The Rise of Oshbob Book 2-Partition 1 (Patreon)

“Left flank! I said left! You stupid fucking Orc.”  Sergeant Turner’s whiny, panicked voice echoed through the comm in my helmet.

As usual, I ignored the useless asshole, and kept moving down the main road of the derelict town. It must have been empty for a couple of hundred years at the very least.

Plant life had made an aggressive effort at reclaiming the place, growing through cracks in the tarmac, and covering the buildings and decayed vehicles.

Perfect for cover, which I exploited to close the distance to the creature we hunted. Despite Sergeant Turner’s complaints, I was now only a dozen meters away from where it snuffled and snorted as it tore out Private Andy’s intestines.

I did my best to blank out the continuing complaints through my helmets speaker, as I crouched behind the battered, overturned car. It was more rust than metal, but as I brought my breathing back under control, it gave me a few different options to get eyes on the two-meter tall, boar like monster.

It was so entranced with its work, violently plunging its serrated tusks into our deceased team mate, that took the opportunity while it lasted.

Gripping my plasma rifle firmly, I charged from cover. And made it around four steps before its black, hellish eyes turned on me.

With no more need for stealth, I roared incoherently at it as its muscles bunched in preparation to pounce.

I held for the barest of moments, before unleashing a short burst at its planted forefeet. The move ruined its jump toward me and caused it to falter. Sadly, it didn’t go down from the shot and the distance between us closed to intimate, in a few heart beats. I went to leap to one side and avoid the same fate as Andy, but the Tier-Two leg mod creaked and seized up as I pushed off from it. The leg itself was barely worth its rank and even at the best of times it occasionally struggled with my weight, despite constant repairs. Now it had seriously let me down and the stumbling beast cannoned in to me.

While I managed to avoid being hit dead on, I was still thrown up into the air by one of its sweeping tusks. Desperate and furious that Sergeant Turner was still yelling in my ear, I activated the claw hook on my Tier-Two arm mod. A mod that was only slightly better than the leg mod across general use, but the hydraulic loaded hook was damn handy for this sort of thing.

With a lot of strength and a little bit of luck, I slammed it into the monster’s shoulder, managing to bury it deep into the tough hide and hook the shoulder blade underneath.

The anchor allowed me to drop onto its back and offered me the perfect opportunity for a little personal extraction before it was brought down officially. Letting the plasma rifle hang free, I pulled out the makeshift nanite extractor Tenev had sent me, and jabbed it in my foes other shoulder, taking a healthy helping of its life force and giving myself a much better hold on the thing.

“What the hell are you doing, Osh?” Turner squawked again. “Shoot it, don’t fucking dance with it!”

“Getting a good grip,” I grunted, fighting desperately to stay on the now whirling, snorting hairball of rage.

The extractor beeped, signaling it was full, so I clamped my legs extra tight and swiftly slid the extractor back into the concealed compartment of my armored sleeve.

I almost lost hold in that moment, bucked from its back to be fully airborne, apart from the embedded hook.

Before I’d even fully landed, I’d managed to pull my hand cannon and insert four bullets into the back of its skull. Even I couldn’t miss at this range, and those little metal pills had the desired effect and calmed the creature down.

Specialist Jacobs was first to make it to me as I put another four bullets into the same spot, and it drew its last ragged breath.

“None of us could get a shot on it with you getting tossed about like a ragdoll.”

He was a medium-sized human, and not the worst I’d had to work with by a longshot. “Had no choice,” I said panting heavily from the exertion. “Damn mod seized up when I side-stepped.”

“They might change it now. It’s not right, them sending you out with Trash-Tier mods dressed up as a Two.” As he spoke, he knelt next to the monster and pulled out the official extractor kit.

I agreed with his words whole-heartedly, but remained silent. Complaining never got you anywhere with the higher ups and even complaining to these guys was likely to get back one way or another. Then I’d never have a chance at getting an upgrade.

“Still,” Jacobs continued as he inserted the extractor. “Good job at bringing it down. Back of the head’s about the only place worth shooting these bastards. Unless you’re using a missile of course.”

As he laughed at his own joke, the others finally joined us. Turner coming in last, of course.

“We’re supposed to be a team, Orc.” He snapped. “One more dick move like that, and you’re off it.”

“I don’t mind if you wanna kill everything, Oshie,” Corporal Maddock said grinning and leaning against a large chunk of concrete that had once been attached to a nearby building. “Just as long as you don’t mind me telling everyone it was me when I get back home.”

That pulled a chuckle from me. The whole team was made up of humans, but Maddock was the closest to an Orc. Big, brutal, and direct.

“You do what you need to do,” I replied.

He grinned, but his response was cut short by Jacobs. “All done.”

“Decent haul?” Turner asked.

Jacobs winced. His eyes flickered briefly toward me. “Light again, Sarge.”

“Ah hell,” Turner snapped, kicking out a loose bit of rubble along the road. It’s like the beasts are getting weaker. I’ll let the top brass know when I get my arse kicked for taking longer to meet the quota. Could be that there’s a bigger problem going on.”

Maddock, huffed. “Quota bullshit. We’re supposed to be fucking soldiers, not work Orcs.”

He looked guilty at me. “Shit. Sorry Osh. Not you o’course.”

I waved the insult away. Maddock wasn’t bright, and he didn’t overthink his words. The fact that he apologized was more than enough for me to be satisfied.

My main concern was that I’d obviously been getting too greedy, and I really didn’t need reports of low nanite hauls making their way up the chain. Especially when all the other teams would be bringing in the same as always. “It’s probably just a bad area. Let’s move on. I bet the monsters are brimming a little further away from the city.”

“No. We’re done for today,” Turner replied. “Let’s head back to base camp and see what they have to say about what we've brought in. Then we’ll have a look over the map and make a better plan for tomorrow.”

“The sun’s barely halfway to the horizon and you just said we had a quota to meet. It’s not gonna look good if we head back now, is it?” I tried to keep my contempt for him from my voice, but by his offended expression, I’d failed.

“The day you’re Sergeant is the day you can make that call, Specialist Oshbob. Maybe in a few hundred years?” he sneered.

“Yeah. Shut up, Oshie,” Maddock groaned. “We’ve got Aska to get drowning in.”

“The Aska will still be there in a few more hours and if we do this, the first two are on me. You’ll just need to drink faster.” I spun on Turner and held out a warning finger to stop him from snapping at me. “If we don’t meet quota there’ll be questions asked. Those questions will be asked of you. You joke about the fact that I’ll never be promoted past Specialist and you’re right, I know how the higher ups work. So I know that a Sergeant, on probationary is gonna take a lot of heat. We’re fit, were healthy, and we’re already here. Let’s make the damn quota and save ourselves a whole load of heartache.”

I wasn’t exactly sure of Turner’s story, but I knew he didn’t want to be in our dead-end little unit and that he’d had some difficulties that put him here. All of those thoughts seemed to be passing over his face after my words.

“And you're buying drinks?” Maddock asked.

I looked back at him. “Yeah, first two on me and I’ll even pick your body up off the floor and dump it in your bed when you pass out.”

“Mine too,” Private Gomez asked. He was new, but he was handy, and he’d survived the longest of the newest privates. As much as I liked to be in a strong team, it was good to see humans being used as cannon fodder too. It made what Orcs had to suffer a little more bearable. We weren’t as alone at the bottom as I’d once thought.

“Sure,” I agreed. “But I’m not buying you drinks until you’re at least a Specialist.”

Gomez beamed. “I’ll get there and that’s a promise. There’s an eighty percent success rate if you make it past the first six months.”

“Somebody should tell Andy that,” Maddock said, pointing at our dead team mate.

“He only survived this long because he was a good runner,” Gomez said. “He just ran the wrong way this time. May the gods of blood and chrome bless his soul.”

I slapped Gomez on the shoulder, feeling a rare surge of pity for the man. “Tell you what runt, if Turner chooses to continue, your first one’s on me tonight. I’m feeling generous.”

“You’re serious?” He asked, jumping up eyes wide.

Maddock started braying like a clapped-out generator. “Oshbob! You sappy bitch. That’s the first time I’ve seen you shout a private around in the three years I’ve known you.”

“Will you lot just shut it and get back to the AV,” Turner snapped.

Maddock chuckled some more, and even Gomez risked a small laugh.

“I’ll give Specialist Jacob’s a hand with Andy’s body,” I replied, then headed over to our teams medic, nanite extractor and covering fire extraordinaire. He was crouched down next to the body of Andy setting up the Vac-coff. It wasn’t exactly a dignified way to go, but it meant the body could be given an honourable send off.

I crouched down next to him. “Need a hand?”

“Sure. Just line the nozzle up with his hips for me.”

I did as instructed, while he entered a code into the control panel of the meter long metal box. A motor whirred and Andi’s corpse was slowly sucked into the wide nozzle, bones, and all. Inside, it was thoroughly dehydrated and compressed to reduce the size and weight for ease of transport. Clear water flowed out of a weep hole at the side of the box nearest me. As always, I was amazed by how much water a body contained.”

While the noisy contraption worked, Jacobs looked over with a sad smile. “I know what you’re doing.”

I fought to keep the annoyance from my face and my voice. I’d suspected he might be on to me and after so long farming nanites under his nose. I supposed the only real surprise was that it had taken this long to notice.

“What’s your plan with the knowledge?” I asked quietly. I didn’t need to add threat to my words. I rarely resorted to violence with the other soldiers, I just wanted to do my time and get out of here. But both Jacobs and Maddock knew what I was capable of. They’d both joined the squad after me as Privates, and they’d seen the two unavoidable altercations I’d been involved in. They’d also seen me in all manner of battles with the beasts we hunted.

“Don’t worry, Osh. I won’t tell no one. Just figure you might need a hand. I reckon it must be lucrative, and well, I’ll be leaving in a couple of years. If I survive that long. I could do with a little side hustle, make sure I have something worthwhile to go out to?”

“You got family outside you need to support?” I asked, gently, though it was more for my own leverage than any consideration for him.

Disappointingly, he shook his head. “Not much in the way of prospects, either. You know my story. Taken in as a street kid.”

I nodded. But I didn’t know his story. If he’d told me, I hadn’t listened. The woes and hardships of the constantly complaining humans only ever found deaf ears with me. But now Jacobs was a threat, I had to listen.

“Figured I’d go the merc route if I’m honest, but even that’s gonna need some creds. Decent gear doesn’t buy itself.”

I rubbed at my chin, and side eyed the man. “There’s not much you can do with the harvesting, but you keep quiet and distract the others on occasion, might be I can cut you in on some of the profits and even sort some work out for you on the outside.”

That brought a snort from him. “You can sort work out for me? How? This through your nanite selling connections?”

“You could say that,” I agreed. No one knew anything about my life outside and I liked to keep it that way. While anyone from Portolans or around the adjoining neighbourhoods would have heard of me, Artem was a very big place.

“Sure, then. I won’t say no to a fix-up on leaving.”

“Done deal then,” I said, extending my fist toward him. He bumped it discretely with his own and I spoke again. “I’m going to have to ease up on collection for a little while with the low on the quota. The nanite extractor vials I use are one shot deals. If I don’t fill them up, I can’t use them again, and I don’t like wasting space.”

“Understood,” he replied. He looked about to say more, but the cover the Vac-coff provided with its noise, cut out. Its work complete with Private Andy’s remains neatly packed.

“Let me get that,” I said, sweeping up the disconcertingly light case from the puddle of water, ready to be stowed on the AV.