Soldiers Two
- Warriors of Courage -
Short Stories
by Pj Belanger
Cover Art by RB
Soldiers Two
Warriors of Courage
Short Stories
By Pj Belanger
Copyright 2014
BRP Publishing
All rights reserved. This book is protected by the copyright laws of the United States of America. Any reproductions or unauthorized use of the material or artwork contained herein is prohibited without the express written permission of BRP Publishing.
All characters in this book are fictitious and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
BRP PUBLISHING
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[email protected] Addition information at https://www.pjbelanger.com
Table of Contents
Prolog
Wizard War
Underwater Troubles
Thank You!
Also by Pj Belanger
Prolog
The first two short stories in “Soldiers One” came to me while I was riding from Connecticut to Florida. Whilst waiting on the New Jersey turnpike for over an hour in a stop and go situation, I thought about what the human spirit can endure. Here I was just totally fed up with sitting in a car – how insignificant compared to what soldiers have to undergo. Thus, my mind went to my Sci Fi and Fantasy world and a short story series took shape.
Now the stories continue in “Soldiers Two”. While the first two stories were “Warriors of Misfortune”, the second two are “Warriors of Courage”. In the first two I concentrated on the hardships that can plague soldiers while the second two are on how much courage it takes to perform their duties. Although the stories are set in the far future, the same staunch human spirit exists as it always will and to which we will forever be grateful.
Wizard War
“Keep your heads down!” I said softly in my helmet’s microphone. I slouched as low as my body could go, setting an example for the rest of my team. This was no easy task as I was fully geared up with a backpack full of proton grenades, each of my pockets had a different gun stick and I carried a rocket launcher on my shoulder. On my belt were several different sized sharp knives. My electronically shielded helmet had a pair of infrared high magnification goggles attached.
We had just made it to the end of the trench as the robot digger was bringing back its last load of dirt. The powerful machine was returning back more than a mile to where we had entered the four-foot by five foot deep trench. I knew it was only a machine, a damn electronically smart powerful digger. I kept to myself the urge to pat it on its back and say “good job”. My soldiers already thought I was crazy, no need to confirm it further.
I breathed deeply when I got to the end of the newly dug trench. I slouched on my knees, turning to face my twelve-team members, “the best of the best” I called them. They all huddled close, twelve pairs of wide eyes that radiated fear and uncertainty. I hoped my two eyes radiated determination and confidence. I wanted to install that same feeling in my troops.
I pushed my helmet force field off. Time for some face-to-face, time for some reality to permeate their brains. “Gather as close as you can.” I didn’t want to use my helmet’s mic, I wanted up close and personal.
“We have trained for six straight months. Trained hard! It is our chance to avenge all those deaths by the hands of this evil bastard wizard.”
“Alberon is not a wizard, Sir,” came from my shortest guy. “He is just a super tech genius.”
“I know Wally, I know,” I waved my hand at him trying to dismiss my own tech genius.
“It’s Walter, Sir, Walter.” Just what I needed, a super sensitive genius.
“Okay WALTER,” I saw his mouth close in a pout. “The target is a high tech genius and he’s killed every Special Ops team that has tried to stop him. We will not be his next victims. Let’s quickly go over our plans - one last time.”
I saw them all nod. Most of these soldiers had been on my team for years. My old troop had seen hard combat, bloody hard combat. I could count on them to obey me no matter what. The new members of my team, I hoped would follow suit. “First, the minute we rise above this trench, the bastard will become aware of us. His compound border fence is within sight.”
I saw them all nod, going over our plan of attack in their heads. “Right, Sir,” Mirsa forcefully said. She was a Gloosa survivor; she’d been on my team since she had lied about her age and joined at sixteen. Now in her mid-twenties, she was one tough Special Ops soldier specializing in weapon implementation. She was one damn good shot.
Only a handful of Gloosa inhabitants were left. The Wizard had blown their planet to smithereens when the Federation didn’t pay the ransom that he had demanded. He had picked that planet because the inhabitants were fierce and often joined the Federation Army. Not any longer. Perhaps twenty thousand had been off planet when he had blown their existence away.
I continued, “We first have to breach his fence. Calla, Jorge, have you got the electronic wire cutters?” I saw Calla nod and reach behind her retrieving the huge fence cutters. Jorge followed suit actually saluting with his large shears. “Walt, you have the computer all set?” My top information technology guy had his high tech tabloid attached to his left arm. The lights were flashing.
“Walter, Sir,” he spoke right up. “All powered up. Remember, the reason our Federation soldiers have been slaughtered. Every time we try to capture him, he is smart enough to have both high tech protections and then augments them with regular mechanical defenses. Not to mention his profoton activator that lets him spatial Jump from one star system to the next.”
“We know Walter,” I cut him off. He wasn’t a regular special operations person. The army recruited - drafted him really - from University U. He tended to professorize everything. “We have you to keep Oberon off balance with your computer programs. For any regular defense systems, we will fight him on our own battle terms. Now once we make it through the perimeter fence, we need to keep below his radar. Walt will confuse him electronically and we have to rush past his protections to his compound fortress.”
“I will do my best, Sir.” My computer nerd was at it again. “Some of his mechanical creatures will be quite fierce. I have no power over them, they act independently.”
“Yes, correct. Mirsa is heading that attack team. If you handle the high tech weapons, she can handle anything else he throws at us.” I waved them all closer. The dirt smelled newly dug, pungent and acrid. I saw half a worm sticking out of the side where the trencher had sliced it. I hoped the same fate did not await us.
“With the help of Walter, after we get through the fence, we will get across the flat lands to his actual compound. Remember, once we are within a half-mile or so of his headquarters, the asshole wizard will most likely turn on the rain. Our suits can withstand fifteen minutes of its downpour. The acid in the rain will eat through, so we have to hurry and get into his stone structure. Do you understand?”
I got twelve nods. “Remember at that point to put down your solid clear face plate as the rain will go right through our electronic shields.” I got twelve more nods. “Once inside the compound we split into two teams. Team 1 will go in through the upper windows and will fight his forces on the second floor. You must attack him fiercely. You must make the bastard think you believe he is there. Keep him busy. Team 2 will breach his main gate and do the rest.”
“Where exactly is he?” Benzi asked from the back of the huddle.
“We aren’t sure but Wally, here, is going to help us find him before he catapults out.”
>
“Walter, Sir,” he once again reminded me.
“Wally or Walter,” I grabbed him roughly by his arm, making him look up at me, “You stay with Les and Caleb. They’re only job is to protect you! Got it guys?” I saw the two men nod vigorously. I needed our computer guy to keep us safe, which meant keeping him safe.
“Remember what this guy has done, he has blown up three Federation planets with his high tech magic, let’s stop him now!” I saw each of them give the thumbs up. I also noticed the sweat on a lot of brows, “We can do this! Just like we practiced.”
“Let’s do it for Gloosa,” Mirsa growled. Her light green complexion on her face turned dark, her eyes glowed bright yellow and her thick pointed ears twitched. She was ready to revenge her people. “Lets do it for Coos and Lartch!” she added the other two doomed planets.
“Kill the bastard!” my whole team shouted as one. We were ready to go.
As one unit we emerged from our hole. I was praying the trencher had gotten us close. To my relief the thick metal fence with barbs sticking out was right in front of us. “GO!” I yelled into my mic. Calla and Jorge started cutting a hole for us. “Walter, is your system working?” Hell, I had to count on the little twerp, as my knowledge of computer systems was limited.
“Yes, Sir,” I heard loud and clear in my helmet. “He knows we’re here but not where exactly we are. I have confused him.”
We were through the thick