Sacremon (Harmony War Series Book 1) (18 page)

“I wasn’t the only one. Captain Nerva has extended to us a challenge. We are going to go through our workup testing and we are going to be the best damned section in this entire Company.”

           
Xiao let out a sigh.

           
Pullo turned, putting his face inches from Xiao.

           
“Is something the matter private Xiao? I don't fucking remember asking you to try and taste the fucking air for me. But now you have, how does that air taste Xiao is it nice and recycled?”

           
“Yes it is Sergeant!” Xiao barked.

           
“Well that is good fucking news, on the ground everyone! I want to make sure that we fully circulate that air and get a good deep taste for quality recycled air!”

           
Pullo was on the ground with everyone, calling up and down.

           
Mark and Tyler were grunting through the push ups, their arms tight from strain.

           
“Recover,” Pullo said, standing up with everyone. “Now that you are done sampling the air, might I continue with the offer the Captain has so graciously given us instead of pulling this abomination of a Section apart and dispersing us?” Pullo asked, more than one person's face drained of color, having a section disbanded would look bad on everyone no matter what part they had played.

           
“Yes Sergeant!” Xiao yelled at the bunk bed on the other side of the room.

           
“Fan-fucking-tastic! If we prove ourselves in training and we get through Sacremon then we will be going to Alpha Company. A nice cherry spot on Special teams with a pay bump and everything. Get out to the PT area and start moving through the tests. Help out anyone that might need the cobwebs knocked out,” Pullo said. “Dolche, a word.”

           
“You heard the Sergeant, get moving!” Gupta barked, his eyes looking for stragglers as people piled out of the barracks in a rush towards the PT ground.

           
They formed into two lines with Mark and Tyler beside one another.

           
First Gupta pushed them through running, Dolche and Sergeant Pullo joined them as they were running, bringing the squad up to its full twelve-person strength.

           
Pullo and Dolche kept running while the rest of the squad moved to the medical area, sensors and recording devices were attached to their bodies as they did everything from push ups and sit-ups to controlled curls, pullups and more running.

           
Then it was onto sparring, Mark and Tyler went up against one another, the others gave them a ton of room as they snapped out kicks and attacks on one another.

           
Pullo had them back in barracks as fast as the testers had their marks.

           
They ran through their kit, Mark and Tyler looked over the plates and their helmet for racks and such.

           
“Put it on and over pressurize the suit to look for leaks,” Simmons said, watching their confused looks.

           
“How?” Tyler asked.

           
She got them in their full kit, the armored plates fit directly over their smart clothes, straps pulled them tight to their bodies and rough areas adhered to the armored plates.

           
They strapped around their legs, arms and draped down their chest.

           
It had a comforting solid feel to it all. Mark jumped and moved just to text out all its flexibility.

           
“I think you're going to need bigger armor,” she said looking at Tyler and Mark, their nine months had certainly paid off.

           
“We gained a few pounds.”

           
“Gupta, these two need to be refitted,” she called out

           
“We'll go to the stores as a squad, it seems that more than one person’s smart clothes are frayed or their armors got weak points,” Gupta said.

           
Everyone got their gear and went on another jog to the outfitters.

           
New gear was issued and the outfitters ran every test possible on the kit to make sure no one came back to them before they dropped onto Sacremon.

           
Pullo came in holding his helmet. “Alright ten minutes and we're moving out to the proving grounds. Line up outside when you're ready to go.”

           
The proving grounds was the massive deck that was dedicated to simulating Sacremons’ environment. It was a humid planet covered with grass trees and all manner of plants.

           
There were open areas which led to a small town with buildings the same type as those that would be found on Sacremon.

           
Everyone was issued sensor gear and simulation guns.

           
The simulation gear weighed about forty pounds and seemed to be specifically designed to make the wearer as uncomfortable as possible.

           
Mark got one half of a repulsor, the unit was heavy but bearable.

           
This is going to be a pain to use all the time.
He thought knowing the weight, though manageable, would turn uncomfortable after some strenuous lifting.

           
It had two handles, one up front to steady the gun, and one at the rear with a button for a trigger.

           
The ammunition pack made Mark grunt as it was slapped into place.

           
Tyler got his E-12 and pulled out a selection of attachments he'd purchased from the armorer. This got a few surprised looks as he slapped higher capacity magazines, a longer barrel and flip up magnifier on his weapon.

           
Mark was put with Utkin and Gupta. Gupta was there to keep an eye on Mark and make sure he knew how to use his gun. The second gunner was Dolche, being a veteran he knew how to deploy his repulsor to the best effect.

           
Tyler was matched up with Simmons and Garcia, Garcia was the man Mark had thrown.

           
“Alright we're going to sim a drop in and we need to clear the city. We're going in with two other sections from second platoon, third platoon have deployed at least a sections worth of people in defence. Questions?” Pullo asked moving to an elevator which took them to the floor above the fake Sacremon.

           
Gupta put his hand up.

           
“Gupta?”

           
“Do they have any known special weapons, artillery support?”

           
“None that has been identified so far,” Pullo said.

           
“Well this is sounding more like every drop by the second,” Xiao said.

           
Pullo gave him a dirty look but didn't say anything, choosing to shake his head instead.

           
“Buddy check your gear and seal up you helmet,” he said, the elevator reaching the deck above Sacremon.

           
Mark let the repulsors sling take its weight as he pulled his helmet into place. The visor was shaped like a Y with thick blast proof glass that allowed him to see out. It also had a rebreather clamped over his mouth and nose.

           
The smart clothes sealed with the helmet. Utkin took the awkward air-lines out of Mark's hand and slotted them into their ports on either side of his neck, faster than Mark reacted.

           
“Uhh thanks,” Mark said.

           
“No worries, could you do the same?” Utkin asked turning around.

           
“Gotcha,” Mark said. The air canisters were underneath a person's back armor to protect them, Mark pulled the lines from their places, putting them into their allotted slots.

           
Utkin raised his thumb as they made a hard connection.

           
Mark helped Gupta who was talking over the command channel.

           
He nodded in thanks, listening intently to others on the channel. Mark pulled one of his clips together that had also come undone. Gupta looked in confusion and smiled a bit sheepishly.

           
With their armor, weapons, and helmets sealed they looked almost identical except for the personal touches people had put on their gear.

           
They also looked terrifying in a way that would make most people stare at them and see the destructive force that they represented. They would wonder how they could possibly fail in war.

           
The section moved out with Xiao's squad in the lead, Pullo behind him, Simmons behind him and Gupta in the rear.

           
Mark was at the very back of the line, and was able to see the three sections board a mock-combat shuttle.

           
A Cargo Master got them in, sealing up the doors as troopers secured their weapons and locked their harnesses onto the anchor points on their armor.

           
The combat shuttle seemed to flare to life as the Cargo Master held onto the ceiling and checked his charges' harness connections.

           
The combat shuttle's vibrations slowed and it tilted.

           
The cargo-master took their place as the combat shuttles started rattling, more and more violently, the noise making talking impossible.

           
It was like the rattling Mark had felt leaving Earth.

           
The combat shuttle swerved and skewed, bucking with simulated blasts.

           
“You look confused Mark,” Gupta said, opening a channel to Mark's implants because it was the only way to communicate over the racket.

           
“Seems like a lot of work for a simulation, not complaining, just kind of impressed,” Mark said.

           
“This part is as much a simulation for us, as it is for our pilots. They're taking us through a simulated bombardment to get us down on the ground. Once we're dirtside they have to keep themselves going and come up for more, or stay in support. The one thing the corporations learnt early on was that more training meant less deaths, which meant having to pay for less kit,” Gupta said, Mark could hear the sourness to Gupta's words even over the shaking.

           
“Well it also keeps us alive,” Mark said.

           
“Yeah, but they can get a few hundred thousand of us in a month. Armor, weapons, visors, smart cloth, all of that has to be paid for and shipped. Once we're done fighting you'll see about the corporations’ priorities. Sure they'll patch us up as good as new, veterans are more useful than newbies, but if someone dies they'll have them stripped and check over their gear before they do a damned thing about the body.” Gupta's voice wasn't just sour now, he was angry.

           
“Three minutes till drop, prep lines and hatches,” one of the pilots said, sounding harried as the combat shuttle's auto-turrets and decoy systems went into overdrive and the pilots turned their ship into the world’s scariest goddamn rollercoaster.

           
The harnesses pulled everyone up into standing, troopers checked the person in front of them, making sure the thick cable at the top of their harness was attached and activated.

           
Seats folded up, Mark slapped Gupta's shoulder to get his attention and flashed him a thumbs up. Gupta made a turning motion and Mark followed his directions, it took Gupta's practised eyes and fingers a few moments to check Mark over.

           
Mark felt the dull hit through his armor, turning to Gupta's thumbs up.

           
Mark hefted his repulsor, hooking it to his stomach like everyone did with their weapons so they didn't lose them, accidentally pull the trigger, or get them stuck on the hatch beneath their feet.

           
“All good on harnesses, raising.” The Cargo Masters' voice overrode all the implants in her bay as the harnesses pulled up on their charges, their feet dangling because the floor that had been beneath their seats retracted, showing the training ground rushing below them.

           
“In position in twenty.” The noises of auto-turrets fighting against an onslaught of missiles, or picking out anti-air or space vehicles filled the bay as air rushed past.

           
The combat shuttle tilted, all of its thrusters fought to slow the ship.

           
“Drop!” The ground came racing up as the lines played out, dropping the troopers as fast as they could without letting them hit so hard that they broke their bodies.