The Third Fleet - Second Draft

Chapter 1: Operation Sand

The sun above Chris was shining bright, the slightly reddish light scorching the endless sea of sand around him and his squad. For a moment Chris wondered if the simulation was always set to be uncomfortable.

The last couple of weeks it had either been cold enough to freeze you in your sleep or a jungle filled with more predators than leaves on the trees. Today it was heat, a feeling the boy hated nearly as much as a hundred leeches crawling up his legs.

Shuddering he ripped his mind off that particular train of thoughts, the whole thing still gave him nightmares, no need to add daymares to the mix.

Chris and his merry band of low priority soldiers were currently stationed about two hundred meters away from an enemy sensor array. The goal was to attack it and blind the enemy in the sector before the main line of infantry struck on every continent of the gods' damned simulation planet.

His soldiers were a bit younger than him, most of them fourteen years old, two years younger than him, making him the senior officer. He sighed, with all the information they had been gathering over the last couple of days the enemy was heavily entrenched.

They had no auto turrets thanked be Death but the position was easy to defend and Chris's soldiers had been stationed here because they got in the way everywhere else.

Even if they did not manage to take the target the attack would not be in any real danger, a nuke in orbit would take down most of the enemy electronics anyway.

Once again Chris checked the counter displayed in his field of vision, the implant every one of the children in the complex made visual overlay possible and helped to establish communications between them and the ship's AI.

Clue's voice sounded in Chris's head as if it had known he was thinking about the AI.

"I hope you know your chances of succeeding here are at less than twenty percent... the enemy has the high ground and a better squad of soldiers." Chris glared into nothingness, hoping the AI would get the stare was meant for it.

"Always the optimist Clue... the enemy might have the better position but we have Alex on our side! If anyone is going to have them retreat it's the raging cu-" The blade of a metal axe settled on his throat before he could finish.

"If you wanna keep your tongue you choose what you say, next little guy." Alex leaned over him, eyes fixated on his as she tightened one arm on his shoulder until the grip was dangerously close to dislocating his shoulder.

"-oolest girl I have ever had the pleasure of laying my eyes on... What are you doing here?" Sweat gathered on his forehead and it had little to do with the heat.

Alex was nearly a head taller than Chris, she had arms ready to tear the head of a robot and the temper to actually do it. Short red hair and a dark skin were at odds with her bright green eyes.

The girl was one of the best brawlers in the complex and was rumoured to spend most of her evenings beating the shit out of soldiers in the Taverns of the Dockingstation for shits and giggles. All in all a person Chris had tried to avoid getting into contact with for the first couple of years in the schools.

"Try better or I will cut your throat right now and here." She said flatly.

"Nice weather we have been having lately don't you think?" Chris closed on hand around the grip of the axe and pushed it away.

Alex chuckled and sat down next to him.

"Guess who got benched again?" She asked as Chris pulled his water flask and held it over.

Even with all his tries to stay under the radar, Alex had taken an interest in him after a sparring match against one of the older boys, which had ended in four broken ribs and two lost teeth for the older boy.