Vulcan: Soldier of Fire

Chapter 5: Into the Fray

Lacertillia, 5 months later

        The dropship rattled in the antiaircraft gunfire. The mercs inside - or private military contractors as their employers would say - were veterans of many of these kind of drops. The exoskeletons they wore would protect them from the impact of the fall, but not the rounds of the anti-aircraft gunners.

        Vulcan took a long draw from a cigarette. He had been in this outfit for six weeks now, and was loving it. He had come into harmony with his squad of the Iron Cobra Mercenary division. That group of black camo mercs from around the galaxy. 

        The Iron Cobras had been fighting other people's wars for years. Their BDUs were a black camoflage version of the US Army digital. Dress uniforms were black berets, a black jacket, black leather boots and black pants. Hair color and style was free, although old-timers preferred buzz-cuts.

        There was four main sections of the Iron Cobras. The Assault Infantry, standard troopers that traveled by foot, APC or armored jeep and were inserted by dropship or amphibious landing. They had shoulder pads, full-face helmets, armor on their legs, chest, arms and back. Their blood type and name went on the back of their helmet and they could adorn their armor with symbols and marks. Most did a tally mark kill count. Weapons were a 7.62 caliber M57 autogun with 30-round box magazine behind the handle, a Sig Sauer P226R as standard side-arm, Mk 236 MGLs for grenadiers, .50 caliber bolt-action for snipers and the M78 anti-tank rocket launcher.

        Then there was the Exo-Skeleton Infantry or "Battle Frame" section, Vulcan's unit. They wore specialized exo-skeletons that made them faster and stronger. The suit covered their central chest area, but didn't offer much protection besides on the back. They wear a combat bodysuit for protection underneath the exoskeleton. The helmet was interface with the suit, and allowed them to aim the weapons without issue. Weaponry included a 7.62 Gatling gun on each forearm with a 1000 round drum magazine for each, a .50 caliber retractable rifle on the right shoulder, and a retractable blade on the the left wrist. They all had an armored power pack, good for a month of 24-7 usage before needing a recharge. On each side of the power pack, was a sheath with a spring in it. Each sheath carried five spare drum magazines for the Gatling guns. As a magazine was taken, the spring would pop the next one into place, ready for retrieval. (Think of them as a cross between the Skyguard Gunner armor from AQW and the Combat Jackets from Edge of Tommorrow)

        Third was Fire Support, the artillery and anti-vehicle fire units. Artillery trucks carried a 105mm cannon on the back and had slanted armor on the sides, to deflect low-caliber shells. The anti-vehicle support consisted of the MLRS units, which could fire twenty rockets before needing to be reloaded and that took only fifteen minutes. The other anti-vehicle was the Behemoth. A huge marvel of engineering, they had heavy 155mm cannons and heavy armor, making them slow. They were mainly used as defensive weapons against enemy tank destroyers.

        And finally, there was Armor. The tanks, which the infantry loved to see in a fight. They ran the APCs that carried the infantry, which had a small turret bearing two 20mm flak weapons. Recon Tanks, were lightly armored, but fast and manuverable, their main weapon being a 75mm canon. Battle Tanks had a 90mm canon and heavier armor, but were still pretty fast. Infantry took care of Scout and Engineer duties. Medical and Headquarters were their own sections, but were small in comparison to the others. 

        Vulcan looked around at his squad. The squad leader, First Sergeant Joseph Wilson, a human from Metana; Aran Silfrett, another human who kept to himself; Liz, a female Lacertillian with good looks, but the ability to kick any smart-ass who mentioned them's butt; Di-dey Sey-kroo, a Vespoid with scarred mandibles; Lage, a man who fought well with a knife; Khazri, a woman of African descent from Vishado who shaved her head; Harris, a big man from Tennesee that had quite obviously done a lot of work with trees and farms; and of course, Teresa.