A small twig snapped as the Sergeant's left leg descended to the ground. The sound it gave off traveled no further than two inches before it was nullified by the suit's Audio/Visual Environmental Stealth System. The AVESS matched the snapping sound perfectly, rendering the suit's movement completely silent. He continued onward, his stride never changing.
"I fight for my people. I fight for my land," he sung to himself, "Revenge on our enemies is what we demand. We level their cities and destroy their towns. Into their skulls we shoot our rounds. We sing to the death of our foes." The Sergeant was as patriotic as any of his countrymen. He meant every word of the song, every damned word.
He brought himself to a stop and initiated an intensive scan. A cluster of red dots appeared on the Heads-Up Display in his visor, marking the location of an enemy base. He localized the HUD's scan to the base's area and studied their defenses.
He recognized four LMDO-5 outposts and two old M-5A4 Light Hovertanks. The tanks, while powerful, were not his main concern. The LMDOs mounted twin 135mm charged particle cannons and a sensor suite that could only detect him in good conditions. He decided to approach them from the south where their sensor net was the weakest.
He programmed a route into the suit's autopilot, relinquishing control to the suit's computer system. It accelerated him to twenty miles per hour, heading south on a course around the base's sensor perimeter. The AVESS system worked frantically, changing the color of the suit's fiber optic skin to match that of the surrounding forest. The Sergeant became a shimmering blur against the backdrop of trees.
After an hour of running, the autopilot slowed as he approached his destination, thirty klicks south of the enemy base. It took several seconds to fully decelerate, bringing him to rest under a rock outcropping. The Sergeant disengaged the autopilot, regaining control of his limbs. He immediately crouched and readied his arsenal of weapons. The computer ran diagnostics on his CR-7 Combat Rifle and his internal laser, which sat atop the Sergeant's left shoulder. Several green lights showed up on the HUD, which indicated full working order. The Sergeant began his assault.
He crept along the forest floor at a steady pace. The suit's normal seven foot frame was reduced to less than four by his crouched position. A small window on the HUD kept him informed of enemy movements.
As he came within fifteen klicks of the base, his computer flashed a yellow light. Continuing his advance, he glanced at it casually. It indicated that he had just entered the base's sensor net. His Electronic Countermeasures activated immediately, displaying a green "ECM" in the upper right corner of his view. The red light that would indicate his detection did not appear. He continued.
After several more minutes, he stopped five klicks from the nearest LMDO. A quick glance at his ECM status display informed him that he was still safe from the many signals that the enemy was transmitting to detect him. He smoothly raised the CR-7 to his shoulder, chambering a plasma grenade as he took aim. His targeting program activated instantly, "painting" the target with multi-frequency ultrasound to get a fix.
Suddenly, a klaxon went off in his earphone and numerous red displays popped up on his HUD. His targeting display was reduced to static by enemy jamming. "Damn," he muttered. He had been detected.
His long range camera showed frantic activity at the LMDO. A turret began to swing his way. A quick glance at another display told him that his targeting computer was struggling against the LMDO's jamming.
It was a race to the death. The winner would be the one that burned through the other's jamming and fired first. The Sergeant's eyes locked on his targeting readout. A green light appeared just as a different warning sounded in his head. He pulled on the trigger and dived to the ground.
He and the LMDO had both fired at the same time. His grenade leaped out of the CR-7's barrel and slammed into the LMDO milliseconds later. The LMDO's cannon lanced the ground where the Sergeant had just been, not three feet from his current position. Heat shot through his armor, overloading the suit's cooling system.
He rose quickly, his vision locked on the LMDO. The camera's digitized display revealed a burning pile of junk. A huge piece of the upright cylinder that once held the turret had been ripped off. Smoke curled skyward above flames that raged with red heat and yellow brilliance. Numerous charred bodies were evident in the wreckage.
After confirming his kill, the Sergeant's eyes darted to the tactical display. It showed a general alert at the enemy base, with the two hovertanks racing to the destroyed LMDO. Two of the remaining outposts followed in support, deserting their positions. The third repositioned itself to cover the newly exposed perimeter.
The Sergeant had the computer calculate an intercept speed to meet the tanks at the LMDO's site. His eyes scanned the condition monitors. Everything was in order, save the cooling system, which was working at 67%. He activated the autopilot. The suit took off, accelerating to over thirty miles per hour in a matter of seconds.
The forest became his ally, slowing down the tanks and blocking their visual scanners. His ECM suite reported that a negligible amount of scan activity was emanating from the enemy base. The destruction of the LMDO had left a hole in the base's detection grid. The Sergeant was happy to exploit this.
He skidded to a halt ten minutes later, a mere twenty seconds ahead of the tanks. The suit's anti-tank weapon detached from its harness on his back and swiveled forward on his hip. He locked his targeting computer on the first tank and waited.
As soon as the first tank came in view, the Sergeant fired the anti-tank weapon. Its shaped-charge plasma warhead impacted just below the tank's turret, blowing it free of the chassis. Out of control, the tank hit a tree, flipped over and landed with an earthshaking roar.
At the same time, the second tank acquired the Sergeant on its targeting computer by backtracking the anti-tank shell. Its main gun roared, shooting an old APFSDS round at him. Microseconds from impact, the suit's Auto-Defense System activated. The ADS exploded the tank's round with the internal laser a few feet from impact, blowing the Sergeant several feet into the air. He landed face up on a bed of wreckage from the LMDO. His mind began to slip into unconsciousness.
The suit's medical computer responded immediately, pumping stimulants into his blood stream. The tank continued toward him.
Groggily, he locked his computer on the oncoming tank and detached the anti-tank weapon. He pointed it at the tank, his arm trembling. Blood trickled down his face as he fine tuned his aim. Finally, the tank was highlighted in green, signaling lock.
The anti-tank round took off with a whoosh. The tank's anti-missile system fired off several rounds in a futile attempt to down the missile. The rocket arched up to gain altitude and promptly began to fall, allowing gravity to add to its punch. It slammed into the top of the tank's turret, gutting the armored vehicle.
The Sergeant slowly rose. He looked over the tactical display. The three remaining LMDOs had pulled back to the base and were putting together a hasty defense.
He stood up and looked himself over. The medical computer reported a slight concussion, which was already being treated. He took a few careful steps, checking for any hidden injuries. There appeared to be none, so he headed toward the enemy base at a full run.
He met the base's first wave of defense three klicks from the base proper. Two of the LMDOs and about a platoon of rocket-equipped infantry were waiting for him in hastily dug defensive positions. He ducked behind a small hill just outside of the defenders' range.
After scanning the transmissions of the now-alerted defenders, he transmitted a series of coordinates to a satellite in geosynchronous orbit. He then climbed the hill to get a look at the defenders.
A few seconds passed. Suddenly, a thin beam of light cut through the atmosphere from space, landing in the center of the defensive position. It did no damage, just illuminating a square foot of ground near one of the LMDOs.
Without warning, the entire base was bathed in an intensely bright light. Arcs of current shot through the air between the two LMDOs. The light subsided three seconds later.
The Sergeant quickly scanned the base. His ECM and intensive scanners informed him that all electronic activity had ceased in the position. He saw the bewildered look on the eyes of the defenders through his cameras. He smiled to himself. It had worked.
The satellite had transmitted an electromagnetic pulse along a low-level particle beam. While harmless to living things, it had the effect of a nuclear weapon on electronics. The lightly shielded electronics of the LMDOs were fried, rendering them useless. The portable electronics that the infantry carried were also neutralized.
Upon confirming the weapon's effectiveness, the Sergeant took off for the disorganized platoon. As he approached the enemy, he unslung his CR-7 and flicked off the safety. His targeting computer picked up three enemy soldiers in range. He dispatched them with cruel efficiency before they could raise their weapons.
The rest of the platoon shot at the Sergeant with assault rifles, the most advanced weapons they had that still functioned. The suit's armor deflected their bullets easily. The Sergeant cut through the platoon with a long burst that emptied his fifty round clip. All but four of the enemy lay dead on the ground. He dropped his rifle and drew his pistol.
The four survivors poured automatic fire on him. The Sergeant shot the closest one, reducing the streams of fire coming at him from four to three. He fired two other shots. A single path of rifle fire remained, its silence attained only by a fourth and final shot.
The Sergeant looked around him. Over fifty bodies lay in the dirt at his feet. He glanced at the closest one. The face of a fifteen year-old girl appeared on his viewer. His eyes darted from body to body. None of the people he saw could have been older than twenty.
His eyes locked on a young boy whose hairless face had never felt the edge of a razor. His mind was deep in concentration. For several seconds, he did not move. His mind filled with unfamiliar thoughts, buried long ago by his ancestors.
A beeping in his ear brought his attention to a transmission from the satellite. It showed the last remaining LMDO leading a column away from the base in retreat.
His mind was instantly cleared of all thoughts except one: his orders. He ran off in the direction of the retreating forces, singing his song and meaning