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Mandalorian Knights
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Prologue
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Sundari City
Mandalore
Mandalorian Freehold capital world/Federated Galactic Empire member state/
"Good morning, Galaxy!" A pretty blue haired human looking woman smiled at the camera. "I'm Amanda Lawson and this is GNN's In Tune! Today we're broadcasting live from Sundari City on Mandalore, where as you can see behind me, rebuilding efforts proceed apace one year after the end of the Clone Wars! We're on top the damaged Mandal Motors corporate HQ, one of the few buildings that emerged reasonably intact after the fighting on this world finally ended four years ago."
The camera drones zoomed in to show closely the ravaged city-scape behind and the beehive of activity taking place all over – ships, droids and workers in commercial exo-skeletons buzzed over almost every building in sight busy with rebuilding efforts. Yet, all of those paled in comparison to three dozen titanic figures striding with a purpose through wide streets long cleared of debris – the smallest of those behemoths was twenty meters tall with the tallest engineering Mobile Suit towering at thirty five meters.
"Current projections from the Freehold Reclamation Board suggest that preliminary work here in the restored capital would be done in time for the one year anniversary of the Victory Day. Many locals we interviewed during the previous few days claim that they are ready to work like demons to make Sundari safe for the coming celebrations. This year, Mandalore The Restorer and the Clan Council have proclaimed a week long celebrations over the victory in the war, a victory bought in no small part thanks to Mandalorian determination and sacrifices all over the galaxy. The purpose of this long celebrations is to honour not only everyone who sacrificed through the long conflict that not so long ago threatened us all but to allow the Imperial Family to celebrate at home before moving back to the Imperial Capitol of Coruscant for the Galaxy wide holiday on Victory Day. That's right, folks, Empress Satine Kenobi and Emperor Obi-Wan Kenobi will be leading the celebrations here in Sundari in person, right along with Mandalore the Restorer himself, General Delkatar Veil and his wife, the war hero Bo-Katan Veil, the Empress own sister! But that's not all!"
Amanda beamed and walked away from the terrace overlooking the Mandalorian capital. The camera drones followed her graceful movements until she stood in front of a low glass table covered with snacks and beverages.
"Today's special treat is an interview with the Freehold's Financial Minister and CEO of Mandal Motors, Horus Yomaget and two of the leading scientists working for him. They have a stunning announcement to make! It's good to meet you again, Minister Yomaget!"
"Horus please." The middle aged Mandalorian offered a pleasant smile. "Please take a seat, Amanda. I can call you Amanda, right?"
"Of course, Horus. Thank you for hosting us today." Amanda took a seat on one of the arm-chairs around the table and leaned forward. "You said you had something special to announce today. Shoot!"
"Well, we though about making it an official press-conference, however when we heard you're here with In Tune, we though GNN will be perfect for you. After all, you've been almost exclusively fair and honest in reporting throughout the war, not like some of your rivals in the news business."
"Oh, you make me blush Horus. We at GNN had always strived to bring the truth as we know it to the countless beings across the Galaxy." Amanda gushed.
"I'm pleased to announce that we here at Mandal Motors made an extraordinary discovery a few weeks ago. While our Research and Development department in conjunction with the Imperial Technological Bureau followed through on certain projects began under Chancellor Palpatine, our scientists managed to make a breakthrough – they created a stable breach into an alternative dimension near an inhabited world. I'm sure that the Empress and Mandalore the Restorer will be following on this announcement at noon local time, Amanda, along with many details."
"This is in a way of head's up, then Horus?" Lawson asked eagerly.
"Indeed, Amanda. The reason for this is simple, we expect a large furore among a lot of our human citizens, both here in the Freehold and across the galaxy. You see, we've made a peaceful first contact with the locals, exchanged preliminary data and what we've discovered is extraordinary. The world we contacted, called by the locals Earth Bet, is at least in their dimension, Humanity's home world, complete with all the relevant scientific proof – archaeological, palaeontological, biological. Humanity, at least in Earth Bet's reality, evolved there. What's more, we weren't the first people from another dimension they've made a contact with. As we speak, they're in contact with an alternative version of their own world called Earth Aleph..."
"Wow, that's fascinating Hours! What else can you tell us? How was this discovery made? Who were the people who made first contact?! What can you tell our viewers about Earth Bet?"
"Well, Amanda, it all began two weeks ago after our scientists managed to establish a contained and controlled dimensional breach. First we did send a few probe droids and once we had some idea of local language, customs and politics, we dispatched a scouting party made of Mandal Motors security personnel – all experienced and level headed veterans from the war..."
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Chapter 1 Part 1
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A flash of exotic particles heralded a breach forming in the wall between dimensions. Light shone briefly disgorging a two hundred meters long frigate painted black. Before the maelstrom of particles could dissipate, the starship briefly lit up its ion engines – a burst of power just long enough to set it on a vector leading to a more or less stable orbit around the Moon. At the same time the frigate's hangar bay silently slid open and a modified assault shuttle hovered out using repulsors and headed for the dark side of the Earth, which even in this day and age of heroes and monsters was still covered with spider-webs of glowing lights.
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21 December 2010
Earth Bet
"Can someone explain to me why are we here in the first place?" asked Corporal Jake. He was one of the millions clones of Jango Fett who survived the Clone Wars. For a short while he had enjoyed his retirement and peace, a hefty retirement package too, thanks to the efforts of the General and Imperial Family. Yet, just like most of his brothers, he found peace not to his taste – when all was said and done, it was not only boring but he soon found out that he had only one trade that he was both good at and enjoyed. That was how he found himself enlisting as a private security contractor working for Mandal Motors on Mandalore.
"Corporal, I'm pretty sure you were on the same briefing with the rest of us." Sergeant Mathew Horst turned his helmed towards his offending subordinate. The experienced NCO was formerly from the Mandalorian Military, which he left when the inevitable cut backs in the ground forces hit and currently served in the Mandalorian Knights, Mandal Motors security sub-division. Say what you will about Clan Yomaget and their current leader, however the CEO and serving Financial Minister was more or less honest or at least as much as someone in his position could afford to. He treated his people right too, which was more than could be said about certain parties that be better left unnamed. The last thing they needed on such a sensitive mission was an argument about some of the less… honourable Clan Leaders among their people.
"An expendable probe droid went out of contact so command is sending us to investigate. Is it just me or does this make no sense? Those things were built to be utterly expendable, right? Why are we going down there?" Jack didn't relent.
"All of you should have been briefed about those Parahumans running down there – some have incredible tech abilities. Who knows what they could get out of or do with one of our probes. Second, droids are all well and good, however unless we're talking about one of the advanced ones, they can't tell you everything." Needless to say, any and all advanced machinery stayed safe in high orbit away from that white bitch currently floating on the other side of the planet. "Second, command, in their infinite wisdom believes that when time comes for a formal first contact, it should be for the best to do it quietly and low key. As far as those people know they're alone in the universe with the exception of alternatives of their own planet. No one wants to see what a first contact situation gone out of control looks like. Especially if it is true and this is really a version of our species home world from the distant past."
"Long winded as always, eh, sarge?" The second Corporal in the shuttle, Ginna Quale, chuckled. She has served with Horst before – three months since her new contract with the Knights and before that, during the savage fighting in Sundari and later, during the last battle for the Planetary Shield Generator Complex, which was pure hell.
"We're Mandalorians, not common rabble. I don't need to use small words." Mathew almost sounded offended at the joke. "If we have to make contact with the locals, we should do our best to make sure it is peaceful. We do have most notable Earth languages loaded into our armours and data pads. Do not fire unless fired upon, this bears repeating. I mean you, Jake."
"It was that one time!" The Corporal protested.
"You shot a friendly Adept in the back." Gina chortled.
"Tried to anyway. Mandalore's Apprentice no less. Did you see what that woman did at Sundari before we were forced to abandon the city?" Horst shook his head. "You're lucky to be alive, kid. That's one of the reasons you're on this mission. You're damn lucky."
"Thanks, I think..."
"Be advised, we're entering the atmosphere. Stealth systems are nominal. We should be invisible to anything the locals have cooked up by themselves. However, if they have any of those tinker was it sensors, then we might be hosed the moment we hit atmo. Hold on and make sure all of you are strapped down tightly – I don't want complains about tin-cans bouncing around my cargo compartment." The pilot delivered her speech in a dry voice.
A barely felt shudder was all that the soldiers felt when the assault shuttle entered Earth's atmosphere on repulsors going just slow enough for its stealth systems to keep it invisible for everything but the naked eye – something that would soon be fixed as well due to powerful stealth fields.
If anyone detected them on the way down, they made on obvious move to counter the insertion – no one scrambled fighters, no additional sensors lit up to either search or lock on them, that the pilots could detect anyway, no hails came their way. This meant one of two things – they either went undetected or the locals knew they were coming and were busy preparing a hot welcoming party for them.
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21 December 2010
Boat Graveyard
Brockton Bay
Earth Bet
Three horse sized spiky beasts raced through the bay's freezing mists. Late December in Brockton Bay was chilly on the best of days and while this year there wasn't much of rain or snow, so far anyway, the mists rolling from the ocean more than made for it. While the monsters vaguely resembling mutated dinosaurs who Blasto or someone of his ilk had the brilliant idea to cross with large mastiffs didn't appear to feel the chill in the night air, the same couldn't be said for the three people riding them. The two teenage girls and a large male shuddered from the bone seeping cold. Only one of them had an outfit more or less appropriate for the time and place of night – it was the tall, broad shouldered boy who wore leather pants, jacked and a motorcycle helmet with a skull painted on its front. Incidentally, he was the one of who bitched the most about the cold.
"Tattletale," Grue growled. "What the hell are we doing out here in this weather?! Do you think we can find anything unless we run it over?!" He added after Brutus, the mutant dog he rode suddenly jumped over something only he could see. Grue certainly didn't notice any obstruction even as they vaulted over it with him holding for dear life, which said a lot about the damn mist, didn't it?
"Pneumonia." The smallest of the three and worst clothed for a night out this late in the winter hissed through chattering teeth. She had a form fitting purple bodysuit, which in her opinion fit her like a glove, something she currently regretted. The fut coat she had helped herself to yesterday did little to keep her from freezing her bony ass among other things. "The boss wanted us to some fact finding. That drone Uber and Leet accidented might meant we have a new tinker playing around. We can use one on the team, you know that."
"Are we done? My dogs might catch cold." Rachel grumbled. She really didn't care much about their mission, which for once put her in complete agreement with the rest of the her new team. If she felt cold herself, she didn't show any trace of it besides her voice being more clipped and grumpy than usual.
"We aren't doing anything useful out here, Tattletale. Unless you can figure something in the lest minute we're going something warm." Grue made a command decision. He was supposed to be the leader of the damn team after all, not that Bitch cared much about any of that. She really didn't care much at all about anything but her dogs and the team was a means to provide them with better care.
Tattletale on the other hand, Grue honestly couldn't make his mind about the blond lithe thinker. She was cute enough he guessed and he was already half convinced she might be more trouble than she was worth it. Her irritating need to be the smartest person in the room and make everyone painfully aware of it certainly didn't help matters though that at least was something he could work with or at least endure. Now, bringing the team out, the team he was supposed to be the leader of and responsible for out here in the mist on a half-backed scheme to find out a tinker, one who might very well not want to be found, that was something else. Their mysterious boss, the one who set up the team in the first place and used Lisa as a point of contact and a way to suggest missions, well that was something he hadn't been comfortable with since day one, though beggars can't be choosers he guessed. He needed what their boss promised after all. They all did.
Tattletale looked around with narrowed eyes and scrunched forehead. "You might be right. We probably should get back..."
"If we can find our way out of the mist." Grue pointed out in a dry voice."
"I'm sure we'll manage..." Tattletale perked up just as the dogs ground to the halt and their ears pointed forward. At the same moment, a woman's scream carried through-out the mist covered boat graveyard echoing through the abandoned hulks.
"God damn it!" Grue hissed.
"Not our problem..." Rachel didn't sound entirely convinced. Her dogs leaned forward and growled at the direction they thought the scream came.
"This might be our tinker, just saying." Tattletale muttered.
It wasn't their problem. They weren't bloody heroes damn it, Grue told himself.
"Shut the fuck up, bitch!" Someone shouted from the fog. "Hank, get her!"
On the other hand, he could just imagine this being his little sister. Or one of his two teammates. God damn it! "Tattletale's right. This might be our tinker out to find her drone." They were villains, all right. They just had a reason to check what was up, right? Yet, Grue couldn't help but hear that nagging voice telling him that this wasn't their business. They didn't need the trouble or the heat if they ended up tangling with either the ABB or more likely the Merchants. Their team wasn't complete yet and they weren't experienced enough working together to risk it at this stage.
The three teenage villains stood on their dogs still arguing what to do when three weird sounds echoed from the vague direction the screams and shouts came from.
"That sounded like ray-guns or something." Tattletale grinned like a fox who just found the chicken coop wide open. "I bet this is our thinker – either the woman we heard or they decided to help her. Let's go check on them!"