Rex Pain: The Collected Works

REX PAIN: THE COLLECTED WORKS

Kenneth Guthrie

Copyright 2013 Lunatic Ink Publishing

Find more stories at Kenneth Guthrie's Book List.

FOREWORD

This book is a collection of all of the writings that I did on Rex Pain and his adventures. It is meant for mature audiences and contains all of the material that I’ve written on Rex. I hope you’ll enjoy it.

STORIES IN THIS COLLECTION

On The Edge Of Hell (Rex Pain #1)

Facing The Maiden (Rex Pain #2)

Not My Work (Rex Pain #3)

Child Soldier of Earth (Prequel Story)

ON THE EDGE OF HELL

Rex Pain #1

A ROUGH FLIGHT

HELL WAS A WAR TORN DUMP CALLED JUPITER. Rex Pain steered the silver steel infiltration pod through the heavy laser artillery rounds that were hailing upwards towards them from the planet below the small squad that he was a part of.

Hold course! We can make it! His commander screamed over the communication system, sounding more afraid than Rex felt he should have.

Rex shook his head and gripped the controls more firmly, putting all of his concentration into maintaining control of the fragile hunk of steel that he was ‘piloting’ (an odd concept considering it was hurtling towards the planet’s surface at speeds well beyond what was safe.)

That idiot is going to get us all killed, Rex told himself calmly for the fifth time. He had been resigned to the stupidity of Commander Fry from the moment they had hit the dirt in this conflict. Rex’s professional opinion was the man was an absolute moron; unfortunately, today he was well on form: The route they were taking into the atmosphere of the war-torn nether lands of Jupiter was a guaranteed KIA for everybody in the team.

IMPENDING IMPACT.

Rex switched the message off and spun the view cameras in a 360 degree arc, trying to discern where said ‘impact’ might be coming from.

Damn it!

He quickly yanked the control stick right, avoiding the flaming insertion pod, which had been torn in half and was streaming various chemicals at its rear. He vaguely recognized that it was Commander Fry’s pod as he zipped past it.

RANK UPGRADED. CONGRATULATIONS MAJOR REX PAIN.

You have to be kidding me.

Rex sighed as he stared at the screen. He was now the boss and the implications of that message were sinking in slowly. Would they blame him for any further losses? Rex didn’t care about what anyone in HQ thought, but they had a habit of making commanders who burned their soldiers up too quickly into cannon fodder. Rex was smart enough to know he wouldn’t want that, even if the challenge of surviving such a move excited him.

I can’t afford to kiss the maiden of death yet.

Rex had priorities. He wanted to win and winning meant living. He would not lose to a little idiocy.

He quickly accessed the command network and gave his orders.

Change to the new collective trajectory immediately and keep your formations tight. We can't afford any stragglers.

A pod zoomed past Rex and he yanked back the stick to avoid being turned into mush. Gung-ho Lee’s pod slashed past him in a stream of red hot steel as he skimmed directly down towards the planet. One day he was going to get himself killed pulling a stunt like that.

The level of artillery increased for a few seconds as they arced through the worst of it. Red hot flames laced the world in agonizing bloody reds and oranges. Pods were torn from their positions in space and ripped apart as his men died in the descent.

Rex pushed for an even sharper angle into the planet as red lights flashed on multiple warning screens around him. The ship wouldn’t take much more of this, but he had no choice. The only other option was becoming mince meat in the artillery’s field of fire.

CRITICAL TEMPERATURE REACHED. 400 DEGREES CELSIUS.

Hold on, you piece of space junk, Rex murmured reducing his descent angle slightly, trying to mitigate some of the heat.

The display indicated he had 20 further degrees before the pod disintegrated. His suit was already flashing warnings at him and the atmosphere in the suit was already hot enough to make his body feel like the metal was burning him.

They slipped through the atmosphere and slammed hard into the ground, cutting through the lush forest as they went. Jupiter was one of the only remaining ‘beautiful’ planets in the solar system and the resources that they were fighting for were significant enough to make for big payouts for all of the soldiers involved in the conflict if they won. Those trees that they had broken on their insertion were probably worth a fair bit. Rex didn’t regret it though. He was here for the challenge, not the payday.

His pod bounced three times and skewered a huge tree before it hit the dirt, jarring his body inside of his suit, but, thankfully, not breaking any bones.

Saved by the pod – again. The silver device was built to take as much of the impact as possible, but you could still break a few bones from landing as hard as he had.

His pod powered down. Rex pushed a few buttons on the screen inside and waited.

Drop weapons catch.

Rex could hear the metal trays slipping from the outside of the pod.

He leapt out of the super hot piece of steel and scooped up his assault rifle, training it on the burning forest around him.

Show me how many I have left, he said to the pod.

The screen changed and he saw that ninety percent of his troops had died on the way in thanks to Commander Fry and the change of descent required to correct their course.

I hope that fool burns in hell. Poor leadership was a horrific sin in Rex’s opinion.

Change to heat signatures.

The area lit up with red blobs. They had landed right in the middle of a huge pocket of enemy troops. Everything he saw on the screen told him that his men would be meeting their maker very shortly.

Form up on me! Keep it tight and quiet. We can’t afford for the enemy to get an exact location on us, he said, watching the forest around him for any signs of movement.

The fifteen troops that he had left confirmed his order and started to move on his little inbuilt radar screen inside the suit.

INCOMING ENEMY HEAT SIGNATURES.

So soon? They must know where we are. Whoever had command of the troops in the area was good.

Three enemy soldiers on small four wheeled ground vehicles zoomed out of the woods slipping through the trees towards him. They laid in with their heavy laser cannons and he flipped over top of the pod to return fire.

Come get some! Rex yelled as he shot the lead most driver in the head, popping a huge hole through the front of the man’s helmet.

His vehicle slammed into the one next to it and pushed it into a tree, killing the soldier immediately. The last one got within ten meters and spun his mechanized unit around Rex’s pod, trying to get a solid shot on Rex's position. Thankfully, Gung-ho leapt out of the forest and ripped out one of his laser knives to gut the man as he raced by.

The slim man held the soldier up with his knife alone and yanked upwards, eliciting a scream and fountain of blood as his vehicle hit a tree in the distance behind them and exploded.

Damn fools on Jupiter are weaker than I remember, Gung-ho said, kicking the man to the ground and stabbing him several times to ensure he was going to stay there.

Rex chuckled.

That’s what you said yesterday when that guy tried to gut you.

His over aggressive subordinate shrugged and wiped his knife on the soldier’s leg.

It’s a running opinion. I’m still looking for evidence to prove the Jupiter Army isn’t just a big bunch of whiny girls.

We talking about your mumma? Big Bomber J said as he stomped into the meet up zone.

Nah, just rehearsing for yours.

Rex shook his head and pushed a few buttons in his pod.

SELF DISTRUCT ACTIVATED.

He noted at least seventy or eighty units moving in their direction.

We have a ton of troops moving our way, team. We need to get moving ASAP, Rex said over the network. Stragglers catch up. Let’s get moving.

The two men with him stopped playing around and followed Rex as he sprinted out of the clearing.

Meet me at location B.

His men confirmed. The death run had begun.

Mic, you alive?

His troop indicator told him the man was, but sometimes it took a bit of time to update, so you needed to be sure.

Yes, sir. What do you need?

Put me through to HQ.

Understood.

Rex sprinted through the trees. A huge explosion behind him made him glance back to note that all of the team’s pods had exploded as one. The dead soldiers that didn’t make it would find their place with the maiden and the mission data would be safe from enemy hands.

Rest in peace, brothers.

This is HQ. What do you need?

Put me through to Alex Pain.

Yes, Major Pain. Please hold.

Men started to flitter out of the woods around them. Rex started to fire freely as he kept the pace at the front of the growing group of soldiers.

Watch your right, Wilks.

The youngest member of the team jumped back midstride and sent a wave of beam fire into an enemy dropping down from a tree above.

Thank you, sir.

Rex didn’t reply. Newbies needed to learn their lessons the hard way. The man had some serious combat experience, but he wasn’t a soldier yet. It took balls to be willing to fight anywhere, anytime, anyhow. Soldiers were the elite. Wilks was just talented. He had a lot to learn.

Big brother, what do you need? Alex said over the communicator.

That idiot Commander Fry nearly got us killed and I had to put us down in a safe spot from the artillery. Problem is I haven't got enough men to push my way through the few hundred troops around us. I need a ride. Have you got time?

I’ll make it, Alex said, pausing for a moment.

Heat signatures indicate they have some heavy units out in the wild lands you’re in. You are going to have to meet me fifty kilometers west of your current location. I can get there in five minutes if I push it.

Rex checked the enemy heat signatures again on the screen and near the location Alex had sent through. He wouldn’t last one minute if the baddies caught up with his team, but he didn’t have any other choices either.

Alright. I’m on my way.

Rex sent the new data to his men.

Keep safe, Rex, Alex said before clicking off.

He signaled to the men behind him to get close.

We have to get to this point on the map in five minutes. It’s a long run and we can’t afford to stop for anything. Anyone who gets seriously injured is staying behind, so watch your sixes.

Everyone confirmed the new orders and slapped the front of their heavy suits. They understood the job and would do what was needed to stay alive.

Rex fell back and took up the rear with Big Bomber J and his heavy gatling gun. The men ahead of them pushed up to a full, suit assisted, sprint towards the location he had sent them.

A minute passed and the heat signatures around them started to trail behind. The suits issued to the soldiers were the latest technology and were overpowered for what they needed them for most times. This time the incredible speed and unmatched endurance of their suits actually saw full use. Running at 200kmph through the trees was a trippy experience to say the least.

Laser fire cut out from their left and right as they raced by. Big J let off a massive burst of laser rounds on the enemy position as he skidded by and the whole area exploded in a hail of death and flames.

Rex and his men kept on running. Enemies flowed out from the trees and died where they stood. The soldiers on Jupiter were well armed and equipped, but it was clear that fighting non-stop for months against the soldiers had cut into their ranks. The hardcore, talented and well trained were dead. These were the dregs: Kids and fools that didn’t have the skill to really fight, just overwhelm the enemy with numbers, if they could.

Rex sighed. He missed the challenge of the elite troops. The last time he had seen a good fight was on Pluto against the Special Forces there. The soldiers had lost the war, but Rex had had a ball. He had hoped Jupiter would provide more entertainment. So far he hadn’t been impressed.

Two men riding the four-wheel transports the Jupiter Army seemed to have in abundance smashed out of the forest to Rex’s left. The entire team unloaded on them and then jumped through the flaming chemicals to land on the soil of a field just through the cover of the trees.

Rex noted a small silver house and some smaller buildings in the middle of what looked to be a large farm. The farmers were growing some form of strange looking green plant that Rex had never seen before. He could see a group of men out in the fields tending to them.

His team sprinted towards the building in the distance, knowing that it would be the best shelter available for their forces, while they waited the one or two minutes until Alex arrived.

Some of the farmers turned and sprinted towards the buildings as they saw Rex and his men entering their territory. It wasn't clear if they were armed, but Rex imagined they had some weapons and were running to get them right now.

They ran up to the set of buildings and found three men standing outside with a young boy behind them. They each held a rifle and looked ready to use them.

Unfortunately, none of them were wearing suits and they weren't soldiers. Gung-ho sprinted ahead, dodging laser fire as he went and pulled out two long bladed titanium knives. The edges glowed red as they superheated to 300 degrees celsuis.

The man dived forward under the men’s fire and rolled to his feet in front of them. The run had taken less than five seconds and the farmers’ shock on seeing how fast he had covered the distance was clear.

Gung-ho pushed off the side of one of the buildings and Rex watched as he sliced across one of the men’s throats, sending him to the ground, as Lee came in low on the next man and stabbed him in the groin, ripping upwards so he tore the man in two.

A spray of blood flowed over the third man as he stood shocked at the sudden carnage. The boy fell to the ground as both of Gung-ho’s knives decapitated the last man where he stood.

Check the buildings, Rex said as he stopped by the dead bodies, bringing his rifle down to press into the kid’s head.

With pleasure, Gung-ho growled, spinning and blocking a laser round on one of his knives as he jumped through the door of the nearest building.

The farmers didn't have the quality of guns that the soldiers had and Rex noted only a tiny amount of damage