Helldiver No More

"Sweet Liberty, the Helldivers are here!" A civilian called back to the other occupants of the building, seeing a Helldiver appear in front of the window.

The Terminid Control System had failed. The creatures were breeding at an insane rate, and the Helldiver and his companions noticed that the creatures seemed to be smarter now too. A planet wide evac order had been given, and Helldivers and security forces were scrambling to get the civilians off world before the Terminids completely overran everything.

The Helldiver had heard reports of Terminids ignoring civilians and only going after ones who fired at them, and even heard of Terminids just not attacking. He had even heard reports of Terminids attacking Automatons that were slaughtering civilians. The Democracy officer had shut those rumors down quick though, saying that the Terminids were mindless bugs obsessed with bloodshed and destruction.

He did not believe any of the rumors and reports though. These were mindless bugs, forcing people away from their homes, tearing families apart, and he would do everything to make sure that Democracy and its followers were protected.

This was his first mission, the man just out of training. He did not have as much experience as his companions, who were seasoned veterans, but he knew that would change in just a few minutes.

A few followers of Democracy ran out of the building, the Helldiver standing watch beside them, looking around for any threats. The bugs were the biggest one, but the Automatons could not be discounted either.

The Automatons had been getting pushed back, but with the surge of Terminids the Helldivers had been unable to reliably focus on taking the Automatons down, and they were starting to regroup now.

"Go! We've got an evac point set up at the center of town!" He watched the civilians run to the center, seeing other civilians in other buildings run out.

"We've got contacts!"

One of his companions was looking over to the East, where a small group of Terminids could be seen. They were all looking toward the town, but they weren't advancing forward.

He raised his rifle at the Terminids, but hesitated, remembering what he'd heard. It couldn't possibly have been true, could it? The Democracy officer wouldn't have lied about it, would he?

"Helldiver, the enemy of Democracy is in your sights, do not hesitate in destroying them." The voice of his Democracy Officer in orbit came through, ordering him to do his job.

He did as he was told, squeezing the trigger. His team did the same, the group of Terminids running for cover as bullets flew by them. They were a long ways away, and the desert planet and high winds threw off their aim, no bullets hitting their target.

"Keep them suppressed! Get the civilians to the evac site!" One of his teammates ran forward, firing into the distance at the Terminids, who were hunkering down behind several rocks and small hills.

"H4, there's a building off at the far end of the compound, make sure no one's in there!"

H4 nodded, breathing heavily as he turned, looking at the building. The planet was also prone to earthquakes, and the building here had crates stacked near the door, which had fallen, blocking the door.

He looked to his squad, seeing two of them were laying down suppressing fire, and the third was guiding citizens to the evac site. H4 looked over, seeing several citizens crouching down behind crates at the center of the compound, shielding their faces from the pelting sand.

He turned back, making his way towards the building.

"Helldivers, the Automaton scourge is approaching, you have two dropships heading to your location. Do not let any of Democracy's citizens fall to those foul monstrosities."

His heart jumped in his chest as he heard that, but he put his fear to the side, the building now in front of him. "Is anyone in there?"

He called out, and the faces of two people appeared from behind the crates. "Oh, thank Democracy! We thought you wouldn't come. Please help, we can't get the crates clear!"

H4 looked behind him, seeing the Terminids had pushed closer, a group of Warriors now forming a line, their armored carapaces absorbing the rounds from the rifles the Helldivers had. His eyes widened, seeing how organized they were. Mindless bugs couldn't possibly be that organized and efficient, could they?

He turned back to the trapped citizens, letting his rifle hang off its sling as he grabbed onto one of the crates, pulling it away from the door. It was heavy, the man groaning as he heaved the box away. There were other boxes in the way though, but as he pulled on them he found they refused to budge.

He repositioned himself, getting a better grip on the crates, but he could only lift them a tiny bit, not enough to shift them out of the way.

"Sweet Liberty, are those Automatons?!?"

The Helldiver looked behind him, seeing two dropships had appeared. His squad had pulled back to the center where all the civilians were, and he watched as gunfire poured onto the dropship, damaging the Automatons latched onto it.

He turned back around, staring at the boxes, wondering what to do. He looked down at himself, spotting a grenade hanging on his belt. He reached for it, pulling it out. "Get back away from the door, cover yourselves as best you can!"

He watched them nod, then they ran away from the door. He pulled the pin on the grenade, and then he threw at at the crates, diving away from them. He covered his head with his rifle, and a second later he heard an explosion, dirt raining onto him.

He turned back around, seeing the crates had been completely destroyed, and the door was now open. He quickly got up, running towards it. "Come on, we have to get out of here!" He waved them forward, and the civilian ran out the door, but they stopped short.

"Sweet Liberty..."

He turned, seeing the center was surrounded by Automatons. The three Helldivers were firing on them, supported by several turrets, but the Automatons were still steadily advancing, careless of the wave of lead pelting them.

A few Automatons turned, spotting H4 and the two civilians. They fired at them, the Helldiver putting himself in front of the civilians, guiding them to cover behind the building they had been trapped in.

He pushed them behind the building, then he went to the edge of it, firing at the approaching Automatons.

"What do we do? How do we get to them?" The civilians were panicking, but he had no time to calm them down.

He took cover, several bullets pelting the side of the building.

"We can't help you H4, there's too many of them, you've gotta find your own way over here! The dropship is approaching, you have to get those citizens over here now!"

He heard the roar of the dropship, and he looked out from the building, seeing it approach. A gun was mounted at the nose of it, and he watched the cannon spit out a torrent of bullets at the Automaton horde, shredding them to pieces.

There were still several of them though, and his eyes widened as he saw several with chainsaw arms approaching. His heart fluttered, and then he took cover again, turning to look at the two civilians.

It was a man and a woman, both of them were relatively young, and they were both panicked right now. They looked up to him as he looked down at their crouching figures.

Shocked gasps came from them, and the man pointed past the Helldiver. The Helldiver turned, seeing a chainsaw Automaton had come around the corner.

He turned to the two civilians. "RUN!" He turned back, firing his rifle at the Automaton, sending its mechanical body seizing to the ground. He ran out into the open, trying to cover the fleeing civilians.

The Helldiver fired his rifle on full auto, pelting the Automatons, the soldier trying to aim for the ones with rifles, trying to keep their attention on him and not the civilians, which he saw in the corner of his eye running past him, trying to get to the dropship.

His heart dropped as he saw Terminids rapidly approaching, the Warriors breaking into a charge. He wasn't going to make it to the dropship, none of them were.

His rifle clicked empty, the man still pulling the trigger as a chainsaw Automaton rapidly approached him. He staggered back, raising his weapon up like a bat, swinging it at the robot.T he Automaton staggered back from the blow, giving the Helldiver enough time to pull his pistol out, sending a round into its face.

He turned back to the civilians, seeing them get knocked down by another chainsaw Automaton. Several Terminids were also approaching them, and he could also see several Shriekers flying in the distance, rapidly approaching in the distance.

"NOOO!" He raised his pistol up, firing it at the Automaton, the machine lurching from the rounds, and then he felt himself get knocked to the ground. His pistol flew out of his hands, the man raising his hands up as he desperately kicked himself away, trying to grab for his rifle.

He looked over at the two civilians, seeing them get swarmed by the Terminids. Their terrified screams filled his ears as he watched the Automaton standing above them get cleaved in half by a swipe from a Warrior's claw, the sheer amount of Terminids preventing him from seeing the massacre.

The Automaton above him let loose a war cry, and he raised his hands up towards his face, the Automaton raising its chainsaw up to gore him.

His eyes caught sight of a Hunter rapidly approaching, and he watched as it launched itself at the Automaton. So this is how he would die, gored by an Automaton, and then torn to shreds by Terminids.

He kicked himself away as the Automaton fell, its blade landing right where he had been just moments ago, and he watched as the Hunter sunk its claws into the machine's back, the Automaton ceasing its movement.

The Helldiver used the minor distraction to grab his rifle, releasing the empty magazine, the man slotting a fresh one into the weapon just as the Terminid pulled its talons out of the Automaton.

He raised his rifle up, aiming it at the creature, but he hesitated. It was looking right at him, its entire body frozen, the creature not moving at all. He breathed heavily, his eyes wide as he stared at the creature, all his training and superiors' words going through his mind, telling him that this creature should be attacking him, but it wasn't.

And then the rumors he'd heard from earlier came to his mind again, about how some Terminids had not attacked people, and had even saved people.

He turned his head to look at where the two civilians had been, seeing Terminids still swarming around the area, several Automatons rushing towards them, but the Terminids tore them apart. He noticed how the Terminids seemed to be hovering around the area the civilians had been.

He watched two Shriekers descend down where the two civilians had been, and then the Democracy Officer's voice came through to him.

"Helldiver, you have failed your oath and you have failed to protect Democracy's citizens, and you have hesitated in destroying the enemies of Democracy. We have no use for a traitor in our ranks, you are hereby stripped of your rank, your ship, and your status. You must submit to the nearest Helldiver or other representative of Democracy for permanent decommission."

Those words tore through him worse than the Hunter's talons ever could have. He looked over at the horde of Terminids in despair, knowing he'd failed to protect the two civilians, and even now he'd failed to kill his sworn enemy, which now stood ready to skewer him.

But then his thoughts went away, replaced by confusion as he heard the terrified screams of the two civilians again, the exact ones who he'd thought were dead just moments ago. And then he watched the two Shriekers rise into the air. Clutched between their talons were the two humans, the civilians clinging to the Terminids in fear as they were lifted into the air.

They didn't stay in the air for long though, the Helldiver watching as the Shriekers dive bombed over where the dropship was, the Helldiver watching the two civilians get dropped right next to the dropship.

The three Helldivers were still firing at the Automaton horde, but they turned to look at the two Shriekers that had dropped the civilians off, staring for a few seconds before they rushed to the civilians, who were still very much alive.

They rushed them into the dropship, and the Helldiver heard the engines roar to life, the craft lifting up into the air.

He turned his head back to the Hunter above him, seeing it had raised its head to look up at the retreating dropship, but then his eyes looked past it, seeing a Shrieker rapidly descending.

"Oh Sweet-" He kicked himself away, twisting and trying to roll out of the way, but the Shrieker landed on top of him, the man tucking his hands in towards his face as he felt its claws wrap around him, and then he lurched as it lifted him up.

"OHHHH, SWEET LIBERTY!" He desperately grasped onto the creature's legs as it flew into the air, the man looking down, seeing the ground quickly become more distant. He looked up, seeing the Shrieker was heading towards the rapidly ascending dropship.

He flinched, hearing the dropship start firing, and then the Shrieker screeched, diving as bullets flew around it. He clung onto the creature, the Terminid going into a free fall to get away from the dropship, the man lurching as he watched the ground start coming closer.

He screamed, expecting to slam to the ground, but the Shrieker expanded its wings again, the man's stomach turning as he was roughly jerked to a stop just a few meters from the ground. He looked up, seeing the Terminid hovering in the air, looking around as if it was confused.

He didn't want to be in its grasps anymore, and he was close enough to the ground to survive the fall, so he started wrestling with the creature, trying to push its claws away. It looked down at him, uttering a confused screech, and he looked up at it. He stared at it, breathing heavily, and then he thrusted his fist forward.

His armored fist slammed into its face, no doubt doing nothing more than mildly annoying it, but it was enough for it to let go of him.

It was hovering about 15 feet off the ground, the man slamming into the hard sand, groaning as he clutched his side. He grimaced, breathing heavily, hoping he hadn't hurt anything. He took in a deep breath, turning to look at the Shrieker above him.

It was staring down at him, the creature lightly hissing. It uttered a low growl at him, and then it flew off, the man watching it head back to where its nest was. He turned to look at the town, seeing it was a ways away, and that the Terminids there were starting to disperse.

He sat up, just staring at the town, watching the Terminids walk away.

He didn't want to think on anything, but countless thoughts still roamed through his head. What would become of his ship? Had the Democracy Officer really lied to him? Why would he have lied?

His thoughts turned to the two civilians he'd tried to save. He'd thought the Terminids had torn them apart, but now as he thought back on it, it was clear they'd formed a perimeter around them, protecting them from the Automatons.

And then the two Shriekers had arrived, lifting them up, and then dropping them at the evac point. He tried so hard to just write them off as mindless insects, even now, but as he thought on it he just could not find a reason why the Shriekers would do that.

Unless they were trying to save the civilians.

He tried so hard to deny it, to believe the Democracy Officer, but everything he'd seen told him that the Democracy Officer had lied to him. And then when he'd hesitated to kill the Terminids the Officer had labeled him a traitor.

He'd lost his ship, his title, everything that Helldivers worked so hard to achieve. Everything he'd done had been for nothing.

He heard a quiet screech to his left, and he turned, seeing a Warrior was standing several meters away from him. It was hunkered down low, its arms protecting its body, but he could see its head poking up from its armor, looking at him.

He just stared at it, not even reaching for his rifle. The words of his Democracy Officer briefly echoed at the back of his mind, but it was completely overpowered by everything he had seen.

There was no way to deny it, not after everything he'd seen. These creatures had been changed by the Terminid Control System. They were much smarter now, they were much more organized, and they had saved him and the compound from the attacking Automatons.

He couldn't shoot this creature, not after what he'd seen them do.

He slowly got to his feet, groaning as his side screamed in agony, the man doubling over, clutching his side. He breathed in, waiting for the pain to die down, and then he took a slow step forward, limping as he did so.

The Warrior was standing between him and the compound, but as he walked closer it moved off to the side, the creature assuming a normal stance as it watched him pass it.

How smart were they? Could they be as smart as humans? He thought back to the Hunter that had saved him, how it had reacted when he'd aimed his weapon at it.

It had saved his life, and in return he had almost blown its head off. It had completely frozen when he'd aimed his rifle at it, had it been from fear, maybe a sense of betrayal?

There were still some Terminids hovering around the town, the Helldiver watching the creatures look at him. He looked behind him, seeing that the Warrior following him, though it was maintaining its distance.

He looked around, seeing the carnage that had been done. All the Automatons had been torn to pieces. There were a few dead Terminids among them, but the Automatons had clearly been overwhelmed by the hordes of bugs.

He made his way to the center, finding that miraculously no civilians had died. There were no corpses on the ground, not even any blood, just oil from where the Automatons had been destroyed.

He heard a pained screech, and he turned over, seeing a Warrior had fallen to the ground, several Terminids rushing over to it. He watched them prop it up, and he could see that one of its legs had lost all of its armor, the man seeing the creature's exposed flesh, green blood oozing from it.

The Warrior that had been following him ran past him, and he watched in awe as it ran over to the wounded Warrior, trying to help it along.

He hung his head down, the realization of what he and his squad had done coming to him. He didn't know how intelligent the Terminids had been before the TCS had been activated, but they were clearly intelligent now.

They didn't want to fight, he was living proof of that, along with his squad and the civilians, otherwise they would have died when they'd fired on the creatures. They'd been killing intelligent creatures that just wanted to be left alone. Or maybe they even wanted to socialize with the humans, but the lies and propaganda that the leaders of Super Earth spread made that impossible.

Would his squad and the civilians even be allowed to live after what they had seen? They would surely spread word of what had happened, especially the two civilians that had been saved from the Automatons.

He hung his head in shame, everything becoming too much to handle, too much emotions and thoughts flooding his mind.

His eyes caught sight of the gold clasps holding his cape to him. He remembered the joy he'd felt when he'd put it on, but now, he looked at it and he could only see lies and deception.

He slowly reached up to the clasp, his hands hovering over them for a few seconds, hesitating. He shook his head, grimacing as he closed his eyes, and he undid the clasp. His cape hung off his right shoulder, the man reaching over to the other clasp, and he undid that one too.