LZ Wilderness Patrol
by: Matthew Mason
I smelled the air in the breather as I floated in the water-filled tank just before the Bane attack. It was dry, smelling of rubber, and expensive plastic. I didn't remember why I was here, or even my name. I just remember watching the explosion in the wall behind the console, seeing people scream in horror as the walls collapsed....
"Private Macian, Wake up! That armor may be comfortable, remind you of those straw mats you slept on in the boondocks back home, but we're at your new post. I don't want to have to throw you out of this crate like I did the last sorry sumbitch that pissed his pants before coming to the LZ."
My vision blurred in and out of focus as I woke up. He didn't even wait for me to grab my pack and standard issue AFS Rifle and before I knew it, I was laying belly-up hearing the blast of the transport speed away. "Soldier, you picked one helluva place to die." I thought to myself as I picked up my rifle and gear.
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A Walk in the Park
by: Shad0wmage
Jake walked into the office and snapped to attention in front of the desk. "Jake Thompson, reporting as ordered" he said.
Major Gregorovich looked at the screen on his desk. "Jake Thompson, ex Australian Special Air Services, served in Afghanistan, Iraq, East Timor and North Korea. Reprimanded for selling war souvenirs, loss of rank for running a still dishonorably discharged after an incident with a flame-thrower and the officer’s bar." he said.
The major looked up at Jake. "That’s quite an impressive record. Anything important I missed?"
Jake kept his gaze focused on the wall behind the Major. "No Sir". Bloody typical, the Bane kicked the arse of every armed force on Earth, wiped out his family, friends and almost everyone else and his service record survived.
"With screw-ups like you; what chance do we stand against the Bane?" the Major asked.
Jake didn’t reply. However his right hand twitched several times; a sure sign to anyone who knew him in Iraq that the only thing stopping the Major's brains from decorating the wall was the fact he had checked his sidearm in at the entrance.
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Death Healer
by: Unbelieverx
*** WARNING ***
The following story may contain language and/or violent content that some readers may find disturbing. Please use your own judgment and proceed with caution.
She screamed.
Gods, but the pain was unbearable. Such a small piece of shrapnel to the gut, and there was for all her training, for all the technology, nothing that she could do. She knew she was as good as dead, her body just hadn’t figured it out yet.
Told you you were going to die a voice in her head sneered, oh sod off she replied. But the voice was right. Bugger that, she wasn’t dead yet, there had to be something she could do. She took a deep breath, and gagged. Gods but the place reeked of death, the sickly sweet smell of her charred arm, the stench of stale piss and the choking fumes of destroyed machinery. Forcing herself to take another deep breath, she opened her eyes.
The cockpit of the dropship was nothing more then a tin can of twisted metal she was trapped in, the windows shattered, the electronics fried, her leg pinned down – not that that mattered mind seeing as she wouldn’t be able to move without spilling her guts. And there in the corner, rocking back and forth in shock was that whimpering fool of a recruit that had gotten her dead. The moron wasn’t even wounded and all he was doing was whimpering away in a puddle of his own piss.
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Before the Bane
by: FireLeiLotus
Ashlyn leaned back, smiling brightly, moonlight sparkling in her eyes as she squished the warm sand between her bare toes. The beach at night; lounging beneath a warm summer sky with the man she loved. What a perfect way to end the perfect evening. She smiled as she gazed down at the sparkling gem on her finger, twirling it to catch the moonlight. It was a bit too big… but that could easily be corrected. He finally proposed… that was more important then anything else right now. Everything was falling into place and Ashlyn had never felt more joyful… more content.
She had finally found a job she adored. She had paid her dues, first during her residency and then for 2 years working in the hospital’s free clinic. Now she was working in a good, well respected practice, a place where she could really take the time to get to know her patients. Nathan said she had been happier then he had ever seen her since she started there. But that happiness paled in comparison to the way she felt at that moment.
The sound of thunder rumbled in the distance. “Odd”, she thought. "Thunder on such a clear night?" Maybe someone was launching fireworks somewhere. She closed her eyes and snuggled back against Nathan. But the rumble kept getting louder… closer. She opened her eyes in time to see a bright light streak across the sky. She turned to look back at Nathan, but he was already scrambling to his feet, pulling her up.
“What… what is it?”
He never did answer her… only grabbed her arm roughly and started running towards the car. Her mind was swimming as the rumbles turned into ear-shattering booms. The night sky was suddenly on fire. They ran without looking back, her bare feet kicking up sand as they closed the distance to the car..., and she suddenly realized she didn’t even know what she was running from.
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Another Day
by: Dullard
You... hey... are you Franklin? Jenkins? What kind of name is that? Anyway, give me your dat-disk and let me run your files. Where you from anyway? Newcastle huh? Tough break on that kid. Alright, everything checks out, you're cleared. First, let me officially welcome you to Foreas and into active duty in the AFS forces. Ok, now that that's out of the way you better follow me if you want a place to sleep tonight. Hey! Blue-head, aren't you forgetting something? Where's your pack? You didn't leave it on the damn hedgehog did you? No? Good. Well grab it son. Get it and lets go! Alright, here's what I want from you. First thing, follow me! You wander around here, you're likely to end up as Bane-bait. I ain't spending my time trying to save your sorry ass. Secondly, keep your trap shut, I don't have time to answer all your questions. The third thing is, listen up! If you make me repeat myself I'm gonna have you on KP. You ever peeled a Foreasian potato? Let me just put it to you this way son; we ain't got enough med-packs to keep you in one piece through that. Them little suckers are slippery.
for.eas.ion tub.er.o.sum 1. A multi-celled Class D sentient primoplantae organism native to the planet Foreas. 2. The outer skin-sack secretes an oily lubricant that causes a complex tribological interaction allowing it to easily escape from predators; this also aids in the burrowing process. 3. Often referred to as a "potato" by humans because of it's similar ovoid shape and high-water content. 4. Goes great with butter.
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The Sky is Falling
by: Scorpio77
The sky is falling! That was the last thing I remember saying, as a young child I did not understand what a drop ship was, or that there could be so many. The reign of death and terror that erased my home colony, was a nightmare, the boogie man was real. My bad dreams soon were erased by hatred. I have no sense of duty, no will to survive, only hatred. Hatred for the Bane, my enemy, my boogie man.
The Monsters were real; I found that out first hand, it broke my reality. I matured faster then others, I had to if I wanted to get them back for what they did. I got lucky that day, I escaped. Only to see from hiding the monsters disintegrate my parents. They even killed my best friend in the entire galaxy, my Dog spot. Spot got the better of one of them; apparently a Terran Dog has enough Jaw strength to rip a head off even after being riddled with Laz fire. I had to cheer from hiding to live, something in me told me to survive. I was always the best at hiding, I guess that is why I became a Ranger for the A.F.S., and I like killing them, just like they killed my family, my planet, and my life.
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The Prophecy
by: Lendrick
Earth, Blasted Region, 1400 hours
The sun glared hot and brilliant.
It had just stopped raining and the air was thick with moisture.
“I hate this; the damn weather can’t make up its mind!” Lendrick stated, running his gloved hand over the exposed part of his face, now dripping with sweat.
“Commander, I have the coordinates locked in, Gurtz won’t elude us for much longer”
“Good work corporal, make sure the men are ready to move, we need to make better time today now the rains stopped”
The corporal ran off to rouse the camp, leaving Commander Lendrick staring out at the bleak landscape. For two years, the High General Gurtz has eluded Lendrick’s sniper scope, and Lendrick, so close now, he could almost taste it – or was that last nights plains rat for dinner?
The contingent of Allied Free Sentient’s moved swiftly over the landscape, coordinated and efficient, they worked well as a team and equally so when off duty and relaxing with some Synth-ale.
Moving steadily in a southerly direction for two hours, the AFS squad came into view of what looked like an abandoned prison complex.
“The signal is coming from there, Commander, the signal is strong”
“This is it guys, look sharp and remember the tactics!”
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Sweet Chariot
by: Kountrklchr
*** WARNING ***
The following story may contain language and/or violent content that some readers may find disturbing. Please use your own judgment and proceed with caution.
The op was [censored]. I saw the signs everywhere. The hints piled on as we briefed and loaded out.
“Target: designation Romeo-Alpha-Quebec-Uniform 1-4-1. Expected enemy: light resistance.”
The Lt.’s voice buzzes on and on, sounding more and more like the mechanical ceiling fans of the briefing room. Light resistance? I call [censored]. I’ve been on eight drops here. On every one of ‘em; landing zone hot, target hot, extraction point hot. This whole dirtball of a world is hot with Bane. When my sister platoon got wiped taking down a power station, I was on the extraction team that responded to the emergency scramble call. Lt. told them “light resistance” too. We never even recovered what was left of the bodies. That was another bad day in a bad week. Damnit, whole year’s been bad so far.
“Target is an AFS structure captured by the enemy in the summer campaign three years ago. Intel says it was a hospital and biotech complex. We have agent and satellite imagery that shows the Bane are using the site processing captured sentients into these “machina” we’ve been having reports of.”
Poor ****s. I’ve seen ‘em firsthand. Not really human anymore, but sometimes you recognize a face. Someone you knew. Well, the house is still there, but new folks have moved in, you know? The eyes all vacant like someone closed the blinds. [censored] this war. They can kill us all they want, but when they start taking our souls…
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Jalor
by: Meatball
The thumping and rattling of titasteel against titasteel rumbled Jalor’s bones to the very core. The machinery surrounding him clanked and clattered their deadly payloads into place, straining the zero-g created hull against their anchors to the armor plating. The war compartment was cramped, filled with all manners of dials, switches, joysticks and gauges from which he could watch and control the entire ships combat subsystems with a simple push or pull of a button or dial.
The viewer flickered to life in front of him, its dead screen beginning to paint the grainy image of Captain Rator in the command compartment. His face, stress lines etched across its breadth pixellating into view. “Damnit Jalor, I need more plas power for the front array!”
As if to prove the point, the entire ship rocked hard and to the port as something struck the hull, almost breaching the shields. Distant warning klaxons were audible as he shuddered in his seat from yet another hit.
“I’m trying sir, I’m trying!” Jalor cried out, “But they got us outgunned an’ I need all the juice I can get for the shields!”
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Surviving the Storm
by: Nanaki
It was a quiet summer evening in a large naval base. A naval non-commissioned officer was sitting on the steps to a building, lazily staring out at the sea beyond him. The day seemed perfectly normal, despite being of historical significance for centuries beyond. The n.c.o. lazily peered into the sky, seeing large glowing objects streaking across the serene, blue sky. He suddenly looked puzzled, seeing nothing of the like before in his life, despite having looked at the stars often. It was not long before a naval officer ran from inside the building, shouting. The n.c.o. got up, startled, and followed the somewhat ecstatic officer inside. Both of them quickly navigated the structure, entering inside a dim-litted room where numerous naval personell were looking at various computer screens.
The n.c.o. squeezed between them, and eventually managed to get in front of them. He stared down at the screens, curious as to what they display. He saw a map of the continential United States, but over the northeast part was an unnatural, ominous black cloud. This cloud was quickly spreading down the Appalachian. The soldier knew that this cloud was not a good thing, and it was not long before the signal with the sattelite was lost. Most in the room seemed to be puzzled with the screens, as well as the loss of communication with the sattelite. The soldier was horrified, and shouted several sentences, ducking out of the crowd and bolting towards the entrance to the building. He quickly found the entrance and ran out in a full run.
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Las Vegas
by: Bennett Rieser
I was from a happy town once known Las Vegas, but I doubt anyone around here'd remember it was once called that. The wonderful glowing lights throughout the night, the high notes of slot machines while the average man gambled his life away... I never thought you could put those lights out.
I was a cop. More specifically, a patrol cop, and I swear I've seen it all. I know it sounds cliched when a law enforcement officer says that, but I have. Decapitations, bomb threats, cults, every homicide ever documented... a guy once even framed a fellow officer for his own murder. How the hell do you do that when you're dead?! It doesn't matter now. Nothing much does.
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The Commando
by: Christopher Valin
This wasn’t what I signed up for…
Sure, I wanted to help out—of course I did. But not like this.
I was always the smart guy in school…the nerd, the geek. Yeah, I know I’m big, but that only made me more self-conscious…y’know, not being good at sports and all.
They told me everyone started as a basic recruit, but I could choose my career path as I went along. I looked at the class tree and knew immediately what I’d be aiming for: Biotechnician, on the Specialist branch. I may not be able to fight, but I knew I could bring up the rear and give aid to those who could.
They issued me some light armor and my basic pistol. I could get better weapons later, if I survived. They don’t waste the good stuff on the new guys who might not make it more than a day or two.
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The AFS Soldier
by: GD
When you're afraid of the Bane
What's bound to occur
Afraid of yourself
Afraid of who you are.
You learn not to cry
Your emotion your own
keeping it bottled up inside.
Not to feel love in your heart
It would make you insane
You're hatred for the Bane
driving your mind apart.
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And So The Real Story Begins
by: Windar D'Sal
Wisps of steam played off the greying whiskers of Eidan D'Sal's moustache as he savored the earthy fragrance rising from the cup of Eldmere tea in his hands; a long-standing morning ritual. Taking a careful sip, he set his cup down on the corner of his desk and picked up the feather-tipped digital quill lying nearby. Peering distantly at the blank parchment lying before him on the desk, he resumed the light tapping of the tip of his quill against the polished desktop embossed with the formal insignia of the Internal Protection Services: The IPS.
Eidan leaned back in his muted grey chair and took in the room for a moment, sweeping a distant gaze over the placards and honors displayed on the wall of the comfortable, yet mostly stoic office. His gaze finally rested on the slightly more colorful corner where Mirina, his young protégé, was leveling a pointed glare in his direction. Her almost elfish features were pinched, appearing even more angular by her short-cropped, amber hair.
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Guilt (or Too Much Thinking)
by: CamelhairNerve
I had heard about them, but I had never seen one before. The black skin, the head-plate, the teeth, the eyes... the many in-human eyes.
It was in my flat! So many things were going through my head. The most ridiculous and unimportant things. How did it get in? Why wasn't anything destroyed? Why was it sleeping on the antique futon? How did the futon maintain the weight of the beast?
The portal clicked shut behind me and the creature jumped off the futon, startled, causing the futon to emit a pained crack. I froze and it's gaze met mine. It tensed for a moment, then it lunged at me.
I closed my eyes and threw up my arms in front of me with a rather emasculate shriek, tossing all the documents I had brought home all over the place. The beast knocked me down with it's front paws with such a force that I lost all my breath and slid all the way back until my head propped up against the portal into my flat, with the beast's maw probably just inches from my face -- separated only by my trembling hands. It pushed away my hands with its head and licked my scrunched face with a course and extremely hot tongue. It made a grunting noise and leaped away from me, leaving me with scratched feeling across my cheeks. I felt a strong sense of vertigo.
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