Tarik: Entry Level Warfare (4 page)

“Damn that's one sexy bitch! Be careful Jimmy, that one is a man eater.” Bink was dead serious. “Anyway let's move on to get your gear.”

Truth.

“Just fucking with ya Jimmy, I’m not into her.”

False.

Bink took
Tarik
 to the left doorway and started walking up a ramp. “So this is the corkscrew, since the Beetle doesn’t have offensive capabilities this would be the main way to repel boarders. If we had taken the right door it work corkscrew down.”

Partial truth. Unknown of full offensive capabilities but documents suggest there are some weapons.

“The D
ome
 is meant to be a choke point but since we don’t do void fights it’s really just a meeting place. Occasionally we get together and play board
games
 there.”

Partial truth, it is doubtful board games are played there.

This guy is a master bullshitter.

Truth.

End
Polygraph
 translator.

Bink completely unaware of his assessment continued unabated “...So when I won the Gorrex challenge they offered me to be part of the pack. Oh and the doors off to the left are crew quarters. You will get assigned by the time we wrap up the tour. So the pack leader told me I had to eat the heart of the Gorrex challenger and I was in…”

Tarik decided he would be
better off
 just reading the signs and exploring the ship during free time. Zoning out of the conversation he linked to the ship computer to get an overlay map. The design was simple enough to follow, two “up corkscrews” and two “down corkscrews” when the Beetle was in single ball formation. When it was extended to three balls, diagonal walkways extended between the balls. Since almost all travel was done in single ball formation the
empty space
 is particularly helpful for maintenance.

Tarik only had a basic concept of spacecraft systems, enough to keep him alive in an emergency but not enough to take a job as a mechanic or flight ops. The concepts were interesting and occasionally he would deep dive on technical information but mostly he was good with his hands not so much with machines. He could shovel rocks, fire a laser, operate a loader and in a pinch pilot a life pod. Fixing them normally resulted in hours of cursing and more damage than what originally existed.

“On your left” shouted a man behind
Tarik
.

Quickly
Tarik
 pushed his body again the right side of the hallway to avoid the runner. A
Human
-Dereft
male
 
hybrid
 ran passed him with more runners behind him. The
hybrid
 was physically flawless. Shirtless the man ran in
combat
 
boots
, loose fitting pants and a pilots helmet with the visor off. The
hybrid
 had the height and musculature of a Dereft, the low body fat and skeletal structure of a
human
 
male
. The
hybrid
 took confident strides past him, a slight smirk on his strong jaw line. He was quite frankly the most beautiful man he had ever seen, a jogging Adonis. Tarik was confident in his sexual identity and wouldn’t say he was attracted to the man but he could see how working with a
hybrid
 would cause him to question himself regularly.

        Just then another
Hybrid
 who looked nearly identical to the first ran past, this one with a red triangle on the sides of his helmet. Then another with a
Blue
 
Circle
. Then five more with different shapes and
colors
 painted on their helmets.

        “It’s a good thing those guys are sterile, huh? Leaves more women for us ugly guys.” Bink said putting an elbow into
Tarik
’s ribs and laughing. “They run like that every day, something one of them read about an old
earth
 commander who had made all his men run two marathons a day. Personally, I think some
training
 is good but those guys take it to an extreme. Every day they do at least two corkscrews if not more.”

        Another few minutes of walking the corkscrew had passed when they finally arrived at the logistics room. The waiting room was very plain, containing no seating, just a counter and nobody behind it.

        “So Machine will be here shortly to get you setup. He will link to your log; map you to your room and events. Any questions before I leave you?”

        “Yes, why does everyone keep calling me Jimmy?”

        Bink let out a laugh, “I’ll
hook you up
 with the highlight reel, just some gallows
humor
, but it’s happened often enough to keep the tradition going. New recruits have a bad habit of fucking up is all.” Bink sent
Tarik
 the video file and left him in the waiting room.

        Tarik glanced behind the counter and didn’t see anyone in the countless rows of shelving. The logistics officer must be occupied with the incoming inventory. Tarik took a seat in the corner and pulled up the video file titled “Jimmy: Best of highlights”. His eyes glazed over turning red to let anyone who came near him know he was in full immersion.

        
A young
human
 could be seen nervously checking his equipment on a rocking
drop
 ship. The boy had a baby face and had to have been in his young twenties. He was skinny enough that he should have been on a bulking diet.

        “Hey Jimmy, did you make sure your Grav
Boots
 are set to .97 standard?” An unseen gruff voice questioned.

        Jimmy checked his wrist computer, obviously an older model. Tarik would guess this video was at least 30 years old. “Yes sir.”

        “Ok then, let's get ready to go. As soon as the rear opens I want you to get to some cover and wait for the blinder before you move to assault.”

        “Oh yeah, I’m going to
kick some ass
, you watch!” Jimmy was pumping himself up getting ready for a fire fight.

        As the rear door opened, Jimmy rushed straight out into a rocky landscape. Jimmy opened fire and was screaming at the top of his lungs overloading the squad channel. In his overzealous attack, Jimmy couldn’t hear the blinder countdown. The view switched from the
drop
 ship to the body cam of a squad mate. The squad mate was screaming at Jimmy. Telling him to get to cover but with no effect. The blinder countdown reached three seconds and the camera was obscured by rock as the squad mate took cover. A bright flash filled the screen and a deep metallic hum was the only available audio.

As the flash subsided the squad mate
looked out
 from behind his cover. Jimmy was still standing in the open area stumbling around aimlessly. The assault team opened fire on the enemy. The same squad mate started screaming for Jimmy again. The squad mate started to come out from the rock ready to grab Jimmy when the enemy had regained their senses. Fire from both sides erupted and Jimmy was stuck in no man's land. A second passed and Jimmy was shot in the face by a projectile round.  As Jimmy’s body fell to the ground, the video faded.

Now a
hybrid
 was on the video pacing back and forth. Jimmy had aerial insertion gear on his back and a breathing mask over his face. A buzzer sounded and the rear door started to open. The
hybrid
 must have mistimed his run because the jump light was still red and the door had not yet locked into place. Now running at full
speed
 the
hybrid
 stepped onto the door ready to descend to the planet below. Then the
drop
 ship hit turbulence and the door jolted upward. Jimmy cracked his skull on the upper door frame and fell out of the
drop
 ship in an uncontrolled fall.

The next video showed a Gorrex with only
blue
 plumage indicating a young female. The female took a handheld explosive from its vest and threw it. The throw was weak and had no follow through. The explosive landed but a few feet in front of her. She howled as the shrapnel tore through her.

The video continued on with countless “Jimmy” deaths. Most of the mistakes were fatal, some just incredibly embarrassing. A Dereft shot herself, a
human
 managed to kill his whole squad, a Flarr walked into the drive of the drop ship, this pattern continued for nearly fifty new recruits. Species, gender or age didn't seem to matter. The only real qualifier seemed to be inexperience and bad luck.

Tarik ended the video and sat back to take it all in. He assumed the point of calling him this cursed name was to goad him into being a better soldier or at the very least an obedient one. If he is going to survive long enough to earn his name back he'd have to do as he was told or he'd end up another Jimmy highlight.

As
Tarik
 thought about the implications of his choices he was interrupted by a mechanical whine behind the desk. A mostly
machine
 face stared at
Tarik
. Blue lights for eyes, a near perfect oval face. The being had no nostrils or mouth that was visible. Pieces of dark fur protruded from the back of the mask indicating a once organic past.

“I'm
Tarik
, the new contractor.”

“Designation is irrelevant; I am logistics office for the ship. You will submit weapons for review.”

Tarik unslung his Kami rifle and placed it on the counter. “What species are you?”

“Species is irrelevant, I am M
achine
.” The
machine
 picked up the rifle and started its evaluation. “Kami raid equipment. Equipment has been
altered
. Code has been changed to designate Kami as
primary
 targets. The self-destruction mechanism will need to be turned off to be used by contractors.” The
machine
 set the rifle into a bin and sent out scanning lasers. “Size is in stock. Weapons will be repaired and equipment issued after assessment.” The
machine
 set a jumpsuit on the counter “
Training
 clothing issued. Lodging, seating and event logs have been updated. Visit medical facilities,
human
 fluids rich in iron are difficult to remove.” The
machine
 grabbed the bin with metal claws, spun around and propelled itself away by an unseen
force
, disappearing into the stacks.

“Well that wasn't strange at all.” Tarik said to the empty room. He picked up his jumpsuit still confused with the encounter and headed to medical.

The walk to medical was uneventful; Tarik used the time to go over the planned events. It appeared he’d have a few hours until end of day meal. After that he was afforded eight hours of sleep, then an appointment to the gymnasium for his assessment. His schedule had numerous blocks of time thereafter which were censored with a note that they were dependent on his assessment. Most of the ship and
organizational
 information had been blocked as well.

Arriving at medical he was greeted by an assistant who was by far the most polite person he’d met on the ship. Another Flarr, young and pretty as far he could imagine a Flarr being. She was not nearly as wet looking and her sharp teeth did not seem as hostile. The assistant escorted him to a
gray
 room with an examination pod and three chairs.

“My name is Tilla, I will be assisting today. The medical officer will be right with you, please have a seat and expose the wound for treatment. Is there anything I can get for you while you wait?” Tilla said in an inviting voice, pointing to the examination pod.

“I think I’m fine for now.” Tarik said.

Time passed a Tilla sat in a chair looking over
Tarik
. She made no effort to take notes or even check on the wound herself. Tarik took off his shirt and checked on the wound sealant himself. Several minutes of uncomfortable silence passed as
Tarik
 wondered why the assistant was even in the room if she had no intention of performing any procedures. Tarik sat back in the pod waiting for further instruction.

An older
male
 
human
 entered the room. He had a look upon his face as if
Tarik
 was another annoyance in a day filled with an endless series of annoyances. His lab coat looked like it was two sizes too big. He was a very pale man with a bald head and
gray
 facial hair. Tarik believed he was Asian but could not be certain. Without introducing himself the man put on a pair of goggles and sat next to
Tarik
.