No Shit, There I Was…

Kahrsh Pacification Zone
Kaher (Yaffish Marsh)

Even from within the thickly-armored Hellwind-class command tank, and at the entire river’s width, the yells and screams of the mob advancing towards the nearest island, and so the final span of the lengthy bridge were clearly audible. Lieutenant Vikal Karelian, Forty-Third Waserai Regiment, turned from the periscope’s view of shaken fists and thrown stones, and quoted:

“’It is imperative that you prevent the protesters from crossing the Kardenh Bridge under any circumstances. You are authorized to requisition whatever decisive force is necessary to achieve this. It is also essential that collateral casualties be entirely avoided, and casualties overall be held to a minimum, in order to avoid strengthening the grievances of the insurgency.’”

“I would say that that didn’t come from the First Regiment,” Lieutenant Oly Larios – 25th Imperial Night Riders, currently on secondment – replied. “Seein’ as they’ve actually fought an action or two in their time.”

“Local civvy government.” The words were a curse. “Hand-to-hand it is, then. Unless you have one of your tech miracles in your pack?”

Larios’s face blurred out for a moment in thought, and then he grinned. “Actually… I do have an idea. Not a tech miracle, though.” He gestured at the communications equipment. “May I?”

“Be my guest.”

“Flight Operations? Lieutenant Larios, Waserai Occupation Authority.  By my command, you will please instruct flight tango lima three one two to perform an emergency cargo dump in two seven, mark… Yes, I’m aware of that. Order is confirmed. Larios, clear.” He flipped the radio back to the local command channel, then reached up and hit switches on the environmental panel. “All units hold position and do not, repeat, do not engage unless directly engaged. Engage chemical protection protocols; recycle all atmosphere. Clear.”

“What!? Minimize casualties – you’re gassing them – belay –”

“Well, not strictly speaking. Just a little something to dampen their enthusiasm. See?” The eldrae held out his slate, one line of text blinking for attention.

Karelian had just enough time to read “FL TL312 (MLV Cloud Hauler): Organics to orbital stations for recycling” before the shit hit the span.

4 thoughts on “No Shit, There I Was…

    • Well, I have yet to do the detail work on the waserai, but here’s a summary straight from the notes:

      “Half insect, half mollusc by ancestry, so far as comparison to Earth lifeforms is ever useful. Bipedal. Both major and minor arms attached at a double shoulder joint. Triple pairs of faceted eyes. Pale flesh with the softened plates of their earlier chitinous exoskeleton adhering atop it where joints aren’t needed. Oviparous. Nominally hermaphroditic but specialize according to gender roles at maturity.”

      “…all of which is to say, ‘basically pretty average by warm-blooded oxygen-breather standards’.”

      As for the Hellwind-class tank, it follows the parameters of our tank design fairly closely (physics implies lots of them, so tanks in general more or less have to), even down to being a tracked vehicle. Take a typical modern Earth-style tank, make it wider and flatter, then strap a boxy missile rack across the top, and you’ve got a Hellwind, more or less.

      • That is nice! Your aliens are so much “alien”.

        1. So Waserai born hermaphroditic but change their biological sex after fully mature(or circumstance dictates), like some Earth animals?
        2. How many aliens are bipedal?
        3. So general Eldraeverse tank designs are basically alike Dropzone Commander’s UCM tanks?
        4. May I ask rough summary about Safir and Voctonari? If you have notes or conception, of course.

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