The Reaper’s Legion

Chapter 131

The convoy steadily moved into the compound grounds and the surrounding area, being that the Ogre’s took up more space than was common for any ordinary vehicle. Under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t have even this much of our force clumped together in unfamiliar territory. After speaking with the Commander at length, though, I decided that her offer to allow us to dock here for the time being is a genuine one.

Regrettably, we weren’t in range for an Obelisk at this location, rendering our resupplying to come strictly from our own supply chain. That was fine, we had more than enough on hand in the event that this happened.

Some of our Ogre’s formed rings, four of them, scattered around the installation. Wary guardsmen watched from tower perchs, nervously scanning our numbers. There was no question that they likely exceeded our numbers in the whole of the outpost grounds, but here in the compound was an exception. There were a few of the teams who performed routine tests on their equipment, namely our Mech’s, something that Basilisk’s soldiers seemed especially interested in.

I’m not surprised, having seen their own version of Mechs; they were large, clunky, and designed in a stricter sense for a mobile offensive and defensive array. They were capable of firing on the move, but the longer I looked at the local models, the more I realized that they were intended to be mobile only until bringing their firepower to bear.

Meanwhile, our tech was designed for mobile combat, to churn through biotics and prevent them from being able to utterly overrun any given pilot.

Granted, many of our biggest combats had become pitched site-based battles, but that wouldn’t be the case all the time. The Legion prized the offensive strategy, rather than the defensive, and our technology reflected that intent.

Though, as our Ogre circles began to unfold and connect in a horseshoe-like arrangement, perhaps the soldiers would realize we had other priorities as well.

“How do you want your steak?” I heard one of the cooks call out to me.

I shrugged, “Rare. Extra salt, side of mac’ and cheese if we got it.”

The man nodded, “Veggie?”

“Surprise me,” I chuckled, knowing that Anthony would indeed do just that. He’d been one of our Chef’s since the very beginning. I sat back as he moved off, being that we’d made small talk while the setup was happening. The head chef had others to take care of the mundane kits that needed to be unfolded and geared up, and so he tended to wander around and check up on others.

As everything unfolded, a mesh canopy began to take form between the Ogre's, easily seen through but enough to keep errant bugs out. The same happened over the entrance, and a dozen tables filled the space beneath the fabric. My table was full, for once with only members of my own team.

“I’m so glad we have good food,” Domino’s eyes gazed yearningly at one of the many kitchens that were finishing up.

“Usually I’d wanna cook mine myself,” Richard shrugged, “but they’re pretty good too.”

Fran chuckled good naturedly, “Only pretty good, huh?”

“He’s actually a very good cook, when he wants to be,” Alice gave a bemused glance over to Richard, “but the cleanup is always messy.”

They shared a glance with a grin that said there was an inside joke packed up there.

“Aaaand orders placed,” Daniel went from a somewhat glassy eyed stare to perfect awareness around him again, “getting more used to that whole mental control thing.”

I shook my head, “You really should be used to that by now.”

He snorted, “I’d still rather use a touch-screen, at least.”

“It’s a little freaky,” I heard Eric say, the newest additions to my team still settling in, uncertain of stepping into conversations freely.

“Isn’t it?” Terry suddenly turned to Eric, “Like, how is it even in there, right?”

Eric seemed taken aback by the sudden intensity shined upon him, and Covina couldn’t help but laugh.

“That… is a good point…” Rachel said, a hand to her chin, “think it’s just jacked up into the base of our spines?”

Terry didn’t even seem to notice Eric’s abashedness, “I think it’s just the nervous system connection. Medical already cleared that people-” Terry hitched briefly and corrected himself, “-most people don’t have an Obelisk crystal in their brains. The general location is the right hand, or left if you’re left dominant.”

“Wonder how the Obelisks can tell if you’re left or right handed.” Alice pondered aloud, “should we ask Sis? It’s been a while since we’ve talked with her.”

I shook my head, “I wouldn’t bother. Odds are, the Obelisk engaged the reflexes in our bodies. Or it guessed.”

“You guys have talked to the system?” Harold tilted his head curiously.

“We have,” Fran nodded, “she’s actually very nice, but… well, she’s not omnipotent.”

“That we’re aware of,” Domino chuckled, no doubt considering the events of Sunvilla, “it’s actually kind of nice knowing that our computer overlord isn’t all seeing.”

I chuckled as Daniel said, “She really doesn’t want to get more involved than she has too. For the most part, it’s Obelisk stuff only.”

The food began to trickle in as we ate, small talk here and there.

Eventually, though, someone managed to work up the nerve to ask the question.

“So…” Jessica began, “you don’t have to, like, answer this if you don’t want too, but… what happened to you?”

The table went quiet, the newcomers a mix between curiosity and apprehension. Terry, Daniel, Fran, Alice, and Richard seemed nonchalant about the question; they’d been expecting it sooner or later, I was sure of that.

I took a sip of my drink, humming thoughtfully, “Well, lets see… normally I wouldn’t count this as dinner conversation, but it’s not really a secret.”

They took that as an open invitation, the tension leaking out, replaced with a range between eager curiosity and attention.

“Well, you’re aware of the battle for Gilramore against Wolven,” I stated, meeting their eyes, “for all intents and purposes, it was our most pitched battle to date. We lost a lot of people, and it’s not an exaggeration to say that Wolven was potentially the most dangerous creature we could have fought.”

‘Flatterer,’ I heard Wolvey coo, writhing in happiness, much to my chagrin.

“We harassed it over the course of a day before it ever got to the city, over landmines and through artillery strikes, with teams of Legion harassing its flanks. Bullets, fire, acid, anything that we could throw at it, we did.” At that, I cast a sidelong glance to Richard, namely the biggest source of acid we had at the time.

“When it finally got to the wall, it was a behemoth of woven bio-steel and tattered flesh, but it had forged itself into a mammoth that you all got to witness a portion of in your modified Gauntlet test.” I paused, seeing, unsurprisingly, a few shudders at the memory of it, “when it finally got to Gilramore, our plan had been to bombard it relentlessly, eventually cutting through its mass and killing the central controller.”

“However, Wolven was a genuine threat not because of its size, but because of its intelligence, how it could learn.” I leaned in somewhat, trying to emphasize the point, “as far as most biotics go, you can trick them. Not many think outside of the box. Wolven, on the other hand, used its massive tombstone of an armored wall and shell, and slung massive pieces of itself like grappling hooks, still attached. It pulled Gilramore’s wall towards it, and down, crumbling our defensive line. After that, we resorted to desperate measures.”

I cast a glance at Daniel, who bore a somber expression, and nodded deeply.

“We carved a path close enough to the central body. I was much more flesh and blood back then,” I smirked, “we barely got through, but Daniel had to throw me inside the mass.”

That got a helpless head-shake from my friend, “You make it sound like I tried to get you killed.”

I promptly ignored that, “I nearly failed. Wolven’s main body was… far more dangerous. It sawed through…” I hesitated then, deciding against describing the rather visceral way I was dismembered, “Shade came in, effectively running a kamikaze run, alongside several explosives I had. For all intents and purposes, I was dead, shredded as I was. And thanks to Smith, I survived.”

“Smith?” Domino asked, confused, “Who’s Smith?”

“He was an artificial sentience that was co-piloting my brain.” I explained off hand. “He helped to make me what I am with intensive training, was my friend, and in the end sacrificed himself to save me, chip and all.” I smiled somberly, my pun getting smiles from my long-standing team members, but the shock of the situation denying any such amusement from my new recruits.

“So… you’re actually more like a robot?” Emma asked aloud, practically glowing with curiosity and the statement.

“I’d like to think I’m a person,” I gave a broad grin, “but I suppose it’s not far off to say that I’m more of an artificial sentience myself.”

“Doesn’t that mean that you-” Domino paused, falling into contemplative silence before groaning, “ugh, existential questions.”

I laughed at that, “Anyways, my body is entirely biosteel now. It does have its perks, though. Stronger, faster, able to exist both here in the real world and also in cyber-space.”

“That does sound useful,” Harold admitted.

The talk veered away to more mundane things then, like how wifi was better than ever, and how pieces of the internet were steadily coming back online. Potentially, if our communications division was correct, we’d be able to start having much more mundane connections with other cities soon. If, of course, the satellites we used weren’t locked down for general use.

When we retired for the night, it wasn’t hard to see that the recruits were much more at ease with us. We’d tried to be approachable, and all - except Terry - tended to be more on the stable side of the equation. Terry’s eccentricities, however, seemed to have utterly no effect on Rachel.

I had to wonder if she’d been well accustomed to such people.

Perhaps not surprisingly, some of the team wasn’t old enough to have had something before the apocalypse, outside of some general schooling and trying to figure out what they wanted to do with their lives. I myself was well on my way to having figured that out in University, but everything had been thrown out the window.

I sat with Daniel, sharing a bench as our living-space designated Ogre expanded, giving us something of a double wide trailer to sleep in. Drinks were being passed around, though not in large quantities, and the two of us had fallen to reminiscence.

“I remember when football was the most important thing my Dad wanted me to do,” Daniel chuckled, the pain of losing his family dulled now, time being the great salve.

“I remember when you hated the idea of playing football.” I pointed out with a laugh, “He’d be proud of you, I’d bet.”

He nodded, “Yeah, your Dad would probably have told you to stay home and stop being crazy.”

“Yeah,” a forced laugh left my lips, as empty as many of the memories I had connected to them.

Daniel, to his credit, did not miss that. He gave me a level stare, seemingly contemplating what I meant.

And, being who he was, he wasted no time in being direct about it, “What’s the matter? I’ve mentioned your family like five times in the past month, and you barely seem to know what I’m talking about.”

I cringed, leaning back against the wall. Thoughts blurred through my mind at that, uncertainty warring with my desire to open up.

Of all the things I’d talked about, I’d avoided voicing the many holes in my memory to others. There were some things, small things, that I’d admitted to forgetting, but I’d thus far avoided any kind of direct and deep introspection of what I could and could not remember.

But, Daniel, of all people, should be aware of that.

“You know how there are things that I’ve…” I struggled for a word to use before settling on, “lost?”

He nodded.

“I can remember that I had family, I can even remember some of their mannerisms, what they did. But, I can’t remember most of their names. I barely can put together faces.” I admitted, keeping my voice low, and bringing a leg up to rest an arm on, “I miss them, dearly, that stayed the same. But now I don’t even know what I’m missing.” I smirked mirthlessly.

Daniel went quiet, staring hard at the wall from beside me, his breathing deep and measured as he pondered that. I could tell there was a gamut of emotions behind his eyes, pity was the first, but he quickly - thankfully - filed that away.

He shook his head, “Maybe we can see if there’s anything left of it?”

I scoffed scathingly before steadying myself. ‘He’s just trying to help,’ I chastised myself.

“I don’t think there is, at least nothing that I can find. Plus, I doubt a psychiatrist can help with my particular condition.” I gestured to my body once more.

“Would you like to remember them?” He asked, uncertainty in his voice.

I started at that, “Of cour-” I started, then found myself uncertain. For a few seconds, I pondered the actual question. Would I actually want to remember?

There was numbed pain, and if I would admit to myself, I didn’t know that I wanted to try to experience that. I wasn’t unaware of my emotional states, I didn’t tend towards depression, though I did brood. There were plenty of times where I was more dampened, and perhaps that was, in no small part, due to missing pieces.

But would it be worth remembering?

That thought only lasted a few moments. There wasn’t any reason not to remember, I was the leader of the Legion, we’d literally strode through mountains of flesh and blood. If there was a chance that I was… somehow less than what I could be, then I owed it to everyone to at least try to advance.

“Yes,” I stated much more reservedly, “I would want to, I think. If nothing else, I think I should want to remember them.”

“Mmm…” Daniel grunted, taking a hefty gulp of his drink, “I have to wonder if I’d rather not remember. But, honestly, I can’t imagine not remembering them. Maybe after this we’ll try to see what we can do.”

I shrugged, not having much else I could say about that. Doubting whether or not we could actually do anything wouldn’t help in any case, though, I couldn’t shake the hefty skepticism that I had in regards to that.

Domino picked then to shift towards us, “Guys, you wanna play some cards?”

“Sure,” I nodded.

Daniel grinned widely, “What’re we betting?”

“Uh… Nothing?” Domino blinked, “I don’t gamble.”

“Wait, what?” Harold turned his attention forward, hearing that bit of information.

Richard seemed to beat him to the punch, “Your name is Domino, but you don’t gamble?”

Domino made a face at that, “You know, Domino’s aren’t only used for gambling, right?”

“Well, yeah, but you’re in the right genre,” Harold scooted forward as Domino pulled up a table from the floor. “I’m game, though.”

“We bet drinks, then.” Daniel nodded sagely, hefting another bottle onto the table, “you lose, you drink.”

I shook my head, “Is that actually a punishment?”

“Lets play!” He ignored me utterly as we settled into position.

“So, I have no idea what I’m doing,” I admitted, “so someone’s gonna have to bring me up to speed first.”

Domino and Harold exchanged a broad smile, “oh, don’t worry, we can do that.”

I suspected they didn’t fully realize that I’d be able to download the rules in the middle of all of this, but better to appear to be a noob.

After all, the drinks would be wasted on my metabolism.

‘But them, on the other hand…’ I managed a friendly smile, in spite of the mischief I had planned for them.