“The ever-growing march…., starting from a seed and then ever-growing until they cannot expand anymore. And then there is a choice one must face: a planet, animal, personal, or an empire. You either accept the fact that you have peaked your evolutionary boundary or break the natural barrier.
To grow your destiny's boundaries, you must transcend the natural mold, and from there, step-by-step conquest follows. The sea becomes passage. The mountain becomes climbable. Even the Void only becomes a path for your ever-growing Domain.
Of one destiny, no longer being commissioned by the Gods themselves but manipulated by the user himself, the limits that surround us all to have meaning. And only then, the march forward becomes unstoppable. All who oppose will always be subdued by the ones who are bound by their limits as that is the order of things. The ones who have destiny within their grasp overshadow all who seek their own.
However. In the ever-expansion of one Domain by the ones who hold destiny, a ripple, an anomaly is inflected that the powers at be could not phantom. As one's control of destiny leaves a blinding shadow on the previously traveled path of one's destiny, opening a path to others.
Destiny is not a single path forward, leaving many ripples in its wake. Until a micro of a moment from the most distant places from the unimaginable of beings begin breaking the natural barrier. And then, and only then, destiny is challenged.” – Carjojan Grath
*****
The military armored boots pressed against the fresh, snowy ground. Comanche was moving through the snow, seeking any cover that could be found within the mountain terrain.
The enemy defenders were occupying an old, broken-down house in front of the American Special Forces team, blocking their path to their objective. The top window had an enemy M85 machine gun firing at Comanche. They were about to storm the building, but additional enemy forces appeared, reinforcing the sandbag.
Seeing how entrenched the enemy's defensive position was, Captain Mathew Ryder split his team in half. He ordered his second-in-command, Warrant Officer 1 Rommel King, to take his team and flank left while his team was distracted.
Ryder gathered his three-man team and engaged against the defenders while the other team moved around. Sergeant Edge Wallace laid down continued fire with his M250 while Benjamin Ford fired his M320 into the window, killing the target.
With the heavy machine gun threat neutralized, Ryder and Ford advanced forward to what remains of a rusted car. Seeing the enemy soldiers behind the sandbags. The captain directed his gunner to focus on the main bunker and ordered them to concentrate against the others.
The captain then peaked over and saw the enemy. Hearing bullets impacting the car, he aimed his M31 and placed cover fire.
"Any time, Rommel," Ryder thought to himself.
Most of the enemy was focused on Ryder's team, allowing Rommel King's team to take out the one enemy guard who was protecting his teammate's flanks. Those Comanche soldiers advanced and took cover by an old, rusted military vehicle, each tossing fragmentation grenades into the enemy position.
Seeing that the enemy was dislodged from their entrenchment, Ryder signaled to his team to advance. The four stormed the enemy position and found that four of them were dead. The last two aimed their weapons, but they were quickly taken down.
While they secured this section of the enemy compound, they heard more enemies nearby, probably heading to the objective to secure it.
However, this allowed Comanche to regroup. However, Ryder saw Sergeant Marcos Gonzales on the ground. After directing some team members to secure the area, he approached his XO. "What happened?"
"A small IED," King said. "No wounds, but one of the shrapnel’s damaged the left leg attachments."
"Ford," Ryder said. "Help him fix it."
Mathew Ryder watched as Gonzales sat down. The leg joint was damaged, preventing the man from moving correctly. The two attachments of the built-in exoskeleton connect the upper leg and lower leg. While the system can work with damaged areas, junctions like these were vital to allow smooth movement with the rest of the battle suit.
Sergeant Bruno Barrios kneeled, pulled out a tool kit and spare parts, and began fixing the broken junction.
Rommel King said, "This is going to hurt us. Time wise."
Ryder checked his VISOR and saw that the mission timer said -9:13 minutes. While he was not thrilled that it took this long to get past this phase of the enemy base. Their objective was to remove the enemy missile battery to allow an Air Assault against an enemy facility. It was a simple enough mission compared to recent history; however, he knew from personal experience that the simplest could always become complicated.
"Ford, how long?" Ryder asked.
"A few more minutes," Barrios replied.
"Damn," Ryder thought. While new technology brings new advantages, it always brings new obstacles to the field. "Alright then. Let's utilize this time. Deploy the Hornet."
"Alright," King said before turning toward the newest member of Comanche. "Ford, Take Higgins's drone and deploy it."
Sergeant Benjamin Ford kneeled as he took Higgins's drone from his pack and took it out. The Black Hornet III is a small, portable mini drone that infantry can carry for quick, short-range reconnaissance. It does not take long to deploy and is usually considered to be thrown away if in a jam.
Once the Hornet flew away, controlled by a small laptop, Ryder switched his VISOR and brought a mini drone feed to his HUD. It did not go far, getting a good view of the enemy facility. The drone quickly found its objective. The missile battery was an old pre-civil war CCP weapon on the other side of another building. The enemy missile battery was protected by shipping containers, sandbag bunkers, and other random junk that littered the area.
As the mini drone got closer to see how many enemy defenders there were, the drone feed suddenly went dead. While Ryder didn't know what took out their drone, he easily could assume it was one of the many EM types of weapons that arose during the age of drones.
When Ryder was a kid, he remembered the collective theory was that drone warfare would replace humans in combat and that the future of warfare would be drones and robotics. What would be the need for grunts when a machine could do the job without risking lives. As he grew older and these new wonders of war matured, so did their counters. Between cheap area/denial platforms and infantry-issued EM rifles, drones remained within the support role overall. While useful for moments like these, the idea that robots would ever replace the human warrior never came to pass.
"Did you get that?" Ryder asked.
"Yes," King said.
"What do you propose?"
Rommel King held his response as he reviewed the data from the Hornet. "I think it is safe to say they know we are here."
"I wonder if the sound of bullets and explosions gave it away," Wallace commented before being ordered to check himself.
Seeing Gonzales's battle suit was fixed, Comanche began moving through the compound. Hearing gunfire, the team fanned out and reengaged the enemy. The captain passed his squad. King and Barret coordinated each member where to engage, each quickly taking out the enemy.
Seeing that the enemy defenders were cleared, Ryder ordered the twins, Eger Wallace and Bruno Barrios, to advance and destroy the RIA missile battery. The mission timer said -2:11 minutes left.
As the rest of the team took a defensive position, Captain Ryder watched the two rushed to their destination. As they drew closer, one of the four-armed metal machines exited from one of the containers and leaped toward the Twins. Before he could warn his teammates, the unknown hostile was already on top of them. One of the arms swings across Wallace, and his VISOR states that he is dead.
As Ryder began to counter the new threat, he noticed that his VISOR HUD labeled the unknown enemy as an Akuma-type humanoid robot. While this completely baffled the captain, he forced those thoughts to the side of his mind as this machine started attacking the rest of his team. “Comanche, new target. Suppressive fire. Bruno, take out the target. Everyone, cover."
Comanche began engaging the unknown hostile known as Akuma-Type. Ryder was able to get a good look at the strange machine. While military humanoid robotics have come a long way, this looked nothing like anything he had ever seen. The silver armor plating was nearly seven feet tall and looked more organic than a modern module design. The body looked slicker than boxy.
The Akuma jumped from its position and landed on the side of the building before leaping next to Kurt Forest, swinging g its long, steamy red blade into the ground, just missing the Staff Sergeant, who barely dodged.
Everyone spread out and began engaging the Akuma. The robot-like machine stood as it stared at Comanche, deciding who to strike next. As it settled, the machine-warrior absorbed the bullets, unparsed by the 6.8mm. The armor was being dented, but Ryder couldn't decide if the hostile couldn't tell if it was being damaged or was that confident, they would not seriously damage it.
When the Machine-Warrior found its next target, it charged toward Sergeant First Class Gregory Barrett at speeds Ryder had never seen a humanoid robot before. It raised one arm-blade that glowed dark red while the other was stretched out wide, brightening deep red. Barrett fell backward from the swing of the blade.
Ryder VISOR states that his third-in-command armor suit was damaged, and he was wounded from the strike.
Staff Sergeant Kurt Forest rushed toward Ryder and said, "That thing is killing us."
He understood the sentiment as they needed to prepare to engage in this hostility. They were providing enough damage. However, the machine was too well armored and moved too quickly for them to give a decided kill. "We need to keep him away from Bruno and from Barrett. Ford, get the M88 ready. Gonzales, get Barrett. Everyone else surrounded and suppressed the bastard. Hopefully, a good jolt from the EM rifle can take it out like any drone."
The Akuma charged toward Sergeant Bruno Barrios as he prepared the explosives on the missile battery but stopped and turned toward them. Seeing its new target, the two eyes glowed before letting out a loud screech as it charged toward them with incredible speed.
As the machine-warrior gained speed, Ryder ordered Ford to fire the M88. This direct-energy rifle is designed to take out drones and robotics.
The Akuma let out a strange screeching sound as it charged toward Ryder. It suddenly stopped. Ryder looked to his right and saw Ford holding the M88, a direct-energy rifle designed to take out drones and robotics. To Ryder's horror, once the direct-energy weapon jolt impacted the machine-warrior, it stopped momentarily and continued marching toward them. The weapon only annoyed it by doing what it was supposed to do.
After taking another shock from the M88, the Akuma turned to Benjamin Ford and charged forward. The strange organic machine-warrior stared at Benjamin Ford as if it had taken the attack personnel and started marching toward him. He could only think, "How the hell do we kill this thing?".
"Ryder," King said. "Pull everyone back."
Noticing Warrant Officer 1 Rommel King by Wallace's corpse. He was providing cover while Barrios dragged the corpse behind a nearby cover.
That is when Ryder figured out what his second-in-command was planning. After ordering Ford to fire the M88 again once he found cover, he fired his M31 against the Akuma to distract the Akuma. Once the new guy found cover, he fired the energy weapon again, which phased the robotic warrior. However, it still didn't stop him.
"We are clear," Ryder said.
Rommel King picked up the M250, set it on the hood of a rusted car, and fired multiple bursts of 6.8mm at the Akuma. The machine turned around to face the other Comanches. The stream of bullets impacted the machine-warrior, destroying many elements of its armor plating. However, it quickly reacted and went through a freight container. It then appeared out of nowhere and charged toward Rommel King's position.
As it drew closer, the Akuma disappeared from Ryder HUD. His VISOR flashed yellow, stating Training Exercises Over.
Most of the RIA corpses disappeared as the training program ended, being NPC's. Others stood up, acting as real-life targets to add realism to the training. However, the Akuma was different. It was a program within the training, but the captain was still adjusting to the experience.
"Combat Fire Team-1, stand down," An approaching man ordered. "Simulation over."
Captain Mathew Ryder removed his argument-reality from his VISOR now that the training was over. He noticed Bruno Barrios helping his buddy Edge Wallace from the ground, joking about how he had been sliced in half by an anime robot. Hearing that term frustrated the hell out of him as he realized how true that was. While the point of this training was to prepare for the unexpected, this was ridiculous. Some software engineers must play a practical joke on them. While he was a genre fan, this was no place for such a thing. There was no way that Akuma was a legitimate threat on how to engage a robotic humanoid.
Ryder walked to the man who had canceled the training; walking through the practical structures, he saw some of his men helping up the fake RIA soldiers. While most of the targets they 'killed' were virtual, some were still real to help sell the argument reality. When he reached the man, he noticed that the man's rank and nametag were Staff Sergeant Parker. "What the hell was that?"
"Excuse me, sir?" Parker said.
"Don't excuse me. What was that thing? Who is the wise guy who put that thing inside the simulation?"
The Staff Sergeant responded, "Everything in the simulation was authorized and approved by Colonel Hackett. That is all I know, Sir."
"This was Hackett doing?" Ryder said with a shocked voice. As the captain's blood boiled, he took A deep breath to calm himself. It was not this man's fault for the strange twist in the training simulation. "Thank you, Master Sergeant. You may continue your duties."
Ryder walked away to address his team. As he grew closer, Rommel King and Gregory Barrett gathered and started voicing their frustration with the sudden wacky twist on their training.
"Who the hell authorized an amine-fantasy element to this training?" Barrett asked.
"I hope this was just a bad prank," King said. "Why the hell was a samurai robot in the program? And why did basically Everything we threw at it fail?"
"No kidding," Barrett said. "How the hell was that realistic? The M88 only stunned it."
"It was Colonel Hackett." Ryder saw the same dumbfounded reaction. "Apparently, he authorized that addition to the simulation."
"Is it just me, or has things continued to be strange after that CIA Mars mission two or three weeks ago?" Barrett asked.
"It seems so," King said. "We can rule out the practical joke element if it was Hackett. "
"Does that mean that those things are real?" Barrett said.
"For now, yes," Ryder said. "Rommel, create a report on what we should do next time when we encounter that…, Akuma. This could just be a creative exercise Hackett wanted to throw at us to keep us on edge. They usually expect unexpected things. Greg, gather the men and address the mistakes that were made."
"I can already tell you one of them," Barret said. "We got bogged down waiting on Ford fixing Higgins's damaged module. We will have to find a way to speed that up."
With what happened at the end of the exercise, Ryder needed to remember about the simulated damaged joint module. Everything fails on the battlefield, and that knowledge must be baked into any factor, so they had Higgins fake a damaged battle suit. To figure out solutions now so they don't while on a mission. "Agreed."
Once the exercise was complete, Combat Fire Team-1, better known as Comanche Team, was returned to the base. During the ride, Ryder couldn't help but reflect on the Akuma, knowing there had to be a deeper meaning behind its inclusion in their training.
Colonel William Hackett was the head of the 2nd Special Forces Operational Detachment-Minutemen. In the middle of the second decade of this century, the world fragmented into regional spheres thanks to a combination of crises like the end of the post-WW2 global order, the global population decline of the youth, the need for economic security over efficiency, and the expansion of the Astro-economy. With dozens of minor wars breaking out as nations competed for resources and population, the US needed more specialized units to help rapidly respond and protect its interests.
For Captain Mathew Ryder, he had complete respect for the Colonel. Becoming more of a mentor than just a superior. Assisting with his career path, providing guidance during his marriage, and becoming a man.
That made today's exercise more confusing as the Colonel would only include a strange element like that Akuma with a good reason. The only conclusions the captain could come up with were that their enemies had dramatically unconventionally advanced in human robotics or that what he said was true of this being an educational experience about expecting the unknown.
When Comanche reached their compound, Ryder saw an additional convoy that had just beaten them there. From the patches, they were from Compact Fire Team-2, known as Ghost Team.
Once the HUMVEE stopped, Ryder got out. He ordered Rommel King to settle the team and headed to Ghost CO, Captain James Miller. "Welcome back from the snow pit."
"Hey Matt, I got this crazy story to tell you," Miller said. "During our exercise, we were ambushed by something called-."
"An Akuma?"
Miller stared at the Comanche captain with a surprised look. "You went through the same exercise?"
"Apparently. This proves that this wasn't just a gag. Something is going on."
"Then let's go ask the godfather himself," Miller said jokingly before patting Ryder on the back.
Having a smirk from Captain James Miller's sense of humor, the two captains headed toward the officer's debriefing room. There, they saw the head of the Minutemen, Colonel William Hackett. With him are the other five captains from the other officers from the Combat Fire Teams, making up the entire A Squadron. They are being called Viking, Razorfist, Samurai, and Vanguard teams.
"Hello, gentlemen," Hackett said. "Please have a seat."
The three officers sat down after their greetings. While it was standard for these types of debriefing after a mission or, in this case, a training exercise, something felt off for Ryder.
"While I will review the recordings of all your training and provide a full report later, there are a few things I want to address first," Hackett said. "Each of your teams struggled to handle the final encounter of your training, resulting in a mission failure for all of you."
The term failure did not settle well with Ryder. He had his fair share of mistakes over his career, and he understood that he was not perfect. Sometimes, a mission goes wrong, or external factors force his hand. However, most of the time, he could logically find the mistake and work to correct what went wrong in the subsequent encounter. What happened today with that final encounter was so unorthodox that he couldn't see a meaningful lesson. He felt like his opponent flipped the board game over and demanded he make the next move.
"Sir," Ryder said. "I don't think the scenario was fair or provided value to an overall lesson. That Akuma was so unorthodox; it was almost like aliens to the mix, and heart surgery was performed on them. I still don't understand what happened and how to handle it."
Ryder noticed that the Colonel was listening carefully, absorbing each word. This only confirmed that this was an intentional test. The question was, for what?
"I understand," Hackett said. "I assume you all agree with what Matt said."
"I do," Miller said. "That thing drove us away from our objective. Everything we throw at it is just ignored. Even the M88 was ineffective."
"At least you saw your objective," Isaac Murphy said. "That Akuma stocked us like a Siberia tiger after we landed. It prayed on us in the forest and picked us off like a Predator."
"Really?" Miller said with confusion. "Ours utilized speed over Stealth. By the time we reacted, it was on top of us."
"Ours acted more of a tank," Ryder added. "It also utilized the buildings and containers as cover and a jumping pad to move around us."
As Ryder listened to the other Captains in the room explain their experiences, he realized that each of them fought the same Akuma-type; however, it seemed each had its own twist. This only confirmed to him that the recent training exercises were an intentional joke. Not in a humorous way, as he knew the Colonel would never do that. It was a joke in a way that he intended to pull the rug from under them all for some more significant reason.
This made Ryder wonder if this unorthodox training was connected to his recent mission with the CIA and the package they brought from Mars. Escorting an essential package of which he had no idea what was in it. He then wondered if they were transporting one of these Akuma-type robots only to dismiss it as the package was the size of a briefcase. Isaac Murphy then asked, "Sir. Are you implying that the RIA, CCP, or the Indians have surpassed us in robotics? Was that the point of today's exercises?"
"That is impossible," Miller said. "The Japanese dominate the market."
"And we would have seen them in the Iraq War if it was the RIA," Ryder added. "Regarding China, we would have seen either the CCP or Zhongguo. And how they move surpasses any robotic or Programmable Intelligence we saw."
Hackett stood from his chair and turned to the digital whiteboard behind him. He pressed a few buttons on the screen board, and the Akuma design pulled up. "I had the software team add this into your argument-reality goggles because I wanted you to face something unexpected. The reason was that being on top is a blessing and a curse. One day, you will face something you cannot comprehend and need to adjust to the moment. Today's training proved you could sustain heavy casualties and possible mission failure. You are the tip of the spear of this great nation, and you must always be ready to face anything."
As Hackett sat down, Ryder glanced around at the rest of the team, seeing the same confused look that he had. Everyone understood the direct message. The problem with being the best is that you can get lazy. Get stuck in a routine, inflexible. One must adapt to remain King. However, he could easily tell that there was a hidden meaning in the Colonel's words, which no one seemed to have deciphered.
The rest of the meeting was predictable as each team debriefed and reviewed their mission. After an hour, the rest of the time left the room to rejoin their unit. However, Ryder stayed.
"I assume you have a question," Hackett said. "I kind of figured you would."
Ryder approached the Colonel's desk, staring at the digital board. "While I get what you said, I don't buy it. What is going on, and does it have anything to do with my last mission?"
Hackett turned to face the screen. "All I will say on the manner is this, Matt. The future is now. I want you to think about that when you go to bed tonight."
"Will do, sir." Ryder turned to gather his things before stopping. "Sir…, the game has changed. Haven't you?"
"God, I hope not, Matt," Hackett said.
Puzzled by the reaction of his commanding officer, Mathew Ryder decided to head toward his team.
