First Contact - Chapter 976: The Shadows of Twilight

One of the typical fallacies of most so-called “advanced races” is a near total shift towards directed energy weapons from kinetics. While being independent of ammunition supply does have its advantages in time intensive engagements, the energy efficiency of kinetics is nothing to neglect.

That, and the incredible versatility offered by variable payloads.

All you can adjust on a laser weapon is the intensity and duration of the burst, as well as the focus. To adjust the frequency, you need to change the light induction and amplification medium. And even then, what comes out is still a beam that will be more or less prone to the diminishing effects of atmospheric density and refraction, and can be greatly reduced in effectiveness by utilising reflective surfaces.

Meanwhile, for kinetic rounds, mostly you only need to care about time on target, windage and gravity. They are a lot less affected by microprism clouds, humidity, and couldn’t care less about reflective armor. When you go to relativistic kinetic accelerators such as nCv or C+ cannons, even the velocity advantage of the laser type weaponry can be negated.

A laser beam will be just that, a laser beam. Countered by a single type of defense, no matter the color or intensity. A plasma charge will be just that, no matter what you do to it. A kinetic shell in the meantime, can be a nuclear warhead, an EMP charge, a neutronium penetrator discarding sabot round, a tandem charge, a canister round, a mine dispenser, a temporal stabiliser, and whatever the imagination, madness, and engineering talents of its makers can come up with. All coming out of the very same weapon, no alterations needed.

Pair that up with the Terrans’ mastery of nano-fabrication, and suddenly you don’t have to worry about ammo supply any more. To think that kinetic weapons become obsolete the moment you learn how to make a laser pointer strong enough to burn a hole in a wall, is plain stupid, and you can all thank me for the opportunity to learn it here, and not the hard way out there like I did. – Fragment of a recording recovered from the ruins of what archeologists suspect was a military academy, former Lagnalkak space. Speaker unknown.

–got it– 299 stated. –had to crack at kernel level sorry sorry–

“Nicely done,” Bit.nek said. “I’m probably going to need that access.”

Bit.nek tilted his left palm up and started moving through the context menus, flipping through them. He ordered the heavy creation engine to start the warmup and slush phase, then checked the power on the reactor.

Since flash night, reactors had a tendency to be a bit ‘kicky’ to use the current slang like all the cool kids.

“What are you doing?” the 2LT asked.

“We need weapons, armor, repeaters, signal amplifiers, shielded computers, heavy mortars to replace the mortars mortar platoon lost,” Bit.nek said. “Not to mention about fifty weapons because over half of you dropped your weapons when you routed.”

The LT’s back stiffened.

“Were we supposed to just stay there and die?” the LT asked.

Bit.nek shook his head. “You were supposed to fight,” he said.

The LT opened his mouth.

“But Command never trained you to fight this war,” Bit.nek said, scrolling through the context menu and bypassing a handful of overrides. “They never taught you to fight Mister Hungry and Flickering Fionna.”

The LT looked slightly angry. “Well, who was going to teach us?”

“Guys like me,” Bit.nek said. He hit the print button, bypassed the warnings and lockouts, and authorized it with a blank header. “Only there wasn’t time,” he looked up. “About seventy percent of the guys with more than two decades of fighting in the Slorpie Slots got put out due to medical or took their walking papers.”

The LT frowned. “How do you know that?”

“I was a high ranking officer’s driver for about twenty years. Escorted him everywhere,” Bit.nek said. He saw the creation engine flash ready and opened the drawer.

A battered and beat up 15mm magac SMG sat there.

“Hello, baby,” Bit.nek said, picking it up and slapping it on his hip so the magtac system held it.

“And that gave you…”

“Plenty of insight into what was going on,” Bit.nek said. He waited another moment for the creation engine to start beeping a warning, then pulled a case out of the drawer. He grabbed a smaller case and slapped it on his hip, then clumsily put the box on his back, bringing his rifle around to hang on his hip from the sling.

“I look like a fool,” Bit.nek grumbled.

“What’s that?” SSG J’Wremt asked.

“Mission essential equipment,” Bit.nek said. He walked over to the ledge, opening the case on his hip and pulling out a pair of ground crystal lens binoculars. He lifted them up, looking at the ranging lines on the side as he panned over the satellite dish field.

“I’ve never seen those. What model of macrobinoculars are those?” SFC LokNartwa asked.

“Something called Zee-Why-Ice,” Bit.nek said. He saw the flickering between the dishes. “Dammit.”

“What?” the SFC asked.

“Fionna’s dancing all over that damn field. It’s getting thicker,” Bit.nek said. He put the binoculars back in the case.

“HEY! I GOT SOMEONE!” someone yelled from over by the tower.

That got excitement and Bit.nek realized with a sinking feeling that he might want to check on what exactly all these boots were doing.

“Good job, Tech,” 2LT Ilvarwazz said, tapping one of the armored grunts on the top of his bare head. The kobold had his helmet retract and was kneeling down, a toolkit spread out in front of him.

Bit.nek walked up just in time to hear it.

“This is Kilo Company, 992 Infantry,” the tech said.

“…we can read you… please respond…” a voice said.

Bit.nek went cold.

“Ask them for proof of life,” Bit.nek managed to get out.

The tech looked up at him, frowning.

“Do it,” SFC Lok ordered.

“Dominion of Stregeta, this is Kilo, 992 Infantry, please provide proof of life,” the tech said.

“That doesn’t sound like one of ours,” Bit.nek said, frowning.

“…we read you… please respond…” the voice said.

It was louder.

“Wait, are you using digital or analog or quantum?” Bit.nek asked.

“Quantum and digital. How else will he contact fleet?” LT Ilvarwazz asked.

Bit.nek looked up at the top of the radio tower.

There were microwave and quantum dishes pointing in every direction.

Including the satellite field.

“I ran it through the nearby satellite uplinks,” the tech said. “Someone cut out the wires, but I patched them.”

“…life… proof… of…”

White line-art fingers pushed from the front of the radio.

His hand flashed to his side, his fingers curling around the hilt of his cutting bar. He yanked it out even as he took two steps, the cutting bar roaring to life between one step and the next as he shouldered between three people, knocking down one of the Staff Sergeants.

He kicked the kobold out of the way and swung with both hands from behind his head, the edge of the bar snapping a divot in the edge of the case on his back.

The radio squealed and sparks shot out from it as the cutting bar ripped it in half. Bit.nek cut twice, ripping the cabling apart and snapping the main power lead, his armor shunting the electricity into his battery packs and the left over into the ground.

A white line-art arm was severed at mid-bicep, suddenly turning into clear slime and landing on the rooftop with a splat.

Bit.nek turned and stared at everyone.

“You almost invited Fionna right in with us, you fucking idiot boots!” he yelled.

The gathered troops saw the red of his eyes and took a step back.

Bit.nek pointed at the radio with his idling cutting bar.

“It takes one to come through,” he said. He shook his head. “If, and that’s a big if, you actually contacted fleet, then they are fucking dead. The ship’s are full of Fionna and Mister Hungry, the dead and the dying,” he said. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “During Operation Muddy Sanchez, the super-heavy battleship Black Smoke Widow had single shade get onboard. Everyone was dead in fifteen minutes and it had to be blown out of space.”

Everyone was staring at him.

“These things are dangerous. After encountering enemy armor, I can tell you that they’re more dangerous than the enemy,” he said. He pointed at the clear goo, which was evaporating in the cool night air. “That thing almost got through.”

There were nods and shocked looks.

“The first thing Fionna does is scream. That attracts more. The second thing she does is snatch out your eternal soul. The third thing she does is start eating it,” Bit.nek said. He looked around. “Twenty years ago? We thought only Terrans became shades,” he shook his head. “Like I said in that classroom, before we deployed, when the shades hit a Lanky world, we found out otherwise. It isn’t one to one, like with Terrans, more like one to ten thousand, but when populations of worlds are in the tens of billions…”

He turned away.

“No quantum. No digital. Nothing but magic band!” he yelled out. “Greenies, lock out everything not magic band. Lock out digital,” he looked around. “BURN THE CIRCS!”

“You can’t give that kind of order,” LT Ilvarwazz snapped.

“BURN THE GRAVITY CURSED CIRCS!” Bit.nek yelled.

–they said will do– 299 said.

“Thank you, gentlemen,” Bit.nek said. He walked away, ignoring the babble behind him, and stood at the edge of the roof. He lifted up the binoculars and looked again.

The field was covered in flickering white and bluish white shapes.

“Dammit,” he said softly.

“What?” 2LT YrkNrawk asked, stepping up next to him.

“Sat-field is a major spawning and replication point,” he said. He handed the binoculars over.

The LT put them against her eyes, squinting. She tapped the top then tried again before lowering them and looking down. “Where’s the enhance and zoom?”

“Isn’t any. No electronics. Ground crystal lenses, mylar coating, iron retaining rings, thin salt crystal wafer,” Bit.nek said. He gave a chuckle. “Major Tut’el designed them during Operation Double Chocolate Dip.”

“Same Major Tut’el as our XO?” LT Nrawk asked. She was looking through the binoculars again.

Bit.nek nodded. “He was a Captain back then. Man’s solid in a fight.”

“Coming from you, that’s a strong recommendation,” the LT said. She handed back the binoculars. “What’s the plan?”

“A stupid one,” Bit.nek said. “I’d tell you, but then you’d have to testify at my court martial,” he said. He grinned, turned from the ledge, and walked back. He moved up to SFC Lok. “Sergeant, you need to make prep.”

“Like what?” the Kelkark asked, slapping his tail on the roof.

“I’ve got the creation engine pumping out sodium chloride crystals. Put them across every doorway, two inch thick unbroken lines. Double line around the edges of the roof. There will be red LED spraypaint. Coat the roof, every bit of the piping and other shit up here. There’s going to be rolls of mylar, cover all the access points with that,” Bit.nek said. “I prioritized that stuff over the mortars and the mortar round nanoforges. There will be a food forge setup before the mortars.”

“Get the Company together,” SFC Lok said. He bobbed his head. “That I can do.”

“What, you’re just going to let a PFC order you around?” LT Ilvarwazz asked as Bit.nek turned and started walking away.

“You have a plan, Lieutenant? Because I just got my orders from a man with over thirty years combat experience, a third of them fighting this kind of stuff,” SFC Lok said. “I’d love to hear the plan you’ve come with, with your eight months of active duty experience and your total of zero drop actual or simulated on a shade infested planet.”

“You watch your…” the LT started.

Bit.nek tuned them out, walking to the edge.

“What’s your plan?” LT Nrawk asked.

“You don’t wanna know, sir,” Bit.nek said. He took a deep breath. “You need me to do this alone,” he said.

“Why?” the Rigellian female officer asked, rubbing her left forearm out of nervous habit.

“Because someone might think the Army or the Marines issued them a conscious,” he said slowly.

“How bad will the blast be?” the LT asked softly.

“At this range? Manageable,” he said. “I took one outside of my armor less than five hundred meters above me, just bruised my left ear,” he took a deep breath. “Try to keep these fools from killing themselves, sir.”

Bit.nek backed up, giving himself plenty of room.

“It’s suicide, Private,” LT Nrawk said.

“Mission first, sir,” Bit.nek said. “We stop Fionna or this planet’s hers.”

He broke into a run, throwing himself into the gap between buildings.