The Cyborg System-Chapter 71: Fortress One

Stepping out of the transports, the students were stunned by the sight. Fortress One was a huge monolith, made of a black concrete type material, but with some strange off-white defects running through it. It had a number of slits in the walls, where archers would be able to rain down shots from above, and the walls were so high, its top could not be seen standing directly below.

Lenny looked at the structure closely and decided to use his scan...

"A resilient aggregate made of a mixture of Terran and Xeno building materials. The pouring process has incorporated the bones of several spirit beasts within the moulds, which run through the material like irregular joists."

"Beasts?" said Lenny, more to himself than anyone else.

"Yes, you’re right," said Private Willow. "They’re used for the residual essence left in their bodies. By incorporating them into the structure, it helps to strengthen the base from attacks."

"How many beasts?" asked Harry, looking at the massive structure with its off-white veins at irregular intervals running all across the surface.

"I don’t think anyone really knows. A lot. These walls are sturdy though. More than once—"

Private Willow suddenly stopped, as the sound of groaning metal could be heard. A thick slab of the black material was lowered on chains wider than a person. Once it touched the ground, a smiling man in his early fifties could be seen, a few hundred men lined up behind him, drilling.

"Master Wood," said the older man. He had a thick black moustache with flecks of grey.

"Colonel, it’s been a while," she replied.

"How do you two know each other?" asked Master Ackerman curiously. Some of the other instructors also seemed curious.

"He’s my uncle."

"Come," said the Colonel. "It’s nearly dark. We should catch up. Bring your fellow masters. I have something I’ve been saving for a special occasion."

Master Wood nodded.

"Sergeant Jones, have your men find the students some accommodation. I believe there are plenty left with the Common Corps. Once they’re settled, have them come to the mess hall for a good meal. Oh, and see to it that you show them around a bit. Don’t want them getting lost and turning up where they shouldn’t, do we?"

With that, the Colonel walked off, conversing with the instructors.

The Sergeant sighed. "Right, if you’d like to follow me..."

*

The mess hall was a large area in the northern part of the base. The facility was so large that it was more like a small town than a fortress, with interconnected rooms and corridors occasionally broken up by courtyards, like the one they had entered from.

Several times while travelling around, they had come across people training. There was only one small battalion of spirited, two hundred or so strong; these were supplemented by a few squads from allied factions, and three battalions of un-spirited, the so-called Common Corps. These had many duties, from patrolling and scouting to cooking, cleaning, and generally maintaining the base and keeping it running. They were even used in combat situations, as both an effective means for killing scavengers when well-armed and, though not commonly stated as such, as a kind of damage sponge in more serious conflicts.

The mess hall itself was dark, with several log fires burning and a short queue. Burly servers dished out bowls of hot food that could smelt from the doorway. The cauldrons contained a thick gravy of spirit beast and some sort of tuber native to the planet, with sea salt and beast fat and flour dumplings. A few carrots wouldn’t have gone amiss, but the ability to regularly transport goods from home was limited, meaning they would rely more on those provisions which would not spoil.

"This looks promising," said Harry.

Nicholas grunted in agreement. The journey had made them all surprisingly hungry. They looked around for Rose, but she was nowhere to be seen, which made Harry feel a little uneasy. Lenny was the first to walk off and join the back of the queue. He spotted a small tray of freshly baked bread by the servers. However, no one seemed to be taking any. When it was his turn, he took a large bowl of the dark stew and reached for one of the small pieces of bread.

"Not so fast," said the server, stopping Lenny’s arm. "That’s for Bill’s squad."

"Erm, sorry," said Lenny, apologising, as he walked off with his bowl.

His friends sat down next to him. "Who’s Bill, then?" asked Nicholas.

"I don’t know. Must be someone strong," said Lenny.

"It’s not that he’s strong," said a strange man, turning to face them. "Although, as it happens, their squad is stronger than most. Most of them are predator rank hunters, but that’s nothing compared to the Lieutenant Colonel or the Captains. It’s the simple fact that Bill can deploy his men wherever and whenever it’s needed."

"What do you mean?" asked Nicholas.

"He’s a portaller. And a powerful one at that. Can jump long distances. And regular, too. Nothing like that freak from Military Command, but more than enough to give any squad a tactical advantage."

"I didn’t realise portal abilities were so useful," said Lenny, thinking about his roommate. He’d always considered it kind of lame.

"Well, of course. Need to move your forces around, or ambush, or even just escape in a pinch, then a portal’s the way to go. Shame some of the bastards have got the same ability."

"Does that mean a portal could open up in the base?" asked Nicholas.

"Well, it could, but all those predator and monster tier beasts in the walls provide some kind of disruption. That’s why you lot weren’t sent straight here. But I guess if something was powerful enough, maybe it could still get in. Hasn’t happened yet though."

They all looked somewhat relieved.

"So, Bill’s squad get special treatment, then?" asked Harry.

"Well," said the man. "They’re not part of the Western Allied Forces, you see. Not really here as allies either. They’re not in it for cores, they’re in it for credits, and the higher ups just do whatever they can to keep them around, whether it’s fresh bread, a bigger room or even soft toilet paper."

"Sounds like prison," said Lenny.

"Don’t be too sure it’s not," said the man, lighting an old-fashioned pipe. "You know what the first rule people learn in prison is?"

The boys shook their heads.

"Power’s everything."