High Command sent me in alone. Planet: Kerth Secundus. The rest of the 2nd Liberation Battalion was billions of miles away, fighting on Martale and bringing post-festival reckoning to the clankers. It was a righteous endeavor, protecting Colonel Rampart’s homeworld. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and felt the vibrations in my hellpod from the friction of entering the planet’s atmosphere. I remembered what they do. What they did. Why High Command was sending A Steel Warden. My muscles tensed in anticipation of the mission to come. Retrieve the Black Box and upload the data.
There was a loud thud as the pod impacted. My anxious body twitched and I rose to meet the night sky and the towering skyscrapers of Scholar’s Moor. The city had been long overrun by the autocratic menace. Blue hues and silver structures had become a familiar and hateful sight for me. There was a low and blaring distant metallic groan in the air and the pained garbling voices of the voteless. I could hear the wings of Stingrays cutting through the sky and the humming of a nearby Watcher. A single round from my Eruptor was enough to detonate the spiteful leering machination and send him plummeting to the concrete.
I assessed my radar while I waited for my equipment to arrive. Swathes of glowing red all over. Much like the adjacent ones, this sector was completely overrun by the abominations. Thud. Thud. Thud. The hellpods struck the concrete with a slam and a crack. I holstered my Defoliator and R-36, filled my satchels with ammunition and stims then started descending the stairs.
“Wow! A REAL Helldiver!” A young male voice called from the bottom of the steps as I descended. A SEAF Soldier, green enough to still have a smile on his face looking at me. He had three squadmates at his back.
“Hold position.” I ordered him and his squad bluntly as I walked by his zealous salute. Dozens of blips on the other side of the wall. Voteless horde. I grit my teeth and I draw my sabre. Turning the corner, I saw them in the flesh. Fused faces shifted towards me. The unnatural shifting movements changed to a sprint as they stumbled frantically towards me. Their fragile bodies broke against my Ballistic Shield as I slammed it into them, knocking the first wave of cretins to the floor and caving their skulls in with my boot. Blue slime coated my leg. More turned the corner. The bulk of the horde was upon me. My blade sang as it tore through muscle, ligament and bone, soaring clear through their knees and returning through the crowd to rend their skulls apart.
A SEAF soldier turned the corner after hearing the commotion. He was startled by what he saw, and frantically fired into the sparse remaining crowd. I nearly caught a bullet for his troubles, but the threat in the immediate area was dispatched, so I merely repeated my previous order.
“Hold. Position.” I shoved the frightened whelp back around the corner and continued South. Good intentions could get me killed.
The SE craft had fallen in the business sector and decimated the surrounding infrastructure there, the only thing to be salvaged from here was the data. Something that the squids could not be allowed to get their greasy tentacles on. The sound of autocannon shells echoed between the monolithic buildings as Pelican-1 dropped my transport in front of me. FRV. Helghan make. Pelican took its leave over the corpse of the fleshmob it made. Overseers came to scope out the commotion. I was gone before they arrived.
It was quiet on the way over, only the whirring of the FRV and wheels on the pavement for a while. I spotted the antennae of a Lidar station in the center of the city, near to where I was tasked with uploading the sensitive data. I slowed my vehicle to a crawl and peered out my window as I approached. The information I could receive from it could be vital. A scattered force of voteless remains beyond the fences, standing over a blinking shipping pod and around a terminal. Not a Watcher or Overseer in sight. They must have broken off from their horde and scattered here. I took a moment to feel pity for the hapless abominations before moving forward to execute them. Perhaps that was my mistake. They didn’t notice my approach. I knocked one down to the rubble below it with a swift kick to the back of the knee, followed by another strike to the back of the skull with my heel. Another few fell to quiet swings from my blade before the creatures finally noticed me. At first there were only a handful of them. A dozen maybe. I broke them quickly and began raising the antennae. More quiet.
But there’s something I’ve come to learn about the Illuminate and quiet. When they appear to be weak and silent it’s because they have something to hide. It’s a subterfuge of seething hatred to take advantage of a human’s courage and ambition. Somewhere inside me, I knew that trying this was suicidal. Another part of me didn’t care. Without a sound and before I knew it a squadron of Overseers had made their way into the station. They shouldn’t have been alerted to my position. Was there a leak? Was it just a coincidence? I didn’t have any time to contemplate it. A watcher flanked me and sent out an SOS on the spot before I could react. The watcher fell just seconds later but it was too late. The other threats were climbing the stairs towards me. A warpship company would be on me in mere moments.
I drew my chainsword from its hook. Revving its engine, I roared at the squids before me. The scourge pointed their weapons and screamed in return. The clash began at the steps. They were bottlenecked before the fight had even begun and their mobbing tactics wouldn’t work on me. The first one swung its war staff at me. I backstepped the strike and brought the spinning blade of the Defoliator down through his armor and into the freak’s soft skull, mulching it into a cerulean and black confetti that covered me along with the rest of his fetid companions. They hesitated for a moment to retaliate, having watched the other fall. I wrested the weapon from his gaping neck and shoved it up into the chest of another. They tried to strike me down, off of the other, but they were not strong enough to contest me or my tool. Needle pressed to my skin and I felt the stim enter my bloodstream. Pure energy and adrenaline. It felt like I was right there in liberty’s warm embrace. Democracy would protect me from any foe, no matter how mighty. Their pitiful flailing was ended in moments by my blade as the rest of them struggled in futility.
I lifted my head to the empty black sky, wiping off the blue viscera clouding my visor. Warp ships began descending from the heavens like angels of death. Worse still I could hear the groaning of the Leviathan blockade approaching. I closed my eyes. My mind was split between making peace with God or finding a way out. My hands input the command for an Orbital Gatling Barrage on the position of the warp ships. My body made the choice for me. Voteless swarmed the Lidar station, even with their wretched squeals I could hear the thudding of Fleshmobs approaching just out of sight. Bright blue lights streaked across the horizon as the Warp ships dropped their payload of troops. Harvesters and Flying Overseers. I shot once at the ship's shields, lowering their defenses slightly.
The artillery began to rain down on them, cracking the Illuminate vessels in half before they could depart. Shrapnel and debris from the wreckage fell on their units, crippling their advance and enveloping the area in smoke. Through the black billowing clouds I could see the unmistakable streaking glow of a Harvestor’s eye. I barely leapt out of the way of the Harvestor‘s beam attack. Pure energy lanced off of my ballistic shield. Enough that I could feel the heat through the metal and padding, but not enough to destroy it. From behind me, as I stand to my feet, I feel the heat of plasma rounds before they impact my armor. It wasn’t enough either. I grit my teeth, turn face and loose another jet round from my rifle. It shatters inside of the creature’s jetpack. It was enough. His body was blown to smithereens, launching bits of calamari onto everything around. A horde of Voteless were around the corner. A harvester was in front of me, ready to unleash another beam attack on me. Dashing around the corner, I came face to face with dozens of deformed mutants. I drew my blade once again and started hacking them to pieces. Listening to the groaning metal legs of the Harvester slam against concrete, I could tell it would soon be upon me. I took a deep breath and jammed a stim into my neck. My eyes dilated. I clocked the distance. First, I tossed a gas canister at my feet and repositioned myself to break the Harvestor’s joints with a well placed Eruptor strike. It landed and the beast was felled on the asphalt before me.
Then they arrived. The Leviathans. Two of them. Their shadows covered the Lidar station with a second night. Pitch black I remember grinning ear to ear when I saw them. Two of these big guys for little old me. They must really want me dead. I wasn’t about to give them the satisfaction. When the blinding blue light rained down on me I could hardly see, I ran on instinct. I only knew I had to wait out the last few seconds to reload the gatling rounds on The Fist of Family Values. Barely weaving the deadly beams I escaped the first volley by the skin of my teeth. Sweat was beading on my back from the exertion and heat. Quickly, I tossed the beacon for another barrage and made for my vehicle behind cover. It lay in a smouldering heap, having been destroyed during the commotion.
Where was the data? I sprinted to the wreckage and scanned for the black box. My second barrage began pelting one of the Leviathans. It groaned, as if the fleshy machination were alive. I turned my attention to the wreckage. A blinking yellow light shone through the smoke around the rubble. I moved towards the vehicle and was reaching for the black box when I heard it. The heavy thumping footfall of a fleshmob beyond the wall. A gas canister would distract it for long enough for me to sneak away from it with the data. I chuck one, banking it off the corner and I hear it hiss. The subsequent clamor of the malformed thing slamming its body into the wall confirmed its effect. I gathered my strength and snatched the sensitive data through the flames. I start running as fast as my feet will carry me.
Mortar strikes from the ground troops began to land around my feet as the Leviathans’ weapons attempted to track me running between the buildings. If I could make it just around the corner, just maybe I could live long enough to complete the mission. If I could just do something here, my imminent death would not be in vain. I take a deep breath before shoving another stim into my neck. The extra adrenaline enters my bloodstream once more. With white knuckles gripping the classified data, I started sprinting towards the terminal. My body stops caring about the agony and heat of the plasma ammunition pelting my back. The only thing that mattered anymore was completing the objective for my comrades on the front lines. For the families on Super Earth that cannot defend themselves. For democracy. My feet carried me faster than ever before.
Squeezing between two Super Earth towers and I avoided the coming onslaught for a moment. A metallic dandelion yellow peeked out through the gloom before me. It was the upload terminal. The device was swarmed with Voteless and Fleshmobs. Every zombie in my way was dismembered, broken by my blade. The fleshmobs were eviscerated with shrapnel shots from my gun. Before long I was there. I made it. With heaving breaths, I crashed into the sturdy data receptacle and slammed the black box inside. While stumbling over to the terminal, I called in more supplies on location. I was down to my last stim and I knew that it wouldn’t be long before the next wave of Illuminate reinforcements would arrive. The terminal screen glowed bright as it began to boot up. Thud. Thud. I flinched when the hellpods cracked the concrete. I stimmed myself, then restocked on my meds and munitions. I let my old shield clatter to the ground as I snatch up the new one from the other Hellpod. I felt good for a moment. Energized. I turn back to the terminal to login, but a familiar darkness blankets the area. My eyes instinctively turn upwards. The Leviathans had repositioned to fire on me.
I dove for cover, a tucked away corner of the facility, cursing the cowardly hovering monstrosities as they bombarded my position. Safe for just a moment, my furious imagination wandered to dissecting the abomination with my defoliator. Another Gatling would have to do instead. The red beacon rose to the dark of space and communicated with The Fist of Family Values. I hunkered down and waited for what felt like an eternity while my crew rained hell down upon the Leviathan. With a cacophony of metallic whines and groans, the beast was slain. The massive corpse crumbled and draped itself over a skyscraper. Dust erupted from the destroyed monoliths, but the twisted art of war remained after it had settled. I found myself smiling again. Knowing how many people one of those things might have killed in its tenure, I relished in its destruction like a warm embrace. There was solace in redemption for the ones damned by it. Solace for my own damnation soon to come. But my job was still unfinished. There was no time to linger in these comforting feelings.
I stood up then moved back towards the machine to initiate the satellite raising sequence. Before I could make it even a few steps farther, I spotted another Illuminate aircraft weaving between the architecture of downtown. There was no time to fully avoid it. I dove again, stim jamming into my neck. Bracing my back against the wall with my shield felt as if the energy explosions would blast me to bits. Luckily, my ballistic shield took the brunt of the punishment for me. Still, my ears were ringing and my vision was blurred.
Again, I tried to make my way back to the terminal but a fleshmob began shambling down to me from the ramp. Practically bottlednecked, I slipped past the creature’s funnel by putting my shield between me and it. Pushed away from the objective. If I let it kill me here the squids could recover more valuable data from the black box before the data can be securely deleted. It was a faded mass of those agonized eyes of the fused amalgamation. I didn’t let the sight of it draw me into my past. I racked a round into my Eruptor and blasted it as I made space. It shuttered in some facsimile of pain and ran towards me. Another round and it was scattered across the floor in bloody heaps of flesh and chunks of bone.
More Illuminate warp ships jumped in behind me, depositing droves of Voteless on my position. A river of mindless blue eyes rushed towards me. I left their bodies in heaps on the ground. Skulls crushed against the concrete. Sliced to ribbons. Ran through. Smashed into gore on the wall. Each wave of the brainwashed tide broke against my will. They all fell before me. It wasn’t enough. There were more coming and the tower still wasn’t in position to send the data. The Stingray would circle around again. Flying Overseers covered the facility. Eventually they would push me out of position. Weaving through the incoming fire from overhead I advanced with my trusty Eruptor. For every pest I culled, another seemed to take its place. The second Leviathan returned, making its presence known with fire from above. I backed to the cover of the tall buildings once more.
There was no way out. Every permutation I could think of ended in my doom. If the aerial support didn’t eliminate me, the encroaching ground forces would eventually overwhelm me. My eyes turned to my available strategems on my wrist mounted interface. No reinforcements available. No SOS available. Kerth Secundus was in need of a Helldiver. I was in need of a savior. I closed my eyes for a moment and began to accept my demise. All I needed to do was make one last break for the terminal and they would execute me.
“Allied destroyer has joined squadron.” a voice from The Fist of Family Values communication center informed me. How was it even possible? High command has given strict parameters that this would remain a solo mission. Who even could be coming? It would be considered high treason. We might both be executed after this.
Thud. I could hear the hellpod landing through the symphony of battle around me. Callsign M30W. Thud. Support weaponry? What kind of person would they be? When I turned the corner I was face to face with my guardian angel. A clanker, equipped with Helldiver apparel. Dressed like a medic in the classic forest green and enamel white attire. It even had the smell of a Super Destroyer.
“What the hell are you?” I addressed the thing before me.
“I am me.” A monotone drone replied to me.
“You’re with Super Earth?” I asked him. I could hardly believe what was happening. Part of me thought that this was a port mortem hallucination my mind created to make sense of things.
“DEATH TO kzzzrrt The Illuminate.” The response was stitched-together voice clips from the automaton and Coretta Kelly. It drew a pistol on me and loosed a round before I could properly react. A stim round landed in my bicep.
“Go to the tower, I’ll raise it, you align it.” I placed my faith in my new steel warden.
“Affirmative. HELLDIVER,” It replied in a janky scream.
I scrambled back to the terminal, guns blazing and filled with new determination from my metal messiah. I pressed the button, I raised the tower while M30W turned it to position. Beep. The upload would begin shortly. The automaton began loading shotgun shells into the Overseers harassing me from the sky. Beep. I input the code. Crack. I let out a round into the approaching Stingray. It crashes down the street.
“Illuminate- SCUM” The bot yelled out, releasing gas canisters into the surrounding area. This thing had almost as much fervor as a real Helldiver. Beep.
“Mission successful. Extraction awaits, Helldivers.” My democracy officer called out to me through the communications. The words rattled my skull. I had completely discounted the possibility of making it out of here alive. I frantically called for another recon vehicle. With machine precision, the robot covered my flank as the vehicle landed before us.
“Get in.” I ordered M30W.
Rubber squealed against asphalt as we burned out onto the street. Plasma was still streaking and exploding across the sky behind us as we retreated to the extraction point. The car was too fast and lightweight to be struck. We lost our pursuers between the towers of Scholars Moor.
We made distance enough to call the Pelican down to us. A minute and thirty seconds. I looked at the robot by my side. It stood eerily still.
“Helldivers- are waiting” Another stitched together phrase. The thing was uncomfortably aware of its surroundings, but it seemed to be programmed with only the best of intentions for me.
The Illuminate couldn’t triangulate us in time to stop our evacuation of the planet. The two of us boarded Pelican-1 with appropriate urgency and we were lifted out of the atmosphere.
The belt buckle of my harness clicked as I secured my seat. I let out a sigh of relief. I could hardly make sense of it. I looked at my shaking hands in disbelief, still unsure if this was reality I was perceiving. The sharp prick of a needle in my forearm jerked me back to life.
“Administering stim.” The bot droned.
I couldn’t help but to laugh, but it still didn’t make sense until I made my way back to the ship. It wasn’t my destroyer. Pelican brought us to the SES Arbiter of Family Values.
The ceremonial lift raised us up to the bridge out of the dark where we were greeted with the fanfare of confetti and applause. Colonel Rampart stood there in the center of the ship’s arsenal, his stark white and gold armor was glimmering against the bright LEDs of the destroyer. An unseen smile was curled about his lips.
“High Command said we couldn’t send even one more man down for your mission.” He spoke matter of factly, “But they didn’t say anything about a bot.”
