Chapter XIV, by Kat Wylder


Scimitar Temp. HQ,
Irian, Free World League,
April 16, 3068

Aari yawned drearily and slumped down in one of the rather uncomfortable chairs in the break room. He yawned again as he rubbed some more of the sleep from his eyes and stared down into his coffee mug.

"Hello, morning…" he muttered and took a swig of the bitter drink. "Blech."

"Want some cream with that?" asked Jameson, as he walked in and began filling his own mug.

"Nah. If it tasted good, it wouldn't wake me up." He rested his chin on his fist and looked up at the clock. It read precisely two minutes to five, local time. Duty called, as well as his pay-check, but that didn't mean he was happy to be up so early. Oh-dark-hundred was not an hour he liked to visit, and especially not after pulling an all-nighter.

He took another sip of his coffee, wrinkled his nose again, and looked up at Jameson. "You know what my favorite part of this job is?"

"Blowing up all kinds of crap?" asked the deep-voiced man with an equally deep chuckle.

Aari shook his head. "The jumps. 'Cause I can spend all day sleeping and playing canasta."

Jameson took a seat opposite from Aari and rocked back a little. "Things have been rough on all of us lately. Maybe we should schedule some shore leave after this deal is over. Of course, I suppose I'm speaking a little selfishly, too," he added with a wry, bass chuckle. "I've been itching to swing by Solaris some time and watch some of the new talent."

"I hear ya," Aari agreed with a grin and a nod. "Well, we've just got another day to go. This one of the shortest defense contract I've ever run. I guess the Mariks just got spooked--"

Suddenly, there was a loud, persistent beeping. Aari swiped his sidearm from the table, spilling his coffee in the process and darted out the door. Jameson followed closely with his laser pistol drawn.

"Sirs!" gasped one of the truck drivers as he skidded into the hall in front of them. He was panting hard and had a bloody hand clapped over his forehead. "Someone just ambushed the convoy!"

"What?!"

The trucker nodded and motioned them to follow. "A man and a woman jumped me when we pulled up to the HQ. They took out Peterson and took his laser pistol-- the woman got mine, too. I don't know where they went."

Jameson swore softly. "Bet I do."

"The MechBay!" Aari quickly found the nearest comm box and punched it. "Everyone! Red alert! Get to your 'Mechs! We've got two intruders in the hangar, and they are armed!" With that, he dashed down the hall. Jameson was already a good distance ahead of him. "They probably took the biggest 'Mechs in there, which means you're gonna be short your Mauler, and my Marauder is probably next on the list."

"Wait, what about the prisoners?" Jameson gasped. "Bloody… I'm going back."

Aari gave him a quick nod and pressed himself up beside the door as his friend turned and sprinted off. He quickly readied himself, then opened the door slowly and poked the muzzle of his gun through the crack.

A burst of laser fire nearly skinned his nose, accompanied by what was most probably a threat. With the door between them and the hangar walls reflecting the sound strangely, he could hardly make out the words, but did manage to determine that the speaker was male. That wasn't much help, but he answered anyway.

"Put down your weapon! We've got you cornered!" he yelled. "The tanks'll chew you up outside, and by the time you get past them, you'll be looking down the barrel of every 'Mech in here. No matter which one you take, you can't beat all of us!"

There was more angry, incoherent yelling, and another burst of laser as Aari nudged the door. He drew back quickly.

"Don't be stupid! We've got you outnumbered! Just surrender! We're not gonna hurt you if we don't have to."

This time, his only reply was the sound of a reactor flaming to life. Aari cursed and moved away from the door, just as the song of a laser clipped the air and a large chunk of the hangar floor impacted the wall. Another laser discharged, and there was a sound of groaning metal.

"That… would be the door," he groaned.

He was almost knocked to the floor as the 'Mech thundered out the do-it-yourself door and disappeared into the faint dawn.

Satisfied he would be neither crushed nor shot, Aari bolted through the door into the hangar and took a quick inventory. Surprisingly, the missing 'Mech was not a big, thundering lug like the Mauler, but the refitted Locust.

Aari raced over to one of the Chimeras as clambered up into the cockpit. It was the lightest, fastest thing in the hangar, and his only hope of catching up to the thief.

"HQ, this is Colonel Aari in Chimera 2," he said, as he hit the comm. "Some punk made off with the Locust. I'm going to have a hard time catching up to him, so I want a Nagereboshi to track him." He pushed the throttle to maximum and chased after the receding silhouette of the scout 'Mech. It was much faster than any 'Mech the Scimitars had, and it also had a head start.

"Aari, this is Jameson! We've got a big problem!" he exclaimed. "Someone shot both our guards and freed the prisoners."

"Lock down the hangar and alert the IBMU! I'm willing to bet this is part of the same group we smoked earlier, and they're probably angry."