The Pursuit of Divinity (Updated: 20/09/15)

[Iron Aquilifer]

Well, it has been a long time since I have posted anything here. I have written a fair bit, even beginning to redraft A Born King in to something resembling an actual story and not just a tragic cliche. However nothing has really come of any of that. A few pages here, a paragraph there. Nothing concrete and nothing that I have seriously given any thought and time to. Maybe it is writer's block or maybe it is a simple lack of interest. Whatever it is, I hope to put it aside. While my time will be limited for the next month and a half, hopefully these small releases will be able to breech the damn of my mind...

This is a sci-fi piece which I dreamed up. I had hoped to have it delve in to the themes of morality and concepts such as honour and truth. Less looking at the actual violence itself, at the loss of life and its effects on the survivors, but on the commanders, the tactics and strategies. I wanted to look at the evolution of war and how success will go to whoever can sacrifice the most, whoever is willing to go that extra step to go against the natural order of the galaxy in order to "perfect" ourselves as weapons of war. As of now, it is no where near being anywhere close to that level of intellectual thought. One day perhaps.

The broadstrokes:
- Galactic war is being fought against an enigmatic alien race, whose numerical advantage renders the common soldier and his tactics almost useless.
- The "supersoldier" projects had up until that point been dealing with the augmentation of career soldiers, of grown adults who had proved themselves to be of the right calibre to be considered for special training
- With the war entering its first stages, "volunteers" were selected at birth to be induced in to the special forces, brought up to be nothing but weapons. However the costs very too great for the limited increase in combat effectiveness.
- Selective breeding was then attempted, the children been subject to more rigorous experimentation in order to become supersoldiers. These men and women became known as "Titans".
- However, as the war progressed, the numbers of Titans being born was outweighed by the losses. In order to work around the long period between conception and formal enlistment, the scientists began to use clones of the Titan named Fergus Wull. Without any real legal restrictions, these men were augmented not only through biochemical means, but also forceful grafting of mechanical objects, from reinforced bones to processing chips in their brains.
- Yet even this proved insufficient. Resources did not stretch enough to provide enough of these "Olympians" for the warzones. So the "Legionnaire" project was established. Here, "normal" humans were cloned, the resulting "humans" being almost entirely hardwired in to their combat suits.
- The Olympians are still being trained up, as they are regarded as being better that their new counterparts, however necessity forces the legionnaires to be the primary focus.
- The Legionnaires and Olympians are at odds with one another. The older soldiers seeing the new breed as being inferior while the younger soldiers consider their betters to be holding them back.
- The supersoldiers all share a common sense of superiority over the normal humans, with their commanders openly regarding themselves as being more suited to the ruling of not only the military but also the government.
- Eventually there is a civil war fought between various factions, as the various supersoldiers rally around prominent figures from within their own ranks in an effort to either take control, set up their own independent kingdoms, or defend the lawful leadership on Earth

All of the broadstrokes are up for radical revision. I really want to bring out the sheer... hopelessness faced by a technically advanced race whose morality cannot compete with the situation it is in.


Squad Terros I
Squad Terros II
Disciple Squad I
Disciple Squad II
Disciple Squad III
Personal Logs I
Invigilator Gordon I
Dr Adams I
Squad Terros III
Invictus I
Horizon Pantheon I
Sanguine Pantheon I

[Iron Aquilifer]

Squad Terros – Goldilocks Tarhill-3 campaign



Shut the f--- up soldier! You have no idea what you are talking about, that much is blatantly obvious. Those are Legionnaires you dumb s--- and if one of them tells you to stand back you stand the f--- back! Gods walk among us men. They are a hundred Ares in mortal flesh. If I hear you call them “Drones” one more time I will have you court martial, do I make myself perfectly f---ing clear?

The military compound was full of soldiers, the remnants of a dozen companies. The symphony of screaming dulled the senses, the daggers rendering each man numb. Buildings which had once housed entire platoons stood empty, billets left untouched since their former occupants had made them. Armour lay in piles, heaps of scrap metal still stained with the burnt flesh of their owners. Blood ran in rivers from the hospitals, turning the earth in to a muddy wasteland.

“What do you make of them?”

“What of them?”

“What do you rate their combat readiness?”

“Is that a joke? This lot shouldn’t even have been allowed to enlist in the first place.”

The commander was inclined to agree. Granted, the men were almost all conscripted but that did not mean that the army had any obligation with using poor quality forces. They had been unable to cause anything but minimal casualties on the enemy, and that was after a month of fighting. They hadn’t even been able to secure their own landing zones until the day previous.

“Commander, Sergeant. Sirs, should we get going now?”

“Of course. Let’s get this done so we can reunite with the rest of the Brigade.”

They numbered twelve, steel giants among the fleshy dwarfs of the 13th Federation Light Infantry. Watched by a hundred pairs of unblinking eyes, they set off at a fast jog. The wheeze of their armour’s joints was lost in the sounds of pain rising with the morning sun. Soon they were gone from sight, the regular humans returning to their own suffering. Their attention was caught up with the near and now, not with the men who were going to do their job for them.

Their transports were waiting to collect them a mere kilometre from the frontline, two Scorpion battle tanks fresh from the factories on Earth herself. There was enough room inside for the soldiers, but they opted instead to hang on the outside. It would allow them to deploy a few seconds faster. Seconds that could mean life or death.

[Shankbot de Bodemloze]

Welcome back.

Interesting setting, and I like the sound of the direction you plan to take it. Looking forward to more.

[Hitai de Bodemloze]

Sounds interesting I think super-soldiers are a great way of looking at morality; very Nietzsche-ish. Looking forward to more!

[Iron Aquilifer]

Squad Terros – Goldilocks Tarhill-3 campaign



“We have bugs on the southern approach,” informed Corporal Yeglan.

The soldiers disembarked without waiting for the order. Rifles were brought up, scanners searching for targets. The frontline was nothing more than a hastily-drawn line on a map. Craters had churned up the mountainside, leaving nothing but a pox-scarred landscape for them to fight over. Even with almost no cover to cower behind, the enemy was not one to come out in the open until they needed to.

“Squad Terros, combat groupings. Yeglan team, you have the left. Terros you are reserve.”

The acknowledgements were swift, runes on his HUD announcing that his commands were being carried out.

“Horn-23, support Yeglan team. Horn-91, you are on my beacon.”

They advanced over the uneven ground, making a beeline for what appeared to be a summit. It was the most obvious position to storm. Having a commanding view over the surrounding land it was the best position to create a fortification. Long-range artillery could utilize it to destroy any opposition and the foe would have to sacrifice thousands to take it. That was the reason Command had sent in Legionnaires instead of the rabble at Camp Honour Fall: Squad Terros was worth thousands.

“Confirmation of bug contact,” called in Horn-23, firing off a ranging shot.

The wind was slight, only strong enough to loosen the smallest of rocks in preparation for another force to act on it. However it was enough to send the scent of metal and electrical circuits over towards the enemy. Enough to fill their orifices with the aroma of human presence. Enough to send them forward out of bloodlust.

“Shrike, this is Zhalin, located a big one. Require close air support.”

It was a big one, and it wasn’t alone. At least four monstrosities rose out from their positions. All around them hundreds of the smaller beasts wakened from their slumber, eager and hungry. None of the masters were around, but that did not mean that the horde was any less of a threat. Just meant that there was no glory in wiping them out.

“Affirmative. Shrike wing is closing in on your position.”

The Scorpions began the volley, unleashing the full fury of their battle cannons as the legionnaires took up their positions. Until Zhalin gave the command they would hold the line. To do so they let loose the anger of their weapons, rifles snapping off practiced shots in to the oncoming swarm. Each round found flesh in the sea of fang and talon, cutting away chitin and detonating in vital organs without remorse. Those that fell were trampled by those behind, surging forward without thought or concern on anything other than the human flesh before them.

“Support, target their heavies. Yeglan, push left. Spread out the front.”

As the three soldiers moved over, their accompanying tank stuck to their target, firing round after round in to the closest of the Rhinos. With relish, the commander watched its head explode from one of the shots. As it collapsed, Zhalin ordered the advance.

Steady and true. Those were the words which wanted to be said. They crawled out of his throat and on to his tongue before he swallowed them. It was their chant yes, but it had no right to be said in such a skirmish. When the enemy acknowledged them for what they were, then he would allow himself to be uncaged.

[Iron Aquilifer]

Welcome back.

Interesting setting, and I like the sound of the direction you plan to take it. Looking forward to more.

Sounds interesting I think super-soldiers are a great way of looking at morality; very Nietzsche-ish. Looking forward to more!

I thank you for your kind words. The first few will be shameless kill-kill-action-no-character-development pieces so I will ask all readers to bear with me.

Many thanks

[Caillagh de Bodemloze]

I see nothing wrong with starting in the middle of the action to grab our attention. (Clearly it worked on me, since I'm here. )

I will admit I'm looking forward to finding out more about the characters, and about their society (or what's left of it after spending so long focused on the war) as well as enjoying the action. But I'm happy to wait for that till the appropriate moment.

Oh, and I like the pictures, as well as the writing.

[McScottish]

Reminds me of Warhammer 40K, and that can never be a bad thing.

[Iron Aquilifer]

Disciple Squad - Forward Hope campaign

There was darkness. Complete and utter darkness. It was empty, a calm ocean of nothingness which stretched out forever across the universe of meaninglessness. Was this death? Could her life finally be over? Had her heart stopped beating for the final time? Had the body become so broken that it could no longer pursue her duty? If this darkness was the end, then there was truly a god. This was the closest to heaven she could ever have envisaged herself reaching.

A bright light flashed in the distance. It was a sun, as intense in luminosity as the miasma from the beginning of creation.

No. This could not be heaven. This was not the end of her life. Where were those who had fallen at her side? Where were their families? Heaven was not a lonely place to go. A soldier did not marry duty to exist alone. A soldier did not die. They promised me that I would not die.

Another bright light. Closer. Closer if there was such a thing as distance in the vacant darkness.

What of her body? She could not feel it beneath her. Twisting this way and that did nothing. She could not feel. There was no body, no movement, no emotion. There was only her, whatever that was now. Thoughts, like spoken words, floated in the nothingness all around her. Memories drifted without anchor in the emptiness. There was nothing. There was nothing but peace. All soldiers die. All wars end. Peace was hers to have, forever.

Again the bright light consumed everything with its blinding purity. As it erupted out of the darkness, Laura felt herself being thrown forward.

As suddenly as it had happened, the feeling was gone, pushed back by something deep within her. In the place of the light darkness and emptiness returned. Yet the illusion had been destroyed. Why must she accept peace? When had she ever asked for peace? She was not a being of warmth and love. She was hardly a being at all. Her purpose was singular, something in which she did nothing but revel. No, death did not befit someone like her: too much like treachery. It did not become her: death was failure. Laura did not allow defeat to befall her.

The bright light struck like a physical force, driving her massless body back. Most would have let themselves be swept away, letting go of the will which kept them together. Most would have welcomed that final sleep.

Her visor was cracked, a thin sliver of light illuminating the helmet from within. Even that weak ray was too much for Laura, whose eyes refused to open fully. For a few seconds, seconds which stretched out in the calm sea of time, she just lay there. Motionless and uncaring, she let life wake up her crippled body.

“We have a heartbeat! Systems are coming back on and it looks like the damage is nothing severe.”

[Iron Aquilifer]

I see nothing wrong with starting in the middle of the action to grab our attention. (Clearly it worked on me, since I'm here. )

I will admit I'm looking forward to finding out more about the characters, and about their society (or what's left of it after spending so long focused on the war) as well as enjoying the action. But I'm happy to wait for that till the appropriate moment.

Oh, and I like the pictures, as well as the writing.

Yeah, I feel like I have put myself in for the marathon. World-building and characters galore. Means I burn more than a village without it looking silly.

DeviantArt have some great stuff on there. Normally not one for using pics but thought that they looked so fitting.

Many thanks

Reminds me of Warhammer 40K, and that can never be a bad thing.

WH40k should be the inspiration for all "gritty realism" sci-fi

Many thanks

[Alwyn]

Your idea of exploring the 'hopelessness faced by a technically advanced race whose morality cannot compete with the situation it is in' sounds excellent. I look forward to seeing how the stories of the different squads and campaigns develop (I wonder if Squad Terros will ever encounter the Disciple Squad, or if these campaigns are distant from each other or in different time periods.)

[Shankbot de Bodemloze]

Good work on these latest updates, Laura seems a strong character to spit in the face of death.

+rep

[Iron Aquilifer]

Disciple Squad - Forward Hope Campaign



The voice sounded distant, muted. Through a swarm of bees the words reached her without meaning. It was life though, which caused her to reply with movement. Memory was being returned, albeit images without context or reason. There were people burning to death in a house. There was a horizon of white snow, three glowing orbs on the backdrop of a purple sky. There was a missile arching over a crumbling building. There was a room filled with cots, fleshy bodies writhing in each. There was a tank cresting a ridge of rubble and dead bodies.

“Slow down there.”

It was the urgency of the voice which caused Laura to stop, halfway between rising and sitting. The hesitation allowed the pain to finally catch up, her brain overloaded with the signals from the exposed nerves. It was rods of burning steel piercing her body. It was an unquenchable flame engulfing her. It was heat and its absence, it was something failing words.

She let out a cry as she fell back down.

“Hit it again, we don’t have the time to wait!”

She could feel the surge as it coursed through her. Joints locked and Laura cried out again as the visor finally buzzed in to life. A thousand lines of glowing code flew down the screen, too fast for ever her eyes to read. Another thousand passed before the energy had stopped pumping in to her suit.

“Major Ingram, can you hear me?”

“Of course she can hear you.”

The background noise had started to make sense. That crackle was from a rifle. That faint thud was a grenade. Despite the pain which refused to loosen its grip for even the faintest of moments, Laura managed a faint smile at life. She was not defeated yet. Her suit informed her of that by listing all of the systems which were still operational.

“Major Ingram, you need to get up now. This position is no longer safe.”

As if to reinforce that point, a projectile erupted a little past them. A wave of rubble and earth and fleshy remains rained down on them.

“Where is the rest of my squad?”

Her voice came out weak from lack of use. The amplifiers had been damaged beyond use, and her neural link was slowed down by the forced restart. Cursing, the officer repeated the question with more force.

GPS systems down, the visor informed her silently, as if she didn’t already know. As her heads-up display began to blink in to life, Laura noted the information not coming up due to the crack. She would have to live without her ammo counter and rear video feed until she got out of there.

“They ran off somewhere. One of them told us to inform you that they would return for you after the objectives were completed.

Captain Anderson. Her second was a capable leader, but his impatience in receiving a command of his own had started to wear away her once high opinion of him. The man had done the right thing in pushing on to complete the objectives. That was what they were made to do after all. To demand that she stay back however, now that was the wrong thing entirely.

[Iron Aquilifer]

Your idea of exploring the 'hopelessness faced by a technically advanced race whose morality cannot compete with the situation it is in' sounds excellent. I look forward to seeing how the stories of the different squads and campaigns develop (I wonder if Squad Terros will ever encounter the Disciple Squad, or if these campaigns are distant from each other or in different time periods.)

The snail of knowledge crawls ever forward, have no doubt about that.

Many thanks

Good work on these latest updates, Laura seems a strong character to spit in the face of death.

+rep

Let us both hope that I do not decide to make her eat off more than she can chew and completely destroy her spirit

Many Thanks

[Shankbot de Bodemloze]

I have a feeling Laura is going to be battling off a horde of god-knows what now their position is under attack.

[Iron Aquilifer]

Disciple Squad - Forward Hope Campaign

“What unit are you from?”

She rose slowly, allowing the pain to wash over her. Painkillers were being pumped in to her bloodstream but they were taking their sweet time in kicking in. The two medics remained rooted in their spots, unsure if they should offer up anymore assistance. Instead of offering a steadying arm to the hero in their midst, one of them answered with a voice deep and slow. It was as if he were speaking to a child without any knowledge of how to do so. She would have felt insulted if she did not pity them so much already.

“3^rd Company, Charlie Battalion, 321^st Infantry. We are attached to the 99^th Armoured.”

Here for the numbers then. The man had not stopped speaking, going on about some sort of mission or operation. She did not have the heart to tell him to shut up. It wasn't in her to put the poor soul down before he met his fate.

The sound of gunfire was increasing in frequency, single shots being replaced with sustained volleys. Cries, abruptly cut short, rang out through the dim created by rumbling explosions. For a second the sounds overwhelmed her. The young girl within her urged Laura to turn and run. Go somewhere safe. Go somewhere quiet.

“Major, I advise that we pull back. The line is going to break any minute now.”

Defeat. She heard the word in the man’s tone. She smelled it on his breath. It stung her as only it could. Failure could not be given life. To do so would be to spit on all those who had fallen. No, she would not retreat and if she did not retreat then neither did they.

"You will hold this position alongside your company."

The men exchanged a brief glance, trying to gauge if together they could combine the courage sufficient to stand up to her. The correct answer should have been a definite no, however cowards were fools at heart.

"Major Ingram, sir, the company is falling back."

"Then you are hereby seconded to Disciple squad, Legio-Brigade Verdun. Congratulations."

She could have laughed if her lungs were able to support such exertion. As it stood, she offered them a grief salute before retrieving her rifle. The enemy were advancing, tentatively crawling out of the shadows. The medics were correct: 3rd company had forgotten their duty and fled before the enemy.

"F--- that!" came the reply from one of them, throwing up a shaky finger towards the oncoming foe. "I am not going up against that!"

Laura turned on his friend, who was set on agreeing that a life of shame was any life worth living at all. There was nothing for it.

Boom

"What the f---! Why di-"

Boom

As the bodies crumpled in to two heaps, a faint beep told her that short-range communications had been restored. It would not allow her to reach her soldiers, but it meant now the rabble would have a real leader in charge. The battle was far from over.

"All soldiers of 3rd Company, Charlie Battalion," Laura wheezed on all frequencies. "You are hereby seconded to Disciple Squad, Legio-Brigade Verdun. This honour requires that you uphold the ideals of the Terran Legionaries. Failure to do so will result in your summary execution. You have been warned."

She paused for a moment, drawing up a plan for the company's new defensive line. If they didn't get their act together then the positions would be swarming with the hated foe. Not that it matters to me. They would just have to reclaim them.

"I expect conduct befitting one of this exalted status: no retreat, no surrender, no mercy."

[Shankbot de Bodemloze]

Laura is a freakin' badass.

Great job.

[Iron Aquilifer]

Personal Logs

Extract from the recordings of Sergeant Andrew Stevenson during the initial battle of Engalvyl Falls

Sergeant Stevenson: Take out that technical before it wipes out Tait squad!
Private Daniels: Ramirez squad is falling back!
Private Cooper: Missile away!

(There is the distinctive sound of a missile being launched on the backdrop of mixed small arms fire)

Sergeant Stevenson: Hold the line! Squad Stevenson on me!
Unidentified Voice: They’re closi---aaaaahhhh!

(Noise intensifies until all that is heard is static for several long seconds. What is amused to be heard is Squad Stevenson reacting to enemy units which had closed down the firing line)

Private Conrad: Where is our support?
Major Verdal: All forces …ing points. Task-… treat... say aga- …treat.
Sergeant Stevenson: Say again Command?
Major Verdal: Gener-… reat.
Sergeant Stevenson: I can’t hear you Command, say again!
Private Daniels: We cannot hold this position sir!

(Momentary static as Andrew is believed to dive to cover. Overhead heavy calibre rounds tear through air and cover alike)

Private Conrad: I have been hit! Weapons are offline!
Sergeant Stevenson: Squad Stevenson, fall back! This assault is a disaster, get back to safety!


Extract from the personal logs of Major Elinor Verdal on the matter of Engalvyl Falls

They knew exactly where we were going to hit them. Preliminary bombardment did zero damage on the defences. [DATA CORRUPTED] anything it merely ensured that they were alert for our assault. Intelligence was way off in regards to enemy force composition. There were no airborne forces. Nor was any mech presence noted. Mobile heavy weapons and anti-personnel vehicles were abundant.

The enemy were warned, I am sure of it. It was that bastard [DATA CORRUPTED] never was one to play along. None of the other officers will even acknowledge the idea. Why would they? He is a [DATA COLLECTED] my mouth remains shut. However I have to at least ensure that my own men take precaution when it comes to him. The few that have survived at least.

Word is that the entire Warhost is being pulled back. If our casualties were indeed that high [DATA CORRUPTED] or maybe we will be formally disbanded in disgrace. It wouldn’t be the first time that had happened. I just hope that [DATA CORRUPTED]

I am alive. I pray that I remain so.

[Iron Aquilifer]

Got the school to deal with for the coming weeks so activity may well dwindle to nothing until the 29th of May at the earliest.

Laura is a freakin' badass.

Great job.

Many thanks

[Shankbot de Bodemloze]

Interesting latest update, and no worries about the lack of activity.

+rep