《Vanguard》


 Chapter 1

    Just a heads up this story while not a fanfic was inspired by halo.


    Jan 20, 2350, Undisclosed bunker on Earth.


    The respective military leaders of the United Human Colonies now sat in a bunker watching the replay of the new emperor of the Altherium Empire addressing his people. The leaders, with faces chiseled from stone, all felt the same worried feeling. The emperor was spouting rhetoric about the superiority of the Altherium empire in comparison to the rest of the galaxy and the need to enslave all those beneath them.


    "How long do our agents think that we have till they are strong enough to mobilize against us along with our allies, the Republic of Terra, and Gillmor Fiefdom?" General Marcus asked.


    "Around 12 years give or take a few. That is the best that our analyst can figure out. They also detained our ambassador and seized his office. He is slated to be executed live for the viewing of the entire galaxy as a "Spy"." Admiral Kishimoto answered.


    "That''s not enough time for us to build up enough ships and manpower for us to ensure our military victory. We stand a real good chance at losing this war if it happens." General Khabishove said while shaking his head in frustration.


    "Well perhaps not, but I have a scientist in R and D that has a plan. If you gentleman would hear it out." Admiral Williams said as she leaned forward onto the table that they sat at.


    "Well don''t keep us in suspense we are all ears." Admiral Kishimoto said with an arm gesture.


    "Doctor Sanchez calls it Operation Vanguard. It will be our first time making superhuman soldiers that can keep up with and possibly surpass our enemies in terms of raw power. The downside is he needs prepubescent children to train and brainwash into our cause. Also, the augmentations can be dangerous and more than likely kill some of them." Williams said with a look of worry on her face. She had hoped that the others at the table would see their situation for what it is.


    "You want us to condone what!" Kishimoto shouted.


    "Only what is necessary for us all not to be enslaved. I know that it''s just as bad as it sounds, but what other choice do we have? It''s maybe a hundred lives to spare close to a trillion from a life of slavery Admiral." Williams said calmly.


    "I hate to admit it, but she is right, what other choices do we have, it''s not an issue of raising money, it''s an issue of time. Something that we lack, and that they can buy for us. How can we sit here and say that the lives of 100 kids are worth more than the lives of billions of others." Marcus said breaking the tension somewhat.


    "I see your point, I can''t argue we are in a terrible spot, it would take us more time just to get the new shipyards built than we have, but I will say this. If this ever gets leaked, we will all be sharing a cell for what remains of our lives before someone kills us, if they don''t just do that first." Khabishove said as he put his face into his hands.


    "What age should they be Williams?" Kishimoto asked with disgust in his voice. He hated the plan but knew that the others were right. What else could they do? The empire was larger, with more production capabilities, and people that can become soldiers. Hell, they couldn''t even do a preemptive strike against the empire. If they did the empire''s people would rally and they would be up shit creek without a paddle. It truly is the only way.


    "Five to seven years old." Williams said.


    "Granted. I think that is enough for today. I need to go shower I feel dirty for what we are doing." Marcus said to group leaders from the different branches. "One more thing. For what we are about to do I hope that whatever god we believe in or is out there will have mercy on our souls, for if the public finds out they will not." Marcus said as he got up and walked out of the meeting room in the bunker.


    Feb 7, 2350, UHCV Fall From Grace, Kepler system.


    "Fall from grace what a fitting name wouldn''t you agree Lt. Evans." Lin said.


    "For once I agree with you sir. What we are committing is definitely a fall from grace. I am starting to wonder who the real enemy is here. Us or the Altherium Empire?" said Lt. Evans.


    "Me too Lt. Evans." Lin held up a photo of a 5-year-old boy taken by DMI. He was white with medium-length black hair and missing a tooth." This is our target. His name is Henry Thompson. We are to get him. Luckily his family lives on the outskirts of Valt. DMI had staked out his family''s schedule and found the best time to strike. The mom works at night at the hospital so she will be a non-factor. The father works during the day and gets himself shitfaced by 2100 Kepler time. He will be a non-factor also. This has to be quick and clean. If the father somehow does wake up the Board said no witnesses. We land at 2200 hours and snatch and grab." Lin explained the plan as Evans shook his head.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    Feb 9, 2350, Alpha military world, Alpha centaury


    Henry woke up with a terrible headache. The last thing that he remembered was some mean people grabbing him in his bed and covering his mouth so he couldn''t scream. They started dragging him out of his window when his dad came in to start hitting and yelling at Henry as he did weekly for ruining his happy life. Henry knew that he was a burden that should disappear forever. His dad told him that often, and sometimes so did his mom. So maybe this wasn''t bad, but Henry was scared. Henry was especially scared when one of the men made a loud bang with his hand and Henry''s father''s head cocked to the side and his body went limp hitting the floor with a thud.


    "Rise and shine recruit get your sorry excuse for a carcass off that cot now!" Yelled a bald man who was probably 6 ft tall. Spitting on Henry''s face the entire time. Henry tried to ignore the man, his head hurt terribly. The man didn''t like that and picked Henry up by the shirt collar and punched him in the gut. "I said up" the man shouted. One thing was clear to Henry. Just as with his father, if he didn''t do exactly what this man wanted, he would cause pain.


    "From now on I''m your daddy and the only voice that you listen to, I am Drill Instructor Valasquez. You have been conscripted into a new program by the UHC Marine Corps. When I tell you to do anything you do it. You will answer me with either a yes sir or no sir. Is that understood?" The Valasquez asked.


    Henry nodded his head only for Valasquez to slap him. "I said you answer with yes sir or no sir. DO YOU UNDERSTAND?" Valasquez yelled again.


    "Yes sir" Henry yelled.


    "Great now we will make a short jog to the unit latrine so you can shower and wash that worthless civilian off of you." Valasquez yelled. Henry quickly found out that a short jog was a mile-long jog. As they arrived Henry saw other kids there just like him. Scared, confused, and missing their friends and family. Henry wanted to cry he missed his parents. He knew they must love him because they fed him and let him sleep on the floor in his own room. They must love him for no other reason for they are his parents. As soon as he started to let the tears to come Valasquez shouted at him again. "Trainee dry that shit up right now. You''re in the military and we don''t have the time for that." So, Henry did just that. Even though he wanted to cry, and god knows he wanted to, he didn''t want Valasquez to hit him again. It hurt, it really hurt. They made their way to the front of the line and Henry got his ration of soap. Valasquez and Henry went to the showers, and Valasquez showed Henry how to properly wash the blood off of him. Valasquez wasn''t a mindless killing machine. He could guess where the blood came from. A parent in the wrong place at the wrong time.


    "Time for chow and to introduce you to your new teacher." Valasquez said and beckoned Henry to follow him. Henry did and had an almost 3-mile jog to another building. This one looked odd. It is made from metal and looks like it was put up in a hurry. It had a flat roof and only one window. It was also small. To Henry, it looked like it could only fit a few people inside if they packed into hit. "Inside now!" Valasquez shouted spraying some spit onto Henry''s face.


    Henry did as he was told and was surprised to find that nobody was in the building, then a person popped up. It looked like a man wearing sweats and had wild hair and had a pipe. "Hey kid how''s it going? I am AI Albert, but you can just call me Albert." Albert said. Henry was amazed to see a real AI. Back on Valt they were just fantasy.


    "Albert will be with you from today, till the day you either die in uniform or retire Henry. He is also your teacher." Valasquez said oddly not yelling at Henry.


    "That''s right I am also your teacher till an undisclosed date that I cannot tell you yet." Albert said.


    "That''s right. I am going to leave you with Albert to get something ready. Listen to him and obey him, or else." Valasquez said. The threat real and hanging in the air heavily. Just like that Valasquez left leaving Henry and Albert in the building alone.


    "Alright Henry I have looked over your record from your old school and have created a plan specifically for your education." Albert said. Henery and Albert went over the lessons for the day, and after a while Valasquez came back for Henry. Henery jogged with Valasquez, or really just tried to keep up with the man till they reached an open field with a tree that had a bag hanging off of it. "Alright maggot it''s time for your lessons in Hand-to-hand combat." Valasquez said. He punched the air and then did a kick "This is how you punch and kick." We will start off like that, and that''s what Henry did. They must have spent hours doing that because Henry noticed that the sun was going down. "That''s enough combat training for the day, time for strength training. Yet again Henry had to move his exhausted body following Valasquez to what Valasquez called a gravity chamber. It was a round building that was large and spun to increase gravity. There Henry did his strength training.


    "Alright trainee that is enough for the day. Chow time. Now that was something that Henry looked forward too. He moved with the utmost gusto. They went back to the building his little room was in and went to what Valasquez called the DFAC. Valasquez and he shuffled through the line of other trainees, none of them spoke to him, however. It stung. He felt more alone than he ever has. "Eat." Valasquez said. It was an order with no room for negotiations.


    It didn''t take long for Valasquez and Henry to finish eating. "Time to return to your bunk." Valasquez said and they jogged the mile from the DFAC back to Henry''s bunk, which was just a cot on the floor and now a locker. "I''m going to show you how to keep your locker. It has to be done like this every day. If I find it out of order I will make you run till I puke do you understand trainee?" Valasquez said


    "Yes Sir." Henry answered.


    "Lights out Trainee." Valasquez said and Henry laid down on the cot. He was too tired to care about the day. He was about to fall asleep when he heard Valasquez mutter something almost incoherent surely thinking that he was out of earshot. "What they are doing to him is wrong. Hell, what they are doing to all of them is wrong but why make him be alone." Henry soon fell asleep letting the darkness embrace him.

 chapter 2

    Feb 10, 2356, Alpha military world, Alpha Centaury


    "Trainee up." Valasquez yelled and Henry popped up like a jack in the box. Henry had learned years ago to do what he was told when he was told. It made life a lot easier for him to do that instead of being rebellious. Since being on Alpha, he had realized that his parents never did want him. Here, he belonged and had a purpose. Henry loved having a purpose. He thought it was comical that he had to be kidnapped to find a place he belonged.


    "No morning workout today Henry." Valasquez said to the utter bewilderment of Henry. They have done the same thing for the past six years.


    "Why change it now?" Thought Henry.


    "Jog to the latrine, shower, and then meet me at the DFAC." Valasquez said, but the way he said it was.... off. Henry wanted to ask why but knew better.


    "Yes Sir." Henry replied and started to make the jog. To his surprise, none of the other kids were there. He got his daily ration of soap and showered, then jogged to the DFAC where he saw Valasquez waiting on him by a Humvee. Despite their origins some things are better upgraded than discarded, at least that''s what Albert taught him.


    "Get in." Valasquez said. He started to look... Well Henry didn''t know how to make out the look that Valasquez was making. It somewhat looked like he was worried, but trying not to show it. As soon as cheeks touched seats Valasquez punched it. "He wasn''t joking." Henry thought to himself. They left the base and went to a shuttle. It was different than what Henry remembered on Valt, though he has since started to forget things from that place. The shuttle was shaped like a rectangle with the corners cut. It had four wings with blades in them to help with the vertical takeoff and then front and rear thrusters for after take-off.


    "Drill instructor, where are we going?" Henry asked nervously. He didn''t like stepping out of line. It usually got him a whole lot of extra cardio training or wall-to-wall counseling depending on how bad. Sometimes all that incurred was loss of meal privileges for the day.


    "Wait and see. Sometimes patience is a virtue trainee. There is a saying that I have failed to teach you. It seems to transcend time in the human militaries. Hurry up and wait." Valasquez said while leaning his head back and closing his eyes.


    Feb 10, 2356, UHCV Frontier, Alpha Centaury.


    Henry and Valasquez landed and were separated upon arrival. This scared Henry. He had grown used to being around Valasquez and it comforted him. While he didn''t know for sure, he felt like if something happened, he could rely on Valasquez for protection. Henry was herded down a corridor and told to strip. They poked him with needles and drew blood. If he was to guess by all the equipment they were running tests on him. The more that Henry looked at them the more that he realized they were nurses. He believed they were working for the Navy. "Sir we need you to put your hands and feet in the cuffs." A melodic voice said. If there was one thing Henry knew he was good at and was familiar to him that was taking orders.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.


    He stepped forward and put his hands and feet in the cuffs in the middle of the room. The moment he did they clamped down keeping him in place. Then a ring came down from the ceiling and clamped down around his stomach and back. Henry didn''t like this feeling, but he brushed past it. "Orders are orders and are to be obeyed." He mumbled to himself. It helped him to relax in his own odd way.


    "It''s way ahead of schedule you could kill the poor kid!" Valasquez shouted at the doctor, knowing that Henry couldn''t hear him.


    "I know but the board wants results. They need to see at least some progress made. I can promise you this Gunny. If we don''t produce results, they will have us thrown in the brig." Dr Lin shouted back.


    "I don''t care if I have to spend some time in the brig. We both know what we are doing here is wrong. They haven''t even finished the clinical test on the implants yet." Vasquez yelled back frustrated at the rush and reckless abandon the doctor had towards his trainee.


    "We will both end up in the brig, but where do you think that Henry will end up. Both of his parents are dead, and DMI won''t let him live. Do you believe that if this whole thing goes up in smoke, they are going to let a 10-year-old boy presumed dead show back up and blab about what we did? He along with all the other kids we took will be executed. The only way we can go is forward." Dr. Lin explained to Valasquez.


    "I hate this I do. If he doesn''t die or get horrendously disfigured by this, can he at least be around the others? It isn''t right to have the boy secluded. It isn''t right to me have to see that poor kid suffer day in and out alone, and it sure in the flying fuck isn''t right to him." Valasquez said pointing out of the window at Henry.


    "No. This is important that we discover if it is better for them to be secluded for training, or in a group. Like it or not he is the gunnie pig." Lin said as he got ready to perform the enhancement surgery on Henry. "If you want to say anything to Vanguard 001 go right ahead. When I get down there however you will need to leave the room." Lin said without looking back.


    "You can bet your ass you son of a bitch I got a lot to say to him and apologize for. Though there is only one thing that I can tell him right now." Valasquez said with a growl as a started to march out.


    "Gunny if all goes well with this surgery, we will have a briefing after to discuss the new training regimen he will need. If we are lucky the war with the empire will never come, but as it''s looking right now we might have 4 years left possibly 5." Lin said.


    "Fuck." Valasquez said as he banged a fist against the wall. He wasn''t sure who he hated more right now. The DRD or himself. He knew that his orders were coming from the top, but he couldn''t help but feel like DRD wanted to perform this program for a long time. Things fell into place way too fast, and normally things don''t fall into place this fast and perfect for a covert program.


    "Trainee Henry front and...." Valasquez started to shout. His words hung in his throat when he saw Henry. He saw Henry muttering what he told him on his second day. He did that time from time, so Valasquez knew that he was nervous. The last time he did that was before he had a sparring match last year. Valasquez chuckled a bit remembering how aggressive Henry got when the other boy started gumming off about not being alone. Then it dawned on Valasquez. He got angry because he was forced to be alone. Nobody besides the AI to talk to. Valasquez decided after Henry graduated, he would retire. If this is what needs to be done, he wanted no part in it. His consciousness couldn''t handle doing this again.


    "Trainee Henry I have one order for you today. Just don''t die on me." Valasquez said then turned on his heels and walked out. He couldn''t stand the sight of Henry''s look sometimes. He could tell just by looking into his eyes the pain that boy was in. "If he survives this surgery, I think some desert at the DFAC is in order." Valasquez told himself.

 Chapter 3

    Feb 10, 2356, UHCV Frontier, Alpha Centaury


    "Don''t die? What did he mean by that?" Henry thought to himself. Then he spotted a man walking out of the same door D.I. Valasquez did. This man was much shorter than Valasquez. He was maybe 5.5ft and had a scary look in his eyes that made Henry''s skin crawl. It was the look that a predator gives its prey.


    "Vanguard 001, this is going to hurt immensely, but what testing we have completed has shown that you can''t be sedated. If we sedate you, two of the implants that you are getting today will kill you instantaneously." the short man that the nurses called doctor said.


    "Do I have to do this? I hate pain, doctor." Henry asked.


    "Oh, you most certainly do. Whether the buffoon agrees with it or not, it''s too late for you kid. Just remember, when you''re screaming in pain, this is all the fault of the Altherium Empire." Dr. Lin said while his face was adorning a menacing smile.


    "Admiral on deck!" Yelled out a navy man.


    Everybody immediately halted what they were doing and turned to face Admiral Williams. "Dr. Lin, I trust that everything is going as it should be?" Williams said while staring looking directly at Henry. To Henry, her stare contained sorrow.


    "Yes ma''am, it is. We are about to start the surgery now. Would you like to stay and watch?" Dr. Lin asked.


    "I shall indeed stay. I need not remind you what will happen to the kids if you fail us today, right?" Williams asked DR. Lin.


    With a gulp, Dr. Lin Replied. "No Admiral, you do not."


    "Good, now get to it." Admiral Williams said.


    "You heard the lady." Lin yelled as they started the surgery. Henry screamed as they sliced him open. His bones felt hot and then really heavy, suddenly his muscles felt different. Then the worst pain happened they cut open his head. The pain was so bad he couldn''t even scream. Henry sat there with his mouth wide open. He felt them put something in the back of his head; then his eyes felt different. A nurse rushed to put a bandage over his eyes, blinding him to the rest of the stuff going on around him. Henry stopped feeling them touching him from behind, and then he heard a loud pop, and his ears hurt. They too felt different. He wanted everything to end he hurt more than he had ever hurt before. The next thing that he felt was them cutting on his neck and doing something in there. He couldn''t focus on what the doctor was doing there, because he hurt so much more everywhere else. Henry heard the nurses and doctor clapping, claiming a partial success.


    "Bandage him up and get him into the infirmary. We will have to monitor him for the next couple of days; then, he can go planetside for a week of bed rest there." Lin said.


    With that, Henry felt himself being placed on a bed and moving away. He felt one last poke, and then he couldn''t stay awake any longer.


    "Is Henry okay?" Valasquez asked Dr. Lin.


    "Vanguard 001 is stable and in the infirmary gunny." Dr. Lin replied.


    "Gunnery Sargeant Valasquez, let me make one thing perfectly clear to you. He is not a kid, and after today, he is not human. He is a weapon for us to use in the coming war, nothing more, nothing less. Do I make myself clear?" Williams asked.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    "Perfectly, Ma''am." Valasquez answered.


    "As of today, we need to switch him to a new routine. He will need fighting, demolition, Navigation, Piloting, and strength training still. However, with the strength training, he will need to be at two, possibly even 3g. We know that this might have been an issue with his overall health before, but the new augmentations require it. Also, don''t let any others spar with him until they have the augmentations, and after a certain point, not even you gunny." Lin finished explaining.


    "What about his schooling?" Valasquez asked.


    "Albert and he are going to be intertwined. While we can''t guarantee its success, we are hopeful Albert can upload everything that he might ever need to know." Williams interjected.


    "Yes ma''am." Valasquez said with a disturbed look on his face.


    "What''s the matter, Gunnery Sargeant Valasquez?" Williams asked.


    "Well, I just can''t help but wonder what else was done to him." Valasquez said.


    "As of today, his bones are almost unbreakable; it would take a destroyer falling on him just to fracture it. His hearing and eyesight are improved, his muscles are stronger, and have a much higher ceiling than any human in history, messed with his thyroid that controls growth hormones so he will grow taller before he stops growing in height, and installed Albert in his head." Lin stated, completely unphased by the day''s events.


    After the revelation had been dropped of the extent of things they did to Henry, the three soldiers sat in silence till Williams dismissed Valasquez.


    23 Sep 2359, Alpha, Alpha Centaury


    Valasquez stood in front of Henry. He grew rapidly after that surgery, too fast. They had to do another surgery just to fix his thyroid. Now Henry stood at 7.5 ft. However, that is not why Valasquez was in awe of his lone pupil. Henry had gone with Admiral Williams to Earth close to a month ago to retrieve the armor that DMR just finished building. From what Henry was allowed to tell him, the armor had a gravity generator and life support, could do an EVA for hours on end, was bullet and laser proof in the hardened areas, and had shields for where it wasn''t hardened, which was hard to distinguish since the armor is solid black. To Valasquez that wasn''t even the most outrageous part. It weighed a whopping 1000 kilos.


    " Whichever Altherium soldiers have to fight him in that armor have no chance." Valasquez thought to himself.


    "Instructor, what are my orders for the day?" Henry asked whilst snapping a crisp salute.


    "Well Henry, all that we have on the schedule today is your physical tests. I got word from Williams to let you get adjusted to the suit, and then we are doing them." Valasquez said. Valasquez had quit calling Henry trainee after seeing the video of the surgery and watching him have to relearn how to do everything after it happened. That surgery claimed half of all the kids that underwent it.


    "Yes Sir." Henry said as he walked around in his armor. The worst thing about it to Henry was the waste disposal system. It also made a loud thudding noise if he didn''t keep the antigrav generator active. Henry wanted to learn how to use the armor without it in case the generator failed.


    After close to an hour of Henry walking, running, and lifting it was time for him to perform the physical test both in and out of the armor.


    23 Sep 2359 DMR bunker, Alpha, Alpha Centaury.


    "His tests are off the charts!" Lin said with excitement in his voice.


    "Let me see them." Williams said as she snatched the holopad away from Lin "80Mph while out of armor, 60mph in armor. Can easily lift 3 tons without his armor, in it he can lift upwards of 7 tons, however, that one is inconclusive because the gravity building couldn''t handle the strain. His weight is way too high, definitely going to need to be tapped weighing 700 pounds is hard to overlook without a BMI measurement." Williams muttered to herself while trying to hold back the grin forming on her face. "This is the stuff my colleagues are going to need to see." Williams said with a shit-eating grin.


    "I take it that he is up to what you hoped Admiral?" Lin said joyfully.


    "Not only has he met expectations, but he also shattered them." Williams said still smiling unable to stop. Then her head popped up, away from the holopad, and looked at Lin. Let''s do an exercise with him against some Rangers." Williams said and Lin visibly winced.


    "Are you sure that''s a good idea, Admiral, he does run the risk of killing someone." Lin asked.


    "I do we can figure it out on our way to Henry and Valasquez." Williams said as she got up.

 chapter 4

    23 Sep 2359 Alpha, Alpha Centaury


    Henry saluted Admiral Williams when he saw her.


    "Damn, the charts don''t do your size justice," Williams said. Henry just tilted his head in confusion.


    "You don''t say much, do you?" Williams asked Henry.


    "No ma''am," Henry said, cutting off the conversation.


    "Well Vanguard 001, we have a test to run, follow us," Williams said as she performed an about-face and started walking back to the Humvee. Henry followed the admiral and scientist, leaving Valasquez standing alone. Henry had to turn on the antigravity generator so the Humvee''s suspension didn''t buckle under the weight of the Vanguard armor. The scientist Lin called it Templar armor.


    As soon as he sat down, they took off. "You will be doing a full dive VR training exercise with 5 Rangers lent by the Army. Your goal is to capture the hill they will be defending. You can do whatever you deem best. No matter what you do in the VR, they will be okay outside of the VR, so don''t worry about hurting them," Admiral Williams explained to Henry.


    "Yes Ma''am," Henry answered as he kept looking forward.


    "I will need to talk to Gunnery Sargent Valasquez about his speaking habits or lack thereof," Lin said.


    Henry watched as they traveled through the base to a building that had no windows and only one door. Standing beside the building was five men. They all ranged in height, with the shortest of them standing at 5ft 8 and the tallest of them standing at 6ft 5. With a gesture from Admiral Williams, they went inside the building, followed by Henry, Admiral Williams, and then Dr. Lin.


    "You''ll be in this one," Lin told Henry, pointing at a modified chamber. Henry gave a nod and stepped into the chamber. The chamber activated, and Henry was surrounded by a forest at night. Henry looked at his HUD in his helmet and read the readings off to himself. "Sheild is full, and we have a map of the area. This must be the hill that I need to take from them, I''ll place a nav point on it." Henry said to himself. "Hey, Albert, got any ideas on how to do it? I think they probably have guns, and I don''t so stealth seems important," Henry asked Albert.


    "You would be right, but you do have an advantage in stealth Henry. You are in a black suit at night with no moonlight." Albert said.


    "I know that, but I''m willing to bet they have NVG," Henry said. Then something clicked for Henry and he started to make his way to the nav point being quiet as a mouse. The hill was two kilometers away from where he was, so it took him an hour to get there. "As I thought they would be. Every one of them is facing a different direction to cover any angle that I might attack from. Well, if they have every angle covered but one that is the way I''ll go," Henry said to himself inside of his helmet. He activated the antigravity generator, reduced his weight to a couple of kilos, and jumped into the air. As soon as he saw that he was above the Rangers he turned off the generator and fell on one of the Rangers crushing him. Henry picked up his gun and shot two more Rangers, then quickly ran for cover just as the other two Rangers opened fire on him.


    Henry looked at his motion sensors and spotted that they were both moving in on him at the same time in a pincer movement. He turned and looked down to see how much ammo he had left. Only three shots. "Hey Albert, how much abuse can the shield take before it pops like a virgin at prom?" Henry asked.


    "Twenty rounds of 7.62," Albert said.


    "Alright, that should give me enough time," Henry said as he broke cover. Henry shot all three rounds left into one Ranger finishing him off, picked up his body by the foot, and through him at the other Ranger. Henry followed up quickly closing the distance between himself and the distracted Ranger. The ranger noticed and started to open fire, but it was too late. The Templar armor''s shields at whatever shots the Dense metals didn''t deflect. Henry picked the man up and snapped his neck.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    "Mission Complete" A monotone voice chimed as the forest disappeared and gave way back to the dull black chamber that Henry walked into. "Was my performance satisfactory ma''am?" Henry asked Admiral Williams as he got out of the chamber.


    "It most definitely was." Admiral Williams said. She was about to say something else and then paused for a moment, put her hand up to her ear, and pressed on an earbud. "Message received. Package V! will now be on route." Williams said as she motioned for Henry to follow her.


    Henry followed the admiral heading towards a shuttle. "Vanguard 001, you will take the UHC Frigate New Hope to the border colony Edin in the Hargaro System and help defend the colony. You are now on loose leash protocol. I expect you to transmit regular updates to us. From now on you are effectively transferred to the Department of Military Intelligence," Williams told Henry.


    Soon they neared the shuttle, but Henry stopped right before getting on. He was nervous. This base is all that he has known for the majority of his short life. "I know that you are scared Vanguard 001, but we don''t have time to stall. So, get your fucking ass on this shuttle now!" Williams yelled.


    24 Sep 2359, UHCV New Hope, enroute to Edin.


    Henry sat in his quarters alone. He neither wants to nor cares to mingle with the others outside. He is perfectly fine in the silence. Since he was five years old, he was alone, only having Valasquez around. If he feels the need to talk, he always has Albert.


    "You don''t talk much do you?" A man walked into the room asking.


    "No, and I prefer to keep it that way," Henry said while lying down.


    "Come on don''t be like that man. Look we are having a card game outside, and the guys want you to join us. Drink a beer and loosen up Mr. Stickman." The marine with the name tag Jones said.


    "I can''t drink yet. I''m not of age." Henry said while shrugging.


    "Not of age? If you''re old enough to serve that means you''re old enough to drink." Jones said confused.


    "Jones leave him alone. He is a guest for the Altherium Empire, courtesy of the DMI." Captain Boros said as he walked into the room.


    "Oh. Still though captain what does he mean..." Jones''s words died in his throat as the captain looked at him.


    "I said leave him alone. Speak to no one about this. If you do, I will make sure for the rest of your contract, you will be cleaning every toilet we have in the UHCN. Understood?" Captain Boros asked Jones. Jones replied with a nod and walked off.


    "As for you Vanguard, I don''t like that you''re on my ship. You''re a freak that shouldn''t have been allowed to happen, but orders are orders. We will be at the Hargaro system in one week. Just don''t hurt anyone, and for the love of God don''t let the Vanguard project slip out yet. The last thing that we need is for us to go into a war with good men and women who hate the government that they are fighting for." Boros said and then walked out of the room.


    01 Oct 2359. Hargaro system, Orbit of Edin.


    "Vanguard time for you to deploy. Get the fuck off my ship." Captain Boros said as the massive naval battle was underway above Edin. Henry ran through the ship making his way to the drop pods that some of the marines were taking ducking and maneuvering through the tight spaces. When he got to the pods, he saw them and knew there was no way to fit in one, so he ran back to the hanger bay. "Why didn''t we plan this out before?" He asked Albert.


    "We did, if you remember we planned to take a pod down to the surface, but we couldn''t look at them due to the captain wanting us to remain in our bunk room. I think the best plan now is to free fall and hit some trees or water to break the fall some. The Templar armor can handle it. However, the shields will take a moment to recharge due to the inevitable number of things trying to puncture the less firm parts of the armor," Albert said to Henry.


    "Well, if that''s the only option, I don''t like it at all, Though I suppose we got to do what needs to be done," Henry told Albert as they reached the hanger bay. "Captain, I need you to open the hanger bay for a brief moment," Henry said to the captain.


    "If that will get you the fuck off my ship. If you die up here with us then Williams will bring me back just to kill me again." Captain Boros said as he got the bay doors to open.


    As soon as the bay doors opened Henry ran and jumped out of the ship. He looked around at the chaos around him. The Altherium Empire launched a surprise attack and caught the UHCN off guard. "The estimates were wrong," Albert said to Henry.


    "I think that you are right," Henry replied still awestruck by the space battle. Missiles and railgun shots were flying all around and ships on both sides were taking massive amounts of damage, but even a toddler could tell who was winning. Henry returned his focus to his fall down to the planet. It was oddly peaceful considering everything that was going on. Henry pulled up a topography map of the planet along with a population map. "There," Henry said to himself as he chose a forest outside of the capital to land in.


    Henry guided himself into position. Part of the drop having to rely on his HUD, not being able to see because of the flames engulfing his armor on reentry of the planet. After what felt like an eternity he landed busting through dozens of trees. He looked and saw that his shield held and was slowly recharging.

 chapter 5

    01 Oct 2359, Edin


    "Alright, I need to evaluate my situation and be calm, but I can''t hear myself think over my heart beating out of my chest. Deep breath in, slow breath out. Okay, I have no idea of exactly where I landed; I don''t know where friendly lines are," Henry thought to himself while hiding in the trees. Albert, are there any allied distress beacons near our location?" Henry asked.


    "A group of marines are bogged down 2 miles south of here. I''ll mark their location on your HUD," Albert told Henry.


    "Alright, thanks Alfred," Henry replied. Henry started to run to the town just south. It didn''t take long after he began to run to hear the gunfire. It sounded like the Marines were in some shit up to their knees. Henry kept running till he finally spotted the marines. With a thought, he turned on the armor''s chip detector. Despite its name, Dr. Lin told Henry that while its main mode of telling if someone was friendly or not was the chips all UHC military personnel were chipped with, it could tell by many other features including armor and species. It would show a blue outline for friendlies, a red for enemies, and a yellow for unknowns.


    Henry saw the green outlines, and also plenty of reds. This zone was definitely hot. He had to come up with a game plan. He didn''t have a gun. The ammo would have gone off when he reentered the atmosphere. The Marines were outnumbered at least 4 to one. The only thing that he could think of was to manage to grab a weapon off one of the dead and earn his keep.


    Henry nodded once to himself, ran, and grabbed the nearest gun. It was an MA12 assault rifle. Henry got into cover almost as quickly as he had broken cover. "Welp no time like the present," Henry said to himself as he broke cover and started picking off Altherium soldiers while moving around, bobbing and weaving in and out of cover. When his ammo ran out he picked up one of the rifles of the Altherium empire and continued his carnage. In a matter of minutes, Henry had dispatched over twenty-seven Altherium soldiers.


    "Who are you, and what in the flying fuck are you doing on my battlefield?" A marine asked. His rank showing him to be a Lt.


    "Vanguard 001 here on the orders of Admiral Williams, Sir," Henry said.


    "Ah some new project the DMI concocted." the Lt. said then looked directly at Henry''s visor. "Thanks, soldier. I am damn glad you got here when you did. They hit us hard, and I lost a lot of good men." The Lt said. Henry read his name tag. Valshavik.


    "Just doing my job sir," Henry said. Henry heard a noise off in the distance. It sounded like a drop ship, but not human. "We got company inbound," Henry told Lt. Valshavik.


    "Everyone get ready! bogies inbound." Valshavik shouted at his Marines.


    "Lt. Valshavik can you have your Marines stay in cover? I''ll take care of them. I work best alone," Henry asked the Lt.


    "Negative boot. Even if I told them to they wouldn''t. These bastards attacked us unprovoked. We have seen the announcements about what they would do to us. Nobody is willing to sit it out." Valshavik told Henry.


    "So be it," Henry stated as he stepped forward. It only took a brief moment for the dropship to arrive. Henry launched himself up in the air as soon as he could and landed on the elongated, slanted nose of the drop ship. For a brief moment Henry saw nothing but terror in the deep purple eyes of the Altherium pilot, but before the pilot could act Henry punched out the window and shot the pilot filling him with laser holes. The pilot slumped forward pushing on the controls as soldiers tried to escape. The dropship lurched forward, and Henry pushed off the ship and landed harmlessly on the ground. The Dropship, however, flew straight into the forest and crashed. A few moments after it crashed something must have ignited because a big explosion happened. Henry walked the battlefield looking for those that fell out of the dropship finding only a few that he promptly dispatched with just a step on their skulls.


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    "Man, they look weird," Henry thought to himself as he looked at the dead Altherium soldiers. They had a human face with tentacles hanging off their chin, four arms with three fingers each, and two goat legs.


    "That isn''t what I expected to see," Lt. Valshavik told Henry as he was walking up. "Just what exactly are you soldier?" Valshavik asked.


    "All I am permitted to say at this time is that I am Vanguard 001," Henry replied as he started to look through his visor bringing up the map of the local area, and spreading his fingers to zoom in.


    "Lt. Valshavik why is he just touching the air?" A marine asked.


    "I have no idea," Valshavik said just as confused as the others. "However, we need to get out of here before more show hostiles show up. They won''t ask for a cup of hot tea, and we are out anyway so let''s move it, Marines." Valshavik said.


    "There is a town that is eleven miles south of here. I can meet you and your Marines there. From there you should be able to set up a forward base for this sector or extract. The choice is yours, but I have my orders." Henry stated as he stopped messing with his map.


    "Understood." Lt. Valshavik said with a curt nod.


    Henry started to jog towards the town that the map called New Shilla. After a brisk 15-minute jog Henry was on the outskirts of New Shilla. He was mortified by what he saw. A platoon of twenty Altherium soldiers was rounding up civies and loading them onto a dropship. Henry bolted into a dead sprint towards the dropship. He pulled up the Lazer gun as he ran towards them and started picking off targets. The laser rifle ran out of ammo, and he dropped it in time to collide with an Altheriumite at full force killing them from the impact. He picked up the laser pistol and kept up the fight, taking cover when the alarm for his shields started screaming. He had to save them or else they would be hurt like he was. The Altherium empire would do to them what the UHC did to him. "Halfway there. Ten twelve down." Henry said as he broke cover trying to keep up his advance towards the shuttle. He heard the engines warming up as the shuttle was preparing to take off. "Not a chance!" Henry yelled as he jumped towards the shuttle, his armor and shields absorbing the shots from the remaining soldiers.


    Henry busted through the cockpit''s side and ripped the arm of the pilot off trying to pull him out. The pilot started to scream in pure agony, an agony that was quickly extinguished by the embrace of death as Henry punched him in the head caving his skull. Henry managed to unbuckle the corps and through him out like the old newspaper. He ducked inside to give his shields time to recharge again. He seized the moment and dug his fingers deep into the control panel and ripped out a lot of wires and fuses. The moment his shields were full, he kicked open the door for the cargo bay and was shot at by another soldier. He walked up to him denting in the floor not designed to hold that much weight per square foot, grabbed the soldier, and snapped his neck. Henry picked up his gun and looked around at the civilians inside the container area, held up a finger to where his mouth would have been, and left the shuttle.


    Henry came under fire the moment they spotted him, this time from multiple different directions. He started to return fire, running behind cover again. After a brief rest, he closed the distance to the first soldier and shot him between the eyes, then picked up his rifle. This one was new to Henry and he gave Albert a brief second to scan it and upload the aiming data to his helmet. Henry aimed at each of the red outlines picking them off one by one till the last one died. Henry looked up to the top left corner of his visor to see the whole exchange took mere minutes, not nearly as long as it felt.

 Chapter 6

    Henry walked inside a crumbling building to talk to Albert. They needed to figure out what to do next. "Are there any other distress beacons?" Henry asked.


    "Not within a walkable radius. I see one but it''s too far away," Albert said.


    "Can you see where they are taking the civilians?" Henry asked.


    "I have been monitoring their radio chatter through your armor. I have a rough idea of where they are taking them, but it''s their main base. There are reports of the Altherium transporting a lot of something up to their fleet," Albert said.


    "How far?" Henry asked the only question that mattered to him.


    "Some odd 400 miles from here. Also, your ride is almost here Henry. I suppose you should get ready as the drop ship will be here any moment," Albert said. His avatar that only Henry could see, smirked.


    "Next time let me know much sooner that reinforcements are on the way," Henry said with a huff. He stood up and grabbed the gun he took earlier that finished off the Altherium soldiers and walked outside. "All civilians hide, NOW!" Henry yelled. He watched as they scurried like cockroaches into different nooks and crannies.


    True to Albert''s word the dropship got to Henry''s location minutes after the civilians got finished hiding. What he saw, however, was different than the 15 Altherium. The last of the ship was an alien that looked like a werewolf. It stood at 8 feet tall and was covered in thick fur with a long dog-like snout. It had four long fingers, and it had a round foot with four toes, two facing front, and two facing back. Henry knew that he would be the biggest pain in the ass.


    Henry waited till the Altherium got too far away from their drop ship and opened fire, ambushing them from the crumbling building he was in. Before they could even respond 3 of them were on the ground gurgling on their orange blood. Henry kept firing shooting another 4 before he ducked back down to reload. His shields still just over half full he popped back up and shot another 3. The other five made it back to cover and then the Werewolf-looking alien let out an earsplitting roar and charged towards Henry. Henry tried shooting him, but the alien''s fur seemed impervious to the low-grade laser rifle.


    Henry dropped the gun and prepared to fight the bigger opponent in hand-to-hand combat. The alien swiped at Henry leaving deep scratches in the concrete. Henry grabbed his arm and tossed him over his shoulder bouncing the werewolf alien off the hard ground. He tried to bring his armored fist down, but the alien rolled out of the way, Henry leaving a fist-sized hole where the alien''s head would have been. The alien hit started to wildly swipe at Henry''s head forcing Henry to bob and weave out of the way. Henry took advantage of a mere moment opening and kicked the werewolf on the shin, crunching the bone, and forcing the alien to fall flat on his face screaming in agony. Henry tried to punch the alien again, but couldn''t get close to his head, the alien''s sharp claws preventing that. Henry didn''t know if the claws could pierce the armor but didn''t want to chance it. He stomped on the other leg shattering the bones in it. Henry looked around to find something to kill what he dubbed WWA, however, a small group presented themselves as a more pressing issue. The remaining Altherium soldiers opened fire on him from all different directions. He quickly dove back into cover, his shields depleted rapidly by a chorus of fire from a machine gun and regular laser rifles. He let himself get tunnel vision against the WWA and didn''t even notice that one of the aliens had gotten a laser turret.


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    "Fucking hell," Henry shouted to himself as he looked towards the top part of his visor to see his shield gauge recharging. "That was too close. Albert, can you change the outline of the guy holding the laser turret to black?" Henry asked.


    "Simple enough, just a reminder to not damage the dropship, you''re going to need it," Albert said.


    "Yeah, I remember. Thanks, Albert," Henry said as he burst out of cover at a full sprint towards the drop ship taking out the soldier with the laser turret first before he could open fire on him. Henry shot another soldier before the other two started to retreat. He started to aim at them when Albert chimed in.


    "Henry don''t do that. Let them run in fear and remember you. They will tell the others which will dishearten some of their other forces," Albert said.


    "Well, they only need one for that," Henry said as a laser burned a new hole through the chest of the soldier on the left. "Now it''s time to finish the other one," Henry said as he slowly walked towards the WWA, gravity generator off so the aliens could hear the heavy thud of his boots closing in on him. He spotted the alien crawling, all the anger left his orange eyes, and only fear remained as it tried to escape. Henry took a gander at some of the busted-up concrete homes, and other buildings that were around and spotted a long piece of rebar that had been separated by laser fire, probably during the initial bombardment. "That should do the trick," Henry said to himself as he walked up and grabbed the rebar. He lazily walked back to the WWA and impaled his chest with the rebar. Henry walked off hearing the struggling wheezing of the WWA. He knew that it was bound to die soon, after all, breathing is essential to survival. "Albert, are there any other surprises I should worry about?" Henry asked.


    "Not at this time, but some of the civilians might have recorded you. I ran through multiple scenarios where the evidence got leaked and multiple where it didn''t and came to the conclusion that it''s best if it does. It will give our boys'' planet side a proper moral boost." Albert said, and Henry mentally shrugged.


    "I don''t care if they do or don''t, I won''t ever see any of these people again. I have a job to do and as long as nobody gets in my way, I don''t care." Henry said as he walked towards the shuttle.


    Henry got to the shuttle and scanned its pilot controls with his helmet. "Albert, can you fly this thing?" Henry asked.


    "Not this one, it can''t be flown by AI. I can instruct you, however," Albert said.

 Chapter 7

    "We have played god and now reap the consequences." Queen Vihash of the Thahiem Hierarchy.


    Albert highlighted symbols on the console of the Altherium dropship for Henry. "This symbol, double touch it," Albert said. Henry obeyed, and the ship''s engines roared to life, emitting a high-pitched screech, the air burning from the extreme heat of the thrusters. "Now these are the controls to fly the ship, and these are for the autopilot, and these are the coordinates of their base," Albert finished explaining while his avatar pulled out a virtual smoke pipe and took a puff.


    "I think that I understand. Thank you, Albert," Henry said as he thrust the ship up vertically and then rocketed forward at maximum acceleration. Henry flew the ship up slightly higher and then typed in the coordinates for the autopilot. He trusts himself to an extent but knows he isn''t a true pilot.


    Henry looked out of the window as the ship was screaming towards the base. He only saw an ocean of green. Edin is an Earth-like planet with vast swaths of forest, and oceans, but it only had one desert, and it was massive. The trees here were on average larger than on Earth due to the higher oxygen content of the atmosphere. Henry started to daydream as he watched out of the window, remembering his mother. He remembered her kindness towards him when he wasn''t acting terribly. The hugs and kisses that she would give. Henry sometimes missed his mother. As he was daydreaming tears started to roll down his cheeks.


    "Henry you need to focus. Something could..." Albert started to say as something happened. It wasn''t like anything that Henry or Albert had ever seen. A small blue bubble appeared in the forest, then explosively expanded outward engulfing the ship. The alarm started blaring as the ship''s engines died and the dropship started to descend rapidly.


    "I think our ride has ended," Albert said.


    "I am inclined to agree with you," Henry said as he prepared for the impact. The ship crashed in a small clearing, crushing in on itself like a tin can. "I think that we are up shit creek ourselves now," Henry told Albert."


    "I concur," Albert said being short with Henry, not liking his humor turned against him.


    Henry punched part of the ship ripping through the armor like a hot knife through butter. Then he made an exit for himself and stepped out to the burning ground around the crash "Albert, can you narrow down where that came from?" Henry asked. As he looked around at the damage created from the crash. The immediate area was on fire; however, Henry knew it wouldn''t spread. Everything was still too wet from, what he thought, was a recent rain.


    "Already done. I pinned it on your HUD." Albert told Henry.


    Henry forced his way back into the drop shuttle and grabbed five grenades, and a laser rifle with ammo, storing the ammo and grenades in the armor''s storage compartment. "They truly did think of everything," Henry thought to himself as he sealed the compartment on his outside thigh and started walking.


    It didn''t take long for him to reach the origin point of the blue bubble. Henry looked around not finding anything unusual till he spotted a small stone door. Something about it gave Henry a terrible feeling in his gut, a feeling that he pushed to the side as he forced his way in. With a thought, Henry activated his armor''s air filter and night vision. He armed himself with the laser rifle and started to make his way around the building. The hallway was long and dark, and the air stale. Henry spotted a glyph on the stone wall. "Albert, is there anything in your database that matches this?" Henry asked.


    "No. Henry something isn''t right. I know all known languages from all known species; however, I have no data on this. Please be careful," Albert said worried about Henry, after all, if Henry dies so does he.


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    " Don''t need to tell me twice, I have a bad feeling about this place, but that blue bubble was bizarre, not an EMP, and not any weapon I know of. Yet it still knocked out the ship''s engines. If I can find the source that would be a new weapon for the UHC." Henry said as he ran his gloved hand across the strange symbol. He thought it might be an alien alphabet, but didn''t know.


    "Thump....Thump.....Thump" Henry''s audio sensors picked up. He turned around and felt something that he hadn''t felt since childhood, Fear. He raised up his rifle and proceeded to walk towards the noise when the source of it turned the corner and stared directly at Henry, not his armor, but directly at him. It was a behemoth of a creature. It stood at least a foot taller than Henry and looked like a lizard in its upper half, and a bird-like lower half. It opened its maw to show Henry its serrated teeth that looked to be five inches long and let out a screech that would put a banshee to shame. Henry immediately started to shoot it, which only seemed to upset it even more. Henry recognized that the laser rifle was ineffective, but before he could pull out a grenade the monster closed the distance and rammed Henry into the wall, indenting Henry in place.


    The alien pulled back and swiped at Henry, the first strike knocking Henry''s shield down by over half. The second swipe bounced harmlessly off the metal that made up the chest plate. On the third swipe, Henry managed to bust out of the wall and duck just in time for the claw to go over his head. He came back up punching the monstrous alien in the ribs cracking the ones he connected with. The alien, enraged, lifted Henry and tried to choke him. Henry kicked the alien on the chin, making it bite off its tongue. It dropped Henry, surprised by the sheer pain of biting off its tongue. Henry took the chance and tried to brute force charge the alien, running into it, and slamming it against the wall. It started to gasp for air as the previous batch left its body. A feeling Henry knew all too well.


    While the alien was distracted for but a brief moment, Henry pulled out a grenade and threw it in the alien''s mouth. Henry dove backward onto his back right before the grenade went off. The alien''s head popped like a balloon and sent brain matter all over the wall. "Tell me we recorded that," Henry said while huffing to catch his breath.


    "Yes, we did. Henry, I don''t have any documentation of that alien species on our database or the Teran Republic''s accessible data either." Albert said with his avatar having a puzzled look on his face going through pretend papers.


    "I didn''t think so, Albert, should we turn around?" Henry asked shaken by that encounter.


    "No Henry, we shouldn''t. We need answers to take back to the brass," Albert said seriously.


    "Damn. I''ll grab a claw for them to get the DNA sample." Henry said as he cautiously walked up to the body, kicked it, then broke off a claw. He stored it inside the right thigh container and started exploring the facility more. Both Henry and Albert were surprised at the size of the complex. It spanned way more area than what the door would have led one to believe. Suddenly in a room at the end of a hallway, Henry heard a voice. He drew his rifle and proceeded slowly down the hallway, creeping ever closer till he got to the door. He leaned against the wall at first, then popped into the doorway rifle sweeping the room. Then all of a sudden, a new AI popped up.


    "Hello human." The broken voice managed to say.


    Henry baffled was only able to ask one question, "How in the fuck do you know I am a human."


    "I know because we made you." The AI said.


    "What do you mean made us?" Henry asked.


    "You were made from us splicing our DNA with chimps." The AI said.


    "Who is we?" Albert chimed in, overwhelmed by curiosity.


    " The Thahiem Hierarchy." The AI chimed proudly.


    "Why did you create Humanity, and where are your people now?" Albert asked, beating Henry to the punch.


    "You were supposed to help us fight the biggest enemy our empire ever faced, one of our own creation... The Devouring Ones." the AI said matter-of-factly.


    "The Devouring Ones?" Henry asked curiosity getting the better of him.


    "A species that we created to end uprisings on our planets. It backfired on us and consumed all of us. Then starved and died, or so we thought. You just fought one and won. Something none of our soldiers could do one on one." the AI finished.


    "How did I win when your species were more advanced than ours?" Henry asked.


    "No two species develop the same technologically. We were more advanced in many ways, but we didn''t create super soldiers. We didn''t require them, but when we did, it was already too late. My time is running out. My power supply is draining. Another way Humanity has surpassed us. Take care, human. Don''t fail like we did." The AI said as it disappeared forever.

 chapter 8

    "Well.... That was most unexpected," Albert said his avatar looking perplexed.


    "Indeed it was," Henry replied as he continued to explore the facility. The facility was large with few markings to indicate direction carved into the stone walls. Henry finally spotted some light after almost a full hour of searching. It was the very entrance that he took to get in.


    "I think that you may have found the way out," Albert said joyfully. Henry gave a huff of acknowledgment as he climbed out of the darkness and into the light of the surface. "Now it''s time for us to reach that base. How far away are we?" Henry asked Albert.


    "Currently we are seventy miles away with no means of transportation besides your lambofeeties," Albert said as he pretended to walk.


    "Then as Instructor Valasquez would say, I better take my Chevrolegs," Henry said with a chuckle. Thinking of Valasquez always brought a smile to Henry, after all, Valasquez taught Henry how to be strong. Henry started to jog and decided that he would take a break when he got close to the base. Invading an enemy base while gassed is always a bad idea.


    After a mix of jogging, running, and walking for the last two hours through the forest, Henry had reached the outskirts of the Altherium base. It had grown dark which worked for Henry. Night raids worked better for him than day raids. Species always tended to let their guard down slightly at night. Even the toughest soldier waivered in discipline ever so slightly. That is what Henry was counting on too.


    Henry took a good look at the base to try and figure out how he would go about it. They had towers with laser turrets that had interlocking fields of fire, definitely were going to have mines placed, and had taken over what was a small city. He knew there would be door-to-door fighting and ambushes. He saw a massive building in the middle of the base and decided that taking that tower would be the main goal of his raid.


    "Subtilty wasn''t my strong suit anyway," Henry said as he aimed his laser rifle and shot the first soldier, then the second watchman, creating a gap where he launched his main attack from. He sprinted and jumped over the area between the two towers where the mines most likely were. He landed and pulled out a grenade and threw it at a group of soldiers rushing to the breach. It went off at head height killing the group of seven instantly. Henry ran and poached ammo and grenades off of them. He started working his way to the tower that was still several miles away. Jumped up onto the roofs to avoid being on ground level. He knew the Altherium held an insurmountable numbers advantage.


    As he was jumping from one roof to another, he got hit by an antiarmor weapon sending him crashing through the wall of a house. "Holy fuck that hurt!" Henry exclaimed as he stood back up. "When I find whoever did that, I am going to rip them limb from limb," Henry snarled as he popped just his visor out of the hole he created to scan for whoever shot him. It was another group of Altherium. This time they had fifteen soldiers. "Albert change the laser cannon to purple please," Henry said as he aimed his rifle and dropped two that were lined up directly with each other. He shot at the first one, but the laser pierced through the skulls of both soldiers.


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    They swiveled around unable to see Henry in the pitch blackness. Henry opened fire on the others as fast as he could dropping 6 more in mere moments, before the shock wore off and they spread out. Henry broke cover and closed the distance surprising the lead as he opened fire. His shots burned the Templar armor but stood no chance to pierce the hardened plate the soldier shot. Henry grabbed him up and snapped his neck. He threw the body at another soldier distracting him long enough to also through a grenade blowing him and wounding another. He saw another soldier aiming at his helmet and leaned to the side just in time to avoid the laser hitting his visor while his shield was still down. "Henry your shields should have recharged by now, something is wrong!" Albert warned Henry. "I am running a diagnostic on your armor just stay alive in the meanwhile please," Albert said as he started to scan the armor.


    "Will do," Henry said as he raised his rifle and shot the squid face who almost finished him. The soldier hit the ground with a thud. He couldn''t immediately spot the other 4 soldiers, so he cautiously encroached on the house that was closest to the soldiers when they separated. It was Henry''s lucky day. It was the one that shot him with a laser cannon. He heard what sounded like the soldier crying, and if Albert''s translation skills were correct, saying, "The black death comes for me." Henry thought about letting him live for but the briefest moment, but as quick as the thought came, it vanished. He crept up to the soldier while he was trying to hide and rapidly picked him up, making him scream in terror. Henry saw some liquid dribbling off of the alien''s leg.


    "My gawd Henry! You made him piss himself," Albert said with a laugh.


    "It seems so," Henry said as he ripped the alien''s head off and let the lifeless husk that was its body hit the rubble floor with a thud. He walked over to the other demolished house and peeked through a hole in the wall, just to see the remaining three aiming at the door. "I think I want to play a prank Albert," Henry said deviously. He slapped the wall with the back of his hand just hard enough to get their attention to where he wanted it. Then while they were turned away from the door, he tossed their comrade''s head in. They screamed in terror. Henry went back to the hole and said they were all backed up into the corner. He had his fun with them, so he pulled the pin on one of his two remaining grenades and dropped it in through the hole. The terrified trio didn''t even have time to recognize what it was before their lives ended with a bang.


    "Diagnostic done. I got it fixed," Albert said as he used a handkerchief to wipe sweat off of his forehead.


    "What was it?" Henry asked curiously.


    "The power coil overheated and needed to be restarted," Albert said as Henry kept making his way to the tower.

 Chapter 9

    **02 Oct 2359. 0130 hours. Hargaro system, Edin.


    Lt. Valshavik looked around at what remained of his platoon and saw nothing but defeat on their faces. He couldn''t blame them either. He didn''t have to think about where it all went wrong. This mission has been shit since they air-dropped. The only thing that went right was encountering the titan called Vanguard 001. When it left, he was glad. Though he couldn''t pinpoint why, something about it didn''t rub him right. However, he was glad for the support that it gave his marines. After the Vanguard had left Sargeant Jankins voiced what everyone was thinking.


    "Good thing he left; he was giving me the creeps. Sure, he saved our ass, but something about him makes my skin crawl." Jankins said as they started to move to the objective, a forward base the Altherium was using to raid the small settlements in the surrounding area.


    A screech-like nail on a chalkboard brought Valshavik''s mind back to the moment. It was the source of their defeat and subsequent surrender. The alien looked like a werewolf. Nobody in his platoon, including himself, knew what species these aliens were. The alien was walking along, dragging his claws against the metal walls before he got to the makeshift cell two down from his own. The alien stared directly at an old man who didn''t falter in the stare-down. The alien''s lips pulled back as it bared its fangs to the old man. After a few more moments the alien opened the gate and dragged the old man out of the cell by the arm. Suddenly the alien beheaded the old man and started to eat him in front of everyone. Some of the civies started to vomit and scream. He couldn''t blame them; he was scared also. Valshavik wasn''t scared for himself, but what remained of his marines. His job is to bring as many of them home as possible, and he would be damned if he would lose another one here. He decided that if it came down to it, he would sacrifice himself before another marine under his watch died.


    "Lt do you hear that?" PFC Jones asked. Valshavik looked at the baby-faced marine who didn''t even need to shave. He was the youngest member of the platoon at 18 years old. If he needed to get anyone out it''s definitely this kid.


    "No, I didn''t hear anything. What did you hear Private?" Valshavik asked straining to try and hear what Jones heard.


    "It sounded like fighting and explosion, and a lot of it," Jones said. Valshavik strained some more to hear it, but his ears, damaged by years of gunfire, couldn''t make anything out. Suddenly a squadron of Altherium along with two of those werewolf aliens busted through the doors. They ran towards the windows and aimed their laser guns as the werewolf aliens waited beside the door on either side.


    Valshavik now knew that his private most definitely was hearing fighting, but which company was raiding the base? As far as he knew the UHC was having its ass handed to them. Surely they wouldn''t be sending a raid party when those soldiers and marines could be used to hold the current lines till reinforcements could arrive. Valshavik started to hear the fighting as it got closer. The aliens started to chatter amongst themselves. Valshavik didn''t know what they were saying, but it seemed like they were a bit anxious if he went off of their body language. An alarm started to whine startling Valshavik and his men.


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    "Sir it seems like the fighting outside has stopped," Jones said. Valshavik knowing he couldn''t hear as well as he used to relied on Jones''s assessment.


    "Who could be attacking the Altherium this deep behind their lines?" Valshavik thought to himself. He looked at the Altheriums. One of the soldiers busted out the window on the ten-story building and aimed out of it. Suddenly and with great speed he was pulled out of the window screaming all the way down till he splattered on the concrete below. Before the other soldiers could even open fire, one of them was paste on the wall, and another was thrown through the window, quickly finding gravity to be fatal.


    Valshavik was shocked to see Vanguard 001 again and raiding the Altherium BOA no less. Vanguard 001 moved faster than any human should and slaughtered the regular soldiers. He grabbed one by the leg using it as a bat against another, before throwing him at one of the werewolf aliens, who cut the soldier in half. Both of the werewolf aliens snarled and moved in on Vanguard 001. For his part, the Vanguard moved in for the fight too.


    The Vanguard blitzed one of the aliens grabbing it by the back of the head and letting its snout meet the Vanguard''s knee. Valshavik heard a sickening crunch as the werewolf''s face caved in. It tried to swipe at the vanguard and managed to connect creating sparks as the claws glided harmlessly off of the Vanguard''s armor.


    The other werewolf ran in and tried to tackle the Vanguard, but as soon as it hit the Vanguard with its shoulder, the Vanguard brought an elbow down in the middle of the werewolf''s back. the Vanguard then kicked the werewolf in the gut before it could even hit the ground. The werewolf vomited whatever it ate.


    Vanguard 001 was about to stomp one the werewolf ending its life when the third werewolf alien, one that Valshavik forgot about in all the excitement, tacked Vanguard 001. As they rolled back the Vanguard kicked off the alien and stood up, all in one fluid motion. He ran towards the one with the crushed face. As he got close the alien tried to attack, but with its face crushed in, its depth perception was off. It attacked too soon. The Vanguard punched the alien in the throat, then sweep-kicked its feet. The other two aliens still struggling to get up themselves couldn''t save its life. The Vanguard reared its fist back and punched the alien in the head again managing to crush its brain, the brain if the yellow matter on his hand was anything to go off of.


    The one that successfully tackled Vanguard 001 charged back towards him. As soon as he got close the Vanguard caught the stabbing hand of the alien and snapped its arm before punching it in the ribs. One of the ribs must have punctured a lung because the alien started to gasp for air that would not come. It didn''t struggle for air long; however, Vanguard 001 tossed him out of the window.


    "Hey LT. it looks like windows in this town are starting to get dangerous," Piere said as he chuckled.


    "They sure do. Now Sargent find us a way out," Valshavik ordered as he turned his attention back to the fight. He couldn''t figure out how, but the Vanguard seemed way heavier than earlier. He walked towards the alien that was still on the ground, unable to move from the vicious kick to the gut. Every step making a heavy thud like a titan in a movie. He stood over the alien for a second and just stared down at it. He then looked over at the severed human head, and then back at the alien. He stepped on both of the arms of the alien breaking them, followed by its legs. The alien was too weak from the gut kick to even howl in pain.


    He walked towards the cell and ripped open the door while pointing at the alien. That group didn''t need any further orders or motivation. The swarmed him kicking and stomping on it. Finally after minutes of that, someone pulled out a gun and dispatched it.


    The Vanguard made its way down each cell breaking the doors open, all while not saying a word, or at least not till he got to Valshavik''s cell.

 Chapter 10

    02 Oct 2359. 0200 hours. Hargaro system, Edin.


    "So is the princess in another castle?" Henry said to one unamused Lt. Valshavik.


    "Yes, now unlock this fucking cell!" Valshavik yelled.


    "Well you''re no fun," Albert said through Henry''s armor. Henry punched through the thin steel door and ripped it open.


    "Well that''s one way to open the door," A private said with a whistle.


    "AW to Vanguard 001, do you copy? I repeat AW to Vanguard 001 do you copy?" A familiar voice rang in Henry''s helmet. Mute all but to Albert and him.


    "We copy," Albert said.


    "You have five minutes to get out of there, or you will be standing in a crater," AW said.


    "Copy," Was Henry''s one-word reply.


    "Vanguard, your mission is over. You need to return to base," AW said.


    "Copy, Vanguard 001 out," Henry said as he started to move to escape.


    "Lieutenant we now have four minutes to get out of here before the fleet makes all the topography maps for here irrelevant,"


    "How do you know that?" Valshavik asked.


    "Radio transmission from the brass," Henry replied as he started to round up the civilians. "Everyone follow me, I will make sure we get out of here," Henry said as he started towards the stairs.


    "Marines cover the civilians we are moving out," Lt. Valshavik barked out.


    Henry kicked open the door for the stairs and started to move down, clearing them floor by floor till he reached the bottom. "Lieutenant stay here with the civies," Henry ordered as he looked out of the glass front doors and spotted the ambush that awaited the group,


    "What do you see?" Valshavik asked.


    "Just a large group of Altherium, at least 30 of them. They have enough firepower to wipe out this entire group besides myself in moments," Henry told Valshavik in his matter-of-fact tone as he made his way up to the roof for his favorite style of ambush. Most ambushes don''t expect to be attacked from the top.


    Henry looked down at the ambush and marked every Altherium soldier before he jumped out of the window, crushing one soldier under his boot, and smashing the skull of another. He pulled two of his four grenades and through them into the group killing or maiming a dozen soldiers as he dove for cover for his shields to recharge. He saw the lasers flying over his head as he pulled out the other two grenades. He popped up and through them at the remaining ambushers. One of them landed directly on one of them, causing him to scream as he tried to remove the grenade before it went off, turning him into a fine mist.


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    Henry picked up a dropped laser turret and started to spray fire the others killing almost all of the remaining soldiers before they could get to cover. He started to make his way towards the last three of the Altherium soldiers, the marines busted out of the glass door and killed the remaining three.


    Henry motioned for the others to follow him. He started to walk forward, keeping point and watching out for any more ambushes. None happened, the Altherium either gone or too scared to perform another.


    "Vanguard 001 shuttles are inbound to your location," AW said through the radio.


    "Roger," Henry replied as the group continued to make their way out of the small city-size base.


    "Henry, you could have already escaped and been well outside of the bombardment range by now if you just left them," Albert said.


    "Yeah I could have, but that would go against everything that Valasquez taught me. I might be more lethal than them, but they are still human and still needed my help. If a hand is needed to help pull someone from the depths of hell, let it be my hand that helps," Henry told Albert.


    "You really did learn well, didn''t you?" Albert said. his avatar smiling.


    "Shuttles inbound. Marines split up with half with the civies on one shuttle. The other half with the Vanguard in the other shuttle," Valshavik yelled as the two groups split up and he went with the group riding with Henry. They kept their guard up till the moment the shuttles landed. Two marines stood guard at each shuttle till they were loaded, then they got in and the shuttles took off.


    02 Oct, 2359, UHC New Hope, Enroute to Aries Military World.


    "Damn, this ship took a beating in that fight," Jones said as he sat down at the chow table with Valshavik.


    "So did we. Some living weapon pulled our ass out of the fire twice, and made it look damn easy doing it," Valshavik said.


    "Yeah, We got our asses handed to us by those werewolf aliens," Jones said before he started to frown even deeper. "Lieutenant I am worried about whatever that Vanguard is. If just one of those aliens could wipe out half of our platoon...." Jones said not needing to finish the question.


    "Yeah, what do we do if that thing goes rogue, we will lose a lot of good men and women. Abruptly the chatter inside of the chow hall died down.


    "You two my office, NOW!" Captain Boros yelled, and the two marines followed him to his office, heads hung low.


    The two marines looked around at the office of a captain. It was spacious with great overhead lighting, a king-size bed, and an old oak desk. Neither marine was sure how Boros afforded Oak, it had been rare since World War I happened between Mars and Earth.


    "Do you two know why I brought you in here?" Captain Boros asked.


    "No Sir," The two said simultaneously.


    "The brass has decided to televise what Vanguard 001 accomplished. Said it would be good for troop morale. To put it plainly, we are getting our ass kicked and will continue to do so until the Republic of Terra arrives with their vessels, which will take months," Captain Boros said as he motioned for the pair to sit down.


    "Understood, what do you need us to do sir?" Valshavik asked.


    "Answer the questions they ask you." Captain Borors said.


    "When will they be asking the questions?" Jones asked.


    "Tomorrow, I''ll call you two to the bridge where they will do the interview," The Captain said. Then looked down at his tablet that gave a notification ping. The Captain''s face grew a dangerous shade of red before he looked up at the two marines in front of him. "You two with me we have a massive problem," He said as he stood up and started to sprint down the passages.


    "It must be pretty fucking serious to make a captain this worried," Jones said to Valshavik as the two marines tried to keep up with the Captain.

 Chapter 11

    The moment the two marines arrived at the head they were immediately able to deduce why the captain was in such a rush, and they spotted a family frame. After all, it isn''t hard to recognize that Vanguard, even without his armor.


    "What''s the matter, you scared?" A man with deep brown hair yelled at Henry.


    "What in the hell is going on in here?" Captain Boros yelled as he looked at the naked men in front of him.


    The Marines both snapped a salute to the Captain, one slipping on the wet floor in the process. "He failed to salute Captain. We were trying to give him wall-to-wall counseling, to which he has just ignored us," the Marines explained to an increasingly angry CO.


    "Well, do you two know why he didn''t salute?" The captain asked as the marines shook their heads. "It''s because he is a DMI project," The captain yelled, spit flying out and hitting the marines in the face. For their part, the Marines didn''t dare move to wipe the spit off of their face.


    "Sorry sir, it was our fault," One of the marines said as they hung their heads low.


    "You''re damn right. Now get dressed and get out of my face," The captain ordered. He watched the two marines get dressed and jog out of the heads. "And you," He yelled as he turned to Henry. "You could have diffused the situation before it even started, why didn''t you?" The captain asked.


    "They didn''t let me. They were looking for a fight and were desperate to find one," Henry explained.


    "Ah, I see, Lt. Valshavik it seems like those two have plenty of energy. Go and tell them to meet me on the bridge with a water source," The captain said as he started to walk away.


    "Yes sir," Valshavik said with a salute. He was glad that Vanguard 001 ignored those marines. If he gave them what they wanted, the captain would have two dead marines on his ship.


    Henry shrugged as the commotion died down. He finished his shower and went back to the cargo bay the Captain was letting him stay in. Henry looked around the empty cargo bay. It was small as far as most cargo bays go. It was 8 feet tall and 10 feet wide. On one side was his armor and bunk, and on the other side was a desk. It is odd to Henry, that his bunk on Aries was just as empty, but felt more like his home than this place ever could.


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    "Henry you feel that way because Aries is your home, and it always has been. I keep telling you that the other life you remember having was just a dream, and that is why you can barely remember any of it," Albert told Henry.


    "I know Albert. It felt so real though," Henry told Albert while he stared up at the ceiling.


    "Some dreams do, we call them vivid dreams. As far as my database shows, however, you have only been on Aries," Albert said. Albert knew it was a lie, but only partially.


    "You''re right Albert," Henry said with a sigh.


    "Get some rest, we will be going over some of your lessons that you got to skip," Albert said as Henry groaned.


    "Albert, do we have to?" Henry asked.


    "Yes, we do. A strong mind is needed just as much as a strong body." Albert said, cutting Henry''s hope. Henry huffed in annoyance and went to sleep.


    09 Oct 2359 Alpha, Alpha Centauri 0900


    The clanking noise of metal boots rang down the long hallway as Henry walked towards Admiral Williams''s office. Henry looked around but only saw wooden doors, symmetrical concrete walls, and long fluorescent lights. Henry walked up to the door that had Williams written above it on a plaque, knocked, and waited for permission to enter.


    "Enter," Was the Admiral''s one-word order.


    Henry walked through the door, ducking and turning slightly just to fit through. "I was told by Captain Boros to report to you immediately ma''am," Henry said while taking off his helmet.


    "That is correct. You''re not in trouble. I just need a debrief and to draw the footage off of your helmet," The Admiral said. Henry gave the black helmet to the Admiral as he started the debrief. She hooked the helmet up and started to play the footage as she listened to Henry. The admiral''s face went from composed and always in control to horror when she saw and heard what the Thahiem AI had to say. "We need to get a team there and retrieve that AI," the Admiral muttered to herself as she continued to watch the raw unadulterated footage, having to pause it multiple times, sickened by the brutality that Henry employed.


    "Vanguard 001 it is clear to see that you are effective in combat. As of today, you are finished with Vanguard training. You are now a Warrant officer and will only answer to the Admiralty. I am giving you two days R and R, then I need you to report to the New Dawn at 0600. It will be your new home," The Admiral said as she turned back to the computer to finish downloading the footage caught by Henry''s helmet.


    "Yes ma''am. May I still see Valasquez?" Henry asked. He saw worry in her face, but only for the briefest of moments.


    "No, he is indisposed at the moment. We have him helping the other Drill instructors train the remaining Vanguards from this class," The Admiral said before she looked up at Henry. One more thing Warrant, I don''t want you accessing the network. It could possibly mess with Albert," The Admiral finished as she turned back to her monitor.


    "Yes Ma''am," Henry said as he saluted and walked out of the office. He couldn''t say why, but his gut told him something else was going on besides what the Admiral said, but orders are orders.

 Chapter 12

    Feb 7, 2350, Kepler system.


    Janise didn''t even make it to work before she received a call that would change her life forever.


    "Sorry ma''am there is nothing we can do for your husband, and we are already searching for your son." The female officer said. Janise always thought the movies dramatized these situations, but now that she was in it, she didn''t think so. The officer continued to speak, but it was muffled. All she could hear was the sound of her heart beating, everything else drowned out. She pressed the button on her watch phone to end the call. She didn''t need to hear anything else the officer had to say anyway. Janise started to think, what was the last thing that she had told her son. "I hate you, why can you not just mind," Was the last thing Janise could remember telling her baby. Now he and Mark were gone for good. She was no fool, a missing child was never found out here. She fell down on the concrete and sobbed like never before. It hurt, god knows it hurt. She loved both of them so very much.


    "Janise get ahold of yourself," Bernise, Janise''s sister told her.


    "Bernise they are gone," Janise managed to choke out between sobs. For her part, Bernise''s stony expression softened.


    "Get in the car, I''ll take you home sis," Bernise said as she helped Janise into her black sedan. "Did they say what happened, or who did it? Maybe if anyone saw anything."


    Janise shook her head. "No clues. Bernise the last thing that I told my baby is that I hated him. How Bernise, how do I live the rest of my life knowing my baby thought I hated him?" Janise yelled through her tears.


    "One day at a time sis, one day at a time. We will find him. If one of us goes before the other we will keep looking," Bernise said solemnly as her eyes were fixed on the road.


    "Bernise it hurts, it hurts so very bad," Janise said as snot ran down her nose.


    "That''s how you know that you care. Just remember that pain Janise. Remember it well because that pain burning in your heart is how you will be reconnected with your baby one day. Whether in this life, or the next you will see him again." Bernise said as she stopped outside of the yellow caution tape. Cops with their dogs swarmed the house looking for clues as to what happened but fell short. Bernise looked at the house and couldn''t find any signs of a break-in.


    "Ma''am I need you to get back." A cop yelled as Janise tried to hug her late husband. He may have been a drunk, but she drove him to it. He never wanted a kid, but she did, so he gave her a kid. It led to him having to work more hours at a dead-end factory job that he hated.


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    "Please officer, please just let me say goodbye to my husband. Let me have this closer," Janise pleaded as she held Mark''s head, part of it missing. The officer gave her a nod and walked off. "I am so, so, sorry Mark. I wouldn''t take Henry back for the world, but you deserved someone who didn''t want kids either. I loved you every day. I will find our son, and the person who did this to you and make them pay," she said as she rubbed the half of his remaining face.


    "Janise let''s go so the cops can do their jobs. You can stay at my place tonight," Bernise said as she put a hand on her sister''s shoulder.


    Janise looked up at Bernise and gave her a nod. It''s all she could manage. Bernise helped Janise up, lifting her up by the shoulder. Janise patted the grass and dirt off of her dress as the two walked back towards Bernise''s car. The pain of losing them both would hurt for a long time, she knew that, but if Henry is out there, alone and scared, she would find him. She would spend every day for the rest of her life trying to find him, she had to.


    "Listen Janise, I am sorry about what is going on, the situation is fucked, but if you need any help just let your big sis know," Bernise said as she turned on the car and started to go forward.


    "I will, and thank you Bernise," Janise said as she sat back and watched the buildings go by as they passed.


    09 Oct 2359 Alpha, Alpha Centauri 0900


    Henry thought to himself about what to do. Sure, he had free time on the trips to and from Edin, but schooling and maintaining his armor took up most of his time.


    "R&R does mean to relax Henry. You deserve it," Albert said inside of Henry''s mind.


    "I know, I just don''t know how to relax," Henry replied as he wandered aimlessly around.


    "You could just go for a walk and enjoy the scenery," Albert said sarcastically.


    "Hardy har har," Henry said as he continued to walk, noticing a restaurant.


    "Albert, when will I have money? I want to try a restaurant," Henry asked his AI companion.


    "To put it frankly, I don''t know," The AI said and paused for a moment, almost like he was running calculations. "I can let you use some of my funds," The AI said with his projected avatar pulling out a wallet. Albert pointed his pipe at the restaurant and said, "Don''t just stand there, let''s go."


    Henry walked into the restaurant and was immediately assaulted by the colors and music.


    "Welcome to Elvises 1950s throwback diner! what can I get started for you?" A blond woman with a black outfit and white apron asked.


    Henry ate something new that he never got to have while in training, He had a steak burger with fries and a vanilla milkshake. "Albert this was amazing," Henry said, causing others to look at him. He didn''t pay them any attention. They are regular humans that he protects, nothing more. After the incident on the ship Henry accepted that he would never be treated the same, his fate was to always be the outsider. Henry was all alright with that, after all, the goal is to be as lethal as possible. He doesn''t need people to like him to accomplish that goal.

 Chapter 13

    The sound of high heels on concrete rang as Admiral Williams walked down the hallway to the room known as Black Hole. She opens the door, looks around the room, and looks at the black padding and anti-electronic devices. This room is called the Black Hole because all that is shared in here will disappear the same as all that into the gravitational pull of a black hole. She is the first one there since she is stationed nearest the room. General Marcus a dark skin man whose face shows his age and the years of stress he has endured was second into the room.


    "Admiral Williams," Marcus said as he gave her a courteous head nod as he took his seat at the long wooden table.


    "General Marcus, how do you find yourself today?" The Admiral asked, knowing that today''s meeting is not just a social call.


    "I''ll give you an answer to that when the others get here," Marcus said staring daggers at the Admiral.


    Admiral Kishimoto opened the door simultaneously ending the two leaders staring down and startling them. The room''s design stopping others from hearing people coming in, and noise from leaving the room. Kishimoto slowly walked to his chair taking short but deliberate steps. He had spent most of his career in space before the UHCN developed better gravity generators for the ships. Kishimoto slowly sat in his chair and looked directly at Williams.


    "When Khabishove gets here you have a lot of explaining to do," The older Asian man said as he scooted his chair closer to the table and rested his arms.


    "I know, you don''t have to remind me," Williams said with a huff crossing her arms.


    The three sat in total silence for almost a quarter of an hour waiting on Khabishove to arrive before the old Russian man barged in slamming the door behind him.


    "What the fuck is the matter with the people in your Vanguard program the aged Russian shouted as he stood in front of Williams.


    "It was an unexpected hick-up, but not totally unplanned for. We have completely covered all traces of Valasquez''s little leak stunt. He has also been reassigned to a surveillance outpost near the UHC-Altherium Empire border. We effectively sentenced him to death in a way that keeps our hands clean," Williams said with a smug smirk.


    "You sentenced a man to death for having a conscience?" Kishimoto asked leaning forward.


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    "No, not for having a conscience. He leaked top-secret compartmentalized information," WIlliams said smiling from ear to ear. Kishimoto looked at her in disgust. He has seen smiles similar to hers before. It isn''t a smile of warmth, but one of when someone thinks they outsmarted everyone else in the room.


    "What did you do in case an auditor tries to verify the information about the Vanguard project, more specifically the age of the Vanguards?" Marcus asked leaning forward, staring firmly at Williams.


    "I have all the Vanguards deploying, along with my department erasing all files that even mention the candidates. We even went a step further and made up fake candidates, all above the minimum serving age. After 001''s display on Edin the cat is out of the bag," Williams finished leaning back in her wooden chair.


    "Nobody at this table thought that we could hide the Vanguards forever, but I was hoping that we could for a while longer at least," Marcus said as he furrowed his eyebrows.


    "Speaking of 001 I watched the footage that you sent, and read the reports. Calling him lethal would be like calling an ocean a puddle. Hype lethal does him more justice. However, I do worry about his psychological state. From the helmet footage he seems far too..... detached from his actions," Khabishove said with a pause finding the right word.


    "That is a concern of mine as well," Kishimoto said leaning back while still maintaining eye contact with Williams.


    "His assigned AI has assured me that 001''s mind is okay. He just doesn''t see harming others to protect humans as wrong," Williams said returning Kishimoto''s glare.


    "If it came down to it, do you think that he could kill another human?" Khabishove said with a frown.


    "Just ask what you really mean. No, I don''t think that he could go rogue and turn on us, however, I do think if the situation arises, he will have zero doubt about killing another human being. However, let it be known that some soldiers did try to provoke him into an altercation and failed miserably. Albert, 001''s assigned AI, reported that 001 just viewed them as an annoyance, not worthy of his ire," Williams reported.


    "So, what you''re saying is that we have a super soldier that doesn''t feel attached to humans. Is he at least loyal to the UHC?" Kishimoto asked.


    "Yes, that he is. Our indoctrination has worked wonders. Even if it didn''t, 001 knows the stakes of this war," Williams said with a genuine smile.


    "Last thing that I need to ask. What are we going to do about the abominations created by the Thahiem?" Marcus said looking at the others one by one.


    "We will fight them when and where we see them. 001 showed they aren''t infallible, but we do need to send a team to retrieve the AI," Khabishove said confidently.


    "I agree with Khabishove, we aren''t going to go looking for them, but if they show up in space our navy will destroy them on the spot," Kishimoto said.


    "Is there any other pressing business that we need to discuss?" Khabishove asked, already knowing the answer.


    "No, I don''t think there is. I already have all of the Vanguard team''s assignments ready. 001 has two days'' rest and then will be boarding the UHCV New Dawn. 001 has our first HRLS mission," Williams said as she stood up and pushed in her chair as the group left the Black Hole.

 Chapter 14

    11 Oct 2359, 0530 Alpha, Alpha Centauri.


    Henry arrived early to report to the UHCV New Hope. He took a second to marvel at the vessel. She wasn''t the biggest in the fleet or the newest ship either, but Henry had always loved to marvel at how big the ships really were. The New Hope was classified as a frigate-class missile carrier. She was black with the traditional four wings that had propulsion on them, and the main thrusters on the rear of the ship. If one looked really closely at any missile carrier or ship that had missiles, one would see the hatches that the missiles launch out of. Henry saw a short woman walking down the ramp to board the ship and gave her a salute.


    As he approached the UHCV New Hope a crew loading bay dock came down and out walked an Asian woman who looked to be in her early 40''s. She was also short, standing at 4''11 and a half. However, she walked with the confidence that comes with being battle hardened.


    "Vanguard 001 reporting for duty ma''am," Henry said as he held his salute.


    "At ease soldier. I am told that you are now assigned to my ship, along with our mission to act as a shuttle to the missions the brass decides to send you on," Captain Youri said as she motioned for Henry to follow her.


    "That is what I have been told to ma''am," Henry said as he secured the new weapons that someone from Admiral Williams''s office gave to him when they modified his helmet slightly. They upgraded the HUD and changed out the visor to a green one. Henry was confused by this and asked why, but the man just said he was too busy to explain. After he finished, he rushed off not muttering anything to Henry.


    As Henry followed Youri, he looked all around the ship. He wanted to capture every detail that he could manage.


    "This here is your quarters. Get settled in and meet me on the bridge in 30 minutes," Youri said as she left Henry alone. Henry looked at the small room. It was a large metal room with a small round window. True to the UHCN standards the room was solid grey. He had a small bunk and a weapons locker. He put his weapons into the locker and looked out of the window with what time he could spare before going off to the bridge. Looking into space always does something for Henry, it''s soothing in its own way.


    Henry walked down the halls, having to squeeze through some spots that were designed for smaller humans. As he reached the bridge he stopped and saluted.


    "Vanguard 001 requesting permission to enter the bridge," Henry said as he held the salute, waiting for Youri''s reply.


    "Permission granted. I''ll debrief you on your mission." Youri said as she motioned for Henry to follow her to the halo-table. Henry followed her to the round table. As they approached the 3D image of a compound popped up in high detail. "Your mission will be to raid this Altherium planet-side shipyard," Youri said as she used her hands to expand the halo map of the complex. "The complex has two main reactors that are powering the whole shipyard," Youri said as two reactors popped up on the halo map. "You will go in through these doors and set off the two reactors. One reactor going critical will set off a big enough explosion will set off the second reactor if you disable its safety features before you escape. A bonus goal the brass hopes that you can take care of if it doesn''t affect the main mission," Youri continues as she pulls up a 3d image of a forging facility. "This needs to go cold. If you can pull off both goals, we can deny the Altherium the ability to safely produce ships. We can show them the UHC has the ability to reach out and touch them anywhere at any time," Youri finished explaining.


    Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    "What support can I be expecting on this mission ma''am?" Henry asked staring at the halo map.


    "The best we can do is a shuttle to pick you up, and that is a maybe," Youri said as she swiped the map and pulled up two massive AA guns. "These will track a shuttle or any air support we try to give. If you take these out I can guarantee that we will have a ride back for you," Youri finished.


    "Understood ma''am," Henry said as he turned to Youri.


    "We will be there in 72 standard hours. You are free to roam in the meantime," Youri said dismissing Henry.


    "Roger," Henry replied as he gave Youri a salute. She dismissed Henry and he returned to his quarters. Hey stood towards the empty wall and used the helmet''s projector that only the Vanguard using it could see. He went back over the plans again, moving everything around as he took a closer look at the reactors. The forge and AA guns are simple enough but causing a nuclear meltdown in the reactors and then doing the other two goals might work, but it would be way higher risk than necessary.


    As he contemplated the problem a solution dawned on him. "Hey Albert, she didn''t say what order I had to take care of the mission goals, did she?" Henry asked Albert while still looking manipulating the map to find any potential weaknesses.


    "No, she didn''t," came Albert''s simple reply.


    "Good, I think I have a plan. Let me run it by you to see what you think," Henry said closing out the halo map.


    14 Oct 2359, Tak-Val, Valleri system


    "Vanguard 001 we''re approaching the drop vectors, are you ready?" Mark asked over Henry''s radio. Youri assigned Mark as the handler for this mission. The plan is for Henry to jump and the ship to go to minimum power for 24 hours in the nearby asteroid belt, posing as an asteroid.


    "We are ready," Albert replied for Henry as he was doing one last check on his loadout.


    "You got the greenlight in 3.2.1. go," Mark said as the ships empty cargo bay door opened up.


    Henry started to run forward and jumped out of the ship, rocketing towards the planet from the momentum of the ship.


    "I still can''t believe that is how you do things. I thought that you would use the drop pods like the Raiders," Mark said as his voice came crackling through the Templar armor''s radio. Albert cleared it up for Henry.


    "I would, but I just don''t fit in them, also I think that I am above the weight limit anyway," Henry said with a shrug.


    Albert helped guide Henry''s trajectory down so he could bust through the first AA as a way to drain the momentum of his descent.


    After an hour of free falling, Henry spotted the two AA''s. They were large missile launchers. Albert showed Henry where the weak points of the bases were as Henry guided himself towards the base. Before any of the Altherium soldiers could react, Henry busted through the base of the First AA. The AA unable to support the weight of the missile pods collapsed tipping over and causing a massive explosion as one of the missiles in the pod detonated, forcing a chain reaction that caused the rest to rapidly go off.