Recruits
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TTY31201.03.26
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Even though my tour of Concordia was done a long time ago, I still find time to go down and see the new recruits. Fresh out of boot camp, full of ambition...it's always inspiring. They might look ahead with a sense of hope, or at least acceptance of the long years ahead of them. For me and many others that have been fighting so long, it's easy to lose sight of what you are fighting for.
These recruits are the lifeblood of the AFS. They are the spirit of humanity. When we win this war, it won't be because of soldiers with thousands of kills to their name. It will always be the recruits, the ones with the courage to put their lives on the line for the first time.
- Mr Glass
Friends Until the End...
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TTY31201.03.24
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Charlie was a nice guy. I met Charlie on my first day of boot camp, and we soon became inseparable. Every time I got homesick or down on myself during my training, Charlie was always there to crack jokes and make light of the situation, even though I knew he was just as scared as I was. With his keen eye and steady hand, and my knack for not being heard, we started down the path of Ranger together even though we knew our paths would diverge eventually. We joked about all the stories we'd have to tell about each other later if we lived long enough.
I honestly thought we'd be friends until the end. It's amazing the way war can make a person do things they'd never think themselves capable of.
The virus was tearing apart our forces in Concordia's Wilderness, and Charlie and I were determined to stop it. With the help of our guns, the scientists were able to manufacture a cure. Just as we were leaving Ranja to distribute it, we received a high priority radio transmission from some Lieutenant. He ordered us to rendezvous with him in Monarch Grove and informed us of the situation after we got there. The Bane were being hit as hard as we were by the virus, and he wanted to barter the cure for some peace talks. Because this wasn't our original order, he gave us a moment to talk it over.
I saw an eagerness in Charlie that I had never seen before—even for him. He was all for handing the cure over so we could have peace and start working on rebuilding our devastated race. He wasn't pleased when he heard my emphatic reply of "No." His shouts of "don't you know how important this is?" and "we have a chance to end this war now" were only met by my calm replies of "the Bane know nothing but war".
Then, I saw the change in him. Happy-go-Charlie wasn't so happy anymore—he was livid and he was desperate. After awhile he finally appeared to have given up when he told me he wanted me to have the cure so that I could make the decision for both of us. I was cautious.
Why Charlie? Why?
He turned around to reach into his pack like he was getting the cure, but the audible click of his now-cocked pistol told me he hadn't given up on his plan just yet. The blade of my combat knife was hilt-deep in his back before he even knew I was coming.
You were my friend, Charlie. That is, until the end. You gave me no choice…
When I reported to my superior officer later, he assured me that I had done the right thing. I told him that I knew I had.
This is war, and our enemy is fierce. Sadly for them, so am I.
Sgt. Sagittarius
AFS Black Ops
Spy Division
Different Times
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TTY31201.03.21
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Heh, finally I got my chance to use this terminal, it has been awhile since I had a chance to use one.
I'm Robert Baumgartner, a Commando you may say... Well war has been pretty much my life.
My Father, his father, and so on where all soldiers, I too was a Soldier on Earth before the invasion, stationed at Fort Knox.
Times was different then, I was often the low man of the totem pole, never fired my weapon before. Then the invasion came and we where deployed. I remember manning the machine gun on top of a truck, firing into them. Many of us took a brave stand against them. But our lines broke as the General took a Blast to the Noodle...
I am unsure of the outcome as my truck was hit by a bomb or something and blacked out, only to awaken on the back of a truck with some AFS troopers on it, they told me I was a real mess and lucky to even be alive!
I don't know how many of my fellow soldiers made it out of there, but I am damn sure on being hell bent on payback! Often at times I wondered what would have happened to me if the Invasion never happened? Well I had nothing to lose really, 'cept my family and most importantly my cat. Much I have seen. I nearly wet myself as I saw the Wormhole, I swear it was like out of a movie!
When I arrived, they told me to ditch the tattered uniform and told me I am a Soldier of the AFS now, and they thrust a pistol in my hands... I became quite fond of that weapon, so often I carry it in one of my many pouches, should I ever take time to actually empty them out!
Now I think of it, perhaps this war was the best for me, after all when I was on earth, I was facing discharge because of weight problems, and now I'm in shape just like out of basic training years ago!
I really must close this letter, as some recruit is prodding me in the back, and is ten seconds away from getting smacked back to earth.
Signed if anyone reads this...
Baumgartner
Commando of the 13th Strumtruppen
Career Choice and Duty
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TTY31201.03.19
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"Girls can't fight!" That's what my daddy said when I told him I was enlisting. Since mom died he was so afraid to let me go. I was his little girl. I knew he just wanted to keep me safe. Made me tough as nails though. Taught me things your pretty girl in pink would never know. I can clean and rebuild an engine with my eyes closed. A real grease monkey—that's what he used to call me, his little monkey…
I squeaked by on the height requirement, coming in at 1.5 meters. Being a gymnast made basic a breeze. I could do 200 push ups without breaking a sweat. I blew past all my aptitude tests showing excellence in kinesthetics as well as spatial and mathematical reasoning. To be honest, I blew past all my male peers—I had to. Respect is hard to come by and you need all you can get when you’re a woman in the military. In a foxhole, there must be unquestionable trust. On a foreign world, trust counts for everything.
I know all battlefields aren’t the same, but I never imagined what Foreas would be like. AFS got here long before we lost Earth. We established a beachhead for some of the surviving civilians Command said where going to replenish our ranks. Made no difference to me. But one thing I can't stand is a pansy, man or woman. Back on Earth before the Bane, I knew of a private who said he didn't want to fight anymore—had a sudden change of heart. A phone call was made. The MP's showed up and escorted the private out at gunpoint. I never had qualms with pacifists, but he was committed and hell to him for his cowardness. We all do our duty.
My commanding officer came up to me today and said he had plans for me. Asked me how I felt about being an engineer. I told him that I'd make him proud. The idea of building toys to kill the Bane makes me a little tingly inside. Hell, if that doesn’t work, I’ll just blow them up with my brain.
— Naomi Lake
What We Do
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TTY31201.03.17
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There's a lot of opinions about this war. Some people say they hate the war, some say they love it. People are asking themselves, why do we fight? Everyone has their own answers, but none that I've heard begin to cover it. We fight for freedom, yes. We fight to protect ourselves, yes. We fight to drive back the tyranny of the bane, yes, these are all valid answers. But they are only the immediate causes. The question is not 'Why do we fight the bane?' nor is it 'Why do we fight for survival?' The question is, pure and simple, why do we fight?
The truth is, we fight because it is in our nature to fight. As humans, it is what we do. We have always fought and killed each other, and we always will. Personally, I hope we don't defeat the Bane. Don't get me wrong, I don't want us to lose, but we are in a perfect war. For the first time since the dawn of humanity, we have stopped fighting amongst ourselves. We have found a truly common enemy. If this war ends, what will happen? How long could the peace possibly last? Not long, I'll tell you that. And then the enemy won't be the Bane. It will be us, once again. Because we can't help it. Fighting is what we do.
~Xavin Synn, AFS Sniper
Guardian Devils
Some call us evil, others the psychopaths, the cold killers, but I am a sniper.
Call me what you want it doesn't matter to me or others like me. We know we're really unsung heroes.
I remember sitting in on one hide over looking a CP on the Plateau. A successful raid by a commando unit out of the 105th Infantry had just taken it back 10 minutes before. It wasn't long after they had the base turrets back the Bane came cruising in with a flight of drop ships. The infantry poured out of the their LZ directed by one of those nasty looking bane with energy weapons that launched explosive bolts of energy. I started cracking of rounds at caretakers first, then the Thrax techs, whatever would help the enemy. The officer was obscured by his seething soldiers and I had no clear shot. I was running out of ammo and the commandos out of time. Soon the force field would drop and the bane would overwhelm them, kill them and take the CP again. I was on my last round when the moment I had waited for happened. The shield fell and bane started to surge in held at bay by a withering hail of weapons fire. The officer had let his troops flow ahead leaving him open. I used my logos to help me focus so sharp i swear I could see wind currents with my naked eye. I squeezed the trigger and the Torque shell rifle hummed angrily before cracking and speeding a high velocity Armor Piercing round right in the Officers unprotected neck throwing him over on his side. The bane sensed their boss dead. They stopped for a minute and the commandos pounced and began slaughtering them. I remember a popular sniper saying. "They can run but they will only die tired." Ten minutes later it was over. I came down out of ammo covered in dust and got a nod. Its all I get but I will take it.
To the Bane I am the lurking doom. To the AFS line troops I am their own personal guardian angel of death. My name tag says Josefph, but I am a sniper.
—Jopsefph Mardane
Lapyx
Lapyx
Lapyx, if there wasn’t a hell then it would here… I have been here for so long I can’t remember what foreas looks like I just remember one thing green. Here at lapyx there is only red. Red blood, red lava, red armor, red fire, everything is red, and yes even the CP this fort was built for is red.
I have been holding up in a tower for the past 3 days. The crusties here are not the brightest out there Im sure our own AFS would have picked up that there was a sniper in a tower by now, but these crusties they just keep coming every time the trigger is squeezed another crusty takes the place of the fallen. I’m starting to think they don’t care that I am up here for the simple fact there is no way for me to take all of them on.
I have now started to stop shooting and started observing the movements of the Bane occupation force here. I’m starting to form a plan but I’m not sure how I can put it off by myself… For now I just have to listen to the agonizing sound of AFS drop ships come in and out and the screams of more and more AFS soldiers dieing from trying to take lapyx back. I don’t even think high command knows I am here… but all I do now is wait….
— Astaus Omaclaro
37th Tatical Sniper Team
Cost
I was frozen from shock, my arm saluting. Row upon row of soldiers, in blue and white receptive uniform and beret stood saluting at attention. One word, how could one word hold so much happiness in it, yet cut my heart to the core? I looked forward, straight forward to avoid looking at what I dreaded most, John’s coffin. Snare drums played in the background as the soldiers stood at attention. I thought back, when we were in boot camp together, when the Thrax soldier came from behind me and he shot it, he saved my life. We had been so innocent then, just like all raw recruits.
We hadn't seen what the Bane did to people, that was, until Crater Lake. It had changed them, made them closer. Across the battlefields we had marched, doing what they could. We were met with victory after victory, one area at a time, we had taken back Areki. The final battlefield was a secret location in the Valderve Marshes, a Bane corrupting unit, spewing destruction across the landscape, our squad was pinned down, the Crusties were closing in, the core needed to be destroyed, but we couldn't fight our way down there. There was a long shaft that led directly to the core, John strapped the bombs to himself, and jumped. He had…
The snare drums brought me out of my reverie General British himself, had walked up to the casket. John Cordenon, gave his life in the service of humanity, he sacrificed himself so that others could live. For unselfish service to his fellow men, John Cordenon has been awarded with the Valorous Tabula. General British took out a medal like the one emblazoned on my beret, a circle with three blades inside it flanked by wings. He put it on the casket gently.
Now it was my turn, I walked up to the casket. I began “A wise man, who had been courageous in war once, said “I am not the true hero. The true heroes are the ones who never come back from the battlefield.” John is a true hero. General British stepped back up with me to the coffin. Both Rhianna Knightess and John Cordenon have exhibited courage and devotion beyond the call of duty which is why I am pleased to award them both, the AFS Medal of Honor. He pinned it to my shirt, and laid another one on John’s coffin. The snare drums started up again as I reminisced of the last secret hours I had shared with John. They beat out their final overture as the sun set for the first time, on a new world.
— Rhianna Knightess
Based off the song, Hymn to the Fallen
The AFS Cloning Program
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TTY31201.03.07
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I joined a cloning program today. Wasn't very hard, as soon as I said I was a receptive they let me pass all queues and paperwork. It's a scary concept when you think of it - cloning yourself. I'm not sure it was such a good idea, who are we to play God? In the end I guess, mankind has always played God.. perhaps that's what we're paying for in kind nowadays.
Anyways, I'm not much of a philosophical man, just thought I'd scribble down the results.
First clone of me didn't turn out all that well. He got all pale skin, and apparently he's got some issues with light sensitive eyes and has to wear goggles. I wouldn't know what to do if I couldn't have my pilot-specs, having to wear goggles instead... wonder what he does? or I mean -I- do?
Things must have gone wrong when they messed with his genetics to make him super smart, I don't know - they shipped him off to some off world research site. I call him "the Doctor".
Second clone, a perfect copy of myself - and damn proud of it. Anyways, I like to call him just "the Major" - or Major Jaxxon. He's a fighting man, just like myself... or should it be I'm a fighting man just like myself... can't seem to get my head around that.
First I heard of this cloning business was from my sis, she apparently made a clone early on of herself, called it Sarah, said it had a knack for blowing things up. Was a good clone I'd say, I've only seen one picture, but she looks damn hot... I got to stop thinking like this, it's my sis, or is it? Damn I need to get to the local canteena more often. Mental note: ask the colonel for more free time.
/Major Slugger Jaxxon, AFS
Truly Alive
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People always say the Bane are evil for what they did to us and to our planet. I disagree. All they did is kill a dying beast. Before the Bane I was nobody. You wouldn’t have given me a second glance. Just another corporate drone making my way through life by taking pill after pill. Just like every other poor slob did before the war. And even then, I thought of doing anything at all to break the drudgery of my boring life and do something worth while, other being able to type 150 words a minute. Then the Bane attacked and everything changed, and while I miss Earth and realize that we’re fighting for our very existence here, I’m kind of grateful. You see, now I have a purpose. Let the Cormans whine about the violence, let the bleeding heart AFS marines you see running around complain about hard they got it. My only love in life now is the fight, the roar chain gun, the satisfying thump of a RPG, and the battle cry of my squad as the last of the Thrax we ambushed fall to ground. I stand silent reloading my weapon a smile plaster on my face as the adrenaline fades away and our dropship come to take us deeper into enemy territory. I feel more alive now then I ever did on Earth.
- S. Galen
Commando of the Laughing Skulls
Born a Soldier
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I'm a receptive. I have this mystical goop inside of me which allows me to do things I shouldn't be able to do. In a sense, it helps me hone my skills. Blowing Bane up is a lot easier then previously imagined with this 'power,' but this receptiveness has it's faults.. like being second in command of a platoon (All receptive unit.). I've got many new transfers in my platoon coming in, and I've seen a lot of receptives, most of them are kids, and if they're not kids they're civilians... doctors, mechanics, librarians, computer programmers, artists... all sorts of civilian jobs. I don't know how to interact with these people, they're not in the same mindset. Reminds me of replacements in those old war movies I used to watch when I wasn't fighting, back on Earth. Many will go through hell and back with born soldiers like I until they, themselves, become one. That sounded too poetic for my liking, but I think I earned it for dealing with them. They're like... puppies.
Sgt. Bernard D. "Mac" MacMurray
7th Receptive Combat Unit "Raptors"
A Piece of Cake
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TTY31201.02.29
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A piece of cake. No problem. Just a routine re-supply assignment. Just bring supplies to Foreas Base. I counted myself lucky for being placed on such an easy mission. The path was nowhere near Bane troop deployment areas. It was the safest job I could have. I could relax, and not worry about war and death for a little bit.
Everything was good. The soldiers joked and laughed, reminisced about times back on Earth. Then the crackle of laser fire broke through the mellow atmosphere. Soldiers dropped like flies. I hit the dirt, trying to avoid fire. There were Bane soldiers all around us gunning down anyone unfortunate enough to be seen. I stayed low to the ground, and I watched the last few soldiers fall to the ground. I wanted to do something. I wanted to help. But I knew I wouldn't be able to save them, and I would only get myself killed. Eventually, after looting the supplies, the Bane left. I managed to get myself back to HQ unharmed. Sure, a piece of cake.
Wolfen Shadowclaw
Look The Other Way
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TTY31201.02.27
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Ignorance is bliss. Those words might as well be carved into the steel doors outside Penumbra. Anytime you wonder what goes on there, just read those words and be happy you don't know.
The inside of the doors has a message of it's own, but it's just a blank door.
The message is "nothing." Nothing leaves those doors, nothing is spoken beyond them.
I only have a minute to tell you why. My crack can only hold off the keyloggers and cameras for so long.
Penumbra is outside, maybe even above the command structure. They report to nobody, and it's in Command's best interest that it stays this way. They do what the AFS cannot, with no regard to lives, morals, ethics, cost, honor or any kind of decency. Because of their lack of limitations, they have made astonishing advances in everything from large-scale weaponry to genetics. Yet nothing they do can be shared with the AFS or it would reveal secrets that the AFS is better off not knowing.
If you're reading this, then you have a good chance of Penumbra trying to recruit you. You decide for yourself if the ends justify the means. Just do it soon, because once you get in, you can't get out.
- Ana Nimus
Minutes To Massacre
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TTY31201.02.25
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I've been sitting in the same spot for nearly six days. Six of the same miserable landscape! Not to mention this sniper they teamed me up with is a real peace of work. All day and night, all he talks about is how he can't wait to get back to base and modify his rifle some more. I don't get those guys. The boys in brass said I'd get a hefty promotion after I complete this hit, thats if all goes according to plan. The sniper keeps looking over at me as I sharpen my blade, I think I'm the first spy he's ever met. "Whats the status?", I ask. "He's still inside... I'd say you have about another two hours." They said this is where I belonged, in the AFS Special Forces. I figured why not? If I'm going to take my last breath on this planet, than I want it to be while I'm plunging my blade deep into the chest of a Bane soldier. I hate them. I'm repulsed by the fact that we share a universe with them. "Thirty minutes left until green light.", says the sniper. I hope he enjoys the show. I'll be in the Bane fortress soon enough, lurking in the shadows until the moment is right to strike. Once I take out this Bane officer, their ranks will fall to shambles without a leader. That's when the assault teams go in and that sniper covers my retreat, I hope. "Green light has been ordered, good luck out there sir". As I cloak myself infront of the rookie sniper, I pull out my blade and watch as it engulfs itself in flames. I am the purifier, the bringer of death to those who deserve it, and now I have some business to attend to.
You can't kill what you can't see,
Dante Cenedessi
Spectre Squad Leader
AFS Special Forces
The Dead Walking
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TTY31201.02.15
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Sometimes I try to remember... the time of my youth, going out on dates.... my first kiss... But it's hard to recognize, behind this black curtain, covering my memories. Out here in the field, out here in the encampment, everyday I'm surrounded by thousands of humans and still I feel alone all by myself. Every morning, when I wake up I reach out for my dog tags, feeling these cold letters printed into the steel - the only proof of my existence. I fear I might forget my own name, even my birth if it wasn't for these little piece of metal. Sometimes I wonder "will I" or better "will we" ever be able to go back living a normal life?
Maybe we abandoned too much in this fight which was brought upon us.
For me...I now live in a different world, traded lipsticks for filament swords - love for hate. There is no way back. I made my decision. If you hold on life to hard it may slip through your fingers. You are already the walking dead. Realize this and you might not blink and maybe make it out alive. I for myself want to see where this road of no return takes me, the road of the walking dead....
-Ebenaj,
8th Assault Recon Platoon
Valverde
