January 17 7 AE (military calendar)January 17 2029 AC (global calendar)Major General Tanya Rex-Incoming directive-
-Infiltrate and destroy offending facility-
-Collect all data-
-Legion will assist-
I stare at the message for a few minutes. I need to talk to the guys to get this done more importantly I need to talk to Nyx or Casper. They have only mentioned this legion in passing. That not comforting as they fully admitted to destroying an entire universe.
A few hours ter we are back in the crater “Scoutings over the next phase is pnting the bomb and data recovery” Everyone nods and I continue “We'll draw straws on whos carrying the bomb and who's quick response unless you would rather have two full squads for it” I end it on a question.
Frank looks to Griffin who asks “How effective is the bomb? Does it need to be deep” I shake my head “The surface should be fine, it'll be glowing for a while” he nods “I assume you're going inside then for a good oll smash and grab” I shrug “Perks of rank”
We spend about an hour going over the details before we get some shut-eye. As usual, now I'm at that pergo and NYX is there. “I'm going to be blunt what is legion” Nyx just sighs and then speaks with resignation “They are an accident that nearly killed the sentinels, eventually Spero brought them to heel”
I frown but gesture for him to continue “It was during their second immortality project. You see Speo was not satisfied with the sentinels simply not being able to age so they developed true immortality, if their body dies then they do not, they simply grab a new one”
He sighed again “They ripped their mind and soul from their bodies and put them in a storage facility then buried that facility so deep nothing can touch it. That's not to speak of the reality rending weapons that defend it should one somehow find it”
I clear my throat “This isn't a side tangent” I bow my head slightly in apology “Anyway Sif and Bear got through it just fine so they deemed it safe. That was until the st two, Charon and Kore… they were a thing so when Kore was undergoing the procedure and it went wrong Charon ran to her side and it doomed them both. It ripped out both souls and minds and in the process shredded them and reassembled them as one over and over… Varian thinks it's still doing it. He had to make them a dedicated system”
I nod along at the story “What went in was two lovers and friends and what came out was a writhing mass of cold calcuting hate that can divide its mind across trillions of forms” My eyes widen “No wonder the sentinels had problems” Nyx nods in agreement “luckily the loyalty to Spero was ingrained deep allowing him to spare Legion if it didn't kneel he would have purged them all”
“Now in the present, they are the main force of the sentinels. Hmm, you ask because they have spoken to you no” I nod “I received a message saying they will assist” Nyx strokes his face tendrils “hmmm interesting. Well don't worry they won't be there physically part of having a trillion combat forms a few billion ships and half a Matroska means they are smart enough to know a physical body would complicate matters so they will simply put one legion in your helmet as an assistant”
I sip my coffee thoughtfully “That would be interesting does it do it for all the sentinels” Nyx ughs “Goodness no they have only ridden shotgun with Spero and from what he says it was interesting” I tilt my head “How does Legion help as a ride along” nyx apparatus some cookies and munches down on some before responding “they can ping things for you mark locations, change the ammunition in your rifle for you… think of it as having a second brain in your helmet and your own data analysis team rolled into one”
I nod and smile “Thank you, I should be off please give Casper my regards” I begin to awaken and the st words I hear from him are “don't mind the voice”
I open my eyes and am welcomed by a sea of stars. I slept outside the drop ship and ran my oxygen line inside just so I could sleep beneath the stars. I wait a moment before I move however and decide to just ask if Legion is here but first I make sure no one else can hear me “Uh Legion you there”
A moment ter what sounds like a hundred voices speak all at once in a heavily synthesized voice mixed with some kind of chittering. “We are equipped to serve”
Holy shit so that’s what Nyx meant. “Uh right… you are aware of the mission correct” I brace myself for the response “Correct major general I have the program prepared that will copy and destroy their servers”
This is going to be… interesting. I get up and wait for the guys. Luckily it’s not long. Griffin gets right to the meat of the day “If we are pnting the device and acting as a quick response why don’t we stay at the drop ship and as we fly over just kick it out”
I shrug “Honestly not much of a difference in outcome and it means you’ll actually be free to help instead of busy carrying that thing so”
He nods “Have fun in there Tanya” I have a quick meal and make sure my air is topped off then I make my way to the facility. Now it’s just me and legion. I guess it’s not so lonely when the one with you is itself a trillion beings.
About halfway there I ask Legion “Any suggestions on getting inside” The response is basically instant “We recommend moving to this position be sure to not be spotted” A marker appears on my hud and I head for it hunched over.
After I arrive at the marker I duck behind a boulder “Okay now what” I look around to see if I missed anything but I’m still a few miles from the facility. Legion enlightens me “Use the approaching vehicle. Slide under it and hold onto the bottom to gain access to the interior”
I look around again and spot a slight dust trail. That must be the rover. I up the magnification on my visor and look closer at an APC with no side windows. It’s also bouncing around so they shouldn’t notice another bump.
I get ready and make sure my thrusters are primed and my mag gloves are ready. The time seems to crawl as it passes and I dive out and barely miss the rear wheels and my gloves catch the very edge at the rear.
I quickly pull myself fully underneath and lock my boots on as well then I just pull myself as close to the bottom as I can and enjoy the ride. I also make a note to have every vehicle checked on our bases so we won’t be infiltrated like this.
A short while ter we roll through a fence and then into an airlock. Luckily they seem to store the vehicles inside. We cycle through and the driver parks the rover and drops the ramp. A group walks out and leaves.
I turn up the gain on my helmet to glean any sound and receive nothing so I gently drop myself down and roll out from under the rover. I spot a grate in the wall and quietly but swiftly make my way to it.
Moments ter I’m in the air vents. “Great pn legion now for some exploring” I begin to crawl around recording everything and making note of the more interesting things such as the air vents that seem to bypass security checkpoints.
By having no idea the yout of the facility and having to stick to the air vents I end up wondering for hours. Finally, I find a huge central duct and it leads down. I follow it to the bottom and continue.
Here is the interesting stuff. Labs and some on-site manufacturing and I see signs pointing to the central server. Honestly, the easiest way to protect the center server is just don’t have signs pointing it out. After all, anyone who should have access will know where it is to begin with.
I begin to make my way to the server room and peer through a vent to see if anyone is inside. Nope all clear. I carefully crawl out and check for cameras. Surprisingly none.
“Legion keep an eye on the door for me” I move to the first rack and pull out the access computer. I plug in with a wire from my helmet and Legion seems to begin to crack it. Less than a minute ter I have complete access and browse through the projects first.
There is something called project libra but the files here just hint at material research then there is project poker face… whoever came up with these names sucks. It seems to be about the effects of quickly growing origins, what we call fsh cloning.
The most interesting one is simply listed as epilogue. Its main facility is here and all its data is accessible. What I read makes my jaw drop.
It’s faster than light research. That expins the ship. They can’t have this. I set to copying everything over and wiping the racks afterward. Once I’m about done arms begin to sound. Guess someone noticed all the missing data.
“Legion recommendations on the fastest way out” The response is about what I expected “There is no way back just through. There is a central elevator shaft we will mark the route” I rack my rifle and notice the ammunition is set to shredder rounds.
I hit the door button and slip out before it’s even half open. I sprint down the hall following the route on my hud “Do we have a signal to the guys” I get back an affirmative so I radio over to them while I run.
“I overstayed my welcome warm up the engines I’ll tell you once I’m on the surface again” I cut the radio and spot a fire team round a corner so I hose some rounds into them and hurdle their bodies.
My boot’s ring against the ground sounding like a hammer on an anvil as I run. I shoot down several more squads before I reach the elevator but I make it. I press the button for the highest level and wait.
The elevator pys a little jingle as it raises counting up the floors. The doors slide open and immediately bullets impact the inside walls. Luckily they don’t have anything big so I lean out the edge of the door and return fire.
I’m baffled that these guys aren’t in armor or at least a space suit. Their guns seem low-powered as well for the task of getting through a space suit. Whatever their ineptitude just benefits me and the republic.
The volume of fire increases so I get behind the corner and use the camera in the scope to aim my rifle around the corner. It take me some time but I clear the hallway and exit the elevator.
I gnce at the overid pathway “where to next” The response is a little surprising “You will have to exit through the traffic control tower. Specifically a window” I set into a jog with my rifle shouldered and smile “Quite a theatrical exit”
I jog up the stairs and meet resistance halfway up. Several soldiers peered over the railing from above and fired down on me. I ignored them until I could get a decent shot at them.
One tossed a grenade down and I sent myself over the edge across the gap escaping most of the bst. My armor took the rest just fine. Legion pipes up then “We suggest unconventional tactics”
I pause for a moment then grasp the meaning. I sling my rifle on my back and turn on both mag gloves gripping my pistol in one and tap my thrusters to leap from railing to railing up the central tube.
I occasionally shoot an enemy as I ascend and I finally get to the reinforced door at the top. Surprisingly it’s open and the people inside are panicking. I sprint past them and drop a few grenades and dive out the window tapping my thrusters for distance.
“I’m out care to pick me up” I roll and nd on the lunar surface. I stand up and look back at the facility having just cleared the fence. Lights are strobing everywhere.
Suddenly puffs of dust are kicked up around me and on instinct I begin to run but I gnce back and see several rovers chasing after me. I set into a sprint, or as close to one as I can get with the lower gravity.
I catch a glimpse of the drop ship when the ground beneath me explodes and I’m thrown upside down. I stay calm and orient and while still upside down I fire on my pursuers. One rover goes up by the time I right myself with my thrusters.
From then on I straiff with my thrusters barely keeping my feet beneath me. “This is foehammer hold on to your teeth” I watch a dozen rockets stream out from the drop ship along with tracers wrecking everything behind me.
He swings the craft around with the ramp down and I scramble aboard and we fly over the facility. The guys were already prepared to dump the nuke and kick it out of the ship and we burn out of there. Some tracers and missiles follow us but we escape basically unscathed.
Once we are in a high orbit we trigger our party gift. For a moment a second sun appears and in its wake, a sea of rapidly cooling gss and dust is left as the only sign anything was there before.
The battalions combined body count is now five billion and some change with a few hundred more now.