I’ve finally managed to make a vine compilation short enough that Tumblr will let me post it!
I thought it wasn’t possible to crack an egg in your palm like that how to fuck did he
This is a good one 12/10
this is legit my favorite vine compilation ever, i’m crying
This is probably the only vine compilation where I liked every single vine represented.
To say, “This is my uncle,” in Chinese, you have no choice but to encode more information about said uncle. The language requires that you denote the side the uncle is on, whether he’s related by marriage or birth and, if it’s your father’s brother, whether he’s older or younger.
“All of this information is obligatory. Chinese doesn’t let me ignore it,” says Chen. “In fact, if I want to speak correctly, Chinese forces me to constantly think about it.”
This got Chen wondering: Is there a connection between language and how we think and behave? In particular, Chen wanted to know: does our language affect our economic decisions?
Chen designed a study — which he describes in detail in this blog post — to look at how language might affect individual’s ability to save for the future. According to his results, it does — big time.
While “futured languages,” like English, distinguish between the past, present and future, “futureless languages,” like Chinese, use the same phrasing to describe the events of yesterday, today and tomorrow. Using vast inventories of data and meticulous analysis, Chen found that huge economic differences accompany this linguistic discrepancy. Futureless language speakers are 30 percent more likely to report having saved in any given year than futured language speakers. (This amounts to 25 percent more savings by retirement, if income is held constant.) Chen’s explanation: When we speak about the future as more distinct from the present, it feels more distant — and we’re less motivated to save money now in favor of monetary comfort years down the line.
But that’s only the beginning. There’s a wide field of research on the link between language and both psychology and behavior. Here, a few fascinating examples:
Navigation and Pormpuraawans
In Pormpuraaw, an Australian Aboriginal community, you wouldn’t refer to an object as on your “left” or “right,” but rather as “northeast” or “southwest,” writes Stanford psychology professor Lera Boroditsky (and an expert in linguistic-cultural connections) in the Wall Street Journal. About a third of the world’s languages discuss space in these kinds of absolute terms rather than the relative ones we use in English, according to Boroditsky. “As a result of this constant linguistic training,” she writes, “speakers of such languages are remarkably good at staying oriented and keeping track of where they are, even in unfamiliar landscapes.” On a research trip to Australia, Boroditsky and her colleague found that Pormpuraawans, who speak Kuuk Thaayorre, not only knew instinctively in which direction they were facing, but also always arranged pictures in a temporal progression from east to west.
Blame and English Speakers
In the same article, Boroditsky notes that in English, we’ll often say that someone broke a vase even if it was an accident, but Spanish and Japanese speakers tend to say that the vase broke itself. Boroditsky describes a study by her student Caitlin Fausey in which English speakers were much more likely to remember who accidentally popped balloons, broke eggs, or spilled drinks in a video than Spanish or Japanese speakers. (Guilt alert!) Not only that, but there’s a correlation between a focus on agents in English and our criminal-justice bent toward punishing transgressors rather than restituting victims, Boroditsky argues.
Color among Zuñi and Russian Speakers
Our ability to distinguish between colors follows the terms in which we describe them, as Chen notes in the academic paper in which he presents his research (forthcoming in the American Economic Review; PDF here). A 1954 study found that Zuñi speakers, who don’t differentiate between orange and yellow, have trouble telling them apart. Russian speakers, on the other hand, have separate words for light blue (goluboy) and dark blue (siniy). According to a 2007 study, they’re better than English speakers at picking out blues close to the goluboy/siniy threshold.
Gender in Finnish and Hebrew
In Hebrew, gender markers are all over the place, whereas Finnish doesn’t mark gender at all, Boroditsky writes in Scientific American (PDF). A study done in the 1980s found that, yup, thought follows suit: kids who spoke Hebrew knew their own genders a year earlier than those who grew up speaking Finnish. (Speakers of English, in which gender referents fall in the middle, were in between on that timeline, too.)
Adds a.azing depth to world building.
Also fascinating
This is the funniest thing I’ve seen in weeks. Literally, I’ve never been this funny in my entire goddamn life
“wrong! you owe me seven dollars”
“WHA -HA-ADO YOU MEAAAN????”
this man gives off wildly chaotic trickster fey vibes
“WRONG ITS A KING OF DIAMONDS”
If vine was still with us this would have at least 3 well known quotes.
I love when a person you know reveals a hidden skill, my colleague and I recently saved a man at a sports college and as a thank you the station received a load of free passes to various classes.
So we get there and I try out archery and ultimate frisbee and sepak-takraw, my colleague tries a few and then we go to the fencing. Now I did a bit at school (cos it was that sort of school) but my colleague doesn’t have the sort of background where epee use is something that might come up too often.
So he picks up the foil and beats me in seconds, then a few other people then the best in the class and finally the instructor. He beats them easily. Turns out he was married to a former Olympic modern pent-athlete & trained with her a lot.
Of all my colleagues he was the last person I could imagine having any proficiency at any sport and especially not something as unusual as fencing!
Humans are by their very nature curious, they are fascinated by the unknown and want to know how things work and why, not all humans are interested in knowing how the same things work, some want to know how mechanical devices work, others want to know what makes humans work and how, some are fascinated by the workings of the human mind, and some want nothing more than to understand the very intimate workings of this universe.
You all know me as Professor Gleax, the galaxy’s leading expert in human culture and behaviour, so please believe me when I tell you that when I say humans are so much more interested in finding out how something works than if it will keep working after they have taken it apart to study it.
You see twinned with their curiosity is their ingenuity, not only do they want to know, they’ll invent a way to find out. This…ability? Disability? The fact that they can question things means that inevitably the question they reach is “Why not?” And that was the question that haunted me, along with its insipid fellow, the statement “let’s see”. It works in their favour quite often, they have the ability to look at a mundane occurrence and interpret it, this is how medicine was born, the fact that they can see a medication once used to treat emesis-gravidarum with disastrous consequences and not only learn of the significance of chiral molecules but repurpose that medication as a cure for leprosy and myeloma…Humans see things we don’t.
I had never seen Kovac move so quickly, his attackers, three Flet stalked across the room towards him, tall for a human Kovac was still dwarfed by the 2.5m tall 8 limbed creatures, as frequent antagonists to the galactic peace process and the galactic council human forces had assigned the Flet with a nickname, “Kitties” as with most human names for enemies it was considered mocking, I had asked why not a more accurate name like “Lions” and had been told “you don’t make the enemy cool”. Kovac backed into a covered table and rolled over the top of it finding himself space. The Major had been visiting the market to find supplies and stopped for a drink when the first of the winged “kitties” had struck at him. Kovac, finding himself in a dark, empty drinking establishment had disengaged and tried to make an exit when he had met the next two Flet.
All four of them were unarmed but unlike Kovac the Flet possess 10cm retractable claws on each of their 6 limbs and a further claw on their wing tips. Kovac had reached a large open space in the centre of the bar when he stopped moving, he took a deep breath and raised one hand, palm out and tried to reason with the approaching attackers, the first to reach him lashed out at his extended hand, it recoiled in pain as Kovac struck with his other hand. Bright blood sprayed across the floor as Kovac ripped his karambit blade down the creatures arm. However Kovac had concealed the weapon he had succeeded and now he put it to brutal use, within a few breaths the largest of the Flet had had been torn and cut to ribbons, both wings shredded and bleeding from multiple wounds, all of them sites of major blood vessels. The creature used the last of its failing strength to fall against Kovac, twisting the blade from his grip and falling on it. Kovac retreated, as the two remaining kitties closed in, he kicked chairs into their path and as they slowed to go round them he launched an assault on one, using his momentum he spun his attackers, putting a table and the body of the defeated kitty between them and the third Flet, they traded blows a moment and then the Flet gave a his of pain, Kovac had another weapon, it took me a moment to realise he didn’t, what he had were the wire framed “sunglasses” humans wear in bright light, and he was using them like a weapon, whipping them across the opponents limbs and face, Flet lack the human ability to ignore pain or at least not to the degree of humans so where Kovac accepted the cuts he had sustained from raking claws; the kitty recoiled from the flashing wire, Kovac preformed a dropkick to his opponent’s chest, landed heavily and “kickflipped” back to his feet diving headlong over his fallen attacker as the third kitty rushed him from behind. Kovac rolled to his feet turned to face one hissing kitty, wounded but back on two paws and one kitty, as yet uninvolved, the glasses in his hand were broken and mangled, he dropped them.
Major Kovac looked around him and muttered, “let’s see.” He reached onto the bar surface and displaying the unusual technique humans have threw three drinking utensils in quick succession at the injured Flet which staggered and had to fall behind a table to evade the onslaught. Out of projectiles Kovac snatched up the largest item from the bar and threw the whole fruit bowl at the final on-rushing Flet. He used the pause it earned him to close the gap between them and land two solid blows to the Flet’s head and chest, his third blow was blocked and he had to dodge the counter, he ducked another attack, this opponent was taking advantage of its extra limbs and kicked spilled fruit at his attacker. Dancing back Kovac scooped something up off the ground and as the kitty attacked again he met the claws with an apple, neatly capping the razor sharp claws with fruit, he landed his own punch as the kitty shook it’s paw trying to be free of the hard fruit and as it staggered back Kovac landed another punch and then grabbed the taller creature and planted two hard knee strikes into the Flet’s abdomen. The creature collapsed, doubled in pain, Kovac barely had time to avoid the weakened Flet as it came for him, he fell rolled twice and came up to his knees raising something above his head the Flet’s claws sliced through it and flensed the tissue of his left forearm, Kovac gasped in pain and lashed out with his good arm, striking the snarling Flet in the eyes with the spiky leaves of a pineapple, looking at his shredded, blood dripping arm Kovac growled, “bad kitty.” He surged to his feet and switching his grip smashed the creature under the chin with an up upswung pineapple, yellow pulp sprayed everywhere. He bore-down on the creature forcing the ruined fruit into it’s face with the injured left arm he pummeled it with his right fist, mashing fruit into it’s fur and blood with each blow, it looked horrific but it smelled amazing.
Breathing heavily Kovac paused long enough to plant a kick into the head of the weakly stirring kitty before collecting me and heading for the door.
An intelligent species would see pineapple as a dangerous substance that dissolves your flesh, a reasonable species might view it as a suitable food in times of famine, a ridiculous species would see it as appropriate for helping with certain sexual rituals and also mix it with poisons to make sweet-sickly drinks for hot sunny days on the beach…only humans, only these peculiar monsters would do all of that and also see it as an appropriate weapon in a fight for your life.
@spaceorcscollector here you go man
So, what are the Xhost? Now, so long after they have left the stars it’s a question that can be asked.
The Xhost were an idea that became a cult, if humans are more durable and Rhul are faster and Biviladi are more adaptable to environmental changes what if instead of celebrating the diversity we examined the discrepancies and found a common ground?
A noble thought, corrupted, corrupted into the Xhost where races were genetically modified to be a bit of everything, differences were no longer celebrated as part of a more fantastic whole but instead were vilified as non-conforming.
To the Xhost purity was required, variation was the enemy.
Kovac sat against the wall looking at his friends, Wolf shook his head and turned to Dorman for support.
“No,” said Kovac, “ you both have opinions and you’re both entitled to them, but you’re wrong.
It’s as simple as this. Iron man is the greatest superhero, all those with superpowers built in can fuck right off, if your solution to a problem is punching harder then you’re not a solution. Iron man’s super power is thinking better than all of the others, he figures stuff out, after that his inventions win fights. All the other smart guys either have powers or their limited, I mean Batman isn’t a one man army. Reed Richards works stuff out then relies on being Mr Fantastic to solve the problem.
Also Tony fights butt naked and the rest don’t.”
Kovac looked at his friends and smiled at their faces, “look it’s this simple, your mind, the human mind is the greatest weapon in the galaxy. Now the second lesson I have to teach you is this simple, no matter what your taste in music one song needs special attention.”
“We Will Rick You, by Queen will be remembered as a Pride song but it shouldn’t be. What really matters is the solo or fade out; that piece of guitar play by May…everything else is just delivery for that.
Finally, if you’re not happy, watching bad television at 0400 with you’re partner then you’re relationship won’t last, if their presence doesn’t bring you joy then move on.
Right that’s about it, that’s my life time knowledge, guess we should see this out then.” Kovac stood.
Outside the Xhost forces had swept across the continent.
“Major, you know that the General will mobilise to defend us, even with the bones of a brigade. Major General Michaela Jones will be here,” Wolf said.
“I know Wolf, the question has always been how do we drive the Xhost back? They control more sectors than the Rhul and the Flet together, they control more planet’s than the Korlax.”
“They’ve never defeated the Galactic Council forces though.” Dorman countered.
“Well that’s not strictly true, they’ve never won a war against the GCDF but they’ve always required mobilising core divisions and I hate to say it but that means human troops, we’re the backbone of the GCDF without our presence the Xhost have seen success.”
“You really don’t think we can save the Towoli? Or the EDC?” Wolf asked morose.
“With a squadron of combat engineers? No.” The Major was terse in his response.
Captain Becca looked out at the gathering darkness, “three days to capture the Towoli and secure the cities, so on the fourth day they turn around and hit the EDC, they’re dug in now, so they last, maybe another four days and then it us. In this position we can last, maybe three days. That gives the Major-general two weeks, to raise at least a brigade and to get to us…” the question hung in the air unasked.
Kovac puffed out his cheeks, and rubbed his right forearm. “Remember in the 88th there became this belief that I’d pull it out of the fire, everytime it looked impossible odds you’d hear the men, "trust in kovac” I have that faith in Michaela Jones. Our only job right now is to keep open this beach head so she can land the troops. Now I’ve shared my life’s wisdom with you, who has any other nuggets to share?“
Sergeant Major Panther had her own meeting with her sergeants, the needs of various troops and sections were discussed and the talk turned to how long they could hold out, "Captain says three at a push, but knowing the Major, if say closer to five.”
“It’ll take them a week to roll the Towoli and the EDC so by the end of the second week it’ll be all over,” said Sergeant Webb.
“No, you’re forgetting Webb, we’ve got Kovac, ‘keep calm and trust in Kovac’ I’ve been saying that for over ten years now and I’ll keep saying as long as he keeps earning my damn faith.” Knickers glared at her fellow sergeants, “what was it he always said? It’s us, it’s us the 88th, well now it’s us the Dark Horses but it’s still us, we’re still the real first in last out and we’re still fighting fit and fucking ugly, Kovac will know what to do and when he asks us to do the impossible we’ll deliver.”
Panther grinned, “Exactly, so get out there and tell that to the men, wipe their little faces, help them blow their noses and smack the heads that need smacking, we are the Dark Horses and we will do what is needed.”
“Except the Major is sitting there saying the same about the General,” Webb said, “you all know I love the man, he’s personally saved my life four times that I can count, if anyone can save us he can…but he isn’t trying to. He’s not even mentioned trying to save the Towoli and the EDC, he’s said we use them as cannon fodder. Our hope is that we get rescued by the woman we walked away from to follow Kovac.”
The sergeant-major stared at her sergeants, she seemed at a loss for what to say.
“I’ll keep my faith thank you Webb. You’re not wrong, yet, but I’ll put my trust in Kovac.”
Corporal Grey was growing weary of banging heads, the men were despondent and grumbling. The leader they trusted beyond all others was finally cornered and they could all see it. He watched as Captain Dorman walked away from the Major looking down-trodden, after a few steps the officer managed to organise himself and he straightened his shoulders and put his head up…keeping up appearances.
“I hear you’re out of ideas and we’re all fucked,” said a coarse voice behind Kovac.
“Hello RQ,” said Kovac without turning round, “and do you believe it?”
“Of course not, you need extra arms for all the tricks up your sleeves,” scoffed the Quartemaster, “but they do, the rank, which I’m guessing is the point.”
“They’re good people, good people don’t become monsters without falling down first, I need them to be monsters, they have to lose hope so when I throw them a cobra for a life line they grab it.”
“What’s the plan troop?”
“The secret to Xhost success is that the Xhost have their own supply of fuel, took us a while to realise what it was, now they use a variety of tricks but the basic component is Phosphene gas, toxic and smells like rotten fish half the time. So the finest galactic scientists looked at how they could inhibit their engines, how they could stop the Xhost fuelling their war machine, they failed. Then a human looked at it, her solution was deemed too heinous, the very suggestion caused humanity some problems, as we were suddenly seen as viscious and evil.”
“What was her solution?”
“Chemistry, it’s beyond me but…have you ever heard of White Phosphorus?”
The Qm blanched, “really!? That’s your solution?”
“Turn their fuel into chemical weapons, I just need men desperate enough to agree to it.”
“Kovac…”
Kovac turned to look at the Qm, “first time you’ve ever called me that, look, we can sit here and let the Xhost slaughter the Towoli and the EDC or we can act, to save innocent lives, maybe we need to be less innocent.”
The Qm was quiet a moment and then sighed, “you think we have to?”
“I do.”
“Alright then,” she touched his arm and left him.
Kovac stared into the gathering gloom, “Clausewitz never finished and Ludendorff was a bastard who lost,” he seemed to mutter to himself.
Later Kovac would say it was almost sad how quickly his men agreed to his plan, but they did. So within 6 hours his troops were prepared and moving out.
Before dawn the Dark Horses had returned to their fortifications, none of the normal a activities were on display, showing pride in a job we’ll done. Instead the attitude was grim, an unpleasant job but one needing done.
Outside in the skies and on the ground, the Xhost burned, White Phosphorus burns on contact with air and it can burn even human flesh to the bone. Steel melts at half the temperature of burning white phosphorus.
I’ve seen artists renderings of the human construct of hell, the day the Xhost burned was brighter, hotter and there was more smoke. The issue of demons I’ll leave to other scholars.
Ten days later Major General Michaela Jones landed with the 3rd army of the Galactic Defence Force to discover a smoking planet and the Towoli and EDC talking about burning skies and enemies vaporized in a wall of heat.
The Dark Horses, grim of face and closed in demeanour said nothing, they simply boarded and left with the advance ships into Xhost territory.
There is a phrase amongst those who study human kind, it’s taken from their own old language, a term itself bastardised from an even older tale, “humans are space-orcs”
To humans it’s funny, “the human can withstand the loss of a limb and is capable of feats of strength near impossible to other races, they fix metal into their mouths and inject their skins for aesthetic purposes…ha ha, fuck yeah we’re space-orcs”
But to those of us who study, it means something different, orcs are the monsters of human fiction, rewritten and redefined they are brutal, barbarous and backwards. Their savagery and their lack of humanity is common in all their iterations. Orcs are the monsters humans see in themselves.
We space going species forget that humans may be like us in their hunt for answers but they got to this technology not through global cooperation but through war-driven advances and international tensions and competition.
They have only recently become the advanced global society we know, just under the surface lies the monster. Humans are Space Orcs.
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So I know the Chemistry is a bit hinky here according to a chemist friend of mine what I’ve said is possible but not easily but…hey It’s sci-fi.
Anyway this one ends in a dark place but it’s where it went and I can’t really pretend I know what I’m doing.
As always feedback is appreciated.
Kovac hoved into view, his face caked in congealed with blood, his eyes bright through the grime, his mouth split into a grin.
“Do you feel the joy of it? The everliving fucking joy,” his voice was animated and loud, “I tell you now, you’ll never feel as alive as you do right now!”
Kovac looked around, his movements feral, “I love this job,” another mad grin, “you’ll never feel alive again!”
Costa jerked awake and looked around, he was slumped in a chair, around him soldiers worked. Staff Sergeant Frank King was binding Butlanska’s wounds.
“You doing ok trooper?” Asked a voice.
Costa looked up feeling dazed, “uh, yes ma'am,” he responded.
“Very good trooper, come with me,” said the Quartermaster.
Something sparked in Costa’s numb brain, “you called me trooper, ma'am.”
“I did, would you rather I change?” Came the response.
“No, no trooper is good, ma'am” Costa said stumbling after the large woman, he’d never enjoyed being called “Cherub”
Ten minutes later Costa was sat at a table tucking into a plate of food, he had clean clothes and had enjoyed a brief shower, now the Quartermaster had produced cottage pie and vimto seemingly by magic and he was filling up on his favourite meal. The Quartemaster stood nearby, he could tell she wasn’t watching him.
Captain Dorman and Sergeant Webb approached, they both stopped a distance off as the Qm’s baleful glare turned to them, “evening Qm, I wanted a chat with Trooper Costa, debrief him after his escapades with the Major.”
“Later.”
“I was rather, er hoping, he’s in our command…welfare,” the Captain trailed off.
“I’ve got him right now, Major told me, you can talk later Hero, take Plank and get about your day,” spoke the Qm.
Costa, feeling more alert and less dazed appreciated the peace, he respected his Troop commander and his sergeant but this period of calm made him feel whole again, he watched the two men walk away. He felt even better when Ty was brought across to sit with him.
“Here you go Mouth,” said the Qm handing a bottle of iced tea to Ty, it was his favourite brand.
His meal finished Costa felt renewed, The Qm gave him a nod and walked away. A minute or so later Major Kovac appeared and patted Ty on his uninjured arm.
“Damn good to see you in one piece trooper,” Costa here went through the ringer keeping you alive, would’ve been a damn shame to waste that effort,“ he turned to Costa, "Costa, tell Sergeant Webb I said you can carry that kukri anywhere you want.” The Major nodded to them both and walked off. Ty placed his hand over Costa’s and they sat in silence for a while.
“Cherub, Mouth stop lazing about holding hands and piss off back to work the pair of you,” yelled the Qm and the two troopers ran for it.
The Dark Horses fortified their positions and scouts were sent out to check the secondary Bartuq positions.
Barbie stopped running and lay down on the floor, “It’s too much, it’s too damn wet, this isn’t air this is soup!”
Becca turned back and jogged over to her, “struggling Baps?”
“Fuck your skinny ass Becca, this is too damn hot. Its a jungle, its like 1000% humidity,” gasped Panther dropping to her knees beside the prone Barbie.
“Come on, it’s not so bad, we round this headland and comeback down by the river, one of the rivers, we’ll make it about 12k back to base.” Becca said jogging round her two friends.
Knickers slowed to a stop and bent at the waist, gasping for breath, “If we, kill her here, we can, dump the body, in the river, and claim, she went on, ahead.”
“Oh come on, it’s not all that bad we’re over 2/3 done. Only a little more suffering left,” Becca encouraged.
“Listen bitch,” Barbie said rolling onto her knees, “you think just because you like pain the rest of us want this?”
“I don’t like pain?”
“Really!? Hurt-me-Daddy-Becca doesn’t like pain? Choke-me-Daddy-Becca isn’t enjoying being short of breath?” Scoffed Panther.
Becca stopped jogging on the spot, “I don’t call Kovac Daddy.”
“No? What do you call him? Master?” Panther hooted, “Major!!?”
“Oh Major, yes sir, I’ll do anything you order Major, do you salute?”
Becca pouted and rounded on Panther, “what about you? Do you call Wolf sir while on your knees?”
Panther gave a peal of laugher, “fuck off, he calls me a goddess before we even start, he only outranks me out here, we all know Kovac is the big dog everywhere.”
“Speaking of the big-dog, has the Major made a decision about this second position we need to capture?” Asked Barbie looking from her troop commander to her Sergeant.
“Nothing yet, but you can trust the Major will have a plan,” answered Knickers.
Barbie nodded accepting this fact and gestured to the path, “shall we get this over with?” They started to jog down the track.
Kovac was sitting with Wolf in his office, “the plan has to be simple Wolf, there is no magic trick to this, we breech and we force them south onto the savannah and any survivors get mopped up by Towoli security forces at a later date, once the second defensive structure is captured they’re finished as a power,” Kovac spread his hands.
Wolf nodded, “look, overall it’s a good plan but the idea of this being a rapid breech entry job, it’s a bit…old fashioned.”
“RBE is a classic because it works, long and short of it is, we need to get in and we need to do it fast, Dorman will breech, Becca will push in and you will sweep. I’ll have Gilly set up the gunners to drive any escaping frogs south.” Kovac stood, “once the Qm has the ordinance redistributed we’ll give orders.”
The Dark Horses were a unique force in the galaxy, taken wholesale from a regiment that had taken heavy losses they had all been trained to the same standard and even for human military were considered highly trained. I found during my time with these humans that I took their training for granted, these were not the human standard, these were the heights humanity could reach in this area. Twinned with this complacency was an amazement that humans could train, could learn a skill and develop it to a level of brilliance even to other humans. Most races known were born to their specific tasks in society.
Of course all species could develop or enhance a skill but none could break a typecast like humans could.
When the Dark Horses attacked the Bartuq defence, I realised I was watching military unit that had been working together and been led by the same officers for over a decade.
It looked like the fluid parts of a machine, 3 troop stole forwards in the gloom and placed their charges, they breached the outer perimeter and Becca led 2 troop forward, flooding the breach and securing a position. Fortified by Dorman’s 3 Troop Becca pushed on and Wolf came behind to support them. Within the hour the Bartuq compound was captured.
I joined Becca and Kovac on the ridge watching the Bartuq stream out into the grasslands, their numbers greatly diminished.
“Tough bit of work that,” Becca muttered.
“Butchers bill mercifully short,” replied Kovac.
“Won’t have to listen to Grey’s guitar practice for a while,” Becca said.
“Aye, hopefully Frank won’t be able to save all his function in that arm.”
This is a human habit, making cruel comments to alleviate a situation, they call it humour, or friendship.
Armoured vehicles poured out of a group of hills attacking the Bartuq.
“Oh fuck, what’s this fart-waffle?” Asked Gilly as he joined the two officers.
Kovac cursed softly, “It’s the Earth Defence Corps.”
“What are the EDC doing? What are they doing here? Fucking cowboys,” Becca asked.
“Forget that, that’s, what? Three squadrons? Of bloody interceptor class Chimera armoured light cav, that means they must have deployed at batallion level, so they have at least a regiment of support infantry, two? They must have more armour and combat support arms to support that too…they’ve either deployed a goddamn Brigade of troops to this rock or they’re even more incompetent than I give credit.” Kovac said, his voice stunned.
“So the cannon fodder have come in strength, what else is new? If they didn’t deploy a brigade to do a platoon’s job they wouldn’t be able to lose as many men as they like to do,” Becca said shrugging.
“No, they’ve deployed a brigade of human troops on the border of Xhost held territory!” Kovac said, turning around and looking at the sky, “you can’t do that quietly.”
“Kov, does it matter? I mean…” Gilly was turning to Kovac but cut off as the Major turned and ran down the slope.
I’ve seen human panic and fear, I’ve also seen humans overcome that fear and direct it. This seemed to be what Kovac was doing
The Major was using his communicator, “all units return to the FOB, immediate withdrawal.”
Gilly turned to Becca and gave a questioning gesture after Kovac, but Becca wasn’t looking. She was staring at the sky.
Half a dozen Xhost warbirds were dropping in from low orbit, they dropped low over the EDC and began firing into the Chimera squadrons.
Becca had turned and streaked away, Gilly opened his communicator up and started calling instructions to Griffin Battery.
A dreadnought class Xhost ship broke atmospher and I looked up on time to see a cloudburst, a dark, stinking rain fell across the savannah and onto the foliage the Dark Horses were retreating into, I felt it hit my exterior and it burned, I slowed and as more drops hit I blacked out.
I could hear voices, human voices.
“You both look ridiculous,” laughed a familiar voice.
“Good to see you weren’t caught in it.”
“Listen, the implication that I had found somewhere to take a nap is a vicious rumour spread by my political enemies,” that voice again.
“So you avoided it and Kovac avoided it but the rest of us got soaked, including the professor,” said a third voice.
“Did it have any effect on you lot?”
“Made my eyes stream,” said the second voice, a woman’s.
The first voice, must be Wolf I realised, “lot of red eyes.”
“Stinks and makes you cry, hardly a dangerous weapon,” the third vice said.
“Killed the Bartuq survivors and a few drops overwhelmed the professor,” said Gilly.
“So…what is it?” Asked Becca.
“Kovac says it’s propenyl sulfenic acid, according to Petra.”
“Sulfenic…onion juice!?”
“Basically,” Wolf said apologetically.
“Explains why I’m craving hotdogs,” said Gilly.
“So, what? They’ve used their bio-weapons and it gave me cravings, the Xhost aren’t as tough as I remember them,” Wolf said.
“Except, they’ve landed and formed a beachhead. Kovac has contacted the general for support…till then we’re on our own, the onion juice devastated the Towoli numbers.”
It should come as no shock that some of the galaxy’s most potent biochemical weapons have been harnessed by humans for food, drink and recreation. Nicotinoid, cannabinoid, capsaicin ethanol and goitrin and thyocyanates. All accepted toxins in the human diet.
Becca jerked awake as Kovac tossed in his sleep, he was drenched in sweat and as she reached out for him Kovac sat upright with a gasp, he looked around wildly and then a shudder seemed to pass through him. Becca reached a hand out to touch his shoulder, he flinched violently and stumbled out of the bed, there was a crash as he overturned a bedside table.
“It’s ok, it’s ok, baby it was only a dream,” Becca hurried round the bed to his side, Kovac turned to her, nude and gleaming with sweat, his eyes were wide and he was still shaking.
The door burst open and Knickers was in the doorway, a pistol in her right hand supported on her left wrist, in her left hand was a long bladed knife. She scanned the room and on seeing Kovac, his back to the room his muscles taut and his breathing heavy she lowered the weapons and hurriedly crossed the room.
“Same dream big man?” She asked softly.
Kovac blinked and looked down at her, He nodded mutely and let her reach up and hook her fingers round the back of his neck, she pulled his head down so their foreheads touched. They paused like this for barely a moment and then pulled apart, Knickers nodded to Becca and turned for the door.
Becca stared after the soldier for a moment and then turned to Kovac who looked calmer again. “You alright?” She handed him a glass of water.
Kovac took a drink and nodded, “I’m sorry, did I scare you?”
“One of these days you’re going to explain to me why I have no problem with you and Knickers sharing a naked cuddle in our bedroom…does she know what your dreams are about?”
“Yes.”
“Then why don’t I? Look I love the woman but I’ve known you longer, we go back to the academy.”
Kovac closed his eyes for a moment and then turned to face Becca directly, “When you and Wolf and all our old friends were settling into your first commands I was burying a wife and child and when she…” he pointed after Knickers and then paused, “we’ve been through a lot together and we’ve helped each other out.”
“Ok, are you alright now? Do you want to talk? Look if the dream keeps happening maybe we should retire, you’ve been through enough surely.”
“I sleep fine after battles Bex, that has never been my problem, I’m alright,” he kissed her, “Thank you, I might go down to the gym, not going to sleep much more tonight.”
Dawn found Becca sitting with Wolf watching Kovac in the ring, “didn’t fancy facing him yourself today?”
Wolf shook his head, “No fear, not in this mood, I’ll stay out of his way.”
In the ring stood Ty a soldier from Captain Dorman’s 3 Troop and probably the largest man in the squadron, nearly equal in height to Kovac’s 6 and a half feet, he was bigger in build, the Major and Trooper had enjoyed a competative sparring rivalry since their days in the 88th.
The two men circled one another, and locked up, Ty’s dark black skin contrasting against the white of Kovac’s hair as the Major was forced to one knee. The watching crowd stood and roared it’s approval as the Major had to break free.
Becca could barely see as she heard the shouts of the soldiers.
“That’s it Ty batter him, don’t let him out of the corner, keep the pressure on,”
“He’s gone southpaw Ty, look out!”
“No, move quicker, don’t let him circle you like that!”
“No stop him moving, lock it up, use your strength.”
Wolf who was standing on his chair looked like he was close to joining in he was so animated, “god Kovac is quick, COME ON TY!, GO ON SON PIN HIM IN THE CORN….OOooooh.”
Becca clambered onto her chair to look over the heads in front, Ty was staggering backwards but unloaded a thunderous right hook that Kovac ducked under before straightening and with a jump bringing his own left cross into the side of Ty’s jaw. Ty dropped to his knees clearly dazed and Kovac applied a sleeper hold, it was over moments later.
When the two officers reached the front Kovac was shaking hands with Ty who was in full flow explaining the origin of the term “southpaw”.
That afternoon in Kovac’s office after Staff King had been by to reprimand the Major for injuring himself and a trooper Kovac delivered the news everyone had been expecting.
“We’ve been back for long enough, time to go out to Fo-ro-shall and deal with the Bartuq. Gilly is content with the set up out there although he would like some bigger guns…wouldn’t we all.”
“The sergeant-major has been briefing the sergeants so stay out of their way, let them do their jobs and look closely at the new info Gilly sent back.”
“Bartuq pirates are a nuisance out there but isn’t it more of a concern that any troop movement out there is going to stir up the Xhost? Do we need permission to carry out our operation?” Becca asked, it was a question she had asked before.
“That’s being handled.” Kovac replied.
The exact solution to the issue was revealed the day after the Dark Horses had deployed en masse to Fo-ro-shall the Towoli planet. Kovac was sitting with Wolf when Capt ain Gillespie arrived with two others in tow.
Wolf saw them coming and stood, Kovac turned and copied his Captain.
Gillespie stopped and turned to introduce the man on his right, “Major I’m sure you’re pleased to make the reacquaintance of Staff Sergeant Sam White, call sign ‘Ugly’, Gunner extraordinaire of Griffin Battery and,” said Gillespie turning to his left, “needs no introduction but I like saying it; Brigadier-General Michaela Jones.”
The four officers shook hands, “Major, how are my soldiers?” The general asked.
“Well ma'am, it’s good to see you,” Kovac said to the small heavy set woman opposite.
“Your soldiers ma'am?” Ugly asked.
“Oh not anymore, not since Kovac stole them,” Michaela replied with a grin.
“Still your soldiers ma'am, like their OC they’d follow you anywhere, I’d have invaded Hell if you’d led the way”
“I think with two more of you I could conquer it, but I think the day this lot were anything but yours is long gone, gone up in Aprasi smoke,” the general said taking a seat.
“That’s right I heard about this, you were on Doltoi-4 when the Korlax attacked and you received orders to retreat,” Ugly said leaning out of his seat to point at Kovac.
“The Aprasi had declined membership to the Galactic Council and so were not entitled to our defence was the decision, so when the Korlax Dominion struck and were systematically wiping out whole villages we were told to retreat to Council space.” Kovac said.
“The Major here, fresh from whatever heroics he’d pulled in the Reinax system decided he wasn’t going anywhere.” Michaela said with a faint smile.
“We’d been there as an envoy, a good faith mission, 1st batallion the 88th Combat Engineers had been constructing some new planetary docks as a hearts&minds effort,” Gillespie said, staring into the night, “we saw first hand what the Korlax were doing.”
“I saw the parents of the Aprasi young form a living wall between the Korlax and the creche…mothers and fathers facing down war machines, so I decided I was going to have their backs.” Kovac said a little harshly.
“And you pinched a batallion of combat engineers to do it,” the general teased.
“I ordered my men off the planet and then I went about my business,” Kovac said calmly.
“To a man, the 88th followed Kovac,” said Gillespie proudly.
“I heard that because a whole batallion defected they couldn’t hold all those courts marshal so they just let you all go as a band of mercenaries?” Ugly queried.
“With the help of a sympathetic Brigadier,” Kovac said nodding to the general, “it was bad press, hero humans save the day and get charged.”
“Human pack-bonding is how it was sold to the media,” said the General.
“It wasn’t, was just the right thing to do,” said Kovac, “We were engineers, ubique, quo fas et gloria ducunt and all that, seemed the right thing to do. So I reformed the survivors into a squadron and we became the Dark Horses, the Brigadier as she was then made sure we were looked after.”
Michaela waved the comment away and gave a gesture to the darkness, “what is the situation here Major? What are you dealing with?”
“Short version? The Towoli are getting raided by the Bartuq and the presence of the Xhost border is stopping any involvement of the GCDF, nobody wants to rile up the zealots. We’ve been approached to deal with the raiders.”
“It’s unlikely the Xhost will take offence at the presence of a mercenary unit but I’ll do what I can to ensure them we have no intent to increase our presence here.”
“And the presence of the EDC near Thresh?” Kovac asked.
“Is not the purview of a mercenary leader nor of a Combat Engineers Squadron leader,” the general replied a little abruptly.
Kovac and Gilly shared a glance and Gilly turned to Ugly, “you know Kovac is with Becca? Uhh Captain Hayward?”
Talk moved away from the past to the present and the future, and thoughts moved away from the violence that was to come.
Dawn broke on a cold grey morning, the Dark Horses shivered through stand to, and then broke camp and the three troops were moved into position.
Captain Gillespie looked through his omni-goggles and called positions through his comms, 1 troop advanced quietly as 3 troop pushed forward hard, racing to get in position.
For a minute there was peace and then the silence of the morning splintered as Griffin Battery opened their first volley, directed to their targets by Captain Gillespie one more time, in the years since they had worked together Ugly and his men had lost none of their skill and in the 10s flight time of the first shell the guns sounded twice more, in less than a minute the 18 targets were reduced to rubble and Griffin Battery fell silent.
On the sound of the first gun Captain Dorman led his men out, the guns sounded their last retort as Gray led his men through the new breech. The outer defences reduced to rubble Wolf led his men forward into the killing ground and as the Bartuq defenders opened fire 2 Troop started to hammer their position. Gillespie directed howitzer fire to the centre of the Bartuq defences, many of the shells were deflected off but they were enough to limit the Bartuq defence.
Inside the Bartuq fortifications Captain Dorman and his men were hard pressed, Dorman knelt over the wounded trooper Ito shielding him from further harm. He shouted orders and directed fire as the defender’s numbers started to count against his men. Aware he was being flanked Dorman pulled some of his men back and raced round the edge of a building.
Attacking a group of armed aggressors with hand to hand combat was not wise or logical but it was unexpected and would hopefully buy his men the time they needed to receive the back up from Wolf. Besides Dorman was a human and that counted for something, the Bartuq would be more afraid that humans were attacking than they would by superior numbers, or so he hoped.
Hearing the approach of the Bartuq unit Dorman closed his eyes and repeated the only prayer he thought might work, “God I hope I live through this.”
As they rounded the corner the Bartuq were met by a single human, armed with a knife and a side arm he dropped the first three amphibians before the creatures could react. Dorman did not have the skill of Wolf nor the speed and power of Kovac but he was a human, powered by human adrenaline and fear and he was frantic. By keeping in their midst he neutralized their weapons but he couldn’t do much about their numerical advantage, his attack lasted nearly 30 seconds and he injured over a dozen before they knocked him off his feet and the shots rang out.
Dorman had his hands over his head when Fluke reached him, “sorry sir, couldn’t open fire till you were down or we may have hit you. We’re in sir, Captain Wolf asks if you can regroup your men and move to the west post for the next advance to contact.”
Dorman thanked the sergeant, took a moment to ensure he was bullet free and turned to find his men, Sergeant Webb had them in position when he joined them, the career soldier gave his commanding officer a nod and dropped back.
The Dark Horses pushed through the defences of the Bartuq meeting stiff resistance but only suffering minor casualties. Wolf and Dorman used their troops to good effect, capturing choke points and stopping the enemy from organising.
The humans didn’t have it all their own way, the Bartuq rallied and counter attacked cutting off a small group of soldiers, the attack itself was stopped by Captain Becca’s 2 Troop who were moving behind the two advance troops for precisely that reason. Communications relayed the situation, Kovac had been cut off with three soldiers, Ty, Costa and Butlanska.
“We can’t cut our way out, but we can hole up till you push through, over” Kovac assured his concerned Captains.
“Wolf is going to hold position, Dorman and I will push through together and get to you, over” Becca said, she lowered her communications device and gestured at her Sergeant “why was Kovac that far advanced!?” Knickers gave a shrug.
“Negative, maintain the advance, this is what they want, they want to break us up and big us down, maintain the advance, Wolf must keep pushing forward. We can hold until Dorman gets to us, 2 Troop must maintain the screen, acknowledge, over” Kovac’s voice came over the communicator.
Becca swore, “confirmed, continue advance, over,”
“We’re secure here, we’re able to…” Kovac cut off.
“Kovac!?” Becca sent the call repeatedly.
“Wait. out,” came the terse reply.
Kovac and Costa flattened against the wall as the Bartuq hurried past, Kovac growled in irritation, “these counters are going to keep happening unless they keep the pressure in and we’ll end up just rescuing people all day.”
“Can we not fight through sir?” Costa asked.
“Not bloody likely, we can still be a thorn in their arse though, god knows you and Ty have enough practice…” Kovac broke off as two Bartuq rounded the corner.
Costa raised his rifle but lowered it as Kovac sprang into the gap, he drove his body into the Bartuq on his right and stabbed out with his long bladed knife at the amphibian on the left. He rounded on the winded Bartuq and stabbed it through the skull.
The two humans fell back to the room Ty and Butlanska were concealed in, both were nursing injuries, neither life threatening but enough to put them at risk if attacked. Kovac checked them both and returned to the doorway.
“Listen Costa, the only way we stop them from clearing us out is by making them think we are more than two non-injured soldiers. That means no extended firefights, get in close and personal. Side arm and that damn kukri I’m not supposed to know you carry,” Kovac clapped a hand on his shoulder, “you’re quicker and faster than the Bartuq but remember they outweigh us, a frog your size will have significant weight on you so avoid a wrestling match.”
“Sir I’m not sure I’m up to this, I’m not you or Captain Wolf or Sergeant Knickers.” Costa said weakly.
“You’re afraid? Good, fear makes you quick, human adrenaline is a black market drug in the outer rim,” Kovac turned to face Costa, “stick a collar on that beast in your chest and ride it till we’re done. If you want to keep waking up with Ty and sneaking back to your own room then you’d best fight to keep them away from that room, and trooper while we’re on the subject, it’s been 3 years, you’re a couple just accept it.” With that Kovac leapt out on three Bartuq.
For the rest of his life Costa remembered that afternoon as a blur, the Bartuq seemed to move at quarter speed and all the while he battled a fear that threatened to overwhelm him.
When Sergeant Knickers led a sortie into the tunnels they found dozens of Bartuq dead, Kovac was covered head to toe in the purplish blood of the Bartuq, Costa imagined he must look similar. The Major gave him a nod before heading off to meet with his captains.
The Bartuq had suffered heavy casualties and lost much of their equipment, their heavily defended compound was captured but two more bolt holes had been found and would need clearing before they could go home.
It’s a subject of much debate wether humans are the galaxy’s best warriors. Many would say the Flet are superior and it’s accepted that the Rhul are both stronger and faster, certain other races like the Frell possess weapons of mass destruction to rival the human’s.
In my experience humans don’t all possess an affinity for war, but those trained to do it can tap into a level of ingenuity and physical capability that no other race possess.
Becca felt a bead of sweat run down her face and felt it run onto her top lip, as she panted heavily it must have caught on her breath because she saw the drop fly though the air. Out of options she fell backwards and rolled desperately to her left kicking out, there was a solid connection and her on rushing attacker stumbled, Becca had a moments glimpse of an exposed jaw as both arms shot out to break their fall, she snapped out a heel and felt the crack as it made connection.
“Fucking lucky!” Yelled Sergeant Knickers from the edge of the ring as Petra jumped up to check on Barbie.
“No kidding, shit she’s fast,” Becca lay flat on her back gasping for breath, “I need to stop relying on being taller than all of you.”
“Yes, you do,” said Kovac, “you need to remember what are stopping blows and what are just pointless combatives that look pretty.”
“Like you’re a shining beacon of variety Mr I’ll-just-punch-them-into-submission. Get in the ring and show me something that isn’t counter striking,” Panther jeered vaulting the ropes and beckoning Kovac.
“Hardly a fair fight, I’ve got damn near a foot in height on you and I’m probably twice your weight, not sure this is gonna prove much,” Kovac said waving her off. “Besides I’ve proven it repeatedly, I can’t hit girls, I remember those nuns who raised me and I can’t do it.”
“If we get Dorman down later?” Asked Becca.
“Oh him I’ll hit,” Kovac agreed, “sergeant-major, a word,” he called to Panther.
“Wolf has been in touch, Fluke has successfully defended three transports. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that it’s the Galax. Its always a smash and grab job, any organised defence and they give up.” Kovac said as he walked down the hallway, Panther having to scurry a little to keep up.
“Wolf has asked if a second troop can join him, I’m going to go out to the Towoli and take a look at the situation with the Bartuq. 2 Troop will accompany me and Gilly’s aux troop is going to go out and get set up. Dorman and 3 Troop will stay here and move out to assist Wolf if necessary.” Kovac pushed open his door and gave his sergeant-major a nod.
“Yes sir, And you want me to…” Panther felt her voice have a slight upwards inflection as she spoke annoyed at her uncertainty.
“To oversee all this and keep it off my desk sergeant-major.”
The door closed, Panther cursed inwardly, this new position kept overwhelming her, she had served under Kovac to one degree or another for over 10 years now but this was the closest she had ever worked with him and suddenly she found him intimidating and found herself unsure around him.
Panther was heading for her office when she met Knickers, the taller woman was looking the other way as she approached and in profile the thin cheeks and slender nose made her seem particularly striking, as she so often did Panther’s eyes traced the scars on Knicker’s forearms.
“Sir,” Knickers turned to Panther, “the captain said you’d have orders.”
“Yes, 2 Troop will be heading out to the Towoli with the Major, as will 4 Troop, the auxiliaries, let Staff Frank know will you?”
“First deployment, uhh, any advice?” Knickers asked.
“Talk to the captain if you have any questions and rely on your section commanders and their 2IC, remember your job is to see them do their job, not do it for them and don’t worry, you were given this job for a reason,” Panther realised she should take her own advice.
Wolf nodded as Dorman entered the room, he gestured at the table and said, “you get a look at the plans on the journey?”
“Yeah, looks solid, we can probably push through their defences before you swing in, means it makes more sense for you to roll up behind us and break their centre.” Dorman said.
“If you think so, you’ll need to hammer them in that first assault though, we need to be amongst them before they know it or they’ll rabbit.”
“You worry about drawing them in, let me worry about the attack,” Dorman replied, “Now, more importantly, did you know Sharon was married!?”
Wolf stared at his friend for a few moments and closed his eyes, “dude…” he said his voice pained, “in three months she never once had you round to hers, she had a patch of lighter skin on one finger and never used her communications when around you.” Wolf stared into middle distance, “I think at this point bud, just assume you’re catnip to bored, married women.”
“I swear I’m not looking for married women!” Dorman said rather pathetically in Wolf’s opinion.
“Look, I don’t know what to tell you, maybe ask them outright? You’re not the sort of guy who wants to date married women, you’re not amoral…you’re not Kovac but you are gonna get your ass shot if you keep sleeping with these women, especially on Pelcar-3.”
“That’s a bit hard on Kov, dude wasn’t intentionally sleeping with married women,” Dorman said.
“No he just slept with anyone he could and didn’t care…Look at some point the five of us will sit down with some drinks and we can argue the right and wrong of sleeping with married people and we can all laugh at Becca as she ties herself in knots trying to justify being the other woman to both the husband and wife but as far as I’m concerned if you know someone’s married they should be off limits. Now, are your troop ready to start a dry run or do you want some time?”
Dorman had a few more moments of looking wretched, “No it’s fine I’ll dig Sergeant Webb out and we’ll start an exercise.”
Sergeant Glover didn’t like it when his men had to stop being soldiers, he had no regrets in the choices he had made in his life and he would always be proud of the loyalty in his heart but when soldiers turned mercenaries were asked not just to take off uniform but to start playing sneaks he was unhappy. That being said, Captain Wolf’s plan was sound and more importantly Major Kovac had signed off on it.
“Ty, Costa you two are no longer soldiers but that doesn’t give either of you leave to carry bowie knives on your damn belt,” Webb snapped.
“Interestingly sir did you know that the bowie knife was named for the man who carried it not it’s creator and the man it was named for may have been mostly fiction infact…” Ty began but was cut off by Sergeant Webb.
“Not now damn it Ty, a bayonet is enough, who needs so many damn blades?”
Sergeant Glover watched this exchange and knew the response before it came.
“Major Kovac carries karambit knives and so does Captain Wolf, I’ve seen Captain Becca carry 3 or 4 Wasp axes,” Costa started up, “Not to mention Corpo I mean Sergeant Knickers carrying…”
Webb cracked his fist into the table top, his voice cold and hard, “when the operation is over, you will come to me and we will discuss the addition of equipment to your standard issue, until that time, take off the damn blades.”
Glover knew this would happen, once you left the army rules were harder to maintain, order could be lost. His own men knew that to carry a non-issue weapon they had to prove they knew how to use it which is why most carried a bayonet and why the captain carried a BC-41 and a push dagger on top of the karambit knives the men knew about.
Webb joined him shaking his head, “I dunno Fluke, why do they all want to be Rumble? What’s that stupid phrase the SM says?”
Glover winced at the mispronounced name, “it’s Rambo, and the SM says "guns for a show, knives for a pro.”
Webb shook his head again and glared at Ty and Costa, “If those two weren’t my best I’d kill them and bury their bodies to save me my misery.”
“Problem is Captain Dorman finds ‘em funny,” Fluke said as close as he’d ever get to criticising the commissioned officers he’d grown to trust.
Webb grunted and started to move off, “Fluke once we’re in you’ll need to come hard to keep the roll going.”
Glover nodded, certain things didn’t need saying in his opinion.
Wolf watched as the raider vessels came alongside the freighter, for the first time since he’d started defence they were able to pull alongside and dock. Within minutes they were on-board and moving deck to deck. Timing in his head, Wolf guessed that Glover must have moved into position, he signalled Dorman that 1 Troop were on the move.
The transmitter chirruped as Wolf’s message arrived, “alright!” Dorman shouted, “the raiders are engaged, time to take out their bolt hole before they know it’s engaged.”
3 Troop were moving quickly, Dorman pulled his men forward while 3 section dropped back with Sergeant Webb, this first part needed to be quick and quiet.
Wolf watched as Fluke and his section sprang the trap, the Galax raiders had fallen back towards their vessels as soon as the Dark Horses had engaged, and now as they neared them Fluke - already secured their ships - struck from the rear cutting through their numbers.
The second message from Wolf confirmed they were on route, Dorman gave the command and his men launched their assault. The design of the Galax position meant that the only way in was a frontal assault but human weapons and munitions should blast through the entrance and then it should be a case of room to room and making sure the Galax couldn’t escape with their equipment to continue raiding, in those close quarters the Dark Horses training should do the job.
Dorman watched as Gray led his fire team forward and placed detonators. In position now Dorman saw no point in delaying, he gave the signal.
Wolf willed the distance to close as they sped towards the Galax position, now they had engaged he had more doubts about allowing them to assault in two waves, as they slowed he sprang from his seat, Fluke moving too. They found a young riflewoman at the breach, alone.
“Mfene, isn’t it?” Wolf asked, “where’s your dual?” Soldiers were never left isolated like this in combat.
“Ito is inside, went in to protect the medics sir,” Mfene answered.
“The medics are inside!?” Wolf bit back a curse and ran forward.
The Galax compound was basic in its layout, built into a cliff face it had a high fortified wall that Dorman had breached with a centre compound filled with the Galax raiding vehicles, behind which three tunnels ran off, the centre tunnel was known to be more heavily fortified. Dorman’s men were supposed to be in the left and right tunnels but possibly a third of them were engaged in a firefight with the centre tunnel defences.
Wolf pulled up as he scanned the fight, Dana and the other medics were in one corner they seemed to have half a dozen patients, two Riflemen stood guard over them. By all evidence the remaining soldiers were in the two other tunnels.
“Banjarjee take two section and sweep the two outer tunnels, O'Shea with me, clear the outer defences of the central tunnels, Flowers, 3 section should be prepared to provide fire support. GO!”
O'Shea ran forward, Wolf close behind him, as they reached the combatants Wolf signalled to Sergeant Webb who gestured his acknowledgement of the plan and had his men pull away from the centre, smoke grenades and other ordinance sailed through the air and with a roar the men of 1 troop launched themselves into the tunnel.
The fight was bloody but over quickly, the injury count was less following the second wave but still over a dozen troopers were needing medical treatment back on base.
Little was said as the Galax vehicles were destroyed and their weapons confiscated. With the loss of their attack vehicles the surviving Galax would be arrested by local authorities and usually moved on to less criminal activities provided no other raiders tried to recruit them.
The journey back to Pelcar-3 was subdued, word passed that Kovac and 2 Troop had returned following the officers reports from the Galax engagement.
Once returned to the Dark Horses compound Wolf pulled his men to a debrief in a separate corner leaving 3 troop to handle their own injured and return certain kit to stores. Dorman was checking weapons back into the lockers when the Quartermaster approached him.
“When you’re done here Hero, the Major wants to see you in his office,” the derision in her voice was stronger than normal.
“I’ll be there after I’ve checked on my men in med-bay,” Dorman replied, not looking up.
“I’d avoid Staff King right now Hero, and I’d not be late for Kovac, I believe it’s an interview without coffee,” growled the Qm.
Dorman stared after her as around him a slight muttering spread among the men, turning to his sergeant Dorman asked Webb to take over the checking off.
Ten minutes later Dorman knocked on Kovac’s door, for once closed. Inside Kovac sat behind his desk, unusual for a man who tended to sit on his desk as often as use it.
“You changed the plan, I understand it was your choice though Captain Wolf was at pains to tell me he agreed.” Kovac didn’t greet his captain.
“Yes sir, I assessed the enemy’s strengths and concluded my troop capable of the task, which they were, I believe we would have been successful with or without the support of 1 Troop.”
“You believe…this isn’t 1914 Captain, we don’t measure success by numbers dead, them more than us? Oh it’s a victory. You believe…”
“I believed my men capable of…”
“You believed,” said Kovac raising his voice for the first time as he stood up, “The hype, you believed our own propaganda,” Kovac put on a sing-song voice, “Humans we’re bigger, badder, rougher and tougher, believe me brother their ain’t no other,” his voice changed to one high and clear with careful enuncuation, “hard to stop and impossible to kill the human is a deathworlder that is capable of preternatural feats,” Kovac’s voice returned to normal, “damn it Dorman, you behaved like…like we’re damn space orcs, expendable in numbers and unbreakable to boot, we may sell ourselves to the galaxy as the interstellar hobgoblin but we know different, we’re professional and highly trained. That was bloody amateur hour.”
Kovac took a long breath, and sitting down, “Dorman you’re a good officer but you have a tendency to think you can do it all, and at times that’s good, but you cannot put my men’s lives on the line like that again. I would suggest you pay the injured soldiers bonus from your own pocket and a sizeable donation to the fund would be advisable. If you’re feeling particularly contrite perhaps letting Wolf punch your teeth out in the ring would be a good idea?”
Dorman looked as though he wanted to reply but stopped himself, he nodded and turned to leave then stopped, “I’m sorry sir, I know you hate your men getting injured, I genuinely believed it was a smart play.”
Kovac sighed, “I know you did mate, find that balance between impulse and hesitancy, remember to take a breath and re-evaluate and you’ll be a great leader of men. Better angels and all that.”
Dorman nodded and left the room.
Captain Becca stood in the main square of the Dark Horses compound staring at an office door, she shook her head and turned away, moving to sit with a group of other off duty soldiers.
“I don’t want to go in, she fuckin’ scares me,” Becca said pouting.
“You need to return the petty cash you checked out, you need to go in,” said Panther unsympathetically, “I mean if you’d taken me I’d return it but as you left me behind…”
“But I didn’t spend it, Kovac did, I just collected it,” she pouted again, “Wolf, you need to request some new kit for your troop don’t you, can you return the petty cash at the same time?” There was a wheedling tone to her voice.
“Not a bloody chance, she already calls me Rat and half the time she refuses my request before I make it, I’m not pissing her off more than I need to.”
“Rat!? Ha ha, that’s amazing, I sort of see why though,” Becca laughed.
“What does she call you then?” Panther asked, eyeing Becca suspiciously.
“Captain, sometimes Becca…alright fine she calls me Stilts and she always glares at my legs like I’m tall on purpose.”
“She calls me brat,” sighed Panther.
“She has a nickname for everyone, I’m amazed she remembers them all, the only people she is ever nice to are Knickers and Kovac,” Dorman said matter of factly.
Three heads turned to look at Dorman, “and what does she call you Mark?” Asked Becca.
“Uhhh, Hero,” answered Dorman with a slight mumble.
“Really!? That’s not so bad,” said Wolf.
“It is the way she says it,” Dorman said dully.
Becca stood, squared her shoulders and walked toward the door marked ‘RQ’ with a deep breath she pushed the door open.
“Stilts,” came the grunt, “What do you need this time? Another set of uniformsmade to order?” A glare at her lower limbs, “impossibly long legs!”
“Uhh no, I, uhh see I just have this 36” inside leg and none of the standard uniforms fit my leg and my waist…but no, not today Quartermaster, today I just wanted to return your petty cash.“ She fumbled the roll as she passed it over, dropping it and stooping to pick it up, as she straightened the Quartermaster looked over her shoulder.
"Hello Sweet, how are you? What do you need?” The Qm asked in a warm voice.
“Just in to see you Leese, been missing you,” Knickers replied warmly leaning over the counter to kiss the enormous woman on the cheek.
Becca backed away hoping she might escape with Knickers distracting the Qm, one glare from the woman who was as wide as she was tall froze Becca where she stood.
“Take a seat in the office and make a brew, I’ll deal with Stilts here and be through.”
“Oh be nice to Bex, she ruined her best shoes by stabbing a guy with them when we were away,” Knickers waved at the Qm as she disappeared into the back office.
Becca almost called out for Knickers not to leave her as Lisa the Quartermaster’s sharp eyes snapped from Becca’s face to the roll of petty cash, instantly spotting it was smaller. Her dirty red ponytail seemed to bristle and grow as the Qm advanced on the Captain.
“Another bar fight Stilts and let me guess you paid for the damages?”
Why was this woman so intimidating? Becca felt sweat drip down her back, of all the terrifying beings in existence; Lisa the Quartermaster of the mercenary unit known as the Dark Horses was the only one she had ever known to freeze the very marrow in her bones.
“Yes,” she squeaked.
The Qm glared and then pulled out her ledger and looking at Becca -who was hoping against hope that she hadn’t started to sway where she stood- traced her finger down the paperwork. Paper who in this century used paper!?
Just as Becca thought the silence and the sighs punctuating it were going to make her start weeping the door flew open and in walked Major Kovac.
“Hello mother,” he said beaming at her, “need to order some ordinance, got the numbers here.”
“Troop, POUR ANOTHER ONE SWEET, TROOP IS HERE,” Lisa bellowed through to Knickers.
“Is Knix here aswell? I’ll stop for a cup then, gonna need a quarter’s worth RQ,”
“I’m not a Regimental Quartermaster anymore,” Lisa said wagging a finger.
“And I’m not commander of a single troop anymore and Knix hasn’t been sweet for longer than I hate to think, but you call me troop and I call you mother and you’ll always be my RQ, now, let’s get that cup and order a shipment.”
“A shipment now?” Her eyes narrowed, “how much are we talking?”
“Ordinance, weapons…all in…a million?”
“A million!? I quit.”
“No you don’t, you’ll never leave me, Captain what are you doing here, haven’t you got men to oversee?” Kovac suddenly addressed Becca.
“Yes sir,” she replied immediately.
“Well hop to,” Becca forced her numb legs to work and as the door swung shut she heard Kovac saying, “relax mother, we have a contract.”
Becca walked while warmth returned to her body. She had always thought she knew Kovac as long as anyone but she forgot that while she had met him at the academy his first deployment had been without her and that seemed to be the point where Lisa had “adopted” him and Knickers had come back from that campaign with her new nickname, one that stuck to this day.
Becca stopped her walking infront of 1 troop who were formed up and being inspected by Sergeant Glover, the Sergeant snapped to attention and snapped off a salute. “Leave to carry on ma'am, please”
“Carry on sergeant,” Becca didn’t salute as she wasn’t in uniform.
She stood watching as Fluke studied the ranks, moving up and down scowling as he found minor faults, of all the soldiers in the Dark Horses, Fluke seemed to miss the military settings most of all.
“Fluke got the guard posting?” Said a voice behind her.
Becca turned to her Sergeant and shrugged, “yes, Wolf wanted it, he wants to see who is running the raids and scope them out.”
“Thought you’d want it, considering, or Dorman he’s more suited to defence than either of you,” Panther continue.
Becca shrugged again, “Major wanted us here, we’ve got another rep coming, wants us there.”
“Another rep? We’re looking for more work?”
“That business with the Flet really ate into our reserves,” Becca explained, this time it was Panther’s turn to shrug as the two walked off.
It was the early hours of evening when Major Kovac was sitting with his remaining officers and sergeants, the Towoli representative walked in. He gave an approximation of a human bow, his hide gleaming dark red and green the Towoli colours of accord.
“May the two rivers always flow to you,” the representative said, “I am Gethrev, of the Towoli settlers on Rivers-enough-to-support-life-but-not-enough-to-flourish-fully-it-has-tactical-benefits,”
Kovac blinked at the garbled name and adjusted his translator, “Welcome Gethrev of Fol-ro-shall, may the two rivers never run dry,” he completed the traditional Towoli greeting.
“Major Kovac, I come to request your assistance, the settlements on Fol-ro-shall are subject to raids from Bartuq and, I regret our forces are not enough to both resist them and seek them out. When we saw the magnitude of the task, there was only one name on our list. The Dark Horses of Major Kovac.”
“No there wasn’t,” Kovac fired back, “If there was only one name then you’re fools and I don’t work for fools, if you had more than one name then you’ve been to at least three of them already as you’ve already had to pass them to reach Pelcar-3.” He leaned forward in his seat, “I know the human playbook says we are susceptible to flattery but it should also say we can see through it.”
He stood and gestured to an adapted seat, one suited to the tentacle like lower limbs of the Towoli.
“Crossing off the Rhul as the Towoli won’t work with them and the Flet are self aware enough to know this task is ill suited to them you approached Ovette who won’t risk her men against, well anything anymore, Bayrun the Karnac lacks the resources but I bet it took him a long time to admit it.
That means you went to Daniels, and Danny boy, he has the man power but he took one look at the defences and realised he was out of their league. Which means you looked at the bottom of your list, the expensive end and you saw the humans only one system away and you took a look at our prices and decided to see why we charge so much. Am I close?”
Gethrev had taken the offered seat and looked at the Major, “the Karnac was most frustrating,” as he muttered his hide blurred to purple, a sign of irritation, before returning to red and green, “yes, you are correct, you are the fourth to be approached but reputation says you will probably be our solution.”
“You know our price?” Kovac asked and received an affirmative gesture and colour change, “we’re expensive because we aren’t just soldiers, we’re combat engineers, artisan soldiers was the phrase, we can take the Bartuq but we expect the payment in two halves, one before and one after completion.”
The Towoli gave a flash of bright colours as it stood to grip Kovac’s hand, there were details to iron out but it sounded as though the Dark Horses had a second contract.
An hour later Kovac returned to his meeting looking tired but pleased. Sergeant Webb left with the contract to pass it to the Quartermaster.
“We need a clerk to sort these things,” he said fatigued.
“We can find one, are you ready?” Becca responded.
“Yes, we can start now,” Kovac turned to Panther.
“Sergeant, I’m promoting you, as of right now you are a sergeant-major, my right hand. Congratulations Panther,”
“Sir? What?” Said Panther in a startled voice.
“Sergeant-Major Panther, congratulations.”
“But 2 Troop, Becca.” The sergeant-major said confused.
“Knickers is my best section commander, she’s going to be my 2IC now,” Becca explained.
“Sergeant Knickers?” Panther said a little startled. “…she’ll be great.”
“Right then sergeant-major, I’ll see you first thing,” Kovac stood and shook her hand, Becca followed suit.
“Well done Pants, you’ll be great!”
“Wolf knows already, he wanted to be here but…you know, congratulations sergeant-major, god knows you’ve earned it,” said Captain Dorman shaking her hand.
Panther was left alone in the room, a smile on her face, “sergeant-major,” she said in a voice mixed with pride and disbelief.
