“I don't even know why we are here.” PFC Barlow complained as he slushed through the hip high swamp water.
“You ask the same question on every damn mud ball. It's because Command wants us here, that's why.” Roy answered. “Now quit complaining and get your mind back on track. We are bound to run into Whakeyes eventually.”
“Yes Lieutenant.”
Roy blinked at his sensor display, but the threat sensor was clear. Not that it meant much, according to Intel these Whackeyes often stripped out of their power armor and simply relied on their tremendous strength and natural weapons, but what they did to attack or how they looked like no one knew for sure.
It was a new species,no one had heard before.
The Kermac were retreating now for the last eight weeks and most of the fighting happened in space. Roy and his Platoon could barely remember how many ships and enemy stations they had boarded. There was no one in the known galaxy doubting that the Union would win this war, but the Kermac and the Galactic Council was not rolling over and surrender. Almost every week there were news about a new previously unknown Thrall species thrown into the fight by their Kermac masters. Now if it was up to the Eternal Warrior the war would have been over, and every enemy world orbital bombed including Kermac Prime, but that was not the Union way. Since it was believed that most Thrall species of the GC did not fight on their own free will, but where forced either by the Kermac Psi powers or by other means. So every time a new species appeared, it had to be determined how they were controlled.
Now a few days ago fleet ran into a new species. Scuddlebutt had it, they were similar to the Y'All. Incredibly powerful and relentless. Creatures able to go toe to toe with a Marine wearing a Quasimodo.
It was their job to find out if this was true and capture a few of these beings alive, so Xeno could disect a few and perhaps find out what made them tick.
So this morning he and his platoon orbit jumped on this planet where Intel assumed Whakeys had a stronghold of some kind. The eight fleet was in full strenght in the system to make sure nothing left and no one uninvited joined the party.
Roy waded through the brackish water, taking point with his platoon in a loose diamond formation around and behind him. The planet, or at least the region they had jumped into was a steaming jungle swamp, but unlike on Green Hell his home planet, the plants here were black and looked for the most part like inter twined bodies of naked, wet snakes with thorns. These twisted tree like things did fan out into a dense canopy, letting only little day light through.
The air technically was breathable but had a higher oxygen content than Standard Terran type NiOx atmospheres, but they kept their helmets closed as Science told them , the air was thick with pollen and spores of all kind. Science had no idea yet if that stuff was harmless or not.
The dense bio sphere of the planet combined with strong electro magnetic storms made sensor scans very unreliable.
Roy had never seen so many lighting bolts, thunder was almost constant and so was a strong downpour of rain. He wondered if this was only seasonal or if conditions were always like this.
They were only one of a hundred platoons combing the surface all across this planet.
Barlow, a Terran Human and his SAW man carrying a TKU Fafnir Gatling snarled. “Eight hours now, and nothing but these ugly Lizard Snakes and goddamn huge swim beetles. Maybe there aren' any Whakeys down here.”
“We have barley covered ten percent of the planets surface, there is still lots of ground to cover.”
His platoon sergeant, a Pertharian swatted a huge black beetle from his helmets face plate chimed in. “Mr. Barlow if you feel bored you can join me for a recon flight ahead, if the Luitenant agrees to it, of course.”
Roy shook his head, not really knowing they could of course not see his gesture and said. “You wouldn't see much from above the canopy. Just stay put for now.”
Just then Command flashed on the com-panel and Roy blinked it active. “Lt. Masters here.”
“This Operation Command, Major Omval, Find a spot and make Camp. We drop a MOTEL as soon as you give the signal.”
“Yes, Sir, any additional instructions?”
“There will be an official Mission Update brief at 0900 hrs and that is two hours and six minutes from now, but here is the new situation in a Nutshell. The Army is doing a full Divisional Orbital assault on the southern Continent, making a lot of Noise doing so. They even land a Leviathan. The Army Division brings in Aqua troops to scour the ocean as well. Command feels that this will make whatever hides on that mud ball nervous enough to move or even attack. If they attack we' re ready and if they move we hope they move into northern direction,in other words right to where you and the other platoons are.”
Roy rolled his eyes as he heard the word Army and sighed. “They just had to join the party. Why don't they let us do a Division drop and they do the point scouting for once?”
The Major on the other end snickered. “Because they aren't Marines, Semper Fi.”
“Semper Fi Major.”
Roy pointed at the Pertharian. “Sarge, you got your wish, go up there and see if there is a spot around here where we can set up camp.”
“Aye.”
The Pertharian shot into the air and through the canopy moments later.
Roy gave the gather order and his troops pulled close together in a star formation weapons pointing outwards.
The Sargent reported. “Local Topo analysis complete. There is nothing really for ten klicks all around us, just trees and swamp. There is a shallow hill 21.6 klicks from where we are, sensors say its Terra Firma.”
A new voice buzzed in. “No way , we spotted that hill first. Bravo Company 2nd Platoon calls it. We're only 4 klicks away from it.”
Roy snorted. “Lt. Nine-Nine-Two get off our channel and quit eavesdropping on 1st platoon. The hill is yours, it is to far out for us.”
“This Non-Corp needs every edge to compete against a certain Greenie Lt, besides you left the Company Level channel open ever since we dropped.”
“Well keep your ladies nice and safe, looks like the Army is doing a big fancy show down south and perhaps scaring those elusive buggers our way.”
“I think Intel has it all wrong and there aren't any. They may fool our sensors but I am a Non Corp, I can smell artifical energies over great distances and I haven't felt anything.”
“Would not be the first time NAVINT is wrong about something. Now enjoy your hill, while we have to do with the swamp.”
Roy deactivated the connection and said. “Well looks like subtility is out the window, we might as well camp right here then, Mr Barlow be so kind and make us a little room, Command is dropping us a MOTEL, so not even you can complain.”
Barlow opened up with his gatling and moved it in an arc, vaporizing vegetation and trees in a neat circle. “Oh Sir, I certainly can, for one I prefer our drop ship over a MOTEL any time,or even better some R&R on Para Para.”
Roy sighed and sent the exact coordinates to a ship far up in orbit somewhere. Gunner Crews of the Union Navy loaded a green Giga Load casing into a Translocator cannon. It wasn't a bomb, it was a Mobile Operations Temporary Encampment Load, specifically developed for the Union Marines.
Only perhaps ten meters from Roy and almost at the center of the spot PFC Barlow had cleared, a dark green 5 ton capsule appeared in a white flash , enormous bang and tidal wave of black swamp water.
While the rest of the platoon was keeping guard , Barlow sent the activation signal.
The Capsule sensors analyzed the surroundings and reconfigured the pay load with an army of Nanites to the environment and seconds later, almost like a children inflatable castle something expanded and inflated. A 15 meter diameter flating platform with a central cube shaped building. The Platform had four automatic cannons, was well shielded with ParaDim Shields. It has room enough for the platoon to get out of their suits, take showers, eat in a small galley and sleep in low gee cods. It certainly beat the prospect of sleeping in the suit, something they all had done many times before of course.
Just then Roy's uncanny sense of danger tingled his nerves. It was a faint sensation, nothing in the immideate