Reverence: Part One

The hours had begun to stack since the skirmish ended, if the gray overcast of dusk was any indication—or the stench of the bodies that littered the cemetery grounds. Araunian Guard troopers were sent to exterminate a faction of infidels and had made camp since the completion of their mission. The excitement had since fizzled and all that was left to do was to smolder in their cold, quiet boredom as they awaited the order to retire. Until then they were left to admire the panoramic vista of a barren desert surrounding the graveyard for miles on all sides.

At the faintest blip of a comm signal, the soldiers sprang up from the tombstones on which they sat. Their lieutenant’s earpiece blinked as it received a transmission.

“All right! Tidy up, kids!” he shouted. “We’ve got Omegas inbound.”

“Black suits never seen a few dead bodies?” the smug soldier joked.

“Pretty sure Spades have.”

The witty trooper’s posture stiffened. He spun the dial on the ear of his helmet and opened its visor jaws, revealing his deeply unsettled grimace. “We’ve already got this place locked down and they’re wheeling in Pointy Tips?”

“That’s just the way it goes, trooper. Redstorm is less than five minutes out,” the lieutenant said. “Get these bodies in a pile. Make it neat.”

But the minutes were vaporized by the sudden urgency. A loud growl filled the air as a drop ship streaked across the distance and wheeled around the perimeter. Several dots spluttered from the belly of the aircraft and descended onto the horizon. The lieutenant’s gaze switched to his miniature guests as the carrier ship climbed into the clouds. His visor captured each of them with a digital ring that displayed each of their individual profiles.

The newcomers zoomed across the desert sky with the propulsion thrusters on their backs, their black suits camouflaged by the shadows of the distance. They landed at the edge of the cemetery and entered the camp on foot. At the forefront of their formation was their decorated Spire, the renowned Captain Thax. He marched through the gray soldiers, the X-formation of stars on either of his shoulders commanding a salute as he passed. He greeted the gray lieutenant with his imposing stature, standing nearly two heads above him.

They bumped fists, igniting a holographic sphere that surrounded their united gauntlets, officially confirming their rendezvous. They saluted one another. 

“Spire.”

“Lieutenant,” the captain tittered. “Hope the ‘infestation’ didn’t cause you and your boys too much grief.”

“Hardly. We don’t mind getting our hands dirty every once in a while.”

“I thought that’s why your suit was gray to begin with.”

“I suppose so,” the lieutenant replied. “What’s the deal with this place? There another layer to this op?”

“I’m afraid you don’t have enough stripes for that answer, son. But to be honest, I’m surprised they called for a Gamma strike at all. If it was just a skirmish the Imperials were worried about, they could’ve sent Alphas out here to get some exercise. Rumor has it, this op came down from the princess, not the queen.”

“I didn’t think she was old enough to give orders yet. No wonder it’s so strange.”

“Whatever the case, it’s time for you all to pack it up, lieutenant. Firestorm will take it from here.”

“Understood,” he acknowledged. “That’s a pretty big step to take, though, eh? From Gamma to the tippy top of the Omega Corps. It must be serious. Sure you don’t need some extra bodies? This place ain’t all too friendly.”

Thax sneered, “We could do without a crowd, lieutenant, no offense. But if you’re suggesting I leave a man to keep an eye out, I’ll consider it. After all—” He stopped, silenced by a distraction.

The lieutenant turned around to see a four-man squad marching into the camp. They were suited in black armor identical to the Spire’s troop.

“Halt!” the lieutenant yelled, his Firefly rifle flipping over his shoulder into his hands. The entire camp did the same, the throats of their fliprifle barrels glowing with ether. “You expecting extras, sir?”

“Negative, lieutenant. My force is all present and accounted for.”

“I can’t hail them. I’m only getting static,” the lieutenant said.

“Likewise,” the Spire replied.

The four strangers stopped in their tracks at the sight of the star-like dots ahead. Their leader took a knee, directing her subordinates to follow accordingly. Only one still stood, scanning the opposing troopers until his teammate yanked him by the arm.

“Sergeant Vega, Omega Corps.,” their leader greeted. Hers was also an esteemed name throughout the Araunian Guard.

“You sure about that, sergeant? Easy name for an imposter to snatch,” said the Spire.

The lieutenant winced as more reticles suddenly encircled each of the strangers. Their digital profiles panned across his visor in rapid succession. “Stand down,” he said to his men. “They’re clear, Spire.”

“As you were, troop,” Thax commanded, permitting the squad to resume their upright posture.

“That interference is coming from an energy plume several yards due south of this location. We noticed it when we were flying over,” Vega explained.

“That doesn’t explain what you’re doing here. Redstorm is here under specific orders. We weren’t briefed on any tandems.”

“Liger Black is here on recon. Our orders came right after yours.”

Thax scoffed. “Absurd. Where’s your commanding officer then, sergeant? Can’t send a unit without a chaperone.”

“With all due respect, Spire,” Vega said. “Ligers do things a little differently.”

The Gamma lieutenant smirked beneath his helmet. But, the Spire didn’t wince with the same amusement. Every Omega knew how volatile Redstorm troopers tended to be, and the sullen captain was embarrassed. 

“You need to answer the question, Sergeant Vega,” Thax ordered, his tone short of hissing.

Vega paused with contempt. “Spire Vance is monitoring from the carrier overhead.”

“Ugh, Vance. Just like him to butt in. So, what else have you found? Anything important we should know before we proceed?”

“That ether source is rising from underground. Its intensity is increasing exponentially by the hour.”

“It’s coming from the graves?”

“Deeper,” Vega explained. “This gravesite continues underground into the catacombs. Geographics indicate tunnels leading deeper into a larger vault. The insurgents you all so… carelessly disposed of, lieutenant, were guarding it,” she said, her tone laced with ridicule.

“We were just following orders,” said the Gamma lieutenant.

“They were vague orders, I take it,” Vega replied irritably. “We were hoping to use one of them to show us the access point. Since they’re all dead, we’ll need to find the grave ourselves. Let’s spread out and search.”

“You’re giving the orders now, sergeant, to my men?” the lieutenant challenged.

“I know I seem calm, lieutenant, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t extreme urgency here. Your mission was to clear the site. Redstorm’s mission requires them to have access to the catacombs. But there’s a hole in between the two and Liger black has to patch that.”

“Are you shitting me, sergeant? You’re addressing an officer of the Guard. You need to correct your tone,” said the Spire. The Black Liger sergeant answered him with a moment of contemplative silence.

“Absolutely, sir,” she said before starting away. “Double time, Liger Black! Get these graves cleared,” she ordered. “That energy signature has already tripled since we got here so let’s move with a purpose. Just remember your etiquette. Make sure you stop and say hello to your fellow trooper, like your mamas taught you.”

Her unit chuckled at the snarky remark as they proceeded to search the camp. They employed large, syringe-like energy pumps to clear the sand in the graves. Dust began to fog the entire camp until visibility was scarce. After an hour, they had emptied nearly a dozen graves and had found nothing. Their pumps shut down and the oscillating hum that kept the silence at bay ceased. Thax was frustrated with the intrusive Ligers—Vega especially.

“Well, Vega? Where’s that smug attitude of yours now? That’s valuable time that just floated away, in case you thought it was dust.” But the Liger sergeant was hardly concerned with his contempt. She continued to scour the camp, following the energy graph as it danced on her visor.

“Vega! The Spire has addressed you!” barked Sergeant Cord, the Redstorm second-in-command.

“She’s transmitting to our Spire, loudmouth. Why don’t you quiet down,” retorted the Liger lancer. He was the one who refused to yield when they entered the camp and he had been irritable since.

“Just who do you think you’re talking to, corporal?”

“Who’s asking?”

“This insubordinate behavior better come to a screeching halt before Liger Black finds itself on the Imperial shitlist.”

“Says the nuisance standing around watching the work get done,” the lancer riposted again. Cord marched over to him angrily.

“What’s your name, er… Unikade?” he mocked. “How about I nute all six of the links on that badge, huh, Unikade? That should teach you to keep your mouth shut.”

Everyone knew the Redstorm were high-strung and proud. They were capable troopers in all fairness, but they had a hive ego that made any collaboration with them intolerable. Neutralizing the rank of other troopers was an easily abused and efficient method of placing themselves at the head of the hierarchy.

“Spire Vance is conducting an energy sweep from the carrier. And, right now, instead of him, all I hear is your nonsense ,” he reprimanded.

“Quiet, both of you,” Vega ordered, her foot plunging deep into the gravel of a tombstone-devoid grave. She was onto something. “You reading anything strange up there, captain?”

“How can he tell with the Redstorm super-sergeant running his mouth over here?” Unikade grumbled.

“That’s it—” the disgruntled sergeant blurted. “I see you’re going to need a refresher on your etiquette, the Redstorm version.” They stood visor to visor, but Unikade didn’t so much as wince in the face of his adversary’s menacing posture. The lancer would come to his senses and grovel, Cord counted on it. But when their standoff persisted, the vexed sergeant snapped. He grunted an angry sigh then slammed his wrist into the spade on Unikade’s chest, extinguishing the glow of each of his rank stripes. Unbeknownst to him, their mission didn’t permit such a gesture and it backfired in a painfully literal manner. Unikade’s rank echelon returned to its original state with a burst of sonic energy that stunned Cord’s arm as it was flung away.

“Not this go-around, hotshot,” he sneered. “This mission needs everyone to know their place—and to stay in it.”

“Unikade,” Vega called sternly. Her subordinate reached back toward his spine. His lance’s haft extended from the slot on his upper back to meet his grip. The long, tapered cone flared in a sequence of twists as he snatched it free.

“You’d dare draw your weapon on a ranking officer?” Thax exclaimed.

Unikade glanced at the ailing Sergeant Cord and sneered. “No, sir. There’s no time for the Liger Black etiquette lesson.”

Vega knelt upon the suspicious bed of gravel, hovering her hand above it like a metal detector. The sensors in her gauntlet fed her more intricate details of the gravel’s strange geology.

“Poke around a bit,” she ordered.

Unikade took his lance and plunged the tip into the gravel, sinking it much deeper than he expected. With nearly the entire cone submerged, he hit a solid surface at last; a floor. “Completely empty,” he said, his tone unsettled and suspicious.

Vega stood up and turned her gaze to the Gamma trooper with the pump in his hand. “Pump that out.”

“—You don’t order my men, sergeant,” said the Gamma lieutenant.

She turned to him, the bristling glare in her eyes glossed over by the cold, reflection of her helmet. “Excuse me?” she fired back. “Then why are you still here, lieutenant? If you’re not here to lend a hand to the cause, what do we need you for?”

Though the lieutenant’s posture suddenly went stiff with suppressed fury. He marched toward the black-clad trooper. “I am a Corps Officer, sergeant, and I will be regarded with the proper respect by any and every subordinate trooper on the premises. Your insubordinate behavior jeopardizes the mission, which I will not allow,” he reprimanded.

“The mission no longer concerns you, lieutenant.”

“Spire, correct me if I’m wrong, but field discipline has not been dissolved from Omega regulation, has it?”

Thax forcibly grabbed Vega’s shoulder, thrilled to see her bridled. “It has not.”

Unikade put the tip of his lance to the Spire’s throat with a swift twirl. Sergeant Cord drew his weapon on him, barking orders to subdue him. There was a ripple of drawn weapons until the entire cemetery was in a standoff. The Ligers defended their own. 

“This is me drawing my weapon on a ranking officer,” Unikade said to the Spire.

“You’ll be hanged for this, lancer. General Lavanche will hear about this!”

“We’ll see, won’t we?”

Vega stepped toward the lieutenant. “All of this must seem a little unconventional for you, I take it. I’ll enlighten you. This is the wolf’s den, lieutenant. It’s typical fare in our line of work, probably less so for you. But I have a job to do, and I don’t have time to measure dicks or count stripes with you. Pulling rank is picking a fight and, in the wolf’s den, you’d better have good reason for it. Only the deadliest pull rank because otherwise, you ‘jeopardize my mission’, asshole.”

“You think we’re so far off the beaten path it gives you license to be lawless? Look around you! This is a graveyard—in the middle of nowhere! Not some wolf’s den where it’s eat or be eaten!”

“That changed when we got here. You were relieved, remember?”

“Vega! Breach!” Vance’s frantic voice blared in the Ligers’ earpieces.

She spun around to the vacant grave to see the gravel trembling and leaping. “Breach!” she echoed frightfully. Everyone’s eyes and head darted, their stance readying. But they weren’t quick enough for the startling eruption. A column of sand and gravel rocketed into the sky with a loud explosion. The enemy had arrived.

An army of frenzied Goblins leapt from the geyser and descended upon their foes. Their pale, pink flesh was stretched around their lean muscle. Their large bald heads were horned and knobbed with grotesque bone. Their skin was thick and callused by the rugged wasteland. Their faces were grotesque. Their maniacal eyes were spotted with green; their snarls were cursed with jagged, rotten teeth. Their ears, if they had any, were gnawed. And they were as rabid as they were short.

They attacked the troops with large, broken horns fashioned onto dense, wooden shafts. The Gamma troop’s armor eventually punctured under incessant hammering. No less than ten goblins swarmed every trooper at once, hacking away what they could. They were too agile for most gunfire and their numbers were overwhelming.

The Redstorm company fared well, their gunshots more precise than the Gamma troop’s. But their arrogance deceived them in their underestimation of the Goblins’ chaotic numbers. Against the explosions of the goblins’ grenades, many of them lost their footing and were buried by the horde. 

The Ligers fell back to the edge of the camp, turning their pursuers to singular targets. They crippled the horde by sending tremors through the ground with gunfire. Vega zapped each stumbling imp with needle-tight marksmanship, threading daggers of white fire through their skulls. They butchered them under gunfire with the exception of Unikade who cut them down with his lance on the edge of the inner cemetery.

If only the other troopers had fared as well. Unikade hurled his lance across the graveyard, impaling the goblin that carved at Thax’s helmet. He went to the Spire’s aid, ripped his lance out of the monster’s chest with a squelching yank and stretched his hand to his fellow Guardsman.

“The lieutenant!” Thax cried.

Across the camp, the Gamma lieutenant held onto life with the few breaths he could drag through his lips. Half of his helmet was gone and his armor had been crushed by the goblin that continued to hammer his torso. The lieutenant abandoned all hope for the rest of his body, conserving his strength for the fight against death. But the goblin’s horn-made pickaxe had already chiseled into flesh. Unikade shot the goblin with his side arm and dashed to the lieutenant, cutting down the goblins that rushed to intercept him. But, he was too late to spare the helpless lieutenant from the few goblins that happened upon his body next.

“Vance!” Vega shouted. “We broke the dam! We’ve got casualties! Could use an assist!”

“Confirmed. Standby,” Vance replied. “…Tornado inbound. Take cover immediately.”

“Kyran! Get down!” Vega shouted. Unikade obeyed and promptly buried his face in the ground.

As another frenzied wave of goblins climbed out of the hole, a star appeared in the clouds with a bright gleam. It was the flash of the cannon on Vance’s ship as it set loose a whistling missile. The spiraling cylinder speared through the air and plummeted into the goblin chasm then detonated. A roaring vortex of white fire surged high into the air, so bright that it could blind the naked eye. Every goblin, including the few that hadn’t quite reached the surface, were snatched into the vortex and reduced to vapor. The raspy squawking of their death song soon faded and there was only the soughing of the subsiding whirlwind.

No trooper rose until the vortex subsided. Only remnants of the Gamma and Redstorm troops remained. Everyone stood up at last and took count of their personnel, much to their dismay. The Gammas who had discovered their mangled lieutenant were petrified. Thax, too, was distraught at the reduction of his numbers. But, the Ligers endured. They stowed their weapons and proceeded with the mission.

“Take a beat, Ligers,” Vance ordered over the radio. “You did good work. Proceed to the access point when ready.”

“Any more strange readings we should know about, Captain?”

“The southward energy field spiked momentarily during the skirmish, but it’s returned to normal. My guess, the energy field below the surface may be too potent for your suits. The interference will probably scramble your instruments.”

“The suits should hold up though, right? Or do we need to insulate for poison?”

“It’s only daiku, so yes, the filtration systems should be able to handle it. Either way, as long as you make it out of there in a timely manner, we can purge any contaminants on the carrier. Proceed with caution and get out of there as quickly as you can.”

“Acknowledged, Spire.” Vega turned to the Redstorm Spire then. “Captain Thax, we’re proceeding below ground. If your troop has sustained critical loss, it may be more prudent to withdraw. There’s no telling what we’re going to face down there. Could be another goblin ambush.”

The Spire scoffed. “You think I’m going to bow out and let Ligers reap all the glory? I’ve got more than enough capable men.”

“Sir, this isn’t about numbers. And none of this has anything to do with reputation. We just saw how fast this could get ugly. This operation deserves more discretion than either of us originally anticipated, right? Pride’ll only get us all killed down there.”

“Is this how you make your move to the head of the pack, Vega? What makes you think four Ligers can do what three times as many Redstorm troopers can’t?”

“All I’m suggesting is a sensible decision, Captain. Ligers know when it’s time to bow out.”

“That’s ‘cause they’ve got just a fox leading them. Redstorm, we’ll  die before we turn tail.”

“My point exactly,” she quipped. “If this last scuffle is any indication, death is just waiting for us to slip up. With all due respect, sir, you need to take your ego out of the equation,” Vega warned solemnly. Thax took it as slander of his entire team.

The Spire erected his upright posture and stuck out his chest. “You’re out of line, sergeant. You’d best believe this report will make it to the top. I’ll be filing for punitive action against you and Liger Black. Maybe then you’ll learn some manners. For now, because I am the ranking officer on the ground, I am taking charge of the foot mission.”

“Why would you do that—?”

“Because I can, and I have.”

“He has ranking authority, Llayne,” Vance said in her ear. “Spire Thax, you get my men killed and you’ll answer to me before you ever file any report.”

The Redstorm Spire ignored the threat and went to the edge of the empty grave. He gazed down into the pit at the dark abyss. For a long moment, he remained still, ruminating the consequences of his decision. He then slung his fliprifle into his hands and racked the next Gigavox round. “Gamma squad, hang back to board the Liger carrier,” Thax ordered. “Redstorm, Ligers… pucker up. We’re going in.” 

Vega glanced at her squad, rolling her eyes with disdain behind her visor. No one else would ever know, but her troop knew. Sergeant Cord shouldered her as he went to Thax’s side. He then turned back to Vega.

“Run your mouth down there and I’ll take care of you personally,” Cord swore. Vega looked at him and then looked away, saying nothing.

“We’re so glad you’re still with us, sergeant,” said Unikade in cynical monotone. “And to think, you could’ve been viciously ripped apart by those goblins.”