Bishop Weyland Posted October 28, 2020 Share Posted October 28, 2020 In that case, Dr. Tao is our sole source of information," Major Hayes said humorlessly. "Lieutenant Weyland, do you feel up to bringing her in?" “Aye, Aye sir” whispered Weyland. The battered mercenary began to turn and walk towards the room were Kauffman had been held captive for many months. “Lieutenant.... we need her alive and able to answer question” Called the Major. “She’ll be alive and talking sir.... promise” response the Skinwalker as he entered the room now covered in a brown wretched smelling sludge. Bishop was hunting for something in the interrogation room....an article that would lead the beast to the good Doctor’s location. Walking towards the starboard side bulkhead Bishop found a line of metal wall lockers. As he slowly walked the line reading the names he the beast growled in excitement at the pending hunt. Stopping at the last locker Bishop reached up and opened the door with Doctor Tao’s same printed on it. Taking a few seconds to gaze over the Doctors effects the veteran warrior found what he was looking. A white, knee length surgical coat. Lifting the surgical coat out, Bishop brought it up close to his face examining it. Then slowly inhaled.... catching the Doctor’s sent then exhaled. The best howled with joy in the darkness of his mind. Electricity now pulsed in his veins, it was time. The word slipped from his lips like exhaling smoke from a cigar “Seeeeeek”. He’s human mind had now disengaged all the safeties holding back the beast. They were now free to hunt, man and monster as one. Dropping the coat the hulking mercenary turned and began to jogging toward the faint unseen sent trail left by the Doctor. Bishop was now standing back with the Alpha Team... they might as well have been ghosts to him now, the beast was tracking. Without a word he jogged on, suit, armor and weapons jingled with each heavy step he took. The Doctor’s sent changed, it became stronger and smelled sour. That was the fear pheromone, the pheromone all humans produced under stress. From the beginning of time, man used K9’s to track and hunt their fellow man. Nothing changed... except man and K9 where now combine into a killing machine. Bishop now possessed the best of both species. The hound’s Heightened senses and the primate’s intelligence combined in the body of a combat veteran. Corridors, stairs and rooms were just a blur in his human mind. As the beast hunted the warrior cleared and sweepers his surrounding for more threats. No one would challenge them. After Several minutes the pair stood before the two massive doors that were open, the words “Mess Deck” painted above the them. The beast growled in hunger, they were close now. Touching a switch on his wrist bishop turned off his heavy grav boots. Then slowly and slightly man and beast glided into room. It was dark, almost pitch black. The beast’s eyes saw everything, tables with chair neatly stacked and secured on top. Food trays and carts locked on the walls and parked in the corners. Bishop had differed towards the back of the room, near the food service line. The sent was so strong that he found it hard to follow exactly. The hulking mercenary stopped in mid flight, like reaper of death he hovered motionless in the air. Bishop closed his, he waited for it... the sounds of movement. At three minutes his prey moved, the sound was a light scuff, like a shoe on a metal floor. There... behind the walking refrigerator door his prey hid. Opening his eye bishop also saw that a knife was missing out of the knife block. The idea of battling an armed prey excited the beast into an almost frenzy. Bishop smiled...”Prey located” he whispered into his radio. After activating his grave boots the beast silently moved to the door. Slinging the light machine, Bishop transitioned to his combat knife and reached for the door, there will be blood this time. The two Corporate Marines jumped at the sight of the hulking mercenary that now appeared before them, dragging the human by the throat. One second the had been chatting lightly about what they going to spend their bonuses on, then Bishop appeared without sound holding the prisoner with his massive hand. He a had a deep knife slash on his face and bullet wound that was still seeping blood from his shoulder. “Sir!... ah.. we were just getting ready to go find you. The Major was getting worried.” “Secure the prisoner Private” said Bishop deadpanned. “Yes sir.....” the Marine hesitated, not fully sure if the Doctor was live. Then the she blinked... yes she was alive. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Maxwell Posted October 28, 2020 Share Posted October 28, 2020 A few minutes later... The Hurry Up Bessie gave a lurch as its massive frame eased against the docking adapter of the Mendacius. The crews of both ships had been forced to perform minute and precise maneuvers to navigate the two vastly-different vessels into a hull-to-hull position that would accomplish the rendezvous that William Kauffman had requested. But the gambit seemed to have paid off; after the sounding of several loud and tired-sounding klaxons, followed by the heavy roar of atmospheres equalizing, the green indicator beside Cargo Bay One's entryway cycled on, and we'd cautiously re-entered the space, our eyes met with a totally changed scene. Virtually the entire back wall of the cargo module had folded away, exposing the cold hull of the Mendacious and the entrance to its comparatively-smaller counterpart. As we stood, line abreast from one another, a squad of eight battle-armored Crayven Marines disembarked from the espionage vessel with their weapons at the low ready, their commander shouting orders concerning securing the freighter. Recognizing our ragtag group, two of the marines sprinted over to Alpha team and the four freighter crew, beckoning us to follow them back aboard the Mendacious. Wordlessly, still propping up William Kauffman by one arm, Major Hayes nodded, first to the marines, then to us, and we stepped aboard into the otherworldly, ultra-clean, flawless environs of the Crayven Coproration's intelligence vessel. Captain Harlow let out a low whistle as we transited across the cavernous space. "Holy shit. It's bigger on the inside," Harlow observed. I chuckled. "Not exactly. They just make incredibly efficient use of the space," I replied. "No, what I mean is, you can't even tell that all of this stuff is packed into such a small little ship when you're on the outside. It's quite a chameleon. I see where your company is putting its pennies," Captain Harlow explained. "I mean that in the best way possible, And by the way, where is - " "Captains," Major Hayes interrupted. "I need to take General Kauffman to the infirmary. It can't wait. Please take charge of the collective groups here and see that their needs are met. Donovan will be along shortly. In the mean time, I need you both to ensure that no one wanders off and ends up in any restricted areas of the vessel. If anyone needs medical attention - or a bathroom break - they need to be under escort unless they're already cleared to be aboard. And by the way, Aegis folks - nice work out there. You too, Captain Harlow." With that, Major Hayes, still in full combat gear, escorted William into the depths of the Mendacius, a team of medics falling into step with the men as they did so. I looked toward Nikki, who still bore an expression of amazement on her face. "So, is this the part where I get paid?" Harlow quipped. 1 Dossier | BattleMech TRO | Kit Details Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicholas Schuster Posted October 28, 2020 Share Posted October 28, 2020 A heavy thunk thunk thunk of booted feet coming up a metal ramp behind me caused me to turn around to find the souurce of the noise. I looked just in time to see 4 Crayven marines stomping up the ramp, two of them had the Capellan guy we left behind in the cargo bay full of pigs in custody, and the other two were escorting a really beat up looking and possibly not fully conscious woman with a slender build and of Asian descent. With them was Bishop Weyland, who though injured badly with a cut and a nasty gunshot wound, was walking purposefully with them like nothing was wrong at all. I nudged Captain Maxwell to turn around and look. "Holy hell Bishop, are you ok? What the heck happened in there?" Maxwell asked as he walked over to the hulking man. I didn't get to hear his answer, though, because all of a sudden, Steve Jenkins popped into my line of sight..."HEYA BATTLE BUDDY!!" Steve squealed gleefully. "We survived another war!" "We sure did, Steve. We sure did." I answered with a nod as I peeled what was left of my spacesuit off. I was glad that the Crayven Corporation was footing the bill for the gear we had used on this latest outing, because my spacesuit was totaled and would probably never see action again. "Hey, listen...." I said as I began to fold the tattered garment up. "You really did an excellent job over there. I'm sorry I missed some of it due to being.........knocked out...for a bit, but from what I heard, you saved William and probably all of us too. Taking out the robots and then the command center made a huge difference for the team. I just wanted you to know that I really appreciate what a fine job you did." Steve stared at me silently with his eyes wide like saucers. After a couple long moments he replied. "Yeah no problem, wanna get drunk now?" he asked. I looked at my watch. "Well, ok, it's 5:15 PM ship's time, so I guess technically we wouldn't be getting day drunk, and after the day I just had, I could use a stiff one. You want to go now or what?" "No, I have to go have hellacious diarrhea and then change my clothes first before I can bar." Said Steve. "Alright...." I said, slightly unnerved by the oversharing of details and the fact that I didn't know if Steve might be implyiing that he was planning to poop his pants. "How about we meet at the bar in 30 minutes? That will give us both time to get cleaned up and stuff." "Woot!" Steve yelled. "See you soon battle buddy!" Then Jenkins went running off with a toilet computer in one hand and a space helmet in the other. I shook my head and smiled. Then I bent over to get my gear. As I did, I felt something rolling around in my shirt, and as I bent over, a totally flattened and mangled-looking bullet fell out of my shirt and onto the deck. I picked it up and stared at it for a second as it sank in that the bullet was covered in blood. It was the bullet that had been intended for me were it not for some weird medical tech from the Star League that had chosen to "adopt" me on Nirasaki. Now, it seemed like nothing would be normal. I looked around and saw that Bishop was following the Crayven Marines to the med bay but Captain Maxwell and Nikki Harlow and her crew were still here. "The extraction team is saying that they found your hurt medic and they're going to bring her on board." The Captain was saying. "I think she will be fine, the Crayven Corporation has some of the best technology around." "Good, hopefully they can spare some." Nikki said back. Just then, the Captain noticed me. "Hi Nathan, this is Nikki Harlow, she's the captain of the freighter. We're working on how to get her taken care of although its a bit outside my pay grade." "Pleasure to meet you, Captain Harlow." I said. "If there's anything I can do to help, let me know." Then I turned toward Maxwell and Nikki. "I guess there's a gathering at the bar tonight to celebrate, are either of you interested in coming to the event?" 2 Dossier | BattleMech TRO | Kit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Jenkins Posted October 29, 2020 Share Posted October 29, 2020 LATER ON...... I sprayed a bunch of Air Freshener in the bathroom and walked out into the Bunk Room. I heard the toilet try to flush behind me, I think it might have stopped up, but I didn't hear any water go on the floor. "I FEEL LIKE A NEW MAN!!" I Yelled, we had won the war and now it was time to let it rip "WASH YOUR HANDS" Said the toilet computer. "SHUT UP!" I yelled, "YOU AREN'T EVEN HOOKED UP TO ANYTHING!!" I Yelled. Then I went over to my locker and got out my Red suit and red pants and red hat, it was my special duds for a special occasion, this was the one. I got changed into it and a t shirt underneath with gold chains and cool sunglasses, I used to wear it to court andI would get checked out by the women lawyers. Next I got out a tape of WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS and I put it in my belt buckle that was also a music player, when I had it playing I went down the hall to the Bar to throw down like one of the dudes....... TO BE CONTINUED 1 Dossier | BattleMech TRO | Kit Details Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Maxwell Posted October 30, 2020 Share Posted October 30, 2020 A few minutes prior... Nathan turned toward Nikki and me. "I guess there's a gathering at the bar tonight to celebrate, are either of you interested in coming to the event?" "Thanks, Nathan," I chuckled, "but we're not out of the woods yet. We still need to get our collective flotilla out of this system before the Capellans can respond." Captain Harlow glanced me a worried glance. "That includes you, too, Nikki. Suffice it to say, we've got a pretty big mark on our backs now," I added. "I understand," Nathan replied. "Do you need a hand with anything?" "Thanks; not right now, but I'll give you a shout if that changes. You go on ahead. The entire team definitely earned a celebration," I smiled. "You did an amazing job. And I'm glad that you're - miraculously - still with us." Schmidt shifted uncomfortably. "Uh, yeah, me too," he answered. "Thank you, sir." I clapped Nathan reassuringly on the shoulder and watched as he headed off toward the inner vestibule of the cargo bay. "How exactly is he walking?" Captain Harlow asked, surprising me as I turned my gaze back toward her. "I mean, you shot him in the chest, not the legs," I answered dismissively, grabbing my gear bag off of a nearby bench and gesturing for Nikki to follow me. "Come on, let's go check on your medic." "That's exactly my point," the Captain replied. "James and Colleen," she continued, looking toward her crew, "why don't you head back to the Bessie and see if there's anything Gretchen needs a hand with? Do a systems readiness test, too, in case we need to bail out of here in a hurry." The pair nodded, and Nikki fell into step with me. "I hit your guy at seriously close range. Not only that, I double-tapped the trigger and put two bullets straight into his chest. I saw the blood and saw him go down. It wasn't a flesh wound. How the hell was he well enough to shoot a Capellan dead 45 minutes later, walk off my ship 20 minutes after that, and go to a bar crawl with that weird shipmate of his after that?" "Maybe you just missed all the really important bits, I don't know. I'm not a doctor," I deflected, approaching the Mendacius' forward lift and mashing its call button. "Don't bullshit me, Max, I hate it when people do that," Nikki retorted, casting me a scowl of disapproval. "You and I both watched him walk away. You saw that gory hole in the back of his shirt. And what did you see underneath? Skin. What's his deal?" "I honestly don't know," I replied. "We've been through some insane stuff over the last few months. I would almost describe some of it as 'supernatural.'" "You mean like your commando becoming immortal?" Harlow quipped. "Among other things, yes," I nodded. "Ever since we started contracting with the Crayven Corporation, nothing's been normal. William Kauffman and his people move in mysterious ways, and everything that they do seems to share a common, otherworldly thread." The lift gave a cheery "ding," its doors rolling aside. I stepped in and held the door as Nikki joined me. Pressing the button for the main deck, I leaned back against the elevator car's wall. "I thought you were from the Crayven Corporation?" Nikki asked. "We're a mercenary unit. Aegis Division. I first ran into Kauffman on Outreach last year. We did one job with them and ever since then, we seem to keep falling into their orbit," I explained. "We made the decision to identify ourselves as the Crayven Corporation so that we wouldn't cause alarm by revealing ourselves to be mercenaries." "You honestly think that would have caused more alarm than grappling and boarding my ship while shooting up the place?" Captain Harlow fired back, crossing her arms and staring at me sternly. "Point taken," I admitted. The lift came to a halt, its doors swishing open. Ahead of us lay the medical ward, strategically located directly across from the elevator bank. "Charles!" a voice called out. I looked toward its source. It was Alyssa, sprinting toward me with a smile on her face and giving me a tight embrace. "I was just coming to find you. I'm glad that you're okay. I can't believe you got William out safely." "Well, we had a little help," I smiled, gesturing toward Nikki. "This is Captain Nikki Harlow; the Hurry Up Bessie is her boat. Captain Harlow - Alyssa Chase." "Pleasure to meet you," Harlow answered, shaking Alyssa's hand. "What's your relationship to this guy?" "She's my - " "Girlfriend. I'm his girlfriend," Chase interjected. "I was getting there," I replied with a tone of faux irritation in my voice. "I was just making sure that you didn't introduce me as your 'intelligence analyst' before you said the most relevant part," Alyssa laughed. "I mean, that's pretty important and relevant as well," I added. "Yeah, well, I flipped the script, and nobody died," Chase teased. "Is he always like this?" Nikki asked, putting an arm around Alyssa's shoulder and making a show of speaking in a low and hushed tone. "Always," Chase responded with a laugh. "Alright, you two, we're here," I interrupted. As we crossed the threshold into the medical ward, the sterile smell of antiseptics and the din of frenetic activity washed over my senses. "We'll chat later," Harlow whispered to Alyssa, who responded with a wry smile and a thumbs-up. "The roster says that your medic is in here," I advised, pointing to the critical care section of the sickbay. "I think it's best if she sees you first, Captain Harlow. Alyssa and I will follow you in." 1 Dossier | BattleMech TRO | Kit Details Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orlex Jaeger Posted October 30, 2020 Share Posted October 30, 2020 Grail Lords DroST IVc dropship Gorgon Major city on the Carrigan Continent, Errai II Errai System, Davion Space March 4, 3029 ____________________________________ The dropship's engines gently wound down as the vessel settled onto its landing gear, with only the faintest traces of the morning light beginning to appear on the horizon the only illumination on the landing pad were the dropship's running lights and the green perimeter lighting indicating the TLOF area of the landing pad itself. A minute later the dropship's main cargo ramp began to lower and the myriad of floodlights and spotlights across the tarmac surrounding the landing pad lit up until the area looked nearly as bright as day. Once the cargo ramp finished lowering a small army of loaders and other support vehicles began moving large shipping crates out of the vessel's hold, amongst them were a few exoskeletons with one in particular standing out due to it being fully enclosed, unusual for an industrial suit, and bearing the marks of what appeared to be weapons fire. The Golem exoskeleton was surprisingly well repaired compared to how it had ended its last mission, the techs had worked tirelessly to repair everything they could in the extremely short amount of time they were given and the end result was that the protoype combat exoskeleton looked like it had been used for some minor small arms target practice, or possibly experienced a micro meteor shower in space, instead of being through a Succession War or two. I stomped down the ramp in the Golem with a heavy trolly loaded with ammuntion crates trundling along behind me, while I was limited in the weight I could actually lift with the suit, in part due to the armoured gloves as opposed to actual industrial loaders, I could still move several tons worth of equipment using cargo trollies and the extra dexterity offered by the exoskeleton itself was invaluable. We were unloading our full compliment of 'mechs, as well as several tons worth of spare parts, ammunition, and other equipment, all disguised as a fresh delivery for the local garrison, in preparation for a raid the Grail Lords had planned for next week. It felt a little weird to be here in the Golem unloading this gear alongside the Grail Lords knowing what was to come in the following days and that I would be leaving unexpectedly soon. The meeting with my brother last night had been less ominous than I had originally thought, he arrived at my quarters to collect the requested report and then had me accompany him down to the cargo bay to 'inspect' the Golem exoskeleton and go over the details of the report. Instead we entered the bay containing the prototype combat exoskeleton only for the privacy it offered and then proceeded to spend over an hour discussing the truth of my placement within the DMI unit and laying out plans for moving forward. It turned out that I was never officially assigned to the Grail Lords, or even officially inducted into the DMI ranks in any capacity at all, my brother instead used his position within MI4 to create a fake assignment to test the Golem suit, which the Grail Lords were really supposed to be doing, and assigned me as a specialist for the role. He essentially put his career on the line to help cover me after the trouble with ComStar in the mercenary unit BeoWulf's Knights. After a sort of reconciling between brothers we discussed why it was important for this to come out now and what to do moving forward. Apparently Captain Leena submitted her regular monthly report to her superiors in MI6, as usual, but had unexpectedly mentioned the new 'specialist', me, assigned to her team. While the report itself mentioned me in a positive light, somewhat surprisingly, the fact that her superiors knew nothing about this 'new specialist' caused Leena to bring it up with JJ which in turn forced him to come up with a cover story rather on the spot about me 'not being on the books'. Thankfully with all the stuff going on with the Fourth Succession War, the still new Federated Commonwealth (which technically existed in name only), and all the trouble of combining Davion and Lyran intelligence that it brought with it, there was alot of miscommunication even between the branches within the DMI itself and currently this mystery specialist was flagged to investigate but was by no means considered important by Captain Leena's superiors. As such, JJ wanted to take the opportunity to 'reassign' me while still able to and hopefully get me out safely without causing much fuss. To that extent it had been arranged that I would assist the Tech crews with unloading all of the Grail Lords' 'mechs in preparation for the already planned raid, but instead of my Merlin getting stored with the others it would be stored separately in a location that it could be retrieved from discretely. JJ somehow managed to get a local smuggler, who never asked questions, to agree to retrieving my 'mech and myself on the 5th and then getting me off-planet and out of the system. JJ said he didn't know where the smuggler would be ferrying me to, other than it would be within Davion or their allies space, and that I could negotiate those details with them myself when I meet up with them this evening. The cargo trolly trundled along noisily behind the Golem as I followed the convoy of machines proceeding from the Grail Lords' dropship into the cover of one of the spaceports hangars. Once within the hangar a pair of cargo trucks, one loaded with a 60-ton 'mech fully packaged as those new from the factory and one loaded with spare parts and munitions, split off from the main group and went down a side alley to an adjacent hangar while myself and the rest of the convoy continued on to the back of this hangar where what appeared to be another 4 'mechs fresh from the factory were also stored. An hour later, after all the equipment was unloaded from the various trucks, haulers, loaders, and trollies, the convoy made its way back out of the hangar, the two trucks from before seamlessly rejoining the group as we made our way back to the waiting dropship. Once onboard, and after moving a few extra cargo crates within the hold to make better use of space, I moved the Golem back to its normal stall and docked it into the charging station and secured it within the restraining harness before going to report to Leftenant Isla. "Cargo's all been transfered ma'am," I continued as I reported in to Leftenant Isla, "Golem's been secured in its dock as well. If there's nothing else I might take some shore leave and head into town for a bit." "Shore Leave will have to wait Orlex, Captain Leena has requested you report to her immediately upon finishing the cargo work. She should be in her ready room," stated the Leftenant, barely looking up from her noteputer. Great, I thought, this is just what I need now. Did I get found out? "Very well, I'll go report to her now." A few minutes later I was surprised to find Captain JJ in the ready room along with Captain Leena but did my best to hide my surprise but I apparently didn't do a very good job, although Captain Leena did misjudge the cause of my surprise. "Guardian Orlex, thank you for coming," began the Captain, "I'm sure you were looking forward to some downtime with the team after our last mission but unfortunately that is going to have to wait." "Yes Ma'am, I was," I responded, no point in denying it at this point and I figured I could roll with the misconception, "Sergeant Vincent said he had an entertaining dive bar to show me." "While I'm sure that would have been quite, ... interesting ..., Sergeant Vincent will have to show you next time. We have a different mission for you at the moment," continued Leena. I couldn't help but glance over at my brother, Captain JJ, with what must have been a inquisitive look. Before I could say anything the Captain, having obviously seen my glance, continued with her explanation. "Yes both of us Orlex, we are in agreement for a change on your particular usefulness. Our covert team has a lead on a potential contact that could lead us directly to whoever is supplying the local gangs with high end equipment. There is reason to believe that this individual is just a front, probably acting as a local fence and with little to no actual contact with whichever group is funding the aggressors. However, there is the possibility that they are the real deal and could have direct contact with someone of power. In that case we cannot risk a member of the covert team to make contact with them in the unlikely chance of their cover being blown. In the same vein, due to the real risk of a mole somewhere in the system that is tipping off the local gangs to our work, we feel it would be prudent to use the individual least likely to be recognized or identified as a member of the DMI to make contact, hence you. Typically you, being the newest member of the team, would be a likely suspect for being a mole, however circumstances have proven otherwise and while I still don't agree with your assignment to this team, I would vouch for your integrity, as does Captain JJ here." "Thank you Ma'am, I think," I responded after Captain Leena paused for an extended period, "Am I correct in assuming I am to meet with this contact today then?" "It was a compliment Orlex, and yes. The mission we have for you requires you going into town, lightly armed, and posing as a mercenary for hire looking to get in touch with our contact to put you in touch with whoever is paying the gangs. Reason being the local gangs can't pay you enough so you're looking for a bigger player." "Ok, but why 'lightly armed'?" I inquired, "If I'm supposed to be too expensive for the local gangs, I should look like it too." "Fair point Orlex," interjected Captain JJ, turning towards Captain Leena he continued, "Carrying some expensive gear would help with the overall image Captain, as well it should deter some of the less desirables from trying anything stupid while Orlex is in their turf waiting to make contact." "True, Ok Orlex you can choose your own loadout, within reason, I trust you can manage to pull of the mercenary act without drawing undue attention," replied Leena. "Yes Ma'am, no trouble there," I nodded, wondering to myself just how much of my actual background she knew. "Good, the rest of the details are on this noteputer," she said as she handed me the small tablet, "as well as information on the contact themselves and where and when you are to meet them." I took a quick cursory glance at the information, there was a passphrase to introduce ourselves, notes about the contact's preferences, but no mention of gender or appearance which made things interesting. Also it stated the location and time for the meeting, which directly conflicted with the timing of the plans JJ and I had made the night before. "This says the meeting is tonight Captain," I began. "Is there a problem Orlex?" interrupted Captain JJ. "No sir, just expected it to be a little earlier seeing as how my R&R got cancelled for the whole day," as I replied Captain JJ gave me a very slight nod, almost impercetable but I caught and sudden realization dawned on me. "You're free to scope out the locale ahead of time if needed Orlex, just make sure you're present at that time and place and in character. We can't afford to miss this opportunity," replied Captain Leena, seemingly oblivious to JJ's signal to me. "Yes Ma'am, I'll get prepped immediately and don't worry, I won't mess this up." "Good, see that you don't. Dismissed." I saluted and quickly turned around and headed back to my quarters, I wasn't sure if Captain Leena was in on it or not, and if she wasn't I was even more impressed with my brother for managing to arrange this without her knowledge but it was clear to me now that this contact I was meant to meet up with was actually the smuggler that Captain JJ had arranged for me to meet to get off planet. At my quarters I selected the gear I would need for this mission, basically my full infantry kit since if things went well I likely wouldn't be returning to the Gorgon to collect anything left behind. JJ did promise that he would arrange to transfer any left over gear and equipment that I wasn't able to take to me afterwards, most likely using the same smuggler or a dead drop system of some kind. I opted to take my full armour kit, the concealed flak jacket, ballistic plate vest, ablative/flak pants, combat boots and gloves and even the advanced combat helmet, along with both my Serrek 7875D sidearm and the Blazer laser rifle, with a full loadout of ammo too. If I was supposed to be a high end mercenary looking for work I was going to go all out looking the part, and the brazen display of firepower would definitely help with the area of town it looked like I would be travelling through. Finally, just as an added touch that wouldn't work elsewhere in the Sphere, I decided to remove the synthetic skin covering my prosthetic left arm and fully roll up that sleeve on the concealed flak jacket. While it still didn't reveal that I had a laser hidden within it, the open display of the high end prosthetic would portray the image that I wasn't afraid to get messy, but also that my services didn't come cheap. Shortly after I was fully geared and departed the spaceport heading in the general direction of the locale I was to meet up with this mysterious contact in. I wasn't sure what I would run into between now and then, hopefully nothing, but with my Blazer laser rifle slung across my back, the Serrek holsterd securely at my side, my combat helmet hung on my belt and the armoured prosthetic on display for the world to see I felt ready to face whatever came my way. 2 Dossier | BattleMech TRO | Infantry Kit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Jenkins Posted October 31, 2020 Share Posted October 31, 2020 MEANWHILE..... I walked up to the doors to the Cafeteria on the MENDACIUS, there was a Bar inside and I knew that was where I was going to throw my rave. I wanted to make an entrance like they do in the movies so I did a running charge at the doors, the gravity was still doing weird Things I guess since we weren't going fast, so I still had my mag boots on, unfortunteley since the gravity was messed up my charge was too powerful, as I got at the doors and I kicked my leg up my leg went too fast for the low Gravity and I busted the door open but my leg kept going after that and made me do a wicked split in the air that tore my Groin muscle, I started doing a womanly scream and fell into the cafeteria screaming. So that was how Everybody saw me as I came in, screaming and grabbing my crotch. The doors banged off the wall behind me, and I saw everyone staring at me. I thought about it really fast and then I turned on the tape player in my belt, then I started Jumping around the room singing THRILLER to the WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS music and holding my crotch so that people could see I meant to do it, I was doing a Michael Jackson impression. Everybody was watching me and so I guess they liked it, I jumped up on the food Buffet and started doing all of the dance moves I Knew how to do. "Come on people we won the war! Get off your asses and start Dancing!" I yelled. Then I tried to do a break dance to show how serious I was, but all of the sudden as I tried to do a Leg Sweep I knocked a plate of Deviled Eggs off the buffet and some pizza logs and a bowel of oatmeal and some flowers and it went everywhere, somewhere else I heard a lady scream as I noticed, I would have to be careful where I Danced. But then my tape ran out and I didn't have any music anymore, so then I jumped up and down waiving at the audience. "Get SOME TUNES ON!" I hollered to the whole room. A music came on and it was an ancient form called a "rap" about letting the dogs out. I busted a ton of moves while I made someone else in the room flick the lights on and off real fast but nothing happened. "COME ON! ITS A PARTY!" I Screamed. "WHy do you all look so sad??" Suddenly Nate came in and looked up at me. "Steve Jenkins, I'm glad you're here, let's get some partying happenng!!" "Its really dangerous out here Steve, also we are supposed to be Professional" Said one of the employees sitting in the room. "This is when we are supposed to be Serious." "Well what if I did THIS??" I Yelled, then I got out two gigantic wads of cash at the audience and everybody jumped up and fought each other for it. The bartender threw me a beer and I tore it open and drank it shotgun style even though it was warm. Then the bartender turned on the automatic DJ station and the robot started playing some Hot Tunes with a sick bass drop while the Overhead room lights turned off and a strobe light and lots of flashing colored lights came on. In the background the Blast shields behind the windows in the room went up and we could see outer space, there was a bunch of Asteroids going by as we were going through the asteroid field slowly. Now we were partying, I jumped off the Bar and high fived the bartender. "Thanks for the help buddy" I said. "Now this party is the Scene!" "Don't thank me, I just wanted you to stop kicking food off my Bar" he said but the way he said it I knew he had my back. I shotgunned a bunch more beers to get Loosened Up, then I saw a beautiful Crayven Marine woman in one corner who was leaning on a wall and drinking a Martini. I went over to anf said "Hey babe, what are you drinking? My names Steve Jenkins and I'm your new best friend" She giggled because she thought my pick up line was cute, then she said "I'm drinking a martini and my name is Supervisor Sergeant Clarita La'Croachica, I'm French. What's yours?" "I'm Steve Jenkins, I'm a mechwarrior and a Personal Lawyer from Sheratan, also I own a Bath House now. We just got done from a bunch of Missions and I have a wad of cash I have to blow some how, do you want want to come back to Sheratan with me and burn through all this cash? "I asked as I got out a huge pile of c bills and waved them around to make my Point. " I don't just go home with anyone" She said, "You probably should do something to Impress me." I looked at her with a surprised face because I wasn't expecting that. "OK what do you want me to do?" I asked. "You can start by making me the most Impressive drink you know how to make, it is has to be really alcoholic but also I want it to be sweet and it is should be Flashy." She said, then she flexed a muscle to make her Point. "Then maybe we can go to the cagro bay together." OH MY GOD I thought, I KNOW HOW TO MAKE A FLAMING MOJO!! "I got this!!!" I Yelled and I ran over to the Bar. "I need to use your Bar!" I yelled at the bartender. "WHAT YOU CAN'T DO THAT YOU'RE NOT A LICENSED BARTENDER!!" The bartender said. "You don't know foodservice safety!!" "Alcohol isn't food, and anyway, I'm an ordained minister, so I'm allowed to use alcohol. Scoot over, I'll only be a second." Then I pushed the bartender out of the way, he looked at me angry, but didn't say anything, I got out the Mojito ingredients and started making it. I was almost through the whole thing when I remember that the sergeant wanted it extra sweet, the ingredient was honey, but I didn't see any! "Where is the honey???" I Yelled over the music. "WHAT?" "WHERE IS THE HONEY?" I Yelled again. "WE GET IT FROM THE BACK, BUT YOU CAN'T -" I didn't listen to the rest of what the guy had to say, he was just doing a lot of complaining, and anyway I knew what I was doing. I went busting back into the kitchen and looked around, the kitchen staff all looked at me crazy, and one of them said " YOU CANT BE IN HERE LIKE THAT YOU NEED A HAIR NET!" "I HAVE A HAIR NET ITS MY HAT!" I yelled back, then I started looking around until I saw a cargo sign that said "HONEY THIS WAY". I followed it and then when I got there I couldn't believe what I saw..... The Crayven Corp was making honey from actual bees!! "Holy Ball damn" I said " I can't believe how luxurious they are being, this is for sure gonna get my date." Then I walked over to the bee hive that was inside a gigantic plexiglass box and looked inside, there was fresh honey dripping everywhere. Next to the box there was a sign that said MURDER HORNETS DO NOT OPEN THE DOOR ASK CHIEF SCIENCE OFFICER FOR HELP WITH HONEY. "HEY WHERE'S THE CHIEF SCIENCE OFFICER??" I Yelled, but nobody answered. I didn't have time to screw around so I grabbed a cup and a big spoon and one of those spray bottles that they use for cooking, I went back ovsr and I open the little door in the side of the box. Then I slowly put the spoon inside and stuck it in the hive and took a big scoop that I pulled back out. Everything seemed to be okay and I put the scoop inside the top. A bunch of the bees started coming out and crawling on the glass but they didn't seem to give a shit that I was taking their honey. I got another scoop, and another one, and then I closed the little door. "Huh that was easy, I was sure that something bad would happen." Then I stuck the spoon in my pocket and went back to the Bar and made the drink. I lit it on fire and then I took some Roman Candles out of my pockets that I had brought for the Party and lit them on fire too, I put them in my hat and walked over to the Sergent with sparks flying everywhere off my hat and the Mojito on fire. I gave it to the Sergeant and she giggled and drank it when the fire went out. "Nice hat" she said. "This party is really The Scene." She said as she looked around at the other people who were there and partying. I turned on the lights around my sunglasses and Grinned at her. "Yeah its pretty Awesome, wanna go somewhere else and park? Back on Sheratan I have a 3017 Corvega we could park in but I bet something here HAS a Back Seat." The Sergeant giggled again, my moves were working, I shotgunned another Beer and ate a bunch of pretzels, just then my stomach felt like someone stabbed me so hard I bent over!!" THE SHIT??" I Yelled, then I looked over and the Sergeant was making the same face!! "WHAT DID YOU DO??" She screamed. "There's Diarrhea running down my leg!!" "It didn't come from me!!" I Yelled back angry. "OH GOD" I grabbed the butt of my pants, just then a guy came busting out of the kitchen, "DID YOU EAT THE HONEY?" He yelled. "The sign didn't say don't eat!!" I Yelled back. "Yeah but that honey is the secret ingredient in TurboLax, only murder hornets make it, we have a Contract to do Genetics on it to make it better and you are it and you put it in our employee's drink!!" Said the kitchen guy. Then my stomach stabbed again. "BALL DAMN IT!!" I Screamed on account of the pain, just then I heard the most terrible sound, all of the sudden I saw a huge black cloud of murder hornets coming out of the open kitchen door!!" "AHHHHHHH!!!" I Yelled "Everybody out!! Bees!! Why do they want me???" "Maybe they're mad about that dead queen stuck to the spoon in your pocket??" said the Sergeant. I looked and there was an enormous murder hornet queen all mangled and wrecked up on the spoon. "I'M SORRY!!!" I Screamed at the hornets, "I DIDN'T MEAN TO!!!" Then I started to run like a maniac and get out of the way but I tripped and fell down on a lit Chocolate Fondue fountain and it lit my pants on fire and that lit the fireworks on fire!!!! "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHGGGGHGGGHGGGGHHHHH!!!" I Screamed as all of the Fireworks in my pants went off at the same time and I ran down the hall, there were so many exploaions and so much Patriotic music coming from my pants that I couldn't hardly See on account of the distractions. The huge swarm of murder hornets chased me and they almost caught me but I ran into a Laboratory. "Hey! You can't be in here!!! OH MY GOD WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR CROTCH" "Never Mind that!!!" I screamed, "we have to get inside that tube over there. And decompress the lab!!!" "WHY??" Said the scientist. "MURDER HORNETS!!" I Screamed as the huge swarm that looked like a first now came into the Lab. "OH GOD!!" Yelled the Scientist and he shoved me inside a booth that said EMERGENCY SHELTER and got in behind me and slammed the door, then he hit a huge red button and the door to the Lab closed and I heard a BOOM as the atmosphere in the Lab got blew out into space. All of the sudden all of the murder hornets got sucked up into the Air Vents and out into space, I think the scientists Wallet might have went out too but I couldn't tell. "THANK YOU" I said "I had it under control but you Helped big time" "Yeah don't mention it, can we get out of here now, it smells like farts and Alcohol and gunpowder in here." Said the scientist. "I'm sorry, it's because I threw an awesome party." I Said. Then the scientist put the air back in the Lab and I went to find some Bactine for my burns. 1 Dossier | BattleMech TRO | Kit Details Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nikki Harlow Posted November 1, 2020 Share Posted November 1, 2020 I pushed aside the curtain surrounding Bridget’s hospital bed. She looked a bit green, with her eyes half-closed and a splint on one arm. She didn’t seem to notice me come in. I lightly knocked on the wall, since there was no door. “Bridget, it’s Nikki. How are you doing?” Bridget picked her head up and blinked in an exaggerated sort of way, like she was trying to remember how seeing worked. “Oh… hey,” she said sleepily. “Pirates got you too?” I glanced around at the perfectly clean, un-pirate-like room and shiny new medical equipment. “I guess you must’ve missed a lot. These folks offered to help you, and I agreed since we’re short a medic now. We’re not prisoners, just visiting.” “Oh. That’s good.” Bridget stared off into space for a moment. “Guess I shouldn’t have punched the one of them.” “Too late now, I guess,” I said. “You seem a little out of it. Is that just the painkillers, or-” “Sedative,” Bridget said. “I’m combative.” I stifled a laugh. “Well, better that a brain injury. Under the circumstances, I don’t blame you. Did they say anything about how bad it is?” Bridget took on a more professional demeanor, to the extent that she could while sedated. “Two fractured right ribs. Fractured right ulna - glad I’m a leftie. Waiting on results from the- damn. Three letters. Big noisy donut camera.” “Uh, whatever that is, I hope it turns out well,” I said. “Should I fill you in on what happened with the boarding party, or would you rather talk about it when you’re feeling better?” “Maybe the short version,” Bridget said. “I’d like to be less confused, but not sure I’ll remember the details.” “Our new Capellan clients made us an accessory to human trafficking,” I said. “They’d kidnapped a guy and were keeping him in the mobile lab. This ship sent the fellows with the space suits to retrieve him, and once we found out what was going on, we helped them get their man back.” “We’re criminals?” “Not really - everyone here seems to understand that we didn’t know about the kidnapping, thank god. I’m more worried about the Capellans. Our contract with them is definitely toast, but I think our new friends can help us get out of Capellan space before trouble arrives.” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Maxwell Posted November 1, 2020 Share Posted November 1, 2020 Meanwhile... C.S.V. Mendacius Approaching system jump point Epsilon Eridani IV March 3, 3029 ___________________________ "So when did this happen?" I asked with a smile, slipping my arm around Alyssa's waist and pulling her snugly toward me. "What would that be?" Alyssa inquired, innocently, warmth radiating from her hazel eyes as she looked back at me. "You going from being a ComStar acolyte on the lam on Smithon to you calling all the shots,." I laughed. "I think it was right around the time that you said that I caught your eye," Chase responded playfully. "That long, huh?" I asked. "That long," Alyssa nodded, giving me a fleeting kiss. "I just wish that you were comfortable with the idea." I paused. "What do you mean? Do you think I don't want to be with you?" "I didn't say that you didn't want to be with me. I just feel like being in a relationship isn't something that necessarily sits well with you. You tend to hesitate when you have the opportunity to talk about us with anyone, like what just happened with Nikki," Alyssa explained. "And you seem to just weather it as a matter of course when we're forced apart, as we have been repeatedly over the last few months." I allowed the words to sink in for several seconds before answering. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to make you feel that way. You're right - I have been kind of gun-shy, but not because I don't want to be with you or because I'm embarrassed of what we have. Quite the opposite. The truth is, I'm used to being on my own, and I don't want to screw this up for us or make life difficult for you by saying or doing the wrong thing," I confessed. "That will only ever happen if you let it," Alyssa smiled. "You'll end up becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy if you keep convincing yourself that something bad's bound to happen even before it happens. How about you take a break from that and let yourself enjoy what is instead? "You're right. I should. And I will. Starting now," I promised, nodding my head. "I love you." "And I love you. Don't forget that," Chase persisted, giving me a gentle bop on the nose and a kiss. "Anyway, enough of this for now," she continued, disentangling herself from my arm. "We'd probably better see if we can track down William or one of his handlers so that Nikki can get squared away. You want to check if he's available? I'll keep an on Nikki here in the mean time. "Great idea, I think he's here in the "executive" area," I confirmed. "I'll pop over there real quick and see what the story is." ### As I approached the "special monitoring" section of the sickbay, I happened to run into Bishop Weyland, who was, at the same time, exiting the intensive care area. "Lieutenant Weyland, good to see you. How are you doing? You looked pretty banged up a little while ago." I began. "What kind of stunt did Doctor Tao try to pull in that mess hall?" Dossier | BattleMech TRO | Kit Details Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bishop Weyland Posted November 3, 2020 Share Posted November 3, 2020 Bishop was tiered hungry and needed a drink. Against the Doctor’s suggestion to stay in medical for monitoring he left after getting his face glued closed and shoulder stapled closed. “Lieutenant Weyland, good to see you. How are you doing? You looked pretty banged up a little while ago." I began. "What kind of stunt did Doctor Tao try to pull in that mess hall?" Captain Maxwell had caught the Skinwalker a little by surprise as he walked out of the medical unit. “Good sir, just some food and sleep and I’ll be fine”. “Well that’s good news lieutenant! I’m happy to see you out and about. Hey listen.... you know the Major is going to want an after action report soon and I need to know what happened to the our friend Doctor Tao” asked Maxwell. Bishop took a moment to replay the event in the refrigerator unit. Truth be told he didn’t remember much, and he really didn’t want to say allot about. It wasn’t like he could just come out and tell everyone that, for reason unknown to him, he had a split personality. The mercenary knew something had changed him, something was awoken by Mother. Part of wanted to tell the Captain the entire truth, but he hesitated. “Well sir, I.... found her in the refrigerator unit. When I went in she attacked me, she was armed with a laser pistol and kitchen knife at the time. She was quick, sir, popped me in the shoulder first. I was fast enough to knock the pistol out of her hand, but her follow up shot was the blade. This was a bit of a scrum for a few seconds then I was able to disarm her.” The truth was the Doctor was out matched by the Mercenary and that the Beast would have killed her outright if wasn’t for Bishop’s self control. He also left out the part that he hunted her like prey and allowed her to escape into the dinning area for the thrill of the kill. The Captain smiled, “Bishop... I have a hard time believing that a Doctor got the drop on you. Remember, I’ve seen you fight before”. The Skinwalker sighed, “There are allot of things you wouldn’t believe sir.... but she here and alive”. Maxwell nodded respectfully. It was clear he had something on his mind that was troubling him. Some kind of internal struggle, Bishop sensed it and empathized with the Officer. “Ok, that’s what I’ll report then....look Bishop, I was wondering if you can help me brush up on my my close quarters combat skills. I mean I have the basics down and feel like do well but I just feel like I’m missing something. I’m a soldier, and an Officer, I should be better”. Maxwell said with a quiet confused ton. Bishop studied the Officer’s expression, he was tired yet his mind turned. He was searching for thing, but he didn’t know what it was. “Of course you need more training sir” Bishop blurted out. The Captain’s expression turned to shock at the Skinwalker’s directness. “Look sir, your a good combat leader and strategist. You pilot a mech as good as any of them...but there in lies the issue. You see war through the cockpit of a mech, you see combat through sensors and targeting computers. You are surrounded be 80 tons of armor and weapons, you don’t feel feel the savagery or horror of war. You kill enemy mechs but not the enemy. Mechs don’t bleed, show fear or scream in pain. Most mech warriors get to eject when things don’t go right and live. The are teams that specialize in recovering pilots, when get back to home a new mech gets issues to them or they buy a new one.... you kind get do overs and second chances”. Bishop pauses for a moment, letting his words sink in to the Captain “Now, us grunts....we don’t get second chances, we live in the mud, snow, rain and heat. We have to kill the person, not the machine. We do this by shooting them, stabbing them neck, blowing them up and smashing there skull in with a helmet. We see their fear, smell their sweat and hear them scream for their loved ones. We see our friends die the same way. the true horror of war. Sir there is no glory, honor or morality in what we do....we butcher them.... they aren’t even human to us” Stoned faced, Bishop now started intently into Maxwell’s eyes. He was a good, an honorable man with morality. “Lieutenant, teach me this see this. I know you were an instructor under the Marik flag. I know you can teach” Maxwell asked. “No...” whispered Bishop whispered, now starring are the floor. The hulking Mercenary turned and began lumber way. Stopping suddenly with Maxwell’s grasp on his arm. “Bishop... I need to be better.. I have people to lookout for, one that o love.” Maxwell almost pleaded. Starring down the empty corridor Bishop spoke softly. “You’ll never be the same sir.. if you go down this road”. “I’m ok with that...Lieu..” The Skinwalker spun with lighting speed fueled by the Beast and elbowed Maxwell in the chest. The Captain caught by total surprise began falling back from the violent impact. Before he hit the deck Bishop was already on top of him stopping mid fall with his huge meaty hand rapped around the Captain’s throat. The Skinwalker lifted the Captain single handedly up high and slamming onto the bulkhead. “Lesson one....speed, surprise and violence of action wins the day” whispered Bishop. The Skinwalker now let Captain Maxwell see the Beast in his reflective eye. After a second Bishop released the his fellow mercenary, allowing him to crash back down to the deck. Without a word the Bishop turned and silent walked to his quarters to change. He still needed a drink. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts