Codename: Freedom - Book 4 - Chapter 42

As we reached two months in Vanguard, I still found my training rather lacking, but my time leading my men was bearing unexpected fruit. It was to my benefit that my men didn’t need me often—as much as that grated at me. Even if I felt I was just sitting back doing nothing, I was still observing troop movements, my Captains in action, and how the whole machined worked from a much wider perspective for four to six hours a day. So as not to feel like I was betraying their trust, I kept my mind engaged as much as possible.

It wasn’t long before I realized that my main job was just to feed them the information they needed when they needed it. As long as my Captains were good at what they did, I could rely on them to do their job. I personally considered Mel, Barrell, and Ma better leaders that I was. Mel was a tactician and his men followed him, not because he was assertive or charismatic, but because he was simply exceptional at what he did. He knew how to play angles, which made his caster heavy company a difficult enemy to face while also having one of the lowest casualty rates amongst all of Prodos. Barrell didn’t lack tactical ability, but he led mainly by doing. He’d learned through his experience in Freedom when to attack and retreat. His entire fighting style depended upon it, and he had grown skilled in his execution. Then there was Ma. In some ways he reminded me of Kline. They were both forces of nature, but Ma’s humor was darker and he didn’t have the same level charisma. He was the brawler of my Captains without lacking the discipline every good soldier needed. He was also a bit of a sword nut. That’s why he and Isamu got along so well.

We’d left our surface transports a mile back. Kline and his companies would rendezvous with us on the outskirts of the ruins of an old settlement. There was a time that Hectate had been highly populated compared to how things were now out of sim. A battle with the Ekseliksi had caused both forces to take the battle to space in the surrounding solar system. It had left the planet uninhabited for a few decades. Only recently had humanity returned there to settle and mine it for resources.

I scanned the city through Wink’s eyes. She was flying high overhead and giving me a good aerial view. This had once been as close to a city as had ever existed here. There were miles of dome buildings of varying sizes. Their designs were used to combat unpredictable weather patterns and collect energy from the planet’s star during all hours of the day. Thankfully, Hectate had a very Earth-like climate. It was one of the reasons it had been so highly contested.

We’d already seen footage of the inhabitants that had taken over. When the space goblins, for lack of a better term, started filing out of the closest buildings to defend, I felt a strange sense of relief. Even though I’d been growing to respect my leadership role, that didn’t mean I wasn’t aching to get out there and bash some heads in.

These space goblins were really just adult human-sized goblins from Freedom totally decked out in modern gear. Destiny confirmed for me that they all had rank F psionics. If it wasn’t for the ear and overly large eyes, they could’ve passed as Ekseliksi grunts. They were still weaker than the average Ekseliksi soldier, though.

“Yeah,” hailed Kline far too loudly over the command channel. Destiny had annoyingly not restrained the volume. I knew she was singling me out.

“You’re late, man,” I messaged him. “We’ll have the city cleared before you even get here.”

“Mama, Lucius is bullying me again.”

Victoria groaned. “Boys, don’t make me pull out of the paddle. I like your enthusiasm, at least.”

I could vividly imagine how he’d responded if we were all there together. “Kline, stop admiring your muscles just because you received a compliment.”

“Hey. How’d you know?”

“The same way I know Victoria is shaking her head at us and is desperately wanting me to ask her out in all the excitement.”

“Lucius,” she warned. Through a private channel she spoke in a whisper. “What are you doing?”

“You promised me we would sneak out together and it’s been over a month. I just thought I’d remind you.”

“We’re in the middle of what might be the most difficult mission we’ve had in Prodos’s expansion, and you pick now of all times to say something?”

“So what you’re saying is, if I can deliver these ruins to you by the end of the day you’ll make time for little ol’ me.”

“I—fine. We’ll discuss it later. Can we focus please?”

“Of course. I was about to come pull you from your chair and steal you away. You should be glad you said yes.”

“Lucius,” she said, exasperated.

“Don’t worry. I’m focused. As a matter of fact, if you want you can take today off. Destiny, go for it.”

Glancing up, I saw Destiny’s master drone opened up and unleash her microdrones. A second slave drone just as large released many times more.

“What are you doing?” Victoria asked.

“Opening our eyes. Destiny, I want to see everything.”

“Just give me a few minutes.”

Victoria was trying to keep her voice even. “We’ve already scouted. If she infiltrates every building, it’ll just force them all out at once.”

“Exactly.”

As she was about to object, I took on a more serious tone. “Victoria. Let me bear some of the weight of responsibility today. Isn’t that why I’m here?”

“Okay, but I’ll take over the moment I see things taking a turn for the worst.”

“And if they don’t? How about you just sit there and let me show off? There’s a mule drone on its way to the command center with a variety of nutrition shakes. Take whatever you like.”

I heard some ruffling sounds, then she returned. “You’ve been planning this.”

“Yes.”

“I’m not letting this thing massage me.”

“I didn’t think you would. It’s the thought that counts, right?” I switched to the command channel. “Peter, tie her up if you have to.”

“Don’t pull me into this,” he objected. “Victoria, try to relax. This is a good opportunity to evaluate your Right and Left Hand.”

“Fine,” she whined. “I’m relaxed.”

The chatter died down and I watched the overhead map as red dots appeared inside and out of the buildings by the hundreds.

A minute later, Kline contacted me through a private channel. “How was the beating?”

“I haven’t felt the half of it yet,” I replied with a snicker. “Are you ready yet or what?”

“All those drones and you can’t even spot six hundred men?”

“Oh, I see you.” His men were formed up, flanking the city from a different angle than my own. “I know you’re sensitive, so I wanted to give you the chance if you needed to get a pep talk from mom.”

“Enough, children,” Destiny cut in. “The Infiltration of all easily accessible buildings complete. Operation Creature Indicator Ultra initiated. Activating headset feedback now.”

I looked past the overhead map being displayed by my headset and saw that the goblins lining up in the distance were all highlighted red. That wasn’t abnormal. It was common for a person’s headset and scouting drone, if they had one, to give them feedback on the whereabouts of known enemies. It was limited by range and the angles from which you and your drone could see, however. Operation Creature Indicator Ultra was Destiny’s idea to eliminate blind spots, and not have to rely upon opponents coming into range. This data she shared with everyone’s headset at once. Destiny had taken it upon herself to name the operation.

It had all been made possible because Prodos had been able to bring in enough money to pay be back. Even after the additional mule and microdrone purchase, I still had over 800,000 SP remaining.

“I will mark all the buildings that I haven’t been able to infiltrate. There are twenty-two in total. One hundred and ninety-two hobgoblins have also been spotted. I will only mark those with psionics.”

“Thanks, Destiny,” I replied. “Shall we get started?”

“See you in the middle,” Kline howled.

“Last one there buys the other a steak dinner.”

“Oh, you’re on. Make it all you can eat.”

“Done.”

***

I had a suspicion Victoria thought I’d be rushing in headlong to take on the entire city alone. I’d just antagonized her so how could I blame her? I admit was planning on getting my feet wet, but not before I applied everything I’d been learning. Besides, I didn’t have to rush in like a berserker. I had Ma for that.

“Captain,” I said through a private channel. “You ready.”

Ma clicked his tongue. “Bout time. Just say the word.”

“Good man,” switching to my own command channel that filtered out my Captains, I commanded. “Let’s begin.”

I received a chorus of affirmatives from my leadership team. There was a rustle of movement as Ma’s two hundred men stepped into action. They began at a steady march, but within after a few dozen yards Ma lengthened his stride into a jog.

We were a quarter mile from the closest buildings of the ruined city. The goblins had formed up into what looked like a fairly disciplined defensive line. I got an average read on them.

Goblin Evolved

Atk: C

Def: C

I had Destiny bring up a further breakdown.

Atk: C

Phys: E

Psi: F

Tech: F

Its defense was similar.

Def: C

Phys: E

Psi: G

Tech: F

I noticed the lower psionic defense rank right away. It should mean that most of them would be limited to their aura or offensive psionic techniques. That was no surprise. It would be one of the first times we’d faced other enemies with psionic friendly gear in Vanguard. I wasn’t worried. Victoria had insisted their training outside of clearing manticores was focused on facing humanoids with similar gear.

As Ma neared, he picked up the pace. He always started slow, and today was no exception, but by the time he’d reached the goblin line his seven-foot frame was going full speed.

The goblins didn’t stay still to let him hit them. Their frontline was a forest of spears even if only three quarters of them were brandishing shields. As the company of men charged in, they took an aggressive step forward as one and braced for impact.

Ma’s angry orange aura flared. Enough energy was absorbed by his refinement belt that a weak ethereal pshield covered his body from head to toe. Using the increase in speed and strength, he whipped his hand and a half style weapon horizontal, battering the forest of spears aside. Without losing a step, his aura dimmed as all his energy flooded into his pshield and he slammed shield first into the unlucky goblins in his way.

Like a boulder disturbing a pool of water’s calm surface, the goblin line rippled with savage turbulence.

A wave of psionic bolts further jostled the failing line.

Then Ma’s company arrived.

The fifty or so men that struck first must have been his most brazen, for not one of them hesitated to risk a badly placed spear as they clashed.

There were enough goblins gathered already that their line was stacked two the three bodies deep. Even if they were similar in strength to us one on one, Ma’s men had done this before.

I remember my first time meeting the man. He’d first helped rescue Mel, Barrell and me from a closet after we’d retreated when Mel fell into psionic sickness from using up all of his energy. Not long after that, we’d lined up with his men against the small horde of goblins in the armory’s treasure room. Being outnumbered didn’t matter. He was a man of momentum. Once he got moving, destruction was left in his wake. His men were just an extension of that.

The goblin line fractured. The moment one segment came loose, the rest started to crumble. Ma pushed his way past the line and continued forward without and doubt his men would follow seconds later. He was right. A handful of his men left wedges in the enemy line as they cleaved through. In the gaps, more of his men followed, hacking the fallen and scattered goblins to kindling.

Mel was already moving. His men cleared the base of the closest domed buildings before ascending to their peaks. I listened in as he commanded them.

“Don’t set up directly at the center. Use their natural curvature to help defend your blind spots. Get low and have your shield ready.”

Climbing a domed building would be difficult for the average person. It’s not like the angle was designed for it. But for psionic users it was as simple as jumping and scurrying up.

The peak of most of the buildings were two stories high, and the smallest ones had a forty-foot diameter.

“Casters. Focus your psionic bolts into the densest population of goblins you find,” Mel continued issuing orders. “I want you to bath them in splash damage. Snipers, I want you picking your shots. Save your ammo for targets that aren’t using any psionic shielding. Bonus SP for anyone who catches psionic users off guard while recovering energy. Next team, get ready to scale the next building as soon as it is clear.”

Mel was being a good boy and observing from the back of the line, just like I was. Even Barrell was still here and directing his men. He’d soon be the first of us to move out.

“Be ready to intercept any groups that try to flank our position,” Barrell ordered. “If they do, punish them.”

I had to hold myself back from making a snide comment. Everything was going just as we’d discussed before the mission.

Turning my attention back to our competition, I had Destiny bring up an overhead feed to see what progress Kline’s men were making. It was about even, but his squads of poleaxe troops had arguably cut deeper into the enemy line.

“You’re losing already,” I jeered.

“That’s what you call that?” He barked. “I can taste those sweet meat juices already.”

It was then that I noticed a man running at me with another over his shoulder. It seemed one of Ma’s men had been pretty seriously injured. I could see the medicinal foam was clogging a wound on the side of his neck. It looked to be the time sensitive type. I took off running toward them.

“Ha,” he said, seeing my predicament. “Juicy.”

It wasn’t the man’s pain he was mocking, but my bravado a moment before. Besides, he knew I could heal the man. Thinking back to my scrutiny of Ma’s dark humor, I think I had judged too soon. All of our humor had darkened over the last year.

The man heaved his injured friend off of his shoulder and laid him on the ground. A med-drone arrived as I bent down. It cleaned the foam from the wound as I put my hand on the uninjured side of his neck.

There was a squirt of blood as the foam was fully washed away. I already was directing my energy into his body and funneling it as best I could to the injury. My job was to stop the bleeding and nit the important stuff back together. I had to save energy, so the drone would take care of the rest.

The man who had carried the injured to me was already running back toward the action. This had become a regular instance.

It was fifteen minutes before the man was back on his feet. He still needed to rest a while because of his blood loss, but after the nanobots had done their work and his fluids had been restored, he’d be back to the front line.

By then, Mel’s first teams two teams of casters and snipers had left the first two buildings and were taking the roofs close to the front line as we expanded our ground. After we’d broken the first line of their resistance, our domain grew rapidly. I expected us to hit pockets of greater resistance. If we moved quickly enough, though, we’d have the room to surround them when we came across them.

The most time-consuming part was clearing the buildings as we went. Thankfully, Destiny made it far easier. Not only could we see the enemy anywhere on the field of battle, but because she had eyes at every possible angle, she could highlight our opposition behind buildings and inside them. It took the guess work out of it.

When we came across the first building Destiny hadn’t been able to infiltrate, Hwan and Handshake Death were already there. Harrison had been kind enough to let me borrow them for the mission. There were now two squads of stealth specialists with four members each.

I already saw the outline of their forms thanks to Destiny, but the coin-sized explosive charges they set along the seam of the tall entrance door seemed to appear out of nowhere.

They drew back, and a defensive line formed up outside. Destiny’s microdrone would fly in the moment the way was clear.

The explosives made more of a suction noise than explosion. Before there was even a visual, I was already getting feedback of what was inside. The front half of the building clear and eight hobgoblins that Destiny marked as psionic users were lined up on either side of the entrance.

It was odd seeing the massive hobgoblins wearing grey ballistic armor—and boots for that matter. They were armed with mallets and knives. Since when did they use precision equipment?

The door had been the type that slide sideways, but the explosion had forced what was left of it into the wall insert.

Before the dust cleared, Hwan and his team had raced inward now that they had the enemy’s location. As they did, countless bead-sized marbles fell from their sides, drawing the hobgoblin’s attention and helping to mask their footfalls.

Stealth technology wasn’t perfect, but there were no shimmers in the imagery. They’d show up as dull spots in their vision at worse.

As the team had made it safely into the room, the tiny marbles exploded in big plumes of smoke. It didn’t just fill the immediate area, but the entire building was filled with the cough inducing gas in seconds, muddling all visibility.

The hobgoblins could only assume they were being poisoned even though that wasn’t the case. They rushed toward the exit and wrestled each other for the right to leave first.

I didn’t see what happened after that. After a few of the hobgoblins left the building, gunfire opened up inside. Hwan and his men had special lenses designed to work with the smoke, allowing them to see clearly. They wouldn’t be able to clear the room but killing a couple of the monsters unaware wasn’t out of the question. Also, Hwan may have just unlocked his psionics recently, but Handshake Death was a Freedom veteran.

The mess was cleaned up, inside and out, in less than five minutes. Destiny estimated that none of them had higher than rank G psionics. The difficulty she had in knowing for sure was that none of them got much of a chance to use it.

There wasn’t anything too interesting that happened the first hour of the battle. It was overly obvious the goblins were AI controlled, because any rational people would’ve fled in mass. Since it was simulated for training and to entertain the metaverse, the promise of something yet to come was still there.

To confirm what I was thinking, Destiny informed me, “There’s a large group of hobgoblins with rank F psionics gather together on the far side of the ruins. Many of them look to be as strong as the mini bosses we faced before the Krato appeared.”

That brought a smile to my face. I was still waiting patiently to make an appearance, and now the need was confirmed.

The size of the ruins and the vast number of buildings made the mission rather tedious, but soon we’d near the middle of the old city and Kline would be there to meet us. That should amp up everyone’s competitive spirit and speed things up.

I was then bold enough to contact Victoria directly. “So which is your favorite flavor?”

“Jerk,” she replied.

“Like jerky flavored?”

“Oh, shut it.” A moment later she added. “I found a pina colada one I like.”

“Good. Destiny, order a whole case of them,” I said, knowing she was always listening. “Let me know if you have any other requests.”

She whimpered in protest.

“Just a few hours to go, and then you’re all mine.”