Orlex Jaeger Posted January 4, 2022 Share Posted January 4, 2022 Outer bands of the Fire Rift region (traveling east toward Fasolht) Quentin IV - Federated Suns August 5, 3030 ______________________________________________ A dull series of explosions reverberated through the hull of my 'mech, something about its cadence didn't sound natural and I almost wished that my new 'mech wasn't as well insulated as it was. Flashes of light cut through the ash and dark coming from the general direction of the rest of our convoy and a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach formed, the fragments of light were too abrupt and the wrong shades to be completely natural, something was happening over there. "Bastion to Eden, everything good over there? I'm seeing what looks like weapon discharges," I called over the radio, the power already maxed out to the comm system in a futile attempt to increase signal clarity. Nothing but silence followed, not even static to indicate an attempted response, not a good sign. Schuster, Levi, and myself had made it to the relatively gentle slope leading us up and out of the current valley and towards a mesa top, the path was considerably wider than I had initially thought and the drifting ash from continuous volcanic eruptions somewhere nearby prevented us from seeing the sides of the path except intermittently. My sensors were still reading nothing but that didn't mean a whole lot right now considering I had also lost contact with the rest of Aegis when the three of us had to alter our course. "Rebus, how far way are those ghost contacts?" I asked, switching back to our local channel. "I'm not sure sir, they've started jumping around considerably, sometimes they are 3km away still, then they'll jump to 2km and then back to 3km but off to the side and sometimes they just disappear. I'd say my systems are malfunctioning if I didn't know better, looks like whatever they are they're now pumping out some seriously heavy ECM," answered Nick, his voice showing frustration and a little worry as he tried to get a better read. "What's your best guess on their actual location?" I inquired, not sure if one could actually be determined but feeling helpless with my own systems still showing nothing at all. "Hell if I know sir, ... based on the last solid reading that I'd trust I'd say they're within 2km and still closing fast." "Copy that, I can't raise the Captain anymore, so its just the three of us for now," I replied. "Well let's hope we don't ######******** -------------------------------," piped up Levi before his transmission was suddenly cut off in a wave of unusually uniform static. Shit, I thought, whatever ECM was effecting Nick's radar, and likely the rest of the Aegis convoy, had just enveloped us as well. I tried fruitlessly to raise the other two on the comms again but to no avail, mere moments afterwards my scope lit up with a multitude of contacts, all hostile and likely none of them real but there was no way to be certain. The three of us continued on our course, getting out of the confines of the valley would give us more freedom of movement, and potentially help with regrouping with the others, or at the very least picking them up on sensors again. Suddenly a flash azure lightning crashed into the ground a few meters ahead of Levi's BRV, the focused bolt of energy vapourizing rocks and debris and leaving behind a scorched and blackened, glassy-looking small crater in the unstable terrain. I recognized the PPC discharge immediately and did my best to track where it had come from but before I could fully turn in the direction of the attack a blaze of quad emerald beams lanced out of the clouds repeatedly as the shadow of an aerial craft began to materialize in the sky. "Contact!" yelled Schuster over his 'mech's loudspeaker system, his callout nearly drowned out by the roar of his autocannons returning fire, their muzzle flash lighting up the underside of the low hanging clouds as his Rifleman's advanced targeting system worked tirelessly to track the target despite the heavy ECM. The twin AC/5s of the Rifleman punched through the fog and appeared to hammer home on the attacking vessel but I couldn't tell if they hit, let alone what damage they might have managed to incur as the shadowy shape of a Small Craft gunship rocketed by on its initial strafing run, the quad medium lasers it was firing were horribly inaccurate as they seemed to strike everywhere around us but I didn't see any actual hits. As it passed overhead my system managed to get short-lived solid read on the craft, just long enough for the targeting system to offer a potential match, a TIG-15 Tigress-class small craft gunship, a dangerous foe to be sure, but one more suited to orbital fighting than atmospheric combat, not that we could exploit that in any meaningful way with ground based units. Alarms blared as the beam of a large laser grazed my 'mech's left hip, the glancing blow doing little more than scorching the new armour and causing minimal damage, I turned uphill in the general direction the attack appeared to come from and quickly checked my sensors. I showed 4 potential contacts at the top of the hill, 3 of them where moving about erratically one my scope but one was currently stationary I made the assumption that it was the only real target and pushed my throttle to the max, stepping around Levi's support vehicle, and rushed to the end of the natural ramp we were climbing, leaving Nick and his Rifleman to cover Levi's otherwise exposed rear. My canopy glass polarized as a second beam struck towards the heavens a few meters in front of me as I crested the hill and reached the top of the mesa, a cloud of dust and ash obscuring a tank as it rapidly reversed away from where I now stood. The Targeting & Tracking system struggled to get a read on the combat vehicle through the heavy ECM and natural interference, it managed to give me a read on its weight-class, a mere 25 tons, but it couldn't positively identify it further. From my own experience I knew that a tank that light would likely only have a single main gun, meaning I probably only had to deal with the large laser to dispatch it. I aimed at the center of the moving dust cloud and squeezed the trigger, the twin-linked large lasers in my 'mech's right arm blazed out across the mesa at the speed of light, the high-energy discharge ionizing the air and essentially punching a hole through the cloud of dust and ash, the refractive and dispersive effects negligible due to the power of the weapons. My Cataphract's sophisticated Battle Computer indicated a hit and the faint glow of molten armour through the now dispersing dust cloud confirmed a solid hit on the enemy tank. I hopefully thought that the dual large laser hit was enough to remove the tank from the fight but was quickly corrected when return fire from the light tank's seemingly only weapon blazed out and struck my 'mech's right torso with renewed fury, the large laser carving half a ton of armour from my war machine in retaliation. Checking my heat levels, the specialized prototype double heat sinks installed in various locations on my 'mech were already showing their worth as they managed to keep my heat under control despite the environment and weapons fire, though even they were at their limit as I punched the jump jets on my 70 ton BattleMech and launched skyward, my heat levels following suit. Landing heavily the 4 toed feet of my 'mech sank into the pumice and ash until they found solid rock beneath while the reverse-jointed legs absorbed the considerable impact of the 70 ton machine colliding with the ground after traversing 120m through the air. I landed short of the tank itself, still several meters away, but I saw why they had stopped retreating as the edge of the mesa came into view for a moment before the new cloud of dust kicked up from my own landing obscured it once more. The tank's driver slammed the vehicle into gear and tried to escape, its tracks chewing up the loose rocks and rubble as it fought to find purchase and escape from the towering threat of my Cataphract. I wasn't going to let the tank escape if I could help it and I fired the center torso mounted medium laser, the emerald beam carving through the light tank's left side and severing the track on that side causing the machine to skid out as the driver lost control and the tank became immobilized, once it finished sliding on the scree. Seemingly unwilling to give up the tank's crew rotated its turret towards me, trying to bring its larger laser to bear along with what appeared to be a coaxial machinegun. With what was likely unseemly agility, I drove the Cataphract forward with speed, its prototype triple strength myomer straining as I stepped sideways and pivoted the 'mech's torso to the left in an attempt to keep the bulk of the machine out of the turret's line of fire. The enemy fired their large laser and machinegun in tandem, the energy beam and ballistic rounds tearing through the air and narrowly missing the bulky left shoulder of my 'mech, as I continued to close on the stricken tank. My sensors finally decided on a solid reading for the tank and displayed it as a Desert Scorpion light tank, a variant of the prolific Scorpion tank which replaced its autocannon and ICE engine with a laser and a fusion engine while mounting a significantly higher amount of armour, which explained how it survived my initial assault. As I came up beside the doomed tank I drove the armoured fist of my left hand down onto the tank's turret, the extra strength imparted by the triple strength myomer allowing me to strike harder than even an Atlas could punch as the impact shattered the Scorpion's armoured turret, driving the entire structure down a couple inches into the tank as supports failed, the remaining armour belt around the perimeter of the turret preventing it from crushing the entire tank but effectively jamming the entire thing in place, if there was still even a functional weapon within. A pair of large lasers lancing from the sky prevented me from truly finishing the tank off as they struck from my right side, damage warnings blared as one beam struck the rear quarter of my right torso with the other managing to strike the portion of my center torso on the front which just barely stuck out past the bulky sides of the 'mech. A very wide, flying wing type silohuette materialized as the aerospace fighter burst through the clouds on a low flying strafing attack, the craft was not one that I recognized and my targeting systems were of no use either as the heavy interference had prevented them from even detecting the approaching craft, let alone identifying it. As it continued past overhead I tilted my 'mech's torso skyward and did my best to aim in its general flight path before unleashing a blast from the prototype LB-10X autocannon mounted low on my Cataphract's right hip, the cluster rounds I had it currently loaded with fired a hail of pellets like a 'mech-sized shotgun into the sky. I followed up with futile blast of azure laser fire from the dual large lasers, my heat spiking dangerously as the beams tore through the atmosphere nowhere near the now retreating aerospace fighter. Despite the lack of a solid reading by the sensors and battle computer, and thereby any feedback from that system, the wide spread of the cluster round managed to have better luck and landed at least a couple hits as I saw the edge of the aerospace fighter spark slightly from a number of ballistic hits. Without a reliable sensor system though I had no idea what kind of damage it might have done, likely nothing but superficial armour damage at best though. I watched as the apparently agile craft banked hard to come around for another pass, I quickly confirmed that my sensors still had no solid read and double checked my heat levels, they were manageable but the last heat spike from the lasers had pushed them higher than I would have liked and firing the dual large lasers again would put me into the realm of a potential ammo cook-off, though it was very unlikely at those levels the chance was still there so instead I made the foolhardy choice to try something a little unconventional. As the enemy craft continued to bank around, seemingly planning to come back on the same attack vector it had just taken, I once again reached down to the crippled Scorpion tank at my 'mech's feet, the armoured fingers of my left hand digging into the cracked armour around the base of the vehicle's turret until I managed to find the purchase I needed. With considerable force, only afforded by the triple strength myomer, and with some extra help from planting my 'mech's left foot onto the tank's rear, I managed to wrench the turret free of the vehicle, sparks and small explosions flashing within as cables and ammo feeds were severed. Drawing back my 'mech's left arm I held the stance while trying to judge distance and trajectories without the usual aid of the computer as it still didn't seem to be able to hold a lock on the fast approaching fighter, when the aerospace fighter was as close as I dared before it started to open fire I unleashed the full force of the Triple Strength Myomer enhanced Cataphract and launched the Scorpion's detached turret flying towards the oncoming fighter like a several ton discus, as though my 'mech were in some crazy kind of track and field event. The impromptu projectile arced through the air, spinning wildly, and almost seeming to hang in place waiting for its intended target before it plummeted back to earth more than several meters short of the enemy fighter. Despite the complete and total miss the effort still had the desired effect and the fighter pulled out of their attack run before firing a single shot, maybe the pilot's sensors were equally impaired and they misjudged the distance to the flying turret, maybe it just surprised them enough to shake their resolve, either way it was effective. No sooner had the pilot pulled away than another shadow passed by overhead, this one was obscured by the clouds and smoke in the air as well but was flying lower, or at least appeared to be, and yet it was still shrouded in smoke and clouds of ash almost of its own accord it seemed. A heavy whir filled the air, initially it sounded like a typical heavy coaxial rotor VTOL, its twin rotors spinning in opposite directions through the air and creating a distinctive sound as the blades cut through the atmosphere at the speed of sound or faster, the whump, whump, whump of the rotors spinning so fast they caused small sonic booms at the blade tips. Moments later the sound seemed to change somehow, at first I thought it was simply the doppler effect but the aircraft hadn't actually reached me yet, the steady whump of the blades seemed to separate into two distinct sets before settling into a pattern that sounded more like a set of wings flapping than helicopter blades. As the shadow of the clearly attack orientated craft passed overhead I got the sense of something ancient, primal, and supremely dangerous, I shook my head to clear my thoughts but couldn't quite clear the image of something like a Wyvern from a fairy tale filling the sky with fire. Almost as though reading my thoughts 4 spears of fire erupted from the front of the craft, the missiles breaching through the fog of smoke and ash only to then disappear into the clouds chasing after the aerospace fighter that had moments before been engaging me. I realized then that the enemy pilot had probably picked up this new threat and veered off to deal with it rather than my impromptu frisbee disc being the cause of driving them off their attack run, either way though it left me free and alone on the mesa top for the time being. I still showed Schuster and Levi on my sensors, so whatever ECM had been present wasn't currently as strong and save for a few random phantom contacts that were never solid enough, nor consistent enough to likely be anything real, my scope was clean. I began to move back towards the path I had taken to get up here in the first place just in time to see the back of Nick's Rifleman cresting the ridge, heat shimmering off of its every surface as it slowly walked backwards, a few short moments later and the nose of the Heavy BRV that Levi was driving edged up onto the relative flatness of the mesa top, light smoke pouring from the exhaust on the likely overworked and possibly damaged engine. Every so often Nick was firing one of his autocannons, alternating them but never both at the same time, he was either trying to save ammunition or more likely was struggling with severe heat, trying to provide some form of covering fire while simultaneously keeping his heat buildup as low as possible and also emptying out volatile ammunition to avoid a potential cook-off. I punched the throttle forward and my giant war machine leapt forward, knocking the shattered remains of the Scorpion to the side as I moved to provide whatever assistance I could, my own heat levels having come down to what constituted "normal" for the current hell hole we were operating in thanks to the 5 double heat sinks. Despite the corrosive coolant they used, and the additional trouble that caused for maintenance and repair, these prototypes were more than paying for themselves at the moment. 3 Dossier | BattleMech TRO | Infantry Kit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicholas Schuster Posted January 5, 2022 Share Posted January 5, 2022 (edited) Lost somewhere in the Fire Rift region Quentin IV - Federated Suns August 5, 3030 ______________________________________________ "Contact!" I yelled as the unidentified aircraft dropped from the clouds, the haze around it lighting up in the greens and blues of its weapons discharges. I had no way of knowing whether my message had been heard by anyone, and I didn't think it was wise under the circumstances to wait for orders to fire. With my BattleMech the closest armored asset to Levi's BRV, it was my job to protect him. Seconds mattered. I swung my Rifleman's four bulky gun barrels skyward and opened fire. Twin huge cracks resounded through my cockpit as a pair of 80mm HEAP rounds left their chambers and tore through the air at hypersonic speeds. My targeting computer was basically useless, but the tracer rounds were easy for me to see from my vantage point, and both shells left white phosphorus trails just ahead of and behind the Tigress aircraft that indicated a clean miss. But apparently, the attack was too close for comfort as the pilot suddenly veered into a steep evasive maneuver that caused all four of his laser shots to miss and plow into the ground where they left glowing green glass where there used to be sand. "Levi, get the hell behind me where you'll be safe!" I shouted on the open comm, dropping callsign protocol in my panic. As soon as the Tigress had evaded, it had shot straight overhead of my position and I'd lost sight of it, but I was still getting peppered with weapon fire everywhere except directly to my six. That told me that it wasn't still the Tigress, whose grainy outline I could see on my night vision scope as it ducked and weaved around attacks coming up from who I was pretty sure was Orlex. I heard a blast of static come back that sounded like Levi trying to acknowledge and a second later his big recovery vehicle was trundling behind me as fast as its tracks would carry it. Moments later, my sensors projected the likely angle where the enemy fire was coming from and directed me toward its source. The next thing I knew, a HER-1S Hermes was bearing down on Levi and me with its twin medium lasers blazing at an unnervingly fast rate. "Oh no you don't, you're playing with the big boys now." I gloated, swinging Avenger's arms around and squeezing the trigger. Another pair of AC/5 slugs shot out, flanked by the deep blue almost purple glow of twin laser blasts that spit forth from the other two gun barrels on the Mech. 3 out of 4 weapon shots hit the Hermes, blowing off chunks of armor across its chest and a glancing blow taking off one of the small mech's "ear" antennas on its head. Unfortunately the alpha strike sent my heat levels screaming into the red as the light machine shifted into a high gear and started to do a Circle of Death around me, hammering away with a steady barrage of lasers while gradually closing the distance with me. I frantically flushed some of the coolant from my aux pods to try to speed up the process of heat exchange while pivoting my Rifleman's torso to keep the Hermes in my front arc and Levi behind me. Fortunately it was seemed like Levi understood what needed to happen and his BRV was keeping speed with my torso twist. I finally got enough wiggle room with my heat levels to get off another half of an alpha strike, cutting loose with an AC/5 on my right arm and a large laser on my left arm, the timing working out the way I'd hoped and the Hermes running smack into the AC/5 round which blew off his main torso armor panel and slowed him enough that I was able to land a glancing blow across his right arm with the large laser, appearing to fuse the joint in the process. Unfortunately I didn't have much time to celebrate as the Hermes suddenly came straight toward me and cut loose with a huge jet of superheated plasma from its center mounted gunport, a specially purposed flamer intended to cause damage and overheating a target over an extended period of time. Flashbacks from being trapped in the flaming Phoenix Hawk LAM went through my mind as I reversed in a panic with my heat sensors complaining and my cockpit canopy getting covered in sticky flaming napalm. I trigger slapped my autocannons as much as I dared but the rounds flew wide at such a close distance. All of a sudden a huge impact and dull explosion at my mech's back preceded an alarm showing that I'd lost 1 of the 2 coolant tanks that Levi had retrofit to its frame and now the gyro was in overload trying to compensate for the Rifleman suddenly being way heavier on the other side. As I took in the information I saw a hostile aircraft go screaming overhead, probably the shooter who'd dealt the blow, banking off into the fog for another pass. I fired a few more rounds uselessly at it as I quickly tried to purge off all of the remaining reserve coolant to stabilize my Rifleman and offset the effects of the flamer. The Hermes was now so close it was practically in physical contact with my mech's torso. I let out a frustrated yell and in an adrenaline fuled moment, I angrily swung Avenger's long heavy cannon barrels in a fast, aggressive backhand across the Hermes. To my surprise, the hits connected solidly with a jarring CRUNCH, slapping the smaller Hermes onto the rocks like a rag doll. I drove Avenger forward and drew back one of its feet, then drove it down as hard as I could onto the splayed out leg of the fallen mech, crushing it flat and mangling it beyond use. Before I could celebrate I heard the whine and thumping of aircraft engines approaching again, and I pitched my torso up to make out the outline of Lieutenant Jaeger's Cataphract in a clearing in the distance, my spotlight catching its distinctive profile. "Come on, Thermo Man, let's get out of here before our luck runs out." I radioed on our team channel, not sure if I was really transmitting or not. But a second later, I saw Levi driving toward Orlex's position, and I followed in close formation. As we got closer to the Lieutenant, my sensors seemed to clear up and my radio came back online, maybe as though the ECM were wearing off. I had a solid mass of contacts at the extreme edge of my sensors that looked like a formation of units, although they were so stationary I ruled out the likelihood of it being our attackers. Maybe it was Aegis Division?? "Lieutenant, it's good to see you." I called. "It got hairy in there and I couldn't find the rest of the unit in the ambush. I don't know who these guys are that were tangling with, but it looks like Aegis might be waiting for us about 3 KM out. Should we stick together and check it out. I don't know how long this sensor fidelity is gonna hold. Also, Levi, do you read me? How are you holding up? Are you in good enough repair for a short drive?" Edited January 6, 2022 by Nicholas Schuster 3 Dossier | BattleMech TRO | Kit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baroness Octavia Incendio Posted January 6, 2022 Share Posted January 6, 2022 Somewhere in the Blake forsaken Fire Rift region Quentin IV - Federated Suns August 5, 3030 "What the--" Fuck. Targeting was useless, radar seemed next to useless. Between the ECM, natural interference, and the sudden chaos, I could barely identify anything if it wasn't immediately in front of my Raven. Near me I could barely make out Orlex's mech, fighting against some sort of tank. "Bastion, you alr---" There was a solid crunching sound that cut me off. Even from my limited view, he had the tank handled, and I revved up my Raven to full speed, zooming past him. He seemed to have things at hand. Despite not firing a weapon yet, the air inside the cockpit was stifling, arid. The junction of shoulder where metal met flesh ached. Psychosomatic, most likely, given the situation - the insanity of this crew must be rubbing off on me. A screeching sound from overhead as a Gotha raced by, firing a burst of lasers as it arched over the battlefield. As I turned my Raven the craft circled back around, loosing another set of lasers at us. Hoping to at least be a target to draw fire away from our other combat units, I darted around the chaos beside me. All I needed was a good shot, maybe two, three at most - aircraft were typically less armored than their ground counterparts - and the damn thing would be gone. "Bastion brought down a tank. I'll draw the Gotha away, but there's at least one more aircraft, maybe more." I had no way of knowing if anyone could even hear me over the discordant symphony of missiles, lasers, and static interference, but scout habits died hard. If nothing else, I could take the pilot for a joy ride. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Levi Wright Posted January 9, 2022 Share Posted January 9, 2022 Fire Rift - Quentin IV - Federated Suns August 5, 3030 —------------------------ I’d need to find an excuse to come back out to the Fire Rift in a vehicle better suited for it. This place was awesome, there were spurts of lava going off in the distance and glowing cracks in the ground and weird burbling puddles and steam vents shooting gas up through gaps between rocks. I was probably missing out on at least as much as I was actually seeing, through, because the BRV’s big windows only faced forward and its’ wide footprint made going off course around here a seriously bad idea. I’d already gotten it stuck once when I’d thought I was on course, which was embarrassing. Also, getting shot at was pretty distracting. I’d thought at first that maybe this was a normal situation for a group of mercenaries? The mech guys seemed to have it under control, and if this was an action movie, mysterious sensor blips and a few shooty airplanes were the sort of thing that’d get thrown in near the beginning just to add a little excitement. Either way, my job was to stick with the group and try not to get the BRV shot up, so I hoped this was normal and tried to stay calm and stuff. But then a couple shots melted bits of the ground in front of me into slag, which was awesome, but also a pretty scary reminder that the BRV wasn’t all that armored. As Steve would say, I was a sitting duck. The comms crackled and somebody said "Levi, get the hell fshzzzssszzsz you'll zhxzssssss". The static was so bad I couldn’t even tell who was talking, but it was probably Nick or Orlex since they were the only ones I’d heard from recently and he sounded panicked, and hearing one of the mercenary guys freaking out was freaking me out. That and getting shot at. I tried to do that narrowband radio trick again and respond. “Hi, I can’t really hear you but I’m gonna go hide behind Nick, I mean Rebus. I can’t see anybody else.” The BRV was stupid slow even compared to the Rifleman, but Nick seemed to be letting me catch up on purpose, which was good because the BRV’s rear camera showed a mech headed right for us. The BRV’s sensors were pretty basic and only indicated it as non-Aegis, which meant it was probably gonna try to kill us. I laid on the gas and watched the mech’s laser blasts lighting up my screen. I couldn’t tell how bad the damage was or even how many hit, but the truck kept going and the rear camera feed kept working, so it probably wasn’t too bad. I heard shots and the buzz of laser fire so close I almost jumped out of my seat, then realized it was Nick returning fire on the enemy mech. Its’ big stompy feet stomped out of my rear camera’s field of view, and I took the opportunity to get Nick’s mech between me and the one shooting at us. I felt kinda bad letting him take the hits, but he had the armor and I was gonna be the one fixing the damage either way. I couldn’t see the fight too well since I was facing sideways to Nick’s Rifleman, but whenever I got a good look at it I added the new damage to my mental to-do list. It started with just missing armor, but then the other mech charged us and shot the Rifleman in the face - or I guess cockpit - with a gout of plasma. Nick kept shooting, and then all of a sudden his mech was stumbling around like it had just gotten off a roller coaster and I thought the gyro broke til I remembered about the coolant tanks welded onto its’ back. I held in the radio button and yelled “discharge the coolant, it’s the blue switch under your heat gauge!” but once I got back behind him I could see both drains were already open, the intact tank just wasn’t draining fast enough. I could fix that, all the tank needed was a bigger drain hole, as long as there was still a mech to fix by the time we got out of the Fire Rift. Just as Nick was getting his balance back, the enemy mech charged right at us. I finally got a good luck at it, but IDing mechs hadn’t been on the mech tech cert so I hadn’t memorized all the types, I just knew it was one of those people-shaped mechs and a good bit smaller than Nick’s Rifleman. It was almost on top of us and I knew in my gut it was about to fire again and then Nick turned and smacked it in the face with one of his mech’s guns like it was a giant hand. The mech was knocked right over and Nick stomped on it before it could get back up. The Rifleman pivoted around like Nick was looking for something, and I was pretty sure I knew what because I could hear the jet engines passing by, too. Then the radio came on, and I heard Nick say "Come on, Thermo Man, let's get out of here before our luck runs out." I wasn’t sure what luck he thought we still had, til I followed him up the ridge and saw Orlex’s Cataphract mech up ahead. "Lieutenant, it's good to see you,” Nick said over the radio. "It got hairy in there and I couldn't find the rest of the unit in the ambush. I don't know who these guys are that were tangling with, but it looks like Aegis might be waiting for us about 3 KM out. Should we stick together and check it out. I don't know how long this sensor fidelity is gonna hold. Also, Levi, do you read me? How are you holding up? Are you in good enough repair for a short drive?" “I hear you, Ni- Regis,” I said. I released the radio button and took a couple deep breaths so I could sound less shaky and terrified, then pressed it in again. “The truck’s good as far as I can tell, doesn’t have the same status indicators as a mech but everything still works. I think you took most of the hits - thanks for the save. This thing has a low vantage point and pretty basic sensors, so wherever you and Bastion are headed, I’ll follow.” 3 Dossier | Vehicle TRO | Kit Details Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Jenkins Posted January 9, 2022 Share Posted January 9, 2022 ALSO Inside the Fire Rift... I continuied to stand Maxwell's GUARD as our Mechs banged into the Fire Rift. All of a sudden we were in a fray as our sensors turned off and warfare was flying everywhere, I yelled and dodged my mech into the smoke and I turned my safties off as 2 unknown 'mechs came into view. OH NO!!! I swallowed my chassis, and thumbed my trigger. A Trebuchet 'mech and a Hermes painted black came charging at me. I yelled and opened fire with all of my weapons, a ton of lasers and other things shot at me, sundering my Dragon. I balked behing a hill to hide from the 2 attackers. My sensors were destroyed amd I couldnt tell how damaged I was. I got out my radio. "DIONYSUS TO AEGIS DIVISION! COME IN!! ANYONE!!" But there was no answer. Maybe they were all dead... Maybe I was the last remnant of our mission... I had to get outside and see how damaged I was. I put on my hazard suit and I climbed out, and I brought my emergency pistol. Down on the ground, I couldn't believe what I saw. My Dragon was all scorched up from the fire Rift and covered in bomb marks from where it had got shot up. All of a sudden, I saw headlights coming out of the smoke behind me. It was a tank painted all in black and it was pointed its big gun right at me. Then it stopped and a woman in a HazMat suit got up and walked up to me. "What the hell do you want?? Who the hell do you think you are??? I Yelled. Just then, there was a terrible earthquake. I ran up the hill just in time to see at least 4 mechs explode down in the fire valley. I ran back down, and pointed my pistol at her. "Executor-1 to Executor Lance. If you can hear me, sneak past the Aegis Division and come to my tank. You can see it well over the hill." The lady radioed. When I expected to see 5 other lancemates, a single Hermes with a limping leg gimped in. "Halt. Hold your fire." "You're ignoring me. What are you doing here. Tell me or..." "I want you to tell me where your friends are hiding out. Where your COMSTAR girlfriend is hiding out." "She's not my girlfriend! I'll never tell you!" I raised the pistol, and fired it in the air. She jumped, and motioned to the waiting Hermes. The Hrlermes came Foreward l, and charged lasers right above us. "Oh, I think you will tell me." "No! Never!" "I'm going to hand you an oppritunity. You go get your friends. I'll let you join Executor Lance. I can show your the true power. We could rule the Inner Sphere." "Lieutenant Jenkins, ma'..." She turned if off, but I heard it all. "So. Is this true." "Yes son. Join me." "No. It's not. You're... you're a lier!" "Face the facts, son. I want you to come join me in IRIAN." A small tear developed in my eye. "NO! I watched you... Get put in the insitiute! I saw you... you went Crazy and blew up that milk factory!! How... How... no. It's not true. You lying..." "Yes Steve! It is true!! Son!! Join me!! Look at what I have become!!! Look at what we will have!" "I WILL NEVER JOIN IRIAN!!! NO! IT'S! No... mother... no..." "Son... join me or... I will have to kill you." "NO!" She too, began to tear UP, evil tears. "Back at home... son... you said... you said you always wanted... power... power to... rule!" "Not... power... to... kill! Not... IRIAN.. No... mother... come with me..." "SON! Look at what I have! I have my own lance! I have my own DropShip and JumpShip! You and I could share all this!" "NO! I WILL NEVER JOIN IRIAN" She started to climb up her tank "Then I'm going to have to kill you, son." I started up my Mech, and immediatly fired a gauss at her. Wait... this isn't right... I shouldn't kill my own mother... "Mother. I'm not going to fight you..." "I... I... I love you... son..." I took a rapid progression of numerous missles, and took a AC round to the leg. "Don't do this! You know I can't fight you! I... I love you!" "NO! I'm sorry then, son... goodbye." "NO! MOTHER DON'T DO THIS! YOU KNOW..." I was too late. She self-destructed right in front of the Hermes and it in turn was destroied. I didn't see one ejection pod... Now my Mother is... really. Dead. My father is turned to a pirate. Me and my brother are the only true Remains of the Jenkins family... MY mother is dead... my father is a pirate... my brother is missing... where am I to go? "Eden... this is Dionysus. I am reporting in. Eden- Captain Maxwell. Do you hear me?" 1 1 Dossier | BattleMech TRO | Kit Details Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alyssa Maxwell Posted January 10, 2022 Share Posted January 10, 2022 Somewhere in the Fire Rift Quentin IV - Federated Suns August 5, 3030 ______________________________________________ It'd happened in an instant. One second, I was reading off sensor hits to Charles. The next, communications fizzled out, and then... Smoke. Explosions. Laser fire. Chaos. Two lances of mixed air and ground assets - tanks, BattleMechs, VTOLs - descending on us from all directions like a plague of locusts. Bereft of sensors and comms, lance cohesion had broken down almost immediately. Maxwell and Jenkins had been drawn off in opposite directions as they attempted to hold off the forward attack while Jaeger and Schuster were engaged simultaneously at our convoy's midpoint. For all of the pandemonium it created, the attack was almost surgical in its ability to throw our convoy into disarray. Octavia and I were the only heavy assets left with the massed flatbed trucks, tanks, APCs, and support vehicles, but without our comm units, I had no way to signal her to hold position. In short order, she, too, was drawn off by a Gotha AeroSpace fighter that had dropped low out of the sky and reduced one of our Condor tanks to a smoldering wreck before scoring several well-placed hits against Incendio's Raven. No sooner had her BattleMech fallen away from visual range than a jarring impact to the rear of my own Raven heralded the explosion of our Harasser missile platform, followed by the dark, distinctive shape of a Hellcat II AeroSpace fighter screaming overhead. I swung my Raven's weapons around and slapped their triggers, sending a flurry of six glowing warheads and half a dozen coherent light pulses streaking up toward the fighter. The aircraft, far faster and more nimble than my aim in the moment, executed a sharp barrel roll to the right, breaking the missiles' locks and disappearing into the haze as the pulse laser fire splashed against the vessel's underside. Whoever these assholes are, they're not amateurs... I thought to myself as I assessed the vehicles clustered around me; all that was left of our formation at the moment consisted of the M.A.S.H. ambulance, Maxim APC, the flatbed truck that somehow, miraculously, still contained our Kestrel VTOL, the lone surviving Condor tank, and a pair of Humvees. I had no way of knowing where Levi's BattleMech Recovery Vehicle, along with the rest of our forces were, though I suspected that if I headed toward one of the myriad explosions I now saw rippling through the thick smoke around us, I'd either find them or be immolated in a pyroclastic blast. Those were 50/50 odds I preferred to avoid. Standing around in the open isn't exactly a winning strategy, either... I had to get the units under my charge to safety - what that looked like at the moment, I wasn't sure. The irony of the situation was unbelievable. I was in the most advanced scout BattleMech the Inner Sphere had ever produced, and yet between the active ECM being pumped into the environment and the quirks of the Fire Rift itself, my Raven was completely blind. I was going to have to rely on my senses and nothing else. Cranking my BattleMech's own ECM jamming suite to maximum output, I used a combination of flashes from the Raven's spotlight and a series of torso maneuvers to get the attention of the ground vehicle drivers, and then began slowly pushing toward what appeared to be a formation of craggy hills in the near distance. After a few false starts, all of the vehicles in the convoy seemed to get the message and started to follow me. I crept the Raven along the shattered talus, sweeping its nose-mounted floodlight as far out ahead of us as it could penetrate in the hostile atmosphere. Every now and then, I snapped off a volley of shots from my pulse lasers, watching for the splash patterns they made as they impacted with the ground to determine where solid footing existed ahead. Eventually, the haze began to clear as we wound our way up the side of the weathered mesa, and in due course, the smoke-filled valley began to unfold beneath us. A series of flashes from a nearby plateau caught my attention, and I brought my Raven to a halt, positioning it diagonally in the path of the convoy to ensure the vehicles stopped their advancement. Swinging my zoom reticule over the general area where I'd observed the lights, I bore witness to a heavy, bulky BattleMech making a controlled jump jet landing on the mesa, a sizeable cloud of dust billowing outward from its oversized feet as they impacted the earth. It only took a moment longer to recognize that I was looking at a Catapult, though whose side it was on was anyone's guess. The low lighting and poor visibility made it impossible to determine its markings. Although I thought I saw a flash of a yellow shield on one of its missile launchers, it could have just as easily been wishful thinking. The only way to know for sure is to get closer, I suppose... It appeared that the pilot of the BattleMech was preoccupied with something unfolding in the torrid rift beneath us, and even if he hadn't been, from this distance and under the sheer amount of ECM my Raven was pumping out, there was no way that he could detect us. My first instinct was to have the convoy hold its position while I got in closer to secure a positive identification, but in this place, there was no guarantee I'd ever find my way back. So, with no other favorable options, I signaled to the vehicles that we we moving out, and trepidatiously began leading them around the edge of the canyon toward the lone MechWarrior's location. This was either going to turn out really well or really badly. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orlex Jaeger Posted January 11, 2022 Share Posted January 11, 2022 (edited) Outer bands of the Fire Rift region (traveling east toward Fasolht) Quentin IV - Federated Suns August 5, 3030 ______________________________________________ The din of combat around us had lessened, it wasn't gone just yet but it was no longer the deafening cacophony of explosions, lasers, and 'mechs crashing into things. Seemingly as suddenly as the enemy had set upon us they had faded into the mist as well, it didn't seem right and I was on edge about a renewed ambush effort, the precision and ferocity of the initial attack was humbling to say the least. They had clearly intended to break up our convoy, divide and conquer, and near as I could tell they had succeeded admirably, at least in the first part. It wasn't the type of hit you'd expect from raiders, or even most other mercenaries, those tactics were closer to something you'd see the Kell Hounds or Wolf's Dragoons pull off and that was what worried me, any enemy of that caliber would not simply hit and fade without some other plan and as much as I'd like to think we gave them what for I doubted it had been enough to drive off a truly determined force which meant they pulled back for a reason. With the likely threat of a renewed offensive from an enemy we knew nothing about our first priority, after assessing our own condition, was to regroup with the rest of Aegis Division. We knew where their last position had been, however it wasn't exactly clear how far south we had been driven in the ambush and with the natural interference and residual ECM from the battle still clouding our sensors it was difficult to get a true bearing on our position quickly. Likewise, with no idea how the rest of our convoy had faired or how far they might have been pushed or separated and lacking any type of sensor or comm contact with them currently we were completely in the dark on reconnecting with them, barring heading in what we believed to be their last known position. Then Nick picked up an unidentified contact on his sensors, there was no IFF tag or transponder, nothing beyond a confirmed reading but his computer couldn't determine anything about the signal aside from it being electromagnetic in origin. Near as we could tell it resembled what a group of 'mechs and vehicles might look like if the sensors could do nothing more than pick up their presence based on their EM radiation from their fusion engines. It was in the general direction we anticipated the rest of our group to be in, though a notable distance further south into the Fire Rift region, and it was the only thing we had at the moment so I made the call to move our mini convoy, consisting of Schuster's Rifleman, Levi's Heavy BRV, and my own Cataphract, in that direction hoping that we could get a stronger signal as we got closer. The fact that this unknown signal could also just as easily be some part of the enemy unit that had attacked us also crossed our minds and so we would be extra cautious in our approach but again it was the only thing we had to give us a bearing currently. After only a few minutes the signal faded out, we thought we had lost it but continued on our last course with no better options available until several minutes later when the signal came back again. It seemed a touch stronger this time but was also reading a little further south and even my Cataphract was able to register something for a few moments, though my systems only suggested it was an unknown anomaly, before it winked out. The Rifleman's stronger sensors was able to track it for a few minutes again, roughly the same length of time as before, before it faded away in an almost identical manner as before. After that the signal seemed to come and go on a whim, sometimes it stayed for several minutes, other times it was barely long enough to get a bearing on it and its strength was just as unreliable, at times being nothing but a mere ghost or deciding to be strong enough for my Cataphract to get something resembling a reading on it. Once it was strong enough again for Nick to get a distance reading on it, oddly it still showed it being around 3km away despite us having travelled at least 1.5km already, either the signal source was travelling in the same direction as us and at the same speed, or else the finicky signal was somehow getting misinterpreted and giving a false distance reading. We had a few more discussions about it but in the end we decided to continue following this signal until we found its source, made contact with Aegis in some manner, or decided we were too far into the Fire Rift region and needed to make our way out. Our general path was still taking us eastward, though more south than truly east, and indirectly closer to our eventual goal of the Forward Operating Base in Quentin's Steel Valley. We had the entire Morandi continent's maps loaded into our 'mech's systems, not to mention noteputers with their own copies of topographical maps of the area and even a hardcopy of the area between Batan and Fasohlt, so I wasn't too concerned that we would get lost but the further into the Fire Rift we went, the more difficult it would be to find our way back out in a reasonable amount of time. The signal had definitely piqued my interest though, it was an oddity that had grabbed hold of the engineering/tech focused part of my mind and I felt driven to try and find out what it was, however I couldn't do that at the risk of others or when there was a potential ambush waiting for us around any given corner. That risk was fading quickly by the minute though and through our discussions clearly both Nick and Levi were equally as curious about what could be causing this oddly inconsistent signal that was most definitely leading somewhere deeper into the geological anomaly known as the Fire Rift. With all signs of enemy ECM now gone our risk of being attacked suddenly was greatly reduced but not gone and between being cautious of an ambush and picking a path through the rough terrain that Levi's BRV was capable of navigating meant our progress was relatively slow. A couple hours later ... Our motley crew of three continued to trudged through the badlands, following an ever shifting intermittent signal that seemed to come and go at a whim. Originally we thought the signal was the rest of the Aegis Division convoy we had been separated from during the ambush by the still unknown forces back in one of the myriad valleys, however that hope was slowly fading. Each time the signal appeared we couldn't get a solid read on it and only Schuster's Rifleman's enhanced sensors were picking up anything that could be considered reliable most of the time, occasionally my Cataphract would get a ghost reading that seemed to correlate with Nick's sensors but even then we couldn't get much more than a direction. While the hope of this sensor ghost turning out to be the rest of Aegis was fading, my own curiousity was growing; the reading wasn't jumping around or erratic like an ECM caused ghost and it wasn't showing like an unidentified unit or even something trying to hide its ID, oddly enough it almost read like a distress signal at times but even that was inconsistent. The storm had lessened of late, it was still very much present but the interference it had been causing had weakened to the point where our comms were functional once again, at least locally, but unfortunately the storm as whole still prevented any long range communications and of course was still playing havoc with our sensors. My 'mech stomped through the volcanic landscape trailing just behind the others, Nick's Rifleman was out front guiding us towards the unknown signal while Levi followed as best he could in the BRV, the vehicle was not designed for offroad adventuring and we had to carefully choose our path through the jagged landscape to avoid getting the 70 ton support vehicle stuck. A still cooling lava flow wound a path uncomfortably close to us along our right side, the superheated and melted rock flowing like a river, albeit the slowest river I'd ever seen, in a trench that may have been pre-existing or simply carved by the lava itself, dark patches of cooled and partially solidified rock "floated" on its surface and the absence of any obvious volcano meant it was likely fed by an underground magma pool somewhere in the vicinity. The extra heat being radiated into the surrounding air from the active lava was enough to keep my 'mech's heat gauge steadily above normal, even with the double heat sinks, and I wondered how Nick was making out in his 'mech, thankfully the lack of any combat since the ambush meant we didn't have to deal with the extra heat from weapons fire, a minor blessing but a welcome one. "Bastion," called Schuster on the radio, "I think we might be getting closer, the signal is getting stronger, it's still erratic but I'm getting a solid read on it while its present now." "That's good news Rebus, I have my doubts that it's any part of Aegis Division at this point but my curiousity is piqued and I'd like to find the source of this signal if we can," I replied. "Agreed, I was thinking the same thing, though I am concerned about regrouping with the others if this turns out not to be them," continued Nick, the note of concern in his voice evident. "How WILL we find the rest of the guys if this isn't them?" inquired Levi, genuine curiosity colouring his tone. "Well, assuming that whoever intervened on our behalf in that ambush also assisted the rest of our convoy its been around 2 hours since that conflict ended. Even if they had to fight off the enemy on their own I don't see the fight taking too much longer than it did for us, the Captain and the others are all more than competent and I have no doubt that they would have pulled through fine," I began, the tactical side of my mind making numerous arguments that I had no real basis to make that assertion from but I didn't let that show as that same part of my mind also knew that expressing confidence in a favourable outcome was more beneficial under the circumstances. I continued on, my mind less conflicted on these latter points, "From what I know of the Captain he also wouldn't have wasted precious time trying to regroup with us afterwards, not when he has vulnerable transports and personnel amongst the convoy, he'd trust us to handle our own and eventually make our way back to them. We know where our final destination is, the FOB near Steel Valley, and seeing as how it isn't moving we shouldn't have trouble finding our way there, regardless of how badly the storm is messing with our systems." "Can I ask why we are chasing this signal then? I mean if our end goal is to simply regroup with the others, wouldn't it be better if we simply went straight for the field base? I mean not that I'm complaining, I was actually looking forward to getting out here and seeing this place, though ideally under some better circumstances," asked Levi, a solid point and one that was only slightly undercut by his naturally apologetic demeanor and subsequent curiosity. "I think it's a little more complicated than that," answered Nick, "I mean we know where we need to go, but we also need to figure out where we ARE if we plan to plot ourselves a course out of here. A task a little more daunting than the Lieutenant alluded to I think." "You're not wrong Rebus, it will take a bit of work to locate our own position when the time comes, however we don't need to be overly precise for our needs, a general bearing will be enough to get us out of the badlands. As for why we're chasing this signal Thermo, curiosity mostly to be honest," I added, being blunt that it was truly just curiousity at this point that kept us following the unknown signal, "Originally there was the potential that it could be Eden and the others, and while that has failed to materialize the signal's source is getting stronger and appears to be more and more like a distress signal of some kind. Aside from the fact that we should feel obligated to at least investigate if it is indeed a distress call and someone needing help, the signal's source is unusually far into the Fire Rift Region, beyond where most traffic would pick up such an erratic and weak signal. The signal is clearly man-made and seems to be intentionally being sent, despite its transient nature, and my own curiousity as to what is causing the signal has gotten the best of me. Who, or what, is this far into such a hostile environment and for what reason? I'm curious to find out and the detour likely won't impact our travel time to regroup with the others at the FOB significantly." "Sounds good to me, I was secretly hoping we could explore this region at some point while on planet anyways," stated Levi, seeming to be perfectly satisfied with our reasoning. "I'll admit I'm curious too Bastion, I just hope that our curiousity doesn't get us completely lost, I don't think it's just the storm messing with our sensors. This whole region seems like it interferes with anything electronic," said Nick. "True, so it's good that we don't need to rely on just electronics to find our way out of here," I replied with a smile, not that he could see that over the comms. "Whoa!" exclaimed Levi on the comms, cutting off any response Nick may have been preparing to give, "Are you guys seeing this?" We had just come around the side of one of the taller mesas in the area, our own path following along the top of a considerably smaller mesa but still well above the depths of the valleys and canyons that cut through the landscape everywhere. The scene before us was definitely one of the more astounding views I had ever seen despite having been to literally dozens of planets across most of the Inner Sphere. From our vantage we were looking down towards what I assumed to be the heart of the Fire Rift Region, while still too far away to see the actual center of this hellish geological anomaly, we could see considerably farther into the aptly named badlands than previously. Spread before us was a shattered land, akin to the spiderweb cracking present on a ferroglass canopy that managed to withstand a brutal autocannon round there was a myriad of canyons, valleys, and trenches that cut back and forth through the badlands with the spaces between being worn into mesas through various natural means. The steep escarpments bracketing these raised portions of land showing signs of seismic activity as well as tectonic and volcanic erosion, the combination of natural forces that seemed to all converge created a dizzying array of different and unique rock formations. Some of the mesas looked like they had the beginnings of a mountain range thrust up through their middle, while others looked to be so eroded underneath it was a wonder the top was still standing at all. The constant volcanic activity in the region provided an abundance of ash that the winds deposited throughout the Fire Rift region creating sections of land that almost looked fertile, until you realized they were as parched and desolate as the rest of the region. A sudden eruption of steam and what appeared to be water exploded from the ground some distance away, with the difficulty of determining distance in this land it could have been kilometers away or merely a few dozen meters but judging from its apparent size it was likely over a kilometer away. The geyser was short lived but it was spectacular in its burst of activity, most of the water evaporated to steam almost immediately, having likely been heated above its boiling point somewhere just under the planet's crust, but some managed to survive and rained down on the surroundings. The fact that there had to be some form of water present for such a geyser to exist lent a small sliver of hope that this place wasn't completely barren. With the planet having no moon there was no external source of light to provide illumination of the strangely beautiful and desolate area and yet one could see with relative ease due to the natural glow from the active lava flows reflecting off the clouds and the seemingly continuous lightning strikes, their flashes travelling for kilometers thanks to both the heavy cloud cover and the high albedo of the eroded landscape. The relative darkness of the night itself however only added to the effect of the region's frightening beauty, the sheer power of nature on full display in all its glory. *(OOC)Not exactly what I had envisioned but this is pretty close* "Blake be damned," I said entranced momentarily by the view, almost forgetting that I had my comm keyed. "No shit," replied Nick, his voice sounding like he was equally captured by the scenery before us. "I know right," added Levi, pure elation evident in his tone, "This was totally worth getting lost for." Silence followed for a minute while the three of us continued to stare in wonder at the incredible scene before us, the geyser erupted two more times before falling silent while the strong winds whipped a massive cloud of ash across the valley before us, completely obscuring nearly half of the landscape below until it passed. Several bolts of lightning struck the nearby cliffs and mesas, though none at close enough to worry about currently, and the heavy cloud cover seemed to ebb and flow at whim, sometimes so dense it felt and looked like a literal ceiling coming down to close in on us and other times almost thin enough to see through to the sky and stars beyond. Schuster broke the silence this time, "Bastion, Thermo, signal's back and its much closer. I don't know if we can trust it but sensors are actually giving me a distance now, 1.7km South by South-East." "Worth a shot," I said as I checked my own instruments and found a faint reading that roughly matched Rebus's heading, though despite being newer my systems were unable to determine a range due to their lower fidelity, "I'm showing something faint on my sensors now too, roughly same direction. Let's get a move on." "Copy that," answered Nick, excitement at nearing the source of the signal starting to show. "Uh, roger," replied Levi a little hesitantly, "It is roger right?" "Yes it is," I answered with a chuckle as we all began to move. "Oh good, had a brain fart for a moment there," I could almost hear the sheepish grin Levi most likely had while he responded. Our mini convoy set off at a moderate pace, the relative stability of the ground allowing Levi's Heavy BRV a freedom of movement it had been denied for some time with all the loose rocks and uneven ground we'd been traversing earlier. When we reached the edge of our current mesa we were forced to travel back down into the valleys and divert off course a few times due to the natural rock formations and the BRV's inability to jump, temporarily rendering both the Rifleman's and Cataphract's jump jets pointless as we wouldn't just abandon Levi to find his own way. One valley lead to another and then another as we wound our way through the broken landscape, this particular region seemingly bereft of any recent seismic or volcanic activity as the ground was relatively flat with little in the way of loose rocks or debris and the few old lava flows we came across were completely cooled, hardened, and now just smooth, blackened rock. As we entered the latest valley getting ever closer to our signal source, which oddly had never went away since Schuster picked it up last though it was still waxing and waning in strength, a thick layer of ash billowed up from beneath our 'mech's feet and the BRV's wheels. As we moved closer to our target, and further into the valley, we spotted what looked like a trench or gouge carved across the valley though we couldn't make out any details in the limited lighting and from this distance. Almost in unison we all sped up as we moved to get a closer look at the unnatural trail blasted into the rocky ground only slowing once the loose rubble and debris at the edge of the indented path forced us to watch our footing. Schuster and I switched on our 'mech's spotlights, previously having enough light to navigate safely just from the ambient glow from active lava and the lightning storm but now wanting to be able to make out details up close, the built-in lighting systems were limited on the machines, capable of providing sufficient light out to roughly 90m to clearly see fine details but able to illuminate objects out to nearly 300m with enough light to identify their presence though not enough to make out any real detail. With our lights on we could clearly see that the trench was not carved out in a singular pass by anything but rather appeared to be the result of multiple entities damaging the terrain in a similar manner. A singular, larger gouge appeared to be made after the others judging from the way the debris was distributed and Nick and I edged our 'mechs up over the raised edge of the crater-like trail to get a better look while Levi was forced to stay on the main valley floor due to the BRV's limited mobility, unfortunately that also meant his more powerful searchlights on the BRV would be of no use to us at this point. Panning my searchlight across the nearest trail, rotating my 'mech's torso to follow it, I caught sight of what appeared to be metallic debris jutting out of the shattered rock and rubble strewn about the path. After a quick discussion Nick and I moved down into the trench, my Cataphract searching towards the right side while his Rifleman took the left, it didn't take long for me to find at least one object that had clearly contributed to the gouge we now stood in. Crushed into the wall of the valley were pieces of what were most likely an aerospace fighter, the utter destruction of the airframe and compactness of the remaining ferro-aluminum structure were a testament to the ferocity with which the craft must have impacted. The blackened rock, trail of debris and shattered granite lead me to believe the fighter must have crashed with the engines on full burn, carving an impressive course trail before it suddenly came to an arresting stop in the escarpment forming this side of the valley. If the pilot had been present and alive at the time of the crash he would have died instantly but there wasn't even enough wreckage left to even know where the cockpit was, let alone if they had ejected or not. As I got closer and inspected the crashed remains closer I noticed the weathering on the exposed metal and had to conclude that this wreckage was at least a few years old, unless the Fire Region also eroded materials much faster than normal. "Lieutenant," came Schuster's almost hushed voice over the comms, "You need to see this." I turned away from the crashed fighter and began making my way over towards the other side of this narrower portion of the valley where Nick's Rifleman stood shining its light into what appeared to be a black pit, "On my way, what have you got Rebus?" "I don't know yet sir, it almost looks like a cave. The main trail seems to lead in there, but its too far for my light to see anything. Whatever it is though, our signal is coming from inside." "Well done, guess we need to go inside," I said as my Cataphract came up alongside the Rifleman, its own spotlight also getting swallowed up by the large, dark opening before us, "Let's see if we can get Thermo and his BRV in here first though. I have a feeling we're going need his extra lights." "Good idea sir, the ridge of this blast trail is much lower over here, we might be able to work something out there, you copy that Thermo?" responded Nick, turning his 'mech away from the seemingly empty abyss yawning before us. "I hear you, and I see where you're talking about but I still don't think I can make it over that without getting stuck," replied Levi flatly. "We'll see what we can do, stay clear for now, we may need to just blast you a path open," I said as I once again joined Nick's Rifleman, leaving the large, beckoning cave opening behind. Several minutes later, and with some judicious application of both BattleMech strength and high powered large lasers, we had managed to clear enough of the rubble from the edge of the trench to allow Levi and the Heavy BRV to drive into said trench without too much difficulty. With his machine now present, and its considerably more powerful searchlights, the three of us regrouped in front of the large opening in the eastern wall of the valley that looked uncomfortably like a gapping maw. With his lights on full we could make out the details on the rock walls surrounding the opening, at least in the narrow cone where the lights currently shone, and were somewhat surprised to find that they appeared to be naturally formed, or at least had been naturally eroded to their current size. We proceeded forward into the darkness, beams of light cutting forward into the nothingness and moving as we looked around but precious little was ever reflected back to us save for the walls, floor, and ceiling of the large rock tunnel itself. Light Amplification Engaged, the computer needlessly reported as I turned on what equated to the 'mech's night vision, apparently I still needed to go through some of the preferences for unnecessary computer announcements on the new prototype BattleMech. As the world was wreathed in green, details of the tunnel and beyond suddenly came into sharp relief as the HUD overlay on my neurohelmet visor highlighted what the 'mech's Battle Computer deemed was important, the ground and walls mostly, as well as something further in that I still couldn't make out. I toggled the system into full Light Amplification mode, the main display now overlaying everything with the view from the night vision sensors, the advanced computer thankfully filtering out the extreme bright areas caused by our spotlights and searchlights. The tunnel seemed to lead on for an extended distance, though even now distance was hard to judge as the sensors showed our errant signal as only being a 100m or so ahead, despite not yet being able to see anything specific. Off to one side, just within the tunnel another crashed fighter or at least wreckage that resembled an aerospace fighter, could be seen jutting out of the ground. One of the wings appeared to be shorn off though whether it was shot off and caused the crash or was forcibly removed during the crash was anyone's guess. The craft's nose was embedded into the ground and as we got closer we could see the canopy was completely missing leading us to believe that whoever the pilot had been they had at least attempted to eject before crashing, though once again the weathering on the exposed portions of the craft lead us to conclude it had been here for some time. A sudden burst of lightning exploded overhead, momentarily overwhelming the light amplification systems on my 'mech and causing me reflexively shut my eyes as the HUD became super bright. "Did you guys see that?" came Levi's cautious voice on the comms. "Yeah, I think so," replied Nick. "See what?" I inquired, switching off the night vision mode and pivoting my 'mech's torso about looking for whatever they had seen, "That flash overloaded my sensors for a minute." "I think it was some kind of ship," answered Levi. Levi redirected the BRV's large searchlights forward into what we had assumed to be the opening of the tunnel into an actual cave, and which apparently was open to the sky or something as additional flashes of lightning illuminated the area ahead sporadically. Levi's more powerful lights quickly picked out something amongst the rocks and soon focused on what appeared to be the large conical exhaust cone of a fusion drive typical on a dropship. As the tunnel walls fell away and opened into a much larger space the three of us spread out, the 'mechs to either side, and approached the unknown object in a semi-circle. Finally close enough for all of our lights to be meaningful we played the beams across what appeared to be the hull of a dropship before another series of nearby lightning strikes provided enough light to at least make out the silhouette of the entire object and confirm what we all were thinking. "It's an entire dropship," I began, the three of us having kept the comms open just in case. "Yeah, crashed but it looks intact-ish," added Nick. "It's big," stated Levi, before continuing, "I wonder how it got here?" Before us, sitting nestled into the rock, sat a spheroid dropship, clearly battle damaged, crashed and most definitely worse for the wear but relatively intact, at least as far as crashed vessels go. The ship was big, nearly the size of a Union from the looks of it and the general shape was similar too but it wasn't quite a Union, there were no prominent turrets or gunports, no large mechbay doors, and what little was left of the landing gear didn't match up either. The armour, what little was left, was blasted to pieces and most of the panels were missing completely, whether it happened in space or atmosphere made little difference but there was no way to know. Several deep gashes were visible into the hull, major hull breaches that would have de-pressured multiple decks depending on the internal layout, and hinted at further internal damage. What might have once been weapon bays were scarred and blackened craters save for a couple gunports that oddly looked like they might have been inset, behind the armour panels, the likelihood of them being functional in any meaningful way was miniscule at best. The vessel itself sat listing to one side heavily, the rock we had initially thought it resting upon was instead compacted ash and pumice which seemed to have gotten wet and dried at some point, the solid looking structure crumbled easily under pressure though and lead us to believe the ship was somehow balanced precariously rather than actually leaning against the relatively fragile structure. Closer inspection revealed spires of volcanic glass piercing up through the pumice and ash and likely providing a modicum of support to the entire ensemble. It took a while to deduce but the most likely explanation we had for how the ship had managed to end up in such a situation was that it had been shot down over the Fire Rift region from a relatively low altitude and had somehow managed to crash through the top of a mesa which must have contained a large cave. The impact itself was enough to shatter most of the mesa top/cave ceiling but the vessel had managed to survive and the comparatively slow collapse of the rock cave cradled the vessel down to its current resting place, leaving a large open hole to the sky but otherwise protecting the vessel on all sides from the worst of the Fire Rift region storms. The large trench outside was a combination of things, the natural entrance to the original cave, the crashing of one or more aerospace fighters assumedly from the same battle that brought down the dropship, and also from a missing piece of the dropship hull itself which likely would have had a similar trajectory and so potentially crashed close by as well. There was also evidence that the main drive was either firing while it crashed or was fired in some manner afterwards as there was a glassed path from the vessel's main thrusters towards the rock tunnel and plenty of debris scattered about to indicate it was blown from that general vicinity. The exposed internals of the craft, despite the protection affording from the collapsed mesa, were weathered badly, eroded to the point that they could never function in their intended role for any meaningful length of time, the sections where the hull was intact or there was still some minimal amount of armour plating faired better but not by much. The entire ship was likely a complete write off at first glance, and yet, something told me there was more to it, plus there was the issue of the signal we were receiving, something was still functional inside this weather beaten husk of a dropship hull and now that we had discovered the source I was anxious to get inside it and explore, all concerns of regrouping with the rest of Aegis Division temporarily gone. "So you're right, that sounds like the most reasonable explanation for how this ship got here, but regardless of how it is here and something is generating a signal inside it," I said, concluding our discussion on what could have transpired to leave this vessel here, seemingly abandoned. "That's the crazy part, I have no idea what it is," stated Nick, "its not a distress call, the signal is cyclic but there's no data. No coordinates, no transponder, no ID, nothing. Its just an irregularly pulsating EM signal, it doesn't match any known drive system or power plant in my 'mech's databanks and from the looks of this heap I'd be very surprised if the drive system was functional, let alone actually running. I don't know how old this thing is but it isn't likely anything is still powered inside, let alone the computer systems and yet there is this signal. I'm at a loss." "It's the power plant," said Levi matter-of-factly, "I'd almost put money it. Now that we're this close my systems are picking up the signal reliably too, I've seen this before. Back on Oberon someone left Bald Chuckie's Flea running idle for a really long time, like a couple months while everyone was away on a job. Anyways, when we got back the reactor was doing all kinds of funny stuff, turns out those things don't actually run forever and still need some form of hydrogen for fuel." "Well yes, they still use fuel like anything else, they just can run much longer on a given amount than virtually any other engine," I said, not entirely sure where Levi was going with this. "Yes, well we found that out eventually, however before the tanks went completely dry it turns out the system had a kind of failsafe. When it hit low fuel levels and was just idling it went into this cyclic power saving mode where the fusion plant would just about shutdown, hold steady there for a short period and then give itself a tiny shot of fuel which pumped the power back up just enough to keep it running, then it would slowly wind back down again until the very last second before giving itself another shot of fuel. We thought it was broken but it was just trying to conserve what little fuel remained, of course when we tried to fire it back up it protested before burning through what little fuel was left and shutdown completely until we devised a way to refuel the damn thing. But what I'm saying is, this signal, from the dropship here, it looks almost the same as what the Flea's reactor was doing. Assuming these systems are similar and it's just a scaled up version of a 'mech reactor, I think it's just in a kind of power saving mode or something," continued Levi emphatically as he concluded his tale. "That makes sense, I mean about the reactor being in a power saving mode, we have no idea how long this wreck has been here but its probably safe to assume its been long enough that whatever fuel reserves it may have had are dwindling," I commented. Nick chimed in agreeing, though also pointing out that it was strange that we picked up the signal now, if it was indeed in a power saving mode, and why nobody would have picked it up when the reactor would have been at full power. Levi countered that maybe when the engine was running at normal power it was too steady of a signal and it just blended into the rest of the electromagnetic interference that seemed to be commonplace in this region, it wasn't until the signal started cycling that it stood out and the sensors would pick it out. We discussed it some more at length while continuing to visually explore the exterior of the vessel, at least the portions we could see, noting that the cargo bay door on this side of the vessel was apparently missing and would actually give a pretty decent access point, providing we had a way of climbing up to it. With the vessel partially on its side, enough so that the normal floor of the vessel appeared like it would be roughly at a 30° angle, the cargo door was still on the side of the downed vessel but over 30m in the air. Several more minutes passed as we searched around looking for any other means of entering the vessel and also discussing if it was worthwhile to even attempt to access the ship and determine the exact cause of the signal, as well as a preliminary scan to see if there was anything salvageable on board. "What if the whole thing is salvageable?" asked Levi, a certain tone of awe in his voice. "I highly doubt it is, though that would be an impressive find, ... and a lot of work," said Nick, his skepticism and optimism at war with each other. "Indeed," I chimed in, "but the only way we're going to find out is if we can get inside and look around. That blasted cargo door still looks like our best and only option without having to navigate a hull breach or make a new one ourselves. Levi, does the BRV still have those hostile environment suits loaded up on it?" "Uh, give me a sec, I think so," the sound of distant banging and clanging and what sounded like more than one muffled curse echoed across the comm before Levi came back on, "Yes we do have them, 5 of them apparently, suppose that makes sense since there's a supposed to be a crew of 5 counting the driver on this thing when it's actually being used to recover stuff." "Great! We'll park close to the base of the vessel and meet you aboard the BRV to get suited up. We could use one of the 'mechs as a ladder of sorts to get up to the vessel but we'll still need to fashion some kind of climbing equipment to actually get inside. Maybe we can repurpose the hoist system on the BRV?" I said, moving my 'mech up close to where the currently defunct dropship's engines were, glad that it was only the fusion power plant and not the fusion engines that seemed to still be working. Edited January 11, 2022 by Orlex Jaeger 4 Dossier | BattleMech TRO | Infantry Kit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
X Wright Posted January 11, 2022 Share Posted January 11, 2022 Oberon VI - Oberon Confederation August 5, 3030 ---------- The light above the kitchen table had been on at 11 when I got home, and at 3 AM when I got up in the night to take a leak, and now at 9:12 it was still on and Genny was still sitting cross-legged in front of the computer, surrounded by mostly-empty cups. Each one had just enough muddy-brown water left to give the coffee groads that had snuck through the filter something to float in. Genny’s eyes were all-nighter red and her black hair was mussed up and frizzy on the side where she tended to lean her head on her hand when she was focusing on something. The third-to-last stair made its’ usual creaky moan when I stepped on it on my way down. Genny continued her staring contest with the computer screen from within her forest of grody mugs. “I’m not cleaning those,” I announced. Genny humphed. “Aren’t you late for work?” I asked. “Like, six hours late?” “I’m off today. Swapped shifts with Louise.” “What’cha readin’?” I asked, trying to sound casual while I rooted around in the cupboard looking for some bread. Genny humphed again. “Fine, keep your secrets,” I said. I pulled out two nearly empty bread bags with only the butt-ends of the bread left in them. I sighed and resigned myself to eating bread butts, since I’d clearly lost the game of bread chicken. I opened the bags and put the bread butts in the toaster and the bread bags in the trash. I tried to act natural on my way to the fridge. Super casual. Genny stopped scratching her head with her leaning hand and sat motionless. Probably watching me out of the corner of her eye. I grabbed the big bottle of Yumland orange soda, and also some greens that had gone off because I needed an excuse to go to the trash can behind where Genny sat. I let the fridge door swing closed and rushed over to the trash, turning my head just for a second to look at the computer screen. Halfway between Genny’s seat and the trash can, my mind processed what I’d seen and I lost my grip on the greens and soda which went splat and boing on the floor, respectively. The soda fizzed way up and rolled to the low side of the kitchen floor. Genny turned to glare at me with her bloodshot eyes and said, “what.” I started to say ‘it’s that place’, and ‘don’t you remember everything Dad did to get us away from there,’ and ‘wouldn’t Mom have looked us up by now if she still gave a crap?’ and ‘it’s the church with the scorpion pit, what the hell,’ but all I could manage to get out was, “they think coffee’s a sin, you know.” Genny looked around at her coffee cups, and then down at me; down since I was awkwardly retrieving the bag of spoiled leaf mush I’d dropped on the floor. “What else am I supposed to do?” Her voice broke. I spiked the nasty greens into the garbage can. “I dunno, maybe not go looking for the scorpion church? What the hell is your problem?” Genny’s chair made an awful screeching noise against the kitchen floor when she turned it to face me. Her face was getting reddish to match her eyes. “Dad’s gone,” she said. “Levi’s gone, and he let us wonder if he was dead or alive for six months. Half the time you’re gone too, too busy snogging on Jerooooome.” “Oh come on, I can’t be happy without you going off the deep end?” I said while rifling through the shelves I could actually reach in one of the high cupboards, searching for the rest of breakfast. “Meh meh meh, mehmehmehmeh meh meh?” Genny said in a mocking imitation of my voice. The toaster made a happy ping as the toast popped up. Traitor. I got the peanut butter jar out of the cupboard and slammed it down on the counter. “Grow up.” “Grow up?! Who signed your detention forms? Who mashed the banana for your stupid peanut butter and mashed-not-sliced banana sandwiches every day?” “That was two months, and my arm was broken!” I angrily spread peanut butter on one of my pieces of bread butt toast. “It wouldn’t have been broken if you hadn’t tried to climb the school, X.” I slammed the cupboard door closed and thumped my head against it. “I give up. What’s it going to take for you to see me as a normal fucking person?” I took a banana from the bowl and gestured with it as I talked. “I clean, I have a job, I haven’t been in trouble in months, I pay our data bill and half the protection money - you’d lose the house without me. What more do you want?!” Genny looked at her computer screen, pretending to ignore me. “If you stopped expecting congratulations for doing the bare minimum, that’d be a start,” she grumbled. I slammed my fist on the counter in frustration. The banana I’d been holding splorted all over it. I sighed, rinsed off a knife from the kitchen sink and scraped the bananna splort onto the other piece of toast, then smashed the two pieces of toast together. I took my awesome-except-for-the-bread-butts sandwich and picked up the ticking-time-bomb soda off the floor and went to find somewhere less antagonistic to eat. “Clean that up, I’m not your mother!” Genny called after me. “Coulda fooled me!” I hollered back and stalked up the stairs. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicholas Schuster Posted January 13, 2022 Share Posted January 13, 2022 DropShip crash site - Outer bands of the Fire Rift region Quentin IV - Federated Suns August 5, 3030 ______________________________________________ I felt the hot wind buffeting my cooling suit and heard it whipping and whistling through the giant cavern as I dropped down off the bottom rung of the rope ladder hanging out of my Rifleman's cockpit. As my feet hit the dirt, I squinted ahead at the wreckage of the droppship that loomed in the distance, weird, crazy shadows spilling across its hull in all directions from the floodlights of our 'Mechs and Levi's recovery vehicle. I started to let out a low whistle and then realized that whistling wasn't really a thing in the rebreathing mask strapped to my face. "I have never in my life seen such a perfect crash." said Lieutenant Jaeger as he walked up next to me. I nodded in agreement, staring through a set of light amplified field binoculars and sweeping their field of view across the ship's hull. "How many guys do you think are hiding in that cargo hold waiting to jump out and disappear us?" Levi asked, donning a pair of welding goggles to shield his eyes from the debris-laden air and flipping open the UV protection lenses after apparently realizing how dark they made everything. "You'd have to be really desperate to make this your raiding stronghold." I answered. "Like, desperate and mentally unhinged." "You're basically describing every pirate in the Oberon Confederation." said Levi. "And those are people I definitely don't want to run into if we actually go inside that thing." "Well, I may have a way to tell if anyone's in there. I'll be right back." I said, heading back to my Rifleman's cockpit. As I climbed back up the ladder, I heard Levi ask, "Where's he going?" to which Orlex replied with an audible shrug. A moment later, I returned with a sniper rifle I'd bought on the black market when we'd returned to Sheratan. Up to this point, it was kept strapped to the bulkhead in my cockpit. Now, it was going to see some action. Jaeger gave me an impressed look as I approached with the oversized weapon cradled in both of my hands. "That's a hell of a piece. Gonna guess DiForenza hooked you up?" "Yeah, set me back a good bit. Glad I had accrued a year's wages by the time we got back home." I answered. "Whoa, that looks like those big guns they use in the movies!" Levi exclaimed. "Is it heavy? It looks heavy." I handed the weapon to Levi. He buckled at the knees as he took it from me. "Wow. How do they run with these things in the action scenes?" "Those are made of fiberglass." I responded, taking the rifle back, flipping open its tripod and dropping to a prone position. "This one is real." As I balanced the weapon on its mount, Jaeger kneeled down beside me. "What do you have in mind?" the Lieutenant asked. I tapped the enormous telescopic scope on the top of the gun. "I tore apart an IR scanner and stuffed its guts in here. It doesn't get quite the range it used to, but it should definitely be able to see if there's any ghouls in that ship." "Clever. I'm gonna need to get that recipe from you when this is over." Levi commented. I gave a thumbs-up and turned on the scope. The scanner came online with a high-pitched whine. I looked through the scope and watched as it flared to a bight white and then darkened as it calibrated itself to the ambient temperature, the rocks and landscape around us transitioning to a deep purple. I swung its crosshairs down and across the hull of the DropShip. The vessel looked almost a deep, royal blue as I swept it for anomalies. I spotted a hazy, crimson mass that I assumed was the fusion reactor, pulsing intermittently, trying to keep the ship alive. Here and there, I also caught small reddish shapes moving around in random parts of the DropShip, probably rodents or other local wildlife, though I couldn't imagine what could survive in a place like the Fire Rift. I also saw a few other spots that looked like pockets of superheated air or something that had become trapped in the ship, probably from fissures that had opened underneath it. Eventually, I turned off the scope and got back up to my feet. "See anything?" Lieutenant Jaeger asked. "Oh yeah, plenty of stuff. Rats, most likely, and the fusion reactor. Couple of parts of the ship are hotter than others, which could be either ambient stuff or the reactor leaking." "But nothing that would murderize us the second we turn our backs on it?" Levi asked. I shrugged. "Well, I mean, I don't know what kind of performance enhancing drugs the rats have been doing, and I'm not sure how good my scope is at picking up reptiles, but superficially, I'd say we're pretty safe." "Unless a 4 meter crocodile decides to eat our faces off." Levi added. "Well, let's hope that doesn't happen. Thanks, Nick. You planning on hauling that thing with you or do you want to stow it?" Orlex asked. "I'll keep it on me." I replied, swinging the rifle across my back with a strap. "Never know when I might need to pop some alligators." *** A few minutes later, we had entered what was left of the cargo hold. It was dark and claustrophobic, its goods smashed everywhere and the hold itself filled 3/4 of the way up with volcanic ash and other detritus that had accumulated over who knows how long. I clicked on my pen light and looked around, noting that all of the signage in the hold was in Kanji, the traditional written language of the Draconis Combine. "That could be a problem." I commented, pointing at the characters on the walls. "Either of you guys read Japanese?" "I speak English and Bad English." Levi laughed, overturning a large, wrecked panel that blocked our route to the far wall of the cargo hold. "What about you, Lieutenant?" "I can't say it was in my repertoire of languages I've picked up over the years." said Orlex. "Surely you must have picked some of it up in the LIC?" "Yeah, I know a few key phrases. Enough to get me in trouble. Or get me out of it, depending on the situation. 'I am a duly authorized agent of the Archon,' 'We will blockade your world,' 'This is an unlawful detention,' that sort of thing. Not sure how helpful that's gonna be when it comes to getting systems online." I explained as we reached the sealed hold door that led deeper into the bowels of the ship. "Our best bet is gonna be to find a computer console and hope that they have some language packs installed." "Well, this one doesn't work." Levi groaned, tapping the dust-covered keys of a dead terminal mounted beside the bulkhead. "And I think this isn't just a regular door. It's an airlock. That's not something we're gonna be able to just shimmy open with a credit card." "Well, I would ordinarily suggest we blast it open, but if we're talking about keeping this thing airworthy, let alone spaceworthy, I have a feeling that more holes in it than it already has isn't the answer. Got any suggestions?" I asked. Levi looked like he was giving it some thought. Then, without warning, he grabbed a fallen section of metal conduit and smacked it hard against the side of the terminal. A bolt clattered out of the large CRT display's wall mount and bounced across the floor of the hold. A moment later, the monitor itself crashed to the floor, leaving an "X" shape and an orphaned keyboard on the wall where it had previously been. "What the hell was that?" I blurted out. Levi looked crestfallen. "That's how we fixed the vending machines at the corner store when the language setting broke. I thought maybe it could reset the door controls, too." "Under normal circumstances, I'd question the sanity of that plan." Orlex offered. "But you might actually be on to something. Most airlock controls are supposed to have a battery fallback. Not enough power to actually cycle the airlock itself, but adequate to release the locking mechanisms. Assuming that terminal still works after its unplanned dissasembly just now, you think you could get it powered on, Levi?" 5 Dossier | BattleMech TRO | Kit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bishop Weyland Posted January 15, 2022 Share Posted January 15, 2022 (edited) C.S.V. Foundation Rimmon Mesa - 3.8 KM from Aegis Division convoy Fire Rift, Quentin IV - Federated Suns August 5, 3030 Sitting quietly in the cocoon of the Wendigo’s cockpit, Bishop’s watched the ever moving hellish landscape before him. The winds ripped up dust and volcanic ash, flinging it though the air. The ambient temperature outside hovered at sweltering 120 degrees Fahrenheit. The ski was a dirty, murky brown that was in a state of constant change. It was a truly hostile environment that would kill a man in minutes. If you were lucky, you could breath for a short time, technically the air was breathable. However, the off venting of the volcanic activity had poisoned much of the air in the Fire Rift. Ecologically, it was similar to the Yellowstone caldera on earth, ever changing and dangerous. Bishop, caught movement outside, the Crew Chief was moving about the aircraft disconnecting the auxiliary power cables and cooling lines. The Flight Crew moved about in environmental suits in the elements. The Wendigo watched and waited as well, it’s TAD senior and Mast Mount moving to keeping close watch of a possible prey. Sitting in the pilot’s seat the mercenary began his preflight checks… for the third time. Everything was in the green, and in standby mode. This would be the first time he would bring everything online at once and allow the helicopter’s CPU to be linked in. The Wendigo was armed with four medium lasers, two in the nose of the air craft and two gimbal wing mounted. It also carries two Streak Srm 2’s in the nose. The bird of prey also boast four hard points on its short stubby wing. Two on each side. Each one carrying a 15 shot unguided rocket pod. In total, an impressive amount of fire power. Enough to make light and medium Mechs scared. As for the heavies and assaults… Bishop smiled…. Enough to make them sweat. Bishop tapped a monitor with a gloved finger. Instantly, the display came to life showing the inside environmentally sealed troop compartment. Doused, in a creepy cold blue lighting sat ten Midnight Viper Commandos. All former Xenoplanetary Condition Troops (XCT) from Marik’s Safe special forces branch. Each trooper was fully encased in a heavy Combat Space Armor. The Fire Rift was really just a playground for the commandos. Their former home of Wendigo, a moon of Atreus was a truly hellish landscape. Their object was simple for this mission, Tactical Recovery of Assets and Personnel, TRAP. Cravyen needed a Irian Kill Team member alive. They were professional kidnappers or search and rescue team. Bishop smirked, it was a matter of perspective between the two. The Midnight Vipers were driven by two things… money and prestige. They are ruthless and persistent in the hunt for their prey. Captain Donovan’s voice barked out of the speakers “Bridge to Predator - it's go time. We're sending you attack vectors that will put you on an intercept course with two combined Irian lances. They're headed into the valley. Let's put the Midnight Vipers on them." The Beast lustfully howled in Bishops head. “Copy that sir”. Major Cortez was already down in the valley hunting the hunters. His reinforced Lance, Gaboon Five, consisted of his mech the rare Night Hawk, Griffin, Wolverine and Warhammer. The last member was an old warhorse tank…. Manticore. The unit had its mission…. Seek out the kill team and destroy them, while staying out of site of Aegis. They had gone dark the minute they stepped off into the valley. All IFF signatures were turned off, complete radio silence was enacted. They would be the hammer that would smash the Kill Team. Taipan Lace was made up of Bishop’s Wendigo, two Lucifers and a Karnov armed with a Ac 20. The Lucifers were already airborne staged on a holding pattern a few thousand kilometers to the north. He and his Lance would the quick response force that would flush the Kill Team to Gaboon Five. Bishop exhaled slowly, calming his nerves. This was the moment of truth. His first combat trail in a untested, experimental aircraft. What could go wrong, he thought. The veteran warrior slid the slaved flight helmet over his head, sliding the visor down he activated the helmet. Then he flipped a switch on the joystick. The Wendigo came to life, and Bishop was no longer a human. Like a lighting bolt, a surge of energy smashed into his mind and body. His eyes slammed shut. He felt as though he was being electrocuted. His mind and body shook violently, pain sheered through his spine and brain. Bishop tasted the familiar copper flavor of blood in his mind. Then it stopped, as quickly as it began. What Bishop felt next was familiar yet something new. He felt as though he was back in the Night Hawk suit, but this time he had more control. Bishop heard and felt the Wendigo in his mind, whispering to him to hunt and kill. But this time the feeling wasn’t overpowering. It was controlled…. Not a raging blood thirsty beast, it was intelligent. He opened eyes, to a shocking site. He expected to so see he’s HUD on the inside of the helmets visor. But he was actually looking through the Wendigo’s TAD and Mast Mount. Weapons, targeting, Armor, environmental sensors, troop compartment, engines…. He knew, he saw it all in his mind. The thought struck him…. He was the Wendigo. “Time to Hunt… skinwalker…. It’s time to kill…your pack is in great danger” The Wendigo’s voice was soothing and distant. Like a light whisper in the night. Bishop went to grasp the collective to release the rotors and increase power for lift off. Before his hand to touched it, it moved. The fusion engine hummed louder, the rotors began turning and picking up speeds. Seconds later the Wendigo was hovering 60 feet off the ground. Slowly, it turned in a full 360. The TAD and Mast Mount spun left and right, taking in the surroundings. Lighting crawled across the sky like a moving spiders web. As the thunder boomed, a loud roar could be heard by the ground crews. The Wendigo banked hard and dove down off the plateau disappearing into the hellosh darkness of the valley Edited January 15, 2022 by Joker 4-1 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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