Through the Looking Glass

The Bridge Burners: The Planetside Legacy
The Sanctuary War, Part 4: Through the Looking Glass

That’s the funny thing about time, we seem to think of it as something flowing, as something fluid and transient even though it is merely another dimension in which we move. Clocks and calendars don’t track time, they count down the existence of objects that exist within the boundaries of the universe, and they track the passing of things.
But take existence as it is at present, out of the corner of my eye I can see Damius, HoaX and Vastian frozen in mid air as they leap from an exploding building, their REXO armour pocket marked from small arms fire. I can see Painted frozen as he climbs from the cab of an upturned AMS; Bags crouched on one knee helping him.
We’re all frozen in the four dimensions, caught up in some critical potential mass that would be better explained by one of the scientists, but I can still think. There is a fifth dimension that we can barely comprehend, we’ve seen it as we travelled through the wormhole and again as we rode the great superstrings, a dimension of pure, raw energy. I think now that this energy is the collected pool of consciousness of all life, it’s the only way to explain why my mind still functions now, and could go a long way towards explaining how the mind returns to the body upon respawn.
It begs the question of an afterlife. Could it be that when we die our fifth dimensional selves, our minds, return to this vast realm of energy, a Well of Eternity that makes up the very fabric of the universe?
I’m frozen here pondering these ideas that seem strange and new to me, I’ve never been one for religious introspection and since arriving on Auraxis the question of my own mortality has been rendered null. Every time any of us die we pop out of a spawn tube the same physical age that we were five years ago, the Auraxian War has proved to be the font of youth to many a man who by all rights should have died a long time ago.
I also find myself worrying about my family, not my wife who God willing lives on beyond the wormhole, but my precious Bridge Burners. What lies ahead of us is uncertain, when this is over everything will change and it very well may be that none of us shall survive it. I suppose that its times like this that lead one to consider what lies beyond, and I can only hope that however it goes my men find the peace that they deserve.
When I led them here this morning the Bridge Burners exemplified the valour and spirit of the Sovereignty, the have performed above and beyond the call of duty and I have never been so proud.
As I feel a familiar tingling sensation start to wash over my body I remember that it really was only this morning that we went through the looking glass…
*****
“Its time to get it on!” Damius strapped on one of his REXO bracers and slapped his wrist against the locker, “We’re gonna go, we’re gonna do this, we’re gonna kick ass and we’re damn sure gonna look good doin’ it.”
A cheer went up from the troops in the barracks, morale ran high as the soldiers geared up to board the waiting galaxies.
“Damn I look good with a thumper,” Damius cheered as he hefted the grenade launcher, “ain’t no NC gonna fuck with me.”
“They don’t do that anyway,” a voice called from a few lockers down, it was Mashed, “they see you coming and they turn and run.”
“Because I am the ultimate badass.”
There were cheers of encouragement from the Bridge Burners.
“Gonna drop in with my thumper and win us the War.”
More cheers, but at the same time the assembled masses had been around long enough to know that Damius would probably do just that, the dark haired warrior had that half-crazed glint in his eye again.
“Hey,” Sultan called out, “not to detract from Father Damius’ Hour of Power but has anyone seen Imp?”
There were a few glances about the room; it became quite evident that no one had seen him since the afternoon before the meteor shower, God that was nearly two days ago. Sultan sent out a few secure tells, but as yet he’d received no reply and was now seriously beginning to worry.
“Tom, take a couple of guys and do a search. His personal locator isn’t responding but you should have some joy with his localised IFF. Find him.”
“Roger that,” Tom shouldered his pulsar and indicated Fayeski and TheDuddd to join him, “we’ll see you on the battlefield.”
A dour voice echoed throughout the barracks, “Amethyst Lancers orange squad report to courtyard, Amethyst Lancers orange squad to courtyard. Your galaxy is prepped for departure.”
“Well guys, that’s our cue,” Mashed said as he and his squad rose, he led his men to the door and paused briefly with Sultan and Vastian, “see you on TR Home guys.”
The soldiers saluted in return and watched in silence as Mashed led his troops into the long corridor that led to the courtyard and the fleet of dropships. No one had any doubt as to how important this mission was, or how high the stakes were.
Sultan was leaning his elbows on his knees, his face in his hands. There was something occupying his thoughts, something bigger than just another battle.
“Vast?”
Vastian turned from his locker and sat to strap his knife to his boot, “Yeah?”
“What do you think is going to happen to us? After the Bending I mean.”
Vastian’s shoulders slumped and he sat back against his locker door, “Well, the TR will almost certainly come and try to reclaim their colony. If we can’t beat them back then they’ll probably take us prisoner, and to ensure we don’t respawn they’ll probably take us back through the wormhole. And then they’ll space us.”
“That’s what I figured too,” Sultan sighed, an execution by being blown out an airlock wasn’t a future to look forward to.
There were tears in his eyes now, “I have a family on the other side, a wife and children. I’d always thought, I hoped… you know. I thought that I’d get to be with them again. God. Vast, I miss them so much.”
“We don’t know how things are going to work out in the end, with a lot of courage and some divine providence we may yet come through. If all else fails the Supai Project is near completion.”
The true gravity of the moment hit home with Vastian, he knew nothing but Auraxis and so the Bending was just another event to him. But Sultan had a family, another life in another time and now it looked like all his hopes and dreams for the future were about to fall apart. The same must have been true for everyone else in the Sovereignty, what fear they must have right now, for the first time in five years they were soon to come face to face with true uncertainty.
“Amethyst Lancers gold squad and indigo squad,” the tannoy echoed once more, “your galaxies are prepped and ready. Amethyst Lancers gold squad and indigo squad.”
“That’s us, buddy,” Vastian picked up his lancer and holstered the huge anti-armour cannon next to his lasher, “just think of Voodoo Chile and let the future take care of itself.”
“I was thinking more along the lines of the guitar riff from November Rain,” Sultan smiled as he picked up his helmet.
“Entry of the Gladiators,” Damius called from across the room as he practised with his sword.
Sultan turned to face his friend, “Circus music?”
“Yeah,” Damius replied as he sliced his blade through the air, “I love that tune.”
Sultie and Vast laughed, “See you on the ground mate.”
Entering the corridor with their squads they met Mashed coming to meet them, and thus it was that the three AL squad leaders exited the barracks to a bright morning sun, they shielded their eyes momentarily and strained to hear anything over the thrum of idling galaxy engines. In ranks lined all the way to the HART terminal the dropships sat shimmering in the morning sun, their bay doors open for the troops loading the equipment of war.
Behind the gals sat banks of lodestars; their holds open to receive the AMSes popping out of the vehicle terminals, as well as crates of medpacks, grenades, ammo packs, and anything else that might be required for the upcoming invasion.
Until they could fortify their position on TR Home the forces already on the continent-world would have to rely on equipment brought from Sanctuary, and Staceh was going to make damn sure that they didn’t run short of anything.
Passing through was one last squad of magriders, the TBB Outriders led by Deuldiebob, and they were bound for a One Shot device powering up just off the coast.
Bob’s magrider strafed past the Amethyst Lancer squads and nodded its PPA, the squad leaders waved in reply and Vastian heard a voice in his ear.
“Vast, no stars this time?” It was Shrikeh.
“No, mate, but if you feel a slight tingle don’t worry too much.”
“Tingle?”
The channel was interrupted by the sound of Bob’s laughter, “He’ll live.”
Staceh and Dekov were ahead of the Lancer troops, they were busy co-ordinating the last of the loading operation.
“Guys,” Staceh called over the thundering lodestar engines as the brick-like cargo craft lifted clumsily into the sky, “I just wanted to say good luck. We’re dropping you guys into the maw of the beast.”
“Exactly the job you trained us for,” Sultan said as he shook Staceh’s hand.
“Give them hell and look good doing it,” Vastian added as he shook hands in turn.
“Can I have Sultan’s gear if anything happens?” Mashed winked.
Staceh laughed and patted the soldier on the shoulder, “Watch your backs guys, I want you all back here in one piece when this is over.”
Sultan climbed into the first waiting galaxy for the ALs, Staceh watched his friends moving to their dropships with only the slightest hint of apprehension. The battle that they now faced was a unique situation in the War, no tech plants, no bio labs, and no capitol facilities; this time it was three armies, three launch bases, and the original colony command complex.
“He’s slept some,” Mashed commented to Vastian as they approached the next gal.
“Thank God, he’d probably have dropped dead from exhaustion otherwise.”
Mashed grabbed the rungs of the cockpit ladder and climbed in, he saw Vastian do the same on the next galaxy, “Vast, you the man!”
“No dude, you’re the man!”
“I’m the man,” Damius shouted as he climbed into Vastian’s galaxy, he paused to wink at Vast, “guess whose your fire support.”
The indigo leader shouted across to Mashed, “Well, I’m not going to argue with him.”
There was a loud rumble and a cloud of dust billowed over orange squad’s galaxy, gold squad was taking to the air on full burn.
“Best get moving,” Mashed called across as the other galaxies began to rise, “we don’t want to miss the fight.”
*****
One by one the bulbous craft rose their snub noses to the sky and engaged their afterburners, like some great migration the flock of galaxies drifted towards the warpgate.
“Ok VS, listen up,” Staceh’s voice echoed across the comms, “when we pass through the warp we’re going to light up every TR and NC early warning system on the continent, so when we get there we will be hitting them hard and fast. The Sabres have laid some groundwork in preparation for our arrival, and the Amethyst Lancers are dropping into the closest thing resembling Hell this side of Inferis. Look out for your platoon and listen to your squad leaders’ commands, this isn’t the time for lone wolf operations, you are already heroes. Let’s just do the job.
“Good luck men.”
*****
In the cockpit of indigo squad’s galaxy Vastian looked over his shoulder at his squad, he kept thinking how it wouldn’t be the same without Grizzly by his side, the gruff soldier currently on loan to the ISK outfit. Griz would have loved the odds that they were about to face.
“We’ll be entering the warp bubble in seconds,” MrSubliminal announced from the pilot’s station. He glanced back to see Vast twirling a bent metal pin between his fingers; it was about a centimetre thick and four inches long, it hung from a leather thong around his neck.
“What’s that?”
“This?” Vast held up the pin, there was a momentary blinding white light and he continued, “I’m told this pin saved my life. When the rescue crews arrived at the wreckage of the Farcry I was unconscious under a collapsed walkway, the only reason it hadn’t fallen and crushed me was because this pin refused to give way.”
An alarm beeped from under the radar console, “That’s damn lucky man. How’d you end up with it? You go back or something?”
“No, I haven’t been near the wreckage since,” Vastian said as the starboard guns opened up against a closing mossie, “Staceh got it after Bags told him about what had happened, then the war broke out and Staceh forgot about it until last Christmas.”
A flight of NC Mosquitoes shot overhead, many of them already scarred and smoking form the combined fire of the fleet of Vanu dropships.
“What do you think of our chances, Subs?” Vastian asked as he stared idly out the cockpit window at the steel cloud that they were but a part of.
“In a galaxy, I’m not too sure. As soon as I get into a mossie our odds will improve.”
“The main force is breaking off for target Beta,” Chutney’s voice filtered across the comms channel from Gold squad’s galaxy, “Outriders have engaged enemy forces off the coast and the mag force is sweeping through the NC lines near target gamma. Painted just sent through new AL target data, the primary NC BFR force is rearming in a small compound to the south.”
“Afterburners Subs, its time to cause some mischief.”
*****
“Engineers platoon 1 drop on that air tower,” Staceh ordered as his galaxy shuddered from another missile impact, “get it secured or we’ll have no way to keep our air forces functional.”
The galaxy banked hard as a HART shuttle roared by, the automated craft oblivious to the battle raging around it was here for another load of troops to ship to the front lines, unaware that it’s own terminal sat on those very lines.
Staceh could see TR Minigunners cutting a swathe through the Vanu ground troops, but their defence had been organised to withstand a heavy handed NC assault and the defenders soon found themselves being pushed back by the more mobile VS. The defrail barricades that had been arranged to hold up the powerful but cumbersome NC vanguard tanks proved to be little more than a minor inconvenience to the agile magriders sweeping into the area.
The western door defence was slowly crumbling as one by one the minigunners were picked off by Dekov’s snipers, the pop of boltdrivers was as straining on morale as seeing the man next to you drop dead.
“Get some hackers to those vehicle terminals,” the comms channel hissed with static as Staceh issued his orders, the was a lot of electronic interference is the air now, “I want Bazon and a few skyguards on the move.”
The galaxy circled over the base raining a hail of bullets on the TR, from the pilot’s seat Shinya called back to the General, “We’ve got flails taking pot shots at us.”
As he spoke he was forced to bank hard to port as a blast of searing plasma burned through the sky past the cockpit, its contrail scouring a sickening black line up the galaxy’s starboard wing.
“Outriders, take out those flails!”
“Roger that, boss,” Deuldibob’s voice crackled on the comm line, “can you drop me a waypoint please?”
On Bob’s HUD a blue waypoint suddenly dropped from the heavens landing squarely on a hill at the wrong side of the enemy lines. The mags swept up the flank; cycler rounds bounced harmlessly off their hulls as the craft approached the first of the ranked forces, and a line of auroras passed by in the opposite direction opening fire on the TR gunners.
Ahead the sky blazed with the plasma launched heavenward by the emplaced artillery cannons, in no particular sequence the flails blasted the air above them.
“Deano, you on the ground?”
“Yeah, Bob,” Deano’s voice was cut by the burr of cycler fire as he shielded himself behind a defrail, bullets whizzed through the air around him. Sleepless knelt beside him and with every opportunity was returning fire with his pulsar.
“Do you have a satellite overhead, Dean?”
Deano ducked as the corner of the rail was blown away in a chunk that sailed past his head, “There’ll be one overhead in about 30 seconds, you need a shot?”
“Blue way point 4, there’s a bunch of prowlers camping that area around the flails.”
“Roger that, Bob,” Dean replied as he tossed a frag grenade over the rail, “shot in 20.”
On the hill the prowlers turned their massive dual turrets towards the approaching magriders, they shuddered under magrail fire but held off until the mags were well within their arc of fire. Suddenly the air around them seemed to get crisper and fresher, sparks of static danced before them and too late did they realise the danger that they were in, the clouds parted and a blast of plasma tore down from one of the orbital defence satellites. The prowlers seemed to lift into the air in slow motion as the blast wave washed them aside before they disintegrated to be blown away like leaves in the wind.
The mags swept up the hill picking off whatever armour remained, the flail force fell into disarray as the VS tanks scattered what little resistance remained after the orbital strike.
Deano tightened up his squad, they were almost to the doors of the HART terminal and they pushed on against the steadily retreating TR force.
Meanwhile on the other side of the continent the New Conglomerate forces were finding themselves being harried by flights of reavers led by the Pandion Knights. At that same moment the Terran Republic were finding their defence coming under strain as Risk magriders swept between them and the NC front, the indiscriminate assaults having the effect of bringing the NC advance to a virtual standstill whilst at the same time keeping the TR at bay.
The sky was still grey from the earlier blizzard but the snow had melted to a muddy slush as the temperature returned to normal. The embattled troops found themselves up to their knees in cold mud as they tried to remember the cause they were fighting for. When your friends are dying left and right in the cold, harsh earth and the bullets are whizzing past your head its hard to remember just what belief could be so strong that you would wade through this hell.
*****
Cold air rushed around them, far below the NC were scrambling to their BFRs, but the Amethyst Lancers were already shooting out the shield generators as they drifted down on their drop waves. Far above the galaxies were banking away to maintain a safe altitude as the three squads dropped into the firestorm.
Burster rounds popped in the air, but those BFRs that had gunners were aiming too high, and the AA systems couldn’t track anything as small as a soldier with any degree of accuracy.
Mashed landed on the cockpit canopy of a peregrine and neatly put a lancer round through the pilot and the primary console. Damius had switched to an AT radiator and was peppering the area with the lethal radiation spheres that would sap the life of anyone unlucky enough to stumble into their area of effect.
Sultan came down behind a battle frame as it began to power up, nimbly he leapt and grabbing a handhold he slapped a boomer over the main drive core. At a safe distance he clicked the detonator and the BFR tore apart at the seams in a spectacular hail of twisted metal.
Troops ran to their BFRs only to be cut down by lasher fire as Vastian led indigo squad towards the command tent, the ribbons of plasma scorching the forest of metal around them. The squad shot out the leg actuators of the nearby battle frames causing each unit to topple in a pathetic mess.
“Well done guys,” Sultan announced as the last BFR collapsed in a column of acrid smoke, “that was clean and efficient.”
“Will put a damn nice dent in their capability as well,” Mashed cheered as his squad checked the remains for any NC survivors.
The galaxies dropped gracefully from their orbit and set down for collections, Subs gave Vastian a thumb up as he directed his squad back into the dropship.
*****
“We’ve got a major BFR force moving against target delta!” Damsel’s voice cut urgently across the comms, “we need backup, boss.”
“Roger that, Dams,” Staceh said as he checked on the status of the Amethyst Lancers, they were just taking to the sky. He sent the co-ordinates through on a private tell.
Coming towards the NC BFR lines the ALs cut across the sky like a great trident hurled by some long forgotten god, Sultan’s gold squad galaxy slightly ahead of its flanking companions.
“Ok Lancers, we’re in the pipe,” Sultan announced as burster rounds fired from the battle frames rocked the dropships, “get ready to drop on my mark.”
“That’s a lot of burster fire to drop through,” Vastian heard commented from somewhere in the cabin behind him.
He rose from the cockpit and strode into the drop bay; he had to grasp the overhead bars as the craft jarred under the hail of explosive fire around it.
“Gentlemen, don’t be under any illusion, we are on the express elevator straight to hell. That’s not just BFRs down there, that is the NC zerg. But you don’t get to be in the Amethyst Lancers by taking the easy option, anyone who wants it easy can stay on this galaxy because I don’t want to drop with anybody who is going to hide at the back and probably get us killed.”
The ship was hammered by another explosion and Vastian returned to the cockpit.
“What’s eating you?” Subs commented.
Before he could answer the radio crackled to life with the sound of Sultan’s voice, “Drop in five.”
“Amethyst Lancers, abort mission, repeat abort mission,” Staceh’s voice cut through the drop timer, “we’ve received intell that the NC BFR force is breaking off to bolster the defence at target alpha. I’m sending you the co-ordinates of your new target.”
Mashed looked at the grid reference appearing on his screen, “You’ve got to be shitting me.”
“The Sabres are already on site and have booby trapped the area around your dropzone, get there and hold your position. I’m bringing a platoon to join you.”
“Two platoons,” Vastian asked across to Sultan, “will that be enough?”
“For the time being it will have to be.”
Well, the ALs had faced worse odds, in theory, but Vastian still felt the cold fingers of apprehension creep up upon him as their target loomed out of the mist before them; the impassive grey and red monolith that was the Terran Republic Colony Command Complex. The original headquarters of the Auraxis mission was now their target.
Staceh loaded extra ammo cartridges into his backpack as his lead galaxy spurred on towards the dropzone, as an afterthought he squeezed in some medpacks and an NTU glue gun. His TS channel crackled to life with a hiss of static, it was a long-range communication from Sanctuary.
“General, I’ve found Imp,” it was Tomskiii reporting in, “he’s been pretty badly beaten and he’s doped to the eyeballs on nanomeds.”
“Jesus,” Staceh didn’t want to think of any of his men in that condition, and especially not one of the younger members of the outfit, “alright Tom. Get him to the medbay ASAP then grab some ammo and get over here.”
“There’s something else,” Tom paused, “Imp was able to tell me who the traitor is before he passed out, and we may have a bigger problem than originally thought.”
*****
A blast wave rocked the corridor and a wave of heat washed over the TR forces as the explosion blew apart the door, they retreated as glowing ribbons of lasher fire cut through the dusty air. A grenade sailed towards the VS forces, but Sultan having spotted it swung his lasher like a baseball bat and sent the explosive straight back to its source.
Another boomer hidden by the Sabres cleared the resistance from the path and allowed the Amethyst Lancers to secure the uppermost floor in preparation for Staceh’s arrival.
Outside a few VS squads had made it as far as the command complex and were engaged in a vicious firefight with the TR defensive forces, in another hell at the other side of the complex the first NC squads were breaching the TR lines.
“Attention squad leaders,” Staceh’s voice urgently cut across the Bridge Burners’ SL channel, “under no circumstances are you to obey CR5 broadcasts unless they come directly from myself, Enrico, Kimber or Thunderhawk.”
The Amethyst Lancers exchanged looks, Sultan held up his fingers for silence. In his magrider Bob order the channels to be cleared to be sure he’d heard correctly, HoaX continued wiring his boomer, he’d suspected as much.
“Command level has been compromised and as of yet we are unsure as to the extent of the breach.”
“The traitor is a CR5!” Mashed whispered to Vastian who was in an equal state of shock.
“For the meantime I want you to press on with the assault. We don’t want to make a move on the traitor until we know the extent of his following, but if any of you see anyone actively working against the VS I want them arrested if possible, killed if necessary.”
The channel was quiet for a moment before Staceh added, “And to address any speculations or rumours that may arise, it isn’t Risker. He may be a tit but one thing he is not is a traitor.”
*****
Staceh’ galaxy burst through the cloud layer at top speed, the contrails of vapour in her wake forming an arrowhead directed on a line straight to the imposing grey monolith of the Colony Command Complex. The building itself seemed to be rising out of some other primordial world as it loomed from the shroud of mist and dust swirling about its lower levels.
Flashes in the mist marked the occasional explosion of a phoenix missile or a striker, in the haze and smoke a new kind of horror was playing out as the TR defenders fired upon the waves of yellow and blue NC infantry. Cold earth flew into the air with each grenade blast, the dirt became mud as it soaked up the blood of the fallen, and the bodies weren’t deconstructing quick enough. Both sides were forced to wade over the lifeless vessels of their brethren in order to make any kind of progress.
Beyond the lines New Conglomerate vanguard tanks criss-crossed the paths of magriders from the Vanu Sovereignty. There was no order left to maintain in this engagement, the lines had met one another and in a firestorm of depleted uranium slugs and high explosive shells the plain had become a vast sea of metal and death.
A wave of phoenix missiles crossed the path of a volley of striker rounds fired from the opposing forces, from somewhere above plasma grenades rained indiscriminately upon them, a gift from Damius who was at that time being suspended out of a window by Mashed and Sultan.
“Hey, guys,” he yelled as he reloaded the thumper, “I see Staceh’s flight.”
The galaxy banked and engaged its afterburners to enter an almost vertical climb to the roof of the tower.
“Ok, indigo squad,” Vastian said over TS as he strode towards the stairwell, “General Staceh is about to drop, make sure that rooftop is secure.”
From somewhere below he could hear the sounds of heavy footsteps on the stairwell, within that din he could hear the clunk of at least two MAX units, “Dig in guys, our hosts are on the way.”
An explosion rocked the heavy metal staircase and a blast of hot air and fumes washed over Vastian, the comms channel crackled, “Chalk up another squad to Uncle Painted.”
The lights flickered and failed in the already oppressive corridors, someone had managed to blow the generator and now a silence pervaded the forces, but it was only momentary as the staccato sound of gauss fire filtered through the air from outside.
The threat now was not that of an enemy squad but of a single cloaked infiltrator managing to penetrate their lines, one well placed mine could surround the Vanu forces. In the darkness they wouldn’t see the light shadow, the shimmering distortion in the air that appeared when a cloaker moved, without that disruption of light they would be forced to rely on darklight. One by one the Vanu eyes began to glow an eerie green as the occular enhancements engaged, the blackness being replaced before them as a swirling mist of microscopic dust particles and glowing soldiers.
*****
The sappers rappelled down the centre of the stairwell, in seconds they covered the forty stories to the first sub level. It was all about securing their position now, several VS squads had penetrated the western quarter and were working their way towards the NC coming from the east. KimBaur led a force towards the primary nano-furnace whilst Spi led a division towards the security centre, at which point Mistikal’s forces broke off to lock down the lobby area.
Vastian kicked open the doors to the security barracks as plasma grenades launched by Damius sailed over his head, he strafed lasher fire across the room as Sultan dived forwards and rolled towards an upturned table that serves as a shield to some TR grunts. He flicked a frag grenade over the table and dove under the nearest cot as fragments of table and person erupted into the air.
The Amethyst Lancers made short work of the TR defence in this sector, but then sending an anti-BFR unit to suppress a few troops was the equivalent of picking a lock with an antitank missile.
Another rumble vibrated through the room, glass panes shattered and collapsed all along the façade of the imposing tower, several small meteors burned through the sky overhead and in the centre of the island a stress fracture cracked to spread as a massive gorge across the continent.
BFRs lost their balance in the upset, the enormous battle frames collapsing as their legs splayed like Bambi on the ice lake. Skyguards and other light vehicles were tossed from their positions and with the rumble of the earth they slid across the landscape.
With a groan and a sudden twang of snapping metal the massive communications grid collapsed in upon itself, the ancient metal construct that had once allowed communication back through the wormhole was now nothing more than a tangled mess of grid work and cables.
The troops shielded themselves from the broken glass falling from the tower, as they scattered under the deadly rain the quake began to subside and they looked at one another across the battlefield. No one was quite sure what to do now but for those that had been left out of the loop it had become painfully apparent that the next Bending was fast approaching, and that made the stakes of this war all the higher.
A mine detonated under the tracks of a New Conglomerate lightning and after a few moments of silence as the tank smouldered in the grey afternoon light the burr of gauss fire once again filled the air.
“Tighten up the left flank,” Bob’s voice cut across the open comms channel, “there’s an opening along our ridgeward line.”
The channel crackled to life as one by one the Bridge Burner squads began to report in to General Staceh.
“TR mossies inbound to VS central, Subs is taking a force to intercept.”
“We have Conglomerate forces in the CCC sub levels, estimate contact in 2 minutes.”
“General, can we get the ALs to the garage facility? We have a heavy MAX presence there and our forces are pinned down.”
Staceh crouched in the blackened corridor, he sent out the relevant orders to his squad leaders before continuing on his own private mission.
*****
HoaX had his back to the wall and waited patiently with his arms folded as a squad of NC heavy weapons troops marched by him in the corridor, as the final soldier passed he unclipped two boomers and trotted off down the passageway after them.
*****
The mess hall had become a mess in a very literal sense, Deano and Maccaria sheltered behind the cold serve-over as cycler rounds whizzed around them.
Bags was crouched behind a drinks cooler tending to Bazon who’d taken a round in the shoulder, the NTUs streamed from the medical applicator in a blue glow that enveloped the bullet lodged in the wound and slowly dissolved it.
“We’ll have you good as new in no time, buddy,” Bags said as fibrous tissue began to form across the gash.
The NTUs had a cooling effect as they did their work, it felt something like having cold fingers tracing a circle on your skin and was not an unpleasant experience, you wouldn’t go out of your way to get shot mind you, it isn’t that nice.
“You think we’re going to make it, Bags?” Bazon unclipped a grenade and tossed it over the cooler towards the TR.
“We always do,” the medic replied as the wound sealed, he swapped the medical applicator for a glue gun and began to work on the armour.
The door on the VS side swung open to reveal Weddup and a squad of MAX units, they opened fire on the emplaced TR as they marched ahead of the VS positions.
“I just wonder what’s going to happen to us when the wormhole finally reopens.”
*****
In the darkness of the construction matrix within Supai a single monitor blinked to life- NANOTECHNOLOGICAL MATERIALISATION COMPLETE, BEGINNING AUTOMATED TESTING OF VITAL SYSTEMS. SLIPSTREAM IN 10 SECONDS AND COUNTING.
A hum filled the air of Supai and the matrices began to shake, light washed over the constructs in great waves of distortion, although they hadn’t actually moved they appeared to be travelling at incredible speed.
There was a flash and suddenly all that remained of Concordia and Victoria were two fading outlines.
*****
The massive garage facility was like a whole new kind of nightmare, there were several VS squads all pinned down by a legion of heavy MAX units, the roar of the rapid fire cannons was deafening, dust and plaster erupted from the walls as the shells buried themselves within.
Running along the upper gantry Mashed and orange squad had a good view of the carnage below and as they took positions they drew their lancers and rained hell on the mobile armour, Sultan burst from the opposite door and his squad unleashed their fury upon the tide.
Vastian led his squad across the bridging gantry and wasted no time in taking aim. Damius loaded his thumper with EMP grenades and rapidly reduced the effectiveness of the MAX units to zero, then with Damius being Damius he hooked a rappel to the gantry and slid down to give the fight a personal touch.
Spikes of purple fire ripped through the milling MAX units as they tried in vain to recover their systems, as the effects of the EMP began to wear off they opened fire once again. Ducking between the units Damius flicked back faceplates to shoot the occupants or opened ammo compartments to drop in a few frag grenades.
Lancer rounds cut into the ground around him as he pulled open the faceplate of another MAX, the pilot screamed in fear and rage when he saw that someone had breached his defences. Damius punched him in the face and was about to fire when he heard the telltale snap of cleats deploying behind him; a MAX was anchoring for a shot. He dived out of the way as the TR opened fire, the rounds cutting through his comrade’s armour before a searing round of plasma silenced the furore.
The embattled VS forces redoubled their fire upon the MAXes now that they had the benefit of fire support, they cut through the remaining TR forces in time for the NC to storm the room.
“Fuck!” Mashed yelled, “How’d they get past the security doors?”
“Because they were never sealed,” Staceh yelled as he ran past orange squad and grabbing Damius’ rappel he swung himself from the gantry to the battle below.
In the firestorm that raged between the Vanu and the NC no one seemed to notice the single soldier running amongst the fallen MAXes towards the VS lines, no one that is except for the traitor.
“Look,” Vastian pointed towards the lines.
From his position high above the tumult it was plain to see above all the weapons fire, above all the smoke and dust, above all the death that a single soldier was backing away from the fight, a lone CR5.
“Spi,” Sultan growled, he could see Staceh jump the field of debris and corpses as he charged towards the traitor.
It wasn’t someone whom they might have suspected, for all the time of the War Spi had been fanatic about Vanu superiority, so much so that he became a nuisance during extended conflicts. But he had always seemed fanatic in his belief nonetheless, how could he have betrayed them?
Once again the room began to rumble and shake as another quake began, this one was far stronger than those previous, the very air itself seemed to be shaking.
Spi didn’t halt, he turned and ran towards the garage stairwell, by now Staceh was hot on his heels and somehow as they raced up the stairs they managed to retain their balance amidst all the shaking.
“This is it,” Vastian yelled as he gripped the railing.
HoaX decloaked amongst the ALs, “Guys, get your forces out of here, I’ve rigged this entire building to blow.”
“You heard the man,” Sultan called out, “fall back to the CCC.”
The soldiers filed out one after the other until it was only Vastian and HoaX standing on the gantry, on the ground level the VS forces too were falling back, the NC pressed further with their assault.
“Vast,” HoaX said as the pair moved towards a window overlooking the battle scarred land outside, “there’s something I want to tell you.”
Vastian stared out the window, he had a good idea what HoaX was going to say, and he’d thought the same thing, “The Geowarp?”
“Yeah,” HoaX sighed, “The warp network is incomplete now.”
The captain leaned his head against the glass, “And when the Bending takes place…”
“It’s inevitable.”
The pair stood in silence as they watched the battle beyond, the VS were out there now too and men were dying left, right, and centre.
*****
The kick landed hard in his chest and Staceh stumbled back against the railing, Spi had jumped him on the outer catwalks and now the pair grappled as bullets cut through the air around them and explosions rocked the very foundations of the building.
Staceh ducked a wide punch and landed several sharp blows to the traitor’s chest; they grabbed at each other and threw one another against the railings as smoke billowed about them. Spi locked a foot around the General’s ankle and sent him sprawling to the ground, Staceh kicked out and sent his former comrade back hard against a girder as another wave of heat washed over them.
*****
Vastian removed his helmet and sighed, he heard footsteps on the catwalk behind them and turned to see Damius making his way towards the pair.
Far below the NC didn’t seem to notice the three Vanu soldiers standing by the window, helmets off and their armour battle scarred. HoaX had the hood of his infiltrator suit pulled back, there didn’t seem to be much point in hiding anymore, he gripped the catwalk railing as a particularly strong tremor shook the room.
Through the window they could see a Vanu AMS race towards the battle, a phoenix missile crashed down below its cab and the explosion blew it onto it’s side to come sliding to a halt. Bags rushed towards the vehicle and they saw Painted working his way out of the cab.
*****
“Surely HoaX should have blown that damn thing by now,” Deano called as Dekov picked off another NC sniper.
“He must be waiting for them to try and secure it,” the Colonel replied.
“Holy shit!” Maccaria pointed to the catwalks lining the outside of the building, “Guys, look at that.”
Staceh caught Spi’s arm as he threw another punch and swept into the traitor to drive his elbow deep into his solar plexus.
“I can’t believe that I once fought alongside you.”
Staceh jumped a sweeping kick and stuck out only to have Spi catch his foot and bring the General to the ground.
“You and the rest of the leadership are weak, you back down at every opportunity that could make us great. You aren’t willing to take the risks and make the necessary sacrifices for our greater glory. You are stagnant and it’s time for a change.”
On the ground Staceh kicked him in the face and flipped himself back onto his feet, Spi rolled and stood to face his opponent. Both men were tired and drenched with a mix of blood and sweat, but neither was going to back down. This was no longer a question of treachery and loyalty, of weakness and strength, it was now about fanaticism versus honour.
Staceh dove at Spi and in a flurry of punches and kicks the pair worked their way further down the catwalk, ducking and diving as each man unleashed a pure primal fury upon the other.
A roundhouse kick sent Staceh flailing over the edge but out of pure instinct he was able to grab a strut and swing himself to a lower level catwalk, wasting no time he charged towards the stairwell to intercept the traitor. Taking the steps three at a time he grabbed Spi and the pair scuffled before rolling down the stairs, hitting the bottom Staceh pushed with his legs and sent his enemy into a junction box.
Sparks flew into the air as Spi reached for anything to steady his fall, cables tore free and crackled around them, like angry serpents looking for a victim they hissed and twisted in the air.
“Your time has been and gone,” Spi growled as he wiped blood from his lip, “right now an NC force is already marching across the plains of Sanctuary, I’ve ensured it. And when they do the VS will be forced to take control of TR Home and then move immediately to NC1. With no home left the NC will be walked over, and then I will have led the Sovereignty to the victory it has long deserved.”
The NC invading Sanctuary? If they take control of the Towers the Vanu would lose their link to the orbital defence grid.
“You’re insane!”
Spi laughed, “No, I have vision. We’ve spread the NC too thin, a decisive strike now and we will win the day.”
With the defences at Sanctuary disabled the NC will be able to walk through the VS territory, there was no CE laid at Sanc; there had never before been a need. Staceh cursed himself, he’d invested too many troops in this operation, he couldn’t pull out now or they’d lose both fronts.
“You bastard!” Staceh dived at Spi, he was holding nothing back now, and whatever reserves he had left were going to be used to the full. Ducking a punch he brought his knee hard up into the traitor’s ribcage then immediately swung back around to crack an elbow into the back of his neck.
Spi grabbed the General by the waist and lifting him he charged towards the railing, the live cables crackled and sparked against their REXO armour.
With his back against the railing Staceh found himself pinned as Spi squeezed his wrist against his throat, gagging for air the General punched once, twice, three times into the traitor’s side, but still he held firm.
“Goodbye, General,” Spi sneered as his victim’s face began to turn blue.
As spots flashed before Staceh’s eyes he spotted his one last chance to get out of this situation. Reaching out, it was close, so close. Just a few… inches more…
He grabbed the cable and pressed the live contacts into the traitor’s left ear.
With a flash of sparks and the putrid stench of searing flesh Spi fell away, but his skin had melted to the cable and the stream of high voltage current continued to pump into his body. His eyes began to roll back in his head before bursting in a mass of steaming pus; his hair caught fire and burned in an acrid black smoke.
Staceh watched as the flailing body tumbled and fell over the railing to the battlefield below, he coughed and wiped sweat from his brow. He knew that there would be no respawn for Spi, the only way to permanently kill someone on Auraxis was to kill the mind before the body, and the traitor’s brain would have been well cooked.
But things had just became a hell of a lot more complicated, now what the hell were they going to do?
*****
“Lets go out as true Vanu, guys,” Damius said at last, “we’ll make our last actions echo throughout the next age.”
HoaX looked at Vastian, then to Damius. There was a fire in their eyes, the embers of an ancient and unconquerable spirit that burns within the heart of all mankind. If this was to be it then by God they were going to go out fighting.
“It’s been an honour guys,” Vastian said over the rumble of the unending quake, and then with all the strength he could muster he threw his REXO helmet through the window.
*****
There was a smash of glass and Staceh turned to see a Vanu helmet come through the window on the storey above him, followed later by three Vanu soldiers. HoaX was about to detonate the building.
He threw himself from the railing as a gust of wind washed over him; there was a boom and a blast of heat. The ground rushing towards him seemed to crystallise and the air became thick as treacle, his movement slowed until everything was frozen as if life had become some bizarre diorama.
The stars streaked and twisted in the heavens above, worlds and moons zipped by, a cacophony of colour danced across the sky and the universe warped and bent around them. Even in this timeless moment there was an electricity in the air, an energy as Auraxis once again reorganised herself as a whole and accepted her inhabitants back into her embrace.
They began to move again, slowly at first as if the energy was reluctant to release its potential force; cracks began to appear in random streaks across the ground. Chunks of land began to rise as blasts of fire shot skywards, carried by green swathes of the world’s warp energy.
This wasn’t right, this shouldn’t be happening.
Landing on a rising chunk of ground Staceh turned to face HoaX and the others, he saw it in their faces, they’d known or at least suspected and had said to no one. What little good it would have done, no one would have been fit to function.
The ground shook and erupted around them and suddenly Staceh was back in the villa at Sanctuary, it was evening and a gentle breeze washed over him. This was the evening after the Amerish Campaign and they were throwing a celebratory barbecue. Painted was laughing so hard that beer came out his nose; Mikey, Maccaria and Tomskiii were singing ‘She’ll be coming round the mountain’ and spilling more than they were drinking. Another crowd of Bridge Burners stood around laughing and joking with one another, Shrikeh was telling Sultan and Mashed some crazy anecdote from some time before Auraxis, Damsel and Sleepless listened intently as the major threw his arms around wildly. Deano and Banelle were joking with one another as they worked the barbecue, as Bags and Chutney flicked breadsticks at a slightly inebriated Dekov.
Damius and Aven stood talking to one another; not noticing Bazon slipping up with the hose until they were both drenched. Vastian and HoaX hung around the bar deep in conversation as Imp strolled in with several platters of chips and dips. MrSubliminal was demonstrating a new dog-fighting technique to Latex and Fayeski, but somewhere along the line he forgot what point he was trying to make and instead finished off with the rather lewd punch line to one of Magnex’s jokes.
Staceh sat with a big smile on his face, this was one of the happiest moments that he could remember, his friends like family all carrying on and enjoying themselves, but surely he was somewhere else, something else was happening. He remembered fear, and danger; was this happening now?
Then the memory came to him as surely as a sunset, this was the end. Auraxis had just blown to bits, their atoms were now being scattered across the system, it was over, and this was the end of all ends. It was funny, he still felt a slight tingling sensation as if he were about to spawn, a strange remnant in his senses.
Vastian broke away from the assembly and sat in a deck chair next to Staceh, he passed him a glass of old Jack Daniels, “The Bending could never have completed without the missing Geowarp crystal, Auraxis was unable to assemble completely and the imbalance was just too unstable.”
Staceh sighed, “You knew, didn’t you, Vast? You, HoaX and Latex knew that this was going to happen.”
“Would it have made any difference?”
The Captain smiled, for a while he said nothing as if there was some secret that he wanted to share but wasn’t sure if he should, but he smiled.
Staceh didn’t know what he should say next, he didn’t know what he could, but then Vast seemed to decide that it was worth sharing, “There’s so much more in the universe that you have yet to see, yet to imagine even. You haven’t even touched the surface of what wonders lie beyond. But you will, you’ll see everything that this universe has to offer, and more.”
Staceh looked sideways at his comrade, “Vast, what are you talking about?”
The captain smiled that smile again, “I’m not the man you know as Vastian. He is with me as you are, as you all are.”
“Who are you, an Ancient, or…?”
He cocked his head to the General he called friend, “Now that would be telling, wouldn’t it. You think of this as the end of the story, but it isn’t the end really, it is just the beginning of another.”