“We shouldn’t be demonizing these brave men and women. That we question their existence is just further proof they’ve done their job well. Pretending like they aren’t worth our time is just ignoring the life they sacrifice for you. You may hate the military, and that’s your right, but they are a necessity.” – rebuttal from the first debate – May 2, 2365

  “What in the hell is going on down there?” Lieutenant Hawkins asked as he stared through the gate at the worn-out squad.

  “No time to explain sir,” Jack replied, staring back, “We need to get everyone off-world ASAP.”

  “That’s going to be a problem. You are the only group the Gate technician has locked on to. The others are still mostly dark.”

  “That’s because it wasn’t the Gate Tech that pulled it off,” Jack said, giving Warren the side-eye. “I carried Warren up to the ship and he found his own body.”

  “Really now…” The Officer replied, more than a little suspicion in his tone, “Either way, you’re the only ones able to create a stable connection. We can keep looking for the others, but it will take time. Care to tell me why we need to rush the rest up here?”

  “Because it’s not safe, sir,” Jack started before being interrupted.

  “If they run into one of those… things, they won’t be able to deal with it.” Thea stated plainly.

  “What things?” Hawkins asked, annoyed.

  “I’ll go into detail during the after-action.” Jack cut back in, “For now, let’s just say the body in the gate room is the result of about ten seconds of engagement with one of these things.”

  “And you can fight them?”

  “It’s tough. I think only an optic can pull it off.”

  “I’m going to need more details later, soldier, but for now… gather all four squads and bring them home.”

  “Yes sir,” Jack nodded to Warren, who took the cue and released the Gate.

  They watched the shattered world of the ship slowly dissipate and eventually return to the plain stone wall of the laboratory.

  “Squad leaders, this is Turaspeir. Do you copy?” Jack sent to the company after re-establishing comms the network.

  A series of affirmative grunts came in response.

  “Good, we have a problem. The Possessors up top cannot get a solid lock on any of us. Luckily, Private Alexander showed them up and delivered the payload.”

  “And?” one sergeant asked, “You gonna share your Possessor or something?”

  “In a way. We need all four squads to meet up here,” He said, sending a copy of the most recent Light Map with a marker just outside of the complex, “Once we are all there, Alexander can pull off his magic again and get us home.”

  “I like that spot,” Sergeant First Class Rose of Nebula squad replied. “Me and my guys are already there and trying to get through the gates. We can keep holding them back, but it’s like they sent an entire army after us.”

  “Blackrock has one more charge to place, then we can move out.” Sergeant First Class Scott said, “I want to blast them back to the stone age.”

  “That’s a negative Scott,” Jack replied. “If I’m risking my guys to save your ass, you better be there when we’re ready.”

  “Hahaha, you hear that puto?” Sanchez laughed, “Your orders are so bad, privates are pushing you around!”

  “Whatever,” she replied testily, “Once this is over, you are I and having a long talk, Monroe.”

  In response, Jack silenced the radio. He wasn’t afraid of her or any potential trouble she would cause. The truth was that most commanders would laugh her out of the room. He understood her desire to destroy the power grid, but it simply was no longer a necessary part of the mission. Now that the engine was in human hands, escape was the primary objective.

  Jack closed his tired, aching eyes and took a deep breath. He reached up and pulled his rifle from the mag-sling on his back before motioning for the squad to line up on the door. They’d all heard the conversation with Hawkins and knew the stakes.

  It may not have been their first choice, but one look into their eyes showed Jack that everyone was determined to fight for the lives of their fellow soldiers.

  “Bob, find the local motor pool and line it up.”

  “Now you want to talk? This must be important.”

  “Cut the crap. We have work to do.”

  “There is a motor pool close to here. According to your map, there are five machines, one of which is capable of transporting ten people.”

  “We’re nine now.”

  “And Jesus wore flip-flops. What’s your point?”

  “Asshole,” he muttered before switching to squad comms, “On-screen you should see a ribbon leading to the motor pool. If their machines are anything like ours, we should be able to get one working and to our meeting point rather quickly. 3… 2… 1… Go!”

  Nessa started the offensive by throwing an overcharged concussion grenade through Dave’s shield and into the crowded hallway beyond. Enemy chittering was quickly drowned out by a shockwave that cleared the corridor and cause several feet of the ceiling to collapse.

  The frontline soldiers charged into the now cleared passage, weapons drawn, and faceplates sealed.

  At the end of the hall, several stunned Oteric stared at the humans with an emotion that needed no translating.

  Fear was universal, after all.

  Jack could understand that fear. They currently stood at the lowest level of their base, surrounded by the dead. A terrifying metal-encased creature had just turned a pod of thirty soldiers into mist with almost no effort.

  Two enemy soldiers broke their stunned panic by throwing spears at the Breaker. Nessa parried the weapons, redirecting them harmlessly to the side before they could do any damage. Closing the gap, she fired two incendiary rounds directly into their stomachs.

  “Neilson, Morningwood, watch my back. I’m going to take point,” Nessa said, knowing that no creature on this base was unaware of their presence, and she wanted to take them out as fast as possible.

  “Fuck that,” Dave said, sprinting ahead to stand beside her with his longsword drawn and shield at the ready, “Ain’t no way you’re going ahead without protection.”

  “Love that you want to take care of one another, I really do, but we need to move,” Jack said, turning away from a special ‘gift’ that he and Warren had set up for their enemies.

  Knowing time was not on their side, Turaspeir Squad tore through tunnels with abandon. They didn’t care what they broke or how many Oteric they killed on their ascent. They knew that if they were in the same situation, their enemies would show no mercy to them, either.

  After nearly twenty minutes of twisting tunnels and broken doors, they burst out onto the asphalt of the motor pool. Following a line to the predetermined vehicle, they boarded what was essentially a large, segmented tank. Unlike a tank, the machine wasn't armed with weaponry and offered no protection from above.

  “Dave, you’re going to need to cover us from up top. Can you do it?” Jack asked.

  “Do you even need to ask?” The cowboy replied in a cocky tone.

  “Oh, cool!” Alec said like a kid in a candy shop as he jumped into a tiny seat in the front. Staunchly ignoring everyone else, an orange glow expanded from his armor and seeped into the control panel seconds before it roared to life.

  “Huh, turns out Dragoons are good for more than shooting and drinking beer,” Dave said, finding a seat in the middle of the machine to project his power from.

  “Hey now, don’t go spreading rumors that I’m useful,” Alec replied. “I have an image to maintain, you know, and that image has a cost. Like making sure my beer is cold.”

  “It will, but the time for drinking is in a few hours, not now.” Jack scolded. “Right now, the other squads are just moments away from each other. Follow the yellow line.”

  Without another word, the vehicle lurched into motion, only to be blocked by a gate that prevented them from exiting the lot. Not wanting to bother with a mundane solution for this problem, Alec called up the interface for a short-range bunker-buster mounted to his shoulder. Triggering the weapon with a thought, the missile slammed into the barrier and turned it into a smoldering ruin.

  “Turns out that Smith really knows his stuff,” Alec laughed as they pulled away from the research complex. “I’m going to have to thank him for this bad boy when we get home.”

  “You’re on a comm, remember?” The Sergeant huffed over the radio, “And why the hell else would I be your quartermaster if I didn’t know how to blow shit up?”

  “I’m going to choose not to answer that one.”

  Before they could even make it a half-mile, a shockwave washed over the squad for the second time in a matter of minutes. However, unlike the missile Alec had used, this one packed so much punch it caused the heavy vehicle to hop a few inches off the ground.

  “What the hell was that?” Candice asked, armored fingers gripping the side of the machine so tightly she dented the metal.

  Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

  “That,” Warren started proudly, “Is payback for Ortiz. Because of them, our brother lost his body.”

  “Don’t you mean life?” She corrected, drawing stares from everyone but Alec.

  “No, I meant what I said. I was able to connect with his AI and transfer his consciousness into my armor. After I opened the Gate, I transferred his mind to the Re:birth server,” he explained. “When the AHF needs another Binder, a body will be built and he will become a cast.”

  “So Roberts was right? We don’t get to die when we die?” Jack asked in shock. He knew that the AHF made fallen soldiers into Steel Cast, but he’d always figured they were essentially just highly complex AI. Now he discovered they used the soldier’s actual mind in their creation…

  When they’d originally signed on with the AHF, they were given an ultimatum: either allow the AHF to do whatever they deemed necessary to preserve your ability to be mission ready, or remain on Earth. They’d heard stories of a battalion composed only of steel soldiers that took the missions deemed too dangerous for live humans. Some soldiers even claimed to have worked with a Steel Cast or two on joint operations, but because of the quality of their construction, most just assumed the soldier was an amputee with a replacement limb. Jack foolishly brushed off those stories the same way he ignored most rumors from the gossip mill, but it turned out this one was true.

  Spier squad was being told—in no uncertain terms—that their dead friend would one day be reborn into the body of a machine and rejoin the battle. Most still wouldn’t believe it, but the transference of consciousness that was formerly reserved for Hargrave alone was now available to all soldiers.

  “It’s not perfect, but he’ll be alive. People are coming to accept that more and more… I think most people have come to realize that being Steel Cast is not nearly the curse that it was when the Unranked’s built Hargrave’s first body.” Warren defended, “Think about it, would you rather die on an unfamiliar planet, or have the chance to see your friends and family again?”

  “They’re still creepy,” Alec muttered.

  Ahead, they were coming up on yet another set of gates. Unlike the small ones Alec blasted through to get out of the motor pool, these were much larger and made of metal and concrete.

  “Hey Cecile, it’s time to earn your keep. The Lizards are being rude to us. They’ve closed the door out to the wider world. Be a doll and open it, please.” The Dragoon said.

  “Talk to me like that again, and you will get a chance to experience what it’s like to have a set of Steel Cast nuts,” she replied with false sweetness, materializing a dagger and placing it on his thigh.

  Smiling nervously, Alec pushed her hand away from his most prized possessions. In turn, she dismissed the blade and sheathed the hilt before standing to pull her rifle from its mag-sling.

  As the long barrel solidified into her customary sniper rifle, she placed the bi-pod on the dash. Focusing, she channeled crimson energy into the weapon’s chamber.

  “Fifty percent.” She announced.

  “Not going to be enough. Here, I’ll help,” Nessa answered, touching the barrel and adding her own power to the effort.

  “Eighty percent and rising. Shaping the explosive into a two-hundred-millimeter equivalent siege round.”

  Jack knew the round wouldn’t truly be that size, but one advantage of Li-Tech was the ability to compress Light into a nearly infinite state. The bullet would only be as large as her usual long-range rounds but it would be packed with the destructive power of heavy artillery. It would take a lot out of her to pull this off, but doing so would blast a hole through the gate so wide they’d be able to get the vehicle through with little to no issue.

  “Ninety-five percent. Light compression successful. If I go any farther, I risk losing the whole thing.” She said, taking aim, “Firing in 3… 2… 1…”

  A streak of crimson Light shot out of her weapon and slammed into the concrete gate. When Jack watched the replay later that night, it moved so fast it was only in view for a single frame. Truth be told, the tiny round was vastly underwhelming when compared to the crater it blasted through the barrier.

  It detonated a quarter mile away in a crimson flash, instantly blinding the Oteric unlucky enough to be looking in that direction without proper shielding. Lucky for the Humans, Li-Tech armor was well equipped to handle extreme levels of energy.

  The metal and stone that once stood firm as the only egress to the base was reduced to a pile of cooling slag. Nearly two feet of stone turned into liquid from the heat of so much energy being released at once. Guards posted outside of the blast radius were clawing at their ruined eyes while the rest were simply gone. A grim shadow burnt into the wall as the only proof they’d ever existed.

  Alec pushed the transport to its limit, racing through the opening and crushing any enemy soldier in his way. If it wasn’t for Dave’s protective shield, Jack was certain the Oteric warriors would’ve overrun the tank.

  Orange Light flared as Alec pulled more of the machine into himself and demanded that it work past its capacity. As they moved, the other members of the squad had their rifles up and were firing wildly into the hoard of enemy forces.

  Eventually, they broke through the enemy line and into a small open area a few feet from their target; a glowing blue dome that protected the other humans. Taking his queue, Dave pushed his shield outward, combining the two fields and bringing the transport—and by extension Turaspeir—onto the same piece of real estate as the rest of the company.

  “Sergeant Rose, sitrep,” Jack commanded, knowing he was overstepping but simply did not care.

  “Nice to see you, Private,” he replied, faceplate open and a cigarette hanging from his lips. “This place is great. We get to mow down an army of lizards and I get to smoke., not something I get to do topside. How these guys managed to build a star drive, I’ll never know.”

  “We do, and I’ll tell you later. Where are the others?”

  “Oh, look at mister big shot finding out all the secrets,” he laughed, “Striker is on the north side of the dome. Not going to lie, adding their power to the shield really helped. Now that you’re here, maybe my Aegis’s can hold out until we get home.”

  “And Blackrock?”

  “We’re here Private, hold your damned horses,” Sergeants Scott’s voice said over the comm. “How did you push through the horde?”

  “We ran them over with a big tank thing,” Jack informed, pulling up her viewpoint and seeing their predicament, “But that won’t work worth a damn for you.”

  “We’ll get there, hold tight.”

  “Sergeants Rose and Sanchez, don’t let her bravado fool you. I’m watching her position and they are surrounded. Do you think we can push about sixty meters that way?” He asked, pointing in the general direction of the missing soldiers.

  “You’re overstepping, Private.” She growled.

  “He’s saving your life,” Sanchez bit. “By the way. ‘general’ Monroe, who died and made you tactician?”

  “Someone had to stand up and save you old-timers. If not us, then who?” he retorted. “Now, get moving and save our allies. Alexander and I are going to be mostly out of commission while we get a Gate open.”

  “Alright, alright. Greenhorn has teeth and I like it. Striker, pull back and arrange in a push formation.”

  “Aegis’s form up on the center of the field and shape the dome into a tunnel. Possessors, Light up anything you have left. I don’t care if it’s Warriors or Wasps, get them moving and ready to fight.” Sergeant Rose said, flicking away the cigarette and closing his faceplate.

  Jack silenced the command channel and walked away in search of the man that would be their salvation. Not surprisingly, the Possessor was sitting on the ground with his legs crossed and eyes closed. Jack looked at the threads and was impressed to see that Warren controlled no less than five drones.

  “What, no Warrior?”

  “Those are for emergencies,” Warren replied without opening his eyes. “Since we have a way out, I don’t consider it an emergency.”

  “Noted. Can you set your drones to auto and help get us home?” Jack replied, rolling his eyes, “I’ve got a live connection to the ship now.”

  Pulling that strand of Light out of the creature cost Jack more than he was willing to admit. Because of that one interaction, creating and maintaining any connection was turning out to be much more difficult than it had any right to be. But just like the first time, he knew the entire mission depended on his ability to pull this off.

  A thread of indigo intertwined with his own violet Light as he pulled the possessor’s mind up to the ship, penetrating the network the same way they did before. Jack wasn’t able to watch exactly what was happening inside the machine, but he could see the Possessor’s progress.

  Back on the battlefield, the dome of protective energy slid towards Blackrock’s position. The progress was slow, especially since Striker and Nebula squads had to work around their own fortifications, but they would do what they needed to do to save their allies.

  The company kept pace as they moved, pushing back the hoard of angry combatants throwing themselves at the barrier. For the first time in his life, Jack was experiencing true carnage. He’d been told the creatures they faced were a peaceful race with little ability to fight back.

  He was learning just how wrong intelligence could be, and he didn’t like it.

  Humans were the aggressors, and the Oteric were simply trying to defend their homes. These people hadn’t asked to be invaded, they hadn’t threatened a human world, and they hadn’t even met humans before today. In fact, their only sin was having a piece of technology the UHR wanted.

  Because of their actions today, hundreds of Oteric children would grow up as Orphans. Then, once they learned the truth, the UHR would have the enemy they so desired.

  If it wasn’t for the greed of politicians, Ortiz would still be alive.

  “You and I are about to have a talk, Private,” Sergeant Scott snarled, marching up to Jack and shoving a finger into his chest. “I told you I had a mission to complete. Hell, you saw the briefing. We were supposed to get the engine and cause havoc. But instead of letting me do my job, you threatened me for stepping outside of your little box.”

  “Yes, and if you have a problem with the way I handled it, we can talk about it at a later time,” he replied flatly, pushing her hand away, “Just because you outrank me up there does not mean that you call the shots when my guys are in trouble. Now, you and I can either have this conversation in private, or we can continue broadcasting it to the entire company, including command.”

  “Fuck you,” she spat, motioning to her Possessor, “Blow the charges we set before Monroe ‘demanded’ we leave.”

  “No,” Jack cut in, “There is no reason to cripple these people any more than the mission demands. Going even a step farther is, frankly, evil.”

  “And now the PFC thinks he can tell me what to do with my own squad?” she bellowed. “Blow the lizards into nothingness, Avi.”

  “Serg, I can’t… something is blocking me.”

  The Sergeant whirled on Jack and was met with a grin. Little did she know that moments before she’d given the order, he’d sent a message to Warren, asking him to split his focus and defuse the other Possessor’s bomb.

  Sensing the older possessor’s presence in the bombs, Warren sharpened his will into a stake and drove it into the other’s mind. Most Possessors didn’t bother training to fight other humans, and so were understandably surprised when someone took control of their equipment from them.

  Back in his own perspective, Jack saw the look of horror on the Possessor’s face as he realized what had just happened. Two privates had forced him out of his own machine because he wasn’t watching his back. Ironically, if he would’ve stayed focused rather than thinking he was untouchable, Warren would’ve never gotten through. However, he was so afraid to be caught committing war crimes; he didn’t even try to regain control over the equipment.

  “What– how– why are you stopping me?”

  “Sorry, but we’ve completed the mission. We retrieved the engine, nothing in the briefing said we had to cripple them and you know it.” Jack said, knowing this would become a bigger deal before the day was through, “The Gate is open, I suggest we all take a step back and go home before something else happens.”

  Jack hadn’t stopped broadcasting to the entire company and knew that everyone had just heard him try to intimidate a Sergeant. Those that could turn and stare, did. If only to get a look at the idiot that had threatened another platoon leader.

  “Striker is through. Nebula, you’re up,” Warren said, relaying the orders from the Gate room.

  As more Aegis’ left the field of battle, the protective dome shrunk significantly. As Nebula’s soldiers left, two soldiers from that squad remained.

  “Speir, we’re up,” Warren grabbed Jack by the arm and dragged him to the shimmering, cracked surface of the Gate, “Scott has to decide if her own personal desire to murder and destroy is greater than her desire to keep her men alive, you did your part.”

  “Screw this, I’m not dying for her,” A Breaker said, slapping his rifle into its mag-holster and turning to follow Jack and his squad.

  “Sergeant, get back here. We still have work to do.” Scott sneered, obviously miffed that things weren’t going her way.

  “Scott, stand down,” Captain Griffin said. “Richardson, please pick up your platoon sergeant and deliver her to me.”

  Shrugging, the burley breaker grabbed Scott around the waist and hoisted her over his shoulder. To an outsider, it would almost be comical to watch. The image of an AHF soldier pounding her fists on a squad mate’s back while being carried away like a barbarian bride was something straight out of a cartoon.

  Jack looked at the battleground one last time and felt the weight of what happened today. He’d been a major player in a mission that did nothing but harm, and he hated himself for it. Hopefully, they would never be forced into another situation like this, but he was smarter than that.

  All he could do was try to reduce the harm they did and rise to those occasions with honor instead of blind obedience.

  In hardship…

  His father’s voice echoed through his mind, reinforcing his conviction that he’d risen to the challenge and done the right thing.

  Turning away from the corpse-strewn battlefield, he stepped through the shattered surface of the Gate.