Universum Aethereum

The Two Humanities, | Mirwelt Plaza, Minerva | 3259

The mural of Mirwelt stared down at the stage which Raben stood on. He had given many speeches on the web before but never in person to a crowd, let alone this size. Camera drones orbited above, capturing everything for broadcast, it was like a panopticon. When he did his videos, he could edit them to perfection, take them down at a notice. Here, in front of the crowd and billions more watching from receivers, he had none of that control.

He eyed a landing that there was no easy view for the drones and he briskly walked towards and freed a small syringe from the inside of his blazer. Nervoway, his drug of choice, he felt his arm up and down for a good vein before he found it. He bit down on a pen and pressed the plunger with all the force had. He felt the world around him slow a little, his mind dull a little.

“Just right.” He then briskly returned to the stage as if nothing happened, he clicked on his mic on his collar.

“I thank everyone that has come here to hear these words of sanity in an insane time. As we speak, the armies of the mad magnate ravage Xeno space, killing both with no distinction. Distinction, we have lost sense of it, left and right, east and west, up and down, and Human and Xeno.”

“Good enough.” Raben thought, it was supposed to be longer but the censors had removed most of his statements on the Xenos.

“For centuries now, since our triumph over the Katan, we have seen ourselves as becoming greater each generation, but these past years have shown that…”

Like chords progressing to a crescendo, I must cast lightning.

“We must reconsider!” Raven banged on the podium for each word. He had always maintained a cool and calm persona but this was a spur of the moment outpouring of passion.

Logos alone cannot move men to action…

“Yes, as painful as it is to admit it, we cannot fight with blindfolds. We have lost the spark that gives us the grip in our hands! The power in our steps! The will to endure!”

“That is what distinguishes us from the great men of history.”

He saw the crowd shift in their seats, but they didn’t look away, they were enamored.

I’ve got my foot in the door, kick it open Raben.”

“We have lost our souls! Many of us don't have mothers and fathers, born in wombs of glass, no past. In the works of old, they talk about how each cycle of humans get weaker, less virtuous. This is who we are! We are the Ersatz Men! In our core are mutant genes that prime us for servitude to the Exceptionals! In our quest to stamp out threats from the outside, we let a scourge metastasize within! In seeking quantity we eschewed quality!” Raben had lost any composure in his voice, he was shouting from his heart.

What is decorum in madness? Just window dressing to bloodied concrete.

“The Vizierate is the reflection of us! The ersatz Empire! The Exceptionals have lulled us to complacency. There are two humanities! One is too far gone but we still have a chance!”

Raben eyed the production crew panicking, no doubt they were going to cut the broadcast. He had to make the most before they did so.

“We must regrow the soul of humanity while the faint spirit of our ancestors is still within us! From plastic, we must return to flesh! In order to face this time struggle our next generation must be born in struggle!”

He saw the camera lights go out and guards rapidly approached him. They can take him away, they can censure him, but he got the message across.

Steel and Ice II

Location: Schützen South Pole…

Directive: Secure Malekite crash site…

Rules of engagement: Extermination…

Details: Task force 55-5 made up of a Gefroren infantry contingent and a company of Schützens 7th Planetary Defense Titan Division (7-PDTD) are to locate, contain, and exterminate any and all Malekite life forms.
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Captain Wolfe leaned forward in his command chair and yelled over the screaming of alarms, “Full retreat, all units retreat to checkpoint Charles!” Just then a house sized chunk of ice slammed into the back of his titan, forcing Wolfe to strain his entire body in order to keep the behemoth upright. His weapons officer cursed as he slammed his fists on the console before him, “We’re out of HE snub rockets, we’ll have to switch to direct fire cannons. Tell engineering to maintain power to the shields or we’ll be crumpled!”

Outside the metal confines of the titan all hell was breaking loose. Captain Wolfes titan with its signature wolf head painted in white on its hull was still holding its own, but the rest of his company was quickly faltering. The once fourteen strong company was now down to ten units, with one Puma class limping its way back to friendly lines already. Communications Officer Bivvo rocked in his chair as another sheet of ice slammed down from above, “All titans are reporting either casualties or equipment failure. Captain, we aren’t retreating fast enough!”

Wolfes eyes stared blankly ahead into his main viewing screen, only silence ringing in his ears. He watched the titans under his command stoically fend off the increasing Malekite masses, many of them showing signs of damage. The Jolly Otto with its green and white striped hull stumbled under a falling ice sheet and went down on one knee, it’s shoulder mounted heavy cannons crushed by the weight of the ice slamming into them. Captain Erica Sütes voice crackled in Wolfes ear, “Wolfe, it’s time to leave! I’ll stay and hold these bugs back and you lead the remaining titans.”

Wolfes eyes twitched back and fourth as he watched another titan, a Puma class christened Junes Love, fall under the weight of a wave of Gaunts. Their seething mass exploding outward suddenly as the Puma’s Captain must have overcharged its ARK reactor. Captains Reedstiens Panther with its blood red hull lumbered to the smoldering remains of the Puma and stepped on a Gaunt trying to crawl away with only its upper torso remaining. “Not one step back, not one life wasted, fight and die for your planet!” Reedstiens deep voice boomed over their comms network.

Wolfe felt a sharp pain in his leg and looked to his leg mounted cameras, finding a mass of the aliens repeatably stabbing into the titans lightly armored joint with their countless mandibles He closed his eyes and felt his leg spasm as he initiated a cleansing burn, the titans leg engulfed in flames. He opened his bloodshot eyes and looked down to his communications officer, “Bivvo, order all units to full retreat. Disengage and follow my lead!” Their command bridge shuttered as the lights flicked to red. The titans head engineers voice echoed over the bridges speakers, “Don’t worry I’m just diverting more power to the weapon systems and shields.”
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Major Giordano raised his head above the trench line and gazed through the snow fall blocking their scanners. Somewhere out there they could hear the distant echoes of battle, booms and pops rolled through the valley like the whispers of death to come. Liaison Anna poked her head up and asked, “They should have been here by now, why haven’t they hailed us again?” Giordano thought a moment and replied flatly, “They’re too busy fighting for their lives.” Anna grew quiet after that and followed the Majors gaze, nothing but a wall of snow meeting them.

“Titans spotted, the storms lifting a little!” A nearby soldier announced down the trench as he jogged by. Giordano and Anna peaked above the trench once more and Anna gasped quietly. Five battered titans slowly lumbered towards their entrenchments, the largest machine lagging behind as it walked backwards- firing all its weapon systems in a symphony of thunder. Wolfes voice crackled from Giordano’s radio clipped on his belt, “Get those plasma cannons back online, I don’t care if you have to crawl outside and do it yourself! ARK shields at 35% and falling, I need more power from the reactor!”
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Down the trenches length infantry lifted their rifles into firing positions, the final wisps of the blizzards snow falling around them. Giordano watched with silent pride as his machine gun crews smoothly prepared their weapons, his rifleman’s steely gazes, even the young liaison Anna seemingly keeping her calm. His legion was born for this moment. Each and every man under his command had been trained from birth to fight in the harsh conditions of endless snow and ice, forged in the vast tundras of their home planet. Now was their time, the moment he had tried so hard to prepare them for.

Giordano hoisted himself up above the trench and drew his saber, holding it above his white winter cap. In a deep rumble his words flowed, “Men, this is your moment to show the enemy what awaits them. This is your moment to prove why you fight for not just yourselves, but for your brothers around you.” He took a deep breath and continued, “These ugly bugs do not know mercy, so we shall show no mercy! We shall show them who owns the ice, who came from its unforgiving womb, and who came out stronger on the other side! Today we fight, today we live, today we die!”

The valley roared with the sound of hundreds of soldiers chanting in unison, “Today we fight, today we live, today we die!” Giordano smiled wildly and pointed the tip of his saber towards the flood of Malekites rushing towards them, “With me, brothers, for Helgha, for the Empire!” His white cloak whipped around him as hundreds of rifles fired in unison, their tracers arching into the countless Malekites soon to be upon them. Giordano looked down to Anna and tossed her his radio, “Tell Wolfe hell awaits his pursuers.”
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Steel and Ice IV

Location: Schützen South Pole…

Directive: Secure Malekite crash site…

Rules of engagement: Extermination…

Details: Task force 55-5 made up of a Gefroren infantry contingent and a company of Schützens 7th Planetary Defense Titan Division (7-PDTD) are to locate, contain, and exterminate any and all Malekite life forms.
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Anna watched as the sun begun its slow withdraw from the sky, the moon and stars close on its heels. It had been a long and hard day; first she and the others were left to die by their own leaders, and now they only had one titan left for support. The few that had managed to retreat behind friendly lines had been picked off one by one, the dwindling light of the day seemingly counting down their deaths.

She looked down the frozen trenches length and counted the frozen bodies, half of them not even covered by blankets anymore. The men sitting beside their dead comrades could be mistaken as corpses themselves, all looking like ghouls in the dwindling light. One looked up with mournful eyes, his young eyes no longer able to produce tears for his fallen brothers. Anna couldn’t look any longer and adjusted her gaze.

The Puma class titan looming overhead hissed as it received repairs from its crew. Sparks lit up the darkening shadows as torches cut and metal was welded, masked soldiers desperately making field repairs. Anna watched as the titans crew put so much effort into maintaining their walking tank even as all odds looked bleak. The titans Captain, a woman by the name of Vivian Locter Fieldstien jumped down into the trench and sat next to Anna. She warmed her hands over Anna’s small fire bucket and joked, “Good thing those beasts don’t have night vision, we’d be dead otherwise.”

A lonely howl of wind sent shivers up Anna’s spine before she replied, “The regulars don’t, but that doesn’t mean they won’t attack us at any moment. I have read that some Malekites work as the equivalent of officers in the field, those ones have night vision far superior to ours.” Fieldstien thought for a long moment and replied in a whisper, “Keep that information to yourself, the mens moral is low enough as is.” Anna nodded and joked, “Honestly I would be amazed if these men even knew the word moral.” Fieldstien held back a laugh as some soldiers hurried by with hot rations in their arms.

“I knew infantry weren’t the sharpest tools but when I saw one of them eating the snow, well that’s all I needed to see!” Fieldstien whispered into Anna’s ear. Anna was about to reply when she felt a presence above her, something looking down at them. She brought up her pistol and took aim, ready to defend herself. Major Giordano’s bearded face shown beyond her iron sights. “You really should announce your prescience when in a war zone, Major.” Fieldstien complained as she holstered her own pistol.

Major Giordano looked down his nose at them and pointed a gloved finger down the trench, “Those men are some of the best warriors on this side of the empire. I would watch what I say before insulting the very foundation of this man’s military.” Anna looked down shyly and nodded, “We apologize for any insult to your men, Giordano.” Giordano jumped down into the trench, grunting with effort to Anna’s surprise. He sat near their small fire and warmed his hands as he spoke, “My men have been under my command for almost six years, fighting insurrections and training hard. This is our first battle against what you call Malekites, so forgive them if their education fails them.”

The small fire flickered as a gust of freezing wind buffeted those huddled around its gentle glow. Giordano stared into the fires light, his eyes glowing under his wide brow. He looked to the pair of women and spoke in a low voice, “I fully expected to lose men on this day, but we’re operating with nearly half of what we arrived with. Those dead men walking out there? They’re the strongest of us, and they’re the only thing keeping you two alive. I suggest thinking about that before opening your mouths again.” Anna and Fieldstien sat in shocked embarrassment as the Major stood and went to comfort his men.
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Wolfe snapped awake and brought up his, well Bivvo’s pistol. It’s red poly metal furniture catching the moons light as the pale shafts of light shown through the titans wrecked carcass. After a silent eternity he lowered the weapon and placed it back onto Bivvo’s chest. He looked down to his friends cold body and whispered, “It was just the wind Bivvo, don’t worry about it.” As if to challenge his words a low growl drifted in from outside the titan. Wolfe laid his hand on the pistol once again, his fingers feeling it’s cold grip, “Quiet now, we don’t want to wake our friends up.”
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Captain Fieldstien walked through the command tents entrance and saluted Major Giordano, her boot heels clicking together. Giordano stood from his folding chair and lazily returned a two finger salute. The pair looked over the tents map table and Fieldstien spoke first, “We simply cannot hold this position. The moment day breaks in a few hours those beasts will be upon us once again, probably with even more fever.”
Giordano nodded in agreement and looked up into Fieldstiens eyes, “My men will die defending this valley, myself along side them, to the bitter end. Your titan and it’s crew have no reason to stay behind. You should return to the nearest city and warn them about what’s coming. High command has cut off all communications from this area and we can no longer contact them.”

Anna sat up in her field cot and pulled her boots on, “Those bastards abandoned us, so much for no man left behind.” Giordano let a rare smirk crease his chapped lips as he joked, “Well look at you liaison, finally starting to look like a proper soldier.” Anna looked over to a small mirror hanging beside her cot and chuckled. Her once tight ponytail had become a loose mess, her eyes seemed sunken into their sockets, and to top it all off a fresh scabbed over cut ran along her left cheek.

Fieldstien didn’t understand the joke and simply nodded to Anna, the two women polar opposites. “I will not abandon the mission, nor your men. Those xenos parasites killed my entire company and almost killed my crew. It would cast a dishonor on my houses name for decades if I left this battle.” Fieldstien replied sternly as she pointed to the valleys mouth on the tables largest map. Anna joined the pair and looked closely at the map. She thought for a moment and asked a question, “The closest human settlement is here, a small village called Vernö. Couldn’t we fall back and regroup there?”

Fieldstien shook her head and replied, “We cannot leave this valley unchecked, there will be no retreating from here on out I’m afraid.”
Giordano held up his finger as Anna attempted to ask another question and spoke over her, “We are unable to retreat, but you are.” Anna looked over to the grizzled Major in confusion and waited for him to continue. He finally voiced his idea, “You are just an liaison and not part of the actual task force, technically you don’t even have to follow orders given to the 5-55. You and you alone could find that village and get word out, warn the oblivious troops and planetary population about our failure here.”

Anna went silent for a moment before replying, “I can do it, but not for just anyone, for the 5-55. Your sacrifice in this valley of death shouldn’t be erased in nuclear hellfire.” Fieldstien nodded and blankly stated, “You can use my titans reconnaissance bike. It will be harsh, but it should get you to the village.” Giordano sat with a heavy sigh and removed his snow cap, “Then we are agreed, Anna will carry on without us. May our actions save lives and prevent Schützens fall.”
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