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HEAVY chapter 1
Salvo
“As long as wars still exist, the Corporation will operate its military defense forces as a private military force, its main client being the United Nations council, allowing the stage to be set for phase two of project Angel, through financial, political, and tactical gain. The military will be reorganized and reequipped to handle both large and small scale tactical projects, both on a short and long term basis. Further, the Council is the ruling body for all financial, military, and political situations. This is to insure the ideals of the founders are upheld.”
Corporation internal organization brief
Page 6, section 3, part A
June 22, 2038

Western Military Command Hospital
West City, North America
September 12, 2070

“Come on grunt, get up that wall.”
I swear drill sergeants become physical therapists when they retire. This one, she had to be here on loan from the marines or something. She might give Manx a run for yelling at troopers. But I did as the lady said.
It had been three months since they swapped me into this body. It felt like my old one, just I was a lot heavier now. I shot from my normal one-eighty to almost three hundred. Still at my normal five-ten though. We had to trade up to a truck for me to go to and from base and the hospital. The whole one-thirteenth was transferred to Western Command. The orders said we were directly assigned to assist in the development of the next generation armor. In reality, the heavy infantry platoons were going to be consolidated into the First Heavy Infantry Company. This would be our new home. Four more companies would be formed with new units. As it was, the First was to be tasked as a spec-ops unit. And the other four founding platoons were joining us as well. But they got stuck with training up instructors on tactics and field repair.
I still wasn’t cleared to get back in my suit. That’s ok. From what I gathered from Sacha, the suit had to be shipped back to R&D for replacement. I burned out the battery, servo motors, and half the wiring during my run. Turns out the Professor initiated something called the Aries project with my suit. It was a system that was to remain inoperable in units with fully organic pilots. Well, that was until yours truly took an RPG to the chest.
I finished my climb and looked down. 30 meters down. And my dumb ass without a safety harness. The therapist said I wouldn’t need it. Yeah, she has to be a marine.
“Ok. Now jump down here and land on your feet.”
Run that by me again. Jump? Fuck me. No use in arguing. I did a frog jump out and fell straight down. Then I tried to use my legs like it was three feet instead of thirty meters. I landed smoothly. What the hell kinda body did they give me? The first few weeks were so I didn’t crush Sacha when I hugged him. Now this? Man, this was going to be an interesting two year stint.
“Your body now can handle tasks that most people can’t do even with exoskeletons. Get used to the power, and learn to regulate it. Also, I should warn you; bar fights are massive felonies for you. Each person involved can be an attempted manslaughter. That’s why the marking on your left hand. It’s a warning to people.”
“That’s good to know, June. So, now I am super human or something?”
“No, just enhanced human. So, have you and Sacha gotten past you sleeping on the couch for fear of hurting him?”
“Yeah. He says I still feel the same. Just kinda misses my chest hair. Reminded him of a stuffed animal he had when he was little.”
“Easier for maintenance, sorry.”
“We’ll cope. So, what next?”
“Have you been practicing your writing?”
“Yeah. It still looks like a three year old. It’s slowly getting better though.” Part of the reason we had to get a truck was I couldn’t do the fine steering I had to do with my old sports car. Damn thing would get squirrely. My lead foot didn’t help.
“It will take some time for fine motor skills to come back. And any discomfort?”
I shake my head at that. We pretty much ironed out all the pain last time. It was a very difficult transition, but she had told me at the end of our last session that I was recovering faster than usual. Just fine motor skills. And today was supposed to be something special. She said she had a surprise at the beginning. Much as I hate surprises, can’t be any worse than the ones I got on my last mission.
“Ok, now today I get to show you some of the other abilities you get. Remember when we hooked up to the net with the neural-jack?”
How could I not. I just found a Wi-Fi signal and connected. All through thinking. “Yeah”
“Well, today I am going to teach you how to spot hack attempts. You have a military grade attack firewall and defensive array, but they can still be breached if someone is good enough.”
I nod. This kinda stuff scared the crap out of me. But I knew one of the things Sacha worked on was this situation for implant users and our suits. In fact, last month he had a neural-jack implanted in the base of his skull. He was teaching me a bit about how to use it.
“Ok. Now, do you sense something in the back of your mind?”
I thought about it and I did. It felt like when someone was watching you. “Yeah. It’s kinda creepy.”
“Yes it is. Now, see if you can focus on it.” I did so. It seemed easy now.
“So, how do I mess up the hacker?”
She laughed at me. “You shoot him. If you try to hack someone that can get past your firewall, he’ll fry you. You can however track them. And then you either call his position or shoot him.”
I grew concerned at this. “So, the Chinese are really fielding hackers?”
“And everyone else. Turns out they have gotten a hold of many of our countries designs through Willard Sutter, that man who set you team up in Africa. Some of which are very dangerous to cyborgs in the field.” I looked at her suspiciously. No one knew that without being high up. Hell, that’s the first time I heard the guy’s name. She just laughed. “What, did you think I was a normal physical therapist?”
“Well, till now, yeah. Or a marine drill sergeant.”
She laughed again. “You still never asked my last name did you?” I looked at her funny. What the hell did her last name have to do with shit? “My full name is June Samantha Koehler. I’m a lieutenant in the 39th security detail.”
“You’re a Demon?” she was small. Maybe about 5’6”, 130. She could be full prosthetic. But still she was tiny. How the hell could she be part of the Demons? She just nodded. Then I thought about her name. “Fuck. You’re related to the Captain?” Great. Now she could keep tabs on my recovery.
“Yeah, Naomi was worried you would strain yourself if I told you my name. We’re kinda sisters.” Well, the captain knew me. I probably would have tried to recover even faster just to get cleared for work.
“So, I suppose the Cap said to keep me from work a while longer. I guess it doesn’t matter, since I don’t have a suit.” She thought a minute.
“Did you know what your suit ID was?”
I grinned. Everyone asked me that once they got my field record. Or my medical history. “Yep. I’m black cat thirteen. And before you ask, no, I don’t ever want to change it. I got enough luck to survive as thirteen.”
She shrugged. Most people don’t get it. In my original mechanized unit, I was the thirteenth man, always without a doubt, out the aircraft or battle wagon. When I got assigned to power suit training, I was the thirteenth cadet. So, when I got suit number thirteen, I already had a bad reputation of near death situations. But, they were always near death. And my luck held out every time. I didn’t want any of my unit to die taking over my number.
“I suppose that’s everything for today. Starting tomorrow, you are on limited duty. And you will show up in full battle dress tomorrow at the same time. Meet me at building 190A.” she turned and got to the door before she stopped. “There is also a package for you at the front desk. Don’t open it till you’re in the car. See ya tomorrow Drevon.”
109A? That was on base. Well, I guess that means I’m back to work. Then what else she said hit home. A package, which I wasn’t allowed to open in the hospital. Huh. I tried figuring out what it was as I walked to the front desk. I got the box, and signed for it. Damn thing was heavier than it looked. I went out to my truck and opened it in the cab. A simple plain wood box was inside, and inside that was my service sidearm. The Iotech m-21 10mm pistol. But it had been modified. It was heavier and it had the longer barrel and slide of the marksman model, also the grip was a softer, more formable rubber, giving it a better feel in my hand. My holster and field knife was in the box also. I checked the pocket of my holster and transferred my paperwork to my wallet then put everything on. Three clips seemed to be too much, but I was always taught it was better to have too many rounds than not enough.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

I arrived at the base about a half hour later. It was kinda an eerie drive through the ruins of San Francisco. All the half demolished houses and buildings down below the highway looked like a ghost town. In world war three, someone detonated a large neutron bomb in the bay, effectively dooming all of San Fran and Oakland. The survivors were scarred beyond help, most taking their own lives because of the pain. Los Angeles shared a similar fate a few days later. Then Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo, London, and twenty-three other cities followed. No one knew who or why. No one was even sure the weapon because after twenty years, all radiation levels were normal. All we knew was that it was done to cities with large bodies of water and that the devastation was total. We also knew as horrid as it was, it ended a ten year international conflict. And a decade and a half later, it happened again, once. All they needed was one warning and the world stopped the fourth war. And that detonation happened in the middle of the pacific, scouring a single island clean. Since then, no group or country claimed responsibility. They never surfaced again.
Now the bay area was a proving ground. We trained for urban scenarios here, and we test new equipment. Today was a test of a new Armored Fighting Vehicle for the marines, the XMC-77. We all just called it the crab. A six legged multiped walker, it was to replace the M44 anti-armor vehicle. The crab was unlike any walker that has come yet. It had two modes, walker and road, and was crewed by two men, a driver and a gunner. It had manipulators on stubby arms up front, and was armed with three .50 caliber machineguns, SAMs, a GAU-8/A avenger, two anti-minefield rockets, and several micromissiles. Beyond that I didn’t know much. I knew that if the first few trials went well, we black cats got to go with it on its next evaluations. That would be a treat.
After I cleared the gate I decided to head for the reinforced hanger that was for us black cats. There were a few extra carriers parked out front and some of the guys vehicles were in the lot next to the hanger. So I pulled in and headed for the door. It was bright out and dark inside, so after I walked in, I stood by the door and let my eyes adjust. And a hell of a sight met my eyes. Standing on the far wall were seventeen steel crates, and they were lowering an eighteenth down on the end. Each resembled a coffin, ten feet tall. And six deep by six wide. Three were much bigger, two being ten foot cubes and the last looking like a cargo pod for a ship.
“Like Christmas huh?” that made me jump a bit and I looked down to see Nina standing there.
“Our new suits?”
She nodded. “Mine had some more updates done. Mike got the Broadside 1 back, with a few modifications. He didn’t like the weapons load out of the type 2. You and Manx are supposed to have completely new units and most everyone has the same with updates. And the boss got stuck with a lieutenant finally. His suit is the one on the end. He has something different. It’s supposed to be related to the air force Alex suits.”
Why would any army officer want to be stuck in one of those glorified exoskeletons? Well, if he fries on our first jump with him, it wasn’t our fault.
“It’s a good thing you’re here. Cap was going to call everyone in. the update staff and mechanics are here, but we need to make the adjustments.”
I nodded. Contrary to popular belief, power suits aren’t a one size affair. And some variants allowed for smaller pilots. Like Nina. She was five-two. But her suit allowed for a smaller pilot because of its hover base. For most suits, I was the average. But it took hours, and sometimes days, to make a suit of power armor fit. But when it did, it gave better protection than the one size units that the Chinese and Germans were making.
I decided to go check into the lounge. I know that the Cap wasn’t in her office. She hated using desks. I opened the outer door to the lounge and went to the inner door. I went through to the air conditioned area and there she was playing poker with Max, Saul, and some guy I didn’t recognize. Max turned and saw me and groaned.
“Great, I can’t have one game while on duty without losing to him?”
“Sarge, you had three months without me. Your fault you didn’t play more.”
The burly black man got up and gave me a hug. He refused to visit me in the hospital because he said he didn’t want to see me weak as a newborn. But he sent the flowers that were by my bed. Next, Saul greeted me. The big Jew was friendly with anyone, and he visited a few times. He even checked on me for Nina and Manx when they were busy. Both men were some of the kindest you could ever meet, but if we engaged, I want them and my squad backing me. Saul handled the broadside heavy assault suit, and was very good at taking out armor and emplacements. Max handled a Cyclone anti-air unit
After they were done the Captain kicked out a chair for me to join. Saul started to deal me in as she introduced me.
“Drake, this is Mark MacDonald, he is our new XO. He transferred from armored recon.”
I gave the guy a once over. He was tall; maybe six-one, had sandy hair and a reddish moustache, thin but strong build, and had the mark on his left hand. He smiled and seemed to be delighted to meet me.
“So, you’re the Drake that everyone in power armor speaks of. It’s a pleasure to meet the luckiest man to wear armor.” He offered his hand and I shook it. I wasn’t sure if I should feel honored that I was famous amongst heavies. He was obviously in a body similar to mine and the captains.
“So, your recon. Didn’t you guys just upgrade to new spec suits? Type Aries I believe. Lighter and faster than the armitage, but tougher and better armed that the Alex.”
“Impressive. So you’re also the armor specialist?”
I nodded. Not many in all of the infantry could boast knowledge of armor like I could. But I was limited to what info I could gather. After that the conversation carried on like normal as we played cards. I won most hands, but Mark and Saul got their fair share.
We finished another hand and Manx showed up. Since she was the Jr sergeant, and more organized than Max, she was the Captains aide while we were at base. She liked it. Gave her something to do. And a reason to yell at the rest of us.
“Sir, the men are called in and on their way. The upgrade team from R&D are waiting for you, the lieutenant, and Drake for some training on your interface units.”
I stood with the Cap and the Lt and followed them out to the bay. It seemed the whole R&D department was there waiting. Thirty people where standing to one side as men were unloading crates of weapons and ammo into our maintenance locker, and there was a few crates laid out in a neat pile near the cargo cases for the suits. The professor and three technicians started to approach. Much to my delight and dismay, one was Sacha. That’s how they knew I was here. He saw my truck. I was going to get an earful later about me going in when I shouldn’t. Technically I wasn’t allowed to be at work till tomorrow. But I was here none the less.
He came over to me and whispered in my ear. “The unit would have called you in anyways. So relax, I won’t be too hard on you later.”
That didn’t relax me one bit. Things were getting weird as he opened up a suitcase and pulled out a chunky neck device. He held my head still and plugged it into my neural-jack. He then hit a button and information swirled in my head. I got technical and tactical data on my suit and the new weapons. I got data on my team’s armor, and on new enemy armor. I learned about the type Aries, about the new potential threats in the field, and my mind automatically sorted and filed it all away. It took about ten seconds.
It was done and Sacha was pulling off the collar. He rubbed my cheek and looked worried. I guess I didn’t breathe while the download was in progress. The professor was talking to the rest of the unit answering questions. We had never seen the captain get a brief, and now we knew how she committed the plans to memory. It was much better than the old way.
The Captain looked up as we were done. The whole platoon had gathered. They were looking at us and discussing what they saw. That’s when she stood up. “Fall in. We have new toys and we have to be briefed.”
With that we all fell in rank, each man lining up with a coffin, as we called them, which had our number on it. Time to get started.