Chapter X
Chapter 10
Operation Achilles
August 1, 4030
1408 Hours
Lexus, Earth
Battle on. Adam turns to the left flank. Eyes boggled. Ealy halts and turns.
"Get back to the building! Now!"
"You two! Jordan, Shawn, get your totem poles out, anchor them across the street!"
"On it!" Jordan throws off her backpack, disengaging two rods the length of ones back. Shawn takes off to Jordan's side; they get to task. This leaves Jaycee, staring down the road with a tingle up and down his spine.
"Move, Jaycee!" Shawn brushes Jaycee's side, hitting the corner of the street.
Like a spike, Shawn raises the steel rod above his head and slams it into the concrete; locked and engaged.
Shawn presses a red button—a small explosion followed by a high-pitched howl; the totem pole anchors in place.
"Totem 1 set!" Shawn yells—and Jordan, throwing on her backpack, takes off down the opposite corner. And yet Jaycee doesn't move. All he can do is watch down the street—towards the enemy. A dozen soldiers are sprinting like wild, ravaged animals towards them. Behind them, one hundred meters, the emergence of a black MechX hand, along with a large metal Ax that falls from the sky; crushing an unlucky soldier .
It's back. It's fucking back. The maniac machine is back.
The MechX steps into the clearing, and stops. It looks down at its ax, and almost disgusted like, flails the ax until the mangle corpse, stuck to the blade, falls. On both flanks of the machine, soldiers, like ants, run past and towards the nearest place of protection.
The machine locks eyes with Jaycee.
"Totem 2 set!"
Three soldiers, rush past Jaycee. Immediately, Captain Ealy waves them down. While a fourth, stops, twenty feet or so from Jaycee.
"Get to the entrance of the office building! Move! Move! Move!"
With thick veins and a red tempered face he screams as loud as he can; watching as Jaycee stands in the street.
"LET'S GET A FUCKING MOVE ON, NOW SOLDIER!" spit flies as his damn, fucking, incompetent private stands frozen in fear.
The unkown soldier is out of breath. blood drips from his ears and mouth; his uniform coated in powder from the buildings that have fallen. His rifle filthy and slung to his side. His chest rig empty of magazines. His left leg bleeding from the hip down.
"You can't bring them down," He mutters.
"This is hopeless, this whole fucking thing has been a lie. Just run. Just survive. Just get out of here, and don't fight. You can't fight."
"Jaycee!" Its Tina's voice.
"Come with us," Jaycee says, extending a hand. Beyond them, the shadow of the machine creeps. The soldier, looking down, watches as the shadow swallows him whole.
"Run."
He says, calmly, as he turns to face the large machine like an old wild west stand off.
The machine is daunting up close; as Jaycee clenches his rifle, aims, and fires a few shots at the MechX. two of the five rounds richochet off the left hip of the machine.
"Jaycee! Let's fucking go!" She screams again; as her legs burn and her chest aches; closing the distance between Shawn and her lover.
And the Ax crushes the unknown soldier.
He swallows at the brutality, staring at the crushed soldier beneath steel.
Just run. Just survive. Just get out of here, and don't fight. You can't fight.
And as quick as those words left his lips. He's dead.
Jaycee turns around and raises a fist.
"I'm coming!" he yells, easing Tina as she closes in on him; keeping calm and collected, as the giant machine, thirty feet from them for some reason, doesn't chase.
"You're a fucking idiot you know that!" Tina yells, visible tears streaming down her face as they push to regroup with Shawn.
"You will never, ever do that to me again, you hear me?"
"Yes, yes I hear you,"
In haste, they cover the distance to return to the group.
* * *
Back at the base of the office building, Fen, Kelly, and Tina, stand in a horizontal line holding rocket launchers at the base of the window that has the best vantage point to the MechX. The three other soldiers from the other section are stacking ammunition like firewood. Adam is now in control.
"Start fetching more ammunition from the street. The rest of you, get up that debris and take cover in the abandoned theatre. The Machine is just around the corner." Adam orders, while Ealy, stands at the large entrance desk, map in hand, plotting cordinates and routes.
"We can't fight it, we need to hide." Jaycee says to Adam.
And Adam, pointed finger ready, turns to face Jaycee with not anger, but disappointment.
"You will sit down soldier and focus while we fight. You are still alive, but if you keep acting like that, you shall die."
"The soldier back there told me we need to hide,"
"You mean the crazy one that almost got you killed?" Tina interjects, angrily—what you did Jaycee was so stupid!
"Enough, both of you. Tina, Shawn, join the line. Jaycee, join the other three soldiers whom just joined us, get out to the street and start hauling back whatever ammunition was left on the firing line."
"I have to agree with Jaycee," Shawn whispers to Kelly and Fen, whom, holding rocket launchers with one eye down the sight, can't help but nod. Their sights are full of midnight black.
"This is hopeless, indeed," Kelly whispers back.
"Listen here everyone," All eyes fall to Captain Ealy, whom, while the thunderous shake of the MechX slowly walking towards them; remains as calm as ice.
"We're not going to retreat. We have an tactical objective to destroy. But we do need to split. It's now time. We can't keep fighting these machines, and the utilities needed from Totem poles and EMP rounds will just slow us down."
"So what will you have us do?"
"I will have us destroy our tactical objective at all costs. Breach the beacon and take it down from the inside. If the machines like to destroy shit we're in, I can't imagine them taking kindly to destroying their own beacon."
"Two groups?" Adam raises a brow, knowing this would come. He peers back to the machine thats a hundred and fifty meters up the road. He eyes the red door beyond the machine. Four hundred meters, at least.
"Yeah, two groups and constant radio coverage." Ealy answers as he folds him map, and tucks it neatly into his pocket. He turns to his soldiers, all worn out with exhausted eyes. And yet despite them being half his age; it would appear these young soldiers are the elderly ones of the group.
"I have trained all of you since you first got to the Academy, through the United Universe program. And let me say, you are all ready to be the dogs of war I know you will be."
"Group 1 will consist of Adam, Shawn, Jordan, and I, along with the newly acquired grunts."
"We will set the totem trap and launch the smoke screen. The rest of you sneak out the rear and wrap around. . . I'll leave the man in charge to get the job done. Hit the beacon. I have uploaded the grid coordinates to your ______ "
Jaycee looks down at the location. He watches as the map recalibrates distance and bearing.
He swallows. The location makes him uneasy.
How do you expect us to get deeper into the city with fewer men?
Adam places a hand on Jaycees shoulder. He shakes his head.
"So who's in charge of group 2?" Fen asks, his voice sound less confident as each word leaves his lips. The utter disparity; known separation from his protecter and lover, Adam.
"Jaycee will be," Adam interjects—to which Ealy smirks, nods, and turns his attention down the street.
"Alright everyone, time to move. . . and let me tell you, you have out done yourself. I don't think I've ever met such a calm, collected group of soldiers. Even as my time when I crushed the Anchoras, some veterans left much to be desired."
"I concur," Adam adds, "Much calmness underneath the boot of an enemy well out matching our own. We will meet again. . . keep to what the Captain and I have taught you. Follow the principles and forget about rank and experience. You will do great. As well to you Jaycee—lead your men to victory."
"The machine is coming!" Kelly cuts, clenching the rocket launcher with Tina.
"Time to move, good luck." Captain Ealy turns to the main window; watching as the Machine has covered half the ground between them.
"Fire the smoke!"