A Broken Spear and Shield

“FINE!!!”

             Those words struck deep in my heart and slammed against my body with a violent jolt. I’m used to dealing with backtalk from hot-headed privates and cocky Pantheon pairs, but from my partner and betrothed? The pain weighed heavily on my body as if I was wearing the heavy conditioning suits in-training Shields would wear.

             “C’mon, Míka, I’m not saying it’s your fault entirely, but—” She shoved me away as I tried to draw closer to her.

             “I don’t want to hear it, Jarold! It’s always my fault, isn’t it? What about you?” I let off a sign of exasperation; this was going nowhere, and my own frustration was growing. I put my hands flat together, as if praying she would understand me.

             “Look, a Pantheon is a pair, Míka. A pair. I divert enemy fire, and you mow them down. I can’t divert enemy fire if you keep moving beyond my shielding range.”

             “Hah, well, you’re too slow, darling. Keep up with me.”

             “Slow!? You’re the one going too fast! The shield activation is slower than you, it’s not me.” Míka rolled her eyes.

             “Of coooourse it’s not you,” She said, mockingly, “It’s never your fault, always me, huh? Well, maybe if you took a second to look at yourself, you’ll find plenty lacking on your performance.” It was my turn to roll my eyes. I threw my hands into the air.

             “You know what? I’m sure I can do just fine without you,” I placed my hands firmly on my hips and assumed the most solid pose I could think of, “I’ll partner up with someone else, and with my skills, we’ll do just fine.”

             Her angry olive-toned face let just a sliver of surprise leak through before she recovered her façade. Didn’t think I’d actually do that, huh? I thought triumphantly to myself. I could almost hear the heated gears in her head grinding as she hurried to deliver a one-up. At last, she quickly turned her back to me, black ponytail whipping through the gunpowder and oil tainted air.

             “Where are you going?” I asked. Her head darted back, glaring at me with icy-blue eyes.

             “To find a better partner.”

ɅΩ

             It took a few hours, but I managed to find a new Sword: a lithe young Asian by the name of Jay who had been on reserve after his own partner died in the line of duty. If he was still grieving over it, he hid it well, being quite understanding about the incident with Míka.

             “So, you still won’t consider making amends?” He asked. I kept shaking my head.

             “Not now,” I said, “Plus, she said she’d be doing the same. I’d look like a sorry idiot if I went back on my word.” Jay could agree with me on that; a man’s word was self-binding.

             We talked about strategies and nuances of combat habits as we went to the mess hall, grabbing a hearty lunch and quickly eating it; you never know when it’d be your last. As if on cue, the ship’s alerts began pulsing, sending the all-too-familiar pulsing ring bounding in every room. The adrenaline began pumping, the senses heightening. We rushed to the Pantheon armoring station, falling in an orderly column of other troops making their way. Being quite tall, it was easy to distinguish Shields from Swords, and the Pantheons from the regular soldiers.

             Warver, the commander on deck, spoke through the ship’s comms as we suited up, armoring ports working tirelessly scanning the barcodes on each soldier’s wrists before retrieving and fitting their equipment with mechanical ease. I spotted Míka a few yards away, arms crossed. She was accompanied by a burly Shield, much larger than myself. She seemed to notice my gaze and found my eyes. She smirked at me; I shrugged and turned my attention to the intercoms.

             “Those bloody Vandrics launched a surprise attack on Horus base V-212,” He boomed, referring to the colony planet we’ve been assigned to and the base in question, “They managed to get a hold of a military-grade EMP to take out the main barrier, and have launched both aerial and ground assault. The squad assignments are in your HUDs. You’ll be cutting off the ground assault just in front of the walls to relieve pressure, get to it!”

             Jay and I looked at our HUDs as we broke into the loading bay, we were assigned Charlie Squad. The interceptors were fueled and ready for us; sleek, streamlined flying pieces of AI guided metal designed to quickly deploy a squad of troops to the ground. The assigned squad of regular soldiers quickly joined us, their captain giving a quick salute before shuttling her men inside. I looked to Jay, who carried the Spear’s signature photon cannon with ease. He accented his suit’s standard black with muted gold borders. Hopefully it doesn’t catch the attention of too many Vandrics, I prayed. It was common for Pantheons to customize their power suits, pairs often bearing matching colors. Míka’s and mind bore a red rose on the back with thorny tendrils racing out to our bracers. My heart throbbed a bit at the thought of her, but I angrily pushed them aside. What’s done is done, I reasoned, hopefully she cools off after this assignment.

             The hold of the interceptor was dark and a bit cramped, with very faint lights lining the middle casting shadows of our still figures. We were jolted by interceptor as the loading bays opened up and the launcher arms angled downwards on Horus. Go, go, go! was heard on the comm link as the arms fired, sling-shotting us through the thin atmosphere of the planet. I breathed deep, preparing myself for the action to come. The squad assigned to us all looked to be hardened veterans, their faces grimly set. Good, nothing starts an op off worse than a private’s puke in your nose.

             Some turbulence jolted the interceptor as we the AI did its best to avoid the flak from the enemy’s anti-aircraft. The sounds of metal exploding in the distance signaled that some were not so successful. Please it not be hers, I prayed.

             Landing commenced. The comm link let out a ring as the interceptor rapidly decelerated. Everyone readied their weapons. Bullets and energy bolts from enemy fire rang and hissed against the reenforced hull, pinging off in different directions. Deploy, deploy, came the command.

             “MOVE OUT!!” The landing ramp slammed down and light poured in. I had already activated my shield just before the ramp drop, just in time. A shower of energy bolts cut across my extended energy field. I rushed forwards, shaping the shield’s energy into a chin-height “U”. The squad opened cover fire as the interceptor burst off into the air. I quickly gathered my surroundings; none of the squad seemed to have been hit. Good start, I assured myself.

             A Vandric leaped over my shield wall, screeching a battle cry in its horrible language. The Vandrics were tall humanoids with chitinous winged bodies, mantis-like faces, and multiple appendages, often having four arms that could wield numerous tools. This one was armed with two massive crescent blades, already coated with gore. It pinned down a man with its three-toed claws and took a large swing at another, who barely ducked in time. I called out to Jay, who was on the left edge of my barrier focusing fire on the front. Damn, we didn’t go over squad protection! I cursed. Míka and I both learned to keep an eye out for the regs, who could get easily wiped without assistance.

             The delayed response came at a heavy cost, the Vandric slaying two men before Jay blasted him from behind. Dammit, keep it together, I urged myself. I focused my attention to shielding once more, the shield extending, contracting, and flexing to my will. Jay’s fighting habits were definitely more methodical than Míka’s, choosing targets more mindfully. We moved forwards slowly, the pressure starting to lift as other Pantheon’s made their way alongside us, shields changing form to allow the Spears to let of powerful firepower.

             Minutes seemed like hours in the heat of battle. I had to focus on flexing the shield walls above and in front in response to the Vandric’s artillery guns; they fired highly acidic material that tends to melt any organic substance into an unappetizing slush of bones and blood. I pushed my mind to the limits, Jay’s movements too slow for my taste, forcing me to divert more energy in the shield on his end. If only Míka were here, I began reminiscing to myself, I wouldn’t have to waste so much energy. Míka was an extraordinary Spear, combining the suit’s mobility capabilities with the offensive power into a lethal storm of fire. Normally, I used a half-shield form to provide a mobile cover as she fired off shots just behind me as we moved through the battle, cutting off enemy groups and then turning to pincer them between another team. Not this time, I grimaced as another artillery shell slammed just above Jay’s head. I was losing focus and energy faster than my body could keep up. We need to fall back a bit, I decided.

             Just then, I heard the comm link buzz out a warning. All squads, full turtle! Incoming ground barrage! I repeat, incoming ground barrage! The Vandrics seemed to have know about it, their forces beating a slow retreat, some of them running as if giving up. Good thing our intel detected the strike, I breathed a sigh of relief as I focused the shield into a dome around the squad, preparing myself to discharge maximum energy upon impact so I wouldn’t tire myself out too early.

             Then I saw her.

             To my right I could see Míka dashing forwards, cutting down the fleeing Vandrics as her new Shield struggled to keep up, the regulars doing their best to keep up the pace. I could tell he was calling to her, but to no avail. She seemed deaf to her comms, fully immersed in combat.

             “Dammit,” I muttered to myself. I quickly gave orders to Jay and the rest of the squad to seek cover with another Pantheon pair.

             “What about you?” Jay asked. I just ran; there was almost no time left.

             I brought my shield to a personal size and shot off towards Míka, pushing the power suit to its limits. On my bracer I quickly dialed in her personal comm link.

             “C’mon, c’mon, pick up.” I muttered. I could already hear the barrage fired off from the distance, making its way towards us. Please let me make it in time, I prayed desperately.

             I finally located Míka, pulling her energy blade from the corpse of a Vandric. She was bloodied all over, cracks and dents showing all over her suit.

             “Míka!!!” I called out to her, she turned wearily, “MIKA!!!”

             “You see?” She chuckled, gesturing to the bodies of our enemies around her, “I was just…fine—” she collapsed, coughing up blood. I managed to catch her, my HUD scanning her suit; she was dying.

             “Dammit, Míka,” I choked out, as the barrage’s whistling drew near. My broken heart could not muster the energy to put up a shield. It didn’t matter anymore, right or wrong, Míka was as good as dead. The whistling was upon us.

             “Dammit.”