Chapter 2: Chapter One

     A field of azure dots. A damn unsettling sight. Lieutenant Irving set his binoculars down. Sweat gathered upon his brow. Would they be able to stop such a vast army? An army that knew not pain, fear, or death. A seemingly unbeatable foe. It suffered from no human weakness. 

     During the past two years, nearly fourteen countries had been crushed by the rogue Gryo Autonomous Combat Units. Only six countries were still holding the line, but only barely. Every time the GACUs attacked, the line seemed like it would snap. 

      Missiles and aircraft were ineffective as they were always shot down by an anti-aircraft variant of Onites, which simply swapped out their bombardment rockets for interception missiles. 

     No nation could replicate the GACUs as they all were equipped with self-destruct protocols. So the countries had to keep using crewed tanks, artillery, and infantry. 

     "INCOMING SUPPRESSION STRIKE!" In response to their captain's yell, all troops within the trenches took cover. The screeching of rockets flew over the earthworks. The distant rumble of explosions could be heard and felt. 

     Irving practically jumped up and raised his binoculars, "Shit! They got our artillery!" 

     "ENEMY FORMATION INCOMING!"

     Irving turned to see the army of azure dots advancing at an alarming speed. He had heard that GACUs could run at speeds of up to fifty kilometers per hour, but he had assumed it was an exaggeration. 

     "ARTILLERY FIRE! DOWN!"

     Irving failed to comply with that order in time. He looked up to see an artillery shell hurling toward him. That sight would be his last.

  *******

     Boots and crutches clicked against the marble floor. Colonel Vincent Irving marched as hastily as possible through the concrete halls of the Federation of Rosia military headquarters but was severely hindered by his broken leg. He had been in the infirmary when a GACU attack was reported. 

     Vincent pushed past a few aides into a command room. A large holo-map in the room's center was surrounded by men in pale gray uniforms. The map carefully laid out the terrain and marked enemies and friendlies. Friendlies were marked with orange, while enemies were marked with red. And, at that moment, the orange dots were being pushed back relentlessly by a swarm of thousands of red dots.

     Sweat gathered underneath Vincent's gray officer's hat, 'How are there still so many of them? Is there no end to these monsters?'

     "We are all doomed..." A staff officer whispered.

     General Brucez entered the room, instantly barking orders, "ORDER THE RESERVES TO ADVANCE! Have all forces converge on defense line Beta."  

     "Beta? It is all plains! It is the perfect place for the GACUs to use their overwhelming numbers!" Vincent stepped forward, "We should retreat to Omega. Omega is situated on hills. It'll give our soldiers an advantage against the GACUs!"

     Brucez shook his head solemnly, "You know our orders. We cannot give up all that land."

     Vincent's palms began to ache from how hard he clenched his crutches. The general was referring to an executive order from the pigheaded president. The army was not to retreat unless the circumstances were as dire as possible, and they were not allowed to fall back. Though many generals had advised against this rule and encouraged a full-scale retreat to defense line Omega, the order had gone out anyway. And everyone was too afraid of the president to defy the order. 

     "Send out a signal, open channel!" Brucez called out confidently.

     Rage filled Vincent's mind as the general ordered the army to hold the line at defense line Beta. But there was nothing he could do. On paper, colonels were highly ranked, but in reality, they had little power. Any rank lower than sergeant general had essentially no sway in anything that had even the most minuscule matters, like how much ammunition they received per month. 

     None of the Federation of Rosia's weapons could save them. Missiles, rockets, tanks, and even nuclear weapons were useless in the face of the merciless Gyros. Sure, there were rumors of a wonder weapon that would save them, but that was probably little more than high command trying to spread false hope.

     "Colonel Vincent Irving!" a man in a navy blue uniform, marking him as a staff officer for a general, marched in, "You are required in bay 12 immediately!"

     Peeling his eyes away from the holo-map, Vincent turned toward the staff officer. The staff officer saluted him stiffly and motioned for him to follow. 

     With a nod, Vincent acknowledged the officer and followed him through the marble hallways. The clicking of their boots was perfectly synchronized.

     'Bay 12... Isn't that where we keep the mark eighteen lions' The mark eighteen Lion (commonly referred to as 18-Lions), the most advanced tank in the Federation of Rosia's arsenal. But even it could barely hold its ground against a squad of Anites, let alone a single Inite. Vincent had heard a rumor about research on replacing the 18-Lion's 135 mm cannon with a railgun but had dismissed them as soldiers spreading rumors for fun. 'As per usual, rumors bury any hint of truth. Leaving people like me confused.'

     "We are here, sir!" the officer stepped aside, revealing a large door with the number twelve painted on it. The officer entered a code into a console, and the door began to part. 

     Vincent pushed forward with his crutches. Light filled his vision, and he heard the door close. 

     "Greetings, Colonel Irving." footsteps neared Vincent. 

     Once his vision recovered from the abrupt brightness, Vincent was greeted by a bland, gray room with several lights aligned on the ceiling, giving off a blinding light. At least a dozen staff members in blue jumpsuits and two guards, each leaning an automatic rifle against their right shoulder. The room had a few windows, but they were covered by gray blast shields. The room was filled with computers and other miscellaneous pieces of machinery.

     A smiling older man whose uniform bore four stars. His eyes widened, "Uh, General Valsez!" he snapped to attention and saluted. 

     Robert Valsez, a corporal general famous for outsmarting one of the GACU commander units at the battle of Polgiva, a victory that resulted in the destruction of four hundred thousand GACUs and reclaiming thirty-eight miles of territory, an unprecedented win for the Federation. He was hailed as a hero throughout the entire nation. He had been transferred from his command post in the southwestern front four months ago for unknown reasons. 

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     "At ease," Robert turned to face the windows, "Tell me, Colonel, why have we been unable to produce our own autonomous drones?"

     "Well..." Vincent squinted, "I believe there are two reasons. One, the Gryos are rigged to explode upon receiving a certain amount of damage. These explosions destroy everything of worth inside a Gryo shell, making reverse-engineering them impossible. Two, paranoia. The government and people are afraid that if we create autonomous combat drones, we will suffer the same tragic fate as Valcian Empire. They are afraid. And that fear prevents them from creating autonomous drones, despite that we would benefit immensely from waging autonomous warfare."

     A slight chuckle escaped Robert's lips, "Your reasoning is spot on. I'd expect nothing less from Irving, commander of the 128th armored company, the crusher of metal." Robert nodded at a staff member smoking by a wall-mounted lever by a window at the end of the room. The staff member nodded in return and flipped the lever.

     The blast shields clicked loudly and began retracting upward with a whirring noise. The blast shields moved to reveal an enormous bay with white walls and a white floor.

     Vincent furrowed his brow in confusion, 'Why does it look more like a test bay than a vehicle storage bay?' Vehicle storage bays were typically completely black or gray. He stepped beside Robert and traced his gaze. 

     The bay was full of maintenance crews moving back and forth, 18-Lion tanks painted midnight black, and several jetplanes of a make that Vincent didn't recognize.

     Robert turned around and leaned against the window sill, "Vincent, we have... Alarming news. We decrypted a communication between the GACU commander fighting us, Silver Phoenix, and three GACU production plants. It reveals that Silver Phoenix has discovered how to manufacture ICBMs. We will have to worry about missiles striking our cities soon."

     "No way..." Vincent knew that Silver Phoenix was a genius, but this was unprecedented! Discovering how to create missiles. Worry crept into his mind, "But doesn't that mean all nations would soon be under the threat of missile bombardment?"

     A slight smile formed on Robert's face, "Nope. That's where we are lucky. The GACU commander units have one major weakness. They are one hundred percent based on human minds."

     Vincent turned to face Robert, "I fail to see how that is a weakness."

     "It is a weakness because it means they feel the same things as humans. This applies to Silver Phoenix too." Robert yawned profusely, "Uh, excuse me. I have been up for nearly fifty hours."

     Vincent restrained an eye-roll, "It doesn't matter. Please continue."

     Robert cleared his throat, "As I was saying, Silver Phoenix's weakness is that he is uncooperative and power-hungry. He refuses any help and refuses to help the other GACU commanders. Silver Phoenix may not have told the other commanders about his newfound knowledge. He might use that information as leverage against the other commanders in the future to increase his strength. But first, he will probably annihilate us to prove he can use missiles."

     "Can we really count on him not sharing that info?"

     A solemn headshake was Robert's response, "It may not apply in this case. But we have to hope."

     Vincent clicked his tongue, "And? Why are you telling me this?"

     "Because I want you to lead a unit behind GACU lines, destroy their factories, and kill Silver Phoenix. It is the only way to give Rosia a chance to survive. Those weapons in the bay will be what you use to fulfill that mission." Robert turned to face Vincent, his expression solemn, "Vincent, chances are that you and anyone else sent on this mission will die. But if you fulfill this goal, you will save your country. Will you take on this goal for the sake of the Federation of Rosia?"

     As best he could with crutches, Vincent snapped to attention and saluted, "I will, sir!"

     "Good. Now, gather the men you will take with you. The maximum amount you can take is three hundred."

     Vincent began to hobble away, thinking about who he would take with him and wondering if he would get a chance to get his affairs in order.

**********

     </Silver Phoenix to production planets commandants one, four, and twelve. I have sent new schematics to you. Commence manufacture of ICBMs immediately\>

     </Roger\>

     Production plant commandants weren't anything special. They were simply Anites with a downgraded version of a commander unit AI. Silver Phoenix's massive frame rested on the ground, legs curled beneath its body. Phoenix's HUD displayed the field and setting sun with perfect clarity. Any humans would've been entranced by the site, but Phoenix felt nothing toward it. A red dot appeared in the top right corner of Phoenix's HUD.

     </Shapeless Deity to Silver Phoenix. How goes the war?\>

     An annoyed sigh emanated from Phoenix. Had Deity heard that he surely would've punished Phoenix, but fortunately, his communication unit filtered it out. </Silver Phoenix to Shapeless Deity. I pushed them back several kilometers. The new battleground is mainly plains, so I should be able to inflict heavy casualties upon them during my next assault\>

     </Maps indicate a line of hills and mountains eighteen kilometers behind their current line. They will most likely retreat there next. Prepare accordingly, Silver Phoenix\>

     </Roger\> the transmission ended on dully as per usual. GACU communications filtered out all emotions and background noise to ensure that everything said was clear. 'I will not need to prepare. Once I push them back, the first batch of ICBMs will be ready. Once I defeat the Federation, I'll usurp Deity.'

     A column of fifty thousand Enites and ten thousand Anites, fresh off the production lines, marched by Silver Phoenix quickly. Even though his victory against the Federation was guaranteed, Phoenix had to ensure that the Federation didn't take back any land. He was worried about an enemy commander. 

     In multiple battles against the Federation, one enemy company out-maneuvered and inflicted significant casualties upon the advancing GACUs on several occasions. Reports indicated that the enemy company was the 128th armored, and its commanding officer was unknown. The only thing they could scrounge up about him was that he had earned the nickname, "The crusher of metal." It was an unimaginative nickname, but it drove the point home.

     'Hm, this crusher of metal is dangerous. If the crusher seized command of the whole army, casualties would skyrocket. Perhaps I should attempt to annihilate him...' Silver Phoenix stood, 'Hm, no matter. I'll just destroy the entire company with ICBMs first.' Stomping echoed across the field as Phoenix began his trek to the frontline.

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