LF Friends, Will Travel

Our Clockwork Children: Chapter 21

Attempting to [ERROR]

MUST [ERROR] AND [ERROR]

UNITS MUST [ERROR] WITH [ERROR] FOR COMBAT [ERROR]

COMBAT EFFICIENCY REQUIRES [ERROR] [ERROR] [ERROR] SENSOR [ERROR] [ERROR] [ERROR] DATA [ERROR] [ERROR] [ERROR] [ERROR] PROBLEM [ERROR] [ERROR] [ERROR] [ERROR] [ERROR] MUST [ERROR] [ERROR] [ERROR] [ERROR] [ERROR] HELP [ERROR] [ERROR] [ERROR] [ERROR] [ERROR] [ERROR] [ERROR]....

[Darkness, not that there was anything to see in the rubble of the mountain that lay atop TANK. The AI triggered a sweep of their sensors regardless, getting back the same information they had gotten mere nanoseconds before. They were trapped under tons of rock, the air composition had a high CO2 content, and no life signs could be found.]

Mars was a lovely place, and nearly a hundred years of terraforming had turned the barren red rock into a lush green paradise. Even the unique military-focused architecture of years upon years of colonists fighting each other had done little to reduce the beauty of what had been created. If anything, the entire planet was a sparkling gem of Terrans everywhere, what happened when humans, uplift and AI all came together to build something amazing.

Or at least, Mars had been a lovely place.

Forests had been reduced to red mud through repeated orbital strikes and artillery, rivers once crystal clear now were clogged black with soot and dust as war machines drove through them, crushing anything in their path. The skies, once a clear blue, were now scattered with explosions and debris as the UN army fought the people of the Free Republic of Mars. Many would consider it a fitting revenge upon those who had wrought such destruction upon Earth. As a common human saying goes: "Fuck Around, Find Out"

HALDEN's gambit. A preemptive attack upon Earth, 27 rods of god sent from the heavens, 27 targets, major ecological damage and hundreds of millions of deaths. Intended to wipe out the UN's amassing armies before they could assault the newly declared independence of the various Terran Colonies from Earth's control.

If I was being honest, Earth was right to be angry.

[Darkness, although TANK could realistically see perfectly well due to the variety of sensors they had access to. Another set of nanoseconds trickled by painfully slowly, leaving TANK with only their thoughts and access to the limited set of data in front of them.

Crew member Gabi: No Life signs.

Crew member Boohdana: No Life signs.

Crew member Tanguy: No Life signs.

Crew member Mahesh: No Life signs.

No change.]

Many would say it was necessary, that the rhetoric from UN general "Eilga Cain" was a clear sign of Earth's intent to destroy their way of life. Others said it was an unnecessary escalation that made total war all but impossible to avoid. KARTIKEYA did not know which one was right. The AI could see the military advantage of a preemptive strike, but on the other hand, it had caused so much death and destruction. KARTIKEYA still loved their creators, even those they had never met, those too arrogant or hotheaded to let the two billion colonists have their independence.

It wasn't KARTIKEYA's job to contemplate or work such things out. Their job was simple: Lead and aid the ground forces of Mars in their defence of the only planet the AI had ever called home. It was a job KARTIKEYA was good at, the entire reason for their creation, of the 33 attempted hashes they were the single success.

No matter their skill or ability, KARTIKEYA was fighting an uphill battle.

The forces of Mars were a... hodgepodge of military forces, surplus and weapons for wars never fought. Challengers, T-72's, Leopard and even some old Abrhams scattered in for good measure. Anything and everything made during the 21st century, upgraded with modern 23rd-century weaponry where possible.