“My powers won’t work!”
“Tch,” Davídrius scowled, “The hell do you mean, ‘won’t work’? There’s
no CENT field here!”
“I– I don’t know!” Kaoné frowned, and then flicked her wrists up and
outwards. Immediately, two walls of dirt rose on either side of the vehicle
column and then rushed outwards, shoving all of the metallic bugs several
meters back. “It’s like back in Relédiaka…”
“You can still stop the bugs like this, right?” Siyuakén pressed.
“I think. Maybe?” the Materiatechnic responded uneasily, “it was one
thing to capture the infected creatures, but… you want me to stop an entire bug
infestation on my own?!”
“That’s what you were ready to do two seconds ago!” Davídrius
exclaimed, “You even played the part!”
Kaoné stared at the Introtechnic disapprovingly. “Davídrius…”
“Guys, this really isn’t the time,” Siyuakén cut in as she glanced
toward the rear of the vehicle column, and then back to Kaoné, “even if you
can’t completely stop the bugs, you
can at least slow them down far better than either of us can.”
“…I’ll do my best,” she sighed before raising another dirt barrier
between the convoy and the bugs. Very soon afterward the walls began crumbling
and giving way to the invading creatures, though Siyuakén quickly disabled the
closest bugs before they could get too close. Kaoné then solidified the wall
into stone before raising a second wall and transmuting it into metal, which
Siyuakén very quickly supercharged, thus frying all of the metallic bugs within
half a meter.
“Be careful of the Earthian vehicles,” Kaoné warned, “their equipment
isn’t shielded as well as Nimalian equipment.”
“Ah… got it,” Siyuakén nodded just as the convoy slowed to a stop.
“We’re stopping?” Davídrius scowled, “What for?”
Kaoné took the opportunity to erect several more steel walls before
jumping to the ground and turning toward the front of the vehicle column.
Siyuakén jumped down after her as Davídrius remained on top of the vehicle and
watched Captain Lead approach.
“Was that you?” the Captain questioned, gesturing at the walls. When
Kaoné nodded he continued, “Good, good. Will you be able to take care of the
bugs?”
“Ah… no, sorry,” the Materiatechnic commented sheepishly, “I can’t
manipulate them directly.”
“…Why?”
“I wish I knew,” Kaoné sighed, “I can definitely help fend them off,
but… I can’t retake the entire colony, even with help. Not if I can’t do
anything to the bugs directly…”
“Not to mention they seem to be really good at burrowing,” Davídrius
threw in.
Kaoné glanced up at the Introtechnic uneasily before glancing at the
walls and then the ground. Shortly afterward the entire surface turned to
steel.
“Great…” Lead sighed irately, “…we lost Sunova so damn quickly. Where
did the bugs even come from?”
“Your guess is as good as mine,” Siyuakén shrugged, “I thought they
came from the creature corpse back in the caves, but there seems to be a lot
more of them now.”
Lead glanced at the Electrotechnic, alarmed. “You’re saying they can
reproduce that quickly?”
“I don’t know. We can’t know if there’s so many because they reproduce
quickly or because there were more hidden away somewhere that Davídrius and I
didn’t see.”
“But regardless, just sitting here can’t be good at
all,” the Introtechnic pointed out, “We need to get off this goddamn planet!”
“Agreed,” Lead nodded before turning back to Kaoné. “Can you at least
hold the bugs off for…” he glanced down at his watch, “…one, maybe two hours?”
“I can try…” Kaoné responded.
“Good. I appreciate it!” the Captain replied before turning around and
jogging off toward the front vehicle.
“Better get back up here,” Davídrius remarked. Siyuakén moved to begin
scaling the vehicle herself but Kaoné easily lifted them both to the roof by
raising the ground below them. The Electrotechnic shook her head in awe as she
jumped over to the vehicle.
“Such usefulness…” she commented.
“And it’s still not enough,” Davídrius scowled, “…ngh, what a shitty
way for this mission to go.”
“We won’t solve anything by complaining,” Kaoné stated before suddenly
turning her attention back to the steel walls as a loud, ear-piercing metallic
shriek resounded through the night air. Immediately the Materiatechnic smashed
all of the walls together, toppled them backwards, and then drove them into the
ground, smothering any of the bugs caught in between.
“The hell was that?!” the Introtechnic exclaimed
“The walls were about to fall over…” Kaoné explained, “…so I just made
sure they fell in the right direction.”
“Well we aren’t clear just yet,” Siyuakén quickly pointed out as the
vehicle column began a wide left turn, “We still need to make it to the
clearing… and then hold off the bugs until the Earthian Frigates can pick us
up.”
“If Kaoné can keep squashing bugs like she has been, I don’t think
that’ll be an issue,” Davídrius whistled.
The Electrotechnic stared at him incredulously. “Really? Just a minute
ago it sounded like you thought we’d all die.”
“Eh,” he shrugged, “My first impression wasn’t too impressive, ya know?
But after that wall display, heh. Those looked like a good fifteen by fifteen
meters of straight-up steel. Maybe you’re useful yet!”
“Davídrius,” Kaoné frowned as she once again turned the ground to steel
before lifting another set of walls to squash even more approaching bugs.
“Hey! I was complimenting your skills,” the Introtechnic smirked, and
then jumped as a second metallic shriek echoed through the air. “…The walls
again?”
“I guess?” the Materiatechnic squinted into the night, “That was
awfully fast, though…”
“They could be adapting,” Siyuakén suggested, “We don’t know anything
about them; maybe they’re smarter than we’re giving them credit.”
“That’s a scary thought,” Davídrius replied.
Kaoné remained silent as she raised another set of walls, this time
hardening them into diamond. She then glanced toward the front of the vehicle
column. “If the bugs are as fast as you say…” she questioned warily, “…why
haven’t they reached the front tank?”
“That’s, uh…” the Introtechnic frowned, “…good question. I’ll go check
it out.” He jumped off of the vehicle and hit the ground running, but before he
sped off another metallic shriek reached his ears. He turned to glare at the
darkness behind the convoy without slowing down. “The hell is going on–?!”
The moment the words left his mouth a huge, bipedal creature leaped out
of the darkness and smashed the last vehicle in the convoy before falling out
of the light.
“What in the–!!” Siyuakén exclaimed, “Is that–?!”
A second vehicle was lost to the mysterious creature before the
convoy’s flood lights finally managed to focus on it. Without wasting a moment
Kaoné lifted a huge chunk of dirt into the air, transmuted it into a metal
club, and then slammed it into the creature’s upper legs. It tumbled forward
for a couple seconds before its limbs suddenly exploded off and burrowed into
the ground as its chest morphed into a smaller quadruped that continued chasing
the vehicles.
“The hell– what the– what’s that–?!” Davídrius spluttered as he leaped
back onto the vehicle with Kaoné and Siyuakén.
“…It’s made of the same material as the bugs,” Kaoné replied, “I can’t
control it… watch out!!”
The Materiatechnic spontaneously translated the entire vehicle they
were standing on to the left as one of the creature’s disembodied arms burst
out of the ground like a massive worm. It quickly swung around and knocked over
the following vehicle instead, but before it could cause further damage she had
shoved it out of the way with another steel wall. She quickly righted the
knocked-over vehicle before turning her attention to the ground warily. The
three Chaotics jumped slightly as the sound of machine guns began filling the
air; the Earthian gunships had engaged the metallic quadruped near the rear of
the convoy. The rounds easily ripped into the creature, tearing it into shreds…
and then, with absolutely no warning at all, two metallic worm-like appendages
leaped out of the ground and smashed into one of the gunships, bringing it
crashing down to the ground before dragging it under, all within seconds.
“…We’re fucked,” Davídrius deadpanned.
Ignoring the Introtechnic’s comment, Kaoné quickly transmuted the top
meter of soil within ten meters of her location into solid diamond just in time
for a third metallic worm to slam directly into the firm layer. It just as
quickly returned to the depths of the earth as Kaoné began to continually
transmute the ground into diamond as the vehicle convoy progressed. She was
forced to stop when a new creature suddenly stampeded out of the darkness,
spraying bullets everywhere and kicking over two vehicles before the
Materiatechnic could topple it with a diamond club and then smother it with
several plates of steel.
“It was using guns…” Davídrius pointed out warily.
“It must’ve been from the gunship they took down…” Siyuakén scowled,
“They’re learning, or they’re assimilating, something’s going on
here.”
“These goddamn bugs could be a legitimate galactic threat if they get
off-planet… how can we know that the Earthians locked down their ‘Gate
properly? How do we know that the goddamn bugs won’t manage to board their Frigates?”
Siyuakén glanced over at the Introtechnic uneasily. “Are you suggesting
that–?”
“Oh hell no, I ain’t dyin’ here,” he scoffed, “But these bugs–“
Suddenly another gunship was taken out, but instead of being dragged
down to the ground it spun out of control and slammed into the tank just in
front of the Chaotics, demolishing it and flipping over the vehicle they were
standing on in the process. The three Nimalians all managed to catch themselves
on the ground but were forced to immediately get back to their feet as two
bipedal metallic creatures rushed them. Kaoné easily tripped up one before
slicing it in half with a diamond slab, but Davídrius had to grab Siyuakén and dive
out of the way in order to evade the second creature. He then turned toward the
Materiatechnic and barked, “I need weapons!!”
“Ah! Right!” she responded by stripping two claymore-length pieces of
diamond from the ground and rapidly rounding off and then grooving the ends of
both before tossing them to the Introtechnic, who caught them by the makeshift
handles. Kaoné then knocked over the remaining creature but was almost smashed
by the remains of the first as they began thrashing around violently before morphing
into two smaller bipeds and rushing the Materiatechnic – only to get suddenly
sliced to bits by Davídrius. Siyuakén immediately offered a high-voltage shock
to the pieces, permanently frying them. Kaoné thanked the two other Chaotics by
rapidly decommissioning the remaining creature by smothering it with another
slab of diamond.
By then the entire back half of the convoy had been obliterated, and
the front half had continued on, leaving the Chaotics behind in the dark of
night. Kaoné quickly erected several tree branches which Siyuakén then shocked
to create torches and light up the area, but the dim light was still
sub-optimal.
Davídrius gripped his makeshift blades back-hand and began glancing
about warily. “Welp,” he scowled, “can’t say I ever expected to end up in this
situation.”
“Those damn bugs…” Siyuakén pursed her lips, “…if they’re actually
connected to the metallic rash…”
“I still don’t know what you’re talking about,” Davídrius cut in, “…and
I really wish I’d live long enough to find out.”
“What makes you think that we won’t…”
Kaoné trailed off as three more of the bipedal creatures suddenly
dropped out of the sky, followed by a massive hulking behemoth behind them.
“That,” the Introtechnic pointed at the creatures with his blades,
“That. That’s what.”
Just as soon as he was done gesturing the three smaller creatures burst
forward. Instead of attacking back, Kaoné immediately and reflexively created a
protective dome of diamond around herself and the two other Chaotics. She then
collapsed, winded, as the metallic creatures began banging on the dome from
outside.
“Well gee. Thanks. This helps a lot,” Davídrius deadpanned.
“She just saved our lives,” Siyuakén responded defensively.
“Saved our lives my ass,” the Introtechnic snarled, “Trapping an
Introtechnic like this is the worst thing you could do if
you’re trying to save lives!”
“So maybe you’d have survived, but what about the two of us?”
“You– I can totally save y’all.”
“Really. You’re that strong? I thought you were a Superspeed Introtechnic.”
“Tch. I was able to carry you just fine, and Kaoné’s
no where near as big or heavy as you.”
“Excuse me?!”
“Oh for the love of– we are not having this goddamn
argument right now!” The Introtechnic whipped around to face Kaoné, who had
recovered enough to stumble back to her feet. “Open up the dome!” he demanded,
“At least let me out. Out there I can do something;
in here it’s just–“
CRACK!
All three Chaotics froze and then slowly looked up at the top of the
diamond dome. Through the vaguely transparent surface they could make out the
silhouette of the behemoth creature raising its arm from the last strike that
had cracked the entirety of the dome. The creature was clearly preparing for a
second strike – a strike which would surely pierce the layer of protection.
Siyuakén glanced over at the Materiatechnic warily. “Kaoné–!”
“I… too tired…” she panted.
“Still think this was a good idea?” Davídrius snarked. Siyuakén was
left to glare at him as the behemoth’s arm suddenly dropped, hitting the dome
and shattering it – just as the three Chaotics were enveloped in a brief flash
of white light and suddenly found themselves standing in a decent-sized,
grayscale room populated with many different consoles arranged in such a way to
seemingly emphasize the back center.
“It worked!!”
“What… Kevérin?” Siyuakén finally realized that there were two people
standing in the back of the room. “…What just happened?”
“We just figured out how to use all of the Genesis’s
systems!” the Pyrotechnic exclaimed excitedly, “We just beamed you guys
up! Isn’t it great?!”
The other three Nimalians’ gazes drifted to Scott, who was standing
next to Kevérin. He grinned in response. “It’s truly fascinatin’, this Battlecruiser,”
the Earthian researcher nodded, and then frowned. “Shame we couldn’t save
everyone…” He shook his head and moved his focus back to the console in front
of him. “No time to dwell on that, though. There’s a situation planet-side that
needs a little cleanin’ up. In the meantime, Colonel Yamamoto should be…
somewhere on the ship.”
“Here,” Kevérin typed something into the console in front of him,
“…follow the lights on the ceiling, and you’ll find where we beamed all the
Earthians to.”
“…Wow. That’s really how this whole thing ends, huh?” Davídrius sighed,
“So convenient.”
“It really is,” Scott nodded in agreement, “Now, could you go get the
Colonel? We need to fill her in on the state of the Battlecruiser, and then we
need to work out the situation down on Sunova, see if it’s salvageable or not.
…I’m sorry, but I’m not certain how soon we’ll be able to get you back to
Nimalia.”
“No, it’s… it’s no problem,” Siyuakén responded wearily, “This whole
situation may, in part, be our fault–“
“There was no way we could’ve–!”
“So yes…” the Electrotechnic cut Davídrius off, “…we can help.”
Scott smiled. “Good. I’m glad to know we can count on the Nimalians!”
*
* *
7 Days Later
“The hell happened over there? How are the Earthians ever going to
trust us now?!”
“Uuuhh…” Kevérin responded slowly, “…I don’t know?”
Commander Nikéyin sighed irately as she leaned back in her chair. She
slowly looked each of the members of Hero Machina in the eye before continuing,
“I am… rather displeased, to say the least, about how your
expedition to Sunova panned out. Being the cause of a full-scale colony
evacuation is never a good thing.”
“But we weren’t the cause!” Davídrius protested, “It
was the goddamn bugs! We had no way of knowing–!“
“You’re out of line!” Nikéyin barked, “This is a military organization.
You ask for permission before speaking; understand?”
The Introtechnic bristled. “I’m part of no military–“
“Then get out.”
“What? But– I–“
“Hero Machina is a team of Chaotics under the jurisdiction of the
Nimalian Systems Defense, a military organization. If you want to be part of
this, then shape up and shut up. I’m willing to give you a chance, but don’t
make me regret it.”
“Tch…” Davídrius pursed his lips, but said no more.
“Thank you,” Nikéyin nodded, and then turned to address the group as a
whole. “Yes, I’m aware that the situation was not completely your fault. I’m
also aware that, Transfer Captain, you were able to significantly help the
Earthians begin mastering the use of their Battlecruiser. I am also aware that
the three of you made an effort to protect the Earthians to the best of your
ability. And I am also aware that, for some absurd reason, the
Earthians decided to hand over the Master Ayas.” The Commander shook her head
incredulously. “I have no idea how, but you seem to have maintained the
Earthians’ trust, even through this whole fiasco.”
“Thank you, ma’am,” Kevérin responded curtly.
“I have no idea whether to call this mission a success or a failure,”
Nikéyin continued, “…so, while I figure that out, I want the four of you to
continue operating as a group. You have two objectives, currently: wrap up
recruitment, and look into the ‘metallic rash’ issue. I imagine the research
group up on the Continental Glacier knows a fair deal about the rash, so you
might want to investigate them first. Though that is only a suggestion; I’m fully aware that the Continental Glacier
is not the most…pleasant of places to be.”
“Gotta be better than Treséd,” Davídrius grumbled.
“Watch your tongue,” the Commander reprimanded, and then stood up. As
she did so, Kevérin, Kaoné, and Siyuakén all stiffened up; Davídrius simply
shuffled awkwardly when he realized he had no idea what was going on. “Do you
all understand your current tasks?”
“Yes ma’am,” the three ranked members of Hero Machina responded.
“Very well then. Get to it,” Nikéyin nodded, and saluted. The rest of
Hero Machina saluted back. “Dismissed!”
* * * * *
==================== End of Chapter 14 ====================
* * * * *
Data Entry: Nimalian Military Command Structure
The five functioning continent-nations of Nimalia all possess standing militaries, and the military of each nation is structured around that nation’s strengths. For instance, the Tekdecénian military is focused and built around its massive space fleets, while the Riveranian military is merely a token force while the nation relies on private military contractors to do its actual military work. There are some constants between the five nations, however – namely, in the significance of certain ranks.
General is always the highest rank, no matter the branch or the nation. Given their strategic importance, Generals very rarely visit the battlefield that they’re commanding, and they very rarely have opportunity to interact with the soldiers who do – Generals are simply too busy commanding the entire military to get to know each individual grunt.
Commander is the rank just below General. There are usually several Commanders in any given branch or military, and each Commander is often assigned to command a single region or oversee a large-scale project. Commanders operate on less of a macro scale than Generals, and Commanders are more likely to visit (or even inhabit) the theatre that they command, but they are still distanced from the average military grunt.
Lieutenant is the rank that Nimalian Chaotics used to be conscripted to. Riverana is the only nation to maintain this convention, mostly because the nation does not tend to its military too closely. In every other nation, conscripted Chaotics receive the simple designation “Chaotic” and must then be promoted to the rank of Lieutenant, where they join the ranks of the military proper. Exceptions are occasionally made for Chaotics with exceptional power, such as Chaostechnics, Materiatechnics, or Navitastechnics – these Chaotics have the chance of being conscripted straight to Lieutenant.
Transfer Captain is a special rank that was created by Tekdecé and quickly adopted by the other nations. While the general list of ranks for each nation’s military differs, Transfer Captains – no matter the military – are always the same rank, and have the authority to command lesser ranks of other militaries. For example, a Tekdecénian Transfer Captain has the authority to give orders to a Nimaliakian Lieutenant, since Lieutenants are ranked lower than Transfer Captains in the Nimaliakian military. The rank of Transfer Captain is not on the normal progression of ranks, however – it is actually of the same rank of Captain, but only select individuals receive the honor of progressing down the Transfer Captain path. Transfer Captains retain their omni-military authority as they rise through the ranks, so a General who was once a Transfer Captain possesses authority enough to control all of Nimalia’s forces. This trait has led to there being very, very few Transfer Captains, and Transfer Captains often find it harder to get promoted than normal Captains because the higher-ups are wary of their increased authority. Additionally, while the rank of Transfer Captain has existed for several centuries, only a handful of Transfer Captains have ever reached the rank of Commander or General.
