The Death of a Soldier

The following is a transcription of a recording that was taken from the audio journal attached to Corporal Yama’s person when his body was found.

October 15th, 2009

I have been assigned my first solo mission. Over the past three weeks command has sent out six scouts, each alone, and none have reported back yet. Each scout was sent out three days after the last, their mission was pretty routine, just to check out sector 7 and make sure it is still secure, in and out the assignment should take no longer than two days tops. They say that there are a number of reasons that the scouts are MIA, they could have gotten lost (most of them have never been that deep in the red before), they could have been injured in a bad landing, or they could be KIA. The last one is what has me worried. My mission is to give it one more shot, I am to fly in, assess the situation, and find those five scouts, or at least what’s left of them. If anything goes wrong I am to fly straight home, no looking back, to report whatever intel I can manage to gather. Yama out.

October 16th, 2009

So far, so good. I left base with no problem at all, there hardly ever are any problems now with it getting colder, most of the feathers are bunkered down for the winter and we wiped out the last of stripes six months ago, heck of a battle that was, most of it took place in sector 7. The only bad thing about it getting colder is that means the crawlers are mobile and they aren’t exactly on friendly terms with us. Anyway I can see sector 7 now, time to get to the bottom of this. –radio silence– This is insane. I found two bodies, just laying there. My location is deep in sector 7, sub-sector 4, I don’t understand, they are just laying here dead. No obvious cause of death, no wounds, nothing. Wait, there’s another about 40 k’s east. This is not good. –radio silence– It’s been 4 hours since I found the three bodies, no I.D. on any of them, though I did find a report on the third, it’s only partly complete but it’s definitely not good news. He wrote that he saw what seemed to be a crawler carrying several smaller ones but he also writes that he can’t confirm that’s what it was because something distracted him and when he turned around it was gone. I really hope he was wrong. It’s getting dark and I think I may have found something. There’s a big tube above here that’s putting out some kind of beam, I can see several civilians already heading towards it, I’m having to fight some unknown urge to go to it. This is ridiculous I just can’t seem to get away from it, I don’t understand. –radio silence–

October 17, 2009

It’s light out again and the beam has finally lost it’s affect on me. All of last night is a blur. I have to find those other two scouts and get out of here. I’m going to sub-sector 9 to see if there is anything, I think that was the last place the fifth scout was supposed to check. –radio silence– I’m in real trouble, I flew right through a crawler net. I’m got out ok but I can’t fly anymore, I can still manage to glide a bit but I’m surrounded by crawler nets and it’s too risky. This wall I’m on keeps swinging open and shut randomely, the large creatures I’ve never even heard of come out and go in. And this huge thing is always in the hole when the wall opens. I think this is my only chance, better in there with them than out here with the crawlers, they are closing in on my position. The next time the wall opens I’m going for it. –radio silence– I made it in, and I don’t think anything saw me, but I’m out in the open, I need to get out quick. Wow there are huge gusts of wind coming from all directions. Crap I think the big thing saw me. I have to get out. –crashing noise– I’ve been hit, I’m down. I don’t think I’m going to make it. Ok, if anyone finds this, tell command to abort, I repeat, sector 7 is gone. It’s over. And if anyone can please, please just tell my wife that –crashing noise– –radio silence–