“Hell,yeah!” Private Colston said. A few others must have heard becauseone clapped his hands, and then quickly stopped as he spotted thewithering glance from the Sergeant. Had these been regular marinesthere would have been series implications for their behaviour, butthe Novas were anything but regulars. They were veterans; combatexperienced, and had suffered mutilation and death. They weregranted leeway, but in exchange for that leeway they were expectedto do the impossible.
The Sergeant turned and moved slowly in front of them.
“The Ski’ligs are no longer asurprise to us, but that doesn’t mean we have nothing to learn. IfDeimos taught us anything, it’s that theenemy is tenacious and deadly. We cannot under any circumstancesunderestimate its power.”
He pulled off the fabric cover to reveal a bizarre robot mannequin. One ofTsarkov’s men whistled in a low tone, and then stopped as theSergeant’s gaze moved towards him.
“Anybody seen this before?”
No oneanswered until Valentine angled her head slightly.
“Sergeant, it looks like a combat Grunt, but with a few changes to lookmore like a Ski’lig warrior.”
“Exactly, the core is a combatGrunt as used by the IAB. A subset isbeing trialled for use as security support on stations and bases.This is one of those machines but modified for our use.”
“We’re being swapped out for robots?”asked a disappointed Tsarkov.
“No, Lance Corporal, we are not.”
He tapped the machine on the head.
“This unit is programmed for alimited series of tasks, one of which isto simulate close combat threats. Based on data captured by ourarmour over the last year, the boffins at Taxxu have createdsomething we can use for our training.”
He gave the machine a nod, andit rose almost half a metre taller. Itsarms lifted, and one of the Novas gasped as improvised wingcomponents expanded out with the arms. Sergeant Jablonsky whistled,and a tech came running in with a perfect replica of a Ski’ligrifle. He pushed it towards the Grunt, and it took the weapon,gripping it in both hands. What happened next caused three of theNovas to even take a step back. The Grunt adopted a fighting stancethat perfectly mimicked a Ski’lig, with its heels raised and itshead pushed out from the hunched stance.
“Lance Corporal Tsarkov, two ofyour lance have not seen combat with thisthreat before, have they?”
“No,Sergeant.”
The two men looked unimpressed asSergeant Jablonsky circled the robot.
“Well, what have you heard about thesecreatures?”
The first of the two, the mostarrogant of Tsarkov’s new recruits,seemed particularly taken with it. He nodded towards the machineand to its wings.
“Some kind of birdspecies. Light bones, some type of harpoonweapons, and a serious attitude. Novas seem like overkill to dealwith them.”
Sergeant Jablonskydid not seem overly impressed by his summary, sohe turned to the second.
“Private Peterson, can you enlighten uswith your wisdom?”
“Colston covered it, Sarge. They’rebird people, like the ones that fought Ming the Merciless.”
That drew laughterfrom some of the others.
“I see,” said Jablonsky in a tone the more experienced of thelance recognised right away.
Man…you’ve done itnow, Valentine thought.
Alexis glanced back at her and raisedan eyebrow in amusement.
“Disappointing,” said theSergeant, “These creatures are strong,adaptable, and highly capable warriors. Their technology is farsuperior to ours in many ways, and they can do things we have neverdreamt of.”
He shook his head and moved back to theGrunt.
“Birds do not have hollow bones.The Ski’ligs are similar, and use ahexagonal structure inside, like a honeycomb. It gives thenstronger bones than our own at a fraction of the weight. Theirsociety is different to ours, and so far we only have knowledge ofthose we have met in combat. Corporal Kleinlercher. Explain whatthey are like to fight.”
“Yes,Sergeant.”
She moved in front of the creature andtapped its weapon.
“The Ski’ligs appear to be ahunter focused race, or at least those that travel awayfrom their worlds. They are light, fast,and can fly in most environments. Their suits are sealed, and theyare equipped with a form of thruster tech to move in zero gravityat speeds we cannot match.”
She took the rifle from its hands andchecked it was safe before continuing.
“Their weapons canpenetrate even Rhino armour atclose-range, and they prefer to maim instead of kill. This matchesour understanding of their hunting prowess.”
She fitted it back into its hands.
“And then there is its ability,one we do not understand, to numb themind and to manipulate those it captures.”
“No way,” said Colston, to the surprise of all those there other thanPeterson.
“The Corporal is correct,”said Sergeant Jablonsky, “Left unchecked,the Ski’ligs can turn a population in a matter of days, sometimeshours. Each of you will spend the rest of the time until we arriveeither training or researching these creatures.”
He pointed to the newcomers.
“Do not underestimate your enemy,gentlemen. I would hate to see you turnedagainst us in battle by those you deem unworthy. I’d have to putyou down, personally.”
There was an uncomfortable silence, andas Colston looked towards Valentine, she flashed him a smile. Hischeeks quivered slightly, and she knew she’d got under his skin. Itwas a minor moment, but a small victory.
“Enough talk, it’stime to fight. Lance Corporal Valentine,front and centre.”
Valentine hadn’t been expectingthat, and it quickly wiped the smile from her face.She moved to the front of the lance and facedoff against the motionless machine.
“Now…Valentine here has optedfor the less potent combination ofweaponry when it comes to ranged combat.”
Somebody sniggered, much to theSergeant’s irritation.
“You, Colston. Here…now!Your strength will be cut down to a third. Youwill hit it, not destroy it. This machine is a trainingaid.”
The man moved to the front andpositioned himself alongside Valentine.There was little difference in height between them, though historso was so much bigger he looked like a tank next to her. Hecarried a pair of assault limbs, the type Valentine favoured forher right. The hand could be used as a mace in close combat, andalso featured the L52S Mark II Assault Pistol built into theforearm. At his shoulder was a gun rig mount for acannon.
“Close combat weapons only,” saidJablonsky, “Visor up…Fight!”
Colston looked stunned as therobotic Ski’lig came for him. It moved in quickly and slammed itsrifle towards his face. The visor was notin position yet and struck his cheek, spraying blood that hitValentine in the face.
