David Six Vs. The Goliathans

RANKED 2nd BY VOTERS IN CHARACTER CREATION CONTEST #43!

I was barely in the room before the lieutenant said, "Captain, sir! The Goliathans are moving through the outer perimeter like it's not there! They're tossing aside men and tanks like they're one and the same!"

"I'm aware of that, Lieutenant Tenant. Send the order- I want the Five-Oh-Six down there now!"

A specialist at one of the comms spoke up, "Death Adders, sir?" Trim, with dirty blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail, she looked worried.

"Execute the captain's order, specialist!" barked the lieutenant. "And you refer to them by their proper code!"

"Yes, sir," she said, turning back to her comm and sending out the order. On her screen, the call sign of the receiving unit came up- a shield insignia. "Delta Alpha Six Division Six responding, sir. ETA... twenty seconds," she said.

"Alpha?" I asked. Even I couldn't hide my surprise.

"Confirmed, sir," said another specialist, this one male with dark skin and a strong jawline. His nameplate read Jet. "We've got one coming in on a narrow band."

"One?" I turned to my left and said, "I said I wanted the Five-Oh-Six down there, lieutenant!"

"Sir," said the lieutenant, "He is the Five-Oh-Six. Delta Alpha Six is the only one of the DAVIDS to survive the Goliathans so far, and it will take another month for the docs at Techno Station to engineer any more."

"DAVIDS?" I asked the lieutenant.

The lieutenant tapped the specialist on the shoulder once. She pointed at the screen. "His call sign, sir: DA VI D6- Delta Alpha Six Division Six- DAVIDS." She beamed momentarily before a sadness overcame it, and added, "This being the last one, we call him 'David Six,' sir." She looked up at me and steeled herself before saying, "With all he's done for us so far, sir, some kind of name besides 'Death Adder' just seemed right."

"Specialist... Salt," I said, looking at her ID tag, "if he stops this latest charge, I'll make sure he gets full blown citizenship." I meant it, too.

We all turned to the main screen to watch the city security feeds for the outcome. They showed nothing but the giant, tarnished, brass-colored behemoths that were the Goliathans, advancing from the distance at a full charge. Nothing was slowing them down. The cameras fuzzed with static momentarily, the lights on the scene seemed to dim slightly, then there was a bright flash, replaced by one lone man, standing directly in the path of the Goliathans.

Immediately one of the Goliathans fired in his direction, a huge shell from its wrist cannon detonating on impact. When the smoke cleared, the DAVID was still standing.

"The shield generator is holding, lieutenant," reported Salt, "David Six responding."

The Alpha squared off, his gauntlets beginning to glow blue. As they did, a series of mines flashed in the path of the Goliathans. Surprisingly, many of them fell; all but one. Cameras showed slagged parts, and what looked like blood. "Are those things manned?" I asked.

"That would be news to us, sir," said the lieutenant. "When David Six turns the battle, survivors either completely disintegrate the fallen, or grab them on their retreat. We've never had one to examine."

Still watching the screen, the remaining Goliathan was bearing down on the DAVID. His gauntlets glowing with a full charge now, he swung his arms back in an arc, and swung them forward again- letting the full charge of his gauntlets loose in one blast. Energy bored through the Goliathan's head like a mining drill through glass, and while the head exploded in all directions, the mammoth body crashed forward, skidding to a halt at the feet of David Six.

A cheer went up in the control room. "Yeahhh!" cheered Jet. "He just got D. Sixed!" Looking at me, he regained his composure and said, "Uh, sorry, sir. Delta Alpha Six..."

"It's okay, specialist. Just remember that your man in the field is more exposed than you are. Take care of him first."

Jet turned back to his monitor and tapped some keys. Onscreen, David Six looked at one of his gauntlets. Tapping an earpiece, his voice came over the comm system, "Delta Alpha Six reporting, sir. Perimeter secured, Goliathans down, prepared for extraction."

Leaning towards the comm mic, I said, "Belay that, Delta Alpha Six. I understand that we've never had one of these things to examine before. Roll it over and open it up- let's see if anyone's home."

"Copy, sir," said David Six. Onscreen, the DAVID was blocking the camera view as his boots and gauntlet gave him the power to flip the massive armor on its back. The comm broadcast a loud wrenching sound as he ripped open the chestplate, and then he stopped.

"Delta Alpha Six? Report," said Salt.

"Lieutenant," he said instead, "you need to see this." From our angle behind him, we could tell that he was positioning his gauntlet cam over the armor, then the feed cut to that view.

Inside, we were surprised to see, "A dog, sir," said Jet.

"No," said Salt, "that's not possible! The Dogs were stopped a long time ago, sir!"

"Lieutenant," I said, "confirm."

Bending towards the mic, Tenant said, "Delta Alpha Six, confirm this visual?"

"Biggest space baboons we've ever fought? Yes, sir- there's no mistaking that. These Goliathans are being piloted by Mandrillus, sir."

Tenant looked at me, and I nodded. "Copy that, Delta Alpha Six. Prepare for extraction."

"Copy that, sir," responded the DAVID.

Salt punched a button on her console, the cameras went static for a moment, then back to normal, and Delta Alpha Six was gone, returned back to base.

"Lieutenant, get me Command on the horn," I said. "Our problems just got bigger than the Goliathans."

The lieutenant said, "Copy that, sir," and tapping Salt once on the shoulder, she started the call to command. We were going to need more DAVIDS, and we were going to need them soon.

Story and characters owned by Chris Bishop, copyright 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022.

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The Origins Behind the Origins (or how some of these characters got their names):

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