The rat's horde (1)
It had antennas and cameras always pointing at the forest beyond the walls and was built near the city's protective walls to guard the area and allow soldiers to respond quickly if needed.
It wasn't the only building of its kind, but it was one of the biggest.
Two women were currently chatting at one of the windows.
Roma sighed, for a second appearing paler than she already was. "It's been tough, hasn't it? This war with Hin... it feels like it's dragging on forever." Her black hair fell on her shoulders.
Raveena nodded, her emerald eyes closed as if reliving a painful memory. She wished she could forget, but the recollection clung to her, refusing to fade.
"Have you heard the latest news?" Roma asked, her voice tense.
"No, what happened?"
The Sergeant had just returned after a mission inside the forest, so she wasn't prey to the latest news.
"There was an attack on one of Hin's cities last night. Our forces breached their defenses and struck a major military installation."
Sergeant Raveena had just returned after spending some days off duty in town.
The woman's eyes widened. "That's... significant. How bad was the damage?"
"Reports are still coming in, but it looks like we've dealt a serious blow to their command structure. Several high-ranking officers were taken out."
"This could change the course of the war."
Roma nodded. "It might. But we need to be prepared for retaliation. Hin won't take this lying down."
The two women looked at each other, understanding what this news meant. They knew the conflict might get worse.
They sat quietly for a bit, thinking about what could happen. Then, Raveena changed the subject to talk about more pressing matters.
Then things went to equally serious but much closer matters. It wasn't a secret Thaids were becoming more aggressive, and that attacks on cities were becoming more frequent.
One of such attacks happened to a not-so-distant city in the east, where things seemed to have been concentrated.
…
"Luckily, there weren't civilian casualties," Roma said, "but five ν soldiers died. A friend of mine in the higher-ups said these attacks became rather problematic since last month."
"Yeah, I heard that too," Roma said. "I heard they sent a platoon of twenty-five ν ranked soldiers, but that they went missing no longer after they left. They actually found one of the soldiers' bodies, and when they got his recordings of the entire mission, it looks like the thaids are banding in groups of tens of thousands."
"We need to take care of this before things worsen. If thaids keep banding together, I don't actually know if we will be able to protect our cities if they attack."
…
…
…
The conversation continued for a solid 30 minutes. Suddenly, a knock on the door interrupted them, followed by the sound of a door opening and a person rushing in haste.
A soldier wearing full combat gear entered without waiting for permission. He stopped right beside his superior officers' table and saluted. His helmet covered most of the side of his head, making him appear bald.
"Sorry to disturb you, Sergeant Greene, Sergeant Sinclair. We got reports of a group of Thaids heading our toward New Alexandria!"
Both women stared at the man. Neither of them showed emotions, aware of what would happen if the leaders of an army were scared or hesitant.
"How many?" Raveena asked.
"Tens of thousands at least, ma'am! We don't know their exact numbers, but it looks like this is a vast horde."
"What about their race?" The dark-skinned woman asked.
"We have seen Densophs, sir... but…"
"But what?" Raveena asked.
The soldier seemed hesitant, as if even he couldn't believe in what he was going to say. "Other different races have been spotted near the Densophs'. We don't actually know what is happening, but they are not the only thaids heading there."
Raveena nodded. While unusual, if something was pushing out Thaids out of their territory, it was possible.
"Get your squad ready. Does Tiwana know this?"
But it was clear the Colonel had already been informed.
"Yes, sir."
"Good…"
She walked toward the door, still holding the cup of hot liquid between her hands. Roma, who gave her friend the lead, followed suit.
The hallway outside the room was full of soldiers scurrying left and right, armored to the core. She could see a few men running past them, entering the elevator to the end of the hall.
As the elevator doors opened, people streamed out. One man's voice cut through the din, loud enough for all to hear.
"The Thaids are close to the city! We have less than ten minutes!"
That seemed to have unleashed a frenzy. The soldiers, as trained and reactive as they were, reacted without wasting time. Those still unarmed grabbed their weapons; those ready, headed out of the building, getting in position.
Roma and Raveena went to the bottom floor. Colonel Tiwana was most likely the first to be informed, and if something like that happened, for him to send a soldier to personally inform both women meant he wanted to talk to them.
Standing at the officer's door were two soldiers. One of them stepped aside and waved them in.
Roma knocked twice before receiving permission to enter. The inside of the room was neat, everything neatly arranged in its place, like one would expect from a military office and a military soldier.
A large desk dominated the center of the space, behind which was seated Colonel Mirko Tiwana.
The blonde and tall man rose from his chair when she saw Raveena and Roma walk through the door. Not out of respect, but anxiousness. The two women made a salute and then bowed politely.
"As you probably know, we've got a problem." Both women nodded.
"Our forces reported that a group of thaids is approaching the eastern gate, and since we are the closest response team, we must head there and take care of them. I want Sergeant Roma Sinclair to lead a squad on the southern side of the gate, while Sergeant Raveena Greene will go to the north side."
Roma felt herself tensing up. She wasn't new to commanding squads, yet fighting Thaids was never simple, and having lives depend on her decisions was a significant burden. Raveena was in the same situation, too, but it wasn't like they could refuse. People would die if they did.
"Yes, sir! Understood!" They straightened their postures.
After having gotten a hold of how Tiwana wanted to arrange the defenses, the two women left.
The Colonel watched them go.
"These attacks are starting to worry me," he said, sighing.
…
Roma and Raveena then reached the room where the elite members who were going to join the team were waiting to be divided into groups.
Eight people were waiting there already, standing by the walls. Judging by the insignias showing their rank and power, these were all ν-ranked soldiers. Pretty high, considering how hard it was to make neural links, and for sure pretty powerful.
None of them appeared worried or anxious, exactly like a true Elite had to be.
Silence fell upon the gathering as soon as the two women entered. The soldiers made a military salute to the two officers and waited for them to speak.
"I'm Sergeant Raveena Greene, and this is Sergeant Roma Sinclair. You have been assigned to be part of our squads," she said. "I don't want to waste time, because we don't have it."
She looked at the soldiers.
"You, you, you, and you will come with me," Raveena said. "The rest will go with Sergeant Sinclair. Is it clear?"
"Sir, yes, sir!"
A small briefing ensued, in which they explained the battle strategies and formations. There was no time to brief them about what Tiwana wanted to do to protect the gates. What they needed to know was that they were tasked with protecting the main force from stray but powerful thaids.
The Densophs could be taken care of since the forces at the eastern gate were not few, but if too strong Thaids appeared, the low-leveled troops and the soldiers who just joined the army after their military academy years would just die.
The teams left the building together and headed toward their respective defensive positions.
Roma looked at her team's weapons. Some soldiers had laser rifles, while others carried pistols. They would not be effective against thaids after a certain level, but they should work well against the Densophs. Everyone also had a close-combat weapon, as they learned to use these in their training.
However, while the soldiers mainly used their brain crystal powers to fight, not everyone could attack from a distance. That was why they also had melee weapons.
The soldiers also wore armor plates, which completely encased them. <Even better…>
They left the building and went into position.
"Hold a defensive line! Do not let any Thaid enter the city!" Roma said.
"Yes, sir!"
Then a low rumbling echoed. It wasn't clear what was making it, judging by the sound alone, but since they knew what was coming, it was also clear what the source was.
Monsters' feet. Those were Thaids' footsteps.
"Stand in position!" Roma said. It was then that the sound of rifles started echoing through the eastern gate.