Duty
Part 4 – Counterstrike
(Art source unknown)
Index: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 5
This publication began with me and Sakura chatting about Japan of my Starshatter alternate history universe, samurai, and mecha maidens. When I posted the 1st chapter of “Duty”, from my A Mandate Of Sword And Railgun story collection, I did not expect that so many of you would read it!
After giving you a look through the eye of the Alduri invaders, it is time to change perspective!
In part 4, Saitama and Nozomi make preparations for their final move. Knowing their reinforcements are close by, the two are nevertheless forced into a difficult situation. Surrounded, they need to do anything in their power, muster every ounce of skill, use what little gear and weapons they’ve left, but survive until they are extracted!
I hope my new Japanese readers and subscribers ラシュミ like this alternate version of their countrymen :)
Click on the cover and buy a copy if you like to support me and my future publications:
“Just as we thought – the Alduri have limits after all!” – Exclaimed Saitama after the surreptitiously placed listening device he’d set up near the ravaged alien base camp picked up coded enemy comm links.
“Yes, they are alive and just like the rest of us, die.” – Nozomi’s hand reached for and took the modified PDA from him, looked at the data and then smirked:
“Overconfident fools! See that?” – She pointed at a long line of code and used the opportunity to lean really close, her face mere inches from his.
“Only one layer of encryption! I should be able to slice through it in a couple of hours.”
“Excellent! Do you need me for anything? I want to try and mod our armored suits with the loot we dragged from their camp, see if that will improve our chances.” – Saitama did not move, just tilted his head, eyes locked with hers and smiling.
“Ummm... yes please, do that.” – Her eyes darted, scouring every inch of his face yet she did nothing but ask:
“Actually, I want you to do something, samurai San.” – His smile grew wider and Saitama nodded.
“Do use your craft, make sure that we have the very best chances of survival.”
Nozomi’s lips trembled, she gulped nervously but continued speaking, eyes now fully locked with his:
“For dead maidens mothers become not, and I very much would love to hug my own children...”
She stood up, hand still holding the modified PDA, half turned away and added with a much quieter voice:
“Hug them and my future husband.”
Saitama was not daft; he could clearly feel that, after all the strife they both went through, the battles won and wounds suffered, Nozomi and he belonged together.
At first it bothered him a bit – the situation they were in almost resembled a TV drama, an Anime even. A Samurai warrior and a mecha maiden fighting side by side, surviving against all odds, then... then they fall in love. The trope was eternal because it worked – this was basically what happened in real life.
Many millions of men and women fought together on different battlefields; they had to, otherwise everyone was lost. In space, on the ground or even underwater, it mattered not for death was everywhere and your doom might await tomorrow or the next day...
While in the past you could watch black and white movies, where the warrior had to fight scores of underlings and then face off the villain alone, these days things were quite different. Indeed, traditionally Onna Bugeisha were rather numerous and in fact, one fifth of olden armies consisted of them, but now the number of women in Terran armed forces was insurmountably high. Virtually all tank, armored personnel carriers, shuttle, and other vehicle crews were female.
Not to mention that his clan, the Shimazu, had a proud tradition of fielding their most prominent female warriors on the battlefields, formed into specialist units. Back in the day they were horse archers, nimble spearwomen and now – mecha maidens. Tactics, weaponry even the way soldiers moved to and on the battlefield itself changed in such a fundamental manner, that it barely resembled the war of old anymore. War... war always changes, only the people who suffer and die did not.
He sighed and slowly stood up, one hand reaching into his side pocket and offered the ration pack he produced from it to Nozomi.
“Eat the pork stew, I’ll have rice and veggies.”
“But... you weigh more, you need the protein!” – She attempted to argue, but he canted his head.
“Yes, but your brain requires extra nourishment right now. We need to know how these aliens are planning to deal with us. I honestly cannot believe that they will send another swarm of troops to blindly stumble around, looking for us as we ambush them again and again. After we gave them the licking and they walked into our booby traps, Alduri commanders have to change their tactics, for sure. They’ve got to have some sort of plan, something more cerebral, something which they haven’t tried against us.”
“Alright, but the next meat ration is yours! Promise me you will eat it...”
He had already opened the self-heating ration pack and chewed his first sporkful of hot rice.
“You know what they say about us in Bulgaria?” – Saitama smirked after she made the no sign with one hand, and continued:
“A Japanese soldier can eat one handful of rice per day and still defeat you.”
“True, we have a saying that everything is fine if one has rice, but that goes waaay beyond... Wait, are you pulling my leg?!”
She had already devoured half her meal; ever since they found out that Alduri rations had a chemical component which made them possible to consume only by the aliens, food had to be strictly rationed.
“No, I am dead serious. The Italians also said something about their closest ally. They claimed that Bulgarian soldiers eat hot peppers on purpose, so they are super angry when they face the enemy.”
Nozomi actually stopped eating and carefully placed the last piece of chicken back inside the ration pack together with her spork.
“You know, wouldn’t that be a problem for them after a day or two? I mean, if they only eat hot peppers...” – She made the pain sign and then pointed at their latrine area.
“I am not one hundred percent sure. I think it was the Italians who were actually pulling my leg back then.”
This time he chuckled as he recalled the vivid memory of one Italian engineer, instructor in the academy who ate supremely hot lyutenica with every meal and always cried afterwards.
“Wish we had some European rations, Nozomi. Have you ever tried that traditional Bulgarian vegetable spread called lyutenica? I found it to be a most amazing ingredient for egg fried rice.”
He guided the conversation carefully, aiming to keep her spirits up. Saitama was one hundred percent sure that their enemy probably aimed to kill them with poison gas or something even more terrifying. They would die underground like trapped wozzies, never seeing the faces of those who destroyed them. That was a fate he did not wish upon himself or any of his friends and allies. Better it was to fall in battle, face your enemy and hopefully even take some of them with you.
While he kept trying to make his newly integrated energy shield work, Nozomi was hacking the enemy codes. The Sode or shoulder armor was the spot where modern samurai armored suits had these devices installed. He had a toolkit, looted one shield from the body of Alduri swordsman and successfully assembled it within the Sode. Saitama’s problems began when he attempted to make the bloody alien tech work.
Even though many of these “elder” races claimed supremacy over their Terran neighbors, when certain types of battlefield gadgets were compared, it was not them, but his people who had the advantage. If he had the parts, Saitama would try to assemble one of the simpler and, much easier to maintain Shimazu models yet, he was out in the field and had to work with what little he had.
It took him the better part of one hour, but in the end he finally made a working power pack bypass and attached one extra heatsink to the shield generator. He was a bit overjoyed when testing it, yet soon saw that this piece of Alduri junk had another defect. In his eyes, as a Terran, everything which overheated too quickly or wasted extra energy was grossly inefficient.
The PSG worked as intended, but it generated a lot of heat and even with the second heatsink he took from one alien particle-beam pistol, the shield could barely maintain field integrity for two minutes straight. That is – if no one landed any hits on its egg-shaped surface. Saitama fed it power packs taken from snub guns; sadly, he did not have time to fashion something better than that simple bypass. Otherwise, he used Nozomi’s toolkit to fix nearly all of the battle damage their suits had suffered, then augmented the armor plates.
Since theirs were factory made and brand new, both field armors came with one free internal slot, which he prudently installed a simple, robust medical system in. Most of the spare medisprays Nozomi and her friends had stashed here, they were used to fill their integrated “doctors”. Though not perfect, the system had a monitor which was connected to their suits’ PDA. It immediately administered the necessary dosage of medigel, sealing wounds, stopping profuse bleeding. One could even order it to inject another soldier by sending a remote command, though that required good, coded comms.
Saitama gave his rangefinder goggles and rail rifle to Nozomi. Since she was a capable markswoman, it was far better for her to keep watch over his back and not vice versa. She took his bayonet and aimed to use it attached to the rifle – battles were always unpredictable. If caught by melee fitted soldiers, like those sword and shield armed Alduri troopers, she’d need all the edge (and reach) she could get.
Another hour he spent modifying the Alduri power packs; after theirs had all been expended, they had to improvise. Most Terran soldiers were trained how to craft simple ammunition or mod the energy packs of their enemies. He however, had basic engineering skill and learned how to fashion booby traps.
With the stun grenades they took from dead Alduri soldiers, Saitama crafted a makeshift EMP bomb. A bulky, heavy thing, he intended to use it only if there was no other choice – everyone would be forced into a graceless melee.
Hopefully, between his katana and Nozomi’s dagger, they’d be able to slay what enemies remain standing, live to see another day. What few assault grenades they had left, he used to craft a good and easy for him to lob, IED.
Loaded with an extra large power pack, his RM10 was also fitted with one basic, yet efficient stabilization module. Said nifty upgrade further improved the weapon’s already great accuracy during full-auto fire, plus he replaced its stock heatsink. In order for his snub gun to unleash longer bouts of auto fire, he jerry-rigged two Alduri particle-beam heatsinks. Indeed, the weapon now looked unsightly, ugly even – it lost most of its sleekness.
If needed, he could fire one devastating volley of rail projectiles and with the increased accuracy, mow down many of his enemies. Of course, the inefficient alien tech would temporarily overheat, but he thought the exchange was worth it.
The weapon’s holo sight he placed on his Arisaka rifle, linking it with the rangefinder goggles Nozomi now wore. The rifle itself needed no improvements; it was already fitted with an armor piercing module and came factory equipped with a sturdy bayonet attachment. These lightly armored Alduri soldiers – even with their shields activated they could not face superior Shimazu firepower and live to see another day.
They both sported the dependable and quite accurate Japanese sidearm – the Nambu Z07. Those too could’ve used some upgrades, an attachment or two, but even if he did have the time to spare, there weren’t any parts available. Nevertheless, if push came to shove, these pistols were reliable fall-back weapons and their last shots they’d use on themselves. He didn’t have to say anything to Nozomi, she as a Terran knew all too well what her fate would be if she got captured.
“I think I got it this time.” – mumbled the slightly tired mecha maiden – “Are you going to climb up with the portable comm transmitter through that crevice again?”
“Thank you for reminding me. Hopefully, our clan will send someone to kick Alduri ass and even if I don’t catch any incoming friendly transmissions, I might pick up some enemy ones.”
He got up, locked the RM10 on his hip, picked up the small backpack containing said transmitter and checked if his grappler was all set for climbing.
They found a steep crevice, which, if one had the necessary skill or gear, could be used to reach a small opening. Not big enough so they could climb out, but enough for an antennae to pick or send links up to high planetary orbit. He attempted to send or receive something twice already – without any success.
It took him half an hour the first time, while he was still getting used to his grappler and twenty minutes the second time. Now, after learning the terrain and where said crevice was wider, Saitama only wasted eleven minutes. Secure, his grappler attached to a sturdy rock, he activated the transmitter and ordered it to first send the coded message containing information about his unit’s demise and the fact that there were two survivors still fighting down here.
Then, half a minute after the message was sent, he switched to receiving mode. His calm demeanor instantly changed, because the device not only intercepted an incoming transmission, but said link was addressed to him. It had all the proper Shimazu codes and after reading it, Saitama sent a confirmation that he received the missive and was ready to follow orders.
One minute later a compressed data pack was linked to his transmitter and he immediately rappelled down, with the best speed possible. Seconds after his boots touched the cave floor, Nozomi came dashing, carrying all of her equipment and supplies.
“I broke through and you won’t believe what they are doing!” – She dropped the backpacks on the cave floor and frantically looked around.
He slid open his faceplate, eyes blinking and a sly smile on his lips.
“They are coming for us?” – Saitama asked.
“Yes, we must scram this instant! The bastards sent commandos with demolition charges, their orders are to collapse part of the cave system and on top of all that – seal all exits except one. Why are you smiling?”
“Because we are getting reinforcements.” – Her troubled facial expression livened instantly, and he added – “Also we got orders.”
“I hope they realize that we are being surrounded down here.” – Smiling, Nozomi said, her voice laden with concern, as she looked aback.
“That’s the thing, we are Terrans, we are almost always being surrounded.” – He picked up her backpack after leaving the now useless transmitter, and pointed at one tunnel:
“We will use this one, reach that semi-submerged cave two kilometers away. Then swim through and with our best speed, so we can reach that exact cave entrance. The same we both used to enter the mountain.”
“That route would be crawling with troops!” – Nozomi strutted behind, keeping with his pace after he relieved her of her extra luggage.
“I have the sneaky suspicion that our Alduri neighbors will have their hands full. Nevertheless, breaching their rearguard security detail is up to us. Probably a squad worth of troopers, at least three of these shield carrying swordsmen, maybe even an officer. Prepare to switch your psychic nullifier at my command.”
They were jogging weapons in hand and when the tunnel allowed, running. Saitama had received orders to evacuate the cave system, reach an area out on the open and signal his position for extraction. Forces were dispatched to take care of all Alduri in the premises - imperative it was, this missive stated, that both of them get out safely. He felt relief and worry at the same time; right before the end of every Op, this was the time when things usually went wrong.
Who knew what could happen now?
The Alduri probably had sappers near each of the cave entrances – specialist troops were usually deployed in order to safely detonate powerful explosives. Terran engineers, some of whom had trained him on Sirius, they were quite tough and equipped with plenty of gadgets. Moreover, they wore heavier armor and their weapons had advanced mods. That or they entered battle with big guns – in this case, the Alduri could have particle-beam repeaters positioned near the cave entrance.
One of those was more than enough to suppress and then, other enemy soldiers could easily kill them. He quickly and decisively put all of his doubts aside; Saitama was a soldier and hopefully soon – a samurai. The link reassured him that a ground force of sufficient strength has been dispatched and some of these units already made planetfall.
For a couple of minutes, the grisly suspicion that his Alduri enemies managed to steal the codes from his mind and all of this was a trap, assailed Saitama’s mind. He quickly killed it; these two telepaths only projected whatever it was that they wanted him to see or think. Knowing the basics, how those who wielded psychic powers used them, was of great importance to the survival of any soldier.
No, these Alduri he fought and subsequently killed, they weren’t that strong and could only do one thing at a time. He was adamant they never peered deep into his mind – after all he vehemently resisted and repulsed their intrusions. Consumed with tactical cerebration, he did not notice how quickly time flew.
Soon he and Nozomi were swimming trough the same underground river they used to venture deeper into the mountain. This time however, their suits were not damaged and although exerting, it was a trek and not an ordeal. Once on the other side, they snuck forward with their most quieted step, kept their bodies low or slid from cover to cover. He gave her a sign and she activated the psychic nullifier – even though there were no Alduri in sight, the invader was close.
Before stepping out of the side tunnel, Saitama noticed that there was an echo. It sounded very much like the soft clank of armor plates, hit by weapons or other pieces of equipment. It would seem that someone was running in the distance and most importantly towards them.
He looked at Nozomi and made the sign for enemy.His own hearing was trained well and since they fought against the Alduri underground for a long while, he could pick up specific sounds distinct for their gear. Comparing those with what he knew about his own kit, Saitama was sure – it was a big group of enemy soldiers, perhaps two dozen, maybe more. They had to act quickly, because the Alduri could easily pancake, then overwhelm and kill them in this tunnel.
He grabbed the long handle of his well-crafted IED, gave the bomb to Nozomi and said:
“Throw it the moment you see their first element, then leap behind cover and shoot anyone who crawls from under the cave in. The bomb is powerful enough to collapse part of the cave, but not that strong as to bring down this entire tunnel. I will get out, send the link and take care of what rearguard force the Alduri left to defend the entrance. Retreat after each few shots, and if they attempt to rush you, call me at once!”
She touched his hand and albeit hesitantly, walked away, her rifle aimed at the tunnel.
Both quickly ran in opposite directions; in holo-series the characters often exchanged long, and tear-filled looks. Probably this was the only thing which didn’t fit the Anime trope – no one had time for this on the battlefield.
As he carefully moved ever closer to the exit, Saitama spotted a few moving silhouettes and a light vehicle with heavy weapon emplacement. Immediately he hid behind a thick slab of stone and gave the outside area another quick, yet quite inquisitive look.
If he could quickly charge out of the tunnel and lob his EMP bomb at it, there was no doubt in his mind that the grav car would be disabled. These enemy soldiers indeed resembled engineers to him; two unloaded equipment crates from the car’s back while its crew of three remained inside, two operating its systems and another, the weapon.
One container stood open beside the vehicle – another two had already unpacked all sorts of strange looking gear and were apparently assembling something. Everyone wore a bit heavier armor than other enemy troopers and carried assault rifles; either on their backs or in hand, ready to fight. Prudently, the Alduri placed perimeter guard; four of them had the tunnel entrance in their sights and weapons aimed, at the ready.
Before they could notice him, Saitama leveled his RM10. Set on full auto, the weapon was ready to fire and he pulled the trigger. Instantly overheating, nevertheless it showered the four soldiers with double the barrage his gun was normally capable of. The stunned by his sudden assault troopers could only fire a couple of ill-aimed shots back – before they fell, their bodies riddled with holes and all of four of them very dead. Even their thicker armor plating couldn’t resist the torrent of rail pellets from such a close range.
Without stopping he dashed outside; his right hand lobbed the bomb at that already aiming at him its heavy particle-beam gun car. While the jerry-rigged device flew, he rapidly reloaded the RM10 with its last power pack and then locked the snub gun on his thigh. With a well-trained motion, he unsheathed both his short katana and the Nambu pistol.
Set on auto-send, his helmet’s comm immediately uploaded the link and a second before his EMP bomb detonated, Saitama got an answer – extraction craft, ETA two minutes. Before him the enemy car had collapsed to the ground, its grav-engine deactivated, the crew and pretty much everyone who was loitering around it attacked him.
Behind, the echo of an explosion and the booms of his Arisaka reminded him that Nozomi was fighting alone, keeping his back safe. Squinting his eyes from behind the faceplate he aimed at the nearest specialist and lasered his legs. Both beams hit, slicing the limbs off and he fired at another enemy, this time the blue laser blasted a neat hole in the faceplate.
The second engineer fell right next to the legless one; the back of his helmet resembling a covered with gory bits of flesh metal flower. Just as he thought earlier – it was only their chest plating which had been greatly thickened, not the lower legs or helmets. Before they could reach him and engage in melee he killed another alien, with two shots still left in his pistol’s power pack. He made sure to lower the gun, but only after shaking, then glancing at it for a second, as if his weapon could actually malfunction.
Their rifles now rendered useless by the EMP, the four engineers grabbed their long, curved combat daggers and attempted to encircle him. A good strategy, and even though they had the numbers on him, he was a trained Shimazu swordsman. After one flash deceptive step, he lasered the head off of another Alduri, who thought his back was open and carelessly lunged forward.
He then rolled on the ground, sliced another soldier’s legs off and leapt up, only after his grappler successfully tripped one of the two remaining enemies. Before this one could cut the cable, Saitama charged the last engineer who was standing. With a precise swing, he chopped his dagger arm off from the shoulder and then kicked the profusely bleeding man down.
The tripped soldier not only freed himself – he threw his dagger and accurately hit Saitama’s leg. Though it did not slice a piece of his thigh, the blade impaled itself deep and caused much pain. Before he could remove it, the Alduri actually followed up with another attack – his left fist collided with Saitama’s faceplate. He staggered, dropped his sword and fell on the ground, but not before tripping the engineer. The alien attempted to bash Saitama’s head and choke him, yet while he did so, his own dagger disemboweled him.
Standing up, Saitama unleashed a painful scream – his medical system pumped all of its medigel reserves in order to fix his leg. Quick healing did not come without a price and the anguish, especially when one administered too much of the regenerative drug, was great.
Limping towards the cave entrance, he heard more weapons fire and troubled, increased his pace. This time the Arisaka was not alone, a choir of particle-beam guns hissed alongside its powerful boom. He holstered the pistol, unlocked his snub gun and, after seeing Nozomi’s staggering shape, moved his body between her and the enemy.
A barrage of beams hit the activated shield and most either bounced or were soaked by it. He immediately returned fire; shooting short bursts at those Alduri he could catch a glimpse of. Thirty seconds before the dropship came to extract them, the two Terrans came under attack from more enemies.
One full squad of light troopers, hiding behind the shields of their comrades, emerged from the tunnel. Nozomi was wounded; suit and bayonet drenched with both her and the blood of her enemies, she could barely stand. Overheating, Saitama’s shield deactivated, and he dropped the snub gun – it no longer had any energy left in its power pack.
The pistol still had one shot left and he had his short katana. If this was a clever trap or their reinforcements were defeated, they were both prepared to die. No matter how much he now wanted to have a life together with her, finally have a family and children, it was better to fall. Ascend with your honor intact, join the hallowed Ancestors, become part of the Universe’s soul.
The enemy officer, armed with a longsword Alduri, used his telepathic powers together with the rest of his troops. After a concentrated assault of such strength, their psychic nullifiers were overwhelmed, and they heard thoughts beckoning them to surrender:
“Terran barbarians, throw down your weapons and surrender – it is useless to resist! Kneel before us, your superiors, and your worthless lives will be spared. In Alduri captivity, even though you are undeserving of it, we promise to treat you well, according to all G.A. regulations.”
“I only bow to my Lord and Emperor – never shall we kneel before obnoxious filth like you, Alduri!” – Screamed Saitama, soon joined by Nozomi, who shouted:
“Your Galactic Assembly buddies are just a gang of vile slavers! I rather fall upon my blade and die a pure maiden, than live as a chattel slave!”
“Savage brutes... You are just as big of a genetic failure as your useless, dumb Clients!”
Suddenly a series of loud cracks, then earsplitting booms were heard echoing in the air. Saitama looked up and saw the flashes of starships detonating in low orbit – all Alduri exclaimed surprised since a Terran dropship rapidly approached. The aliens still had their weapons aimed at them and after only a few seconds had passed their officer spoke aloud:
“Nol’tere, we have just received new orders – kill the Humans! Then everyone is to retreat back underground and quickly, before the...”
Something shuffled around them; behind every single Alduri soldier there suddenly wavered out of nothingness a multitude of tall, ominous shadows.
A really engaging narrative, Im liking the characters and the hlghly detailed level of technical explanation.
Well done, bro!