Cyberpunk III: 2856A.D. MARS

"Private Karasu, its a pleasure to meet you sir."

Bull nodded at Karasu again. "Private Bull Thompson," he said half heartedly, his joviality losing strength. "No need to call me sir, I've earned enough insubordination citations to at least have earned that much."

He gave a grin, spitting another wad on the ground. He shook the tobacco tin he had taken out and opened, offering it to the four.

"If the sergeant will have me," he said giving the sergeant a steady eye. "I'd much appreciate linking up with Alpha squad."

 

Karasu didn't know what he found more repulsive the constant tobacco chewing or the constant tobacco spitting. Karasu shook his head as Bull brought up the tobacco.
"No thank you, sir," Karasu said.
Karasu walked close to the wall and leaned on it. He opened his pack and took out the ID card of Linda. But he made sure he covered it so no one could snoop.
He just liked to look at her picture sometimes. And sometimes he could hear her voice in his head.

 

Bull spat but it seemed that he did it with sorrow.

"Hot Dog was the first to go," he said. "Lieutenant left him behind and he got ambushed...then McShayne disappeared. She's how I ended up here, I was looking for her because that b**** was such a robot for command she didn't even give a s*** that McShayne was gone."

Angel reeled a little. As annoying as Hot Dog had been he'd been a friend of sorts. She didn't know McShayne.

"Guess they don't teach 'leave no soldier behind' in OCS anymore," Bull said quietly.

Angel sighed and rubbed her eyes.

"Well, welcome to Alpha." She said and managed not to add, where our CO could go ballistic on you at any time because it wasn't really fair.

He'd only really done that to Jack, maybe a little with Karasu, never with her. She looked at Nero and managed not to shake her head. The stress must be getting to him.

 

"If the sergeant will have me," Bull said, keeping his eyes level with Nero's.

"I'd much appreciate linking up with Alpha squad." Thompson added. Castillene walked up and took a pinch of tobacco.

"You'd be a fine addition to Alpha Squad, Thompson," Nero said, although they had met up in not the most cheerful of moments, the sergeant had an odd respect for the older man. Where Nero had experience as a manipulator, Thompson countered it with seniority and sheer toughness. Nero grinned.

He toyed with the brown wad in his gums, taking in the rough taste before spitting out away from the group.

"And my condolences to you, I will not have you experience that type of loss here." he added, with a small sense of authority, but he wondered how much of that he had left in his comrades.

Nero gave Bull a slow nod, acknoledging that he valued his place on the team. After all, he was the only who had kept firm in the face of his second hellpath so far. Although a few seconds he had caught the smile and wink Angel had flashed Cyrus, and noted it.

 

"Well, welcome to Alpha." Bull nodded at Angel and gave a polite smile before turning his attention back to the sergeant.

"You'd be a fine addition to Alpha Squad, Thompson, and my condolences to you, I will not have you experience that type of loss here."

"Well I'm glad to be aboard," he said looking at his four new squad mates. "I'll be happy to take point, it's what I'm best at," he said with a slight grin. "Let me know when it's time to move out."

He made his way to Karasu. The private's actions hadn't escaped his notice. He leaned his back against the wall next to him and gave an almost relaxed sigh. "You gotta a special someone back home also, huh?" he asked quietly to Karasu, pulling out a picture from underneath his armor. A petite brunette with a big white smile and little blond girl were seated in it. "This here's my wife and our little daughter Brice."

 

"You gotta a special someone back home also, huh?" he asked quietly to Karasu, pulling out a picture from underneath his armor. A petite brunette with a big white smile and little blond girl were seated in it. "This here's my wife and our little daughter Brice."
Karasu looked at Bull and then at the picture he showed him. Karasu smiled at the the happiness in their eyes.
"She is no longer in this world she died while working on this planet, she was my girlfriend," Karasu said, "That is a nice family you have there...your daughter is going to be beautiful when she grows up...all of my children were mutant freaks."
Karasu looked at Bull. He really was a rock with a gooey inside. Kinda of like popcorn shrimp crunchy bread on the outside and soft meat in the inside.
Karasu showed Bull the ID card of the woman. She had short black hair, a tight look that made her look very sharp and business like, but her smile was angelic and made her fairly attractive.
"Her name was Linda Sprint," Karasu said.

 

Bull looked at the picture and gave it an approving smile. "She was good lookin gal, there," he said. "Hard to look good in those ID photos."

He looked at the ground not sure what to say next. Usually soldiers are the ones dying, not their loved ones. "We'll get the bastards, K," he said patting Karasu on the soldier. "We'll get 'em."

 

Karasu looked at the picture.
"It wasn't a person who killed her," Karasu said, "It was the shadows, an assassin who was the shadows."
Karasu put the picture back into his pack and took out some granola bars.
"I have granola bars anyone want some it might give us a bit of the energy we need," Karasu said.

 

Angel was a little surprised to find a family man in such a line of work and specifically on this mission. He had moved on to chatting with Karasu so Angel took out the Comm and began mapping again, walking up and down the concourse for the transports as she went.

The concourse was about fifty feet long by twenty deep, a dark tunnel mouth disappearing in each direction along the transport tracks.

Everyone was decompressing after the latest brush with death and Bull's unexpected arrival but they had to stick with their mission and get to the gate.

Even so she stopped near Jack, a bit apart from the others, to confer with him.

"There are three different ways we could take," she said, "each one appears to have its own dangers. What do you think?"

 

Bull waved off Karasu's offering. He took out his own food ration and plunged into it. Usually he removed his chaw, but he was too hungry to care. And it wasn't as if it tasted bad, just gave it a stronger, mintier taste. Bull would argue that it actually improved the taste of the rations. As he ate, he noticed Angel walking up and down the concourse. She finally stopped near Jack, and was conversing quietly with him. Bull couldn't make it out much, but he definitely didn't think the planning process, and fate of the squad, should be a secret amongst two people.

"What's the scoop there, Angel," he called out. "Which way we heading?"

 

Jack looked over Angel's shoulder at the comm, examining the display and tracing each of the routes.

"This one here," He pointed. "Will take us the closest to our objective. Quite frankly, I don't know what they could throw at us that'd be worse than what we've been through already." He paused, his mind drifting from the display, from the mission.

"Angel, I'm sorry for blowing up at Nero. I...I just can't sit by and watch him run us all into the ground." Another pause, his heart beginning to beat faster. Was this the time? Should it wait? Wait for what? For them to die? No. He had to tell her. Now.

"Angel, I...want you to know. Just in case we don't get out of this. I'm in love with you."

 

Jack's finger traced each of the routes, standing close enough that she was hyper-aware of his body heat.

"This one here," He pointed. "Will take us the closest to our objective. Quite frankly, I don't know what they could throw at us that'd be worse than what we've been through already."

"Angel, I'm sorry for blowing up at Nero. I...I just can't sit by and watch him run us all into the ground."

She didn't blame him at all. His weight shifted and his breath went a little shaky.

"Angel, I...want you to know. Just in case we don't get out of this. I'm in love with you."

Jack held out his hand for the Comm just as Bull called out.

"What's the scoop there, Angel," he called out. "Which way we heading?"

Angel placed the Comm in Jack's hand, lingering a little. Bull's voice seemed very far away and fuzzy at the edges. She and Jack were facing away from the group and she simply stood looking into Jack's face, wondering if he really meant what he had said. She realized her heart was racing and she wanted to tell him...

The moment was broken by a thunderously meaningful cough from Bull accompanied by a resounding, 'Ptoo!' as he spat.

Angel couldn't help laughing, tears standing in her eyes.

"If we survive this," she told Jack softly between nerve-wracked giggles, "then I have something to tell you, too."

She held his gaze for a long moment before tearing herself away and going back to the others.

"Three possible ways," she said as she approached the rest of the group, 'none of them look very encouraging. The most direct one will probably be the most heavily guarded. It heads right through a section called New England on the map."

She sighed and took off her visor for a moment, feeling her hair sticking up a little and not caring much at this point. She rubbed at the skin where the visor had sat, it felt gritty.

"The other two ways may be blocked, it's difficult to tell for sure on the map so I asked Jack to look it over. The blockages may not be blockages or they may even be traps."

Then she gave them the really bad news.

"Unfortunately, the map shows that there is a garrison of some sort in New England town so depending on how active it is we may have problems. However, that still looks like the most direct route...and maybe the only route."

 

Alpha

Jack felt a weight lift off him as he said it; a sort of freedom. She knew his heart, and now she could look to her own. Bull called out, and Jack took the comm from Angel. She turned back to him, and he saw moisture welling up in her eyes. And then she laughed. Not at him, not at what he said. She just laughed.

Fair enough. Even that was a lofty goal, at best. Jack let out a breath and grinned a little as he nodded to her. Her eyes were beautiful. She turned away, and Jack brought his mind back to the mission. He looked at the schematics. Yes, the other two routes showed up blocked; there was a small segment in the map at those points. There were three options: somebody was screwing with the transmitter and making it seem like the routes were blocked; the routes actually were blocked by some unknown force; or the routes had been blocked on purpose to make them go this way.

He sighed. As he stepped back toward the group.

"The route through New England is the only feasible route right now. We need to be prepared for a trap, though. These other routes could have been blocked on purpose." He sighed

"As it stands, trap or no, New England will be crawling with tangos."

 

From nowhere Skraal came charging out his chainsword revving for a kill the whole of Alpha Squad up in shock. He moved with a vengeance second to none as though he was in some kind of Rage.

Nero saw the attack dropped to one knee and opened fire. Bullets sprayed the air knocking Skraal back. He rose again as The others moved for a kill. He fired a flash bang grenade blinding the team and swiped down his chainsword revving the blades into Nero. Nero felt the sharp pain bite his neck blood pumping he backed away more blood vomiting from the large gaping wound.

“Bastard.” He bellowed.

He knew his time was taken now the owund too grate. He through a grenade for his last stance Bang. Bang bang.

Nero was incinerated by the blast Skraal was blown away and fell deep down through into a sink hole. The alpha team were knocked for six shaken and left with ears ringing and their sergeant dead. All that remained was his hand covered in blood.

 

Vornn and The agent walked side by side behind Adam towards the main control centre where Mr Sekki and Mr Stern awaited them.

Vornn was mostly machine now his face wore what appeared to be a metal balaclava with two yellow glowing eyes and a series of re-breather lines where his mouth should be. The agent had, had her memories returned to her. She remembered everything.

“Welcome back Tolva.” Mr Sekki said from his sarcophagi held up by wires.

Vornn stood there in silence a memory flashing through his head. His upgrade had awakened his past and he remembered the space station he’d once been sent to shut down and the pain he’d felt. Vornn slowly stepped away from Tolva removing his cloak and drawing his sword.

“Vornn…” Mr Stern asked before Vornn took his head from the shoulders. Black oil spurted from the mechanics of his bionics while blood spat across the floor. Viornn turned to Mr sekki and sliced through the cables cutting his life support.

“Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.” He bellowed.

Vornn turned back tom Adam who’d drawn his side arm. Tolva however remembered he part in all things and shot Adam through the head killing him instantly.

“The Gate.” She said looking at Vornn.

Vornn bowed and turned to the gate opening its portal to Saturn’s military complex. Within minutes the alarms were ringing through the complex.

Both Vornn and Tolva gave a stir to each other when the gate spun open allowing the Alliance military to enter. Soon Mars would be flooded with Alliance soldiers and the Earth would be retaken.

This would spell the end of the Cult of Tech.

 

Once the gate had been opened the full might of the Earth Alliance Military force was sent through and a large war waged across Mars lasting one month. It took a further three months to clean up the Cult Of Tech. In that time the Alliance sent its forces back to Earth and retook the planet with full force. It was a Year before the war had completely ended. But thanks to the capture of the gate The Machanicum had regained the upper hand and defeated all of the Cult Of Tech. While The military presence in the Milky Way segmentum became a permanent thing.

Lieutenant Ash Pyrrhus was later promoted to the rank of Captain and given the Medal of honour for her service on Mars and still to this day serves the military only now she fights on the border of Veridius V keeping the newly discovered race the Vorkonials at bay.

Karasu was given the medal of honour and sent to the borders of Veridius V to fight in the wars keeping the Vorkornials at bay he was killed after two years of fighting.

Jack Cyrus Was given the medal of honoi and retired from the military to work for AG-Systems back on Earth. To this Day Jack lives a full life protecting the comuturer systems of AG-Systems in France.

Angel Rey was promoted to lance corporal and returned to Earth where she was later promoted to Corporal and to this day still works for the Military only now she carries the rank of Lieutenant and instructs soldiers who have just joined the forces. She also teaches them good Maths and English.

Bull Thompson was killed at Holderness port after trying to sabortage the fighter shuttles. He was gunned down by the Sekki Corperation Elite soldiers. At his funeral he was given the Medal of Honour.

Midori was killed before the Alliance soldiers had emerged through the gate. She fought to take a hold on Holderness Port but was gunned down by the elite soldiers of Sekki. She however still received the Medal of honour at her funeral.

Flint was promoted to Sergeant and sent to fight on the borders of Veridius V and again promoted to Lieutenant where to he fought in some of the bloodiest battles. After he he was mortally wounded he was returned to Earth carrying the Rank of Captain and to this day continues to train and drill new recruits.

Fox regained her mermory and fled the Milky way for fear she’d be returned to the Ice prison. Later she was gunned down and killed by a bounty hunter.

Tolva was never seen again from the events of the situation on Mars.

Vornn was never seen again since the situations on Mars.

Skraal was found by the Alliance and went down fighting he killed 35 soldiers before he met his demise and was slain in the onslaught.

The Lord Ominisaar was killed by his own Adepts for failure. His body was discovered by alliance soldiers.

The Cult Of Tech was hunted down and killed none surrendered and they fought to the bitter end finally been beaten on Mars by the Alliance forces.

The Sekki Corporation was finally wiped out with no living employee left alive.

AG-Systems became the biggest technological corporation and worked to better technological advancements.

The End​

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