Tweet
Field headquarters of the 2nd cavalry regiment – SPARTA 2154
Captain Iverson watched her crews working on repairing the damage from the last battle. For the first time Spartan myrmidons fought Drone soldiers and the battle was as lopsided as the others. The Drone infantry had fought hard but they were hardly battle-hardened warriors like the myrmidons and they were equipped with only assault rifles.
“Captain!”
Iverson turned to see her XO standing next to her. She was dirty from repairing her rover and slightly out of breath.
“What was the damage?”
“Captain we have three minor wounds among the regiment. Our rovers took the worst damage. They are slightly beat up but we should be back to 100% in a turn. However, the damage inflicted did not impair our combat capacity at all. We can begin offensive operations in a turn.”
“Good. I do not expect to go on the offensive until the alien war machine arrives. We can continue to harass the enemy for now but I want to save our strength for the final assault.”
“Yes Captain.” Her XO saluted and returned to the repair area.
Iverson could remember the fierce yells of her crews as they mowed down the last fleeing soldiers and realized how wonderful victory felt. To win victory after victory infused a soldier with thoughts of invincibility. She had to keep reminding herself that the attack on the drone city would not be so easy and she had to prepare for the greater struggle to come.
*~*~*~*
South of Paradise Swarming, MY 2155
“What do we do?!” Artie almost screamed.
“Stay calm, we have to stay calm,” Mel stated. Her fingers gripped the control pad of the rover like a vice, and her knuckles were white.
“Right,” Artie said. “Right, OK. Now what do we do?”
Mel rocked back and forth for a moment. “Call The Hive for orders. We have to do that!”
“Right, OK,” Artie repeated as he keyed up the very basic communication console. “People’s Rover 3 to The Hive,” he yelled in a voice almost an octave higher than normal. “PR3 to Hive!”
Artie hummed to himself, and Mel gunned the engine while they waited. After a few interminable minutes Artie continued. “Thank Yang! We’ve got a sit…No. No. I don’t know! But listen. No our report isn’t done! This is an emergency! Get the tacs officer! No I don’t have prior approval, and if you don’t hurry we won’t need one because we’ll be dead! Understand! Well, I don’t care about your orders. Just get the tacs officer.”
He groaned to himself as he put up with a few moments of babble about protocol. “Now listen, and listen closely. I ORDER you to get the tacs officer, and do it now. I also ORDER you to drop your datapad of communication protocol on the floor right now. I ORDER you to keep this line open. And I ORDER you to get the tacs officer!”
Mel turned around and nodded approvingly. Her breathing rate had increased and there were a bead of sweat on her brow even through the cab of the rover was cool, almost cold.
“Tacs officer? This is People’s Rover 3. We opened the Unity pod as ordered, but it was infested with mindworms and spoor launchers! No, we can’t just kill it. There are nine of them! Nine! What do we do?”
There was a brief pause, and Artie listened carefully. “Uh huh….uh huh….uh huh.” With each ‘uh huh’ Artie’s voice sank until it was at its normal tone. “OK. Right. People’s Rover 3 out.”
Artie took off the headset and turned to Mel.
“Well?” she asked.
In a deadpan voice Artie stated. “We’re to attack one of the worms and then die gloriously for The Hive. He said our sacrifice would bring honor to the People, and the First Citizen.”
“****,” was all Mel had to say.
*~*~*~*
2 sectors north of the Whipsaw Drone Base – SPARTA 2155
Captain Iverson walked slowly along down the row of dead myrmidons. The battle had been fierce and deadly but the 2nd cavalry had prevailed. It was still shocking to her that Sparta’s nearly first defeat would have been at the hands of the aliens and not by their fellow humans. SSCATc had sent her an immediate action order to engage an alien mind worm north of their position that was blocking the alien war machine from joining in on the assault on the Drone base. The rovers had raced quickly along the uneven terrain and on the edge of the great fungus field found the mind worm mass poised to attack the newly conquered alien war machine.
The battle had lasted for nearly a day. The impact canons had ripped into the seething mass but the creature still came forward. The mind numbing effect it had on humans began to cause the gunners to miss and the drivers to swerve madly in all directions. However, in the end the creature was defeated. The Spartan alien war machine was safely through the fungus and would spearhead the attack on the Drone base. Lastly, the energy nodules from the worm’s remains were already on their way back to Sparta.
“Captain?”
Iverson looked up to see the radio operator standing in front of her.
“Captain, SSCATc would like an update. They need to know when we can join in on the attack.”
“Inform command that the 2nd cavalry regiment needs replacements myrmidons. We are at 30% effective combat strength and it will be nearly 4 to 5 turns before we are at full strength pending those reinforcements. We can assist the war machines attack but we cannot provide immediate ground support unless we get to full strength.” Iverson said in a monotone voice.
“Okay Captain.” The radio operator quietly said as she backed away.
Iverson looked down and the dead bodies and her anger began to swell again. Damn this planet! Damn these aliens and damn these drones. She would make them pay. All of them would pay for the losses they suffered today. Vengeance would be hers.
*~*~*~*
Fecundity Towers, MY 2156
“And this, First Citizen,” Base Manager Mara Harlow said with evident pride, “is the Weather Paradigm. It has integrated the last of the Earth-built Unity satellites we were able to salvage, and then link with a trove of alien devices and three monoliths. The result is superior knowledge on terraforming Chiron. This will aid our valiant terraforming crews as they bend Chiron to the People’s will, and benefit the People in ways we can scarcely imagine. The benefits will grow with time.”
Yang was appropriately silent through this and other speeches and presentations that culminated with the actuation of the Weather Paradigm. Of course, the First Citizen knew how this device functioned, and had even added his own design elements. He had approved the construction and the diversion of a modest amount of energy from The Hive treasury to speed construction.
The First Citizen’s mind was, in truth, elsewhere. He well knew the importance of ceremony, such as this, in binding the body politic, and the security this gave to the drones. Long ago Hivean societal functions had replaced the tattered remnants of religion that had survived Earth and the Unity disaster. Each of the surviving ethoses had been rooted out, forcibly as required. But, that would do no good if that void in human consciousness could not be filled. Man was inherently curious, and when events or situations occurred could not be explained Man was inventive and filled that void. Man had always used their proclivity toward creativity to foster myths, eventually imbuing them with a holy fervor. There was a safety and serenity in such fantasy, for it required no thought, only blind belief. Toward the end of Earth new religions had been formed daily from schisms, splits, or as wholly new creations. Each claimed to have a secret knowledge, a ‘Given Truth’. That ‘Truth’ with a capital T is what had to be destroyed, and then replaced with the doctrines of survival. Those false ‘Truths’ had been key in preventing humanity the basic understanding that fostered prosperity, and at the tragic end of Earth even basic survival.
As Yang watched the drones and The Hive leadership perform their functions he was pleased. Given a focus and an environment devoid of the illusion of ‘Truth’ humanity would indeed survive, and in time prosper.
*~*~*~*
Office of Colonel Santiago, Sparta Command – SPARTA 2156
“Master-Chief Maxwell you have a very important job, more important than you can possibly now.”
Master-Chief Maxwell stood at attention in front of the great leader, Colonel Corazon Santiago. The first terra-former had just been completed and a fleet of “formers” was being built. Maxwell was the newly appointed “Master-Chief” in charge of coordinating the various terra-forming crews and their projects.
“I will do my best Colonel!” He replied proudly.
“I really don’t think you fully understand how important your job is. Next to Captain Smith our field commander in charge of the war on the Drones yours is most probably the next most important.” Santiago quickly replied. Her response seemed to shake the Master-Chief slightly and it was exactly the reaction she had hoped to see. “Master-Chief it is critical that Sparta begin a rapid infra-structure improvement. We need farms, solar collectors and mines. Even the Drones are ahead of us in this regard. We have the mightiest weapons and the best soldiers but our industrial capacity is lacking and we need resources to expand and support the military.”
“I understand Colonel. I really do I think. Based on the meetings I have had with the Master-Technician it seems crucial that we improve the resources at Fort Superiority first. Once that base has access to the rich mineral deposits it should have a very easy time of completing the project.” Maxwell said as he continued to stand at attention.
“I agree and I want you to move as quickly as possible but I want a road built first linking Sparta Command to Fort Superiority. Build that and then proceed with the mines.” Santiago corrected him.
“Yes Colonel!”
“Dismissed.”
Both of them saluted and then he left the room.
Santiago waited a few minutes and then eased herself back in her chair. Every night now she became more troubled by the reports from the Master-Technician. Sparta was lagging and lagging well behind what he suspects the other “survivors” might be at in infrastructure improvements. Sparta had a fine war machine and the war against the Drones proved what a good machine it was but Sparta itself was anemic and it needed help. However, they now had access to the terra-forming technology and the ability to build good, seaworthy ships. Soon Sparta would be exploring the vast seas and reaping the bounty from that exploration, future targets.
*~*~*~*
The Hive, MY 2157
First Citizen Yang was pleased, a feeling he had been having a lot recently. The colonists from Seat of Proper Thought had added their population to The Hive, which now counted over 4000 citizens. Almost all were industriously at work, except for the few that were causing some administrative problems while trying to get adjusted to the new warren. This base was now very productive, and others were following. It was true that smaller bases grew faster, but larger bases made up for it with the concentration and productive utilization of resources.
Already the network node was complete, and a new project could be started - perhaps a recreation commons? Upgrading he feeding bay might be a good idea, especially with the influx of the extra colonists.
That issue would be to the People’s Representatives, however. In the end that was a minor issue. There was a more important issue that could have great bearing on The Hive: utilizing the Weather Paradigm to its best potential. The People’s Science Advisor Maon Shirn had made an interesting observation: the construction of a moisture condenser at rainy areas may increase their production. He made it quite clear that this was speculation, but if true this would be a 50 percent increase in food production. The only other base that had that much food was Hole of Aspiration, which was currently working three nutrient lodes and was growing at an astronomical rate. Indeed, the bases on the west side of the mountain range would all benefit.
The only vexing issue was that, in some cases, growth was too fast, and the ability to police the drones was slipping. In the end it was better to have temporarily unproductive drones than no drones, since workers were key to the health and prosperity of the People. Workers were the ability to harvest resources, and as they harvested the resources of this blighted planet they made The Hive stronger, ever stronger.
And as The Hive waxed, the People would gain ever more fruits of their labors and, with time, teach the other fragments of humanity the superiority of the vision of The Hive.
Captain Iverson watched her crews working on repairing the damage from the last battle. For the first time Spartan myrmidons fought Drone soldiers and the battle was as lopsided as the others. The Drone infantry had fought hard but they were hardly battle-hardened warriors like the myrmidons and they were equipped with only assault rifles.
“Captain!”
Iverson turned to see her XO standing next to her. She was dirty from repairing her rover and slightly out of breath.
“What was the damage?”
“Captain we have three minor wounds among the regiment. Our rovers took the worst damage. They are slightly beat up but we should be back to 100% in a turn. However, the damage inflicted did not impair our combat capacity at all. We can begin offensive operations in a turn.”
“Good. I do not expect to go on the offensive until the alien war machine arrives. We can continue to harass the enemy for now but I want to save our strength for the final assault.”
“Yes Captain.” Her XO saluted and returned to the repair area.
Iverson could remember the fierce yells of her crews as they mowed down the last fleeing soldiers and realized how wonderful victory felt. To win victory after victory infused a soldier with thoughts of invincibility. She had to keep reminding herself that the attack on the drone city would not be so easy and she had to prepare for the greater struggle to come.
*~*~*~*
South of Paradise Swarming, MY 2155
“What do we do?!” Artie almost screamed.
“Stay calm, we have to stay calm,” Mel stated. Her fingers gripped the control pad of the rover like a vice, and her knuckles were white.
“Right,” Artie said. “Right, OK. Now what do we do?”
Mel rocked back and forth for a moment. “Call The Hive for orders. We have to do that!”
“Right, OK,” Artie repeated as he keyed up the very basic communication console. “People’s Rover 3 to The Hive,” he yelled in a voice almost an octave higher than normal. “PR3 to Hive!”
Artie hummed to himself, and Mel gunned the engine while they waited. After a few interminable minutes Artie continued. “Thank Yang! We’ve got a sit…No. No. I don’t know! But listen. No our report isn’t done! This is an emergency! Get the tacs officer! No I don’t have prior approval, and if you don’t hurry we won’t need one because we’ll be dead! Understand! Well, I don’t care about your orders. Just get the tacs officer.”
He groaned to himself as he put up with a few moments of babble about protocol. “Now listen, and listen closely. I ORDER you to get the tacs officer, and do it now. I also ORDER you to drop your datapad of communication protocol on the floor right now. I ORDER you to keep this line open. And I ORDER you to get the tacs officer!”
Mel turned around and nodded approvingly. Her breathing rate had increased and there were a bead of sweat on her brow even through the cab of the rover was cool, almost cold.
“Tacs officer? This is People’s Rover 3. We opened the Unity pod as ordered, but it was infested with mindworms and spoor launchers! No, we can’t just kill it. There are nine of them! Nine! What do we do?”
There was a brief pause, and Artie listened carefully. “Uh huh….uh huh….uh huh.” With each ‘uh huh’ Artie’s voice sank until it was at its normal tone. “OK. Right. People’s Rover 3 out.”
Artie took off the headset and turned to Mel.
“Well?” she asked.
In a deadpan voice Artie stated. “We’re to attack one of the worms and then die gloriously for The Hive. He said our sacrifice would bring honor to the People, and the First Citizen.”
“****,” was all Mel had to say.
*~*~*~*
2 sectors north of the Whipsaw Drone Base – SPARTA 2155
Captain Iverson walked slowly along down the row of dead myrmidons. The battle had been fierce and deadly but the 2nd cavalry had prevailed. It was still shocking to her that Sparta’s nearly first defeat would have been at the hands of the aliens and not by their fellow humans. SSCATc had sent her an immediate action order to engage an alien mind worm north of their position that was blocking the alien war machine from joining in on the assault on the Drone base. The rovers had raced quickly along the uneven terrain and on the edge of the great fungus field found the mind worm mass poised to attack the newly conquered alien war machine.
The battle had lasted for nearly a day. The impact canons had ripped into the seething mass but the creature still came forward. The mind numbing effect it had on humans began to cause the gunners to miss and the drivers to swerve madly in all directions. However, in the end the creature was defeated. The Spartan alien war machine was safely through the fungus and would spearhead the attack on the Drone base. Lastly, the energy nodules from the worm’s remains were already on their way back to Sparta.
“Captain?”
Iverson looked up to see the radio operator standing in front of her.
“Captain, SSCATc would like an update. They need to know when we can join in on the attack.”
“Inform command that the 2nd cavalry regiment needs replacements myrmidons. We are at 30% effective combat strength and it will be nearly 4 to 5 turns before we are at full strength pending those reinforcements. We can assist the war machines attack but we cannot provide immediate ground support unless we get to full strength.” Iverson said in a monotone voice.
“Okay Captain.” The radio operator quietly said as she backed away.
Iverson looked down and the dead bodies and her anger began to swell again. Damn this planet! Damn these aliens and damn these drones. She would make them pay. All of them would pay for the losses they suffered today. Vengeance would be hers.
*~*~*~*
Fecundity Towers, MY 2156
“And this, First Citizen,” Base Manager Mara Harlow said with evident pride, “is the Weather Paradigm. It has integrated the last of the Earth-built Unity satellites we were able to salvage, and then link with a trove of alien devices and three monoliths. The result is superior knowledge on terraforming Chiron. This will aid our valiant terraforming crews as they bend Chiron to the People’s will, and benefit the People in ways we can scarcely imagine. The benefits will grow with time.”
Yang was appropriately silent through this and other speeches and presentations that culminated with the actuation of the Weather Paradigm. Of course, the First Citizen knew how this device functioned, and had even added his own design elements. He had approved the construction and the diversion of a modest amount of energy from The Hive treasury to speed construction.
The First Citizen’s mind was, in truth, elsewhere. He well knew the importance of ceremony, such as this, in binding the body politic, and the security this gave to the drones. Long ago Hivean societal functions had replaced the tattered remnants of religion that had survived Earth and the Unity disaster. Each of the surviving ethoses had been rooted out, forcibly as required. But, that would do no good if that void in human consciousness could not be filled. Man was inherently curious, and when events or situations occurred could not be explained Man was inventive and filled that void. Man had always used their proclivity toward creativity to foster myths, eventually imbuing them with a holy fervor. There was a safety and serenity in such fantasy, for it required no thought, only blind belief. Toward the end of Earth new religions had been formed daily from schisms, splits, or as wholly new creations. Each claimed to have a secret knowledge, a ‘Given Truth’. That ‘Truth’ with a capital T is what had to be destroyed, and then replaced with the doctrines of survival. Those false ‘Truths’ had been key in preventing humanity the basic understanding that fostered prosperity, and at the tragic end of Earth even basic survival.
As Yang watched the drones and The Hive leadership perform their functions he was pleased. Given a focus and an environment devoid of the illusion of ‘Truth’ humanity would indeed survive, and in time prosper.
*~*~*~*
Office of Colonel Santiago, Sparta Command – SPARTA 2156
“Master-Chief Maxwell you have a very important job, more important than you can possibly now.”
Master-Chief Maxwell stood at attention in front of the great leader, Colonel Corazon Santiago. The first terra-former had just been completed and a fleet of “formers” was being built. Maxwell was the newly appointed “Master-Chief” in charge of coordinating the various terra-forming crews and their projects.
“I will do my best Colonel!” He replied proudly.
“I really don’t think you fully understand how important your job is. Next to Captain Smith our field commander in charge of the war on the Drones yours is most probably the next most important.” Santiago quickly replied. Her response seemed to shake the Master-Chief slightly and it was exactly the reaction she had hoped to see. “Master-Chief it is critical that Sparta begin a rapid infra-structure improvement. We need farms, solar collectors and mines. Even the Drones are ahead of us in this regard. We have the mightiest weapons and the best soldiers but our industrial capacity is lacking and we need resources to expand and support the military.”
“I understand Colonel. I really do I think. Based on the meetings I have had with the Master-Technician it seems crucial that we improve the resources at Fort Superiority first. Once that base has access to the rich mineral deposits it should have a very easy time of completing the project.” Maxwell said as he continued to stand at attention.
“I agree and I want you to move as quickly as possible but I want a road built first linking Sparta Command to Fort Superiority. Build that and then proceed with the mines.” Santiago corrected him.
“Yes Colonel!”
“Dismissed.”
Both of them saluted and then he left the room.
Santiago waited a few minutes and then eased herself back in her chair. Every night now she became more troubled by the reports from the Master-Technician. Sparta was lagging and lagging well behind what he suspects the other “survivors” might be at in infrastructure improvements. Sparta had a fine war machine and the war against the Drones proved what a good machine it was but Sparta itself was anemic and it needed help. However, they now had access to the terra-forming technology and the ability to build good, seaworthy ships. Soon Sparta would be exploring the vast seas and reaping the bounty from that exploration, future targets.
*~*~*~*
The Hive, MY 2157
First Citizen Yang was pleased, a feeling he had been having a lot recently. The colonists from Seat of Proper Thought had added their population to The Hive, which now counted over 4000 citizens. Almost all were industriously at work, except for the few that were causing some administrative problems while trying to get adjusted to the new warren. This base was now very productive, and others were following. It was true that smaller bases grew faster, but larger bases made up for it with the concentration and productive utilization of resources.
Already the network node was complete, and a new project could be started - perhaps a recreation commons? Upgrading he feeding bay might be a good idea, especially with the influx of the extra colonists.
That issue would be to the People’s Representatives, however. In the end that was a minor issue. There was a more important issue that could have great bearing on The Hive: utilizing the Weather Paradigm to its best potential. The People’s Science Advisor Maon Shirn had made an interesting observation: the construction of a moisture condenser at rainy areas may increase their production. He made it quite clear that this was speculation, but if true this would be a 50 percent increase in food production. The only other base that had that much food was Hole of Aspiration, which was currently working three nutrient lodes and was growing at an astronomical rate. Indeed, the bases on the west side of the mountain range would all benefit.
The only vexing issue was that, in some cases, growth was too fast, and the ability to police the drones was slipping. In the end it was better to have temporarily unproductive drones than no drones, since workers were key to the health and prosperity of the People. Workers were the ability to harvest resources, and as they harvested the resources of this blighted planet they made The Hive stronger, ever stronger.
And as The Hive waxed, the People would gain ever more fruits of their labors and, with time, teach the other fragments of humanity the superiority of the vision of The Hive.
Comment