Zulu Drop

Captain Kataoka of the Japanese Self Defence Force is on his last day of deployment, his Zulu Drop. In less than 24 hours, he'll be on his way back to Earth. If he survives...

This is it. My last tour is almost over. The transport from Earth will be here tomorrow and, in six months, I'll be back home with Kana and Ryo. I've missed them. Ryo will be nearly two years old by then. I don't know what will happen after I return. Promoted to Major, probably, and assigned to Headquarters in Hokkaido. Or discharged with honours. Either way, I'll never fight again...

Personal Journal of Captain Tokutomi Kataoka, 2nd Squadron, 72nd Armoured Regiment, Japanese Self Defence Force.

Captain Kataoka closed down his journal recorder and re-enabled his communication systems, his HUD coming back alive. Even in his M14 Mechanised Armour, with the open comlink to his squad active at all times, a Captain in the JSDF found little opportunity for privacy. Inside the metal shell of his MA, a humanoid machine, he wore a pilot suit and helmet, his hands encased in metal gauntlets. The gauntlets responded to his movements and, using sophisticated software, translated them into actions for his MA. Around each hand was a metal ring with a control spoke in the middle that sensed pressure, with a trigger under the index finger. It took some practice but, in time, the MA came to feel like an extension of your body.
'This is it, then.' Lieutenant Sugiyama, his XO, said over their private frequency, his image appearing on the light screen that popped up in front of him. 'Your last patrol.'
'Yeah.' Kataoka said, with a shrug. 'This is it.'
He listened with half-an-ear to the conversation of his squad, as they chattered about rations, current gossip and what they would do when they got back to Earth, until the transport pilot came over his comm.
'Captain, I'm picking up an unusual energy signature and...' He said, before his voice disintegrated into static.
'Pilot?' Kataoka said. 'Pilot, report.' He stood up as the faint hum of the engines cut out and the cabin tilted sideways, electricity sparking from the hull. If he hadn't been magnetically connected to the deck, then he would have fallen. Even so, they were in trouble.
'Electronics are out. Crash procedure!' Kataoka yelled. 'Sugiyama, get the emergency retros online.'
'Yes, sir.' Sugiyama said, pulling open an access panel and operating the control lever inside, a defeating roar filling the compartment as the rockets ignited.
'Brace for impact.' Kataoka shouted, grabbing hold of the rail above his head and increasing his stabiliser power.
This is going to be rough. He thought, just before the shuttle crashed.

The emergency hatch on the side of the shuttle blew out and Kataoka guided his M14 out, his Howa-95 rifle raised as he swept the area.
'Clear.' He called and the rest of the Squad emerged, led by Sergeant Ikeda, recognisable by the three stripes on the shoulders of his M14 and the large Sumimoto Gatling cannon that he carried.
'Hori, Azuma, Sugimoto!' He ordered. 'Set up a perimeter. Delta pattern.'
'Yes, Sergeant!' Corporal Mia Sugimoto said. 'Azuma, position one, there. Hori, position two, there.'
Azuma turned and practically sprinted towards the ridge that she had indicated, while Hori moved to her position with quiet efficiency, releasing the safety of her machine pistols with an audible click. Mia climbed the ridge and looked around at the bleak, barren landscape of Io. In the distance, she could see the yellow-grey clouds billowing from Creidne Patera Caldera, as well as the flow over lava moving down the side of the mountain.
'Thank you, Sergeant.' Kataoka said and Ikeda turned towards him.
'When this is over, maybe I'll get a Captain who doesn't insist on breaking military protocol like you just did. I should have gone first.' He muttered, mostly to himself.
'You'd just find something else to complain about.' Kataoka said with a grin, activating his long-range comm.
Squad 5 to Euboea Base. Come in, Euboea Base...Euboea Base, this is Squad 5, please respond, over.'
Nothing but static came over the radio and he turned to Ikeda.
'Keep trying, Sergeant.' He said, gesturing towards Sugiyama and activated his private comm.
'Opinions, Okura?' He asked, quietly.
'I'm picking up electrical interference. According to my scanners, it's emanating from an area approximately two klicks east of our position.' Okura said. 'It's what disabled the shuttle and may be disrupting our communications.'
'Options?' Kataoka asked, although he already knew the answer.
'Limited. We haven't got the power to reach Euboea on foot and there's no way we can contact them to send another transport for us.'

WHAT R WE GONNA DO?
The words appeared on Mia's light screen and she sighed, knowing that it was Azuma without even looking at the Ident. Unnecessary radio chatter was forbidden during deployment, but there were always ways around it, such as tight-beam line of sight messaging.
JUST KEEP CALM. Mia sent back. THE CAPTAIN WILL THINK OF SOMETHING. WE'RE NOT DEAD YET.
Then, her HUD flashed up a new light screen, showing what looked like a red star falling slowly through the atmosphere and she activated her comm.
'Captain, distress flare from Euboea Base. Due West. They're under attack.' She said, just as Hori came on the comm.
'I've got a contact on my scanners. Composition reads as metallic. Range 1 kilometre and closing.'
'A transport?' Kataoka asked.
'Negative, Captain. Profile is not a match. My computers are reading it as an unknown hostile MA.'
'Set cover.' Kataoka ordered, crouching down and raising his rifle, turning his sensors up to maximum just as Hori started firing. Her machine pistols barked three times with short, precise bursts before something struck her MA and sent it tumbling down the ridge towards them. Some...thing came charging after her and Kataoka trained his sensors on it. It was metallic, like an MA, but that was where the similarity ended. Its body was covered in crude plates of different metals and when it opened its metallic mouth, a fire like molten metal burnt within it. Hori struck the bottom of the ridge and was already raising her weapon, but Kataoka knew that she wouldn't be quick enough.
'Covering fire!' He yelled, tightening his finger on the trigger of his joystick, computerised signals being relayed to the servos in his M14's arm and his rifle fired, the rounds sparking off the monster's armour. Fire from Sugimoto and Azuma struck its back plate and the...thing gave a metallic roar, turning towards them. Then, a shot struck it in the neck between its armour plates and exploded, knocking it sideways. Kataoka looked round to see Shiraki reloading his Howa-64 sniper rifle, ejecting the spent shell as the monster turned towards him.
'Aim for the neck!' Kataoka yelled. 'Left side.' Fire erupted from the squad, tearing into the area where Shiraki had penetrated its armour and the monster staggered backwards and fell, the light fading from its eyes.
'Is it dead?' Ikeda asked, stepping forward and training his Gatling cannon on it.
'Looks like it.' Kataoka said. 'If it was even alive. Either way, we should move out while we can. Sugimoto, Shiraki, help Hori. Azuma, take point.'

They quickly left the sight of the battle, and the metal corpse, behind, heading for the high ground half a klick away. In the distance, the red distress flares still burned from Euboea. As they watched, they saw several hulking shapes moving across the landscape, heading in the direction of Euboea.
'This is it.' Shiraki said, letting his rifle drop to the ground. 'We're dead. We can't contact Euboea Base, we've got just under two hours of reserve energy left and we're under attack. Either we'll run out of power and asphyxiate or we'll get torn apart by metal killing machines.'
'Well, I'm not just going to sit here and wait.' Hori said, reloading her machine pistols. 'I'm not giving up and, if we are dead, then I'm going to go down fighting. There might be more of those things around, heading for Euboea Base. We should take the fight to them.'
'Are you saying we should just throw away our lives?' Mia responded. 'We're still alive and...'
'Face facts. We're going to die. I'm not running away from that. I'll meet it head on, not hiding like a little girl with her head under the covers.'
'If you want to die, go ahead.' Azuma snapped. 'Some of us have more to live for than...'
'SHUT UP!'
Kataoka yelled, having increased the volume of his comm system to the max and the Squad turned towards him. 'Alright. Listen up. We don't have the energy reserves to make it back to Euboea on foot and there's no transport coming for us. We're stranded, with no hope of rescue and must face the possibility that we're not going to get out of this. But, we're not dead yet. We've detected the source of the interference two klicks east. We can reach that position in just under an hour.'
'And do what?' Shiraki asked, adding 'Sir.'
'At the very least, we can disable it. Euboea base is under attack, presumably by the same enemies we just encountered. With the jamming active, they can't call for rescue from Orbital-1. If we can disable it, then they may have a chance.'
'And what about us?' Azuma asked. 'Even if we reach the base, our reserves will be critical. Without power, our life support systems will fail and we'll die.'
'Not necessarily.' Sugiyama put in. 'Anything capable of sustaining an electrical field of that magnitude requires an infrastructure. If we can get there, we may find a power source to keep our MAs going. Then, we can shut it down and call for extraction.'
'We don't have much choice.' Kataoka said. 'I'm not suggesting a suicide mission, but there's more at stake here than just our lives. Our comrades are fighting and dying, and we have the best chance to save them. Besides, our only other option is sit here and wait for our power to run out. Now, move out.'


They set off in a wide formation, with Hori and Azuma on point, their sensors set to detect motion as an early warning of another attack. While they got several blips, they could never track them down and they saw no further sign of the enemy.
'Probably just seismic activity.' Sugiyama said, although nobody was entirely convinced by that. The path towards the jamming field surge took them close to Creidne Paters Caldera and that's when everything went wrong. Without warning, the ground started to shake under them, alarms sounding within their cockpits.
'Earthquake!' Kataoka roared. 'Brace for...'
The rest of his words were lost in a deafening roar as the ground started to shake and crack, throwing them off their feet. Then a fissure opened, tearing its way towards Sugimoto. She struggled to rise, but the rock fell away from underneath her and she disappeared.
'Mia!' Azuma yelled. 'Mia, I'm...'
'Hold your position.' Kataoka snapped, adjusting the power to his gyros and powering towards the fissure.
'Captain!' Sugiyama yelled, but he ignored him, reaching the edge of the crater and looking down. Beneath him, handing by one hand thrust into the rock was Sugimoto's MA. Kneeling down, he reached out for her, grabbing her by the wrist and pulling. A schematic popped up on his light screen, showing servos stresses in the red, but he ignored them, adjusting his stabilisers and pulling harder. Beneath his feet, he could feel the rocks cracking as he hauled Sugimoto over the edge of the fissure and dragged her backwards, just as the rocks gave way. Sugiyama came over and knelt down, his comm array flashing as he made a tight beam connection to her mainframe, checking her diagnostic monitors, glancing left at Kataoka.
'Some damage to left arm servos.' He reported, helping her to her feet and turning back to Kataoka, switching to his private frequency.
'What were you doing?' He snapped. 'That was a stupid risk to take.'
'We've been over this before, Okura. I'm not going to order anyone to do anything that I'm not willing to do myself. This is my squad.'
'...yes, sir.' Sugiyama said, switching back to the squad frequency. 'The source of the EMP should be just over that ridge.'

They lay on top of the ridge, looking down at the vast, crude structure that marred the otherwise empty landscape. It was an ugly mess of twisted metal, tangled cables and battered components that all appeared to have been wielded together in a haphazard fashion, roughly the size of an aircraft hangar. On its top was what looked like antennae, occasionally emitting sparks that discharged into the metal of the structure. More disturbing, however, were the four figures patrolling the perimeter, their hulking silhouettes easily recognisable even at this distance.
'More of those things?' Sugimoto asked. 'What are they?'
'Kinzoku-jin.' Azuma muttered and Kataoka allowed himself a faint smile.
Metalmen. That's about right.
'No idea. But, that's as good a name as any.' He said, watching their patterns closely, an idea forming in his head.
'Alright. This is what we do. Shiraki, set up here. Sugiyama, Azuma, take the left flank. Ikeda, Sugimoto, on the right. Wait until they're at the farthest point of their patrols and then hit them hard. Concentrate your fire on the joints; those should be the weak spots in their armour. Shiraki, offer supporting fire from here. When they're engaged, Hori and I will head for the structure. Once we're inside, we may lose radio contact, so Lieutenant Sugiyama will be in command. Any questions? Alright, take your positions.'
He watched them go, mentally counting down the seconds until they would be in position.
...3...2...1...
The silence was split by the roar of gunfire, a hail of bullets raining down on the Kinzoku-Jin who, with a metallic shriek, charged towards the attacking MAs. Kataoka's heart leapt into his throat, but he knew that there was nothing he could do to help them. He could only watch as they maintained their fire, bullets sparking off the Kinzoku-Jin's armour.
'Move out.' He ordered, rising from his crouch and pounding down the slope with Hori right behind him, her twin machine pistols barking as she opened fire on the Kinzoku-Jin in front of them. The bullets sparked of its armoured face plate and then one penetrated with a small explosion and Kataoka smiled, grimly. Hori was an excellent shot and she certainly knew how to make it count. That was why he had wanted her with him. He raised his own rifle and fired, the bullets tearing through its damaged armour and ripping through the cables beneath. Sparks erupted and it shrieked, toppling sideways, the light in its eyes fading. Kataoka covered the door, while Hori advanced towards the facility, stopping by the corpse and aiming her pistol at its head. Faster than Kataoka thought possible, its hand reached up and grabbed her MA's head, lifting her off the ground. Kataoka opened fire, bullets bouncing off its armoured back as its fist started to squeeze. Then, Hori's hand snapped up, her pistol pressed against its head and she pulled the trigger. The shot ripped through the Kinzoku-Jin's and it dropped her, staggering backwards and Kataoka fired, the light in its eyes fading. He found himself standing stock still, glancing at the scene around him; the fallen Kinzoku-Jin and Hori's MA lying next to each other in a horrible juxtaposition. Then, his sensors flashed a warning and he swung round to see the last Kinzoku-Jin bearing down on him. His rifle snapped up, just as a shot struck it on the shoulder, tearing through its armour. Crouching a few feet away, having abandoned his post was Shiraka, loading another round into his sniper rifle. His MA turned his head towards Kataoka, before aiming at the Kinzoku-Jin and Kataoka understood. Turning away, he sprinted towards the facility, hearing the sharp crack of Shiraki's rifle and the screech of the Kinzoku-Jin as he pounded inside and looked around.
D****t. I wish Sugiyama was here.
Around him was a mass of wires and cables, crude circuitry and control panels, all twisting haphazardly behind the walls and across the floor, so much that he didn't even know where to start.  
Alright, think. This whole installation is crude, and these Kinzoku-jin don't seem that intelligent, so it must be a simple setup. There might even be an off switch somewhere. He started looking around, scanning with his sensors and then he saw it. Set into the back wall, almost hidden amongst the chaos, was a lever.
That must be it. He thought to himself. There was certainly nothing else around. Quickly, he crossed to lever and, gripping it with both hands, pushed it upwards. The faint hum that he had been hearing all along stopped and he allowed himself a grin, just as the handle started to spark. He tried to let it go, but it was too late. Electricity arced along the handle and through his MA, making him scream until darkness claimed him.

'...ar me? Tokutomi? Tokutomi, can you hear me?'
'Okura?' Kataoka managed, wincing as he tried to sit forward. His head was pounding and there was a metallic taste in his mouth. 'Where...?'
'Easy, sir. You're alright, now. You did it. The jamming field is down and we've called for extraction. I've even managed to jury-rig a power feed from the remaining systems here.'
'The squad?' Kataoka asked and Okura hesitated, answering his question.
'We lost Shiraki and Kenji, sir.'
'Help me up.' Kataoka ordered.
'Sir, I don't think...'
'Please.' He said and Okura grabbed him under the arms, lifting him to his feet. To his left stood Azuma, Hori and Sugimoto, their MA's scarred and battered, each with makeshift cables plugged into their battery packs. To the right lay Shiraki and Kenji, their weapons placed beside them and he felt the familiar lump in his throat. His training kicked in to push it aside, but he fought against the impulse. There was a time to fight and a time mourn. When they returned to Earth, they would be buried with full military honours. But now, he knew what needed to be done.
'Attention on the deck.' He said, quietly. 'Present arms.'
Inside his cockpit, he saluted and the squad followed suit, a silent mark of respect to their fallen comrades. Kataoka lowered his salute, looking up at the sky as he heard the roar of an engine, the transport coming into view.
'Let's go home.'

Author's Note

Thanks for reading. Reviews and constructive criticism very welcome.

Reviews

[C.R. Fritz]

I like the story! The raw action and unique names for machinery is interesting. I can't see too many things to change. One of the paragraphs seems long

'Move out.'

[MythicalJack]

I really felt like I was inside the story, that I understood clearly what was happening

[David Jae]

Thank you very much. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[David Jae]

Thanks very much. I agree with what you're saying. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[Tomoe Tellez]

As always your writing is full of action, and the dialogue follows through nicely. You have a great capacity of making the reader feel instantly inside the story. There was a part where I think you should separate into more paragraphs, action kind of slows down when you make a very long paragraph, like it is all connected and when you make more paragraphs you can separate each move. This is a very entertaining piece of writing.