Rise Of The Storm Soldiers
Humans and Dinosaurs Saga
“Remember, they want us all dead. Get them to surrender, and maybe we can discuss terms with them.” Niegel Greggs from the department of Planetary Security handed the portfolio detailing orders and relevant information to Fitz Kriëgg.
“I will follow my directives to the letter.” the helmeted soldier said as he saluted his commander. Wearing advanced battle armor, his helmet was reminiscent of the kind made during World War II. A cosmetic choice, Fitz chose out of nostalgia he had for such advances in military warfare.
Though many have commented he seemed to admire the Nazi war machine more than any other factions in that conflict. Even calling his android soldiers, the Storm Soldiers, they all bore an almost exact appearance to the Storm Troopers, elite Nazi soldiers.
Fitz wearing the bars dignifying him of a high Kernel rank in the military, it was all allowed by Niegel to humor the almost child-like inventor, whose contributions may save the human race.
Aliens from another world known as the Critarians have developed wormhole technology and have begun an all out war campaign against Earth. Thousands have died already, and despite the Superhumans fighting them back each time, they return stronger, and more violent.
This time Niegel was going to send out Fitz in his Storm Soldiers is his interstellar warship, that Fitz dubbed the Stiege Bismarck it was a gigantic starship loaded with the most advanced war tech mankind has produced.
Many nations on Earth frowned on Planetary Security’s hostile actions, as many of them believed peaceful options were open, since they made strong relations with several other alien races.
Galnarians, Kaldars, Synthopians, and Tel Vash’o were alien races sympathetic to Earth’s blight, and offered sanctions and protection against the Critarians' conquest. However peace talks were slow, and Niegel was paranoid he was opening his plant’s defenses up to alien infiltration, by being too welcoming to the alien dignitaries. Human protection was not all his ambitions, but also to spread out and populate others worlds, to better mankind.
These hopes Niegel shared with Fitz one day in his laboratory, but forgot most of it since he was sharing drinks with his subordinate.
“The human race is counting you, Fitz.” Saluting the kernel back, Niegel watched as Fitz boarded the Stiege Bismarck and the metallic craft levitated off the platform it rested upon.
Smoothly sailing into the sky vanishes through a blinding blue light.
Niegel was washed with anxiety as he awaited any news from Fitz, whether his mission had reached any obstacles. Nothing came through his earpiece, so he figured it was still in transit through the wormhole Fitz developed.
He was about to return to headquarters when another blue flash came, and the Stiege Bismarck, only it was larger, and had advances in every area of its design. Whatever occurred, it seemed that the warship was incorporating alien technology. Niegel noticed more than one race’s designs were put into place on that craft, he was filled with questions.
Waiting for it to land on the platform, the doors of the ship opened, and a walking platform lowered to the platform. Disembarking Fitz in a more advanced battle suit descended down, moving as if by levitation to the bottom, where he met Niegel with a salute.
“Mission successful, the Critarians have been exterminated.”
Niegel was pleased, but was worried by the word ‘exterminated?’
“What do you mean exterminated? You were just going to force talks.” Niegel raised his voice as anger slipped out before he could think better of it, considering the circumstances.
“That was the plan, but then I found how affectionate my weapons were, and decided to destroy their home world where they were all centralized. Complete and utter genocide of our mortal enemy seemed preferable over a tenuous peace.” Fitz’s words made Niegel go pale, as he needed to sit down but no chair was in sight.
“Dear God…you killed a whole race…even the children?”
Fitz responded in a humorous tone, “Critarians don’t have children, they reproduce through cloning, remember.”
Niegel slapped the helmet Fitz was wearing, but his strike only made his hand sore.
“You idiot, how will the rest of our interstellar allies take to that news? You committed a war crime!” Niegel couldn’t help but being angry, not just morally but practically, Fitz had nuked all chances of relations with other alien races.
“I wouldn’t be too worried, I took the liberty of expanding Earth’s reach, I already exterminated the Glorssals, the Piccians, and the Galnarians among others.” Fitz lifted his palm and a hologram materialized showing the effort of his conquest. Many more worlds and systems were shown where hundreds of different alien races had developed civilizations, all of them on the screen he saw Fitz wipe out of existence, and turn their planets into factories.
Those that weren’t used to make more Storm Soldiers he terraformed to implant humans.
“Where did you get those people?!” Niegel watched as barely nude men and women of different breeds of human were released on the planet to cultivate it for human civilization. Each one was overseen by Storm Soldiers who provided tools, and educational material.
“I took the liberty of cloning them. I used the Critarians' cloning technology with the genetic material I took with me to create a new race of humans to help settle the conquered worlds.”
Niegel backed away, his face livid with horror.
“But…the Galnarians were our friends, they gave us so much, and didn’t ask for anything…and you killed them all…they didn’t even have any weapons!”
Niegel had a good relationship with the Galnarian ambassadors, he saw their race as something he hoped mankind could aspire to be, instead his race utterly destroyed them, wiping them from existence.
“That made it easy, despite their defensive barriers, my revamped ballistics and firearms were more than enough to breach their global shields, and destroy them to the last.” Fitz seemed changed, in so little time he had returned a menace.
“How did you do this in such a short time?” Niegel was flummoxed, he couldn’t comprehend such a nonchalant attitude to genocide.
“To you it was nearly a full minute, to me it was nearly a century. I broke the secrets of their worm holes, and have managed to timestrip through the universe. Creating pockets of time zones. Where on the other end of the galaxy my mission is done, here it hasn’t fully happened.” Fitz showed the science of it on the hologram.
“Then I could warn them, tell them of it by sending a transmission and—” Fitz cutoff Niegel before he got his hopes too high.
“No. Like I said, what happened already happened. If you send a message from here, it’ll arrive after my mission is done. No way can you stop it, it's predestined, and so it is the future glory of the human race.”
Overcome with sheer existential terror, he feared what the human race would become, as he fell to his knees. Disheartened to his core at the rise of a new elite faction of hate, that would see all humans reduced to nothing or made into cattle for its growing warmachines.
“God help us.” Niegel put his head in his hands and wept.
“He did.” Fitz began to inform the nations of the Earth of his triumph, and his plans for settling the universe, as he wasn’t done with his conquests.
***
Voe and Viddy were out in the jungle, sisters, one was older by six years, as she held onto her little sister's hand, who felt great apprehension.
“Don’t worry Viddy.” Voe tried to soothe her little sister. “Dexter will protect us.”
“But it's so dark.” Viddy felt Dexter their pet plateosaurus nuzzle the back of her head.
“I’ve got a torch, it's fine. We’ll escape the camps this time, and try to find mom and dad.'' She tried to sound hopeful but knew the Storm Soldiers would notice they were missing after they took midnight roll call.
There have been so many escapes already from the settlement camps, people trying to escape the strict rule of the Storm Soldiers that they couldn’t help but urge for freedom.
Already the edict from Earth came through, and demanded all dinosaurs domesticated and wild would be exterminated by order of Führer Fitz. The dinosaurs of planet Odin II have exhibited signs of evolution that could lead to high level sentience within a few generations.
Not wanting a rival race to mankind, all dinosaurs were ordered to be destroyed by the following weekend. This prompted the sisters to leave with their longtime friend Dexter, who they had since he hatched.
“Mother and father escaped, and we will too.” Voe tried to comfort her sister by acting brave and strong.
“But, they told us not to follow.” Viddy sounded meek as she spoke, as if she was worried about being scolded.
“They didn’t know Dexter would be killed. We needed to leave tonight. Now hush, I think we’re nearing the boundary.” as the sisters piped down, the torch light revealed a metallic gleam a few feet away.
It was the camp wall, a stretch of razor wire fence that runs for miles, cutting off the camp from the rest of the planet, the Storm Soldiers have yet to purge of alien life. This was their only chance to find their parents, and save Dexter, they had to find a way past the fence.
Luckily Voe had a plan, she had Dexter to dig, directing him to the edge of the barrier, she instructed him to make a tunnel under the barrier to the other side. Before she heard other humans would try to climb over the fence, but the advances the Storm Soldiers made, made it too high to climb, and the razors too numerous to avoid.
The bodies of the dead, mauled by the blades would be brought before the people of the camp, with the Ministers who ran it, scolded everyone there for not preventing it by reporting all suspicious behavior.
“Even if they think it, know that your silence causes needless deaths.” These words caused many people to be thrown into lockup, till they could be reeducated to be more compliant.
Fortunately still being seen as children, they had more free reign outside of their lessons, but they would still be missed before long.
“Hurry Dexter, we have to get as far as we can before they start searching.”
Voe’s words inspired the adolescent dinosaurs to dig deeper, faster, and before long he made a tunnel under the fence. Holding her sister’s hand, Voe went down the soft earth passage, and with some squeezing and hard breathing passed through the other side.
Just as they started running into the jungle past the fence, they heard the alarms sound in the distance—the camp was on high alert, they were discovered missing from their bunks. Dousing her torch, Voe relied on the three moons in the sky to light their way, as they charged off into the jungle to search for their parents.
***
High War Commander Grueber, a android cyborg from Earth, had just materialized through wormhole portal into the camp where the humans were being groomed to develop the planet for the glory of the Human Reich.
“Minister Fox?” Grueber’s silver eyes focused on the large man who separated from the rest of the humans of the camp who were assembled.
“Greetings Grueber, I am—” before Minister Fox could utter another word, Grueber pointed his robotic finger, and Fox’s skull exploded as if it were a lit firecracker.
Metal pieces and computer chips fell out of the combusted skull, revealing to all the humans present their leader was an android the entire time.
“You have exceeded the tolerable number of escapes.” Grueber positioned himself on a large platform to address the settlers. Confused and scared they hoped there wouldn’t be any killing, unaware that they were too precious to waste murdering just to teach a lesson. “Be calm, the human mind can be re-educated, no need to fear extermination. Do not be afraid, I am here to help.”
Despite the words of comfort, the people assembled started to cringe, as they shook in sheer terror over what most likely surgical means they’ll use to re-educate them. Some cried, others wanted to pray but it was forbidden, and others planned to commit suicide, no one wanted to be turned into drones.
Lobotomized secretaries and paper pushers, they're meant to exist in an unaware bliss, completely castrated to prevent passing on defective genes that cause rebellion.
Some cursed Voe and Viddy for escaping, causing this evolution in their strict existence.
“Before we start, I must recover the two recent escapes, two girls whose parents have been ex—escaped.” The misspoke had sent a shiver up many of their spines. “Fear not, I will help them, then return to help the rest of you.” Then from the back of his power suit a jetpack came out, and he flew into the sky, towards the likely direction the sisters fled towards.
***
All night they traveled and most of the next day, passing through the jungle, most feral animals of the planet were frightened off by Dexter’s low growls. Eventually the sister’s and their dinosaur found etchings hidden in the bark of the trees.
“These are the letters mom and dad told us about!” Voe excitedly showed her sister the secret signs their parents left.
“The tracking letters!” Viddy excitedly pulled her sister in the direction the letters told her to, as they followed a trail hidden in the foliage, and through rock formations, they arrived at the doors of a hidden bunker.
But the bunker door was not anything they saw before, the design and metal was completely alien to them, as if some people other than their own made it. Going to the door, together with Dexter they turned the stiff wheel that sealed shut the door, with great effort they managed to get it to spin, till the door opened on its own.
Before her sister could stop her, Viddy excitedly ran into the darkness calling out, “Mommy! Daddy!” as she searched for them.
Voe followed closely behind with Dexter, as the interior lights of the bunker turned on and revealed their way, through metallic halls and chambers, till finally they found their parents.
Together, with many others who left the camps, they were seated at a long table, wearing party hats, all waiting for someone to come find them.
Upon seeing them, Viddy cried, and when Voe caught up with her sister and saw them, she couldn’t help but tear up, and Dexter went over to them, to snuff and rub its head on the people who helped him hatch.
Mary and David sat there.
Viddy and Voe cried as they held one another, as Dexter let out a roar of loss.
Mary and David, their parents, were dead.
A hole punctured through their foreheads, as it did with all the other people in the bunker.
“I tried to help them.” Grueber seemed to materialize from nowhere. His artificial eyes scanned the children, and scanned around for any other live signs. He detected the life of Dexter, but he had run away, and hid further in the bunker to avoid being killed. The War Commander believed the dinosaur was already showing signs of high level thinking, but its destruction wasn’t his concern.
First he needed to attend to the children.
“Did you kill our parents?” Voe accusingly asked, as tears reddened her eyes.
“Yes.” Grueber’s words were harsh but honest, and it made the girls' hearts ache so much they wanted to die. “They couldn’t be helped, they—” he paused as if judging what was appropriate to say to children. “—altered themselves, and planned to alter the rest of humanity, in order to get us to stop colonizing more worlds. It couldn’t be reversed, so…it needed to be done.”
Grueber tried to sound soft but he turned hard, and an edge of strict menace came into his robotic toned voice.
“Whatever they did, they were still human.” Voe regained some composure and was angry at the Storm Soldier for what he confessed to, “No matter what. They were our mom and dad, and you had no right—”
“Rights!?” Grueber sneered as he pointed his finger at the girls. “What have they been teaching you at those camps!? Rights are the tools our enemies use to destroy us! Don’t be fooled girls, if your parents had the chance they’d make us kill you too, and all other humans. We can’t stop! Humanity must never stop, we must expand, till we cover every inch of this entire existence in our colors, and all ideals are our own!”
Roughly he grabbed Voe by the neck and lifted her off the ground, as her sister cried and tried to reach for her sister.
“Get with the game plan girly!” Grueber seemed to be suffering from a malfunction as his speech became suddenly aggressive. “EiTHER, shaPE, uP OR!!!!! BE ExTERMina—ted!”
Something was eating at his cyborg brain, Grueber grabbed at his helmet, trying to get the bugs out of his brain, but whatever happened it was melting his insides.
Dropping Voe to the ground, she landed on her feet, grabbed her sister and ran for cover, as the cyborg swung his arms around, swearing and screaming in true agony.
The girls watched from behind a window screen as the cyborg ripped off his helmet, and revealed a skull covered in crimson liquid of flesh melting off. Just then fire blasted out of his eye sockets, and he collapsed to the ground, as the fire consumed his body.
“What happened to Voe?” Viddy asked her sister, still scared of the robot man.
“I don’t know.” Viddy walked out of hiding with her sister, just in time to watch Dexter take a fire extinguisher and put out the fire that consumed the Storm Soldier.
“Dexter?!” Both sisters cried, confused and happy to see their friend.
Running over to hug and stroke him, he happily growled under their touch.
“Did you do this?” Voe asked, not sure how Dexter managed to do it.
Dexter did his best to emulate a human smile, and gestured with his head to the far wall of the room. Over there was an ultraviolet laser gun.
“Safe…for…humans…bad…for…cyborgs.” with a rough enunciation Dexter talked to the girls for the first time ever, and they were very excited to learn that their pet was culpable of such a thing.
Together the girls with the dinosaur mourned the death of their parents, and the rest of the humans, burying them outside, they marked their graves, and after gathering supplies from the bunker left into the jungle. Hoping to find somewhere, where there are other free people, outside the reach of the authority of the Storm Soldiers, who they felt were already giving chase to them, and whose shadow seemed to darken their future.