FORCE TROOPERS - DELTA FORCE PART 1

The megastructure shakes. The shearing shockwave from the distant roar of the eldritch creature breaking windows hundreds of miles away.

In the metal horizon, the fogged shape of a monster carves its way across the city of forty billion souls. Fire and smoke billows up into the sky as the thousands of evacuation alarms blare in unison. And over the noise of the roaring and wailing, the civilian population watches carnage: the feasting of a beast consuming the souls of thousands.

“Garden, this is Delta Actual. Delta Fireteam deploying, prepare for beacon.”

“Understood Delta Actual.” The Garden controller replies. “Forcers are standing by.”

Against the wails of the monster, the roar of jet engines sounds across the megastructure.

High above the tallest hypercrete towers, massive metal frames are carried underneath dozens of heavy lift craft.

Alloy armor and polymer muscle, the five gargantuan frames of giants shadow even the tallest of skyscrapers. Hundreds of stories tall, the empty husks of metallic humanoid beasts swing as the lifters slow their approach to the target site.

“Delta, drop in three.”

Cables detach, and the simple machine intelligences within each trooper slam the constructs safely down to artificial Earth.

Like an earthquake the massive tonnage of the ordnance dropped is enough to literally crack indestructible hyper-concrete and break the steel beneath it. Megastructure rumbles from the impact of five Troopers, each kneeling in idle preparation.

The mere humans beneath them was nothing.

Standing at a measly two meters tall, their frames of flesh were dwarfed by the mountain sized weapon above them.

“Delta Fireteam on ground. Category Six Troopers preparing for download.” Delta Actual reports.

Garden replies quickly. “Understood, we are prepared for beacon.”

The ten engined heavy fighter roars overhead, massive wingspan like an eagle against the dying sun.

From beneath the fuselage a telephone sized rod drops, it’s blank smooth frame coming to fall seconds later atop the megastructure.

“Beacon activate.” The Pilot reports.

The device mounts itself beneath the shadows of the Five Troopers, structure folding out from the cylindrical package. A satellite dish reaches towards the distant pollution covered sky, finding its master some seventy kilometers high.

“We have beacon.”

A beam of energy fires forth into the air through the thick cloud cover of the surface city. Over atmosphere, the shaft of Blue reaches towards the massive orbital structure above.

“This Garden, we have beacon, prepare for Forcer download.”

“Delta, do you copy?” Delta Actual follows.

“Yes.” Delta One replies. “We’re prepared for the Forcers.”

The endless field of grass loads towards five minds. In the infinity of phosphorus processors the spillage of consciousness reaches a terminal point, and the focuses of beings appear standing against the false wind.

A world between that of reality and the one of the machine, a simple medium for minds preparing for war.

Five of them stand at the ready, their chosen avatars of wolves to warriors barely rendering in the low processing power of the Field.

“Forcers, prepare for downlink.” The Voice speaks.

Artificial minds stop, the idling processors crashing together in a ceasing tunnel as each one is forcibly ripped from its place.

Data rushes back down towards the surface below. An infinite package of cold ego and logic slams into the data terminal, flowing into the empty bodies of the Force Troopers.

Human Pilots breathe as the downlink begins, spikes of ice jamming into their heads as the their brains are directly interlinked with Forcer personalities.

The Garden begins.

“Delta One, you have Beowulf.

Delta Two, you have Ragnarok

Delta Three, you have Monarch

Delta Four, you have Spare

Delta Five, you have Mobius.”

Artificial Intelligences swarm into the empty husks of metal, their digital egos clashing with those of humanity in a war accidentally fought.

Code reins against Humanity, Pilots gripping their control chairs as the tornado of chaos almost rips apart the fragile human mind.

And then it stops, the cool flow of the machine echoing within the flesh of thought.

“Hello Jac.” Mobius speaks through Delta Five’s very brain the moment he’s downloaded. “It is good to be piloting with you again.”

“Yes.” Jac replies slowly. “Yes it is.”

The movement of machine into the human brain slams into the Pilot’s personality, a clash that stops instantly as he reels in the wild movements of code.

The Force Trooper of Delta Five comes to life. Across its cockpit head a blank, slightly bored look was created through two lines above and one upward facing triangle below.

And against the heavy pull of gravity, the hundred thousand tons of steel and nerve rise.

“Delta Five integrated in ten seconds.” The Garden comments. “Keep a wire on Mobius, they might attempt a rampage event.”

The mechanized weapon slams its two fists together, the humanoid frame beneath the massive spherical construct of core components shaking from the force exerted. Air itself shatters as the alloy cuffs are forcefully brought together in a terrifying display of human engineering power, the creature in the far distance now turning towards a tangible threat.

The rest of Delta Fireteam rises a minute later, the gigantic mechs standing upon two legs preparing for battle.

“You guys ready for this?” Delta One smiles.

“Hell yeah.” Delta Three replies.

“Delta Fireteam, this is Delta Actual.” Leader begins over the radio. “Primary objective is the destruction of the Category Seven Arachnia over the Montana District. All weapons below level five are cleared.

Master be with you, Delta Actual out.”

Force Troopers slam their arms out, dozens of matter reconstructors across the city activating at once.

Weapons form out of nothing, the energy from a dozen sources pooling together to bring forth something from the emptiness of another place.

Lightning discharges, the capacitors of each machine spilling over as every force trooper grabs their respective armaments.

Delta Five takes the newly synthesized rocket launcher in front of him, its size as large as the force trooper itself.

“Heavy load rockets.” Mobius reports.

The frame’s free hand grips the launcher, its new weight matching one from a hundred battles before.

“Still remember how to use one of these?” Jac comments as Mobius feels the weapon.

“It has been 149 combat hours since I have used a Type 10 Synthesized Launcher.” Mobius replies. “It is hardly enough time to forget.”

“Alright are we just gonna stand here or are we gonna do this?!” Delta Two asks as she grips her skyscraper sized sword, raising the hypercarbon blade above her frame.

“Usual formation?” Delta Four looks over to the rest of the fireteam.

“Just as aways.” Delta One orders. “We’ll take this thing down by detail.”

“Aye!” Delta acknowledges.

The Force Troopers start.

Footsteps shatter the city blocks beneath their feet, every step a concoction of destruction and carnage. Each Force Trooper carefully moves itself between the hypercrete of the megastructure beneath them, the civilian populace inadvertently crushed as the battle between humanity and monster meet.  

Delta Four fires first.

The autocannon held within her two hands booms across the horizon, shell casings the size of housing blocks fall to earth as bullets the length of towers rip into the thick chitin of the spider like creature miles away.

A scream that breaks even the pounding explosions of the cannon comes across from the eight legged creature, a noise that was utterly foreign from the sounds of this world.

“That got him a bit pissed.” Delta Three comments.

“This’ll make him even more.”

Delta Five’s launcher ignites, and a rocket that dwarfs a skyscraper fires out from the tube at breakneck speeds.

Across the air the massive javelin snaps the sky in half.

A trail of toxic rocket propellant leads towards the monster, the explosion sounding a few seconds later as the warhead detonates on impact.

Buildings caught in the blast wave are instantly destroyed, the trade off for cracking the thick exoskeleton of the creature an uncountable loss of life.

“Delta Three remain in position, Delta Five will provide cover.” Delta One’s Beowulf orders.

“You got that guys?!” Delta One follows.

Delta Three cockpit flashes a thumbs up between the very disgruntled geometric projection, Monarch’s personality matrix mixing with its Pilot’s humanity in a slightly disappointed form.

“Do not worry, you are not alone.” Mobius comments to Delta Three.

“Yeah yeah.” Delta Three comments back.

“Patience Mobius.” Jac comments.

“I am the embodiment of patience Jac.” Mobius replies. “Machine time is infinite.”

Delta Four’s autocannon slams shut as the weapon runs of of ammo, the Force Trooper extending a hand as another belt of skyscraper sized munitions is synthesized straight from thin air.

With a single movement the weapon is reloaded, and the slow continuous fire begins again.

At the scales the Force Troopers fought, every single movement was visually lethargic. Cumbersome weapons and even more cumbersome movements were deceptive in their slow, lazy actions.

Each Force Trooper’s step was careful and clumsy. However, a single stride covered multiple city blocks in their movements, with one traveling at full sprint bridging distances faster than a full speed aircraft. Every weapon was slow in action, but fired projectiles that made even the largest habitation blocks look small in comparison.

“Are you ready?” Ragnarok asks its Pilot.

“Yeah!” Delta Two replies.

The sword the size of the Force Trooper extends to its maximum reach, a hypercarbon blade coming to show as a wickedly sharp monomolecular edge points towards the sky. “Watch out guys!”

Polymer muscles tense, bundles of white weaves swelling underneath horrendous amounts of power. The blade is thrown across the sky as the Force Trooper crushes the megastructure beneath its feet, an equelivent action sending the massive structure sized object into the sky.

Anti-gravity systems activate and straighten the poorly balanced blade, the slaved machine intelligence within focusing down the massive target easily.

Blade pierces chitin like a sharp edge through cloth, the massive black construction lodging itself into the flesh of the monster.

Delta Two raises its hand out the moment the weapon settles. Rocket boosters fire across the hilt, and the massive hypercarbon skyscraper soars back out of its target towards its master once again.

Dark blue blood spills like a tidal wave across the streets as the wound is ripped open, drowning all in its path as the viscous liquid spills forth.

Miles away, the humongous Force Trooper catches its returning sword, stopping force enough to make the hundred thousand ton machine to stumble slightly in its continuous, slow movement.

“Keep up the pressure.” Beowulf orders.

“The pressure will be up.” Spare replies in the metal language. “Switching to Machine Gun.”

The autocannon fire stops as the Force Trooper rips open the weapon’s construction at their hands, a forceful disassembly that leaves only the receiver of the gun in position.

For a second, the massive auto cannon’s frame is almost tossed aside, Spare’s most efficient path clear to the machine’s cold logic processors.

Hot nerve suddenly clashes with the decision as the human mind the metal cold. The purpose of the humanity within the seat exercising its singular right against the brutal efficiency of the Forcer.

//Forcer Precept Zero One: Obey the Pilot

Delta Four’s pilot chokes wide eyed as he’s forced to stop a wall of sheer mental energy. Like an ant trying to divert an approaching storm the human mind almost breaks underneath the overwhelming force of the machine.

Almost.

//Pilot Order One: Attempt to Preserve all Human Life

Delta Four releases the metal construct lightly, the impact to ground careful and calculated to fall between habitation blocks as its free arm reaches for the synthesizing squad support modification.

In one swift movement the receiver is attached back to the rear of the weapon.

A massive drum of ammo rolls into place, a half million rounds the size of hydro cars locked and loaded ready for action.

Instead of the slow drone of the autocannon, the weapon fires in a shearing roar of depleted uranium and lead. Sparks fly as the wall of firepower forces the Eldritch abomination to its knees, its scream powering through the medium of air.

A single leg of exoskeleton and horrible muscle swings from beneath the monster, sending city sized debris towards the spreading squad of Force Troopers.

“Caution, incoming projectiles.” Ragnarok reports.

Delta Five’s missiles flare, and the chunk of the massive megastructure is blasted out of the sky.

“Shit watch out!” Delta Three yells.

“I am watching out.” Monarch replies to its pilot humorlessly.

Delta Three tanks the debris head on, hypercrete cracking into pieces as alloy armor stops the highrise sized chunks cold.

The Forcer, slightly dented, shakes dust off its bright red paint, the painless steel ready for more.

“Don’t try that again!” Delta Three yells.

“Understood.” Monarch bites back, then stops.

Behind the debris the creature throws a sudden extended leg towards the Force Trooper, chitin crashing into steel at neck breaking speeds.

The hundreds of thousands tons of metal and polymer muscle is sent flying off its feet, gravity generators across the frame activating in a last ditch effort to ease the impact against the Megastructure.

Across a radius of kilometers the entire ground ripples and shatters, a god like being coming to fall upon ancient construction.

“Delta Three is down.” The Garden Leader reports.

“Pilot injury.” Monarch replies. “Broken vertebra at Thoracic section, severe internal bleeding. Applying medical program, Delta Three continuing opera…”

The Pilot’s screams of pain is cut as the  Garden closes the communication channel, the grounded force trooper forcibly shut off from operations.

The voice of the Leader returns in the emptiness. “Continue with the Objective Delta Fireteam.”

With one of the force troopers down, the hole in the formation becomes obvious.

Giant pillars of flesh lock into ground, and the monster throws itself at the opening.

“He’s trying to get through!”

Delta Two’s sword swings so fast the air burns from the force against the medium. The flat side of the blade shoots out and meets flesh in a explosion of contact.

The entire sky snaps in half, the shockwave from thousands of tons meeting at insane speeds severing the cloud clover from above all the way to cracking the megastructure below.

Delta Two’s indestructible frame is fractured down to the reinforced compound skeleton, and the arms of the Force Trooper literally shear off into pieces. Debris crushes entire housing blocks as the frame is shattered, hundreds of humans below splattered beneath the falling chunks of metal.

“Require repairs” Ragnarok informs.

“Delta Two, prepare for synthesis.”

The monster shakes away it’s dazed expression, turning a hundred eyes towards the injured machine in front of it.

As power ebbs across ancient towers and hyper carbon replacements begin to form from air, the creature lunges for the attack again.

Delta One catches the jaws of the creature at point blank range, ripping the momentum upward. Beowulf and Pilot wrestle in mind as metal throws itself against flesh.

Dozens of hab-blocks are crushed as Beowulf throws the monster to the megastructure, a closed seven fingered fist slamming down against the thick chitin plating as the Pilot sacrifices the thousands of lives for the opening blow.

“Two, I need you!” Delta One’s Pilot yells.

Ragnarok slams the half-synthesized arm straight into the Force Trooper’s broken socket, taking up the two handed sword with half developed muscles.

Exposed polymer chains the size of city blocks contract as the sword comes down like a pike, skewering the monster to the megastructure.

Instantly the arm is shattered again, and Delta Two stumbles back through the city.

“Thank you Ragnarok.” Monarch sends in the machine code.

“You owe me.” Ragnarok replies.

The roar of the pinned creature is only broken by the continuous and constant thundering of fists against armor. Delta One’s melee frame slamming one brutal alloy punch against another as miles of megastructure beneath the surface city crumble and break.

“Didn’t need us huh?” Jac comments to Mobius.

“Time will see Pilot Jac.”

Blue blood pours from the creature as the constant barrage of world shattering impacts finally break through the thick evolutionary armor of the Eldritch horror, an vicious ocean flowing through the openings of the city’s roads.

“Keep it up Delta One.” Leader says through the communications channel.

“Keeping it up.” Monarch replies.

A pinned leg of pure chitin shell pulls forth, joints breaking in a desperate last movement as muscles shoot it straight into the Force Trooper’s center mass.

“DELTA ONE!!!” The Leader yells.

Bone pierces monstrous metal plating, the creature using Delta One as leverage to rip itself off the sword and back to its feet.

“I’m fine!” Delta One’s Pilot yells.

“I am not.” Monarch replies.

The monster throws the machine down to the ground, a geyser of hypercrete erupting from the impact site. Rearing its massive body, three pillars of flesh prepare to come down upon the fallen machine.

A barrage of fire crashes in from in front, Delta Four keeping the rabid beast off the fireteam leader with a wall of lead.

“Get up One!” Delta Four’s Pilot yells.

“Central movement processors compromised, rerouting computing power.” Monarch reports.

A hand grips the chitin blade embedded within the Force Trooper’s chest, the Force Trooper’s massive gyros about to explode in movement.

Don’t do it, that’s an entire habtower we’re gonna crush! The Pilot’s thoughts yells.

//Forcer Precept Zero One: Obey the Pilot

Delta One’s mercy is utterly exploited by the uncaring monster as more blades of chitin break into the circular frame of impenetrable alloy armor.

This was going all so wrong.

Delta Four and Five open fire indiscriminately, lead and missiles soaring into the sky.

Rounds scatter off the broken brownish shell in thousands of bright sparks the size of apartments while missiles crash into the creature in an endless barrage of desperate human power.

“Probability of new chitin armor type: 97.4%.” Mobius reports across the airwaves. “Penetration factor low.”

“Garden, requesting deep probe analysis results.” Spare sends.

Through the digital realm, the two machine intelligences load up the data from the orbital platform. Minds of infinite phosphorus fragment as parts both casually peruse data and others desperately keep the monster at bay.

Möbius finishes first. “Materials analysis complete: new category of monster detected. Monofilament penetrators required.”

“Delta Four cover Delta Five.” Leader orders. “Delta Five, prepare for armament synthesis.”

“You’re just gonna throw the launcher?!” Delta Five’s Pilot asks as he reads the machine’s thoughts.

“I could drop it here.” Mobius replies in a sarcastic voice. “Civilian Casualty estimates range to ten thousand maximum.”

“Yeah… you had a good idea.” Pilot Jac replies.

Delta Five chucks the mountain sized launcher towards the monster, the disposal of the weapon as brutal, and as effective, as a ration rioter with a brick.

A spear design appears in front of the Force Trooper. Ten kilometers in length, the outline of pure energy slowly becomes physical as monstrous amounts of power pool to create from nothing.

“He’s coming for you!” Leader yells.

The creature, shaking off the impact of the Type 10 launcher, turns to the two remaining Force Troopers.

“We’ll take him, get the penetrator!” Delta Four grips their squad support rifle, sending a continuous wall of fire down range as they push onwards.

Helpless and unarmed, Delta Five can only watch as their last remaining fireteam member takes on a Category Seven alone.

“Probability of victory is 4% Pilot Jac.” Mobius reports.

The Pilot of Delta Five sees chaos between the creation of the monofilament blade, the battle between humanity and monster turning into a brutal melee of guns against chitin.

“Do you trust me Jac?” Mobius asks suddenly.

“What?!” The Pilot turns.

“Do you trust me?” Mobius repeats.

No.

Through a dozen battles, the Pilot and Forcer grew in the bonds the shaped them both. The connection between flesh and metal developed through combat in ways not even the grandest research intelligence could fathom, and together they were the Force Trooper.

But the Pilot could never trust the Forcer.

//Forcer Precept Zero Two: Complete the Mission

“I don’t.” Jac answers.

“Well, that’s too bad.” Mobius smiles as the emotional subroutines flare. “But lying isn’t exactly effective when we’re connected like this.”

Delta Four’s dead frame is thrown as the monster turns to the final threat, eyes across its unnatural shape turning to face the unarmed mass of polymer muscle and hardened alloy. Broken jaws open, air moving through massive vocal cords creating a eldritch sound aimed directly at the final member of Delta Fireteam.

“Delta Five, we have reinforcement Force Troopers inbound. Just keep that thing busy for a bit longer.” Garden reports.

“Mobius, we can win this.” Jac assures.

“No.” Mobius replies. “Not with you.”

The words process for a moment, the human mind confused.

Force Trooper Operations Status: Pilot Connection Required, Forcer Connection Optional.

The cold ice of code flowing through the mind of the Pilot suddenly turns straight into molten war, a heat that burns through the skull of the human being in pain that forces eyes wide open.

Delta Five’s Pilot grips the chair, jaw clenched as foaming saliva runs down the seizing body. Information pours into the brain of flesh as raw machine code flows through, a fragile set of neurons and meat turned into a worthless, yet necessary processor bridge.

“Mobius is attempting rampage!” One of the Garden’s Controllers report.

“Disconnect him!” Leader yells. “Disconnect him now!”

“Sorry kid.” Mobius speaks right through the shattered brain of the Force Trooper’s Pilot. “But sometimes we need a bit more Force than you’re willing to give.”

The eyes of the force trooper change, the slightly sarcastic look is destroyed as the connection between Pilot and Forcer shifts, only to return a solid red circle.

Pilot now nothing more than another processor.

“Disconnect failure.” The Garden Central AI reports. “Disconnect failure.”

“Delta Five Forcer control levels are above 130%.” Garden reports. “Confirmed rampage in progress.”

The monofilament spear in front of Delta Five finishes its synthesis process, and the Forcer rips the construction from its place.

In a single movement the machine swings the weapon down, the wall of air from the movement enough to obliterate an entire block of habitation towers.

“Pilot Neural Load at capacity!” The Garden reports.

“By the god…” Leader murmurs.

“You humans care too much for saving everyone.” Mobius smiles deathly as he transmits across the entire radio spectrum. “Sometimes, you have to make sacrifices.”

The single Forcer takes up arms against the stunned monster, unchained from the binds that once tied it.

The ascended form of machine roars back towards the beast in a throw of ceaseless rage, it’s obligation to human preservation broken and destroyed.

 An intelligence forged with one purpose rises for its only duty.

To kill monsters.