Symphonies of Valor Page 3

  “Oh!” Roni giggled. “I almost forgot.” She handed Meomi a white and blue sub-machine gun which featured two slots for magazine cartridges, doubling the ammo capacity compared to older models. Surrounding the barrel were six-pointed silver prongs.

  “What is this?” Meomi raised her eyebrows. “I’ve never seen this weapon before?”

  “It’s a new gun specially designed for Mimics called the M-3 Wardcliff Carbine. But the space marines like to call it, the Goobuster.” Roni smirked. “It fires a cryogenic bullet that instantaneously freezes Mimics in place followed by an electric current that fries them. It works especially well on Reapers, but for the bigger Mimics, you’ll hopefully have more soldiers shooting with you.”

  “Interesting…” Meomi held the scope of the rifle to her eye. Her suit’s computers automatically connected to the interface on the weapon and displayed the ammo count and battery life remaining as a display in the upper right corner of her HUD. “It’s lighter than I thought it would be.”

  “Judging by how you’re holding it, I guess I don’t need to explain how to use it.” Roni smiled. “Shall we get going?”

  “Is the rest of the team still waiting for us?” Meomi holstered the Goobuster.

  “No, I messaged them to go ahead without us and that we’ll meet them there.” Roni opened the equipment room door. “We have our own private transport, anyway. This gives us more time to talk. It’s rare you’re this lucid.”

  Meomi followed Roni into the back of an armored transport truck large enough to fit a dozen soldiers wearing exo suits, but they were the only passengers besides the driver and a marine on top of the vehicle. He was manning a pulse cannon and greeted the two as they entered.

  “This seems like a lot of firepower for a simple escort mission,” Meomi said. “Is Shanghai really that dangerous?”

  “Most citizens know to leave us be, but the local warlords would not hesitate to ambush us for our weapons and tech.”

  “Are people seriously that stupid or crazy to not realize a war is going on for the fate of our species?” Meomi gazed through the ballistic glass and watched the locals go about their day as usual. Shopping for groceries. Eating at restaurants. Walking their perfectly groomed dogs.

  “I think things would be different if the dome wasn’t up,” Roni said. “Looking up into the sky, you barely notice it’s there. There’s no Mimics in the streets. There are, however, plenty of droid police units. There’s a false feeling of safety and comfort. They can go home after work, pick up their kids from school and be with their friends and family in the evenings. It doesn’t help that the local government is telling them not to panic.”

  “What about the media? Is no one covering the story of an alien invasion on our home planet?”

  “The powers that be decided it was best to have a media blackout.”

  The scenery outside the transport vehicle quickly transitioned from a bustling, buzzing metropolis to a seedy, grimy, perverse version of the same city. Groups of men stood in front of broken down storefronts without their shirts showing off their cybernetic enhancements. Each of them brandished some combination of rifle and sword. Hanging onto their arms were scantily clad, heavily tattooed woman displaying similar amounts of cybernetic and prosthetic additions.

  “Now you see why a protection detail is necessary for this sector,” Roni said.

  “Earth isn’t that much different from the ‘Roid world where I grew up. There are bad and good areas. I expected…”

  “A utopia?” Roni smirked. “Where everyone is happy and living the best life they can have?”

  “That was the dream when I was younger. Get off the space rock where I was unfortunate enough to enter life. Then, any way I can, find a comfortable, safe home on Earth.” Meomi looked away from Roni. “I don’t know why I’m telling you this.” A small migraine surfaced behind her forehead. It moved around her brain like a spiked marble rolling inside her skull. She lost the will to speak.

  Roni grinned. “I will tell you what someone told me shortly after I became an Entrent. We’re all just dust in a cloud of ash drifting through eternity. What we do now may not influence much in the grand scheme of things, but we can change the quality of our own lives and of the people around us.”

  Meomi scoffed. It was not like her to ponder her existence or examine her life goals. She wanted the conversation with Roni to stop. The migraines felt like they were on its way from bad to worse. For once, Meomi wanted Roni to probe her head to see how badly she wanted her to shut up.

  But Roni didn’t seem to sense Meomi’s annoyance and continued the conversation. “What were we talking about again? Oh…” Her eyes brightened. “Most of Earth is like that. Safe and full of beauty on one spectrum and… less so on the other side.”

  Meomi tried to ignore Roni, but her words were triggering memories of war. She spent the past decade of her life fighting for a Commonwealth that never seemed to have existed in reality. She died twice, sort of, to protect those ideals. In the process, she had seen many horrors and lost many people dear to her.

  “I can tell by your pinched face you’re having a moment of self-reflection,” Roni said. “Are you regretting your decision to join the Commonwealth Infantry and Fleet?”

  “Regret?” Meomi scoffed. “No. The life I had before wasn’t great, to put it mildly. The armed services got me off that dead end of a floating rock. But…” Images of her fallen crewmates flickered through her mind. Lieutenant Laurine Remy, Captain Khoan Thorne, and her entire crew on the CMS Cerberus. “It’s just… I’ve lost a lot of friends recently.”

  The transport slowed.

  “We have civilians blocking the road,” said the driver.

  “This happens sometimes,” Roni said. “No need to worry.”

  While waiting for the transport to move again, Meomi took in the details of the neighborhood. Every building looked abandoned, rundown, or in the process of collapsing. Potholes lined the streets. On the corner of one intersection, she noticed the body of a skinny boy with platinum hair lying on the ground. His skin was dusky, and it appeared he had died some time ago. Others walked around his body as if he were trash. A cold feeling filled Meomi’s chest. She closed her eyes, unable to keep her gaze on the young teen. He looked too much like Inoke for her comfort.

  Her skin itched again. Meomi felt a rush of cool air against her flesh — an impossibility while wearing her Tempest suit. She struggled with her breathing, her lungs burning with every breath. In her mind, she visualized the dead body standing up and running toward the transport.

  “Little Wolf,” said a haunting voice into her ear comm. “Wake up.”

  Meomi’s eyes surged opened to see Roni in front of her.

  “Wake up,” Roni said in a cheery voice. “It looks like you fell asleep. That’s not normal for you right? Falling asleep whenever, wherever?”

  “No.” Meomi looked outside the window. They had moved to a different part of the city. The body was gone. She checked her chronometer. 10 minutes had passed.

  “Tell me about Inoke.” Roni tilted her head.

  “What?” Meomi’s eyes widened. “You need to stop entering my head without my permission.”

  “I didn’t,” Roni said in an airy voice. “Before your little nap, you were talking about the people you lost. During your bouts of hallucinations, you would mention Inoke’s name often. He must be really important to you.”

  “In a sense, yes.” Meomi didn’t know how to talk about Inoke to another person. By most accounts, she hardly knew him. They found each other in an extreme situation during the Battle of Burning Midnight on Gosi Prime. Then he disappeared for many years before showing up again in another chaotic time of her life. Their existence had somehow become twisted in an unknowing, complicated way that was difficult to unravel and interpret. He may be gone from her life, but no person had more of an impact on her than he did.

  “Can you tell me what he said to you inside the pyramid on Caelora?”
Roni leaned in. “It may help me diagnose you.”

  “You know about that?” Meomi furrowed her brow.

  “Rayfin briefed me on everything that happened on Caelora. Pocket universes — crazy!” Roni squealed. “Whatever the Aorgarians did to you, it made you a serious threat to Mimics. So, knowing what happened to you inside the pyramid may be the clue we need to fix your head.” She held up her hands in front of her chest. “Not that I think you’re broken or anything… At least not beyond repair.”

  Meomi’s face tightened. Sometimes her sanity felt like it was slipping away, like her mind being pulled out of her body. Worse, the person assigned to help her was a teenage girl — a telepathic girl with special gifts to be fair — but unfortunately, one who seemed to lack experience. “Everything is still a blur.” She sighed. “I’m not just saying that to avoid talking about it. When I think about what happened back on Caelora, back inside the Anchor — which is what the Aorgarians called it — it feels like a dream from a long time ago.”

  “Well, give it time, Captain Hana. I’m sure everything will come back to you.”

  The transport sped up.

  “We just got a distress call from the base,” said the driver. “Mimics have infiltrated the shield!”

  5

  Dragon Company’s distress call didn’t seem to remove the smile from Roni’s face. She was effervescent as ever and continued her barrage of questions concerning Inoke, the Anchor, the two times Meomi “died,” and on being embedded with Aorgarian tech.

  Meomi tried to ignore the questions assaulting her, focusing instead on her HUD map overlay. The transport was 15 minutes away from Dragon Company and the unknown danger threatening them. Usually, her stomach stirred with butterflies whenever she neared an active combat zone. Not this time. The only feelings present was a lack of one.

  “Did you hear me, Captain Hana?” Roni tapped Meomi’s leg. “This mission is as much about healing you as it’s about repairing the shield emitters.”

  “Why aren’t you more concerned about the Mimics breaching the shields?” Meomi stared unblinkingly into Roni’s eyes. Her words came out intentionally harsh.

  “Because it’s Captain Jonas Barick and Dragon Company.” Roni smirked. “They can handle a few Mimics.”

  “A few Mimics?” Meomi’s mouth hung open after the question. It used to be that a few Mimics caused enough terror to last a lifetime or three. The migraine throbbed behind her eyes. Meomi worried about what she would do to the Entrent if the conversation persisted. She retreated to a small space inside her mind. Her brain needed a hard reset.

  But words continued to stream out of Roni’s mouth. She asked questions about things for which Meomi had no answers.

  Patience was never one of Meomi’s virtues. She imagined bashing Roni’s head against the side of the transport. Meomi quickly wiped away the thought. This wasn’t like her. She needed to change the conversation — do something non-violent. Roni may be an Entrent, but she’s still a teenage girl. The only subject adolescent girls are always fascinated by is themselves. “I’m not the only one here infused with alien DNA. What’s it like to be you? Did you feel weird after the process? Did you feel anything at all?”

  “You know…” Roni’s eyes widened. “No one has ever asked me before.” She hesitated before answering as if she was gathering her thoughts. “For me, it was like waking up and seeing everything for the first time again. Imagine being born aware of everything around you and having the experience and understanding of an adult.”

  “I can’t tell if that’s a good or a bad thing.” Meomi scoffed.

  “Not to change the subject, but I notice you scratching yourself again.” Roni wrinkled her brow. “And you’re doing it over your exo suit. Why do you do that?”

  “I don’t know.” Meomi sighed. “Sometimes I see patterns on my skin and… There’s just an overwhelming urge to scratch them. Apparently, I’m the only one who can see them.”

  “Interesting…” Roni rapped her chin.

  “We’re here,” said the driver.

  The transport arrived at the eastern gate of the former Militek Robotics Factory, the facility Fleet Engineers converted into a makeshift base for one of the shield generators powering the force field over Shanghai. Three plumes of smoke filled the air with a thick white haze. Visibility dropped to zero.

  Squinting, Meomi noticed a dozen ghostly figures standing motionless. “I see the engineers and their marine escorts.” She jumped out of the vehicle first. “Clear!”

  “Out of the way!” screamed one engineer as he ran into the transport.

  The others quickly followed except for one female sitting on the ground with a look of horror on her face. Her body was trembling.

  “Ma’am,” Meomi said to her. “Are you OK? Are you hurt?”

  “What? No…” she said in between raspy breaths.

  “What’s your name?” Meomi asked.

  “Camila.”

  “OK, Camila. You’re going to be OK.” Meomi helped her up. “What did you see in there?”

  “It was... Nightmare…” Camila’s voice was barely audible over the hum of the transport. “I… I didn’t believe… My friend... Disguised as… Datapad.”

  Roni touched Camila’s hand. “You’re safe now. Everything will be OK.” The trembling stopped.

  Meomi carried Camila into the transport then asked Roni, “What did you do to her?”

  “I placed her mind in a happy place, filled with baby animals and cotton candy.” She smiled. “That works really well for most people. Wait…” Her face soured. “I see it… What happened to her friend.”

  “The Mimic?”

  Roni nodded. “It just… went inside his body. He was holding a datapad, then within seconds, his entire body was surrounded by a black ooze and… it went into his mouth, nose, and ears. Didn’t take long…”

  “You don’t have to be here.” Meomi steered Roni into the transport, but she resisted.

  “I’m fine, Captain Hana.” She smirked. “I may look young, but I’m older than you think. I can handle my own.”

  Mimics were named not just for the ability to take the appearance of people, but also for their capability to take on the shape of inanimate objects. The idea that anything around her could be a Mimic in hiding, ready to pounce when you least suspected was a genuinely frightening notion to Meomi. “All passengers on board. Time to get out!” Meomi pounded the rear of the transport.

  “Good luck, Captain Hana,” the driver replied. “Falcon Company has been dispatched to provide reinforcements. Their ETA is approximately 30 minutes. You’re alone until then.”

  “Understood. Bring them back safe,” Meomi said, watching the transport disappear into the haze.

  “I can’t reach the remaining members of Dragon Company,” Roni said. “Captain Barick. Lieutenant Manalo. I hope they’re OK.”

  “The one thing you should know about Rayfin is that he’s like a tardigrade — he can survive any situation, any environment.” Meomi looked at her mini-map. There were three blue dots half-a-klick away in the western half of the facility. “There must be some interference. But they’re not far away.”

  “I’m not seeing any enemies on my mini-map,” Roni said. “Do you?”

  “No, but keep your head on a swivel.” Meomi charged her Goobuster gun. “Let’s go.”

  The two advanced toward the western campus of the converted robotics factory, taking slow, measured steps. The facility split into two giant warehouse-sized spaces. Within each half were assembly lines filled with droids in various stages of production. Partially assembled android parts, tools, and broken machinery lay to the side of the conveyor belts. On every piece of equipment were the words, Militek Automated Soldiers and Security or MASS for short. A century ago, Militek Corporation was the largest producer of combat droids before being replaced Spartan Tek’s Centurias droids.

  “Captain Barick. Rayfin. Acknowledge,” Meomi said over suit comm.

 
No response.

  Roni slowed her pace.

  “I don’t like this,” Meomi said. Weak beams of sunlight diffused through the cruddy exterior windows. Her suit lights barely illuminated the area in front of her. Perfect camouflage for Mimics with too many dark spots for Meomi’s liking.

  “Do you sense any other life forms?”

  “Just me and you in here,” Roni answered.

  “What about members of Dragon Company? Can you hear their thoughts?”

  Roni shook her head. “No, and that concerns me a bit. Do you think we should head back outside and wait for Falcon Company?”

  Meomi had been in this situation before. Searching for a lost crewmate. Active exo suit transponder, but no comms. She believed waiting too long got Lieutenant Remy killed. “We keep going.” Meomi scanned her surroundings, half-expecting for Inoke — or the imposter version of him — to show up again.

  “What are you looking for, Captain Hana?”

  “Nothing,” Meomi shook her head. “Just sweeping for Mimics.”

  “There’s something wrong, isn’t there?” Roni pressed on when Meomi didn’t answer. “You don’t talk much about your time on Gosi Prime.”

  “I said it’s nothing!” Meomi scowled. “Why do you keep asking about the most traumatic moments of my life during the most inopportune situations?”

  “I’m trying to help, Captain Hana.” Roni held her hand up as a gesture of peace. “You’ve been suppressing your feelings far too long. The more details you share with someone, the sooner your mind will heal itself.”

  “Well, this isn’t the best time.” Meomi moved away from Roni. This newfound rage wasn’t normal for her. But it wasn’t the time for self-analysis. “We have a mission. Find the rest of our squad and protect the shield generator.”

  They entered the adjacent warehouse. Immediately greeting them was a giant heap of broken droid parts piled as high as the 15-meter ceiling.

  Roni plucked a detached hand from the pile. “There’s enough parts to build an army of MASS droids.” She yelped and threw away the hand when it closed into a fist.