from the monster. It had slid to the ground, an edge leaning on the iridescent wall it had come into contact with. She heaved it up again and looked around. The monster was clawing at its blockage, but making no progress forward. ¡°Resolve, your turn!¡± RECOGNIZED. TURRET 3, FIRING. BRAAAAAAA - ! As the monster clawing at the iridescent wall was shredded by flechette fire, the turret whirled to a stop, its ammunition empty. ¡°Allied commander ends Allies¡¯ Side!¡± Acknowledged. Ophiuchus turned around slowly, watching as the monster¡¯s reinforcements closed in, grid square by grid square.
MIDDLE OF PLAINS ¨C 2047 ¨C NIGHT. As their skimmers, back in the silent formation, crested a hill, Hal repressed a curse. In the valley below, his visor picked out at least eighty red infested signatures, with more still loping past them and coming from all around them. Even though it wouldn¡¯t do any good if the infested did notice, Hal couldn¡¯t help but press his body close to the skimmer to minimize his profile. He put a hand up to signal a stop, and the three skimmers arrested forward movement. Hal magnified his visor¡¯s vision. At the center of the mass of red signatures, shimmering iridescent force-fields separated at least ten infested, divided into a grid. One infested per grid. A patch of blue-white light revealed the infested features, and a lone figure in a body-hugging spacesuit, lugging a piece of metal larger than her torso. As Hal watched, the figure bonked a red-outlined infested in the face, then jumped backward to dodge its swipe. He watched as the infested was dragged backwards into an empty grid square. ¡°What¡­the hell,¡± Melinde breathed. ¡°Sis, are you seeing this?¡± ¡°Opening a live feed to Anda now,¡± Melissa whispered. ¡°This is astonishing.¡± Hal spotted the infested surrounding the grid rise up. ¡°Shit ¨C brace for roar.¡± His visor automatically started muting the high frequencies that the infested roars most commonly used. His circuits started to glow a dim gold. The infested roared ¨C more than fifty of them at once. The infested loping past their skimmers only increased their speed, even as the frequencies buffeted the grass-equivalents around them, tearing flora out by their roots and sending bits of greenery flying. The skimmers drifted sideways, carried by the force of the frequencies alone. Hal kept his jaw loose, even as the lower frequencies rattled his teeth, and the lowest frequencies hit almost like a hammer blow to the side. At the edge of the iridescent grid, force-field walls flickered into existence, and rippled as the frequencies hit it. When the roar ended, the force-fields remained standing, still present. ¡°What¡­the fuck,¡± Melinde whispered. ¡°I want that tech.¡± ¡°Anda, present,¡± Anda said quietly over the comm. ¡°Anda,¡± Hal said. ¡°Are you seeing this?¡± ¡°Crystal clear,¡± she said. Hal could just about imagine her eyes narrowing. ¡°What¡¯s that white light in the middle?¡± ¡°Increasing magnification,¡± Melissa said. Anda made an audible intake of breath. ¡°Hal, new priority, fuck the readings. Get that woman back to the colony.¡± Another group of infested reared up. ¡°Brace for roar,¡± Hal said. As the roar passed over them, another group of infested reared up. Hal gripped the handlebar of his skimmer more fiercely until the handlebar compressed under his grip, thinking. ¡°Brace for roar,¡± Melinde whispered. They braced. ¡°Keep the feed open,¡± Anda said. ¡°And get inside that grid if you can. I¡¯ve seen something like it before.¡± Another roar passed over then, and Hal made his decision. ¡°We¡¯re gonna play Red Light, Green Light. Melinde, take rearguard. Melissa, behind me. Melinde, weapons free ¨C Melissa, try to cover both your sister and I. We¡¯ll move only when the roars are happening, hope that the frequencies disguise our engine noise.¡± ¡°Transferring feed to your skimmer, Hal.¡± ¡°Roger.¡± Breaking the formation, Hal eased his skimmer forward as a roar passed over them. Melissa drifted into place behind him, and Melinde locked hers last. Hal¡¯s assistants slaved their engines to Hal¡¯s, and he squinted down at the valley, judging their route, trying to find a path with as little infested in the way as possible. Almost absent-mindedly, Hal watched the woman bonk another infested in the face. A roar passed over them. Hal surged their skimmers forward.
VALLEY ¨C 2115 ¨C NIGHT. Hal surged directly at a pack of four infested, letting the frequencies of a group¡¯s roar drift them off course just enough to miss them entirely. He swung the skimmer to the right almost by manhandling the skimmer¡¯s weight, dodging an infested which was crouched underneath. Hal increased power to the skimmer Y-axis engines, bringing the skimmers higher over the ground, which pushed the infested flat onto the ground, its limbs caught underneath its body. As Melinde¡¯s skimmer passed overhead, Melinde directed a burst of focused frequencies into the infested, until it went limp. ¡°It¡¯s nice feeling like I¡¯m growing stronger,¡± she whispered into the comm. Hal had lost track of the woman in the center of the mass of infested long ago. The only thing he saw in his visor was masses of outlined neon red, and a glimpse of an iridescent wall, up ahead, occasionally revealed as the mass of infested roiled. A pink-white line of light, almost like a perfectly straight cable, surged out from the iridescent wall, running along the ground and knocking loose rocks to either side of it. It split off every now and then into crosses, which ran horizontally, and split, themselves. At the outmost edge, the original neon-rainbow cable took a sharp right turn and began splitting off again, until it formed another two rows of grid squares. ¡°Get inside the grid, Hal!¡± Anda¡¯s voice cut through Hal¡¯s concentration, even as an infested swiped a claw at an iridescent wall that sprung up from the outermost edge of the newly formed grid squares. ¡°Brace for ramming,¡± Hal growled into his comms, then swung the skimmer around until they were head-on to one of the grid squares. He gunned the engines, accelerating the skimmer up to full speed, and tapping into the power lying dormant under his circuits. A hemispheric dome of golden force popped into existence, focused on a point twenty centimeters ahead of the nose of his skimmer. All at once, the infested surrounding them turned around to focus on Hal. Even the infested within the grid itself turned around. By then, the world had already become a blur, as the three skimmers knocked aside any infested, even those with dense skeletal structures, on a straight line into the grid. The iridescent walls flickered as the three skimmers crashed through five grid squares in a row, smashing aside the infested that were within them. Hal felt energy flicker through the nanites within his muscles, even as the strain of maintaining his forcefield made his head throb. The nose of his skimmer crossed a grid-line and smashed into an iridescent wall that suddenly flickered into life, bringing the skimmer to an abrupt stop. The jerk of sudden deceleration made Hal lose concentration. The golden shield flickered and died, leaving his body feeling drained. ¡°Weapons free,¡± Hal gritted out, and fished around in his skimmer¡¯s storage compartment for a nanite package. Slapping it onto his arm, he hissed in relief as the biochemicals released by the package relieved his headache and pumped his body full of energy again. Commander of Others assigned. (-37.68964, 147.820953) ¨C ????? ¨C NIGHT. TECHNOLOGICAL SIGNATURES WITHIN ONE HUNDRED METERS AND CLOSING. ¡°Good,¡± Ophiuchus wheezed. She¡¯d been extending her turns as long as she could, to give her arms some rest. Even so, the strain of repeatedly swinging a large, heavy hunk of metal was taking its toll on her. Her mask fogged up, and she blinked away the acidic twinge of her sweat entering her eyes. She let her breath out in a controlled exhale and picked up the hunk of metal again, both her arms protesting. She eyed her surroundings ¨C three monsters, one to her front and one on each side. Probably manageable. She shifted her weight from foot to foot, ready to rotate to block a lunge from any direction. ¡°Commander of Allies, end turn,¡± Ophiuchus said, gingerly. All the monsters lunged at once, but iridescent walls sprung up on all of them, and they fell back, snarling at the walls that blocked them. RAPIDLY CLOSING. Commander of Others assigned. THERE IS A LOCAL BROADCAST ATTEMPTING TO HAIL US. OPEN COMMUNICATIONS? Tutorial 0.3 VALLEY / (-37.68964, 147.820953) ¨C 2125 ¨C NIGHT. ¡°Unknown¡­visitor, this is Rothform Colony¡¯s Anda Hu speaking. Our scout general is within your immediate vicinity, ready to initiate rescue operations.¡± Hal grit his teeth as feedback and static buzzed through his head. Melinde and Melissa¡¯s skimmers had broken off from the formation, and each hovered in a separate grid square. They¡¯d already gone weapons free, as the distance was too far away to cover the three skimmers in audio distortion as it was. Around them, the infested were shifting, apparently torn between facing them and facing the source of the grid. ¡°ANDA HU, THIS IS THE AI, NAMED ¡®RESOLVE¡¯. MY USER IS CURRENTLY SUPPRESSSED BY TWENTY-TWO SIGNATURES. IF YOUR SQUAD IS WILLING TO FIGHT THEIR WAY THROUGH, MY USER WILL GREET THEM FAVORABLY.¡± ¡°Scoutmaster Hal?¡± A buzz of static resolved into understandable words. Commander of Others side, your visor is compatible. Do you permit receiving an overlay? ¡°Yes, we are willing,¡± Hal responded to Anda. The unknown voice took that as answer, as well, and Hal rocked his head backward in shock as a graphical overlay took over his field of vision. An overhead view resolved itself into a visible grid of 20 x 20 squares, with gray infested taking up a number of the squares. A white square cross-hair blinked over a gray figure, differently shaped and parked at the bottom left of the grid. Three of those figures, differently shaped to each other and to the infested, in a vertical line. Taking tactical information and sharing with all sides. ¡°What?¡± Hal said, out loud. On his overlay, three figures immediately shifted into blue colours, while all the infested took on red outlines. In the center of the grid, a figure he half-recognized from overlooking the valley took on a green colouring. Faced with familiarized information, Hal immediately grasped what he was looking at. ¡°This is¡­accurate information?¡± Yes. Hal adjusted his visor to 50% transparency, and started comparing the infested in the grid squares around him to the information on the overlay. They matched perfectly. Clenching his jaw, he decided to make use of it, even if he didn¡¯t entirely trust the intel. ¡°RESOLVE SPEAKING. I AM TO UNDERSTAND THAT YOUR SQUAD IS IN A LINE FORMATION AT THE FAR EDGE OF OUR TACTICAL GRID. IS THAT CORRECT?¡± ¡°Scoutmaster Malcolm ¡°Hal¡± Arnold speaking,¡± Hal said into his comm. ¡°That is correct.¡± ¡°PLEASE RENDEZVOUS WITH MY USER AT THE CENTER OF THE GRID. WE WILL HOLD ON UNTIL YOU ARRIVE. BUT PLEASE MOVE QUICKLY.¡± ¡°Roger,¡± Hal said. ¡°Assistants. Weapons free. We¡¯re moving.¡± ¡°SENDING TACTICAL INFORMATION.¡± ¡°Received,¡± Anda said. ¡°Transferring information to my squad.¡± Hal received a transcript of a set of rules. While his mind processed them, he plotted out a route. ¡°Received,¡± Melissa said. Her sister echoed her a moment after. ¡°We¡¯ll leave the tactics up to you, Boss.¡± Hal freed a hand to rub his forehead. ¡°Follow me.¡± Empty grid squares began to glow a rich neon blue, while infested-filled squares glowed a crimson red. Some infested began to stab at the ground beneath them. ¡°Stay within one grid square of each other,¡± he said, then sent his skimmer forward. The iridescent walls fell away as he eased over a grid line, passing through five empty squares easily, moving in a Z-shape to avoid infested-filled squares. Melissa and Melinde followed track, each traveling six squares to end up in a L-shape with him at the corner of their formation. There were two infested, one adjacent only to him, and diagonally opposite him, adjacent to both twins. The blue glow faded from the grid squares they had traversed. As Hal pulled his grav-lance out of its mag-locked holster, the light under his skimmer shifted from rich blue to a deep crimson red, washing his whole vision in neon red light. His squad, too, was washed with neon red - the red squares covered a pattern of two squares in four directions around him, Melissa, and Melinde, which he clearly saw on his overlay. ¡°We kill this infested,¡± Hal said. He spared a glance at the overlay. As he¡¯d travelled, the overlay intel had remained accurate ¨C he¡¯d been moving slowly enough to check with every square he passed through. ¡°As you say, Boss,¡± Melissa said, lifting her disruptor. ¡°One at a time,¡± Hal said, and aimed his grav-lance at the infested diagonal to him. ¡°Targeting,¡± he said tersely, and let the gravitons dance. The infested was slammed into the ground, twitching slightly. After a period of time, the infested stood up, the grav-lance seemingly not having any more effect, and roared. Without any means of disrupting those frequencies, Hal took them, gritting his teeth as his skimmer was pushed backward into an iridescent wall opposite from the infested. The infested¡¯s attempt to lunge at him, however, was blocked by an iridescent wall in between the two of them. ¡°Melissa. Frequency disruptor. Same target.¡± Melissa nodded. She raised her disruptor as the iridescent wall between her and the infested flickered out of existence and blasted the infested. The infested staggered to the side until it crashed into the iridescent wall between it and Melinde. Melissa held the disruptor on it for a few seconds, before the infested seemed to recover and launched itself at Melissa. Melissa sent her skimmer rocketing backward, and the claw barely caught the nose of her skimmer. The claw still dug a deep gouge out of the alloy armor, and Melissa winced.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡°Melinde, stab same target, now!¡± As the infested lunged yet again, and again was blocked by a sudden iridescent wall, Melinde swooped in from behind, leaping off her skimmer and stabbing her vibroblade into the infested. The infested shuddered, and fell limp. A cage of iridescent light captured Melinde and her vibroblade, dragging her back to the grid square where her skimmer floated. She let it do so, and climbed back onto her skimmer when the cage disappeared. The red light under all of their skimmers faded. ¡°Melissa,¡± Hal said. ¡°You okay?¡± She winced. ¡°Bit too close for comfort, Boss, but I¡¯m okay.¡± ¡°Prepare for incoming attack from the other infested,¡± Hal said, pointing at the infested snarling at the grid square to his side. ¡°Roger, Boss,¡± Melissa said. ¡°Who do you think it¡¯ll attack?¡± ¡°Probably me,¡± Hal said with a shrug. ¡°But it could be you, too.¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Melissa said. ¡°They do like damaged technology and wounded people.¡± Hal sighed. ¡°Ready?¡± He waited for affirmatives from his assistants, before taking a deep breath. ¡°Our Side ends turn,¡± Hal said, The iridescent wall between himself and the infested fell. Immediately, the infested lunged.
VALLEY / (-37.68964, 147.820953) ¨C 2205 ¨C NIGHT. Hal waited, his gut practically boiling itchy with anxiety as he watched the woman highlighted in green on his overlay bonk another infested in the face. Behind him, he and his assistants had left a trail of stabbed infested as they made their way, square by square, toward the unknown woman. The AI, Resolve, had kept up a steady stream of narration to Anda over the course of their slow trip, and he was within three squares of the woman in green¡¯s grid square. There was an infested within disruptor range between Melissa and the woman¡­and that was all. Hal pulled out his vibroblade, checking the charges. Max, as he hadn¡¯t used it at all since they left on this scouting trip. He considered his options. ¡°USER HAS ENDED OUR SIDE¡¯S TURN,¡± Resolve said over the comm, and Hal let his anxiety boil over into a moment of crystallized decision. ¡°Melissa, Melinde, one at a time, kill the infested directly in front of me. Standard procedure on the target. I¡¯m going for the Resolve¡¯s user, so I won¡¯t be providing fire-support.¡± Melinde nodded as she drifted her skimmer one square closer. Simultaneously, Melissa raised her disruptor and waited for the iridescent wall to fall before blasting the infested with a high-pitched burst of frequencies. The infested shook it off, and spikes flared up on the infested hide, launching a spray of sharp darts. The spray that went in other directions apart from at Melissa pinged off iridescent walls, but the ones that did hit buried themselves into the skimmer¡¯s armor and into Melissa herself. Melissa let out a gasping sob as spikes sank into her arms and torso. ¡°Fuck,¡± Hal said, and instinctively urged his skimmer forward. Its nose bumped into an iridescent wall, which formed as Melinde swooped into the infested¡¯s grid square, leapt off her skimmer, and stabbed the infested once ¨C twice, until it fell limp. ¡°Go, Hal,¡± Melinde said. ¡°I¡¯ve got her.¡± She watched desperately, hands tight on the handlebars of her skimmer. Tearing his gaze from where Melissa was sobbing in pain, curled up over her skimmer, Hal went, his skimmer passing over the limp bodies of infested, including a large pile of bodies on a grid square adjacent to the woman in green. Staying within that grid square, Hal hopped off his skimmer, pushing past the bodies of infested to finally come visor-to-helmet with the woman he had come to rescue. USER. Resolve¡¯s voice came from the pod behind the woman, made louder from its voice echoing out from his skimmer¡¯s comm. The woman dropped her ichor-stained weapon. It landed with a thud on the ground, and offered her hand to his. Hal clasped it, noting the minute trembling in her hand. ¡°I am Ophiuchus,¡± she said solemnly. ¡°Hal,¡± he offered back. ¡°Ophi¡­Ophew¡­is it alright if I call you Ophis?¡± ¡°That¡¯ll do,¡± she said. ¡°Well, Ophis,¡± Hal said, ¡°We¡¯ve come to get you out of here.¡± Ophis looked over his shoulder at where Melissa had clenched her jaw and was pulling out spikes from herself, one by one. Where Melinde was staring out at the infested, and the infested were staring back at her. ¡°Hell of a rescue,¡± Ophis said, ¡°Who am I riding with?¡± ¡°Me,¡± Hal said. ¡°It¡¯s still your turn,¡± Ophis said. ¡°I pass command of Allies to Hal.¡± So noted. On his overlay, Ophis¡¯ figure went blue. ¡°Let me grab a few things ¨C Resolve, grab the turrets and take your core out of the pod. Since I¡¯ve dissolved my side, your people can move again.¡± Hal considered matters for a moment, then called out loudly. ¡°Melissa, slave your engines to Melinde¡¯s skimmer, then get onto Melinde¡¯s skimmer with her. Melinde, after Melissa gets on, move Melissa¡¯s skimmer one grid square over to me, right up to the edge of the grid square. Apply a nanite package to her after that.¡± ¡°Roger,¡± Melinde said, and the twins moved to do what he said. ¡°Ophis, have Resolve pile whatever it can on my skimmer for now. I¡¯m going to move my skimmer as close to Melissa¡¯s as possible. When that happens, get everything onto her skimmer and climb on.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± Ophis said. ¡°We¡¯ll have to come back, though. I¡¯m sure your ¨C Anda, was it? ¨C would like to get ahold of the blueprints and parts on my pod.¡± ¡°Oh, she will,¡± Hal said, and moved his skimmer to the edge of his grid square. Resolve flitted past, carrying the giant hunk of metal Ophis had been using throughout the night. Ophis climbed on his skimmer, then climbed off, helping Resolve to transfer the turret from skimmer to skimmer. She settled Resolve¡¯s core on the turret and other parts, including her ichor-stained plate metal. USER, TAKE THIS. HIBERNATING. Resolve¡¯s core opened and an unlit plasma torch dropped out, which Ophis grabbed before it could roll into the recess created by the turret¡¯s ungainly legs. She patted the core fondly. ¡°Rest well, Resolve.¡± She hopped back on Hal¡¯s skimmer, standing between Hal and his stasis and storage compartments. ¡°End turn,¡± Hal said, and the nearby prowling, lurking, infested lunged.
VALLEY ¨C 2230 ¨C NIGHT. ¡°One question, Ophis,¡± Hal said, as they approached the edge of the grid. The lurking infested outside roared again, a giant mass of them, and multiple iridescent forcefields shimmered and rippled as they absorbed the frequencies. ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Can you carry this grid thing with us back to the colony?¡± ¡°She can,¡± Anda said over the line. Anda had been silent all the way through their pickup of Ophis, although Hal had heard a stasis chamber humming into life over the comm when Melissa had been hit. Ophis was silent. TACTICIAN: OPHIUCHUS modifying. Ability gained. ¡°I can,¡± Ophis said, sounding tentative. ¡°But take it slow, in case anything happens.¡± Lines of iridescent light shot out in front of them, forming another row of grid squares. A row of grid squares vanished from the top of his overlay and a row below the figures representing his three-person squad emerged. ¡°Hal, we will be having a talk when you return, about taking half of the command team out without any of the actual militia itself.¡± ¡°Later,¡± Hal said. ¡°Later,¡± Anda promised. Hal winced. ¡°Oh, got you on a leash, does she?¡± Ophis said, behind him. ¡°Not now,¡± Hal said, eyeing the infested swallowed up by the new row of squares. ¡°We¡¯ll talk after we get back to the colony ¨C this looks like it¡¯s going to take an awfully long time. Hop off the skimmer for a sec.¡± Ophis jumped down to the ground, while Hal fished out his vibroblade from his storage compartment. ¡°Alright, back on.¡± He handed the vibroblade to her. ¡°Sharp end goes in the infested.¡± ¡°They¡¯re called ¡®infested¡¯, huh,¡± Ophis said, holding the handle of the half-meter blade and swinging it to get a feel of the balance. She looked up at him. ¡°I think I¡¯m good for a bit of fighting, if you need more coverage.¡± ¡°The infested, yeah. They¡¯ve been a problem for us since we landed on this world,¡± Hal said. ¡°Hop into the next grid square now, and get ready.¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯m ready,¡± Ophis said. ¡°Your squad?¡± ¡°Melissa? Melinde?¡± Affirmations sounded over the comm. ¡°They¡¯re ready. Fuck, this is going to be a long night.¡± He waited until Ophis had walked into the next square over. ¡°End turn.¡± The nearest infested lunged for them. Tutorial 0.4X ABOVE THE COLONY GATES ¨C 0128 ¨C NIGHT. An iridescent line of neon light shot up the smooth, gleaming outer walls of Rothform Colony, finding the angles and splitting off at four-meter points to form regular squares. Kieran, sniper extraordinaire, pulled his visor up so he could watch the process with his own Rangefinder Mark I. He studied the process with fascination as his sniper nest was trisected into neat squares. Kieran settled his rangefinder back over his own eyes, cracked his knuckles, and climbed into the Gauss cannon¡¯s turret seat, buckling himself in. Adjusting the elevation and bearing as his visor marked the approximate range to centimeters, Kieran breathed out slowly and evenly and settled his hands over the grips. His visor marked the faint shapes of his scoutmaster and the two boss-maidens in a glowing blue, and the mass of trapped infested surrounding them in a fainter red, growing fainter as the number of infested swelled. Yes¡­a target-rich environment. On the plains beyond the colony gates, the same iridescent lines marked a neon grid of four-meter by four-meter squares, with many of the squares entrapping exactly one infested each. Kieran¡¯s innate need for precision settled, squealing delightedly, as the uneven plains outside were neatly gridded into regular squares. Making it even easier to land targeted shots. Truly beautiful. If¡­a bit worrying, given how many infested were filling the squares. Kieran scratched at his armguard, not quite fit on as he¡¯d like. It was a bit of a rush, to be called out of bed with his warm partner, and he¡¯d not quite gotten everything just as he liked it. Still, militia work was militia work, and part of it was not getting everything quite perfect. He¡¯d spent, oh, about three years on militia duty, and there were definitely parts about it that he liked more than others. ¡°Kieran,¡± his comm crackled, with Colonymaster Anda¡¯s¡­ dulcet tones. ¡°Present,¡± he said, squinting one-eyed down the projected barrel of his Gauss cannon. He quite liked the affectation, even though he really didn¡¯t need to squint ¨C his visor would adjust for his sight, regardless. ¡°Do you know who is in Gauss Cannon Three?¡± Kieran sat straighter, and spun the turret seat to check the console linking the gauss cannons on the wall together. Gauss Cannon Three¡¯s presence feed was lit, indicating someone was in the turret, same as his own Cannon Two¡¯s. But the video feed linking to it was full of static. ¡°No, Colonymaster.¡± ¡°Neither do I.¡± Kieran bonked his head lightly against the headrest of his turret chair, and rolled his eyes up in irritation. He¡¯d just settled in¡­ ¡°Shall I go and check it out, Colonymaster?¡± ¡°No, stay on fire support, Hal will need it. Disengage Gauss Cannon Three¡¯s ability to fire, though.¡± ¡°Roger, Colonymaster.¡± Kieran searched the console for the keyboard, and entered his authorization codes, disengaging Gauss Cannon Three¡¯s ability to load any ammunition. It¡¯d still be able to charge up the ferromagnetic rails that launched the ammunition, but with zero way to fire anything there¡¯d be less of a chance for whoever was in the turret to do any damage. Probably a kid. Kieran rubbed his forehead. He really wasn¡¯t fond of the brats that his partner taught in the tech school. Taking over his house after school, pestering his partner and himself with questions, and¡­ ¡°Requesting fire support,¡± Hal said over the comm, his voice sounding absolutely exhausted. ¡°Roger!¡± Kieran swung back to his console. ¡°Gauss Cannon Two, Militia-Sniper Kieran Mazeda on aim, ready for your support, sir!¡± ¡°Kieran. Good to hear you. Sending targeting details your way.¡± Boss-maiden Melissa¡¯s distinctive coordinate presentation style popped up on his visor, and Kieran relaxed back into his chair, letting the charging ferro-magnetic sound lull him into his sniper zone.
OUTSIDE THE COLONY GATES ¨C 0135 ¨C NIGHT. On the overlay, Kieran¡¯s gauss emplacement looked like a giant bronze cannon, with a blue figure sitting in it. Hal was¡­ reluctantly, and tiredly, amused at the blue representation of Kieran, sitting with rangefinder goggles on and rotating back and forth. He was a little more concerned at the blind fog where the other gauss cannon emplacement should have been. ¡°Anda, what¡¯s with ¨C¡° ¡°The other Gauss Cannon? Someone¡¯s inside, but we don¡¯t know who. I had Kieran lock off that cannon¡¯s ability to fire, however.¡± ¡°Good choice,¡± Hal breathed. He took the time to lean back against the back of his skimmer, in lieu of taking a turn-ending action. His hand never left his grav-lance, however. Ophis had already hopped off the skimmer and was lying flat on the ground, leaned up against an iridescent wall and dozing. The empty skimmer was in the square next to Ophis, and beyond that, Melissa and Melinde, who were taking the time to calculate targeting solutions and stretch, respectively. Hal watched the timer on his visor tick down, plotting out his next course of action. He flicked the overlay back into the center of his visor, plotting out the shortest possible route and the addition of fire support with giant blocks of metal to his calculations. He could probably use the metal as dams, as stupid as that metaphor sounded to himself, to block the flood of infested from every surrounding area. Kristos, he¡¯d never fought for so long, in such a stop-start manner. It¡¯d been almost¡­five hours, probably, of periodic combat. Hell on the nerves. Hell on the brain. Hell on the muscles, too. So. Asset¡­something. He mustered up the energy to call to his squad over the comm. ¡°Nanite package count?¡± ¡°None, boss,¡± Melissa answered back. ¡°Both of us are out.¡± Grimly, Hal nodded. He was out, too, and the last time they were within sighting distance of each other, Melissa was bleeding slowly, nanite-sealed wounds opening up again. Melinde was even more torn up than her sister, with scrapes and abrasions up both arms. Ophis¡­ ¡°Hey,¡± Hal said, directed at the ground beneath his skimmer. ¡°Get up, Ophis. We¡¯ve got to make a move soon.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Ophis said, sounding just as tired as he did. Hal crouched down and offered his hand. Ophis clambered back onto the skimmer, stumbling slightly and banging her knee on the metal¡­bit, on the ground. Fuck, he was forgetting his words. She took her helmet off and twisted her platinum-blonde hair back up into a ponytail. ¡°What do, Hal?¡± ¡°Weapon charges?¡± Hal asked over the comm. ¡°I¡¯m down to like, five,¡± Melinde responded. ¡°That¡¯s on the vibroblade. My frequency disruptor is also pretty low, probably around eight or so, and I¡¯d have to check Melissa¡¯s skimmer for hers.¡± ¡°Weapon charge?¡± Hal asked Ophis. Ophis fumbled with the hilt of the trimolecular vibroblade until she found the readout. ¡°Seven, apparently.¡± Hal sucked at his lip, thinking. The circuits on his arms gleamed slightly. ¡°Boss?¡± Melissa asked. ¡°Kieran¡¯s asking for permission to fire.¡± Hal slid his hand under his visor, rubbing at his face. ¡°Did you give him the squares I pinpointed out to you?¡± ¡°Yes, boss.¡± ¡°Have him fire on Target Delta, Beta, and Alpha.¡± ¡°You heard him, Kieran.¡± ¡°Roger!¡±This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. KRAKA-THOOM. Through the overlay and the visor both, Hal watched as Kieran fired. The large projectiles, gleaming under the colony gate¡¯s floodlights, slammed into the projected grid squares, spearing through the infested contained within. A blast of dirt, soil, grass-equivalents, and loose rocks pelted the suddenly present iridescent walls around the squares. When the walls faded from view, Hal was treated to a sight of a huge hunk of metal a meter deep in soil in Target Delta, with the infested nowhere to be seen. A contained, very square, crater. The iridescent lines forming the entire 25 x 25 grid was, abruptly, a little bit brighter. Ophis whimpered, and pressed a hand to her chestplate. Hal looked over at her, concerned. ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± she said. ¡°Just¡­suddenly very warm. Around my heart.¡± ¡°I¡­see,¡± Hal said, who did not see, at all. She shook her head. ¡°We¡¯re good. Are we moving this turn?¡± ¡°Probably.¡± Hal lowered his head, considering the risks and the cards he had left to play. Yeah, okay. His circuits started to glow, slightly. He aimed for the square in front of him, turning his grav-lance on and dispassionately watching the infested within it get flung twenty meters in the air, before slamming downward at higher than terminal velocity onto a patch of sharp rocks. Ophis winced as she watched him do it. ¡°That¡¯s brutal,¡± she said, brushing back a loose strand of hair. ¡°I¡¯m¡­tired,¡± Hal admitted. ¡°It saves on blade charges. But stab it anyway.¡± He urged the skimmer into the grid square, and Ophis hopped off to stab the infested. It was already dead. ¡°Holy cow, boss!¡± Kieran yelped over the comm. Hal looked at it blankly. ¡°I saw that from way up here!¡± On his overlay, the figure representing his skimmer went gray. The empty skimmer entered the square Hal had left, and Melinde urged her skimmer on. ¡°End turn,¡± Hal said quietly, and the infested charged.
OUTSIDE THE COLONY GATES ¨C 0154 ¨C NIGHT. The worst part about taking these turns, Hal thought, is that the colony is within sight the whole time. It¡¯s like a mirage in the desert. The colony loomed larger and larger above them, a magnificent tribute to human terraforming and engineering. But also, like a mirage, further and further away despite how he knew they were getting closer and closer. On the overlay, he was only about ten squares away from the colony gates, but the number of infested was only growing, and crowding, in front of him. Kieran had been Kristos-sent, closing off the infested behind them in almost a pachinko machine made of giant hunks of steel and perfectly targeted shots, but gods above, Hal was tired, and they were almost entirely out of weapons charges. Soon, they¡¯d probably have to stop and fetch Ophis her giant hunk of pod plate, and have her bonk her way through the infested in front of them. There was only so much three giant rods of steel could do per turn, given that they only really killed one infested each at best. And there were almost fifty infested in front of him, who¡¯d line up to attack him next turn. Kristos. The fog on his overlay cleared up. ¡°What the fuck?¡± Hal said into his comm, startled out of his weariness. ¡°Who is that?¡± He tried to zoom the magnification on his overlay, to little luck, seeing only a gray, small figure. ¡°Ena!¡± Anda said over the comm, and started cursing. ¡°Your partner¡¯s got a mouth on her,¡± Ophis said enviously behind him, staring to peer at the comm with an overabundance of focus, wavering slightly. ¡°Yeah, no kidding,¡± Hal said. ¡°So, who¡¯s that? Ena?¡± Ophis said. ¡°Ena, you get right down from that turret this instant, or your parents will hear about this!¡± ¡°Parents?¡± Ophis said, leaning back a bit as Anda¡¯s volume got louder. ¡°Shit,¡± Hal said. ¡°You can¡¯t make me!¡± A small voice, distinctly female, and also, distinctly, young, carried over the comm. ¡°Oh, you watch me right now, Ena Lisabet Yggrisa ¨C¡° ¡°Colonymaster Anda,¡± Melissa cut in, her voice weary, ¡°Please. Not over official comms.¡± ¡°Anyway!¡± Ena continued, her voice bright and high, sending shivers of anticipation racing through Hal¡¯s bones and snapping him back upright into minor fatigue instead of fall-over-exhausted. ¡°I rerigged the gauss cannon to fire shrapnel!¡± ¡°You what,¡± Hal said. ¡°Shrapnel, scoutmaster! Took me a bit, but we can clear the way a little bit for you!¡± ¡°Ena, for Kristos¡¯ sake ¨C ¡° ¡°That¡¯d be helpful,¡± Melissa said, her voice low, somehow still carrying over the minor domestic happening on colony frequencies. ¡°Sending targeting solutions to you and Hal.¡± Hal breathed in. Yes, this was¡­a little better. Much better, actually. ¡°Solutions received!¡± Ena¡¯s voice carried through the comm. Hal actually let a smirk curl up his face, and leaned in over the comm. ¡°Kieran, authorize her. Now, by protocol, Militia Ena.¡± ¡°Hal¡­¡± Anda¡¯s tone resounded, growly and threatening. Kieran¡¯s groan was audible over the comm, but Ena¡¯s figure abruptly went blue on his overlay. Ena¡¯s grin was audible over the comm. ¡°Gauss Cannon Two, online, Militia Ena Yggrisa on aim! Oh, this is so cool¡­¡± ¡°Fire when ready,¡± Hal said. ¡°Firing!¡± Ena chirped. Gauss Cannon Two spat lightning, casting stark shadows as a rain of metal cascaded over a 4 x 4 section of squares in front of him. The rain of sharp metal pierced the infested inside. Hal clenched his fist in victory, and urged his skimmer forward. He¡¯d moved four times as far as he had in one turn than he¡¯d done for the last two hours. It was a surge of oncoming victory, like a fire in his gut. Melissa and Melinde moved next, bringing the empty skimmer with them. Around them, like a Red Sea, the infested clawed at their iridescent walls, ineffectually. Fuck, that felt good. ¡°Firing,¡± Kieran reported, and hunks of steel slammed down beside and behind Hal¡¯s squad. Hal flinched, watching the explosion of soil cascade upward like a reverse waterfall, before the iridescent wall less than two meters to his left went fully opaque, and rippled as it contained the collateral damage of another high-powered steel rod impacting an infested at speed. Hal opened his mouth to end the turn, then paused, as four figures emerged from the colony gates on his overlay. ¡°Surprise, Hal,¡± Anda said over the comm. ¡°Also, good luck.¡± ¡°Good luck?¡± Hal said. ¡°FOR FUCK¡¯S SAKE, BOSSMAN,¡± Hal¡¯s comm screeched. Hal winced and put his hands over his ears. ¡°WHY DID YOU GO ON A RESCUE MISSION WITHOUT A MEDIC?!¡± Okay, yup, that was a medic on his screen. Big blue cross and all. Also, okay, yup, that was his medic¡¯s drone. Oh¡­boy. ¡°Hello, Anuk,¡± Hal said, tentatively, over his comm. ¡°You certainly have an¡­interesting colony,¡± Ophis said, over his shoulder. ¡°Get your pretty butts over here,¡± Anuk said, having dropped his volume but upped the acidity of his tone. ¡°So I can medic you all into not forgetting me when on a rescue mission.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think ¡®medic¡¯ is a verb,¡± Ena said, puzzled. ¡°It¡¯s a verb if I say it¡¯s a¡ª¡° ¡°QUIET!¡± Melissa yelled. ¡°Professionalism on the comms, NOW!¡± ¡°Yes, boss-maiden,¡± Anuk and Ena said, almost simultaneously. Melissa¡¯s irritated breathing cut out, and silence reigned. ¡°Militia-Gunner Siobhan Miall, full charges and ready for duty,¡± an even voice came over comms. ¡°Oh, Siobhan, good,¡± Hal said. He sank back into his seat, and Ophis obligingly inched backward so he could relax further. ¡°Independent Adventurer, Garick, ready to kick ass, take names, and I¡¯m all out of names!¡± Hal shot into a standing position so fast that Ophis flinched backward and almost fell off her perch on the back of Hal¡¯s skimmer. ¡°Anda, why?¡± Hal whined into his personal comm. Her tinny laughter echoed out of his vest. ¡°Your punishment begins right now,¡± she said. ¡°Have fun!¡± Hal watched as the ground glowed blue, and one lone figure charged out toward the infested. An infested faded from his overlay. Hal groaned. ¡°Firing,¡± Siobhan reported, and two infested faded. ¡°Oh, wow,¡± Ophis said from behind him. ¡°That¡¯s an interesting weapon.¡± ¡°No kidding,¡± Hal said, thinking of the giant gatling gun that the comparatively tiny Siobhan toted. ¡°End turn,¡± Hal said, before Anuk could move. Anuk cursed him out over the comm. The infested charged.
JUST OUTSIDE THE COLONY GATES ¨C 0215 ¨C NIGHT. ¡°What-ho!¡± Garick said over the comm. ¡°Awful lot of infested, aren¡¯t there?¡± Hal grunted. Anuk was tending to Melinde just inside the colony gates, the drone buzzing over her arms and applying nanites to seal and disinfect her scrapes and abrasions. Hal¡¯s eyes were on the colony gateway itself, where Anda was standing, in full body-armor, tapping a shock-baton on her forearm. A full cloud of nanites emerged from the baton, buzzing around her in a cloud, before settling as a gauntlet on her other forearm. ¡°Aren¡¯t you a sight for sore eyes, gorgeous?¡± Hal said loudly, his voice carrying over the less than four meters between the two of them. ¡°Firing,¡± Kieran said over comms, and three rods of steel blocked off the press of the infested behind them. Hal barely even flinched at the explosion of soil boiling up behind him. ¡°Firing!¡± Ena chirped, and a rain of shrapnel wiped the pressing infested off his overlay. ¡°Just get inside the gates, Hal,¡± Anda said, her voice carrying across the field. With a sense of completion, Hal urged his skimmer inside the colony gate. The colony forcefields went up, blocking off the outside infested in a purge of white, shimmering light, and Hal let himself relax. He crawled off his skimmer, almost falling to his knees on the cool pavement. Two of Anda¡¯s staff rushed up, floating four gurneys and a trolley between them, and Hal let himself be helped onto a gurney. Anuk lifted Melinde up himself, picking her up gently, while they tipped a gurney upright so that Melissa could just lean on it and be inclined to horizontal. Ophis gingerly climbed on the last one, testing its micro-grav generator, while Anda¡¯s staff carefully removed Resolve¡¯s core and the various other mechanisms from the empty skimmer and piled it on the trolley. ¡°To the medical bay,¡± Anda commanded, and Hal let himself be carted off. Anda walked next to Ophis¡¯ gurney herself, guiding it with one hand. He closed his eyes. Ophis would be in good hands, here. Petty punishment or not, Anda was a good person. He wouldn¡¯t be partnered with her, otherwise. Outside, Siobhan and Garick rushed in through the colony gate, and Ophis finally, finally, let her tactician field fall. Mission Complete. On his visor, in front of his unseeing eyes, Hal¡¯s overlay vanished with a flash of light. "Firing at will," Kieran reported from Hal''s comm, left behind. "Mm!" Ena agreed. A downpour of steel and shrapnel washed the plains near the colony clean.