-1A/Ns: First, the most important thing prior to any fan-fic; "The Disclaimer"! Mekton, the world of Algol setting, and any mechs and / or characters that are relevant, are property of R. Talsorian Games. This is a piece of fan fiction, and as such is not-for-profit. I ain't getting a dime for this ;-)p
Secondly, this is my first contribution to the fan-fic community and may be "a bit rough around the edges", and updates may be sporadic at best. Do try and be understanding, and leave comments with constructive criticism only. Aside from that, enjoy!
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Chapter 1.: Scars.
4, 26, AY 1528. 05:43 Arcadian Time.
The arcology city of Arcadia was still mostly asleep. The massive structure served as more than a self contained living space, industrial complex and shopping centre; built across the Balar river and standing over six hundred metres tall, Arcadia also served as a hydro-electric plant writ-large. The mist from the water cascade reached to the upper levels which included the Arcadia aerodrome, creating a fog-like covering in the pre-dawn air.
Kaelee Mishar yawned mightily. graveyard shift sucked. Flipping through last months' 'Eye on fashion', the security guard pondered Eji of Loriels' spring collection.
Y'know, just once I wish something would happen on my shift. Nothing bad, just...I dunno... anything to cut through this boring routine. Hmm, this guy looks like a dish. Too bad no one like that ever comes though thi..."Hell-LO! My eyes must be acting up!"
The focus of Ms. Mishars' out burst was calmly walking up to the security cubicle. Straight chin-length purple hair, almond shaped deep ruby eyes, pouty lips, wearing a flight suit that looked like the man inside of it had it painted on. Unconsciously, Kaelee straightened her reddish hair and dusted off the lint from her security force jacket. First impressions were everything. Pasting on a smile she hoped was friendly enough she greeted this flesh-born angel before her. "Hello sir! How can I help you this morning"
"Hph meh eyede..."
"Umm.. what was that sir?" Maybe not so much an angel...angels don't mumble like that!
Kanata tried again to make coherent noises. Words. Conversation. Yes, that's the concept he was after.
"Sorry" Yawn. "Here's my ID; Musashi, Kanata, I'm here to take my Mekton out... also need to file a flight plan with traffic control... yeah, that..." Yawn again. Two cups of Kafe and I still feel like I just stepped out of a regen tank. UGH!
Still smiling, the woman security guard winced sympathetically at the mech-pilots' condition. She'd been there and done that. pre-dawn was no place for coherent thought. Time aside, she had a job to do. Working quickly at her computer, she checked the I D card with the A.A.T.C. data-base and found the matching information. Lt. (jg.; Resv.) Kanata Musashi, owner of one independent Mekton. Fifty-five tonne Rapier class... curious. She re-read the screen to make sure. Glancing up she saw Mr. Musashi (my bad.. Lieutenant Musashi) propped against one of the rental air cars, looking for all the world like he was asleep. Getting back to the computer screen she highlighted the part of his file that caused her to pause.
Lt. (jg.; Resv.) Kanata Musashi; Pilot first grade (A-class with all humae-form mechs). Registered Mekton; G-Rapier Mk-IV, rated at 55 tonnes. Weapon licence; free / unlimited.
Free / unlimited. Only active EDF soldiers have that kind of clearance on their mechs. Heck, even my Scimitar is only "weapons hot" after 3 different department heads give the all clear. He can just walk in and...
"Miss... much as I love looking at a pretty girl first thing in the not-morning, can we get my stuff cleared and flight plan logged, so we can get some kafe into my system?" Kanata hadn't even opened his eyes. He just impatiently raised an eyebrow and cocked his head slightly towards the security booth.
"Oh right! Sorry! Won't be a moment." Phwee! And I thought I was cranky! "Done! You're cleared to proceed. Please remember that all weapons must be safetied until you are ten kilometres away from any major residency or arcology complex, unless a state of emergency has been declared. Aside from that sir, have a nice flight and a great day!" Kaelee was bound and determined that even if her angel was more like a troll in mood, she would be as pleasant as possible, damn it!.
Kanata snatched up his kit-bag, walked over and took back his ID card, and waved over his shoulder carelessly to Kaelee. Pre-dawn mornings without a full pot of kafe were not his favourite time. He didn't mean to be rude, he just didn't have enough energy to care if he was or not.
Kaelee watched as the lieutenant walked over to the second set of blast doors that lead to the aerodrome. She was of two minds; one side thought the sleepy and slightly rude young man was too much to bother thinking about. The other could not stop looking at his rear. An ass like that, you could bounce a gold-crown off of. I seriously need to get some down time at the local club! Sighing, she went back to reading about Ejis' plan to introduce what he called 'fashion from the cockpit'.
May as well stick with the theme.
06:06 Arcadian Time.
"Now this is more like it. A man could learn to love this view." Kanata expressed his viewpoint aloud to the world at large; population (in his immediate area), zero. The first of Algols' suns were just peeking over the Eastern horizon. First was the planets' name-sake; Algol the blue giant, followed by the smaller yellow sun Minbar. In a few hours time the other two of the quaternary system would be visible. Kobol the red dwarf, and 'The Dark Companion', a so-called darkstar. The violet and salmon coloured sky contrasted beautifully with the dark green foliage of the surrounding forested hills & mountains and the aquamarine colour of the Balar river.
Kanata sat near the edge of the aerodromes' landing area, back against a cargo box, thermo-mug of kafe firmly in hand. Sip. He closed his eyes in pleasure. The day may have started out on a low-point, but when a person had kafe in hand and great view to share it with, life didn't seem so bad. Glancing to his left, Kanata looked over at the vehicles and Mektons that were waiting inside of the aerodrome hanger. From what he could see, there were mostly aerodyne 'Spinner' cars & trucks, with a couple of police force mecha.
Archipelago-war era Scimitar and Vector class Mektons made up the bulk of the A.P.F. 'heavy muscle'; old and outdated, they still could give a pirate raider or a Kregor a bloody nose. No good against Axis mechs, or deities forbid, Kargan war machines though.
No. One Axis mech' with a decent pilot would have the entire squad for breakfast. I should know...
"Gah...!" Good mood ruined, Kanata poured out the rest of his drink into the nearby rain-gutter and stood up stiffly. Even with his flightsuit on, the air was chilly and made his joints creak. Kit bag slung over shoulder and empty thermo-mug dangling from his index finger, Musashi made his way to the back of the hanger. He had his old buddy to wake up.
It's been what, five months? A year? Way too long out of action. I bet BT will creak as loud as I do...and that's with regular lube-jobs on 'im too.
In a darkened corner, marked off with yellow and black striped warning tiles sat BT. Kanata stared up at the ten meter tall humanoid war machine; grey and black the colour of its armour plating and two blue tinted 'eyes' in the helmet like head unit, gave the Rapier Mekton the look of an over sized commando at parade rest. 'Black Talon' or BT for short, was Kanatas' pride and joy. He had personally re-fitted every bolt, every circuit & system in the old machine. He had even gone as far as submitting a proposal to the Nisian Advanced Design Group CEO to bring back the Rapier class with 'most' of his upgrade concepts. Against all possible odds, the corporate share holders green-lighted the G-Rapier MK IV, based of Kanatas' plans.
Of course, Lt. Musashi made sure his version was unique. It wouldn't do if certain people knew what he had built into his personal mech. It would ruin the surprise.
Kanata popped open a small cover above the left ankle of the Rapier, and punched in his security code using the alphanumeric key pad revealed. A faint high pitched whine as the lift wire decended from under the chest plastron, Kanata grabbed hold and placed his foot in the loop provided and hit the retract button. The Mektons' chest plate open up in two pieces, the lower part becoming a small platform for him to step onto, and as he tossed his kit bag into the pilots compartment, a series of glow strips above the acceleration couch activated.
It took some doing, but Kanata managed to avoid stepping on anything vital, and after getting into his chair and locking down the crashbar and five point harness, BT's armoured doors hissed shut, leaving the pilot in the ghostly light of the glow strips.
Creepy... I forgot how much this is like being in a regen tank. Snap out of it, man! That was 7 years ago...
Unknown day & month AY 1521. 16:43 Arcadian Time
The Turbos lay on their backs, armour plates on the extremities and the chest mounted cockpits blown open. Each Mekton looked like a infantryman that had been hit by shotgun fire. In this case though, the shot-shells were probably 150mm armour-piercing flechette clusters. Kanata could even see dried blood that had seeped out of the cockpit module of Sgt. Ataris' mech.
It's a slaughter house here. Guys didn't even have a chance to radio for help. Looks like Davic might have ejected in time though. I hope.
Davic Keteral and Kanata had graduated together from the Elaran Defence Forces academy in Tandar. Top of the class and destined to be as good as the much vaunted Team Overwatch that had single handedly managed to hunt down and stop a good eighty percent of the Axis operations on and in orbit around Algol. Of course they wouldn't be in Team Overwatch; the controlling organization, the Unified Algol Alliance, had collapsed due to bureaucratic in-fighting. Overwatch, which was in deep-space pursuit of the Axis' leader, Lord Dremmond, no longer had a central command to come back to.
The fall-out of the UAA's collapse was felt in other areas too. The 'Elaran Peace Council' had managed to hamstring the EDF's budget and equipment. Thus the only new Mektons available were the Turbos; a sub-standard lightweight mech designed and built by committee. The same mech type that Devic and his unit had been piloting while on patrol in the archipelago islands.
It was obvious what had happened. As Kanata walked over to the escape pod near the destroyed Mektons, he noticed large oval shaped depressions in the loam. Pariah tread prints. Though the Axis tended to use stolen Kargan Mektons for the bulk of their terrorist cells, they had managed to design at least one original model; The Pariah. Large, heavily armed and heavily armoured, just one of the massive Axis Mektons could have wrecked the scene of carnage before Kanata.
"Hey Musashi, be careful down there!" the amplified voice of Sgt. Major Tennar Vace warned. "The smell from those poor blighters bodies could attract kick-lizards or screamers. It's perfect terrain for 'em."
While Ensign Musashi investigated the battle sight on foot, his commanding officer and fellow squad mate Ensign Venj Ancer stayed in their Turbos, keeping a hundred & twenty meters spread from Kanatas' position. He waved back and gave a thumbs up sign. It would take a lot to sneak up on him. The training his father had given him from early child hood had enhanced Kanatas' Ki; his life energy and perception. No, the only thing he sensed was the red scent of violent death, and the vibrations of small scavengers.
Even though the sensors (sub-standard as they were) on the Mektons had IR and zoom lenses on the optics, Kanata trusted his own eyes and natural senses for this kind of work. Reaching the life-pod, he carefully leaned over and looked in through the opened door. Nothing. No corpse, no wounded Davic 'sleeping' under emergency hiberzine injection. Only the survival kit and distress beacon were there, the beacons red light blinking on and off.
Smart SOB. He managed to jammy out of the battle zone. Why did he leave his kit behind though? He flunked advanced survival training, and there's deathgrass scattered over this island. He'd at least need the spore treatment applicator for that.
Kanata turned around and was about to signal an MIA to the squad, when a bolt of blue-white hellfire speared the waist of Sgt. Major Vaces' Mekton. An instant later the magnetic bottle of the Turbos' fusion power plant collapsed. The resulting blast flung Kanata face first into a mud-hole 8 meters away. Through the grey haze and ringing ears, he heard another particle beam discharge, and felt the thermal wash of Ancers' reactor beaching. The mud saved him from frying...barely.
Ambush!
An eternal minute later, Kanata had enough strength to break free of the flash-baked mud. Looking up his mind gibbered in fear. Only thirty meters away stood a blood coloured, baroque-styled Mekton; a Pariah. Standing at the feet of the metallic behemoth stood it's pilot, helmet off.
No... I must have hit my head...that can't be...
"Hey buddy, miss me?" Shouted Davic Keteral, resplendent in the glossy black armoured suit of an Axis pilot. "Sorry I singed you, but I don't think your team mates would have been open to negotiation, and probably would been upset at me for taking you aside."
Kanata forced words out of his parched mouth. "How, what... why? For Kallicars' sake, why?"
"I was made an offer I couldn't refuse." Davic grinned. Walking towards his former classmate, the blonde haired traitor kept grinning. It wasn't a pleasant smile; in it Kanata saw a death-mask.
Musashi 'saw' past the mask of his friend. The Ki radiating out of Davic made him ill. It was an almost visible miasma of madness. Something had corrupted the man before him, twisting the soul and mind into something 'bad'.
"What offer? What... what could the Axis possibly give you, make you go rogue!"
Davic tapped the side of his head, making fluttering gestures with is hand. "I heard the song you know. Through the scream, I heard music... beautiful music. The master helped me understand. I know what's coming, and I listened for his voice. He told me what to do. I found his gift after I faked an engine failure and ejected. All I had to do was take it... it looks neat doesn't it, red is so my colour. Anyways, I just gave the team a different gift. They're part of the song now too"
Kanata felt sick. His friend was mad. Something had caused his mind to snap. He felt that keeping Davic talking was best. Until he could get to his side arm and subdue the lunatic.
"So why let me live? Could have been easier if you just capped all of us when we landed."
"Kanny-boy, you're so silly sometimes..." Giggle, twitch of the mouth. "I wanted to bring you with me! The Mechs are so cool, you don't have to listen to those idiots in the Peace Council bleating all the time, and besides, we make a great team!" Davics' rictus grin seemed to grow even wider. Behind his eyes seemed to be a sincere need for Kanata, his best friend, to understand and come along. To come and play until the time 'The Master' came back with the choir.
"You're crazy Davic, you know that!" Musashi could feel the grip of his side arm. Almost had it. Just a few more inches...
The mask went from rictus grin to daemonic fury in less than a heartbeat. Raising his left hand, Davic pointed the gleaming barrel of an energy-pistol at Kanatas' chest.
Time moved in slow motion. Kanata had his 9mm pistol out, and could feel the trigger pulling back. He watched as the bolt of plasma connected with his flightsuit, felt the hot gasses sear through his skin. Then blackness surrounded him. A voice of shrieking mania followed him down into the abyss.
"Die then you idiot! And after I send your family after you, you can tell them it was you who killed them by your decision! You!"
Then there was nothing . Just the sound of many voices lifted as one. Screaming.
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Phew! Sorry for the delay, but I was hit with a wicked flu, and then secondary lung & sinus infection. The result of which was a delay in getting chapter 2 out and posted.
This chapter was a long one, but it needed to be. Don't worry about the next chapter being an angst fest ; things will start heating up, and more world info and plot hooks will ensue. It might even have a battle scene ;-)) We'll see.
To those who have read this (or will read it) please post comments, as I need feedback so I can improve as I go along. Thanks again for reading. Peace out and keep it surreal!