Dictionary:
Tank Soldier: A human embryo matured in a bio-tank and bread for tasks such as extremely heavy and dangerous construction, combat, and other such things. Trained in all areas, flying, tank warfare, and foot warfare, they are truly the ultimate soldiers. They are designed to dehumanize war and are thus somewhat disrespected.
Skilly: One of two alien species discovered by the humans. They are friendly to humans and on the losing end of a war with the Gills. They encountered the humans in 2024 when the first hyper-space gate was opened and we had learned the trade language by the time the second gate had been built. They have a small but fast military.
Gill: A species of shark like creatures that are incredibly violent. They seem to treat human prisoners more gently then Skilly prisoners. They were encountered when the third gate was built and now control it but do not seem to trust the technology because of the propaganda the government spreads about human technology.
Dark Planet: A planet that has no life picked up by scanners yet heavy biological signals below the surface. The atmosphere has a strange signal that has destroyed two cruisers that have already attempted to land. There appears to be no activity, flora of fauna wise. It is considered a neutral planet. A human orbital base orbits it at all times.
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Prolouge:
Sergeant Jack King of the 35th Light Infantry ran at a steady jog down one of the steel halls of the Earth Navy ship with his squad as a siren blared from speakers hidden in shadowed corners and red lights flashed on the roof “All combat units report to battle stations, I repeat, all units report to battle stations.” The genderless voice blared from the speakers. They turned a corner and came to the end of a hall.
There was a large set of double doors that opened as they came near. It was a large circular room that had four racks of different weapons on the walls. They each came to different racks and flashed identification cards in front of them. Jack had an M4 with medium range scope and a master-key setup of a shotgun under the barrel. The team sniper, Private Emma Steele had an M40A1 sniper rifle with a thermal attachment.
The team heavy gunner, Corporal Matt Rivers had an M249 SAW with a forward combat grip. The team grenadier, Private Kyle Derry had an M4A1 with an M203 grenade launcher attached to the bottom of the barrel. They all had twelve inch combat knives with blackened blades and Beretta M9s. They all had one frag grenade and one thermite grenade. They already had their web gear and other equipment on.
They then watched as Major Thomas McGregor walked in followed by two MPs and an assistant. He came to a large circular stand in the middle of the room “Phoenix squad, from up!” They came up to the stand and a 3D image of a flat grid formed at waist level. It started waving and slowly formed a translucent image. The image was of three runways, each with three hangers by them. Several smaller buildings appeared.
There was a control tower and the whole area was surrounded by trees with a river to the north east. The major drew a large circle around the structure “Four hours ago, we discovered that by his personal ship wasn’t Gilly Von Richthofen’s only plan out.” Gilly was one of the Gills’ best pilots who Earth had been gunning for ever since they heard about him “It turns out he has essentially killed every human on this base.”
The Major continued “He’s planning to use it if the situation arrives through Soor V’s other space port; this is where you come in.” The Major smiled “You need to drop in and set up a scouting base where you will monitor all movement, and if presented the chance…kill Gilly.” The Major nodded “Report to the docking bay.” They all saluted and ran out of the room. They went through many more halls.
They reached a rectangular room that had already opened large steel doors. It lead to another square room that held cockpits for ships on the floor and already opened disposable cargo holds hanging from the roof. Some where medical, others supplies, and yet others were plain infantry. They were already opened with ladders to help people in. Flight assistants waved them to one of the infantry holders and followed them in.
The two original flight assistants and two others climbed in. The flight assistants manned the machine guns and the ladder folded in to the ground. A steel panel slid down over the entrance and the cargo hold was shifted up through an opening in to the roof. It was attached to a ‘Hammer-Head’ dropship. In a few minutes the ship left the dock it was in and pulled away from the ship. Things went silent save for the engine’s steady thrum.
As they flew through space, Jack saw Soor V. It was an orange colored planet because of the dust storms that ravaged the mainly desert like areas of the planet which threw sand and other minerals in to orbit. One other dropship was flying near them. They flew closer to the planet until it seemed as if a light cloud of dust was around the ship. The dust seemed to get heavier until it suddenly cleared and they were over a large forest.
They were soon over their target and one of the flight assistants opened a hatch on the roof. The four of them climbed in. The hatch was closed and they heard a loud cracking sound. Soon their container was no longer on the ship and the bottom thrusters slowed their descent to the surface significantly. They touched down and the metal panel fell to the ground. The four of them ran out in to the darkness.
They ran to a nearby hill. They went prone and each pulled out a pair of binoculars. There was a church, diner, and a doctor’s office beside each other. They were all beside the control tower and there were three warehouses at the end of the three runways and no sign of life. They put their binoculars away and Jack waved them to head for the diner. They ran crouched down to the door of the diner.
The windows were boarded up but the door was unlocked. Bullet holes littered the exterior walls. They opened the door. It was the typical diner with tables lining the left and right with a counter across the restaurant with bar stools. There was a set of pull down steps that lead to the roof. Matt pulled down the stairs and they came on to the roof. The walls on the roof were knee high. Emma came to one of the walls and set down her rifle.
It gave her a good look of a nearby road and everyone else came to her side. Their black and green face paint completely hid their faces and distorted their features. They watched the road silently from their position. Nothing but the moon was visible in the sky now. Then they saw a large cluster of lights to the north “Gill ships, probably to attack our fleet.” Jack said…
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Chapter 1:
Senior Airman Luke Godwin grabbed his flight helmet as the alarms blared. He ran through the steel halls with his flight squad and they entered the entrance to the flight bay. They each got in one of the cockpits. Luke pressed a series of buttons and three 3D images of the head’s of the other pilots appeared. Then a radar screen appeared near his left leg and a screen showing his speed, fuel, ammo, and weapons was at his right leg.
His cockpit came on to the top of a ‘Barracuda’ fighter. He heard a clicking sound and his cockpit was attached. Then the large steel door in front of him slowly opened up, draining all air from the room. The blackness of space was revealed and his ship rocketed out of the opening. The Gill fighters were close to the planet’s orbital pull. Luke’s thumb rested on the weapons switch and his pointer was on the fire.
He switched to long range missiles, heat seekers “Fox 2.” Luke said. A single rocket flew from under his ship’s wings and he watched as a Gill ship in the distance exploded. They soon reached the Gill ships and in moments, Luke saw a 3D hologram of his ship pop up with the right wing glowing red and he started rocketing out of control. He entered the atmosphere. He tried to pull up as he came closer to the surface.
He saw what was probably a mining complex below. He reached to his right and pulled out a small white pun. A switch rose up out of the dash and Luke flipped it. He heard a cracking sound and the cockpit separated from the actual ship. The now useless chassis rocketed to the planet below. Halfway down, it detonated with the explosives planted in it for safety. The cockpit was falling at a vertical angle.
Luke’s hand slowly shifted to the seat ejector, just in case something happened during the cockpit’s fall. As he came lower, he could see that the structures below were in fact a mining out post. He rocketed in to the nearby trees. His retro-rockets automatically kicked in, keeping him from slamming in to the ground but catching him in the tree. The retro-rockets ran out of fuel and the thrusters actually fell off.
Luke searched under the dash and pulled out his Beretta M9 and two extra clips. He put the clips in his belt and brought up one of his booted feet. He kicked the cockpit off its hinges. He took off his buckle and hopped out. He hit the floor the wrong way and felt a pain shoot through his ankle as tried to stand up. He limped to a tree that was close to the mining building and looked over it.
A ramp descended to a partially opened partition. Several supply trucks were in a line and the only actual building on the surface was by the entrance to the mine and it looked abandoned. After a few moments of contemplation, Luke made his way to the ramp. He walked to the partition and looked inside. The emergency generator was on. The lights were dim but revealed several dead Skilly guards and workers.
Luke walked in to the large bland room. To the left was a doorway. He came over and pushed it open. He came to a set of steel steps that led in to a rectangular room. He descended the steps and saw large containers, one of which was shot full of holes with a body near the base of it. He saw a door near the end of the room that had a red cross on it. Luke walked through the door and entered a sick bay.
Several beds were beside each other and cabinets lined the wall. Luke slumped down on to a bed and took off his helmet. He then decided to patch up his ankle. He searched the various cabinets till he found one with sticks of wood and gauze. He put a stick on either side of his ankle and wrapped the gauze around them. He tied off the gauze and then searched the cabinets some more. He then saw a mini fridge at the end of a counter.
In it were two metal flasks of, when Luke tasted them, tasted like whiskey. There were two pre-wrapped sausages, and several ice packs in a container on the top of the fridge. Luke took the two flasks and put them in his belt. He took one of the sausages. They were not only pre-wrapped but pre-cooked. He unwrapped it and ate it as he sat on the bed nearest the fridge. He finished it and grabbed the second one.
He let both wrappers fall and picked up his pistol. He went back the way he came. He walked to one of the nearby trucks and climbed in the back. The truck was full of mining picks and explosives but nothing else. Luke looked up at the moon as he opened one of the flasks and rook a quick drink. The moon revealed him but he didn’t care, he’d have a quick escape…
“Did you see that?!” Emma said as she took her vision from her scope to the sky. It was a human fighter. Jack rose to his knees “Matt, Emma, you two stay here; Kyle come with me.” Jack headed down in to the café. They exited and ran to the road and to the forest on the other side. They reached the edge of the forest and crouched down “Alright, we’ve got one hour until the final strike is set to go off at dawn, we have that long.”
Kyle nodded and they headed through the trees. They walked for what felt like an eternity until they came by a tree with an escape pod caught in it. They kept walking on to the metal of a mining facility. There was a line of trucks, one of which had a figure in the back. They slowly approached the truck, their guns raised. The man was in a pilot’s uniform, a helmet on his lap. He seemed dazed.
The man looked at them and held up a flask “Do you want a drink?” The man asked as he hiccupped. Jack opened the tail gat and put the flask in the man’s belt. The man had bandaging around one of his ankles and winced as Jack pulled him out. Kyle covered them as Jack put one of the man’s arms around his and they walked back they way they had come from. They came on to the street from before and gave a brief wave signaling Emma.
He entered the diner and was greeted by Emma and Matt coming from the roof. They went behind the counter and set the pilot to lean against the wall. Jack searched the back of the man’s belt while Kyle and Emma looked at the man’s ankle. Matt monitored the two doors with his machine gun. Jack found a simple two-fold card written in the code that was written in a code the humans and Skillys had developed for the war.
Rank: E4.
Name: Luke Godwin.
Security Clearance: Omega.
Age: 32.
Eyes: Green.
Tank Soldier
Jack put the card back in the man’s belt and grabbed his chin, making the man look him in the eye “Airman Godwin, are you okay?” The man hiccupped “Do I look okay to you?” The man said sarcastically. Jack looked back at the others and they all picked up the message. The man was drunk. Then Jack’s radio buzzed and the Major’s voice came over the ear piece of them “Sergeant, Gilly escaped, what is your status?”
“Rodger that Major, we have a: Senior Airmen Luke Godwin with us here, requesting pick up.” There was a pause of static “Rodger that, the 22nd mechanized infantry is coming to your position, sit tight.” The radio cut out as the sound of a space engine came from outside. Lights come through the cracks in between the boards “Captain, I don’t think that Gill flight was a bombing run.” Matt said.
Jack put his M4 on his back, the range was too small. He pulled out his knife “I’m not going to be a Gill prisoner.” The others did the same and the pilot brought his pistol to bear on the door and the others also pulled out their pistols. A figure slowly moved toward the door. Then explosion rang out and the light of gunfire flashed through the window. They quickly put their knives away and pulled out their rifles.
The sight of several armored fighting vehicles blasting at five landed Gill ships and the fleeing crews was a relief. They quickly went back in as the shooting stopped. They helped the pilot up and walked out again as two AFVs pulled up. One’s command hatch opened and the commander stood out “Hello Sergeant, need help?” The captain asked as the pilot leaned against the wall of the diner “We could use a lift back up.”
The captain nodded, going back in to use his more powerful radio to contact any nearby dropships. After a few moments of waiting, they heard the sound of human thrusters and saw two ‘Hell Cat’ dropships. They could hold larger containers meant for both armor and infantry. The ramp dropped revealing the bay and they helped the pilot in. The AFVs followed and the crews disembarked.
The ship lifted off, the machine gunners watching the air space. In moments they were in the dust filled atmosphere. As they exited, they saw the floating the remains of a dog fight. They slowly approached the carrier and entered the dock. The cargo hold slowly detached. It went down its rack and in to the hold where the cover lifted off and a ladder came up. They left and the container was lifted back up to unload the vehicles.
They were greeted by the Major who they gave a crisp salute “Congratulations.” The Major said “You’re all being shipped to New Terra to qualify in use of the ‘Hammer Head’ and the ‘Barracuda’.” Jack nodded “Thank you sir.” They then walked away, heading for the armory to put away their weapons. As they reached the door to the armory they were greeted by the pilot from before, Luke Godwin.
“Greetings Sergeant.” He said “I just wanted to thank you for saving me from my crash sight.” Jack nodded and Luke walked off. They entered the armory and put their guns away save for their Berettas and their knives. They then headed out to their bunk room. They got in to their respective beds and took off their web gear and packing up their stuff…
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Chapter 2:
The sun bore down on the military base. Guards patrolled the perimeter fences and workers walked left and right. Jack looked at his new pilot’s helmet. It had two visors. One was clear and normal for atmospheric flight and the second was darkly tinted for flying at the sun and could be used for space flight near bright sources of light. In dark blue letters above the visor and on the back of the helmet was King.
He put it under his arm and put on his new, black beret. He walked out of his temporary bunk. An alarm started blaring “All hands report to battle stations.” Jack took off his beret, putting it in the back of his belt. He put on his helmet and ran outside to see guards running to AA positions and civilians and other non-combatants were running for cover. He saw the others running to their designated hanger.
Jack followed. They ran in and climbed on the chassis of the ‘Barracudas’ in to the already attached cockpits. Jack pressed a series of buttons and 3D images of his squad’s heads appeared. He pressed yet another button and a screen showing his ammo, speed, fuel, and weapons appeared by his right leg and his radar appeared by his left leg. The hanger doors quickly slid open and Jack powered up his ship.
A holographic picture of First Sergeant Ben Roper appeared “Listen, I know you’re green horns but we need you to take out our old friend, Gilly Von Richthofen, other ships will give you support. The formation was simple. Kyle was to Jack’s left. Matt, who was now the official boyfriend of Emma ever since training started was to his right and Emma, was directly behind Jack. They pulled on to the runway.
Jack slowly pushed forward on his thruster. After they went halfway down the runway, they pulled off the tarmac “Arm long range missile.” Jack said over his radio as he switched. He could see the diamond shaped wall of Gill ships. Several other ‘Barracudas’ “Ready…break and fire!” Jack said. He shifted up and they went in to a diamond like shape, opening fire, each firing two rockets each. The other ships did the same.
“Gilly is in the middle, gun for him, split it!” They broke up and gunned their engines as the groups of ships exchanged fire. Jack looked at his radar and saw a red blip appear behind Matt “Matt, you’ve got one on…” He heard an explosion and saw the image of Matt’s helmet fizzle, shake, and dissapeared. He then saw the flaming ship go flying past. He then heard a voice coming across his radio, Gilly talking to his squad.
It was in Gill but Jack had been taught that. He was telling them to enter hyperspace. He saw Gilly pass him, and turn around “Oh no you don’t!” Jack said. He switched to his plasma cannon and turned around. He got as close to being in the slip stream as he could. He didn’t even give it time to lock on as he opened fire and gunned his engines in to after burners. Blue smoke started coming from the Gill ship.
Then a flash and it was gone, several plasma bolts flying through the air as Jack pulled down on his speed as fast as possible. His ship literally hovered as the others slowly pulled up beside him. Jack took off his helmet. His hair was a mess and sweat seemed to be going like a water fall down his face, some getting in his eyes. Emma had done the same and was wiping one of her eyes of tears “Emma, I’m…” Jack tried to say.
He stopped for a moment as her hologram looked at him, signifying she was looking at his hologram “I’ll make Gilly suffer the most painful death I can.” Jack said. Emma simply nodded and made her ship descend vertically to the base below. The others did the same. They slowly touched down and taxied in to the hanger. They each climbed out…
Jack lay on his original bunk on the carrier. The Major came in with a young red headed woman. She had hair down to her neck and had a small camera in her right hand which she scanned the room and, most likely, zoomed in on each of their faces to add commentary later. The Major cleared his throat “Ladies and gentleman, this is Kayla Larkins; she is a high class marksman and is trained in various aircraft.”
“She’s to be River’s replacement.” The Major stepped out of the room and the young woman uneasily stepped in to the center of the room. Jack glared at the camera “Listen here sister, if you’re going to demean tank soldiers, you better make sure we don’t see it or your camera won’t make it through the next night.” Jack said. She looked to Kyle who just nodded, agreeing with Jack. She then looked to Emma.
Emma glared at her “Some replacement, Matt was ten times the soldier she is.” Emma said. Jack pulled out his knife and lay on his back. He balanced the tip perfectly on his finger. Normally, he wouldn’t be able to do this but the artificial gravity of the ship wasn’t exactly the highest powered of generators. He quickly threw it up and caught it by the handle, putting it away as Kayla climbed on the bunk below Emma.
Jack pulled out his Beretta out of boredom and tossed it to Kyle “Pop quiz: what action is that pistol soldier?” Kyle didn’t seem to even contemplate it “Double action sir.” He tossed it back and Jack nodded as Kayla simply filmed them. After an hour of the occasional talking, a card game or two, and a few two minute naps, Kayla put her camera away. Jack tossed her his pistol “Pop quiz: what do you do if you’re about to be taken captive?”
Kayla seemed to pause after nearly dropping the pistol. She stayed silent for nearly four minutes “Kill them.” She said it almost as if it were a question instead of a statement. Jack shook his head and she tossed it back weakly “Gills can turn you in to one of them, so you kill yourself if you have no escape.” Jack said coldly as he put his pistol away and laid down, going to sleep…
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Chapter 3:
Jack woke up to the sound of Emma crying. The lights had been turned off but his enhanced vision allowed him to see Emma looking at a picture. He slowly walked over to her and easily hopped up beside her. He rested a hand on one of her shoulder and she rested her head on his shoulder as he looked at the group picture. They each had taken turns in the picture on which one would be in the center.
It was Matt’s. Matt was standing with his legs in a V. Kyle and Jack were crouching on either side of him and Emma was on her knees in front of him. Jack rested an arm around her “Stop crying, he wouldn’t want that; he’d want you to stay strong.” Jack said. Emma sniffled and nodded, putting the picture in one of her pockets “Thanks Jack.” Jack nodded and hopped off her bed. He then got back to his own bed.
He looked at Kayla who was filming him, probably with night vision. Jack slowly raised his hand and gave her the bird. Then dropped his hand as he took a deep breath and heard a tiny two second whirring sound, the camera zooming in. Thoughts raced through his head as he lay there in the darkness. He turned to stare at Matt’s empty bunk and went to sleep…
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Chapter 4:
Jack woke up on his own. Kayla and the others were still asleep. They would be up in three…two…one! Their alarms clocks buzzed and everyone but Kayla was out of bed in nearly an instant. Kayla then rose from bed and they each grabbed their BDUs. Then the alarm rang and they started grabbing their gear with their pilot’s gear in back packs. The loud speakers blared the same thing they normally did in that situation.
They went through the many steel halls until they reached the entrance to the armory. They entered and each got their respective weapons. There was an extra rack. It held plain M4s with laser targets on the carrying handle. Jack opened the rack and handed Kayla a rifle and some ammo “When things get hot, that camera goes down and this gun comes up.” Jack said. Kayla simply nodded as the Major walked in to the platform.
The same ordeal happened, the grid appearing. This time an image of Gilly Von Richthofen’s ship appeared. In human was ‘Prepare to die’ behind the cockpit window “Gilly has been detected on his own half a mile from our position; we need someone to go out and kill him.” Jack raised his hand “I will.” He took off every single weapon he had and his grenades. He kept only his BDUs and bag full of pilot’s gear.
“I won’t need this out there.” He said silently. The Major looked as if he was going to say something but didn’t have time as Jack saluted and quickly left, Kayla jogging after him. He went in to a nearby locker room and put on his pilot’s gear, complete with beret. He walked out, Kayla still following him. As he walked in to the entrance to the dock, he saw six MPs in dress uniform guard Admiral Jones and a chaplain.
“You’ll have no support.” The admiral said as he walked out of the group “He has a superior ship, you plan to beat him how?” The admiral asked. Jack paused “As long as I land at least one hit, I’ll have paid back for Matt.” Jack said. He turned and began to walk away, Kayla now having caught up. The chaplain followed him “Sergeant, perhaps you should make peace with your maker.” The chaplain said.
Jack stopped and looked back “My ‘maker’ was a nerd in a lab with an eye dropper and a Petri dish; he doesn’t need my peace.” Jack said. The chaplain fluttered his eye lids in shock “In times like this, we should all make peace with our maker.” Jack walked up until he was inches from the chaplain’s face “With all due respect chaplain, I don’t think ‘our’ maker wants to hear from me right now.” Jack said as he cleared his throat.
Emma and Kyle had already come to the entrance “Because he knows I’m going to go out there and wipe one of his creations from his universe, and when I get back, I’m going to have a bottle of scotch like it’s Gilly Von Richthofen’s blood and celebrate his death.” Jack said. There was a tense moment of silence between them. Then the chaplain simply said “Amen Sergeant.” Jack turned and walked to a nearby cockpit.
He climbed in and pulled on his helmet. The group around him saluted him out of respect as his cockpit was lowered down and he gave a quick salute back. He pressed the button to bring up everything but the holograms. He typed in a set of keys and heard a clicking sound, password locking his ejection “I won’t need that out there.” He said to himself. He watched as a holographic picture of Emma came on.
Then the Major and then the Admiral. The metal door in front of Jack opened revealing the blackness of space “This is the flight…” Jack brought down both visors “Of the angriest angel.” He zoomed out of the bay. He watched his radar intently for any sign of his opponent. A red blip appeared to his right. He quickly turned the ship appropriately. There it was, just coming out of warp. Jack let a tiny smile form.
He switched to his plasma cannon and gunned the engine to 90%. They swooped past each other and Jack turned around, opening fire. He hit and…the ship dissapeared? He checked his radar as a red blip appeared behind him. Jack slammed his engine to 100% and tried to outmaneuver him. A missile flew by the cockpit, barely missing him. Then he saw a hologram of the pilot from before, Luke Godwin.
“I think you have a pest problem, allow me to help.” Jack nodded as he saw a green blip appear and make the red one follow it. Jack turned around and turned to heat seekers. He watched as a circle moved across the screen. It turned in to three, each landing on one of Gilly’s motors. They turned to yellow and he heard three beeps “Fox two.” Jack said. The three missile flew forward and smashed in to the wings.
The ship went spinning out of control and blew up away from Luke and Jack. Jack took off his helmet and rested his head on the dash board. He shifted his head to look at the now tearful Emma and gave her a thumbs up. She smiled and Jack pulled himself from the dash to rest on the seat. He saw as the half destroyed body of the now dead Gilly Von Richthofen floated by. Both ships turned to the carrier.
As Jack’s cockpit came up, he was greeted by several cheering MPs, soldiers, and Emma. Jack climbed out and gave her a hug. Luke came up and Jack gave him a pat on the back and a hug. Everybody seemed drunk on happiness. Jack walked up to the chaplain “I need to make peace with him huh?!” Jack said happily as he walked off to the most recreational part of the ship, the nearest bar.
Jack walked through the many halls to be greeted by cheering crowds. Jack walked to the nearest bar and ordered a bottle of scotch. He popped it open and took several large gulps. He soon finished the bottle and walked out of the bar. He then headed for his bunk. As he laid down, he realized he had been followed the whole time by Kayla…
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That's all I have so far, kind of big I know but I've had alot of time to think and write.
It's like only four chapters and a prolouge. I was joking just so you know. Anyways, I can read something that long easy. lol. j/k.
OK I like the general plot but it's hard to get in to your characters. You describe what they do but not how or why they got where they are today, you never go into their emotions or the stresses of the job (how the sweat drips down their face as they aim their guns, how Emma aches over the loss of Matt - in more stirring detail), etc.
I think it would make them more real and relateible if you did that.