Mayumi Magalit D. Subal, Bastion Eos, 2nd of february 240
...And just like that the explosion happens. I adjust my angle of descent as far as the gyros allow, and plunge Kage into the ground to anchor myself. Out of ammo, I unholster my revolver and blast another of those damn suicide heretics. There goes the ballistic vest. Again. Dice had patched it up only hours ago, too...
I see Rapax having difficulties, so as soon as Sadatan pumps me full of stimulants (again) I order to flank behind. I see a shadow moving forward. I give my new service rifle to Aki so he can take it for a spin, and order him to distract the enemy. He foolishly follows me, flashlight trained on me every moment. I curse and fan the hammer. Slowly but steadily we’re wiping out these bastards and we mop up soon enough.
I do a quick rounds of the men. Someone suggest a med-evac for our people. Soma, Ba’so, the Rapax guys and some others got hit hard. We’re running low on ammo too. I nod once and push off.
I do not like being a battlefield captain. I had to work my way up through the ranks once, and going through it for the second time after being Dishonoured I remember how much I hated being an Animar. I always functioned better from a command center. Men reduced to blips and comms. Perhaps it is cruel, but my casualty rate was as low as the abysses from my home planet. Out there, with your men, you can’t think clearly. Too many distractions. So much noise… For an oceaner like me that really messes with your concentration, and even the audio dampeners with smart algorithms for priority setting don’t fully compensate.
The door blows, and we breach the compound. A few seconds of dampener noise crackles, the mic starts gaining DBs and we’re rushing through the corridors. Why am I not up front? Did they even wait for my signal? This is why I stick to my unit..
I don’t hear gunfire, and we make it to the command center just fine. Vladimir or some other punk busts open the first door, and we have a staircase leading up. Carefully, they scout the inside and press deeper, when Akizuki takes three steps back after racking the chamber:
“We’ve got hostiles!”
An ambush. Wakefield and I shove everyone into the C&C to make sure they don’t get hit. I’m practically dragged along, and make a grab for Akizuki as four rounds slam into his chest. I fail the grab and I’m inside the door before I know it. There’s nothing to do but bar the door with my arm while they figure out how to get in up there.
So many people shouting. So hard to keep focus…
We Karangalan have a different name among ourselves. Half-mocking, half-truth, we are sometimes called box-cutters. We’re dispensable tools for the rest of the military. To be used until we’re too dull to perform well and subsequently discarded. With my own men, this is an inevitable truth. But we must also perform to the highest standards Dugo Militar have. And that means no mistakes, no friendlies in danger…
Outside I can hear them torturing Akizuki. Trying to goad us with a trap. I know that I cannot save him and I wish I could disable my audio enhancers. I can not endanger ten to secure the life of one who is worth less. But I can make the death count, and I can end the pain for him. I look over to Jericho, and I call in the order nobody wants to hear. He primes a frag, and I ready by the door. Enabling my servos again, they whine as they rev up for the coming action. Years of training kick in and I nod. He pulls the pin and I open the door. He tosses it through, and I slam the door shut. Far too fast. Dugo and Aquila differ so greatly in every little thing, so the timing of their FaC maneuver is different from ours. I scream at him to grab the grenade while I broaden myself to spare Wakefield from the coming blast, but then he has it in his hand, and I open the door once more. It tumbles out, and in a stroke of luck, rolls to Akizuki.
And this time, I do not pray to the Emperor. I pray that his Mother will forgive me for murdering her child to save Pendzal and Aquila on a gods-forsaken colony nobody in the core worlds care about.
Over my shoulder, I look at Wakefield. He’s trying to keep his composure but I can see the emotions in his eyes. Rage, confusion, sadness. I don’t blame him for that look. I deserve everything I get.
But I must place everyone else first, and this form of cruel Triage is something he should be able to understand eventually. My diary logs a note to talk with him about this, but I am not so optimistic.
The door is wrenched open, and I fall forward. Swords in hands before I know what happens, I slice the first one apart and make for the others. A riccochet tells me the Aquila are near, and in that second I am grabbed by two of the bastards only to see the crazed look in their eyes, seconds before they bloom into bloody flame.
Not for the first time, I am reminded of how much I do not want this “job”.
I barely feel the burning anymore, retinal HUD flashing 20 different kinds of alarms at me as the vision goes black.
I must be hallucinating. This must be hell. GPS still functions, and in my overlay I see [SUPERUSER MAATI: 3.2m NORTH-EAST] in my range indicator.
Switching to shoulder speaker, for I dare not use my lungs in this smouldering heat, I crackle. “Maatiiii…..”
The range indicator changes to a scant 71 cm.
“Hello yes?”