The spotlights coasted over the ground, passing over terrain that just days ago I had been staring down on. Those white lights shining down from the walls above us, once a deterrent to the things that go bump in the night were shining beams of death to us at the moment. At least, they would be if the Bane had realized what we were up to on
this side of Fort Dew.
Felix was in front of me, muttering under his breath about Rangers and how they should be doing their job. He and I had been tasked to take out the remaining crusties, or at least as many as we could. It had been left up to me as to how to go about it, though, so he wasn't angry at command over our being beside this wall and tip-toeing around; he was angry at me. It was a Ranger's job to sneak about, he reasoned, and not a Sapper or Commando's place to be trying their hand at it.
If he had things his way, we'd be charging right at them, guns blazing. He was headstrong, which was part of the reason why the Lieutenant had given me the lead in this. Of all the others, though, he was the one I'd want by my side the most. His packing a chaingun that would make Rambo blush, among other impressive weapons, and
willingness to stand beside anyone and use them was something I appreciated, and in this case, needed. It also reminded me of my brother, a Marine who was lost in the assault on Earth.
Two assaults earlier today had softened their defenses. Though the objective of both was to take back the fort, they had a secondary objective, as well. Both times, they'd done significant damage to the turrets mounted at the corners of the fort, seemingly as a by-product of the assaults. The defenses to the west had been obliterated.
The rangers he'd been muttering about were the ones covering the wall, and our backs, leaving us to do the sneaking. The crusties were blind to this side of the fort thanks to our tactic. Any of their technicians who went to fix the cannons would be mown down. The fact that there wasn't much on this side of the fort helped.
The rangers had only had to pick off one technician. The Bane were still dealing with the aftermath of the last assault. If they sent more technicians, though, they'd realize something was about to go down, so we were making our way as quickly, and as quietly, as we could.
We'd gone over the plan enough, I hoped. He would turn around the last corner, and set up to take out any shield drones with an EMP RPG. His secondary targets were the linkers. He was to make a large enough ruckus that they'd all come out and attempt to take him out. Especially important to this part of the plan, I'd had to convince him to use the basic Lightning attack that almost all receptives learned first. He considered it a 'wussy' magic-like ability and preferred to let his weapons do the talking, but I'd convinced him.
His using that attack would identify him as a receptive to those he saw, which would make him a priority target. Once he had their attention, he'd retreat around the corner, where I'd be waiting with crab mines and the shield extender, and of course, my trusty shotgun. The rangers would also pick off targets at a distance.
I was nervous. This was the first time I'd been given the lead. They said I was the ideas guy, and success with something like this could mean more important roles later. I didn't know about all of that. The only thing I cared about was doing things right. As smartly as possible. We'd probably win, going in, guns blazing, but we'd also lose a man or two. If this went the way I planned, we'd lose none.
We were nearly at the corner. I gave Felix the signal to step forward. He was ready to turn the corner, when he froze. I heard him wince, as if he'd been hit. "Bugs... do something..." he said over the comm, as quietly as he could manage, given the situation.
At his feet were a small horde of barb ticks. "If either of us fire we're toast," I whispered.
"Just ignore them."
He grunted as one of them bit into his ankle. Barb ticks were the meanest terrestrial bug I'd come to know. Xanx were big and menacing, that was sure, but you could see them and avoid them. You didn't know you were surrounded by a swarm of barb ticks until you were already on top of them. "I'd like to see YOU ignore them..." he said, through grit teeth as another bit him, and yet another spit acid at him. One of the barb ticks suddenly popped and let go of his leg. Another few of them were hit, and they quickly scattered. "Aww, big man afraid of little bugs?" teased Darkstalker over the radio, the ranger closest to us. He'd picked them off with a rifle. It had been quick thinking, as with all the weapons fire in the area, it'd hardly be noticed if it were coming from a distance.
"Right now I'm too grateful to point out that my guns are bigger than yours, 'stalker... so thanks."
"Wait 'til I tell all the ladies..." he chuckled.
"The ladies dig the whole 'soft side' thing. Now cut the chatter, and let's finish this," I ordered.
Felix pulled out the RPG launcher, and got ready. Then he got himself pumped up, and jumped around the corner, roaring like a total lunatic and charged, pumping out a few shots as he ran forward.
According to the radar, the Bane were... retreating? I could hear Felix, still, though his voice was getting farther away; much farther than the plan called for. But when things like this happen, you just sort of went with it. Now it looked like the Bane had stopped.
"I don't think I need to use the lightning! They're plenty mad!" he said over the radio as he began sprinting back. I could see the weapons fire from around the corner as it sped around him. They were angry, alright. Felix came around the corner, coming to a skidding stop as he whipped out his chaingun and took a knee, setting up for the ambush.
The crab mines were ready, and I activated the shield extender to give us some additional protection. Once they were in proximity to the mines, they ran forward, meeting the Bane as they passed the corner. The crab mines proceeded to shake hands with them, only they do it with explosives.
What followed was academic. The few that hadn't been at the trap site and taken out by our combined firepower were no match for us. Within five minutes, we'd re-taken control and hooked the waypoint back up to the network. Fort Dew was ours once more.
We settled in yet again, but with these points changing hands so often in this bloody conflict, I wasn't expecting to be here long at all. Our platoon would be here maybe another day as scheduled, barring another unsuccessful defense moving us out prematurely. I'd gone to my locker, and saw that, once again, the trinkets and knick-knacks I'd managed to bring from home were left alone, and the ammo was gone. The Bane had taken what they felt was important. That was okay, because they'd left the things most important to me.
Among those things, I picked up my brother's dog tags. The ones he'd carried on him during the assault were somewhere on Earth; these were just a copy he'd given me before. I'd vowed that I'd find the real ones when we took back Earth. And we would take back Earth, or fight to that end with every fiber of our being. Today, I'd almost ended four of the lives looking to do just that - mine, Felix's, Darkstalker's and the ranger's who was on loan from the then displaced base garrison. I'd have to find him and thank him, and at the very least, get his name and get him a drink. I held the chain of the dog tags, dangling it between my fingers absent-mindedly as I thought over the events of the day.
"Corporal Extant? The Base Commander would like to see you," said a medic, who'd poked his head in as he was passing by. "Thanks," I said, taking another look back at the locker. Maybe we'd be moving out sooner than I thought. And maybe I was attached to this place, after all. I put the dog tags back in the locker, and reported to him, Commander Twocrows. I only knew him by name. "Corporal Extant, reporting as requested, sir," I saluted.
"At ease," he said, hunched over a table. It was a tactical map of the area. "I hear you hatched a plan to get rid of the remaining crusties."
"Yes, sir."
"And I hear the plan was almost scrubbed by a couple of barb ticks."
"Yes, sir."
He sighed, looking up. "That was sloppy, son. This fort is surrounded by the things. You've been here long enough to know that." He could see that I knew that, the way I looked aside, averting his eyes. It was a mistake that might've cost us all of our lives. "That aside, it wasn't too shabby an operation. Say the word, and I can get you into officer's training. If the talent that showed itself today wasn't a flash in the pan, you could have a command before you know it."
I was stunned. I was a thinker. I'd always known that. And yet, I couldn't shake the feeling that commanding from behind some wall wasn't for me. "Thank you, sir, but I think I'd be more effective in the field."
"This is the chance of a lifetime, soldier. You are making this decision for the cause, aren't you? Not the handful of soldiers you know at your post?"
"For the cause, sir."
"Alright, son. If you change your mind, let me know. Dismissed."
I walked out. Around the corner, I noticed Felix not that far off. He was looking at me, perplexed. I went over to him. "You heard everything, eh?" I asked.
"Yeah. Next time we get any kind of leeway with our orders, I'm letting you handle it. Best of both worlds, soldier and command. Your sticking around means that much, brother," he said, holding out a hand.
I'd lost my brother to this war. But it seemed as though I'd gained others. Felix and every other survivor out here. I took his hand. "So... what's a brother got to do to get a drink?" I asked.
"Me? Get you a drink? You owe me at least three! 'Ignore the barb ticks...' you say, 'charge into a mob of crusties' you say... don't let it go to your head, LITTLE brother... are you even old enough to drink?" he teased, as we went for some well-earned R&R.
Author: Extant
Third Place Winner: Fort Dew Fan Fiction Contest