Jump to content

Unit 246: Chapter Two


Hialmar

Recommended Posts

Chapter one is found here:

https://muscle-growth.org/topic/13112-unit-246/

Unit 246

Chapter Two

They had faced so many enemies, and his men in the Enhanced Special Marine Servicemen company had proved their worth at so many occasions.

Sergeant Mulligan remembered the time they defended farmers on Eridanus 2 against radioactive dinosaurs, the time they defended crystal-farmers on Alpha Centauri 6 against mind-eating wind-scyphozoa, and the time they defended miners on Ceres against acid-spouting xenozoa. Innocent colonists against local wildlife – those times he had no doubt. His men fought heroically, and achieved what no ordinary human would have achieved. There were other times, when he did what he had to do, and led his men crushing rebellions. Zaztron 4 seemed to fall in the latter category, but it had to be done, otherwise there could be unrest in the entire arm of the galaxy, as Lieutenant Fforbes had informed him.

Sergeant Mulligan cheered at the thought, and felt a sting of envy, of his men on leave in a space harbour – either on a mainland planet or at a space station. When they had Emotion Access switched on, these lads knew how to party. Their toleration of alcohol was off the chart, and then there were the hulk-marine-groupies, as some civilians put it. Lots of women avoided the Enhanced Special Marine Servicemen when the latter were off-duty, of course. The rumours went before them. Then there were those women who sought the pubs and clubs where his men relaxed after work. Well, some men too, but the authorities preferred to hush that aspect down. If any pregnancy occurred, the Empire payed the mother a monthly allowance until the boy – it was always a boy, because of the genetic tinkering – reached the age of fifteen, when he automatically became the property of the Galactic Empire.

Sergeant Mulligan watched the central console for the hibernation-pods. They went from yellow to green. His men were awakening. He had to brief them about the mission.

* * *

The whining sound of shells and landing-vessels. Shouts. Stun rays, death rays and conventional fire. Students throwing stone at hulk marines in battle armour. Max crouched behind a heap of rubble, and wished he was somewhere else. He felt nauseous, and his belly was empty. The protest had began, when supplies of flour and vegetables had been cut off. A planet like Zaztron 4 wasn't suitable for agriculture, even inside greenhouses, and the mining planet was dependent on a steady flow of supply from other planets. The galaxy needed metal. Usually, there were no problems. Starving people are ready to resort to desperate means. A loud noise: The News Tower bombarded – other planets wouldn't know what happened here.

It would have felt better if Bill had been here, but it had been eight years now. He had spent six years in school with Bill, and he had always felt so safe, light-hearted and protected when Bill was around. The first two years in school had been bad: The other children, especially the boys, picked on him, because he was so short and thin. When third grade began, the seat to the left of Max was empty, and the new pupil took a seat there. Bill. As an outsider, Bill was shunned by the other pupils, too, but no one dared to pick a fight with Bill, and since Bill and Max were friends, the bullying of Max ended that year. Bill had arrived with his Mum from somewhere else in the system, no one knew with certainty from where. Bill and Max spent afternoons after school playing in the rubble from the mines, or watching children's programmes. Bill's Mum was really nice, but she was often sad, for some reason. The year between their thirteenth and fourteenth birthday, Bill had begun to grow, and he grew faster than any of the other boys in class: At age fourteen he was broad-shouldered and tall far beyond the average fourteen-year-old, and he had used his new-won height to carry Max and Tom, another short friend, across the belt of willow-scorpions between the school and the pier. A few months before next birthday, Bill had become silent and moody. Max still remember the day the room to the lecture hall opened, two officials in the black uniform of the Galactic Empire entered, and approach Bill's seat.

"William 3285197 Smith?"

"Yes?"

"Will you please follow us."

Bill's cheeks had become blossoming red.

"No, I don't want to follow you, Sir."

The uniformed men dragged him out of the lecture hall by force.

"NO! I told you, that I don't want to follow you!"

Eight years. Eight years since that day. He still missed the comforting presence of Bill.

Protesters screaming. The stench of blood, innards and death. Max threw up, couldn't control his fear. The clunky sound of men in battle armour marching. One of them approaching. So this was it. He was going to be shot, probably by a hulk marine. Pity. They had been quite impressive when they saved those farmers attacked by dinosaurs. Pity that he would die at the hand of one of them. He looked up. The heavy battle armour towered over him – a hulk marine inside: Buzzcut, big traps (as usual), some sort of camo uniform inside the armour. Then he recognised the face: Older, of course. More angular and masculine, as all of them. But it was, yes it was indeed, his old friend Bill. He was going to be killed by Bill, his best friend.

"Bill? Bill, it's me, Max?"

"Negative. The designation of this individual unit is not 'Bill'. The designation of this individual unit is 'Unit 246'.

"Are you going to kill me?"

He didn't know from where the projectile was coming. It could have been protesting miners, or it could have been the hulk marines, but a projectile hit the place where he had stood. He didn't stand there anymore. He was encapsulated inside a part of the battle armour in of the hulk marine who looked like Bill.

"Negative. Some civilian hostiles shall be converted. This unit has found you convertible."

The hulk marine began to walk away from the battleground, approaching a landing vessel.

* * *

Chapter Three is found here:

https://muscle-growth.org/topic/13142-unit-246-chapter-three/

Edited by Hialmar
link, layout, another link, language
  • Like 8
  • Upvote 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 hours ago, Ro20316 said:

Oh! but they were killing ciivilians?

Does Bill reconise him?

1. Yes. I suppose 'death rays' and 'innards' give that away, though 'stun rays' show that carnage isn't the purpose of the marines' superiors. Ever heard about the the Kent State shootings in 1970 or the Bloody Sunday in Northern Ireland 1972? The Galactic Empire is fiction, but, sorry to say, similar things happens in reality. I wish they didn't. The abovementioned two historical events are not the only ones. Furthermore, I have used the same theme in an, implicitly, even darker and more cruel way (sensitive readers are warned) in The Security Squad. I've been told that, as a Gen X, I use a lot of irony when I write, at least in some of my stories. The defence against space monsters in the Unit 246 story is mentioned in order to shed light on the benign use of the Enhanced Special Marine Servicemen. The Galactic Empire might be bad, but it isn't usually sadistic. 

2. Who knows?

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Guidelines, Terms of Use, & Privacy Policy.
We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue..