《Instant Action [LitRPG]》 CH001: Instant Action ¡°Mark two left.¡± Longfang¡¯s voice crackled across my voice channel, followed by two angry sanguine icons glowing to life on my heads up display. I panned the command screen, centering it on the two red icons now revealed to be small gray human outlines. The picture was unfortunately grainy, and with the distance, dust and smoke it was hard to make out their equipment. The only things he knew for certain was that they were hostile and hurriedly working on deploying a large weapon system. Too far for the coaxial weapon system, and I had zero desire to see what it was they were deploying. ¡°Loader - HE.¡± I barked. (Once meaning High Explosive, in this case colloquially referring to IAPM or Improved Anti-Personnel Munitions and a serious mouthful either way.) I saw the gunner¡¯s pip align to the two targets as the turret finished rotating. A series of clunks and buzzes sounded as the loader swapped the loaded ammo feverishly and the main cannon superelevated to match the gunner¡¯s lased target. ¡°HE Up!¡± from the loader, TiradorCertero. ¡°Acquired!¡± a split second later from the gunner, Aldwulf. ¡°Send it.¡± I said while holding down the fire authorization switch. Aldwulf stroked the gunner¡¯s cadillac, I heard the loud concussive blast and felt the pressure ripple uncomfortably through my insides. The tank rocked back violently. I observed as the two figures vanished in a cloud of debris and expanding gasses, the red icons fading out. Already the gunner¡¯s pip was seeking slowly back and forth, looking for additional threats. To the side indicator lights flashed telling me which vision modes he was stepping through. Tir stood aside, arms clutching what by all appearances was a yellow striped 150lb bullet. As the spent casing shot back out of the breach to clatter on the floor, followed by a whiff of remaining bore fumes, he stepped in to slam another HE round home. He snatched his arm back as the mechanism pulled the casing in the last few inches and the massive breach slammed shut. ¡°HE Up!¡± A red light turned green on my screen, indicating the loading was complete. ¡°Splash two.¡± Longfang smugly remarked. A voice in the back of my mind nagged at me, something was off. I panned the camera back across my troops, watching the tracked armoured personnel carriers approach the two buildings¡­ For just a second a smudge near one of the structures - a display error? Unlikely. Zooming in, I saw it again. ¡°Break break break!¡± I shouted over the comm link ¡°Eichner, Scouts East 20m Structure 2.¡± ¡°Copy Scout Squad East. Engaging.¡± Eichner¡¯s deep voice tersely responded. I watched the rightmost APC swerve to correct its course before sliding to a halt and disgorging a twelve man squad. The roof mounted heavy machine gun swiveled and began suppressing the cloaked scouts as the infantry advanced to finish the job. A scant few minutes later Eichner¡¯s squad was stacking up on the entrance to Structure 2 as the APC covered the roof line. I tabbed through the command console¡¯s menu and opened the audio/video feed from Eichner¡¯s helmet. *** Eichner¡¯s squad stacked, six men to each side of the double doors. First man up in each stack was wearing JOTUN assault armour, a heavier variant with limited mobility but enhanced armour. The 11, designated slot for the engineer, moved up and emplaced two breaching charges on the doors. He then shuffled to the back of the stack and waited for the squad leader¡¯s go. It was a short wait. ¡°Breach.¡± Came over the comms, the squad leader¡¯s hand chopped down, and the engineer squeezed the command module, triggering the charges and blowing the doors in.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. The two heavies immediately swung in, their heavy weapons barked as they put down the few defenders dumb enough to set up within the concussion range of the blast charges. As the heavies moved deeper, the rest of the squad poured through scorched and smoke filled opening, spreading out and advancing down the walls. Their job was to secure what the heavies took and sweep the side rooms. The corridor they entered was rather short, thirty feet or so, before becoming a wide staircase leading up to the next floor. Two men from each stack approached the doors on either side of the corridor. The rest of the squad advanced behind the heavies towards the staircase and, as they well knew, the command room at the opposite end of the second floor. Eichner watched one of the two man teams stack up next to a door, the outline of which glowed softly vermilion in his HUD. One of the entry team cracked the door as the other tossed in a stun grenade, he closed the door and both rolled flat against the wall to either side. A muffled bang, still unpleasantly loud, and blinding light leaked through the gaps, not unlike an ancient flatbed scanner. The two men rolled back to face, one again swung the door open while the other, ready with a shotgun, made immediate entry. They crossed one behind the other as they entered the room, he couldn¡¯t see what happened but did hear a short and furious exchange of muffled reports. Deep and measured from the shotgun, fast and brief from the rifles, and then silence as the two men reemerged and rejoined the back of the formation as rear guard. The door¡¯s outline shifted to a rather comforting azure. A similar scene was taking place upstairs as they advanced down a longer corridor which terminated in a set of heavy metal doors. The enemy unit knew the fight was over, most of their resolve had died with the bulk of the force outside. These few were remaining out of spite or laziness (free respawn at town? Faster than walking!), which explained the relatively lackluster defense they had encountered so far. The engineer again moved forward, this time he not only set the breaching charges but also erected a waist high shield. The shield was about 3 feet across and made of sliding metal plates which telescoped into position, this provided the squad with some central cover and a backstop in case the control room was hotly contested. His squad broke to either side of the corridor and started stacking up to make entry. *!WHAM!* The display suddenly filled with static. When Eichner¡¯s feed cleared a fraction of a second later, I saw an arm shoving Eichner roughly to the side of the corridor. The corridor was filled with smoke and the actinic glare of hypervelocity rounds as they mulched the lead elements. One of the JOTUN stepped in front of the squad leader, blocking his view and shielding him via the simple expedient of interposing himself. Its arm whined and spewed fire from a Heavy Magnetic Rotary Gun, pouring out almost thirty 15mm hypervelocity slugs a second from six barrels. From his other arm the Magnetic Autocannon thumped out a heavy rhythm, followed by a deep explosive counterpoint. The Autocannon didn¡¯t shoot especially quickly, but what it lost in rate it gained in versatility. A mixture of Hollow Charge, High Explosive Shrapnel and Armour Piercing made up a delightful medley for occasions such as this. The JOTUN driver took a step forward slowly, wading through the small arms fire he was specifically designed to deal with. The rounds impacting sounded like heavy hail against his suit as they gouged, ricocheted and careered off of his armour. The enemy pushed out, the men in front leading with Heavy Ballistic Shields. An anti-tank rocket streaked a trail of smoke from the control room. With a *CRUMP* the JOTUN staggered back, his left arm rent from his body by the shaped charge. He fell to a knee, his autocannon ceaselessly firing despite the pain feedback and debuffs. Amidst a shower of ricocheted rounds an enemy must have found RNGeesus. One round by fluke managed to ricochet into a weak spot and enter the JOTUN¡¯s shell; it proceeded to bounce to and fro inside of the armour as it spent its energy. The hydrostatic shock emulsified the driver¡¯s organs as the projectile explosively powdered any bones it met. It was a fast death if extremely unpleasant. I would have to get his name, he seems like a solid troop. Eichner had apparently paid scant attention to the tragic fate of the JOTUN pilot, as while I had been watching the events unfold, he had rallied and coordinated the squad. Our own anti-materiel weapons, and the surviving JOTUN driver, had made quick work of the shield troops and proceeded to pulp the remaining defenders. All over but the shouting, and capture timer. *** I swiveled my seat to the right and pulled up the tactical map on the command screen mounted to the side of the turret. A map appeared set to wireframe by default, softly glowing blue lines showing friendly forces with icons above, gray outlines of buildings and illustrating the contour of terrain, and thankfully no red lines in sight. We were fighting over a power center in a mildly disputed region of the front line. Large boxy gray concrete buildings surrounded by parking lots, chain link fences and low security gates. Not so much a place that power is generated as routed and managed. All the cabling was theoretically underground, or at least it would have been were this not a game. This particular facility was the main feature of our most recent contract. Reconnoiter, engage hostiles, secure facility. This had been a relatively easy fight, but we had been over prepared. ¡°Looks good guys, been a good run. After the cap let¡¯s RTB (return to base) and log out.¡± I said absentmindedly while fiddling with the map settings. Factional NPCs would spawn to hold the facility, and besides, our contract didn¡¯t specify hold, just take. A chorus of agreements sounded over comms, we had completely stomped the enemy faction in this region with minimal losses. Couldn¡¯t ask for more from a guild run. It would be a relatively slow and uneventful drive back to the depot at the HIVE, time for music. CH002: The Hive The ride back to base had been predictably dull. While the command variant of the KA12 Predator was significantly more spacious than the normal combat version, it was still vaguely claustrophobic for longer journeys. The KA12 was the main battle tank for their faction, the Enclave. It measured 12m long (39ft), 4.2m wide (13.8ft) and only 2.5m (8.2ft) in height. It was both narrower and less tall than their competitors, but out-massed them by a generous margin, weighing in at a devastating (for the roadways) 98 tonnes. The KA12 had not been designed for comfort or subtlety, every aspect of it was unforgiving for the operators and the enemy alike, a tool of uncompromising brutality. This was undoubtedly why the Enclave saw so few outfits running heavy armour, opting instead for fast strike vehicles, capacious APCs and the heavy infantry our faction had become known for. The KA12C (for command) differed from the stock KA12 in very few ways. It still sported the same main armament choices: 150mm Chemical Cannon (traditional explosive propellant), 150mm Magnetic Cannon or dual 80mm Magnetic Autocannons. Secondary armaments included a roof mounted remotely controlled weapon system (controlled by the commander), coaxially mounted machine gun (controlled by the gunner), a hull-mounted machine gun and two casemate mounted hull weapons (grenade launchers in our case) were controlled by the remaining crew (loader/driver/radio operator, as needed). The way it differed however was in an enlarged turret, gaining a third of a meter in height and elongating from the back. Undoubtedly the most telling feature was the small forest of antennae, commo and sensors sprouting from the top of the vehicle. To fill the void I found myself listening to music, playing with the consoles (double checking the route and my inbox) and paying half an ear to the outfit voicecom. No combat, no rules, it could get pretty loud in there from time to time. The game did a truly impressive job of modeling the smell of stale air, the light discomfort of muscle cramps and the jolting of the broken road transmitted through a virtually padless utilitarian seat one could only imagine had been designed by an enemy spy. Other than the occasional report of artillery, or the rare glimpse of an aerial dogfight in the distance, there was not much to distract us from the passing terrain. Asphalt, chewed up by countless columns of vehicles stretched off ahead of us. Rolling hills and thickets of trees occasionally broken up by the odd town, checkpoint or old weatherworn battle zone. Finally our column approached the HIVE, the capital city for the Enclave and but one of the many reasons the other factions nicknamed us ants. Megalithic black buildings brutalised the sky, violating the integrity of the thick band of smog. The towers were made up of reflective composites and glass, resembling hundreds of mile high obsidian shards. Pollution, humidity and dust rendered fine detail largely unobservable. We drove towards the western depot, a collection of squat looking hardened concrete buildings, peeling paint and stained by acid rain and rust. A heavy concrete wall shrouded the facility, broken only by a metal covering for a firing port every few feet. Immensely thick metal gates slid to open as we approached and a pair of bored looking NPC guards waved us through. Their armour was rounded and chitinous looking, shiny black composites reflecting the light. In combat they would engage one of the loaded camouflage patterns, but here in depot uniform was the socially appropriate setting.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. The column broke apart as vehicles returned to vehicle pads to dematerialise, their constituent components going back into the depot¡¯s resource pool and our credits being refunded, minus a service fee. Our vehicle pulled up to an empty pad, I swiveled my chair to the back of my compartment and keyed the memory dump sequence. It generally made no difference if you dumped the data and logs before despawning the vehicle, however there were some illicit methods of retrieving it and in this game knowledge kills. The progress bar crawled to completion before the light cycled to green that done I keyed off the various consoles and systems. I crawled through a gap in my compartment into the loader¡¯s space, then grabbed a bar and slid through an open panel down near the deck into the driver¡¯s lower fighting compartment. From there it was a ¡°simple¡± matter of threading past the seating and control panels, before exiting the vehicle through a barely man sized hatch in the side of the tank. Fire? Yeah, no, we¡¯d be crispy. The driver squirmed back in and drove the vehicle onto the pad as we walked back. The troops were saying their goodbyes, then they either logged off or went about random errands in town. ¡°Guess it¡¯s time to get us paid.¡± I said to myself as I headed with a group of guildies to one of the squat buildings. The inside of the building consisted of one medium sized room, bare concrete for walls and filled only with machinery, completely utilitarian. Large cylindrical spawn chambers lined the walls and in the middle of the room there was a double row of terminals for equipment or loadout modifications. I made my way to a spawn tube, faster to despawn than walk into the city proper. Lean back, push button, flash of light and goodbye corporeal existence. ¡ª¡ª After a brief period of darkness my vision filled with a map of the conflict zone. I brought up the equipment menu and chose my low threat loadout: bare minimum survival essentials, maximum comfort. Even in the HIVE one just does not go unarmed, perhaps especially in the HIVE.
Loadout 04 - Low threat
Torso Shirt: Tactical, Navy (Cloth)
Legs Pant: Tactical, Navy (Cloth)
Feet Boots: Tactical, Black (Leather/Synthetic)
Head None
Armour Low Profile Vest, Black (L3 Prot.)
Sidearm Pz2551 Auto-Pistol (Silenced)
Main Arm. KA401 Carbine (Silenced)
Gadget 1 None
Gadget 2 None
Closing the equipment menu I then panned over to the HIVE and selected the city, this brought up a multi tiered three dimensional rendering of the city. When one considers the size, complexity and interconnectivity of the place, navigation was a three dimensional puzzle. I selected a spawn point in one of the lower levels of the Hive, Market District MD012. With a press of ¡®Confirm¡¯ I find myself in a claustrophobic acrylic tube, hazy from scratches, cracks and general wear. The cacophony of the market street filled my ears gradually as the door slid open and I adjusted to my new reality. ¡®Off to the Black Sun.¡¯ I thought as I stepped out. Electroluminescent light painted the rain and scum slick streets a deep red as I wound my way through the seamless black press of players and npcs. There were other colours of light amongst the signage, perhaps the game just preferred a more macabre atmosphere. Like a salmon in a river of oil I swam toward my destination. A few minutes later I approached a barely marked building. Its design was of a seemingly industrial heritage: steel, brick and plate glass, all tinted black again. The building was rundown without much of a crowd out front, the few stood and chatted amongst themselves largely ignoring the passersby. The only real clues as to the identity or purpose of the building were the hollow black outline of a holographic sun faintly visible above the doorway and the perceptible thumping of base in my chest emanating from within. I am no hero, but I will find my Da5id here. (Ed. Snowcrash ref. No. 2 for those keeping score at home.) Black Sun was a 2k retro futurist club, and one of the main points of contact for my clan, due in large part to the no nonsense attitude of the proprietor, unsurprisingly a player given the erudite theme. No one started shit in BS unless they really meant it. ¡°Heh no b.s. in BS¡± I chuckled to myself. Whatever, it¡¯s funny to me. I opened the unmarked steel doors and slid into the darkened entry. Greeting the two guards we exchanged a few words, then I made my way to my usual haunt to await our benefactor.