This Week’s Creature Feature
Diamond Fury
Rim Mining
Facility
Planet 4
System
18130321001
Periphery
31 March,
3060
Two ConstructionMechs pulled another
ferrocrete slab upright. Workers in bright orange environment suits rushed to
secure it to the incomplete wall at the top and base.
Casey watched
their progress behind his stationary Griffin
on the compressed panoramic monitor. Their efficiency was remarkable, considering
a band of dangerous, hostile locals threatened to attack at any minute. Every
non-combatant should have been buttoned up inside the network of five hardened
domes poking out of the barren rock like smooth gray stones.
However, Casey was aware of their
deadline. The hostiles appeared regularly. Halting operations to hide each time
would be disastrous for the bottom line. The wall wouldn't be three-quarters
finished and the diamond mine's output wouldn't justify the material losses.
At least, that had been what he was
told. The violence of the locals presented in the briefing was backed up by the
damage he saw upon arriving. At the drop port, the mangled wreck of a Commando
was dragged aboard an outbound ship. The mauled wreck of a conveyor was still
in an incomplete stage of salvage. With those indicators, five MechWarriors
might not be enough.
In the months after Casey and the
others replaced the last security force, no attacks came. It became an easy
baby-sitting job. No appearances from the locals made Casey question
everything, and he couldn't justify the expenditures behind something like a
huge wall.
Until today.
Motion alarms suddenly demanded
immediate attention with insistent beeping. Tearing his eyes away from the
construction team, he looked straight to the radar. Four blips hovered at the
edge of his sensors. One had moved closer and the others were slowly following.
After a few seconds, they stopped.
He watched them a while longer.
They didn't move again.
He relaxed. When he reset the
alarms, he noticed a light flashing. Curious, yet dreading bad news, Casey
activated the private comm channel.
"What is it Al?”
“Did you feel that?” Alius Cad'ver
asked.
"What?"
"The tremor. About the same
time that one of them moved, seismic also picked up a large spike. There are
still minor traces radiating from the epicenter, and if the readings are right,
it's close."
Casey didn’t know whether to laugh
or groan. Judging from Al's voice, his friend was serious. He rolled his eyes,
suppressing a sigh.
"Could it have been the ones
that moved?" Casey asked, trying to sound casual.
"No. Too big for one of
them."
"Then it's probably the mine
itself." Casey paused, looking back past the wall to a mining pit. The new
conveyor stuck out, hanging over the smallest dome.
“Do you think the mining is having
an adverse effect on the topography? Maybe making the ground unstable?”
"Al. This is a mining colony.
With the drilling and blasting, there are tremors all the time.”
"Nope. Not the mine. The tremor
came from out there. If the Daemon's right, it would have originated at
that... Wait. Am I seeing things or was that hill there the other day?"
"Where?” Casey asked, his voice
deadpan.
"Two-two-four from my
position," Al answered. “It’d be two-two-three from where you are.”
Finding the heading marker, Casey
scanned the giant panoramic view offered by the canopies on his Griffin's
bubble-like head. Out over the barren brown landscape, it was like looking
through very thin, light fog under a thunderstorm back home, except with shades
of brown instead of gray. Things were clear up close and for nearly a click
out. Details then got hazy, turning into nothing more than dark silhouettes
which were eventually blocked from sight. From orbit, the whole planet looked
overcast.
At the edge of visibility, between
two low hills, he barely saw the silhouette of a third hump well beyond.
"Huh," Casey mumbled,
pulling up a topographical map on a secondary monitor. With some humor, he
added, "Maybe it’s a clear day."
It was just a hill. He marked the
map and sent a copy.
There was a pause from Al's end
before he replied, "Huh. I don’t know.” He continued after a moment.
Looking left, out of his cockpit, he
spotted Al's navy blue Warhammer beyond Darran Grimn's Awesome
and Jenn Raineer's Crusader. Judging from the angle of the hunched,
hooded cockpit, Al kept an eye on the mysterious mound. Casey knew he had to
get his friend's attention off of phantoms and back on the closer, real threat.
"Look,”
he said, looking toward the phantom hill. “It's probably nothing, so don't
worry about it. We were told that this world is geologically active. Quakes are
par for the course."
"But a whole new hill?" Al asked.
Casey deflated. He didn't know what
to say. Then he thought of something.
"HQ," he said, switching
frequencies. "We are reading seismic activity one point two three
kilometers to the west northwest."
"Roger that, Pikeman Three. We
see it too."
"Anything we should be
concerned about?"
"Do not be alarmed, Pikeman
Three. That region has been shaking since we got here and presumably
before."
“Hear that, Al?” Casey asked.
“Nothing to worry about.”
"No.
The ranges just don't add up. I’m gonna go ahead and mark the area as a
potential hazard zone. Considering how much you and I spent on our machines,
and the fact that Darran and Jenn just got theirs, I don't think anyone would
enjoy wandering out there and crawling back with a broken leg or
something."
Under
the bulk of his helmet, Casey still managed to shake his head. Still, Al was right, and he knew it. Maybe
the younger warrior was on to something. Casey hoped it was just nothing.
About to cede the point, he looked up to see
the line closed. After a moment's consideration, Casey decided that was all
that needed to be said. Concern resolved, he glanced at the sensors.
Still no movement from the
locals.
He tried to focus, letting the
relative quiet envelope him. He stared at the workers, focusing on whichever
company patch happened to be in view while they worked. He stared, burning the
logo into his memory, like he had been doing for the last week.
Rim Mining Company. He knew that
symbol. Casey had seen it, somewhere, a long time ago. It had been taunting him
ever since he arrived on this brown rock. He knew who owned that company. It meant he was close to home, close to the
Commonwealth. For as long as he had been away, he felt a little homesick.
A new sensor signature appeared on
the scope. Behind Casey, it was well beyond the facility domes and out of
sight. Immediately tagged with a friendly IFF, their scout was returning. Soon,
they would know whether more hostiles were in the area. The mercs could then
chase them away, keep the fighting away from the miners.
Preventative medicine.
Jerry’s orange and tan Wasp
ran around the biggest of the five domes. The lithe humanoid machine continued
past the large mining pit and under the conveyor, then skirted around the
unfinished section of wall. The work
team paused while it jogged by. One miner waved.
"So, Jerry," Darran asked
in his typical outback drawl. "Any more?"
"No," Jerry's deep nasal
voice replied. "That's the only small pocket in range."
"Excellent. 'Bout time we got
this party-"
"Uh. Guys!" Al
interrupted. "I'm catching Doppler from one of our bogies."
As if cued, the motion sensors
started to beep and flash. Casey flicked the system to a less invasive setting.
Looking to the northwest, he didn't see anything, the enemy still hidden. His
sensors, however, revealed what Al was talking about. One of the red dots
moved. A bit slow, the enemy was surely coming. After a few minutes of weaving
and meandering, stopping and going, it reached the crest of a hill. A large figure
loomed up, its form masked by the murk. It stopped and didn't move.
Then, one by one, the other red dots
moved. Quicker than this one, they weren't taking their time. Soon three more
shapes crested the ridge. They didn't pause. Like a wave, they surged over the
hill, running. The first one followed.
Finally, the radio came alive.
"Here they come," Jenn
said, her Crucis lilt a tone of command. "Form up, boys. We have work to
do!"
"Warning," Darran said
steadily over Jenn's orders. "All miners to the facility at once! We have
bogeys inbound. I repeat..."
"Al," Jenn ordered,
"you cover the left! Casey, head right! Darran and I will hold here.
Jerry?" She paused. With a touch of sympathy she added, "Don't get
hurt." She resumed her normal commanding tone. "Whatever happens,
don't let them through!"
The Mercenaries moved into position.
Closer now, the forms took shape.
Their featherless, bird-like bodies were starting to solidify as they closed
through the murk. Plates and scales gained more detail.
Two of Darran's particle beams
lanced out from Casey's left. Both nailed one square in the chest, dropping it
to the ground. It didn't move.
This was going to be easier than
expected.
A real turkey shoot.
Casey smiled openly at his little
joke.
In spite of the way his gut twisted
with apprehension, Casey knew it was hardly a fair fight. There were only four
'Mech-sized bogeys, and the heaviest didn't quite top out at forty tons. Compared
with the rides the mercenaries were in, Casey almost fancied himself as one of
the leading rolls in a low-budget holo-movie ripping off Journey to Hunter's
Paradise; a movie Al claimed was a modern take on an old Terran-centric
classic by some long-dead Terran author.
No matter the version, the way
events were unfolding, the plot would be full of holes and incomplete dialog.
The battles would be one-sided with the enemy practically walking into weapons
fire to be mowed down. Finally, sadly, the graphics would not be flashy enough
to be considered realistic by the average movie-goer. With that reasoning,
Casey gave up on the thought of stardom.
Although not a box-office smash, the
battle ROMs would still be entertaining.
It was unfair for the giant lizards,
but Casey would have it no other way. Lowering his targeting reticule over the
one closest to him, he triggered a solution for his Griffin's ER PPC. A moment's
hesitation and the beam fired. For a couple heartbeats his target and the right
arm gun's muzzle joined with a string of bright blue.
The creature didn't go down.
Confused, Casey frowned.
Okay, maybe not as easy as he
thought.
"Don't let them get too
close," the center's manager said over the radio. "These critters
have a taste for our metal. They completely devoured two of our machines and
the last bunch that tried to take 'em out ended up having to total one of their
’Mechs. It was that mauled up."
Casey could see why. The lizards
were as big as the average BattleMech. Under a quick zoom, their plated hides
looked caked, like they had taken a mud bath in the very diamonds this facility
was mining. In fact, a pair of them had crystalline protuberances from the back
of their necks.
"Damn," Jenn cursed.
"I can't get a good lock on them!"
Casey glanced left just in time to
see clouds of explosions buffet another lizard. It just paused, shook itself
like a wet dog, and kept coming. Even further away, Al wasn't faring any
better. One particle beam from his Warhammer even missed. Not for
the lack of targeting, but just how the creature moved.
They were very nimble for their
size, naturally ducking and weaving, and they were closing way too fast. The
one under his cross-hairs was on all fours, leaping up and down slopes that his
Griffin
or a ’Mech of any speed would have to trudge over. At eighty kilometers an
hour, the dino would be on top of him in less than thirty seconds.
The particle cannon was almost
recharged. Time was wasting. He quickly toggled another solution, throwing in
his missiles. The lizards had tough hides, but if Darran's shot was any
indication, they couldn't take a hit that got under the skin.
"Yeahah," Darran whooped
after dropping a second one.
Even Al managed to tag his, albeit
on the arm. The lizard stumbled and cried out in pain.
This is going to be way too easy,
Casey mused.
While turning back to the one coming
straight at him, he blinked.
He didn't feel a quake. However, in
the distance, a hill was shaking. While he watched the hill rise into the air,
a brief thought flitted through Casey's brain that it was the one Al labeled a
‘potential hazard zone’. Faster than it should have, the hill stood up on a
pair of enormous legs, and lifted up a long wavy tail. It raised a head, and
lifted two slender, long arms from its sides. Two glowing blue eyes opened up
and glared in Al's general direction.
In less than two seconds, the hill
stood up and took form.
Then it roared.
That was when the world
trembled. A part of Casey noted that it was the shear volume of the sound that
rattled his 'Mech. When the monster thumped the ground irritably with its tail,
his heart skipped a beat. Then he felt it skip again when the massive lizard
took a step, lifting and setting down feet with long, partly webbed toes and
round crescent claws. It glared at all of the mercs with hideous, glowing eyes.
Like the one Casey fired on, it had large crystalline growths sticking out the
back of its neck. They seemed to shimmer the same color blue as that in the
stare which froze his soul.
"Oh my god," was the first
thing anyone said.
"What is that?" Jenn
muttered. Louder she added. "HQ, what the hell is that thing! Why wasn't
it in any of our briefings?"
"I-I don't know," the
manager stammered. " I - we've never seen anything like it before!"
There was another long pause. Nobody
said anything for long seconds while the giant in front of them started to walk
their way.
"Base," Jenn said with an
eerie calm. "You have to evacuate the facility. There's no way we can keep
you safe if you stay."
She was right. It was humongous,
standing nearly as tall as a Union dropship. It moved with a fluid grace
that was uncharacteristic for something that large. Hills that would block a
four story ’Mech from sight were nothing more than soft rises which it stepped
over easily. The long, mammoth tail whipped and jerked over dozens of meters
helping keep the large beast upright on its two, skyscraper pillars for hind
legs.
"What about you guys?" the
manager stammered, worry saturating his voice.
"We'll hold it off as long as
we can. Don't worry about us! Hurry up and get out of here!"
She didn't say it, but Casey was
sure she was thinking the same thing he was. He had only been this afraid twice
in his life, maybe three. The first was looking up at a live BattleMech from
the ground. He never expected to feel that kind of fear in his cockpit, this
high up from the ground and closed off from the world. But he was. Deep down,
he knew that, run or fight, they were very much dead.
And then a giant, crystalline,
lizard face loomed up in front of his cockpit, just meters away.
Casey practically jumped in his
command couch. He recognized it as the one he had shot at a moment before.
Slashing out with both forelegs, the lizard cleaved a large dent in his ’Mech’s
left breast, scraping away paint with one of its jagged set of claws. The
second missed wide when his Griffin
acted on his instinctive impulse to step back. Two bats of an eye. That was how
quick the lizard moved before it reared and lunged, mouth open wide to take a
large bite. Casey got a good view of row upon jagged row, at least six top or
bottom, of sharp, uneven, crystalline teeth. Deep down, some part of him
appreciated how the back couple rows were not as sharp, more for grinding.
Immediately, he brought up the Griffin's left arm,
giving it something to chomp down on.
He tried spearing it between the
eyes with the small laser below his cockpit and even a point blank shot with
the PPC. However, the way it jerked at the arm, trying to tear it off, made
both shots miss wide. Finally he wrenched the arm free, leaving large furrows
of misshapen metal and large gashes of missing paint.
Repositioning himself, Casey
activated a kick, and was surprised by the immediate result. He barely heard
the snap of the creature's bone.
It stumbled back and cried out in
pain. The larger one, only a half kilometer distant now, cried out
sympathetically. The injured micro-lizard - Casey frowned at that irony - took
off at a three legged run. He took a parting shot, nailing and flaying flesh
from the tail as it ran. Dropping down,
it disappeared behind a hill. He didn't see it go over the next one.
"Big one must be the
mother," Al said, sounding amused.
Casey rolled his eyes. What a
time to be making cracks!
With his immediate threat out of the
way, Casey took in his surroundings. The 'baby' Al had injured was also making
a hasty retreat, keeping low while Al lobbed a couple of shots at it. On the
other side of Jenn's LRM contrails, Darran walked his Awesome out to
meet the oncoming monster. Jerry's Wasp contorted in ways normally
impossible for a mech. It turned into a jet with legs and arms, launching into
the air on thick plumes of vapor.
"What about the miners! They'll
know about the LAM," Casey blurted.
A silent corner of his mind pointed
out with bitter amusement that Casey had opted to pronounce LAM as Al did,
calling it a 'lamb'. Quicker than pronouncing each letter like Javi.
Thankfully, nobody commented on it.
"Forget the secret," Jerry
said, instead. "We need every advantage we can get!"
"Actually, that's good,"
Jenn said. "Keep airborne and it can't touch you. But, if you keep close
enough, you might be able to distract it and keep it off us."
"You got it."
Casey saw the flash of Jenn's LRMs
exploding in the distance. That was usually enough to make any ’Mech stumble.
Momma lizard just kept on coming like nothing happened. Jerry was already
flying around the creature's head. For a moment, his LAM looked like a small
bird harassing a person. The AirMech took a shot with the arm mounted laser and
the SRM twin rack from under the nose. The shots didn't seem to have any effect
on Mamma's big hide, but it did get her attention.
She turned to face the LAM and
opened her mouth to roar. Casey didn't feel the world-shaking noise from
before. Instead, the crystals on the creature's neck glowed blue, arcing
electrical energy. Then a blue beam streaked from between its jaws, slicing at
the air as it followed, but never quite reached, Jerry's AirMech.
"Holy shit! It can shoot
back," Jerry shouted.
"Try to keep on it," Jenn
ordered.
"Are you kidding? You know that
my ride's irreplaceable, right?"
"Just do it! If you keep
moving, it shouldn't be able to hurt you."
Casey could almost hear Nguyen's
grinding teeth. He answered with a disgusted sigh.
Jerry kept hovering around the monster,
taking another ineffective shot while Jenn, Al, and Darran hammered on it.
Watching the action unfold, Casey wondered if he really was in a bad movie.
Maybe he was dreaming? It felt all too real. Instead of pinching himself to
make sure, he leveled his cross hairs over the thing's chest and pulled the
triggers. Dream or no, no reason to not to fight back. Heartbeats later, the
smoke from his LRMs clouded the view from his canopy while the beam from the
particle cannon burned bright in the haze.
There was no wire frame for this, no
way to indicate damage. The only thing metrics gave him was that the monster
was forty meters tall. Okay, she wasn't quite as tall as a Union, but she was massive. So when
the smoke cleared Casey took a good long look to see if anything was working.
Some shots were punching through
Mamma's hide. He could see giant sores where the particle beams and missiles
had broken her crusted skin. However, they were all over the place, and didn't
slow her down. For all of her slender forty meters, there was just too much of
her. In fact, the solid hits had an unexpected effect. They changed her
priority. She immediately turned from the hovering Jerry and looked straight to
Darran, the next closest, and started tromping straight toward him.
Skidding to a halt, Darran started
backing his Awesome away.
"Come on, Jerry! Catch its
attention," Darran shouted.
"I'm trying," Jerry whined
in reply.
Jerry's AirMech swooped down right
in front of her face, and he let off another laser burst. She just blinked,
flicking a fore paw at him. He swerved, avoiding the hit. Pushing on past, she
speared Darran's ’Mech with her blue beam.
"Whoa, whoa," Jerry cried.
"That was way too close! I'm not doing that again!"
"Jerry," Casey said, with
resignation. "Your shots are ineffective. Why don't you go finish off the
runts?"
"Bad idea! Bad idea,"
Darran cried in protest.
"No! Great idea," Jenn
said. "Damn snitch baby got her attention! Get one of them to cry out and
she'll come after you."
"Alright! I'm on it,"
Jerry said with relief. His ’Mech did a tight turn and swooped down toward one
of the hills.
“No, Jerry,” Darran cried. “Get back
here and get this thing off me!”
“Wait. Who died and put you in
charge?” Jenn snapped. “I thought the vote was clear.”
“That's right,” Al said, calmly.
"It was four to one."
“Right,” Casey added. "Jenn's
the most qualified."
"Age has nothing to do with
experience!" Darran shouted, his voice strained, and full of static when
his Awesome took a shot in the chest from the giant lizard's breath.
"We don't have time for
this!" Casey shouted back. "Look! We didn’t have to vote. As
contracted members under Damien’s employ, Al and I can pull rank. We agreed
with the vote to defer to the Legion’s experience. Jerry! Do as Jenn tells
you!"
"Uh..." Jerry said,
sounding unsure through the static of weapons fire.
"Do it Jerry," Jenn said,
calm.
"Right."
Darran only growled in protest.
"Aim for some weak spots,"
Al said.
"Like, where?” Casey asked
incredulously.
"Like the head or neck.
Everywhere else she has a lot of muscle. It'd take forever to cut through
that."
"You mean, like this?"
Darran asked.
Before Casey's next load of missiles
fired, he saw two bright blue beams lance up from Darran's Awesome,
connecting with momma lizard's face and neck. One of the crystals puffed vapor
from the hit. Mamma's eyes glowed bright as she glared down at Darran. She
sputtered and coughed once, then opened her mouth and shot a blue beam right at
the tan assault ’Mech. The beam wasn't as bright this time.
Al was on to something.
From his vantage point, Casey
couldn't see the damage Darran's machine was taking. But that was probably
minor compared to when mama lifted a foot, leaned in and brought it down on the
Awesome.
The view fogged when Casey's LRMs
launched. Still he watched on the three-sixty monitor when Darran stumbled
back. It was a testament to the older pilot's skill that he managed to avoid
being crushed entirely. In fact only the ends of the claws raked down the
front. Still, it was a hard hit, making the Awesome stagger when the
foot hit the ground. Sensors painted heavy damage all over its chest. Not
enough for breaches yet, a couple more hits like that and Darran would be in
trouble.
After another targeting solution,
this time up towards the creature's head, Casey could only watch. Darran tried
to back away, taking a pair of wild shots.
Meanwhile, first Al's Warhammer, and then Jenn's Crusader,
fired into the monster with their heaviest weapons.
Jenn's missiles weren't doing any
good, simply peppering mama lizard's skin. Every time they flashed, she simply
ignored them. Now that Casey thought about it, his weren't doing much better.
Too late to cancel that fire
order, he thought. But, then, what did it matter? Maybe it was doing some
good. What was some extra ammo if he was dead? This was do or die!
Once again, smoke clouded out in
front of his Griffin
and twenty rockets flew up to sparkle harmlessly off momma lizard, followed
shortly by the flash of his particle cannon.
Darran, through sensors or visual
inspection, wasn't in good shape. This time, his ’Mech stumbled and fell from
the savage stomping slash that he received. He was quickly on his feet, and
hurrying with best speed away from the creature, but his slow Awesome
wasn't covering much ground. It didn't take mama lizard but a step or two to
practically be on top of him once again.
"God damn you! You God-damned
creature," Darran snarled. "I just got this ’Mech! I won't let you, or
anyone else, take it away from me!"
"Got one," Jerry cried.
True to his word, Casey heard a
baby's plaintive cry. But, mama either didn't notice or didn't care. Her eyes
were on Darran. Everyone fired again when they could. Even though she was
practically scoured with brown, bleeding scars, the damage didn't slow her.
Mama was on a rampage. Mere cuts and
bruises weren't going to stop her. Again she lashed out at Darran, and again
his ’Mech toppled to the ground.
"Stay down," Al shouted.
"What?" Darran shouted
incredulously.
"Don't move!"
"Yeah! Play dead," Jenn
added. "Maybe it'll leave you alone."
"Yeah. Or, it could eat
me!"
"That won't happen," Al
said.
"But...!"
"Stay down," Jenn and Al
shouted at once.
Casey watched in amazement. When Darran
failed to move, mama watched the downed Awesome a second, snorted, and
then turned to Al when he punched into her with his particle cannons. She
stepped over Darran's downed ’Mech to deal with the new threat.
"Jerry," Jenn cried.
"Try it again!"
"I'm trying, but this little
bugger won't sit still!"
"Hurry up," Al sang.
Al backed his Warhammer away
from the looming giant lizard, still keeping her in his sights. Suddenly,
Darran pushed his ’Mech to its feet, cursing in the process. Just before his
damaged machine turned away, Casey saw some really deep scars up and down the
’Mech's chest. There was one really deep rent, and Casey winced at the coolant
bleeding through.
"Trash up my ’Mech, will
you," Darran all but shouted. "I'll show you, you damn monster!"
Three azure beams seared the sky for
a brief second, angling up, and connecting across mama lizard's jaw, neck and
head. Casey saw brown ichor fly from its adam's apple. Then his own firing
solution triggered, and his vision clouded. Through the smoke, he could barely
make out the giant creature's silhouette as it slowed down, standing in place.
Then she started to topple. Faster and faster, mama fell toward the ground.
Casey had a brief flash of insight
regarding how the ground reacted to something that heavy falling.
He barely had time to grab the
piloting stick before his command couch dropped out from under him. Practically
tossed from his seat, he had no leverage and felt his ’Mech slip hard to the
left. Quickly hunching up, he grabbed his harness while his Griffin landed hard on its shoulder,
and he bounced around in his cockpit some more.
Not taking the time to nurse the
sharp pain in his side, he quickly grabbed the piloting stick and worked his
’Mech into standing. The dust from mama's fall still filled the air. Bringing
up thermals, he saw the creature's prostrate form. She was moving but not
making any signs to get up.
"Is... is that it?" Jerry
asked.
"I don't know," Al said.
"She's still moving, so I wouldn't get too close."
"Hahaaah! You bet it is,"
Darran said. "See that? She's choking on her own blood. She's as good as
dead."
"Guess we should put her out of
her misery, then."
"No! Let her bleed out. She
deserves it," Darran said. The venom in his voice almost oozed from
Casey's earphones.
"No she doesn't,” Al said
softly. “She was just doing what all mothers do."
Casey watched Al line up his
particle cannons on the beast's head and fire. Two shots and she quit moving.
Nobody else on the ground stirred. The whole world seemed to stand still for
seconds, then minutes.
"We did it," Casey said,
breaking the silence. "We actually fought this monster and came out alive.
Someone pinch me, because I swear this is a dream."
"I know," Jenn said.
"I thought we were dead for sure."
"Maybe we are," Jerry
whispered.
They sat in silence for a few
minutes longer.
"Well, I guess we should go
finish off the little'uns," Darran said at last. "God knows we don't
want any more like her running around in a few years."
* * *
"Guys. Guys! Guys," Casey
shouted, brimming with excitement.
A large, circular ferrocrete dome
was a repair and service bay for off-duty UtilityMechs. As part of that work
force, the mercenaries housed their machines here. Three of the five
MechWarriors were dismounted, and Casey hustled to catch up with his teammates.
Al was already waiting. Darran,
however, turned from a visual inspection of his mauled Awesome. The
one-eyed glare guaranteed no promise of positive reception for any suggestion
Casey might have. Darran's anger didn't dampen Casey's enthusiasm. In fact, his idea might ease the veteran
warrior's mind.
The lizards weren't the only threat
provisioned for in the contract, however they were the only real threat the
mercs could hope to face. Creatures didn't offer much in the way of salvage,
but they still had something to offer. One of the perks of being part of
Damien's mercenaries was the personal salvage clause each employee had.
"I have an idea," Casey
said, halting when all three were close enough to huddle. "Y'know, that's
a lot of meat out there. It would be a shame to let it all go to waste."
Darran's one good eye started to
twinkle. As the older man considered the possibilities, the dark cloud from his
sour mood evaporated. He glanced up to his Awesome's tattered hide with
renewed interest.
"I've already given it plenty
of thought," Casey continued. He was so excited that it showed in his
emphasized gesturing. "And, I'm sure the contract will allow for it under
the salvage clause. Considering you killed it, Darran, you'd get the largest
share. Of course, we'd have to test and make sure it's edible first."
Al added, "Even if it can't be
eaten, as a unique form of life, I'm sure it could be sold somewhere for
research."
Darran nodded slowly.
A sure sign he agreed. The salvage
was almost a reality. Only one thing remained.
"I'm sorry. I can't let you do
that," a familiar voice rang through the bay.
All three pilots turned to see the
site manager walking casually toward them. He kept a healthy distance while
listening to their immediate protests. Patiently bearing the verbal barrage, he
ran a hand through his thinning brown hair before hooking his thumb in the
black belt fastened around his dark blue jumpsuit.
"God dammit, Ross!" Darran
barked, his dark mood returning.
"What! Why not?" Casey
blurted.
Ross raised a hand to stall them.
"Sorry, guys. Company policy.
As RMC holds the only claim on this dirtball, everything on it is considered
company property. Nothing is getting on a ship without approval."
"But, the salvage -" Casey
started to say.
"The salvage clause was granted
in case of a raid from off-worlders. They aren't company property, see."
"But, with the lizards being
native, they are," Al finished.
Ross nodded.
“Your ‘company property’ did a
number on our ‘company property’,” Al quipped. Smirking, he glanced up
at the battered Awesome.
"Come on, Ross," Darran
said quietly. "We all have a good idea how remote this system is. What’s
the chance of seeing a raid?"
"Oh," Ross said, pausing a
moment as if running a few numbers in his head. "Unless a pirate ship
jumps in when we have a transport in-system, most likely not at all."
"Right!" Darran vehemently
agreed. Just like in Casey's excitement a moment before, Darran gestured
angrily while he talked, mostly pointing. "That monster has done
some serious damage to my machine. Without any salvage, I have no idea
when I'll be able to replace the two damaged ‘sinks."
Ross looked taken aback.
"Wait. Can't your boss handle
that kind of expense?" he asked, sounding confused.
"Actually, that's not the
issue," Casey said.
"We don't quite work that
way," Darran added, calmly. "But! If I can sell parts of that
monster, even just for research, I'll at least recoup my losses."
Ross's look of confusion didn't
immediately go away. It was shortly replaced with a look of annoyed hurt. Brow
furled, Ross looked back and forth at Casey and Darran, trying to come up with
an answer.
"He can't," Al said
sagely.
All eyes turned toward the
sandy-haired warrior. Al's blue eyes returned each look, finally falling on
Ross, who seemed relieved but wary and curious.
"Letting knowledge of something
like that leak would attract unwanted attention," Al said, finishing his
revelation.
Casey caught the way Al looked at
Ross, and he could hear the emphasis on 'attention'. The statement was a
pointed one. The sudden bemused smile Ross shot back flooded Casey's mind with
all kinds of possible meanings.
Darran cursed and shook his head,
catching on.
"Look," Ross said.
"Even if I wanted to, I just can't. There's a reason why we go out in
sealed environment suits and have all our equipment put through decon when we
bring it in. Not only is the atmosphere toxic, but it's a virtual primordial
soup. There are tons of microbes and viruses that haven't been cataloged or
studied. Probably never will. The last group you replaced? They lost a guy from
an infection he got when exposed to the atmosphere."
"The pilot of the write-off
machine?" Al asked.
Ross nodded. "The ’Mech mauled
by one of the smaller critters. And, he hadn't inhaled any of the air. Mere
skin contact was all it took. Mighty painful." Ross shook his head,
glancing down for a moment.
Contrary to today's fight, the
lizards weren't pushovers. The last defense force had won the day against a
different attack, but they had taken a loss. Consisting of lighter machines,
that loss had been too much. They did not renew their contract.
They had tucked their tails between
their legs and run.
In that regard, the lizards had
scored a victory.
The last group not only didn't renew
their contract, but they made all too clear their intentions. It just so
happened that Damien had Casey and the others on tap, ready to take over when
the new contract began.
"The point is," Ross
continued, "God only knows what could be infesting that creature's tissue,
even now! We cannot let a potential contagion leave this planet. So, I'm sorry,
but I can't let you have it."
Casey turned away to think. The
other two also milled about. A communal acknowledgment of the verdict. Al went
so far as to nod. However, Casey wasn't giving up. There had to be something to
take away from this. They fought certain death and came through. Each of the
mercenaries deserved something to show for that fight.
As hard as he tried, nothing came to
mind.
For a moment, he lamented being
assigned to this mission. Boss-man had split up his small force, leaving the
new-hires garrisoned here for a year. Meanwhile, he took the tenured members on
undoubtedly more lucrative missions. Not for the first time, Casey wondered if
he had joined the right people. Then he reminded himself that even though the
last two missions were accountant's nightmares, they had managed to come away
with something each time.
Casey wasn't going to let this time
be the first failure. But, he needed some time. About to leave, he paused when
Darran turned back to Ross.
"So, Ross. Just why are you
down here, anyway?"
"Me? Well, actually, I came to
personally thank you for what you did. I have to admit that I had my doubts
about you. The last bunch weren't, oh, the best representation of the
mercenary trade. Honestly, the guy that bought it had it coming, and we were
all glad to see them go when their contract was up.
"But, you guys! You...
guys." Ross's brown eyes clouded over and his brow furled with thought.
"What do you call yourselves?"
Al smiled. Casey shook his head
before the smart reply vibrated the air.
"I'm Al. That's Casey and
Darran. Jenn's on guard duty, and Jerry's out on patrol."
"You know what I mean,"
Ross said, unappreciative of the joke.
"We know what you mean,"
Casey said with a sad smile. He pointed first to Darran and then waived his
finger to the dome around them. "Darran, Jerry and Jenn are with the Vagabond
Legion."
"We subcontract with their
group," Darran said.
"And we... Al and I... our unit
doesn't have a name. I guess we're too small.
But, if it helps you, the man we answer to is Damien Strangeman."
He saw the question forming on Ross's lips and quickly answered, "No!
That's not his real name."
Ross nodded. "What's wrong with
his real name?"
"It's kind of like a
pen-name," Al answered. "It cultivates an image. Which is cooler for
a mercenary commander? Parker Ross? Or! Damien Strangeman?"
"Aaaah," Ross said,
understanding. He snapped his fingers. It was like a light bulb went on over
Ross's head. The click made Casey think of a flipped switch.
"Well," Ross said with a
twinkle in his brown eyes. "You 'Strangemen'. I like you. You actually
stood and fought against the odds. You were willing to lay down your lives so
that we could get away. Not often you find a group that'll do that, even when
paid. I wanted to see the faces of such an outstanding group in person. Which
makes the decision about the carcass even harder. I would pull strings if I
could, but I can't take any chances."
Al leaned in to Casey, and
whispered, "Damien's Strangemen? Kinda catchy, don't you think? Maybe we
should mention it to -?"
"No!" Casey hissed back.
He shot Al a look which meant he was serious. "I will not be a part of a
group with that kind of name."
With a mild smirk, Al shrugged and
resumed his normal stance.
"So, what will you do
with that thing?" Darran asked.
"Probably mount its skull on
the wall," Al quipped.
Casey smiled at the joke. Darran,
however, stared at Al with real consideration. Ross looked like he had a giant
epiphany.
"Are you thinking what I'm
thinking?" Darran muttered, turning to look at the site manager anew.
"Ross. Could we-?"
"Bones, claws and teeth?"
Ross interrupted. "I can't let you take the whole skeleton, but if you can
clean off a few trophies, and I mean sterile, I think I can pull a few
strings."
Darran looked at Casey, then at Al.
His moody cloud was gone, replaced by a new glint in his eye.
"Anyone know how to cure a
skull that large?"
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