writing Battle of the Titaniun Horse

[Idris 241]

To self-critique this piece, (and possibly defend it, but not with much gusto), this is a pre-burn work I did in 2004. I had no idea what to do with it, so I did a couple of chapters and then stopped working on it. I haven’t read chapter two to be honest, but Rosie has and says the whole thing is creepy. Because it is pre-burn, it is as new to me as it is you, due to big internal data loss in 2012. What I do remember is that it is a spin off of ‘little blue’, which is about a donkey sized demolition robot, viewed at the end of its life, corroding away in a lean to shed at the back of a farm, with bits missing. The work was a personal mind research into knocking down sky scrapers using four legged robot platforms that could be lifted onto the top. Then, as a group, would spend a few months throwing the building down its own lift shafts, piece by piece. There would be a large aluminium ring for a body that could take the weight of rock breakers or hydraulic shears. For arguments sake, it’s a mechanical pony. This tale is the military version.
Why post here? Well, it does come from my equine love, and really was called Battle of the Titanium Horse from the get go. It is almost guaranteed to fall flat on its rump asap, because I didn’t start it with a finishing point in mind. And that is pretty much rule number one. Anyhoo, it shouldn’t be rotting away on a hard drive, so here goes……………………

 

Battle of the Titanium Horse

They started carefully to climb the shallow slope to the top of the ridge, toward the enemy. Raw recuits, never having seen battle before, shiny armour and little knowledge of what the next hours would hold for them. The going was soft, leaving deep impressions in the earth as their weight forced the blades of grass apart. And they were heavy, standing five feet to the shoulder and carrying thick plate armour.

The opposing force had not seen them arrive in the darkness. If it had, their path would now be lit up with flashes from small arms fie and cannon alike. They had no need for light though, the infra red vision system being effective in the merest star light. Even in thick fog or choking smoke radar would allow them to locate any target.

As the first of them began to reach the top, the quiet night air was broken by the clicking of weapons loading their first rounds. No one had been loaded at the drop zone for fear of misfires and none had been fully activated until the last second, so as to reduce detection by misfire. They knew robotic audio sensors would be all around, set up as sleepless sentries to listen for the faintest sound of metal on metal. The noise of so many weapons being loaded would not be missed and now they would be visible on radar. Any second it would start, but they continued on without hesitation or fear.

The barrage started instantly. The first had barely got any rounds off before they were hit, knocked to the floor, fluids running away as their first mission became their last. Smoke grenades spat out onto the other side of the ridge, landing with a soft clunk. It was too late for the enemy now though, they had been seen, their positions noted, the knowledge passed down the lines to the next wave.
The next group to the top were now sure of their hits. Bullets screamed off into the distance like fiery party streamers, disappearing into the night. Chaos reins in the opposing force.

Every round counted, as the remains of the first group started across open ground, their suppressing fire vital in allowing them to cross the mile of flat ground at the top of the ridge. Others were climbing the last section of ridge to appear behind them. Periodically they were lit up by search lights, but a point of light on the horizon is an easy target at any range. They burnt out as quickly as they were turned on. The range was now down to half a mile. They began to spread out so all could fire, guns sweeping from target to target. Communication was working well and no two hit the same target except for pounding the opposing side’s heavies. Small weapons are no use against these mammoths, but the influx of supersonic metal kept them confused and off target while their positions were called in to central command. The response screams by overhead, slamming into dark silhouettes on the horizon with a white flash, before a shock wave disturbed the smoke of the scene like an expanding bubble.

Progress was slow, a steady walking pace at best. Many fall but the armour is the latest, with incoming small rounds twirling uselessly off into the night. A few minutes into the battle the first wave are lying down to wait for weapons loaders. These had to travel open ground and were absolutely reliant on safe passage. Armour on them was light, so they could carry as much ammunition as possible. Incoming rounds were being noted, so fire was now concentrated on any enemy positions that could halt the loaders.

Enemy transport could be seen escaping on the other side of their position. The heat from the motors gave them away. They might as well have been painted bright orange and waving flags. They weren't out of range, and as they probably held high ranking officials they were of some interest. Spare fire power was available and a truck a mile or two away glides in an wide arc before hitting some unseen object and rolling over. Any of its occupants who could, flee into the night, back lit by it’s flames.

The first loaders reach those waiting for supply. There is a clang as the empty ammo boxes are ejected and sharp clicks as the fresh cases lock into their guides. The metallic sound of chambering rang out as they slowly get back to their feet, firing at likely targets before continuing the walk steadily behind the others. There was a loud boom as an enemy tank fired from off in the distance. Most ignored it, and those who were next to the instantly formed crater attempted to get their legs back under them. Those that couldn't continued to shoot into the darkness from ground level. Units walked past dark forms on their way to their initial targets, past those who lay in wait for more ammunition, and those who wouldn’t be getting up again.

The first eventually reached the outer wall of the complex. Weapons were quickly stowed behind armour as front legs were leant against the outer wall. A sonar-horse arrived which could sense the wall thickness. As it was cinder blocks, two thick, no plating, several leant against the wall and started to push. Falling into the room, units behind them were ready to open fire, but it was empty.

To reduce ambush risk and to check the floor strength of the room, a single 'horse' went in further. Weighing the same as a family car meant a cellar could cause havoc for a group like this. There was another crash of masonry as another wall collapsed a few feet away. Then there came an order to halt, to regroup, re-load and to cool down. Some stood guard while others started fans, washing the heat from processors and pumps. Heat detection units walked to the front and with a whoosh, disappeared in a cloud of liquid carbon dioxide. The first service units come forward, offering fuel and fluids to those with minor haemorrhages. Shouts from the other side of the complex indicate the enemy was leaving faster than it could.

 

 

[Idris 241]

Chapter 2


The compound was not large, being just a small selection of buildings whose back walls formed the outer perimeter wall. Two halves of a truck sat on the far side, the effect of another team weakening the outer wall earlier with their 20mm flank guns. There was a matching vertical line of bullet holes in the wall behind it. All was quiet for a few minutes as the ‘halt’ command held. It would have been easy to think they had all broken down or had flat batteries, as they stood stationary and lifeless in the night. This changed when command considered it a reasonable time to replenish the machines inventory. As if startled by some nearby sound they all started to move at once. After half an hour of robot preening nearly all had a full load of ammunition, and were ready to go. Those damaged were reset, or switched over to run bandage software. They would limp on with the rest of the mission or be sent back to a pick up point where the helicopters could reach them.

The guns were an interesting point of these machines and varied with each mission. Each soldier could carry an array of different weapons on common mounting points. Large recoil guns were usually fitted underneath the belly, with sub routines to prevent them shooting their own legs off. The mounts had no freedom of movement, with the aiming coming from the body position. The main body-ring joints and leg joints each had a rotary encoder. These fed back to a central processor which could point the whole horse at the target with compensation for distance and wind speed. Tracking the first round and recording the error meant the second round would be on target even if the first missed. Each gun had a hot-shoe mount which relayed its specification to the horse cpu as soon as it was fitted. The guns information file also included data on how to load it, as a double check to the loader mechs. They needed to know what rack slotted into where and have the horse stand firm, aware of the procedure. Telemetry also indicated what ammunition was being used up at the greatest rate during the first few seconds of battle. This information was used by the stores manager program to ensure that the loaders could leave with what was perceived to be the ‘ideal load’. It could be a risk if the nature of battle changed, but the logistics predictions were usually close to what was required.

There was a sudden jump of action, as man ran out of a building at the far end the yard. He looked very obvious, being the only living thing there. P227 fired a warning round as it was already facing him. It was close and even though the man was running it was sure of its shot. The man’s chin strap was cut in half by the round. He stopped, frozen like a statue in front of the P227. “Have they seen me?” He wondered, as they stood there like statues, emotionless, and silent. But every horse and loader mech knew his grid point in milliseconds. Right back to the recovery point it was instantly common knowledge.

The silence was broken by the sound of a human voice. P227 slid back its front armour to reveal its data screen, which sent flickering light out into the darkness. A face appeared on the screen of one of the commanders. “Stop or we’ll shoot” he said calmly. The man, fixed to the spot, had come to realise this already. While he was being interrogated the ‘continue to next objective’ command was sent. All available horses started toward the far side of the compound at once, as though pulled by an invisible line.

Those checking the buildings on the far side found nothing. The only point of interest was a horse getting stuck in a door way, trapped by the damaged wood work of the attack. It struggled for a bit, but the full force of linear actuators was soon reached to no avail. With a complete lack of forward travel it sent an ‘out of action’ message. Y192 was tasked with recovery and turned to open fire on the building to weaken the door way. A burst of flame shattered the night and the wall. The soldier, now visible as P345, pulled itself through the debris, bringing most of the roof with it. It rolled on the ground like a horse with an itchy back to remove the debris, got up, and disappeared in a cloud of dust as it blew compressed air through its more vital systems. Opening its armour to reveal its weaponry it finished off the building with a few rounds of test fire.

[Idris 241]

Time to shut the garage doors on this one. I see some half finished projects around the place, same as the 4x4 forums I get on. I guess it's normal that stuff gets covered in dust and punctuated with rust. My deepest apologies if you got to the last line and wondered where the rest is. Who knows, one day it might blurt out of some inner sanctum.

 

On another note 'Gary's Trip' seems to have worked as a piece and I'm very excited about "Pony Poets" and it's sequel. Both are very sweet and romantic. I'm trying to get the first part on FIMfiction before I post it up on here. Have to admit I've got an itch to get it read and up on youtube. (yeh I got the bug!)