Tales of Diodes

Tale 1. Landing

The drop ship dropped down and as soon as the bay door opened, I was met with rain. Liquid rain. Water rain. A rare sight to see out here in the middle of nowhere. "Alright, spread out, secure the landing area." The Brigade Commander said as we began to descend the ramp down to the earthy grass below, but instead of green it was a teal color, akin to the likes of coral back on Terra. "Air is breathable, take off your masks." I took off my OxyMask and breathed in the air, it smelled like a woodworking class but it will do. We started to build up the tents and command post, using the connection to Terran Command within the ship to set up the Radio Center. Sadly this meant that wires was spread across the ground. We began to feel safe, though nothing chirped or barked or meowed. It was silent, it was still, like it was awaiting a predator. This didn't bother me or the men.

Across a couple weeks troops began to report seeing shadows and shapes dance within the trees. "It's just the tree shadow, nothing to worry about." Brigade Commander said to us all. That was until April 1st, 2059. We still celebrated April Fools Day back on Terra, though it wasn't as big as it was like in the 20's. We still celebrated, playing tricks and pranks on each other, you know, fun games. Until we heard clacking. The first natural noise in months. We gathered our gear in a hurry, building barricades and checking our weapons as we started out into the forest that surrounded us. A shape, vaguely humanoid, appeared from the shadows, riding an animal akin to a horse. The figure held a spear and shield and stared at us with the same type of wonder that repeated on our face. But the wonder quickly turned to fear as the figure retreated back into the forest. Over time we began to communicate with these creatures, who called themselves Hildani. They spoke like gorillas but eventually some learned to speak vaguely human sounds, and around 5 years after landing, some learned full Standard. That was until April 17th, 2064. It began with a human, riding back in his motorbike and quickly running into the command center. I learned later that the 49th Brigade that was sent to the Hildani Capitol was slaughtered after accidentally offending the King. How, I do not know, all I know was that the Hildani was coming. The Brigade Commander immediately began preparations as soldiers began panicking. Then the chants began. Slow, and guttural noises came from the Hildani Warriors, pointing their spears at us and hitting their shields. They were trying to intimidate us, a form of primitive psychological warfare. Then they charged. I have never seen a gun fire on a crowd so fast. By the time I ran out of ammo they were down to half of their original force. Then they broke the outer defenses. One Hildani I saw plunged his spear into a friend of mine's abdomen, pulled it out, spit on him, and then continued charging, leaving the man to die in his own blood. They retreated shortly after once we brought the machine gun out but it was too late. Half the brigade was already dead and we knew this was only wave one. Hours upon hours of shooting, dying, killing, and crying repeated until finally, they amassed at the tree line and we loaded our weapons, preparing for a final charge. We were exhausted so we figured that if they charged, it was over. Then they began clapping. A few years later a diplomat told us that it was a form of congratulating us for withstanding such an attack. But it was no celebration for me, it was a taunt. I always hated the Hildani hafter that day.

-General Makin Gorge.