Walker Brigade: Book of Incidents

Prologue

Federated Union of Planets

The Federated Union of Planets was formed out of the turmoil of mans expansion into space. After Mars was explored, terra-formed and settled, the moons of Jupiter were next. Earth, its population at capacity and its resources becoming scarce, was looking for new planets to put its ever-expanding population.

The advent of Hyper-drive finally allowed man a way to reach for the stars as never before. The first jump was to Proxima Centauri, some 4.3 light years away. The trip took one week. The fourth planet was found to be habitable. After two years of exploration, the planet proved even more earthlike than Earth in its current state. Transport ships were built and emigration to the new planet commenced. They named the new planet Pacifica.

From there man expanded through out the sector. Over the years that followed, Hyper-drive ships spread throughout the galaxy in the vicinity of Earth and Pacifica, finding new habitable planets for man to settle. Pacifica became the center from which man flourished and Earth spread its multitude of cultures throughout the sector. After several interplanetary battles, the government of Pacifica formulated a plan to unite the separate, isolated systems into a loose, mutual supporting, federation. This federation would protect each system from outside influences and leave the planets internal struggles for them to work out.

The only cost to the Federation members were men or women for the military forces and for the administrative functions needed, if any. Also an annual stipend in the amount of one one-hundredth of that’s planets gross planetary product as calculated by the Federation Council. The federation was formed and most planets signed the accords. Those that didn’t, were left alone, unless they attempted to attack a member planet. Once they understood a member planet would be protected they too signed the Unions accords.

For one thousand years, the Federated Union of Planets grew and matured as man spread through the galaxy. It is now the ninety-third year of the current administration taking office when the last administration lost a vote of confidence. Through all the turmoil and tribulations of the federation, the one constant and stable force is its military. There were three branches, the Navy (space), the Colonial Marines and the Stellar Army.

The Navy is the largest of the three branches. It is responsible for the transport of the Marines and the Army. They are also the only branch to have a military intelligence agency. They also provide all the support services to all three branches.

The Colonial Marines are the second largest. They are responsible for the protection of exploration teams as they explore new worlds. They are also the first line of defense on newly settled worlds along with being the first units on the ground in most situations involving member planets.

The Stellar Army is the primary response to interplanetary aggression. The Stellar Army is the smallest branch of all the services along with being equipped with the best the Federation has to offer, not the newest, but the best.

Logic War

The logic war, fought and won, when the Syllogistics Coalition in the Luyten sector tried to secede from the Union and attempted to take over several other planets in the process for the resources they needed. The sector had been settled by a group of scientists and mathematicians which followed the teaching of logic above all else. It was their logic which led to their determining that they where the only society capable of ruling mankind. Logic drove them to secede and attempt to take over the Federation. Logic was their eventual downfall.

They had taken several strategic planets and their logic dictated that the Federation would not try to take back the planets as the costs in material and manpower would be too high.

Their thinking along these lines provided the Federation opportunities from which to take advantage thus winning every engagement with little or no loss of life. It was then that the Coalition started to hire mercenaries to fight for them.

Although the Logic Wars took three long years to prosecute it gave much of the military experience in battle that would have otherwise been non-existent.

M’roby Coalition

The M’roby is the first alien species the Federation has encountered in their push into space. The M’roby are semi-humanoid, semi-insectisoid, having an exoskeleton but being bi-pedal symmetrical.

The M’roby were first encountered on three-four-alpha-nine, a planet that the federation was in the process of exploring. It had been determined that the planet was uninhabited by the initial exploration teams. After mining operations had been established, a division of M’roby had landed and attacked the mining operation and the Marines providing security. The Stellar Army was called in and three divisions of Marines accompanied them.

The Stellar Army units deployed were those of the Walker Brigade.

Walker Brigade

The Walker Brigade is part of the Third Mechanized Infantry Division of the First (and only) Stellar Army Corp. The Walker Brigade is equipped with state of the art armor and the battle proven Mark IX Walkers. The brigade consists of 209 squads or approximately 2,700 troopers. Each squad is capable of working independently or in concert with other squads of the brigade. In most cases, a Walker squad is an independent entity working along side a contingent of Marines.

Squad leaders of Walker Squads are mostly Chief Warrant Officers. That rank is equivalent to Midshipman in the Navy and Third Lieutenant in the Marines. One of the Squads of the Walker Brigade is Echo Squad.

Echo Squad

First Squad, Second Platoon, Company E, First Battalion of the Sixty-Forth Armored Brigade (Walker Brigade) of the Third Mechanized Infantry Division of the First Stellar Army Corp of the Federated Union of Planets.

1st/64AR/3MD/Icorp – Call designation: Echo Squad

Echo Squad is the premiere squad of the Walker Brigade but has been on detached duty for two years, only occasionally working with other squads of its Platoon, let alone its Company, Battalion or Brigade. Echo squad has been working at the whim of the Squad Leaders father who happens to be a Fleet Rear Admiral heading up DevSecCom the naval intelligence organization based on Pacifica.

Echo Squad consists of three fire teams of four walkers each, as follows:

Team One

Max Jones – Team Leader/Squad Leader

Ellen J Johnson – Scout

Sam Westerboc

Charles Wickers

Team Two

Jolene Akers – Team Leader

Fletcher Wilcox / Simon Eckles

Marg Epstein-Phillips* - Scout

Michelle Santos-Tomas – Meds

Team Three

Becky Latham – Team Leader/Squad Second/Coms

Nadia Stevens* - Scout

Chris Shonner

Ernie Barr – Scans

*Assigned from other Walker squads

These are their exploits.

Walker Brigade: The M'roby Incident

3.10.0093/4

* * * Max Jones

The ground shimmered as I passed over the plain. Taking strides in a power-walker was like that; the ground just flowed by underneath you. You couldn't focus on the ground you were currently moving over, you had to look ahead of you. After all, you were moving at one hundred kph across the terrain.

My squad was on the move to the flank of the M'roby, the invading swarm of aliens from out on the rim. The M'roby are humanoid in appearance, but that's where any resemblance ends, they have an exoskeleton making them look like a two-legged lobster. They were also stronger and faster than a human, that’s why we needed the power-walkers. The walkers gave us the speed, mobility and strength equal to the M'roby. Our weapons gave us the edge we needed. We were at least ten years ahead of them in weapons technology. They were still using slug throwers, while we had developed particle beam projectors five years ago, and now had plasma pulse cannons and giga-watt hand lasers.

My power-walker was outfitted with two plasma cannons and two 100 giga-watt particle beam projectors. I also had two rail-guns as back up. They would throw a collapsed aluminum slug at hypersonic speeds one after the other so fast that they appeared to be a solid rod of metal. Most of the squad was armed similarly with the exception of my number two. She was loaded down with comm gear, so she just had the rail-guns.

The M'roby had invaded one of our outposts on the far reaches of our section of explored space. Apparently, they wanted this planet as much as we did, so they decided to take it away by force, not even a "how you doing, by the way that planet is in our sphere of influence, would you mind talking about it." They just landed ten thousand troops on the southern polar continent, and started shooting up the countryside.

But, what do I know? I'm just a squad leader in a twelve-man squad made up of three four-man fire teams. My squad is one of the mixed squads; over half of my troops are female. We discovered early on that the M'roby were scared to death of female combat troops. Must be something in their genes or whatever, because when they saw a female trooper start toward them firing, they just froze up, and then they would start running for the horizon.

The first time that happened, there were only about four or five female troops on the ground. When the first one came in contact with the M'roby, she routed a division off a hill all by herself. She started running up the hill firing at them, in turn, they all turned and ran in the opposite direction.

Since then we have allowed more and more female troops to be part of our front line units. Although, all we do then is chase these mothers all over the continent. I don't see how they know that they are female; to me we all look alike in the power-walkers and body armor. The big brains think that they can smell them, and that smell sets off the flight response in their brains. Me, I really don't give a fuck.

We were part of a five-squad envelopment movement. We were to cut up this plain then hang a left at the mountains to come up behind the M'roby. The only women in the whole operation were in the five squads trying to out flank them. They, the M’roby were sitting in front of three divisions of battle hardened combat troops, all male, dropped in just for this operation.

The thought behind this plan was to cause the M'roby troops to run smack dab into those three divisions. Blam! Complete annihilation. Then it would be mop up time and we would get to go home. Not that this planet, whatever its name, wasn't pleasant, but home world was where I was born and raised. It was home.

Rally point Oscar Delta One bearing two-four-oh degrees, Becky's voice sounded tinny over the laser comm, Twenty-five klicks.

Give me all-com, Becky, I told her.

Echo Zulu One. Rally point Oscar Delta One in twenty-five klicks, squawking seven-seven-seven. Yes, I was top kick, the ranking squad leader in all five squads. So it fell to me to give operational orders to all five. There was an officer present, but he was fifty klicks back, plus he was a green second-louie, hardly able to stand up in his power-walker, let alone command in it.

Becky, let’s start slowing them down.

Aye, Chief, she responded. Echo Two reduce speed to one quarter.

We all dropped back to about twenty-five kph as we approached the rally point. So far, it looked as if the M'roby hadn't detected us.

Echo One, mark. We were there. Stopping, I looked around the landscape; it was a barren wasteland as far as the eye could see. The mountains rose up in front of us, dark jagged wind swept peaks bare of vegetation.

All right, Chief, bearing one-five-zero degrees, two hundred klicks, Becky called out, shaking me out of my revere.

Start 'em up.

Echo Two bearing one-five-zero degrees, two hundred klicks, three quarters speed, Becky sounded off as we turned in unison to one-five-zero and started the power-walkers toward the rear of the M'roby. The squad trailed out alongside us in a line abreast formation. The other four squads would follow as they reached the rally point.

I could hear the other squad seconds chanting out the bearing and speed as we covered the lifeless, barren terrain ahead of us.

2.26.0093/5

* * * Becky Latham

Damn, this place was huge, I was having a hard time finding the squad bay to which I was assigned - First Squad, Second Platoon, Easy Company, First Battalion of the Sixty-Forth Armored Brigade of the Third Mechanized Infantry Division of the First Stellar Army Corp, 64AR/3MD/ICorp. The directions I had been given were next to useless. I finally found it, but not where the map said it was. When I entered, the bay there was no one around. I tossed my gear in my quarters and then headed for the walker bay to find everyone. No one home, the walkers were parked in their cradles. They were fantastic looking.

Walkers are my passion. They are the most beautiful machines ever created by man; a machine that a human can climb into, and without a thought, control. Get in and walk, simple elegance. I hurried to my machine to check her over. The diagnostics said she was nominal, but I detected a slight hum in the biofeedback servos on the right leg.

I opened the panel, checked the servo and found a burr on the offside phalange. Rummaging around the tool cabinet, I found some fine grit, emery paper. I lightly burnished the phalange with the paper and smoothed it down, reducing the hum to nothing. I buttoned up the panel and powered down the walker. Then I checked every walker in the bay. Two of them would need parts replaced to get them working again.

I looked up and saw there was a light on in the Squad bay lounge. I better go see if the Chief had returned and report. I wiped my hands on a rag and headed for the Squad bay. The Chief was highly thought of in the Walker Brigade. I’d read his file and was anxious to meet him, and proud to be serving with him. Plus, he wasn't all that bad looking. Damn it Becky knock it off, I thought.

* * * Max Jones

Squad Second Becky Latham reporting for duty, Chief. She stood in front of me with her orders extended for me to take. I really didn't look at her as I took her orders, just kept reading the prior days reports.

You all squared away, Sec? I asked, not really caring one way or the other if she was.

Yes Chief.

Good. We ship out in five days, will you be ready? She had better say yes, or she was out of here.

Of course, Chief, she said, with such conviction it caused me to look up at her for the first time. I almost fell over backward in my chair; she was perhaps the most beautiful trooper I had ever seen. She looked like she belonged on a magazine cover.

Anything else? I croaked out, almost dropping my cigar on the front of my uniform.

Yes Chief. I noticed that two of the walkers have been down checked for faulty feedback solenoids and I'd like to get them squared away before we depart.

Well, take care of it then. I had just completed the paper work on them but now I'd wait and see what she had to say about them.

Yes Chief. She turned and walked away. I almost fell over backward again, as I watched her cute little ass swaying as she walked. Not the time or place Chief, not at all, I thought.

Damn, I muttered under my breath. Just what I need right now, a damn beauty queen turned soldier.

2.27.0093/7

* * * Becky Latham

After morning power-up and diag, I decided to stay in the walker bay and work on the walkers. Mine, was in tip-top shape and would stay that way, now to get the Chief's walker in shape. I noticed at the daily power-up and diag that there was a slight vibration in the servos on the tensor arm.

Sliding in under the power unit, I unlatched the hatch placing the calibration tool into the tensor arm socket. It showed a one point two percent miss-alignment of the servos. I slowly twisted the calibration tool and brought the tensor arm into alignment.

Buttoning up the hatch, I sensed more than heard the walker bay door open and someone walking on the catwalk above. It had to be the Chief as I looked at the time.

Becky! He was calling me. I raised my arm out from under the power unit and waved.

* * * Max Jones

Becky! I shouted.

Damn where was that girl? Turn my back for a second, and she disappears.

Becky! Where the hell are you? I yelled again.

Over here. I heard a muffled voice and saw an arm wave across the walker bay. Shit, what was she up to now? This girl will be the death of me yet. Always fiddling with the walkers, fixing them, she says. Well, maybe she was fixing them. We have had fewer breakdowns in the last two days than we've ever had.

What are doing to this one now, Latham?

The servos on the tensor arm were out of calibration by one point two percent.

How the hell did she know that? It was my walker, and I hadn't noticed anything wrong with it this afternoon during training.

You almost done? I thought we'd go over the duty roster for the next couple of nights. I still had to feel like I was in charge, damn it. She slid out from under the walker. She had sili-grease on her cheek, and damn, she was beautiful. Knock it off Chief, that little voice in my mind said.

Just buttoning up, she smiled as she turned the last latch to lock. Getting up, she grabbed a rag and wiped her hands.

Uh, you got some on your right cheek there. I pointed at her face.

Thanks, she said as she took a swipe at it with her rag, Did I get it?

No. Here, let me, I said as I took the rag from her hands, There, that's better. Now you look human.

Tossing the rag back to her, she snatched it out of the air and finished wiping her hands.

I'm going to take a shower, be out in a minute or two, she said as she walked away, unzipping her coveralls. Meet you in the wardroom.

I'd like to meet her in the shower. Damn, what was I thinking? It would be nuts for me to even attempt to seduce her. There were no specific regs against us doing the horizontal mambo, just common sense. You don't fuck your second or your chief, period. You had to be cool and calculating, able to give orders to someone that might get them killed. You couldn't do that if you were emotionally involved.

Much later, I lay in my bunk staring at the ceiling unable to sleep, not because we were shipping out in two days but because I couldn't get her out of my mind. What the hell was wrong with me? This had never happened to me before. I have been paired with many female troopers in the past, but nothing like this had ever happened to me. Eventually I dozed off, dreaming of Becky.

2.28.0093/4

* * * Max Jones

Team Two on the mark flanking maneuvers, two-two-zero, half speed. Mark. I watched as fire team two swung around to two-two-zero and slowed to half speed, beautifully executed.

Team Three on the mark freeze, mark. Two of team threes troops fell over trying to stop from half speed. It can be done it's just not an easy task. Bless their hearts they froze in position, face down in the dirt.

Team One on the mark slow to one-eighth speed. Mark. This would bring my team to about 10 kph. Team One on the mark stop. Mark.

Squad on the mark rally point Delta Foxtrot speed one quarter. Mark. The rally point was my position, Team One just had to stand still they were already there. As the rest of the teams converged on our position, Becky pulled up beside me. She did not look happy. I gave the freeze order to her team.

What the hell, Chief? she asked on our private channel.

Hey, I know it was a difficult maneuver and your people did well. So quit worrying. Ok, troops, listen up. You have two hours for ops assimilation before chow. I want everyone saddled up and ready to go at eighteen-hundred hours. We embark at eighteen-thirty hours, so hustle it up people. Oh, by the way, you guys did great out there, you aced it the first time. I turned and started toward the walker bay.

All right, let’s get these walkers prepped and ready for loading. Come on, people, let’s put some hustle in it! Becky was shouting on the all hands channel. The teams flashed past me on their way to the walker bay. Becky pulled up along side me and matched speeds.

So, Chief, are we really ready? She was grim as she looked at me through her armor face shield.

Probably not, but they'll get by. We should have plenty of time for more training once we disembark. Good enough for you? They were pretty gung-ho this squad of mine. A little less than half were veterans. Some had served with me in the logic wars down toward the galactic center. Now we were on our away to the rim.

Good enough? I suppose it will have to do won't it. What with the M'roby and everything else that is going on in the galactic arm. She was right there was a lot to do. The M'roby weren't our only problem. There were always two or three systems trying to carve-out their own little empire in the stars.

They'll be fine. The terrain on three-four-alpha-nine isn't much different than here. Well, that's what I had been told.

* * * Becky Latham

The training had gone well, although the Chief had thrown my team a curve. Luckily, none of my team members was hurt, especially Shonner and Stevens. On the freeze command, they had fallen flat on their faces. Well, not exactly on their faces, as they had their arms outstretched to break the fall. They were the rookies in my squad; Barr was the only vet I had. They had done an outstanding job, freezing in place as commanded. I was proud of them.

I went to my quarters to look over the op-orders for the umpteenth time. I could recite them in my sleep. Loading commenced at eighteen-thirty hours, then a leisurely hour flight to rendezvous with the transport. Then there would be three hours of off loading to the transport, another hour or so to stow the gear, then hyperspace. I wasn't looking forward to that.

Hyperspace was another place all together, not part of this space-time continuum but not part of any other. It was a sort of limbo where every place in the universe touched. How long it took to get from one place to another depended on your hyperspace engine and how accurate the calculations from the jump point were. The more powerful the field you could generate the faster you got from point A to point B even if they were across the universe from each other.

There had been ships sent out to see if they could navigate to other galaxies back when the first engine was developed. That was ten centuries ago, still haven't heard from those ships. In hyperspace, there was no turning around. You could drop out of hyperspace back to normal space but if you didn't know, where you were there was no way to plot a return course. In order to return you had to get to your destination.

I shuddered at the thought of being trapped in hyperspace for centuries, the ship on automatic and dropping out of hyper at the destination with no one alive onboard. Or maybe they made it, but something went wrong on the way back, or before they even tried to get back. Who knows for sure? I heard there was several scout-explorer class vessels sent out to look for them, but I hadn't heard whether they made it back or not.

Oh, well, time for chow and then loading the shuttles.

3.1.0093/5

* * * Max Jones

Shuttles were loaded to their maximum capacity, and as they departed the spaceport on Beta Prime, family members waved to their loved ones on board. It only took an hour to dock with the troop carrier in orbit so the trip wasn't completely unbearable. It took three hours to unload the shuttles, as there was only one docking bay open to the transport, where on the ground we could use all three bay doors to load. Once unloaded, it took another two hours to stow the equipment before transport could depart orbit.

Becky and I spent those five hours overseeing our troopers and support staff as the equipment was unloaded and stowed. Then we got the troopers settled in their squad bay aboard the transport. By the seventh hour, the ship was secure and ready for departure. Alarms sounded and announcements made. Everyone was strapped in and ready for acceleration. We only really need to be strapped in if the inertial dampers failed but, better safe than smeared against the bulkhead.

Becky and I were sitting in the lounge having a well-deserved drink, when the ship made the jump to hyper. You could tell by the queasy feeling in your gut.

You know, this is the best tasting booze I've had in a long time, Becky said, holding up her glass full of amber liquid.

It's because you haven't had any for so long. This stuff is rotgut. We should be using it to polish the brass on the ship, was my retort, as I slugged back another.

I refilled my glass with the rotten tasting stuff, then leaned back and looked at Becky. She was dressed, as I was, in a tee shirt and shorts, uniform of the day on board ship. Of course, she filled out her tee shirt nicer than I did, and from what I could tell, she wasn't wearing any underwear.

I shook my head to clear it of the thoughts that had started running through my mind, thoughts of Becky, sitting there naked, cupping her breast. Damn, I couldn't believe that image popped into my head. What the fuck was I thinking?

So, how long 'till we get there? She knew the answer. She was just making conversation.

Ten hours. This isn't a combat ship of the line you know. Now I was just making conversation.

Ten long hours with nothing to do but sit here and drink our cares away, how boring, she said. She took another gulp of her drink.

Yeah, boring, I mumbled. I was trying not to think or look at her. I didn't want that image of her to pop back into my mind.

Bam, all of a sudden the image of her writhing under me in a bunk burst into my head. We were both screaming our lust and passion into each other's mouths as we kissed. The next thing I knew I was laying on the floor looking up at Becky bent over me.

"What the hell happened to you? You're not