Edited on Oct, 16th 2014
Included another suggestion Eisenstein made, kudos to him here.
Chapter ThreeAboard Comstar Union-Class Dropship "Trident"31. March 3058, 13:30 Terran Standard Time
Deep Periphery, approaching Planet TZ-908Below us the dropping tubes opened and my stomach seemed to like to visit my tonsils. A drop landing is always tricky for Battlemechs, but the altitude wasn't very high, a mere hundred meters and all of our 'mechs were equipped with jumpjets. Also we trained such maneuvers as often and thoroughly as possible, but these extended woodlands were a complication. This in mind we set for one of the bigger clearings. More or less simultaneously we were ejected from our Dropship and fired our jets. Not only to stabilize, but also to break the speed, which the "Trident" had given us along.
After a split second of disorientation I got my 'mech sorted and corrected my path down to the ground. The reactions from strict and merciless drills took place and the result should have made all our instructors proud. The "Trident" set scheduled course to the enemy base while we were descending. Only moments before reaching the ground an energy reading across my sensors caught my eyes.
"Power up detected. Approximated 80 klicks away, bearing one - six - five", I reported instantly while breaking my landing momentum with a sidestep.
"Yep, seen the same", Thomas replied landing himself. "But it's already gone again. What do you think? For a reactor explosion that was way too strong, wasn't it?"
Battlemech got their energy from little fusion reactors and despite all fail safes and other security measures, sometimes they explode when getting damaged too much. It might had been possible that a damaged 'mech from our opponent's got his final blow, but I didn't think so.
"Iie", I replied. "Such a reading over such a distance takes much more energy than even a collapsing 'mech reactor can provide. Maybe a reactor from a small base will be powerful enough, but so far I know there should be no base there. Although there seems to be a clearing, too," I added after consulting my maps. Confused I added. "But it was an unfamiliar reading, no neutrinos like you could expect from a blown reactor"
Even through our radio I could see Thomas biting thoughtfully on his lips. After some more seconds he reached a decision. While our 'mechs gathered around his Hatchetman he spoke, "Ok guys, that's our plan. We advance to the point where we got those strange readings straight through the woods. It's in the extension of our planned path to intercept those pirates anyway so there aren't any larger changes, only some additional waypoints. Maybe there is something that's worth to being investigated. Any suggestions or objections?"
"Not a single, boss. As usual", Virginia concluded. "Let's get going I would say. I'm definitely dying to get some pirates finished", she added with her own enthusiasm. Obviously she had already recovered from our journey to the planet.
"Don't get overconfident" Thomas broke her. "Standard Wedge-formation, William you take the lead. Your Beagle probe will hopefully be our main advantage. Alicia, you take his left, I will be on his right side. Keiichi you are the right edge and Virginia will be the left. Space between us should be about 150 meters. We have our scramblers, but in the doubt to alarming our enemies with even small impulses, use for communication a powerreduced laser instead if possible. We haven't any clue what's going on there, but I will be damned if we don't find out. Let's move and make some way in the last four hours we have daylight."
Alicia sighed, "Times are tough. So much for my plan to find a nice, little pond and get a bath."
"Alicia, what would happen if you find a lake someday with some real LARGE fishes in it that might have a taste for human flesh?" William asked.
"Well, that's obvious", she smiled even over the com. "I will use the Yorkshire-technique on him."
"You will do WHAT?" I inserted dumbfounded.
She replied, "I will suffocate him by get wedged in his throat. Didn't you know that old joke where a Yorkshire-Terrier killed a Danish mastiff that way?" and burst in laughter.
Deep Periphery, somewhere on Planet TZ-90831. March 3058, about 14:30 Terran Standard Time
Slowly Tenchi was recovering. All parts of his body seemed to hurt, even some he didn't know they could. After a few additional minutes he was able to sit up. The rest of the gang was still lying in the grass; only Washu and Ryoko were giving signs that they were about to wake up. Under pain he got to his feet to check the condition of the others.
After some looks it seems that they were more or less all right, only unconscious. Poor little Ryo-Ohki seemed to suffer the most. She was breathing only very flat. Turning he saw that Washu had gained her consciousness and moved over to her. Her eyes looked still unfocused but so far she seemed to be back.
"What's up Miss Washu? What went wrong?" he asked her.
"That's Washu-chan for you", she reacted almost absently. "I don't have the slightest shimmer of what has happen, Tenchi. But it's obvious that we aren't on Earth anymore", she continued, pointing up in the sky. Tenchi looked up and realized now that there were TWO suns in the sky.
"Also I'm missing some of body's mass", she carried on. "That indicates that this world is slightly smaller than Earth. But as I said, I really don't know where we've got."
Taking a look on her remote she swore. "Damned, I don't know where this place is, but I'm pretty sure we are a LONG way from home. My remote says that the space folder had lost all its energy, which should have done it for hundreds of transfers. It has started to recharge but that could take days. Nevertheless it seems to be alright so far", she said after a fast status check.
With a look around she concluded, "I might be able to speed up the process by collecting some extra energy through my remote control. But that would not help much without a proper power source. Perhaps it was an error not to include a secondary power supply from the house and/or a connecting to my lab, but it doesn't help to weep about spilled milk. I would say, I get my first aid kit from my backpack and we will have a look at the others." After an additional hour they more or less got a grip on them self to consider their options.
Only poor Ryo-Ohki remained nearly unconscious, while Ryoko was suffering from a terrible migraine. Even Washu looked a little disorientated, tormented too from a headache, which might have been caused by the link to her daughter. After a little discussion they decided to get shelter in they nearby woods and have an early supper out of their backpacks. Tomorrow they planned to go look after water and food supply, if possible. For today, all of them had enough and got to bed early.
Aeka, Tenchi and Mihoshi agreed to take night watches, just in case, for they were the most unharmed. Looking into the starry sky Tenchi sat on his watch in the night and wondered what the next day could bring.
31. March 3058, 23:30 Terran Standard Time
Deep Periphery, on Planet TZ-908Nightcamp of Delta-Star, waypoint Baker 5
About four hours ago we agreed to pause for today and took a place, where we could rest after we had made about 60 kilometers. In order to be safe we ensured our 'camp' with some motion trackers and other sensors. Additionally we started a little fire.
Not only to deter a possible native fauna but also to cook our rations. After a fast supper we set watches and put the guard into his 'mech. I got the second shift, so now I was sitting there with a cold hate in my heart.
That fury sprung from some transmissions we received lately from the 'Swordfish'. Due the assistance of the fighters, our infantry and tanks were able to storm the base, or what had remained.
They were even able to save the most of the prisoners the pirates had landed unknowingly to us, but not all of them. The pirates had tried to murder them all, in order to leave no witnesses for their crimes. The fights around those 'slave quarters' within their Overlord dropship were, accordingly to our buddies, brutal. Under the freed slaves were even children!
Despite all efforts the teams from 'Swordfish' were able to save 'only' about 100 people. Over 60 perished through the slaughter of the pirates. Silently I wished the clanners had eliminated some more of this scum before retreating.
Only twelve from the pirate band were caught alive, all of them before our strike teams learned the truth about the captives. In the aftermath our infantrymen weren't too eager to take prisoners. Not that they performed any war crimes. No, it was more that the pirate got shot faster than they could surrender.
From the messages we also knew that our colonel planned to immediately court martial for the rest of the band, so that the matter should be corrected before long. In my services for the Draconis Combine and my elders, I've taken enough actions, which wouldn't take me in the first place to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. But some things are plain unforgivable. Those beasts in human disguise were not even worth the bullet to be executed. I swore to myself, that when possible, I would make them pay personally. At full length. Possibly I would even borrow William's famous spade.
Taking a look at my watch, I saw that I had to last for another two hours. Forcefully I pulled myself free from these revengeful fantasies. Our plan for the next day was going to start at about 6 a.m.
Under a sigh I started to recalibrate my radio. The pirate forces we are going to chase were alert enough to encode their own radio traffic, but the code sucked. It took me only a quarter of an hour to break it and what we read from their messages and the bearings of them they had sped up their march bending their course.
They took a short break, mostly to make some provisional field repairs on their damaged 'mechs. The unit we were going to face consisted of a Black Knight1, a Dervish2, an Archer3, a Shadow Hawk4, and a pair of Phoenix Hawk5's. Also we learned that they brought a modified Vedette6 tank along with additional infantry, likely to take more prisoners if possible and enslave them. Or at least to try it, since clan warriors didn't made good slaves.
Plotting their course and comparing it with ours, I let a silent whistle. Both lines would cross, after their last change of course, each other near the presumed place of this strange energy reading we got. After another minute of silent consideration I opened a channel to Thomas's com unit with a low energy level message, which would have a range of only 50 meters.
"Thomas? Sorry to bother you, but I think here is something you should have a look at... Yes, it might be urgent, but I'm not sure, so I don't want to stir up the others unnecessarily... Ok, I give you a copy as soon as you are in your 'mech... Yes, I will stand by and have a watch on their communications... No, no direct signs of any local predators with a certain hunger for humans so far. The perimeter of our merry little camp is untouched. A while ago I saw in the distance some animals, which could be a threat, but they kept a distance from which I was unable to verify their nature... Change of shift to Alicia would be in about ...aah... 90 minutes... Hai, I guess too, that it's the best to let the others sleep, unless something crucial happens."
1 An SDLF/innersphere Battlemech, 60 tons.
2 An innersphere Battlemech, 55 tons.
3 An innersphere Battlemech, 70 tons.
4 An innersphere Battlemech, 55 tons.
5 An innersphere Battlemech, 45 tons.
6 An innersphere Tank, 50 tons.
