Swarm by B. V. Larson

Author:B. V. Larson
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

-23-

The conversation slowed to a buzz when I entered the bunker. A dozen eyes swiveled and locked on me. I threw back my hood and removed my goggles because everyone else had. I ignored their scrutiny and stepped up to the big tabletop computer that filled the center of the room. Everyone had circled around it.

“Welcome, Commander,” General Kerr said, without a smile or any hint of warmth.

I saluted him. Everyone stared for a moment, then the general returned my salute. I knew not everyone accepted that I’d earned my rank, much less the right to stand among them. I pretended not to notice…or care.

He went back to the briefing. There, on the tabletop computer, a map of the region was displayed. Various tributaries of the massive Amazon River were all around us. In between the squiggly lines representing the river were areas of bright green, which I felt certain represented millions of trees. We were a blue hash mark to the north. A dozen other blue marks representing troop concentrations were strung along the line in front of several hundred advancing red dots. As I watched, the red dots shifted a pixel or so north about once a minute.

In between the Macros and us was a tight line of yellow hazard symbols. I didn’t have to ask what they were.

As we watched, I saw the Macros were even now passing over some of the yellow hazards. I fully expected them to poof and thought it odd we hadn’t yet buttoned up our suits. But the line kept marching, and the bombs sat idle.

“Any questions?” asked the general at length. There were none. “How about you, Commander Riggs?”

I looked up from the battle screen. “Just one,” I said. “Why don’t we smoke the Macros now? I count three that have passed over the mines.”

He smiled at me without friendliness or amusement. “We want a few on our side of the firewall before we light them up. Do you approve?”

I shrugged. “It’s your show, sir.”

“Very good. Well, as you say, we are about to “smoke them” now. Hard to believe they are churning through this dense growth at close to thirty miles an hour, isn’t it? Just goes to show you what having huge metal legs will do for you. They can walk through jungle like a man pushing through a dense cornfield. Any more questions?”

I raised my hand again. The general gave me a nod.

“How are we going to catch up with them if they are running around so fast, sir?” I asked.

He gave me another indulgent smile, as if I were eight years old. “Don’t worry. They will come right to us. And once they engage, they won’t leave targets alive. They’ll stay on top of us until every one of us is dead…or they are.”

“I take it you’ve fought with them before, sir?”

“Yes, my last command was part of the rapid-deployment force in Argentina. We were among the first to encounter the enemy directly.”

“Glad you made it out, General Kerr.

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